The Intentional Life

Well, we are halfway through our first run on being on duty in the house.  We have several inches of snow outside and so one child is home from school because their school was cancelled.  Yesterday, my mom and Paul's mom came over for a few hours to see the house and of course to play with the grandkids! (thanks for lunch! : )  The evening was nice - the boys went with Paul to play basketball and Chalise (the Assistant) and I played card games with the girls before bedtime.  Thankfully the night was uneventful.  I really don't want to say much beyond that because I don't want to jinx us.  I'll maybe report more once we are off duty (we go off tonight at 9PM).

Well, our two weeks of training are complete and we are moving into our first round of being on duty come next Monday night. Both Paul and I are looking forward to it. We know it's going to be hard, but then, we know we didn't sign up for a picnic, either : ) Many thanks to both our moms for watching Owen and Hannah these last 2 weeks - they definitely enjoyed their " Neenaw " time and we appreciate the help! We are going to sleep over in the Grabill house (that is how we refer to it for Owen's sake) tomorrow night and hopefully be fully moved in by next Saturday (we can live a week without furniture, right? : ) Many thanks to all of you who have kept us in our prayers and who continue to do so! : ) Now, kid updates for those who want to know. Hannah is mobile now and gets around mostly by the walrus flop (picture how a walrus moves around, yeah, that's Hannah). She is starting to imitate Owen and gets a kick out of him all the time. Owen is working o...

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." This was part of the morning sermon this morning and I felt the words were spoken directly to me. On the eve of a new direction in our lives, I find comfort in the fact that our God is always in control. I was reminded, that of all the things that are unsure in life, God is sure . He never changes and He will do what He says. Something I already knew, but a great reminder. We start our training in the morning and will do this for 2 weeks. We will begin working at Gateway at the beginning of February. Both Grandmas will get some quality grandchildren time since they will be the sole babysitters (thank you, moms!)

Well, since my last post a lot has happened, which is the reason i haven't posted in awhile : ) We had an ice storm (which thankfully we only lost power for 6 hours), went to Michigan for the Steffen Christmas and drove home in a 'blizzard' (a lot of wind and snow!), did some work around the house (Owen enjoyed helping Paul), had our own Christmas, then one at my mom and dad's, and then to Illinois for the Gramm Christmas. This all happened in one week's time, but then you know how it is... : ) It was great to see everyone, although Owen was showing the fatigue after 4 straight days without a nap. Now we start our adventure at Gateway in one week and I literally have one box packed and it has picture frames in it. We will be kinda moving in stages since we will still be living in our Antwerp house as we go through training but then living in Grabill the following week when we start work at Gateway. People ask me when we are moving and I have to tell them I have...