Hello, from the owners of the cutest little house in AZ!

So much has been happening around here lately, we thought we would give you a little update on our world and how God is working in it.

The House

After 4 months of living with my parents and after one house falling through amidst much drama with the seller, we are finally the owners of our own little home! Even this house buying process was full of delays, though, and our realtor said, “This house was as much work has a half a million dollar deal!”

All of the setbacks have seemed so frustrating and so discouraging. We knew God was calling us to move here, and we knew a lot of what He called us to be doing required a home of some sort, and yet it felt like He was allowing every option to be impossible. We worked so hard to trust the Lord through all of it, and even now, we don’t know how God was working. I guess we won’t know until He explains it to us in Heaven.

Whatever His reasons for allowing the process to slow, though, we can praise Him that He did end up putting us into a great house. Also, we saw His hand so clearly when partway through the deal, the price had to drop significantly! What a blessing!

Now, we would take you through a nice little tour of the house, but with Christmas and family and work…. well, two weeks later there are still piles of boxes everywhere. (Lesson learned: the weeks before Christmas are pretty much the worst time ever to move!)

Plus, the walls all have brick… Does anyone know how to hang pictures on brick??

The Holiday

Part of what has kept us from unpacking is the oodles of family time that comes along with Christmas — something that it is totally worth having a messy house for!

This past weekend, for example, we got to go up into the snow to visit Benjamin’s brother. All 5 of his siblings came, with their kids, and it was a fun-filled crazy house of craziness!

I just love Christmas! I love all the decorations and the songs and the cookies, and just the chance to remember what it is our Savior has done. My sister and I have been really studying through the Christmas story for school, and I just love the reminder that God cares about us enough to have come to Earth as a baby and then to die in our place. I’m reminded that this is something we should never get over.

The Jobs

Benjamin has really started to settle into his role as ministries coordinator at our church, and I have really gotten into a groove with homeschooling my sister. We both really enjoy our jobs, but there is one hitch — we just can’t seem to find a balance!

I am often up late working on plans for school or having to put off blogging or house setup to teach, and Benjamin works until 10 or 11 at night at least once a week. We are praying that now that we are in the house, God will help us to be more organized and intentional with our time so that we don’t spend every waking moment anywhere but home and so we can find time to really get going on those projects and those ministries we were so excited about!

The Baby

I am officially 21 weeks pregnant, and it is starting to feel so real! We just had an ultrasound last week, and the baby is…. a girl!

We have the first name decided, but we can’t decide on a middle name, and we are keeping both names secret until the day the baby is born. Meanwhile, Benjamin has given the baby the temporary name of Kerrygold — AKA his favorite brand of butter…

As you can see, the baby is growing quite well, and so is my belly! It’s so weird to look at myself and actually look kind of pregnant!

I have also started to feel the baby move a little bit! She is quite active, especially when I fold my arms over my stomach too long (apparently she doesn’t like me squishing her space). Thankfully, she is still small enough that her movements just feel like little pops in my belly. I know a day is coming in which they will feel more like jabs…

Now that we know the baby is a girl and I feel her moving around, it all feels so much more real. On the one hand, we can’t wait until we can meet her and hold her, but on the other hand, we are so nervous about being parents. It is such a huge responsibility to keep a tiny one strong and healthy and then to raise her to know and follow the Lord. We are praying for her and her life right now, and we know we’ll have to keep seeking the Lord’s help over and over again throughout her life. But it’s exciting to be a part of at the same time. So many thoughts and emotions.

With God putting us into a new house, with our baby growing and healthy, and even in the middle of some family struggles, we are holding to Ephesians 3:20-21a, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory…” In the good times, we see God doing more than we could ever imagine, and in the harder times, we can cling to that truth of our loving and powerful God. To Him be the glory, no matter what.

I hope you are seeing His hand in your life today!