When we found out that Brandon had to choose between keeping his job and moving to Longview or changing companies and staying in DFW, we had a lot to consider. Moving three times within 11 months was a lot to take on, especially when you cross state lines... (did you know if you're only gone from Texas for less than 2 years, you can have your old drivers license number back?) One less new number for me to memorize :) Thankfully, we had the option of staying in Texas instead of crossing the border to Louisiana (Brandon's office is in Shreveport, but only has to go over there about once a week). We really liked living in Fort Worth and planned on being there for a long time… ha. For some reason, “it is not in man to direct his own steps…” comes to mind. The pro/con list was nothing like it was when we were considering our move from Tulsa… I’m not sure we had more than one thing on the con side for that move. It’s times like these that you really wonder what God has planned for you and you keep hoping for a clear sign. When you could really go both ways, I tend to think that just means God will use and bless you in whichever decision you make… that there wouldn’t be a wrong answer. And to be in a position where we get to choose between two great jobs when only a little over a year ago, so many people in Brandon’s company were being laid off… we just held our breath from day to day hoping he wouldn’t be one of them. God has certainly taken care of us and we are so grateful for that. Even though it was a tough decision to move to East Texas, the circumstances could have been entirely different and I have to keep reminding myself of that when I start feeling down about one thing or another. But the main reason for this post, and my confession… is that I’ve been holding onto a little secret for awhile now. We are so excited to finally announce that we’re expecting another little girl in April!! Reese is such a little mommy with her baby dolls… and she LOVES holding and tending to Anna Jaye. I hope that continues and that she’ll be my sweet helper. I am really thankful she is going to experience the unique relationship that only sisters know. She knows where mommy’s baby is and that she’s going to have a sister… and she was aware of Melissa’s pregnancies and the arrivals of Abigail and Anna Jaye… so I’m curious what all she really understands. Drew doesn’t really pay much attention to Anna Jaye and Abigail so far isn’t all that fond of her… so I wonder if it will make a difference to Reese when this baby is around all the time? Brandon’s sister is also expecting a baby… due in February... but she and her husband are keeping the gender a secret until it’s born. She’s catching a lot of grief for not telling anyone, but I think it’s fun :) My guess is that she's having a boy... we'll see!!

I spent a week in Dallas, two weeks ago… when my sister gave birth to sweet baby Anna Jaye (she goes by both names, by the way). We’re all so thankful she is such a sweet baby. Anna Jaye was breech, so Melissa was scheduled for a c-section on a Tuesday. The Friday before, Anna Jaye had her own ideas. She wanted out that day and wanted out FAST. She had hard contractions for a couple of hours, her water broke within minutes of getting to the hospital, Anna Jaye’s legs were already coming down the birth canal, so within 20 minutes of getting to the hospital, Melissa ended up having an emergency c-section. Andy said that within one minute of putting Melissa under, the baby was already out. That’s some fast cutting and pulling!! Yikes. And because it had to happen so fast, she was put under general anesthesia instead of the usual epidural and the recovery from that has been really really tough. She’s doing a lot better now and Anna Jaye is seriously the sweetest little baby!! Because she was breech, because she’s a girl (not that your breech baby girl automatically gets this, it just raises the risk) and because Andy’s mom had it, little Anna Jaye has hip dysplasia. Right now, her hips are cartilage instead of bone and could easily dislocate. If the born forms while it’s dislocated, that would mean surgery and possibly a lot of problems throughout her life. Andy’s mom had it but doctors didn’t realize it until she had two hip replacements in her 50s. If they put Anna Jaye in a brace now (for about 6 weeks) to keep her hips in place while it forms to bone, the chances of her ever having problems with it greatly reduces. Please keep Melissa, Andy and Anna Jaye in your prayers… its not painful for Anna Jaye right now and a brace wouldn’t be painful to wear, but it’s still tough on a momma!!

My parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, two nieces, brother and sister-in-law are all coming to our house for Thanksgiving. The turkey was delivered yesterday and right now, sweet potatoes are baking in the oven… soon to become sweet potato casserole!! Yum. Thank you, Pioneer Woman, for that and for several of my Thanksgiving recipes. It’s not so much the Thanksgiving meal I get excited about, it’s the Thanksgiving desserts! Check out the dessert menu this year: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, chocolate sheet cake, pumpkin cream pie, oreo turkeys, pumpkin roll, and apple pie. And now I feel like going to Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte… ha. It should be a fun week… lots of chaos, but isn’t that what makes it so great? Check back with me on Saturday and I’ll let you know if we’re still having fun ;)

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels!!!

My gold expired and I'm still trying to decide if I want to renew it or not... I like having private entries and I hate to see the way no one is renewing their gold and slowly we're all posting less and less. So, most likely I'll renew... but for now, I'll just give a quick update.

We moved to Longview last week and I LOVE having our family in one place (no more commuting!!)... along with all of our belongings. A few things were damaged by water in our Ft Worth storage unit, but nothing too bad. It was a bit like Christmas opening up boxes we hadn't seen in at least 6 months. I even got to unpack some things from my Grandma that we've kept in boxes since moving from College Station 3 years ago. My Grandma turned 97 yesterday, by the way!

Reese loves running in our long hallway and she has plenty of places to hide in this old house :) We even found a secret room!! She adjusts really well to all of our moves and this time has been no different. I wish I knew what she thought about all of it, though. I still have memories of the house my family lived in before we moved when I was two... so I wonder what memories she'll keep of the past year. The other day, we pulled into the driveway and she said, "We're here!!" I said, "Are we home?" And she said, "No". Ha. She's eating lunch right now and I asked her if we're home and she said "yes"... that didn't take long!

She picked up a cold somewhere, so that hasn't been fun this week... I'm hoping it ends soon so we won't have to miss out on all the Halloween fun this weekend! This will be her first year trick or treating and I'd hate for her to miss out on it again. We're also going to a Halloween party north of Tyler on Saturday, and we'd REALLY hate to miss that! Costumes are required, so Brandon and I are going as a Scarecrow and Dorothy. My parents already had the costumes and I definitely needed something quick and easy this year. Reese is dressing as a Munchkin :) When she goes trick or treating with her friend, Katie, she is borrowing Katie's costume from a couple of years ago and going as Raggedy Ann :)

Everyday, I tackle one room in our house, trying to clean, unpack and get things settled. It feels a little less overwhelming that way... but I sure am ready to be finished with this project!! :) I feel guilty leaving the house with it being in its current condition, so I've just stayed here working, but we're ready to get out!!! There is a SuperTarget around the corner, calling my name :)

My sister's third baby, Anna Jaye, is breech... so she's scheduled for a C-Section on November 9th. I'll be there with my mom for about a week, helping with Drew and Abigail... and for Thanksgiving, my side of the family is coming to my house! It's the closest for Melissa to travel and it'll be a good weekend for all the guys to help Brandon with some projects around our house. Hosting Thanksgiving feels like a very grown up thing to do ;) Maybe we'll just order pizza! One year when I was young, my Mom and Mimi decided to make things easy on themselves and we had Thanksgiving at Shoneys. A lot of Thanksgivings tend to blur together in my memory, but that one stands out for sure... it was so disgusting!! :) Bad holidays and vacations sure make for good memories and stories, don't they?

Since I'm the one who sets up the utilities and cable, etc when we move... I made the decision to not get cable with this move. It's saving a lot of money and I've really enjoyed not having that particular distraction. Once we're settled, we'll order Netflix and Reese is able to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the internet... but poor Brandon is missing out on watching the World Series. I just read the Facebook updates and I've got all the info I need... but it's driving Brandon crazy. From what I could tell, he would have only been frustrated watching last nights game, so I'm really doing him a favor, don't you think? :) We sure get a lot more done when we're not sitting in front of the tv in the evenings, though... and he really is on board with this... it'll just take some time to adjust I think.

I met our next door neighbors the day we moved in and they filled us in on a little background on the neighbors and the neighborhood. Our house was apparently the first one built in this neighborhood (49 years ago) and our neighbors built their house 44 years ago. They said quite a few of the neighbors were the original owners and have been here longer than they have. One young couple moved in recently across the street and proudly display their Longhorn flag. Our next door neighbors are both Aggies, so they were happy to have us move in next door :) Those Longhorns brought us delicious homemade cookies, though... so I won't be holding a grudge! The girl's older sister is good friends with and grew up with my only Longview friend, Rebecca... so we already have a connection. I think we'll enjoy living in this "small" town :)

ps. Our house doesn't have a microwave. The space above the gas range is too wide to put an overhead microwave and apparently you're not supposed to put a microwave above a gas range (most don't have the appropriate vents for gas)... so we've just done without this week, while we're trying to figure out our options. We've discovered just how much we depend on the microwave!! I'm not sure I would have made a very good pioneer woman :)

Someday I'll make a video of Reese doing her little hand motions to this song... but it'll have to wait until she can sing it herself. There will be no recording of my singing voice, thank you very much. I only sing to her because she doesn't know any better yet ;)

It's my prayer that these words will become seared into Reese's heart. I want her to know and BELIEVE that there is NOTHING MY GOD CANNOT DO!!! When she is feeling hopeless, I want her to cling to the idea that God is bigger than whatever it is she's dealing with. He will take care of her. I want her to have the faith to stand up for truth, to fight for truth, knowing God is on her side... knowing that God will win whether we see it here on earth or not. My prayer is that she finds comfort in His strength, that she relies on His might.

My prayer is that she will KNOW God is working. How amazing is the story of Esther??? When it feels like God is silent.. uncaring... far off... we can turn to the scriptures and KNOW that He is always with us. He is fighting with us in the trenches, He is holding us in His arms when we weep, He is rejoicing in our triumphs. He knows our hearts... our desires, our fears, our strengths, our weaknesses. He knows what is too much for us to handle and He knows what is just enough to keep us going. He knows and He CARES. When we are brokenhearted, heavy laden with care... feeling too weak to fight, He will pick us up and carry us.

I want her to know that God's ways are not our ways, that He works things out in His own time and in His own way. When we don't understand it, that is when our faith really comes into play... TRUSTING that God is in control.

My God is so BIG, so STRONG and so MIGHTY! There's nothing my God cannot do.

Some recent other user posts on pleo have made me a little nervous about having public entries regarding Reese. I originally made the first prayer request private and then changed it to public in order to reach as many prayer warriors as possible.. it worked!! We are sooo thankful for all the prayers offered on our behalf and praise Him for answering those prayers!!

If you aren't on my friends list (you should still be able to see the entries about Reese if you are) and would like to be added, just let me know!!

Melissa is not in any hurry for Abigial to get here... she's really enjoying her sleep :) Its ME who is anxious!! I can't wait :)

Mars is giving away free chocolate every Friday through September :)


Read about it here:

Real Chocolate Relief Act


All I have to do now is wait 6 weeks for my coupon to get here... I think I'll get one for "Brandon" too ;)

REGISTER HERE

you can get one per email per week.. and up to four per household for the entire offer period.