Lots of Changes!

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind! We went to Kansas City for a few days to visit Bryan's family which is always so much fun. But this time we left the kids with PaPa & Grammy while Bryan and I flew to Denver to spend a few days learning our way around and visiting Denver Seminary (thanks again PaPa & Grammy).

Let me just say ... if you have never been to Colorado in the summer, then you haven't seen it at it's best!! We went without much of an agenda which was nice. We ate good food, went on a hike, did some shopping, drove around a lot, went to a movie and got some much needed R&R. I actually took a nap 2 of the days we were there - and I don't take naps. It had been a long and exhausting few weeks, so it was great to get away. But the highlight of the trip was our time at the seminary.

Look at my man on campus!! We still can't believe that he is about to be a student again! We got to go on a tour of the campus - which didn't take long. We met a number of the people on staff and Bry got to register for his fall classes. We got to see where we will be living which is just bizarre! For those of you that don't know, we will be in a two bedroom apartment on campus. Bryan will have about a 30 second walk from our front door to the main building where he will be having most of his classes - which means we will probably get to see him more - such a blessing. And another INCREDIBLE blessing is that Katherine and Sean are literally right next door to us! Our Father is so creative! It was a great trip - but we missed our kiddos and were ready to see them!

We got back to KC and had more time with family, including the Gaffs which was awesome! They are some of Bryan's cousins who live in Denver - we will be living about 10 minutes from their house! It was fun to get to talk to them about our trip. We are so excited to get to spend more time with them over the next 2 years! (See you soon Rob, Amy, Caity, Dale and Andrew)

We all went to Worlds of Fun on Friday and rode tons of rides! Jordan rode her first roller coaster and LOVED it - I was so proud! (Believe it or not - I am more into theme park rides than Bryan) The kids went home with Grammy after lunch and all us "big" kids went back to the park and rode all the grown up rides - we all had a blast!
















So after a week of traveling, we finally got home to our clean home (spotlessly clean since we had to make sure it was ready to show). It was a little weird to be home at first to be honest. After being where we are going to be for the 2 years, and then coming back to where we are currently - it feels like we aren't settled anywhere. It may just be like that for the next 2 months and that is ok.

And in other news - WE SIGNED A CONTRACT ON OUR HOUSE YESTERDAY!! What a huge relief. The market has obviously slowed down since the tax credit ended - so we are just thankful that God brought a buyer. Now we are just praying for everything to go smoothly.

Ok - long post! Sorry! Swim lessons post coming soon - our girl is a rockin' it!

Denver Bound!

If someone would have told me a month ago that we would be going to SEMINARY in DENVER, COLORADO this fall - I would have laughed hysterically and said they were crazy! It is amazing how God works. We have been through just about every emotion over the past month - and I am sure it has only just begun - but I can honestly say that we are truly excited about where the Lord is leading.

For those of you that may not know the whole story - here is the VERY shortened version. Bryan has been with FSM for 5 years - but over the past 9 months or so, he has felt God calling us to something new ... we just didn't know what that was. Through a number of meetings with godly men that have helped him process what his giftings are and what his passion is ... seminary kept coming up. Bryan actually asked me one night, "Will you at least pray about the possibility of seminary?" - I said I would - but my prayer was something along the lines of, "God - Bryan asked me to pray about seminary - so ... I really don't want to go. There I prayed about it."

Boy God must have a weird sense of humor!

A few days later, the two of us were in a meeting with Tim Lundy and Brandon Barnard - two men that love us and that we have a lot of respect for. Tim started asking Bryan some great leading questions about what he wants to do. At the end of it he ask, "Bryan, when you look around you, what job do you see that you would want." And Bryan said, "A Community Group Pastor or a Campus Pastor ... something along those lines." And both Tim and Brandon said, "YES - you would be amazing in that role!!" And as we talked about that it became very clear to me that seminary would be the next necessary step for Bryan to get to where he truly wants to be ... and to do what he is so designed for!

So after that meeting, Bryan and I went to grab lunch and I said, "Bryan - is this what you want to do with your life?" He said yes. And I said, "Ok - so where are we going to seminary?"

We considered DTS, but Denver was the only place we ever got truly excited about. Not only is it a great school that is in Colorado (as if that wasn't enough) - but my sister's husband Sean will be starting classes there in the fall as well! So we will all be there at the same time ... isn't God creative!? You should see the way Bryan's face lights up when he talks about being around mountains for the next 2 years - he is like a 5 year old on Christmas Eve!!

Now we just have to sell our house, raise support and get moved ... just a small 'to do' list!! It is easy to start feeling overwhelmed ... but it gives me great hope seeing the way God has led us to this point - He has led us this far, so I know He will get us there!

Crazy Weather Weekend

I am thankful to report that not only did we make it through all the crazy storms from the weekend - but we had a lot of fun at the same time! We were hanging out with the Hedlunds when the sirens starting going off - so we decided that we would just hang out in the hallway. The sirens went off about every 5 to 10 minutes for like an hour - but the storm stayed further east. It was crazy though!

Rik was following the storm on his iphone, and Jordan liked to feel like she was helping.

Jordan and Piper just enjoyed the adventure!!

Drew loved staying up after bedtime!! He felt pretty bigtime!

Jordan wanted to be in all the pictures - she has become a big fan of the camera!

All in all - we stayed safe and had fun with friends.

Fun Videos from Austin!

I got a couple of really cute quick videos while we were in Austin. This first one is of Kat and Jordan being silly together. They came up with this the first day while we were waiting for Sean to get home from work - and then they did it for the rest of the weekend. Jordan loves to watch it on the computer now.

We spent a lot of time at the pool which was so fun! Drew loved the water and will probably be thrilled when he is able to swim on his own. I am learning more every day that this one likes to GO, and thus far he isn't affraid of anything. He loves to explore ... and he doesn't meet a stranger. Does this remind you of anyone (hint: he looks just like him)???

And of course - Jordan LOVES to swim! This is her first year in floaties and she is doing great. Each time we got in the pool she was more confident. She is such a big girl!!

Fun Times in Austin!!

I did it!!! I made a trip with the kiddos all by myself - and they did great! We headed down to Austin on Tuesday and stopped in Dallas to see DD and Nancy which was very fun! The kids did well, but were very ready to get out of the car. We swam and played - Jordan was in heaven and Drew was Mr. Wiggle Worm as usual - especially after being in the car all day. Then on Wednesday we headed on down to Austin to see Aunt Kat (or "Tat" as Jordan calls her) and Uncle Sean. We had so much fun!!! We swam, played ping pong, watched airplanes, went shopping, went out to eat (Jordan ate like there was no tomorrow - it was amazing), and just played with Tat and Sean. Jordan is at such a fun age where you can really start bonding with her - and I must say that she misses Tat a lot! But we had such a great time!

Thankfully - Mom flew into Austin on Thursday night and rode back to LR with me. Praise the LORD!! I could not have done that one on my own. The kids did awesome. Drew had about a 45 mintue window where he was pretty miserable - but we gave him a bottle and that settled him down. We are headed up to Kansas City next week which we are super excited about - but we are planning some strategic stops on the way to really let the kids get some energy out! Here are a few pictures from our trip. Kat got the best pics though! We miss you Tat and Sean!

Cade's Birthday at JUMP ZONE!!

Cade had his 4th birthday party at Jump Zone and it was so much fun!!! The kids had a ball and played hard. Jordan loves to slide so she was in heaven - and Drew got to slide and bounce a few times as well. I cannot believe that Cade is 4 years old!!

First Haircuts!

I never thought that I would take both my kids for their first haircut at the same time - crazy! We went to a really cute place in town called Pigtails & Crewcuts that is designed just for kids which made it more fun for them. Jordan sat in a yellow car and Drew sat in a red airplane - and they did great. Jordan was happy because of her sucker! We really just got trims for the most part - but they both look older, especially Jordan. She also lost most of her curls which makes me sad, but I like the length. Drew was a wiggle worm as usual which made it a little tricky. We had to touch up the sides later. But all in all - we were happy with their cuts and it made for a fun outting! Here are a few pics from the day!