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We have been moved into our new house for a little over 2 months now.  Almost all of our boxes are unpacked and almost everything has been gone through at this point.  We have thrown a lot of stuff away and had a garage sale and then gave stuff away too.  This allowed us to now have both cars in the garage.  I am a stickler about that.  I love garages for the purpose of parking our cars in there.  It keeps them dry, keeps us from having to scrape in the winter and keeps them from baking in the summer sun.  We still have a few things to deal with in the garage but that is for a weekend when we are not busy.  hahahahaha!!  Noah and Caleb have bunk beds and are sharing a room and doing great.  Jonathan now has his own room and at times wants to sleep with his brothers again so on the weekends we let him.  Noah and Caleb have a part thomas the train, part cars, part ku and part music themed room. With them sharing we said they each get 2 walls to decorate with stickers.  We found a drum set that is all black and is actually a chalk board once the sticker is on your wall.  Noah loves it and is a good sport about having thomas the the train and mater on the very next wall.  Jonathan has decided to do all ku and basketball.  Surprise surprise.  It just feels really good to have space for them to call their own.  They are doing a great job with keeping them clean and have asked for a chore chart so we made one.  Actually we found on at Lifeway and the scripture on it says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."  Col 3:23  I know its only been 2 months but so far the chore chart has been great.  As soon as they have done something they come to the kitchen and mark it off.  They both have been caught cleaning even when they don't have too.  Noah has cleaned the bedrooms, all of them, and the basement without any prompting and Jonathan has cleaned the kitchen several times now after supper.  It makes this momma proud seeing her boys growing up and learning to be responsible.  I know we will encounter grumbling and complaining eventually but for now Heath and I are enjoying it. 

We eat most of our meals at home now that we are on a budget and its been nice talking with our boys while we eat.  Some days they have some really deep questions and the conversations are serious and some days its just full of giggles and laughter.  I love the memories we are making with them and I hope when they have their own families they can pass those memories on. 

There are a lot of kids in our neighborhood, most of which are boys.  They are often over here playing football and basketball and from time to time we will have a basement full.  Our kids are learning how to be hospitable, put others first.  I'm grateful God gave us such great neighbors, one of which is a youth pastor as well!!  How cool is that!  We live in a neighborhood where everyone waves and we look after each others kiddos and visit in the evenings if we are both outside.  The kind of neighborhood most Americans dream of and God has blessed us with that. 

Our biggest adventure right now has been potty training Caleb. I know, he is like 4.  I know.  We have tried over the years and we have always let Caleb win and gave up and put diapers on.  Well not this time. I got some great encouragement from Caleb's teacher and this past weekend we took the plunge.  Its been tough.  He is literally scared of going.  He doesn't mind the toilet at all, he doesn't like losing a part of him.  Jonathan was the same way which is why I put this off. I knew it was going to be a challenge.  Saturday was rough.  Lots of crying but he did go twice.  Sunday was a little better, but not much.  Today was day 3 and no tears!  He even went at school!  We have 2 diapers on hand just in case and it has been tempting to not use them but they are for emergencies only and so they are hidden away.  Hopefully by the end of this week I will be able to say he is going regularly.  Right now he holds it until he just cannot anymore.  Here is to hoping. 


Here is one last random thought. Who would have guessed how awesome it is to have your laundry on the first floor right next to the bedrooms. I'm sure you're thinking...what? But seriously it is great!!

Okay. So two more thoughts. Many of you have asked, yes I am in school again. I took the summer off so we could move. I still have a few years left and there are days homework stresses me out but I am loving it and learning so much. I care so much more now and I wish I would have taken school more seriously when I was younger so I wouldn't be doing it now. But then God has a plan and a purpose for everything.

Its almost November but this is good to do all year:

5 thankfuls

*thankful for a table for my family to sit at and eat or play games at.

*thankful for a laptop so I can potty train Caleb and work on my school work at the same time

*thankful for all 4 of my boys (No I'm not pregnant, that number includes Heath) :)

*thankful for our neighbors and friends that call, text and drop by often just to say Hi

*thankful for the everlasting love that God bestows upon us even when we don't deserve it