Happy Holidays!

It's been a while, but God is so good! We are still planning to move in the summer of 2009 to West Houston for Justin to work at BP. I have been looking for houses, schools for me to work, preschools for Claire, and of course a church home for all of us. The end of the semester was crazy for all of us--it was looking spotty there for a while. Justin's parents are still redoing their house from Hurricane Ike damage and they were both in the hospital during December. Justin had finals, a senior paper, a senior project, and the robot to work on. Claire is potty training, and I was honestly having the hardest time as a teacher I've faced yet. All that is finished though (except Claire) and once again I was reminded that God is paying attention to all the little details of life so carefully. We celebrated Christmas last week and had one of the best Christmases I remember. Claire led her class in singing Happy Birthday to Jesus while they ate Santa Claus cookies because she told her class that Christmas isn't about Santa but Jesus' birthday. At least she's got that right! She also was so surprised however when Santa brought her a Dora dollhouse on Christmas morning. Since then, she has been asking when Santa is coming again and if she'll get more presents....like 30 times a day. We are still potty training but she's doing much better this time, so I'm trying to be more patient. She has been in big girl underwear for 2 weeks now and has been dry after nap 3 days in a row...we're getting there folks. Slowly but surely. If only she'll actually tell me she needs to go potty I think I'd have a heart attack right there. We are staying up to watch the New Year come in and as she told Papa on the phone tonight, she's going to say, "BOO!" As far as New Year Resolutions, I'm going kind of low-key. I plan to read through the Bible this year and signed up for an email daily reminder at http://www.Bibleplan.org to help me keep on track. We also plan to be settled in a new house, church, and city by the end of 2009. That really doesn't happen though until the 2nd half. The 1st half will be focused on getting through the school year and getting our house ready to sell. Of course losing weight is always on the list, but hopefully it won't be just one of those resolutions that loses steam by February. We'll see. I do know that whatever 2009 brings, it all will be from God and He knows best and wants the best for us. Happy New Year! What are your resolutions???

Blessings!

Big changes are coming. Justin received an offer from BP last week. We have discussed it thoroughly and have prayed incessantly about it and all the ramifications of such a change in our family's lives. We both believe strongly that this is the place that the Lord is leading us to. It will mean us selling our home, uprooting all that Claire has ever known, changing jobs, churches, etc. Where are we going? West Houston. Where are we going? West Houston. Where are we going? West Houston. (Sorry, Dora the Explorer song slipped in there) The job is exciting for Justin as he will get to work for a huge international company and have lots of opportunities. It is exciting for me as I begin to look for a new home and job. Claire doesn't really understand our excitement but she does know we're excited because she keeps walking around the house saying, "You're happy Mama!" It sorta makes me wonder if I've been a grump for a while now. Not really, but it's neat to see that she picks up on that sorta thing. Sensitive sweetheart. It also means us finding a new church home (thanks, internet) and a new school/day-care for Claire. Since she'll be 3 we're looking at mostly preschools rather than daycare centers but we're excited for the change this will all bring. There are some drawbacks however as with any move. We've really made lasting friendships at our church here and right now we're 10 minutes away from Justin's parents which we truly enjoy having them so close...Claire does too! So there will be some sad moments through all this. But West Houston is only about 2 hours away so we will have frequent trips back to visit, I'm sure!
One of the strangest things about this move is where we're moving to. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. When I was 8, my parents uprooted everything my siblings and I had ever known to take a church pastorate in West Houston. We moved there and lived there for 3 years. After that, we moved back to Michigan. During those 3 years is when we found my mom's cancer that prolonged her life 7 years. I also was able to witness the beliefs of my parents and their trust in the Lord first hand as they moved us cross country, financial struggles, health struggles, church struggles, and probably more struggles than they let on to their youngest daughter. I truly believe those 3 years have impacted my life greater than several other years of my childhood. It also was another reason why Justin and I are together. When we first met, one of the things that truly attracted me to him was the fact that he was from Texas since I had lived there and had such a positive experience there. Even though he wasn't from the same place I had lived, it was somewhere I could relate to a little better and was interested in. And now? for Justin to receive this offer close to 20 years later after the first move to West Houston and it be 10 minutes from where all those memories, influential people, and life changing moments happened is simply unbelievable to me. I never would have dreamed in a million years that I'd end up back there through the Lord's guidance. I guess that is one of the biggest reasons why I believe so strongly that this is the Lord's will for us at this point in our lives. I cannot thank the Lord enough for all of His blessings. "My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord" Psalm 149:21a

Puggles!

Our church does a program called Puggles, which is for older 2 and younger 3 year olds to do before they go to Cubbies. It is part of the AWANA program which is excellent! Claire fits perfectly into this age group. Since her birthday is in October, she is 1 month shy of being able to be in Cubbies, but she is still old enough to sit still for a short, SHORT, lesson, and to color, do a craft, and play. It's designed to teach the little ones about God. A puggle is a baby platypus which to me is just the cutest name ever. Anyway, during the summer, when they were recruiting AWANA workers, I found out about this program at our church for Claire's age group. I was so excited. However, they told me it was only for children whose parents worked in AWANA. I haven't worked in AWANA before due to choir practice on Wednesday evenings and our crazy schedule throughout the week, I was hesitant to add one more thing on my plate. But I really wanted her to do Puggles! Justin and I were talking and he asked who taught the Puggles class? I answered that I didn't know. So I asked, and they said they didn't have a teacher. I volunteered. Not only does Claire get to do Puggles, but she gets to do it with me! I am so excited about it! She is even more excited about it too! She asks every time we go anywhere now if I'm going to be her teacher. It is only an hour long, and in that hour we do a 5 minute lesson, a craft, a snack, songs, and a coloring page. The rest of the time is just play time. She is really enjoying it.
The other reason why I am excited is that I remember my mom teaching in my Sunday school class when I was 2 or 3. I don't really have a lot of memories, but I do have a few that are vivid and now that she is gone to be with Jesus, they are precious to me. Especially since she was taking the time to teach me about Jesus when I was that little. So I guess that I hope that when Claire is older, that she might remember a few of these times we spend together at Puggles and that I think teaching her about Jesus is the most important, since that truly is the most important thing I can teach her--ever.