Hey everyone! Thought an update was in order...but before I launch into that, I wanted to share some really exciting news with you about Abby!

At the beginning of the year some time we noticed Abby asking questions about the story of Nicodemus (Jesus told Nicodemus that if a person wanted to see the kingdom of God, he must be "born again"). Every so often these sorts of questions (about being "born again") would come up - Mike and I would explain that at some point, people can make a decision to make Jesus the Lord of their life and that all they need to do is ask Jesus into their heart. She would acknowledge that...then, we would gently ask her if she would like to do that. She always would have the same response, "Oh...maybe I'll do that later." We never wanted to push it, so we would move onto another subject.

This past Wednesday in the car, a similar conversation came up where Abby asked me about the Holy Spirit. I proceeded to answer her question, then I began to talk about how when we ask Jesus into our hearts...yadda yadda. Then, I asked her if that was something she was ready to do and her response was, "Mom, I already asked Jesus to be my Savior". Fortunately, we were at a stop light so there was no chance of me wrecking my car and us seeing Jesus in person. I tried not to be shocked and asked her when this occurred.

"Well, remember when we were staying at Beka's house because we didn't have our furniture?" I responded with a long, drawn out "Yeah". "Well, I woke up in the middle of the night, sat up and prayed to Jesus that he would come into my heart and He did".

Well, I was beside myself. At this point, we are in the parking lot of Sam's club and I asked Abby to come into the front seat. I asked her if she would mind if we did the prayer again - and she did, right there in the front seat! I then prayed for her and we immediately called Mike to tell him the news. Last night, we had a "Birthday Party" celebration at Bonni's house complete with homemade ice cream (Abby requested Chocolate with chocolate chips).

The verse we proclaimed for Abby before she was born was Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." We are so excited for Abby's decision and know that God has amazing plans for her!

On to less life-changing highlights...

The Time Share


How to go Garage Sale-ing...
1. Wake up at 5:45 am on the only day that you have to really sleep in
2. Don't shower and wear the clothes you had on the day before
3. Wear a hat - nobody wants to see your rats nest and who wants to brush it at 6 in the morning anyway.
4. Forget to have coffee, that really spices up the experience
5. Know where the neighborhood sales are...it maximizes time
6. Get in car, go to neighborhood, do the thing...remember to be friendly (remember, you've had no coffee and you smell like yesterday - people won't be nice to you automatically, you have to go first)
7. Get good deals and make it all worth while

Ok...there you have it. Recall that my first garage sale experience here landed me a fabulous dining room table and chairs for $50 and 2 fabulous bar stools for $12. Today, Bonni and I hit the River Downs subdivision neighborhood garage sale. Man, I can't believe some of the things that rich people get rid of! First of all, Bonni has been waiting a really long time for some bedroom furniture to match the king size bed in their room. Well, today was her day....she landed a really awesome 4 post bed headboard, armoire, dresser, mirror and end table for $300 (talked down from $375). The people (who paid $1800 for the set by the way) needed to get rid of it because it "didn't go" with the new place. Well, one man's "didn't go" is another man's treasure! I scored some awesome tiles for .10 each that I can use for a cool craft I have in mind. The last bargain of the day was something we got for the kids - I call it the "Time Share". I call it that because Bonni and I went in half on it so all the kids have equal claim on it (well, I guess I should have only paid 1/5th of it, but you get the idea). It's this really cute little play house made out of wood - perfect size for them to play in. They loved it and immediately began playing in it. It's so cute to watch them play...they load up their backpacks and come and go from the "house"...they bring their bikes right up to the window, etc. I'm always amazed at the imagination that children have...I could sit and watch them for hours (and today I practically did! I have the farmer's sunburn to prove it...)


We are not all the way settled in, but we are settled in enough to have normal operations (that is, about 87%). Here are a few highlights:

* Mike and I are both really plugging into our new church - we really love it there! We both attend a bible study on Tuesday evenings (Mike with the men, me with the women). I also go to a Mom's group on Wednesday morning. Mike started attending the 6:30am prayer time.

* I started a water aerobics class at the YMCA 2 to 3 times/week

* We are trying to get Abby into a magnet school here in town that requires "testing in"...the test for Kindergarten is 3 hours long! Her test date is on May 30th - we hope she gets in, but if she doesn't we are OK with that too. The alternative at this point is the local school across the street.

* Mike is working well at home, he's got a great little setup in the 3rd bedroom here. The 3rd bedroom is also home to a little 6'x 5' Crafting area that looks like a tornado hit it. I lack shelving...therefore, everything is piled on my table and there's no place to work! What troubles I have, eh?

* I miss Trader Joe's so much I don't know what to do. I now am a Kroger shopper. What the heck kind of name is that for a grocery store? I guess it's better that Piggly Wiggly (which by the way, I'm happy to announce there are NONE of those in my area!). I'm looking into some local CSA's and the Farmer's Market should be starting up soon. I just am craving some TJ goodies....sigh.
* I got my hair cut....Yep, I'm rockin' some sassy layers. What's that...? You want to see a picture? Come on, you know better...

Love and TJ's Cuban Mojito Sauce,
k