A New Season of Life

Two months....I'm ashamed of my lack of blogging!! But, I'm the type of person who if she can't do something perfect, she doesn't really want to do it. And that is my reason for not blogging - I haven't been able to post pictures or have an ample amount of time to sit down and do my life justice by writing an incredible post. :) Now the pressure's on!! Ha!

Two months ago I was visiting my family to celebrate my mom and dad's birthdays. I was planning on leaving Sunday afternoon, but due to a snow storm coming into Wisconsin, I left Sunday morning. My parents drove ahead of me, planning on taking me about 15 miles down the road and letting me finish the rest on my own. Well, I was surprised how slippery the interstate was. I was questioning my decision to take my children out into the slushy/icy conditions, but was praying that the Lord would make it obvious if I should turn around and go back to my parents' home. BAM! The Lord answered my prayer.:) BAM! My car slipped on some ice, I did a 180, and slammed into a snow bank. I was shocked. It had all happened so quickly. My parents didn't notice me going off the road, so they continued driving. There I was, facing oncoming traffic, on the side of the road....holding my breath. The driver's side of the car was stuck in the snow, so I couldn't get out. I tried to drive forward, but was stuck in the muddy, slushy snow. Backing up didn't work either. I really was stuck. I called Nathan to let him know what happened. I left a crazy message for him, and then wondered if I should call 911. I was starting to get nervous that the semis driving past at crazy speeds would hit the same patch of ice that I did and come sliding right into me and my precious kids.

But praise the Lord, I was somehow able to get my car out of the mud!! But then I had to figure out how I was going to turn myself around with traffic speeding past me. I saw a car coming, with the blinker on, and noticed that it was pulling off the road. I thought it was my mom and dad (who don't, by the way, have a cell phone!! rrrrrr!). However, it was a police car!! YAY!! I was saved!! He helped me turn my car around and get me going back on the interstate. By that time I found my parents, and we turned around and headed back to their home. Funny thing is, Matthew slept through the whole thing, and Kate kept saying, "I want to go back to Grandma's house." She had no clue how much danger we were in!

I wasn't expecting my prayer to be answered that way. But I just keep thinking that the Lord saved me from an even more dangerous accident down the road.

I have two beautiful children. They are getting cuter everyday. They were adorable on Easter. Kate got some bunny ears in her Easter basket, so she was excited about wearing them to church. And Matthew was a cutie in his baby blue sweater. :)

It's really fun that they are beginning to look at each other as brother/sister. Matthew loves to pull Kate's hair, and she lets him!! She likes to hold him too, although it's usually only for 2 seconds. She calls him "Mass-you" - I love it!

Matthew is now 6 months old. He weighs around 18 pounds, and I don't know how long he is - he squirms too much to measure him!:) He is starting to sit up on his own for short periods. He talks all of the time and likes to wave. At this moment, he is chewing on his toes.:) Oh, and he has started solids - rice and oatmeal cereal.

The most crazy thing that is happening in our life right now is that we bought a house!! We were looking for quite some time, but we finally settled on a duplex (half of it) with a small backyard and a park right across the street. It's about 8-10 minutes from church and it's close to so many people that we know....especially babysitters! I'm starting to get more excited, although I'm sad to leave my familiar, cramped apartment at Trinity. I've been packing boxes for about 2 weeks now. I'm amazed at how much stuff we have crammed into our 1-bedroom apartment! I (we) have done an excellent job finding a spot for everything....now I am learning to use my newfound abilities to find creative places to put the packed boxes!! Right now we have boxes on top of the refrigerator, in and on our bookshelves, in our closets, on top of dressers, ...you name it, we probably have something stored there!

Amidst the craziness of my packing, Nathan is trying to finish up his schooling. On May 10th, we will be celebrating his graduation from Trinity!! Nathan has done an incredible job of juggling school and full-time work! I am proud to say that he will be graduating Magna Cum Laude!! I'm so proud of my husband!

After that, we paint some rooms in our new house, we move into the house, and Nathan hops on a plane to Guatemala for a 2-week missions trip with his high schoolers. What an eventful next 2 months!

For those of you who have asked, our new address will be:

135 N. Southport Rd.

Mundelein, IL 60060

Alrighty! That's all for now! ;) God bless you!