silence is here...

Due to today being my last day at work and our home computer being in the shop, there will be a short period of silence on this blog. Now our lives will continue and I'm sure pictures will be taken. So once we are back connected to the internet world, we will update everyone on the happenings of our family. Probably a lot of indoor pictures :)

On to my last day in the office...

Nathan is out back at the playground enjoying it one more time before we are out of here.

crazy packing boxes

Just for fun, I wanted to put up the newest pictures of the "storage" room we have at home. We have been packing up and storing things from my office and some from the house. Needless to say, without a garage it is quite easy to fill up a room with boxes when you are moving. I just hope when we go to sell the house people aren't too upset that they won't be able to see the room.

Well, here is the room (that is what is left of it)




These are taken from the doorway. Some of the boxes are empty, but most of them are full. Lots of books!

random...

Just had lunch with about 15 teens and a few parents. School was cancelled today and tomorrow to help save money on gas prices. So I took advantage and put together a lunch for anyone who could make it and wanted to. Amy and Nathan joined us and we had a great time. It was nice to be able to do one more thing with the teens before we leave.

Nathan has been sleeping really well in his big boy bed (well, mattress). It is funny, though, because when we go in to check on him after he goes to bed he is usually all or part on the floor.

Had a "farewell dinner" yesterday after church. Funny thing, though. They prayed and started before either Amy or I got over there. Not a word mentioned publically about saying farewell. It was almost as if it was just another after church dinner. Kinda sad, but understandable at the same time.




We feel like we are just sorta leaving unnoticed. Which is not a bad thing. And we have not had parties during the classes either, so we aren't promoting the leave. It just feels really weird to be leaving and not have anything said about it on our last Sunday. Nothing was mentioned in church about it or anything.

Summer is finally over - the pool has been put away. It is almost October and we are still in the high 80's this week. Just one more thing to know is ending.

Still waiting on where we are going next. Trusting in God's timing and knowing He has it all worked out.

Only one more "church" day left at Westside. I have today, Tuesday and Wednesday to work and then after Wed. night's class we are done. Starting to feel more real.

Picture Saturday

Nathan likes to help push the cart when we go shopping.



Nathan discovered that he could fit into our CD/DVD holder when it was empty.



Here is Nathan on a fire truck at the grocery store. He doesn't know how to make it move yet, thankfully.



Here is Nathan in his cow pajamas. He picked them out to wear last night for bed. He also slept all night in his new "big boy bed" on the floor. It is really quite scary how fast he seems to be growing up.


Here is Nathan and Amy talking on the phone today. When Amy got on the phone, Nathan grabbed his play phone and sat down next to her pretending to be talking on the phone, too.

Big Boy Bed

Today was a big day for Nathan (and he didn't even know it). We have decided that we are going to try to let Nathan use just a mattress on the floor and let Wes use his crib. At least for now. So today was the big day to start letting Nathan try the mattress during naps. I was not at home when he was put down for his nap, but when I got home for lunch he was sleeping like a baby (or would it be toddler now?). Amy said that it only took a few times for him to get to sleep. The best thing was that when she tried the first two times, he would get up and knock on his door for Amy to get him out. He has recently learned how to knock on a door and he knows that when you knock the door opens. So, he was knocking wanting out of his room. :) After that two times, Amy stayed in the room and patted his back until he fell asleep.




Earlier in the week, he had another first - his first bloody lip. And it was all thanks to Daddy. We were playing on the floor and he just fell into my head and his lip hit my chin. I felt so bad, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it (it was like he didn't even notice).

Day of shopping

:)

Its been a crazy week emotionally for us. We are all the more ready to be done at Westside, just ready to not deal with "things" any more. But we are also way not ready to say goodbye to the rest of the people and we will miss them all. :(

So, yesterday was an off day for me (still have one more :)). We started with a dr. appointment for Amy. Everything is going well, Wes is still doing well. We are anxiously waiting to see if Wes comes early like Nathan or if we will get to have a fullterm pregnancy. (We're voting for closer to full term).

Then after lunch (which Nathan almost fell asleep during) and the nap, we headed to the stores. We did some fun shopping for food, ran into a couple that used to go to WCC and had some "yummy samples" in the grocery aisles.



We had dinner at a friend's house and enjoyed spending time with them. They are going to be moving, too. I (Mike) do need to confess one thing, though. While we were there and I was watching the Braves game with Allen (not to mention playing with Nathan) I slipped into a sleep. Yeah, I slept for somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour. I was only slightly embarrassed when I got up. The great thing was that during my sleep the Cubs scored 2 runs against the Brewers (but they were still losing).

Then after going to bed late last night, I got up early today for See You At The Pole.

I wanted to put an updated picture of our storage room at home...

This is about 85-90% of my office (mostly books).

busy weekend

the carnival went well on Saturday. We had a good number of kids on Saturday and they all had fun (at least as far as we know). Amy had a baby shower on Sunday (one to go to, not one for her) and then met with one of the teens Sunday night. I had a good day with Nathan and got to meet with one of our friends. All in all, a busy day :)


Here are some pictures from the carnival...






Here is a picture of Nathan with his friend Isaac...




update:
We are in our last full week and only 10 days left at Westside. Lots of things to finalize and make sure is ready once we leave. Still no word on our next ministry.

Fall Carnival at church

Tomorrow we are having our Fall Carnival at church. Nathan will get to enjoy some of it and then he's off with Miss Connie for a day of shopping for him and Wes. (and I think Connie might just like to spend some time with him)

Amy and I will be busy running different parts of the carnival and making sure nothing breaks or just does not work.

We are looking forward to the day of fun. It is our last big event at WCC before we leave.

Pictures to tell what's going on...

Today I wanted to put some pictures up to share what has been going on lately.


This a picture at Appleebee's last Friday. We went for some dessert and the nice waitress gave Nathan a balloon to play with. It was a fun night.



This is our back room, which has been turned into our storage room. It is beginning to look full in this picture, but it has gotten even more packed after this picture was taken. Mike's office is about 3/4 empty now (and books take up a lot of boxes). So most of this stuff is from Mike's office, with a small part being from the house.



Nothing special about this picture, except that we thought it was funny that Nathan was just wearing a diaper and his shoes. :) He had gotten his clothes dirty and we were doing laundry, so we just left him in his diaper. He didn't seem to mind.



Nathan with his first bandaid. He fell the other day in the park and hurt his knee, so he got a bandage. He kept looking down at it every other step to see if it was still there.




A closer picture of his knee. I think this one needs to go in the scrapbook. "My first bandage over my first broken skin from falling at the park"

Baby Shower & Wedding

Today was a fun day.

This morning, Amy had a baby shower at a friend's house. It was fun (well not for Nathan and me - we didn't go, but we heard it was). Lots of fun stuff for Wes (and a few fun things for Nathan, too). It is always encouraging to have the show of support from a number of people. The short time Nathan and I were there we were overwhelmed by the love of the people.

The wedding (Matt & Beth's) was a beautiful wedding. The first wedding we have been to in a long long time. It is always nice to go to weddings and be reminded of what marriage is about. Nathan did pretty well at the wedding. He lasted over half the time in the sanctuary and just walked around the foyer for the rest of the time. He absolutely loved the reception (all the food, punch and people). Not to mention the disposable cameras they had out, and all the people taking his picture.

We are down to 3 more Sundays at WCC - its hard to believe we are that close to being gone. :(

Tunnels

Nathan has discovered how to go through a tunnel. At first he was hesitant to try, but once I (Mike) showed him how to do it he decided it was okay. And today, he decided that the chair we use at the computer desk would make a great tunnel. He went through it three times before he quit due to repeatedly hitting his head.

One fun fact about his tunnel movements - he will only go through a tunnel one way. He has yet to go both ways through.


new pics added...

Some new pictures

Well, things have really been crazy for us lately. We are still unsure of where we might be going next. And today one more ministry door closed, so "our options" keep getting slimmer. We do know and are trusting (as we have from the beginning) that God is in control and He has things worked out. So, we are not worried about the situation, just hoping for some good news. We know there is a reason for the timing of this whole issue and can't wait to see what it is.

So, anyway, how bout some pictures of what we've been up to...


This is a little older. It is Nathan playing in the dogs' cage at our friends John & Connie Liles' house. Nathan had a great time that night!


Here is a picture of Nathan helping sort through some baby clothes. He wanted to get in the container and help from the inside.



These are two pictures from last week. The top is of Nathan and Mike in the McDonald's playland. He didn't like this one as much. It was mainly tubes with two slides and he wasn't too sure about the whole thing. The second picture is of Nathan sleeping in a Target cart. He couldn't make it, even though it had to be an uncomfortable place to sleep.


Here he is looking out the window at our neighbor mowing her grass. He stayed up there and watched her mow the entire front yard. He loves to watch people mow grass.



Here are two pictures of Nathan on his couch (best toy he's ever gotten). This particular day, he wanted to move that couch around with him all day long. The top picture is by the front door. He is playing with his magnetic alphabet. The second is by the back door. He wanted the couch moved back there so he could watch the dogs outside.



This was car wash day. As you can see from the top picture, it took Nathan a little bit of time to want to be involved. He is drinking water straight from the pool, but he is using a big boy cup with a sippy top. (He's got to learn somewhere) The bottom picture is one of Nathan actually washing the car. He wanted to pick up a cloth and actually washed the bumper about six times.


This is probably the first picture we've put up of Amy pregnant. Sadie was resting on Wes and we hope this is the beginning of a great friendship. (Though we are hoping Sticky becomes attached to Wes, so both dogs will have a boy to play with)

We hope you enjoy this pictures and thanks for checking on us via blogspace. We hope to see some of you in person soon. Please continue to pray for our transition and our ministry (wherever it might be)

Enjoying the weather

Today was a full day. This morning was our first Sunday since we told the congregation we were leaving. Some questions to answer from people who still don't know all the information. One really cool part of today was the chance I (Mike) had to baptize a teenager.

Today was a good weather day, so we decided to go out and work outside. Nathan got his pool and Amy and I got the car wash supplies. After washing the Saturn, Nathan decided he wanted to pitch in and help. He helped us wash the Ventura.

Never too early to get him helping with chores.

Tomorrow should be fun, too. Supposed to be a good day, weatherwise.

Growing so fast

It seems like the entire family is growing so fast. Nathan got new shoes today (size 6 1/2) and the look huge. Mainly because they are a lot bigger than his current shoes, which are getting too small. He continues to amaze us with how much he remembers and how much he wants to help around the house. Tonight at dinner, he stopped eating and wanted to pray with Amy and myself.

Wes is getting bigger each day. He is moving a lot and definately likes to press himself in to one position for awhile. Are we ready for two? If not, I guess we'll just move :)

Amy and I began to pack up the back room today. It is tough to pack up all our things and to see all our things just stacked in boxes. I guess it is good that we are able to take all our stuff with us (and we are thankful, just overwhelmed).

What will this week bring?

Maybe an answer to where we might be heading after Westside.
Maybe news of something to do with the month off.
Maybe nothing at all.
We'll just have to wait and see.

The last few weeks

It seems like time has somehow sped up over the last few weeks. Right now it is hard to believe that it is already Friday, none the less that it is September. I want to make good use of the time that Nathan and I have at home, but it seems like it goes by so fast. I am pretty sure though that it is this way for everyone, not just us.
On another note of 'the last few weeks', time is coming closer for Wesley to be born. This past week Nathan and I had two chances to be around a four week old baby. I admit that I felt a little out of practice being around Collin! Nathan was wanting to be a helper during diaper changes. Overall, I know that it will be hard to have two young children at home during the day, but I know that Nathan will be a great big brother. We certainly ask for your prayers about the transition though!
-Amy

Family Day

Today was a great day. We were able to spend all day together, just having a good time.

We started with some games around the house. then it was off to McDonald's for lunch. Nathan got a Little People's firetruck in his kids meal. (plus a bonus CD, thanks to the nice lady behind the counter who went and found one for us int he back). Then it was off to Family to try to find the new Andrew Peterson CD. Now, you have to remember that I used to work at a Family store, so I usually give them the benefit of the doubt. But today, ah man it was hard to understand. The new CD came out on Tuesday (read, street date - the first day you can buy it in the store) and so we thought for sure it would be there. Amy asks one of the associates and she says that they have some, but must not have put them out yet. WHAT? That is why the call it a "release date" So, we looked at other stores and couldn't find it anywhere else, either. I guess we'll just have to go back and get it once they put it out on the shelf.

Then to Target, nothing special about that trip. Well, nothing except Nathan fell asleep in the cart. It was great! I will add pictures tomorrow. Then it was off to Borders to find a book on Toddler games. Found it.

We went and picked up our friend's dog Belle. She stayed the day at the house. Nathan slept all the way through this. We were even able to get part way to the mall before he woke up.

The mall was great. Nathan got to see lawnmowers and vacuums and dogs. He had a blast. Amy and I had a great time just walking around and spending time together. (We didn't even talk about church stuff - it was great)

Tonight, Nathan and I learned a new game. He sits on his couch and I pick him up and carry him around. (It's not much of a game for me, but he thinks it is great) He also discovered belly buttons. Somehow he can be entertained for so long by just poking belly buttons.

It was a great day, but it has to come to an end. Plus I get to get up tomorrow at 5:30am (man, that's too early)

family prayer

Last night, while Amy and I were praying for Nathan and Wes something special happened. Every night we stand at the end of Nathan's crib and pray for him before he goes to sleep. Last night, while we were praying Nathan became more interested in what we were doing. At one time, it looked like he was bowing his head with us. Then when we said "amen" he wanted to hold our hands and pray again. He prayed a few times with Amy or me.