Waiting for New Beginnings...

18 days.

I notice my magnolia beginning to bud (and silently shed a tear that it is staying here to grow without my careful gaurdianship) and wonder if the blooms will burst forth before we pack up and move on the 28th.

Not that I'm reluctant to move. I feel like I have a lot in common with this bud right now, stuck in the quiet growth process, waiting for the right time and circumstances to bust forth into full beauty and purpose. This bud is a sign of hope, that my time is coming, too. And I just have to be patient and diligent, allowing God to work in and through me during this time.

My new pastor's wife, Janet, is pretty much awesome. She's been praying for me a lot lately. Last weekend, during our teensy little time time together, she mentioned her waiting season in Illinois, 10 years ago. They were walking through a house selling too, and the moment they had a contract, she got in the car and drove all the way to Texas. (ironically, they served in Jerseyville, just minutes from Hartford, small world, isn't it?) Anyway, she told me that looking back she wished she would have waited, enjoyed the time on her own, responsibility free. Now, with the kiddos, my situation is a little different, but her story did speak to me. I need to take advantage of this time, enjoy it. I still have a lot of responsibility (especially this past week with Eli and his strep, and then that last week, to get us all moved), but I do have some free time and I'm going to try to make the most of it. I squeezed in a little scrapbooking this weekend. It looks like a lot, but I mostly planned pages. None of these were incredibly complicated or difficult, but they were all fun. And I plan on scrapping quite a bit more in these next 2 weeks or so. Especially next Monday. ;) I'm thinking that day I'll head to my favorite scrapbook store, and really make the most of hubby being out of town.

Now for a few scrapbook layouts...

This page features a mug my mom gave me probably 8 years ago or so. I always laugh because it's the liberated woman, and here I am, a homemaker. :) But a strong homemaker, at that. And willing to step in and do whatever the Lord requires of me. I took this picture clear back in December, and just now had the perfect layout for it.

A starting over page about our transition to San An. This map is from our hotel when we went to interview, and the note is from Janet, saying how excited she and Pastor Doug are to get to know us. It was buried in a HUGE gift basket that our kids devoured.

You all probably remember this sign that Eli has had posted the last year or so on his bedroom door. Totally symbolic of my son at this age. Just love it and had to keep it so I can show it to his wife some day. ;)

And of course, had to do a page about how thankful I am that our house is sold. I'm not kidding, every time I drive down our street (and see the other 3 houses on the block that are still for sale) I whisper a little prayer of awe and wonder that God sold ours and we are almost on our way. God is so good.

I love pages featuring my kids artwork. Eli is constantly bringing home little scraps of paper with intricately drawn characters and dramatic story lines. I love this, it's a commonality for us, I did the same thing all through elementary and jr. high. It's such a cool way to relate to him, and I love how we've documented so much of it for him.

I took this photo a few months back, but it still gets me every time I see it. Such trust in her eyes, admiration, comfort. I totally get that. Rob makes me feel the same way. I pray that someday both of my children will find a Christian mate that makes them feel that treasured and special each day. It is such a blessing.

Just a fun numbers page for our anniversary. I didn't really have any photos from this year, since it got so abrubtly interrupted, so I had to improvise. I took this photo back in November, I believe, while I was taking that photography class. pretty fun.

My absolute favorite page of the weekend. Rob took a photo on his cell phone when we went for an hour long scooter ride on Friday. He posted it on FB and I traced it. Love the effect. It turns out, this is the one photo from our 12 year anniversary, that just doesn't seem right! But, as bummed as I was to make that 4 hour trek home two days early, I still felt blessed for the time we had. I wanted to document it. Having uninterrupted, face to face conversation, that was all I really wanted for our special day.

Well, that's it for now, but I've got a huge stack of planned pages I'm wanting to work on, so expect more soon. :) Oh, and E's doing so much better. His fever is down to 100.5 without tylenol, so he's almost there. Poor kid, such a rough weekend for him. He told me today, that my mother's day present was that he would do 3 chores of mine, that I regularily do, when he feels better. Isn't that the sweetest thing? I love that kid.