I feel like I haven’t told you guys anything recently!! I’ve seen my posts get boring, and I apologize for that. While I love posting on here, and I do it a lot for my records, its also very public, and I don’t share my entire personal life on here. Because I shouldn’t. Luckily, things usually reach a point where I CAN share information with you! And today is that day!! And I have A LOT to share!

We sold our house yesterday!!! We started listing in May, I believe, and our house has FINALLY sold!! Its felt a bit like we’ve been through the wringer, even though I’m sure the process has been painless compared to some. We sold to the second interested party. You would think we’d have jumped on the first offer, but they were incredibly stingy, and had we taken that offer, we wouldn’t have even broken even at the bank. So we let that one go, and came to terms with the fact that we would be in our house until Spring, when we’d try again. We were genuinely at peace with being settled here over Christmas. And as God would have it, very soon after, He sent us the people who would offer an incredibly reasonable amount for our house. Very little bartering later, we accepted! Everything had lined up SO perfectly, and we were going to be able to begin our build almost immediately! In a bit of a crappy last minute turn of events, though, they managed to squeeze us for another chunk of money, and the build is off :/ Its been a bit discouraging, but we have a plan, and a goal, and the build is not off the table. Just delayed. Its silly that such a small amount of money (in the big picture of a mortgage, anyway) is affecting the timeline so much, but we’ve scraped together every cent of savings already, so we will just wait and save like every other person 🙂 As I’ve said, building is not off the table! It is very much ON the table! Maybe just more on the coffee table, tucked behind a plant or under a remote. Its there. Our goal (which is always nerve wracking to share in such a public setting) is to be set up to build in six months. Right around when the baby is due.

Oh. Had I not mentioned that?

You heard it here first!!! Or, if you didn’t, shake your finger at the teller of secrets! YES. Brady and I are expecting baby #4 around the end of May, or beginning of June, depending on going into labour on our own vs induction, and everything else that is unpredictable about having a baby. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be expecting a new little bundle, and even the kids are excited! Dekker asks about the baby and likes the prenatal appointments. He really liked hearing the heartbeat last week! He and Laela both thank Jesus for “Bobby Baby” every night in their prayers. We nicknamed the baby Bobby Baby because, for some reason, its something that Laela says, so that way, she can call the baby by name. Its like how Dekker named Rowan “Jim” while I was pregnant. So both older kids are aware and excited about everything coming up! Let’s be honest, Rowan is wildly unaware of the situation, haha! For those of you itching to do the math, he will be 15 months old when the baby is born. Yes, potentially a big challenge, but Laela and Rowan are 17 months apart and they have a GREAT dynamic! We’re anticipating the chaos very positively!

I know. It seems a bit crazy to have all of these things happening at once. But there is a beautiful verse that I actually don’t recall ever really paying attention to until now. Its Jeremiah 29:5-7, and it reads “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage; so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” I want to be clear. I’m not saying that you HAVE to have kids. Thats not actually what I take from this verse at all. I read in this message that we are to live our lives well wherever we are, and not to hold back. Not to be irresponsible and just go crazy, but not to stop living because you feel in exile. Am I making sense? I hope so. This has resonated me, and we decided not to stop growing our family just because he didn’t like our house. We are now THRILLED beyond belief to both be moving, and expecting another bundle.

SO! Does that make up for the boring past posts? I hope so! Understand that we’ve had a ton going on that I haven’t been able to talk about. Hopefully now, I won’t be keeping as much from you guys.

This next month will be absolutely crazy! We need to be out of our house by January 8th, therefore, we need to find a rental THIS MONTH! No pressure, hey? Sooooo we’re taking any leads anyone can offer on finding a temporary place to live in my hometown for our family of five, soon to be six. I expect it to be a bit scary and daunting, but I feel strangely peaceful about this next part. A very large step has been taken in the process of moving. We are out! Now to find a new place to be “in.”

Lots of fun and exciting new challenges coming our way! What a crazy year 2016 will be!!!