Surprise!

We just got back from my dad's surprise 60th birthday party. It was really fun, especially since the biggest surprise was seeing us, as well as my brother and his fiancee from MD. My dad had no clue! To top it off, we went home and watched the Red Sox win the 3rd game of the World Series. The next day, they swept the series. Icing on the cake, and great surprises all 'round.

Something Old, Something New

Something old: the "old" kitchen.

Something new: FRESH PAINT!!

We have finally begun to paint the "old" kitchen. We painted the ceiling, as well as the walls and what a difference it makes! I decided to get a peachy tan color (which, alas, doesn't show up well in these photos...) because it will go with pretty much whatever other color you want to throw at it. I am hoping that the next family that moves in here will be pleased with it.

My stepdad also fixed the front door so it is more secure. We still need to strip the paint off of it and repaint it. I admit that I am skittish about that, especially since there are many, many layers of old paint on the door (think "Gobstopper"!) and who knows if there is lead paint in there. Maybe I have been reading too many reports about lead paint from China, but I know it is a concern when you buy an old house, and old house this is. We are debating about using a natural paint stripping liquid. Hopefully, that will work just as well.

Then, it is off to put flooring down, do molding around windows and doors, etc. Who knew ONE room could take so long! We are also looking at finishing up the pantry... Whew!

There is a man who might be interested in the house. He is up for the hunting season, and might be stopping in this week to take a peek. Please pray that this goes without a hitch! We would love to avoid a realtor, yet we also would love to sell this place to someone who would take care of it. The housing market is already so saturated!

Gossip

Our church recently split. I got the most recent Vision Forum catalog in the mail yesterday and found this quote to be quite fitting:

"Don't be the Devil's bellows any longer to blow up the fires of strife. Leave off setting people by the ears. If you do not cut off a bit of your tongues, at least season them with the salt of grace. Praise God more and blame neighbors less. Any goose can cackle; any fly can find out a sore place; any empty barrel can give forth sound; any brier can tear a man's flesh. No flies will go down your throat if you keep your mouth shut and no evil speaking will come up. Think much, but say little; be quick at work and slow at talk; and above all, ask the great Lord to set a watch over your lips."

-Charles Spurgeon

Decisions

It is something that we have been thinking about and praying about for some time, but, finally the decision has been made. We are heading back into the military. It isn't an easy decision. It is bittersweet. There are many things which we will miss about this area (family, country living, etc), but we realize that there are great opportunities awaiting us and it doesn't mean that we cannot ever have a country life again!

As of this time, we do not know when Dave will be leaving. He was accepted for officer school in August (shortly after Rachel was born!), and is heading down to MD for his flight physical today. If he passes that, we have to wait for a class date for Officer Training School (OTS). That will be 3 months of separation, with him in AL and us up here in PA.

The military will pay to move our things down to FL, which is where we're heading after OTS. We will be on the Panhandle. I am praying for no hurricanes during that time! :)

That is about all we know right now, but if you could please keep our family in your prayers, we would appreciate it!

I am Back

I thought about closing down this blog since I don't have much time to post and I have vacillating thoughts about postings pics of my children. In the back of my mind, though, I must admit that I like these goofy blogs. I enjoy writing on them, no matter how sporadic I post, and no matter how few people actually give a hoot and read and/or post comments.

Rachel is growing way too fast. This is perhaps the first baby I have had where I enjoy nursing. In fact, last night Dave suggested that I feed her then put her down in her pack 'n play in the other room instead of having her in bed with us, and I was actually sad. :( However, I did get a nice 5.5 chunk of sleep, uninterrupted! She will sleep that much when she is in bed with us, BUT only if I sleep completely still, in one position. Lately, that has been killing my hips, so I would try to gently roll over onto my back in hopes that she would still sleep. No dice. Each time, she would wake up and start "snuffling" around for me. Hmmph. While it is cute, it is not too cute at 3:30 a.m, especially when I just fed her at 2:30 a.m! :P
So, we'll see how this new set up goes.

Rachel at 2 months

Babies sure grow fast!

The Boys Love Her...

It's a Girl

The balloon says it all...

Rachel Jewell

It is 2.5 months late, but:

Introducing Rachel Jewell
Born: August 11, 2007 1:59 a.m (why do they always want to come in the wee hours?!)
Weight: 8 lbs. 7 oz.
Length: 22.5"