These boys.

Charlie and Joseph's preschool graduation ceremonies took place today. To see these boys--dressed in red, white, and blue--in a chorus of patriotic songs, including God Bless America, well, it was quite moving to say the least to hear them singing passionately about the "land that I love," especially Joseph, who has been a U.S. citizen for just eight months. They've come so far to be here in our family. Thank you, Jesus.

Preschool has been a part of our family for such a long stage that it truly is difficult to imagine life without it. And this little gem of a preschool called First United Methodist has been our home for so many years. I simply can't imagine not being there with my kids anymore. The teachers are amazing...the love they give is second to none. They've embraced all of our babes, and now Joseph, with open arms and he has done nothing but thrive in their care. What a treasure; what a blessing.

Among other things, Joseph's teacher, Mrs. Bivins, had this to say about him on his progress report, "Joey has amazed me during the time he has been in my class. He fit in so well like he was meant to be there!"

 

Charlie's beloved teacher, Mrs. Avogardo, said this, "Charlie is self driven with high goals set by himself. He has wonderful quick thinking cognitive skill. In the past few months, I have watched his confidence grow so much. Charlie is a kind and thoughtful boy, well liked and a wonderful student."

 

Can you see me glowing over here?? It is such a privilege and a treat to watch our sweet boys come into their own and blossom. I am so proud of both of them. Charlie has such a huge heart, and Joseph's determination is amazing...he's come so far in such a short time.

 

Miss Gina, Joey's substitute teacher

Big change.

Every year, Lent seems to bring fascinating change to our lives. This year was no exception. 

Let me start by saying that moving to a new home was never in our plans. We could have been happy in our old house forever. But something changed during Lent. I credit the Holy Spirit.

I guess it started when I called some closet companies for estimates. The kids' bedrooms were in need of some serious storage solutions. Reality smacked me in the face when I watched the closet representative scan the boys closet for a few minutes when he finally said, "There's really nothing I can do to help you here." Boom. Just like that, a seed was planted...these little guys are only going to get bigger.

I began to think about possible solutions for our current issues, and I also began to ponder some of the necessary home improvements coming down the line in the next few years. Of course, I questioned...is it was worth investing more into a house we are already outgrowing?

Something told me to go onto Realtor.com that night, and I found our house (though I didn't know it quite yet). There was something in the photos that looked and felt familiar, perhaps the color scheme. This house had been waiting for us for almost a full year. I asked Jimmy, since he's a realtor, if we could go take a look. I had been curious about that neighborhood for a while anyways.

My kind husband agreed, in order to appease me. We drove over the next day, and quietly walked through the house together. Neither of us said a word. But in my head, I was already hanging artwork and knew where we would put the Christmas tree! It was Jimmy who finally broke the silence and said, "Wow...I can totally picture us in here." Bingo...my sentiments exactly.

So, just like that, we'd found our dream home, but there was one little hiccup--we needed to sell our house. Jimmy had remembered, from his open houses, a nice young couple who had been looking in the neighborhood for quite a while, almost two years actually. He reached out to their realtor, and they came to take a look that week. They instantly fell in love with our house. How could they not? 

 

The rest is history. They begin a new chapter, and so do we. It happened so fast that we didn't have much time to process it all. That's probably a good thing. The last week in our house gave me crashing emotions of leaving so much history behind...memories of Jimmy's mom, DANIEL, our two cats, bringing home four beautiful children into that home, and leaving many neighbors and friends whom we love. Needless to say, I shed a river. I am so overjoyed, though, that the sweet kids moving in love our home so much, and we know they will take it to the next level. They can give it everything it needs and more.

Our new home is incredibly perfect for us! We basically traded in yard for house, which is our priority right now. It has four bedrooms, so the boys can still share their room, but now they have a loft area for all of their toys. About two weeks before we moved, Joseph admitted to me that he had been scared in the in the middle of the night, but he was too frightened to come to our room because he had to walk through the living room. I find God's timing amazing, because now our children are just a bedroom away from us, and Joseph is no longer scared.

Madi is thrilled with it all, especially that she has her own sink in their bathroom, and all the kids feel like they hit the lottery by having stairs. As a matter of fact, so do I! I look forward to the built-in workout!

Daddy has his own office, which is huge! Before, he literally had to run out into the backyard to take sales calls just to escape the noise. We are sharing this new office space together in hopes that we can keep each other on task for our businesses.

We love our new community already. It is very safe and family-friendly. It is an extra bonus that we are only five minutes away from our old digs, so the kids will go to the same schools, and we are still close to our friends. It is a complete win-win!

Bring on the next chapter...we are so READY for it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.