What'd ya know?

I just got off Skype with Mike! He has been in Kenya ALL YEAR LOL. They left on the 31st and will be home SOON :)

And wow, God moving is right. I knew He would... I just didn't know what it might be! And now little things have opened up that have caught his attention in Kenya. And of course life hasn't stopped here either! But it's been an exceptionally busy week with God's fingerprints all over it.

Thank you for everyone that has been praying for us this week and a half with Michael away. We serve a mighty and awesome God!! Please continue to pray that He would make our paths straight and we would know the directions that He wants us to go. For now we are taking one step at a time towards the goals he seems to have set in front of us, and we await His directions and ask him to securely close any doors that we're not supposed to walk through.

I love being in the fold of what God has for us. It's so exciting to see what His plans are and to know very clearly that He is working in, around, and through us on a regular basis.

Many people (who knew that Mike was leaving) have asked who is coming to stay with me while he's gone. Well... no one. Not because there's no one that would come. Not because people hadn't offered to help. But because I knew this was going to be an exceptionally special time for me and the kids to have so much 'down time' and flexibility in what we do! We had 4 days home before the kids went back to school then 4 days of school and now we're back to another weekend. And we have had a BALL! We've explored all the kids' Christmas presents, played their new games and old games, we've done tumbling on the porch mats, we've been to the zoo, we met up with two different friends traveling through, and then the unexpected- we were in a high speed car accident, a trip to the collision center, a doctor's visit, a pharmacy trip, and those lovely 2am wake-up calls since Micah's not feeling well.

I have enjoyed this time with the kids! And I can't wait for Michael to be back home too :) Just the difference in routine was enough for it to feel 'different' around here and I've used that to be able to do some things differently than we 'normally' do.

It's been a time where I've enjoyed the kids and while they're awake and going I've been able to be right in there with them. And when they're sleeping... I've been pretty busy making lunches, getting out 6 layers of clothes for each of them, getting shoes and backpacks and jackets ready for the next day, cleaning up the rooms that had been 'attacked' during the day, doing laundry, dishes, and putting them away, and of course keeping up with my Reece's Rainbow families and enjoying a little "social" time for myself with them :).

My parents and Michael's have helped where we needed it- they came to Give Kids the World with me and were a GREAT help which let me really be able to enjoy the trip and have a nice time getting to know the family that was visiting. Mike's mom came for Emma's therapy appointment yesterday, which I ended up canceling since Micah was so sick. Instead she brought Kristopher to her house for a playdate then picked up my pizza order :). That night my mom came after the kids were in bed so I could run to the pharmacy and pick up Micah's meds and probiotics. And yesterday my mom did the drop off/pickup for Emma and Kristopher for school so I didn't have to get all 5 kids out the door for 2 of them to stay. All of that was much appreciated! And those little helps here and there have made the week go much smoother. So many others have offered help, and maybe in a week we'll take someone up on an evening of babysitting so Mike and I can have another night out :)

Keep those prayers coming... we appreciate them so much! And this isn't a "short road" that we're traveling. God is laying out plans for months, maybe years, in our midst and we are excited to see Him moving! As always, when we really know what those plans are... we will share :D