Gearing Up for the Renovation . . .

On our first day off from house building, we

devoted the first few hours to clearing out

the storage unit. Thankfully, we are almost

75% done!! We spent the rest of the day

super excited about our renovation project!!!

We are getting all of our fun ideas and

thoughts together . . .

. . . and putting together our color

palette. I must say that this crew

recovers rather quickly and are up to

the new challenge. We are praying

that our new home closes within the

next couple of weeks. As soon as it

does, the painters will repaint the entire

home and then lovely hickory wood

flooring will be laid in each and every

room!! Yessiree, I love it when God

pulls a plan together. We are so

counting the moments until we can

be home, home, home with our friends

and family!!! Las Vegas, ready or not,

here we come!!

Movin' On.

We.did.it. For the first time in our

married life, Mike and I actually BOUGHT

a home!!! Crazy, I know, but we are

really excited about the amazing home

that God has orchestrated for us in

fabulous Las Vegas!! The home is

beautiful and will fit our family absolutely

perfectly. We are super excited to

renovate it just a wee bit and move

right on in!! We are having a blast

picking out new wood flooring and

brand new paint colors for the walls!!

Yep, we have a brand new project . . .

We are most definitely excited!

Sold.

It seems like f-o-r-e-v-e-r ago when our

house project was at this stage . . .

ages ago . . . Oh, my. So much has

changed since then, it is difficult to

grasp. The Lord was gracious to sell

the home that we built. Actually, the

finishing touches are still drying, but

we know that it is best to return

home to Las Vegas to be with our

friends and family. We are actually

very excited and thankful that there

are many who are willing and able

to assist us during our time of need.

We are excited for the new home that

we have recently purchased, but did

not build. This will be the first home

that we have ever lived in that we did

not design and build. Yet, we are still

so excited and grateful that the Lord

has provided an amazing home for us

exactly where we were looking to

purchase a home.

Although change is difficult, we are

excited to see what He does and are

confident that we are marching in the

right direction. During the weeks to

come, the boys will be putting the

finishing touches on their school

projects, Sam will complete his season

on the golf team, and Zach will apply to

UNLV to complete his studies.

Exciting times ahead for our crew!

Changes.

There's no place like home. There's no place

like home. There's no place like home.

We are thankful that we have such a

wonderful support team of family and

friends in Las Vegas!! If we could click our

heels together, we would be there in a

jiffy. God is certainly stretching us in

ways that we.could.have.never.imagined!

We are excited for:

*flipflops and shorts, all year long.

*Sunday family dinners

*105* plus weather!

*SETTLING DOWN!!

*yogurt runs

*golf year round

*hugs and support from family

and friends . . . pretty cool!

*Nordstroms rack

*working on my dissertation,

all day long!

*Mom/daughter days!

*Cards and crafts with friends

*Church

*Old friends and making new

friends

*homeschooling with the windows

open

Stuff!

Holy.smoke! Between caring for our Dads,

packing and unpacking boxes, running to the

dumpster, finishing the house project, heading

to the storage, and writing a dissertation, there

really is not.much.spare.time. Mike did have

a teeeee-rific idea and now that we are almost

done, we think he had a good one. We went

through every single box that we carted to

Reno, decided if we wanted it or if it was

trash, and repacked it. Let me tell you . . .

this was QUITE the project. It was hard to

believe all of the JUNK that we hauled here.

The boys and I have had fun going through

all of the *&^% that we brought here. Just

to let you know how much there was . . . we

have completely filled up a 20-yard

dumpster. Did anyone say HOARDERS?

Tomorrow, it is up early . . . hit the

storage unit and dig, dig, dig into those

precious boxes!?!

Hoxsey Treatment.

Mike began the Hoxsey Treatment

in combination accelerated doses

of oral chemotherapy as well as other

homeopathic treatment methods. We

are praying that God performs a miracle

to heal him. It was a wonderful evening

as we met with our worship pastor and

his family who, only six short years ago,

cared for their mother as she prepared

to enter into God's glory. It was an

awesome experience to listen to this

family and to hear over and over again

how God has worked miraculously in their

lives through the death of their wife and

mother.

I think that God makes us numb for a

while when such a shock hits our

system. I am grateful that He does this

as it dulls the pain. We are excited to

support Mike as he battles this dreadful

disease, but also to witness God's

power through this situation.

I know that God is in control, does not

make mistakes, and I choose to

embrace this knowledge through this

experience. I know that God does not

change, but our circumstances might and

that I must accept trials and tribulations

as well as triumph and joy. I am grateful

for a loving Heavenly Father and for the

personal relationship that I share with

Him through his son Jesus Christ.

Stuff!

We have been spending a ton of time

here this past week repacking and

throwing away TONS of items that

we.just.do.not.need. It is crazy, but you

pack things to move and live without

them for nearly 18 months . . . Do we

really need that stuff?!? We rented a

HUGE 20 yard dumpster and placed

it on the Somersett property. We have

actually gone through each and every

box and either kept the really important

items or trashed or donated the items

that are unnecessary. I so cannot believe

that we have carted so much junk from

place it place. I am getting so excited

for the BIG MOVE and cannot wait to

FINALLY be settled in our own

little home . . .