Kicking Off 2014

2014 is in full speed and we are still working on unpacking and decorating (and will be for awhile). Our house is already starting to feel like "home" though and we LOVE the location. The commute to our girl's school is less than 5 minutes (far better than the almost 25 minutes each way that it used to be!). We have wonderful neighbors with several kids and the Little Miss really enjoys playing with her new friends. We also like the big trees, especially after having lived in a neighborhood without a lot of them. We did however have a few flying branches during the big windstorm last weekend.



View from the front of our house...lots of trees!

We celebrated Papa's (my dad) 70th birthday with a surprise party last week. We had a terrific time with family and also got to reconnect with an old friend (Tom) and his family who we hadn't seen in years. Tom was like an uncle to my brother and I when we were growing up and often joined our family on fishing and hunting vacations. I had not seen Tom since I graduated from high school (a LONG time ago). Thanks to Google for helping us track him down!

"Old" friends reunited: Tom (far left), Uncle Jim, and Papa

Finally, Mr. Wagner and his brother turned another year older this week as well. I won't get specific on their age but suffice it to say, they are advancing. I sure do love my Mr. Wagner and have to say, he just keeps getting more handsome every year. I am so thankful God chose me to be his Mrs...I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father for our little girl.

Wrapping Up 2013

We hope you enjoyed your Christmas and New Year celebrations. Things have been busy around here with moving and unpacking (and LOTS more to do!) but we did manage to fit in some quality time with family and friends to celebrate the season and birth of our Savior. Here are a few iPhone pics to wrap up 2013 (I haven't found the box packed with our good camera yet):

The Little Miss and her BFF at their school Christmas Program. Love how they ended up matching!

Moving Day...it took THREE trips. Thankfully our new home was just across town!

Enjoying Christmas in our new home...the tree never did make it up this year

We enjoyed a girls outing to see the Nutcracker with Nana

The Little Miss had to dress her doll in her new holiday outfit to take to Christmas Eve service (thanks Joani!)

We have been taking advantage of our new neighborhood access to hiking trails and have already
enjoyed several hikes with friends and family

Moving On

Just a quick update...we are officially "renters" in our current house though we did sign the papers on our new house this week! We are now busy packing and prepping for our upcoming move. This is definitely a reminder that God's timing is not necessarily the same as what our timing would be...but we are soooo thankful that He has been faithful to work out all of the details right when they need to happen!

Home Sweet Home

It's official...we sold our house! We accepted an offer the third week of October, almost exactly 6 months to the day that we listed it. The buyers signed the papers today and it is supposed to close next week. It was a long process but God was definitely at work and orchestrated a great ending! While we had a couple of offers prior, they weren't even worth considering. Finally, one morning we had an offer come in that was reasonable so we met with our realtor to prepare a counter offer. Literally minutes after we left his office and right before his assistant faxed our counter offer, we got a call from a new agent who said we would be getting another offer that day! After SIX (very long) months of waiting, we had two competing offers! At that point our realtor didn't yet know the details of the 2nd offer but he was able to tell them we had another offer on the table so they knew it needed to be competitive. God put the final "stamp" of approval on the whole thing by laying a specific amount on my heart to pray for. Just seconds after I finished praying and asking for that specific amount, our realtor called and shared the details of the 2nd offer. Guess what?! Same exact amount that God laid on my heart to pray! Don't you just love when He works in a way that makes it so obvious that it was HIM all along?! That confirmation alone was well worth the wait!

The buyers did agree to let us rent back until we could find another house. Just one week after we accepted the offer, we found a great house to buy and had an offer accepted on that house. We are now just waiting for the appraisal on the new house and expect to hear back in the next few days. Praying that goes well! If it does, we will be moving the weekend before Christmas. Moving during the holidays is not exactly what the "planner" in me would have planned but with God, all things are possible!

Fall Fun with "Family" Friends

As you can tell by the title of this post, I'm not feeling all that creative as I sit here typing this. It does capture the feeling well though. We love going to the pumpkin patch each year with our "pretty much like family" friends. Fun times with the Curtis and Booth families!

This morning the Little Miss asked Mr. Wagner, "Why are you wearing THAT shirt?"...

thinking she should have asked more about the hat

 

Love these girls!

Mr. Wagner likes to make fun of my new muck boots...I think they are stylin'

"Old" friends

We tried to get a pic of all the kiddos but they were pretty much all outtakes.
Those are some cute kids though!

Flips, Flying and Fun!

We celebrated our girl's 7th birthday with family and friends doing flips, flying and having fun! OK, so it was mostly the kids doing the flipping but children and adults alike enjoyed the party at our local gymnastics gym. The Little Miss chose the venue and had a terrific time playing with her friends on the beams, bars, trampoline, foam pit and vault. Fun times!

Blooming

Dear Little Miss,

It amazes me to think that you turned 7 years old today. Wow. You are becoming quite the young lady. A true blessing to your parents and so many others. Your kind heart, joyful spirit, desire to be right yet strong dislike of being in trouble (a trait your parents sure do appreciate and hope carries on into your teen years!), your contagious laughter and beautiful smile...you shine the light of Christ to everyone around you.

As I think back on the first day that you entered this earth 7 years ago, I am overwhelmed. It used to be that I was overwhelmed with questions of "why?" and feelings of failure and grief because both your parents missed out on your first moments (I was "sleeping" at the time and your daddy was driving like a mad man to race from work to the hospital which was several hours away). It took me your first few birthdays to not be overwhelmed with reminders of those trials.

Today, on your 7th birthday, my heart was not overwhelmed with those thoughts. They came to mind some but much less so. Today, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness to be able to hold our precious 7 year-old beauty in my arms. To be your mommy. To stand beside you in church and worship Jesus together. To finally feel like God made even those first moments precious. Moments that I wouldn't trade or do differently. Moments that years down the road, will make you even stronger.

You, My Girl, had to be a fighter from your first breath. You didn't give up. Most of all, GOD didn't give up on you. He has amazing plans in store for you Sweet Child. Plans that I am excited to get to be a part of. I am honored to watch you bloom.

I love you more than words can say, forever and forever.

Mama

Photo courtesy of the amazing Joani Curtis