Alive and Kicking

Hello to all you blog friends out there.  I feel like I've been a horribly rotten friend.  I haven't written.  I haven't commented or even had many moments to read many of your blogs like I want.  That doesn't mean I haven't thought of you and your families and wondered what you're all up to. 

Bird and I continue to be in awe of our blessings.  As you probably guessed, the girls are keeping us more than a little busy with their activities and interests.  Nevaeh is thriving in the first grade and has added a weekly art class to her routine.  She LOVES art and being creative.  Scott and I are constantly amazed at the concepts she's learning and applying.  Heck, she's even able to teach us how to draw what she's learned when she gets home.  I pray she will use her gifts of creativity and teaching throughout her life.  She continues to adore her baby sister though there have been tiny glimpses of sibling battles on the horizon. 

Lily is on the move and wants to do EVERYTHING her big sister does though her attempts to follow suit are usually more destructive than "helpful".  I'm so proud of Nevaeh though.  She'll say, "Liiiiilleeeee!" in a frustrated sing song voice but she doesn't yell or get mad.  In fact, she normally tries to explain to Lily why she can't or shouldn't have done something.  I pray she continues to be this patient, understanding, helpful and loving with her as they grow.

In one week's time Lily had her front top 4 teeth come down.  She wasn't miserable but she wasn't her usual happy self either.  Since they've made their appearance she's decided she needs to test them on everything, my arm, the dogs, Nevaeh, dad, the furniture and anything else she can get her hands on.  She'll be 10 months old next week and she's walking along furniture and starting to learn to climb and reach up higher and higher.  This means my days are spent chasing her and preventing her from harming herself too badly while allowing her to learn a little from life experiences too.  She's waving hello and good-bye.  She's signing milk and more.  She also says, momma, Dada, baba and I could swear she said, "Yaya" for the first time yesterday.  She's great at imitating noises and sounds.  This morning when I gave her her toothbrush and said, "toothbrush" I could've sworn she said it right back to me clear as day.  The biggest news is we have our official court or family date set.  Lily will officially become one of us on Nov. 19th PRAISE GOD!

Our tenants in Vegas are moving out of our home Nov. 2nd which means we'll be paying for that mortgage again.  We are in the process of trying to sell it but until that is finalized we now have 2 mortgages to pay each month.  If that weren't enough, a few weeks ago our landlord dropped by to tell us she needs her home back for her daughter to live in.  This means we'll have the added expense of moving soon too.  We've begun purging our home and packing boxes of things we don't need or use on a daily basis.  We donated 7 boxes and bags of clothes and household items last week to a local program for homeless youth. 

We've also begun looking for a new home which isn't very easy this time around.  This will be our first move without the assistance of the military.  That fact alone causes added stress and worry.  Life was so much "easier" when someone told us what to do and where to go then helped make it happen. 

Of course I have a million family photos from our recent adventures I would love to share.  Unfortunately, I've used all my free available space here on my blog.  Until life settles down and our expenses decrease I'll have to be OK with simply journaling our life.

I pray you are all well and your families are thriving.
Sincerely,
Frizzy