8 months...

8 months. Wow, each month it's getting harder and harder for me to believe that Sydney is growing SO fast. She's now pulling herself up on anything she can, doing a little dance move which is basically just shaking her head (but it's the cutest thing ever), and squealing in a high pitched tone. I'm trying to get video of stuff, but uh, I'm a little preoccupied at the moment...those to come later :) Poor Syd has been sick the last couple days...we're hoping we can get rid of the nasty cold before we hit the road.

8 months old!!

Syd in motion...
Syd probably trying to tell us that she's sick and doesn't want her picture taken....
...but she was a good sport anyway
this is the poor Syd we've seen the last couple days...if she's not crying, she's been totally zoned out
she LOVES all the boxes to pull up on...

And Josh and I...well, we're spending our time packing, packing, and more packing. I've never minded packing and last week I felt pretty confident about the progress we were making. Yesterday the stress hit me and all I want to do is sleep. Aren't there little fairies that can come pack up all my things, fly them to Clinton, SC, and then unpack them?? I can only dream. We head out on Wednesday early in the morning and will make it to Clinton sometime Thursday evening. I'm excited, but still a bit nervous. And sad...leaving Siloam is going to be hard. I've already shed a lot of tears and I'm sure there will be a lot more to come. BUT...in all of this I do know that God is directing our path right now, I feel confident in that. So that makes all the stress, anxiety, and exhaustion a little easier to bear :)

moving across the country...again.

So...as some of you know we've been in a "transitional" place for a while now as we've been fixing up our house and preparing for whatever was next. Well, the house is on the market (not sold yet, so if you know of anyone looking... :) and we are going to make a move.

In two weeks we will be moving to South Carolina to be Family Teachers for middle school age boys!! This has happened quickly and unexpectedly, and has most definitely been a plan of God's because there is no other way to explain how this has all come together. We started talking about doing this type of ministry/job about a year ago and have been picking our friend's brains (Mike and Bethany Collins, who currently work there) for months about what this job is, what it looks like daily, and if this is something we could do. We decided that it wasn't what we wanted to do at the moment and began to pursue Mars Hill. Slowly our Seattle plans began to fall through and one night we had a long conversation with many realizations and/or revelations that we should be on a different track and should seriously reconsider the Family Teacher position. So, to make a long story short...we set up an interview at Thornwell in Clinton, South Carolina (where two couples we know from Taylor currently work, the Collins and the Smiths) on the way home from our mid-west vacation to visit family. We went with the intention of just checking it out and with the understanding that there wasn't a position available. Well, we were surprised to say the least. We were so impressed with Thornwell and the people there and felt a peace that there was something there for us. Before we left, we were offered a position and after taking the weekend to think and pray about it we just accepted it yesterday.

So what does this mean? It means we'll be living with up to 8 (but starting with 3) middle school boys for 9 days and then we'll have 5 days off. We'll basically be like house parents but also more like teachers in some ways. It's a ministry, for sure and we're so excited for it. We'll both be employed there full time, while being able to be home full-time with Sydney too! This type of ministry has defintely been on our hearts for a long time...in one form or another...and we're excited to kind of get back to our roots in a way. You can check out Thornwell's website for more info on it: www.thornwell.org

Please pray with us that our house will sell quickly! We know God's hand is in the details of this move because we needed Josh's truck to sell before we left and it sold today, within 2 hours of it being for sale....maybe He'll do that for the house too? :) We can hope!

It will be hard to leave Siloam...it has become home to us. BUT, we are excited for the adventure before us and God has shown us that he is clearly in these plans....what's better than that?

our recent travels...

Well, we had a fantastic time with friends and family on our trip. It was so good to see all of you! We miss you all already :( Below are pictures of the trip. And I must say that I totally sucked as a photographer this trip...it was either our camera wasn't working or I forgot to take pictures or the batteries died....whatever the case I didn't take very many pictures so I apologize :( BUT, here are the ones I did take....

AND, we have some pretty major news. We're moving. again. Details on that to come very soon :)

traveling...

Sorry for the lack of updates. Josh and I just spent a week in Muncie, IN visiting my family and a few friends. We had such a good time and made some fun memories....pictures to come (just a few, I was a picture slacker this trip) We're now in Columbus, OH at Josh's brother Dave and our sister in law Kim's house enjoying time with them and their girls...and then onward to PA to see the rest of the Boozell clan. We'll be heading back to Siloam on the 14th or 15th as we are going to make another stop in South Carolina to check out a possible job prospect...more on that to come.

So more details and pics to look forward to in the coming days :)