Please fasten your seatbelts...

Hello long-lost blogging friends of mine. Ive missed you.

Amidst my house packing, u-haul driving, job changing, toddler raising, baby #3 cooking ways, Ive neglected you, and for that I am very sorry.

Not as sorry as the tons of e-mail and facebook messages I have received from all of you, my lovely readers, wondering what on earth has happened to me. Never fear, however, this family is trudging forward amidst the chaos that seems to be circling amidst us.

We are currently living at my in-laws, who have graciously opened their arms for us to come and stay as long as we need it. It might be more of an interesting story to say we are roughing it all packed into one bedroom, but I would be lying. They have a more than large enough house to accommodate all of us. Each of the girls have their own room, Ben and I live in the upstairs (all by ourselves!) and there is even one more open room for visiting guests. While it is not a permanent plan for us, and while its not a home of our own - I can think of no better place to be during this transition period for us.

Wondering about the job hunt.....?

Me too.

Amazingly enough, God continues to astound me everyday. Even though He is the God of the universe, I still can't believe He does the little things for me everyday. You know, those things I was convinced He would need MY help with. Sometimes I wonder if Gabriel and his buddy angels sit around with a big bowl of popcorn watching the latest Meredith comic sitcom. It would be entitled, "Good grief, when is this girl going to get it." God really is amazing - despite my efforts to butt in.

Ben has applied at several places of which I would love to go into great detail as to their progress, but unfortunately, I can't. Give me about three weeks, and I will update you all on every specific happening that our amazing Savior is doing for this family. Keep us in your prayers, though. It can be discouraging for any man to be out of the work he feels the Lord has called him to. Sometimes, I will catch Ben in the middle of a group of random teenage boys in the mall, just talking about football, or he will spend an entire afternoon setting up a 50 foot slip-in-slide made out of tarp for the neighbor's 17th birthday, and he is even visiting local youth programs just to "see whats going on." The boy definitely has a calling and God is using his ministry in unconventional ways. And I love him for it.

And how about those adorable munchkins, you ask?

Ellie Kate is doing fabulous. She and Peyton both attend a learning center here twice a week for preschool children and they are learning massive amounts of things. The other day, Ellie Kate came home singing the B-I-B-L-E and saying the pledge of allegiance. I had to have her repeat it just to make sure I hadn't hallucinated for a brief moment. She is getting very excited about the arrival of her new little brother and remains a fabulous big sister to Peyton. She is having minor adjustment issues that I assume are very typical. She is having her "teachable" moments a little more often and still asks about going home. She loves living with Mimi and Papa though, and I have a feeling they don't mind much either. The other day when Mommy and Daddy both said no to something, she went to ask Mimi. Mimi quickly said, "Ellie Kate, what did your mom and dad say?" To which Ellie Kate replied, "I want to call Granny Billy," who is Mimi's best friend and ultimate pushover for anything my two year old says. And who says children don't know the different between right and wrong until they are 4. Sheesh!

Peyton is, well....shes still Peyton. Spunky. Dramatic. Cuddly. And Hilarious. She makes me laugh every single day. She is walking all over this house, but gets frustrated because she still wobbles. She also loves the learning center and is thriving. She loves her teachers, who are working with her on music, sensory skills, and being without mommy - something she has never done. Its only twice a week though, and she is doing great.

I promise to post pictures of both very soon. Well, as soon as I unpack my digital camera.

Baby Livingston is doing great. He is by far the most active child I have ever had in my belly. He keeps me up sometimes at night, but better now than in three months. Yep, only three more months. Thanksgiving to be exact. We will be using my same midwife that I had originally planned on using, which means I will head down to our old stomping ground two week prior to my due date. I hope I won't have to spend Thanksgiving without my family, but if so, I have enough family there to keep me occupied.

Ben and I and the girls are headed to visit my folks in Missouri for a few days. They are some of Ben and I's ministry mentors and we are looking forward to late night talks about what is next for our family. Not to mention some great cooking and football watching that we are also looking forward to.

SO there it is, us in a nutshell. Sorry it has taken so long to update all of you on our happenings. God is great and worthy of all our praise and we are more than happy to give it to Him. Keep us in your prayers, and I promise to update some pics soon.

I missed you all. Its good to be back!