Jehovah Jireh our Provider - Ever Faithful

Testimony:

Over 3months ago - Justin did a job (took almost 2months to complete) for someone that was refusing to pay. At the time that Justin took the job - it was supposed to be profitable enough to almost get us out of debt (which was HUGE). However, the customer refused to pay anything. So not only did we not get out of debt, but we accrued even more credit debt on the expenses on the job, & lost 2mo of income (therefore creating more cc debt for our living expenses). We basically gave up on getting any payment.

A few weeks ago at church, I was reminded that, "ye have not because ye ask not..." So, I specifically began to pray that God would soften this guys heart to pay "something" for the work that he had done & that he would even pay more than just the expenses...

Then - yesterday the customer actually (finally) "paid" us. It was less than HALF of what he had agreed to pay, but still a HUGE blessing! It was enough to reimburse the expenses & pay a little bit extra towards our balance - bonus (& just what I asked for!).

It came at such a perfect time - we were REALLY needing it to be able to make payments/living expenses. God is so good & He isn't afraid to test us - to make us trust Him more...His timing is perfect. :)

Olivia Update! :)

I realized after my last post - that I did a full update on the status of our renovation, but didn't update a thing our our little Sweetie Bug - Olivia. :)

I have been reticent to "brag too much" about her. Afraid of what other people/moms would think... But I finally decided "Why not? Most other moms do it. It's just a way of expressing how much I love her" So, here goes:

She is a constant source of joy (like her middle name) & laughter to us. It's so amazing to watch her grow & develop. It's exciting & sad all at the same time. :) I couldn't be prouder of her. I am fascinated watching her little mind work & figure things out.

She has been doing the army crawl for about a month now. I figured she wouldn't ever actually crawl. She proved me wrong. Two days ago - the whole "crawling" thing FINALLY clicked with her & now she is everywhere! It's so cute/neat to see her go. I've been used to her getting around, but the army crawl wouldn't have her winning any races. :) Now she gets from one room to the next so quickly.

She also likes to pull herself up on EVERYTHING & stand. So with the developments in this week, I wouldn't be surprised if she is walking or almost by Thanksgiving - Christmas for sure!

I look at & watch her every day, & my heart swells with love for her. She is so precious, sweet, (and in my opinion as her Mommy) the cutest/most beautiful little girl there is! (there, I said it). :)

Her 3rd tooth (top) came through while we were in Disney. Now her 4th (also top) is coming through. Her smile is simply adorable now (although I must admit to missing her toothless/gummy smile too).

She also - officially - has a 3rd word in her vocabulary (aside from the constant baby jabbering that she says all day). Her first word was Da-da (Daddy). Her second word was Bah-ba (Bottle). & now her third word is Ma-ma (Mamma)!!! So excited! I've been waiting almost 9mo to hear my baby ask for me by name...it's thrilling. (yes, I will now hear it for the rest of my life, but that makes me so happy). :)

Children truly are such a blessing! We couldn't be happier with her.

Well, I gotta get back to folding laundry. Olivia has been "helping me" and the basket is now empty....as well as her onesie bin, sweater bin, & skirt bin - ALL the contents of aforementioned baskets are strewn across the living room floor. :)

Some Early Autumn Musings...

Well - Olivia is now almost 9mo & we still don't have her moved into her nursery. :) But - we have gotten a lot of stuff done to the house still (it is just a slow moving project)

Since June - we've ripped up all the carpet in the upstairs, gotten the Olivia's room finished painted & decorated, the border torn out of the front room, the front room finished (primed & painted), & completely torn out the downstairs bathroom. We've decided to carpet Olivia's room, the hallway/landing, & stairs - the rest of the floors are in good enough condition we will leave them hardwood - as is.

So, all that's left to finish the upstairs & move in up there & finally be able to spread out: get rid of all the trash (carpet, pads, border, etc...), set-up our walk-in closet & guest area in the front room, carpet Olivia's room, the hallway, landing, & stairs, empty out our bedroom of all the stored furniture & extra boxes, & paint our room. Once all that is finished, then we can move us & Olivia into our bedrooms upstairs & set-up the office/media room downstairs!

My brother is coming home for Christmas & will be staying with us. So we have incentive - we need to have the above mentioned finished by then. (my personal goal it to have done - or a large majority there-of - by Thanksgiving. Because I want to properly decorate my house for Christmas this year) :)

The other projects that also need completed before winter is: Insulate the house, & finish re-roofing the front half of the house. We also need to put in the new 1/2 bath downstairs, install the kitchen floor, & install the extra counter-tops & cupboards in the kitchen! No Sweat - right! :) So, Lord Willing, we will get all of these "little projects" done in time for us to sell & move out of here! :)

So - aside from all the work being done around here - we still managed to have so fun & slip away on a small Family Vacation - one we DESPERATELY needed! :) We went to Disney World for 5 days. It was Olivia's first travel/plane trip/vacation - and she did GREAT! She was a little Angel. It was so wonderful to have a few days to spend it with JUST my Husband & Olivia. Justin has been working so hard lately we've hardly been able to see him. So 5 whole days together - I dont know who was more excited: Myself, Olivia, or Justin! :) We were even able to celebrate our 1yr Anniversary (7mo late) by going on a date to Cirque de Soleil La Nouba & finished of the evening watching the Wishes Fireworks over Cinderella's Castle...(a place where dreams really do come true). :)

Since we got home - Justin had to hit work hard again... As much as I miss him - I am SO proud of him. He has such a strong work ethic & is always doing his absolute best to provide for myself & Olivia. I believe a truly "Spiritual Man of God" follows the most basic principals of God - wherein God called man to be the Head/Leader of the Home & to be the Provider for his family (after-all how can you build any structure without a strong foundation first?) . Justin does just that - always willing to do WHATEVER it takes. I can't begin to say what a wonderful man/husband/daddy he is. I thank God for him every day - for putting him in my life. He truly is a man after God's own heart - always self-sacrificing, putting others first, willing to help others, hard working to provide for his family, loving, considerate, kind, sweet, supportive & always puts a Smile on my face, a Song in my heart, & fills me with Laughter - I am SO blessed! :)

Well, this has gotten to be a long post again & I have ironing & cleaning to get back to... So enjoy this Fall weather & I will continue to try to keep this blog updated. :) God Bless...

Overdue Update...Counting my Blessings...

Wow - I always forget I even have this blog. Oops. I'm sure everyone else does too. :) Just checked on it...haven't updated since '09. That has been waaay too long. My life is for sure WAY different now.

Since then - I got engaged, married the love of my life & best friend, bought a house, & had the most adorable baby girl ever - Olivia Joy! (that is the last year 1/2 in a very short nutshell.) It has certainly been the greatest adventure of my life so far. :)

When we first got married we rented in a little one bedroom farmhouse...however - as soon as we found out we were expecting - we started the house search. After a loooong journey of looking, making offers, etc...we Finally bought a home (excellent $ - but a "fixer-upper" investment)...

From closing - we had 6wks to pretty much get it fixed up/livable - rebuild the back porch, rip out all downstairs carpet, sand & stain/finish the wood floors, completely re-plumb the entire house, completely renovate the upstairs bathroom, & paint the downstairs. My due date was 6 1/2 wks away... Needless to say - we moved into a partially finished house (just the downstairs of a 2-story home) 3 days before my due date. I went 7days past my due date - so that gave me 10 days to try to settle/unpack a bit into the house - although it was a challenge as the entire upstairs was filled w/ boxes and & all of our furniture was squished into the dining room w/ a small pathway into the kitchen. (there really much I could do)

Its a 4-bedroom, 1.5 bath - when we moved in it was into the following rooms: the kitchen (w/no floor), dining room, and 1bedroom (which will eventually be the office but for now is our bedroom/nursery). At the time we had a 1/2 bath downstairs & a shower only upstairs. Since then we have finished the upstairs bathroom, finished/expanded into the living room, painted the foyer, gotten drapes hung, built railings in front & back porches, replaced 1/2 the roof, etc...

I am slowly working on trying to help w/ what I can around taking care of a new baby....Next big project goals (for me) - finish upstairs bedrooms (border removal, paint, pull up carpet, refinish hardwood floors, etc...). My goal it to be able to move the baby into her nursery by her 6mo birthday. It may not seem that big of a deal, but it all takes time... :)

Aside from all the above mentioned stuff - I have the joy of being a stay at home Mommy for my beautiful baby girl! I am so very blessed! She is such a joy to us and we love watching her grow. She is a full time job right there (plus trying to finish a house) - so I keep WAY busy. :)

Olivia is going to be 5mo next week - I can hardly believe how quickly the time goes. She is certainly our bundle of joy! Always so full of smiles, giggles & loves to "talk". She is rarely fussy - except sometimes at bedtime when she is just sooooo tired. She has been sleeping through the night since about 6wks old. I am SO blessed.

She started rolling over on her 4mo birthday. She is always on the go & moving...so when she starts to crawl/walk - my hands will be really full. :) She LOVES her cereal too - thinks she's really big stuff. :)

Well, speaking of her - she is hungry & I need to feed her (she's been a little angel sitting in her swing as I type). But she needs me now - so I must go.

Maybe I will update sooner next time. :) I truly am SO VERY blessed - with the best husband/daddy ever (Justin is so good/helpful with Olivia - she LOVES her Daddy). When I sit & count my blessings - I lose count... :)