most memorable vacation ever...

Well, our beach vacation this year was certainly the most memorable vacation I've ever had, AND one I will never forget! Annie Rice was so excited to go the beach...She still had a great time, but I wish she could have at least PLAYED on the beach! Yep, we spent the whole week AT the beach, but not on the beach. We didn't even get to walk on the beach because the weather was so cold, nasty, and rainy, AND WE ALL got the stomach bug. Not just any stomach bug...Some got the 5 day bug, some got the 24hr bug, and some got the 36 hr bug. I bought 2 beach buckets on Monday, and unfortunately, everyone used them this week for throw up buckets;( It's probably the first vacation, where I came back with only 1 load of laundry, because we didn't get to wear any clothes we took. BUT despite the challenges, we did still have a good time even if we did stay at home on the couch most of the time:) I was reminded of this verse all week...

Proverbs 16:9 "We can plan our steps, but the LORD determines our steps."(LTV)

 We attempted the beach...but didn't make it but after the wind storm. These pictures tell you how bad the wind was. 

crazy Friday...

Well, this week has proven to be a crazy one! We spent all week cleaning the house like crazy people to get ready for a 60th surprise birthday party for my mom! It forced me to finish unpacking and finally put everything in it's place. Thursday night after the party, we took a deep breath, thinking the craziness of the week was OVER...We were WRONG! Let me set the scene...

Friday morning, my parents took the girls along with our van to town, while Kaz and I went to the closing of our new house! After the closing[SO EXCITING by the way], I called my dad to see where they wanted to meet...What he said to me was a bunch of mumble, and I could tell he was nervous and something wasn't right. He told me to get to Wal-Mart as fast as I could, that my van was in the middle of the parking lot, and he wasn't sure if he put it in P. When we pulled up to the scene, I wasn't sure exactly what happened...I couldn't figure out why my car was in the middle of the lane, and not in a parking spot. We found out that, a lady pulled in front of the van[while it was in park AND in a parking spot] and instead of hitting the brake, she hit the gas...She hit the gas so hard, it pushed the van all the way back into the driving lane, causing her to come through our previous parking spot. A good 25-30 feet that the van was pushed..THANKFULLY, no one was in the car OR AROUND the car. It could have been a even worse scene than it was. We definitely have a lot to be thankful for! There is a lot of damage, but it can be repaired or replaced! I felt so bad for the lady who was responsible, because it was an accident, and I knew she was shaken up. Here's the catch: We are leaving for a week long vacation in the morning, so we knew we needed to get a rental vehicle fast. Being a small town, the rental company only had a truck, but thankfully there was a SUV in Florence that we could get. Yesterday was a crazy day, BUT the Lord's blessing continued to rain down on us, even in a bad situation. I can't believe I wasn't upset...I really wasn't. I was THANKFUL. 

The good news, we now own a house:) We are so blessed!

Now, we are off for a week of vacation. No emails or blogging for me this next week. I'm spending as much time with family as I can! 

these 2 girls of mine...

These are a few of my favorite videos from the past few weeks...

Maggie starting to army crawl..although, that only lasted about 2 days before the full on crawling started! Annie Rice was watching Princess Poppiseed[VeggieTales] in the background.

This was a BIG moment for Annie Rice. It was her Easter party at school...BUT what's so big about it is her JUMPING! We worked on her jumping in therapy for a good 3-4 months and she can finally do it! 

 Princess Annie Rice playing soccer. She set Kaz straight and told him that in soccer "We use our hands". Ha! 

One of my favorites. Annie Rice singing(yelling) Hosana! One of her favorite songs! 

the last few weeks...

Life just hasn't slowed down...I THINK, I'm finally almost settled in and getting used to "normal daily" routines. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! I've felt like all I've been doing is unpacking, cleaning, laundry, changing diapers, making bottles, sleeping, and repeat. 

These 2 girls of mine are growing entirely TOO FAST! I can't even believe that Maggie is almost 7 months old and Annie Rice will be 3 soon! Maggie started crawling a few weeks ago and hasn't stopped! She's getting into everything! Our first project at the new house was going to be the kitchen, but because she is full on crawling, we had to change that to built ins in the living room to hide all the cords! Annie Rice is learning so much every day! We pray over the girls at night for their future, relationship with the Lord, future husbands, etc...We constantly pray that these girls will come to know the Lord at an early age. Lately, Annie Rice has asked to hear about Jesus. Melts my heart every time. I'm so thankful for these opportunities to share more and more with her, and pray that continues. They are both such a blessing! 

We are going on vacation next week to the beach for a week, and I can't wait! Annie Rice has been asking for the last 2 months if today is the day we are going to beach! She will be so excited when she ask that question and I actually say yes to it! 

Here's a few pictures from the past few weeks as my way of "catching up".

 We love being right across from the lake! 

 Visiting our 2 favorite men at the nursing home...Mr Billy and Mr AP. 

 Annie Rice loves being so close to her 2 cousins. 

 Kaz working on the built ins. 

 We love lunch dates with aunt Chris and uncle Ryan. 

 Annie Rice went skating for the first time this past weekend! The skating rink was my favorite place growing up! 

 Maggie has 2 front teeth coming in! 

 This one will eat anything and everything! She wants to eat so much baby food, our pediatrician told me to cut her formula intake in half and give her as much baby food as she will eat! She LOVES to eat! 

the Lord has been working...

 After Kaz applied for his now current job with Duke, we had to wait awhile before hearing if he would get the job. In the beginning, I really had a peace about it all, but then I got very impatient and just wanted to know what was going to happen...my reasoning was because 1) we needed to sell our house and 2) we need to find a new place to live in Hartsville. Originally, after he applied for the job, we were told it wouldn't start until the summer, so I knew we had a few months to get things in order. BUT after he got offered the job, we had 3 weeks to MOVE! We actually got the offer letter maybe 15 minutes, before a realtor was coming to our house to talk about putting it on the market. I remember having a mini freak out time that night, BUT I also really had a peace about it pretty much the whole time. That was nothing but the Lord, because we honestly didn't even know where we were moving up until a day before we left to go to Hartsville. 

From the beginning, we started looking at houses, even before Kaz was offered the job. We had a few houses that we really liked, but there was one that just stood out, and I said from the beginning that was our house. I know my friends thought I was crazy for saying that, but I really believed it. We toured the house, loved it even more, but had to wait on a few things before making an offer. 4 days before leaving Summerville, we made an offer on the house. After several counter offers, we had to walk away. Kaz and I were both disappointed, BUT I had a peace about the situation and told Kaz I still really believed this was our house, maybe we just weren't supposed to move into until a few months. So the plan was to live with my parents for a few weeks until we figured something out. After walking away from the house, we got a phone call from our realtor the next day saying the sellers would take our last counter offer and we could move in immediately! We got the keys the very next day to the house and agreed to rent until closing, which is in 3 weeks:) We said goodbye and left our house in Summerville on a Sunday morning. Leaving our house was hard, because that was our first home, and we made so many wonderful memories there. When we left on that Sunday, our house still wasn't on the market. We had to go through a lot of paperwork with the relocation company, so things took a little longer than planned. Our house officially went on the market March 7th. We didn't know how long it would take to sell it, but I continued to have a peace and knew the Lord was going to sell our house. It was a peace, He had given me through the whole process. Within 3 days, we had an all cash offer on the house! I honestly expected an offer fairly soon after putting it on the market, BUT I never expected that good of an offer or for it to sell that quickly.  Our house closed last week! It was put on the market and closed within a month! Praise the Lord. He has been working out every detail of our move. 

I don't know why I continue to doubt, when time and time again, He has been faithful to me. 

We are slowly getting adjusted. Life is so much slower here, which is a great thing! We are so blessed! 

our old house..

finally back...

Well, I don’t even know where to begin to catch up on everything that has happened this last month. I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve blogged! Life has been crazy...Here’s a brief recap: Maggie had RSV, we had a huge appointment at MUSC for her hips, I’ve had 4 weddings, WE MOVED, I spent a week in St. Kitts, Annie Rice started a new school, Kaz started a new job...well, that’s the short version! 

We are getting adjusted to being back in Hartsville..It’s been a weird feeling trying to get used to the mindset that we LIVING here now, instead of just visiting. Our house is an absolute DISASTER! It looks like moving boxes were just dumped everywhere! A week after moving in, I spent the week in St. Kitts with my friend Carissa. Here's a little about our trip.  

I have felt behind in every area of life...trying to catch up and KEEP up. The Lord has been working in some really BIG ways and I can’t wait to share them. I really can’t! 

3 days before moving out of Charleston, Maggie’s pediatrician wanted her to have an ultrasound done at MUSC on her hips. He thought, due to folds, she might have hip dysplasia. Thank the Lord, her hips are perfectly normal! She had RSV for 2 weeks, and then a horrible cold came back, so she was on breathing treatments for about 3 weeks straight. Annie Rice has started a new school and she seems to really like it...She cries everytime I pick her up and says she doesn’t want to leave, so I guess that’s a good thing! Kaz loves his new job! His commute to work is about 5 minutes on country roads:)  It’s nice! We have moved into our new house[well soon to be new house]. We close in April, but the owners agreed to let us go ahead and move in right away and rent it a month before we close on it. I’m just ready to have things in the house in order, BUT March has been a crazy month for me with weddings and travel! I’m thankful to have the month of April off from weddings to slow down and get the house in order! 

I “should” soon be getting back to blogging regularly again! Below are a few pictures from the past few weeks!

 new house...

 st. kitts

amazing grace...

I will cherish this video for a long time! Such a sweet sound...

some BIG changes for our family...

You may remember this post from last week...It was a post about how much I was struggling waiting to hear from the Lord. Well, we heard...and have some big news to share. Some very exciting news, and some bittersweet news..

These last 2 1/2 years, the Lord has been working in ways I can’t even begin to explain or understand. He has blessed me with more than I could have ever imagined. Last year specifically, the Lord did some really big things that we are just now starting to understand...

Around April of last year, the Lord really laid adoption on our hearts again. We started the process with Bethany. Around that time, we also started looking at houses and we found a house in Summerville, in our dream neighborhood for this area, and made an offer. We prayed that if it wasn’t the Lord’s will, He would shut the door and about a month into He did. We couldn’t understand why at the time..Everything “seemed” perfect BUT a few months down the road when miss Maggie came along, we started seeing that He had better plans for us than just a house. Towards the end of last year, Kaz’s dreaming and planning of starting His own company came to a hault as well. This was something he’s wanted for as long as I can remember...Last year, he prayed and planned for a business. Around November, we both no longer felt a peace from the Lord on it. It was disheartening for Kaz and for me. He had planned for so long...prayed for so long, and then the Lord took that away. Another really weird thing that happened last year, was with my photography business. I’ve always said that I would do photography as long as the Lord allowed me too. Having kids, has changed how much I want to work, but I really enjoy photography. I enjoy my work. In years past, I’ve been overwhelmed at the amount of weddings that I’ve booked. It seemed like last year, the Lord wasn’t allowing me to get inquiries about weddings, and the ones that I was getting were for the exact same dates that I was already booked. I didn’t worry about this because in my mind I thought this was the Lord’s way of telling me He didn’t want me to work as much...but going into 2013, I had about 8 weddings booked, compared to 35 in 2012. We kept pushing along and praying for the Lord’s will, and what happened next was honestly something neither one of us ever thought as a possibility. The Lord opened an unexpected door...A door that is starting to make sense of everything that has happened in the last year. In January, the Lord opened a door for a job in Hartsville SC[my hometown]. From the day Kaz applied, until he found out, it was exactly a month. A month full of prayers, fears, excitement. I’ve never thought moving back home was a possibility and my biggest fear when he applied was him not getting it, because I was so excited about the possibility. The Lord has been working out things this past month that I can’t even begin to describe...BUT Kaz got the job. He will be working for Duke Energy[formerly Progess Energy]. Originally, we thought the job wouldn’t start until May/June, BUT he will be starting in 3 weeks. I’m so extremely proud of him. 

This new chapter in our life brings so much joy and excitement, but also sadness. We have made so many wonderful friends in Charleston. Over this last year, I have become such good friends with 2 special ladies[Jennifer and Marie-picture posted below]. We have become the kind of friends that no topic is off limits, we can show up at each others house at anytime, uninvited. Every week, we watch each other kids to run errands, appointments, etc. It’s become a special friendship, not only for us, but for our kids. I’m sad for Annie Rice in that. I know she will make new friends, but she talks about Brynn, Gaines, and Walt everyday, and she sees them several times a week. Brynn has become her BFF...their giggles of excitement for one another makes my heart so happy.  That’s the part that makes me the most sad...is her missing out on those special friendships. I know she make new friends, and we will still see our old friends, but they will greatly be missed. I think I have cried about this everyday..and when I start, it’s hard to stop. We have been blessed with some special friends. 

With my photography business, I now realize the reason I didn’t book nearly as many weddings...Because we will be 3 hours away and the Lord knew I couldn’t drive to Charleston every weekend for weddings! The really neat part is over this last month, I’ve been contacted for so many weddings in Hartsville. More than I ever have in the last  4 years I’ve been doing photography. It’s been pretty neat, and the Lord is working it all out for His Glory. My clients in Charleston have been unbelievable supporters to me. I couldn’t have started my business and grown it so much without the support of everyone and the Lord. I have had the best clients. With this move, I will no longer be working “full time” in Charleston. I will still do weddings in Charleston from occasion to occasion, but for the most part, my business will be in Hartsville/Florence. 

This is a really big change for our family. I’m excited and scared at the same time. So many details have to be worked out considering we are moving in less than 3 weeks, but I know the Lord is already working away. What He’s done in the last month, has been more than I could have ever imagined, and I’m excited for the journey ahead. 

[Jennifer and Marie]

 Annie Rice and Brynn