"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." Proverbs 19:21

A year and a half ago, we put our house in Michigan on the market. Our plan was to sell our starter house, move into a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood and start expanding the Shear clan. Many were our plans, but the purpose of the Lord was much bigger. I would never have imagined the plans that the Lord had for us. Instead of moving a couple of suburbs north in Michigan, we moved 3 states south to Virginia. Instead of making money and getting a larger house, we lost lots of money and are renting a 2 bedroom condo. Instead of having a 9 month old crawling around the house, we are blessed with a 10 week old in utero. Though it's not what we planned for our future, I wouldn't ask to change a thing. I am completely confident that this is where we are supposed to be and it was worth all of the hardship to be here. Our house in Michigan officially closed today, after sitting empty for a year and has had an offer on it for 8 months. Relief is slowing sinking in, especially financially. Ben and I were both surprised by the feelings that came up today. We've talked for months how excited we would be on this day and how much we would celebrate. However, both of us felt like it was a little bittersweet. Yes, it's all done, but that was also a special house in our life. I find myself thinking, 'now what?'. I feel like we're back to ground zero, if not below ground zero in the housing market which scares me at this stage in life. Our lease on the condo is up at the end of December and we're looking to rent a 3 bedroom house. It's going to be a hard search, but one Ben and I both feel will be a good move for our family. Housing is expensive in Smithfield, and our goal is to find something cheaper so we can start saving for another down payment. This move will also mean we have to move over Christmas again, but hopefully will give us more bedrooms for our growing family and will enable us to one day be in our own house again. Just like selling our house in Michigan, I feel like it's going to take the Lord to move mountains for this to actually happen...good thing He can! Since moving to Virginia I've been asking myself what the Lord is teaching me through all of this waiting. First thing I thought was, 'don't ask the Lord for patience, or He'll give you something to be patient about'. But I don't think that's what it is. I think my answer lies in my aboundant question of 'what now?'. I need to be the proverbs 31 woman who "laughs at the days to come". I'm definitely not there, but am praying that the Lord will help me get there. Get to the place where I don't worry about where we'll be living or how many kids we have. I pray that as this door closes I won't be afraid of the future and will leave my life plans up to the Lord.

Battleship Wisconsin and the Zoo

We decided last weekend that this weekend we were either going to Williamsburg or the beach, because apparently the last weekend in September is the time to go. Somehow we ended up in Norfolk at the Battleship Wisconsin and then went to the zoo. The best part of the day was eating lunch at Panera...I've been craving it for 2 weeks!
We thought Alison would go crazy over the animals and were excited to see her reaction to them. However, we didn't expect this:

At it again

Right after I finished that last post, I put Alison down for a nap. I made the executive decision that I would let her quietly play for awhile and then go in and help her clean off her bed and tuck her in again. It sounded like a good plan. When I went in to clean off her bed and tell her it was time to go to sleep, I found her bed fuller than it ever has been. I probably shouldn't find this so funny, but it just continues to crack me up. She's falling out of her bed, clenched to a Dick and Jane book, (which by the way, the is 150 pages long!), amidst 100 toys she's scoured, snoring.

Daddy's bow

We were headed to the Y this morning and Alison handed Ben his sweatband and said, "Don't forget your bow daddy". She asked to wear daddy's bow while he finished his coffee before we left.
Remember the video below? Yesterday she took an extra long nap and when I went to get her I found books, dress up clothes, dolls and the BLUE CHAIR in her bed. I asked her if she actually slept and she just gave me a sly grin. I didn't hear her this morning until 8:15 (an hour and 15 minutes longer than normal) and found her with books in her bed. Ben and I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. She's quiet for a long time and isn't really doing anything bad, but we don't know how much she's actually sleeping. It is kind of fun to see all of the things she takes in bed with her.

"Nap time"

Alison and I had busy and long morning filled with the Y and errands in Newport News. On the drive home she was falling asleep and I just knew she would fall asleep quickly once in bed. It was quiet for awhile, and then I heard a crash. My first thought was that one of the cats knocked something over, but then I found them both asleep right in front of me. Knowing the crash must of come from Alison's room and I peeked in to see if she was okay. I found her dressed up, complete with Cinderella shoes, a princess hat, a pink skirt and she's laying on a tutu and Santa hat. She had at least 5 books in the bed, including a forbidden one that always gives her a paper cut that she dug out from the closet. She was reading to Raggedy Ann and Winnie the Pooh. She has been taking books to bed lately and I haven't minded because she's quiet and sleeps longer than normal. Today was a little extreme...and I definitely had to go in to clear her bed and remind her it really is nap time.

Surprise!

I just love the way Alison says 'suprise!'. It sounds more like 'a prize' and it always makes me laugh.
Did I mention this was cravings week? I now have an obsession for salads and pickled okra. I'm not really a salad person and usually only eat them when we're out to eat or at someone elses house. This week, I've been having 2 salads a day with a side of okra. Though it's weird, I'm thankful the cravings have turned to a healthy side. I never gave into my lemon meringue pie craving, but I did make a sugar free chocolate pudding pie and even make the graham cracker crust and whipped cream from scratch. I was pretty impressed and decided to reward my non cooking failure by topping it with some oreos.

Baby #2!!!

Ben and I are excited to announce that baby #2 is on the way!!! I'm 9 weeks pregnant and due April 25th!4 weeks, after a 3 mile run
This pregnancy has been completely different than with Alison. This time I didn't even think I was pregnant. I had been running 4 to 5 miles a day and I remember thinking, "no one can run 5 miles and be pregnant." I was feeling so good running that I had decided to start training for a half marathon. Well, the next day I was suspiciously STARVING. Ben made a comment about how I should probably take a test and I assured him that I was not pregnant. The next morning I woke up before Ben and Alison and began to think maybe Ben was right. Taking a test was probably the responsible thing to do, but truthfully, I laid there for a couple of minutes convincing myself it would be okay to go buy another test (I only had one and I knew it would be negative, and those things are so darn expensive!). And just like with Alison, before I could put the test down a bright pink line was staring me in the face. I've always wanted to tell Ben in a really cool way and admit to day dreaming about it way too much. But both times as soon as I saw the results, all my planning went out the window. I ran and started jumping on the bed and told Ben to wake up! He slightly pried open one eye and I told him he was going to be a daddy...again. Well, his reaction was less then ideal but he managed to get out a "yeah!" (anyone who knows Ben, knows he is NOT a morning person). 9wks!
I've spent the last 5 weeks trying to convince myself I am really pregnant. I feel great. I've still been running 3 miles, 3 times a week and have been going to my kick boxing class. This kid likes to exercise, let me tell you. I feel so much better when I do, not at all like with Alison. I could barely hop without tossing my cookies with her. My biggest struggle has been with food. I'm starving all the time, but nothing sounds good except really bad for me food. And apparently I loose the ability to cook when I'm pregnant. Things I made a couple of months ago that were amazing are suddenly blah. I struggled with it with Alison, but instead of admitting it, I just had meltdowns. This time, I admit it and accept defeat. I mean, I even ruined pasta one night! So, thankfully I chose my husband wisely and married a great cook. Ben has taken up a lot and has started to spoil me. This week the cravings hit full force. Yesterday, all I could think about was a Asian chicken salad from Panera and lemon meringue pie. Poor Ben. There's not a Panera within a 30 mile radius of here...so that was a little unpractical. The lemon meringue pie-I've never had one, but Amelia Bedilia made one in the book I read Alison and it sounded like the best thing ever. Ben said he would attempt one, but not when I requested it at 10pm. I had my second doctor's appointment this morning and saw the most amazing thing ever! My baby's little heartbeat! I really can't get over how amazing it was to see the baby. The nurse let me just look for a couple of minutes and soak it all in. I could see the baby's arms and legs moving and nurse was surprised how much it was moving around. It's hard for me to say "it"...I'm convinced it's a boy. Which, by the way, is super scary, but becoming more exciting to me. First of all, we don't like any boy names, so the poor kid is going to be nameless. Second of all, I don't know anything about boys nor do we have anything besides pink princess things. Third of all...they just scare me. But the more I think about it, the more excited I get. I was right with Alison, we'll see if I'm right this time.
Big sister reading to Milo in his kitty bedWe've talked about with Alison and I think she's slowing getting it. I put the ultrasound picture up on the refridgerator this morning and she's asked to see the baby all day. At first when we told her there was baby in my tummy, she thought we meant my belly button. So she lifted up her shirt, pointed to her belly button and said, "Alison has baby too!". I think she's going to be the best big sister and I can't wait until she has a play mate that she can say "come play!" to :)

Come back Daddy!

This is quite possibly the saddest video ever. Ben was gone all weekend at Brett's wedding in Arkansas. ALL weekend I heard, "Daddy home?" and when I was finally able to say 'yes' to her pleas this afternoon, she was beyond excited...like, couldn't nap so excited. Even after an exhausting weekend Ben jumped right into playing and romping around with her. Sadly, Ben had a meeting for work he had to go to tonight. I told him he better not leave, because I knew she would fall to pieces. Well, work is work and daddy left after dinner. As soon as she realized he was leaving she ran to the window and for 5 minutes said, "come back daddy!". The only way I got her to stop was with chocolate...didn't you know chocolate solves everything? I should add that the odd outfit she's wearing is a random T-shirt of mine she put on and declared she was a princess. I wish I turned into a princess every time I put on a boring T-shirt.

I think I hear "Come play Mommy!" about a thousand times a day now. Ben gets bombarded as soon as he walks in the door from work with pleas to "Come play!". I'm so thankful Ben comes home refreshed and ready to play hard with this little ball of energy. Alison also loves to sit on the counter and play in my jewelry box while I get ready in the morning. I often squeeze this in while she watches her segment of PBS, but lately she's been forgoing her show to "look in mirror" with mommy.

A much needed break

After dinner Ben announced he was taking Alison to pick out bubble bath and then to the park to play. It was nice to have a quiet house for awhile and Alison loved some time alone with daddy. When they got home she was so excited to use her new bubble bath and didn't want to get out when it was time for bed.Thanks to an awesome daddy who gave this mommy a much needed break!

Saturday fun!

We finally made it home on Monday. I've never had such a horrible travel, but I'm so thankful to be home. After spending the afternoon stuck in Detroit and then spending the evening with Alison wiggling in my lap, I came home to a wonderful husband who had the house more than spotless, all the laundry done, flowers on the table and dinner on the stove. The only incentive I have to consider traveling again is the $900 Delta gave me to fly with them again. They also gave me money for food and I spent every penny stocking up on treats for Alison. Oh, and she did awesome during the whole fiasco. I can't say that much for me-I definitely shed a few more tears than necessary. Alison was hilarious when we got home. She was so excited to see her toys again she was like a little tornado going through everything. One afternoon we were going to stop by Ben's office and I told we were going to see daddy. Her response was, "Airplane!" and she went got the suitcase...the poor girl is so confused where daddy, grandma and grandpa are now. It's hard to explain to a 2 year old that grandma and grandpa live in Kansas, but we live in Virginia.
We've spent this week relaxing, recouping and getting back in the groove of things. This morning Ben was showing Alison some of his new songs and she broke out in a little dance. Alison doesn't "dance" so it was pretty funny. Now we all know Ben is a man of many talents, in fact that's an understatement, so if you'd like to hear some of the techno songs he's written recently check out his new blog

After our dance session, we headed outside for a little bike ride. It was really neat to see Alison get more confident on her bike.