"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.