OOPS! It's Christmas...

I guess I will not be winning the Blog of the Year award for 2010.
I knew I hadn't been doing very well with updating my blog, but I didn't realize I had missed 3 and a half months. I said at the end of my last blog I would update as things started happening for us...Sorry faithful blog followers/readers, I guess too many things started at once and blogging fell by the way side.
I think it will be easiest to update you month by month. (Please bear with me if this is as long as I anticipate.)

September:
Jeremy continued to settle into his new job. The Phelps family continued to live with my mom. David continued to heal from his surgeries and Austin continued homeschooling.
What changes did September bring? We did find a church home at Calvary Temple AG (CT church). The first Sunday we knew we were home. The pastor (Pastor Doug) started a new sermon series on the 7 deadly sins that day and after church Austin said, "even if the youth group suck, I don't think it will, but even if it does, I will keep coming here to hear him (Pastor Doug) preach." Talk about your seal of approval. Jeremy and I felt the same too. We did, and still do, really enjoy Pastor Doug's sermons.

October:
This is where the craziness starts. We rented a house (finally) the end of September and got the keys on October 1st, but we had to wait for our stuff to get here from Massachusetts before we could move in. Little did we know that would take the full 2-3 weeks they said it could take. We actually moved in on October 18th. ( I actually haven't taken any pictures of the house, but I will try and get some taken for my next update.) We chose to rent a house near CT church so that when the Lord calls us to serve we are close by. We now live approximately 4-5 minutes from the church. It is wonderful. We even had Pastor Doug and his wife, Janet, over for lunch on the 24th. Janet said we were crazy to have them over so soon after moving in.
After attending a couple of youth events and Wed night youth group services, Austin decided that CT church youth group did not "suck" and he would gladly be a part of it. He still enjoys Pastor Doug's sermons, too. He also decided that he wanted to attend the public middle school. This was an easy decision for him and a hard adjustment for me. I have been blessed to have him home with me since David was born. This would be a big adjustment for me. It was also the first time he would actually be in a public school. The closest he had been was the base school in 6th grade, but that wasn't the same as a "real public school" in the big city. But as difficult as it was for me, I put him in God's hands and sent him on his way. He is doing really well and is enjoying it. He is even a campus missionary. (I'm not exactly sure what this means he is doing, but I definitely like the sound of it.) He has grown so much in the last 4-5 months, both physically and emotionally. He is now taller than me, wears bigger shoes than his dad, and is starting to look like a grown up, not my little boy anymore. :-(

I actually have a couple of pictures from October:





David and Daddy got to meet Sunshine Bear at Toys R Us. David wasn't too sure about him at first...







but he warmed up.









Candid shots too cute to leave out.










David dressed up as Mickey Mouse for
Fall Festival at church.









This is Jeremy's brief stint as a backwoods mountain man.
(I put an end to that silliness very shortly after this picture was taken.)






November:
The beginning of November was pretty peaceful. Not much was going on.
David did have his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich and as you can see from the pictures...









HE LOVED IT!!!

The end of the month was a different story...
We were blessed to be able to host Thanksgiving, at our new house, for me, Jeremy, Austin, David, my mom, my dad, my sisters (Anna, Jessica, and Tracy), my nephews (Cody & Nick), our new friend Stewart (Our family has kinda adopted him, since he has no family to spend the holidays with) and our wonderful friends the Langborghs. (Mellie, Adam and their 4 kids, Julia, Joshua, Isabella, and Zachary). We haven't seen the Langborghs since they moved away from New England in 2006. It was so awesome to have them here with us, it gave us something extra special to be thankful for.



















Top Left to Bottom Right:
David--My Dad and Mom--Stewart, Jeremy and My Dad--my sister, Jessica (back of her head); my sister, Anna; my nephew, Nick; and Austin--my nephew, Cody--my sister, Tracy--Mellie and Adam--2 of the Langborgh children, Julia and Joshua.
(Not pictured: Me, and the other 2 Langborgh children, Isabella and Zachary)



We were also able to got to go to Sea World with our friends while they were here.





Jeremy and David looking at the sea lions.











Adam, Bella, & Julia after feeding the sea lions.










We saw the Shamu show, Believe.







Here are my boys waiting to watch the dolphin show, Azul.





December:
December was a month of parties, fun, and food. I attended the Ladies' Christmas Party at church on the 4th. On December 7th we took David to see Santa. No we did not brave the malls in December, we took him to Santa's Wonderland at the Bass Pro Shop. (I know, ONLY in Texas. And yes, I do hear Jeff Foxworthy..."If you take your baby to a fishing and outdoor sports shop to see Santa, You might be a redneck!) It was lots of fun. We all went to our Fusion group's Christmas party on the 11th. We enjoyed it. Lots of fun and GOOD food. Then I took the boys to Tracy's house to make Christmas cookies with her, Mom and Jenn on the 18th. Yum! We have been looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas in Texas, since 2004. The whole family is coming over. We will have a traditional dinner. Followed by our Secret Santa gift exchange and a White Elephant exchange. I will post pictures and details in a special Christmas edition blog.
Until then...

September brings ???

As September begins I find myself missing New England. I will not get to enjoy the beauty of the leaves changing, apple picking with my family, holiday meals with my friends, or even shoveling snow...oh wait I didn't shovel snow when I was there. But even though these things leave an emptiness in my heart I believe I am where God wants me and that He has plans to bless and prosper me and my family. So I will accept where I am, what ever He calls me to do, and continue to make the most of what is in front of me.
With that said, I will give you the latest updates.
David had his second surgery on August 27th. It went very well. As soon as he woke up they let us bring him home. He was back to his rowdy little self by the next day.
Jeremy started his new job on Tuesday. He doesn't hate it. LOL
We are saving to get our own place. We should be able to move out the first week, or so, of October. I am eternally grateful to my mom & dad for letting us stay with them while we get on our feet. I am also grateful to my sister Tracy for letting my sister Anna move in with her so there would be room for us at my mom's. While everyone is trying their best to make this as comfortable as possible for everyone involved, it is definitely starting to wear on us all. We would all like our lives to return to normal (well as normal as anything ever is with family...lol) Hang in there family we're in the home stretch. :-)
We are church shopping again. The church we have been attending is not fitting our needs and we do not feel the Lord telling us that it is our home church. So we will continue looking. Being in the right place is so important. I was so involved at Mt. Hope and I am really missing those connections.
Austin is homeschooling again right now. When we looked into registering him here there were several obstacles. First, we were very careless when the movers packed our stuff and we let them pack all of our records. Our birth certificates, our medical records, Austin's home school records, etc. Second, we were not crazy about the things we were hearing about the middle school's reputation with gangs, bullying, etc. And last, but not least, we didn't like the idea of Austin starting school at one campus and then having to switch schools again in a month. Not to mention this campus required uniforms and the ones in the areas we are looking to move to do not. So for now we are homeschooling and we will leave it up to Austin whether or not he will go to public school after we move or if he will finish 8th grade at home.
I will post again as things start happening for us.
All our love and best wishes...until next time.

Maybe things are finally falling into place

As you all know by now, we moved to Texas last month. Things have been much crazier than I expected them to be.

I thought we would move here. Jeremy would get the job we had heard about, doing what he did in the Air Force. We would stay with my mom for a couple of weeks, maybe a month. We would get our own house and start our new chapter with all of our ducks in a row.

Wouldn't you know those ducks refused to get in a row. They refused to even get in the same pond.

When I last updated we were excitedly waiting for Austin & Bubbles to get here, Jeremy had just begun his job at Sea World, and David was a new walker.

Well, Austin and Bubbles got here on the 25th. It was a smooth trip & they have both adjusted (as much as they can) to being at "grandma's".
Jeremy finished orientation and fell in love with his job at Sea World.
And David...well he is all over the place, into everything, and totally toddler now.

Life seemed to be settling into a routine and I started looking into the idea of us getting on our feet and into our own place (with our own stuff) and that's when the ducks scattered.

When I actually plugged all the numbers into our budget I found that the job Jeremy had fallen in love with, was not going to pay enough for us to be able to move out. It was very discouraging. We didn't move here to be in the same sinking boat we left to get away from.

I sprung this very exciting news on Jeremy on the way to the ER with David. (Not good timing, but we were alone & had minimal distractions)
On August 1st, I noticed that David would not put any weight on his left leg. So we took him in. After blood work, x-rays, MRIs, & ultrasounds they told us they were admitting him to the hospital & he would need surgery. We went through several possible diagnoses trying to figure out exactly what was wrong. They finally decided they needed to take him in because they thought he had a hernia. When they got him into surgery they found that he had a testicular torsion and the testicle was dead, so they removed it. He did great and has made a full recovery. He will, unfortunately, have another surgery on the other testicle to bring it into proper position to prevent this from happening again. That surgery is scheduled for this Friday. We covet your prayers as we put our baby into the hands of his surgeon again.

Now back to Jeremy's job. He was very upset to learn that Sea World was not going to be enough. We explored other options like him getting a second job, me going to work, & him looking for a better paying "first" job. He began looking without many results. This past week he decided maybe he would look for a second job, because he had a couple of potential prospects for a new "first" job. He didn't get to do much looking because we had a busy weekend. But, as it turned out, he didn't need to. Today he got hired at the civilian job we had expected him to get right away. The pay is more than we were expecting so it will put us in a comfortable financial position. PRAISE GOD, HE IS SO FAITHFUL & ALWAYS PROVIDES!

So now I will begin the search for a home for us. We hope to be in our own place the beginning of October.

I will keep you all updated and I will start getting pictures together for the picture blog I promised when we get settled in our new place.

We love and miss you all very much. Feel free to comment on here, email, text, or call anytime.

And the Phelps Saga takes an unexpected turn…

Back in April when I last updated you all, the Phelps family was enjoying life in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
April 23rd & 24th I was blessed to spend the weekend with some amazing ladies on Martha’s Vineyard. It was so refreshing and exactly the kind of renewing experience I needed.
Jeremy and I were then able to attend Mt. Hope’s Couple’s Retreat on the 14th & 15th of May. This was a very good retreat and it really renewed our commitment to each other and our marriage.
May 20th Jeremy’s mom came in for David’s first birthday. (I can’t believe it’s been a year already. I am still trying wrap my head around being pregnant.)
We left on May 21st, David’s birthday, for Martha’s Vineyard. What a great way to celebrate my precious little boy’s first year. We had a great time just hanging out and enjoying the laid back “island life”.
On Monday, the 24th we came home and celebrated David’s birthday with all of David’s friends (and ours too). It was simple, but great. We had cake and punch at the church. David had his own little cake (his first taste of chocolate cake). I set it in front of him, and in about a second and a half, both hands were in it and he was shoveling it in. It was adorable. Everyone kept saying things to him like, “Are you eating cake?” and “ Do you have cake?” So the next thing we knew David started saying, “CAKE! CAKE!” “CAKE!” It was so cute. He loved it. He wasn’t really interested in opening his presents because he found a ball and that was all he wanted. It was ok, because his friends were very eager to help. So they took turns sitting in Jeremy’s lap, opening David’s presents while he chased a ball around the room. (Gotta love those toddler birthday parties. That’s why I kept it simple.)
Mom left on the 25th and we thought it would just be life as normal for a while…
Boy, were we WRONG!

Over Memorial Day weekend Jeremy and I decided to accept our fate and face
reality.
“What does that mean?”, you ask.
It means, that for months we had been struggling financially and fighting very
hard to make it in New England and praying for guidance and or assistance. It was not pretty. As the month of May was winding down and I was facing another month of
juggling and shifting and scraping to make the bills, only to come up short again, I
realized that we WEREN’T making it in New England. So Jeremy and I sat down to talk
about our finances, AGAIN. We could not find any solution to our situation. We had cut
things out, and turned things off, and looked for jobs for more income, and nothing was
working. So Jeremy said the words that would change our lives forever…

“I think it’s time to leave!”

No! That can’t be the answer. But it was. So after praying all weekend and
begging God for an “11th hour miracle”, we started finding out what this decision would
mean for us. Our rent was paid through the 15th, but we wanted to be able to be a part of VBS one more time. Problem was, VBS wasn’t until the week of the 27th. Where would we stay until July 1st? Questions, questions, questions, but no answers. We couldn’t find out anything until after the holiday weekend…Talk about your “long weekend”.
So on Tuesday we called the land lord, because we had a lease and it wasn’t
up until October. And we called the military moving people to see when they would be
able complete our move. Because it was the beginning of the busiest moving time for the
military, we needed to know how long it would be before they could move us.
To our surprise, God started slamming some doors and throwing others wide
open. He really seemed to be leading us back to Texas. Our landlord released us from the lease. And when we called the moving people they told us they could pick up our stuff in 7-10 days. “Wow! This could actually happen really quick”…

And it did. By Tuesday evening we had a moving date and a rough plan.
God blessed us with incredible friends who were willing to open their homes to us and allow us to have our last VBS. It was overwhelming and they made us feel so welcome, at home, and loved. (Which in turn, made it all the more difficult to leave them. But by this point I had really realized it was God’s will for us to go, no matter how difficult it was.)
On June 14th the movers came and started packing up our stuff and on the 15th at about 6:30pm they took it all away to storage. We were now with out beds and had a day and a half until we had to turn in the keys.
After an incredibly crazy week of packing & moving, loading & unloading and utter chaos, we finally landed at our first temporary “home”. Bev and Jim really made us feel like we belonged with them and were just another extension of their family. (Maybe we were “Adopted Outlaws” or something. LOL) We stayed with them until the 26th and then we moved to our second temporary “home” with Melissa and Kevin. They really went above and beyond to make us comfortable. We stayed with them until the morning we left for Texas. (We were so comfortable and at home there, we almost didn’t leave. Haha)
But alas, VBS was over and it was time to begin our journey. So we loaded up the van (oh yeah, the van. We traded both cars in right after we decided to leave New England and got ourselves a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan…Love It!), got the kids, and went to breakfast with a few of our friends to say our last good byes. It was very hard to say good bye to these friends who were our “family” for the last several years, but the hardest good bye was to Austin.
Yes, Austin is still in New England. No, we are not leaving him there and we didn’t forget him. Austin was really looking forward to Jr. High Youth Camp this summer. He had been working to earn money for it and everything. We felt that we were already taking so much from him by moving him to Texas, that we didn’t want to take that away too. Again by the grace of God and the blessing of great friends we were able to see that wish granted.
Austin has been with multiple different friends and is being taken care of VERY well. (maybe too good…QUIT BUYING HIM STUFF! Lol) He will rejoin us in Texas on July 25th and he will be bringing the last member of our family along with him, Bubbles. Bubbles has been staying with our good friend Donna, while we moved and got settled.
Just to back track a little…Jeremy, David and I drove from Burlington, Mass on Friday, July 2nd to Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. On July 3rd we visited my Dad, Dee, Aunt Kay, Aunt Barb, & Uncle Bo. We left Rochester, PA around 5pm and drove to just over the Kentucky border to Erlanger. On Sunday the 4th we got up and drove to Malvern, Arkansas. (Yes, we got to see lots of fireworks along the way. We just didn’t get to see ALL of any one show.) On Monday, the 5th we drove to San Antonio. We surprised everyone by getting in an hour earlier than anyone expected. It was great to be home with my family.
Jeremy had an interview at Sea World on Tuesday, the 6th and got hired as a security officer. Unfortunately he didn’t get to start right away. His first orientation was today, the 16th and he will have two more on the 20th & 21st, before he can actually start. So we are settling in at my mom’s house for a while. Hopefully once he starts getting paid we can get the money saved to get our own place. While Mom has gone above and beyond at making us feel welcome, adding 3 people (one of which is a very nosy baby. Who is walking and climbing and getting into everything.) to any household, no matter how welcoming you are, is a huge challenge. I can’t imagine what it is going to be like when Austin and Bubbles get here…

…But that will be a topic for the next update. This one is plenty long enough already.
I will post a picture blog after we get settled in our own place.
Until next time,
Love and blessings from the Phelps Family to all our friends and family.
New England family, we miss you all very, very much.

So I'm not gonna win any blogging awards...(take two)

(This pic was just too cute to leave out.)

I know in my last post I said I would blog every couple weeks, but here we are over 6 months later. Hopefully I will be able to get back to blogging. I do miss it.

Let's see...Where did I leave off?

Nana and Gramps (Jeremy's parents) did come visit in October and we had a very nice visit. We took David apple picking for the first time. And just enjoyed being with family.


We did get the keys to our new home on the 15th of October and moved in on the 21st. Unfortunately we still haven't finished unpacking or begun decorating. We are hoping to get that done soon. I can't wait to have everything put away and start hanging pictures and other decor. Then I can post pictures of our house and maybe even have people over.

On October 23rd we took David to the orthopedic surgeon for his evaluation. He didn't find any evidence of DDH during his physical exam, but he said he trusted the radiologist at Emerson and wanted to put David in the Wheaton-Pavlik harness.

David would have to wear it 20hours a day. He could have 4 hours break during the day, but had to sleep in it, etc. He didn't seem to mind it. He was DEFINITELY happier without it and got VERY excited whenever we took it off for the breaks. It did prevent him from being able to learn to roll over, sit up, crawl, etc. The worst part was that David was just getting into standing and jumping while you held his hands. He was not allowed to put weight on his legs when they were in the braced position. So as soon as it came off the legs went crazy like a little frog.

At this visit they also weighed and measured him. He weighed 15.7 lbs and measured at 24.75 inches tall. So he gained 13oz but shrunk an inch. hahaha

The end of October I went to see a rheumatologist about my pain issues. He diagnosed me with pregnancy-induced rheumatoid arthritis. He gave me meds, but I just wasn't comfortable taking them, so I kept putting off starting them.

In October we also went to the Missions Banquet at church, visited our friends the Mulvaneys and introduced them to David and celebrated Light the Night with our friends at the Ringuettes' house. David was dressed up as a "Pea in a Pod" (Thank you Bella for the costume loan). All things considered we had a fun month.


***...I started this update December 27th and here we are in Feb. I am now gonna just zip thru the last 4 months. ***

OOPS! Well now it is April. So I guess I really better speed up.

October:
David started eating solid food and LOVED it. He is a natural. He took to eating off a spoon like he had been doing it for years.

November:
6th-David had an appointment with the Ortho doctor. The doctor was impressed and decided we should come back on November 20th instead of waiting until Dec.
13th-15th-Was the Ladies Refresh retreat in Plymouth, MA. It was great.
(An important side note here: In 1995 Jeremy and I were in a car wreck and I've suffered from chronic back pain ever since. Every minute of every day. I just got used to it and forgot what it was like to not be in pain.)
At Saturday night's session I prayed with some friends and God healed me. I am not exaggerating or speaking metaphorically. I am healed. I do not feel that back pain anymore. I also was healed of the fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis I was diagnosed with after David was born. All gone. I feel great.

And YES, as of today April 18, 2010, I am still completely healed.

20th-David had his ultrasound and Ortho appointment today. The doctor said his hips look great and he only has to wear his brace at nights as a precaution and only until Christmas. Then we can get rid of it.
26th-David's first Thanksgiving was great. We had a quiet dinner at home then went to have dessert and play games with friends. He had mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.

December:
5th- I auditioned for a reality weight loss show. Unfortunately I wasn't chosen.
8th- David had his 6mo check up. Everything was good. He was 16 lbs 13 oz and 26.1 inches. 25th-David's first Christmas was awesome. He actually had fun opening presents. Granted he wanted to eat the wrapping paper, but he ripped into them like a pro. We had Christmas dinner with our good friends the Christys. ***will post pictures later***
28th- David rolled over from his back to his tummy. He didn't do it again for quite a while, but this was the first time.
31st- We rang in the New Year with our good friends. It was a lot of fun.

January:
1st- Jeremy is officially a civilian. His last day of active duty was December 31, 2009. Now the serious job hunting needs to begin.
16th- We celebrated Austin's 13th birthday with an Amazing Race themed party. It was a ton of work to prepare everything, but it was so worth it. Everyone had so much fun.
22nd- We had Jeremy's retirement party. We rented a hall and invited over 100 friends to celebrate with us. Our wonderful friends stepped in and helped us make this a very great day for Jeremy.
We owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to our dear friend Val Levitre if she hadn't helped with everything from planning, organizing, decorating, cooking, set up, serving and clean up there wouldn't have been a party. She basically threw this party for Jeremy and I.
"Thank you Val. We love you and are very, very grateful for all you did."
29th- David started crawling like a big boy at Auntie Dani's house.

February:
1st- I turned 40. I am not upset by this milestone. I am excited and ready for change.
20th- My awesome friends 'surprised' me with a 40th birthday party. They told me on my birthday to save the date, but gave me no other details. It was great.

March:
20th- Jeremy and I celebrated our 15th anniversary.
23rd- I noticed David had gotten his 3rd tooth. They are all on the bottom.


April:
11th- I got David to sleep in his crib. He has spent the last 2 months or so sleeping on me in the recliner.

I am gonna close with that. I will write more soon. My new goal for my blog is to update at least every 2 weeks. And to post new pics at least once a month.