A long overdue update...

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:23

We are rejoicing in the Lord's goodness to us over and over again. For those who do not know, we moved to North Carolina about 5 months ago. During that time, we've had the whooping cough and moved three times and are now hoping to be settled for a little while:) The first house we moved to had a very bad mold problem, the well ran dry at the second house, and we're now getting all settled into a beautiful house in the middle of town a three minute drive from church! God is so good and often gives us greater blessings through the trials and hardships He takes us through. Speaking of church, that was the primary reason in moving here. It has been such a huge blessing. We feel like we're being revived and encouraged to grow. We've been welcomed with open arms here, and that has been a blessing as well!

Our "little" girls are growing up so quickly. Hannah turned 5 in early January and she is becoming such a young woman. I'm enjoying watching her grow up, and am feeling more of a sense of responsibility to train her up in the way she should go, because she is quicjly becoming grounded in habits, ideas and such (good and bad). She's a huge help around the house with housework and loves to keep me company. She's also enjoying writing and will often ask me to spell out words for her as she writes them in her notebook. While I haven't officially started school with her, she's so eager to learn, that it just happens.

Sarah is mellowing out quite a bit and is a joy to have around. She definitely has a servants heart, and will stick with a job until it's done. She likes to follow Hannah in everything and has been learning quite a bit of school as well.

Rachie turned two in November, and is talking quite a bit. I don't think I've noticed as many of the milestones with her that I did with the other two. With her it's been alot more "Oh, when did she start doing that?". Her two big sisters love to teach her as well, so she is learning things alot sooner than the other two did!

Victor and I are doing well and are trying to keep up with everything life's been throwing at us:) We're hoping to be settled at this house for quite a while, and Victor is looking for a job he can settle down in for longterm as well. He had an interview yesterday for a customer service job that we are praying he will be chosen for. We'll find out tomorrow.

I'm enjoying being a mother and am working on learning lots of new skills to improve on my homemaking. Right now, I'm expierimenting with homemade laundry soap and dishwashing detergent. If they work out, I'll post the recipes here.

Well, I'll close for now, but hope to post some pictures and more updates soon.

My newest little brother...

Sorry for my slowness in posting this. Due to sickness (around and around and around:P ) we had to wait a bit before going to see Josiah. We finally made it over last Saturday, though and here are some pics from our visit!

Snow much fun!!!

The snow has come (finally) and the girls are loving it. I enjoy the beauty of it, but I've sort of outgrown the excitement of playing in it (although I will admit that I gave in and let Victor pull me down the hill on a sled; the girls enjoyed that more than I did:).

Here are some pics of the girls enjoying the cold whiteness.
Hannah enjoying a headband ear-warmer I knit for her. She loves it!

Sarah holding Rachel on the sled!

Victor was helping the girls build a "snow house" here. Sarah (who has been longing for the warmer weather) kept insisting that it was a pool (much to the frustration of an older sister who said that it would be too cold!).

Hannah and Sarah enjoying their "Snow house". They had their gloves off to enjoy a snack daddy brought out.

The snowman the girls helped Victor build!

The long promised update...

Our front porch!

Life can get so busy at times! Now would definitely be one of those times... But, I'm making time to post an update that I've promised for so long.

As many of you already know, Victor is no longer working at his job In Red Oak. He has come home now and we are trying different business ideas to see what will work. It's fun spending so much time together, and I'm really enjoying it. It's also been so exciting to see all the ways that God has already been providing for us!

The girls are growing up so fast, and they are enjoying having daddy home SO much. What a blessing for them to be able to see their daddy more and be trained and loved and discipled by him. It really takes a burden off me, that's for sure!

Our little cowgirl getting ready to take on the...

"Daddy bull!"

We've been enjoying this "unusually warm" winter here in Iowa. But we're also still looking forward to spring. We're hoping to have a huge garden and some chickens! That will be so fun and nice to have fresh things that we grow ourselves.

Hannah is four now and such a big girl. She loves taking care of her younger sisters and is a great help to mommy and daddy! She's such a joy to be around!

Sarah is looking forward to her birthday in April when she'll be three! She's talking so much now and loves doing everything big sister does! She's also a big help and can do so much around the house to help out.

Rachel is one now and running all over! She's a bundle of energy and is so cute! Her expressions and personality are just hilarious sometimes. She's also very musical and loves to sing and play the piano!

Victor and I are doing well and enjoying spending more time working together. It's hard to believe we've almost been married for five years! Our time together has been challenging in circumstance, but beautiful in relationship! I thank God for the husband He's given me!

Our three little blessings!

I'll try to post soon with pics of the house as well as our candle party on Friday.