settled.

I'm posting twice in ONE MONTH.  That hasn't happened in a little while. I wanted to share about what is going on though!

I already told Angela, but we are staying put.  After 6 weeks of waiting to hear back, Jeremy and I had a lot more time to think, pray, and discuss about whether we really felt called to uproot and move to Idaho (if they offered us the position, of course).  We decided it really just didn't make sense to us.  We were a little sad to miss out on the training, but taking everything into account, we felt like it wasn't worth it for that when there are plenty of other opportunities out there.

We e-mailed Lloyd and told him that we felt called to North Kitsap and we have decided to intentionally plant a missional church here in our area (which also happens to be one of the LEAST churched counties in the state).  He e-mailed us back saying they had been interviewing some other candidates, which is why they hadn't come to a decision yet, AND that he would like to partner with us and help provide funding for training!  We were totally amazed. We knew we would definitely pursue licensing and accountability through Church of God still, but we didn't know they would want to support us in that way.  It was such a confirmation that we are supposed to be here - best of both worlds, staying in the community we love and have formed many relationships in AND receiving training.  This entire process also really settled for Jeremy's parents that we ARE leaving Indianola church to plant a new community, plus Jeremy's boss has given him a bunch of raises and promotions - he really sees how valuable he is as an employee so we feel very blessed.  His boss also wants to be heavily involved in the church plant.  We have a handful of people and are starting our first meeting at the end of September.  We are so excited about finally doing this!

I am ALSO pleased because I can finally start promoting my business again. I lost a couple of clients because I couldn't commit to their fall/winter dates for birth, so I'm hoping to be able to start getting booked again.  I am getting involved with a birth professionals meetup in the area and am starting to look into becoming a certified lactation specialist as the first step in expanding my business in other ways.

It is amazing how I can go months feeling disconnected, uncertain, discontent...and then, all along you see how things have been prepared for us to stay.  Amber knows how many times I have moved and how much I have longed for a place to put roots.  There are always things you may want to run away from, but I am glad we are sticking around and just facing those things head on.  We were hoping to buy some property in the area in the next year or two, also.

We had VBS (spy kids theme) up at church all week, and I am wiped out.  It was fun, but I taught the 5-6 year olds and had the biggest group, so it was a little exhausting, plus both Hailey and Shea came down with colds.  We are leaving for vacation on Monday to Long Beach with all of Jeremy's family, also.

IN OTHER NEWS:  I chopped all my hair off this weekend (it was bound to happen sooner or later). It is the shortest I have ever cut it and I have never loved it more.  Jeremy can't stop staring at me, he likes me so much better with short hair it is so weird to me.  I even went out and got second piercings on my earlobes, because you can see my ears so much better now and I have been wanting to do it for forever, ha ha.

I took a picture for my website (I just updated it COMPLETELY) so I'll post it here for fun.

That's ALL!

still waiting...and other slightly boring stuff.

I thought the next time I blogged, I would be able to tell you whether we were moving to Idaho or not, but we still have not heard back!  It will be one month this Saturday since the last time we spoke with Lloyd...he told us 3.5 weeks ago that he would be in touch with us after 2 weeks.

He called Jeremy the week after we had visited CDA and told him that he was going to meet with the lead couple the following weekend and then get back with us.  He did say they had some other "options", but it still seemed from the conversation that we were his top choice, unless the couple had something reasons they didn't want us.  When we left CDA, it didn't seem like the lead thought they had much of an influence in the decision about hiring us, as they were always talking in terms of "if YOU choose to take the position".

Anyway, who knows if it is just an unorganized office (he has taken a long time to get back to us in the past), they are looking into other options because the lead is not sold on us, or who knows what else.

It is getting so hard to wait though!  Shea is supposed to be officially registering for Mosaic in just a week and a half, and then everything starts the first week of September.  I want to get on with life!  it is so weird to me how this keeps happening, where we are waiting and waiting to find out about these jobs.  I keep finding myself asking God, "WHY again?? What have we NOT learned that we are supposed to learn??" and this time, we didn't even apply, so I feel like it isn't our fault, haha.

Enough about that!

We are still enjoying our summer anyway!  This past week I have gotten re-motivated to work out a little bit more consistently.  I ran 7 miles the other day - this has been my goal for a while, so now I will move onto 8.  I have also been doing more strength training in the evenings and running with the kids on a super hilly trail we have, which has been helping me increase my time and endurance for running.  I never knew I would enjoy it so much, but it is such a major stress relief and gives me a ton of time to think uninterrupted.

I have been taking the kids out of the house almost every day to run/bike along the trail.  We go 4 miles total, I am amazed at how far Shea can go!  We just took his training wheels off of his bike the other night too, and he wants to keep practicing.  He was complaining a lot about taking the training wheels off whenever we discussed it, so Jeremy and I are really pleased he is so excited about riding. He also has lost 4 teeth now - his front two are already beginning to grow in again.  And he is starting to make some progress reading. This kid is getting so old, I don't even believe he is only 5 1/2 anymore.

I also bought a longboard.  I have been secretly wanting one for yeeeears.  Well, Jeremy knew I wanted one, but I could never justify buying one.  I sold my cello last month though - something I have been meaning to do for a long time.  I never play it because it buzzes and it isn't nice enough to try and fix up.  I will get a better one some day, but for now, I would rather ride a longboard around, ha!  Shea and I went to a parking lot recently and raced up and down (he was on his bike) for an hour. I am getting better, but I hurt myself last week and twisted my knee trying to foot brake.  My knee is better now, but I need to find some flatter areas to practice I think!  Hailey loves to ride it, too.

Today I feel like I accomplished a lot, but looking around the house you would never know it.  I took the kids grocery shopping (four stores), cleaned out the pantry and refrigerator, and prepped a bunch of food.  With working out more (I am trying to lose 5-10 lbs right now), I also am trying to get us back on track eating healthier and on a more strict budget.  I sprouted a huge pot of beans and turned it into bean burgers, chili, and refried beans, which I will freeze some of.  I also made some sprouted hummus, which turned out delicious.  I tried a real recipe and actually bought tahini so that made a huge difference.  I cold brewed some more coffee - we have been just drinking it this way lately, because it is less acidic and quicker in the morning, plus I can have an iced coffee in the afternoon. I have to brew it every 4 or 5 days though...I make about 3 quarts at a time, but we go through it! (yikes). And I have been loving brewing kombucha again!  I am flavoring it with berries and ginger this time for the first time, and the kids love it.  I give them a small glass in the morning with breakfast to make sure they get a good helping of probiotics every day.

Anyway, I'll leave you with some pictures and then be off to start some dinner.

Kids were excitedly watching as this man cut down a tree on our property last week.

I took the kids to Bainbridge Island and we hit the Kid's Museum, park for a picnic and playtime, Bainbirdge bakers for dinosaur cookies and a coffee, and then the library.  Such a fun day, we were all tired out afterward, though!

We have been eating lots of watermelon in the backyard lately

Hailey put all of these clips and hair bands on and was very excited about her style.

playing at the park!

Hailey LOVES riding my longboard like this. She always asks, "can I ride mommy's skateboard??"