Our search to find a new home!

This past weekend Josh and I packed our whole house up (or at least it feels that way with all of Noah's things!) and made a trip down to Fort Worth to start looking for a place to live. My aunt Cathy, whom I am SO thankful for, lives in Arlington. I cannot even imagine trying to find a place in the metroplex without her help. Before we arrived, she had scoped out several different areas. I was thinking to myself before we left that even with her help it would probably be quite an ordeal to find the right place to live. I mean there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of different apartments to choose from. Well the search for the perfect apartment couldn't have gone smoother. It was obvious God was in total control, and he led us as we looked at different apartments. We found our new home and could not be more excited!

Josh, Noah, and I drove to Edmond, Oklahoma late on Wednesday night. We decided to go there first because my parents were going down with us to watch Noah while we looked at apartments. Anyway, the next day we all drove to Fort Worth, but we didn't start our search for apartments until Friday because we arrived around dinner time on Thursday night. Here are a few pictures of all of us at dinner at Abuelo's. I know you are thinking, "Why would they eat at Abuelo's when there's one in Amarillo?!" Well, it was within walking distance of our hotel, and we were tired from traveling, so Abuelo's it was!

Me, Noah, and Mom



Josh, Noah, and Dad



Every time Noah sees a glass, he wants to drink from it



The next day all of us were up and around early to get busy looking at apartments. I'm not gonna go into great detail about our search because I would rather tell you about what we found, but to make a long story short, I forgot something at home that was very important when looking for an apartment: my driver's license!! Every apartment requires potential customers to show proper i.d. before viewing the apartment units. Perfect! I was so bummed. But I kept thinking, "Nothing is too big for God." Funny thing is, I was able to talk my way into viewing almost every apartment except one, and the one we chose was the only one I couldn't view. I was able to look at some pictures that Josh snapped on his phone, but I still haven't actually stepped foot in the apartment. Regardless of that fact, God led us there and made it clear to both of us this apartment was the right one. In a little over 24 hours in one weekend we found our new home. I am amazed already how much God has been at work as we begin the process of moving.

We are SO excited about our new home. The apartments are located on River Park Drive in Fort Worth. When you drive down River Park it is SO beautiful! Beautiful homes surround the area with tall trees. It is a little hard to explain, but I couldn't have imagined a better area to live. Our apartments are located about 15 minutes from the medical area where all the hospitals are located in Fort Worth. We are also very close to I-20 and not far from I-30.

Here are a few pictures. I'll post more of our apartment when we move in and get all our stuff in there.

We had such a wonderful weekend of apartment searching and fellowship with our family. And Noah was THE best baby this weekend. He was so patient and in the happiest mood. Our official move in date is June 1st. Please be praying for us as we begin the process of packing. Wow! I have SO much to do in two short months.

Change

My sister Megan has politely informed me that she is "disappointed with the blog slacking." I know! What is wrong with me?! I hope I still have some readers out there! I promise I will try to be better.

For a while now I have wanted to share with you what has been going on in our lives recently, but every time I've had a moment to sit down and write, my mind has drawn a blank.

Ever since I can remember, Josh has both wanted and felt called to go to seminary, and it's always been in our plans to move to the Dallas/Fort Worth area so that Josh could go. It's one of those things that has always seemed to be a couple of years away, but the "couple of years away" has turned into now.

In the past when we've prayed about moving to DFW, we've felt that the time was not yet right. Our ministry was here in Amarillo, and God made it clear during those times that he wasn't finished with us in Amarillo. We've seen God do some awesome things here and are so glad to have been a part of it.

However, in the past six to eight months we began praying again about moving. Since we have been married, Josh has been driving to Lubbock for work at least two days out of the week. The traveling wasn't so hard when it was just the two of us, but when Noah came into our lives everything changed. It was hard on all of us for Josh to be away so much. Also, Josh has not been able to finish school while working in Lubbock. He hasn't been able to fit in both work and classes around my nursing schedule.

We felt that we were at a point in our lives where God might be leading us to a different place -- not just in location, but in ministry as well. As I said, we both began praying about moving to DFW, and we also asked both of our parents to pray with us. After a couple of months of prayer, we felt sure that God was leading us to move.

Moving means a lot of things. It means that Josh won't have to spend nights away from home once or twice a week because his work and school will be in the same place. It means new ministry opportunities. We are excited to be a part of New Life Deaf Fellowship and to see what God has in store there. Moving means a new adventure, and that's an exciting thing for us.

Moving also means that we're leaving our roots. Our family and friends are in Amarillo. It will be very difficult to leave them. Moving means leaving our church. We have a wonderful church family and support system, and we will miss our church dearly. Moving means leaving my job. I loooovve my job as a newborn nursery nurse at BSA, and I don't like to think about working anywhere else, but it's all part of the change.

Change is not easy, but it can be exciting. But if we are not open to God's calling, what might we miss? Please pray for us as we make this transition. In the coming days and weeks, we'll keep you updated with how things are going, and we'll also let you know how to specifically pray for us.

Mommy and Me

Noah is taking a nap right now, so I thought this would be a good time to sit down and tell you about our fun filled day we've had together.

Our day started out early this morning. Chriselda's son, Laken, had a birthday today. He is the big 4! When we arrived at the party, Laken was so cute. You could tell he was excited about his birthday. He was bouncing off the walls. But what kid doesn't bounce off the wall when it's their birthday? Anyways, it was so cute because Laken kept saying, "this is momma's baby" pointing to Noah. The party was so much fun; Noah and I had a great time. Thanks Chriselda for inviting us!

Chriselda and "her baby" at Laken's party.

Before we arrived home, Noah was sound asleep in his carseat. All the fun wore him out! He slept for about an hour, and then we had to run up to the hospital to make sure I didn't have a reaction to the TB shot I had the other day. Of course, we ended up staying up there probably about thirty minutes because all the girls couldn't get enough of little Noah. It is so funny because some of the girls in the nursery told me, "he looks SO much like you!" Then I go out to labor and delivery and hear, "he looks exactly like Josh!" I think he is a good mix of both of us. It's just so funny because it is always like that where ever we go.

Anyway, as we were driving home from the hospital we made a quick stop to buy me another pair of scrub pants. Noah was such a sweet boy. He was in the happiest mood, in fact, he kept screaming at the top of his lungs while I was trying on pants. He was so funny.

Once we got home I decided to take Noah and Eins to the park and take a walk. It was so beautiful outside today!

Here's my sweet boy relaxing before our walk.

Noah and Einstein in the car ready to go!

Boy are we tired from our long walk!







Well... actually I think Einstein is the only one worn out. He has been sleeping ever since we got home.

It has been such a fun day! I love Noah and Mommy time!

Noah and Einstein

I know I already wrote a post not too long ago about Noah and Einstein, but I just love these pictures! Josh keeps telling me not to "over do it" with pictures of Noah and Einstein, but I couldn't resist. It's just too sweet not to post.





Happy Weekend! -- Libby

Confessions of a Germophobe

When Noah was born, I became a germ freak! I probably annoy Josh to no end with all the disinfecting sanitizers, wipes, and the never ending inquiries about his recent hand-washings. Anytime someone touches Noah I inwardly cringe hoping their hands are clean. But I know I'm not the only mother that feels that way.

I had been looking at several different websites for high chair/shopping cart covers. I know, I know, when we were babies we all sat in those germ infested shopping carts and high chairs without the cute trendy covers, and we survived. But read the previous paragraph again, and you'll understand my position. When I'm in Walmart and see a baby in the front seat of the shopping cart without a cover, I am appalled. Can you imagine all the disgusting pathogens crawling all over that thing? Ok, I'll get off my soap box now.

My point is, I had been looking for a shopping cart cover. Have you seen the prices for those things? My gosh! They are outrageous! The ones I saw were very cute, but I could not justify spending 70 to 80 dollars on a cover.

Now let me brag on my mother-in-law, Gay Lynn. A while ago I wrote a post about the diaper bag my mom made for Noah. Like my mom, Gay Lynn can sew anything you can dream up. She sewed her own wedding dress for crying out loud, so you know she's good! So Josh and I found a pattern and picked out some fabric for the cover. Gay Lynn worked her magic, and within a week Noah had an adorable cover to sit in! Yay!

We love it, and Noah loves it too! We picked out some cute fabric with monkeys on it, and the cover looks exactly like the fancy-shmancy ones online. And it was MUCH cheaper. Thanks Grammy for appeasing my germophobic tendencies. Here are some pictures of Noah in his new cover at Cheddar's. Every time he's in a shopping cart I never have my camera with me, but I'll post some shopping cart pictures another time.




Oh by the way, after all the trouble we went through to shield Noah from the nasty germs on the shopping cart, he still managed to slip his hand under the cover and hold on to the bare cart. Ew. Just the thought of it makes me want to scrub him down. Oh well.

Have a wonderful day!-- Libby

It's snowing! In March?!

I can't believe I haven't posted since Monday! Josh and I were sitting down to eat an early dinner since I have to go into work tonight, and we looked out the window, and it was snowing! Not just a light dusting either -- it was really coming down. But in March!? We don't live in Chicago; Texas is supposed to be warm in March. We had a pretty mild winter this year, so I guess better late than never. Wow! It's so beautiful and it is Noah's first time to really notice the snow. Josh and Noah sat by the window to watch it fall, and the snow really had Noah's attention for all of 2 minutes. Anyway, here are a few pictures of Noah and Daddy enjoying the snow.