silliness

We've had lots of fun with my sister and her family this week. The kids are having a blast. And Sarah and I got to go out shopping without the kids - twice!!!

The kids got their hands on these handy little toothbrushes with suction cups on the ends (thank you, Marquette Manor Baptist Church missions closet!) and figured out how much fun it is to pop them on the table. When it's too wet to play outside for three days in a row, you get a little desperate. Even hungry hippos and hi-ho-cherry-oh get old after a while. :o)

More cousin pictures here.

on the road again...

happy car seats

transitions

Moving days are the hardest on all of us. And they happen every few days or so. We have amazingly flexible kids though. Lucy curled up for little rest on her pack n play out in the hall before it got loaded up.

new van

The Lord provided a van - almost exactly like our old one, but with about 100,000 fewer miles. It was not the one we went to Birmingham to buy, but God had another van waiting for us to find just in time. Traveling back north with the two vehicles went very smoothly and safely. Praise the Lord! Thank you to all who have prayed for us with the whole accident ordeal. God's protecting and providing hand was right there the whole time.

We spent a wonderful three days with my Mom and Dad in WI, and today we had a meeting in Sterling, IL. Wednesday and Sunday we will be in the Chicago area for meetings, so we will see my sister a lot this week. Pictures of her little cuties to come!

the van hunt

Daniel has looked at 8 vans this week, and I think we've found our van, pending the mechanic's check. So we should be rolling out of here sometime tomorrow and heading up to OH to return the rental car and to pick up all the stuff we left at the church in OH because it wouldn't fit in the rental. We got some walkie talkies since we'll be split between the rental car and the new van from Alabama to Ohio. And so the journey continues... Three more weeks until home sweet home!

And a few pictures of my children for you today.

Caleb looks a lot like Daniel as a child in this picture. It's the cheeks I think. :o)

And then there is Lucy Mae, with her own little look.

portraits

I finally got Lucy's one yr old pics taken. I know, she's 17 months, but that's still one isn't it? I was really happy with how well they turned out. You can view them here. The ones I chose are the first three listed.

You need to copy and paste access code: LTPP0363103142JCP

and name: jennifer arnold

"accident"

In God's providence we were in a car accident last Wednesday in OH. It's hard to believe it's been a week already. The great thing is that everyone is ok. Those words are easy to say, and so easy to take for granted. Not a scratch. Even our necks feel basically fine. A Hummer ran a red light and broadsided us on Lucy's side. I think everyone says after any car accident, "It could have been so much worse if..." and we really felt that way. Your mind replays the entire scene over and over even when you try not to think about it any more, but in that we just praise and thank God for colliding the vehicles at His exact predetermined placement and speed.

Our van is totalled, so we are van shopping in Alabama! We've looked at two non-possibilites, and Daniel is driving out to Birmingham (90 mins away or so) to look at some more today. In the mean time we're in a 2010 brand spankin' new Ford Edge rental.

Here is something to pray about. The Hummer driver is now saying that she had a green light, which is causing a big hang up with the insurance companies. They are waiting on the police report, which takes weeks to come through for some reason. Praise God that we did have clear witness on our side! Without that we wouldn't have had a leg to stand on. (If you ever see an accident happen, call in and be a witness. Someone somewhere will thank you.) So please pray that God would be praised in the way we deal with the aftermath. Please do pray for Daniel this week as he looks for a new van.

Other than all that, we are doing well. We were in Ringgold, Louisiana the early part of this week and stayed at Southland Christian Camp. I think that may have been the most rural place we've been at in the US ... well, close. The kids loved the campground, and we loved being out in the country. It was perfect timing between two busier conferences. We made new friends and renewed old acquaintances with the Saxton family and Dave and Joy Keck and baby Preston. Now we are in a conference in Huntsville, AL. We are staying in a beautifully furnished apartment in the church. And it's not creepy at all! :o)

my little space cadets

We toured the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH.

plans

while I was tucking Caleb in bed tonight...

"When I get big I'm going to marry you. You are going to wear a big white dress, and I am going to set up a platform, and you are going to stand on it. Then I am going to go to Walmart all by myself and buy you flowers that still have the paper on. After I buy the flowers I am going come to the wedding and cut off the paper and give them to you to hold."

(Mama)But I already married Papa, and I can only get married once. Now I'm going out to talk to Papa, because he is my husband.

"Mama! You are going to have two husbands after I marry you!"

What should I tell him? Any suggestions???

Let's eat!

Presentation is everything!

Lucy wasn't so sure at first. One minute it was a little pet crawling on the kitchen floor playing with her, the next minute it's on her dinner plate.
Caleb loved his lobster. He kept telling us that you don't eat the bones, only the meat.

the preparation

pretty funny looking little creatures, but they sure taste good!

Lucy thought they were fun to play with.
Karlene puts them in a huge pot of shallow boiling water, covers and steams them.

15 minutes later, they are very dead and very red.

Lawbstuh!

We spent the night with Daniel's Aunt Karlene and Uncle David in Kittery, ME. They treated us to their traditional Maine lobster dinner. First we drove down to the dock where the lobsters were in cages under water. David and Karlene's friend had just trapped them that day.

We picked our lobsters and threw them in the cooler.
and lowered the cage back into the water.