skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Well, the moving plans are coming along nicely! I have been SO busy attending to all the details. I had no idea I was capable of retaining this much information. After all, my brain has pretty much been useless since I had kids! Our house is beginning to look a lot like a junk yard with various piles strewn about, each with its own very important significance. The kids are picking up on my anticipation and enthusiasm and have been wild for about a week now. Seriously. There is no controlling them.
Our move date got pushed back a day, so now the plan is to pack on the 27th and 2nd, load the truck on the 3rd, clean the house on the 4th, and we fly out on the 5th. Geesh! I'm exhausted just thinking about it! James abandoned me this week for a "business trip" in DFW that I have a sneaking suspicion was not all about business. Every time I talked to him, he was "working hard" at various establishments around the Metroplex. Now he's suffering for the company in the comfort of his parents' home, being completely doted on and spoiled rotten by his Mama. Yeah, it's rough to be such a dedicated, hard working employee.
Matt decided that all my moving demands and being short one parental figure was not enough stress for Mommy, so he picked this week to come down with a 102˚ fever and other lovely symptoms. Thanks, Matthew! Poor Baby. He recovered quickly, though. Thank goodness for short viruses!!!
Thankfully, he's feeling much better now, but I can tell that his little body is still trying to recover. He's been sleeping a lot! And boy, can that kid sleep! I found him sleeping like this yesterday, and couldn't resist snapping a picture. I wasn't even aware that sleeping in this position was possible!
Yesterday, we attended the Cultural Faire at John's school. It was a really neat event that all the kids participated in. Each grade had a booth representing a different country and they all did presentations pertaining to that culture. John's class represented the Philippines and they did a Philipino cultural dance. John despised his costume and Matthew didn't help when he innocently asked John why he was wearing pajamas to the school faire.
To add insult to injury, notice the intricate lace work on the sleeves. John said he looked like a silly girl. I tried to encourage him, but I couldn't help laughing.... a little.
The kids did a fantastic job on the dance! They practiced for weeks and it really showed! I was so proud of John. He was more than a little unhappy about having to do the dance and even tried to convince me he was getting sick like Matthew, but in the end, he really stepped up and did great!
Here is a picture of my friend Marissa and me at the Faire. Do I look exhausted or what?!?
WOW. What a season of change! I had a feeling that this year would be that way, but I never dreamed that everything would happen inside of two weeks! Funny how no matter what brilliant plan you come up with, God will have another idea. =)
We are moving on March 4 to a corporate housing apartment in Sugar Land, TX. We will probably be in that apartment (gulp) for two months! (Much better than the SIX months we spent in corporate housing when we moved out here to San Fran, so I'll take it!) At that point, we should be able to buy a house... assuming we have found one by that time that we BOTH love. =)
SO..... on that note, I would like to introduce to you our new and improved blog!!! I started our Baby Jellybeans website the month we moved to California, so it seems appropriate to begin our next journey with a new blog and a fresh look. I have linked up many of your blogs to mine, and feel free to link to me as well. I'll be posting more updates on the move as we receive information.
Right now, my head is spinning! Next week, our car(s) will be shipped, our belongings will be packed, I have to turn off various conveniences, make a million phone calls, withdraw kids from school.... the list goes on. *sigh* I'm excited, though! I'd be lying if I told you anything else!
I am proud and thrilled to announce that Matthew, our sweet, quirky, hilarious three and a half year old prayed to accept Jesus as his personal Savior on Tuesday afternoon! Matt has been asking question lately about how to go to Heaven and why Jesus died on the cross. This had become an every day occurrence. He has been carrying his Bible story book around the house for several weeks now and always opens it to the story of Jesus' Crucifixion. I quizzed him and even at his tender age, he easily answered the questions and seemed to understand what I was asking!
On Tuesday, after we discussed it once again, he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I want to pray and ask Jesus in my heart now." Then he immediately folded his hands, closed his eyes, bowed his head and waited expectantly for me to lead him in the prayer of salvation. So I DID!!!
James and I are so proud of our little man. We are blessed beyond measure to have two small children who have both already accepted Christ. As a Christian parent, there is little that can make you prouder than knowing that.
On a side note, after Matthew finished his prayer, he looked up at me, beaming, and announced, "Mommy, now I can go to heaven!!! And Jordan is waiting for me!!!" (Jordan is the baby that James and I lost after John. The boys know they have a sibling in heaven and it moved me to tears to realize that Matthew understands that concept and is anxiously awaiting meeting his brother.)
Well, I feel the time has come to say good-bye to our beloved Baby Jellybeans website. With more and more people using blogging websites, it is much simpler to link to and view a blog format then my current family website. I would also like to eliminate the monthly fee. During the transition, I will be posting my journal entries to both places, and for now, you can still view our old site here.
With two kids in school, occasional freelance jobs, school board commitments, and other obligations, my time is limited. I am hopeful that this simpler format will enable me to update the blog more frequently and efficiently. I think the blog format is easier for you to check and read quickly instead of having to navigate different pages. I'm going to miss my Jellybeans website, but there is a season for everything, and I guess my schedule needed a sugar fix. Time ate my jellybean!
Anyway, please bookmark this new site and enjoy reading up on us here! Feel free to link us to your page and I will link you to mine... as soon as I figure Blogger out!!! I am in thre process of getting a cool look designed. Hope to debut that in a week or so, so stay tuned. I will also post all the updates about our move here.
Love,
The Stevensons
If you know me at all, then you most definitely know how desperately we have been trying to get back to Texas and how unhappy with our current situation I have been. In fact, my depression had gotten so bad that I recently had to double my dosage of Prozac to cope. For three and a half years we have faithfully prayed every day that God would open a door for us to go back home to Texas. His answer has always been no.
In the meantime, He blessed me with four friends out here that I cherish and value so much. He gave us a church home, He provided a rental house that we liked and could feel comfortable in, even though it wasn't ours, He blessed us with the opportunity to see so many things and places we otherwise would not have seen. James and I both agree that while our living in San Francisco has not been ideal, we have made memories and friends here that we would never trade.
That being said, I am pleased to announce that James has been offered and accepted a branch management position in Sugar Land, TX, where we will be moving in 3-4 weeks!!!!! I know that God's timing is perfect, and while it has been extremely difficult to remember that over the past few years, especially the past six months, I am confident that He has a very specific reason for moving us to Sugar Land now.
To my dear friends Melissa, Laura, Rosalyn and Lisa: How can I ever thank you for the tremendous gift you have given me over the past few years. I can truly say that God has used you without your knowing it. He put you in my life during this season because He knew YOU had something to give that I needed. I am a better person for knowing all four of you. You have touched me in ways I will never be able to properly put into words. Your faithful friendship has definitely saved my sanity over the past few years, and in many ways, saved my life. There were many dark days when your friendship and the knowledge that you were here for me was the only thing that sustained me. I love all four of you and I hope that I have touched your lives in some way, as you have touched mine.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed our family home! Thank you, Jesus!!!!!!
So many of you have asked for it, so here is the story of what happened this week. Monday morning, I was catching up on a little TiVo while the kids were at school. Around 11 am, I heard the sound of a trash bin being moved outside, but it did not grab my attention since I hear the neighbors move their bins all the time and the next day was trash day.
At 11:30, I got in the car to go pick up Matt from school. As I pulled out of the garage, I noticed that the side gate to the backyard was wide open. I immediately knew that someone had been in the yard since James and I are meticulous about keeping the gate closed for safety reasons. I got out of the car and, against better judgment, went running into the backyard to see what was up. I immediately noticed that the largest of our trash bins had been carefully positioned directly under the guest bathroom window along the side of our house, and the lid was caved in. Clearly someone had stood on the lid in an attempt to get into the bathroom window. Directly above that was Matt's bedroom window. Whomever it was had tried to pry off the screen to Matt's room with some sort of a tool, probably a screwdriver, and bent the screen's metal frame.
Apparently, the noice I had heard was the sound of my own trash bin being positioned by the would-be thief, and I guess the sound of my laughter (at 17 Kids and Counting) scared them away. Either that or they saw me through the window. (Shiver up my spine)
I called the police who promptly came out to take a report. Unfortunately, there's not much they can do. Perhaps the criminals saw the police at my house and will not try again. However, the cop said that since they didn't get in this time, they will likely try again later. Nice, huh?
To answer the question I'm sure most of you have, YES, we do have an alarm, but it was not armed since I was home. Had I been upstairs where they couldn't see/hear me, I would never have known they were in the house unti they surprised me inside.
God really protected me and I am thankful for that. Surprisingly, I am not scared, just ticked off. James said he pities the guy who breaks into our house with me inside!!!
Thanks for all your encouragement and support! A little prayer for our continued safety would be greatly appreciated!
On a side note, the police said that I really lucked out because there is a new trend with criminals in that they have begun to seek out homes with stay-at-home moms and children inside. The theives have discovered that a woman trying to protect her children is usually very compliant and will willingly show the criminals where the valuables are. This saves time for the thieves and is much simpler than ransacking a home and looking for hiding places. This is VERY scary. For all my stay-at-home-mom friends, please take this under advisment!
Thankfully, he's feeling much better now, but I can tell that his little body is still trying to recover. He's been sleeping a lot! And boy, can that kid sleep! I found him sleeping like this yesterday, and couldn't resist snapping a picture. I wasn't even aware that sleeping in this position was possible!
Yesterday, we attended the Cultural Faire at John's school. It was a really neat event that all the kids participated in. Each grade had a booth representing a different country and they all did presentations pertaining to that culture. John's class represented the Philippines and they did a Philipino cultural dance. John despised his costume and Matthew didn't help when he innocently asked John why he was wearing pajamas to the school faire.
To add insult to injury, notice the intricate lace work on the sleeves. John said he looked like a silly girl. I tried to encourage him, but I couldn't help laughing.... a little.
The kids did a fantastic job on the dance! They practiced for weeks and it really showed! I was so proud of John. He was more than a little unhappy about having to do the dance and even tried to convince me he was getting sick like Matthew, but in the end, he really stepped up and did great!
Here is a picture of my friend Marissa and me at the Faire. Do I look exhausted or what?!?
