Making Plans

I love to do it.  I make plans for weekend adventures.  I've got a system to schedule, organize and track a cross country move.  We just planned and then bought plane tickets for all of us to head back to sunny California for a week's vacation in March.  We even dream about plans for a romantic, extravagant European vacation for our 10th anniversary.

In the bigger picture, we are settling into a great family groove.  We've got a great little three bedroom house that fits us all perfectly WITH a guest room.  Our dining room table for four, though a bit rickety and worn, already holds a special place in our family's routines.  Mils and Si LOVE each other and have become inseparable playmates.   Heck, I've stopped buying diapers in bulk with the great looming dream of Si being potty trained any minute...

And so God laughs.  And reminds us that our plans are just wishes, ideas, dreams.  HE directs the path of our lives.

HE decides that we should be a family of five; keep on buying diapers in bulk; ask our guests to sleep on the couch; dig out the long-buried infant gear and prepare to WELCOME ANOTHER BABY.  Yep, I'm pregnant and we're expecting a new little one this summer!  The due date's a bit in flux...officially it's early  August...but I'll need to deliver a few weeks early...but Christopher might be far away on an aircraft carrier...but it all makes my head hurt so for now I'll keep focusing on the joy and the exhaustion and keeping my breakfast down.  The kids are thrilled and have named the baby 'cookie' (very gender neutral, though Millie is dearly hoping for a sister.  She told Christopher the other night the she couldn't handle having "two rascals").

Now, more than ever, I'm holding tight to my favorite verse, Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Holiday Happiness...

Really?  A month?  I should be unveiling some kind of photo masterpiece at this point.  Instead, I've finally found and organized a few photos from our Christmas trips (with a few Thanksgiving pics thrown in for fun).
As a recap:
Thanksgiving = Greers in Delaware (the whole family plus Christopher's cousin Jeremy down from his hip, happenin' life in NYC to join the fun)
Christmas Part I = Steinbeiss' in Maryland with Aunt JuJu in from LA and Uncles Mike and Matt in from Denver/Boulder
Christmas Part II = Greers in Delaware with the Hardys and Uncle Tim in from Connecticut.

Heartbreaking Good News

Just before Christmas we got the news we've been holding our breath for...our next orders.  Norfolk, Virginia...here we come.  The news is the true definition of bittersweet.  Christopher's going to a really great job, and we are both so very very thankful for the opportunity ahead of him.  We'll move in May, after he graduates from the JAG school, so the circus of house hunting / preschool searching / pre-move organizing will begin soon.  Friends, if you have ANY information to share with me on the area, fire away!  I'm desperate for some great recommendations.

I'm sure you can guess the 'heartbreak' side of this news.  It's just not San Diego.  When we left this summer, I just KNEW we'd be back.  Even now I'll catch myself longing for a Sunday morning at Canyon Springs Church or a simple family outing to Coronado or a breakfast at Pipes.  Millie and Simon will be at the same preschool next year and oh how I wish we could rejoin our friends at College Park Preschool.  Should I even begin with the fact that today's high temperature will top out at 25 degrees here?  As always, I know that God has a reason and purpose for all things.  We will make a life for ourselves that is fun, meaningful, adventurous.  We'll make great memories, dive into the fullness of family life with precious little miracles to raise, and embrace the chance to create a new "hometown" for ourselves.  What a crazy life.

Christmas Glimpse

What a great Christmas.  We spent two full weeks away from home, visiting both families over the long break.  My brothers flew in from Denver/Boulder and my sister was in from LA, so we hit the Steinbeiss house first.  We spent long, fun days reading, playing, movie-watching, cookie-making, eating (oh the eating) and just catching up with each other.  Christopher had a meeting in DC so the kids and I made a quick dash in with him one day to visit a couple of friends.  It was a perfect, low-key, family-centered holiday.

After Christmas we headed up to Delaware for the Greer celebrations.  The cousins were reunited,which is, for me, one of the highlights of our visit.  Kaitlin and Millie are the same age, just four months apart, and LOVE playing together...baby dolls, singing, silly made up games.  It's all so sweet and makes me thankful we are here on the east coast so these girls can build their relationship.  We had a great visit with lots of game playing, lots more eating and lots of laughing.

So here's the deal on the photos.  I intentionally left my camera alone for most of the holiday.  I wanted to really be IN the moments of these times with the kids instead of scrambling to find a lost camera and then stressing about goofy smiles, mis-matched outfits, or potential melt downs.  Thankfully, on both sides of the family there are photographers MUCH more talented than me who jumped right in to document the memories.  Once I get my dad's photos and sort through Tim's generous collection of photos I'll post a few.

As a preview:

With Caedmon and baby Genevieve.

Aliyah, we missed you!