playing in the rain with grandpa

grandpa and sally have quite a time outside together. almost every day since my folks have been back, grandpa takes sally out for about 45 minutes to play with rocks, rain, pick flowers, take a walk, play with the keys in the car.. even reading a book on the curb.

it is soo great- we are blessed to live in this town!

today gow is meeting with another client for freelance... a lady from our church and from my dad's camp. Praise God for another freelance client! He is truly providing and it is super exciting that Gow is getting to expand his portfolio and that there is income!

we are also heading down to my sisi's for another family movie night on their big screen.

happy weekend!

BIG BELLY ALERT

- so here it is. my big humungo self, pix from a week ago. last night i slept about 3 hours (that happens about once a week) so today i am pooped and it seems like i don't have the energy to carry my huge belly around. =)

so it is looking like we are going to get to move into the duplex! WAHOOO=---- "Clap your hands all you people shout unto God with a voice of TRUIMPH!!!!!!!!!!! "

the bummer (for me) news, is that it is looking like we won't be able to move in until a week from this Sunday. Which means we will have 4-5 days to clean the carpets, paint if need be, move, unpack and settle before my due date.
so pray with me that either God will change the timing of us moving in, or that this lil senorita will not come until AFTER her due date. =)

nontheless, i am overjoyed that we may have our own place before at at least right around when our sweet babe will be coming home! HALELUJAH- God is soooo good!
and bless my amazing parents- they just may get to move back home. Praise the Lord!

sally jane's latest from the doc...33 inches tall and a 25 pounder.
yesterday i was at the park and she was taller than a 22 monther (sj is 15 months). not surprising looking at gow and i.

on a random note, i met a lady at the park yesterday that had her girls 10 1/2 months apart!!!! good grief- is that even possible? wow. she said the girls are playmates, bffs and couldn't imagine life any other way.

alrighty- gonna lay down for a bit while sj is out.

enjoy your thursday!

rissita and a news flash

i am super duper behind on blogging pix- this one is from about a week ago when my sweet sweet friend Carissa Cole came to town! She is a LONG time buddy of mine from Quito AND JBU and is now in Colorado. she was in chicago visiting fam and made an extra leg to her road trip to come up. blessed my heart and a half. she and i have done maybe 3 beth moore studies together and have shared our journeys for quite a lot of years. thanks for coming riss- i love you oodles!

so the news headlines for today...

Gow called and talked with HR and the director of the children's department at the church in Louisville, Kentucky today to decline their offfer.

you may think we are nutso for turning down a steady income at a great church. and we just may be crazy.
however, after tons of praying and waiting, pro's and con's list writing, debating, praying more, reading scripture and waiting and praying and trusting and hoping MORE... we are confident that this is the correct decision.

we will plan to stay here in Lake Geneva for the next 1/2 year and maybe longer- depending on how God leads next.

ok, let me just stop and celebrate the fact that we have a plan for the next 6 months! PRAISE THE LORD!!! it feels absolutely liberating to my soul to have a 6 month outlook! THank you LORD!

so- the plan as of now-- and i say that because God has FOR SURE shown us that He changes our plans daily, sometimes hourly. =)

but the plan as of now is to find a place to rent here in Lake Geneva and try to be settled in - in the next 2 weeks BEFORE our baby girl numero dos arrives on the scene.

as for work- About Face Media out of Milwaukee, where Gow has done 2 pro bono and now 4-5 freelance jobs, will be it. Gow has meet with them and the plan will be that Gow will work 40 (maybe at times 50 hours) per week starting as early as next week. He will have an hour commute- so the plan will be that he works 3 days a week in the studio and the other two days from home.

we decided to try and rent here in Lake Geneva as opposed to Milwaukee or somewhere in the middle so that the other 4 days of the week and evenings he/we won't have to commute for family and church.

regarding the work with About Face, Gow is really enjoying it. he likes the people he is working with/for and sees lots of potential to learn and even grow within the company. WAHOO

now, this is freelance. they will call him a perma-lancer.... but still, with the economy as it is- really life just as it is... we realize that to choose this is to continue taking massive steps of faith as work will come in project by project. we have been blessed beyond words with the MANNA that God has provided since Feb. and trust that He will continue to provide.

THIS is truly the great adventure!

we are excited that Gow will be able to be doing work that he enjoys- and is challenged in and we are pumped to be able to stay near family for the time being.

as this is freelance, this would also leave the door open for something to open up at Willow Creek or elsewhere.... we will continue walking forward, checking out options and trusting that God holds us today.

also, at some point in time... gow will look into potential "filler work" to help sustain our budget should the freelance work dry up. substitute teaching would be something that he could accept or decline on a weekly basis allowing him to be first available to edit. we will see....

k- so- Praise the Lord for the plan and peace to stay put for the time being!
celebrate that with us!

and- if you would mind praying about a rental... i am COMPLETELY ITCHING to

1) let my blessed folks have their home back
2) unpack baby stuff- to FEEL ready for this little one
3) to settle in before our life takes another crazy turn of adjusting to gowanita #2. =)

we have found a duplex that seems ideal- pray for the details and patience and trust as we see if God opens that door or closes it.

two other quick things-

1- gow is amazing. he is juggling all these decisions, doing freelance, talking to potential landlords for us, still taking time to make sally jane giggle louder than anyone else can and is being a rock for me and my emo-state. =)

2- sally stuck her big toe from her left foot in her right ear today while i was changing her diaper. she is a total goober. =) (that's for you nat, i have started to call sj a goober sometimes in your honor)

k- over n out. praise God. toodle-oddle-oo

winkin'

(video) winkin', signing for "more" and just being a ham.

hi all-

well, God's mercies are definately new every morning. Praise Him!

today was a much better day all the way around. a good night of sleep was a blessing and just a clearer perspective on life i guess. God is good- and i am thankful.

gow is workin for the Milwaukee company today and this week- Praise the Lord for more income.

i had a sweet day with sally. it just sort of hit me that soon, very soon, it won't ever be just her and me again... so i was blessed wtih a great time with her.

ok- get this...

i stopped at a lil local farmer's stand today on the way home from the store to get some TASTY PEACHES! oh yummers! and sally was already super tired, ready to nap and approaching crabby. well, she hates to be left in the car by herself - even if she can see me outside the window- so i parked super close and ran up to buy the peaches. i was out of the car for about 3 minutes and she could see me the whole time. when i got back in the car- she had about 3 tears on her cheeks. i rubbed her little leg and told her that i was back and loved her very much. she looked at me and then held her hand up to her ear. that is the sign she does for "phone". i looked- and sure enough, while i was buying the peaches, i had missed a phone call. and she let me know!!! she is a smarty! =)

so to wrap this up- today i praise God for Sally, His MANNA (more freelance for gow), summer peaches, the fact that neither my hands nor my feet are swollen tonight and His morning mercies!

markers and pig tails

(video) i think i should have edited this video down... sorry... but you get a peek at her mad art skills and her piggy tails. =)

today was a long one. after having a lamo night of not much sleep, we had some frustrating events take place. to talk about them without whining and so ya'll can know how to pray, i will keep this part brief...

- we got an official offer from the church in Kentucky, it was lower than we expected. (Not making a decision just yet- we are praying a bit more.)

- we took our CRV in for it's "check up" and the mechanics came back with a ridiculous quote. however, we knew it was coming thanks to a good warning from Cyndie. we are gonna take it somewhere else i think.

- and just being overwhelmed with the need to be in our own home to get ready to have this baby.

on a cheerier note..

- the freelance company in Milwaukee contacted gow to see if he could start working maybe 3-4 days a work starting next week.

- gow got another short, one time project from a guy he did a freelance project for in Madison. if we stay here, it will be a big blessing to have more than one company to freelance for...

- sally's 15 month check up today was good. she did great with the shots and is a healthy lil bundle of greatness! i think she is about to become a little parrot... today right after me she said, "UH OH!" when we all laughed she said it like 3 more times.

my sis brought this interesting point to my attention tonight....

so this is what i am pondering...

We know that God is ALL POWERFUL and we know that God can do and provide ANYTHING.....

then why didn't He provide something better than a stable for Jesus' first home?

any thoughts?

spinnies

(video) this is sally's newest... we call them "spinnies".

she is a joy and a half- i can not say how much i love this sweet girl.

well, it's 3:50 am. i can't sleep and i am tired of just laying in bed thinking. i tried praying for a bit and my thoughts all go straight back to 'will we get to move into our own place before our baby comes'? i told my sis today that i sort of feel like Mary.... ha.

gow is sleeping peacefully beside me- i am tempted to wake him up just cuz i am up. =) but won't do that. guess this is all prep for when our lil one comes and he will need to keep sleeping thru the nights... sigh.

okie dokie- good night all- i am gonna lay down and maybe try singing myself to sleep. hey- it works for sally! =)

yee haw!

saddle up cowboys!!!!

the rodeo was a SWEET time!

ems is saying "Yeehaw!" and sporting a sombrero from N and C's recent Cancun trip.

tim and ems with the clown that saves bull riders lives.
our posse and below is cotton candy...

cyndie and ems in high spirits for the fun of the day

today will be cousin time in the pool- we have a perfect sunny day. and only wish that Auntie Jane could be here to splash around with us!

random fun facts for the day

1) we are having breakfast for all three meals today! (yes, only in the DeVries family I am sure!)

2) gow is uploading "Sweet Child of Mine" for his phone ring

3) sal has been sitting still for me to put her hair in pigtails lately

4) we are all addicted to peaches and ice cream in this household!

enjoy your sunday!

fun summertime saturdays

sally has developed quite the love for books and she spends most of her time reading up on the couch. in the last week she has mastered crawling up and down from the couch by herself. we are all so proud. =)
last saturday my sweet friend Lara came to visit! we haven't seen each other since 99!!!!
it was sheer joy to see her, laugh about the old days and share about life now! love you larita!
sally liked seeing her too!


Larita flew in last saturday (she's a pilot for the Air Force and for Delta)- it was crazy, short and a big ol blessing.

This saturday- gow slept in a bit after staying up late working on a freelance project. BTW- God is providing freelance jobs for gow JUST as we need them. more mana. PRAISE HIM!

then we all headed to the pool. let me tell you that the weather here has been absolutely PERFECTO this summer. cool enough that i am not roasting in my pregoself but warm enough to totally enjoy the heated pool here at my folks' condo. and we only had a week of humidity! it's been great.

so after a sweet time at the pool- gow and i headed off to the rodeo to celebrate our anni! i know, i know, not every one's dream anni celebration... but it was definately up there for me! i LOVE LOVE LOVE rodeos! (even the teeny ones we used to go to in Siloam!)

grandma and grandpa stayed with sally (blessings to you two) and we shared the event with Neal, Cyndie and their kiddos. we had a bit of cotton candy, peanuts and the guys even had some nachos..... the bulls were wild, the horses were fast and the cowboys and clowns were totally entertaining. ahhh... it was a great celebration! and yup- pix to come....

it has been a fun, fun day.

tomorrow is church and then some pool time with all the cousins and grandma and grandpa-- yup, we are loving summertime!

on the prego note- i think i am becoming quite the specticle. in public- people are beginning to stare. =)

this morning, i pried off my wedding ring- my hands are starting to swell.. NIIIICE. didn't have that with sal, but that's probably cuz with her it was April and cool weather.

ok- well adding to the gowanito chaos of life- he is having a phone interview on Monday morning with Willowcreek Community Church here in Chicago for an editing postion. =)
Praise God for another possibility- please keep praying for wisdom for us and clear guidance from Him.

love to ya'll!

4 sweet years today

four sweet years ago today....

many of you remember it as the absolute HOTTEST and MOST HUMID day of your lives- but we remember it as the day that God blessed us with love, commitment, partnership, JOY, hard- hard- growth, bestfriendship, and soo much more... for a lifetime.

we are blessed beyond words- and are so thankful to God for bringing us together.
i love my man.
and that is really all there is to it. =)

big belly

gow's "HOLY COW" expression says it all here...

and this is my wonderful husband poochin' his belly out to try and make me feel better. =)

yes folks, i am large and in charge these days.

okay, well maybe not so much "in charge" but my FANTASTIC husband let me blame him for "water being wet" today. =) (meaning, he is certainly putting up with alot from me these days)
bless his heart! =)

maybe it's life, the sitch that we are in and putting my GENEROUS parents in, but tonight at dinner mom and i were losing it. loopy, (me) a little cranky, forgetful, a bit nutty.... maybe it's the rainy weather. maybe it's that we are sharing a small living space... whatever it is- we just maybe losing it. =)
and are for sure having a great time of "losing it" together.
i am beyond thankful/grateful for my folks caring and giving and sharing soooo much with us these days.

k- so the happenings this week....

we have heard from the church in Kentucky!
they liked gow and are beginning the back ground check/ref. check before officially offering him the position!

what a blessing- and i am sooo proud of gow. he truly has presented himself well in these past weeks and interviews.

we have not made a decision yet on whether to go with the Kentucky church job or to stay here and do the freelance route with the company in Milwaukee. there is a TON to consider and weigh out. so we are talking, surrendering, praying, thinking and exploring different options of housing etc in both locations.
this adventure is not yet over! =)

we are soo very very thankful to now be in a spot where not only is there possible employment- but we have TWO FANTASTIC options to actually choose from! PRAISE THE LORD O MY SOUL AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME- PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!

ahh!!
so praise Him with us!
and please pray for wisdom for us as we seek God's direction.

huskin' corn like a good mid-westerner/northern

sally is learning the ropes around here! grandpa is a GREAT teacher- super patient and not afraid to let sally get involved in whatever he is doing.... she even took a few bites off the raw cob. =)
ahh the snuggle with grandma!

so- gow had a meeting this morning with the company in Milwaukee and was encouraged.

i haven't talked with him much about details as he had to run to meet with some camp folk about a potential freelance project for my dad's former camp.

all that to say- if gow's encouraged, i am too and i wanted to share that with ya'll that are praying and supporting us so much! = ) so, more deets to come but in the meantime, Praise God for encouraging meetings regarding potential work! =)

sally jane is working on another molar and maybe a bicuspid? can't remember my "teeth titles" well at the moment. =) but all that to say, she had a cranky pants start to the day today- but was refreshed by a wonderful dip in our private pool! ok, so it isn't our private pool - but during the week my folks' condo pool is usually empty and wonderful and peaceful! so grandma, sal and i soaked up a few hours plinking around in the water.

sj update-

- really into lids- putting them on and off

-really into keys - putting them into doors, cars etc

-really into rocks-- she loves to play with them inside, outside, in the tub, in the pool whereever

- has recently learned to "wink" - that one grandma taught her while we were in Kentuck last weekend.

- makes a funny "da dump da dump da dump" galloping sound anytime she sees a horse

- and now we can see that she really understands a ton of words like let's go, drink, bath time, bye bye, where's your shoes, more?, all done, dog, horse, snack, give me your plug, she knows her cousins names etc

once again- this is long. =) what can i say... i am a girl AND i am a DeVries. =)

sunday

gow at the church's coffee shop in Kentucky.


ah- it's a sunday. a day of rest.

church was good today, leslie and gow led worship and the sermon was about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with just a loaf and two fish.

main point = what God has given us... is enough. we need to bring what He has given to us, back to Him... let Him bless it and trust that it is enough.

made me think about Gow's talents, skills, experience .... to bring it all back to God, trust that it is enough for right now, right here - let Him bless gow and trust that it is enough.

we randomly walked to BK for the Sunday $1 kids meal with grandma, grandpa, ems, tim and "aunt" leslie. it was fun to watch emma and timmy have so much fun playing with Sal and vice versa..... we are so blessed by family.

we've had a good weekend-

Friday- was a doc. appt - good report, all is well. Praise the Lord.
-- STEAK dinner at Auntie Karen's house! yummage
--- and a movie from redbox

Sat --- was random and a blast! my long lost friend Lara Wills (high school) is a pilot and randomly contacted me that she had a long layover in St. Paul (6 hours from here) so she took a jumper flight and blessed our lives for about 5 hours! =) super great to reconnect after YEARS.... she is crazy and wonderful and i miss her. =)

so the very ironic thing about los gowanitos these days.... is that gow is more prepared for Fantasy Football (that doesn't start until Sept) then we are for our baby that is coming in 3 1/2 weeks. =) niiice. =)

but we are waiting to see what God does to know 1) where we are going to be living and 2) what employment looks like for gow 3) where to put up the new crib/nest/find baby gear and clothes. so our waiting continues.

we haven't heard from the church in Kentucky yet. (we were expecting to hear from them by Friday- maybe the offered it to the other guy? maybe something else came up?) who knows.

tomorrow gow will meet with the company in Milwaukee that he has been freelancing/pro bono-ing with to see if they can give him the possible "forecast o work" that would be available for him in the next 6 months.

k- have some good fam time and rest today. toodles

knowing your face

(video) yup, we are working on learning!

k- gonna do today's post in bullet form to just give ya'll some quick thoughts.

- gow's doing a 2nd interview right now (an hour north) for a bilingual family advocacy. full time, benefits, not great pay and about his 3rd pick on the list- but we are thankful that it is an opporutinity and one he'll take if others fall thru

- the weather is PERFECT here right now! about 73 and sunny! sj and i had a DELIGHTFUL walk by the lake this morning

- i am HUGE. tomorrow i will be 36 weeks. so for the next 4 weeks i just gain weight and wait. lovely thought isn't it?

- i am SUPER DUPER ready to be done wearing my HOT support tights! 4 more weeks to go

- i am thinking gowanita #2 is gonna come a few days early

- sally did a somersault off the 2 steps that are concrete yesterday- has a small scratch, barely cried! i am calling her 'bruiser" these days. =)

- we have added some names to our list... molly and lily.

- we are expected to hear back from southeast (church in Kentucky) today or tomorrow! wahoo! pray pray pray!

- we are spoiled beyond words with my mom's baking and cooking and both my mom and dad's extra help with sal!

- we are officially READY to know something about our lives/future/employment/home/tomorrow.

- we saw "The Proposal" while in Kentucky last weekend- LOVED it! it was quite comical- but be aware- the partial/mostial nudity was wrong. it would be up there with sweet home alabama if it weren't for that.....

- i put pigtails in sj's hair today... adorable. will work on some pix for ya soon.

- gow has some more freelance jobs coming up. praise the Lord for the MANA! another project with the production company out of Milwaukee and another potential with my dad's camp here in Lake Geneva. God is providing one month at a time.

k- toodles!

"working on the comp"

(video) yup- here sally is working hard on the comp. =) this is her fave (and only) game that we let her play. she's the top scorer too! =)

well, a brief recap of the weekend and interviewing process for ya'll.

it was a HUGE blessing to both gow and i to be able to fly down and really see the church, minisitry, the city and to get a good feel for the people in the church and those that Gow would be working with. we were also massively blessed just by being a way for the weekend- to sort of clear our head, connect, regroup and just be together. (thank you again for taking sj for us guys! - ya'll are amazing).

we were hoping to get there and be either 1) WOWed and blown away by it all and just POSITIVE that that is where God has us next or 2) have some massive red flags pop up that would be a big door shutting.

we didn't have either. =) there were some super super great things about it all and some draw backs. we both feel like if this is what God has- then we are on board, thankful and excited to get started. there are some great things to the job that gow would REALLY enjoy and would stretch and grow his skill set. there were also a few things that were not so great, things that made us think- okay God, is this what you have? we are super torn.

i realize this is a bit vague- will give more details as we walk forward this week- i promise.

we are thankful that there is another strong candidate- and are praying for wisdom for Steve (possible future boss who is making the decision between gow and this other guy). we are praying that God would shut the door if this is not what He has for us -or flood us with confidence, courage and excitement if this is what He has. We are expecting to hear back from Steve by the end of this week- so please keep praying and will keep you posted.

tomorrow gow is meeting with a lady from my dad's former camp (here) to talk thru details of possibly doing a promo video for them and the caspari cousins are coming up for some swimming pool time!

okie dokie- love to ya'll.

chapstick video

(video)


we made it home.
we are tired out- but happy to be home and eagerly waiting to squeeze our baby girl (she's sound asleep right now).

grandma and grandpa said sal was great for them- and it sounds like they still think she's a sweety even after been sole caretakers for the weekend! =)

will blog more- after some rest and a bazillion squeezes and smooches to our lil one in the morning!

loves -

last sunday with my fam

grandpa playing with sally jane
we went to a parade - grandma and i had great seats in the shade and i could even put my feet up!
parade excitement
and then back home that afternoon - we had a watermelon seed spitting contest.

incredible- do you see my SIDE view???? and uh, no. i am NOT carrying twins.
good grief.

too cute- i love this- auntie jano giving sally jane a ride
i praise God for this time we have so near my fam.

k- it's monday, we should be visiting the kids' camp and then flying home tonight.

we are ready to see our sweet sal and will give ya'll and update on all that we saw.....

love-

baby shower and backyard shinanigans

so much fun to celebrate our gowanita #2! thanks guys.
this baby shower was a blessing to my heart.
seems like in the chaos of the dessert (aka- this time of wandering and wondering) we have barely taken time to celebrate our newest little one.
there were soo many little celebrations with getting ready for Sally to come- that we have not done with this presh lil baby- it makes me sad.
i can't nest, there is no baby room to paint, etc- so, this baby shower was something special to me.
thanks guys for putting it on-

my auntie karen- playing one of the games of guessing how many gumballs are in the jar.

writing down my guesses
uncle dave giving sj some back scratchies
and another belly shot for ya- ems is measuring my belly to see who guessed the closest on my WIDE width. =)



Elaine and Herb Clausen came to the shower! they are sweet friends from Quito that live here in Lake Geneva and are letting my folks live with them while we are still in my folks' place. super generous and amazing peeps.




ha- we had a water balloon toss game that led to an adult water balloon ambush. =) aimbo's ready to fire away at Neal!






ah- my sibs and i
ha- this is classic- my bro is dunking my sisi and if you look over her leg, you will see her youngest daughter FREAKING out cuz her mommy is getting worked.
and Gow- the mastermind of it all... chasing after Neal. yup, my bro- running to escape from Gow! =) and gow SOAKED him! =)

it was a fun time had by all