A Year of New Beginnings. Hello 2013!

Here we are! It's officially 2013 and we have a lot of news to share! If you are an old reader then you may have read many entries about my beloved Flint Monsters. The Flint Monsters are 5 beautiful children that I have loved on since the oldest was 3 when I was in high school! Their mother, Janelle is my closest friend, she has been there through high school break ups, emotional rollercoasters in my teenage life, marriage, life changes, and she was even there for both of my children's births and has taken on the roll (along with her hubby) as godparent to my sweet kiddos. My dear friend is getting ready to embark on a grand adventure all the way across the country to Washington, she's following God's calling to be part of an amazing ministry and she needs your help! They can use prayers first and foremost, but they are also looking for donations to help fund their mission to start a Celebrate Recovery ministry as part of Restoration Ministries. Donations can be accepted online via their website HERE or you can mail a check to:

Restoration Ministries

PMB 1202

11700 Mukilteo Speedway suite 201

Mukilteo, WA 98275

Memo Line: Nathan and Janelle

But like I said, more important is that they receive prayers for safety on their journey to their new home, prayers for encouragement, strength, and that they can reach many people through their ministry who need the amazing program, Celebrate Recovery.

We are going to miss the Flint's so much, but I cannot tell you how excited I am for them. This is something they've talked about doing (going into ministries) since I met them almost 10 years ago. Their family has been a major part of my life.. heck, they ARE my family. Not only are they going on this incredible mission but they are also blessing us by allowing us to rent their home. So in April we will be moving out of this apartment and into a home. A real home without  neighbors attached above, below, or beside us... a real home with a yard that we can watch our children run around and play... a real home where we can live and grow and play without worrying how our lives are affecting those living around us. We will have wonderful neighbors (aka Janelle's parents who are honorary grandparents to our children) and we are within walking distance to a great park and library. Can you believe it? We can't! We're looking forward to seeing where God leads both of our families, and doing everything in our power to ensure that our children still "see" and spend time with their godparents and "godsiblings"... whether that's by snail mail, facebook, blogging, or maybe skype! 

We love you Flint Family. Thank you for blessing us throughout the years and sharing in some of our most memorable moments... our lives wouldn't be the same without you in it! 

Where Did My Baby Go?

I've realized this week how much my little one has grown... she's no longer a baby, but a full-fledged toddler. She is walking all over the place now and most of the time does NOT want to be held. She still loves to be worn, but if you're going to just hold her on your hip she pitches a fit until you let her walk! What a booger! She is also very very very verbal, it's pretty funny hearing some of these words come out of her mouth! She can now say "love you" (which sounds more like low you), "so pretty", "shew baby", "go!", "mine", "no", "night-night" and more and more and more... she comes up with new words and two-word sentences EVERY day! Anyways... last month we had a professional photographer named Brandi Clemmons do Boogie's pictures. Check out her facebook page HERE. Boogie's photos turned out GREAT! I'm so happy with them, we'll definitely be working with Brandi again! I'll share some of the pictures after the end of this post.

Not sure if I had mentioned it yet, but we are moving on my birthday, the 15th, into a new apartment. We were going to be moving into another 2nd story apartment but one of the ground level apartments became available and we will now be getting it! Yay! That means no more lugging diaper bags, groceries, and a 22lb 1 year old up the steps! We also have a fenced in patio and garden area in the back, which will be WONDERFUL. Another apartment isn't ideal, but we will be with a much more reliable landlord (who we have rented from before) and it's still in a great location.... it will do until we can start hunting for a house of our own!

Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying...

In the past several months if you have been reading my blog you may have noticed a trend... we fall in love with a house, we think we're getting said house... and then everything crashes and burns. Ok, so I'm being a bit dramatic, but that's what it has felt like to us! I'm stressed, I'm frustrated, I'm so ready to be done with this whole house hunting business. If this is stressful I can't imagine what house hunting for a house to PURCHASE will be like. UGH! Anyways... let me give you a bit of the back story first.

We moved into this apartment in April of 2010. ONE week after moving in I found out I was pregnant. First of all, if we had known we were pregnant prior to moving into this place, we would have looked elsewhere and found a house. I never wanted to raise my child in an apartment, but we lived... we made it work. NOW... we have neighbors that make us feel uncomfortable, they are loud, rude, and totally disrespectful. When you live in an apartment building you really should be courteous of those around you. You are NOT the only people in the building for crying out loud! I know my child screams... there's not much I can do about that. I can control how loud my music is, whether or not I choose to slam the door, or if I let my visitors ring the doorbell over and over and over (this is especially irritating when Boogie is finally down for a nap after fighting with her for an HOUR). Is that too much to ask? Ok. So, this past week we had decided to suck it up and stay put. There's always the chance that this time next year we will be moving away to wherever J finds a job as a Certified Dietary Manager. So yea, we can deal for a year right? Then I found this house. A remodeled 2 bedroom house in a town over the mountain for $100 LESS than what we're paying for this apartment. So of course I get all excited.

Fast-forward to today. We go to see the house, and it was seriously adorable. A little small, but doable. When I spoke with the couple who owned it last week I was told we would be the FIRST to see it since I was the FIRST to contact them. Well, lo and behold, a few other couples have already looked at it and put their applications in. Great. So I'm stressed again. Ugh. We are supposed to hear from them by tomorrow night or Wednesday morning as to whether or not it's ours. Until then we're going to look at ONE more house further down the mountain that is a bit nicer and has more storage and such for $50 less than what we're paying now. Please pray for us. I am trying very hard to lay all of this at the feet of God, but it's hard. I know He has a plan, I know He has everything laid out for us. Do you hear me Lord? You're stressing me out!

On a happier note, we got our taxes back this week and my school check (at least the majority of it) will be in my hands at the end of this week so we will have money to put back into our savings AND to buy some much needed new furniture. Goodbye Walmart furniture, hello real wood USED furniture. There's an amazing 'antique barn' in town that has a huge assortment of furniture, rugs, and odds and ends. I found a table and chairs that I am in LOVE with. It's very similar to a set I fell in love with at World Market, but the price is a good bit lower. We're also going to get a dresser and refurbish it as an entertainment center for the living room. Boogie won't leave anything alone these days so that will help with that problem a bit. We also need a new dresser for our room and one for Boogie's room... and I would like to find a new desk. This one broken feet, literally. We also need to find a washer and dryer if we get the first house we looked at... AND a freezer because we are hoping to buy a cow to stock up on meat. That's a lot... but I have high hopes from what we saw at the antique place today! Hurray!

Just An Update

I haven't had much time to blog these days... I mean I've blogged more than I had been, but not as much as I would like! School is kicking my butt, I'm taking 2 sets of 8 week classes, but that doesn't mean less work. The classes are full semester courses condensed into 8 weeks, so that's double the reading and double the assignments. It's hard to keep up with all of that, chase after a WALKING (yes, walking) toddler, take care of house and home... and still manage to find time to do something for just ME. I'm doing pretty well though, one of the classes I'm taking is an American Women's History class. Very interesting so far... I especially loved all the discussions we've had about midwives.


As for Boogie, she is now a walking girl! She had been toddling a bit here and there, then all of a sudden this past week she took off! And since my last update, Boogie has learned how to safely get off the couch... so we're no longer "superman diving" into piles of blankets. We also moved the couch and armchair around so that she'd stop climbing from the couch to the chair. She fell BETWEEN them a few times and totally freaked me out. Ay yi yi! So my now 13 month old is walking, talking (she adds new words everyday, it's incredible!), and is as sassy as ever. We've gone a few days with GREAT sleep, then we go a few days with no sleep... it's an adventure for sure. But as I have said before, Boogie will figure this whole sleep thing out on her own. Tonight she's only woken up once so far, when she is comfortable enough she'll sleep the entire night through! I have faith!


As for J, he's still enjoying his job although we both wish he could have an occasional Sunday off. It's rough missing out on church for ALL of us. I hope to fix that at some point. He's looking forward to getting the study materials for his certification exam so he can start preparing, I know he'll do GREAT!


As for the entire family, we have gone back and forth about moving. The problem is that if we do move, there's always the chance that we'd have to uproot and move again if J has to find a job outside of this area. Then again, we live in an apartment that is not suitable to raise a child in... the apartment itself is fine, the neighbors not so much. They don't bother us, however living in an apartment means lots of noises, lots of doors slamming, and questionable neighbors doing... well questionable things. I'll leave it at that. One of my other issues is that Boogie can't play outside here, nor do I feel comfortable taking her outside. We need a house. With a yard. Without these neighbors. This past week I've really gone back and forth though, should we move, should we wait, should we buy another vehicle first... so a few nights ago I prayed. I had prayed about it before, but not solely for this purpose. A few hours later I was browsing Craigslist and came across a house in the county over, about 10 minutes away from here. It looked AMAZING. Below what we have budgeted out for, central heat/air, 2 bedrooms (we would prefer 3 but CAN work with 2), a lot of land, and it's been remodeled. So I immediately e-mailed the owners and we are going to see it next Wednesday! I'm trying not to get my hopes up... every time I do something falls through. But the timing has been perfect, and I spoke to the woman who owns it and she seems like a wonderful person, she was very kind and I had a nice conversation with her! I hope that if we get this place that God will work it out for J to find a job in the area. I'd love to stay here until we are ready and comfortable to purchase a home of our own!


As for me, aside from school, I'm thinking about going to a local yarn shop to take a beginner's knitting class! J is off the day that it's held every week, so this would work out GREAT! I've been trying to teach myself and it just hasn't gone so well, so hopefully this can be a fun little activity for me to do just for me. I've also thought about taking a photography class or two after this semester. I don't want to do anything professionally but I'd love to learn to take better pictures of my family and our outings. I've ALSO looked into becoming a doula, I'm actually seriously considering it. However I think it's something that I will need/want to postpone until we're done having children and I'm done nursing the youngest so that I can devote more time to this career. I'm pretty excited about everything, after a year of mommyhood I feel like I can finally take a breath and a moment for myself.


I also wanted to ask for some prayers. I'm struggling with how to deal with certain people. I don't want to go into details or anything, but I'm just struggling with whether or not I should even offer advice to certain people when asked or if I should just keep my opinions to myself. It's a tough road...

Exciting Changes Coming Soon!

If you hadn't noticed yet... I changed up my blog again! Thought it was time since Boogie is getting so big! My Aunt Tracee edited the pictures and put them on the banner that went with the background I chose :)


Anyways... we have exciting news! In February we will be moving into a house! A house that will be OURS. Yes, you read that correctly. Thanks to an old friend who is moving with her family, they are giving us the opportunity to do a rent to own deal... and the house is adorable. It's only a 2 bedroom, but once we are able to get a loan to pay off the remainder of what we owe them we hope to also add a 3rd bedroom! We've been praying for something like this to come our way, especially after we had so much hope for the house we looked at in October. God is truly blessing us above and beyond what we ever imagined, and we are so very thankful.

We're very excited to make this huge change.... ecstatic to get out of this apartment and away from crazy neighbors... it's a wonderful year for the Massey's!

Random

Yesterday (Thursday) was a complete nightmare... well, maybe not a complete nightmare, but it definitely wasn't the best day either. Boogie is teething, we're pretty sure her canines are coming in, and she may just be on the brink of walking, but who knows with her. We know she'll just randomly start walking, that's how she does EVERYTHING! She pretty much cried and screamed all day, even with her baltic amber wrapped around her chubby little ankle, she was still miserable. Many times I just wanted to cry because there was nothing I could do! Now that the day is over and she's asleep (thank goodness) I am able to reflect on the day and remind myself that this time two years ago I thought I might not ever even get to experience my child teething or crying for me. So I'm thankful. Boogie is my world, she drives me batty some days, but she is a miracle! Now... if I could just get my brain to slow down enough for me to get some sleep when she does that would be another miracle!


In other news... we are going to see the inside of the house we're praying for this Saturday. Everything seems to be falling into place and I would love to get out of this loud apartment building. Moving is stressful, and I'm a little worried about how Boogie will handle it... but we're ready for the change and the challenge. So much has changed this past year it's unreal! We've grown our family by 2 little feet, adopted out 8 furry little feet to a wonderful couple who just adore them, J has finished his class (now we're just waiting for him to take his final and then his final final... or his certifying exam lol), and I'm figuring out this whole stay at home mom thing. I'm learning to love to cook, I don't dread cleaning as much as I did before... and I'm very VERY excited about the wonderful things I will be able to do with Boogie when we're able to start Tot School and Home School with her!


Anyways, enough of this random talk. I know my blog entries have all been random and jumbled lately, but really that's just how my brain is working lately, so bare with me!

Too Much Going On!

I hate nights like these when I'm absolutely exhausted, but I just can't seem to get my brain to shut off long enough to drift to sleep. There's so many life changing events that are kind of up in the air at the moment, we're not sure how everything will pan out so that has left me a wee bit stressed out... among other things. I am constantly thinking about the possibility of moving and how it might affect Boogie... we've struggled with getting her to sleep in her own room, so I wonder if moving into a new home with a new room in an unfamiliar place will throw her for a loop. Then I think about how Christmas AND Boogie's birthday is just 2 months away and how everyone expects us to be here and there and in between... which most likely will not be happening. Despite J having to work on Christmas Day, I think we're still going to spend the day at home and not venture out. I hate having to go 24/7 to please everyone, and it's really not fair to Boogie to have to get her in and out of the car when everyone should be coming to see her, rather than going to see them.... right?


I guess I'm rambling a lot... but I needed to get all of this off my chest in the hopes that I might be able to zonk out for about 20 minutes before Boogie wakes up AGAIN. (And no, I'm not being sarcastic, it truly could be 20 minutes). So... I'm stressed. Lord, please be with me these next few weeks! I need you now more than ever!