Trials and Blessings

I was motivated to post some new pics, but now I can't find my camera cord. I even made it down the stairs and back up again in search of that darn thing, which in my present condition shows a huge amount of ambition, ha! I am quite pregnant these days; I feel bigger with this little girl than I did with Hazel although I've gained less weight so far. David loves to point out the fact that I weigh just two pounds more NOW, seven months pregnant, then I did at the lowest point of my mission. Sick, I know. The biggest problem is that this little baby has decided to jam her feet up into my right rib and refuses to move, even for just a little bit. I also get winded more easily this time around--thus the problem with the stairs. It's good practice though since our new house has stairs.

An update on our little family...We are still staying at David's parents, hoping to move into our house the first week of December. Things always take longer than expected don't they? Our contractor is great, but he's been short a few men so things are just taking longer. We finished painting the office and Hazel's room--I can't wait to post pics of Hazel's room because we did an accent wall with rows of diamonds that turned out really cute. Pictures will come one day, I promise! They've started the new tile in the bathroom and our master is drywalled and ready for paint. I'm so anxious to get into our house!

We're leaving tomorrow night for Fresno where we'll spend Thanksgiving with my Dad, grandparents and two sisters. This weekend we'll drive up to Livermore and visit my mission and our good friends Ben and Camille and Bradley and Jackie--yeah! I'm so grateful that David will be with me on the plane this time. Hazel is quite a handful when she's cooped up on your lap for a few hours. Hopefully all will go well. I can't wait to be back in my mission and see so many people that changed my life forever.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! We have so so much to be grateful for. It is true that in the midst of trials and tests come rich blessings. Just last week we had a handful of mishaps: the big deal of the year at work didn't work out like we planned, we got a flat tire and then our car broke down while I was driving in a snow storm. Our spare went flat and to top it off we lost our keys for a few days so we couldn't take it in to the shop. We had some extended family drama that caused concern, we lost our tile guy and the demo guys accidentally knocked out large chunks of the walls adjacent to the bathroom. Last but not least, my editing job dissolved due to the economic downturn and a change of direction for the company. What a week!

In the midst of all of that, I was starting to wonder what on earth we were doing wrong! But now that a few days have passed, I can already see the hand of the Lord so clearly in our lives and how everything is working out just as it is supposed to. Honestly, I'm not just saying this to sound extra righteous and I'm not just being an optimist (that's a quality I haven't mastered yet), but we are so happy. We have grown and learned so much this year and especially these past couple months as we've seen our closest friends face some of the most difficult trials and as we've faced trials of our own. I am more aware than ever of the importance of relying wholly upon the Lord and doing everything possible to be worthy of His spirit at all times. A man in our Sunday school class today said something to the effect of "The kite of happiness flies highest against the toughest winds of adversity." That is the point of this life after all, isn't it? Not to escape our trials but to use them to our best advantage.

Blessings have already come pouring in: our car miraculously works just fine; all we needed to buy was new tires. The deal at work is still going to work out and maybe even for the better--just not in the time period we expected. The bathroom is being tiled and the walls have been repaired, and I was offered another job by the same company (editing and writing) that pays more! And the greatest blessing of all: we have a healthy little girl and another on the way. Could we ask for more?

Life is beautiful. Thank you to our dear friends that have been such great examples of faith and endurance and to our family that surrounds us constantly with love and support.

We love you all,
Janelle