Home Sweet Home

This house will be ours on Jan 5, if all continues to go well.

It has been amazing to watch everything kind of fall into place. A great reminder that God is in control of all things and we need to trust in Him and know that His plans for us are greater than we ever imagined. We now have a buyer for our old home and should close on Dec 30. This works out nicely since we will be back in Indiana for Christmas break and will be able to be at closing and also move the rest of our things from the old home. We checked out at least 7 houses and liked this one the best but it was a bit out of our price range. So we thought, it doesn't hurt to put in a low ball offer of the best price we can give and see what happens. Less than 24 hours later, our shocked realtor was telling me they accepted our offer. We are due to close on Jan 5. Which works out nicely since we will be arriving back from our trip on Jan 3 with the rest of our stuff in a moving truck.
Throughout this entire move God has been teaching me to be patient and trust in Him. Time and time again He brings me back to Him, reminding me that He is in control. So I just wanted to share our great news with you all.

I’ve had several requests for details on the home so here are some additional pictures taken off the mls site (with the current owners furniture in the house):

Open concept living area

Kitchen/eating area

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

Finished Basement (Isaac is most excited about this part and the back yard)

Trying to be patient...

Patience is a virtue....that I do not have. Or maybe I'm learning to have?? I do think it is something that God is constantly trying to teach me to be --- patient! I often am reminded of a song my dad would sing as I was growing up, "Be patient, be patient. Don’t be in such a hurry. Cause when you’re impatient you only start to worry. Remember, Remember that God is patient too! And remember all the times when others have to wait on you!” What, you've never heard of Herbert the snail. :) I think we had it on tape (yes, a "cassette tape" - I'm old I know). Well, all this patient talk is because since April our house has been for sale. We FINALLY got an offer today. We are giving a counter offer tomorrow and we'll see where it goes from there. Praying this will work out and we can finally sell our house so we can buy a house here and make this new place feel more like "home." I am reminded of the verse "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6.

Fall Colors & Baby Teeth

We went for a walk and Fall has just started to show its colors here in Chattanooga. I love all the beautiful, bright colors and the weather has been gorgeous! We also came across some Canada Geese. Isaac wanted to take his picture with the pumpkin I carved and we thought Seth should also be in the picture. Seth obviously was not wanting his picture taken.

Seth has just recently gotten 4 teeth! How does a 7 month old have so many teeth already! The bottom two are fully in and the top two are just poking through. As you can see he loves showing off his bottom teeth but not the top ones. He was very happy to show you how he can now hold his bottle all by himself.

A Joyous Day

I have to admit that I haven't always had the best attitude with our whole moving situation. I know at times I've been a bit ungrateful. I mean I really miss our family and friends back "home." (See I cannot even call TN home yet). I really want our own place to make our own. What has been amazing is how God has shown us that He is taking care of us every step of the way. I do not have to be anxious because he has a plan for us. You would think I should be able to "trust in Him" by now. When we didn't know where we would live, a place was provided. When I needed some friends here in TN, God has provided that also. People have been placed in our life here to help us adjust to our new home. Between being invited over to people's houses, and invited to play dates, and even to the zoo and the aquarium...people have been so welcoming. Recently I was invited to a mom's group that meets once a month. Today was our second meeting. We have 9 total meetings and so far the first two have been WONDERFUL! They get women to watch our kids so we can fellowship and listen to a speaker that talks about a different Fruit of the Spirit at each meeting. That is followed up by discussion questions that we talk about with the women sitting at our table. They provide coffee/tea and yummy food. It has been spiritually refreshing being able to get together with these women and relate in so many ways.
Now back to the title of this post: Today we heard about Joy. It was a great reminder that no matter what we have going on in our lives we have so much to be joyous about. The Bible is full of verses that remind us that no matter what our situation we can find joy. True joy. The joy that we can only find in Jesus Christ.
So I just wanted to say that I am so thankful and joyous that I can be apart of this moms group. I also needed the reminder that there is so much joy I can find in my life right now that no matter what I might be anxious about at the moment it will all work out in God's perfect timing.
John15:11 "These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full."

A Fun Weekend!

Mom & Dad Venema came for a visit this past weekend. We had a great time with them. We went to Coolidge Park where Isaac had tons of fun playing in the fountains. Then we walked across the pedestrian bridge to downtown Chattanooga. We checked out a local market and the downtown area and then they treated us to ice cream! That night we went to a Lookouts baseball game. The first hour was really hot and humid, thankfully they had an air conditioned gift shop that I could take the boys into for a bit of relief from the heat. The boys did great and we had a good time. Even though it was a short visit, we had a nice time with them and we were sad to see them go. We are looking forward to going back to IN for a short trip in October. Isaac is too, since we will celebrate his birthday then. To see more pictures from the weekend you can view them here.

Isaac all wet from playing in the fountains.

Isaac with Grandma & Grandpa at the ice cream shop.

Seth (5 months old today!)

Our family at the Lookouts game!

We're settling in...

It's been one week since we arrived at our new home here in Chattanooga. Life definitely has changed a bit for us. Joe has a new job, which he is quite excited about and is already going to school most mornings and this week started going in the afternoon as well. For me it's a bit different since I am now always at home and I have no car since Joe takes the car to school. I'm enjoying staying at home with the boys. I wish I could get outside with them a bit more, but the heat here is incredible. It's been in the upper 90's most days and the humidity is extreme. So it's just a bit too hot to take them out, especially for Seth. We've taken Isaac swimming a few times and the pool water feels like warm bath water. We've gone on a few little outings in the area. Walmart and Target :) We went to a local park last Saturday morning at 8:30 and only could handle being there 30 min or so because it was already 85 degrees outside. I thought we could handle a bit more since we do have hot and humid days in the midwest, but it's crazy here lately. Yesterday we drove over near the Tennessee River where you can walk across it on a bridge that is meant just for pedestrians. Isaac loved that and kept saying.."Look at the Wiber (river), Mom!" and pointing out the blue bridge, etc etc. We walked to the Tennessee Aquarium where there was a steep downhill walk to get to it from the bridge. As long as we held onto the stroller it was fine, but on the way back we both had to push the stroller up hill in order to get the boys back up. We'll have to take Isaac's swimsuit with next time so he can play in the fountains. They have animals that are squirting water and fountains that squirt out of the ground that the kids can play in.
We had a great time this past Sunday visiting a small OPC here in Chattanooga. Isaac loved the Sunday School. He was a bit nervous at first, but once they sang "This is the day" (a song he knows) then he told me I could go and he wanted to sit by the kids. The pastor had us over for lunch and we enjoyed a nice time of fellowship with him and his family. They served cold tea as a drink and I guess it's a Southern thing. I'm thinking I might have to learn how to make it since it's expected to be served when you have guests over.
It's been interesting living in someone else's space. I don't have all the normal things I would cook with. Plus they have an electric stove/oven, which I don't do well with. I think that's common in most homes here, so I better get used to it. I prefer gas, but I hope to figure this out. We are definitely thankful to have such a nice place to live. It fits us comfortably and is working out really well. It's very convenient too since for Joe it's only a 10 minute drive to school.
One thing I am missing is adult conversation. I haven't had the opportunity to make any friends here yet...I mean it's only been a week. But I'm used to more interaction with other friends and that is a little hard for me. So feel free to leave a comment or email me or call me. We actually have done Skype a few times and that is great since you can see people on video as well and it's FREE!!

To HIM Be The Glory!

Over these past few days of packing and more packing... I keep thinking how amazing it is that we are moving and how with each concern we come across during this whole moving process, God has taken care of each one. At first we weren't sure if Joe should take the job and the concerns we had with that were answered and so it was made clear that Chattanooga was where we should go. Then we weren't sure where to live since our house hasn't sold and we don't have much money for rent...God took care of that too. It shows how we must continuously go to Him in prayer. We must be patient and trust in Him and He will answer our prayers in His timing. I'm looking forward to seeing where God takes us and all the things He has in store for us. This next week is going to fly by as we prepare to leave our home here in Indiana and head for Tennessee. A few things that will be on my prayer list:
- that our good-bye's to our friends and family here won't be the last time we see them and that they won't be too difficult.
- that we have a safe trip to Chattanooga as Joe drives the moving truck and I drive with the 2 boys in the car by myself (I'm a little nervous about that).
- that once we arrive at our new location, the boys adjust well to their new home.
- that we might be witnesses to those around us so HE might be glorified.
- that we meet new friends that will soon become like family since we are moving farther away from our family and close friends.
- that God will continue to show us that this is where we should go.

That said...I'm off do to some more packing, now that the boys are both in bed.

House is for sale

If you haven't heard our news here is the latest. Joe just accepted a position at Chattanooga Christian School in Chattanooga, TN. It is a great opportunity for Joe with his job and for us as a family. He will have two classes (one History, one Bible) that he will teach 5 periods out of 8 each day. They also made a position for him as an assistant for the boys Varsity basketball team. The school is bigger than the one he is currently at and he will be apart of a history department which includes 4 other teachers. He is looking forward to being challenged in his teaching and learning more from the other teachers in the department. It has been really neat watching how God opened the doors for this job opportunity and made it really clear to us that this is where we should go. We just put our house on the market this past Wednesday. This will be one of the biggest challenges of moving -selling our house. All the plans and decisions are definitely making us turn to God in prayer and with patience as He shows us His plan for our life. We are looking forward to moving to TN and making our home there, yet at the same time it will be difficult to leave friends and family.
Joe has recently taught Isaac the University of Tennessee fight song. Click here to enjoy :)