change

so, we've made a few big decisions recently...  that's actually a bit of an understatement.  we've made some huge life altering decisions lately.  there, that sounds more accurate.
we have been living in south bend with diana's mom and david for almost a year and a half now.  it has been really great, they have been so welcoming and generous, changing their life to include us.  it has been a lifesaver for diana, getting some much needed help with ledger and getting the chance to be close to friends and family again.  it has been great.  except that it hasn't.  though there has been some fantastic benefits to living here, there have also been some major challenges.  the biggest being that even though we live in south bend, i still work in highland.  this means that i drive an hour and a half each way to work everyday.  that commute has been very draining- draining on me, on the car, and on our bank account!  there were other things as well, but i'm not going to go into too much detail about everything.  i'll just say that we found ourselves in a situation where we both felt that we needed a change.  diana doubled her efforts in trying to figure out what God's will was for us, and with the help and council of friends and family, we saw some different options that were being presented to us.  God was opening some very different doors for us.  we made some options, talked them over, and decided to make some big changes.  the biggest one for me was the decision to leave my job.  to leave teaching.  it was a tough choice, but to be honest, it was the part of my life i was the least happy with.  i loved my family life, my marriage was as strong as ever, but i was restless and unhappy at work.  i would arrive in the morning exhausted and i would leave each day even more exhausted.  i was drained physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  i was frustrated and unfulfilled.  it was time to be done.  it was a hard choice, but i feel it was the right one.
the other big change for us was the decision to move to grand rapids.  we loved our time in south bend, but it just felt like it wasn't where we were supposed to be.  it felt like our time there was filled with challenges, with God closing door after door for us.  it really felt like God was telling us that we were not supposed to stay there!  this decision was especially hard because diana's mom and david had been so welcoming and supportive of us living with them and making our life there.  but i know it's not where God wanted us to end up.
so, with a new job and a new city to call home, we start over once again.  we're not entirely sure what will happen, but we do know that there's a plan for us and we are following where God is taking us!

rockstar

a few of diana's friends had made plans to go out for a shared birthday celebration and invited us to join them.  we asked, and james and barbara was more than willing- eager even- to take ledger for the night so we could go out.  we brought him over to their house to drop him off, and ledge was thrilled about the opportunity to spend the night with his auntie!  we got there and the first thing ledger wanted to do was play with james' drums (can't blame him there, its fun to hit stuff!).  james had it all set up from the last band practice, so ledger ran over and started rockin' out!  james turned on the microphone for him too, which ledger was thrilled with!  he hopped on the chair and say into the mic '1, 2, 3, 4!' and then proceeded to bang around on the drums like a true rockstar!
after a rousing concert from our little one man band, we headed back up stairs, got him a bite to eat, and got him ready for bed.  we got to hang out with barbara and james for a little bit, then we said our goodbyes, and were off!  unfortunately the friends actually cancelled earlier in the day, but that just meant diana and i got to go out for a night on the town just the two of us!  thanks barbara and james- it was much needed!
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ledger's first snowman

as we finally get our first major snowfall of the season, so begins ledger's all consuming obsession with snowmen...
every time there was even a little snow falling he has been wanting to get out there and make a snowman.  the reality of going out and making one was always going to be pretty bleak for poor ol' ledge:  his mama hates the cold and would flatly refuse to go out in the snow with him, and his daddy was always at work during peek outside time (also known as 'daylight'...).
well, finally the weekend arrived, so saturday morning as he was eating his banana for breakfast i whispered in his ear those words immortalized by the 'frozen' soundtrack: 'do you want to build a snowman?'  his eyes lit up and he was giddy with excitement!  he jumped off the couch, leaving behind his favorite cartoon, and ran for the coat closet.  after the twenty minute process of bundling him up, he waddled to the back door and we went outside to play and explore in the snow!  he wasn't exactly sure how to build a snowman, but that didn't stop him!  after a couple detours of snow angels and running around like 'a fast little gingerbread boy', we got to work crafting his very first snowman.  the snow was good for packing, so i showed him how to make the three big snowballs to put together to make a snowman.  after we got the body, he wanted to go exploring to find some eyes, nose, and arms for his new snowy friend. after we rooted around in the bushes for just the right arms, we picked up some rocks for eyes and another little twig for a makeshift nose (he wanted a carrot, but we were fresh out...), we assembled the snowman, which we decided should be named 'stan'.  he was so proud of that little snowman!  even after we went back inside, for the rest of the day he kept wanting to look out the window and point and wave to his new buddy stan!
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steely james

barbara has been dating james for a while now and he is a really cool guy.  so cool, in fact, he is actually in a band!  diana and i had never seen him perform though, so when he invited us to a gig recently, we were all for it!  in fact, diana's mom and david were even up for going!  miranda was nice enough to stop by and watch our boy for us so all four of us could go to see the show.
i had never been to the bar that they performed at, but it was a pretty cool place.  it was in a basement, but was actually pretty large and nice.  we got there a bit before the show so we could pester james for a while, you know, try and get him nervous and riled up.  it didn't work.  once they started playing it was great to hear james in action.  he is the lead singer and keyboardist for the band.  the band is called 'babylon sneakers', they are actually a cover band dedicated to the music of steely dan, which is james' favorite band.  i was at a disadvantage with this though, you see, i don't actually know any steely dan music.  so as far as i knew, they could have written all the songs themselves and i would have been quite impressed!  as the night went on there were actually a couple songs that sounded familiar, so it wasn't all unknown  i guess.  it was a lot of fun, at one point the girls even got up and did some dancing and rocking out!  barbara was loving the whole thing, being a great groupie girlfriend.
i hope we will get to see them perform again soon!
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