Brenna Bear

My little Brenna Bear, where have the years gone? Are you really already 4 years old? You are such a little girl now, no longer a little baby. Although you will always be my baby girl. You have grown a lot this year. I'll start with your vocabulary. It is practiced almost all day long. You amaze me with the words you know. I have to laugh at some of the new grown up words you randomly use. They creep into your speach and surprise me. You pick up language so quickly probably due to your love for books.

Speeking of books, we read all the time. You love to go to the library and pick out new books to read. You no longer fall asleep each day at nap time, but we do have rest time. If you aren't sleepy, you like to "read" in bed. You spend the whole time looking at each book I have piled on your bed. You have also been known to fall asleep with a book on your head. You are following in your father's footsteps.

I love the way your sense of humor has started to take off. Daddy says his prayers were answered because you got my looks and his sense of humor. I'm not sure if it is really his sense of humor, but you do love to laugh. You love to make other people laugh. Often you will laugh and then wait to see if anyone around you laughs too. Of course if you get a response, you will perform again.

You love music and dancing. If you are watching a show you will get up to dance whenever music is playing. And you are always the last one to watch the credits with Daddy. Daddy is watching to see who wrote the score, but you want to hear every last note of the score. It is fun to see you sitting at the end of a movie long after all the other kids have left.

I love to hear you sing. You even hit the right notes most of the time. Daddy and I were recently discussing how much we would love to hear you sing in church someday. I'm not sure if you will enjoy singing in front of a bunch of people, but you do love singing your praise songs to Jesus.

Speaking of Jesus, your prayers are starting to develop past the rote memory ones. For so long you have said the same thing every night, but in the past month you have started to change it up a bit. I think you are starting to understand how to talk to Jesus. I'm sure it stirs his heart as is does mine. You pray for people in your life and for those you don't even know. It is so sweet to hear you pray for your friends and to ask how they are doing the next day.

I love to watch you playing with your friends. You are such a friendly little thing. You have several "best friends" and love to play with them at their house our ours. You are learning to share your toys better and you are playing with your friends instead of beside them.

I can't believe that I only have one year left before you go to school. It just doesn't seem possible.

I love you with all my heart. You are my little Brenna Bear, my love bug, my sweet pea. I am so thankful God chose you to be my little girl.

Moved in

Well, sort of moved in. All our worldly possesions are now in the new house. We are so excited to be here. I can't even begin to describe how blessed I feel. We all (including pets) love the new house. We are still living in chaos with boxes everywhere you turn, but it is a cleaner and roomier chaos.

Moving day went well thanks to a lot of help from friends and family. Thank you so much all who came to move the Jones. We really appreciate your help. It was supposed to rain all day Friday and Saturday. Dad and I did a lot of praying and God didn't fail again. He held the rain off until we were done moving everything. I think one load was sprinkled on, but we were able to wipe that furniture off. It was a lot of work, but it is so nice to be here. Now to just get settled and unpacked. I guess it did take me 3 weeks to pack. That probably means I should give myself at least that much time to unpack.

I thought I would post a few pictures before I began to unpack some more today. I am really down to one room. I'm not ready to unpack books because I want to paint the walls soon. It just doesn't make sense to put books on shelves then just take them back down.

This is our house.

When you walk in the front door, this is what you see. The kitchen is straight ahead. Master bed, laundry, and garage are to the right. The living room is to the left.

Turn right and you see our bedroom straight ahead or...

the laundry room and garage going down the hall to the right.

This is the master bedroom with me standing in the bathroom doorway. The door to the hall is on the left.

This is the master bathroom.

If you look left inside the door, you see the living room and dining room.


The kitchen is right beside the dining area.

If you walk down a small hall off the living room, Brenna's room is straight ahead.

The spare bedroom is next to Brenna's room on one side.

And the spare bathroom is on the other side of her room.

This is the view from the back door. There are often cattle grazing behind our house. Guess what Annie does a lot?

Here is what the back of the house looks like.


And that concludes our tour of the new house. Thanks for dropping by. Sorry for the mess you were exposed to, but it will be better organized soon or I may go crazy.

Moving Night

How strange it seems, that I have book ended my life here on E. Calvert. That first night two and a half years ago, I cried myself to sleep, and left a lamp on through the night. I scarcely sleep that night for fear of bugs crawling all over me. It was a legitimate fear although luckily, unfulfilled.

Tonight, on this last night at this home, sleep evades me. I am awake with excitement, thankfulness, joy, and anticipation. I am ready to complete the move into our new home on Fair Lane Dr. Nathan and I purchased our first home yesterday morning. It is a modest home of about 15000 square feet. It is clean, bug free, and well insulated. It has a very well laid floor plan, and lots of storage space. There is floor space for Brenna and the pets to run in circles, and it is ours. God’s blessings overwhelm me tonight. His care surrounds my every thought and leaves me almost speechless. How can I express my gratitude and love? How can I bottle this grateful heart and display it each day?

Alone, before the chaos of yesterday began, Nathan and I stepped into our new home. We walked through each room and enjoyed our time together. I wish I would have thought to pray for the home: to dedicate it to the work of God, to give it back to Him. Tonight, on our first night there, when all is quiet and everyone has left, I will spend time placing our first little home back into Your hands.

Still Waiting

Buying a house is sooooooo frustrating. I spend all day trying to decipher diabolical feelings. On one side, I am so excited about our future. I am envisioning us in the new home. I am thinking about wall colors and what it will be like to walk in the front door of our first home. It is all so fun. Then there is the other nasty side of buying a home. I madly pack the house, make plans and arrangements, set up utilities, only to find that other people don't do their jobs very well. I don't like not having a since of control. Right now I am learning to deal with my lack of control, or go crazy. I choose to deal with it, but it isn't easy.

I have the house mostly packed, therefore, I no longer have cooking supplies. I have packed the baking dishes, measuring cups and spoons, and plates. I have had a successful yard sale in which I sold the oven that we don't need. It will probably be leaving us at the end of the week. So, even if I didn't have said baking necessities, I would have no oven to put them in. My solution, use the churches or eat out. The church may be a little inconvenient, but there really isn't a good selection of restaurants here in the large metropolis of Karnes City.

Hopefully I don't have to mail anything. Yes, the envelopes are packed too. No sewing projects for me now. All books are stored away. I didn't pack clothes or Brenna's room so we will be dressed and entertained.

Though I do have list of complaints, I still hold to my thankful heart. I am so grateful for this new home. I am ready to make it ours. I am thankful that God has provided the house and the funds to purchase. I am thankful for family members that are helping us financially, with prayers, and with muscles. I am thankful for lessons learned even though they may not be easy. I am thankful in the midst of this chaos.

So now, we wait. I pray that God will continue to remind me that HE is in control, that I can trust HIM, and that HIS timing is best. I may not understand or see why we must wait, but there is a reason. I pray for patience while I wait. Patience with Brenna when I am stressed. Patience with title companies that won't move fast. Patience with myself as I learn to wait.

We will be moving soon, but for now, we wait.

Frankenpuppy

(Beware, graphic pictures follow story.)
On Wednesday morning, I was trying to do what is best for my dogs. I got up extra early to walk the dogs after I went for a short run. While all three of us were walking, a big dog came tearing after us. Unfortunately, Annie, my aggressive little dog, stepped up to the challenge. I don't think she really antagonized the fight and it wasn't a territorial issue. We were across the street and on the opposite side of the road. Regardless of why it happened, Annie was attacked. I started screaming for someone to get me a water hose, but no one could help. I thought I was watching my dog die. It was an awful experience I never want to repeat. The little girl who owned the other dog was trying to pull her dog off Annie, but she wasn't strong enough. Finally the girl's mom came out and got the dog off Annie. Sweet Annie Boo earned herself a night at the vet and many stitches. She has a doozie of a scar to brag about.

I am so thankful that Brenna was not with me. I am so thankful that my dog is still alive even though she doesn't feel well tonight. I am thankful the other dog didn't go after Sophie. She would be dead. I am thankful the little girl didn't get hurt badly, and I am thankful that I wasn't hurt. I am also thankful that Annie should heal well.