Chloe crawling after Jack

Jack leaving the scene

Chloe in Motion

Chloe in her "Jail Jamies"

For Sale

Ok, so Nate and I have been praying and praying and have begun to see doors opening for us to move. So, as of yesterday afternoon our home went on the market and is for sale. We are nervous, excited, anxious, but ready to walk by faith on this. We believe the Lord has been calling us to move (our home is pretty small and if we want to expand our family in the future we need a bigger place). Nate and I were joking with eachother last night saying that you know your house is on the market when you sign a bunch of paperwork that is written in a language you mostly understand, english, and you have no idea what it says and no money has exchanged hands...yet. We are looking to move to the foothills. We are not really sure when all this will happen, I mean the actual sale of the home. Homes are taking longer to sell these days so we have to be patient (but now is a good time to sell before Chloe is older and understands more...moving is hard enough on parents). Thankfully we have the time because we really were not thinking of moving this year. And we have a place to go, my parents (thankfully) until we buy a new home. So, the Lord is really good and has a plan and we are just trusting in Him. Homes are a lot of money and we just want to make sure we are good stewards of our money that really belongs to Him anyways. So, please pray for us, our nerves, that we will get the price we are asking and that all this will go smoothly for us. And, as always, I will keep you updated on the progress of this new adventure. Thank you in advance for your prayers and thoughts. In the meantime, enjoy a few more photos posted below.

Chloe playing with her rattle

Chloe and Jack

I am standing with Daddy!

So much fun!

Baby Shower

My sis, Dianne, is having her 2nd baby, another girl, on Feb 10th. We know the exact due date and time actually, 9:30am, because she is scheduled for a c-section about a week and a half earlier than her actual due date. We are excited for the arrival of our newest niece and Chloe will love having another girl cousin to play with! My mom and I threw her a baby shower yesterday and it was a lot of fun. Chloe loved to see her friend Mekenzie (see photo below) and also her friend Bryn (I unfortunately didn't get any photos of Bryn). It worked out perfectly to have the babies at the shower since a baby shower is all about babies!! Everyone just oohhed and aaahhhed over them!! Hope, the big sis-to-be, was with her daddy having a daddy-daughter day.

We had a great turn-out, food, conversation and catch up (I hadn't seen a lot of these women in a long time and that was fun to see how everyone was doing). We had a fun game of baby bingo, and then I read a really fun and neat baby shower devotional for/to Dianne. My mom and I bought Dianne 8 different items for the baby and each item stood for a different aspect of Christian parenting and each had a verse to go along with it. The item that was most significant to me was the Children's Bible which, of course, stands for the Word of God. The verse was "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:7 I also have been meditating on the verse "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 This verse went along with an item of baby clothing which represented clothing your child in prayer. This devotion and baby shower was a great reminder to me to continually make Jesus the focal point, give it ALL to Him, pray about ALL aspects regarding you, your spouse, your children, extended family, friends, and the world in general (although the devotion focused mainly on prayer for our kids since this was a baby shower!!:) ). It is so comforting to have a God that listens and wants to hear our prayers.

The Cake!

Good Food

Me, My Sis, & our Mom

Babies, Gma's, Pat Mano & Presents

It's Lunch Time!

The other side of the room

Chloe and friend Mekenzie

So Cute!!

It is so cute to watch Chloe watching her Baby Einstein DVD, "Baby Noah", so I just had to take a photo and share it below.

Chloe watching Baby Noah

It has Begun...

Ok, so here she is...our gift from God...becoming more mobile every day. The first thing Nate said when he heard that she was beginning to crawl was "now I have to put the latches on the cabinets and doors in the kitchen." Such a Traxler...a little bit of eyore with a lot of a fix it/handy man personality (it is so cute!!) Nate was very excited about her new milestone, too, but also a little weary about what to expect. But, it's so true because kids get into everything. It's so funny to watch her get up on her legs and bounce around (she is still very wobbly and can't go too far yet on all fours but I see her grow stronger every day and know she will be zipping around on all fours by the end of the weekend probably!!) So, are we ready for this? Well, right now it is fun but most of our friends and family that have been through this stage with their kids keep telling us to "watch out" because any relaxing days are over. I think they were over long ago and so far it has not been as bad as I thought. I don't mind, really, and I am not just saying that. This is where I want to be and what I have wanted to do for so long that I really don't mind. Not all days come up roses mind you, but the good DEFINATELY outweighs anything that could be bad...did I tell you I love my job??!!

Beginning to Crawl

The Bear Crawl