I don't remember how to do this.....

Hello blogging world! I feel like it has been such a long time (which it has) and there is so much to update on (which there is). It is going to take a bit of time for us to get all caught up but it will happen hopefully in the relatively near future. Sad part is there are not a ton of pictures of Makaela to share from the past few months but I will share what we do have. Life got just a little bit hectic pretty fast...and before we knew it our summer was/is over.

July was filled with the process of trying to pack up a house as well as prepare a house for tenants...both quite large jobs. This is the part where I thank all of our family for the endless hours they spend driving and laboring over projects at home! My wonderful amazing selfless parents drove down nearly every weekend in July to help us at home (which while it was hard on them, I know they enjoyed the "projects" they got to do). Nonetheless we cannot express to them how much we appreciate their sacrifices to help us! Nathan's mom joined in on the action of painting the trim on our house...a job that seemed to never end!! I'm pretty sure at one point there were about 6 people all painting the outside trim somewhere (and I might add the weather was at least 100*). My brother came up a few weekends feeling he "owed" us since I helped him move across the country a few times. I tried to tell him sitting in a car and hanging out is way different than painting in the scorching sun and 100 degree weather but he insisted. My sister and brother's girlfriend got quite handy with the boxes and tape gun. Moving day came and we cannot express how much we appreciated our family helping us! Nathan's brother, dad, and brother in law and my brothers and brother's girlfriend (and my awesome roommate, Emily) all came up to help with loading and cleaning and finishing projects. All this to say, there is absolutely no way we would have ever accomplished everything we needed to in the amount of time we needed to without the help of our family and we are just SO grateful to all of you for your love and support and for giving up time with your own families to help us! We love you guys!!

Needless to say the end of July came faster than we knew it would anyway! Before we knew it we were packing up the dog and the baby and driving away from our first home together. That was a weird feeling...but an exciting adventure at the same time. Washington was the destination and while we were very sad about driving away from all our family, we were also excited about what was ahead of us. We're not sure how many times we said "we can't believe we're moving to Washington!!" with such awe and amazement! The Lord was SO good and gracious to us! It has been the most wonderful thing to feel such peace about such a big decision and to know that we are where the Lord wants us to be without any questions or doubts. Praise Him!!

Driving to Washington with a 5 month old and a dog (who is really still a puppy)...we weren't sure how this would go...but again it went great (and again, Praise Him!!!). It was definitely a fun adventure with both the dog and the baby giving us plenty to laugh about. It was a trip I know we will remember for the rest of our lives.

At any rate, we are here now and have been for 1 full month now (my how time flies!!). We are all settled in and really enjoying everything Washington has had to offer--including the weather! We came at the perfect time as it has been beautiful (with the exception of a few 90*+ days and humidity), although probably any weather would seem beautiful after weeks of triple digit weather! But the sun has made an appearance nearly every day which I understand I should soak up while its here. Our home that we are renting was definitely a gift from the Lord and has been such an accommodating space for us! Plenty of good space for us to use as well as for plenty of family to come and not feel cramped (cue to family....come visit us!!!). I should not even get started on how the church has blessed us...probably should wait for a different post otherwise this will become a novel. I will just say that our Savior is so wonderful and so gracious and has many vessels here to use to extend His love to others. What a blessing to be welcomed into such a wonderful new church home! More to come on that....

I will upload a video we took of the house, however we only got half of it. The video stopped when we were in the kitchen and were prompted to open up the fridge which was FILLED with food so that no immediate grocery shopping was necessary. Again... the church has been nothing shy of amazing! But once I get a handle on the house for this week, I'll take some pictures of it and post them so you call can see where we are living.

Also to come...

~Pictures of our old house--all empty--weird.

~Pictures of sweet Makaela

~Videos of sweet Makaela

I suppose I should update on her real quick...she is on the move. Not crawling but scooting like an inchworm EVERYWHERE! She lays on her back for about half of a millisecond before she has rolled over and is scooting around...and her latest thing is to go from being on all fours to twisting and contorting her body so she is sitting. More to come with her...

~Post about Christ the Rock Community Church--because they are wonderful and I just need to tell you about them!

I think that's about it. Like I said, lots of updating to do but hopefully I can get it all done relatively soon. Also, we have Skype so any of you who read this who want to Skype...we would love it!

Love all of you, and miss everyone who reads this. Check back often for updates as we want to keep you informed of our new life and adventure up here in Port Orchard!