"pick a peet"...

yes, "pick a peet" does in fact mean "trick or treat". it only took anna about two houses before she had the whole thing figured out. she even threw in a "tank to" after receiving the loot and gave a wave as the door would close.some of our good friends, who couldn't come last year, came over for the festivities this year. ross and alan stayed at the house enjoying tasty beverages and passing out candy while ramey slept upstairs and allison and i took the other 6 kids around the neighborhood. i think the older kids had a blast and i know anna and emmie did. every once in a while the kids would cop a squat in a driveway and dig in their bags for a treat. this was also the time when a diaper would get changed.
little miss ramey didn't go with us this year but she did sport a pumpkin outfit for about ten minutes...just long enough for some picture.

our neighborhood did a great job of keeping the decorations a little more low key. only a couple of houses were questionable. two in particular stand out as the wackos this year. at one house a man had a VERY SCARY mask on and of course when anna saw him she started to wig a little so we began backing away. meanwhile emmie is starting to walk backwards and all the while this guy is growling. yes growling at two year olds...wacko award #1 goes to him. wacko award #2 goes to the old creepy man who brushed his extremely long gray hair over his face like cousin it. none of the kids liked him either especially not luke. when the man realized he was not a favorite he pulls his hair back and makes a scary face at luke and a yucky noise too. what is wrong with people?? fetal alcohol syndrome?

on the flip side though- one family gets major kuddos!! dad dressed like captain hook from head to toe, mom dressed as wendy and the little girl was tinkerbell with pixie dust!

oh and for those who may be wondering if ross has a job yet- the answer is no. we are still waiting. there are four possibles but nothing for sure yet so please pray as we wait on the Lord.

ode to laundry...

friday i realized the kids were out of clean underwear and all their other necessities.
then i began to sort four kids worth of laundry plus mine and ross'.


this is what the piles of clean laundry look like for all four kids...there are still two more loads going. note to self...don't wait two weeks to do the laundry.
this is me when it's all done...

wonderful weather...

i love this time of year! highs in the 80s, low humidity, a cool breeze! my kids love this weather too. in fact this morning the girls played outside for quite some time. they were swinging on the swing set and writing with chalk on the porch. the windows are all open on the house and the birds are chirping a sweet sound. i don't know if there is anything better! it was so nice that i couldn't even finish cleaning the kitchen or brush my teeth. i had to go outside and play with them. i wish i would slow down more to just play! (jen- this pic is one that daph and i did for miss ellie belle.)
this week was crazy hair night at awanas. spiky hair just isn't crazy these days so thankfully my friend had some color spray. henry and sage had blue and green hair which they of course thought was the coolest thing ever. i have to admit...it was pretty fun looking!


henry has been doing a lot of reading these days which i am so excited about. i pray all the time that he would have a love for learning but most of all that he would have a desire to read the Bible all his days so that he would know God more deeply. the other day as i was getting dinner ready this is what i saw...




hope you have a great weekend!

the latest...

here's anna and emmie once again, loving life and enjoying each other.


ramey is now 3 and half months old...well she was when i took this picture. next week our little one will be four months old. time is flying by way too fast!


we withdrew daph from school at the end of september with the thought of moving away or at least saving money while we wait. last thursday i took the girls to the zoo with aunt cat and zach. we had a really fun time just enjoying the animals. i have to say, our zoo is just the right size for a morning outing. not too big and not too small.
this picture is of daphne being silly while we waited for aunt cat and zach to arrive. note my younger one in the background trying to jack the atm machine. we aren't that desperate!!


lastly, here's our birthday girl. daphne turned 4 on the 1st so we invited family and a couple of friends over for dinner and cupcakes to celebrate.

keep praying, folks. we are not going to phoenix either. there are a few things in the works right now so pray that something will stick SOON!!

not what we thought this week would be...

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9

i have no clue what is going on in our lives other than God is doing something!!

we are no longer going to seattle. two days after receiving his "welcome to the company" letter and packet the company ross was going to work for retracted their offer. we were shocked and very disappointed to say the least. as i had said in the previous post my heart ached at the thought of leaving our friends and family here but the desire for adventure rages within both ross and me. we had become excited about going. we were ready to see what the Lord had for us to learn and share there. now that is no longer.

after receiving the "welcome" letter ross contacted the other company who had extended an offer to him and kindly declined their offer. needless to say when word came that we were no longer going to seattle he immediately called this company to see if they would still like to have him. they told him they were already interviewing someone else but would let him know the next week. they did call him on the following monday and extended the offer again (plus relocation). we were thankful but so much less excited...the job is in phoenix (just outside of).

let me say that when this seattle job was taken away it really shook me. when ramey and i both faced death this year i stood more firmly on my faith than i did in this. why? why would something as trivial as losing a job/not having to move to a city 1500 miles away shake my faith more than my daughter's fight for life? the answer- the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. i am sure that we are being pursued by one who wants nothing more than to void our impact for Christ. i, too often, want to sit under a palm tree and sip on an umbrella drink and watch the world pass by but because i am a christian i must fight the good fight all the way to the finish line.

early catholic art made popular the mythical bird- the phoenix. near the end of the life of the phoenix it builds a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both bird and nest burn fiercely and reduce to ashes from which a new bird is born. catholic art used this as symbolism of Christ's resurrection.

in our attempt to love and live like Christ i believe our move to the phoenix area may be symbolism in our lives. ross and i, because of Christ living in us, will rise from the ashes of disappointment and pride to make God famous because it is only because He wills it that we even sit here breathing.

i am a very self reliant person- so much so that i once said to the Lord during this layoff, "Lord, could you hurry up and give ross a job so i don't have to depend on you anymore?" i wasn't even being silly in saying that- i meant it and when i realized i truly meant that in my heart i laughed at myself for still being so dense.

i have no doubt that God has plans for hope and a future for me and ross and our kids. i also have no doubt that all too often i get on the floor kicking and screaming because i think i know what is best for us. i am wrong every time. this time i want to step out in faith and trust God to provide for our every need. i want only to be exactly where God wants me for i know there is no better place to be than under the shadow of His wing.

join us as we pray for a new excitement towards this job and this relocation. we want to go and be like daniel, meshach, shadrach and abednago- we want to come out of this fire not even smelling like smoke!

"In my distress I call on the Lord and he answers me." (ps. 120:1)

** to our sweet friends who actually sent us a gift card to ll bean, we would love to return this to you being that we won't need rain wear after all. email me and let me know how to get this back to you.

we're moving...

today it is for sure. we are moving to seattle, washington. ross took a job there and will leave next week. the kids and i will follow, hopefully, before the end of october. it is crazy to think that we will be living in the northwest. 10 years ago i figured we'd live in texas all our life but look at the adventure we are on! we are excited about this new adventure. we love the coast and cold weather so we're giving it a try.

my heart is sad though. God has given us rich blessings in our friends here. i cannot imagine not seeing the faces of my friends each day. in fact my heart physically aches when i think of this. so much so that i am going to quit writing about it for now.

the kids go back and forth about the move. they don't want to leave their friends either but are very excited to whale watch and pick blueberries. i have checked out pumpkin patches and christmas tree farms.

i can't wait to see all the beautiful things that so many people keep telling me about. one thing i have realized though...we don't have winter wardrobes. if ever you want to give a gift to the newman family...ll bean gift cards, lands end gift cards...that would help to clothe our flip flop, tank top wearing family!

g.k. chesterton once said, "an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." adventure is defined as "an unusual, exciting, and daring experience." so we are following Him to a new place. though difficult, we know He is at work and our lives are in His hand. bring on the adventure!

ramey has something to say...