Unfortunately I do not have a picture to match the subject of this blog, but I am working on remembering to take one next time. Maggie is my child who refused to wear a coat in 10 degree weather and couldn't wait to move to Florida because, "you don't ever have to wear a coat in Florida" and "it is always warm in Florida." She has completely done a 180 on this subject and is now layering on the clothes in 75 degree weather and claiming that it is "chilly outside"??? The other day she had on tights, leggings, a t shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a sleeveless dress, and a sweater over the top of it all. She looked a little ridiculous but she sure was happy. I just don't understand the total change in her clothing choices. Now more often I am saying, "it's too hot for that today" instead of begging her to put on pants and socks. I promise to take a picture soon and post it for you all to see.

Florida

We are here! I think this week marks the 4th week that we have been here, but truthfully I have lost track of time because it seems to be going so quickly. Florida is a huge change from Illinois that is for sure. So far we are enjoying ourselves. We have joined the Y and the kids are taking swimming classes and Maggie is in a ballet class. We've been able to spend a few afternoons at the beach although I have decided that I should probably think of moving that excursion to the morning hours since it has been getting so much warmer now. Mike is in the full swing of spring training now which should be a hard thing, I have heard, but I actually think this is the closest that we have ever been to a "normal" schedule with him. He would disagree because his mornings have started so early and he does have long days but he is home here by 4 usually. I have been told this will soon change as they switch gears towards the end of the month and more meetings are being held. For now I have really enjoyed having him home in the evenings to eat dinner with us and to help with the nighttime routine. This schedule should hopefully last through June when he/ we will be headed to Pennsylvania for the season until September. In the meantime we will be enjoying the sunshine, sound of the waves and the palm trees! I will try to update more often.

I am blogging from my in-law's house in Georgia today. We are on our way to our new home in Florida and decided to take a break in the travel and rest for a few days. Our adventure in moving has not exactly been smooth and I can't wait for it to be over. To start with our U Haul truck was about 5 feet too short and I faced difficulty trying to decide what to dump. I think the amount of stuff that we are driving around with in our van must be illegal! We are packed in like sardines in there but at least most of it fit. Mike was a trooper and drove the U Haul truck, towing his car behind him, down last Friday and Saturday to Florida. He was able to get some help unloading everything into the storage unit and then caught a flight back to Illinois on Sunday morning. We were a little delayed on our departure due to my inability to fit everything in the van I thought we needed so we left late Sunday afternoon to drive to Kentucky. We spent the night just outside of Louisville in a hotel and Maggie was able to swim a little in the pool before we left. Now we are here in Georgia and Mike and his dad are at Sam's Club buying a new battery for the van. We have been having some issues with it but every time we had it tested they said the battery was fine. Apparently they didn't test it right- Mike's dad says that one of the cells is bad. Hopefully a new battery will fix the problem permanently so we don't have to keep jumping the car once or twice a month. We will be leaving here either tomorrow or Friday. I am excited to see our new place for the next four months. Mike was able to see it last week and he says it is nice. There is a fenced courtyard and a pool right out the back door. I cannot wait to be outside with the kids playing. I will post some pictures after we arrive.

Why didn't I think of this before?

Part of the packing process included closing off the kid's bathroom to store packed boxes in there. So tonight they are taking a bath in our bathroom while I blog watching them. I used to dread bathtime because they always want to play which means I had to be sitting in the bathroom for 20-30 minutes to supervise because you can't see the tub from any other room od the house and they are too little to leave unsupervised. This works out great though. I am 15 feet away at most with a straight on look at the tub and I can blog, pay bills, check e mail, and facebook all while they bathe! I guess it is true that you learn new things each day as a mom. I wish I would have thought of this sooner! Well. . . it is time to wash them and get on with the bedtime routine.

"Thank you God that you are mighty to save"- Maggie

Maggie loves music. I wish I was more musical but she doesn't seem to notice. Her favorite song for at least 4 months or so has been the worship song "Mighty to Save". I have no idea why she chose that as her favorite but she lights up everytime it comes on and is often running through the house, grocery store, mall, Target, etc singing it. Yesterday during church when we were singing that song I got all teary eyed thinking of the lyrics and feeling so blessed that these are the words that light up her face:

"Everyone needs compassion,Love that's never failing;Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,The kindness of a Saviour;The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,My God is Mighty to save,He is Mighty to save.

Forever, Author of salvation,He rose and conquered the grave,Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,All my fears and failures,Fill my life again.I give my life to follow Everything I believe in,Now I surrender.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus"

Jesus did tell us to have a faith like a child in Matthew 18. And as I was worshipping and listening to the sermon yesterday about what it means to trust in, depend on, and surrender to the Lord I was convicted about my need to have a faith more like a child. I hope that Maggie really does get it- the Lord is Mighty to save!! I hope that as she grows older she remembers the lyrics to this song and that she is just as moved by them and that she is comforted by the truth and determined to live as it says surrendered for the glory of Christ.

Goodbye Mckinley

One of the biggest concerns for me about this move was what we were going to do with my dog, McKinley. I know that sounds crazy to those of you who don't know me all that well but he is an awesome dog that I have had since college. He is 8 1/2 years old and the best dog ever. Since I had just put one dog (Gidget) to sleep one year ago, I was dreading facing that decision with McKinley if I couldn't find a good home for him. About two months ago I was talking to a parent of one of the boys Mike does lessons with and she mentioned her older daughter and husband were looking for a dog. I mentioned McKinley and she thought it might work. It took me a while to decide that the best thing for him was a permanent placement since we really won't be in any position to care for a dog anytime soon. Yesterday we dropped him off with his new family. They have 2 teenagers and a five year old. Maggie is friends with Abby (the 5 year old) and so that helps because she knows that Abby is taking care of her dog. It was a bittersweet goodbye for me because I am really happy that he has a loving family now who is sure to give him more attention than we have been able to but it will be hard to not have him here. Getting rid of the dog is the first major step toward our life on the road. Now we will be able to move so much more easily and have much less stress knowing McKinley is being taken care of. No more dogs for us for a while! It actually felt freeing this morning to not have to stand outside in the cold waiting for him to pick a spot. I think I will be able to adjust to this new change quickly.

Imaginary friends

We have now entered the world of imaginary friends. Maggie and I were making Christmas cookies yesterday. As we were preparing to start I had her wash her hands and when she was done she said "okay now Eric wash your hands." At first I thought she was referring to Mike because he has always been Prince Eric. I told her that daddy and Caleb were playing and we were making cookies. She said "no, Mommy, not Daddy- Eric needs to wash his hands." I ignored this and went on pulling up the step stool for her and getting her a spoon for mixing. She says, "Eric needs a stool too." I ignored her but she kept insisting so I said again that Daddy wasn't making cookies with us. "No," she says, "Eric is right here (pointing beside her) Mommy and he needs a spoon. " Then the rest of the day she kept on with her "friend". This morning when I arrived home from work Mike informed me that she and Eric were at the beach (her room). So I guess we now have three children in our home. I find it funny that she chose to have a boy as her imaginary friend but I suppose, considering her obsession with Ariel (the Little Mermaid), it makes sense.