One step closer.

Today was a big day for the Wheeless clan.  In addition to being this boy's 3rd birthday, it was also the day of our initial interview with the International Mission Board.

Even with all the positive feedback Tim and I had received from various people around campus who know about these things, we were still a tad nervous as we went in.  All went well.  We were given a lot of information and even more encouragement.  A few things that we thought might be issues turned out not to be problems at all, and we're still on track to leave in May of 2014.  Our next step is to attend a missions expo, and since we have a bit of time we're going to wait and go to the one here in Fort Worth that's coming up next April rather than travel out of state to an earlier one.  (Hopefully our house in Houston will be sold by then!)

So many things have to happen before we get to move overseas and serve God as missionaries on the field, but today went a long way towards making this whole thing real to me.  Somebody official gave us encouragement and the go-ahead to move on to the next step.  Good things are coming! 

Our first week of school.

If homeschooling were a cooking show then 5th grade would be when Emeril would say it's time to kick it up a notch.  Oh my goodness.  This last week was INTENSE.  More writing, more math, more reading, more history and science.  Just more of everything, and all of it designed to stretch a ten-year-old's brain like a rubber band.  The goal of the teacher (that would be me) being to stretch it without causing it to snap and fly across the room.  I came close a couple of times.

Evey handled it all very well.  Though reluctant when it came to writing, she still soared through it.  I admit I gambled a little bit on that one.  We never finished her fourth grade writing book, but I decided to start her on the fifth grade material anyway.  She even consistently scored 100% on her math lessons, which was a relief to me since she's been known to throw a right little fit at anything less.  (She is her father's daughter.)  She hung in there with me right up until about 11am on Friday when she completely checked out during what was supposed to be a 30 minute grammar lesson, but ended up being a 75 minute battle of wills.  I think I'll take her out for some retail therapy this weekend to help her recharge.

Then there was Dash.  He played with Play-Doh.  He ate pretzels.  He learned that a ball is also a sphere.  He went potty, but just in the morning-time because apparently afternoons are for relaxing and peeing wherever the mood strikes you.  He was not nearly as difficult to corral during lessons as I thought he would be.  Then again, this was just the first week.

This is his standard reaction to pancakes.

I decided to make our first day of school festive with pancakes, decorations, goodie bags, and costumes.  Evey loved her crown.  Dash would not tolerate his super hero cape.

She can almost do this without me.

I will not leave the band-aids on the bathroom counter.
I will not leave the band-aids on the bathroom counter.
I will not leave the band-aids on the bathroom counter.

Different lines wrap.

With all the Christmas projects I have going it sure feels great to finish something. It's way too hot to wear this now, but fall is coming (soon, I hope) and this will be perfect with my denim jacket. Love this pattern!

Details here on Ravelry.

Poor third child.

Yes indeedy.  We are expecting our third in March of next year. 

When I was first pregnant with Evey, Tim and I sat down with my mom and then his parents to share the news that their first grandchild was on the way.  When it was time to tell them Dash was coming, we made simultaneous phone calls to Georgia from Texas.  Today I skipped all formalities and sent my mom a text message (thereby sharing the news with all of my relatives and anyone in her immediate vicinity) and let Tim spread the word from his office to his side of the family.

Poor kid.  Please don't think we aren't just as excited the third time around as we were the first.  It's just that your older siblings have stripped us of any energy for unnecessary ceremony.  Love you.  See you soon. 

Absolutely everything has changed.

Oh boy.  Where do I even start?  Well, let me begin by saying that I take full responsibility for my current state of angst.  It all started waaaaay back on July 1st when my husband and I were having a lovely dinner together on one of our few and far between date nights.  We were eating at my favorite restaurant and anticipating a rollicking good time at Bass Hall.  I don't know if my inhibitions were lowered by the lobster bisque, or if I was just at a complete loss for anything else to say in that moment, but for some reason that I can't recall right now I turned to Tim and said, "You know, if we were ever going to really evaluate becoming career missionaries, now would be the time to do it."  He looked at me with the same expression a teenage boy has when he first gets the keys to Dad's sports car.

In the two and a half weeks that followed, we talked, we prayed, we found out everything we could about what it would take to pull up stakes here in the US and move to wherever the Lord sees fit to place us with the IMB.  Our excitement was palpable.  Then the bubble burst.  The tenants currently living in our old house in Houston sent us an email saying they wanted to move out early.  A shock?  Yes.  A tragedy?  Decidedly no.  We need to sell the house anyway, so why not get it over with now?  Sure, we'll have to make the house payment until the place sells.  Yes, this puts us in a financial crunch.  Will we starve?  No.  Will we go on vacation like we'd planned?  Definitely no.  Are we still exceptionally blessed compared with most of the world's population?  Oh yes.  Are my shoulders as tense as a suspension bridge?  Um, yeah.

All the same, the ball is rolling.  We plan on being ready to go in May of 2014.  (That sounds sooner every time I say it.)  The house is up for sale.  We've completed our preliminary forms, and we're waiting to set up an interview with an IMB representative.  Tim has adjusted his degree track to reflect our new goals, and I'm in the process of enrolling in an undergrad class here at SWBTS because as of 2014 missionary wives will be required to have twelve hours of seminary education. 

I am excited.  I am confident in this amazing calling God has placed on us.  I am so ready to be done with all things real-estate that I could scream.

Wee works in progress.

Before I met my husband, I prayed and asked God to send the perfect guy for me. In addition to asking for the most obvious qualities a Christian girl would want, I threw in a few practical requests. I wanted someone tall so he could reach the stuff I couldn't (check), someone who wanted at least two kids (check), and someone not afraid of hard work (double check). There was one last thing I asked for that was really important to me, and that was that he have siblings. Being an only child myself, I wanted the opportunity to be an aunt with lots of little nieces and nephews.

Here we are after almost twelve years of marriage and I have two of the cutest wee relatives a cool knitting aunty could hope for. Since we are hoping to go to Georgia for Thanksgiving this year, I'm working on having something made for each of them as early Christmas gifts.

Here's my first work in progress. The Little Oak cardi by Hannah Fettig. It's intended recipient has gorgeous brown eyes and might also be a red-head, both of which I hope this little sweater will compliment.

Evey is ten.

I'm not used to having a plan not come together.  I tried two or three different ways to throw my best girl an awesome 10th birthday party, but it just didn't happen.  For starters, no less than half of her friends moved at the end of the semester.  As if that wasn't bad enough on it's own, it also meant our guest list wasn't long enough to make a large enough group at any of the kids party venues in our area.  It was way to hot to just throw a party outside, and then we ended up traveling on the day I had originally planned to throw said party.  Oy vey.  Next year I might have her party a month in advance.

In the end, what we settled for turned out not too shabby after all.  We took Evey's two best buds with us to Main Event, and then out to dinner at the restaurant of her choice.  A more grown-up way to celebrate for my almost grown-up girl.

My husband wrangled Dash while I supervised the girls.  Love that guy.

We all had a great time.  My first baby is a decade old.  I've been a mommy for ten years.  Oy vey, again.