Yesterday afternoon Jon and I were blessed once again
"abundantly above all that we could ask or think" and purchased our new home! We were nervous and excited all at the same time. Nervous because we were fixing to sign the next 30 years of our lives away to the government and excited because we would finally have some where of our very own to call home here in SWGA after 16 months.
A short story on how the Lord blessed us to find this house. We started looking for a home to call our own back in late February of this year and must have looked at 50-75 houses over the course of several months. But they were either seriously over priced or just plain awful. We knew we didn't want to settle for just anything since it seemed any home we were going to end up buying would come with a hefty price tag. So we figured out our max budget and things that were really important to us (like square footage, # of bedrooms and bathrooms) and stood firm. Even though sticking to our guns was extremely discouraging at times, trust me when I say it paid off in the end! At the beginning of the Summer we had a huge set back, well what we thought was huge and we decided to take a break from the daunting task of house hunting to build our credit some and enjoy lots of road trips and start back "hunting" in the Fall.
Because of this nagging fear I had of passing up a great deal, I would look at the MLS listings for our county every couple weeks but still nothing was panning out. Jon and I had to give each other many, many pep talks during this time and we said lots of prayers as well. We had one of these talks one evening in mid-August and both said how we felt the Lord was going to provide for our request soon. Well, that very next day I got on the MLS site and typed in my usual answers (by the way, with our price range and bath/bed quantities there was never more than 4 houses that were pulled for me to look at!). So imagine my excitement when this HUGE house with plenty bath's and bedrooms popped up. When I saw the price though I knew there was a catch somewhere but I couldn't pass on the square footage. So I called our agent, had her set up the appointment and called Jon at school and told him to meet me at what was possibly our new house!
I cannot even describe to you how horrible this place was on the inside. It looked as if some drug dealer had ransacked the entire house(come to find out later, that's basically what happened). I mean there was so much junk and trash every where you could hardly walk and the stench was horrific through out the house which was later linked to the litter box we found up stairs. But being Mizell's we weren't immediately turned off because we saw the incredible potential it had to be the house of our dreams. We decided to pray about it and then decide if we wanted make an offer. The next day on our way to Florida for the weekend after talking about it for a few minutes we felt a great sense of urgency to call immediately and have our agent put in an offer. After a few calls we learned that there was another offer about to be made so we breathed a sigh of relief that we didn't hesitate any longer than we did. After what seemed like a million phone calls and emails that next week they finally accepted our offer!
I just wanted to share with everyone another way that the Lord has blessed our lives together. A good lesson in learning that the Lord always provides and always answers prayer. He may not provide what you want because "His ways are not our ways" and sometimes His answer may be "no" but He always provides. You know, we were so discouraged in the Summer because we had that big set back. But it wasn't a set back. It was simply the Lord telling us to wait on Him.
I mentioned before as Mizell's we saw potential in the house. What I really meant was that as Mizell's we dig a diy challenge. And we've bitten off a big chunk with this one! The house is much bigger than the last one we remodeled and there are two MAJOR time factors we face now: Jon's job and two children! Over the next few months most of my time(when I can find babysitters) and Jon's spare time will be focused on the house. So...........I won't be blogging even close to what I have been doing. But I promise to throw y'all a bone at least once a week!
After supper last night I got Audrey out of her seat and took her clothes off, getting her ready for her bath. Well, her diaper was already coming off so I took it all the way off and put her down while I got James out and started taking his clothes off. When I got his pants off I caught a scent of poo so I checked his diaper. Empty. Huh. I looked at Audrey but didn't see anything. I figured someone had just tooted so I started to gather their clothes up and make my way to the bathroom to turn the water on. But darn it the poo smell kept getting stronger so I checked the floor again. That's when I spotted it, a huge pile of partially smooshed poo on the floor. Lovely!
You should have seen me running around trying to keep Audrey from getting her hands in it, getting any more on the floor(she already smeared it with her booty) keeping James out of it and trying to clean it up all at the same time(Jon hadn't made it home yet). It was a site I'm sure and the bewildered look on my children's faces from me screaming "DON'T TOUCH IT" every time they moved was priceless! Of course right after I got it cleaned up Jon got home so he bathed them while I mopped the floor. At which time I discovered that Audrey had also tinkled on the floor in 3 different places! The little stinker! Mind you she did all this in less than 20 seconds and with out a single peep!
This day marks a special day in our lives! One year ago today we brought James and Audrey home from the hospital! As I've thought about that day today I just have to smile and say "thank you Lord for helping us survive!" We were so happy to have them home, we weren't frightened by their size or their constant need of our attention for their survival. Everyone was so surprised to hear that I stayed home with them all day by myself for the first 2 days but I wanted it that way. We had already missed so much time together. That first week I was too delirious with happiness to realize just how much work they were going to be. Oh innocence is bliss! 
We kept it a secret from Nenie until we walked in her back door Saturday morning! She was so surprised and excited to see as all there, it was a wonderful thing! Nenie is currently having some heart problems and we would appreciate you remembering her in your prayers. As well as the rest of the family.
The twins did okay on the ride there and back. It could have been worse but then it could have been better! Audrey was in some sort of state pretty much the whole time we were there. She was extremely clingy to her old mama and if mama didn't have her she wanted Aunt Emily or Aubrey. Which made those two very happy but left the others feeling left out and sorely rejected! She did allow her SuSu to read a few stories to her and Issy play footsie with her!Master James on the other hand was like "mama who?" most of the time. Just like a man he loves to be petted on and it doesn't really matter who just as long as they pet.
It happened to be PawPaw's birthday Sunday which just added to the joy of being with them. I tried to get a picture of him and all his grand kids but it didn't work out to great. Oh well at least we will know they were all there with him! We love you PawPaw!
And another joy of going out there this weekend was getting to go to church with them at Ideal. We had a wonderful service and it was great to see everyone again. How thankful I am that on both sides of our family our children get to experience the love of the church intertwined with the love of family. It really is a glorious thing!
After church we went out to eat at Chili's where the wait was almost too long for the twins to handle. But once we got a table and got some food in them they were cool. They also got to show off their lemon eating skills to the fam! Then we had to say goodbye and get back in that minivan that is slowly but surely becoming more "mini" as the days go on!
Like all children, he would rather play in the box that the toy came in than the actual toy!
Everyone is always telling me she's going to have some type of career in music or dancing when she gets older because she dances every time she hears music. Doesn't matter where she is or what she is doing; she hears music, she dances! She even has jazz hands some times! Girlie definitely has rhythm and she gets that from her daddy! James on the other hand is like me; he likes to think he has rhythm!
How cute is this? Hannah is such the little mama, always wanting to feed them and hold them. For the most part they let her pretty much do what ever she wants to them and James just thinks she's the cats meow! Audrey seems to have her sights set on whatever Matthew is doing which spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E in the near distant future!
All the kiddos at the party. They were supposed to all be wearing mouse ears. Hmmm........
And I just thought this picture was toooooo cute. You can't see his face 'cause who ever took this (not me) cut his head off but Uncle Will is laying on a table and so are Hannah and Harrison. I wonder who climbed up first?! They must of been taking a break from all that hard work they'd been doing!
The day before their party Betsy, Buddy, Susan, Ronnie, Will, Harrison and Ma Maw came in. We had a house full. I'm so thankful that our land lord lets us use the empty house next door when we have lots of company. Other wise all the men would of had to pitch tents in the back yard! My mother and grandfather came in the day of the party and jumped right in to the craziness. Oh we had so much fun the day of the party! It was crazy and hectic and hardly no time to get to visit with anyone but it was nice just knowing everyone was here. At the party everyone kept telling me how nice things were and asking how in the world I got it all done with so much going on. My answer every time was "I had tons of people helping me". Seriously things would not have gone so smoothly nor would Jon and I have been in such a good mood and so relaxed. Having so much help really made the whole experience very enjoyable which is something I will always appreciate! Thanks you guys!
I decided to make James and Audrey's cakes myself since I made Hannah, Matthew and Allie's 1st b-day cakes. I wanted to keep the tradition going with my own kids! Mickey Mouse themed our party so of course their cakes were Mickey Mouse! Despite a few mishaps at the end (i.e. dropping one of them face down on the floor!) I am so glad I did it! I think they really enjoyed them!
More tales and pictures from the party next time!