It's been a week

It's been an exciting week!
We have a lot to be thankful for. We praise God for His faithfulness.
Kyle and I have had a lot of tough choices to make. A lot of choices that we wanted to make sure we were following God's will for our lives and not just doing what we pleased.
We have officially decided to call Priest Lake home. It's been a long time coming. When we moved here in Jan. 2012 it was suppose to be temporary. We were going to get Kyle all processed out of the military, we were going to find a house in Montana, buy it and move there. We both never had complete peace about this plan. We went to Montana, looked at homes, looked at job opportunities, schools, etc, and never felt right. We also considered Alaska. We flew there, looked at a couple houses, Kyle was accepted to his dream school there, but I totally hated the idea of being so far from our families again. We looked at houses in Coeur D'Alene and considered the idea of Kyle attending Eastern Washington University, once again we never had a feeling of peace about it, Kyle really hated the idea of living in town.
We then considered staying here at Priest Lake. Something we had thought about before but felt like doors were being closed in our faces. We then had someone suggest we pray specifically (rather than a generic "help us follow your will") about staying here and specifically praying for the house we wanted. We did. We prayed, and prayed. We now truly believe that this is where God wants us and that all will work out for us to be able to stay. Making a living here in N. Idaho isn't easy.
This week I was interviewed and given the position of preschool teacher. I am so excited about it. I am so glad I got the job because I have been doing a lot of prepping and planning in my being hopeful that they would hire me. I got the notice today that I am officially hired. It will be perfect, 2 1/2 days a week, with 2 of my three kids.

Here is a photo of me saying goodbye to teaching 4 years ago, so I could be home with my baby. It was one of the hardest decisions, but best decisions I have ever made. Four months later Kyle was injured in Afghanistan and I was able to focus on helping his through recovery...a continuous process. I've also managed to get a master degree and have two more kiddos in that time.

Look at goofy little Gunnar.

This week Kyle is also going out guiding with Cavanaugh's Priest Lake Outfitters with their first Cav's Camp trip. He is excited. Ultimately we want to start a youth program up here, and this is a good start in working with the community doing what he loves. He also plans on continuing his work with Peak 7. This Saturday at the end of season party he was given his certificate of "Senior Guide." It's a great accomplishment and I'm proud of his hard work.

We are still trying to figure out school. Eastern is still a possibility but Kyle probably won't go until his last two years, it is quite a drive. He is thinking about attending the satellite campus for North Idaho College in Sandpoint for his general classes. We thought he would start this fall, but with us moving into a house it may be better for him to start winter quarter, we will see how this works out. He has been on the phone today with schools working it out. He has been accepted to both Eastern and North Idaho College, so that part is out of the way. We are praying that he is able to get classes just on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays so that it won't interfere much with my preschool teaching schedule and he can stay home with Maverick. But we will cross that road when he gets school figured out. He isn't totally excited about going to school (I can't blame him) but he does think that his probably the best idea for him now.
So I mentioned moving. We are so ready to get out of the trailer. It has been nice, living for practically nothing, but few electric, propane, and sewer bills, but we feel our welcome is worn and its time to move. We put an offer in on a house this week. Unfortunately, it will be 2-4 months until we find out if the bank accepts our offer. It is a short sale and takes a bit of time. We are hoping for 2 months as 4 months would mean closing around the end of November, which very likely means snow! I would much prefer to be moved before the snow falls. If we don't get into this house we have a couple of other houses we are interested in. We are just trusting God and doing a whole lot of praying!

Here are a couple pictures of the house...remember its not ours, but God willing maybe we'll call it home soon. It will need some work over time, but is 2,900 square feet, in a beautiful location, nice shop, guest building an garage, creek with a swimming hole, bordered by state land, great neighbors, 12 acres, and we could move in without 'having' to do anything.

So, that's our new news. We could definitely use prayer and appreciate all of your love and support!

Baby Maverick Turns One

Last week, July 25th, our baby Maverick turned 1 year old.

Birth: 7 lbs 7oz, 19 inches long

1 year later: 20lbs., 29 inches long

He is such a sweet baby and a total joy in our lives. He fits in perfectly with our family and I seriously can't get enough of his cute little face and his funny little personality that is emerging.
He lets his brothers know when he disapproves of something, but also adores all the attention they give him. They all get along so great. I am so thankful for that and love that they all three get to grow up and be close in age to each other. What fun!
Maverick isn't walking yet. He is taking his sweet time. Considering Gunnar was walking at an impressive 9 months and Ryker 10 1/2 months we are enjoying Mav taking his sweet time. He has all the precursors, he just hasn't gotten up the nerve to let go yet!
He waves "bye-bye," claps, says "Mama" and "Dada" and points to the dogs and says "Da." He points at everything. He also gives the sweetest kisses in the world, with the smacking sound and all. He usually will give you one if you ask for a kiss or a smooch. He is also a great eater. I loves just about anything. Which is good because we found out he is anemic and are working on getting him more iron friendly foods!
He was a pretty big mama's boy. But is quickly realizing that mom isn't the only cool one around. When I'm not around he thoroughly enjoys spending time with others and usually never fusses. He is one happy baby.
He decided he disliked his pacifier around 9 months. I started playing a game with him, my mistake, and he just wouldn't keep it in his mouth, so we kicked it to the curb. We would put it in and he would promptly spit it across the room. So we decided it wasn't worth it, he didn't need it, and got rid of it. Awesome! I love not having to do a nightly search for the pacifier before he goes to bed.
I was super slow with getting this kid to sleep in his own bed and self-soothe. I am becoming softer with each child. Gunnar had it rough. I found out when he was 9 months old I was pregnant and he had to grow up, no longer be the baby. Poor kid. Maverick gets to enjoy life as a baby much longer. He is now going to bed on his own and doesn't even cry when I put him down at nap time or bed time. He goes down at 8 and usually only wakes up around 6am, nurses and then goes back to sleep until 8 or 9.
He is slowly being weaned. He usually only nurses, morning, naps, and bedtime now. I am so ready to be done. I don't know how you breastfeeding mamas do this once your kiddos get teeth. Luckily for me my kids don't get teeth early. Maverick got his first right around 11 months and now has his two bottom and two on top. One of the top has just broken through. He is now biting me. Breastfeeding it about to end, promptly!!!
We had a quiet little party at home for the little guy. We celebrated with just our family and we had a great time.
As you will see in the pictures this kid wasted no time. He wanted that cupcake immediately and once he got his hands on it he knew exactly what to do with it. He doesn't mess around!

During the few days prior to Maverick's birthday, one of Kyle's co-workers, our friend Zack came up for a few days. We had fun using some inflatable kayaks to go down Priest River, which was fun, but pretty bony. We also spent time at the lake and went up to Lion Head and the natural rock water slides. We had tons of fun. Never did I imagine that I would let my kids go down the slides, but the water was perfect, everyone went down and had a great time.