Closing Time

That's right people, we are now home owners!! It's been over a year since we started this process but now it's complete and we are so happy and excited. So, here's what you've all been waiting for, a virtual tour. :)

 

There's even room for my piano!!

 Laundry room is on the other side of the sink.

 I plan on moving that big storage unit

to the laundry room.

Hope you enjoyed the tour and you can look at our home improvements on my blog Who Left the Light On?
Also, if you would like our new address make sure you email me. :) jjvanmaanen (at) yahoo (dot) com

What Now?!

Some of you (and you know who you are) have been asking us lots of questions about our housing situation. :)

The reason we haven't said much about it is because it's not final yet and we've had our hearts broken before with another house that fell through. That's the reason there hasn't been much talk on our blog about what's next for us. :) But...

There is a house that is in the works and that's all I'm sayin'...

We should know by the end of this week (hopefully) if it's really ours. :)

Easter

We had a great Easter celebrating Christ's Resurrection as a family. We started the day off at 6:00a with our Easter Story Cookies and Resurrection Rolls then on to the Sunrise Service. We went to the regular services at church and then enjoyed a lunch together followed by egg-hunting. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun together. Enjoy the pictures! 

That's right, Asher has a Halloween bucket since I only had one large Easter basket. :) 

So he got to wear the bunny ears.

I don't  know why, but I really like this picture of their feet.

Phin's left foot is tapping away with happiness.

Welcome to God's Family

Last night I helped Asher to ask Jesus into his heart. What a blessed moment for us.

Dear Little Asher ~

I am so thankful for our sweet time together last night. We read two Easter books (The Story of Easter and What Is Easter?) and had a long discussion about why Jesus had to die, how he rose again, how he lives in heaven with God, and how we can ask Jesus into our hearts to help us obey, to be forgiven of our sin (when we disobey), and so we can live with Jesus in heaven. You had so many questions that really made me think and you were so thoughtful when I answered. I loved seeing your face change when you heard an answer and then thought of another question. We've had this discussion many times before but you were always scared about the heaven-part because you would be away from mom and dad, and normally that would be the end of our discussion. But tonight, you were still afraid but you knew that God loves you and that because mom and dad have Jesus in their hearts we would go to heaven too and we would all be together. You even asked me if there was ice cream in heaven and if God would have it rain down. :)

I asked you if you wanted to ask Jesus to live in your heart and you said yes (and I was surprised). So I prayed a line and then you repeated what I said with a few words of your own thrown in. You asked Jesus to come live in your heart. You asked Him to help you obey and learn to love God's Word - the Bible. You asked Jesus to forgive your sin because you know how hard it is to obey. You thanked God for His forgiveness and for the promise of Heaven. And you thanked Him for mom, dad, Phineas and ice cream.

This morning we solidified your prayer by reading together Max Lucado's God's Great Big Love For Me. It was great to go through the colors with you and discuss what each one meant. You really do get it and that's exciting. :)

I want you to know how happy this makes us. We are so thankful that God is working in your heart - we've prayed for the Holy Spirit to help you love God since you were in my tummy. We know that you don't understand every thing yet but we pray that as you grow you will learn more and more about God's promises and His work in your life. You are a blessing to us and I'm so thankful for you. I pray that we get to spend many more years together on your faith journey as we see you grow in your relationship with Christ. We love you and are so proud of you. We thank God for you!

Love ~
Mommy (and Daddy too)

PS. And then Phin wanted to pray to ask Jesus into his heart too. He wants to be just like you, I hope someday you will realize how important you are to him. 

 The Story of Easter
 written by: Patricia A. Pingry
 illustrated by: Rebecca Thornburgh






 

What Is Easter?
written by: Michelle Medlock Adams
illustrated by: Amy Wummer

 

God's Great Big Love for Me
written by: Max Lucado
illustrated by: Laura Logan