Team Tooley

Well, it's official...we are moving in December!  Brett will be the new children's minister at a church in Longview.  How did all this happen?.... well that's an amazing story :).

Back in early June, we'd been talking with my parents and my brothers family about taking a mini-vacation together.  Because my brother has 3 kids and we have 4, we were looking for a hotel that had a 2 bedroom suite.  Dad checked prices, and found a Homewood suites in Longview that was a super price (Austin was double that price).  And, because Dad was paying, we said, "Longview sounds great!"  So we planned on going right after we finished VBS (to get a little rest!) 

We got to Longview on Thursday, and that evening, my brother called and said his family was sick, so they wouldn't be able to make it after all :(.  So, Friday morning comes, we have a late breakfast at the hotel, and then Dad suggested we go take a walk at the park down the street.  The park had a trail that lead to a playground (perfect! the boys can get a little exercise and playtime).  We get to the park, and Brett starts talking to a couple that was there with their grandson.  Out of the blue, the woman asks Brett if he's a children's minister.  He told her he was, and she and her husband both said their church was looking for one.  Wow!  When we got home from our trip, Brett emailed the church his resume, and they responded saying they were already talking seriously to someone.  We were a little disappointed, but Brett kept sending his resume out.

Fast forward two months....Brett gets an email asking if he's still interested- he said he was, and for the past two months, he's been talking back and forth with the committee, visiting Longview and the church, and last Sunday, they officially voted Brett in as children's minister.  We are absolutely amazed and humbled by how God brought all these things together, and are so excited about this new opportunity.

Some other crazy things:
-The couple we met in the park had never taken their grandson to that park before
-We had never been to Longview before
-Brett's has a coworker at Fidelity's whose wife is the committee chair's niece (did that make sense?)

Well, I've been waiting and waiting to post this blog-- before and after pics of our new house!!!!  It has definitely been a labor of love (and a little craziness!), but I am still amazed and so very thankful how the Lord has provided our family with this house.  This is just a few rooms-- the kitchen is still a work in progress :)


View from the dining room into the living room

Living Room pic 2- it's hard to see, but the top half of the windows are gold! Living Room Before (you can't tell, but there is popcorn texture from the paneling all the way up to the beam on the ceiling-- ick!  and yes, the carpet is blue :) ) and after..... :)    boys room (you can't tell, but that window is yellow bubble glass!)    boys bathroom-- yes, it has carpet--ewww!   Caleb's room (and Nathan's too!)   more pics to come.....   

With the birth of each new child, we've taken a little "family-moon" right before baby arrives.  With Matthew, we went to frisco, had pizza, stayed in a hotel, and then took him to the arboretum the next day.  With Matthew and Joseph, we went to build a bear and then had pizza together.  This time around, we went and had pizza (of course!) on Friday night, stayed in a hotel (wonderful hotel points!), got back to the hotel and watched 101 Dalmations (or 101 Dominations, as Joseph calls it) with some delicious microwave popcorn and orange soda (the ultimate treat for M & J).  Saturday morning we had breakfast and then went to grapevine mills for a little shopping (for mommy :) ), and then went to the rainforest café for lunch.  It was so nice to get away even for a day (there's so much to do at home, this gives us a little break from having to get anything done.)

Here's a few pics from our weekend:

I LOVE Thanksgiving.  I love all the cooking and hanging out together.  I love that my boys are excited about being together with family.  I love the traditions and special foods that we only eat once a year...pumpkin pie, jello salad (yes, really!), special stuffing, and oh the cranberry sauce!  And my college roommates could tell you I get very excited about decorating for Christmas....but everything in its own time. 

I have been super disheartened this year to hear more and more stores are open for Thanksgiving.  (some all day, some part of the day).

Why am I so troubled?
1.  Each of these stores have employees who also have families.

2.  Is our consumer-driven culture so money hungry that we can't close our stores for one day?  Is opening at midnight (or 4/5 am) friday morning not enough anymore?

3.  It seems like we're pushing out Thanksgiving altogether and going straight from Halloween to Christmas.  (and what a rich heritage we're missing teaching our children about the sacrifice of the pilgrims)

4.  I'm saddened for what used to be. Is shopping really that important? (and those of you who know me would be shocked I'm saying that!)

5.  Back in the day, if you forgot an ingredient in your massive thanksgiving feast, you just dealt with it (or called your neighbor to see if they had something...but wait, we don't know our neighbors anymore either, but that's for another blog :) ).

I know I will get some different opinions on this-- but I just had to say something.  (and I'm not talking about hospitals, hotels, etc.  I know some people have to work).  Here's a good article I found about it:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/10/stores-open-thanksgiving-day-2013-disguisting

What's your thoughts?

With baby #4, we knew we wanted to find a creative way to tell my family what we're having.  Since penguins have been the "theme" for this baby, the boys and I had a blast getting cupcakes ready for the big reveal....






we made these from nutter butters dipped in chocolate.  The tummies are marshmallows, and the beaks are corners of orange starbursts!  So fun!   and then stuck them on top of yummy cupcakes

the announcement was tied on to the special penguin we bought for baby :)

Matthew learned how to read "boy" and "girl"  this week-- this is his first reaction!

all the cousins (we'll get a good pic someday!)

Well, I must say that we were quite surprised when we found out that baby #4 is a boy, but we are beyond excited!  Excited that....
-Caleb will have a little best friend (just like Matthew and Joseph have)
-we have plenty of blue :)
-Brett is excited he doesn't have to repaint C's room
-excited that we have the privilege to train and raise (with the Lord's help of course) godly young men who will be fabulous husbands and daddys
 -and yes, I'm already praying that we have wonderful daughter's in law :)
-our only issue is that we have a hard time deciding boy's names!  Very open for suggestions!

We had a very interesting night last night.....the boys and I got back to Nana and Papa's late (Brett was still at the house wrapping things up), and as I was headed for the porch, I hear a blood curdling scream (literally).  Joseph had tripped and hit his head on the first set of brick steps leading up to the porch. I got the key in the door, dropped (gently) Caleb on the floor) and ran for a towel.  (at this point, I didn't know what happened).  Mom and Dad got up, trying to calm the other two down, and I was trying to stop the bleeding and calm Joseph down (which he finally did when I told him he could have some coca cola :).)  So Dad and I headed out to the ER at 11pm.  Long story short, Brett met us there, Dad headed home, and Joseph slept on and off.  The Doctor was amazing, and Joseph got three little stitches, and was promised a prize if he did good (he asked for an electric train (smart boy!), but will get to pick out a movie tomorrow).

One thing that I loved seeing though-- Matthew is a lot like his Daddy-- has the biggest heart in the world.  When Joseph was hurt, Matthew couldn't stand seeing him that way, and did all he could to help.  After we left, Nana found Matthew in the bathroom just crying for his brother.  (which Nana consoled him, and he got to sleep a little later, exhausted).  Love, love, love his big heart.  Can't wait to see how God uses him in the future.

Joseph came out a trooper, and keeps telling people that's it going to heal. :)  Here's a picture of our little man...