Sunday, December 13, 2009

Happy Holidays!

Well, when I started this blog, it was my intent to write every week. But as time has gone on, I have realized that our life is well, boring! LOL! Our schedule is very, very light compared to that in Ohio. In someways, it feels wonderful. And in other ways, it drives me nuts. But, that's ok. There are times when we need to slow down and I guess that this is one of those times. Chris was able to come down at Thanksgiving and it was awesome to spend time with him. While he was here, he had two job interviews. Tomorrow, he starts his new job! We're so excited to finally be able to be a family again. We also feel very blessed because there are few job opportunities down here as well. We have been able to spend a couple of days at the WDW parks. December 3, the kids and I spent the day at the Magic Kingdom for the first day of taping of the Disney Parks Christmas Day parade. For those of you who did not know, the parade is not live, but is taped the first weekend of December. It was a lot of fun. We were able to see Yanni Voices and American Idol's Kris Allen perform. You'll have to watch Christmas morn to see if you see us! The kids are getting excited for Christmas. The tree is up, the gingerbread train is complete, and of course, the nativity is out. We'll start our cookie baking tomorrow. Chris' brother, Greg, will be joining us for a few days at Christmas. He arrives Christmas morn. It'll be nice to see a familar face! It has been difficult though, to get in the holiday spirit. No, not because of the weather, but because of not being with our friends and family. We are not very established yet, and that makes it difficult when friends and family are so important to us. Well, I don't know if I'll be back before the holiday. If not, it is my wish for you and yours, that you have a wonderful holiday. You all in our hearts and prayers. Blessings, B~

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Where has the time gone?

Out the window I guess! hahaha! What have we been up to these past few weeks? A lot and not a lot! We are getting acquainted with a new church. The kids are also keeping busy with bowling. We are making it to practice every other week. It's not what the kids are used to, but so far, it's what's working. We're finding ourselves spending quite a bit of time over at Disney...Surprised? I doubt it! We spent the day of Halloween over at Disney. We started the day at Blizzard Beach waterpark. (The kids are really enjoying the weather to be able to hang out there.) We then spent the afternoon at Disney Quest. Jared and Nicole really enjoyed being able to design and "ride" a rollercoaster. That evening the kids were able to trick-or-treat at Downtown Disney. This weekend, we visited Downtown Disney enjoy the Festival of the Masters. It is an outdoor art show with glass, folk art, photography, and metal working exhibits. There was also chalk artists. They started on their masterpieces Friday morning and were completed by this afternoon. The artwork was simply amazing. Nicole really enjoyed watching the progression, hence why we were their everyday this weekend! As I close this today, I am asking you to lift up a dear friend of mine in prayer. She and her two girls were in a serious car accident two weeks ago. The girls are healing quicker than Mom, but they all have a ways to go in their healing. Mom has been told it may be 6 months before she is back to "normal". Right now, Mom is not able to do much of anything because the pain is so much. I have been able to help out with a meal and watching the girls a few days. Those of you who know me, that's what I do... Again, please keep the family in your prayers they can really use them. Blessings, B~

Monday, October 26, 2009

Seriously?!?

Seriously? Yep, we had yet another week of illness in the Whittaker house. This time, it was Jared. I am so tired of the kids being sick! So, what did we do last week? Well, not much! The kids were able to go bowling on Saturday. While Jared's scores were good, Nicole rocked it! She had a high score of 156! I can't say enough on how proud I am of my children!
Chris has had a nibble for a job, but that is where it has stopped. It's kind of depressing, but we're doing our best remembering that it is God that is in control....not us! At his current employer, the hourly workers had a vote last week on a new contract. Well, they voted it down. Honestly, I do not blame them. From what I have learned of the contract, I probably would have voted it down myself. Now, we are waiting to hear if and when (more likely the when...) management closes the plant. Overall, we're beginning to settle into more of a routine. School in the mornings, bowling on Saturdays, church and bowling practice on Sundays. We're planning to include a trip or two to the waterparks or to Disney Quest each week as something fun to do. If Jared and Nicole had their way (and obviously they don't! lol) we would be at the waterparks or Disney Quest everyday, all day! I hope that everyone has a great week! Blessings, B~

Saturday, October 17, 2009

What a week...

Finally. We are finally getting Nicole healthy once again. Last weekend, Nicole started to get sick. By Friday, her cough wasn't getting any better so we went and saw the doctor. We found out that she has an Upper Respiratory Infection...She is finally acting like the Nicole we know! What really stunk, was that Nicole was sick over her birthday! She had her yummy birthday dinner, but I still owe her a trip to DisneyQuest and the waterpark. Today was the kids second week of bowling and boy, I love watching them bowl! Jared bowled: 234, 138, 183; for a 555 series. Nicole bowled: 105, 126, 87 ; for a 318 series! This was really good for Nicole after her week of being sick. Jared has caught the eye of one of the coaches. Does this surprise me? Nope, not in the least! The league is much smaller than the one in Troy. There are only 32 bowlers (8 teams of 4), but they seem to have a lot of fun. The bowling alley here offers free practice to their bowlers...Sundays from noon-2pm. We'll have to see how often we'll make it because of church... Tomorrow we are heading out to New Covenant Church of the Brethren for church. I'm excited, yet nervous about the unknowns... All in all though, things will be good. I'm really hoping that we will feel that the church is a good fit because the other Church of the Brethren's in our area are 40+ minutes... It is my prayer that we will get a little more settled and organized this week. It's really difficult to feel settled when you have boxes sitting everywhere. The kids are being really good sports and are sharing extra space in their closets to store other "stuff." Blessings, B~

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Our first week...

Well, it has definitely been a whirlwind week. Nicole and I made it safely down last Saturday night, while Chris, Jared, and our friend Shawn, made it down Sunday night. Nicole and I met up with friends down here that showed us around a bit. That really helped, since it included a trip to the grocery store! lol Coming into this move, we knew that the house was on the smaller side. It wasn't until after we were here and really started to unload the moving truck, that we realized how small the house really is. We have to make due for 7 months, that's when our lease is up. Otherwise, come March I will be searching for another, larger house to move into. Other than unpacking and shuffling boxes around, Chris and I have been doing the normal paperwork: changing auto titles and driver's licenses over to Florida...working on insurance...and oh yeah, getting Annual Disney Waterpark and Disney Quest passes. Yes, for those of you who are wondering, we have been in Florida a week now and have been on the Disney property 4 times! That is the life! We have heard from our friends up north about the cold, rainy days that they have been dealing with. We have been dealing with just the opposite. Florida has been experiencing record highs. I know, rough life, huh! Actually, we haven't been able to enjoy going outside much because of the heat. But I can say this, we won't trade the heat for the cold! The kids started bowling today. They are thrilled. Well, Jared is. Nicole, on the other hand, has come down with a fever. Not sure why. My guess is that it is partly because of the stress of moving and the lack of sleep earlier in the week. Hopefully, the fever breaks soon so that we can enjoy her birthday this week out and about! I will close by requesting your prayers. Chris headed back to Ohio this morning in order to go back to work tomorrow night. He hasn't had any nibbles for a job. Unless he gets an interview soon, we won't see each other until Thanksgiving. Please cover us with your prayers that the kids and I will continue to be safe and be able to start settling into our new life. Please pray over Chris as he is alone at the house....at least the kids and I have each other. Please pray that Chris will land a job before he is laid off. And lastly, please pray that the house will be finalized sooner than later. Blessings, B~

Monday, September 28, 2009

Counting down...

What an emotional weekend! Actually, it was an emotional week, although I did hold up better than I expected too. lol! It was really hard to walk out of the bowling alley on Saturday morning without crying. That has been our home every Saturday morning for the last 5-6 years. I have two awesome bowlers, if I say so myself! Well, today started crunch time. As I write, I'm down to 3.5 days to finish packing up the house. I got started on the 2 hardest rooms in the house and was able to completely empty one of them! I'm so excited and so very tired. We have a good start, but there's still a lot to do. The kiddos are not doing any packing as I want to make sure that things will travel well. That, and if anything gets broke, I can't blame them... They are being great helpers though. They're my extra hands and gophers. I'll probably not post again until we've moved. We ask that you cover us in prayers for a safe travel and a smooth transition, well, as smooth as possible. :-) Blessings, B~

Sunday, September 20, 2009

And it begins...

We have dreamed as a family to move to the Sunshine State for almost 3 years and in two weeks we will arrive at our new home. This journey that we have been on has had it's ups and downs, as all journeys have. We are excited, overwhelmed and stressing (well, I am at times). I am realizing that as I plan out our last two weeks in Ohio, we are venturing into our "very first last times." Friday will be my last crop at Nancy's with a great group of women that I have enjoyed getting to know better week after week. Next Saturday, will be our last day at Troy Bowl. Sunday, will be our last day at Happy Corner Church of the Brethren. And these are just a few... I'm not real sure how I feel. Well, yes I do. I'm excited, yet sad. It's now time to finish planning the next two weeks. There's a lot to get done and people to see. We hope to see many of you next Sunday. Blessings, B~

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The first posting

I decided that I wanted to start blogging about our new adventures in Florida and life in general. So, here is the very first entry of many to come. I hope you enjoy!