the last bits of May

Seriously, I can't believe it's almost June.  May just flew by. 

We kept busy with a lot of random little things, as usual. 

Nathan  and I went to the lake one evening. It was so nice out and the lake is gorgeous. 

:) we aren't very good at selfies. 

I had to walk out on this tree. :) I didn't fall, don't worry.

Last Thursday, I spent all day in Chicago for court. This time court went well. I have to go again next week for another client. I'm getting really used to the Cook county court house. 

Last Friday night, we went out to Princeville for Nathan's sibling's graduation. Karen graduated from 8th grade and Philip graduated from high school.

Saturday, Nathan and I went over to Bob and Jenny's to help them mulch.  I got to hold little Emmy again. She's a cutie. 

thy guys got to go up on the roof. 

Cecily 'helped' too :)

Sunday evening, we were invited to Max and Mary's for supper with my parents, Fred and Di, and Doug and Peg. It was a lot of fun.  We of course were the young couple, but it was great. I haven't been able to spend much time with Max and Mary or Doug and Peg since all of the weddings in these past few years.

Memorial day was great. Nathan had friends over most of the day so I went over to the farm and got to enjoy the sunshine, gussy, and a cute kitten.  Nathan and his friends grilled supper so, I didn't even have to deal with that. :) It was a wonderful three day weekend. 

And then on Tuesday night, I went to another shower for Matthew and Rebecca. 

We close on our house really soon. Like, Monday! crazy. I don't feel old enough to own a house. 

In Christ
~Michelle. 

happenings and such

On May 5th, I became an aunt for the second time. :) I have a new niece, Emmy, and she is adorable. 

Mother's day weekend was quite a fun and busy weekend. Kacie spent the night Friday night. Saturday, I went to Matthew and Rebecca's shower, met with Lena and Kacie at the Blend, and then went rock climbing with Matt, Lena, Kacie and Nathan. 

Saturday evening we had Mother's day/ birthday parties at Ron and Kary's.  After most everyone had left, Kacie, Alyssa, Kendra, Kandace, Carli, and I borrowed Ron and Kary's hot tub for a while. Poor Nathan, Matt, and Aaron nearly fell asleep waiting for us.  :)

Sunday we headed out to Princeville for their Mother's day gathering. 

Last Saturday was great fun. Lena and I met and went garage-saling.  We found all sorts of treasures, good books, and Krispy Kremes. :) 
In the afternoon Matt and Lena and Nathan and I went mushroom hunting. We weren't very lucky. Mat was the only one to find one mushroom. 

searching hard

It was a beautiful day to be out in the woods.

what we do when we aren't finding mushrooms :)

and here it is- the one mushroom :)

And, lets not forget my birthday ;)

Nathan did well.  He made breakfast, supper, bought me flowers, and got me cute shirts from target. :)

flowers :)

It has been a wonderful past few weeks. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

New pastime

We've been keeping very busy. 

Last Friday night, Nathan and I went to my cousin's play. They did great! :) Who knew I had such good actors for relatives. 

Saturday evening we sang in the church choir at the Midwest Gospel Sing.  I think we did ok. The other groups did amazing, it was a beautiful night to sing praises to God. 

Sunday, we went to Troy and Amanda's wedding and reception and then to hymn sign that night. 

The weekend was quite busy. :)

With any free time we've had, Nathan and I have been taking part in our new favorite pastime- rock climbing. I truly have fallen in love with it.  One of the nights we went last week, we went with Matt and Lena and Clayton. 

Clayton made it to the top 

Clayton belaying Matt.

Nathan and Matt climbing

ready to go

Nathan belaying

Lena climbing...a long way to go still :)

In Christ

~Michelle

Prayer Request

Please pray for my client. For the sake of having something to call him, let's call him Earl. 

Earl has talked to me a few times about faith.  I talked about him in a previous post. Up until now, Earl has only spoken of wanting to turn his life around or what he knows of the Bible. The other day while I was driving him home, Earl told me this:
E: I don't like to go to church because why should I go and learn about things and then not apply them through the week? I don't want to pretend I'm good by going to church when I'm not good when I leave. 
M: Why don't you try to apply what you learn?
E: I don't know. I know enough of the Bible to know that if I died right now, right this very second, I know I'd go straight to hell.
M: Doesn't that bother you?
E: Yah, sometimes I can't sleep and sometimes I have panic attacks thinking about hell, so I try not to think about it.  
M: But, you know what to do. You know the truth.
E: Yah, but everyone believes they know the truth. I'd like to learn what others believe too. 

He knows. He is so close. My request is that you pray:
1. That he does not seek other religions for truth.
2. That he would humble himself to come to the Truth and Peace he knows is in Jesus Christ.
3. That God would continue to give me words to speak.

His foster parents took him to church faithfully when he was just a little kid. Now, 10 or so years later after he has been in and out of prison, psychiatric hospitals, on and off medications, in and out of foster homes, he's coming back to what he was taught. It is just a reminder to me to NEVER give up on someone's soul. Those foster parents never saw the fruits of their prayers. I may not see the fruits. But, the seed is growing.

Thank you.

In Christ
~Michelle

by His stripes we are healed

Easter.

1. Friday was absolutely beautiful. I didn't have work (yay!) and so I spent most of the day at the farm doing random things, riding the four wheeler, and helping with the annual Easter egg hunt.  

Looking at the cows. 

Notice, Cecily has found her way into the trough. :)

And now, she's trying to be like one of the boys. Such a farm girl :) 

The hunters

Let the games begin...

look at all those eggs

They must have found a gold mine

making friends

Jenny and I dyed Easter eggs while Cecily found something more exciting to do. :)

2. Rant. *Ahem* I went to Walmart the other day and was totally appalled by the amount of stuff, bunnies, chocolates, chicks, and all assortment of other pink, yellow, and blue springy things labeled as  "Easter".  I'm sorry that's not Easter. Now I enjoy a few little traditions, but it just sickens me that the Easter Bunny is every where and Christ, the cross, and the empty tomb have all but vanished.   Seriously, why are we taking pictures with our screaming children sitting on the laps of gigantic creepy pink bunnies with who-knows-who behind the mask? 

(switch out a few things here to Santa and Rudolph and you have my Christmas rant)

3. Nathan and I spent Easter Sunday in Washington church and then the afternoon we went with his family.  Thanks to Rebecca (Matthew's fiance) now being in  the family, the spotlight has shifted. :) It was a quite enjoyable afternoon and evening with plenty interesting stories and lots of laughter. 

4. Let' s not forget what Christ has done. He lives. He took our punishment. It is no longer our life but his. He gave himself for us, let us live each and every day giving ourselves for Him. 

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. ~Job 19:25

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 

In Christ
~Michelle

Mediapolis

Last weekend was busy, as usual.
Friday night Nathan and I went to Matthew (Nathan's Brother) and Rebecca's singing shower. 

Saturday we thankfully were able to spend a wonderful relaxing day at the apartment. We took a walk outside in the gorgeous weather, worked on little projects around the house, and generally caught up on much needed time at home. 

Saturday night we went to Communion. I've been going for quite some time now and each year there seems to be something different that sticks out to me. It was a beautiful and peaceful evening.

Sunday, Nathan and I and Matt and Lena went to Mediapolis to visit Brooke and Cory W.  It was my first time in the new Oakville-Mediapolis church.  It's very big and open and nice, but all the same I think I prefer the character of the older church. :)

We went on a walk after church in slightly drizzly weather, caught up on each other's lives, ate supper, and were on our way back home. It was a really nice weekend and It was wonderful to get together with Brooke again. :)
Sadly, I once again did not take any pictures. 

I went back to work on Monday very refreshed from the weekend. :) Although busy, that's the way weekends should be. 

In Christ
~Michelle

We bought a house.

No, I'm not kidding. 

We really weren't looking for a house or planning to buy. We had planned that once our lease was up we'd start looking. Occasionally though, we'd peruse the listings online.  Last Thursday, Nathan emailed me a link to a house, and I fell in love. Not thinking anything would come of it Nathan asked Ron W. (our family realtor) if he knew anything about it. And before we knew, we were going to look at the house on Saturday morning. 

Still, I was not really thinking anything would come of it or that we'd decide in a month or two. When we got to the house at 9:00am we were informed that an offer had already been made on the house and we had only until noon to decide and make an offer. Well, I loved it. Nathan loved it. The location was great. The price was perfect. We were in a tough spot. :)
 Through providence, a few days before, Nathan had set up a meeting with the bank at 10:00am. Nathan and the loan office talked about the possibility while I texted my parents freaking out. 
We met with Ron, signed papers and made an offer. 
By 4:00pm, our offer was accepted. :)

I was slightly, ok a whole lot in shock. 

Here it is!!!! :)

(screenshot from google maps)

For any of you who are wondering, it's 4 bedroom, two full baths, it has a detached garage, a really nice kitchen, and a nice living room area. The basement is not the best, but what can you expect from a house built in the 1920s? We're closing on June 2nd.

I know with just buying a car it seems like a crazy financial decision. But, compared to what we are renting for, we think this is a better decision than renting longer.

God truly provided this house for us and everything about the circumstances is His work. We feel incredibly blessed and excited. :)

In Christ

~Michelle