So, after living in our house for two years, we have decided to sell and move into an apartment. The reason–we had no idea how difficult it would be to do maintenance on a home when you have four children as young as ours. Bill and I moved into our home knowing it was a fixer-upper and loving the idea of the whole thing. We had done some of this kind of thing in the past, but that was pre-children. We didn’t realize (for whatever reason) that either all home improvements would have to be done after the children went to bed, making for late nights and more tired days, or that they would have to be done while the kids were awake (chaos!), making us miss out on time with them. We don’t like either option. Also, God has put us in some different roles with our church, which adds some time and responsibility on our plate. Basically, we feel as though our home is interfering with our family and ministry instead of serving them, and that ain’t right.
Yesterday we officially put our house on the market. The goal is to rent for three years or so to give us ample time to save money either to buy a house that is more “ready” for our family or pay someone else to do needed improvements. Please pray for a few things for our family. Pray that we have a buyer before the end of November. Pray that apartments we desire to rent are available when we need them. Pray that this will indeed free Bill and me up so we can serve in a way that pleases God. And pray for wisdom in the decisions we have to make in the weeks ahead. Thanks friends and family.
. We began with a fish pizza. Bill thought this was going to be gross until I explained it is simply a pepperoni pizza in the shape of a fish. You can see the picture below. Then we played “Catch the Lion’s Tail” which is really just “Duck, Duck, Goose,” except you say “hyena, hyena, lion” and try to grab a piece of yellow fabric in the lion’s pocket. Afterward, we watched Dr. Dolittle (with T.V. guardian in case you’re flipping out about the language) in which Liam named every single animal that was on the screen each time it made an appearance. We had plans to make little frogs out of paper plates but ran out of time. Besides, Liam and I had been busy all day making kazoos, party hats, and shakers, so we were a little crafted out. We celebrated New Year’s at 8:00, and Bill and I were in bed by 10. Aren’t we thrilling? 
