Haley's Haven

This past weekend we went up to Fayetteville, NC to visit Matt's childhood church for him to speak there on missions on Sunday morning. It went so well, and we also got to visit another church that evening - and the people there were so encouraging too! We couldn't have asked for a better response and what an honor for Matt to stand in front of so many people who watched him grow up. The girls had fun visiting with Grandpa and Grandma Tyler and getting lips-kissed by their dog - we really enjoyed staying with them. Haley's favorite time was when she got to dance and sing Sat. evening out on the deck while dad and Grandpa Tyler played her favorite songs on the guitar - priceless :) Note: check back for a new Ana dancing video - this time with a special outfit on!

See those big condo buildings under construction? Those....................AREN'T ours. Look a little below, to those sweet little duplexes, and you will see our place. We are #226 if anyone wants to drop by Roach, Missouri anytime! You are welcome! (And that big lake-like thing with the mounds of dirt around it was a "pickle pond" - basically a waste water treatment thing, but it is now covered over - yes! Maybe they will make it a soccer field! Or a mall! Ha ha.)

There is nothing like the Midwest. Take that however you like, but seriously, there is just nowhere else like the Midwest. This arch is AMAZING, even the second time around.

I have more pictures on the other computer - we will have to post those later on tonight.

This is seriously Haley's favorite thing in the world to do - sit by a creek and throw rocks in. Hands down, the best thing ever.

This is how Haley passed away the hours.

Here is a video of Ana enjoying her sweet microphone sing-a-long toy that we bought with the birthday money Grandma Shirley sent!

First of all, Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads out there! Now, let's do a walk through of our last week (week and a half I guess). 1) We packed up all our goods successfully and cleaned decently - Eddie and Edith got to our place Thursday evening and us girls left early Friday morning to head down to Missouri. We took our time, leisurely spending some time at a McDonald's playland and then spent a long break at the St. Louis Arch - I was very pleased reminiscing about Broccoli and J and Elizabeth and I on our Midwestern Adventure. 2) We got to the NTM Camdenton - hooray! Our apartment has nice new wood floors and new cabinets and a huge new fridge - yes! Along with the nice new air conditioner from Eddie's boss (thank you Moses!) we spent the next three days in style and luxury - everything fit! 3) After moving in and enjoying the NTM campus, we drove 20 minutes down the road to our vacation paradise condo - it was so nice and so relaxing and so HUGE compared to wh...

Here is a very special video that I MEANT to post back at Ana's birthday - thanks the J. Wingos!

...we have not had a lot of time for picture taking. We are in the midst of our big move. I think the hardest part about it is having to do all the cleaning while still living with everything - hardly any of the furniture is ours, so having to clean around everything is a real blessing:(. I could never be a Merry Maid - I could be a Cross Cleaner. BUT, all I have left is to wipe down the doors and spot wash the walls, the stove and the fridge, and the floors after we get all of our stuff out - rugs, bed, etc. Sounds like a lot, but I wish you could see the checklist. It is a long one - can you tell what is on MY mind these days? Matt was a sweet man to me yesterday morning when he said, "Laura, let's just live on sandwiches for the next 4 days - clean out that kitchen!" That was a big stress reliever b/c part of the issue is figuring out how to pack while still cooking with stuff - you know, ladies, how that is. So we are paper-plating it, and living out of suitc...

Thought you guys needed a laugh - check out the stiff hair out to the side from Ana's daily meal ritual - after done eating, swipe fingers through hair. And also enjoy the beautiful facial expressions.

Ana was yelling quite a bit at her sister this day during nap time, so Haley just hid under her blanket...and fell asleep. I was worried that she would have problems breathing, but wasn't willing to go take it off her face - I am such a great mom:) We rediscovered this blanket while packing - I had put it away - Haley was VERY excited about a blanket with her name on it, from Ms. Carrie.