A new chapter, a lot of change.

A new chapter, a lot of change.

We sold our home.

Not that big of a deal, right?

I suppose…

Not having your "own" space in America is a little "out of the norm".

Most do, that's just the way life is here.

And a little outside of my comfort zone, to be quite frank.

Well, it HAS been in the past.

Some very dear friends of ours offered for us to live with them one day.

In the interim of selling and buying, that is.

We knew we needed to sell our home first.

We needed the proceeds to use for a new home purchase.

So, of course there would be some time in-between, for the transition period.

The "friends", aka: The Strebe's, were a family we had grown very close to thru the years.

Especially this past year.

A unique friendship indeed as not only were me and Nancy extremely close, but so was Scott and Jason. As well as the 4 of us as a whole.

It's rare for sure and the Lord has blessed us immensely by this family - even before they so generously offered up their home.

This, was truly, icing on the cake.

And that cake was already the best cake around. ;)

We're our friends serious?

We asked again just to be on the safe side.

Yep, they REALLY were.

So, we opted to take them up on that offer.

We moved in on June 20th.

The first 2 weeks, our friends were on vaca and we were living in their home without them.

It was good.

Good to get settled a little bit.

Then, the Strebe's came home.

And I don't think any of us totally knew how the 'flow' would go.

They have 4 kids. We have 2 (2 more on the way).

We quickly adjusted to our "new norm".

Co-living with another family.

Truly, living lives in every fashion with one another.

A lot of things we once did a part, we were now doing together.

Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, you name it.

Being up in each other's biz…a whole lot if you know what I mean. ;)

The kids were learning a new norm too.

Living with other kids who weren't your siblings, but now, the closest thing to just that.

And it is obvious in these relationships…

Adeline & Haleigh…Ads looks up to Haleigh…just like an older sister who she longs to be with more, longs to be more like.

Adeline & Collin... they play like 2 peas in a pod. There is the occasional of one wanting to do something the other doesn't, but they always come back.

Adeline & Preston…these 2 are the closest like sister/brother in our home now. They can get on one another's nerves, they pick at one another. It's funny, honestly. They also have fun playing. It is sibling rivalry at its best. And I have to admit that I like it. I like that they are comfortable around one another. That they have this time to learn and grow from one another. Even like this.

Graham & Preston...Pres is G's new BFF. For reals. Pres just loves G. And G loves him right back. It is the most warming part of living here as a mama.

Graham/Adeline & Rogan...Rogan is definitely the baby in the family and that dynamic has not changed even with us here. Ads doesn't pay a whole lot of attention to Ro Ro, but she can awe over him like the rest of us (because he's too darn cute). Graham can get to him from time to time, like playing with Ro's toys. Rowan will say in his almost English accent way, "no no Graham". But it is sweet to see Rowan starting to warm up to G too.

Summer started to slip by and it was becoming obvious we were not going to find our new home before school started.

Again, not that big of a deal, right?

Well, we are now living in a different city, different school district all together.

We JUST got done putting together a new IEP (individualized education program) for Graham for the upcoming school.

The thought of going down that road again seemed a bit overwhelming.

Addy, we knew could adjust, although change is always hard in some aspects.

Flash forward just a bit - - -

Parkway…here we come.

I enrolled the kiddos and got everything set up to go.

G would be with Special School District (SSD) - totally different set up than Francis Howell.

I was worried, for sure.

But my worries started to turn to thankfulness when I realized how thorough and on top of things they were.

Their suggestions, while a little hard for me to hear, were exactly what needed to be said.

In my heart, I knew G needed more individualized attention.

This is a big year for our little man.

A lot he needs to learn to prepare for the Big K.

And, I feel the Lord is reminding me daily, this is EXACTLY where Graham is suppose to be.

Where WE are suppose to be.

And Adeline was super excited about starting a new school.

And Adeline & Collin just so happened to get the same 1st grade teacher.

And Nancy is so connected with the school already.

And starting a new school for Ads has really been way easier than I ever thought.

She rocked her 1st day!

We, as a combined-family unit sat together the night before all the kiddos started school and spent time together praying for this upcoming year.

It was beautiful.

It was another reminder of God's faithfulness in our lives.

It was another reminder of God showing us He has us where He wants us.

I see God's hand upon us for sure.

Watching our every step.

Guiding us along the way in this new chapter in our lives.

A few months back, I could not have imagined this picture of how we are presently living.

I definitely couldn't imagine life being so easy, so fun, in a home filled with 10 people.

But, it is.

And, I am grateful.

I am beyond grateful.

I am not sure Jason or Nancy know how much of a blessing this is for our family.

A time to get ourselves in a better position financially for our growing family.

A time to re-group by living in close quarters and growing us closer to one another before our family of 4 becomes a family of 6.

A time for our littles to see what it really looks like, lived out day after day, of having more siblings around.

God is molding us in many ways.

God is growing 2 families together closer than we had ever imagined.

Family - - -

Friends that have truly become family.