A Praise and Request

The praise is that our house in California has sold! It just closed today. We are very happy that the sell went through and that we were able to sell it. We are even more excited about the granddaughter who bought the house. I am going to miss that house though. That is the only house that I have ever known. It was a very nice house. Too bad we could not take it with us. The request is that we would know God's will about the house we were thinking about buying. We really like the house, but when we had an inspection done, there was alot of things needed to be done on the house. The roof would need to be replaced, the shower needs to be fixed, and the basement has no permits (at least they say they have permits, but we need actual proof). We are waiting for the appraiser to come and then we will make a final decision. Please pray that we would know God's will and that we would be able to make a wise decision. We don't have alot of time for necessary repairs.

Update on the House

We did sell the house! Well, its in Escrow. The funny thing is is that the granddaughter of the lady that my parents bought it from is the one buying the house. She loves what we did to the house and decided to buy it. The Lord sure does do things that we could not even imagine. What a sense of humor He has! We don't have much time, but we have been looking for a house here. The funny thing is is that they don't have Escrow in Colorado. We could not believe it! We will keep you updated on what's happening.

Praise The Lord!!!!

We might have sold our house in California. We have agreed to an offer that was made on the house. We did not receive the asking price that we wanted, but we are happy with what the offer was. Please continue to pray that the sell of the house will go through and that we would be able to buy a house here. We are very excited over the possibility of having our own home. We are very appreciative towards Ed for letting us stay here, but we don't have alot of room for all the things we need. Also please pray for us as our trainer Jason is leaving today. We still feel like there is so much that we don't know. Please pray that God would give us the wisdom that we need to be successful in this business and bring glory to God.

Day One- of our move

We were able to leave at 8:00 pm for Colorado. Our goal was to leave around the boys bedtime so that we could drive as long as we could. The Fox Family came over and helped us load up the rest of our things as well as clean the house. Then my mom, dad, and Joshua took naps so that they could stay awake and drive. Another reason why we drove at night was because we were going to be driving through Nevada and we wanted to get there when it was cooler. We drove through San Bernardino, Irvine, and Barstow before reaching Nevada. It was very emotional for all of us because we have lived in Riverside our whole lives and this was something totally new. As we left Riverside, I kept thinking about all the places that I was seeing for the last time (at least for right now). I was very excited about this new adventure that the Lord was taking us on. It was still very hot as we were driving, so we had the air conditioning on. We stopped to grab a bite to eat before reaching Nevada. The boys were good and slept the whole time we were driving. They would wake up when we stopped, but fell back to sleep when we started up again. When we reached Nevada it was hot (in the 90's). I was so glad that we were not going to stop in Nevada. My mom and I slept most of the time while my dad and Joshua were driving. We stopped driving for the night around 3:30 am. We all decided that we were tired and needed to sleep. We stopped in Mesquite, Nevada at a casino hotel called the Oasis. We all fell into bed exhausted and slept soundly. Pumpkin did well on traveling as well (he slept most of the way). This is the end of the first day of traveling.
These are pictures of the boys and cat ready for travel, My friend Mindy and I in front of the house, Paul in the hotel room, and views from our motel room!

Loading Up The Trailers

We wanted to thank everyone for all the help that was given in helping us move. We could not have done it without you. We were so overwhelmed, and it was a real blessing to have you all there. As most of you know, we had so much stuff from the violin shop, my parents house, and our apartment that we not only loaded one trailer full, but two!! Boy were we shocked! On Thursday, July 10, the trailer was dropped off at my parents house. We did not know when it was going to arrive, so we planned on starting to load the next day. The Frymire Family wanted to have lunch with us and we had a great time fellowshipping together. On Friday, July 11, we started at 8:00 am to load the truck. Many of our friends and family came at different times to help us with the packing as well as watching the kids (they were a handful). Paul loved going up the ramp into the trailer. He thought it was cool. Then he would take a ride down on one of the dollies. We did not have everything packed up, and were up early the next day to finish packing. Many of the same people came again to help us pack. We did not think that we would be able to pull out of the driveway on Sunday as planned, but we had some friends come over to help us with last minute packing and cleaning the house. Only by the mercies of God and our friends were we able to leave on Sunday at 8:00 pm. We want to thank all those who came to help us and to show us their love and support. Thank you Allan, Breck Roundtree, Harold and Joan Vargas, Rick and Susie Saunders, Mindy Paterson, David and Margot Frymire, MaryAnn Meyers, The Fox Family. We miss and love you all. This is the end of three busy days packing for our big move.

These pictures are of the friends and family that came to help, Paul having fun, friends and family that came to say goodbye, as well as pictures of us!

Update on what's happening

This will be my last post until after we move. The semi-truck will be coming to my parents home on July 10th and we will be busy packing and finishing up last minute details. On the day or days to follow we will be packing up the truck and then leaving to drive to Colorado. Please pray that we would have safety on the road and that Paul and Peter would do good on the drive out there. As soon as we are settled I will post pictures of Colorado, our shop, the house we are staying at, and any pictures that I took on the road. I hope you enjoy this blog. God Bless you all.

Peter Smiles

Peter is fast at smiling and loves to smile at anyone who smiles at him. When he wakes up from his nap or from sleeping in the night, he smiles at anyone who holds him and talks to him. This movie is not very good, but he did smile for me. He has such a cute smile that lights up his whole face.

My little Valentine

I know that Valentine's Day was awhile ago, but I just had to add these pictures. This year while we were making cookies, Paul learned how to cut the cookies out using the cookie cutters and even decorated them. He was so cute and he did a wonderful job. Here are some pictures of Auntie Marlene, grandma Steed, and mommy helping Paul.

Paul in the sand box

Paul loves the sand box that my parents gave him. He does not totally get the concept of scouping up the sand with the shovel. Paul loves to flick the sand and it goes every where. That's one thing you need to watch about Paul. He loves splashing you in the bathtub and throwing sand at you. We have alot of fun with him and he is such a joy to be around. Paul has such a sweet, fun loving, personality. He loves being outside and enjoys many different things.

Some pictures of Peter

Here are some more pictures of Peter before and after he was born. We were all excited about Peter's arrival, even Paul. We thank God everyday for the little blessings that He has given us.

Peter Allen

God blessed Joshua and Amy again with another child. They were not only very surprised, but also excited because the two boys were going to be growing up together (being only 14 months apart). The first few months were filled with morning sickness again and doctor's appointments. Joshua and Amy wanted to go with a midwife this time, since their hospital experience was not the greatest, but God had other plans. They did not have the money, so it was decided to going through the insurance. The Lord blessed them with a doctor that was willing to work with us. On April 14, 2008, Amy went to the doctor's for a normal check-up. Amy's doctor said that she was having practice contractions. After Joshua and Amy left, Amy did not think about the pain and went about as normal. Even when the pain became more intense she did not think she was in labor. About 7:30 pm, the pain became worse. Amy's mom offered to keep Paul for them, so that they could sleep. Joshua ended up calling Amy's mom and the doctor about 3:00 am. The doctor said that Amy had nothing to worry about and it was not time to go to the hospital. When it was finally time to go to the hospital and Joshua helped Amy prepare to go, as they headed towards the bathroom Amy had one more contraction and gave one more push and had Peter on the bathroom floor of their apartment. God was good. Peter and Amy were both okay. Joshua and Amy feel very blessed that God gave them two sons to take care of and raise.

Paul helps pack

Paul loves playing with the box of bubble wrap. He has been known to move it around and even stand upon the box itself. I had given my keys to Paul to play with and I could not find them. My mom found them inside the box! We have had alot of fun and memories with packing and moving. Sorry for those of you who become sick. He was moving around alot when I was taping him.

A Day In The Park

Paul loves being outside. He would be there in rain or sunshine, if we let him. Whenever someone goes to the door, we have a hard time keeping Paul inside. He loves going outside and walking around. We have taken him to the park on many different occasions. He loves it there and loves to explore the new surroundings. Joshua took him on the slide. Boy did he have fun and laugh alot. Paul also loves to dip in the sand, even though he mostly throws the dirt all over the place. We love spending time with our son while he explores his world.

Paul Eugene

They were very surprised and happy to hear that they were expecting their first son. Amy was careful on what she ate and made sure she went to the doctors. The first few months were hard with morning sickness, but after that was over they both were able to enjoy this new experience. Each new stage was exciting. The day soon came for Paul to be born and Amy's water broke at 12:00 am.Joshua and Amy waited to go to the hospital until 6:00 am. Since Amy's water broke, she was in bed the whole labor. After many hours of labor and three hours of pushing, Paul came into the world. We were overjoyed with a boy, especially since we did not know what we were having. Paul Eugene Blevins was born on Jan. 27, 2007. He is named after Amy's grandfather who is now passed away. Paul was born on the anniversary of Amy's grandfather's death as well as Joshua's mom's birthday. He has been a joy to have around and we are thankful for our son.

My Family

Here are some pictures of Joshua and me with our boys. The one of Joshua with the boys is taken on Father's Day. I had surprised Joshua by buying and making shirts that the boys are wearing. We had a wonderful day which we spend with my family. The other pictures of us were taken on different days. God has blessed us with two little boys.

Paul and Peter

Since the boys were little, we have been taking pictures of them in some way with a Bible. Paul was resting on God's Word (My dad is in the back of Paul). We love the picture because it portrays God being bigger than we are and protecting us. Peter is Hidden in God's Word. I had him in camo and since camo is used for hiding things I thought that the saying would be appropriate. I hope you are blessed by these pictures as we were in taking them.

Paul Eugene Resting on the Word of God

Peter Allen Hidden In God's Word

Fish Pond

These pictures were taken in my parents backyard. Paul loves being outside and has always been curious about the pond. The pond is actually a spa that we put in the ground. We had fun putting the pond together as a family. There is even fish in there. Grandpa Steed has been showing Paul how to feed the fish and they love spending time out there together watching the fish. Paul has been learning how to feed the fish by himself.

Joshua and Amy

Joshua and Amy met in October of 2004 at Heritage Bible Church. They slowly formed a friendship through different church events. On Dec. 4, 2004, Joshua asked Amy's dad if he could court Amy. In doing so Joshua became part of the family, becoming the son Amy's parents never had. Joshua came over every weekend to see Amy and their relationship grew. Joshua could often be seen over at Amy's house whether it was visiting her or helping her dad with some family project. On May 28, 2005, Joshua asked Amy to marry him, in which she said yes. They became very busy with wedding plans. The Lord brought them through alot before they were married. Joshua, with the help of Amy's parents, was starting a violin shop and had to wait until the shop was making enough to support Amy. The Lord was very faithful and the day soon approached. On April 22, 2006, Joshua and Amy became man and wife, rejoicing with each other and those they loved. After their honeymoon they moved into a one bedroom apartment in Riverside, California. Joshua and I just celebrated our second year anniversary. We were both very exhausted from my just giving birth to Peter and trying to adjust to having two kids. My family put together a dinner for us and helped us celebrate our anniversary. It meant alot to us to be able to celebrate even though we were tired.

Joshua's 25th birthday

On May 16, we celebrated Joshua's birthday by going out to breakfast at the Riverside Airport. We love going there because the cafe sits right beside the runway and you can see airplanes taking off and landing. We go there as often as we can. This time we took my parents, Paul, and Peter with us. Paul loved looking at all the airplanes. We had a wonderful time and then I took Joshua to work. On May 25, We surprised Joshua by having a small surprise party. We invited a family from our church over and we ate lunch and played volleyball. It was hard to keep it a surprise, but we were able to (Joshua ends up finding out about things, so we had to be careful). We had alot of fun and a great time of fellowship.