A milestone....

Today is Hunter's first day of Kindergarten! He has been waiting for this moment for months. Although we have mixed emotions about it (excitement and an unexplainable fear of letting go a little), a desire to learn and be independent are all on his mind this morning!

Yesterday Hunter had a "round up" where he got to don his uniform, take all his supplies into class, meet his teachers, do an art project and look around his new classroom.


Hunter and his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Partlow


Hunter in his new classroom

Meghan's First Birthday

Our baby of the family turned one on July 8th! We had a small party with our closest friends where Meghan attempted to open presents and made a mess with her cake. Much to our delight, she also began walking shortly thereafter! (Hunter and Baylie were very late walkers, about 15 months or so, so we didn't expect her to begin so "soon.")

In her pretty birthday dress

Playing in her new playhouse from Grandma and Grandpa

Walking now!

Working hard!

Moving into our new home means A LOT of projects! It was built in 1985, but the owner before us was a Realtor/investor and he remodeled the entire thing and finished the basement. There were no appliances and no landscaping or grass in our big backyard, so we set to work! Matt built this huge swingset for the kids and then built a playbox around it filled with pea gravel for them to play in.
The kids were so fascinated watching the big gravel truck deliver and pour the gravel onto our driveway! (oh by the way, we have two friends over visiting)
Notice what a big help Hunter and Baylie are being with their teeny shovels.... :)

Hunter still using the shovel to.... um, help.........
We stayed up past dark just trying to get all the gravel in the box!
Meghan enjoying the outdoors!























Baylie is so excited to have swings! She and Hunter both then just learned how to pump and now enjoy "who can go higher?" contests.

It begins to rain.... and pours!

As we have blogged about before, we had been waiting nearly two years for God's timing to be right, in our desire to move. Despite that bad market, we listed our house for sale back in October 2007 and continued to wait. Finally, in May we received a reasonable offer on our home and prepared to move in one month!!

As I stated in my blog a few days ago, we had been waiting... and waiting... and during this time, God really molded us and worked in us to prepare us for what was ahead. Many of our mindsets changed during that time, many of our expectations and desires also changed so that we would be open to the wonderful plan HE had for us. God had been putting on the brakes for so long with this - once He took his foot off the brakes, we began a whirwind journey that has left us breathless and utterly grateful!

Merely days after our home went under contract, we found a beautiful home in a great location that perfectly suited our needs. Everything with the closings went smoothly, we had wonderful friends who helped up pack up and clean our old home, then turn around and move us into our new home the very next day. And as I said earlier, God did not let one single detail fall by the wayside - He truly took care of everything. It may have been a whirlwind month, but He was in control. We have learned that there is truly NOTHING like waiting for His timing and letting Him lead! We could have never done that great of a job by ourselves. :) Believe me, I would love to detail it all out here but if you'd like to know, I will detail it in person sometime.

So much unpacking to do!

Shortly after we moved in, we also found ourselves finally buying a minivan - a car we had held off on buying as long as possible, while we miserably crammed three carseats into the back of our sedan! Alas, on the 4th of July, our trusted sedan became untrustworthy and completely broke down on us in Palmer Lake, CO, therefore pushing us into the need to buy a new car - and we knew it was time. Once again, the raining continued and God provided us with an excellent Honda Odyssey at a steal of a price - and how we love it! :) Now we can't imagine why we were so resistant to the idea in the first place!

The trip of a lifetime!!!!

In April/May, we were incredibly blessed by Matt's parents, as they took us to Disneyworld! It was truly the trip of a lifetime! The weather wasn't too hot, the parks weren't too crowded and the activities were perfect. Each day, we would head out to a park in the morning and play around until after lunch. In the afternoon, Matt and Melissa usually took the girls back to the hotel for some naps/rest time, but Hunter got some extremely special time with Grandpa and Grandma during the afternoons as the three of them would head out on a new adventure. Just before dinner we would all meet up again and enjoy a park after dark! By the end, we were all exhausted but very, very happy! I'd love to show you ALL the pictures we took, but there are over 400 of them (and believe me, every single one has a story behind it!). Just a few will have to suffice for now!

At the Animal Kingdom!

Epcot

On Main Street in the Magic Kingdom!

Three generations of Lindell men! (Oh, and Meghan popped in there too!)

Our princess Baylie

This is how Meg got her morning nap every day - on the back of whoever was carrying her that day!

Hunter on one of his afternoon excursions with Grandpa and Grandma at a parade!

Waiting in line for the Test Track Ride at Epcot. This was Hunter's favorite ride!

One of the highlights was Baylie getting to meet the Princesses! Although Hunter sheepishly enjoyed it just as much!

This is the resort we stayed at - it's called Shades of Green. You have to either be active or retired military to stay here and it was fantastic! It was about a third of the price of the fancy resorts with HUGE rooms and wonderful people and amenities. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who's able to stay here.

Hunter insisted on wearing goggles for fun in the pool, but they broke almost right away and he never needed them anyway! :)

The kids had a great time is this huge kiddie pool at the resort.

I can't remember the name of this ride now - the River Rapids? or something - but Hunter and Grandpa loved getting soaked on it!

Rafiki from the Lion King

Hunter Turns Five!

Our awesome, baseball-obsessed little boy has turned FIVE on March 1st! We had a great birthday celebration with all of his closest friends at a bowling alley with pizza for lunch.

Cool baseball cake!

We're surprised the wooden floor wasn't dented by how hard Hunter would throw the ball AT the floor... luckily, it also traveled down the aisle a bit and hit the pins....

All the Happenings since January!

Hello dear family, friends and random readers!! I cannot even believe it has taken me THIS long to post again... as Matt posted in July, indeed it has rained and it has POURED. Our lives have changed so drastically in the last six months that it's been nearly impossible to get everything done without taking time to rest. Thus, our blog has been put on the back burner until now! I am hoping to begin updating our blog a couple of times a month again (well, that's my goal anyway... don't know if I've ever actually hit that mark!) now that life is settling into a routine... ok, well now that I am motivated to do so anyway, since our routine will be drastically altered come a week from tomorrow when our baby begins Kindergarten!
Let me just say that God is SO GOOD. In ways that we never expected, He has provided for us and been faithful in bringing together pieces of a puzzle He has been leading us to collect for quite awhile now. We'll provide more details in the posts I am about to provide with pictures.
There's an old proverb that says "The night is always darkest just before dawn." In our final hours of waiting (seemingly for everything), just before the Lord moved the mountains and everything seemed to fall into place, the night was indeed very dark to me. It was tempting to give up hope, to give up faith in the One whose promised great plans for us. Despair threatened. However, I clung to 1 Corinthians 2:9 which says "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." I asked if I could really trust the Lord. I know He is good, but would He really find favor with someone as little as myself and answer my prayers? Is He truly that concerned about and involved in the intricate details of my life? The answer was YES. I clung to this verse and sure enough, when dawn broke, it didn't just rain, it POURED. And every single detail fell into place. God asked us to wait for HIS perfect timing and when we did just that, He didn't let one small, insignificant detail escape His loving care. GOD IS SO GOOD!!!
Over the next few days, I plan to post pictures from the last six months. Please check back frequently to see how our family has grown over that time.

It Rained!

Last April (2007), I posted a blog talking about our long (even at that point) journey in trying to move. We had watched "Facing the Giants" and had been encouraged to move forward in faith with selling our house, simply waiting upon the Lord and quietly preparing it to sell; the metaphor being to "prepare for rain." Little did we know then that our time of preparation and waiting would extend for another 14 months. To be honest, there were times when the road seemed too daunting, too long, and sometimes like we'd never see the end. Little did we know that once the drops began to fall that a torrent would sweep us and our family along and that in 3 short weeks we'd go from no movement to selling a house, buying a house, and moving. And the rain has continued to fall.

Although we had spent a long time in preparation, we weren't prepared for all that the Lord has done and the gracious love that He has bestowed upon us. We could not have imagined being blessed with such a wonderful home, in such a wonderful community, close to work and friends.

Now, a little soaked, and definitely worn out from the journey, we turn our attention up to the Heavens and simply give thanks. Thanks for the rain and the provision.

Happy Birthday Baylie

Our Sweet Baylie has just turned three on January 18th! She had a very fun birthday, complete with a Princess Party where she and her friends dressed up in their prettiest dresses. Baylie is still "The Quiet One" of our family, much like Matt, and is very independent and sweet. She loves growing into a big girl.

Wearing a Birthday Dress from Grandma & Grandpa Hartmann

In this video, Baylie was wearing her purple monkey jammies and when she opened this pretty pink nightgown from Auntie Amy, she insisted on putting it on over her other jammies.

Opening a pretty dress from Kassidy

Opening a Sleeping Beauty Doll and wand from Abbie & Lydia

Happy New Year!

Hello friends, we are very sorry it's been so long since we have updated our site. Life got so busy around the holidays for us, and this was one thing we totally neglected. Now that we're in the new year, we hope to get this updated much more frequently!

HUNTER'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Believe it or not, our baby boy is starting school already. He will start Kindergarten next August at The Classical Academy here in Colorado Springs, but until then we have enrolled him in the Town & Country Preschool for Pre-K. He goes three days a week for three hours each and LOVES it! We had a feeling our bright, social butterfly would thrive in a school environment and we were right. He had his first day on January 7th and has been excited about this for a couple of months now!

You can see his excitement in this video: