moving day

Our moving got under way last Saturday! We always feel like we try to prepare as much as possible, but we never feel ready when the movers arrive. We were so fortunate to have some good friends from work - Cole, Chad and Nick - help us with the big stuff!

These guys are so sweet - they gave up the first sunny day Pittsburgh has had in weeks to help us load up our couch, bed, washer and dryer (always the worst) and all sorts of other odd items we have accumulated. They even appeared to be having fun?! Perhaps just an act! Regardless, they are dear friends and we are so blessed to have them in our lives.

Here is Chad making every load count

Here is Dave and Nick. It is fun because Nick works with Dave in the HBP stuff and his wife, Emily works with me in Title.

Once we got to the new house, Dave and the guys took a much deserved break and started to admire the ice cycles. This is one of the smallest one from our winter storms!

Cole, Nick, Chad and Dave

Probably how they really felt about moving.

Thank you so much guys!!

Instead of packing, I have been....

For Christmas, we do an exchange on Dave's side of the family. It is perfect because the girls get to gift each other and the guys do the same - making it much easier on everyone! So each year, Julie, my sister-in-law, and I exchange. I have been wanting to start reading more, but didn't really have anything specific in mind. Julie is an avid reader - so this year, I decided to hit her up for some of her favorites. She gave me a couple of books by Karen Kingsbury. One is the first book from the Redemption series.

Oh my (to borrow from Julie's son's vocabulary)! These books have me hooked! Thank you Julie!! I usually never read and I can't put these books down! Dave has seen me leave in the evening to walk down to the bookstore to pick up the next one. I am in the fifth/last book of this series and thankfully there are more series with these characters.

They are defined as Christian fiction and to be honest, I wasn't sure what that entailed. But from reading 4 so far, I find them so encouraging and relational. The book centers around one large family and sometimes reminds me of my own. At any given time, different members of the family are dealing with real, raw situations in life. I find them fascinating how they handle those situations, sometimes seeking after the Lord, sometimes not and the results of that. I am honestly not wanting to read anymore for fear I will actually finish them!

So if you are looking for something good to start, I would recommend them to anyone!

Winter Weather

Here are a few more pics of the winter storm effect....

Loved the effort here!

While this is so not funny... Dave and I got a lot of laughs as we drove around. It was unbelievable. We have friends who spent 3-5 hours uncovering their cars and driveways. Crazy!

A car dealership definitely had their work cut out for them...

I can't believe this all occurred in one 12 hour period!

So, I saw this a few weeks ago and have been meaning to stop and take a picture for a while now. Classy!

Hope you are all safe with these winter conditions! Our moving has been slightly altered but we are so thankful to still have power & our vehicles in tact. We have one more evening of heavy snow ahead of us. Stay warm!!

let it snow!

So yesterday, when I drove to work, there was very little snow on the ground, if any. Then, around 3 yesterday, it started to dump down! We were supposed to babysit our little friend Owen - but the roads got so bad, I had to leave my car at their house and have his daddy drive me to meet Dave. I am definitely not used to this kind of winter weather!

While we can't even think about leaving, it is forcing us to pack and get ready for our move. Definitely not a bad thing! Here is the snow this morning....

This is our balcony

This is a view from our balcony. To the left of the tree is a bench - you can barely see it! Good thing I can't get distracted from packing with H&M today. :)

Here is another view from our balcony of the cars down below! Crazy!! I am sure mine looks like this somewhere in front of the Taylor's house. Looks like I won't be needing it for a while anyway.