A hodgepodge of thoughts!

Hi all! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I just haven't had a lot to say! So I figured I'd write a post with a hodgepodge of thoughts, updates, etc.!

• Bryan's back is doing much better...still sore at times, but nothing several Motrin can't fix. :)
• We may be closing on our house as early as this Friday!!!! It doesn't seem real, but we can't wait! We've been watching lots and lots of HGTV to get ideas of things we want to do. Have I mentioned how excited I am about the kitchen and backyard? I think our dogs won't know what to do with themselves!! We will definitely miss being right across the street from a Kroger, but it will be ok. Our new house is on a very quiet street, and we have no neighbors behind us (nor will we ever!), so that is a WONDERFUL thing.
• Caleb is growing and changing so much every day. We are trying to teach him some signs so he doesn't just whine and scream when he wants something...today we worked on "please" and he did SUCH a good job! He is happiest when he can walk wherever he wants to go, as quickly as possible. He is definitely strong willed and stubborn as well--he IS the firstborn of TWO firstborns, so we aren't surprised! When I took him to the doc this week, he gave me a copy of James Dobson's New Dare to Discipline...he said he normally gives it out at 18 month appts, but "some need it sooner"...hahahahaha! This is a whole new world, and although not the most fun, we need to get it right, now. I read a wonderful book called Raising Children in a Grace-Filled Home or something like that, and learned so much about creating an environment of love, grace, forgiveness, honesty, openness, caring, warmth, prayer, etc. in a home. It is so exciting because this is our goal...and Caleb is only 1...so we have all the faith in the world that we can achieve it! He talks a lot in the book about how the NUMBER ONE priority in your home should be the husband and wife's relationship...because your family starts with two--and will eventually be two again...and how you don't want to get to that time and realize you are married to a complete stranger. So much of the world teaches that children are the main, #1 priority in a family--and although they are so important and special, the parent's marriage should trump it in importance. Bryan and I really try to be intentional about taking time to go on dates, talk together when C is napping, romance each other, etc. I hope we can continue this for a long, long time, even when life is crazy!!
• Have I mentioned how much I love our church? ;) We're doing a great series on the book of Revelation at the moment...and a lot of the IT series is tied into it, amazingly. We've started this "dollar club" where each member gives an extra dollar each week, and they collect that money and use it to bless someone in the community (not necessarily a Southland member at all) in a RADICAL way...they are doing it based on attendance--which is in the 10-11 thousand range...so far our church body has paid for a single mom's surgery to remove a tumor from her heart, and another single mom to keep her house from going into foreclosure. INCREDIBLE stuff. I get chills just thinking about it!!!
• We are so excited to be going to Gatlinburg with some friends for a weekend in November. These are new friends in our lives, and we've all just clicked SO well. We can't wait to eat Smores, let the kids play (all girls except Caleb--can we say, "ladies man?"!), smell the mountain air, Christmas shop, and just relax...ahhhh...is it November yet???