Welcome to Normalcy...

Life has finally settled down a bit for us. We are completely moved in to our new home in Springdale, AR. We've found a church, Keith loves his job, and Kristi and Courtney have discovered lots of fun (and free) things to do in Northwest Arkansas. It's still amazing to us to think that just 6 months ago we were wondering where we would end up, praying for God's guidance as Keith weighed job options. During that time we never felt out of God's hands. It was as if He were literally carrying us through. Now we look around and see that God was indeed faithful, as always.

NWA is a great place to live. It's June and we're still in 80 degree weather most days! Of course, that's wonderful for Kristi, who at this point is 31.5 weeks pregnant. We have decided to name our son "Matthew Tobias Wood". He is healthy and strong, kicking harder every day. We have set up the nursery and, thanks to some awesome coupons from Babies 'R Us, have a stockpile of diapers on hand. We've got plenty of clothes now, too. Kristi found a great kids' resale shop here called "Little Britches". If you're in the area, check it out. It's in old-downtown Springdale. We are blown away at the many opportunities for family fun here. There are bike trails, parks, awesome library events and more! Courtney's favorite spot lately has been Murphy Park, where she can feed ducks and play. It's next door to the library, so we usually stop in to read for a while.

Courtney is growing up so fast. She has learned all of her letter-sounds and vowels, and is currently working on sounding out words. We haven't pushed her at all on this. In her mind, it's fun. I believe part of parenting is introducing your children to learning at a young age. It's sort of like fishing. If they bite, reel them in and run with it. If not, wait until they're ready and throw the bait out again. That's what we've done. We ordered a Leapfrog movie from Netflix, let her watch it, and now she's trying to read. I am amazed at her desire to learn! On another note, Courtney is in a DORA phase. At the playground she often introduces herself as such. During bedtime prayers she prays for herself in the 3rd person, calling herself Dora. It's cute. It makes us wonder how many children pray for Spider Man, Mickey Mouse or Dora every night? Can't you just see God smiling at their innocence?

We have a busy summer ahead of us. In two weeks our friends will be in town for the weekend. Two weeks later we'll be in Camden for the 4th of July. Two weeks after that is Courtney's birthday, then approximately 2-3 weeks after that we should be welcoming Matthew into the world! We have much to be thankful for and much to look forward to in the coming months. We are blessed and give God all the glory for bringing us this far, for providing a job and home to us, and for showing Himself once again to be faithful.