Ready For Some Good News?

I rented our house yesterday.

(Insert Hallelujah Chorus here)

We rented it for significantly less than we are paying for it, but it's also kind of a ministry opportunity for us, and we're very excited about not having to foreclose on it (an imminent outcome, I'm afraid)

The renters are a young family, the wife/mother of which is a former student of mine (Krystal A.), and we're so glad to be able to help them out! We're having them sign a one-year lease, so we'll see where we stand next year at this time. I think they would like to buy the house, but can't secure a loan right now, so we'll see if they can next year.

Today was painting day at Mercy/Good Shepherd. We spent about 3 hours there and painted the nursery. It's MUCH more colorful now! Each wall is a different shade, 3 colors of orange, one blue and the little bathroom is lime green (my handiwork) and the crib room is a nice, gentle "go to sleep blue." Got to hang out with friends from church and had a good time working.

Maia couldn't stay out of the room (the kids came with me because Matt went out for a bike ride with the "big dogs" this morning before work- he'll probably blog about it), and wound up ruining a cute outfit with orange paint (why she couldn't lean against the blue wall, I don't know), but otherwise the kids were great for us.

When we got home, I put some fresh clothes on Maia, and she looked down at her skirt and said, "Oh! It's gorgeous!" The words this kid picks up! She uses both "beautiful" and "gorgeous" correctly, and at the funniest times!

We had some friends over last night, and the kids went down to the basement to play because they are fascinated with our vast labyrinth of boxes and toys that predominate down there. One of the favorite things for this pair of sisters (ages 4 and 8) to do is drop things down the laundry chute- toys, books, blankets, etc. I knew that, but what I didn't realize was that the 8-year old was taking random toys from upstairs, packing them in boxes and hiding them behind the water heater! I discovered it after they left last night (Xander helped me find my laundry sorting bins, which she had hidden in the same place), so we found toys that had been missing for at least 2 months. Like Christmas again!