Stephens' Stories

Hello All, sorry for the extremely infrequent blog postings, but life is a little busy with the girls and Brian, and I have also been spending some time on a new blog I have that deals with homemaking and other fun things! I thought I would give you the link and you can read up on some of the things I have been learning and doing in our home to save money! Hope you enjoy:

http://thymeathome.blogspot.com

I also thought I would attach some recent pictures since everyone likes those!!! Love you all!

Meghan, Jeff and Jack came to vist!

At the beach with Papa

Our new bike trailer...thanks Mima and PoP Al

Claire with GBob

Claire already has a hold on Lily...awww

Lily and Jack

Claire wants to crawl REALLY bad.

Daddy and Claire

Jeff with the kids!

Hello everyone, thought it was high time I wrote something on this blog. I decided to talk a little bit about life in Florida... We moved to Florida in October, and have been settling in ever since. We are living at my father's home in a great neighborhood. We get along great with our neighbors and there are plenty of children to play with outside. We became members of Maranatha Church last year, so it was great to come back and join in the worship ministry. Brian and I did worship this past Sunday for the first time...in Brian fashion, he broke a string right before he had a nice guitar picking solo-song... lucky for him, the string that broke was not an important one! I truly am passionate about singing, especially when I am singing in church.
As for the girls, they have settled in well. Lily is a social girl and I am attempting to find her more playgroups so she can interact with other children her age on a regular basis. She loves to play dress up and wear my high heels. Last night at dinner, I asked her who she was going to marry, and she said, "Jesus". I told her I thought he was off the market :) But I think she's on the right track as for taste in men :)
Claire just got her first tooth two days ago, and we are so happy for her to not be in pain anymore! Claire is starting to give great kisses and learning how to wave and clap. She is such a joyful baby, I love that she is in our family.
Lily and Claire get along so well as sisters. This may change in the future, but as for right now, I am really pressing in on them that they need to be nice and love each other. Hopefully this will stick...
Brian officially PASSED his contractors exam, which he feels was the hardest test he ever took! A two day- 8 hr a day exam! Only 30% pass on the first try. I'm so proud of him! He is in the process of finalizing and going through the hoops of setting up his license and business here in Florida. Given the economy, we have been praying for work, and hopefully the Lord will keep providing.
I am doing really well too. I am doing Stroller Power about three times a week, and feel really good. Hopefully some baby weight is coming off too, but I am more happy with how I feel. I have been really interested in feeding my family in a more healthy and economical way. I even delved into making my own bread....still in the learning phases ( I now know why it is an art). Our good friends Mike and Peggy are coming in March, and I am hoping that Mike, the Baker, can give me a few pointers.
Speaking of visitors, we are really looking forward to having a busy next few months. My mom and stepdad are coming this weekend, and also in February. Meghan, Jeff and Jack from Pennsylvania are coming in February too! Can't wait to see Jack! Hopefully Mikayla and Russell will be coming and as I said, we are looking forward to seeing Mike and Peggy as well!
Thanks for reading and hopefully I have updated you. I apologize for the length of time it has taken me to post. I'll try to be more on it... Finally, here are some pics!
Love you all!