We've Moved!

Hello friends, family & followers!

Just wanted to let you all know that we have moved! Our new physical address is:

Stephanie & Collin Poage
15 Observatory Street
Oxford, OX2 6EW
United Kingdom

And our new blog address is: http://livinginourshoes.blogspot.com/

We hope you'll continue to check in on us there!

Love & Hugs,
The Poages

A Mix of our Mothers

I have so many things I should be doing right now rather than blogging, but I had to post this...

As I was looking at pictures I snapped of the girls today at the spray park, I noticed that something about this picture of Julia reminded me of my Mom! ...That's only unusual because people usually comment about how much she looks like Janice (Collin's Mom) and she does! But today, in this picture, she really looks like both of them to me.

Funny, isn't it? Usually kids are a good mix of their Mom and Dad in features... but Julia is a good mix of each of her Grandmothers. Precious.

We Have News!

As many of you know, Collin has been considering studying for his MBA for many years and this year he actually decided to send in an application or two! :)

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Oxford, England, because Collin had been invited to interview for admission to the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. (Said is pronounced "Sigh-eed") We had a wonderful trip! Oxford was breathtakingly beautiful. We stayed a few nights there, and then headed to London for a couple days of play. What a trip!

And now we can say with certainty that it was a life-changing experience! Collin was offered admission and he begins classes at the end of September! The girls and I will join him as we move to England for the year... What an adventure this will be! We have a mountain of tasks in front of us and much to do before we move, but we know that God has opened this door for reasons only He may know at this point... and we are definitely stepping out on faith and walking through. We're excited, but it is definitely bittersweet to leave all that is familiar and loved about home. I am SO thankful for the internet where we can stay close though we'll be far away. (What would we do without it?!)

More to come regarding our crazy adventure! Add us to your prayer list and start saving your miles to be able to come and visit us!

Dear Blog...

I have something to tell you, and this is not going to be easy. Before I say anything, you must know that you will always hold a very special place in my heart. But I'm afraid I'm in love... with Facebook.

But we can still be friends, right? Honestly, you should give me some credit for resisting the temptation to join Facebook for so long... And if we're really being honest with ourselves, we've lost our momentum over the past 2 years anyway.

Don't cry, peanutpoage.blogspot.com. I will never forget you. And our relationship will continue-- just in a different way. From now on, you will always be the one I come to when I want to share my heart, or to post my most random assortment of boring pictures and videos that really only interest the Grandparents, or if I want to write anything over 200 characters long... Those things will ALWAYS belong to you, my dear, sweet blog.

So, chin up! You'll hear from me again, blogger... But you might hear more if you get on Facebook. :)

Poage Beach Trip!

Words do not even describe how much fun we had at the beach. The girls LOVED it, and I'm sure that's why it was so much fun for me and for Collin.

We spent the weekend in Valera, TX, for the annual Poage Family reunion (pictures are on Collin's computer but are forthcoming!) and then headed South to Corpus Christi for a quick beach getaway. It was fantastic. We had one full day at the beach and then spent some time at the Texas State Aquarium before heading home again. Loved every minute. Looking forward to booking another beach trip SOON.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Some videos...

For the grandparents...



And then this might be my favorite: This is Avery's "Super-sonic Soundwaves" version of I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. (Some of the notes may be unable to be heard by humans...)

Easter 2010

It sure was a fun Easter season!

We celebrated with cookie-decorating, candy-eating, egg-dying and more. We also had fun watching the girls play with their new resurrection scene (similar to a nativity scene) and reading new books to them about the real reason we celebrate Easter, which has nothing to do with bunnies or eggs. :) Some of our favorite moments this year were watching Avery come out of her Sunday School class on Palm Sunday, waving a green palm leaf and saying, "Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!" to everyone on her way out of the church building... The entire "He is Risen!" story about the fly (posted below)... Hearing Julia tell everyone "Happy Bee-ster!" at the top of her lungs with her little voice cracking... Watching them play with/narrate conversations between the characters of the resurrection scene, particularly when Jesus was inviting the angel to come to Julia's Birthday party. So cute. It was a very sweet year to celebrate with our girlies. They're at such a precious age.

As always, it's fun to see family on holidays... And we got to see both sides of our family this Easter, even if it was just a glimpse of the Poages. And what a blessing it was to have an entirely new member of the family with us this year as it was Bella Grace's very first Easter! She spent it being passed from lap-to-lap as a very sleepy and precious 6-day-old. She continues to be a beautiful baby and to steal the hearts of everyone she meets. (Avery is PRESIDENT of Bella Grace's fan club, and Julia is a very close VP.)

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the season... We are blessed!
Decorating Spring sugar cookies... NOT homemade... :)




Playing with our Easter Scene after it arrived in the mail...


Our impromptu Egg-Hunt with Sophie & Jake as our "Plan B" when we missed the official FBC Moms one at the Arboretum that same day...


Dying Easter Eggs...




Easter Sunday Morning: Easter Basket surprises, Egg Hunt at home, Church!...




Easter Sunday Afternoon in Sherman, TX: Egg Hunt & Confetti Egg Fun...