We live in an apartment complex that has a laundry room down the hall. Now there are disadvantages to not having a washer and dryer in your unit, things like not being able to do laundry as often as you have a pile of dirty clothes (every day) and other things like having to carry all your laundry down the hall and through the breezeway to get to the laundry room (with a toddler to "help you") and always having to have quarters around to do your laundry. There are also some great things about having a laundry room. One of the best things is the fact that I can do up to 5 loads of laundry in about an hour and a half because the laundry room has about 10 washers and dryers and it usually isn't busy during the week. I think the thing that I can never stay caught up on is having quarters around to do my laundry. It feels like I am constantly buying a roll of quarters and then days like today I go to do my laundry and I am one quarter short from being able to put both loads into the washer. Situations like this have been faith-building to me. Every time that I am just one quarter short from starting my load I always pray that God will help me to find a quarter under one of the washers. It's not that I don't have .25 cents, it's just that to start the laundry RIGHT THEN I need that one quarter. And for some reason, every time I have ever needed that one quarter to start my laundry, I slip my hand under the washer and find it. God is good and faithful, even if this is a small thing. I know I can always walk over to the store to get more quarters to do the laundry, but I am thankful that God has been faithful to me to provide, even in this small yet significant way. Thank you God for always giving right when I need it....even if it's just one quarter.

We are headed to the Pepperdine Lectures this week. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing some of that southern California sun, spending the week with my awesome family, and being encouraged and uplifted. I look forward to catching up with whomever I run into and the reunion of old friendships and perhaps the start of new ones too. I hope to grow closer to the Lord by the things I learn there and I want to set aside some time to truly relax and have some peace of mind. So hopefully I'll see you there!

Comfort

I just bought my first pair of Teva flip flops. I am not diappointed. They make my feet happy.

Candy

It was really fun to watch Liam on Easter this year. We didn't do anything fantastic, but a girl from church planned a little Easter egg hunt just for Liam. It was so much fun watching him go around finding eggs. And of course he got sugared out. Check out the pics below of he with his stash of candy. By the way, candy is like his new favorite word. Ever since he has discovered the stuff, it has brought out the demons in him. He asks for candy for breakfast and all through the day. Well on Easter, he definitely got his fair share and that made him a happy camper.

The scooter race

Jeb can ride a scooter pretty well. I don't know what his strategy for scooting is, but he has made it into an art form. And he's fast too. One time he scooted alongside someone riding a bike and kept up with them for at least a mile. Here he is racing his sister (another scooter enthusiast) and it was a tight race in the start and we weren't sure how it would all turn out, but Jeb pulled in the lead to win. He definitely has scooter skills.

Our Newest Nephew

This past week I went south to visit our new nephew Jackson James. He is a handsome and healthy little boy. He was born on Easter and weighed in at 9 pounds 4 ounces. Even though my brother is older than me, it's funny sometimes to see him as a dad. He is a great dad by the way and willingly changes poopy diapers like a pro! Congratulations Jason and Jen on your growing family! We love you all!

Here are all the Allaway cousins. I think they are going to grow up having lots of fun together. Jayden (4), Eleesha (6), Liam (almost 2), and Jackson (2 weeks)

My Bed

I don't know if this is going to be a permanent thing, but as we were putting our kid to bed tonight, he insisted that he sleep in "my bed" (meaning the big bed in his room and not the crib). The weird thing about this is that we haven't pushed him to get in the big bed, and he has never slept in it before. So we thought we would lay him down with a few warnings that he better stay in it. And then we left the room and there was silence...no playing with toys, no talking himself to sleep...silence. And I don't know how this transition usually goes for kids from crib to bed or if this is a fluke that our kid is ready to sleep in a real bed but it did give us a pleasant surprise to walk in and find him fast asleep!

Bon Voyage

Dude! What do you do? Our newfound friends have left Bellevue for their life's work in Ecuador. God bless you Justin, Jauna, and Kaiden as you live out your lives following the Spirit and doing the work that He has called you to. And for those of you who don't know these fine folks, they are taking over the work that our church supports in Ecuador. We are thrilled to see what God has in store for them and we are also going to miss their presence here in Bellevue. Rock on people.