Things are progressing here in Anthony! The pews are in, lights are being put in, the carpet is being laid, trim is put down, and lot of various other things are being done. But it seems like no matter how much gets done, there's still a lot to do!
The goal right now is to have the first Sunday service in the front half of the building on May 15th, which is the church's Missions Sunday. An Open House will be planned for the middle of June sometime, which is when the entire town will be invited to view the building.
Caleb has been busy bouncing around on a lot of projects. He has gotten the partitions done in the bathrooms, and the toilets have been installed. He's been the main trim guy, in getting that put in. He's also been working on the electricity and making sure everything is connected to the right place.
The Mcculloughs have returned from Arizona and it's nice to have them back! The church has also been doing a lot of work and are really pitching in to get finished in time.
Some news on our family: we are preparing to be semi-done with school for the year when we leave here at the end of May. We will still do a few days here and there over the Summer. Noah and Kayla are both done with Science and Handwriting and they are getting to the end of their other subjects as well. Kayla's reading has been going really well! I'm so proud of her and all she has learned this year.

Caleb has been very busy since we've gotten back to Anthony!
His main project was to put up the partitions in the womens bathroom and he got those set, they look very nice.
He has also been running wiring and got the electric finished in the auditorium and the sound booth.
He was also able to get the viewing windows installed for the office and nursery.
The pews have been delivered and are in the process of being installed in the auditorium. The chandeliers have gone up in the auditorium. And carpet has been installed in the auditorium, nursery and two classrooms.
Things are really starting to come together and it's exciting to see! It's fun to walk around and remember what it was like at the different stages of construction. This is also when we normally leave a project to move onto somewhere else. So it's different to be here for the final stages.
We've started a few new things in our family; Lela has started Kindergarten, I've started piano lessons with Noah and Kayla, and Anna is semi-potty training. Lots of things going on around here! It's never boring.

Some picture updates!

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month so I wanted to write a post reflecting that. Most of your probably don't know, but Noah has Asperger's Syndrome and probably ADHD. He is undiagnosed, but if you know Noah, and you read the symptoms, you can't disagree!
Autism is not a behaviorial issue, it's not a cop-out for lazy parenting, and it's not cureable. Autism is a neurological disease, and nobody really knows how someone is affected. It's probably a mixture of environment, nutrition, and genetics.
Asperger's Syndrome (AS) is on the high functioning spectrum of Autism. Noah's main issues are that he doesn't understand social boundaries (if he isn't done wrestling, he doesn't understand why someone else would be), he can't read facial or body clues, he doesn't understand sarcasm unless you explain it, and he doesn't understand cause and effect (if I hit someone with this board they'll get hurt). All he knows is that he doesn't mean to hurt that person, so he or she shouldn't get hurt. He often says it was an accident; the getting hurt was the accident, not the hitting.
Because of these he's often seen as a bully, he seemingly has no empathy or understanding of other people's pain, and he seems callous and mean. The truth is he doesn't understand other peoples' emotions and feelings. It doesn't make sense to him so he disregards them.
Please read these links and get knowldegeable about Autism and AS! Maybe someone in your family has it, maybe someone you know has it. Be aware so you can be a help and not a discouragement!
WebMD
AS or HFA WebMD
Mayo Clinic
AS Symptoms Mayo Clinic

Caleb and I decided a long time ago not to hold onto earthly possesions and to see "things" as disposable. I think lately God has been testing that decision! With our tax return we were able to get a lot of things fixed on the van we bought in November. We found out there was a huge hole in the vent hose from the engine to the air vents, and that's what was causing the horrible engine/exhaust smell when we had the vents on. We were able to get that fixed, get a tune up and all of that other car stuff you're supposed to do regularly. We also got new tires, all five! Our next step was to see about getting the front fender fixed where Caleb ran into a pole.
On Thursday we were out running errands and enjoying the unusual, very warm (90*!) weather when Caleb noticed we were leaking a lot of transmission fluid. He ran it over to the body shop and they said that we blew the seal, probably from the sudden heat, and it would cost $1800 to fix it.
We were confident the Lord would provide since He gave us the van to start with, and it was our only vehicle that fit all of us. This was definitely a need that God could handle! We borrowed the church's 15 passenger van and Caleb called a few Pastors to see if we could raise some money. On Sunday we found out that a family in our church had given their minivan to the church. They had been trying to sell it and just decided to give it to the church to use how it saw fit. So Pastor told us we could have the van, sell the van to get our Ford fixed, or not take the van at all. We prayed about it and discussed options all weekend. After talking to the Pastor extensively and considering all options, we have decided to keep the 2004 Kia Sedona and give the Ford to the church to use how it sees fit. Caleb called the Pastors back and we are going to use the money that is still sent to get tags and switch everything over, and whatever is left will go toward fixig the Ford van.
Sometimes God provides in the most bizarre ways! But He always provides!
Also, we got our final Master CD and will be sending it tomorrow to get copied, printed, and wrapped. For information about the CD, please visit http://lighthousebaptistmusic.weebly.com/

March is about half over and it seems like it just started! School has been going well.
After we got our tax return I got to do my favorite thing: online shopping!! I went a little crazy buying school stuff for next year. It's all starting to come in and the kids want to ditch this year's school and start on next year's. I am going to start Lela on Kindergarten though, since she's sick of doing the preschool and kindergarten workbooks we've been buying for her.
Elsa is growing and now everyone agrees that she looks like Lela! So I might have another mini-me running around here. She's also starting to look at noises and try to focus on faces. She's outgrowing newborn clothes but she's still to scrunched up to wear 0-3 months, she ends up being a ball stuck in the middle!
The greatest news of all is that Kayla does not need to wear a patch anymore on her eye! She's been patching to help fix amblyopia (lazy eye) for three years now. The doctor said her eye stays stable with glasses on so the patch did its job.
Our plan is to leave for Anthony, KS on April 1st and stay as long as we're needed. We aren't sure of where we'll be going next, there are a few possibilities.

I'm a planner. I admit it! I like to have a list, I like to have a plan, I like to know what is going to happen, and when it's going to happen. I wasn't always like this. In high school and then before I got married I was very flexible, I went with the flow. I didn't keep a planner for school, and I never wrote down when my games were or when events were going to happen. I could always handle deadlines without even really trying. I had a pretty busy life in high school between playing sports, working full-time, taking college classes and staying involved in church ministries.
But since having kids, and then having more and more kids, I have gotten a lot less flexible and a lot more structured! I guess it just comes with the job, but sometimes I really have to control my planning beast!
We didn't do any school in February. The beginning of the month was busy with the snowstorms, living with Caleb's parents, and waiting day by day for baby Elsa to come. And then the second half of the month was busy with a newborn, appointments, and lots things happening.
So my goal was to start March with a bang! and get serious about school. I planned the first two weeks of March and changed things up a little bit to start fresh, and then I sabotaged my own plan! Caleb was planning on going to Anthony, KS Thursday night through Saturday afternoon and I was joking with him that he should take the laundry and do it while he's working at the church, since the church installed a washer and dryer for us while we were there. He flippantly said "Or you could come and do the laundry while I work!" He was joking but I thought it was an awesome idea!
So I finagled and convinced him of his wisdom and forethought, and here I sit in Anthony, KS! We dropped the 4 kids off at Andrea and Matt's house and Elsa and I rode along with Caleb to Anthony. Honestly, driving into Anthony it felt like we were home. Probably because we've spent most of the past year here and it doesn't take long for a small town to feel like home. Thursday night they were having a Church Work Night and it was so great to show off my new baby to everyone.
I guess this means that I'm a little more flexible than I give myself credit for. Although I was freaking out just a little bit about how I was going to catch the kids up in their school. One week into school and we're already behind. Oh boy! But it will work out. I hope.