The Newest Addition to Our Family

As some of you may know, we've had a long term goal for awhile now of having a college student {or two} live with us.  Though the vision has morphed slightly over our four years of marriage, when we bought our house back in December, we wanted to be sure it had a fourth bedroom for this purpose.  {I plan to share more soon about what our vision now looks like as well as our reasoning behind having this goal.}

As you may have read a few weeks ago, we recently finished the renovations on our fourth bedroom!  And literally the very day that we finished renovating we had a friend move in!  Meet Lydia {aka: 'Wydee' by our dear toddler}:

The fam with Lydia and Marlin at a recent wedding.  (Marlin is the guy who is intentionally pursuing her toward marriage and attempting to maintain an upright, pure relationship with her in the process.)

Here's a quick sketch-up of who Lydia is:

• She recently graduated from college with a chemistry degree.
• Right now she has a full-time job that she's enjoying.
• She is from Arkansas, though not NWA.  
• She was homeschooled all the way until college.
• And most importantly, she loves the Lord and is diligent at seeking to know and serve Him.

We are so thankful the Lord allowed us to meet Lydia and to develop a relationship with her and Marlin. The timing of our renovations coming to a close and her move-out date couldn't have coincided any better, and she's been a welcome addition to our family.  I deeply appreciate her willingness to lend an extra hand for holding Sweet Girl or playing with Little Man when I need the help.  We also enjoy dinner conversations with her {and sometimes Marlin} as well as the extra energy/life she brings into our home.  

Lydia has been quite the hit around our house, as both Enoch and Karis adore her.  

Here are a few other FAQs:

• How long is she planning to stay with you guys?  We {and she} aren't sure.  However long the Lord would keep her here and unmarried.  
• How did you meet Lydia?  We attend worship together at Redeemer Church. 
• How are things going having someone living with you?  Overall, they're going well.  Few people are as laidback and yet as direct as Lydia is.  She's good about going with the flow, but when there's a problem, she's also good about bringing it to us in love.  We {speaking for Lydia here too} all understand that when you live with other people sin is exposed and no one gets their own way perfectly, but that's a big part of why we all chose this - fighting against being sinful and selfish is an important part of the Christian life, as is being encouraged by other believers. 
• Does Lydia ever help with the kids?  Yes!  She always gives kisses and hugs when she sees them, but at least a few times every week she can be found rocking Karis while I put Enoch to bed or playing with Enoch while I finish dinner. 
• What's one unusual thing about Lydia?  Well, there are a few that we could share now that we've lived with her for over a month... haha!  Here are two: she likes to eat chili beans on her green salads and she makes her own almond butter.