Introducing Owen James Buehler.

 We are beyond blessed to announce the birth of our second son, Owen James Buehler. Born just one week ago today on September 18th at 7:24 PM, he weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measured a long 22 1/4 inches! Although he is our second son, this week was still filled with many first for our little guy! 

Our 1st Family Pictures

 

One of Owen's 1st Pictures in the Hospital

 Owen's 1st Visitors 

1st Snuggles                                                     1st Bath

                               

Owen's 1st Week of Life (outside of Mama's Belly)

 Welcome to our family Owen James. We love you to pieces and are blessed by your lil' life! 

The Latest.

What’s up with the Buehlers these days:

Baby Prep: We hit the 39 week mark! Yea! No signs of labor yet but this time last pregnancy, I had been in labor for over a day already. However, I hear every pregnancy is different so we’ll see when this baby decides to come! We don’t mind waiting a few more days as we still try to decide on a name for this lil’ life!

Home Projects: We’ve learned owning a home brings many home projects. Last Friday, we had a lightning strike the street right in front of our house. Other than making us shoot out of our beds, we had a series of minor things that needed fixing. From fixing the water softener pipes that were loosened to smelling a burnt lamp to discovering a fried outlet in the garage, our Friday quickly became filled with home projects! Needless to say, we were so grateful for God’s protection as it could have been much worse.

Bonding Time: We’ve been thoroughly enjoying our bonding time with Charlie. He definitely loves his daddy and mama time, and we are curious to see how he will do with the transition of the new baby. Although he does love giving the baby in mama’s belly hugs and kisses… so I think he’ll do just great being a big brother!

Ministry Prep: Jimmy has been loving his new position at the Evangelical Free Church of Willmar as the youth pastor.  As summer activities have wrapped up, he has been putting lots of time and energy into prepping for this fall’s ministry. From redoing the student center to prepping lessons to leader’s meetings, he has kept plenty busy and now is anticipating kicking off student ministry’s in just a couple of weeks.

Photo Taking: Relocating to Willmar has given us the opportunity to discover new photo taking places and new faces! We love learning more and more about photography all the while having a lot of fun doing it! As well as not forgetting to snap a few pictures of our own family along the way :) 

Lordwilling, the next update will include a baby in arms :) For now, farewell from the Buehler bunch!

Playtime and Picture Time in the Park

Since starting our small photography business last year, I have realized we take less pictures of our own family. Thus, I convinced Jimmy and Charlie to come play in the park for an evening of family fun, fishing and pictures. Well, since one of us is always behind the camera, this is as close as we get to "family" pictures these days. 

      

35 Weeks

   

Gotta love that smile. 

And I'm glad to grab some pictures before he gets too big :) 

However, I'm so thankful for our growing son and our growing family! 

Our New Home.

After many months of planning, preparing and praying, we are finally in our new home here in Willmar. And it feels good. 

We were so thankful to be able to close on our house on Monday, June 23rd as we had originally planned. If you have ever purchased a house, you know the process and the closing can always take longer than expected because of some unexpected something that comes up at an unexpected, and typically, inconvenient time! We were told it's never a done deal until you have the keys in hand... and those were wise words to remember in the home buying process. God was definitely wanting us to grow in trust and patience during this process! 

All that to say, we were thankful for a full week to paint and move prior to Jimmy starting his new job on July 1st. With me being 7 months pregnant, I was not much of a help in the painting or moving process!  Thus, I was extremely grateful that Jimmy had extra painting help from my mom, my youngest brother and from our church family. They were able to get the living room, kitchen and bathroom done prior to us moving in. The other rooms will get painted along the way! :) 

The following weekend, we made the two and a half hour move from North Branch to Willmar. We had Kost youth guys help us pack on the North Branch end and then we had a crew of Willmar youth guys on this end to help us unpack. This made for a wonderful and smooth move! Thank you to all who helped us in this process! 

So the last few weeks have been spent unpacking boxes, organizing cupboards, screwing in curtain rods, hanging curtains, installing new home items (such as the mailbox, water filter, dryer, dishwater, etc.), and attempting to make our new house feel like home!  It's a process...especially with a one and half year old running around... but we both have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are so grateful for our new (earthly) home. 

Auditioning for Wheel of Fortune!

You may have already caught wind via Facebook of Jimmy's "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to audition for our favorite game show- Wheel of Fortune! Three words: OH SO FUN!

When we heard the "Wheel-mobile" was coming to Hinckley, a town just north of us, it was a simple convincing to get Jimmy to commit to going. We made it a double date with good friends of ours who also are Wheel-lovers. Thanks to Caleb and Melissa for joining in on our ridiculous fun!

How it worked: 

There were three "shows", each an hour long, and you could apply for each one if there were enough applications available for that specific show. We had arrived late and were not able to be a part of the first show so we filled the time by filling our bellies at the Hinckley buffet... and were reminded why we very rarely eat at buffets. :)

Along with hundreds of other people, we got in line for the second show and found a seat in the large auditorium.  After you fill out a simple application, it gets put in a big drum and then they randomly draw five names out at a time to be brought up on stage for an audition. Within a one hour show, I would guess there were probably about 30-40 names that would get called to stage for an audition.  An audition would include a quick interview to get to know you and then you would participate in one "fast-round" puzzle. Like they do on the TV show when time is running out, the fast-round puzzle is when the contestants call out one letter and then have three seconds to solve. If they aren't able to solve, it goes on to the next contestant until someone solves the puzzle.

How it happened: 

We were all full of excitement but realized our odds of getting called up to stage were very, very slim.   However, within the first few rounds, Jimmy's name was called! What a shock! What an excitement! He ran to stage full of enthusiasm as I screamed, "that's my husband!" We were so pumped to say the least.

Jimmy was the first in his group to give his interview. The point of the interview was to see if you are a fun, energetic person.  I know I am biased as his wife, but he did an awesome job and used his wittiness to get the crowd engaged!  You can see the clip at this link.

After the interviews took place, the fast-round puzzle began. The category was "place".  As the contestants called letters, the puzzle began to take shape. At that point I believe the puzzle looked something like: "The  _ ns_ _e   l _ ne." The gentleman before Jimmy called "I" and we all thought he would definitely solve because most of the entire puzzle was then filled in. However, the buzzer buzzed and it was Jimmy's turn. He called "D" and yelled out "The Inside Lane"! He solved the puzzle! It was quite a bit more exciting then we solve puzzles at home in front of the TV. :)

For getting called up on stage, Jimmy won a "Wheel of Fortune" hat, shirt, water bottle and mini pack... And even better, a free night's stay at the hotel plus $100 gift certificate to the spa! That in itself was worth it in my opinion! :)

What's next: 

Even though Jimmy solved the puzzle and had a great interview, there is no guarantee that he'll get a call back letter. If he would get a call-back letter, we would find out sometime in the next four months. At that point, he would have a second audition at the regional try-outs in Minneapolis.  Regardless of what happens, we had a ton of fun and are thankful for the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity! It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with some good friends!

Packing, Playing and Photography

What's keeping us busy these days:

Packing. With only 6 weeks to go until our hopeful move date, the packing has gotten under way! I'm not one that can just throw things in a box and call it good.  I feel the need to organize, sort, get rid of, throw out and clean as I pack. Thus, this process may take me longer than the normal human being.

Playing.  Lots of this is happening these days with the spring weather finally here. Charlie loves... I should say "adores" the outside. From playing basketball on his Little Tykes hoop to riding his Red Rider "tractor" to exploring the backyard, he is thoroughly entertained by the outdoors.

Photography. We have been humbly blessed by those who have approached us to take their photos. From seniors to engaged couples to families, we have loved getting the opportunity to capture each in their own season of life! It's been a great little hobby and business that Jimmy and I can do together. You can find us on Facebook at Growing Images Photography.

Pregnancy. We are at the 23 week mark and are so thankful to be past the first trimester! My energy came back plenty in time to start the packing process. God's timing is good.

Preparing. Along with the packing of our physical items, we have also been preparing for the move in many of other ways. Jimmy has been filling out countless forms and paperwork for the home buying process. I have been in search for a new midwife in the area. And together, we have begun the paint selecting process for our new home (definitely one of my favorite as well as one of our most challenging part of this process)!

Praying. Prayer after prayer has been prayed in regard to this moving process.  And God continues to show us in His timing His plan for our family and our ministry.  We are so thankful for His continual provision and faithfulness in our lives despite our times of doubt! We do ask for continual prayer as we transition into a new town, a new church, a new job, a new home and a new baby!

Another Announcement from the Buehlers!

If you have not yet caught wind of the news, we will be moving to Willmar, Minnesota come July! Jimmy has accepted a position as the youth pastor at the Evangelical Free Church of Willmar.

Despite having to say goodbye to our big garden and our dear friends here, we are looking forward to the new adventure.  This adventure will bring many new things for our family. A new job for Jimmy. A new midwife, Lordwilling, for me. A new bedroom for Charlie. A new church and home for our family. And let's not forget the new addition that will join our family come September!

To sum it up, many transitions are soon to be had by the Buehler bunch! More to come on the move as we get closer!