Homeless

We're a bit frustrated with how we've been treated in the rental world so far. The duplex that I was so excited about won't be happening. We showed up Sunday night to look at it again and put down a deposit to find out that the couple had no intention of renting to us. So basically, we've lost several weeks of looking for housing. We close on this house next week with possession 2 weeks after that - then we have no place to live.

We're scouting out new rentals and have a couple of leads, but nothing is quite right yet. We're also looking at the possibility of renting our house back from the new owners until the end of July. Don't know about that yet.

We're trusting that God is going to provide just the right place at the right price in the right timing. But I'm a "realist" and a "planner." I'd really like to know right now. However, that doesn't seem to be the way that life works. Another lesson in flexibility and trust.

Generosity

I'm an independent and strong willed person. I'd like to think that I can handle things that come my way. Yet, I've learned so much from the book "The Confident Woman" about what it means to rely on God and His plan and provision rather than myself... And sometimes that means saying yes to help.

A dear old lady from our church that I usually bring meals called and offered me one. I negotiated with her and finally accepted a gift of banana bread.

I gave in and called a teenage boy from church to mow the lawn rather than trying to fit it in my list of things to do. My time was worth a little bit of money. He and his dad came over and made short work of what would have taken me hours and wouldn't let me pay a dime.

So many people have offered to help us move, pack, watch the kids, etc. I actually don't know where to start and who to take up on their offer. I want to get stuff done, but I'm hesitant to ship my kids off repeatedly either. I don't want this time to be too crazy for them. There has to be balance in it all somewhere - just not sure how to find it or create it.

Cadillac of Hospitals

Let me just tell you, that of all the hospitals to be in, we sure hit the jackpot. We've never been to St. Mary's except to visit friends who just had babies. The hospital was okay, but nothing like Spectrum that we were accustomed to. However - we had never been in the Lacks Cancer Center (which coincidentally is surgical recovery as well). There are remote controlled curtains, plasma tv (complete with internet that I'm blogging on right now). It's weird to see whatyou are typing on plasma. They have a chef that cooks to order ('m sure to tempt the cancer patients to eat). It's crazy but awesome. Andy is recovering pretty well as long as we stay on the pain meds. Should hopefully be home sometime today. Thanks for the prayers.

Exhausted

It's 10:15 PM and I'm on my way back to the hospital. We've been there all day and ended it with surgery - Andy had his appendix removed. Long story, really long day. Could use your prayers as this timing will be a challenge with packing, moving, meetings with builders, etc.

I need strength as well. Family has been a big help taking the boys today and yesterday, but this is going to be interesting. Thanks for your prayers.

Random Thoughts

Teething - I know my baby is teething because he tried to use both of my cheeks as a teething toy last night. The four 6 teeth he already has made quite an impression.

Garage sale deals - Ryan is totally in to marine wildlife. At a garage sale this week I found brand new beanie babies for $.75 each. I picked up a shark, killer whale, walrus, dolphin, and penguin. I scored some major mom points on that one.

Sunburn - I'm usually pretty careful with my very fair skin and the sun, especially since the latest skin cancer episode with my mom. We worked at my mom's house today trying to get the outside of her house up to par - it evidently took longer than planned because I've got some really pink (closer to red) skin to show for it.

Boundries - I'm struggling with healthy boundries with my mom. She's almost 70 and does need help with projects, but there are a lot of things that she can do for herself that she wants me and my siblings to do for her. I want to honor and respect her, but at what point do you draw the line?

Reception - Our neighborhood has always been fairly quiet, but tonight we are getting a hip-hop serenade from down the street. The neighbors down the way are having a backyard wedding reception and the music has been filling the air for the last several hours. We thought about crashing the party but it would probably be a giveaway that we were the only white people there. They are good neighbors so I can't complain about the music, I'm just hoping it doesn't go too late. I need all the beauty sleep I can get!

Climbing - Another safety issue to watch for, my baby decided to learn to climb up the stairs by himself this week. I came out of the office to find him on the second stair sitting there laughing with his big brother. As long as Ryan was further up the stairs, Tyler continued to climb. It took a bit (and mom staying right behind him) but he made it all the way up on his first try.

Notebook - I thrive when my thoughts and plans have organization to them. I bought a small, 3-section notebook today to keep all my lists, notes, plans, etc in one place. I have a section for the move, the rental house, and the building house. I can staple/tape random notes in there and hopefully have a one stop shopping place for my lapsing memory!

Prayer and Provision

This has been a whirl-wind week for sure. I'm so excited how God keeps providing for us every step of the way. We just got word that the house passed inspections with a couple of very minor things to fix. We also think we've found a duplex to rent. It's a 4 bedroom bi-level duplex (3 finished 1 for storage) with an attached garage. The owner is a young gal who just left for New Orleans to go back to help a church she worked with during Katrina relief efforts. I really like the idea of renting from her to help make her ministry possible. Plus the house is in really good condition.

Our final house plans are finished and will go out to bid next week. The next prayer is that our pricing comes back favorably.

We'll be closing on this house the last week in June and into the rental no later than 2 weeks after that. So forgive sporatic blogging over the next 5-6 weeks.

Disbelief

We sold our house today. The paperwork is processing and the timetables should be firmed up in the next couple of days. I'm freaking out as the reality of what is happening starts to sink in. I'm coping by making lists, lots of them. First on the list, find a rental to live in for the next 4-7 months.

So, I'll take a deep breath, thank God for providing for us, and beg for His help to make it through the next month and a half.

What a Weekend

I'm not even sure where to start. Took the boys to the bank yesterday. Sat Tyler on the floor while I was taking care of paperwork. Next thing I know I see Ryan running and sliding cuz he can't stop and basically tackling Tyler. Tyler flies into the hardwood desk from the teller and bounces off and clunks on the tile floor. We are the only ones in the bank and all the managers, mortgage brokers, etc come running to see what the commotion is. A big goose-egg on the head and lots of tears later and everyone was ok.

Actually got another date night with Andy last night (even though he was and hour & a half late coming home from work). We went out to the Parade of Homes where builders display new homes they've built. While out, we got a call from the realtor that we have an offer on the house. We'll counter the offer today and see if we can come to an agreement.

Reality is setting in right now about how much life is about to change and how much I have to do. If this deal goes through, life could get really complicated because closing/moving time could come right around the time I go to Utah for a long weekend to see a good friend that just had a baby. I'm refusing to freak out until things are finalized. It may not even go through...

Amos - do you have any rentals in West Michigan?

Whale Trainer

Just to reinforce the concept that my 3-year-old is paying attention to the lessons he is learning...

Ryan has been into, more accurately obsessed, by marine life. In particular killer whales and great white sharks. We rented this horribly corny kids educational video called "Field Trip: Sea World, San Diego" from the library. So we've been watching how they train the animals and get them to do what they want. Now Ryan has been sharing with me how I need to treat his whale and shark bath toys. I have to feed them squid, throw ice in their mouth and do hand signals to get them to perform. Ryan now eats pretzel fish for a snack and tells me how his teeth are different from a shark.

I know he's listening and learning. I just need to remember that my job is his trainer.

Blog Catch Up

Keep forgetting to write about this until after I sign out...
Last week there was a really strong smell of smoke in the house. I freaked out and went from room to room - checking the dryer, candles and lamps (anything that might cause a fire). Finding nothing I checked outside thinking maybe one of the neighbors was burning something. Nothing there either. Then I saw it.

What appeared to be three houses down on the backside of our property (next street over on the city block) there was smoke rising. The conditions were really dry and I was worried that a brush fire (what I assumed at the time) could easily spread to our house. I stationed myself by my trusty hose prepared to do action should the flames spread. I would protect my home, kids, and scrapbooks of course.

It ended up being a serious house fire about 6 houses up. When the firetrucks arrived the smoke started billowing and blowing directly at our house. I moved the kids inside because I didn't want them breathing anything toxic.

At that point I had a serious talk about fire safety with my three year old and we did a fire drill running to Mr. Snider's tree. I must have slightly freaked him out, because when I decided to throw the kids in the stroller to go check things out - Ryan began to bawl and beg me to take him to Mr. Snider's tree...

Evidently the homeowners had insulation blown into their roof that day. The fire started in the attic shortly after the company left... hmmmm.... Don't know anything final or accurate but that was initial speculation.

In the aftermath of all of this here are my realizations.
#1 - My family is completly unprepared for emergencies.
#2 - I need to backup my files more often and store them off-site
#3 - Thanks to Andrea I realize that my garden hose would do little to stem off a raging fire.
#4 - My husband cares nothing for our possessions because he laughed at me and told me to let it all burn so we could get the insurance money for the house instead of selling it so we can build. Men...

American Idol Surprise

To my surprise as I'm watching American Idol tonight... one of my favorite people in the recording industry was on - Scott Krippayne. He was the top winning songwriter ("This is My Now"). He's not only a songwriter but a recording artist as well. I've had the opportunity to meet him/hang out with him probably a dozen times when the radio station I used to work for (WCSG) brought him in for concerts or at GMA (Gospel Music Week) in Nashville.

At one record label dinner at GMA I sat next to him and we goofed off most of the night. I told him I felt like I just had dinner with my brother. He laughed and told me stories about his baby's severe reflux problems, how to measure spit up, etc. It was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner. He's one of the most honest and genuine people that I have ever met, completely humble, and a bit self effacing.

I'm so stinking proud of him that his talents are being recognized. He's such a prolific writer that I hope this really bolsters his career.

Crazy Weekend

I am tired. It was an excellent, but very busy weekend.

Friday - Planted the rest of the flowers at church in the morning. In the evening we had our 8th Grade Graduation Banquet. We have a banquet dinner, a picture video capturing moments of the past 3 years of activities along with fun pictures of the 8th graders, and then a fun outing. This year we went bowling. Here's a few pics of our kids all dressed up.

On Saturday we worked around the house and raced to get the boys dropped off at friends so we could go to a wedding. It had to have been the worst wedding EVER. I've been to a LOT of weddings in my time, but this one takes the cake. The priest rambled forever, didn't even know the couple, completely unorganized and so shallow. They had a lengthy cocktail time inbetween the wedding and the reception that we skipped that part and went home to clean more. Ditched a really nice reception to go get our boys and come home to clean some more.

Why all the cleaning you ask? Cuz on Sunday we had an open house for people to come in and look at the house. Got up early to do some more cleaning and prep work. I had to sing at church this morning so we headed out early for the day. After church we had lunch with friends and all 6 of our HYPER kids. We crashed at family's house the rest of the afternoon. Well, we had hoped to crash but the boys got enough of a nap in the car that they were up all afternoon. UUGGHH.

By time I got the kids home, they fell asleep in the car. Ryan woke up, walked inside, and sat on the couch. When I came back into the living room after changing the baby, I found Ryan had falled asleep sitting up and slumped over. Guess it was a long weekend for him too!

A Day In The Life

It's been one of those days... Here's an overview the last 24-30 hours.

#1 - House showing - Yesterday afternoon we got someone to go through the house. That only happened because I had let the house go the last couple of days and it was pretty much trashed. It was a mad dash to clean the whole house - but we made it.

#2 - Wednesdays - They are always busy with church, but throw in an extra meeting and not being home cuz I got kicked out from a showing, fast food, and it's a longer day.

#3 - Breakfast - I was trying to hurry out of the house to hit some garage sales and of course the more you hurry a 3-year-old - the longer it takes. We're also working on first time obedience and that takes LOTS of time and consistency. An hour, 3 spankings, and one banana later we were out the door.

#4 - Garage Sales - I'm hitting the garage sales hard this spring trying to pick up kids clothing for the next year. Hit the jackpot today with 18 shirts, 2 sweater, 2 pair of shorts, 1 romper, 1 book, and mini magna doodle & a CD for $19! I love it.

#5 - Friends - Lunch, with 5 boys under 5. It's crazy. That and everything else you do with 5 boys under 5 - crazy.

#6 - Toliet - I've been asking my hubby to fix our less than properly functioning toliet for months. Today it moved up on the priority list when my friend flushed and flooded the bathroom. Yup, the one that I just scoured yesterday for the showing, using up all the towel I just washed, folded and put away...

#7 - Flower Shopping - Two boys, 2 flower nurseries... Lots of blossoms no longer attached thanks to the sticky fingers of a 9 month old. Need I say more.

I'm tired and ready for bed.

Baby Story - Part 2

Warning - lengthy blog ahead.

After going through the infertility issues with baby #1 we decided we shouldn't wait too long to start for baby #2. Ryan was a little over 1 1/2. Around that same time my mom was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. That meant both of my parents had it and heredity is a nasty thing. I went to the classes with my mom to learn about managing diet and exercise to keep diabetes in check. In essence I started living like I was diabetic. I lost almost 15 pounds in a couple of months.

Well, evidently, the link between PCOS and diabetes was proven by the fact that when my body was in balance - I got pregnant immediately. Wasn't expecting to have 2 kids under the age of 3, but God had other plans.

I found out I was pregnant by accident. I had been helping clean out my brother-in-laws new house, paint, etc. My mother-in-law likes to clean with straight bleach and amonia. The smells were so strong it was making me sick. I paniced about "what if" i'm pregnant. Went home, took the test and sure enough - I was. Andy was in Iowa on a hunting trip so I had to keep the news to myself for several more days. It almost killed me to not tell him on the phone.

We told everyone at Christmas we were pregnant by signing cards "Andy, Jenelle, Ryan & Baby." Freaked a few people out, but many didn't notice. Taught me an interesting lesson about who to waste time and money on cards... but that's another post.

I was really sick this pregnancy too. I didn't hurl that much but had that queezy/sea-sick feeling all the time. Then the headaches started. I felt like my head was going to explode and I couldn't take my migraine meds while pregnant. I saw a chiropractor and got some relief. Somewhere around 6 months the side effects broke.

I managed to survive the warmest summer ever (ok maybe not, but it felt like it), being 9 1/2 months pregnant at my brother-in-laws outdoor July wedding (thank you very much) and my hubby's mini-life crisis about turning 30. All that and I was overdue again. Everyone says the second one comes earlier - it's a lie! On top of that my doc wouldn't induce me as early as I thought because of where the weekend fell. I cried.

I called my good friend Andrea and begged her to come over with her girls for the evening to keep me company and keep my mind of things. They were getting ready to go and I stood up quick out of a camping chair to go get some fresh herbs for her to take home and my water broke! Andy freaked out. Andrea was running back and forth from inside to check on me and outside to check on Andy. Couldn't get ahold of my in-laws who were suppose to take Ryan. Finally we found them at my sister-in-laws and we could head to the hospital and Andrea could take her girls home.

We checked in and I was at a 4. I was thrilled cuz it was better than round 1. I stuck out the contractions for an hour or so and Andy said "if you are going to get the epidural later anyways, why don't you get it now and save yourself the pain." Interesting logic and I went for it. Got nice and settled with a good epidural and didn't feel too much but I could still move. (much better than round 1 when the epidural tube came oiut of my back and wore off)

Andy took off to get something to eat figuring it would be a while. I settled in to rest and didn't think the epidural was working well. Called the nurse to find out I had gone from a 4 to a 10 in less than 45 minutes. God bless the epidural. Luckily Andy came back to eat upstairs as a nurse was going to go find him so he didn't miss anything. Less than an hour later Tyler Malcolm was born at 8 lbs 7 oz. Well more than a pound bigger than his brother and a much rounder head. (the first of many complications from my big headed boy).

Once again had nursing problems, he ended up Jaundice and had to get blood work on him at 4 days old to find out if he was dehydrated and might need to be admitted. I wept as I held him down for the nurse to draw blood as Andy paced the halls. Everything turned out fine and found out he was tongue tied.

He has been an easy going loving baby from the start. He liked to eat and sleep. He's a loving child with a big grin and mischief in his eyes. He's getting mobile now and he's gonna make up for lost time. Don't think he'll be the "easy one" for long.

Love my boys. Dealt with/dealing with post-partum has convinced me I am done with biological children. My husband hasn't come to that point yet. I would love to adopt. There is something compelling to me as a child adopted by God into His family, that I am excited to do the same for a child without parents... But time will tell on any further baby stories.

Baby Story - Part 1

So I'll jump on the bandwagon and share my story too.

The first several years of our marriage I avoided getting pregnant at all costs. I just assumed that when we started trying it would just happen. My doc suggested trying right away considering issues I had with my cycle. That was the start of months of heartache, dozens of pregnancy tests, and lots of books about infertility. When we finally got in the the doctor she suggested that I might have PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome). They did ultra-sounds and didn't find any cysts (thank God). At that point my doc referred me to a OB/GYN that dealt with infertility.

The OB/GYN said that it might be PCOS, but didn't really care to label it, just treat it. We agreed to start an insulin pill called Metaformin to try to regulate my blood sugars to help regulate my hormones and regulate my cycles. As we did every couple of weeks, I would take a pregnancy test (since I hadn't had a cycle in a year it was hard to know if you were pregnant). I actually peed on the stick and we left to go out to eat and I forgot to check the results. We came home and found a positive result. Didn't know if the hours we were gone did something to the test so I went out and bought a double kit. Took one again - It was positive.

Andy and I went for a LONG walk. We had just signed papers that morning to buy property to build land assuming it would take at least another year of treatment to get pregnant. Ironic huh.

It was a long and sick pregnancy. I was doing events and marketing for a radio station and summer was my busiest season. I threw up constantly for 5 months. Made work pretty interesting. I ended up being 6 days overdue and was going into the hospital the next day to be induced when my water broke in the middle of the night. We got to the hospital and checked in and I was at a 3. I was determined to do this without an epidural. Seven hours later I was still at a 3 after terrible back labor. I gave in and got the epidural. Another 7 hours and Ryan John made his appearance. He was sunny side up and got stuck. God blessed us with a great doc and nurse that was able to get him turned manually. With his red hair and sweet smile I was taken.

Then came nursing problems, post-partum depression (didn't know it at the time) and lots of mom lessons followed. Then came lots of sleepless days and nights. The child never needed to sleep. Then came eczema and food allergies. Nothing is easy with this kid, he's stubborn and willful, but I love him dearly. He says crazy things, makes me laugh, and once he learns a lesson it is stuck in him.

Longing For And Dreading

As Mother's Day approaches, here are a few things that I'm longing for that day, and a few things I'm dreading...

Can't wait for the day that:

• I don't have to wipe anyone else's nose, butt or any other part of body.
• I can eat a complete dinner without having to cut anyone else's food up.
• I can rid the words "potty, poopies, toots, diaper, and nigh-night" from my vocabulary.
• Child safety seats are no longer needed.
• My children are in school giving me approximately 6 consecutive hours to do something.
• I don't have to change my cloths 2-3x/day because the baby did something to it - thus giving me the ability to wear dry clean only clothing again.
  
• My children are able to get themselves where they need to go without being carried, strolled, or carted.
• I don't schedule my life around naptimes.
• To not listen to the repeated "mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom..." when the telephone rings.
  

Days I'm dreading:

• When my boys are too old and too cool to hug their mom in public.
• When my boys are too big to crawl up in my lap.
• When my children no longer think that I'm Supermom, strong enough to do anything.
• When the house is eerily quiet and I wonder how long it will be before they come home to visit or call.
• When someone else will have to wipe my nose, butt, etc.
• Becoming a professional chaufer to pre-license kids.
• Worrying about my post-license kids driving.
  

Done

The boys are sleeping, Andy is golfing, and I'm reveling in the fact that the luncheon I planned to celebrate our new pastor is DONE! It really went remarkably well. I feel like I lived at church this weekend, but it was worth it (I think). I took lots of pictures today, but noticed they were mostly at the end of the lunch when things were slightly torn up. A lady from church made all the aqua fabric runners for the tables and I planted flowers for the centerpieces. My friend Andrea helped set up/tear down (THANKS!).

Here's one of the few pics were you can see how things turned out - kind of. The three girls are from my youth group, Myrline, Kailey & Katie .

All that said, we have a new Pastor and I'm excited to see what God does through his leadership, preaching, and guidance.

But in the mean time, I'm going to sit on the couch, read the paper and pray for a long naptime.

Free Money

In the process of cleaning up our house to put it up for sale we've done a pretty good job of cleaning stuff out and set it aside for a garage sale. Had it this weekend and I made almost $300! It was incredible. I couldn't believe that we had that much "stuff" that we really didn't need or want and that others would. I'm really excited first of all that all the "stuff" is out of my house and second of all that it was worth so much! My mom and a couple of good friends put in stuff and all together the sale made about $600!

Pray for me this week as it is going to be REALLY busy. I'm putting together a catered lunch for our church on Sunday to celebrate the new pastor. Got the final numbers today and it's about 70 more than I planned on so I'm totally scrambling to make this happen and not break the budget in the process. It's a great problem to have, but makes life a bit more complicated. Probably won't blog much this week in light of all the work, but I'll hopefully talk to you soon.

Cancer

It was a long morning. I took my mom for her surgical procedure to remove some basil-cell skin cancer from her face. They said to plan 2-4 hours depending on severity. Mom's didn't look like a big deal so I thought closer to the 2 side. 4 1/2 hours later we left. It was an underground growth that they were completely surprised by. She had a spot 2.5 cm X 1.5 cm removed from her face. She has stitche running down the side of her nose, down her lip and under her lip. The good news is they got all of it. The bad news is she has another spot to be removed next month.

So here's to a great summer of sunscreen and skin protection. Gotta love the fair scandinavian skin I inherited along with a lengthy family history of skin cancer. What I've learned - protect yourself, your face is worth it!

On a lighter note - as a mom of two little boys I often long for time to just sit and unwind. After sitting for 4 1/2 hours in a waiting room my butt hurts! I am unacustomed to sitting that long. Who knew?

Date Night

Yes, put it down in the record books, my husband took me on a date. We only made it out for dinner considering it was a weeknight date with dropping the boys off, but we went out just the two of us. I was impressed that my hubby actually suggested it without me bringing up how long it has been. He got his parents to take the boys and didn't even have to be reminded to do it. Who knew that a simple dinner could be so relaxing and so attractive.

We went to On The Border. It's a great Mexican restaurant and both of us were impressed. I ate waaaayyy too much and am now I'm in a food coma. Worth it though.

Pool Opening Weekend

Yes I know it is April and it is Michigan - it's pretty early for opening a pool. Normally we don't get the pool opened until early June. However, the leaf caked pool cover didn't make for an attractive backyard with selling the house and the realtors suggested it. So here's praying for warm weather and a solar cover that works well - cuz my little boy is beside himself wanting to go swimming.

On a funny note - my little boy is mostly healed from his urologist procedures, but has taken it upon himself to tell everyone we meet that he has an ow-ie on his p----. The single church secretary got REALLY embarassed and red faced after his declaration. I managed to stop him in the nick of time from telling the story to a crowd full of strangers at a soccer game this morning. Goodness.

What a Difference

I have to tell you that I feel like a new person. The added medicine for the post-partum depression was exactly what I needed. I didn't really realize how deep it had gotten until I felt good again. I have energy. I want to participate in life and the people in it. I feel like I can communicate with others and God again.

It hasn't just been the medicine though. I'm reading this FABULOUS book called "The Confident Woman" by Annabel Gilham. It all revolves around understanding our true identity in Christ and breaking through the lies in life that we've come to live by. Thanks Logziella for the book. I've really been challenge and starting to be restored through the truths of God's Word presented in this book. If you are a perfectionist or people pleaser - you need to read this book.

I've also been waking up a bit earlier to dig into my Bible. I'm excited about how that shapes my day and how I haven't really missed the extra 1/2 hour of sleep.

However, my baby is learning to crawl and my life is about to get a whole lot busier. I may have to start going to bed earlier. Tyler is going to be my mischievious one. He's got that glint in his eye as he gets an idea in his mind, pulls his socks off to eat them, gets into eating the newspapers, or finds a cord that he can pull on and try to eat. Definitely time to re-baby proof the house!

Here are a couple of pictures from life around the very clean house for sale.

Gotta love a boy in heels!

Another Day, Another Doctor

Let me start by saying that I do not know how parents deal with their kids having life threatening or prolonged health problems. What our family has been going through is nothing in comparison.

That being said. I'm really tired of doctors, tests, procedures, pharmacies, etc. Yesterday I took Ryan for a consult at the urologist for issues he had with a deviated stream when peeing. The doc took one look and said that the hole needed to be opened further and that there was a skin adhesion (likely from curcumscision) that needed to be seperated. I opted to get the procedure done then instead of rescheduling.

What I didn't know is that my little boy's pain tolerance put together with the male genetic predisposition to sensitivity on that part of their body - would create one whale of a recovery. I hate to watch my little guy in pain. He screamed about the car seat buckles all the way home, cried everytime he has to go to the bathroom... poor little guy.

So today is a TV day as I baby my little guy and hope that the recovery is swift and correct for all of our sakes. This procedure has not helped me in my campaign for the big snip for my husband.

The good news is our house is finally up for sale. If you know of anyone interested send them our way.

Cleaning House

Lately I've learned that I'm as drawn to and controlled by stuff as everyone else in America. I hate that about myself. I long to be a selfless, unmaterialistic person, but as I clean through my house, I've realized how much "stuff" we really have. Honestly - no one "needs" this much stuff - this many toys, cloths, gadgets, kitchen utensils, small appliances, games, and the list goes on. I'm having one big garage sale in a couple of weeks to try to unload a bunch of it.

I've rid my closet and drawers of clothing that fits but I don't like along with all the cloths that don't fit and that I hope will someday. By time I get to that size, I probably won't like the clothing style anymore anyways. Now when I look at what I have I'm content because it is all stuff that I'm okay with. Let me tell you how much slimmer my wardrobe is, but I don't feel the need to go shopping for something else (except for a few replacements) because I like what I see. It's rather refreshing.

Hopefully with selling our house and moving and then building and moving again we'll really cut down on what we own. I really want my kids to learn that it isn't about stuff but about relationship, contentment and good ole imagination. Now that is easier said than done...

Honesty

I love Easter. I love to celebrate and remember that Jesus died for our sins and rose again to make a way for us to have a relationship with God. I love the opportunities to share with others about God's love. This morning's service was awesome and God granted me a strong voice and steady nerves to make it through the service.

However, today was one of the roughest days I've had in my post-partum depression struggles. Some of you may not even be aware that I've been going through issues again following Tyler's birth. It isn't an easy thing to talk about.

I keep praying for a light at the end of the tunnel. The medicine the doc prescribed is helping some, but I'm still struggling. I have another appointment this week and I'm hoping that we can tweak dosages and combinations to get better results.

All this said, I'm learning quite a bit about relying on God through all of this. It's a daily struggle. Some days a lot better than others. It's good to know that through it all I have a God who knows my struggles, who cares what I am going through, and is strong enough to meet my needs along the way. I'd appreciate your prayers for the process.

Million Little Things

Do any of you at the end of the day look at your list of things to do and realize that the list isn't getting any shorter? That's been my battle the last couple of weeks. With getting the house ready to sell - my list is far longer than it usually is. I'm getting frustrated that it isn't shrinking.

Today is my day to annialate the list. Don't really care if the kids end up with a video day, but whatever it takes. I've accomplished 4 things so far and only 2 dozen left to go.

Forgive my infrequent blogging. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up in the not too distant future. Trust me, I'd rather be blogging that cleaning baseboards and scrubbing every inch of the kitchen.

Computer Addiction

Step 1 - Admit that you are an addict.

Hi my name is Jenelle and I am a computer-holic. It has been 1 week since my last use of our home computer - not my choice, but because our monitor died. I have had sporatic fixes by using my husbands computer when he remembers to bring it home from work. We were suppose to get a free monitor this week, but I never heard anything from my source. We gave up and decided to get a used model. That was about the time that Andy was hit in his work van for the second time in a couple of months and then the next day had another work van have the transmission fail on him in Mattawan. My car had to go it for bearing problems...Bad transportation week.

So we still do not have a monitor. I cannot access any files , programs, pictures, etc. I cannot look up a recipe, email a friend, check bank accounts, instant message, research a project, make a flier for church, etc. You get the point. I am desperate.

So, I am willing to admit I am an addict, but not so sure about the next 11 steps. I am not sure if I want to give this addiction up.

2 Weeks and Counting

I have 2 weeks to clean and organize every square inch of our house. We're putting our house up for sale and I'm determined to have our house in tip-top shape. The housing market around these parts is pretty soft, so any advantage that we can have over the competition...

Cleaning is one thing. Keeping it that way with 2 little boys and a husband - that's another story. I'm a fairly organized person, but my down fall is piling. I tend to make piles of things to deal with later, and then piling the piles. Needless to say, this sales adventure will be interesting.

On a spring note - I'm LOVING this spring weather. I worked cleaning out the flower gardens today and actually sweated! I've forgotten what it was like to work out in the sunshine. Ryan had a blast getting into everything in the garage, yard, sandbox, etc. I can only imagine how many baths this kid is going to get this summer!

Great News

We got great news today that Tyler's tests came back normal. We are thrilled that our son has a big head! We're hoping for great things to come from that big noggin of his. His mom and dad may need him to support them in their old age ;)

Seriously, we thank God for each of you - for your prayers, support and concern over this month long saga. We are excited to get back to life and all the other stresses of life that are non-medical related.

Tyler's Test

Thank you all for praying. The test and whole morning went remarkably well. Thank the Lord for answering our prayers. Tyler did really well and managed to charm a few nurses along the way. We are hoping to not hear from the doc in the next 24 hours (that wouldn't be good news) but rather in 3-5 days or so (if everything is fine). We'll let you know when we know more.

Thanks again.

GreatTiming

Tomorrow morning we head into the hospital for Tyler's CT scan. Tonight, Tyler was sitting on the floor, playing with his stacking cups. He managed to fall forward and his face landed on one of the larger cups, leaving a bruised ring around the eye. That will be a fun one to explain tomorrow. Hopefully it will have faded so we won't have issues. Great timing.

Thanks for your prayers on our behalf and Tyler's.

March Madness

It's here! Non-stop basketball with a bunch of teams most of us haven't heard of facing cocky over-rated teams. I love a good upset, especially if it humbles the prideful.

Really haven't followed it enough this year to make a good bracket, but did a little bit of last minute research and we'll see where my bracket takes me. It's a lot of fun, lot of bragging and teasing, and all around good time. Even Andy did a bracket. Didn't have a clue what he was doing - which means he'll probably either win or go down in massive flames.

Any predictions on who will win? Are you doing a bracket?

Happy March Madness and St Patrick's Day to you all.

Weekend Recap

We had a great weekend at the basketball tourney and spending time with friends. Four games in one day was a bit much and all of my predictions from my previous post came true. The cool thing was when one of the guys we were with was picked from the next to last row in the stadium to sit in the second row as part of an XBOX promotion.

We did decide that Wisconsin fans gave their team a bad name. Can't say that we liked any of them that we met. I'm sure it's a few bad fans spoiling the whole - but I couldn't bring myself to pick Wisconsin in my NCAA brackets.

We were up way to late and came out of the weekend tired - but it was so nice to be away, without the kids. We felt like rebels at IHOP until 2 AM. We're getting too old for such late nights.

Spent too much at IKEA, but I got some really cool stuff.

Basketball Butt

Andy and I are joining two other "couple friends" for our annual pilgramige to the Big Ten basketball tournament. 4 games, nosebleed seats, time away from the kids - priceless.

By the end of game 4, my butt will have revolted from sitting in the highly uncomfortable stadium seats in the highest level of seats.

I will have watched most of the games on the jumbo-tron rather than the miniature people running around on the floor way down below.

I will have consumed WAY more than my fair share of over priced and completely unhealthy concessions because session one runs through lunch time (it's a conspiracy).

I will have laughed hystarically and shaken my head at (as well as pretended I didn't know) the guys in our group as they make fools of themselves.

I will laugh at how little about basketball one of my girlfriends knows.

I will laugh at how little I now know about NCAA basketball and say "Man, I really haven't had time to follow much this year."

I will hopefully have a great time with friends, create a few memories and try not to throw up the whole time I'm at a hotel for a change! Have a great weekend everyone.

I Paid For What?

Went this weekend to the West Michigan Home and Garden Show. It was over $25 for admission, parking, and the rip off Pepsi. When we got back to the car we talked about how disappointing the show was. Not much new. Spent half of our time chasing a 3-year-old around and bribing him with snacks. Really we had just paid good money for people to advertise their products to us. Does that sound right? I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon.

Allergy Update

Good news. Ryan's blood work came back and his soy and egg allergies came back undetectable. Peanut is still hight at Class 4. Waiting to hear from the doctor is that is up/down/same as 18 months ago. 2 allergies down - 1 to go!

Test Update

After a long week of a comedy of errors in the pediatricians office - we finally got word today about what is going on. Tyer is too old for a soft-spot ultrasound so he'll have to go in to the hospital for a CAT scan March 20th. This means that they will have to sedate him for the test.

I was hoping for the ultrasound, but I'll take whatever answers we can get at this point. Thanks for all those who have been praying for us. We appreciate it more than we can tell. God has really given me peace about everything being okay which has helped a bit with the frustration with the doctor's office. Still need to be more careful about how I treat the phone nurses. Another God lesson there - but that's another posting.

Hopefully later this week we'll hear more about the bloodwork done on Ryan's allergies. We've opted to postpone doing full allergy testing for another year. I'm sure he would be okay, but I just can't do it yet. Watching them needle test him and try to keep him calm... no thank you. There is more than enough medical drama in our lives right now.

Again, we appreciate all your friendship and support. We really are blessed. Your continued prayers on the 20th would be appreciated.

Pray for My Baby

Took the boys in today for 6 month and 3 year check ups. Was not the best visit ever. Ryan was WAY hyper and talked constantly from the moment we got there until the moment we left.

Tyler who usually had quick perfect check ups was the concern this time. He's always had a big head - consistenly in the 95%. Over the last 2 months though, his head has grown significantly and it is quite off the chart now. The doctor suggests that it is probably nothing but a big head, but the growth was enough that she wants tests done to rule out other issues. Hopefully they will be able to do an ultrasound through his soft spot. If not we'll have to sedate him for a CAT scan.

We're sure that it isn't' anything significant because there are no other symptoms. But it's hard to not let my imagination and internet searches for possible causes get the best of me. Andy had two cousins with brain tumors so that doesn't help my mind rest at ease.

We're trusting God that it is nothing but a big head, but we could really use your prayers to that end. Pray for our peace of mind while we wait to hear about apointments and which course of testing they are opting for.

My Inner M&M

Thanks Amanda for the great idea of finding my inner M&M. You too can find yours at http://www.becomeanmm.com/

I ended up looking a little touristy - but that's okay. I love to travel!

Scrapbook Amnesia

I actually got to scrapbook for the first time in FOREVER this weekend. It has been so long I'm claiming creative amnesia. Thanks Teresa for the tip about Page Maps. It's a great site with all sorts of layouts and concepts to duplicate.

We were home all weekend so I was able to get some done. We put ourselves in isolation as we finished recovering from the flu. This is what I came up with. Not completely finished with all of them yet, but until I can get to the store, this is what I've got.

Exploring Life

Scram Lake
Mr Fixit
Picnic In The Park

How We Met

Taking Teresa's challenge, here is how Andy and me became a "we."

It was New Year's Eve and I was headed back home from visiting a friend in Detroit. I had a couple of parties to hit that night. At the first party, friends tried to get me to stay, but I felt obligated to go to my friend Melissa's party to hang out with her younger brother Rob. We were both burned on relationships and were going to keep each other company.

When I got to there, Rob had already ditched the party and I was the ONLY single person there. Everyone else was engaged or had been dating for years. A bit uncomfortable.

A friend of Melissa's fiance' (Andy) showed up around 11 PM. He was pretty cute, and by himself. So at midnight as everyone was kissing - we smiled at eachother and shrugged. Didn't give Andy much of a thought after he walked out the door at 12:10. Rob got home shortly after and I hung out until 2 am chatting with him.
The next day I headed out to a retreat up north and then got snowed in at my parent's house that weekend with 2 1/2 feet of snow. When I finally made it back to my apartment there was a message from Melissa warning me that Andy was going to be calling me, but I didn't get it until after I had talked to him. Our friends had talked about setting us up but thought we were too different.

Three months later we were engaged and married that December. It was a quick process, but Andy was the best guy I had ever met and he loved me! It's been 7 years and 2 kids later, and his smile is still contagious. Love that man.

Sick & Stuck in San Antonio

I don't know what is going on. I was sick Friday and Saturday and then I got better. Then suddenly last night (Mon) it all started again. So I'm stuck in the hotel room again. If there is something worse than being sick it's being sick away from home.

We are suppose to fly out tomorrow so I'm just praying that this is going to pass by then. I desperately miss my boys and don't want anything to keep me away from seeing them. I'm hoping that this new winter storm coming through doesn't delay things either. Detriot it suppose to get 6 inches and our flight is routed through there.

Just want to go home.

Something about San Antonio

This is my second trip to San Antonio. This is the second time that I've been extremely sick in San Antonio. 10 years ago when I was here, almost a third of my singing group was down with the flu. This time I think it is food poisoning. Whatever it is, hopefully I'll be better soon to actually see this city since I'm doubting I'll want to make a third trip here...

Andy and I are at the Hotsy Distributor Conference. It's a "salt of the earth" group who enjoy their alcohol and a good party. Very nice people for the most part, but not a group that I really fit in with. I'm sad that I missed out on one of the sight-seeing trips today that would have helped me connect with other wives.

One day almosts down and 4 more to go.

Day of Decision

This has been a very busy week and lots of dinner/lunch guests as well as things to decide. I've had offers for employment, and had to decide between good and best. I really feel like God answered my prayers and helped me to say no. It just wasn't the right fit for what is best for my family. As one door closed - other doors are opening and I'm still left with more decisions to make.

Tomorrow we have a realator team coming to look at the house and give us their impression of the house and any suggestions to help it sell. We're looking to put the house on the market in March and find a rental while we build. It will be a journey to say the least.

Pray for Andy and I. We're flying out to San Antonio on Friday for 5 days for a work trip for Andy. I'm looking forward to a bit of time together, but am sure I'll end up missing the boys tremendously as well.

Time and Purpose

I'm still working through these words as God continues to teach me to be content in every season and time of life... Each circumstance has a lesson that God can draw me closer to Him through. I know this. I just have come to the point were I deeply believe it as shown by my actions.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Blizzards & Boys

I find myself very grateful for blizzard conditions and sick boys. Thanks to the two situations, our schedule has been cleared out since Thursday. It's amazing how much I got done when I was forced to stay home. The mountain of laundry accumulated when the dryer broke, putting stuff back together after painting, and general cooking and cleaning.

I'm glad that my boys are better and I've read the whole newspaper before 9:15 AM. Good morning. Here's looking forward to another day of getting things done, spending time with the family and SUPERBOWL XLI! I love football.

So do you watch the big game? Do you watch for the football? Commercials? Both?

Long Days

We've finished most of our painting adventure. A few doors to paint and all the decorations to put back up and we'll be mostly done. Our "French Pale Gold" bedroom is anything but pale. Hopefully it won't scare potential buyers off. Some bright white trim and black and white prints and I think it will be fine.

Went to my in-laws for dinner tonight to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. I felt like a college student as I packed up my car full of dirty clothes to wash while there. Our dryer died last week and I have about 10 loads of laundry waiting to be handled. Made a small dent tonight, but hopefully the repairman will be able to do something about the problem tomorrow.

The good news is that my bed is once again set up in my room rather than the living room floor. I have a couch I can sit on, and I'm no longer high on paint fumes.

Accomplishments

It's been a productive week.
- Yesterday Ryan stayed clean & dry all day (not because he wanted to but because I made him take that many potty breaks). We're getting there. Way to go little buddy!
- I've dismantled two rooms in my house. Every decoration, book, and toy has been picked up in our living room and bedroom. Next comes the cleaning & painting stage.
- Got all the Christmas decorations put away and properly stored at church (and it isn't even February!)
- Got time to do some work, some play, and time with my boys & Andy.

Not a bad week so far. Here's hoping painting weekend goes well.

Not Caring

It's hard to not care. Especially for me. I'm an individual who deeply empathizes with what people are going through. I can't watch a lot of comedies because I feel so uncomfortable for people making a fool of themselves.

That's why it has been a long road to come to the point where the decisions my brother makes no longer matter to me. My mom called tonight to tell me my brother is engaged (for marriage #2). She found out when her friends saw the picture in the newspaper announcing the engagement for their March 2008 wedding. My mom is hurt over the whole ordeal and wants me to be upset too. Yet I can't bring myself to feel much about it. I'm disappointed for her sake, but I'm not surprised.

Part of me still longs to have some sort of positive relationship with him. At this point I am so guarded and synical, that God is going to have to do something extraordinary in my life and my brother's to make that happen. I believe that He can. Time will tell us if He will.

Top 10

Been meaning to do this since Thanksgiving and finally getting to it...

TOP TEN LIST OF WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY:

#10 - Football. I'm talking the good ole' American version. Watching it on TV, going to a college game, or hanging out with friends at our Monday Night Football parties. It's not an obsession, but a fun distraction.

#9 - Autumn. Not just because it's football season, but the apple picking, apple cider, apple pie, hot chocolate, beautiful colored leaves that crunch under foot, sweatshirt weather and no longer feeling guilty about how weedy my flower garden is.

#8 - Mexican food. Unfortunatley Andy doesn't share my love of this cuisine and we don't partake as often as I'd like.

#7 - Youth group. It's a big time committment, but I love to see the change in the lives of kids I mentor. Right now it's Kailey. I can see all sorts of changes in her life and seeing how God is making her new.

#6 - Being creative. Scrapbooking, singing, painting, decorating, organizing, when I can make something more beautiful or functional.

#5 - Christmas. It really is more of an addiction than anything. The last couple of years with kids has made me realize I won't have a Martha Stewart looking Christmas for many years to come, but I'll take what I can. I love the food, the festivities, the decorations, making and giving gifts, the parties, and celebrating my Savior's birth. When else during the year do people make such a concentrated effort to make the world beautiful, be kind and generous, and have that many parties!

#4 - Couple friends. We are blessed to have several sets of friends where both the husband and wife are great friends. This makes it tons easier to get together, hang out, and share our lives.

#3 - Quirky extended family. They are often the source of strife and frustration, but at the end of the day I am blessed to have people that really do care about me. (sometimes too much)

#2 - Definitely my family. I love my kids! Tyler's big grin and Ryan's giggle & big hugs can make the world's worst day so much better. My husband is a great guy. He's helpful, supportive, messy, and thoroughly loves his family.

#1 - Being really connected to God. When worship is genuine with both my mind and emotions, and truely experience being in His presence.

Reality

I was listening to FamilyLife Today on the radio this week. If you aren't familiar with the organization/show - they provide resources for families, marriages, & life in general.

I have to say that I've really been convicted based on what I heard.

For instance:
#1 When is the last time you had an in depth discussion with anyone in person (blogs don't count) about your life, marriage, or areas that you struggle in? Who really knows you well enough to call you on areas that you are screwing up in? When the bottom falls out - who are you turning to?

#2 What is gossip really? It's more than spreading rumors or making fun of others. What about the caddy little things we say, the jokes at others expense, sharing of unflatering information about others, anything that takes away from how we should be representing God?

Both of these areas are a bit tricky for me. It's hard to even write it. I'm a gossiper and I'm not very real and transparent in most of my relationships. I'm too busy trying to save my own face/reputation to be completely me and to be someone that pleases God.

I'm on a mission to make sure each word I say is honest, humble, encouraging, beneficial. That's a HUGE task, but if I want to get past surface level relationships and regrets over things I've said - it's what I have to do.

Potty Training Lessons

First of all let me apologize for blogging about bathroom stuff. I know I've reached a new level in parenting that this is a topic of conversation...

What I've learned:
#1 - You as a parent are not in control
#2 - There is no logic to why and when a child will pee in a potty
#3 - There is no rationalizing with an almost 3-year-old
#4 - Miracles happen
#5 - Accidents happen
#6 - More accidents happen
#7 - Potty training is more about training the parent than the child
#8 - Never laugh at or question your friend's difficulties in training (Actually that's Andy's lesson - Andrea, I never laughed!)
#9 - Potty training will not last forever, but it may seem like it
#10 - Clorox wipes are a great invention when you spend that much time in the bathroom!

We had pretty good success this weekend. Ryan did well for the most part and we've made some headway on the whole ordeal. We ended up using coins to feed his piggy bank to reward successes rather than candy and it went much better. The big news is Ryan pooped in the potty today too! He's also gotten out of bed three times tonight to pee (currently 10:25 pm) and still isn't sleepy.

Potty Training Prayer

Tomorrow morning starts our weekend-intensive potty training ordeal. We haven't been successful over the past 6 months or so to get our son to use the potty more than periodically so we're trying a different approach.

We're having a potty party! All sorts of treats for when he stays dry, more treats for when he uses the potty. All sorts of salty snack and sugary drinks to help prompt the need to use the potty... and a pizza party with cupcakes at the end of the day!

I'm really praying he wakes up in a great mood and is ready for the day. If he does it could be a successful weekend. If not, my husband is taking a day off of work for nothing. I'm really proud of him for being willing to stay home and help in the process. My son is a big time daddy's boy and is much more apt to pee in the potty if dad is there with him.

Any suggestions from potty training pros?

Fantastic Times

I had one of the best weekends that I can remember. Andy and I made it through the entire time/travel/shopping adventure without an arguement or even a discussion.

We found tons of great sales and clearance racks (where I usually buy most of my clothes). We managed to make it through the whole weekend by only spending $13 over our cash budget. I'm very excited about that. Even more exciting is that most of the clothes in my usual size were too big for me! With a bit more excercise to tone the stomach donut left over from the baby - I might make into the jean size I wore when I got married. It was a pretty good incentive to eat a bit healthier or work out a bit more.

We had a fabulous dinner at Bonefish Grill. Thanks to a gift card we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. If you ever get the chance to go the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer is AMAZING and so is the Chicken Marsala. Andy had the walleye and said that it was really good.

We really didn't realize how burned out we were and how much we really need time away just the two of us. The time alone, relaxing, shopping helped so much. Other than coming down with Ryan's cold this weekend, it was the perfect trip.

Weekend Anticipation

Happy Belated Anniversary! My anniversary is technically in December but rarely ever gets celebrated then due to the holidays and church responsibilities. So this Sat/Sun Andy and I are taking off!!! Figures that I got a cold just in time to go away.

We're leaving the boys with my in-laws overnight. Ryan's got a pretty good cold too and I haven't left my baby for more than a few hours yet so it might be interesting and slightly emotional at times. Yet I'm sure the time away with be fantastic.

We're not doing anything fabuluous, just using up some gift cards, Christmas money, and home improvement money we've saved up. I'm hoping to do a little outlet mall shopping, IKEA, and Andy wants to go to Cabelas. I'm making a list and scraping together the cash/gift cards so that we don't get caught up and overspend. Its really easy for me to do when shopping with Andy. He tends to get caught up in the moment, or try to rush through the stores and then later regrets the receipt totals.

Happy weekend to you all.

In Between

Looking back, 2006 was a year "in between" for me.

In between being the mom of one and the mom of two
In between being morning sick and post partum tired
In between feedings & naps
In between hormone swings
In between having a pastor at our church
In between the peaks and valleys emotionally
In between loving my life and existing
In between being a working woman and a stay at home mom
In between tears of joy and tears of despair
In between really loving God and doing things because I should
In between sizes
In between being overwhelmed by busyness and feeling alone
In between who I am and who I really want to be ...

God is taking me somewhere and I'm not really sure where that is. Somehow I feel like I need to be doing or being something other than I am - but I don't know what that is. Yet I'm not sure if that is God calling to me - or me longing for something more than what He's giving me right now.

When I reflect, I see how good God is - how much He has given me. Yet I long to be somewhere other than in between. Maybe that's what heaven is all about.

Have Yourself An Awkward Little Christmas...

Today was the last in a series of Christmas celebrations. It was nice to be with family, but awkward as well. It's hard to be with people that you are closely tied to (by blood) but have absolutely nothing in common with. My brother has chosen a life completely contrary to what I believe God has called us to. He knows better, but continues to make poor life choices. Very self-centered and others get to deal with his consequences...

At what point do you say things and at what point do you let things go because they know what you think/believe? Its a hard balance and it makes for family time that is neither relaxing, nor very enjoyable. It was good to see my mom enjoying her grandkids and my other brother & his wife putting together a great Christmas spread. They love to cook and entertain so it's always good eats.

Merry Christmas too you all. Hopefully you've enjoyed both family and the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve Eve

It was a FABULOUS day with my family. Ryan was so excited when he woke up and found the presents under the tree. We had a delicous stuffed hashbrown casserole for breakfast and dove into the presents. Ryan was a riot. His big present was a train table. However, the big hit of the day was new Blue's Clues notebooks ($4 set) in his stocking. It really isn't about how much you spen at this point.

Andy surprised me with pictures of him and the boys together. I loved that he put lots of thought into something special for me. We decided that this was our best Christmas ever. It was so much fun to love on our kids, surprise them, and give them things we know that they will enjoy. It was great not rush around simply enjoy each other.

I survived the first of the family gatherings tonight. It actually went quite well. It's always crazy when you get that many people, kids, presents, etc together.

This year my MIL had us shop for our own presents because they were too busy with getting their basement finished to do so. I picked out a great set of JA Henkels knives - the Forged Pro series. They are really nice. I got tired of dealing with knives that dull easily. Not really any surprises under the tree, but it was fun just the same.

MNF & Birthday Party for Jesus

We had a great Christmas party with our Monday Night Football group. The turkey turned out well - a bit dry thanks to my meat thermometer not working quite right - but lots of gravy to cover that up...

We had a Birthday Party for Jesus with the kids. I made star shaped cake/cupcakes for the kids, had presents for each of them, and we made little nativity scenes. I printed a stable on cardstock and then cut out clipart of all the Christmas story characters for them to glue into the scene. My heart melts every time my 2-year-old walks by the fridge and points at his nativity scene and tells me "That's baby Jesus, and Jesus' mommy, and daddy, and SHEEP!" At this point he breaks out in a chorus of "Away in a Manger" (the song he sang in the church Christmas program on Sunday) at the top of his lungs. He doesn't have a clue who the wisemen are or the shepherd, but that's a lesson for next year. So cute.

Holiday Stress

For as much as I LOVE CHRISTMAS, I always seem to forget the stress that comes along with it. Decorating, baking, church productions, service projects, youth group parties, family stuff, shopping with two little kids, cold season, parties, gift exchanges, christmas cards and much more.

Every year my Martha Stewart complex is challenged. I keep thinking, maybe next year I'll get to celebrate the way I'd like.

Then I stop and think about everything on my to do list and there really isn't much in the way of worship on docket. I was challenged by the very words I shared with our Junior High Students last night - Christmas is a gift. It is God's most precious gift to us. Will we receive the gift? Do we leave it all wrapped up or open it and enjoy the gift of a true and lasting relationship with Jesus Christ? There is plenty inside for me to be completely satisfied - actually more like overwhelmed - with plenty left over to share with everyone I know and love and those I'm just meeting.

I'm slipping in a Birthday Party for Jesus for all the kids at our Monday Night Football party coming up next week. Star birthday cakes, presents (Bible coloring books & English candy crackers), coloring sheets, and maybe a few other suprises...

Any suggestions of fun stuff to do with the kids (ages 3 - 8) at a Birthday party for Jesus?

Holiday Eating Begins

It's not even Christmas yet and the holiday eating has begun... I tried a new recipe out on our Monday Night Football group that was so good that I couldn't stop eating them. They were so good that I made Andy throw away what was left so I wouldn't eat them ALL!!!

Nothin' to fret about Apple Fritter from Rachael Ray

Check them out. It's like your favorite fair food without spending the $ for parking, rides, carnival games, and overpriced fair food!

Christmas Decor

I got this idea from my cousin-in-law friend Teresa who put pics up of her Christmas decor. I think you can learn a lot about a person by how they decorate for Christmas. I'm pretty much a classic/traditionalist. I like timeless items that don't go out of style so I only have to tweek things each year. I love a deep red and gold. I struggle between having a beautiful tree and a family tree - so we do both. We cut down a real tree each (except this year, even though we tried - long story) for our more formal upstairs tree (still carefully decorated to accommodate a curious toddler in the house). I started buying picture ornaments on clearance last year and will continue to do so for fun ways to display what they boys look like that year. Downstair we have...


a family tree decorated more lodge still fitting the hunting and fishing decor of the rec room. We have ornaments from our traveling, ones we made as kids, and fun ornaments that I paint for the kids each year. We also buy them an ornament that is thematic for their life that year. I have seperate tins that I store those ornaments in so they can have them someday.

And here are our stocking hung by the chimney with care. I really wanted to get a mirror to rest on the mantle and hang a wreath in the center of it, but just don't have the cash to do that this year. Maybe next year... We did add Tyler's stocking this year and found one similar to Ryan's.

Answered Prayers

I dreaded tonight. "Church Business" can be a dreadful thing. We had some issues to wade threw tonight that I was rather upset by. Our committee met and prayed and talked throught the issues in advance. God was definitely listening and present because the meeting went far better than expected. My appreciation goes out to Heather who really was direct in addressing difficult issues in a compassionate way and to my husband who gave very good advice tonight.

The end result was far better than any of us had hoped for. Prayers answered...

3 Months

Done with another trip to Sears for more pictures. I spent way more than I wanted to, but so may of the pictures turned out so well that I couldn't help myself.

Spirit of Christmas

I mentioned a great book that I had gotten from the library with Christmas ideas. So I thought I'd share the source "The Spirit of Christmas, 20th Anniversary Edition."

The more I look through it the more I like what I see. Great ideas and recipes that seem really quick and easy. I haven't tasted recipes yet, but I intend to change that soon.

I'm also very excited that there is one week until Tree Day. Our family tradition is to go cut down our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and spend the whole day getting the tree, house, etc decorated for Christmas. We watch old Christmas movies, have a great family dinner, and take lots of pictures. It's part of my Christmas adiction. Should be interesting to see how it goes with two boys after traveling back from Thanksgiving in Indiana. I'm going to enjoy it as many years as I can until my boys get to the age of "do we have to?"

My Boys

Here are a few of my favorite pictures that we had done of the boys for Christmas. They are getting so big!

Christmas Addictions

I know that it is still like 6 weeks away - but Christmas is coming. Hunting season always signifies that for me. Andy goes hunting - I work on Christmas presents (painting ornaments, etc). Won't be doing a whole lot of that crafty stuff this week thanks to 2 little boys, but I'm excited for the season none the less.

Picked up a Christmas idea book at the library last week that has some FANTASTIC ideas and recipes in it. I'm excited to give some of them a whirl. So many ideas and so little time. I'll file away the ones I can't get to for future years I guess and enjoy the ones I can manage to fit in.

God Answered & Dreams Postponed

I'm having a difficult time dealing with the way God is answering our prayer requests. Andy and I bought land about 3 1/2 years ago with the hope of building. We spent dozens of hours figuring out what we wanted, working with my brother to get plans drawn up, and interviewing builders. We asked that God would make it REALLY clear about whether we can really afford to do this or not.

The first builder gave us serious sticker shock - but we expected that from him. We figured the second builder would be better. He was, but we'd have to do a significant amount of the work ourselves to make it financially feasible. Even then, if things went poorly we were on the edge of making a bad fiscal decision for our family.

So... we've decided not to build and I think we'll sell the land as well. If I can't build the house that I love, that I can't say that I really want to build anything else. I keep thinking that God is telling us something through this. We just need to listen a little closer and see if we can figure out what that might be.

We'll still hold on to those house plans and maybe sometime down the road that dream will be part of God's plan for us.

Thankful for 3:30 AM

I found a reason to be thankful for 3:30 AM yesterday. As I groggily pulled my butt out of bed to feed the baby, Andy and I heard the washing machine still running, but it was loud. That's strange - it was running 4 hours ago when we went to bed...

I fed the baby and Andy still hadn't come back upstairs from checking things out and I knew that was a bad sign. The hot water line had ruptured and was flooding the basement. I was very grateful for the floor drain next to the machine that kept the whole basement from flooding. I was also grateful for cement walls rather than drywall.

So the water is gone now, but the mess is still there. All the Christmas decorations hidden under the stairs, masses of laundry, the cheap cabinet holding all of the clearanced formula I found and the canned applesauce and peaches.

Eventually we'll get everything sorted through, in new boxes and stored away. It could have been much worse. That's what I was thinking for the next hour as I went to bed and laid there unable to sleep.

No Perfect Child

Whoever says we are born with a clean slate and that children are intrinsicly good hasn't spent time with a toddler lately. Any two-year-old will teach you that there is a natural bent to naughtiness and rebellion rather than goodness and obedience.

My son reminded me of that fact today. It makes be grateful that I (nor my toddler) needs to be good enough to get to heaven. Jesus Christ took care of that on the cross for me and everyone else who has ever been a toddler. Gives me reason to pause many times during the day to remind myself that I've been forgiven by God for far more than my little boy. How much do I need to love, forgive, and teach him about his need for a Savior...

Last Day in a Decade

Today is my last day as a twenty-something... How am I spending it? Being the life of the party? Shopping til I drop? Pampering myself?

Actually, I'm spending most of the day in the bathroom desperately trying to convince a 2 year old that going pee on the potty is a cool thing. That if he does so he will get sugary treats, and if he does so repeatedly he will get really cool character underwear.

Someday I'll look back and laugh at the irony of turning 30. It isn't a big to me, just a number. Today's activity just reminds me of what I have to look forward to in the next decade. 40 might end up being a little more tramatic.

Miracles Happen & So Does The Flu

God has been gracious. He has given me a boy who likes to eat, take naps, and is now sleeping through the night!!! I am absolutely THRILLED about not getting up at 2, 4, or 5 am. Most mornings I don't get up until 6 or 7, and on a great day 8. Wake up each morning with a smile and "thank you Jesus" on my lips. This is an exceptional miracle considering Ryan didn't sleep through the night until we made him cry it out at 7 months and again at 9 months.

Flu happens, and it isn't pleasant. Andy has been down with it for 3 days. Poor Ryan doesn't understand what it is that Daddy is sick with and why he isn't playing. Today was a bit of a breaking point for the little guy at bedtime he cried that he was sick and took his pillow to lay on the couch with Daddy. Hopefully health will return soon along with the usual wrestling and tackling that goes along with it.

Keep praying that the baby doesn't get it. He's been Daddy deprived too - kept at a distance to avoid any viral transfer. Andy is missing his "little man" and I'm missing a few down minutes in the day.

The Doctor Said...

And I quote "He does have a big head..."

That was my son's pediatrician's response after charting Tyler's head size on that lovely chart to figure out what percentile they are in... 95% for head size. Made me laugh when she asked if anyone else in the family had a larger than usual head. I told her Andy's nick-name in school was "big head" and she wrote it in Tyler's chart!

At least we know he's healthy and hopefully the larger head size means lots of brains!

Six Week Survival

I had my six week post-partum check up today. It's a milestone that says...

• I survived 6 realatively sleepless weeks.
  
• I will eventually understand what my baby is trying to tell me and why my 2 year old is throwing a tantrum.
  
• I've started to feel completely disconnected from the adult world.
  
• I'm cleared by the doctor so I really don't have an excuse to not excercise anymore.
• I'm really out of shape and pushing a double stroller up a hill is a lot more work than a single stroller.
• People are no longer bringing meals, so I do need to attempt to cook more than soup and macaroni & cheese again.
• I'll never be done changing diapers - they will last forever. (should have bought stock in Pampers to get a bit of my money back)
  
• I love my boys and that makes difficult days like today tolerable.

Just a few of realizations today. Along with the outrage that Robinette's Apple Haus now charges a whopping $6 a gallon for apple cider. Heck I can get a gallon of gas for $2.14 now, and that has to be drilled from deep beneath the earth and transported around the world. Can't they do better for apples they are pulling from across the street and smushing into a jug in the back of the barn???

The Fantasy Begins

Football season is finally here. I have my fantasy football team picked (not the greatest team, but we'll see what they can do) and the competition begins. I convinced Andy to join in the fun with 4 other couples from our church. He doesn't understand how people can get excited about a team that doesn't really exist. I tell him it's the same way I don't understand the thrill of the hunt or watching little cars plastered with stickers drive around in circles...

Should be an interesting season. My expectations - pretty small for the season so hopefully I will be delightfully surprised when my expectations are surpased.

I Wanna Be

Yesterday we had a send off celebration at church for a couple "retiring" to the missions field. After years of serving the United States Postal Service, their retirement package will be mostly covering their expenses as missionaries in Spain. Gotta love that our tax dollars are funding missions (thanks Eric for that thought).

Over and over we heard about George and Bonnie - their love for God and their love for people. They were both saved later in life and know what a gift they've received from their Savior. The cool thing is that pretty much everyone that they come in contact with knows it too. For the multitude of kids they've shuttled around, the Bible studies they've lead, etc... we've got a lot of slack to pick up in their absence.

I wanna grow up and be a bit more like George and Bonnie.

Two Weeks

God really has blessed us with an easy-going baby who likes to sleep! Praise the Lord!! Number one boy doesn't care for sleep that much. It has always put a stop to his plans of play, of trains, and anything else that can keep him in the awake/moving position.

Ryan thinks Tyler is pretty cool and helps put lotion on him, gives him a pacifier when he cries and we hear him say "It's okay baby" in the backseat when Tyler voices his displeasure about being strapped into the car seat.

Still dealing with a bit of attention seeking behavior from Ryan. It's lessening and we're dealing better with it (most days). Have a steady stream of visitors looking to help with Ryan, bring meals, and meet the new baby. It's good to know so many people care.

Life is starting to fall into a bit of normality - if there is such a thing. Keep reminding myself that it has only been two weeks since Tyler arrived and to not push it to hard yet. The dirty floors and unwashed pile of dishes continue to bug me. But its time to feed the baby and naptime is almost over...

Here He Is

Here he is - Tyler Malcolm Jonkman

Doing Well

Life is progressing well in the Jonkman house. Tyler is a pretty easy baby now that we got some feeding issues worked out. Ryan is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to life, but he seems a bit better today now that Andy is back at work. Not sure what that is all about, but I'll take better when I can get it.

God has really blessed us with a great start with this child, so much better than the first time around. It's amazing what a little experience does for the newborn stage. We also have had a great experience thanks to a great team at the hospital (actually got a congrats note in the mail from all of our nurses!), family, and friends.

Life is good, tiring, but good.

Arrival

Tyler Malcolm his middle name is after my dad) made his arrival on Friday, August 11 at 1:42 AM - 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 1/2"

Everything went really and we're all adjusting to life as a family of four and little sleep. We thank God for such a remarkable blessing in our lives.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, friendship, and encouragement along the way.

Waiting Game

Realistically, I know that I won't be pregnant forever. Practically, there is no end in sight. I really dislike this "waiting period" where it could be anytime -- but it isn't. We'll just chalk it up to another way in which God is trying to teach me patience...

Until then, I'll just keep getting all the phone calls and people asking me "no baby yet?" And until then, I'll just keep giving sarcastic remarks like... "actually I had the baby and just decided to keep the stomach."

I'm excited to get going on the next stage of things. Ryan's been really clingy lately and I'm not sure if he knows what's going on or if it's just a stage. Time will tell.

Thanks for your prayers and words of encouragement. They have all been greatly appreciated.

Closing Time...

It's my last day after 12 years at WCSG. It's very mixed emotions, and lots of memories that I'm leaving with. I'm relying on God's plan that He has for me, cuz it's really blurry to me at this point. I guess I don't know what else to say. I'll miss you guys.

Live From Indiana

I am tired, sore, and pretty happy. We're less than 24 hours from heading home from our missions trip in Remington, Indiana. We've picked the hottest week on record this year to make our way down to work on outdoor work projects with Junior High students. It's been in the 90's most of the time we've been here, including today on our fun day in Chicago.

We've accomplished some projects for the Midwest Church Extension and hopefully taken a bit of the "we've got to get to..." projects off their to do list. We've had quite a few teachable moments for our students and growing opportunities for us as leaders.

I'm ready to be home and see my son, and enjoy good air conditioning...

Building Blocks

I'm getting excited to see our "Dream House" starting to come together on paper. We got some more schetchs/plans back from my brother this weekend and will go over a few more of the details tonight. A few more decisions and revisions to be made and we're off to the scary world of quotes and finances.

We've hired our junior high students to come out for one cleaning day at the property and looking at another round with some of the high school kids from church. Strong backs and relatively cheap labor... Pretty good combination.

If all goes well, we are hoping to break ground in the spring. First we have to see where the $ falls and how much of the work we'll need to do...