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...