They Learn Young

There are times when Jon is playing with the boys that he will squeeze them and make them say "Uncle" (they love this, by the way). Last week we went to get groceries about 20 minutes away. Ben had taken his wolf, Fofie, along. As we were heading home in the dark, Jon and I heard this throaty-sounding voice from the back (a "redrum" voice, for those of you who have seen The Shining): "Say uncle, Fofie, say uncle."

Great November

For the third day in a row, we took a morning walk. It has been in the 70s the past 3 days, though a little windy, but I'll take it. The boys got to play for a while outside yesterday and even ate lunch at their little picnic table. They just love being outside.

Leah turned 4 months yesterday. I hauled out the Bumbo and she seemed to enjoy being able to sit up and take in all the action. The boys vied for the seat when she wasn't in it. It's hard to believe how time has passed. She is full of smiles and likes to talk. She's really responding to the boys now, giving them lots of smiles and talking to them. Finn has never wavered in loving on her, and he seems to be reaping his rewards now. Ben has paid her minimal attention but seems to enjoy her a bit more now. He likes to see her smile at him.

Ben is a growing boy. He's eating more at a time and asks for food more often. I think he's on his way to going without naps. He takes longer and longer to get to sleep. Today I didn't even put him down. We'll see how he is tonight. A couple weeks ago one day he didn't sleep, and he actually was pleasant in the evening. Cross your fingers...

Finn is still Finn. He continues learning new words and speaks in short sentences. He'll turn 2 on Nov. 24, but it seems like he's been 2 for a year, doing everything Ben does. He's a crazy little boy who brings lots of energy and activity to our family.

We have just passed the milestone of 1 year of ordination for Jon and ministry at Austinville. We have enjoyed this past year and have been so blessed by God. We love our congregation and the place we live. We have been shown love from our congregation in many different ways. We have been gifted with another baby. The boys have had ample space to run and play and do little boy things. We have good health. You get the picture.

I shall now retire to my easy chair to see if Ben would like to rock; otherwise on to other things.

Happy November!

Something New

Things happen every day in our house that I witness and think, "That would be great to put on the blog." But I just don't find time to sit and write stuff, and when I might have time, I've forgotten all the cute and weird things that my kids do. But I do not lament. There will always be more.

Something I wanted to write about, though, is a little outing I made with the boys the day I went into labor with Leah. We have a colleague who is a volunteer fireman, and he graciously invited us to spend some time and check out the firetrucks. So in July, thinking I really should get it done before the baby came or I just wouldn't do it (deep down I knew she was coming soon because I made a bunch of appointments that week), I called up our friend and scheduled a time for the morning of July 8. The boys spent an hour climbing in and out of the vehicles. They got to run the hose, which they thought was lots of fun. Here are a few pictures:

Time Flies

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. I haven't looked at the blog for a while. I don't fill my days up with things, but I find myself very busy and don't have a lot of time to sit at the computer. I'm trying to come to grips with the fact that I'll have to catch up on sleep when my kids are out of the house.

Last weekend we had almost all of our family here to celebrate Ben turning 3 and Leah's baptism (and my birthday a little bit). Jon was able to finally baptize one of his kids, and Leah was his first baptism, so it was a little more special for us. The week leading up to that, my parents were here camping and we had some friends come through the area, so we had a busy week, but it was very fun to see everybody. The boys slept 2 nights in the camper with Grandpa and Grandma, and Ben keeps telling me he's going to sleep in the camper.

We've been having a good month. Finn's vocabulary is growing every day. He repeats Ben a lot and learns quickly, and it's generally pretty easy for me to interpret. He's a very energetic boy and is always moving, even when he's sitting on my lap. He had a great week last week, especially when both grandpas were here. I think he's going through grandpa withdrawal because he's been clingy this week.

Ben has been starting his terrible twos since he turned 3. He's been a little bearish this week and he's been a little bit different kid. He's starting to really remember and keep note of things, and his vocabulary continues to grow. It's been such a joy and blessing to watch him grow for 3 years and see the changes that come in such a short time.

Leah and I had a doctor appointment last week Friday. She is now 9.5 pounds and grew a couple inches. In the last week she has begun to outgrow her newborn clothing. We got our first smiles out of Leah this week and she's on the verge of talking to us. She has uttered 1 syllable at a time on various occasions. The boys are still very concerned about what she's doing and Finn just loves to hang on her and poke at her.

The last couple of days have been cool and fall-like. I actually hauled winter clothes out and put sleepers on the boys last night. This is perfect weather for a fire. I'm so glad Jon built our firepit this summer, even if we only used it a couple of times so far. Last night we had a fire and smores. The boys just loved it.

Hopefully this updates you a bit since I have no idea when I might post again.

She's Here!

Now that my due date is coming up, I decided I really should post and inform those who may not know that we actually had our baby girl on July 9. Leah Grace was born at 7:21 a.m. She weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz and was 19 inches long. She's just a bitty thing, considering Ben was 9 lbs and Finn was 7 lbs 2 oz. We are settling in and some nights are much better than others.

The boys love their baby. Finn especially showers her with kisses and just wants to be by her. She has some good lengths of time where she is awake and very alert. We are all enjoying our new baby. And now it is time to get her before Finn breaks down her door.

So I've been thinking lately that I really should update our blog since it's been a while. (By the way, I realize I start a lot of sentences with so, but it works for me, so please disregard.) Anyway, the last post indicated our trip to Ackley. We got there and it absolutely poured rain, so instead of eating at one of the food stands, we made our way down the street to the Pizza Ranch, which Ben is always up for when we're in Ackley. Five minutes before the parade started, the rain stopped. We missed a few minutes of it, but the boys enjoyed it and got a boatload of candy. We were unprepared for the onslaught but thankfully had nooks and crannies in our diaper bag for the candy the boys didn't eat. Tootsie Rolls were the food of choice that evening.

The next Tuesday we headed to Aplington days (3 miles away in the other direction). Ben was ready to go all day. (Go to parade and eat candy?) We have to stop telling him things ahead of time. It just never comes fast enough for him. Anyway, we went prepared with a bag and got another boatload of candy, though I think the boys ate more this time. We were pleasantly surprised that they sat very nicely in their stroller the whole time. There were plenty of things to keep their attention, though. It was a lot different than last summer where we could hardly keep them off the street during a parade. So Ben now is looking forward to more parades and more candy. Unfortunately I think we're already done for the summer with those. Someone graciously bestowed tickets upon us that were enough for the boys each to have 3 rides on a little car ride that worked for their age. We didn't have our camera along, but we got huge smiles and they cried when we left. I think they enjoyed it.

We've generally been going about our days regularly: playing inside, playing outside, me trying to do odds and ends around the house. I did venture into jam making and I think it turned out relatively decent. I have gobs of rhubarb in my freezer, and instead of waiting until September to do this, I figure I have time now and I might as well do it. I'm trying to get some stuff out of my freezer as I make meals and freeze them. Those pans take up a bit of room. And containers are a bit more organizable than bags of rhubarb.

Today we went to the Butler County Fair. We watched some kids show pigs and walked around to show the boys all the animals. They seemed to enjoy it. There were also rows upon rows of tractors parked there, and they had fun running around looking at them and touching them.

Yesterday we got the boys another little trike because they fight over the one we have, even though there are 2 little cars for them to play in. We figured it would end the fight. Boy, were we wrong. They now fight over the new bike. And trust me, there is very little difference besides the color. So when one gets off to do something, the other makes a beeline for the new trike. I'm sure the newness will wear off soon enough. It is very nice that they both can bike. Ben can pedal very well, but Finn can keep right up with him pushing with his little legs. It kind of tires me out just watching him.

So we are at 35 weeks with the baby. Everything is still kosher in that department. Time has just seemed to slow way down, but I try to make my doctor appointments the next milestone I count down the days to. Five weeks is just too big of a chunk. Maybe I just need to take more naps and the days will just fly right by, eh?

Potty training is going pretty well with Ben. The biggest problem is getting him inside to go potty. He asked me tonight if I would put a Pull-Up on him. He's not so stupid. But we stay with underwear unless we go somewhere. He does ask me to go potty at times-I don't always have to remind him-so it's progressing.

Finn continues to learn lots of new words. One thing I thought of after my last post is that even in his limited vocabulary, he has known Ipod for a while. He holds Jon's Ipod and does his little Finny dance while the music plays.

It's bedtime, despite whatever time this blogger says I posted. Good night.

Sun and Rain

We have jumped into summer with a few dips in the little pool. We've had lots of rainy days alternating with hot, humid days. Our garden is growing nicely. We've been chowing down on lettuce and are looking forward to the rest of our produce.

I have restarted potty training Ben. I think it's going better than before, but some days I wonder. We just keep plugging away at it. I'm hoping to make some good progress before the baby is born. Ben loves singing songs. He learns new words every day and he talks an awful lot.

Finn is learning new words, too. He jabbers a lot. He is learning lots of naughty things from his brother but also by himself. Finn is definitely an independent baby. He knows what he wants and gets his point across one way or another. He is currently obsessed with garbage. He follows Ben's lead on a lot of things, such as throwing his diaper away and putting his jammies away in the morning.

The boys play very well together most days. It's fun to watch them interact. Ben still gets frustrated that Fifi doesn't always do what Ben wants him to, but it's getting better now that Finn can understand more.

Baby is doing well. I am at 2-week checkups, and yesterday was another good report. Baby is positioned correctly, and I told the doc we're ready to go. Unfortunately we are only at 32+ weeks. I'm keeping busy enough that it's going fast, though.

I'm finishing up painting Finn's future headboard and footboard. I figured I should get that done now because I may not find time when we're ready to put him in a bed. Then our only chore is to find a mattress for him.

Tonight we are attending sauerkraut days. Ackley is about 8 miles away from us. It should be a fun time.

Summer Sickness

A week or so after all my boys got over their various infections, I found myself with a cough, sore throat, and headache. I made a trip to my doctor last week Tuesday and threw in an OB appointment to boot. I came out of there with a satisfactory report on the pregnancy but a prescription for antibiotics. That afternoon I started to get congested, so now I'm finishing up my drugs but battling a cold and that pesky cough. I hope this is it for the sickness for all of us this summer.

In other news, Kris and Angie came to visit Friday night, along with Angie's baby Grace. The boys loved having Grace around. I hope they're just as excited when our baby comes. The girls stayed most of Saturday. We had a good time catching up and doing absolutely nothing. It was a nice weekend.

Jon surprised us this morning with a little pool, so we threw on the boys' trunks after lunch and they spent an enjoyable time outside. It's cooking in the 90s with very high humidity. I'm quite enjoying my air conditioning this afternoon.

We're excited to have our first lettuce out of the garden tonight. BLTs are on the menu-it's way too hot to be running the oven today.

I am off to enjoy my last bit of quiet before the boys wake up.

He Loves to Share

We had a knock at the door tonight, and the census guy came to have us fill out a questionnaire, so he came in for a few minutes. As soon as he walked in the door, Ben told him we were having meatballs for supper. Then he shared that the Corn Pops were gone, which we finished yesterday morning. I'm not sure if that was traumatizing or what, but apparently it was important enough to share with this stranger. So Jon and the guy sat down at the table to go over these papers, and Ben gets up on the table (which he knows he's not supposed to do), sits down, and starts showing this guy all of the owies on his legs. And he keeps talking as Jon answers questions. I was trying to get supper ready, so I didn't hear everything, but he had plenty to tell the guy. When I took the boys in the kitchen to start them on supper, Ben cried because he wanted to be out by this guy. What a funny kid. He's definitely not shy.

Body Parts

Before I get to my story, since I titled this the way I did, I will just inform you that Finn is learning parts of the face. He says "eyes" very well. Now on to my story...

I was in the laundry room tonight when Ben was trying to tickle me. I told him to stop since I had stuff in my hands, so he turned around to run out and ran right into the deep freeze. I asked him if he hurt his head, and as he rubbed right below his nose, he replied, "No, I hurt my mustache."

Learning Our Prayer

Last night Ben started his bedtime prayer by himself, but he was a bit off and kept repeating himself. So I started him out and we went every other line. When we came to the part where it goes "If I live for other days," I said "if I live." Ben then finished with "for a couple days." I tried not to laugh, but I just couldn't help it. He tries so hard and is so innocent in his mistakes. I just never know what will come out of his mouth next.

What A Week

It's hard to believe it was a week ago, but Jon's mom came last Thursday night, and Friday we started taking off wallpaper in what is now the baby's room. The paper came off fine, but there was some stuff underneath that just didn't want to come off after a day of scraping. So we got all the loose stuff off the wall and washed some glue off. Cindy spent Saturday cleaning the rest of the glue, mudding, and sanding. Monday morning she primed and sprayed some light texture on the walls. Afternoon and evening had her painting a couple of coats. And she left on Tuesday morning. She did a lot of work for us and we are very thankful! I have worked the last couple days touching up a few spots (twice thanks to the boys), washing the woodwork, and getting the blinds and valances back on.

Saturday morning found me at the doctor. Ben was waking up in the morning and from naps barely able to see with gunk all over his eyes, so I called and the doctor wanted to see him. He had a double ear and eye infection and came home with some not-so-great-smelling medicine and eye drops. He's a trooper, though, and has taken it well, and he stays pretty still for the eye drops.

So we've had a few nights of crying. The last couple of afternoons I've spent with Finn rocking because he wouldn't sleep, so I got him into the doctor today. He also came home with a double ear infection and an almost ruptured eardrum. So he got a shot of antibiotics as well as some hopefully good-tasting stuff to start tomorrow. He has slept through the night, so I'm thankful for that. Hopefully everyone will be feeling better in a couple of days. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow and will have him check me out good while I'm there. I'm hoping I don't get any of this.

I'm slowly getting things into the baby's room and trying to clean up my house a bit. Pictures to come when I find my camera cord.

Spring Vacation

We have had an eventful last 3-4 weeks here. We spent the last 2 weeks on vacation, and the week before that we had no internet, hence the lack of posting.

Jon's parents came down a few weekends ago and got our garden started. We have potatoes, onions, radishes, and lettuce popping up. There's plenty more to go. We have beautiful lilacs and many plants and flowers that were previously planted. The yard looks very nice.

We won't be going anywhere this summer with the baby coming, so we decided to take the opportunity while we don't have kids in school to go somewhere. We left 2 weeks ago Tuesday for our vacation.

We drove down through Missouri and stopped in Hannibal the first day, home of Mark Twain. We ate lunch, walked around the old buildings, went to the river and played in a park, and then had some ice cream. Finn had a diaper blowout at lunch, so thankfully we weren't sitting in the car. It was on to St. Charles from there, which is just north of St. Louis. We headed to the St. Louis zoo on Wednesday. Free admission, folks! I think the boys enjoyed it. Ben knows lots of animals now and we thought it would be a lot of fun for him to see them for real. I think he learned a few more. Finn liked it just as much, I think.

After the zoo we made our way into Arkansas. We followed the river with lots of winding roads and hills. Ben got car sick twice. As we were on "the scenic route," there were very few places to stop. The first time he got sick, we were searching for a gas station when a lumber truck pulled out in front of us and we slammed on the brakes. Just as I was thinking of some choice words, Jon and I both noticed a gas station down a bit from where the truck had come. Had he not pulled out in front of us, we definitely wouldn't have seen it-it was not a gas stationey building. So a blessing in disguise. We got to clean up Ben and let Finn run around a bit. The second incident wasn't quite so bad. We just pulled over into some abandoned driveway and picked more clothes out of the trunk. This is what plastic bags are for, I guess.

Thursday morning we headed out for Little Rock, where our good friend Glenn lives. Ben had a diaper blowout in the car, so into the shower he went as soon as we got there. Thankfully the carseat was spared and we didn't have any major cleaning to do. We did, however, do a load of laundry that night at Glenn's so we could dress the boys. We had beautiful weather in the 80s but had to split our clothing allotment between shorts and jeans given the time of year.

We had lunch with Glenn and in the afternoon we walked along the river downtown and had ice cream. There was a fountain coming out of the ground that some kids were playing in, so we took off the boys' shirts and let them run around a while. Glenn cooked us a great supper. He fed us well the whole time we were there. Friday we headed to Hot Springs, which is a national park within a city. They had old bath houses where people used to go for healing, etc. Some famous people frequented these. Saturday we headed to the Clinton library and museum by the river. It was pretty neat to see. It's hard to read things in great detail because the boys get bored quite quickly, but very interesting nonetheless. The boys had a lot of fun at Glenn's. They could go in circles through a couple doors. I think Ben's best memory is having Lucky Charms. We don't have them at home anymore because he would only eat the marshmallows.

Sunday we went to church and ate dinner with Glenn. We headed out in the afternoon on a bit more scenic route through Arkansas, stopping at Fort Smith. Monday morning we went to the actual Fort Smith, which changed hands a few times during the Civil War, then became a jail and court for a large area for many years. They still had a couple of buildings and the gallows. We then headed north to Pea Ridge, which was a Civil War battlefield. This was a driving tour where you could get out and look at various sites they described for you. They have fences and cannons set up to help visualize the battlefields. Very interesting and brings it a bit more to life. We hit these on National Park Week, so this stuff was free for us! That was a lovely surprise.

We stayed in Kansas City Monday night. Our hotel was in a beautiful part of the city, and some day we would like to go back and just spend some time there. If we had more time, we would have walked around a bit. Tuesday we went to the WWI Museum in KC. That again was very detailed, and some people could probably spend a couple days in there. The boys weren't very excited about this stop. We did go up in a tower, though, and we got a great view of KC. The boys got to see a couple of trains and ride in an elevator. That's Ben's favorite new thing, besides going on bridges. He's still talking about the elevator (elegator) at the hotel.

Tuesday we headed to Minnesota. We ended up meeting my parents there for supper after calling my dad with a car problem. We headed to Jon's parents that night. We ended up having the struts replaced on the car. Thankfully it was nothing worse than that and God gave us safe travels the whole 2 weeks. While in Edgerton, we made a couple trips to Jon's grandparents, and his mom and I did some rummaging. I was very excited to find a changing table, which I have had in mind for a while. I also found a queen bed frame for our guest bed.

We headed to my parents on Friday. My sister and her kids got in late that night, and Finn was very happy to see baby Robbie (who is 5 months old) on Saturday morning. Finn loves babies and points them out. He calls Ben "baby," but he seems to know the difference. I somewhat learned to play pinochle. I have a ways to go but got the gist of it. We just bummed over the weekend and headed for home Monday morning.

So here we are on Wednesday night. Finn and I both got a stomach bug last week and are pretty much over it now. I haven't had a lot of ambition. Jon's mom is coming down tomorrow night. We are stripping the wallpaper in the baby's room and painting. I got the paint today and stripped some wallpaper. I cleaned the stuff out of the room except for the bed. Jon and I did some cleaning and rearranging on the third floor, which will now be the guest suite. I'm very excited to be preparing the baby's room. The most I did before was rearrange closets and drawers to make room for the baby stuff, so now I get to do a little bit of decorating and readying a bedroom. I didn't miss it before, but now that I can do it, I'm looking forward to it. And I'll spend a nesting period unpacking all the baby stuff and rearranging. I really am excited to have a changing table. And if anyone wants to give me a glider rocker and ottoman, I am accepting donations.

So that will be our weekend. Now that I've written a novel, I'll give you a few days to read it.

Quick Thinking

When Jon is grilling (especially during the winter when he would walk in the house with snow on his shoes) a lot of times he'll just ask me to get him what he needs so he can run back outside. (Our back door leads right into our kitchen.) Many times he'll start the request as such: Hey Ker, can you get _____?

Jon was grilling tonight and the boys were outside with him. I was upstairs putting laundry away when I saw Ben come up the stairs. He stopped and said to me, "Say Ker, can you get me, um, that light on the wall?" I'm still laughing at this. I thought that was pretty quick thinking as he quite obviously had nothing in mind for me to get him.

Learning New Things

The other night the boys had their pajamas on and were sitting at their little table playing "kitchen." Jon came up to say goodnight, so we were going to say our prayer. Jon said "Ben pray" and he folded his hands. Then he said "Finn pray," and Finn dutifully folded up his little hands. This was the first time he had done it, and I think it was extra cute because he was sitting at the little table. We were very proud of him. There's just something about those little hands folded up.

Going in a totally different direction...

I was watching Finn dig through the desk drawer the other day. There are just a bunch of papers and things, not too valuable, of course, and I saw him take something out to the kitchen, not realizing I was watching. I couldn't tell what it was, but he came right back out. He then proceeded to pull out the hole punch and walk back to the kitchen. I followed and found him dumping it in the garbage. I also found a few of Jon's business cards. So not only does he dumpster dive into all of our garbages, he has decided to add his own stuff. Though I only noticed it a few days ago, we're thinking he may have taken it upon himself to throw away our TV remote, which has been missing for roughly a month. I'm not sure, though, because he treasures those remotes. I guess we'll just keep looking.

Spring is Springing

It's been a beautiful day here in Iowa so far. The boys have been out this week to play in the snow and the mud and the standing water. And some of the snow they played in 2 days ago is gone now. There are tons of birds out singing and the sun is shining bright after a week of rain and fog. Ben likes to go down about half his slide and be stopped suddenly at the snow bank. He thinks it's pretty funny. He can't swing yet because the snow is still piled underneath, but he tried anyway. I'm just looking forward to the ground being dry and letting the boys run without hats and mittens.

I have been looking for some valances for our room and the boys' room. I found some blue ones for the boys on Friday and was pretty excited. I'm hoping to get them put up on Monday. I'm still looking for just the right ones for our room.

I spent most of Friday childless. I went shopping for valances and lots of groceries, but it was a nice time to myself.

Finn keeps adding words to his vocabulary. He says bye-bye, hi, daddy, potty, baby, dada, boots, and works on others when you give him a word to repeat. We went Friday night to another couple who has a 9-month-old, and he just sat staring at her saying baby, baby, baby and patting her head. It was very cute. He also walks around saying daddy, daddy, daddy. Just practicing, I guess. I've heard him say mama when he's mad or frustrated. Go figure.

I'm still working on potty training with Ben. It's definitely a slow process, so if you have any good tips/advice, feel free to share. He's such a helpful little boy. He loves to help me set the table and load/unload the dishwasher. Ben is beginning his independent streak and gets mad when I try to do things for him. He's very funny and makes us laugh often. He also loves singing and sits with the little kids at church when they sing for Sunday School.

I'm off to rest a bit while I have the chance. Have a good week!

It's roughly time for another post, so I will give an overview of our weekend. It began Friday morning with a lovely doctor appointment. Everything is going well and baby is growing right where he should be. (Just a side note, we automatically call our babies "he." This does not indicate actual gender as we will not be finding out until we lay eyes on this baby.) Jon's parents had arrived here by the time I got home. They were joyfully ready to take care of the boys while Jon and I drove off Friday afternoon into the wild white yonder to a pastor's retreat.

We had a great time just spending a night away and getting to know our fellow pastors in the area. We had a wonderful speaker who was very engaging and the time just flew by. We were finished by noon on Saturday.

When we got home, Jon's brother and family were here playing. We enjoyed an afternoon together and a great supper at the Pizza Ranch.

So that was our exciting weekend. Jon's parents left Sunday after church and we all got a bit of a nap. As much as we loved being away, we still didn't sleep wonderfully in a different bed. It's just a fact of life, right?

A Mitten Is Found

The day we loaded our stuff into a trailer in October, Ben was out in the shed with us and insisted on having his mittens on, though he really didn't need them. He eventually took them off and laid them down. I noticed where they were, and the next thing I knew they were gone. We looked all over and couldn't find them. I was a bit upset because they were nice warm mittens, they matched his coat, etc. When we arrived in Austinville, the guys had found one of the mittens on the truck, but we had no idea where the other was. So we bought Ben another pair, but believe it or not I could find very little for him at that point, so they were thin knit mittens that were not warm enough for playing outside. We finally found another decent pair for him and I was happy.

On Saturday morning I decided to take the boys for a walk to the post office. Instead of taking the double stroller, I decided I'd put Finn in the single and let Ben walk. So I got out the stroller, which I hadn't touched since we moved (and still had a brochure from Shedd Aquarium from our Chicago visit in June), and we were on our way. When we got back home, I took the stroller back to the garage, and lo and behold, there was our long lost mitten! It was just laying where the stroller had been. I'm quite surprised it hadn't fallen out of the stroller while being moved on and off the truck and while I rearranged it in the garage, because I didn't actually open the stroller until I got it out of the garage. Needless to say, I was very happy, because it still bugged me once in a while when I caught sight of this poor single mitten. I just couldn't throw it away, though, thinking that some day its mate would come home. (Yes, that's the kind of person I am. Some things just bug me like that.)

So that's my little story, and it never hurts to have an extra pair of mittens laying around.

Finn's First Word

Bye!

Yes, that was it. He was talking on his little toy phone, and after a bit of babbling, it clearly came out yesterday, and a few more times as the day went on. He's very close to saying dada and mama, but as we've learned with Ben, we'll hear that enough times in the next year:) Finn does lots of babbling, so I'm sure he won't lack for words when he learns enough of them.

In other news, I finally got this kitchen together that the boys got for Christmas. I've been feeling quite well, and the boys have been longing to open the box of food that they also got for Christmas, so I decided it was time. Over a couple afternoons of the boys napping at the same time, I got it all put together.

My next projects are to rearrange the third floor so we can put guests up there and find new curtains for the bedrooms. So wish me well, cause we all know these things take longer than they should.

Thomas Book Review

I meant this summer to do a short book review of Sacred Marriage and Sacred Parenting, both books by Gary L. Thomas that I read this summer. I don't have a lengthy review for them. I just want to say that they were both very good reads, whether you're married or thinking about it, no matter which stage of parenting you're in or thinking about it. Thomas makes you look at your marriage/parenting from a bit different aspect and shows these relationships (as spouse or parent) as a reflection of our relationships with God. I would highly recommend these books. One point that really stayed with me is that just as we do not want our children to fail or get hurt, and we pick them up and comfort them when they do, so God does the same with us. Do we turn our backs on our children when they make a mistake? No! Neither does God. This is why he keeps giving us chances: We are his children and he loves us dearly, more than we could ever love our own children or spouse. That is so hard to imagine. A point to ponder.

More Christmas

Okay, once again I'm behind on my blogging. Let's start back to Friday last week. Jon's parents and brother Caleb came down and spent the afternoon at our house. Finn got his birthday present-a wooden rocking horse. He enjoyed it while Ben took a nap. The boys were excited to see everyone. That night we met Jon's brother Nathaniel, Sarah, and their baby Ella at Famous Dave's. Excellent food, as always. I was feeling very good and I ate more than I should have, as always. I highly recommend it if you've never been to one. And if you don't like meat, you're really missing out. I prefer the brisket, if anyone is wondering.

Saturday we headed to Nathaniel's to celebrate our Christmas. The boys got a bunch of new toys and books. We all got very nice gifts. We had a good dinner of prime rib and other things, but mainly prime rib. It was good to see everyone again. The boys had a great time with Ella, who is 4 months younger than Finn. Ella and Finn spent a lot of time chasing each other in circles. We now have a big kitchen for the boys that we need to work up the courage to put together. Ben is itching to open the box of food that came with it.

On Monday night we had our first experience at the Spec'n Dicken German pancake supper. They have bacon and/or sausage in them. They were very good, and I am never one to pass up pancakes. It is a fundraiser for the Christian grade school here, Timothy Christian. Ben also loves pancakes and ate 1 of these plate-size cakes by himself.

Tomorrow I will have my second doctor appointment. Things seem to be going well so far, and we continue to pray for a healthy baby.

I am off to rest while the boys are both sleeping.

The Week In Review

We had a very nice past week. Our good friend Kris graced us with her presence on Wednesday. We didn't do a whole lot. She came along to get groceries, we did some cooking, played some cards, watched some TV, played with the boys, talked a lot. Just a nice time to do nothing together. She came to church with us Friday morning and headed home as we were getting ready to head to my family for a quick get-together.

We drove up Friday and encountered a car problem; namely, the car didn't want to stop. Thankfully this didn't happen until the last hour of our trip. So with some sitting and waiting and car restarting, we made it safely to my parents. The return trip on Saturday was quite nerve wracking. Thankfully the boys slept the first 3 hours out of the 4-hour trip, and we only stopped once. The car is currently in the shop. We're afraid we may be car shopping in the near future.

It was also very cold in Minnesota this weekend. We hit 30 below zero. Thank God for furnaces and blankets so we can sleep comfortably.

We had a good time overall and received some very nice gifts. I think my favorite was a set of books Ben got, 1 each with letters, numbers, and shapes. Each item is given in English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. So Ben may be able to count to 10 in five languages before too long. I guess I'm easily impressed.

We've had a nice quiet couple of days now. I'm trying to work up the ambition to take the Christmas tree down. I also need to put some old toys away since the boys have plenty of new stuff to keep their attention.

Jon and I celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday. We headed out without the boys to do some mattress shopping. We were successful and should be enjoying our new bed in 7-14 business days. We also went to eat at Carlos O'Kelly's, a Mexican restaurant. We had never been there before and were right next door. It was very good and I would highly recommend it. Refried beans are my new favorite thing right now. We were only gone about 4 hours, but we are thankful for the time away and for such willing babysitters we have in church.