Bunch O' Spronks

2012-02-05T22:20:00.003-06:00

I really could have sworn that I blogged at least once in January, but apparently that is not so. I remember sitting down one night, and then someone called and I never got to it, I guess.

We've gotten one good snow in the last few weeks. The parking lot was cleaned out and made for a big hill for the kids to climb on and sled down. We enjoyed plodding all over the empty lot across the street one morning, which also made for a great nap day for Leah. The snow is mostly gone now after a couple of beautiful, warm days. Our snowmen slowly melted and the sticks are left laying on the ground. The kids got to play in the sandbox on February 2. Not too many times I could say that.

Jon was at a conference last week, which left the kids and I to contend with each other. They did very well and it was only from tiredness that Ben had a couple of breakdowns. It helped to go outside, and Tuesday we went with a friend to the play area at a mall and out to eat. That definitely broke up the time. It was great when Daddy came home on Thursday, though. The kids were all very happy to see him, as was I.

On Saturday I went to Dordt College for their annual Day of Encouragement with a few members of our congregation. We all enjoyed our sessions and each took home knowledge, ideas, and tools we will use, for church or in our personal lives.

Baby is doing well. I had another good doctor visit on Friday. We are at 25+ weeks and I am very thankful for a healthy pregnancy. The boys are anxious for spring when the baby will come. I've told the boys that baby can hear them, so Finn likes to lift up my shirt and talk to my belly. Apparently baby told Finn today that he will come in the spring, so it's official now. It really is going fast, and I suppose we need to start talking about names before time completely gets away from us. We also have to make decisions on room arrangements, probably sooner rather than later, just in case baby comes early like Leah did. There's always something to do.

It's bedtime now. Have a great week!

Ultrasound

2011-12-31T13:58:00.002-06:00

Jon and I enjoyed a nice quiet hour during the ultrasound. We had a good report from the tech so far that things are functioning well. Baby was moving a bit while we watched. I find it so amazing that we can watch the blood flow through the heart and see the little bladder fill up on this tiny little person. What a wonderful gift God has given us!

We had a little bit of snow yesterday which pretty much turned into slush. The boys went out for about 20 minutes and then they were done. But they got to be in the snow as it came down, which was exciting for them. Otherwise it's been pretty brown and generally in the 40s-definitely an odd December. I'm just waiting to get dumped on since there's plenty of winter left.

We pray for a safe and happy new year to all!

Here's To Better Health

2011-12-28T09:50:00.002-06:00

The kids and I have been fighting bad colds for a couple of weeks now. Thankfully Jon hasn't really gotten it. I think we're on the home stretch. Each day I use fewer tissues collectively. We had our Christmas program last Saturday, and thanks to a wonky CD player, I ended up playing piano instead of singing. I'm thinking it may have been for the best. I hope to be ringing in the new year with better health, which means I'll be getting a full night of sleep.

Jon and I are hoping to actually go on a date this week. Our 9th anniversary is next week and we'll be going in different directions. We thought about it last week, but I definitely wasn't in the mood to go out with a box of tissues. I'm looking forward to a few hours away.

We enjoyed a quick Christmas celebration with my family a couple weekends ago and hope to with Jon's family in a couple weeks. We opened presents at home on Sunday afternoon. The kids are still enjoying their new toys. Sometimes the novelty wears off quickly with them. Now I have to go through the older stuff and see what I can pack up for a while.

We have an ultrasound tomorrow. We won't find out the sex of the baby, but it's so fun to see it and affirm that everything is growing and functioning well. It's amazing to watch the little heart beat and watch the movements. I've been feeling the baby move in the last week and it's such a wonderful feeling. It also assures me that things seem to be going okay in there.

There's my random update. Have a good week!

2011-12-10T21:43:00.003-06:00

I was trying to figure out what to write about to our adoring fans. We are again in the midst of Christmas stuff, for lack of a better word. We have upcoming family gatherings and Christmas program at church in a couple of weeks. The boys will both be in that this year. I'm curious to see how Finn does. He won't say his lines for me, but I have a feeling he'll be up there giving 100%. Finn turned 3 a couple weeks ago. At some point I will put pictures up, but I'm still working on Ben's birthday.

My parents were able to come celebrate Thanksgiving with us. We had a fun time with them, as always. The kids always enjoy seeing their grandparents.

We bought my parents' van and are absolutely loving it. It's so nice to have a little more room and to be able to get all the kids in the vehicle and then strap them in. My favorite part, though, is the remote starter, which I've used many times already as it just keeps getting colder. The kids seem to like it, too. The boys are way in back together and they have a bit more room for their stuff. I like it because they can't irritate each other or Leah like they used to. We could definitely see God in the midst of this as the van was offered only a few weeks before we found out we were pregnant. We would have spent our winter van shopping or we wouldn't be going anywhere as a family come May. So we were very thankful for that.

I had a checkup this week and baby is doing well. I think I'm starting to feel a bit of movement, which is always exciting. We're just over 17 weeks. The boys are still trying to grasp the timeline of when baby will come. I've told them when winter is over, so hopefully that will suffice for now. They keep going back and forth whether they want a boy or girl. Leah loves babies, and I think she will be a little mommy, maybe overly helpful and loving. I look forward to see how they all react. Ben has been acting out a lot lately, so I hope he's over that by May and doesn't get worse when the baby comes.

Those are my thoughts for today.

2011-10-31T20:58:00.002-05:00

I've tried a few times now with no success to upload photos of Ben's birthday from August. Out of frustration, I haven't taken the time to actually write anything. Our big news is that we're expecting baby #4! I'm about 12 weeks now, and I'm busy enough that it's already going fast. I'll try to get a baby ticker in the margin, but I can't promise anything.

We took the kids trick or treating on Saturday night. We basically go to a few people we know, we don't make a big night out of it. This also limits how much candy they get. The boys really enjoyed it since they remembered it from last year. Leah is enjoying the results of it. Any amount of candy is great to them.

Our time outside is getting less and less. Jon spent a lot of time with the kids last week raking. I took them outside today for half an hour and I was ready to go in cause I was cold. Time to break out the hot chocolate, I think.

Not much else exciting here. We look forward to Finn's birthday in November. It's hard to believe he's going to be 3. Sometimes I just want them to be babies again.

Summer or Fall?

2011-10-02T20:42:00.002-05:00

It's officially fall, but I'm not really sure what season it is. It's been a few weeks of fall weather. We had a very windy day this past week and lots of leaves came off the trees along with some big branches. This coming week brings the forecast of 70s and lows of 50s, which makes me think we might be outside a bit more this week. I am enjoying the turning of the leaves, going to the orchard and getting fresh apples, no more weeding in the garden.

Life seems to be pretty mundane, which is why I haven't posted much lately. Ben started going to a Wednesday night church organization. He loves it and I think it's a good social outlet for him. We have to look into preschool for him come spring.

Leah is almost 15 months. That's so hard to believe. She keeps up very well with her brothers and definitely stands her ground. I had to buy some hair stuff to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Her hair just keeps growing.

Jon tried a different rib rub this weekend than he's always used. They were the best ribs we've ever had! The kids loved them, too, and I had to actually save the last couple for Jon today or Ben would have had them gone.

Thus ends my rambling for today.

2011-09-12T22:21:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to get pictures of Ben's birthday on and talk a bit about that, but seeing as how I haven't done it yet, I figured I should write something. I took the kids to the doctor today for Ben's 4-year checkup. He's fine and dandy, though apparently he's quite a wax maker in one ear. The doctor couldn't even get to his eardrum, so I have to put drops in and take him back in a couple of days to get it checked. Quite interesting. I was thinking as we drove out of the clinic parking lot, this is the first doctor visit in a long time that we haven't had to stop and get some kind of medicine for somebody. As I was thinking this, Ben says to me, "Mom, do we need to stop at the pharmacy?" I guess that's become routine for him, too.

Finn has been doing very well with the potty. Of course we have random accidents, but those are few and far between. I'm enjoying not changing or buying so many diapers, and it cuts down on the garbage quite a bit. It's a wonderful thing.

Leah loves to jabber. She is saying "Dada" now. She also started staying "up" tonight. Just when you think your house can't possibly be louder, along comes another talker. I can't complain, really. I love to hear the noises my kids make as they play (minus the screaming). At least I know I have nothing to be concerned about.

On that happy note, I'm off to bed.

Anything Goes

2011-08-26T21:41:00.004-05:00

I've been thinking of a couple of things to write but have been hindered the last few nights to do so. My title has to do with the following story:

Tuesday I took Leah to get her blood drawn for a lead level-just routine for her 1-year checkup. Per usual, she got a cotton ball with a bandage over the puncture site. So after this, we headed over to Walmart to pick up a few things. When we got there, she was picking at the cotton. I could see a wisp of it sticking out from the bandage and thought nothing of it. Then she opened her mouth and out came a big ball of cotton. I just laughed. She must have decided it wasn't very tasty, but she had to try, right?

I just love this stage of her life right now. Despite her eating everything in sight, she says hi to everybody and is just a pleasant baby generally in the store. She smiles and will sometimes wave to people. When we're at home, I'll say goodbye to her and she'll wave as she walks away from me without looking back. It's one of the cutest things she does. I had another story about her, but I can't think of it right now.

We went to Famous Dave's tonight to celebrate my birthday tomorrow and Ben's birthday on Monday. I think that's our favorite place right now-that's our go-to for birthdays. But everyone loves it and you get a variety of food, so why not? My little Ben is turning 4 and I don't think I can afford him anymore. Some meals he eats more than I do. I just can't believe how big he's getting and the things he knows now. I'm going to attempt a Winnie the Pooh cake for him-if it comes out badly, you won't be seeing pictures of it. He asked for a Sesame Street puzzle on his cake, but I'm not that talented by a long shot and I wouldn't ruin a real puzzle for that, so he'll have to settle for Pooh, which I'm sure he'll be happy with. Wish me luck!

A Joyful Week

2011-08-19T20:52:00.002-05:00

This week we had the privilege of attending a day of Jon's family reunion. We headed up to Minnesota on Tuesday morning and arrived late afternoon. We got settled in, let the kids play in the sand, enjoyed some supper, and headed out for a game of kickball. This is a pretty big family and there were a ton of little kids the boys' ages, and it was so fun to watch them play kickball and learn how to run bases. My boys did a lot of running across the field randomly. I think we all lost our supper calories laughing. After putting the kids to bed, we played cards.

Wednesday morning we headed out to the beach. The kids spent a lot of time playing in the sand and swam for quite a while. Leah and a little girl her age fought over a big beach ball. Leah let out her signature glass-breaking scream and they both ended up in tears. It actually was pretty funny. That was really our whole morning and the kids had a blast. We had some lunch and packed up the kids for home. Although none of them napped well, we let them stay up a bit later on Wednesday night since they sat in the car all afternoon. Leah was up at 8:00 and the boys got up at 8:20 on Thursday morning. I think they were tired. I also believe that's the latest Finn has ever slept. Overall, we had a great time, and it was good to reconnect with some and get to know a few more.

Another joy this week is that when Finn got up from his nap today, he decided that he was going to learn potty. We've had a couple of accidents, but so far he has told me 3 times that he had to pee, and he went! I am very excited. I wondered if I started Ben too early because we worked a long time, but Finn also has a good example in Ben, so who knows. Finn also has been adamantly refusing and Ben was very willing. So that was my excitement for the day. A few months ago he pooped in the potty and I thought we were on our way to potty training, but that was a solitary incident. Here's hoping for quick success and fewer diapers...

Feel the Breeze

2011-08-12T10:58:00.002-05:00

We've had a few wonderful days of window-opening weather. There's a nice breeze flowing through the house with a great smell to it. We've been able to eat BLTs with tomatoes from the garden, and we were given a few bags of sweet corn. All I can say is, Yum. I'm freezing some of it, which I've never done myself, but I have had the privilege of eating the fruits of other people's labors. It's a bit of work but definitely worth it. I'm finding that doing it in stages is working the best for me. There's no way I can do it all at one time. Thankfully after doing one batch and eating other things, I've found room in my fridge for the many ears remaining so I can take my time.

Leah had her 1-year checkup on Monday. She was 20 lbs 12 oz and 31 inches. It's amazing how fast babies grow in the first year. Poor girl had an ear infection and got 4 shots. Plus she was tired. She slept for 3-1/2 hours when we got home. I'm sure the ibuprofen helped that along a bit, but she needed it. She was definitely a happier baby when she got up. At least she won't remember this stuff.

I guess the corn won't husk itself, so off I go.

Life's Little Joys

2011-08-06T20:55:00.002-05:00

I have a couple of stories about Finn, who is without a doubt the most energetic one of this family. He definitely keeps me on my toes, and you never know what he'll say or do next.

I took the boys with me grocery shopping yesterday. I had lots of stuff to get, so I didn't put them in the cart. Of course they promised to behave, but after all, they are 3 and 2. So off they went running up and down the aisles. And the thing is, if Finn didn't do it, Ben wouldn't. That's just the kind of kids they are. So I specifically stopped Finn and told him he would be in the cart if he didn't stop running, which is his worst nightmare at the store. A lady in the aisle turned to me and said, "He must be your energetic one." I thought it was kind of funny that even though they were both running, she picked him out.

Last night Finn woke up around 11:00 with a very stuffy nose. Jon and I were both up a couple of times to help him. He refused to keep a tissue in bed with him and asked me to take him downstairs. I figured I might as well because I wasn't getting any sleep. So we went downstairs and I put the TV on, thinking he would kind of daze out as I rocked him. I dozed off for a while at some point, and a few times I asked if he was ready for bed. He said no. At 12:30 I told him it was bedtime and he went readily. Guess what time he was up? 7:20 this morning. This kid needs to live somewhere else where people don't sleep, cause the rest of us sure need more of it.

We got some kid-sized ice cream cones, so tonight I asked the boys if they wanted an ice cream cone after supper. They both said yes. So I got them ready and handed them over, and Finn said he didn't want ice cream, just the cone. He's never done this before, and I'm not sure where it came from. He ate the cone plain and was happy with that. Leah enjoyed his cone with ice cream in it-she ate the whole thing.

We find ourselves laughing at Finn often. He's goofy and he knows it. He's got great comedic timing and knows just how to make us laugh. What a joy he is!

Here, There, and Everywhere

2011-08-04T21:05:00.002-05:00

We have returned from a week of vacation. Jon performed his first wedding and it went very well. We ate lots of pork in various forms. The kids got to spend time with my parents while we enjoyed a day plus an evening of wedding-related things.

We went with Jon's family to a nearby science center. The kids had a great time playing with 3 floors of science things, from air to water to color. They got to stick their heads in an astronaut suit and clean off dinosaur bones. Most of it was definitely beyond their understanding, but they had fun with the musical stuff and exercise equipment. There were piano keys on the floor that they could jump on. It was a great place and we would go back again. We spent a couple days seeing grandparents and letting the kids run. It wasn't one of those vacations that just flew by, thankfully. I even got quite a bit of my new book read.

Now we're back to find our tomatoes have blight and one of our apple trees is not doing well. There's the usual unpacking and sorting through mail. But it wouldn't be vacation if there wasn't work to do at home.

In The Pew

2011-07-27T21:00:00.003-05:00

I finally finished my book last night-the one it's taken me far too long to read. It's called In Every Pew Sits A Broken Heart by Ruth Graham and Stacy Mattingly. Ruth gives us her life story over the course of the book. She gives advice in various situations for those hurting and those helping friends who are hurting. She shows us how to work our way back to God, no matter how far we may have strayed. Her biggest points were 1. No matter how deep we're sinking, God will always welcome us back if we just turn to Him; and 2. The lower we get, the more we need God. I thought it a very good book and would recommend it.

In other news, Jon will be performing his first wedding this weekend. We will get to spend time with family. I'm very excited that our tomatoes are coming very well. I've picked one "regular" tomato and a few cherry tomatoes. But there are tons out in the garden, and we should be happily picking in the next couple weeks. BLTs, here we come!

New Title

2011-07-24T21:27:00.003-05:00

Well, if you look above, I have made a name change, possibly temporary, possibly permanent. I'll see how it sits with me after looking at it a few times. Thoughts? I tried adding a picture of a bunch of bananas, but for some reason it wouldn't stay. People would have just wondered what I was doing with a picture of bananas, anyway.

We went to see our new niece Saturday. You forget how tiny babies are. It was fun to hold a teeny one again. Leah is a little territorial and wanted that baby off my lap. But she's not excited to see the boys on my lap, either. Just something she'll have to work through. We had a good time with Jon's family. The boys love their cousin Ella. She gets a bit overwhelmed with the 2 boys vying for her play time, but I think she enjoys seeing them, too. We went to a splash park and the boys just loved it. The three of them had a good time. Leah wasn't excited about it-the water was pretty cold. She gradually got braver but still didn't get very wet.

Jon will be performing his first wedding next weekend. We have to travel a bit, so we're taking vacation and hanging out with our families. The boys are looking forward to seeing their grandpas and grandmas, but they're always ready to go anywhere. Such social butterflies, these two.

We also went on a real date Friday night and saw the last of the Harry Potter films. We figured out we haven't been to a movie theater for 3 years, that being one night of our summer internship in Sunnyside when we only had Ben and some good people volunteered a night of babysitting. I think most of the time I'd rather be in the comforts of home to watch a movie, but it was good to get out without a child.

So that was our exciting weekend. I'm off to read a book I've renewed 2, maybe 3, times and want to get through before we leave this weekend. I just don't have the concentration right now that I used to have for reading a book, but I've found I'm not the only one with this problem after having babies. Some day I will sit and enjoy a book in daylight hours and not fall asleep in it.

Birthday Pictures

2011-07-22T12:10:00.002-05:00

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

2011-07-19T21:03:00.002-05:00

Since the heat is foremost on everyone's mind around here, I might as well talk about it. You're not a true midwesterner if you can't hold a conversation about the weather. As I said before, it's in the 90s with high humidity. I took the kids out at 8:00 this morning for an hour of swimming in the backyard. Jon filled the pool yesterday, but neither of us had ambition to actually be out there, even in the evening. So I figured if the kids didn't care and we'd be cooped up all day otherwise, we could spend some time outside this morning. We were in full shade and the water was plenty warm. I herded everyone in as the sun crept closer to our pool-just in time for Sesame Street. Plus Finn nearly drowned Leah and she wanted nothing more to do with the pool.

I kept the boys busy with paint by water this morning. Leah slept and I made a casserole to freeze. Ben helped me make pizzas this afternoon while Finn slept and Leah busied herself with toys in the living room. Leah keeps busy with anything right now. She's more than happy to go up the stairs to the boys' room and play with the doors on their kitchen. There's also a 5-piece puzzle she really likes right now. She's also in the stage where she'll just sit and page through books. This is one of my favorite things to watch my kids do. I love to see them sitting in a pile of books, just quietly and intently looking at the pictures.

Jon braved the heat to grill tonight, which was great because I really don't want to run my oven. There are a few things I can do solely on the stove, but I think I need more crockpot recipes for days like this.

New Name?

2011-07-17T20:47:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking lately that I should have some kind of catchy name to this blog. It was originally created when we took our trip to Indonesia 4 years ago, so Jon created it and made it simple. Since I've taken over it and pretty much made it mine, it seems a little boring to just put our names down. Since I have little creativity and right now I'm too tired to think, let me know if you have something catchy that might inspire me to play with words a bit.

In other news, we had our annual youth Sunday service this morning. The youth lead worship; we play some games after the church service, like a clothespin drop and beanbag toss, among others; and we have a potluck at church. The boys did pretty well with the games. Leah took a little snooze between the service and lunch. Someone is always willing to take her, so I was able to take the boys and help them with the games. Jon grilled pork loin for the potluck.

Our forecast for the week is for the 90s with overnight lows in the 70s. Humidity will bring the heat index even higher. I think we'll be staying inside this week, which doesn't always produce good results. My kids have too much energy. I may have to invest in some crafty things for times like these, and I suppose for the winter. Maybe I'll buy a bunch of sequins and stuff and keep the boys busy gluing them to paper. Maybe I have to start teaching them letters and numbers in Spanish. I'm sure we'll make it through.

And now it's time for ice cream. Blue Bunny makes some great flavors we've been testing this summer.

Off to the Fair

2011-07-15T20:36:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to a local county fair. It's one of the bigger county fairs around here, and since we enjoyed it last year, we decided to go again. The boys were excited because they love to look at the animals. We didn't take our camera, but I think we got one of the most bored looks I've yet seen on Leah's face. This trip was a bit more enjoyable for a variety of reasons: 1. Last year we went on a Friday evening, which was extremely busy. 2. It was in the 70s with low humidity and a nice breeze-a beautiful day for a fair. 3. We went a week after I had Leah last year-it was a lot of walking and I took on more than I should have. Then there were tornado warnings, so we had to do a rush mass exodus. Not fun when you're tired.

We walked around the barns and then came to an area with an old tyme town, and they were just beginning a wild west shootout. We thought it would be fun to watch, but as they started shooting their guns, Finn got scared and cried. So I took him and Leah out of there. Ben wanted to watch but he was worried about Finn, so nobody stayed for that. The opening of the show was a horse dancing, which the boys seemed to enjoy. Leah just spent the whole time trying to get out of her stroller.

We had some great food. The kids ate a bunch of pizza and I had an excellent brisket sandwich. We all shared a bloomin' onion. We let the kids run a while. There was a little train car for the boys to explore and the buildings were open in the old tyme town, and Leah ran around in her own baby way trying to eat rocks and nearly tripping people. We ended the evening with some homemade ice cream and actually got home at bedtime. The kids must have been tired because they actually slept past 7:00 this morning.

The Joy of Gardening

2011-07-13T21:22:00.003-05:00

We are in our second year of a real garden. Last year was literally a wash since we had tons of rain and just couldn't keep up with the weeding. We had to get our stuff out way early before it all rotted. I had Leah right when our peas and beans were starting, so the work was pretty much up to Jon, if he had actually been able to get in the garden. This year is much better. We've had a good balance of rain and sun and we've both been able to spend a good amount of time outside. It's a bit difficult for me since I can't really take my eye off of Leah outside. She enjoys eating dirt in the garden, but then she gets bored and wants to do something else. So I try to work around her naps and my housework.

Today I was very excited to pick 3 buckets of beans. The boys helped for about 5 minutes, then Finn was adamant that he pick peas. Ben just walked around the beans, picking here and there, and then watching me work. I did some weeding this afternoon. The boys don't seem to quite understand, because Finn wanted to help and picked an onion. At least he got a good-sized onion. Ben's not big into weeding. They're figuring out this is a bit of work, though we try to make it sound fun. Finn is anxious to pick tomatoes. When it comes time to pull stuff up, they will be ready and willing.

We hope to instill in our kids an enjoyment of gardening. They know we get to eat the stuff out of our garden, and some day we hope they appreciate the wonder of God's creation and the feeling of accomplishment (as well as the taste of home-grown food) that comes with the work of gardening.

July Already?

2011-07-12T21:46:00.002-05:00

I realized it had been a while since I last posted, but I didn't realize it was March. I figured May at the latest. I probably could write something every day, if I even remembered, yet I feel I would bore people. But I guess they don't have to read this then, right? I will try to be better about it, but I don't promise more pictures.

We had a great weekend with our good friend Kris. It has been a great while since we have seen her, and yeah there's email and whatnot, but there's nothing like a personal visit. The time flew by quickly and all of us were sad to see her go (I must say, Finn attached to her pretty quickly).

We also celebrated Leah's first birthday! It's so hard to believe she's 1 already. That year flew by, as people say happens when you get older. I just think my kids have done something to my brain. The boys thought they would turn something when Leah turned 1, so I had to explain to them that they only get older on their birthday. Some day they won't be so quick to age.

Kris graciously helped me with my bright idea for Leah's cake-better in my brain than for real, but we tweaked our plan and it came out okay. We all ate it, so it couldn't have been that bad. Pictures in the next couple of days. We also enjoyed a little Famous Dave's for Leah's birthday meal. Since she couldn't tell us what she wanted, we figured it was a good choice. She is a meat eater for sure and everyone ate well.

Ben has already told me he wants a chocolate cake, and he's coming up with ideas for a present. I'm not sure I like this being able to pick business. It's much nicer when I can go buy what I want the day before their birthday while they're sitting in the cart and completely oblivious. Ben will turn 4 next month, so I guess I better start thinking. My challenge is always how to decorate the cake. Though Ben informed me he wants a Sesame Street puzzle on his cake. I told him that was beyond my ability, but I'm not sure he accepted that.

So here's my update, and like I said, I'll try to be better about posting.

2011-03-10T11:33:00.002-06:00

I decided maybe it was time for me to post something, though I'm not sure what I should post about. We got a new camera in January, but all of the pictures are still on it. I realize that's a common theme with me.

Jon went to Guatemala in February for a week. I took the kids to Minnesota to spend time with all of the grandparents. Jon left on Friday morning and I headed up to MN that afternoon. That evening, Leah crawled for real (which we were just waiting for because she'd been dragging herself around for a month) and pulled herself up on the couch. The following Saturday she sat up by herself, a few hours before Jon came home, of course. So she has advanced herself quite nicely. She turned 8 months yesterday and is into everything.

Ben is starting to recognize letters and numbers on things. He's very excited about it and we think he may be an early reader. He has been potty trained for a while and it's a very nice feeling for me.

Finn is talking more and more. I am trying to start potty training with him and he's pretty receptive. He just wants to go potty at Walmart and restaurants and wear underwear like Ben does.

I have 2 sick boys. It's going around but hopefully it doesn't last long or require a trip to the doctor. On that note, it's time to go take care of them.

Happy (Belated) Birthday

2011-01-24T18:48:00.003-06:00

Finn's cheesy smile

Not sure why this turned, but here it is.

We celebrated Finn's 2nd birthday in November, and I'm finally getting around to putting up a couple of pictures. It was a tractorous event and the boys had a great night.

They Learn Young

2010-12-12T19:30:00.003-06:00

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

2010-11-10T14:05:00.002-06:00

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

2010-11-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

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:

2010-09-06T14:53:00.000-05:00

Time Flies

2010-09-04T13:50:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-07-26T10:52:00.003-05:00

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.

2010-06-24T21:54:00.004-05:00

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

2010-06-05T10:42:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-24T15:41:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-18T20:52:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-10T21:33:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-06T20:42:00.004-05:00

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

2010-04-28T21:55:00.003-05:00

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

2010-03-30T21:08:00.002-05:00

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.

2010-03-17T15:46:00.000-05:00

Learning New Things

2010-03-17T15:38:00.002-05:00

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

2010-03-14T13:52:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-02-24T21:45:00.003-06:00

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

2010-02-07T22:08:00.003-06:00

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

2010-02-05T21:36:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-21T21:21:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-14T14:22:00.004-06:00

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

2010-01-05T20:20:00.003-06:00

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.

Our Christmas

2009-12-24T21:49:00.003-06:00

This evening we celebrated Christmas. We've always traveled to our parents for Christmas, so this is the first time we have ever done it at our own house, and it was quite nice. We had a wonderful supper with a good steak, corn, salad, potatoes.

So after supper we sat down to open presents. We've had a gate around the Christmas tree because the boys would like nothing better than to tear it down and pull all the ornaments off, which would probably result in Finn trying to eat hooks. So Jon pulled the gate away and we pulled out the boys' presents. Ben began by tearing the name tags off (good thing there weren't more people involved in this celebration). Finn went right to the tree, which is his Everest. So while we got Ben to begin ripping paper and proceed to properly open his presents as a 2-year-old should, Finn spent the time playing commando in the tree. Jon captured him once to try and open a present, but it held no interest. He was so excited to touch the tree freely. I think he would have stayed in the corner behind the tree all night if he could have. When the gate finally went back up, he became interested in whatever Ben was playing with. We got the boys 2 potato heads with 5 "outfits," and they sat nicely playing with them for a long time. So the toys weren't all bad after all.

Jon bestowed upon me a beautiful cross necklace with diamonds at the tips and in the center.

We then had a bit of egg nog, which the boys couldn't get enough of, and some cherry pie that at least tasted decent. It was overall a very nice evening.

And Baby Makes Three

2009-12-22T20:31:00.002-06:00

I think I've got all my Christmas letters either out or ready to go. It seems to take a lot to get everybody's address, order pictures, print letters, and print labels. Microsoft Office's mail merge is one of the best things in life. No more writing out addresses for bulk mailings (not that we do bulk mailings regularly). It's a lovely thing.

However, I have had little to no ambition lately to do much of anything else after chasing boys all day. We are having a baby on or about July 28 next year!!!!, and I am in the feeling yucky/tired stage. I remember when I was pregnant with Ben and would come home from work and sleep, and Jon would make his own supper. Those were the days!

Due to the snow and the lack of a winterized stroller, I pulled the boys to the post office today on the sled. I think they enjoyed it, though Finn couldn't hold himself up from the forward momentum and basically laid on Ben's lap all the way there. They were pretty cute all bundled up in snowpants and barely able to move. Maybe another day I'll get a picture.

I am currently attempting to potty train Ben. He is a willing learner, so we're making slow progress. I had planned on starting anyway, but my goal now is to get him trained before this baby comes. Hopefully it doesn't take that long, but one never knows.

Ben is also really into colors. He loves naming the color of everything. Between that and naming everything on the page, books take a lot longer to get through. (This is good because it occupies him on the potty.)

Finn has a bad cold and is just a miserable little boy. He is still working hard to keep up with Ben and people have commented how active he is for his age. He's still getting into everything and we love watching him run away when he knows he's in trouble.

So that's what we've been up to. Merry Christmas to all!

It's A Little Windy

2009-12-09T14:59:00.003-06:00

We're currently in a blizzard watch until midnight tonight. It's been rather windy and we have some very high drifts on our yard. What a great excuse to stay in and do nothing! And for the first time in 2-1/2 years, I am cold. Let me tell you, I'm not really enjoying this new sensation. I've been wearing sweatshirts and putting blankets on.

Since I didn't get this posted before, we celebrated Finn's first birthday. He shares a birthday with my mom, and we were able to celebrate with my parents Thanksgiving weekend. I did a fish cake (with a lot of help from my mom) since Finn's favorite thing is his fishy.

Greetings From Iowa!

2009-11-12T21:51:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks have passed since my last post, and we are now officially citizens of Iowa. We moved down on Oct. 26 and have been quite busy. I rarely get online as we do not have internet in the house.

We had lots of people help us move in and begin sorting things to various rooms. Our congregation has been so wonderful to us. We are getting to know the people and the area a bit.

Jon passed his classical examination and was ordained on Nov. 8. He is now Rev. Spronk, which is somewhat odd sounding. Jon has been working on organizing his office and writing sermons this week. I have been trying to organize the house. The boys are having a great time and I could probably blog every day about them.

We put Ben in a big bed Monday night and he loves it. He had no problems with the change. The boys are sharing a room now, which doesn't always work out well, but hopefully their naps will sync soon. Their room is as big as ours, so they have plenty of room to play while I'm sorting through things. I have been working on painting some furniture and have finally finished the chest of drawers. It took a while since I did it after the boys went to bed. I did take advantage of the beautiful weather and did some painting in the garage last week. I can't believe how nice it's been! We had a beautiful 70-degree day for ordination, and we were thankful that some of our family could be here.

So that's us in a nutshell.

Just a note to Kris since I finally read your blog-your hives would not have lasted so long had you sat and watched U2 videos. Remember that if it happens again.

Fall Is Here!

2009-10-19T14:12:00.005-05:00

Starvin' Marvin

2009-10-15T11:35:00.004-05:00

So this morning I'm cleaning in the living room, and I come into the kitchen to find Ben sitting on a stool eating Goldfish out of the box. Okay, no biggie. He has a few and I put them away. Pretty soon I come out of the laundry room to find him standing behind a chair (I almost didn't see him), and he stops chewing when he sees me. He's eating big marshmallows and probably has 2 in his mouth. So I put them on a higher shelf. A bit later I was in the bathroom cleaning, and here he comes with a box of graham crackers. Is he just starving, or is he eating because he can?

2009-10-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I realize it's been a while, but honestly, I haven't had much to say. The days are getting cold and have been rainy, so we're kinda stuck inside. The boys seem to be rather crabby, and I think the weather could be a factor. Yesterday we woke up to frost; however, it turned out to be a beautiful day overall. I spent the afternoon and evening sanding some bed frames we bought at an auction, and the boys were able to be outside with me. I'm actually very excited about the furniture. We hope to start Ben in a regular bed after we move. We also got a chest of drawers that I have to work on today. Jon's mom will be helping me with this as it will require some stripping. I'm thankful to have the help (and the tools) here. Hopefully we'll get to painting this afternoon. Since we can't really restain it, we got a dark brown paint that I think will look very nice.

Tomorrow (Friday) will be my last official day of work, though technically the work never ends with kids. I am very excited for this. I will miss my job, because I do really enjoy it, but it's time for me to focus on the boys. We're moving in a little over 2 weeks! So I think organizing the house and taking care of the boys will be its own full-time job.

Finn is full out walking and just loves it. He loves to carry things around and just pace around the house. He does this most often while eating an apple slice. The boys have also been enjoying the Twins games. They each have a hat and love to wear them. Finn has not been one for hats, but he loves having that on. And they both look so cute! I promise, I'll get pictures on soon.

Ben is beginning to quote books at random times. He loves to read books and always says "The end" when it's done. He's actually doing well with numbers. He knows where 5 comes, but 9 seems to be his favorite right now.

Please pray for us as we make final arrangements for moving and prepare for our new home.

Timeout

2009-09-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

We've started giving Ben short timeouts because he has a problem pushing, kicking, or hitting Finn and/or wrestling him to the ground to keep Finn away from "Ben's toys." This morning he did it, so I went over to him to get Finn away from him and to talk to him about pushing.

As soon as I knelt down by him, Ben: "Timeout?"

Me: "Do you want a timeout?"

Ben: "No. Don't push baby."

That's All, Folks

2009-09-15T10:48:00.002-05:00

Last night as we finished supper, Jon read a passage from the Bible. When he finished, he closed the book and set it down. Ben looked at him and said very matter of factly, "The end, Daddy."

Remember Your Friends

2009-09-15T10:33:00.002-05:00

I went out Friday night with my 2 best girlfriends I've had since high school. They live in the area where we are this summer, and we finally all got together. We went out for supper and played cards, but the best part of this was talking. We caught up on each other's lives, which I find is just not done as well by email. There are things you share verbally that you wouldn't write in an email. We talked about our past, some of our high school days, and our futures, as we each have some life-changing things ahead of us. Somehow we always end up laughing to the point of tears.

This short evening together really drove home to me the importance of friends. It's not that I never realized it, but having been away from these gals makes it so much greater to be able to see them. Many people think that when they get married their spouse will fulfill their every relational need. I don't mean to be preachy, but I just want to stress the importance of friends and keeping them close, no matter what happens in your life.

Mr. Independent

2009-09-11T09:36:00.003-05:00

Our sweet little 9-month-old is growing up. Though he is a bit clingy lately, he is trying to be very independent. He loves to mess with the keyboard and mouse, and he will take my hand and move it out of the way to get to them. He knows where he's not supposed to be and goes there anyway, like playing with the toilet paper. He has been taking a couple steps at a time in the last week and is well on his way to walking. Now he just needs to learn to go down stairs. Head first is not the answer I'm looking for. My favorite part of this new independence is that Finn does not like to be fed. He has to do it himself (except for cereal in the morning-he must know the routine by now). If I put food in his mouth, he will spit it out and put it back in himself. If it's on a spoon, like applesauce, he just refuses it. He gives a deep blink of refusal and will push the spoon aside with a casual wave of his hand. It's a good thing he's pretty cute and still likes to cuddle once in a while. He's still my baby, after all.

Ben is 2!

2009-09-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

Ben turned 2 on Saturday, but since we were leaving Friday for a weekend trip, we celebrated Thursday evening with Jon's parents, grandmas, and grandpa. We had brats and hot dogs and a couple of salads. I attempted my first cake, which I'm not exceptionally proud of but which turned out decent. It is a castle, in case you couldn't tell. Ben especially liked the Dots. My birthday was on Thursday, and Jon gave me the plaque you see in the picture.

Our Mini Vacation

2009-09-01T09:43:00.005-05:00

We took the boys on our own mini vacation this past weekend. We headed up to the Twin Cities for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and the state fair. We headed up Friday and met with my mom, brother, and sister that evening to celebrate Ben's birthday and eat some cake and ice cream.

Saturday morning we headed out to the Ren. Festival. They had a great promotion of bringing canned goods and getting $5 off a ticket, so being the good Dutch people we are, we eagerly complied. The day was somewhat cool in the 60s with some sunshine. We figured it was better than searing hot, especially trying to push a double stroller up and down hills. The boys did fairly well, though they got sick of sitting and we ended up only going to 1 show. Plus Ben was crabby because he needed a nap. We ate chili in a bread bowl and a turkey leg for lunch, and we ended our day with a sparkling apple cider float with cinnamon ice cream. Interesting is the word I would use to describe that. We got a couple of souvenirs, including some wooden swords that the boys will receive in the future. When we got back to the hotel, we all napped. We had pizza for supper, and then the boys got to swim with their cousins.

Sunday we headed to the state fair. As we made our way to the ticket window, a lady came up to us and asked if we had bought tickets. We said no, and she handed us a ticket and said, "Here's a free one." What a wonderful gift! We weren't sure if we looked pathetic pushing 2 kids in a stroller or what , but it was a prepaid nonrefundable ticket. So we spent our day pushing through record crowds to look at pigs, cows, sheep, and horses. We looked at tons of stuff for sale and ate great food including but not limited to fries, a Pronto Pup, a rhubarb-strawberry malt, and Sweet Martha's cookes. The boys enjoyed the fries and malt the most, I think, though Ben did quite enjoy the cookies. Finn didn't like the warm chocolate. We headed home Sunday evening. The boys were definitely sick of sitting. We stopped at a McDonald's for the playland, and Ben actually cried when we pulled him out of there. He was just figuring out he could climb up and go down the slide.

We had a good trip, but we definitely packed a lot in for 1 weekend.

We Have A Call

2009-08-25T07:11:00.002-05:00

Jon and I are very excited to announce that we have accepted a call to the Christian Reformed Church of Austinville, IA. We are beginning preparations already, though we won't move until the end of October. If you are asking yourself where Austinville is, my advice to you is to Google it.

Please pray for us as we make plans and arrangements for moving. Yay for a house!

Laughing

2009-08-20T07:38:00.002-05:00

The other night I was giving the boys a bath. Jon was talking to someone in a nearby room and he was laughing. Ben said, "Daddy laughing? Ha! Ben laughing." Then he kept saying "Ha! Ben laughing."

If someone does something, Ben has to do it, even fake coughing and sneezing. He's such a little mimic now.

Milestones

2009-08-11T10:26:00.002-05:00

We hit a couple milestones in the past few days. Ben is quite adept now at opening doors, which I'm not crazy about and certainly haven't encouraged. Time to lock the bathroom door. I was in the shower Saturday morning and I heard some clicking, and suddenly the shower door was opening and I heard a sweet little voice say Mommy?. Thankfully Jon was close and ended that quickly.

Finn decided it was time to start going up steps. I went upstairs at my parents' house Saturday and left the door open. Finn likes to stand at the bottom and pound on the steps. Pretty soon my mom called to me, and I found Finn halfway up the stairs (with grandma close behind). My brave little baby. He has his first 2 teeth on the bottom, and the top 2 are working their way down. He's quite dangerous now between hair pulling and biting, and he comes at you with his mouth open and ready. But he still likes to cuddle and snuggle, so it's hard to turn him away.

A Few Pictures

2009-08-04T09:20:00.006-05:00

Ben helping put my desk together

My Little Cleaner

2009-07-27T09:30:00.003-05:00

Ben can sometimes be very particular about things, like putting something back in the exact same spot he took it from. He's a pretty clean kid. He usually hands us his dishes when he's done eating. This morning when he got done with breakfast, I put his glass on the counter to wash him up and get him out of his chair. He got down, grabbed the glass, and went to open the dishwasher, where he proceeded to put the glass correctly on the top rack, and then he closed the door. I just hope we continue this cleanliness for many years to come.

2009-07-23T10:26:00.004-05:00

Ben is starting to talk in phrases, most of which involve baby: Baby nigh-night, baby bye-bye, baby eat. He is also getting a good handle on possession: Baby bottle, baby bib. Things like that. He's got a few others: Puppy out there, all done with bath, things having to do with outside and being all done. It's so fun to hear what he comes up with. He doesn't always end his phrases. Sometimes he says baby and doesn't have the word to end correctly, but you can tell he's trying to come up with something. It's amazing how fast the language thing picks up once kids start saying words.

Finn is busy pulling himself up on anything he can and keeping up with his brother. He may be walking before he turns 1. He certainly has a ways to go, though. We had a family reunion last weekend, and Finn took down his 9-month-old cousin while using him to stand up.

Jon and I enjoyed a date on Tuesday. We went to the newest Harry Potter movie and out to eat. We enjoyed the short break. And it was all adults in the theater, so no crying babies to distract us. We did enjoy the movie, if you're wondering.

We haven't had any great adventures, but the highlight (for me anyway) is to watch the boys play and develop their skills. They enjoy being outside in their swings or watching Daddy hit golf balls. We just got a double stroller last week, so we'll have to take a few more walks. Come to think of it, I guess raising kids is a great adventure.

2009-07-14T11:41:00.002-05:00

After rescheduling due to a large rug burn scab on Ben's nose, we took the boys for pictures last Thursday. They did very well and I think they had fun. Ben didn't want to give up his stool, but that was about the only obstacle. Finn started wrinkling his nose a couple weeks ago, so that was on most of the pictures with his smile. We have a couple of good-looking kids, if I do say so myself.

Living On The Outside

2009-07-03T08:08:00.002-05:00

We are settling in here in Minnesota. I think Ben has found his happy place. He loves being outside. He got to ride on the mower with Daddy and on the tractor with Grandpa. He gets to water flowers and pick stuff from the garden. He cries when someone goes out without him. He has seen a lot of all of his grandparents in the last couple weeks and now calls them Pa and Ma. At least he's got a name for them. He is picking up lots of words.

Finn's legs are getting stronger. He has the beginnings of crawling and is standing against things, trying to pull himself up, and I'm afraid he'll be walking quite soon. The boys are having more fun together, though Ben is somewhat less likely to share certain things than he used to be.

That's all I have for now. I'll try to post more regularly for some of you:)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

2009-06-22T13:05:00.002-05:00

We have had a very busy couple of weeks. Between work and Ben being sick, we tried to buckle down on packing. I can't say we did a great job, because by the time our parents got to us last week, there was still a ton to do. It's amazing how the little things just accumulate.

So last week we headed down to Chicago for CRC Synod. We arrived Sunday evening and spent time at the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum. The boys got to ride for the first time on the subway. It brought back a lot of memories for Jon and me: The last time we rode it, we were going downtown to get my passport the day we left for Indonesia 2 years ago. We had a great day and enjoyed some relaxing time in the evening. Tuesday morning was Synod, then we headed back home to pack up the apartment. We have to say a huge THANKS to our parents, who have the experience and just got right to it. We got most of the packing and cleaning done on Wednesday.

We spent Thursday afternoon and Friday driving. And here we are back in Minnesota. We unpacked a few things Saturday, but it was nice just to sit and play with the boys without feeling like I should be packing. We are staying with Jon's parents, so we won't have to be unpacking everything. There are still a few things to do, like find the screws to my desk so we can put it together. We have some adjusting to do, but that will come with time. So begins our summer in Minnesota.

Happy June

2009-06-01T08:21:00.003-05:00

I want to first start out by making Grandma Spronk proud. I was on the family website and clicked on a picture of Ben and Cocoa from spring break. Ben was sitting on my lap and pointed and said Cocoa. He knew right away. Cocoa and baby. At what point do kids start recognizing themselves in pictures?

So I was sick yesterday. Two kids plus a stomach ailment do not mix well, let me tell you. It was deja vu of morning sickness with the food smelling gross and hardly being able to stand the stinky diapers, but have no fear, it certainly was not morning sickness. I probably could have changed the diapers had I been able to stand long enough. Thankfully, Jon took Ben to church with him and did all the dirty work yesterday. I'm not quite 100% yet, but I'm sure it will get better through the day.

It is so fun to watch the boys interact. Finn loves sitting in the swing, and Ben likes to push the swing, give him toys, just entertain him. Finn always laughs, which makes Ben laugh. We will definitely have our hands full in a few months. I was talking to someone recently about the naughty stuff they'll do in a few months, and she said if one doesn't think of it, the other will. I do not doubt that. The show Malcolm In The Middle comes to mind... They are such fun little boys, and we are so blessed to be their parents.

So it's June already. Hard to believe. We have a good deal of packing to do yet, though I think I've run out of ambition already. Jon has almost all of his books packed, which is a feat in itself. I'm more and more noticing all the dirty little hand prints on the walls down the stairs. Isn't cleaning just the best part of moving out?

More thoughts later-time to work.

Just Waiting

2009-05-27T09:04:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday was graduation for Jon. We had a few family members over afterwards, then in the evening we as seminarians, families, and friends gathered in the back yard for one last get-together. It was a good day. We had a very nice weekend with our families. The weather was just beautiful.

We are now working on packing up and trying to get rid of what we can, awaiting Synod, which we will be attending in Chicago. Our parents will also be out for that, so we're looking forward to a couple days with them. I guess more like a week, because we will come back here, load up, and head out after Synod with their help.

Then we will await a call. It is by no means a passive process, but it will certainly not happen overnight. Thank you in advance for your prayers as we wait.

2009-05-15T09:17:00.004-05:00

Another quick update on us:

I'm still fighting Finn on the whole nap situation. I have internal debates with myself about how long to leave him when he wakes up, but he's a screamer. He usually doesn't cry and go back to sleep. He just screams and turns red until I come get him. He's been doing that since he was born. He certainly likes to be heard. I do have to compliment him that he does not cry in the morning when he wakes up. He just talks and scratches on his bed.

Ben is fighting a cold right now. I'm guessing it's because the weather has been up and down so much. He his learning new words every day. Last night we had pizza for supper, and this morning we saw a commercial for pizza and he pointed and said pasta. Close enough. It's still a word, even if he doesn't know that.

Jon is attending his very final class today. He has finals next week and graduation. Woohoo! It has been a long road but has also gone very quickly between school and work and traveling and having 2 kids.

I am working on graduation plans and contemplating packing and moving. We suddenly seem to have a lot to do in the next few weeks. I realize my posts have been few and far between lately, and it probably will remain that way for a while.

Just Another Day

2009-05-08T08:52:00.002-05:00

Not much has been going on here. Jon headed to Minnesota for a funeral last week, and between our comings and goings, we are trying to establish some normalcy again.

Ben has become a blanket hoarder. He was sick a couple weeks ago and started piling blankets, taking no fewer than 5 to nap with him, only because I wouldn't let him take the one out from under Finn. So our living room is constantly piled with blankets and afghans, baby and adult size.

Finn has decided that napping is not for him; nothing too long, at least. Thankfully he sleeps well at night, though he still gets me up too early. This is probably the biggest difference from Ben at this point. Ben put himself into a schedule and napped very well. I guess Finn will just have a bit different schedule and it will come in time. He has more action to miss. Ben didn't have anyone else to entertain him.

Graduation is coming in 2 weeks. We are doing our end-of-year social events and making plans for that weekend. We praise God for the graduates but also send prayer as they seek out their next role.

"Katt's In The Cradle" Book Review

2009-04-30T09:32:00.005-05:00

A while back The Preacher's Wife had an offer of the book Katt's In The Cradle free from the publisher on the condition that whoever reads it has to write a review on their blog. So in good Dutch fashion, I signed up for this free book, and now I will attempt my review.

Katt's is written by Ginger Kolbaba and Christy Scannell. It is the third in a series they are writing called Secrets From Lulu's Cafe, though this gives enough background that I wasn't lost not having read the others. Let me tell you, these ladies know what they're doing, because each chapter is roughly 3-4 pages long, which is great for me because it's a lot easier to keep tabs on what's going on without having to reread. It took me about a week to get through this as it is.

This book is basically about the lives of 4 pastors' wives. They are good friends and share with each other their struggles and joys, their family and church life. They share a unique calling and can empathize well with each other.

I enjoyed reading this because it has a lot of real-world scenarios. These ladies have not had and don't have perfect lives and families. Their husbands are not perfect. You get a good glimpse of these pastors just being normal guys and going through every-day challenges. I found this a bit over the top as all of these women are wrestling with something very difficult. The authors also allude to things that have happened in their past, some of which I'm sure are in the previous 2 books. (But I guess that's what makes for good writing and consumer interest.) Things wrap up for them quite neatly like the end of a sitcom. I was about 2/3 of the way through the book, thinking there weren't enough pages left for things to turn around for all of them, but suddenly resolution struck, and everything was okay. Not back to normal, but okay. A bit of a cheese factor, but not unexpected.

The way these ladies and their husbands deal with their problems is really the key to this book, I think. With all the things going on, I think every reader will be able to relate in some way, even if it's not happening directly to them. It helped me to look at things in my life in a new perspective.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend it for anyone to read (geared towards women). It has good stuff about responding to certain situations in a Christian way, which certainly wouldn't hurt me. I think it's good for congregants to read and understand that pastors and their families are still people who need love and support and prayer just like everyone else, not scrutiny and judgment. It's an eye opener for everyone. I am looking forward to reading the first 2 books of this series.

Pictures To Correspond With The Last Couple Posts

2009-04-29T12:35:00.008-05:00

In Iowa. It's hard to tell, but he's having fun.

They both have an octopus on their clothes. What are the odds?

Ben running on the trail

A few minutes before we got back to the car

Our little superman. (The S lights up)

Our Long Walk

2009-04-25T14:25:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was in the 80s and we took the boys for a nice long walk. There is a trail not far from us that goes along a creek and is nicely wooded. You actually forget you're in Grand Rapids. The trail is about 1 mile going one way. I think we walked about 1.5 miles, and Ben ran probably a good mile of that, only because we made him rest in the stroller in the middle of our walk. He just had a ball. Thankfully he generally stayed on the path. He was so fun to watch. We spent some time looking at the water and we saw lots of puppies, which Ben is very into.

When we got home, Jon started the grill for supper. Some of our neighbors came out with their kids, and Ben ran around with them for a while. It was just horrible when he had to come in and eat. Needless to say, he was tired last night. And it was even nice enough he got to wear his new Superman jammies! I think he had a good day. Pictures to come.

Our First Shorts Day

2009-04-24T07:50:00.002-05:00

It is supposed to be around 80 today, so we put the boys in shorts. So a bit ago I'm down here working, and Ben is upstairs, and I hear, "No, no!" This is what he does when he is stuck or otherwise frustrated. (Yesterday he got his foot stuck under the couch with his tennis shoe on.) So I go upstairs, and the poor boy is trying to cover his legs. He does not like when his pants ride up his legs, and now he is trying to pull his shorts down. But he's got overalls on, so it's not working. I tried to show him how mommy has shorts on and how they're not supposed to cover his leg, but how well does he understand? I'm not sure. He then proceeded to hit at my leg and was otherwise distracted. Until next time...

In other news, we have new Ben math around here, as in Baby + Finn = Fifi. Finn is now a poodle. And Ben has now opted to put on his tennis shoes all day instead of his sandals. They have Velcro, and he can manage that pretty well. He does a pretty good job, but he always smushes the tongues into the shoes and usually one foot isn't all the way in. We're considering hiding his shoes.

We plan on enjoying the day with a nice long walk this afternoon. Hopefully we can be doing that regularly.

New Shoes

2009-04-23T08:26:00.002-05:00

I took Ben last week for new shoes before we headed to Iowa. I decided to get some sandals for him while we were out. He wore them for the first time last weekend when it was 75 degrees. He had a hard time focusing on what he was doing because he kept looking at his sandals. Ben loves to run barefoot, but the last couple of days he has put his sandals on in the morning (usually one of them backwards, and then he cries because he knows it's not right) and runs around all day in them. He even naps in them and cries when we take them off. I think he's figured out that having them on makes him ready to go out the door when we do, which he is always ready to do. It's supposed to warm up this weekend, so hopefully we can make good use of them.

It's Been A While

2009-04-23T08:12:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know. Hence the title. Let me bring you back to over a week ago.

Last week Monday night brought Jon and Ben back to Grand Rapids. At the same time, I got a call that one of my relatives had died. So I spent Tuesday and Wednesday working and doing laundry and packing the boys and myself. Ben was tired from his week away, so he was not always easy to deal with. Thursday I worked, fed the boys, and off we went with my aunt and uncle to Iowa. We spent the weekend there while Jon had a nice quiet house for a few days. It was fun to spend time with family. My cousin has a son 2 weeks younger than Ben, and they had fun playing together.

We came back Sunday with a sick Ben. He has been sleeping a lot during the day (and better at night now) and eating very little with a runny nose and cough. He's getting a bit better every day. Finn has a cold, but thankfully that's it.

So it's Thursday already, and I'm trying to catch up on laundry and stuff around the house. I actually got to hear my alarm go off this morning, which was quite exciting to me.

A Rant

2009-04-08T12:43:00.004-05:00

(I have a good title for this, but it's not appropriate.) I need to share my annoyance, just for a bit. I was watching some news type thing the other day, possibly local, can't remember, when along comes a story about caffeine. The person is interviewing a doctor, who proceeds to tell us that caffeine is in fact an addicting substance that has withdrawal effects, and then they show him interviewing a patient who is telling us what her withdrawal symptoms are. We then learn that caffeine is a stimulant, and in order to avoid some of the negative withdrawal symptoms, it's a good idea to wean yourself slowly instead of quit cold turkey. Then the story ends.

Really? In Phoebe's words, "That is brand new information!" Who doesn't know this already, and why was this an actual story on the news? My thought was that maybe they just needed to fill a gap and picked something randomly from years ago. If you have any ideas, please let me know. Thank you for listening.

An Update

2009-04-04T21:19:00.003-05:00

Well, Ben is in the able hands of his grandparents, and I'm assuming Jon is enjoying basketball on a clear screen.

Since yesterday afternoon, I have typed in my recipes in a Word document so as to create my own recipe book. I'm sick of recipe cards of all shapes and sizes all over the place, so I typed my recipes and will print them and place them in sheet protectors in a binder. Easy to add to and I don't have to search through 50 cards before I find what I want. Organization is my goal. I actually started this project about 2 months ago, but it fell to the wayside, and I've been waiting for this week so I could stop staring at my recipe cards on the desk. So today I had to go buy a printer cartridge, and I will get that taken care of in the next few days.

This morning Finn and I went out and ran a few errands. I had to convince the state of Michigan that I have in fact had my car registered here for 3 years and it should be renewed. They finally accepted my money. I actually shopped leisurely while I was in the mall, though I bought nothing. I also got my pile of dishes done, vacuumed, and sorted through my clothes in the closet. I even worked for an hour. It helps a lot when Finn takes multiple naps and is happy just to suck on something and watch you while you go about your business. We did play together, if you're wondering.

So that was my day. Finn was up at 6:00 this morning, so I should really get to bed in case that happens again.

Leaving Home

2009-04-03T07:49:00.004-05:00

Jon and Ben are taking off today for Minnesota. Jon will be preaching over spring break, and Ben is going to get lots of love from his grandparents. While the boys are gone, I'm going to get a few things done around here that I normally would have too much "help" with.

I'm really going to miss Ben. He is such a good little helper. When I sit down to feed Finn, he puts a pillow behind my head, hands me the remote, and makes sure I have the footrest. When Finn drops a sock or a toy, he picks it up and gives it back. He helps me put laundry in the dryer (which I don't expect to do much of next week) and throws things away (the stuff that actually is garbage). He also likes to load me up with Mega Bloks and toys while I'm working. Some days my desk is full of stuff. I will miss Jon too, but he actually talks on the phone when someone is on the other end.

On a totally different note, I am very excited to have a bud on my lily. My aunt gave me the plant shortly after we moved here, and despite abuse from Ben, it is finally starting to flower.

Since I won't have Ben around next week, I may bore you with the details of what I'm doing.

We Have A Roller, and other tales

2009-03-30T08:01:00.005-05:00

This weekend we had a couple of firsts. First, Finn has fulfilled his baby rolling requirements, i.e. tummy to back and back to tummy. He got caught up on his shoulder for a few seconds, but he made it. We just can't believe he's 4 months old already.

Second, Ben actually said "Finn." That doesn't mean he'll say it regularly, but at least he got it.

Ben is just so funny. Yesterday he was on a chair by the table while I was in the kitchen starting dinner. He spied the napkins and grabbed a bunch. I thought nothing of it because before he's just thrown them on the table. But this time, he wiped his whole face, which was not dirty by any means, with the top napkin. Then he got down off the chair and threw them all in the garbage. He got back up and tried grabbing another wad of napkins. I am now hard pressed to find a spot for them out of his reach.

This morning we're taking turns spinning each other in the office chairs. He does a very good job and I think he enjoys watching me spin as much as he enjoys spinning.

Finally, I had to post this picture for the aunt whom Finn looks like. I thought she would like this shirt and this would have looked kinda like her as a baby. (Click on the picture for a closer look.)

That's it for now, or at least until Ben does something else goofy. Have a good day folks.

Sharing Blocks

2009-03-27T09:58:00.002-05:00

This morning I had Finn on the floor and gave him a small Mega Blok (is that an oxymoron?) to hold and suck on. Ben saw this and decided to help. He likes to hand you something and say dadoo (thank you), and Finn wouldn't take it of course, so there he stands, dadoo, dadoo, dadoo. I took it and laid it by Finn, so Ben got another one, which I laid down. Ben kept trying to regive those 2 big blocks to Finn, and I laid them on Finn's tummy. That seemed to satisfy Ben. He started making a pile of blocks next to Finn and sat nice putting them together. Ben is such a sweet little boy. I am so glad he is anxious to share his toys with Finn. We'll see how it goes when Finn can actually grab them and play like Ben can.

Just When You Thought The Potatoes Were Safe...

2009-03-27T09:41:00.004-05:00

...Strucky has locksed again. (10 points to name the movie)

A couple days ago I bought a 5-pound bag of potatoes and used a few. I dutifully put the little plastic tie thing back on so junior couldn't get in it. Yesterday I went upstairs to grab my water and Ben started dragging the potato sack, stopping in the middle of the living room. I figured he couldn't get in, and he had worked so hard to pull it, I just left him there. A few minutes later I hear a thunk, thunk, thunk and something landing down here. Sure enough, he had ripped a hole in the potato sack, had taken the bag 2 or 3 stairs down, and was sitting there throwing potatoes down the stairs. (Many other things have made a trip down the stairs, but not food.) Thankfully he only managed 2 throws and had 1 in his hand ready. So I grabbed the potatoes and put them on the counter for the time being. I'm hoping he forgets about them for a while, because I really don't have a good place for them out of his reach, which, by the way, seems to be growing daily. It was kind of hard not to laugh because it was probably a lot of fun, but I didn't relish the thought of picking up 40 potatoes.

Books Go On The Shelf

2009-03-25T08:09:00.004-05:00

Last night Jon was home with Ben while I went to Bible study. Jon was studying when Ben handed him a book, which they read through 3 times. We usually keep Ben's books upstairs. After I came home and the boys were in bed, Jon called me downstairs to show me his discovery. Click on the picture for a closer look.

Funny enough, as I write this, Ben has come to sit on my lap with this very book and is reading it upside down. Here's another picture of my studious boy. He may be just like his dad.

A New Baby

2009-03-23T13:15:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Nathaniel and Sarah on a baby girl! We think she looks like her daddy. Click here to see pictures.

One Moment In Time

2009-03-20T09:26:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Ben parked his Bumbo by the sliding glass door so he could sit there and look outside while he played. There are a couple of squirrels who frequent our back yard and the birds are back. So this morning I started work, then I brought Finn back upstairs so I could get breakfast. I set him in the Bumbo to look outside. Ben came and sat down next to him, and they were both looking outside. It was so cute, I wanted to take a picture of the back of their heads. Then Ben turned and started talking to Finn, who was looking at Ben as though they were deep in conversation. It was just such a cute moment.

Our Smiley Babies

2009-03-17T09:32:00.002-05:00

Another Weekend

2009-03-16T09:53:00.002-05:00

Friday afternoon we had Finn's 3-month pictures. Much to my chagrin, I dressed the boys almost alike because that looks nice on pictures. Finn was all smiles and we got great pictures. When it came time to do their pictures together, Ben was very wiggly but did well. As much as he kisses his brother at home, he wouldn't give him even 1 kiss at the studio. All 3 of us were prodding, but he just wouldn't do it. Regardless, they are soooo cute. I know, I'm their mom, of course they're cute. It was very hard to pick what we wanted. We went to Old Chicago for supper. Great stuff.

Saturday was cold, so we stayed inside and did our normal stuff. Jon grilled and I got away with heating up some peas as far as cooking went. It was a pretty relaxing day.

Sunday started out cold but ended up beautiful. After church, Jon and Ben went outside for a bit. The only problem is that Ben just wants to run, so Jon can't just sit out on the deck and enjoy the weather anymore. And he can't go out without Ben or we hear about it. So Ben decided he was tired and laid down on the kitchen floor, of all places-not on the rug. So the boys took naps and we played inside. After supper I took the boys out for a walk. We had the door open, but it was hot inside and too nice to resist. So we walked around the block a couple of times. They both seemed to enjoy it. I didn't hear a peep out of either one of them. Ben loves walks, and it was a lot of new stuff for Finn to take in.

So here we are back to Monday. We shall see what kind of trouble we get into this week.

Ben's New Seat

2009-03-14T09:10:00.005-05:00

So we brought the Bumbo up from the depths so Finn could start sitting in it. (If you don't know what this is, click here.) We've put Finn in it twice and he wasn't too excited about it. But Ben, who enjoyed it the first time around, is immensely enjoying it. He tried it out one night and found that his little butt and legs still fit in there. He even tried to pull Finn out of it, which he wasn't able to do, but he still managed to cause some screaming. Anyway, now Ben likes to carry the Bumbo around the living room. He'll put it down in some random place and sit for about 30 seconds. The great entertainment is that he tries to back up to it, and he usually misses the first two times. The other night he turned his body and ended up backing up to the side of it, and when he tried to sit down he completely missed it. He was semi crying and I was just laughing. I kind of feel bad, but it's just so entertaining and he didn't get hurt. Some things you just can't do for them.

Sockies

2009-03-10T07:36:00.003-05:00

Let me preface this by saying that Ben is anti socks. He will not keep them on his feet for any period of time unless they are covered with shoes, which he's okay with because then he knows he gets to go somewhere. Let's begin.

Yesterday Ben took off Finn's socks. When they fall off, Ben is very good about giving them to me. (He has also started doing this when he takes off his own socks.) So Ben just pulled off Finn's socks and handed them to me like a good little boy, but since I was working, I set them on the desk. He kept trying to put them in my hands or on the keyboard. I think he finally got mad at me for not taking them, because he grabbed the socks and took them upstairs. So pretty soon I went up to change Finn and asked Ben where baby's sockies were. He proceeded to Jon's sock drawer and pulled out his dirty pair of socks (he only wore them a couple hours) he had stuck in there from Saturday. I remember him slipping them in while I was putting Jon's clean socks away. I laid Finn down on the living room floor and Ben laid his socks at Finn's feet. He really is a good little helper. Fortunately, I did find Finn's socks just laying on the living room floor among Ben's toys.

Children Conspire

2009-03-09T08:36:00.002-05:00

People have talked about it, but I have now been a victim of my children conspiring against me. I don't care how young they are, it happens.

Thursday night Ben woke up crying. Jon checked on him and he actually looked to be sleeping yet. So Jon came back to bed. A while later it happened again, so Jon gave him some ibuprofen since he's teething, and Ben settled down. It happened a third time, and I got up to get him some Orajel. He had his blanket in hand and was ready to get out, so I just took him to rock him. Out in the living room, he started talking and looking around. A couple of times he went to lay in different spots on the floor. I finally took him to the couch to lay down with him. After finally finding a comfortable spot, he lay quiet for a while. Just as I thought he was asleep, he opened his eyes and let out this yell like he was being hurt. I asked if he was ready for nigh-nigh, and he put his arms around me. He didn't wake up after that. So there went an hour of sleep. I got back to bed about 2:00.

Then about 4:45, my darling little Finn, who has been sleeping through the night for almost a week, decides he needs to eat a bit. While that only took half an hour, my night was pretty much shot.

These two may be my biggest challenge in life, and they're not even 2. I have a long road ahead.

Our Weekend

2009-03-09T08:00:00.003-05:00

Thursday was a beautiful day. Jon and Ben ran around with the soccer ball. I sat on the deck with Finn. He's a cool little dude with shades on. It was just nice to be outside. (Pictures to come. I now have the camera but not the cord.)

Friday was also a beautiful day, even nicer than Thursday. It was somewhere in the 50s. While we didn't get a walk in, Ben spent all afternoon running and screaming around the back yard, which was much better for him, I imagine. Jon was out smoking ribs and we had our neighbors over for supper. Ben had 3 guys taking turns chasing him down since our back yard is not completely fenced in. He was so worn out he was extra tired on Saturday yet. It is so fun to watch him. He cried when he had to come in.

Since we cleaned on Friday, Saturday was more of a lazy day. I did laundry and Jon worked on some homework. It rained all day, so no outside playing.

Sunday we had a good rainstorm, a little thunder, very windy. The rain was actually coming down sideways. I kept getting confused with the time since we didn't change all the clocks. I almost didn't get my kids to bed on time, though it didn't matter much since Ben played in his crib for probably another 40 minutes. He finds things to keep him busy in there, even in the dark.

So there's our weekend in a nutshell.

Randomness

2009-03-05T08:48:00.002-06:00

I love the randomness of children. Sometimes I will come home and Ben will have a group of balls on the desk, or he'll have pop bottles set up in a tight group on the desk. By the way, he somehow hides things like these pop bottles until he's ready to play with them, because I won't see them and all of the sudden they're in his hands. Anyway, he has his 2 Little People zebras sitting on my stock pot on the shelf downstairs. He is playing upstairs right now and decided to throw his football down the stairs. I guess it can join the basketball and baseball on the desk. You just never know what you're gonna find when you walk in the house.

In other news, he can say phone now, which is his new favorite "toy." He loves to walk around with it and talk, though he becomes silent as soon as he hears noise coming from it. He is also saying fee for Finn. Those Fs are coming along.

Ben is really into stacking now. It's fun watching him figure out what toys fit into other toys.

As far as the pictures I mentioned, same old story: Have not uploaded most recent pictures and camera is also AWOL. I guess that will be another day.

Temps are supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow, so just imagine us strolling around outside. I'm really looking forward to taking the boys out in the afternoons when it gets nice out. I'm not an outdoor person, but I definitely have cabin fever. Ben is an outdoor baby for sure. He loves toddling around outside while daddy is grilling, or they play with the soccer ball. A couple weeks ago I took Ben in the backyard in the snow, and once he got used to it, he started walking. We walked for 45 minutes around our apartments and he cried when I made him go in.

Anyway, enough rambling. Have a good day.

Say What?

2009-03-03T11:11:00.003-06:00

Ben has become quite the little imitator, which I guess is how kids learn words. When he hands me things, he now says dadoo (thank you) to me, and especially loves giving me random things when I'm feeding Finn. He says down (we go downstairs) and die for both light and cry. Usually it's quite clear which one he means. He says bottie for bottle. We were saying oh man this morning. That's close to amen, which he does with a southern accent-amayn. He will say all duh for all done and hand me his bowl when he's finished.

He is stealing spatulas out of the drawer. He just sticks his hand in and grabs, or off the counter if he strikes at supper time. He is currently sucking the trickling pop out of a can that he just damaged. He likes to pretend to drink out of things, but I thought he was making an unusual noise. Sure enough, the pop is very slowly seeping out. I guess I better take care of that instead of writing. He also has a couple cans on the swing. I guess it's nap time for them.

Ben has also decided he's big enough to go down the stairs like adults. He just puts his hand on the wall and starts going. He has tried going up that way with the railing, but he's just not tall enough. Like a good mom, I just turn my eyes and hope he doesn't fall. Should I be giving him a learning curve with stairs?

As for the little one, he is now sleeping pretty much through the night. He would probably sleep longer except for all the noise when the rest of us get up. Ben is usually concerned about baby when he gets up and has to see Finn, and he's certainly not quiet about it. Finn is trying to figure out his nap schedule during the day. I think he's transitioning to 2 naps, but it's a work in progress.

Since it's been a while, just a quick update for us. Jon started his last quarter this week. I think it was a bit odd for him not to have to worry about filling out forms and thinking about summer assignments and fall quarters. We're already making plans for graduation and after. Seminary has definitely gone fast and we got 2 kids and some good friends out of the deal.

I am still working in the mornings. Ben takes 1 afternoon nap, so I like to try to get something done or just relax. Lately it's been spending good quality time with Finn or trying to get him to sleep.

I need to get some food into Ben before he crashes. I'll try to get a few pictures posted this afternoon.

My Little Helper

2009-02-16T11:23:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Jon went to take a nap. He put the gate up so Ben wouldn't go banging on the door as he is like to do. Ben needed a diaper change, so I changed him in the living room and set the diaper on the other side of the gate to put in the diaper pail later. When Jon got up, Ben went running over as Jon took the gate down. We were thinking he was excited to see Daddy, but we were wrong (or maybe only half wrong). Ben grabbed the diaper, went walking into our room, and put it in the diaper pail. Now if only he could change himself...

Our Boys

2009-02-10T12:44:00.008-06:00

The boys obviously have the same outfit on, but they were actually given by 2 different people. We just had to take pictures. Ben is 17-1/2 months and Finn is 2-1/2 months.

Who Has Time?

2009-02-05T13:11:00.003-06:00

Last night I laid in bed thinking about the things I did (and did not get done) yesterday. I was thinking about the letter I finally wrote to my great aunt, who is 93, who is the only person I actually write letters to. With 2 kids, I really have not had time to do a whole lot and I've been thinking about this letter for a while now. It took me a whole half hour to fill up 1 piece of paper. Then I was done. I can usually ramble on for a couple of pages, but I just couldn't do any more what with one kid trying to take the pen out of my hand and another one crying. How did people ever have time to write letters way back when? I also used to write in a journal every day, and I was thinking about how therapeutic that was and would be for me now. I don't remember the last time I did that. It's a good thing I work on the computer, or I'm not sure I would ever check my email.

More Things About Me

2009-01-29T08:10:00.003-06:00

I was tagged in Facebook for 25 things about me. I just added on to my original 16. So here are 9 more things:

17. I love to organize. Cleaning is another matter. I have to be in the right mood for that.

18. Despite my frustration with my child, I love being a mom. I have always believed this is my calling.

19. I love to read and I love doing puzzles. When I was in college, mom and I would do a puzzle when I came home for Christmas, spring break, etc. I looked forward to that.

20. I like beef and chicken, but there's nothing like a good pork chop with a baked potato smothered in butter and sour cream (vegetables optional).

21. I'm not an outdoor person at all. I just hope I can enjoy being outside with my kids when they're older.

22. I really enjoy medical transcription. I wish I had come upon it sooner in my life.

23. I hear Ben say "Hey baby" about 100 times a day. No, he's not talking to me.

24. I'm really annoyed with commercials on TV.

25. I love how the simplest things make babies laugh.