2011 Christmas Letter and Christmas Thoughts

Hey all - this is a rerun for probably all of you, but I wanted to have it in my journal. Every once in awhile I like to take a walk down memory lane and read over my old posts. I figured this was a nice one to look back on :) Before the "rerun", a few thoughts...
We have our family Christmas this Saturday. I'm really looking forward to it, especially since we are doing a couple things differently this year. First off, Jared and I decided to buy our own gifts and wrap them secretly, labeling them from the other. So, Jared got me gifts that he has no idea about. :) At least we'll each still be surprised, it just won't be at our own stuff. We'll see how we like it.
The other thing we're changing up a little is a few of the gifts. Along with the regular gifts for the kids, Jared and I will be wrapping little gifts of the things that God gave us through Jesus - peace, joy, hope, faith, etc. I've been really intentional about focusing on what this season means this year. Its been really good! I've been pondering Emmanuel ( like my letter said), and what it all entails when we say Jesus is Emmanuel - God with us. Its not just about a baby in a manger, its about God literally coming down to be with us and all that comes with God. It so amazing to think about it like that. I'm excited about it, and we're hoping to get the kids to understand it all a little better too. One of the last gifts among the "Jesus" gifts will be a note that says something about how one of the greatest gifts God gives us is the Bible, and they will each get their own. We're hoping to find some that are in good shape at Good Will. We aren't going to get anything fancy, but its the idea that is important. I hope they get that :)

Well, I guess that's all I've got for now. See some of you very soon!!!

...and now for the letter --

Merry CHRISTmas Friends and Family!

As we anticipate the celebration of Jesus' birth, I can't help but look back over the year and realize that the blessings of 2011 have been abundant! Though there have been challenges and heartaches, life is still good! Our children are healthy and happy and growing in their understanding of who God is and how He fits into their lives. It is so awesome to watch :) They are often working on memory verses, which I love! Nora even does one too - its pretty much always the same, but it cracks me up nonetheless. Hers is the verse after Jesus heals the paralytic: "Get up, take your mat and go home". She's too cute!

Nora just turned 3 last month and seems so grown up. She absolutely LOVES My Little Ponies and usually is carrying one or two around and sleeps with them. She had a very "Pony" birthday :) She goes to preschool 2 mornings a week and is doing quite well with it. It took some time, but we are so proud of her progress! Right now we are in the process of eliminating the thumb-sucking during the day. She's gets a band-aid on her thumb each day, and it does seem to be helping. She has been our only thumb-sucker. Cutting out the night time habit may be more of a challenge... She is such a joy to our family - so silly and animated. She loves books and singing and keeping us on our toes!

Aliza will be 5 in a month and is doing so amazing in her preschool class! She goes every morning, and is the oldest kid in her class. She is working on writing and even on recognizing some sight words. We are so proud of her! Half of her class is special needs of some sort and we are told she is very compassionate and always helping. I LOVE hearing that!! Aliza often tells us how she holds one of her friend's hands, and that just makes my heart smile. Aliza is pretty easygoing and definitely our deep thinker, asking some thought provoking questions and not necessarily settling for a simple answer :) She is our climber, climbing on anything she can - our couches, the rocks out back, the tree the neighbors cut down... Perhaps we'll have to take her rock climbing sometime :)

And Eben, our 7 1/2 yr old Star Wars obsessed child :) One Christmas list was full of Star Wars items, except for the last thing - "that Jesus be safe". I'm not sure what that means, but I was happy that he thought about Jesus on his list. He is, after all, what Christmas is about! I have been helping in Eben's class every couple weeks and it is clear that he is at the top of his class as well! He just got his first report card and the teacher raved about him! I was so happy to see that Eben, too, is kind and thoughtful to others in his class and always greets his teacher with a smile and "hi" each morning. I am so happy to see such positive character traits in our children! Eben is reading like a champ, does well at spelling, is writing with more description and really enjoys math. He is sensitive, helpful with the girls and I know he does his best to make good choices. I'm so proud of him!

And of course, our letter wouldn't be complete without mentioning the "baby on the way"!! I'm now 16 weeks along, and anxiously waiting for Jan 4th when we find out if we're having a boy or girl. The thought is boy, but time will tell. The kids are so excited about the baby and talk about him/her often. I have been sicker this time around that any of the others. In fact, this pregnancy has just been plain ole different. That's the way it goes though. As long as the baby is healthy, I can handle it :) I am excited to welcome our baby into our family at the end of May (24th)! I find myself mostly busy with the kids, keeping up with the house, Bible studies, and being the treasurer of the PTO at Eben's school. The treasurer position has been more that I signed up for thus far, but I think it will slow down soon! Lately I have been working on being content with what we have, knowing that its not the "whats" we have, but the "whos" that make life meaningful! We may not have a big house, or the latest phones and clothes, but I've come to realize that that is okay. I will not find peace, joy and contentment by trying to "keep up with the Jones'". It is truly freeing :) I am grateful for what we do have and thank God for His provision every day!

Jared begins his 10th year as a Chemist with Pfizer next year!! Wow - that is hard to believe! He isn't the happiest about where he's at (who would be with lay-offs almost every year!!), but its a good job and through it he provides wonderfully for our family! He continues to keep his eyes open for opportunities in MI, though it sometimes feels the longer we are here, the less likely we are to leave. We're here until we're not :) And while we're here, it will be good! Jared is often the entertainment for the kids as he rides them around on his back, or plays video games that they all love to watch. It is so wonderful seeing him enjoy the kids! Jared still enjoys playing World of Warcraft a few nights a week, and sometimes he even has a spectator. Eben has taken an interest in watching him play, so maybe one day they'll play together :)

I hope you and your family are well and taking time to count your blessings. We are so unbelievably rich is this country, yet we take it so much for granted! We wish you a very Merry Christmas :) And as for us - we certainly will! Its that time of year when we focus more intentionally on the most amazing gift ever - Jesus: Emmanuel (God with US). How awesome is that!!
With Love, Jared, Lori, Eben, Aliza, Nora and the little peanut in the making :)

First Time - not fun!!

So today marks a "magical" day. It is the first day in any of my pregnancies that I have actually hung over the toilet. Yes - now you know something very exciting!! I was getting changed and that horrible feeling came over me (for some reason it hits me really fast with this pregnancy), and I realized "shoot, I haven't gotten around to breakfast yet, just some OJ". By the time I finished throwing on my clothes, I made a dash to the bathroom. Not cool. And to make matters a little more interesting - that would be the exact moment Nora comes pounding on the door telling me she has to go potty. Between "releases", I'm telling her to go upstairs, knowing full well that she won't go but will continue to plea with me to open the door. By the time the OJ was out of my system, I opened the door to find that, yes, as I had expected, her undies were already wet. Oh the joys!!! This nausea I've been dealing with this time is unlike any of the others. There better not be a twin or something hiding behind the ONE we saw.... Wouldn't that be a treat ;)

Anyway, I shoved some cereal down me after the episode and will really try not to do that again. I've told myself that before, but clearly I didn't get the message too well. Maybe this time. I start my 2nd trimester on Friday, so I sure hope we are nearing the end of this. With the other kids, I was pretty good by my second Tri, so I'm hopeful. Though this one is proving to be a little different. I'm sicker and WAY more emotional (can't believe all the crying I've done!! NEVER did that with any of the others!!). Maybe its because I'm getting old :)

Well, Nora and I are off to drop off Aliza's backpack she forgot, then to the park to walk and finally to the dentist for Nora's first appt. I'm really uncertain how this will go! I hope I'll be pleasantly surprised!

Mom and Dad VH come in 2 days, and we get to celebrate Thanksgiving with them! Hooray :)

Catch ya later!

Second Snow of October!!

Its October 29th and we are having our second snowfall of the year. We got a 1/2 inch or so 2 days ago and now there is a possibility of 3 inches today and through the night. Not quite what we were expecting for October :) However, the snow is beautiful. Its falling in jumbo snowflakes which are by far my favorite kind. It is really coming down now. At this rate, I think 3 inches is certainly a possibility!

So, my parents are here visiting. Wasn't it so nice of us to provide snow for them :) We have mostly been relaxing and hearing all about their trip to Greece. They literally left their house for ours less than 24 hrs after they arrive home from Greece! My parents are a little nutty :) That's one of the reasons we love them though!! The kids have been enjoying playing solitaire on the computer with Granddad and just being silly with him and Grandma.

Nora had her Halloween parade on Thursday. My parents and I went to watch her march and then sing a few songs. It didn't go so well. Nora had part of her costume on and walked around the circle very hesitantly, with her hand up by her face. When she saw me, she started crying and didn't want to walk anymore. One of the teachers had to carry her. Then when it came time to sing, she did make a peep. She sat there looking sad and trying not to smile. What a pathetic little thing. It certainly didn't make for very good pictures, that's for sure! Oh well - reminds me of her older brother when he was that age...

Eben has a Trunk or Treat "party" tomorrow, but who knows if it will actually happen and how many people will show up if there is a bunch of snow on the ground. All I can say is if it gets canceled, I'm going to have 300 pieces of candy to pawn off on someone. Ok, so I'll eat a lot of it, but still - just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I can eat like a pig! I'll tell ya, being pregnant through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter is NOT a good thing. I'm avoiding the scale this pregnancy. Usually when my pregnancy journal has a page to record weight and waist size I would do it. I just don't think I want to this time :)

We have been tossing around names, but not for sure on anything - well, maybe the girl name, but since we both think its a boy, we have some work to do. Our ultrasound is Jan 4th, so until we know what we're having, I think we'll just sit on what we have. The baby is now about 1 1/2 inches but looks almost like a mini baby already. The arms and legs have to grow a little more before its proportionate. Its so amazing that he/she looks just like a baby yet its so teeny tiny. God does some amazing work!

I'll post some Halloween pics of the kids soon (as long as we can get Nora to wear her costume...)
Enveloped in a winter wonderland,
Lori

#4

Guess its time to make it "blog official", even though everyone who reads this already knows. By the end of next May, our family of 5 will be a nice even family of 6. Oh gosh - unless God wants to really challenge us with twins or something crazy like that.... Ok, lets not go there. Anyway, I'm only about 6 weeks along and am feeling quite well. Only one day did I feel yucky, but that's been it. I know its still really early, so there is plenty of time to start getting that 'sick' feeling. It seems I felt sicker with the girls than I did with Eben, and from the get-go, Jared and I thought this was a boy, so maybe feeling good is a "boy thing". I have guessed all the kid's genders correctly thus far, though I don't really know if it was just what I wanted, or actually what my gut said. Either way, 3 for 3 is pretty good. I figure we've got to even things out. If its a boy that makes 2 boys and 2 girls in our family, 4 boys and 4 girls on my side, and 3 boys and 3 girls on Jared's side. It just makes sense :) We shall see though. I do think it would be strange to have 3 girls. Poor Eben really wants a boy. We had debated not telling the kids we were pregnant until I was showing a little, but haha, like I could wait!! The kids shouted "YAAAAAY!" for about a minute straight when we told them. They talk about the baby every day and I just love hearing them. Nora asks what seat the baby will sit it, Aliza asks every morning if the baby is still in my tummy, they talk about how big the baby is, Aliza asked if she could hold it. I just love it. For now anyway. We have a very long wait, so we'll see if they sort of forget about it a little or if they'll be driving me bonkers by Christmas asking when the baby is coming. :)

So this is my first year, and last for a few, that I will have some time to myself. Wow! I just realized that. Next year Nora and Aliza will be in school 1/2 day every day, but I'll have the new baby, so this is really the only time for 3 years that I'll have some "me mornings". That's weird. Anyway, I am filling it with cleaning, reading, helping in Eben's class, PTO stuff, and walking. Oh yeah, throw in a few minutes of feeling bad that Nora was crying yet again as I left her at school and that about sums it up. Good times. She talks about how she likes if after school, but the anticipation of school just makes her cry. I try not to come right out and say "its a school day" even if she asks, b/c then she is just in tears until we get to school. I'm hoping it continues to get better. We also continue to have struggles with potty training. Why are these girls so difficult. Oh yeah, probably b/c their mom is super impatient and makes them potty train when they aren't ready.... ugh!! So, pretty much every day she has an accident or two, or more. She actually went two whole day with being dry, but then today she had 3 accidents. I just don't get it. When we notice she says, "I'm sorry Mommy. I love you." Can she be any cuter, the little rascal!!

Eben and Aliza are doing well in school. Since I'm helping a little in E's class I can see he is at the top of the class for sure. Jared and I are very proud. He is doing great at reading too, which is so wonderful too! Aliza likes school, even though some days she says she doesn't want to go. Today she said something like, "Do I have school tomorrow and I don't want to go?" What a goof.

And on to our last topic of the post. BEES. If I never swat at another yellow jacket in this house it will be too soon!!! It is ridiculous. I can't even imagine how many I've killed in the past week. The nest, however far it is inside our wall, must be the size of me!! I am grateful however that they seem to be pretty laid back at this time of year. If we swat and miss, they don't seem to care. They never are aggressive. They usually just sort of seem drunk - crashing into the walls and lights. Weird things. So, first off we foamed up the entrance to the nest, or at least as close to where we thought it was. Yay, no more bees coming in! Oh, but wait, that means we have trapped all the bees in the nest, and therefore in our house. Not so good. They liked clinging to the basement windows with the light, so Jared did some spraying and killed a bunch. But they just kept coming. Today after coming home this morning, there were 10 on the hall window. We finally found out they were coming up from a huge hole near the heating vent in the living room. I killed about 6 just walking out from under the vent. Nothing like having to watch where you step in your own living room so you don't step on a bee! So, Jared filled that in. Hopefully they will be mostly trapped in the basement. Like I said before, they like to cling to the light from the windows down there, so maybe we'll get some more spray and zap those buggers. We are SO over these stupid things. The poor kids. A very common phrase from them these days is, "There's another bug." Stupid things....not my kids, of course :)

Wow, how was that for a super lame paragraph about our bees. Sorry you just had to read that.
Later all! Oh, enjoy the pics of the kidlets :)

Hurricane Irene

Wowza! Its been 3 months since I last posted. Sorry for those of you who check in regularly :( So, its the eve of our first Hurricane, which may in fact turn into a tropical storm before it hits us. Only time will tell with that. I figured I'd want to be able to look back on this and remember that it happened in case I don't get back to the journal for awhile.

Its been an eventful summer. A fun trip to Michigan, along with an interview in Holland for Jared. Then we spent way too much time waiting to find out whether we were moving to MI or not - not is the answer to that. Not yet anyway. Jared continues to look, so when God is done with us here, he'll get a job there....or maybe in the next round of lay-offs which will probably be next fall sometime. He "made it" through the lay-offs a couple weeks ago, so I guess that's just another sign that God wants us here for now.

Jared and I had an amazing trip with my sisters, their husbands and my parents. We met up in San Juan, Puerto Rico and hopped aboard the Carnival Victory cruise ship. We hit St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. It was such a great trip - one that would not have been possible without Jared's parents coming out to spend a week with our children. We are so grateful to both sets of parents for this vacation!!!

School starts for Eben on Wednesday....if we have power anyway.... He'll be in 2nd grade already!! Aliza has her preschool orientation that day too, and then starts on Thursday. Nora is going to preschool too this year. She'll go T and Th AM's, so that means I'll have 2 mornings a week all to myself. I just can't imagine that! I've already decided that I'm going to have to manage my time well, or it will pass too quickly and I'm afraid I'll have wasted the morning away.

On a strange note, this afternoon for some strange reason I experienced some vertigo and nausea. No idea what that was about, but it lasted for a few hours and had me in bed for a bit. I like to blame the Hurricane, but I really don't know what happened. All I know is I hope it doesn't happen again.

On that note, I guess I'll sign off. The kids are sleeping in the office tonight, and probably tomorrow night....well, I should say 2 of the kids are sleeping - Nora is still awake talking to herself. She's such a goof, and definitely the night owl of the 3. She of course gets up early with Eben, so I guess I can say she's like me. Or at least how I used to be. I was always the one that needed the least amount of sleep among my sisters.

Well, the beginning signs of Irene should be starting in a few hrs. We'll see how we fair...

Update on Jobs

We'll start with the boring one - mine. So, I really haven't been getting much work lately. Even though I know there isn't any sort of consistency with this job, its still frustrating. However, on the one hand, at least we don't have any more school payments for Aliza. That being said, Nora's payments start August 1st, so I guess we don't have too long before we'll be needing those checks :)

Of course, if things goes well on Jared's work front, we may not have to pay Nora's school bill either...at least not this one. Jared had an interview with the Human Resource person last week and was contacted on Monday to set up another interview (basically the first "real" one) with the hiring manager. Its tomorrow at 8:30! The company is out of Allegan, MI and we assumed that's where the position would be. However, we learned that this job would actually be in Holland. Our first home. My heart smiled at the thought of all the wonderful times we've had there. I wonder if God is really going to bring us 'full circle' with this. There is definitely excitement at the idea of moving back home (literally back to the place Jared and I studied, started our marriage and started our family), yet there is something comfortable out here and I feel like I'm just beginning to find my place in our church. I have been praying that God's will be done and that Jared and I both feel God's nudging in regards to this. We want to be where He wants to use us most. The idea of living in MI sounds really sweet, but everything that would lead up to that point makes me want to cry. Its such a huge move, and I'm quite certain we wouldn't have a moving company to do a lot of the hard work for us. But, alas, I am counting chickens long before hatching season :) I have a tendency of doing that. I won't lie and say I haven't looked at real estate in the Holland area either. That's just what I do - even when Jared says he only applied somewhere. I always look at houses. Yes, I'm a nut.

Anyway, that's the update. More to follow...if more actually follows...
Love to all my faithful readers (hee hee - yeah, all two of you!)

Happy Tuesday! Its yet another rainy day here in CT. Its supposed to continue the rest of the week too. Boo :( I'm ready for some sun and 70's! So I've come down with a cold. Another big BOO for that. I sure do take for granted being able to breath out of my nose and taste yummy food. Nora's seems to have it too, but not so bad. I hope the others are lucky enough not to get it. However, I'd much rather have this for a little bit than that nasty flu bug we got a few weeks back! For sure!

Not to much to report on, but since I was thinking about it, I thought I'd check in. Look at me! Two posts in one month!! Granted, this one is really boring, but hey, its a post.

I bought my first concordance this week. It is gigantic!! We were talking about them at Bible Study last week and I thought I'd like to get one. Its been fun looking up words and finding out what the original word is (in greek or hebrew) and its meaning. I think its going to be very helpful for some tricky verses, and some that don't seem so tricky. I was reading the verse that says, "don't let your heart be troubled..." and looked up the words 'heart' and 'troubled'. It was very interesting. Basically using some of the definitions and descriptions, it could be interpreted "don't let your thoughts and understanding be thrown into confusion" How much more powerful is that! The word 'heart' is so abstract, so it was really cool to see what the word (which I think was 'kardia' {sound familiar....cardio}) really meant in greek, what they would have been thinking of. Anyway, I think its cool :)

Oooh, some exciting news. Our children actually liked a new movie we introduced them to! Its a miracle in the VH family for sure!!! Every once in a while we'll have dinner and a movie. Jared and I try to introduce some movies we have that the kids haven't seen yet. Most of the time they sit through it pretty well (amidst Eben asking how much longer it is...), even laugh like they are enjoying it, but when we ask about it afterward, they say it was scary and they didn't like it. Oh boy. Whose kids are these?? You know Jared and I love movies! Anyway, now that you are sitting on the edge of your seat just longing to know what that special movie is, I shall end the suspense. The new favorite is none other that The Sword in the Stone. Yeah, I know - who would have thought... I can't figure those kids out :) But I sure do love them!!!

Enjoy the pics of our crazy little monkeys!! Two are from "touch a truck day" that the city puts on and the other two are from a walk we took the girls' baby dolls on. Aliza and Nora were SO excited about bringing them outside in their strollers. It was so sweet.

Happy May!

Yeah, so I guess I didn't get to this in April. Life goes on... :)

I'm including some pics to let you "see" what we've been doing. My parents were here a couple weeks ago, which was SO wonderful! They hadn't been here since last July, so it was definitely time! There are a few pics of them while they were here, one of which is "the boys" working on the hall wall. We now have insulation in at least one wall in our house! Isn't that exciting!! The pic of Nora and my Mom turned out so good, especially since it doesn't show the actually feelings Nora was having. She was throwing a fit about getting a pic with Grandma, but when I snapped it, she looked like she was laughing. How great is that!!

Last week was our first "sick" week, where all but one of us got sick. Lucky Aliza!! Jared and I had it the worse by far, but Nora spent a long night in the bathroom too (poor sweet thing), and Eben came home from school feeling sick. He threw up once and was back to normal. Oh how I wish Jared and I would have had such a quick bought! The one good thing that came of it - Jared lost about 7lbs and I lost about 5. Insane for 1-2 days!! Not a recommended weight loss program though - not at all!!

The first pics are of Easter. Too bad we didn't have a family pic. We had one done at church for the directory, so I'm hoping we'll be able to get a proof of that soon!

You'll also see a picture of me with a bottle of wine. Believe it or not, my orthodontist gave it to me to celebrate being done with my Invisiline! That was a surprise :) I had it for 11 months, and I'm finally getting used to not taking "trays" in and out all day. Its very nice, however I hope it will be my last orthodontist experience. Third time's a charm, right???

One pic of the girls I thought was so cute, they are playing ring-around-the-rosie with their baby dolls. Nora's doll is actually named Rosie. Aliza's changes every day - last I knew she wanted to call it Rose, but perhaps she is back to calling it Ball Stripes. Yes, that is what she named it one day. What a goof :)

Another shot is of Eben's newly painted room. Hooray! It doesn't look like a girl's room anymore :) Well, a couple of the walls are still "melon-y", but I'll get to them eventually. He doesn't seem to mind. He has his red wall and his red shelf, so he's happy!

Spring has finally sprung, and today was gorgeous! We were outside at a birthday party all afternoon, and I think this is the first day in awhile that Nora didn't come out of her room after she was put to bed. It probably helped that the only nap she had was the 20 minute ride home from the party. Maybe she'll even sleep in!!!......I'm SO not holding my breath on that one. I have only been blessed with one child who sometimes sleeps in. The other two think 6:30 is a great time to be awake!

I suppose that wraps up April well enough. Aliza has one more month of school (last day is may 27th), while Eben will be going until at least June 20th. Insane, I say! Insane! Just a few days before his 7th birthday. Holy crap! How is he turning 7??? That seems so much older than 6! We're planning on taking him and a friend to the movie theater to see the new CARS movie that will be out right around then. Hopefully it will be a fun time :)

Signing off until next time -
Love to you all!

A Long Time Coming

Years ago, when we were living in Pinckney, Jared and I talked about how we felt about baptism. We both were baptized as infants and thought, at that point, that that was enough. However, after awhile, we began to think that it was something we wanted to, and should do. Talk is cheap though, and we kept puting it off. We were going to have Dad Van do it, and just never got around to it. Fast forward over 4 years later. About a month ago it was mentioned that a baptism was scheduled for March 27th. I told Jared that I wanted to do it. I kept forgetting to talk to the Pastor about it, and eventually forgot about it until last night, when it was brought up at a youth group event I was at with Eben. Oops! Totally forgot. So, this morning when we got to church, I found Pastor Sonny and asked if I could still do it tonight. He said show up at 5:30 and we'll go from there. :)

I had been looking forward to it all day, and when it was almost time to begin the Baptisms I began to get so emotional. I was so excited! The congregation was singing and I was just trying to hold myself together. By the time Pastor Sonny called my name, I stepped down into the water and tried not to break down. He asked if I came to be baptized because of my faith in Christ and I barely squeaked out a 'yes'. He baptized me and under I went. I always hoped that it would be a "magical" moment, but part of me thought it probably wouldn't be. I couldn't have been more wrong. I came out of that water so emotionally charged. There were 35 of us tonight, so I had to keep moving, but as made my way to the changing room I stopped to just take it all in and to cry. It was so powerful. Even as I type now, I could cry. And I was so blessed to know that Jared, Eben and Aliza got to watch. I hope they will remember this and one day make the decision to do it to. Jared already has plans this summer for his Dad to baptize him, and I am so excited for that! Praise God for an amazing way to experience His power!!

I've included some pics of the fam {Nora's oreo face - just so you know what the black stuff is :) }and of course the last pic is of my baptism. I LOVE that Jared just happened to get me under the water. If you click on the picture it will make it bigger. The dark spot to the far left is my hair. I feel so empowered tonight! Even the chaos and normal frustrations of bedtime with the girls (mostly Nora) didn't damper it. I am so blessed to have been incredibly blessed by God tonight!! I wish all of you could have been there with me. I hope this post and picture will help you to feel like you were a part of it too :) I love you all!

Eben's Smile :)

Here's Eben's smile in all its glory :) [That's a baby tooth still hanging there. Can you imagine what an adult tooth is going to look like? ... enter awkward stage ;) ] Gotta love that kid! Potty training starts tomorrow - wish me luck...and Nora too!!!

It's March!

Not a whole lot to report here. I dyed my hair (see pic below)...but what's new there?! I'm always changing it. :) I go back and forth on what I think of it, but everyone else seems to like it...well, I think the jury's still out for Jared ;) I was going to post some pics of the kids, but realized I don't have any of Eben since the last one I posted. I've been trying to take less pictures, so I guess I've been successful in that :) I just took the pic of Aliza right before I posted this. I will take one of Eben later today and post that since you just have to see his teeth. I took one of the front top teeth out last weekend. Both of the top two were sticking almost straight out. It looked so ridiculous! They were getting pushed out so much that it looked like he had lost two teeth on either side of them. Oh boy. Anyway, I got one out and although it was sticking out, it took a little work to get out. Eben was screaming, but in the end let me take it out. The adult tooth could already been seen once it was removed. I told him if he worked the other one for awhile it would come out a lot easier. I think I can already see the adult one under this one too. Eben and his crazy teeth :) So, check back to see his smile later today or tomorrow.

Ah yes, I guess I do have a little news - potty news that is! Last night was Aliza's first night without a pull-up and she did great! She had been dry for about 5 nights, so I figured it was time to get rid of them. She feels pretty special not having to wear them. We've very proud of her! This Saturday Nora and I are going to a "pull-up home party". Not really sure what it all entails, but there is nothing to sell, so that's kinda nice :) I'm going to attempt starting potty training with Nora after that. Actually, maybe I should start on Friday so we have the whole weekend to work on it...hmm, I'll have to think about that. I have learned my lesson though, and if she isn't taking to it within a week, we'll stop and re-visit it at another time. I'm not really in a huge hurry. I sort of feel like she'll do well. She sits on the potty almost every day (after asking), but very rarely does she do anything. I think I'll buy her some my little pony panties for some incentive :) So, here's hoping potty training is a quick success!!

Jared has sent his resume to 3 places in Michigan (Lansing, Holland, and somewhere in the Detroit area), so all prayers for there to be an offer would be appreciated. I'm not holding my breath, though am encouraged that at least he's finding some options and he's applying. God's got it in His hands, so no worries here. We are content where we are and have things to look forward to while we are here.

Happy March everyone!!

Snow Day???

So, here's a good one. Jared came in this morning before he was leaving and said that pretty much all the schools were canceled except Eben's. He figured they might try to get a morning in so they don't have to make it up later. As the morning went on, I flipped to the news channel, but it was always so far away from "n" that I just decided to check online on the school website. I remembered that one day it was closed there was an announcement posted. Nothing there. I checked just before I sent Eben out too. Still nothing. He goes out about 8:20 to wait for the bus. Just after 9:00 I hear the door to the kitchen open and in walks Eben. He says, "Mom, there's no school." He was covered in snow and looked on the verge of crying. I told him I was so sorry that he was out there so long, that it wasn't listed on the website. By then, he was crying. I felt so horrible. Nothing like a mom who sends their kid outside on a snow day and has to have the neighbors send the poor kid inside after 40 MINUTES! Yeah, I felt like a real jerk. He got some hot chocolate to warm up with and wanted to snuggle a little. I still feel bad thinking back on it. Even as I put him to bed tonight he told me how cold his feet were this morning and how he didn't like standing outside for so long when there wasn't school. Not helpful for my feelings of guilt. (sigh) Oh boy...

So, it was a snow day. We did crafts, played My Little Ponies, had a special "snow day" snack, and the kids even got to come down during quiet time and exercise with me. (They were really excited about that! I was too; only b/c this was the second time I've exercised in months!!) We had a good day, and I came away with a new mantra. Playing with your kids makes life much better! It seems really simple, but the fact is I so often want them to play on their own, and when they don't want to, or keep bugging me to play with them, I just become frustrated. But today, I played and I had fun. And the time flew by. I hope I can remind myself of that more often. I'm going to really try to consciously enjoy these little blessings I have! In a flash I will long for these days - the carefree laughter, the screams of delight, the inquisitive questions, and infinite imaginations. Now is the time to treasure these moments :)

On another note, we are expecting some more snow tonight. Yipee... We really don't have any place for it. At this point we have to move the snow in order to have a place to move the snow to. So ridiculous! Most likely there will be another snow day tomorrow, so I've got another good opportunity to enjoy those kids! ;) I've included a couple more snow pics. I was thinking I took a picture of Jared by the snow piles at the end of our driveway, but I guess I just got it on video....after the video of him jumping off the roof. The kids loved that!! The last picture is one of Eben in a suit coat that my Dad wore. Not sure why it looks all squiggly. (Notice another tooth missing from the bottom?! That makes 5 total and two more loose on top!) We got the coat from my Mom quite awhile ago and never put it on. Obviously, its much too short in the arms, but I wanted a picture of in nonetheless. It will be passed on to Will, who will hopefully be able to wear it now :)

Happy February :)

Oh yeah, Jared got news today that along with closing yet another site (in Sandwich, England), that they will be doing layoffs again this year. No date for sure, but we're guessing it will be in the next couple months. Supposedly 10-15% of R & D will be gone. Now we wait... Fortunately for us, we know Who is in charge and we're not worried :) More updates on that whenever we get them.

Me

Today's post is a big different than usual. I'm going through a book called, The Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free in my Bible study group. Today the lie we focused on was God is not enough. Looking at that, I know that its a lie; however if thoughts become beliefs and beliefs lead our actions, am I really acting like I believe that? I've been thinking about it all day, and I really believe I have been sucked into that lie. I know that God is enough, but do I really believe it? If I'm being honest I don't believe God is enough. It doesn't show in my actions. I want to believe it, but the world around me tells me and shows me so many things that I think I need. Sure, I need God plus a job that meets my needs, plus a perfect marriage, plus obedient kids, plus a nicer house, plus, plus, plus.... The list could go on and on, and yet the Bible tells me in the 73rd Psalm that "my flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Did you get that? My Portion. My Portion Forever. Wow. How does that change me? How should it change me? If I'm going to believe the Truth that God is enough, its got to show in my actions. I don't really know what that looks like completely, but I have a feeling it has something to do with being content with what I have, and prioritizing what really matters in my life. Maybe its inviting God into the tough days and allowing Him to be enough for that moment. Life is crazy, and busy, and full of so many things and people that pull me in such different directions. Perhaps believing that God is enough starts with believing, really believing, that what the world offers isn't enough... I don't need more stuff, I need more of Him. I don't need to have what other people have, I need to have faith that God will "give me this day, my daily bread" My basic needs have always been met. I have seen Him meet my needs. God is faithful. God is all I need... I've been thinking of a song that a girl from college wrote. I think its called, "You are More than Just Enough". Maybe I'll bring it to group on Thursday. I don't know if this got you thinking at all, but if it did, I hope you will dig a little deeper and see what God might speak to you about. And if you are living like you believe God is enough, then maybe you can pray for me. Pray that I will recognize the lie and embrace the Truth that sets me free, that I'll find practical ways to make that belief become an action.

Thanks for listening. I've got to go find that CD...

camera crappers, party, and snow

Friday evening I was taking pictures of various items around the house for the scavenger hunt on Saturday (Aliza's b-day party). As I was about to snap the pic of the changing table in the office, the camera slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor. After a choice 4-letter word, I bent down to pick it up. The lens cover wouldn't close, nor would the zoom, and the picture on the screen was a big blurry blop. (sigh) Yeah, I totally busted our camera :( How frustrating, especially on the heels of our gps dying. Well, its not totally dead, but I prefer seeing a whole screen when I'm getting directions and not a clear half, with a majorly fuzzy half. Darn electronics. Of course, we still have the random issues with our tv too. We'll just be sitting there watching and all of a sudden - black screen. It just turns off. We have to unplug it, wait a couple seconds, then replug. Annoying, but at least manageable... if I'm finding positives ;) So, we ended up getting a new camera yesterday, just in time for the party. Oh, and you'll love this - I took ONE picture of her party. Her first friend party and I have ONE picture to show for it. Lovely. The kids had a lot of fun. We did the scavenger hunt, turn shifts sending the kids out to the bounce house in the garage, and did tatoos too. What's a four-year old party without tatoos :) A good time was had by all!

I've included the ONE party picture as well as some snow shots. (We can usually walk under the tree branches- in the pic- that are laying on the ground!) We got over a foot in about 6 hours last week! It was crazy. Its still weird to drive around and see so much snow all over. We've still got a good 8 inches on the roof. I hope it holds...

Oh yeah, in other news, Eben lost another tooth. I figured after the bottom two, he'd lose the top two, but no - it was another bottom one. I think the adult teeth were pushing those little ones out. Right now he still has 3 loose teeth. Good times :)

Christmas Break

Today officially ends our Christmas break - our first one away from family. (first pic is our Chrismas dinner - ham and all!) Sometimes it seemed like it would never end, yet now I think, "Wow, its already come and gone!" I guess that's how it goes these days. We went to the local golf course to sled, hit the bowling alley, went out for breakfast one day, and swam at one of the hotels in town. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera for any of that :( Oh well. The kids also loved the "staying in" bag - a brown lunch bag filled with things to do in the house, such as color, marbles, play-doh, puzzles, computer, etc... They loved picking something out of the bag! It made the otherwise 'normal' idea of playing games (or whatever was drawn) seem exciting. I highly recommend it! A big Christmas gift hit has been the bounce house. We've blown it up several times in the garage and the kids have at it. They get bundled up, and can only bounce for 1/2 hr at most, but they have fun! They have also loved playing their new computer game, "Charlie Church Mouse". They play it at least once a day! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Van!

Jared and I have been able to go out twice, and tonight makes #3! We went to a movie the first time, and then on New Year's Eve our church had a married couples dinner/game show night. It was a lot of fun, and I even won one of the 'minute to win it' games. I had to be the first one to get a cookie from my forehead into my mouth w/0 using hands. It only took me 3 attempts. And our reward? A whole bunch of movie passes! How perfect for us :) Today is Jared's birthday, so we'll just be heading out for a nice quiet dinner just the two of us. I'm looking forward to it!!

We've had lots of fun, but not without a little sorrow too. My Grandma Lloyd was reunited with Grandpa in Heaven on December 28th. It was not a huge surprise, but still hard to take, especially so close on the heels of losing Grandma Schilling. I found it interesting that both of my Grandma's were born just a month apart, and they died just 2 1/2 months apart. So, now I am officially 'grandparentless'. So weird. Jared said I can share his Grandmas with him. :) This coming Friday I am off to MI again for a funeral. I hate to leave Jared alone with the kids, but he seems fine with it. Friday and Monday shouldn't be too bad since Eben will be in school all day, and Aliza will be gone for the morning. Its the weekend I feel bad about. That's a long time alone with the kids. I am planning on asking a friend to take Eben Saturday morning, so he has a little bit of a break. Please pray for him with the kids. They are a handful sometimes ;)

Hope all of you have a wonderful 2011 :)
Love from CT