School Boy

I have gotten so far behind on this blog that I just feel overwhelmed everytime I look at it. So I keep neglecting it and hoping maybe the pictures will just post themselves and the cute witty captions will just magically appear. But alas day in and day out I open it to get to the other cute and witty blogs that are timely updated and everyday I see the same pictures of my kiddo's swimming. Where do I even start? I have pics of the kids riding their bikes, pics of our summer project (landscaping the front of our house), tons of pics from the week we spent in Disney World (yay!), pics of the kids playing McDonalds, and picks from a recent visit to my mom's house. Thus I just sit and think..."I should really blog something"....and then I don't do it.

So I'm going to take baby steps. We're going to start with Aiden's first day of Preschool which happened this week! He has been so excited to start school but when the day finally arrived the big guy changed his mind. He decided maybe school wasn't for him after all. I could tell while I was taking his picture on the front porch his mood was changing. He went from excited, to not so sure, to mad at me for taking pictures, to nope don't want to go to school mom I changed my mind. I felt bad for him. I too don't like new things when I don't know what to expect. His big tears almost made me cry. But he has a wonderful teacher that came outside and talked to each one of the kids before going in and she spent a little extra time with Aiden. And eventually she took his hand and walked him hand in hand inside the school. Away he went. And then I prayed...prayed he would truly enjoy his time at school....all while I truly enjoyed taking only 1 child for a jog in the stroller instead of two. It was much easier pushing only Makayla. So when the time came for me to pick Aiden back up I wasn't sure what to expect but out the door ran my very excited, grinning from ear to ear, big 4 1/2 year old! He loved it! (Hip hip hooray!) So when the 2nd day of preschool rolled around, instead of being the last one reluctanly going inside....he was the first one running inside! That was a nice feeling. He has since decided he is going to stay in preschool forever and is definitely not going to kindergarden next year! I'm just glad he's enjoying it that much.
So without further ado...I present to you....the school boy....

Hot hot hot!

I am so thankful these days we have a pool to cool off in...
Aiden has learned to swim this summer and its been a big relief to know he can keep himself above water. And Aiden has turned into quite the fish too. He loves to jump off the side (or the diving board), dive down and touch the bottom, and stay under as long as he possibly can.

Makayla has gotten really good at using her floaties. It's quite impressive how she can kick her legs and get to just about anywhere she wants to go. I will be more relaxed though when this girl actually learns how to swim....you have to watch her like a hawk.

check out my muscle woman:

And a picture of myself i actually like...haha...so I had to include it.

Jamaica Missions Trip

Is it really the first day of July? Yikes! What happened to June? Oh yes I know what happened....swimming as much as possible because Aiden is a little fish now, a missions trip to Jamaica with our church youthgroup, helping my parents pack up their house, my birthday, and helping my parents move...Yes I believe that would pretty much sum up the month of June. It was a busy one...but I digress.....

On June 11th Kreg and I flew out early early with lots of energetic teens and some other great youth leaders to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had a great trip. The goal was to spread the gospel with all who would listen and praise the Lord because....many listened! We stayed right next to the Montego Bay airport but thankfully flights did not arrive or depart during the late night hours. This was the view from my bedroom window:

We were also directly across from what the locals call "the hip strip" meaning the Sea Wall. It's a great place to walk and witness and that's exactly what we did. We split up into groups and had some awesome conversations with many Jamaicans. The Jamaican people as a whole are very friendly. They love talking with you and don't mind spiritual topics at all so it makes it easy to steer the conversation to Jesus. I was so proud of our teens. Many of them shared their faith for the first time on this trip and all of them shared atleast once, if not mulitple times. In the evenings is when the hip strip was really happeneing. From about 8pm to 1 or 2 in the morning the wall is covered with people and they come blaring their Bob Marley, etc music. I was fair warned that I might not get much sleep but I thanks to the many who were praying for us and my exhausted state by the time my head hit the pillow I slept quite well. Here is a pic of the hip strip:

Our other mission was in the public schools. Surprisingly the public schools in Jamaica actually start with a daily devotional time. So we went into the schools and did their devotion time for them. The kids had an awesome skit that displayed some of the miracles Jesus did as well as his crucifixion. We sang songs with them, hung out with them, and had one of the teens share their testimony/share the gospel. So you may wonder if they have a daily devotional time then whats the need? Don't they already know about Jesus? Yes many of the kids in the public schools have learned John 3:16 as well as other popular verses but from what I could gather its more ritualistic. And because they are learning Scripture in school they have a head knowledge of Jesus but not a personal relationship with Jesus. Our goal was to make them see they have a need for a Savior...we all do...because we have all sinned. Here are a few pics from the schools:





We also went to an orphanage and did some work projects (I don't think I have ever sweated that much in my life). That is my one complaint about Jamaica. It was waaaayyyyyyy hot. You were a sticky, smelly mess from about 8:30am to 11pm when it was lights out. The kids were way sweet at the orphange as well, but sadly that's the one day we forgot to take our camera so no pics of those sweet ones. The hardest day for me was when we went to Westhaven Children's Home, it was a "camp" like place way up in the mountains where severaly to moderately disabled children/young adults spend their days/years either because they are not wanted or because they are too much for their parents to handle. It was challenging because many of them were all over you...wanting to hold your hand and take you all around the camp so there was no "personal space" for those that like that. I am one of them but I was so proud of the teens, especially the guys on our team. I heard zero complaining even though we were totally out of our comfort zones. The hardest part for me was feeding a 15 year old girl a bottle. I don't know what it was...I think it mostly just saddened me...but I was definitely holding back the tears at that point. Because we serve a loving and just God I think some day I will get to see this little girl in Heaven and I can't wait to meet her again in that setting and see her running around and feeding herself!



Of course we also had some fun time while in the Caribbean! We enjoyed the beautiful beaches and ocean as much as we could. One afternoon we went snorkeling and on our last day we went to Dunnes River Falls. It's a huge waterfall that you are actually allowed to climb up. If it were in the States I'm not sure it would be legal in Jamaica....No Problem Man!





It was a great trip and Kreg and I have both said we would definitely go on another mission trip to Jamaica. Next time though I think I'd like to go in Janaury...not June! My most apprehensive moments came just before leaving whenever I thought about being so far away from my kids but God blessed and sustained. And Aiden and Makayla did great with both Kreg's parents and my parents. After 8 days Aiden didn't even want us to come home! I guess its a blessing to have such well adjusted children.

A New Phase

On April 30th we entered a new phase in life, involving practice schedules, concession stand hours, uniforms, games, and cheering my heart out (sometimes while freezing and/or wet)....yep you guessed it...Little League. It is hard for us to believe we have a son old enough to play t-ball! So far its been a great experience for him. He is one of the smaller ones on the team (being not quite 4 1/2) but he's learning and we're proud of him for trying. More than anything this year we just want him to get the exposure of being on a team with other kids and get a feeling for how the game is played. Next year maybe we'll work more on technique!
This is Aiden on opening day. We were so excited for the day but it turned out to be FREEZING that morning so it wasn't quite as fun as we had all imagined. Aiden told me he wasn't sure he wanted to play anymore because baseball is cold! I very hopefully reassured him that not all the games will be that cold. Thankfully we're going to see some 80 degree temps this week and maybe I'll even be able to work on a little tan while I cheer him on.

Aiden's team is the Reds. They are a good little team too. They don't keep score in the t-ball league and I like that so I have no idea if his team has won or lost their last 3 games but there were definitely some good plays made. In the picture below Aiden is in the bottom row on the left.

And here is a pic with some of his teammates as they all huddled together next to one of the bathrooms on opening day to try and get out of the wind for a few minutes. We all thought it was going to be warmer than it turned out to be so no one was dressed warm enough. When Aiden got up to bat his little fingers were so cold he could barely grip the bat. I felt so bad for him.

Kreg informed me as I sat there freezing on opening day that I better get use to it because I just began a long career of sitting in the stands watching our son play sports. I told him I will gladly sit there...next time I will just dress warmer! And that I did...at his next game I wore 2 pairs of pants, my old soccer socks, 3 shirts, a sweatshirt, a fleece jacket, and a hat and I was nice and warm! So I say cheers to many more years of little league (or soccer, basketball, football, etc)...whatever he decides he wants to play.

Easter

No time to talk....at Panera "stealing" the internet for a minutes since our internet isn't working at home. My wonderful husband and father-in-law are working on it but until its up and running again I'm a bit limited on my world wide web abiltiies. Though I do feel a bit better having just checked me e-mail, paid bills, and read through facebook while having a yummy lunch. I wish I had time to tell you all about Easter but I only have time for pics....must go get my hair highlighted! I usually get my hair highlighted when spring rolls around each year...something fun for the summer months...but the real reason is because Kreg's 10 year class reunion is a week from Saturday...yep gotta get that highlight!

Home Improvements!

I love home improving! At the end of June we will celebrate 1 year in this home. I have really enjoyed making this house into a home. While I dream of one day building a new house (that needs no home improving) there is something to be said for the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that goes along with home improvement projects. (It's almost addicting.) We started on day 1 by tearing one of the kitchen walls down and we've continued to slowly make changes. (inside and out) I'm only about 5 weeks late but as promised here are a few pics of our new swing set. It is yet to be totally finished but it has swings and a slide and well that's pretty much all that matters to the kiddo's.

My dad was a trooper that day. After working all morning on his own yard, he came up and worked all afternoon with Kreg. Thanks dad!

The next addition is that of the kids quilts! Check it out:

I'm so happy with the way they turned out. My next project will be putting decals of their names over their beds.
Another addition is that of our messaging center in our kitchen (complete with a decal of Prov. 3:5-6 I did on my cricut). This is a vision I was very excited to see come to fruition. Makes me feel so organized!

And our latest addition is that of a new oven! My wonderful husband found a fantastic new oven on craigs list for me. He was happy because we got a steal of a deal and I was more than happy because I now have an oven that no longer burns everything!! I can bake cookies again and they turn out golden instead of charcoal flavored! I guess Kreg must have gotten tired of eating my charcoal meals. : ) yay! Its got more bells and whistles then I dreamed of having and even does convection cooking (speed baking). I tried it when I baked cookies last week and loved it!

ps...Easter pics to come soon...

Life Update

It's been a busy winter. Sorry faithful readers for the lack of updates.
In February we welcomed our 4th nephew! Baby Bennet as Makayla and Aiden refer to him! He is a cutey and then just last week we welcomed our 3rd niece, Rebecca Lyn! (babies, babies everywhere!)
The kids with Baby Bennet:

Makayla is particularly one very proud cousin!

Sweet little Rebecca:

I must say it was fun to visit this time around and not be the one being visited! I am enjoying holding these sweet babies and then being able to hand them back to their mommy's! :) I know my time will come again one day but I'm really enjoying life right now. The kids are starting to get more independent and they are really starting to play together which has been wonderful! And now that its actually starting to feel like spring outside we are enjoying the outdoors once again and loving every minute of it. This weekend Kreg is building the kids a swing set! They are very excited (as am I). Between that, Aiden's new bike he got for his birthday, and the sandbox I have a feeling we could just pack up the indoor toys and put them away for a few months because the kids are going to live outside til fall!
Something we are seeing a lot more around here is Makayla playing dress up. She is most definitely our little princess and her love for shoes has continued to grow, especially princess shoes. And it really doesn't matter what she's wearing (sweat pants, footie pj's, jeans,) some sort of shiny are sparkly shoe is often an added accessory.

Just for kicks here's a cute pic of the kids water color painting the other day. They pretty much do everything together. If one does something then the other has to do it too.

My big winter project has been quilts for the kids beds. Yep that's right...Stacey the quilter! I've had a lot of fun making them too. I got inspired when I saw a boy/girl room in a pottery barn magazine but knew Kreg would never let me spend mega bucks on the kids bedding so I got really ambitious and decided to make 2 quilts. (a friend at church helped me figure out how to put them together.) So without further ado...here is Makayla's quilt:

And Aiden's:

There room is painted in a light green color. And if you notice both quilts are tied together with John Deere fabric (the John Deere green looks great up next to the light green of the walls). And anyone that knows my kiddo's knows John Deere is the perfect way to go for them. (Not sure if there is such a thing as a John Deere princess but if not then Makayla could certainly be the first.) I have finished quilting both quilts but have yet to put the binding around the edges. (That's next week's lesson with my friend from church)
Between the quilts, the kids, and studying and preparing to teach Bible Study each week I've stayed pretty busy through the winter and I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer outside watching the kids play! If you're lucky maybe I'll get a picture of the new swing set on here before they grow out of it! :)