josie's new bike

We found a bike and helmet at a garage sale yesterday for $3.00! Her legs don't quite reach the pedals yet, but by spring time I'm sure she'll be able to use it. For now she just sits on it and makes us push her. Can't you see how excited she is?!

"I'll settle for this slide when we aren't at the park where the BIG slides are."

I have a bazillion photos I want to put up and stories of our summer I want to write, but have had some difficulty making that happen. Our computer just returned to us after two weeks in the repair shop, I've lost my camera charger and so cannot upload new pictures (I refuse to buy a new one until I've searched every nook and cranny in the house), having all three kids home this summer allows less time for computer usage, and the outdoors are regularly beckoning me.

ant graveyard

You may think that Jude is simply trying to figure out what is wrong with his "motorcycle", but no, he is actually checking out his collection of dead ants. Jude kills ants and puts them into his motorcycle for safe-keeping.

nothing in particular and in no particular order

Immediately following the taking of this picture, Josie falls off of the branch. She wasn't hurt.


Jude raided the "free" box at a garage sale the other day. These are his treasures all lined up. Cick on the picture to get a better view. :)



School girs enjoying watermelon after school.

Driving home from our Mother's Day supper at D'Amico where moms AND kids got to dine free. No, Steve doesn't typically drive with his eyes closed.

Eating in Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen.

The library in the Amish School House near my parents' place.

The water cups in the Amish school house. Click on the picture to see some of the names!

Hanging out watching cheese curds being made. This picture should have been in my previous post I think.

Visiting Grandma at the Cheese Factory!

Jeneva and Ahava before their Chinese New Year performance at the Mall of America.

Second cousins

recurring theme...see if you can figure it out

That's my boy!

where young children like to hang out

On the top bunk of course. Looks like Jude can hardly contain his excitement.

sweet josie. 18 month milestones...

...vocabulary at 18 months...

shus (shoes)

shus (cheese)

coat (coat)

NO! (no!)

lamabama (banana)

boppa (papa)

boot (book)

wawr (water)

mlk (milk)

...just josie...

definitely not a vegetarian. loves her some meat!

banana peppers. don't all 18 month olds eat them?

when needing a diaper change, she'll go lay down on the floor and wait

laughs hysterically at jude

folds her hands to pray

signs for "more", "please", and "thank you"

likes to "help" by throwing things in the garbage

pushes kitchen stool all over the house. doesn't push the toys that are actually supposed to be pushed--you know, the ones with wheels that don't scratch the floor

keys, cell phones, remotes, cameras...usually end up in the garbage

LOVES nursery time at church

LOVES people

knows what to do when the camera gets pointed at her

usually gives a little "fake" cry after being corrected or disciplined

favorite room in house: bathroom

favorite bath partner: jude

can do stairs up AND down like nobodys business

"josie! get out of the toilet" is the most common command heard around here

shares a room with big sister jeneva

Josie, we love you so much! You bring so much joy and laughter to our home. We are so thankful to God for entrusting us with such a lovely little lady!

jude takes on the cops

JENEVA: What would happen if the police officer pulled us over?

JUDE: Don't worry, Jen, I will FIGHT them.

at the violin rental shop

chocolate chip cookie delight

Here are my happy cookie makers. They were able to restrain themselves from sampling during the process and so were rewarded at the end with this....

Nothing beats a really good chocolate chip cookie. Not oatmeal. Not peanut butter. They are a close 2nd and 3rd place, but there is just nothin' like 3 sticks of butter, 2 bags of chips and everything else in between.

curls!

very regular

When Jude was sitting on the potty today I said "You've been pooping a lot lately! What are we feeding you?"

"Healthy stuff" he replied. "Healthy stuff makes me go poop."

saturday afternoon

going stir crazy today

can't find my pile of coupons for the grocery store

single mom this weekend (steve's at drill)

cold and windy out

watching more coverage on japan (and praying!)

trying to get some perspective

anxious to hear from the mcalpines in ethiopia

thinking about what i should make for supper

bathed two children

looking at all of the crumbs under my table and thinking i should do something about it

jeneva is working on perfecting her cartwheel

josie is walking around with a carrot in her mouth

jude is wandering around saying "where are my guys? i can't find my guys."

and that is my 4:13 right now on saturday afternoon

...thoughts before bed...

...a hibernating kind of winter...it's now time to bust out of hibernation...sooo ready...

...praying too much for myself, not enough for others.

...two of the greatest clothing inventions...puffy down vests and kid pants with cinch belts.

...i love listening to english speaking children speak fluent chinese.

...music...what the heck would any of us do without it...musically inclined or not!

...all the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness...

...small houses are easier to clean...today i really like my small house.

...let love be genuine...abhor what is evil...hold fast to what is good.

...my 3 1/2 year old boy cannot be that old already.

...will taking vitamins make my hair grow faster?

...bed...thank you, Lord for such a luxury.

...goodnight.

beer?

As we were eating homemade pizza the other night, we were also drinking pop....which usually only comes on pizza night. We were talking about how bad pop is for you and were reading the ingredients on the side of the bottle. Steve says "even beer is better for you than pop is." Jeneva goes: "Mmmm. I like beer. It tastes soooo good. Remember when I had a whole can of beer?"

She was referring to a can of ROOT BEER that I let her drink this summer...the whole can.

the hat is a dead giveaway!

If it weren't for the hat Jude is sporting, one might think he actually was in Africa. I took the picture in such a way that you couldn't see the Cabela's cart he was sitting in so it would look more real. I should have taken off the hat too.

i've got a million teeth...

...and i know what to do when mom points the camera at me. cheese!

breakfast call

Jude is usually awake before the girls are. At night before bed he always needs to know what we are having for breakfast in the morning. This requires some thinking ahead on my part....as well as followthrough. Our breakfasts usually consist of either cereal, oatmeal, smoothies, puff pancakes, eggs, cocoa wheats, or occasionally cinnamon rolls. Jude likes all of these things. He's a breakfast lover. Upon waking up he immediately asks about the breakfast food that was promised to him as he was drifting off to sleep the night before. I always tell him he can go and wake up Jeneva. He runs to the stairs, opens the door, and says up the stairs "Jen, it's time to get up, we're having (insert breakfast food)!" He is a creature of habit. This happens nearly every single morning. I love it. Unfortunately he will outgrow this someday.

ever cry over your hair?

Well, I have been crying periodically over the past couple of days. It's not a *bad* haircut. Just totally completely not what I was envisioning or what I *thought* I described to her. I'm not quite sure which part of "below the chin in the front" she didn't understand. And the back I wanted much shorter, but because of the botched up front, I didn't want to tell her to go shorter in the back because then it would have looked even worse. Am just glad my hair grows fast. Okay, just had to vent. I'll get over it soon.

saturday night ramblings

Lately I've been able to get up before the kids. About a half an hour. My new morning routine consists of drinking a tall glass of cold water (this only precedes the coffee intake), reading and praying for a few minutes, and starting breakfast. So far, it's good and is a better start to the day. Please don't judge me all of you early morning risers who already have this figured out.


I've been really bad about taking pictures lately (I know grandparents would like some current pix). Must.Do.Better. Not to mention the four thousand pictures I've transferred from our old computer to our new one and haven't taken the time yet to organize them or learn how to upload them here. So until then, I'll just talk and you'll have to visualize. Tomorrow I will take pictures, but I can't promise publication.


In case you haven't heard yet, there's another snow storm coming tonight. Yes, ANOTHER one. Everyone always says that we've been having "good old fashioned snow storms." Why are they old fashioned? Did they have better/bigger storms back in the olden days?



Usually Steve does bedtime, but tonight I was putting Jude to bed while Steve was upstairs putting the girls to bed. Jude told me to do the "say after me" prayer. So, I just talked to Jesus aloud with pauses after each phrase so Jude could repeat them. He repeated each one with his eyes glued on me, a huge smile on his face, and sincerity in his heart. I could have just prayed forever. It was one of the most precious things.



My friend, Sara, is having her long awaited baby NEXT month! I can't wait. Only God knows the gender. I *think* it's going to be a boy. I'm usually wrong. So, I guess that means it will be a girl.



We got a frog and a fish this morning. They both died this afternoon. This is NOT good. I won't elaborate. (And I hope that the person who gave us these critters doesn't read this....I'd rather tell her in person).



A big pot of soup and crusty bread always tastes so much better when shared with others.



There is crazy stuff going on in the world. There's always crazy stuff going on, but it just seems extra crazy right now for some reason.



11:00 is much too late for this 30 something mom to be up. Lying here on the couch typing feels nice though and it's tempting to just fall asleep here. My table isn't totally cleared off from supper tonight (most of the dishes ARE done though) and there are random Mr. Potato Head parts lying on the floor. The last two swallows of my tea are cold. The paper map hanging in Jude's room right above his head just fell down on him and he didn't wake up. My poor husband is at work tonight and will probably be snowed in there at 6:30AM when he should be coming home.



Good Night.

i hope tomorrow...

i hope the kids sleep in

i hope steve hears back soon about the job change

i hope i can enjoy my family and not worry about the house being in disarray

i hope i can survive in the morning with no coffee in the house

i hope i can think of something creative to make for breakfast

i hope we can get to trader joe's in the morning

i hope i can creatively and inexpensively decorate jude's room

i hope josie's teeth aren't bothering her

i hope jude's nose isn't bleeding

i hope i can get up early enough before the kids do

i hope i remember to drink enough water

i hope i can get a shower in before noon

i hope they still have the glasses i want to order at costco

i hope it feels warmer

i hope jeneva likes the new bedsheet i bought for her bed

i hope everyone will get along and be happy

i hope i don't feel annoyed

i hope a magic fairy will come and wash my dishes throughout the day for me

i hope i don't get sick

i hope i can help someone in some way

i hope for a good nights sleep. g'nite!

provision

I was trying to take a little nap this afternoon, but my mind wouldn't let me. I had a conversation with a friend just last night about how God provides in such unexpected ways. I was just reflecting on how He's provided for us in the past several years. Nothing huge and earth shattering. But big to us none-the-less and enough to remind us how much He cares for us and provides for us what we need (and so much more!). TWO times in the past several years we have opened our mailbox to find an envelope containing cash from an anonymous giver. Both times we were in the midst of some minor, but unforseen financial circumstance. And one of those times the cash amount was EXACTLY what we needed to cover our bill. I don't know how these givers knew of our need. They probably didn't. They probably simply sought the Lord and He directed them. God is so good. I am thankful. I want to be like the faithful disciples who gave to us and be sure that I am hearing when and how the Lord wants to use me to bless others too. And then I want to obey. Of course I could list many other ways in which God has provided for us in the past several years. These two incidences are just out of the ordinary and stick out in my mind.

tuesday night ramblings...

I've come to realize lately that I prefer lukewarm coffee over a steaming hot cup of joe. Not tepid. That's too cold (though if it gets cold enough I just add ice and make it an iced coffee). Just 3 or 4 notches below piping hot. And it must have half-n-half. And my "coffee maker", 5 out of 7 mornings, is Jude. He does a mighty fine job of it. I pour in the water. He puts in 4 scoops of grinds, shuts the lid and pushes the "on" button.


I get a lot of satisfaction out of kicking the snow chunks off of the car. The kids rather enjoy it too. The colder it is, the harder they are to dislodge....thus an even greater sense of accomplishment.


The books on my nightstand right now include: the Bible (which I must do more reading of than I do...but it IS there and it does get read and it IS the best one), Until They Bring the Streetcars Back (haven't yet started it, but it's my next read for book club, so I must begin soon), Prodigal God by Tim Keller (came highly recommended by a friend and now I highly recommend it), So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore (she's become a favorite author this year), Son of Hamas (haven't started yet, but want to soon!)...and that's about it as far as "adult" reading goes. Children's books tend to take presidence, but when I have time those are the ones vying for my attention.


We are in the midst of a room change. Jude will be moving downstairs to where our office is/was. An office isn't totally necessary anymore. We've got a laptop and so our desk with paperwork and stuff will go in a corner of the basement. Currently all three kids are in the half story upstairs. It's worked well so far (for Jude and Jeneva to share a room and be in bunk beds), but it will be nice for him to have his own space (he is still sleeping on pink sheets for crying out loud!) and for Jeneva to have a bit of privacy. We got a toddler bed from some friends and I picked up a mattress for it off of Craigslist. I'm excited to decorate with some more boyish looking things for him.


Jeneva is becoming a good reader now in English. She doesn't start English Grammar until 2nd grade because they're still immersed in Chinese, so I'm happy for her progress in her first language so far. We are going to try out a violin teacher for her and once we decide on whether we will rent or purchase a violin we'll start. She's excited!


Steve applied and interviewed for a different position at his work. It's a lateral shift, so probably not an increase in pay, but different responsibility. We think it would be a much better fit for him and for our family. We're anxiously waiting and praying to see what God has for him!


I am encouraged weekly when I get together with 4 other women from church/kids school to pray for our kids and Yinghua. Love it. It's intentional and purposeful and an honor to seek the Lord on behalf of our children with sweet friends.


Jude has aches in his leg every night. We haven't decided yet if it's growing pains, a good excuse to get some yummy medicine, or if it's something we actually need to be concerned about. Hmmm.


Josie is walking a lot. She's pretty proud of herself. She is at that putting-all-things-in-mouth phase. She much prefers pencils, pens, crayons, markers.....you get the idea.


I've been agonizing over the past couple of months as to what to do about my teaching license. It expires the summer of 2012 and I've done nothing to keep it up for the past 3 years since I've quit teaching. Initially I thought I would just let it go. I have no intent of going back to teaching anytime soon (and I was pretty burned out by my final year) and I figured I would just do the required work necessary to get it back when the time would come for me to teach again. I know a lot of people who have just let theirs go as well. How bad is that anyway? Well, I've decided I'm going to keep it up. Not quite sure why, but it just seems like the right thing to do now. I looked into taking classes either online or at a local college, but that is expensive and seems hard. So, here I am frantically signing up for workshops and asking schools that I have any connection to if I can sit in on their professional development workshops. Some success so far! I signed up for a class at the U in February, another workshop in another district for next month as well, and have some connections with schools for the coming year. Now I'm just praying that it will all work out.

That's all for now. I'm feeling hopeful and thankful in the midst of this Minnesota January. Good night!

that's my boy!

lil' punkin'

it's no wonder we call little children "punkins"
can't you see the resemblance?!

make sense?

Jeneva: "You know how you always say 'time flies when you're having fun?'"

Me: "I didn't know that I always said that...but okay."

Jeneva: "Well, when Emma was here and we were playing, we tried to have a really BAD time so that the time would go by really slowly and she wouldn't have to go home so early."

Me: "Did it work?"

Jeneva: "Not really. It's really hard to try and NOT have fun when you're having so much fun."

untitled

What do I title this one? I'm at a loss, but it's too cute to not post!

three minute interview with the three year old

Why do you think that we named you Jude?

Because I AM Jude.



How many brothers and sisters would you like to have?

I would have 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11.



What is your favorite color?

Red.



What is God like?

He likes zebras and giraffes and he likes us.



If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

To nursery and to Beffelham (apparently we need to get out more)



What do you want to be when you get bigger?

A farmer. Or maybe a Fireman driver.



What's your favorite thing to play?

Tractors and Firetrucks and Animals.



What do you want to help Mama do?

Anything. (sweet!)



What do you want to help Papa do?

I want to help him scoop snow. And throw it too.



Who is your best friend?

Jeneva.



What is one thing that you wish you could do?

I wish I ride a horsey.



What is your favorite book?

Animal stories.



How old are Grandpa and Grandma?

They're 6 and a half.



What is something you want to do when you are 4?

I want to be a girl and go to school and then I want to be a man and drive a car.



What is something that scares you?

Firetrucks coming to crash me. (I wonder if this is a phobia of some kind)



What is something that would make you laugh really hard?

You. (at least somebody thinks I'm funny)

Read this post from 2 years ago by Jeneva

in the "wild"

On our way to Cabela's recently, we were having a conversation about how Minnesota isn't JUST the city that we live in. In fact MOST of the beautiful state of Minnesota is woods, lakes, farmland, elk, deer, bears, wildlife...

She said it would be fun to live among the wild creatures in a place that LOOKS like Cabela's.

So, how does she look? Is she in her element? Maybe a little camo would help. The scarf, by the way, was knitted by her! She's recently taken up finger knitting.

december blizzard 2010

Snow falls.

A lot.

Continuously.

At five inches it's time to make a quick run to store for supplies.

Friday. Saturday. Sunday.

Warnings days in advance.

18 inches.

Can't get out.

Alleys aren't plowed.

Neighbors with snow blowers.

Piles.

Crazy strong husband who shovels better than a snow blower.

Kind neighbors.

Can't get to work.

City buses aren't running.

Plows are pulled off the roads.

Everyone stuck at home social networking all of the drama.

Christmas movies to watch.

More shoveling to do.

More piles.

Ice dams building on roofs.

Cancellations.

Monday and Tuesday school is canceled.

Spinning tires.

Stuck.

Mounds.

Puffy coats, snowpants, long johns, mittens, hats, scarves.

Kids love it.

Papa builds a massive snow fort.

Mama pulls kids on sled.

Hot chocolate.

More shoveling.

Sleep.

Be of good cheer! A white Christmas is definitely here!

the Sunday before Christmas 2010

a Haiku about the snow today

Today I taught Jeneva about a Haiku Poem (5-7-5 syllables). This is what I just found in her journal:

Sno is soopr colld.
I gust lic too plla in it.
Mama hats the cold.

what's up?

* Josie is now ONE.
* Jude will be THREE on Monday.
* So many things (cooking, cleaning, parenting, consistency, washing dishes, money, grocery shopping, taking classes) I'm currently finding overwhelming.
* I'm looking into taking classes at a local college so my teaching license won't expire.
* Steve will be out of the Guard in one year.
* Josie loves avocados.
* Jude loves rice with soy sauce.
* Jeneva loves sugar.
* I feel like I'm tired all.of.the.time.
* I want to start running again, but I don't want to start running again.
* I love our new bracelet styles. Gearing up for the big BBC craft fair.
* At night time when I shut the lights out: "But I can't even see my hand in front of my face!" -Jude (every night)
* Josie is standing on her own, but not taking steps.
* The weather this fall was absolutely perfect.
* Our garage siding looks much better.
* Breakfast is my favorite time of the day with the kids.
* Laundry never ends! I'm glad I don't mind it. But about that dishwasher...
* I just made the kids run around the house outside in their pajamas and barefoot (it's 40 degrees and 9:00...they weren't falling asleep)
* I'm going to make Pumpkin Chili tomorrow.
* I'm looking forward to staying in Minnesota for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
* I'm trying to savor quality time with the kids. The days are long, but the years short.
* Looking forward to Steve NOT working overnights starting in January.
* Am thankful for my church. And especially the people.
* I feel like organizing things, but I need things to organize with.
* Jeneva needs winter clothes.
* Jeneva is a young lady. Some days I'm frustrated. Some days I'm so proud.
* Jude still can't say "elevator". He says "alligaris". Funny cuz he pronounces everything else so well!
* Jude calls Josie, "Jose". So cute.
* I hate grocery shopping. I love thrift store shopping.
* Tea with milk and honey. Love.

GOODNIGHT!

first time bus ride

It's the simple things in life that are so exciting sometimes.

tucked in

fishing and archery and sleeping in a cabin

Steve took Jeneva and Jude on a 24 hour camping trip to Bayfield last week. They met his dad and brother in the middle of their stay there. It was kind of a last minute, spontaneous adventure. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the kids couldn't have been more excited! Jeneva got to miss a day of school and this mama was thrilled to have 24 hours with just Josie.

Jeneva had the opportunity to sharpen up her archery skills.

Fishing is always the activity of choice. Jude even got to reel in a big fish (northern? crappie? blue gill? I don't remember what kind it was. Can you tell how much of a fisherman I am?)

Three generations. Any resemblances?

Jude on the dock.

if he wears it, they will comment.....

Does the title of this post remind you of a certain ridiculous movie? Iowa, however, is a great place and every time one of my children wears something "Hawkeye" in this Gopher state, someone else out there with eyes for black and gold will say "I'm from Iowa!" or give my child a high five and say "Go Hawks!" We don't really even follow college sports *gasp*, but the kids do feel some sense of ownership for Iowa and know it must be great because Grandma and Grandpa live there. As I was putting this sweatshirt on Jude the other day I asked him who lives in Iowa? (assuming he would say Grandma and Grandpa). You know what he said instead? "God does." I can almost see my folks weeping tears of joy right now. So, THIS is for all of you Iowa lovers out there!