You Are More

This song is written so beautifully, the lines "Don't you know who you are? What has been done for you?" speaks directly to my heart. There was a few years chalked full of rebellion in my life and this song reassures that I've been remade... yes people it's possible. If you listen, truly listen to these lyrics and don't tear up, then you must have some sort of clogged tear duct issue!

Happy Friday!

We've had a really great week and we're so happy for the weekend ahead. We'll continue our search for a suitable family vehicle which has been pretty fun thusfar. Since we're not in a hurry to buy something immediately, we can really take our time and weigh the benefits of having a van versus a crossover. Last Saturday we testdrove a Traverse which looks like the frontrunner at this point. Although, if we found a van that we felt was ideal we wouldn't scurry from the idea of being mini-van drivers. We'd happily join the ranks of mini-van owners!
I hope you enjoy these pictures from this week!Superdad!!!

Thanks, Joel for being such a powerhouse parent while I get dinner ready! What a blessing.

Even Norah's helping look a new car... she does her searching online folks!

Henry's teasing us with his sleeping at night habits. Wednesday night he slept 9:30-5:30, ate, went right back to sleep and, I had to wake him at 8:30 Thursday morning. Last night he slept from 9:30-1, then up again at 3:15 and 7. He's getting it though, slowly but surely.... we will be sleeping thru the night soon.

All is well.

At the kids' well baby visits, I mean.

Henry's consistently sticking with his football/hockey player stature coming in at 18lbs.5oz. which is the 96th percentile and measuring 26.5inches long which puts him in the 93rd percentile for his height.

At Henry's 2 month visit in December, his pediatrician had suggested that we see a specialist for Henry's head which was looking just a bit lobsidded. They set up an appointment for March 7th and told us to reposition him to lay on his right side, hold him more and get him on his tummy as much as possible. The specialist appointment would be to basically determine if Henry would need a helmet to help reshape his head. So..... we've been repositioning him, carrying him around in the Bjorn more and most importantly: praying like warriors! At his 4 month checkup last week, his doctor said he looked like a different baby and we should feel comfortable canceling the appointment. Praise God! Let that be reiterated: Praise God! We'll continue with the repositioning, holding him a crazy amount, and prayer. Although... carrying the big boy around may have landed Joel and I in chiropractic care for the rest of our lives!

Norah's weighing in at 24lbs. 9oz. (48th percentile) and measuring 32in. long (50th percentile). She is doing very well too. Now she's learning her colors; if you could hear her say white("ite") or blue("boo") your heart would melt! She's also learning to share with her little bro. This is proving to be quite difficult at times... I think it's because her little bro is so jolly and funloving that he makes sucking on toys look like fun. He makes it look so fun that I've even started chewing on teething rings! just kidding.

The older these two get, the happier I get that their so close in age. I'm getting so excited for this summer; to watch them play outside in their kiddie pool, to pull them around in the wagon and, especially for our evening bike rides and trips to the park! But, for now we're happy to be inside on the cold days. Cuddling, coloring, wearing our pjs all day and drinking hot cocoa are just fine for us now. All is well.

Attempt 846 for a good picture

That's right folks- we've tried and tried to get a halfways decent picture of Norah and myself and we've came up empty-handed. Here is just a small fraction of pictures Joel took of us last week in Florida.....Once our little cuddlebug sees the camera come out, she scrunches up her nose, closes her eyes, flashes a cheesy smile and instantly it feels as though I'm wrestling an alligator!

And, clearly I need Norah to make up for my lack of photogenicness(is that even a word?)

Happy Monday!

Florida.

Our time in Florida was very short but, very sweet! The weather was a bit cool compared to the 80's they had been having but, if you were in the sun and, out of the wind it felt ever so heavenly! Here are a few pictures we took at the park.

I guess this is what you get when you try to get 5 grandkids to look into the sun for a picture!!

Enough said.

Happy Tuesday!

This past weekend we flew down to Florida to spend some much needed time with the Skalets. Even though we were only there for 3 days, we had such a blast and were so so glad we went! The kids did FAN-TAS-TIC on the airplane and we were so proud of them! More pictures to come in another post but, for now I'll leave you with these 2. Can you look at them without laughing? I certainly can't!

Happy Tuesday!

New Toys!!!!

This little activity center has been waiting downstairs but, Henry is now big enough to use it so the kids were surprised with it when they woke up from their naps last week. Every time a new toy appears in our house, Norah opens her mouth real wide and says "Oooooo". It's pretty neat to have her there to show Henry how each little toy and rattle works.
It looks like Norah's walking around aimlessly back there but, she's actually desperately searching for a cup holder for her sippy.....
and when she couldn't find one, she just made one out for Henry's back!

staring contest...ready...set....go!!
Can someone remove this doll, please!
Henry's not about to share his new toy with Norah's doll!

Thanks so much to Joel's siblings for buying Henry this fun activity center, it's so fun to watch him playing with the little toys and figure it all out. Many hours of fun to be had with this great gift!

Happy Birthday Joel!!

Ooops, I forgot to publish this post 8 days ago!! Anyway, we celebrated Joel's birthday on Superbowl Sunday and had a great day relaxing at home. Joel wanted to rush home after church because there was a hockey game on and he LOVES watching hockey..... maybe nbc knew it was his birthday so they televised the game for him???:)

I'm excited for Norah and Henry to get older so I don't have to sing "Happy Birthday" by myself! I think Norah had the best seat in the house to watch the game! She did this all herself.... lined the stroller with her blanket and climbed right in!
It was a really nice day. We were happy to be home so our kids could take their normal naps and get to bed by 7. Joel and I watched the game but didn't really care who won.And, so we say, we love you Joel more than you know. We love that you keep us laughing and you always take good care of us. We love how excited you get when you talk about snowboarding and future family dream vacations. Most of all, we love the fire you have for the Lord. Thank you for sharing that fire with us and leading our family to glorify God each day! We are blessed to have you!

Yep, she still needs me.

Our little girl wakes up, puts her necklaces on, and she's off! Yesterday, I was going to start breaking up her banana(as I do every morning for breakfast) when she reached for it and said "peas." I stopped peeling it and gave it to her and she slowly peeled it. She took very small bites and looked so proud... I knew she felt like a BIG girl. I walked over to the sink to clean my dish and as I did so I couldn't help but think, this girl is growing up right before my very eyes! Soon she'll be leaving for college, marrying a God-fearing husband, buying a house, clipping coupons etc.... pretty dramatic I know.

While I was by the sink I glanced over at Norah and realized she had eaten the whole banana and now she was trying to eat the peel!! I guess she still needs her mama afterall....:)

This is my husband.

That black spec is my husband blowing out one of our neighbor's driveways. A neighbor that just recently moved into the neighborhood that we haven't even met yet. Norah and I watched him for a while out the window and the drifts were easily 2 1/2 feet deep in some spots. A couple times we looked out and he was pushing the snowblower on his knees! This was not Joel's first driveway he cleared this morning, it was his 5th! And after he came in from blowing snow, he got ready and went to work..... that's just the kind of man he is.

Thank you Joel for all your hardwork and, thank you JESUS for giving me Joel.

Our Own Picasso

Norah has become quite the artist these past couple weeks. With it being so cold outside, the kids and I spend most days couped up in the house. I am completely fine with leaving only a few times a week for church, bible study, and groceries but, we do struggle with cabin fever every now and then. That's why I welcome this little artist with open arms...... or in our case immoblized thanks to her highchair. Around 10:30(ish) after we've read books upon books, played with a bjillion toys and dressed stuffed animals in some of Henry's clothes, we head for the kitchen where Norah works her magic with crayons and cardstock.
Looking for inspiration, I presume!

I thought she was trying out some kind of new age technique I've never seen before but, then she stuck her thumb in her mouth and I realized she just wanted to taste the crayon.