Christmas Fun

We had a busy 5 days of Christmas from December 19th, then 24th-27th.

*We celebrated at Grandpa Rob and Grandma Bonnie's on the 19th, also with Duluth Krugers and Auntie Liz. (We later got to celebrate with Dave & Bethany and Becca too, when we went out to Fogo de Chao for dinner on the 30th with everyone!)

*We celebrated at Grandma Lollie and Grandpa Jeff's with the whole Ennen crew, which is around 50 people, on Christmas Eve.

*We celebrated at Great Auntie Debbi and Great Uncle Block's (Uncle Ron... long story) on Christmas day with excellent prime rib and twice baked potatoes! Yummmmmm

*We celebrated on the 26-27th with Grandma Judy, Bex and Addi, and Duluth Krugers in Duluth. We thoroughly enjoyed our steak (Daddy, Jonah, and Phia) and Lobster (Mommy- Jonah did try it but promptly asked if he could spit it out with tears in his eyes!).

Here are some pictures of our festivities!

All three kids in their Christmas Attire!

Jonah gazing upon the fire while enjoying a sugar cookie

Aphia enjoying her Christmas morning cocoa from Grandma Lollie

Isaiah in his "My First Christmas" outfit! Smiling for Mama!

All of the cousins (Hannah- 8, Emily- 7, Jonah- 5, Aphia- 2, Addison- 1, Isaiah- 8 weeks) with their stockings made by Grandma Judy

Merry Christmas from the Krugers

The Kruger Family wishes you a very Merry Christmas! May the joy of this season bring peace to your heart!

With Love,
Jeremiah, Janine (NeeNee), Jonah, Aphia, and Isaiah

Photos by: Studio 139 Portraits
Card Design by: Designs of Faith

Mary, did you know?

I'm in the middle of wrapping Christmas presents, watching a little bit of the boob tube and I feel the need to blog. Why? Because it's 10:00 p.m. and the only other significant adult contact and conversation I had today was the couple minutes that my friend Tina was here (because Jeremiah's at his Grandpa's tonight). Women need to talk. Word is that they need to say like 800 bagillion words a day. Ok maybe not that much, but sometimes I think I need to say that many. Jeremiah can attest.

Anywho. Onward! So I was nursing Isaiah the other day, listening to Christmas music, sipping on my decaf coffee, eating too many ginger snap cookies (Dad, if you're reading this-and I know you're not- pretend you don't know that I made ginger snaps and act surprised when I give them to you!) while Aphia slept and Jonah watched Dinosaur Train... of course Dinosaur Train... what else?! I was listening to the song, Mary, Did You Know? I think it was the Kenny Rogers version, maybe not. Either way, I was listening to the words that went something like:

"Mary, did you know, that your baby boy would someday walk on water? Did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make things new? This child that you've delivered, would soon deliver you?"

WOW. Did she know? As I listened and looked down at my baby boy, one who will never do these things, I wondered if she knew the magnitude of who she was cradling in her arms. I wonder if she knew the life he would lead. I wonder if she knew what his life would lead to?

But then I wonder what my baby boy will do. Will he love the Lord, like I pray for him all the time? Will he be gentle spirited and kind hearted? Will he make people laugh? Will he lead others to Christ? Will he be athletic? Will he be tall like his dad? Will he be musical? Will he be snuggly? Will he invent something bigger than the internet? Will he be quiet? Will he be loud? Will he say, "Here am I, send me."? Will he marry and have children of his own?

All these things I wonder about my baby boy. But these things seem so little, and are, in comparison to what Mary must have wondered about her baby boy. I cannot fathom being the mother of the Savior of the WORLD. I mean c'mon folks, that's kind of a big deal! But I'm not gonna lie, I really don't envy her. I have enough fear that my kids will contract H1N1, or fall and break their head, let alone go through what Jesus went through, and have to watch that as a mother. Um, NO THANK YOU. I'll pass.

But she did watch him. She watched him as a baby, and kept him safe from King Herod. She watched him as a boy, teaching the leaders in the Temple. She watched him as a man, turn water into wine. She watched him as the Savior, die a brutal death so that we all can have the chance to live. WOW. What a mom. And what a man.

jealous

I have a confession. I'm jealous. I'm jealous of lots of things and lots of people. I hate it. I've lived with this issue my whole life. Around Christmas time it can get pretty bad. The world is shoving materialism down our throats and there's commercials and ads and HUGE SALES for everything under the sun. During this time that I want so badly, only to be focused on Jesus and the miracle that God gave us in this tiny baby, I constantly find myself wanting, wanting, wanting. Reverting back into a little kid with the itch for gynormous, grandios Christmas presents. But that's not even it. I'd be totally fine not getting much for Christmas, maybe not even anything... As long as I could go shop the "after Christmas sales" and buy, buy, buy!! It's ridiculous. I kind of make myself want to puke.

So I'm choosing differently this year. I'm the one who controls my thoughts and attitudes. I'm doing my best this year to give Christmas to my children in stories about baby Jesus. About his mom. About his dad. Where they went and why. With questions for them to ponder and think about. And I'm praying that in this season, I won't look at what others have, that I don't have. I'm praying that I will look upon the 3 little faces looking back at me, and know that I've got the world in them. I've got everything I had always hoped for in them. And I'm grateful for the gift that God has given to me in them. What a blessing to be their mom. What a blessing to be here with them everyday. THIS is what I wanted. THIS is what I want. I have JUST EXACTLY what I've always wanted and in this Christmas season, I need to remind myself of that.

I Love Them Differently

I love my children all equally, but I love them differently. I love them differently, in accordance with their personalities. I love different things about them, because of who they are. But I love them all the same amount.

For instance, I love Aphia because she can be so very bubbly, full of life and she has one of the most spectacular laughs I’ve ever heard. I love Isaiah because he is my little version of Jeremiah- so far. He is calm, laid back, and very predictable- my easy baby. (Although I do have to say, as infants, they’ve all been pretty calm and laid back)

I love my Jones because he says things like, “My hypothesis is that this bag from McDonald’s is mine, not Aphia’s. I’ll go upstairs and look inside to test my hypothesis!” What 5 year old says that? One that watches a lot of Dinosaur Train I guess. But I also love him because he is utterly sensitive. We sing this song about my cousin who is bald (that he taught them) that goes, “Seany got no hair! Seany got no hair!” One time Jonah told me that if he was bald, he wouldn’t want people to sing that song about him because it would make him feel really bad.

The other day, I mentioned something about adoption and Jonah asked what that was. I went on to explain what adoption was to him. I said things like, “Sometimes a mommy has a baby and for some reason she can’t keep the baby and take care of it. She usually loves that baby SO much that she wants a better life for the baby. She cares so much that she gives the baby to someone else, who she thinks will do a really, really great job at loving and taking care of the baby.” I wanted to paint a good picture of these moms for him. I then went into those who do the adopting, saying, “Then there are some people that can’t have babies for some reason and they get to adopt these babies. Or they just want to be able to help someone and love another baby so much. These people are so wonderful because they take those babies home with them and love them so very much. This is just like Sarika (Jeremiah’s cousin- adopted from India). Her mommy and daddy couldn’t have anymore babies, but they wanted another one very badly. So they adopted Sarika, so they could love her and take care of her and give her a wonderful life!”

I can tell that the wheels in his head are turning, turning, turning at this point! He asks a couple questions and I answer them accordingly, mostly about the moms who give their babies up for adoption (Again, I tried to paint them in a really good light for him, saying that they love their babies so much that they give them up to have a better life). He then sits for a while and starts to look very sad, almost as if he’s going to cry. He then says to me, “Ok well I guess when I get married, if my wife is ok with it, then we’ll give our baby up for adoption.” Oh my, oh my, oh my!! That was NOT what I was trying to accomplish!! My bad! BACK UP! No one is going to be giving up my GRANDCHILD!! ☺

I then had to re-explain a bit. I told him that I hoped he’d never have to give a child up for adoption and that when the time was right, God would give a baby to him and his wife and they would be able to take great care of their child and as many children as God gives them. He was much happier with that idea.

I love Jonah for his sensitiveness. For his selflessness. For his tenderness. For his giving spirit. For his desire to do what’s right. Wow.

I have a little girl who...

I have a little girl who...
Is very spunky.
Is very snuggly.
Is very much “girl”.
Loves her brothers.
Loves her mom and dad.
Is a spitfire.
Gives us a run for our money.
Knows what she wants in the moment.
Knows that she wants something completely different the next moment.
Is very strong willed.
Has an enormous temper for a two year old.

What, oh what, do I do with a girl like this?

Let me back up. When she was 18 months old, she had her first “episode”. She had fallen down and hit her head and was crying SO hard that she stopped breathing, started arching back, her eyes glazed over and completely freaked me out! It’s like she’s having a seizure almost- her whole body just seizes up. She finally came to after a few moments, but they were the longest few moments of my life.

This has happened a couple more times since then, when she’s really upset and crying very hard. The last time it happened (prior to last night) was in August. We were at a birthday party, she fell off a bike and started crying. I was able to blow in her mouth, causing her to gasp and she came to, within a moment. It only lasted a few seconds, not long enough for anyone else to notice what had transpired.

Fast forward from August to December and we have another episode. We had just gotten home from Cubbies and I was bringing Isaiah in the house. Jonah was already in the house when I heard Aphia start to cry. I went back out, figuring Jonah had shut the van door and she wanted to or something equally as ridiculous. By the time I reached the door, she had stopped crying, and as I rounded the van I saw her. She was still very much crying, just so hard that it was silent. She was not near the van, but on the other side of the garage and as I saw her I could tell what was happening. She was getting that glazed look and she started staggering towards me. I ran to her and grabbed her just before she would have collapsed on the ground. Her body was very stiff, she was arching back, her eyes were rolling back, glazy, and her lips were already turning purple. I tried to blow in her mouth three times, to no avail. I rushed her in the house talking to her, saying her name, and “Oh God, help me!” In the entry way I could tell that she wasn’t going to come out of this quickly, so I ran up to the kitchen to grab the phone and call 911. The phone was not on the charger and I panicked. I had no idea where it was and called to Jonah to look for it. My cell phone was out in the garage as I had dropped it on my way to grab her from falling. I fell to the floor with her in my arms just tried to keep her head level, so she could breathe when she finally started to. I finally felt her little body start to go limp in my arms, and I knew she was coming out of it. Within seconds of that, she was “back”. She started to wimper and I just held her close to me. She had a very confused look on her face and when I asked her what happened, she said, “I fell.”



When I got the story from Jonah he said that they had hopped out of the van and she asked him if he wanted to see her bike helmet. He said yes, but then decided to run in the house before she could show him. THAT is what made her SO upset. Really? REALLY?! Yes, really. That is how volatile she can be. I say again, “Oh God, help me!”

About 20 minutes later Jeremiah gets home from church and the kids were getting jammies on. I told Aphia to go potty. I hear her yell from the bathroom that Jonah’s Cubbie vest was on the floor and she starts to FREAK OUT! (NOOOOO! Not the Cubbie vest!!! AAAHHHH!!... seriously) Jeremiah walked to the bathroom door and she was starting to do this whole thing again, glazy eyes had started, silent cry from not breathing... But this time, she had been screaming, pounding her fists in the air, and jumping. She then fell over, hit her head on the toilet and that must have jolted her enough not to go into complete spasm mode.

This is too much for a mother to take. I’ve had stinking breathing issues with every person in my family. One day before we had kids, Jeremiah had a major bronchial spasm and couldn’t breathe (I called 911, but he started to breathe within about a minute or two). Then Jonah and his whole birth/not breathing/pneumothorax stuff. Then Aphia and this. And Isaiah and his whole, “I’m not going to cry or cough, thus never getting any gunk up, thus mucus getting lodged in my airway and Mom having to use the bulb syringe to suction it all out.” FOR REAL PEOPLE!! My nerves can’t handle this!! You’re all giving me gray hair!

Anyways. Has this ever happened to you or anyone you know? Most people I talk with confirm that it is truly just her getting SO upset for one reason or another. She’s either hurt or something doesn’t go her way, but either way it’s not a medical thing. It's just her personality, rearing it's U.G.L.Y. head. Any advice on what to do from here on out?



My MIL gave me some great words of wisdom and I’m doing my best to implement them. Stay calm during the spaz attack. Continue talking to her, “Aphia, Mommy’s here and I love you. You need to calm down and use words to talk to me. This type of behavior is not acceptable.” Keep her head level so she can breathe. Keep her safe so she doesn’t get hurt. And deal with the issues when she freaks out a little bit so that hopefully she’ll have better self control when the “big” times roll around.



Any other words of advice you’d like to give? Anything else I should look into? Your help, thoughts, and words mean very much to me! Thank you!

Nostrils and Tooshies

I went in to wake Aphia up from her nap today and she was quite like her mommy, NOT wanting to be roused at all. I rubbed her back, stroked her hair, slowly pulled the covers off, for a good 10 minutes before one eye opened to the slightest sliver. Once she was awake, I sat there while she was still lying there, we began to chat. As we were talking, she said, "Just a minute," and proceeded to stick her little pointer finger way up into her nostril. She dug around in there for many seconds. How can something so gross, when done by a small child be so cute? I just had to laugh! We talked a little more before I heard, "Just a minute," and she did the same thing, while extremely focused, in the other nostril.

Yesterday the wee babe had some of the same antics while at our MOPS leadership meeting. There were sounds- loud, loud sounds emitted from his rear end, that if done by anyone else would turn their face to the darkest shade purple I can imagine. But because it was done by a 4 week old baby, there was laughter, oooh's and aaww's from the room.

I'm glad that there's such innocence in childhood. It makes for laughter and helps me to remember to keep it light.

We've been up to...

LOTS OF GOOD!

We're adjusting just swimmingly to being a family of 5. I love it!

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to for the past two weeks or so.

Here's a picture that I took on November 1st. I did the same thing with Jonah and Aphia each month, to see their growth in the first year of Aphia's life. So each month I'll do this picture to see how the kids grow in comparison to one another.

Jonah was reading his Bible and asked if he could read to Isaiah. Since Jonah doesn't show a whole lot of interest in Isaiah, we were all over that.

Aphia is a little Mommy! Mimicking her own Mommy! Ha!

Is he not the best lookin' little man you ever laid eyes on?!

Sleepy

I've been feeling great! Full of life, energy, completion, and all out goodness! But today I'm sleepy. Last night I went to bed with the promise of a nap the next day. I woke up at 1:30 am with the promise of a nap in 12 hours. I woke up at 7:00 am with the promise of a nap in 6 1/2 hours. And now at 12:30 pm, a beautiful nap looms on the horizon. Just one hour to go. Two kids to get down for naps, one to get up and feed, play with and put back down and then I'm DOWN. Ahhh, blessed nap, how I love you. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining of lack of sleep, because my blessed babe does give me a good 5 hours in a row at night and I'm loving that. But I'm an 8 hour kind of girl.

My body's tired. My mind is tired. I hope my kids are tired. Because nappy time, here I come.

(I'll post more pictures later, when I upload them)

Isaiah John

Isaiah John made his way into the world on Wednesday October 28, 2009

at 8:31 p.m.

7 lb. 1.7 oz, 20 inches long

Today my heart is full of joy and jubilation. I am on the complete opposite end of the spectrum where post-partum depression might be an issue. I'm attuned to this issue as my mom struggled with it in a severe way after the birth of my brother. But as for me today, I'm on cloud nine! Aside from the wonderful things like, amazing friends and family visiting and loving on us, I just stand in awe of the blessings that God has given us. I feel such a peace and completion with our family of 5. This is us. We have arrived. It's an overwhelming feeling of excitement and joy, and an uncontainable contentment that I can barely describe. Whatever it is, I'm loving it, and I'll take it!





Praying that from here on out, the Lord will continue in filling me with this feeling.

On The Verge

We are ON THE VERGE of having a brand spankin' new baby!!

I went into the clinic today to check my BP and have an NST (non-stress test). I'd been having contractions on and off since Monday. They woke me up at 2:30 this morning, being every 4-5 minutes and pretty strong. When I'd get up and walk around they would subside... BUT then my blood pressure would go up. So I'd either have high BP or contractions. I was a little frustrated with that. The doctor came in today AS I was having a contraction, all hot and flush, and we talked it through and decided that Bebe will come tonight!!

She sent me home to get my things in order and I'm going back to the hospital at 6:00 p.m. to get prepped and be ready for an 8:00 p.m. c-section!

This is going to be a LOOOONG couple of hours.

This is my last few hours as a mother of 2. I'll be entering a whole new club this evening! The "I have more kids than I have hands" club. The "There are more kids than parents in this family" club. The "I'm going a little insane" club. The "Wow, look what the Lord has blessed us with" club. It's going to be good. It's going to be rough. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be crazy. It's going to be a blessing and I'm ready for it all. Here we go!

Thanks Sheriff

A couple weeks ago, I was taking Jonah to school and we got stuck behind a garbage truck and another car. After the garbage truck made 3 or 4 stops, I quickly realized that the car right behind him was not going to pass him. Granted he couldn't at first because we were actually stuck in the round-about, but then it was clear sailing around the truck, despite the double yellow line that lasted for several more houses.

Hmm. Dilemma. If I stayed behind the two vehicles I would most certainly be late, dropping Jonah off to school. So I looked up the hill to make sure no other cars were coming and, yes, despite the double yellow line, I zoomed around the garbage truck and other car so I could keep going.

Within milliseconds I heard a *GASP* from the back seat. "Mom! You can't cross over a double yellow line!!" "I know Jonah, but the garbage truck was going to be making many more stops and if we waited we'd be late for school." "But Mom, that was illegal! You can't cross those lines!" "Yes, Jonah, I know, but if I..." "You could go to jail!!!" "You're right, I will not do that again." I hang my head in shame as my 4 year old keeps my driving in check, not to mention that he knows traffic laws like these!! What four year old does that?! "I'm sorry Jonah, that was wrong and I shouldn't have done that." "Nope you shouldn't and if I was a police officer, I'd take you to jail, even though you're my mom."

Thanks Sheriff, I appreciate your love for the law.

Not Me! Monday!

I have a couple good "Not Me's" for this week. Oh and a really gross one, but I'll put it at the bottom so that if you're not up for it, you can read through the others without having to read it. But I'm betting you'll have to, because now I've peaked your curiosity :)

My bloggy friend MckMama started the "Not Me! Monday" post and I love to post about things that "did not" happen to me too! It's therapeutic to say the least. Here's the link to her blog if you want to check it out.

Upward and onward to the things that I "did not" do this past week:

Last Monday, when I picked up Jonah from pre-school, with the freakishly big scarecrow that he made, I did not put it in the front seat and forget about it there. I also did not forget that Aphia had turned the light on above her seat, so that a faint, faint light would slightly illuminate the van for the rest of the day. I would never do those things so that when Jeremiah went out into the garage late, late that night to let the dog out, it would scare the BeJebeez out of him, thinking that there was some kid in the front seat of our van!! And Jeremiah would certainly never say to me when he came back in from said adventure, "It scared the crap out of me so much, I thought my stomach was going to fall out of my butt!"

Since having been on bedrest, I try to keep both my cell phone and home phone, near me most of the time. So when I went to the doctor for an appointment on Wednesday I did not instinctively put both cell phone and home phone in my purse and bring them along with me. Since I did not bring my home phone with me, I would never have to look in my purse, see it there and feel like a total brainless dork.

This week, we have been truly blessed as I've been on bedrest, with family and friends watching our kiddos (and many other blessings besides!). However, this did not come in handy when I did not have to sing the "stranded" song while on the toilet (the one you sing so someone will bring you toilet paper since there is none on the roll). Doh.

And now for the ultra gross, ultra pregnant, ultra lazy NOT ME item you've all been waiting for... drum roll please....ddddddddddddd.... (that's my drum roll)...

Last Sunday, before I was put on bedrest and was told not to move, I was telling Jeremiah how difficult it can be to move, to do simple things, etc. He was kind of staring at me, not really understanding. But oh, don't worry, I helped him to understand in that very moment. I had just eaten an apple a bit earlier, and in the moment we were talking I did not burp up a big chunk of that apple, chew it again and swallow it back down because it was simply much easier than getting up to spit it out. That would be so gross and disgusting and no one of any civility would ever do that. If that ever did happen, I'm sure Jeremiah would simply look at me with raised eyebrows and say, "Gross. If that was easier than getting up, I get it now."

That's all for now!

Very Minimal Activity... AKA Bedrest

Word on the street is that my blood pressure is up. It had been creeping up at the last couple of appointments, nothing I thought I should be too terribly concerned about, or worry anyone over. At the doctor yesterday it was up to 156/88 and so Dr. E said she wanted me on "very minimal activity." Later when I was going to ask her exactly what that entailed and meant, she sort of beat me to the punch. She said, "Ok, so bedrest for you. Well I hate to use the term 'bedrest' because I mean, you can, like, move to the chair if you want, that's ok." OK, so I guess that means I'm down for the count. It wasn't like she said, "You can get up to make lunch and dinner for your kids or to go out and get the mail or to do any of the other countless things that might need to be done around the house." Nope, I'm down.

Last night, being the "get situated" night, we figured out what was going to happen with the kids, who would help care for them and what other things needed to be done. Family and friends have fervently stepped up to the plate with offers of help. I am humbled and extremely grateful for the help that people have given. I was even given a calendar today labeled with 9 MOPS sisters, who will be bringing us meals, on given days over the next 2 1/2 weeks! I don't feel I deserve it and always start to cry when I think about the blessings being given to us.

So alas, I sit. And sit. And lay. And sit some more. And take a nap. And lay. And sit again. And let me tell you, daytime tv is quite boring. But some great friends have called to say hi and chat for a bit, breaking up the day, which I'm thankful for.

Each day from here until my little guy is here is a blessing. Another day for him to grow and develop. Another day that he's tucked warm inside my tummy. Another day to snuggle up with two kids on my lap and love on them as much as I can before I'm distracted a little more by a 100% dependent babe. A lot of women would dread being on bedrest. But I have a choice. I can be put out by it, or I can see it as a gift. I'll go the positive route. Some mom's (like me) don't really have a "slow" button. It's either GO or STOP. I guess God pushed STOP. And so that's what I'll do.

Here's to the next 2 weeks! :)

Anxietyish

I like the word (er... well made up word) "anxietyish" because I feel like when I need to use it, it describes more of how I'm feeling than "anxious." "Anxious" to me sounds more like, can't wait, with some excitement, and a wanting for an event to happen quickly. "Anxietyish" has more of a nervous, impending doom, type of a feeling for me. My brother and I have used this word for years, I like it, and I'm sticking to it.

So the last few days I've been feeling anxietyish. When I was about to have Jonah, it was PURE excitement, I was not nervous in the least. I had always wanted to be a mom, pictured being a mom, and couldn't wait for my day to be a mom to finally be here. And even after we took him home, I never found it to be a big deal... being a mom to one was a breeze to me. When Aphia was about to be born, it was a similar scenario. I always knew that I wanted more than one child, and the time had come to have TWO!

Well, now that I have more than one child, have felt the chaoticness of more than one child, have felt the pull from more than one child, needed to give attention to more than one child... I'm about to have a third. Really? REALLY?! Although I know that Isaiah was meant to be, I sometimes ask myself, "WHAT were we thinking?! Dear Lord!!" I'm having anxiety for many reasons, but I truly feel like this next few months is really, really going to kick me in the rear. This was even confirmed by a dear friend who tells me the truth in that it's going to be "hellatious." The thing is, I'm most positive that she's exactly right. Oh goody.

I'm going to have 3 kids, ages 4 and under (Jonah will be 5 just a couple weeks after Isaiah is born, but STILL!). I'll have to get three kids out the door when we need to go somewhere. We'll have three mouths to feed. Three bodies to clothe. Three children to rear and guide in the ways of the Lord. Three children to love on and discipline. Three kids to teach. Three kids, each with their own activities to fund and tranport to. SIX sets of tears to dry when they're sad or mad or upset. SIXTY fingers and toenails to clip, plus my own! Whew.

Here's the other thing. I had always wanted more than three kids. I always pictured having 4 or even 5. Pretty sure, we're going to stay at three.

Sometimes Jeremiah and I JOKE and say, "What were we thinking?! Is it too late to go back and change our minds?!" HAHA- JOKE. Here's the really, really sad thing that has crossed my mind in all of this. There are places where we could change our minds. I'm not up on the abortion laws to closely these days in regards to at what point they are not allowed anymore, but I know there are places where partial birth abortions are legal. Writing that makes me physically ill, to the point of wanting to vomit.

Psalm 139:13-14 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me

together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully

and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

We've decided not to even JOKE about that anymore. Isaiah has been created and formed with a purpose, with a plan. Our Father in Heaven will guide us as parents. He will watch over us as we raise our children in His Word and in His love. We will try to focus on what is eternal. Not on what is trivial.

Do I still feel anxietyish? Sure, every now and then. But my dependence is on the Lord and if I've learned something, it's that He always pulls through, and I'll be ok.

This was how it was...

On the 4th day of Jonah being at Pre-School, this was how it was...

Phia and I went to a couple garage sales and I bought her this super cute hat. Back story on the hat: I bought it for her because, a couple of weeks ago, she dropped her other hat right into a Biffy toilet! I was having her stand on the sides of the toilet and squat over it to go potty, and as she was attempting this, she looked down into the hole to see all the treasures there were in there, and her hat fell right off her head into the toilet. Yuck! The most traumatic of it all was when she had to go potty, RIGHT ON HER OWN HAT!!! But when you gotta go, you gotta go!

So anyways, after we got home from the garage sales, but before we had to go get Jonah, I was fiddling away in the kitchen, only to look over at my solemn little girl, hanging out on the chair, waiting patiently for her brother to be home.

After a bit I told her that she and I could go downstairs and pick out a game to play! This cheered up our Little Miss and it was a wonderful morning together.

Aphia and I are having a spectacular time together, these days, whilst Jonah learns and plays away with his friends and wonderful teachers at Pre-School. He really enjoys it and whenever I ask what the best part of the day was he always replies with, "It was ALL the best!"

A New Phase of Life

My mom told me how Tuesday was my Uncle's first day in 41 years (yes, you read that number correctly) that he did not have a child going off to school. Tuesday night, for our family, began what will be the first of many "school nights." It was, hmmm, what is the word I'm looking for... thought inducing to me about phases ending (for my Uncle) and phases beginning (for us) all in the same day.

Jonah was brimming over with excitment and happiness on Tuesday night, gearing up for Wednesday, the big first day. Wednesday day morning he woke me up with, "Guess what today is?!" I jumped up and joined in his excitement as I said with glee, "The first day of preschool!!!" He got all ready, we took pictures, and we headed off!

I brought him into his classroom, where he put his backpack in his cubbie (which is RIGHT next to his best friend Jack's cubbie- Oh the joy!), and got to playing instantly. I was watching the other moms and dads to see when they were starting to leave- I haven't done this before you know, so I was watching them to take my cue. As they were starting to exit, I said to Jonah, "I'm going to go in a minute Jonah," to which he replied, "Ok bye! Have fun, see you later!" Guess that was my cue.

As I drove away, I got teary and Aphia asked, "Why are you sad Mommy?" I said, "Because I'm so proud of Jonah. He's such a big boy. And I love you guys very much." She replied with, as she also started to cry, "I love you too Mommy, and I love my bwotho, I miss him." Very sweet.

I had a good 2 1/2 hours with Phia, running a few errands and tinkering around the house (both of us a little aimless and lost). Around 11:00 she started asking to go get Jonah and it was close that time, thankfully, because she asked me about 58 more times in the next 15 minutes!! When we got to school to pick him up he was again, bubbling over with excitement and joy. His first day was truly spectacular and wonderful. He talked about it the entire way home and for much of the rest of the day.

I took a lot of time to ponder these things on Wednesday. What a jumble of emotions! My oldest boy, headed off to pre-school. I can just imagine next year, kindergarten, everyday. I really didn't think it would be that big of a deal, that my emotions would be fine, but it was somewhat of a rollercoaster... well, more like a kiddie coaster :)

Quack Quack Waddle Waddle

Anyone remember the old McDonald's commercial... "Quack Quack, Waddle Waddle..." with kids in raincoats walking through the rain. Unfortunately for me, this is an artificial memory. My mom would tell me about this commercial all the time, because my cousins would sing it to me, but added/changed the words to "Quack quack, waddle waddle, wee wee NeeNee sniffer." Why these words? I haven't the slightest, but it was what it was.

Last week it rained and rained and rained and rained on Wednesday and Thursday (the two days I decided to have a garage sale- GGGRRR). But the kids loved it and made the most of it and these pictures remind me of waddling through the rain...

Not Me! Monday (er... Tuesday)

So whaaaaat?! So it's a "Not Me! Monday" on a Tuesday, that's just how life is sometimes!

So here's my chance to let you know all of the embarassing things that I did "not" do recently...

I most certainly did not kick Jonah when we were standing in the check out line waiting for a REALLY slow guy in the express check out a couple weeks ago (ok I really didn't, I just stuck my leg out- rather high for a pregnant lady- so that he wouldn't go careening into the slow man ahead of us). Jonah did not then turn around and, very loudly, say, "OOOOWWWW! Mom! Why did you kick me?!" And I, then, did not glance over my shoulder to see the wife of one of our pastors standing in line right behind me. I would never "kick" my child, in a grocery store, in front of our pastor's wife. But if I did, I'm sure she'd understand, she's had kids.

I'm am definitely not a mother who ever has to discipline her children in the least-they're always perfect! So last week, Aphia had not had some spankings and time-outs for playing in the toilet water after repeatedly being told not to do that- because she would not ever do such a gross thing! After the last time, I definitely did not have this lecture from her afterwards, (and picture this with the Aphia voice and her hands out in a "what?" fashion) "Mommy, I payed in da poopy toilet watoe. You pank my bottom and I go in a time- out. It's sooooo yucky! I make you soooooo mad! I won't do it again, and den you be sssooooo happy!" Apparently we had not had this conversation oodles of times and it was finally not ingrained in her head!

Have a wonderful week and I hope you do not ever do anything embarrassing and live to blog about it!

Mr. IJK

As the weeks pass, very quickly, I'm feeling more and more ready and not ready, anxious and at peace, physically good and enormous, on top of the world and a little frightened about Mr. Isaiah John Kruger coming into the world in just over 2 months. I'm currently 27 1/2 weeks pregnant and the time is going quicker than ever.


This picture was taken of me (and Phia and Isaiah) when we were in Oxford, MS visiting my cousins in July. I assure you, I'm much, much bigger now. How is this possible? Good gracious! With all three children, my doctors have told me that I have a LOT of amniotic fluid, but seriously folks, it's a little ridiculous!

Things have been going very good so far. My blood pressure has been a lot lower this go round. At this point with the other two pregnancies my BP was running around an average of 160-170/90- EEK! My BP for the past 3 weeks has been at an average of 125/78!! WHOA, talk about a difference! I was on blood pressure meds by this point with Aphia.

My hands have not been experiencing much for carpal tunnel issues. Although when we went on a little bike ride last week, I could tell that if I went much farther, my hands would be tingly.

And although, I could swear that I'm WAY huger than I was with both Jonah and Aphia at this point, I actually just measured around my belly, and it's the same as with Phia...hhhmmm...

I'm letting myself think that I might actually go full or close to full term with this lil one. And then he won't be such a lil one (in my mind)! I feel like I could actually have a normal sized baby, and won't know what to do with him! I'll take one look and ask, "Shouldn't he be potty trained by now?!"

So why the difference in all of this? God only knows that. But I think it's definitely a combination of all things considered. I'm not working (for pay!) which eleviates a lot of stress and busyness. I'm getting acupunture treatments for blood pressure from a local chiropractor- who is incredible! I have a LOT of people praying for me and Isaiah! I had been attending a yoga class once a week (but the session is over now- boo.) And although it sounds corny and cheesy, I'm self-talking a ton- thinking happy, calming thoughts and breathing deeply. Also, I think there is a big difference going from only one child to two vs. two children to three. Jonah and Phia play together and entertain each other all the time and it's great! It allows me to join in the fun, sporadically, and not have to entertain one child all of the time. (Jonah actually picked out Phia's clothes and helped her get dressed today- it was SO sweet! And the outfit was her 4th of July outfit that all matched and coordinated!)

So that's where we're at in this process of adding Mr. IJK to our family. He's going to be here before I know it. Oh! On that note, my doctor says that if all continues to go well, we'll schedule my c-section for the last week in October, probably the 30th. Of course, if things take a wild turn with BP or anything, we'll be completely flexible for him to come whenever. But with that said, we'll be having an October baby!

In the Future

I was looking at the hutch in my kitchen tonight, staring at it with many thoughts swirling through my head. My first and foremost thought was, "In the future, my beautiful hutch that was given to us by Jeremiah's Grandpa, will not contain playdough, and 'Let's Go Fishin' game, and fingerpaints with a pad of special paper for the paints, and cheap shaving cream for playing with on a long winter's day..." And it got me to thinking about all the things that will be different in the future.
For example....

In the future, the front of my refrigerator won't have magnetic letters on it spelling, "Dig" and "Boy" and "Run" like they do at this moment.

In the future, I won't have little boy furniture as my bedroom furniture. I will have a new set, that was not my husband's from the time he was about 10 (grateful for that furniture as I am, otherwise my clothes would be in big Rubbermaid bins in my room).

In the future, there won't be small step stools in front of both sinks in the bathroom, that I constantly knock my shins on in the middle of the night.

In the future, I'll have a new couch in my basement family room. Not one that we took home, repaired, and vacuumed out all the goldfish and cheerios, after finding it, (lovingly mind you) by the side of the road with a sign that said, "Free."

In the future, there won't be Matchbox cars and squirt guns all over the living room floor, mixed in with the castle, princesses, and tea party utensils.

As I think about all these things that will be different, and for the split second that I WANT to be different, it makes me a little sad. The reality that these things will no longer be there, makes me want to savor the day. It makes me want to take pictures of messes and toys and dirty kids, because I'm told that these days go by very, very fast, and I'll want to look back and remember them. I want to look at my life and be pleased with all things surrounding it. And for the most part, I am, and I'm so grateful I can say that I am.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13.

I am reading and pondering the words- the powerful words- of Paul, taking them to heart and cherishing what my circumstances and situation are today. I love my husband. I love my children. I love our life. I am content and at peace with exactly what we have and how the Lord has blessed us.

I Love You Lord

I love you Lord,
And I lift my voice,
To worship You,
Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy my King,
In what You hear.
May it be a sweet,
sweet sound, in Your ear!

Last night after a weekend of camping the kids were bathed and ready for bed early, as all were tired. Aphia had chalked up about 8,392 melt downs at this point and as she climbed into her bed (which has been and official big girl bed- with no gate for several weeks now) she asked for a song and a prayer. I gladly laid down next to her and obliged, as her mood shifted. First she wanted Kumbaya, but quickly changed her mind to I Love You Lord, "I Love You Lord is my favowite! I love dat one!" So with Jeremiah up top tucking in Jonah, and me below laying with Phia, the four of us sang a song to the Lord, telling Him that we love Him. Being their parent, the sound of each of my children singing this song was complete joy to me!! I know that when they sang, "Take joy my King, in what You hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear," that this truly was a sweet, sweet sound to our Lord, hearing his children sing praises to Him!

Lord, I pray that my children will always love you with all of their hearts. That they'll love you above everything else and everyone else for their entire lives!
Amen.

Back in the Midwest

We're back from Tennessee and had a phenomenal trip! After spending 30 hours in the car with my children, I'm now in love with a few things:

1. Potty chairs in the back of the van. Since Aphia is newly trained, this saved us many a time. And since this Mama is somewhat pregnant, it may or may not have saved me too... I will neither confirm, nor deny :) Although Mr. Rules Boy was a bit freaked out when he asked me, while tinkling in the potty chair while traveling, "Mom is this illegal?!" and I confirmed that yes, because he was unbuckled it was illegal. I was able to talk him down though and he was eventually ok!

2. Our new mini-dvd player. We didn't use it too much, which I was surprised about, but when we did it was GLORIOUS and a true gift from God to parents in vans with small children.

3. Headphones. When Jonah wanted to play his Leapster, he could stick on the headphones and was perfectly quiet and busy for a long while!

4. The library. Not that I didn't love the library before, but it came in handy to request SEVERAL movies and borrow MANY books for our trip... All for freeeeeeeee! If you know me, you know how very thrifty I am and this pleased me immensely.

There were several great times to be had while in Tennessee also!

Like the hotel worker lady who would basically sit in the lobby waiting for Aphia to pass through, so she could watch her and say (think this in a deep southern drawl), "Mmmm Hmmm! She is sumptn (something) else! Her and her lil' ol' self! Mmmm Hmm!!" Over and over...

Or watching Jonah being SO brave, jumping off the side of the pool, holding hands with his older cousins. Or watching him say he was going to walk on water and then proceed to run across the pool deck and attempt to continue running over the water as he quickly sunk in, assuring me however, that he DID get a couple steps in before sinking!

If you know your geography, then you know that Memphis is very close to the border of Tennessee/Mississippi and so I was fortunate enough to have time to head down to Oxford, MS on Thursday afternoon with the kids to visit some family down there. My mom's sister, Auntie Mamie (Marie) and her family all live down there: Uncle Joe, cousins Shannon, (and her BF Mike) Sean, Chris and Brian. Shannon just opened a SWEET bakery called the Honey Bee and we got to indulge in some mouth watering cupcakes! There's just about as much DELICIOUS frosting as there is cupcake. And here's a little secret, I'm not much for cake or frosting... and these were AMAZING!!! If you're ever in MS, go to the Honey Bee.

Shannon then had us over to her house for a fabulous dinner and time to visit. The kids had SO much fun with the boy cousins- taking to them quickly and singing, "Seany got no hair!" a little ditty that Sean taught them, while out back by the swamp/bayou thing. Hilarious!

The wedding!! The reason for traveling 1800 miles!!

Dave (Jeremiah's step-bro) and Bethany's wedding was gorgeous, blessed, vibrant, and so much fun! Josh, (Jeremiah's bro) officiated over the ceremony, while both Jeremiah and Liz (Jeremia's step-sis) were in the wedding party. We danced a small part of the night away, as dances aren't really the thing in the south. But Dave, being the northern boy he is, insisted on a dance. It was great! After the reception ended at 10:00, JJ and cousins headed down to Beale Street, a happenin' place in Memphis to party it up some more. He strolled in around 4:00 am, having had a great time with the gang. I hung back and did the mom and pregnant thing- very glad for the sleep after a very busy couple days!

We had a terrific time and would make the trip again in a heart beat... although the next time we will have 3 kids in tow... hhmmmm, that could be more challenging, but worth it all the while, I'm sure. And maybe next time we'll go the early spring when it's really perfect there and you don't drip sweat after being outside for 2.47 seconds.

Meant To Be

Some things are just meant to be. So far beyond my tiny little brain, God has this huge plan in his mind of how things will be. He is able to see the big picture. This came to mind last night as Jeremiah and I were talking about our kids.

Back up a couple days and you'll see the four of us- Jeremiah, me, Jonah, and Aphia walking into the clinic to have the ultrasound for our 20 week old baby. The ultrasound will tell us if things are looking good for the baby, that s/he is growing and healthy and will also tell us whether it will be a he or a she! We did not find out the sex of Jonah or Aphia before they were born, but we decided to go the other way with baby #3. During the ultrasound all was looking great and then our doctor told us that we would be adding a boy to our family! We're overjoyed! Jonah was a bit upset at first, he was really, really pulling for another sister, the entire duration of the pregnancy until now. But he's very easy to reason with and quickly adjusted to the idea of a brother.

So now fast forward to Sunday evening when the children are asleep and we're talking about our family. We've decided to name our baby boy Isaiah John and we were talking about how Isaiah was meant to be. He was meant to be because I was about 5-6 days past when I "should have ovulated" when Jeremiah said, "Let's try tonight," those many months ago.... neither of us really thought anything would happen. Well God had bigger plans to formulate because Isaiah was meant to be. It was very, very exciting to put a so-called, characteristic to our forming baby boy. We know already that Jonah is a structured, rules boy and very sensative. We know that Aphia is a limit tester, with SO much charm it's practically oozing from her. And now we know that Isaiah was our child who just had to be and God made it happen. The miracle of conception and birth is always incredible to me. But this time it takes my breath away. God's mighty hand creating and covering our sweet boy, forming him, and strengthening him. wow.

Jonah and Aphia are LOVING knowing that they're going to have a little brother. They are really starting to refer to him as one of the family now, which is so awesome to see and hear. Aphia still continually looks into my belly button to see if she can see him, but to her slight disappointment, still cannot :)

Isaiah's been moving more and more, each night I can feel him tumble around a bit when I lay down. I go back to the doctor in two weeks so she can take measurements of his heart and see his face (hopefully). He was laying face down during the ultrasound and so she didn't even attempt to get heart pictures and measurements because she knew she wouldn't be satisfied with them.

For now, I continue to try to do what's best for my body, thus being best for Isaiah. I try to continue to be present and intentional in my "momming" and the same for my "wifing". God is good and I'll praise him through the good (which is now) and the bad (which is hopefully never, but most likely inevitable).

Back in the Game

She's back in the game folks!

For many, many years back at Calvary, I taught Vacation Bible School. I absolutely LOVED doing it. I started as a helper, have worked side by side with many friends and both of my brothers assisted me a couple times. I do have to say, Michael and I had some of the GREATEST classes ever (Michael, do you remember, "Are you rrrrrrrrready?!"). Richie and I... well Richie was awesome- the insane 5th grade boys were a whole nother story! I kind of wanted to convince them all that they suffered from allergies, give them a BIG dose of Benadryl and watch them all zonk out. Just kidding... kind of.

Anyways, sorry for the ramblings there.

This year I was back in the VBS game at our church! I got to do the Bible stories each day for the "Little VBS"ers (2-3 year olds whose parents are volunteering), the 3-4 year olds and the 4 year olds. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE BLAST! The little ones were amazingly good listeners for their (approximately) 10 minute story! They'd sit on their blanket and stare up at me in awe and wonder. I'm hoping the wonder wasn't as to why I look so goofy or something. I was a little nervous leaving Aphia's class the first day, thinking that she'd want to go with me. She did wimper a bit, but the second day, when their teacher said to say thank you to me, she shouted, in her little high pitched voice, "Sanks fo da stowy, Mommy! Bye Mommy!"

On Wednesday, Jonah was "that kid." You all know who I'm talking about, the one who raises his hand and really has nothing to say, but who just wants to talk. Yep, that was my boy. Just as I'm starting the story and getting the kids engaged, he raised his hand (which he must have learned this week- thank you to Teacher Trisha! Because he was a blurter before) and when I called on him, he said, "Ummm, ahhhhh. Ummmmm, Mom. We're going to go camping in a couple weeks." "Yes, Jonah thank you, now let's listen to the story." And at the end of the story I let the kids as questions or make comments about the story. After Jonah's couple of comments he says, "Mom I have a LOT more questions." I said, "I'm sure you do. We can talk about all of them later at home."

I'll post some pictures that my wonderful friend Jen took during the week, I know she got a shot of both Jones and Phi. So when she puts them on Facebook, I'll get them and put them on here too.

So to conclude. I love VBS and I'll do it til I die.

Not Me! Monday

I haven't shared a Not Me! Monday in a while and so I thought I'd drop in with some things that I, of course, did NOT do!
Not Me! Monday is an origination of my dear blog friend MckMama. You can check out more stories by linking up to her blog here:


So onto the things that I "did not" do in the past while...

*Today I did NOT see the Schwan's man driving his big yellow truck down the road and think to myself, "I need ice cream sandwiches right now!" and then proceed to run down the road after his truck, waving my hands at him so he would stop and come to my house. My neighbors would have all stopped and stared had I done that, so I did not.

*Last week, when asked about the keys for a closet at our church, that had been in my possession for MOPS, I did NOT tell a church staffer that I gave that key back last year, only to get out to my car, actually look at my key ring to see it hanging innocently where it has been for the last two years. Nope I would never do that, it would make me seem like such an airhead! I, of course, did NOT go back into church with my head hung in shame and would NEVER blame it on pregnancy brain.

*A week ago Friday we started potty-training Aphia. The first day did NOT go so well (no actually, it really didn't- it was horrific). Saturday did NOT go better (sarcasm back in place here) and by Sunday she was NOT dry all day! After 7 days she was NOT telling me each time she had to go potty and I am NOT extremely proud of her!!

*My cravings for veggies and hummus have NOT calmed down a bit over the past week, because I figured to curb my cravings I'd buy a brand of hummus that I'm not as crazy about as Athenos. This craving that has NOT calmed down is good because I was NOT eating it non-stop... or just by the spoonful because it's so yummy.

*Finally, tonight, I did NOT convince my family that they each needed an ice cream sandwich or orange push-up simply because I wanted another one. Nope not me! And when they all happily agreed to having our yummy treats that I worked so hard to get this afternoon, I did NOT get them out of the chest freezer, only to leave the chest freezer WIDE open for the next hour and a half. That would have been very absent minded of me and I would never do that. Not me!

Got any "Not Me!"s to share?? We all do. It's therapeutic... give it a shot ;)

Love Watermelon Juice

Last night for dinner we had pancakes and watermelon (don't judge me) and both of the kids LOVE watermelon. Jonah prefers to eat it right off the rind and Aphia likes hers in chunks. I put the chunks in a bowl for her and she proceeded to eat the entire bowl full, as well as drink the juice right out of it too!

Family Canoe Trip

We were blessed, two summers ago, with the addition of a canoe! It's a wonderful, light weight, perfect for portaging in the BWCA, canoe that holds our family in it's loving kevlar!
A couple weekends ago, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we decided to go out on Lake Pulaski for our first family canoe experience. It was marvelous. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their time, traveling from Griffing park, along the shoreline over to West Pulaski Park for a snack picnic. Jonah loved "helping" paddle and Aphia was pretty good about sitting still and enjoying the scenery.

This adorable little picture below is the baby- drawn by Jonah.

*I heard this conversation from the other room, the other day:
Jonah: "Aphia, please get away. You're knocking down my blocks."
Aphia: "I know. But I love you."
Jonah: "I know you do, but please love me somewhere else."

*In my pregnantness (I think I just made that a word), my emotions are CA-RAAAAZY! When I was pregnant with Aphia, there was one time that I was driving down a country road, and it was lined with trees, whose leaves were beautifully changing into brilliant oranges, yellows and reds. It was so gorgeous to me, I cried at the sheer beauty for a good 5 minutes of the ride. Sheesh.
Well let me tell you of a little story from yesterday. I was driving north on Hwy 25 in Buffalo, right in town by the post office. I saw a truck pull out from the fire station, going south, and turn it's lights and sirens on. The southbound lane had a long line of cars waiting for the light, they all did their best to pull over, and I in the northbound also pulled way over. I always pull over, but no emergency vehicle has had to use my lane to get by, if they had been traveling in the opposite direction. But yesterday they did! I of course started crying, because well, that's a huge deal to a pregnant, emotionally charged lady! I was glad to get out of their way, so they could quickly get to where they were going.

So if that wasn't enough for me, Jonah stops mid-sentence and says, "Mom we have to pray!" And so we did, just like we always do, whenever we hear sirens. Prayers for the first responders, for the situation, for the victims, etc. We finished and Aphia promptly breaks out into "Jesus Loves Me!" and oh boy were the tears aflowing then! I look back and shake my head. Yes it was a very tender moment for the three of us, but BAWL WORTHY??? REALLY?!?! Again- sheesh.

I don't really have any inclination of whether this child is a boy or girl. But if the fact that I was not very emotional with Jonah, pretty darned emotional with Aphia, and EXTREMELY OVER THE TOP emotional with this baby says anything- it'll be a girl, a very emotional girl. Oh goody- as if one isn't enough :)

Uh Duh!

We had an "Uh Duh!" moments as parents this morning, prompted by none other than 4 year old Jonah. He speaks truth and common sense into our lives quite frequently, and this morning was no different.

Jeremiah and Jonah were talking during breakfast and Jonah, being the "rules boy" that he is, was talking about sin, how he doesn't want to sin, but sometimes he does, etc. Jeremiah talked about forgiveness and asked Jonah, "So after you sin, do you pray and ask God for forgiveness?" to which Jonah responded with, "No. I just pray before and then I don't do it!" Uh Duh! Maybe we should all try to live that out.

Amazingly we have a Savior who knows just how very human we are and that we do constantly falter and fail. He is here to pick us up, wipe off the grime, and set us on our path again. But He never continues spurring us on to stop sinning and turn to the way of righteousness. My 4 year old gets this... why don't we? I shouldn't always wait until after I screwed up, but rather, prevention is the key! Pray prior to sinning and have faith that the Lord will help me to do the right thing! Uh Duh!

Where Does the Time Go?

Last night we put our baby in her big girl bed. If you don't know Phia personally- she's very much the baby of the family, which is going to create some challenges when Baby 3 comes. I said to my mom yesterday, "I'm a little worried about how she'll be when the baby comes." Hoping to get a response such as, "Oh, she'll do just fine!" I instead got, "Yeah... I know... me too." Defeat. No! Not really, we'll work with it. But really, it WILL be a challenge, again where Jonah was not. It's hard not to compare them- they are so drastically different. But I LOVE how each of them is- unique in their personalities, characteristics, quirks, and the like.


So anyways, we put Phia in her big girl bed. She loved the quilt- the pink, the flowers, the polka dots. She did marvelously! And I was very happy with it. Their room is much bigger without the crib in there now, which is helpful.



Jonah loves sleeping on the top bunk! He usually naps on the sofa in our living room, but today begged to sleep in his top bunk and told me as he snuggled in, "I just love to sleep up here!"

Here she is- getting ready to go to sleep!

All tucked in!

Bunk Bed with her new quilt and sheets

Kids helping Daddy to push the mattress out of their bedroom

Peeking out from their new bunk beds!

Easter 2009

The Kruger Family Easter!

I'm ready for more ribs Mom!

We had a fabulous Easter! The festivities included:

1. Finding Easter baskets with presents from the Easter Bunny!

2. Finding Easter eggs all around the house with jelly beans and M&M's inside (Aphia found one, and then each one after that was like a whole new surprise, "Anoner one Mommy!! Anoner one!!"

3. Having to eat all of our breakfast because Daddy told the kids that the Easter Bunny left him a note that said that the kids had to eat all of their breakfast before they could have candy. Jonah wanted to SEE this note and was very intent on quizzing Jeremiah about it, "Where did the Easter Bunny put the note? Did you see the Easter Bunny leave it for you? Are you SURE he left one for you, I can't find it."

4. Wonderful Easter Service at church, topping it off with the ending song being a song that I had been singing before church that morning, "My Redeemer Lives!"

5. Southern inspired Easter lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Wuollett's- bbq'd baby back ribs, coleslaw, garlic smashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, sweet tea and chess pie!

6. Fun visiting the Jasper's for dessert and to be able to see more family!

7. Getting home at a decent hour, watching "The Empire Strikes Back" with Jonah and heading to bed early :)

It was a great day of celebrating our Risen Jesus! Jonah LOVES saying, "He is Risen!" and having us respond with, "He is Risen Indeed!"

This is just a fun picture of Jonah and Daddy, riding on the "new to us" scooter, that Jeremiah got for free from work.