Merry Belated Christmas

We had a spectacular Christmas at the Kruger House!

We thoroughly enjoyed our tradition of going to church at our church on Christmas Eve and then sleeping in/waking up in our own beds Christmas morning so we could eat caramel and cinnamon rolls, read the Christmas story from the Bible, and open presents!



The kids loved the gifts they received this year and we loved watching them open them up! Isaiah got everything he wanted, "A baw" (ball). He was pretty smitten with each and every "baw" he got. Jonah's favorite gift was Wii Lego Indiana Jones and Phia's favorite was her Polly Pockets and Princess Barbies.

SOLD!!

This story starts roughly 6 months ago. Just having moved into our new home, putting our old home on the market and waiting what we thought was patiently for it to sell; we began a journey that brought us many thoughts, lessons, and emotions. I blogged a while back about some of the things that I've learned on this journey. I'm really not sure how to link that blog post to this blog post, but it was written in October and titled "Learning Much," if you care to read it. It seems that after that post there was another lesson I was to learn on this road.

Several weeks back, I was driving home from the grocery store by myself. I was having a little conversation with the Lord and was being quite verbal. My volume was loud. I was asking God the question I had asked many times before, "What am I supposed to do Lord?!" He answered me as He had many times before, "You're not supposed to do anything." In the past I've heard it like this, "You're not supposed to DO anything." This time I heard the same answer... different emphasis, "YOU'RE not supposed to do anything." Huh? "What do you mean Lord?" was my question. What he was about to tell me rocked my world, to say the least.

Let me scoot back a little. If you don't know me super well, let me introduce you to me. I'm a first born child. I take the lead, it's natural for me. I don't follow a lot of times. Examples: I never tried smoking when other kids were curious. I didn't drink in high school. I didn't do things with my boyfriend (ahem... ya know...) that the rest of society did. I didn't wait, like the majority of my dearest friends, to have kids. The list goes on. I'm also somewhat (and by somewhat I mean REALLY) boisterous about a few (and by a few I mean MOST) things. These characteristics carry over into most areas of my life, including my marriage. My default role is decision maker, motivator, leader, take-charger, etc.

Come on back to me, in the car, God speaking to me. He says, “Shhhhh. You need to be quiet. You need to let your husband lead. Jeremiah bought the house before you were married and he has to sell this house. It’s for him to sell. So shhhhh.” The rest of our conversation sort of went like this, “Um, Lord, do you know me? This isn’t going to be easy.” “Of course I know you and you’re right, which you are most of the time {ok, the “being right” part may have been added by me}, it is going to be close to one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do.” “So, what am I supposed to do?” “Like I said, be quiet. Tell him I told you to back off and that you’re going to follow his lead. Pray for him, encourage him and love him.” “Ok, if you say so. But I feel the need to remind you again, this isn’t going to be easy for me.” He just shakes his head at me.

Over the next few days, God, like I said, rocked my world. Jeremiah was a little stunned with his and my new roles. I had been taking the lead in ALL of the house-selling issues. Now it was him. Many, many times I wanted to ask, “Did you call…” “Did you check on…” “Did you…” “Can you…” “Will you…” and God said to me, “Shhhhh… Be still. Still your tongue. Still your lips.” When I would sit there and be still, a couple times it almost brought me to tears thinking of all the things I thought we needed to hash over and discuss. Then in typical God fashion, Jeremiah would bring up or say something about what I was only thinking about, just in time for me to not completely fall apart and lose it. It was awesomely incredible.

Here’s where it gets cool. One night my brother Richie was at our house and we were chatting a little about the house. I was briefly (and I really do mean briefly!) sharing my woes about not selling. I did not want to say too much because, well you know, I was in this “having to be quiet” thing. Richie said to me, “Have you prayed about this?” “Um, yeah.” “What have you prayed?” “Um, what haven’t I prayed?!” And I went into my repertoire of prayers about selling the house. Get this, Richie says, “Ok,” and literally walks out of the room. Just leaves. Um ok. A while later he comes back in and I sort of wait for him to pick up, but he doesn’t. So I say, “Ok, so you just left…” He says, “God told me to tell you to march around your house.” Ummmm, this was big to me and since I was doing the whole quiet, non-leader thing, I deferred to Jeremiah, “You need to tell this to Jeremiah.” So Richie turns to him and continues on. Basically it was as such, God told Richie to tell us to go and march around our house 5 times. Jeremiah asks Richie why and Richie said he didn’t know, but that God told him to tell us.

Jeremiah shared with Richie that several times he had felt the pull to go over there and walk around the house, but he always dismissed it for one reason or another. Finally God was being LOUD LOUD LOUD, speaking so Jeremiah could audibly hear.

So the next day, a beautiful, gorgeous, sunny, Sunday afternoon when of course the neighbors were out in their yards, we prayed and marched around our house. Of course God wasn’t going to let this be easy, with no one watching us, not having to be self-conscious or anything. Nope, we had to walk around over and over and over and over and over. So we did. We were obedient. It was hard, but we did it.

A few days went by and Richie called Jeremiah. They talked about Joshua marching around Jericho, but it being 7 times. He told Jeremiah that he was supposed to go over and finish the job. He needed to walk around 2 more times. So Jeremiah listened, went to the old house and walked around 2 more times at 10:00 at night. The next day, the guy that ended up buying our house looked at it for the first time. And today, we signed the papers and closed on the sale of our old home. {giddiness overflowing!!!}

I continued and continue to be quiet, letting my husband lead. It really, really gave a new meaning to the prayer my mother-in-law frequently prays for me to “be still.” I had to learn to not only let my body be still and calm, but my mouth. God said to me, “Am I enough? Am I enough for you to listen to? If you can’t talk, am I enough?” I had to learn to say, “Yes Lord, you are. I’ll be quiet and listen to you.” He’s also said to me, “This isn’t only for the selling of the house. This is for life. You need to watch your words and listen most of all.”

I’m trying to focus on this new role in life. It’s not only not easy for me, it’s not easy for Jeremiah. He was raised by an incredibly strong, single mother, leader. He defaults into follower just as much as I default into leader. These characteristics are who we are, yes, but in our roles as husband and wife we are learning that there needs to be a shift. Me leading, and him following is just not what God wants for us and he’s making that strikingly clear. Jeremiah is an incredible, strong, yet quiet leader. He doesn’t always lead how I would expect, but he does in his own way.

This life, for everyone, is about learning. Learning to listen to God. Learning to be obedient. Learning it’s not “all about me.” Learning it’s about loving God and loving others. Learning that as much as we think we can control things, we have no idea what control actually is because we don’t have any control in the grand scheme of things.

It has been a long road (but I realize it could have been MUCH longer!) and I’m grateful for it.

Sold.

click

A long time ago, a blog friend wrote a post about certain times in her life when she wishes she could capture the moment with a camera, but knowing that the moment could never actually be captured. She prayed that God would be gracious and if she'd stop in those moments He would specially store them somewhere in her brain for her to think back on later.

Jeremiah has often talked about a similar idea of an eye camera that would instantly record as you wished. Wouldn't that be great?!

There have been a few of those moments lately in my life that I'd love to stop and capture, but know that the moment is fleeting and can only hope that the Lord has stored them up for me as a scrapbook to look through with Him when we sit together in glory!

Sitting today at the computer, doing the bills, I turned to see all the giggling as Aphia and Isaiah were chasing each other and playing peekaboo around the island in the kitchen.

CLICK.

Watching my baby (who... dare I say... is and will always be the baby) walk all over, knowing that he is not a baby anymore.

CLICK.

Peeking in the boys room to see Daddy and Jones having a discussion about being a Christian, being baptized and other things that are on a little 6 year old mind as the night winds down. And specifically how incredibly his daddy talked through those big things so that he could perfectly undertand them.

CLICK.

Watching Uncle Richie be so enthusiastic about taking Jonah out in the huge snowfort that he built.

CLICK.

Sitting with my babe, watching Sesame Street. With him actually sitting, snuggling, and relaxing for a good 15 minutes.

CLICK.

Seeing Jonah's joy-filled face when I brought his boots to him, that he had forgotten in the car, right before recess time and hearing his best buddy Jack say to him, "Your wish came true!!"

CLICK.

Watching Aphia excell, with bravery and courage, at her pre-school screening and score well above and beyond where she "needs to be."

CLICK.

Seeing the older two in the Christmas program on Sunday at church, singing praises of worship!

CLICK.

liFe aS uSuaL

The babe is awake, an hour early from naptime.

The middle is playing with the self inflating whoopy cushion.

The eldest is at school, having clean up time, getting ready to come home.

A candle is burning with the smell of apple cider.

A trip to Target is on the horizon.

I cut my hair 2 weeks ago and today it's in a teeny tiny pony tail.

Bible study is at our house tonight, but it's the men so I'm not overly crazy about cleaning.

The shower has not been turned on once today.

Too many kitkats have been eaten when today I was supposed to be good.

Pork is in the crockpot to make pork fried rice for dinner.

When I told the middle that she was having a hard time listening and following directions today and that frustrated me she broke into made-up-song about obeying your father and mother and included the words, "...obey them, obey your father and mother. Obey hey hey!"

The bathroom has been cleaned.

Only a 1/2 hour of work-work was done today.

The babe can now say several words consciously: "mama" "dada" "ball" "uh oh" "all done" "down" "more" and he sings "lalalalala"

The oldest got "advanced" reading books to practice with at home from his teacher... neither JJ nor I ever had advance reading books in school- we feel very blessed.

A lunch date is planned with my mom and bro for tomorrow.

I have to keep the kids quiet and busy tonight to stay out of the guys hair.

The middle is onto eating butterscotch pudding.

I will vacuum the family room.

The babe is back to sleep :)

Guest Blogger- Aphia!

My name is Aphia and I'm guest blogging for my mommy today. She's really busy and so I told her that I would write a post.

You see, she just started working a new job at our church. The nice lady who is the Director of Pre-School Ministries right now (who I just love and is so great!) is transitioning out of her job. Her daughters are a little older and need their mommy in a different way at home. She's busy bringing them to and from volleyball, piano lessons, awana, and other activities that they have. She's looking forward to being able to be a substitute teacher next year when her youngest is in 1st grade full time. My mom says that we'll miss her a lot, but is so glad for the opportunity to phase into this job also.

My mom will be transitioning into the position over the next several months. Slowly taking over bit by bit of the job. It is a big job, handling everything involved with pre-k ministries. That means anything inside the "pre-school circle" on Sunday mornings, Cubbies on Wednesday nights, pre-k VBS in the summer and helping with other activities that happen throughout the year- like the Birthday Party for Jesus that's coming up! She's so grateful for the slow phase in and not having it all plopped in her lap at once.

But this brings me to a new point. My mom keeps using that word- "transition." I feel like she's been using it since I've been born! It seems that every time we feel settled into a niche then it's up and there's a new "transition."

Right now and for the next six months we'll be transitioning into my mom's new job at church.
Six months ago we were transitioning into a new home.
Six months before that we were transitioning into having a third kid at our house.
Six months before that my mom stopped doing daycare, so we were transitioning out of that and into full time at-home-no-job mommy.
And so the story goes.

My mom said she feels overwhelmed right now, but not stressed and she said that must be God's grace. We all know she's a bit nutters some of the time. Someone said to her the other day, "I was thinking about you the other day, are you crazy?!" She simply answered, "Yes." But God is good and seems to be providing enough hours in the day... so far.

Today is my mom and dad's anniversary. My dad told us that last night and asked what they should do. My brother Jonah said that mom and dad should go to a hotel! That brother of mine is SO SMART! He said Grandma Lollie would come and babysit. Someone should let her know that. But my mom told me today that they wouldn't be going to any hotels anytime soon, especially because they still have to sell the old house. Boo. I'm going to help my mom make a fancy dinner for my daddy with candles and they get to use the China. They only use it on their anniversary since they only have two settings. I'm not sure how they have two China's because she told me a long time ago that China was a really big country on the other side of the world. I told you before that she is a bit nutters, we just always keep this in mind.

I should go. I'm supposed to be having quiet booktime in my room! Maybe my mom will let me write to you again sometime. Bye now!

Happy Birthday Isaiah

October 28, 2009- the day I fell in love for the 4th time.

He still melts my heart.

Happy 1st Birthday to my Baby Boy, Isaiah John.

Learning Much

This road of having our house on the market has been a long road. It has definitely not been what we expected, but has not been a surprise at all to God and in that I find comfort. He is not surprised by anything and he knows what the dealio is. So I shrug and say, "Meh!" Because that is a whole lot easier than kicking, screaming and crying (which I may or may not have done prior to today).

We were presented with a unique opportunity to rent out our house to a film crew who is in need of some housing in Buffalo for a short period of time. This is currently in the works and we will know more today or tomorrow. Praise the Lord for that!

So the other night I was laying in bed saying, "Why is this taking so long Lord? What am I not learning in this process that you want me to learn? I'm open to listening to you. I pray that you will open my eyes and ears to what you want me to know!" And with that I started to go over all of the things that I have learned. I'm going to bullet point them for you, because I love bullet points.

*It's not all about me. When I found myself saying, "Why wouldn't God sell our house right away? What could cause us harm in that? Nothing!" I remembered that it's not all about me. Maybe the family who is supposed to buy our house is not ready yet, financially. Maybe THEY need a few more days/weeks/months (let's not hope years) to save up and get into the position THEY need to be in to buy our house. Maybe, just maybe (sarcastic gasp!)... it is about them!

*Arrogance is not attractive to God. When listing our house I looked at how amazing and beautiful it looked and was sure it would sell right out from under us. We even got an offer, albeit a REALLY LOW offer, but an offer at that. And we said no. We said no! Were we crazy?!?! At the time there was many people looking at the house and through much talk and prayer we said no and decided to keep on keeping on. Even though this may have been the right decision at the time, I can't help but think we were being arrogant. I felt the need to confess that to God and apologize for that. It felt good after I did and I know that his mercies are new everyday and that he gives me new chances to not be so, ahem, snotty and arrogant.

*No matter what. There's a popular song that's played on Christian radio these days by Kerrie Roberts and some of the words are, "No matter what, I'm gonna love you. No matter what, I'm gonna need you. I know that you can find a way to keep me from the pain, but if not, I'll trust you, not matter what, no matter what." I love being secure in Christ and knowing that my faith in him and my salvation are not dependent on how I'm feeling on a particular day. Let's just say I can be a bit crazy and if those things were dependent on me... holy cats, we'd have real issues.

*Why me? (down trodden) vs. Why me? (in awe and priviledged). There was a wise woman at CBS the other day that said there are two ways to say "Why me?" I had to shift my attitude in regards to this question. Instead of, "Why me? Why hasn't our house sold yet? Boo hoo for me, I'm so down in the dumps..." I try to say, "Why me? Why am I fortunate enough to be able to live in a new home while trying to sell the old? Praise the Lord that THIS is my problem! That my problem isn't having NO WHERE to live, my problem isn't no food to feed my children, my problem isn't having a child or spouse with a terminal illness, my problem isn't lack of employment, my problem isn't watching a parent die, my problem isn't children who have turned their back on us or on the Lord. Praise the Lord for my "problem." I can just let the entitled attitude go right now, leave it at the door, and have an attitude of gratitude thankyouverymuch!

*Another little lesson that God is always teaching me, is to be content with what I have. We are in our new home with space to breathe and not feel like we're always sitting on top of each other! I've had to hold off on any decor solutions and agendas because that would require some extra money, for which there is none to spend on such things. But again, it's something I need to let go of. We have this home and we have our family. My kids really don't care if there is stuff hanging on the walls as long as I'm snuggling on the couch telling them stories. My kids don't really care if the wall is painted the red I want as long as I let them paint (on paper) with water colors. My husband doesn't care if we have chipped counter tops, as long we have food on them to be preparing!

*And finally. God always provides. He does. It's as simple as that. Does he not feed the birds of the air, and does he not love us much more than that? God always provides and he is doing just that.

Gleaning and Playing Monopoly

Dictionary.com defines "glean" in a few different ways. I'm going to combine two similar definitions to fit into my thought process for today. Glean: To collect or gather anything, to learn, discover or find out usually little by little or slowly.

From the first day that I stepped into my CBS (Community Bible Study) class, the word "glean" has frequently popped into my head. From these amazing women, I glean. Each day that I am there I absorb so much wisdom and knowledge from their minds and hearts. So as I looked up the word "glean" I agreed with most of it, except the "little by little or slowly" part. The women impart a LOT of wisdom, but it is also somewhat true due to the fact that I can be rather thick skulled and sometimes knowledge does not seep through so easily.

This morning was no different than the days prior. I gleaned much from the incredible hearts of these women! One bit of wisdom that I walked away with was this: You can't play Monopoly with Yahtzee rules!

Shocking- I know.

Back in the day, there was a really big set of rules and regulations that the peeps had to follow. They were rather cumbersome to say the least, but they were there for a reason. God knows what he's doing and he had the rules there for guidance and to teach his people. Somewhat like a parent does. The rules aren't always easy or fun, but they are in place to protect us.

Someone said today that it's like a fenced yard for a child. Not that you can't climb over the fence when you're told to stay in, you sure can, but when a parent tells a child to stay in the yard, it's usually for good reason. Maybe they live near open water or a busy street. When the child is older they can usually leave the confines of the yard to go ride their bike, walk to a friend's home and to explore this great big world.

And so it was, just like that, when Christ came. He came that we might have LIFE!

Colossians 2:13-15 says,

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave your sins, having cancelled the written code, with it's regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

Jesus busted open the gates of the fence so that we could have life to the full! So we could go out and explore the wide open world. To have freedom to go, knowing the fullness of God's love and forgiveness of our sinful nature!

We mess up. Daily. Hourly. By the moment. But Christ took that junk to the cross with him. We do not need to hang on to our bags of garbage anymore. Let them go, because Jesus tells us to. He tells us to hand them over, for he has already paid the price of our sin. Why do we continue to go back to our trash heaps? Why are we slow learners? Christ came to set us free from trying so hard to be good enough. We will never be good enough on our own, that's the simple fact of the matter. Being a good person won't be your ticket to ride. We can only be redeemed through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus- believing that he is Lord and Savior.

Of course I don't think that we should throw out all the laws! That would be foolish. We are still not to put other gods before God. We are still not to murder. We are still not to covet. You get the point. BUT! When we do screw up, we can know that forgiveness is just a prayer away.

So let's go back to Yahtzee vs. Monopoly. Yahtzee= old laws and commands. Monopoly= freedom in Christ and forgiveness of sins! Yippee! Let's say "so long" to the old self, the old laws, and "heyoooo!" to new life in Christ. Let's try not to play Monopoly with Yahtzee rules, it just won't work.

Second Cousins Moving In!

If you've read previous posts you know about Aphia's imaginary friend Ellian that came over one night. But that is all she did, was come one night. Then she never came again. However for several weeks now we have had some other visitors who are frequenters at our house, playing with Aphia! They have practically moved in!

Their names are Hunter, Charlie, and Greta. Now if you are part of my mom's family, you know that these are actually my cousin Molly's children. They are great kids and Aphia got two chances in late July & August to play with them. She ADORES them. And now they are her new imaginary (kind of...) friends.

They have been making daily appearances at our house since Jonah has started being at school all day long. I put two and two together today when Aphia and I had this conversation in the car:
Aphia: "Mom, Hunter is old enough to be home alone, so if you and dad want to leave you can."
Me: "Oh really? (laughing, because that was darn cute!) He's old enough for that huh?"
Aphia: "Yep, he likes to come over and play and so do Charlie and Greta."
Me: "Yes, and you like to play with them too, don't you?"
Aphia: "Yep, I do. They always come over to play because Jonah goes to school all day."

It kind of broke my heart because she misses her older brother. But it makes me smile that she is creative and using her imagination in "playing with other kids."

Some of the recent, imaginary activities that Aphia has had with the three second cousins are:
*going to the movie theater to see Toy Story 2
*all three of them had birthdays (with a huge party that Aphia was at!) last Thursday
*at least one of them always travels in the car with us
*one or more are usually sitting at the table with us
*Aphia frequently talks or texts one of them on her play cell phone
*And if she is not doing something "with" them, she is telling me about them in one way or another, ie: things they do, like, say, play.

In 9 days we are going to Lamb's Resort on the north shore with my mom's whole family. I am PRAYING that Hunter, Charlie and Greta are there (or at least Greta- who Aphia actually plays with the most) so that she can have actual face-to-face play time with them!

First Hair Cut

Today was a big day for the "Big-o-Boy"... that's what we call him. He lost his long, Justin Bieberesque locks as Grandma Lollie turned him into a little man. I held it together and didn't cry, only because he was so darn cute during the process AND because I was busy helping to hold his head still. He did amazingly well for being 10 1/2 months old and not really knowing the meaning of "Isaiah, hold still."

So without further ado... The hair cut!

Before...

After...

The PR

For my 30th birthday I was blessed with a few amazing gifts. A few of them had to do with my new Project Room (some inadvertently). For a while now, the "office" on our main floor has been consumed with boxes that all needed to (still) be unpacked. I didn't really want to do it though, until I had a grand idea for the room in mind. Jeremiah's mom told me that for my birthday she would come and help me organize it and buy some stuff to help with that process. When she told me that, I ran with it! I was also blessed by Jeremiah's dad and stepmom with a Menards gift card and paint supplies, so I quick did some painting (which I really enjoy doing) for the room to take shape. My mom and dad also gave me some money and I was able to buy my project table to put in the room! It was a joint effort by me and all the moms and dads :) For which I am extremely grateful! I finished painting with little time to spare before my MIL came to put it all together with me... or should I say I helped her? She was the main brains behind the operation!

Here's the "office" turned Project Room from start to (almost) finish.

Here it is, just prior to painting the trim. All of main boxes have been moved from the room.

Here is the room, after the white trim is all done.

A look-see into the freshly painted closet and a peek at the aqua walls. It's hard to see the actual aqua of the walls, because they look rather blue in these pictures. I assure you... They are a beautiful aqua!!

Here is my project desk all ready to be utilized! I have to put up two more shelves over in that corner, and also have to decide whether they will be used for function or decoration...

This is a sweet little cubbie that we were not really sure what to use for when we first moved in. Now it holds my adorable orange baskets and the kids "project books."

Here is the closet all filled up, organized and ready for action!

Just really love this cute little whiteboard with orange ribbon and marker!

And finally... My orange trash can! I just love the orange with the aqua. It makes me smile.

I Remember

I remember when you were at twinkle in my eye.
I remember when you in my tummy all day and all night.
I remember when you gave us a scare and decided to spend some time at Children’s.
I remember when you came home to our house.
I remember when you slept through the night.
I remember when you first smiled at me.
I remember when you got your first tooth.
I remember when you took your first step.
I remember when you said “mama”.
I remember when you became best friends with your buddy Jack.
I remember when you loved Thomas and his train friends.
I remember when you sang “Jesus Loves Me” to me.
I remember when you called motorcycles “motodackas”
I remember when you welcomed your little sister with joyful love.
I remember when you memorized your first Bible verse.
I remember when you told your first knock-knock joke.
I remember when you discovered your love for jumping off the dock on your own.
I remember when you started to dress yourself.
I remember when you went off to Cubbies.
I remember when you started to read.
I remember when you went off to Pre-school.
I remember when you welcomed your little brother with incredible love.
I remember when you said some of the funniest quotes I’ve ever heard.

I will remember your first day of Kindergarten just like I remember all these other things and more.

I love you so very much my little JJK. You are a joy and a light in my life. May the Lord bless your days in school. My you enjoy much, learn much, listen much, and laugh much. May you show respect, love, and kindness to your classmates and teachers. May the Lord go with you and guide you as you start this chapter of your life, “The School Years.” I love you!

2nd Most Fun Game

On Sunday night, after a long, fun weekend of camping, Jeremiah, Jonah and I headed down to the new Target Field to take in a Twins baseball game.

Jeremiah got tickets from his boss to sit in the Legend's Club! And so there we sat, on cushioned seats in the first row almost directly behind home plate. The stadium and field in itself are incredible and we were very fortunate to be able to go!

Jonah was very excited for the game, telling us about 7 times on our way there that he had never even been to a stadium before! He was excited to see Joe Mauer, TC the Bear and Dad & Mom on the Jumbotron. At one point he also wanted to know why all the people on the Jumbotron were kissing! Another fun thing was that Jeremiah was inches away from catching a foul ball! If only he had long arms ;)

Here are some pictures from our night there.

Oh and I say that this was my 2nd most fun game because the MOST fun game that I've ever been to was the High School Basketball State Championship a couple years ago. It was between Armstrong (my high school) and Buffalo (my current city). There were 3 pointers galore, most of the time it was within 2 points and finally Buffalo won by 2 points! It was a riot!

September 7th, you are still too far away

On September 7th, Jonah starts Kindergarten. Holy cats. I can't believe he's going to be in school all day, everyday. A piece of me is really sad about this. And today when I say "A piece" I actually mean "Not one little tiny ounce!"

After breakfast I let the kids go out on the deck after breakfast to blow bubbles. And why wouldn't they proceed to pour the big jug of bubbles all over the deck and table, only to slide, glide and run through it, rub their hands in it and then their hands in their hair and all over their clothes? That makes perfect, logical sense to me! ugh.

When the knock came on the deck door asking me to open it up so they could come inside, I of course dropped everything I was doing and came to their rescue. Never would I open the door the teensiest bit and say, "You told me you were going to blow bubbles. You proceeded to make a huge mess that I am not ready or prepared to clean up right now. When I am ready to deal with you, then you can come in. Until then, you need to stay on the deck in the mess you made," and then shut the door and go about my business in the kitchen.

Not 2 minutes later, Jonah as picked up the dogs leash thingy and decided that he should wrap it around his sister's neck I came screaming (because I know they can hear me even through the sliding glass door) and running towards the door to make him stop. He drops the leash and looks at me like, "What???" ugh again.

Bored. Kids. In. Need. Of. School. To. Start.

I love Fall. It's my MOST favorite time of year and this Fall is no different. I am so excited for the start of structure and routine. I've made countless schedules as to what our weeks will look like, making and re-making in different color schemes and such. NERD. I know.

I'm excited for the crisp air. I'm excited for the everyday routine. I'm excited to go to Lamb's Resort at the end of September (a long standing extended family tradition). I'm excited for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) and Community Bible Study to start. I'm excited for early bedtime routines. I'm excited to make lunches to put in lunch boxes.

Fall is a magical time when all seems to turn and make everything good in the world. At least in my world.

Last Day in my 20's

Today, August 2nd, 2010 is the last and final day in my 20's. I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I think that fact is quite possibly because I don't really care. I thought that I would care a lot more. Some have told me that the turn to 30 is a tough one to take and so I have geared up for disaster and catastrophe- impending dooooooom! But it does not feel like that. I am very content and satisfied with where my life is at, at (almost) 30. God is good and has abundantly blessed.

Last summer as I hit the big 2-9, I decided to make a list in my journal. It is titled, "Some things that I love in my 29th year" and here they are in no particular order, just things I wrote down throughout the year:
*Jesus
*Flip flops
*MOPS
*Dove dark chocolate
*Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (induced by my pregnancy with Isaiah!!)
*Big bulky necklaces
*Digital cameras
*My family!!
*Doing kitchen things: cooking, canning, baking (but not cleaning)
*Satin
*The internet (facebook, blogs, etsy, google, etc)
*Watching my children play together splendidly (they really are BFF's)
*The fact that Jonah LOVES pre-school
*Naptime
*Journaling
*Shopping with my Phia or going to "Caribou's"
*Snuggling up with JJ after the kids are in bed to chat or watch a movie
*Vitamin D
*Being able to stay home with my children
*Starts of new seasons
*Leadership of many sorts
*Pentel RSVP fine tip pens- in black
*Scrapbooking
*Our new home!
*School supply shopping
*Dates with Jesus at Coffee Connection
*JJ doing breakfast with the kids so I don't have to hear the crunching of the cereal :)
*When a child or two gets a "getaway" weekend at Grandparents homes
*Laughing with my kids
*The occasional Happy Hour
*Watching JJ's softball games
*Our mattress
*Shopping by myself

It will be interesting to see if my enjoyment shifts when I turn (gasp!) 40.

Out of the Mouths of Moms

So my bloggy friend MckMama (www.mckmama.com) has a new post up called "Out of the Mouths of Moms" like the button above says.

I'm gonna do an "Out of the Mouths of Moms" post here, because I think I say pretty funny stuff to my kids sometimes... if someone were to walk in just as I was saying them and not know what's going on. So here we go. These are for-real quotes from yours truly to my kiddos:

"I think that if I whistled, it would sound the same as a midget, yes."

"I'm sorry you think her singing is 'actually really obnoxious,' she can still sing"

"No, you can't have Isaiah's poopy diaper for an experiment."

"Take your Turd with you when you go down to the lake so you don't lose him."

"Please take your polar bear out of the freezer."

"Please don't stand on the deck naked like that."

"Please take the counting bears out of the toilet."

"The words to the song are, 'Say what you need to say,' not "Sandwich needs to say.'"

**And my personal favorite (not-so-much funny, but STILL my favorite!):
"That's right Buddy, if you saw Jesus walking on the water and he told you to walk out to him, you could. Because you're absolutely correct when you say, 'If he says it, it will happen.'"


How about you? Say anything funny to your kids lately?

Hop over to MckMama's blog and check out what others have said to their kids! I was laughing so hard at some of them I was crying!

The Tea Party

With the movement and rising of the political Tea Party (whose ideals I do appreciate!) I thought I'd host my own lil tea party for the kiddos. Because well, you know, that's about as far as I can get politically at this point in my life.

I invited Jonah and Aphia to join me for afternoon tea today. I told them that they had to dress up in outfits from our dress up boxes and that I'd come and escort them to tea. I spoke in a British accent, which they thought was really odd. I told them they had to have very good manners at tea and they did! They only spoke when I asked them a question- they were clearly not sure how to act which was quite hysterical! We munched on tea cakes (Little Debby Zebra Cakes) and sipped our tea (cherry lime Vitamin Water) with our pinkies out. I lit some candles and put a table cloth on the table! When I asked them about their favorite parts of summer so far, Jonah said, "Swimming in the pool yesterday with Jack." Aphia said, "Having tea right now!"

Ellian

We had a "visitor" at our house tonight. As I was bathing Isaiah, Aphia came into the bathroom and let me know that "Ellian" was sitting on the stairs. I continued the conversation with, "Oh! Who is Ellian?" "She's my friend and she's 3." "Cool, did she come to visit us?" I asked. "Yep, she lives with her mom and dad. But her dad died," Aphia said looking rather sad. "Oh, that's too bad. How did her dad die?" I asked. "He went to the doctor and then got hurt and then he died." "Does she have brothers or sisters?" "No, just a mom and a dad, but her dad is dead." "Ok, where does she live?" I pressed on. "Where do me and Ellian live?" "No, where does Ellian live?" she seemed to want to evade the question and so continued with, "Her nickname is Ellie. We can call her that." "Ok, well then where does Ellie live?" "Me and Ellie?" "No, just Ellie." "Um, she lives with her mom, because her dad died." She seemed sad, but matter of fact about it. "She's here to play with me, but right now she's sitting over on the steps."

The conversation continued a bit about Ellian, but died away when the kids realized that Nature was on, on PBS in a minute, and Ellian didn't get mentioned again.

I think it is comical when imaginary friends show up. It just makes me wonder what is going on in the little brain of the one conjuring them up. An old neighbor girl once had an imaginary friend who could do all the things that she couldn't. "Saphina" could talk back to her parents and disobey, she could stay up as late as she wanted, she could hit and kick and stick out her tongue. My sister used to have her "grandfather" which was also a little funny since both of our grandpas died many, many years before we were born.

I do not remember Jonah ever having an imaginary friend. But I often tease about how he's not an "out of the box" thinker, much like his Papa. I also often tease Jeremiah about how rigid he was/is in his playing and how he had the imagination of a rock. Sure he'd play, but it was never anything remotely outlandish. Very real, practical, methodical, and logistical he was/is. When I say, "Let's pretend..." to the kids, Jeremiah kind of cocks his head to the side like puppies do, like he hasn't the foggiest idea of what I'm saying. It's pretty cute!

I know this to be true: my daughter is much too much like her mom. Be it her imagination, or her need to be partying with the group (as she proved last night, staying up until 11:30 because she did not want to miss out on what was going on with grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles), her fiery temper, or her excitement for anything! It excited me when Ellian came to play today, it made me smile getting to talk with Aphia about her pretend friend.

Some Days Are Longer Than Others

This summer has been an interesting one so far. As we are about mid-way through I feel like we just started since June was so icky. I spent a lot of June being stuck inside for one of two reasons. 1. It was raining. Or 2. We did not have anything to do outside. Our swingset is still at the old house (being used as a selling point), our pool was not set up, we do not have a sand box, I did not have a double stroller to go on walks with, etc. When I would say to the older kids, "Why don't you go outside and play?" they would say, "Ok and do what?" thus, stumping the mother.

Now it's July and we have done a few things to remedy the situation. We grabbed the swings off the swing set at the old house and put them up under the deck here. We put up the pool and it has been so fun playing in there! And a friend of mine lent me her old double stroller. Now if I want to go on a walk with all three kids it's not Jonah way far ahead on his bike, Aphia way back behind stopping to look at every critter, tree branch or shadow, and me somewhere between the two with Isaiah.

One fabulous point that put things into perspective for me was something my friend Amy said at our Bible Study, two Mondays ago. We were talking about praying for wisdom and being wise. She said that for a while there would be days that she would just say, "Lord, please just let me survive this day. Just get me to bedtime, please!" when she realized that she was not utilizing her days in the way that the Lord would want her to. She shifted her prayer to, "Lord this is going to be a long day, please help me to be wise with the time you have given me today." WOW. I needed to hear this SO much! With three little kids home, all the time, not much on the calendar and looooooong days, I was just trying to survive, not the day, but the ENTIRE SUMMER! Where was the enjoyment? The fulfillment? The fun? I treasured the wise words of my wise friend and changed my daily prayer. Boy what a difference it has made! I have made more of an effort to be the fun mom, not always there just to train, punish, correct and control- blech! Who wants one of those?! Who wants to be one of those?! Not me! On either account! So while I know that it is still my role to "train up a child in the way that he should go," I'm doing it with a little bit of a wiser and lighter heart. And we have been having fun and it has been magnificent!

Each day I look at the posted reminder in my kitchen that says, "Lord help me to be wise with my days." And I remember the words that a MOPS speaker once said to us, "Don't just endure the moment, ENJOY it!"

Meet George Jetson

CAUTION: The following blog entry is going to make me sound archaic. Old. Not down with the times. Ancient. Will cause teenagers to shake their heads in utter embarrassment. But I am willing to take the risk anyways. Here goes.

"Who is she talking to in the family room?" I asked my mom about my sister, Gina, when I was sitting in their kitchen earlier today. I could hear her having a full on conversation, knowing full well that she was alone in the room. "It must be Miss Patsy." "Oh, of course!" I thought, that makes perfect sense, knowing that Gina's boyfriend's mom, Miss Patsy, lives approximately 1000 miles away.

Skype.

It is the way of the Jetsons and we are actually living it.



LIVING IT! Crazy. Amazing. Astonishing. Wonderful. Nuts. Flabbergasting. The picture above of Jane would not make any 16 year old kid bat an eye. They might even wonder why there is a cord that is connected to Jane's monitor. How inconvenient!

My sister and her boyfriend, Chase, have been dating cross-country for over 2 years. They are 17. They met each other while each was on vacation in Branson, Missouri, he from Louisiana and her from Minnesota. They have been able to keep in touch via cell phone, text, email, Myspace, Facebook, traveling here and there a few times, and now Skype. It is very incredible to me.

They live hundreds of miles apart and the other night they actually watched a movie "together." They connected via skype, popped in their dvd's and snuggled up virtually, on their own respective couches. Now this is the kind of dating my dad and any other father would love for his 17 year old daughter! They talked and laughed simultaneously through the movie, just as if they were actually there with each other. Again, mind blowing to me.

I know that many, many people connect through Skype everyday. This is sooooo not new to some of my peeps. It is simply awesome, and who'd-a-thunk that in my day we would actually be living in the way of the Jetsons. Now if I could only get Jeremiah to really use his connections with Honda to get me ASIMO (the Honda robot) as my own personal Rosie...



{drifts off to fantasy dream world where my floors are washed, toilets are gleaming, clothes are folded and put away, meals are cooked all while I am outside playing with my children}

Adventures on Big Pine Lake

Last weekend we headed up north to Big Pine Lake for a weekend with Jeremiah's mom's family for a little reunion. It was a really great time!

Saturday was a little chilly most of the day, but we didn't let it get us down. We played in the sand and water all day. The kids each caught their maximum number of fish and we had a GREAT fish fry that night! Mmmm Mmmm!

Sunday was glorious and we spent the day, again, playing!

Here's the little man, thinking he is a big man, going to go out on the tube! Maybe in a couple years buddy.

Here he is again, thinking he's all big, heading out on the PWC (Personal Water Craft- we're not allowed to call it a jet ski in our family... it's that whole "tissue" vs. "kleenex" thing... "bandage" vs. "bandaid") Jonah- as night was setting in on Big Pine.

Phi McGee (as her Auntie Bex calls her) climbing up the monkey bars.

He really IS a redneck! We have proof!

Nate, Jeremiah, and Matt all heading out on the PWC. The next picture would be of them all falling off the watercraft and into the water, as you can see here they're starting to tip. NERDS.

City gone Country

There have been two occurances within the last week that have spoken to both my "city girl" side and "country girl" side. I grew up in the suburbs, so not even really the city, but I did go to college right smack dab in Minneapolis, blocks from downtown. And I don't even really live in the country now, but our old house in Buffalo was one house away from a corn field and you could see the silo from my front steps.

Anyways. Earlier this week I had a "first" that made me more country than city. I hit my first animal. I was buzzing down Pulaski Road when I saw a little chipmunk on the other side of the road. He started to head the other way, but then quickly panicked and headed towards my side of the road. One bump later, I looked in my rearview to see he had apparently decided that this life was just too hard and one encounter with my tires and it was all over. I was not too broken up about it, Aphia and I continued talking about whatever it is we were talking about and she was none the wiser.

Today we had a storm out here in Buffalo. I guess the news people were all over it, but I really did not watch since the only tv that gets reception is in my bedroom upstairs and we were chilling in the family room.

Jeremiah called me around 5:45 and said, "Are you home?" I naively said, "Yep, there's no t-ball tonight (a little bummed about that)." To which he replied, "Well obviously!!" I said, "Huh? Why obviously?" He said, "It's hailing here in Delano, there was a tornado, and the sirens are going off. And it's headed your way!" "Oh! Well it's just raining here. Huh."

A few minutes later it did start to hail, so I scrambled to pull the van into our already packed garage. I was very successful in squeezing it into a super small space on the first try, not touching anything, but also not being able to get out my door or the other front door. I had to crawl into the back seat (spilling coffee along the way), open the sliding door, climb out over bikes, get around to the front and climb over the hood to get back in the house. By the time the van was in the garage it was done hailing the two stupid, little hail balls that lasted about 5.8 seconds.

Jeremiah called back a few minutes later and as we were chatting my definite city girl showed herself! I was standing in the front of our house, looking out the living room windows and said to him, "Wow! You should see these clouds! They look crazy! I wish you were here to see this! It's right above the neighbors house kitty corner from us, just barely above their house. The clouds are kind of like moving in a circular motion! I'm sure it's not a tornado though. They're just really big clouds that are just moving around in a circle. It's weird though because it's like some clouds are coming up from the ground and being sucked into the big ones on top! Well, how long does it even take for a tornado to form?" "About 3 seconds! I think you should go to the basement!" He firmly replied. I said, "Ok we'll go down there." And we did, but not before I first went outside to video tape the clouds in all their craziness with my cell phone. Yep. City. Yep. Moron.

Oh and I guess that was the "tornado" that touched down just north of Buffalo. Did I mention that I live on the very north end of Buffalo? Hmm, who knew?!

Hello VBS, My Long Lost Love

Today was Day #1 of Vacation Bible School at church. VBS is one of my MOST favorite times of the year. This deep, deep seeded love began YEARS ago. It all started in 7th grade actually, the first year I was able to be a helper. I only actually attended it one year of VBS as we had just joined our church in 6th grade.

So travel back in time with me to 1993, when I was a little "sevie" (as my mom used to call me and my bestie Mandy). My mom and I pull up to church in our family's full sized van to drop me off at the VBS planning meeting. First off, this is a "planning" meeting and if you know me, you know I'm already giddy. Secondly, I get to the room and there are snacks, major kudos to the planners of said planning meeting. And lastly, we get binders. With lists. And charts. Color. Coded. Charts. I am now having heart palpitations because I am so excited.

I loved sitting through every single minute of this meeting and getting ready to have "my own" class. Too bad I was actually only a helper to an adult teacher. I must also apologize to that teacher because I am sure that I walked in and said something to her like, "I'll be fine leading the class on my own, you can go out for coffee, you are no longer needed here."

My mom also reminded me of a nice little (weird, crazy) gesture that I made after the meeting. I wrote a thank you note to Cindy, the Children's Ministry Coordinator, for such a wonderful meeting, telling her how much I was looking forward to VBS. She later, told my mom that she got the card from me, saying how sweet it was and that she had never received a note thanking her for a meeting before.

So here are a few pictures of VBS's that I have led. I don't have all the pictures of all the classes, but here are a handful.

Above is of Karin and I with our class. This is the earliest picture I have, but I was 16.

The above and below pictures are of the classes that my brother Michael and I led together. These were some of my absolute favorite classes. The class below was AWESOME at Bible quizzing. We even brought in a couple other high school teachers to quiz against our kids and OUR ROCKSTARS BEAT THEM- FAIR AND SQUARE! I kid you not.

And finally the class to end all classes is below. This group of 13, 5th and 6th grade boys did me in for a while. I had to go on hiatus. My "helper" was my brother Richie. He was usually the worst of them. He's the third in from the right in the back row. He looks like one of them, not a helper. 13 boys need a male leader. I might need to write an un-thank you note to Cindy on that one. ;)

And here we are, eons later. Me and my own kids heading off to Vacation Bible School. My prayer, dream and hope for them is that they will grow a love for VBS, but moreso for Jesus through VBS and other places/people. I can safely say that I think we are on the right track- as is evidenced by the leaves, vines, and "Scarlett Mackaws" that Jonah has been coloring, cutting, and taping all over our house since we got home from "SonQuest Rainforest" VBS today. He is decorating our house in the exact same fashion that church is currently made to look like.

Dedicated to the Lord

On Sunday, June 13th Jeremiah and I will stand before our church family (and related family) and make a promise to the Lord, to Isaiah and to them to raise up our little boy in a Christ following home. We will promise to teach him the words of the Bible, pray with him and for him, and to model, to the best of our abilities, what it means to be a Christian.

Isaiah John Kruger~ Your daddy and I pray that you will grow to be a man of God, loving Jesus and loving people. We pray that you will be a boy and then a man who is full of integrity, passion, love, devotion and whose heart is filled with Jesus! We pray that you will be a light to the world and a leader for Christ. We love you beyond words!

How do I love thee... Let me count the ways...

I am quickly falling head over heels in love with our new abode. She is open and spacious, warm and inviting. Each time I come in her doors, she greets me with love. Ok, it might not be this way to the average person since when they walk through the front doors they are greeted with stark white walls (that for now I have agreed to leave that way for Jeremiah) and really no furniture in the living room. But to me, she is becoming home, the place where our family belongs.

Some of the things that I love about her are:
*Her extra wide stairways (most are 3 feet wide or so and ours are 4 feet)
*Her plush carpet in the family room
*The fact that you can stand on the upstairs stairway and look down into the kitchen, living and dining rooms and it feels so open
*Her great backyard that is fenced in (though it doesn't seem to keep mangy little mutts inside- he just jumps right over!)
*Her three garage spaces
*Her center island in the kitchen
*All her cabinet and counter space in the kitchen
*Not having to clean out a bagillion toys from the tub to take a shower (since the kids have their own and we have our own!)
*Her ceiling fan in my bedroom with the remote
*The fact that the dishwasher is on a "light switch" up on the counter so that kiddos cannot just start the dishwasher by locking it
*Her back entryway through the laundry room
*Her main floor laundry room
*Her ample windows for natural lighting
*Her disposal in the sink (I grew up with one, but Jeremiah refused to ever put one in the old house, because it was just one more thing that could break- which was true so I didn't fight it)

Now just as in any relationship there are those things that bug you, but aren't "break it" deals and here are a couple:
*Her closet space is not ample
*Her linoleum in the entry way and kitchen are pretty scuffed and gouged up

And well that's all I can think of for now so, I'm thinking- She's a GEM!

Where you at?

We at da new house!

Monday May 24th we took possession of our new home! Here are the kids in the new, empty family room. Jonah and Aphia LOVED running, running, running in circles in the big empty rooms. Jonah asked, frequently, if we could leave them empty so that they would always have a place to run! He's not super thrilled with all the stuff that got moved in. But as for now, the living room sits vitually empty, save for the piano and a hutch and so they can run in there. But that is what our fenced in backyard is actually for!

Here are the kids in the kitchen on the first night. We had a picnic on the empty floor with Happy Meals!

Now real life is setting in... continuing to unpack, organize, rearrange, unpack some more, organize some more, rearrange some more. Plus making sure that everything is set and ready to go at the old house so that we can list it tomorrow! I'll post some pictures of that soon, it looks great and is ready to be SOLD!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all who have helped out with our move and transition! There were many, many people who helped out and we are SO GRATEFUL for the help of family and friends.

I am all packed up Mom!

Isaiah is packed up and ready to go! Aphia keeps asking if we can put Isaiah in the boxes that are strewn about our house and so we do!

But I cling to the wise words of my MIL when she encouraged us to still do something fun each day. Or sometimes take time to do nothing at all- which is what this blogging time is to me! Since it's only 10:30 and I've packed 4 big boxes today already.

So here we are at a park in Monticello that we like to go to. We enjoyed grabbing some Taco Bell for a picnic dinner, then having some much needed "down" playtime with the kids.

The next time I post we will be in our NEW HOUSE!!! We are so excited! Jonah asked me if we would be done packing after we moved. I told him yes, we would be done, but then we would have to UNPACK. That can be a much slower process however, that I am really looking forward to doing in my NEW HOUSE!!!

"EYES"aiah

The eyes on this little baby boy just might be the death of me. When he looks at me, I crumble to bits. I am in big trouble.

Day at the Museum

A couple weeks ago I decided to be brave and take all three children to the Children's Museum. Jonah had a two week long spring break and so toward the end, when we were all a little squirrely, we took a field trip!


We packed our lunches and headed to St. Paul for a day of fun! I was really happy with how the day went- I really was not sure how they would all do, but it was great! We left our house just as Isaiah would normally nap and he slept the whole way there making for a pleasant arrival!

We made our first stop to play in the water exhibits, blowing bubbles and playing with the Lock and Dam.

After the water, we headed over to the Dinosaur exhibit- definitely a favorite! I think of Mrs. Teranadon (from the show Dinosaur Train) singing, "I think I'll name you Shiny, Tiny and Don," when I look at this next picture of the kids sitting in a dinosaur egg nest.

They got to dig for fossils amongst cut up, old, rubber tires!

And here's Jones and Phi, sitting on the Trodon.

We ended the day with some face painting. It took ALL day to convince my type A boy to paint his face. And this is all I got from him!

Aphia was more adventurous with picking out colors, but still wanted me to paint it on her.

There were a few other exhibits that ranked in the top, but I don't have great pictures from them. Jonah was NOT a fan of the huge Queen Ant in the life size ant farm and Aphia did not want to crawl through the hollowed tree that was a tunnel. They LOVED the "town" that had a bus, grocery store, doctor's office, post office, home, and tv station!

A special hat tip goes to Ann for letting me borrow her stroller :)
You'd think that with three kids, I'd have one conducive to doing something like this. Well I don't. I sold my old regular stroller last summer because Jeremiah wanted a jogging one so he could rollerblade behind it. So I have that and an umbrella type, but the umbrella doesn't lay back and the jogger is not good for manuevering around smaller spaces. Thus my hunt begins for another stroller.