Season of Thanksgiving

Really, Thanksgiving is a season, right?  It spans from November through December, as we reflect on all that we've been given in December as well.  So...

Thankful #18 - The Family Ministry Team at our church!  Glory to God in the Highest!  I am on this team and it's right where I'm suppose to be.  Yesterday, I enjoyed an AMAZING break for parents and indulged a little - vanilla latte at the local coffee shop on Main street with my feet up, next to the fireplace, reading the best book, and talking to God...courtesy of the volunteers for Christmas Break for Parents.  My friend, Katie, took a shower during her break.  She was pumped.  Yes, only as a mother of young kids do you get so excited to take a shower alone, in peace.  :)

Thankful #19 - Opportunity!  Matt and I were just reflecting a bit on this tonight.  Our parents and grandparents have given us so much opportunity and for that we are incredibly thankful.  Mom and Dad, Mark and Brenda - you know what you've done!

Thankful #20 - New Friends!  In no way will they replace the strong friendships that we have built with old friends, but it's nice to have something planned with another couple and their son in our new location - they're coming over for dinner this month.  (Yes, we had to plan that far in advance.)  And I am feeling more connected at our church.  God is good...all the time.

Thankful #21 - Claire Claire.  Love her.  She was so cute tonight.  I was nursing Henry in bed tonight and she came up and put Baby to bed in our room.  She prayed with her - thanking God for Mama, Daddy, Opa...and others.  Then she sang our lullaby to her, gave her a cuddly "Schnuffeltuch" (cuddle toy) and tucked her in.  I realize that many little girls do this, but when MY little girl does it, I think she's wonderful.

Thankful #22 - Hen-ro (Henry).  He is really cool, he can walk now and loves to point at things.  Mostly balloons.  Sometimes Mommy or the Christmas tree.  Otherwise he loves to say "ga" or "da" (I think he is part Russian).

GUEST POST in purple by the one and only, Matty!

A Little Behind, but Still Thankful...

Day 9 - My awesome Aunt Chris!  I love her so much and she's so special to me.  We have a wonderful relationship and I can always count on her!  She's got a great sense of humor, is a whiz in the kitchen, and it's always fun spending time with her.  She's greatly influenced my life, giving me a wonderful curiosity for trying new foods and experiences!


Day 10 - Thankful for a wonderful family-in-law!  I love that Matt has a big family and am blessed that they include me as one of the bunch!  And I am thankful for Aunt Sue helping decorate Henry's cupcakes. :)

Day 11 - My brother and sister-in-law, as friends.  Alex and Jaclyn are great to spend time with, just the four of us.  We have gotten to spend more time with just them since moving, and that's definitely a positive!

Day 12 - It's my baby boy's birthday!  I'm incredibly thankful for Henry Matthew.  :)

Day 13 -  I'm thankful for my longest friend, Kristin!  We met and became friends the summer before sixth grade.  A few weeks ago, while organizing, I read what she wrote in my high school graduation guestbook.  It was something like "It's been fun knowing you."  Her mom, Lori, wrote, "Keep in touch!"  Little did we know that we would become even closer not seeing each other everyday (during golf season).  She is SUCH a great friend.  We can always pick up right where we left off, she is so easy to talk to, encouraging, and genuinely interested in my day, even if I have nothing spectacular to share.  I love her so much!

Day 14 - My mother-in-law!  She always is willing to help out when we ask.  Last week, on her day off, she came over for four hours to help with the kids and distract them while I cleaned.  Since then, the house has been 'in order.'  And let me tell you, when the house is in order, everyone is more relaxed and we enjoy each day a bit more!

Day 15 - Refreshing conversations with close friends - today with Jen while the girls played together, and also for phone conversations.  It makes my heart happy! :)

Day 16 - I'm thankful that I'm healthy and for the health of my family!  I want to take up cross-country skiing.  I have been walking.  I do not want to take for granted that the Lord gave me good health.  I want to honor Him by taking care of myself!

Day 17 - So thankful for my husband's attitude, helpfulness, and work ethic!

Days 7 & 8 - Family!

Day 7 -
I'm super thankful for being born to great, loving parents!  They taught me to be compassionate, modeled a great work ethic, and instilled in me the importance of financial responsibility.  Without them, I wouldn't have gotten the fortunate start that I did.

Day 8 -
Mom and Dad also gifted me a brother and I'm blessed to have a great relationship with him!  Alex is one of my best friends and I'm so proud of him!

November 6 - Freedom!

Today I'm thankful for the freedom to choose to worship the Lord and pray in public; the freedom to choose my spouse; the freedom to keep and raise my children, boy or girl; the freedom to become educated, especially as a woman; the freedom to choose our country's leaders; the freedom to work as a woman; and the freedom that comes with working from home with my own business.

In many countries or cultures, all or some of these are still denied!  Atrocity.

Day 5 - My two lights!

Claire and Henry are the lights of my day!  I love their smiles and playing and curiosity and love.  The other night, Claire told Matt, "Daddy, I wanna play with Mama."  We had been playing Mama Monster and she loves it because she has my undivided attention - my goal - pursuing her - and it's fun too!  I love spending time with my kiddos and a family and am so grateful God has entrusted us to raise them. I am so grateful that they still love spending time with me, as I know it won't always be so!  I pray that I can be the type of parent that is respected, but still fun, that I can set an example for my kiddos and their friends, even in those teen and college years, so much so that they will 'want' to hang out with me and their friends every once in a while. :)

November 4 - Non-negotiables

Matt and I are both so grateful for amazing friends that feel like family, and for celebrating special occasions together!  Today we were honored to be included in celebrating the baptism of Benjamin John.  He's just a little peanut, but God already has so much in store for him!

Sometime within these past six months, I heard about 'non-negotiables.'  It may have even been from a movie, but I liked it and it stuck with me.  The advice whomever gave was to make some events non-negotiables in your best friends' lives.  For example, a wedding would be a non-negotiable, meaning you'd do everything you possibly could to make it to a friends' wedding.  It shows value in the relationship and support for the life event, not to mention creating memories together, which is super important to this 'quality time' minded girl!  I talked with Matt about this idea, and we decided we liked it and it was a good way to ensure that we stay in touch with friends that we don't live near (let's face it, that's ALL our friends right now!).  It's so important to us to keep these wonderful friendships strong that we made in DSM, even though we've moved!  So...births, baptisms, 1st birthdays, weddings, and sadly, deaths...non-negotiables!  And THAT'S why we had a road trip today...and it was well worth the time in the car!

November 3 - I'm His

Today I'm thankful that I get my worth from the Lord.  That means even when I've done everything wrong, and am feeling at my worst, I can take comfort in knowing He made me in His image, to glorify Him, and I can do all things in Him who gives me strength.

Lately I've noticed my need for that strength more!  Whoever said this being a mama thing was easy had never tried it.  I actually did think, in a way, that being at home with my kids would be 'easier,' though that's not the right word.  It definitely is more laid back and flexible as far as schedules, getting out the door by a certain time, are concerned.  But it is in no way easier.  I think it wears me out even more than teaching!  Matt and I are both exhausted by the end of a day of parenting.  There have been a few days lately when I've really felt like I'm doing nothing right, and yes, that's in my exhausted state of mind, but it's then that I turn to God and ask Him to remind me that I'm His.  He has adopted me as His daughter.  And even though I'm not doing this whole parenting thing perfectly (and as much as I try to do it perfectly!), I have faith that my Savior is in control.  His plan is greater!  He has marked my children as His since the day they were conceived, and He knows them better than anyone, and though they may stray, He will always have open arms when they run back to Him!

November 2 - 30 Days of Thankful

Today I have been thankful for sleep, especially super restful and rejuvenating sleep!  When I woke up this morning, I was astonished to see the time - 6:30.  Henry had let me sleep from 11 until 6:30.  Folks, this was big news!  Then he slept with me until 8.  I woke up feeling...tired?!?  Yes!  But only because it was the best I'd slept in...well, 11.5 months.  I had slept so soundly, but felt great once I woke up!

Grandma Diekema always told mom, "All the while they're asleep they're growing taller, and all the while they're awake they're growing smarter!"  Henry is going to be one smart cookie!

In other news...yesterday and today, Henry has been a more motivated walker.  He has been standing up and then walking to objects and people without our prompting.  He also had a great time climbing today...the stairs, boxes, chairs.  He was pretty proud of himself for getting up on the living room chair.

Claire was a super good mama today and made sure her baby had a clean diaper, went poo on the potty, and had warm pjs on.  Yesterday she fed Baby chili and cheerios.  Yep, she's a good mama.  She's been imaginative playing more lately.  It's so fun to watch.  She also had to call the doctor several times on her cell today to report that Henry was injured.  She even made him an appointment.

Cross your fingers that Henry sleeps well again tonight.  Matt is even hopeful (hence sleeping in our bed again).  We'll see!  :)

November 1

I'm SO very thankful for my husband, Matt!  Especially when he recognizes what I need and does something seemingly little that makes my day or makes me feel a ton better!  :)

Last weekend as I was heading out the door to a 31 event, he ran outside in his socks as I was driving away to give me the pancake that he'd just finished cooking...all so I could have breakfast.  I couldn't stop smiling!

Then yesterday, when I wasn't feeling so great about myself after shopping and not finding anything that I was happy with, he invited us in to his work for lunch.  He knows that sometimes lunch is a stressful time at home when it's rushed before naptime, so he thought it would make it easier on me to eat lunch together (even though he'd already eaten!).

(So I jumped on the thankful bandwagon.  I was just going to do it on Facebook, but I think it would be great to have this record!)

Jesus Love Me, This I Know

As we were driving to preschool this morning, I was singing Jesus Loves Me to Claire and Henry.  It's pretty typical that we are singing in the car whenever we're not talking, but this song was a new one.  It took a while to get it flowing too, as it was the first time I'd ever tried to translate it while singing.  You can imagine.  ;)  Anyway, Claire was loving it and kept asking "noch mal" (again) everytime I finished.  She got to talking more and clearly didn't have a clue who Jesus was.  I guess we're a lot better about saying "God" than "Jesus."  So I went into this explanation about Jesus being God's son just like Henry was Daddy's son, how God sent Jesus to the world to die for sinners, and that she and I and everyone were sinners.  I tried explaining how every time we make a bad decision, that's sinning.  And how God loved us so much that he forgives us every single time we ask for His forgiveness.  Well, I thought we were doing pretty good at understanding all this.  Then Claire replied, "I'm licking my toothbrush."

Claire's Three Year Old Wandering Mind: 1.  Mami's Explanation: 0.

I just had to laugh!  :)

Our Little Monkey and His Big Sister

Henry is 11 months and 8 days old!  He's quite the little monkey.  He loves to crawl superfast everywhere.  He also likes to climb on anything and everything.  This weekend he used the toys to get himself up onto Romber's coffee table ottoman.  He also had fun climbing in the big-girl doll pink jeep and through the end table legs.  At home he climbs the mountain of cushions and scales the easel that's been tipped over onto the walker toy for quite a while now.  Whenever Henry is missing (don't worry, only for a few seconds) I hurry to the stairs.  He's usually already half way up and looooveeees when I come to get him and chew him out in a fun little 'just joking' voice.  Here are some other Henry updates...

• He understands 'no' - we tell him this mostly in context of touching electrical outlets.
• LOVES the stairs and railings at Omi and Opa's and Grandma and Grandpa's!  Both sets have recently watched the kids for a couple hours in the evening and Henry thoroughly wore Opa and Grandpa out.  Somehow they both got the job of following him?! ;)  He and Opa climbed the stairs a dozen times.  Henry is really good at knowing that he needs to climb down 'backwards.'  When Matt and I got back to Mark and Brenda's after our dinner out, Mark's words were "you take over now!" in an exhausted and relieved tone.
• Steps!  Henry has been taking some steps when he slows down enough to try.  His record is eight!  It won't be long until he's walking if he decides it.  Right now he's so much faster crawling that he really prefers that.
• Language!  He still says Dada and once in a while, Claire, and we have added Riley and Grandpa into the mix.  Grandpa is a tough two syllable word, but he makes the sounds consistently when he's excited to see Grandpa out the window.  I'm sure he's learned it so well since Grandpa is always out here and we talk a lot about what he's doing outside. 
• Books!  We are doing a better job of listening to them and looking at the pictures instead of just chewing on them.  Though it's still difficult to get Henry to sit still long enough to listen to even a short board book.
• Henry is going to be a tough little boy!  When Claire trys to 'help' with him or take over, she often grabs him in the most awkward ways to move him.  He's really tolerant of her most of the time!
• Food - he loves trying new foods and has only made a face a couple times when trying something.  He is totally feeding himself, so sometimes we have quite a bit of food that he drops, but he has fun trying and gets some in!  He likes to nurse still throughout the day and usually once at night.
• Naps are not very routine because we are out and about three days a week.  We always make it home for an afternoon nap for both the kids and he naps in the morning for a couple hours if we are home, but if we're running errands or going to preschool or Kindermusik then he catches a catnap in the car to or from.

ClaireClaire is such a spunky little three year old girl.  It's amazing how one minute she can be a perfect little angel, making all the right choices and being so polite and sweet, and the next minute we can have a sharing or obeying problem.  She can be a little stinker and knows how to passively 'push buttons.'  With consistent reinforcement, I'm sure she will learn to share and obey.  And it's such a great responsibility (and exhausting!) that we've been entrusted to teach her.  Good thing God will grant us wisdom in raising his children!

I love our little monkey and his big sister and their papa so much.  I cannot imagine our life together any other way.  Lately I've been feeling incredibly blessed, for reasons that I've taken for granted.  I love when God uses someone else's story to inspire us or in this case to remind me to have an attitude of gratitude and leave my critical tendencies behind.  I can hear "don't sweat the small stuff" a hundred times, but until my heart is ready to hear it, it doesn't click.  Praise be to God for making it 'click' for me this week and for using other people's stories to bless my life.

Busy, Busy Farm!

Our farm has been a busy place these past couple weeks!  We started seeing the changes last week, when Grandpa got out the combine and started tuning it up.  He knows everything about the farm equipment and does all the work himself (as opposed to some farmers who hire it out).  Matt has a lot to learn from 'the Boss' as we affectionately call him.  This week, Daddy has been home to work in the fields.  Today (or technically yesterday) was a 14 hour day.  It's hard work, but Matt really enjoys it.

Inside, we've seen some changes too.  I have been adjusting to the single parent lifestyle.  I have spent more time praying, as God is the only one who can give me enough energy for these two when I'm running on little sleep.  Thank you, Lord, for the energy to enjoy the day!

Claire and Henry have been helping me plan meals, grocery shop, and prepare the feasts.  They are nothing special, but it's hot and filling food and it's forced me to meal plan...something I should be doing anyway.  Grandpa Dodge, Grandpa, and Daddy had lasagna and salad tonight.  I put some extra special ingredients in the lasagna, to which no one noticed.  Matt knew I 'spiced up' the recipe, but asked not to know the specifics.  It was tasty and he wanted to eat it without thinking about what was in it...lol.  Gotta sneak in some more veggies here and there!  Luckily, Grandpa Dodge eats whatever you put in front of him.  Grandpa makes special requests like "don't give me as much salad as him," to which I ignore and tell him he would have been better off not saying anything because now he's getting more salad.  Daddy has learned that he is going to get tomatoes on his plate whether he likes it or not.  It's my kitchen...I'll run it how I want!  (Yes, I'm feisty.  If you come over though, you are a guest, so I'll be nicer.)

Helping Mami in the kitchen!

"This one looks good.  Look at how strong I am, Mama!"
This was an impromptu pumpkin picking party at Ivan's.  Daddy rents his land from Ivan and Ivan always has a little produce stand.  We were on the way to the field to deliver water.  We definitely needed this excursion...it had been a long day.  Nothing like a little outing to turn it right around though.

"Yessss!!  Mami is finally letting me work on the computer." 

Typical Saturday During Harvest!
Matt has a free moment unloading the wagons so we went out to visit him.  The corn flows out of the wagons, up the auger, into the bin, up the auger, into the dryer, into the next bin.  Thought I'd add that little farming tutorial for all those who don't know what goes on around here...lol!  :)

Mama's Little Man

"I'm working here...no pictures!"

Black Bean Enchiladas...yummy!

Look closely and you'll see Daddy's little helper!
And for all those who haven't heard this story...Claire comes in from the field (combining with Daddy and Grandpa the other evening), asked me if I missed her, told me she missed me, and told me she worked hard for three miles!  Then she asked me if she could have a cookie.  Matt had come in the house that morning and had a cookie.  She wanted one at the time, but I'd told her that he got one because he'd been working hard for three hours and we didn't need one.  Apparently Claire has a memory like no other since nothing else was said all day and she remembered!  Only got miles/hours mixed up!  She enjoyed her cookie...  :)

10 months and Perfect Love

What a fun time we're having watching our kids grow.  I read today something about appreciating each day with your children, as the next day they are just a bit older and you can never get the previous day back.  Of course we all know this, but it was a good reminder that I needed to hear.

Henry is exploring everything.  He gets mad when I take something away that he wants or when I stop him in his tracks on his way to something new.  He stands momentarily now without holding on to anything, so he's finding his balance.  He still cruises like it's none of your business, and is so fast crawling all around!  He enjoys trying all sorts of new foods and eats anything (almost!) that we are eating as a family.  He prefers to feed himself and will grab at the spoon if someone else is trying to feed him.  He puts his hands together like a clap for 'more' and shakes his hands back and forth up in the air for 'all done.'  He says Dada, Daddy, and Claire.  It is SO difficult to change his diaper.  Sometimes he will lay still if I give him something new and interesting to look at, but sometimes that doesn't even work.  Don't worry, we still change him! ;)  He is skipping his afternoon nap lately, which makes for a tired boy before 7:30 bedtime.  I have to put him down at the first hint of tiredness in the morning for him to get up in time and be tired again at afternoon nap time.  That is difficult to do any day that we leave the house, so we just try our best.  Henry is still a laid back baby and as happy as ever.

I love it when he nurses, it's our special time (though sometimes I'm so tired I fall asleep with him!).  He still curls his little legs up while he sleeping-nurses.  Every time he does it I think about how he's still my baby and he will be a little boy soon.  I love it when he giggles or gives me his big smile.  I love it when he sits still long enough to read a book (not often!).  I love it when he grabs onto me or my clothes when I'm carrying him around (as if to hold on for dear life!).  I love it when he smiles and laughs while playing with Claire.  I love it when he gives me big, sloppy, wet, baby kisses.  I love it when he looks out the window and watches for Daddy and says "Dada" or "Daddy."  I love it when we play airplane together and fly to Spain or China or Germany or the occasional Florida.  I love it when he reaches for me and almost dives into my arms (even after I've been holding him all day and I'd really like a break!).  I love my baby boy so much.  I can't even imagine the Father's love for him and for us all...my love for my children is so great, but imperfect - I'm a selfish being.  If I love them so unconditionally, how much greater does God love them and me, for His love is perfect and He is always unselfish.

Bountiful Harvest

We had such a nice, relaxing Sunday!  It was great to be able to hang out at home together all day after church.  We took two walks, picked up the house, got lots of quality reading and play time in, and harvested vegetables from the garden.  I am pumped about the garden.  It doesn't look so hot, as it's all grown together, but it's giving us some nice produce!  (Good thing I watered it...I don't think it would have survived this year without daily watering.)  Tonight, we picked seven purple peppers, two red peppers, and one lone tomato.  There are still lots of tomatoes on the plants, but they are all green or just barely turning to ripen.  The tomato was delicious - I ate it like an apple while we were picking.  Henry had a bite or two as well.  Claire seemed to prefer the peppers.  Of the nine we picked, approximately five have a couple bites out of them here and there...hehe.  I plan on cutting them up and freezing them to put them in fajitas, etc. this winter.  I'd like to learn how to can vegetables too, but my older and wiser teacher friend (mom's age) Julie told me freezing is a lot easier...so I'll stick with that for now.  :)

Being goofy!  (And Henry is looking for Daddy, who is mowing the road so we can walk on it better!)

Showing off our one tomato and a red pepper.  Henry seems pretty interested!  He's becoming a really good eater and likes everything we've given him.  We also checked the corn with Daddy before our walk, which Claire is storing in the pocket.  :)

Here she is!  I told you she's a bit overgrown.  Next year I'm planting farther apart and it's going to be MUCH bigger - can't wait!

My babies!  I cannot believe how big they are and how much I love them.  They are the lights of my life!

Goin' to the Chapel!

We are SO excited for Onkel Alex and Tante Jaclyn's wedding this month!  Today really felt like the kick-off, as we hosted a shower for Jaclyn.  We played a couple fun games and had some delicious quiche and muffins for brunch.  Fun Fact 1: Alex's favorite movie is Ace Ventura.  Fun Fact 2: Jaclyn preferred that her oldest sister Jami wiped her butt when she was little (i.e. Jaclyn 2 year-ish and Jami 10 years old).  Fun Fact 3: Alex's first kiss was Margaret Van Heel.  Fun Fact 4: Jaclyn has been planning weddings for years.  She'd been married three times before the age of seven, to a neighbor boy named Sam.  No one knows where Sam is today.  Fun Fact 5: Alex and Jaclyn, in ten years, are going to be living on an acreage, have 2-3 kids, have one more dog than the number of kids they have (that would be 3-4 dogs), and be "in debt up to their eyeballs."

Random thought: I think we need to change cultures.  We need more than just one day for this wedding.  It's going to be one BIG party!!!!

We love visiting Onkel Alex while our van gets an oil change!  A good excuse for some quality onkel time, even if it may not be the 'most productive thing Alex could be doing right now.'  Right, bro?  ;)

Introducing...Riley!

Welcome to the farm, Riley-Hund!  Let it be known that there's a new dog on the block.  We are so excited to have found the perfect dog to add to our family.

His name was Henry, but obviously we're changing it.  He only got that name at the shelter two months ago anyway, so he didn't really know it as his own yet.  On the way home from the shelter, we tossed around a few names.  Riley is the perfect name for this big, lovable guy!  He's 81 pounds and gentle as can be.  Claire was a bit intimidated at the shelter, but once we got him home and he was 'her' dog, she started taking care of him and showing him the ropes right away.

Claire is trying to comfort Katja!
Katja and Tigger were quite scared and tried to hiss (kittens must not be able to hiss at three months?), but Nutella wasn't really too scared.  Riley was so calm and didn't bother the cats and kittens at all!

A Girl and Her Dog  :) :)
I'm so excited that Claire and Henry get to grow up with pets.  It's really the best!
Unconditional love and friendship!

Riley is having fun exploring the farm a bit.  He really didn't go far at all, always staying right by the house, even when we were inside.  This is the farthest he got, but Claire went after him and still wanted to take care of him and show him around.

Love this picture!!  Riley is such a good dog and of course Claire Claire is such a good little girl! :)

Crazy Dreams!

Well, here it goes...I'm going to document my crazy dreams (a few fulfilled).  As Matt has found out many a time before, I've got a lot of crazy ideas.  I also like to act spur-of-the-moment on them.  And I like to start projects with lots of oomph, then loose steam and not finish them.  It's an exciting and great way to be for me!  It holds my interest just long enough, but when I get bored I stop.  But, my better half, and I really do mean better, 'gets' to then finish my projects, of which he had little interest in the first place.  Opps.  Though this is ingrained in me and I liken it to personality traits, I MUST work on this.  Seriously.  (I totally admire my husband, Aunt Chris, and friends Amber and Theresa for being totally opposite of me on this subject...I aspire to finish projects in the future.)  Matt tells me why my ideas are crazy and will never work.  Maybe this is to discourage me from starting them so that he doesn't finish them.  Maybe they really are crazy!  Either way, I thought I'd share them with you, blogging world...

• Bilingual Kiddos - Yes, this started out as a crazy dream!  Matt was totally wondering how this would ever work, and me too, actually.  One of the few that has stuck and is working out - re: we actually have raised a daughter who can and does speak German just as well as she can speak English!  And I'm sure Henry is on his way too...
• Chickens - Wouldn't it be awesome to collect fresh eggs everyday?  Grandma and Grandpa Dodge think this is crazy and have tried to talk me out of it.  They insist that I'd have to have hundreds to make it work.  Not. True.  Amber's mom has a dozen or so and they're great!  (And I'd also like to slaughter some too to eat, but I'm not sure you can have both kinds together.  Research needed.)
• Garden - My enabling husband (love him to death!) prepared the plot for me at our old place.  He shoveled and sifted rock and turned the earth for hours, only to have me let the patch become overrun with weeds.  Fruits of our labor?  Not much.  HOWEVER, this year at the new place I started very small, prepared by hand with a spade and shovel, and planted myself (mostly...Dad helped with the asparagus.  Even though he doesn't like his own projects, he's awesome at helping others with theirs!), and have a cute little garden that is producing.  Tomatoes and peppers and basil and parsley and flat leaf parsley and sage and mint and rosemary and oregano, oh my!  Next year, it's going to be bigger...a LOT bigger!  I can't wait!
• Root cellar - I was baffled that my potatoes and onions kept spoiling (gross!) in my cupboard when 'in the olden days' people were able to keep them all winter.  Did a little research and who knew, root cellars are awesome!  But, they have to be humid, dark, and have ventilation.  This old farmhouse basement could be good for something after all?!?!  All I need to figure out is ventilation, but with two pipes in the wall, it sounds very doable.  I know it won't be THAT easy, but hopefully it won't be too hard either.  This will fit perfectly with my bigger garden next year.  Potatoes and carrots and rutabaga and kohlrabi and parsnips and turnips and onions, yum yum!!
• Pigs/Cows - Not now!  However, when the kids are older it would be such fun (and lots of work) to have a few of each.  A little hobby farm.  Fresh milk, who cares if it's pasteurized if we know right where it's coming from...a little cream glob at the top - yum!  And a butchered cow and pig in the freezer.  Again, not sure if you can have dairy cows and cattle for meat together.  Research needed.  And I think it might be possible once Matt doesn't have to work full time at P anymore.  Although, I'd have to give up travel altogether.  We'll see on this one.  If Mark is reading this right now he's thinking "I knew my daughter-in-law was crazy, but not this crazy!

Well it turns out a lot of these are farm related, but what the heck, let's embrace that fact that we are farmers!  I know I might be glamorizing farm life and as I've heard from Grandpa Dodge time and time again, it's a lot of hard work.  But there's got to be something so rewarding about working hard and the fruits of your labor.  All I know is that I'm not getting any help in the garden from him...according to him, he's been gardening all his life (farming) and has no interest in it now whatsoever!  (However, he does bring me compost every couple weeks and even went to the landfill and added some fresh composted dirt to my pile without me knowing it.  Speaking of compost, I've got to fix that somehow.  I have a wire fence around it, but have learned that it's a skunk magnet!)

P.S.  This is in no particular order.  I wrote them as I thought of them, and I don't even want to begin to explain my random trains of thought to you.  I'm at times scatter-brained.  (Turns out I may have gotten this from my Dad, who told me just last week that he's like this too.  Never knew that before.  I think he also maybe doesn't finish projects - at work he did like a champ, of course, but at home his natural tendency is to just let them go on forever...)

P.P.S.  A girl has got to have her dreams!  Mine have been changing a bit.  Had you asked me five years ago, none of these would have been on the list.  I guess I have to accept and embrace the fact that I'm no longer going to be a city girl, but now a full-fledged country girl!

Disclaimer: I will NOT ever say ain't and will continue to use correct grammar and conjugate my verbs according to subject correctly.  (Though I love all those people in my life who, when really relaxed, embrace this part of their upbringing like my husband, in-laws, and uncles!  Love you guys!)  :) :)

HESITATING TO PUSH 'PUBLISH.'  DO I REALLY LET EVERYONE IN ON ALL MY CHARACTER FLAWS AND CRAZINESS?  HERE GOES NOTHING...

Where Does the Time Go?

After a big celebration on Saturday, Claire's "party-day," we just took it easy on Sunday.  The kiddos and I took big fat naps and Matt got a little 'playtime' in with his hobbies, which he doesn't get too often these days.  I can't believe that tomorrow Claire will be three years old.  I'm a bit sad about it - two years old still seems like my baby, but three...that's a whole other story.  That's closer to kindergarten than birth.  That's crazy.  I suppose I will get used to it, and it's a good reminder to enjoy the time we have together at home and make the most of each day.  It's my prayer that I am thriving as a mama to these two blessings and that I don't take time with them for granted.  I'm sure every parent has thought this at one point, but 'where does the time go?'  (that's on a daily basis, for example 'what did we actually get accomplished today and has it really been eight hours since Matt left for work?' but it's also a milestones type of question like 'when did my baby start crawling and cruising?' or 'how is it that my little baby girl is three years old?').

Here's what we've been up to the past couple of days...

Happyhappyhappy boy!  LOVE HIM!
(Love our new screen door - it's the little thing like the breeze
through the house that make me happy.)

Hard at Play!
We always have so much fun mixing food coloring to figure out different colors.
Seriously, I have as much fun with it as Claire.  Here we made cloud dough
with a little baby oil and flour.

A bit too lovey!
I feel like half the time I'm praising Claire for being loving and gentle and generous, while the other half of the time I'm reminding her to be gentle and not squeeze so hard, and sometimes even putting her in a time out for pushing.  Okay, actually it's the latter reminders more than the praise.  That seven to one praise to correction ratio just isn't working for us! ;)  LOL.

One of Henry's typical faces...I love it!  We'll call it "Elvis!"
Hey Dada, this oatmeal cereal isn't too bad?!

Happy 8 Months, Henry!!!

We've been having a great last couple of weeks with 4th of July activities and just fun things around the house and town with the kids during the day!  :)  (Okay, so I wrote that on Henry's 8 month birthday, July 12th...here's to finishing it about a week later!)

We love our little man, Maeuschen, so much!!  That's my nickname for him and Claire uses it too.  It means "little mouse" in German, which I understand is not at all cute in English.  In fact, when I translate it, it just seems weird, but it's like saying "sweetie" for us.  :)  Here are some updates...

Annabelle and Claire had so much fun jumping in this pool in Okoboji!  Jump, jump!

Here he is - my Maueschen!  Hanging out in the stroller on a road trip with Mami, Claire, and Grandma!   It was HOT this day and he was watching Claire run through a sprinkler.

Candy!  At the 4th of July parade with Markus, Dani, Maximillin and Katharina.  :)

Henry is chilling on the boat with Daddy, Spencer, and Jeff in Okoboji!  :)

 

• Two top teeth and two bottom teeth.  His toothy grins are so cute!  He has only clamped down a few times while nursing, so I'll consider that a win.
• Drool - machine!  I wonder if he's getting more teeth.  It's a lot easier to just have him play in his diaper and wipe the drool off skin than to deal with wet onesies and bibs.  Can you tell this is our second? ;)  God was really thinking when he made skin waterproof!
• ONTHEGO!  Henry never stops moving!  We have to watch him super closely or before you know it he will be in the bathroom playing in the toilet water (yes, this did happen at Romber's...where's Henry?...moment of panic as I searched around the entire kitchen and hallway and living and dining rooms when he had JUST been in the hallway...laughs from Amber...found him!  playing in the toilet...you're very welcome Amber for grabbing your face with my wet hands when you picked me up!).  Seriously though, this kid is on the go.  Usually I try to put him down standing up next to something because he's slightly slower cruising along furniture than crawling.  Oh, and his crawling went from army crawling to up-on-the-knees crawling about a month ago.  At first during the transition it was this cute little scoot...scoot on one leg, knee forward with the other, scoot on one, knee forward with the other.  Adorable!
• Sleeping!  Much to my heart's dismay, we have been letting Henry cry to learn to put and keep himself asleep.  Before this, his routine was to nurse to sleep, stay in his crib a couple hours, wake up wondering where in the world his mama was when she was just here a second ago, then be comforted back to sleep nursing with mama in their bed, and snuggle with mama all night after that.  Believe me, it was the life!  (Go ahead and chastise me now, I know you're not SUPPOSE to sleep with your child. However, I'd like to record for future reference how it really was.  Also, go ahead and tell me everything else I'm not doing by the book.  ;)  Then I'll tell you that we do what works and thankyouverymuch but I don't want your opinion!  Hehe.)  Back to the point...Henry has been crying more the past two weeks than he has in his whole life and it breaks our hearts.  But, it was time.  We were doing what worked, but I was starting to sleep more deeply and didn't think it was safe for him to be with me anymore.  I think my body was telling me that I'm getting exhausted and needed that deep sleep after months without.  So we took the sleeping plunge!  Longer story now only long, he cried for almost two hours the first couple nights, but the last couple of days has been showing lots of improvement and we're finding again what works for us - nursing to sleep, waking up only a bit when transferred to crib, then staying in the crib and falling back to sleep alone upon little wakings.
• Claire speaks German and English to Henry, depending on what she's thinking at the time, I guess.  I just wanted to record that because the 'sibling language' is always interesting to me.  :)
• Henry is still just as happy as ever!  He kicks his legs a lot when he's excited - it's adorable!  About a month ago, I told him we were going outside to see the "Katzen" and he got really excited and starting kicking and wiggling in my arms!  I really think he is starting to understand a few words, in this case, cats!  He also has said "mamamama" when he wants me but is not consistent at all, so that may just be in my and Aunt Lori and Matt's heads (they heard it too!).

Swaledale Big Days...err, Day

Swaledale had a town festival this weekend - it consisted of a short parade and maid-rites in the park while enjoying the performance of dancers from a local kids' studio.  Claire really liked watching the little girls dance and even wanted to join them on 'stage!'  Ten and twenty years ago it was a big deal that spanned the weekend, or so I'm told.  Maybe young new families to the area can revive it - I'm thinking a 5K and bringing back the softball tournament.  We'll have to find those young families though...I don't know of any around here but us!

Daddy drove the John Deere G in the parade and threw lots of candy to the kiddos!  Claire, Henry and Mami enjoyed watching and getting lots of candy since all the people we were sitting by were 70 and older and they like to share the sweets that come their way!  ;)

The parade was entertaining!  I love how C and H are watching so intently!
(Local newspaper took this picture!)

Downward Dog

Henry has the cutest little downward dog yoga move.  He has been army crawling for weeks now, and the last week has been spending more and more time up on his hands and knees.  As he pushes himself up with his legs, trying to stand up, he looks like he's doing yoga.  It's the cutest little move (and I almost got a picture today)! Who knows, maybe he's doing it on purpose...I've been doing my sun salutations yoga every morning for about a month now!  Nothing like imitating mama! ;)

And in other news...Henry pulled himself up to standing once this week.  I set him in his crib sitting down while I made the bed, and he pulled himself up on the crib railing.  Although he's only almost gotten himself to sitting from laying down once, we think it's time to lower the mattress!

And one more thing...his upper tooth finally broke through a little today!  It's been causing him lots of pain, so we're happy it's through.  I forgot to blog about this when his bottom two teeth came in...for a couple weeks afterward he ran his tongue through his teeth and lips exploring those new sharp shapes in his mouth.  It was adorable the way he stuck his tongue out!  Then once he got used to them being there, he stopped.  I'm wondering if he'll do it again now that he has an upper tooth.  :)

What's the Difference?

Friends or family?  What's the difference?  We are so fortunate to have such close friends who we claim as family and to have great relationships with our actual families!

I thought I'd do a picture overhaul from the last month or so...most recent first.  Enjoy!  :)

Onkel Alex, Claire, and Omi at Onkel Willi's - Claire even got to

feed the fish oatmeal!

Family Time with Mandi and Traudi at Onkel Willi's - Claire is learning

about schnapps like a true German.  Here she is having "Kinderschnapps," which in

this case is cranberry juice.  Mom and I are enjoying the real thing...Raspberry

Schnapps with raspberries from Onkel Willi's garden.

Dessert in a glass!  :)

As promised...a picture of Henry's stunt move!  (Usually both feet are up on

his heels like his left heel in this picture.)  You try it!  It's harder than it looks! ;)

And Onkel Alex doesn't think he could babysit?

Henry loved the quality time he got with Alex and Jaclyn after Claire

went to bed.  Alex even sang a little Elvis for him and

tailored the words - what a composer!

I promise we were happier than this WHILE picking the strawberries.  Notice
Claire's mouth - she didn't do a whole lot of picking!  Grandpa D. loves spending time with Henry as he's so content just to be held.

I love the way these lovely kiddos are starting to interact more and more!

Claire really likes helping - I am seeing less jealousy and more big sister

'taking care of my brother' times.  Henry has tried oatmeal cereal, whole wheat

cereal, avocado, banana, sweet potatoes, and blueberries.  When I look at the

list, it looks a little fruit-heavy!  Let's get some vegetables into this boy's diet!

Claire being the big sister!  (Henry hoping she doesn't hold him much tighter!)

I pray that Claire and Henry grow up with a close relationship and actually

want to be friends when they're older!  I love that Alex and I are close in age,

support each other, and can talk a bout lots of important topics when we want to!

Our little men - Henry and Drew!  Eight days apart...are they

friends or cousins?  They will never know because we are not

giving them the choice of hanging out!  ;)

Stud muffin - Henry's driving the boat!

Twins?  I don't know, but they sure are Zooper Cute!

(I'm a dork!)  Luckily these two love each other so much!

Grandma, Claire, and Aunt Lori enjoying the Band Fest Parade...

Katie and Gabi were there too!

Napping in our room because Sage was in Claire's bed.  Aren't they perfect when

they're asleep?  :)  Make sure you find Henry in this picture.

Aunt Rita always has some sort of children's rhyme that I've never

heard before.  :)  Claire also had fun playing "Catch Johnny!" 

We love being able to host now that we're in town!  And there's my

handsome husband.  :)

I promise, Claire does smile when she's with Grandma and Grandpa D.

Here, we took them out for a picnic lunch for Grandma's birthday!  It's such

a blessing having four healthy generations to spend time as a family!

Happy Father's Day!

Three of the best dads around are pretty special to Claire, Henry, Matt and me.  Here are a few pictures of Matt, Dad/Opa, and Mark/Grandpa...

Claire and Henry really enjoy Grandpa's visits since moving to the farm.  Most days he's here working on something - even when there is nothing to do, he finds something!  That's why all his equipment is in such good shape.  He never stops and we admire his work ethic and appreciate his goofiness.  We are always up for a quick visit from Grandpa - 5 minutes and then it's "well, I'd better get back to work!"

We all love Daddy so much!  We are so fortunate and blessed to have such an involved father and husband.  Henry likes it when Daddy lays on the floor with him and plays.  Claire likes working on things with Daddy.  The other weekend she spent hours outside in the shed with him putting together the swing set!  When he was installing new parts on the shower at the old house, she went and got her little tool box and went to work with him!  :)

This picture makes me smile!  Opa has lots of talents and a wealth of knowledge.  Whenever we have a question about nature and the outdoors, animals, plants, or anything to do with building, we always know Opa will know the answer!  Now that Opa is retired, we like to visit him during the day.  He will always take a break from what he's doing to spend time with us.  Little did he know that he's good at holding sleeping babies, too.  Henry likes to cuddle with him and recently, Claire has enjoyed fishing with him on the pond.  Dad is always there to help when we need him, even if that means putting our projects before his at home!

The Little Man in My Life

Hello blogging world!  It's been a while.

Henry Matthew is an amazing little boy.  Our family is incomplete without him.  We loved him of course at first, but we are now naturally a family of four, leaving three in the dust!  We are past the major transition time and just enjoying being his parents everyday.  

Henry is so content and happy.  After Matt and I had been a little moody a few weeks ago, he jokingly said that God knew that we needed someone in our family who was always happy and that's why he blessed us with Henry.  Well I've often thought since then that it's probably the truth!

Six Month Highlights:

• About a month ago, Henry was chatting away in the living room and I was in the kitchen working at the sink.  After a quietness, he began talking again and sounded really close to me.  I walked over and there he was, at the tile.  He'd rolled himself around the table and couch, half way across the room.  He has continued to do this frequently since...so at about 5 1/2 months, he started rolling so much that he got himself across rooms!
• Henry loves to walk around with Daddy.  Daddy offers his two pointer fingers, Henry takes them, pulls himself up to standing (for lack of a better way to describe it), and puts one cute little chubby foot in front of the other.  They have fun doing this!
• Tooth times two - Last weekend (May 19th) Tante Christine and her friend Nancy were visiting.  Nancy let Henry chew on her finger as he's been loving to chew for quite some time now, but this time noticed two chompers!  What a big boy!
• Within the next week or so, we're starting Henry on food!  Not sure if we're starting him on cereal or on veggie mush, but the doctor wants to be sure that if we start him on veggies, we give him iron drops.  Apparently iron is very important to a babe's diet.  Hmmm....wish he could just get all he needs from natural sources like leafy greens, but alas, it's probably not possible.
• Pediatrician Visit - We had Henry's six month appointment and found a new pediatrician in the area that we really like.  It was an hour and a half appointment, if that gives you an idea of how many questions I asked and how much I picked her brain on her philosophy on medicine and raising my babies.  If you didn't already know me that well, you may be surprised at this.  I know some of you would not bat an eyelid though.
• The death defying stunt move = the backwards bridge!  He does this ALL.THE.TIME.  Visitors have suggested that we should be worried that it's bad for his neck, but we can't stop him and it doesn't seem to be uncomfortable to him.  Babies are sooooo flexible and clearly he's my little yogi with this strong move!  On his back, he arches himself up so that the only body parts touching the floor are his heels and the tip of his head.  I have yet to get a picture.
• Army crawl beginnings...Amber, Sage, and Drew took a day trip to visit today (THANK YOU!!!  We love you guys!) and Amber noticed that Henry's sort of doing a little army crawling.  I know he can scoot himself around and pivot like a champ to get whatever he's got his eye on, but I hadn't defined it as this until she pointed it out.  Go Henry!  (Note to self: You have very little time before you will have to supervise Henry's every move if you don't want him to get into everything!  I forget how this stage went with Claire, but I guess I'll get used to it again pretty quickly.)
• Curiosity!  Everything is something to be explored and the best way to explore is...you guessed it...the mouth.  :)
• More updates later...

Language Development = L.O.V.E.

I L.O.V.E. language development. I find it incredibly interesting and now that my own child is giving me such good material and becoming bilingual, I love it even more!

Today we pretended that I was a mama lion, Henry was a baby lion, and Claire was the "Tierpflegerin" (zookeeper). She decided that she needed to feed me, so she took "fuettern," (to feed) a verb she knows, and called herself a "Futterin." Technically it's not a word, but she was calling herself a "feeder" and she even added the -in because she's a girl! This was the first time she's done this and she also did it with a couple other words later in the day...she knows "bestellen" (to order) and changed it to Bestellerin (orderer) which IS actually a word. Changing verbs into nouns - exciting!! :)

Henrah

Henry, or Henrah as Claire affectionately calls him sometimes, is up to no good these days! Just kidding. He is showing us all his new tricks lately...

• The past couple of weeks, he's REALLY started talking and smiling and interacting. He did this before, but now he's doing it anytime someone will give him the time of day!
• He's trying to roll over. He can get himself from his back to his side, but then that darn arm gets in the way. Usually he's not exactly how we put him down though, he wiggles himself around a bit now. EDIT: Wouldn't you know it happens the day after I post?!? Henry was on his stomach while Claire and I were 'taking care' of the bathroom, he rolled! Unfortunately I missed it, but there he was laying on his back off of his play mat. Now, we'll see if it was a fluke or if he can do it again soon. :)
• He holds his head up at a 90 degree angle when he wants to. He also like to 'stand' now with his legs stretched out while I'm holding his hands.
• Toys now interest him more and he likes to look at them or hold them and put them in his mouth - the best place and way to discover them! He also likes to just reach for them and make them swing.
• He's still getting his "last" nursing at night (11ish), but now he's usually just asleep or almost asleep during it and doesn't have the last awake time anymore. That means his bedtime is usually around nine. It does not mean that I don't hold him for at least an hour or that he doesn't still wake up and nurse throughout the night, however I call it his "last" one because it's the last one before I go to bed. :)

Little Blue Truck

Claire has a set of books called Little Blue Truck and Little Blue Truck Leads the Way. They were gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and are really fun books. Yesterday she, Henry, and I read them while Daddy was at work. We read them in English and discussed them in German (FYI). Some books I translate on the go, but others I like to read in whatever is written. I don't want the author's style, rhyme, rhythm, etc. to be lost in translation. After we read them, Claire read the latter again to herself. I was impressed! Then I encouraged her to read it to Daddy when he got home. (This time I was ready to transcribe from the kitchen!) Here's Claire's telling of Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (which we've read several times, but really not that many in comparison to some others).

Claire:

Little Blue Truck (LBT) rolls into the city. (New line = new page)

The city is high, said the LBT rolls away.

The city is high said the LBT rolls away. Next Paaaage.

Faster, faster! The city is fast. Next Paaaage.

LBT rolls into the city.

LBT is faster, faster!

Beep!

LBT rolls away. LBT rolls into the city.

Oh a big...

Daddy:

What is that?

Claire:

ein Strassenkehrmaschine

Daddy:

Oh, a street sweeper?! (I had to mouth this one to him, folks. He's good, but he didn't happen to know this translation!)

Claire:

...street sweeper rolls into the city. Next Paaaage.

Daddy:

What is this? (Wait time) A limousine.

And so it went! Good thing I have that semester of Remedial Reading under my belt and all those years of running records. In my mama-opinion, this was an excellent retelling from a 2 1/2 year old. Either way, it was pretty cute! :)

Happy 3 Months Henry! Happy 2 1/2 Years Claire!

Henry and Claire have just hit some milestones that I want to be sure to record! It's late and I'm tired, so I'll start here and add some more things as I think of them. ;) There are no pictures, sorry. We did just get professional family pictures taken this morning though, so you'll see those within the week! :)

HENRY MATTHEW - 3 months on 2.11.12

• At 3 months, Henry is starting to show his personality more!
• He's smiling when Mami or Daddy talk to him and just him, making good eye contact. We have yet to capture this on film.
• Mami was doing squats with Henry last week and discovered that this makes him giggle! This was a good workout motivator for her - she did at least double the squats she was planning on doing and her legs felt it the next day. Thank you Henry! :)
• Henry is a laid back baby boy! He's happy doing pretty much whatever.
• Sometimes he gets this look of contemplation on his face...I think he's going to be a little more serious than his goofy sister.
• Usually Henry takes a shorter morning nap or two, and longer afternoon nap, and then an hour or so catnap in the evening and another catnap in the 'early night' as we'll call it, between nursing. He falls asleep for good between 11:30 and midnight. Luckily, Mami is a night owl and as long as she gets her afternoon nap in with the kiddos, she's fine with this routine he's set!
• We love Henry so much and I know I'm trying to enjoy 3 months as much as possible because he's already getting big so fast! At the same time, I can't wait to see what personality he'll have as a little person. :)

CLAIRE ELIZABETH - 2 1/2 on 2.1.12

• Claire pretty much rules this household. I think that's pretty typical of a two and a half year old. It's amazing how cooperative and easygoing she can be at times, and then how sassy and non-compliant she can be at other times. There are definitely things that make this more predictable, like Claire being well-rested or tired or satisfied or hungry, but sometimes it's anyone's guess. I do think that for a two year old though, she does a really great job of listening...usually!
• She's got spunk! She's goofy and energetic, but will usually sit down with you to play or read a book and pay close attention.
• She likes to act like she knows what's going on. Sometimes, when asked, she'll say "ich verstehe, Mama" (I understand, Mama.) even though it's clear that she couldn't possibly know.
• Claire is so stinkin' smart! Seriously. She talks like a four year old. She remembers everything. Yesterday she was talking about 'her' party. She was able to tell me that Henry, Mami, Daddy, and Claire were there, there were fish there, but they weren't real and we didn't eat them, there was a Christmas tree there, there were other people there too but she didn't know them, she had a snack there. Finalllllly, after racking my brain as to what she could be talking about, I remembered. We went to a Christmas party for my German Stammtisch Club. Everything she said was exactly right. The fish, if you're wondering, were decorative pillows...wierd I know. So. stinkin'. smart.

MAMI ELIZABETH & DADDY MATTHEW (as we affectionately joke with Claire sometimes...)

• Mami and Daddy TRY to keep the house picked up. HA!
• Mami has started to go to the YMCA 3-4 times a week. Sometimes the kids go with and go to ChildWatch for an hour, sometimes they stay home with Daddy. She's really enjoyed taking this time to do something beneficial for herself. Swimming laps and yoga are her favorites!
• Daddy enjoys taking 10 minutes here and there (or more time if he can get away) to work on his hobbies. We often have them strewn out on the kitchen counter or table so that he can work on them and still be upstairs to help out a bit!
• Matt and Lauren try to take time with each other, but often times we're just in the 'don't want to think or put forth effort on anything' mode when we finally get a break. I do have something up my sleeve for us though...can't say anything else, it's a surprise! :)

Such a BIG boy!

Henry has been having a lot of tummy time lately! Basically because Mami and Daddy didn't think about doing it much at all for the first six weeks of his life. Things are a little busier with two and I have about ZERO time to read 'parenting' books to remind me what to be doing - like tummy time - on a day to day basis. All you Henry lovers out there, don't you worry, he was still getting lots of love and attention the whole time! :) And as you can see, I don't think it hurt him too much...he's now holding his head up like a champ!