Monday, November 29, 2010

Remember to be thankful

Thanksgiving is always a great time to keep me focused on the important things. Its so easy to take things for granted. We are SO blessed. We've got an amazing family, two healthy kids (although one that doesn't know how to sleep at night), wonderful family and friends around us, two good jobs, cars that work, a nice house (alright three...but one we live in), etc. Its amazing how good we have it and how easily I forget that!

I am reminded when reading the blog of my friends, the Hedin's, about some of the trials you can go through. I can't imagine my little girl and boy stuck in the hospital 24 hours like that. Yet even the Hedin's have tons to be thankful for and I am sure they realize it. No matter how bleak things seem we still have an amazing amount of things to be thankful for. One of the lowest points of the past 5 years for me was when our Rochester house was destroyed by a sewer backup. It was devastating, not only for us, but for our friends who were renting the house from us. Yet even during all of that, God blessed us so much. He used that low point to show us that he always provides. He used it to show our friends that his community is amazing and that complete strangers will go out of their way to help people in need.

Don't waste this opportunity to remember all the things you can be thankful for!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Things are starting to slow down a little

Well with how infrequently we put stuff up here, I can't imagine we have a ton of people checking our blog...if you are still checking, leave us a comment so we know that its worth continuing to do these!

We've had a LOT going on lately.
The addition of AARON to the family has made us much busier than we ever thought we would be. You quickly forget how much work a newborn can be, but when you add a toddler into the equation, yikes...its tiring. Aaron has been teething lately (kinda early for that) so sleep has been at a premium in our house. Earlier in the week, Meg and I were basically sharing one person's night of sleep. Not going to complain though, he's an amazing gift. Some highlights of what Aaron is up to include being able to sit in a bumbo and play in his bouncy toy, he can smile and giggle, he rolls over from tummy to back and rolls onto his side. He's pretty cute and if I had some pictures on this computer I would post them!

ADDISON just turned two! I can't believe she's two already. We kept it low key this year though and just had family over and took them out for pizza to celebrate. Addison loves her new toys. The new kitchen is the one that stands out the most in basement but she loves her baby stroller and recycling truck, and everything else too! It was a good birthday for her, she needed some fresh new toys in her life! She never ceases to amaze me with how intelligent she is. She even knows that when we spell out b a t h that it means bath! haha She really thrives on playing with friends and has become quite the social girl. Her new sitter, Nicole, has a 2 year old (almost) daughter that she brings along and they play together all day.

We started leading a SMALL GROUP recently. Its gone really well, we really like everyone that joined the group and everyone is quickly becoming good friends. Everyone has such interesting and unique backgrounds and we love learning about what makes them all tick. Next week is our first social/volunteer activity. We are doing OCC boxes together and doing a potluck style dinner...using our friend Becky Cochran's potato soup recipe (YUM). Should be a memorable night. Every couple has kids and they really seem to get along well. There is one 3 year old, 2 two year olds, and one that is about 20 some months old. Great ages for playing together in the basement while their parents build friendships and learn about God! One of the couples has been struggling with having their two little newborn girls in the NICU at Children's. Its been a real trial for them, check out their situation in my last blog before this one. Feel free to check their blog to learn more about what they've been through and keep them in your prayers!

So that is what we've been up to lately. I'll try to get better with blogging now that Aaron is getting a little older. We are finally able to start having some free time at night again!