Busy Busy

Well, things have been ramping up more so over here since the start of my children's musical last Saturday. The musical centers around the biblical story of Moses and the exodus and we have about 35 kids participating. The first rehearsal went better than expected and I had such a blast working with the kids so I am excited as each Saturday rolls around. 

Kira is getting bigger and bigger. She likes sleeping with "her baby" and when she wakes up from her nap I often hear her in her crib playing happily and talking to all the stuffed animals. She is really getting to be quick a ham and cracks us up every day.

 She loves her Daddy too. She loves sitting on his lap and sharing breakfast with him. He doesn't mind it either.

 I just had to put in a picture of these shoes. I entered a giveaway contest a couple of weeks ago for these shoes and won them! They came in the mail today! They are Aerosoles so not only are the cute but comfy as well!

How God is working in our lives in LOVE

Because I believe in God and His sovereignty, I believe that everything happens for a reason, even the bad things...but it can still be tempting to fall into the bad pattern of doubt and worry. That is why it is nice when some little thing happens just at the right time to encourage and uplift one's spirits. 

The past couple months have been a little bit of a struggle for me. The reason is because once Kira turned one, I started getting questions of "are you going to have another baby?" more and more. Since I try to be upfront, I would answer yes but inside me there was a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat. I started feeling more and more pressure to be pregnant. I wanted to be pregnant now. I guess this may sound funny to some of you reading this but this issue really became all-consuming in my life. I am writing this down as a testimony to God's gracious and compassionate hand in my life. I started turning to Him more in prayer and began really seeking Him more fervently. I needed answers. I prayed for patience and wisdom. I also prayed that He would reveal His plan to me in HIS time. It is amazing what happened. I started to feel PEACE finally about this issue.  

I don't know what the future holds, but I know I need not worry. God is in control. What can man do to me? Thank you God for your loving hand on my life. I am truly blessed.

A playdate at Grammy's house!

Kira got to spend the morning at Grammy D's on Monday....my mother-in law had off from work since it was a holiday and graciously offered to watch Kira in the morning to allow me to go out and run errands sans child! Wow. What a luxury! Well, I can safely say she had fun. She practically ran in the door and didn't even look when I left. 

Here she is enjoying a snack.

Then when I walked back in the door a few hours later, she was pushing her baby stroller around the room. She may look like me but this girl definitely got Tom's outgoing and spunky personality. 

More Snow??

It sure does seem like we are getting more than our fair share of snow this winter. Just the other morning, I was listening to the news and the announcer said something about how there is snow in 49 states right now. Hmmmm, do you think it's about time we get rid of the phrase, "global warming?"

I do enjoy being outside in the snow! Especially right after the storm when it is calm and the sun is out. It's so white and clean looking, and the crisp, cold air on your face is quite invigorating...

But just as nice is to come inside to the toasty house and jump under the covers with a good book! Mmmmmm, so cozy!

Christmas, part deux

I have one more party to report about and then things will quiet down for a little...maybe? Sunday after Christmas, we were supposed to meet at my sister Amy's for my side our family Christmas party. Unfortunately, we got a pretty big snow storm that started on Sunday and continued into Monday morning so we decided to push back our get-together until the next day. Last year when we got a big snow, we took Kira out in the Ergo and hiked all around campus. This year was different in that it was the first year she got to experience it for real because she is now walking. She was pretty much in awe the whole time, just watching the snow come down and walking around in it.

Then the next day, we braved the roads to take a drive out to Amy's. We were worried we wouldn't make it because my car was sputtering but we got there alright...more on my car in a minute...(sorry, I snapped this picture and both Naomi and Kira were looking away from the camera! Oopes!)
Fun opening presents! We stayed 3 hours and then Kira started melting down so we decided to leave. She cried almost the whole way home. It didn't matter what we did...we tried giving her food, we tried playing music, we tried giving her books, nothing seemed to work for very long...she just didn't want to be in her car seat. :-( When we were about 20 minutes from home, she finally fell asleep! Whew! I hope she grows out of this not liking her car seat soon, but I don't hold out much hope...she has been like from the day she was born!
Another candid shot. I do wish I had taken more pictures. Hmmmm, guess I will try harder next time!

Update on my car:

Got a call from our mechanic and it turns out it is a relatively minor repair of approx $300 so that was a great relief because both T and I thought this might be the end for my car. But it seems there is still life left in it so we will keep it for a while longer! Yay!

Exercise!

I have always known that exercise is good for me physically. But almost more importantly, exercise helps my emotional state and always improves my attitude and mood.

That is why I jumped at the chance to go to the gym when a friend offered me a free 20 day pass. I have been having so much fun! We go together and I have gotten to take spinning classes, a TRX class, and a body blast class...all an hour long each! I am VERY sore but it has been fun getting into shape and sweating alongside other people helps to keep me motivated!

Blah....

I guess I was due for a little cold but I still am not happy about it. We have been running around to so many parties I guess I am worn out. Last night, instead of staying up to watch the ball drop, I went to bed at 8:30pm. Kira woke up at 6am but Tom graciously got up with her and let me stay in bed. I slept until 9:30am! Yikes! But I still didn't feel good when I got up so we made the decision to stay home today instead of going to another family party.

It is unfortunate since I only see this side of the family once a year. :-( We will have to visit for the 4th of July party I think to make up for missing this one...

Blah item #2 is my car is acting up again. Boo. I become emotionally attached to whatever car I am owning at the time and am always disappointed when it breaks down, as any car will inevitably do! I don't care what the car looks like, I just care that it gets me from point A to point B safely and economically. In this instance, my car started sputtering and chugging on our way to my sisters party this last Monday. But on the way home, it seemed fine and we drove it for a couple days without another incident. However, Friday rolled around and it started sputtering and chugging away again, accompanied by a ominous and suspicious smell. So I drove it directly to a nearby mechanic who ran a quick diagnostic before closing his shop so I could get an idea of how bad the situation was...

Diagnosis: my car is only running on 3 of its 6 cylinders! I will find out what else is involved on Monday when the mechanic is able to look at my car again. Until then, we are a 1 car household!