An Opportunity

A few weeks ago now, Mike got a call from Paul Castle. If you've been around  a while you might recognize that name. We've had here and there contact with him over the past 3 years. Most recently was last summer when we pursued the Alpena job.

Anyway, Mike got a call from him, asking him if he would be willing\available to do some needed pulpit supply at a small church about 40 minutes from here. We talked about it, and agreed to do it. It's a great experience for Mike, and the commute isn't too terrible.

Yesterday was Mike's first day there. We made the early morning trek, and arrived around 9:45. The church is small, maybe 40 people or so, and they were so excited to meet us! They welcomed us eagerly, showing us around their little church. We will be there for the next few weeks, and they kind of figure out what they are going to do as they look for a new pastor.

We will more than likely also be helping out with the worship since we both are semi-talented in that field.  Mike felt like yesterday went well. I wasn't able to be in the service as there is no nursery, and I ended up taking 2 noisy kiddos out of the service, not before, however, Levi yelled to Mike as we were leaving... "Bye, Papa, we'll see you in a little bit!" :) I love that kid.

Would you pray for us as we embark on this adventure that we would

...... be what this congregation of people need during this time of transition

....... for Mike as he prepares to speak the WORD each week, all while balancing a full-time job, and family time

...... that the kidlets would do well with the drive\unfamiliar situation\people each week

....... that we would figure out what to do with our kiddos while we help lead worship as mostly likely i'll end up at the piano.

...... that a loving grandma would see my kids as her ministry and take them under her wing this next week?  

Garden 2012

We've become a lil' bit country since moving, well, to the country. 

My friend, Ingrid, keeps asking when I'm getting the cow. 

Don't jest, someday maybe we will. We'll probably try chickens first, though ;)

One of the biggest blessings in moving to our new home is the ability to have a garden in our 

BACKYARD!

My dad orchestrated a whole chain of events for this tractor to show up at our house 

(Thanks, Daddy!)

Thursday night, he and a friend drove the tractor out on a trailer. Then, yesterday, after work, my dad picked up that plow from a rental place (who knew, you could rent that, huh?) and plowed away last night... 

Coming soon..... 

Tons of fresh produce and veggies from our backyard! 

We love gardening, and are so thankful for friends who showed 

us the ropes when we first started gardening.

 (Thanks, Russ and Murt!)

Now, 6 years later, we actually get to have a garden in our own backyard

What a blessing! 

Sick

Ahhh. the joys of parenthood. The kids were in bed, Mike and I were enjoying the quiet when we heard it..

 *hack, hack, cough, sputter... and SCREAMING*

 We didn't even have to see.. we knew the sound. Levi had thrown up in bed. It was 10pm. Over the next hour and a half he threw up 3x. By 8 yesterday morning he had thrown up 7 times. He spent most of the day on the couch, sleeping.

He would wake up for maybe 10 minutes at a time, where I tried to convince him to take a sip of Gatorade or some Tylenol.  My noon, his fever was around 103, and he was refusing to take Tylenol. I decided to let it ride provided it didn't get to high.  Finally, around 3, he woke up DRENCHED in sweat, and talking a mile a minute.

My baby boy was back. 

He fought the rest of the fever off the rest of the day, and we had a full night of sleep last night. I've done probably 15 loads of laundry since it all began, and I've used our handy lysol to spray down every surface I can.

 We're praying and believing that this bug will pass and noone else will get it.

Rainbow Cookies

Yesterday afternoon Levi asked to make cookies. He kept asking to make gorilla or monkey cookies. While I can hold my own in the kitchen, I had zero idea how I was going to make a monkey cookie.

So, as any parent knows, distraction is one of many keys to success. I suggested we make "rainbow" cookies. Levi is majorly into rainbows right now, anytime we go anywhere, he searches out rainbow colors and arranges them in the proper order. "_ I wasn't sure how we were going to do it, but I knew I could use food coloring to my advantage. After perusing cookbooks, I decided on a basic snickerdoodle cookie recipe.. We mixed it up, separated the dough into bowls and colored the cookies in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

It was a success, and Levi loved it!! :)

Coconut Oil

Have you heard of Coconut Oil?

It looks like THIS

You can buy it pretty much anywhere, I even found it at Meijer.

Anyway, We've been doing a lot of reading on more whole\natural foods etc, and this is one of the new things we've been trying. It's kind of a mystery to me. It's a solid up until a certain temp, then it turns to a liquid oil. It's very bizarre, but really easy to use. I've used it mostly for cooking, but I've read you can use it for a myriad of household uses.

Which leads me to this post. Ruby had a TERRIBLE diaper rash from her amoxicillin. I was trying all of the creams etc, and wasn't getting anywhere fast. The Lord prompted me to think of coconut oil, and a quick google search indicated that I wasn't crazy. I started using it on Ruby, and literally in 12 hours, the rash was gone! GONE!

She recently had another flare up (I'm wondering if it's something I'm eating) and I used it again and it worked like a charm. I now have a small tupperware container on the changing table with it! I've also read that it's compatible with cloth diapers. I haven't been brave enough to try it yet though. Maybe I will.

"I do myself, Mama"

That is Levi's current mantra..

about E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

On one hand, I'm happy that he's learning to be more independent, on the other, sometimes, it means I have to check my pride at the door and let him leave the house dressed like this.





I laughed so hard, I cried.

Just so you know, he's wearing a fleece pajama top, backwards. Elmo pajama bottoms, inside out, (and clearly too small) He had them right side out, but I made him go back and put on underwear, and the second time around they were inside out, socks, and his frog "rainbow" boots, as he likes to call them.

How can I say no? Look at that face.

Happy Easter

4 months

at 4 months Ruby is a smiling, cooing, ball of joy :)

she...

-->weighs 14lbs 3oz
--> rolls from tummy to back\back to tummy with ease
--> she is a thumb sucker, and loves holding her hands together
--> she likes to hold rattles and small toys in her hands
--> she wants your full attention all. of. the. time. and loudly protests if you don't give it to her
--> she is becoming more social, and enjoys interacting with people
--> she's a talker... levi always says mama, she's talking, and then grunts, it's hilarious
--> she sleeps 7-7 and is mostly sleeping through the night
--> she likes to stand and look around at things
--> she still likes the moby, but she would prefer to face out.
--> prefers to be facing out so she can see what the world has to offer
--> she takes 2 cat naps in the morning, and a long, 2-3 hours, nap in the afternoon
--> she laughs.. especially when levi is acting crazy
--> she's made her first move to a new home.

i *need* to be better at taking pictures. i was doing really well, and have just been a slacker.

she's growing too fast!