Saturday, January 29, 2011

Up and running


This week has been a busy one, yet God continues to remind me every day how very blessed I am. The kids are doing great, and love playing with each other. Evalyn lights up every morning at the first sight of Azariah. And he constantly asks to "play with the baby?" during her naps when she's not around. It's been fun to teach Azariah more about sharing his toys, since most of them are his, he's constantly having to share:) Evalyn always has to have one "guy" in each hand, and yells very loudly if Azariah snatches one away. Every day is challenging, especially when the kids get to bed late the night before. However, God's been really teaching me how to love them both with a more affectionate and tender sort of love, which I can miss out on when the days get busy. We have much to learn about loving our children well, and I'm thankful to have every day to practice!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Homeward Bound


We had a great time in Colorado at the Denver Christmas Conference. We left very encouraged after meeting other staff from the Great Plains region as well as hearing from a couple different pastors, including Brian Lorritts.

It is nice to be home now, and we've jumped right back into things (Aside from a couple different detours along the way). Yesterday morning as I was making a smoothie, the vitamix got turned on without the lid on. Green juice EVERYWHERE! Azariah was So shocked...we both just stood there frozen for a few seconds before assessing the damage. Lets just say I love tile floors:)

Today we headed to Disney for a bit as a family to reconnect with some friends Joshua's made these past few months. It's so exciting to be back and immersed in a culture of ministry with these students. We're so excited to build deeper relationships and share life with these young students who are searching for purpose. What a blessing!

Evalyn and Azariah continue to be such a joy in our lives. Evalyn is growing up! She chases her brother around, interested in everything he's up to. She blabs every time I begin talking, then is completely quiet when I am... When it's quiet often times I'll find her in their room playing quietly with toys, books, clothes etc... She has to have one thing in each hand at all times...especially as she continues cutting teeth. Her smiles brighten up the toughest of days!

Azariah loves being a big brother, although he may not be ready to admit it. He's been imitating Evalyn by crawling around on the floor blabbing like a baby. She crawls all over him, yet he just brushes her away. Today at the dinner table he asked to hold my hand and proceeded with his eye's squeezed tightly shut. "Dear Jesus...... Mommy, Azariah, Daddy, Baby! Jesus thank you for Toy Story & blankie..........Mommy, Daddy......Aaaaaaaaaa-Men! His greatest joy continues to be spending time with other people and reading books!






Wednesday, November 17, 2010

In Minnesota...



Well, as most of you know I'm back in Minnesota with the kids. Here are a few recent photos of us...I hope to add more soon.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

more photos :)


It sure doesn't seem like it could get much better. We are very blessed to have these two little ones entrusted to us for this season of life. We sure do miss all of you and can't wait to spend time with you.

Evalyn has been such a happy little baby, and brings much joy into all our lives. Azariah loves being a big brother. He's learning how to treat his sister, and how to say" I'm sorry sister," when he gets too rough. I'm sure she'll make up for it, when she becomes more mobile here in a few weeks and shows more interest in his toys. She's on her hands and knees scooting all over, but hasn't crawled yet. I learned a new lesson the other day: I laid Evalyn down on Azariah's bed to change a diaper. When I turned around a few seconds later, we watched her roll off his bed (which thankfully is one the floor, but still about 1 1/2 feet up), and roll across the floor like a little hotdog. I was sure she would cry, and was frankly horrified myself. She thought about it for a second, then got a huge smile on her face. Things are changing every day!

Azariah has been learning a ton as well. He's enjoyed spending time with other kids his age in the nursery at church. We've also been attending a reading time at the Library once a week with a very dynamic story-teller and singing and dancing. It's a great time.



He's been learning to count to ten, sing different songs, build "Big Houses," cook in the kitchen, and go to the bathroom on "the big boy potty." He's interested in everything, and loves getting outside to the pool, going to the grocery store, and to "the farm," where we pick up our milk every few weeks.

check out the pose below as well to see his recent baking project. Cookies for the neighbors, which we ended up eating because no-one answered their doors................:( Also, you can turn off the music to hear the video if you scroll down the left hand side of the page. Just press pause...

M.I.C.K.E.Y M.O.U.S.E mickey mouse..