A Wonderful Wednesday

Wednesday was a wonderful day!

That morning I babysat my friend Anna's daughter Kjersten for about an hour and a half. Later that day I went for a much needed walk. It was a beautiful day! At about 5:30ish Anna and her husband came over to pick up Zoe, as we were in need of a babysitter that day too!

Gage's Dad bought us tickets to go see the Wizard of Oz in HD at our theater here in town. We met up with Mike (Gage's Dad) at about 6:30 at the theater. It was showing for one night only, in celebration of it's 70th Anniversary (available on DVD on Sept 29th!). This was also my first time ever seeing the movie in its entirety! I know I had seen bits and pieces of it over the years but I had never watched the whole thing.

After the movie, we got some Cold Stone ice cream... and we all ended up getting a "Like It" size of Coffee Lovers. I had never had that before (usually I just get coffee with heath). Having that extra caramel and almonds in there made it extra delicious :)

Wednesday was a much needed day of relaxation. Even though the previous Wednesday was our Anniversary and we were able to get away for a full 24 hrs (which was *amazing*), we went through quite an ordeal last Sat night and the whole week we had been tense, worried, and completely stressed over all that had happened and what was to come. After Wednesday I started to believe that things really are going to get back to normal around here. We still have no idea where Rachel and her kids are, or if they are safe, so we continue to pray for them. But now it is time for us to let it go and see what Lord is going to do with the situation.

Trusting the Lord in a Difficult Time

I was right when I talked about this being a time I will never forget. Things we witnessed this week will stay with us for many years, if not the rest of our lives. My heart is aching, I feel so sad and so betrayed.

The people that we welcomed into our home a week and a half ago turned out to be in more trouble than they initially let on. Ever since they arrived here there had been tension, non-stop stress, anxiety, and confusion. From the moment they arrived they were secretive, treated us with disrespect, they took advantage of our willingness to help them, they mistreated our home, they lied to us, and they hid very important information from us. They also expected far more from us than we were able to give, which is difficult to understand given that they were the ones in need of help to begin with. The more we tried to show them kindness, the worse things seemed to get.

Despite all of this God blessed them with a place to live, free food for their entire stay, free childcare, and so much more for 10 days. Just as quicky as God gave it to them, He took it away. Their time here abruptly ended on the night of the 19th.

I cannot go into details about exactly what happened that night, but I can tell you that I had never been so afraid for myself or my family before that night. The situation we were in was absolutely uncalled for and I am extremely disappointed that it occurred. I was absolutely terrified and I am still shocked that all of this could happen as a result of us trying to show someone hospitality.

My question now is, why did this happen? Why did God have them come here if only to have them leave in such a dangerous and irresponsible way? Why did God send them here if it was only going to cause a massive amount of trouble for both families?

My husband and I know that God had them here for a reason. God placed us in this situation and we had to see it through. We waited on the Lord, praying that His will would be done. Well, God carried out his will for this situation and now we are left to contemplate what happened.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Our hope is entirely in the Lord and His will. We're completely taken aback by this entire experience, but we trust that God is in complete control. Even so, we feel as though we gave them a gift and they spit in our face in return. The Lord has instructed to us the need to forgive, and though it is difficult, we want to live as if it never happened. (Matthew 6:14; Ephesians 4:32) There has been a lot of prayer, a lot of seeking guidance and wisdom from the word of God, and encouragement from dear friends in the past few days. I know that after a little time, God will bless us with peace and help us to forgive and we will be able to leave this all behind us and move forward.

God always works things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28), so I know more good will come out of this week than I can even begin to comprehend. We may never find out just how God is using this, but through the promises He gives us in his Word, we can know for a fact that good will come out of this. God will use this circumstance for the good of our family and hopefully one day for the good of their family. I can already see some things, at least in our family, that have been good as a result of what we've recently witnessed.

1. A stronger desire for Christ to be the center of my life, the only reason that I am living. There were a few moments the other night where I feared for my life. The reminder that my life could end at any time any day has given me a much greater perspective on life. Every decision made and every move I make should be according to the will of God. Just the thought of disobeying and sinning against God who has done so much for me breaks my heart. He deserves nothing less than everything I have to give.
2. We now have a greater understanding of why it is important to use proper biblical discipline of children, encouraging repentance of their wrong actions. I have learned just how important it is to teach our child in the way of the Lord and how important it is to protect them from the harmful things this world has to offer.
3. I've always been extremely grateful for my husband and all that he does, but through this experience I've come to appreciate so many of the seemingly small things he does and I appreciate his kindness more than I ever have before. God has blessed me with a husband who would never harm me in any way, emotionally or physically. He has never and will never treat me like dirt.
4. We now have a much stronger heart for women that are being physically and verbally abused and mistreated by men, and a stronger urge to teach young boys the proper way to treat women.
5. We realized that door locks are a good thing! I strongly encourage everyone to put locks on all doors to the house. I never thought we'd really need them.

These are just a few things things that we've learned so far. I'm sure there will be much more learned from this experience in the days, months, and years to come.

Our 3rd Anniversary!

3 Years ago on this day, I married the man of my dreams :)

Gage is without a doubt the most amazing person that I know. I'm not just saying this because I am married to him! He is kind, generous, trustworthy, intelligent, and so incredibly loving. He is a wonderful spiritual leader for our home, a spectacular husband and a wonderful father. I feel so blessed that God chose him to be my husband! I am honored to be his help meet and the mother of his child.

His entire life is devoted to glorifying God and providing for our family. He reads his Bible in the mornings, works two jobs (sometimes three), goes to school full time and manages to get A's in every class, he completes all his homework on time, he helps out in 2 different ministries at church, he spends quality time with me and our daughter Zoe and he still has some time to play computer games. I don't know how he does it!

Happy 3rd Anniversary Gage! Thank you so much for all that you do. I love you!

Rejoicing in God's Provision!

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Psalm 55:22)

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I am going to tell you a story. In this story you will see God's incredible willingness to provide! I am so stunned by the generosity of so many people in Sioux Falls, and I'm so grateful to God for his answer to my prayers from Wednesday.

Yesterday I was supposed to attend Bible Study in the morning, but seeing as I had a few unexpected guests I decided to pass this week and tend to the needs of my guests. My friend (and neighbor) came by to pick me and Zoe up for Bible Study at about 9:00 am. I explained to her all that was going on and she went on her way to Bible Study without us.

I had made plans prior to Wednesday to meet up with a friend at the mall on Thursday. At 11am I took Alyssa and Zoe to the mall with me to meet up with my friend BJ and her son. We had a good time playing in the play place, chatting, and then eating lunch together.

And the blessings begin...

1. Once we returned home I was informed by my husband that the same friend was going to bring us to Bible Study that morning had stopped by with a phone number for us to call - a woman whose church provides food for families in need. A couple hours later that same friend brought us over canned goods and some pickles, salsa, and tomadoes that she canned herself!
2. An hour later, a woman from my church stopped by! She had heard about our little situation at Bible Study that morning. She provided us with some grocery money and 4 loaves of bread!
3. At the same time that woman arrived, my friend Anna arrived with her daughter. They were coming over just to hang out and have a snack with us. Anna lives just a few blocks from us so we tend to be at each others homes often. Anna brought with her a gift from someone I had taken photos for, guess what it was? A gift card for the grocery store.
4. Anna also brought over a snack for everyone! She brought grapes and a container full of delicious mint brownies that she had made.
5. Another friend from church stops by to return a swing we loaned her for her baby boy. She offers to help me figure out some frugal and healthy ways to cook for this many people and she even went home and wrote out a list of meals and e-mailed them to me.
6. At about 5pm a woman from the church that provides food for families in need came over and brought us 3 boxes full of food and essential items.
7. About an hour after that my in-laws neighbor, who has recently has become one of my own freinds, stopped by with a box full of fresh garden vegetables and a gift card for the grocery store!

Honestly, words cannot express how grateful we are to every single one of you who showed up here yesterday. Thank you SO much for your help. On Wednesday, even though I knew the Lord was in complete control, I was still in tears because I was so ovewhelmed with worries and concerns that we would not be able to feed everyone this month. I knew God would provide for us in some way, I just never expected Him to do so much for us in just one day. To everyone who has prayed for us and helped provide...

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Your prayers and generocity has provided us with enough to get through an entire month, maybe even longer if we can learn how to stretch the dollars even more.

I read something here that encouraged me when I was worried about how this was all going to turn out and I wanted to share it:

The Lord reveals to us through His Word, the Bible, that we can be of good "cheer," that we can

1) rejoice in our problems because God will use them to our benefit. "Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4);

2) see our "worries" as an opportunity to practice Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths";

3) counteract our anger by obeying Ephesians 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you"; and

4) deal with any sinful feelings by believing and acting upon the truth of 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

All of our problems can be dealt with through simple faith in God's Word.

What wonderful encouragement those verses are. This unexpected trial can and will be a blessing to both our family and theirs. After talking with my best friend Amanda over the phone yesterday and sharing all the blessings we'd received throughout the day she said, "Well, God sure must want them to be there!"

I believe she's absolutely right.

09/09/09 A Day I Will Definitely Remember

Today was a day just like any other day...until about 1pm. The phone rang, I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Did you get my message?"

"No" (I had no idea who I was talking to at this point.)

"Me, my boyfriend, and the kids are in your little town here.. we're over by Empire Mall."

It was my childhood friend Rachel! I was so excited to hear that she was in Sioux Falls, but sooo confused at the same time. Why in the world was she in Sioux Falls? She lives in CA and as far as I knew she wasn't going on any vacations.

Well, 5 minutes later they showed up at the house.

It's a long and very complicated story but after about 10 minutes of them being here... we ended up with 4 additional people living in this house for an indefinite period of time.

I've been thinking about ways we are actually going to do this. We barely get by with just the 3 of us since Gage works one part-time job. I am trusting the Lord though. The Lord always provides. It is a challenge I was not expecting when I woke up today, but I will praise the Lord through this. God has a plan for this whole situation.

There is so much more I am leaving out of this story. Just know that we are in desperate need of your prayers. This is not going to be easy by any means.

God brought them to our doorstep today. We intend to see them through this difficult period of life every step of the way.

(In the photo: JJ, AJ, and Zoe)

It is the end of August..

The end of August! This month just flew by.

It's the beginning of another week. Today marks the first day of a road trip for Gage's Mom, Grandparents, and younger brother Brad! They will be on the road for 4-5 weeks. For those of you who know Brad and are interested in reading Brad's travel blog, send me an e-mail at homemaker.shaina@gmail.com, and I'll give you the link!

While they are gone I will be taking over Brad's weekly paper route. He delivers the local shopping news once a week to 3 different neighborhoods. This will tie in great with my walking plan!

Gage is continuing with his school, tutoring other students, homework, and working. The first couple weeks of school are always the most difficult to get through. It's hard to adjust to him being so busy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel this year though! He will graduate, get a job, and then... we'll have to re-adjust to him working a full-time job haha.

Zoe's New Adventures:

- Many, many trips to the pantry to take out the Cheerios, find Mommy or Daddy, and say "CheeO? CheeO?"

- Climbing up and gracefully getting down from the couch. She decided that falling down head first was just not the way to go.

- She says well over 100 words now. I can actually somewhat have a conversation with her!

- Favorite things to say: "Awk" (Walk), "I see you!", "Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!", "Foo" (food), "Tissue", "Trash", "All duhh!" (All Done), "Daeee" (Daddy).

- She has started to announce when she needs a diaper change. We take this as the first indication that we need to get started on potty training soon!

Happy 53rd Birthday Dad!

Photo above: May 2009 / My silly Dad in his favorite place - Hawaii!

Happy 53rd Birthday Dad!!

Lupkes Wedding!

My Mother-in-law, Jennifer Herrmann, made her dress! It is her 3rd Wedding dress in recent years, I think she made her own as well. Jenny made my Wedding dress, my best friend Shannon's Wedding dress, and Monique's dress! As you can see, she is an excellent seamstress!

The Beautiful Bride! Monique Murray is now Monique Lupkes.

This was an interesting Wedding for me. I was videotaping from a balcony and the only other person up there with me was the photographer. I did manage to get a few photos of my own though.

We're home!

We flew in last night from Los Angeles. I am glad to be home but at the same time I really miss CA. We had a wonderful time :) I could write a book about our many adventures but I'll condense it to a few paragraphs.

Escondido (San Diego County) - Aside from a couple days of illness, the week we spent in Escondido was wonderful. I loved seeing my family & friends again! We spent time in Oceanside at the beach a few times, we ate at my favorite restaurants, and I was able to go to an old Bible Study that I used to attend outside of a Starbucks in San Marcos. Gabby, Zoe, and I met up with my Aunt Lisa and Grandma Peggy in Temecula for lunch one day and on another day we got a bunch of people together from my old church and we had dinner (Mexican food of course.)

Yosemite National Park - I seriously took about 800 photos during the week that we were there. It is sooo beautiful there! I've been there many times before but I had never spent a whole week there. We stayed with Gage's grandparents who are volunteer workers there. His Grandpa is a Desk Officer in the North Pines campground this year. In the mornings they go on bear patrol to check for damage made by bears. While we were there we rode bikes, we went down to Yosemite Village a couple times, walked over to Curry Village tons of times, some of us took a watercolor class and painted the Yosemite Falls, Gage and I went on a Photography walk with a guide photographer one morning, we went to Happy Isles a couple times, and we hung out at our campground quite a bit. The last full day in Yosemite I ended up with a bladder infection so once we got to Oakhurst (near Bass Lake) the following day I went to a clinic. I still don't know how much it is going to cost us because they have yet to send us a bill.

Bass Lake - We went to Bass Lake for a family reunion on my father-in-law's side of the family. During our week at the condos near Bass Lake we spent a lot of time in the jacuzzi and pool every single day. It was so amazing to be able to go into the hot tub every evening, especially after a day of hiking. We also spent another day back in the Yosemite because that side of the family had never been there before. We went out on the lake for a day and I actually tried tubing and went on a Jet Ski for the first time! On another day we went to Mariposa Grove and did a 4 mile hike (2 of those miles were uphill - we went up 600 ft in elevation). Gage's parents and brother Brad had done two 8 mile hikes earlier in the week so they had no problem with it but man..that was a challenge for me! haha. I enjoyed most of it though and walking back downhill was much easier. The last day we just relaxed, swam, and packed up our stuff.

Traveling home - It went pretty smoothly for the most part. We ate breakfast at Del Taco in Fresno, lunch at Rubios in L.A, then we arrived at LAX and had a few issues here and there, which always happens in airports, but once our flight took off everything was good. It was a 3 hr direct flight to Sioux Falls! Gotta love that :) The airport is only 10 minutes away from where we live too!

It's great to be home and sleeping in our super comfortable bed! Speaking of which... I think it is time for bed! :)

California, here I come!

I'm going *home* to San Diego!

Actually, I am going to be in Los Angeles (Hollywood) tomorrow, then Riverside for the first couple days of the trip (which is my original hometown, where I was born.) I'll be spending a lot of time with family! Zoe is going to get to see all her little cousins. I'm so excited! I'm going to have to take a zillion pictures.

On the 5th I'll be meeting up with my friends and then making my way down to Escondido (San Diego for those of you who don't know Southern CA) where we'll be until the 13th. On the 13th we go back up to Los Angeles. Zoe and I will meet up with Gage and his family at a motel that night. Well sleep there then early in the morning we drive to Yosemite National Park. We will be there for a week, then we drive to Bass Lake, where we will be for another week. Gage's Dad's side of the family is having a family reunion up in Bass Lake. That'll be fun, I've never been there before. We return to Sioux Falls on the 27th of June.

I'm a little nervous about the flight tomorrow. For one, I'm not a huge fan of flying. Second, I am going to have my 14 month old on my lap for 3 hrs straight. I don't know how I'm going to keep her entertained for that long. Maybe she'll sleep a little! :)

I'm also sad to leave Sioux Falls for a month. I am thrilled to be going back to CA but I'm going to be out of my comfort zone (my home) for a month! Zoe is also going to be in new and strange places and we'll be without Gage for the first 10 days so it's a bit stressful, but I know God is in control and it will all work out. I really have nothing to worry about. I know I'm going to have a great time on this trip and Zoe will be loved by everyone.

I'm going to finish some laundry and get a couple more things packed tonight, that will allow me to just relax tomorrow until we leave the house at 1pm. Ooo, maybe we'll get Bagel Boy for breakfast.

I leave you with one of my favorite portions of scripture:

Isaiah 40:28-31

²⁸Have you not known? Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

-Shaina

List Making to the Extreme

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE LISTS. I got this from my Mom, she made a list for just about everything. I love lists because once I have a list, I feel completely prepared and content knowing that I won't forget anything because, it's on the list :) Plus I have a horrible memory and if I didn't write everything down, it would not get done.

My list making obsession becomes the most evident when I'm packing for a trip. If the trip is nearly a month long (such as the one I have coming up), I take list making to a whole new level, creating a 6 page report on what needs to be done haha. I started out a couple weeks ago searching online for anything and everything I need to know about traveling with a toddler by myself, then last week I made a list of the basic essentials that we need in our bags. This week, I have a list for just about everything. Especially since the trip is split up with Zoe and I leaving on the 3rd and Gage (and his family) leaving on the 13th. Seriously, I've already created lists for the following:

• All contents for the big brown suitcase, my stuff and Zoe's stuff.
• All contents of my purse, Zoe's little backpack, and my backpack. (That's 3 lists)
• All contents for the black carry-on suitcase that Gage will be bringing.
• All contents of Gage's backpack.
• A list of specific toys to bring for Zoe.
• A list of things to do on the plane to keep Zoe entertained for 3 hrs.
• A list of things for Gage to do during the 10 days that he's home and we're not.
  
• A list of things I need to accomplish before leaving on this trip...

Seriously, this is insane! But hey, at least I'm prepared :)

Sickness Rant and Zoe in Shorts!

This week it is sore throats, coughs, headaches, and other various aches and pains. Seriously, I used to go YEARS without getting sick in California, now I get sick in one way or another every few weeks during the Winter & Spring here. Though there are many pluses to living in South Dakota, getting sick so often is definitely not one of them. I don't even leave the house very often...just go to to church and maybe the grocery store. Zoe has some eye gunk that is finally starting to go away after about 4 or 5 days, Gage has had a cough for 2 weeks, and in addition to that cough now he is dealing with the same thing I am: headaches, a sore throat, feeling as if there is a balloon in your head..

Other than being sick, things are going pretty smoothly around here. Zoe has been practicing her running skills and not exactly succeeding as she continually falls, gets back up, runs, falls, gets back up. Gage is enjoying some free time now that school is finished for the semester, and I've been making a detailed list of what to pack and what bag to pack stuff in for the trip. My house is a mess though, because I haven't been feeling well. My goal is to have it *spotless* by the time I leave for CA in two weeks ;) We'll see if that happens.

Gage mowed the lawn today! Now we have a nice pretty green lawn. Zoe went outside and walked around in the backyard for the first time today, wearing her 2nd pair of shorts and and a tank top and boy did she look CUTE. I should have taken a picture :) We were given a Little Tikes play house for the backyard that was cleaned up today and is currently drying. Hopefully she'll get to check it out later on today.

-Shaina

Zoe's 1st Bike Ride!

For Christmas last year we received a double stroller/bike trailer from Gage's parents. We finally were able to use it for the first time on Monday! We took a ride down to Spellerberg Park and let Zoe play around. Zoe had fun walking around the park, swinging, going down slides with Daddy, and of course riding in the bike trailer! She's a little small for it (as you'll see in the picture at the bottom), but it works. It was so great to take Zoe on a bike ride with us!

Zoe riding on her favorite thing in the world....a duck, haha.

She'll grow into it...hehe

Zoe's 1st Steps!

I posted this morning and since then a couple huge things have happened so I have to update again!

First the most exciting thing of all... Zoe walked! She walked from Daddy to Mommy, then from Mommy to Daddy about 10-15 times tonight, right before bed. The most steps she took at once was 7. She looked so adorable walking in her very first pair of pajamas. I was videotaping so...believe it or not, I have no pictures! I'll get one of her walking tomorrow if she decides to do it again.

In other exciting news... I finally received my Photographer Diploma today!! It's official! Wooohoo! It is such a relief to be completely finished with this program. I have been working on it slowly for 2 years now, I had to pay extra money for two different extentions so I could have more time to finish it, and I was 2 months away from not being *able* to complete it. After two extentions you cannot have anymore. The whole thing at the end became so stressful, but now it is finished and I have a Career Diploma in Photography to show for it. I already framed it! I bought frames specifically for my Diploma and Gage's degree that he will be getting next year. Each frame was 25 cents at a garage sale on Thursday!

That's it for now, I just had to share some exciting news!


-Shaina

Zoe's Zoo Adventures and More

Hello!

We've been quite busy lately. The weather warmed up enough for us to venture outside! On the 15th we went to the Omaha Zoo in Nebraska. It was Zoe's first trip to an actual Zoo (we did go to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido, CA when Zoe was 3 months old). Her favorite part was the Aquarium, especially the tank that was filled with Jelly Fish! We were in Omaha because it was time to drop off my sister at the Omaha airport. She left that evening. A few days later Zoe went to the Sioux Falls Zoo with Grandma & Uncle Brad, so she should be an animal expert by now.

Zoe has been enjoying slides & swings at various parks around Sioux Falls. She still isn't walking yet, but she's getting close. She has learned how to climb onto her little tikes slide at home, as well as the couches. Yesterday she started making the "doooo" sound, it's cute listening to her sing "doo dooo dooo doo" all day. She's also increasing her vocabulary. She currently says:

• Thank You - "Aah Coo"
• Cheese - "Chzzzzz"
• Cracker - "CraCr"
• Dada
• Kiss
• Kitty
  
• Uh Oh
• Duck (her favorite and most frequent word of all!)
• Eyes (very rare, but she says it)

I think I'll keep track of her first 10 words and write them in her babybook.

As for Gage and I - we are both doing very well. I'm still waiting for my Diploma to arrive in the mail, I'm so excited! I'm also enjoying the slightly warmer weather and the GREEN LEAVES on the trees. Sioux Falls lawns are now completely filled with bright green grass, another sight that you don't see to much of in CA. Spring is in the air!! It's still in the 40's though. We did have one very strange day where it was 91 degrees, which happened to be the day we went to the Kingswood garage sales. I actually got a small sunburn.

Some friends of ours moved just 3 blocks away from us yesterday. We helped them move and then I walked home. Now Zoe and Kjersten can play together whenever they want :)

Gage is home today because his classes were canceled for some reason today. Unfortunately it is dreary outside and looks like it may rain. I'm not sure what the plan is for today.

We just listened to the end of Tom Sawyer on MP3. We've been listening to the book off and on for a few days. I think I'm going to listen to more books on mp3, since I am not really a fan of sitting down and reading.

That's it for now. If I think of other things to report I will!

-Shaina

Blizzards, Babies, and Kisses

This week:

• Zoe added the word, "eyes" to her vocabulary. This morning she also tried to say "shoes" but she hasn't quite got it yet. Right now it's like "szzzz"
• Zoe drank through a straw!
• Zoe gave us kisses for the first time.
• Zoe played her Daddy's drums for the first time! She did very well too.
  
• Gage and I are celebrating 3 years since we got engaged! He proposed to me 3 years ago today!
• I FINISHED MY PHOTOGRAPHY PROGRAM!!!!!!!!! It took me 2 years to complete and originally I was going to try and finish it in 6 months. I mailed in my last project and so as soon as they get it, I'll have a Diploma in Photography.
  
• We had a BLIZZARD. Seriously, on the 3rd it was a beautiful day...green grass was growing, it was in the 4o's or 5o's...the next day... we were covered in 6 inches of snow. Two days later, it all melted.
• We met Emmeline Maine - our friends Mel & Tim had a beautiful baby girl on March 29th and we met her on the 4th. She is one of the most beautiful newborns I've ever seen!
• Both of my brothers became a year older. My stepbrother turned 24 on the 6th, my brother turned 22 on the 7th.
• We rearranged our living room a bit and hung things on the walls! I LOVE rearranging furniture... but I didn't think it was possible for this room, but after a year and a half of the same thing we finally changed a couple things and it looks a lot better in here.
  
• We ate lunch at taco bell yesterday and we left with about 4 inside jokes.
  
• I began exercising again. I've been SORE for 2 days. :)
  
• We watched American Idol. We like all of them except Lil and maybe Anoop. They are still great singers though. My favorites are Kris Allen and Danny Gokey.
• Went to Plato's Closet. A store Gabby has wanted to go to ever since she got here. It's one of our favorite stores. If only they wouldn't play so much rotten music!
• We went to Wal Mart about 3 times. That is more than I go in about 3 months. We're all set for Easter baskets though!
  

So there we have it. A few updates from the past week or so.

Birthdays, Birthdays Everywhere!

This week so far we have celebrated the 11th birthday of my brother-in-law Brad and the 70th birthday of a friend that attends our home group (yay for ice cream cake two nights in a row!) My friend Bethany also turned 11 last week. On Thursday we will be celebrating Zoe's 1st Birthday! In addition to Zoe's 1st birthday on the 12th, it is also Ezra's 1st birthday, my cousin-in-law Andy's birthday, Rachel & Lauren's birthday, and... Gage's Aunt is set to have her c-section on that day which means we will have yet another birthday to celebrate on that day. Then my mother-in-law Jenny's birthday is on the 18th.

My friend Mel is due to have her baby in a couple weeks which means the baby could come at any time now... I wonder if it'll be on the 12th. :)

So this week is pretty exciting. Unfortunately yesterday Zoe and I both started to cough a little bit and today I have a full on cold. Zoe's is much more mild though, thankfully. This is the 3rd time we have been sick in the past month. Ick! Hopefully we'll be better soon. My sister will be arriving in just 3 days! I really need to get our guest room ready and basement cleaned!

In fact... I'm off to go do that right now.

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Gabby!

Gabby & Me on my Wedding Day

My little sister Gabby is coming to visit! She bought a one way ticket and does not know how long she will be here. Neither of us have any money whatsoever so I'm trying to think of some things to do while she's here that don't involve using any (or very little) money. Anyone have any ideas?

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Zoe - 11 Months

Zoe is 11 months old now! :) She is growing up way too fast. I still feel like she's still way younger than she is. She'll be a year old in less than a month now! I wish she could stay a baby for just a little longer. I'm enjoying her more and more as she gets older though!

As for any family news, we are all doing pretty well now. Gage got a tutoring job at his school! He's enjoying his work, school, and his many projects he's been working on at home. Zoe and I are used to spending a lot of time in our home but not quite as much as we have the past couple weeks. Zoe has had a cold for about 3 weeks now and last week I was sick with a cold which I still have but not nearly as bad as before. Most of my time lately has been spent sitting on my couch watching Zoe, reading, on the computer, or watching TV. Now that I'm feeling better I have a long list of things that need to get done in the house!

Lately, Miss Zoe Kimberly has been up to:

• Singing a song! "laaada, laaaaaaada, layayda..." while swaying back and forth. It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life.
• Placing her toys on top of the diaper boxes then knocking them off. Repeating this process over and over.
• Hiding behind things and peaking out or around to get my attention - her version of "peek-a-boo" :)
• Walking behind her Walk and Ride toy! (As of yesterday, her 11 month "birthday") She holds onto the handle and pushes, then walks as it pulls her.
  
• Pointing at everything and saying either "dis" or "dada"
• Throwing her cheerios down to the dogs instead of eating them. One day while she was doing this she was saying, "uh oh" with each cheerio!
• Swimming for the first time! We went to an indoor pool last Friday. Gage and I took turns playing with her in the pool for about 45 minutes. She loved it! She just didn't understand the effect of splashing water. :)
  
• Meeting Kyera for the first time on Wednesday (the 11th). She reached over and "pet" her head. It was soooo cute! I'll post a few pictures of this later.
  

A Simple Saturday

Zoe has been sick with a cold for 2 1/2 weeks, and I have had a cold since Wednesday... it just seems to be getting worse each day. Zoe had a fever yesterday and again this morning. Ibuprofin is what has been getting us through this cold. She loves the taste of the liquid ibuprofen for babies so she's usually pretty upset once I give her one little taste of it then take it away. Oh well, it's worth it because it takes her fever away.

Right now we're just sitting around watching Finding Nemo (one of my favorite movies ever). Zoe is in the exersaucer playing with some toys and on our patio you will find not one but three rat terriers. Gage's family is on their way to Mexico for a week long mission trip and during this trip we have their dogs. They are basically going to be in the kitchen all week and outside when it's warm enough for them. I have got to buy a good mop... these dogs shed like crazy.

I've been doing whatever I can to get Zoe to eat because in addition to this cold/fever she is teething. Food is not very high on her list of favorite things right now. I think much of her illness is due to the teething but since I am sick now...I'm pretty sure what she has is due to more than just teething. She's been eating lots of Graham Crackers (her favorite food of the moment) and she'll eat plain oatmeal. Anything else I give her she will only eat a tiny bit of it, then she'll just cry and cry until I stop feeding her.

Well, from the looks of it, Zoe is done with her exersaucer for now. I'm off to entertain her! Maybe we'll try stacking some cups.

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