Off to School, Off to School

Monday August 23, 2010 started with the buzzing of the alarm clock at 6:25 a.m. I squinted at the clock, reluctantly rolled out of bed and stumbled across the hall to the boys' bedroom, I had barely pulled the covers off Caleb's head when he sprang up from under the sheets. "Time to get ready for your first day of school, Caleb!" I announced in my most encouraging mommy voice. Not that any encouragement was needed—despite his short response, you could sense he was excited for the big day ahead.

Caleb immediately reached for his clothes from the dresser that we so carefully picked out the night before—a pair of blue jeans and the bright red guitar t-shirt that his teacher had commented on at registration. With minimal distraction and only some of the regular dilly-dallying, Caleb was washed and dressed in no time. Meanwhile, Kevin was busy in the kitchen fixing Caleb's favorite breakfast—pancakes and syrup! The boys sat down and ate together (I inhaled a pancake while Caleb tied his shoes), we took a few pictures and we were on the road, backpack and all, by seven thirty sharp!

School didn't start until ten after eight, but as a stay-at-home mom this was my first experience in Fort Wayne rush hour traffic—which thankfully turned out to be no rush at all! We arrived at Emmaus Lutheran School with 20 minutes to spare and we were the first family outside. Although, we quickly learned that they don't unlock the doors until eight o'clock (thank goodness for the sunshine ;).

When the principal finally unleashed the heard (wearing his large pencil-shaped necktie) we meandered down the hall to find Mrs. Tassey's Pre-Kindergarten classroom! We (okay, I) cheerfully greeted the teacher and then found Caleb's seat at the table—clearly marked with his name and a blue paper frog. Our first order of business was for Caleb to take his wooden attendance stick to the yellow cup on the teacher's desk (clever!). Then Mrs. Tassey checked the supplies in his backpack and we headed back out to the hall to find his locker (also marked with his name and another blue paper frog). As Caleb posed in the hallway for a quick picture, I started to sense some apprehension in his expression. Thankfully, it quickly receded when I asked for a nice big smile! He squished his backpack into the locker, intrigued by the variety of hooks inside, and then it was back to the classroom to get ready for the day!

Inside the classroom, each child's seat was adorned with their name, an over-sized Popsicle stick (aka attendance stick), a different critter shaped piece of paper and a puzzle. There must have been about 20 kids in his class. In observance of the big event we will celebrate this Friday, Caleb had a special birthday puzzle in front of his seat! As he started to pull out his chair, he looked up at me with wide eyes and asked, "Mom, did you hear that?! Somebody said Malachi!" (The same name as one of his good friends from the seminary, who has now moved to Wisconsin). I excitedly acknowledged his observation and pulled out the camera for a couple quick classroom pics.

While I attempted to capture the momentum of the morning, Caleb worked quietly on his puzzle, although, it was clear that he was much more interested in the bustle of the kids and their parents shuffling around the classroom. Acknowledging my window of opportunity, I gently rubbed the top of his fuzzy little head (none of that mushy kissy-face stuff ;) and explained, "I better get going so you can start your day." With his attention fixed on his puzzle, Caleb nonchalantly replied, "Okay, Mom." So I headed toward the door, sporting my proud mama smile! I glanced back for one last good-bye (and, of course, to confirm the absence of fear), but his attention was everywhere but on me.

"WE DID IT!!" I cheered to myself! And I'm quite sure I let out a blatant sigh of relieve as I headed back to the car.

Back home, Ethan and I took Shelby for a walk, exploring our new found freedom and independence! As we headed down the street, I realized I now had to repeatedly point Ethan in the right direction, as there was no crazy curly-haired kid luring us on his Big Wheels (apparently Shelby does not posses the authority to hold Ethan attention the way Caleb does). Regardless, we continued down our usual path. All the while, I couldn't help but wish I was a fly on the wall in Caleb's classroom. What was he doing? Was he having fun? Who were the other kids in his class? What was he learning today? How did Ethan feel about big brother going to school? Well, I asked Ethan, but he just repeated my question with his elbows bent, and hands in the air—"Caleb?" and then, again, repeating me "School!" I guess he probably didn't mind having all the toys and attention for himself, but I wonder if any of that will change as he learns that this is an everyday affair...

Well eleven o'clock arrived quickly, and I excitedly packed Ethan in the car to go pick up my boy! Along the way, Ethan played tour guide, shouting, "Digger!...Worker!...Plane!...Garage!..." This time I repeated him :) We arrived just a couple minutes early and waited anxiously in the foyer. As the teacher walked up with the kids in line behind her, one little girl—and then Caleb—attempted to rush through the door before getting properly signed out. Despite the slight scolding, he was glowing with smiles!

Of course, all the way to the car, I poked and prodded him about his day. Often times he replies with a nondescript one-word answer, so I was surprised when he had so many good things to share about his day—"We went to the gym...We read a REALLY funny story called 'The first day of school!'... I only got two papers today (something about those school papers makes him feel pretty grown up ;). And then—my favorite—this afternoon out of nowhere he says, "Mom, do you know about lips and hips? When the teacher says lips and hips we stand like this"—one hand on his hip, the other with a finger over his lips. "Yeah, Mom, that's what we do when the teacher says lips and hips." Ha!

And just when I thought I had heard everything there was to hear, I laid down with him after prayers tonight and he informed me that he had EVEN MORE fun at school today than he does at home! But that was only the beginning—his mind was still going: "Mom, there are squares and footprints on the carpet...And we went to church today...Mom, they have even MORE books than I do!" I never dreamed I would have to cut him off to say, "Goodnight, honey. Now get some sleep."

My top ten favorite things about my boys (2010)

10. Watching them become independent
Like Caleb running around the bases at t-ball tonight laughing with new friends, or Ethan pulling his stool up to every door and light switch so he can operate them on his own.

9. Playing peek-a-boo
It's nothing short of impossible NOT to smile! Ethan even has the sneak attack down—at t-ball tonight, he ran up behind me and wrapped his little arms around my neck, then peeked to one side ever-so-quietly with the worlds biggest grin on his face—which quickly transformed to a giggle as I turned and said "boo!"
8. Answering simple questions with complicated answers
"Mom, why can't I play outside longer?"
"Because it's too hot for your little body and you will get dehydrated and pass out."

I have a feeling we'll need to readdress that one again another day.

7. Indulging in dessert together
Tonight before bed, Caleb and I enjoyed some ice cream and hot fudge together—smiling the whole way and sarcastically commenting on how disgusting it was! Oh chocolate, gross!!
 
6. Eating breakfast together
Talk about starting your day off right! Tonight Kevin got home from church and came in to kiss his boys goodnight. I was laying in bed with Caleb and he asked dad if he would wake him up so they could eat breakfast together in the morning. What are the chances he'll still invite us to breakfast when he's 30?

5. Cooking together
A few nights ago we made Spaghetti Bake; Caleb chopped some peppers with the onion chopper and Ethan delicately sprinkled noodles in the pan; I just stood in the middle and admired my beautiful family!





4. Passing down traditions
Sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows, watching "Home Alone," waking up to stockings filled with toys, eating ice cream after a night of t-ball, reading "Goodnight Moon," building with Lincoln Logs...

3. Coloring together
Every picture is a surprise! A masterpiece! A keepsake. (Why do they make refrigerators so small?!)

2.  Watching Ethan learn from his big brother
Tonight in the bath tub Ethan starts singing as he's soaping himself up—I think it was supposed to be some variation of "Scrub-a-dub-dub..." But it doesn't stop there—every eye-wincing scream and every heart-stopping leap off the couch, Ethan is on a mission!

1. Hug, hug, hug and hug some more!
Holding hands is nice, but nothing says I love you like a hug! How long before they become embarrassed to wrap their arms around you and say "I love you too, mom"?

Batter up!

After weeks of trying to get back to blogging, I am excited to share that Caleb has been participating in his first ever t-ball league through Fort Wayne Parks and Rec! For the past month, we've been going out to Lawton Park Tuesday and Thursday mornings with our Twins hat and baseball glove to meet up with Coach Kate, Coach Sarah, and our new friends Abigail, Sarah, Kate, Xavier and Brayton for a 45 minute practice session. It is a non-competitive league, so instead of playing games they practice catching (alligator chomp style), throwing (apple, muscle, step, throw!) batting and running around the bases. The coaches mixed in some games of red light, green light and duck, duck, goose and provided constant encouragement to keep the kids excited about t-ball! Today was their last practice for the June session, so they invited the grown-ups out for a game of kids vs. adults! The kids won of course, but it was tons of fun—Ethan even got to throw a couple balls in to home plate.

Caleb has always enjoyed baseball and watching him play with some other kids his age proved that he has a good arm, long, speedy legs and a strong swing! The June session went so quickly, we decided to sign him up for another session in July. And besides his development with t-ball, I can see that he is becoming more independent as he runs out on the field for practice on his own every day. I just can't wait to see how he develops over the next couple years!

Besides t-ball, Caleb has made a new best friend. We had to say good-bye to our good friends the Heinecke's last month as they headed out for their first call to Webster, Wisconsin (ironically, something like an hour north of Kevin's parents). So Caleb had his buddy Malachi over for a sleep over just before their move. Since then, he has developed an unexpected friendship with "Princess Madeline!" One of the wives at the sem, works as a nanny for a couple of doctors, so we've been having playdates with her and the doctors' kids, Madeline (6) and Isaac (3). I'm not sure what it was, but after our first playdate, Caleb was so excited to tell me about his adventures with Princess Madeline and the palace at the park! Since then he continually asks, "When are we going to play with Madeline again?" And on our last visit to the zoo, the two of them paid more attention to each other, than to the animals (not to mention they held hands for much of the day). Kevin and I still aren't quite sure what to think of it all.

Luckily, my "baby" Ethan still thinks his mama is his best girl ;) Although, he is much more social than Caleb ever was at his age. He'll say hi or bye to almost anyone—or anything for that matter. He has even started passing out kisses to everyone at church! Which can't possibly be hurting Daddy's reputation, right? Ha! I could go on for hours about all the adorable things he is doing these days. He is incredibly giggly and chatty and continues to follow and mimic his big brother with every turn. His vocabulary is increasing every day, but still no luck saying "Caleb." He has figured out the concept of two—two crayons, two cars, two cookies, etc.—and we're working on colors, although everything at this point is "blue!" He is just all around CUTE! And one of our favorite games is to shout "hey!" and wait for him to say "hey!" back. It always gets a giggle and continues for a good four or five rounds ;)

Nothing compares to the many proud parenting moments, but I am finding myself overwhelmed with a variety of other activities as well. Many new families have starting moving to Fort Wayne for the upcoming year (it is strange, how often people come and go in this place). So I am meeting some fun new ladies, while trying to figure out how to keep up with those I just met last fall. I adopted a "little sister" from Colorado—a new sem wife who I am helping transition into her new lifestyle as a sem wife and citizen of Fort Wayne. She and I are getting along very well, and I was excited to learn that she will be expecting baby #2 in February!! Besides attending bi-weekly SWA events such as knitting and cardmaking, I also just finished my second newsletter for the Seminary Wives Association—which is probably my favorite extra-curricular activity!

Kevin, on the other hand, gets one or two nights a week with the seminary softball team (I think they're ranked 3rd in their league). But the much of the rest of his time is spent flipping through Hebrew flashcards from his recliner in the living room. He is relieved to be wrapping up session one, but then session two (Hebrew part II) begins shortly thereafter.

Despite the typical summer church slump, we are becoming very busy out at our field work church. Kevin mentioned preaching a couple sermons in the near future (Wednesday services this month I believe) and the two of us are leading youth group twice a month through August. Kevin will prepare the devotions and I really just get to enjoy the games, canoeing, mini-golf and supporting the kids in their efforts to give Kevin a hard time ;)

With all of that on our schedule, I can only imagine our trip home will be here before we know it! Love and hugs...

In Ethan's words...

One of my favorite phases of early childhood is learning to talk! It is obvious that Ethan can understand much of what I am saying to him, "put this on the table"..."go find the stairs"..."where is your brother." And it is also obvious that he is, in turn, trying to communicate with me, but he can't quite find all the words just yet. It's not nearly as cute as hearing it in person, but I thought it would be fun to share some of the things he is saying—or trying to say—at this stage, and in a few months maybe I can report back with an update on his progress ;)

Mommy and Daddy He's got these two mastered of course, but he just started saying them both in the same breath, "Mommy Daddy" (who needs conjunctions anyway?! :)

Shelby This is one of my favorites, it sounds like "Dalby" I'm seriously considering changing Shelby's name to Dalby!

Caleb We're still working on this (and grandma); when prompted to repeat "Caleb." he usually just gives you a blank stare
 
banana This one has been in the works for a while, but he still just says "nana" or once in a while "nummy nummy!"

ball so far just sounds like "bah"

bike sounds like "bye"—today he saw a couple motorcycles drive by the house and he pointed and shouted "bye!"

bye With a little more emphasis than when he means bike, this sounds like "byeee" and he always says it with a very distinct, energetic wave!


hi He can finally say this too! "hi!"

guy Another easy one "guyee"—in reference to any toy figure—male OR female ;)

outside "eyee? eyee?" If he hears mama say "it's time to go outside," he usually repeats it a couple times—as though he's asking me if that's what I really said?!

eye Obviously he's got this one down. And for some reason, when we look through his Big Book of Animals, if he doesn't know what the animal is, or what sound it makes he usually points at the picture and says "eye?" 

cow Another easy one— "cowww" (he likes to hold his vowels for an extra second or two), but it's the subsequent "MOOOO!" that is so stinkin' adorable! And he always moos at the cows on the way to church. Initially, it was a very accurate, low pitched "mooo," but then last week, out of nowhere he screeched "MOOO-OOO!" as though the cow was getting kicked in the groin! From there, it quickly developed into a "mooing" match with Caleb (awesome).
 
puppy and kitty
Before he could too many other words, all animals were "puh-pees" and I'm not sure why, but at some point we'll have to clarify that a "tih-tee" is not actually a furry critter ;)

fishy usually comes out "ish-ee" and he always says it so adoringly!

 
sticky or stinky These two sound about the same for now—"stih-ee." Two qualities that are commonly used to describe a messy baby, and therefore very important to learn ;)


And the latest, just today..

nukie This is what we call his pacifier, and when Ethan says it, it sounds like "noo-nee." Can't you just see his cute little lips forming the "ooo" and "eee" sounds?! Aww.


That's all I've got for now. Maybe I can capture a video of some of them soon!

Beautiful Morning

About ten o'clock on Thursday morning we headed to the Seminary to drop off some baked spaghetti for a family who just had a baby girl (there has been a new baby every week this month!). Initially, I was planning to run some errands around town after the drop off, but as soon as we pulled into the school parking lot we spotted the Heinecke clan (remember our little wrestler friend, Malachi?). Not to mention the sun was shining and everyone was outside enjoying the weather.

Once our meal had been delivered, I decided it was much too nice to be in the car all day, so I took the boys out to the courtyard on campus to see the water fountains instead. The boys jolted out the doors and ran from one fountain to the next, bouncing with excitement. "Bubbles!" Ethan kept shouting. "Oh cool—there's three of them!" Caleb exclaimed. We even got to see how the workers cleaned out the leaves with big nets to keep the pumps working.

After a few sprints up and down the sidewalk, we followed the Heinecke boys around the corner of the chapel to observe the construction site where they are expanding the campus library. I fully expected them to be intrigued by the big excavators and spinning cement trucks—I was even a little curious myself. Instead, they spent the next 20 minutes hypnotized by the guy on the lawn mower (really?!).

Despite the excitement of the maintenance crew, it wasn't long before Caleb spotted a big red fire truck driving into the Concordia campus. They didn't appear to be in any kind of a hurry, so I quickly suggested to the boys that we try to get a closer look. It took all of about two seconds for Caleb to jump down from his perch in the courtyard and start running towards the parking lot. He bolted in full force, with the rest of us in tow, until we were all standing directly across the street from the big red fire engine.

Noticing the blatant stares of the four small boys (and two adults), the driver hopped out of the truck and waved us over. It turns out they were waiting for one of their guys to finish inspecting the fire hydrants on campus, so they had time to teach the boys about the different equipment on the truck while they waited. We learned about the jaws of life, the 1000 gallons of water they carry on the truck, and how to crawl on the ground to avoid the smoke inhalation. The bigger boys even got to climb up in the truck and sit in the captain's chair behind the wheel (just don't touch the buttons! ;)

It turned out to be a pretty exciting morning, and I think the boys are glad that we decided to run our errands another day.

April Showers

Despite the implications of the phrase "April Showers," we really haven't seen too much rainy weather this month. Instead, we are thrilled to report that it has been pouring blessings around here! The most exciting news is the birth of our first niece—Kaylee Grace Marynne Nistler born to Kevin's sister  on Monday, March 29 in Bismarck, ND. It's hard to believe that after three boys they actually do have a girl now. The pictures are somewhat convincing, but I think we'll have to visit soon to see for ourselves. Congratulations guys!

Although, we would much rather be on the road to Bismarck, we've been enjoying a week filled with beautiful weather while we're stuck here in Fort Wayne. We visited the biblical-themed playground at the Seminary twice this last week—where you can almost always expect to see someone you know. It's great for both our boys because the equipment accommodates the big kids and the little ones. Just a few days later we discovered an even larger park a few blocks North of our house. This place was PACKED with kids and Caleb spent most of the time weaving under walkways and zipping down slides to dodge his new best buddy Malachi. They were having so much fun, I don't think they noticed the other hundreds of kids that were there. And on several occasions, we had to kindly remind them that it was not okay to wrestle at the park (although it was quite amusing for us).

Ethan seems to love playing outside just as much as Caleb. Every time we let Shelby out the back door to do her business, Ethan is right behind her trying to sneak out to play. Sometimes I just let him go (shoes or not), just to see how far he'll wander and what he'll do. One of this week's ventures was definitely worth my while! Ethan hurriedly climbed into his favorite little car, waved good-bye and I was able to coax him to blow me a kiss—sound effects and all! Whats more, he did it again, and again, and again—at least five times...hop in the car, wave to mommy, say "bye," blow a kiss, giggle and do it all over again! That defining moment was worth a year of stinky diapers alone!


Although Caleb is nearly five years old, I am surprised to find that I am still often captivated by the things he says and does. After one of our trips to the playground, he excitedly asked if we could eat at a restaurant, and I woefully replied "No, not today." Although he was disappointed, he quickly countered with a suggestion to play restaurant at home. We can go to "Mom's Kitchen," he said. And HE was going to be in charge of making the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So we pulled into the garage and he immediately ran inside to start the preparations...creamy peanut butter, grape jelly, six slices of bread, paper lunch bags and of course a toy for each of our meals. I must say, I highly recommend the PB&J at Mom's Kitchen!

The sounds of summer are back!

It's been about 60° here over the last few days and we just can't get enough sunshine! We went out for our first walk of the year last night and I reveled in the sounds of the birds chirping, motorcycle engines revving, dog collars jingling, bicycle pedals turning, baseball bats clanking, and the neighborhood kids shouting with excitement. Our first afternoon in the sun the boys chased each other around the back yard and dug through the shed trying to decide which of the old toys they should dig out first. Since then, Caleb has already broken in his old baseball bats and taken a few laps up and down the block on the good ol' Spiderman bike. Ethan (all too naturally) found the few mud puddles around the yard and is attempting to claim ownership of the kiddie car that has been Caleb's favorite for the last two years. There's nothing but smiles around here this week!

Kevin started his second quarter of classes and the rest of us are remembering what it is like to have a schedule again. The boys and I were very busy this week! We had the Kidz Klub Passion Play on Tuesday, followed by a big play date on Wednesday and another smaller one on Thursday. The Passion Play could've gone better but the kids really had fun. On Wednesday, we met eight other boys, two little girls, and six other seminary wives! It was a lot of people all at once, but we all had a pretty good time. Our last get together of the week got us out of the house by 9 am (okay, we didn't get there until 9:15). The three of us walked the mall with a girl we met at the library last month who has a 21 month old named Ethan (he's almost as cute as ours ;). She's originally from Fort Wayne, so I got some recommendations on doctors and dentists in town—it was nice to visit with someone outside the seminary for a change.

This weekend we look forward to big birthday celebrations (well, I'll be happy if I get a cake anyway :) Then on Sunday we were invited out for pancakes and a Maple Logging tour up by our field work church. I think the boys will have a good time—although the forecast doesn't look so good for Sunday...

Our little Handy Manny

Just the other day—Tuesday I guess it was—I was tinkering around on the computer and the boys were nonchalantly playing with the pack-n-play on the floor behind me. After a quick email check, I turned around to corral the troops for our weekly trip to Prince of Peace and found the pack-n-play tipped on its side with our entire supply of gift wrap spread out over the top in full fort-like fashion. Caleb looked up at me, his big round eyes gleaming, a proud smile on his face, and he inquired with excitement, "How do you like the house I made, Mom?"

Attempting to conceal my disdain for the now unusable gift wrap, I replied with the usual "That's awesome!" and quickly followed up with a suggestion to find alternate building materials. Naturally, inside the brain of a 4-year old, there just isn't anything else suitable for the job in that particular moment. So, in an effort to avoid an untimely uproar, I quickly reassured him that we could find him his very own roll of wrapping paper at the co-op—and thankfully we did that morning, as I would desperately need some leverage for good behavior later that day.

Finally, after four grueling hours of Kidz Klub with Janine, we headed to Peggy's to pick up the boys. I hadn't even gotten both feet in the door, when across the room I heard, "Mom, I was a good boy!" Caleb was wearing that same proud smile he had displayed earlier that morning, and he just wanted me to know that he hadn't stopped thinking about that roll of red snowflake wrapping paper that was waiting for him back home ;)

Unfortunately, we got back too late to start any projects that night, but as soon as we sat down for dinner Caleb couldn't stop talking about all the things he was going to do with his new roll of wrapping paper. The ideas poured out like a roller coaster and at some point he surprised me by noting, "We better make a list of all our ideas!" If it weren't for already having such a long day with no nap, I'm not sure he would have ever gone to sleep that night.

The next day Caleb was dressed and ready to go unusually quick. His first priority, of course, was making a list of all the things we were going to build. (Proud mama sidenote; he wrote that list all by himself, without hesitation; I simply spelled the words aloud to him!) His list was short, as he was anxious to get to work, but it included a ladder and a monkey (I was put in charge of the monkey).

He immediately began contemplating all the supplies he was going to need: a scissors from his craft drawer, some cardboard boxes from the garage and Dad's roll of duct tape. Boy were the wheels in his little head turning!! He had finally collected all his material together when we had to break for a  trip to a potential preschool. The actual building process didn't begin until much later when Dad returned from class that afternoon, but Caleb has been working on that project and nothing else ever since!

I'm not sure what happened to the ladder and monkey plan, but Caleb sure is proud of the house he built (is still building?) for Shelby.

Catch up!

Holy smokes! I knew I didn't have the discipline to be blogging every couple days like I had hoped, but seriously—how long has it been?! So where to start now...

Life is becoming busy, busy, busy! Probably the biggest, most recent news to date is that I applied for a production/graphic design job at Vera Bradley! If you haven't heard of them, you should check out their website (www.verabradley.com). It's the first job posting I've seen in three months that I am actually qualified for (other than reception work). The position is very similar to what I was doing for Flint in Fargo, and the majority of the job description was identical to the information I already had included on my résumé! Now I just have do a little research and wait for a call to interview! I think it would be a really fun product to design marketing materials for, but I have to admit...I'm a little torn between working a full time job and staying at home with the boys now??


The last few weeks have really been solidifying our routine, and in effect, helping us coast through the prolonged winter months. The last week in January, I bombed my first Sunday School lesson, teaching the pre-K age kids (I don't think they noticed, fortunately), but the experience was a good precursor to helping with the Kidz Klub activities on Tuesday afternoons. After just two weeks, I feel pretty comfortable delivering an engaging bible lesson, but the greater challenge is maintaining the discipline at the same time! With a little more practice I think there is hope ;)

While I'm helping Janine with Kidz Klub on Tuesdays and Kevin is at school, the boys are staying with a family from our fieldwork church who have a 4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy (Isabella and—I love this—Jon Jon :). The boys' first afternoon with near strangers went surprisingly well—considering their incredibly shy nature, but it probably had something to do with the overwhelming sea of toys in nearly every room! Even Ethan was distracted enough so I could walk away without seeing his little lips quiver in fear—does he really think I'm not coming back?

Speaking of Ethan—while he is at home, safe and secure in his comfort zone—our "baby" is starting to develop some coherent communication skills! Just before Christmas he could say "nana" in reference to bananas and call out "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"Although, the latter phrase was often directed at either the Mommy OR the Daddy. And thankfully, he can now properly identify who is the Mommy, and in addition, we have officially recorded his first word as "ball." Which, if I remember correctly, was also Caleb's first word (is that a boy thing or what?).

Caleb, on the other hand, has REALLY been exercising his imagination the last couple weeks! I can't even begin tell you how exciting that is for his right-brained Mama!! I think it all started with his drawing of an umbrella "with rain falling down on it" as seen on "Harold and the Purple Crayon." Since then, he hasn't been able to put down his doodle pad! The other day I even walked in during nap time to find it tucked under his blankets next to him :) Some of our favorite drawing exercises are playing a kind of Pictionary game, trying to identify what the other person has drawn, but often times he just starts drawing and stops to ask, "Mom, what does that look like?" What really surprises me is that is able to draw something that really does look like what he intends it to be!

While life at home carries on in at ever-changing pattern, I think Kevin has FINALLY wrapped up an intense week of midterms at the Seminary. Nothing too out of his grasp, however, as he has been reporting good grades on any papers and exams to date. And as school continues to go well, he is slowly becoming more involved with his fieldwork at Prince of Peace. Last week he battled the youth group in an afternoon of Laser Tag (and was still feeling it four days later!) and today he had his first visit to a member of the congregation in the hospital. One thing we are learning in the process, is the importance in flexibility of our schedules! Thank goodness for Janine to keep us company today!

I better wrap it up for tonight, but don't worry—I'll post some new kid pics in the next couple days!

A new kind of work

Since I am I still waiting to land that killer design job, I agreed to tag along with the Janine Mallardi to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Tuesday afternoons. Janine has a lot of energy and motivation, which seems to wear me out by the end of the day, but I do enjoy hanging out with her! She has been DCE at Prince of Peace for almost three years, and she is married to a third year seminary student (Rocco), so she has a lot of good stories (and wisdom) to share!

The trip up to the church is a solid 40 minutes, so the boys and I rode up with Janine and her 11 month old, "baby" Caleb. The boys kicked back in their car seats to watch "Harold and the Purple Crayon," while Janine and I gabbed like little old church ladies ;) Once we arrived at the church, Janine set up a barricade to keep the babies out of trouble and I tackled some craft project assembly while Janine prepped for a 3:00 meeting.
 

As the clock struck three, we began our meeting for the second session of the Kidz Klub program which I volunteered to help out with on Tuesdays. The Kidz Klub is a group of about 11 ladies and the pastor who volunteer from 3:30-5:30 every Tuesday to provide crafts, music and a bible lesson to local K-6th graders after school. I was assigned to work with "Megs" leading the K-1st graders group, which includes learning lines for a "Passion Play" which we will present in April. Hmmm...we'll see how that goes ;)

 

Luckily, our little ones slept during most of today's meeting and "big" Caleb sat on my lap and quietly drew pictures around all the blank areas of my lesson materials. The meeting wasn’t too intense, and it was good to get to know some of my fellow church ladies, but after the final clean up and wrangling the kids back into the car, I was incredibly exhausted! 

So, we finally headed home (on yet a different route than any of the three previous trips to POP with Janine), and she introduced us to the most inexpensive Chinese take-out in Fort Wayne! I think we were all pretty hungry, but you would've thought Caleb hadn't eaten in a WEEK the way he devoured that sweet'n sour chicken!


It was a good end to a good day.

Artwork of the week!

Here is something Caleb came up with today. "Dad, this is you winning your basketball game! See your big shoes, Dad? And there are your eyes and that is your smiley mouth!"

Standing a mere 5' 7" I don't even know that Kevin has ever set foot on a basketball court—to play basketball that is...

Home again, home again

Happy New Year everyone!

We were so blessed to wrap up 2009 with a trip home to Fargo for the holidays! And to add a little icing to the cake, we extended our visit even farther west to Bismarck for New Years weekend. We are so thankful have spent so much time visiting family and friends over winter break, and I am so impressed with how well the boys handled all the bouncing around. It wasn't until the last 60 miles from Fort Wayne, Caleb sighed from the back seat of the car and said, “I’m ready to be home.” Amen Caleb, Amen!

Following the climax of the holidays, it took a solid week to find our routine again. Kevin started classes and has already been assisting Pastor Jim Elsner with the service at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Stroh, Indiana. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to observe Kevin in his new role, because I've been sitting with our very shy 4-year old through Sunday School. But according to Kevin it's going well and he is anxious to be doing more!

Behind the scenes at Prince of Peace, the Director of Christian Education asked me to help teach the Children's Sunday School class for a couple weeks in February (one of the other teachers will be having her FIFTH baby in March!) Since I still haven't found myself a job, I am pretty excited to have something to do! In addition, Caleb and I volunteered to bring 10 DOZEN cookies for fellowship in February—busy is good, right?

Outside of Sundays, we’re still contemplating if we should send Caleb to preschool for the next few months. This morning he sat down to “read” a book to Ethan and me. It’s adorable to see what he has learned from watching his preschool teachers in Fargo. Today was a little different than past experiences however, he actually moved his fingers along the words and spoke slowly as though he was sounding them out. "As though" being the operative phrase—he isn't actually able to do that just yet, but I think this implies that he is ready! Now just a little help from his mama :)

As for Ethan, he battled his first visit to the doctor for stitches last week (just one stitch actually). He was just running through the kitchen when Caleb peeked around the corner to surprise him, and the poor guy landed face first on the hard kitchen floor. If you know Ethan, your familiar with his tendency to smile with his bottom lip tucked into his mouth, but as a result, those top teeth cut right through his lip leaving a pretty nasty gash :(

The good news is the little ones bounce back the quickest—today’s best belly laughs were the result of simulated sneezing (just another tactic he picked up from good ol' big brother). It’s amazing what will make a little boy giggle! and giggle! and giggle...one of those moments you can only hope to recreate later and capture on video.

Overall, I thought we had a fairly uneventful week, but this first blog has me second guessing... ;)