Monday, July 26, 2010

Of community, pianos, and things

Our community had an annual festival with all sorts of fun things for kids, including a concert and fireworks. The boys enjoyed hanging out with good friend Shekinah on the bleachers. Here they are vying for room in our hammock.
My baby dropped last week and I can't believe how small I look now! She is definitely hiding! I still suffer heartburn and very sore bones, but it is nice to breathe and roll over again! 3 weeks and counting!

Finally, my inlaws brought the piano they've had in storage for us! A real one! I have really enjoyed playing it, and so have the boys! Now our music room is complete!




Sunday, July 18, 2010

Our new church

After over a year in Wausau, we finally picked a home church! We will become members as soon as possible at the Wausau Christian Missionary Alliance Church.

Probably the hardest decision in our marriage thusfar was deciding between two great churches here in WI. We kept waiting for a special call, and talked in circles about which church is best for our family, which one we can serve the best at, which one God wants us to attend. No specific answer arrived, but Jason and I are both unified that it is time to commit, instead of attending both, and time to throw ourselves completely into one.

Today we have been mourning what we're giving up at the church we didn't choose. We told our old small group, which wasn't easy. But we try to keep in perspective that we are ALL the church and the body of Christ, and our friends from that church will still be our neighborhood friends in the years to come.

Along with those feelings though we are so relieved to have chosen! Alliance is a very healthy church and we are excited to serve and worship God there. They especially excel in their music ministry. As you know music is particularly dear to both Jason and me. They are a baby-booming church, with excellent programs for our kids as they grow. The preaching is right from the Word, and the people are very friendly and welcoming. We feel very blessed! I anticipate our roots here in Wausau will grow deep very fast from this point on.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Jonas' diet: don't eat!

Sometimes I can't believe what mean parents we are! One night this week we expected Jonas to eat supper! It was 2 tablespoons of rice with 6 kernels of corn and 1 piece of broccoli. It was a rough night!
He was so upset with us he didn't even drink his milk.




The end of the story: Jonas fasted this particular night and did not get dessert. That is the usual ending. But he can look so pathetic and devastated at the healthy food he is supposed to eat that we give in and slip him snacks on the sly like a dog. Otherwise he just eats 3 bowls of oatmeal for breakfast the next day.



Monday, July 12, 2010

Make me smile

Today I was reading my Bible in the living room, the kids were playing cars in the family room. Then I hear Caedmon, "I HAVE TO GO POOPY!" I hear him run to the bathroom, scoot the stool over, sit down. Small pause.
C, "Jonas, come in here and watch me go poopy!"
J, "No."
Small pause.
C, "Jonas, come in here please, Jonas!"
Silence.
C, "Jonas, can you hear me? Come in here I want to talk to you."
J, "No, I'm playing with cars." (probably YOUR cars!)
Small pause while Caedmon thinks.
C, "JONAS! Come in here and see the toilet. It's really messy. It's a really messy toilet, Jonas!"
J, "Ok, coming!"
Pitter-patter pitter-patter, drop some cars on his way, pick them up, pitter-patter.
C, "MOM! I'm all done going poopy!!!!!! I need help!"


Boys.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Sleeping People

I realized I take a lot of pictures of people sleeping. They are so cute! When I watch my kids sleep, I feel a fierce tenderness and urge to be the best Mom to them I can be. It is a gift. God reminds me how much I love them!





I actually do a lot of napping these days, too, but since I am the one with the camera, no one catches me sleeping! :-)



Kiddos

We all know THAT charming smile! AND a cute smile even with crazy hair!

This is our favorite pasttime these days...biking! Caedmon is quite a biker, he has gone 3.5 miles with us! I wonder if we'll be able to keep track of him once he learns to ride without trainers!

Jonas has recently gotten really muscular legs. He loves to ride his train everywhere and can almost keep up with Caed on the bike!


And introducing the precious newest member of the Samuelson clan, my nephew MICHAEL SETO NOREN! He was born July 2nd, our anniversary, because I'm his favorite aunt. I love this little man!






Projects

One day we decided to spray-paint the hardware in our kitchen. This is the before picture of the kitchen, with the cabinet doors already off. The handles, etc. used to be a strange blue and the cabinets were a dirty cream color.
Practical Jason said, well, while the doors are all off anyway we should decide if we want to paint! So we painted them white.

After remounting our black handles on white doors, I impulsively decided to paint the background from the sickly green to yellow. Yeah, it turned out REALLY yellow!


I like it! It is definitely not what I pictured, but I don't dislike it enough to repaint it. So our kitchen has become much brighter in color, and, I think, cheerful! None of those subdued earthtones for us! :-)



My wonderful husband repaired the worst part of our roof to try to buy us a couple years. When we do replace the roofing, we hope to replace siding, windows, and add insulation as well. So we are hoping to put off paying for all that!


This is the dead tree that had been leaning on another tree for a few days. Jason was contemplating what to do with it, when one day I watched it fall before my eyes. It was during naptime, and watching the strength and power of a falling tree made me drop to my knees thanking God that my children weren't outside playing in that very spot, where they constantly play. So this is a project in progress, Jason plans to borrow his dad's chainsaw and get us some free firewood!
We are enjoying all the work that goes into keeping this place running!