Happy Birthday, Jason!

Jason's birthday was a 2-day affair this past weekend! Jason's mom watched the kids overnight on Saturday (which is an awesome gift in itself, one that I enjoyed, too!), which gave us the chance to go to Samba for dinner with some friends on Saturday night. We ate soooo much but still managed to have dessert at Piazza del Panne afterwards. Then after church on Sunday, we drove up to his mom's and spent the rest of the day with his family. Hope you enjoyed your birthday, babe! We love you so much!

Growing Up

Jeremy loves brushing his teeth... We have been using the little finger brush up until this past week. This week, we decided to begin using an actual toothbrush (there are times when he bites down really hard and it really hurts!). He gets all smiley whenever we sing the chorus to Raffi's "Brush Your Teeth" song, moving his head from side to side (rocking out). We also sing, "This is the way we brush your teeth," while actually brushing his teeth. We'll have to get a video of that one of these days. (By the way, our walls are not quite that bright- the flash made them super bright).

When Grace turned one, I went to Studio Ceramique to paint a plate with her handprint on it. It was hung on our wall as a reminder of that time in her life. I'd post a picture of Grace's plate except it's currently packed away in a box somewhere (due to the kitchen remodel). Her handprints are flowers, and the plate has ladybugs around the rim. Last week, I went with Jill (my close friend) to Color Me Mine to paint plates for our boys. Look at how Jeremy's turned out!

In the Yard

These are just random pictures! We were outside playing- the kids love exploring our yard. Good thing we have so much of it.

In the midst of our crazy weeds, look- our roses are beginning to bloom!

Isn't this t-shirt perfect for Jeremy?

Aha! Caught red-handed- now I know why my Gerbera daisies are missing petals

Happy Easter!

I bet you didn't know this about me- aside from Thanksgiving, Good Friday and Easter are two of my favorite holidays of the year- more so than Christmas! These days symbolize so much to me, and I'm not talking about the Easter bunny, chocolate, or Easter eggs. I spent a lot of time on Good Friday reflecting on what it means to have a Savior, His love and sacrifice, and what that means for me as a person who strives to live in a way that shines Christ. In fact, Grace and Jeremy even joined me in my personal praise session on Friday night, singing about Christ's love for us. Below is one song that stirs my heart (I did not show the kids this- we just listened to the music). It's called, "Lead Me to the Cross," by Hillsong United.




And so of course the story doesn't end there- Praise the Lord- He is risen! We celebrated Easter Sunday by first going to church. It was great to witness 11 people being baptized- what a special reminder of Christ's love for us. After church, we headed up to Jason's mom's house to spend the rest of the day. Lunch was fantastic (as usual!) and it was great to spend some time together. Jeremy participated in his first egg hunt, and he was actually able to find quite a few on his own. My hope is that though it's fun to do the egg hunt, dye eggs, and talk about the Easter bunny, that Easter won't become as commercialized as Christmas, where its true meaning is easily hidden. Hope you all had a great Easter! Pictures of our Easter are on the right!

Easter Eggstravaganza

Our church hosts an annual neighborhood Easter Eggstravaganza on Good Friday. It's held at Robinson Park, which is right near our church and Robinson School. I was able to get Jason to go with us this year. The kids had a lot of fun- there were 4 stations, topped off with an Easter Egg Hunt. Grace's favorite was the bounce station. Jason helped Jeremy make it through one of the inflatables and judging by the fit Jeremy threw, we can assume that it was his favorite station, too. Next was the music station where we sang some praise songs, followed by the craft station. The last station was the story station, where Grace got to hear the Easter Story through the use of Resurrection Eggs. (I'm amazed at how much she seems to understand- when she prayed this morning for our breakfast, she said, "Thank you Jesus for dying for me and for you, Mama.") After the Easter Egg Hunt we walked to church and enjoyed lunch. Tomorrow, we'll celebrate our Risen Lord at church, and then we'll head up to Jason's mom's house for some family time. Happy Easter everyone! (More pictures on the right hand side)

Busy Weekend

Jason and I are on Spring Break! We're so glad to have this much-needed break!

This past weekend was Fresno's annual MCC Sale (Mennonite Central Committee). It's a huge sale that raises money for relief efforts around the world. In my opinion, it's like a huge Mennonite reunion. We always look forward to going for the chance to run into friends we haven't seen in a while, and to have some yummy foods that Jason grew up with. We went on Friday night for a tasty dinner of German sausage (the real thing) sandwiches. The lines for fritters were long, but some very nice people (thanks Aaron and Mark) gave us some. On Saturday morning, we returned for the pancake breakfast. Jason's mom met up with us there. We bought some Hot Wheels to keep Jeremy entertained long enough for me to watch a little of the quilt auction. Before leaving to take Grace to gymnastics, she treated the kids to homemade ice cream (at 10:30am!). Oh to be a grandma!

Sunday was Palm Sunday. Grace joined many other children at church, waving palm branches as they sang a few songs praising our Lord Jesus. I missed it, running to try and get a better spot to take pictures, but apparently, Grace was "playing" her palm branch like it was a guitar. She was rocking out! Just like her daddy, I guess! Thanks to the Macks for sending us this picture!Sunday evening was beautiful outside, so we went on a walk around our neighborhood. Grace dusted off her bike, and Jeremy got to ride in the jogging stroller. It was a great way to end such a busy weekend.

Stylin!

It's so great that our kids are old enough now to actually play together. Often times, Jeremy follows Grace around trying to keep up with her, and other times, she gets annoyed with him copying everything she does that she's trying to get away from him. Lately, they've been playing really well together. This is their latest thing, a result of Jeremy learning how to get on the stool in the bathroom by himself. They now play "Hair," with Grace pretending to be a hairdresser, and Jeremy as the customer. It's funny that Jeremy, who is usually very squirmy when we need him not to be, actually cooperates and lets Grace do whatever she wants with his hair (on this particular day, he was actually "brushing" his teeth, but he definitely didn't protest!).

Ready for the final result?!

TA DA!

Random Stuff

Several things happened this week that I just thought I'd share about.

1) Jason and I decided this past September that I would be taking a leave of absence from teaching this next year. With both of us working full-time, coaching, with two kids who go to different places during the day, church stuff, Grace's lessons, etc., our lives can be pretty hectic. We thought that if I took next year off, I'd be able to spend more time with Jeremy, and be available during Grace's first year of school! Well, it's official- last week, I submitted my request and it was granted. I get to be a stay-at-home mom next year! As someone whose identity is greatly wrapped up in my job, the idea of being at home overwhelms me... But, for the first time in my life, this is something I really desire, as opposed to something I'm doing because I feel pressure to do so. When I return the year after, I am guaranteed a position, and my tenure, years of service, salary, and seniority will be reinstated. Unfortunately, I am not guaranteed my current position at my current school. I am saddened by that! Teaching 5th grade with David, my grade level partner, has been the highlight of all my years of teaching. I know things will work out as they should! My thoughts for now are on how I'll get to focus on my family next year!

2) I registered Grace for kindergarten this past Wednesday. I had parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon, but stacked my Tuesday conferences so that I could leave early on Wednesday. One of the parents who didn't show up on Tuesday, showed up on Wednesday just as I was about to leave school. She was upset that I was making her come back on Thursday, so to avoid making things worse, I went ahead and sat down with her. Of course, the conference went on too long! When I arrived at Kratt Elementary School, I ran into my co-worker's mom, who also happens to be one of the kindergarten teachers there. We chatted a bit, and then she took me to get register. The teacher who helped me said, "Oh great! You just got the last spot for A.M. kindergarten!" I was so relieved! I joined another guy at a different table to fill out some papers, and a few minutes later, the teacher returned and said, "Actually, you got the last spot (pointing at the guy I was sitting near). Turning to me, she said, "I'm so sorry. I spoke too soon and we miscounted. It looks like you're the first person for our P.M. kindergarten." What?! AAAAGGHHH! Anyway, she put me down on the waiting list for A.M. kindergarten. I know, I know. There are lots of pros to P.M. kindergarten, but part of the reason why I would like A.M. is because I wanted to spend some alone time with Jeremy in the morning, and some alone time with Grace in the afternoon (while Jeremy is napping) next year. We would also like to be able to go watch Jason's volleyball games, which start before P.M. kindergarten ends. It would also be nice to have Jason drop Grace off sometimes on his way to work in the morning. We're hopeful that since we're first on the waiting list, that something will work out! On another note, I can't believe that Grace is heading to kindergarten!!!!

3) My school's annual carnival was this past Friday. Considering our economy's current woes, I was surprised by the turnout- it was great! Jason brought Grace and Jeremy to spend some time with me. It was fun for me to introduce my family to my students and staff. Grace loved the inflatables, getting her face painted, and playing some of the games. My class's booth was Spin Art, so she got to create one. Though the turnout was great, we didn't have enough volunteers for our booth. It was a reeeaally long day- I didn't end up leaving school until 9pm.

Day 42, Kitchen Remodel

Today is exactly 3 weeks since I've given an update on our kitchen remodel! I am so sorry! I just haven't had the time to update with pictures! Since our last update, it seems like a lot has happened. The floors have been prepped for tiling, walls have been textured, and Jason spent one weekend painting. The most important thing is that our cabinets got installed last week! We were so excited to come home and see that- what a difference! Unfortunately, it wasn't until after the cabinets were installed that we realized how much they blend with the newly painted walls. We really want the cabinets to stand out, and yellow just wasn't right. So, since then, with Jason's mom's help, we've picked out different colors and Jason's mom came and spent her day repainting for us today. Isn't she awesome?! We know how lucky we are!
Over the weekend, we had people come out to give us quotes on quartz (silestone) and granite countertops. We wish we could go with quartz, but the market for granite seems to be much more competitive (reasonable), so we settled on granite. Tomorrow, Ron, our contractor, will begin tiling the floors, and the countertops will be installed later this week. There's still a lot to do, like pick out our sinks, faucets, pendant lights, dining room light, backsplash, etc. I hope to give another update this weekend!

This used to be part of our eating area!

The holes for the microwave and oven will be cut to size later this week.

A bigger window for more light into the kitchen.

Our mocha brown island!

The french doors leading outside.

Jesus Loves Me

Jason was driving home from grocery shopping yesterday with Grace when out of the blue, she announces to him, "I prayed for God to come into my heart." Jason had just pulled into the driveway at that point, and just to make sure that he heard her correctly, he asked, "Can you tell me that again?" She repeated, "I prayed with Teacher Kari for God to come into my heart." "What does that mean?" "It means that Jesus loves me." "Do you love Jesus?" "Yes." "How does that make you feel?" "It makes me feel happy."

Grace's news definitely makes Jason and I feel happy! As people who desire to follow Christ, we praise God that she is responding to Him, in her own understanding... We pray that this continues to be prevalent in her life journey.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

Day Twenty-One, Kitchen Remodel

It has been a few weeks since we updated everyone on the status of our kitchen. Ron and Phu have done a lot of wiring. Can lighting has been installed, and a ton of new outlets and switches have also been installed. We replaced the window for one that was about a foot wider. We took out another window and installed some french doors. The floor has also been raised in what will become our dining area and the heating ducts and registers have been moved. The old soffits have been removed and later this week all the holes will be patched and texturized. At the end of next week our cabinets will be installed and it should start to actually look like a kitchen again.

Family Time at the Park

We took the kids to a nearby park this morning because it was such a nice day outside. It dawned on us that this was the first time that Jeremy got to "experience" the park on his own. It was fun to watch him climb up the playground equipment on his own, to go down the slide for the first time, to feed the ducks for the first time... Needless to say, it was fun!

Our kids are growing up so quickly... Grace saw the doctor this week to get her immunization shots for kindergarten. I can barely believe that she will be going to school in August! I actually got emotional waiting in the doctor's office. I commented to the nurse that it doesn't feel like it was that long ago that I brought Grace to the doctor for the first time after she was born! Wow... Anyway, kindergarten registration is taking place at the end of this month. Jeremy has been up to a lot, as well. Just this past week, he has decided to try to talk. In addition to baw (ball), and nana (banana), we have now heard him say hhhht (hot), tat (cat), tnk (thank you), chees (cheese), apa (apple), and buk (book). He continues to be such a bear, though. He really exhausts us, particularly when he doesn't get his way and throws huge tantrums. It's easier to deal with at home (walking away so he doesn't have an audience, and then coming back usually works), but what do we do when we're out in public? We haven't figured that out yet, aside from carrying a screaming and kicking kid out of the store (which Jason did earlier this week). He is also such a crybaby- how do you toughen up a kid? Suggestions anyone? Boy, it's a good thing that he's so darn cute when he's not throwing tantrums!