A Chloe Classic

We decided to take a family trip to the zoo today (Grandparents, Jared, Tasha, Chloe, Caleb & Myself). We hadn't told Chloe until this morning. I was waiting for her classic "What are we going to do today?" as she asks that almost every morning but she didn't ask the usual question. I was excited because finally I had something that I was sure would AWE my 3 year old and have her jumping out of bed with gusto. So instead of waiting for her to ask, I say "Chloe...do you know what we're going to do today? We're going to the ZOO!" She looks at me and asks, "What do they have for food at the zoo?" I had to laugh...that's the most exciting thing I've told her that we're doing in a LONG time and she really only cared about breakfast (and maybe the food at the zoo??)

A Different Kind of Post

As you can tell from the title this is not my typical post. It's not going to contain any cute pics of the kids (so you might want to quit reading now!!). It does however contain a picture of a very large branch behind our house which is SUPER exciting!!! This post is a little trip down memory lane and my attempt to REMEMBER what God has done in my life.

"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on ALL your works and consider all your mighty deeds." Psalm 77:11-12

Exactly one year ago today our offer to buy our house was accepted. A whirlwind of action followed...we got our house ready to sell...paperwork...closings...more paperwork...moving...In all of that busyness, it's hard to really meditate on answered prayer. So I'm doing that now on our 1 year anniversary! The following is an excerpt from my journal...

When I started praying for Kyle's dream of having a home on the lake (a result of the LoveDare Day 38..."Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4) I literally didn't expect God to answer that quickly...you know more like the 10-15 year prayer...Not the 3-4 month prayer! And when my prayer was answered sooner than that? My first reaction was shock. But why was it so hard to believe that He would answer on His timeline instead of mine? Doubt crept in...Is this really an answer from the Lord or just a temptation? Of course there was joy and thankfulness too, but the answer to this prayer most surely did inconvenience me and stretch me thin as a mother, wife, daughter, daughter in law, sister and friend. For the first 2 weeks after moving into this house I just wanted to take back that prayer, be back in my comfort zone, and have children who would sleep again! How flightly and dependent on external circumstances I am...and my faith is! A tremendous blessing was given to me and I grumbled my way through the mess and the boxes. I wonder what the Lord thought...I answered but did I say it would be easy even if my answer was yes? So today I'm thankful for my home Lord-this beautiful place to see your creation, shelter from the storm, and a haven for my family to learn to love each other and you!

Friends...thanks for reading if you made it this far! I'd love to hear if you have any specific/creative ways to REMEMBER what the Lord has done for you!

Our new swingset!!

A BIG thanks to Kyle and my dad (otherwise known as
Pops) for building our new swingset!!! It's not
completely finished but the kids had a blast today
swinging! Caleb even tried to swat at my hand when
I started getting him out!! Chloe kept saying "I want
to go high in the blue sky!" Now we just need to
get the slide and rock climbing wall attached and I won't be
able to get them inside!!

New Favorite Picture!

I just got this picture from my mom and
I think it's my new favorite pic of the kids. Caleb
just loves to be cheesy for the camera...the other
day I got out the video camera to tape him riding
on his little John Deere and all he would do was
smile at me cuz he thought I was taking a picture!

Caleb has started to talk more....here are his favorite
words...
Ball
Dog (sounds more like GOG)
Dada
Mama
Uh, oh! (when he drops something:)
Uh, uh (means no...he shakes his head like crazy and waves
his arms while saying it!)
Duck

Caleb and Chloe both love to read but Caleb is much
more particular about what books he reads. Chloe
always just read whatever book with me that I picked
out...NOT Caleb! He swats at the book if he doesn't like
it...AND if he knows that there is a dog, cow, horse, duck,
or ball in a book he goes right to that page and then he's
done with it...he's an opinionated little 1 year old!!!

Klompen

Kyle and I have been doing quite a bit of running lately. This finds us pushing our double jogging stroller which is a BEAR to push uphill! Anyways, Chloe always wants to get out and run with us and we normally let her run when we're pretty close to home. So for this year's Klompen Classic we signed up Kyle, Chloe, and me. Here are a couple of pics of her running the Kids' Klompen. She was very proud to get a popsicle at the end! Thankfully Daddy ran with her or I doubt she would have ran as it was somewhat chaotic and overwhelming (even for us!). Unfortunately, I'm under the weather this week with a sore throat, cough, and headache and it pretty much killed me to have to watch the 5K...especially since I've actually been running and felt prepared!! There's always next year I guess! Kyle ran pretty well...came in right at 22 minutes. Tulip Time is here!!!

Chloe 3 Years

Chloe 3 Years

Chloe had her 3 year pictures taken yesterday and she did great! Click above on "Chloe 3 years" and it will take you to a video of the photo shoot.