Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family Both Near and Far,

I've really been dragging my feet about writing this letter.  In fact, I even told a friend of mine that I wasn't sure if I would write it because I didn't feel as though anything happened in my family that was "Christmas Letter Worthy."  In light of the horrendous tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut just last week, I realized how grossly wrong I was in making that statement.  Life, no matter how mundane, is to be cherished and celebrated.  We all saw how quickly life can be snuffed out.  Twenty six lives stormed the gates of Heaven all in the matter of 3 minutes.  So this year we humbly admit we have taken much for granted and have been blessed with far more than we deserve.

Our 2012 started out a bit rocky with an early Sunday morning phone call informing me that my mother had been rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.  After spending four days convinced that my mom had an extremely aggressive form of cancer, we rejoiced to hear she did NOT have cancer....not one mutated cell!  She spent 10 days in the hospital and her recovery was slow, but she made it through.  Both my older sister, Wendy, and I were able to successfully plan to go to NY to help her at home for one full week each.  Chris, my mother in law, and my other sister Jennifer held down the fort while I was away.  I am thankful for that week serving my mom and being able to be THERE.  I just needed to give her a squeeze.  Later in the spring she had her original procedure reversed and all is well!  She is healthy and vibrant and you would never know she'd gone through such an ordeal.

Upon my return from NY we were in full swing birthday mode for Joshua and Grace's first birthday!  Bye-bye bottles, hello sippy cups and big kids!  First birthdays are so much fun and so special!  I tackled baking and decorating my first cakes with my older sister's help.  Joshua's frog and Grace's butterfly were both totally cute.  Unfortunately they both also spent their first birthday with an ear infection, but all things considered we had a fun, quiet family celebration at home.  Joshua is our zest for life.  He is always mischievous and into something, but his grin and giggle is infectious.  He is saying more and more words each day and some of my personal favorites include:  "Oh no!" and "Oh...PITY (pretty)!"  Gracie is our sweet nurturer.  She cries when someone else is hurt or in trouble and is so cute to request hugs.  She loves to give running commentary of all that she sees and her vocabulary is bursting forth!

In March we celebrated Jacob's fourth birthday!  Wow!  How on earth is he big enough for that?!  Jacob started PreK in August and LOVES to go to school.  He attends on M, W, and F for three hours in the morning.  He also tremendously enjoyed going on his first overnight camping trip with Daddy this summer as well as playing T-Ball on our local YMCA team.  Jacob is our leader.  He is eager to learn and to please and wants to be twenty and work with his dad.  He attends Cubbies (AWANA) at church each week and memorizes his Scripture so quickly!  We are proud of him and enjoy hearing him ask many questions about Jesus and how to live for him.  We see God working in his little life and we are so excited God has included us in His plan for him.

Chris still works at Lockheed Martin as a purchasing supervisor.  He seems to really enjoy the work he does and is always eager to be challenged more.  He seems to care a lot for his team and wants to do as much as he can.  He is an amazing Dad and always so willing to give me a break here and there or help me with everyone around the house.  He and I are teaching the two year old Sunday School at church this year and he continues to serve in the sound booth and various other activities in our church.

I currently stay at home with our three children.  I spend a lot of time acting as the bus service to get Jacob to and from school each day and spend the rest of my time attempting to maintain peace in a home with a four year old and two 22 month olds in it.  I am teaching the Puggles (AWANA) class again this year and as I mentioned above, Chris and I are also teaching the two year old Sunday school class.  We are having so much fun with this assignment and I'm so glad God lead us to do this.  These kids keep us hopping, but boy are they fun! 

We don't know yet what God holds in store for our family in 2013, but from the tiny glimpses He has shared with us, we are excited to see His plan unfold for us throughout the year.  We pray God will be active and real in your life throughout the coming year and that you will cling to His promises of hope.

Love in Christ,
Chris, Katrina, Jacob, Joshua, and Grace

Thankful...

If you are on Facebook at all, I'm sure you've seen your news feed full of the "thankful status posts."  I find it so encouraging to read all the things my friends and family are thankful for throughout the month of November.  It makes me wonder what our lives would be like if we could carry that outlook beyond the screen, iPhone, iPad, or even just the month of November?  Would we be changed?  I think we would.  While I haven't participated in the "thankful status updates" myself, I have been having fun reflecting and thinking in the days leading up to Thanksgiving about all God has graciously (yes, GRACIOUSLY--I didn't earn any of it) blessed my family with.  So, to copy my friends on facebook, I've been inspired!  I will do my own list of things I am thankful for.  One for each day of the month of November.

I am thankful (read blessed, grateful, so happy to have, overjoyed with, etc.) for:

1-The indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  What a gift!  I'd be so lost without it!

2- My church family.  I have learned SO MUCH about what it means to live my life with a gospel focus there.  Best church.  Ever.

3-My wonderful husband who tirelessly goes out the door each and every day to earn a living in order to provide for his family.  And he does it without complaining--not something I can say about my work ethic... Then comes home to chaos and a frazzled wife and still keeps a positive attitude.  I am thankful for his insight into things and his leadership.  I am thankful that he loves me.  The real me.  Not the "I want you to like me" me.

4-Jacob!  I love his curiosity, desire to learn, and that he is just....like...his...DAD!

5-Joshua!  I adore his free abandon and total spunk.  This boy loves life (and food)!

6-Gracie Beth!  God knew just what I needed when He gave me her...

7-My parents.  They sit and just simply watch my kids play over Skype.  Sometimes it is because the kids asked to talk to Grandma or Grandpa on the computer.  Sometimes it is because Mommy has been home alone all day long and needs another "adult" to keep me company.  And so, we just sit...on Skype...watching my kids play.  Somehow a long day alone gets easier with their "company."  I love them.

8-My in-laws.  I am so thankful I don't have any of "those" stories to tell about my in-laws.  I have never felt anything less than loved and a total part of the family.  I adore how they adore my children and I learn daily from them about living Christ out through sacrifice and love!  I am thankful my children see them so often.

9-My sister, Jennifer.  Sometimes my sister calls me to ask me if I've bought a birthday gift for so and so and when I say no, she just sweetly says, "okay, then you now owe me $20" and buys an item she's found on super sale and let's me look like a super cool Aunt.  I love that.  I love that she "gets" that I don't exactly get out to leisurely shop often with three kiddos in tow (is anything leisurely with three kiddos in tow?).  I love that she shows up at my house at 8:30AM just to see my kids for 10 minutes between appointments.

10-My sister, Wendy.  She's my deal finder, internet searching, research question go to girl!  If I can't find an item I want, she finds it for me and sends 3 links and 5 photos from her iPhone for me.  I love that she has truly become a Michigander and loves her home.  I love that she stays home and raises her boys.

11-My brother, Bill.  I am thankful for his legacy as a Ruth.  I am thankful he works hard and is passionate about what he does.  I love that he now has a job he loves.  I LOVE to tease him about UK basketball...

12-My sister-in-law, Shelley.  I love that she loves my brother!  I love how she is raising my nephews and how hard she works.  I do not know how she works as hard as she does, at a job as demanding as it is, and does so much with her boys on top of it.  Shelley is super mom.

13-My other sister-in-law, Jenn.  What a sweet, loving, kind spirit!  Jenn just oozes love for the Lord and I adore that about her!  I love how she longs to see our kids and giggles at our silly videos on facebook.  I love that she took time out of her busy day to send a worn out mom a sweet encouraging note.  I love her music and to listen to her worship!

14-My brother-in-laws.  Joseph, Chris, and Luke.  These guys are alllllllllllll so very different, yet I feel like they add so much that is unique to our family.  Joe is super protector and I know if I ever need someone to get my back when Chris is gone, he will drop everything to be here.  I love that he secretly has a really soft spot in his heart for Jacob. Chris is my go to man when I need help with anything techie!  I think I call him every single year at Christmas to help me with my shopping for MY Chris.  He will do anything for me and much like Wendy, send me 3 links and 5 photos from his iPhone.  I love how he was there for me when Joshua had his allergic reaction to eggs and we were introduced for the epi pen...talking to me from work to confirm what I was seeing and helping us navigate all the doctor visits.  Luke is an awesome video game player and Jacob adores him.  I love that Jacob adores him.  Luke reads Bible stories at night with all the voices and I think that is pretty darn cool, too.

15-NEPHEWS!  God has blessed me with some pretty awesome nephews!  Andrew is AMAZING with my kids.  Amazing.  He is growing up into such a young man and I miss having dance parties and jumping on the bed with him, but I love having "real" conversations with him too.  He does "cool" stuff too and Jacob loves to watch him do those things.  William and Ben live too far away!  I adore how William is sooooooooooo sweet with Grace.  Super sweet.  Smother her with love sweet.  It makes my heart melt.  I love how Ben is a man of few words and wants to sit on my lap still and be my partner when we play games I'm not good at.  I love his laugh.  Anderson and Jonathan are too far away too!  I love how quietly talented Anderson is.  Swim team, piano, great student, math wiz...the kid picks up anything he tries.  Jonathan is totally a DUDE.  I love that he is ALL boy.  I love him in his smart man glasses and hearing my sister shriek when he gets a touchdown in football.

16-My home.  You know, I struggle with this one sometimes.  I struggle with contentment.  Oh, how I would love a larger home to open to others often, but you know, this is where God has us and He can still us our hospitality through our small home.  I am thankful we are cozy and snug here together.  I am thankful to be safe from the elements.

17-Provision.  I am thankful I can make a menu plan, go to the grocery and shop, buying the healthy things I desire for my children, and have no fear of whether or not the money will be there.  This goes back to my thankfulness for the hard working hubby.

18-Our van.  When you have three kids a large car that your WHOLE family fits in at one time is a big deal!  I'm thankful God provided this for us right when we needed it most.

19-Access to His word through the Bible with no fear of persecution.  I'm so glad that when I have a question about life, I can go to His word and He is faithful to provide an answer!

20-Jacob's school.  I am so thankful for our school decision for Jacob for this year.  What a wonderful first school experience he is having and we are so blessed and thankful!  I pray each year can be this meaningful to him.  Would you join us in prayer as we make some tough choices pertaining to school for next year in the very near future?

21-Teaching BFG.  I love teaching our two year olds!  They are so much fun! 

22-Chocolate.  I can't let this one slide by.  I love chocolate.  All shapes and forms.  I don't really discriminate.

23-A washing machine and dish washer.  A family of five produces a lot of laundry and dishes in a day.  I'm glad I don't have to do any of those things by hand.  And I complain that I have to hang the laundry up.....

24-Sewing and a sewing machine.  I have found so much joy in creating things and doing it fairly successfully!  Sewing makes me feel all homemaker-ish.  Ha, ha.

25-For sound guidance of friends over parenting issues.  Chris and I are the parents we are because of our church body.  We would not know what we were doing without them.  They challenge us to think outside the box and I love it.

26-Pictures.  There is just something so fun about going back to look at old photos!  I'm thankful my mom taught us to keep photo albums and trips home always involve a stop in the den to look something up in a photo album.  I love remembering things and enjoying those memories.

27-Motherhood.  I love being a mom!  It is the hardest job....ever.  Some days I want to submit my resignation and quit--or at least submit a lot of PTO all at once, but in all seriousness I adore my children.  I love watching them bloom.  I love pouring into them all of God's goodness.

28-Computers.  I'm so thankful I have access to things like Skype so my parents can see my children grow and randomly sit "with" me to watch them play.  I love e-mail and facebook.  I enjoy keeping up to date with my nephews and siblings through technology.

29-Praise and Worship.  I love to sing.  I love to praise Him.  I love to praise Him through song.

30-For this exercise.  Actually making a list of the things I am thankful for makes me realize I have little to complain or sulk about and lots and lots to praise Him about.

So, what about you?  What are YOU thankful for?

Fragmenting!

We love the books in the If You Give a Moose a Muffin series by Laura Joffe Numeroff.  The pictures are cute and the characters are dragged off on wild tangents by a cute animal character.  Recently I saw a post on Facebook where the story had been adapted to tell a tale about a Mom.  I chuckled at the story and moved on, but recently I've begun to see a lot of truth in that story!  Some days I become so frustrated that my brain does not retain information like it used to.  Memorizing Scripture or remembering to do something I promised someone I would do is painfully difficult.  My brain is going in so many directions at one time.  It can be difficult to formulate a coherent thought never mind complete a task from start to finish.  I've become a fragmented mess!  I fragment!  Me!  Start to finish, A-Z, ME!  It is rare that I finish things (at least in the order intended to be completed) because I often forget what I started in the first place.  I'll give you an idea of what it looks like by telling you what happened in my brain today during the 30 minutes that I allowed my children to watch a program on PBS.

The kids finished lunch and I got them up and put on their video, returning to the kitchen to clean up the dishes, etc.  While cleaning the dishes I heard some mischief in the video room and looked in to find Grace unfolding a large basket of laundry I had sitting out.  So I sat on the floor and refolded the laundry and took it to our bedroom.  I started putting away the laundry and went into the babies' room.  Entering their room with a hand full of laundry, I saw a mess on the floor.  The mess needed to be picked up.  So I started cleaning.  I found a snack cup on the floor that was dirty and took it to the kitchen.  Oh yeah!  I was cleaning the kitchen and never finished it.  I started putting more dishes away in the dishwasher and wiping off the table.  Joshua came into the kitchen while I was cleaning off the table and he had a dirty diaper.  I took him back to his room to change the diaper.  We're getting low on wipes!  I change the diaper and refill the wipes and while I'm at it I refill the basket of diapers because it is low too.  Now....what was I doing?  Oh!  I was putting away laundry.  I grab another stack and go into Jacob's room.  Oops!  I forgot to make his bed this morning.  I make his bed and in the meantime discover his floor is a mess too and start picking up toys.  Oh my, there are all his clothes from swim class today.  You know what?  I probably ought to start a load of laundry so I don't have to do laundry tomorrow with Bible study and church going on.  Hmmmm...I think there are clothes in my closet and Joshua and Grace's closet to run through a load.  I go about scooping up laundry and take them to the kitchen and start a load.  Oh!  I haven't finished cleaning up the kitchen yet!  Clean, clean, clean.  What next?  Oh the laundry.  I haven't finished putting the laundry away!  I go back to the basket and grab another heap and think, you know, I really need to wash the bathroom towels in the master bathroom.  I better scoop those up.  You know what?  I cannot remember the last time I changed the sheets on Joshua and Grace's cribs.  I better do those, too.  I go about changing sheets.  I bring the pile of dirty sheets and come into...you guessed it...the kitchen!  Oh dear, I forgot to start cooking the chicken for dinner tonight.  Better get that started before I forget!  Oh no!  Video is over?!  Time for naps.  I walk into the bedrooms only to see neatly stacked piles of laundry that I kept bringing into the bedrooms, but never got to put away because I kept getting distracted to do something else.  Better put those away.  Oops!  Kids are running wild.  Yup, it is time for naps!  Better put them down for a nap.  What is that smell?  Oh!  The chicken is on the stove.  It's done.  Go turn that off!  Oh yeah, don't forget to pay the bills today.  Must pay bills....

I could go on and on....this is pretty much how my brain works all day long.  This is why I have such a hard time getting from start to finish on anything I attempt to do!

So if you interact with a mom, or she tells you she'll call or do this or that for you, have patience with her.  She means well and will do her best to do whatever she told you she would do.  It just might take her a little extra time to get all the way from A down to Z.

Annual Pumpkin Patch Photos!

We made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch today!  It was a crisp, cool, Autumn morning.  We were a tad disappointed since there didn't seem to be quite the plethora of pumpkins out this year, but that's okay, we still had fun!

Pleased as Punch

This lil' punkin'.......

was pleased as punch....

with HIS lil' punkin'....

he didn't even want to....

put it down!



As Promised...

As promised, some documentation of more of my handiwork.  Project #3 (after completing PJ pants for the boys) was this skirt for Grace.  When I embarked on the journey I intended to make this band at the bottom a ruffled band.  After about thirty minutes into the project I totally abandoned that idea (okay, I chickened out) and went for the basic straight band.  I love how it turned out and there are many more skirts on the horizon....  I have visions in my mind of a gorgeous fall colored skirt made with deep orange, rust red, brown, and cream.  And perhaps even a ruffle.....  I need to get on it before fall escapes me!  Oooo...and I can see a Christmas skirt coming down the pike, too!  So much fun!

Needless to say, I am happy with how it turned out and she couldn't be cuter in it!

Autumn Hike!

We took a day trip to the Red River Gorge and did some hiking (along with half of Kentucky, apparently).  It was a beautiful autumn day with temps in the low 70's and bright blue skies.  Our previous hike earlier this fall showed the front pack to be too cumbersome for lengthy hikes for me with Grace in it.  Twenty pounds hanging off the front makes balance difficult and it is impossible to see your feet!  Thankfully friends of ours had a nice metal frame pack like the one Chris uses for the boys and allowed us to borrow it.  While it was heavy and I was quite worn out by the end, it was totally worth it!  Not sure how many more hikes we'll make until the kiddos are old enough to walk it responsibly on their own.  I think I've only got the stamina to handle five pounds or more out of Gracie before I can't make it.  It was a busy day on the trails since it was so pretty, but the sights were well worth dealing with the "traffic!"

We took a "pit stop" on the hike in for a scenic overlook.  Unfortunately the sun was so bright it washed out the scenic part of the photo!  You could see the ravine and all the autumn colors.  Pretty!

Don't you just love how my amazing husband loves his boys?  I sure do!  :-)

I swear this backpack was not nearly as heavy as I make it look!  The first one I am leaning forward because I was trying to sit on the ledge and it was pushing me over.  The second one...I don't know.  It is a workout to add about a quarter of your body weight to your back!

Of course, no trip is complete without someone falling asleep in the pack.  It is almost always Joshua!

We had such a nice time together as a family, enjoying God's beautiful creation!