Creativity 101

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 6 weeks since we have moved! In some ways it feels like forever and in other ways I can't believe it's been that long.  Life has definitely changed in many ways for all 3 of us.  Things are a lot better!  Hayden is finally doing better and seems to really like the new house and her room.  It took about 3 weeks for her to get comfortable but she now goes from room to room without any problem and knows where everything is.  Now if only I could say that for myself, lol! 

Kyle is in full swing with school and football.  The team is 3-1 having won their last 3 games.  That's always encouraging for a coach and definitely more fun to watch :)  School has been an adjustment but then again all new jobs are.  He is so busy it's hard for him to get everything done.  That's where I come in I guess....I have a little time on my hands and am able to help him with some of his grading.  He's doing well though and trying to stay positive about everything.  The first year at a new place is always difficult. 

With our house a little more under control and in order I have found that I have a LOT of extra time on my hands.  Which isn't always a good thing but that's where creativity comes in.  Hayden tends to get bored and I was really starting to feel like a rotten mom resorting to television to keep her attention.  But, mom gets bored too, and when there is only one way in to your "neighborhood" and you live on the corner of 2 dead end streets you start to feel like you are hitting your head on a brick wall.  We went to the park ALL the time. I got to the point where I just wanted to cry if I even hear the word 'park' one more time!  And with so few streets in town there are only so many places you can walk.  That got old pretty quick too.  I tried finding classes or something for Hayden that would help keep the both of us busy but no such luck.  I was beginning to feel desperate!  I kept thinking, "what is wrong with me? I have been a mom for 2 years and have never had this much trouble keeping her busy!"  But, when I think about it, we kept busy before by running the farmer's market, going to Chamber coffees, running errands, going to meetings, classes at the library (which our doesn't have now).  I never realized before how much my job gave me to do with her and how much I REALLY appreciated our busy library (thanks Denise if you are reading this!).  I can't even claim trips to the store anymore because what used to be a half day adventure to Fort Dodge is now a quick hour trip to Cherokee.  Not that I am complaining about that, I LOVE that part. 

So what's a mom of a busy two year old to do??  I gave myself a pep talk.  Get a grip! She's a bored 2 year old not a bored 14 year old! She's ecstatic to play with a bucket of leaves for crying out loud!  You can do this! Put on your creative cap and figure out something to do!  And that's where it began.  Those of you who don't know me very well are probably thoroughly confused at this point, but those who DO know me, know that I am NOT a creative person.  I am a copier, not an original.  To come up with things to do all by myself without any help from the outside world is a complete yea moment for me!  Remember the leaf comment?  That's EXACTLY what we did.  We walked all over the neighborhood and picked up leaves and brought them home in Hayden's grocery cart.  She played with them for hours! We pick flowers (dandelions), look at bugs (she was completely enthralled with a caterpillar we found), chase bunnies into the corn field behind our house, look at soy beans and corn up close and personal, walk through the corn fields.  And that's just the outside stuff!  For inside stuff, we do ALL 7 puzzles she has multiple times a day and read books like they are the last ones earth.  I used to get frustrated trying to read to her because she wouldn't sit still and actually let me read.  I figured out that if I tell her no, she has to sit down and let me finish reading that she doesn't throw much of a fit and will actually listen.  We can get through 3 or 4 (short) books in a sitting now before she looses it. :) (Yes, she is just like me and has no patience whatsoever; although unlike me as I LOVED to read as a kid).  We build forts out of the furniture and blankets and make the dog hide them; wow does she LOVE that! And of course she likes to play in them too :)  We have parties with all her babies and stuffed animals, play catch with her "f'ball" (football).  She is really good too! She catches really well for a 2 year old and has a great arm....although we do need to work on her aim :)  She loves to sing songs and dance to music (which there will NEVER be pictures of so don't even ask!).  She likes all the classic little kid games like ring around the rosy and jog jog, but her favorite is "winnow".  It's a little song I sing where I pretend I am going to throw her out the window but throw her on the couch instead.  She LOVES it!  I also tried to think of some actual games that she could play but obviously don't have any of those at the moment...so I just went to the closet to see what I could find.  TWISTER!!!!  Oh, my goodness, I think I have created a monster!  She had a blast playing with the spinner and finding colors on the mat.  I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of that one :)  The spinner helps with coordination and dexterity, she's learning her colors and eventually we can work on right and left.  Go me!!  Oh and not only that, but it completely wears her out.  She was so ready for her nap today. 

Another thing we have started doing....cooking!!!  Again some of you are probably very confused, "why is this idiot woman just now discovering cooking with her child?"  Here's the thing, I am VERY type A and like things to be just so.  They have be done right and I HATE messes.  Those are two things that you just aren't going to accomplish when you cook with a 2 year old.  Now I have let her "help" with some baking once in a while but mostly just let her stir the bowl a couple times.  Lately I have started letting her help with pretty much everything.  Last night she helped me make Creamy Chicken and Rotini Primavera.  She did great! She was pouring stuff in, stirring it up and she was happy as a lark.  Usually I resort to putting her in front of the TV when I am getting supper going because she gets really clingy about the time I can't do something with her.  This was a perfect solution to all our troubles.  And the mess was minimal....we lost a few stray noodles but even type A can handle that :)  And when she got tired of helping she just wandered off on her own instead of me trying to pry her off and convince her to play by herself for a while. 

All in all, I have finally learned what it means to be a true stay at home mom.  All you moms that have been doing this for a while are probably laughing hysterically right now; after all, it has taken me two years, but I was a working stay at home mom before.  I didn't have time to do all the "normal" stay at home mom stuff.  I have struggled with that in past.  Thinking that I was failing as mom and comparing my life to other moms that stayed home full time.  Their kids all knew their colors....  What good is staying home if I can't be my kids teacher?  But, I know that was crazy to think that way.  I did what I could with the time that I had and Hayden learned a lot of other types of things.  She is the most social kid I know! She will talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere.  She has a smile on her face 95% of the time and thrives being in the spotlight.  I attribute that to all the social gatherings and meetings I drug her to where she was the only kid around and every person in the place wanted to see and talk with her.  She is completely comfortable with kids of any age and adults.  I get comments all the time about how polite and helpful she is and people just can't believe much she talks!  She is so aware of everything going on around her and very concerned with the well-being of others.  If you have an owie and you need a kiss she's your girl :)

Sometimes I can't believe how blessed I am and why God chose to give us such a wonderful little girl.  But I am not going to complain!  I am going to try to keep up that social attitude and we are hitting those colors and fruit & veggies puzzles hard.  I have lots of fall activities on my list and am even going to try an actual craft with actual glue! *GASP*  This, again, from the mom who's child has never seen play doh and and doesn't even know markers exist.  Over all, a stretching experience for mom and a learning experience for child.  But, this is my new job and I love it! :)  

Moving and other things put into perspective

Wow, it's been entirely way too long since I have written a post.  These past few weeks have been a complete roller coaster of a ride.  I guess I'll start in the beginning.

For starters, both Kyle and I were working ALL the time  right up until we moved.  The time spent on packing was not nearly enough.  But, we did what we could when we could.  The last few nights before we moved we went to bed really late and got up early.  Doesn't exactly make for the best atmosphere when both spouses are running on such little sleep and gearing up for something stressful like a move.

When moving day arrived, we still had several random items that we weren't really sure what to do with.  That morning, Kyle got a ride with some friends from church to Fort Dodge to get the U-haul which we had reserved a few weeks ahead of time.  When he arrived, there was no truck and they practically laughed at him when he said he wanted a 26 footer.  The guy said he hadn't seen a 26' truck in weeks.  He also told Kyle that they don't even take reservations at that location.  Funny how it says on U-hauls website that your reservation is guaranteed.  "You will get the equipment, location and pickup time that you agreed to or we'll give you $50."  We didn't get the equipment, the location OR pickup time we wanted.  Kyle finally decided to just come home and we spent the next several hours trying to decide what to do.  We had people from church and my family scheduled to come down to help us move. Finally about mid morning, after being on hold for over an hour and a half between the two of us with the morons from U-haul, we decided to forget the whole thing and just use trailers and trucks.

Kyle's dad and brother both brought their horse trailers and some friends got another smaller trailer and we loaded everything up.  People really came together for us and everything went well once we made the decision to forget U-haul all together.  Some VERY generous friends offered to do lunch for the whole crew and everything was totally done and ready to go shortly after 2pm.  Then....we received a call from U-haul.  Oh, they had a truck for us....in Marshalltown!!!  That's about 2 1/2 hours southwest of RC.  We were moving 1 1/2 hours northeast.  Who do these people think they are???  UGH!  But...whatever.  By that point everything was done and we were ready to move.

Everybody piled in and headed out to Cleghorn.  I stayed behind with Hayden and my mom so that Hayden could take a nap and I could get some last minute cleaning and errands done.  We followed later and got to the house once everything was unloaded.  After everything was in the house we decided to turn on the AC.  But....what do you know...there's no cold air coming from the vents.  The fan runs, but the AC doesn't kick out any cold air.  Not exactly what I wanted to hear but, we had it inspected and I was hoping it was just something stupid and they would come out Monday and everything would be fine.

Monday rolls around...

After sweltering in crazy heat all weekend with temps on the house over 90 degrees, we got a hold of the place that had inspected the house in the first place.  They sent a guy out that morning and more bad news.  The AC is shot and we have to put in an entire new unit costing about $3000.  WE WERE LIVID!!!  I was already rehearsing my speech to the guy we had been speaking with and it wasn't very nice.  I didn't understand how we should be responsible for paying for this when we had it inspected.  But supposedly it was blowing 53 degree air and "these things just happen."  But, we both eventually calmed down and accepted the fact that we were going to have to replace it.  They had originally told us that it couldn't be installed until the end of the week and I started to panic.  It was soooo hot!  So, that afternoon Hayden and I left to spend some time with my parents until it got fixed.  Poor Kyle had to stay behind because of football practice.  The good news was they were able to get it in the next day and were were able to come back to our house. 

We hadn't really gotten a lot done up until that point.  It was so hot it was hard to work inside.  Once the AC got fixed we buckled down and got to work.  By the end of the week, things weren't looking too bad...in the house at least.  Hayden, on the other hand, was a different story all together.  The move REALLY affected her.  She was acting so clingy, not sleeping well, and just being so naughty! Then, on top of that, she ended up getting a cold and a slight fever on Friday.  We were supposed to go back to Rockwell City for the weekend for the Sweet Corn Daze celebration.  But Kyle ended up staying home with Hayden and I went by myself.  It was a good day but tiring.  I came back Saturday evening completely exhausted and Hayden still wasn't acting herself.

That child is a complete different story all by herself.  The beginning of her mess goes all the back to February.  She got really sick with stomach stuff and they started a bout with diarrhea that we are STILL dealing with.  I have taken her to the doctor so many times. They have done different kinds of tests on stool samples and even done blood work but couldn't find anything abnormal.  We cut out all dairy for 2 weeks to see if she was lactose intolerant but it didn't phase her at all.  It has gone in phases...she'll get better for a couple weeks and then it will get REALLY bad for several weeks.  Right now just happens to be BAD.  REALLY BAD.  So, the poor kid has lots going against her: we moved, she's two and she has crazy bad diarrhea.  I am at a complete loss about what to do!  On the one hand, we just moved and I expect her to have a few insecurity issues and be a little clingy....but where is the line of just being plain naughty?  She throws HUGE fits multiple times a day about the dumbest things.  At times, she'll refuse to eat anything and throw a tantrum when I try to make her eat and other times she eats like a horse.  All the while I have no idea what to do as a mom.  I am thinking, is she sick? Does something hurt? Is there something wrong inside that would explain her out of the norm eating habits and diarrhea?  Is she upset because of the move? Is she just two and exercising her sin nature to it's fullest extent?  Should I punish her? and when?  When do I show love and when do I put my foot down?  Is it ok to put her in her room and let her scream for 45 minutes straight?  I had no idea being a mom was going to be this hard so early in life.  I though I would at least have until the pre-teen years *sigh*. 

Lots of prayers are being prayed but I am so tired of EVERYTHING!  I think if I could react the way she often has lately I would.  There have been so many times over the past few weeks that I have wanted to shut myself in a room and scream forever too.  My nerves are shot, my patience is almost non existent and my mood has been far from pleasant.  I re-read Prov. 31 and that did nothing more than to make be feel worse.  A move is stressful enough without having to deal with all the other things in life.  Even Kyle has begun to question the move at times and wonder, with everything going on, if we made a mistake.  He has other reasons for thinking this....things at school that I won't get into.  We are BOTH in need of some encouragement. 

BUT.....with all of that being said, we are still trusting our Lord. Or at least trying to with our weak, imperfect, human selves.  There have been so many things that God has done for us including working out everything with our move in the end; providing the money needed to pay for the new AC; giving us wonderful family and friends that have come together in so many ways to help us out.  We have many blessings too numerous to count...but I think it's about time to try.  Counting my blessings always makes me realize how good I have it.  I have a wonderful husband who works hard and gives everything 1000 %.  I have a beautiful daughter who, no matter how naughty she is or how many disgusting diapers I have to clean up, makes me smile more than anyone else.  I HAVE A HOUSE!  And it's a great house that I really love :)  I have met my neighbors and they are all so nice and welcoming.  Thank you Lord for the blessings in my life! 

Please don't think that I wrote this looking for sympathy.  It's more of a journal entry for myself.  A kind of therapy to help me put into words all these crazy feelings.  And a way to look back on this period in my life and see how God used it to make me stronger and bring me closer to Him.  I needed this entry to put things in perspective and you all just happen to be privy to it :) 

Fair time

It's Calhoun County Expo time in Rockwell City!  I had no idea something as simple as a small time county fair could be so much fun with a 2 year old. At that age, everything is so new and exciting.

We started our evening off with the BBQ at 5:30.  Hayden chowed down on BBQ pork, Cheetos and baked beans.  How fun to be covered in BBQ goodness :)  Last year Hayden was too short to go on any of the rides so we were so happy that she was big enough to go this year.  She liked the swings that went round and round then we checked out the moon walk.  She LOVED it!  She was the only one in there and she bounced around on her knees, threw herself down, and bounced around all over.  I don't know what she liked more...the bounciness or the fact that she could scream and it sounded really cool :)  It was hard to get her out of there but we did eventually tear her away from it and we headed over to the giant inflatable slides. Now...these things are HUGE!  There's nothing but a ramp with some plastic pieces every foot or so to act as a ladder.  I wasn't sure what she would do but she climbed right up there and didn't even need my help :)  She plopped herself right down on the top of the slide and took off.  My baby girl has NO FEAR! :)  The guy at the slide was really nice.  We gave him a few tickets but he let her go down as many times as she wanted...which was over and over and over again :)  I guess it pays to go to a small town carnival where there's hardly anybody there.

Kyle and I had a wonderful time just watching her play and have fun on the rides.  I figure we have to have fun with it now before we have more kids and can't afford to spoil them with a bunch of ride tickets :)  She was laughing and giggling, running around, playing and just so excited about everything.  Life in the eyes of a two year old is so simple and carefree.  I think we adults can take lessons once in a while.

Moon walk

Going down the slide all by herself :)

Then came the rodeo.  Such excitement! Hayden loves animals, especially horses and cows.  In the beginning of the rodeo we watched the ropers.  She had a lot of fun watching the horses chase the cows and the cowboys tie them up.  Every time the cowboy tied up the calf and she saw it just laying there on the ground she would say, "Uh oh, what happened?"  It was so cute how she was so concerned about the calf :)  She had fun watching all the events, although toward the end it was getting a little long for her.  She did great though and sat very well through everything. 

After the rodeo there was a fireworks show.  Hayden LOVES fireworks.  She is completely enthralled with everything about it.  It was just a short, small show which was fine.  At that point it was almost 10pm; WAY past bedtime.  She did so great though.  She is just so happy to be around people and have things going on that she behaves so well.  After the fireworks we hoped back on our bikes and headed home.  It was a beautiful night for a bike ride (don't worry, we stayed in the lit streets) and the whole family enjoyed every minute of it.

We are so blessed to be/have been a part of this town.  It's nice to be able to go to the fair and rodeo events and see people we know everywhere.  Small towns are wonderful for getting to know people and feel like you have friends around every corner.  We are going to miss all the friends we have here...but we are moving to another small town where, hopefully, we will have that feeling again very soon. 

Just a little blurb on our house situation....our financing has officially gone through! We are scheduled to close on July 22 and we are so excited.  God has provided us with the perfect house.  We can see through so many situations how He is protecting us and looking out for us.  There was some damage done to the roof in a storm earlier this summer so the current owners insurance company is paying for a new roof.  We will actually get the money from them and will be able to choose the style and put it on ourselves.  It's so fun when we can do such a big improvement and not have to pay for it :)  A few weeks ago our realtor emailed us and said that a big rain storm went through the area and dropped about 5 in of rain in under 2 hours.  Several of their homes had 1-2 feet of water in the basements!  That statement really scared us but she want on to say that she checked out our house and there's not a drop of water in the basement!  Praise the Lord! It's so wonderful to know that we have a sound home that will hold up to a torrential downpour like that.  It definitely gives is peace of mind.

We are planning to move on July 30 which is coming up in 3 weeks! It's going by quickly.  There is still lots to do...but we have to take time to enjoy life too.  Things like the fair and rodeo keep us sane in these busy times.  Hope you all enjoy your summer, and don't forget to have some fun!

Cruisin around and growin up

I have a little bit of a hodgepodge of things to write about today. So many things going on :)  Kyle and I got back from our anniversary cruise last Saturday night and it was a blast! We left Hayden with my parents on Saturday night and left for Omaha Sunday morning.  Our flight arrived in Miami Sunday evening and we headed out to the port Monday morning.  I have to admit, after just a few days I was missing Hayden already and starting to get nervous about being gone for a whole week! We set sail Monday afternoon and it was so much fun!  That first day just walking around the boat and getting acclimated to everything helped keep me distracted.  Tuesday was a full day at sea and I tended to miss her a little bit that day as we didn't have a whole lot to keep us busy aside from laying out in sun :)  But...the rest of the week flew by and I was able to thoroughly enjoy myself. 

We went Scuba Diving in Grand Turk on Wednesday, Para-sailing in Half Moon Cay on Thursday and shopping to our hearts content in Nassau on Friday.  Even Kyle enjoyed the shopping! :)  On the boat we enjoyed shows, games, a comedian, lots of food and time in the sun.  We also enjoyed the beaches at each of the ports we went to.  It's so amazing how clear and blue the water is.  The pictures really don't do it justice.  I absolutely enjoyed EVERY aspect of the cruise and had a wonderful time spending every moment with my husband. 

We actually booked this cruise clear back in January and had no idea that we would be getting ready to move in June.  But, God knew and He was looking out for us.  I know we probably wouldn't have planned it this way had we known, but this vacation really could not have come at a better time.  Both of us were getting extremely bogged down and stressed out with house hunting, financing, worrying about packing, work.  We both felt like we hardly saw each other and when we were together it wasn't exactly enjoyable conversation topics.  Like I said, God knew what He was doing.  Kyle and I were able to spend an entire week together rekindling our relationship and remembering what it was like to be newlyweds almost :)  As much as I missed Hayden, Kyle and I needed that time together for just the two of us.  We didn't think about the financing papers we signed just before we left or what we were going to do to the house, packing or even too much about Hayden.  We didn't talk about anything too heavy or serious; just enjoyed the time together doing whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it.  We haven't been able to do that in years!!!!  It truly was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had and I thank God for it.  After getting back home I can tell that things are just better.  The atmosphere isn't as tense, I don't get stressed about things and I still try to enjoy some downtime with Kyle when I can, even though life is back to it's busy self.

All in all, I recommend warm climate, sandy beaches and time away with each other to every married couple out there :)  It really is worth every penny spent.  We won't be doing it again any time soon....but maybe by the time the kids are out of the house we'll have saved up enough money again :) 

We got back into Omaha Saturday evening and Kyle's Parents came down so Hayden could meet us at the airport.  I was sooooooo excited to see her!  She came running up to see me and I was so happy that she  missed me :)  I told Kyle I was going to be very upset if she acted like she didn't care when I got there :)  We went all the way home that night, so it was kind of a long day but it was so nice to be home and have Sunday to rest up before the work week started.  And Hayden celebrated her second birthday this week!  We didn't do a party or anything this year but we celebrated together.  My parents came down on Tuesday and spend part of the day with us.  They got Hayden a doll dressed up in a swim suit that she can take to the pool or bathtub.  It also came with shoes and sunglasses which she loves :)  Her birthday was actually Thursday and Kyle had to work right away in the morning, I had a board meeting at noon and Farmer's Market at 3....but, we made it through the day and it ended wonderfully :)  A friend, Marcia, came to watch Hayden during my meeting and she got Hayden a little balloon, some bracelets and a watch.  The watch is a special thing between Hayden and Marcia; it was so sweet  :)  Our neighbor also brought over a new outfit for her birthday.  It's so nice to friends and neighbors that care about us and our little girl.  We are going to miss them when we leave.

After Farmer's Market (Hayden got to come play for a while over there with me), we made grilled pizza (Hayden LOVES pozza as she calls it), and I made a Special Agent Oso cake.  Hayden love Oso and asks to watch it every day.  I am thankful we have DVR so she can watch it anytime she wants :)  She loved the cake and had 2 piece!  She kinda had a sugar high after that but she calmed down by bedtime thankfully. 

Special Agent Oso cake, not a pro by any means but it didn't turn out too bad :)

 Now on Friday, as I look back over these last two weeks, I can't help but thank God for all his blessings.  My husband and I enjoyed a wonderful week away for our 5 year anniversary, my "baby" girl turned 2, we bought a house.  Wow, I am so blessed!  He provided so much for us and I can't even begin to thank Him enough.    Especially since I don't deserve any of it.  Thank you Lord!

Our new house

As promised I have a few updates on our move and the house we bought! :) Kyle and I were able to go up and spend an entire day looking at houses last week.  We found a couple that we liked but only one that really stuck out.  There were other people interested in the home and we were a little worried that there would be some competition but thankfully there wasn't!  We went back with both of our parents and looked at it a second time and ended up putting an offer in last Saturday.  The whole process went very quickly and they accepted our offer that day! This week has been spent looking for financing and insurance and we were able to get all the papers signed and that process started today.  Just in time for us to leave on our cruise Sunday!  Here is a link to the house we bought so everyone can pictures :)   http://www.fsbmarcus.com/real_estate_display.php?207-S.-Hamilton-Ave---Sale-Pending-47 
It's a really great house, less than 40 years old.  It does need some more modern updates, carpet, light fixtures, etc. but is really is a great house.  And it's ours which makes it even better :)  Our target closing date is July 22 and we hope to move the last weekend in July.  That will be just in time for Kyle to start football practice on August 1.

In all honesty, this week has been CRAZY stressful.  With us being gone on vacation all of next week I have been working double-time to get everything ready for the people taking over for me this week.  So, with all of the stuff going on with the house, getting ready for the cruise, getting stuff ready for work....it's been NUTS at our house.  But, it seems like when things get crazy that's when we need to slow down and listen for Gods voice.  This afternoon, after running around like crazy all day, Kyle and I took a couple of our FCA kids to a youth retreat up in Emmetsburg.  There weren't a lot of people there but the speakers were so good.  There were a couple testimonies given that really spoke to me.  They were great reminders to live for God and do HIS will for your life.  The main speaker was the youth pastor at the church my brother goes to in Des Moines.  He did a great job connecting with the kids and drawing them into his message.  He spoke on apathy and how we are so easily bored these days.  But when we truly love the Lord we find joy in reading the Bible and praying and serving the Lord in different ways.  As I have mentioned before, I have been reading a book called Small Changes for a Better Life by Elizabeth George.  This book has had a wonderful impact on my life and I find myself getting into a better prayer and quiet time routine. I find myself enjoying my own time with the Lord even more.  After the craziness of the week, and even though I was still spending time with God, I felt like tonight was a nice  little spiritual retreat.  A much needed retreat where I could slow down from all the craziness and remember to listen for the Lords voice. 

Anyway, after this week, God knew I needed a break to prepare for tomorrow....I haven't even started packing yet!!!  I have to completely pack all three of us by tomorrow night.  I know, the craziness doesn't end.  But, Kyle will be home to help and I know that with careful planning and God's help I can make it through.  I also want to be able to spend as much time as I can with my baby girl.  I am going to miss her sooooo much!!!  I have never been away from her for longer than a couple days, and even then she was just with Kyle!   Pray for me that I won't get too depressed being away from her all week and that I will still be able to enjoy my cruise.  I know that Kyle will be a big help tomorrow as well, and he will help me as much as he can.   We drop off Hayden with my parents Saturday night and leave right away Sunday morning to fly out of Omaha.  We probably wouldn't have planned to go on a cruise right in the middle of buying a home and moving, but I think God knew that we would need a break at about this time.  

Job updates

I have waited entirely too long to post.  Now I can't remember everything or even fit it all in if I could.  For now I want to update everyone on whats going on with the job situation.  Since it was on facebook, I am sure everybody knows that Kyle got a new job with the Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn school district.  We are really excited about the change but sad to leave Rockwell City at the same time.  The high school is in Marcus which is about 20 minutes west of Cherokee.  It's really a great location for us because it's about 1 1/2 hours from both of our parents. 

I have to admit that I am starting to get a little overwhelmed.  We just found out last Tuesday that Kyle got the job and football practice begins August 1 so we would like to be moved by the end of July.  At first that was ok, a couple months, no problem.  But now that I start thinking about everything that needs to be done I am starting to panic.  It has been really fun looking at houses though :)  I just got the information to the bank to get pre-approved for a loan so hopefully in about 3 days we'll know where we stand.  Kyle and I have been waiting for several years to be able to purchase a home all our own so we are very excited at the possibilities.  We are praying that God shows us exactly what house He has for us.  One thing we have to decide is whether we will live in Marcus, one of the other town in the district or in another community all together.  There are advantages to living in Marcus since we will be so close to the school and won't have to drive much.  But, we would also like to home school one day and it would probably be easier to not be in the same district as Kyle teaches.  We are praying for wisdom from God as we decide the best situation for our family.

Aside from all the details with moving we have lots of loose ends to tie up here at home.  Kyle is finishing up with school this week and will be working for the school this summer as well.  I am also continuing to work for the Chamber until July 31.  I have a lot of work to do with the Chamber and the other committees I am on before I leave.  Rockwell City has a large event called Sweet Corn Daze planned for August 6 and I am on the committee for that and have responsibilities on the day of as well.  More than likely I will be coming back to RC for that in Aug.  Oh, and I haven't even mentioned packing yet or the dresser staining project I decided to take on.  Wow, all in just over 2 months! But....God knows and I am trusting him.  That and trying to plan VERY well.

Kyle and I leave for our cruise on June 12 and I am thinking we are both going to need a little break to relax and prepare for the rest of the summer :)  I am very much looking forward to this time away, just the two of us, and hoping that we will be able to reconnect and rejuvenate for the next 5 years of our marriage.  Many more changes will be coming and I wouldn't want to go through those changes with anyone other than Kyle.  I am so glad that God brought him to me. 

Well, I have much more Hayden news and some thoughts from my devotional I am working on, but it will have to wait for another post.  I'll try and keep everyone posted as we continue with the house search.  It's by far the funnest part of this move.  At least right now ;)  

Spring!

Well, spring has officially come to the Oswald house :)  What a great weekend!  Friday was supposed be sunny and warm but ended up being cloudy and cold.  Needless to say I was more than a little disappointed.  I had been looking forward to a warm day all week! But....I got over it and Saturday turned out great!

The morning started out cloudy and a little chilly but I headed out for the city wide garage sales at 8am.  By 10 I had hit almost every singe one and got a TON of great deals for Hayden.  Including a really nice kitchen set complete with food and utensils :)  I brought it in the house and the first thing Hayden says is Wow, cool!  Whenever she gets excited about something she covers her mouth with her hands and giggles.  It's super cute :)  She ended up playing with it most of the afternoon.

After I got back from the garage sales all three of us headed out to an auction in Lake City.  Auctions are like Christmas for Kyle.  He absolutely loves them!  Hayden and I ended up heading home about 12:30 and Kyle stuck around until after 3.  While he was gone Hayden took a nap and I even got a little nap in there.  Kyle came home with a new dresser for Hayden along with a few other things.  I got a new shelf with hooks on it at the garage sales and my next project is to paint the dresser and shelf.  I am hoping to get it done as soon as possible so I can add it to her room :)  I just love finding good deals!

After Kyle got home and Hayden woke up from her nap we all headed out for a short walk to the school track and then I jogged around the track once.  For those of you who know me at all you know that I DO NOT RUN.  In total truth, I have never run a round a track even one time for fun or other wise in my entire life.  I have barely even stepped foot on a track.  But...something crazy has gotten into me and I actually have a desire to run.....CRAZY!  I was pretty proud of myself though...all the way around the track without stopping :)  Hopefully this will become a habit and I can keep it up. Maybe I'll even get around twice one of these days, lol.  I am sure you runners out there are laughing hysterically at me right now but this is kind of a big deal for me :)

After our jog and walk back home, we grilled steaks, fish and brats for supper (no we are not pigs, I had a steak and Kyle tried a fish we had in the freezer and then ate a brat).  We also had home frozen corn and pasta salad, a true sign of summer time :)  It was a perfect meal at the end of a perfect day.

Sunday was another great day.  We had a wonderful morning at church and heard a great sermon from pastor.  It was a great reminder that people aren't prefect and that we need to remember to look at ourselves first when we get offended by others.  We had a great lunch with friends from church and headed home to another busy afternoon.  Kyle mowed the lawn and I cleaned up the house and made banana chocolate chip muffins. 

We hosted FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at our house tonight.  Since it is May 1, I thought it would be fun for the kids to make May Baskets :)  Kyle thought I was crazy and that a bunch of high school kids wouldn't like doing it, but it went over pretty well.  We had a bunch of candy and popcorn and they all put together their own May basket.  They wrote a note to let people know that it was from FCA and not some poison crazy person :) and delivered them to people around town.  I think they really had fun :)  After that, everyone headed out to the basketball courts and played for an hour.  It's a great time for the kids to get together and have some encouragement and know that they have a safe place to go. Kyle really enjoys leading the group and they are such an encouragement for him as well. 

I am so thankful to the Lord for His blessings in my life.  He has blessed me with a husband who fears the Lord and wants to serve Him as well as a beautiful daughter.  Who could ask for anything more?

Easter festivities

What a wonderful time to celebrate our Savior's death and resurrection! I sometimes feel that Easter is more commercialized than any other holiday.  At Christmas time you still see the baby Jesus and the occasional manger scene along with the Santa Clause, but where do you see Christ in Easter?  Everything is all about bunnies and ducks and eggs and candy.  You have to REALLY try to focus on the Lord or else everything else will sneak in (not to subtly) and take over.  How sad is it that we have to try so hard to remember the greatest thing our Lord ever did for us.  Living He loved me, dying He saved me, buried He carried my sins far away, rising He justified freely forever, one day He's coming. Oh glorious day!!!  I hope that all over you were able to take time away from the busyness of Easter and spring and remember what Jesus Christ did for us.

We were very fortunate to be able to spend some time with both sides of our family this year.  Kyle's parents came over Friday evening and stayed through Saturday.  Although, Kyle and I were ready to have them "committed" as they decided to ride the motorcycle over to our place.  It's a 2 1/2 hour drive and it was low 40's and raining! Needless to say they were a little chilled when they arrived :)  They assured us that it had been sunny and in the 60's when they left their place.  Maybe next time they'll check the weather before they head out, lol.  We had a great time together though.  After a great meal and pretty yummy dessert, if I do say so myself, we had a good time talking and spending the evening together.  They brought some goodies for Hayden and of course she had to sample them :)  

Saturday morning we colored eggs with Hayden.  She had such a fun time! She kept saying, wow, over and over again :)  Such fun things for an almost two year old mind.  After lunch we headed over to the library for an Easter egg hunt.  They had a separate section for 0-2 year olds which was perfect.  The eggs weren't exactly hidden, more like scattered all over the floor.  All the kids had to do was pick them up off the ground.  Hayden started picking up eggs but once she figured out they had candy in them she wasn't interested.  She just wanted the candy!  Oh well, she'll figure it out sooner or later :)

After nap time, we headed up to see my parents in Emmetsburg.  We had a great time with them Saturday evening then got up for church Sunday morning.  Justin made it sometime in the night so it was nice seeing him Sunday morning as well.  The church was packed out and I was able to see some friends there from high school that I hasn't seen in years.  It's always great going back and seeing old friends.  Dad had a great message, one that really spoke to the heart.  How important it is to know Christ as our PERSONAL Savior....you never know when He will come again to get His children and we will meet Him in the air! Mom made a WONDERFUL ham meal and cheese cake for dessert.  My favorite! Needless to say, my diet took a MAJOR hit this weekend :(  After a nice nap, Hayden was raring to go again.  Grandma DeFord hid a few eggs around the living room and Hayden was able to find them.  She did much better on this one than she did at the library :)  She also got a new skirt and shirt outfit...super cute!  Thanks mom! We went for a walk and mom and dad were VERY impressed at how far Hayden walked all by herself.  Dad thought she went probably a quarter of a mile :)  Alex is in track this year and since Justin did track too, and did very well, making it to state in the shuttle relay, we all went to the track and watched them work on hurdles.  Justin gave some great tips and worked well with him.  We are hoping they'll actually get to have a meet soon as all of them  have been cancelled due to rain.  I am so proud of both of my brothers :)

All in all, a wonderful weekend with family, friends and remember our Lord.  I trust you all had a great weekend as well!

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture on the blog

Little wonders

Hayden and I are home alone this weekend as Kyle is off on his annual turkey hunt in NE. The nights get a little lonely after Hayden goes to bed, but I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed our mother-daughter time.  I have noticed so many change in our little toddler lately and it's been fun to really watch her and see all the ways she is growing up. 

Lately she has started to really talk a lot more and people we meet are constantly commenting on her large vocabulary.  She is definitely not a shy little girl that's for sure! Just today she saw another little girl at the library and immediately started talking to her.  Within a few seconds she grabbed the little girl by the hand and started dragging her over to the play area saying, "play, play".  Lol, that's my little social butterfly :)  A couple weeks ago Kyle was going to head to the basement for something and Hayden wanted to go too.  She came running over to me, handed her cup to me and said, "a hodis me?"  Translation, "can you hold this for me?"  I have to say, I was a little surprised and had to ask her to say it again.  This was the first time she had said such a completely sentence.  It was so cute and of course I had to hold her cup for her while she went with daddy :) 
A few other key words and phrases she uses a lot are: see, boke (broke), I found it, dere it is, where go?, what's that?  It's so funny to hear her using these words around the house.  Sometimes she'll pick up some random object and say, here it is, like it's something she has been searching for for hours.  Just today she grabbed an audio book at the library and said, "I found it!" like it was just the thing she was looking for :) 

Aside from all the new words and phrases she is using she is really coming into her own little personality.  She LOVES to have her picture taken and every time Kyle or I say something is cute or laughs at something she does she immediately says, picure's?  Most of the time we give in :)  Who wouldn't want to take a picture of such a cute little girl??  She poses for every picture and has to use her "cheese face" as we have come to call it.  I feel very sorry for whoever takes her 2 year pictures, they are going to have a very hard time getting her to stop making that face!  Hayden also likes playing with small objects like magnates, erasers, stickers and even money.  She's very good about never putting anything in her mouth but she'll line them up, dump then out of containers, count them, put them back in containers.  And she does this kind of thing for hours! From what I hear from my parents, I was the same way as a kid so I guess she comes by it honestly :)

So, back to today and our girl time.  After a morning at the library we got Subway for lunch and then Hayden went down for a nap.  One more plug for my little angel, she LOVES to sleep.  She can be going a hundred miles an hour and playing wonderfully but as soon as 1:30 rolls around all I have to say is, "are you ready for a nap?" and she immediately grabs her doll and blankie and heads for the stairs.  She loves her naps :) After her nap the sun finally decided to come out and warm the place up a little bit so we went outside to play. This is where the tittle, Little Wonders, came from.  The world is soooo new to an almost 2 year old! Last summer was fun, but I can tell this summer is going to be even better.  Hayden found some buds that had fallen off a tree and was completely enthralled with them.  We looked at the buds on the ground, the buds on the trees, and dead leaves on the ground.  She even tried putting the dead leaves and fallen buds back on the trees!  I explained how it doesn't work that way but I am not sure how much of it stuck ;)  I had so much fun watching her look at everything and try to figure it out.  I realized just how observant she is to think of  trying to put the buds and leaves back on the trees.  There were so many times where I found myself smiling as I watched her looking at everything.  I am so thankful for the blessing that she is in my life. God has spoiled Kyle and I with such a wonderful little girl. 

This was a crazy long post, but I did it mostly so I could look back and remember these fun times.  I really should have started a lot earlier in Hayden's life but better late than never!

  

Here I go!

So I figured that with everyone and their dog having a blog out there I had better get with the times before life passes me by completely :)

I have really enjoyed reading blogs about other peoples' struggles, families, excitements, travels and even just random thoughts.  There are times when I have wanted to blog about something myself but thought there would NEVER be time to do something like that.  But, here I go making time!

First off I HAVE to brag about my beautiful baby girl; although baby isn't quite accurate.  Hayden will be two in June.  Just as I was typing this she came up to me and said "Mom, nose!", she wanted me to give her Eskimo kisses :)  How can I resist a short typing break to do that??  Now I am sitting on the couch laughing at her as she screams "Paygin, paygin!" at the dog.  She's waving a stuffed penguin at Rascal and running around the living room playing keep away with him.  I don't remember what life was like without her and I honestly don't need to. Even on "those days" that every mom has I wouldn't change a thing.  God has truly blessed me with such a wonderful daughter. 

It's just the girls here tonight, Kyle is off at parent/teacher conferences in Gowrie.  He is another wonderful blessing that God has giving me.  He works so hard running between two different school districts.  He's a great husband, father and provider and I don't know what I would do without him. 

One of the things I am hoping to share and discuss on my blog is a book I am currently reading by Elizabeth George called Small Changes for a Better Life.  I have been so convicted lately about all the "little" things in my life that add up and before I know it's big things that are taking my time away from God.  I have been reading through the book and realizing how many small changes I really do have to make.  It's a little overwhelming at times but I am praying that with God's help I can slowly become more like Him. One thing that was emphasized today was that spiritual growth takes a life time.  If I can remember that and not get so discouraged when I don't do everything perfectly every day I'll be doing pretty good. 

Well, mommy-hood is calling.  I have a little girl here who is not so patiently waiting for me to play with her.  More to come!