'Round here...

Some phrases/conversations/actions heard 'round here :)

-The boys pronounce the movie "Beethoven" = Baytogen (sounds like).

-In desperation & running thru the house, Micah hollers, "Where's the paaccci?!? Baby Gacie is cying!" (misspelled words on purpose)

-Nate is depressed because Micah went home with friends while he was in the ambulance. So talking to Danny he says, "This is a bad day. Do you know why, Daddy?" Danny: "Why, buddy?" Nate: "Because I broke my arm & now I can't go play with my friends."

-Nate gagging. Me asking what is wrong. He answers, "Gracie is frowing up!" I run into the living room curious as to why he'd say that & see a baby girl drooling with a tad of milk mixed in. (Nate is easily grossed out!)

-I get up to help Danny finish getting the boys dressed for Kindergarten (I sleep in a little since I feed Gracie late at night). I'm half asleep (and not a morning person--at all.) and putting Micah's shoes on and he says, "Mommy, what that smell?" I have no clue so I sorta mumble "I dunno." He leans in.... "it's your breaf (breath) Mom." Gee... thanks son, Good Morning to you too.

-Micah, walking in the door from Kindergarten on Nate's 3rd day back since he broke his arm and he's a bit whiney, "Mommmm.... I have an ouwer!" (this is "owie" with a German spin on the word. Also, I have to say that both boys usually don't care that they have a scratch on themselves or anything.... they're quite tough, so I can tell it's been a rough couple of days with all the attention Nathan is getting). I drop what I'm doing and follow him to the bathroom. He sits on the edge of the tub and I get the cleaning stuff and band-aids out. I ask him to show me the "ouwer". He turns his left hand upward and I search and search... finally I see the little scratch. Me: "Oh wow... you got a scratch. How did that happen?" Micah: "I don't know." Me: Well, it's all clean now and here's the band-aid. I hope it feels better. I love you." Micah: "Tanks, I gonna show Nate."

-Again, Micah coming in one day from Kindergarten. He has some dried dirt/mud on his neck and shirt. So I tell him to follow me to the bathroom to get cleaned up before sitting down at the table for lunch. Me: "Micah, how did you get dirt all over you?" Micah: " (Boys name) did it." Me: "Well, that wasn't very nice. Why do you think he did that to you?" Micah: "Because I put dirt on him....." I'm about to start a discussion about being nice to others/doing unto others, etc. when he finishes his thought. "... because I don't like him." If you remember Danny blogged about Micah and this little boys awhile back (click on 'Conversations with Dad-part one'). Apparently, Micah can not bring himself to like this little boy. I'm really curious as to why because Micah, though shy at times, seems to like everybody.

-Nathan walking towards the downstairs door with a can of hairspray. When asked what he was doing he replied, "going to kill an animal." I thought I should check what kind of "animal" he was going to take out with hairspray AND why it was in my house! But it was an already dead beetle. I guess he wanted to be sure ;)

Reading books

I have always loved reading. My first love in reading were Nancy Drew books. My earliest memories were when we lived in Palawan and my Dad would be flying to Manila for something and I'd have a list of books that I already had so that he could pick me up some new ones at a book store. If my parents wanted to get my attention all they had to do was threaten to take away a Nancy Drew book! I'd read by flashlight under my comforter hours after I was supposedly sound asleep. I could never end a chapter and just go to sleep... I'd tell myself, "just one paragraph of the next chapter to know everything is ok..." Then before I knew it I was at the end of the next chapter! Thru the years, I have even found some old, old copies at used book stores. Great finds!

My mom would also read to us at night. What fun! She was actually reading to my brothers, the Bobbsey Twins or sometimes the Hardy Boys (though I think by the time they graduated to the HB they read those themselves) and I'd sit in too. Such good memories... we would hurry to get our baths and go to my parents room where there was usually air-conditioning for the "settling" down part of the night. For those who don't understand.... we lived in the Philippines and it was HOT! My parents room was bigger and had a corner with a couch and a tv so that was the family room too. We couldn't air condition the whole house! Those were good times.

Slowly, reading for school and being tested over what I read was taking all my free time. Then college hit and even more boring books were given to me. After that (the first few years of marriage sans kiddos) I found time to read again for fun. Then kids came and well, it's been awhile. haha :)

Anyway, one of my all time favorite authors is Francine Rivers. She is an amazing writer. I have read nearly all of her books.... I pick up a new one when we visit the States. Years ago I was introduced to her by friends and I was hooked! I am currently reading the 4th out of 5 books in her Sons of Encouragement series. The Lineage of Grace was good too! And the Shofar Blew is phenomenal! But my all time favorite is Redeeming Love. It is based on the book, Hosea, in the Bible. Excellent book. Read it! You won't be able to put it down.

Danny & I started reading thru the Bible with the boys a little over a year ago. They were really enjoying it and absorbing the stories and their meanings. They were into the Old Testament and the stories of all the battles that went on during that time. Seeing them develop a love for God's Word is the most important, but also a growing love for reading and books in general warms my heart. Just a few months ago Danny started adding to the reading time, The Indian in the Cupboard. I had never heard of it, but Danny said he grew up reading it and loving it the way I did Nancy Drew. Bedtime is a bit easier now because all we have to do is say, "Daddy's going to read to you guys if you get your teeth brushed and in bed right now!" and off they go!

What are some of your favorite books-- childhood or now?

4 months

My sweet baby girl, Grace is 4 months. She sleeps thru the night... smiles... laughs... talks jibberish... watches her brothers come and go... has been desperately trying to sit up since she was 3 1/2 months old... eats baby cereal... draws attention with the bows on her head... and is a source of joy to our family.

Doing better!

He was back to himself by Saturday.

One of his roomates... funny kid.

Day 2

Nathan had to spend 2 nights in the hospital. He came home Sunday afternoon. They wanted to keep an eye on him since he was under anesthesia and also to check his heart/lung area for bruising/swelling.

He went to Kindergarten on Monday and had a great day. He's really not complained about pain. He does take some children's tylenol before going to school and before bedtime.

Thru all this Danny & I have just had to sorta laugh. We leave in a week and a half for the States!!! What in the world?!? I was just telling my friend, Jessi on the phone the week before how I was hoping Danny wouldn't get hurt or break a bone this last week at his football game (which he missed to be with Nathan at the hospital). Many of our summer plans with family involve water--swimming, water parks, etc. But it seems like Danny & I are the only ones concerned :) We don't 'baby' him... Nate tries everything himself and then if he can't do something we help him. It's rare to hear him ask for help. Nathan is a trooper!

God is not surprised by all this and though it's an inconvenience to us, I believe that God wants what is best for us and if this is what He sees as best for us in this moment... then I'm okay with it.

Always smiling....

Nate's broken arm

Ok, I've been needing to blog about this, but wanted to get my timeline of things I wanted to post in order. So here we are last Friday, June 18th. I was at a breakfast with friends (some of the moms of the Kindergarten meet sometimes after we drop our kids off at school). Gracie was being ohhh'd and ahhh'd over and I needed to make a small grocery run before picking the boys up. So I was saying my good-bye's and loading Gracie into her car seat when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail and would call back from the car. As I was leaving the kitchen, my friends phone rang and she said it was for me. Nathan's teacher, Nicole said he had fallen and broken his arm and I needed to come ASAP! Thankfully, I was only 2 minutes away. That was enough time for me to feel horrible for not answering my phone!

I arrived at the school and Nathan was in a chair in the office. I was expecting to see tears... but he was calmly sitting there. My thoughts then were "must not be that bad." Then I noticed Kiersten, (teacher from across the hall) holding Nate's wrist. I smiled at him and looked down, "ohhhhh... wow... ohhhhh... hey there, buddy... you ok?!?" (I kept my brave face on because kids react to their parents reaction) He told me he fell off the monkey bars and his chest broke his fall. It happened so fast that he doesn't remember using his hands to break his fall.

Micah came inside and told me that Nate was hurt (he was really worried about his brother). So now I have all 3 kids and need to get Nate to the hospital. I knew that it would be hard to get him there without possibly doing some damage to his arm. So I asked Nicole to call the ambulance. Danny was at home working in his office (in the basement) and doesn't get cell phone reception and our land line was upstairs. There was no way I could go home to get him (I was worried Nate would break down if he saw me leave). I turned to another mom friend and asked if she knew where I lived. She left to get Danny (front door was open and she yelled for him) and they got back as the ambulance pulled up.

Another mom friend offered to take Micah home for the afternoon and he didn't want to at first. He was really worried and intrigued by the ambulance. Poor Micah, he wanted to ride in there so bad. As I was buckling him into the car, Rosi was walking towards us and asking Micah again. Her 2 boys took Micah by the hand and asked him to come with them. I think he felt important and said, "bye Mommy". I was so thankful he was going to be cared for that day.

Gracie & I ran home to get her a bottle and the traffic to the hospital was horrible! We pulled up and he had just had his first x-ray and was getting the rest of his body checked-out. I was holding his hand and he said his chest started hurting suddenly. I told the Dr. who was filling out some paper work and as soon as I said that, 3 Dr.'s were looking him over. I was impressed. They decided to wheel him off and take another x-ray of his chest to make sure he was okay. The care he received was so good. He was not happy about the IV port in his other arm. He kept having us scratch his nose or rub his forehead. It bothered him to bend his arm (I fully understand--I hate being poked). He was so quiet and still had the look of shock/trauma on his face. We prayed many times and the only time we saw him get nervous and on the verge of tears was when they said they were taking him to the operating room. He reached out for Danny and begged him not to leave him. Rip my heart out! After he was out of sight I let a couple of tears fall. Danny & I just sat in the hall with a sick feeling in our stomachs. We were told they were going to need to put a pin in his arm. So he was going to be put out. We have a Dr. friend here and he called to let us know one of his buddies was working and was there for Nate. That brought a little peace knowing a connection had been made.

See how his arm (below) dips?!? This picture sends shivers down my spine.

My incredibly brave boy!
We found out Saturday that he did NOT have surgery. They thought he was going to, but they were able to set it. He was put under in case they needed to, so it took him some time to come out of the "fog". He has a cast from his finger tips to his shoulder.

After he came out of the recovery room and to a regular room (that he shared with 3 other boys), I went home to get clothes, toiletries, his stuffed dog, Sparky (he really lit up when I brought him and that is where he rests his arm most of the time now) and grabbed the PSP so he could watch some cartoons and just rest. The older boys in the room controlled the tv :)

-krista-

A touch of summer...

So we had a loooong winter. A very chilly Spring and then one week the sun came out and we thought summer was arriving! I even got our fans out and cleaned them up. We got a little pool for the boys to enjoy the remaining weeks we had here and had plans to have friends over, but then the rain came and the temperature dropped drastically. I'm all for cooler days (I am not a big fan of sweating), but it's been hard for the boys to be stuck in the house. I know we will more than get a summer in Texas so I'm thoroughly enjoying the weather right now.

Here are some pics of the week we had sunshine :)

Grillin', Friends, & a Baby!

This Spring we had quite a few friends over to our house to grill out. Many were part of our church 'family' and some were friends we had made thru the Kindergarten. It's always so much fun watching our kids interact with their friends. We've been blessed with some really great families here!

One particular family has 2 boys-Fabian is about a month a half younger than Nathan. Felix is about 9 mo. younger than Micah. Well, halfway thru my pregnancy with Grace, this family found out they were expecting too!!!! Immediately their boys and ours were wishing for a girl. We knew Gracie was coming, but our friends wanted to be surprised (I was going crazy the last 4 months! haha).

We were asked to be on call for our friends if they needed someone to pick up the boys. Well, the due date was last week and I was getting nervous the baby wouldn't arrive before we left for the States. I talked with R Sunday night and all was well. So today I'm driving home from my guitar lessons and I get a text with a photo.... they had a baby GIRL this morning!!!! She is soooo beautiful! The boys were already at school for the day I guess and their Grandma was available. Our boys are ecstatic for them too!

A walk around here...

A few weeks ago our family took a walk around our area. The boys rode their bikes and we introduced Gracie to the carrier. We needed to know how she would handle it because this is her "ride" for our trip next week. The stroller is just to big of a hassle and this way if she starts crying it's easier to comfort her then have to keep one hand in the stroller on her paci or stroke her face.

The pics of the boys came off my phone because they wanted to be statues. haha. Micah found a big rock and struck a pose.

Be all there

I came across this article today and though I'm sure we all know it and believe this to be true... it's good to be reminded.

Click here: Be all there

Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. – Jim Elliot

An afternoon at home

Just a short video of one warm afternoon recently. Gracie was a lot more chatty and really laughing every time I tickled her before I turned on the video and then nothing! Always happens when you want to actually capture the moment :) The boys were being so good and playing together. But then Micah had an idea and I felt the need to stop making a video and remove the temptation :) haha! Never dull around here.

Weekends

For the last 2 weekends we have been b-u-s-y! May is full of national holidays and sometimes it blends into June as well. So the boys were out of school on a couple of Thursdays and Fridays and we grilled out with many different families. The weather is finally cooperating and beginning to feel like summer is on it's way. Church friends, school friends and friends from along the way have been our guests. What a great time it's been connecting more with them and deepening the friendships.

We are flying to Texas in a few weeks for a short summer furlough. It's been nearly 3 years and we're aching to see our families and all the new nieces/nephews that have been born in that time frame. Also, we need to report to many of our supporters. Each time we have flown back to the U.S. we've been able to report and thank those that have supported us. Doing this in increments has been a bit more difficult and makes our trips feel quick and jam-packed, but we don't want to be away from Austria and the home we've made and the church we're leading any longer than we have to be. It's crazy to experience these emotions at times.

Next month we'll have been in Austria for 6 years! I truly have to count it out because it doesn't feel like it's been that long. But Nathan is our walking calendar :) He was 9 weeks old when we moved here. Our first few years in Austria we flew back to the States often to be a part of our siblings weddings. But in all those trips, we calculated that we've been gone just under 6 months. Wow. We really have been living here. The roots we've put down here get deeper and deeper. Our family has friends here that we can't imagine not knowing. The Kindergarten our boys attend is fantastic. I've been praying for their teachers before I knew they would be attending that school. Now I'm praying for the teachers Nate will have beginning this Fall in elementary school (I still pinch myself that he's old enough to be going to school and just... well, growing up.). Micah speaks so much German that it inspires me how kids absorb everything they can. Gracie is almost 4 months.... really!?!?

Danny & I will celebrate 11 years of marriage in August. What on earth were we doing getting married at 20/21 years of age?!? haha. Our parents must've had quite the peace about 2 kids getting married so young :)

So it wouldn't be a fun post without photos so here are a few I like. This first one is a chalk heart on the drive way Nathan & Micah drew for me while I was gone one day.

Out and about getting an early Father's day gift for Danny. They were real excited. Can you tell?!?
He understands me and cooperates when I put a camera in his face :)

Full of energy!

Weekend fun

Just a little fun with the boys :)