J-M: Joyfully Married, Joel & Michelle

All Recipes

2012-01-31T17:21:00.003-05:00

So in December we had the pleasure of having a family live with us for 2 weeks. While my good friend was here she showed me some amazing ways to save money on grocery shopping. First of all we would find a recipe on all recipes and then if I didn't have an ingredient we would look up how to make it on all recipes. Like we didn't have enough ketchup one night so we looked up ketchup on all recipes and sure enough we made our own ketchup. Then tonight I decided to make beef stew for dinner and one of the ingredients they called for was italian dressing. Well I didn't have any italian dressing so I looked up how to make it and I was able to make Italian dressing and it turned out pretty good. So I am super excited to learn a little more on how to save money on groceries. Definitely so I don't have to run to the store every time I am missing an ingredient for my dinner. I will let you know later on how the beef stew turned out.

Blessings upon Blessings

2012-01-10T20:10:00.003-05:00

I know that for most of you, you probably already know that for 20 months now Joel and I have been trying to have another baby. After the first I would say 11 months I would get very and I mean very discouraged because I would find out that I wasn't pregnant. I cried I sometimes even screamed I questioned why God wouldn't give us another baby. I wanted so desperately to have another baby. It seemed like to me every day someone else was announcing they were pregnant. I would fall under the weight of once again I wasn't pregnant. Finally, God called into action a very good friend of mine who showed me very lovingly that I was so caught up in wanting a baby that I was forgetting to see God in it. She also encouraged me to start praying that God would make his desires my desires, Though difficult in the beginning to pray that and mean it. Another one of my good friends encouraged me by saying maybe this is just your time to love on other peoples kiddos. So after listening and praying I felt God starting to change my desire. It was amazing. I began to rejoice over the birth of many of my friends babies. It was nice to be asked to babysit for them and love on their kiddos. It was still very difficult at times not to think about the fact that I wasn't pregnant but I would again pray that God would make His desires my desires. Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. This is the verse that I would cling to. I prayed that my desire would be only to serve my Creator and not my desires. God showed me that I have 2 amazing kids. They were my ministry right now. I finally came to terms with the fact that maybe 2 kids was all God wanted us to have. Then on December 11, after experiencing some really weird things happening with my body, Joel and I decided that I should take a pregnancy test and sure enough I saw very clearly the plus sign for pregnant. I laughed I cried I couldn't help but thank God for changing my desires so that I would learn to rely on Him and not myself. It was the most amazing thing that I could have gone through. It was very hard and very emotional but I a thankful that our God reigns over all and He deserves the Praise.

A couple of post

2012-01-10T20:06:00.002-05:00

So Joel and I decided before we left to go to my parents for Christmas that we would take away Seth's pacifier as soon as we got back. So this is a memory I will want to share with him one day. So today I took Lydia and Seth to the dentist. Turns out he has a slight under bight because of paci as we call it. So the dentist told me that the sooner that we got rid of the paci the sooner that his bight would return to normal. So we took the plunge and I took the paci and snipped the end of it while Joel explained to him that he was a big boy and that he was going to get his present for throwing away his paci. So he took the paci and under Joel's encouragement threw the paci's in the trash with the end cut of it. So tomorrow I will update you on how he did paciless. Here to not having a sleepless night and much rest for Seth., who by the way has cut 8 teeth in the past 2 weeks.

Thankful heart

2011-11-17T11:54:00.002-05:00

I know that it is time for us to once again celebrate thanksgiving. But these past few weeks I have been so overwhelmed with how ungrateful I am. So in a way this is a confession, but also I am striving to form a heart of gratefulness. I have been keeping up with a friend who I knew before college and then she just so happened to by roommate at college my freshmen year. She is going through one big trial a trial I know nothing about. She had c-section and gave birth to one amazing little boy, but they probably won't have him for varying long. As I have read her story and have prayed for her, I realized that I need to be thankful with the 2 children God has blessed me with. Now it's not that I haven't said thank you God for my kids, but now I realize that I need to be thankful for them daily thanking God for the oppurtunity to just love them and teach them and even discipline. When I have days where I just want to be away from my kids because they have just pushed every button I had, I need to say instead God thank you for these kids and thank you that if I have them for just one more day God you have sustained us and I know that there are reasons we fight one battle right after the other. So today I am making the decision to every day say thank you God for my two amazing miracles. I no longer want to take them for granted or push there silliness away but embrace them wholly and enjoy every second I have with them.

Ps

2011-11-08T12:29:00.002-05:00

I forgot to add How amazing Joel has been. After he rushed home to rescue me out of the shower he took 3 afternoons off to make sure I was ok. Then every ight he comes home jumps right into everything. Kids, cooking, cleaning, ice warm ice warm. He takes on the responsibility for the kids for everything, bathing, disciplining, feeding, playing. He is definitely my night a d shining armor. Then he still sits down after bed time and works for a couple of hours. All to get up in the morning to start all over again. So thank you hubby. I am so thankful.

Stop

2011-11-08T12:04:00.005-05:00

Stop seems to be a fitting title for my post considering the recent events in my life. October comes with so many beautiful things except this October unlike October of '11 came with sitting in a chair not doing anything. I am writing this story so that I can remember one day about this October and the many blessings I am experiencing. On October 25th after one of my first times back to jazzercise in a few weeks I came home to take a shower. I put the kids in room time so I knew they would be safe and jumped into the shower. Realizing I haven't shaved in awhile decided then would be a good time, and after that it's all kind of a blur. I remember slipping and falling but not much in between time. The next thing i feel is terrible pain in my rib area. I could barely breathe I had knocked the wind out of me. So as soon as I gain enough breathe I called for Lydia and she of course came running and I said go get mommies phone. So she ran out to get of course first asking a lot of questions. I said dial daddies number and she did. I told Joel that I had fallen in the bath tub and I couldn't get up. So he said he would be right here and hung up. So within minutes he got here helped me out of the bathtub that's when we noticed that I hurt my foot pretty badly. It was bleeding and cut open. So he brought me out to living room and looked over my foot and we both decided well it really isn't bad enough for stitches and that it would be better in the morning. So Wednesday morning I went church to do some stuff for the nursery and after standing on it for an hour I realized there was something worse done then just the cut. Well after making an appointment and a lot of help from a lot of different people sure enough I had done enough damage to my foot to have to be laid up for 2 weeks. So Joel's mom came to help and what a massive help she has been. Then after another appointment yesterday I found I am laid up for a other 4 weeks. So through all of this I have realized what a blessing walking truly is. I miss being down on the floor playing and imagining with the kids. I miss cooking and cleaning and talking nice walks around our subdivisions. But I have started to see the tremendous blessings God has made me see. First of all how many people have jumped into help us out. Babysitting, making meals, and just being a good visitor to me while I can't so much now. Another blessing is Betsy Leineweber. She has played, cooked, cleaned, cleaned,cleaned, and laundry galore. She is one of the greatest blessings in my life. Also I have has the oppurtunity to pray with two different people after they had called me to pray for a struggle they are going through. So being laid up in a chair for 6 weeks isn't so bad. So in lue of my title i know that God is telling me to stop and be thankful for the blessings in my life.

My best friend

2011-08-21T15:12:00.006-04:00

I am so thankful for God's Design of marriage. I can't imagine life with out my amazing husband. He has shown me what selflessness looks like and he chooses joy in the hard times and in the easy times. One of my favorite times to share with him is laughter. We have a lot of fun together and he is so easy to talk to. He is an amazing daddy and one of our favorite times of the day is when he comes home from work. I love you Joel and I am so humbled by God's gift of you to me. Thank you for being an amazing husband and showing Christ to me in our major. Love Wifey

Lydia Grace Leineweber

2011-08-20T21:07:00.003-04:00

On August 21, 2007 Joel and I had the amazing pleasure of welcoming into this world the third member of our family. She has won us all over and continues to shows how fun and exciting she can be. Her favorite things right now are Tangled, legos, playing with Seth, swimming in the pool but most of all being with her whole family all the time. She loves having us all together all the time and if a member is missing she pines for them. She loves playing with her little friends and often talks about going to see them. I am continue to homeschool her this year and I can't wait to see where she will be this time next year.

Big Boy Seth

2011-08-07T21:34:00.003-04:00

Well I know just posted about Seth but I wanted to remember the timing of everything so I am going to blog about it. This past week has been kind of difficult for me in many ways but the Holy Spirit keeps bringing to my mind John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. So I am dwelling in His peace. One way I am doing that is loving my very amazing kiddos. Seth this week turned 2 and then he moved from the crib to a big boy bed and today we celebrated his life of 2 years. It is so neat to be a part of his life. So thank you God for your Peace that you chose to leave with us. I chose not to worry about tomorrow but be peaceful!

Seth Nathan Leineweber

2011-08-04T11:56:00.003-04:00

August 4th, 2009 Seth you are one amazing little man and we are so thankful to have you in our family. Who what have thought I would be so in love with another man in my life. Joel he is pretty much the most amazing guy in my life, but in 2nd place is my little man. I can't believe i was so afraid to have a boy. But as my mother in law told me you will love having a boy they keep life interesting, SHE WAS RIGHT! He is so loving and compassionate. He loves anything truck or planes. His sister is his best friend and hates being away from her. He loves books and he sometimes likes you to read the same book many times. He loves to eat apples whole! He keeps me busy and has a lot of energy! He is a daddy's boy through and through! He looks just like Joel! So at 6 pounds 6 ounces he entered the world and changed our lives forever. We love you little man! August 4, 2011

Rejoice

2011-08-01T11:16:00.006-04:00

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. The month of July is a Humongous month of celebration in my family. We celebrate all of my siblings birthdays and mine in this month. I cant imagine any better way to to celebrate then rejoice in Christ and how He has given me new life to share with others. This past week I had many reasons to rejoice in this life. Joel went away this past week for a conference to learn more about what he does and skills to implement in his job. I had the awesome privilege of having my sister, Yvette and her family come down and stay with me. There were many reasons that she came but most of all she came so that I wouldn't be lonely. We celebrated birthdays, we played hard, we overheated, we played and played, but most of all we had a great time together. Yvette has always played a big part in my life, first of all as my big sister, but also a mentor and sometimes even a mother. My kids just love her and it is fun to watch them interact and love her so much because lets face it they may see her once or twice a year. Her kids played so well with mine and her hubby did some much needed work around my house, so I am very blessed to have had them for a week. We even had a scary moment while she was hear, but just another reason to celebrate and rejoice that God protected Lydia from drowning. But overall what a fun and great week. I am so thankful to have my hubby back home, but I miss them and I am looking forward to seeing them again soon. Here is some great fun filled pictures. Family at the Creation museum Alex Andrew Adam The very beautiful Allyson

29 isn't to bad

2011-07-25T15:18:00.002-04:00

Now I know that 29 isn't really that bad. I had a great birthday made very special by my wonderful hubby. Joel took the day off to spend with me. Partially because it was my birthday and partially because he was leaving for a week. He started the morning off by getting my favorite donut and letting me sleep in. Then we spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the aquatic center, and then he took me out to dinner and it was topped off with a late evening swim with a good friend of mine. To my pleasant surprise he gave me 2 dozen roses. As I thought about my birthday and then my birthdays past I was just overwhelmed with God's blessings and His amazing Grace in my life. It was so humbling and made me so grateful and to name a few. I have an amazing husband and two amazing kids, I love the church that we are in and I still have my parents and siblings but most of all I am a new creature in Christ. I am happy to be a stay at home mom and also work in the nursery at church. I am very blessed to serve and submit to my husband. So above all else 29 isnt so bad at all.

Lydia's thought proccess

2011-06-15T22:02:00.002-04:00

Lydia, "Mommy, Jesus lives in our hearts!" Me, "Lydia, does Jesus live in your heart?" Lydia, "No He doesn't." Me, "do you want Jeaua to live in your heart?" Lydia, "No, i don't ." Me, "why don't you want Jeaus in your heart?" Lydia, because God said No. Me, why did God say no? Lydia, because God said No Jesus can't come into to my heart until it stops raining. It was raining so I wonder what she was thinking. But this conversation kind of kept going through out the day, but it was sure interesting.

It takes a village

2011-06-07T18:51:00.002-04:00

You know the wise old saying "It takes a village to raise children!" Well I now know why that saying is so true. These past two weeks for Joel and I kind of has felt like a village. We had the great opportunity to go on a week long vacation with his family. But before I tell you about that I will tell you about the week before. We left Tuesday morning and drove 9 hours until we got to Richmond VA, where we decided to stop for the night and take in some of the Civil War sights. We only made it really to one because the kiddos couldn't make it that long after being in the car for 9 hours and it was crazy hot. So we got to see the place in Richmond where the people had to escape a big fire during the Civil War where General Lee surrendered. So that was fun and it created a lot of conversation between Joel and I. We stayed at a hotel that night with an indoor pool where Lydia was introduced to water and of course she was scared, but got more bold as the night went on. Then we decided the next day to go to Yorktown where part of the War for Independence was fought. Till this day there is the little trenches and Hills they dug to protect themselves. We even got to walk around part of old Yorktown, where there stood houses that where originally built before the War. After another really hot morning and my allergies got the better of me we decided to finish the first part of our journey and drive the rest of the way to Virginia Beach. We spent a few nights at Joel's parents house before his family and us drove down to the Outer banks in NC. Joel's parents found a house down there that would definitely accommodate 10 people. The house truly amazing, complete with a pool, hot tub, pool table and Lydia's favorite, the bunk beds. We wanted to try letting Lydia and Seth sleep together in the same room, but we had the option of having him sleep somewhere else. Lets just say it didn't work out very well. Lydia wakes up probably around 7 every morning and needs to go to the bathroom and then lays in her bed until we allow her to get up at 7:30. She decided it would be fun to wake Seth up too, but he becomes a grumpy little monster without his proper hours of sleep. Needless to say, we separated them the next night. On Sunday we had our own little church service as a family complete with Joel leading worship and Dad Leineweber gives us a little sermon. Each of the days after that the couples all took the opportunity to give a little devotional. Phil and Sarah talked to us about what it means to prefer your spouse of yourself, John and Kim talked about how God's ways are higher than ours and how he ultimately receives glory, and mom and dad told us about what God uses to continue to grow us, like moving from one church to the next, and continual pain in the body. The last night we split up guys and girls and shared prayer request and prayed with each other and what a great way to end a great week. Now this week wasn't complete without sunburn, an unexplainable rash that several got,tons and tons of laughter, romance, food (in one night at dinner a whole watermelon was eaten), settlers, and most of all time spent together loving on one another. Joel and I had the great pleasure of watching how everyone loved our kids and even watched them while we played pool together or stayed at the beach, or just wanted to have a conversation without the kids around. One of the greatest lessons I learned this week is how God's love flows over and over in people whose hearts are His. The bound that God has help create in Joel and his family spills over into all of our relationships. Now that we are back home, I hear a lot of Pa, and mommy when I go back to NaNa's, or ON which is our brother in law Jon, and mommy do you think Aunt Sarah will read me this book one day,Mommy will Aunt Kim play in the sand with me. I miss the time together, but it makes me look forward to Heaven that much more. Because I know that we will all be together in Heaven worshiping our Saviour and how blessed that time will be. I hope there will be plenty of more weeks like this, this side of Heaven too.

Completely Blesssed

2011-05-08T19:26:00.003-04:00

First of all I want to say Happy Mothers Day to my mom. I have often thought I wonder what Mothers Day was like for my mom when I was kid. I remember making her things and giving her cards and sometimes even picking the dandelions and giving them to her for her gift. But as I sit and think about her while I was kid and I think of her now, I must say I have so much more love and respect for now that I am a mom. Being a mom is a lot of hard work and I wouldn't trade being one for my life, but she did so much for us as kids that I can't help but wonder what it was like for her. Today as I sit and think about not being with her my heart kind of breaks, because I know that for her today may be especially hard since she doesn't have her mother here anymore. So mom just so you know I love you and I love the fact that you chose to love me in my most unloveable moments. Then on the next note I am completely blessed not only to have my most amazing mom still with me, but I am very blessed to have an amazing mother in law. As a young teen I started praying that I would have a relationship with my future mother in law the way my Grandma does with all of her daughter in laws. Grandma always nurtured and loved on her daughter in laws like she had brought them up from birth and I longed for that day when I could have that same relationship with my mother in law. God sure heard my prayers and answered them. Betsy Leineweber is the best mother in law in the world. I am thankful that she sees me as she sees her own kids just another of her kids. I am thankful that I have gotten to celebrate 7 years of being her daughter in law. Now God has given me 2 amazing kiddos and I have so much love for them I can't even imagine how much Christ loves all of His kids. I am by no means the best mom in the world, but I sure am thankful for the opportunity to love and nurture and kiss boo boos and share the Gospel of Christ with them, but more importantly be the Gospel to them as Peter LaRuffa told us so lovingly in church today. So as I end this post I will leave you with a pictures of the 2 best moms for me. Mom Frasier Mom Leineweber

Life keeps moving

2011-04-09T21:46:00.002-04:00

It seems like I can't keep up with our blog. I wanted to remember some things that have been happening so I am going to write them down. Lydia is turning in to a little lady. Right now her favorite things to do is play outside, play games, watch Tangled, playing with her Polly pockets and most of all she loves playing with Seth. She always asks me to go get him up or she says mommy can Seth play in my room with me? It is so awesome that she loves his still so much. She loves babies. Seth is moving and a grooving as they say. His new words seem to come everyday. The other day Joel was praying for dinner and he finished up his prayer with In Jesus name Amen, then we heard a little voice say Amen. Seth says Amen now every time we pray, and he finally says Luv U and gives you a big hug. He loves to play with sissy and mimics every move she makes. He is learning so much and it is neat to see how they love and get along. But no post is good with out a few pictures for our families.

Craziness

2011-02-27T19:01:00.003-05:00

Like most people here in our area, we have once again battled sickness in our house. We did all finally make it back to church today. Seth was diagnosed with RSV, which turned into pneumonia, but he has since recovered. We are blessed to have amazing people in our life that came over and took our kids and brought us meals. We are looking forward to spring and summer very quickly. We did enjoy a couple of days of spring like days and now all the kids want to do is go outside. So we are definitely looking forwards to that. Lydia has learned how to write her name. She can even tell you how to spell it now. Seth got his first shiner. We don't really know how it happened and it healed up quick. So here is for hoping another post soon and not a couple of months which it feels like it has been.

Lydia is growing up

2011-01-22T20:46:00.003-05:00

I know that my last post was about Lydia, but she seems to be growing up so fast today. Her favorite toy is still her Jessie doll (from Toy Story). She is learning her alphabet very quickly. She still is very tiny. She only weighs about 24 pounds. Her favorite things to do with Mommy, is dishes, folding laundry, cleaning the toilets and making her bed. Each Saturday I take her grocery shopping with me and it is an awesome time for us to spend time together and also teach her things that she doesn't normally get to see, for instance, climbing out of the front of the cart on your own is dangerous. Just because she sees something she wants doesn't mean we have money to buy it. Today, she learned that you have to earn money to get things. Joel and I decided it was time to make her room a little less babyish and add some big girl qualities to it. We bought a shelf that we could kind of use a toy/book/stuffed animal shelf. She loves it and it makes her room look less crowded.

Our little girl

2011-01-13T21:33:00.002-05:00

Iwasjust sitting herethinking about our kiddos. God has been so good to us. Lydia is 3 and she is amazing, a sinner , but still amazing. Today she said to me "mommy can you be my friend?". Which I replied of course I can,and she said good because I missed you. She said this to me after I leather for an hour in jazzercise. She seems to bring new light to my day. Today as I told her about Jesus and the Holy Spirit she just got this look in her eyes that said to me I get it mommy. She can identify 17 letters and gets better with her numbers every day. She is developing her sentences and how to use her imagination. Lydia grace Leineweber, we love you so much.

Happenings

2011-01-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

Life here has been just a little bit crazy. We spent Christmas here and had tons of fun. Then we traveled to Virginia Beach which was a small bit crazy. They had 14 inches of snow and we were stuck right in the middle of the snow storm. We made it and the kids did amazing. We went to Busch Gardens in Virginia for their Christmas town there and that was so much fun. Each of the adults except for Joel's mom had some type of illness while we were there. Joel had a sinus infection, Phil and Sarah had a stomach bug, Kim had an allergic reaction to some cream and me well that is a long story. Joel's dad through his back out trying to catch Seth from sticking his hands in the belt of their treadmill. So it was sure fun to be together but we could have done with out all that sick yuckyness and bad backs. We made it through what we thought was free and clear, until today. We woke up to Seth and throw up in his bed and he continued to throw up on and off all day. So we are praying the rest of us don't get it.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T15:00:00.003-05:00

It is this time of year that I think will always be the time that sticks out in mind from my childhood. My siblings and I saw much more than most kids our age did when we grow up. But this time of year always seemed to be the time of quietness and unselfishness. I think about this and think that there are tons of kids out there right now who suffer and are lonely and may never know that our Christ is the reason we live. I long for the time when my kids who are small will desire and grow to love our Jesus. I think about my family and how much my siblings and I love each other and how this year I won't celebrate Christmas with them. How I will miss my whole family and how I will desire to be with them, but I am so excited to teach and show Lydia and Seth that Christmas is about so much more than just gifts, but it is about the Savior who came as a baby to suffer the consequence that we fully deserve but that Christ was the biggest gift we could have ever gotten. I am hoping that they will love and desire to know about our Christ of Christmas. I also desire that they will desire to keep the relationship they have with each other. I know siblings fight , but I also know that my siblings are the best. I love you guys so much and I am sad to miss Christmas with you but I just want to say that I could never ask for better siblings than you. I am also thankful for my siblings that I have slowly gained over the past few years. Who knew that I would get my wish to be a big sister, you guys are amazing. Dad and mom I look forward to the time when we will be together again, because with out you guys I couldn't have all of my amazing siblings and I wouldn't have the knowledge I have if it weren't for you, that goes for both sets of my parents. I am super excited for starting our own traditions here with my awesome hubby and sharing it with our amazing kids. Merry Christmas from the Leinewebers!!

Christmas is upon us

2010-12-15T16:00:00.002-05:00

I feel like the second half of this year has flown by. This past week Nana (aka Joels mom) came in town for a few days. We sure were a busy crew. Friday night we went to the opening night of Christmas town at the creation museum. Saturday I had a meeting in the morning and then our friends Josh and Laura got married in the evening, I will just make a side note here, if you are buying stuff on clearance make sure it fits before you leave the store. I bought Lydia some tights from there Saturday morning that said they were for 2 to 4 year olds and since she already is small I figured this was great, until I opened it and turns out they were for 4 to 6 year olds. So I had to make a trip out again right before the wedding to find tights that fit her. Ok moving on Sunday was our easy day then we had our Christmas party for Joels work. We road the fairy across the Ohio river and that was lydias favorite part although the rest of us were anticipating how many ways we could die riding on the fairy a very funny conversation if you ask me, Lydia even got to help Nana make Christmas cookies. Now that nana is gone Lydia asks every day if we can go to Nanas house for morrow which is Lydia talk for tomorrow. So I have to continue to explain that we can't just drive to her house in one day like we could to her friends house. But we are looking forward to going and visiting them at the end of the month. Seth has decided to help learn what discipline really looks like, he is very strong willed and a big trouble maker, but he can and is the sweetes little guy. He runs around the house yelling Daddy and pointing as if he sees Joel all through out the house. He gives random hugs and kisses and boy does he love his sister. I hope they always have a close bond.

In a nut shell

2010-11-28T18:35:00.003-05:00

It has been a very long time since I have blogged so this might be a long one, but here it is. We had what felt like a long fall. Between sickness and other things going on we stayed cooped up in our house for awhile. But we have all been well for awhile so that is such a blessing from God. In October I excepted a position in our church as a nursery coordinator and the great thing is I do most of it from home. So that is a fun new exciting but mostly growing experience. Seth has his 15 month checkup and he was is little just like Lydia was and is. He has finally gotten his 4 front teeth in and one back molar but it looks like more are on their way. Lydia continues to develop vocabulary and I have been homeschooling her now for about 3 months. I hadn't used any curriculum but just little lessons plans I have put together here and there. I am looking at starting her curriculum the beginning of January because I feel like she would do well with it, but she has developed her numbers, some of her alphabet, colors, and shapes. She looks forward to the time we (her and mommy) get to spend time together. Seth and Lydia both love to read so we spend a good portion of our day reading it is amazing. Joel still remains busy at work and I am continually thankful for his job that he can enjoy. This Thanksgiving I was able to host and cook. My parents and my Aunt and Uncle came down on their 4 week journey through some of the states to see various children of theirs. I learned how to cook a big turkey and things to and not to do. I made pies and even stuffing which turned out was pretty good but over all it was neat to spend that time with my family. We started some new traditions in our house. We went and picked out our Christmas tree and even put up decorations outside. I tried my hand at some decorations for Christmas outside with the help of my amazing little girl. So now we look forward to Christmas to celebrate Christ and what He has done on the cross and to teach our kiddos what the true meaning of Christmas is. Hopefully I won't go months again without blogging.

Fall season

2010-10-03T16:05:00.002-04:00

Well our fall season hasn't started off the best way, but we are spending some family time together confined to our home, except for our small trip to church this morning. Just a little disclaimer those of you who knew we were all sick we all aren't contagious anymore do to strong anti biotics that we all have been on. But as of this afternoon I am able to breathe the best I have breathed in over a month and Joel doesn't sound like base tenor anymore. But onto why I am posting. Last year I tried a butternut squash pie for the first time and it was amazing. So I have a renewed vigor to bake and maybe even try a chili with butternut squash in it. But I am at a loss. I love fall season and how it forces you sometimes to stay in more, so I am looking for some recipes. Melissa, I know that you bake and cook a lot so I am looking forward to some of your recipes. If any one else out there has a fall recipe to share I would love to try to make it, I also like how some of you make you recipes and change them up a bit. Maybe I will take some pictures and blog about all the recipes I want to try. All this once I don't feel like I am drowning on my own fluid anymore. Thanks for the recipes a head of time.

What God is teaching me

2010-09-03T22:08:00.003-04:00

Where to begin. This month sure has had it's down for us. First starting with my parents. Please pray for them, they need Christ more now than ever as the new casting crowns song says. We went to visit them and saw God work even in the smallest of things. On our way back home about fours from home our amazing neighbors called us to tell us that there was water running out of our garage. Sigh, turns out the cold water line to our washer busted while we were gone. But our amazing neighbors called the water company and they turned off our water. So we have been steadily trying to get it fixed and finding out that only God truly knows what you need and when you need it. But let's back up about a month ago and Bam Joel breaks his nose playing ultimate frisbee (google that if you don't know what it is). So while we are in the midst of our basement saga, the amazing Dr tells us Joel needs to have some surgery to help him breath again. So now Joel has his surgery and God uses our awesome Dr to almost fully correct Joels nose. But once again God took care of me by bringing Joels parents here to help me help Joel recover. Mom and dad Leineweber you will never know how much I appreciate you and am thankful for you. So now that Joel is almost two weeks recovered from his surgery and his parents have gone home to Virginia and as we face new trials in our lives God still remains faithful even Down to something as small as the water company not charging us for the water that poured out of our basement. So as I titled this I thought about the new lessons God has taught me. One, He brings trials in our lives when He needs to teach me something and He through these trials shows me just how faithful he is when we rely on him, because I definitely needed His strength although I tried to use my own. Two, is that through theses trials we can witness to our amazing neighbors who watched out for us in our time of need. Three, God will continue to provide for you even in the worst of times. So thank you Lord for trials and thank you for protecting me through them

Happy birthday Rick Leineweber

2010-08-20T20:02:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow we celebrate a lot of things. But I want to say Happy Birthday to my awesome father in law. I am so thankful for you and you and moms amzing example to us about what a marriage looks like. I am looking forward to the rest of time I can get to know you.

Betsy Leineweber

2010-08-19T13:49:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday Betsy Leineweber. Her birthday was the 13th of August but I have been feeling a little overwhelmed by stuff. I just wanted to say thank you Mom for being such An amazing mother In law. You inspire me with so many things and I am so thankful to have you in my life. Thank you for celebrating your birthday with us. We love you.

Trip to NY

2010-08-13T19:51:00.002-04:00

This past week we went and visited my family in New York. It was a long drive there but we left real early in the morning to get there in time for the kids to just be getting up from their naps. We had a great time. We celebrated Lydia, Seth's, and my nephew Adam's birthday. This was a special treat for us because I haven't been there for one of his birthdays since Joel and I have been married. So Happy Birthday Adam Nicholas LaPort. We spent some much needed quality time with my family. My brother hosted us so it was nice getting to reconnect with him even though I technically didn't get to see him much. My sister Yvette hosted during the day most days which Lydia and Seth both loved because they love their cousins. The funniest story while we were there was that we discovered that Lydia loves mice. Yes I know mice. My sister had 3 babies ones running around her house which her son Alex loved and they caught them and put them in a trap but they didn't live long because of the heat. But over all it was so nice to see you family.

Seth is 1

2010-08-13T19:42:00.003-04:00

I know that it was a couple of weeks ago that Seth turned one, but I am just now posting because life seems real busy for us this month. Some of what he does and his states He weighs 19 pounds and he is 29 and a half inches long. He is walking and crawling both things Lydia never did. Sometimes it feels as if I have my first child with him. He eats real well. He loves anything he can put into something. He loves to snuggle. His favorite food is macaroni and cheese. He loves drinking out of his sippy cup. He has one tooth. The doctor said that he doesnt have anymore ready to come in yet. He loves Lydia and chases her around the house. He loves it when they do room time together which makes crib time hard. His favorite time of day is when daddy comes home from work at night. All in all we love him so much and are very thankful for him and his life. Here are some pictures from his birthday and his cake i made him.

Its been awhile

2010-07-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

Wow it has been a long time since i have blogged. A lot has happened in the last month. To start off with Joel broke his nose playing ultimate Frisbee. It turned out better then what it sounded like in the emergency room, although he could be facing surgery for it next month. It really is up to him whether or not he wants it fixed. We celebrated a friend of ours, little girl Ana's birthday. She is one now. I turned 28 which wasn't to bad. My friends Candace, Cydney, Mandy and Jessie got together and celebrated it with me. Joel bought me some gorgeous flowers and an amazing spice rack. I have wanted one for awhile just never could justify buying one myself. Our over head microwave died awhile ago and Joel finally said lets replace it. So we did and then 2 and a half months later it quit working as well. But the maker of the microwave has to replace it so we are waiting on that now. Then this past Sunday our stove quit working. So we had to replace another appliance in our house. Sometimes it makes me wish that i could live back in the 1800's where these appliances didn't exist but then I thought no I dont want to do that either because then a wagon wheel might break or something like that. Oh well, life goes on. Both of our kids have had Hand, foot, mouth which is a virus and we continue to watch very closely so that no one we are around can get it. Which means we havent gone anywhere in the past few days. I have been enjoying a jazzercise class I have been taking for awhile and I am meeting goals in that so I am super excited. Joel remains busy at work and at home. The kids love to spend time with him very much and it seems as if they cant get enough of him. This coming month is a month full of birthdays so hopefully I will post more pictures soon.

Ups and downs

2010-06-29T20:51:00.003-04:00

This week has been filled with some ups and downs, hence the title. Coming back from vacation is always hard for me. I love being around our families 24/7. I know you guys probably think I am weird, but in my defense we don't live near any family so it is fun when we get to see them. But sad to say I get very lonely. Joel goes back to work and BAM it hits me. I did have some time to get scheduled back out with the kiddos. Scheduling is hard to do when you want to go to the beach or zoo or whatever fun event we wanted to do while we were there. This week my loneliness seems to have eased up a bit but I am happy to say that i have a lot of fun projects I am working on. I have a secret gift I am making on for a friend and here comes one of my downsides. The gift requires some iron on pictures. Well sad to say I had to rip everything out because the iron on paper didn't work out very well. Then today as I was rounding up some edges,the rortary cutter that I use on material slid and you guessed it, i cut my finger. Thanks to my great friend Candace coming and telling me it's not bad at all I was able to go though the day trying not to think about the pain in my finger. I didn't really touch my project until Joel got home just in case I tried to cut off another finger. My other down was that I bought a melting pot to make shower favors fir a wedding shower I am throwing and when I opened it it was broken so I had to take it back. Today was a new start for all of those things. I didn't lose my finger so I am thankful for that and it is funny how you say, oh I didn't even know I used that finger or muscle or whatever the case may be until you can't. So God I am every bit thankful for the parts of my body I don't know that I use.

Phil's & Sarah's wedding

2010-06-08T21:32:00.003-04:00

Joel and I had a pretty successful trip to the wedding. The kiddos traveled real well. We didn't have any major hiccups the day of the wedding. We are so thankful because so many people pitched in and helped us out with the kiddos. Joel's grandparents even got to spend some much needed time with their great grandchildren. We are so thankful to have them around. The only yucky thing that happened at the wedding was that Lydia got to hot and threw up all over her dress before the wedding ceremony. Joel's mom was able to get most of it off which was a very big blessing. Lydia and Seth were amazing the whole time we were at the weddings even though they missed naps and sometimes feedings. Seth right before the wedding fell out of the stroller and bruised up his face pretty badly but amazingly his face has healed now and only just markings are left from all the scratches and bruises. I am so thankful that God kept him safe and that he didn't have any major problems from it I should also say minor problems because he was fine. IT has been nice being able to spend time with Joel's family and hopefully soon we will be able to spend some much needed time with my family. Here are some pictures from the wedding.

9 months and counting

2010-05-10T16:48:00.002-04:00

Seth is now 9 months. Today I took him for his 9 month checkup and he is doing real well. He weighs 17 pounds and he is 28 and 1/2 inches tall. Some of his milestones are, he says Mama and Dada. He walks along the furniture trying to walk without help. He also will let go and stand by himself for about a minute. He is a great eater. It is such a difference having a boy. I am so happy to experience life with both my girl and my boy.

Recharging our love

2010-05-01T19:52:00.005-04:00

Last night we finally got a date night just Joel and I. Thank you to Dan and Becky. Seth after spending the day miserable and having no apparent reason why, we still decided to go on our date. Which I must say was most needed. So we all got into the car and my car barely started. Oh well it started and off we go. We dropped the kids off and left the car running so that it would stay working. So we went to dinner praying that our car would start. Woohoo it started, but we thought maybe we should try changing the battery. So off to walmart on our date and we replaced our car battery just Joel and i in the middle of the walmart parking lot. So this date as funny as it was is now sir named recharging our love, Thanks to Joel naming it that. But hey at least we were kidless.

Good bye april

2010-04-28T11:46:00.002-04:00

Wow it has been a few weeks since my last post. But I will attempt to update this blog because some day I will be thankful I took the time to remember each activity as it changes and grows. Lydia is amazing. She is so sweet to Seth and misses him when he is sleeping or I have taken her some where without Seth. She is very smart , but i am sure most parents say that about their kids. She can identify a through h well. She knows all of her shapes now but we still are working on her colors and numbers. My favorite time with her lately is Saturday mornings. I taker grocery shopping with me while Joel stays home with the sleepy Seth. She loves to play outside especially with her friends Isabel and Abby. She has struggled with a couple of health things lately but nothing like solving some of them with prunes. I just took her to the doctors this morning and found out she had beta strep. Poor munchkin can't seem to get a break. She still is in the second percentile for weight. She is definitely fun Seth well he soon will be 9 months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone with him. He rolls over which is a big thing considering Lydia never did until she was well over a year old. He likes to stand and play at toys. One of his favorite times is playing with Lydia. We found out that he just needs to be on reflux medicine and he will sleep almost completely threw the night. He loves food which is a BIG blessing. He can say hi and DADA. But as far as milestones those are it for him. Joel just was promoted to manager of his team a month ago. He continues to stay busy and can work 24/7 if he wanted to. I am so thankful that he is an amazing provider for his family. He will be going to Texas for four days in the next couple of days. For a suprise gift he bought me an iPad. I love it which now brings me to me. I have taken up a jazzercise class that I hope to be starting 3 times a week but for now it is just 2 times a week. I traveled to wv over this past weekend all by myself and I am thankful for a God who watched over me and my family while I was away. I met up with joel's mom and sister and Grammy to go to my future sister in laws shower. We had an amazing time and look forward to Phil and sarah's up coming wedding. I think that is all the news for now in our little family.

April

2010-04-12T20:37:00.002-04:00

It sure has been an amazing April. With lots of activity coming upnin the next few months I thought it was time to blog. Nothing much interesting is happening here. Seth learned how to roll over again. Lydia has her abcs down pat although sometimes she gets confused. Joel still is busy. And me Joel got me an iPad. My laptop practically is dying so Joel brought me this to replace itt. Although there are still some things that I miss about my laptop And hope for those things to come in on my iPad. We also got a zoo membership and Lydia seems to be enjoying it very much. Seth still has some acid reflux that wakes him up a lot during the night. So we go on day to day wondering what new thing will happen.

Craft time

2010-03-23T12:13:00.003-04:00

This outside play thing is from my mom and dad. Her AB that she was working on Well in the past couple of weeks and taking a parenting class I decided that I needed to add just a little more structure to our day, especially with Lydia. So I decided what a better way to add another activity to our day than to add a craft. Then I decided why not add some alphabets with our craft. So I am teaching Lydia what the letters of the alphabet look like and what order they go in. It has been fun. We have been just doing it for 2 days but she seems to enjoy it. I also decided to add some pictures from the warm days of spring.

Zoo

2010-03-16T14:01:00.003-04:00

My mom came down to visit us and today we decided to take a fun trip to the zoo. It was just my mom and Lydia and I and we had a great time. We have enjoyed having my mom here and she has wanted to take Lydia to the zoo for a long time. It is amazing how God had created each one of these creatures unique and strong and can survive. Lydia's favorites were the penguins and the cat house. Cats right now are her favorite animals. Although her one request was to the see the giraffe and the elephants so those were among the first animals we saw. My mom and I really enjoyed the bird house. I loved watching how a penguin could swallow a whole fish with what seemed like one gulp. Each time I see how God created each one of these animals it reminds me that we are Fearfully and Wonderfully made to be created like our Father.

Wow once again time flies

2010-03-09T09:55:00.002-05:00

We have been enjoying the last couple of days of sunshine here. I realized that sometimes my mood can be changed a by the weather. So I have purposed in my mind to Rejoice in the Lord as Lydia says ALWAYS!!! So weather the day is rainy or there is warm sunshine or it is even snowing I am going to try to make my mood not be affected by it. Seth and Lydia have also been enjoying the warm sun as we have been able to play outside. It is interesting that this time last year I was pregnant and now my little boy is 7 months old and growing like a weed. Lydia too is growing in body but also in verbal ways as well. She can now count to ten but she for some reason miss 4 so her counting is 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10 So we are working trying to get her to put 4 in there. But as I am speaking about the sun I realized I would like to take lydia outside so I am going to do that now.

SNOW SNOW AND MORE SNOW

2010-02-15T20:59:00.002-05:00

Snow seems to be all we can talk about these days since we are getting a huge pile of it and even as I type this now it is snowing pretty hard. Lydia really enjoys it and she loves to get her snow gear on to go out and play in the snow and attempt to help daddy shovel it. She has grown into a love for her dolls and she is starting to use her imagination. For instance her NANA is staying with us and she brought her a Valentines gift which was a play sandwich that you can put together and put mustard on it and for the first 2 days she keeps bringing it to us asking us if we are ready for dinner. She has loved so much having Nana here that I don't know what we will do when she leaves on Saturday. Seth continues to beat Lydia on every doctor's appointment with height and weight. Today we took him for his 6 month appointment yup that is what I said 6 MONTHS it went by so fast. Any way he weighs 16 pounds 1 ounce and he is 26 and 3/4 inches long. He has learned the art of sitting up although not so good at it at times he is getting stronger every day. He is very active and loves to go from one activity to the next and he is just 6 months old he probably is going to be an active one. I have loved every minute with my 2 kiddos and just watching them grow up is amazing. Joel and I got to spend some great time to ourselves this past week because Nana was so gracious to watch our kiddos twice so we could go watch some movies and have some time alone. I am so thankful that she is here. Here is some crazy pictures of our snow!

Lydia's song

2010-02-07T21:46:00.003-05:00

So Lydia has been learning a couple of songs. Here is what she sang today The Itsy bitsy spider went up the water spot Down came the ring of fire and washed the spider out then Jesus loves me and dried up all the rain and the itsy bits spider climed up the spot again. So this song has Nemo in it the line from the scene where they say RING OF FIRE and then the line about then Jesus loves me is from Jesus loves me. Any way she is so much fun to listen to.

My how time flies

2010-01-24T21:56:00.002-05:00

Well here is an update on our little family. Lydia is growing like a weed. Well in height any way. She is still a skinny mini. She has learned how to count from 1 to 10 and she just finished memorizing Phil. 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. She is so neat to watch her say it because she says Rejoice Lord ALWAYS with her hands up in the air. I am trying to teach her a verse a month. We started out with Obey your parents and now she has Phil 4:4 down. I am taking suggestions on which verses to teach her that would be short and sweet and to the point. She has really discovered her motherly side with Seth. She walks up to him and rubs his head and says Baby Seth. I love watching them together and how much they enjoy each other. Seth continues to grow even bigger than Lydia was at 5 and a half months. He has been struggling with sleeping during the day and night but we finally have gotten him to sleep through the night again thanks to some help from a lady at our church. He is eating cereal now and loves it. He also loves his excersaucer and that is his favorite pass time. He however, has stopped rolling over so we are trying to get him to do tummy time. He doesn't like it much but we keep trying. I have been dwelling on the Scripture that Children our a blessing from the Lord. It seems that each time I look at Lydia or Seth even in the tough times I remember that they are truly a blessing and I don't want to miss out on anything that they do or say because it goes by so fast.

Trying

2010-01-14T10:10:00.002-05:00

So it seems like the past couple of weeks have been hard on Seth. He seems to be teething, he has had thrush, and some stomach problems. It has been a growing and long suffering time for with him. I was thinking about how blessed I am to even have children at 1:30 this morning. Lydia has had her amazing moments these past couple of days. Yesterday, we were driving home from Bible study and she said to me, I luv you Mommy and then she just kept saying it over and over again. It was so amazing to hear her say it. I definitely have been blessed to be a mom and stay at home with my kids.

Out with the old and in with the New

2010-01-10T22:09:00.003-05:00

Well I haven't posted in awhile. So I will give a quick run down of what has happening. We had the opportunity to go and visit my family and then Joel's family. It was a great time. So now we are home and it is 2010. I can't believe how quickly the year went by. It started off with some pretty rocky times. We found out that Michelle was pregnant and then proceeded to see the doctors 3 times because we thought I was miscarrying the baby. But God kept him here with us. We then excepted the fact that those were the last months we would spend as a 3 person family and bring our son into the world. Then we decided it was time to potty train Lydia. So Seth entered the world on August 4th, and 2 months later I started potty training Lydia. It has been a little more difficult but we are getting there. We ended the year on a plane waiting to fly in to Virginia Beach. So we are looking forward to what God has instore for us this year.

Our first Christmas

2009-12-20T21:16:00.002-05:00

So since we are traveling for Christmas we decided to celebrate our family Christmas early so that Lydia could enjoy her new found love. Her Keyboard, or song maker as she calls it. We just got Seth a little elephant we could attach to just about anything and he loves it. He tries to put it in his mouth all the time, something I am not used to. Lydia never put stuff in her mouth. Seth, on the other hand, puts whatever he can towards his mouth. We had a great time. I got Joel some new clothes because he likes to wear stuff from high school/college. Well we have struggled these past few months. I have been sick for about 2 months now. First with RSV, and then thrush, and now I have a cold again. Lydia has had a head cold and this morning she had a touch of the flu. Seth also has had thrush and now a head cold. It is interesting how many times you can wipe his nose in one day. Lydia does a good job of wiping her own nose. But overall we have had a great last few months.

Vows and some cute pictures of the kiddos

2009-12-16T20:47:00.002-05:00

So on Sunday along with 180 other couples from our church we renewed our vows. It is funny how sometimes you miss out on the words that you repeat after the pastor who is telling you to repeat after me. There was so many great promises in the vows that Pastor Brad spoke on Sunday that it would take way to long to even share them all. So I will leave you with Submission is the biggest part a women can play in a husband/wife relationship and I am happy to submit to my wonderful husband. It was also a fun time to celebrat.e at the reception afterward. Here are some pictures from the evening

Big boy 4 months old

2009-12-12T14:09:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I took Seth for his 4 month checkup and he is doing amazing. He holds his head up well and grabs for stuff now. He weighs 13 pounds which is a pound heavier than Lydia weighed at that age. He is 26 and a half inches long which almost 2 inches longer than Lydia at age. His head circumference was was 15 inches which is small for a baby at 4 months. But the doctor said that wasn't to surprising. He is overall a very healthy boy. I am so thankful to not have to worry about him eating and getting enough nutrition like I did/do with Lydia. Lydia is almost fully potty trained we still have our moments of accidents but with every passing day she does great. Today was a little test for me and how prepared I was for an accident. I found out not very prepared. We had a busy morning and took Joel to the doctors for some inflammation on his lips and then ran to get diapers and then to subway to get food. While we were sitting there Lydia said potty mommy so as I went to get her she went potty all over the chair (Sorry subway I cleaned it up). SO normally I would have had a clean pair of pants and underwear in our bag, but in this case I only had clean underwear. The subway is in walmart so I just decided to go get her one of the cheapest pair of pants I could find, and so I am looking and wouldn't you know they don't sell 2T pants only 24 month pants which are to short on her. After much frustration I finally resulted to buying her 3T which are huge on her. So the moral of the story check your bag 2 or 3 times to make sure you have a change of clothes for your 2 year old potty training toddler. She has been surprising us a lot lately. She finally has learned some of her colors. She also can kind of count she says 1,2,3 and then it becomes 9 so we are trying get to remember the numbers in between. I have been recently diagnosed with RSV but I am finally thankful that a doctor got me some help. I have been sick for almost 2 months now and I have been to the doctor a couple of times to figure out what was wrong with me because I sounded like I was going to die every time I coughed. Turns out I was really sick and I mean really sick. RSV is something you only see in small children and rarely in adults so no one I guess thought to look for it, except for our pediatrician. So I am finally getting some relief for this nasty cold. Joel, continues to work very hard for his family. He and I have taken on the birth of our small group so that has been exciting. Joel has also been struggling with some lip stuff. His lips have been very inflamed for almost 3 weeks. They would crack open and bleed and he has just been plan miserable with them. So we saw a doctor today about them and got some medicine to help them heal and hopefully he will be back to normal soon. But overall we are a healthy family and we are counting down the days till we see our families again over the Christmas Holidays.

Videos

2009-11-28T22:14:00.002-05:00

Here you go Mom, since I know that this is the only way you can see videos. He loves to play with his hands and feet.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T22:05:00.002-05:00

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was Seth's first Thanksgiving and so we are thankful that God brought him into our lives and we love him. Lydia grows by leaps and bounds. She likes to sing and dance and her most recent love is BOOKS. She can't get enough of them. So when I asked her what she was thankful for she went and go this book called Who is in the Meadow? I found this book at the library and she loves it. So I am thankful for her love of books. Her new accomplishments include mastering the potty. We have moved her up to the big girl potty with a seat on top and now she won't use the one on the floor. It has been amazing to have Joel home for the last few days. He is such a great husband so loving and selfless. I did decide to master the Black Friday sales. I will probably most likely not do it again, especially by myself. It was crazy if you want the whole story you will have to ask. We enjoyed a fun meal with our good friends the Mason's. They have been our family away from our family since we have moved here. They mean so much to us. So thank you Mason's for once again taking us in and loving on us. it was an overall great day.

Love playing

2009-11-20T11:46:00.002-05:00

One thing I really enjoy watching is Lydia and how she interacts with her baby Seth as she calls him. We tried putting Seth in the excersaucer the other day but since he still doesn't have complete control over his head it wasn't really a good idea so it was short lived but we managed to catch some pictures of him and Lydia and how he really likes being near Lydia.

Another funny conversation with Lydia

2009-11-15T19:39:00.003-05:00

So on our way home tonight from Walmart, Lydia said candy mommy?? I said yes Lydia when we get home you can have candy just remind mommy when we get there. So we got home and sure enough she says Candy mommy so I gave her a lolli-pop and then all of the sudden she says to Me, Mommy what doing? and I told her and then she said Mommy what doing? So once again I told her what I was doing and then again she said Mommy what doing? And I said Lydia what are you doing and she said in a very big and I mean very big smile " I HAVE CANDY" and then proceeded to dance around the house saying I HAVE CANDY!!! IT was so funny! She didn't care what I was doing she just wanted to tell me that she had candy!! 2 year olds got to love them!!

Cooing

2009-11-08T21:20:00.003-05:00

Seth's new thing is cooing and smiling. It takes a lot longer to feed him now because he would rather talk to me and smile than eat. He loves to lay on his changing table and just talk but only in his diaper once I dress him the smiling and cooing goes away. IT is so funny!!

A little update

2009-11-03T21:21:00.002-05:00

Well things as usual are busy in the Leineweber house. Things that have been happening here are: Lydia is potty training. She is doing an amazing job. She sometimes will go by herself with out me asking her, but I always know when she goes because she can't fully pull her pants down by herself. So she yells from the bathroom "PANTS DOWN MOMMY!!" Sometimes I don't always make it in time and she accidentally goes on the tip of her pants so I am learning to be quick. The only problem is, is that when I am nursing it is hard to get to her. But she has transitioned well. She has learned the difference in shapes and we are still working on what color is what. For someone who loves to color and play with play doh she doesn't seem to grasp colors very well. Her favorite things to do are play with her ponies and take a walk and pick up leaves. This past weekend we got to go trick or treating with our good friends Adam and Tara and she loves Abby. Seth is smiling real big now, and occasionally I can get him to coo back at me, it is now more common than not. I feel as if time has flown by with him as he is already 3 months old. My parents stopped in for a very quick trip this past Sunday. They were driving by after picking up a truck they bought in Texas. So my dad was able to meet his newest grandson. Seth loved him and give him lots of big smiles. It must be my dads low soothing voice I feel as if all babies love my dad. IT was great to see you mom and dad. Joel continues to be busy working at AIG and is still loving his job! He comes home to a house of chaos but we love seeing him when he gets here. Lydia always greets him with DADDY HOME!! Joel and I will be taking the birth in our small group probably by the end of this month so that will be interesting! Me, I am continuing to be a stay at home mom, and learning a lot about my selfish heart. My big growing experience has been being patient with Lydia as she hits the terrible 2 stage. I have discovered that when she is hungry she gets pretty grumpy! Potty training for me has been learning to give lots of Praise and try not to be impatient when she fails. I love being a mom and I am very fulfilled in doing it. As we hit full speed ahead into the holidays we continue to be a very busy family.

Butterfly

2009-10-31T21:29:00.002-04:00

So we took Lydia and Seth trick or treating with our friends Adam and Tara. She was a butterfly and Seth was a dinosaur. So I put Seth in the car to head over to Tara's house and then I put Lydia in and she looked over him and said FROG. She mistook her baby brother dinosaur for a FROG. But as the evening when on every one kept saying look at the cute frog. Well I don't have a picture of Seth with his outfit yet, but I do have one of Lydia.

Sister and Brother

2009-10-26T21:04:00.005-04:00

This is what I found Lydia doing with Seth this morning when I ran to the bathroom.

Funny Conversation

2009-10-26T20:58:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, Lydia was having a very pitiful day and I was trying to make her realize what she was doing and I finally I said Lydia, do you need a time out on your bed for your attitude and she said YESSSSSSSSSSS!! So funny!

I sigh of happiness

2009-10-19T15:38:00.002-04:00

Well today makes the last day I will spend here in North Carolina with Melinda. She is adjusting well to being a mom. You can definitely see the mommy sparkle in her eye. I have however, missed Joel and Lydia while I have been here and I will be happy to be reunited with them tomorrow morning. Although, very sad to leave here with out my sister and my great new little niece. Sometimes it makes me overwhelmingly sad to not be close to any of my family and oh how my heart aches to be near them, but in this I also know that Gods will and timing is perfect. It makes my time with them oh so sweet. I wish sometimes that the time in between seeing them was shorter, but then I think maybe I wouldn't be so grateful to see them and just take it for granted. But I am sighing in happiness because God has brought into this world another sweet healthy baby to some very awesome parents. So to you Steve and Melinda I say Congratulations on a beautiful, precious baby girl, and I am very sad that it will seem like forever, until I see you and her again. Thank you for the opportunity I have had to meet Chloe and for serving you and welcoming your new baby girl into your home. I can't wait till I see you again soon, and hope that Chloe will continually grow beautiful and big.

Family pictures

2009-10-07T12:23:00.002-04:00

Our friend Lauren took these pictures. Thanks Lauren!!

9 weeks

2009-10-06T21:48:00.002-04:00

It is amazing how quick time has flown by. I haven't been on here in a while to post on our lives. SO here is a quick update. Seth still is rolling over, the doctor told us that he was probably doing it on accident, but it seems to me that he is doing it on purpose. He is a lot bigger than Lydia ever was at this age. He is smiling a lot now and starting to coo at us as well. I feel like I have finally adjusted to life with 2 kids. Lydia continues to be an awesome joy to me. She is saying so much more now. She tries very hard to do stuff herself and when she does she says "I got it." She also has begun to answer her own question. For instance She says to me mommy watch George and then she says SURE. So funny. We also had our pictures taken by our very good friend Lauren and when i get them I will post some pictures. In other news my sister, Melinda had her baby. Congrats to you guys. We love you!!

Lydia says funny things

2009-09-20T12:45:00.002-04:00

So today we gave Lydia a vanilla oreo and what she decided to do was eat the frosting on the inside and not the outer cookie. So she comes into the kitchen asking us for another cookie and we say to her you must eat the rest of your cookie before you can have another one. So she goes back in and gets the cookie and starts to eat and gets distracted by something else and woosh sadie sweeps in and takes the cookie off her hands, (we don't let sadie do that). So we hear Lydia COOKIE COOKIE in a very sad voice and Joel grabs the rest of the cookie that sadie didn't get and gives it to Lydia and I said she can have another cookie, so he gets her another cookie and she gives him the leftover half from the last cookie and says TRASH TRASH YEAH!!! While throwing her cookie into the trash!!!

6 weeks

2009-09-17T11:00:00.002-04:00

We are thankful for the 6 weeks we have had with Seth. Here are some recent photos of him.

Conversation with Lydia

2009-09-14T12:42:00.001-04:00

Me: Choking on my drink Lydia: Mommy alright Alright? Me still choking Lydia: Mommy ALRIGHT?? Me: finally yes Lydia I am!!

5 weeks old

2009-09-13T20:58:00.002-04:00

So this past Friday we took Seth for his 1 month appointment. He was 9 pounds 3 ounces and 22 inches long!! MY MY what a big boy. I think about how ironic this is because Lydia barely gained a pound a her one month appointment. So I am thankful that he is eating well and gaining some good weight. The doctor said he looked amazing. Thank you Lord so much for for a strong, Healthy baby. Lydia also was at the doctor with Seth and the doctor loves to hang out with her because she isn't scared of him anymore she likes to talk to him even though he can't really understand what she is saying. So Joel made it home and back with us and I am so thankful for him and his help. After flying a red eye home Thursday night he got home eat breakfast and took a shower and then headed of to the doctors with me for Seth's one month and my dentist appointment. He is a big trooper. I can't believe how quickly the time has flown bye with Seth. I hope to remember the little moments with him and Lydia!! Lydia's new thing is that she loves to sing. She makes up her own little songs and I will often hear her in her room playing singing about the toy she is playing with. When we take our evening walk she sings about the flowers and the dogs and mommy and daddy. We love to hear her do this because here is for hoping she will have some musical ability, but if not we will help her discover her hobby one day.

Taking for Granted

2009-09-09T19:04:00.002-04:00

Well starting this past Monday I have been by myself with the 2 little munchkins. I love them very much, but I must admit it has been a little harder than I expected. I have realized how much I take Joel for granted. I was thinking today when the kids napped of all the stuff he does. Here is a small list, taking out the trash, cleaning the toys up after Lydia goes to bed, cleans dinner up after we are done, goes outside with Lydia while I take a rest and fold and put away laundry, and this is a big one has conversation with me at night as to not make me bored while he works. So I am so thankful for him. He is in Oregon right now at a Conference and we can't wait for Friday when he comes back. I have been thankful for the people who have tried to make my time a little easier. So continue to pray for me as we make it through one more day and 2 nights waiting for Joel to come home.

Lydia's is definitely 2

2009-08-30T21:43:00.002-04:00

We celebrated Lydia's birthday today with our very good friends Adam and Tara and Lee and Candace. Lydia absolutely loves Abby and Isabel and they came over to celebrate her birthday too. Here are some pictures to enjoy!!

Brother and Sister

2009-08-24T21:21:00.003-04:00

So if I didn't know any better I'd say they were brother and sister. I found this picture of Lydia and saw Seth laying like this in his crib and thought I would share it on here.

Happy Anniversary Joel

2009-08-21T09:55:00.003-04:00

But most of all that we celebrate our 5 year anniversary today. I have loved being married to Joel. He has taught me so much about marriage and life and I couldn't ask for a better husband. I LOVE YOU Joel!!!

Happy Birthday Lydia

2009-08-21T09:52:00.003-04:00

Wow, how time flies. Today is Lydia's 2nd birthday. She has been a great blessing to us. Each day I seem to take for granted the time I have with her, but I have learned to try to stop and take in every moment because she won't always be with us. So happy birthday Lydia

Happy Birthday PA

2009-08-21T09:48:00.003-04:00

Well today of many days is an eventful day for us. But right now I want to say Happy Birthday to Joel's dad. His parents spent 10 days with us to help me out after Seth was born. They were a great help. We were happy that his dad got a clean bill of health and hopefully will have many more years to get to know his grand kids. So happy birthday dad!!!

Rolling over

2009-08-17T20:49:00.003-04:00

Yup thats right, Seth rolled over at 13 days old. He did it 4 times in a row, but I only caught it once on video. So here you go.

1 week

2009-08-13T15:58:00.003-04:00

It is amazing how quickly time goes by. It is also amazing how you just want to be done being pregnant wishing to meet the little baby that is rolling and kicking and sticking limbs out of your stomach and wondering what in the world they are doing in there. I have been thinking about these things as it has already been a week and a couple of days since Seth was born and wishing I could still feel him moving inside, because I know that how quickly he will turn 1 and then 2. I know this because I look at my soon to be 2 year old little munchkin and wonder where in the world time has gone. She has blessed my life so much and I have loved every minute of having her in my life. I got the chance to take some pictures of Lydia and Seth together hoping to catch as many moments of the 2 of them together while I could hoping that time could almost slow down. But I need to focus on the fact that we are raising them to shoot them out of our quiver. On a side note. Joel's parents have been here and have been extremely helpful. Today we celebrate his mom's birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA and we love you!!

Baby Seth

2009-08-10T19:30:00.004-04:00

Well I have finally found the time to blog. I just wanted to let you all know that Seth Nathan was born Aug 4 at 6 pounds 6 ounces and he was 19 inches long. I was really blessed with a good labor and delivery. I am so grateful for the nurses that I had in the hospital they were amazing and made my time there very pleasant. A little about Seth. He was born 3 weeks early so he has been struggling with jaundice a very common thing in early babies. He had to stay an extra night in the hospital but he is improving and doing well. He is a great eater and Lydia loves him very much. Her favorite thing to do is to go to his bed and look in and rub his head. She will occasionally want to hold him, but only for a few minutes. Her transition with us has been a little trying but she is coming around. She also is getting her 2 year molars in so she is a little tired and fussy, but overall adjusting well. A big thanks to my mom and sisters for coming and helping me out. Allyson, my niece, got to come as well and she was a big help entertaining Lydia. So Allyson will forever be known as Alice.

You know you live in KY when......

2009-08-03T21:21:00.003-04:00

We decided to go to the Boone County Fair and walk around hoping I would go into labor. LOL but we also had a good time and check out what we saw!!! Lydia loved the horses but of course we didn't get a picture of the horses.

Enjoying Lydia

2009-07-21T12:05:00.002-04:00

So the other night I experienced my first round of false labor. I didn't go to the hospital we just let it play out and sure enough it was false. I also decided that it would be incredibly early for this poor little guy to come. I also decided that I have these last few precious weeks with just my baby girl. Although it seems as if she is testing boundaries these days. I wonder if she can tell something that I can't. We did have a very cure wish I had gotten it on tape moment last night. She decided that it would be fun to play with mommy's big belly. But just as she started to rub it the baby kicked her and with wide eyed excitement she lets out a very happy scream and says baby baby. I reassured her that yes that is the baby, and she proceeded the rest of the night to come and try to feel him move. So as I enjoy these last little memories of a family of three I thought it would be good to blog about it.

Back for a long time

2009-07-06T21:26:00.002-04:00

After a busy month of traveling we are finally back home to stay until after the baby is born. We had a great time in Virginia Beach and then flew up to New York for Melinda's baby shower and surprise it was a double shower for both her and I. Thank you Yvette and mom for planning that. We had a great time but are very tired from flying back. Now we are working on the next stage of our life as we finish preparing for the baby.

Happy Father's Day Joel

2009-06-21T20:28:00.004-04:00

Today, we got to celebrate Joel's second year as a Father. We are looking forward to the next Father day where he will be a Father to both our munchkin and our little boy. Joel you are an amazing Daddy!!! I can't wait for the next 20 or so years to watch you as you are a daddy to our kiddos. I love you!!!

Trumpet of God

2009-06-09T20:38:00.003-04:00

You all are probably thinking wow what got into Michelle she is going to be all spiritual. Actually I am not LOL!!! But you would have thought that happened tonight outside the way Joel jumped out of his chair in fear. We as a family were enjoying the nice evening outside and just sitting there having good conversation and Lydia was playing around in Joel's car. Well all of the sudden she lays on the horn and BAM!!! Joel is up and out of his chair like we were going to be raptured away. But no he was just living in fear of whatever that sound was. I couldn't help but bust out my chair laughing at him and as I write this I am still laughing about it. The funniest part about it is I have never been able to scare him half as bad as the sound of the horn in his ear and Lydia also scared screaming OUT OUT!!!. So it was most eventful night at the Leineweber house, wish you all could have seen it.

Sleeping well

2009-06-05T11:37:00.003-04:00

Lydia has adjusted to her big girl bed really well. What we thought would be hard has been real easy. Although, one nap she crawled out of her bed and came banging on the door because she thought nap time was over. So I put her back in bed and told her to stay there until mommy came to get her and it worked. This morning however, daddy had to get her because she once again crawled out of bed and daddy had to put her back so she knows that she can't get out of bed until we come and get her. Other than that the transition has been good. She is battling an ear infection now, but she is the happiest even though she is sick. We are going on vacation next week and she will get to sleep in a big girl bed at her Nana and Pa's house. I will let you know how that goes.

We will see

2009-05-26T21:12:00.002-04:00

I will update you all on how Lydia did on her first night in her big girl bed. She didn't like the fact that we moved her crib into the babies room and she kept trying to crawl back into the crib but we successfully put her to bed all snuggled up and she cried for a few minutes but we prayed with her and let her have her blankie and off we went. She didn't cry once we left the room. So pray that her transition goes smoothly.

The rooms are finished

2009-05-26T21:07:00.003-04:00

After a weeks worth of hard work the rooms are mostly finished. Lydia's room is all the way finished but baby boy's room has some last minute details like the curtain and the bedding oh and the baby. Thank you to Joel's parents for doing an amazing job and working hard. Here the pictures of their rooms. After a weeks worth of hard work the rooms are mostly finished. Lydia's room is all the way finished but baby boy's room has some last minute details like the curtain and the bedding oh and the baby. Thank you to Joel's parents for doing an amazing job and working hard. Here the pictures of their rooms.

Baby boy's room and update

2009-05-23T21:23:00.004-04:00

Joel's parents came to once again help us out with painting and doing some shelving. Baby boy is still doing well. I had to have some test done because they think I might be anemic but no problem I will just have to take some more iron. I am now getting anxious to add the crib and the changing table to his room but we have to first switch Lydia to a big girl bed and find a dresser for her room. So here are some pictures of our progress. Joel's parents came to once again help us out with painting and doing some shelving. Baby boy is still doing well. I had to have some

Spring Cleaning

2009-05-12T20:59:00.002-04:00

In preparation for baby boy Leineweber, we have done a ton of spring cleaning, and by a ton I mean a ton. We got rid of a dresser and a couch bed and moved Joel's office down stairs. We decided now would be a great time to get our rugs clean so that happened today. We also needed to finish our deck that Joel's dad helped him with last summer to fix. I was able to help him by getting most of it done for him. But in the course of all of this I became a bit overwhelmed. I keep thinking about the new life that God has given to us in our daughter and now He has blessed us with our baby boy. I am so thankful after Mother's Day. I was just thinking about the many women who are barren and haven't been able to be a mom to a child. I am so thankful that God has chosen to make me a mom. Even through the discipline and the hard times I seem to have with Lydia she is still a great blessing and I am looking forward to what God has blessed us with our baby boy. I am overwhelmed and I keep praying that God would save our little children.

Free couch bed

2009-05-06T16:50:00.001-04:00

So I am posting this to let you all know who read this that we are getting rid of a small couch bed. It is a love seat when you fold it up and then when the bed comes out it is a little smaller than a twin size bed. We don't have room for it anymore and it is free. The only thing is you need away to come get it. Joel can help you move it out of the house of course but we don't have a way to deliver it to you. Let me know if anyone wants it.

Impressive

2009-04-20T10:09:00.002-04:00

I am so thankful that God has brought Lydia into our lives. This weekend I got to see her develop more and more. I haven't really ever thought about how infants turn into bigger babies and then into toddlers and how their brain keeps up with them. I know that sounds funny but it is true. We bought Lydia a wooden puzzle with the alphabet on it a couple of weeks ago. I am trying to teach her more than just the first 3 letters. The puzzle has a picture to associate the letter with and it is pretty neat. So before bed on Saturday she wanted to play with this puzzle. So as I handed her a letter she put each one just exactly where it was supposed to be. She only missed one. Joel and I just sat there watching her just try out these different letters and not once did she become frustrated with it but just kept trying. I am so amazed that God has wired us like that, and I learn it a little each time with her.

Happy Resurrection Sunday

2009-04-12T22:00:00.002-04:00

Well this year Joel and I decided to visit his parents for Easter. So we proceeded to make the trip on Thursday here. Well our time started out really difficult because before we could get out of our house to leave for the airport Lydia threw up 3 times. Thank you Lord for a great husband who can handle the smell of throw up because I can't. He lovingly took care of her and cleaned her up. We made it here and have gone to the beach and visited the board walk on the Beach and also went to the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed some spring time flowers and pollen. But to our dismay Lydia spent most of the night throwing up again. Here again Joel was an awesome husband and daddy and cleaned her up and held her while she was throwing up. It is the most horrible thing to watch knowing you can't do anything to help her. I was tired and felt like I was not doing all I could to help her but she desired her daddy so that is what I gave her. We aren't sure yet why she kept throwing up or why she still shows signs of sickness but hopefully tonight will be better. She was however, better enough to wear her Easter dress that I was able to make for her and it turned out very cute on her. I am so excited because I have the desire to make more for her. Maybe I will venture out and make more clothes for her, but we will see. After all that I got to here Joel's dad preach and was reminded that I am living for the Resurrection of our Christ because that is where are hope is found, because if he just died it wouldn't matter but He rose again and has set us Free to be with Him forever.

Baby #2

2009-04-07T21:19:00.002-04:00

So after a long wait of seeing what this baby is. We found out today that it is a healthy baby BOY. Yup Lydia is a big sister to a little brother. We are very thankful and the baby is very healthy. The due date is still the same. So it looks like we have to invest in a whole new wardrobe for him. Thanks for all praying and please continue to pray his health. I will post pictures soon.

Amen

2009-03-26T12:28:00.002-04:00

I think it is so amazing when things finally click for Lydia. We pray each meal and I hold her hand and she is very good about holding mine. Well one evening this past week we were at Panera Bread eating dinner and Joel was praying and as always he ended his pray with Amen. So to our amazement Lydia says Amen. It was so neat to hear her say just because it shows us that she is very easily influenced and we need to take every thought and work captive especially when she is around.

Spring time

2009-03-16T09:02:00.002-04:00

We went to get myself and Joel a pair of sunglasses yesterday and I found little kids sunglasses for a cheap price too. Lydia is always in the back seat complaining about the sun in her eyes so I figured we would try it and sure enough she loves them. We also took her to the park yesterday and tired her out for bed, well that wasn't the main reason but it sure worked. Here is a couple of pictures for you to enjoy.

Potty

2009-03-08T20:43:00.002-04:00

So yesterday, Lydia started showing signs of wanting to use the bathroom. So Joel and I decided it didn't hurt to go get a potty chair. Now every time we change her diaper we say do you have to use the potty. So we tried and tried but she didn't use it. I wasn't discouraged, because after all she is 18 months old. So tonight while cleaning our house, Joel took her into the bathroom because she loves to help scrub the toilets. She pointed to the potty and said Potty daddy. So he thought well I will try and sure enough he sat her on the potty and she went number 1. YAYYAYAYAY for Lydia. So I am going to keep trying and see maybe if she will be potty trained by the time the new baby comes.

Warm weather at last

2009-03-07T16:32:00.002-05:00

I am sure that everyone here in NKY is enjoying our 74 degree weather today. We started out with a list of things to do and we accomplished all of them and even enjoyed a park stop and a dog park stop. We cleaned out our fridge and our car and yes, even cleaned up the dog poop in our back yard. Lydia loves being outside. She ask outside mommy outside mommy. So we are going to be looking for some outside activities to keep her busy once spring and summer really hit. So if anyone has any ideas please let us know.

Thumb sucking Part II

2009-03-02T18:16:00.003-05:00

Thumb sucking

2009-03-02T13:22:00.004-05:00

So Lydia had her 18 month appointment and she is doing great despite her crash on the way into the doctors office. She tripped and fell into the door. The door was metal so she split her lip open right under her nose and got a bump on her head. So the doctor took her in right away and it turned out fine, except a little scar she might have when it completely heals. She has gained a good amount of weight for the doctor so that was good 4 pounds in 6 months. She did however, get her mommy's genes as far as height she is starting to no be so tall. Another thing is her thumb is getting beat up from her sucking on it so the doctor recommended we take her blankie away so that she would stop sucking her thumb, but in the meantime it has gotten a little swollen and infected so we started soaking her finger soapy water and she really enjoyed that. So here are some pictures and a video for you all to enjoy.

Congratulations Aunt Kim and Uncle Jon

2009-03-02T13:02:00.002-05:00

Well 2 weekends ago we had the opportunity to go and celebrate the wedding of Joel's sister Kim and her husband Jon. All of us had a role in the wedding. Joel was a groomsmen and I was a bridesmaid and Lydia was the cute flower girl. It was a pretty interesting weekend. The first night we were there the fire alarm went off in the hotel we were staying in which happened to be the place where the reception was being held. So Lydia was awake from midnight until 2:45am. So I didn't get much sleep that night, but she did amazing despite the lack of sleep the whole weekend. I think she took maybe 2 good naps the whole time we were there, but she was a trooper. She even walked down the isle with me like she was supposed to and she was a very cute flower girl. I also was able to fit into my dress. My baby bump wasn't so big that the dress didn't fit. It was a great day. Pictures to come because I haven't figured how to upload them yet.

Farwell

2009-02-18T21:40:00.002-05:00

Well today was a mostly sad day. I said goodbye to my parents after they had been here for about 10 days. But we had fun. We babysat, played, bathed Lydia, and went to see the new dinosaur exhibit. We also taught papa some new games. Although I was happy because I got to hear the baby's heart beat. It was amazing because I know that all this sickness I have gone through does in the end produce a baby. LOL. We are also embarking on the journey upward to Pennsylvania for Joel's, sister, Kim's wedding which we will all take part in. Lydia will be the cute flower girl we will see how that goes.

A little update

2009-02-03T09:21:00.001-05:00

SO yesterday, I once again had another ultrasound because of some bleeding. We finally got some answers as to why I keep bleeding on and off. The placenta is a little bit over the birth canal. So as my uterus stretches it is shifting up to it keeps kind of like tearing, but nothing to be alarmed about. They said that since I am so early this should correct itself and move up with my uterus. God is so good because I finally feel like I can relax and start to enjoy being pregnant instead of always worrying about it. Although, I am still hoping that this morning sickness that last all day goes away for good. I am getting a little bit of relief. I don't wake up sick just hungry. So that is definitely improvement. We took Lydia to the ultrasound yesterday and she pointed at the screen and said BABY. It was so cute. We are so excited and we think that Lydia will be a great older sister.

Snow day

2009-01-28T20:56:00.002-05:00

So today was a very snowy day. We lost power and our house went down to 59 and very cold. However, the Masons so graciously took us in and fed us. We took Lydia outside to shovel our driveway with us. She didn't like it very much so we turned around and came back in side. However she did keep saying PRETTY. It was real cute. We have survived the Ice storm and the snow storm and hopefully it will start to warm up soon.

Augusts 17th

2009-01-09T19:22:00.002-05:00

So as the story goes. Lydia is going to be a big sister. Yup, that is right I am pregnant. Joel and I are very happy and God has been showing Himself Faithful already. I have had some complications up until this point but today we got to see the Hand of God touch my body and the new life that He has chosen to bless us with again. Lets step back into the past for a minute. I found out I was pregnant in the middle of December. I took a test while Joel was at work because I just didn't think there was anyway for me to be pregnant. I took the test and sure enough PREGNANT. As I was processing this information I was trying to come up with a clever way to tell Joel. But I waited about an hour and a half and couldn't contain myself and I called him at work and told him the amazing news. We proceeded to tell our families while we were on Christmas break. But towards the end of our vacation at Joel's parents house I started to spot. I didn't think anything of it because I did some of that with Lydia and I just began to pray that God would take the life of the Baby and just watch over it and He gave me a peace that only He could give. We then made it back safely here. Then 2 days after we got home I started to bleed hard so we made an appointment and found out today that everything is great. The baby is the size of a Lima bean but we were still able to see it and to hear its heart beat. So God is faithful and I am trusting Him for the rest of this pregnancy. Here are a couple of pictures that you can look at.

The rest of Vacation

2009-01-04T21:25:00.002-05:00

So onto Virginia Beach from New York. We had a pretty good time at Joel's family. Lydia had a really awful cold. So at night I didn't get much sleep but other than that it was great to spend sometime with Joels family. There was one day it was 71 degrees so we took a walk down the beach it was amazing. Then we opened gifts together with his family and we got a special guest this year. Joels Grandma moved down to Virginia Beach and she got to spend this Christmas with us. We also had to do a Cryptogam to figure out whose gifts were whos. Joel's mom is very creative and that was fun. I also had the fun time of helping Kim (Joel's sister) make out her invitations to her wedding and that was fun. So we moved on from Virginia beach to North Carolina where we picked up Sadie and spend the night at Melinda's and then we arrived home at 4:30 Saturday afternoon. It was so nice to be home. We had a great time. But it will be awhile before we do that long trip again. Then today we did a kitchen overhaul. We got rid of a bunch of stuff and that was nice. Now we get to rest and sleep in our own beds. So Happy New Year we are wishing you a great New year from all of us.

Christmas at the Frasiers

2008-12-30T19:07:00.002-05:00

So we started out our Christmas at Michelle's parents house and we experienced almost 2 feet of snow in one day. So much so that it buried our car. I will show you a picture. We were happy to spend Christmas Day with my family and we even got to see Allyson usher in her 11th birthday. She is getting so old. We love you sweet girl. I hope that you all had an awesome Christmas. We then left the day after Christmas to join Joel's family for the New Year. We are driving so it takes a real long time to drive. We got stuck in traffic that day for about 3 hours. Lydia did awesome she only fussed for a total of 30 minutes the whole trip. So we are here at the Leineweber's ushering in the New Year. Happy New Year!!!

Forgot the pictures

2008-12-12T21:10:00.001-05:00