Bringing in the new year

Well, it looks like we may have to settle for being sporadic bloggers! The holiday week was quite a blur for us. We headed back to Fergus for a fun week with family and instead found... GERMS. Tami got the flu on Christmas eve, Josiah got double pink eye, then Steve got the flu, then Josiah and Tami got sinus infections and Steve got a sore throat. Jake is not sick at this point, but was acting a little depressed yesterday so we had to go buy him a new toy to destroy. An eventful week overall. Needless to say, we cut our trip short, missing out on the fun visits with our friends and family and even Ava's first birthday party - and we came back to Rochester to let the germs have their day. We are on the mend.

Josiah had a pretty wonderful Christmas though - he got lots of markers and crayons with different books and is always ready to color. He also came home with several new trucks and cars and has kept us busy watching him line them up. We got him a new "bike" (a spiderman hot wheels) but he can't quite reach the pedals. Soon enough. He also got some "choo choo jamas" and a new train set. Those GeoTrax sets are pretty neat - although I think Daddy was having more fun that Josiah.. But now he wakes up begging for "choo Choos again!.

Oh- that is one piece of exciting news - Josiah has upgraded to a big kid bed! Technically, its a toddler bed, but not a crib at any rate. He is doing surprisingly well. He actually has been staying in bed once he wakes up until we finally come in the room - I was wondering if he'd stay in it at all! He has only fallen out one time- we lost the screws for the guardrail, so the first night he went without. The next morning we made a trip to the faithful Lowe's and bought the screws. Not that it woke him up or anything!

We also broke down and purchased some fancy underoos for him. He was thrilled to have cars on his butt while dancing in them. He is getting excited about the potty chair and hopefully he'll be converted soon. Steve keeps asking me if he's going to have a lot of accidents. Brace yourself, honey!

So I guess we are good at this, eh?

How exciting it was to start a blog and how committed we were to keeping up with this. Ha! Oh well. Life is busy here- that is our excuse for now. We have been trying our darndest to get the basement up and running again. Yeah- so its been 5 months and its still not done. The stress levels will be enough pressure to keep Santa out of our chimney this year. I think we might be getting there. I made Steve set an appt for the mudding/taping guy so that it would force us to finish the sheetrock. Then I will do a marathon paint and we can have the carpet installed- this is the only thing on my Christmas list this year!! We'll see. I'm crossing my fingers nice and tight.

Josiah is his own little man these days. He is learning his alphabet and loves to do these fun flashcards that I found while on a "work" trip. He also is mastering the words "octopus" and "hippopatomus". (No, seriously). These are his two favorite cards. He gets excited about his favorite shapes which are currently the heart, star and "ball". He used to say circle, but I guess ball is the new slang. He currently is just thrilled to repeatedly list the members of his family. It must be an age thing, because his girlfriend Lily is doing the same thing right now. Its funny though because his family currently includes "mommy, daddy, siah, jake, pizza". And of course, this isn't something you say quietly. There are always several exclamation points with extra volume. Oh yeah- and he does numbers but refuses to say the number "1". I'm thinking this must be an age thing too, since Lily is also facing the same dilema - lets hope he isn't just missing some gene that allows him to vocalize that number.

We took him to Steve's work to see "Santa" tonight- which was actually Steve. Josiah spent the night hiding from him. He sat with him only when I sat down too. But if Dad/Santa was in sight, he had to be either holding on to me for dear life or hiding behind my legs.

Music time at preschool

Josiah started preschool this fall and they have a music teacher that comes in twice each week. Here are some of the pictures from the most recent class- she said he sat still for 15 minutes! That is definitely a record!

Something to ponder

So today at church we listen to a message about suffering and what could possibly be the reason for it. There were members of the congregation that shared their stories of being struck with cancer and the emotions that were swirling through their minds through that time. We looked at various principles found in the bible of the purposes of suffering. Having just finished reading the book of Job myself, I thought this was pretty good timing. One couple said that they had just finished having a discussion of how blessed they were and how God had only poured blessing on them so far, and hadn't really ever tested them- days later she found out she had breast cancer and it had spread to her lymph nodes. Ironic? Definitely. Coincidence? Probably not. Purposeful? of course. She said that this has given her a new joy, a new passion for life, and a new reason to share her faith. Of course, not everyone experiences healing, and for those that do not, what is the purpose then? Obviously this wouldn't fall into the category of displaying God's power and glory- if there is no miraculous healing it isn't much a display of the almighty power of God. Some die in tragic circumstances or after bouts of suffering. I found it odd that each of the four "stricken" members of this panel were all dealt the cancer card, and were all healed. What about those that are not healed? What about those that die and the ones they leave behind?
Suffering is an interesting phenomena. I truly believe that it is purposeful, and that God can use it for his purposes if we will allow him to do so. Why would God choose to allow someone to be stuck with a constant thorn in their side? Think of all the life lessons that could come from that.
The service ended with the story of the writer of the song "It is well with my soul". His only son had just died. He and his wife and 4 girls were to go to England for a trip. He got caught on business, so the wife and girls went ahead. The boat was struck by an iron liner and sank in minutes. Only the wife survived. She sent word to him, and immediately he traveled to England to bring her home. On the way there, he wrote this song. The song filled the sanctuary and I held back the watery eyes. It is amazing what God can do if you let him. To go through such suffering and still sing praise. On the other hand- if you are not a believer, how could you ever get through? Interesting things to ponder on this oddly dreary day.
We then proceeded to Home Depot where Josiah squealed "PIZZA!" at every box of floor tile we passed. I guess anything that comes in a flat cardboard box is now pizza and this is very exciting. A constant reminder of God's power right there in that squealing miracle of ours.

Jumping on the bandwagon..

I guess it is finally time to join the masses and start our very own blog. Will I keep up with it? Perhaps. Likely, I'll fall terribly behind and then have to spend my Saturday trying to catch you all up on the three new children and the winning lotto tickets, but I'll give it my best shot. Actually, if there was a winning lotto ticket, I wouldn't really bother with a blog, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Tonight was "Hurry up and clear the 2o bags worth of leaves off the grass before the neighbors turn us in to the authorities" night. I helped for about an hour, and thats pretty much the maximum that can be expected. Its hot out, good tv is on tonight, starting a blog was calling me, etc. Tried to put leaves in those cheesy pumpkin bags that I can't get over and each one of them ripped. I love Target, won't shop anywhere else, but their pumpkin bags are crap. Can you even say crap here? After the second one ripped, I figured I had Steve hooked on the whole "clean the lawn so we don't get kicked out of the neighborhood" thing, so I abandoned my post and left him to it. This has proven to be quite effective. I even told him he wouldn't have to sit through Grey's Anatomy with me tonight as a reward. Not that he can do much else since our basement is out of order. At any rate, this round of leaves is mulched and bagged, and we'll have a day or two before we need to do it again. I know the blasted red maple is pretty- you all oooh and ahhhh over it- but come on folks- its 40 bags of leaves to pick up! I say knock them all down and put out some fake ones. They would add a nice asthetic effect, and you could spray them with the scent of your choice. A much better option and hassle free.
I suppose I should mention Josiah, since 95% of you will only read this for updates on him... He continues to amaze us. Today he was wiped by 5pm and in bed shortly after 6. They had the music teacher at preschool today and he actually sat still for 15 whole minutes! I told her I may need proof of this, as it sounds like make-believe. He loved it though. He now does actions to 2 different Wiggles songs. We love the Wiggles. Steve gets a ton of funny looks when he does the actions while driving. Josiah is also obsessed with tractors, trucks and busses, but mostly tractors. Luckily for him, (and no one else) they tore down this huge flower shop across the street to make a new high-rise so there are tons of tractors working there daily. He squeals everytime we get close and knows they are coming. He's also starting to use his imagination, which is really fun to watch. He'll talk on his real-fake phone, and drive his bathtub trucks and trains and make noises, etc. Its great to watch him grow, but he definitely isn't losing any speed. We are exhausted each and every day.
To conclude this broad overview/update on everything pertaining to us, we are moving forward (while at a turtle pace) on the basement remodel. Luckily we haven't gotten any more water after the past 2 weeks of more rain. (Thanks to those that helped with the landscaping to fix that!). We priced out new flooring, measured, etc. And we are bringing in The Fireplace Guy; our happiness (mine) is hanging on his every word. We'll find out Monday if we are going to be able to accomplish our ultimate plans for that, or if we have to settle for plan "D". We are both excited for the work though- that kind of stuff is sort of fun. I'm sure my dad is excited to spend his free weekends showing us how to fix everything too.
Thats it for now. I need to get ready for the Office and then the tivo'd Grey's Anatomy. And yes, Steve will join me. He's a sucker for the soaps.