God is SO Good!

Every time I write a post, I end up reading several previous posts, which results in me feeling incredibly humbled by the greatness of God.  He has poured out his blessings on me my entire life, and I do not deserve any of it.  I am continuously reminded that he has provided for my every need and walked with me every day of my life.  Psalm 8:3-4 says, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" Crazy, and so, so awesome. 


I have also started to grasp the fact that salvation is THE #1 THING that Parker needs.  He can be a leader, have wisdom, be healthy, stay safe, etc etc, but if he doesn't accept that he is a sinner in need of a Savior, all of that is worthless!  It's hard for me to wrap my mind around, but it's definitely true.  Anyway, Parker has started to sing the song, "God Is So Good."  He will repeat it after me (on pitch usually, too!) and it brings tears to my eyes.  I really want him to learn how important it is for him to understand that God is GOOD, not matter what the circumstances.







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Kindergarten

I am officially done teaching my first FULL year of Kindergarten.  After pre-student teaching, student teaching, subbing, being a TA, and taking over a maternity leave, I now know that I am indeed capable of teaching the same kids all year long!

Naperville Christian Academy is a classical school, and after teaching there for a year and a half, I am IN LOVE with the classical model!  It incorporates composers, poets, and artists into geography, science and literature.  It also teaches what is going on in the world during Bible times.  The students learn through songs and chants, and they learn that God is the creator and in control of everything they are learning about.  It's pretty incredible.  Because NCA is located in Naperville, which has a well-known public school system, it has had it's ups and downs.  The school has been open for 11 years, and actually split into two schools two years ago.  That's when I came in.  There were four students in Kindergarten last school year, and only TWO this year.  I have always been so thankful for this teaching job, but have also felt like a dork when people ask me how many students I have.  Well, I am happy to announce that next year there will be 15 Kindergarten students at NCA.  I have signed my contract and am very excited to teach a full class.

We had a little party today to celebrate the school year.  The kids showed off a few things for their parents and then they presented me with a gift.  In the weeks before, we learned about Eric Carle and re-created one of his illustrations from, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I was so impressed with how they turned out!  The kids noticed how much I loved them, and made a copy for me to hang in my new classroom next year.  They also included a picture of the three of us at the Apple Orchard.  I have been so blessed by these two little kiddos and am thankful that we are ending the year on a great note, instead of counting down the days.

 

Wedding Getaway

Over the weekend, Ryan and I headed up to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for Darrell and Trista's Wedding.  We've never set food in cheesehead-land before, but it wasn't so bad.  No one forced us to wear the worst -possible color combination (green and gold), so that was nice.

Darrel and I hurdled together at UWP and became great friends.  Then Trista transferred in my Junior year and joined track, and Ryan and Darrell became buddies my last two years of college.  Darrell and Trista are both so much fun! We're so happy to see them get hitched!



Super cute cake - All of the color-coordinating was impressive!



LOVED the red tractor card-holder.  We'll have to steal that for Parker's wedding in 25 years ;)





We got to catch up with our good friends, Dave and Liz Boivin and Nate and Lindsey Henry at the reception.  I am so blessed to have incredible friends that made my college experience so memorable!



 



 

     MRS. Liz Boivin and I



With Nate and Lindsey



These guys made the night a REAL blast!

They had a Polka band at the reception.  Ryan and I have never polka'd before, but we figured it out pretty quickly.  It's super tiring!  My calves were killing me after just one song.  Then I felt like a dork when the dance floor was full of senior citizens who were dancing the night away.  The DJ took a break from the polka and played some good dance songs.  However, Liz and Darrell got a little too into them.  Liz's dress ripped part-way up the back and Darrell's split his pants!  Luckily the DJ had some black duct tape to help them out.  Once the tape was applied, they were back to dancing!

Ryan and I kinda treated the wedding weekend as a little getaway.  We stayed at a hotel in Appleton and slept in!  (Such an amazing feeling!)  We set our alarms so we wouldn't miss the continental breakfast (haha, that sounds so cheap!) and watched Big 10 track on TV until 2:00.  I love spending time with my awesome husband - and I love that he is a track junkie like me!

Fun at the Park

The best part about where we currently live is that there is a bike path right next to it that leads to four parks within minutes!  One of our favorites is so close even Parker can walk there...or sometimes he likes to push the stroller instead of ride in it.  He's not too crazy about slides yet.  He usually climbs up and then climbs right back down unless we force him or her rides with someone.  He always looks for some kind of wheel that he can drive, he loves to swing, and he really likes these spinny things ;)





This picture totally cracks me up.
I love when you ask a kid to say cheese and their "smile" is totally NOT a smile anymore.



Lookin' cute after bathtime.  Whenever he's wrapped in a towel, I can always see his little newborn face.  Is that weird? 

We love to have fun!

Parker Pictures

 Every month since Parker has been about 5 months old, I have said "this is the best age ever."  I LOVE being his mom!  He is so funny and cute and smart and has brought so much joy to every day of my life!  Everyone tells me how fast kids grow up and I am really trying to enjoy every moment that I get with Parker.  (Funny because I wrote this first part during his nap and now I'm revising it after he threw a major fit at bedtime ;)  He's not perfect, but he's happy MOST of the time.

"Whatcha makin' Parker?"
"Soup."
"What kind?"
"Tractor!"

"Mmmm yummy!"

I always want to take a cute picture with him when we're having so much fun, but he'd rather just hold the camera, which I'm sorry to say, is not a toy!

Take 1 - Fail

Take 2 - And Fail

He loves USANA shakes (and vitamins).

My little buddha brusher =)

He loves trying to put his own sunglasses on.  Never can get them quite right ;)

 He LOVES playing with his blue truck outside on the deck.

 And he loves this farm puzzle.  

He especially likes to sit right in the middle of it when we're trying to put it together.

What a good eater!  Today he had chicken (not nuggets), kale chips and blueberries for lunch.  The track girls make fun of me because I'm always making him eat healthy food - even his cookies are made with whole wheat flour, oatmeal and flax.  "Oh just give the kid an Oreo already," is what they say.

When the guys are on shift...

Let me tell you about one of my bff's, Joei.  We met a little over two years ago, found out we had the same anniversary, we both grew up on farms, we were pregnant and due two weeks apart, and now both of our husbands are firefighters.  She's super awesome.

A few weeks ago, both of our husbands were working 48 hour shifts, so of course we decided to spend almost all of those 48 hours together.  Thursday night we hung out and had bible study with our other girlfriends.

Friday, Joei watched Parker in the morning.

How do you like them bananas?

That's Right!

We used to tell Ella to kiss Parker but now she does it on her own from time to time...

After naptime, Joei and I had this brilliant idea to take the kids to Target and go shopping.  We put Parker and Ella in one cart so they could play together and Adele in the other.  Parker and Ella were constantly pulling clothes off the shelves, screaming, crying, and throwing anything they could get their hands on.  Joei and I did our best to discipline them, and then we just acted like we were their babysitters when people started staring.  We got out of there as quick as we could!  On the way home,  I tried giving Adele a blanket because she was screaming, and then Parker ripped it off of her because he wanted it.  Then Ella stole it from him, so we took the blankets away and all three kids screamed their guts out all the way home while Joei and I laughed until we cried in the front seat.  We think they just missed their daddies ;)  What a day!  Love you Jo!

Keeping Up With Parker

Parker is so much fun.  He is very obedient (most of the time) and has a lot of funny things to say.  Everyday when we leave the apartment he says "Bye-bye truck, See ya later."  He loves to count  everything, and today at track practice he ran up to an arrow on the football field and said "triangle."  I about fell over because I had no idea he knew that shape, and the fact that he was able to find one in the world on his own is a major connection!

He has taken an interest in blankies lately, and sometimes he sleeps with four of them.  He also sleeps with two tractors, two books, a glow worm and a little guy that says a prayer.  Then he curls up in a ball in the corner of the crib.  You'd think all of these things in his crib would be uncomfortable and keep him from sleeping, but he usually talks for a few minutes and goes right to sleep.  (And just for clarification, he's not attached to any of them.  When we go places, we don't bring any of them).

He likes to sing "Rat-a-tat-tat," and when we get in the car he will usually say "Listen Veggie Tales?"  He's getting very good at remembering to say "Please," and "Thank You," and he can say his name, as well as all of his cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Oh! I almost forgot.  If you ask him a question, he will say "yup," and nod his head or "nope."  Super adodrable!

He likes his belly button a lot, but can't really see it.

 Where is that button?

      Ahh..got it!

Speedy April

We celebrated Easter with my family and had a fun day playing at the farm.  I felt kind of lame after Easter was done because I didn't do anything fun with Parker.  No egg hunt, no pictures with bunnies, no coloring eggs...I don't even think he tasted any Easter candy!  Next year we will have to make up for it.  We did take one picture, although it's not the best.

The next Sunday, Parker and I went to the firehouse to visit Ryan.  It was nice to finally meet everyone that he spends so much time with, see where he cooks his amazing meals, sleeps, works out, and hangs out....oh, and WORKS!  I almost forgot that's his real job!  We took Parker out to the bay to see all of the trucks. "Oh wow," he said.  (That's what he says any time he sees real tractors or firetrucks or pretty much anything with wheels).  He got to 'drive' every single one.

The goal of the day was to get some super cute pictures of Parker with some of Ryan's gear on.  I guess we should've tried that before we showed him the trucks...

Umm...I've been coaching track, so my schedule has been a little hectic.  Nat and I threw a baby shower for Deb this past Sunday.  That was fun, but I don't have any pictures to show from it.  Nat and Mom made a watermelon and canteloupe look like a baby in a bassinet.  Super cute.  I can't wait to meet my nephew!

We are officially  moving out of our apartment in June, but we have no idea where to.  We don't like our current apartment because all of our neighbors smoke and we can smell it in our apartment.  We are always thinking about buying a house, but aren't sure where we'd want to buy.  God has always provided for us and will continue to do so.  I'm excited to see where we'll be next, but a little stressed at the same time. 

That's pretty much it.  We are going on a family date-night tomorrow to Baker's Square to get some free pie.  For some reason, I'm really looking forward to this.  Maybe because I like free pie.