The Weber Family

The Holiness of Home

2009-04-15T07:43:00.007-04:00

I try to be the heart of my home (have you heard that saying- the mom is the heart of the home?), while working full time, running kids around to appointments and simply trying hard to keep house. Having an inviting space for my family is important because we all lead such separate lives right now. Yes, I said we ALL, because the boys go to two separate locations everyday except Friday. With that being said, we come home and try to reconnect by sharing a meal, playing and snuggling. Creating space for each other. Intentional.

Having said all that, this is the picture I want, however it is rarely the picture that I see. Except for last week. We intentionally came together every night after dinner to remember what Jesus did for us. As a mom who is trying to raise 2 Godly little men, I so treasure those times. We talked alot about the events surrounding the the crucifixtion. I have been thinking a lot about the discipling of our kids and what it should look like- planned and structured or moment by moment-- maybe a bit of both. I love hearing the boys recite the easter story.

Here is what we did do (aside from the ressurection eggs)~

* we made palms and ate pistachio pudding (for the green) and talked about Jesus entering Jerusalem

* we created a special spot in our house for prayer and worship after we read the cleansing of the temple- it had a special table cloth, our bibles, the palms we made and of course candles. We asked Abe where it should have been and he said- the beach! Once we lit the candles, Jonah got all excited and yelled- Happy Birthday, Jesus!

* we had a pseudo passover meal where we ate lamb, and had communion and talked about the last supper

* we prayed for our neighbors & talked about who our neighbor is.

This is but a moment in our lives and we should treasure every second!

Spring Fever, Anticipation, & Weddings

2009-04-02T08:54:00.007-04:00

I love this time of year! It is spring and easter. Yesterday I took the boys to Lions Park in Zionsville and we played and walked around looking for the "signs" of spring. What we found were many "baby" leaves, greener grass and (the most exciting part) 2 flowers- a dandelion and yellow wild flower. The boys were fanatic over the flowers and I thought that in the midst of grayness and winter, we get most excited about color and new life!

I am anticipating Holy week this year. We are not only doing the resurrection eggs but we are also going to try this: http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/easter/features/activities.html

from Christianity Today. Obviously there will be a little modification due to our kids only being 3 and 5, but we are going to try it. I have been meditating on this verse from John- "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become Children of God- children not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbands will but born of God." 1:12-13.

We are also in the midst of wedding season here in our family. Hans' cousin gets married in a few weeks and they came and had dinner with us this weekend to talk about logistics, vows, and marriage. It provided good birth control for them! We will be meeting with them again this weekend so that will be fun.

And, my little brother is marrying an awesome girl at the end of may! All of us are in the wedding- i am a bridesmaid, Hans is officiating, both the boys are ring bearers- so it will be quite busy. The fun part is that I am hosting thier shower from Daniel's side of the family. We are so excited about all this!

The Shack

2009-03-30T09:33:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I caught up with the rest of the Christian world and finally caved to read this book. This book is brilliant. And I am going to be like every other christian with a blog and write about it!

The depiction of relationship in this book is phenominal. I guess if you want a good idea of the intimacy that God desires from you then this would be a great glimpse. I would discourage your judgement, however, because we christians often times view books and want to make sure they are completely accurate doctrinally before we like something. I don't know if this is or not. I do know that this is all about relationship and nothing about religion.

I like books that blow away your ideas and so often we come to the table with all these preconceived notions of who God is, what his role is in our pain, why he does things or allows things to be done. This book is good for those things.

I came away feeling like a little girl holding my daddy's hand in a scary world full of adventures waiting to be uncovered. I'd love to hear what you thought if you read it.

Extra.... pictures!

2009-03-27T10:07:00.008-04:00

Cousins! Addy- "what do you want me to do?" Koryn-"smile like this- cheese!" Abe-"i will when i am ready!" Jonah- "c'on Ella, lets say cheese!" Ella- "ok, Jonah, as long as you do it with me!"

My little wild animals at the Children's museum

Thumbs up for a good Soccer game!

Arrrgh, matey!

Brothers in undies- now if only jonah would want to be potty trained!

Jonah- "I'm batman!"

Brothers in a tree!

Post 3... Hans & Stacey

2009-03-27T08:22:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I lied about about posting everyday! I will do two posts today and this one is going to be an update about Hans and I. A note about the pictures- the one of Hans is one of my favorites of him coaching abe, the one of me is not one of my favorites, but it is the most recent one I could find with just me! It was taken at my Dad's Christmas gathering and I, being betty crocker, made 2 snowmen cheeseballs!

First Hans- He is LOVING his role at Traders Point Christian Academy. I thought that he would not be as busy as he was as a youth minister, but boy was I wrong! He is way busier. He teaches 6-9 grade bible, coordinates & plans 3 chaples a week- Elementary, Middle School & High School. He coaches soccer in the fall and baseball in the spring. He just got back from the 8th grade field trip to Washington DC, Philly, & NYC- where he got to do all sorts of fun stuff.

Before Christmas, we sold the Xbox 360 to get a Wii. So for his birthday this year, he got guitar hero. Abe likes to watch him

play.

Hans has the privilege of marrying 2 family members this spring! In April he is officiating the ceremony for his cousin Megan, and in May is doing the wedding for my (baby) brother Daniel! We are so excited for both of them and were honored that they asked him.

Now me- Stacey. What to say?! Well, I have been working now for over 13 months. I am in the same role, ready to grow professionally here at TriMedx. The company really is a great place to be. I have made some great friends here and really enjoy meeting new people. I was in this "christian" bubble for so long that it has been refreshing to step out and meet different types of people in varying levels of faith/ or lack of, and life stages.

I miss being at home with the boys, and unfortunately motherhood has the ugly companion called guilt attached to it, but as much grace is required being a working mamma as a stay at home mamma-- and it has proven to be sufficient when I allow it! The boys seem to be doing good with it and we have our moments of playing when I get home- which usually consists of first trying to locate them because they always "get lost" when they hear me pull in, and then me getting mauled! One of my favorite parts of the day is seeing thier excitement of us getting home!

I joined weight watchers last year and have lost close to 25 pounds (not as fast as I would like to go!) It has been great to do something for me because so often, moms seem to sacrifice everything for others. I also took up jogging- who would have imagined! I signed up to run my first 5K in april. I am nervous but up for the challenge-- and not really expecting to finish it fast or anything- just finish!

Being at home here in Indy has been healing for our family. We regularly get together with family. We are able to see our nieces grow up! At Christmas time, my siblings decided to not get gifts but try to spend more time together and we have gotten together twice (which is hard because with spouses and "others" it is 10 people!) All in all we have been good.

Post 2...Jonah

2009-03-25T09:00:00.004-04:00

Look at the big blue eyes on that kid! Jonah will be 3 in a few weeks and he continues to make us laugh. He make us laugh to not get in trouble and sometimes it works!

Jonah started Kindercare part time in January because Hans' mom is going back to work. In a couple of weeks he will be going full time. You know, I never wanted my kids to be in Daycare, but I have grown to really love it! He likes his teacher and he is learning a lot. I guess, it is turning into a blessing. I worked in a daycare, and was fine with the one I worked in, but I never looked at them in a very positive light. They love him there and he really likes going.

Jonah is Jonah. He can be stubborn at times, and he loves playing with Abe. He has given Abe a run for his money but the two have become good buddies. He is constantly asking good guy or bad guy? And he loves playing with his Batman and Spiderman.

He is a mama's boy through and through. (Which I secretly love!!) He even tells me he is my baby. He brought me a diaper and said mamma- my diaper. I said well soon you need to start going on the potty! He said, no I am baby!

Jonah loves playing with his cousins- his cousin Ella is his favorite buddy! His cousin Koryn is his leader- when they are together, he listens to her like she was his babysitter and lets her be the boss and baby him. When he is at Mimi's house he plays with Koryn's puppy Lucy or Wutee as he calls her. Jonah can spend the afternoon in her cage if we let him.

He brings us a lot of laughter, for sure. He is a big boy in a small boy's body, so he spends most of his life trying to catch up and understand what his bubby (Abe) is up to and doing. Every now and then, he lets me call him a "big boy" and not a baby. :)

Well, we don't have many Jonah-isms yet! He is difficult to understand most of the time! A lot of things are clear though- "I wuv you", "guys", "nope","mamma", "da", "I strong", "I wike..."

Post 1... Abe

2009-03-24T07:56:00.004-04:00

What can I say?! Look at his smile. He is growing up so much and we have been excited to watch him! He enjoys legos, playing the wii, playing outside, karate, hanging with his buddies and spending time with his cousins.

This year he went into the 4s+ instead of kindergarten. It has proved to be a wise decision as we have had some difficulty with a few things. He loves his teachers! Abe is excited to be at the "big" school with his cousin and his dad. He has lost 2 teeth since January and it was quite traumatic! The first one, I (stacey) pulled it out and he freaked a bit. He pulled the second one out by himself and loves to look for his "grown-up" teeth.

Star Wars the Clone Wars is his favorite show. He and Hans watch it every Friday night. He is taking after his Dad in that aspect (becoming a Star Wars Freak!) He and Jonah pretend all the time about fighting bad guys and running away from them or getting thier light sabers out in time for battle. Abe deffinitely is the ring leader in the house as he can convince his brother to do anything.

This spring he is looking forward to having a garden and helping me plant the veggies. He will also help Mimi and Papaw plant thier garden and is really excited about that. First they will plant potatoes and that should be this week sometime!

This year, after he started school, he informed Hans and I that he is going to marry Alli in his class. It was a pretty confident statement! I said, well, we will see. We will pray for your wife that God will bring you. He said it will be her because he loves her, he knows already. I said ok, well, maybe we can meet her mommy and daddy. He told me he wants to be like Hans and I and have kids, too. Well, we stopped the conversation there! When I met her mom, she said the feelings were mutual! WOW!

Some other favorite Abe-isms:

1. "Jonah, if you don't trust God, you will die..."

2. "Addy is the cutest baby"; "I could watch her, you know" (his littlest cousin)

3. "Mom is the best cook, I am the best Dancer, Dad is the best lego builder"

4. "There are no pockets left for broccoli, only pockets left for cookies" (at the dinner table, pockets are where the food goes, you know)

5. "I am going to be a Rockstar"

Really.... does it have to take so long for an update?!

2009-03-23T14:56:00.002-04:00

After much starts and re-starts to trying to blog again, I thought I would just bite the bullet and do it. We are busy, busy, busy! Lots have happened, and no you did not get snubbed at Christmas- we DID not send out cards this year! WOW, I read my friends' blogs and wish I could post more, so maybe I just have to do it. I am starting to think that maybe no one will read it- people have just plain given up trying to see how it is going with us!

Here is how I will get everyone caught up. This post will include the Christmas letter that turned into a New Year's greeting that never got mailed (in March, I know, pathetic!). Then I will try and post something EVERY day this week about all of us and what is going on! How does that sound?

Wow, we cannot believe that it is 2009! So much happened last year
that it is hard to believe it was only 365 days. The boys are growing,
both Hans and Stacey are working and we moved again this year! We did not
get our Christmas cards out in time & thought that it would be a good
opportunity to send an update and wish your family a happy new year.

Hans~ at the beginning of the year, he was an intern under JK
Stevens at Traders Point Christian Academy teaching Middle School Bible.
He loved doing it and when JK retired, he was hired as Secondary Bible Teacher
and Chaplain. The Academy has been such a great place for him to use his
gifts and regain confidence in ministry as he has grown professionally and built
strong relationships with his students. He creates the Chapels for
Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School & High School, teaches bible for
6th- 9th grades, while helping with coaching- soccer in the fall and baseball in
the spring. Last spring was his final semester of classes in
Seminary. He now has to write his big thesis in order to graduate.

Stacey~ in February she accepted a position at TriMedx Healthcare
Equipment Services as a Customer Care Representative. It was a tough
transition but everything went smoothly as she started back. The boys are
well taken care by Hans’ mom Sally as she has been their full time care
taker. The company is wonderful and has plenty of opportunity! It is
faith based and does so much for medical missions by donating and installing
medical equipment around the world. She has joined the Parent Teacher
Fellowship at the Academy.

Abe~ turned 5 in July!! We all celebrated with a
Swashbuckling pirate birthday party complete with balloon sword fights, water
balloon cannon wars, face painting and of coarse a pinata full of goodies.
He is in the 4s+ class at Traders Point Christian Academy and loves his
teacher. He played soccer both seasons last year. Towards the end of the
season, we were very proud as he (and the other boys) finally figured out the
way the ball goes! Now he is in Karate and loving it. Anything to
get out his energy is great!

Jonah~ turned 2 in
April!! He is your typical 2 year old- very busy, stubborn and
independent. Anything that Abe does, he wants to do. It is quite
frustrating living a 5 year old life in a 2 year old body! He spends his
days playing with Grammy and waiting for his brother to get home from
school. Ever the comedian, he loves making us laugh and is quick to do
that when getting in trouble. His big blue eyes are hard to
resist.

Overall, this year was spent with many celebrations &
our family has been blessed beyond measure. We continue to be involved in
a House Church at Common Ground Christian Church. They have all become a
part of our family. Our Journey continues as we look to Him this
year. We hope that your Christmas was spent with loving family, good food
and happy memories like ours was and that you rely on the Savior this coming
year.

Peace to You & Yours,
The
Weber’s
Hans, Stacey, Abe & Jonah

June is almost gone?!

2008-06-24T11:44:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since my last post, but seriously where has all the time gone. This summer seems to be on high speed as the days fly by. We are trying to get settled and enjoying our location. Now it seems wierd that normalcy is coming back into the picture, it is like we are just scratching our heads and asking what just happened.

We are enjoying Mimi and Papaw's pool! The boys have swim lessons there each week and both love swimming. Jonah is jumping in left and right while abe is working on the head first in water swimming. It is great to see them treat mom's house as thier second home- that is what my grandma's house was. It sure seems like we have our weekends more booked with cookouts and get-togethers! We have always been pretty social so when we moved to IL, it seemed like not a lot ever went on!

Hans is working at Starbucks through the summer, his contract with the school will start in August. The count down is on! He is coming up with all sorts of fun ideas to incorporate in his teaching and chapels. He also gets to see the boys more, he and Abe have been Xbox buddies- they play Star Wars Legos.

Nothing new to report with me. I have been working and I started Weight Watchers last week with some friends. Seems like I am pretty motivated right now. I think getting healthy for me is a huge priority right now. I just want to feel better and have more energy.

If anyone can believe it, Abe will be 5 in 9 days! I am having a hard time grasping that! He is growing up so fast. We are having a pirate party for him on the 5th! He seems pretty excited aobut it. He has only been talking about his birthday since Jonah's birthday in April!

All in all the summer seems pretty good. We are enjoying the blessings and thankful for where the Lord has brought us.

At church, we have been going through a series call Grow. They have been talking about the disciplines which is always a good reminder of the benifits. I am going to committ to reading the proverbs- lectio divina style. God has so many treasures for us in his word. I am looking forward to just enjoying it!

Arriving

2008-05-29T07:10:00.009-04:00

Well, I know that the title is a bit confusing. You say arriving to what, or where. I wanted to title it this way because this post will be about the dawn of our new adventure. Hans is going to be the new Bible teacher and Chaplain at Traders Point Christian Academy. He was officially offered the postion this week! Now, I know that our destination is not here on Earth, but in Heaven one day. This is an Arrival to the next leg of our journey.

God went before us on this one. I should not be so surprised, He always does, but we are about to move into a great house- one that is closer to everything we do! I will continue working as my Mother in law has agreed to watch Jonah and Abe! Our hearts are content with what God has given- his gifts are good and perfect, and I realize that now more than ever, He is faithful even when we aren't.

The trials and changes of these last several months have left a lasting impression on our souls. I know that this is a good thing, but the pruning hurt at times. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. We have been surrounded by people and that has helped us heal.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."- 1 peter 2:9

Chaos

2008-05-19T07:39:00.003-04:00

This weekend, Jonah and I watched my little sister play Rugby at the State finals, we did not see it, but after the game we saw, they went on to win state! Yeah Whitney! Her team is called the Noblesville Chaos- and it is chaotic, the sport is viscious! Here are the pics that the Indianapolis Star took and the Article that was written about the team... she is the team captain. In like 2 weeks, I will watch her graduate highschool- she was one of my first babies

This is whitney pumping her team up!!

The Article from the Indianapolis Star :

Chaos reigned supreme at the North Central rugby field Saturday.
The Noblesville Chaos, that is.
Paced by tries from sophomore Lauren Barber and junior Allie Lee, the Noblesville girls rugby team -- nicknamed Chaos because they are a club program, not part of the school's athletic department -- defeated the two-time defending champion and previously unbeaten hosts 10-5 for the high school girls state title.
"We as seniors and captains have been waiting for this day for four years," said Noblesville senior Whitney Bowman, who shared captain's duties with senior Chelsea Hogle. "We had lost to North Central every single year, and this year we wanted it so much more. We almost beat them last year, so this year we knew what to expect."
Noblesville (8-1) took charge from the outset, Barber scoring the opening five-point try just minutes into the game with a dash around the right side.
"I was in support and when I got (the ball), I just took off," Barber said. "I was running and telling myself I had to go into a higher gear. I think that's the fastest I've ever run."
Just before the half, Lee made it 10-0 when she also sprinted down the right side for a try. Barber and sophomore Shelby Musselman each advanced the ball before it got to Lee, who took a big hit as she crossed the goal.
"(North Central) didn't want us to score and put up a fight," Lee said. "It was a great game."
About 10 minutes into the second of two 25-minute halves, North Central cut its deficit to 10-5 when senior Kristin Ennis countered a Noblesville attack with a long sprint down the left side for a try.
The Panthers pressed hard late in an attempt to tie the score, but Ennis was stopped once about 5 yards short of the goal and later senior Cierra McNeal was stopped about 2 yards shy of the goal. On each occasion, Musselman followed by punting the ball away from harm.
"I've been coaching for four years, and this is the first time we've beaten North Central," said Noblesville coach Brent McCurdy, whose Chaos topped Carmel 30-12 in a semifinal game. "I'm at a loss for words. All I can say is these girls have worked so hard and played so well together."
North Central coach Suzi Dillon, whose squad beat Brownsburg 10-5 in overtime in the other semifinal, said she was proud of her Panthers (8-1) despite the result.
"Every year our girls bring it consistently," she said. "I don't know if I would call (Noblesville's win) an upset because we knew how tough it would be. But we didn't stay out enough, they overloaded us and got around us two times too many."
Bowman said it was teamwork that allowed Noblesville, which avenged a 15-5 loss May 7 to North Central, to prevail.
"Right before the game, I told my girls that we don't play as athletes; rather, we play as a team and a family," Bowman said. "That's what won this game for us. Every person got a handle on the ball, and we stepped up."

Waiting, Praying, Waiting, Praying, Waiting...

2008-05-06T10:07:00.005-04:00

This by far is the most stressful time... it is funny, I feel like I have said that over and over again in the last several months. We are standing on a cliff of opportunity. The rubber is meeting the road. I feel promise in my soul but then again, there are not gaurantees in this life. So what is going on?

Last week we needed to make a choice about our living situation. Really, without knowing what is to come. I guess it should not surprise me, it seems like our decisions always seem to be made based on faith. Sometimes, I wonder if we will ever be able to make a decision based on concrete facts rather than the unseen. With that being said, God provided such a cool house for us in Zionsville. We did agree to rent it, and are excited about the location, yard and house! It is cute and we move in 3 weeks- YIKES!!

This week is another story. Hans has an interview for the position at the academy on Friday. We are both nervous. It seems like we are both kind of grasping for things to anchor us here. Why is that our natural tendency to be anchored here? We know that our anchor is Jesus, he is preparing a place for us in his Kingdom, not here on earth...

Yesterday, Abe said he was done moving. He told me he wants to stay in Indiana. How do you explain all these things to him? How do I tell him that we are going to follow God wherever he takes us? He is 4 soon to be 5... my heart hurts for this. I want to be here too.

Today, I picked up my devotional "Streams in the Desert" and turned to today's date- Here is the Entry, it is long, but worth me typing it out in hopes it gets written in my soul~

May 6

The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear him (ps. 25:14)

There are secrets of providence which God's dear children may learn. His dealings with them often seem, to the outward eye, dark and terrible. Faith looks deeper and says, "This is God's secret. You look only on the outside; I can look deeper and see the hidden meaning."

Sometimes diamonds are done up in rough packages, so that thier value cannot be seen. When the tabernacle was built in the wilderness there was nothing rich in its outside appearance. The costly things were all within, and its outward covering of rough badger skin gave no hint of the vaulable things which it contained.

God may send you, dear friends, some costly packages. Do not worry if they are done up in rough wrappings. You may be sure there are treasures of love and kindnessm and wisdom hidden within. If we take what He sends, and trust Him for the goodness in it, even in the dark, we shall learn the meaning of the secrets of providence. -AB Simpson

Not until each loom is silent,

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Will God unroll the pattern

And explain the reason why

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

For the pattern which He planned.

He that is mastered by Christ is the master of every circumstance. Does the circumstance press hard against you? Do not push it away. It is the Potter's hand. Your mastery will come, not by arresting its progress, but by enduring its discipline, for it is not only shaping you into a vessel of beauty and honor, but it is making your resources available.

A Mommy's Heart

2008-04-18T14:42:00.006-04:00

I thought that when Abe was born, my heart grew a little to make room for him. One of my anxieties when I was pregnant with Jonah was how on earth I could love that kid as much as Abe. Well, it happened, and it was overwhelming. We have a lot of fun things going on this weekend, and quite frankly, they are things make my heart soar.

First of All, Jonah will be 2. Yes, 2. I can hardly belive it. We are having a birthday party for him this weekend. His personality is fun. He is stout, loves his brother (although Abe is not so nice all the time) and is loud. After Abe's practice yesterday, he ran up and was hugging him, like he had not seen him for a while. He is our comedian and loves to make all of us laugh. More than anything, I love watching him do new things. There is not much he would not try, because he is sooo fearless.

Now, for Abe. He made me a soccer mom this week by starting this sport. I, for one, am excited to meet new people and see him meet new people. His first game is on Saturday- weather permitting. He is in the Pike Youth Soccer league. Which, by the way, makes him like the 3rd generation in our family to play for pike... I played in the 80s, and his Uncle Daniel and Aunt Whitney played in the 90s. There are people on his team that are from Mexico and Africa (I think). He would not get this experience in Central IL- that is for sure! I am glad he will be able to get to know new people.

One another note, one of my dear mommy friends this week lost her 6 year old daughter. I am sad for the family, but she is celebrating with Jesus today. As a mom, I simply cannot imagine. My heart is with them in IL, as they grieve. This little angel gave many lessons to the people that knew her on earth, and I cannot wait to see her in heaven.

I am going to try and put pics up.... or at least get them on my picassa album- good grief it has been awhile since we have done that

soccer, sixty degrees, reading, yard work, delighting

2008-04-07T14:58:00.006-04:00

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend. Here is the point- we hung out at home most of time. It was awesome. Saturday we had a pancakes, sausage, and eggs, I cleaned out and organized all the closets and the kitchen- I was like a mad woman, actually! We all got to take naps, we played outside, and we had what Abe called a pajama party- I made homemade pizza, and breadsticks, we cleaned up and got on our jammies and watched Alvin and the Chipmonks. After the boys went to bed Hans and I watched Beowolf- which is an odd story.

On Sunday we went and watched Adyson Joy get dedicated at TPCC. She is so precious! We also went to lunch with everyone. Played outside some more, raked leaves, grilled out, went for a walk and basically hung out together. I miss weekends like this, it has been an awful long time for us to not have to work, go places, or have things to do.

I talked to Abe on the phone and he said he was playing outside- "it's 60 degrees today, mom!" We are so ready for warmer weather. He is going to have a great week because he starts soccer this week. His first game is on Saturday!! We also have been doing reading lessons... he is so eager, I thought that I would not delay it if he is ready.

Jonah is going to be 2 in 2 weeks. Cannot believe it. Time goes to quickly, although, I am ready for him to get out the "terrible twos"! We are in the midst of planning for his b-day... it will a Toy Story party seeing how he cannot get enough of it. He yells Buzz whenever it comes on and gets so excited.

Basically this weekend was a weekend of delight. Delighting in the ordinary, simple things that we do with and for each other everyday. It was sweet and relaxing!

The hope spring gives...

2008-03-27T10:55:00.004-04:00

These last couple of weeks something has been stirring inside of me. We are embarking on a new season in our life and this time of year makes me get a little anxious anyway with spring on the horizon. I had one of those moments when I felt my soul being touched by the lord.

In the ugly brown-gray ground, you see little shoots of green. New life is emerging, this is what I am feeling deep inside too. I have been stretched beyond my abillity to comprehend but yet I feel the deep growth of all those promises I have tried to convince myself about- mainly the one saying that God does have a plan for us, one that gives us hope. They have taken root, and are growing.

I am not going to pretend either, every day of this journey has its own challenges. I may not fully understand things, but I know that this too will pass. Just like winter. Winter is exciting when you start out- the snow, hot chocolate, christmas, new years, but the time between winter and spring is hard. I long for spring. I long for the spring in our life. I long for new life and the realized promises it brings.

If you have ever planted bulbs in the fall, you know that they require cold weather to grow in the spring. Well, this is a great metaphor of the "winter" in our life. That season is necessary for the spring growth. My spring is coming- I can smell it.

So my new book I am reading is by my favorite author- Phillip Yancey. It is called Prayer, Does it make a difference. Reading it feels like reacqainting myself with an old friend. I appreciate Yancey's humanity. He is not like a typical christian author. He readily admits that he is no expert in prayer, but a student like all of us. He writes:

If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn
about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same
two themes: why God doesn't act the way we want God to, and why I don't act the
way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise poin where those themes converge.

I am looking forward to reading about this and the next few months of our journey. I hope this post was an encouragement.

My little Samson!

2008-03-21T09:12:00.006-04:00

So you are probably wondering what in the heck I am talking about. Last night I gave Abe a haircut- well, shave really. Here is the story of my night---

Right before I started cooking dinner, I got a phone call from my dad, and we were chatting. Like usual when i am on the phone, the boys act up. Well, Abe was being a stinker and I told him to wait in his room and I would be up in minute. (He has had a hard time this week adjusting to mommy being gone, so he is trying to get my attention.) After the call I went up to find him and he was hacking away at his hair telling me it was too long. I gave him a hug and told him that we would cut it later not to worry. I am trying to show him as much grace as possible right now.

We had dinner, went for a walk, and came home to get ready for bed. While I was examining his hair cut I started trimming and it was cut to the scalp in a lot of places. He was squirmy and I decided maybe it would be better if we got the clippers out. I could not find the gaurds, but I thought, I will just be careful and try to trim it longer. Wrong idea, he is bald now.

After taking one look in the mirror, he freaked. I did not expect his reaction. During the shave, I kept thinking, this is WAY too short, but we can't go back now. He took one look at it and immediately started crying and screaming - saying this is scarry! I kept reassuring him that mommy likes it (in a neo-nazi kind of way). No our family is not a family of skinheads... but we now because Hans and Jonah are taking one for the team. We are shaving them tomorrow.

He was really worried about if it will grow back. When Abe was eating a little snack while I cleaned the kitchen, he looked up and said, "I don't want to show mimi". I told him that it look cute and although I love his curly hair, it will grow back.

Funny thing is that he thought it was going to grow back last night. Two lessons were learned-

1. Don't shave your head right before easter because you will resemble the easter egg.
2. From here on out, we will be taking the boys to get their hair cut by professionals- yes, I guess I will dish out the $$ for it.

If you see Abe, do me favor and don't laugh. Try and be encouraging!

This season of life, rejoicing, growing, and suffering....

2008-03-19T08:35:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I know that I have not blogged in like forever, but it is hectic being a working momma. Kudos to all my friends who never left the workforce after thier kiddies were born. I do enjoy my job, but like most women, I enjoy the relationships I am forming with my co-workers. I am going to do a run down of my day...
- wake up around 4:45 am to get myself ready
- try to get downstairs for breakfast, coffee (yes I have taken to coffee, due to the huge amounts of caffiene my body needs at 5 am), lunches that need to be made and feed buddy
- wake boys up at 6 am, and get them fed and dressed (although Jonah is an early riser and he is usually up first)
- out door by 6:30 am to work at 7:00
- work from 7:00- 3:30 home by 4:00- usually
- get home and hope I remembered to get something out for dinner! Pick up, start laundry, put dishes away if I did not have time in the morning and have dinner cooking
- after dinner we do baths and usually we play with the boys- they are in bed by 8
- get everyone's clothes out for next day, and clean kitchen, pick up house
- I usually get to bed between 9-10

It is not so bad once you get used to it. God is good to us, he is so patient and gives us everything we need for each day. After being home for almost 5 years, I have an overwhelming peace about working. I enjoy my job! I seem to appreciate the boys more. It does somewhat feel like a break, although, I am still pretty tired.

We are still in waiting about Hans' future. I never really understood what patience is. I still think that I don't get it. Patience is never easy for me. I know that God is cultivating that fruit in me because I am anxious all the time. Right now we are enjoying where we are at. Hans loves teaching bible as an intern at Traders Point Christian Academy. I think the healing process is ongoing, because we both are a little "gun shy" when it comes to looking for work in a Church. I flat out don't want him to, but I am realizing that this life we are called to is not about our gifts, our interests, but more about surrender. Surrendering to what and where God wants us. His wisdom is beyond our comprehension. I feel my soul getting older through this process. I see my faith changing. I am realizing that I really don't "Trust in the Lord with ALL my heart"- maybe just part of it on most days.

At our church, we have been going through the book of Collosians. A lot of what we have talked about and heard is about community. Last Sunday I sat through the sermon and realized that rejoicing in our suffering is made possible through sharing in our sufferings with our community. Well, with that being said, our house church has been sharing in our sufferings and we are ever greatful for that. At first, I was reluctant to share with them, and I felt like they would not really want to know anyway, because afterall, who wants to invest in people if they may be leaving soon. But they have been awesome for us and now I am scared about the "what ifs..."- like what if we leave, or what if one of them leaves, etc.

Anyway, I am enjoying this season for the time being. It is excruciatingly difficult, but I enjoy the "newness" of it.

Some awesome news is that we have a new niece!!! My brother and sister in law had a new baby girl this weekend!! Her name is Adyson Joy... she was tiny- 7lbs even and 19 inches long!!! Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures soon. Very sweet!

The Last day of Being a Stay at Home Mom...

2008-02-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

That's right, today is it. I accepted a position at Trimedx Healthcare Services and I start on Monday. I will talk more about the company later. I am not grieving yet, but I know that I should take extra time today to hug my boys. I am approaching this like eating a hippo- one bite at a time. A lot of change has come to our family and I am surrendering my controlling nature to God who can handle all the details my heart needs to know about.

I have never been a working mother. This is new territory for us. One that I am ready to explore. The tools I am taking on this exploration are simple but hard to use. They include- humility, trust, time management, and organization. All of which seem to be a struggle for me now. I have never followed a tight schedule with the boys, but we are going to be following one from here on out. I think the logistics are worked out for now.

Now about Trimedx. First of all last week I had like 3 awesome opportunities before I got the offer at Trimedx. Actually it was last on mu list, but true to form, every other door slammed shut on Friday... I was in a heap of fear thinking that I would have to start all over with the searching process. I was also in a state of anger for most of the day and trying to figure out what was God up to because he knows I need a job. Late Friday afternoon, I got a call and they offered it to me.

What makes Trimedx stand out is that it is a faith based company with lots of opportunity for me to grow. They started a foundation that takes old but working equipment out of hospitals and send teams of technichions and people from the company on mission trips around the world to help hospitals in needy countries. I will be working for the "for-profit" company, helping customers get the problems they have solved, but I will have opportunities to travel and help with the missions aspect of the company.

True to form, God takes something I am not so sure about and leads the way for me to follow him. I wish I would not be so stubborn in following him. It would make my life easier if I just surrendered everything on a daily basis... my how far I have to go before I understand! I am like a child where I have to learn the same lesson over and over again. Is everyone like this???

More news to come, pray for our family as we adjust to this time. A lot is on my "to-do" list for the weekend to get ready for this life-style change.

2008

2008-01-30T08:24:00.000-05:00

Well another year. I like the fact that we have an open road ahead of us. Thankfully, 2007 is over and we can look to what blessings will come. Every year I struggle with resolutions and making them and keeping them. This year, I am throwing them out the window. They have never worked for me, I am tired of buying into the self-help attitude when all I really need to acknowledge is that Jesus accepts me for who I am. Imperfections and all. No more regrets, no more guilt.

I am declaring this year a year of Love- love for my Lord, for all the people that he put in my life or will put in my life and love for myself. This is not going to be a list of changes I want to make this year. This is going to be about all the hope that this year brings me.

No doubt, the promise of hope for a future will be what we cling to this year. So much is unknown, yet, in this moment we are surrounded by people who love us. I know that God is putting into place the exact spot where he wants us, we just are waiting to find it.

Here are some "pit-stops" on our road this year-
1. Hans is interning at Traders Point Christian Academy. It is exciting for him to be learning and teaching bible to middle school kids.
2. I am close to getting a job! I am going to be a working mom and am pretty excited about getting back into the workforce. I have interviewed at some pretty cool places.
3. Hans completes his last semester of classes before his thesis... we are so close to being out of this season!!
4. Abe will be 5 and Jonah will be 2!
5. A new niece will be born in our family in couple of months... can't wait to meet her!

Sure there are a lot of things I want to "change" or do better, but I would not be human if that weren't the case. I am going to take one day at a time and focus on what my blessings are today. Change will come because I am a new creation in Christ and he is always at work in me.

Here is one last picture that sums up our Christmas... Abe and Jonah in the midst of Holiday glee! They were so happy they actually are holding hands without being told to!!

2007-12-20T13:53:00.000-05:00

This was our Christmas letter... we decided not to send it out! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

As our family looks back over the last year we are reminded of the hope that we all share in Christ. This is the time of year to remember and offer thanksgiving, but also to look forward and offer a message of hope. Most of you know that this year has been a particularly difficult one for us. However, we are going to share the blessings about this year.

Hans has suffered much this year, but he is still holding firm in what he believes and the values that he has. The value of family is strong in his heart, and he has said no to difficult things in order to be with us. He is currently working at Starbucks and is going into his last semester of seminary classes before he writes his thesis. We are both anxious to see what God has in store for him. I (Stacey) have spent a lot of time utterly amazed at God. He is giving me so many gifts right now, even in the midst of my trials or lack of faith. Currently, I am looking for full-time work. I have been blessed to take a class this year with Hans. It is a Marriage Enrichment class and I can see us doing this as a ministry together as it has helped us and we both enjoy helping others.

Abe and Jonah continue to bring us much joy and delight. They bring smiles to our family for sure. Abe turned 4 in July and he is at Traders Point Christian Academy in the Four year old class. He loves it! He is very active and has really enjoyed seeing the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on a regular basis. (We all love that!) He is enjoying his new church and making new friends. This year in his class, he will be a shepherd in the Christmas pageant. His teacher told us at his conference that he is a blessing to have in class and has such a sweet spirit. Finally, after 20 months, he is starting to like this brother thing! He and Jonah are becoming buddies and it seems like they have an ongoing secret joke between the two of them because they giggle at each other so much. Jonah turned 1 in April! He is wearing us all out as he runs, jumps, climbs and generally gets into everything. He is extremely active and smart. He is also probably going to be the clown in the family as he thoroughly enjoys making us laugh and respond to him. He is following in his big brother’s footsteps with the Thomas the train thing. He loves Thomas!

We have joined a house church at Common Ground Christian Church. It has been the biggest blessing in our life since the move back home. We don’t know everyone that well yet, but they have truly surrounded us in our time of need. We are amazed at this group of people. They have prayed for us, with us and are surrounding us with strong biblical fellowship- which seems to be a balm of healing over our hearts. It still does not feel real yet. But every week they love us for who we are. I can see how this group will soon become an extension of our family. Just like so many of you who have crossed our path along this journey of life.

Our wish to you and your family is that you find the hope that Christ offers this season!

“I keep asking that God our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”- Ephesians 1:17-19

Love to you all,

Hans, Stacey, Abe and Jonah Weber

http://www.the-weber-family.blogspot.com

http://www.hans-journey.blogspot.com

Christmas Cheer

2007-12-13T15:54:00.001-05:00

This very well may be the only post we have this month. Life is crazy and we are trying to make an effort every day to focus on Jesus in our home. That is what makes this season joyous. God is so good to us. We have been overwhelmed with his provision lately. Thank you God, for what you have done.

We are excited to see what the boys will be like for Christmas this year. We usually get them only 3 gifts to open... after all, that is what was given to Jesus. Santa brings the stocking and a letter. (the letter is a new tradition, but it seems fitting because we want our Christmases to be memorable!)

Tradition is my favorite thing about this time of year. I had an epiphany a few years ago when we had very little to spend. I know that when I was growing up, my Christmases were extravagant, yet we have not been able to give gifts like that, we just have not had enough money. So, a few years ago I realized that all that was given to me mostly has been forgotten, but the feelings of love and family tradition were not. Those gifts are still stored up in my heart. That is when I understood that the best thing we can give our children is passing along tradition that focuses on Jesus and spending time together. Showing them it is better to give than receive, expressing to them that the greatest gift of all is our Lord, and helping them discover the miracle in Christ's birth. All of these are magical, too. So often we look at Frosty, or Santa or Rudolph and think that the wonder of Christmas is wrapped up in these stories.

Here is what we do, I cannot wait!
We have a candlelit steak dinner on Christmas eve. We go to church, and then we come home and open up new PJs! We do have a birthday cake for Jesus and this year Abe wants to put candles on it. Santa actually gets birthday cake!
On Christmas we wake up and open gifts then we go to my moms to celebrate!
On the 26th, we go to my Dad's and hang out, in the Christmases past, we have a gourmet feast that he prepares, but this year, and the following years, we are not so sure because dad has had bariatric surgurey... we are just playing it by ear.

This Christmas is special to us because we are home around family. It took a lot of pain to get here, but we are happy and content to be home again. Who knows what next Christmas will look like- I know one thing for sure, we are going to steep it in tradition.

If we post nothing else this year... have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

What a week! We had a a great weekend. Here are some things I want to remember about this years Thanksgiving-
~On Thursday we were relaxed... no rushing around to get somewhere because we were already in town! The boys and I had pancakes and sausage (of course) and we spent most of the morning in our PJs! Hans worked at Starbucks because he got time and a half. Dad was the chef for our meal this year. We had an all out gourmet spread. Turkey with some sort of fig gravy, regular dressing, cornbread and ittallian sausage dressing, grean beens, noodles, garlic roasted mashed potatoes, cranberry rellish, cranberry dressing, corn, roasted lamb (surprisingly this is what Abe loved!), homemade bread, pumpkin pecan pie, chocolate peanut butter moouse pie or better rephrased as heaven, and carmel apple cheesecake... I am sure I left some things out! This was Dad's big meal before his procedure- he is getting the stomach bypass next week.

~I brought the Cranberry salad, by request. This is the one dish that I have had at EVERY thanksgiving in my life! It is an old family recepie and it is sooooo yummy. This past year I found an old cookbook where an aunt of mine submitted this recepie. The book was totally retro, maybe from the 50's or 60's and it has a whole section dedicated to jello molds/ salads! This is where I found it. This treasure of a recepie first started out as a jello mold. It has cranberries, jello, crushed pineapple, marshmellow, pecans and a cream cheese frosting!

~Friday we had Hans' family over for soup. I made beef barley and red potatoe soup. It was great to see everyone and spend time with his cousin who is moving to Germany after Christmas. His grandmother hugged me goodbye and was teary eyed because she so desparately wanted everyone to get together.

~Satuday we recovered and did nothing! I got caught up on some chores around the house, and Hans had to work.

~Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving with mom and Jeff at Holly Hoc Hill! This is a fancy shmancy family style resturaunt. It is known for its fried chicken. It is old fashioned and has been serving Indy for ever and ever. It smells like I remember my grandmas kitchen. It is also where Hans and I had our rehearsal dinner. We also put our christmas tree up and decorated the house. After we got it all up, Abe insisted that we turn off all the lights, and he looked up at me and said "let's sing!"

Fun times!! Can't believe that December is a couple of days away. In three weeks Abe will have his Christmas program! He is a shepherd in the play... he has a tiny line and it is "Let's go to Bethlehem and see the baby". We are practicing! Pictures to come!

31

2007-11-18T20:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I am going to try something different. I turned 31 on Friday and now I am going to make a list of random things, thanksgivings, fun memories, and the likes...

1. At 21 I had shot after shot of who knows what, at 31 I had a simple but wonderful glass of Riesling with a toast from family.
2. Your thirty's are better because you know more about yourself & life.
3. I have two kids... blessings, and the source of my weariness.
4. Nine and half years of marriage to Hans... ups and downs but all in all a source of much gratitude.
5. My parents- they said that it was hard for one of their kids to turn 31 (I am the oldest) here is what dad said in his card "Seems like only yesterday I was holding you in the hospital thinking 'What the hell do I do now!' I hope I've done okay! Yes, dad, you did! So did you, mom!
6. Roman Art Exhibit. For my birthday on Friday we went to this exhibit at IMA. One Word- AMAZING. I loved every second of it. Staring at figures that effected the history of the world gave me chills.
7. 15 years ago my mom and friends from high school had a surprise b-day party for my sweet 16th. I was probably wearing a sweater vest (I was a sweater vest queen, by the way) and on cloud nine because I loved the high school scene with friends.
8. Gerbera Daisies- Yesterday when I went to my mom's, Abe walks in with a pot of red daisies and yelled "happy birthday mom!"
9. Grandma. I love her to pieces, I doubt she has ever NOT sent me a birthday card with a message in it. Every card she sends me she always says this: Say "hi" to Hans. She always puts the hi in quotations.
10. Common Ground Christian Church. We have been going here and we are now part of a house church. In worship this morning I felts safe and welcomed. Our service was about Thanksgiving, and I realized today that I do not know what I would do right now if we did not have this small group of believers- even though I don't know most of them- it seems like I this is exactly where God wants us.
11. The IU Hoosiers! All my life I have rooted for this team. This weekend they won the old oak and bucket and they won in basketball the scored 100 points.
12. Pike High School. It only seems appropriate to mention my high school- their football team is going to state at the dome next Saturday! Never in my memory have they done this well in football.
13. My brothers. Chas and Daniel. They both called me on Friday to wish me a Happy B-day! Gotta love them!
14. German Chocolate cake. For years I always have this for my birthday. I had it this year, too!
15. Old friends and new ones. On my Facebook I got many birthday wishes!
16. The Reads. They are so dear to us. We love them like they were our family and they are giving us the much needed nurture, prayer and encouragement right now. My prayer is- please God don't take them away right now. Ron is looking for a job so I am scared they could move.
17. My nieces. These two lovlies are the closest things I have to daughters right now. At my birthday party, they were singing with Koryn's rendition of the extra "Cha cha cha's" and Ella's cute little words with a random blow in the middle of the chorus for the candles here and there!
18. Joy tea. Okay, you know how I love a good cup of tea. Well, Starbucks (dare I say) has this blend of teas they put out for the holidays. Hans bought me a whole case- yummy! My obsession is a bit freakish, but I truly love this tea! I think about it all year! Much like thier iced tea in the spring and summer.
19. Cold Tangerines. I finished this book and it has left a lasting impression. I love it. Which brings me to another point, she is 30, and I realized that my generation (generation X) is getting wise enough to be published. Chalk it up for another reason why 30's are better- people may listen to you more!
20. Charlie Brown. We have been watching the Charlie Brown Christmas. I love it that my boys are enjoying the same things I did when I was growing up.
21. Jonah. The kid wakes up running, climbing and jumping. He is either keeping me young or making me old... I will let you choose. Lately he has been yelling at the top of his lungs "football". Maybe a prophesy considering he is probably going to be a linebacker.
22. Turkey. Yes, this is the week we get to eat it. We love it and are looking forward to it.
23. Angie. My sister. She graduates in 3 weeks!! yeah!
24. The amazing journey that we are taking with Jesus. I would not have been able to predict my life so far. I don't always show my excitement because half the time I am trying to figure out what is going on, but I am convinced that this is one of the most exciting ways to live- walking the path God has laid before you in His Son. 10 years ago I would have laughed in your face if you told us this is what our life would be like! God is amazing.
25. The song "Thank you". We sang it today at church. It is simple but I love it. There are only a few lines and the words are "Thank you for Finding me... Thank you for loving me... thank you for saving me... thank you for healing me."
26. The hope of a white Christmas. Growing up I would start wishing right around Thanksgiving that it would snow for Christmas. I would try and analyze the fact that if we had not gotten snow by the middle of December, then surely we would have snow on Christmas.
27. Prayers. I know so many people are praying for us. I hope that one day maybe in heaven we will see some of the prayers that have been made for us. I am sure that it will blow all of our minds away to truly know.
28. Past birthdays. I don't always remember WHAT I got, but I remember the feeling of love and acceptance every year. My family loves to celebrate. That is what I remember.
29. Hope. We are promised a hope in Jesus Christ. I need that right now. I am grateful for this and I love the fact that each day is new with this same promise.
30. Provision. God has provided for us- our needs and wants. Down to the detail. Amazing.
31. Another year to be able to enjoy, soak up and grow in to. I know that next year, I will have all new stories, blessings, and things to share- even in the simple.

A Celebration of Marriage

2007-11-11T18:19:00.001-05:00

This weekend we had to go on a marriage retreat for our Tuesday class. Most of the time, I would have been overjoyed, but to tell you the truth, we have been very busy and it seemed like we should not have gone. BUT we needed to be there- now more than ever.

It was great. Spending a whole day on working on our relationship. We both feel refreshed! Our teachers have been married for 50 years!! I love them. They have really helped Hans and I sort through some of our emotions and thoughts. Their life's purpose has been to not only serve Christ, but to help enrich marriages- especially in ministry. The legacy they have left and continue to leave on this earth is powerful. They say things that everyone needs to hear. They make it sound like you are not the only one who feels a certain way.

We were able to set goals for our marriage/ family. We were able to pray with each other for an extended period of time. We had a forgiveness ceremony and a vow ceremony. It was a difficult weekend with all the emotions that are still hot over what just happened in our previous ministry. The session we talked about the benefits and downfalls of ministry was excrutiating to us. It is getting better, but I feel sometimes that we will always carry our wounds around from what went down.

We have come away from this retreat with a vision of maybe one day bringing Marriage Enrichment to other people either in a church or a class or a retreat. We are coming up on our 10th year in marriage (next summer actually!) What I have learned is that marriage is a series of choices... choices involving love, commitment, respect, consistency, time, and basically intentionality. What we choose is powerful, and we choose to fight to have a healthy marriage, even when it seems things, forces, or jobs are against us.

Its a girl!

2007-11-09T06:24:00.000-05:00

We are going to have yet another girl in the family. Chas and Andrea are pregnant with another little princess! How exciting! Secretly, I was praying for a little boy. Not to long ago Abe asked me if cousins were girls! So, you all get the picture, it seems like we are the only ones that have boys in our family! Aren't we lucky?? (maybe crazy is the better word!)

God is blessing our family indeed. What great news. So, yes, Abe, to answer your question, cousins are girls! I am so glad we are in Indy to be able to be here with them!

Wonderfully Fantastic!

2007-11-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I am reading this book about Celebration and I cannot help but share some pretty cool things...

1. Yesterday I was able to spend 3 hours by myself. I left at 8 am and went to Panera. Okay, did you know that they have free refills on their hot tea??! I was in heaven. I know, I know, it sounds like I am jumping ship from starbucks, but I love a good deal. I do love Tazo, but the Republic of Tea is not bad... especially their Earl Grey! So, I was there and I got some of my bible study done and I read my book- Cold Tangerines. I saved the best for last... they have Hazelnut flavored cream cheese!!!! Some of you are thinking that I should get out more, but you have to remember, we have only lived in the city for going on 1 month now!

2. I had an interview today!! Yippee skippee! It sounds like the kind of environment I want to be in. I am just praying for the right job. It made me feel good to wear a suit, and act professional... like an adult! Keep praying!

3. Cold Tangerines is great! I feel like she writes what my thoughts are right now. I am sure a lot of people think that, otherwise publishers might not pick you book up, but there is a way with words. I feel connected to this author more than most authors I have read.

4. On my birthday, we are going to see the Roman art exhibit from the Louvre de Muse at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I am so excited! I may never get to Paris and visit that museum which I have always wanted to do. Dad and Ann are taking us. We are also having dinner at Pucks.

5. This weekend, friends from Mt. Pulaski came and visited us. It was good. We went downtown so they could see the Big City! Shopping and eating at PF Changs was a treat. They were fun and we love them.

That sums it up. We are getting better, trying to believe God through all this, and trusting him. What can I say, it is great to be home.

Halloween!

2007-11-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post our halloween pics... taken by Chas and Andrea. Mine are not up yet because I cannot find my usb connector. It was fun for all our little 'Weenies!

The only way to keep Jonah in the stroller is to pump him full of candy. This was the last pirate outfit in his size, as you can see it was a tad little! So we improvised and put on black dress socks and shoes so it looked like knickers for my little BIG bucaneer!

All the cousins posing... or first attempt at a pose. What is Abe doing??? Jonah was concerned for the little papoose.

What a lively bunch... an indian, 2 pirates and an elephant!

Koryn: I will keep smiling until we are done.
Jonah: Arrrgh, Matey!
Abe: Who us, cute?
Ella: Mom, Jonah is cheesing!

Celebration

2007-10-31T13:30:00.000-04:00

I started a book called Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist yesterday. The intro says it all. It was recommended by my lovely reading friend Becca-- she always seems to be reading a cool book.

This book is about "Celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life". I am excited to read this. With all the stress and turmoil in our lives now, we do kind of need a reminder in what it means to celebrate God.

As I type, I see a celebration out my window... the leaves are singing today! Abe and I play this game- we ask each other if we can see the fall colors. He loves looking for orange- it is his favorite color. So, of course, we point out all the orange leaves.

I also have been in a celebration of family and friends. I have been overwhelmed today with the feeling of belonging, love and support. Our parents are wonderful in helping with the boys on our days we are at Lincoln. Our friends are anxious to encourage us and pray for us. People also have been gracious with their time by offering us sound advice and showing their care by expressing their worry. This by far has to be the hardest thing that has ever happened to us... it does not even compare to moving out to Lincoln. Tonight will be a celebration of candy! The boys are going to be pirates.

Every day is worth a celebration- maybe not with candy but with our acknowledgment of what is going on around us. Especially now when it seems like the world as we know it is in such disarray. Environmentally, politically, spiritually, economically... Celebrating will not overshadow these problems. Niequist says in her intro, "To choose to celebrate in the world we live in right now might seem irresponsible. It might seem frivolous, like cotton candy and charm bracelets. But I believe it is a serious undertaking, and one that has the potential to return us to our best selves, to deliver us back to the men and women God created us to be, people who choose to see the best, believe the best, yearn for the best. Through that longing to be our best selves, we are changed and inspired and ennobled, able to see the handwriting of a holy God where another person just sees the same old tired streets."

I am a pessimist, so when I read this, I was excited. I used to believe that I needed a reason to celebrate, but now I need to find celebration in my day to day business. Thanks, Becca, you know how to celebrate and I am grateful you are my friend :)

What do you want to be when you grow up??

2007-10-27T14:33:00.000-04:00

That seems to be half the problem with me. I am not quite sure what I want to be. I am considering going back to school to get certified to teach... but, ughhh- not really wanting to be a student again!

I have made some progress in the job search. I am looking at the not-for-profit sector or the public sector. the idea of working in a charity, or non-profit is exciting to me. It fits my first degree pretty well- Public Affairs Management. I am also looking in the Public Sector. My resume is out to different places and I am still on the lookout! Hopefully I will find something- and soon!

Being blessed in the heavenly realms....

2007-10-23T09:04:00.000-04:00

Well, forgive me if I use this time as a personal reminder of what we do have going for us, but, in all honesty we are at a weird place right now. Both Hans an I are still angry, and hurt. It seems like I need a reminder or maybe a slap in the face of what Ephesian's prayer quotes Paul as saying:

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead" -Epeheshians 1:18-20

I love Ephesians. It has been my book these past 8 months. I have resonated with it's teachings and wisdom and more than anything it's message of hope. Can you own a particular passage or book in the Bible? I believe you can... it seems to be what gets me through those tough days.

Nothing is ever wasted. Our experiences, education, hurt, confusion all seems to be leading us in the same direction-- towards Christ. May His Kingdom come and will be done...

Like I said, this is written more for me than you, but maybe you can relate. Our struggles are never in vain.

"Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3

What is your spiritual blessing today? Today, mine is hope... hope for what lies ahead. During times of transition, hope is all you can have. Thankfully, I find my hope in Christ and not another human being, event or experience.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."- Ephesians 3:20-21

A Grown up Job

2007-10-18T07:57:00.000-04:00

I have come to the conclusion that I need to look for a real, live grown-up job. After all, I do have a college degree. I might as well use it. I have mixed emotions. On one hand, I am anxious to be doing something that is just me... not me and the boys. On the other hand, I want to be at home with them. I guess every working mom goes through this at some point.
I was not too thrilled until I found a positions helping disabled adults get community interaction. There are 2 jobs that I applied for. One is actually helping them get placed in jobs or volunteer positions to help them meet goals set for them by therapists. The other is just getting them to their jobs and out in the community either for shopping, volunteering or working. Now I am pretty excited. If I am going to leave my kiddos I want to do something that can make a difference. This seems pretty cool. I would have my own case load and It looks like they would be willing to work around my schedule for Tuesdays! They seemed pretty excited about me applying. I will have to wait and see what happens. Pray for us!
I have not worked for 4 years! Putting my resume together is kind of intimidating. I have helped, several people write their resumes, but when it comes to my own, I feel like it is not good enough! For this job, I just needed to fill out an application. I might still send them my resume.
I am getting nervous about money. Hans just started at Starbucks this week and won't get paid for a while. We were ill prepared for a job lay-off. With Hans getting diabetes this year, it seems like that threw us for a loop... or a fit, one of the two! We just need to keep praying.
On a side note, it looks like Tuesdays are turning into our day of getting caught up with friends. We have had good times with them the past two weeks. It makes for a long day, but it is good. Our Marriage class is perfect for us right now!

Litterally back HOME again in Indiana!

2007-10-15T14:15:00.000-04:00

Okay, so it has been 3 months since my last post, and our lives are totally different. So to you fellow bloggers, here is a run down of the changes:
1. Hans lost his job at the church in September. This is all I am going to say about this, believe me, I have too much TO say and it is probably best to leave it at that. We are trusting that this is what God wants.
2. We moved back to Indy! Our rationale was that if we are going to live anywhere trmporarily, it would be best to be close to family.
3. Hans just started at Starbucks again. He has this semester and next left for school. We are going to take our time in deciding what to do next.
4. We are commuting (me, too) to Lincoln every Tuesday to finish up this semester. It is making our weeks go fast but the semester seems to be dragging on!
5. One of our friends here in Indy have rented their house to us and it has turned into a huge blessing. It is perfect for our family! We are not bound by a term, so if we need to pick up and move we can with ample notice.
6. Abe started preschool. I know that I was going to homeschool, but with the stress of Hans' job this summer and pretty much our schedule, it seemed better! He started in Mt. Pulaski, but he is going to the Traders Point Christian Academy here and I love it! He loves it too! Every week they work on a character trait of God, this week is F for Faithfulness!
7. We have been worshiping at our home church, Traders Point. It is awesome to be around our old friends, and family again. The first Sunday brought tears to my eyes... I told Hans that Heaven must feel like this!

I have my moments and I am definitely not happy go lucky all the time but I am trying to trust and believe God through this. It is extremely difficult. I have days where I have to keep telling myself that God will take care of us. It is scary and exciting all at once. Today a little more scary than exciting.... but it could and will change later!

Hopefully I can post more often...

"Back Home Again in Indiana..."

2007-07-01T22:34:00.001-04:00

These past few days have been renewing for me. If you ignore the fact that Abe got pink eye and I am fighting a bit of a sinus cold then you may be able to understand. Here are some reasons:

1. Angie. She is my sister and we have hung out a lot just like old times. We have laughed until we cried, taken turns watching after each other's kiddos, sat around the campfire eating S'mores, and basically had a great time. Oh and we went to Target.. our old stomping grounds when we lived here. We have been joking around with her BFF Amber- she is pretty funny, well, at least I laugh at her a lot! Niether one of them read my blog so they won't really see this!
2. Mom. Yeah, she's great. She helps a lot when I am here with the Boys, and they think she is just great-- well, she cannot tell them no, so they get spoiled here. She also has great God stories about her bible studies and what she is learning. It has helped knowing that she and her ladies pray for me!
3. Friday night- It was a great girls night out to honor my friend Trudy- a beautiful bride to be! Trudy is fun and so the night was fun... a "personal shower" to help her prepare for her honey moon. We got dressed up and went to dinner. There were some of my good friends from here and it was great to spend the evening with them.
4. Saturday. Okay so this day was different but it was good to celebrate my Dad's family. It was the Davis family reunion... The Davis Family is my Dad's mom's family. I did not grow up knowing them but it was interesting to meet them and hear about Grandma Jeanne's family. I am named after her- Jeanne Marie. I never met her, she was the oldest sibling in her family and I knew her mom- Granny Davis. Granny was a strong Christian and she was a prayer warrior... well she set a legacy because there were several people that had the faith. It was nice meet relatives that were a part of my Dad's family. True to form, Dad was the photographer and we took an enormous family picture.
5. My Friend Jen. I got to talk with her some on Friday, and we made plans to hang out on Thursday. She is an awesome Godly and compassionate woman. She is single but has a giant heart for motherhood... we have a lot in common. Well, she decided to be a foster parent and went through extensive training and screening and interviewing and PRAYING to get some precious kiddos to call her mama. And a few weeks ago, that is exactly what happened. She has a brother and sister and soon, she will get thier unborn baby brother (or sister). She is my hero. I am excited to meet her kids. Through her testimony, Hans and I have actually considered being foster parents when our kids are out of the "baby" phase.
6. The Clermont Deluxe Outdoor Theatre. We went to the drive in last night. We (Angie, Amber and I) had fun and laughed a lot waiting for the movie- Ratatoullie. Nostalgic to say the least. We did that a lot when we were growing up so it was fun to do it again. My theory was wrong, Jonah did not go to sleep before we got there, so we brought his car seat out and put it in between two lawn chairs and strapped him in! It looked redneck, but cute.

This has been the start of my week. I am thankful that God can bring people together and they can share a feeling of being at home. I think Heaven will feel like you heart is at home for the first time. Through relationships, we can gain a glimpse of what that may feel like.

In two days, my first baby will be 4! I cannot believe it. More fun times to come!

Emergency

2007-06-29T09:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, so do things like this only happen to me?

The other day, I came down and was greeting a new day with screaming hungry kids and the taste of frustration already on my mouth. I went to turn the TV on and it came up with red emergency screen. So I changed the channel. It was on every channel so I read the caption and it said "The emergency broadcast system and issued a state of emergency for the following areas: The United States."....

Uh, I went to the radio and checked there- on NPR. I got the same type of emergency warning. My next step- go to the internet. Which I found nothing relevent to a state of emergency so, I called the State Police... surely they would know. Well they did not- they said there was no emergency and then they told me about how the cable company is actually responsible for setting the swith to "on".

SO my next call was to the cable company and it turns out that someone had accidentally hit the "switch". Now , I have 2 questions. 1. Why is the cable company responsible the "switch"? and 2. If or when the United States is under a state of emergencey, why does the warning have to sound like severe weather?

Just some random thoughts!

Another Vacation!

2007-06-28T23:26:00.001-04:00

Well sort of. The boys and I are staying in Indy for 10 days! We have not been back since Mothers day! We are all excited and are settling. I hope to get caught up with some friends and read some books. I started the U2 book Walk On and am enjoying reading about thier history.

Tonight we went to Teds Montanna Grill. It was great. I have never been and I got the bison meatloaf. Very good. The only resturaunts they have in Pulaski are the Resturaunt, Subway and Pizzaman.

Abe and Jonah are excited to be here! They are happy to see Koryn. Tonight Abe, Koryn, Angie and Amber are camping out in the yard! Hopefully we can swim tomorrow.

New pictures!

2007-06-27T15:25:00.001-04:00

Check out our new pictures on the Picassa Page... click the link to the left :) Our vacation pictures are up, and also some summer pictures!

Hebrews 13:2

2007-06-27T14:52:00.000-04:00

Well the last 24 hours has been my very own Hebrews 13:2 moment. It says:

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

After dinner yesterday, me the boys and our friend Lindsay went for a stroll. We met a couple on a tandem bike with what looked like big yellow pouches strapped on the sides. We could not help but stare, and Abe could not help asking questions. So they caught up to us and we started talking. Sure enough, they were strangers in our community. They are biking across America. I posted their website in my links so check them out. We let them take a shower and use our kitchen (I tried to cook for them but they would not let me!) Then they camped out in our front yard. It was great getting to know them and I hope that we continue the friendship... what fun. Here are some pics of them and thier bike and of Abe on his bike showing them around town! Click on the picture to see a bigger one!

Thier Goal? Go the the geographic center of every state... it just so happens to be Chestnut a small town about 6 miles away!

If VBS weren't about Jesus...

2007-06-27T14:23:00.000-04:00

Then it would be about hell! I know that sounds pessimistic coming from a ministers wife, but last week was our VBS week... From 8:30- 12:30 we were at church helping. Then at night Hans went back for Jr High VBS. It was a good time, a lot of "unchurched" kids came, Abe learned some new tunes for our enjoyment, and all in all it was fun! But it was brutal. I was exhausted and ready for another vacation. That is why I did not post much last week.

The week culminated when we "caught" Hans, JT and Rob (the ministers) and handcuffed them because they were the double agents. Then the Kids took turns throwing water balloons at them! What fun!

Back to Life

2007-06-15T23:50:00.000-04:00

We got back today from a wonderful vacation at the Dells. We left last Friday and were gone all week. As Abe said "at our 'cation spot!" Despite the commercialization, it was a beautiful area. Everything has a price tag there... what got me this morning was the restaurant we ate at before we left charges $2.50 for sharing a plate! But all that being said, it was fun and such a relaxing time. I guess, we had kind of forgotten what it means to relax. Our last vacation was 5 years ago with a group of friends- before we were pregnant with Abe. By Monday I was forgetting what day it was and just enjoying the time.

We rode the Original WI Ducks, we went to an awesome water park... the Wilderness resort, we went to a railway museum, but most of all we rested and played as a family.

The place we stayed had two swimming pools and a park. It also had a pond where spoiled ducks lived that were fed all day long... which we appeased them and fed them, too. Only from us the received sugar-free, high-fiber, whole grain bread! WE slept in, watched cable and had fun meeting people from all over... there were actually quite a bit of foreigners there working. We did not get any cheese, though.

We all enjoyed the water park. Abe morphed into a little fish, because he was all over the slides, and the pools. I took him up one in hopes that they would let him go down, but he was too little. He cried all the way down the stairs, and I was telling him that they just did not know how brave he really was. But he got over it pretty quickly when we got back in the pool. Jonah did great, too. He fell asleep twice on me and raft on a lazy river. We all got some sun that day and it took us a whole day to recover!

One thing I did do for myself was that I read 2 books! I love a good novel, and I picked up the books The Kite Runner, and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khalled Hosseini.. Both are novels based in Afghanistan... during the past 30 years. I love the storries, and how much I have learned about that culture. I guess I have a new appreciation for my life and the gratefulness I have for just being an American. I am lucky to have been born an American... most women have no rights in countries like that. A good book does this, it changes your perspective about other and about yourself. I recommend them both. Growing up, I always took a book or two on vacation... I love reading for pleasure and when I can do it without worrying about other obligations, it becomes more than just reading, I get lost in another world. Whimsical, I know, but you know, my mind is still in vacation mode, I guess!

On our way back home today, Abe was crying to go back to vacation... I was wanting that too! I will post more after I get my pics downloaded. Funtimes, here!

Lectio Divina

2007-06-01T21:59:00.001-04:00

Hans posted a blog on his site as a challenge to enjoy silence... see the link in the title to read it. I am going to do the same. I am challenging myself to study the Bible this way for at least a month. See his site to explain more about it but basically it is meditative reading and contemplating scripture. Not sure which book in the Bible I am going to do, but I will post about it later.

It takes 21 days for new habits to form... 30 if you are like me :)

Day 2 of Crying it out...

2007-06-01T11:39:00.000-04:00

Well, our little Jonah Bean just went down for a nap and guess what- not a single tear! It's progress. We will see how the rest of the day and evening shape up.

“Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more.”- Louis L'Amour

Ahhh Middle School Dances

2007-05-31T23:27:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like reliving your past through kids you may know! Tonight was the 8th grade graduation at our school. Yes, they actually put on a gown and everything! The American Legion was reserved for several of our students' "open houses" and they even had a DJ! We did have fun... I must say that Abe has gotten his parent's affinity for dancing because we literally had to drag him off the floor!

Not much has changed in 16 years (has it really been that long?). The boys kind of hang out with each other and jump around and push each other and the girls dance in a group. I did not see any slow songs or hanging hugs swaying to music. But surprisingly, they played 3 songs that I remember in middle school... 1) Ice Ice Baby- of course you know that Hans and I were singing and dancing! 2) Baby got Back... I am surprised this one is still being requested. and 3) a new version of the Electric Slide... I remember being so proud of myself when I mastered this dance!

So here is my trip down memory lane... I was in 8th grade from August 1990- June of 1991.

* George Bush (Sr.) Declares war on Iraq for Invading Kuwait aka Operation Dessert Storm
* The Berlin Wall in Germany falls and they are united-- no longer East Germany and West Germany
* Rodney King was video taped being beaten up by the LAPD which in turn caused mass riots and chaos across the city
* The Bulls win their first NBA Title .. defeating the LA Lakers
*Milli Vanili singer - cough,cough- Rob Pilatus tells Time magazine, "[Milli Vanili is] more talented than any Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney. Mick Jagger can't produce a sound. I'm the new Elvis." Hah. Later that year they admitted to lip synching and had thier Grammy revoked (maybe he can blame that one on the rain!)
*Will Smith makes his premiere on The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air
* 1990's 10 ten hits were:
1. Humpty Dance - Digital Underground 2. Here and Now - Luthor Vandross 3. I Wanna Be Rich - Calloway 4. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice 5. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer 6. Groove Is In The Heart - Dee Lite 7. Vogue - Madonna 8. Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic 9. Blaze Of Glory - Jon Bon Jovi 10. Step By Step - New Kids On The Block (NKOTB)
* 1991 we saw a birth of a new era(coming from Seattle)... Grunge. Nirvana released "smells like Teen Spirit"
* 1991's top 10 hits were:
1. Unforgettable - Nat and Natalie Cole 2. Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince 3. (Everything I Do) I Do It For You - Bryan Adams 4. Gonna Make You Sweat - C + C Music Factory 5. More Than Words - Extreme 6. O.P.P. - Naughty By Nature 7. True Companion - Marc Cohn 8. Good Vibrations - Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch 9. Strike It Up - Black Box 10. Power of Love/Love Power - Luthor Vandross

I was just looking at some of those songs and smiling while I sing the verses to myself... I <3 the 90's!!

Day 1 of Crying it out

2007-05-31T09:30:00.001-04:00

We have successfully completed 24 hours of Jonah crying himself to sleep. I never wanted it to come to this, but, it seems like it is the only way! I have read books, theories and a whole plethora of opinions and although I am not crazy about this, I have had it with him being in our bed.

Maybe it sounds like I am spoiling him, but he is only going to be little once... now he's getting too big! 13 months is about time. Last night he woke up a little around 9:30, then again at 12:44 and that was the longest stint of crying- almost 30 minutes. After that I did not hear him. Abe is on a camping cot in our room until Jonah can sleep through the night. We are making progress :)

Cleaning, organizing and the blahs....

2007-05-30T21:48:00.000-04:00

I can spend about 24 hours a day cleaning my house. My dad told me today that every time I talk to him I tell him I am trying to get organized. Well, I have accepted the fact that I am not organized... my family has known that for years, but I have been living in a dream world about myself.
So here I go, world- I am a self proclaimed "messie"! It is a term for all you wondering what the heck I am talking about... check out the website- "messies"
It gets better. I have 2 books on organizing, I have checked out 1 book from the library on organizing, and I have tried "flying" with flylady because I am a "Side-tracked home-executive" or SHE.
What I realized today, is that the road to hell is paved with good intention- meaning, reading and researching about organization is only good intention. This is my least favorite "job" descriptions if you will of a stay at home mom- "housekeeper".
I will keep chuckin' away... like always my hope is to get more organized and in more of a routine this summer.... keep praying :)

Perspective is Key

2007-05-24T13:36:00.000-04:00

Frustration, anger, contempt... You name it, and I have had it this week. It is one of those weeks where things seem to go wrong at every turn. Why? Do you ever wonder why if something goes wrong, then it is inevitable that something else will too? For instance, last night I was doing the chore of giving the boys a bath- much to say when you are already having a "less-than" inspiring day, and lo and behold I come down to the kitchen and the dog had gotten the trash out. Hans was at a visit in a hospital. I guess, I learned something last night, there is much to say about trying to keep calm in your anger... something I have not accomplished yet. I basically threw a hissy fit and pouted and screamed like a baby. Will I ever get it? Having to apologize to a 3 and 1 year old is nothing short of humbling, but I hope that maybe one day they will be able to apologize to their kids. I did get a good dose of perspective since my "little" incident (funny how God seems to allow perspective into our "problems"), here it is:

1. Hans visited with a family last night whose father is in ICU and a few years back the mother passed away. The youngest son is in High-school. As Hans was telling me how the visit went, my heart started aching for them.
2. I have been given the privelage of getting to know a college age girl here, and we are going to be doing the study of Beth Moore's "Breaking Free". Through this friendship, I have noticed 2 things- 1) It is of great importance that we as Christians believe what the Bible says...not just know but believe every word because this is how you minister to others and 2) We all need to look at people the way God does- saved or not- they are precious to Him and they should be precious to us especially if we are here for people.
3. God has a tendancy to use broken and imperfect people. I am a perfect example. The church as a whole seems to wait for people to get their act together before they give them any type of credit or responsibility. Thank God that did not happen to us! We were accepted as youth leaders regardless of what our past had been or even what type of bible knowledge we had but for the very reason of our eagerness and willingness to serve. Through that I learned that God is not impressed about what you know but about what you are willing to share after you learn it... many d-team lessons have been taught on the heals of my own learning.
4. Christ has come to set the captives free... so be FREE! I have been resonating with this. Freedom in Christ means inexpressible joy and hope. It is powerful and exciting all at once. See Isaiah 61:1.

Pictures!

2007-05-21T14:57:00.000-04:00

Oh, I just started a picassa account... look at my link list to and click on the "Our Photo Gallery". The ones that are recent are Shedd Aquarium and Madigan State Park

Waiting...

2007-05-18T23:47:00.000-04:00

You know, I love it when I get out of town and do something that normal people do... not just families in ministry. For me, I took Abe to his make-up swim lessons in the FANCY town of Decatur! I sat and got to visit with strangers. Two people sat next to me. One was a mom that was my age and she nervously talked on her cel phone on and off, if it weren't for Jonah bumping into her we would have never talked. But we did and it was good to share common "motherings". Plus we both admired each others shoes (you women know what I mean about that!)
The other lady was an elderly woman waiting in her swimsuit for her swim aerobics. I talked to her the most... probably because she is a widow and does not get to talk to people very much. But i enjoyed it. She shared quite a bit about her life with me and I was blessed to have actually spent 30 minutes talking to her. She raised 6 kids! And they were like 18 months apart from each other. OH and she also worked nights to help with finances! I thought to myself during our conversation... What do have to complain about? My two boys are 3 years apart- a lot easier- I don't work the third shift- I wasn't raised by my aunts and uncles because my parents are divorced. I told you I got to know a lot about her! I found myself appreciating wisdom in life experiences. Maybe I am thirsty for that right now.
A lot can happen when your waiting.

Goodbye...

2007-05-16T23:15:00.000-04:00

One of the "casualties" of living in a state of student-hood is saying goodbye to friends who have graduated. We said goodbye to three friends today. Two of them are Abe's prized babysitters. They watch him because they love him- they don't get paid. Every Sunday, they are here with my boys and they spend a few hours lovin' on them. (Well, lovin' on Abe, it seems like they wrestle with Jonah!) Heidi will be going to Africa this summer on her internship and Danielle will be doing her internship up in Chicago. Either way, they will be missed. Now, Jim, graduated from seminary and Hans met him in class. Last summer after I had Jonah, they were in a video course together and he would come over once a week to watch the video- Scripture in Context. He will be in South Korea teaching English as a second language. We spent the 4th of July with Heidi and Jim last year and had a cookout and watched fire works. I will always remember that 4th because they had fun lovin' on Abe and I enjoyed watching them. They got Abe to say "That was Stupendous" when a fire work went off! Anyway, I am sad to see them go, but I understand the calling on their lives and appreciate the kingdom work they will be doing. Look for a posting on our trip to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago... we went there yesterday and I want to get my pictures downloaded to put with our trip!

Itchin' to Blog

2007-05-14T22:26:00.000-04:00

Yeah I know that I have not blogged in like forever, but I have felt the itch for a while and thought I would give it a try. My hands are always full and I am never sitting with two very active boys!

Jonah just turned 1 and he has been walking now for about 2 1/2 months. He can be compared to a tank! He just plows right through anything in his way and he gets into EVERYTHING... the trash, the pots and pans, the dog food, the plastic containers- anything he can get is chunky little hands around.

Abe is another story... literally, he is a story! He has been telling stories lately and really talking quite a bit. It is always funny to hear his made up sentences... like this weekend when we were laughing at him because he told us that he was going to close his eyes to be surprised- he stopped and said "why you funny at me?" When Papaw asked him on Mothers day if mommy treated him good, he said "not yet", but then he said that we were best friends!

Well, here is a run down of the major highlights since last October:
1. we moved to Mt. Pulaski in December
2. We spent time in Indy during the week of Christmas and jammed 5 celebrations into six days... the six days of Christmas.
3. We decided to Homeschool Abe (I am sure many posts will be about this-- don't freak out, we are taking it year by year... it is not a commitment to graduate him!
4. Jonah bean turned one-- he is called Jonah bean because he liked to jump in his excersaucer like a jumping bean... started out as the "jumping jonah bean"!
5. He finally had his pictures taken... hey two times a year is not that bad :)
6. Hans was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes... about 3 weeks ago.
7. Hans was ordained this past weekend!
8. Hans baptized our niece Koryn this Sunday!

I will try to post more on a regular basis, but for now... here it is.

"I want to dance with my mom!!!"

2006-10-23T10:31:00.000-04:00

So we had a crazy busy weekend this weekend. Saturday we went to a wedding and there was dancing, so Abe was in heaven. He proclaimed "I want to dance with my Mom!" after the bride and groom started dancing! It was fun and I had to write about how cute he was! The boys matched in thier Christmas outfit so of course, I thought they were the cutest kids there!

Sunday after chruch we looked at a house in Mt Pulaski. It is a cute little house and we would like to move there, we are working out the details so keep praying! We were in Pulaski until 3:30 and then we came home for only 20 minutes to get ready and we went back for Revolution.

Last night was the best one we had! There were lots of connections that were made with leaders, and we had more kids than we had had before! It is exciting. I can see the excitement in our leaders- especially the new ones! I remember the first few times I felt like I was getting connected to the students and how exciting it is! What a blessing! Youth ministry really is the most exciting ministry in the church (I'm not biased because I am married to the minister!)

Fun times!

Time, Prunes, Critics, Routines, Oldfolks like me...

2006-10-20T23:03:00.000-04:00

Well, this is the third week in October and it seems like the year is slipping away from us. We are busy, joyous, stressed, excited, and encouraged on how everything is shaping up. Our house did sell, through many blessings, and closing was last week. We are blessed for sure!

The ministry is going well, we are learning a lot about this side of ministry... being the minister and not the volunteer. To coin the phrase "to see how the other half lived..." Our focus is on Jesus, plain and simple. We don't want it to be about us or what we want but about how the spirit leads. Hans is doing a great job, each week he get better at preaching. I say that laughingly because it is hard for me to not be critical of his sermons (as if I am the one that he is preaching to!) I wonder how other wives do it. (I have been reading the blog: http://youthminwives.blogspot.com) and they have some wisdom for me to use.) As you can read in this blog, I am not at a loss for words so it is easy for me to tell him how to say things or what to say or what not to say.

I am trying to stay organized but that is not happening very well. My role is still being defined (by me primarily). Like always, my expectations are higher than everyone else's... I feel like my kids are the ones getting the shaft- especially Abe. I need to be more intentional about spending time with him. I know I stay at home, but it can easily turn into a "go play while mommy cleans" day... we need to find our routine. Which leads me to say I am a creature of habit and I find a lot of comfort in it. Does that mean I am getting old???? Don't answer that--- I will be 3o in less than 30 days. Its funny I don't feel a day over 20! Maybe a little more tired.

Okay, so, you know, if you have read the whole blog, that Jonah is in Cloth diapers- Fuzzi Bunz. Aside from the cute name and the cool colors, and the U.S. patent... NO CLOTH DIAPERS ARE FUN WHEN PRUNES ARE INVOLVED!!!! Today, I have cleaned up 2 of the messiest diapers and outfits (and our sheets) because of prunes. I think we will hold off on the prunes for awhile... maybe forever!

Funtimes here- like always, we are on fire! I get a kick out of Abe because I guess he has heard us say it over and over again this passed couple of months but he has enjoyed saying to us "i am so excited"!! That and I asked him what we do as a family and he said "eat dinner and go to church"! We will have to work on family fun time ;o)

Abe and Jonah... growing, growing, growing

2006-10-04T11:02:00.000-04:00

Abe's off to school!

Bye, Mom!

The teacher took a picture of us... Poor Jonah is strapped in so you cannot see his face! Look closely and you will see Abe's busted chin!

Me and my Buddy wait for the Mamas to pick us up!

Abe and Jonah on thier tummies... Jonah is rolling over and over and over and over!

What is normal???

2006-10-03T16:56:00.000-04:00

Well, the whole month of September has flown by. I cannot believe that it is October already. Over the course of thirty days, it seems like our life has completely changed and been turned upside down and sideways. And we have had poor internet connection so I have not had the amount of time to blog!

Since my last post we lost another loved one. Andy. My cousin. He was only 21 and today would have been his 22nd birthday. He was in a motorcycle accident and died about 2 weeks ago. It has been rough, and I did not have the strength to write about it on our blog. We will miss seeing him around.

We are trying to get back into the swing of things if that is possible. I told Hans I want to try to get back to normal, and Hans said, "what is normal?"

He may be right, we are in the thick of our new year of student ministry, new church, new community and our lives are crazy! We are blessed beyond measure when it comes to what God has done for us this month. The ministry is going great, we get really good feedback from the students and parents. Our house in Indy is finally closing (on Thursday). We are building new relationships in Mount Pulaski with the people and the community as a whole. We have been provided for, no doubt about it!

Abe has completed his first month of preschool and he is doing okay, I am not crazy about it because they changed the program and now there are 30 kids with 3 teachers... I thought it would be more one on one. They get stamps when they have a good day. So you go pick them up and in front of all thier peers and peers' parents they get this stamp- talk about humiliation. He has only missed one stamp. It was the week after Uncle Dave's funeral and he was upset with a little kid about something, apparently, and got in his face and yelled. Well, this kid bit his nose and then Abe punched him in the face. I guess, if I got bit in the nose I would punch someone in the face, too (but that is besides the point). We have been telling Abe to use his "words" well, maybe we need to explain to him to use his words nicely! He is learning stuff, we think, his first day of school, we had no idea what he did or how it went, and he did not say anything to us except "lizzard... gecko... run".

Jonah is getting Huge! He is growing and changing so much right now. It has been fun seeing him admire Abe, even though being the little brother, he get no respect. He thinks Abe is pretty funny and he talks to him a lot even when Abe is not paying attention. He is successfully moving on to solid foods. He like his cereal (finally) and he also has enjoyed carrots... tonight we try sweet potatoes- yum! He still nurses about 5 times a day... which is easier than 10! I have gone back and forth with weening him, but he will only be this little once, so I guess for now I am stuck with it!

I started a new Beth Moore study at our church. I am glad I did because it seems to keep me in the word and that is what I need right now. God has really shown me true comfort in His word. That should not surprise me but it does because it seems like I search for it everywhere else- relationships, routines, parents etc. This one is about the book of Daniel and I am fascinated with the stories and the commentary that Beth Moore writes. God proves faithful in my life over and over. I also have realized how little I know of Him and how much He knows of me. It is good getting to know some other women in our church. My house seems like a mess all the time, so I should probably stop writing and start cleaning :) I will post pictures of the boys today (after all isn't that why people check!!)

1

2006-09-10T09:18:00.000-04:00

1 great man was celebrated last week. We were at Indy all week for Hans' Uncle Dave's funeral. He was young and the death was sudden but I am rejoicing in knowing that he is with Jesus, so I want to write something to celebrate 1 great man.

The Bible says that the Lord searches the whole earth for just 1 heart that is His, and he sure found it in Dave. Abe is named after him for a reason. Early on in our marriage, when we were struggling with typical newlywed stuff, we both knew that we wanted to model our marriage after Dave and Deb. They never once sat us down and talked to us, or gave us advice, or told us what to do because they never needed to... we could tell by thier example. They loved God, each other and thier family. I sat at the funeral on Friday and realized that we are in no comparable to them because they have so many more years (twice as many to be exact) but still, we strive to have the foundation, love, honor and respect they had... and the Fun!

Dave was a Giant of a kid. He gave borderline crushing bear hugs- you could laugh or pass out! His laugh was booming and heartfelt. He joked all the time. He worked with high school kids as a youth leader for 15 years!!! (I am still thinking about the impact of this man when I think of that!) We would go for very long periods of time in between visits and he made you feel like you didn't miss a beat.

His wife Deb was always a welcoming hostess. From the time I met her I knew I was going to get along with her. Through out Hans' whole life, people would always tell him how much like Dave he was, well, when we got together, it turned into how much I was like Deb. So, she became a "resource" for me on what drove me nuts about Hans. I remember asking her a few things and her face would lite up and she would just grin and laugh about how Dave does the same things or how the family is like this or that and we would both giggle about how dorky the two of them are when they were together (or apart for that matter).

There was a comment on how Dave was an unlikely youth leader because of his sense of style. I was laughing to myself because I see some same qualities in Hans... I do try to help dress him, though! I just think of the time he danced to Vanilla Ice at church in front of Jr. High kids! I see the similarities! It is ironic that we are in Youth Ministry, too. We never planned it this way, but knowing that Dave was a youth sponsor, does not surprise me that Hans would be shaped for this ministry as well.

Above all else, Dave made me feel at home in the family. I know the whole family loves and accepts me, but with Dave I knew it because of his personality. I am going to miss his Hugs and his laughs. I am going to miss how he loves my husband when he is around him. He loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, body and HUGS!! We will dearly miss him, but look forward to the day when he will be hugging us in Heaven.

The verse the Eulogy was based on was Hebrews 10:23:

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

A lot going on and good things happening...

2006-08-29T21:47:00.000-04:00

Well, I wanted to sit down and get out an update today, on Hans' day off, since I have time now at almost 9. The week has flown by. We got home last Wednesday and our weekend was jam packed! Friday, I went to a card party at church and had fun getting to know some new friends. This week we are having "mom time" and going to Olive Garden for fun! We have had some fun with seeing the TPCC kids out here. I have been introducing them as our adopted little brother or sister! Some of them came to Mount Pulaski this weekend to worship with us!

Oh, and we have excepted the offer on our house- praise God! It failed the inspection the first time because we did not have all the utillities turned on, so they were able to get it reinspected last week and there were some things that came up. I know that is normal because that is what inspectors do, but we are praying for what the buyers will have us do and how they will react. This is all so new to us it is hard not to panic. God is bigger than all this and he is in control.

Dad, Ann and Whit came over to the BIG town of Lincoln to see the Balloon & Art Festival- too bad it rained or was overcast most of Saturday. We still had fun hanging out with them. Abe saw dad get off his Harley and yelled "Pappy!" Then he saw Ann and whit and yelled " Whit 'n' Nanny!" (which sounded like all one word.)

We had our first big event with the students this weekend. We went to an area youth gathering called the Reverence. It was a lot of fun. Here are some things that I learned:
1. Get directions from the person who invites you and not the computer or someone who "thinks they know". We drove around for an hour trying to find the church but it only took us 30 minutes to get home!
2. Abe will act like he is in highschool around highschool kids! He had so much fun, I had to carry him over my shoulder to get him to eat dinner. They had a blow up obstacle course, which he loved! Hans took him on it a few times and then some of our kids did, too. During worship, he got to dance which was fun to watch! Faith like a child!
3. Count before you pull away from the parking lot! I spent our trip home praying we did not forget anyone!! Hans and I were so excited that we forgot to do a head count. Thankfully there was nothing to report, we brought everyone back that we took!

All in all, the night was a success. We got to know the new sponsors pretty well, and we bonded with some students. They are hungry for some consistency in ministers, they have said as much to us as the Elders and Sr. Minister has. We are excited about this coming year. Still, we have a lot to do, but are still geared up and ready to go.

We placed our membership at Mount Pulaski, too. When we went up, the minister looked at us and asked if we were baptized and Hans was circumsized- hehehehehe! Funny guy. I am glad he made us laugh because I was a little nervous. I was also a little emotional (should that surprise you), looking out in the crowd, I saw the future in our ministry, all the students that are left in our care and I also saw the past of our ministry, the TPCC kids that were sitting in the crowd. A full cricle moment for us. Hans is doing great and I enjoy seeing him "unfold" to be all that God has shaped him to be. It is exciting to think that we are finally doing this- we must be crazy!

Fun times...

Pictures & Growing Kiddos

2006-08-29T13:17:00.000-04:00

"Look at me, I am in my new toy!!"

Abe's picture we took for his preschool "Who I am" picture.

I cannot believe that Jonah is 4 1/2 months old this week! He is growing by leaps and bounds. Abe will also be starting preschool on Thursday- yikes! At the doctor, Jonah weighed in at a whopping 17 pounds and 3 1/3 ounces and 25 1/2 inches long! Still, he is only breastfed... seeing how he hates cereal, we stopped shoving it down his throat about 2 weeks ago. (There is something not right about forcing cereal down a screaming child's throat!) We will try again this week- I just have to pump which I hate doing! Anyway enjoy the pics. Look for an update, too!

"Way too close, mom, but at least this way you can see my eyes and dimples!"

"What up, home fry!?"

Praises, updates and blessings

2006-08-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since my last post, that is because I don't have a pc during the day... soon to be changed! We are hoping to get our desktop fixed and Hans will be getting a computer at work. Well, in our last post I mentioned we got an offer on the house, not a super one, but a workable one. A week ago we got a second offer! So we were able to get the first offer higher and we have officially accepted an offer only $500 below our asking price! I cannot believe it! God is so good and faithful.

Our year for student ministry is shaping up pretty nicely. We have a ton scheduled but are looking forward to getting to know the students. Our name is "REVOLUTION"... our reasoning is that we want the youth to be a part of the revolution at Mount Pulaski! I read somewhere to "Expect great things from God and DO great things for God!" That is what we are doing. The students are excited to start up. Our official date is September 10th... we already have a worship band and we have had 5 sponsors (I think) sign up. Very encouraging stuff.

I have been thinking a lot of God's faithfulness. You know, He is faithful all the time. It does not matter how faithful we are he is faihful. It does not matter what our attitude is, He is faithful. It does not matter what our plans are, His prevail. I am just blown away by his goodness and faithfulness. During the past 20 months, I needed to be prodded to just remember all this, now I see what was in the works when all I kept seeing was the bad. I feel so unfaithful, but I guess it is just how God is teaching me about Himself. The longer I walk with Him the more I realize, I have sooo much to learn.

Well, I am in Indy for one last hoorah before our year starts. We are having fun spending time with family. Due to the schools starting here, we are staying with my grandma! She is a hoot! I am going to have to write a blog devoted to her! I love her and her quirky things. I can tell she is enjoying the company because she and I have talked all day. I love hearing her stories (again) about meeting my grandpa, what it was like on "VJ day", how her life was like etc. Her and I have some things in common because we both look for the deals at the grocery store so we also talk about the price of chicken breasts and bananas! Fun times! She is a good quilter so we talk about quilting and she shows me her current projects.

I was able to go to TPCC for worship yesterday! To see them in thier new building is cool! They are really going to impact the Kingdom even more! What a blessing. Listening to Howard preach was a feeling of home so it was good times. I so enjoy seeing old friends and mentors and students and faces of our life here in Indy. I am blessed to know that they pray for us and are rejoicing with us during all our victories! We love them all!

When we get home we have a ton of pictures to put up of Jonah... he is 4 months old!!!

First Week as Youth Minister

2006-08-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

What a week! Hans started full time on Monday and he has been busy plotting out the school year. We are anxious! Hans is doing a great job... you can tell that God has molded him for this. God is using him soooo much already. It is exciting for me to hear about his day and who he met. We are able to spend breakfast together. We have never been able to do that since we've been married considering he has always had a job that requires him to be at work before 7:30 am. It has been so nice to have breakfast as a family and Abe really enjoys it. Maybe we can get into a routine where I can actually get a shower with someone supervising the kids :o)

The other news is that we received an offer on the house in Indy. A decent offer, I should say. One that we are going to accept. Please continue to pray that all the kinks get worked out. God is so good to us. How could I have forgotten. I am sad to say that I did forget about how God moves and works and is faithful. I don't ever want to have to be reminded of his faithfulness again... I just always want to remember!

If you want to pray some specifics for us here you go: 1) God would raise up volunteers for us 2) Hans and his school work- that he would be able to get things done, spend time with us and focus on ministry. 3) That we would continue to have faith and be humbled before God because, afterall, He does get all the credit. 4) God would work out all the financials concerning our house in Indy. 5) We can devote time to "trian up" our own kids appropriately without "exhasperating" them. 6) That we can be pleasing to God (aka have Faith Hebrews 11:6)

I want to close with this:

The Commission to Faith

Lord, today I accept my calling

not to perfection or performance.

My calling is to faith.

I have been chosen for this generation.

I have a place in the heritage of faith.

I'm going to stop wishing and whining

and start beleiving and receiving.

What your word says is mine.

I won't let others steal my hope.

I won't argue with a Pharisee.

I will believe and therefore speak,

for You, my God, are huge.

Nothing is too hard for You.

Our world needs your wonders.

Rise up, oh Lord!

Please renew Your works in our day.

I confess the unbelief of my generation

and aske you to begin you revival of faith

in my own heart.

For You are who You say You are.

You can do what You sat You can do.

I am who You say I am.

I can do all things through Christ.

Your Word is alive and active in me.

Satan, here me clearly:

My Father is Maker of heaven and earth.

You are under my feet,

because today and the rest of my days,

I'M BELIEVING GOD!!!!

Affirmation

2006-08-06T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hans got affirmed today from the congregation! We were in Mount Pulaski most of the day, and then had a busy evening. So, yeah, the congregation voted him into the position this afternoon and he starts tomarrow! We are excited!

The other news is that Jonah is sleeping in his crib- in the same room as Abe. We thought it would be tougher than it was but they both seemed to do better knowing the other was in the room. I guess the true test will be this morning at 3 am! Hans has been bugging me to get Abe into the crib and out of the bassinet, but I guess, I have not wanted let him go... kind of wanted to keep him little forever! The point was that he was growing out of the bassinet- it was getting dangerous I guess even though the manufacturers instructions says up to 25 pounds. But you know, he has to grow up sometime :)

Now we start looking for a house in Mount Pulaski... good times, it will give us so much more space!

Quotes from Abe... AKA 3 year old wisdom

2006-08-04T09:43:00.000-04:00

Saying.....................................................Interpretation

"Idea..... sandbox"..............................I have an idea, let's play in the sand box
"pidermam banbaid"............................I have an ouchie and need a spiderman bandaid
"mama I waked up"..............................It's time for you to get up, too!
"Dinner Time".....................................I'm hungry for anything- breakfast, lunch or supper
"I'm Batmam'"...................Mom hold your breath because I am going to do something dangerous
"Jonah, look at you"..............Everyone looks at you anyway, so maybe you can check yourself out "Dance mom"...................................I'm bored and need a good laugh :)
"Pray for Jonah"...........Pray for him before every meal because he doesn't get to eat with us yet. "BBS fun"................................................I liked VBS
"Look mom, friends"..............................I need to hang out with my buds.
"What's Mimi and Papaw doonin'"........................I miss them.
"Done workin' Dad?".................................................Can you play with me now?

Pride

2006-08-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

God has been faithful this week to me to remind me to watch out for Pride in ministry. How easy it is to fall into it's trap. Here is what I want to remember and am going to start praying for now before we start:

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." ~1 Corinthian 1:26-27

It is a good thing he does not use people of influence or wisdom because we don't have much of either one! All the more reason to Praise His Name! Here is a Poem that Beth Moore (of course I have to quote her) wrote:

My name is Pride. I am a Cheater.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny...

because you demand you own way.

I cheat you of contentment...

because you deserve "better than this".

I cheat you of knowledge... because you already know it all.

I cheat you of healing... because you're too full of me to forgive.

I cheat you of holiness...

because you refuse to admit you're wrong.

I cheat you of vision...

because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.

I cheat you of genuine freindship...

because nobody's going to know the real you.

I cheat you of love...

because real romance demands sacrifice.

I cheat you of greatness in heaven...

because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.

I cheat you of God's glory...

because I convince you to seek your own.

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

You like me because you think I am always looking out for you.

Untrue.

I'm looking to make a fool of you.

God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...

If you stick with me,

You'll never know.

Continue to pray for us! Hans has a congregational vote on Sunday and he is supposed to start next week. We can feel your prayers and see the results!! Thank- you.

First Cereal!

2006-08-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

Well, we finally gave Jonah cereal for the first time and as you can see by his facial expressions, he is not a big fan of it yet. He is 15 weeks old this week so just a week shy of the 4 month mark. He does not like it all that much! Yes, Dad, he wore his Harley bib for the occaision.

"Eeewwuh... what's this stuff, mommy"

"I don't see what is so funny that you have to take a picture"

"I'm Herbie and I belong to a three year old. I hope I don't end up like the guy who lived here before. It's a hard knock like being a pet of a toddler"

My boys

2006-08-01T09:38:00.000-04:00

A Mama has to Brag...

Big Jonah- he has doubled his birth weight (according to the scale today.) He has fussed for about 2 days now and finally yesterday he woke up in the middle of the night wanting to nurse. So, we are going to try cereal today. I have been trying to hold it off, but I don't think I can. One of the signs of readiness is him "noticing" when I eat and he has been watching me and fussing.
He is 15 weeks old this week!!!

"Cheeeeeze"- can you tell that Abe likes to get his picture taken? He will be starting preschool at the end of the month- YIKES!

First picture of Abe and Jonah together- if you can believe it! Abe just would not hold Jonah for the longest time!

I had to include this one... it's too sweet. This was taken on the last day at CIY and he is laying in his stroller with loud music and teenagers jumping all around him. He just looks like an angel!

A week in Review

2006-07-30T12:49:00.000-04:00

What a great week we had at CIY in Carbondale. It was a time to make new friends, visit with old ones, worship, dream, and remember. We did take Jonah with us and that was a challenge, but he seemed pretty adaptable.

CIY as usual was incredible. The people we went with were awesome and we thouroughly enjoyed getting to know the students at Lincoln Christian Church. I must admit that at the beginning of the summer, I had every intention of becoming a youth sponsor- I had no idea that our path would lead us to our own ministry yet. So I was a little reluctant because I did not know why I had come. Hans had the same feeling, we were wondering why we were there. We found the answer to that question- freindships. I found a good freind in the youth ministers wife and hopefully an invaluable resource on what it is like being a wife to a youth minister. We also were able to get to know the students which always seems to bless us. It got us really excited to get our hands into ministry. God is so faithful and we can see how he has blessed us with such encouragement through this past trip.

The other tidbit of news on the ministry front is that Hans passed the second round of voting. He got unanimously voted in to the position on Tuesday night. Now we need to wait for the "affimation" vote from the congregation- that will be next Sunday. We gpt introduced to the church today. The Sr. Minister wore a tie for the occasion because he said he was excited! Hans gave the communion meditation again this week and after the first service someone came up and told us they want to move to the retirement apartments and they have house we could buy on contract- he said he could work it out!

We left on Monday and got back early Saturday morning. We got back to an almost dead lizzard. Mater left us on Saturday before Abe got home. We did not say anything until he noticed it. It was sad for Abe but we got him a new one today. He kept saying "died, died". We got an older Leopard gecko and Abe named him Herbie. Pray that this one lives, because I told Hans no more money spent on lizzards. Hopefully the next pet we get will be a dog... that should be better!

We were both excited to see Abe yesterday. We really missed him and think that next year we will be taking both the boys with us, if we go. As far as Jonah goes, it seems like he changed a lot this week. He is getting stronger and trying to hold his head up more. He is also getting big! I cannot believe it. Anyway, we will put some pictures up this week!

Before the Weekend is over...

2006-07-23T22:58:00.000-04:00

Another Sunday, another day of excitements for the family. We met up with Grammi and Pop last night for Abe to stay with them for a few days. Only having Jonah has made it pretty easy to get out the door. We were gone all day today. We are heading out for CIY tomarrow morning. So we have been preparing for that.

Of course we went to Mount Pulaski this morning. It is getting us pretty excited. Hans gave the communion meditation. He did great! It was really good, and it is always hard for me to hear him speak because I get nervous- more so than him. Part of that is because I (obviously as you can see) am pretty vocal, too and I have to try hard not to tell him how to say it.

I am looking forward to an "Abe-less" week! I feel like a bad mom but right now he is so all over the place. Friday morning, he tried to get his lizzard out of the cage- I flipped out because I will not touch that thing! He actually climbed on his trucks, and opened the cage (which I thought was going to be too hard for him). Two hours later, I kept hearing him say "mom, I feed them" I went into to see what he was doing and he managed to dump a significant amount of fish food in the tank. I'll tell ya', it is tough being a pet to a 3 year old! Mental note... whenever Abe laughs at himself- start running to see what he is doing!

Anyway, I can tell you that you all need to do this Bible study ;o) I am starting to get spoiled because EVERY time I crack open the Bible I feel like it was written just for me! I am not even going to get into it because I could write all night long, but one thing I will say is that I am going to meditate on Deuteronomy 8 this week because it talks about remembering what God has done- especially after you are in your promised land. It is really easy to forget ALL that He has done in times of prosperity and I just don't want to do that!

Good times ahead for us, we'll write more later~~~

No Eye... No Ear... No Mind...

2006-07-20T21:12:00.000-04:00

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"- 1 Corinthians 2:9

We did receive an offer! They gave Hans a contract to look over and then the lo-down on the financials. It is confusing being a minister, that's for sure. It is a great offer and we have accepted it. We have been on the phone trying to find insurance and talk to our CPA so there is alot to do.

We are getting an allowance for housing and we are hoping to move there in the next couple of months. (pray for our house to sell in Indy, first.) Changes and transitions seem to be what makes life, LIFE. Hans gets along pretty well with the Elders, because they were laughing and joking around when they went over the other questions they had and the contract. They tried to tell him that I had to play the piano and that it was in the contract that way- hehehehe! I would try and pray the Holy Spirit would intervene ;0) I am sure he doesn't work that way, but it would be cool.

Well, anyway, we are on cloud nine! Like I said before, we would have never chosen this for ourselves and are anxiously waiting to get our hands into the ministry! I must add, that were it not for TPCC (www.tpcc.org), we would not have been this well equipped so soon after starting school. We will be forever grateful to the Staff & Elders (especially our buds in the Student Ministry) for thier leadership and support. Without their encouragement, discipleship, and love, I really don't know where we would be.

So long soy lattes and cappuccinos! We'll post more later.

Beliving God has been there all along

2006-07-17T14:02:00.000-04:00

Here's the Update- Wednesday night, Hans is meeting with the Elders to receive a formal offer and to discuss the logistics of him working full-time, having a family and going to school full-time...

"Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things." (Joshua 3:5)

Yes, you know I have to write about my Bible study once again. I am telling you God is speaking his word over me and I cannot contain it- Jerimiah 20:9"...His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, indeed I cannot." This is how I feel today!

I have come to the realization that in our life we must cross many Jordan rivers. In Joshua chapter 4 we studied today how the Isrealites crossed the river, stopped in the middle and took stones of memorial to remember what the Lord had done. I think we are at the point where our "spiritual" lives mix with our "physical" lives in that we pick up the Bible and everything we read speaks to us about our life situation. I have been freed from slavery, went through the desert complaining, tasted the promised land and now, it seems like I am standing in the middle of the Jordan taking my memoral stone facing my promised land and knowing that there will probably be a circumsicion and a Jericho... I have not experienced it yet, I'm just preparing myself.

For two years (it has been two years because we started praying about full time ministry in the summer of 2004) I have read the Bible and seen the promises, but never thought about what they would actually look like. I will be the first to tell you that every step of the way I have been pleasently surprised to see that this is what the desire of my heart is ("delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desire of your heart" psalms somewhere) but I know that He knows better than me (I mean who would choose to live here in Lincoln??)

When we started on this Journey to come to Lincoln the verse that God put in my heart (or better said as "fair warning") was from Isaiah 7:9, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." I must admit that I almost lost it from not "standing firm" and all I could do was pray to be rescued. In Exodus 14, when the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea they were terrified at the the approaching army and pretty much asked Moses why he brought them out of Egypt only to be killed in the desert. He replied "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the diliverence the LORD will bring you today....The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (vs. 13-14) I am sure I am the only one about ready to jump because of the excitement from seeing it full circle, but like I said, I cannot contain it.

I think I am in the middle of the Jordan taking my stone for memorial.

"As you come to him, the Living Stone-- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are becoming built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifieces acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5)

More updates later~~

Fun time pictures continued...

2006-07-16T19:15:00.000-04:00

Okay so I finally got online...

Abe on his new bike. He had to wake up early to ride it. This was taken about 7:30 am.

The LCC Pond! Mud, grit, grime and water- what little boy would not love this? Abe was the first one to strip down to bare bottom (not shown so don't freak out!)

The damage. Abe covered head to toe in mud. The bath tub needed a bath after he was done!

Abe's "Mud Buddies". Fun Times with Friends ;o)

Fun times frustrated...

2006-07-16T18:21:00.000-04:00

Well, I had some cute pictures to upload but our wireless connection at our apartment is not working right. Something on campus because I am at the warehouse and it won't work here either, so I am on a school computer.

Last week we had some fun playing out in the LCC "pond" and we let the boys get all muddy. Those were the pictures I am talking about.

We went to Mt. Pulaski again today and it looks like Hans is going to meet with the Elders early this week to get a formal offer and a date on when he preaches to the congregation. We are excited!!

We are going to have one busy week because we are heading out to CIY at Southern Illinois with Lincoln Christian Church next week. Abe will be spending the week with Grammi and Pop and Mimi and Papaw... I cannot wait for a break. Although, we both know that he will get spoiled rotten!

We went home this past weekend to visit and the trip out there was crazy. Jonah cried the whole time and when he settled, Abe would bug him. A crying baby for 2 out of three hours is enough to make anyone go mad. Hopefully it will be better next time.

Ministry update #2

2006-07-14T10:58:00.000-04:00

Hans heard back from Mount Pulaski and they want to move forward from here. He will have to preach and then have the congregation vote. It sounds pretty intimidating! Please continue to pray for us! He is nervous already and they have not even told him when it will be! We are excited and not quite sure how all this goes, I guess it's all a learning process. I think they are shooting for him to start sometime in August.

Oh, and I changed my settings so you can add a comment to my blog without being a member- if you want.

Ministry Update

2006-07-13T13:53:00.000-04:00

Hans met with the elders at Mount Pulaski last night. It went really well. They met for almost 2 hours and it sounds real promising. All sorts of questions were asked on both sides. It is actually an "Associate Minister" position because they would like Hans to also to some discipleship stuff with the adults (since he is a Christian Ed. major). He came home pretty excited about it all. He and the Sr. Minister are around the same age and it seems like they are going to be pretty good friends.

From our perspective it seems like a perfect fit. (It really does not matter what our perspective is, though, only God's). They were going to talk about it last night and pray so we can possibly hear from them soon. They may not make a decision until Hans preaches (yikes!) He is anxious and a little nervous to preach/ speak in front of adults- it has always been in front of students.

They were really interested in us relocating if we got the job. We are all about that... it is a pretty cute town. Plus it would be nice to have more space and a house. We need to sell our house in Indy before we consider moving- at least for now. It is funny to think that we came from a church (TPCC) that has more people attending it than live in this town ;o)

Please continue to pray... we'll update more later!

Rainy Tuesday

2006-07-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

Today has been spent inside- which usually turns out to be a boring day, but we had a "movie party" with our buddies! The Nimrods and Mollets came over and shared snacks while watching "Hoodwinked". Here are thier blogs if you want to check it out- http://nimrodnews.blogspot.com and http://themolletfam.blogspot.com

Tomarrow Jonah will be 12 weeks! He is a little chunker. Here, he is in his new Fuzzi Bunz, and he likes it can't you tell! I have been getting into these cloth diapers! They are so soft for his little bum. This is where I bought them, and I am saving up to buy more! www.ittybittybabybunz.com

This week in my Believing God study it is about "God's word is alive and Acitve in me." Here are some key points that I want to remember (taken from the video part)
~Hebrews 4:12 (Amplified Version) "The Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]"
~God's words are omnipotent; because we have been created in Gods image, our words are potent.
~Our words are potent no matter how we use them.
~God desires not only that His children believe truth but also that we speak it: "I believed, therefore I have spoken" (2 Cor. 4:13)
~God ordains that words of faith have more power than thoughts of faith alone: "Say to this mountain, 'move from here to there' (Matthew 17:20)"

As far as Abe goes, he is doing better. Yesterday and today have been better since our "battle". We had to sit down and come up with a game plan. Instead of parenting with "punishment" we are going to parent with virtues and have "consequenses." The virtue that is the most important to us right now is RESPECT! Teaching him to Respect 1- God, 2- Parents and others, 3- Self, 4- property. We are also trying to not yell but speak calmly- the old addage "honey catches more flies than vinegar" seems to work better with him.

I'll write more tomarrow after we find out how the meeting with the Elders at Mount Pulaski went. Pray, pray, pray...

A battle of Wills

2006-07-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Is it being three that makes you so defiant? Or maybe our own human natures? We have deffinitely been initiated into a rebellious spirit in our child's heart. We did a battle with Abe for about 1 hour and 45 minutes last night. Mom asked me "who won?" Depending on your definition of winning- I am not sure! It was about nothing and everything and at the end Abe made it about "sleeping with Mommy and Daddy." Which we never have done just because (it's always been a reason like thunder storms, nightmares and etc.) So I guess from his perspective, we won (I think) because he finally went to sleep at 10:45. Everything starts anew the next day, right? Wrong! He woke up at 6:30 am and came marching into our room buck naked! Kind of like "I WILL do what I want!" He has been yelling at me "I WILL NOT DO IT" whenever I ask him to do something. Is this payback for me being a deffiant child? Lord, I hope not!

I have read books, prayed about it, and sought counsel so hopefully one of those tools will work. In the mean time, pray for us! We are raising a monster, apparently! I know those of you with teenagers are saying "just wait" and laughing (especially my own mother)! Sweet little Jonah just seems like an angel today :o)

Sunday Afternoon excitements

2006-07-09T20:19:00.000-04:00

Well, what a weekend. Abe is at VBS, Hans is taking a walk praying with some buddies, and Jonah is sleeping... so what am I doing- blogging!

For 5 days now I have been using cloth diapers. A lot of my friends use them out here and I always picked on them and said "not for me". Well peer presure is a very powerful thing (all those ads for "just say no" apparently did not work for me) and I decided to try them out! I love them! The clean up is not all that bad, actually, I mean who loves changing any diaper disposable or reusable? His little bum is not as red and it actually holds the pee in better! So I am borrowing some from my friend until I get enough money to buy my own. I have found some that I like called Fuzzi Bunz that I think are cool! You may say I am wierd but there are benefits like saving money!! Over the next 2 1/2 years, I will save around $2000- $3000. Double that if we have more! Not to mention the environment... 1800 tons of diapers get dumped into landfills across America- they do not break down- you will find pampers from when I was in them. Are you convinced- well what about the chemicals in the disposable? Have you ever wondered why the pee turns to gel? Think about that.

As if that is not exciting enough, we worshiped today at Mount Pulaski. It's hard to describe, but niether one of us have felt that much at home since Traders Point. It is a young congregation with lots of babies! I was able to meet and talk to a few moms while I was nursing Jonah. I don't think that I have ever gone to a church for the first time and met sooo many people. It felt like home as odd as that may sound. If we don't get the position, we may still go there- that's how much we liked it. Hans does have a meeting with the elders on Wednesday evening. So we'll keep praying. It feels as if God has gone before us on this one- which is always good! He has been faithful to me this week and brought me back to the book of Joshua in my study. I will say that before every transition I always manage to get to that book- unexpectedly! Only He can do that.

We had some "starving" college kids over for lunch after church and they always seem to bless our family. Abe loves it and I enjoy watching them enjoy him (if that makes any sense!)

We spent the remainder of the afternoon outside with the Nimrods watching our boys jump off the slide. Their friendship is priceless to us!

Exciting times here~~

Mount What?

2006-07-06T13:15:00.000-04:00

Pulaski. Mount Pulaski is the church that Hans interviewed with this week. The town is small- I never thought that we would go smaller than Lincoln, but God must have a sense of humor because if he gets the Youth Minister position, it is only a town of 1800... 1804 if the Webers move there! The church is a decent size, about 300 in attendance. 80 of the goes to the first sevice with very traditional music and service, the rest go to the second service which is contemporary. The student ministry has about 12-20 highschool and double that for middle school. It seems to be a younger congregation because the senior minister is only a year older than Hans, and the worship minister is younger than us!

The next step would be to meet with the elders (including me, too). We are going to try to do that next week because they want to get it started for August! I am kind of shocked that it would be so soon, but we both have seen how God has gone before us preparing a way. It turns out that Hans has served coffee to the senior minister several time at Starbucks (its funny how everything starts with coffee in our family!) This would be a full-time position and they are allowing Hans to finish school on a full-time basis. Hopefully we will have more details next week!

Okay, here's what you are really waiting for- a picture of "Hawaiin Jonah"!

Believing God.... I Can Do All Thinds Through Christ

2006-07-04T12:09:00.000-04:00

Once Again I am writing about this awesome Bible study by Beth Moore. I can't talk enough about it. Have you ever had one of those "A-ha" moments? Well, I have had one several times these last few weeks.

I guess, coming here on the calling of Ministry, I thought some of my old demons or fears would be gone. But, oh how wrong I was! Sometimes our problems like, the finances, the house we can't seem to sell, the distance between our loved ones (physically speaking) and our stress from going to school and waiting for God's timing seems bigger than our promises from God himself. I am breaking out of the "faith paralysis" and experiencing the whispered promises that I deep down inside hope are true. I beleive they are. I believe God. Here is the promise that God has been speaking over me:

"But if we hope for what we do not have we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts know the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him according to his purpose."

~Romans 8:25-28

With this... I am believing that I CAN do all things through Christ, even painful things. Happy fourth of July... tomarrow I will put up pictures of our little patriots!

Abe's 3rd Birthday

2006-07-03T16:20:00.000-04:00

You could say that this was a weekend of Abe! Funny, today is his actual birthday and we are just kind of hangin' low and relaxing! Here are some pictures of Abe's third b-day/ first campout!

This is Abe and the buddies of his that came! Mimi, Papaw, Angie and Koryn came too!

Mmmm.... Yummy birtdhay

Koryn and Abe having a Blow fight. As you can see a good time was had by all!

Abe and his buddies around the campfire. Little boys are enamored with fire-- just like big boys, I guess!

Our newes pet! I should say Abe and Hans' newest pet! A leopard gecko. Abe named him 'Mater (after Tow'mater in Cars the movie!) He eats cricketts and meal worms- yuck! I still can't believe that I have a lizzard in my house :o)

That was our excitement in a nutshell! It is hard to beleive that it has been three years with Abe in our life... what was it like before? Hard to remember! Now, to conquer the dreaded 3 year old stage... it has already started!

RIP Darth Vader

2006-06-29T10:14:00.000-04:00

Well, last night our black gold fish (Darth Vader) died. At dinner we all noticed it. We had our first lesson in Heaven. Since we got a fish tank, we lost our other gold fish, Luke Skywalker. This is our second casualty. Don't laugh- Abe really did choose the names! Anyway... Abe thinks heaven is in the toilet. We still have a lot of teaching where that is concerned! As we speak, right now, Abe is watching his fish saying "flush it, oh no." Hopefully he will get over it. As the wise old king once said "there is a time to live and a time to die..."
Happier times to come~

10 weeks old!

2006-06-28T09:54:00.000-04:00

Jonah is 10 weeks old today! Can you believe it? He is pretty fun right now. He is also a big boy probably over 13 pounds right now! He is wearing 3-6 month clothes, too. Smile... he is happy! Of Course I can't take a picture of Jonah without taking one of Abe...

Beliving God.... well I am doing this Beth Moore Bible Study online called believing God. It is all about faith and I am really excited about what I am learning and being encouraged about our current situation in school. Today's lesson was so cool. I am on Week 4 and it is called "Believing You are who God says you are" Today's lesson was about Abraham and how God called him to obedience and then he waited for God's promises. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else, but before I started, I just asked Jesus to feed my soul... and he did! Here are just some things that helped me...
1. "We have today to believe God. Let's not put it off untill tomorrow. Failure isn't terminal, Dear One. Faithfulness is."
2. "Obey-Now- and-Receive-Later Challeng of Faith"
3. "If we were already where we are going, for all practical earthly purposes we'd be dead!"
4. "Time can test almost anything and undoubtedly anyone. "
5. "We can be in the bulls-eye of God's will for our lives, and things make utterly no sense until that ugly five letter work LATER."
6. "When the height of ministry outgrows its depth, it will inevitably come tumbling down. Prais His merciful name, we can rebuild, but we are wise when we focus on the depth alone and from that time forward leave the length, breadth and height to Him. As long as the later dimensions matter most to us, we are not ready to build what lasts."

Halelujah! This was just a glimpse into a study packed full of encouragement. If you want to do this study online go to www.lifeway.com and click on the "Online studies".

A week of Fun

2006-06-27T22:07:00.000-04:00

Last week was one fun week for us! After we celebrated fathers day we went to Indy and spent some time visiting with family. Abe had a blast! We swam, played outside, went to chick fil a, and spent some time with our Grandma Joy! On Friday we went to Eagle creek park with Pappy and had a picnic.
Koryn also came home on Friday and we were able to play with her. Her and I took turns jumping in the pool and Abe decided to give it go! He was a mad man in a life jacket! He kept jumping in over and over saying "I'm superman, mom!" I couldn't tell if he was really holding his breath or if he was just letting water get in it.
Saturday we were in little kid heaven. We spent a day out with Thomas. Thomas the Tank Engine. Going on the train ride was the highlight. There was everything you could want with Thomas and Friends merchandise. Abe had a blast.

Sunday we celebrated with our home church, Traders Point as they spent thier last sunday in thier current building. It was sad for us becuase that is where we both got baptized. They are moving into a new building and we are excited about the new ministry opportunities that will come about. After church we made the long drive back. Coming home to reality.

Its nice to be home, we had to hurry and plan for Abe's impending 3rd birthday. He is having a campout with some friends! Mimi, papaw, ang and koryn will be coming in, too. He does not quite know what it is all about, we have been telling him that he is 3 and he replys "I'm 5!"

This week should be fun, too!

What's in a name

2006-06-17T17:32:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I wanted to include a picture of Jonah because he isn't in the one below. We named him Jonah because while we were praying about going into ministry full time, Traders Point (our home church) did a three part sermon series on Jonah. It touched us because we knew that we were running from God on our calling into ministry like Jonah did. We got out of the fishes belly and started looking at seminaries. We are here now accepting our calling. Hince, our son named Jonah was born here in Lincoln!

My first Blog.....

2006-06-17T16:27:00.000-04:00

Well, this is my first blog. Thanks to my good freind Becca, I checked out her blog and decided to give it a try. If anything this can be the place to brag about my family! The webers are a family of 4... wow, that is weird to say because our newest Weber is only 8 weeks! Abe is almost three and Jonah is two months old. We live in Lincoln, IL for my husband to go to Seminary. Yeah, he is going to be a minister. Jesus caught ahold of our life about 6 years ago and it has not been the same since! We have been on this great adventure with Him and it has brought us here. We have met some life long friends and have learned how to live on next to nothing. Although, it is hard and sometimes I lose sight of our purpose. Hans is a great student, good husband and fun Dad. Him and Abe are best buddies.
Anyway, after we celebrate Fathers Day with Hans, the boys and I are going to Indy to spend the week with Mimi and Papaw. We plan on seeing Pappy too to wish him a happy fathers day. Yadda yadda yadda... this will be fun because I love talking :)