The News from Lake Superior

OK. Third try is a charm, right? (Is that how the saying goes??) I am trying, for the third time (in as many years) to get a family blog going again. No apologies. No excuses. Just moving on....again.

Caleb is 5 now and planning to be 5 1/2 every day. He is loving kindergarten and enjoys the sounds of letters..including but not limited to making up songs entirely with the sounds of one single letter. :) Kind of reminiscent of the "Banana-nana-mo-mana" song we used to sing in junior high. He also is KEENLY aware that he will be a BIG brother soon, and the thing he looks forward to most is "telling him what to do." :) He also is keeping close tabs on the size of my belly. A few days back he placed one hand on my backside, the other hand on my belly and proclaimed, "Wow, mom...you're gettin' fat!" :) I took that as the lovely compliment that it was.

Noah is 7 1/2 going on 20. He loves school (for the most part), and loves 'teaching' even more. Some days I struggle to get a word in edge-wise (which can be frustrating because we all know I have a lot of words!) He is an incredibly talented artist, with his specialty being drawing free-hand pictures of just about anything, usually with proportionately correct parts, shading, etc. It's truly amazing to see his work and I will try to scan and post some of it soon.

I am enjoying a better "life routine" so far this year. I set up a schedule of sorts for myself each day, along with lists of chores/things I'd like to accomplish each day. I can honestly say that so far I have yet to finish my lists for a week straight, but in the process of trying I am finding a better balance and sense of accomplishment. I do, however, have some days where I have finished NOTHING on the list at the end of the day and have to remind myself that it is JUST A LIST. :) Homeschooling is going well, I'm able to maintain very part-time hours at my job, and I am feeling good about my church service and commitments. :) Hold that thought, eh?

We are working fairly regularly now (or should I say JEFF is) to finish up the living room remodel that we started in November of 2007. We gutted two rooms and made them into one, then new wiring, added a soffit with recessed lighting, a new window, sheet rock, paint, trim, and now we are down to painting trim, some touch-up painting, and the flooring. Whew! It does look GREAT and we are lucky that Jeff is so good at home remodelling and has saved us oodles of money. Time, no; money, yes. :) Everything takes twice as long as you think it will, you know? :) (Can I get an amen!!)

Well, that's the news from Lake Superior. For now. :)

April Blizzard

Yep. It's coming. Supposed to get up to 18" of the white stuff by Saturday evening (it's Thursday evening) along with high winds. Just when you thought it was safe!! Get the shovel back out, dig out the gloves and hats, and hunker down people! I'll keep you all posted on how much we actually get, but it's looking a lot like Christmas is coming early this year!

New Kid on the Block

Well, the torch has officially been passed to me for the family blog! Jeff does his own blog (see Discipleship Road) and most of our family pics are on the home computer, so I will be giving this a spin.

Easter came with four inches of snow this year! Thankfully Marnee and Papa got here before the snow started. We had a really great Easter day - - awesome worship service at church, then brunch, then a fabulous kids' party (complete with face painting!) Then home to just relax! Yeah!! For Easter dinner this year I made a venison dinner...think that's going to be the new tradition at our house.

Looking back at Christmas 2007

We had a great Christmas this year. The snow fell much more plentifully than last December, and we've had a lot of time to play! This particular morning, the wind swept snow was particularly beautifuly.

The highlight of Christmas morning for the boys was opening their Playstation 2. Can you tell that someone is excited!?!

We also got to go on a road trip to Michigan to enjoy Christmas with our extended family. BethAnn's parents and one of her brothers family lives in sourthern Michigan, and her sister and family came from Illinois. On the way there we got to enjoy some play time in a hotel pool! I'm not sure who is having more fun in this picture. :)

The next morning we woke up to this beautiful sunrise over Lake Huron off the coast of Mackinaw City, MI. What a site!