tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40067530210923006242024-03-05T17:27:10.511-08:00The Hartshorn FamilyRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-64077297573724579572016-12-28T13:54:00.000-08:002016-12-28T14:15:53.974-08:00December 2016<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!</span></h2>
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<a href="https://goo.gl/photos/LtDZr6qxyDaFzeVP6" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjWuQC3x3davaSblq40ZGDCqNfqEWZ-gKFeEpg9ZirmLd7pMGN0LEF7cdZtGzFhAvT7S8tVxKxCUZvLfEdf3G8whTMFyQILCqRo7voaSeGX1z5ta46QQyHWyk25unGnZJS-Z-DEEB5NU/s640/Christmas+card+2016+copy.jpg" width="419" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">We are settling in after
our epic year. I'm thankful we're through all the planning, decision making,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">hard physical work,
instability, unknowns, and lack of routine that came with our year of moving
from place to place. It's been a hard year, but worthwhile in the hope
that it will yield a more thriving fruitful life. We're rebuilding our new life
now. At the moment, this is what it looks like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Rebecca:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;"> I try to start my
day with a little personal time after I get Ella a sippy cup of protein shake
to enjoy with her morning cartoons and with her big brother Ben. I drink my
coffee in my room in a little nook I made for myself until Ella gets a stinky
diaper or is ready for her real breakfast. I can usually squeeze 30-45 minutes
in for myself. Then I homeschool Ben, while simultaneously keeping Ella busy to
avoid the mischief an active, curious, and unwatched toddler can get into, until
we have to drive to our afternoon activities. Our house is up a mountain about
30 minutes from the main city where all our activities are. Once I'm home
again, I make dinner for our super-sized household: My family of five, my
parents, and my brother. Once the kids are in bed, I wind down with my husband,
"my stories" aka Netflix, and some chardonnay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">I enjoy the beautiful
drive everywhere I go. I love that we live in the country with lots of space
between neighbors. I love when Jon and I walk Ella to the pond next to our
house to feed the ducks or to see the moo (aka cow). I love exercising with my
family on the beach bike path. I love being near the ocean and feeling the
salty breeze while I briskly walk. I love watching the boys ride bikes, skateboard,
or run with my brother while Jon and I get an hour to talk and connect while
alternating walking our dog or pushing Ella in the stroller, all in the name of
exercise. We've been going three miles each time we can get ourselves there. I
love that winter brought more cool weather than I thought <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:place></st1:state> would have and I can wear furry
slippers and snugly sweaters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Jon:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;"> Jon wakes up super
early, makes me a protein shake and coffee for all. He has an hour
commute to work. He often tells me about the beautiful sunrises and the many
rainbows he sees on his drive to work. Jon has been employed by two different
builders as a trim carpenter. He's never worked as a trim carpenter before, but
at each job site his strengths quickly become recognized and he ends up highly
valued. If the builder doesn't have another job lined up, the employees have to
find another job. That's the case again for Jon. He's looking now for his next
job. The benefit to this new situation for us is that all the top builders on
the island are really getting to know Jon directly and know his reliability,
his high skill level, his extremely high quality work, and his speed. In the
future we'd love to build Jon a shop on our property. We would have an instant
client base whenever we can make that dream happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">On the weekends when we
don't have other plans, Jon works on remodeling our bathroom. He is doing an
amazing job. I am so thankful to have such a hard working and highly skilled
husband.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">This is a busy season
for Jon and I. There are a lot of demands on our time and energy. We are tired,
thankful for our blessings, and looking forward to more down time to rest
and enjoy our new island home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Caleb (15 years old):</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;"> Caleb starts his day with his mom
repeatedly waking him up, as he is a very sleepy teenager who always stays up
too late the night before on his computer. He then gets himself
breakfast, plays some keyboard, and checks his emails and the Scratch website
to see if they've highlighted one the games he made again. They have 3 times
now, which is a big accomplishment for Caleb. He does his homeschool work
independently. Then off we go to either robotics, youth group, or Bandwagon.
Bandwagon a music program owned by Jon's brother and his wife, Jeremy and
Julie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Caleb started learning
the piano in May. Now in Dec, he is blowing minds with his playing
ability. He sounds like he has been playing for many years. The
piano just makes sense to his math and logic loving mind. He is composing
beautiful pieces. We got him his own keyboard in Sept for his birthday
and he already needs to upgrade. Caleb will have to start saving. I
love that he has a new passion to enhance his life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Caleb is also very
active in the Kauaibots, a robotics group comprised of all four high schools on
the island. In a normal week he goes two weekday afternoons and eight
hours on Sunday. He is focusing his time on learning CAD (computer aided
drafting) software, design and engineering, math theory, and programming. He
has come really far in the last six months. He earned his CAD CSWA
certification showing his competence to work for hire. After an article in the
newspaper about the students' big accomplishment, a local business generously
hired Caleb and two of his teammates, helping them break into the industry,
knowing that the first job is always the hardest to get. Caleb and his
teammates are drawing a precise 3D engineering design of an ice cream shop with
every object in the business accounted for in the design. It's quite an
undertaking and we're very proud of how incredibly hard Caleb has worked at all
he does! Upcoming is the team's six week build, where they will work like
maniacs every waking moment for six weeks and then compete in <st1:city w:st="on">San
Diego</st1:city> and <st1:place w:st="on">Oahu</st1:place>. Caleb has been
chosen to be a part of the core leadership team in recognition for his
dedication, competence, and hard work. We're so proud of him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Ben (10 years old):</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;"> Ben tries to wake up before mom so he can
squeeze in more morning cartoons. Once Ella wakes up he helps keep on eye on
her. He is so good at being actively engaging with Ella. She lights up with
Ben. She is lucky to have such a fun and generous brother. It's fitting since
Caleb was such a great big brother to Ben. I love watching my kids build and
grow their love, connection, and relationships with each other. After breakfast
we chip our way through Ben's homeschooling. Some days are easy and fast. Other
days it's very hard for Ben to stay calm and/or stay focused. Either way, we
make it through all the work. Two days a week Ben goes to Bandwagon. He is
enjoying it and picking up a little here and there. I think he mostly enjoys
playing with his cousins and his other new friends. I hear more about their
awesome games of hide-and-seek than about what he's learning musically. It's
all so good for him and I'm thankful for it all. He has plenty of time ahead
and I'm happy he's still loving to just play. Ben is going through a growth
spurt with his emotions. He has really drawn close to me as we work through it
all together. I didn't go through that as much with Caleb and I'm loving the
closeness that this phase is building between us, despite the difficulties. I'm
thankful I get to be at home with my kids to catch so many moments: hard ones
that allow us to work on character building, silly ones that lead to joyful
play, and all the ones in between. I love watching the journey and growth in
all my kids. Ben is spending a lot of time with his Uncle David, my brother.
David can encourage Ben in ways no one else can. They exercise together, go
play at the beach together, goof off with video games together, and work on
different projects around the house together. I love the lifelong bond they're
building. I love how much Ben enjoys and looks up to Uncle David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Ella (2 years in February):</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;"> Ella loves people! She
comes alive whenever we're visiting with people or are in social settings. If
people are around she does not get tired. She plays, dances, chatters, and
grins ear to ear. She lights up whenever Grandma or Grandpa come out of their
bedroom. She really loves when Daddy gets home from work! She loves the nursery
at church. I make sure I say bye-bye to her, but she doesn't care. She is so
happy to be there and has zero separation anxiety. This is new for me as a
parent and it's wonderful. The downside is that she is also prone to explore
and wander. She has a strong independent streak. She does not want to hold my
hand when we are out unless she has to navigate anything she's not fully
confident at, like a curb or stairs. She's discovered the fun of coloring with
crayons, but she has a very short attention span. She's starting to mimic more
sounds and I expect her language will be taking off soon. For now she tells you
a whole lot with direct eye contact and animated expressions in her own baby
language. She is a forceful little caretaker. She loves to make sure that Jon
always has his hat and I always have my glasses, hair stick, flip flops, and
phone. She will force them on you if you should ever be without one of those
things. If we're visiting with Zeke, her cousin, she forces food, water, his
pacifier, or his favorite stuffed animal on him, even if she has to take
something away from him first so she can give it back. She's a good sleeper
most of the time and I'm so thankful. It took us a lot of time and work to get
to this stage with her sleep, but we're finally there. She loves to dance. The
boys have taught her the Imperial March from Star Wars. She can sing the tune
while doing a high knee march, toddler style. It's good fun for us all.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR OUR:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><a href="https://goo.gl/photos/LtDZr6qxyDaFzeVP6" target="_blank">DEC 2016 PHOTO ALBUM</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Blessings on you and
yours! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">The Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-8538924096757562732015-11-03T07:53:00.002-08:002015-11-03T07:54:12.518-08:00We’re Moving! What?!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Big
sudden changes are happening! We’re
moving to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>! The crucial bits are that we leave <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> the first week of
January. We’ll drive to my parent’s
house in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>,
pulling our belongings in trailers behind our two vehicles. Jon and his van will go to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>
ahead of the rest of us to secure work and a place to live. The kids and I will stay with my parents,
helping them to pack up their belongings because they are also moving to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>! My parents
and I will share a moving container that we’ll have dropped off to their house
and picked up to be taken to the ship.
Then, when Jon gives me the okay, we’ll ship our family car and all go
join him in <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>! We’ll be taking our dog, which complicates
the process. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:place></st1:state> has a lot of hoops to jump through to
get an animal through their many regulations.
We’re very excited and have so much to get accomplished in the meantime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m
convinced that this move is completely the hand of the Lord. It is perfectly in his timing for us. Before moving to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>, God told me that we would only be
here for 3-5 years. I felt that God’s
purpose for our time in Texas was to teach Jon to “live and live fully,” to not
just live in survival mode and missing the many blessings in his life while he
had his head ducked down trudging through life while working hard. I felt that God was teaching Jon how to learn
what he wanted in life and to learn how to pursue that. Jon was not good at wanting things in life;
he was not good at valuing himself, his wants, or his needs. I felt that God was going to help us get out
of all the debt we incurred from being self-employed in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>.
Sometime after we had been in <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state>
awhile, I felt that God was also going to complete our family during our time
in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sitting
in a booth at the local wine bar on a date night, soon after arriving in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>, Jon said to me
that he didn’t want to go back to school.
He didn’t want to go through the traditional college path, which was a
key piece of our plan to move to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>. A light went off for me and I was so happy to
tell him how big of a deal it was for him to realize he didn’t want something,
which is the same as wanting something!
I felt the rightness of this in my bones. Within the next few days, God gave me a
vision of a switchback trail. Each bend
in the trail was Jon meeting someone, putting him on the next leg of the
trail. I felt like the trail overall
represented Jon’s career path and journey to living fully. I knew that Jon would have an unusual journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
afternoon, shortly after our move to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>,
I was sitting at home babysitting my neighbor’s four children. These children were going through the
emotional aftermath of their mother walking out of their lives. They needed a hawk eye on them at all times
in those days or you could pretty much guarantee that something would end up
broken or someone would end up hurt and crying.
Two women walked up to my door, complete strangers. I stepped out onto the porch. They said they had been walking our street
praying and were leaving when they felt like God wanted them to come back and
talk with me. They wondered if that
would be okay. I looked back inside at
all the kids in the living room and felt God tell me that He would watch
them. I accepted God’s offer and sat on
the porch with the ladies. One of the
women did a majority of the talking. She
told me many things the Lord was showing her.
Most of these things were things the Lord had already shown me. I sat there completely quiet. For some unknown reason, I didn’t want this
lady to know she was dead on. I was
laughing hysterically on the inside, but kept a very serious poker face on the
outside. The lady wrapped up with
telling me about a picture she saw of a switchback trail and how it was for my
husband. She went on to describe the
same gist of what God had already shown me.
How about that! At the end I
thanked her and let her know a little about me, my story, and how right on she
was. Bonus, the kids were perfectly
behaved while I sat on the porch for close to an hour. God came through in so many ways! Moments like that are so rare and special and
I felt so loved by God!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fast
forward 4 years: Sometime after I was recovered from the c-section from Ella’s
birth, I got the feeling that we were nearing the end of our time in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>. We completed our family, we got out of debt,
Jon and I matured so much individually and in our marriage, and I didn’t feel
that Jon had started the first leg of his switchback trail yet. I saw that switchback trail as leading us to
thriving and I was ready for that to start!
We finished the agenda God had told me about, for our time in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>, and it was right
at the 4 year mark! It’s time! I prayed and prayed, but didn’t get a clear
indication of where we were supposed to move.
I totally panicked for a couple weeks on the inside. Jon and I had big discussions about what our
priorities were and where we’d like to live if we could live anywhere. My ideal was to live near the people I love
and have meaningful relationships with.
Most of my closest relationships and my family are in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>.
Jon wanted to live near his family in <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>. He so regrets missing out on his niece’s and
nephew’s childhoods. The more we talked,
the more we realized that if we lived in either California or Kauai, we would
likely both have to work to be able to make it financially, as both states are
very costly to live in and we don’t want to get into debt again. If I worked, then I couldn’t homeschool, and
we didn’t want to give that up. This
area in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>
has excellent resources for homeschooling that I knew I wouldn’t find so
prolifically anywhere else. Giving Caleb
his best chance to be successful with his high school, college, and future
career rated as a very top priority for me.
This area is prime for having exceptional science and engineering
opportunities for Caleb. All of this is
almost beside the point we knew, because we have zero dollars to move and
moving is expensive. We really couldn’t
see how we could save enough money with our current circumstances to move
anytime soon. I felt like God was
telling me to “Be Ready.” So I tried to
adjust my expectations, accept that we wouldn’t be moving, and make my peace with
my perceived discrepancy of what I believed God had told me about only being in
Texas for 3-5 years not actually happening.
We began to make plans to put more roots down in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>.
My parents began their plans to move to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> to live near us. It was all in motion. However, I still had a savings envelope labeled
“Moving” to “Be Ready” like God told me to be. It was empty, but it was there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jon
flew out for a quick trip to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place> to help his
brother build the interior of his new music school storefront. In the process Jon talked to a few people who
work in the building industry out there.
We’ve never had a doubt that Jon could get plenty of work on the
island. We knew there was a good market
for him there for work possibilities, but we anticipated that he would have to
really hustle and work more hours than we preferred to make a livable wage in
Kauai, and that I would also have to work to help keep us afloat. We were leery of putting ourselves in a
tenuous financial position. Once Jon got
home, it opened up the dialogue again for moving. We again began thinking about our priorities
and God completely flipped them around on me!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">God
had been strongly putting it on my heart for the previous few months that we
really needed to find some other people to come alongside us to be spiritual
mentors for Caleb. He is hitting the
teen years and we don’t feel like we’re enough.
I want my kids to know the Lord.
I want them to have an active relationship with Him. I want that so much for Caleb. He knows what we believe as a family, he sees
what we model, he participates, but it’s not completely his own yet. We have really struggled to find a church
community here in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>. We’ve been doing another round of trying to
find our church home and we realized that what we see here in church is not
what we want to teach our kids. I felt
like God was pulling my heart to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place> and the
church community there. I don’t know
anything about it, but I feel like God is telling me that those mentors for
Caleb will be there. I’m jumping out to
trust God on this. My new top priority,
in regards to where we live, is for my kids to know God. I’m trusting that obeying God by following
the path I feel He is laying out for us will help us accomplish that. If Caleb can gain a relationship with God,
then I don’t need to fear the lack of schooling resources in <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>. If Caleb knows God, then I’ve been a
successful parent and have done the best for him that I can; then his home
schooling, college, and future career will be entrusted to the one who can help
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">What
really made this move possible is that both of our parents are going to help
fund our move! We are so thankful to
them for that aid! I again see the
Lord’s timing in even this, because neither of our parents have been in the
position to help us financially before and they both suddenly are and they both
volunteered to help us!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
know we’re taking a big financial risk by moving. We believe that Kauai has greater earning
potential down the road for Jon than <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
has. This was substantiated by a website
we found created by MIT listing the bare minimum livable wages, typical living
expenses, and typical income per industry for each county in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It reinforced that Kauai values the
construction trade more than <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state> does and
the deficit between the livable wage and the typical construction income is
vastly narrower in Kauai than in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>. I have to say that I felt much better after
finding that website. We found it after
the decision was made, but it really helped validate our decision and calm my
nerves. We anticipate the first few
years to be very tight while Jon is building his reputation in <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>, but we expect that his craftsman skill level and
reliability will quickly earn him a great reputation on the island and that
eventually we’ll be doing well financially.
I plan to pick up a little bookkeeping work to help make ends meet, but
not so much as to interfere with time for home schooling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
wonderful flip side to the financial risk of moving is that we’ll be living
near both sides of our family!!!! Our
kids will get to grow up with their cousins!
They’ll get both sides of their grandparents loving on them! And their Auntie Julie, Uncle Jeremy, Tia
Val, Uncle Pete, and Great Grandma Jean!
Plus we’ll only be an island away from cousin Anna & her new
husband! We’re sooooo excited to be close
to family! It was very difficult to
spend the last four years without much family in our lives. We are thankful to <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state>
for the time we did get with our Swinky cousins: Andrew, Aaron, Aaron’s new wife Kara, my <st1:state w:st="on">Missouri</st1:state> family: Kara, Jude, Aunt Dar, and Uncle Darrel, and my
<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:state>
family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’ll
really miss Caleb’s birthday celebrations adventuring in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Austin</st1:city></st1:place> area with the Swinky cousins and our 4<sup>th</sup>
of July tradition celebrating by the pond with Kara, Jude, and our
friends. We’ll miss camping in some of
the amazing places <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>
has to offer with our friends. We’ll
miss the beautiful rural land we live on.
We’ll miss our cat Susie Q who is staying behind, the Rusches, the
Goycos, the Hamiters, the Ericksons, the Grants, our park day friends, our <st1:placename w:st="on">One</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Day</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype> friends, and our newly arrived <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state> friends who just moved to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Waco</st1:city></st1:place>! Please
pray for us to all make close and meaningful friendships in <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>. The boys are both sad to leave their <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place> friends,
especially Caleb. It’s really just been
in the last year that Caleb has finally made some close friends and he is
really saddened to leave them behind.
Ben’s excitement about our move is trumping his sadness about leaving
his friends for now, but I know it will hit him at some point. He has lots of neighborhood friends that he
really loves and plays with everyday.
This is always the most difficult part about moving. I’m really having a hard time with leaving my
cat behind. I love her so much. I know she’ll be happier staying in the woods
she loves, with our neighbor to care for her, than she would be dragged to <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state> and then on to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>. It’s really hard on me though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Overall,
Jon and I feel like we’re coming home even though we’ve never lived in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:state></st1:place>. The general atmosphere feels similar to our <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place> life. This is the first leg of Jon’s switchback
trail! We’re so excited! Blessings on you and yours and cheers to our
new adventure!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Love,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-58304365340507278232015-08-14T07:59:00.000-07:002015-08-14T08:42:25.456-07:00May – July 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKT7TQXn0sj7DpU-cQqW3A0hMFynfbCCiuLK3DseX9jSF0i9TDJhT-oMzbI7uzXORXhzHRvsmenS6jTIXT4fK-AF8R7MYEgfMND7qqqLjZrxzPEyHfCoynjQqzjS6g7HB8T-AZ5szYxuo/s1600/IMG_3949copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKT7TQXn0sj7DpU-cQqW3A0hMFynfbCCiuLK3DseX9jSF0i9TDJhT-oMzbI7uzXORXhzHRvsmenS6jTIXT4fK-AF8R7MYEgfMND7qqqLjZrxzPEyHfCoynjQqzjS6g7HB8T-AZ5szYxuo/s640/IMG_3949copy.JPG" width="425" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
first five months with our sweet little Ella have sped by.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the last couple weeks I’ve found that I’m
starting to feel more fully recovered and more myself.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When I find myself thinking about new recipes
to try and following through, including cleaning up my kitchen mess, I know I’m
feeling better.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Or when I decide to cut
Ben’s shaggy hair and it’s no big deal, I know I’m feeling better.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These sorts of things had been put on hold
since I started feeling ill from the pregnancy.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s been a long time of living with doing just the highest priority
things.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m happy to start having brain
space and energy for doing more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9L7r-_xjjsxBoGaYmIkvhHKSOdWX5z9hdLYYbpUIi2xU1kQ7KkO8m_CwPYDVR7dGBA8W-OgGncXVvxlRHMlIzdw0h7QuIt5TqW1_6rgsIZS7T1HLkNZqd9N74T2BiXs41hJNYPr8-kTs/s1600/IMG_36641.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9L7r-_xjjsxBoGaYmIkvhHKSOdWX5z9hdLYYbpUIi2xU1kQ7KkO8m_CwPYDVR7dGBA8W-OgGncXVvxlRHMlIzdw0h7QuIt5TqW1_6rgsIZS7T1HLkNZqd9N74T2BiXs41hJNYPr8-kTs/s400/IMG_36641.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">2 Months</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At 2 months old, Ella is doing well
overall. I'm pretty sure she's on the
verge of smiling. I can't wait! </span><span style="font-family: "MS Gothic"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman";">❤</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We're
loving our little girl. She had her first cold and is wheezing and
coughing, poor little thing. It’s
delayed getting her immunizations, but I’m good with that. She's in the 88th percentile for weight and
the 97th percentile for height. We sure
make big babies! She does great in the
car, which is a relief because both boys screamed in the car when they were
babes. She is eating on a consistent 4
hour schedule and has been going 8 hours at night since she was 6 weeks old. Her sleep is worse than it was before. She really seems to need to suck and she can't
keep her binky in for long. She's just
found her thumb if she's on her tummy, but we're trying really hard to keep her
on her back. Both boys were tummy
sleepers and thumb suckers. I was so much
younger then and hadn’t known anyone who’d had a baby die of SIDS or
suffocation. Now that I have, I’m a lot
more cautious. Our nights mostly end up
with one of us holding her and popping the binky in her mouth repeatedly. I have to remember that we've made good
progress overall with her eating and awake time. I remind myself that she is a different person
than the boys and doing things the exact way I did with them maybe isn’t what
Ella needs. She really seems to need
that extra comfort of being held at night and needs assistance to suck her
binky. I have never slept with a baby in
my bed before. It’s taken some thinking
for me to decide I am okay with this unexpected development. She is still going down easy for her morning
nap. I just need to figure out her
sleeping and self soothing for the rest of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbv8YQyFJ27rMQ11VAOrUjplCQp-5QuKRzs4L0rfSSIitkJeuTWsp_95B1ozB5x8ViUDqt3XwiSLBoM0vjAGq-dW9gBoF-8TbwfpV8GfxQ88dxGjmG04VebW60X4k8rYG6WWJ38PmK6g/s1600/2015050295125047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbv8YQyFJ27rMQ11VAOrUjplCQp-5QuKRzs4L0rfSSIitkJeuTWsp_95B1ozB5x8ViUDqt3XwiSLBoM0vjAGq-dW9gBoF-8TbwfpV8GfxQ88dxGjmG04VebW60X4k8rYG6WWJ38PmK6g/s640/2015050295125047.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kat, Anna, Laurie, & Becky - My Girls <span style="background-color: white; color: #545454; font-family: Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px; text-align: left;">❤️</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ella
and I got to sneak off for a quick <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>
trip to go wedding dress shopping with my closest college friends. I’m so happy for Laurie and her new marriage
to be! It was wonderful seeing all my
friends and introducing Ella to her surrogate aunties! Traveling with a 9 week old while recovering
from a c-section was definitely a huge undertaking for me and I would not put
myself through that for just anyone. These
friendships hold such a close place in my heart and it was a really meaningful
trip for me. I’m so happy I could be
apart of Laurie’s special event. I love
the moments captured in my memory of all of us sitting in the beautiful
showrooms waiting for Laurie to come out in each dress and contemplate her
thoughts about each one, adding accessories to complete each look. I loved when she found “the one” and the
dress shop brought out a bottle of champagne.
How fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-UQKfTZeOLIUoPmgCp2UeCpgyD9UKP21QADNG8B0hwNEv5cZca5ezRiNh6jGKsK1_xP4ZwSSQ6TpjEG0uGklK5e-zo6rFZXMlLHbEW9JI_udkKT8rBeAMzclLzH-hK7l7aw7diwIcuM/s1600/IMAG0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-UQKfTZeOLIUoPmgCp2UeCpgyD9UKP21QADNG8B0hwNEv5cZca5ezRiNh6jGKsK1_xP4ZwSSQ6TpjEG0uGklK5e-zo6rFZXMlLHbEW9JI_udkKT8rBeAMzclLzH-hK7l7aw7diwIcuM/s400/IMAG0924.JPG" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sentimentally, I looked
over at Ella sleeping in her stroller next to designer wedding gowns with a
window view of downtown San Diego, and dreamily hoped that I might get to
wedding dress shop with my daughter one day.
I really enjoyed watching each moment with my friends as they snuggled
and played with Ella. It really touched
my heart. Ella did so much better than I
anticipated. She didn’t cry on the
flight at all on the way out. She had
just learned to sleep through the night in her own bed before my trip and
splendidly, she continued to do so. She
and I shared a hotel bed and she looked so cute on her half. On the way home, I had a funny moment. I had Ella strapped onto me in the baby
carrier. I was pushing the stroller,
which I had loaded up with the carseat and the diaper bag. I unlocked the carseat from the stroller to
streamline the process of folding it all up before boarding the plane. My plan failed and the carseat toppled off
the stroller, knocking the stroller and its contents over in the process. As I’m struggling to get it all picked up
(remember I’m still recovering from surgery, the floor seems miles away, and
I’m carrying a floppy newborn) a young man walks right by me onto the
plane. I couldn’t believe he didn’t
offer to help me at all! Well, I’m
awesome, and I got it all under control on my own. I got everything folded and ready to be
picked up by the crew, and I got my baby and diaper bag onto the plane. I looked over and saw that I was sitting
across from the unhelpful young man. He
totally gave me the “Oh great, I’m next to a baby,” look. Then Ella started crying and I was super
worried she would cry the whole way, but the devious side of me was like,
“Serves you right! You’re stuck next to
a crying baby and I don’t even feel bad for you, muahahaha!” I did feel bad for everyone else on the plane
and thankfully her crying didn’t last long.
She was done before we even took off.
All in all, a super successful trip!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoe8FyQYhT6iDJUhAxZ6VwtNayOIdBEaMcaMOeUQd8-F5957mybwhDv5AftJtSX0jlsgQgmbew3XBJtLbStQ7MmEcE6EFPpySfsaidIV28SRMOpOBxCbHQd__QmpHnfG2Ur9CTuHYaGXA/s1600/IMG_3864.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoe8FyQYhT6iDJUhAxZ6VwtNayOIdBEaMcaMOeUQd8-F5957mybwhDv5AftJtSX0jlsgQgmbew3XBJtLbStQ7MmEcE6EFPpySfsaidIV28SRMOpOBxCbHQd__QmpHnfG2Ur9CTuHYaGXA/s400/IMG_3864.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Great Grandma Jean & Granny</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’ve
had so many wonderful visitors in the last few months. Granny and Grandma Jean started the summer lineup
of visitors. It was so enjoyable
introducing Ella to these special ladies. It was so fun showing Grandma Jean all the
improvements we’ve made to her house. It
was her first time back since she moved to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:state></st1:place> 4 years ago. Both kids will probably remember all of the
puzzling that occurred with Grandma Jean.
She loves her puzzles. There was
always one going while she was here. Granny
kept the kids busy, helping her in the kitchen, making all sorts of yummy
things. Caleb will forever remember
grating millions of lemons and limes for the wedding cake Granny was making for
Aaron and Kara’s wedding. Grandma Jean
did her special great grandma magic, captivating the attention of our sweet
little baby. I love watching how Grandma
can still any child with her deep gaze and speaking sweet compliments and
affirmations to them. It’s so powerful
and tender and I’m thankful to have witnessed it with each of my kids over the
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Hawaii Family</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">They
stayed with us for a week and then we all went to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Marcos</st1:place></st1:city> to wed our lovely cousin Aaron to
his beautiful bride Kara Rhodes. We got
a cute little house rental that had a stocked pond for fishing, a relaxing
hammock, and peacocks roaming the grounds.
It was a great mini vacation and it was so wonderful seeing all the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hawaii</st1:place></st1:state> family that flew
in for the wedding! We were all very
involved in helping set up the wedding and rehearsal, so we spent lots of time
working on that. I felt really proud of
myself for overseeing the reception set up with a 2 month old baby. Caleb got asked to be a kitchen helper during
the wedding for the caterer. He did a
great job and the head chef was so impressed with Caleb. He gave us such uplifting and encouraging
praise about Caleb, praising Caleb’s humble work ethic and wishing Caleb was
older so he could employ Caleb. That
feedback is so good to hear for Caleb and for his development into
adulthood. It warms our hearts as
parents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
wrapped up the end of the school year and somehow we stayed on schedule with
our homeschooling despite having a new baby.
I’m so happy and thankful for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">One</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Day</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
where the boys each take a class one day a week. Ben had a blast going to school this
year. He loved his science teacher and
he loved all the fun projects and experiments they did in class. He especially enjoyed the new friends he made
this year. One of the moms would take
the boys out front to play each week and bring different fun toys to play. He really looked forward to that time with
his friends. I worked at the front desk as
head supervisor until the week before I had Ella. I just dropped the boys off the tail end of
the school year. It was nice to have an
afternoon off of my normal homeschooling duties and having the house mostly to
myself once a week for a few weeks. I
still had Ella with me, but it felt like a reprieve nonetheless. Caleb did outstanding in his English
class. English is not his favorite
subject, but he applies himself and I’m proud of him, especially because I know
how he feels about the subject. His
teacher is excellent and he’s learning and retaining really well. His composition writings and poems this year
show a greater skill than I would expect at his age and I’m impressed. At home this year, Ben has made great
progress with his reading and math. I’m
very proud of him. He has come so far
with his reading. I often find him
reading Calvin & Hobbes comics or Captain Underpants books to himself. He also has a fondness for the Amelia Bedelia
books. It’s a big deal to me when my
kids start developing their own love of reading. I love reading so much and I’m happy Ben is
discovering that love too! Caleb’s main
interest this school year has been computer programming. He spends most of his free time learning Java
or creating video games in Scratch (a program developed by MIT to teach kids
block programming). There is a lot of complicated
math involved in both kinds of programming and Caleb often goes to bed with an
unresolved math problem and wakes up with it solved. He thinks about math so often and I love
it! It cracks me up and is so far from
what I thought about as a child. He is a
smart cookie and I feel the pressure to make sure I give him the best education
I can; to give him his best chance of success in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Summer
brought a lot of friend time for Ben! Ben is spending countless hours playing with
the neighborhood kids. It’s so cute to
see Ben and his band of little boys ride up on their bikes, being tailed by all
the dogs that live on our street, done with their adventures outside. I often have a herd of kids playing in the
living room or working on their fort in the yard. The kids work so hard building their fort,
weaving branches, and clearing an open space in a copse of trees. The girls add their own special touch
repurposing odds and ends they found to make it homey. I love all their imaginative play! One of the neighbors has an above ground pool
and often invites Ben over to swim. He
has so much fun. I love that Ben is
building magical summer memories and that special feeling will become part of
his long term memory that he can fondly recall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
has spent a majority of his summer time programming. He loves it so much! He also participated in a BETA summer
robotics program with the local homeschooling team. He participated in weekly two hour webinars, taught
by an expert, to begin to learn the MathWorks programs MATLAB and
Simulink. Many other teams participated
in the webinar sessions as well. It was
a very interesting learning experience and I appreciated the webinar
format. If anyone had a question after
the session, they would get to ask the expert.
It was very productive for Caleb.
After the webinars, each team had a programming challenge to
complete. Our team would work
independently at home and then meet together once a week to work out the kinks
in their programming to make their robot accomplish the assigned task. This experience will really help them in the
BEST competition next fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgB3lYvwvi5Q8JU-M8Vt0B79wuSRAfbYG8f_ssOl0dI38uDUd9n2L4eTR1Mr_yXkMcPvP6xE6mTitA7JHOBFZdOJSo-_KJ3G7JnZt9umu9hZkXEdliwKyssx77_LaLkxw45grA50KVgE/s1600/IMAG1117_1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgB3lYvwvi5Q8JU-M8Vt0B79wuSRAfbYG8f_ssOl0dI38uDUd9n2L4eTR1Mr_yXkMcPvP6xE6mTitA7JHOBFZdOJSo-_KJ3G7JnZt9umu9hZkXEdliwKyssx77_LaLkxw45grA50KVgE/s400/IMAG1117_1_1.jpg" width="225" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">3 Months</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At
3 months old, Ella’s found her smiles.
She’s been giving them out for the last couple weeks and it always melts
my heart when she smiles a huge joyful smile after she sees me! She's been sleeping through the night in her
own bed for a few weeks pretty consistently, which is such a relief! Just after she turned 2 months, Jon and I
nervously made the decision to put her to sleep on her tummy. It’s helped her sleep much better. She's also been getting her hand clumsily to
her mouth to suck her fingers in bed, which is helping her start learning to
soothe herself to sleep. Perfect timing
because laying her down for naps had been getting harder and harder. We've turned a corner now and naps have been
getting a little easier again. She just
started to bat her arms at her hanging toys on purpose. It's so cute seeing her start to learn to control
her little limbs. I also noticed that
her hair is beginning to rub thin where her head lies down on her bed. I was hoping we had escaped the bald baby
syndrome with her, but no such luck. She’s
also enjoying the adorable handmade blanket Great Grandma Jean made for
her! What a special gift! She sleeps with it every night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
day we had a very severe summer storm. Our
creek rose about 15 feet, flooding our road over the bridge. The next road washed out completely,
rendering it impassable. We were trapped
at home until the waters receded over the bridge and the city came out to rebuild
the other damaged road. Even once those
roads were passable, our two main routes to town were still flooded and
impassable for days. I was shocked at
the speeding flow of deep water that consumed the roads. There was still one very out of the way route
to town. I think it took me about an
hour to get to town instead of the usual 15 minutes. I’m thankful there wasn’t any damage to our
home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkY01rmJs22uNsogupJkNM1uN6V1GsHapkaU5MAYstVWvnU_3Xb8jEVUCyHrSlItTQ8E32gPv1UdgG-I-138SyhQqq3LT-JX0sAf_UaNEt87U5dz9dZ01yyqWRyLIAeGwTi4cdNKM_CJw/s1600/IMAG1198_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkY01rmJs22uNsogupJkNM1uN6V1GsHapkaU5MAYstVWvnU_3Xb8jEVUCyHrSlItTQ8E32gPv1UdgG-I-138SyhQqq3LT-JX0sAf_UaNEt87U5dz9dZ01yyqWRyLIAeGwTi4cdNKM_CJw/s400/IMAG1198_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Ella meets Uncle David</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our
next visitor was my brother! It had been
3 years since we'd seen him and we loved our time with him! We took him to Schlitterbahn Waterpark
first. It was a great day! It was adorable to take Ella “swimming” for
her first time. She looks so cute in her
little swimsuit. She didn’t react at all
to being put in water, not a single indication that anything different was
happening. It was a heated pool, so
maybe that’s why? Jon and I took turns
staying with Ella in the shade at our picnic table so the other parent could
enjoy the rides. It was a fun and
relaxing day overall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
guys spent one morning working to repair the damage in our yard from the big
storm. Jon borrowed a tractor and fixed
our driveway. David worked to cut up our
dead trees with our chainsaw and the kids hauled the heavy pieces to our
woodpile. It was hot sweaty work and
they got a lot accomplished.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSt1q5gJPb2TFx38WC6zrukovtb-my6ygy8IyCcVCYXwFIeMSehnFehGn2R6BZlceDNrX0wxhAW0IHtQbQfHv2NltAElkrwp4Nn6rfI306pK6t0R5SneHwzd22GPp20RYwX_IMN8M8KQ/s1600/IMG_4394+copy+2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSt1q5gJPb2TFx38WC6zrukovtb-my6ygy8IyCcVCYXwFIeMSehnFehGn2R6BZlceDNrX0wxhAW0IHtQbQfHv2NltAElkrwp4Nn6rfI306pK6t0R5SneHwzd22GPp20RYwX_IMN8M8KQ/s400/IMG_4394+copy+2.jpg" width="265" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
love that Uncle David timed his trip to be here for Ben’s 9<sup>th</sup>
birthday. That was really special for
Ben. He had such a fun evening playing
at the pool and the park with his friends and family! I'm so thankful for all the people who loved
on my boy! I felt really fortunate that
Uncle David, Grandma Jean, and Tia Val were all in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place> and able to celebrate with us! He played so hard and completely exhausted
himself! He was so worn out he could
hardly open his presents! I love my fun,
affectionate, and imaginative 9 year old!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">As
we said farewell to Uncle David, we found ourselves having extra time with
Grandma Jean and Tia Val. They extended
their time in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
after Aaron’s wedding and stayed in a nearby house rental. We tried to get together as often as
possible. I loved watching Tia Val read
books to Ben. I enjoyed extra puzzle
time with Grandma, afternoons at their pool, watching both ladies snuggle Ella,
and having family meals together. There
were some really sweet moments and I have fond memories of our quality time
together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmnnfWDQyEtJb_-lr6QnKmTSwG7pErWEvOKkafuCDrfkL0dgWBVCr38dm9ckPtqpBDNMH8FegpN-OfuuttJwbYHzqFc106IWlMR4F5KLzFPxQx3cIBMhPW8LOprRxpFfvymRA6Ukt0Pw/s1600/IMAG1277.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmnnfWDQyEtJb_-lr6QnKmTSwG7pErWEvOKkafuCDrfkL0dgWBVCr38dm9ckPtqpBDNMH8FegpN-OfuuttJwbYHzqFc106IWlMR4F5KLzFPxQx3cIBMhPW8LOprRxpFfvymRA6Ukt0Pw/s400/IMAG1277.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Anna & her kiddos</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
dear friend Anna and her kiddos came through next. It had been a few years since we’d seen her
kiddos and I love all being together. I
love our kids playing together! I love
seeing how they’re growing up! I wish we
lived closer to each other. It was great
catching up and just living life together for a week. We took the kids to the pool one day and I learned
a lesson, wear appropriate pool clothing at the pool. Summer was just starting to rear its ugly
hotness and I really regret my decision to wear pants while sitting outside in
the afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZGhj6RA1s3Opz9TqatE6iCJlFy0HfQ-IqoehlypZQO5-8JUrchQ2c9KweYQl-7PnaGMGEYwoP9WzUQ5cXcG9mffoM6_mkIvurtFl9C8X9KeoQ7ekmhpXPiamUR8m2aWErRJOuKLscus/s1600/IMG_4438+copy-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZGhj6RA1s3Opz9TqatE6iCJlFy0HfQ-IqoehlypZQO5-8JUrchQ2c9KweYQl-7PnaGMGEYwoP9WzUQ5cXcG9mffoM6_mkIvurtFl9C8X9KeoQ7ekmhpXPiamUR8m2aWErRJOuKLscus/s400/IMG_4438+copy-001.jpg" width="265" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">4 Months</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At
4 months, Ella is cooing and trying to talk to us and it's so cute! I'm pretty sure the boys didn't talk to us
like she is. This is a whole new fun
adventure with a baby girl! She smiles
all the time and sometimes we can get her to laugh. She is on a good schedule and that really
helps me be okay. She seems to get
pretty upset if she messes her diaper while she's sleeping, thus ruining her
nap. Otherwise, she is napping well. I'm sooooo thankful she has been sleeping
through the night steadily since she was about 9 weeks old. Her daily dose of screaming like a banshee once
a day seems to be over with, Hallelujah! She's following movement a lot more and
turning her head towards sounds now. She
loves to stand assisted. It pretty much
guarantees a laugh. I love dressing her
in cute little outfits and then showing her cuteness to Jon. Each morning, she hangs out in my lap while I
drink my coffee and we have special Ella and mommy time. Time is flying way too fast with this little
bundle of sweetness. I'm trying to soak
it up as much as I can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOj5lGNFpkGtxq5IDzY40PQRVcgQ_6a4tvOuS3GfGm1EFXknsFEW-q3QThIimauv57uRliMRo3loobYbW-PJVj0qF1toR52TwohNMg5GUmnim_X0xPKpN3zkFb1Twnvft0SzOFSKkHmac/s1600/IMG_4550.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOj5lGNFpkGtxq5IDzY40PQRVcgQ_6a4tvOuS3GfGm1EFXknsFEW-q3QThIimauv57uRliMRo3loobYbW-PJVj0qF1toR52TwohNMg5GUmnim_X0xPKpN3zkFb1Twnvft0SzOFSKkHmac/s640/IMG_4550.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
celebrated the Fourth of July with our usual traditions at our neighbor’s
pond. Sadly, Kara and her little guy
Jude couldn’t make it this year and we really missed them. The men and kids shot off a never-ending
stream of fireworks. It was a really
impressive display and I enjoyed it. I
didn’t think I’d be able to join in the festivities because I figured it would
be too loud for Ella. But she went to
bed and wasn’t disturbed by the distant booms at all. I tried out our monitor for the first time
and, wonderfully, it got reception at the pond.
So I relaxed and enjoyed myself!
Yay!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Becky is here visiting meeeee!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
friend Becky was our next visitor! I was
so happy! We took her out for some legit
Texas BBQ and some pool time. Mostly we
just stayed home and talked and talked and talked! </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I'm so
thankful for our special time with Becky and I love that even though Ben didn't
remember her from his CA life, he still took to her right away and easily
called her Auntie. It warms my heart. Auntie Becky, you're the best!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9EvxbEzUXDdZcbhVdgFAcdd1fiOscnX8widcvMpbNix72SMsOhFhbIt86WwriPxP6-zjc0IVhxnf73bZvv3hhlQRQ1HZmymXdfTChl6cbx1lXze_Qk-WHlBjwbDbAFrLKbfhan2b3Wo/s1600/IMG_4649-002.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9EvxbEzUXDdZcbhVdgFAcdd1fiOscnX8widcvMpbNix72SMsOhFhbIt86WwriPxP6-zjc0IVhxnf73bZvv3hhlQRQ1HZmymXdfTChl6cbx1lXze_Qk-WHlBjwbDbAFrLKbfhan2b3Wo/s400/IMG_4649-002.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">5 Months</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">At
5 months, Ella is starting to bring anything she can to her mouth. Her favorite things to suck on are her to two
middle fingers, a handful of her shirt or a nearby burp rag, and just recently,
her toys hanging on her playmat. She
started preferring some upright time each day, so she gets to bounce for awhile
each day in her Johnny Jump Up. While
she's in it she loves twisting and bouncing and having a good view of all the
happenings in the house. She loves
watching Ben and his friends playing. She is free with her smiles, which is stinkin'
adorable! Right after she turned 4
months she started sleeping 11.5 hours straight at night, which was amazing for
Jon and me! It threw her daytime naps
off for a few weeks and she's finally just getting back into regular daytime sleeping
patterns. Ben is getting more and more
interested in her as she continues to become more interactive. It's so sweet hearing him talk to her. I love it! I think Ben is really going to bond with her
this month while Caleb will be gone on a solo trip to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>. That’s right, Caleb is getting to go on a
solo trip to <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place> to have amazing adventures
with Granny and the rest of the family there!
He’s so excited! He leaves the
end of July and returns the end of August, just before school starts.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
CLICK ON THE
LINKS HERE FOR PHOTO ALBUMS:<br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/May2015Ella3Months?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">MAY 2015 PHOTO ALBUM</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/June2015Ella4Months?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">JUNE 2015 PHOTO ALBUM</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/July2015Ella5Months03?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">JULY 2015 PHOTO ALBUM</a></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Blessings
on you and yours!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Love,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-12113645627442258522015-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:002015-06-24T07:17:22.000-07:00Ella’s Journey (Feb-April 2015)<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Ella’s arrived!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve had a long journey leading up to this
sweet little girl’s birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is
adorable and we’re so thankful for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She’s a gift and we’re so in love with her!</span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9c-AAIq3QSLfTcfYUx3OYXvfY_pwTbw5fJa3uYT1mL2wwr4lEmO_VnGMAgwvAZ5awTDYKzr3tgsR0UeVh0crbq2QspLpSHHwO9hRigbg4i_g0zJcGQjZOC8Kvszku-OMsts7n8QJof8/s1600/Ella+Birth+Announcement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl9c-AAIq3QSLfTcfYUx3OYXvfY_pwTbw5fJa3uYT1mL2wwr4lEmO_VnGMAgwvAZ5awTDYKzr3tgsR0UeVh0crbq2QspLpSHHwO9hRigbg4i_g0zJcGQjZOC8Kvszku-OMsts7n8QJof8/s640/Ella+Birth+Announcement.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Having a daughter has been the deepest desire
of my heart for close to 10 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I
thought about it, I would start feeling tears welling up with longing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept laying my desire down at the Lord’s
feet and trusting Him with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is
good.</span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">When I was trying to get pregnant with
Ben, God was very clear with me that I was not to learn anything about the
science behind increasing your chances of having a boy or a girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to trust God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I obeyed and had to shush any of my friends
who were reading the books and bursting full with wanting to share that
info.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to check myself constantly
to make sure I was content with having a boy or a girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even ended up acquiring some beautiful baby
girl bedding in case my baby was a girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A few months later, we got our sweet Ben, who has brought so much fun
and joy to our family!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m so thankful
for him, so thankful that the Lord made sure I was good with either a boy or a
girl, and so thankful that the Lord knew what He was doing in how he built our
family.</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I kind of assumed I would only have two
children, so I thought I was done, buuut...I kept my favorite practical baby
stuff...just in case, like the Moses basket, the changing table Jon built with
its baskets, and a few favorite blankets and toys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About 6 years ago, God took me through a time
where He was teaching me about “giving freely” and He required me to give away
all my saved boy clothing and to do it with a generous heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My nature is to plan and save.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I attach so much sentimental meaning to my
kids’ clothes, so this lesson was not the easiest for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever since then, I pass along our kids’ outgrown
clothes to our friends with younger boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have to say, I was very surprised to find how much joy I got from
seeing the clothes on our friends’ little guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A burst of sentimental memories of my own kids at younger stages comes
back to me in those moments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love
it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see now that God knew I wouldn’t
need those clothes at all and that they should be used and enjoyed instead of
wasting away in storage indefinitely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let’s say it again, God is good.</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Once we were in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> for about a year, I had a moment where
I realized that the big roadblocks to having a third child had been removed,
namely that we had gotten ourselves unburied from a lot of debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also wanted to have all my young kid stage
child-raising days behind me before I started working towards becoming a
counselor, a direction I feel God is leading me in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God also released me to learn about the
science behind increasing your chances of having a boy or a girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I started getting excited that God was
finally going to give me a daughter!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
took Jon awhile to agree to having a third child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew he was really okay with going forward
when he pulled me aside at Christmas time to </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">give me his present in private.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a sweet little pink polka dotted baby
girl onesie with matching shoes and a note that read:</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.9in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!</span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.9in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Rebecca,<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.9in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I love you so much!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are such an amazing woman and blessing to me and the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want you to know that I am on board and
excited about having a baby with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How could I deny a child the blessing of having you for a mother?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are the best!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">XOXO,<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.9in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Husband</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Segoe Script"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">His gesture really meant a lot to
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I read the books and began
tracking my temperature and charting my cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I did not enjoy doing that, so I just stopped after awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew God was in control ultimately
anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">One day the Lord told me the meaning of
the name for my daughter; bright, shining light!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was such a clear and specifically worded
message from the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can I say it
again, God is good!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked up names
with that meaning and wording, and the one I loved best was “Ella.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">It took much longer to get pregnant than
I expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I miscarried and it broke my
heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God named that baby Alex, which
means defender of mankind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty
sure he was a boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took awhile until
I was ready to try again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we
started trying, it took a really long time to get pregnant again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was wondering if it was meant to be or not,
but I kept trusting God, no matter the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although it seemed like giving me a daughter was His agenda, I just
didn’t know anything for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust,
trust, trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally got
pregnant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time around I had to
really keep my emotions in check.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
didn’t want to dwell on fearing another miscarriage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I also didn’t want to start making plans
and buying baby stuff, just in case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
kept our good news on the down low until we had a confirmed ultrasound that all
was well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Insurance ended up being a
ridiculous nightmare to get situated, so my first doctor appointment was much
later than normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we got
everything worked out with insurance, we were so happy to find out that all was
well with this baby and we could share our good news! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kind of knew in my heart that she was a
girl, especially since I felt the Lord had already named her, but had to wait
to find out for sure.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">We endured a very difficult
pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had awful morning sickness
and a crippling fatigue in the first half or so of this pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some symptoms improved with the second half
of pregnancy, but they were replaced by other frustrating symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On top of the normal pregnancy fatigue and
discomfort, I had gestational diabetes, insomnia, a crazy overwhelming hormonal
or nerve based itchiness at night that would leave me a sobbing mess, and Symphysis
Pubis Dysfunction – a common pregnancy condition where the prego hormone relaxin
does its job too well, making the ligaments around your pelvic bone during
pregnancy too loose too soon, which causes instability and severe pain in the
pelvic joint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to only try to get
done the bare minimum each day throughout the whole pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept up with homeschooling and paying the bills,
but that’s about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave up trying to
cook for my family or keep the house clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was even hard to delegate because my brain couldn’t handle thinking
of what needed to be done in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Little by little, I regrouped and got the boys busy keeping the house
clean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon took over all the cooking and
shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so blessed with a family
who will do what it takes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m very
thankful for a husband who is so supportive of me and such a great and engaged
dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ate a lot of tacos, spaghetti,
and chicken caesar salads, we ate out a lot, and we made it through.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
The day before Ella's arrival</div>
<div align="center">
</div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">On the morning of Ella’s birth, we
dropped the boys off at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">One</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Day</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Academy</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
where they each take a homeschooling class, and drove to the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prepping me for surgery & setting up my
IV’s ended up stressing out my body that had been fasting food and water for 12
hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon said my head rolled back,
lost color, and my eyes were fluttering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The nurses checked my blood sugar and said it was way too low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave me an IV with sugar in the drip and
gave me oxygen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That started helping
some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Before I knew it, we were headed
to the surgery room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave me the
spinal block and then let Jon in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
surgery ended up being drastically more traumatic for me that the previous two
c-sections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They used the minimal amount
of drugs to keep me from pain, they put a large blue sheet up directly in front
of my face, and they tilted the surgery table back so my head was lower than my
feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My arms were laid out
perpendicular to the sides like I was making a capital T.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a lot of pain in my shoulders, arms,
and head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could feel every little
touch from the doctors and nurses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
previous c-sections I was completely immobilized from the spine down, could
hardly feel any pressure, and had enough morphine to feel pretty good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time I could wiggle my toes through the
whole surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weight of the baby
and the angle of the table really increased the stress on my body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was having a really hard time and felt
really stressed out from the discomfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I asked them to level the table and to give me oxygen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did and it helped me a little bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it felt like the doctor was pushing on
my ribs over and over and over with all his weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just too much and I started to
cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon they pulled the baby out and
held her up for me to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t really
see much from my position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse
thought I was crying from joy, but it was from how overwhelmed I was, physically
mainly, but I’m sure emotionally too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
soon as the pressure of the baby and the doctor was off of me, I instantly felt
physical relief, I could finally start breathing better, and I began to feel less
distressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After they weighed the baby,
the laid her on me, but there wasn’t any room because the curtain was so close
to my face, so they pretty much laid her under my chin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t really see her, but I gave her a
kiss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t quite ready to take in
the joy of my new baby because I was still so overwhelmed from the
surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recognized that lack of joy
and connection and felt disappointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
wanted to be filled with joy and love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
just had to take one thing at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
knew I’d get there soon enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
took Jon and the baby to another room while they sewed me up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just concentrated on breathing in the
oxygen and trying to recover.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"></span> </div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">They wheeled me into the post-op room
where Jon and Ella were waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon
said the time he was in the room alone with Ella was really sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moments after I arrived in the post-op room,
my cousin Kara and the boys arrived. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
had driven from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Missouri</st1:state></st1:place>
and picked them up from school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
big relief to me to have Kara there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
needed that extra measure of love and support and friendship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus, knowing she was in charge of the boys,
freed me up to be completely unconcerned about them the whole time I was in the
hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was a big weight off my
mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was still needing some time to
regroup, so I feel like I missed out on seeing the boys meet their sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse came in to see if I was ready to
nurse for the first time and I had to ask for a few minutes to collect myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is all within 5 minutes of being wheeled
into the post-op room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse came
back a few minutes later and we nursed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The nurse gave Ella a bath and got her all snuggled up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A while later they took us to the maternity
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The trade-off to the more traumatic
c-section was that I recovered much more quickly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no drug haze to come out of immediately
after surgery since they used much less medicine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was on my feet and regaining muscle
strength much sooner than I have in the past thanks to my fantastic
surgeon!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sewed up a lot more layers
internally than they did in my previous c-sections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did a great job!</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The next few days are kind of a
blur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feed the baby, doze, eat, wait,
visit with friends and family, and celebrate each little milestone: standing,
walking across the room, walking down the hall, getting unhooked from the IV, being
allowed liquids, being allowed jello, being allowed solid food, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kara brought the boys to visit about twice a
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She kept up their homeschooling,
fed them, and even made extra food to leave in our freezer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was a Godsend!</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">It took us awhile to settle on Ella’s
middle name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were still at the
hospital before we officially decided.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Early in the pregnancy God told me “joy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know if that was supposed to be her
middle name, but I felt like it could mean that she would be a joy to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We considered naming her Joy, but we decided
to name her Ann.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s my middle name and
my mother’s middle name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was really
attached to the idea of continuing that tradition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ann means gracious one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love her whole name together and its
meaning, Ella Ann Hartshorn –a bright, shining light and gracious one, who
brings joy to our family!</span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">My mom was able to come once I was home
from the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so nice having
her around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She and Ben got a lot of
good time together and she changed a million diapers for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She got to visit for two weeks and we really
enjoyed her!</span></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Over the next 6 weeks I had a few extra
complications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My incision got infected
and I had a bad cough and cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
pretty difficult to sneeze or cough when you have a fresh incision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That on top of the usual sleep deprivation
and a nursing baby sucking the life out of you is a lot to take at once, but we
made it through.</span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">As I expected, Caleb wasn’t very
interested in the baby, but what can you really expect of a 13 year old
boy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He held her when he first met her,
but he’s never asked to hold her since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He doesn’t ooh and aah over her or really pay her any attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s much more interested in his own
hobbies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben is 8 and is much more
willing to hold her if it’s offered to him, but he doesn’t ask to hold her
either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben is more interested in
looking at her from time to time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
thinks the little facial twitches that cause her to smile are smiles she’s
giving just to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s super
cute!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He likes to count how many times
she smiles at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Ben will
especially love playing with her when she can interact a little more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both boys will give her a binky in the car
when she needs it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes me happy to
see them try to keep the binky in her mouth when it keeps popping out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like that they’re interacting with her when
normally they wouldn’t and sometimes it’s just funny listening to them while
I’m driving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb will load and unload
her in her car seat for me, which is a huge help while I’m recovering from the
c-section and can’t lift that much weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jon loved to trap Caleb on the couch under Ella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would just set Ella on Caleb and then
Caleb would be stuck because he didn’t know how to move Ella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hilarious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We finally taught Caleb how to move Ella, so
that trick doesn’t work anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon
also sneak attacks Caleb regularly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
gets Ella and makes her swoop down to give Caleb relentless kisses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s adorable!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Ella is a super sweet
little baby girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so captivating to
just look at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re really enjoying
her little expressions and movements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Snuggling her is the best!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
had her nights and days mixed up for her first 3 ½ weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now at 6 weeks, we’ve mostly got her little
body regulated to a four hour schedule of eating, awake time, and sleeping with
just eat and sleep from late night to the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve just about got her sleeping through the
night the last couple nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My body is
mostly recovered from the c-section and my energy and stamina are increasing
each day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m getting back into the
swing of things and adding back in cooking and cleaning little by little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel so much better than I did when I was
pregnant!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more I sleep and recover,
the more I move out of survival mode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now I am really appreciating and cherishing moments with Ella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m so excited to see what the next year
brings with this sweet baby girl!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
CLICK ON THE LINKS HERE FOR PHOTO ALBUMS:<br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/GettingReadyForElla?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">PREGNANCY PHOTO ALBUM</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/EllaSArrivalFeb2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">ELLA'S BIRTH PHOTO ALBUM</a><br />
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/Ella1Month?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">ELLA'S FIRST MONTH PHOTO ALBUM</a></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-3780907406160203732013-06-30T13:26:00.000-07:002013-07-02T20:54:13.616-07:00June 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana;">June has been a big
month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben turned 7, lost his first
teeth, got a kitty, and we had lots of special visitors!<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
</o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I love that my mom flew in
to visit just for Ben’s birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
Ben and I were picking her up from the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Austin</st1:city></st1:place>
airport, Jon and Caleb were secretly hunting the town for a kitten for Ben’s
surprise birthday gift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m so happy
with the cute little guy they found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’s a red tabby from the animal shelter, which is nice because the $5
adoption fee also covered a few shots, microchipping, and the neutering
costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was 2 ½ months old.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">When we arrived home we
gave Ben his early birthday gift in a Happy Birthday gift bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben was so surprised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He grinned so big, for so long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben asked repeatedly why we put kitty in a
gift bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That detail was very
disconcerting to Ben.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kitty was pretty
nervous the first day, but started settling down quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He slept and snuggled for the whole first
week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he started getting bigger and
more adventurous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben named him Billy
Fuzzy Hartshorn and he's completely in love!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Kitty will be an outside
kitty, but he has to stay inside until the cold he caught at the shelter is
better and he gets fixed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kitty lives in
our bathroom for now, unless we're snuggling him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb and Jon are both allergic to cats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb has to take allergy medicine anyway, so
he's doing okay. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon is doing mostly
okay. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think kittens aren't as bad on
the allergies as adult cats. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon and I
are counting down the days until the kitty can stop living in our house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He quickly learned to jump the barrier we
made between our bathroom and bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kitty thinks it’s totally fine to hang out in my bedroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also meows non-stop at us if we walk by,
go to bed, or go to the bathroom without spending every second petting
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His baby kitty meows are pretty
cute, but after enough of them, they become tiresome.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I'm loving our little
kitty as much as the kids. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He's uber
snuggly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm kind of shocked at how much
Jon and Caleb are enjoying kitty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m really
surprised! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought Jon would totally
shun kitty and I thought Caleb would be indifferent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sure hope
kitty lives a long happy life because we're all getting attached. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Outdoor kitties in a rural area often don't
make it into adulthood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting him
fixed will help a lot with him not running away at least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon and Ben made Billy an outdoor shelter and
we’re trying to teach him that shelter is his home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We even put a covered porch on it so we can
put his food and water up there, out of reach to the neighborhood dogs that
always wander into our yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has an
entrance and an exit so kitty can’t get cornered in there by wild animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After two weeks of
medicine from the vet for his cold, we took Billy back to the vet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vet said he looks really healthy
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got neutered and got his rabies
shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a week of recovery, we
started the transition to Billy living outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He seems to like it so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
found that we couldn’t put his food or water outside because it drew hordes of
ants, so we decided to just call Billy inside for meal times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He found an access hole under our back porch
to open space under our house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spends
his hot summer afternoons there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he
wants back in the house, he sits on the ledge outside our living room window
meowing at us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sometimes take pity,
let him in, and snuggle him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s
learning to come running when we call him for breakfast and dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Xena and Billy are really enjoying playing
with each other now too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s very cute
and entertaining to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Billy bats at
Xena’s fluffy ears and tail and Xena tries to play bite Billy’s ears and
legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s adorable to watch Billy sneak
around a corner to pounce on Xena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both
animals love having a playmate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so
sweet to see Xena’s happy dog smile after a good tussle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in all, he’s turning out to be an awesome
addition to our family!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ben had a super fun 7th
birthday party!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We're very thankful for
our <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>
friendships! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the kids had a blast
playing water balloon games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did
rounds of hot potato and played egg toss with the water balloons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I had a kit for each child to build
their own marshmallow guns and to decorate their own shields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They each had a bag of ammo to wear around
their necks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They spent a lot of time
running around the park attacking each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was so fun!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">On Ben’s actual birthday, we
went swimming!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the first swim of
the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys had been counting
down until the city pools were open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They had a super fun day swimming and Ben especially loved swimming with
his new birthday flippers, goggles, and snorkel he bought with birthday money
from Auntie Dar & Uncle Darrel. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We topped the day off with breakfast for
dinner with homemade cinnamon rolls and presents. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I love that my mom has
gotten to be here with us when big changes have happened in our family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time it was getting a kitty!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both boys love special time with Grandma Cheryl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did a lot of crafts and puzzles
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben knows she’ll almost always
say yes to reading a book to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
even came swimming with us one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb
loves solving Grandma’s puzzle books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s something special they do together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon and I loved getting a night off for a double
date when Grandma blessed us with watching our kiddos and our friend’s four
kiddos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all love Grandma so much!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks for everything!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ben finally got his first
loose tooth! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a bit unsettling to
him and he mentioned quite a few times that it hurt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had the shortest turnaround from loose to
lost that I’ve ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His first
tooth got loose on the 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> and he lost it on the 11<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were checking out a fabric store in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Austin</st1:city></st1:place> after dropping Grandma
Cheryl off at the airport when he lost his first tooth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was quite bloody, but all the young
hipster ladies working at the store congratulated him and found me a tiny bag
to put it in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then lost his second
tooth a few days later, on Father’s Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He noticed it was lost at the end of the movie we went to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t feel it come out, so we don’t know
when he actually lost it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t see
it anywhere in the theatre.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love his
toothless grin!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is one adorable boy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We had a great day
celebrating Jon for Father’s Day. He's an amazing father to our boys!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took the day off from working on our
projects and relaxed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He caught up some
on his favorite show, The Deadliest Catch, we went out to see the movie Epic,
and we ate out at our favorite local burger and ice cream restaurant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and he spent the morning with Ben
building the cat house for Billy’s outdoor shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even on his day off, he still got something
we needed done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s amazing!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I'm excited about the
fabric I bought in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Austin</st1:city></st1:place>
and the time for summer projects! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 2
school years I've been here, homeschooling took most of my time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last summer I babysat my neighbor's 4 young
kids, which took all my physical and mental energy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This summer is the first time since I've lived
in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place> that
I can call bigger chunks of time my own!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I haven’t bought fabric in the 2 years since I moved to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>, and that is a big
deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve sketched out a design I like
for a purse. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far it’s very tricky
trying to turn a sketch into a pattern when I’ve added so many complicated
details, like pleats on curves, into the design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully I can pull off making the fabric
into the awesome purse I’m imagining.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It’s been really nice not
having to water my garden now that I’ve got the automatic watering system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is lots of good growth, but I have
encountered quite a few new problems that I’ve never dealt with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a big learning curve and I’m definitely
learning!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far I’ve learned how
awesome diatomaceous earth is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It saved
my squash, green beans, and cucumbers from the destruction of hundreds of pill
bugs/rolly pollies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had reduced the
plants to almost nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that I’ve
dealt with the pests, the plants are finally getting a chance to grow and
they’re looking good so far. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I was getting blossom end
rot (BER) on some of my tomatoes, so I sprayed a lime/water mix and we’ll see
if that helps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BER is caused by a
calcium deficiency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was probably due
to too much rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My green beans are
turning yellow and I thought it was from too much water also, but more recently
I noticed a whole bunch of brown bean bugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I saw ants on the plant and thought they were harmless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve since learned that the brown bean bug
nymphs look like ants, which have now matured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some other pest destroyed one of my blueberry plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Powdery mildew appeared and quickly took over
my zucchini.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m using a homemade insecticide/fungicide
to solve these problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main
ingredient is neem oil and it seems to be doing the trick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that it is a safe and organic
solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully the plants can
recover from the destruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a different
tomato plant I found and hand picked off some potato beetle nymphs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That seems to have fixed that problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One pepper plant got infested with leaf
footed bugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hand picked those off
over a couple weeks and haven’t seen any for a few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so gross having to identify and solve
these pest problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully my hard
work will pay off and we’ll get lots of delicious produce.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The month ended with a
visit from my cousin Kara and her little guy, Jude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We love having them here and are so thankful they
drove out for a visit all the way from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Missouri</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love our new tradition of 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> of
July in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
with Kara and Jude!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/107357594336281960969/June2013?noredirect=1#" target="_blank">Click HERE for June 2013 Pictures</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Blessings on you and
yours!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
</span><br />Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-63908388341633078902013-05-31T11:05:00.000-07:002013-06-23T11:10:29.136-07:00May 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana;">May started with Caleb’s
trip to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">California</st1:city></st1:place></st1:state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He flew solo to spend time with his best
friend Sam and to take the CA STAR test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Caleb didn’t have an ounce of fear about the trip and was nothing but
excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was gone for 9 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben did a lot better this year with Caleb
leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was still pretty sad, but he
handled his emotions really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let
Ben have the week off school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We vegged
out watching a lot of movies and I taught him to knit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d been asking for awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very sweet time knitting with my
Ben.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Caleb had a great trip and
got to reconnect with a handful of good friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Juan and Tracy did a lot with the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They got to go to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Disneyland</st1:city></st1:place>, the beach, Medieval Times Dinner
& Tournament, and they got to explore a battleship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks Juan and Tracy for pouring love into
my boy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In an effort to form
better deep cleaning habits for myself and the kids, we started following the
<a href="http://flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=300." target="_blank">Fly Lady's</a> zone plan for 15 min per day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I also implemented a new
laundry system inspired by the idea of doing 1 load of laundry a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon put in the shelf that made it all
possible!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids and husband are
adapting quickly to learning to sort their clothes into the appropriate baskets.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The space used to be home to 2 tall
hampers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm so excited to not have to do
the weekly big laundry sort and 2-3 days it took to process the laundry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that I can see at a glance what basket
is filling up and is ready for a wash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Lighting struck our house one
night!!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an intense experience! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was super dramatic, super loud, super
bright with lots of sparks and bursting sounds. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We're so thankful that nothing caught on fire!
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm also extremely thankful I woke up a
few minutes before and felt prompted to get out of bed to unplug our computer.
Thank the Lord for that! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, the
lighting fried our television, internet antennae, router, some inputs on the
back of our reciever, some of Caleb’s video game systems, my lamp, some cables,
and my expensive <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tivoli</st1:place></st1:city>
speaker that I use to listen to music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our house is grounded and everything was plugged into surge protectors,
but apparently the electrical surge came through the internet line and the
cable attached to the television antennae when both antennas were hit by
lightning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From now on we’ll have to
unplug those 2 cables anytime there is lightning overhead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an extra precaution, we’ll also unplug the
important electronics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least we had
Grandma Jean's old TV in storage. One electronic problem solved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon jimmy rigged a few other things to get
the antenna connected again and to get Caleb’s Wii working again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We bought a new digital converter box and a
new router.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I contacted the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tivoli</st1:place></st1:city> company and I can
send the speaker in for repair for $75, so I’m going to save up for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re back in business for most of our electronic
needs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I weeded and mulched my
garden beds on the weekends this month while Jon was working on other
projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully my work will prevent
future weeds and help with water retention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was so much more work than if I would have done it before planting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Putting weed fabric down around growing plants
was very tricky! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'll be more organized,
prepared, and timely next year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We finished our homeschool
year the last day of May!!!!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm so
proud of myself and the boys. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben is now
done with 1st grade and Caleb is now done with 6th grade!!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s sooo crazy that I'll have a junior higher
next year! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m looking forward to
taking a summer break! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This mama needs
it! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm so thankful for CHEP, our
homeschooling partner in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/May2013#" target="_blank">Click HERE for May 2013 Photos</a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/May2013#" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-603Mc3tZWUXvlCCWjxgTvIrfaEojt2DickItzCgkS5v2ACN2uHKUwrYGOn-tNSQ3nBQ5fzPy-XGKPvzuhw2hMJ8r2OBHAwKVflsnSdzTLd7ebliDnoKVzuSQ5e_3BwfYvK7f83kMDw/s400/IMG_20130507_140237+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Blessings on you and
yours!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-19461094289589088392013-04-30T10:55:00.000-07:002013-06-23T11:12:25.081-07:00April 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana;">What an amazing
April!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mind goes straight to my
amazing weekend in <st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state>
with my <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laurel</st1:place></st1:city>
May.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think I’ve ever had that
much quality time and quality conversation packed into such a short amount of
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I flew out on a Friday and
returned on a Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so happy to
get a tiny glimpse of her DC life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
ate exquisite food and drank delectable drinks the whole weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think gourmet food is officially ranked as
my second most important love language right behind quality time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also got to prep and plant Laurie’s plot
in a community garden she is part of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve always wanted to participate in a community garden and loved that
she shared that with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked a lot
and enjoyed fun little spots all around DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The cherry blossoms were blooming and the weather was perfect for all of
our meandering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love, love, love my <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laurel</st1:place></st1:city> May and I cherish
the time with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/April2013#" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4klcS2Nm2jbWkrwWhFGswuSb4OMv89ZuC0Qr943aNGiIOdLXeH5XffVgmrj-ReK4tJ3Ilo1L2D7KRsqj8hkt_vMt04uMyf2Kt0CHsRzZEpjQe83UbyL_iBCleCbCAJSB9sllMDAEXkiI/s400/photo+%252810%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Meanwhile, my gang of boys
went camping with our <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb’s friend from robotics
class, Lucas, came along so Caleb would have a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty sure that camping trip will be a
big memory in both Caleb and Lucas’s minds when they reflect on their
childhood!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb is rarely as animated
as he was driving to and from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city>
for the camping trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys were
nonstop with their chatting and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
made my mommy heart so happy to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They dropped me off at the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city>
airport and then continued on to their campgrounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first night camping was just the Rusch
family and the Hartshorns; that equals to 2 dads for the adults and 7
kids!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day the Ericksons and
Hamiters joined in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was good rock
climbing, but sadly, the lake was too cold to enjoy despite the hot
weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys did manage to corner
an armadillo for awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After they
picked me up on Monday from the airport, we took a detour at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Dinosaur</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">State Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> before heading
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so neat!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were actual preserved dinosaur tracks
in the riverbed!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so excited that
the water level and clarity allowed us to see the footprints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not always visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids even got to put their feet in the
tracks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The river temperature was ideal
and we all had a good swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed
like too much effort to go all the way back to the car after hiking down to the
river, so we just swam in our clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was the best finale and really made the camping trip complete.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">One weekend, we
impulsively decided to try Frisbee golf out for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a lot of fun and can’t wait to go
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a good mix of challenge,
being outdoors, and family bonding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The month started off with
a trip to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Houston</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We woke up at 5am to make it to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Houston</st1:place></st1:city> in time for Ben’s
first appointment at 9am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were
supposed to confirm Ben’s diagnosis of neurofibromatosis (NF1) at the eye
specialist at this appointment, but complications came up with Ben's insurance,
and we didn't get seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were
frustrated because we jumped through a lot of hoops to get the appointment and
to get it on the same day as Ben’s other appt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Additionally, Jon took work off to be there and it would be difficult to
repeat everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We found ourselves
with a few hours to ourselves, so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we
headed for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Gulf</st1:placetype>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Coast</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We explored an area new to us, the Kemah
Boardwalk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was still closed for the
morning, so we had the place all to ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We got to walk around the boardwalk and watch the seagulls diving for
their breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed our little
family and the salty sea air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
always so refreshing to gaze at the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We made it back in time for Ben’s next appointment at the pediatric
dermatologist at the Houston Children’s Hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so impressed with the whole hospital
system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s organized and
efficient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have cared so well for
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The final result is that Ben's skin
spots have now been diagnosed as mastocytoma by the pediatric dermatologist. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s benign and the dermatologist believes
that it has already peaked and should clear up on its own by puberty. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They drew blood to see if the spots are
internal as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were not, which
is great, and avoids extra complications. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dermatologist said we do not need to worry
about it being NF1 and no further testing is required. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wants to see Ben again in 6 months for a
checkup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Praise God!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/April2013#" target="_blank">Click HERE for April 2013 Photos</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Blessings on you and
yours!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-66404097970673959062013-03-31T10:22:00.000-07:002013-06-23T11:13:57.533-07:00March 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/March2013#" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjkiazY4txdqA00KXepuKlwSJquGml5JakB323boPyzX-yUwcybNB1TSOLUS_YWPX3hCuhiCpolwwJWYz13VSmoTfPH7FZZpxnFFKMd5G7w-EOBeBzAj5xFo-VnOXcQGmRR7Kuqu4ddo/s400/IMG_0096.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our 12th Happy Saint
Birth-a-versary begins!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so blessed
to get to walk through life with Jon! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
love him so much! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happy 12th Anniversary
to us, Happy 35<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Birthday to Jon, and Happy Saint Patrick's Day to everyone!!!!
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italian wine and a dish of homemade
Italian Cannelloni's with Walnuts and Fried Sage started the fun off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had better be after more than four hours
of active work. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good thing I did the
bulk of the work a day ahead of time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
love trying new recipes and I especially love when they taste like a little old
Italian grandmother made them.<br />
<br />
We had a great celebratory weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
kids got their first <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
sleepover and Jon and I got a whole night and day to just be together!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so perfect! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The highlight of day 1 of our 12th Happy St.
Birth-a-versary was a wine tour and tasting of Messina Hof Winery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very informative and we got to taste
four of their wines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before tasting each
wine, our host instructed us on how to properly taste, including trilling for
white wine and clucking for red wine. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
was fun and surprisingly effective at enhancing the tastes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was impressed by the facility, the tour,
and the wine itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved finishing
up our last glass lounging by the lake with my husband of 12 years!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We topped our night off
with dinner at a little local Italian eatery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We even brought our own bottle of wine and paid the corking fee, which
was a first for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was fun and a
dollar saver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The next day we meandered
around a cute garden store and enjoyed their tea room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How lovely that the tea house serves
complementary tea and pastries before you order your meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plants and fancy food are some of my favorite
things and I love that we got both in one place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On our way home we happened upon a very
Ranchero swap meet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching a family
chase down an escaped rooster sticks in my mind the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very strange and entertaining swap
meet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">For Jon’s birthday we had
a calorie laden dinner with friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was a good time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The evening was topped
off with some fantastic news!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The IRS
accepted our offer-in-compromise!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now
owe only a small fraction of our outstanding tax debt that we’d gained from
being self-employed in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We feel tremendously blessed and know it is
the hand of the Lord!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only with His
grace and covering could this have worked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’re another step closer to being debt free!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The good news kept
coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was asked to be a moderator at
a new homeschool program being set up for the Fall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will give 4 hours of my time per week to
this job and Caleb will get two free classes in exchange!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was going to sign him up for the middle
school science class anyway, so now that will be free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will also get to sign him up for an English
class with a very dramatic and passionate teacher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m very excited because Caleb loves science
and I’m so thankful to find someone to pour this knowledge into him in a way I
can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also thankful for finding
someone who is truly in love with English to teach Caleb, as English is the
subject that is most frustrating and difficult for Caleb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Even more good news is
that we got a truckload of parts, all FREE, to set up a watering system for my
garden, from a craigslist post! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d
wanted a watering system so badly this year, but we just couldn’t put our money
towards that expense yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you Lord
for working it out for me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God just keeps
letting me know His care and love in tangible ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is good!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Extra awesome is that we used our anniversary gift money to buy an
automatic timer for the watering system!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thanks Melanie!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got it all set
up and we got all the little plants hardened off and transplanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was too sick to do the transplanting
myself, so the boys did it for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sat
outside to oversee and am thankful I was able to do that much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m very excited that I won’t have to hand
water all the beds through the horribly hot summer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will be a huge time and effort saver for
me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/March2013#" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sward0iZO-nZwAMToTqCdlvqBppUAb4RNjH50n4Q_hejhhyphenhyphenn4e4TQCqJbXTWY8Fg69xg94Wd-bkA-JvHQX8JKbx9tidgj5S55hqmxGGpv-QdVme-W24QBRAI9i49lvS5gAZrLQUuP2o/s640/IMG_8878+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We had a nice Easter,
although we missed our usual <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>
traditions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was very sick, so we just
stayed at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon talked with the boys
about the meaning of Easter and told the Easter story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we had a fun Easter egg hunt in the
yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben raced around with glee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is such a delight!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both boys had fun and especially enjoyed
eating their spoils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We topped our day
off with a family movie and popcorn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Caleb is really into the Harry Potter movies right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve watched one a weekend for the last four
weekends.</span><br />
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/March2013#" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbpckvkXStFOc-KyEg7vA95RRo3A-TH8ySS_Rn-lK54JzfMnOHMGtI9vVsYM0EO2vqHVLqEb7PEP0lMuYoXMRU2aobAOqJIdWI8oRdTlNPxc8wOU5rK3CkCx5fy2mxoMhZgapGgtbxQE/s640/IMG_9091.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/March2013#" target="_blank">Click HERE for March Photos</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Blessings on you and
yours!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Love,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Hartshorns<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-60291480322640226442013-02-28T18:54:00.000-08:002013-06-23T12:43:08.252-07:00February 2013<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We're doing really
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both boys are doing great with
school and really like the extra classes they're taking. It’s been about 4
weeks since Jon broke his ribs. He's over the worst of it now, but in the
beginning he had a lot of pain and had to really watch his movements.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">We enjoyed Valentine's Day
with a game of Lego Creationary and a warm gooey pizookie á la mode. Pizookies
are big cookies typically cooked in a pizza pan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I loved how touched the boys were by the special Valentines notes I
wrote them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also love the sweet homemade
cards the boys made me and the flowers from Jon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus he made the pizookie so I could rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we all got tummy aches from over
eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Opps! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should have known that taco night and
pizookies are just too much deliciousness for one night. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will power didn't stand a chance.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I'm getting ready for my
spring garden. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've got seeds starting
inside and we've got a big truck load of mushroom compost sitting in the yard steaming hot and
stinky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It’s only $10 a load from a local mushroom company. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>I’m trying a couple firsts this
year: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm starting most of my peppers
from seeds I saved from last year's garden and growing all the seedlings under
fluorescent grow lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m excited
about the heirloom tomato seed varieties I bought this year!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have a few experiments going to see
what works best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve got 3 techniques
going for germination and 2 different seed starting soils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m learning a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Getting our garden beds
prepped is my current big project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
still in step 1: Sift an unending amount of soil through the mesh frame Jon
made for me, to get rid of all the rocks and debris, before we mix in the
mushroom compost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully this epic job
is a one time job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm super impressed
with the boys’ commitment to this project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We felt like we were doing an archaeological dig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we'll unearth something
awesome...instead of just the disgusting grubs we've found so far. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a long way to go, but I'm feeling
really good about our progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hard
work leaves me feeling really satisfied :)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Additionally, I had a couple soul replenishing catch up phone calls with
dear CA friends this month. My heart is feeling full and satisfied.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I’ve got my ticket booked
to go to visit my dear college friend, Laurie, in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Washington</st1:city> <st1:state w:st="on">DC</st1:state></st1:place>
in April!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m really excited!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve wanted to get out there for years to get
a taste of her life in DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actively
participating in the lives of my dear friends is important to me and I’m
thankful I finally can put my words/heart into action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m flying out of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city>, which is about 3 hours from us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys have campgrounds reserved for that
weekend near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re going to have so much fun camping
with our friends. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We’ve gone to a monthly
homeschool skate day two months in a row now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We took Ben’s friend Cole with us both times and they’ve had a
blast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Cole’s first time last
month and Ben’s second, ever, at a skating rink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so fun to see how quickly both boys are
progressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, as old pros
(Cole’s 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> and Ben’s 3<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">rd </span></sup>time), they were attempting to
do double skate jumps like the teenagers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They actually got pretty close with their cute little hops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a lot of “watch me Mom!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ohhh’d and ahhh’d appropriately :)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I skated with the kids the first time and
took it easy on the sidelines this time, as I wasn’t feeling well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s so sweet seeing Ben and Cole’s
friendship blossom right before my eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They stayed close to each other’s side skating or were hanging on the
rink’s wall chatting and watching the other skaters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was soooo cute!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, I’ve been getting to know some
other homeschool moms who come.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I really love the Food
& Wine Magazine I’ve been getting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
got it as a free extra when I ordered my Kitchenaid mixer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve tried some really amazing recipes from
it, such as a very delicious bagel recipe! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is especially exciting since there aren't
a plethora of bagel stores here in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>,
like there are in CA. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I can make my
own delicious homemade bagels! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus,
bonus, I very successfully recreated the fillings from my favorite bagel sandwich
from a CA bagel shop - homemade spinach egg patties, melted cheddar, homemade chipotle
mayo, bacon, avocado, and tomato! Soooo good!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I’ve also acquired some
new ramekins that Target was clearancing out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve made my first pot pie and it was amazing, especially the
dough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was another Food & Wine
find and the secret ingredient is potato flakes!<o:p></o:p></span>
</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/February2013#" target="_blank">Click Here for February Photos</a></div>
<div align="center">
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Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-56111125900726455922013-01-31T18:18:00.000-08:002013-06-23T12:43:45.521-07:00January 2013<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Ben
had his appointment at the Houston Children's Hospital in the genetics
dept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It went really well! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor we saw was so great. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a specialist in neurofibromatosis (NF1)
and his gut thinks that Ben does not have it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wants to do blood work that will confirm
officially, but as of Jan 1st, our insurance will not cover that specific code.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are going to court to resolve this
and expect it to be resolved in a few months. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an alternative, the doctor is referring us
to an eye doctor in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Houston</st1:place></st1:city>
to look for NF1 characteristics that show up in the eyes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben's muscles, and leg muscles specifically,
do not have the typical weakness that is present in people with NF1. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also doesn't have the typical spots in the
armpit and groin area. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor didn't
think that Ben's spots have the classic look of NF1, but admits it could be it.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben's spots didn't respond under
ultraviolet light like a typical NF1 response. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also isn't having seizures or learning
disabilities, which are common among kids with NF1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, next step, see the eye doctor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is also referring us to a pediatric
dermatologist in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Houston</st1:place></st1:city>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn't have any idea what Ben's
spots may be, but hopes a dermatologist will be able to figure it out. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on the results at the eye doctor/dermatologist,
we may or may not need blood work at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both appointments are set for the same day in April, which is helpful
because it’s a 2 hour drive from our home.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We
celebrated Ben being done with the doctor visit with a trip to the Houston Zoo.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben was a crack up at the zoo. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was on a mission the whole time; to track
down the next animal he was desperate to see. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once he found the desired animal, he had no need
to linger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was ready to move on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He seemed especially excited to find the
Komodo dragon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He kept covering his eyes
while we were walking around, because he wanted to be surprised when we finally
found the Komodo dragon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So cute! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to keep telling him he had to be able to
see to walk and to look for the Komodo dragon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also got to hear a huge tiger making
incredibly loud sounds. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would almost
say it was moaning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn't quite a
roar or a growl. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was amazing! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've never heard a big cat in person like that
and it was such an impressively loud and unforgettable sound. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also saw a giraffe fight! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So fascinating!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a very dramatic and slow fight. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would swing their necks around, to gain
momentum, and then bash into the other's neck with their horns. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knew? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One also kept using his back legs to try to
pull the other's back legs out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
just kept taking blows at each other. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was intense and looked so painful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
were mesmerized. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We
enjoyed some Red Robin burgers and a quick stop at Ikea on our way home. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s fun to go to familiar places that we
don’t have in our town.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">God
is good and has kept me in His peace despite some big emotional, physical, and
financial stresses this month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t go into too many details, but I’m very
thankful for our God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw one doctor
who was unsuccessful with a procedure for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was very painful and took awhile to recover from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said I needed surgery and would need
anesthesia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no insurance and
didn’t know how God was going to work this all out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, I felt awkward and
uncomfortable with this doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I was
waiting for my referral, some other potentially scary stuff was happening with
my body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was lots of praying and
processing happening. Peace is something that takes a lot of internal work to
maintain, and I’ve been working hard. Waiting for the next “unknown” step is another
stress I had to work through to maintain my peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally got my referral call, but I had
concerns because it was not for a surgeon and it was for an office where I
would have to pay full price for everything. Thankfully, we got it worked out
and I got an appointment at a clinic, where I get a big price break, with their
nurse practitioner and a surgeon who comes in on Fridays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The surgeon was able to do the procedure
without surgery and with much less pain than the previous doctor’s attempt!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse practitioner was so kind and
caring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She held my hands and talked me
through the pain and discomfort!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a
different experience than last time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Praise the Lord that we were able to have all the medical work for me
and Ben paid in full, despite me having no insurance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God totally worked it out! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m so relieved at being at the end of the medical
procedures for myself, the unknowns are known, the finances are covered, and
there is a big likelihood that Ben does not have NF1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whew!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One
weekend we scoured pawn shops all day so Jon could make use of his Christmas
"banjo fund" gift that the kids and I gave him for Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that my sweet kids pitched in their
money to bless their Daddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ended up
finding a Goodtime Deering banjo at a fantastic price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has a great sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love hearing Jon play it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids also got pretty interested in
wanting to learn to play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They lost
their interest a week later, but it was cute watching them practice the tunes
Jon taught them while it lasted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I’ve
had some really sweet times with the kids this month while we’re
schooling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m so appreciative of the
life I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m intensely appreciative
of the depth of relationship I get to build with my kids by being there with
them so much more than if I had made other choices with their schooling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m deeply glad I get so much more time with
them while they are young.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love snuggling
in the recliner, drinking my morning cup o' joe, and teaching Ben about
fractions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love getting to enjoy the
warmer winter days bundled up on the porch doing grammar, spelling, and phonics
with Ben.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love sitting on a sun warmed
trampoline reading the latest novel out loud to the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Homeschooling has some pretty awesome perks
:)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One
weekend we had a lovely day trip at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Huntsville</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">State Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> with the Rusch
family. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went on a couple hikes and
picnicked overlooking a beautiful lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's
amazing how good a turkey sandwich tastes after a hike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The winter weather felt like spring, crisp
and perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The landscape was very
woodsy and the waters were at times swampy and marshy and other times more of a
clear river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We kept our eyes peeled for
the alligators that inhabit the area, but we never saw one. We later got to see
and pet a baby alligator at the ranger station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was especially fun for the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On one of our hikes Jon and Caleb were having a pine cone throwing war.
As they were racing through the woods pelting each other with pine cones, Jon
tripped on a big tree root. He went down so hard it literally broke his bones,
his rib bones!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s continuing on with
life, despite his broken ribs, and improving each day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/January2013#" target="_blank">Click Here for January Photos</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-2695330986287220632012-12-31T17:44:00.000-08:002013-06-23T12:44:03.449-07:00December 2012<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">We're
doing really well. We had a round or two of the stomach bug here. Ben seems to
keep getting it repeatedly. But despite that, we've managed to stay on top of
our schooling. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Something
you could be praying about for us. Two doctors have now diagnosed Ben with
neurofibromatosis (NF1). We have a genetics appointment scheduled for mid
January in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Houston</st1:place></st1:city>
to confirm the diagnosis. If it is neurofibromatosis, then it could be a very serious
thing. He doesn't show most of the indicators that he falls on the more harmful
end of the spectrum, like seizures, migraines, speech impediments, or learning
disabilities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems that as the child
gets older though, more problems could arise. Please pray against this for Ben.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>NF1 is defined by tumors, called
neurofibromas, which grow along nerves in the body, or on, or under the skin.
As the tumors increase in size, they can press on vital areas of the body,
causing problems in the way the body functions. Ben has lots of brown café au
lait spots on his skin which have been spreading steadily the last couple
years. The first spots are now becoming raised. These distinctive spots don't
hurt or bother him in any way, but they are indicators of a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully they don't turn into anything more
serious than spots that can be removed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ll keep you posted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">We
had a really good time picking out our Christmas tree this year from a
Christmas tree farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun watching
the boys do the work of cutting down our tree once we all finally agreed on the
very best tree of them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked the
bluish hue the tree branches had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
really beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It lasted a really
long time, which was awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
wondering if we’ll ever do that again though, because decorating it was an
immense pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was super sappy, and
besides covering us in sap, it also covered our hands and arms with painful and
itchy rashes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But…it was especially
beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe if we wear gloves up to
our elbows next year?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Christmas
was great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My parents came up for a
visit and we had a really nice time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
big gift this year was a trampoline for the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were soooo excited!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had it still in the box, hidden under a
blanket outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just when they thought
the Christmas goodness was done, we told them they had one more present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the overwhelming excitement that hit
the kids, especially Caleb!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was so
excited that he leapt into his Daddy’s arms!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Awww!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It melts a Mommy’s
heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb is usually so mellow and
calm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that the boys ran outside
barefoot and in jammies despite the freezing winter weather.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The
other big gift was a banjo fund for Jon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The boys and I can’t wait to see what he picks out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The boys even contributed their own money to
the secret banjo fund for Daddy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve
been saving for a long time and hunting music stores in case we found a good
deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m really impressed that Ben
didn’t spill the beans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">My
parent’s Christmas trip got derailed when Mom got injured jumping on the
trampoline with the boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>X-rays showed
that she broke her foot in two places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
felt so bad that happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And extra bummer
was that Dad caught a bad cold here at the end of their trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a horrible way to have to make the long
drive back home from <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state> to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">We love you all tons! Thanks for being a part of our lives! Merry Christmas!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/Dec2012#" target="_blank">Click Here for December Photos</a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p>Love,</o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p>The Hartshorns</o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-32940438338097032222012-11-30T13:44:00.000-08:002013-03-11T14:47:54.196-07:00November 2012<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had a great Thanksgiving with cousin Aaron and the Rusch
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thankful they’ve taken us in
like family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I successfully made my
first pumpkin pie, my first pecan pie, and my second sweet potato casserole
(last year’s was a bust). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They turned
out great for our 2nd Texas Thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's kind of bizarre that I'd never made these All-American classics
before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think we have a new after Thanksgiving “<st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>” tradition – the corn maze!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never imagined I'd find myself racing
through an enormous corn maze:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aaron and
Ben, versus me and Jon, versus Caleb going solo, and it was soooo fun!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had the best family day and topped our
adventure off with a stop by the Blue Bell Creamery Ice Cream Parlor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After Thanksgiving, I purchased a P.E. program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m very impressed with it so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gives me 30-60 minute lessons that build
on themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see a big improvement
in both boys’ coordination and strength, even though we’re only getting to it
once or twice a week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Caleb has even
noticed feeling happier after a lesson, which makes me a happy momma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Way to go endorphins! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It works muscle groups, coordination, reaction
time, spatial awareness, etc. in intentional ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The kids are getting much more from this
program than they were getting from just playing outside as their exercise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plus it gets me out there playing and engaging
with the kids in a new way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, I’m
hopeful that this will impact the health and fun of the Hartshorns, as well as teach
the ability to take care of oneself - a skill I'm not great at. I want better
for my kids.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Caleb is growing like crazy! He is a quarter of an inch
taller than 25 days ago!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I decided to attempt to propagate some of my herbs and to
over-winter the parent basil plant since I live somewhere now that experiences
actual winter and freezes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
propagating worked really well for my pineapple basil and my rosemary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They love my window sill and are rooting
splendidly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, I learned that
if I put the bottoms of grocery store green onions in some water and set it in
my window, they’ll grow! Now I can just trim off what I need when cooking, plus
they're cute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thrilled with all this
new gardening knowledge!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One Friday and Saturday we really packed in the fun! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben had his Fine Arts Friday classes, we had
new friends over for a fun afternoon, and we spent the evening at a birthday party
at a gymnastics studio. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then Jon and the
boys spent the whole night lake fishing on a boat with our neighbor. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we went to a pecan farm festival in the
morning, shortly after the boys walked in the door from fishing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed watching a potter work on her
pottery wheel at the festival and took an informative and relaxing 45 minute
wagon ride through the orchards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
a gorgeous fall day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After we got home
the boys crashed hard and I decided to make some pasta from scratch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/Nov2012#" target="_blank">Click Here for November Photos</a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/RebeccaHartshorn/Nov2012#" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnL-O-_5LNn5h3q11y8HgRqNxLVnvDuxSiywD03Fo7EyuflUA0ra5kTSZwOcXgEOQrI56bm1VSqsdPY1SmIgyccPvey_nf5EmzIqB2yKHEHVBi_9XGc9Cp3re_TJrFL2Fu12kidJ-I_M/s640/IMG_8524.JPG" width="425" /></a></div>
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Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-90733576484927129112012-10-31T13:22:00.000-07:002012-11-05T11:54:09.866-08:00October 2012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">October
started with a visit from Granny and the grand entrance of the beautiful crisp
Fall weather. The trip highlight was
having friends over for the first campfire of the season and dining on Granny's
super delicious chili, cornbread, and fried pies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
went camping at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Guadalupe</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">River</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State
Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> with the Ruschs, Ericksons, and cousin
Aaron. On the drive there we were
entertained by an authentic Ranchero showing off his lasso tricks while his gas
was pumping. We were a pump over
watching with big grins. It was so
awesome and somehow made my <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
life more complete..... Definitely crazy
camping weather; sometimes muggy, overcast, and humid, sometimes raining, and
sometimes perfect! Caleb had a great
first day camping and he was super excited that we let him stay up with the
adults by the campfire as late as he wanted for the first time ever. Sadly, he came down with a cold the second
day and was a big pile of mopey sadness.
We tried to express that you can have a good attitude even while you
feel sick, but he just couldn’t kick the floppy body language and frowny face;
with the exception of the couple rounds of the Settlers of Catan board game he
got to play with the grown ups. He loved
that and it was enough to distract him from feeling bad. So Caleb and Jon had to sit out on our big
river float, which was a bummer. Ben and
I really loved our first river float. The
adults were outnumbered by small children, each on their own floatation
devices. It was interesting keeping
track of all the kids, but we managed. I
mostly kept track of my Ben. I was in my
tube with my legs hooked over onto Ben’s tube.
He grabbed my feet to doubly make sure he didn’t float away. He was nervous, but excited. He did great until we got to the small rapids
section of the river. He was not okay
with that. We had to get out while I
tried to talk him into trying it with me.
I decided, kind of stupidly, to squish Ben’s partially deflated tube
into the center hole of my tube. The
beginnings of the currents were very shallow and I was trying to increase our
buoyancy so we didn’t have to combat scraping our behinds up on all the rocks,
while simultaneously trying to keep Ben having fun. I sat him on my lap for us to brave the
rapids together in my double tube invention.
Our tubes totally tipped and dumped me on top of Ben. The currents + the rocks + a scared Ben + a
smashed Ben under a Mom = a terrified, bleeding, scraped up Ben. Epic Mom fail! So, while the rest of the group played in the
rapids for the next hour and half, Ben and I sat on the side lines. But, just about the time we were all ready to
leave, I finally got Ben to try the rapids.
It helped a lot that he had been watching all the other kids going down
the shoot over and over and over. Also,
the men delved into their inner child and went nuts rearranging the boulders to
make the most ideal rapids shoot possible.
This is really the reason that Ben finally felt comfortable enough to
brave the rapids. Yay Ben and yay
Justin, Jay, and Aaron! Once Ben got
going, he really loved the rapids. I
loved it too. I’ve never done anything
like that before and it was a blast! I
was so bummed that Caleb and Jon missed out.
We brought the gang all back the next afternoon though. I forced Caleb to try the rapids a couple
times, but he just didn’t feel good enough to be able to enjoy it. He spent most of his time sitting
around. At least he was sitting around
in gorgeous scenery. We set up a table in
the shallow rocks and the group played another round of Settlers of Catan,
which brightened up Caleb’s afternoon. I
spent some lovely time with my camping chair set up in the middle of the river
sunning myself after a few chilly rides down the rapids. It was so perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
day Ben’s Friday school needed me to volunteer as the teacher's assistant. Each
parent has to volunteer twice throughout the school year, but since we started
a little late, all the spots had been filled.
I’m the backup if someone has to cancel.
It was a fun and random day. I
had all the art classes. It was great seeing what Ben does in school because I
haven’t been able to get much info out of him when I pick him up from
school. Really, hardly anything at all;
and no work had been sent home with him either.
I was getting very curious. It
was exciting to see what art projects he’s been working on and what he is like
in the school setting! He is very cute,
in case you were wondering, although I know I’m partial. It was a great day, but I was running on low
because Caleb had been sick since our camping trip and I’ve had to get up a lot
during the previous few nights to help him.
That particular night I missed many hours of sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
finally figured out a plan for Caleb’s English curriculum that works for
us. It’s a bit of this and that. I found some stuff in the education store in
town and some I improvised. Caleb is no
longer doing busy work or using curriculum that doesn’t fit his learning styles
– he’s learning and that makes me glad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Near
the end of the month we had a fantastic Saturday; the best day! We got a ton done in the house, Jon repaired his
lathe machine, Caleb and Jon began making a new board game, Quoridor, Jon
taught Ben how to play catch, and we even got a game of tennis in! Then we
finished our night off with friends, roasting chili cheese dogs, and eating ice
cream around a campfire in our yard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
first saw the game Quoridor in a teacher supply store when I was looking at
homeschool curriculum. He was super interested, so he and Jon made plans to
make their own. I am so amazed and proud
of Caleb and Jon for their creativity, perseverance, and ingenuity. In one weekend they created their design, cut
out the board/walls, turned the game pieces (1 representing each member of our
family - guess who is who in the photos), sanded, and varnished it all. We are so pleased with how fun the game
is! It’s very addictive. Here are the game rules if you’re
interested. </span><a href="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoridor"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoridor</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
very much missed our annual Halloween party at Jared & Claudine Allen’s home
and trick-or-treating with the Flores and Jenkins families. We miss our <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state> friends an extra measure at times
like these. But we were still able to
have a good time. A couple days before
Halloween, I asked the boys to look through our costumes, to see what they
could come up with to wear. Caleb just
wasn’t satisfied with anything. He has
exhausted what we have and is too big now to be impressed with anything Target
has to offer. So we brainstormed and
decided to tackle making him into a Lego minifigure, which is the little Lego
person. He really got excited! It took two long days to make the Lego
costume. I knew, yet didn't know, what I was getting myself into. It's amazing
what cardboard, styrofoam sheets, glue, tape, and paint can become. Oh, and
some PVC for the hands. It really
turned out spectacular. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
joined the Rusch family at their church’s Harvest Festival again this
year. It was pretty much the same as
last year. Caleb turned a lot of heads
as we walked in. Sadly, he quickly
became disoriented, overheated, and wilty in his costume. It was very stifling in the styrofoam head,
with very limited vision, and he couldn’t bend his knees to walk. It turned out to be a very impressive, but
impractical costume. He ended up sitting
out on a lot of the festivities. Meanwhile, Jon and I took Ben around to play
the variety of carnival games for candy.
We dined on chili dogs, cotton candy, and popcorn. We got to check out all kinds of prehistoric
looking creatures, went for a hayride, and Ben got a balloon snake made by the
balloon man. Caleb had fun doing the
costume contest at the end of the night.
Funny enough, there was another little boy in line with him in a
homemade cardboard box costume that he had designed to be a transformer in its
vehicle mode. He was a nice little boy
about Caleb’s age and I was later telling Caleb that he should go find that boy
and try to make friends with him. Caleb
wasn’t interested in doing that of course, but I was internally pining over
this potential friendship. I could just
tell that they would be great friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Later
on, one of my new friends showed up. I
was surprised to see her because we know her from Caleb’s robotics class. Her son and Caleb had hit it off in class and
we had been over to her house once for a play date. It turned out that her brother brought her
son Lucas to the Harvest Festival because she had taken her youngest to the
hospital. So the little boy I had been
pining over ended up being Caleb’s friend already! We just didn’t recognize him out of
context! So funny! I have no doubt that these friendships will
grow and grow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
was very excited to win the costume contest for his age group. He has now won two years in a row. Last year he had put together a very random
assortment of bits of pieces from our dress up box and called himself Captain
Random.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We're
considering finishing up the details that we ran out of time to add to the Lego
costume, name him, and then photograph him in funny places around town over the
next year. We were cracking ourselves up with our ideas on our drive home. I’m kind of hoping we do, I think we’d have a
good time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ll
end this entry with a super new tasty dessert I discovered. It’s perfect for Fall and I’ve even made it
twice because they are so yummy, and I rarely care about treats. Here you go…welcome to the world of
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with cream cheese frosting! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Whoopie
Pie Recipe (disregard the frosting portion): <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-whoopie-pies/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-whoopie-pies/</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Frosting
Recipe (You need to double the frosting recipe, and although this whole recipe
is tasty, you only need the frosting portion for the pumpkin whoopie pies):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tip:
When you drop the cookie batter onto the cookie sheets, you need to use a spoon
and swirl them into a flatter and smoother shape. They pretty much stay the
same shape as they are when you put them on the cookie sheet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-55566317256033433992012-09-30T13:20:00.000-07:002012-11-05T11:55:34.513-08:00September 2012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
started September off with a day trip to Gibbons Creek Reservoir. I like finding all the little fun spots
around us. They had a roped off swim
area and we took our neighbors canoe out to do some fishing. It still gives me a burst of cheer to get
paddled around pretty nature spots by Caleb and Jon. I love sitting behind Caleb and watching him
paddle; he’s growing up right before my eyes.
It’s crazy! How did he get so big
and capable all of a sudden? I
especially enjoyed all the gigantic and beautiful lily pads, the stunning cranes
perched on tree stumps that were intermittently coming out of the lake,
drinking my coffee while my boys rowed me around, shoring up on the back side
of a fun little island for a bit, and tying off to one of the random stumps so
Jon could bait the fishing lines with super, super, super stinky bait. Good memories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
had a great 11th birthday. He wanted
pizza and bowling with friends. Easy to
do, perfect! Especially since his last
birthday was such a bust. It had been
his first birthday in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Texas</st1:city></st1:place></st1:state> and he missed his CA
friends and traditions, on top of being too sick to even want birthday cake.
I’m so glad he was able to have a great birthday this year. Grandma Cheryl even came to celebrate my
sweet boy. I love her new tradition of
flying in to visit for the boys’ birthdays.
We appreciate the tangible act of love.
Thanks Mom! We are also so
appreciative of all the thoughtful birthday gifts from friends and family. Thanks everyone. It made my heart happy to see how our new <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Texas</st1:city></st1:place></st1:state>
friends have really gotten to know Caleb and found things that they knew he
would love. I’m very thankful for
friendships, new and old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Homeschooling
is going well with Ben in 1st grade and Caleb in 6th grade. This year we had the means to have the boys
involved in some extra classes, which I’m very glad about. Last year we were new to the area and didn’t
really know what was available, plus we didn’t really have any extra
money. We tried a gymnastics class for
Ben and I expected that he would love it!
He is constantly rearranging my living room into a giant jump zone. They had a special homeschool class that was
during the day with other homeschoolers.
How perfect, or so I thought. I
was surprised that Ben was so scared. He
was okay at first during the warm up and stretching portion of the class. But then they jumped right into hard stuff
without much explanation. Turns out, the
downside of the homeschool class was that it had all ages and experience levels
in one class. It terrified him. I was
watching him standing in line waiting for his next turn to run and jump on the
spring pad to launch him onto the huge foam block, hoping for him to see the
fun in the activity. But then I saw his
fear try to break though and I saw him try to hold back the tears and be
brave. He kept this up through his whole
wait in the line. He took his turn with
no enthusiasm, and then he very adult-like held up a “just a moment” finger to
his teacher, and ran over to me in the viewing area. And that was that. He let it all go and I had one tearful boy on
my hands. I convinced him to go out and
try it again, to be brave in the face of fear.
I thought we were in the clear when he agreed to give it another
try. He ran back into line and tried
again. He did his run (at a very slow
speed – a meandering jog perhaps), his jump, and his assisted fall onto the
huge foam block. Then he bee lined it
for me. He broke down into a sobbing
pile of distraught sadness! He absolutely would not go out again. We watched the rest of the class from the
viewing area. We practiced everything we
saw at home so he would be ready to go for the next class. The next week, he got a big pep talk and the
promise of the treat of his choice if he tries everything and stays in
class. He seemed agreeable until it was
time to join the rest of the kids.
Another tear-fest! I’ve never
seen him like this and it broke my heart.
I was in such a spot. What to
do? Do I push him to do something that
apparently terrorizes him and teach him to try things and not let fear win, but
traumatize him in the process? Or do I
let him off the hook and help him feel better, but in doing so, let him think
you can just quit things if they’re hard?
Ahhh! Well, I really couldn’t get
him out there short of dragging him, and I decided that I wasn’t willing to pay
primo dollar amounts if he isn’t benefitting from it. But I did want him to be involved in
something so that this fear of the unknown wouldn’t win. By the next day I had him enrolled in KOR
school for their Friday fine arts program. It’s a local private school that
does the core subjects Mon-Thur. They
opened their Friday fine arts program up to homeschoolers for the first time
this year. And bonus: the supervisor was
able to fit him in to the class with one of his friends, Cole Hamiter. Yay!
He's taking music, theater, art, and P.E. Each class is an hour. He was nervous about trying another new
thing, so I promised to stay in the parking lot for the whole first day. I would be there if he needed me. Poor Caleb and my Mom had to honor the
promise with me. So the three of us sat
in the car for 4 hours in the parking lot; a living security blanket. But, it was so worth it. Knowing I was just right there gave Ben the
security and emotional freedom to be able to enjoy himself. He had a blast! From our parking space, we could watch Ben in
his final class of the day, P.E. It was
such a sharp contrast to his gymnastics experience. He was running full steam ahead and thriving
in this atmosphere! I'm so relieved it
went well and I’m glad I could watch him for that little bit to see how he was
doing. I'm glad we found the right fit
for our family. I’m glad my Mom was here visiting too! It's great that she was
here as we figured all that out. She got to see the highs and lows in our
homeschooling adventure. We topped our experience off with hamburgers and
frozen custard. Yum!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
is taking two really great classes this year that haven’t been offered in this
area before. They are so perfect for him
and are challenging and engaging. The
first is a middle school level engineering class. He has to take notes during the lecture, do
homework, and participate in a variety of building challenges. He is also taking a robotics class. This class is a lot easier for him, but he is
gaining a lot of knowledge he didn’t have before. He loves them both and he even made one
friend, another little boy his age who loves Legos and robots, and whose brain
operates very similarly to Caleb’s. It’s
perfect. We were invited over to his new
friend’s house for a play date. I got on
really well with the mom and there was a little girl about Ben’s age. They played splendidly together. Extra perfect! The friendships are still in the beginning
phase, but I think they will be good ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
also went to the first get together of a group of homeschoolers who plan to
meet once a month for a Lego contest, a chess tournament, an art project, and a
geography video. We went and Caleb
enjoyed the Lego contest and the chess tournament. We brought our Simpsons chess board and Caleb
ended up with a big group of kids surrounding his game and wanting a turn to
play on the fun board. Ha ha, kids! Secretly I had wondered if we would offend
the local community with our Simpsons board.
They are very conservative around here.
It turned out to be fine, I think?
The art project wasn’t the best and they never made it to the geography
video. So next time I think we’ll just
stay for the first two portions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
neat advancement around here is that I signed up with Scholastic to receive
their book club flyers as our own school.
They apparently have allowances to do that for homeschool families. I had been missing being able to order from
Scholastic, as they usually have a really discounted book highlighted each
month and new books are often printed in paperback exclusively for Scholastic,
when they are only offered in hardcover everywhere else. Additionally, we’ll now receive the
incentives, rewards, and discounts doubly, as both the parent and the
teacher. Yay for double rewards!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-28561407687536054402012-08-31T13:12:00.000-07:002012-11-05T11:56:12.029-08:00August 2012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Most
of August was spent either watching the four Rusch kids or keeping up with my
own household chores. It was a full
load.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
weekend we spent an absolutely perfect day with our dear, dear friends, the
Fillmores!!! They live in <st1:state w:st="on">South Carolina</st1:state>, but
were visiting family in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>.
They were driving back to <st1:state w:st="on">South Carolina</st1:state>, so
we found a random spot on the map somewhere between us and their parents, which
ended up being <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Davy</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Crockett</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">National
Forest</st1:placetype></st1:place>. I
finally got to meet their sweet new baby girl and all of our boys got a chance
to get reacquainted. We all used to go
to the same church in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state></st1:place>. It turns out that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Davy</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Crockett</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">National Forest</st1:placetype></st1:placename></st1:place>
is not an ideal meet up place. The only
public section was closed and barred. We
totally made the best of it though. We
drove down a dirt road into the forest, and after concluding that we weren’t
headed anywhere, we pulled off the road and just set up a picnic in a clearing
we found. It couldn’t have been
nicer. I cherish our few hours with Paul
and Mel! I love those guys and seeing
them only made me miss them more!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For
my 33rd birthday, we drove to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Gulf</st1:city></st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Coast</st1:city></st1:placetype></st1:city></st1:place>. On the way, we passed through <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Houston</st1:city></st1:place>, and stopped at
Corner Bakery for lunch. Corner Bakery
is one of my favorite cafes and we hadn’t been to one since we were last in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">California</st1:city></st1:place></st1:state>. We all stuffed ourselves full of our favorite
familiar flavors. Yum! We also got to drive near NASA
headquarters. We’re looking forward to
making another <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Houston</st1:city></st1:place>
trip sometime to check out the NASA museum.
We finally arrived at the coast.
I remember feeling awed by the drive.
We drove as far down the coastal road as we could go and ended up at the
farthest possible end of the island. We
drove through some remarkably gorgeous wetlands on the way. At times, the narrow bit of road was sea
level, or slightly below sea level, with a very slim amount of land on either
side to separate us from the ocean. It
was bizarre. A storm was moving in, so
we wanted to hurry and enjoy the ocean before the storm hit. We started just rolling up our pants legs and
playing in the waters, but soon decided to change into our swim suits and fully
enjoy it. Unlike the CA beaches, the
Gulf waters are nice and warm, which is the only reason it was possible to play
in such weather. Caleb and I got scared
off for a little while because Jon was cautioning us to do the “stingray shuffle,”
which means to shuffle your feet as you walk out into the water so you don’t
step on a stingray and get stung.
Instead, the shuffling motion will disturb the stingray, who will then
be more likely to just swim away and not sting you. This was a new experience for me and
something I never had to take this into consideration in CA. It took Caleb and me a little while to get
our courage up, but we eventually did, and enjoyed ourselves. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Gulf</st1:city></st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Coast</st1:city></st1:placetype></st1:city></st1:place>
is notable for being shallow very far out.
I have a picture in my head of Jon and I sitting way out in the waters
looking around at the eerie view. I felt
like we could have been in a dystopian novel with the crazy pre-storm weather
painting everything in an overcast humid haze, painful needles of ocean spray
shooting at us from the strong winds with a surprising intensity, industrial
factories obscured by the mist far off on the horizon, and a deserted beach
that felt like it was at the ends of the earth.
It was awesome and felt like we were the last people alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">After
having our fill of playing in the ocean, we got back in the car, and explored
more of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Galveston</st1:city></st1:place>. We ended up at a huge gift shop and boardwalk
area. The boys hiked down the jetty
while I meandered around the gift shop.
Of course that’s when the storm hit, while the boys were in the danger
zone far out on the jetty. I anxiously waited
and waited, and finally they got to me.
They were fine and had been close to shore when the pounding rain and
high winds hit. Jon left the boys with
me and went to get our car so I wouldn’t also get drenched. Then we ate at Joe’s Crab Shack for
dinner. That surprised me. I didn’t know it was a big chain. We finished off our time in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Galveston</st1:city></st1:place> with wandering around the piers
behind the restaurant. The rain had
softened and the sky was turning beautiful colors with the sunset. There was a historical sailing vessel, sea
lions, and sea birds. It was really
nice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">On
our drive home, we stopped back in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Houston</st1:city></st1:place>
to hit the new Trader Joes. It was
surreal being in Trader Joes again! I
think Jon and I were both a little giddy.
We loaded up on all of our Trader Joes favorites. We hadn’t been to our favorite little grocery
store since CA. I may have even done a little
happy dance in the aisle; what a perfect way to top off my birthday
celebration!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
started our homeschooling year the last week of August. I didn’t really get a break between watching
the Rusch kids for the summer and beginning our homeschooling year. I really needed a transition time, but that
was lacking. What can you do, but just
get to it? I do better when I have time
to mentally process what has happened and what needs to happen. I’m so thankful that our CA school is letting
us continue with their program another year and provided me with all our
curriculum again. Opening the text books
for the first time on the first day of schooling is stressful for me. I expected the curriculum to be pretty much
the same as last year, and I was hoping I could pull off this no prep work
thing. Caleb’s English curriculum turned
out to be very different from the previous few years’ curriculum. I haven’t
been happy with it and it just doesn’t work for us. I’ll have to figure out something else that
will fit our needs better. In the
meantime, though, we’ll use it. Everything
I was given for Ben is fantastic and we’re really enjoying it. All in all, we’re on the right track.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-92201598932465805752012-07-31T09:38:00.000-07:002012-08-12T11:30:02.303-07:00June - July 2012<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’ve
been in </span><st1:place style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
for a whole year now!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So crazy!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This prompted a time of reflection for
me.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This has been a very strange year
with lots of difficulties in the lives of all the friends we’ve met.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I see God using Jon and I in big ways.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He has used us to be an anchor; a stabilizing
force.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He has used our home to be a
peaceful refuge for others.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I love
that!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He even had strangers come up to
my door and tell me what the Lord showed them about me, Jon, my home, and what
God has in store!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I sat quietly while
they shared their words from the Lord.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
wanted to laugh (but totally kept a straight face instead) because complete
strangers told me so much that I already know about myself, my gifts, and
visions the Lord has already given me.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">How’s that for reassurance from the Lord!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But what I liked even more was that they told
me what I already know and then took it a step further.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not only will my home be a place of peace and
a refuge…but it will be a place of healing.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I like how the Lord added that on to what He had already shown me.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not only will we be an anchor…but our lives
will go beyond just holding others up, we will thrive!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our strangers also perfectly described the
vision the Lord showed me of how Jon’s journey will go.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">How it will not be an ordinary journey to a
new career by going to school and doing the 4 year thing.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It will be a wonky path, kind of like a
switch back trail, going left and right, but steadily up.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With each shift of direction happening from
Jon meeting and talking with someone and that opens the next leg of the
path.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s a journey based on trusting
in God.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There may be a few classes thrown
in there, but the four year plan is no longer being considered.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m excited!</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
started off the month of June with Ben’s 6<sup>th</sup> birthday! He had a blast celebrating his birthday with
his friends at the pool. It was a perfect
afternoon. It was great that Sam was
still visiting with us for Ben’s birthday.
It made it that much more memorable for Ben. Thank you everyone who participated in loving
on Ben with your time and thoughtful gifts.
He loves everything he was given.
Jon and I have enjoyed watching our kids figure out the pogo stick we
got Ben. Both Caleb and Ben have spent a
lot of time practicing to pogo in our living room. It’s very entertaining for all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Summer
has been unexpected in many ways. I
agreed to watch the four Rusch kids two ten-hour days a week, but that soon
turned into three ten-hour days a week.
It has been a very consuming, but worthwhile job. I’m glad I had a couple weeks to adjust
before the third day kicked in, or I would not have made it. I noticed lots of normal things getting left
undone in the first two weeks. The fresh
fruit rotted before it could get cut up and eaten, the laundry never quite got
completed, and the huge package of toilet paper from Sam’s Club stayed in its
spot in the middle of the bathroom floor, instead of getting put away in the
cabinet, until it had all been used up.
When it dawned on me that it was all because I was adjusting to being
the caregiver for 4 extra kids who were going through the tough life changes of
their mom leaving the home, then it all made sense and I gave myself a
break. By the end of the first two
weeks, I was back on track with watching the kiddos and having energy left for
my own life’s to-dos; perfect timing for adding a third day of watching the
kids. God knew what I could handle and
when. He’s pretty awesome like that. So after another week or so of adjusting to
the new schedule of Mon, Wed, Fri, I felt up to conquering potty training
Jude. He is 4 and had drastically
regressed on his potty training from the emotional distress. He had been unwilling to even try to go on
the potty for a long time. It was what
he could control in life to balance the emotional distress and so he did. I made him a pretty awesome laminated potty
chart that he could take with him from my house, to his Granny’s house, to his
own house. He got so excited about the
potty chart and about earning prizes.
Wow! He blew through that chart
in a couple weeks and I’m proud to say I’ve got myself a fully potty trained
Jude now! He is the most strong-willed
child I have ever encountered, and so, I feel extra proud of myself. I also felt adjusted enough to add in
positive reinforcement for all the kids. I had already done really well over all the
weeks working with the kids on the rules, discipline, and behavioral
issues. They have been steadily
improving their behavior. Jude
especially has improved on his epic stubborn angry tantrums that can last hours. I have invested a lot into all the kids and
into building their character, their responses to their feelings, and their
behaviors. Time outs are a great tool,
but I was ready for more than consequences for bad choices, I was ready for
rewards for good behavior. Now they get
to earn marbles to put in the marble jar when I see them follow the rules
without being reminded or do things that make me proud of them. There are incremental lines on the jar and
they get a small prize from the prize bag when they reach one. When they fill the whole jar up, we’ll go out
for frozen yogurt! Additionally, a huge
factor in the steadily improving behavior, leading to enjoyable kids, is how
their Dad interacts with them. Justin
has been very consistent with their discipline and coming from a tender and
loving place instead of an angry, tired, or frustrated place. So awesome, and exponentially more so, since
he suddenly became a single Dad of four small children! So I now have seven year old Jewel, who is
such a sweet girl. She loves dancing and
dress up and girly things. She almost
never gives me any trouble. I have 6
year old Summer who wants to please. She
loves to be a cooking or cleaning helper, so much so, that sometimes I have to
make her go play with the other kids instead of being my shadow. She is prone to being really emotionally
sensitive, which we’re working on. She
can be a really chatty one. I’ve been
making it a point to really listen and give my full attention to what all the
kids have to say when they want to talk with me, to be fully engaged in the
conversation. If I want my kids to talk
with me when they’re adults about what’s most important to them, I have to
listen now when they tell me about the frog, or the legos, or the drawing,
because that’s what’s most important to them now. It’s a little crazy trying to do that with 6
kids in the house and still get done what needs to get done. I’m finding the balance. Anyway, back to the kiddos. I have a 4 year old Jude who is the sweetest
guy with the sweetest personality and cutest little <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place> accent. But when the flip switches, he can get stuck
being angry and stubborn. I’ve been
teaching him tools to help him let go of his angry thoughts. We’ve come so far! And finally I’ve got 4 year old Chris. Chris is a character. He loves attention and he is not shy in the
least. He loves to perform. He also can get in the most mischief. He has a very destructive curiosity. After enough of my stuff suffered from
Chris’s curiosity, I decided that Chris has to always be in my line of
sight. He can also be very sensitive and
can turn into a big boneless pile of boy.
These are all things we’ve been working on with him and he too has come
very far. Of course, I have my own two
boys! Caleb is 10 now and is sooooo
smart I can’t believe it. Just the other
day I came home and found that he and Jon had gone out and bought a soldering
gun and Caleb was sitting at the table practicing soldering on paper clips so
that he could soon solder on the circuit boards they pilfered from old broken
things. Caleb is really looking forward
to a middle school engineering class and a separate robotics class we have him
signed up for in the fall. I hope he
learns some stuff he doesn’t already know.
He has quite a bit of robotics knowledge already from the Lego Mindstorm
robotics kit. This class uses a
different robotics kit and is taught by an engineer, so that’s great. Caleb has adjusted really well to having his
home taken over by a herd of small children three days a week. He is a big help to me and he finds ways to
play and enjoy the kids when he isn’t building with legos. Ben is 6 now and he is such a delight. He radiates fun and joy. He is obedient and happy go lucky. I have to remind him to slow down and be more
careful in his rush to enjoy himself.
He’s working on it and I’ve seen a lot of improvement this year. I’m trying to pour into him to stop and think
and make his own decisions; to not just go along with what the group thinks or
what the group is doing. I love all my
kids, my 3 days a week kids and my everyday kids!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
bought a summer pass to the city pools.
It’s one fun way to beat the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
heat. There are three different pools we
can go to, each with their own amenities.
We prefer the big pool with two big slides and a separate deep
pool. I love the fun family exercise we
get. Ben has come really far in learning
to swim this summer. It all started with
a mix of two things: 1) he was given a well fitted mask and snorkel for his birthday
and 2) a friend ended up with his floaty, but we didn’t know and thought we
lost it. Ben was adamant that he did not
want to buy a new floaty and he just wanted to be in the water with his new
mask and snorkel. He was fascinated with
snorkeling. Between the two, he caught
onto swimming so fast that I can’t believe it.
He still can’t tread water yet, so he needs a grown up close by if he is
in the deep end. Caleb has also
drastically improved his swimming this year.
Just the other day he finally figured out how to dive and not just belly
flop! Seriously, it was hilarious; he
would belly flop every time he tried to dive.
But he finally got it now. I
bought myself an itty bitty teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini! I’ve been burning off some of my tummy jiggly
with all this extra swimming. I’m almost
to my weight/tone goal. Yay!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
finally switched my phone from Sprint to Verizon. I loved Sprint, but they have no coverage
where I live. Verizon was the only
company that worked here. My first phone
call on my new cell from my house worked so good! No dropped call, no static,
no "I'm sorry, the phone cut out, would you repeat that," no
"Hello, I can hear you, can you hear me? Hello, hello?" It's been a
long year with no reliable phone at home. Whew!
Jon has an old flip AT&T phone through his work now. He’s anxious to repair the broken iPhone 3GS
that he was given by a friend. We just
got the repair kit and replacement parts in the mail, so we’re crossing our
fingers that he’ll have a decent phone soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
had a great visit with my cousin Kara and her little guy Jude. I’m so happy she
was here for our first 4th of July in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>,
which we celebrated with cake balls, fireworks, and friends. The rest of the visit was fun filled as
well. We had a campfire, swam, and made
big bubbles with Caleb's homemade bubble wand creation. We explored our land for a short bit and
played at the splash pad. It was
hilarious that we would both play scramble (a boggle type game) on our phones
with each other while she was lying down with Jude in the guest room until he
fell asleep at night and I was sitting in the living room relaxing. I’m so thankful for the evening moments we got
when all the kids were in bed and we got to catch up a little. Thanks for staying up past your bedtime to
chat with me Kara! I love you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">After
Kara and Jude headed home, we decided to check out the Brazos Natural History
Museum. It was fun. Caleb and Jon really
enjoyed the gravitational waves special exhibit. Ben and I ping ponged all over. He really
enjoyed the dinosaur bones and fossils, the live bees and rotating beehive, and
the live snakes, turtles, and lizards. It was super fun to search and find the
queen bee in the beehive. They marked her with a couple yellow dots on her
thorax. It was really interesting how all the bees around the queen always
faced her and gave her extra space. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
got more work done on our house. We
painted the kitchen cabinets black and finally touched up the wall that the
entertainment center had been on. It had
a very geometric design with patches of tan painted wall and patches of the
original wallpaper that had been hidden behind the entertainment center before
we removed it, when we first moved in a year ago. I can’t believe we didn’t get to it
sooner. It only took a few minutes to
drastically improve such a huge eye sore.
The paint was even lying around leftover from the last time the house
had been painted when Grandma Jean still lived here. We’re thankful for the improvements, but
still plan to texture and repaint the walls later on. I also got a slipcover for the couch and made
a few comfy down throw pillows (technically they’re down alternative
pillows). Such a big difference! We’ve decided to do minimal
improvements. We no longer plan to
remodel the kitchen. We don’t want to
pour too much time and money into this house.
Our home is getting comfier and comfier, little by little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ve
spent a little time gardening and a lot of time cooking. I’ve been having the Rusch family stay for
dinner two to three times a week usually.
I’ve also been keeping up with making yogurt for myself and my family
since May. I end up making it about
twice a week. I love it. My latest big food challenge was to learn to
make gnocchi. I did and it was
awesome! I made Pastrami Ragu Gnocchi
which is fancy talk for a gourmet pastrami topping that was delicious. Now I
want to figure out how to make a knock-off of a local Italian restaurant’s
garlic red sauce that they use for their gnocchi. It’s unlike any sauce I’ve had before. My first attempt wasn’t quite there, although
yummy in its own right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Leigh
Goyco and I started a Bible study together, for just the two of us. I’ve really been enjoying the study. It is on the book of James and is called “Mercy
Triumphs” by Beth Moore. I like so much
about it. I like that I get to delve
into the scriptures in a new way. I like
that the book asks specific personal questions as well. I like this because it promotes personal
conversations and sharing of one’s life experiences and opinions in ways that
might never have naturally come up, which is so beneficial to growing my
friendship with Leigh. I’m really
enjoying the time spent with her and building our friendship. She is such an enjoyable lady and the mama of
4 great kids. I really enjoy her whole
family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Anna
Hamiter’s wedding was at the end of July.
I was excited for her, but doubly excited for me, because my cousin,
Anna Swink, is her best friend, who I knew would be flying in from <st1:place w:st="on">Kauai</st1:place>! I really enjoyed
the good cousin time we squeezed in, which mostly ended up being late nights at
the wedding venue getting ready for the wedding; Totally a blast, although a
lot of work. Anna was here for two weeks
before the wedding and Aaron and Andrew came a couple days before the
wedding. I love my Swinktastic cousins
and the fun time we had! The wedding
ceremony was at dusk and so sweet. The evening
reception was perfectly magical and twinkly with lots of dancing. I even got one slow dance with my non-dancing
husband to “our song,” Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis. Caleb and Ben thought the send off was crazy
awesome. All the wedding guests that
were left lined up under the tunnel of lights with glow sticks blurring in
their hands while they were moving to the beat of the blasting dubstep music
(fast electronic dance music). The
couple danced their way down the line and at the climax of the music everyone
joined them in a final impromptu dance party under the stars before the couple
drove off in their convertible with glow sticks raining down. Ben didn’t want
to throw his glow sticks because he wanted to keep them. Definitely a memorable send off! I wish the happy couple so much love and
blessings!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">That’s
it. Love you all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jon,
Rebecca, Caleb & Benjamin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-27308288888112085662012-05-31T07:11:00.000-07:002012-08-13T21:08:09.405-07:00February - May 2012<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In
the beginning of February, my closest friend in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> had a crisis and left her family. It’s been devastating on the whole community,
but her husband and children the most.
Jon and I both felt torn up over the incredible hurt and loss for the
broken family.
We found as many ways as we could to support the family and love
on them. In this process, we’ve really
gotten enmeshed into the community here and are walking real life out with our
neighbors and friends. It’s been
intense. But the upside for us is the
many new friendships that have quickly moved from acquaintances to deeper
friendships through this trauma. Over
the last few months, I am finding my groove here in a new way. I am hosting lots of meals at my house and am
building more depth and closeness with my new friendships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
are finally no longer cut off from the world of technology. The local internet company, who denied us
internet, got bought out by a bigger company, who had no problem getting us our
own internet connection. So now we have
internet again! Our last internet
attempt with burying the Ethernet cable to our neighbor’s house lasted for
about 3 weeks before an electrical storm fried that option. The new connection is good enough to let me
check emails and whatnot, but not fast enough to stream anything. We also have a working land line at home too,
thanks to my dad who sent me a Magic Jack.
The Magic Jack gives you a telephone line off of the internet. It works about as well as the internet, so
not that well, but better than nothing.
It’s the price of living in a rural area. I do like that I can use the data on my phone
over wifi now. It’s much faster than the
roaming I was using previously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Valentine’s
Day was low key this year. In the
morning I found some chocolate covered strawberries and my favorite champagne
in the fridge. It was really sweet and I was really surprised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
took a long weekend trip to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Missouri</st1:place></st1:state>
to visit my cousin Kara and her son Jude, as well as her parents, my Aunt Dar
and Uncle Darrel. On the way we got to stop for In-N-Out in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city>!
Man, we sure miss our favorite burger stop. Caleb was excited that he could easily eat
it. He had two loose teeth that have
been making eating tricky for awhile, but as of that morning, he had a new
toothless grin! Jon had to pull out his two teeth because a collision with Ben
left his mouth bloody and painful. They were loose teeth anyway and blocking
the new adult teeth growing in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">It's
a 10 hour drive to Kara’s from where we live. It's nice that I live close
enough to be part of her life again. Her parents live in the house with her
too. Aunt Dar was like a grandma to me my whole life, but even more so since my
grandma died when I was in Jr. High. My grandma is her sister. She always sends
my kids birthday and Christmas cards, plus a gift or money. It’s really sweet
and much appreciated. We haven't really
seen them since they moved to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Missouri</st1:place></st1:state>.
We used to always do holidays together and have really missed them since they
moved. It was really good to see her too! I’m glad Ben, Caleb, and Jude will
get a chance to know each other over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">While
there we went to Fantastic Caverns. I was fine until they turned all the lights
off for a full minute to show us what true dark is and how your eyes are unable
to adjust in true darkness. I was trying so hard to not freak out. I knew I
would have a hard time in the cave, but it was so bad. I am absolutely
claustrophobic. I was fighting terror. I didn't fully recover until awhile
after we were back outside. Probably only Jon knew the extent of how I was
feeling. I'm glad I kept it together. At one point while it was dark, I put my
hand on Caleb's knee; to reassure him in case he was feeling scared. He was
like, "Mom, why are you touching my knee?" Yah, he wasn't scared. He
thought it was so neat, as an experience and as a new science discovery. Ben
was fine too. Even Jude, the 3 year old was fine. I'm such a wimp, but not wimp
enough to let my fear stop me. Got to be brave for the boys! Want to teach them
to be brave in the face of fear!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Kara
sent me home with a sprouting jar. I had
never heard of it before, but I love it so much already. I just put in the alfalfa seeds, soak them
overnight in water, and rinse them twice a day. In less than a week I have home
grown alfalfa sprouts to eat in my sandwiches and salads! They are so tasty and I can do it again and
again! I’m itching to start making my
own yogurt next. I use a cup of plain
lofat yogurt in my protein shakes every morning. I would save quite a bit of money making my
own, but I want a yogurt making machine to help simplify the job. I can’t wait!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shortly
after our return home we got to help celebrate the birthday of one of Caleb’s
new friends at a roller skating rink. We
all had a blast. Ben was really shaky
and unstable when we started. We got him
this support rail the rink has for young kids to hold on to while skating to
stabilize them. He used that for a
while, but it wasn’t too long until he wanted to try on his own. Each time around he improved noticeably. We were all super impressed with how quickly
Ben got the hang of it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jon
and I celebrated our 11th Happy Saint Birth-A-Versary (Jon’s birthday, our
anniversary, and St. Patrick’s Day)! We
had a full weekend. We had friends over
one night and I got to break in my paella pan.
We feasted on delicious paella, a dish from <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country>, which looked as good as it
tasted. Then the next night we
celebrated Jon’s birthday with a party at our house, a bonfire, and his
favorite meal, chile verde. Then the
next night Jon and I got to go on a date for our anniversary. It was a really nice weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One
weekend we went camping at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Frio</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place> with our cousins
Aaron and Andrew, the Ericksons, Jake and Lena Hamiter, and the Rusch
family. I was afraid I wasn’t going to
get to go because I came down with a bad cold a few days before we were
supposed to leave. But my fever broke a
couple hours before it was time to go, so I decided to go for it. I didn’t feel very good, but it beat sitting
at home alone. And I’m so glad I
went. It was such a gorgeous place and
the weather was perfect. We went with a
good group of people. Our campsite was
right on the river. It was so nice to
hear the sounds of the river while you lay in your tent. We were right by a perfect shallow area of
water, so the kids could play in the river to their hearts content. I hid in the shade while the other ladies lay
out in the sun. One afternoon, the boys
all canoed and kayaked miles down the river.
That was the highlight for Jon and Caleb for sure. Some of the guys dared the rope swings that
were randomly along the river. Another
afternoon my boys paddled me around in the canoe like I was a princess. That was so sweet. Caleb is getting to be so big, strong, and
capable. We finished off our weekend by
grabbing some tasty Texas BBQ on our drive home with Aaron and the Rusch
family. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our
home improvement has been slow going, but we have made some headway on my
garden. First I transplanted my tomatoes
to bigger pots and tried some new techniques I learned from a gardener I met at
the Farm Patch, a fresh fruit and veggie store. I scratched the stems up with
my thumb nail and then planted 80% of the plant under the soil, leaving 20%
above ground. This is supposed to promote more root growth. She said to do this
process once more and to plant half in sun and half in shade. The plants in the
sun will produce until the intense heat of summer, which is when the shaded
plants will start becoming bountiful. Great tips for <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> gardening! Then, we found garden fencing piled up behind
a shed on our property, which you need to keep deer and rabbits out of your
garden. Plus a neighbor we just met that day gave us wood to build our raised
planter beds. I feel like God is totally caring for my wants even though we
have no extra money. So we tilled, built
raised beds, and set up one wall of our fencing. My brother came for a visit and finished
putting up the rest of my garden fence!
He is so awesome! I have roma
tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, squash, and a variety of herb seeds planted. I planted some cantaloupe, but it hasn’t
sprouted. Oh well. This is all a big experiment anyway. I sprouted a variety of peppers in my kitchen
window until they were ready to be planted outside. Jon and the boys did a bunch more work on my
garden for Mother’s Day. It’s in really
good shape now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
also got pretty far on remodeling the guest/boys bathroom. It is transformed! It previously had mobile home flowered
wallpaper and carpet. The carpet was so
problematic with so many little boys coming through my house. I constantly cleaned, but to no avail. It always smelled of urine. So not okay!
I’m so thankful this problem is finally solved!!! I’m also very happy with how much cuter the
room is now as well. We still intend to
replace the sink cabinet, but one thing at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
got to take a trip to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state>
to visit his best friend Sam and to take the CA Star test, which is the
required state standardized testing. We're still homeschooling under our CA
school. They've been so generous with us in letting us borrow all of our
curriculum, so we wanted to honor their request to have Caleb take the test
with his class. He traveled alone for
the first time and was gone for 10 days.
I was fine while he was gone even though it was a really weird concept.
Mostly sending him on a plane by himself for the first time was when I was
worried. But my brother decided to visit and book his ticket on Caleb's return
flight! So I had a little extra peace of mind one way and I saved $100. Each
way has an extra $100 unaccompanied minor fee. Ben was having a lot trouble
with the idea of his big brother being gone. He didn’t want to go to sleep by
himself in his room and was just generally worried. But we booked a ticket for my mom to come
visit us the week before Caleb left for CA and she stayed until Caleb returned. That way Ben had a whole 10 days of Grandma’s
undivided attention. That made ALL the
difference! Caleb wasn’t homesick at all
even though he had never been away from home alone before. Here is what Caleb
wrote about his trip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I took a trip to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state> to visit my best friend Sam. When I got off the airplane, I was greeted
with a squeeze-the-breath-out-of-you hug sandwich. Sam and his 4 year old sister Vida were so
happy to see me, that they had a hard time releasing me from the hug. I have many favorite memories from my trip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I got to see my old school friends at the park
one afternoon. Van turned our imaginary
game into a stick fight. I explored my
old favorite jungle area with everybody:
Kaleo, Kalani, Van, Luke, and Sam.
It was really fun seeing my friends again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The next day Sam and I went to a jump house with
Romeo and Natasha since they couldn’t go to the park to see me. We were trying to take a picture, but Sam
kept getting distracted watching a television.
I fell off of a slide the wrong way and skinned my elbow. Thankfully it didn’t hurt too much, but I did
get a big scab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One day, Sam’s mom took me and Sam to the <st1:placename w:st="on">California</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Science</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city>.
By using a lever, Sam and I got to pick up a 2000 lb. truck by
ourselves. We saw space capsules,
learned about deep sea vents, and we learned more about earthquakes. For a small earthquake, it’s safer to be in a
smaller building, but for a larger earthquake it’s safer to be in a taller
building.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Part of my time there was testing at my
school. The test was kind of fun. I liked the science section the most. It was great to see Ms. Robin and my other
teachers again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Sam’s dad took me, Sam, and Vida to the beach
one afternoon. Sam and I built a really
cool sand castle. We had to protect it
from the waves by digging moats and building a giant wall between the castle
and the sea. It was a cool and overcast
day. I liked standing right where the
waves crashed against me. It’s kind of
like the meaning of my name, Caleb Morgan, which is faithful, bold, and the
edge of the sea. My Mom says that means
I will be steady against the storms in life.
That’s what I was thinking about when I was standing in the waves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I had a great time in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:state> and I can’t wait to go there
again. I love and miss my friends there
so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
had a lovely couple of weeks with my mom here.
She and the boys did lots of crafts and read lots of stories. While Caleb was gone, she made some special
art to hang up in the boys’ room. Super
cute art! Having my mom around was
really nice for me too. I enjoy her a
lot. While she was here we got to have
our first crawfish boil in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Marcos</st1:place></st1:city>
with Aaron and his friends. It was really fun and super delicious! We also went on a tour of the Blue Bell
Creamery with the Goyco family. They have four kids and homeschool also. It's a huge factory and was really
interesting. A delicious bowl of ice cream ended the tour. Yum! What a perfect
way to entertain Ben while his big brother was gone. And bonus: it totally
counts for homeschooling...social studies!
Before we knew it, the trip was over.
We picked Caleb and my brother up from the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Austin</st1:place></st1:city> airport and delivered my Mom to her
plane to go home. I'm happy they gave me and Ben a gate pass. We got to go
through security with Grandma and find Caleb and David in the terminal. It’s nice how it all worked out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We
had a great visit with my brother! We had authentic Texas BBQ and he spent lots
of time playing with the kids. One
afternoon he decided that the boys needed new yo-yo’s. So we scoured the town for yo-yo’s capable of
doing tricks. Then he and the boys spent
the rest of the day learning and practicing yo-yo tricks. Such an awesome uncle thing to do! He and Jon spent all of one night fishing
with our neighbor Ron on his boat. And
to top it all off, he finished fencing in my garden for me. He is a blessing
and a sweet little brother. He really
blessed us in lots of ways!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
also got a quick visit with two of my childhood friends, Lorena and Sonia. I’ve known Sonia since kindergarten and
Lorena since Jr. High. Sonia lives in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dallas</st1:place></st1:city> and Lorena was
staying out there interning for a short time before going back home to CA. They came and spent a night and a day with
me. We had such a good time reconnecting
and catching up. I love those
girls! And I love seeing people I love!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jon
had to switch his driving license over to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> and had to take both the written and
driving test. He went through some
nonsense in the process, so I wanted to do something special to celebrate once
it was all over with. I attempted to
make him a knock-off of Cheesecake Factory's Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge
Ripple cheesecake to surprise him with...oreo cookie crust, caramel, fudge,
butterfingers, peanut butter cups, and peanut butter frosting rosettes. It was his favorite cheesecake to order at
the restaurant, and it was only possible thanks to my awesome Mom. We were tight on money, so she bought me the
spring form pan and the ingredients. It
was evil in a super tasty sort of way.
Not bad for my first cheesecake.
I need to tweak my recipe a bit for next time, but….ummmm!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
night before Mother’s Day, Ben asked me if I would like it for Mothers Day if
he does all the work so I can rest, relax, and not have to work like I usually
do. He said I could tell him jobs to do. It was all his own idea with no
prompting at all. I love seeing him really think about how to bless and love
me. In the morning I woke up to homemade
cards and Dutch Baby pancakes. Then the
boys put rabbit fencing around my garden. I'd lost three pepper plants to those
wild rabbits. And Jon plans to make me a tiered pot shelf too! I'm very loved
and cared for! I love my boys so
much! I also got a yogurt maker for
Mother’s Day. I’m trying to get my
recipe perfected. I’m excited and
enjoying the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Springtime
is really nice in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>.
The trees are all blooming and the weather is really nice. Everywhere I look I see fields of
wildflowers. Every week it seems like a
new wildflower is predominant. One week
driving to town <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
bluebonnets covered everything, then some gorgeous pink flowers, then big
yellow flowers, and on and on it goes. I
had no idea how prolific the native <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>
wildflowers are. It’s stunning! Birds
are very busy building nests and laying eggs.
One morning I sat in my garden on my little green bench watching a mama
bird build her nest. Back and forth, she
flew. Finding twigs and fluffy things to
make her nest. I love the simplicity
moments like that bring to my life. And
I love my garden…it’s my happy place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Random
Thoughts & Antics:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I'm
shocked to discover my feet fit into Caleb's rain boots! He's 10! I had to
borrow his bright yellow SpongeBob rain boots to run to a neighbor's on a super
wet and muddy day since I don’t own any rain appropriate shoes yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">While
eating cookies, Ben exclaimed, "I'm the first one to be last!" He was
so proud he made his cookie last the longest.
This is a feat for Ben. I’m happy
he’s learning to savor instead of gobble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I'd
been a little distracted one morning. So when I came out of my room, I found
that Caleb had been teaching Ben chess. They had made it through a whole game.
Ben is only 5! Caleb walked him through each move. Ben has no idea how awesome
he has it. Caleb is the best big brother in the universe!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">That’s
it. Love you all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jon,
Rebecca, Caleb & Benjamin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-17019533454265387542012-01-31T07:26:00.000-08:002012-08-13T21:16:26.466-07:00Jan 2012<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Guess
who has working internet after 6 months with none! Thanks Beth, Promise, and
Ryan for helping us dig a trench and bury 450 feet of ethernet cable in the
dark!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re running a line from our
neighbor’s house to ours until the local provider can give us our own
service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are maxed out right now,
and probably will be for the next year or so, until they improve the local
towers or add more towers.<o:p></o:p></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">A
week into January I hosted a lovely wine and chocolate girl’s night while the
men went camping. We got so carried away with conversation that we never even
made it to our chick flick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guys
came home from camping with lots of stories, including how they saved a baby
goat! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They named him Cedric and carried
him to the rangers. How awesome is that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Jon's
back and sciatica pain are back to normal now, thank the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got a memory foam mattress topper and a
contoured pillow. Those, plus the stretching, plus the chiropractor, helped
little by little. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Not
long into January we got back to normal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No visitors, no trips, no holidays, no more crippling back and sciatica
pain; just normal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got busy and
back into the motion of homeschooling, house cleaning, exercising, cooking, and
working. And we finally got into full swing on the weekends. Jon was working on
finishing the kids loft beds and their room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve been keeping busy on the weekends cleaning out, organizing, and
purging even more of our belongings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now
every time I walk into my bedroom, I breathe a deep breath of relief, because
there are no longer piles of boxes lining every wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And every time I walk into the kids’ room I
smile to see their cute new beds!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
room finally looks like a real room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
a work in progress with mattresses on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are happily tired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels so good to be making visible progress.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The
boys had so much fun sleeping in their new beds the first week! I'm really glad
Ben didn't fall off; he's such a wiggly sleeper. He ends up in all kinds of
positions. Even with the guard rail, I was kind of worried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Xena now has to deal with being handled more,
which is so not her preference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We lift
her up to put her on the top bunk with the kids at night and lift her down in
the mornings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We alternate who she
sleeps with each night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves
sleeping with the kids, but she hates being “handled.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Every
morning I get Caleb started with his math lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I sit on the couch with Ben for his
reading, phonics, and language arts lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The instant it’s Ben’s turn to read something to me, he has to arrange,
rearrange, and yet again, rearrange his pillows to maximum comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he remembers he doesn’t have his special
blue blanket, so he gets up to get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
he has to get comfortable again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
the stretchies come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh boy, does he get
the stretchies!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the yawns start in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then a page or two might get read before it
all starts again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s maddening and
hilarious, all at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally
wised up and now I give him a few minutes before we start to get it all out of
his system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This drastically cuts down
on all the wiggles, stretchies, and yawns!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Caleb
is getting more comfortable with math.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was struggling for awhile there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it’s clicking now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yea!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben is flying with reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just at the beginning of kindergarten
this school year that he was even introduced to a majority of the letter names
and sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s got all those down and
is reading through beginner reader books easily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It amazes me how different the reading
experience has been for both of my boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Caleb took much longer to comprehend the abstract ideas, which is what
words are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ben just soaks it all in and
it sticks so quickly and easily for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Caleb always excelled at building, 3D thinking, and concrete ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so enjoyable to watch my boys grow and
develop!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">We
are having a lot of new experiences here in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One morning, I woke up to an intense storm, a scared Ben, and tornado
warnings. Poor Ben was scared because his PBS cartoons kept getting interrupted
by the emergency broadcasting system with tornado warnings. So I got out of bed
and we turned on the weather channel which kept saying, if you live in a
trailer, get out and find shelter now, over and over. The electricity kept
flickering in and out. And the voices on the television kept going into slow
motion, all deep and creepy. Crazy! I began packing to go to a neighbor who
lives in a real house and not a trailer like us, when the worst of the storm
passed by. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While packing, I was thinking
that I should probably be panicking or something, but I wasn’t. I remember
thinking that I really hoped we didn’t get caught by the tornado because I took
the few minutes to brush my teeth and make my coffee to put into my travel
coffee cup. I’ve wised up and won’t take any extra minutes for extra’s next
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I understand the danger level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">The
storm passed through pretty quickly though. I am very thankful I didn't have to
haul myself, my kiddos, and my dog through the storm on foot since our car
battery died that morning. I’m also thankful the tornadoes didn't come into our
area after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jon jumped the car battery
when he got home from work. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s kind of
funny that of all the days for the car battery to die, it does so on tornado
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the intensity of the storm
passed, the boys ran around outside with their rain boots and umbrellas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They loved it! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard excitement and laughter with each
flash of lightening and boom of thunder! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I
found myself a little happy spot one weekend, the Brazos County Master
Gardeners Agrilife Extension site with demonstration gardens. It has a decent
sized demonstration garden with lots of different raised planter beds, a
butterfly garden, a rose garden, a composting teaching area, and lots of trees.
Another day I chatted with another shopper at the local produce
market, the Farm Patch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a
professional gardener who is on a local radio gardening program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gave me so many tips about gardening in
this climate and so much more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am just
that much more excited to get my garden going here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, I’ve planted a variety pepper seeds
in my kitchen window. I had ordered some fun varieties in the mail. I was
trying to figure out which species was the yellow chili I found easily in <st1:state w:st="on">California</st1:state>, that I can’t buy in grocery stores here in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>. Apparently
they're not just called yellow chilies. I deduced it must be the Santa Fe
Grande Pepper. My pepper garden will also have Antohi Romanian, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">anaheim</st1:place></st1:city>, jalapeno, long
slim red cayenne, ancho, & Hungarian wax. So I have about 2 months while
these seeds germinate to build my raised garden beds outside & fence them
off to somewhat animal proof the garden area. I'm excited!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Our
new espresso machine arrived and is working great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve decided to only use it on the weekends
to watch my calorie intake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I’ll
have a yummy latte to look forward to on our busy working weekends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting the bathroom in the extra little
trailer house in better repair is next on the list for our working weekends. We
are looking forward to getting rental income.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It won’t be much, but it will really help!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve
been a busy girl in the kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
really enjoying trying new things; it keeps me interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got my pasta roller attachment for my
Kitchenaid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so fun to use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve made homemade ravioli with two kinds of
pasta dough and two kinds of filling. It was all yummy, but some was better
than the rest. I love my new kitchenaid pasta roller!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love discovering how to make meals we love
and recipes that I deem “keeper recipes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I
attempted to recreate my favorite breakfast dish from Ruby's Diner, Huevos
Rancheros.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My version is Huevos
Rancheros sans Huevos. I would always order it without egg and with turkey
sausage instead. And I intentionally use the French for "without" and
Spanish for the rest. That's the way I say it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It turned out delicious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
what most excited me about the recipe was how I made ground turkey into tasty
breakfast sausage. Yum!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I
also attempted a knock-off Cinnabon recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It turned out unbelievably delicious!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here's the recipe </span><a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did a few things different and made a few
mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must have been distracted
that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think my "mistakes"
made it even better! It was amazing! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
(intentionally) used a packet of regular yeast (not bread machine yeast), which
is 1/4 less tsp than you're supposes to have, but it was fine. I put the warm
milk, sugar, & yeast in bread machine & let sit for 10 minutes so the
yeast was all foamy. Then I added the rest of the wet dough ingredients, then
the dry. I used butter instead of margarine. I accidentally added the 2 1/2
tablespoons of cinnamon & 1/3 cup of softened butter to the dough mix, not
realizing that it was supposed to be for the filling. Of course I still made
the filling. Definitely double the frosting!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That night I also made chicken fried steak, bacon, and eggs. Evilly
delicious! I ate very small portions, but Jon gave himself a food coma.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Another
evening I attempted making Chuy's Chicka Chicka Boom Boom enchiladas. This is
my favorite meal from a restaurant we discovered here in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I couldn't believe I found the actual recipe online, </span><a href="http://treschicorganizing.blogspot.com/2009/02/boom-boom-recipe.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://treschicorganizing.blogspot.com/2009/02/boom-boom-recipe.html</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">. I did a little
research and watched the YouTube of the restaurant's chef making it to learn
that they use jack cheese inside and on top of the enchilada. The green chilies
refer to New Mexican green chilies. I couldn't find any, so I used poblano
chilies. The recipe is written in ounces, so 1 ounce is approx 6 teaspoons,
which helps if you’re like me and don't have a kitchen scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made some enchiladas with corn tortillas
and some with flour tortillas, thinking we would prefer flour. We all very much
preferred the corn tortillas, like the recipe calls for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turned out soooo good and I recommend it
to you! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">In
case you were wondering, Jon’s beer making was a big success!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is enjoying his homebrewed double stout
beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we have to get some to Aaron
since he spent the day with Jon brewing it up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Random
Ben Antic:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Ben
was dramatically "being dizzy" in the living room one morning. I
couldn't help but think that it looked very much like a dance Mia Michaels
would have choreographed on So You Think You Can Dance. Seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-3535043731774199402011-12-31T09:03:00.000-08:002012-02-01T11:53:41.389-08:00December 2011December started with a visit from Granny. She finished her training to open her Kumon center then flew to see us on her way back to CA from her training. The kids were so glad to get a whole week of Granny time. She made everyone’s tummy happy with her famous chili and lots and lots of treats. Then she was off to CA for only one day before her big move to Kauai. She’s staying with Uncle Pete and Tia Val until her home right below them is ready for her. Then she’ll be below Pete and Val and across the street from Grandma Jean. Jeremy and Julie are just around the corner too. Now we have to figure out how to get enough mullah to visit them all.<br /><br />Then it was time for my quick turn around trip to California to be on Ellen’s 12 Days of Christmas TV taping. Don Jenkins picked me up and promptly delivered me to his wife Amber. Tracy came over and then we had a nice night in, just us three girls, to celebrate both of their birthdays and being together again. We had Thai food (my first time, yum), had Amber’s homemade sangria (double yum), lovely conversation, and watched a movie Amber had been looking forward to, The Help. Those girls have a big piece of my heart. Then I made my way to Jenny & Dan’s home. They graciously hosted me and Laurie again. I spent Monday shopping and hanging out with Laurie and Kat. We spoiled ourselves all day and ended up at The Melting Pot, our favorite fondue restaurant, to celebrate Kat’s birthday. I’m glad that Dan and Jenny were able to join us for the dinner. It was heavenly and perfected by the treasured company. I love that I got to see all my college girls again! And I’m glad that I got some really good quality time in even though it was such a quick trip.<br /><br />Tuesday was the big Ellen day. The four of us girls who went to the taping before Becky’s wedding all made our way back again. Laurie had to fly in from Washington D.C., Kelly from Northern CA, and me from Texas. Becky was the only local. We were so anxious to know what day of the 12 days we were. Typically the prizes get better the closer to the end of the 12 days you get. Sometimes Day 12 wins all the prizes from the previous 11 days. We were pretty sure we were day 10, 11, or 12. There happened to be a double taping the day of our show, so we were able to find out that we were going to be day 10. We saw the prizes from the audience before us and were so glad that we weren’t in that taping. It was all a fashion theme; a designer bag, designer sunglasses, etc. We finally made it into the studio and were having fun. Ellen called a man on stage from the back to propose to his girlfriend. She was two rows ahead of us in the audience and so surprised to see her boyfriend. Everyone was so excited and in such suspense. He walked over to her, got down on one knee, and gave a touching proposal. She buried her face in her hands and denied him. The audience was shocked! But I knew all along…it was a fake. Ellen’s sneaky way of introducing the prize portion of the show usually starts with a fake emotional joke that pulls on your heartstrings and then shocks you. I was on to it, but most of the audience around me wasn’t. It was entertaining to watch their faces through the whole thing. Then the prizes were rolled out and the audience went nuts jumping and screaming! It was so fun and exhilarating! What were we going to get!?! We got so much! I feel so blessed! We each got a $250 Tivoli speaker, which I love because I can plug my phone in and stream Pandora music while I’m cooking. This speaker puts out such a high quality sound. We got a $600 Dyson vacuum. I’m trying to sell it in CA, but no luck so far. We’re down to asking $400 and still no bites. We got a $100 Target gift card, which helped us finish buying the kids Christmas gifts. We got a $500 Breville espresso machine. I always wanted to get Jon a fancy espresso machine, but it is such an impractical splurge that we never would have gotten one. We got a few delicious espressos and lattes out of it, but it worked inconsistently, so the company is going to do an exchange with me and give me a new one. We got a $300 World Market gift card and I’ve already spent most of mine. I got a gorgeous lamp, a shower curtain, 2 couch pillows, a cast iron griddle, a paella pan, and other odds and ends for the kitchen. We got a $500 Hilton gift card that I was able to sell for $360 on Craigslist. And the best is the Calphalon pots and pans set. My non-stick frying pans had just died right before I left on my trip and I wasn’t sure what I was going to cook in when I got back home. And voila! I now how a beautiful bronze set of oven proof and hard anodized pots and pans! <br /><br />We had a lovely holiday season. I got a phone call from my parents saying that Mom’s doctor said she’d be fine to travel for the holidays. I was so happy. I didn’t think Mom would be able to travel until January at least. Mom finished up all her radiation treatments, YAY!!!! Then they drove out here for Christmas. They got to stay with us for about 2 weeks. Aaron and Andrew also joined us for Christmas. We maxed out our little house, but in a cozy Christmassy sort of way. I really enjoyed my first Christmas living in Texas and I’m so thankful for all the family we got to spend time with.<br /><br />The kids had a way more merry Christmas than we anticipated. There was an avalanche of presents under the tree for them. My parents got Jon set up with all the equipment to brew his own beer. He and Aaron already did their first run at brewing a stout beer. It’s fermenting now in a big container on the floor in my bedroom, covered with a jacket for darkness. Jon’s excited to taste the final product. <br /><br />With the money we got from selling the Hilton gift card Ellen gave me, I bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer. I love it! I can’t believe I’ve gone all these years without such a useful tool. It made prepping the Christmas meal so much easier. It shredded all the chicken for my flautas in under a minute. That saved me so much work! And it whipped up the meringue and whipped cream for my pavlova (our new Christmas dessert tradition) in no time. Aaron brought a super yummy buttered pecan quick bread that we enjoyed Christmas morning along with our traditional sausage balls. Yum! The Kitchenaid made mixing both a breeze. I love it!!! Did I mention that already? I especially appreciated the reprieve from hand mixing/shredding all that because I was fighting off a cold and didn’t have any extra energy to spare. I’m still waiting on a pasta roller attachment I ordered to arrive in the mail and then homemade raviolis are next on the agenda. I got impatient waiting and tried rolling the pasta dough out by hand, but it turned out way too thick and not so good. <br /><br />There were a couple bonfires enjoyed by all the neighbors out here. I was too sick and missed the first one, but was happy I was well enough for the New Years Eve bonfire party hosted by Beth & Jay Erickson at the Hamiter’s home. We had a fun night with family and friends! We shouted and cheered and choruses of Auld Lang Syne broke out to ring in the New Year. Only a couple people actually knew the words and everyone else just hummed with exuberance. Ben came up to me after the New Year’s countdown, shouting, kissing, and merriment. It took him by surprise and he was a little troubled for a few moments. He wondered why everyone did that. It was cute.<br /><br />Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We love you all!!!!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-37963610112437376222011-11-30T10:07:00.000-08:002011-12-07T10:26:53.134-08:00Family Updates: Sept, Oct, & Nov 2011We added 3 photo albums to our Photo Gallery. Click on the photos at the right to view them.<br /><br />September concluded with Caleb’s Lego Mindstorm arriving in the mail. He was so excited as he unwrapped each separate component in the package. He wanted to jump right to the hardest robot in the instructions manual, the cool one on the cover. But of course, he is just like me, and decided to start at the beginning of the manual and work his way through. Which I know is smart and sensible and right and what I would do, but sometimes I want to see Caleb be more childlike and impulsive. Sometimes we’re both too logical and practical. We have to work a little harder for whimsy. We loaded the software on the computer. Caleb assembled the basic robot setup. He learned the beginnings of programming on the software. He hooked up his robot to the computer and sent along the program he wrote into the robot. And voila! His robot can move, and talk, and even sing! So cool! He loves it and he has so much more to try and learn!<br /><br />We had a fun evening celebrated Jude Rusch’s birthday pirate style. We had a great time and enjoyed time getting to know our neighbors more and more. I especially enjoyed chatting with Lena, Jake Hamiter’s wife.<br /><br />October was great. Fall weather came suddenly and reprieved us of the horrible heat wave. I finally got to enjoy sitting outside on the porch with my toasty coffee in the morning. It wasn’t too long until it was too cold for that, but I’m really enjoying this area now that it’s crisp and refreshing. There is still a burn ban in effect because of the drought & heat wave summer brought, but I look forward to enjoying evenings outdoors by a fire once that burn ban is lifted.<br /><br />One night Jon & I went out on a date. We found a new wine bar in the historic downtown area of Bryan. It was calm, spacious, and very suited to relaxed conversations. We talked for hours. We discussed how a big part of why we’re here in Texas is because God is taking Jon through the process of learning how to desire/want and to do something about it. Jon’s 2 years of college credits won’t transfer to Texas because after 10 years they expire here in Texas. Jon doesn’t want to repeat 2 years of general education. I feel like God was leading us to the conclusion that God is going to honor that desire. We began rethinking our original plan of Jon doing the traditional 4 year college thing. We began discussing what Jon enjoys and wants. We came up with a modified plan that is a much looser plan, but it gives a lot of room for God to do His thing. We’re slowing down our pace and going to take one thing at a time. We’re first going to focus on fixing up the little house to rent. We haven’t had the funds to fix up the bathroom in the little house and make it livable. So that’s first on the agenda. Then, once the little house is rented, we’re going to work on fixing up our house to make it cozy for us. We need the rent money from renting the little house to help us pay for fixing up our house. Then Jon will likely take classes to get his pilot’s license. He’ll enjoy that and it will increase his skill set and make him more employable in whatever career he ends up pursuing. He may possibly take classes to get a boating/captain’s license too. We are praying that God puts people in Jon’s path, and opens up doors in unusual ways, to get Jon’s foot in the door for some type of job that will lead to a career that will provide stability and retirement possibilities for our family, but that will also enliven Jon. We’re hoping that he will only have to take relevant classes at the university and that maybe he can work his way up in the job world. For now though, Jon is really enjoying working for Ron Rusch’s cabinet shop. He doesn’t have all the self-employed pressures any longer and he loves it. We really have no idea what’s going to happen, but know that God put us here and is leading us. God will open up the right doors at the right time. We’re following His leadings and we’re having a good time while we’re doing it.<br /><br />We celebrated Halloween by going to a Harvest Festival with the Rusch Family. Ben dressed up as a leopard. I’m so happy he got to wear the costume Aunt Laura made for her kids 25ish years ago. Caleb didn’t want to wear a costume he’d worn before, so he mixed it up and wore a little of this and a little of that. He called himself “Captain Random” and he ended up winning the costume contest for his age group at the Harvest Festival. <br /><br />November started with Jon’s drive out to CA for his friend Curby’s wedding. Jon made arrangements with his boss to buy some of Jon’s machinery that had been left in CA. This funded Jon’s trip and allowed him to also retrieve his table saw, band saw, and a few other things we thought we had to abandon in our move to Texas! I’m so thankful and see the Lord’s hand in working this all out. It was a hard trip on Jon though. He did a straight through drive both ways by himself. His back went out the day before he left and he had to endure the drive and the days loading the machinery in terrible pain. All that he put his back through on the trip greatly increased the damage to his back/sciatica problem and he ended up missing a lot of work once he was home. He’s visited a chiropractor a couple times, used his inversion table, and spent countless hours stretching. After a month of unending pain, we bought him a memory foam mattress topper and contoured memory foam pillow. Now he is able to get some sleep at night and with everything together, his back is back to normal and his sciatica pain is very slowly improving.<br /><br />At that same time, we had a visit from Anna & Roland Peterson and their two kids Eli & Lila. Anna is one of my dear friends from college. They’ve been living in Colorado Springs for the last few years and have been preparing to move their family to Tanzania to work with Wycliffe as anthropologists. They leave the beginning of January. I love that they made the effort to come see us and our new Texas life before they left. It will be at least 3 years until they get a furlough back in the United States. I cherish my time with Anna and love getting to catch up with her. I love that our families got to have so much time together. It’s a rare thing. We even got to celebrate Eli’s 7th birthday while they were visiting. And what great timing for their visit; Anna was such a help to me while Jon was at the peak of his pain and unable to move much. The kids all played and kept each other busy having fun. It worked out so well. Since Jon wasn’t able to, Roland even drove me to the airport for my trip to California to watch my dear friend Becky Fulford become Becky Kapanka. Then they moved on to visit some of their family in Dallas. Their family watched their kids and then they got to fly out to California too, sans kids, for Becky’s wedding. It was so funny to have our families together in Texas and then a week later to be visiting in California with no kids. <br /><br />Roland dropped me off at the Austin airport. And then I was all alone. I didn’t have to multi-task. I was left with my own thoughts. It was blissful and bizarre! Times like that stand out to me because they are so few and far between in my world. Usually I’m focused on my agenda for the day. Mix into that a full day of engaging my two sweet children, including the attention, conversations, corrections, and instructions they need throughout the day and I have don’t have room for spare thoughts. When I find myself in a place of quiet stillness with no to-do’s or distractions I’m surprised by the sensation of my own wandering thoughts. I loved traveling alone! It was so wonderful. <br /><br />Then I landed in my beloved California and got picked up by Kat and her husband Craig. It was sooooo good to see her! We dropped Craig off at home and we spent a lovely evening our favorite fondue restaurant, the Melting Pot. Kat and I have lots of special memories there. The next day we ran errands, ate In-N-Out Burgers, and loafed on the coach in the daytime to watch TV…In The Daytime!!!! Again, not part of my normal world. It was wonderful!<br /><br />That evening we got ready and met up with our other girls for Becky’s bachelorette party. Everybody (but Anna – who made it out for the wedding, but not the bachelorette party) flew in for Becky’s wedding! We had such a good night and I loved seeing all my dear college friends! We started off at Amanda’s house and had such fun catching up and watching Becky open her presents. Then we moved on to a dueling piano bar. It was a first for me and so, so, so fun! We walked in wearing goofy cowboy hats and made an impression on the pianists. They highlighted our group a lot and made the night even more fun. We danced in the aisles to everything from Johnny Cash to Irish jigs, plus so much in between. Becky had a great night, which is the most important part. I love my girls!<br /><br />Dan & Jenny Sumner and their little 2 year old Emma hosted Laurie and I for our trip. I’m so glad for that time getting to know Jenny in her family setting. I usually only see her at girl’s reunions. She and her family are so enjoyable and her daughter definitely steals the show. She’s adorable! We were so comfortable and cared for. Jenny even put mints on our pillows at night and had a little chalk board in a photo frame on our nightstand wishing us sweet dreams. I’m dying to recreate the homemade roasted butternut squash ravioli with browned butter sage sauce Jenny made us one night. It was heavenly! I’m itching to get the Kitchenaid mixer I’ve wanted for years with the pasta attachment so I can easily bust out awesome pasta on my own. Our car rental turned out to be a little mint green Volkswagen Beetle and Laurie and I had a good time driving that around all week. I love that Laurie and I got a week being roomies. We had so much time together and I cherish her friendship.<br /><br />I got to spend a day with Tracy Flores & Amber Jenkins. We had a full day of long conversations, quality time, and a good dose of tasty treats. Those two girls are really close to my heart. They will forever be in my life and I’m so thankful for them. I can’t wait until our families can all be together again. Our kids are all each other’s best friends and I miss those relationships and dynamics in my family’s life. We’re plotting to get Sam a plane ticket out here so he and Caleb can have a week or two together. Hopefully soon.<br /><br />Then back to my college girls. We spent such a wonderful week together. Becky had set us up to go to a TV taping of the Ellen DeGeneres Show. We thought the guest of the day was going to be the cast of the Twilight movies. So Laurie thought it would be a good idea to watch the first movie to acquaint herself with the characters before she saw them live. Laurie, Dan (Jenny’s husband), and myself spent a morning watching the teen vampire/werewolf love story unfold. It was hilarious. I’m a fan, but Laurie and Dan are not Twilight material, so it was an amusing morning. Then it was time to go to the taping. We ended up with different guests on the Ellen show, so watching Twilight was for naught. Ha ha! But, we did end up being given a $100 Groupon gift certificate, a CD of the musical guest, a box of Jelly Belly candies, and tickets to come back for the taping of Ellen’s 12 Days of Christmas Show! Those are incredibly sought after tickets! Ellen gives away thousands of dollars of prized to each audience member on the Christmas shows!!! I was in such a position. I knew I had to figure out how to make a way to get back to California to go to that show. It took some doing, but we worked it out. I have my plane ticket purchased to go back. Of the four of us girls that went, only Becky lives locally. Laurie lives in Washington D.C. and Kelly lives in Northern CA. They’ve both worked it out too. We’ll be on the December 13th taping, which will likely air on the 14th, so set your TV’s to record. It will be a quick turn around trip, but how fun to see my girls again and get prizes!<br /><br />The day before the wedding was great. Anna had arrived and our close group of college girls got to spend the last half of the day enjoying each other and celebrating Becky. We got pedicures followed with dinner & sangrias at Habana, my favorite Cuban restaurant. There is something irreplaceable about this group of girls in my life. I’m thankful we’ve gotten to see each other about once a year over the last ten years.<br /><br />Becky’s wedding was perfect! She was gorgeous and she picked a great guy. I wish them so much happiness. <br /><br />I returned home looking forward to seeing my family after a whole week away. My whole family loved on me so much the first couple days I was home. I ate it up. Then it was time for Thanksgiving. Jon’s cousins Aaron & Andrew came to stay with us for the holiday. I’m so glad Andrew lives here now. He recently moved to San Marcos from Kauai. The senior Rusch’s hosted Thanksgiving and I couldn’t have asked for a better first Texan Thanksgiving. We had the tradition food plus smoked brisket and sausage. It was amazing! The weather was ideal and the people felt like family. I love that feeling. I love that I felt like I was at home. We played Bocce ball and the kids played ping pong and ran around having fun. It was a perfect day. Maybe next year we’ll be able to have our family come too. Then it will be an even more perfect day.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-2499781553376285242011-09-21T12:41:00.000-07:002011-09-21T12:58:50.342-07:00Texas Beginnings – July to September 2011It is the middle of September and I found myself sitting quietly in my brown leather chair. It’s tricky for me to find those moments. The kids are both fighting colds so I canceled school today. They’re working on a new puzzle Caleb got for his birthday yesterday. So I had a few quiet moments to pray and listen to the Lord. And I was surprised by what He told me. He saved us! He sent us to Texas, in His perfect timing, to avert financial disaster for our family. He got us out in time! Our business would have hit hard times and we wouldn’t have been able to pay our rent. We would have become desperate suddenly. He saved us from disaster by moving us to Texas, and I wasn’t even aware of it. And not only that, but He started us on a new path to breathe life into our family and begin a new career path that would enliven Jon and provide more financial security, now and for the future. What if we hadn’t listened?!? What if we hadn’t obeyed the Lord immediately?!? How can God save us if we don’t listen and obey? <br /><br />I really thought that obeying God and moving here was just about walking Jon through having desires and hopes and reaching for them; about learning how to live. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that God was saving us from disaster! I’m so thankful and feeling a bit overwhelmed with the goodness of our Lord. I would have never even known what we were spared had the Lord not shared that with me. How awesome is our God!!!<br /><br />July was a crazy month. Jeremy, Julie, and their 3 kids arrived around midnight our first day here, after we unloaded our moving truck. It was chaos, stuff everywhere. Julie was a huge help to me! She took care of cooking duties so I could focus on unpacking. That was huge for me! And she helped unpack so much! Thank you Sister!!!!!! Jeremy was traveling all over playing shows. A few were more local and Jon played with him, along with some of our new neighbors. The kids got to really get to know each other, which was so needed. That’s the downside to family living in Kauai, you don’t get to see them as often as you would like.<br /><br />Right off the bat being here I was invited to a Mary Kay party at one neighbor’s house. Another neighbor invited me to a girl’s night birthday celebrate in town. A few weeks after moving in we had a fun Mexican food night. One of my new friends decided she wanted to cook with me, so the girls took me to the grocery stores and we cooked together. Then we had a Mexican food party, played games, and had a great night. It feels good and normal to have a full house of friends. Yay! It was a nice way to break in the house.<br /><br />Cousin Aaron came for a visit and took us hiking around the woods we live in. He is really good at identifying all the plants, animals, and evidence of animals out there. It was fun; hot, but fun!<br /><br />My cousin Kara came for a visit and it was so nice to see her. Years seem to pass between visits. I’m glad I live so much closer to her now! We’ll get to do holidays together even! She and I had a nice girl’s day in town. We got pedicures (in massage chairs – the best!), shopped for jeans at the consignment shop, and caught up on life. I really needed that girl’s day. She got the kids gift cards to the toy store and made cake balls (cake in bite size form, rolled in chocolate) with the kids. It was a very merry un-birthday for them and they loved it!<br /><br />September is our first month here in Texas of regular life and daily routines. We’ve been fighting cold after cold after cold, especially the kids. We’re just getting used to a new set of bugs and I’m sure we’ll develop immunity after awhile. Our house is functional enough to live in, although we have many corners filled with stacks of boxes and toys overflowing. We’re close to getting the boys rooms done and then the toys will have homes again, instead of being and endless messy pile that engulfs the entrance way into the house. We’ve got moulding up and painted. The bunk beds are almost done being built and are about ready to be painted. We plan to make a little stage in the room for the kids drum set that will have storage space underneath for toys. We also plan to build a wardrobe for the room since we had to knock out the closet to make enough room for their beds. It will be a really fun room when we’re done.<br /><br />We’ve been enjoying our neighbors and getting to know them better. We’ve gone swimming, had BBQ’s, had date nights/babysitting trades, and the boys have gone fishing. Jon even canoed down a local river with our neighbor Justin. He took his gun because apparently there are alligators in the river. Ahhhh! No sightings though, so that’s good (if there were any sightings, Jon wisely didn’t tell me, so I’m at least under the impression they didn’t see any). We went to a get-together to watch the first game of the college football season. This town goes into crazy football frenzy mode! Just part of our new Texas life; Might as well embrace the culture :) I’m so thankful for our friends here welcoming us into their lives, including us, and making us feel at home. The Ruschs, Hamiters, Ericksons, VonGontens, & Rhodes rock!!!<br /><br />The more things have started falling back into place, the more peace I feel. I’ve gotten back into the habit of cooking weeknights, except Tuesdays. Tuesdays are our go into town, deposit Jon’s paycheck, eat dinner out, and do our grocery shopping nights. I hadn’t been able to wrap by brain around cooking while our house was in chaos with unpacking and company and all. But we’re feeling much more settled, in routine, and peaceful. Right now I am on a quest to recreate Trader Joe's Chimichurri Rice. It used to be a staple in my freezer, but now I don't live by my beloved Trader Joes. I found a recipe online that will at least start me off in the right direction. I even ordered a 1 lb. bag of dried Peruvian aji panca chiles to give me the best chance at an authentic taste.<br /><br />I’ve really been enjoying school with the kids. I was a little intimidated by the idea of homeschooling two kids at the same time. I thought that it would be a big process with a lot of readjusting and tweaking to make it work. I was so wrong. I did no preparation. I hadn’t even cracked open Ben’s books to see what they were like. I had no plan. I didn’t have the time or brain space up till then. I was just trying to get through our move and getting settled. I just jumped right in on our first day of schooling. I opened all the books. I made a schedule and a strategy. And, thank the Lord, it worked beautifully! We had a very successful 1st month of homeschooling 2 kids!!! I was thrilled it went so smoothly! We were organized and we had fun. Ben and I still are really enjoying learning his letters and reading books together. We've been playing all kinds of games to help lock the letter names into his brain. I'm really cherishing this time with him. There's something especially sweet about this stage. I have lots of fond memories of Caleb at this stage too :)<br /><br />Caleb’s 10th birthday has been great. It started off slightly bittersweet. Both kids woke up a bit sick and he was missing his friends more than usual because of his birthday. He wasn’t really up for a birthday party because of that. We all got up early so Jon could make Caleb a special birthday breakfast and so he could open his presents. It was a nice time. We laid low most of the day because the kids were fighting little colds. Our neighbors asked Caleb over so they could give him a present. Legos and a singing card! It made him feel really cared about. Thanks Rusch Family! Then we went out to dinner at Caleb’s choice, Chuy’s, a Mexican restaurant. We let him open all the cards he’d received. He kept getting more birthday love and money as he opened each card. Thanks everyone! That was really special and meant so much to Caleb! He felt loved! He has been saving for about 2 years for a Lego Mindstorm, which is a toy that incorporates robotics and computer programming with Legos. It is $300 at the toy store and, before the birthday money he got for his birthday, he was halfway there. He was thankful that he was getting closer to his goal. And then he opened up the last card from Grandpa Artie and Grandma Cheryl. He admired the card for quite awhile. Grandma Cheryl is really good at making special cards. It even had a picture of the Mindstorm in it. Then Caleb found the check folded up in a slot in the card. There was enough money to put him well over the amount he needed! His mouth fell wide open. He was stunned; frozen in shock! We could see his wheels turning as it slowly began sinking in…he would finally be able to buy his Mindstorm after 2 years of hard work doing chores to earn money, careful saving, and lots of patience!!! We had seen one at Toys R Us, which is where we headed directly after dinner. He didn’t even want to order birthday dessert because he was too amped about getting his toy. To our disappointment, Toys R Us no longer had any in stock. But it was okay, he was a trooper, and we ordered it on Amazon from my phone as soon as we walked out of the store. He saved at least $40 by ordering in on Amazon. We got it for $270 plus a great book that will teach him how to use the toy for another $19, no tax and no shipping fees. Yay! We topped the night off with frozen yogurt and thank you calls to the Grandparents.<br /><br />We decided a special family day was in order for Saturday in lieu of a birthday party. Caleb was too sick for any of our plans though, so we played Monopoly, watched SpongeBob, and made birthday cupcakes.<br /><br />Just a few days ago the boys and I were sitting in the living room about ready to home school. Suddenly there was a wonderful display of birds out our front window. I’m really thankful for the big picture window that takes up quite of bit of our living room wall. We’ll have to get a good bird identification book. We’re pretty sure we saw a blue jay, a cardinal, and 2 or 3 other species. They were flying, perching, playing in the bird bath, and sharing their different bird sounds with us. It was spectacular! I haven’t witnessed anything quite like it since we’ve moved here. It was just a really special moment that captivated our attention. I’m really enjoying the nature of where we live. It’s impossible not to see life all around you here. We constantly see deer families (there’s probably a correct term for that), squirrels, and a variety of birds. Our first few weeks here were filled with the evening sounds of the cicadas. That was cool. But it wasn’t cool that they would bash themselves towards any light source, so trying to get into the front door at night was pretty freaky. Those cicadas are very large and very strong as they thrash and bash themselves around the porch light and front door. And there are so many of them. But that only lasted for a short time. I guess the cicada season is short. There’s so much for us to learn about the new environment we live in; plants, animals, and the ever changing weather. It’s almost impossible for me to not start singing praise songs to the Lord walking the quarter mile walk to the mail box. I like that.<br /><br />Below is Caleb’s poem for one of his weekly writing assignments.<br /><br />I Want to Invent a Machine<br /><br />I want to invent a machine…<br />That can fly.<br />I want to invent a machine…<br />That can jump high.<br /><br />I want to invent a machine…<br />That can run.<br />I want to invent a machine…<br />With a tongue.<br /><br />I want to invent a machine…<br />That won’t lie.<br />I want to invent a machine…<br />That won’t die.<br /><br />I want to invent a machine…<br />Who has a lot of fun.<br />I want to invent a machine…<br />Who gets my homework done.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-13270571420270813522011-07-30T12:43:00.000-07:002011-10-06T09:34:03.365-07:00Farewell California – July 2011At the end of June we said our farewells to Hanford and our family. We headed down to Orange County for a final week with our friends. I expected to have a calm week with nothing to do but lounging with friends and with Jon who was done working. I was wrong. Jon’s back went out right at the beginning, and in a really severe way. I had felt like I had been a single mom for 4 months and I had to consciously adjust my expectations, because I thought I was going to have a reprieve, but Jon was laid up for most of the week. Once I adjusted my expectations, I did a lot better. We had our farewell party the day after we arrived, so we got ready for that as soon as we arrived. The farewell party for me was anything but simple. Aside from all the work to be done in preparation, it stirred up a lot of emotions for me: it was taxing to fit all of my visiting with everyone from all walks of my life into a few hours, it was extremely heartbreaking to say my good-byes, and it was super joyous to get to see everyone after 4 months away. It was a very mixed bag of emotions. The rest of our week was good; tiring, but good. It was very busy, full of activity, kids and dogs everywhere, late nights working on wedding invitations for a friend, final outings with loved ones, and long talks. Thank you Tracy & family for putting us up and all the work you put into blessing us! Thank you Amber and family for letting us use your home for our good-bye party, especially when you are such a sick pregnant lady right now! Thanks everyone who came out to see us before we moved! We love you all so much! <br /><br />Both boys had taken all of the changes in our family in stride, up until our Orange County week. Ben, all of a sudden, needed lots of extra reassurance, which expressed itself in more clinginess and whininess, but also more affection and snuggles, especially with Jon. <br /><br />The next day was the BIG day. The day we were going to drive away. We impulsively decided to not get an early start, but to have one final hurrah. We went to breakfast in the park with dear friends and I’m so glad we did. I needed that more focused and peaceful time with my friends! I thrive on peace. I can’t hang for too long with hectic craziness. The kids got to run around in the grass while we adults got to lounge and sip our coffee. I was really sunburned from the day before, loading the moving truck. I hadn’t planned on staying to help with loading, but I did, and I got really burned. We had a lot of help loading all of our stuff from our storage unit into our moving truck. Thanks all you burly dudes for your manly help, it meant a lot! Anyway, we lingered at the park as long as we possibly could. But then it was time to go. Bye my beloved California (which really means bye my beloved friends and all that I know and am used to and am comfortable with)….ahhhhh….I can’t believe I’m moving to Texas. I’m crazy! I’ve never lived anywhere but California! I love it there! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! And I’m sunburned.<br /><br />So we pulled out, Jon and Caleb in the moving truck, pulling our car behind them, and me and Ben in Jon’s van. We had to rig the van’s floorboard by putting a phone book under the gas pedal. My heel didn’t touch the floorboard otherwise. And off we went!<br /><br />We had 3 ½ days of driving. I’ve never driven that much by myself. I did though! Yay me! Our days were full of ups and downs. I decided that it’s okay to see the ups and the downs of things. It’s part of the charm of the adventure. I tried to write down what I could in the moment. Here’s just a glimpse of our few days.<br /> <br /><br />DOWN: My guts weren’t working right all week in Orange County, stress or whatever. So much so, that I had to take laxatives. And of course, the laxatives didn’t hit until we were on the road! <br />UP: We made it to a McDonald’s in the middle of nowhere, just in the nick of time. And bonus, I got to see my first awesome Midwest hairstyle of the trip – a combo mullet with rat’s tail :)<br /><br />UP: Kids enthralled and completely entertained for 3 days with the car kits Granny put together.<br />DOWN: Melty crayons all over everything.<br />UP: Ben, a five year old, entertained himself so well the entire trip. He poured over books, worked on an alphabet turtle puzzle, and colored picture after picture. I was so impressed by his focus, perseverance, and newly acquired longer attention span. He was really developing a want to learn, so much so, that he got very disappointed that he didn’t know how to read, but I got to encourage him and tell him that was what I was going to teach him to do in kindergarten.<br /><br />DOWN: Sunburned shoulders don’t mix with seat belts and sun in the window<br />UP: Jimmie rigging a sunshade in the driver window to protect my sunburned shoulders<br /><br />DOWN: The A/C in the van only blows air when I take my foot off the gas pedal and it stops blowing when I press on the gas pedal. It’s a very hot summer so A/C is very important.<br />UP: Jon’s moving truck that I’m following goes really slow, so I get to take my foot off the gas pedal a lot :)<br /><br />DOWN: Missed a photo opportunity with a really cool cactus (for some reason I was bummed about that – so say my notes – weird how you feel in the moment of something, but looking back seems kind of ridiculous)<br />UP: Found a giant dinosaur in the middle of nowhere – great photo<br /><br />UP: Free library audio books that I downloaded in the hotel room onto my iPod and unlimited music on Pandora.<br />UP: Caleb and I listened to “Inkheart” for hour upon hour when it was his turn to ride with me.<br />DOWN: I couldn’t keep listening to “Inkheart” when Caleb was riding with Jon. I didn’t want him to miss any of the story.<br />UP: Bob Marley’s “One Love” song played and it resonated with me in that moment.<br /><br />One Love (Oh, Lord!)<br />One Heart (Wo-ooh!)<br />Give thanks and praise to the Lord <br />And I will feel all right; <br />Let's get together and feel all right. <br />Give thanks and praise to the Lord <br />And I will feel all right; <br />Let's get together and feel all right. <br /><br />DOWN: Blown tire on a busy road in Arizona<br />UP: God’s hand of protection! God miraculously kept us from an accident even though my van swerved severely into the other lanes on a busy road when the tire blew!<br /><br />DOWN: Severe traffic due to a flash flood in Arizona<br />UP: We finally got to the front of the line of traffic and got our turn to drive though the flooded out road after a very long wait. It was kind of fun :)<br /><br />DOWN: Having to find a pet friendly hotel, late at night, in whatever town we landed in after a full day of driving. One night was especially bad because we had to drive way past the point of tired, in the dark, in a storm, until we even found a town. I’m terrified of driving tired because I know I’m not immune to falling asleep driving (I did it once a long time ago)!<br />UP: Always finding one despite the odds. Yay God!<br />UP: Ben was ecstatic with the continental breakfasts at the hotels. He was in snack heaven!<br /><br />UP: Writing these notes while driving the van on a deserted long windy road in Texas.<br />DOWN: occasional veering off the road due to writing while driving.<br />UP: glad for wake up tread to help me notice I’m veering off the road.<br /><br />UP: Our new Texas neighbors called while we were in a hotel the last night and they said they put food in our fridge and will assemble a team to help unload our moving truck. I can’t wait to get to know these loving and generous people! I’m very excited!<br /><br />We finally arrived late evening after 3 ½ days of driving. It was a long journey. We were met by two different neighbors, a stocked fridge, a nice note on our counter, and a crock pot of stew. The next day a crew was ready and unloaded our moving truck in the crazy Texan heat! What a blessing! Especially since Jon’s back was in horrible condition. What generous, kind, and wonderful people! Thank you Hamiters!!!! And thanks Tellors for the soup, it was tasty!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-3657488839786857212011-06-30T12:45:00.000-07:002011-09-22T08:38:58.124-07:00Hanford - June 2011June started off with Ben’s 5th birthday. We had a fun little morning with Ben opening presents in his pj’s. He thought it was funny that Uncle David’s present was wrapped in a sock. Caleb spent the rest of the morning building all of Ben’s new Cars Lego sets for him so that Ben could play with them. Then we got a surprise call from Uncle Jeremy and Auntie Julie. They just arrived in California from Kauai to start off their summer music tour on the mainland. They were in the Bay Area and wanted to meet in the middle to celebrate Ben. We waited for Jon to get to Hanford from Southern CA and then we drove to meet up with the rest of the Hartshorns and Granny. We ended up at a little BBQ restaurant and had a fun night. We had cupcakes and the kids ran around and played out front for a long time. Then we went over to Target to spend the rest of our evening and to pick out some presents for Ben. It was great to see everyone. It had been about a year and a half since we last saw them. Those Bubbas (the twins Ethan & Shepard) have gotten so big. They were babies last time we saw them. Love you guys! Thanks for celebrating Ben with us!<br /><br />May was filled with cleaning out and organizing my Mom’s house. So in June I decided to refresh my Mom’s house. I also got to help my brother check out homes to buy. He found a gorgeous 1902 Victorian house, put an offer in, and his offer got accepted. We had a little dance party and I got special bubbly in celebration. No one else wanted to share the bubbly though, so I was stuck with the whole bottle by myself :) Now I had a second project, to help my brother furnish his house and get the basic necessities. We scoured thrift stores and antique shops for furniture. We stumbled onto so many quaint little downtowns in the CA Central Valley and left with some of their treasures. I did a lot of sewing. I got David and my Dad to help me with sanding the furniture and Jon was our painter. Between all of us, Mom and Dad ended up with a cheerful and newly refreshed room with new couches, new lamps, and a refurbished coffee table, end table, bookshelf, and rocking chair; Plus new handmade pillows, a lap blanket, and valances. David ended up with a pretty good setup too. Sadly, I had to leave Hanford before I got to see everything put into his house. I’m sure it’s cute though. It was fun to have a blank slate to work with. It opens up such a broader range of possibilities.<br /><br />We had a fun day outing in San Francisco with the Flores Family. I was glad we got to go there before we moved away from California. Juan was working at a convention, so we met up with Tracy and the kids in the morning. It was adorable when the kids all saw each other for the first time in months! Sam and Caleb were so happy to see each other. They were beside themselves with joy. Ben and Vida were stinkin’ cute. I got to sit on a bench with just the two of them for a little while and listen in on their conversations. They were just radiating joy being together again! We checked out Pier 39 and a magic show in the promenade. After Juan met up with us we explored the Aquarium. Ben and Vida loved when they got to touch the rays and starfish. Caleb and Sam were too cool to do that this time. We found a tasty place to get some famous clam chowder sourdough bread bowls and relax with a harbor view. It was perfect. We explored the Golden Gate Bridge and the kids got to let loose. They ran and chased and ran some more. Then we drove over to check out Ghirardelli Square at dusk. We wandered along the water front before we made it there and the kids had a blast running around at the shore. We were tired are ready to relax when we finally got our desserts. Tasty heaven! I’m so glad we got to have such a fun day with our closest friends before we moved! We love you guys so much!<br /><br />Back in Hanford, Grandpa gave Caleb a science challenge to make a suspension bridge like the Golden Gate Bridge. He gave Caleb a bunch of parts and set him to work. Caleb did a great job and got a really good understanding of the science behind suspension bridges. Another time Grandpa taught Caleb about hovercrafts and they made their own version with CD’s. It was really neat.<br /><br />Caleb spent a good week or two taking things apart to see how they work. Thank goodness he got everything put back together and working again, all by himself too. I'm very proud of my smart & inquisitive boy. He and Uncle David decided to tackle Uncle's CD player/radio. They didn’t get too far before they got tired of it though. I’m not sure if they even put it back together.<br /><br />One night, on the goodnight phone call to Daddy, of which I can only hear Ben's side on the conversation: "Where's your bed Daddy?" "What? You have a car bed Daddy?" "Is that for real Daddy?" "I never knew you had a car bed Daddy." When we were finally back in Orange County and Ben saw that Daddy’s car bed was just Daddy’s suburban with blankets and a pillow in the back, I think he was a little bit disappointed. He had imagined something much more fun :)<br /><br />Thanks for having us Mom and Dad! I truly know the Lord ordained this time for our family. The Lord wanted to refresh the people and the place. He drew us closer together. He re-established bonds and healed more than we probably know. I’m so thankful for you guys and love you fiercely!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-46327315139965099652011-04-30T17:11:00.000-07:002011-05-05T20:42:50.544-07:00March & April 2011<div><div>Here’s our current itinerary:<br />Now – June 7th : Rebecca & kids in Hanford<br />June 8th – June 13th : Visit to OC while Jeremy & Julie in OC<br />June 14th – June 23rd : Rebecca & kids in Hanford<br />June 24th – July 3rd : Last visit to OC</div><div><br />We’ll be having an open house good-bye party in the OC on Saturday June 25th. More info to come later.</div><div><br />July 3rd we’re leaving for Texas!!! Wow!!!</div><div><br />We’ll need any help we can get loading our moving truck on Saturday July 2nd and unloading our moving truck in Texas July 6th/7th.<br /><br />Now on to updates:<br />We got my mom set up with a blog of her own to record her journey with cancer. It’s <a href="http://cherylower.blogspot.com/">cherylower.blogspot.com</a>. Some people had a bit of trouble leaving comments on it, so one of the posts is a tutorial explaining how to leave comments on her site if you’re interested. Otherwise, just email her directly at <a href="mailto:cherylower@yahoo.com">cherylower@yahoo.com</a>.</div><div><br />The boys and I have been living in Hanford with my parents since the end of February. We’ve settled in and developed as much of a routine as we can. Ben wakes up early and Grandpa gets him cereal and turns on cartoons. Caleb and I wake up a little later. I get my protein shake and water my plants in the garden while Caleb gets his breakfast. The weather here has been changing back and forth from really hot to really cold. Many of my little lettuce sprouts haven’t survived. I have a few random seedlings that are making it though. Then I sit down to enjoy my coffee in my special coffee mug that Jon got for me on our anniversary trip. I really like having something to make my coffee time my own. Next I workout to my new Wii exercise regime, EA Sports Active 2. I’m on the beginner level and I’ve started with a 9 week program. It’s getting my heart rate up and I’m enjoying it. I’m glad that it gets me to break a sweat, which I don’t like doing, but I know is good for me. It has a heart rate monitor plus a motion sensor that I strap onto my left arm and my right leg, so it can make sure I have good form. It won’t let me move on until I’ve done the amount of repetitions I am supposed to do in the way it wants me to do them. It knows…</div><div><br />Next, I usually make lunch for this large household, but sometimes just for me and the boys. I’m trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies into our meals. After lunch, Ben naps and Caleb does his school work. I’ve picked knitting back up again and usually get a little knitting or reading time in while Ben naps. I packed all my craft stuff for Texas, so I had to go out and re-buy some knitting tools so I could make my Mom a hat she wanted. She already had the pattern in hopes that she would get a hat out of me one day. I finished that and now I’m working on a hat for myself. Dinner’s next on the agenda and no matter what I do, there are rarely leftovers. I keep trying to make bigger and bigger dinners to allow for leftovers, but it’s just not working. I’m trying to learn how to simplify the dinner process. I tend to put too much work into my dinners and create a big mess, which makes for more cleaning work. I’m getting a little better and I’m learning. I’m also not used to eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home every day. I’m used to having Jon bring dinner home sometimes, especially if my blood sugar gets low and I’m not feeling up to making dinner. Here, I’m learning how to get over myself and get over how I feel. It’s good for me. After dinner we have clean up time. Really, we have clean up time frequently throughout the day. We usually have to run the dishwasher 2-3 times a day to keep up with all the dishes for all these people. </div><div><br />Somewhere in the day the boys and Uncle David usually have some fun play time. I’m so thankful that the boys have my brother to engage them in that way. Grandpa’s index fingers start getting a little crazy sometimes and start chasing the boys around too. It used to be “the claw” that would chase them, but “the claw” has downgraded to “the fingers.” It’s hilarious. The boys shriek with delight when they see Grandpa get that mischievous look in his eye and his index fingers get the itch to chase some boys. The boys also get some energy out racing the various bikes, scooters, and twisty car around the racetrack in the back yard. Mom had the foresight to design her backyard with a sidewalk that goes all the way around the backyard in a big circle just for her grandkids. I’m also trying to get in the habit of taking a family walk around the neighborhood at dusk.</div><div><br />At bedtime, we call Jon on the phone and the boys each get a turn talking with him and telling him about their day. It’s really sweet listening to their conversations. Then we put Jon on speaker and he prays for us all. I’m thankful for this time of the day. It’s almost as if Jon is tucking them into bed, which was their usual routine before. I join them in the room for my bedtime a little later, once they’ve fallen asleep. I’ve tried to go to bed a few times when they were still awake, but each time was a disaster. So I’ve learned to wait until they fall asleep first.</div><div><br />Of course, all of this is dependent on Mom’s doctor schedules and Dad’s work schedule. Many of her doctor appointments and treatments are in Fresno, which is a 45 minute drive from Hanford. If Dad has to work, then the boys and I take her. We’ve gotten the boys some fun car games, stories, and music. I try to get them to look out the window and enjoy the scenery. There are so many cows, goats, horses, mini horses, rivers, trains, and crops that we pass. The crops look different every time we pass. Just a few weeks ago they were covered in blooms. Now they’re green and beginning to fruit. The perk with driving Mom to Fresno is that it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll get to eat something yummy and not have to cook. Super bonus! Plus I can usually stop by Costco and Trader Joes and stock up our groceries. There isn’t another Trader Joes anywhere closer. And there isn’t a Trader Joes in Texas at all!!!! I’m enjoying my Trader Joe’s food while I can. (For those non-Californians reading this, Trader Joes is a little grocery store with really yummy products that I love.)</div><div><br />When Jon joins us on the weekends we’re busy finding places in the Central Valley to explore. I’m usually wiped out by the time Jon has to head back to Orange County to work. It feels like I’m living two lives; my week day life and my weekend life. It’s kind of weird and throws me off a bit. Thank goodness it’s temporary. On Jon’s last visit, we sat down to figure out our moving dates and to-do list. We realized we were running out of time. We had to change Jon’s visiting schedule from every weekend to every other weekend. We’ll all miss each other, but we know that it’s what we need to do. The Lord is leading us, and in all our scheduling and planning we’ve been keeping this verse from the Lord first and foremost:</div><div><br />“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” –Proverbs 16:9</div><div><br />We got the letter that Jon has been accepted into Blinn College. We still have a bit more to do to get Jon completely signed up for schooling, but getting accepted is a great start. We’re almost done getting Caleb & Ben’s enrollment paper work done for homeschooling through CHEP (Community Home Education Program of Orange County) for the next school year. I’m so thankful that I’ll get to continue to use familiar curriculum for at least one more year. Caleb will be in 5th grade next year and Ben will be starting kindergarten.</div><div><br />Mid March Jon & I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We weren’t able to be together on the actual day, and I found that day was a really challenging one for me. I was really sad. I decided that it’s okay to be sad sometimes. I went on about my day and let the sadness sit with me. That evening I got an email from Jon. He wished me a “weirdest happy 10th anniversary ever.” So true.</div><div><br />Jon joined us the day after our actual anniversary. We took the kids out and tried to explore nature, but all the nature parks we discovered were closed until the winter season was completely over at the end of March. So we just drove around and looked at the orchards, fields, and farm animals. We ended up in downtown Hanford and found a really yummy pizza place. We had a sweetly happy time. We were thrilled watching the pizza guys putting on a show tossing the pizza dough. The restaurant even had my favorite pear cider on tap, plus the pizza was super delicious. Yum! What a fun family afternoon. That evening, my parents watched the kids so we could have a little date. We explored the nearby town of Visalia. It’s a bit bigger than Hanford. We watched a movie and then found a brewery a short walk from the theater. We had more yummy food and a sampler of all their handcrafted beers and sodas. I really enjoyed the handcrafted sodas. Double yum! It was a relief to have such a perfectly relaxing day with my kids and husband. I needed it.<br /><br /></div><div>The following weekend the kids and I drove down to Orange County so the kids could celebrate their best friends’ birthdays and Jon and I could get away for a proper 10th anniversary celebration. We stayed with our dear friends Juan and Tracy for a night. And bonus…our other dear friends just moved in next door to Juan and Tracy, so we got to see lots of Don and Amber too! So now Ben’s best friend Coen lives next door to Caleb’s best friend Sam. It’s a perfect arrangement. And some of our other dear friends Jared and Claudine just happened to be over at Don and Amber’s house, so we had a great night visiting!</div><div><br />Jon and I headed to Laguna Beach Saturday morning while the bounce house was being tested out by all the kids. I’m really glad I got to see the kids having fun with their friends since Jon and I weren’t going to be able to be at the parties ourselves. Sam’s birthday party was that afternoon and Coen’s birthday party was the next day. I’m so thankful for the Flores family for watching our kids so we could get away. Thanks Juan and Tracy!</div><div><br />Jon and I had a perfect romantic weekend in Laguna! And I mean perfect! We lucked out by getting the last ocean view hotel room with Jacuzzi tub at our hotel. Thank you Lord. My favorite was falling asleep listening to the rhythmic roar of the ocean next to my hubby. I really treasured my time with Jon because it’s a gift, and it’s sparse in my life right now. We walked around a ton and explored so many places we’ve never been to in Laguna, even though we’ve been there so many times. We especially enjoyed our night out at Tabu Grill; a friendly, fancy, and eclectic restaurant. It was absolutely the best meal we’ve ever had in our lives. And that is saying something because we’ve been fortunate to have eaten in a lot of gourmet restaurants over our many years in Orange County. That’s something that I’ll miss when we move. We found a little locals only kind of dive restaurant for breakfast; The Penguin café. It was so nonchalant and tasty that we had to go back for breakfast the next day too. Strolling around one afternoon we stumbled upon an art fair. I loved the pottery and Jon let me pick a beautiful handmade glazed mug and vase as mementos of our wonderful 10th anniversary weekend. I couldn’t have asked for two more perfect days.</div><div><br />As we drove back towards our kids and friends, we stopped off at Studio Suzan, a local jeweler who makes really distinctive and unique jewelry. Jon’s gift to me was to let me pick out something special to commemorate our 10th anniversary. Having never been before, I was a little overwhelmed in the show room with figuring out what I liked and what I liked the most. But they were so nice and helpful. I’ve never done anything like that before. It was so fun! I got a gorgeous pearl bracelet with an antique Roman coin on it and pearl earrings. The extra fun part is that you can purchase more pieces from Suzan and most everything links together to create multiple ways of wearing your jewelry. Eventually my beautiful bracelet can become a necklace. I felt loved and indulged in. That’s a good feeling.</div><div><br />I am so thankful I married Jon. He is perfect for me. So much has happened in our lives in the last 10 years of marriage. Wow! God has grown us up so much in those 10 years. And now we’re starting such a new adventure together. I can’t even imagine what our lives will look like in the next 10 years. And I’m so glad about that. I’m glad we can have adventures together and thrive; that we can enjoy life and the world around us. I’m glad we’re teaching our kids that by example.<br /><br />The next three weeks were very eventful for Jon and very uneventful for me and the boys. Jeremy, Jon’s brother came to Orange County. He gathered his band, which included Jon on the bass, and they played shows all over the OC for the first weekend/week. Then they flew to Washington State to play a conference and play at a handful of churches. Jon really enjoyed having so much time with his brother, a couple close college friends, and his cousin Aaron. Jon loves playing music. He’s told me that he has an easier time connecting with the Lord when he’s playing music and specifically his brother’s worship music. They were playing music from Jeremy’s latest release “Glory Tumbles Out,” a beautiful worship album. Check him out at jeremyhartshorn.com. One highlight was the night Jon, Jeremy, and the band played at our alma mater, Vanguard University of Southern California, for the Lobbypalooza Reunion Show. It was broadcast live online, so all of us here in Hanford got to watch. It was so fun! I got to see two other friends, Eric Kennedy and Andy Struck, also perform, plus some friends in the audience. The camera cut Jon out from view for most of their set, so the kids and I watched with anticipation for glimpses of Jon playing. It was so fun!</div><div><br />Not much happened here in Hanford for the three weeks Jon was away. One night my brother took me and the kids out to dinner at a very authentic Mexican restaurant. They were out of all meat except head and tongue that evening. It was a cash only place and we didn’t have any cash, so we had to leave. David was still set on going back to treat us to the experience of lengua tostadas with him: Lengua=tongue. Caleb and I weren’t fans of the idea, but I decided we would be brave and give it a try. Caleb wasn’t fond of my idea. So we got cash, went back, and tried it. Ben obliviously ate his and Caleb obediently ate his one parentally required bite. He looked green the whole time we were in the restaurant. He couldn’t even enjoy his orange Mexican soda until we were back home eating our knock off Albertos carne asada tacos we picked up for second dinner. I surprisingly thought that my lengua tostada was okay. I probably wouldn’t choose lengua again on my own, but it really tasted okay, especially chopped up like it was. Caleb was so overwhelmed with the whole experience that he purposely excluded mentioning our culinary adventure to Jon in our evening phone call. He just wanted to put it all behind him. Oh my sweet, and slightly traumatized, son. I love you.</div><div><br />Another night my brother decided to try to make tiramisu from scratch. It tasted so delicious! Turns out mascarpone cheese is really expensive, but oh so delicious. The downside to serving a dessert with caffeinated coffee in it to small children after dinner is a loooonnnng night with no sleep for a little bouncing Ben and a very tired mama.</div><div><br />Caleb developed an interest in my knitting and asked me if I would teach him. How great is that! We got him his own yarn and needles and he went to it. He was a quicker study than any adult I’ve ever taught, and I’ve taught a lot of people. He really notices when he makes a mistake, which is really hard to do when you’re new to knitting. I get to help him correct his mistakes because he catches them immediately. His scarf looks great.</div><div><br />After his 3 weeks away, the first weekend that Jon came up was packed full of family fun. We went to a park along the Kings River. The boys climbed trees and we all soaked our feet in the ice cold river. The next day we explored Bravo Farms. They make a variety of cheeses, have tastings of their cheeses, have the tallest tree house I’ve ever seen, have an assortment of animals you can feed, have an ice cream shop, and lots of random diverse decor all over. We started climbing the tree house, but after we got about a floor and a half up, Caleb decided it was too risky and that we should go back down. I sooo agreed with him from the moment I set my foot inside, but didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t want to pass any fear along to the kids. The stair steps were all wonky and uneven. I just didn’t feel safe. Apparently neither did Caleb. Ben’s favorite was feeding the animals. He loved it so much. We did it over and over and over again. He was so cute though and he really enjoyed himself. Bravo Farms did have a tasty burrito in their café made with their own chipotle cheese. We shared the burrito to save room to try the sandwiches from the guy who turned his truck into a smoke house and sells super tasty BBQ from the roadside. Random, random, random…but fun. </div><div><br />We celebrated Easter with a spontaneous trip exploring Yosemite. Jon and the kids had never been before and I haven’t been since I was a child. I’m really glad we got a trip in before we moved away. We enjoyed the scenic rolling green hill country spotted with happy cows that we passed as we drove on our way. The scene changed very dramatically once we entered Yosemite. It was breathtaking. John Muir called Yosemite “nature’s cathedral.” We completely agreed and we felt so appreciative of the indescribable beauty given to us by our amazing Creator. We were thankful that we could remember the Lord’s sacrifice for our sins and His glorious resurrection in such a spiritually moving place.</div><div><br />I finished my month off burning a lot of calories working in the garage. One way I’ve found that I can help out at my parent’s home has been to help them go through rooms, cabinets, etc. to clean things out and organize what’s left. So we ended our month with a very productive garage sale and a nice, clean, organized home.</div></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4006753021092300624.post-67088309277827491492011-02-28T16:57:00.000-08:002011-05-05T20:44:56.912-07:00January & February 2011<div>So much has happened in our lives in these last 2 months. Some of you have heard directly, others indirectly, and some of you not at all. So here is the story…<br /><br />About 4 ½ years ago, the Lord began a huge healing in our lives. He opened our eyes up to the deep down root issues of what was broken in us as individuals and in our marriage. He weeded that out of us. He sent Jon out to the desert to find our Lord and wrestle with Him. And Jon did find him. So much amazing healing happened in us during that very intense time. The Lord was speaking so specifically, clearly, and unrelentingly to me. It was awesome and exhausting. We began learning new ways to live; healthy ways. We sold our condo and began looking for a new place to live.</div><div><br />The Lord blessed us with a house to rent, with room for the kids to live abundantly and to have space to be kids. He made it very clear that it came from Him, it was a gift for Jon specifically, and He was blessing us with it. He wanted us to share it and bless others with it as well. We had 3 ½ wonderful years there. God did some light pruning on us, but it was a very peaceful and joyful time. God taught us to focus on abiding in Him and to trust Him in new ways, deeper ways. Near the end of 2010 I began to think about the soft and gentle time with the Lord I’d had in those years and I began to wonder why the Lord wasn’t talking to me in the same way He did at our last house. I just settled on accepting that the Lord must talk to me in different ways at different times in my life. I was okay with that.</div><div><br />Then January came and the Lord’s clear and specific voice came with it in full force. He began requiring me to obey Him in new ways. He gave me words to share with individual people and groups. He had me come against fear and hate in others with His love. He had me tell people their value to Him. What’s so weird about this is that I’m terrible at “words.” I have the hardest time accessing the right words in my brain at the right time. I’m very cut and dry. I’m orderly. The Lord used me in such tender and soft ways; ways that are not mine, but His. The Lord also had me hold my tongue a lot. To be obedient to take all my words to Him before I spoke, and there was a lot I was required to hold back. In all of this, the Lord was requiring me to stand in meekness. Meekness means strength under control. Meekness means to curb the “natural” desires to rebel, fight, have your own way, push ourselves forward, defend ourselves, etc. and to instead submit to the Lord in obedience to His will. The end of January brought a sense of completion for me in these things the Lord was asking me to do.<br /><br />Practically the moment all that ended, the Lord started something new in Jon and me. The Lord delved deep into us both again. He showed us aspects of ourselves that He wanted to bring healing into. It took me by such surprise. I thought those things had been dealt with. But the Lord knows better and took us deeper. In part, what the Lord showed us is that deep in Jon was a survival mode that was ingrained in him. It prevented Jon from living fully and dwelling on the joys in his life. Instead, it caused Jon to subconsciously feel burdened by life and to focus on just getting through the day. Our wonderful and sweet Lord began transforming Jon. Our Lord took that survival mode out of my husband and left room for Jon to have space to want and to desire; to have a new hope. To have space in his brain to think about what he wants out of life…to LIVE…and to live fully!</div><div><br />So we’re moving to Texas for Jon to go back to school to study forestry. Within a very short two weeks, from the first moment that the Lord brought up the areas that needed healing, we had a plan with many of the pieces in place. And these pieces fell into place so effortlessly, that we know it’s the hand of the Lord in our lives and in this plan. Jon has a job secured at a cabinet shop. We’ll be renting Grandma Jean’s house, which is a three bedroom house for $800 a month. We own a little one bedroom house next door that brings in $400 a month, so we’ll only have to pay $400 out of our own pocket! Grandma is on her way to move to Kauai. Thank you so much Grandma and Aloha! We’re in the process of applying to Blinn College (the local junior college in Bryan, Texas) and having Jon’s Vanguard University transcripts sent. After completing his general education, Jon intends to apply to Texas A&M for their forestry program. We anticipate all the schooling will take about 3-5 years overall. And after that…who knows where we’ll end up.<br /><br />There are so many aspects about our new adventure that excite me. I’m so excited that Jon is beginning a new career which down the road will breathe a lot of life into him. I’m excited that the boys will be living in a house in the woods with creeks, ponds, and wild life. They’ll have room to explore and be boys in a way that they can’t in Orange County. I’m excited that they can go down the street by themselves and see if their friends can play. I’m excited that there are friends down the street for them to play with! I know that this place will build into the boys a self confidence and independence they wouldn’t get in Orange County either. I’m excited that we’ll be surrounded by wonderful people in our new neighborhood and I can’t wait to get to know them better. I’m excited because, in my heart, I know we’re already loved out there and that my family will immediately be welcomed, cared about, and invested in. I’m also excited that our new situation will likely allow us to completely settle/pay off the last of our debt and that we will no longer be adding to our debt since we will no longer be self-employed. Yay!<br /><br />The Lord told me that there was going to be a final piece that would complete things and solidify “the plan.” I thought that was going to be a word from a random person who would walk up to Jon and say, “Hey, the Lord told me you’re supposed to move and go back to school.” We got a call from my mom on a Sunday afternoon, just two weeks into the whirlwind we were already caught up in. She told us that she just found out she has breast cancer. Bizarrely, none of us were worried. She’s not even worried. We knew this was the final piece the Lord prepared us for. There is a wonderful peace that passes understanding covering us. Praise the Lord!</div><div><br />We immediately began preparing to move out of our house so that the kids and I could move to Hanford to take care of my mom. Jon will stay in Southern California working and living out of his suburban. We packed up our house in one week. It was a crazy week! Really a crazy few weeks counting the crazy stuff the two weeks before. In such a short amount of time, while Jon was still working normal days, we had to figure out what would fit in a moving truck to put into storage for Texas, pack for 4 months of living and homeschooling in Hanford, figure out what Jon would need while living like a homeless man, and get rid of what was left. We had wonderful help packing and moving from many wonderful friends! For now, Jon is of the mind that he mostly wants to spend some good time alone in the evenings, but we’ve been so blessed by the numerous offers of places for Jon to stay, offers of help in any way that we need, and encouraging notes and phone calls. Thank you all so much!<br /><br />Before we left Costa Mesa, we were blessed that Caleb got one final ocean trip in with his best friend Sam and some quality Dad time. Caleb really enjoyed talking with the scientist on board about all the microscopic sea creatures they pulled up in a sample of the ocean floor. The outing was featured in the Orange County Register online.<br /><br /><a href="http://m.ocregister.com/articles/whales-289933-dana-festival.html?pic=0">http://m.ocregister.com/articles/whales-289933-dana-festival.html?pic=0</a><br /><br />While the big boys and dads were enjoying the ocean, Tracy and I took the little ones to the Santa Ana Zoo. It was so refreshing to do something fun after all the crazy moving we’d been consumed with. We’d been living/camping out in our house for a week with absolutely nothing in it, not even beds. We enjoyed it and certainly made the best of it, but it was nice to get out and do something fun.</div><div><br />We also had time to squeeze in an 80’s birthday party to celebrate our friend Claudine’s birthday. It was so much fun! Happy birthday Clu!</div><div><br />As I’m writing this, I’ve been living in Hanford for just over a week. Jon came up for the first weekend and it was so wonderful to reunite after only a week apart. We’re thankful for this allotment of time we’ve been given these next 4 months. It will be a time for Jon to fast family life and focus on the Lord and on himself; so that he can start our new adventure freshly focused and grounded in the Lord. It will be a time for me, our kids, my parents, and my brother (who also is living at my parent’s home) to spend really good time together, to bond closer, and to just really enjoy each other. And the extra bonus is that we’re saving quite a bit of money by not having a large rent to pay for the next 4 months.</div><div><br />The first Monday that we were in Hanford, we went wig shopping with my mom. First we went to a little place in a strip mall. There were creepy mannequin heads everywhere and lots of ugly hair. The owner of the shop ended up helping my mom try on quite a few wigs. We found one we liked okay, but decided to keep an appointment we had at another shop. Thank goodness we did. It turned out to be a really classy private studio with the most wonderfully kind lady. It was such a better experience! She was so caring and welcoming. She gave us so much helpful information. The kids were welcomed and the mannequins weren’t creepy.</div><div> </div><div>So many of the wigs looked fabulous on Mom. It was hard to narrow it down. But we did and we purchased a really cute medium length wig & a long one too. It was a really fun day, tiring (we were at it for 4 ½ hours), but fun. It was nice to do it before Mom’s first chemo appointment. Ben, about halfway through our visit, spotted a hot pink short wig on top of a really tall cabinet, and he kept quietly and insistently pulling on me. Finally I asked him what he wanted. He really wanted Grandma to try on the hot pick wig and he wouldn’t let up until we agreed. Before we left, Mom tried it on and the grin and joy on Ben’s face was precious. We all cracked up and especially enjoyed those moments. We couldn’t convince the boys to try it on, which is just fine. I tried on a fun pink tinsel wig. It was great! So, we'll see how she feels after the chemotherapy. These next two weeks will let us know how she reacts to the treatment. Keep the prayers coming! Pray for peaceful hearts here. Pray that the Lord sustains Jon, the boys, and me through this time of being apart and outside of our normal day to day living & friendships. Pray that the Lord sustains, comforts, and holds up my mom through the chemotherapy. Pray that my mom's cancer shrinks & shrinks, & shrinks. I feel like the Lord told me that the cancer will shrink each time we pray together, so I'm standing on that. </div><div><br />The current status report on my mom is that the cancer has not spread to any part of her body & it has not gone into her lymph nodes. This is really unusual because she has a very large mass that is stage 3, fast growing, and aggressive cancer. So, praise God for that! Her treatment plan is also unusual. They normally do an immediate mastectomy in a case like hers, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. For her they're doing chemotherapy first to reduce the size, then surgery, and then radiation. I pray that she only has to get a lumpectomy or nothing! That would be so much better! The doctors have said that's not an option, but we'll see...God is good, God is big, and God is amazing at doing the “unusual”!</div><div><br />1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is my focus today, this week, the next 4 months, and the rest of my life.<br /><br />"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."<br /><br />Galatians 6:9-10 was really encouraging for me in a moment when I was feeling overwhelmed and overly tired. I’m holding onto this verse for myself over these next 4 months.<br /><br />"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."<br /><br />The verse I’m holding onto for my Mom is Isaiah 43:2.<br /> <br />"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers,they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”<br /></div>Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12894281575923052611noreply@blogger.com0