Another first!!

Well, as you can imagine, we have had many "firsts" in the last five and a half years since Josiah was born. Some of them have been really hard on me and others not so much. However, this first made me cry! Josiah lost his first tooth last night. He was surprised by how painless it was. He was very brave. He said he didn't want it to come out until it was "hanging by a little tiny string." I told him it was nearly so and that I would only try once and if I didn't get it we would try again later. So, he gave it a try first and that didn't work. I gave it a swift pull and out it came. No matter how hard we tried to convince him, he did not want to sell it to the tooth fairy. He said he wanted to keep it in his treasure box. He has a little pirate treasure box in which he keeps little things he picks up here and there. He won't let me arm wrestle him for it either...He has decided today, on his first missing tooth day, that it makes a perfect hole for a straw!!! Elijah is pretty sure his tooth is coming out also, as you can see. He so much wants to be like his big brother. We keep telling him "Wiggle it all you want. It will come out someday." He seems satisfied by this.

New Bathroom

We have needed to freshen up the look of our bathroom for the eight years we have lived in our home. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a bathtub freak. Jamie and I have top ten pieces of marital advice that we give out to newlyweds. The #1 is, when life gets rough take a bubble bath (together if possible)! The irony in this is that the first bathroom Jamie and I had contained a very large bathtub and each one since has gotten consecutively smaller. That doesn't keep us from cramming ourselves into our tiny little tub though! So, that's the long way to say that my bathroom should be my haven. Well...finally it is getting closer. I painted it and we changed out our old mirr0r for a new one with a cabinet. This leaves room for absolutely nothing to be left on the counters!!!! I have an orchid, candles and decorations. I am so excited. So, the pictures are below, but the colors didn't turn out so well. Anyway, you get the idea. It is just a special treat for me to have our bathroom uncluttered!

Our newest update photos

These are the newest photos of the girls. End of month updates are always bitter sweet. We are so excited to see another photo of them and how they have changed each moth. However, each is a reminder that another month has passed by and we still cannot go get them. We are sure they are receiving the best care possible in Haiti, however we feel this is no comparison to the love and care that their parents can give. We are praying for paperwork to be processed with lightening speed! In the mean time, I just listen to Elijah say he wants to see the pictures of his sisters with presents on their heads!

Quote of the day...

I have decided that sometimes small children are like a sticky booger that you just can't flick off your finger! That's when you have to go into the bathroom to hide and wipe them off.

My little carpenters...

A couple of weeks ago, when I was trying to avoid my first week of homework....I had this brilliant idea to put the boys' bunk beds together. I thought we needed a lesson in sharing, so now we are sharing everything! The boys put on their carpenters belts and helped out. Here are a few photos. I have included one showing them tuckered out and actually asleep in them. Hope you dont' mind all the underwear, Eli is potty training and...well...this is just what we look like around the house!

Long time no post

I had a feeling it would go something like this. "Hey, I have this great idea, why don't I start a blog so we can keep everyone in the loop?" and then, "Oh yeah, why don't I add one more thing on my have to do list?????" Hence, the title, we may just be crazy!

I have very much enjoyed posting when I have the time. As you can see, I posted a lot during the winter break. I had lots of time to do stuff then. This grad-school stuff is for the birds! I figured out that credit wise I'm half way there. However, it will take me more months to finish the second half than it has the first half. God has not yet informed me where the extra 10 hours a week are going to come from for my clincals yet. I'm trying to be patient while I wait.

I'm taking "Scientific Inquiry for Nursing." It's all about research theory and frameworks for designing good nursing research and being able to detect bad research when you see it. It is interesting, but extremely complex. My brain feels like oatmeal after about 5 minutes. Pray this stuff lands on whatever sticky brain cells still exist in the cavernous hole where my brain should be!

We bring in the new year....

     This year we actually made it to midnight on New Year's Eve!! It has been a few years since we have been able to do this...something about the kids still waking up at the crack of dawn. We were invited to spend this New Year's Eve with some dear friends of ours, Roy and Hollie Swart.  Roy and Hollie have become some of our closest friends (of the heart, not actual distance since they have moved further away). We absolutely love them and anyone they enjoy spending time with. We had a very enjoyable evening of innovative games and fellowship. We laughed, we cried, we told lies...OK, you had to be there. So, one of the things I really enjoy about Roy and Hollie is they can take a room full of people who really don't know each other and have them spend hours making each other laugh and then reign everyone into a serious conversation. Roy asked everyone to comment on what they hoped the New Year would bring. Everyone had amazing things to say. 

    We stopped to think about some of the changes that 2008 will bring for us. We are constantly amazed about the changes our lives go through daily with two small children. We are hopeful to add two more beautiful girls to our family and anticipate whatever changes they will bring with them. 

     I commented on how I hope to better define the roles that the Lord has placed me in. I am first and foremost a mother, but I do work outside of the home. This presents many challenges, but also offers many rewards. I struggle with enjoying my work so much. I almost feel guilty about it, even though I know that I have not been given permission to stay home. The decision to go back to school pretty much solidifies the fact that I will be a career mom. I often wonder if I have enough love and time to give to two more children.  I truly believe the Lord has opened these doors for me so I need to have faith that He will give me everything I need to accomplish His plan. I look forward to the Lord working in my heart over the next year in these areas. 

    Jamie mentioned that it is not natural to him to be home with the children, but he thoroughly enjoys the time he has with his boys and considers it very precious. He mentioned that it is so important that his boys and his girls have a meaningful relationship with their father. His relationship with his boys is amazing and I expect no less from him with his girls. Although the being at home is not necessarily natural he does an amazing job. 

    We both work part time and we sacrifice some creature comforts for this. However, neither one of us would give up our time with the boys. We supremely believe this time when they are tiny is especially important for us to connect with them and meet their needs. We both find parenting toddlers difficult a lot of the time, but we reflect on the amazing things we gain. Our children force us to be humble daily. We gain laughter and hugs. We gain wisdom and patience. We see the world through children's eyes, if only for a minute at a time. For these things and so many more we are eternally grateful for God's precious gift of children. We look forward to the challenge and the love that our new girls will bring. Our prayer is that this will happen in 2008.