Charlee's First Day of Pre-School!

About a week and a half ago, Charlee started Pre-school! This was a big day because since last year, when Amelia started Pre-school, Charlee had been waiting and waiting for her turn ot go to school! She actually had to wait a couple of weeks because of a gas spill in the city of her school, so the start date was delayed quite a while. Finally the day came. She loves it! She loves her teachers and her classmates. I think there are only abut 10 students in the class, which is nice. They have been taking good care of her. It's a full day of school each day, so she comes home pretty exhausted. She doesn't want to talk about school right away when I pick her up, but later in the evening she tells me a few details. On her days off, she happily answers all my questions about school. I guess she doesn't like talking about it when she's tired! This week on Wednesday it was a little sad because she knew Amelia had a half day at school. Half way through the day, the teacher said Charlee cried and said, "I'm not supposed to be here. I need to go home because Amelia is home." Yesterday she cried a little at school too, because she wanted a half day. After talking about it with her, I think she's prepared to spend full days at school, every day. Next time Amelia has a half day, I won't be mentioning it to Charlee, haha. Here is is first day picture!

Cal seems a little bored without his sisters. He wanders around looking for them. He is always so happy to see them when they come home. He keeps shouting "Hi!" and waving all the way home :)

Amelia's First Day of School

Amelia turns 5 tomorrow!  This has been a very tough week for her.  She was so nervous (might even say anxious) about school before it began.  Because she was unable to express her emotions of worry in words, it came out in anger.  We had never seen some of the behaviors that she was exhibiting this week and we were really concerned.  It was so difficult for our whole family because I wasn't able to get her to talk to me about how she was feeling.  Josh had better luck talking it out with her and sometimes he would get a tidbit of information that helped us understand.  We knew her little heart was hurting and it was hurting us too, but we didn't know how to help her.  She wasn't sleeping because of her worries.  She had an abundance of sugar and junk food because of her early birthday celebrations.  Her routine was all out of wack because of the special birthday dates with family members.  It all took a toll on her.  And us!  

We prayed, prayed, prayed and prayed again.  I prayed over her while she slept, while she threw a fit, while she was awake and happy.  I prayed and read scripture over her.  Well, God answered.  I would have preferred He answer a little quicker, haha, but He definitely showed up in the situation.  The night before school, she miraculously slept great all night and she has since!  She told me she was a little nervous the first day.  We were expecting the worst when she came home yesterday but to our surprise she had such a good time, had a good attitude and told us all about it with a happy heart!  I am so thankful that God helped her heart when we couldn't reach it.  It's a helpless feeling to see something going wrong in your kid and not be able to fix it!  God did what he does best!  After all, He loves her, and all of us, even more than we do.  Amelia went off today for another fun day at school, and our house is peaceful once again!  Praise God!    

Charlee starts pre-school next week!  She met her teachers today and they seemed very nice and welcoming.  I think she will really enjoy it!  I will have to write back next week to talk about her first school experience! 

My Dad's Dad

 A couple of week's ago my Grandpa went home to Heaven.  He was 91 years old and as able as ever!  The morning of his heart attack he was out mowing.  Not too long ago, he was out on the roof fixing a leak. He regularly went to the farm to check on his cows or fix things around the farm.  I am so thankful that after his heart attack he was given a couple of more days in the hospital for my dad to make it down to be with him.  

His funeral was such a celebration!  It feels strange and wrong to "enjoy" a funeral, but it was so wonderful!  He led such an awesome life and the more I heard about him and his old stories, the more I was so proud of him.  He grew up during a very hard economic time, worked hard on a farm, got married at 16 (which I'm sure was also quite difficult, considering he was just a kid!), went off to war, worked night shifts, and rose up his family in the way of the Lord!  I never heard him complain.  Actually, I never heard him say a negative thing about anyone or anything!  That is quite amazing.  He didn't say much.  Maybe that was the key, haha.  Everyone listened in closely when he said something in his soft voice because it must be important.

My favorite part was when the soldier played Taps on the bugle.  So beautiful.  That's when I realized how proud I was of my Grandpa.  I am proud that he followed God.  I am so thankful that he taught my Dad how to love the Lord, which in turn my Dad passed down to me, and to my family.  What a perfect legacy.  It makes me think of the song called the Blessing,

"The Lord bless you, and keep you, make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.  The Lord turn His face toward you, and give you peace."

"May His favor, be upon you, for a thousand generations, and your family and their children, and their children, and their children...."

Very true and I am so thankful for my wonderful family.  Happy Father's day in heaven to Grandpa and to my Dad who carries on the legacy.  God has definitely blessed me in the family department.

Covid

 Today, I had a thought to contact my old friend and mom of the kids I used to tutor. I hadn't talked to her in a very long time.  When I texted her to ask how her and her family were doing, she told me that they were going through a very rough time because her mom had just died of covid!  My heart is so heavy for her...  I can't stop thinking about how sad she must be.  Her whole family does not know Jesus, and to think how empty and hopeless that must feel to loose your mom, not having assurance of seeing her again in heaven....

This whole conversation made me think about some things.  My whole family got covid at the end of January.  Though it was not a fun experience, I can't complain because it could have been a lot worse!  Josh had it the worst, with flu symptoms.  I just had cold symptoms.  The girls didn't really experience any symptoms, and Cal had a few symptoms but mostly struggled with sleep.  He screamed for about 4 nights straight and only slept maybe 2 hours.  My dad also got it but thank goodness he escaped with only a few symptoms, too.  My mom never got it, thank the Lord!  Hearing stories like my friend's makes me feel so very blessed that we came out of covid as well as we did.  What a blessing to all be healthy now and look back on it with relief.  God really protected us.

It also made me think about my extended family.  The reasons my friend has no hope in Jesus is because she grew up  with a different religious background.  I am so thankful for my parents and grandparents and great grand parents who carried on the legacy of Christianity to me and now my own kids.  I am so thankful to have a family who has always believed in Jesus.  Yes, death is a very sad thing, but it's also a celebration and we have hope that that loved one is in heaven.  It would be a very dark thought to have no idea where your loved one went, and then to think that you don't know where you will end up.  Thank the Lord for creating a way for us to go to heaven with Him.  I will continue to pray that my friend's family will come to know Jesus.

I love being a mom.  I love my parents.  I love my grandparents.  I love the long line of Christians who have helped me now be able to teach my kids about Jesus.  Amelia asks many people, "Do you know Jesus?  Are you going to go to Heaven?"  Though it's a little embarrassing, I am proud of her for talking about Jesus with others.

Remember today to count your blessings!

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas to all!  What an interesting year we've had!  We've had a global pandemic, a new birth of our son, Josh working from home, family deaths, and even now at the end of the year, we're still trying to navigate how and when to see family in a safe way.  It's a difficult time for sure, but it's also a special time of Christmas (and most of the rest of the year) where our family has had a lot more family time together than we would have imagined.  What a blessing in disguise.  

Josh is still working from home every day until an undetermined date.  Amelia (and Charlee by default) is still watching preschool on a zoom call.  Because of Charlee's ability to listen in and even participate, she is learning letters, sounds, shapes, patterns, and doing arts and crafts just like Amelia!  Cal is SOOO close to crawling.  He takes about 1 crawl step and then face plants to scoot forward.  Won't be long until he's mobile now!  He also yells "Mama" and sweetly says, "Dada."  He's definitely testing his volume.  Trying to keep him quiet while Josh is teaching is interesting, haha.

We are trying to teach the real meaning of Christmas to the girls.  They ask questions and seem interested when we tell about the birth of Jesus.  Amelia asks a lot of spiritual questions lately.  She asks to be baptized sometimes. Then when Josh asked her how Jesus took away her sin, she replied, "with his magic fingers!"  Hahaha! Clearly she's not ready yet 😄.  We will keep discussing.

Amelia turned 4 years old!

Happy Halloween!

Amelia's favorite past time is "babysitting".  She prayed that God would make him stay a baby forever!

Charlee turned 3!

They do all kinds of silly things to Cal.  He really enjoys it :)

Hope everyone is staying healthy!  Hope to see you all soon!

A Home in Heaven

     Last month, my sweet Grandaddy went to be with Jesus.  He broke his hip the week before and never fully recovered from the anesthesia and surgery.  He was one month away from 90!  I don't think about death very much.  I honestly don't think about Heaven very much either.  I wonder what it was like when Jesus welcomed him into heaven!?  What did Grandaddy say?  What did Jesus say?  Wow, that just is crazy to think about! His memorial service was so wonderful!  I knew most of the things spoken about him but to hear it all at one time, was very inspiring!  His life makes me want to be better.  One of the coolest things is that I don't remember anything negative come from his mouth.  He had a lot to complain about with diabetes and living in a nursing home.  Of course that wasn't his ideal, but he never complained and always kept a good attitude.  That's amazing!   He treated Grandmother so well.  They loved each other so sweetly.  He was gentle and kind.  The last few years they just sat together all day long just holding hands, sometimes watching tv, sometimes listening to Grandmother's hymns being played on the player.  

    Life and death are interesting things.  In the time of all of this death through the pandemic and now with Grandaddy's death, Caleb was born into this life.  He's so new and so fresh.   He doesn't know much about the world yet.  He's so sweet and innocent.  A blank canvas.  Thinking about Grandaddy's life just makes me hope that Cal is a man of God like that!  Grandaddy's life is complete here on Earth.  Caleb's is just beginning.  What will he see in his life time if he lives for 90 years!  God ordained Caleb's birth and knew when it would be Grandaddy's last day here on Earth.  God is good and he is in control.  

    

Hello World!

Caleb Andrews says "Hello World!"  Cal was born April 27th during the age of covid!  He is a healthy  (chubby) 2 month old!  Can't believe it's already been 2 months.  He is a great baby and is already sleeping through the night.  Even with all that's going on in the world with the pandemic, things went very smoothly at the hospital and we were home a couple days after!  Here are some pictures of our life since then.

During quarantine, Josh made the kids a playhouse!  The girls love it :)

Funnies:

-A little potty humor-  Charlee pooped a lot yesterday and said, "Mom!  I pooped a stick!" Haha

-Josh was working on putting up a curtain rod.  Charlee opened the directions and said, "Let's learn about tools."

-Charlee defends Amelia sometimes and says, "Hey, give that back to my sister!"

-One time Charlee was crying and Amelia said, "Charlee is having a rough day!"

-  One time I opened up Amelia's door to tell her it was time to come out from her nap and he was sleeping in the toy box!!

-I asked Amelia what size one of her shirts was and she said, "Whenever you're willing to wear it"  haha

-The girls were playing in the backyard and Charlee found her bike helmet.  I asked her why she was wearing it and she said, "I don't want to get germs on my head!"  A very coronavirus thing to say!

-The girls were playing in the room together and Charlee said, "I'll zap you into the lions den!"  I think she got that Bible verse a little confused.

-They were playing "restaurant" in the new playhouse and Charlee said, "Wait!  I have to go get my mask."  Oh boy...

That's it for now!  Everyone is up from their naps!  :)

A Word From Quarantine

Hello out there!  What a crazy situation we are all in right now!  Things in Michigan are pretty crazy but our family is still doing well.  Since the second week of March, the girls and I have been at home.  We stayed away from our normal activities even before the first covid19 case in Michigan because we knew all kinds of sickness was going around.  The next week, Josh's school (and the whole state's) school has been online at home until at least April 30.  We are expecting this week to get the call that he will not be going back to school this year!  So literally we have been in the house and outside taking walks and that's it.  Other than my OB doctor, I haven't seen anyone (except my parents one time 2 weeks ago).  It hasn't been too bad though.  I am really starting to miss people, but at least we can see them on video chats occasionally.  Some people are still going through drive throughs to get take out or going to the grocery store, but we have decided not to risk getting the virus anymore.  We will not be going out until the baby is born in about 3 weeks.

Three more weeks until baby time!  What a crazy time to have a baby!  So far, my doctor hasn't said there are any different restrictions except only 1 visitor in the delivery room (Josh).  We have heard that the nurses and doctors are all only working on the labor and delivery floor and not being pulled to work with any covid patients, to protect the new babies and moms.  Also, I heard yesterday that C-sections are the preferred method these days since it can be scheduled and the baby is born within 30 minutes, whereas a normal labor could last 24 hours or longer.  I'm sure they will want to get us in and out ASAP.  My C-section is scheduled for April 27.  Not long now!  After he is born, we will likely stay home for a long time to make sure all the coronavirus has passed before taking him out into public.  At least it will be warm then and we can get outside more.  Even though it's a bad situation, it has been a huge help to have Josh home with us these last few weeks.  I am tired and feel like an elephant tromping around, so he's helpful to pick up things off the floor or get down and play with the girls.   It will also be a huge blessing to have Josh home for weeks after the baby is born!  How lucky to have all this time off from work!

The girls are doing well!  They are playing together more than ever, since we don't get out anymore to do activities.  They are being creative and learning to share and get along, even when they are feeling cooped up.  Overall, they've done really great.  They do ask occasionally why we can't go back to the gym, the library, church, etc...but they know that many, many people are sick and that we want to stay home to stay protected.  They pray every day that God will keep us safe from the sickness.  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to:

This was Amelia's Daddy Daughter Dance (before all the quarantining)

Jumanji has been getting a lot of love

Stocking up on some staples before being quarantined

A joke, but I really did wear a mask, and gloves to the doctor's office!

We take 2 walks every day!  Sprinkles or shine.  Gotta get out of the house!

Josh got creative with a marble and some toilet paper rolls!

Charlee is ready for church worship!  They stand on the stools and pretend they're on stage singing.

Well, that's all for now!  We'll probably have a baby the next time I post!  That will make for an interesting post.  I will be part of history, having a baby in a pandemic!  😯

Little Boy Coming!

Happy New Year!  Our new baby will be a boy, set to arrive April 27th!  The girls were a little unsure about a boy at first but now they are super excited!  We have the room set up, and someone from church donated all of their baby clothes so now we have a whole wardrobe of baby boy clothes!  What a blessing!!  Here are a few pictures from the last month or so...

The city Christmas Festival.  This was the girls' first time to sit on Santa's lap.  Amelia told him that she wanted a garbage truck for Christmas, haha.  We got her one!  Later she asked, "Who was that man and why was he wearing a red, furry costume?"  :)  On Christmas Eve she asked if he'd be coming in his car, haha!

One night while I was out at a church meeting, Josh had a movie night, "Frozen" with the girls.  They sat through almost the whole thing, singing, "Let it go..."

Christmas morning

A visit to Grandmother and Grandaddy's "house"

We had some free coupons for kid's drinks at the coffee shop and it turned out to be the best part of Christmas vacation!  The girls have never had a fancy drink before (milk with strawberry flavoring, whipped cream and sprinkles) and they were ecstatic.  They kept saying, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness."   I think we need to get out more :)

Her excitement with her Magic milk drink!

This month's funnies:

-The girls were outside playing in the sand on one of the warm days and I heard them out there cooking up some pretend pizza.  Amelia went to go eat it, when Charlee said, "Pray!"  Amelia thanked God for their sand pizza and they proceeded to pretend eat.

- Grammy (Josh's Grandma) was in the hospital and the girls sent Josh with one of their stuffed bears.  They thought she might need it to sleep in the hospital.

-Charlee tells everyone that she loves them, multiple times throughout the day.  My favorite is before bed when she whispers, "I wub you."

-Amelia was having a very difficult time falling asleep one night.  So much so that she was still awake and looking out the window by the time we turned off the Christmas lights outside to head to bed.  The second we switched off the Christmas lights she started wailing very overtiredly.  When I asked her what happened, she said, "I'm so disappointed that the Christmas lights turned off!!"

-Amelia and Charlotte often watch me cook dinner on their stools in the kitchen.  One day Amelia said, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be a mom cooker like you."

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Though it was a freezing, wet, and even snowy night, the girls still had a great time trick-or-treating!  Sadly, most people weren't passing out candy or participating but we still found a few houses!  They dressed as scarecrows :)

 

The day before, Josh decided to carve a pumpkin with the girls while I was at music practice for church.  This picture is before the huge mess.  The carved it together and the girls touched the pumpkin guts and were thoroughly grossed out.  Then he told them that they could cook and eat the seeds of a pumpkin.  Amelia sorted all the seeds and put them in a bowl of water.  While Josh was trying to wipe off Charlee, the whole bowl of seeds and water dumped all over the table and floor.  In the mean time, Amelia had asked to go to the bathroom but he told her to stay on the chair until he could wipe off hands.  Just after he'd cleaned up all the water off the table and floor, she waited to long and had an accident all over the chair and floor!  Yikes!  What a mess!😦  I laughed when I heard all of the evening's events but I'm sure it was not too funny at the time!  Josh said, "I don't think I'll be carving any more pumpkins without you anymore." Haha

BY THE WAY...We're having another baby!!  The new baby will be here around the 1st of May!  Amelia and Charlotte are super excited, although they don't really have any idea what's going on.  Amelia asked, "Did you buy the baby at Walmart?"😄  I'd been pretty sick the first trimester but feeling much better now!

A few kid funnies from the last couple of months:

-The kids were "swimming" in our kiddie pool in August and then all of the sudden Amelia face planted in the pool.  After blinking away the water and surprise, she said, "Mom, did you see my trick??"

-Amelia tried Skittles for the first time yesterday.  Today, she said, "Mom, can I eat some more mosquitoes today?"

-Amelia calls the weed wacker a mow wacker.

-After Charlee moved to her big girl bed, one time I checked on her and she wasn't in her room.  She was "sleep standing" next to Amelia's bed!

-Amelia was pretending to read her Bible and she told Charlee, "Quiet Charlee, God is speaking to me."

-Amelia sneezed.  Charlee said, "Bless you."  Amelia said, "Man, I got the bless yous again!"

It's so good to be home!

Oh, it's so good to be home!  A couple of weeks ago we went on a vacation to Tennessee.  There were many fun activities and times but we sure were glad to be home.  We started out the trip with a visit to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house in Kentucky.  We all really enjoyed the visit because it had been quite a while since we'd been down there.  Then we headed down to Tennessee, which was only another 5 hours or so.  Thankfully no one got car sick, even though we were going up and down the small mountain roads with hair pin turns.

In Tennessee, the girls go to catch fish, build sand castles at a lake, swim in the pool, ride a horse and other fun things.  Unfortunately both of them (an eventually me) got sick and were pretty much miserable a lot of the time. :(  They both had a fever, sore throat and were in pain, which caused them to be all out of whack and whiney.  That, in addition to be completely off our normal routine (toddlers aren't real flexible) caused some stress for  everyone ;)  But we were grateful that my mother in law let us stay with them in a condo that was really nice.

On the way back, we decided to come back straight through in one day in order to get home faster.  We visited with grandmother and granddaddy one more time in Kentucky.  The trip back took 13 or 14 hours!  Also, not very fun with toddlers.  I think we decided to stick a little closer to home while the kids are young, haha!

On the home front, Josh built us a fence!  It took a ton of work and a long time, but it looks great!  In the process though, he busted his head open and ended up getting stiches in the ER :(  Thankfully it wasn't too bad.  Could have been way worse!

Now that we're back from vacation we are enjoying normal life and being outside a lot in the summer!