sick times

I have just been trying to make it through for a few days. I have been sick with a flu/cold and so has Jaden. We don't do much and watch a lot of tv. I just try and get by with as little as possible. Food, bathroom breaks, snacks, naps and lots of tv and lots of messes of toys that will wait to get picked up until we all feel better. I am just hoping now that Bryan and Clay don't get sick. I thought Jaden was better Monday morning and took him to preschool but he wasn't and then came down with a fever in the afternoon. Hopefully the other kids don't get sick but I am sure some will. We went to an awesome church in Edina, MN on Sunday and go to hangout with my brother, Kirk, and his family, very-pregnant Chrystine and Kira. The church is called Upper Room Community. I am not sure if we will live in Edina but if we do, we will definitely visit this church again. You can see their website at www.upperroomcommunity.org

crazy week

It was so nice to have my sister, Roxanne, and her family here in Rochester, MN. It has been 2 years since I have seen them and I got to meet my new nephew, Gregory, who is 8 1/2 months old. They also got to meet my son, Clay, who is 19 months old. It was also nice to hangout with my parents and brother, Kirk, and his family. I had a lot of fun throwing a little shower for my sister-in-law, Chrystine, who is pregnant with another baby girl. I didn't get much sleep and Clay was sick and probably gave everybody colds but it is always nice to share things with family, ha ha.

The week ended on a sad note when we heard about Bryan's great grandmother Edna Neuharth passing away. We quickly made arrangements to go to Huron and Wolsey, South Dakota to be with family. It was so nice that Bryan was able to get time off from work. I think that funerals make people reflective about life and what we want to leave behind. I was reminded that I want to leave a legacy. I want to make sure that I impact people positively and leave behind the love of Christ but also know that I helped make a difference in people's lives.

Here is a picture of Edna Neuharth, 94 years old at her death. This was the last time we saw her when Jaden was 8 months old. Jaden actually got to meet his great great grandmother. She also had 4 other great great grandchildren. She had a life well-lived and is living much better in heaven now because of her faith in Jesus.

phone interview

I had my first interview for an aerospace engineering job as a mom. It was a phone interview with Boeing in El Segundo, CA. It sounds like a great job and the guy told me at the end of the interview that he wants to bring me out there for a 'real' interview. We are not sure what to think of all of this. Our plan is still to find something in Minneapolis but my leads are not looking promising there. Of course there are always more leads to follow. Bryan is still negotiating his contract with Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, MN so things are not official yet. We'll keep you posted.

I don't have great certainty about where God wants us to be. Bryan and I both really felt like we are not supposed to go back to Washington DC right now so the next logical choice is to move closer to family in Minneapolis. I have a brother and his family in that area. That would also put us closer to all of our family in North Dakota. We are just going with Minneapolis because we haven't heard (that still, small voice inside) about another location from God.

thankful

I am so thankful for my 2 boys. They can be so sweet at times and I love it. I love them even more when I see other people's kids acting up and can appreciate that my kids are not acting up at that moment. They definitely have their moments but Jaden has never been a big tantrum thrower. I really appreciate that. I don't think I can take credit for that but somehow he doesn't throw tantrums. He definitely gets ticked sometimes but he has never been uncontrollable. I really hope that Clay doesn't get uncontrollable down the road. I am willing to finally admit that Clay is more opinionated than Jaden. Bryan has been saying that for months but I have been denying it. Today Clay got up from his nap and said 'na na' for banana. He usually gets a snack soon after waking up from his nap but it is usually something I choose or I give him a choice of two things. But today he had his own opinion that he really wanted a banana and it was completely unprompted. I don't even know how he knew we had bananas. We weren't looking in the pantry (where the bananas are) and the pantry door was closed. He really does have his own opinion and I hope that doesn't translate into uncontrollable tantrums. Right now I am thankful for not dealing with tantrums.

feel the love

I was reminded last night of how great my family and friends are. When I was cleaning out a closet downstairs, I discovered that I had saved cards that I received during a really bad 10 week period of constant migraine pain (fall 2002). My family and close friends wrote such encouraging and thoughtful words and prayers to me. It made me tear up just thinking back to that time and the support they offered. I still have a handful of cards and a magic wand from a friend that I received "to take away the pain." It made me laugh then and makes me smile now just thinking about it. I also remember friends bringing us food and groceries and the many caring phone calls and emails. I am so glad that God got me through that and Bryan is too. I really hope I never have to go through that again.

happy birthday to me

It's my birthday today and I am 29 for the first time or 29 forever, ha ha. It has been one of my best birthdays ever and maybe the best. Today started off with my husband letting me sleep in. I eventually got up and ready for the day and then headed off to pick-up my birthday cake and go and scrapbook with some friends for the afternoon. I ordered my own birthday cake because I made sure that I got what I wanted and because I had an awesome coupon to use. I love good coupons. I ordered an 8 inch round chocolate carrot cake with toffee cream cheese frosting from a local bakery, Daube's. I am not a big cake lover and usually prefer ice cream but this cake is just melt-in-your-mouth, dream-about-good. I also had friends to share it with so that made me want to get it even more. So, I went to pick up the cake and they misspelled my name, 'Raqel' so I pointed it out to them. They made sure it was their error and there was no one to correct it. So instead they gave me a $15 gift certificate which I will gladly use. Originally the cake was $32, which I consider a decent price and I had a half off coupon which made it an awesome price at $16. If I could have applied the gift certificate the cake would have only cost me $1 so essentially I got the cake free. And they felt so bad they didn't charge me for my curry split pea soup which I had for lunch. It was also delicious. I shared my cake with all my friends at my local scrapbook store and they loved it just like I do. I had a great 4 1/2 hours away from my kids and got some great scrapbooking done on Clay baby album that I am making. Then I came home to open great presents from my family. I got reusable grocery bags (which I asked for) and 2 boxes to be used for date night items that my husband did a wonderful job decorating and filling. We (all 4 of us) then went out to dinner at Panera. I love their food and they have great soup that is easy on my sore mouth. Now I get to watch a romantic comedy movie with my too great husband. This has been a great day. Look at this cake...just makes my mouth water.

speaking engagement completed

I spoke this morning for about 35 minutes at my medical wives Bible study, Side By Side. It was quite a challenge for me and it sure feels good to have it over with. It was definitely a challenge that I wanted. I am really ready for a nap. I think the talk went really well. I am not sure what God has in store for me in the future regarding public speaking but I think He is up to something. I do get nervous when speaking in public but I think God has given me a gift to not be afraid of doing it, but instead allowing Him to give me words to say. God came through for me yet again. I really didn't know what I would talk about when I started preparing for this last fall but He made it so clear what He wanted me to say. It is always nice to receive lots of complements when you put a lot of work into something but the complements today really were because of what God is doing in my life, not me. I would be happy to share what I spoke about today with you but I am not going to post it on the internet because it got pretty personal. Email me if you are interested in reading the word document.

The boys are almost asleep and I should be too.

comedy of errors

So, this is the story of how one mom (me) laughed out loud for 15 minutes watching kids fall down.

She stood looking out the window watching kids sled down a hill at the Montessori school behind her house. He two small boys had noticed the kids outside and there was something to watch. First one sled slid to the bottom of the long hill and then another and then another. Multiple kids were without sleds to share. The kids had previously been sledding down a small hill perpendicular to the long hill so that they didn't have as far to walk and couldn't lose their sleds down the long hill, about 100 yards.

The wind was really blowing and it blew the kids' sleds away from them. It blew the kids down too. The snow was so slippery that the kids could hardly walk on it. If they tried to run, they fell down. Over and over again one kid fell down after another. They kept getting up. Finally 6 little boys were chasing the 3 runaway sleds. The teacher stood at the top of the hill with the other kids, with the girls close by watching the whole event. Finally the boys got to one sled and they started heading back up the hill.

After hearing yells from the teacher the boys notice another sled beside them. They run over to get it and now the 6 boys head up the hill with 2 sleds. Oh, but look there is still another sled down there. Here comes the girl in purple to rescue the boys and point them in the right direction.

This is where the pictures started. The busy, distacted mom had to capture this funny event to share with the world. Now the 6 boys and 1 girl head up the hill with all missing sleds in tow. (Below is the view out the window from the deck.) The girl got the 3rd missing sled.
Here they are heading up the long hill.
Oh no! We dropped the sled again!
More kids falling down.
Two boys go down to rescue the sled again while carrying one sled with them.
Finally, the teacher comes to the rescue because one boy is at the bottom of the hill alone with one sled that seems too heavy to carry up.
One boy by himself at the bottom of the hill.
The teacher and the last boy carry the last lost sled up the hill together.
Careful kids! You might lose your sled down the hill again!

Ok, I have officially wasted 15 minutes posting this but it was worth it! This brought one tired and cranky mom some much needed laughs today! I know the pictures aren't great but maybe you will get a little laugh out of it too.

wisdom teeth are out

I hope I didn't lose any wisdom with my wisdom teeth. I really didn't have that much to lose. My surgery went well but I had to take some pictures of my pathetic self yesterday while I was at home alone. Bryan was on call overnight at the hospital and a neighbor watched the boys so I had some recovery to myself. It was nice and I am sure I will recover much quicker because of it. The swelling is pretty much gone now. Thanks for your prayers.

christmas memories

I never thought I would tell my son, Jaden, the Christmas story of Jesus' birth more times than I can count. I can easily retell it using words and phrases and describe images that he can understand. I didn't realize that this would be a challenge the first time I tried to describe what Christmas is about and why we have a tree and give presents. It is great that I have had the chance to tell him about Mary and Joseph and how baby Jesus came into this world so many times. It has truly refocused me during the holiday season, which can be quite crazy at times.

We had a great week with family in Jamestown and Fargo, ND. My greatest memories will continue to be the 2 concerts that Jaden and I put on for all of the grandparents and aunts and uncles. I am not a great singer but Jaden thinks I am so I do my best for him. We had such a great time singing Christmas songs for family. Here are some of the songs we sang.

Away in a Manger (Jaden is very good at the actions and Clay tries to do some too)
Jingle Bells
Joy to the World
Angel Band
10 Little Reindeer
Oh Come All Ye Faithful (Jaden and Clay's favorite)
Silent Night
Happy Birthday Jesus

Jaden loves to sing and I love to encourage him. It is so great to hear him sing at the top of his lungs without any inhibition.

It is too bad we didn't get a picture of either of our concerts so you will just have to imagine it. A video would have been nice too. I am looking forward to a concert next year with both of my boys.

Just a note. I am not looking forward to tomorrow when I have my wisdom teeth taken out. You can be praying for in the afternoon. My appointment is at 1:50pm. It isn't the greatest timing because Bryan is working all day and night. So, I have someone to be with me and drive me and someone to take care of the kids. All this planning just to save us about $500 because our medical insurance changes on the first of the year. Yep, we just squeezed it in on 12/31/07. What a great last memory of the year! This will be a New Year's Eve to forget! All of this is also happening in the same week that I am supposed to speak at my Bible Study on Friday to about 100 women. So, you can also pray for no complications from getting my wisdom teeth taken out so that I am healthy to speak Friday. Thanks for your prayers.

santa

We are having lots of fun in Jamestown, North Dakota with my parents. Today we are spending a little time on the computer tracking Santa all over the world through NORAD and AGI. I am not that big into celebrating Santa but if I can expose my kids to anything satellite and space related, I will. It is so exciting to see the kids reaction to the satellites tracking Santa.

You can track Santa too at http://noradsanta.org

snow

So, here are some pictures from playing in the snow. I probably won't get to posting them all on my picasa page until after Christmas so here is a taste for my family.

The first 4 pictures are from our time "freezing in the snow" when it was below zero. The next 2 pictures are from "playing in the snow with dad."

happiness

I am officially done Christmas shopping. Well, at least until I figure out that I forgot someone or something. I hope I am really done. I got an early start this year in the beginning of November thanks to a great day of shopping with my sister-in-law, Chrystine. I don't love to shop, in fact I sometimes dread it it, but she made it enjoyable. Thanks, Chrystine.

I have been on a happy-kick for the last couple of days because God answered a prayer of mine. I have been praying that God would compel some company, any aerospace company, to contact me for good or bad. I have applied for about 40 jobs, probably 25 in the Minneapolis area and dream jobs elsewhere and haven't heard anything back from any of the companies except the generic receipt of application or resume. Until 2 days ago!!! I got an email from Boeing Astrodynamics saying that they want to phone interview me in January. That just made my day and I am still happy because of it. Granted the interview is most likely related to a job in southern California which I will probably not take right now but it is promising and the guy will hopefully have a contact at Boeing in Minneapolis. God, thanks for answering my prayer. That is great motivation to keep going on the job search process.

happy pill

I am praying to Jesus for a happy pill today. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and haven't gotten enough sleep for awhile. I need God to change my mood and attitude today. I sent the kids downstairs to get a break. I had enough screaming and yelling from them and me. They are happily guarded by a gate and entertained by PBS and all of their toys. Now there is no screaming or yelling. God, please rejuvenate me.

I have way too many things to do this week because we are going out of town on Friday for a week to celebrate Christmas with family in North Dakota. We are all looking forward to it but it is a lot of work to get there. I have Christmas cards to send out and Christmas presents to wrap and Christmas cookies to make. But I still remember that Christmas is really about Christ. I love reading Christmas books to my kids because it helps refocus me. Thank you, Christ, for coming into this world to experience everything we are going through. Thanks for not leaving us alone.

I think it is so funny that my first posted picture is of Taco John's, my husband's favorite restaurant and not mine. Once he found out that I went there without him, he said that he wished he had known that I was Taco John's deprived and he would have taken me there. He said, "Wow, I guess that means we haven't been there for awhile." I said, "It was just the most convenient fast food at the time."

Hopefully more posted pictures will come soon before the week is over.