Spring is here

Well, that is according to the calendar.  Our Northern Minnesota weather doesn't quite show us that the Spring is here and as a gift to celebrate the first week of Spring we are expecting a big snow storm tonight.  I really hope we don't get dumped on because the snow finally started to melt somewhat.

Anyway, here are our Spring paintings (borrowed from a different blog) and some things that we've been doing since we can't get outside as much as we would all like.  The kids are going totally stir crazy because they are cooped up inside so much and they just want to be able to play outside.  So we really hope this transition will go fast and our Spring will be here soon.

St. Patrick's Day hand print crafts

A blooming tree (another thumb print painting)

hyacinth

their new way of eating anything I let them - with the kid friendly chop sticks

having fun eating gold fish

Our new game to practice fine motor skills - it is pretty hard because the tweezers are very flimsy.  You can turn it on and the whole thing turns and shakes but the girls can't quite grab the little pieces then. 

40 Day Kids' Devotions

I was surfing blogs a while ago and came across this great devotional time for our family.  It is called a "Journey Through the Holy Days" and here is the link to see the details:
 http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/2011/03/journey-through-holy-days.html

I improvise a lot of it and don't quite do the little activities it mentions for each day, but I started using it as our devotional time before bed.  I've been looking for something like this that we could do over the stretch from the Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday so I was excited when I found this because it's perfect for that.  I also want it to be a challenge for me to follow because we have been so irregular with our kids' devotional times.  I'd love to say we're all on top of it and never miss it, but sadly that's not true.  Our evenings during the week go by so quick and a big part of it is that 3 nights out of 5 we have church and school activities and don't get home until right before bed.  It is even hard for me to make a decent dinner on those nights, unless it's in the crockpot or leftovers or something I've had in the freezer. But that is just an excuse and I know it.  Our kids won't miss the extra 15 minutes of sleep it takes to do a short devotional.  It is a bit hard to do this one with our youngest Kason because if the story doesn't have pictures and the text includes longer passages from the Bible he's out of there.  I try to bring him into our conversation about what we just read and I think he enjoys that more than anything.  At least now he knows who John the Babtist is as we talked so much about him. :)  Mostly I pick up an illustrated childrens Bible and we start out with a couple short stories from that for Kason.  Sometimes I can find the ones that directly relate to our passage, like the one about John the baptist and Kason and Anika love seeing a picture of people we read about. 

Here is an easy craft I made and each day after the devotions we put a "flower" on the tree to see what we just learned about Jesus.  Kids get really excited when it's their turn to put a flower on the tree.  It is such a neat thing that I think I may have to do this tradition with our children every year.  More than that though I am hoping our family devotion time will become a habit after this 40 day journey.

I might have to take some flowers off before we're done because I don't think we
can fit 40 on here, or else I make another tree.

I just realized that our 40 day count down to Easter Sunday is actually a count down to the day I leave for Slovakia with Anika.  It has nothing to do with Easter but we're both getting really excited.  I try hard not to talk much about it in front of Kade and Kason because Kason thinks he's coming with then and Kade gets pretty sad.  Next time I get to go I hope to take all of them with, but it won't be until they're all in school.  That is another reason why I feel like this 40 day journey is good especially for Kade because I hope it brings his focus on Jesus and what he did before he died on the cross instead of thinking sad because he knows that when it's Easter I'll be leaving to Slovakia.

   

   

The Marriage You Always Wanted

What is the marriage you always wanted?  Is it what you have?  Quite honestly, I am hesitant to even write about this because I am not sure how many people are reading this, but it's just been on my heart and something I know someone else can relate to.

Recently I talked to a friend who's going through a difficult time in their marriage and it made me think of how few people really share their difficulty in marriage, especially at church.  It's like a taboo thing to talk about because, after all, we are supposed to have it all together and stay together till death do us apart.  But as the world around us is getting further away from the God's design of marriage, a lot of Christian couples are getting divorced.  And I believe the main reason, the number one reason is that they didn't trust anyone to talk about their problems.  They couldn't share about their hard times until it was way too late and one or both of them have given up.  It saddens me to see it happening and to see so many people giving up so soon and so many people not being approachable enough about their friends' problems (including me).

I have to make a confession.  In case you didn't know, my marriage is not perfect. :)  In fact, it is the very opposite of it at times.  Ehren and I had a pretty rocky start to our life together and just combining two totally different worlds and cultures it surely hasn't been a walk through a garden of roses.  Somehow though, we pulled through every obstacle in our way, even though we really haven't had any major crises happen to us like you hear about every day.  Yet, a marriage doesn't need a big health crises or a loss of someone or something to fall apart.  It's all around us and so many people just ignore their marriage is going the wrong direction.  Ehren and I couldn't ignore it last year.  Something pretty bad happened between us and that was it.  A lot of hurt and past ignorances came alive and we had a choice.  We were either going to work it out or grow very far apart.  Working it out just between him and I didn't work though.  We kept talking about all the important issues but we were both full of hurt and every time just ended up crying.  That is when we finally went to talk to a counselor and I was very thankful Ehren agreed to come with me.  It was very hard at first but after just a few months our marriage made a huge turn.  We have been going through a book called "the marriage you always wanted" and even though it's an older book it really helped us look at what matters most in marriage.  It is so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're in the midst of the darkness but what you get when you get out is so beautiful and lovely.  Kind of like the saying "you can't have a rainbow without getting rained on first."  The rainbow of marriage that comes after the rain must be my favorite part of life and every time I can't help but be in awe of God and how perfectly he designed us as men and women to share our life with.

I really think we are at a stage right now that is so critical and so exhausting and difficult as far as the season of marriage goes.  Having small children, figuring out how to raise them right, how to lead them to God, how to keep our own friendships from slipping away, how to stay connected with our spouse, how to find time for each other during the busy week, how to manage our finances and make the right health and financial choices - it's just too much sometimes.  I know there are so many tired moms out there right now who feel like they can't do any more in a day and then by the time their husbands come home from work they're supposed to be all lovey dovey to them.  And the husbands have so much responsibilities all day, at home, at work, at church and yet when they get home they are just being ordered around.  But, if we are intentional in our marriages just like in everything else we do, we stay connected and close and more in love than when we got married.  It is very nice to talk the talk but to actually walk it every single day, even during that time of the month, or during those overly stress-filled days, is something else.  I shamefully fall way too often, but at the same time I am so thankful to have a husband who reaches out his hand and pulls me up.  It is a never ending journey but I know that giving our kids at least a glimpse of  what a Godly marriage is like, it is so worth it.  I've been also thinking recently about the part that this is a critical time for our marriage in terms of focusing on each other in the midst of taking care of our children.  It is so easy for couples to revolve their lives around the kids as they're growing up, their activities and their friends, that our relationship with spouses gets pushed back until one day (which is not that far away) the kids go off to college and we are left alone without much in common.  I don't want to be one of those couples who's trying to pick up the broken pieces after years of neglect and ignorance.  I want my husband to come before the kids, before the business of life, before the cleaning, cooking, laundry, errands running, etc.    

Next weekend Ehren and I are going to a marriage conference called a "weekend to remember," from Family Life Today.  I kind of pushed for signing up for it while we were still on a bumpy side because I thought it could bring us even closer together.  Now I am so excited and it's funny because the closer it gets the less I am excited about the conference and the more I am excited about a whole weekend alone with Ehren.  It's been so long since we did that and just the thought of a drive to the cities with no kids in the back seat is making me smile.  We both know it is very important for our marriage to get away once in a while even though we can't do longer trips yet.  We trade babysitting with friends and that way we both can go on a long date once a month.  That helps a lot when you're on a budget but no matter what, spending time alone together is essential for marriage to grow and flourish.  I pray that we never lose that, that we can grow old together and be more in love than ever and that we get to see our children one day grow in their Godly marriages.

So I hope and pray that your marriage is all you want it to be right where you are.  And if it isn't, know that you are not alone and it's never late for it to be all you imagined it to be when you said your "I Do" - and much much more.    

a City Girl In Not So Much a City

There have been a few occasions in my life where I have learned that you can never say NEVER, but there is one that I won't forget.  When Ehren and I got married and we started our life in the suburbs of the cities (Minneapolis), I pretty much proclaimed to him that I never want to live in Thief River Falls.  Well, that "never" took about 6 years and Ehren's job took us right here to a small town way up north.  It was very much a mutual decision too and despite everything I know God lead us here.

Even though it's been years since I lived in the heart of a city in Slovakia, I still am very much a city girl at heart and I think I always will be.  I love being able to walk to just about anything you can think of, have endless possibilities and choices to do with the kids, and just the culture you get with it.  So I know most people are thinking why in the world do you live where you live then.  There are many days I ask the same question, and some days (usually while pms-ing) the tears accompany those thoughts. :)  It's been almost 5 years now since we moved up here and just writing it I can't believe it because honestly, I am still very much adjusting to our life here.  Cold, no - I mean Freezing and looong winters is just one thing.  A tiny town with not many choices for shopping, entertaining or activities for kids is another thing.  But people is what is the hardest of all.  Most people who grew up here are very different than the city people I know.  Of course, you get the Minnesota nice everywhere you go, where people smile at you and ask how you are when they meet you (by the way, they are ALWAYS doing great when you ask) but really, I even have a hard time knowing whether my friendship means anything to most of them mainly because so many of them keep to themselves so much.  The longer I live here, though, the more I start to understand that I have to just accept them the way they are and find those few people that, like me, have moved up here from a city (or those handful of exceptions to the rule) and feel isolated like me.  I hate when people form clicks mainly because I've been excluded too many times out of them, but somehow I feel like the only hope for me to have great, close friendships is to find "my kind" of girls. :)  I finally found a few and they are such a blessing to my life, just knowing they're here and knowing they can relate to what I'm going through means a world to me.

On the contrary, I don't mean to say that living in the country is bad or that it has no value and that all the people living here are a bunch of rednecks.  People are just different but I think a big part of it is what you do with your life right where you are, where God put you.  Are you willing to step out of the comfort zone and reach out to that person that may turn into your best friend?  I am very thankful for being able to stay home with our kids here, to not have to worry about the dangers of a big city, and especially I am thankful for no traffic on the way to and home from work.  I'm also thankful we don't have too many shopping choices since it makes me spend a lot less and at the same time am so thankful for Amazon's free shipping because if I need to buy something I usually find it online.

So, small town or not, this is where I live.  This is where my children are growing up and I just hope I can live in a way that they grow up to appreciate all there is to this life, especially the culture I come from.  And in the end, I hope I can say I used the "talents" God gave me instead of burying them in the ground because I didn't get to live in that greener pasture.



 

Preschool Learning

It's been a while since we did some intentional learning so this morning we kept pretty busy.  Our Anika has a hard time with counting and patterns so I focused mostly on those.  Letter sounds and rhyming comes pretty easy to her, but we can always practice some basic writing and fine motor skills.  I am so not a crafty person even though I like to paint so unless a kids' craft is really simple and doesn't involve a million different craft supplies I won't do it.  But I like doing things like this (see pictures below) with the kids that teach them colors, shapes, math, letters and so on.  It is simple and they're learning so much.  The girls also love playing with play dough and paint so we do that almost every day.  Puzzles are becoming their favorite game too so we pulled those out.  Kason wants to keep up with the girls so bad but he can't quite do the harder puzzles and gets pretty frustrated.  I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot more of the inside games and learning for a while because the weather doesn't seem to be getting any warmer.

It's really nice to browse through some creative blogs and get simple ideas I can do at home.  Well, that's if everyone cooperates and we stay on schedule. :)  My 2 babies usually take good morning naps so I have to rush to get things done before their nap and then I have about an hour I can devote to the 3 little preschoolers.  We can still do puzzles, legos and blocks after the babies are up.  Then as it gets closer to lunch it is my crazy time of the day, trying to make lunch, feed everyone and get the 4 of them ready for naps.  I usually have a good chunk in the afternoon for me and for Ani and that's when I can do preschool curriculum books with her.  I take it very casually this year because she still has a whole next year of preschool and is almost getting to be ready for kindergarten now so I don't want to push her too hard.  She loves the idea of school and having "projects" to work on so I know she is going to love preschool next year.  After the kids wake up from the naps, it gets a bit crazy again because the 2 second graders come home from school and want to play wild.  I don't blame them, they're just boys but it's just not a good time for me to try to teach any preschool stuff.  So that about sums up my typical day during the week although some are better than others.  The best week is if nobody is sick, there are no runny noses and crabby babies.  Here are some pictures of our activities today.  It was a very fun morning for them and I love seeing them all excited about an activity we're going to do together.           

 Sorting bugs by colors and numbers

 Ani proud of her counting and grabbing

 Bug sorting - bugs in the pink bowl are actually purple even though they look blue here.  It was the closest color to the bowl.

 Emily's turn

 finding all different types of bugs for each color

 counting how many kinds of bugs

patterns

 practicing some letters

It is funny that they are both left handed.  Very awkward for me to try to teach them how to correctly hold pencils and especially scissors

 and some more with home made play dough

 time for puzzles

 all done

 Aveah and Carson (9 & 8 months old) while we worked on puzzles

 Kason clapping with Aveah

Spring

Spring - so close, yet so far away.  In a way, it reminds me of the last month of pregnancy with how much we (living up North) anticipate it.  I think my main reason for this post is to somehow bring on the Spring to this cold place on Earth, if not in reality than at least in my head. :)  I even changed the blog so it would remind me of the beautiful Spring to come.  Everyone here knows that we have WAYS to go until our snow starts to melt and yet, I am already dreaming of the coming Spring.  The only indicator to it is that we are getting more sun light in a day.  We've had some beautiful sun shiny days lately, but unfortunately it's been way below freezing and windy so almost too hard to be outside.

Somehow, this time of the year is when my body is starting to wake up from the forever long winter.  I want to clean and reorganize the whole house, do big Spring cleaning, I start to exercise more regularly and think of the races I could do, and I try to do way more things than I can get done in a day.  Another reason why waiting for Spring is like waiting to have a baby - getting into that nesting mode.  I have to admit, not having to deal with the humongous belly, being uncomfortable all day and not getting nearly enough sleep even before the baby is here is a lot better deal.  Another thing I always have to do as the Spring is approaching is to get my hair done.  I usually don't do much with it all winter and I don't care that it grows out of its style and my roots are showing until I get the Spring itch.  So this week I got my hair cut and new highlights and just that makes me feel so much Springier that I almost don't care it's too cold to go outside.  Almost! :)

It is funny, Ehren and I started watching this old tv show in the winter time called Northern Exposures.  It is situated in a tiny town in Alaska (even though it's filmed in Washington) and somehow it makes us feel good watching it and seeing that someone might have it a bit worse than we do as far as the weather goes.  :)  It is a great tv show though with good writing, so much better than the crappy shows they make nowadays.  And this winter it became our regular Friday or Saturday night activity, as we sip our hot tea and cuddle under the blankets.     

So now I am ready for the 30s-40s (Fahrenheit) and have that snow melt away.  We will have a lot of mud around our house for a while, but as long as the winter is gone I don't care.  I know I'll be able to still go cross country skiing and ice skating a few more weekends but I sure hope I won't have to pull those skates out in April.  Anika knows that we are going to Slovakia when all the snow is gone because that's what I've been telling her.  We leave April 24th, which is Easter Sunday and I really hope we have a beautiful weather by then.  We are all itching for the green trees and grass and it will be so beautiful once it's here.

my haircut, which is not exactly styled at the moment