2011

It's hard to believe that 2011 is the day after tomorrow. 2010 has been a blink of an eye to me, and it's over. I'm not saying that I am sad to see it go, or happy, just that it was a fast year. A good year. It's been a year of restoration, change, happiness, family, growth, energy, love.

At the beginning of 2010, I believe I was at one of my lowest points of my life. I felt trapped in my house. I was so lonely. Winter isn't exactly the brightest time of the year anyway, but even my soul was clouded over. I was drowning and could not seem to surface from my own self-pity and loneliness. I was (and still am) so blessed and lucky to be able to be a stay at home mom, but I was having a very difficult time trying to figure out what to do with Ivy on a day to day basis. Genesis was only 4 months old, I was breastfeeding (which was easy in the beginning but became much more difficult as Gen began to become more aware of her surroundings and would not focus on feeding = stressed out mama). Jake left the house at 7:20am and didn't get home until 6:45pm. I'd be ready to get out of the house for some adult interaction (or anything!) and he'd be ready to settle in for the evening. Every morning I woke up and would think to myself, "what in the world are we going to do today?? what am I going to do with Ivy? who is she going to play with? are we going to get out of the house?" I was pushing myself towards an anxiety attack. I had one wonderfully good friend (I'll love you forever, KC, for everything you were and are to me) who I did everything with... but I needed more. I needed family, fellowship, activity, involvement in life.

In February, I returned home from a MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) meeting, where I filled the role of a small group leader and had several other friends. Albeit, distant friends. I unloaded Ivy and Gen out of the car and opened the door to the house. I dropped all of my stuff on the floor and looked around at the kitchen/living room/dining room area. Unwashed dishes lined the counter-tops, unfolded laundry scattered the floor, childrens toys were scattered aimlessly about. I turned to Ivy and said, "hey, Ives, do you want to go to Tremont right now to see grandma and grandpa Stuber?" to which she replied "YEAH!!!" I called Jake at work right away and asked him, and of course, he said yes, as always (Ivy and I had done several long spur-of the moment trips to Ohio before). He even said I didn't have to clean the house before I left! :) I called my in-laws and they were ecstatic to hear of our trip and said we could come for a whole week! Ivy and I hurriedly packed a couple of bags, packed the car, and we headed to IL. It ended up being the worst drive of my life, as Genesis screamed for a straight 3 hours in the dark, and there was nothing that would console her. However, this trip ended up changing our lives forever. Jake came up at the end of our week in IL and, together, we decided that we wanted to move back to family. I remember Jake gripping my shoulders and staring straight at me saying, "Dana, once we make this decision to move to Tremont, there is no going back. Do not change your mind." I haven't looked back since :)

The next 3-4 weeks were crazy. Jake applied for several jobs online right away after we returned to Branson. I started packing little things up here and there, not really believing we'd be moving in less than a year, but "hoping" that a miracle would happen. Well, our miracle happened. Two weeks after our return to Branson from IL, Jake received a job offer. Two weeks after that, we were moving. We found a very affordable, very large, perfect rental just about 2 blocks from Jake's parents house, and put our house on the market FBO. God was fully in control and orchestrated our move with such perfect timing we could never have imagined His total omnipresence in our lives. The rest of the year is history. He has looked after us as a wonderful Father.

Not to say there haven't been ups and downs (like our house... which still needs to be sold) still to this day, but our Faith has been changed this year. Jake and I are different people. We have grown. Our children are happy and have thrived being around such a large family such as my husbands. Ivy adores all of her cousins. She has a best buddy right across the street that she can play with almost every afternoon if she wants, she  has a best girl friend just a block and a half away that loves to play princess and ride their bikes together. Grandpa stops in all the time "just to say hi" to the girls. They love that! Great grandma often stops by to bring a snack, or also just to see how we're doing. We eat probably at least half of our meals at my inlaws. We love being together and have soaked up all the love that family has to offer... just being together... just liking each other's company and having someone to spend time with. Wow! You don't know how special all of that is until you've been starved to death for a long time. We are never alone unless we want to be. And sometimes, we do want to be, but that is rare. :)

All of this to say, we are very excited about 2011. Jake and I are determined to get involved much more at church. We each have our niches where we have become comfortable and can't wait to get started there. We do feel like we can be used to here to God's glory and it the prospect is so exciting! I can't wait to grow my friendships that I have begun this fall. Ivy will start pre-school in the fall. That will bring a huge change to our household. We are adding another precious new addition to our family at the beginning of July; sometimes I still have to pinch myself to see if it's really real or not. We hope to sell our house in Branson- we have it listed with an aggressive Realtor, so hopefully it won't take too long. I am looking forward to a 3 month membership at Village Courts... they have a pool and racquetball courts so the girls and I can go swimming every single day if we want to starting in January! I am sure there are more things about 2011 that we are looking forward to... I just can't think of them right now. All I know is that my heart and life are full and life is good. Thank you, Lord for bringing change into our lives.

Happy New Year!

Good Day

Today has just been one of those really good days. (Except for about the past hour where I have been feeling SO extremely nauseous, I'm not sure what to do with myself.)

Jake and I were able to sleep in this morning, until about 9am because the girls were at grandma and grandpas. That was wonderful. It's amazing what an extra hour can do for ones body and mind. I had cinnamon and brown sugar toast for breakfast, with a big mug of vanilla mocha latte, and watched a show online for a bit before getting ready for church.

As I said yesterday, the kids had their Christmas program at church today. Ivy wore her garage sale Christmas outfit and looked so adorable. Grandma had given her a shower this morning and washed her hair with conditioner as well. I am telling you this because if you know Ivy, you know what her hair is like. It is the most wispy, thin hair in the world, and it is so hard to keep anything in it. But, if it is washed in the morning (and then conditioned as well), it dries nice and is easier to "style" it a bit. So this morning, she was able to wear her hair down with a couple of pretty clips in it. Her hair is getting pretty long (relatively long, from our perspective) and it looked so nice. Thanks grandma! The kids just did a great job singing and then our pastor finished up with an excellent message from Matthew 2:2.

After lunch, we all came home, I put Genesis down for her nap and then decided to clean out Ivy's toy closet under the stairs. Jake lounged next to me while I cleaned, and Ivy sat at the dining room table and played with stencils and play dough almost the entire time I worked on cleaning her closet. We chatted, laughed and just had so much fun enjoying being together. Then I made ALL of us turkey sandwiches (I know, I know!) and we sat at the breakfast bar and ate our sandwiches and mountain dew. Then I cuddled up on the couch with Ivy for a while and read some Arch books to her... until I got incredibly sleepy and had to leave her to go take a nap. It was just a wonderfully cozy afternoon.

We ended the day by going out to eat at Avanti's in Pekin. My in-laws came with us, and were also joined by Victor and Lacey who had just returned from a nice little vacation down to North Carolina with her family, and also Naomi and Phoenix. The food was great (I got lasagna) and fellowship so fun. And now it's Christmas week! I'm so excited.


I have been meaning to post this recipe for No Bake cookies for a couple of days. I made them for our cookie exchange we had this last week and they were so good. It is my friend, Trina's recipe... she used to make them a lot when we lived in Branson.

No Bake Cookies
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
Cook these four ingredients together, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Add:
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. oatmeal
handful of coconut
Spoon mixture by spoon-fulls onto wax paper. Let dry.

Holiday Parties...

We had our small group (from church) Christmas party last night. Jake and I thought it was so much fun. It was at our friend's house... they have a full basement that is amazingly comfortable and cozy with a nice big fireplace, huge sectional sofa and a full kitchen. All of the food/drinks were set up down there, and they also had a big, beautiful live Christmas tree. We put all of the white elephant gifts under the tree. We ate for a bit, then had the gift exchange (in which I got a the BEST gift out of the bunch- a fajita maker/grill/warmer), and then played Beyond Balderdash and one round of Taboo. The best part about the evening? No children to distract any of us (Ivy was in Iowa and aunt Naomi was at our house babysitting Genesis) from conversation and laughs. Wow, so relaxing in such a great way. I missed the girls, but it was awesome not to have to worry about where they were, what they were getting into, if they were hungry/thirsty...

Tonight we had another party. Another gift exchange. But this time, we had to dress up as part of the Nativity scene. As of 3:30 this afternoon, Jake and I still had no idea what we were going to dress as or what we were giving as gifts. But thanks to Grandma Pinky, who came to our rescue, I do believe that Jake's costume was one of the best at the party. He dressed as a wise man... decked out in a turban, jewels, jewel box, scarves... he looked great. I was an angel. Grandma had a floor length white dress-up dress that she had in her attic, so I just wore that with some pearl jewelry, curled my hair a bit and tried to put on some shiny/sparkly make up. It wasn't amazing, but it worked. People could tell what I was, and that's all that counted. Again, we had great food and then the gift exchange, then more food. I think people were going back downstairs to play games, but Jake and I are tired and we decided to come home. We're really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Oh, that's right, I forgot to mention- Ivy and Genesis are having a sleepover at Grandma's house tonight. Wooohoo! 

I think I finished my Christmas shopping for the girls today. I knew I needed to stop by Hobby Lobby for a couple of more things for Ivy and then I would be done... so I did that this afternoon when I made my Walmart run for our gift exchange gifts. I am so glad I went into Hobby Lobby. I love their stuff, but I am always surprised at the stuff they have in the craft section that Ivy would go bananas over. It was hard to stop buying stuff for her! I got some things for Genesis there too that were half off, and I am super happy with my buys. I only have a couple more gifts to buy for people and then I'll be done completely with shopping. It always takes me a while to be done.

We are looking forward to church tomorrow. The children have their Christmas performance, so Ivy will be standing up front and singing with everyone. She's wearing her Christmas outfit, and I can't wait to see it on her. Naomi found it this summer for me at a garage sale, and it's so darling and it was so cheap- I think I paid $1.00 for the whole thing? Can't beat that :) I can't wait for summer garage sales again! I think I am going to try to keep Genesis in the auditorium with me instead of putting her in the nursery, so she can watch the kids as well. We'll see how she does. I'm sure she'll want to get down and go join them. 

A friend of mine is going to cut my hair this coming week. I need to look at some magazines to figure out what style I want. 

Goodnight all. 

Cinderella

As I type, Ivy is on her way to Iowa with two of her cousins and great aunt and uncle to see Jake's cousin, Janelle, star in the play "Cinderella". She was so excited to go, she couldn't talk about anything else all morning. Janelle has arranged it that Ivy will be picked out of the crowd (I think they are going to be sitting in the front row) to actually go up on stage and have the glass slipper tried on her foot :) I wish I were going to be there to see the look on her face when that happens. This will be a most exciting part of her year, I am sure, because she loves loves loves anything princess. While Jake and I were on vacation in October, grandpa Roger took Ivy to see Disney On Ice and she still talks about it all the time as if it were the best experience of her life. This will be another one of those things that I think she will talk about for a very long time coming.

I am babysitting my nephew, Phoenix, all afternoon. He gave his mommy quite a bad night last night and she needed a little break, so she called this morning to see if I could watch him for a while. He has been here for about 30 minutes and has been asleep the whole time. He's such a cute little peanut, I can't wait till he wakes up so I can hold him.

Jake and I have our small group Christmas party to go tonight. I am supposed to bring a cookie platter and an appetizer and then we're also having a white elephant gift exchange. Not sure what we are taking for the appetizer or the gifts yet. Hopefully that will come to me sometime this afternoon.

Can I just talk for minute about my unbelievable craving for turkey sandwiches (bread, mayo, dill pickles, lettuce, tomatoes) lately? I had one for lunch yesterday, one for a midnight snack last night, one for breakfast, and two for lunch! And I am now thinking about having one for my mid-afternoon snack. I don't know if it's because I am actually craving the turkey sandwich in particular, or if it's because I don't really have anything else in the refrigerator to eat... and I don't feel like cooking. I think that's it.

Going to go try to find something else to eat... I'm hungry.

Bedtime Stories and Santa

Life has not been super interesting lately, and so I have found it difficult to post much. I was reminded by a friend at church today (thanks Lori!) that some people still would like to keep up with our life even if it is uninteresting, so I will do my best tonight to catch up.

I guess one of our newest things is that Jake has started reading Little House in the Big Woods to Ivy every night before bedtime. She is eating it up! We have the Little House series and I would occasionally see it sitting on the book shelf and wonder to myself if she would enjoy it yet, but then quickly dismiss the thought because they are pretty detailed and long and the pages don't have any pictures. I also didn't think that she would be able to follow it night after night. How wrong I was! Every night after bath time, she eagerly gets dressed and runs downstairs to ask daddy to read her another chapter. I kind of get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever I see them reading it together because many of my greatest memories with my dad are of him reading books to me all throughout my childhood.

It is also a season of crafts in our home. It is so cold out right now (I think maybe like 14 degrees and tomorrow we're supposed to have a high of 11) and it has been blizzarding all day... and this week in general was just yuck. Talk about cabin fever! My mother in law used to be an art teacher in Indonesia and she is a really creative person, so I called her the other day to see if she had any craft books laying around for Christmas/Winter themed crafts. Sure enough, she has tons of ideas- two book-fulls of ideas for Ivy and to devour. When we were out the other day, I picked up some basic crafty stuff like construction paper, glitter, paper plates and pens and we are going to make it a week of crafts. There's not much else to do when the weather is so gross like it is.

Sickness has also continued to plague our household (one of the reasons I have been a bit discouraged to post on here). On Sunday night (last week) Ivy was up all night long crying about every ten minutes with an ear ache. Took her in on Monday to the Nurse Practitioner and yep, another ear infection. So back on antibiotics she went and the nurse also gave us ear drops to put in every 12 hours because the ear had some drainage going on. Genesis started developing a cold that same day... took her into the Dr. on Wednesday for her 15 month check up and yep, she has an ear infection as well as a viral infection with a fever of 103 and a rash on the left side of her body. Oh brother... can we get a break? I guess not. So she is also back on antibiotics. They both seem to be doing much better... but I am nervous because everything seems to go downhill about a week or two after we stop the antibiotics. Anyone have advice on pro-biotics? I've heard they help.

We had a surprise visitor on Friday. Our friend Tom, from Chicago was in town and stopped by to say hi to the girls and me. He brought us some taco bell and then helped me figure out the instructions on how to put together a ginger bread house village. Ivy loves Tom and was so excited to see him. Too bad he couldn't stay and visit very long.

I bought some actual brand name Dove bath soap the other day too. Usually Jake uses Dial bar soap and I use whatever happens to be available. But our skin has been so dry lately, Jake's hands were cracking and bleeding a couple of days ago so I figured we had to make a drastic change... new ultra-moisturizing bath soap and serious lotioning-up after showers. It's miserable to be dry, itchy and cracking in the winter months. I know you all agree.

We went to see some real reindeer yesterday. That was fun. They came out of their little house to see us and show off their huge racks. Ivy thought they were pretty cool, but it was raining and freezing out so we didn't spend much time looking at them. After that, we went to see Santa at the mall. I had taken Ivy several weeks ago, but this time the whole family went. My sister in law and husband took their new baby Phoenix, and we included Genesis too. It was a nice evening, finished up with dinner at a cool little place called Khaki Jack's in Peoria- an Australian themed sandwich/burger joint that also serves ostrich. Jake got the ostrich burger, but says he wouldn't get it again... it left a bad aftertaste.

A lot of people have been asking how I am feeling. I am feeling great, in comparison to my last two pregnancies. I have been experiencing tiny amounts of nausea, mostly when I let myself go too long without food, and I have also been really tired but that is about it. When I was pregnant with Ivy, I threw up at least 5 times a day and could not hold one single thing down. It was a little less with Genesis, maybe like throwing up 3 times a day :) and with this one a lot of days I don't even throw up at all. So, definitely an improvement. I have been super tired though and it is so hard to get any kind of a nap in when Ivy doesn't take naps anymore. I usually end up sleeping for a while on the couch sometime during the day when Gen is napping and I put in a movie for Ivy. Otherwise, I don't think I could make it through the day :)

Alright, well there it is. I've caught everyone up to speed on life. I'll try to do better. Thanks guys! No recipes tonight. I don't have the "ummpf" to get up off the couch and go find a good one.