Seeing that the new year is upon us, I've been doing some reflecting over the past year as well as what the future may bring us this year and felt the need to write a little of it down. Feel free to bypass this post if you'd like, as it will probably get a bit lengthy with no pictures - something I don't typically do :)
Christian: work has been crazy. He ended 2013 with a ridiculous amount of traveling, gone 5 of 7 weeks from October - December (and the two weeks he was home included Thanksgiving and the week before). Unfortunately, 2014 isn't starting out any slower. There has been some restructuring in his company over the past year, including a new position called a relationship manager. Anyone in the company was eligible to take on this new role, but it was above and beyond his current title and job duties. It seemed to be the only thing that would allow some growth within this new structure, so after prayer and discussion, Christian decided to pursue this role as well asking for my support. Of course I'm behind him 100% and we were really hopeful it would lead to some positive aspects in his job, one of which was financially, as we have had it a goal to move out of our house this upcoming spring. While I would say this role has been positive overall, albeit a bit more stress and time commitment, the financial piece of it we are still waiting on. When his company restructured there were some guidelines laid out about how one would be compensated financially for their different roles, and at the end of the year that was not upheld. It doesn't mean it won't happen this year, and supposedly there will be more detailed means in place to help this occur, but it was definitely a let down as 2013 came to a close.
In addition to the crazy schedule and work load, Christian was dropped another bomb right when his Christmas break started. A co-worker of 8 years, whom he has worked exclusively with on the majority of his projects and an "old timer" in the office decided to quit. While we are happy for her new role, it means that work just became that much busier because she was working with him on his current projects and he now has to pick up her slack as well as maintain his own role within the project. While I didn't think it could get busier for him, I was clearly wrong. He's been waking at 4:30am consistently to get work done while trying to balance the role of provider/father/husband...and doing a fantastic job at spending as much time as possible with the boys and myself in the process. Prayers for him would be appreciated, however, as I'm not sure how much longer this can occur without a breakdown (mental or physical :)).
Kelly: I am doing my best to maintain order in a home of 2 crazy little boys while being (currently) 18 weeks pregnant. The end of 2013 was quite difficult for me, as I was sick all day, everyday, from about 5.5 weeks - 15 weeks. Christian was traveling quite heavily, as mentioned above, and I truly don't know how I survived, aside from God's grace and provision in my life! Praise Him for helping me through and it seems I have finally turned a corner in pregnancy where I can function normally again. I've missed working out, as that's a big stress reliever for me, and Christian and I rejoined our gym after a two year absence last Saturday. This 3rd pregnancy has rocked me a little in all ways, and I'm happy to be able to get back to feeling healthy through eating and working out, as I think it makes me a more patient mom and wife in the end. I love, love, love being able to spend my days with my boys. It's certainly trying at times, but I'm so blessed to have a husband who supports my desire to stay home with them and I know the boys are benefitting from it as well. We are going a bit stir crazy right now due to some crazy cold temps and snow, which is requiring some creative indoor play as well as sickness causing bounce houses and indoor play places to burn off some steam. I'm definitely looking forward to spring time when we can head back outside daily. I also joined a bible study last fall and it's been really nice to have some time growing in the word as well as connecting with a new group of ladies. Micah and Reid haven been doing really well in their childcare too and I think it's been a nice, consistent, addition to our weekly routine.
Micah: is my smart, loving, strong willed little 3 1/2 year old. He's hit a growth spurt recently and has been eating as much or even more than me! He's a wonderful eater and I know we are blessed to have such a healthy boy. Much of my time lately has been spending time trying to figure out plans for preschool in the fall. I didn't realize preschool could be such a big decision, for one, and two, can't believe my baby is already big enough to be going! I know there are many parents that send their kids for more than one year, but I had opted to just do the year before kindergarten for preschool and the time for registering is already here! Christian and I have gone back and forth about where to send him, but think we have narrowed it to two and are praying the Lord will give us peace with the decision we make. Micah will do great, I know, and is ready to go. He loves his sunday school class on Sunday and his bible study class on Wednesdays. I actually have him signed up for a park district class this term which meets for 2 hours a day once a week, and I'm sure he'll love that as well. It's a fun stage watching him meeting new friends that aren't just my friends friends and hearing stories about his interactions with them. He loves helping me out in the kitchen any time I'm making food, loves making coffee with Christian, enjoys coloring and art work and is doing pretty well with his letters. We've just started working on his ability to write them through tracing and it's fun to see. He also seems to have a good grasp on some basic math concepts, which makes this math teacher momma happy ;) Christian asked him just today what shape a stop sign was and he replies, "oh, a stop sign is an octagon and has 8 sides!" and earlier this week we were going over basic addition problems like 3+3 and 5+2, etc. He seems to have a thirst for knowledge and I'm excited to see where that takes us over the years.
Reid: is my in.to.everything 20 month going on 3 year old! He so thinks he's older and bigger than he is, which I would guess is normal being a second born and trying to keep up with the first. He's a climber and just yesterday I found him on top of our bathroom counter trying to brush his teeth. He's climbed bunk bed sets at friends houses, moved kitchen chairs over to get to the kitchen counter, moved couch cushions to give him more height to reach something on our entertainment center, etc. Seriously, this boy rarely slows down! He's also such a bright, smiley spot in any room. There is the inevitable independence that shows in a 20 month old when he doesn't get his way (hello, meltdown:)), but he's overall just a happy and smiley little boy. He continually brings a smile to my face and I find myself hiding back laughter when disciplining him. Within the last month he's had a growth spurt, including interest in food, but typically he's proving to be quite a challenge in the eating realm. He loves fruit and cheese, but that's about it for givens. After that, it's a toss up to what he'll eat and when he'll eat it. I couldn't even convince him to eat Lou Malnati's pizza last night! What kid doesn't like pizza?? His latest achievement that's on my mind is an impending language explosion. His sleep has been a bit disrupted here and there, and lately he's just talking to himself in his crib which I think is why he's awake. I think there's so much going on in his brain and he's trying to work it all out in the wee hours of the morning :) It's really a fun, albeit exhausting stage and I love watching his vocabulary continue to grow.
Baby Girl: I still can't believe I can say that! It's starting to sink in that we're having a girl, and I'm really looking forward to the changes that will behold our life in June. I can't say I'm super excited about the lack of sleep that is about to come, but it will be fun to have a tiny little newborn around as well. Seeing that this will be our last baby, unless the Lord has drastically differently plans that He reveals to us soon, I'm praying I can really soak in all the joys that a new little baby can bring amongst the pure exhaustion. As far as movement, I felt bubbles in my belly right at 16 weeks which I thought might be baby, but wasn't 100%. That next week I felt some crazy movement one night that was a definitely baby kicking, but it has still remained rather inconsistent at this point. I know over the next few weeks it will be occurring more and more frequently and I have to say that's the one main part of pregnancy that I quite enjoy. Pregnancy is such an amazing miracle and when I let myself think about all that it entails I'm really in awe of an amazing creator!
Housing: This, unfortunately, is a downside for us right now. I will say the Lord is drawing me in, teaching me yet another lesson in contentedness with regards to our living situation. Because of the way the financial aspect (or lack there of) to Christian's job worked out at the end of 2013, we are not going anywhere anytime soon. After about 9 months of our being hopeful and accepting that we have lost $100K - not a typo, a reality - in our townhouse, we were prepared to swallow our loss and move onward. That goal has been halted in its track as of December and we are now shifting focus on what our life will look like in our current location with the addition of a third child coming in June. To say I'm discouraged would be an understatement, but I know we will be fine and know this is so, so minor in the big picture of life! While my head knows all of this, my heart has been emotionally down and I've been praying and asking God to help me be content. None of what transpired took Him by surprise, and He knew our desires and where we're at now. So I can do nothing but trust that He is in control and has a better plan for our lives than we can see at this point. I know all of that. But it's harder to let it play out sometimes, and I've allowed the envious/jealous monster to creep in when looking at others around me. It's not healthy and will bring nothing but discontent and I'm doing my best to stop the comparisons, but prayer for me would be appreciated :)
All that said, I am blessed with an amazing husband and provider for our family and 2 happy and healthy boys and a precious little girl to be. I couldn't ask for any greater blessings in my life and don't take any of it for granted.
I can't help but think of Jeremiah 29:11-13 and hold it close to my heart right now.
"11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
