To Dubuque and beyond!!

The last week or so our family has done a lot of traveling.  We spent a night in Dubuque at Wartburg Seminary so Paul could attend a spiritual formation event at the seminary.  Sophia and I hung out...we did some shopping and spent time with family.  We got to see our niece Sam run for Clarke University.  She did a wonderful job and is going to Nationals next week.  We are so proud of you Sam!!!  Then we journeyed to Joliet, IL and spent the night with my best friend Nichole and her girls!  We haven't seen the girls in a long time.  It was nice to hang out and enjoy some quality time together.  We worshipped at St. John's church in Joliet where Nichole serves as one of the pastors.  Then it was off to Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.  We spent two nights in Hyde Park and got to experience a little bit of the neighborhood.  We walked past President Obama's house which is not far from LSTC.  We spent some time with our friends The Schmit's...Mike and Kelli.  They were our host family for the few days we were at LSTC so we had a wonderful dinner at their apartment and time to catch up.  Sophia for the most part did really well.  Traveling to Joliet was a challenge but we made it.  Traveling back to Waterloo yesterday she did amazing!!!  We were all glad to be back home and back to our family schedule.  Carlos stayed with our friends the Reed's to take care of the dogs and of course go to school.  I'm not sure if he was excited for us to come home or not.  I think Carlos missed Sophia more than anything...

Now back to the grind and welcome to Lent.  Hopefully everyone has figured out what their Lenten discipline is going to be...I need to figure that out TODAY!!!

Exhaustion...

Wow, what a week/weekend our family had.  I worked three 12 hour days, Candidacy retreat on Friday which was another 14 hour day and then Confirmation retreat the rest of the weekend at Camp EWALU!!  All week I kept thinking about Sunday afternoon and taking a much needed and deserved NAP!!!  Because of my crazy schedule, my mom came to help out with Sophia.  Paul and Carlos were on their own after my mom left on Saturday afternoon.  They did just fine.  Sophia even made it to 8 AM church yesterday!  Dad did an amazing job, but as all you parents know its much easier to raise a family with help from both parents.  Sometimes we each have to do it on our own, but I sure appreciate the help I get from Paul.  It makes things so much easier!!  Thank you Paul for being a great partner in life!  Sophia is changing every day.  She's now eating 5 ounces but spitting up alot.  She's staying awake more and sleeping longer at night (which is great for mommy!!!).  Soon we are going to try the bumbo chair and see if she can sit up in it and put out the activity center in our house so she can lay underneath the toys and play!  She's smiling and cooing like crazy.  She's such a joy.  My first time over night without Sophia was Saturday night while I was on the confirmation retreat.  I didn't get anymore sleep than I would have at home because I was in charge of 19 youth.  UGH!!  I spent some long days away from my baby girl and an overnight which was harder than I thought.  I hope that doesn't happen again for a very long time!!!  I'm tired and already ready for bed but I must keep on working.  Looking forward to relaxing at home tonight and watching my baby girl enough life!

Reality is setting in...

We made the big announcement on Sunday that we are leaving Zion and the Waterloo area sometime this summer.  We don't know exactly when or how this is all going to happen, but in God's time it will.  Paul is going back to school and will be heading to Seminary either in Dubuque, Iowa or Chicago.  That decision will be made after we visit both schools this month.  The big relief is telling the congregation.  Within 36 hours, we told the congregation and have set up two appointments for realators to come look at our house.  The reality is setting in that our big move is right around the corner.  That means we have lots to pack in our house, friendships to continue to nurture, and try to spend time as a family.  February is a busy month for our family as we visit both schools and Lent starts for me.  We continue to pray for God's guidance and help as we take one day at a time.  I'm quite sad to be selling our house.  There are a lot of memories for me as I bought the house as a single person.  Then I decided to get my first dog Dallas, then decided to be a foster parent and a year later got Carlos, then I met Paul (we finally got married) and then a little over 3 months ago had our beautiful daughter Sophia.  This move is not going to be easy as we will need lots of help to get this all accomplished and with having a little girl we already know that we can't get as much done as we would like at one given time.  Carlos is a huge help to watch Sophia so that we can clean and get rid of stuff.  Reality is here and we much start packing our house and getting rid of stuff at a pretty rapid speed.  We ask for your prayers during this emotional and transitional time. 

Flannel Friday, It's All Downhill from Here, and so much more...

Daddy daughter time is invaluable! Two nights this week I got the opportunity to spend some quality time with Sophia this week, as Melissa took care of business on Wednesday night at work, and went to the movie to celebrate Karen's birthday on Thursday night. Together we ate, napped, talked,rocked, and I even got a some dishes and laundry done! It is nice to prepare Sophia for Friday with Mom and spending some quality time with Dad! The time we spend looking at each other and chatting is time I wouldn't trade for anything!

It is Friday- my favorite work day of the week! There are smiles and cheers as I walk through Gilchrist, saying hello to friends and acquaintances. As I find my 'niche' at work, I enjoy trying new things and looking for new ways to connect people. For the second winter in a row, I have implemented Flannel Fridays- a tribute to the hard-working, heat-keeping flannel shirt. In conjunction with Panther Purple Fridays, I have combined my support of the purple and gold with Flannel Fridays. Attached is a picture of me and Matt Nuese today, Flannel Friday, February 3, 2012.

Saturday, we all take our lives into our own hands (and feet) as the Student Ministry Committee treks to Dubuque to do some skiing at Sundown Mountain! It could be an interesting trip, and we certainly pray for all those going to travel safely, ski safely, and have a little fun!

We also have plenty of birthdays to celebrate! Derek turned 17 in January, and Karen, Kurt, and Tony all have birthdays in the first few days of February! We hope this finds you all doing well, and we will keep updating a few times each week!

The CATS are back again!!

We all enjoyed another UNI panther basketball last night.  Sophia was wide awake this time for her pictures with TC and TK.  Thanks Tony for letting us hang out with the CATS!!

Notice that Sophia's UNI sleeper matches TK's outfit perfectly.  Sophia even did a great job of wearing her purple head band!!!  Oh yeah and next time we will have to make sure we aren't taking pictures in front of the bathrooms again!!

Sleepy weekend

Well, we had another great weekend together as a family.  February is going to be a very busy month for us so we have to take advantage of our time together as much as we can.  Friday, we enjoyed time, just the 3 of us, as Carlos went to a high school basketball game.  Then we hung out with our friends the Reed's.  Before Sophia could party with us, she needed to find her sock.  She decided to take her sock off while swinging. 

Saturday we enjoyed time visiting all the grandparents on Paul's side of the family.  That meant we traveled to Edgewood and Manchester.  Before we left, Sophia was so tired she fell asleep while swinging in her swing.  Here's the picture:

We have so much fun with our little girl!!!  She makes us laugh a lot and she's changing every day!  Here's another picture of Sophia hanging out with daddy last Wednesday night.

Every Wednesday Sophia and daddy get to hang out together after day care because Carlos is at indoor soccer and I'm working late.  I get to hang out with Sophia on Fridays while daddy works and big brother Carlos is at school.  It's nice to have the one on one time with her. 

Hope everyone is having a great week and we look forward to more pictures and blog entries in the days/weeks ahead.  Busy February means we will have a lot of stuff to share and write about (hopefully!!!)

Snowed in weekend!!

What a fantastic weekend!!!  Usually, Fridays are days that I get to spend one on one with Sophia.  Mother nature had a different idea.  We got 7.1 inches of snow so Carlos did not have school.  The three of us hung out at home for the day.  Not how I planned to spend my Friday, but it was very nice.  Paul got home around 2:00 that afternoon because UNI closed for 1/2 day.  It was nice to have time together as a family.  Then we journeyed carefully to UNI to watch the only Bradley/UNI game I get to see this year.  It was a women's game and it was nice to watch the game together.  Sophia has been a trooper and usually sleeps through most of the games we go to.  Here's a picture of Sophia ready to cheer on the Bradley Braves!!! 

Paul works extra hard with his side job in the summer mowing and in the winter removing snow.  Needless to say with 7.1 inches of snow, he had a lot of work to do this weekend.  He got up bright and early Saturday morning (5:30 AM) and started his job...5 properties cleaned off and ready to go by 10:30 AM including ours.  YEAH!!!  Paul made us all a nice breakfast and we relaxed for the day.  Carlos had to work from 1-9 (which was a nice break in our house) so Paul and I decided to run some errands and just hang out with our daughter.  We got a lot accomplished.  We spent the evening at our house enjoying another recipe from Pinterest (its an amazing website!!!), hanging out with friends and playing games. 

Sunday we worshipped together as we always do and Paul is still managing getting Sophia ready and to church on time by himself.  I'm impressed!!!  The congregation just loves to see Sophia and how she grows each week, but most of the time she's sleeping...except a week ago Sunday she talked during the whole Confession and Forgiveness time.  Pastor's kid (PK)...gotta love em!!

Due to the rainy and icy conditions, we were not able to go to Manchester to spend time with family and celebrate Derek's b-day.  We were really bummed about it and Carlos asked if he could drive on his own.  Of course the answer was NO.  If we don't feel comfortable driving, then we wouldn't let him.  Paul was not comfortable taking Sophia on Highway 20 with the weather we were having.  So, we went to plan B.  Paul of course went to his properties to salt and make sure his clients could get out if they wanted to.  Then we all relaxed, took naps, and read the paper.  Carlos is usually gone on Sunday nights to indoor soccer so Paul, Sophia and I went to the UNI men's basketball game against Drake.  We enjoy our social outings.

I guess the BIG news of the weekend is that Carlos has made a decision to go to Grandview University in Des Moines for college.  It's a Lutheran school and we couldn't be any happier for him.  He's worked hard to get everything ready for college and I'm glad he finally made a decision.  It's not Bradley or UNI but we are happy for his new adventures at Grandview!!!

Well, enjoy the week.  Its still very icy here and Carlos had a 2 hour delay for school.