Mud Puddles

Some days I'm not really sure what we are doing with our time, but this afternoon we realized we hadn't been out of the house yet.  Well I had been for a run, but that seemed like days ago by 3:30 in the afternoon. So Becky, the boys and I set out for a little walk. 

We found a great little botanical garden up the hill near us.  The plethora of mud puddles at the entrance were so enticing, that we didn't make it much farther....

Two happy boys.....

Today's Outing - Sandy Beach

The rocks and sand are plentiful and this place is a surfer's delight, but as I am learning all of Hawaii is popular for surfing! 

Jack loved climbing on the rocks and didn't even seem to mind that he was covered from head to toe in sand and losing his bathing suit most of the time.  The waves are pretty big and intimidating so we only spent a short time near the water's edge, but we did enjoy the small wading pools that developed along the sand. 

Henry even took a short nap while we were out! :) Now onto the beach clothes laundry and midday baths for little ones!

Side note...

I thought I would go ahead and do my first goals update -

Since we've been here I've been able to get out to run FOUR times!  I know that doesn't seem like all that much in 7 days but when you have two small children and your husband's schedule is a little crazy, four days is a lot!  The warm weather, cool breeze and beautiful scenery could make me actually ENJOY running!

My friend Angela has totally inspired me to run at least a 5K this year.  Like I said before, I would also love to run the Nashville Music City Half-Marathon in April with my friend Carrie but I am thinking that isn't really enough time for me to go from NOTHING to 13 miles! So for now a 5K is in my future.....

I am loving the Couch to 5K program that I downloaded to my phone. Angela recommends some podcasts that are already timed for the program, but I am podcast illiterate and can't get them to my phone.  But maybe you can do it!

Goals

My sweet college friend, Sarah - mommy of four! lovely ladies, wife to an amzing man who runs this place, sister, daughter and friend - has somehow found time in her busy life to commit to Body After Baby.  It has inspired me to join in....I mean Henry is 18 months old! Guess it's time to get serious, right?
My friend Carrie also recently asked if I would want to run/walk in the Music City Marathon in March 2011.  I wish I had been able to quickly respond with "Yes, of course!," but instead I said, "Hmm, maybe. That sounds fun..." all along hoping she would forget about it.  Anyway, I think it is a great goal that might even motivate me!

I also realized how much I've stayed away from the front of the camera lens when capturing moments in the lives of my children, but only because I am unhappy with where I am.  But I want to look back at pictures and see myself WITH my family for a change!  I guess I am on board!  Anyone want to join in??

Since I love it when someone does the work for me, I'm going to use most of Sarah's goals with a few changes that I also read about here:

1) Drink 64 ounces of water per day
2) Don't eat seconds or sweets, except on days beginning with S
3) Exercise 4 days per week for 30 minutes each session (Jillian Michaels or Couch To 5K)
4) Get to bed before midnight
5) Only drink 2 Diet Cokes per day (or any caffeinated beverage)

Even though I don't plan on posting my actual weight on here (for my own sanity!! That's just putting a little too much out there for me!!), I do plan to post updates each Tuesday with weight loss/gain.  Thought I'd share a picture to motivate and document the current state of affairs!  Let the fun begin!  Let me know if you are joining in.....

Holana Blowhole

We are visiting Hawaii during the "rainy season" so we are trying to get out in between rain storms.  Even though Henry is still sick, when Jake finished working today, we decided to jump in the car for a little ride.  It was just what we all needed!

Not far from our little area, there is a popular tourist attraction called Holana Blowhole.  The rocks come together in such a way that a water/mist sprays up through the middle at certain points during high tide.  With the help of the wind, there was a fantastic show today! Unfortunately I only had my cell phone to take these pics, so I never really got the water shooting up!  We will definitely go to this spot again!

Jack really enjoyed running around and looking at the surfers at a nearby beach.  Henry had some moments of happiness, but for the most part he has looked like this...... all day!

Our New Adventure....

After 3 flights, we made it two our "home away from home" for the next two months....

Hawaii Kai, East O'ahu, Hawaii! 

Jake & his business partner, Art are doing some work out here and we decided to tag-a-long for the trip.  Jake will be working a bunch but it just so happens that Art's wife, Becky is my college roommate and bestie so we will have tons of fun while the guys work. 
. 

The boys did well until the 3rd flight.  Seven hours is a long time to be confined to a very small area & be buckled in the whole time! Henry slept 2 hours and Jack slept 5 hours.  Thankfully they were both still tired when we landed, because Mommy & Daddy were ready to go to bed after being up 20ish hours. 

Jack broke us in to the local area very quickly!  When we left Chatty he had been up since 3:30am with a high fever, but by the time we arrived in Honolulu, a cough, stomach virus, and wheezing set in.  We quickly found an Urgent Care place the next morning.  2 breathing treatments, antibiotics, steroids, a few glove baloons to play with, stickers...and we were on our way.  

Monday and Tuesday Jack still battled the high fever, and wheezing but he has begun to act more like himself.  Henry could not be left out of the fun and always wants to do what big brother is doing.  He started throwing up and coughing on Monday.  Then on Tuesday the high fever began, so we took him in to the doctor.  He has pneumonia!  Crazy!! 

We are so thankful to have these first few days to rest, relax, recover from the jetlag and get these boys on the mend.  Since we are staying for an extended period of time, its been no big deal to be inside with these sick kiddos.

Jake & I have each managed to sneak out for 2 runs since we've been here.  I completed Day 2 of the Couch to 5K program while watching the sunrise near the end of our street.  Thankful we know the God who created each sunrise.  Gorgeous!

Holiday Picture - forgot to post this in Dec! :)

I really liked my mother-in-law's Christmas tree and thought it would be nice to get the boys' picture taken near the tree.  Boy was I wrong!  Who knew that getting two boys to both sit still AND smile couldn't be accomplished by three adults?!?!  Even though I don't typically post "bad pictures," here are a few outtakes and the final project (with help from Grandma & Grandpa!  Thanks!).

Maybe next year will be more successful!

Fun days at Grandma's

The boys enjoy going to Grandma's almost every Friday!  I guess getting someone's undivided attention, getting to do fun things and having someone fix your favorite foods is pretty great, right? :)  I would want to go too!  Here are the things they currently like doing while at Grandma's:

Jack has recently taken up playing baseball in the yard!  We are thrilled that he is showing some interest in physical activity & something we think is super fun!

Henry can almost alwaya be found sitting in the middle of Fisher Price Little People or Playmobil people.  He cracks us up with his obsession and concentration!

Before our school break

(Now that I have my computer back I'm trying to get caught up on our last few weeks.  Just hoping I took some pictures of everything!!)

Jack and C were doing really well with school before we took our break for the holidays.  They both were beginning to pick up on sounding out and using the letters that they have learned.  I've seen big improvements in cutting and coloring since August!

One afternoon after school time, Jack and C were having some free play time.  They chose to create a train in Jack's room and Henry was insistent on participating!

Christmas Card 2010

About a week ago we wrote a fantastic Christmas note to print on labels and put on the back of our Christmas card (a picture one ordered online).  Saved the letter late one night and thought we would print it the following morning, but when we went to turn the computer on, the hard drive had died.  So sad..... but we have a quick fix!  

Christmas cards will be sent out tomorrow and the blog address is on the back.   Hopefully people will check it out and read our second Christmas note for 2010.....

We hope that your 2010 has been full of blessings and joy!  Our days have been full and fun this year. Here are just a few memories that stir up thankfulness in our hearts:

• Several opportunities to go to the beach with family and friends
• Experiencing sound teaching and enriching fellowship with our church family
• Jake loving his job
• Henry walking, talking and adding joy to our every day lives
• Jack playing soccer and enjoying our home preschool time each week
• Welcoming our new niece/cousin, Zoe Evelyn (pictured with the boys on our card!)
• God's overwhelming provision in our lives

These are just a few things from our year, but we'd love for you to look back through the blog to see what else we've done.  Maybe we will be able to update it a little more often this coming year!  Hoping to visit with many of you in the days and weeks to come. Praying that you and your family experience the love, peace and joy that comes from knowing our Savior Jesus Christ.  Much love to you!!!  

Jake, Winnie, Jack and Henry

Inside Fun on a Snow Day!

When we see this outside.........

We try to stay in and do warm, fun things!  If there was enough snow to sled we would go out but right now it's not worth it.  It is below 32 and chilly, but we are having fun with Daddy's Playmobil sets!  Jake NEVER lets the boys play with these beloved treasures from his childhood, but tonight we are having a special treat!

Jack just told us, "I'm rounding up the posse! I've got a door (score) to settle!"  No idea where he learned this phrase but it is cracking us up!

Henry loves putting the hats on the cowboys!

2011 Family Bible Reading Time - Long Story Short by Marty Machowski

I know I already mentioned our Advent Jesse Tree activities, and how I love this time of year, but I think I am even more excited about a new book that arrived in my mailbox today:

Recently my pastor published a list of books that he thought would make good Christmas gifts and this family devotional book was on his list.  I have already browsed through the first few days and I can't wait to get started.  I think Jack is the perfect age to really solidify some family Bible reading habits each evening....or morning depending on what works with our schedule in the new year. 

So if you need a great book to encourage you in your faith and help you pass on the gospel story to your children...AND you need all the resources at your fingertips, something to tell you what to say and do to help family time go successfully, then this book is for you!  FYI, it was $19.99 on Amazon.  I have no idea where else it can be purchased. I was so eager to get it in before the new year that I didn't "shop around" (glad I have a forgiving husband! Love you J!).

Henry - 18 months

There is a sweet, loving, obedient, funny, determined, focused, empathetic, amazing boy that lives in our house these days.  It's hard to imagine our lives, 18 months ago, without Henry!  He is so special to us! Just wanted to take a minute to write down what he's doing and how he brings us such joy:

His favorite things to say are:  choo choo, all aboard, sorry, bye bye, more, Jack (which sounds like 'ack'), mama, dog, daddy, Grandpa, car, pray, truck, and a number of other things that we can interpret but would be unitelligible to most listeners!  

 He loves cars, trucks, fire engines, LEGOS!!!, books (finally!), eating, playing outside, doing everything Jack does, playing in cabinets, seeing Ms Kelly & Ms Lisa in Sunday School, throwing a ball (or anything he can get his hands on!), and Christmas lights.

He is currently 26 lbs and 33 inches tall.  His favorite foods are animal crackers, apple juice, green beans, and chicken nuggets.  Henry is great at climbing in his chair for activities or meals, sitting still for a short story, sharing toys, saying he's sorry, and picking up toys.  We are hoping these habits stick through the preschool years!!!

We love this boy!

Advent Season - Jesse Tree

My Catholic upbringing always makes me think about the Advent season.  I remember the colored candles, wreath, live nativity, incense burning my eyes each week (oh wait, I was listing positive memories!), candy advent calendar, etc...... all culminating with Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. 

Although it's a great reminder for myself, I also really want my boys to have a clear grasp on the true meaning of the Advent/Christmas season.  Salvation doesn't begin with the birth of a sweet, tiny baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  The rich history of the Old Testament brings forth the work of salvation from the beginning of Creation.  

The answer.........The Jesse Tree 

There aren't as many resources out there as I thought there would be, but we are really pleased with the book we chose to use - The Advent Jesse Tree by Dean Meador Lambert.  (I ordered it on Amazon for $10 last year and it came in 2 days, which was important since I waited until Nov 29th to order!)

As the author states, "The Advent Jesse Tree seeks to tell the story of God's redemptive plan for the world through 25 symbols from the Old and New Testament.  Each symbol is explained with scriptures, devotions, questions, prayers, memory verse, and songs."

There is a children's devotion and a short one for adults as well.  I enjoyed reading the adult devotion each morning and then doing the children's one with our family in the evenings after dinner. 

I'm leery of even posting pictures of our meager ornaments, but I know I was frantically searching for pictures of ornaments last year, so maybe they will help someone else out there....

The ornaments are placed on a small 2 foot pre-lit tree just sitting on our kitchen counter.  Ornaments can be made or purchased.  We just used felt and made each symbol....some were even made the day they were needed! Better late than never, right?  All our symbols are ready to go this year, and will be wrapped up this weekend.  The boys will get to open one each evening during our devotion time.  It would be fun to create or even color a simple ornament each day, but my boys aren't big into crafts (bummer, right?) so we might wait a few years. 

I only became acquainted with this in 2009, but it was such a sweet time for our family last year.  I think I've been dreaming of Advent since July! I hope and pray that your family will spend time thinking about the work on the Cross and the true meaning of Christmas. 

(I know you only have a few days to get your stuff together for this year, but it would be SO FUN to do an ornament swap in the fall next year!  If 25 ladies wanted to participate, each family would make 25 of one ornament, come swap, and then go home with a completed set.  Sounds fantastic! Lord willing, I will try to get this together next fall!)

Marshmallow fun!

[Yes I know it's been a month since I've posted.....maybe one day I'll be a "real blogger" (aka posts every day) but for now I'm happy to be a wife, mother, sister and friend.]

A few weeks ago we had Jake's family (minus Hannah :(...) over for dinner and SMORES!  Henry LOVES marshmallows and actually did really well around the fire.  Now that the weather is consistently cold we may get to have more fire nights! 

Jack also found a dead snake this same day.  He "wore" it around his neck for most of the afternoon!  He had seen a snake at a friend's  birthday party recently and the man held it around his neck.  Unfortunately I can't get the picture to upload correctly.  Maybe one day I'll figure out how to rotate pictures once they've been imported to the blog.........

Preschool Days - T for Turtle

After going to the beach and taking some days off for school I thought it would be hard to get back into the swing of things, but it hasn't been difficult at all.  I think a little break was just what we needed!  This week we studied the letter T and talked about not quitting, but  persevering.   

Gluing ten triangles on the letter T was tons of fun!  It just happened to be the week to talk about triangles in math!  I must admit that these darlings LOVE glue almost as much as I do....who knew I should've purchased LOTS of glue during all the Back-to-School sales! 

Now that we have learned several consonants (t, l, m, n, s) and one vowel (a), we are able to work on blending! Both J & C were able to blend s-a-t on the first attempt!  They were very excited to be reading!

(Side note - Since we are "readers" now, we ended our time today with C "reading" to us from the Bible.....C taught us about several things, not necesarily in this order - for such a time as this, being baptized and going to heaven, 1066.....in Bethlehem, Jack Spann trusted God without disobeying, God told Satan what to do, there is a true God Christ in the Bible and some spontaneous singing at the end. Glad they are thinking about our Lord at such a young age. Excited to see them grow in wisdom and stature in the years to come.)

Unexpected Blessings

This happiness makes 8 hours in the car by myself with two young boys, totally worth it!

We didn't expect to find ourselves at the beach this week, but WE ARE! What a blessing!  Unfortunately Jake is working and couldn't come down with us, but last night he worked it out to come down this weekend! Yippee!  We are so excited to be here and even more excited that Jake will be here this weekend.  Even Aunt Hannah is going to come in some time tomorrow and stay a few days!

This is Henry's first time at the beach and he LOVES it!  There is a great sandbar right out from the condo and he has spent hours there today.  It's hard to even get a picture of his face because he's looking down at the sand and water constantly.  This is also the first year that Jack is really enjoying himself and is feeling confident in the water.  Grandpa got him a cool surfboard so he has been busy "learning to surf." 

Long mornings in the sun make for wonderful, long nap times!  We all need it after sleeping in one room last night.  I never knew that BOTH of my boys snore and talk in their sleep.  Hysterical, but makes it difficult to get much resting accomplished!

Soccer

So we always said we wouldn't put Jack into any organized sports until he turned 5, but the opportunity presented itself for him to participate in soccer this year.  He has pretty limited contact with other kids his age these days (except for church and preschool time with C), so this was a great way to give him some peer interaction and get some exercise.

During the first week the team was lining up to give Coach John high fives.  This picture just cracked me up, especially the girls!  The one with her hands on her face is the coach's daughter.  The other two gals, near Jack, are serious ball players and don't mess around.  Jack was wanting to show Coach John his number - #9!

Coach John & Coach Terry (our neighbor & friend - pictured above) have done a fantastic job and have gotten lots of exercise themselves.  They spend the majority of the playing time running after rogue players who have inadvertently exited the field with the ball and proceeded to join another game going on adjacent to our field.

Terry's son, Carson, is small in stature but he makes up for it in speed and skills.  He is our leading scorer and appears to be loving every minute of every game!

The kids play 4-on-4 with 6 minute periods. There are three 6 min periods, a 5 min halftime, and 3 more 6 min periods. 6 minutes doesn't seem like very long to me, but Jack thinks it is an eternity. I think this was the same day he said "I had to play for a long time...at least an hour, Mom!"

One of Jack's favorite parts so far is taking a break.  He loves to come to the side and drink from his water bottle.  This past week he even volunteered to be the first one to take a break. Maybe this means he needs a little more exercise during the week......

Sometimes Jack even takes a break on the field!  He has spent some quality time laying on the grass during each game.  Luckily here he was just taking a "short break" and didn't get squashed by the other players.