Ketchup...to "catch you up" on the last few months

Well, so much for my goal of blogging twice a week! Since I haven't done a single entry since I started my new job August 1st I decided I better do a Ketchup Post. Here are the key events:

• In July Craig and I both started interviewing for new jobs. I found a job posting on the marketing page of the Reno craigslist that described him perfectly. After a 3 year stint of commuting to Carson for work we were both really ready to be living and working in the same city. And after 16 moths of having the house on the market we were started to think that God had other plans for us right now that didn't include moving to Boise. I also decided to apply for a newly vacant position at our church leading the children's ministry.
• On July 31st I got a phone call from the church telling me that they would like me to start work the next morning.
• About a week later Craig got the official offer from CLP (a skilled trade service provider with their headquarters in South Reno) that they would like him to start the end of August. This meant that for the first time in his adult life he would have 2 1/2 consecutive weeks off work!
• The timing couldn't have been better because Craig and I went to Kona for a week during that time for a vacation/family reunion. It was our first "real" vacation since our honeymoon and we had a wonderful time. My parents came up and stayed with the kids while we were gone making sure that Noah & Max were well-entertained and Josh & Annie got to dentist appointments and school. For a complete account from the Kona trip look for Craig's Trip Diary in a separate post.
• The weekend before going to Kona we held a dedication service for Max and Noah. The service was performed by family friend Reverend Steve Wren and was held in our backyard. Joining us from Boise were very dear friends whom we asked to be godparents for our children - Debbie & Larry Kreidler and Matt & Johanna Dempster.
  
• September brought our last big gigs for the business this season - an out of town wedding and a huge fundraiser for a local foundation. My work was also in full-swing with the start of the new Sunday School year and the after school Kids Club I lead each Wednesday.
• If you've known me for any length of time, you know how we love to celebrate Halloween with a family theme that is usually being planned over the course of the whole previous year. (Yes, the kids are already busy planning for Halloween 2008!) This year we had decided to go as a Full House, Kings over Queens with Noah as the Joker. Craig did a beautiful job with the costumes. The only difficulty was that they weren't very comfortable. And when we planned them months before we had no way of knowing that I would be in charge of our church's first Fall Family Festival! It worked out fine with the costumes, and thanks to an incredible committee of volunteers, the Festival was wonderful!
• In November Josh and Annie spent a week with my parents while they were off-track from school. While they were gone I tried to find time to work on my Kona album (which I did finish the first week of December!) My parents brought them all the way home to Reno (often we meet them in Sacramento) and stayed for a few days. During that time my dad painted a wall in Josh & Noah's room and we all attended a big (HUGE) Thanksgiving dinner at church that weekend. We are so thankful for our church and our many friends who make up our church family.
• Thanksgiving Day we got up early, loaded the car, and started on our way to Boise. Our target arrival time was 3pm for dinner at 5pm with the Kreidlers. Unfortunately, I managed to veer off the road, over-correct, spin us completely around, and take out a reflector post on our way into a ditch full of sage brush. We met a very nice tow-truck driver and a wonderful mechanic who opened his shop up just for us. We also met a not-so-nice police officer and I got my very first ticket...After a 5 hour delay in and around Winnemucca, NV we were back on the road - in our own van - with Craig driving.
• The rest of our weekend in Boise was WONDERFUL. It still amazes me how at home we feel in a city where we haven't lived (yet). We stayed with Debbie and Larry's family, spent all day Friday with the Dempsters and all visited with dear friends the Herberts, "Grandma Judie," my former youth leader Becky Lee, a former co-worker & friend of Craig's, and our pastor and friend, Mark Coffin. Much to be thankful for that weekend, but mostly thankful for an uneventful drive home.
  

Favorite Quotes from "You're Late Again, Lord!"

As I referenced in an earlier posting, I have been reading a great little book by Karon Phillips Goodman called "You're Late Again, Lord!" I wanted to share with you some favorite quotes since I don't think I could express these ideas any better. Enjoy, be inspired, and buy the book!

• So, when your life is at a standstill over what you can't control, and when you're waiting on answers that never seem to come, God says to use that time to work where you are. God says to learn the art of waiting purposefully. Maybe that's what God had in mind all along. Maybe that's why we wait. (p. 11)

• He doesn't say wait and hope and sit quietly. He says to mount up, to run, and to walk--these are words that indicate anything but inaction. These words require work. These words come with a purpose. You can fulfill the Lord's purpose for you while you wait and hope. Waht a plan. I told you He was smart. (p. 17)

• The time I spent waiting didn’t have to be endless and useless—it could be productive and dynamic. Living according to my Lord’s timetable included my work, too. I could be both prayerful and purposeful. I could “pray without ceasing” while I worked. I could listen and learn. God had prepared for my impatience. He had provided a place for me to grow. He was going to be there while we waited, to help me find what I had lost, and He and I both knew that was a long list. (pp. 28-29)

• Even if you think you already know, you will be amazed at what God has to show you. It’s the difference betweeen holding a glass of water and standing in the ocean. (p. 97)

• I can’t tell you what plans the Lord has for you, or that you will always understand them immediately, but I can tell you that you can know what to do each day—this day’s work. That’s enough. That’s all you need. (p. 124)

• God has promised to help us, not just on Sundays or when we’re ill or when we have life-altering decisions to make, but forever. “Lo, I am with you always,” Jesus said (Matthew 28:20 NKJV). I don’t read any qualifying remarks there, do you? My Bible says “always” and there is no double meaning or outdated definition for that word. (p. 126)

Vickie’s Top 10 Tips for Plane Trips with Children

10. Bring the Pack’n’Play. I am so glad I decided to bring ours. I love it, and my kids are used to it. It was so easy to just check it through with the baggage.

9. Buy the ice cream in the airport. This is especially important if you have a longer layover. It is worth $2.50 a scoop (I bought everyone a “tiny” instead of a “small”) to reward good behavior for the first leg of the trip and encourage more smiles for the rest of the way.

8. Don’t make your “home base” in the airport while you wait for your next flight at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the Admirals Club. Enough said.

7. Keep baby wipes handy. Even if you’ve only been a parent for 2 days you probably know this one. However, baby wipes have so many other incredible uses like wiping spit-up off your clothes, washing sticky fingers and faces after eating an over-priced airport, but on this trip I learned yet another use for them. You can actually use a baby wipe to erase a work of art off the window shade on a plane.

6. Avoid American Airlines if possible. This is the least kid-friendly airline I’ve ever encountered. Even with 2 babies, 2 car seats and 2 children, they refused to let us pre-board. We were in Group 5 or 6 every time. I was still installing car seats and getting kids situated as they were telling us to prepare for take off. And unless you want to pay $3 for a cookie bring plenty of snacks for the kids. Not even peanuts on this airline. (Oh, and the headphones are $5 each if you don’t bring your own…)

5. Bring a stroller. It is so easy to gate check an umbrella stroller – it is so worth it. In our case I just brought one stroller and the boys took turns. Some airports will also let you go through the handicap security line if you have a stroller. Even if you factor in the extra time it takes to remove the child and collapse the stroller for the x-ray machine chances are it may save you more time by not waiting in line.

4. Be persistent about trying to get your car seat on board. Sometimes it isn’t always financially practical to buy a ticket for a baby since it isn’t required. But let’s face it, most “lap children” are done with your lap before the plane has reached its cruising altitude. If the plane isn’t full try to bring your car seat on board. It will save your back and possibly your sanity. Southwest is great about this. I learned this time however, that it can be more difficult on other airlines (like American)

3. Give older kids a special job. Assign an older child to push the stroller, carry a tote bag or entertain a younger one. It gives them something productive to do and the special responsibility will encourage them to be on their best behavior.

2. Plan ahead & buy large ziplock bags. I filled one for each child with special things to do on the plane. I included things like a card game, a new art notebook & crayons, a favorite paperback book, a skein of yarn for the older kids. Max’s had some Elmo crackers too.

1. Bring Grandma & Grandpa. I couldn’t have survived that many plane rides without them!

Amazing...

I just returned home from visiting relatives (my mom's side) in St. Louis and thought I'd share my reflections on some of the amazing people in our lives.

1. My Grandparents - My gradma was born in 1915 and my grandpa in 1916. They married in 1941 and they still live in the home they bought when my mom was a baby. Amazing. While we were there my grandma made Josh 3 pair of shorts from some pants that were too long, fixed the straps on two of Annie's sundresses, hemmed a pair of jeans for me and altered a dress for me. Amazing. The morning we were leaving Max snuck outside. My grandpa was the only one who noticed. I wonder how long it would have been until we realized that he wasn't playing with "someone else" in the other room.

2. My Family - I enjoyed visiting with all of the relatives but was amazed by how many aunts and cousins went out of their way to make things easy for us when we arrived. They worked together to get my grandparents' house ready for a week long visit of little people. There were car seats, high chairs (2 plus a booster!), cribs, an air mattress, toys, games, art supplies and more waiting for us. It was amazing how easy it was for 7 people to just "show up" and share 2 bedrooms!

3. My Parents - I could not have gone on this trip without my parents. Literally - the airlines wouldn't let me bring 2 lap children. But seriously, they help me so much I can't even tell you how amazing they are. They even cut their trip short because I couldn't stay any longer. They wanted to stay for 2 weeks but 8 days was really all we could do...My dad even offered to drive us home to Reno the next day and then fly back to San Jose so I wouldn't have to make the trip alone. But he didn't have to - see #4.

4. My Kids - The kids did awesome on the trip. Josh and Annie helped with the boys. Everyone slept where they were told, ate what was served, remembered their manners, cleaned up toys so my grandparents wouldn't fall over anything. They were amazing. And my proudest Mommy Moment - as we were leaving the security check point in the St. Louis airport (Can you imagine what it takes to get through security with 2 kids, 2 babies, 2 car seats, a stroller & 5 carry-on bags?) and a pregnant lady came up and said, "Your kids are so well behaved you give me hope!" Boy, did she make my day. (And boy, was I glad she wasn't on our flight from Austin to San Jose later that day!) And the drive home to Reno the next day was amazing. Not one kid cried, whined or complained the whole way home - not even a baby! We didn't even stop for lunch until Truckee!!!

5. My Parents' Neighbors - My parents' next door neighbors took us to the airport and picked us when we got back. It took both of them to do it because we wouldn't all fit in one vehicle! While we were gone she took my van and had it washed and vacuumed - what an amazing surprise! And later I solved another mystery - the family next door to them noticed a scratch on my bumper when my van was parked in my parents' driveway. Their son came over and buffed it out for me - thanks Jake!

6. My Husband - We missed him so much while we were gone. I'm sorry he couldn't come with us this time but I am so grateful that he understands how important it is to me that our kids know my grandparents and make memories at their house. He went to visit them without me once before and went water skiing with my uncle and cousins. I suspect he'll be the next one from our family to make a trip out there. He's simply amazing.

Noah's Ark

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark ...

ONE: Don't miss the boat.

TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!

THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

SIX: Build your future on high ground.

SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.

TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a
rainbow waiting.

(In case you were wondering, NO, I didn't write this. Just one of those e-mails that I really enjoyed. Thanks, Michelle.)