WARNING ... super long update post

I am being lazy about updating the blog.  I know I am going to miss the void in my archives if I don't keep up on our day-to-day life on the blog.  I think it is the house planning and the overall busyness of life in the apartment with three little boys.  

With that said, we are doing great.  We have managed to avoid illness, so far, throughout this cold and flu season that I keep hearing is epic.  This is God's grace to us in our tiny living space.

The boys are doing fantastic and have adjusted quite well to our temporary downsize.  Miles finally stopped asking to move back to our old house a few weeks ago.  He used to cry when we would drive by the old house. I am pretty sure he has stopped looking for it when we pass by now.

This winter has been light.  We haven't had significant snow in quite a while and we have had sunshine which I need and love. Another one of God's graces to me (and our family) this winter.  A few days ago I bundled up the boys and pulled their bikes out of the storage closet at our apartment and took them to Rotary Park.  The boys rode their bikes all around the park and I sat basking in the cold, but sunny day and read my book.  The sun is out today and Miles and Evan asked to go for another ride.  It is 37 degrees outside which is warm enough for them.

Maddeck just finished his penguin unit at school.  He now knows everything about penguins and all 17 species and what part of the world they live in.  I found a program on Netflix about penguins and while we were watching it Maddeck would identify the penguins by name before the narrator said them.  It was pretty cool.  He came home with an entire binder of information and art work.  His school benefit dinner is coming up in March and his class will be performing this year.  I am not sure what they will be doing in the program yet, but I can promise you that it will be educational and adorable.  This will be our fifth time attending the dinner and our third since Maddeck enrolled at TRA. This is an awesome event and I look forward to it every year.  Please let me know if you would like an invitation!!

They measured and cut strings to the height of each kind of penguin.  Maddeck is proudly taller than all the penguins, even the Emperor which is 45 inches tall.  Maddeck is 46 inches tall.  

Evan is growing ... well ... all the boys are growing.  Evan is having growing pains.  For well over a week he was limping around, crying, waking up in the night, and crawling around because of the pain.  I was about to take him in to the doctor when he turned a corner suddenly.  It was a good reminder to always keep a good supply of pain medicine on hand.  We gave him some hot baths to try and sooth the pain and had him eat a lot of bananas.  My friend said that the doctor recommended bananas for her son's growing pains.  It was so sad and I am thankful that he is doing well again.

Miles and Evan are wearing underwear to bed at night.  We are done with pull-ups, diapers, and wipes.  So long potty training -- good riddance!!

Our family is attending a new church.  We are no longer going to Cornerstone Bible Church in Leavenworth, where we attended for 8+ years.  The pastor married us 11 years ago as the church was just beginning.  It was a difficult decision for us and we were sad to leave the fellowship with the people that we are so close to.  We want to worship in Wenatchee with our community and allow the Lord to grow us and use us for ministry here where we live.  We have settled into our new church at Grace Covenant Church in Wenatchee.  We love it.  We are excited to get to know the people better and plug in.  The boys have adjusted well and Evan and Miles didn't cry when I took them to "Grace Kids" for the first time last Sunday.  Evan told me he is excited to go to Grace Kids every Sunday.  Maddeck has decided that he would like to attend church with Kyle and I and not go to the older Grace Kids class.  We got him his first complete bible (ESV Grow Bible) and he can follow along with us during the church service.  He has shown more maturing recently and I think his ability to read on his own and attending Grace Covenant and The River Academy has fostered that.  We continually ask that the Lord grow Maddeck and make his convictions strong as he walks through this life as follower of Jesus Christ.  There is no greater joy than the peace of knowing that our boys are not our own ... that we are not our own ... we are His workmanship and children of God.

We asked Maddeck if he wants to play spring soccer or spring baseball.  I think he would love to do soccer again because he truly loves it and it is so much faster paced than baseball.  He will have an opportunity to play soccer again in the fall, so we are going to do baseball instead.  Once he gets going, I think he will really enjoy baseball too.  This year he is a rookie (ball machine pitching) so he will really learn how to hit.

That is all for now.