Sunday, January 29, 2012

112 Days

On Sunday, I finished a program to read through the Bible in 90 days. As the title implies, I didn't quite make it in the alloted time, but I did learn quite a bit.
  1. I LOVE listening to the Bible (dramatized version) instead of solely reading it. Sometimes I also read along, but most often it was playing from my phone though an app called Faith Comes by Hearing.
  2. Do NOT start a program like this that will run over the holidays. Of course, if you find yourself with lots of thumb-twiddling time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, go for it!
  3. I could listen while I was doing things like picking up the house, folding laundry, etc. I could not listen well while talking, reading, or listening to something else at the same time (like kids' voices).
  4. I also started listening to Scripture while I was sleeping. I liked the thought of it being the first and last thing I heard every day.
  5. I thought a few times that God might have done a little more editing. There are a few repetitious spots. Just sayin', Lord. :)

I encourage you to try it out. It was really eye-opening to read everything within such a short time. It kept things more fresh in my head, especially when a New Testament verse referenced or quoted from the OT. Super cool. A place that has a lot of choices for plans is youversion.com. Check it out!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

When Last We Spoke

The last time I posted was nearly a year ago. That's a dirty, rotten shame, because it means I've missed a lot of Joshua's growing up. I've been active on Facebook, but that's much less helpful in chronicling the events in the Swan house. I'll look back on there and see what we've been up to.
Don't feel obligated to read. I just want a more permanent record than FB.

February

  • Saw The King's Speech with friends.
  • Experienced brain cell shortages. ("Just called Katrina about five times, wondering why my daughter wasn't responding. Probably because her name is KATY.")
  • Katy got two broken teeth and three cavities repaired. No clue about the broken teeth until she told the hygenist to watch out for the sharp ones in back.
  • I was held hostage and forced to join the evil crew of Mrs. Captain Tooth Pirate and Bad Spiderman.
  • Joshua started clapping (on the 23rd).

March

  • Joshua fell asleep in his jumpy seat while I was in the shower.
  • Stephen made strawberry jam.
  • Joshua started pulling up to standing.
  • Spent Spring Break time with Sally & Marvin where Katy and I got our first pedicures.
  • Visited the ER with Caleb.
  • Joshua said Mamamamama (2nd word, on the 27th).

April
  • Introduced Ken & Sarah to the wonders of IKEA.
  • Katy told me that if God had made the world an ellipse, Uncle Scott & Aunt Jodi would live closer.
  • Went to Katy's kindergarten roundup at Lakeview.
  • Joshua taught me the importance of securing the lid on our homemade laundry detergent.
  • Katy told me that when people say "Praise the Lord!" after an scare, they really were just nervous about something, and then it didn't happen.
  • Caleb said, "How do I look? Cool as nice and lookin' good."
  • Katy bolstered my self esteem by telling Caleb that "this [Leapster Explorer] could even make Mommy smart."
  • Joshua joined the Toothful Club (on the 20th).
  • Caleb decided to turn four years old, much to Mommy's chagrin.
  • Totally got up at 3:50AM to watch the royal wedding. Laptop in bed and all.

May
  • Kicked off the month by moving in with Ken & Sarah so we can build next door.
  • Caleb said, "Momma, wilw you come he'p me? My [toy] horse keeps tip-overing. I sink his wheels are confected."
  • Spent a few nights in the basement when the bedrooms reached 85 degrees.
  • Practiced my tick-removal skills.
  • Started working at the church as the Children's Director.
  • Proctored a final for Ken's class.
  • Katy's last day of preschool, much to Mommy's chagrin.
  • Stephen's 36th birthday.

June
  • Barista-ed at my niece's open house.
  • Enjoyed an America's Got Talent season, to which Katy said, "I guess America has a LITTLE talent."
  • Caleb melted my heart with, "I'll pray for you, Momma. Dear God, thank you for my momma because she is so pretty, and I love her big much."
  • Caleb got a colonoscopy. Whoopee.
  • Put batteries in Caleb's toy. "Thanks, Momma! I'm so PROUD of you!!"
  • Laminated 60 feet of VBS posters.
  • Celebrated Joshua's 1st birthday!

July
  • Overheard from Katy to Caleb. "Pretend you were a boy wolf and I was a girl wolf, and I fell in love with you, but you had to go to the bathroom and then I kissed you after you washed your hands."
  • Had flashbacks to a few years ago when I took my baby down from the top of a six-foot ladder.
  • Went to the Wabash County fair.
  • Celebrated our TENTH anniversary with a night in Fort Wayne at the same B&B where we honeymooned.

August
  • Caleb won the huge prize from the Summer Reading Program at our library - a new bike!
  • Katy started kindergarten.
  • Had a blast at the State Fair.
  • Katy lost her first tooth (on the 26th).

September
  • Had an awesome Grandparents Day at church. Highlight was having grandparents pray for grandkids.
  • Went to WMCR (a married couples' retreat) and got appointed to the planning committee.
  • Took a Spanish-speaking mom and her son in our van on the preschool pumpkin patch trip. It was a great chance to practice for me.
  • Went to the Come to the Fire conference. Totally recommend it! Came home to Caleb asking for an "Africa-cot."
  • Celebrated Katy's 6th birthday.

October
  • Celebrated my 32nd birthday.
  • Caleb ignored my warning and tried to climb the short dresser. He tipped it, of course, but I think he learned his lesson.
  • Had a church retreat where the kiddos were WishGirl (who looked a lot like Batgirl), the Green Lantern, and a cute, cuddly bear.

November
  • Replaced my own taillight on the van. :)
  • Kiddos got to play with some close-in-age cousins at Thanksgiving.
  • Caleb was upset at a consequence I had given. He said, "Mom, because you said that, I don't believe in you." "Ok, Caleb. Thanks for telling me. Now go brush your teeth."

December
  • Joshua moved to a big-boy bed.
  • Caleb successfully climbed the basketball at the mall's soft play area.
  • Katy lost her second tooth (on the 6th).
  • Church kids gave an amazing program!
  • Katy was crushing on Dr. Oz.
  • Stephen and I got a guitar for Christmas (from ourselves).
  • Celebrated Christmas and traveled to Virginia to visit Scott and Jodi.

January
  • Life has returned to normal minus Ken & Sarah, who are in Florida.
  • Joshua, who discovered how to operate doorknobs AND locks, had to be moved to the big kids' room in a pack-n-play.

Monday, September 19, 2011

I have finally started building my own house! I took last week off and built the outside walls and dug a big pit. It has been a long wait to get to this point. Exciting things ahead.

Site with walls

Garage dirt pile

Monday, January 31, 2011

Scratch 'n' Sniff Has a Whole New Meaning

Conversation I just had with Caleb upon opening a new package of Toy Story 3 underwear.

C: We have to smell it.
Me: No, you don't have to smell underwear before you wear it.
C: But there's food on it.
Me: (After looking at the other side of the package and seeing the logo) No, that's Fruit of the Loom. Those are the people who made it. It's not scratch 'n' sniff underwear.
C: But I'm going to smell it.
Me: OK.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

My Words Are Taken Away

Being depressed is terrible.

Being depressed and having no one to turn to would be much, much worse. Thanks to the friends and family who have been so helpful over the last several months, whether they're aware of their helpfulness or not.

The last while has been difficult to process. I'm much better at just going day to day and not thinking about my life. So I've been avoiding blogging, longish emails, and really anything beyond a quick status update on facebook. I am a little sad about that because I like to use the blog to record the haps in our family, and I've missed a lot of haps since August.

Here's a whirlwind catch up -----

AUGUST: Back to school for kiddos and Momma! I am teaching one morning each week at Lakeview. Elementary Spanish has always been something I enjoy teaching, so I'm glad to be able to keep up with it. The class periods are 20 minutes long, so that keeps me hopping. The older two are in preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Joshua only goes when I'm teaching. It's uber-convenient to be able to drop all the kiddos and work at the same place.

SEPTEMBER: My not-so-little baby girl turned five. Holy moly. She'll be off to kindergarten next year. Yikes!!! We were also excited to be able to have Grandma up north to celebrate her 80th birthday. All sorts of her friends were able to come and visit for a little while in Muncie. Toward the end of the month the kiddos started swim lessons @ IWU. Glad for them to be more comfortable in the water.

OCTOBER: We started and ended the month with homecoming celebrations, first for IWU and then ONU. In between, we visited Shawn's tent at Mississinewa 1812, held a campout of our own for the Caravan students from church, took a preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch, and celebrated my 31st birthday.

NOVEMBER: Life picked up speed in November as it often does in the holiday season. In addition to teaching at Lakeview, I've been doing observations for IWU's education department. I really enjoy the chance to help teachers who are still shaping their educational outlook. Those beginning teachers aren't necessarily eager to be observed, so most of the sessions were crammed in toward the end of the semester. Lesson learned. I'll contact them this semester. :) One of the highlights of family life during this month was Stephen's extended family gathering in Columbus. It's something we look forward to every year.

DECEMBER: After we finished all the responsibilities of early December, we headed out to Virginia and spent a week with Stephen's entire family at Scott's house. Our kiddos loved it, especially since those are the cousins who are closest in age. We enjoyed walking around Colonial Williamsburg, attending church with Scott's family, etc., but the family time was the best part. After we got back, we celebrated two Christmases with extended family and then my extended-extended Cole family.

JANUARY: Life has settled back down to mostly normal. I'm glad. Of course, mostly normal involved Caleb falling from the bunk beds and splitting his head open on Katy's dresser. Sigh. Just getting a jump on that deductible, right, Buddy Boy? :) Joshua is sitting up now, and he will probably start taking off crawling soon. Here's a shot of my three adorable youngsters.