HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Family is Growing Again!

We have some exciting news! We are expecting a new member to the family this spring!


Wait, hold your horses folks.... we're talking about a marriage!! ;o)

Christmas night Jason proposed to my sister Jessica! (Congratulations you two!) We are very happy for them and looking forward to their wedding! It's going to be a fun spring!

Merry Christmas from S. and Company!

Merry Christmas to each of you!! We hope this finds you all healthy and happy. We have had a very sweet Christmas season so far (I always think it goes by too quickly), and tonight we enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at our church. We are thankful for so many things this Christmas... wonderful children, our marriage, great extended families, jobs we both feel called to, friends near and far, a warm home, and so many more, but especially the fact that our God loved this world so much that he sent his only child, his son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. A perfect reason to celebrate, in our opinion!

(The following are a couple pics from tonight. Steve made a terrific supper, then we read the Christmas story, and the kids opened gifts from us. Intermix two excited kids running from one end of the house to the other, stripping their dress clothes off, a barking collie, and a frustrated mom who's camera batteries just went dead . A few deep breaths, a discovery of batteries, and some jammies later things were back on track.) ;o)


This is Seth's "Are we done with pictures yet?" look.

The kids and Steve waiting for me to bring them the Christmas story. (Perhaps some day they will both be able to sit through it. Tonight we had Seth doing somersaults half way through the story and Haddie shouting "No, no, no!" to no one in particular. :0)

He he. This is our life. Quite crazy at times, but we love it.

Again, Merry Christmas to you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tagged!

I've been tagged! (Below you will find the explanation for this picture!)
The rules to this game are....
1) Find your 6th photo file on your computer
2) Find the 6th picture in that file
3) Post it!
The explanation of this picture is that the kids wanted to do finger painting, but I was running low on paper... so I pulled out last year's phone book that I still haven't recycled and ripped out a bunch of pages for the kids to paint on. Seth thought it was fun to pick out letters while he was painting, and Haddie, well, Haddie didn't care. She was just happy to paint!
(By the way, Kristin tagged me. You can find her 6th picture if you scroll down a ways on the left hand side of our blog. We have a growing list of blogs we visit. Her site is "The Lord's Heirs." So far, friends Lesley from "The Five of Us", and Mara from "Mara's Meanderings" have posted their 6th picture too.)
As quite a few people who view this do not have blogs, and many of those who do have already been tagged by someone else, I'm just putting the invitation out there to anyone who might want to take part in this game. If you have a blog and you decide to post your 6th pic from your 6th file, leave a comment for me so I can make sure to look at it! And if you don't have a blog but happen to want to email me your pic, I can post it for you! ;o)

Megan sent us her 6th photo from her 6th file... It happened to be Seth on his first birthday!

Thanks for sharing Megan!!

Spoken like a true Minnesotan

We were away from home for Sunday and Monday. Last night we pulled into our yard to find that the blizzard had dumped a LOT of snow in our yard and driveway. We put the kids to bed and then Steve proceeded to head outside to blow out paths to walk and drive, despite the frigid temperature (the actual temp was -15 degrees, but I saw on the weather channel that the wind chill brought it down to 39 degrees below zero!). I couldn't believe it when he came in an hour later, smiling an remarking, "It's really not that bad outside."

Spoken like a true Minnesotan!

"WHEEEEEEEE!" (who needs a ride at the fair when you have a salon chair?)

After supper tonight we (or more accurately, Seth) came up with a creative idea to pass some time indoors. He asked us to pull my salon chair into the dining room. Then he proceeded to have a seat on the foot rest and let out a delighted "wheeeeee!" as he spun himself around.

The chair was a great source of entertainment off and on for about two hours.

Haddie decided that she needed to get in on the fun too! Seth and Haddie both sat on the chair and were giddy about spinning in circles. Seth never did seem phased by the spinning, but after a little while we took Haddie down because she was starting to look a little dizzy (you can see it in her eyes in this picture). ;o) Silly kids!

Winter Wonderland

Well, we finally have a covering of snow that is going to stay, I believe! (I've been waiting to put up this neat picture Jess took until it actually looked like winter here!)
Now that it is feeling more like winter (or I should say looking more like winter - it's been feeling like it for a while!) I have been thinking about some winter and Christmas activities we have enjoyed in the past. As Seth and Haddie grow we find that we are implementing some old family traditions, as well as seeking out some fun new ones to use with our little family. : ) I thought I'd share some favorite winter activities and Christmas traditions that come to mind off the top of my head...
*Hockey was a favorite winter past time for Steve's family. Steve played through 9th grade, his dad played and coached, and he even has an uncle who was recently inducted into the High School Athletic Hall of Fame in hockey!
*When I was little, my siblings and I loved it when my dad pulled out his old El Tigre snowmobile and a huge inner tube from one of the tractor tires to give us a ride. (We were also kind of nerds. Another favorite winter pastime was running around our yard pretending that we were on dogsleds. Of course, we had a name for each of the imaginary dogs that pulled our sleds!) ;o)
*As I got older, I enjoyed riding horse bareback in the snowy fields in the winter time. It was too cold to mess with saddles! (These were actual horses, not imaginary ones this time!)
*In our teen years, Steve and I both had lots of fun playing pep band for winter sports - I played the flute and he played just about every other instrument in the band! (I was also on the dance team. Whoa... there's no way I could do the splits anymore! Hehe!)
*A Christmas family tradition on Steve's side was to have a candle light steak dinner on Christmas Eve. Their family worked hard to be frugal all year long, but on that night they celebrated the importance of Christmas with a very special meal.
*My family had a tradition of going to the candle light Christmas Eve service at church, and then taking a long route home to look at all the lights in the near-by towns. Once home, my mom took out her good China - usually for a meal of wild rice soup and bottles of Coke (the glass Christmas edition kind)!
So, those are a few that came to mind. Anyone have any winter activities or Christmas traditions they would like to share? (Especially if you have any that include kids. We're looking for some fun ones Seth and Haddie might enjoy!)
Now I have to jet. I have LOTS of laundry to fold! ;o)
Good Night! (Or Good morning or afternoon!)
~Natalie

A Couple Things We Enjoy...

I thought it would be fun to share a couple resources we've been enjoying for the past few months. The first one, which you can find at http://www.starfall.com/ is a great online site full of educational games for children (and it's free to use!). Seth is starting to enjoy learning about letters and their sounds and this is a really neat place to have fun practicing those skills. We've only used the preschool level portions, but it looks like there are learning games for older children too. We love Starfall!

The second item we wanted to share is the "Valley of Vision" CD by Sovereign Grace Music. It can be found at http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums. This CD has been a favorite in our home since Steve brought it home last spring. The music is beautiful, and the words are inspired by Puritan prayers. We think Sovereign Grace Ministries does a fabulous job producing great music combined with lyrics that are doctrinally sound!
Here is an excerpt of what Sovereign Grace Music has to say about the "Valley of Vision" CD... "Valley of Vision includes twelve songs that draw from these prayers at various levels and in various ways. We pray that your relationship with God will deepen as the truths expressed in these songs are sown into your heart. Truths like the deception and pervasiveness of indwelling sin...the power of the gospel to secure our forgiveness and freedom...our utter dependence on God...God’s sovereignty in the midst of sufferings...and a passion for God’s purposes on the earth. We trust these songs will make you more aware of God’s holiness and more amazed at our Savior’s sacrifice for undeserving sinners."

Thanks for stopping by!! Have a wonderful day!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
to each of you!

We are having a lovely day, with so much to be thankful for. We hope all of you are doing well, and that you have a blessed day also.

With love,
Steve, Natalie
Seth and
Haddie

Constant Entertainment

I thought I'd share with you some amusing things we've heard our kids say, as well as some recent pictures.
*Seth saw Steve and I kiss and he asked if we were married. ;o) We said yes we are, and I also said something like "when you're older you might get married too." He replied with an excited but worried, "But, I don't have a ring!"

(Ironically, just as the weather turned cold, Seth began a new phase of trying to remove his clothing whenever possible!)

*When Seth was about three years old, we were having a conversation about how he used to be in my tummy. This is how Seth thinks he got there... “I was soooo little, and I went in your nose and went down into your tummy.” Hehe. Something like that.

*A few months later while talking about the same thing, Seth said, “When I was in your tummy, did you swallow me?..... Were my clothes wet?” He couldn't figure out why a baby in a mother's tummy wouldn't be wearing clothes. Cute.

*Apparently Haddie hears this… Starting at about 13 months, whenever I am holding her and I open the pantry door, she says, “Ummmm”.

* Here Haddie is doing "Angels" on the kitchen floor. ;o)

* Seth balanced a baby medicine measuring spoon on a pot and turned on the water. Then he said, "Hey, what do you think? It's a rain gauge!" He he he. I love his imagination!

*My aunt and her husband were visiting from Texas, and we were all having a meal together. Seth looked over at Sam, her husband, and after studying him for a while, remarked, “You have a Mr. Potato Head!” (He is bald on top.) Oh, dear!

* I started wondering why Haddie was randomly saying the word "mean". Then a couple days ago I figured it out. Haddie was eating a carrot and then she purposely dropped it on the ground. Next she patted her leg with her hand and said, "Mean-a, whe-a-ou?" Meshach came running and the light went on. "Meshach, where are you?" No wonder Meeshie likes Haddie so much!

* Steve had the fun idea to let the kids do some "winter camping" in our playroom with the tent. They have had a GREAT time!

*Until Seth was about three years old, even though he could repeat almost any word, he continued to call basketball “shalla-ball”. Therefore, basketball hoop was “shalla-ball boop”.

*A commonly heard phrase at our house is, "It's almost time to go (where ever). We just have to pack up." At three and a half, Seth was highly impressed and excited when we told him that we don’t have to “pack up” when we go to Heaven.

* For some reason, our kids have a fascination with being in "jail." In this picture they are, of course, in jail.

Implementing a Friend's Good Idea

I happen to be a pack rat. It is a habit I am working on. ;o) However, about a year ago my pack rat tendencies actually paid off a bit. I had been in the habit of saving all the cards we have received since we were married five and a half years ago (ok... I guess that sounds a little extreme! I'm getting better!). Anyway, last year I came across a fun idea that a friend had shared. She wrote about how, after Christmas season, a person could take all their Christmas cards and put them in a basket. Then, the person could periodically pull out a card and pray for whoever happened to be on the card. I liked the idea a lot, but with four extra hands around my house (that means 40 sticky fingers) I figured a basket just wouldn't do for our family. Soooo, I gathered up Christmas cards (and graduation invites) from the last two years (I wasn't up for the task of going any further than that! Hehe!), and put them in a large photo album. I put the album on a wooden tray on our dining room table, along with a children's Bible story book and a nice violet from Granny! Several times a week we read to Seth and Haddie at the table before they get down after meals, and then after story time we pull out the photo album (known fondly as the "prayer book" by Seth.) We've enjoyed this so far. It's a fun way to remember to pray for all the special people in our life!
So, if you've sent a Christmas card in the last couple years, or if you send one in the future, you'll be in our book! :o)

Some Randoms ; )

I had big plans to write up a post tonight, but it seems I used up all my energy on when I decided on a whim to clean out/organize a bunch of drawers through out our house. I should have done before and after pics. (Or maybe not. That might have been a bit embarrassing!) ;o) Anyway, here are some random pics from the past week. We took Seth and Haddie to a "Teddy Bear Band" at a near-by school one evening. The auditorium was full of young children and their teddy bears. A band at the front played some really fun music. The kids had a great time! Above Seth is dancing with his friend.

Haddie got into the dancing too!! Here she was spinning around - looks like she wasn't following the directions for the dance, according to the older kids laying on the ground!

Haddie trying out her winter coat and boots.

Seth can't wait till we have good snow for making snow balls! (Haddie watch out!)

Hot Soup for Cold Days

Recently I made this soup for a pastor's wives gathering and someone asked for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it here.
My friend Kelly originally gave me the recipe and I loved it as soon as I tried it (Any other Olive Garden fans out there? I really like Olive Garden's Italian soup, "Zupa Tuscana," and I think this recipe tastes a lot like it. Just leave out the tomatoes if you want the soup as close to O.G. as possible....although it's great with the tomatoes too!) : )

Italian soup
1 onion (The first time I made it, I used a frozen mixture of red, yellow and green peppers and onion. About one large cup total. This worked well too.)
2 cloves garlic, or the equivalent in dried minced garlic
1 1/2 - 2 large boxes chicken broth (I like the taste of powdered chicken bouillon, so that's what I hand on hand and used, mixed with water to make chicken broth)
1 lb. mild Italian sausage, browned
3 medium potatoes, diced or sliced with skin on
1 can tomatoes, or chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tsp. thyme
fresh spinach, arugula, or frozen or dried spinach
Parmesan cheese
*Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, add broth, sausage, potatoes, tomatoes, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add spinach or arugula just before serving. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Hope you enjoy!

Catchin' Up (family, friends, & fun)

I thought I should put up some fun pics to show what we've been up to lately. We've been doing well (except for a brief flu bug for myself - we're thankful the rest of the family didn't get it!). Hope all of you are doing well also. This straw bail pic was taken a little while back (courtesy of Jess!). We do have a dusting of snow now, but I just love fall, so I wanted to put up one more fall picture before the winter ones come! :) (Side note: I don't know why this segment comes up underlined! I keep trying to undo that but it stays the same! Oh well.) We recently met Jess, Uncle Rob, Aunt Jen, Caleb and Daniel at Chuck-E- Cheese. Seth was thrilled! Haddie had fun too, once she got used to the atmosphere. You can see here she is a bit unsure about her first "ride". ; ) Haddie and Daniel checking out the games.

The blonde boys, Caleb and Seth.

Steve helping the kids. This "squirt gun game" was Seth's favorite. : )

We had a great time visiting with friends we don't get to see too often (the girls were having fun in their white tees!).

Steve and I had a chance to get away recently. We had a wonderful time staying with friends in another town, and the kids had a wonderful time celebrating in their costumes with Grandpa Doug, Grandma Barb, Aunt Megan, Uncle Andy, and cousin Hayden. Haddie was pumpkin, Hayden was a turtle, and Seth was, of course, Batman. (Here Haddie was a bit upset about putting her outfit on. She hates to be dressed!)

The night before our trip we took the kids to see Grandpa Dewey and Grandma Sheila. Seth and Haddie enjoyed a tractor ride! Steve, Haddie, and "Ezmeralda" the kitty. : )

Having fun on the saddles.

"Hey, chicken, do you see my shadow?"

Granny and Haddie, chillin' at the farm.

Seth, pretending to ride the 4-wheeler. : )

Windmill at the farm.

We enjoyed a visit from my Aunt Teresa and her husband Sam. Haddie got to meet them for the first time!

I just thought I would throw this one in here because the flowers are so pretty. A lady from church gave me these beautiful roses last week. That was so sweet of her, wasn't it? I love multi-colored roses!
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you all have great day!

Fears and HOPE

Fear. It isn't a stranger to me. It probably isn't to you either. I know today many are filled with fear that the presidential candidate of their choice will not be elected. Sometimes fear is debilitating. It can cause us to become sucked into a downward spiral of emotions, leaving us feeling drained, depressed, scared, and sometimes hopeless.


I wanted to write about hope today. Although I do have strong convictions about various issues, I have made it through this election year without a lot of fear in the end result. That isn't to say, however, that I have made it through this year without a glimpse of fear to plague my heart. At various times in my life fear has been a real and monstrous problem for me. I have been afraid that we wouldn't make enough money to live as comfortably as I'd like. I've been afraid that we would have to move when I didn't want to move. I think the biggest fear has been that one of my family members, specifically my children, would suffer pain. Or then there's the new one; that I would die at a young age and leave my children without a mother. Sometimes my fears have brought me to the point of lying in bed, late at night, my body stiff with anxiety, my mind numb and blurred from worry.


Thankfully, that isn't where my story stops. Every time I have found myself wracked with fear, I have heard a gentle voice speaking hope. I believe in a God who holds this world in his hands. A God who is never taken by surprise, even though I may be. My God can, and does work all things together for good, even when I may hate a particular situation, and want out of it in the worst way. Each time He has whispered to me, "Trust me. Take hope in my everlasting love. I will never leave you or forsake you." Each time His words have held true. Each time He has taken the frayed pieces of my life as I have seen it, and woven together a better situation than I could have imagined. But that's what I should expect. He can see and understand things that we can not. I am learning to trust Him more and more. I am learning to have hope even when I don't know how things are going to work out. I am also learning that my hope is not found in living in a certain house or town. My hope is not even found in health or long life or a certain president. My hope is found in Christ alone. He has saved me and I know that I am His, regardless of what might happen on this earth.
My earnest prayer is that all of you have the same hope to bring you through any fears or hard situations you may face.
(A couple more things... I wanted to include a quote from a man whose child is suffering from Leukemia, as he is facing the possibility of the very thing that I have feared. He has hope. It makes a difference. If you want to read it, see below. I've also included a link to a video that is fitting to my theme. Thanks.)

*video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8welVgKX8Qo

*From Brent Riggs:
Thirty percent. That number haunts me.
That’s the percentage chance that my daughter will die from Leukemia. Almost a one out three chance. Originally, her prognosis was in the 90% range but the high risk complications have put her in a different range.
“Oh, but look at the bright side, there’s a 70% chance she’ll live.”
“You just need to have faith and trust God.”
“Think positive thoughts, don’t have a negative confession.”
“God has a plan, His best is ahead for you.”
“Just be thankful for the time you still have with her.”
“I know it’s hard but time will heal.”
Well thanks for clearing that up for me. I don’t doubt the well meaning sincerity of folks who make such statements, but it most likely betrays a lack of life experience with tragedy and loss.
My wife and I don’t hide from the reality that Abby might die. We don’t avoid the issue fearing a “negative confession” will somehow be the catalyst for God saying “well, you didn’t have enough faith, so I’m just not going to have to let her die.”
Friends, if God could be forced to heal someone by the sheer number of faithful prayers, Abby would have been miraculously healed long before now. We miss the real blessing by that kind of thinking. There are literally THOUSANDS of people all over the world praying for her, praying for us. The REAL blessing of Abby’s ordeal is the number of people who have been uplifted by her story, who have turned to God in prayer, who have shown the love of Christ by serving and caring… and most importantly by the countless numbers of unsaved folks who have seen a real God in the real lives of real people show real love. That has a real impact on those who don’t really know God.
Openly facing the very real possibility of Abby’s death is NOT tantamount to giving up, losing heart or lacking faith. Every person in human history has either died, or will die. It is a fact of our existence. God numbers the days of each person, and just as He breathed in the breath of life, He determines when that breath will end. It is not our place to question it, make some futile attempt to derail it, or engage in some shallow positive thinking while crossing our fingers behind our back.
Like Job, in the Bible, we are to thank God for what He gives, and bless Him for what He takes back. My wife, with one comment the other day, showed more grasp on this than anyone I know. Now keep in mind, this is a mother, speaking about her daughter, whom she spent all her time, emotions and resources adopting just a couple of years ago:
“I know Abby might die. The worse we have to face is that she will go and be with God for a while, and we will see her again soon. I just want to enjoy her as much as I can now in case we have to say goodbye.”
Compare that statement to the empty list of platitudes above. Which has the real comfort? Which has the real eternal perspective? Which has the real faith? Which is real?
What heartache or tragedy are you facing today? Do you see the foundational truth in my wife’s statement? The underlying principle is “temporary” versus “eternal”. If you know God, then whatever suffering, loss or pain you are experiencing right now IS TEMPORARY. It is “for a little while” then God will make all things new, all things well, and all things restored.
There is a 30% chance our daughter will die. It is reality. We don’t act like it isn’t. We don’t avoid it any more than we avoid taking heart in her 70% chance of recovery. They both matter. Both possibilities are… well, they are possibilities. We don’t try to paint a pretty face on a tough situation. Even more real though is that we will spend all eternity with Abby, in God’s presence, cancer-free, regardless of what happens in this vapor of life. That’s where the joy and thankfulness springs from.
There’s a 100% chance that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us in our darkest hours. It is that 100% chance that allows us to embrace the present trials with hope and certainty. THAT is reality.
So with King David we say, “…and yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”. The Lord is our Shepherd. The Lord is Abby’s Shepherd.
I’m 100% sure of that. ~ Brent (see http://www.brentriggs.com/?ItemID=305) or http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/

Days with Dad

On Monday mornings, as most of the country wakes up groggily and heads back to their jobs, we arise and see the day as most of you view Saturdays. We love Mondays! Steve puts in time for his job at the church on Sundays and most Saturdays, so he has Mondays off. We treasure this day of the week, and are thankful to Steve for guarding it carefully. He does a great job making Monday his day of rest and his day to spend time with us. This past Monday was lots of fun. We spent time playing in the fresh air at a near-by park, and in the evening we carved pumpkins. (It was our first time for carving pumpkins as a family. Those things are tough to cut through! But what am I talking about - it was Steve who did all of that hard work!) : )

"Is this how you do it, Dad?"

The finished product.

At the park.

Steve and Haddie (It was a chilly day!)

We brought Meshach with and he loved it.

Haddie looked like a big pink marshmallow all dressed up in her snowsuit.

Haddie and I.

It looks really dark, but it was only 11:30 am. It was quite cloudy. There were two eagles in the trees, though you can't see them in this photo.

Seth, experimenting. He was checking to see if the reeds would float. ; )

Ah, what a great day together.

Thanks for stopping by.