Our madness continues...we are still here, still going to school, still playing, still laughing, still loving our wonderful life! The kids are experiencing all that is new and wonderful about school and new friends. I am drowning in homework and the first week of classes isn't even over yet. But in all of this I know one clear, perfect, amazing thing....God knows. He loves. He lives. He is our rock every second. So we keep moving forward....and thanking Him every second of the way.

It's the first day!

Jeremiah and Alison started school on Monday. They are both attending Helix Grade School. Jeremiah is in Mrs. Curtiss' second grade class and Alison is in Mrs. Hansell's Kindergarten class(all day). They were both very excited and have had a great week! Alison had to miss class on Wednesday because she developed an ear infection, but she is doing great now.  

  













Staycations, hardwork and honor...

It has been a busy summer! Although we haven't gone on any "vacations" we have enjoyed being home this summer. John and I are the first to admit that summer is our least favorite season and we can hardly wait for it to be over. Fall is right around the corner....yay!
John continues to work hard at LS, but it is certainly been difficult for him to continue to go to a job that his heart in not in. He injured himself at work shortly after starting there and now is waiting to have surgery. He has been working on getting all the worker's comp stuff figured out which has added to the stress of everything. Along with the current situation, he is still trying to be patient while we continue to wait for an answer to his appeal with the tribe. I don't think either of us thought fighting for he integrity and character would be this hard, long and trying. God is so good and has continued to carry us through these times! We appreciate the continued prayers through both of these processes.
On to the the great news....after 11 years (since my first attempt) and many hours of study, I officially passed my National Registry for Emergency Medical Technician! I am an EMT-Basic :) If that wasn't hard enough, I have already registered for another full-time schedule at BMCC this fall. I will be switching from pre-nursing prerequisites to EMS Certificate focus. I have several EMS classes and in the winter term I will be taking the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician course...just so I can one-up what I just did! LOL God is faithful and so far I have received a full ride thanks to the Federal Pell Grant. It's so awesome!
The kids are excited for school as well...although I think John and I are more excited for them to go to school! Jeremiah will be in Second grade and Alison will be in all day Kindergarten - both at Helix. Hosanna is going to do another year at Three R's School in Pendleton. It's a great Christian-based school that focuses on the Montessori style teaching. Alison and Hosanna both did amazing last year and Alison was reading by January...so I am hoping Hosanna will shine this year. Judah will be going to daycare just a few hours a week when I have class...we are praying for the right person and a good price!
September is coming and that means two things...it's going to be a year to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11....which also happens to be my birthday! It is a bittersweet day for me. I am so proud to have been serving in our local fire department that day and having a day that is usually so joyful for me be so reverent. God definitely has plans for each of us and I am so thankful for that! I am looking forward to focusing the attention on Him that day as well as remembering and honoring all the men and women who lost and gave their lives that day. It will be a 30th birthday to remember for sure!

Sweet little angels

So this weekend we had an opportunity to visit with all of John's family at the farm in Acme, WA. We hadn't seen his brother Josh and his wife Meghan (and kids) for two years as they have been in Spain. While they were gone, they got pregnant with their third baby and sweet Gabrielle turned 1 only weeks after they were in the States. Not only that but John's other brother, Dan and his wife Elizabeth had their second baby in March and we had not met sweet Shelby yet either. I was very anxious to meet my nieces...as we all know I get a little baby crazy! lol The weekend did not disappoint, I had my fill of baby goodness!

The kids had so much fun running and playing with all the cousins...there are 13 in total. Jeremiah and his cousin Zach(Josh and Meg's) were practically inseparable. Alison and Hosanna were in heaven with all their older girl cousins as well. All of us agreed that it was one of the most memorable and fun family weekends we have ever had!

John's parents will be heading over to Spain shortly after Josh and Meghan return and most likely be making it a long-term situation. So having this family time before everyone heads out was very important.

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves the Lord!

Shenanigans

Oh sure...he is cute, adorable, sweet, funny...he's two! How much trouble could he possibly get himself into??? Oh let me tell you!! This week alone he has managed to do the following:

• used John's deodorant...on his entire face and arms
  


• used the Aloe, in his hair and in his arms together with my body spray



• dunked randoms toys in the toilet
  


• tried to use dark purple nail polish as lip gloss...3 times
  


• dumped said nail polish on the hall carpet....and managed to eat a little



• used the fire extinguisher in the kitchen...on the kitchen stove, as well as the rest of the kitchen
  


• at 5 cocoa-coffee cupcakes in a matter of seconds(with a small amount of help from his sister)



• broke a candle holder on the back patio
  


• ate the sour cream directly from the container in the fridge



• after extinguisher mess was cleaned up, used the moment I was on the phone to re-mop the floors for my...aka...flooded the dining room
  


• used half a bottle of new body wash to clean Dora in the bathtub



• ate a Popsicle that has been in the "yucky" freezer since last summer (the "yucky" freezer is where we keep the training birds for Bentley)
  


• sprayed the Goof Off Gel all over the entire kitchen floor two minutes before we were leaving for church



• smashed numerous Cheese Nips into the carpet and couch
  


• repeatedly jumping from his dresser to his crib, breaking the weld on the crib



• repeatedly jumping from his dresser to the pack in play...not broken yet
  


• telling mommy she is a princess almost every day



• kissing mommy and daddy's faces each night
  


• giving the best hugs ever



• being a loving, helpful son-brother-friend

Fun Easter pic

Needless to say, the blog has not been on my list of priorities lately. We still continue to pray and seek God for where and what he has for us. We are waiting for the results of John's judicial review regarding the loss of his job at the tribe. We are thankful that he was able to get a job at Les Schwab right away, although it is less than half the salary he used to make. We continue to trust that God will continue to provide and see us through this hard time of our lives. We are preparing to sell our house-hopefully soon-this summer. We feel confident that God desires us to declutter our lives, our homes and prepare our family for change. More specifically, we are pretty sure this includes moving....out of this house within the community, in another city, another state and quite possibly another country....right now our focus is on the first step of decluttering our lives and finances. This is scary and exciting all at the same time. We covet your prayers!
It has been very hard for me. John is working what seems like more hours, for less pay and its extremely physical work so he is beat when he gets home. This means that not only do I have my usual mom/wife things to do each day, but now I have tackled many of our household update/remodel projects. Let's not forget to add the college class and church obligations into the mix! It's been very stressful and taxing. I have been cutting back on many of my outside activities merely because I can't do it all.
On other news, the kids are doing wonderfully. The girls will be done with preschool this week and Jeremiah will be done with First Grade next week. Judah has been potty training and has done beautifully. He is completely out of diapers and his only accidents are when he has to poop...it seems it's better for him to stand next to the toilet to poop rather than sit on the toilet! Oh well! He will figure it out sooner or later. Jeremiah is loving Little League and he is doing really well. I just got Alison signed up for Whiffle ball for the month of June and she is so excited.
Well...we shall see how long it takes me to update the blog next....and what exciting things will have happened!