Trip to Easton

So here is the update on our Anniversary outing. Since it was a surprise to me too!

We started with shopping at Easton. Kurt said that we were shopping for an Easter outfit for me. I love getting dressed for Easter! SO we looked around and found a really cute boat neck top. To match we found a white skirt at Gap. Kurt actually helped pick out stuff(he usually is NOT interested in clothes shopping). I love the way that the stores are setup so you are walking outside between stores. IT was a beautiful day!

The other stuff in the picture is the other parts of the outing. Before he would tell me what we were doing for dinner, we made one more stop. The Swarovski store. His mom collects the crystal animals, so I thought we were checking it out for that. I didn't really know that they made jewelry. Well I saw a necklace that I really liked. And Kurt was like is that the one you want. I didn't even know I was getting something! It is so pretty, it is supposed to catch the colors of what ever you wear. So in the picture it is not really blue, it is clear and the background is blue. I really like how the rugged string goes with the delicate crystal they are opposites kind of.


So we aren't done. We then go to dinner at the fanciest restaurant(Smith & Wollensky- a steakhouse) I have ever been to. It was expensive though. I was concerned about how we were paying for this, Kurt said that he had been saving a little bit each month. So that let me relax and enjoy. It was so fun, we had such a good time. NOW i see why they say that a married couple needs date time, you kind of reconnect and remember why you choose that person. Also it was the first time in a long time that we took time to treat ourselves.

Dinner was so nice and unique. We probably will not go back anytime soon because of the price, but it was really enjoyable.

4th Anniversary

Yesterday was Kurt and I 4th year anniversary! So today we are taking Noah to Kurt Mom's house. He will spend the night with them. This will be the first time he will be away from us for the whole night. I hope he does ok. He has gotten so used to his crib that he falls asleep almost as soon as he is layed down at night. He is a good night sleeper, he usally sleeps for 11-12 hours.
Kurt and I will be going to Columbus for the night. We are going to do some Easter shopping and going out to dinner. Kurt actually has this big plan that I do not know about. For example I know that we are eating somewhere I just dont know where. I married a romantic at heart, lol. He also brought me fruit yesterday at work because that is the traditional gift of four years :) I cant wait. Maybe I will have time to blog about the night later and fill you in on where we went!

All-American National Wrestler

My brother is an all American wrestler! That was his goal this year was to get in the top 8 for the nation in Div II college wrestling. Well he actually placed 5th in the nation. I am so proud of him. He set his goal and stuck to it. He has improved so much in the last few months, and just keeps pushing himself to improve. First of all, it is hard to compete at the collegiate level, but to also excel at a sport (which is like a full time job) and college at the same time and be able to succeed at both is an accomplishment. I think sometimes, since he is the baby, he compares himself to us older kids, but he has defiantly accomplished some things none of us have. All of that time wrestling when he was a kid and in practise has paid off.

He is also a great uncle to Noah:)

Stuck inside..trying to suffer well;-)

So we spent the day today inside the cabin (aka cabin fever!). The Northern part of Ohio was hit with a very persistent snow, it just kept snowing and snowing....in fact I think it is still snowing. I spent the day picking up around the house and spending time with Kurt and Noah. Noah is just amazing how much he learns in one day. He was in the bath tub tonight and he has been doing back floats with me and blowing bubbles, but tonight I was trying to get him to kick while on his back and he was doing it! lol! It is so cute. Also with his language development, he is saying "A-ppoe" for Apple and "Nanaa" for Nala (our dog). I guess I am just surprise how far they come in one year. It is neat to think about but it is also a scary thought because everyone tells you that you blink and they are grown. It get me thinking about long-term parenting.

The best piece of advise that I have ever gotten was "begin with the end in mind". Basically what do I want the to be doing down the road and start down that path toward that goal.
We are learning about parenting in one of my biblestudy groups and the last lesson was on three things that all children need to learn.
1) Teach them to suffer well.
2) Teach them to work "unto the Lord"
3) Teach them to manage their lives wisely.

The first one has been a particular intrest to me latley. The reason is because I dont think that I suffer well in some aspects myself. In the culture that we live in is a quick fix, comfort, "even if you dont have the money buy it anyway", kind of culture. And so I think that most people dont know how to cope when something isnt controllable. But the point is that life is hard and can be very unjust. If your children are not prepared for lifes curveballs they will have more of a struggle than the child who knows how to depend on God and that suffering is normal. I have recently picked up a copy of "Jesus Freaks: Martyrs, Stories of those who stood for Jesus". It is a collection of stories from around the world about Christian who were willing to die simply because they would not deny their faith. It is truly compelling. The stories stand out to me because if forces you to ask yourself if I was faced with the question to deny Christ or die, what would you do? Which also brings up the question is their anything in your life that you would die for?

Second point is about how, whatever work we do we need to do it as if we were working for God...because we are. Your work can be a form of praise. Paradiam shift I know, haha. Many of us feel that work is just the daily grind. I have often thought this! But It needs to be veiwed as fulfilling our purpose and calling. This is why each one of us is different and unqiue so that we can contribute something of value.

Third point is a hard one. It is hard because it is hard to manage life, even for adults! This point is taling about being good stewards with out time, money, talents,etc. The things that God had blessed us with we need to manage and choose how to use them wisley.

I really enojy being a parent, but it is also hard work. I want to be responsible with the blessing of children. And, I love to pass on anything that would help another parent. This ended up being a really looong post.
Off to bed because I am losing an hour tonight!

I am raising a little daredevil!

Noah is hilarious when it comes to fear. He doesnt have any! He wants to climb everything, go up and down stairs, etc. Noone has taught him this stuff. If thier was ever a case for case for boys and girls are fundamentally born with different mind sets he is a shoe in! He wants tractors and hats and wheels. He animals too, but not the birds and rabbits, nooooo he likes the Bear...Grrr, and the Lion... Rooar! He has picked up signing like a champ. He knows many of the signs for the animals. I guess we gave him a proper name, lol. Here is my montage of what he has been up to lately. Enjoy.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com