The Intentional Life

I had the best of intentions to post before now but...well.... : ) This last month we emerged from the house to enjoy the warmer weather and sunshine! Owen is into wanting to help. In whatever task Paul or I is(?) doing, Owen is always running up to ask "Can I help?!" So he's often helping Paul fix things and helping me cook. He loves to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and gets out the sweeper to sweep after supper. Hannah is picking up more and more words each day and has quite the vocabulary. She cracks us up daily and loves to be all decked out in a hat, shades, boots, and several layers of clothes. Maddie is continuing to develop and had her 4 month check up yesterday. She is 14 lbs 14 oz. She is doing really well holding her head up and enjoys hanging out on her belly. She has even started to roll a little from belly to back. Maddie is starting to babble and throughly enjoys watching Owen and Hannah run around. Summer is here and school is...

Maddie turned 3 months last Saturday. She is tipping the scales at 13.2 lbs. She's sitting up a little better (loves to sit in the recliner) and always cracks a smile for whoever stops and talks to her. She is sleeping through the night and takes a couple 2 hour naps during the day. She is pretty tolerant of her siblings. They can bounce around and scream and she takes in all in with a smile. I attempted some 3 month pictures and managed to get a few good ones. We got Hannah a regular bed over the weekend and she is loving the change. So far, she stays in bed at night and is sleeping until her normal time. We are certainly thankful for that (but don't expect it to continue for too long!)

She is our sweet little 2 year old. She cracks us up with the way she runs around with her piggy tails bouncing. She loves the colors purple and yellow. Loves to dress up in her shoes, hat, and sunglasses and just walk around the house. She's cuddly and loves to sit on our laps and look at books. Hannah came into our lives and taught us patience with her acid reflux in the first 6 months that kept her crying day and night (and us awake). She now lives life with abandon, running from one activity to the next. Her best bud is Owen and often will follow behind him, doing whatever he is doing. She's picking up more and more words each day and will often respond to you with a "K" or "uh, huh." We love you, sweet Heena, and we're so glad God put you in our lives! Happy 2nd Birthday!

Owen spent about 20 minutes running around the backyard picking these (I think I saw Hannah helping, too). He came running up to the house, "Mom, I picked all these for you! Put them in water, please!" I figured this was a perfect picture of what a mother's flower bouquet would be. Never have dandelions looked so pretty.

Well, life is more full with another little one added to the bunch. Thankfully Maddie is starting to sleep through the night which means a happier and more rested Momma! It's amazing how much better i can function on a full night's sleep. We are loving the spring weather as the kids are getting outside more and enjoying the sandbox and swing set . I am getting back into running and it feels so good! I signed up for a race in October to keep me motivated to continue to run. We are continuing to enjoy our work at Gateway and are enjoying our position as alternates for Jarod and Molly Steffen. A great pick-me-up was that a resident gave their life to Christ this past week while we were on duty. It's moments like those that remind us why we are here and Who we are working for. Picture explanations: The first 2 I had to take of Maddie with this new headband given to me as a gift. Poor Hannah followed a brother so i didn't do a good job of gussying her up to look ...

Maddie had her 2 month check up today and weighed in at 11 lb 6 oz and 22 inches long. She's in the 75% for weight and 50th for height. Just about where the other two were in their growth at that age. Maddie is going about every 4 hours during the day between feedings and will go from 8 PM to 3:30AM, which gives me a bit of a break. She sometimes has trouble falling asleep at night and still wants to snooze all day but we're working on it. The other two continue to do well. Hannah is quite the little stinker, always pushing limits. She is picking up more and more words each day and it's fun to see her little personality bloom. Owen loves being the big brother (and sometimes the little parent...) We are thrilled that the weather is getting nice and Owen and Hannah can go outside and burn off some energy. Our work at Gateway is going great as well. We really enjoy the work we are doing with the teenagers and I thank God daily for leading us to this work. Above are...

In the past 8 months, there have been six girls born to Gateway Woods houseparents. Each of the 5 houses has a baby in it; one house with two. One of the moms had the idea to get them together and take a picture. Here are a couple from the shoot. Maddie was last in line to be born of the group. It's been fun seeing each new life and seeing as they grow. The other newest addition is Josie Hodel, born 2 weeks before Maddie. In the group picture the girls are: (back) Kylie Drayer, Olivia Beer, Layla Mueller, Tallie Eisenmann (front) Josie Hodel, and Maddie. Sorry the pictures are coming in so small. Hopefully you can click on the pictures to see them bigger.