Intended Picture Post

I intended to get a video (or at least a picture) of Karter riding his big boy bike for the first time (other than inside at his birthday party). Why didn’t I get a video? Because Brody started eating the Ice Melt, and I thought I better tend to him. Weird, huh?

Picture Post

I haven’t posted pictures of the boys lately, so I thought I’d do that once. Enjoy!

 

My big muscle men

 

 

Karter can’t wait for Saturday mornings so he can help Daddy make scrambled eggs.

Brody can’t wait for Saturday mornings so he can EAT scrambled eggs that Daddy and Karter made.

Have you noticed a trend with my kids? They love to run around with no clothes on. I must say, though, little boys are adorable running around in their skivvies.

 

Eli came over yesterday, and we played outside. It was so beautiful out. It had been sunny all day long. It felt so good to get outside and let the boys run. And then we woke up this morning to this site:

I thought I had a picture of the snow on the ground, but I guess it didn’t work.

 

Here are a few more cute pics. Have I mentioned how much I love these little boys? (Note: Karter would interrupt and say he’s NOT little. He’s BIG Karter Henry Hooyer.)

I love this boy, too!

Simplifying for Sanity (Attempt #1)

If you read my last post you’re probably wondering why I haven’t posted any pictures of my living room or my bedroom. Let’s just say that my first attempt at this little project didn’t go as planned. Here’s how my cleaning projects usually go:

1 – Start cleaning the living room by picking up the boys’ toys

2 – Bring said toys to the toy room

3 – Get distracted by chaos in toy room, so I start to organize toys

4 – Realize that my living room is the main goal, so I go back to the LR

5 – Pick up laundry lying around in the LR

6 – Start doing laundry

7 – Go up to sort laundry, put laundry away, etc

8 – Get distracted by how badly I need to go through the boys’ clothes and put away the stuff they’ve grown out of

9 – Grab a tub and start sorting what is ours and what goes back to Kristi’s house

10 – After an hour of doing this, I realize that I’m not working on the LR.

11 – Decide that as long as I am getting stuff accomplished, why does it matter if a whole room gets done at one time anyway?!?

12 – Kick myself for not completing one entire room.

I must say, we did get a lot accomplished this weekend. It just didn’t include fancy before and after pictures with dramatic results. We brought a ton of clothes to the 2nd Hand Store. We’ll be bringing more once they start accepting fall/winter stuff (which is April 1st. Can you believe it?!?)

Speaking of bringing clothes away… I brought away all of my maternity clothes. Every last one of them. I must say, this was harder than I thought. (If you’re confused, see this post.) Thankfully, we know that God has a plan for our lives. We’re not sure what that plan is. Maybe His plan is that we are the parents to two beautiful boys. Maybe it’s more than that. Whatever His plan is, we love where we are at and we look forward to where He’s taking us next.

Have a great week!

7 Quick Takes

I read a ton of blogs. It’s a bit of an addiction for me. One of the bloggers does something called 7 Quick Takes. Instead of writing a long update on their life, she takes a little time and writes 7 things (they’re always random, and I love random thoughts) that are on her mind. Here is my first stab:

 

1

Karter is doing great at the whole potty training thing. He even stays dry during naps. Here’s my question: how do you get them to stop peeing during the night? I love not buying as many diapers. And I look forward to the day I don’t have to buy pull-ups.

 

2

If you look at the side bar, you’ll notice a button called Simplifying for Sanity. This comes from another blog that I follow. She’s going to be doing her spring cleaning one room at a time, and she’s invited her blog friends to do it along with her. So, I’m hoping to play along. If I can figure out what’s wrong with my camera, I’m hoping to take before and after pics and post them here so you can see my progress. Check out her blog if you’re interested in joining.

 

3

Last night we had supper at Mom’s house. It was great. Her birthday was last Wednesday, so this was our little celebration. Karter thought it was crazy that we didn’t go swimming for her birthday, and he couldn’t figure out why she didn’t have a barn cake. Brent and I (and the boys) stayed and hung out for a while after supper. Mom just got some new Gaither videos, so we watched one of those with her. Oh how I miss Dad!

 

4

Saturday night we went to a YATEC reunion. It was a ton of fun to see everyone again. We had a chili cook-off. As I sat and watched the 5 judges taste and rate each of the 9 different chili recipes, all I could think was “I am NOT jealous of them right now”. I don’t like chili, so I brought potato soup. The boys came along and they were so good. I think everyone there had a great time.

 

5

Karter and Brody finally got their hair cut again last week. They were hippies and needed it really badly. If I can figure my camera out, I’ll get some pics of them. Have I ever mentioned how much I love them? Cuz I really, REALLY do!

 

6

You don’t realize how hard it is to come up with 7 Quick Takes until you try it.

 

7

On Saturday, March 27th, we’re having the 2nd Annual Relay for Life Poker Tourney at our  house. If you play poker, or if you know of someone else that does, let me know and I’ll get you more info! We had a ton of fun with it last year.

 

That’s it. I made it!

Potty Training

So… we’re potty training. The other day Karter was sitting on the toilet. This is not a quick process, so I went and was doing something else while I waited for him to finish. I came back to check on him, and this is how I found him (I promise this is not staged)…

I Am Officially THAT Mom

I never wanted to be the mom that called the dr at the first sign of her child’s cough. I never wanted to be a Mom that took her child to the ER because he has the flu. Well, it’s official. I am THAT Mom. Every since Brent was diagnosed with Leukemia, I find myself taking the boys to the dr much quicker than I would have earlier. I just can’t help but think about the “what-ifs” now. When I start thinking that I’m crazy for taking the boys to the dr, I find myself thinking “Well, what if Brent wouldn’t have gone to the dr when he did?!?” Maybe that’s dumb, but that’s what I’ve been doing.

Any suggestions on how to get over this?

Praises and Prayers and Random Thoughts

First things first. This Wednesday Brent went to the Cancer Center in Sioux City for his 3 month check-up. PRAISE GOD!!! All of his counts are exactly where they’re supposed to be. It’s just always good to hear those words. I felt so at peace with this appointment that I didn’t even go along. That being said, I couldn’t help but wonder while he was up there “What if he gets bad news and he’s there by himself?” But God proved once again that I just need to trust with all my heart. Thank you, Jesus.

Last night we went to Harp & Bowl. For those of you who don’t know what that is… it’s a prayer and praise type service. There’s amazing Praise & Worship music, along with wonderful prayer and reflection time. There’s scripture read, sometimes testimonies given, but last night… just lots of prayer. Once a month they focus on specific churches in the area and pray specifically for the church and their leadership. Last night our focus was on praying for First Reformed in Sioux Center and Carmel Church. It was an amazing night, and I’m so glad that it worked for us to be there.

Prayer Requests:

1

Brent will be working the YATEC being held in Sioux Center. He’ll be there from Thursday, Feb 11 until Sunday, Feb 14. He will actually be giving talk #6 (Growing in Christ), and I’m so proud of him for doing it. The team meetings are tonight and tomorrow morning. He’ll be giving his practice talk at some point this weekend. Please pray that his talk goes well and that he can put into words what he is feeling in his heart. Please also pray for safe travel as the entire team heads to Sioux Center.

2

Please pray for those that are considering going through YATEC as candidates. There is still room available. Please consider this for yourself. It doesn’t matter what church you go to, or if you go to church at all. It doesn’t matter where you are in your walk with God, or even if it feels like you don’t even have one. And, to answer some peoples’ questions, it doesn’t matter if you went through TEC as a candidate. Please strongly consider going through. If you would like any information at all, please contact me.

3

Please pray for my aunt, Marilyn Kruid (my Dad’s sister). She is in the hospital in Sioux Falls, and has recently been diagnosed with cancer (again). Please pray for complete healing. (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/marilynkruid) Please also pray for Frank (her husband) who is just plain stressed out and tired.

4

I can’t quit watching the news about Haiti. It amazes me that people have been buried this whole time and that they’re still finding some that are alive. I just ask that you get on your knees in prayer for these people. You know, you watch the news and of course there are those that are looting (is that the right word?) and there’s crime in the streets… but then the cameras scroll to big groups of people. I’m serious when I say big groups. I am a terrible judge at numbers, but I would guess there were hundreds of people.. singing hymns, praising God and praying together. Can you believe that? Their world is shattered and yet they praise God. It makes me wonder what the cameras would record if something like this earthquake were to happen in the US? Would I be looting or praising God?

5… Last but not least…

Please pray for Karter’s ears. We went to his follow-up appt with Dr Korver. It’s only been two weeks since he had tubes put in, and one tube was already plugged. Please pray that the drops are enough to fix this, and that he just feels good.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Kelli