Spring Break

A few weeks ago, Ryan had his spring break, and oh, did we ever enjoy it! I SO loved having my husband home without any need to touch a book! We spent the week here at home, enjoying the beautiful weather and one another.

We started our week by going out to Culver's on Friday evening, followed by an outing to Target to pick up a few things and make some returns. It was the first trip out with both boys, and let's just say that I'm glad Ryan was along--it was MORE than a little chaotic!! Things have quite improved since then, thankfully!

Saturday morning, we baked up some cinnamon rolls--remember how I froze them pre-baked prior to Charlie's arrival? They turned out awesome! In fact, I actually like the taste better! There is a certain yeasty/dough-like quality about them (I think due to the longer rise) that I just LOVE. Anyway, we spent the day just "hanging out", and in the evening, we went to the park for a while. Abe in the big red swing (his favorite):



On Sunday, we worshipped at church, had a late lunch with some friends afterward, and just rested in the afternoon.

Monday, we went to the Milwaukee Public Museum. The museum is free to county residents on Mondays, so we took advantage! Abe and I had already been there before, but it was Ryan's first time, and we didn't mind going again! It's a rather odd museum in that there's a very wide spectrum of areas to view.

One portion (my favorite) is an area set up like an old European village. You can walk through all of the different countries, peeking into homes and seeing how each country lived, decorated, ate, etc. You can then travel through Old Milwaukee and see the different businesses and homes there as well. Here's Ryan and Abe checking out the doctor's office in Old Milwaukee:



Another area allows you to walk through the rain forest, and one especially neat area is a butterfly room! The room is temperature controlled and houses all sorts of different butterfies flying freely about the room. Abe thought this was so neat! But he wasn't too keen on holding any himself! Ryan and Abe with a butterfly:





We only had 2 1/2 hours on our meter, which was actually good timing with naps, even though we didn't get through the entire museum. We hope to go back again and see the rest!

On Tuesday, Isaac came up on the train to visit us! He had his ISU spring break the same week, so it worked out perfectly. In honor of Isaac's arrival, Ryan decided to grow out his beard and then shave it all but the moustache when he went to pick him up at the train station. Don't ask me why--it must be a brother thing--I wasn't in favor! Just the moustache? It was a little more than I could handle! See for yourself how goofy he looks! Thankfully he shaved it shortly after Isaac's arrival...



Tuesday evening, we used a Groupon deal I had for a gelato cafe at the mall. I paid $1 for $8 worth of gelato, so we were excited to try it! Gelato is basically an Italian ice cream. It's made with milk rather than cream, so it's less fat and calories, but with all the creaminess and flavor! They had some incredible flavors to choose from, and it didn't disappoint! We walked around the mall for a while afterward, and then headed home to watch a movie.

Wednesday was beautiful! We took a walk along the Oak Leaf Trail and had a picnic lunch beside the Menomonee River (which is really more of a big creek)... Isaac and Abe playing along the shore:



On Thursday, we just hung out at home, enjoying each other's company and the breeze blowing through the open windows, before taking Isaac to catch his outbound train. We LOVED having him here!

Friday and Saturday were more of the same--playing games, going on walks, and a "pizza party" with homemade BBQ chicken pizza (that's what Abe calls it when we let him eat pizza in the living room while we watch a movie--an occasional Saturday night treat!).

After church on Sunday, we took a picnic lunch down to the beach. The weather was simply amazing, and we had such a good time! I'm really looking forward to summertime there. Pictures from the beach:







And then, Monday came, and it was back to "real life". I can't really express how beautiful of a week it was--we just loved having Daddy home with us--I love just "being" with him, even if we're not really doing anything at all. We are so blessed, and I am so thankful.

Psalm 117

The past few weeks, we've been working with Abe on memorizing Psalm 117--it's a simple, 2-verse psalm, so we thought he'd be up to the challenge--after hearing him wander around the house reciting from memory lines to his favorite books, we thought he was ready to start memorizing some Scripture!

It has been such a neat experience on several levels:

1. I have memorized Psalm 117 too!! It's been a good reminder for me to be hiding the Word in my heart as well (With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119: 10-11).

2. One prayer that I have prayed so consistently for Abe, and now Charlie too, is that they would have a love for the Word, that their delight would be in the law of the LORD (Psalm 1:2). God is truly answering this prayer, even at Abe's tender age! He asks us if he can practice his verses and is so excited about learning and reciting them.



O PRAISE the Lord, all ye nations; praise Him, all ye people. For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the Truth of the LORD endureth forever. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 117

I am finding out already how accurate John was when he wrote, I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. 3 John: 4

Brothers

Abe at 3 Weeks:





Charlie at 3 Weeks:






They're definitely our boys! We are in love!

My Successful Day

Last week, Emily graciously offered to take Abram to her house to play with Brady for the morning so I would be able to have a little time to myself. I had a grand plan of all sorts of things I wanted to accomplish during my time, including quite a bit of laundry and cleaning. Soon after Abe was gone, I had started a load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom, and taken a few online surveys. Then, the Lord brought to mind a message I heard back around Christmastime regarding 'success'. It seems that the world we live in so often connects success to busyness and productivity. If we have a productive day, it must thereby also be considered a successful day, right? Isn't that why so many families and marriages today are suffering as parents seek more money and more success by spending long hours working instead of investing their time into the lives of their children? Isn't that why so many children are involved in soccer, scouts, basketball, ballet, gymnastics, French classes, tutoring, art lessons, orchestra, and a myriad of other activities as they seek to be more cultured and "successful" individuals? I suddenly realized that my tiny little baby bundle, who is already up over a pound from his birth weight, was growing more every day and would only be this little for a very short time. So, I got Charlie out of his bed and held him while he slept. And as the dust on the end table next to me became less and less important, I just sat and held my baby boy. I accomplished little else that morning other than holding him, kissing his teeny lips, admiring the perfect craftsmanship of his tiny fingers and toes, praying for him, and thanking God for the amazing gift of my son and of being a mother. 25 years from now, even just 25 days from now, when he'll look so much different than he does today, I'll be so glad I let the cleaning go and just held my little boy--I think, it was an incredibly successful day.

First Days at Home

We've been a family of four for 12 days now, and it's going so well! I am so in love with my little family!

We were blessed to have our families come up when Charlie was born--Ryan's parents came and stayed at our house with Abram while we were at the hospital--he loved spending time with his Nana and Papa!! I think he received very special attention, something I'm glad for since he doesn't get our sole attention any more.

Papa Funk and the boys:



On Saturday evening, my parents and sisters came up to visit. It was so good to see them too, though we would have loved their visit to have been longer! My dad and sisters headed back on Sunday afternoon, but my mom stayed with us until Thursday. We were SO grateful for her help! She took care of meals, cleaning, and loving on the boys, so I could rest and love on them too without being overwhelmed by caring for our home. She even took some night shifts holding Charlie so I would be able to get some sleep. We loved having her here!

Grandma and her grandsons:



Abe modeling some pipe cleaner glasses he and Grandma made together:



Me: I ended up getting a bladder infection post-delivery, so between that and just general discomfort, recovery was a little more difficult than it was with Abram. But, with the help of an antibiotic and with each day that passes, I feel more energized and am pretty well back to "normal" now--I'm so thankful for good health! I'm losing baby weight pretty quickly, but my tummy is still rather squishy....I suppose it will take a fair number of sit-ups to get rid of that!

Charlie: His circumcision is healed up, and he lost his umbilical cord stump yesterday. He's already growing so much--I can tell he's longer and more filled out! We're still working on the whole sleep thing though--he sleeps wonderfully by himself throughout the day, but at night, he just wants to be held! I've spent most nights in the chair in the living room holding him so we're both able to get some sleep. Last night though, I tried nestling him tightly in to his Boppy to give him the feeling of being held on all sides (thank you, Erin!!), and he slept all night in his bed (waking to eat of course)! I hope it wasn't just a fluke, but rather a solution that will last for a while! It was nice to sleep next to my hubby again :)

Abram: he has adjusted far better than I had anticipated, save a few tantrums here and there. He is a wonderful big brother, giving Charlie lots of kisses! He's very gentle for the most part, though he doesn't always recognize the potential for harm (like when I laid Charlie on the bed for a moment and Abe began to jump right next to him!). He talks to Charlie all the time and always gets excited when he is awake! My biggest fear/expectation was for him to regress with his potty training, but he's actually doing really well. It seemed to be effective to encourage him to be the big brother and set an example for Charlie, so when Charlie was ready to potty train, Abe would be able to show him how.

A common scene in our home these days:





Ryan: He can't get over the fact that he has two sons now, and having taken a human development course last semester and learning the MULTITUDE of things that could have gone wrong, he is exceedingly thankful for a healthy little boy. He is currently in the midst of his second exam block, and thankfully, the adjustment of another child hasn't negatively impacted his performance. We're looking forward to his SPRING BREAK starting on Friday! It should be a precious time of spending time together as a family.

Our home: Fairly clean, for the most part! There is perhaps a bit more clutter than usual, but I've made myself just be okay with it. The other day, Abe wet his bed, and I stripped the sheets right away, but they laid in a pile on the floor until about noon! Our bed didn't get made until then either. I've found the most chaotic time of day to be mornings, when everyone is up and needing something at the same time! We've been so blessed with meals from church friends, Ryan's classmates, and family sending things up, and this has been so helpful!

And just a few more random photos: