"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy half-birthday, Daisy!!

Well, this is a few days late, but our precious Daisy Grace is now SIX MONTHS OLD! How can my baby already be 1/2 of a year old? It is hard to believe. Daisy continues to be such a sweetie, and a delight for us all:) Just look at this sweetheart! We love her:)




And here is the whole group. What a loveable but crazy group of kiddos:)



On another note, last week was Spirit Week here at NTBI! It was kind of fun--it reminded me of homecoming week in High School:) Difference is, now I dress my kids up instead of me! The other NTBI (located in Waukesha, Wisconsin) traveled here to Jackson this past Saturday to compete against us in some sport events. (I shouldn't say "us"...I did not participate:) ). So that week leading up to Saturday was Spirit Week.


Monday was "Heroes vs. Villains"


Tuesday was "Twos-day" (or Twin Day). Kaine and Halle dressed as twins...


Daisy and her good friend Sophie dressed as twins...

...and also, Jill and I dressed as twins. I don't have a picture of that, though:)



We skipped Wednesday (hippie day...wasn't sure what to do with that one). So Thursday was Mismatch Day. We had fun with that!


Friday was Blackout Day. I think Kaine and Halle look like little ninjas:)



We are continuing to enjoy our classes so much! We are learning a lot. We just finished Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus, and we have just started Numbers. They do chronological teaching here, so we won't start any New Testament books for awhile. I am super excited to start those, to start tying everything together. I am especially wanting to study Hebrews since we just did Leviticus...I think it will be amazing to see how they fit together.

Have a great and God-glorifying week!!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

our little entertainer:)

Halle loves to entertain us! She loves acting silly, being cute, singing, spinning, dancing...you name it. She is packed with personality! One of Halle's favorite things to do is sing (usually very loudly!) She has learned a couple of new songs lately in her childcare class, and she loves singing them to us. They are ADORABLE, if I do say so myself:) Of course, I know I am biased, but just watch these videos and you will agree with me:)






Halle, we love you and we love the personality that God has blessed you with! You are such a joy!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

a day in the life...

Right now, I lead a pretty interesting life. It's a different one, for sure--definitely a much different one than I would have ever predicted for myself! So I thought maybe some of you were wondering what my days consist of (I've gotten plenty of questions about this!). I thought I would carry my camera around with me during my day, and show you! So here it is...a day in the life of a 29-year-old-mother-of-four-college-student. :)


So right now we live on the third floor! Which has its advantages and disadvantages (like carrying up my groceries!) But here is an advantage, for sure--and my camera doesn't do it justice. Every morning I am able to see the beautiful sunrise! I love looking out the window in the mornings:) Usually our early-riser (Halle)is up, too, looking at the sunrise with me. I love it!



The way they do it here at NTBI, all the students except for the moms have their first class at 8:00. Then the 9:00 hour is chapel (which I need to go to about 2 or 3 days per week). Then we have a 10:00 class and an 11:00 class. So, Nathan leaves for class at about 7:55, and I have to get myself and our kids ready to go by 8:55...which is sometimes quite a chore! Nathan always makes breakfast, though, which is a huge help! So Nathan leaves for class and...


I finish up feeding the kiddos breakfast...



...I try to get myself ready to go (usually Layla joins me on the bathroom counter)...


...Halle and Layla are usually acting psycho...



...which usually results in "blanket time", which is a total lifesaver for me! It keeps me sane:)



I get the kids ready to go (It is so nice that Kaine can do this step all by himself!)





And then we are out the door. Usually Nathan runs back up to our apartment after his 8:00 class is over, to help me carry our kids to child care.

So we drop our kiddos off. The childcare is split into 4 age groups, and we have a kid in each one!! We drop Layla off to "Mini's"...


...Halle is dropped off to "Toddlers"...



...Kaine is in the "Preschool" class...


...and of course, Daisy is in "Babies."


Phew! The stressful part of the morning is over:)




Next we have chapel. Chapel is different every day...sometimes it is in the auditorium and we have a speaker or worship, but on Tuesdays this is what we have:

Married Ladies Chapel! Definitely one of my favorites! A different "married lady" hosts it each week, and we have some food and coffee, and a great topic. The past two weeks our topic was "Respect and Submission." Good stuff! Very good for me to hear:)




Then we go to our 10 and 11:00 classes. Here we are, waiting to start. I wonder what all these single college kids think of us, 29 years old with FOUR kids!! I think it is so fun being in classes and living next to all the "singles", and I don't really even feel much older than them! I'm guessing we seem really old to them, though:) Anyway, here are a couple pictures of our class, and we are really really enjoying getting to know everyone! What a solid group of students!




Between classes we almost always pass at least one of our kids in the hallway. Here is Layla with her class.






So then, classes are done and it is time to pick up the kiddos!! Layla is definitely the most excited to see us:)




Daisy is usually still sleeping when Nathan leaves for class in the morning, so he is always so glad to see his little Daisy:)




So we go back up to our apartment, eat lunch...

Then our kids usually like to look out the window...


...here is the view. Kind of hard to see because of the screen, but we can look out at the playground and volleyball net. There are always people for our kids to watch:)




Then all the girls take naps and we enjoy some time with Kaine. A major part of our afternoon that I failed to include a picture of is...HOMEWORK! We have lots of it, so we usually do that some in the afternoons.

Halle wakes up from her nap first, and she and Kaine have been really into coloring lately.





Time for me to make supper, and Halle likes to help me:)




After supper, we sometimes go down to that playground that our kids were looking out the window at, or sometimes we like to go on walks with our favorite people...Aaron, Jill, Ivy and Israel! There is a park really close by the school that we have been going to. We went there with the McCormick's a couple nights ago.










Time for the kids to start getting ready for bed...They love to distract Daisy when I try to feed her:) They can make Daisy smile so much!


It is VERY difficult for these kids to wind down! They are usually so hyper at bedtime!


That is the end of the pictures, but after this, we put the kiddos to bed and then it is quiet! I love the evenings after the kids are in bed (I love being with them, but it is finally a time that I can sit down and relax!) Nathan and I love to talk after they are in bed, and sometimes we have homework to finish. There is a ping pong room down the hall from our apartment so sometimes Nathan talks me into playing ping pong, too:)


So that is my day! I will be impressed if you stuck with me--I know it probably isn't too terribly exciting for most people to see:) But I thought some people would possibly interested in it (like my grandparents!)

Good night!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

fun with daddy:)

Nathan is the best daddy! I appreciate so much his leadership, love for me and our kids, the way he prioritizes his life, his Godly example to me and others...so much. Our kids have so much fun with him! Here they all are, imitating Daisy:) I love this picture!


Reading all the kids a book before bed. They love doing this, and usually Daisy doesn't join them. Tonight I decided to put her on Halle's lap, which Halle loved!

Hope you all have a great week!