A New Years Mission

As we anticipate the beginning of 2012, I always like to think about what I would like to accomplish in the new year.  Goals I may have, books I'd like to read, a word to meditate on the whole year through & work on in my life, so on & so forth.  I don't like to call it a "new years resolution" because typically people fail miserably at those, so I think of it more as a 'new years mission' (it may or may not be the same thing ; )

SPIRITUALLY
  I'm committing to read through the Bible chronologically again this year, & I'm super pumped because my husband has committed to do it with me.  We are excited for what the LORD is going to teach us & how He's going to grow our faith.  Wanna join us?  Simply go to this website for a pdf copy of a timeline to follow: http://www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.chronological.pdf
  I'm still praying about a word the LORD would like me to meditate & work on this next year.  I will hopefully know soon!
  I would also like to memorize more scripture.

PERSONALLY
I love to read!  It's one of my favorite past times and with becoming a new mom this year, I didn't read as many books as I'd hoped.  So my goal is to read 10 books this next year and my list is:

1. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore
2. Lost Boy by Greg Laurie
3. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. William & Kate: A Royal Love Story by Christopher Andersen
6. Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman
7. Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
8. Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
9. Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney
10. Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (re-read for the 3rd time!)

I hope to keep up with this blog too.  Monthly updates on Josiah, share what I'm learning in my relationship with the LORD, fun memories with family & friends, updates as I finish the above books, new recipes I make (because I've been making some new & very yummy ones recently!), and so on & so forth.   

PHYSICALLY

Dan & I have a LifeTime membership that we don't use as often as we should.  I would like to commit to going to the gym 2-3 times a week to get this body back into shape.  They have a great childcare program for Josiah, so I can have an hour or so to work out.  I need to take full advantage!

So here's to 2012, may it be a great year for you all!  Blessings <3 Kate

Merry 1st Christmas Josiah!

Christmas 2011 has come and gone, but the song The Day after Christmas by Matthew West  reminds me even when Christmas is over, the Light of the World is still here!  LOVE THAT!  Boy do I love that!
  So yes, we had a wonderful 1st Christmas with our precious boy, Josiah.  He is too sweet for words.  Christmas Eve morning we let him open his stocking & our "big" gift to him... in the stocking was 2 Veggie Tale movies & his "big" gift was...

  
Pretty lucky kid, huh?!  Later we went to Harvest's Christmas Eve service with my family and lifted high the Name of Jesus.  It was Awesome!  Then we went back to Hampshire to continue in the celebration of our Savior's birth and spend the night with Nana & Papa Bear, Uncle Brandon, Uncle Sean & Aunt Nilsa.  We had an amazing ham dinner, thanks Mom!, read the Christmas story from Luke 2, opened gifts, played a few games & attempted to watch Christmas Vacation but about half way through fell asleep.  It was a great night of remembering that first Christmas so long ago & the babe that was born that cold, not so silent night in Bethlehem.

Merry Christmas!

      Josiah's favorite gift from Nana & Papa- Little People Nativity Scene!

We woke up Christmas morning, note Josiah slept in until 8:30am!, Josiah opened a few more gifts from us, & we had a yummy breakfast that included a quiche, cinnamon rolls & the traditional spiced pears, thanks Mom!  

   Christmas morning!

Then we headed up to Rockford to Dan's aunt Donna & uncle Ron's to spend the day with them & Mom & Dad Haskell, aka Grandma & Grandpa.  We enjoyed another yummy ham dinner & then opened gifts.  After we left Aunt Donna & Uncle Ron's we went back to Mom & Dad's & sat by a roaring fire & played with Josiah before we had to drive home.  I'd say Josiah had a very nice 1st Christmas... I know I'll never forget it!

Josiah's favorite gift from Grandpa & Grandma: Little People Farm

Then the day after Christmas we went to Brookfield Zoo for their Magic of Lights with our good friends, David & Joei & Ella.  It was so much fun it just may be a yearly tradition!  Its a great way to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for another day! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating our Savior's birthday.  It's such a special time of year, I pray you treasure it in your heart as I do.  Merry rest of the year everyone!  Remember... even when Christmas is over, the LIGHT of the world is STILL here!!  

9 month update

Josiah is 9 months old, and I cannot believe my eyes!  He has grown so much and has learned so much in the past month, its incredible!  I am starting to plan his 1 yr. birthday party, and it reminds me of when he was born a friend of mine (who was planning her daughters 1 yr. b-day party) told me that in the blink of an eye I would be planning his & I didn't believe her.  But here we are, a blink later, & I am.  A million thoughts are going through my head as to where we should have it, what should be the theme, should I have a theme?, what should the menu be, so on & so forth.  Well, at this point, all I can tell you is this:  We are getting Josiah dedicated on March 18th (day after his 1st birthday) & having kind of a dual party that day.  So fun!
   So, as I mentioned, Josiah has learned a lot lately.  He has learned to stand up on his own & get down by himself too.  He now can do the regular crawl but will still do the army crawl as well.  He also learned how to point and the coolest thing is that, since we put up our nativity scene we show him baby Jesus every day and so when he is playing we will ask him where baby Jesus is and he will start looking for him.  Well, just today, I asked him where he was and Josiah crawled over to the manger, lifted his arm and pointed to it!  OMG!  It melted my heart!  Our baby boy at 9 months old is so smart!  Josiah will also smother us with kisses, which also melts my heart.  If you sing to him or turn music on he will start to move his body and shake his head like crazy, it is adorable!  He can also get on his soap box & just babble, babble & babble.  I LOVE it!  He still loves to walk with us by holding our hands, but now that we borrow his Nana & Papa's walker, he spends most of his time in there just walking all over the house & chasing the cat!  He loves the freedom!  He still takes good morning & afternoon naps for mama, which is great, and he is sleeping well through the night.  Fantastic!  
I think that is all the update I can give for now.  We will be going to the doctor the first week of January for his 9 month check-up, so I will have to update then with his stats.  But here are a few pics for your enjoyment! 

 His favorite thing to do!

 All smiles!

 Look at those beautiful blue eyes!

  Model baby!

The Heart of Christmas

  Some of you may recognize the title of this post as the name of the xmas movie produced by Matthew West about the true story of a little boy who was battling cancer and how his mom's online journal impacted the life of another woman and her family.  I cried the entire movie.  So, if you haven't yet seen it, please do, but be prepared to go through a whole box of Kleenex!  Anyway, I thought this title was also fitting for the reason of my post tonight... as we prepare our hearts for Christmas... I am grateful. So so grateful.  
   I cannot believe xmas is right around the corner, which also means we will be ringing in a new year too, wow!  Where did this year go?!  My baby boy will be 9 months old this Saturday, and on Sunday we will continue our tradition by spending the day in Chicago looking at the lights and Macy's windows and hopefully going ice skating!  And then one week from Sunday we will be celebrating the birth of our LORD Jesus Christ.  I always look forward to the holidays, even with all the hustle and bustle and colder weather.  I love listening to xmas music, I'm one of those who start listening to it the week of Thanksgiving and usually continue listening to it all the way through January.  I love xmas decorations, my house is all decked out in holiday style, and again, I'm one of those who keep my decorations up through January.  I love making and decorating xmas cookies, my favorite being sugar cookies.  This year (last night actually), Dan & I did it together, and it was SO much fun!  We made the dough (I cheated this year & used a mix), cut out the shapes in mittens, snowmen, xmas trees, & stars, baked them, and frosted and decorated them.  They turned out as cute as can be!

  I love the sappy xmas movies on the Hallmark channel, Lifetime and ABC Family... one of them being Moonlight & Mistletoe staring Candace Cameron Bure, so good!  I love that usually by now we have snow, or have had snow.  I love looking out my window and seeing the snowflakes fall from the overcast sky.  Its simply beautiful.  I love getting my loved ones xmas cards and letters in the mail!  I look forward to opening each & every envelope!  I love attending Harvest's Women's xmas program each year with my mom, mother-in-law, & aunts.  It has been a great tradition for 5 years now!

This year at Harvest!

Special guests: Matthew West & Mandisa

  I love buying xmas gifts for my family & friends and seeing their faces when they open it.  But what I love most of all at xmas is the whole month leading up to December 25, Advent.  I love taking time out of our busy day to remember Christ's birth.  I remember Advent one year at Harvest, it was my favorite.  Each weekend in the worship service we watched a video... one being on Peace, Love, Hope, & Joy.  It was beautiful to hear from other Harvest families about how the LORD has offered His Peace, shown them His Love, given them Joy, or provided them Hope.  I'm really looking forward to the xmas eve service at Harvest this year and celebrating Jesus' birthday with my loved ones.  Every year we go back to my parents house & enjoy a delicious ham dinner cooked by my mom, we open our gifts to Jesus and sing Him Happy Birthday.  We also open our gifts to each other since my dad usually has to work on xmas day.  It is such a special night with my family.  I'm so excited to have Josiah here to share it all with us.  I can't wait to celebrate his first xmas, even though he probably won't remember it, it's still pretty special to us!  Then on xmas day we go up to Rockford to spend the day with Dan's parents, his aunt & uncle & cousin.  Aunt Donna always makes a yummy ham AND turkey dinner, with Dan's favorite cheesy potatoes too!  We open gifts & enjoy each others company by sharing stories & laughs.  Then we make our way back home and stop in Elgin at my grandparents to see some of my aunts, uncles, cousins & grandpa & grandma Kressin.  It's a busy day, but I love it!  Can't wait!
  So as we prepare to celebrate our Savior's birth, I am grateful.  I am grateful for all these things about CHRISTmas that I love & get to enjoy.  Thank you LORD for sending your one & only son to this earth to die for me.  Wow, so grateful.  The Heart of Christmas has a name.  And the name is JESUS!  Keep Christ in CHRISTmas and say Merry Christmas to everyone you meet!  Merry Christmas everyone!     

Thanksgiving in St. Louis

Every year since I was a child my family and I would travel south to St. Louis to spend Thanksgiving with my aunt Jenni & uncle John and cousins Alex & Aniela.  Not only did my family go, but also my Mimi & Papa, my aunt Kristi & uncle Rob and cousins Andrew, Michael & Nicholas.  It has been a memorable family tradition for years, and I'm so glad we can continue it now that I'm married and have a baby.  So this year we drove down with my parents and brother, Brandon (my youngest brother, Sean, had to work, buuummmmerrrrr!) and had a great time!  We are usually blessed with beautiful fall weather and this year was no different... 60's+ day after day... just perfect!  We went on multiple walks a day, ate a lot of Mimi's yummy food, shopped, watched football and the boys had fun playing football as well. We sure have a lot to be thankful for this year and top on my grateful list is:

1. My relationship with Jesus Christ
2. ...Amazing and loving husband, Daniel
3. ...Adorable and sweet little boy, Josiah
4. ...Loving and caring Family
5. ...And the best friends in the whole wide world! 

I have such a grateful heart this holiday season!  Enjoy some pics of our fun time in St. Louis!

Playing Catch Up

Man o man, how did I go the whole month of October without one post?!!  Oh blog world how I've missed you so!
  I guess we've been pretty busy lately and October went by in a flash, so I will take a few minutes to catch you all up on our lives since the end of September.  At 7 months old, Josiah is on the move!  He does the army crawl like nobody's business and will love you forever if you hold his hands and walk with him.  It is so cute how excited he gets when he is walking!  I have a slight feeling he will be doing it on his own in the next few months.  Crazy!  Just this week he started pulling himself half way up on things, couches, toys, ect.  Other big news in Josiah's life is...drum roll please... he cut his first tooth!  I cannot believe how fast my baby boy is growing and how big he is already.  Hopefully he will let me get a picture of that pearly white soon!

  We also celebrated another marriage in the family, my cousin, Ashley, tied the knot on October 22.  It was a beautiful day up in Wisconsin and it was fun to be with the family again.  Ok people, we have ONE more wedding this year and its next weekend, phew!
  This past weekend we had our 2nd annual chili cook-off with our best friends.  This year a few of us went to Goebberts Pumpkin Patch beforehand and although it was cold and windy, we had a blast!  We then headed over to the Borst's house for the cook-off.  4 couples entered the contest this year and it was no easy task deciding the winner, they were all so delicious.  But David remains the reigning champ!  We will get you next year bro!  And, I don't want to brag or nothing, but my chicken chili won the category for best taste!  I'd say thats a winner too! : ) No matter where we are or what we're doing we always have so much fun with our group of friends.  We are so very thankful for them!
  Monday was Halloween, and even though it is not a holiday to be celebrated in our house, it is still fun to dress up in tasteful costumes and go trick or treating.  I always did it as a kid and have great memories from year after year of all the costumes that my mom made my brothers and I, even the palm tree!  We always did the trick or treating thing and then went to Burlington to my Mimi and Papa's to have chili and enter the costume contest at the park.  I even won a few years!  For Josiah's first Halloween he wore his uncle Sean's costume from 20 years ago, extra special!  He was the cutest dalmatian puppy around!  We drove out to Hampshire to hang out with my family and go treating at a few old time neighbors who loved to see Josiah.  It was a fun night!

  This whole week Dan has been traveling for work in Minnesota and boy do I miss him!  I'm sure if Josiah could talk, he would tell me he misses his Daddy too!  But we did spend some quality time with my parents and brothers and really enjoyed that.  Plus my mom made some delicious meals!!  BONUS! = )  There is nothin like your mom's home cooked dinners!  2:30pm today can't come soon enough though when we get to pick Dan up at O'Hare.  Yippee!!
  Well I think that covers it, until next time... Asta!

Fun Fall Weekend

  This weekend was a blast!  It started on Friday when we had Josiah's 6 month doctor visit and Dan surprised us and left work on his lunch break to meet us there.  Thanks honey, that meant a lot!  And although Josiah had to get another round of shots (not the fun part), its always exciting to find out how much he has grown since last time. He is now 16lb 5oz and 28in long, a full 2 pounds heavier from 2 months ago and 2 inches longer, what a growing boy!  In the docs words, he is long and lean, just like his parents!  Ha!  That puts him in the 90th percentile for height and 25-50th percentile for weight.  So, in other words, he's growing taller faster than he can gain weight!  If he keeps this up, he will be 6'3 like his uncle Brandon!

  After his appointment I convinced Dan to take the rest of the day off and go up to the apple orchard.  We've been going to Royal Oak farm for years now, and we couldn't wait to take Josiah there!  We picked up Nana and headed up to Hebron, IL, a little drive, but always well worth it!  We got all our faves: Honeycrisp apples, apple squares, apple cider donuts, & Royal Oak's famous apple sauce.  Mmm mmm good! 

  Then on Saturday we went to Goebberts Pumpkin Patch for Cameren's 6th birthday party.  I grew up going to Goebberts, so of course, we were looking forward to taking Josiah there as well!  It was so much fun and Siah loved it!  We rode their new train they got this year, saw the giraffes and all the other animals,   watched the pig races, and played.  We then drove up to Rockford for Dan's cousin, Jody's wedding reception.  Although it was chilly (it was outside at a park) it was fun to see everyone and celebrate with the newlyweds. 

  Sunday we had our family over for the Bears vs. Packers game.  I gave in and let Dan put Josiah in Green Bay apparel, which I think was a mistake!  Haha  If he was in Bears, they would've won!  Well, anyway I think we will have to flip a coin from now on to figure out which team he will support when these two rival's play each other!  But, either way, we had a great time eating yummy food and watching the game.  

  The busy, busy weekend came to an end and here we are at another Monday.  It's rainy, windy and cold.  But I have candles lit, worship music playing and coffee in my hand.  Siah is just waking up from a 2 hour nap and I can't wait to go pick him up and give him a squeeze.  Hope you're weekend was as great as ours!

Happy Monday!

Kate

::5 Month update::Recap of Summer::Preview of Fall::

Josiah is 5 months and 1 1/2 weeks old, doesn't even seem possible!  He is now about 17 pounds and in 6-9 month clothing.  Yes, he is a HEALTHY lil boy!  He is sitting up better by himself now, not without the occasional tumble though.  He scoots around, not forward or backwards, but in circles!  Its quite fun to watch!  We can pretty much get him to smile on command & laugh when we try hard enough.  Siah has been "sleeping in" until 7-7:30 for a couple weeks now and boy has mama been savoring that extra hour of sleep!  We will probably start feeding him rice cereal this week, as I think he is ready for it.  I believe that is all the update on Josiah for now, enjoy a few pics from his 5 month photo shoot:

 Look at that face!

  We have really been enjoying our summer, its sad to see it end, but because my favorite season follows summer, its never too hard to say "goodbye".  We have had our fare share of weddings, lazy pool days, play dates with friends, birthdays, anniversaries, parties, backyard bbq's, small group fun, weekend getaways, boating, softball games, family days, fireworks, festivals, and well you get the picture: FUN, FUN, FUN!  Here are some pics from our weekend in Lake Geneva on the boat:

 What a little cutie in his life jacket!

 Taking it all in!

 Josiah absolutely loved being on the boat!

Our family of 3!

But I am definitely looking forward to fall and all that comes with it... especially FOOTBALL!  Yes, I'm a little obsessed.  Our Sunday afternoons/evenings and Monday nights consist of being lazy and watching football.  It might look a little different this season since we have a baby to care for, but if Josiah is at all like his mama, he will enjoy watching the games with us! (I hope!)  The list of reasons I love the autumn season goes on though:  Beautiful colors of the changing leaves, home cooked chili, sweatshirts, apple cider, apple cider donuts, fall decorations, pumpkins, visiting the apple orchard and pumpkin patch and cooler weather.  I'm also particularly excited about the start of fall because I am going to be participating in a woman's small group studying the Entrusted curriculum.  I have only heard phenomenal things about this study and raves and raves, so I'm pretty pumped.  I truly believe the LORD has blessed Dan and I with Josiah and has entrusted him to us to train him up in the way he should go (Prov. 22:6).  And one way to help me do that is to use the resources God has given us, which includes Entrusted.  I am looking forward to meeting other moms and to be encouraged in my faith.  Dan is also going to be joining a mens small group.  So that is a preview of our fall which will also include more birthdays, 3 more weddings, anniversaries, parties, and the list I'm sure will expand.  Until next time, asta!


   

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 1 Year=Complete!

About a week ago I finished reading the Bible chronologically in a year.  This past year of studying God's Word has been amazing, life changing, eye opening, and really good for my relationship with Christ.  He has taught me a lot, grown my faith, challenged me and created in me a new passion for Him.  I, like many others I've heard say, always struggled with devotionals... when to do it, where to do it, what to read, so on and so forth.  But when I decided to read the Bible chronologically and actually study the verses I was reading, God began to speak to me.  I woke up every morning with a desire to read the good Word and spend time with the LORD.  It was incredible!  I think so often we read the Bible without actually taking in what it has to say and applying it to our lives.  I think we often "read" the Bible instead of "study" the Bible.  There is a difference.  We should meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8).  I would love to get better at memorizing scripture because I truly believe it is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).  


Back in December last year when I was studying Proverbs and Ecclesiastes I came across an online blog: www.3yearbiblebookclub.blogspot.com and I have been referring to it ever since.  I remember reading some of the entries for Ecclesiastes and loved what the blogger had to say.  Here is one of my journal entries after reading it:  I really pondered chapters 2 & 3 of Ecclesiastes.  Most of the book is about us as humans finding meaning in life and wisdom.  A part from God our human efforts are meaningless.  Chapter 2:24-25 is the heart of Ecclesiastes.  Only in God does life have meaning and true pleasure.  Without him nothing will satisfy us, but with him we can find satisfaction and enjoyment.  True pleasure can only come when we aknowledge and revere God (12:13).  Ecclesiastes 3 makes me think of the song by Carrie Underwood when she sings the words "this is my temporary home..."  God has made a beautiful world for us to live in and enjoy while we are here, but because we were made for eternity, the things of this world cannot fully satisfy us.  I'm also reminded throughout these chapters that I can't take anything that I have here on earth with me.  What God has blessed me with to enjoy is a bonus, a gift from him.  It is not my right or guarantee to have nice things and have wealth.  It is better to be content with what I have than go after my fleshly desires.  Lord, show me what it means to fear God, have a true reverence of you.  I pray you would teach me to be content and find true pleasure and satisfaction in you.  Teach me your ways Father and lead me in the way everlasting.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.


I'm so glad I stuck with it, even reading those harder to read Old Testament books!  God is good!  God is faithful!  God is worthy to be praised!  And I praise Him for teaching me all that He did in this past year!  I challenge you to read the Bible chronologically in a year.  I challenge you to really study the verses you are reading.  I'm going to do it again.  Are you with me?


Thankful for God's Word,
Kate

4 month Check up

Siah is now 4 months old and growing bigger every day.  He had his 4 month check up last Friday and he is now weighing in at 14lb 9oz and 26in long... one healthy baby boy!  He had to get his second round of shots and thankfully he did much better than last time.  Maybe he was being brave because Daddy was there this time ; )  
Josiah has many talents, some of them are:  He now rolls over from back to tummy and tummy to back, he grabs for things and plays with toys, he even is trying to put his pacifier back in his mouth but has yet to figure out the right way!  He locks his legs and wants to stand (with our help of course!) all the time and hes working on those ab muscles so he can sit up soon!  We are slowly trying to get him to sleep without his swaddle because he now rolls over onto his tummy when he sleeps.  I guess he is gonna be like his daddy... sound sleeper when he's on his tummy!  
We are loving every minute of this precious baby boy that God has blessed us with.  He is just the cutest and sweetest thing!  We've been told on numerous occasions that Josiah could be the next Gerber baby.  Maybe we should do something about that?!  Here are some updated pics from his 3 month photo shoot: