Boxes, Boxes, and More Boxes....

Well, we're here in Virginia! Actually, we've been here for a few weeks now and are finally getting somewhat settled after swimming through hundreds of boxes. They are mostly cleared out now, and we are slowly but surely finding a place for all of our "stuff." I don't think a house full of boxes annoyed Robert a bit. He especially loved the big wardrobe boxes once Nona showed him how to build a series of tunnels through the living room. How fun!

Rob has started his new job as Associate Rector of Galilee Church. The Rector, Father Andrew Buchanan, has been so kind and sensitive to allow him to ease into the position. He preaches his first Sunday sermon at Galilee this Sunday! The Galilee parish is wonderful. They have made us feel at home here and have showered us with gifts and food and helping hands galore! Now all I have to do is remember their hundreds of names! I'm horrible with names and having the hardest time with it. Call me if you have any suggestions. In the meantime, I will continue to rely heavily on the name tags they wear on Sundays!

I am starting to get uncomfortable (wait, did I say that last post, too?), but I'm hanging in there. I found a great midwife and am looking forward to a tour of DePaul Medical Center next week. I'm trying not to start a countdown quite yet, but boy am I ready!

We've been trying to get out to do some fun stuff when we have the energy, so we've been swimming in the Chesapeake Bay and various swimming pools of generous parishioners. Right now I prefer the pools to the beach because it's just too hard to lug all of our stuff onto the beach in the hot weather. Robert doesn't care where we swim; he just loves to swim. He's started wearing water "wings" and is doing great with them. He also loves to jump in. I know, I should have pictures, but I keep forgetting the camera!

Robert is talking more and more and really starting to get an imagination, too. Yesterday he showed me a little cut on his hand and said a dinosaur bit him. He's definitely using sentences now, except they have no articles. Like just now he said about his ball, "Kick it me, Momma." He's a curious little guy, but he really doesn't get into things or break things. He's pretty careful overall. In fact, we've had all of our breakable decorative items laid out on our dining room floor until we are ready to find places for them, and he hasn't broken any of them yet. Every now and then he'll carry one to me to show me, and I'll tell him to carefully put it back, and he does!

I could say lots more, but it's time for breakfast, and neither child is willing to wait!

Call or email if you would like our new contact info.

We love you!

Deacon Daddy

Robert now has a new title for Daddy, "Deacon Daddy." He's a little parrot and will repeat anything you teach him to say if he's in the right mood, so someone taught him to say this just before the ordination, and sure enough, he repeats it often! Too cute!

The ordination was spirit-filled and amazing. It was a beautiful service complete with tons of friends and family to share the important event. The reception that St. Michael's gave us afterwards was awesome! It almost felt like our wedding day all over again!

We are proud and excited to officially announce Rob's calling to Galilee Epispopal Church in Virginia Beach, VA. Check out their website! It's a wonderful church, and we can't wait to join their parish family.

We are frantically packing up here in Wisconsin and heading to VA Wednesday morning. Thank God that we have packers and movers coming Monday and Tuesday and that we're not trying to do it all by ourselves. We are both exhausted from a crazy past few weeks of graduation, ordination, miles and miles of car travel, pregnancy, and an ever-active toddler.

Sorry for such a brief update. There are lots more pictures and cute stuff to say about Robert, but I just don't have time to write it all down! I do want to say thank you to all who attended our important events, served in any way, and prayed for us. We love you so much and have been blessed beyond measure by your love of us.

Hope to have lots of visits in VA Beach!

Rob's Ordination to the Deaconate

Well, it's only about one week until Rob graduates from seminary, and we are excited!!!! He's officially done with all of his schoolwork, finishing his final senior sermon just yesterday at Evening Prayer. Robert and I feel just as relieved as he does, I can assure you!
The only solid news of our future is that Rob will be ordained to the Deaconate on June 3 at St. Michael's in Charleston. Check out the invitation above. All are invited! For all of those non-Epsicopalian readers, this means that Rob will become a Transitional Deacon for 6 months and then will be ordained to the Priesthood. This is as far as we've gotten so far with future plans. God seems to be taking us one small step at a time, which is trying at times but is proving to be a blessing with each revelation He gives us along the way.
We'll keep you posted...

Happy Easter!

Family Photo outside Zion church on Easter morning. Even Baby Sister is making her presence known in the picture! (note that church hasn't even started and Robert already got something on his outfit:)

Just before church on Easter morning...could he be any cuter?

He had to have a little romp to try to get dirty before church!

Candy and junk food before breakfast...what a morning!

He was really surprised and excited about the Easter bunny visiting and leaving a basket. He opened all the eggs and ate most of it. It was mostly goldfish and fruit chews, but he did get pez candy! He loved it!

We went to an Easter egg hunt on Saturday. He loved picking up eggs and even waited until he was done to open them! He was mostly excited about all the people there. This child loves a crowd!

It's kind of sad that he's wearing pants, a coat, and a hood for an Easter egg hunt, huh? It was rainy and chilly. Welcome to Spring in Wisconsin!

Robert made this in his little YMCA class. I couldn't get him to actually wear it, but he did agree to hold it up for the camera.

We had a wonderful Easter. The weather on Easter day was actually mild and sunny, which means we didn't have to wear coats and hats to church! Robert had a fun morning opening his Easter basket and going to church. We then went home for naps. Then, my friend Laura from Zion church invited us to join her family for Easter supper at her house. It was so nice to be with a big family for Easter, and the food was SO good! Laura's son Jack is almost Robert's age, and they had a blast together. It was a truly blessed day.

It's Spring Break for us right now, the weather stinks, and we're stressing about the future. So while we are thankful for a wonderful Easter, we are praying for a big turnaround this week or at least a sunny, warmish day!

Robert and His Baby ...

Drum roll please......

SISTER!!!!!!!

Baby K2's new name for now is Baby Sister. Unfortunately, Baby Sister didn't get the great money shots that Robert did in utero. However, she was a little clown, standing on her head and dancing all around during the shoot. We could literally see her walking her feet along the uterus-- up over her head even. I swear once it looked like she was sucking her big toe! Hopefully this means she's going to be a funny little thing with a great sense of humor. From what the technician could tell us, Baby Sister is healthy and happy. I'm feeling great and feeling her move more and more. I still don't feel that big, but I know that big belly will come soon enough.

Robert is doing well--much better now that we've had some sunshine and the snow has melted. We've been outside every chance we can get. Can you believe that I have NO outside pictures? If you know about wild toddlers outside, you will understand. I can't really carry around a camera and keep up with Robert, too. We'll have to get Daddy to help us with that next time he gets a chance. As you can see in these pics, Robert is having a great time in his little class at the YMCA. He loves crafts, especially glue and glitter, and was so proud to get this picture taken. He kept charging up to the camera saying "cheese" and grinning like crazy. Then he wanted to look at the "pic-ure" and take another one.

I'm sorry, but could he look any cuter?

Robert was really excited when Mommy got home from her movie date with herself and brought him and Daddy a refill of popcorn and a bag of cotton candy. He was most excited about the "dorn," but took a while to warm up to the "dandy." I think he thought we were eating colored cotton balls or something. He's not wearing pants in this picture because he was in between pants from playing in the mud and gunk outside. Gotta love a good thaw!

This was just a funny picture I took a while ago. Robert was playing by himself for a rare moment, and when I looked over he had unzipped his pjs, put on a winter hat, and gotten in his car. It was hilarious; this picture does the scene no justice.

Thank God these early mornings haven't happened in a while. On this particular morning, Robert got up around 5 a.m., wouldn't go back to sleep, and then when I finally conceded and got up with him, he promptly fell asleep on the couch. I, however, was wide awake and bored out of my mind. I was happy to at least catch this nice sleeping shot, which is priceless.

So besides playing outside and getting used to the idea of a Baby Sister, we are just hanging around up here at Nashotah waiting for God to let us know what's next. Graduation is May 20, and we still don't know where we'll be next year. It's stressful, but we know that we'll be okay. Thanks for all your prayers. Drop us a line next time you think of it. We'd love to hear from you!

18 Month Olds and Cabin Fever

Hopefully you haven't given up on me and this blog. It's been a crazy few months. By "crazy," I don't mean filled with activity and fun. I mean filled with fatigue and queasiness, which is finally fading, thanks be to God! Baby K2 had finally made a home for him/herself, and my body finally accepts that. I still have some major food aversions and am really tired at night (probably normal for any mother of an 18 month-old), but other than that, I'm feeling much better. Baby K2 is healthy and happy as you can see from the small ultrasound picture by the above pregnancy ticker. I'm 13 weeks, and according to my pregnancy book, he/she is the size of a peach!

In other news, Robert is also doing quite well but bored out of his mind in all this cold and snowy weather cooped up in a small apartment. It turns out that he's not a "sit and play quietly" kind of toddler. He needs to run and play to have fun, wear himself out, and consequently sleep. So, each day is a challenge to see what I can concoct for us to do to wear Robert out so that he will nap. Seriously, thank you God for the YMCA. We've been swimming and playing there most days. Robert is signed up for a swim class and a gym class starting in two weeks. Despite his need for active play, Robert is still a sweet, cuddly boy who loves his thumb and blanket ("binkah") more than all of his toys put together. He's talking all the time and still signing every now and again (mostly just for "please" and "thank you"). He adores his Daddy more and more everyday. He mostly calls him "my Daddy" and talks about him and to him all day long. Everything in the house belongs to Daddy or Robert; nothing belongs to Mommy. It's weird to watch him identifying with Daddy and distancing from Mommy just like James Dobson spoke of in Bringing Up Boys. Okay, it's hard and sometimes makes me jealous, but it's what is supposed to happen, so it's good. I still relish our alone time before bed and our cuddles during the day.

Rob is busy finishing up his studies with 3 more classes. We still don't have any news about where we'll be next year, but we trust that God has a plan and will reveal it in His own perfect time. We ask you to pray that we will continue to have faith in God's plan and have PATIENCE! We also ask that you pray for us to make it through the rest of this winter with minimal cabin fever, or any other kinds of fever for that matter!

We love you!

Robert's Got a Message