jun-sept photo hiccup!

If you are one that likes to see every picture that I share, 9-10 were missing from each slideshow in this post that had June-Sept photos! I used a different source for the slideshow and they're all there now :) Click to see what you missed!
http://klein3.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-beginning-of-new-season.html

sentimental saturday

I was already emotional Saturday when Jordan and I had a conversation about his "mommy blankey."

It was given as a gift for my oldest brother almost 36 years ago, and I used almost daily for at very least 20 years. I stopped sleeping with it on my bed shortly after Jordan was born and gave it to him. He's used it regularly for at least a couple years now.

It used to be dark blue, and full of colorful pattern on the back side. It was sewn with yellow thread and tied with yellow yarn, and though not thick, had a nice layer of filling. Now it's light blue, the only remaining patterns are hidden under the one small spot of edging still attached. I stripped it of it's tiny amount of remaining filling last year, trimmed dangling edges, folded it in half and sewed around, in hopes of helping it last a bit longer.

the beginning of a new season

Well, since I missed catching you all up on life for the the entire summer via blog, it's time to review the last few months in pictures as well as (more officially?) share the news that we've entered a another new season in our lives.

Long story short - Josh is now the youth pastor at Evangelical Bible Church here in Omaha. He will also eventually switch off with the current worship pastor to lead worship at a multi-site. It's been an interesting half a year since a friend basically said, "Hey, I think Josh would fill this church position I know of for youth pastor/worship leader well!" And we basically said, "Hmmm, no."

God definitely had a different plan, and made it super clear to us along the way. When we said no, when we drug our feet, and when we jumped in with both feet - He showed us time and time again He was calling us to a change we hadn't anticipated!

fireman third birthday

I really tried to be more minimal and memorable this year. It's more important for the party to be practical, enjoyable, and memorable, than super cute. I did pretty well!

We had such fun preparing and celebrating, and with a lot less stress, more fun, and Jordan still plays with most of the things I decorated with - figurines, crayons, fire trucks, his costume, blow up hydrant is getting a lot of use lately, too :) All the graphics (banner, cupcake toppers, his shirt) I made and printed from a graphic set on sale for $1! Thanks to Amazon for almost everything else.

may flowers

Gotta catch up before Jordan turns THREE next week!
[Ironically we have some pretty "May flowers" that Jordan obsesses over, but I don't have pictures of them :)]

Umbrella crafts ushering in the sunshine after a row of rainy days!

april showers

I have been super way behind on posting on our blog more often than not this year.

Currently:

I finally... FINALLY... got myself to slow down a little. I'm feeling more alive and human most days, thank goodness! To turn the tv off more. To get off facebook (thanks StayFocused and RescueTime!) I've been reading my Bible almost every day [so close! :)]. Two weeks ago I actually started exercising again. I've been able to hang almost all laundry for weeks now [as this blog post says it: "Hanging clothes outside is a simple act, but I love it because it makes me slow down"]. I'm going to bed earlier. I'm not chasing so many deals for price matching/ couponing.

february/march madness

The busy-ness of life has been quite overwhelming for me lately. Part of it is legitimate busy, part unnecessary. Lately I've been spending a lot of extra time on saving/earning a little more money for our family. Also, really working on ways to de-clutter and better organize/run our home. With our jobs, Josh's seminary classes, and the extra work I'm doing (and the time I waste doing nothing online when I could be sleeping...), well, it's been madness at our house this semester! :)

It has been exciting, though, as Josh and I both grow personally in our relationships with the Lord and each other in much-needed ways. I in my Bible reading, and both of us in prayer. As we are becoming better disciples of the Lord, it helps our marriage, and I believe our parenting, too.

friday five 2-7-14

{I know it's not Friday (though I DID write this for Friday!)
and there's more than five, but I like calling it Friday Five! Ha!}

I can't believe it's already February. Where does the time go?
{Speaking of February, the youngest I nanny turned 3 on Sunday. Un.Real.}
Thankfully, as the minutes fly by, everything slows down for at least a few moments as I relive the joys of roller-coaster-filled weeks.

friday five 1-24-14

Two weeks of family joys might be more the norm now. I can't seem to keep up with weekly, as you know, and I'm okay with that now! :-) I'm going to go with five for each week this time!

all in a day

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of the same over and over. I think we all enjoy the predictability and familiarity :) But, I realized as we did it all over again today, that I want to remember and share this season. I love the creativity.

Also, in the midst all this we had some terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. Ok, so not THAT bad, but enough I was crying most days. But, thankfully, God's mercies are new each morning, and He helps the wonderful, awesome, not bad, very good moments usher in and overpower.

friday five 12-6

Five family things from the past couple weeks.

1. Finally got my bottom wisdom teeth taken out. Papa and Nana K helped us out. Those teeth gave me a much greater appreciation (?) for the pain my little boy goes through with teething. The first time I had pain from them, he got his first molars; then I was having major (as in life-affecting) pain, when his top 2-year-molars broke through the skin; then his bottom 2-years broke through the week I had my teeth taken out.
My favorite part of having them taken out, besides extra time to relax and watch way too much Parenthood, was Jordan's sweetness. His gentle loves, touches, words, checking on me in my room, and asking often, "You growing teeth feeling better and better, mommy?"

november's here!

We got to flip the calendar page last week. We all love the calendar flip, to get to look at a new set of pictures and see, from last year's pictures, what kinds of things we are going to get to do this month! :) That morning, though, Jordan asked us to flip it back. He's really been enjoying costumes and pumpquins a whole lot, and the October page was full of them. I think he equated turning the page to being done with those things... so we flipped it back :)

ocachutober's almost over

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of {mostly} fun. It was so busy I seriously almost forgot to be thankful for all of the joy-filled moments we got to spend with family and friends we love! 

At the end of last month, when Jordan asked when grandparents were coming, I told him October. He never forgot. Each time grandparents came this month (multiple times, yay!), he'd say, "It's Ocachutober!!" 

friday five + (7-12-13)

{A few things missed, this week, and lots of cute pictures!}

friday five 7-5-13

See our Fourth in pictures, too! :)

• Seeing the world through his eyes is so fun. Warm summer weather provides more opportunities for this! 

friday five (6-14-13)

This is my last post with a one-year-old. I cannot believe Jordan turns TWO next week!!

{more than} friday five 6-7

Just some life as we wrap up May and fly into June... I'm going to call it Friday Five, just don't count past five. :)

friday five 5-17

I skipped last week. Not because I didn't have 5 positive things to focus on, but because I just didn't feel like taking the time to make a post! :) I decided that though it's okay to not post about it, I still need to make a conscious effort to focus on the positives from the last week even if I don't physically list them. I could feel the effects of skipping. As our family seeks to return to focusing on positive more than negative, I'm realizing how much sharing my 5 things with you each week helps!
All that to say... I'd love for you to write out and share the positive from your life with me (in the comments maybe?!), or others, too. Just a thought!

friday five 5-3

If you want a little laugh right now, check out this video of Jordan. It's actually pitch black because I'm rocking him before bed, but the audio should at least make you smile! No idea what "boof" means, but Jordan sure thinks it's funny!! http://youtu.be/kfBMDqZylWg
Some more joys here, and hopefully my post on Surrender is not far behind! :)

We were taking pictures of ourselves and I caught this gem!

• Laundry on the line! We'll have to skip this week, but maybe after that we can be back in the swing of no-dryer season.

(Yes, the neighbor's houses are really that close to ours...)

• Finally had a warm-weather visit to the playground and zoo! And we visited basically all "new" things... we saw them last summer but Jordan doesn't remember! He loved the prairie dogs as much as he did last year, he was so sweet trying to tell each one, "Hi!" in the sweetest voice ever, and asking them to "Get out, please," when they went in their holes.

Drink break at the park.

He'd sit outside prairie dog holes all day if we let him.
Notice the tiny finger up by his ear. That's his new motion that goes along with his, "Sss {shh}, yisten! Heard dat!"

Flamingos, feeding fish, sea lions.
At the sea lions: Jordan-"Go in there?" Daddy-"Who's going in there?" Jordan-"JORDAN!" Mommy-"You really want to go in there?" Jordan-"Okay! {Leans over to go in}"

He tried drinking it and told us he was "washa hands!"

• Rainy/snowy days. He's either learning to relax or slightly under the weather, or both.

• Independence is growing. He helps choose his own snack {for a couple weeks now}, and I can trust him to help me cook. No more paci during awake time. And, he's telling me when he has to potty all the time! Whew! With this combination and how old he's been looking lately {we especially noticed at the zoo}, we're having to accept the fact that he's turning two soon!

Snack time. One food at a time, leave the bag in boxes, one piece of food at a time.

"Jordan, time to put away your bobby, unless you want to go back to bed..."
"Backa sleep. {hides as pictured} Mommy take it :("

• Multiple times this week Jordan and one or both of the boys I nanny played civilly together, by themselves, and communicated with each other well if they were upset about something. It brings me so much joy to hear {from Justin and Miles}, "I'm not done with that yet. Can I please have it back? Please wait your turn." followed by the toy being given back. Jordan just says, "My turn." But he's learning! Role playing and coaching definitely pays off!

More things we never want to forget:

• Love when he calls us "honey," "sweetie," and "sweetheart."
• Saw the zoo sign, and said, "z-o-o." Granted, daddy spells it to him all the time, but still, he recognized the letters! Whoo!
• Knows when he sees numbers, but doesn't recognize any of them individually yet.
• Started saying he "gogot" {forgot} things last week. He finds something he hasn't seen in awhile and says, "Oh! I gogot! I gogot _____." Or if he sets something down and walks away without it, stops and says he "gogot" it and goes back to get it :)
• He asks me to find school buses for him to see while I'm driving.

friday five 4-25

The bests of this week... :)