This N That

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures from things that were going on in our lives earlier this Summer.

Judah had strep throat 3 times in a several month period and he got to go to work with Steve one afternoon when Teri had to work. He wrote me a note (copied what Steve wrote) saying that he had missed me because he had strep. So cute!

Steve did a gravel road bike race near Kolona, IA in June. It was a very hot day. Afterward, we toured the back country roads and stopped in Muscatine for some dinner at the Old Button Factory and for Judah to play in the water spray fountain along the Mississippi River. Aside from TONS of shad flies that you constantly had to swat away along the river and Judah crashing full-force into a little girl and banging himself up pretty good in the fountain, it was a fun-filled day.

Here's Judah enjoying a "smoothie popsicle" that Steve made for him. He didn't make much of a dent in eating it but he sure had a good (and messy!) time trying.

We had our good friend, Dan, over for dinner one evening and he very graciously and patiently sat down with Judah to begin work on putting together Judah's new Lego Battleship. Needless to say, Dan was Judah's new BFF after that night. :)

Judah loves taking pictures and always wants to take photos of Cassidy. However, Cassidy doesn't stand still long enough so Judah usually asks me to hold Cassidy for him. As you can see, she's not too terribly thrilled with being made to stay put.

Where Did Spring Go?

I swear it feels like I blogged not too terribly long ago but the date on my last post doesn't lie. May, hmmm. Guess I'd better get updating.

Steve and Judah decided to plant a small garden on the side of the house this spring. It started out pretty well and we were able to enjoy some fresh spinach for a while but, due to neglect and too much rain, then not enough rain and too hot...the garden didn't fair too well. It was a fun father/son activity anyway and Judah learned a thing or two about gardening. :)

Judah and I dyed the last 4 eggs we had in the house for Easter. Judah had never dyed eggs before so he really enjoyed watching the eggs take on the food coloring and change colors. He was disappointed though when he realized the inside of the eggs didn't change colors, too. He had a great time, as usual, doing the annual Easter Egg Hunt with his cousins at Grammy and Grandad's house. Here he is with cousin Will.

This Spring the Mighty Mississippi flooded much of the Downtown Davenport area. These pictures taken from the skywalk show just how far it came up over the river bank. The normal river bank is just to the left of all the lamposts to the far left in the first photo. It was pretty surreal.

And of course some of the other signs that Spring has arrived...

Flowers and the Farmer's Market. :)

Repainting Project #2--Living Room & Foyer

After tackling our bathroom repainting project and loving how it turned out, I was motivated and inspired to repaint the foyer and living room. I LOVE how it turned out too!!! Next painting project...the kitchen! Here are some before and after pics of the foyer and living room.

We Have a "New" Bathroom!

Steve and I finally tackled a partial-renovation of our one and only bathroom. It was quite a project that took way longer than we would have liked but I love my new bathroom!!! It's amazing what a little paint can do! Here are some before and after pics.

Teri's "Officially" Working These Days

Although I've been extremely blessed to primarily be a stay-at-home mom since Judah was born, I've also been blessed to have the opportunity to work part-time FROM HOME doing administrative and/or communication & graphic design stuff to help bring in a little extra cash. After lots of discussion and prayer (and, to be honest, even some tears on my part) Steve and I decided back in late October/early November that it was necessary for me to start looking for a part-time job to bring in a more consistent 2nd income. After MUCH searching for a job that fit my interests and skills as well as the hours that Judah was in pre-school and not finding anything that fit our needs, I decided to look into working at Judah's school at my wise mom's suggestion. I was blessed to be hired on to work one-on-one with a precious little boy named Aedan who has cerebral palsy. He "just so happens" to be in Judah's class in the afternoons, which is when I work, so I also get to spend time with my own precious little guy M-F from 2:30-5:30. Another bonus is that the school is close to home and meets our one-car-family's needs, too.

I began work on December 8th so have been there for three months so far. The name of the school is The Children's Village at Hoover and it is a wonderful early learning center for kids from Birth-5 years through the Davenport Community School District. Although I hadn't planned to work outside of the home until Judah was in Kindergarten, God had something better planned and I am so thankful that He cares about every detail of our lives and takes the time to work them all out so we don't have to.

Snowstorm #1

We've been socked with a couple of snowstorms this winter here in eastern Iowa along with really cold temps. The first was over Christmas. Here are some pics of Judah and Steve shoveling the driveway, Steve coming home from an "epic" run in the fresh snow and Judah's trucks buried under a ton of snow on the deck railing.

Sorry For Being Temporarily Out Of Service

Once again, I find myself playing catch-up on what's been happening in our lives. I guess that's good because that means I'm enjoying each moment but it leaves you out of the loop of what's been going on, especially with Judah. So I apologize for my absence.

A lot has happened over the last few months. Nothing earth shattering but we did celebrate Christmas and Judah's 4th birthday. Wow, my baby is getting so big! For Christmas we were able to give to Samaritan's Purse again and provide needy families with a couple of stocked fish ponds, 30 fruit trees and some honey bees. Thanks to Teri's parents and sister, Becki's family for contributing this year! We know that many of you give to those in need in ways that are meaningful to you so, thank you for giving, too! Judah received many wonderful gifts for Christmas and birthday but one in particular has been really exciting. Grandma and Poppy Meek got a neat wooden train set for Judah and we've all had fun setting it up and playing with it. It came with a train table but Judah seems to prefer to take the tracks apart and set them up everywhere BUT the table. He has lots of fun reconfiguring the track. I'm amazed at some of the cool ways he sets it up! There have been many days when I've heard him upstairs playing quietly except for the train sounds he's making. Woo Woo!

Judah celebrated his birthday at Grandma and Poppy Meek's and, while there, he also got to race Aunt Nettie's bird, Claude, up the stairs (see video).

While celebrating at Grammy and Grandad Barman's, Judah had his very own Vanna White (cousin Alex) to show off his gifts after he opened them. :)

Grandma and Poppy haven't been feeling well the last few months so we continue to pray for them and hope they feel better soon.

Despite the cold, snowy winter we've had, we try to get out with Judah to do things when our schedule allows. We've gone to John Deere to climb on the tractors, hiking at Scott County Park, playing in the bounce houses at Monkey Joe's with cousins Will & Maddie and Bald Eagle watching on the Mississippi. Besides that, Judah has been busy making lots of art projects at preschool. Steve has been keeping busy with his church responsibilities and the Triathlon Team. He even spoke to the kids at Judah's preschool this week about what he does as a pastor (they've been learning about community helpers at school). I've been keeping busy with Judah, keeping the household running smoothly and doing some design/copy writing work for Steve and a friend who's raising money to become a missionary in Poland. I also designed Judah's Valentine's cards for him. He wanted three kinds: The Incredibles, Lightning McQueen and Word Girl (from PBS). Life is busy but good! We are soooooooo ready for Spring!!

The Treehouse

Since we moved into our new house in July, we've been working on making the backyard a place where Judah and his friends can safely play. First was the fence--a necessity when you have a dog and an active young boy. Then came the walking path to keep the dirt and mud to a mininum. The latest project has been the foundation for a treehouse. Since our yard has such a big slope in it, we figured the best way to use that space would be to level it via a raised play area. Steve (with Judah's "help") has been working very hard on it over the last several weeks and Phase 1 is now complete. The actual treehouse will be completed in the spring. In the meantime, Judah can enjoy playing on the platform, climbing wall, etc. We'll keep you posted as Phase 2 begins in the Spring. BTW, there will be side railings installed so nobody takes a nosedive off the side.