An Memorable Christmas Season

The past few weeks have been filled with much laughter, fun, and family. It has also had some scary and tearful moments as well. We have enjoyed three holiday programs that some of the kids were involved in. They had fun and they are still singing the songs. And then Christmas:

(I will post pictures at a later time.)

Christmas Eve brought tradition as we enjoyed "Carols and Candlelight" at my parent's church with all of the family. We then headed to my mom and dad's house for our traditional Christmas meal. It is a meal we all look forward to each year. Then we enjoyed the tradition of reading the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew. This year Grandpa was helped by Alex and Jack. They did a great job. We then enjoyed the gift giving. Always fun. Scary moments followed though, as we received a phone call from the neighbor that they had called 911 due to the chimney in my parent's house catching on fire. We quickly evacuated the house and watched as the police and fire department gathered to stop the fire and keep it from spreading. The fire was put out and we then entered the house to find a mess. However, no mess was too much of an issue, as we gathered to thank God for His safety and protection over each of us and the house.

Christmas morning came early and we enjoyed a big family breakfast (just the 6 of us) and then moved on to the presents. There were not as many gifts under the tree this year, but they were gifts that each child really enjoyed and appreciated. We then were lazy for the rest of the morning and early afternoon--including some good naps. We headed over to my parent's house again for some extra time with my brother and his wife. It was a good day. Much quieter than the previous.

Friday we had another lazy day. It was great. We spent some of the evening at my in-laws house as my brother-in-law and his family had come down from Chicago. It was nice to just be together.

Saturday morning we planned to celebrate Christmas with the Christner side of the family. However, plans quickly got moved back as we got the phone call that Grandpa King (Aaron's mother's dad) had passed away. We gathered the boys together and shared the news with them. They did not fully grasp all that was happening at that time. The tears for them came later.

We did end up sharing gifts that afternoon. It was a good release from the grief of earlier in the day. The hit of the day was the Wii that we received as our family gift. We set it up and tried it out. Everyone got involved. My mother-in-law showed us all that in a boxing ring she is NOT to be messed with.

Sunday was a quieter day as we spent time together with family and then our small group in the evening. But we all knew what Monday would bring; a time to say good-bye to a man we all loved. And Monday came. It was a time for remembering. Grandpa's service was well-done and the message of Christ and His salvation was clearly presented. Grandpa was then honored at the graveside with military honors. It was as he would have wanted it.

We look at 2009 with wonder. What will it hold? I am sure that there will be much laughter, fun, and family. (A new family member in April and a graduation from Medical school in May.) I know that it will probably hold some scary and tearful times as well. But through it all there is One constant. Our God. He never changes and His love for us is perfect. I hope that you know God and His love as you enter this next year. It will only make it sweeter.

Holiday Madness

It is hard to believe that just a 2 1/2 weeks ago we were celebrating Thanksgiving and

now here we are 10 days from Christmas.

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. We have had some boo-boo's that were scary, some illnesses that have required much medicine, and we spent 4 wonderful days in PA

(which includes 10 hours one way in a car with 4 kiddos).

Thankfully it looks like we are on the upswing with getting over illnesses and boo-boo's. Last week Emma fell head first over the handle bars of a tricycle at daycare directly onto a concrete floor. Her upper lip was extremely swollen, fortunately her teeth seem to be fine. In fact you can't even tell now that she fell. Emma is now fighting a nasty cold, that thankfully is not pneumonia (a classmate at daycare just came down with it), my migraines are now at least at a controlled state of manageability. We have spent more in the past week on Dr's visits and medicines than we had in the past three months.

We traveled to PA and spent time with people we dearly love. PA after all these years still feels a bit like home to me. We always end up having the discussion about moving east,

this year was no different.

While a lot of what we have done in the past few weeks is good and necessary, I have often felt that the season is being forgotten, in my own heart as well of the rest of the family. I keep wishing for just one day-to slow down, relax, reflect, etc... and that doesn't look like it will be possible with everything going on this week. Why the unsettled feelings? I know the truth of the season. I am no less grateful this year for the Gift that I have been given. Is it the economy and the fact that money is tight-for everyone? Is it seeing all the hurting people around me and wishing I could fix it? Is it watching the commercialism and consumerism of such a precious life-giving holiday? I'm not sure, but it is my goal to continue to seek the One who was born that Christmas night long ago. It is my hope to reflect Him during the craziness of the next few days. It is my prayer that others will be enraptured with Emmanuel--God With Us.

For He truly is the Reason for this Season.

Really cool story...

Ok, there are moments when my kids just blow me away. This was one of those moments.

At a family gathering over the weekend, Jackson was asked if he was excited that Christmas was coming. Fully anticipating a response about gifts the person asking was going to try and find out what he wanted most. However, his response stopped her in her tracks.

His reply was, "I am excited about Baby Jesus."

WOW!!!! I am still getting teary-eyed and chills. If only we all got this concept.

And the season begins...

The past few days have been a little calmer in our household. We are gearing up for the holidays though. We have already begun to have family come into town and more are to arrive this weekend. Then of course it is Thanksgiving next week and even more family will arrive. We will then head out to Pennsylvania to spend a few days with family out there. And this is all before mid-December and the Christmas holiday.

We are so excited to see our family whether here or there. Family is so important to us and we are thrilled that the holidays provide a time to gather together.

We are also so excited to discover that in a few months my brother and sister-in-law will be moving closer. They will still be a few hours away but 3 is definitely better than twice that, now we can do a day trip. This move will come after my brother graduates from medical school and moves on to his residency. I am so proud of him and all the time and work he has put in to get to this point in his life. I am also proud of my sister-in-law for the sacrifices she has made to help him through the past few years. They both are so amazing and I am so excited to get to spend time with them both over the next few weeks.

Of course this time of year can tend to be stressful and full of busyness, but the time with family is an opportunity to be in the moment and enjoy the real gifts in our lives. I hope that you too find time to enjoy those moments for what they are: a gift from God. Whether you are surrounded by many or just a few, I hope you choose to be thankful for the blessings.

And of course, enjoy the food!

Pigtails

She finally sat still and let me do her hair. YEA!!! I actually got a little teary eyed when it was all over. Her she is...

What did you do to me Mom?

Still need to work on the straight line in back, but considering it was the first time...I will not complain.

Beautiful Girl!

They are just First Graders

Well, I never thought this would happen but it has...

we are dealing with a first grader and a boy/girl relationship.

Not exactly comforting as a mommy.

Jack and a little girl at school have become very friendly. We have had to address playground kissing, which on many levels is very innocent, in and of itself. The kids have been separated in the classroom as much as the teacher is able. And just yesterday the two of them were asked to no longer play together at all, but to make new friends.

In an effort to be as aware of the situation as we can be, we invited the little girl to our home this past weekend. We were absolutely shocked by the way they interacted with each other. ALOT of touching. (Which Jack's love language is touch, so...) Jackson had his arm around her during the movie, she clung to him and kissed his cheeks when saying "goodbye". It was an interesting experience to say the least.

This is so hard, I want to teach Jack the age appropriateness of relationships, the appropriateness of touching/physical relationships, and do it in such a way that he understands that relationships are not bad or wrong. I never imagined we would be dealing with or thinking through these conversations with a first grader.

If any of you moms have had to deal with this, I'm taking any advice I can get. And please, we will take all the prayers we can get as well.

When Mom is away...

I have often wondered what happens when I am gone for a couple of days. This past weekend I was gone, on a girl's get-away weekend. This video shows some of what happened. There was music and dancing. And yes, the music is classic Michael Jackson. They definitely seem to be having a good time.

AAAHHHHHHHH!

Okay, now that I have that off my chest!

Around our house, when it rains, it pours.

So last weekend, while we were being lazy, Emma got the flu. YUCK. In the middle of the night. DOUBLE YUCK! Even though Aaron and I were feeling like our stomachs were a little unsettled, thankfully no one else actually got sick.

UNTIL...

5:30 this morning. Stephen got sick. Fortunately with him, he can actually make it to the bathroom and there is less to clean up. Praise the Lord for little things.

Well, Aaron was going to get off work early to come get Stephen from me at work, so I took the other kids to daycare. While at daycare, dropping them off, Jackson says he is going to be sick. For him it was the other end. UGH! So I now had two kids to take with me to work until Aaron could get back from South Bend.

Well, on the way to the office, Stephen got sick again (in a bowl with a lid, thank goodness for that) and then Jackson had an accident in his pants, so we ended up heading home before my work day even had a chance to start.

To top off the past 24 hours, Emma fell off a chair and hit her ear on the corner of a piece of furniture and now has a pierced ear. It is not pretty. The corner of the furniture went through the cartilage of her upper ear and actually caused a scrape on her head behind her ear. The one good thing in all of this is that she is now letting me put "pretties" in her hair to keep it off of her ear. Progress! I guess sometimes you just take it as you can get it. :-)

All of this is happening about 24 hours before I am to leave for the weekend.

AAAHHHHHHH!

(Guess I wasn't done.)

Lazy Fall Weekends

We spent last weekend enjoying being lazy. As part of the fun, the kids painted pumpkins with Aunt Laura on Saturday. (Daddy and Uncle John watched football instead.)

Emma really had the artistic look as she studied her work.

The kids also enjoyed spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday. What would be work for most of us was fun for them--raking leaves. Even Emma got in on the fun, though she didn't seem to sure of what was happening.

(Not sure what happened, but now it's underlined. )Emma even helped a little.

I love pictures where no one is looking in the same direction.

Hooray! It's Fall!

Alex discovered the easy way to pick up leaves, the tractor,

however I think he may be taking it a little far.

What's the deal?

I got an e-mail from a department store this morning. It was advertising a new toy that has just been released, but was only available on-line at this time. (Elmo Live) This toy's cost is $59.99. WOWSER!!! And for a toy that you have to buy batteries for, that will probably drive you insane, and will either get broken or forgotten within a matter of weeks. So I decided to just take a look, for curiosities sake, and when I got to the webpage, there was a message that said, "This product is no longer available." Meaning=It's sold out! Within a matter of less than 4 hours from receiving the e-mail this product is sold out, I am guessing it didn't last nearly that long in the first place. This is a large department store chain, so I know that this isn't just for "little old" Warsaw, Indiana.

I have had and currently have children that LOVE Elmo, but I don't understand the obsession with these toys. Can anyone explain it?

Emma is 2!

Emma turned 2 last Friday and we celebrated her birthday on Saturday with lots of friends and family. It was fun to watch her actually understand the opening of presents and cards. Everything she opened she had to show Uncle Brian. We thought maybe it was the seat and not the person so we had Aaron and Brian switch spots when Emma wasn't looking. She turned around and got a frustrated look on her face until she once again located Uncle Brian. It was hilarious. She got a lot of "girl" gifts which is definetly new to our house, but we had a blast and she loved it. Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Transitions

Well, this week has been full of changes for our family. I started back to work full-time and that has created some new dynamics in our home.

Emma is now in daycare during the day. Her first two days seemed to go quite smoothly, but when I dropped her off for the third day it was a different story. For all the parents out there, have you ever held your child without actually holding them, meaning that they have such a death grip on you that you can remove your hold on them completely and they will not fall? She screamed and did not want to be put down. I think it was probably harder on me than her, as I was the one who had to just walk away. AHHHH! That is torture to this mommy's heart.

Stephen goes to preschool in the morning and then daycare in the afternoon. He loves it. He is such a social little person that to continue to "hang out" with friends is great for him.

The BIG difference is that we get to be together as a family in the evenings. It is wonderful to have dinner together, read, watch TV, work on homework together. It makes the family so much more complete. We all get to share together about our days. I LOVE IT!!!!!

Emma the little Diva

Enjoy this video and some pictures of our little diva.

She is counting in this video, but then becomes distracted by the camera, she finishes by saying "Emma beautiful." I hope that she never forgets that she is beautiful.

Emma loves shoes and last week was given some clothes from a friend. Included were new boots, which she did not take off all morning.

Emma was all dressed up and ready to go. She picked out her shoes and jewelry for the day. She is quite the little diva. She loves to "ham it up" for the camera and then loves to see herself on my camera display.

A Fresh Perspective

A week has gone by since my last post. While not a lot has changed in my situation and there are even more unanswered questions, God is still working. (Of course He is, He never stopped!)


Last night, I had the night off and was able to make dinner (a simple pleasure) and hang out with my kids. I sat on the couch with Emma and Alex, watching them interact and play. Emma is rapidly expanding her vocabulary and has become a bit bossy, but to watch her was such a gift. I got to read some books with Jackson. First grade causes so many changes, he is learning to read and it is fun to watch him grow. Stephen just adds drama to everything and his smile is such a reward.


I also had the opportunity to go over to church for prayer and it was an amazing hour of sitting in God's presence. While I poured out my heart to God, He reminded me of His presence and patience. I did not receive any answers but His peace was a gift.


The best part of the evening was putting the kids to bed, reading "Goodnight Moon" to Emma and "vegging" with my husband.

Ok so moments after I originally posted this message, my phone rang. I have a new job. Acutally it is my old job, but since it hasn't been mine for the past 2 years, I suppose it is new again. There are many details that still need to be worked out, childcare, other jobs, etc...but I do know this step is the best for my family. I will actually get to see all of my kids every day. God's timing and His work in our lives is always perfect. He has proven this time and time again, and yet I fail to remember and cling to that in the midst of my problems. Maybe it sank in a little more this time around. :-)

Surrender and Silence

Depressed stressed anxious

confused frustrated

scared lonely

All of these words are words I could use to describe parts of my life lately. And as I talk with other women and moms they too can "feel my pain." Why? Most, if not all of us would quickly admit to being extremely blessed and loved, not only by others but ultimately by God.

Is God asking me to wait (which is so very hard to do) or am I missing God?

Is He answering my cries with answers I don't want to hear or am I asking the wrong questions?

I don't know, probably for each of us the answer could vary. But God has never been anything other than faithful, so that leaves the problem at my doorstep. What do I do with that revelation? I think it begins with surrender and silence. Surrender to ask God to do His will-not mine-and silence to listen and KNOW He is God.

Jackson Dean

My Jack is turning 7. How can this be?

I have been so blessed to watch this little boy grow. He has been created by God to be an amazing little man. The years have flown by and I am sure they will continue to do so.

Jackson gives amazing hugs. He has a brilliant smile. He is smart. He is loving. He loves God's creation. He has an adventurous spirit. Jackson loves music. He loves to pray. He loves to learn new things. He is messy, but creative. He loves to draw pictures and write stories. He is funny. He loves his family.

I could go on and on. Jackson is not perfect, but he fits perfectly in our family and is such a blessing. I pray that he grows up to be a man after God's own heart.

Time Is Flying

Wow, the past week has been crazy. The boys are all getting back into the school routine. Alarms go off in the morning and the day begins. Emma is still trying to adjust to no playmates during the mornings. I am too.

I love the routine of the fall though. The days have a rhythm to them now. I have always picked summer as my favorite time of year, but with every year it seems to be that fall is becoming the new favorite.

But with every year I also see my kiddos get bigger and learn more and become more independent of mommy. That is hard, but God has recently reminded me that in raising them the end result is their release. It makes me pray all the harder that when that time comes they are equipped and confident in who they are and Who is always by their side.

My goal is that in the craziness and routine of life that I will always pray for, with and over these precious gifts and also enjoy those moments when they still want mommy.

A Full Weekend

Well, Alex and Jack headed back to school last Friday (Stephen starts school Tuesday). They were both very excited, but also a bit nervous about their teachers and what friends would be in their class. At the end of the day it was good to hear that they both really enjoyed their teachers and both have friends from past classes/church/soccer/etc...so for the time being all is good.

Well, the boys got to leave school early on Friday so that we could head out for a family vacation, a weekend of camping. It was quite fun. Considering it was the first time our family had camped it went well and everyone seemed to enjoy the time away. Aunt Laura and Uncle John (and their new dog, Bo) joined us. We spent time bike riding, swimming, climbing the fire tower, observing (and feeding) the bison, and just hanging out. Here are a few pictures from the camping trip:

The best part of the weekend though happened on Sunday afternoon. We came back from camping and went out to Hidden Lake for our church's baptism. Their were about a 100 people who were baptized, including Tammy and Brooke, close friends of ours. It was AWESOME!

But the best...

was that Aaron was baptized. (It still is giving me chills.)

Quotes from a trip to the State Fair

My parents took the boys to the state fair this past Tuesday. The boys (and Grandparents) had a great time. These trips are always filled with great stories and quotes of the boys. Here are a few that have been shared so far...

Jackson (a few miles south of Warsaw while looking at the farms): Where are the animals? They should be out by now.

After one of the many times that they were asked "Are we there yet?" My father told the boys that they were about 4 or 5 miles away, to which Jackson responded: I'll take 4, because it's closer.

At a bathroom stop my mother took the boys with her into a gas station bathroom, after she finished Jack looked at her and said: Yeah, sometimes I wipe my weenie too.

Jack declared that one day he wants to be a farmer. He wanted to see all the animals, so much so that he gave up riding the rides for awhile to do just that. He touched as many animals as he could.

There are many more stories that will come out of this trip I am sure, but these were some of my favorites. Jackson is obviously in a stage of life right now where his responses to things are just downright hilarious.

Olympic Lessons

At our house we are consumed by the Olympics. Especially Michael Phelps. He is an amazing athlete and it is a blast to watch him compete. God has given him a gift to swim.
Through my addiction to Facebook, I discovered that Michael is ADHD and his mom, also an educator, is a huge advocate for kids with ADHD. I too have a son with ADHD and sometimes I get so caught up in just trying to get him (and me) through the day that I fail to remember that he has a future and that God has gifted him in amazing ways.
Last night as I was watching Michael get 2 more gold medals I was struck with the accomplishment of a family not just a child with ADHD. They rode (or swam) through some big and troubling times and have come through those times with amazing love, commitment and successes.
Maybe someday I will have the chance to sit in the sidelines at some event (sporting or otherwise) and be the number one fan of my amazingly gifted child. God creates all of us uniquely and maybe what I see as a challenge today is a gift that will see fulfillment in the future. I guess we will just have to wait and see...

I AM SO BLESSED!

I have an absolutely amazing God. He just continually "blows" me away. And He LOVES me-no matter what.

I am married to an amazing man who has shown me and taught me about unconditional love. He truly exemplifies Christ to me. He works hard and spoils me, because he loves me and is committed to our family. I cherish our life together, the good and the bad, the hard times and easy times, in sickness and in health-all of it!

I have 4 amazing children. While there are days when one or more are struggling with attitudes, obedience, kindness, etc...they are still such blessings. They are healthy, intelligent, and great fun to be around. They teach me about God in such subtle ways and then turn around and amaze me with a BIG lesson I needed to learn. Have you seen God in a smile lately? If not, smile at a child and watch them light up. It's an amazing blessing.

God is good. The bank account may not be ideal all the time. The job may not be my dream job. I may feel tired and worn out. The to-do list may seem to never shrink. But God is good and to Him be the glory forever. AMEN!

The Winds of Change...

Do you ever sense that change is just around the corner? Maybe it is just that school is about to begin and when that happens I see huge changes in my family each year, or maybe it is the Holy Spirit preparing me for something else. Maybe it is that fall is just around the corner and change can be seen on a daily basis in nature.

Whatever it is, I am sensing that change is about to happen. As a self-confessed control freak I am never at complete peace during these times. Change can be good and sometimes it can be hard and end up hurting.

I find myself asking God a lot of questions right now. My problem is trying to remember to be still and let myself hear His answers. There are things happening around me that in some ways directly affect me and in other ways indirectly affect me. Some of those things are troubling and hurtful and I want to understand.

Who knows what the future holds? Not me, but I do love and trust the only One who does, so for now that should be enough. I am a work in progress with letting that be enough. He has never let me down before, so let the winds start blowing...

Funny things they say and do...

The kids are all in a "funny" stage. They are saying and doing things that just make us laugh. For instance:

• Stephen singing "Home, Home On the Range" while going to the bathroom at Kohl's.

• Jackson reprimanding Aunt Laura for eating an unwashed blueberry while blueberry picking, "Did you wash that before you ate it?"

• Alex describing a funny but dangerous clip from a tv show and having Jack (again) reprimand him by telling him, "That could have been you, that was dangerous, it was not funny it was dangerous."

• Emma when telling us what a chicken says, not only makes the noise but also hops around and uses her hands to add to the effect, almost like the chicken dance.

Oh-the laughter that can be heard from our house. I hope that you have an opportunity to laugh today, and not just laugh politely, but to experience a good, long, loud belly laugh.

Friday Celebration

Friday the kids did NOT have to eat rice for lunch. (Everyone was thrilled.) We went to Grandma's work and had a picnic lunch, then headed to the Splashpad.

The kids had a blast. The boys enjoyed the water, especially when the sun finally warmed us up. Emma did not venture into the water, she tried to take a nap.

Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

Lessons learned from The Gratefulness Experiment

The kids weren't the only one's who learned something last week in being grateful. I too was confronted with my lack of gratefulness. I currently have a job that I am not thrilled about, it is not my dream job or what I am passionate about, so I have come to resent it. God spoke to me during my devotions one day about being content in all circumstances. He knows the desire of my heart, He is the one that gave me the gifts and desires in the first place, and He also knows exactly how and when those desires will become reality.

I was thinking about Abraham and Sarah, how in their desire to be parents they got ahead of God's plan by inserting Haggar into the equation. In the end there was discontent and division within a family. I don't want to get ahead of God. I want to be content and grateful that I have a job that allows me to help my family. God is teaching me that His ways and my ways may not look quite the same, but His purposes are bigger and better than mine, and above all I can trust Him.
I just hope I remember this when I go to work tonight. :-)

Day 4

Well Thursday went really well. The boys did very little complaining. I did offer an incentive to them, if they could eat their lunch without complaining and with a thankful attitude they could have a surprise. Watermelon!!
Jackson wasn't too happy about the surprise, he wanted Oreo's, but sadly was told "no, if you want your surprise you have to have the watermelon and be thankful for it." Needless to say, he decided to pass on watermelon.
Stephen again did not finish his whole bowl but had a good attitude throughout lunch. That in and of itself is a huge accomplishment.
Alex is the only one who finished his rice and had watermelon. Considering rice is not one of his favorites he choked it all down just to get to the watermelon. But the accomplishment was that he did it without complaining. He also encouraged the other two to not whine and to be thankful. It was fun to see.

Today (Friday), since I am a day behind in my posts, we are NOT going to have rice. I too am thankful for this. The boys are going to have a picnic lunch with Grandma and then we will head to a local park for some fun times at the splash-pad. If the rain holds off.
It has been a good week for all. We have all learned lessons through this. I will share more on that later. I will also post pictures from our fun-celebration day at a later time.
On a side note, I think rice might be something we go without for a few weeks. :-)

Day 3

Well Wednesday was a little rougher when the boys came to the table and there was once again rice and water. Alex began to cry (his not-so-real cry) and said that he thought they had learned how to be thankful. Ironically we had just left Walmart where the boys had all asked for extra things or "upgraded" items, to which I repeatedly had said "no." Stephen and Alex chose not eat all their rice while Jack wanted more.

I have seen progress in them saying "thank you" more often over the past few days. It's been nice to hear.

The boys then each got a posterboard and were asked to draw what they were thankful for. They had fun but they also had to think about it. Some of what they drew was really good, others silly, but I think they are beginning to grasp that they have so much and they are so blessed. The posters are hung in their playroom so that they can see that they have a lot to be thankful for when they are playing with their toys, which are usually all over the floor. :-)

Day 2 in the Gratefulness Experiment

Well, there were mixed reviews on Tuesday when for lunch there was again a bowl of rice. But they all ate it and they acknowledged that it was so they would be thankful. Jackson wanted more than one bowl, but was told "no". He still said "thank you" when he had cleared his place at the table.

There was no other complaining until bedtime, when the boys began asking that they have something other than rice for lunch. The complaints were that they needed more food so they wouldn't be hungry.

I want them to understand that they don't even begin to understand what "starving" is and that they have so many choices even in the foods that they eat.

Today they will again have rice for lunch. I am sure the complaints will be more than before, but after lunch they are going to work on a project. I am going to have them list/draw some of the things they have that they need to be thankful for and then we will put them on the wall so we can remember. (I am going to buy posterboard.) :-)

Gratefulness

How do you teach your children to be thankful for what they have when society is telling them to try and get more? My children are so blessed and yet their attitudes often reflect a sense of entitlement. So we decided to try something to help them understand how blessed they are:



We are giving them 1 bowl of rice and 1 cup of water (no ice) for lunch each day for a week. They do not get seconds and if for some reason they don't want to eat the rice then they must go without.



A few months ago, our children helped raise money to supply rice to kids who don't have much food. These kids often get 1 bowl of rice for the day.



Yesterday was the beginning. The boys did fine. However they don't know that in about 15 minutes they will once again be having rice and water for lunch. We shall see how this goes over the next few days. I will blog this experience for all to share.

The Beginning

While this isn't truly the beginning of our Christner Adventure it is the first day on a blog. I will recap some earlier adventures at some point.

I can tell that this may become addictive, but hopefully we will share with others some of the love, laughter, and chaos that occurs regularly in our home.

Family is very important to us. We desire to honor God through our family. Not always successful, but we try.