Marvelous March...where are you?

Marvelous March I think is planning to start a bit late. So far…
March 1…started off strong…no problem-o!
March 2…Jeff wakes up with a sore throat and pain in his ear
March 3…Jeff goes to Urgent Care and has some mega infection in his ear canal
March 4….Jeff feels like death so I stay home to let him get some rest (thus putting me SUPER far behind at work
March 5…Jeff is feeling better, Chi wakes up at midnight and throws up every hour on the hour until…well now…March 6.

So, we are hopeful marvelous March will arrive but it might just end up in Awesome April? Agh!

Farewell February! Well...almost!

February has been a terrible, no good, very bad month. Jeff has names it: *@%#! February. Here is what is has entailed.

 February 1st, Chi starts to get sick. Common cold we thought, no big deal.
 February 2nd, Chi starts to throw up several times a day. This lasts four days.
 February 3rd, we take Chi to the doctor. Doctor says viral cold, try to keep him comfortable, keep giving him Tylenol. (He throws Tylenol up.)
 February 4th, Krista starts to get sick.
 February 5th, Krista stays home sick with felt like the flu
 February 6th, same as the day before
 February 7th, we take Chi back to the doctor. Doctor says ear infection. Gives us medication, Chi proceeds to throw it up.
 February 8th, Nancy (Dr. Nana) listens to Chi’s lungs. Is concerned about some possible fluid. We go to the ER. Chi is admitted to the hospital with RSV and pneumonia.
 February 9th & 10th, Chi stays in the hospital for treatment for RSV and pneumonia
 February 11th to 17th we are sent home from the hospital with antibiotics and orders to give him breathing treatments every 6 hours (including the middle of the night). Babies, in case you were wondering don’t like to sit still and have a mask put on their face with gas flowing out of it. Makes it challenging at best!
 February 16th, Jeff’s old dog Bubba has to be put to sleep after 14 great years of life. Very sad!
 February 21st, Krista starts to get sick, again!
 February 28th, a committee Krista is on is hosting the first annual Fashion Show and Silent Auction for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and to put it mildly, there have been balls dropped by people around her leaving a lot of work to only a few very committed people. However, I’m hopeful that the event will be great regardless!

So, needless to say, Welcome March! It’s gonna be awesome! We’re gonna call it Marvelous March!

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day! We have had a long week with a bit of a medical crisis, but things are looking up. Everyone is on the mend and things are returning to normal! Thank you for all your thoughts & prayers!

Christmas Highlights!

We had a very nice Christmas, and I think Chi has a fabulous 1st Christmas. Here are some of our highlights!




Christmas eve we had brunch at Matt and Laura's. Laura made an amazing breakfast for us all! And we had a very unexpected visitor...





Christmas eve night we had a lovely meal with the Crotty family and opened lovely gifts! After church we stopped by and visited Krista's family...



Christmas day we spent with the Kubiak's...Boomba and Grandma gave Chi a rocking Dino...a crowd pleaser for sure! Chi seems to have taken to music, so when my cousin's played their annual Christmas recital Chi's eyes were glued to them!





Uncle Riggs built Chi (and himself) an igloo...

We ain't in Cali anymore Denali!

I thought I'd offer an update on Denali as I know our friends in Cali ask frequently how he has transitioned to the Pacific NW. I have to say, he seems to adjusted fairly well. But here are some pics so you can decide for yourself!

let it snow...snow...snow

So, the last week or so, we've had some very serious snow...thus we have had some fun in the snow.



Chi has tried sledding!




Chi has eaten snow!



Chi clocked his Nana with a fist full of snow!




Chi watched Denali almost get lost in the snow!



We look forward to more snow adventures as it continues to snow! We LOVE it!

Santa's Helper

Sending holiday cheer as you prepare for Christmas celebrations!

Birthday....the big 3-0

As many of you know last week was my 30th birthday. I'm not one for birthday's to be honest. Why, I'm not sure...just how I am I guess. However, I have to that this birthday was a very special one to me. Special, not because I turned 30, and that is supposedly a big one...but rather special because of the outpouring of love I received from many of my friends and family. I received some wonderful gifts from some people, but the more meaningful of the gifts was a grip of letters I received from people in my life; all different parts of my life for that matter. Those letters, were very special, very meaningful, and very heartfelt. So, a thank-you to all of you who took the time to write. I will treasure the letters dearly and am thankful for each of you in my life.

Coming soon...

We have decided on our Christmas photo's. We discovered that Costco has new templates for holiday cards! We are excited to annouce that we will be using one of the images that you voted on, and there will be one if not two additional SURPRISE photo's. Hold on to your horses...I know you're excited!!

Leave your address to make sure that you get one of our lovely cards!!

How About a VOTE?

So, we've been trying to get a good family picture for our Christmas card. We plan to get them out in just a few weeks. However, we don't know which to pick because we have found that no matter how hard we try, someone isn't looking just right. So, how about you decide? Leave a comment and pick a picture that you would like to see arrive you in your mailbox this holiday season!





THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Grrr....

Happy belated Halloween from our little Tiger to you.

Leaves a changin'

Fall has arrived. Living in California one of the things I missed was fall. I’m really enjoying the season this year, after years of not watching the turn of the season. Trees are amazing shades of red, yellow, orange, with a few glimpses of fading green here and there. The air is cold and crisp. It feels clean. I have to say it’s a very beautiful time of year!

Living in a place where seasons weren’t marked by changes in weather, I often felt like time slipped away. Nothing marked one time of year from another. I like the marked seasons, it helps me remember what happens when. It also encourages me to do new and different things as some things one can’t do in other seasons.

Mr. Mom

As most people know, Jeff is staying home with Chi while I work. I think that this is great! Now, I'm not saying that I don't miss them both very much when I'm at work, nor am I saying I don't ever have the feelings of guilt that I'm not with Chi as is traditionally true. But what I am saying, is that I think that Chi is getting some of the most amazing time with his daddy.

Jeff does an awesome job with the little guy, from playtime, tummy time, hikes, time with the dog, porch, with other people, naps, books, songs, the list goes on and on. I call him on occassion throughout the day to check in, and am always amazed at what is going on...busy busy busy.



In the last few days I have myself a bit annoyed with people around me, society I suppose. I have been asked over and over again if Jeff can do this or if Jeff can do that. As if watching and being with Chi is an easy, relatively simple task that allows him to sit around, watch t.v., play video games, or whatever it may be.

The question I have found myself asking is would I get the same questions? Would I as a mom have people assume that I too was just sitting around, not too busy and free to do lots of other things since childcare isn't "all that hard". Something I've pondered. Especially as our culture seems to shift and be more and more accepting of the stay at home dad.

Long story short, I'm really proud of my husband, and so happy that my child gets amazing, loving, attention full of fun each and every day!

Fall

It's starting to feel a bit like fall. Leaves are starting to turn, it's cold and crisp outside when I leave for work. There is a morning fog at times. I love it. I love the fall. It's my absolute most favorite time of year. Pumpkins and apples are ripe (or ripening), Greenbluff is open and active. Life is good. Chi seems to enjoy the fall as well.



Life in Spokane is starting to settle a bit. We are starting to find a rhythm, starting to find a routine, and I'm starting to feel like this is home again. We are still looking for friends who are local, and trying to figure out next steps as far as future in Spokane. But, in midst of the transition, I'm starting to find a peace about being here. I do have to say, I've missed California a lot, more than I ever expected. I miss families and friends from LNPC, students that we worked with, that I shared time with.

I guess thats all for now. More to come about this transition I'm sure.

Amazing

I have been trying to think of what I could say or would say about these girls. I think, in all honesty, what I think when I see the girls I stand with in this photo is: these girls are going to make a HUGE impact on the world. They are very powerful, very strong, very intelligent, and very beatiful young women. I have been very blessed by each of them and will miss them greatly!

August...a busy beginning

Since the 31st of July, life has been a bit of a whirlwind. On the 31st of July we pulled out of southern California. Jeff's folks came down to help with the move which was well needed and greatly appreciated. We ended up with a 26 foot penske truck, towing our Honda. We drove our other car with cat, dog, and baby. The cat and dog shared the back and seemed to managed without much fuss.



Once in Spokane, we unloaded boxes and boxes to the Crotty basement and to Nana's basement. We apprently have gathered a TON of junk over the last 5 years. It was amazing how much stuff we have!

Chi met the first set of his 4 great-grandparents Nana and Grandma Kirchner.



We rushed up the lake to say hello to Boomba and Jenny. The lake was beautiful and I was reminded as to why I love the Pacific Northwest. I look forward to having another weekend there over Labor Day for the Kubiak Family Weekend.







On the 6th we took off for "vacation" to Cape Cod. Chi met his second set of great-grandparents, Nanette and Poppy (photo to come). The Cape is incrediably relaxing and been a blessing so far. We have spent most of our time sleeping but have great plans to get out and "do stuf" soon.



We return to Spokane on the 19th and head back to Cali on the 21st. Life should settle some in September, we think.

Everybody Eats Bugs....Sometimes

We have returned from our mission trip successfully. It was an interesting week but at the end of the day lessons were learned and Christ was encountered. It was hard but a very beautiful week in the end.

Here are two pictures from our time in Nevada with Chi. His first mission trip appears to have been relatively successful. Don't you think?




We are now in the midst of packing. It's awful! But we have had some good help. Jeff's parents come Saturday to help. Their arrival is anticipated and their help is welcomed!

I have to say that leaving here is harder than I ever thought. I am going to miss a lot of these people. But more on that later. I am still formulating my sappy thoughts.

Life Update

Here we are, July 7. It's been a wild past few weeks!

The weekend before last we did our last fundraiser with the the youth. Black Tie Bunko. It's always a hoot. Following the fundraiser, Jeff preached. Amazing that he could pull it off and lead worship that morning with only 30 minutes of sleep the night before. I have to say, I am amazed by him!

Last weekend, we had some 4th of July fun.



We had a great time with friends on the 4th.

However, if I do say so myself the highlight of my weekend was getting a chance to hang out with just Jeff for the first time since Chi was born. It was much needed time! We not only got to go on a date and have dinner but also got to go ocean kayaking Saturday morning for a few hours. It was a blast!





We are now in the midst of packing for the youth mission trip to McDermitt Nevada. We leave on Saturday and return the following. I have my data colloqium for my dissertation the following Thursday. Jeff's parents come Saturday the 27th and we move July 31. So, we also are packing (very slowly) our apartment and preparing for our move to Spokane.

I have been asked several times how I am feeling about moving. I have to say, that I have always thought I'd be ready to go and that leaving would actually be fairly easy. However, I have come to discover it is actually really hard! I am sad to be leaving the youth we've worked with. I'm sad to be leaving some of the families that I have grown to love and consider dear friends. I am unsure of life in Spokane. I am so aware that in many ways we are starting over there as well. We have some fabulous people that we love there but lacking close friends as they have all moved to other corners of the world. Honestly, we don't even know who is there anymore. I guess, what I am realizng is that we just don't know what life will look like in Spokane, and I guess, perhaps that makes me somewhat apprehensive? Who knows. I believe the change is going to be a good one, hard at times, but good. We are looking forward to time with family and for Chi to grow up in the midst of that community of people. Basically, what I am realzing is that it is bittersweet to be leaving this community.

3 Months Old

Rocking the paci & the shades and lovin it!

Graduation & Fathers Day

Another busy weekend has come and gone. Last weekend was a weekend of celebrations!

Jeff graduated with his master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy! We are so excited for him to be done with one degree. Here are some pics from graduation. As you can see Chi managed to make it through the entire event the way that of us wish we could.





After graduation we got to hang out with some of our greatest friends. Brian & Tiffany were here visiting family and spent the evening with us. We had a marvelous picnic followed by a bit of arts and crafts. We each decorated little cars and started to create a map for a fundraiser for the youth mission trip to Nevada. It was so great to be with them. We wish they lived closer!




Sunday, we celebrated Jeff's first Father's Day. It was a relaxing day for everybody. Our friend Shannon came down to visit after running the Disneyland Triathalon. We enjoyed time wih her as we always do! She so kindly used her creative talents to help us with our fundraising project. (Photo's to come) She also got some time with Chi.