Thankful and blessed by the power of prayer

Many do not know, but on January 28, I lost my job. At first, it was extremely stressful because we had just built a new home and I honestly enjoyed the work I was doing. It was unfortunate, but I am extremely thankful to be surrounded by great friends and family. Many of my friends and family kept me in their daily prayers so that the Lord would open another great door for me. After the first few days went by, I looked at my job loss as a blessing. I was blessed that me and my family were healthy, we had a supportive family and a roof over our head.

Growing up, our family never had a whole lot since we had six kids and my parents farmed, so I knew I was a strong woman and could endure this hardship. During the past 51 days, I was able to spend more quality time with my kids, meet up with friends that I hadn't seen in a while, organize our new home and reflect on what I really wanted to do, through prayer.


We were thankful that our daycare worked with us to take the kids to part-time. We absolutely love the daycare center our kids go to, but we couldn't afford the full-time rate we were paying. We sent the kids every morning so they kept a routine and I picked them up shortly before noon. I always thought I would get so much done in the morning, but it's crazy how quick those mornings go.

Through this process, I realized there are still caring people in this world. When I lost my job, I called my hairstylist Erin Virchow-Perrine and told her I needed to cancel my appointment because I couldn't afford to have my hair done right now. She said, we are keeping your appointment and your hairstyle is on me because you can't go to an interview with bad looking hair. Seriously, I teared up when I got her text message that day. It made me realize that there are good people in this world! 

Family day at the zoo

A week ago, we took the family to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. We weren't sure what the trip would be like since it was technically still winter, but there were quite a few animals to see. We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and it was actually beautiful weather.

Enjoyed the 80 degree weather on March 16

It's hard to believe it was 88 degrees in  Iowa on March 16, but we took full advantage of it. The kids and I took a long walk to the park and they enjoyed it until it started getting busy. It was hard for me to keep track of both kids so we went to a smaller park closer to our new home. We spent nearly two hours outdoors today and the kids were wore out tonight. I keep thinking, bring on spring and summer!

Ready for the trip to the park.

Kids Update (January and mid-February 2015)

Here’s a quick update from this past month.

Both of the kids have become very independent and often play together in their room so they don't have to hang around Dave and I. In a way this is nice because we can get things done, but when they turn quiet it's usually not a good sign.

Age:
R-man is 18 months 
Little-C is 3 yrs. 1 month

Weekend Wrap Up (1.6-1.8)

This past weekend was awesome! It was spent with our two kiddos who make us smile more and more each day.

On Saturday morning, I taught two cycling classes at the Ankeny Y. I absolutely love to teach because I enjoy motivating members. I will have to say, by the time I'm 3/4 of the way finished with the second class, I'm a bit exhausted.

Later that morning the entire family went out to build a snowman! Well, it was basically Dave and I building the snowman and the kids watching. Little-C enjoyed squirting her colored water in the snow. As a kid, my Mom always saved empty dish soap bottles for us. She filled them with water and added a few drops of food coloring. We colored the snow and absolutely loved it.  We didn't have any empty dish soap bottles, but we did have an empty chocolate syrup bottle. Little-C loved it too, but squirted her bottle a little too quickly.

Our daughter is 3

In December, our daughter turned 3, and Dave and I are wondering how this could happen so quick. Growing up, my Mom always told me life would speed up as I got older. I didn't really believe her, until I graduated from college. Life did seem to speed up and even more so once our daughter was born.

When Little-C turned 3 on Dec. 15, and Dave and I took the day off to celebrate with her. She was thrilled to send her brother to daycare and spend the day with Mommy and Daddy.

We gave her an American Girl doll and a stroller for her birthday. She loved them and had to take them shopping. We went to Jordan Creek Mall where we went to "Build a Bear" where Little-C built Olaf.

 

Christmas 2014 Recap

Christmas is over! I have a love hate relationship with the holiday. I love it once the tree and decorations are all set-up, but I hate tearing them all down. Luckily I have an awesome husband and he too down almost everything this year.

The kiddos had a great time with Christmas this year, and both of them enjoyed opening their gifts. R-man cared more about the paper, but C really got into the Christmas gifts.

On Dec. 20, we ventured to the Bruck family Christmas. We had a gift exchange with the siblings and their significant other and it was a lot of fun. The kids got a few toys, but mostly money for their college fund. Lord knows they will need it when they are 18.

The Bruck family, minus my sister Becky Kinney