One Year Ago......

Dad you are truly missed and deeply loved.

4Love is patient and kind; itis not jealous or conceited or proud; 5 love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; 6 love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up and its faith, hope and patience never fail.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Today was a hard day as exactly one year ago my Dad passed away. It still seems so hard to believe and at times it is really hard to go to the farm or even family functions as he is not there, when he really should be. Although we had our differences (we were both too stubbourn at times! :o), he was such an amazing father, friend and person. It is so amazing how you sometimes take things for granted. I wish so much that he could have seen Zech and that I could have seen them interact with one another. Zech definitely has a lot of his characteristics and I think that my Dad would be very proud of him.

We went out to the farm to spend some time with my Mom. We visited the grave and then headed to the Village at Pigeon Lake to relax and wonder around. We then went back to the farm and Melanie and I cooked a Mexican meal. It was nice to spend it together as a family and I think it was nice for my Mom to have us all there. I simply could not imagine what she is going through, but she is an amazing woman with such strength and courage, which I truly admire.

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!

I wanted to post this a couple days ago, but there have been some really long nights and I haven't had time. Zechariah had his follow up Cardiologist appointment on Wednesday. Due to the rough delivery (emergency c-section), there was some damage to his heart. I can't remeber the exact medical terminology, but in short he had a couple heart murmurs and then something called TM (shortened version). The heart murmurs, well they were confident would close up and they have, but they wanted to follow up to make sure that this TM problem was also cleared up.

We were in the appointment for just over two hours and Zech did amazing! He had two tests done and had to be hooked up to all of these wires and stuff. The worst part was the Echo (ultra sound pictures of the heart), as they had to swaddle his arms so he couldn't move them (he absolutely hates being swaddled) and then they swaddled his legs too. He didn't cry and he stayed really still (this is a miracle for him). Just near the end he started getting a little fussy as he just wanted to move. He is such a little trooper!

Praise the Lord, another answered prayer! Zechariah's little heart is great and he is doing really well. They also measured him and weighed him. He is in the 75th percentile for his weight and the 90th percentile for height. These past 8 months (almost) have been such an emotional roller coaster not to mention the pregnancy and all of the other stuff that we have had to deal with. God is so great and I am so thankful that He is such an integral part of our lives. Someone to lean on, someone to give all of the hurt, pain, stress, and anxiety to and trust that He will always see us through it! Wow!!! (as I choke back the tears......)

Here's our cool little dude! :o)

How not to RENOVATE.........

We have been renovating for a month now and seriously we could give you all the advice on 'how not to renovate'! So here are a few tips:

1. Never renovate with a teething child!
2. Never renovate with an infant period---we have had no place to put him during the renovations and he is so bored of his Exersaucer right now.
3. Expect horrible craftmanship and crooked walls when renovating an older place.
4. Don't renovate the whole upper floor at the same time -- it feels like we have been living in a disaster zone and we have stuff all over the place we can't even move!
5. Walmart paint sucks--Rona's paint is awesome.
6. Never use Oil based paint. Everytime I have went to paint the kitchen cupboard doors (outside due to the smell), it has started to rain and I am frantically running about trying to find a place inside to put them. Then the smell is awful and I feel horrible for Zech. PLus it takes super long for the paint to dry!
7. Make a bunch of frozen casseroles or meals before you start to renovate, otherwise you will be scrambling (like me) to make supper and to find the room to make something to eat period!
8. Don't expect perfection!
9. Expect arguments with your loved one, due to the mess and the cramped up living space!
10. Don't have a deadline---make sure you can take your time and not feel constantly pressured to finish!

I could go on, I am sure! The place is looking great though. It is amazing how much a coat of paint and some laminate flooring can change things. I will post some pictures when we are done--some before and afters. You have to wait as right now it is a complete disaster zone.

I am sure lucky to have a husband who is very handy and has been able to do all of the renovations himself. We have even had plumbing problems in the midst of everything. Oh there will be a huge celebration when we are done! :o)

Farewell to a wonderful woman....

My Grandma Bjorgum passed away this past Monday at the age of 76. The funeral was just yesterday. She was a very positive, optimistic lady who always saw the good in everything and everyone. She will be greatly missed by her large family and many friends.

The funeral was a beautiful, Chrisitan celebration, as she did renew her faith in the Lord in her last days. Many tears of sadness, and joy were shed as we reflected on her life and all that she meant to us and how much she will be missed. Praise the Lord for eternal mercy.

These were two of the last pictures I took of her and Zechariah about a month ago or so.

Comments...

I know that there are a few of you that periodically check out our blog and I have been bugging you to leave comments (as proof that you are indeed checking it out:o)! However my friend Heather (who got me hooked on blogging) pointed out that I have my blog set so that only registered users could post a comment, not visitors to the site. My apologies for that, it has now been rectified and anyone can post. Thanks Heather for pointing that out! So now anyone can post away!

7 Months

I say this everytime, but it really is hard to believe how quickly Zech has changed and how fast he grows! Zechariah is now 7 months and there are some new milestones to report:

• Weighs 20lbs. 5 oz. I can not believe how much this boy can eat!


• He has tried all sorts of foods and really doesn't care for his veggies (except carrots--he's going to turn orange soon), doesn't like his meat too much, but loves his fruit.


• Still loves his sippy cup with the straw and likes when mommy gives him a sip of juice from her juice box!


• Sleeps through the night (except when he is teething and has a cold).


• Has a bedtime routine that he seems to like. We go down at 9:00, brush his teeth, read a story and have some cuddle time and then he goes to his crib.


• Just got another tooth---his i-tooth!


• Loves to look and play with his hands as well as mommy or daddy's hands too.


• Loves his soother and will now grab it and put it in his mouth all by himself.


• Will hold his bottle and drink his milk by himself--for a limited amount of time and then he gets distracted.


• Likes the tags on his toys more than the toy itself.


• Loves his toy turtle that plays music everytime he touches it.


• Rolls onto his tummy all the time now and gets stuck and screams for help. He hasn't quite figured out how to roll back onto his back yet. I am rescuing him every two seconds it seems.


• Loves books.


• Can sit up all on his own now.


• Absolutely loves being outside whether it is in his stroller, baby bjorn, or backpack.


• Loves his dog Rastus--it is so funny to watch him when Rastus licks his toes and hands.


• Makes all sorts of noises and is really talking all the time.


• Is super ticklish under the arms, the back and his legs.


• Loves to play peek-a-boo.


• Is getting more curious as each day passes--if that is possible!


• Likes talking to Grandma and his Auntie Melanie on the phone. He is kind of intrigued by the phone and gets really excited when it rings.


• Pulls moms hair all the time and is obsessed with faces. We have to really watch as he will grab a hold of your lips, nose and cheeks and pull with all his might. He has even got mommy's glasses a few times.


• Loves his bath time and is extremely hard to bathe. He is all over the place and we really have to watch him--he just wants to crawl right out of the tub.


• Loves his jolly jumper.


• Loves paper and anything that makes lots of noise.


• Hates when mom wipes his face after feeding.

65 YEARS!!!

My Grandpa and Grandma just celebrated their 65th Anniversary on April 28th. Wow what an amazing accomplishment. How many couples will ever get a chance to celebrate 65 years of marriage. They are both amazing people and I know that it took many years of hard work, committment, dedication and of course friendship and love. I feel like there is so much that I can learn from them as a still relatively newly wed and it gives me lots of hope and encouragement for my marriage---especially during the rough times!



We got together at the Manor where my Grandpa is and shared coffee and some good times. I love watching my Grandparents with Zech. Most times when we go to visit my Grandpa he cries when he sees Zech. The whole entire time we are there Grandpa won't take his eyes off of Zech and Grandpa always imitates the sounds that Zech makes--it is quite entertaining. He doesn't really understand the relation and where Zech fits in, but we told him during one of our first visits that Zech is our "little Rueben" and for some reason that has always stuck and he remembers that! We bring him pictures to pin up on his bulletin board and one of the pictures fell down. Grandpa was quite upset and kept asking the nurses where his baby went. They found the picture on the floor and immediately pinned it back up for him.



Here are a few pictures from the due! (thanks Uncle Randy--I don't know where our cord is to download the pitctures off of our camera)

We're back.....

Wow, I didn't realize that it has been a month since I posted something last. How time flies and just simply gets away from you! It has been a busy month. John had finals for the first couple of weeks in April. Well final papers, final classes and then of course the final exams. I am so glad that he is finished. The last two weeks were so difficult because I was taking care of Zech pretty much 24/7 so that John could really study. John of course would give me repeated breaks whenever he needed one. He is such an amazing father and husband. I know it wasn't easy going back to school after such a long time and being a good husband and father too! He really does put his family first which is such an amazing quality!

So with finals out of the way, we have been renovating our place the last couple of weeks. I feel like we have been living in a tent. The place is a disaster, but it is really starting to come together. Poor Zech didn't know where he was the first week and the power tools really scared him. He would show the lip and go off everytime John started the saw up. I couldn't help but laugh everytime because he is so darn cute when he pouts. We are not done yet, lots more painting, but the new laminate floor is just about finished. Oh I was so happy to get rid of the carpet!!

So hopefully I will be better at posting. No pictures this post, but there are to come!

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the April Showers! Ergghhh!!