Catching You Up

Oh blogging world, how we've missed thee! So sorry to have been MIA these past few months. Life is never dull around here - that's for sure...

Major News:

Dana will have a new job next year teaching Algebra 2 at Mankato West High School. After 3 years being mostly out of the classroom, he is looking forward to being back with students full time. This is the school that our children will be attending when they go to high school (just a short 1 1/2 years until Ethan is there) so we are glad he will be there to experience that adventure with them!

We currently have 2 foster children staying with us - a 7-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy. They are fitting in very well over here. As usual, some adjusting necessary on all of our parts, but that is to be expected. We have found that fostering children has been the very thing God is using in each of our lives to teach us invaluable life lessons. Our family devotion the night before we knew we were getting these new children was about the Refiner's Fire. It spoke about how God uses difficult circumstances in our lives to rid us of impurities (sin) and to purify our lives so we become a reflection of His image. We have been able to apply that devotion many times in the days following. Isn't it so cool how God does that?! We continue to do respite care 2 different weekends/month. We care for a 7-year-old autistic boy and a sibling group of 3 (ages 10-boy, 10-girl, and 9-girl). We maintain a relationship with the baby who was placed in our care from Thanksgiving until the middle of January. He is now 7 months old. We watch him as a favor to his mom on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. So fun to have that little one around! And great to be a resource for his mom as well. As you can see, we have a revolving door around here, and while that comes with challenges, we wouldn't have it any other way. What a blessing and a true gift of God's grace to us to be able to be used of the Lord in this way! "Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for Me" -Mt. 25:40

Our basement is finished! We now have a ceiling, carpet, woodwork, and lighting in our basement. We moved the Nintendo stuff down there along with a bit of furniture. The ping-pong table and foosball table now seem like new toys again. An area that was mainly used for storage and an easy place to send children to play and then just shut the door on the mess has now become a refuge! We've spent the last few weeks cleaning out the storage rooms down there and shifting things to where we originally intended them to be when we first moved in. Anyone who knows Nedra knows how she LOVES to organize (no joke) so having those storage rooms in order has been its own kind of high for her. Nedra's dad came and helped us put the finishing touches on everything yesterday (THANK YOU SO MUCH DAD!). We now have new shelves in the guest bedroom closet and our shed outside. We hauled in dirt and tilled a spot for a small garden. All of the junk is on the curb for the city to haul away during spring clean-up this week! Hooray!

Tidbits:

Dana:

• currently out mowing our lawn for the first time this year
• church softball team 0-3
• accidentally stumbled upon a hobby of mass-producing corn-hole boards (Google it if you don't know) first for family members for Christmas gifts, now 4 more to sell, and still others wanting them all the time
• trying to sell his truck for 8 months now
• extreme meeting-attender (elder meetings, teacher meetings, Bible study groups, FCA meetings, building leadership team meetings, worship team practices, and random lunch meetings with friends and co-workers - and occasionally his wife :o)
• ping-pong challenger (rewards the children if they beat him)
  

Nedra:

• currently typing this blog
• cleaning jobs for 4 families (approx 2-3 times/week)
• family scheduler, planner, bill-payer, driver, organizer, laundry-doer, meal-preparer, grocery-getter, errand-runner, hostess, house-cleaner, child-care provider, etc.
• Friday morning small-group Bible study leader
• realizing as I'm typing this that much of my life is wrapped up in maintaining order or providing services so that others can fulfill their responsibilities and commitments and perfectly content with that being the case
  

Ethan:

• on the golf team for his school this spring (some COLD days of practice, but he's a good sport about it)
• currently sharing random information with me from his National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011 - In the last 30 minutes I've tried to guess the language in which he was saying "Hello" for about 15 different languages, heard about the countries with the most automobile owners, looked at some really cute photos of baby animals, and answered questions about how people can really know anything about the earth's core
  
• regularly setting up things like forts, army guys, "Lord of the Rings" Risk, k'nex, etc. - while definitely growing up, still a little boy in a lot of (good) ways
  
• avid youth group attender - so exciting to see his faith becoming his own
• happiest when he can hang out with his dad or good friends (or play on the Wii or computer)
• working on the corn-hole boards with Dana in order to earn $ from the sale of one
  

Hannah:

• started a Mother/Daughter Book Club with a friend from school
• currently reading a book on the top bunk of her bed; reads A LOT
• best friend, Ashton, moved to Arizona
• Regional Swimming - made it in 200 Free, 100 Free, 50 Free, 100 Back, 50 Back, & 100 IM
  
• Ping Pong - just beat her dad for the first time in a "best 2 out of 3" event
• moved down to the guest bedroom to accommodate these new foster children and is now pushing to have it be a permanent move (not gonna happen)
• 13th place individually and 2nd place team out of over 200 students in the Math Masters competition
  

Sarah:

• just learned to do a back walkover on her own at gymnastics
• recently celebrated her 9th birthday with 3 friends at the cosmetology school getting hair, nails, and a little bit of make-up done then going to Mexican Village for appetizers and "drinks with umbrellas" :o) - so disappointed that her BFF, Torie, is in AZ and couldn't join her for the party
  
• Regional Swim Champion (1st place out of 65 swimmers from 9 different states) in the 50-yard Backstroke
  
• going on a field trip with her class on Thursday to the MN Zoo - she's hoping to see elephants, tigers, and lions
• currently outside (hesitantly) picking up doggie doo-doo so Dad can mow
• was in her element this weekend watching 2 extra dogs for some friends of our family - another beagle and a HUGE golden retriever (yes, we are a little bit crazy)