Mike and Lucinda

Thirty-Two

2012-01-10T21:05:00.001-05:00

Abraham put the candles on the cake. Daddy taught Abraham a new way to blow them out!

The Million Egg Hunt and More Easter Fun

2011-04-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

This is the 2-4 year old section. Lots of great hiding spots for eggs!

You mean I'm supposed to pick up these eggs and put them in my basket?

Finally getting the idea.

Abraham checking out his Easter basket.

He likes Mr. Potato Head!

Enjoying an Easter donut.

Oops?

2010-03-19T12:02:00.000-04:00

Today it occurred to me that I let my mom put our blog address in her annual Christmas letter. You know, the one she sent out about three months ago. And I have not updated our blog since before she sent it out. Oops. And since I'm sure many, many people have eagerly been checking for updates, here you go!

A lot has been going on with us since I last updated in December. Most recently my life has consisted of chasing after Abraham, who has an entire world to explore and does not want to slow down for anything. He has become quite the crawler and also enjoys pulling himself up on all kinds of objects (both the stable and unstable varieties). He and I have been going to Wee Tales Storytime at the Marion Public Library, which is very fun, especially when we are not the only ones there.

Most of you (are there actually any of you reading this?) probably already know that Mike was laid off from his job as a therapist in December. He decided that two years of not being a student was long enough, so he is going back to school to get a post-masters certificate in school counseling. He is doing an internship and taking one class this semester. His internship is at Eastbrook High School and keeps him very busy as he is there every day.

After deciding that it would be difficult to be a two-parent-stay-at-home family, in January I started a job hunt. I am now working part-time at the circulation desk at the library. My shift is only two evenings a week and every other Saturday, but I love it. It is so wonderful to have a job where I actually look forward to going to work. I ~~always~~ (let's be honest...) loved teaching, but it is SO MUCH WORK! I spent hours and hours preparing, cleaning, planning, and worrying about my students' home lives. Working at the library is like a breath of fresh air; the people I work with are amazing and the stress level is non-existent (at least so far).

I will be returning to teaching in just a few short weeks (the beginning of May), and I am looking forward to it in some ways, and dreading it in others. I love being home with Abraham, but I do miss interacting with the kiddos. I know it will be hard on both of us when I go back to work full-time, but the lucky boy will get to spend his days with his daddy, which is a blessing for all of us.

I'll close with this recent picture of our boys. They get along famously, and even share toys.

A Few Recent Pictures

2009-12-15T12:08:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad are teaching me to love books already!

Hey mom, do you think I can put it in my mouth?

Here I am in my terrific flip diaper cover and my bumgenius babylegs!

This is what I look like when I let my daddy pick out my clothes. I don't always match, but I sure am cute!

And here's a little story starring our two boys.

"Hey, Huck, what's that you've got there?"

"This? This is my Kong toy. I like to chew on it."

"I bet we can both play with it! How about you let me chew on it, too?"

A Christmas Preview

2009-12-08T17:13:00.000-05:00

A little holiday preview...

Doesn't Huck look good with antlers?

One year ago...

2009-08-24T12:31:00.001-04:00

I've been reflecting today on how much our lives have changed in the past year. One year ago today I was teaching kindergarten at Faulkner Academy. Mike had just finished up five years of working at New Horizons and was beginning work as a therapist in Kokomo. And unbeknownst to us, Abraham was being knit together in my womb.

God has provided for our little family in numerous ways since last August. Here are just a few.

Mike has a job where he is respected and treated as a professional. He is enjoying his work as a therapist working with adolescent boys. We were challenged in April when he was laid off for a short time, but we were blessed when he was called back to work after only 12 hours of being unemployed. An added bonus is that he was called back with full-time status, allowing him to take advantage of the benefits and insurance, which has given me the freedom to stay home with Abraham.
I was able to return to work at Marion Community Schools. After a rather tumultuous beginning to the 2008-2009 school year in Marion, it became apparent that they had reduced the number of teachers by a few too many. I was able to return to MCS and teach kindergarten at Southeast Elementary School with a great group of teachers. It was a difficult decision to leave the charter school, but I knew that I wanted to be in a place where I had adequate resources and support to educate my students. We also knew that we wanted to start a family, and MCS offered great insurance and an accumulation of my sick days that would allow us to do so! What we didn't know was that we would be adding to our little family before the end of that school year!
We have been immeasurably blessed with the birth of our dear little son, Abraham. Becoming parents is better than we ever had imagined. Mike and I have now ventured together down a new path of parenting, and we are enjoying it so much! I am loving being a mommy, and enjoying learning new skills like cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and babywearing. :)
We have seen several dear friends and family members start new lives together. My cousin Claire and her husband Aaron in December, our friends Joel and Meredith in June, my baby sister Rebekah and her husband Josh also in June, and our friend Roberto will marry his beautiful bride Maryjo in just a few more days! We are so blessed to be able witness and be a part of these joyous unions. Congratulations, dear ones!
My sister Jennifer and her husband Matt also added Samuel to their family one week after Abraham was born. We look forward to seeing our boys grow and change and become friends throughout the coming years!

To sum it all up, I would not have believed you if you had told me a year ago today that I would be a stay-at-home-momma with my sweet son Abraham. While I do miss school and my students and I worry about if we will be okay financially, we are trusting God to provide for us and I am cherishing this time of being a full-time mommy.

Here is the "wow, a lot can happen in a year" cake. You knew there had to be a cake, right?

Just loving my daddy!

2009-08-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

Why My Dad is Great
by Abraham

My daddy is so great! Here he is teaching me how to be a Colts fan!
Don't worry, we'll be more enthusiastic when it's not just a preseason game.

I just love to look at my daddy!
He is good at making funny faces and making me smile.

And he even loves cloth diapers! Look at what a pro my daddy is at snappi-ing a prefold on me! I try not to wiggle around too much for him when he is putting a diaper on me. What a great dad I have!

a note from Huck

2009-08-02T13:48:00.000-04:00

So yesterday Mom and Dad did something really strange. First, they told me to go to my den. Being the good and obedient dog that I am, I complied.

But then they started taking out our furniture! Dad and his friend Jonathan carried the couches out to the front porch.

Mom put Abraham in his swing. She had both of us locked up now!

Then Dad and Jonathan started bringing all the big things wrapped in plastic into the house. Mmmm, I thought, I hope I get to chew up that plastic!

Mom and Dad unwrapped all the big things and THREW AWAY THE PLASTIC! I didn't get to chew any of it! This is what our living room looks like now.

There is also a nice big rug in the middle of the floor now, that Mom and Dad got just for ME! I get to lay on the comfy rug now. The only bad news is that they aren't letting me cuddle on the furniture. Don't worry, I'm sure I can convince them later. :)

Meeting Cousin Samuel

2009-07-01T14:11:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of June Mike was a groomsman in Joel and Meredith's wedding. So Abraham got to go on his first roadtrip. The wedding was in Connecticut. Visit Tim and Jessica's blog to see photos from the wedding. After the wedding, we got to go to New Hampshire to see Jennifer and Matt and their new baby Samuel, who was born exactly one week after Abraham.

When we arrived, Abraham was snoozing, but Samuel was ready to go eat at La Carreta.
Here is Jennifer with her nephew Abraham and her son Samuel!

This is a special treat for you. You can come up with your own storyline for the following pictures! The babies' expressions are so fun, and we've enjoyed creating dialogue for them, so I'm sure you will too!

Precious little baby toes.

Some tummy time.

Two happy mommies with their sweet babies.

The cousins get a good look at each other.

Abraham's first few days at home

2009-07-01T13:20:00.000-04:00

Well, this entry is long overdue, but I decided to go ahead and post the pictures anyway.

Here is Abraham on his way home from the hospital!

Being carried in from the garage.

Getting introduced to Huck.
Mike is explaining some things to Huck, who is just wanting to lick and sniff this new thing mom and dad brought home for him.

Huck is delighted with the new baby!

Abraham thinks, "Here's an idea, Mom, I will be content all night as long as you hold me. But if you put me down, I will scream and cry and make the doggie bark!"

Josh and Huck are feeling pretty tired.
Our first family walk!
Everyone just loves when Kristi comes to visit!
I think this expression says it all!

Abraham's Birth

2009-05-07T10:34:00.000-04:00

It really all started on Saturday, April 25th, when I started having contractions. They started out seven to eight minutes apart, and a few hours later were four to five minutes apart. And they were the doubled-over can't talk kind. We called the doctor who told us we should probably meet him at the hospital in a couple hours, or sooner if the contractions got stronger and closer together. So we got everything together, I practiced some deep breathing and relaxation, and then the contractions stopped. Fast forward to Thursday, April 30th. I was at school. I had just brought my kiddies back from lunch and we were starting math baskets when I felt a trickle and wondered if it was amniotic fluid. I left my class with Mrs. Trout and called the doctor. At first they told me to go straight to the hospital. But then they decided I could come into their office to get checked. So I called Mike, and he left Kokomo and met me at the doctor's office.

Dr. Seward confirmed that it most likely was amniotic fluid, and told us that we could go home, take our time (but not too much time) getting any last minute things together (and decide if I wanted to pack my fuzzy slippers) and then head to the hospital! Here are the very last pregnant pictures from that afternoon.

And here I am at the hospital! Still pregnant!

Hooked up to monitors and maybe pitocin, but I don't really remember... Everything falls into two categories in my mind: the Connie period and the Ruth period. They were our two nurses during the labor process. I think this was the Ruth period. I was really apprehensive about getting pitocin, because I'd heard such awful things about it, so I decided to have them give me some stadol to "take the edge off." Well, it turns out that stadol is not my friend. I hated it, it made me feel completely out of control and loopy. I don't even think it made my contractions feel different at all; it just made me feel sleepy and loopy. I think more because of my fear of pitocin and my hatred of stadol and because the girl next door was getting one, I ended up getting an epidural sometime around 8:00 or 9:00. I remember Dr. Seward (knowing I hadn't wanted an epidural) saying something about how it probably wasn't going to be much longer, which sounded like a ridiculous statement to me at that time. I was pretty shocked when they announced I was ready to push a short time later. We started pushing around 10:00, and little baby Reeves was born at 10:56 pm. I even got to help pull the baby out and hold him immediately.

And here he is!

All cleaned up with Dr. Seward.

The Baby's Room!

2009-04-09T21:05:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos of us (mostly Mike) working in the baby's room.
Mike tore down the old ugly ceiling tiles, and with the help of some friends put up drywall instead.

Kristi arrived in time to catch this lovely shot of me helping to hold up the drywall using an aquarium lightbulb box propped up on my head.

Mike painted the walls.

Tim helped Mike move all the furniture into the house. We barely got it home in the Santa Fe. It was pretty much a perfect fit! And then came the fun of assembling the crib! I think we did a pretty good job. :)

Recession Cake

2009-04-09T20:49:00.000-04:00

On April Fool's Day, Mike got laid off.
It's not a joke.
So we decided he needed a cake.
He called this his recession cake.
Delicious.

Recent Projects

2008-07-10T14:59:00.001-04:00

We took advantage of Home Depot closing to get some great deals on a few things for our house. We installed a new hanging pendant light in our dining room. And the ceiling is still intact! I was afraid it would collapse when we worked on it since it's so old... We also got a new faucet for our kitchen sink. And we have water pressure! You can actually rinse crumbs off of a plate without having to scrub!

The light:

The new faucet:

My most recent knitting project. I call it the button bag.

My exciting news: I finally got my letter from the DOE saying I completed IMAP! The portfolio is totally done and I can apply for my Proficient Practitioner license. YAY!!!

Leaving Lincoln

2008-07-09T12:24:00.000-04:00

It was very sad to pack up all my stuff and move out of my classroom. I will miss my "Lincoln Family" so much! Sadly I do not have any pictures of them to include here. :(

Field Day fun!

For our last "marble party" Huck came to visit!

This is me working on kindergarten folders.

That's just Mike, pumping up the tire after I kind of broke the seal running over the curb. Oops...

This is my diligent work team. Without them there is no way I would have gotten everything finished. My mom helped also, but she missed all the fun with the big scary truck (the handle liked to come off the gear shifter). Thank you guys so much!!!

Here's one truckload of my school stuff...

The drum room has become the kindergarten storage room! In these pictures you can see the floor... That's because this is probably less than half my school stuff... You should see it now... Yikes!

Nicely organized closet full of kindergarten treasures!

My empty room. How sad! :(

Mike is so good at taking pictures of me on sad occasions.

Memorial Day Camping

2008-07-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

We went camping with Tim and Jessica over Memorial Day weekend. It was Huck's first camping trip, and he seemed to have a good time. He fended off any potential thieves and kept the site safe from dangerous predators. A lot of chess playing happened over the weekend, as you will see below!

Huck, our campsite protector!

Huck checks things out.

Huck takes a break from defending the campsite.

The boys cooked breakfast!

Somehow I have no pictures of Jessica or me from the weekend. Maybe next time...

Huck and Lucinda

2008-06-10T13:26:00.000-04:00

My furry teddy bear...

is also a gymnast! Or is he just trying to escape?

Our new puppy!

2008-02-05T21:36:00.000-05:00

We got a dog! He is a welsh terrier and is almost six months old. We love our Huck!

Mike and Huck after the trip home.

Huck sniffing around the kitchen when we first got home.

Huck in his den.

Lucinda and Huck

No More Tree!

2007-07-09T20:25:00.000-04:00

The weekend before my mom had her surgery we cut down the big tree in our yard. It was right on 38th Street, which is a busy street. My dad did most of the cutting and a lot of thinking. Here are some pictures of the tree going down, and then the big ordeal of removing the stump!

This is a picture of our house this winter.
You can see how big the tree was in the background!

And this is our new view! No tree in the way! The fence is also gone.

pictures of us!

2007-05-03T20:59:00.000-04:00

Our new bathtub!

2007-02-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos of our bathroom remodeling project!
I reposted the pictures, so hopefully everyone can see them now!

This is the bathroom after we removed the old tub and about 14 layers of old wall.

My dad crawling under the house. He's the one who does most of the work. :)

Mike breaking out some block to get ready for the new floor.

Building the new floor.

The new tile. Don't worry, the darker color is all hidden under the tub!

Getting the tub and surround ready to install.

Our new tub is functional!!!

bathroom!

2007-02-09T21:20:00.000-05:00

Some people could see these photos but other people couldn't so I tried again. Hopefully it will work better this time!

Our New Garage

2006-09-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the garage building process!

This is the beginning of demolition!

The new sewer pipe... after we hit the old one!

Pouring the floor.

Raising the wall. I am too lazy to rotate this picture right now.

On the roof!
And a few more roof pictures...

More to come!!!