Here we go again

I realize it has been a very long time since we have updated. That is a given considering the state we have been living in during the past year or so. Chris returned home from Iraq in July after a one-year tour. We have been adjusting to dual parenting while loving and hating it simultaneously. To say the least, it has been an adjustment. Chris has transitioned to life as a full-time student and stay-home daddy while Karissa has moved on to teach middle school math in Dixon, a small local farm town. We are still waiting and praying about what the near future holds and what God has planned for our family. We are living day by day trying to love with all our hearts and be grateful for what we have been given. It has been a blast to walk the kiddos through these years and watch them grow into smart, funny, athletic, extroverted, God-loving little children.

We took on the added responsibility of home schooling Elijah this year because we needed flexibility not know what was in store for our family this year. He is loving learning and has an amazing math brain. Getting him to write has been a challenge, but his reading and writing are coming along well.

Travels

We have had a very busy year since Daddy has been gone. Karissa took a job teaching High School Math and Physics. It has been a challenge to juggle parenthood, teaching and the demands of life. Last week the military paid for all of us to go to a conference in Southern California and we took advantage of the time. We made the trip into a mini vacation as well. We made a family trip to Sea World San Diego with our friends, the Grubb's. The kids loved it and enjoyed seeing all the animals and shows. Unfortunately, the day ended with a downpour. It was a blast despite the weather. What would a trip to Southern California be without a stop at Disneyland? We met Grammie and Bob and Kim for a day of play at Disneyland. The trip was exhausting, but a lot of fun. The biggest challenge: An airplane flight with three young kiddos and only a mommy:)

Pictures from Karissa

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Pictures from Karissa

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Summer fun

I apologize for the lack of updates on the blog. Life has been crazy busy. So, here's a quick glimpse of the past few months:
To begin with Chris has separated from active duty military service. Not too long after joining the reserves he was deployed to Guam for a few months. It was actually an amazing blessing because without the deployment we were technically unemployed. He was home for part of the summer and we spent the entire time not resting. We went to Hawaii with my parents and the kiddos. That was an awesome trip and we were ready to drop everything and move to Kauai, but that has not happened yet. We had Family Camp at the Ranch. Chris' mom and niece and nephews came from Arizona. Elijah stayed with his cousins and Grandma Susan on his first real sleep over at Family Camp, which lasted 3 nights without Mommy and Daddy. He didn't even notice that we weren't there (our independent and extremely social child). We actually stayed at our house and came to visit the camp one day.
That same weekend, celebrated his 30th birthday. Then we took the girls up to Northern CA for a teaching interview for myself. I was interviewing to be The High School Math teacher at a rural school out in the middle of nowhere'sville CA. We loved it and I was offered the job a few days later. We were already packing the house and preparing to leave when I got another job offer only 25 minutes from our house in Vacaville. By this time, Chris has just left for another deployment. This time he was less accessible and communication was difficult because he was in Iraq. We had to make one of those life changing decisions with little discussion from opposite sides of the World. Communication was sparse and we only had a few minutes three times a week to discuss this. We decided it would probably be best to stay in place for now and make a big move some other time when the family was all in one place and we could do it together as a team. So, for now, we are not relocating and I was blessed to be offered a High School teaching position at a local Christian School. Elijah is going to be going to Preschool this year at the same school where I will be teaching. He is ready to have lots of friends and go to school like a big boy. We have also found a new church home where we are beginning to get involved. The kids love going to church and Elijah just memorized his first memory verse last week. You can hear him recite the verse in the video clips on the side of the blog. (I can't get it to upload because it's too long. I'll work on that)
As for my job...I will be teaching I will be teaching Algebra 1, Geometry, Physics, Health, and PE. I am excited about the opportunity and challenge.
Here are a few pictures of our summer adventures.

An Extra-Special Easter Present

Tonight I was talking with Elijah about Easter and why we celebrate it. He told me it was because Jesus died on the cross and then came back to life. We ended up in a sweet child-like conversation about Jesus coming to live in our hearts when suddenly he stopped, closed his eyes and prayed that Jesus would come live in his heart. What an amazingly, indescribable, parental moment. Immediately following that he began goofing off and being his usual silly self, but it was so special because there was no prompting. He just wanted Jesus to live in his heart, so he asked him. What a great day to celebrate what Christ has done for us by celebrating the 'new life' of my child!

Easter 2010

We went to church this morning and were reminded of the reason we are Christians...Christ came into the World, died for our sins and raised from the dead to conquer death. AMEN. We spent the day celebrating with family and friends. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Winter 2010

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The long awaited update

We have been super busy this winter. There have been trips, travels, events, family, and more. It's all been fun, but it makes things hard for me to update the blog. I am finally breaking down and sharing some pictures from everyday life and our trips. The girls are now 18 months old and Elijah is 3 1/2. Chris is gone to Guam for months and after a few weeks home, he will be off again to Iraq for six months. Mommy, well, she's too busy to write about, but she is teaching a college Algebra class and praying for provision in the upcoming year.

Fall Festivities

My Dad escaped a girls weekend away at his house and came to visit us. I did the longest bike ride (I think) I've ever done. We completed a metric century (100 K) which ended up being around 68 miles. Considering I had only been on my bike four times since I had the girls, I did pretty well. We completed it in 4 hours. Next year I would like to ride the true Century, 100 miles of rolling hills.

Anyhow, that weekend we also went to the pumpkin patch and my mom was able to join us. Elijah loved running through the field of "pungkins" and paying in the tents and little houses. He especially like seeing the giant pumpkins and showed us how HUGE they were. We are planning on going to Apple Hill this weekend, so I will get those pictures up soon.

Thoughts on Marriage...

Many of the couples I know have been announcing a divorce and it has been weighing heavy on my heart lately. I hear them say things like: "It's for the best" "It's been a long time coming" "We're better off" "What a relief" and other things along the same lines. It breaks my heart because these people must not realize that marriage is not just about them. There are so many people affected in a positive or negative way by marriage and divorce. Most of these people have children, and I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the entire family. I am not being judgemental in any fashion because I don't know the stories, struggles, or details of the relationship or divorce, but I do know that Satan is attacking the sacred covenant of marriage. In turn, he is wreaking havoc, and causing pain and destruction. It is clearly evident and breaks my heart! So, offer a word of encouragement and then get on your knees and pray for your pastors, parents, children, friends and neighbors. Interced on their behalf and pray for restoration and healing in their marriages.

Pictures from Karissa

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Pictures from Karissa

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Busy Busy...

I just started school last week, so the blog may continue to get neglected for the next few months. Hopefully, not, but I can't promise much. A quick update...the girls will be turning one next week. I should be able to put a few pictures up after the parties. Elijah has decided to be a BIG boy and ride his bike without training wheels. Amazing! He's like a little speed racer. He is still learning that when he stops the bike falls over. He has a few scratches now.

The girls started taking their first steps on Monday. They will walk a few steps across the room, but they often plop to the floor and just crawl instead. We are doing well and are still deciding what to do next. Chris's time will be up in the military come the end of this year. We haven't completely decided to stay in or get out. Keep us in your prayers for that big decision.

My sweet girls

For some reason it keeps putting this picture on its side when I upload and I can't change it, but it's still so cute.

What could be better?!

I had one of those amazing Mommy moments today that showed me we are atleast doinf something right...We were all sittinf at breakfast listening to some worship music when out of the blue Elijah says "Mommy, I love Jesus"
To which I replied, That's good because He loves you too."
"Mommy, I gave Him my heart."
"You did? That's what we are supposed to do."
"Jesus took my bad heart and gave me a good heart huh Mommy?"
At this point I was melting and wanted to just squeeze him, but I couldn't because I was shoveling food in his sisters mouths as fast as I could. I did manage to say, "You are so right Elijah. Jesus does take our bad heart and give us a good heart."

So Cal

I stole this picture from my friend Suzanne's blog because we were not very faithful in taking pictures during our trip down south. We had a great time catching up and it was the first time our husbands ever met as well as the first time we met each others kiddos. Fun Fun! It was a momentus night for Elijah...He had his first kiss. Maggie, their cute little girl, and Elijah struck up an instant friendship. As they were galavanting around she asked him to give her a kiss, so he puckered and slapped one on her cheek. Apparently, it wasn't good enough because later that night they kissed on the mouth a few times as well. It was precious because he even held her for the kiss. So cute. Good to see y'all.

A Busy Summer

We have pretty much been living out of our car since the beginning of July. First, we went to Family Camp at Christian Encounter Ministries, where I grew up. We had fun visiting with family, catching up with old friends...and celebrating all the family's July birthdays. Happy birthday Chris, Alexa, Channy, Elijah, and Braeden. We came home unpacked and repacked for a trip to Southern CA and Phoenix. First we drove all night and got to Phoenix sometime early in the morning after at least one speeding ticket:) We visited friends and family and then headed to So CA for a few more days of travel and visiting friends and family. We decided to take Elijah to Sea World on his actual birthday. Lots of Animal fun! Stayed a few more days, Elijah played more new friends and then we drove home to unpack amd repack to go to my parents for a week. Karissa and the kids cleared the house because Chris is in an Excercise at work. For those of you who know what this is, you know why we cleared the house and for those of you who don't, it means he was playing war at work and was working ridiculous shifts, so we cleared the house in order for him to sleep a little and relax. Plus, it gave Grammie and Grampie a chance to hang out with the kiddos a little. Here are a few pics of our month.

Reflections

I was inspired by one of my fellow young moms and friend Suzanne to do this...Looking back over the last four months: I am sure the only way I have survived life since January is by the grace of God. Really! We moved, and the house is still not unpacked five months later because life has been a little crazy at the Noll house. Somehow I got the crazy idea that I could go to Grad school while raising three children under the age of three, being a wife, moving, taking care of a house full of chores, training a puppy, and who knows what else. I can't even count anymore, the brain was gone a looong time ago. Who thought this was a good idea? Just to give you a glimpse into our live my days went as follows:

6:00 am begin the day with feeding the girls
7:00 am put them back to bed for a few more minutes of sleep (hopefully). Plop back in bed in hopes of getting maybe 15 more minutes of sleep only to lay down, get comfortable and have a 2 year-old sneak into bed and snuggle saying "Mommy I'm hungry".
7:? am drag my tired self out of bed and make breakfast for everybody.
9:00 am If I am lucky the girls went to back sleep (most of the time this was not the case) and decide to get up for the day and eat breakfast.
9-12 pm Playtime, naps for the girls, lunch for everybody.
1:30 pm Naptime for all. Mommy sits down to research and write her paper only to be interrupted at least 2-3 times from sleepless children.
3:30 pm finally cave in and get the kids out of bed (give up on writing anymore until bedtime) 3:30-6 pm Play and a quick nap sometime for the girls. Make dinner. Feed everybody.
7:15 pm bathtime
8:00 pm Bedtime
8:30- ? (usually 12 am) work on research and writing my Thesis
12-6 am wake up at least once, if not more times to deal with screaming children.
6 am Begin the routine again, and again, and again

For those of you who don't know the girls have had reflux and were not sleeping well because of it. They still spit up now, but not nearly as bad as they used to when they were younger. I don't think they would be considered colic babies, but they certainly were not good sleepers. We are still working on getting them to sleep well at naps, but I have given up hope that they will be as easy as Elijah. As if that wasn't enough, we got a dog. Not just any dog, a puppy who needed to be house broke and trained.
Chris has put up with a lot of neglect over the past few months and I am grateful for his help. He stepped right up and helped with the kiddos allowing em to get school work completed. We are enjoying the break for summer and are not necessarily excited about the intensity of next semester. I have two more classes to take before completing my degree and we will look back on this year of life through fuzzy lenses from the life in a whirlwind and be very grateful that chapter is complete.
Needless to say, the house is usually a mess with toys, laundry, dishes, poopy diapers and still...boxes. I may get a chance to go through them and organize a little, but I wouldn't count on it. So as I think about what has occurred in our lives since January. I am not sure how our girls got to be 9 months old all of the sudden. Last I remember they were still in premie clothing. Elijah is now almost 3 and Chris and I are now a year closer to 30. AGH!
There were many days beyond tears to the point of almost losing it for all the adults and possibly the children too. Many hours of screaming by everyone in the household, sometimes simultaneously. A few more times than we would like to admit saying, "You take this one. I will hurt them if I deal with them right now!" A few desperate phone calls for adult conversation as well as "Rescue me or one of us won't survive!" And even more moments of grace from above as well as many "I am sorry, do you forgive me?" moments of grace with each other.
Chris and I hear from people the reminder that the Lord won't give you more than you can handle (we are still in debate with teh Almighty over this one). I guess you could say we have found it to be true only because we have a team-mate unlike any other who will pick up our slack and fill in where we are weak. Ultimately we have the best team mate, Christ. There is no way we could have survived it alone with out Him or each other. As far as giving us more than we can handle, the cup was showing signs of overflowing, but somehow it has all been contained. So, when life feels like too much to handle, take one day at a time, or even one minute at a time and push through. This too shall come to an end.

A week of Fun!

Time just flies with 3 kids. This week Grammy came to stay for a few nights and we went to the Zoo as well as the usual...play, play, play (with many poopy diaper changes, lots of eating, crying, etc). These are just a few glimpses into our week. Grammy and Elijah are pretending to be flamingos. when we got home from the Sacramento Zoo, we aske dElijah what he did today and he replied, "We went to the zoo and saw all the animals that God created!" Love it. At least some things sink in:)

Alysah!Hannah!

If you don't know this is Elijah, then you must not be around much!