look who's eight

Today my little girl turned 8 years old! I wasn't quite sure what to say about this birthday on my blog here. I think I've posted enough sappy ones in the past where I've looked back to when she was born and the emotional circumstances surrounding that. So many of you already know the story, and the rest can either check my prior posts (here or here) or ask me later if you're curious. (I also have the story of her surgeries on our website.) I think what I'll do today is share some things about Kirsten with you. I'll paint a picture of who she is today...

* Her interest in music has really blossomed lately. She often plays a movie in her room (a Barbie Princess one) over and over, just to sing along with the songs.

* She still has training wheels on her bike. Matt & I joke around that she'll be like Phoebe from Friends - finally learning how to ride when she's an adult!
Honestly, she just gets bored of riding it, and she gets bored fast. Maybe it has something to do with it being more of a solo sport for her right now? She'd rather be playing with someone else!

* She'll be in 2nd grade in the fall. We've been reassured by last year's progress that again, we've made the right choice in giving her that extra year before starting Kindergarten. It was good for her, and she's doing great in school now. It's always very rewarding as a parent to see your decisions turning out for the positive!

* Kirsten really started taking off with her reading skills earlier this year, and she loves to read all the time. I even catch her reading to the toys in her room! It's so great!

* My Peanut absolutely loves animals! She has quite the collection of stuffed animals and little figurines, and her vivid imagination runs wild as she plays out all sorts of adventures with them! It makes my heart smile so big to see the amazing imagination she has! I love it!

* Like many kids (or girls, to be specific), she has moments of attitude issues at home with me. I think all kids tend to test their limits with their Moms the most. But for the most part, Kirsten just really wants to please others. We see this all the time when we watch her interact with others. Whether it's family or friends or complete strangers she's playing with at a local play area, she shares and offers to help and just wants to BE with whoever is there. I think the moments of frustrations mostly come now from just not being able to express her thoughts or emotions well. She really is such a sweetie who just loves being with others.

* Kirsten loves wearing dresses and skirts now. Her Daddy tells her that she's a beautiful princess, no matter what she wears, but she still likes to dress up to feel like one! I even catch her walking with her arms to her sides, hands tilted up and out, like Princesses in movies she watches! Too cute!


We were supposed to be up in Higgins Lake these past few days and through the weekend, but Matt's vacation schedule got messsed up at work. Instead, we're just going to spend the day together, doing things that Kirsten wants to do. On her agenda is a movie (yet to be determined) and a dinner at Red Robin... she loves the special treat, balloon, and song they sing to her!

Happy 8th birthday, my sweetie! We love you!!!

waiting to know God's plan

"The lesson continues until the lesson is learned." I heard a friend quote that a week or so ago. Patience may just be something I'll never quite learn. I think it's a life-long lesson. Most often I feel okay and can be patient, and other times I can't. Maybe at this point in life it's based on the level of importance of what I'm waiting for? Nah, I sometimes get impatient for silly things, like waiting my turn in line at the store. But that's not often. Overall, I'm okay with waiting for things. Time seems to pass quickly enough. Just looking at my almost 8-yr.old daughter shows me that!

Right now, we're waiting for an answer. It's based around Matt's job. As most of you know, he's been working for Panera as a baker, working midnights. He started out with no baking experience (other than at home - and he's great here!), and I wasn't sure how he would like it. It quickly turned into something that he really enjoyed, and he began doing very well at his job. It's going on 4 years now since he started, and this year he's been pursuing avenues to see about advancing his career there. This really made me happy to see that he really wants to stay with this employer - to make this his "last job," so to speak. His career. Where he can retire from. I know what else is in his mind is what most men / husbands / fathers think of... he wants to continue to provide for his family, too. What he's pursuing is moving to management. That would mean switching to days, too. That in itself would be an adjustment for us all, but I'd welcome it with open arms & do whatever is needed to make it work best for us. He's taken tests, had interviews, and now we're just waiting for a response. A yes or no.

I really hope they give him the opportunity. They've already seen how well he's done at his current position, and I know he'll grow to exceed expectations in the next position, if given the chance. A downfall is that he doesn't have the experience, but I'm really hoping & praying that they'll let him gain the experience as he does the job, like he did with baking. He doesn't want to go elsewhere to get the experience, he wants to stay with Panera. I hope that they've been able to see his passion for this place. I sure do. And for those of you that know Matt, you know how he can be fun to be around. I've seen him in the past when we worked with the teens at our old church. I can only imagine how cool he'd be to work with!

And so we wait. It's been about a week so far, and I know these things can take time. But when it's something you want so very much... !!! I kind of feel like I did on Christmas morning as a child. I would wait on the stairs for everyone else to wake up & then we could go into the living room by the tree. I couldn't wait for those presents - I was so eager to open them! It's that same kind of excitement I'm feeling about this opportunity for my hubby right now! I'm excited for him!

Please pray with us as we wait! Of course, this would be an amazing experience for Matt if he gets it, but I also know there's a chance they'll say no. And rejection is always hard, no matter where it comes from. We just need to keep remembering that God is in control, not us. We need to wait and try our best to be patient. One of the coolest verses I know reminds me about this... Jeremiah 29:11 talks about God having a plan for us, a plan to prosper & not to harm us, a plan to give us hope & a future! Plan, prosper, hope, future... I think I can be patient with that. Someone much larger than me is in control, and I'm fully okay with letting Him keep it that way! I mess things up too much when I try running it all! LOL So I'll wait. And I'll pray. And I'll remind my husband that God's got it all under control.

and it's down

We took the post down from the website. It looks like we're going to keep the silver Taurus now! Talk about confusing, huh?!? Seems like it's the best over-all investment and choice for us, so we're going to get the transmission fixed (or repaired or whatever it is - that's Matt's realm of phone calls!) and keep it. We're going to sell the blue Taurus & use that money towards the repairs on the silver one.

Yup, that's the plan! For now, at least! :)

wakey! wakey!

(To the tune of "Wake up, little Suzie"...) "Wake up, little Ruthie, wake up!" I can hear that in my head, with Matt singing it to me. He hasn't done that in years, but I sure need an alarm clock with that on it! The cell phone alarm just doesn't seem to work for me. I hate setting my actual clock, because of the awkward timing between Matt getting home & going to sleep shortly before I'd like to wake up. I'd hate for him to just be falling into a deep sleep, only for my loud alarm to wake him. So, instead, I sleep in. Today I slept in until Kirsten came to wake me up. That was 10:45! Um, I'm all for getting some extra sleep like that on occasion, but since school's been out for her, I think our sleeping schedule has been getting quite off-whack!

Anyone else falling into the same pattern as me?!? Staying up late & sleeping in late?!?

wordless wednesday - with a little words - it's going up!

In about 10 minutes, our pretty little car will be posted for sale on craigslist.org! We're hoping it'll sell! (Need the cash for getting something new!)