Two isn't all bad.

I gave Sophia a hard time the other day for her general two-ness. I don't think that is a word, but I don't let a little thing like that stop me. 

It turns out that as hard as two can be, it isn't all bad. 

Also, there is nothing quite like a sleeping two year old to make your heart melt...and your neck to ache in sympathy. 

Ugh, I had forgotten about this.

I had a two year old about five years ago. I remember that it was terrible and awful, but I've spaced out a lot of the more grueling details. I think that may be because that two year old grew into a horrible three year old, and then an even more challenging four year old, and then slowly started to get better. By the time we got to five, two was just a distant memory and pain and suffering.

I have a two year old now and she has been acting her age for a while. It wasn't until today that I had that "oh yeah" moment. It happened at about 11:00 am when I realized that she had been actually either crying or whining since 6:30 am this morning.

You may think that I am exaggerating...I'm not. She had been literally crying or whining since she woke up. Never stopping, just continuing, never tiring, only annoying.

As rough as it has been and as much as I feel like it isn't getting better anytime soon, I still have this vague sense that Connor was so much worse.

I also look at my sweet little, precious, cuddly baby girl and think "you're going to do this to me too, aren't you?"

I guess that is one joy of having three kids right in a row. By the time Sophia is done being two, Elinor will be almost there. And, by the time Elinor has grown out of the terrible twos and into the tiresome threes, the baby will be ready to take over as resident tyrant.

Looks like I've signed up for at least another three or four more years of this fun. Bring it on kids. I can take it. And for revenge, I'll make sure that this picture makes it out on prom night.

No, no, no.

Elinor is almost 8 months old and very mobile these days. As such, the word no is becoming part of our regular vocabulary.

I'll give Elinor this much, every time I say "Elinor! No!" she stops what she is doing and looks at me.

However, she then blows me a kiss and goes back to whatever she was doing before anyway.

Parenting Fail.

Pilgrim Time

Connor's 1st grade class had a pilgrim play. He was pretty impressed with his role as the pastor.

Here are some video highlights.

And a song. I kind of love his very loud singing voice.

Six Big Changes

I was looking at a picture of our family from a year ago and from Thanksgiving weekend.

Check out the differences.

First - can I just brag on my husband for a minute? Do you see that he is like half the size he was a year ago?  I'm very impressed when he gets up every morning at 6 am to go work out at the YMCA. I'm not so supportive that I get up and go with him or wake up more than the amount required to say goodbye - but I'm impressed and so very proud of him.

Second - do you see how much Connor has grown over the past year? He used to come to Ben's waist and now he is up in elbow territory. He also just looks so much older now than he did a year ago. I didn't expect him to start looking so much like a kid so fast.

Third - a year ago Sophia looked confused in her picture. Now she just looks mischievous  There's a good reason for that...she is.

Fourth - isn't Elinor a cute butterball of a baby? I think so. She is quite possibly the sweetest and most even tempered baby in the world. (I'll bet a year from now that I will be much less complimentary of her demeanor).

Fifth - Note to self. Don't wear green stripes when you are going to get your picture taken...or, you know, ever.

Sixth - We are going to have our own little firecracker this July. We are due to have another little Ockree on July 2nd, 4th, or 7th (depending on how big little one has measured in the various sonograms I've had).

What this means for our family?

1. We are going to need a bigger car. Five is the most we can safely shove into a sedan. 
2. Dr. Wheeler is going to have to temporarily move his practice to Topeka, Kansas. (I'm sure he won't mind).
3. That 10th anniversary trip Ben and I were planning is going to be replaced with an even more expensive trip to St. Francis hospital.
4. I'll be joining the girls for afternoon nap time. 
5. I'm going to need to make more friends. Preferably the type that like to hold babies in church so that I don't have to sit by myself with a 7 year old, 3 year old, 1 year old, and 1 month old. 
6. I'm not getting away from diapers any time soon. 
7. Life is about to get a little bit rougher and a whole lot more awesome. 

Of Road Trips and Love Letters

Yesterday Ben and I took some of the high school kids to Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. It was a great trip and I am pretty much sold on the Concordia college system for the following reasons.

1. The students are required to live in the dorms for three years, or until they are 21. 
2. The students are required to live in the dorms for three years, or until they are 21!
3. Please see either #1 or #2. 

I already informed Connor, Sophia, and Elinor that they would be attending a Concordia College, so they better keep those grades up. We're going to need some scholarships. 

We wanted to leave for Seward first things Friday morning, so I asked my Mom if she would watch the kids for us Thursday night and all day Friday. She, being the awesome Grandma that she is, of course said yes. 

After picking up the kids last night I could tell that they actually missed me. They all had different ways of expressing their love for me and happiness for being back in my company. 

Sophia proceeded to tell me everything that had happened all day. The conversation went something like this: "So Mom, we had Grandma and played and then Connor took my french fry, but I didn't want to eat it all, and at lunch there were kids, and I had nap, but I a princess so I wished on star for castle, and that because I princess, and Connor, and kids." 

Connor showed me that I was missed and loved by telling me about every wild brilliant plan he had come up with during the day. My favorite was a plan to train and release into the wild orphaned squirrels whose parents had been run over. 

Elinor showed me she loved me by waking up at 11:00 and refusing to go back to sleep until she had been held and had been able to hug and kiss me for about half an hour. Then she needed some time with her dad as well and started to shout "Dada" until he woke up to giver her some snuggles.

It's nice to be loved. Even at 11:00 at night, and especially by my monsters. 

An Instagram Catchup for my Mom

My mom isn't on Facebook and doesn't have an Instagram account either. As such, every now and then I want to share the pictures she has been missing. 

So Mom, these photos are for you. 

 Sophia sporting her new hairdo. 

 Sophia in full on princess mode. 

 This is what happens if I chase Sophia for 30 minutes.

 Elinor wants to be a gymnast when she grows up. 

Connor's do it yourself robot costume. 

Sweet baby snuggles. 

I love this boy.

Connor turns seven years old tomorrow and all of the sudden seven seems much older than six did and way older than five did. I would like to say that in the last seven years I have gained some sort of secret mom knowledge into who Connor is and how his brain works, but I really can't. I can, however, say this: after seven years I have come to understand and accept that I will never fully get Connor and that his mysterious mind is part of his charm.

There is one word that describes the last seven years: Humbling.

Humbling because I've had to eat every word I ever said about some out of control kid. Humbling because I've felt that judgement from other parents. Humbling because I know that other parents look at Connor and think "if they just took a firmer hand with that kid he would behave." Humbling because if I don't understand my kid, how will the rest of the world even stand a chance?

But it is also humbling in a different way. Humbling because God has entrusted this smart and amazing little handful to me and Ben. Humbling because He gave us this child to bring up in the faith. Humbling because even though we have to deal with the bad times, we get the tremendous blessing of the good.

Yes, I can expect notes home, principal visits, and phone calls from school, but I can also expect him to know his sight words as soon as he gets them and to randomly say things like "twenty goes into 100 five times."

Sure he may throw himself into the depths of despair because a leaf he had been saving for two weeks has finally wilted into oblivion, but he will also throw himself into writing a story in his journal about what the life of that little leaf must have been like.

It can be frustrating when I realize that every roll of tape in the house has been obliterated, only to become amazing when I discover that he used the tape to hang up pictures of hundreds of different hand drawn animals for his very own zoo adventure.

He may be the worst kid during chapel time at school or during church, but he can also tell you all about Jesus and his death for our sins.

Being this boy's parents is a tough job, but so worth it.

Happy 7th birthday Connor. We are both terrified and excited for what the next seven years will bring!

Sophie's Walking Tour

The kids and I walk around town quite a bit. It is a small town and we can walk to lots of the things we need, plus it gets us out of the house, and is kind of like exercise. (We walk at a really slow pace, so I don't think it full on qualifies as exercise).

Throughout the course of the summer, Sophia has established landmarks on our walks. It was pretty nice today (70 degrees!) and I figure that our walking days are winding down.

As such, it is my pleasure to bring you the city of Atchison through the eyes of a two year old.

Enjoy Sophie's description of the various sights about town.

" There's our church where Dad becoming pastor."

 The little tour guide herself.

 "Oh No! Watch out for that lion!!!" (Yeah...I don't get it either).

 "Look! It's Christmas! Hello Christmas!"

 "I want a soda!" (She is such a little Hoosier - we say Pop)

 "There's the castle!" (It is really the post office)

 "Oh, that is so cute. It is just so cute."

 "There is that sad lion." (Then she usually pretends to eat it...you know, like you do).

 "Turtle! I see that Turtle!"

"There is the Y. We go to the Y?" (We go almost everyday, so it is one of her favorites).

And there you go. That is Atchison according to Sophia Jane. 

I give up.

Brushing Sophia's hair is hard. It isn't even the yelling and screaming (although that isn't my favorite). It is mostly the way that she moves her head all around the whole time so that after five minutes of brushing her hair I am actually further away from tangle free hair than I was when I started. 

Today on a whim I decided to throw in the towel. I'm sick of it. She's sick of it. So maybe this long hair thing can wait a year or two. 

If the haircut doesn't win you over, those big brown eyes just might. 

Like Minds

At least roughly thirty seven times a day Sophia comes up to me and asks me one the following questions:

"Mom, Are you thinking what I thinking?"

or, as a variant,

"Mom, Am I thinking what you thinking?"

This morning I have observed Sophia doing the following activities.

1. She rode around a broom for about twenty minutes saying "Giddy up Cowboy."
2. She came up to me and said "Hey there, I'm Annie, how you doing?"
3. She piled every pillow, blanket, toy, shoe, and book she could find onto the floor and proceeded to have a "nap" on them. 
4. She moved every thing that had been piled up on the floor to the couch and said "Don't worry Mom, I building something."
5. Later she threw her cup into the sink and said "Fine! Whatever! I said Fine!!!!" to no one. 
6. Then she wanted to watch She-Ra.

It appears the answer to both of her questions is a resounding no.

My children are weird.

For some reason Elinor thinks it is hillarious to watch Connor pile stuff in front of her. Sophia is obsessed with taking it all away. And, I'm left thinking "Wow, these kids are strange, I should get a video of this."

Not a great video - but who doesn't love baby giggles?

I know I do.

Building it Right.

Today we went to visit with the pastor at Risen Savior Lutheran church in Basehor, Kansas. Risen Savior is one of the churches that supported Ben during seminary and we were fortunate enough to visit with them in the past.

This time was a little bit different, as we were able to visit their brand new church building. The congregation wanted the new church building to be something that was beautiful and looked...well, like a church.

The result is wonderful.

 Outside

 I love the wooden doors on the entrance. 

 It is hard to see, but over the doors it says Unaltered Augsburg Confession in German. 

 Stained glass Luther's Rose

 Reflection of glass on the floor - the kids thought this was very cool. 

 Baptismal font in the middle of the church. 

 Connor taking the opportunity to remember his baptism - something he loved to do in the Chapel at the seminary.  

 The font. 

 Altar.

It is hard to see, but on the wall as you leave is the Nunc Dimittis.

A week from tomorrow  Ben is going to be preaching at this church so that the pastor can have a Sunday off. We are looking forward to catching up with the congregation again. 

Little Miss Chubby Cheeks

Today was Elinor's six month well child checkup.

And the verdict is:

That this little girl...

 May actually be a distant relation to this guy.

I mean, seriously, look at those cheeks! (And I'm not talking about Winston's).

Our latest stats.
Height: 26 1/4 inches
Weight: 18 lbs 8 oz

Looks like we are well on our way to a girl's basketball team...or you know...wrestling. Just so long as we take State.

A boy, some bugs, and a snake.

It started very simply  (it always does) with a grasshopper. Then there were some crickets, some more grasshoppers, and the dream of a dragon fly.

Then there was a camping trip. My idea of camping is staying at the Motel 6 instead of the Comfort Inn and this trip involved sleeping in tents. Needless to say, the girls and I stayed home.

Connor went, and took his bug house with him along with dreams of bug catching awesomeness.

He brought his bug house home the next morning and proudly displayed his prizes. Two grasshoppers, a huge dragon fly, some worms, and...a snake.

When he told me there was a snake in his bug house, I really thought he was just trying to get a reaction out of me. But no, there really was a little ringneck snake in there. "Don't worry, Mom. They are only slightly venomous  and very gentle."

That wasn't the part I was worried about - or at least not until he said that.

Since Mr. Pet Snake (my name for him) is being set free today to...uh...do the things snakes like to do...I promised Connor I would take some pictures of him.

Enjoy, or you know, get the heebeegeebees. Whichever.

 Connor teaching Sophie about his snake. 

 Time for a close up. 

 Slithering. 

 Sophie and Connor giving the snake a piece of wood. 

 Sophie braving a closer look, 

A boy and his snake. 

Flea Market Finds

This last Sunday in Atchison was the fall flea market. This flea market is big - spanning a couple of blocks and I really really really wanted to go.

This was our schedule on Sunday:

8:00 - 9:15: Early Service

9:15 - 10:15: Sunday School (Ben and I are teaching the 9th and 10th graders)

10:30 - 11:45: Second Service

12:30 -2:30: Church Pot Luck

4:00 -6:00: Adult Catechism Class

6:30 - 7:45: Evening Church

The flea market ran from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. 

But don't worry. I wasn't about to let a little old thing like lack of time keep me from a place where I could potentially score some Pyrex on the cheap. 

The kids and I went to early service and the minute Sunday School was over I grabbed the little ones, threw them in a stroller, told Connor to book it, and we ran downtown to hit the flea market. We only stayed there for approximately 45 minutes (we saw about 2/3 of it) and then rushed home to make something for the potluck. 

I did find a couple of great Pyrex dishes that I got for a total of $12. Totally worth pushing 45 lbs of little girlness in a double stroller up hill on the way back. Check it out.

Because I am at least 1/16th German

In my ongoing endeavor to be one of those domestic type peoples, I decided to try to make some Bierocks from scratch. In the past I have made Bierocks with Rhodes rolls and without cabbage because...well...it just seemed easier.

No more. I decided to embrace my Germanish heritage and go for the real thing.

I have been making a cookbook this summer of recipes that I've found online and want to try out or recipes that are some of our favorites. 

Here is my handwritten bierock recipe. Handwritten, because, um...well, paper and a pencil are cheaper than a printer and ours broke in the move. 

I don't know how people that don't have a Kitchen Aid make anything. I use mine at least three times a week. 

This is my favorite bowl to let dough rise in. 

While your dough is rising you can brown up some meat. I am not using all this meat for the bierocks, but when I brown up meat, I like to do a big batch and stick the rest in the freezer. 

Take out the extra meet and add some cabbage and onions. 

This dough didn't rise very fast. It is not my usual dough recipe. It was supposed to double in size in an hour. I waited another hour. 

Bake 10 - 12 little balls of dough and then roll the dough out into circles and fill with meat mixture. 

And if you find little finger pokes in your dough and it looks like somebody grabbed a taste....

It is probably this little girls fault. 

I decided to brush them with egg wash - it made them smell delicious while they were baking and made them extra golden brown. 

Ready to go into the oven. 

Roughly 20 minutes later they are ready to go. 

Mmmm...delicious.