Soccer

For months now Anna has been talking about playing soccer again so now that we are settled in our house, it was time to sign her up again (the last time she played was last year). We decided to try the Turf Tikes program at the Factory in Wake Forest again, this time with Anna being in a group without us and she is loving it!



Anna is often the only girl in the group and she is always smiling and skipping as she listens to her coach and kicks the soccer ball. At home, she always wants to kick her soccer ball and pretend that we are goals. I am so proud at how well she is doing listening and I love that she seems to be getting so much enjoyment out of it.

We have also learned that Maddie is not a huge fan of soccer :). She did well the first time, listening and participating but it was rather obvious that she wasn't overly interested in soccer and it lost her attention rather quickly. Today there was a total unwillingness to listen to her coach and so we left - she was content just to watch Anna. I asked her what she didn't like about soccer, she said the ball :). So we'll have to see what really catches Maddie's attention - I'm guessing something with music.

A New House, Our Home

At the end of December Erik and I started discussing a new home for our family. We loved our neighborhood, greatly enjoyed our home that we had put much time and money into remodeling but as we started thinking about wanting to grow our family while continuing to have a place for Erik to work at home (which adds to his job satisfaction) we began to look around. Actually... we began to look at one house in particular. Erik found a house just 2 miles from our house in a beautiful neighborhood that connected to the one we currently loved and it was perfect except that it was a foreclosure. By the time we had the appointment with our realtor we had already driven by several times, peeked in the windows and had imagined what the floor plan would look like (foreclosures don't give you much info). We knew that we would instantly know when we walked through the house if it was the one for us. We had looked at our budget and we knew what we could offer and what we couldn't. And so, after one visit to the house (which apparently most people go 3 times) we put in an offer - I like to say we are decisive :).

I previously didn't know a lot about foreclosures. Yes, the are an opportunity to get a good deal but the banks that own them seem to play by a whole different set of rules. The offer process was a nail biter and through most of it I had little confidence we would end up with the house. Then of course there were the documents removing the bank from almost all responsibilities and waiting for an inspection. Being sold in an "as is" condition, we knew the items identified on the inspection would not be fixed by the seller but if there were any major things wrong with the house we could bow out of the contract. Thankfully, the inspector found little more than a rusty garbage disposal and a few other odds and ends. Praise God!

And so, we moved. We have now been in our new house for a little over 2 weeks and it already feels like home. I feel like we have had visitors almost daily which is exactly what we love. We are loving our new house, our home.

Resolved

Resolve, to decide firmly on a course of action. The theme for our church for 2010-2011 is Resolved, All in and Pressing Forward. Each week we've been looking at different areas of our lives that we need to be resolved about, this past Sunday was our kids.

I was challenged by this question, is making Anna and Maddie a disciple of Christ a top priority in my life? Do I pray for them with diligence for their present and their future? Am I spending quality time with them? Is my life (not just my lips) showing them who I worship?

On Monday I opened up a book entitled Disciple Like Jesus for Parents: Following Jesus' Method and Enjoying the Blessings of Children that I received for Christmas that was the perfect companion to the Sunday sermon. It too challenged me:

Most of us do a great job of providing adequate food, clothing, shelter, and protection. But do you provide the protection, teaching, and nurture required of a faithful shepherd? Do you personally take your children out into the world and show them how to live the Christian life? Do you lead them to places of solitude from a dangerous and busy world? Do you personally deliver words of life to your children?

The writers go on to say

Teaching your children to obey the commands of Christ is more than teaching doctrine. It is more than the transfer of information. This teaching involves applying doctrine to their hearts that they might obey.

I tend to be one that often focuses on merely the transfer of information rather than the transformation of the heart. SO much to contemplate here and I'm clinging hold of James 1:5,

"If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him"

But while I'm still learning I can still be resolved, DECIDING what path I am going to take; using my might and not settle to life's excuses. May we all be resolved for our kids.

You can listen to the sermon here.

Big Girl Maddie

Lately many friends have been commenting on how Maddie is looking older and more like a big girl and I too feel like she is coming out of the two's and preparing to be three. One of the biggest pieces of progress on that front is potty training. Over Christmas Erik was off of work and so he began what we are referring to as "daddy bootcamp". I must admit I was not overly motivated to potty train Maddie and my patience with her strong will was severely lacking and so daddy taking over was exactly what we needed.

It began as most potty training experiences do, the first day or two involve lots of clothes washing and floor scrubbing but by day three Maddie was showing signs of progress. By the middle of week 2 we were taking her out to the grocery store in big girl panties! And this weekend she even told her Sunday school teacher that she had to go potty, so I'm calling her potty-trained :).

Finishing up 2010

Today is back to 'normal' - the Christmas decor has been put back into its boxes, the snow has melted and Erik has returned to work. But before moving on here are some pics from the end of 2010:

The girls sitting by the fire in their Christmas pj's awaiting daddy's reading of the Christmas Story:



Maddie in her cute reindeer dress from Mimi:



The girls styling Anna's new 'Jenny' doll's hair:



Our pup, Cassie, enjoying her Christmas toy:


Snow!!! It started snowing on Christmas Day and covered Raleigh:

A Visit from St. Nick

What a fun treat at our neighborhood friends Christmas party!

Making Chocolates

While I am still trying to figure out how to make a decent cookie, my husband's family tradition has been much perfected... making chocolates. Chocolate covered pretzels, cherries and coconut (which we call haystacks).




Anna making pretzel rods...



Maddie enjoying her chocolate pretzel covered in sprinkles...



... and her fork!