happy to be writing

It's been ages since I typed anything on this blog, and so I am on it now, checking out all the latest designs and such that have been added in the last 3 years.

Our day with...THE FISH

Not too far from home there is a settlement called Jamestown. No, not the original Jamestown, but Jamestown, PA. This is where summer after summer numerous parents and tourists alike drag their children to see THE FISH. What's so interesting about THE FISH??? Only God knows, but we did it when we were little, so Ben and Liam did it as well.





These fish are not your common, run of the mill fish. These fish dine finely on "day old" bread, bought just down the road at a self-serve bread shack, where you just pick up your loaves and leave your dough. Our minivan decided to make sure our friends dined more healthy on the multigrain variety of day old bread, and we had ample supplies thanks to Grandpa Lohrenz.


















The tradition of feeding the fish goes something like...you buy the bread, you go to the spillway, and you toss to your heart's content, or until your bag is empty. Our personal goal this year was to entice the carp just far enough over the edge that they fell into the spillway for all to delight in watching. Ben seemed so fascinated by the quantities of fish (see photo) that he forgot all about throwing the bread. He simply wanted to watch and eat what he could, while relatives weren't looking. Some of my cousins also decided to have the goal of feeding the numerous amounts of sea gulls flying about. This was quite a spectacle and words just aren't enough.


















Besides feeding the fish, we enjoyed a lovely picnic on a small peninsula nearby with all my mom's sisters, their families, and ours. It was quite a fantastic day and a wonderful break from the August heat we had been experiencing. I know we lived in the desert, but this humidity is far worse. The boys and cousins enjoyed the picnic, the bubbles, swimming, building sand castles, and last but not least THE FISH. Although, I think the DQ on the way home was pretty good too.

Mommy with three boys

This past week, Janelle, Ben, and I welcomed the fourth member to our family. Samuel Liam arrived on Wednesday afternoon after about ten minutes of pushing. Janelle was such a star during the labor and delivery. For Janelle, the second child was much easier than the first. She was showed, had eaten, and dressed within about two hours after Liam was born.
Many of the nurses were surprised at how quickly she settled into her room. (It was like she was on holiday or some retreat. As you will see in some of the pictures with her laying in her bed on her cell phone.)
Ben has taken on the 'big brother' role very well. When Liam cries he runs over to him searching for Liam's nuk (dummy for our friends in England). After finding the silencer, he cautiously puts it in Liam's mouth. Ben will also sit with me and help me feed Liam by putting the bottle in his mouth and holding it there. As for me, I am enjoying being the proud father of two boys and the husband of a lovely wife. This next week we plan on just relaxing and getting to know one another before the business of school and work set in.
Thank you to all of you who have been praying and checking in on us. We look forward to sharing our new family member with you and your family.

Crazy how fast kids grow

This is Ben a year ago and then currently.

12 more days, but who's counting...

I'm realizing I have been quite out of touch with our blog. Dave's written the last few entries, and it's been ages since I've written. This is partly due to the fact that our newest family member is about to arrive soon. Actually it could be any day now, but we'll see. Ben was a couple weeks late, and this one could be as well. I went to the DR this morning and all is well. The heartbeat is strong, and there were no concerns from the DR or myself. So, it's now all a waiting game.

In the meantime we/I have been "nesting," although it feels a lot more like DIY than nesting. For those of you who never had the privilege of visiting our bathroom (loo), you didn't miss much. To describe it is quite challenging, but there was an overwhelming sense of pink, and I mean pepto bismol pink. All four walls and the entire ceiling were painted this "lovely" color. We did not have a shower, just a tub, and our sink was a "lovely" cream and gold glittery swirly design, with gold door pulls. The previous owners had even painted the back of the original wooden doors pink. It made me sick, literally. Well, now it is no longer pink, but blue and white, which is much brighter and fresher. We did remove all the plastic, pink tiles which lined our walls and didn't even match the wall's pepto bismol color. Instead we put up white wainscoating and painted the remainder of the walls blue. We now have a fully functioning shower, complete with a lovely curved shower rod, which makes it all roomy. I'll have to take some photos and post them. Too bad I don't think I have any before shots, for the full effect. So the bathroom is basically done. There are a few minor things to do, but no remaining LARGE projects.

On top of that, we have also been redecorating our kitchen, which is quite retro, but I don't know if you can call it retro when it's all the original 1950s decor. The linoleum is an undescribable design with oranges, olive greens, mustard yellows and cream colors throughout it's cubic patterns. The original stove is in great condition, but still that 1950s golden color. So, now we have painted our previously mustard yellow walls and ceiling a more oatmeally color with a quail egg color to trim out the rest of the room. The flooring and stove still remain the same, for now, but aren't quite such the centerpieces of the room that they once were. It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do! It's also amazing how simply painting the ceiling a different color than the walls can dramatically change the feel of a room.

Besides that, we've just been doing the odd jobs around the house, replacing light switch covers where there hadn't been any for a while, washing the house with a powerwasher, clearing out the basement from yet more of the previous owners "collections", and replacing blinds/curtains. All in all we've been busy here.

Ben is growing like a weed and each day I see him I still can't fully grasp the fact that he's not my baby anymore, but my/our little boy. He really has such a growing personality at the moment. For those of you who don't know, we have been teaching him basic sign language, and I am floored by how well he can communicate with us, even though he only verbally says about 2 words, dog and hot. I've often wondered if teaching him sign has held him back verbally, but the benefits have been so great, plus I know he'll speak understandable words when he's ready. He's such a great kid. I am cherishing every moment with him recently, as I know that at any time they may be our last moments as purely mommy and Benny. So, this past weekend we rode over to Sewickley for our final mommy/Benny date. The Ultimate Pastry Shop was where we chose to pick our breakfast and the scones were lovely - raisin, peach, and cinammon. Then we headed over to Starbucks for a drink to accompany our scones, and finally we ended with a big, long walk through Sewickley, stopping to see the farmer's market and the lovely houses. Plus I was hoping gravity might kick in and start labor, but no such thing.

We'll keep you posted on our newest arrival when he gets here, but for now keep praying all goes well and that little guy comes on his own accord. Thanks.

Will anyone of these guys win the 107 Open?

107 US Open vs. Ezekiel

This past winter my friend and I had full intensions to volunteer for the US Open which is being held only 20 miles from us in Oakmont. It was our plan to take a week long Old Testament course on Ezekiel and then do our PGA duty and help with the Open. Unfortunately when the June term was announced they scheduled our class during the same week as the Open, so we saw our excitement slowly fade away.
On Monday during our lunch break my friend and I were talking about going after class to check out the merchandise tent. During our conversation someone overheard us and offered us tickets for the following day. We were both overjoyed but realized that we could not leave until late in the day after class, but it was better than nothing. Thanks to our professor who graciously allowed us to leave early to catch more of the practice round. Hope you enjoy some of the pictures.

No School, No Work = Vacation

This past week Janelle, Ben, and I took a week to not do anything except hang out with one another as well as some friends and family. I have just finished my spring term and along with that, the Starbucks where I work was closed for the past week for remodeling therefore allowing us to take some vacation time. So we decided that we would travel to the local attractions and check them out, so we went to the zoo, children's museum, parks, petting zoo, and a baseball game.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Snow days

Snow days are a funny thing. I can remember being a child, listening to the radio from under my covers, and praying our school would be one of those named for cancellations, or at the very least, a 2 hour delay. I remember the joy, the elation, of the handful of times when our school truly was listed. Yet some poor children across this nation and across this globe will never get to experience this joy, as we've realized in our travels. Sheffield had never heard of building snow days into a school calendar, and I remember the day Bev, Sue, and I walked to Fulwood from Walkley in the snow because the cars couldn't travel on the roads, yet still no snow days. Then there was Glendale, where snow had rarely, if ever been seen. There we had heat warnings, where the kids weren't allowed outside for recess if the heat index was too high. And...Charleston, by far, was the most comical. Half and inch of snow, which melted instantly when the sun rose, shut down the entire city and school district.

Now however, I realize I am moving into a new experience with snow days, or we will be over the next few years. Before we know it Ben will be in school and we will be on the flip side of snow days. This time we'll listen to the radio and be praying that his school will not be mentioned in the cancellations. But, there's still time before those days begin. Wednesday was a 2 hour delay for our local school district, while the school 4 miles down the road was cancelled. (How does that work???) Well, that meant our friends the McDonalds had girls at home in need of something to do. So, we bundled up Ben, loaded up Ben, and headed over to the local park, where we went sled riding. (Ben's first sled riding experience)

Ben wasn't too sure what to make of the whole snow deal at first, but once he got his hands into it and went down the hill a couple times, he decided he loved it. (I think he loved Hannah Grace and Ellie pulling him around on his sled the most.)

We loved the snowsuit and sled that he received for Christmas. After sledding, we did what typically seems to happen in households around here, we headed inside for some hot cocoa. Mmmm.

Today, we no longer have any snow, as it's in the 50s and it's all melted away, which I couldn't be happier about. I have spring fever worse than I've ever had it before, even though I'm born and bread in this area. Well, Ben's up now, so I better sign off, but not before I finish posting the photos. Enjoy!!!

Water, Water Everywhere

on Saturday mommy, daddy, and I went to the Y for my first swimming lesson. i had sooo much fun. there were lots of other kids my age, even another Ben, and we were all singing songs and playing games in the water. i like to put my face in the water, but i haven't figured out how to blow bubbles yet like mommy. maybe next time. my favorite part of the class was when we were given rubber duckies. my teacher said we were supposed to toss them and then swim after them. it was so much fun. i also really enjoyed jumping into the pool. the water was really warm and the pool area was so warm daddy's camera got all foggy when he tried to take photos of me and mommy. my teacher also let us go under her "waterfall" which was just a big watering can. some of the kids cried and didn't like it at all. then we had some free time to play with our parents. i'm looking forward to our next swim class. after class, mommy, daddy, and i went to Eat 'N Park for a family breakfast. i love to eat. they gave me sausages, eggs, toast, bananas, marmalade, and some hashbrowns. i also had my first taste of chocolate milk. yummmmmy. when we got home i took a long nap, then woke up and played some before mommy and i went to church. after church we went to see daddy at starbucks and have some dinner with him before i went to bed. it was a good day. i'll see if mommy will post some photos of us swimming.

...And then there were 3

...boys that is. Today we had our 20 week sonogram and discovered we are having another boy. Hurrah!!! I guess I will truly be outnumbered, and as the technician noted... I will NEVER get the remote control again. It's time to get out that baby name book. Hopefully someday we'll be able to use the girl's name we picked a while back. However, now we have 19 weeks to figure out what we'll call our new little one. Feel free to post your suggestions. All is well with our newest little guy.

Speaking of little guys, Ben is walking everywhere now. He's still cruising and crawling, but he LOVES to walk. Thankfully the weather is warming up, and we'll soon be able to take him out for a real walk, but for now the length of the room and the house keeps him satisfied.

Saturday Ben and I begin our first mommy & me swim class at our local Y. It runs for about 7 weeks, and I am really looking forward to it. Ben loves to be in the water, whether it's for a bath, a shower, or a swim. I'm hoping this will boost his confidence so he's ready for the pool this summer.

Dave continues to make coffee and write papers. I swear it's only one REALLY BIG paper that just never gets finished. He keeps telling me I'm wrong, but I think it's just a convenient way to get out of the house for a while.

Here's a photo of "Toad in the Hole," which I made one evening for Travis, Dave, and Ben, as we were craving a British meal. Thank you Naked Chef.

Benjamin's Makeover (Before & After)

What a difference!!!!

Birthday Boys

This past weekend we gathered our family for a celebration in honor of both my boys. It was quite the event as Ben experienced cake, on his own, and opened his presents. He's such a clean, tidy little boy that he never did dig right into his cake, but rather he ate the coconut trim for a while and then very carefully picked at the cake with just two fingers. At one point he even made sure he ate the crumbs out of his bib pocket before moving on to his next piece of cake. The messiest point came when he decided to squish all the crumbs and icing around on his tray with both hands. He seemed to enjoy himself, which was why the cake was made.

Now that he is a year old we were finally "allowed" to cut his hair. This was quite an event as Dave and I tried to be careful not to butcher our son's do. We did learn that giving him Cheerios, while cutting, makes the process go soooo much smoother, but Ben seems to roll with the punches and was very patient with us, thankfully.

Hope you enjoy the photos!!!

November to December 2006

It's hard to believe 2006 has come and gone already. It's also hard to believe that this time last year, we were settling into our new house, enjoying our first holidays in Pittsburgh, getting ready for Dave's first semester at Trinity, and expecting the arrival of Benjamin, as well as cheering on the Steelers to their 5th superbowl.

Since November we have again celebrated the holidays with family near home, with the added bonus of seeing life through Ben's eyes. Thanksgiving was a true feast for our little guy. He tried every food that was put before him, and enjoyed it all. He also fought through his first fever and saw his first snowfall of the season.

December meant the end of another semester for Dave, which was good because we started to forget what he looked like. However, after finals he was home a lot so we were able to go for more family outings. Our favorite outing was going out for Chinese and then to the children's museum with the McDonalds. Ben loves playing with Hannah Grace and Ellie. He also truly enjoyed playing in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and the floor devoted solely to nursery children.

Ben's first Christmas was also quite fun. We spent a lot of time with all our family and Ben met and played with a lot of people. By our 5th Christmas celebration, Ben seemed to get the hang of tearing open presents, yet he seems to like tissue paper and gift bags more. I guess tissue just makes a lot more noise than paper. We were overwhelmed and blessed with the amount of presents we all received, for which we are very thankful. Ben did receive a sled for Christmas, and as of yet, we have not been able to use that present since the temps here have been in the high 50s for most of the month. Yeah global warming.

We are now getting geared up for the new semester at Trinity and for a couple birthdays here in a few weeks. I'll try to post some updated photos as well.

A bit of Nostalgia

This McDonald's commercial takes me back to when I was very little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOOGvMSSMAE

Photos from a visit to Pittsburgh