Cardinals and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!

In the Palm of His Hand

2011-09-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Dad called last Tuesday. He said Kendra and Matt were on their way to the hospital. Mom was with them. They had gone in for a routine check-up but the doctor could not find a heartbeat. Kendra was 28 weeks along. Only 12 to go. I was in shock. Ben spent the rest of the day watching Clone Wars on DVD so I could just sit and try to process the news.

The next morning I took Ben to school and planned to drive up to Wisconsin after his half day was done. I decided to go to chapel so I could worship the God I was clinging to for comfort. I made it through the whole service, until the last hymn. The last verse of the last hymn to be specific. It started, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow....". Every Eldor Bickel family member who is reading this can imagine the effect that had on my heart. I started weeping in front of a row of 8th graders and decided to make a quick exit.

Ben and I made it to Germantown around 1 pm. Josh and I talked tupperware, Ben pulled out puzzles, Dad was doing the dishes. All in all a fairly normal day at the Janetzke house. Then the phone rang. Josh answered it. "Kendra just had a boy." Dad took the phone and got instructions for him, Lydia, and I to head to the hospital to be with Kendra and Matt.

On the ride there Lydia kept thinking of people we needed to call. She would dial and as soon as the person would answer she would choke up and couldn't talk. She handed the phone up to Dad the first time...that didn't work very well. So there I was driving down to Sinai, telling my brother Ben that Kendra had a baby boy.

We arrived at Kendra's room and there was a small picture of a leaf with a raindrop taped to the door so the staff would know the situation before they entered the room. Kendra was lying in bed, Matt was sitting on the couch next to her and Mom was pacing around the room in doula mode. Their baby boy was lying in the bassinet off to the side of the room. I was not prepared. Dad had told us in the van that he was small and gray. He was only 1 lb. 15 oz. and 14 inches long. It must have been the effect of looking at that tiny face through aunt's eyes because all I saw was a beautiful baby sleeping peacefully. I took him in my arms and awed at the wonders of God's creation. Strangely there were no tears as I looked at his face. Only peace knowing Jesus had wrapped his arms around my nephew. Lydia took a turn too. She is such a good aunt. She deeply loves her nieces and nephews before they are born.

We shared tears and hugs with Kendra and Matt but mostly we listened to them recount the delivery. Mom was so proud of both Kendra and Matt for their strength, love, and determination during such a difficult process. And all without any training or planning. Kendra was still pretty woozy and exhausted so after an hour or so we decided to head out and planned to see them once Kendra was home.

The remaining Janetzkes, minus Ben and Christina, met at Chad and Erin's for dinner. That's where we found out the name they had picked. Johnathan Luke. I couldn't help but get a bit choked up knowing Kendra's son shared a name with my son. We stayed for awhile and just enjoyed each other's company before heading home.

The next morning Mom and I planned to run a few errands to pick up some things Kendra might need. Things I wouldn't have known to get if it wasn't for some very good advice from my cousin, Anna. Mom realized quickly that morning that she had come out of doula mode and was being thrust into mom/grandma mode. She kept a hankie close throughout the day. Turned out I could've used one too. Standing in Wal-mart looking at blue keepsake boxes and blue journals made the journey Kendra and Matt would be taking the next weeks, months, and years very real and I hurt for them.

I had the chance to go up and hang out with Kendra and Matt that evening at their place in Port Washington. It was an evening of tears, stories, advice, hugs, and even some much needed laughter. I am so proud of both of them. They are handling this whole situation with such poise. I can't imagine being in their position. There are just some things in life you never plan on having to experience. Saying goodbye to your child is one of them. But in the midst of their grief they both cling to the knowledge that Johnathan is safe in the arms of his Heavenly Father.

Tomorrow is the burial. We will all gather to support our sister and brother (in-law) as they do the unimaginable. I have to tell the boys about it tonight so they are prepared in case there are tears when we get back to my mom and dad's house after the service. I think it will be hard to do but I just keep going back to the place where I know for certain that Johnathan is safe and happy. My tears are for my little sister, who has to wait for Forever to hold her first baby.

Sorry to ramble. Needed to get all it out. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to our family. We are so grateful for the support and love.

1 Timothy 4:12

2011-05-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

I have to thank my Aunt Miriam and Uncle Keith for truly living out 1 Timothy. While I was still in high school they gave me the opportunity to set an example for their first daughter. I am honored to be Sharon's godmother. I was excited to be a part of her faith journey. And Sunday I got to stand beside Sharon as she confirmed her faith in Jesus.

(I wore my heels, so Sharon wasn't towering over me...much different from our first picture together.)

Sharon got to share this special part of any young person's faith journey with her brother, Todd, who also confirmed his faith on Sunday.

What a great family! I will always be thankful to be a special part of it.

Train up a child....

2011-03-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

Just had to share this story.

We got to play outside today which we take very seriously after the snow-filled winter we've had. Amongst the digging and climbing and pretending the boys decided to sit down to a "meal" on their fort's steps. Sitting next to each other with their back to me I hear,

Ben - "Ok, now we pray before we eat."
In unison - "Thank you Jesus, for our food. Amen."
Luke - "Now the other one!"
In unison - "Come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these blest to us be blest. Amen."

I'm not sure the "food" was delicious because they immediately were up and chasing each other around the yard but I love seeing them live their faith, even when they are pretending.

"Good night and thank you for coming to my party"

2011-02-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

Ben's birthday weekend started on Friday when Grandma and Grandpa J got to our house.

First we ate pizza and watched Clone Wars...which meant an appearance by Pirate Vader.

A good guy cake and bad guy cake plates.

"Happy Birthday to you, God's blessings to you"

Luke helped blow out 2/3 of the candles.

Ben had plenty of gifts to open. Star Wars toys.

And remote control fire truck among other great gifts.

Saturday Ben and Luke had more pizza and watched movies with Aunt Lydia while Scott and I went out.

His actual birthday was today, Sunday. He started celebrating by attending Sunday School for the first time.

Then McDonald's for lunch and climbing in the play place. A quick trip to the fish store with Uncle Josh followed by an afternoon nap. Then Ben got to help Scott make pigs in a blanket for dinner.

Love that Star Wars apron!

It was then time for the birthday "campout". We ate a very specific menu, watched...what else...Clone Wars, opened presents, ate cake, took a bath, and the boys are currently tucked into their sleeping bags watching more Clone Wars episodes and eating "chocolate lightsabers" (aka chocolate covered pretzel rods).

All in all Ben has throughly enjoyed turning 3.

Winter time is here....

2011-02-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

We closed 2010 with a quiet family New Year's party where Ben ate his weight in chocolate.

We start 2011 with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa J and Uncle Kurt who came for a turkey dinner on New Years day and to watch the boys for us the following night while Scott and I headed downtown for Wicked.

Uncle Kurt tried out Scott's new Madden game.

We've spent the cold evenings inside playing with Star Wars toys. One night the boys decided to set up an epic battle....Good vs. Evil.

Good guys

Bad guys

Tough guys

Uncle Josh came to visit on another Tupperware tour and helped the boys set up the new fish tank.

We've added quite a few new pets to the tank (we've lost about half). The boys love watching their fish swim around the dinosaur rocks in the big tank.

Since we've had a busy winter at work Grandma and Grandpa H decided to come to us to celebrate Christmas in January and the whole clan followed. Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sally and Lydia stayed at our house and Uncle Matt, Aunt Jennifer, Cole and Mya stayed at a hotel with Grandma and Grandpa. But they all hung out at our house for a big turkey dinner and some present opening. We were so glad they could spend an evening with us. It was great to see everyone.

Luke LOVED seeing his littlest cousin, Lydia. She's getting so big and has such a personality.

All the cousins! Lydia seems a little concerned...

The rest of January has been filled with dress up, battles, trucks, cars, Star Wars and snow.

ARRRGGGG!

Yes, Blizzard 2011 was a big deal in Chicago. We had 12 straight hours of heavy snow. Plenty of wind gusts to move everything around. And spent 4 hours digging out our driveway. We didn't even get to our sidewalks until a week and a half later.

Our car

The boys were SOOOOO excited to see all that snow.

No swinging today!

The gusts made a perfect circle around our magnolia tree

No getting out the back door

Our plow guy was exhausted

So was his supervisor

But the neighbor's new tree looked beautiful.

As we moved into February Luke had to make the treats for his school Valentine party so of course we had to break out the new Star Wars cookie cutters (thanks G&G H!)

Ben was so excited to try out each of the characters. "Look it's Yoda!"

Luke made Millennium Falcons for the boys and heart shaped cookies for the girls. He had a blast with the new cookie cutters.

I'm sure many of you saw the Darth Vader commercial during the Super Bowl. What you have to understand is that it was a very good representation of everyday life at our house.

Pirate Vader!

Using the force

Needless to say there's never a dull moment around this house.

Christmas Time....

2011-01-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

December has come and gone and it was great.

We got all the Christmas decorations up the day we got back from Thanksgiving. Luke insisted he put the star on top. (Daddy helped of course)

The boys have spent a lot of time playing with their little people Nativity set. Luke really enjoys making up his own stories including the wise men taking the front lines to protect Baby Jesus from the "bad guys".

The Sunday before Christmas was the Sunday school service. It was wonderful. All the kids did a great job. Only one or two sound problems which were simple fixes so I could handle them. :)

Again, Luke sang his heart out with his fellow preschoolers. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I hear him practice, I get teary watching him stand in front of the congregation and praise his Savior.

After the service the boys wanted pictures with the real Star of the show.

The new addition to our Christmas decorations this year is a "sock with Ben's name on it!". Thank you, Lea, for whipping up this creation so Ben didn't have to worry that Luke was the only getting "sock" gifts.

We headed for Wisconsin after an afternoon in urgent care with Scott. He's on the mend, but the doctor told him no alcohol or fatty foods for Christmas...lame, right? He was very good all break and has set himself up for a healthy new year.

Once in Wisconsin the boys enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa J's house.

Reading books with Uncle Josh...

Playing in Uncle Chad's gym with Uncle Kurt and cousins Maddie and Emma...

Watching countless Christmas movies with cousin Lilly...

Cuddling with Grandpa...

and Uncle Chad...

and Grandma.

And there was the traditional decorating of the Christmas cookies. Most years I can get the kids to decorate about 4 cookies before they either lose interest or give up cause they can't eat them. This year Luke, Maddie, Emma, and Ben blew through 3 dozen cookies in about 10 minutes.

I actually had to set aside 4 cookies so I could decorate too. Lilly wandering into the room after the other kids left so I let her help me with the last few.

She was so patient and didn't try to scoop the sprinkles right into her mouth. The only fussing she did was when I told her there were no more to decorate.

Ben wasn't as excited about cuddling as Luke.

To clarify, Ben wasn't excited about sharing Grandpa's lap with Uncle Chad.

Christmas Eve the WHOLE family went to church and we had the opportunity to sing during the offering. Scott even joined the family "choir" this year. After church we took advantage of the large space to get our family pictures taken.

Chad, Erin, Maddie, Emma, and Lilly

Ben and Christina Janetzke's first Christmas

(try to ignore the 4 year old attached to Uncle Ben's leg)

Grandma and Grandpa and the Grandkids

The whole clan. We've officially outgrown pictures in the living room.

The Grandkids, hard to believe they're all big kids we can just line up for a picture.

Chad was taking pictures with all his girls so I got in line too. This was the 30th anniversary of our first Christmas together. Back then we were the only kids in the house.

Ben and Aunt Christina working on a puzzle Christmas morning.

After gift opening on Christmas Eve, the boys had no idea the pile that would be waiting for them the next morning. They both got lots of fun toys, games, and movies. The only bummer is we don't let them play with everything till we get back to our house.

Luke's big gift was a little tikes grill which Grandpa put together so he could cook us hot dogs for Christmas dinner.

Ben's big gift, an At At Walker from Empire Strikes Back. He spent all day playing quietly in the corner.

Kurt's big gift was Wii Resort. He tried all the games.

He also discovered he doesn't like playing with mom, she kept beating him.

Dad tried the wake boarding but was having a hard time figuring it out, so Josh offered to help...

It was a short but restful trip to Wisconsin and we had a wonderful Christmas.

Summing Up...

2010-12-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

So the last few months have been, as usual, busy. I hadn't realized my posts had tapered off that seriously. In order to keep caught up in time for Christmas posts next week, here's a quick tour of our fall.

October brought a visit from Scott's folks. The boys love when their grandparents come. We decided to take Grandpa to "the Tank Place", aka Cantigny. For anyone who loves history, beautiful gardens, or needs a free place to take their kids to climb around, this is the place!

Time to the see the tanks!

Even the war museum is hands on.

Luke got to meet a Civil War soldier.

And see some of the guns they would have used. Luke thought maybe he'd get to take one home. He had to settle for a plastic one from the gift shop.

We loved having Grandma and Grandpa spend the weekend with us.

The following weekend was my birthday.

We started the weekend off with a trip to County Line Orchard on a beautiful Friday afternoon.

The boys LOVED the tractor rides to the different fields.

They each picked a pumpkin

And quickly filled up a big bag with apples right off the tree.

We finished with a ride on the Moo Moo Choo Choo.

Scott wasn't completely sold on joining the boys on the trip but the boys had a blast.

Sunday we celebrated 7 years of marriage with Chinese Food.

Then Monday my boys started my birthday with breakfast in bed. Then Scott sent me off to the movies with Katrina. When I got home....

This is what was waiting for me.

"Welcome to our restaurant!"

I didn't think Scott knew we had china!

We had a great dinner, grilled salmon. The boys asked me to dance to the dinner music. And Scott got me Wicked tickets, which we will be using January 2nd! It was the best way to turn 30. They made me feel like a queen.

We ended October with GLOW. Now, I want to clarify that I am NOT recycling last year's pictures, our boys just decided to wear the exact same costumes, and since Ben didn't grow much, they both fit into them.

The Friday before Trinity had "superhero day". Scott had dressed as "Global Guardian" so I surprised him with two sidekicks, "Longitude and Latitude".

We move right along to Thanksgiving. Luke had a very nice brunch at preschool. He got to dress as a pilgrim. Scott was testifying at court that day so Luke got dressed up again to show Daddy.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We headed to St. Charles for a wonderful weekend of turkey and hanging out with family.

Luke and baby Lydia

And now we're baking cookies, wrapping presents, practicing Christmas songs, and counting down the days till CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Birthdays, Baseball, and Brothers

2010-09-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy few weeks.

Luke ended his first day of school with a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.

Playing Daddy in air hockey.

Ha ha! Score!

Ben's favorite...a fishing game.

Whack a Shark!

Luke's party guests.

Katrina, Luke, Tiffany, Ben, and Emily

We had a great afternoon.

On Luke's birthday he got to spend the whole afternoon with Uncle Ben and Aunt Christina who came to visit for his birthday.

Trip to the "river".

The Ben-s!

Third baseball birthday cake for the third year in the row.

Luke's gift from Mommy and Daddy...a fish tank.

We started with two...the spotted one didn't make it. We now have 3.

Dora, Diego, and Jaguar.

We spent Labor Day Weekend in Germantown.

The boys had a great weekend with Grandma, Grandpa and many Aunts and Uncles.

Luke got a new Albert poster from Uncle Nate...it should fit on his wall. We'll see...

Sunday after church we sat down to a lasagna lunch and then packed up for the BEACH!

We were soooooo excited to spend the day at the beach with the family...

Ben could hardly contain his excitement. He slept the whole way there.

Luke got to go fishing with Daddy and Grandpa and caught a tree!

Ben spent his time trying to catch seagulls, making sand castles with Aunt Lydia, and running away from the water with Uncle Josh. He had a blast at the beach.

And Luke braved the FREEZING cold water.

The whole day was fun although a bit chilly.

Then on Labor Day Luke went with Daddy to a Brewer/Cardinals game courtesy of Uncle Chad and Aunt Erin.

Luke even took a few pictures himself.

When he wasn't snapping pictures he sat in front of Scott and intently watched the baseball action.

He got to see a Cardinal victory.

And it wiped him out.

Ben and I took Aunt Lydia to Monkey Joe's so Ben wouldn't feel too bad that Dad and Luke went to the game without him. He jumped and bounced everywhere. It was lots of fun.

Now we're into full school mode. Sunday School has begun so it's the time of year when our little family spends our weekends at home and we have to entertain ourselves.

Like last night when the boys got into a tickle fight.

Daddy won, as usual.

FIRST DAY!!!!

2010-08-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

I figured it was only fair to post this on the blog, instead of facebook, so everyone can see it.

We woke up very early this morning, so Scott could get to work on time. Luke slowly ate his breakfast, got dressed and grabbed his backpack. As a preemptive strike, I had packed Ben's backpack the night before and sure enough, he "needed" his bag before he walked out the door.

Time for school!

The Star Wars backpack!

Our big kid

Luke finally gets to go to work with Daddy.

As we walked to the classroom, our pastor asked Luke where he was going.

"To my office!" was his reply.

Waiting to go downstairs.

Unloading his backpack with Mrs. Moses.

He found his hook all by himself!

Everything's set, time to play!

And with that he said, "bye mom!" and went straight for the tool bench in the corner of the classroom. I wonder if it will ever hit him that he's on his own...

Janetzke Fest

2010-07-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm really not surprised that it's already July. We spent May and June traveling to and from our families' different celebrations.

We'll start in May with ~
Kurt's Confirmation

Kurt and Daniel

The WHOLE Janetzke family!

And the coolest part of the morning was being able to take communion as an entire family (well, at least those of us who we could squeeze up there)

After Kurt's opening house we threw in another family gathering and had a wedding shower for Ben and Christina. Scott spent 18 plus hours carefully preparing wonderful bbq pulled pork. It's was a nice evening to celebrate our new sister!

We went home to finish out the Sunday School year and came BACK to Wisconsin for Lydia's high school graduation.

Super proud of you, Lydia! Can't wait to have you closer at CUChicago

Then we went home for about 4 days and the boys and I went BACK up to Wisconsin for Kurt's 8th grade graduation.

Kurt and his Goddaughter, Lilly.

We had a very nice weekend, including an impromptu concert featuring "Jesus loves me" by Luke, Ben, and Grandma.

The NEXT weekend we headed south for a trip to St. Charles. Jen, Stacy, Stacey, and I threw Sally a baby shower. The boys laid low at Grandma's house and enjoyed some down time.

Turns out Luke liked hanging out with Maggie and Ben LOVED swimming in Aunt Jennifer's pool.

The next two weeks were fulled with preparations for VBS and Scott's last SLED conference.

VBS week came and we said bye to Scott and within hours of him leaving on his airplane our first night without Daddy was interrupted with tornado sirens. Luke, Ben, and I crammed in the hall closet until the sirens stopped. We lost power right away so the boys did what they could to stay occupied...

We found out the next day that an actual tornado touched down two blocks from our house. We only went about 20 hours without power and are thankful to God for His protection of our family and our house.

The next DAY the boys and I headed back to Wisconsin once again for the much awaited wedding of Ben and Christina!

It was a wonderful weekend and a great party. We had an awesome time. The boys were troopers and walked down the "hallway" with their cousins like pros

The bride was beautiful and the groom took everything in stride.

The wedding party was wonderful.

The siblings had a great time together.

And I can't believe my little brother is married!

The boys enjoyed the "special dinner" and the dance floor until they finally crashed from the sugar and excitement.

And a big thanks goes to Grandma and Grandpa for helping out the whole day (and night) with the boys!

We headed home that Monday and managed 3ish days at home before making the familiar trek back to Germantown for Lydia's open house and the traditional G-Town 4th of July fireworks.

We enjoyed hanging out with Drue and her boyfriend, Ryan. We got to spend time chatting with Grandma and Grandpa Bickel and we even made it down to Summerfest with Chad and Erin to see Scott's favorite band.

And now we're home. Really home. It was weird to buy fruit and veggies this week since we will actually be home to eat them. We still have no A/C but are learning to survive with a window unit in our bedroom and frequent trips to our friend's pool.

May

2010-05-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

We've had gorgeous weather this spring. Our magnolia tree filled out the end of April.

We've spent a lot of our time enjoying the backyard. Ben's caught his brother's love of baseball.

And the boys love helping Daddy dig up rocks.

Scott brought the boys a souvenir from his class trip to Springfield. They may be Confederate soldiers but Luke loves setting them up for battle. It's amazing how the classic toys never get old.

Grandma and Grandpa Huster, Great Grandma Huster, Uncle Matt, Aunt Jennifer, Cole and Mya all came to visit us for our show the beginning of May.

Cole and Luke spent Saturday in the backyard.

Of course Ben had to try it out too. (You'll notice Uncle Matt's hand on his belly)

And they showed PawPaw Ben's homework book about tractors.

The next weekend we had a lovely Mother's Day. The boys got me very nice gifts and gave lots of hugs and kisses. I even got to watch Enchanted. (I don't get to watch a lot of girlie movies at my house)

Then inspired by a small rose bush I got as a gift from a youth, I decided we needed to spruce up the area in front of our picture window. Luke and I went and bought a pair of boxwood bushes and spent the rest of Mother's Day diggin' in the dirt.

Luke loved the digging part, he found LOTS of worms.

The finished project.

Of course you can't even see the rose bush in the middle,

I'm hoping to makes a big comeback before fall.

Dinner Theatre

2010-05-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

Fools has come to an end. I have to say it has been one of our best productions yet. The kids on stage were amazing. The kids who worked behind the scenes were awesome. The work Emily and Anne did was outstanding.

The "stage" went up two weeks before show weekend. We arrived at Trinity at 8 am and didn't leave until after 5. Everything went up smooth and the results were great.

Of course Luke and Ben had to spend the whole day in Scott's room watching movies and playing with their toys. They were real troopers, we didn't hear from them and they didn't get into anything they weren't supposed to. When I came in the room at the end of the day to tell them it was finally time to pack up and head home, I found...

Needless to say, the boys are pretty happy the show is over.

Easter and Break

2010-04-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Germantown for Easter weekend and had a great time celebrating with the family. Saturday was filled with egg dyeing.

Luke loved picking phrases for the eggs...like He is Risen! and Hallelujah!

I think he's paying close attention is Sunday School.

The aunt and uncles helped out a lot!

It says "Ben!"

The traditional Easter basket shot.

Our little family.

Egg hunting!

Found one

Over there!

"Rabbit?"

Once they found all the eggs Ben started wandering the yard calling out for the Easter Bunny.

We finally had to tell him that the "rabbit" went other kids' houses to hide more eggs.

The Egg Cracking Contest...a family tradition.

Luke liked saying "He is Risen" and "Indeed, Alleluia"

Uncle Ben won our tourney but rumor is that Grandma B. won the contest in Michigan. Congrats, Grandma!

The cousins eating some ice cream.

On our way home we stopped by the bluff at CUW.

It was a little windy.

Hard to believe we met there 10 years ago.

The day we got home Scott ran an errand at Toys-R-Us.

Luke's been digging all over our yard this spring looking for worms. So we assumed it made sense to buy them a sandbox.

They both helped set everything up.

And although they've already spent many hours digging and playing with all their trucks in the sand, Luke is a little disappointed he can't find any worms at the bottom of the box.

More ice cream during spring break.

Tuesday we FINALLY got to meet Anna and Shawn's little one, Adelaide. She's ADORABLE!

And already questioning what she's gotten herself into.

Ben really didn't care for Addy, but Luke was excited to hold her. He also just loves hanging out with Shawn.

It was a fast week and we hit the ground running afterwards but we had a wonderful break.

Catching Up

2010-04-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

So apparently with Dinner Theater coming next week, I completely missed March. So here's a quick tour of our last two months...

We've learned that Ben needs his own chair.

And it's just not safe in our living room anymore.

So we headed outdoors and have spent our spring breaking in the new wagon.

And the other thing we've learned is that Luke and Ben are two peas in a pod...

even when we're not looking.

Ben-uary

2010-02-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

As I looked through the pictures from the past month, they all seemed to have one thing in common...Ben. He started the month showing us that even in his big boy bed he can get out of his footie pajamas, no problem.

He also learned the valuable lesson, that it is exhausting work pouting at Daddy for an entire evening.

I believe he was protesting dinner time when he passed out.

Everyone who sees Ben knows he is one cool kid. He wears his shades ALL the time!

We had one "warm" Saturday where Ben got to play outside with Daddy and Luke.

Daddy took the boys on a ride around the yard.

And last week we celebrated as Ben turned TWO!

We had pizza, opened presents...

SOCKS!

FRUIT SNACKS! (Yes, I wrapped up fruit snacks, that's what he kept saying he wanted for his birthday)

And then we had cake!

I had to stop him from blowing out the candle before we finished singing...I laughed and blew it out instead.

So we relit it and gave him another try.

It took a lot of spitting on the cake but he finally got it out.

And enjoyed his Mickey Mouse cake.

Then it was time for bed, in his new bed, under his new bedding from Grandma and Grandpa.

The boys loved having Grandma and Grandpa here. They spent a lot of their time cuddling with Grandma watching movies or seeing if Grandpa and Daddy needed help while they fixed the bedroom wall, the toilet, the garage door, and the insallation in the crawl.

This last week we made sure to get at least one day outside. Luke climbed a mountain!

And Ben made his own path through the snow.

And last night we had a bunch of friends over and ended up celebrating Ben's birthday again. We had pizza and cake and he even got to open a couple of presents.

Katrina bought him the missing piece to his cowboy collection. He had the horse, the boots, and we even bought him a hat for his birthday. But Katrina bought him the six shooters....and even bought a set for Luke!

Learning how to put them in the holster.

Trying some fancy shooting.

Shooting the BAD GUYS!

Ride em, Cowboy!

In all this has been a busy month. Ben is just exhausted. I'm sure being two will suit him just fine.

January

2010-02-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

We ended our month in Wisconsin. My mom and dad were traveling and had asked if I would spend the week at the house making sure everyone was fed (and didn't kill each other). So the boys and I traveled up there on Sunday evening and stay through till Thursday night. It was a fun week. Not many activities but it has been awhile since I've seen the everyday life of my siblings. I got to help Kendra study for a test for school. I got to hear about Lydia's new job. And I even got to pick Kurt up from practice to hear all about the team.

On Wednesday night we managed to get the entire sibling faction (minus Scott) up to the house for dinner. The cousins had a blast playing down the basement for much of the evening.

Then it was time for some new Aunt bonding time.

And some cousin/crazy Uncle time.

But the boys newest game they made up at Grandma and Grandpa's is the horsey game. Luke actually lets Ben grab him around the neck and "ride" him across the living room. I have video of it but it won't load for me. I did post it on facebook though.

It was a fun week and I'm glad Mom and Dad had such a great trip. We're glad we could help out!

The other big news from January is Ben's graduation.

He's now sleeping in his very own big boy bed. We would've waited a little while but he has just recently shown interest in climbing in and out of his crib, so we figured it would be safer to put him closer to the floor.

Posing in his new bed

Cheese!

Tucked in for the night. Notice the giant Elmo and firetruck couch....they're the only safety precautions for falling out. Unfortunately we found out this week that they don't work. He's fallen onto the floor about 5 times since Saturday night. We're working on finding a safety rail.

Vegas, Baby!

2010-02-06T06:57:00.001-08:00

Scott traveled to Las Vegas last month for a SLED/POLS conference. The boys and I missed him a lot but knew it was a great experience for him.

We helped him pack up on Wednesday morning. Luke and Ben then packed their own bag. Luke found his Elmo laptop and put it in his "briefcase" and Ben made sure he had his "watch". And they both got dressed for work.

Scott went to the conference with his principal, Steve.

They had quite a few adventures during their trip, including leaving a library book on the plane, almost losing their hotel room, and waiting 4 hours for a pizza. Needless to say, they could've used their wives on the trip! But they made the best of it. Their last evening in Vegas one of the area principals took them on a driving tour of the state park just outside the city. It was a highlight for Scott, who has never seen mountains before.

But don't worry, they enjoyed the traditional highlights of the city too!

Scott said the buffet was AMAZING!

Pizza Night!

2010-01-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

The rest of our Christmas break was very relaxing. We spent a lot of time relaxing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I did get a chance to spend an afternoon with Anna helping "prepare" for Baby D. Then Shawn and Anna came over to see the boys. Luke was excited to see them. But the real story from the week was Ben and his office. Grandma has a great set up in the back bedroom. Not only is there a shelf of toys but there's a tv with cable hooked up so Nick Jr. and Disney can play alllllllll day long. Ben spent every waking moment in that room. And you could usually find him sittin

g in or on a laundry basket. Yep, that's how Ben spent his Christmas break. In a basket.

Luke would join him if the show was REALLY good.

We ended our break with a family tradition...PIZZA NIGHT!

Aunt Jan and Uncle Steve and the girls (and boys) come over to make homemade pizzas. It was a great night. Luke loved playing with baby Sophia.

He tried to cheer her up with peek a boo.

And the kids even helped with the pizza dough. Luke and Sam were very good listeners.

Daddy helped smoosh down the dough.

Sam and Aunt Jan work on a crust together.

Ben let the other kids in on the great basket seat idea.

Then Ben took a turn making some crust.

Aunt Jan teaches Ben correct techinque.

After dinner Ben and Sophia spend some time discussing life at the bottom.

Great Grandma and Ben talk about Luke's new cars.

We were going to leave for home the next day but holiday food and exhaustion from late nights caught up with me and my tummy didn't let us leave until Monday morning. We can't wait to be back in St. Charles!

Christmas Day

2010-01-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

The boys slept in till 9 Christmas morning. In fact we ended up getting them out of bed. They ran right downstairs to check the plate of cookies they had left for Santa. He had eaten all the cookies and left them a very nice thank you note. And they jumped right in to the gifts.

It was just a small pile from Santa (and from Mommy and Daddy)

Luke's "big" present was his first remote control car. It was a little disappointing at first, the batteries didn't work right but once we got a new set it ran great.

And Ben's "big" gift was of all things a baby. He plays with every baby doll he finds so we figured he could use one of his own since we don't have any at our house.

After a great day of relaxing and watching movies the rest of the family came over for the Grandma and Grandpa portion of our holiday. The kids tried to wait patiently...

Unfortunately Ben got tired of waiting for all his cousins' turns opening presents and decided to protest by laying face down in the middle of the living room floor whenever he wasn't opening a present.

Don't worry, he had PLENTY to open...

Sally made sure to get a picture of one half of the presents we all opened that night.

The most popular toy that evening was the toy Ben got from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sally. It's amazing how the classics never get old.

Both of the boys are still completely enthralled by the jack in the box. In true Elf fashion it brings shock and giggles.

It was a wonderful night to spend with the family after their busy day. Luke and Ben love seeing their cousins and Aunts and Uncles.

Christmas time!

2009-12-31T09:13:00.000-08:00

We made it to St. Charles for our break in record time. The boys got started making themselves at home. And even managed to get a card game in before bed. (They're definately Bickels)

Wednesday night we headed to Great Grandma's house for Christmas dinner with the whole family. And after dinner....Santa showed up! Luke was glad he came but didn't want to get too close. Ben knew that big bag had gifts in it so he made sure he was first in line.

As the night wore on Luke decided to get comfy and relaxed on Uncle Les.

Christmas Eve we went to church with Paw Paw and then took some pictures in front of Grandma's pretty tree.

I didn't even have to set them up for this pic!

The best family picture after Ben decided he was done smiling for the camera.

And right before everyone came over for the Miller party, Santa stopped by! We thought they might like to spend some time with him without a whole bunch of other kids around. It didn't matter...Luke still kept to the other side of the room and Ben went right up the big guy and sat on his lap. Amazing how a beard and red suit can fool a 3 year old.

Tried to get a cousin picture...Mya was all about it. She was the only one. They're holding cookies which we used as bribes, Ben took his cookie and ran.

Ben and Uncle Jeff hanging out on the stairs

Scott read a story about Santa reminding a little boy about Jesus being the true reason for Christmas.

And then there were lots of gifts to open.

And after everyone left we set out cookies and milk (and carrots for the reindeer).

Getting Ready for Christmas

2009-12-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been interesting getting ready for the holidays.

Ben's had a very big interest in not wearing diapers. He thinks he's ready for big boy pants...

I can't wait to show his girlfriend!

We did take a day to bake some Christmas cookies. Luke and Ben did a great job helping me decorate them with LOTS of sugar.

It was controlled chaos.

Showing off the new aprons (gotta love Target's dollar bin!)

Luke liked picking a color and dumping ALL the sugar on the cookie.

Here are the ones the boys finished before they couldn't stand sitting still anymore.

Ben's in the "cheese" phase. Everytime he sees a camera he does that creepy smile and says "cheese" nice and loud.

It's not always pretty...

Wearing his Christmas sweater and eating lunch before nap...think he's ready to sleep?

Saturday before Christmas we had our Sunday School Christmas service. It went real smooth. The kids sounded great. The highlight was that this was Luke's first service. He did so great walking right up front and standing in the very middle of the kids singing his heart out. We could see his little face shining as he sang Joy to the World and O Come Little Children. It was awesome. I told Scott I now understand why parents video tape their kids in church. I wish I could share that sweet moment with everyone. Luke did a great job singing about his Savior!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

STAR WARS CONCERT!

2009-12-14T12:42:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday we took Luke on a very special Christmas trip. Ok, so the theme for the afternoon wasn't Christmas like at all...but we had to pay full price for Luke's ticket so it definately fell under Christmas present category! Anyway, we took a trip to the United Center for "Star Wars in Concert". It's a show that combines a giant HD screen of clips from the films with a live orchestra. It was awesome. As we walked to our seats we saw storm troopers and Jedi posing with fans.

And all around the lower level they had real costumes from the movie. Like everyone's favorite wookie...

Or C3 PO

Or the Ewoks (they're the ones in the case)

They also had Yoda and Darth Vader but we were nearly trampled to see the first few so there was no way we were squeezing through to see any more.

Then we found our seats. They were high, but the screen was so huge, it didn't matter where you sat. Luke seemed nervous by our height and the loud sound effects coming from the speakers before the show started. In fact when the music began with the 20th Century Fox theme he had his head pressed against me with both ears covered. But the second they started the main Star Wars theme, his head popped up and he spent the rest of the concert like this...

Luke made sure Scott and Neil clapped after each movement and then he would turn to Scott and ask if we could stay for "one more, Daddy?"

He hummed along with Vader's march and giggled when they said "Luke".

It was a great trip. Totally worth taking my obessed 3 year old and 30 year old. And thanks to Neil for coming along.

The Royal Symphony Orchestra (all the way from England)

Count down to Christmas

2009-12-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas countdown started with Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful weekend up in Wisconsin. Laid back and full of family, just the way we like it. Mom and Dad managed to squeeze us all into the sunporch for a sit down meal. And the boys loved playing with their cousins. And sibling bonding night was a blast too! Here are some highlights...

The Ben's watching TV....we told Uncle Ben he had outgrown the chance to lounge like little Ben.

Uncle Chad, Maddie, and Ben reading before bed.

Grandma was on top of Christmas this year and we all got our presents before we left. The boys LOVE their "video game" (a VSmile)

On Saturday our whole gang (minus a few) traveled to Racine for a "baby shower" to celebrate the new Davis that's on the way. The boys decided a front yard football game was in order and of course Luke had to be in the middle of it. (Mostly cause Uncle Nate was playing)

Uncle Nate let him hike the ball!

Ben eating dessert with the mom to be!

A great turn out of Bickels! It's was so nice to be able to spend an afternoon with everyone there.

And as is tradition, we ended our Thanksgiving weekend by hauling down the decorations and putting up the tree.

Ben was so excited to check out all the ornaments.

And Santa's little helpers put on their hats (they insisted on wearing them).

We've also made some craft projects and baking to do for Christmas gifts so the boys got brand new aprons to keep their clothes stain free.

Growing Boys

2009-11-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

Don't get too excited, I don't have new pictures. I thought it was time for a quick update. Since last post we've reached a couple of milestones.

First- Ben decided the other night that he needed to sit on the Elmo potty seat. He took off his pants and climbed up on the toilet. I gave him a book to read and left to check on Luke. When I came back Ben had managed to create a little puddle on the seat in front of him. Now I know it was a totally fluke, but I felt the need to make a big deal out of it. Ben got to call his grandparents and he got a potty treat (a skittle). Now he walks around the house holding his butt and saying "poop potty". It's exciting to imagine our next potty training experience might go smoothly.

Second- No one probably thinks this is nearly as exciting as I do but Luke washed his first strainer-full of dishes! Dishes are at the top of my most hated chores list so the idea that I can almost let "the kids" do them makes me crazy excited! I know it's weird. But I couldn't stop smiling while he scrubbed his little bowls and plates.

We're slowing preparing for Christmas. I think Luke's sick of us telling him to tell Santa when he says a toy he wants. But he's really looking forward to all the baking we get to do.

Fall Fun

2009-11-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Ben discovered leaves this fall. He was a little unsure when I piled them all in the front yard. After one leap, he was hooked.

He loved throwing the leaves up in the air.

We've only had a handful of days that haven't been cold and rainy. Daddy got to play with us one of those days last weekend.

Yum! Doritos with Daddy!

And of course Daddy came up with the great idea to rake all the leaves at the bottom of the slide. Luke is convinced his dad's a genius!

Nothing says fall better than playing football in a leaf pile!

And fall wouldn't be complete without the trip to find a pumpkin. It was very cold and rainy that day, but we only had a short amount of time anyway, so it was alright.

So many choices...

Luke was SURE we needed a "biiiiig" pumpkin. I told him there wasn't room in the van.

Following Uncle Kurt with our pumpkin choice.

Mr. J Sir!

2009-11-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I got the opportunity to attend a dinner for my dad. Many of the churchworkers from the South Wisconsin District wanted to thank him for the awesome ministry support he offered them while he served for the district. It was a beautiful evening and I don't know anyone who deserved it more. It was especially awesome to be one of his seven kids, all of who plan to serve God in whatever career He has called us to.

Our Baby

2009-11-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

Scott and Ben have been enjoying their Sunday morning bonding time now that Luke comes to Sunday School with me. Here are the pictures of Ben taking part in his favorite new pastime...reading.

Catching a little of the football game.

He has his daddy wrapped around his cute little finger.

Reformation 09

2009-11-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

Our Dark Side of the Force...

Well, G.L.O.W. has been here and gone. The boys had a blast playing all the carnival games. Luke's favorite was the giant basketball hoop. Ben loved playing in the water at the matching boats game.

Mostly they enjoyed the idea that they both have a big bag of candy to work on.

Here they are with their pumpkins from the pumpkin store.

Showing off their weapons.

Luke refused to put the mask over his face.

After playing all the games the boys took a Winnie the Pooh break in my office. I've never seen Ben that transfixed on a movie before. He didn't blink for 10 minutes.

A Preview

2009-10-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

We were going to go the cheap route this year and recycle costumes. Then I walked through Kmart's costume section and found a something for Ben. Now we have a theme. We'll get real pictures on Saturday but thought you all might enjoy a little sneak peak...

Luke as Luke in Episode 4 (he won't wear either helmet)

Combining their dark side of the force.

"Luke, I am your brother."

Birthdays

2009-10-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

On my birthday Mom, Dad, Josh, Kendra, Lydia, and Kurt joined us for church and spent the afternoon enjoying fiesta, Prince Caspian, and chocolate cake (which Ben REALLY liked!)

On the following Tuesday, me and the boys headed for St. Charles for some much needed Grandma and Grandpa bonding time. They decided to invite everyone over for pizza and cake to celebrate Luke's birthday.

There was a certain theme to the evening. Luke got a storm trooper outfit...

A Star Wars tent (spaceship)...

And a blaster to complete all Luke's Star Wars needs.

Ben was more than content to get in a lot of Paw Paw cuddling.

And we talked to Daddy before bed cause we were sad he couldn't travel with us.

The baby doll spent a lot of time with Ben while we were visiting. Apparently he doesn't see a lot of them at his house.

Jenny and Adam Kader

2009-10-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful anniversary. Mom and Dad, Chad and Erin, and Scott and I were able to attend Adam Kader's wedding. It was at a beautiful Catholic church in Chicago and the reception was on the 66th floor of the Sears (Willis) Tower. Mary Ann even had the DJ dedicate a song to Scott and I for our 6th anniversary. It was very sweet. We had a great time!

Playing Outside

2009-10-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Luke and Ben Show

2009-10-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Life has cranked into high gear and we just keep going and going. Lately we've been filling our days and nights being entertained by our sons. Here's a look at what we've been up to.
With the colder weather we decided to get out our old coats to see who would need new ones. Consistent with the fact that our boys are squirts, they both fit into their coats from last winter.

Here's Ben lounging in his coat while still in his pjs.

Daddy came up with a truck rolling game in the hallway.

Tickle, tickle, Luke!

Ready, Set, Go!

Yes, those are his pajama pants.

Me and the boys traveled to Wisconsin for Grandpa J's birthday. We had a great day relaxing with the family. Right before bed Luke and Uncle Ben did some football training.

Um, facemask, Uncle Ben!

The boys also got to sit and watch movies with their cousins, Emma and Maddie.

This is the damage Ben can do with an oreo.

Digging for rocks

The crew.

Too cute for the construction site if you ask me.

Luke and Daddy's football lessons.

And our favorite Storm Trooper Bobble Head!

Luke's Wa Wa Park Party

2009-09-14T07:12:00.000-07:00

The hotel we were at for Jenny's wedding had a waterpark so Sunday morning Luke and his uncles and "aunt" and cousins got to play around for a couple of hours.

Luke loved floating in the lazy river with Scott. He especially liked the whirlpool in the middle.

And all Maddie wanted was to relax in the kids' hot tub with her dad.

Then we all decesended on Grandma and Grandpa Bickel's house. The grandkids and great grands headed straight for the channel.

Uncle Kurt helped Luke try to catch some fish.

Aunts and Uncles, Nieces and Nephews, everyone loves being by the channel.

Luke got to celebrate his birthday with all kinds of family around. So we ate some pizza and then opened presents.

This is the next book in Luke's collection of Narina. He loves hearing the lion books and now he'll get to watch the second movie!

"Thank You"

Aunt Kendra outdid herself and got Luke the ultimate gift...a storm trooper helmet.

It went well with his Star Wars cake. (complete with star candles...thank you Grandma!)

There's Luke Trooper

And Daddy Trooper

And Brother Trooper

And even Grandpa Trooper (doesn't his mom look proud!)

The boys headed for the front yard to play some wiffle ball. Even Great Grandpa got a few swings in. Apparently this shot was just before Grandpa hit a line drive at Chad's head. Go Grandpa!

The playing field.

And Ben and Luke on defense (which is a new word in his vocab, thanks to coaches/uncles!)

One of the coolest things about the evening was Luke got to celebrate a birthday with 3 of his great grandparents (and an adopted Great Grandma!). It's a lot of fun to watch these generations interact with each other.

And my personal favorite....

Great Grandpa Trooper!

Jenny's wedding

2009-09-09T08:07:00.000-07:00

Labor Day Weekend was filled with a trip to Michigan to celebrate a wedding for my cousin Jenny. It was a great way to spend my last "free" weekend until May. The ceremony was beautiful. Afterwards we went and checked into our hotel. The whole fam managed to fit into three hotel rooms and we spent the afternoon relaxing.

"Go Mizzou!"

Scott trying to teach Ben the finer points of Missouri football.

The Bens doing a little Cha Cha

Cheese!

Hard to believe their mothers used to dress them in matching outfits!

Thanks go to Lydia for giving us a kid free end to the evening. We actually got to enjoy some time on the dance floor without crying boys. Josh even got in on the action!

Maddie doing the Cha Cha

Lilly chillin with Grandpa

Uncle Ben and the future Aunt Christina

Luke insisted on drinking everything out of his coffee cup. And we had to clink glasses everytime he took a drink.

And Emma needed to use the champagne glass (don't worry it's just sugar water)

The wedding reception was very kid friendly, which we loved. And the open bar made it very grown up friendly too! Thanks for a great time, Jenny and Alan! Blessings on your future together!

Luke's 3!

2009-08-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Luke turned 3 on Wednesday. We had Emily and Katrina come over to help us eat some spaghetti, corn on the cob, and baseball birthday cake.

I think Luke asked for another baseball cake cause that's all I can decorate.

Cheese! (look at that shiner!)

What's this?

Star Wars toys!

And from Mom and Dad...

a fire truck couch to relax on with Ben...

and sleep on for a camp out with Daddy that night.

BEN

2009-08-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

I never understood the big deal with having boys. I was surrounding by them growing up. It never seemed like a whole lot of trouble. Boy was I wrong! Luke had me completely fooled. A little hyper but mostly easy going.

Then came Ben. This kid does it all. Climbs on the highest fort, dives under water in the bathtub, takes on an entire hive of yellowjackets and Sunday, lands on his forehead off one of Scott's desk chairs. Now, one might think no big deal. The boy got a goose egg the size of a golf ball. And course it didn't go down after an hour of (on and off) ice. It didn't go down after a three hour nap. If fact, it is now Tuesday and it still looks AWFUL. But the doctor said the bump was more to bother mom, not an actual problem (she also remembered taking the call when Ben got stung a dozen times). These are the pictures. I don't know if you can tell just how ugly his little head is, but if this boy doesn't give me gray hairs it will be a miracle.

My three boys

2009-08-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

We spend a lot of our evenings trying to entertain ourselves. Friday night was no exception. Scott, Luke, and Ben "broke" in Luke's new lightsaber.

And all heck broke loose. I got a ton of pictures of my three boys playing around in the living room (I find it safer to observe from the rocking chair)

Thumbs up!

We've got him pinned!

Can't get enough Daddy time!

Daddy and Ben take a picture of me and my Luke.

10 years? Really?

2009-08-20T19:13:00.001-07:00

So, I'm old. Me and the boys traveled to Wixom, MI this past weekend to attend my 10 year high school reunion. It was a nice small gathering. Not that there could be a real big turn out since there were only 57 in my graduating class. Anyway, it was a great time. I am still in awe of the number of babies we had among us. It was great to see everyone and catch up on where God has taken us over the last 10 years. I hope to reconnect with many classmates before another 10 years goes by!

The group who came (minus Jessica and Katie who left early)

Organizing these people should've been easier, they're grown ups now!

Sam! (that's for you Grandma J!)

Luke and Sam trading stories about what their mommies are like at home.

Ben teaching Sam the fine art of chair and table climbing.

Me and Steph (and Sam of course) after a quick dinner.

Then on our way home Sunday I realized I'm not that old. We spent the afternoon with a few of Scott's friends from high school and they graduated TWELVE years ago...who's old now! We had a great time letting the boys run around with the other kids and dinner was DELICIOUS! (Thanks Katrina and Nathan!)

Scott and his new buddy Rhylah

Ben and his tomato supplier, Heather.

Time in Dimondale

2009-08-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I love that we live so close to my grandparents. When I found out my 10 year high school reunion would be close by, we decided to bunk with Grandma and Grandpa B.

Luke got to see the "Big Wa Wa" that is in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. He looked like all of us grandchildren sitting on the wall with his lifejacket on. He did hook a teeny bass but couldn't quite get the hook set. It was fun to watch.

And of course Great Grandma made sure they had some ice cream before getting ready for bed.

Ben loves reading on Great Grandpa's lap. I don't think Grandpa is used to jumping around a story the way Ben turns pages.

And I love seeing Grandpa and his great grandsons playing together. There just aren't many of us who have an opportunity like that. They started an alphabet train puzzle but only got up to H before they turned their attention to the toy box on wheels (Eldor and Dorothy grandkids know which box I mean!)
We were glad to have some alone time with the Grandparents and look forward to crashing at their place again soon! (say in a couple of weeks?)

Boys will be boys

2009-08-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Two bananas - $1, two bowls of cheerios - $.38, matching family reunion shirts - $0,

watching tv with your brother in your underwater - priceless

We've had a full couple of weeks. The kitchen still makes me smile everytime I walk by and see the pretty blue. Our Wednesday afternoon was rattled last week when Ben happened upon a bee's nest and was attacked by 2 or 3 dozen bees. He ended up with 10 stings on his legs and 1 on his arm. Scott and I even managed to attract a few while trying to detach those evil little things from my baby's body. He was a trooper though, the doctor told us to give him some Benadryl. We had a hang over toddler the next morning but other than that we can barely tell where he was stung. He did spend this evening yell "no" at the gnats that were flying by his face...I wouldn't blame him for hating bugs forever.

On a lighter note, Uncle Ben (not to be confused with our Ben) came to see us Saturday. It was a nice relaxing afternoon of grilling, swimming and Mario Kart. Luke loved having a grown up who would play with him, Ben just kept trying to figure out why that guy looked so familiar. Thanks for coming, Uncle Ben!

Our Kitchen Adventure

2009-08-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Our kitchen is done! For many of you who haven't been to our house, you cannot know the difference a little paint has made in our little cave of a kitchen. For those of you who have been to our house, you will not believe the difference a little paint has made in our little cave of a kitchen.

Let me take you on a little tour...

I know it's hard to see but this was the state of our kitchen walls when we moved in 3 years ago. Since the color isn't very good on that picture, I've included the next one to give you an idea what the color was.

So a year ago I decided to see how hard it would be to remove the paper. It came off in about a day and half and our walls were bare for 12 months...

Scott sanded and puttied

and Saturday our friend Katrina came over and we primed...

and we painted. Beach White on top, Cloudy Day on the bottom. It went really fast and we're SO happy with the results. Now everyone should come over and visit!

And as you can see, Mom, we moved the white pantry over to the wall and so the area right next to the fridge (under the light) is open, the room seems 6 feet bigger...figured you be excited for us!

VACATION!

2009-07-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

We've been talking about it for months and now our vacation week has come and gone so quickly! We had a great time spending the week with Scott's family at the Lake of the Ozarks. Saturday evening the boys got right down to business and caught some fish and that trend continued throughout the first half of the week. Many days were spent swimming, fishing, and playing with cousins. We had a special day of mini golf with Uncle Matt, Aunt Jen, Cole and Mya. And there was even a treasure hunt. Cole found an old bottle that had washed ashore with a treasure map inside and the 4 kids (along with 2 more "big kids") went on a hunt. They found quarters and dimes marked with red x's and then a big X with four treasure boxes under it. They had so much fun and Luke walked around all day saying Yo Ho Ho, Mateys! After relaxing by the lake we ended our vacation at Busch Stadium where I surprised Scott by having his entire immediate family meet us at the game. There were 11 of us in all and it was a great time. Thanks, Jen and Matt for helping me get it all together. All in all it was a great week. It was mostly wonderful due to my live in nanny who spend almost two weeks with her two nephews. WE LOVE YOU AUNT LYDIA! Thanks for putting up with us. You truly made it a great trip!

Here are the snapshots from our trip...

Bickel Camp

2009-07-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad we decided to sneak up to Michigan for at least one day of Bickel Camp. It was a great time as always. The boys had a blast playing with cousins, and second cousins and first cousins once removed and of course Great Uncles. I loved catching up with all my cousins, the newly married and the new parents (Nicole). It was especially great to help celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary. Everyone's songs were great. I think they really captured the last 6 decades. Of course the part I will cerish was our closing devotions when Grandpa took the opportunity to remind his family (of 60+ members) to keep our eyes on Jesus. It reminds me how blessed I am to have my amazing Christian family. I'm excited to share it all with my own family, especially my boys.

Here are the pictures to highlight our great time in Hartland.

Best Week Ever

2009-07-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

So Scott's 30th birthday really turned out great. If I could take credit for it...I would! Here's how our week in STL went...
Monday - Scott went fishing with his little brother and caught TONS of fish. Came back bright red but loved every hour out there.
Tuesday - Zoo with the boys. Both boys were very good. We saw monkeys (Ben's favorite) and "nakes" (Luke's favorite?) It wasn't very hot that week so we didn't sweat to death walking around the zoo.
Wednesday - The whole fam was together for Scott's steak dinner. Scott got Cardinal tickets for a game next weekend. It was a great night to be outside and everyone was having a great time until...Luke was more focused on the lightning bug he was trying to catch than the 4 foot drop on to concrete below him. He ended up with a fairly good sized goose egg and his daddy stressed out and kept asking if we should take him to the ER. But Luke was a brave kid and the swelling was gone by the next afternoon so it was alright. He's been using a lot more words lately so we think he might have shook something loose. =P
Thursday - Grant's farm with Shawn, Anna, (and Baby D). Luke loved riding the "train" and he made us wait until he had pet every baby goat (totally Uncle Josh's influence!).
Friday - We were scheduled to leave in the afternoon...until Scott found out his favorite band of all time was playing a FREE concert on the riverfront in STL. We headed down there with Jen, Matt, and Cole. We met Jeff and Sally and Shawn and Anna (and Baby D). It was nice and laid back and aside from the very long line to get back on the Metro it was a great time.
All in all, Scott couldn't have fit anymore of his favorite things into the week, so I hope he feels like we celebrated his 30 years!

"Wa Wa Paw"

2009-06-27T21:52:00.001-07:00

Luke and Ben traveled to Noah's Ark in the Dells with Grandma during my last day of vbs. Here's a little footage of the fun they had without their parents...

And some pictures...

Thanks for letting the boys have so much fun at the "Wa Wa Paw" with you guys! I'm sure we'll plan another trip for next year!

How can I have s'more when I haven't had any yet?

2009-06-17T20:24:00.001-07:00

Last Friday we had a group of friends over for our annual "Matteson Fest" bar-b-que. It was a blast. We even had Grandpa and Grandma J and Lydia and Kurt* join us. (*he sat inside and watched game 7 of stanley cup) We ended our cook out with s'mores. I was impressed that everyone made at least one. And Luke made a few. The boys had fun eating them although I'm pretty sure Ben may still have pieces of marshmallow on him.

There's no way Mom meant for me to have this much sugar...what's the catch?

Did I get any on me?

Cheese!

Feeling the sugar buzz

Trip to STL

2009-06-08T12:43:00.001-07:00

We took off right after school got out Friday morning and drove to St. Charles. Friday evening we spent at Jen and Matt's house to "wa wa in Cole, Wall-e" (swim in Cole's pool in Wall-e trunks)

Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt fed us hot dogs, brats, and cupcakes!

Luke LOVED being able to follow his cousin around and try to be a big boy, just like Cole.

Ben passed out on their living room floor before we could get the boys back to Grandma's for bed.

Saturday was full of tractor riding, putting our feet up to watch cartoons and playing at Stacey's house for Dan and Erin's graduation party.

Luke and Ben did some tractor riding on Sunday as well.

AND THEN....Luke and I tagged along with Scott and his cousins, Dan and Katie to a CARDINAL GAME! It was Luke's first time at Busch and he loved every second of it. We had the sweetest seats I've ever sat in for a MLB game (third row, ya know, where they still use letters for the rows instead of numbers). Everything was exciting, watching the team warm up, watching the dog catch frisbees on the field, seeing EVERY Cardinal logo as we walked around. Grandma told him to pick out something at the Cardinal store and bring something back for Ben. Luke carefully picked out a bat and ball set for himself and a glove and ball set for Ben. The glove came in very handy as he played shadowball with himself throughout the first 4 innings.

He tried to follow his daddy's example on how to behave at a game even during the national anthem.

Scott and I both enjoyed watching Luke's sense of wonder throughout the afternoon and even though the Cardinals lost (to the Rockies ={ ) Luke gave the whole experience two thumbs up.

Playgrounds, Parties, School, and BIG Slides

2009-06-03T20:47:00.001-07:00

We start with Saturday when the boys watched Scott cut the grass

Then we went to a graduation party where Scott and Luke jumped

On Sunday we went to the park to play ball!

And go down the big slide

On Monday it was back to work

(Luke found one of Scott's old name badges and set up his own tutoring session for Ben)

On Wednesday we went to the school picnic where Luke decided the big blow up slide was too much so he opted for the playground until...

Ben went down the slide with Scott

Then Luke needed to go...and he went about a dozen times with a bunch of sweet 6th grade girls

The school picnic isn't complete without the traditional snow cone

Ben was upset that Luke had the spoon, so he went in to grab what he could.

Then Luke suckered some 8th grade girls to take him in the obstacle course. He kept stopping to get nervous but they plugged along and made it through, up and

over!

Grandpa Ben

2009-06-02T19:46:00.001-07:00

So I haven't downloaded any new pictures from the last week but I feel I should share the best picture from our Memorial Day trip to Wisconsin. (I took it off Erin's blog) My boys were taken out of their church clothes that Sunday and before I could come in and locate their play clothes, they escaped into the dining room at Grandma's house. And as I came around the corner I saw...
My son, the 80 year old.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T10:09:00.001-07:00

We went up to Milwaukee for the weekend to celebrate Josh's graduation with a surprise party and to celebrate Lilly's baptism with an openhouse at Grandma's.

Luke had a great time bonding with Grandpa. They watched movies on the Dora and Elmo couches...

And Luke helped Grandpa feed the fish...

Sunday was Lilly's reaffirmation. Here she is with her Godmother, Anne, and Godfather, Uncle Kurt. Her other Godfather couldn't make it...he lives in Houston, TX.

Chad and his girls!

THE WHOLE CLAN! We can no longer take pictures indoors...

We even squeezed in a Brewers/Cardinals game on Monday before heading home. Luke and Ben stayed home with Grandma and Aunt Lydia but Maddie, Emma, and Lilly seemed to enjoy the Brewer victory.

FIRE!

2009-05-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

So Luke and Ben got a special treat on Friday morning. Every Friday morning the boys go and play at Donna's house while I teach Confirmation. This Friday Donna decided to walk the boys to her "office". She is a secretary at the Tinley Park Fire Department. That's right, they got they're own personal tour of the Fire House. And they had a blast. They drove, they climbed, they saw hoses, they saw the firefighters' beds and where they watch tv, they even saw the firefighters leave on a real call, lights, sirens, everything. It was quite an adventure!

Ben is looking at his reflection in the truck...

Jungle Gyms and Jedi Training

2009-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

We are trying our best to take advantage of all these beautiful spring days so on our walk today we went to the playground to climb around and eat our lunch.

Ben didn't quite make it home.
And after nap time Luke reminded me I had promised he could play star wars after nap. So him and Ben took on the Dark Side's lawn chairs....

Lilly

2009-05-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Lillian Joy was born May 7, 2009 at 9:09 am
7 lbs. 14 oz. 20 1/2 in.
Erin and Lily came home Saturday so we got to see them at the Heffelfingers.

Aunt Kathy enjoying her sweet new niece.

Luke was utterly taken with his new cousin. He couldn't stop touching her and stroking her hair and giving her kisses and hugs so finally I told him he could hold her...you would've thought I gave him a million bucks.
he hugged her

and talked to her and even made sure her blanket was covering her arms. We could barely get him to look away long enough to smile for the camera.

Of course after Luke held her, Ben needed to.

He only poked her in the eye once and when he was done, he was done and slipped his arm out from under her and tried to climb down. Lily took it all in stride.

After we had passed Lily around like a football we left for home but look forward to seeing Uncle Chad and all his girls next weekend for Lily reaffirmation!

It's about time...

2009-05-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

The boys and I made a trip to Milwaukee last Saturday. We had a brand new baby to see! But first we stopped in Germantown and saw the new kitchen floor at has been 7 years in the making....

anyone who has ever been to my parents' house knows the awful carpet that covered the kitchen, dining room, and hallway. It looks so fancy now! We're very excited. I hope Kurt got a couple hockey games in before the table went back in!

Yippeeeeee!

2009-05-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Scott finally broke down and let me get dsl at home so I can actually connect to the rest of the world from home! I may actually get to blog every couple of days rather than once a month when I squeeze it in at school! So here is hopefully the last catch up session I will have to do for awhile.....

Easter:

For those of you who didn't hear, Scott spent Maundy Thursday through late Saturday night in the hospital. It was an absyss on the back of his throat. (a big white spot, really gross).

They really had no reason to keep him, we found out that Saturday but all the blood work they did managed to figure out why Scott had been so tired...he had mono. We got him home for Easter and that's all I really wanted after our crazy ordeal. (a special shout out to Uncle Josh and Aunt Lydia for their awesome help during our long spring break!)

It was our first Easter at home so we tried to do all the fun things we could....

We dyed eggs...

We got all dressed up for church. (Scott stayed in bed)
We found our Easter baskets.

And raided them. CANDY!!!!!
We got Scott out of bed for our Easter dinner and a very quick Easter Egg Hunt

Ben kinda figured out the whole game about halfway through.

But by then Luke had figured out his own system.

1. Find an egg

2. Check if it is hard boiled or plastic

3. Put all filled plastic eggs in basket

4. Put all hard boiled eggs in Ben's basket to make it look like you are sharing.

We even saved eggs for an egg cracking contest with Josh, Kurt, and Lydia that night but it never happened. Maybe next year. Of course none of the ups and downs of that weekend could take away the joy of Christ's resurrection. Luke sang his alleluias loud and proud on Easter. It is awesome to see his love for Jesus.

TANKS

2009-04-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

Two Sundays ago we had the rare chance to play outside on a beautiful day. We went to a place called Cantigny. Scott takes his classes there for fieldtrips because it has a war museum...we went because it has tanks...

Luke and Ben's adventures!

2009-04-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Our weather has been hit and miss lately but when it's above 45 degrees we make sure to get out. One of our walks took us to the park. Here's Luke and his mini me swinging in full Cardinals gear. They almost had a rumble with a four year old wearing a Cubs hat.

Scott likes to clean out the garage whenever it's warm. Luke thought he should help. Scott calls these his Uncle Jeff pictures...I think it's the hat.

I told him to wave...

Grandpa "flying" Luke...cheese!

Sunday night means lesson planning. My boys with their laptops.

(Luke get himself all set up after Daddy started working.)

Ben the Green monster...there's the face of Tupperware.

Wild party with Uncle Kurt...

2009-04-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

They were going to watch Clonewars together...

From the Mind of a Two Year Old...

2009-03-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

So mom and dad put me in bed the other night and I was laying in bed kicking the wall like I always do. That's when I started to wonder what my mom keeps in the top drawer of Ben's dresser. I mean I've never seen anyone open that. It must contain something special maybe even magically. So I stood on my tiptoes in my bed and opened that magical drawer ever so silently (as to not disturb my parents). And sure enough my mom was holding out on me. There was actual 'fairy dust' in that drawer. It said Johnson and Johnson on it. If you ever find a bottle of 'fairy dust' I would recommend not squeezing it. And to all you other 2 year olds out there Johnson and Johnson is a rip off. I couldn't fly and it instantly alerted my parents to what I was doing. Oh and the other thing, make sure that while you're trying to quietly put the fairy dust away you also make sure to replace the caps on the diaper cream and baby shampoo that were also contained in the drawer. Apparently mom and dad decidded the only way to get rid of the fairy dust was to drop me in the tub where I was so kindly doused with water.
Let's just say I didn't get to watch any movies today and i got a lecture before bedtime about not touching any other drawers in the room. Which reminds me... I wonder what mom keeps in the bathroom closet...

This is for Paw Paw....

2009-03-09T15:59:00.001-07:00

After two straight weekends of seeing extended family and a daily reminder of the promised fishing trip after potty training Luke did the following the other night....

So, Scott decided to actually call Grandpa so he could hear what Luke was up to...

MO trip and more....

2009-03-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we were in St. Charles last weekend for a call interview at Trinity Lutheran Orchard Farms which is just outside St. Charles. We had a very nice visit, Scott was extended the call the following day and we are impatiently waiting the Holy Spirit's gudiance. Of course the extra bonus of hanging out with cousins made the trip all the better.

He's Super Cole! Just wait till this resurfaces when he's 15!

Ben and Grandpa

Sam was ready to be Cole's side kick...and by the way he'll be happy to tell you he's having a "baby sista"

Friday afternoon was WONDERFUL! Scott even got home early from his teachers' conference so we could enjoy the outdoors as a family. Luke got to grill right along side his dad.

And Saturday, Katrina came over to hang out. Ben was in the mood to just chill.

Winter Days

2009-02-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

We spend all of our time indoors these days so here are a couple shots from our life.

Yum, good dinner!

Luke's idea of wearing big boy pants (dad's)

those are Christmas stockings (daddy told Luke they were his socks)

this is the end of our first battle of wills.... Mommy won, he slept there for 2 1/2 hours.

Ben loves books, big or small

just chillin'

Our preppy son

Luke also loves books. He really likes his new Narnia book. He got to watch the movie after we read it. So, Grandma J, we're gonna need Prince Caspian, he wants to see the movie.

Trip to Lansing, MI

2009-02-28T08:10:00.000-08:00

We took my parents up on an offer to visit my grandparents in Lansing right after Christmas. It was fun to see the boys interact with relatives they rarely or never see.

Luke thought cousin Jon was funny.

Luke tried to talk on Jon's phone while Jon tried showing Luke the picture he had just taken.

Ben found a safe spot in front of Great Grandma J

Great Grandma and Luke

Luke only saw Molly and Audrey for about 5 minutes but he made himself right at home on Gerry's lap.

Apparently Luke and Uncle Josh have the same taste in cousins....they both enjoy Jay's company. (Jay and Uncle Jon brought Luke a box of matchbox cars to keep)

Great Grandpa B. and Ben reading a book.

Four generations of Bickels...and Grandpa's only great grandsons***.

***at time of visit (shout out to the newest member of the great grandson club -Zechariah!)

Missouri Christmas

2009-02-28T07:39:00.001-08:00

We celebrated with Scott's family in January. It was a great long weekend for us and Luke really enjoyed the chance to open more presents. Our highlights included the beautiful podium Scott's dad and uncle built for him. He loves people coming into his classroom just to see his new "teaching tool". And also the trip to Grandpa's working where Luke and Cole played with forklifts and drove semis. Here are the pictures...

Ben's Birthday

2009-02-28T06:25:00.000-08:00

Due to the size of our tiny house we couldn't invite everyone important in Ben's life to one big birthday bash so we opted for a Trinity party Friday night on his actual birthday and a family party on Saturday. That meant lots of presents and even more cake...needless to say both Ben and Luke had a great weekend.

Katrina had a volleyball game Friday night but still managed to stop by for a little play time before the party started.

I attempted a homemade cake.
Luke helped put on the sprinkles.

Ben made a pretty good showing with his trial run cake Friday night.

And Luke was very helpful with opening presents!

Luke was my big helper at both parties.

Maybe just a taste. (His face was already orange from the chili he had for dinner)

Give the belly some room people!

Ben (and Luke) LOVE the ride and push truck Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sally gave him. They drive it around the house and look for things to scoop up.

Miss Mya looked awful cute in her pigtails.

And Luke couldn't have had more fun with his cousins.

December Days

2009-01-07T16:14:00.001-08:00

Scott has handed down his obession to his older son. He tells me, "we've only watched the movie once!" "I really don't know where he gets it." I give you exhibit A...

That right folks, my kid has got an army of stuffed animals at the foot of his bed and he decides to cuddle up with a large plastic storm trooper. A lot of the obession could have to do with the fact that Luke's real goal in life is to be just like his daddy...

Now we have a wall around our Christmas tree so that Ben doesn't take the tree down. I found him one morning having breeched the barrier (he climbed under their little green table) and he proved to have a more serious mission by the Christmas tree...

The first official gifts of the Christmas season came from the Boors. Luke plays his piano and sings along and Ben loves his new books.

The night of my Christmas service we opened a few family presents. Ben bought Luke this brand new vaccuum...which Luke takes out every time we get out the big vaccuum and cleans along side us. Luke bought Ben the dvd Horton hears a Who...which Luke took the liberty of watching for Ben about 10 times.

Ben's first haircut

2009-01-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently my sons are somehow trying to compensate for their dad's hair because like Luke, Ben has been in serious need of a haircut. So while we were in Wisconsin we took him to see Michelle (Grandma's hair lady). He didn't cry at all. In fact he was intrigued by the whole situtation.

Before

Ben doing his Dr. Evil impression.

"Just a little off the top?"

After
Tell it to me straight, I can take it.
Do my ears look big?

Christmas in Wisconsin

2009-01-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

We couldn't wait to get out Illinois and enjoy a few days in Germantown. It was a great few days.

Luke spent his time near the kitchen.

"What grape?"

On Christmas eve Grandma, Emma, Aunt Lydia, Maddie, Aunt Erin, Luke and I all decorated cookies. Emma and Luke were very creative and also very interested in eating their creations.

Ben wrapped Grandpa around his little finger.
Scott spent most of the week out shoveling with driveway with Dad and assorted brothers. There was one fairly nice day that the kids got out to play in the massive amounts of snow.

King of the Hill

"I'd throw this at you, Emma, but I can't move my arm."

I'm not sure which Aunt or Uncle took this picture...but what are you teaching my son?

Poor Chad, living in Texas he didn't have the proper snow removal clothing. He went to Fleet Farm and came away with this bright hunter's get up.

Our family Christmas picture. Scott was trying anything to get Luke to look at Grandpa.

Our family has officially graduated out of the living room and into a sanctuary. Soon we'll have to rent a hall for Christmas.

Big News! Ben's new arrival....a Wii. Mom and Dad bought the family a Wii for Christmas. I still remember the days when we were the only family without a microwave or a vcr.

Uncle Josh reading Twas the night before Christmas to all the grandkids. (Ben said he was listening, just resting his eyes)

Grandpa and Luke, veggin' out.

Seriously! How cute is he?

The Bens
Seriously! How scared is he?

Luke's new guitar

Ben's new tractor (to replace the booster seat I wasn't suppose to buy!)

So that's where Ben learned to rest his eyes!

Luke came out to the kitchen to show us Grandpa's christmas present.

The best part of Christmas in Wisconsin was that after 7 years there is FINALLY hot water in the bathroom. And, Grandpa, we love the fancy shower curtain!

Action shot

2008-12-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

taken by Daddy

The boys

2008-12-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

Each day they form a stronger bond so that one day they will be in charge at our house...

Lydia Katherine Anna

2008-11-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

I know it's 3 days late but I did call...even though I almost forgot to do that too....

Anyway, Hapbir Pythday to my little sis....

Here's a little something almost as beautiful as you.

God's Beautiful Creation

2008-11-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

So the boys and I were enjoying one of those 70 degree days we had a couple weeks ago. I looked up and seeing how gorgeous our magnolia tree looked all bright yellow, I figured I'd take a stab at a few scenary pictures.

Just as I thought, "wow, I am getting some great shots" I noticed something creeping into my viewfinder....

I call it "Attack of the Benjamins"

That's what happens when you try to take picture laying on the ground next to your 9 month old.

Fall happenings

2008-11-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

As it has happened for the last two falls, we once again spent our beautiful weather raking leaves. I know we don't have the volume of some houses but the ratio in our little yard is staggering, especially because the tree in the backyard actually picks a day and drops all its leaves at once. Great, one would think, except that day has been scheduled on the first day of flurries. Here are some pictures from our other activities this month.

Ben spent all afternoon trying to attack the pile of leaves, to eat them of course.

Daddy and Luke talking to Uncle Jeff.

must...get...closer...to Uncle Kurt

Working hard on repairs

Scott's learning quickly not to leave his belongings out if he doesn't want them used.

This is one of those pictures I plan to share with all of Ben's future girlfriends. For the record Ben de-pants and un socked himself.

Luke, I can't breathe.

But I LOVE you!

Digging

From: Ohhh, look at the cute little boy wearing his daddy's hat...

To: mugshot

Watching Kung Fu Panda

They think it's great now...I give it 6 years.

Dad, you crack us up. (Scott loves his captive audience)