Thursday, February 26

Last Day as a 4 year old.

I am sad and in denial that my little girl is becoming such a big girl. Kati will be 5 years old tomorrow. I am happy and sad. Five seems like such a huge deal, especially to her. It's hard to believe that years ago tonight I sat in the hospital laboring for 25 hours. She has grown up so much. Luckily, she is my cuddler so even though she doesn't fit in my arms anymore, she still likes to be held by them.

We made cupcakes tonight for her preschool class tomorrow morning. She used three different kinds of sprinkles and had to do a pattern. She is so excited to be turning 5, I am in denial but it will be here no matter how long I want to keep her little.

Monday, February 23

YAHOO!

Do you YAHOO!? I do now! I will have to try to stop using Google so much now. As of Friday, my husband is once again gainfully employed! You might wonder what he'll be doing - I wish I really knew (and so does he). He will be titled "Small Business Associate." We don't know what that entails really but we are excited for his first day of work March 9th! (Well, I am excited as I can be.) It will be great to have more income but I will be sad that he isn't home with the girls. He has done an amazing job! Both girls love having their daddy around, but I am sure he will be glad to have a structure to his day that doesn't involve PBS, dirty diapers, or screaming children! He has been a HUGE help to me these past few months. He has completely redesigned our garage (!) and he has done all the laundry, and any other tasks that I have asked of him. When this totally could have shattered a man's ego, he has totally stepped up to the plate and made me proud. It has been a long 5 months of low wage or no wage. We have made it though. We still have another month of scraping to get by, and this one will be the hardest yet.

The amazing thing about the past five months is that I am really incredibly grateful for it. Why you ask:
1. Michael has been able to spend amazing time with his girls.
2. It has really enabled me to focus on my new job and get accustomed to it, without having to worry about what time I had to be at work or leave to pick the girls up.
3. I am grateful to our friends, Bob and Robyn, who gave Michael a job to help us get by for a few months. If you need any garage door business in the Omaha metro area - Bob is your man!
3. This is probably the biggest, it has taught us so much about financial responsibility. It's not that we didn't know much before but I think our eyes were closed to a lot of the extra expenses we wasted.
4. Maybe this is the biggest! God has been SO present. I can look back and see how he had his hand on all of this. The biggest indication of it all is that Aunt Lisa, our beloved aunt and babysitter, has been having some major health problems for almost the past year. Michael lost his job right when she needed the break the most. Now, thankfully, she is getting better after identifying the right diagnosis and is all ready for the girls again! Kati has spent at least 4-5 days a week at her house since she was 6 weeks old. We love Aunt Lisa, affectionately named Sasa by Kati when she was younger, and the name stuck so much that we all call her that.

So we are thankful for MANY things that have happened through this journey. We look forward to what lies ahead, knowing full well that God is in control of it all. Thanks to all who have prayed for us and supported us. Your love, support, and friendship is humbling.