All moved in

A lot has happened since the blog was last updated. That's partially because of the weekend and partially because our main computer doesn't have internet access right now and was in a box over the weekend. A box you may wonder? Why a box? Well, that's because we moved on Saturday to our new home at 4N725 Grandmas Lane in St. Charles, IL, just across the parking lot from our church. We had a large group help with the move (about 7 students from youth group, a few college guys, and 8 more adults). We packed up the truck a few times, loaded and unloaded, and even unpacked a few boxes in under 4 hours. It was great to see the love people have for us as they came and helped. Thank you all for you participation in this if you were there.

Charis is still doing very well. Sorry for the lack of pictures on this post, but until our computer is back up and running, you'll have to check previous posts to remember what she looks like (she still looks about the same).

Family is home for thanksgiving, and I need to go hang out with them. Talk to you later...

FINE! No More online Poops!

I have read your comments and we won't any more bowel movements online. If you want to see any of that you'll just have to come for a visit. Thankfully, she doesn't do that very often and most of the time she is very pleasant to be around. I'll just keep posting the tame pictures that are family friendly so as not to offend anyone.

Today I found out that Charis loves jazz music. She was dancing up a storm to it this morning while she was being changed. I'm glad she likes the good stuff, not the annoying country or hip hop that is out today. She'll be our little musical protege hopefully, but if she becomes a soccer nut or into computers like her mom, that'll be okay with me.

Our move out/in date is scheduled for this coming Saturday. We are so pumped to take yet another step in our lives towards wherever God will land us permanently. He has been so faithful and we can't wait to see what He has in store for us over the next few years.

We finally got her to pose with a stuffed animal, after too many tries.

Progress, Poopiness, and Perusing

Progress: There has been so much interest in our house over the past few days. We have a family that is 99% sure they are renting from us as soon as we can move out, another woman who is pretty interested in renting, and another realtor who has investors pretty interested in purchasing. All in all, God is doing great and unexpected things in our lives. He is so good.


Poopiness: Wow! I can't believe how much poop can come out of a little baby. And it's smell takes over the whole house, even when we eat garlic. Oh well. That comes with the territory I guess. At least we know that she is healthy and doing well.

Perusing: We got a chance to look in detail at our new home today. It looks great. It is perfect for our little family. The layout is very spacious and we can't wait to move in next week. We'll be sharing the larger part of the house with the Trott's who are home for few months from Brazil. They are a great couple and it will be tons of fun to live close to them for a while. Later...

PEEK - A - BOO

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Well, I am officially the new Pastoral Assistant for the associate pastor of children, youth, and adults. The vote to establish the position was on Sunday and it passed, praise God. Today was my first official day and I am very much looking forward to working for at least the next two years at Fox Valley Bible Church. God has been so good above and beyond all we could ask or imagine. My responsibilities are largely similar to what I was doing before, but with more of an emphasis on discipleship and more full-time.

We are also moving. The church was gracious enough to offer us the large apartment in the Mission's House. We were blown away when we first heard the offer, but it meets our needs perfectly and we are so thankful God provided it. Now we just wait and see when God sells our house. Even in this terrible houseing market we have 3 very possible prospects for buyers for our house. We are praying that one of them works out in the near future. Whatever God decides, that's the best move for us. So the next two weeks are full of packing and moving and youth events for us. We are loving life right now and so pleased to be moving on to this next chapter of our lives.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. Don't worry, more pictures of Charis are coming soon (I know you read this only to see how she's doing). Anyhoo, that's all for now.

Such a Fun Little Girl

Charis has been so much fun lately. She is making cute little noises all the time now, but especially when she sees Moriah or I. She's got a cute little chuckle that she does as well. It's almost a laugh, and it's very entertaining.

We had a sad day on Tuesday for her. She got her vaccination shots and was crying a little. Moriah said it was so hard seeing her cry like that out of pain. But now she is safe from a number of things going around. She got a bit of a fever from it, but she is doing fine now.

On another note, we had someone walk through our house on Tuesday. We haven't heard if anything will come of that, but it just is another step in God moving this property. We can't wait to see how He will work all this out, but He is strengthening our faith daily through His provision of extra work for both me and Moriah. Keep praying though.

That's it for now...

Check out the pudgy little cheeks

I'm barely holding her up. Her legs are getting so strong

So cute....

Sleeping Through the Night

Well, our little Charis is finally sleeping through the night. She has been sleeping pretty well for around a week now, going up to 7 hours at a time. But two nights ago she slept for over 9 hours without a feeding. She has been doing well ever since. Once she goes down at night she talks herself to sleep and then is out until morning. We've decided to keep her in her basonet for now, but she has almost grown out of it. She's around 23 inches long now and she'll be moving into her crib very soon.

We also had a fun time at Steph Granquist's costume party over the weekend. Charis went as a little pumpkin and got the most votes for the cutest costume (was there any doubt?). We love that she is being adopted by the youth group and that she is comfortable being passed around. She's getting a lot better at being content with other people holding her rather than just Moriah or I. Even in the nursery at church she smiles and sleeps, but doesn't cry. We're kind of waiting for her to jump to the next level and cry for everything, but until then we are very much enjoying her little noises.

We also had our youth bonfire over the weekend. Charis stayed with Jordan and Crystal and only cried at the end 'cause she was hungry. It is so nice to have family around for things like that. The Bonfire went very well and was a good time of bonding for the students. Hopefully that can continue throughout the rest of the year.

I'm off to work, so adios amigos...

All dressed up for the party

The cutest lil' pumpkin ever

Fresh and clean after a bath

New Diapers and Prayer Requests

Life has been very interesting for us lately. Moriah and I have been feeling a strong burden to pray for our house to sell. Even though it isn't a "seller's market" and this is typically the worst time of year to sell a home, we know God can do anything. We have also enlisted the prayer support of our church. We prayed as a youth ministry last night about it in our prayer meeting and we are anticipating what God will do. Even now we have a few offers to rent our house until it is sold which is the next best thing to selling it. It takes care of most of our mortgage payment while still allowing us to keep the house on the market.

As for everything else, most of you know by now that the church is voting on establishing a few new positions in our constitution. One of those is a pastoral assistant. If it passes (and we are praying that it will), the elders have decided to ask me to fill that role for the next 2 years. This is a dream come true for Moriah and I. We have desired to serve in ministry at FVBC every since I finished high school and to do so in this capacity is perfect at this time. We are both grateful to stick around here for a while, not just because of the church home we love, but also because we'll be close to both sides of the family.

Charis is doing great too. She moved into her next size of diapers today. I can't believe how big she is getting. Her old diapers (the Newborn size) were starting to fill up rather quickly. After leaking through two of them, we decided to bump her up to the next level. She is so cute and I hope you enjoy the pictures.

She's a lot more excited about her full diaper than we are

"Hi everyone... I'm the cutest ever!"

"Haha, I peed on your bed. Whatcha gonna do now?"

7 weeks and counting

Our little girl is getting so big. I can't believe she is over 7 weeks old already. She's starting to make very cute little noises and following things very well with her eyes. She can turn her head very well when she has her tummy time. Everything seems to be going well and normal. I guess that's pretty typical for the 1st one and why most couples move on to the 2nd. That's when the problems start. Well, whatever happens, we're looking forward to a nice family, whatever God provides.

Both sets of our parents are vacationing in the Caribbean this week. We are so jealous, but they deserve the break. 10 days on a cruise for each should bring them back rested and refreshed, and with tans to make us all jealous. We love them all and can't wait for them to be back.

Moriah continued her job this week and is enjoying it much more. There isn't a ton for her to do sometimes, but at least she can focus on Charis and gets paid for it. I start my extra shifts at Bennigan's next week, after the parents all return. Moriah and I hope that the extra work from both of us will be able to tide us over until the house sells. Again, we wait on God's timing and trust that He'll do what's best for us.

Well, that's it for now. Later...

She's getting so long

Fresh and clean

"To poop or not to poop... that is the question."

Nothing like a lazy Saturday morning

Out the Poop-shoot

Well, our precious little angel made quite a mess of herself today. As you can see from her expression, she was a little mischevious this afternoon with Moriah. There she was, minding her own business, when nature made a call.

Moriah was working her first day as a nanny and things were going just fine. The day was moving slowly, but surely, when a few noises from Charis's direction caught her attention.
"Wonderful, a bowel movement at last" was her thought. Little did she know, this was the beginning of a long hour of battle with the bowel.

She very happily took Charis and changed her diaper, which was a little poopy, as she had expected. Blissfully thinking that things were over for now, she continued reading and going about her business. However, Charis continued about her business as well. A few minutes later, more noises and more poop. This time, the real deal was upon her. The formerly clean diaper was filled with poopiness. Thankfully, she got there in time. The diaper was replaced with a fresh one, and again, she thought things were over.

A few minutes later, there were more noises. This time a little deeper, almost as if an old man had come back to return cold coffee for a third time and was really upset, yelling at the waitress, impatient to be out and about. Moriah picked up little Charis and felt a puff of air.
"I remember thinking, 'was that just a puff of air?'" Moriah said later. After further investigation, we believe the puff of air opened up the seal at the top of the diaper, allowing some poop to escape out the back and travel up Charis's back, unbeknownced to Moriah. Moriah proceeded to lay her down and open the yawning chasm of the unknown. There she was, face to face with an explosion.

As she changed the diaper, she realized her error. Too late for her to do anything, she noticed the poop coming out the back, already spreading on the onesie and making its way to the soft hair of little Charis. Quickly, she assessed the situation. She rushed her to the sink, which was full. With the speed only a mother can have, she cleaned out the sink, loading the dishwasher in the process, preparing the way for her child to be cleaned. It took a while, but she rubbed all of the poop away, saving the baby-soft hair, and losing only one outfit in the process. What a Mom... what a Mom.

Well, that was Moriah's first day on the job. Hopefully the rest will be just as fun ;-)

Random, pre-feeding pics

She knows what's coming

She always sleeps with Great-Grandma Shumaker

No Poops (and GO BEARS!!!)

Well, we think our baby is a little constipated. She hasn't pooped since the huge explosion of a few days ago. Perhaps she is embarrased. We'll give her tonight before we get worried about it. Otherwise, she is doing great. She is starting to make fun little noises when we change her and she is getting really good at tracking things with her eyes. She recognizes us both now, and it is a really neat feeling to see her staring at me.

As far as Moriah and I go, we are still doing well. We are anxiously awaiting the sale of our house. We have been praying about it a lot and know that God will always faithfully provide for us. Now is not the typical time for buying and selling homes, but we know God can do whatever He wants and that now, more than any time of the year, He would recieve the glory for doing this. There are job possibilities out there for me and Moriah is starting her nannying job tomorrow. We are hoping to get something else for her so she can stay at home with Charis, but for now God has provided this, and we are thankful.


On another note, who saw the amazing comeback by the undefeated Chicago Bears? Now, I know what you are saying... the Bears had no right to win the game, but you know what? They still won. Their defense decided to turn it on and won the game for them. That's what championship calaber teams do. They win no matter what it takes or how messy it looks. I enjoyed the anxiety of seeing the comeback. Let's hope it ends in another Super Bowl victory for Chicago.

I still can't believe how small and cozy she is!

She's finally getting the thigh roll pudge

Mmmm, somebody likes to eat

Grunting and groaning

Charis makes so much noise these days. She doesn't peacefully sleep anymore. She is always sighing, cooing, gurgling, coughing, grunting, or trying to pass some enormous bubble of gas out the wrong end (it really smells sometimes). But we still love her anyway. She has been getting more and more used to the outside world these past few days. She made her first of many trips to the mall (which she slept through of course) and got to see grandma, nanna, and great grandma all in the same day. We hope she is worn out and sleeps a ton tonight (we can only hope).

She seems like she is approaching another growth spurt. It seems that she is hungry all the time and working through some things internally. Nothing too gross today, well, except for this morning.

There we were, enjoying our pillow time in the early hours of the morning when we noticed some discoloration on Charis's stomach. Upon closer examination, we found it to be fecal matter, spread all the way up to her naval!! Her diaper was completely full and we quickly did what all good parents do in that situation... try not to throw up and run her to the changing table ASAP. It only took 4 wipes, but we got it all off of her and no permanent damage was done. Thank goodness for the diaper genie. Anyhoo, that was enough excitement for today. We'll be in touch later this weekend. Night...

"Maybe if I burp she'll give me some candy..."

She's always safe with Daddy

I still can't believe how little she is

Apple Picking and other errands

Charis has been so busy lately. She made it almost safely through apple-picking and has been on a role ever since. She got a little too much sun at the orchard, but didn't complain much. She was definetely red and warm though. I was surprised because she was outside so little and it wasn't that warm out. The family sure enjoyed passing her around and trying to keep her awake. It was strange how we missed her even though we were with her the whole day. Oh well, it must be a new parent thing.

She has been sleeping much better lately. She is finally staying up during the day and sleeping at night when she is supposed to. Last night she slept for almost 8 hours (a new record for her). We are hoping the trend continues.

Tonight we had our first date in a long time. We shipped her off to my parents house for a few hours and Moriah and I went to our favorite local restaurant, Tuscana. We loaded up on great Italian food and had a truly enjoyable evening. Now it is off to bed to start the whole thing tomorrow (except for the date). Adios for now...

Out and about

Charis had such a busy day today. She had a lovely lunch with Grandma, then an exciting shopping spree, then game night at church with everyone, including Aunt Talitha who missed her like crazy. She had the energy to do this because she slept for almost 8 hours straight last night. I couldn't believe it when I woke up to her fussing at almost 6am, expecting to be awake at around 2 or 3 am. Needless to say we were very encouraged to think she is almost sleeping through the night, and at only 5 weeks. We'll give it a few more nights before we are true believers.

She has been such a blessing these past few days. Her personality is really coming out as she sees different people or different objects around the room. Her expressions of joy, confusion, and exasperation are priceless.

Tomorrow is the annual apple picking day. We are very excited and need to get some rest for our big day. Adios...

Soooo adorable

Dazed and confused

Charis loves shower time

The eye-contact is finally here

Moriah had her first really great experience with eye-contact with Charis. She picked her up at the g-parents house and Charis turned to her, locked on, and gave her a huge smile. She was so excited. I'm glad she is focusing better and starting to understand what she is looking at. She seems to like our ceiling fan that is two-stories up and loves lights.

Her feedings are going swimmingly. Moriah is the greatest wife ever. She feeds Charis at night and is gracious enough to let me sleep so I can be rested for my day. There's not really a lot I could do anyway, but I'm glad she lets me sleep. Charis is another matter though. She hasn't been too bad the past few days. She coos a lot and makes her little noises, but nothing major. She isn't fussy either. She only cries when she is hungry. I am amazed (and still waiting for this to kick in) that she doesn't cry when her diaper is dirty or when she is falling asleep. The learning to put herself to sleep is finally paying off.

Only a few days 'til apple picking when she meets the whole family. We are excited to take her to the same orchard Moriah went to when she was just a few months old. It's a great tradition our whole family enjoys.

Well, bed-time is upon us...

Someone likes the camera

Daddy - daughter bonding time on the changing table

Just gettin' used ta her crib yo

What a cutie pie

Well, I'm back from a busy weekend, and everything went well. After a 6 hour delay I finally made it to PA. It was great to see all the old friends and to support Josh and Janelle in their wedding. It was surprising how much I missed my girls back home. Even though it was just a day and a half, it was hard not to miss them. Needless to say, there was lots of loving and play time when I got back home.

On Sunday, Charis went into the nursury for the first time. She was great and didn't cry, even though she woke up. Overall, she has been a darling and such a joy. The other day she was making some great faces. You can look at some of them below. We can't get over how beautiful she is. What a blessing from God to have a cute little person making each day special for us. Later...

Yes! She can do the eyebrow!