I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! It's been a rollercoaster of a month so far! Crazy, crazy, crazy! I did get my Christmas cards addressed, stuffed, and mailed all by Monday!! Yee haw!! I was actually shocked at how many I ended up sending out. A whopping 100 cards. Yep, sounds crazy, but I was actually short a few. Still trying to figure out what to do about that. I have almost all the shopping done too! I am on a roll. House is decorated, most of the presents wrapped, shopping done, cards done, update letters done, and we will finish the gingerbread house tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Be blessed! This is my new favorite scripture: "May mercy, peace and love be lavished on you." (Jude 1:2)  I pray this for all of our friends and family this holiday season! We miss you and love you more than we can express!!

Zayin had his Christmas program this week. It was so stinking cute! He picked his pink button up shirt to wear with a pink tie he borrowed from Caleb, and dark jeans with his black shoes. He looked so handsome! The kids did great! They all sang the words, did the motions, and nobody really goofed off or anything. What a great group of kids. Then Caleb and Aren came over to play for a while. He has really been into writing and coloring lately. And is getting really good. Usually he has me write something and then he copies it under my writing. It's weird how they just pick that stuff up.

Eli started work last night. He got a call around 4pm, and they needed him to work 12 hours last night, tonight, and possibly Monday too. That's a bunch of hours in a short amount of time. It's good though, we are getting to a point where we could use the money. He was nervous, but excited at the same time. I hope he has a good night. He said he did pretty good last night, besides being dog tired anyways.

Zoe is as crazy as usual. She cracks us up! Everywhere all the time, and she is faster than any kid I have ever seen. It's amazing what she gets into. Zayin has now taught her how to unlock the dead bolt on the door, way to go big brother! That's ok though, at least my life is never boring!

I am busy, busy, busy! Like I said at the beginning...Christmas decorations, Christmas tree, presents, wrapping, cards, letters, gingerbread house, cookies, stockings, dinners, etc... Just being a mom is enough for me, but when you add all the other stuff it seems to get exhausting! But I love it anyways. The next few days calls for serious cleaning and organizing! I'm kinda excited, I think I might ask Kelly to watch the kids for an afternoon so I can clean, organize, and maybe take Eli shopping for the last couple things for the kids. She is such a huge help!!

I guess the only other thing I can think of right now is sad. Our dear friend, Phil Hoberecht passed away last night. He was Todd's dad. It was not a shock, but still heartbreaking. Eli and I are having a hard time with the fact that we won't be able to be there for the funeral and just for them in general. I think it's the hardest thing we have had to deal with since we have been here. It's so sad, and it's...I don't have any words. Please pray for his family, and for all who knew him. He was a vibrant, caring, adventurous, loving, kind, joyful, sweet man. And we will miss him dearly. Very dearly. Merry Christmas Daddy Hoberecht.

'Tis the Season!

I can't believe it's December already! It doesn't help that there is no snow here. I never really thought I would miss the snow, but I guess I was wrong. I don't miss the cold, but Christmas just doesn't seem the same without the snow.  I even got sappy hearing the "Dreaming of a White Christmas" song. We did get our tree put up and decorated. It's a little lopsided because we had to put breakable ornaments up out of Zoe's reach, but it still looks nice. The important thing is the kids had a blast doing it! I am going a little overboard with the decorations this year. I think I'm trying to make up for the no snow thing, I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. I will try and take some pictures tomorrow and post them, just  so everyone at home can see.  Zayin has a school program for Christmas this year. How stinkin' cute is that?! He is practicing his 2 songs and loves it! And Zoe loves to sing along! That girl idolizes her brother and follows him and copies him to the best of her ability. She loves him terribly!

Things have been going pretty good. We got a huge surprise in the mail the other day. A huge blessing! Some friends decided to send us a check, and it was such a shock, I totally sucked in air when I opened the card! I was excited enough as it was just to get a card from them, let alone a gift like that. I cried, and cried, and tried to tell Eli over the phone, but just couldn't spit it out. He did finally translate my gibberish. Then I couldn't even call them to say thank you, because I was so overwhelmed by it all. And the timing was all God. That topped it off. Plus Eli finished his training for the new job, and it seems pretty intense, but I think it will be good. Now we are just waiting for his record to come through. They needed to check that he had a clean record.  Then he will start ASAP.  No more news on the condo just yet, but we are still excited for whatever happens, as long as it sells that is.

Our friend Dan came over the other night for dinner. Let me say that differently...he came over to MAKE us dinner! That's right! Sorry ladies , he is taken. Hehehehehehe. But anyways, he made spaghetti for us with delicious sauce with wild meat from home (Montana), and amazing garlic cheesy bread! So good! Then to top it all off, he had brought another bag of noodles, and another loaf of bread and told us all the leftovers were ours! Seriously, you should have seen the amount of food left over! So sweet of him. He is a great friend.

Friday night we went to watch the town Christmas tree lighting. We got lost, but found it just in time. It was perfect! We walked around afterwords and looked at all the decorations and just had a good time. Came home, had some cocoa and put the kiddos to bed. Then yesterday we went to the Farmers Market for the last time before it's over for "winter". Zayin got some cookies, Eli got his tamales, and Zoe and I shared a toffee cookie. Then we went home, had some lunch and the kids took a nap. Later that night, we decided to go to Despicable Me at the dollar movie theater. We called Dan and asked if he wanted to come over for dinner and then go to the movie with us. It was a blast! It was also Zoe's first movie, and she did great! She lasted in her own seat until about the last 10 to 15 mins, but I think she was getting tired. It was a great weekend all in all.

Now tomorrow I get to pick up the Christmas cards and start addressing them all. I hope I have everyone's currant addresses! Have a wonderful week!

Crystal

God is so amazing!

Happy Thanksgiving! Well it's been a busy couple of weeks, and some really great news! Eli officially has a job doing night security! Yeah!!! Answered prayer #1! He starts on Monday for his training week, but then he can make it as much part time or full time that he wants. So good. He does however have to shave the facial hair which is going to be interesting, but hey, it's a good job! Our answered prayer #2...there is a guy who wants to buy our condo in January if it's still up for sale!! Yeah!! And to top it off, there are actually 2 or 3 other people interested in it as well! Isn't it amazing how God doesn't just supply, but seems to go above and beyond what we need. It's been so great realizing how faithful He really is. I always knew God was going to provide for us, but sometimes I feel like I need to be doing something more, or I'm doing something wrong if things aren't going exactly as planned. Which is totally wrong. I believe God will always  provide for me and my family, it just might not be in the time or way or thing I think I need.

For Thanksgiving we went over to Matt and Kelly's house. It was great! I made fruit salad, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, veggie tray, relish tray, cranberry sauce and brought a pumpkin pie and some crescent rolls. Matt cooked the turkey and Kelly made sweet potatoes, another fruit salad, stuffing, gravy, steamed cheesy broccoli with cauliflower, and an apple pie. It was a great meal. There were other friends that joined us too. It was one big happy family. And tonight we went over again for a left over dinner which was just as good as last night. We are so blessed to have friends like them here. Oh and the kids played ALL day! Zayin was exhausted when we got home, and Zoe was out of it too. What a great day!! Then Kelly and I got up this morning to go Black Friday shopping. Yep. 3am this morning. It was fun and we got some great things. Back at the house by about 7:30am and decided to take Zayin to a couple more stores because Eli and Zoe were still asleep. We had fun too!

I think this might be a short one, just because I'm so tired, but I will try to do another soon! Megan and Isaac and Hannah are visiting in the morning and we are sooooo excited! But that means I need to clean and be ready to cook in the morning, so off to bed for me. Night night!
Love all y'alls!
Crystal

Ok, I have been slacking on the whole blog and update thing. I swear I am trying! It's been going good! We had a good couple of weeks. Tonight we went over to somebody's house for a Prayer Group gathering. It was fun, but there were a ton of people. They had made chili and cornbread, and had veggies, and pineapple, cookies, and drinks. They also watched a movie outside but we left right before they started the movie. The kids were having a blast, but were starting to wear down.  I'm trying to think of what else has happend lately since the last entry. See that's what happens when you wait too long!

Let's see...Oh Halloween! Zayin dressed up as Woody from Toy Story and Zoe ended up being Tigger. They both looked great and had a good time. We went over to a guys house who Eli knew and ate pizza with him, his wife and 2 kids before we went out trick or treating around his neighborhood. They had fun, but Zoe was a little slow for the bigger kids, so she ended up in the stroller which she didn't mind since I put nerds in the snack dish.

Zayin's teacher called us the other day, letting us know that he was going to be given an award last week in chapel and we were welcome to be there. So of course we went! It was super sweet. Zayin didn't know he was getting it, so he was all surprised and didn't know we were there either until he had to walk up and receive it. He got a Sportsman award. They do these Character Trait awards, that encourage the kids to keep up with the good things they are doing. His was for acting the same weather he won or lost and treating everyone the same. I was super proud and he seemed to be proud too. He had to show it to everyone, and then when he got home he said, "Mom! This is so cool, it HAS to get put up!" So he marched over and put it on the fridge, and has shown it to anyone and everyone that has come over or stopped by.

This year I have decided to try and offer Christmas portraits for family's. Just to make a little extra money. I am making a flier this weekend and we will see how it goes. Ya never know unless you try, right? I also went out on a limb and bought a tiny sewing machine to make little things like headbands, pillow cases, and I might try some detail work on t-shirts or onsies. Just trying out new things, and so far I really like it! I made some pillow covers for our couch pillows and Eli seems to really like them. So now for the headbands. Zayin is super excited and wants to help really bad with them so I told him we would try. Wouldn't that just be cute if he loved sewing!

I'm going to end on a shorter and not quite as organized than usual note this time. I apologize that this entry is not as information filled as usual, and I will try and do better! Hope everyone is well, and please continue to pray for us, the Hoberecht family, and Dan's (our new friend) girlfriend and her daughter. Her little girl (2yrs) is incredibly sick and they are not sure what is causing it. She has seizures and is not hitting the milestones she is suppose to be hitting, so please pray for them to stop! Thank you! For all your love and support!
Love-
Crystal

whole lotta fun!

It seems like the days are flying by here. Which I guess is a good thing, except for when you don't get the things done that you are supposed to be doing.

Zayin got school photos done, and he did really well, considering the little girl in front of him was not having it. Her poor mom had to finally just settle on the best picture because the photographer said he couldn't do any more. Then Zayin got up, took 2 shots and I said good! The photographer took one more just to compare, and we picked out the 2nd pose and headed on our way, painless!

Thursday was a super busy day for us. Zayin had a school field trip to the pumpkin patch at Shasta University in the morning. He had a blast. We all went and Zoe never stopped smiling! She loves all the animals so much, I definitely think she is going to be a 4H girl! We got to see pigs, sheep, cows, goats, and then we had a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. Zayin even got to pick out a pumpkin, and he picked a pretty big one. Then we went home, had some lunch, and took a nap. That evening we had a birthday party to go to for Carrie. It was really nice. Zayin and Zoe had both made her cards, and I made some potato salad and green salad to take. We ate and then sang Happy Birthday and ate cake. Then they had worship in the living room. There was a cello, violin or viola, and 2 guitars. Carrie sang and she had a beautiful voice. It was really great to just sit and soak.

That night it started raining and rained for 3 days straight! Saturday night when we were going to bed, Eli looked up and realized there were 2 bubbles of pain on our ceiling, full of water. We had a leak! They came in and looked at it, but we aren't sure if they actually fixed it or it just stopped raining. I guess we will find out sooner or later, we will just keep the bowl out just in case. hehehe. They did however give us $100 off our next month's rent because of all the troubles we have been having with the apartment. So that is a huge blessing and we really appreciate it. Thank you Jesus!!

 Sunday we had our church service that was great. Zayin came out of Sunday school and he had drawn a picture of my heart. Who's 3 year old says things like that? Apparently mine does! Zoe even had some crafts she came out with. They said she finds the same baby doll every week and keeps it tucked under her arm the entire time. She feeds her a bottle and puts her down for a nap. Too cute! Then a couple from Eli's group invited us and Steven and Tiffany and their kids over to their place for lunch. we had salad, chicken and rice! Then finished it off with ice cream and Popsicles for the kids. Yummy!!  After that we went over to Matt and Kelly's to finish laundry, hang out and let the kids play! LONG DAY! But everyone had so much fun, and both kids crashed on the way home. Zoe was in bed by 7:45 which I'm pretty sure is a record.

Today has been a chill day. We did however clean the whole apartment because Eli had a friend, Dan who is also from Montana, coming over to play video games and hang out. I made a bean soup that turned out amazing! I was pretty impressed. Kelly bought us some groceries and this bean soup mix was in there. It turned out to be more like chili, but it was way good. Thank you Kelly!

That's it for now. Hope you have an amazing evening! Love all y'alls!
Crystal

not much news

Well...the condo is back on the market. That's good news, and we seem to be getting more and more of a routine down. It's almost starting to feel like home, or at least that we are staying here for a while and not just visiting. Gosh, I'm trying to think of what has been going on and I'm having a hard time. Everyone is still doing great. Poor Zoe is getting her molars in and she is not really enjoying that, can you blame her?! She hasn't been too bad, just real whiny and crabby. Zayin is being, well a boy. Ruff and tough, and all sorts of loud. Today he actually road a bike with pedals, a 2 wheel bike. It did still have the training wheels, but he got the pedals down. Just a little more practice I think.

Eli took Zayin to Friday night service this last week. He said Zayin was a little scared at first, but when you are always taught to be quiet and sit still in church, it's hard to realize that you can get up and sing and dance, and shout. Once he got a little more comfortable, he was dancing all over the place. He loved it. Friday nights is almost all worship, so I think he might go again this Friday. Maybe it can be Eli and Zayin's date night. It might be good for them.

I am keeping up with the detox, I have fudged a little here and there, but for the most part am doing ok. Like last night we walked to Baskin Robbins for their $1 scoop night. It's about 2 or 3 blocks. We each got a scoop, and then when we finished, we walked down about 3 blocks more just to get in a little more of a walk. Zayin road his bike and Zoe walked part way and sat in the stroller for the rest. It was a nice walk and the weather was great. I finished one book I was on and now am starting Pray, Eat, Love? So far I am really enjoying it. I should actually be reading it now instead of playing on the Internet. Oh well!

Still missing everyone really bad. But starting to settle in here as well. If you are reading this, please pray for our friend's dad. He is very ill and needs help. We don't want to loose him, and would be so sad if we did. I don't think it is his time yet. Pray for his family as well please. I love you guys!

So this is it for now I guess. I was going to clean and do some dished, but apparently our water has been shut off. That doesn't really make for a very fun afternoon, does it. I guess I will go read while the chillins sleep. Hope you all have a great evening, and rest of the week.

Loves
Crystal

Lots and lots of BBQs

Well the past few days have been busy, but I can't exactly tell you everything we did. Have you ever had one of those? Thursday we went over to our friends and did some much needed laundry, and Zayin got to play with his buddies. They did great and had so much fun! They played for about four hours! Friday we stood in line for some things and ended up being in the office for four hours, that is no way to start out your Friday! Lets see...well Friday night we went over to a girl, Carrie's, house for dinner with some of her friends and that was amazing! It was so much fun, and it was almost weird how easy it was for everyone to get along. I forgot that it could be that easy. Eli had met this guy Ryan at his retreat, they are in the same group, and invited him along as well. When he got to our house the kids just ran over to him and couldn't get enough of him. It was so unlike them, especially since we have gotten here. They are both just a little intimidated by others, which is totally understandable considering the situation. But not with Ryan, Zayin was even a little upset when he finally had to go home after our dinner. And both the kids loved being at Carrie's, and felt so comfortable playing there. It just truly blessed us. We met a girl from Brittan and a girl from Germany, and four others that are living here in CA, plus Eli's friend Ryan who is from South Africa.

Then to continue our BBQ adventures, Saturday evening Zayin had one for his school, a chili cook off. So we loaded up the kids and camping chairs and headed over to the school. It was so much fun! Tons of people and kids, Zayin went crazy and just ran almost the whole time we were there. We also met another couple from WA, who have two boys around Zayin's age. They have been here about the same amount of time we have. And they go to Twin View at the same time as us so it was nice to connect.

To top off the BBQs we have one tomorrow for Eli's group where we will get to see and meet everyone in Eli's group and their kids too. I'm sure we will have a blast!

So this morning at church was amazing! In worship we went long, but I'm not sure we actually even got through one whole song. It was pretty powerful. And Pastor Kris had an amazing message. It really hit me hard and it was hard to hear some of it, but only because I knew it was true. A lot of facts that I didn't know as well and were totally mind boggling! I was totally blown away! And Eli danced like crazy during worship, he said it was like God was standing right in front of him. Zayin had a blast at Sunday school, and Zayin got to make a project and a paper airplane which made his day. So all in all, an perfect day! Now we are all settling down and will soon be settling in. I have to go finish my 100 oz of water for the detox I started, which is going pretty well, except I didn't follow the food guidelines yesterday. But overall I do feel a little better. Now to watch a movie with my darling children and sweet husband, before we are tucked into bed. Missing all our family and friends!oxoxoxoxo
Crystal

September 28

Tonight was fun. Eli is off on his retreat for school, they take them to a camp of some sort for 3 days, and he will be back tomorrow. Zayin had school this morning and seemed to enjoy himself once again. Today he came back with a craft showing how God created all living animals. It had feathers and some animal cut outs on it, very cute. Zoe and I just cleaned the house for a while and then read until it was time to go pick up brother.  Tonight he got to play outside with 4 other boys and Katie. Katie is a very sweet girl who is about 12 and has downs. She loves bossing the boys around, but tonight she was trying desperately to share her chips with all of them.  It was very sweet. Yesterday a mom told Zayin he was so good, and then asked me how I did it? My reply was...I have no idea. She says, "You're just blessed." It made me feel good that he really was playing so well with the other kids, and it's the truth, I really couldn't tell you any secrets to parenting.  After dinner, Zayin cleared the table and then played with Zoe for a while. We topped off the night by watching Aurthur and the Invisibles and munching on pirates booty and drinking chocolate milk. It was a lot of fun!
I am trying to get used to the noises and sounds around here. I'm so used to pure quiet of living in the woods, surrounded by, well not much, it's sometimes hard not to let your mind get the best of you when you hear something, and you don't know what the noise is. I'm sure sooner or later I wont hardly notice the noises.
I'm starting to chill out and think more about what I want out of this new life, and who I want to be, or who I want people to see me as. I haven't gotten very far, but at least I have started. Everyday is a new day, and right now I am just trying to get out of my rut of cleaning and organizing every day, sounds like a horrible habit doesn't it. =) But I want to focus on some other things. Just don't ask me what yet. hehehe

September 25th

Yesterday went pretty well. Nothing too exciting. Today we ran a couple errands and then had a BBQ for the apartment complex. It was nice, and we continue to learn more and more about our neighbors. Amanda is a single mom of 2 boys and Zayin loves to play with them. They seem like nice kids. Trevor is the all around nice guy who has been so helpful and full of advice. I think they are the ones we talk to most. There is a girl Katie who works at Bethel, and she is super nice. We talked to her forever today at the BBQ. There are a couple other  people we have met and everyone seems friendly.

Today was hot, or at least it felt like it. Poor Zoe was sweating outside while she was playing, and Zayin was too. I think Eli and him are going to buzz their heads. It might feel really good actually, but Zayin just gets so hot, especially when he is sleeping. I handled it pretty good, but y'all know me. I love the heat! I even left the hoodie in the closet today. hehehe

For now everyone is asleep and Eli is reading. I'm going to go rest, and try and enjoy the quiet while it lasts.

First day, let's see how it goes...

So a friend of mine suggested that I do a blog and that it might be easier than the whole update email. Let's just see about that! Everyone here is fine. Adjusting and trying to get on a little more of a schedule. The apartment is growing on all of us, and we are starting to meet the neighbors. Everyone seems really nice so far, lets just hope that continues. Zayin has already found a couple of buddies that live right below us, and they all play pretty well together. Eli is doing well at school, and Zayin seems to be enjoying his too.
Well since this is another test run, that's as far as I'm going to go. Miss everyone!