Our Journey to Gateway

Happy 2nd Birthday, Baby Girl!!

2012-01-18T19:22:00.002-06:00

Two years ago I got to meet you for the first time! We were so excited to have another little girl in our family! You have brought us so much happiness and laughter. You are so onery, but that's what makes you our little Josie Mae! I love how your eyes smile and sparkle! You are such a beautiful little girl! We all love you so very much and can't wait to see you grow this next year! Happy Birthday, my little girl! Always remember that Jesus loves you and will always be there for you! Love you little girl!

It's a......

2012-01-06T14:25:00.002-06:00

GIRL!!!!

Today was the big day! We had our ultrasound this afternoon and got to see our baby for the first time! At first she didn't cooperate very well, but after moving around and pushing on my tummy a little, she moved enough for the ultrasound tech to confirm her suspicions of a little girl! Baby girl Hodel seems to be growing right on schedule and looks healthy! Praise God! As we prepare a little more each day, we pray that God will continue to be with our baby girl as she grows! Looking forward to meeting her in May!

Updates

2011-12-26T23:21:00.005-06:00

I have one question....where does the time go? These past few months has just flown by and looking back I hardly remember what all happened. It has been 2 months since I have last posted! Our life has been busy! The end of October Dustin and I celebrated out 7th anniversary! I can hardly believe it has been 7 years since we said "I Do!" I can't imagine living life with anyone else! Sometimes I look back and think, how did we get where we were are now! If you would have told me 7 years ago that we would have 3 children, 1 on the way, and be houseparents to 5 teenage girls I would have either laughed or cried! Or maybe even both! But I feel at such peace about where God has us! Don't get me wrong, I have my days! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed and just want to go back living my simple life with just my honey and kids, but then one of our girls will open up to me or say something that I would have never expected and it reminds me why we do what we do! Things at Gateway have been going pretty good! We are sharing alternates right now, so that makes scheduling a little different and sometimes stressful, but I am confident that God will provide and I shouldn't worry about something that I cannot change. We were excited when our dear assistant called us to tell us that she was getting engaged! And it gets even better, she is engaged to Dustin's brother! So, she will move on from being our assistant to being our sister-in-law! God is so good and works in so many wonderful ways! Now, we will be losing our assistant soon, but somehow I know that we will get by! (again! last year we went without an assistant for 7 months!) Just another teachable moment for us!

On December 2nd, I got a call from my mom to let us know that my Grandpa Koehl had gone to meet Jesus! This was a little unexpected, but it's what he desired and what is better that your loved one getting their eternal reward! We will miss Grandpa, but know that his aches and pains are now gone! He can run and jump without pain! When I stop and think about what he is experiencing right now, I can get chills. To be in the presence of Jesus! How wonderful is that!

The night of Grandpa's funeral, I had my last session of Dale Carnegie. Now this course had been going on for 13 weeks! It was something that I DID NOT want to do, but am so glad that I was encouraged to take the class! I have learned so much and truly feel like I am a better person, wife, mom, and employee for taking the class!

It's the day after Christmas and we are enjoying a little time in Roanoke. It is good to just spend uninterrupted time with my kiddos and Dustin's family! In a few days it will be 2012 and we will start another year! Praying that I can grow more for Jesus and keep the ultimate prize in sight. Praying that the New Year is a blessing for you as well!

Expecting a Visit from the Stork in May

2011-10-25T19:12:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to share with all of you our exciting news....We are Expecting baby #4!!! He or she will making their appearance sometime towards the end of May. I am feeling pretty good. I get a little sick during the day, but nothing big. Praising God! I am starting to pop out. People aren't kidding when they say you pop out more quickly with each baby you have. This belly is growing fast! :) Libby and Caden are super excited! We told our girls in Hickory House and they are equally excited! It's so fun to see them excited! :) Praying that God is with us as we add a new little bundle to our family!

And She's Off.....

2011-08-17T07:33:00.002-05:00

My Liberty Joy went to Kindergarten today. She was so brave! Just got on the bus like she had done it 1000 times over. Now this mama didn't do so well! ;) Last night I was laying in bed and just started crying. Thinking, my baby girl can't go to school. She has been at my side for the last 5 1/2 years and now she is going to be gone all day long....every day! And then at the bus stop I held it together before the bus came and even when she was getting on the bus, but when it stated to pull away the tears came again. I am so proud of her! She is so very excited to start this new chapter in her life and I'm so glad I can be by her side as her mommy. Liberty Joy, I love you so much and am excited to watch you grow!

My Little Graduate and some thoughts

2011-05-22T21:11:00.005-05:00

My Liberty Joy graduated from preschool a couple weeks ago. It's so hard to believe that I will have a child in Kindergarten. Life goes by so fast and sometimes I wish I could slow things down. She attended Grabill Missionary Early Learning Center for two years and had two of the sweetest teachers. I am thankful for what they did for Libby. She was SO nervous about graduating and you can really tell in the picutre of her walking down the aisle. Caden is going to go to this same preschool next year and I look forward to working with them again! And Libby will be attending Cedarville Elementary. So is excited, but says she is going to miss preschool! Mom Hodel was able to come out for her graduation and we had such a fun weekend with her and Dad who joined us on Friday night.

Josie is now 16 months old and is growing and changing everyday. She is starting to really talk and it's so fun to hear the new words she says! Some of them are...oh no, mamen (amen), melmo (elmo), thank you, Love you, and some more that I can't think of right now. She knows what sounds a dog, cat and cow make. She is ALL OVER THE PLACE! By far the most onery one yet! It's fun though, always on our toes!

Caden is loving being able to play outside. The little man would shoot baskets 24/7 if we would let him. Summertime at GW can be hard. The kids love to play together, but I don't always know where my kids are! But I am so thankful for the friendships that they are making! It is also wonderful to know that wherever they go on campus I can feel at ease. I always know that they are with people who love Jesus. And that's so important! It is such a wonderful "community"!

Houseparenting is going pretty good! Each day is different and some days are harder than others, but God is good! We have been without a assistant houseparent since the end of November, so that has been a little stressful. But once again God has Provided. Angie Knobloch from Peoria will be joining the Hickory House team in about a week! We are so excited! There are still openings for assistant houseparents and alternate houseparents, so if you are interested, feel free to ask questions. Like I said, it can and will be challenging, but it is such a blessing. God has stretched me in ways that I didn't know I could be stretched and I look back and say, "Thanks God!" He is faithful and knows the plans He has for us. Sometimes on a rough, long day I think that I just can't handle anymore, and then God shows me that I can and I must! Anyway...I just feel God working so mightly and it's exciting!

So, if you are discouraged or are going through a rough spot in life, be encouraged! God has a plan for YOUR life! You are His Chosen One! (quote from Jami Kaeb! :)) It's so easy to get caught up in the little things in life, but we need to focus on Him! That's why we are here....to praise and glorify Him!

Well, this post has gotten a lot longer than I expected, but I just felt God telling me to type. SO there ya have it! I hope you all have a blessed week!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Happy 1st Birthday, Josie Mae!!!

2011-01-26T11:35:00.003-06:00

Last Wednesday, 1/19/2011, our little Josie Mae turned 1! I can hardly believe a year has gone so incredibly fast! This little girl has blessed our lives so much and we can't imagine life with out her! She is still under weight for her age, but is right on target for height and over target for her head! Why do my kids have such big heads? :) She is walking around stuff and every once in a while will take a few very unstable steps. She is off formula and onto milk and it didn't seem to affect her at all. We are having a hard time weaning the bottle, but I'm not to worried about it. She is eating all table food and does pretty well with it! Her favorite food of all is Coco Puffs! This is like a drug to her! She loves to watch her big brother and sister and they can make her giggle so easily! We love you Josie Mae and are excited to see you grow this next year!

My Wonderful Husband

2010-12-10T20:55:00.002-06:00

So, Dustin was reading our blog the other day and complained that I "never" do an update on him. So here is an update on Dustin. I don't know what I would do without him! He is my everything and does so much for me! I could pretty much ask for anything and if he can get it or do it he will! God blessed me with a wonderful man! Our insurance company has a program that he has conquered in the past month. If you qualify for this program and lose 10% of your body weight they send you a check for $500!! He started the program in mid September and successfully completed it mid November! 3 MONTHS!!! He lost 24 lbs. for the program, but has lost more since then! I'm so proud of him and am amazed by his will power! He did way better than I would have ever done! And now if he keeps this off for a year he will get another check. This time for $1000!!!! I'm just so proud of him! So, that's an update on my man! Thank you God for blessing me with such an amazing gift! I love you babe!

Sickness Go Away!!!

2010-12-05T10:49:00.002-06:00

I hope the past week isn't a look into what this winter is going to hold for our family. Starting last weekend, Dustin had sinus problems and wasn't feeling the best. Then on Saturday, while we were still in Roanoke, Caden came down with a little stomach bug. It wasn't horrible, but he just didn't feel right all day. He did throw up twice, but it was very small. I think Libby got a small touch of this, cause she wasn't 100% herself on Sunday. We were going to stay for church on Sunday, but when Cade and Libs weren't feeling the greatest, we decided it would be best to head home. Well, on the way home, I started to feel a sore throat coming on. I got a headache that night, but hoped that a good night sleep in my own bed would cure it all. I thought wrong! Monday and Tuesday were pretty rough for me. Headache, sore throat, fever, achy body....fun stuff. Also, on Tuesday Josie came down with what Caden had. She threw up twice, but again it was hardly anything. She was just really tired and cranky that day. By Wednesday mroning we were all feeling better and I was praising God that things were headed in the right direction. Thursday Josie got more fussy and wasn't sleeping through the night and by Friday morning she had developed a high fever. Oh my, does it ever end. We pushed fluids and kept medicine in her, but it didn't really help. On Saturday morning, she woke up and was burning up again. So I thought, forget this, I'm taking her to the doctor. So glad I did!! We found out she has a double ear infection. Poor baby, no wonder why she was so fussy. The rest of the day she was still fussy and probably was her fussiest last night about midnight. Oh, and when all this was going on with J, I had noticed that Libby was very quite all day, but didn't really think anything of it. Well, Dustin felt her around supper time as thought she had a fever. Sure enough she did. So we got some meds in her and she did pretty well the rest of the night. She went to bed about 9 and J finally fell asleep a little after 1am!! Libby slept till 10:45 and J is still sleeping and it is noon! Libby woke up her old talkative self! Praise God! I went in to check on J and felt her and she seems to have no fever. I'm hoping she will wake up a new baby! So, that is all that has went on at our home in the past week. This was also our first week on duty with out our wonderful assistant Abby. We will miss her so much! Please pray for Hickory House as we adjust to life without the help of Abby. God Bless!

Josie Update

2010-11-02T18:41:00.005-05:00

Oh how diaper changes and clothing changes have become next to impossible with this little girl! My little Josie Mae is growing right up. She is now almost 10 months and I can hardly believe it. I took her to the doctor about 2 weeks ago and she was 17lbs. 4oz. She is still a little peanut, but has got some wonderful chubby thighs! She is just becoming so fun! She is now the proud owner of 2 teeth. Now these teeth didn't come that easy. Many night were spent up, many tears shed and many doses of tylenol we given, but it's all worth it. She does "so big", claps proudly for herself, started to wave, and dances when she hears music. She loves her big brother and sister and LOVES her daddy! One of the many things that I have loved about working at Gateway is that Dustin is around all the time. He always had to go to work for 10-12 hours a day when Libby and Cade were babies, so he missed alot. He has been around so much more since Josie was born and it has been wonderful. He has got to spend so much time with her and help mommy out! Josie now eats about 50% baby food and 50% table food. She LOVES to eat and loves her bottle. Most of the time she likes to lay on floor and hold her bottle herself. Every once in a while she will lay still enough so that I can hold her and feed her. Doesn't happen often though. Oh well, I'll take what I can get. Well, that is an update on Josie. Maybe tomorrow I will update you on Cade and/or Libby.

Update coming soon

2010-08-29T20:52:00.003-05:00

I will post soon....I promise...Life here has been a tad bit crazy!

4 months

2010-05-24T12:41:00.003-05:00

Josie had her 4 month checkup today and her 4 month shots. The morning sure tired her out. She is 13lbs. 12oz. (55%), 24 1/4in. (50%), and her head size 16 1/4in. (60%). So, she is growing how she should and is just an average sized baby. The doctor said that she is doing well and looks healthy. She had some problems with a UTI and is on a low dose antibiotic as a preventitive. She is rolling over from stomach to back and almost from back to stomach. When we put her down for a nap or the night, we usually find her in a different spot of the crib. She moves like crazy! It's so fun to see her doing all these new things. I just wanted to update you all on our growing little girl!
God Bless!

12 Weeks

2010-04-13T18:01:00.004-05:00

I can hardly believe that my little Josie Mae is 12 weeks old today. She has just been so wonderful for our family and is developing her personality more and more everyday. She has conquered sleeping through the night!!! Woot! Woot! She normally goes down between 9 and 10 and sleeps till between 7 and 8. And she is sleeping in her crib. For the first 10 weeks of her life she would not sleep in her crib. She would only sleep in her carseat, so this is a big accomplishment!! She is just plumping up, too! I just love her little rolls on her legs and arms.....and I love her double chin. Although she has always had a double chin, even when she was born at 6lbs. 7oz.! Just thought I would update you on my little peanut. Have a wonderful day everyone!

A little something to make you smile

2010-04-07T14:45:00.003-05:00

Just thought I would share this video with you all. This is my little man exercising. Normally he will put one of Libby's headbands on before he starts. Enjoy!

2010-02-23T21:23:00.003-06:00

Hello again! It's been awhile since I last posted. Josie is 5 weeks old today. I just can hardly believe that she is 5 weeks already. She continues to do really well and we enjoy her more and more everyday. She has started to smile and that has been so much fun. She is a little cutie! Hopefully I will be able to catch it on camera and post a picture soon. She is still getting up about once a night to eat, but then goes right back to sleep. I have been trying to get her on a schedule, but kinda forget how to do it. It's been 3 years since I had a baby and it's hard to remember. Any advice would be grand!
Our most exciting news is that we bought a van last week. It has been wonderful. We were getting along fine with the car, but it was just so tight in the back seat. We looked for a van for a while and found a really good deal here in Fort Wayne. We are super excited about it! The kids love it and there is just so much room. We traveled to Illinois this past weekend and that was great! The kids had so much room to sprawl out! This was the first time Josie made the trip and she did wonderful. She slept most of the way and didn't cry hardly at all! I am so thankful. The ride out was the part that I was most worried about. It was fun to be home and be with family again. It was really fun to show off little Josie. Most of our aunts and uncles hadn't seen her yet, so that was fun for them all to meet her. Babies change so fast, she will probably be alot bigger next time we go home.
Well, Josie is getting hungry, so I must go feed her. Good night all!

Happy Birthday, Caden Joseph!!!

2010-02-08T07:06:00.004-06:00

Today is Caden's 3rd birthday! I can hardly believe that 3 years have gone by since the little guy came into this world. It has been a wonderful 3 years and I don't know what we would do without him. He has been the "problem" child from the beginning. We didn't sleep through the night until 10 months (and even now we sometimes wake up), we got cold after cold followed by ear infection after ear infection. All this lead to getting tubes in his ears. The tubes have been a blessing because we haven't gotten a single ear infection since they were put in!! Then there was the stretch where he would get random nose bleeds ALOT!!! That has seemed to go away and not return! We then moved onto studdering! This all started about a month or so before we moved to IN. So, I know that all the stress from the move was probably the culprit! A couple months after we got setteled in he stopped the studdering and now has NO problem talking. We always thought that he was going to be the quiet one....boy were we wrong! He still comes down with a cold/cough about every month/month and a half, but those are bearable. I'm so thankful that all the things we went through with him were not life threatening. So many children in this world are much sicker and some may not see their 3rd birthday. So I'm not complaining by any means! Libby loves her brother so much and I'm so thankful for their close relationship. They love to play together, but also can get SO mad at each other! Alot of nights I will go into Libby's room and find them both in her bed, cuddled together, fast asleep. I hope that this relationship continues far into their lives. Caden is becoming more and more onery as the days go on! It can be reallly frustrating at times, but looking back we just have to laugh at the things he does and says. I hope I never forget these days! Caden Joseph, we love you so much and are so thankful that God gave you to us 3 years ago today!

One Week Old

2010-01-27T09:29:00.003-06:00

Well, my little Josie Mae is one week old already! I can hardly believe a week has went by so fast. She is doing wonderful. The precious little girl only really cries when she needs something. She has been doing wonderful at night too! Last night she ate at 8:45pm then fell asleep till 1:30am. We fed her and she went right back to sleep and didn't make a peep till 7:30am. How wonderful is that!! She had her first bath last night because her umbilical cord fell off yesterday. She HATED it!!! She doesn't like to get her diaper changed so I imagined that she wouldn't like the bath. But she Hated her bath!! She was screaming so hard she was turning purple!! But she survived and when I wrapped her in the warm towel, everything was all better! :)

Libby and Caden continue to adjust pretty well. I can tell that Caden is a little different, but nothing horrible. He is just having a harder time obeying and they both are having a harder time going to bed at night. Last night they both were still awake at 11pm. 3 long hours after I put them to bed. I think part of the problem has been that Dustin was gone Monday and Tuesday. He had to go on duty by himself and spent the night over at Hickory House. That is not normal for the kids and I think was harder on them than I thought it would be. For the past 8 months our little family has hardly been seperated for more than a couple hours, so for Daddy to be gone ALL day and ALL night was really a change. Thankfully those 2 days have passed and we can get back into a routine again.

My mom was here the week before the baby was born and Dustin's dad and mom came last week. His mom left yesterday. It was so nice to have them both here and the kids really enjoyed the attention from both sets of grandma's and grandpa. I think that attention was good for them. We go back on duty together on Saturday night. I don't know if I'm ready for that, but we will just take it one day at a time. I'm sure everything will go fine and we will just get back into that routine. Well, I think that's all the news I have for right now. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

OK....so I have no clue how to turn this picture. Any advice would be great!

Josie Mae Hodel

2010-01-22T10:53:00.003-06:00

Well, she's finally here! Josie Mae Hodel was born Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 3:56pm. She is just perfect! Labor was pretty good this time around. I went in on Tuesday morning at 7am to start the induction. When I got there I was almost 3cm!! That was exciting. They started pitocin and in a short while I started to feel some contractions. Since I went so quickly with Caden they gave me my epidural about an 1 1/2 hrs. after the pitocin. So I was feeling good! It took longer for me to dilate though because I wasn't quite soft yet. By the time I was fully dilated I could feel the contractions. They gave me more medicine, but that didn't really help. So I felt the whole delivery part. Not very fun, but once she was here, it was all worth it!! She was 6lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches. She's got quite a bit of dark hair, but not more than Libby did. She is just the sweetest little girl and I am madly in love with her already! I'm so excited to watch her grow!

2009-12-05T12:32:00.003-06:00

So I thought it was time to update again. We have been so busy, the last two weeks have just flown by. We went home to Roanoke over Thanksgiving. It was a nice trip home and we had a lot of fun spending time with family. Dustin and I went shopping on Black Friday together. It wasn't as horrible as I was expecting and I managed to get some pretty good deals. Target and Kohl's were the worst, so we just didn't even try and look. I think that I enjoyed just spending some quality time with my hubby alone more than the shopping. After shopping, I met my old roomies at Panera to have lunch and catch up. It was wonderful to see them again, even though they all weren't there. It just brought back alot memories. Good times!
The day we got home we went on duty at Hickory for a four day stretch and then had a maint. day which consisted mostly of meetings. Now we are on at Pine for a four day stretch. This is a new adventure for us, as we have never worked in a co-ed house but we are really enjoying it. Man o man the difference.....girls are just so full of drama and when you put seven of them together you just have WAY TOO MUCH drama! It has been fun to just experience another house. I will have to say I was quite nervous about coming into a house with kids I didn't know very well, but they are doing a great job.
We are looking forward to a couple days off though. Hopefully I will be able to get some Christmas shopping done and our Christmas pictures taken and sent out. Oh, and my house decorated! Our tree is up, no ornaments though, and our stockings are hung. That's about it. The kids are excited to finish decorating!
My pregnancy is going good. I had a sono yesterday and baby girl is measuring just on schedule. She weighs 4lbs. 5oz. Seems so tiny. I am getting anxious to meet her! I think Caden will have a harder time adjusting to life with a little one than Libby will. We will get though it though. I have stopped trying to potty train. He did so well without a diaper but we can't have a naked little boy running around all the time. I just don't think he's ready and I don't want to push him. I have come to accept the fact that I may have two children in diapers again. Life could be worse.
I hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season and remembering the true reason for the holiday. It seems like we can get so wrapped up in the commercial scene that we forget the real reason. One of the things that I want to stress to these kids is just that. That the real reason we have Christmas is for Christ. Before I can do that, I need to check myself and make sure I am living what I am teaching. Have a great weekend everyone!

2009-11-17T08:42:00.003-06:00

It seems like it is so hard for me to get into a routine of posting. Then when I do have the time to post, there is so much to post about that I just feel overwhelmed and don't know where to begin. Things have been going well. We are busy, as it seems we always are anymore. But I don't really mind the business. It helps me to stay focused on what God's purpose is for me here and I don't have time to feel lonely or sorry for myself.
Gateway Woods has hired new Alternate Houseparents and they moved to Leo on Saturday. We are especially excited about this because the wonderful couple is from Roanoke!! Chad and Kristy Kaeb have joined the Gateway team and we are excited to get to know them even more. Libby is really excited to have them here because their daughter Abbi is Libby's age and since they live 2 doors down from us she thinks that they will be playing all the time!!! It will be nice to have her so close. Libby really hasn't had a playmate on our street since August and she has really missed that.
We have started to paint our kitchen finally. I have wanted to do this since we moved, but have just not gotten around to it. Hopefully it will be done in the next day or so and I will post pictures as soon as is complete.
I don't remember if I have posted about potty training with Caden, but will update anyway. We have been attempting to potty train our little boy. He gets it I think, but doesn't always do it. He does do it consistently when he doesn't have a diaper or underwear on. This poses a problem because I can't have my child running around naked all the time. He is so good about telling me he has to go or just going by himself, but the minute I put a diaper on, he is back to his old self. I just don't know how to handle this. I have tried gum, which is something he really likes, but that doesn't seem to work. If you have any suggestions I would be delighted to hear them. On another note, he has been sick this week. On Saturday night before I went to bed I noticed that he felt a little warm. Dustin said that it was probably just cause he was under the covers so I didn't think much of it. Well, he woke up in the middle of the night burning up, poor kid. So he has had fever off and on, mainly on, since then. I think that it is down this morning, but he still isn't himself. So now I have to make the decision of calling the doctor or not. If it's not one thing it's the other.
Libby is doing well and now has homework sent home with her from preschool. She just loves to do it and bugs me about it all the time. I hope this continues throughout her years of schooling. Something thing tells me it won't be that easy. Oh well, I can hope!
Dustin and I are doing well. The baby continues to grow and is rarely ever still. I wonder if she is going to be long because it feels like she just stretches across my whole body! It is sometimes easy to forget that I am pregnant because we are so busy, but she makes sure that I don't forget for long! I can't believe I am at week 30 already! Time flies! We are getting more and more excited, but there also is some fears that come along with that excitement. I just have to remember to give it to God and He will provide. Houseparents have babies of their own all the time and they turn out just fine!!
I feel like I have just kinda rambled on for a long time, so I will stop now. Hope you all are doing well and are having a great week!

Five Years Ago Today I Married My Best Friend

2009-10-31T15:03:00.004-05:00

There is so many thoughts rushing through my head and I just can't put them together. The last 5 years have been incredible. They have gone by so fast! I can hardly remember my life pre-marriage! Looking back to my wedding day, I never thought that in 5 years I would have 2 children and one on the way and be living in Leo, IN serving at Gateway. It's probably a good thing that I didn't know, or else I would have been terrified! God has truly blessed our marriage and I wouldn't have changed one thing. Well, I guess there is one thing that I would change, Slow down and enjoy every moment.
Dustin, I love you so much! Thank you for choosing me! Thank you for always being there no matter what life brings. I'm sure that I haven't been the easiest or most fun person to live with at all times! :) I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else but you and our children. You made my life complete they day we became one. I'm excited to see how God leads over the next 5 years!
I LOVE YOU!!

Sweet Children

2009-10-12T21:06:00.006-05:00

I just love this little boy! :) Tonight he was just a little stinker though. Dustin had gone to play softball with Gateway people and I was home with the kiddos. They did some crafts and had fun doing them together. It was getting about bedtime, so I thought that I would read them a couple stories before bed. Well, when we were done reading, Caden was not! He threw a small fit, but then we convinced him that he could continue reading by taking a book to bed. (we being Libby and I) So we got our PJ's on and I sent them back to their rooms. I even let them have another 10 mins. or so reading together. Well, when I went back to pray with them, he lost it. He did calm down a bit for the prayer, but then when Libby went to her room (ever so nicely) he lost it again. Screaming and crying that he didn't want to go to bed. I tucked him in and gave him kisses and told him I loved him, although I'm not sure he heard it over all his screaming. I went to Libby's room and tucked her in. He kept screaming and crying and I kept telling him it was time to go to sleep. Then, I heard him say, "But mom, there's a shadow!!" Well, his nightlight makes a SMALL shadow on his wall and he just is so scared of it. So I went in and turned it off and that calmed him down alot. Then Daddy got home and he decided that he "needed" something else. Daddy went into his room and very sternly put him back in bed and told him not to get out. This happened two more times. After the second spanking, I think he finally got it and fell asleep. (or at least got too tired and fell asleep) It was a long hour and a half. But through it all I couldn't help but smile and think of how much I love that little guy. He has so much personality and makes me smile and laugh everyday. I don't know what I would do without him. I love you Caden Joseph so much!

Now on to the drama queen. This picture was taken at her birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa "Tick-Tock's" in Illinois. I will say that Erin has an even better picture of her in this pose. But mine will have to do for now. My little girl is growing up so fast. She just turned 4 about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I can hardly believe it. She is not only growing up physically, but she is just getting older mentally. Like tonight for instance. She was such a great help with Caden. She did a great job trying to convince Caden that it was okay to go to bed. She even told him that she was in the next room and would be with him through the wall. She's such a great big sister! She also just LOVES to do crafts. She sat at the table for probably an hour or more just working away. It's fun to see the stuff she makes and how she uses her imagination. Although she can be a major drama queen and throw her share of fits, I still wouldn't trade her for the world. I love you Liberty Joy and am so glad God gave you to me!!

2009-10-07T08:47:00.001-05:00

So I was looking at my blog and noticed that the date on my most recent post was the end of September. I just posted that yesterday which was the 6th of October. So, just putting a post to see if it does this again.

Have a good one!

FInally an Update

2009-09-21T08:44:00.004-05:00

Hello All! I know it has been FAR too long since I have updated my blog. My sincere apologies!! :) So on to the update.......

Things are going well here at Gateway. We are adjusting and this is becoming more normal everyday. I do have to say that I am still terribly homesick, but God keeps reminding me that this is where He wants our family and that we are doing His work.

Most of you probably know this, but we are expecting baby #3 the end of January. We are very excited and can't wait to meet our baby girl! Liberty and Caden as very excited as well and love to feel mommy's belly and talk to the baby. They have enjoyed their baby cousin Abel so much and that makes me excited to see them interact with our baby. The pregnancy is going pretty good. I get tired very easily and am alot more sore than I have ever been. But overall I can't complain.

Libby is adjusting to life here so well. It makes me very thankful. She started preschool the middle of September and is loving it. It makes me tear up from time to time when I drop her off. She is just this "big" little girl going into school with her backpack. She waves at me all the way in. Time just goes so fast. I remember when she was a little baby. She is has learned to write her name. Although it isn't perfect is is pretty good for a just 4 yr. old who just started preschool. She knew how to write it before then, but I think they are practicing tracing their names, so that helps her get better. For the longest time she would only write Libb, she would never put the Y. Now she puts the Y and is SO proud of herself. She's getting so big and I just love her more and more everyday.

Caden is doing wonderful adjusting, too. He loves Gateway and loves the fact that he can play outside so much more. He enjoyes the barn so much. He will go outside to play and I will go to look for him and he will just be in the barn feeding the horses or playing with the ropes. He just plays outside doing "work", just like daddy. It is so cute. Yesterday he came inside with a stick just about as tall as him. He just loved it and had a fit when I wanted him to play with it outside. He loves the girls in our house and talks about them all the time. I feel like him and Libby almost think they are apart of our family. It is so neat to watch them interact.

We are in the process (actually Dustin is in the process) of repainting the kids' rooms. We painted Libby and the baby's room Electric Lime and Bright Pink and Caden's room Navy and Orange. They look so good and I will post pictures as soon as they are done. I hope to be able to figure out how to post pictures soon. We should have internet at our house by the beginning of next week, so after that I will def. update my pictures here and on FB.

Well....that is about all I have time for tonight. We are on duty and it is almost snack time. Sorry for being so bad in posting lately. Hopefully I will do better. I just need to update a couple times a week. I haven't posted in SO long and it just seemed like there was so much to update on. I have probably missed something, but I guess that's okay. Have a good evening everyone!

Night!

Randoms

2009-06-28T21:13:00.002-05:00

Hello All! Just thought I would update everyone on a few random things that have been happening here in Leo. Things have been going good. Adjusting a little more every day. We are on duty for the first time by ourselves starting tonight and will be here for 3 days! Kinda scary, but I know that things will go okay and we will learn everyday as things happen. If you would want to say a little prayer for us that would be marvelous. Thanks! :)

Dad and Mom Hodel were here for the weekend and it was amazing to have them here! I think I needed a little something from home to get me till Thursday. (that's the day we go home for 5 days!) We had so much fun with them and the kids were just in their glory. Friday we went to a park in the morning and let Libby and Cade play for a while. Then we had lunch and they took naps. While they were taking naps Dad and Dustin started to investigate this leak we have had in our house since we moved. It's been kinda frustrating. So, the plumbers have been out several times along with the leak detection guys and they thought they fixed it, but then realized that there was another leak. They were gonna have to put another hole in Libby's room. But then my amazing father-in-law came and Dustin and him fixed it within an hour. It was amazing!!! I love those two men so much!! After they fixed the leak we went shopping and the to Chili's. It was a lovely day. Saturday we took the kids to the zoo and then D and I got a much needed date night. We haven't had that in a LONG time. Today we went to church and just lazed around and ate at Culver's before they left. It was sad to see them leave, but I know that I will be going home on Thursday, so that makes it easier.

Well. I better sign off. I'm starting to get blurry eyed and need to head to bed so I can function properly tomorrow. Have a wonderful evening and a wonderful week!

G'nite!

It's been a while....Sorry!!

2009-06-24T08:21:00.002-05:00

Hello All! Sorry it's been a long time since I've update you all. Life has just been crazy. We are doing great though. Alot has happened since I posted last, so I will try to update you on all of it.

Last week we were in training all week long. It was a long week, but we learned so much and feel a little more confident in doing what we do. We trained all day Tuesday - Friday and then had our First Aid and CPR training on Saturday. So needless to say, my brain was tired by the end of the week. Our kids were at different peoples homes during the week so that was hard to leave them everyday. Liberty did wonderful as usual, and Caden had a harder time with it.

Speaking of Libby and Caden, they are having so much fun at Gateway. Most of the day they are outside playing and I don't know where they are half the time. When we first came here I thought that I would know where my kids were ALL the time. Oh has that changed! We are just so busy during the day that before I know it, it's been a half hour and I haven't heard from my kids. Libby is usually playing with some of the kids and Caden just wanders around Hickory House. It's kinda cute, he never wanders off too far, but just walks around the house playing in the dirt or with sticks. So with them outside pretty much all day, they get VERY dirty at the end of the day. I don't think Libby has ever been as dirty as she was yesterday. Boy do they sleep good at the end of the day though!!

This week has been a busy week as well. We started to work more in the house and today we are actually by ourselves! It's kinda exciting. The girls are doing great, but not going really easy on us! :) The days really make me tired! But hopefully I will adjust and not get quite as tired. So we are going to be on duty all day today until about 9 or so. Then tomorrow Dad and Mom Hodel are coming to visit!! We are so excited to have them coming!! But I have Lots to do before they get here. I will be running around crazy tomorrow morning trying to get my house cleaned. Oh well!

Caden is still in awwww of the all the horses out here. The poor Amish people probably get tired of seeing him point at them and their horses. I wander just how long it will take for it to wear off. I hope pretty soon, because I'm quite tired of hearing, "Mommy, Do you know what I saw? A horsie....or a "clip-clop". I still smile when he says it though. He is just so stinking cute!!

Well, I think that's all for now. I am really going to try and get some pictures posted. Sorry! I hope you all have a great day!

Life at Gateway so far.....

2009-06-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

First of all I want to say, "TIME HAS FLOWN BY!!!!" I just can hardly believe we have been here over a week. Life has be great. We all have adjusted very well and are really loving our new home. Libby and Caden have done wonderful and I am so thankful for that. They have already made lots of new friends and are building friendships. Libby went to Sunday School on Sunday for the very first time, ever!! I didn't know how she would do. She did wonderful!

We officially started on Monday and have been doing lots of training since then. We are excited to start working in the house though!

I know there are lots of things to update everyone on, but I just can't really think right now. So, if you want to know how something is going or ask a question, leave a comment and I will respond!

We miss you all!! Have a wonderful day in Jesus!

2009-05-21T13:25:00.002-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a week since I've posted. Can you tell it's been a busy week? Last Saturday we had my dear sister-in-laws baby shower. She got so many cute things! It was fun to see the little baby stuff again. When I had my baby shower I didn't ever think that my kids would fit into 2T things, but now Libby is in 4T. Time just flies.

Then on Monday morning we picked up our big 24 foot moving truck. When I reserved this truck, I thought that it might be a little big, but we wanted to be on the safe side and get the big one. Man am I glad that I did. We had that puppy full!! Thankfully we got most of out things on, including my huge deep freezer and my fridge. At one point in the loading process I didn't think that either one would fit. Then Tuesday morning we left for Indiana at 6am and got there a little after noon their time. We unloaded with the help of the other alternates and now all of our possessions are in our new home. It is a very strange feeling. But very exciting.

We are now staying with our dear friends Cody and Maggie! I am so thankful for these two. They have been amazing! We are having fun and enjoying some last laughs together before we move.

Now, I must escorte my dear Liberty downstairs to her bed. She isn't too thrilled to take a nap, but mommy is in need of some quiet time! :)

Dustin's Last Day

2009-05-15T07:47:00.003-05:00

Well, today Dustin begins his last day of work. I can hardly believe it. My last day was hard, but it really didn't feel like my last day. I don't normally work on Thursdays or Fridays, so these past few days just seem normal. I guess it will really sink in when I don't have to go to work on Monday. I hope you have a wonderful last day, hon and am excited to start this new journey with you!

On Monday we are scheduled to pick up our moving truck, we then will load it Monday night! I think I'm going to be ready. Earlier, when I didn't have as much accomplished I didn't think I would ever be ready to pack the truck, but today I feel like I am ready.

My mother-in-law and A. Kathy are coming over to help clean the house today. I don't know how I would do it without these two! I am NOT a fan of cleaning at all, but they really enjoy doing it. So I will just take orders from them and do as they say! :) Then I am having lunch with A. Bev and Maggie, Jodi, Alli, and Tyler, Jamie and Haley, and Liberty and Caden. Should be lots of fun. Then, tonight we are having one last girls night with our dear cousin Lydia. We are going to get pizza and watch High School Musical 3. She is so excited!

Now my house is calling to me to start cleaning, so a cleaning I will go! Have a wonderful start to your weekend!

Last Day At Work

2009-05-13T09:12:00.003-05:00

So today is my last day at work. It's kind of bittersweet. I know that this is just one chapter in my life that is ending and another on is beginning, but at times I think that I would just love to stay here and continue doing this. Then I would know exactly what lies ahead and I would have no suprises. Then the Lord reminds me that my work is out at Gateway and that makes me so excited! Although I am going to miss Visiting Angels so very much!! I have had the best boss ever! Nate has just been wonderful! Another wonderful person that I have worked with for almost a year is Maggie. I love this girl! She is just a wonderful person. She is always happy and is so willing to help. During my packing time she has watched my kids and brought me very yummy meals. I don't know what I would do without her! I love you Magz!! Recently I have started to work with Jeanni and Tracy! They have been fun and amazing to work with! Thanks for all the memories!!

My house is coming along quite well. It's very exciting! I am getting all the stuff out in my garage and almost ready for moving day! Now that everything is coming together, it's becoming very real! :)

Liberty sucks her first two fingers of her left hand. She has done this since she was about 3 months and at this point I don't think she even knows she is doing it. Well, on Monday night she had sucked them SO much it made one of her fingers bleed. Dustin put a bandaid on it and she didn't suck them the rest of the night. On Tuesday morning I thought "Great!!! This is the way that we will break her of this habit. Well, she got up WAY to early and was a crab, so I sent her back to bed and she did sleep for about another hour. When I went into her room after she had woken up, she was laying in her bed sucking her fingers. I thought that she had just taken her bandaid off. Nope!! She informed me that she had decided that she would suck her other fingers!! GREAT!! That's exactly what I wanted her to do!! Oh well, I've accepted the fact that she might walk down the isle at her own wedding sucking her finger! :) I love you my Liberty Joy!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Packing

2009-05-11T13:13:00.000-05:00

So I have been packing....alot of packing...with lots more packing!!! It really hasn't been too bad and our family and friends have been wonderful at watching our children and feeding us! I couldn't do it without everyone's help!! I think that I'm coming along, but now that we are down to one week before we move the house out, I'm starting to get a little stressed! I know it will all be fine, it's just hard to see that now!

On another note, I had a fabulous Mother's Day! Dustin let me sleep a little later and then they all came into my room with my Mother's Day gift. It was fun! They got me some perfume and an outfit. We went to church and came home and I took a wonderful nap!! Thanks to my children taking wonderful naps!! We then went out to Dad and Mom's for supper, which Erin made for us. It was delicious!! It was just a great Mother's Day overall!!! I told Dustin that the only thing that would have made it even better would be spending it with my mom too! It's kinda hard going through Holiday's with them being in Florida. Oh well, God helps me get through them!!

Well, my plan tonight is to get back into packing. Shocker, huh? ;) I'm excited to just get it all ready for the moving truck next Monday! Have a great day everyone!!

Our Story

2009-05-06T08:44:00.000-05:00

Here is the post that I promised. The post that tells you all how we were lead to Gateway Woods. This may be a long one. Just want to warn all of you! :)

It all starts about a year ago, I had received an email from a friend who was teaching at Gateway at the time. She just said that they had an opening for Alternate Houseparents and just thought of Dustin and I. She said that she just wanted to pass along the thought. I mentioned it to Dustin and got no response. So, I thought that this was not the time. About a year later, Dustin had been in contact with a close friend who lives at Gateway and she said the same thing as the friend had before. This time was different for Dustin. He felt like he should pray about it and then talk to me. He was praying one day that if God wanted us to look into this that God would show him something. He opened up to the Potter and the Clay. He really felt like God was wanting him to be the Clay and allow himself to be molded.

We were in the kitchen one day talking and he brought this up to me. He asked me if I would consider praying about it. I told him yes, but in the back of my mind thought that it would probably never become something that we would really do. We really didn't talk about it much for several days.

The Sunday morning after he had talked to me about it, I prayed that God would speak to me sometime throughout the day at church if this is what he wanted us to do. I prayed this somewhat halfheartedly because it can be very hard for me to concentrate at church do to two small children. ( I will not mention any names! :) ) That afternoon Libby was sitting with me and was being so good and entertaining herself. We were reading in Isaiah 6 and in verse 8 God is talking to Isaiah and asking Who am I going to send? Isaiah then says, "I will go send me!" That was like the voice of God speaking to me. After the chapter the minister then starting talking about going to do what God calls us to do, and how we should just go do it and not ask why or have an excuse on why we can't.

On the way home I told Dustin about that and he told me that he was feeling the same way. So we began the process of applying for the position. Through this time, we both kept reading things in the Bible that supported our decision. We both felt at complete peace about this. I had never expected for God to work this way in our life, but we are so excited he is leading us to Gateway.

We will miss our family so much, but knowing that we are doing God's work makes it so much easier to leave. We are excited to follow God and take us where he leads!

Ok....so I'm a little behind but better late than never!!

2009-05-04T13:28:00.001-05:00

Well. I have a lot of catching up to do. So I will just start with more recent things and just go from there I guess. For those of you who don't know we are moving to Gateway Woods at the end of May. We are so excited and are ready to follow God!! I will post our story about how we have gotten to this point, but that will probably be in a later post.

We told Libby and Caden on Saturday and now I'm thinking we should have waited a little bit. Libby has asked me each day since if we are moving Today!! " No sweetheart, we aren't moving for a couple weeks!!" I don't think she gets it. She is excited and talks about all that we have told her. Caden really has no clue of what is going on, but I expected that.

Cute little story that I have to share. Yesterday afternoon Cade got up from his nap a little crabby. Normally he wakes up and is just a cuddle bug and pretty happy. Well on this particular day he woke up crying, not a good sign. We were planning on going out with the Hodel's for Mother's Day celebration and I told him he needed to stop crying and be happy if he wanted to go. He then proceeded to tell me, "But I want to cry a little bit". Too cute. I didn't even have anything to say, I just gave him a big hug and kiss......man I love that kid!!

So, we are planning on moving the week of the 18th. We would like to move everything out there that week and then be back for Joel and Kristi's wedding for our last weekend without having to worry about moving. So that mean I have 2 weeks to pack my entire house! Kinda overwhelmed at this point, but I know that everything will go well. It has already.

Well, hopefully my next post will be on how God lead us to Gateway. Thanks for keeping up with my blog, and thanks to those who kept up with it even there was like a 6 month gap between posts. I will do better now! I will!

Hope you all have a wonderful afternoon!!

First Time Blogging

2008-11-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

So, I was reading others blogs and decided that to keep my family up to date with the happenings of my children and our life, I would start a blog. I would also like to print the blog out someday and give it to my children. I think that would be an incredible gift, a day by day journal of their life. Although I don't know how day by day it is going to be. I will be getting pictures up and try to keep all my family in the loop. But for now, I am going to get everything set up. Hope I can figure this out!