Updates

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

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.....

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

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!!!

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

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!!!

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!