Worst blogger ever or just really busy?

Wow! Am I the worst blogger of all time or what? I actually think about posting an update several times a week but often feel too overwhelmed, too emotional or am too busy to do it. Whew!! I do want to get better though….so here is an update.




Life is still pretty crazy for us these days…..it is full of ups and downs. I am working a 3 month (4 day a week) temp job until June. Bryan is working a part time job at the seminary in the recruiting office and will soon be switching to working as a Hebrew tutor (congrats Bryan on getting asked!). With our two jobs plus Bryan’s class and study time plus normal everyday tasks and errands to fit it (grocery shopping, outings with the kids, etc) we are really struggling to feel any normalcy and to find rest. We continue to keep 1 full family day on the calendar each week and almost never compromise on that. With our schedules though, that feels really hard to do some weeks. Bryan and I do not see a lot of each other these days because he often has to leave for work or study time when I get home. We are trying to find ways to have more dinners together or even get away for a date night occasionally but it often feels impossible. Our stress level is often escalated to another level even beyond all of this because we continue to deal with behavioral issues with Noah. He is such a sweet and amazing little boy but he is also highly spirited which means he has intense emotions and fast reactions. With a hectic schedule and an ever-more-independent 2 yr old little sister in the family (who also brings her own challenges), things get hard for Noah to manage without frequent blow ups and aggressive episodes. We are working hard to understand him better and parent him in a way that works with his spirit and enables him to reduce these outbursts. On the positive side, Noah is a star student at his preschool and they barely even believe us when we talk about our home struggles. : ) He is growing up a lot, using big words like “similar” and “confrontation” (which cracks me up) and is really showing an interest in the arts. He will begin a children’s theater class in St.Paul next month and we are all really excited for him to explore this new avenue!! Taylor is doing well also. She is talking more and more and really sticking up for herself these days! She loves Dora and all princess stuff. She is way into clothes and shoes and often fights with us about what she is going to wear!! Haha!! She loves playing dress up and being silly. Also, amazingly, she completely potty trained herself over the last few months and has switched to undies!! Yay for no more pull-ups!! Her and Noah do play well together a good chunk of the time and are good at reconciling after fights and at bed time. It is nice to see that they do really care for each other because some days, we are not so sure!



Bryan is enjoying his studies and doing well in his classes. We are wanting to find ways to get involved at our church (Eagle Brook Church) up here and take more advantage of the many on campus activities (guest speakers, live worship, etc) but with so little margin, it’s not really feasible at this time. I am still attending a weekly Bible study with other women from Seminary Village and I love that time of connection and laughter. We continue to love Minnesota (even with the snow and cold). It is so beautiful here and there are many cheap and free family friendly things to do here! The blessing of living on campus surrounded by other people going through similar struggles as we all navigate our way through seminary cannot be put into words. We feel especially blessed with the recent arrival of Joe and Miriam Knight……it’s so nice to have some friends around from back home!! I am pretty sure I’d have moved home by now or moved to the loony bin without all of our wonderful new friends!



As I’ve said for months now, this is the hardest and most amazing thing I’ve ever been through. Not once have I felt regret about our decision to take this leap of faith……..and I swear that I am not just saying that. We continue to ask for prayer that we can find financial stability that will also allow us to remain emotionally stable as individuals and as a family!! Thanks for listening………..