Imperfect Photos

I'm so annoyed with myself.

My kids look adorable and I wanted to capture the matching outfits. I adjusted blankets, ornaments, presents and seats to prepare for what I knew would be a crazy photo shoot.

During a break from the football game, Erik helped me gather the children and prop them up. Well, Becca we propped up. Joshua we bribed, cajoled, coaxed and entertained in an attempt to get some precious photos.

So why am I annoyed with myself? Because I got frustrated. I got frustrated with my two year old because he wouldn't sit still and smile normally. Because he wouldn't stop saying "cheese" with a squinchy face. Because he wouldn't look at the camera. Because he kept rocking and moving, and laying, and rolling. I got frustrated because my two year old was, well, being two.

My goodness, what else did I expect from him??

He wouldn't be Joshua Nelson Lindeen if he didn't make goofy faces, roll on the floor, pucker up and make oogly noises at his sister. He wouldn't be Joshua and he wouldn't be mine if he wasn't the silly little boy that he is. 

And I must say, the imperfect pictures that we did capture are the most precious, true-to-life pictures I've ever seen. My impish little boy and my smiley miracle baby girl.

We are so blessed. Merry Christmas from the Lindeens!!

We have a KID!

Today has been a funny day. Why? Because Joshua Nelson Lindeen is funny. Quite, in fact. 

I love that kid.

This evening after dinner we played hide n seek. Joshua learned this awesome game while staying with his older cousins this week. So tonight, we played a family game. First time ever that we really felt like we had a kid! I turned to Erik at one point and said, "Wait a minute--we have a KID!" Joshua would even take a turn counting "Di Doos Di Di .... ready here come!" and he turned out to be a great hider. I reveled in the joy on his face every time we found him or him us or he just jumped out of his spot, so enthusiastically engaged in the fun. We have a kid!

This morning, he drank his milk, pointed to his tummy and said, "Tummy! Milk! Gone!" and laughed. Then he pointed to the front of his diaper and said, "Milk! Gone! Haha!" and promptly went to the bathroom.

At dinner, I gave Joshua some watered down Crystal Lite as a treat. He immediately started guzzling it. We said, "Time to pray!" and he pointed his index finger at me in this new way that he does and said, "No! Wait! No Waaaaaait!" "Wait for what Joshua? It's time to pray--we always pray before a meal." "No, wait! Juice." he stated matter of factly and kept right on guzzling. We tried not to laugh and prayed to thank Jesus for the juice.

Apparently I take too many pictures, because now Joshua starts to say, "No, mama. [index finger pointing included.] No mama--no picture."

We made a gingerbread house today--or more like we decorated a pre-assembled foam house that I got at Target for $5. THANK YOU TARGET. Joshua has been carrying that thing around all day. In fact, the house had to play hide n seek with us.

Joshua loves to have me (or anyone available) draw animals based on his whims. Today it was hippos. Other days it has been giraffes, alligators, lions, bears and tigers. [{The only one I just canNOT figure out is rhinos. If someone can teach me how to draw a rhino, I'd greatly appreciate it. So would Joshua. My rhino is creepy...}] Erik was putting Joshua down for a nap this afternoon, and for whatever reason it was a struggle. He almost had him content and drifting off when Joshua sat upright in bed, eyes wide and yelled tearfully, "Hippo cubor! Hippo cubors! Daddy, Mama, hippo cubor!!!" Erik came to me, bewildered. I knew immediately--he wanted the two scrap pieces of paper that I'd drawn hippos on earlier that day. Erik got them, gave them, and Joshua went to sleep, "hippo cubors" (hippo colors) in hand.

We have a kid. He talks to us, he tests us, he loves us. He tells us stories (though we often can't decipher, we've learned to nod and pause and affirm with the best of 'em), and he shares his joy with us. I'm so excited for more family hide n seek nights--it's fun having a kid!

Priceless

8 salad plates = $5.52
8 dinner plates = $7.92
2 serving platters =$5.98
1 cool coffee thing = $3.99
Goodwill hunting with my future sis-in-law = PRICELESS

An {almost} Perfect Day

Today was an {almost} perfect day.

Wanna know why?


4.5% good messy hair bun
11% fun activities
20.5% just us three
23% great weather
41% my chosen attitude

It also helped that Joshua slept til 7:21am, and I only remember having to get up twice in the night to relieve my poor squished bladder.

Isn't it incredible how much my attitude affects my day! I honestly, physically felt the difference this morning in the mood of the home. When Erik (who gets up after me) got up from bed, I CHOSE not to be crabby at him and bitter about his extra sleep. I CHOSE to embrace being a mother--the one who generally wipes up/cleans up/picks up (though Erik has done a lot of that lately ... :) ) I CHOSE to recognize that I was choosing to be on my feet a lot, and do a lot of stuff. I CHOSE to take moments to interact with Josh, but I also CHOSE to not be guilty about letting him play alone, which he was once again doing well--hence an {almost} perfect day.

My husband and I conversed. We parented. We explored {again} the zoo with our adorable son. We ate. We relaxed. We sorted through stuff in the garage (one of my favorite parts of the day...). He ran errands while I rested my feet. I baked communion bread while he watched football. We ate Chinese food for dinner. We watched "You've Got Mail" and munched on popcorn and M&Ms.

Joshua and I colored. We blew bubbles. We shared a pretzel and took photos in a photo booth. We raked the dirt in the yard. We rode the carousel. We fed some ducks. We laid on a froggy blanket and read a book. We made music--he on the drum, and me on the egg shaker. We rang the doorbell. We sang monkey and rhino songs. We did bathtime.

I disciplined. I baked. I boiled pump parts and bottles. I packed my hospital bag. I chatted with my neighbor. I interpreted two-year-old language and calmed a frustrated little boy. Twice today I kissed scraped hands and brushed off dirty knees.

And in all this, I CHOSE. I CHOSE to recognize that a large part of my role as a wife is to do tasks--often mundane ones--that keep this house functioning. I CHOSE to accept that the dirty truth of parenting is that I have to be consistent in my discipline. I CHOSE to laugh with my husband and enjoy my time with him. I CHOSE to think good thoughts about my still unclean house, instead of discouraged ones. I CHOSE to sit down, with my laptop, with my feet up while there are still many messes in this house.

So much of ANY day is about CHOICE. So much of being a mom--and enjoying it--is about CHOICE.

I chose this life, I chose this role, I chose all of this--and when I get over myself and CHOOSE to enjoy it, it is truly wonderful.

Granted, today, due to the amazing weather, good hair day, fun activities and good company it was quite EASY to choose ... I'm still proud of myself for doing so. Many an {almost} perfect day has been not quite {almost} so perfect because my attitude has tainted it.

So what would have made it perfect you ask? If it had been just a tiny bit warmer when we were at the beach ... I wanted to build sand castles and get in the water! And of course, if I went into labor right now....well, then this might just be a {completely} perfect day. :)

Facebook Updates

I had a number of Facebook statuses running through my head today that I never got to.

I'd rather not sit and fill up everyone's wall with my random thoughts from the day, so I figured I'd blog it. I should blog more anyway. You know what I found when I gave up Facebook for Lent? I blogged more. Because instead of little one-liner snippets on Facebook, I combined all my daily thoughts for a blog. Perhaps more useful in life ... perhaps not. Maybe it's just interesting, but whatever. I digress.

Random updates from today that I didn't get around to typing out on Facebook:

I sure wish Joshua would learn to say "mommy." I mean, it's super cute that he calls for "Daddeeee" all day, but sheesh, come on kiddo, I'm right here!

Welcome back, T-zone skin. I sure didn't miss you when I lived in perfect world AKA Colorado. 

A little boy (6 y/o) at the park asked me if Joshua was my baby. When I said yes, he said "How old ARE you?" as his 4 1/2 year old sister simultaneously said, "I thought you were the babysitter ...." NICE. 

Open gym night at the Y was a GREAT idea! Credit--me. :) 

I decided today was the day, of all days, to make Joshua eat his dinner. We had to try three times, with many tears, and even a time out (which he still doesn't understand ...) And at the end of the day, he ate a few bites of his hot dog. My reward? A sleepy baby boy who smells of hot dogs. Kinda gross. But pretty sweet. 

Holding a 1 1/2 year old into place in timeout while gripping the timer and watching him frantically sign "All done" is rather depressing. The job of a mommy ....

How important is a good conversation with a great friend? Super. Super important. 

The 4 1/2 year old girl at the park asked me when my baby is going to grow up. I told her he does a little bit every day. As she ran home for dinner, she said it was nice to meet me and she hopes my baby grows up soon. 

Josh watches the Ezra Church video at least 6 times a day. Before it even ends, he's signing, "More! More!" and today he figured out that he doesn't need Mommy. He just hits space bar and it plays again. And again. and againandagainandagain......

I keep wishing I had more restraint and discipline with finances. I do this often--get all geared up to be better about watching spending .... and then I realize I don't know how. Same with eating right .... blah. 

Working out is fun. I should do it more often. So is baking. And dancing with my son. And laying in the grass. And laughing with my husband .... why don't I do these things more often? 

Yesterday, I did my devotions in the bathroom. Cuz there is where I found a minute of peace while Joshua played with the bubbles in the tub. God understands .... 

I could go on .... aren't you glad I didn't put all this on Facebook to fill up your wall? :)

Trick Explosion!

So, Joshua has had a "trick explosion!" In the last week, he has figured out the following:

Joshua, what does a bear say? "Rawr!" (It's much more adorable that I can do it justice on the web. I'll try to capture video ...)

How big is Joshua? Lifts his hands semi above his head and kinda wiggles his fingers.

He is FINALLY at least attempting to clap--instead of clapping, he holds his hands in front of himself, palms down and lifts his hands up and down over and over so that they hit each other on the way up and down. Clapping--Josh style.

Although he has spent absolutely zero time around his Uncle Jordan (which is actually a very sad thing to realize) he has discovered there is a whole on his face. Two of them in fact. And when he is confused or overwhelmed, he sticks his little finger into his nostril. What the ... ?!

He has finally mastered the mouth trick where he takes a finger, wiggles it and hits his lips/mouth and makes a noise. In fact, he just tonight figured out how to make the "bla-er bla-er bla-er" noise without his fingers. So he just sits in his car seat using his tongue to make the sound. Hilarious! (Just yesterday, he was still putting one hand up to his mouth, and then attempting to hit his lips like Mommy to make the cool noise, but with his other hand. So instead of making the cool noise, he just ended up slobbering all over one hand, while aimlessly waving his fingers in front of his chin with the other hand. Again, HILARIOUS!)

He is slowly but surely learning the sign for "All done"--though it's still always followed by a mischievous grin and food throwing.

He also lifts his arms now in the classic "All gone?" or "Where'd it go?" motion.

He points up the stairs, and then to his crib when he wants to take a nap. (I LOVE this one!!)

He says "Brrrrrrrrr" for ball, balloon and bird.

And now something like "Ni-Na" seems to be a word for lights. Not sure why ....

QUITE the explosion of tricks!!

Cousins Cousins Cousins!

Joshua and Katelyn--exactly 6 months apart

Samuel, age 5 here, once said, "I wish Joshua was my brother."

Josh may be the first on my side, but he make grandkid #8 on Erik's side!

We love cousins!

Elias, 7 here, making Joshua a Vikings fan already!

Serenity, 3 here, is such a sweetie!

Abby (5) and Lydia (2) love baby Josh!

Fall in Minnesota! Oldest cousin Ethan (9 here) taking care of Josh.

Uncle Jordan's a natural! :)

Josh loves Renny!

Josh loves the camera!

Renny, you're such a good picture taker!

LOVE Josh's face here ... like, "Why is she smiling again?!"

Grandad and his boys, Samuel, Elias, Ethan and Joshua

A Day with Auntie Tara

Another video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMTiIAegi9k

I love that my sister Tara came to visit this weekend! Seeing as I live near my parents, I never get to host my siblings overnight. Currently, though, my parents are in Florida, so Tara got to sleep at Josh and my house! Yea! We had a great day, allowing Joshua to "remember" and get accustomed to Auntie Tara. We played, and ate, and went to Target, and picked out birthday gifts, and ate Mexican food, and rode a train, and played on a playground ... Good times with Auntie Tara. Enjoy the video capturing our day!

Step by Step by Step!!!

Ahhh, what a day to be off Facebook. I want to share this with the WORLD!!!! Joshua has been taking more and more steps each day, and trying more and more ... here he is taking the most steps yet! and I CAUGHT IT ON FILM!!!!!!! Only a few days into his 11th month--way to go Joshua!

A Beautiful Day with a Wonderful Boy

Vegas Baby! (or ... Daddy ... ?)

Today I flew into Vegas. First time ever--Vegas Baby!

Except, I spent the evening with my Dad. :)

I am speaking for Verizon Wireless tomorrow morning, and my Dad happened to be here speaking at a restaurant franchisee conference this evening. So, we had a daddy-daughter date. On the strip.

Definitely not how one pictures seeing Vegas!

I grabbed a taxi and caught the last half of my Dad's session in a ballroom at the Monte Carlo Hotel. This was my first time entering a Vegas "hotel"--more like, mall with lots and lots of gambling. This is so NOT your mother's Holiday Inn Express.

I was on the elevator alone. For whatever reason, I forgot to push the button for level 2. So, I zoomed from level 1 to level 10. Silly me.

Stopped at level 10--enter dude with sunglasses and flip flops.
Stopped at level 8--enter business guy with outdated tie.
Stopped at level 7--enter Texas cowboys, complete with large belt buckles and boots.
Stopped at level 6--enter family of three from Scotland, no Ireland, no Vancouver. That's exactly how the nine year old girl explained it to me. In the most ador-ab-le accent ever.
Stopped at level 4--enter white haired man with full suit, tie and boutonniere.
Stopped at level 3--doors open to reveal 4 Spanish children, ages 2-4, crawling on their bellies yelling "Save me! Shark! Ah! Save me!" Thankfully, the parents waved us on and the doors closed. 
Stopped at level 2--little tiny business woman (AKA ME) steps out, wondering where in the world she is that she can encounter such a mixture of people .... ah yes--Vegas Baby.

So, I caught the last half of my Dad's session, smiled at some clients, was treated to dinner at Outback by my Dad, listened to his stories, grabbed another cab to my hotel (The Signature Towers at the MGM Grand) and am now staring out over the pool at the glittery lights of Vegas. Baby. Or Daddy ....

Dinner with my Dad

View during dinner

My first experience in Vegas, was with my Dad. Pretty fun, pretty grateful I have him.

And pretty grateful Erik is coming tomorrow. :) Vegas Baby!

Olive Garden

So, I was at Olive Garden this week.

Twice.

Two VERY different experiences ...

Monday night I was included in a "Moms' Night Out" with a group of ladies from church. We all looked our best--I actually did my eye make up and blow dried my hair--laughed a lot, talked about nursing and exercise, and poopy diapers. The bartender, who served us while we waited for our table, seemed happy to have us around.

Fast forward to Thursday evening.

I walk into Olive Garden, this time in work out clothes (though I was nice enough to change my sweats for jeans, and squirt some perfume. Hey--at least I tried.) This time, I have a 9 month old on my hip--who's still in his sleeper, mind you, from the night before--a diaper bag dangling from my shoulder, hair swept into a messy pony tail, and dried baby food crusted to my fingernails. Instead of other care free young Moms my age, this time I'm with my parents (carefree and wonderful as they are, probably not as exciting for the bartender) and my three teenaged sisters. (Too young for the bartender.)

Said bartender from Monday night catches my eye. Recognition, and slight confusion, floats across his face. I caught his eye back, smiled, and turned to focus on my son, thinking how strange it is to have these seemingly different personas.

And talk about a different evening! Instead of browsing the menu, relaxing in my chair, and sharing antics of Joshua with my friends, I rescued Blackberrys, hid knives, picked up bread, pushed away water glasses, untangled spaghetti noodles, cut up tomato, wiped messes, and never relaxed once in my seat. All while conversing with my family and attempting to feed myself.

Two very different evenings. One fabulous life.

BIG decision

Which photos should I print and hang on our dining room wall??? Vote in the poll for your fav ... I'll end up doing two.

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Photo #4

2010 Christmas Letter

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;

my hope comes from him. Psalm 62:5

Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

2009: Brief recap! Our last Christmas letter was at the end of 2008. We were in the throes of infertility and were feeling very discouraged and depleted. The verses I listed above actually led me to get a second tattoo, and use the Hebrew word for “Rest”. That, along with my other tattoo, Hebrew word for “Hope”, were good, and sometimes hard, reminders to us on our journey.  2009 was difficult; almost every single one of our close friends gave birth to children.  It seemed like we were destined to be childless until … August of 2009, we discovered God had answered our prayers and we were pregnant!  The pregnancy topped off a long journey, during which we learned many lessons.  I was surprised to find, however, that pregnancy didn’t make me automatically feel better.  And I’m not referring to morning sickness. J  I still had to struggle with God.  Even though He had showed us His plan and blessed us with a pregnancy, I was dealing with residual anger and was quite confused.  He was patient with me, and has since allowed me to process my journey with infertility, and continues to use my blog (www.rememberjed.blogspot.com) to be a source of hope and inspiration for dozens of women who have or are experiencing struggles.  Infertility does not have to be a silent, hidden struggle!  I’m humbled and honored that God would use my words and often very raw emotions to speak to others.  God is good, all the time.

2010: A year of blessings and incredible change!  Joshua Nelson Lindeen entered our lives 13 days early on April 22- a whole 6 lbs 13 oz.  I accomplished my goal of natural childbirth—and I don’t regret it! J  Josh is our joy.  His smile is infectious; he’s finally learning how to sleep; he is army-crawling surprisingly fast; loves peas, bananas, and carrots, and keeps us on our toes.  We are just soaking up every moment of parenthood.

ERIK loves being a father.  He has often said that it’s funny- all the clichés you hear are true!  It’s amazing how much love you can feel for this tiny human.  Erik has now been at Discovery Christian Church in Broomfield for 3 1/2 years as the Pastor of Worship Arts and Student Ministries.  He loves leading worship almost every Sunday morning, leading the Wednesday night youth ministry, and really enjoyed the opportunities he has had to preach on a few Sunday mornings.  One of Erik's highlights this year was planning and running a Fall Retreat for the teens from Discovery and another local church.  Discovery sent 42 adults and teens on the retreat and saw 10 students give their lives to Christ and one student feel called into full time ministry!  It was a great weekend and definitely a highlight in his 10 years of doing ministry.

Another highlight was finally getting a smart phone this summer.  He loves his iPhone 4!  (Maybe a little too much in Kristin's opinion).  Erik also saved his pennies from teaching guitar and bought himself a Gibson Les Paul Standard, a guitar he has wanted for over 12 years.  Erik's five guitars often take over our dining room, but I guess that's what you get when you are married to a musician!

KRISTIN I absolutely love being Josh’s mom. The last 7 months have been the most exhilarating and exhausting months ever. J  I love my son to pieces, and still breathe thanks to the Lord everyday for allowing me the incredible opportunity to be a mom.  I waited so long for this … and it’s more than I ever dreamed it could be.  I still work for my Dad at QBQ, Inc.  Learning to balance working from home with ministry, family, friends, and now a baby has been a bit of a challenge—one that I’m still working on.  But I am forever grateful for a job that allows me such flexibility!  I still do a fair amount of traveling, so Erik and Josh get to spend good quality time together while Mommy is away.  I’m into my third year of mentoring a group of girls at church.  Three of these girls have stuck with me since Fall of 2008, while two joined our group last year.  I’m thrilled to be able to do life with these young ladies, and pray that I can make a lasting impact in their lives for Christ.

Joy and love to you and yours! With love and in awe of God’s goodness,

The Lindeens

Honking Mom, Giggling Boy

I just spent a full 7 minutes giggling with my son. All out laughing. If I used the acronym "LOL", I would use it here. But to be honest, I dislike that acronym. I've used it once--literally once--in my whole life. For some reason, I just don't like it. But I digress...

As I said, I just spent a good long while laughing with Josh. He was splayed out across my lap, and we were chilling in the rocking chair in his room. Yesterday, he discovered that Mommy has white, shiny things in her mouth that click when she moves her lips. For some reason, these things (aka my teeth) are extremely amusing. Josh loves prying my lips apart with his index finger for a look at my pearly whites. And if I give him a toothy grin and click my jaws together, I am delighted with his hysterical laughter. Then, tonight, while we were doing this, Josh noticed that I had something else in my mouth--green, chewy and minty. GUM. Oh boy .... I blew a few bubbles for him, but it didn't bring laughter. He turned on his serious face and studied and studied and studied. He was entranced with my gum. Randomly, I "honked". I quite quietly, and in a normal voice, said, "Honk, honk!" Gone was the serious face, and instead, joyous giggles. I would say "Honk Honk Honk" in my normal voice, and he would erupt in giggles. This went on for probably 5 minutes, which for a kid who gets hiccups after two giggles, is a super long time!

What a thrill--an honor really--for me to sit with my child, and laugh myself silly. I ended up with sore cheeks and a side ache.

It was glorious!

And then, to top it off, he hiccuped and spew regurgitated milk all over my shoulder.

And I said, "Honk Honk Honk" and he giggled some more. :)