Goodbye Dwight!

Last Sunday, Jason's dad preached his last sermon at the Dwight United Methodist Church and the whole family was able to be there to hear it. It was entitled "Taking the Journey" and it was an inspiring message about not being afraid to let God lead you into taking a next step in your life.

What I took from this message was that God calls us all to be faithful and follow the plan he has laid out for our life. God plants seeds in our head and prompts are heart --- little "pushes" towards what he wants us to be doing to best serve Him and others --- and though it can be scary (and very uncomfortable for a "control freak" personality me) we should listen when God is trying to guide us into something new because no matter how scary or uncomfortable or  uncertain a "next step" might be -- he always provides us with what we will need to be successful.

So, after 41 years of ministry, Jason's dad and mom will be retiring to Huntley, Illinois and they will definitely be entering the next step of their lives. One of the most exciting parts of this change is that they will be (much) closer and we will be able to see them more often. That means our children will have BOTH sets of grandparents close by and present in their daily lives.. and that is pretty great!

Here are some pictures from the retirement celebration the church threw for the Leppin's--

Bill preaching his final sermon (I only took one because Jason couldn't believe I was taking pictures with the flash during the message. Ha ha... leave it to me not to miss a picture opportunity)

The whole family after the service- Thanks Belly... you have such a way with the camera :)

Cake and a pregnant lady...... need I say more?

Here is an excerpt from a cute poem some friend's wrote for the occasion...

"Through Bill's ministry, souls he's been preaching,

To lead them to Christ with his Biblical preaching.

Will he miss the ministry? Well, some things maybe.

We know he will miss kissing each baby.

His schedule will change as he answers bluntly,

I won't be here- we are moving to Huntley.

They will be driving to Huntley, but wait there's still more

Bill's going to carry Marsha through the front door.

We are sure they will enjoy their retirement so,

And they will say we should have done this long ago.

We love the Leppins, and will miss them each day,

We wish them the best and for them we will pray.

Happy retirement Marsha and Bill

God be with you, We know it's His will!"

and TODAY they officially moved into their new home in Del Web - Sun City!

The place looks great and it seems like they will have plenty to keep them busy during these first few weeks of unpacking.

and we timed it....25 minutes to get home from their house! Believe me.... I will not miss driving to Dwight with a toddler :)

Welcome home Grandma and Grandpa Leppin!

Pssst....

Baby Leppin #2

Coming in early February 2012

Stay tuned for more details!

A Few More Father's Day Pics...

 Isabel made this for her daddy at daycare - sweet!

 A picture with my Grandpa Joe and Belly. Can you believe he is 81?

 Ready for a dip in the pool

Such a great dad! Don't you love our self-portraits?

My niece Payton... I literally want to bite those chubby little legs- what a dolly.

Happy Father's Day Daddy - We love you

Uncle Terry providing us with some party music

 Bel is not the bravest swimmer- but she is warming up to the idea

Uncle Zack and Payton

My mom and HER dad

The grill master- making steak and crab legs. I am literally still full and it has been three days

Happy Belated birthday Bean!! Is this 26 or 27? No worries. You are still a baby

Daddy/Daughter golf lessons :)

What a fun day!

Happy Father's Day Jason... (a wee bit early)

Earlier this week, Isabel and I wrapped a little Father's Day gift for Jason and made him some cards. Then I reminded her that his present was a big secret ("Shhhh.... don't tell Daddy... let's go hide this bag in the back of my closet. We'll give it to him on Sunday") Such fun! She was very excited.
So excited, in fact, that when he came home from work three hours later she ran to the door and shouted "Daddy, I made you a prize and it is hiding in Mommy's closet!! It's a book, clothes and jammies!".... Doh! So much for the surprise. Then she proceeded to run to the closet to get the gift for Jason to open. It was pretty darn cute... so Jason opened it then and there.
Happy Early Father's Day to a wonderful father --- Your daughter and wife adore you :)  XOXOX

The "House Selling" Blues

Well... we have officially been on the market for five months now.... and NOTHING.

Oh sure, we have the occasional showing (we usually get a call every other Sunday and then we have an hour to get the house in some kind of order) and our realtor has hosted several Open Houses (that no one attends) but we still haven't found anyone who has expressed any real interest. We have dropped our price ... twice. We have offered to pay the buyer's first six months association fees.. heck we would even throw in Lucky if we thought it might help.

This housing market just stinks. We will take such a huge loss if we sell... but we are willing to do it because we know we could buy a really great house for our family at an even better price and interest rate. Only.. we're stuck. So, this post is really just a complaint. It is HARD being on the market. Not because you have to clean constantly (and that is something I am really not used to) but because you constantly get your hopes up.. only to be disappointed. So today I am trying to accept that for whatever reason- a move may not be in God's plan for us right now. Sure we're a little cramped... and yes the stairs might just kill me... but our place is clean, safe and cozy and we have made it very nice. Our neighborhood is kid-friendly and although we don't have our own yard we are just minutes from my parent's who have an amazing one - complete with a pool and deck. Since I can't change my circumstance- I suppose I had better work on changing my perspective. (oh yeah... and quit scouring realtor.com looking at all the houses I wish I could buy:)

Happy Memorial Day

We ran the Fox Trot in downtown Elgin this morning. Jason and I haven't done a 5K since last year but we have been running off and on this spring so we felt somewhat ready. The race started pretty early (8 am) but it was already 80 degrees when we took off. It was very hot and I had to go pee for the entire last mile of the race- (really! I was DYING) BUT I am still happy with my overall time. 31 minutes and 49 seconds. I placed somewhere near the middle of my age group and met my personal goal of staying under 11 minute miles. Of course I did try to slow down and walk near the end but a woman running next to me yelled at me "Cmon!! Don't walk now. You are less than a half mile from the finish and it's all downhill from here". She motivated me (and shamed me because she was probably at least 20 years older than me) so I kicked it back into gear and finished less than a minute behind Jason. I like running in that type of environment because I always push myself harder than I ever do at home. Running to me is very mental  (I am always ready to give up. Or I get really bored easily and stop before I need to) I have no idea how people can run 10 miles or 15 miles or even 26 miles. Amazing.

Anyway, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to run two 5Ks... so 50% there.

Belly didn't get to come to the Fox Trot with us. However, we did invest in a little plastic blow up pool and lounged in it all afternoon. It was HOT today. Here she is shading herself from the sun :)

Here is a cute picture of Isabel and Jacqueline from breakfast on Saturday morning. Arian (who is such a trooper because she is 9 months pregnant and still drove out to Schaumburg to meet us) brought Jacqueline and we let these two crazy two-year-olds run wild and tire each other out. Jacqueline had a scary stint in the hospital last month so it was so great to see her feeling 100% back to normal.

And a little "cousin love". Mandy and Zack had us over for a little (rainy) BBQ on Sunday and Isabel was being very gentle with her cousin Payton.

Overall, a very nice Memorial Day weekend and the best part? 7 MORE DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL :)

Reason # 478 that I love my husband...

I woke up from a short nap to find these two dancing around the living room playing "Princesses". I especially liked Jason' crown and tutu. Priceless :) What is cuter than a daddy and his daughter?!

Potty Time

So I think we missed the brief window of time when Isabel was actually interested in going "potty" on her potty chair. (It was some time before her 2nd birthday and she would readily run to her little pink princess chair and then sit on it for as long as it took for her to tinkle) We would reward her with an M & M and it all seemed pretty easy. I remember thinking to myself.... "oh this potty training thing will probably be pretty simple. I mean look how responsive she is to it already." But, since it was still pretty early and we (Jason and I) weren't really very committed to the idea- we just kind of dropped it and let her go sporadically- skipping days or weeks at a time.

 However, now that we have decided to get serious with it again- we have found that she has lost all interest. In fact, she objects loudly, runs away and pretty much refuses to sit still long enough to go. Her daycare teachers are nice about offering to take her to the bathroom, but she gives them a hard time too. Soooo.... the last week the "sticker chart" was born. A friend suggested rewarding her with a sticker on the chart for each time she successfully goes to the potty. She went to the store with me to pick out a few packs of stickers and she does seem to like the idea so far. As you can see from the chart she has been going again (of course we have to ask her and she still needs to be coaxed) but I think we are creating some habits. She is still TOTALLY horrified about the idea of pooping on her chair (she looks like me I am insane when I suggest it and you should hear some of the crazy things I have tried to bribe her with if she does it. No dice) My mom always says "Don't worry- she will potty train eventually. You won't have to send her to kindergarten with a diaper under her arm" and I believe that. I think kids probably do this when they are ready.

Only .... it would be nice if we could get these habits in place this summer when the clothes are easiest to change and I am home much more with her during the day. Fingers crossed!