Saying Good-bye to Techno Baby

Well, he hasn't been a baby for a long time now, but the tube (the right one is still entact) that makes Asher our Techno Baby is going to be removed on April 25th. They will then put a paper patch on it as a band-aid to hopefully help the hole seal completely. He will not be allowed to blow his nose or get water in his ears for 3 weeks after surgery - just in time for swimming season. And we are hoping that the patch will work and we won't need a skin-graft (which Andrea had when she was a little girl) which is considerably more painful.

Prayer Requests:
1. That Asher doesn't get a cold prior to surgery.
2. That the surgery goes well and the patch works to seal the hole in his ear drum.
3. That he won't have much pain or be bothered by the lack of no tube (no ear infections or for him to notice a "weird" feeling in his ear).

Our House is Back on the Market

As you recall, last fall we had our house for sale. It was a "horrible" time to sell in our neighborhood so we took it off the market for the winter and at the beginning of March put it back on. We've had several people come to look and we're praying for a buyer so we can make plans for purchasing a house (which we haven't found yet, so you can pray for that too). We've had 5 potential-buyers look so far and have another one tomorrow - two are families from our church. We would love to sell it to anyone, but knowing that it's being lived in by a loving family makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So you can be praying for the future owner of this home. :)

Saying all of that, if you know anyone who is going to Iowa State or will be attending the Vet Med school at ISU next fall, tell them to come on over and check it out - we'd love to show it to them. Thanks for your prayers!!

PS. There are pictures in the right-hand column so you can check it out.

Asher's 5th Birthday

On March 12th, Asher turned 5 years old. He's pretty excited about being a "whole hand." :) We had a great time with friends at Hickory Park - singing and ice cream included - on Friday night. It was also his friend's birthday (Grant's celebrating 9 years) so they were both sung to. It was a comfortable evening with friends and fellowship, celebrating Asher's years on earth.

On Saturday, his actual day, our family celebrated with presents, spaghetti-O's and mint-chocolate-chip cake (both spaghetti-O's and mint-chocolate-chip cake were requested by the birthday boy). We had a nice time with our family of four.

We are so thankful to God for our Squirrel. He's a feisty little guy with tons of energy. And he's had both of those traits since day one. He was a fighter in the NICU when he was born (and during the last few months of pregnancy) which made his stay there short (10 days). And he's always been a mover, even as a little guy. The doctor would say, "No wonder he isn't gaining much weight, he's always moving." And he's never stopped. :)

He's a source of joy to us and we are thankful that he's healthy, bright, curious, energetic, fun-loving, and mischievous. He's got a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh. He enjoys using his imagination while playing with his brother. He's a natural leader and he's a perfectionist. He enjoys Legos, Calvin and Hobbes, Transformers, books, crafts (especially glue), playing outside, riding his bike, hiking, being with mom or dad one-on-one, playing with his brother, having quiet time alone by himself, watching movies, being read to, and taking baths. He's very adventurous and such a little boy.

We love you, Asher!! And we pray that God continues to work in your heart as you learn more about His love for you and His Sacrifice for you. We pray that you grow into a strong young man who looks to seek hard after Christ. You are a blessing to us and we are so thankful! We love you lots!!

Quote of the Day...

Today I gave Asher a Life Saver for helping me out.
 Phin saw and asked, "Can I have a Star Wars?"
And I said, "You mean, a Life Saver?"
"Yeah," he said, "a light saber."

So that's why he asked for a "Star Wars." Fun to see how their minds connect things. :D

Picture Update

Lots of things going on over the next week or so (Asher's 5th birthday), so I thought I'd better get caught up on the last few months before I blog about his birthday! Enjoy the pictures!!

Here's Asher with some hat hair. So funny!

And I love those hazel eyes.

Phin is such a happy little guy!

Showing off the new things he can do with his fingers:

thumbs up and a little click gun (you click with your tongue) :)

Phin loves to help me in the kitchen so he's usually the one that gets to like the bowl, beater and spatula. :)

They may look innocent in these first two pictures, but the third gives it away. At least they were having fun together, and maybe even learning something. :) The mess wasn't bad at all and Asher had a fun time being the delivery man and bringing the books back to their room.

Another silly picture of Phin.

Asher fell asleep on the couch during quiet time.

Asher is great at doing chores. For every star he gets on his chore chart he gets 1 minute of Wii playing time on Saturdays. :) It adds up to a maximum of 30 minutes. He's become a wiz at the drying dishes and putting them away. Yesterday Jonathan was paying bills online (or checking his facebook) and I was in the living room eating breakfast and watching The Cosby Show while Asher was hard at work in the kitchen. So funny! Kind of nice to have them get older so we can train them to help out around the house. :)

Usually when they're alone in their room and giggling away, there's trouble. But the only trouble today was the UNDERWEAR BANDITS. They were so funny laughing together with undies on their heads. 

Hope you enjoyed getting caught up on our lives. See you next time with pictures from Asher's birthday!