Life with Bug, Bean and the Boy

One of the highlights of my days when I am at work are the stories and snippets that Shannon calls to share with me. I love getting a firsthand account of all the things that go on while I am away- the good and the bad. Our kids are greatly blessed that they have such an amazing woman to work at home for them, and with them. And I am greatly blessed that she makes sure I don’t miss out. The best of today, paraphrased from Shannon as eyewitness..

So I was in the living room feeding Eliza and Amelia was doing her usual circuit of play in the living room, into the kitchen etc. She was in the kitchen for a bit, when I notice it has gone suddenly quiet. I peek around the corner to find this:

 

 

She has managed to pull down a box of donuts leftover from the youth group…and had one in each hand, with a sample bite taken from each, as well as the one in the box that has already been tested. She looked up and summed it all up with one word.. “snack?”.

Yes Amelia…you can have a snack.

Some bullet point thoughts for the day:

- God is great- and I am learning more and more as I grow older how true that is.

- Life is good, despite the hardships and frustrations and headaches. One of my heroes summed it up nicely- “It is no small thing to celebrate a simple life” Bilbo Baggins

- And we are all certainly crazy.

God is great- and keeps showing us how His way, and His timing, is the right way. I have lamented before that I have gone without a commission payment since November of last year- 30% pay cut. Thus we have been forced to work hard, pray hard, and try to keep on the narrow path of finances, recognizing that the clutter and stuff of the world around us just isn’t the right way. It is difficult when surrounded by such consumerism. But we know our lesson is patience. We have prayed for the last week or so for encouragement from God, some small glimmer that we are doing the right thing by paying down debt and not using credit, by going without some things we think we really need.

And of course God comes through- we finally got some of our back pay! And the amazing thing is that we are already running it through the processes of Dave Ramsey, smartly allocating it and praying for direction, rather than going crazy with it. It’s still hard to think that way, but it feels better deep down.

Life is good- All that said, in the midst of our frustration and worries, we would always come back to how blessed we are, and how good life is. It is nice to be able to still feel that way AND be able to take care of some of the things that have been on hold. Some simple reminders of what is good in our life…

Homemade blackberry cobbler with berries picked by (little) hands and made with love.

 

 

Sisters

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Smiles

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We’re all crazy- As for this, it’s a given- we are who we are!

And now another update for those who may frequent this page. I finally found some editing tools that help make these updates much easier, and allows for cleaner pic posting. I am a stickler for that kind of thing when it comes to design items on the web, and the previous limitations I had were really annoying me.  So please comment and let me know what you think of the new site layout, and the new posts.

Long term I am working towards a possible side gig for Website and media design, so any feedback is very appreciated. I am currently tackling another website redesign for The Kettenrings on the Web, as I could never get the one we had where I wanted, so stopped messing with it months ago. Look for that to come in the next month or so. Also check out a new blog that we will be keeping (I know, just barely got this one rolling and already adding another to the mix!)- 90 Days of Change .

This will be a place to track the things we are doing to better our life, and to bring about the positive changes in areas we are addressing. The name came about from two places:

1. We completed in the spring Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, which was a 91 day course to get finances in order and change the way we look at money. We loved it, and have made great headway in the process. It is a long term process, but the “kickoff” was 91 days

2. I am ready to get back into better shape. I have used the excuse of Shannon’s pregnancies and the time constraints of having two kids as an excuse to eat horribly and tap out on the exercise I once got. I was never a gym rat or fitness freak, but I was better off than today! My main motivation is that I want to be able to keep up with my girls, and run and play and hike and carry them around without getting too worn out. I want them to have memories of a healthy, active lifestyle- and if I am lazy and on the couch, they won’t! So along with many other folks, we will soon be starting the P90X fitness regimen- a 90 day butt-kicking workout plan!

So with those two things in mind, I felt the title of the blog was appropriate. Look for regular updates there, starting next week. Now, on to the new pics! Some of which we have needed to post for a while., so this will be a long one!

We took the kids to the Bluegrass Lions fair back in mid-July, it was a beautiful night and Shannon and I both love county fairs. We thought it would be a good bit of fun for the girls too. Amelia enjoyed the petting zoo- favorites were the baby goats, sheep and chickens.

Her favorite by far, and not on camera, was watching the dirt bike stunt riders in the Cage of Death. She’s hardcore that way. She mainly just cheered and clapped when everyone else did, and then spent the rest of her time watching the carousel.

 

She fed the sheep, but was a bit wary at first.. and then got up close to the chickens..

 

  

She also got to go to one of her first big girl birthday parties for a friend at Gymboree!!

 

She liked the fun hats and bubbles best of all, but has really become a climber too, and took off through the tunnels and slides!

 

Best of all, the bubbles stuck to the top of her head- kinda made her look like a dragon..or one of the biker guys from Mad Max

 

 

 

 

And CERTAINLY not to be forgotten, here are some cutie pictures of Miss Eliza Jane- we have some great ones on the camera to download for the next update!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am simply amazed at how quickly time has gone with our beautiful little ladies. Eliza will be 3 months old on Monday!! That means Amelia has been a part of our life for 20 months that same day…and I wanted to look back at how much she has grown in that time, yet how you can still see the same “her” even in early pics. Below is a series of snapshots, one from each month since she was born. Some quick captions or notes, but mainly a look back..with a proud papa’s smile.

 

This is an abbreviated post for the time being- I realized the pictures I had hoped to post are still on the camera. I will have to download them tonight if I can to load them up. Today's topic- how ridiculously fast kids grow up. When looking for the newest pics, I was browsing through all our older ones and was amazed at how much Amelia had grown in such a short time. It's amazing to see her then and now, and how alike, yet different she is. I won't spoil the rest of my thoughts for later, but I am constantly amazed at the spirit and life and heart that she has- she is wonderful! Like I tell her, she was so perfect and so amazing that we just had to have another one. And Eliza is right on track too- we can already see personality coming out in her, and I love it! So I am feeling that shock of seeing a child develop right before your eyes- doesn't help that Shannon told me Amelia was holding a boy's hand at playgroup today. I will need the name and address of that child's father......more later. :)

A quick and easy pic post today. In the process of revamping the site- let us know what you think of the new design!

The three below were as we put the girls together to capture a pic to make into a thank you card...

Amidst all my complaints, the hard days, the stresses and uncertainty of my job for the past 18 months and a million other worries, it has been made clear to me this week that God's gifts come in many packages.

I'm not shy in sharing that, since Nov of last year, we have not been paid commission at work. That equates to a 30% pay cut (on top of a 5% cut that will be taken out of the first commission check we do receive- ETA as yet TBD) that we have been working with for 7 months. On paper- our income can not cover our expenses, and we have done MAJOR work in paring these down.

We completed our Dave Ramsey course and have eliminated all unnecessary expenses, have drilled down our grocery budget and limited eating out to a very bare minimum. We use a budget every month/week. We haven't planned any vacations that we can't recoup some cost by incorporating a business trip so as to be reimbursed for mileage. We are using the debt snowball to pay down debts. We have only one car, and have done so since Feb of 2008. And still we are below the line as it were.

Yet somehow, each month, God provides. From a tax refund to mileage reimbursements that provide just enough extra to get us through, there have been gifts from God that have seen us through. Each month. Without fail. Just this past week we were able to sell extra equipment and furniture from my company office that is no longer in use. We posted it on Craigslist last Thursday. As of today, every thing is gone- to the tune of about $300 each for myself and my co-worker.

It's scary to make a budget for the next month, not knowing what will cover it this time. But it is also kind of reassuring to know that we have 7 months of precedence to provide more confidence. So God is good to us, and makes sure that we are taken care of. I certainly don't like not being the one in charge, but at this point, there is nothing I can do to change the math, so it is up to Him! That's not to say, if anyone happens to read this and knows of some job openings, please send them my way!!

And finally, what I am reminded of every day are the 3 best gits of all. Money could be gone, jobs lost, everything else falling apart and I would know that I am greatly blessed because of these gifts. Yay God. Yay for me too- my life is really quite awesome.


Amelia loves to wear mommy's pretties, daddy's shoes, and her old hat that is way too small for her gargantuan cranium. "HEAD-move...NOW" (if you get that reference, thank you, if not- it loses much in explanation so please disregard)

We are back after a bit of a mini-vacation- we traveled up two Thursdays ago to visit Shannon's side of the family and enjoy some good times there. We then left around noon on Sunday to drive down to North Carolina and surprise my dad for Father's Day/his birthday- I think he enjoyed his littlest visitors! Unfortunately we forgot the camera, so no pics of all that :( The girls did great on the full 1400 mile odyssey, and we enjoyed getting away form Lexington for a while. Some recent pics are below, just a smattering for now:

Eliza is already getting so big, and is really becoming her own person.


Luckily big sister likes her, and has been great in playing with her. Though lately she has taken to trying to giver her noogies...I think she was moving in for one here when we caught her in the act



While they don't really look a lot alike, their fussy face is about the same...Amelia isn't in a full on fuss here, but you can see the resemblance around the angry eyes and nose

We didn't snap any new photos this weekend, and took it kind of slow, which was nice. Thus, I will put up a rare post not about the kids. I jotted this note down at some point during one of my flights I was on for work, and figured I would go ahead and post it now.

For all too many people, their only experience with flying will be in those greyhound buses of the sky, packed in like cattle- enduring delays, cramped spaces, hustle and bustle, loud overwhelming moments of rushing from one spot to another contrasted by endless stretches of boredom confined to a seat. Even when you glance out the windows and see clouds stretching underneath into the horizon, or watch the sun set as you turn final for landing, you are still constrained to a 3x2 space of blurry, dirty window. However, in that one space of time, that one moment, you can almost taste what you should be seeing and feeling, but then it is gone.

I have been sadly absent from flying since I got my pilot’s license, but even with my limited time I have been shown a world that is far more peaceful, far more powerful and far more amazing than I would have ever imagined. There is a simple beauty to flying- beyond all the technology and weather reports, checklists, procedures and things to know, there is a simple, elegant beauty in seeing our world from a new perspective.

Pilot Officer Magee, who wrote High Flight, truly knew what it felt like. Much like commercial airline travel, I had always read this poem fast and furious, anxious to get to the end. I never took the time to see what was being painted in his words- now I do. I encourage you to read it and imagine, feel each line for all it is; don’t just rush to the end. I also encourage you to check out the following site, this producer has captured the essence of what it is to fly.

Flying Full Circle is a short 10 min film you can watch on line. There is also an intro sequence to One Six Right, a full length documentary about general aviation. I plan to watch it in its entirety very soon. It may be just me, but I hope somewhere in all this, the wonder filled kid in you can see out of your grown up eyes and bring back a sense of magic and amazement that may have been covered up by time.

This weekend we decided to try something that worked well for us last summer- the drive in. It was a great way to see movies without having to always find a baby sitter and little infant Amelia slept and snuggled the whole time through. So, being in an adventuresome mode, we wanted to try again this year with little infant Eliza and big sister Amelia.

Here we go again! We are back on track and once again attempting to commit to regular blog posts for all of our friends and family. With the arrival of our second little one, Ms. Eliza Jane, several of you have noted that this is the only place you can come to see updates and new photos. Only 3 weeks in to having two under age two, we have quickly found that we need to be even more extremely organized than we were before. As such, I am going to try and commit to a specific time each week to provide new pics and updates. Keep an eye out for posts on this, and perhaps a second blog, but for now, here are some updated photos for all to see.

Eliza Jane Kettenring: May 10, 2009, 7:14 AM, 7 lbs 12 oz, 21 in


Big Sister is a big help- she loves to kiss on her sister, and help burp her. If the pacifier falls out, you hear a big "Uh-Oh" and she tries to help get it back in. We have been very lucky in Amelia's attitude and behavior towards Eliza. She's got spunk and a lot of...personality...but she has been great towards her sister!


A good day at the park. Amelia got to swing and feed the ducks and romp around the playground. Little sis got to sleep...


A smile for mommy :-)



As always, big sister is a ham when the camera comes on...