Welcome to Summer!

When we got home from Camp yesterday
we went right to work preparing for summer.

Pancho and Samuel cut the grass, of course.
We went and got some replacement heads
for the sprinkler system, filled the grill tanks
and bought some flowers.

When we got home Katrina wanted Pancho to
set up the pool.
She had the idea to put it at the bottom of the slide.
Samuel, not realizing how cold the water would
be should he slide into really fast, showed
little fear and went down.
He cried after the initial shock of the
chilly water, but was back in the pool
before I could get outside with his towel!

We also grilled steaks and red potatoes as a
celebratory meal to welcome summer.
I have been really enjoying meat during this
pregnancy.
I like meat all the time but the pregnancy
has really brought out the craving!

Finally we planted some petunias in the
small flower bed in the front of the house.
We will see how long they last;
Samuel enjoys driving his lawn mower and
cars through the flower bed and
managed to stand and break one plant already
while we were still planting!

Welcome to summer!

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

Friday at 5:00 could not have arrived soon

enough for our family.
We were on the road by 5:16 and SUPER excited
to be headed to Camp Forest Springs.

We pulled into Camp at about 6:30.
We got registered and signed up for the Voyager Breakfast.
We were assigned to Cherry II as our cabin and
we made our way back there and got a bit settled.

We walked down to the camp general
meeting area and got on the traditional
"first-night hayride."
The kids enjoyed sweet treats from
Main Street Cafe.
Katrina had birthday cake ice cream each evening.
Samuel indulged in Laffy Taffy's since he
is not a big fan of ice cream
(click on the collage to enlarge -- take a close look at
Samuel's teeth!).

We woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning,
dressed and drove to the camp parking lot.
We drove because it was raining and we were
uncertain the Voyager Breakfast would
be taking place.
We were surprised to find out it was still on!
The guys leading the trip graciously lent us
raincoats and got us set with life jackets.
We did not bring a good camera along so the pictures
were taken with a phone camera.
We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the toast,
eggs, breakfast sausages (which Samuel called "chicken")
coffee, orange juice and hot chocolate.
They even gave us dessert for breakfast:
pineapple delight.
The canoe trip back to camp was a bit rough with Samuel
who did not want to get his life jacket back on and
get back into the canoe.
We gave him a rock to throw into the lake
and he got into the canoe very quickly!
Amazing what a little rock can do for a child...

Saturday afternoon after session and lunch we made our
way to the mini-farm.
The mini-farm is by far Katrina's favorite
place to go first!
She was very anxious to hold the kittens, chicks and bunnies.
She quickly found the shetland pony and did her best
to get the hair out of his eyes!
While she manhandled all the animals,
Samuel was much more interested in the
retired tractor and water pump.

After spending quite a bit of time at the mini-farm
we walked up the path to archery.
Katrina tried her hand at archery for the first time
and impressed all of us.
Mr. Beasterfield was the BEST instructor anyone
could ask for and taught her the ins-and-outs of handling
a bow and arrow.
She is excited to "shoot for rank" next year!

Samuel was ready for a rest so Pancho took him
back to the cabin while Katrina and I
hit the handcraft shop.
Katrina decided to paint a birdhouse and then
she really wanted me to make her a headband with
a flower on it.
I conceded and while I stitched the flower,
she fell asleep next to me on the table.
Camp has a way of tiring everyone out!

Sunday afternoon Pancho participated in the high ropes course.
Hopefully this evening we will have a video
available of the actual jump.
He jumped from a 50 foot platform and
was belayed to the ground.
We are all very proud of him!
He enjoyed it and thinks he might even do it again sometime!

While Pancho completed the middle part of the
high ropes course, we went to the waterfront.
It was not overly warm, maybe 73 degrees, but
Katrina had her heart set on going swimming.
So swimming we went!
I should say, swimming they went.
The water was chilly, but not too chilly to stay out of.

All too soon it was Monday after brunch and the
kids took one last turn at the park.

We had the best time ever.
Every year we say that,
but every year it is true.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

Tradition. Tradition.

How many years do you have to

do something in order for it to

become a tradition?

We have gone to Camp Forest Springs

for the past two years over

Memorial Weekend.

It has quickly become a treasured

tradition for all the members of our family.

We are getting the last few things packed

and ready to head out tomorrow after

Pancho gets home from work.

Take a look at how we have changed

over the past two years...

Memorial Weekend 2009

Memorial Weekend 2010

Stay tuned for a picture from

Memorial Weekend 2011...

Fashionist-o

Just when we thought we were only
going to have to deal with one
fashionista in this house...


... I present to you:
Samuel,
the fashionist-o.

If He Had His Way

If Samuel had his way,
he would spend every evening doing this:

He absolutely adores mowing the grass.
But not just mowing it on his own.
He wants his papa to be mowing right alongside of him.
It is the sweetest thing.

Each morning he asks his papa if they will mow tonight.
Each morning his papa says "maybe."
All day he asks his mama if Papa will be coming back
and when he does get home if they
will mow.

Today I told him that the grass needed to dry out
in order to be able to mow.
This afternoon when he saw me after I had been
at an appointment the first thing he asked was,
"Papa mow?"
It was sunny out and the grass had dried.
I told him most likely yes.
He jumped with joy and shouted with glee.

What a wonderful picture of how we should
respond to doing the work of our "Papa."

Lord,
Help us to have a similar attitude to
that which Samuel has.
He is so eager to participate in the work
of his papa.
Give us eager hearts to participate
in Your work, God.
Amen.

First S'mores of the Season

Tonight we had a fire in our fire pit.
The first fire of the season.
Katrina had a good friend over for a sleep-over
and the neighbor kids joined us for s'mores.


Then we developed a new s'more variation:

We had some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
that we used as the graham cracker and chocolate parts
of the s'more with a roasted marshmallow sandwiched
between.
Let's just say that the neighbor girls were raving
our a
"new s'more invention" to their mom
when they went home.

I am sure that we are NOT the first to
try this variation.
Yet, it was fun to know that the neighborhood
kids think we are quite the s'more
connoisseurs.

It's the little things...

On Friday the kids ate breakfast on the deck.

It's the little things in life that
make it enjoyable, right?

If he won't come in ...

Any guesses as to why Samuel was allowed to eat outside
this evening?

This was what he was watching!
He is absolutely enthralled with lawn mowers,
weed wackers and the like.
Our neighbor was out trimming around his garage
and we could not get Samuel to come
in to join us at the dinner table.
So, we took the dinner table out to him!

Next-Best Thing

This morning we woke up late. Late for a Friday.
Pancho has his final exam for a mechanical engineering class
and was up quite late studying.

In our house the motto is:
When Papa is up, everyone is up.

Today, Papa slept in a bit.

So, after rising I came downstairs to get breakfast on the table.
Katrina came down shortly after and said,
"Mama, why don't I ever get breakfast in bed?"
I told her that she had to stay in bed to get
breakfast in bed but she and her brother get
up too early to get breakfast in bed.

She was satisfied with the answer and as a little
surprise to her I offered her the next-best thing:

Breakfast on the sofa.

Happy Mother's Day

Six years seem like a long time in some ways.
In others it seems like yesterday.

Six years ago on Mother's Day I cried myself to sleep.
We had been trying for a baby for three years
already with no success.
We were waiting to be chosen by a birth family
as adoptive parents.

And two short (now I can say they were short)
months later, we found out we were
expecting a baby.
Overjoyed doesn't even describe our
sentiment.

And now, six short (again, now I can say they were short)
years later we celebrate Mother's Day with
two enormous blessings and one
more on the way.

Lord, thank You for Your perfect timing in our lives.
Thank You for Your all-sufficient grace each day.
Like the poignant quote I read today,
'Your grace is not only sufficient to save us from harm
but to make us gain from it.'
Your grace and faithfulness have carried us through.
Amazing Grace.
Great is Thy Faithfulness.
Amen.

Big Shoes to Fill

Notice anything peculiar about these shoes?

What about now?

Samuel has some pretty big shoes to fill...
And he is pretty smart about how to fill them.
He slid his own shoes inside of Pancho's so he could
wear them around the house without losing them.
Smart kid!

2 Peas in a Pod

Katrina and Samuel really enjoy eating frozen peas.
Today Samuel has not been feeling up-to-par
and has not really eaten anything.
But, when I offered him some peas, he said,
"Yes."

The kids were getting ready to go outside and play
so Samuel had his favorite hat on and I could not
resist snapping a few pictures.

Katrina sidled up next to him for a few shots of the two of them.
They are definitely our two peas in a pod.

Soon our pod will have 3 peas!

24 weeks and counting

We are at 24 weeks and
counting on this journey
of our 6th pregnancy.
It has been a stressful pregnancy for me.
Some are surprised at that news.
Others are quick to justify my fears.

Neither are the response I am looking for when I share
my vulnerability.

For a while I was quick to justify my own fears about the
pregnancy.
I told myself that we have lost three babies and I have
every right to be nervous.
I told myself that anyone in our situation would
be uptight.

Then a still, small voice whispered to me,
"Are those My words, Kristina?"

As I thought about my thoughts
(meta-cognition for those educators out there!)
I came to the conclusion that those thoughts
are not my Savior's words.
He says, "Do not fear" more times than I have counted in
the Scripture.
He says, "Do not be anxious about anything" in Philippians
and this is the verse that He has used to convict my heart
of the anxiety I have experienced.

Not long ago I was listening to Focus on the Family when
Max Lucado was speaking about his new book,
Fearless: Imagine your life without fear.
He said something very intriguing.
He said that fear in itself is not bad, it is what we do with
our fears that can be sinful.

I truly believe that God allows anxiety in my life
to grab my attention and to bring me back
into His loving arms.
I have been able to capture my anxious thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5)
and hand them over to Jesus Christ and that has produced such joy and peace
within me.
Praise be to God!

I say all of this to show you a picture...


We are getting ready.
Katrina and Samuel are now in a shared-bedroom and
Blue-B's crib and things are set up in
Katrina's old bedroom.

Katrina and Samuel have had a blast putting this baby into
the crib and changing him and feeding him and
carrying him around.
We have had conversations about how things will be a little
bit different with the real baby!

As I walk past this bedroom every day I am reminded of
my fears and anxieties.
I admit, I am sometimes tempted to close the nursery door
so I don't see a crib and changing table in that bedroom.
But, with God's abounding grace He is helping me keep that
door open and He is keeping the door of my heart open to the idea that
this is really happening.
He is helping me to trust Him each step of the way.

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for Your all-sufficient grace.
I cannot even count how many times I have
quoted 2 Corinthians 12:9 to myself over the
past 20 weeks that we have known about
Blue-B and the blessing of him in our lives.
I pray that You will continually remind me, especially
during those times of anxiety and fear, that You are with me
and that Your grace will continue to be all we need.
Amen.

Extreme Makeover--Bedroom Edition

When we found out we were expecting another
baby we decided that Katrina and Samuel
would share a bedroom until the baby was big
enough to share with either Katrina or Samuel,
depending on whether the baby was a girl or a boy.

When we found out in March the baby we are expecting is a boy
I began to plan the combined room.
I consulted with various friends and even purchased some bedding.
The bedding that I ordered was not at all
what I expected and took it back immediately.
I quickly became obsessed.
To the point of being maddening!
I am convinced I saw all the possible bedding options
under the sun.

Finally, after several weeks of this obsessive behavior,
my dearest and closest friend and advocate
said to me one morning in the bathroom,
(if you haven't figured out who my dearest and closest advocate is,
it is Pancho, my husband!)
"I am going to paint the kids' combined room tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I said.
"You can't! I don't have the bedding. I don't know what color
we would paint."
He calmly responded to my mini-outburst,
"Figure it out because I am painting tomorrow and
if you don't decide on the paint, I will."

I was upset.
I was hurt.
I was stressed.

So, after he left for work that Friday morning I loaded up the
kids and drove to Target.
I went up and down the aisles we had been up and down many times
during these obsessive couple of weeks.
I had so many different comforters and sheets sets in the cart there
was no room for more.
Katrina said, "Mom, are we really buying all of this?"

To make this long story a tiny bit shorter, I will say that we
decided to stick with what Katrina was already using in her
room and to buy something simple for Samuel.
We got sheets that had coordinating colors and went to
Menards to find the paint.
We picked out two really, really bright colors and
Pancho painted the walls.

In the end we all really enjoy the room.
In the end I am so thankful that Pancho saw me spiraling
downward and put a stop to it.
He is my greatest advocate and saw a weakness in me and
stepped in to remedy it.
What more could a woman ask for in a husband?

We have a bit of accessorizing to do but the kids
have totally loved sharing a room and the bunks.

Katrina Josefina Durandina

Katrina is such a joy to our lives.
She has a sweet spirit and is learning so
much these days.

Our family loves nicknames.
I think the Gehring side should be blamed
because my dad and brothers are always coming
up with nicknames for people.

Over the years Katrina has had her share of nicknames.
Nene
Woochie-Woo
Treenie-Neenie
Treen-Bean

Lately we have been calling her
Katrina Josefina Durandina.
I know. I know.
It is hardly a nickname in the sense of being shorter
but it suits her well!

Inseparable

This boy and his rain boots are inseparable.

He wears them to the library.
He wears them grocery shopping.
He wears them to church.

Today I brought up some fun, new-to-him black Crocs from a tub downstairs.
"Do you want to wear these new shoes, Samuel?"
"Yes. Girl shoes." he replied and put them on.
(I told him they were not "girl shoes.")
Within 30 seconds,
"No. Boots."

If you have any suggestions about how to separate
these two, let me know!