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!

Biker Dude

A few weeks ago Nana bought Samuel his first
bike helmet.
He wanted to wear it non-stop.
We had to run an errand and he would not
take it off...

... and this is what I found when I went to get him
out of the car seat.
He is a biker dude through and through!

Farmers at Heart

Katrina and Samuel love playing farm.
Today they brought up several farm stuffed animals
and the makings for fences and made their own farm.
Samuel went down and brought up hats for both of them!

Katrina worked on labels for all of the animals
just like at her favorite farm:
Camp Forest Springs mini-farm.
She has been doing a great job
sounding-out words.
She gets the beginning and ending sound
and sometimes even a middle sound.
We are so proud of her hard work!

An April Update

Last night I snapped a few pictures of Samuel and Katrina and thought,

"It would be a good idea to give an update about all of us." So, here

you have it...

Samuel has enjoyed the warmer weather so much. But, because it has not

been that warm here yet he asked that we bring his car into the house

from the garage. We obliged and he has spent more time doing laps

through the living room, hallway, kitchen and dining room. He is

talking more and more. Our favorite thing now at mealtime is to ask

him to pray. He partially closes his eyes, looks down and says,

"Jesus. Grandpa. Jesus. Nana. Jesus. Shawn." It is the cutest thing

and we are so thankful that he is learning little by little to be

thankful for and pray for his family.

Katrina has been busy learning a new game on the iPod. It is a hunting

game and she has really assumed the role of "hunter-extraordinare."

Last evening she was showing Papa how to play and then she

disappeared. She re-appeared wearing what she termed her "hunting

clothes." What is hilarious is that the pants are Samuel's (18-month)

and they fit her better than him in the waist! Of course the jacket

and t-shirt nicely accent the camoflauge pants. Leave it to the

fashionista to make camoflauge cute!

Pancho is loving his kids! He has begun a new routine of early rising

to leave for

work much earlier than he was used to so he can

come home much earlier and have some outside time with the kids.

They have enjoyed swinging, riding bikes and building snow forts in

the past few days.

He is a wonderful papa who spells love T-I-M-E right now.

Me and Blue-B. We are 20.5 weeks along, a tiny bit over half-way to the end

(since the C-section will be scheduled for 39 weeks).

I have begun to feel Blue-B kicking and squirming around a bit more.

The placenta is positioned anteriorally and therefore his kicks have been

well-cushioned and therefore more difficult to detect.

Many times during the middle of the night, when I get up to use the bathroom

I lay back down and as I am trying to get back to sleep

I feel him moving and spend that precious time praising our Lord for this

indescribable gift.

So, that is a good mini-summary

of our lives at this point.

There is no place like home

Friday night we helped host a going-away party for some DEAR, DEAR friends.

They are moving to Kansas and as I thought about a theme for the party,

once I thought of the Wizard of Oz there was no going back.

Here are some of our decorations and treats.

Yellow Brick Road Rice Krispie Treats

Lollipop Guild Lollipops

Emerald City Jell-o Jigglers

Glinda the Good Witch Wands

Here is the decoration and treat that made the party.

(BIG thank you to Jenny Deane, cake baker and decorator extraordinare!)

We all tried to dress the part.

These two girls took the cake when it came to most authentic and cute!

Here are some faces and families represented at the party.

Brian, Christina, Taylor, Trevor and Joey,

We love you and we will miss you.

You have been such dear friends and we are so thankful for the timing

the Lord had in bringing you into our lives.

Although we don't totally understand His timing for your departure,

we trust that it is just as perfect as when you arrived in Wausau.

One huge consolation that we have is "There is no place like home."

It is consolation because Pancho and I know for certain

that our home is in heaven and we know that is your real home as well.

We will continue to pray for all of our children that it is

their real home and then we can truly say,

"We will see you again, at home."

Blueberries or Strawberries

Yesterday was a big day for the Duran family.
We went from being a family of 2 boys and 2 girls to ...

I had heard several ideas about "gender reveal parties."
I was intrigued and wanted to do one.
I was nervous about the planning and did not plan
it until we had our 16-week appointment and heard the
heartbeat one more time.
Once I had that assurance, I began to finalize our plans.

I had seen an idea that I tweaked and here is how our
"gender reveal" went...

At the ultrasound Katrina gave the doctor a picture of a
blueberry and one of a strawberry.
She asked him to please give her the picture according to what
gender the baby is:
Blueberry = boy
Strawberry = girl

Then, after the ultrasound we had invited family
and friends to join us in the big reveal.
Each person in attendance built a sundae based
on their guess about the gender of the baby.

Here are some of the guests guesses.
Leave it to Pancho to make a spreadsheet with all of the guesses!

Pancho Sr. -- boy
Emelys -- girl
Francys -- boy
Fanny -- boy
Veronica -- boy
Ron -- boy
Dorothy -- girl
Shawn -- girl
Leanne -- boy
Nick -- girl
Amber -- boy
Stuart -- boy
Dawn -- boy
Joe -- boy
Rachel -- boy
Suzanne -- boy
Dan -- girl*
Kristy -- girl
Abby -- boy
Brian -- girl
Christina -- girl
Taylor -- girl
Bethanie -- girl
* Dan guessed girl but built a blueberry sundae because he wanted blueberries and not strawberries

Once everyone built their sundae we called Katrina down
from her room (she had been sequestered up there!)
with the bowl...

And the baby is a BOY!!!

Lord Jesus,
We praise You for the revelation of another boy
for our family.
We praise You for the 147 beats a minute of his little heart.
We praise You for where You have brought us
in our walk with You.
You have used this pregnancy and this
boy in such a tremendous way to teach us about
You and Your gracious hand upon our lives.
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
We commit him to You now.
Help us to remember that You love him
more than we do.
Help us to remember that You have a plan
for His life and help us to work in
accordance with that plan and to trust
that it is Your PERFECT plan.

Para los abuelos

Today around noon Samuel
laid down on the living room floor and
within minutes this was his condition.
He had a rough night last night, falling
out of his bed two times.
I think that coupled with how much time he has
spent outside while we have had
nicer weather has finally
caught up with him.

Abuelo and Abuela have been asking for
pictures of Samuel so when he was sleeping
on the floor I figured it was a great time
to snap a few!

Trust and Obey

Today as we left the library and walked to the car

the Lord touched my heart with another great word picture.

Samuel has been bent on walking (versus being carried)

so I have been working diligently to instill in him the understanding

that he must hold my hand while crossing the street.

He would rather be independent, free to walk on his own

and yet that is not a choice for him at the young age of 2.

Katrina, on the other hand, has proven that she

is capable of crossing the street with us without

holding my hand and she knows that she

must walk with us, at our same pace, etc.

Today, Samuel was fighting me as we began to cross the

street and Katrina was right behind me.

Samuel and I were already half-way across the street when

out of the corner of my eye I knew that Katrina was no

longer right behind me.

I stopped, looked back and called her name.

She said, "Mama, I am looking both ways."

"I know you are looking both ways, Katrina,

but I already looked both ways for all of us

and you need to walk with us like you are expected to."

There were no cars in view so it seemed harmless to her.

She quickly ran to catch up and as we

finished crossing the street and walked to the van.

I was struck with the idea of how often I do the

exact same thing.

God has checked to see if there are any cars coming.

He is there, guiding me across the street

and I am still at the curb, looking both ways

making sure He is right.

Making sure I can trust Him to cross where He

has already given me the go-ahead.

Lord, please forgive my lack of trust.

When I do not obey, I am not trusting.

It is that simple.

I am not trusting that You have given me the go-ahead.

I am not trusting that You have it all worked out.

I am not trusting that You have a perfect plan.

When I do not obey I am not being protective of myself.

I am thinking that I know more than You.

Plain and simple.

Just as Katrina stood at the curb, checking for herself,

so do I stand, checking for myself,

when it has already been checked for me.

Thank You for yet another word picture.

You are so gracious to give them to me

just when I need them.