Some Updates on Us...

STEVEN:
On Walking ~
He's walking real well now. He gets a very concentrated look on his face, lists his fists in the air for balance, and walks all over the house. He'll even hold things while walking. He does a pretty good job at keeping his balance, although he still tumbles often.

On Teeth ~
He's got 6 teeth now. His last top two teeth have finally made their appearance. I say "finally" because I could see them through his gums since December!

On Pottying ~
It's always been a rough road when he's been teething. He's been getting more of his poo's in the potty as of late, which is nice. I have to distract him with toys most of the time when he needs to potty, in order to get him to sit for a minute. He's too interested in "doing something", not just sitting there. :)

On Playing ~
He's been doing more of "putting things into" something instead of just "taking things out". Today he was taking toys out of one container and putting them into another. Yes! He's getting closer to learning "put away" and "clean up" :) He still loves his books. Today we came home from doing laundry at a friend's house and I put him in the livingroom to play. He went right to a book of his, sat down, opened it up and started "reading". He'll sit and "talk" and giggle at the pictures. It's too precious!

On Sleeping ~
He's getting very predictable with his afternoon nap - he most always takes one without any or much fuss. If we're at a friend's house, I can even lay him in their crib or playpen and he'll go to sleep. Up until recently I was putting him to sleep in his carseat when we were at someone else's house, but he likes to be able to lay flat. There's one thing that will keep him from going to sleep for his nap if he's laid down - if he poo's his diaper shortly after being put down. Then I need to change it and he'll go to sleep.

He goes down wonderfully at night, too. Oh, I'm so grateful for a good sleeper! He gets his bottle, goes potty, we pray and sing, he's normally giggly and happy at this point, then he gets tucked in and he goes to sleep. About 2 hours later he sometimes lets out a cry and we go potty him (while he's still asleep) and put him back down. I like pottying him when he's asleep, he's so cute! He sits there with his eyes closed, goes pee and then is right back to peaceful rest when he gets laid back down.

SVEN:
On Preaching ~
He's been preaching the second Sunday of each month at Sunrise Assisted Living for the past two months, and will continue to do so. He'll also be preaching every time there's a 5th Sunday in the month at another nursing home. I'm so grateful to be able to hear him preach again! This past Sunday he preached about there being many voices proclaiming who Christ is, but that we must only listen to Christ's voice and why. After his very sound sermon, as we were packing up our belongings, the song in the background sang to a pretty tune, "Many roads to one God..." Oh, how awful and sad!

On School ~
We're both looking forward to Sven's graduation in May from Kuiper College.

On Work ~
Sven's going to be teaching a Greek class for a couple months, coming up at the end of this month. You can view his add and sign up for it at: http://www.homeschoolbuilding.org/Item.php3?id=8218

It's been a hard-go for employment. Many times he's had interviews scheduled, only to receive a call saying the position's filled. We have full faith that for purposes of His own, God has been withholding employment from Sven and will continue to do so until he sees fit. In the meanwhile, Sven faithfully continues to seek employment, and we continue to seek and trust God for our financial means. We're thankful to God for this trial, as we trust it's for our good and His glory.

On Cooking ~
Until Sven finds employment, he's been cooking dinners during the week so that I can have more time sewing. I can not even say how grateful I am for this!! Not only do I get a break from something I don't particularly desire to do (cook) in order to do something I highly enjoy (sew), but I get such tasty dinners, too! He's a fine cook indeed!

CRYSTAL:
On Scarlet Stitch ~
I'm highly enjoying co-running our business Scarlet Stitch with my business partner, Jill Buie. Currently, we're working on building up our inventory. In order to do so, we have 4 people working for us as sub-contractors, sewing on a per-piece basis. I love being able to hire friends and friends of friends, helping them out as they help us! We look forward to bringing more on our team as we become more and more established. We're currently looking into broadening our borders by offering drop-shipping services to other online companies interested in our products.

On Sewing ~
The more I sew, the more I want to sew. I just love it! I've created my diaper line and have sold some, looking to sell more. I'll wait to really advertise until Scarlet Stitch is well underway. In the meanwhile, I'm working off of word-of-mouth and enjoying every order that comes in! I'm working on making my own diapers for my babies, fitting in that personal sewing around the rest of life! I've got a number of projects in mind and onhand that will get fit in there, too.

On Being Pregnant ~
Things are going well. I feel pretty good. The baby is moving a lot. It likes to kick and punch my bladder, though. I don't feel too huge yet, so that's nice. I've gained less weight than with Steven, but still a healthy amount - and I'm measuring the same. We're looking forward to meeting our new blessing in just over 3 months!

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We appreciate your prayers for our family. We're highly enjoying God's goodness here in Michigan. Loving our friends here and our little one. It's been a trial financially, but God is ever faithful. May He conform us to His image.