New pictures and the coming of Spring!

After months of snow cover, it is nice to finally see some green! The kids and I met a friend at the park this morning and though it was a little chilly, it was nice to get to play outside. I have to say that taking the kids to the park has gotten eaiser now that they are a little older- I don't worry about them falling off the equipment quite as much and Dwight is not really afraid of the slide anymore. We played a little soccer too. Kara dominated, being the oldest and biggest kid. She is signed up to do soccer in a few weeks and it will be interesting to see if she likes it.

The picture is Kara all dressed up for the Daddy Daughter Dance that she and Gary attended at YMCA for Valentine's day. This friday we will be doing the Easter egg hunt as the Y as well. We have really been enjoying our membership there.

Last Sunday we celebrated Grandpa's birthday at Happy Joe's with pizza and games. The kids enjoyed helping Grandpa's blow out his candle and eat his birthday dessert. Kara is already talking about what she wants for her birthday, even though it is not until August! I want her to just enjoy being 4 for just a little bit longer........

Camping & Fishing

Two weeks ago we participated in a Fishing Derby for kids. It was a free fishing weekend, so we could fish for free. Gary has been wanting to learn how to fish so he can teach the kids. So this was a great opportunity to figure things out. The Derby took place at a well stocked pond and they gave out free worms. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything and it started to rain so we left. However, we decided to go back the next day and see if we could do any a better.

Gary was fishing and having no luck, so he gave the pole to me and took Kara to the bathroom. Of course, as soon as he was gone, I caught a fish! I started screaming at Gary to come over quick (as a rule, I don't touch fish or worms). It was an ugly bullhead (looks like a small catfish). Gary couldn't get the hook out, so we left it in it's mouth and released it and felt really bad about. Some friends told us later that leaving the hook in is not a really big deal, I guess it will eventually rust out. We also found out that the some fins on this fish are venomous. Good thing we didn't know it at the time!

Gary was then able to catch his first fish ever. A beautiful Sunny! He successfully took the hook out and released it. It was exciting! It was a bit difficult to keep the kids happy while we fished. Dwight occupied himself for awhile by playing in the water bucket and making mud. I had to change his wet muddy, pants.

The following weekend we decided to go fishing and camping at a nearby campsite. This time we fished in the Mississippi. Gary got some bites, but didn't catch anything. I think it's more difficult to judge if you are getting a bite in the river's current.

We got Kara her own fishing pole. She was excited about casting and fishing when she first got it, but lost interest when we actually tried to go fishing.

We were having a pretty nice time until we got the kids settled in the tent for the night. Then it started to rain. We hoped that it wouldn't last long, but unfortunately it continued all night. We had water in our tent and it was a damp, uncomfortable night for Gary and I. Gary eventually went home to sleep for about an hour. At around 5:00am, it really started to pour, so he came back and we packed the kids up and went home to our warm, dry beds to sleep for the next few hours. Hopefully, we will have a better camping experience next time!!!

Celebrating Easter

Last week we celebrated spring and Easter. On the Thursday before we did a family sedar meal. Ours is a simplified version of what Jewish people do at passover. The thing we like about it aside from the fact that we can experience something similar to the meal that Jesus had with his disciples, is that the children can participate because it is a sensory experience. You physically interact with the symbols. The kids did a good job of listening and following the steps. For me, in future years I want to bring in more of the meaning that Jesus brought to it.

With the preparations for this, that day Kara kept asking me when Easter was. So finally I got out the calendar and showed her what day it was and that Easter was not for 3 more days. I think she was intrigued by this. On Easter the kids were excited to finally get their Easter baskets and go to church. We then had ham with Grandpa & Grandma.

Things have been kind of rough in the Kueper household recently. We put our house on the market after getting a bid on a house we wanted to buy. The bid was contingent on the sale of ours. The first 2 weekends we were trying to do this, Gary was sick so not a whole lot of help to me. On Easter, me and the kids were sick, so it was kind of miserable. We also lost the bid on the house, since we haven't had anyone looking at ours. At least now the pressure is off. We are just leaving it in God's hands!!

At least the weather has warmed up and it is now definitely spring!! The kids were excited, because we got them a sandbox with new sand toys. I think they will have lots of fun hours with that (and it will keep them from playing in the mulch and other parts of the garden!).

Kara Do That!

Okay, Kara & Dwight are starting to play together more, which means they fight and argue more too. Dwight will often come to me and say "Kara Do That!", which is his way of saying that she has done something to him that he is not happy about and he wants me to intervene, which a lot of times I don't really feel like doing. Aren't children suppose to negotiate these things on their own?

Another thing that Dwight says that I think is cute is "deebee deebee" (DVD).

After living in Dubuque for a few years now, I had a revelation the other day. There are maybe only a handful of escalators in this town. You know that you have become a "country bumpkin" when you take your kids up and down a lone escalator "for fun". I never thought I would say this!

I went cross country skiing for the second time a week and a half ago. Gary and I call it "poor man skiing". I am a pretty good downhill skier, but for me this hasn't seem to translate over to cross country. I was sore for 2 days afterwards and couldn't really keep up with Gary or the other more athletic people we were with. I'm still trying to figure out how to balance and to stop. Oh well, I had fun trying anyway.

Kueper Year in Review

This is my first post of 2009! Our kids have grown and changed a lot during 2008. The thing I find myself doing when I look at them is saying "they are no longer my babies!". Although I like to pretend that Dwight is still my baby, actually he really isn't since he is now 2.

In 2008 Dwight learned to walk and to talk, pretty big accomplishments. He loves animals and books and to color. He tries to draw circles and asks us to write his name. He used to have more of a thing for Elmo and anything locomotive, but not so much recently. He has a blankie that he is attached to, but not so much so that he has to have it everywhere he goes or even with him every time he goes to sleep, which is good. Dwight is a charmer. He smiles and makes faces at strangers in public, and I've had a few people come up to me and tell me how cute they think he is. He is also very generous with his kisses!

Kara's big accomplishment of 2008 (at least in my opinion) is potty training. It took a full year, but by around her 3rd birthday, she was basically trained. There were certain points in the year where I wondered if she would be in diapers when she was 18! Kara enjoys singing (very loudly) and music and likes to be in the center of things. She has started taking swim lessons and enjoys swimming by herself (with a life vest on). She likes books, coloring, and puzzles. She got a kiddie computer for Christmas that she likes to play too.

Gary is doing well. His big challenge this year is his teaching of a new section of AP Calculus, the BC section (the college equivalent of Calc I and Calc II). He meets with a group of other men from our church on Saturday mornings which has been challenging, but he is enjoying it (as far as I can tell). He loves to spend as much time as he can with me and the kids.

I love being home with my kids. Although financially challenging at times, I really enjoy the flexibility. At the same time, I find for myself that I need something outside of the home that is stimulating in order to keep my sanity. My "outlet" is ministry through my church, primarily MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) and New Beginnings. New Beginnings is a mentoring program where I meet one on one with young parents who need someone to come along side them and give them a boost in their parenting. I get to help people with their physical needs (i. e. baby supplies), emotional needs and spiritually as well. I really love it!! I am also babysitting a 6 month old baby while his mom goes to school.

Christmas

We had a nice family Christmas this year. A highlight for us was the Christmas eve service at our church. Kara performed with the preschoolers. They sang "Away in a Manager", although it was not very audible. The kids were more focused on the actions that go with the song, but it was very cute. We played this song frequently on the piano and "practiced" together.
The kids were more excited and interested in the gifts they got this year. Everyone got new PJs to wear on Christmas eve, and we opened the other gifts on Christmas morning. I am hoping in future years to instill in our kids that the real joy of Christmas includes giving gifts as well. But there is certainly joy in receiving gifts which children are really good at expressing. We should joyfully receive all the gifts God gives us, especially the gift of Jesus himself.
We then had Christmas dinner with Great Grandma Hennig and Grandma & Grandpa Kueper.
I was a bit sad that I couldn't see my parents who are in Japan, but my sadness was constructive, because I called them and they got a chance to talk to their precious grandchildren. At the end of the day, I realized that the best Christmas gift for me was being able to spend it with my wonderful husband and 2 beautiful children.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

If you were to eavesdrop on our children as we have been doing our Christmas shopping around town, you might think they are a little strange. Kara has been asking if we are getting balloons for Jesus' birthday or if we are going to bake a cake. They are more likely to sing and talk about about baby Jesus than Santa Claus. Not that Santa or Frosty are taboo, we just don't go out of our way to talk about them like we do about Jesus or Mary.
So I decided to run with the idea and I baked a cake for Jesus (maybe the Japanese are on to something with the Christmas cake thing). Tomorrow we will sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. Kara and Dwight are quite excited about this.
Last week I took the kids to a doctor's appointment. On our way out of the clinic, Kara was singing "Frosty the Snowman" as loud as she could, much to the entertainment of the receptionists and the people waiting for their appointments. Actually, the only words she knows is "Frosty the Snowman". The rest of the song she just makes up (mostly unintelligible). Come to think of it, I don't know all the words to this song either!!