Table Talk

New blog coming up...

2009-03-16T02:23:00.002-05:00

We are leaving this blog behind... and starting a new one. Lots of times I have wanted to blog about what's happening here, but haven't - because I hadn't had time to think up a new name... So. We're working on that, and hopefully will soon again have a place to post the fun things we want to share with you, but this time without some key identifiers. :)

Stay tuned!! Next post will be the last one. :)

Camping with 3 toddlers and an infant... ai yai yai...

2008-10-16T14:12:00.002-05:00

We spent last weekend camping in Arkansas, and had a blast.
Some good friends of ours were supposed to join us at the campground for the weekend, but due to a little pre-term labor (gosh, such excuses...) they spent the weekend resting at home. We spent most of Saturday hanging out with Joel & Alice at their place, so good times were still had by all.

Enjoy the photos.

The brighter side of hurricane rain

2008-09-15T09:39:00.000-05:00

Not to diminish the tragedy and pain experienced by so many people, but we want to share some of the joy brought on by the extra rain of late.

And now... the pictures

2008-08-30T10:22:00.003-05:00

- some fun kid shots
- making butter with Mom (enjoying it with bread and a bit of honey of course)
- Jaden's first "daddy-date" at our church's car show, then out for ice cream with our good friend Randy (and don't forget his motorcycle)

(If you feel the need for more explanation, you can click through to the album in picasaweb and read the captions there...)

Video update

2008-08-21T15:38:00.004-05:00

Again, we've fallen behind and so I sit here looking at all the wonderful pics and videos on my computer since Annelise's birth (9 weeks ago!) that I'd love to share with family and friends. So, with little explanation, here's a random smattering of videos from in & around our house.
(pics to come another day...)

Jaden passing the time in the van on our roadtrip to KS, "Baby Beluga" style

Superman, man of air

Swimming collage

Happy 3rd birthday Jaden!

Joshua fit the diaper tower of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho...

And, for the grandparents... look at her hold that head up! (hey, she's only 9 weeks old)

Newborn pics: Annelise at 1 week, and the rest of us (much older)

2008-07-10T16:37:00.004-05:00

Steve at www.poeticexposure.com did a FANTASTIC job (especially considering what he had to work with...) of shooting our family pics 2 weeks ago. He just posted the slide show and images yesterday - check them out if you like.

Slide Show:
http://www.poeticexposure.com/annelise/

Pictures:
http://www.poeticexposure.com/annelise/bw
http://www.poeticexposure.com/annelise/color

The famous belly collage montage

2008-06-30T23:28:00.003-05:00

One of the more enjoyable memories we've had from Tracy's 3 pregnancies is the final collage picture showing how the mid-section of my beloved bride has... um... blossomed. Seriously, it's AMAZING to see how the human body was designed! So, here they are, ALL 3 of our pregnancy collages.

First, Annelise - June, 2008:

Then, the twins and Jaden - Sept, 2006 (yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's real) and June 2005:

For a larger view, you can go to the album directly...

Pregnancy Collage pics 6/30/08 11:34 PM

Annelise misc pics

2008-06-25T18:31:00.001-05:00

Well, ten days after her birth, she's long since solidified the "wrapping" of this daddy around her ever so little, little finger. So, here are a few pics of my baby girl to share with the world (or at least with the two other people that read our blog...).

Oh my goodness, we have FOUR KIDS age TWO and under!

2008-06-16T14:03:00.005-05:00

It's a GIRL!

Welcome, Annelise Renee Kruse!

June 16, 2008
12:20 am
7 lb 12 oz
21 inches

Aw... She's beautiful!

Everything checked out great! She's perfect!
Whoa... Look at her! (the brothers love her already!)

These are the wonderful midwives who came and helped us with our homebirth - it was EVERYTHING I hoped for - and more. Thanks ladies!

More to come... gotta sleep when the baby (and her brothers) are sleeping!

Around the House

2008-06-14T16:42:00.002-05:00

Baby #4's due any moment now so I thought I'd share some of the more joyous recent events with our oldest 3.

Dad and his boys... all dressed up and nowhere to go

We took the boys to a Spray Park a few weeks ago - and had a FABULOUS time!
They were pretty beat that night...

Jaden's taken a new love for drawing... on the kitchen cabinets :( Parents, always remember to keep Sharpie permanent markers out of the reach of toddlers.

Tracy and I both studied music in college, and these next two videos are an exciting demonstration of our prodigy in action:

guitar time from Josh K on Vimeo.

piano time from Josh K on Vimeo.

And of course, every parent smiles at the day when their children are big enough to help around the house...

working from Josh K on Vimeo.

laundry from Josh K on Vimeo.

Is this what I sound like to God?

2008-06-06T17:05:00.002-05:00

Once again, I was asking Jaden to help with a silly little task that this 38 weeks pregnant momma didn't feel like getting up off the floor to do. I was restocking the diaper bag, and found a small piece of trash. "Jaden, would you throw this away for me?" He gets asked to do these sorts of things a lot these days, and I can understand that he really didn't feel like stopping playing again just to throw away a tiny piece of trash. He was obviously reluctant.

Caleb, on the other hand, perked right up - "I do it!" and grabbed the trash from the hand outstretched to Jaden. I figured "ok, great! Thanks for helping Caleb. Jaden will be relieved." Boy was I wrong. Jaden BURST into tears, insisting that he REALLY wanted to do the job that he had just been avoiding.

So I found him another piece of trash to throw away. Not good enough! He wanted the ORIGINAL piece of trash. He proceeded to violently remove the original piece from Caleb's hand (already en route to the trash can), and when I required him to then hand over both pieces to Caleb, he threw the trash can to the ground and threw himself at it with every intent to dig out that precious piece of trash.

So I carried him kicking and screaming away from the situation. I left him sobbing his poor little heart out on the couch, and waited for the storm to pass. For several minutes, with every fiber in his being, he mourned the situation. And over and over, I heard "I want Caleb's trash! I want Caleb's trash!"

I was laughing on the inside at how completely ludicrous he sounded. And then I thought how deeply I have mourned when God didn't give me something eternally inconsequential I wanted that he had given someone else...

Once again, I learn more from my tantrum throwing 2-yr old (and his brothers) than he will ever learn from me.

Facebook anyone?

2008-05-29T17:12:00.001-05:00

So, I got on Facebook a while back... unlike most "members" I probably spend 2 minutes a week there, but being a music guy this is too good not to pass on!

Couches and boxes... who needs toys?

2008-05-20T22:50:00.001-05:00

Yeah, we've got a lot of toys in our apartment... but it's amazing how FUN a couch, an ottoman, and an old car-seat box can be!

jumping & hiding

Big-Boy-Beds all around!

2008-05-20T22:43:00.003-05:00

Well, the time has finally come where even our "little boys" have graduated beyond sleeping in Pack'N'Plays every night. Friday we picked up the first bed (thanks Alfred and Kate for the loaner!) and Jaden was allowed the "privilege" of sleeping in the P'N'P while his brother enjoyed their first night in big beds (Andrew chose Jaden's twin while Caleb opted for the toddler bed). Saturday night we completed the graduation ceremony with a Freecycle acquisition and they're all now doing wonderfully in their big beds.

Surprisingly enough, Caleb and Andrew have given us very little resistance to staying in bed at night... I'm sure those times will come though. I remember a few nights around the time when Jaden was making this transition where we had to literally tie his door shut to keep him in his room until he fell asleep. I only remember two or three times when he actually fall asleep directly behind the door, making it somewhat difficult to go in later and put him back in bed. Are we the only meanies or have you other parents had to resort to similarly drastic measures?

Photo-catch-up

2008-05-20T22:24:00.002-05:00

Yes, yes, we're still alive. I guess we're just too busy living life to blog ;)

So, this photo-update includes:

- stroller fun (who needs a triple stroller?)

- picnic by a river (right in the middle of Dallas - no kidding! Ok, for all you local readers it's in Addison - Belt Line and Preston - but it was great fun!). Oh, and word has it Emmit Smith lives in this neighborhood!

- Bible stories at bedtime...

- the incredible Kruse zoo (made out of my 25 year-old blocks and the boys' toy animals)

- reading in the van

- playtime with J.G. and Ava Villarreal

- pregnant Mommy and her three pregnant wanna-be's

Enjoy ;)

Linguistics and Giraffes

2008-04-05T22:55:00.005-05:00

We've been at this language acquisition training conference for the past week, and have one more week to go. So far we've LOVED it and have learned many great tips for learning a new language once we finally jump countries.

One area where we've been spending quite a bit of time is learning to hear and (hopefully) produce most of the sounds the human mouth can make that are used in languages around the world. For you linguists out there, my favorite is the uvular trill ;) Seriously though, we've already had a few "OHHHH!" moments as we realized we'd been pronouncing something incorrectly in our "other language" all these years.

On a lighter note, we went to the zoo today (the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo... the "highest zoo in the world"). They host the largest giraffe herd in North America, and you get to feed them! Definitely a highlight for all of us. My favorite was the hippos. Did you know that hippopotami kill more human beings every year than any other mammal? Fun fact for the day... So, here are some pics and a few video clips of our day off.
Enjoy!

Good friends that joined us for the animal-outing

Jaden's first lesson

2008-03-30T01:01:00.002-05:00

So, this one's more for Grandma... nothing thrown into the toilet or pushed up anyone's nose, just a fun memory.

We've spent this past weekend in Amarillo, TX, with our good friends Chase & Katy (both professional violinists with the Amarillo symphony). She's studying to be a Suzuki violin instructor and sat down with Jaden to play the violin together. Who knows if he'll play more, but it's fun to have the memory ;)

the line between real and pretend...

2008-03-18T17:56:00.006-05:00

...is very, very blurry for an 18 month-old.

We went to an Easter egg hunt this past weekend, and now have empty plastic eggs all around the house that have been great (temporary) entertainment. Today, the Mommy Magic Show was the entertainment of choice, as with just a mere shake or blow, my carefully honed slight of hand skills vaporized and re-materialized the much loved plastic orbs (trust me, it REALLY doesn't take much to fool a 2-yr-old and two 1 yr-olds). After the beginning basics of disappearance and reappearance in unexpected places received enthusiastic acclaim, I moved on to the truly impressive. I "swallowed" one of the eggs, complete with all the theatrics appropriate to swallowing such a large item, and then opened my mouth and asked Caleb, the closest member of my rapt audience, "is it gone?" He truly inspected my empty mouth, more carefully than I expected, and responded with an awe-struck, whispered "yeah." He WHISPERED it, and the look on his face was priceless... a mixture of concern and dismay and wonder. As far as he was concerned, I REALLY swallowed that little yellow egg. Perhaps I could make a career of this?

At this point, it occurred to me that if it seemed that real to them, I really didn't want them to imitate this portion of the afternoon's entertainment. So, ever the quick-thinking mommy-magician, I started feeling "sick." "Oh dear, boys, this was a mistake. You really shouldn't eat plastic eggs, it will make you feel very yucky." I followed that with my best little-boy pleasing wind-up, at which point poor little Caleb SCREAMED with pure terror as it was "coming up" - a long, horrified "no!!!" that dissolved into gut-wrenching sobs and tears. I don't know what he thought was going to happen, but I think perhaps it involved my death. No exaggeration, the poor kid was traumatized.

Of course, I felt horrible, and pulled him close and reassured him that Mommy was ok, not really sick, just pretending, here is the egg, everything is fine, it's ok, etc, etc, etc. He STILL clung to me, and his panicked breathing didn't slow for a full two minutes.

And then he said...

"Again!"

I want to remember this...

2008-03-13T15:45:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the flurry of kid posts lately, but I want to record these things somewhere...

Jaden has been in a particularly entertaining stage lately - but evidently the new brain connections that allow funny quips and cute sayings also seem to encourage new "limits testing." So he's driving me crazy, and being darn cute about it.

I don't even remember what he did - it's been that kind of week, but in frustration I said "Jaden, what AM I going to do with you? I think I might just have to throw you out the window!!" (this is a common "threat" of mine when I'm frustrated with something - the computer, the oven, an uncomfortable chair, my husband, anything really.)

He responded with a very concerned face and said, "No, Mommy, you shouldn't do that! There's no stairs or railing there; it wouldn't be safe!"

It's a very strange mix of emotions, wanting to laugh at and clobber a toddler at the same time...

Our new favorite song... improvised, of course

2008-03-10T19:18:00.003-05:00

"POP! goes the weasel" is one of Jaden's latest favorite songs.
I came home from work tonight to the family sitting down at the dinner table. Eventually our "welcome home, Daddy" routine led to us singing this beloved tune, in a slightly altered arrangement.
Of course, the joy of the entire song is engulfed in the one magical phrase, which children can bellow at the top of their lungs, "POP! GOES THE WEASEL." So that's all we ended up singing... it went something like this:

Me: POP! Goes the weasel

Jaden: POP! Goes the baby (notice the improvisation, Jaden doing his best to include his unborn sibling in the family song-time... so I played along:)

Me: POP! Goes the Jaden

Jaden: POP! Goes the BABY

Me: POP! Goes the Caleb

Jaden: POP! Goes the BABY

Me: POP! Goes the Andrew

Jaden: POP! Goes the BABY

Me: POP! Goes the Mommy

Jaden: POP! Goes the BABY

Me: POP! Goes the Daddy

Jaden: POP! Goes the BABY

Me (finally!): POP! Goes the BABY...

Jaden: NO, Daddy, babies don't go pop!

Caucasian 'R' Us

2008-03-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

Need I say more?

Kid-speak

2008-03-09T12:04:00.001-05:00

Jaden and Caleb were playing in the playroom just now while Tracy and I were in the kitchen doing dishes. Caleb started fussing so I went running to see who’s hurting who, or which one’s taking toys from the other…
As it turns out, Jaden had been playing with 4 toy cars and Caleb had taken them away.
After I had Caleb give Jaden the cars back I asked, “Jaden, can you share your toys with your brother?” (Jaden’s holding two toy cars.) “Jaden, can you give Caleb one of those cars to play with and you keep the other?”
“No…”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m two.”

In Case you Haven't Seen, or Heard

2008-03-01T10:10:00.001-06:00

Many, if not all of you, know that baby #4 is on the way. Tracy's 24 weeks into things. Here are a few pics & a video of the little guy/gal (we're waiting until birth to find out the gender).

Video: baby yawning

funny moment...

2008-02-28T18:01:00.004-06:00

I really shouldn't be taking the time to write this here now, but...

Jaden was playing with a toy, Caleb tried to take it away. Upon being reminded again by me that taking toys away was not allowed, Caleb just tried harder, and started to whine about it.
Jaden, on the other hand, was in rare form. He just grabbed on to the toy in question with both hands, started having what appeared to be an epileptic fit, and started yelling "oh! we're having a fight; oh! we're having a fight, we're having a fight, we're having a fight." All in a very cheerful tone of voice.
At which point, I started laughing, Jaden started laughing, and Caleb started wailing, his feelings obviously hurt. He came running to me asking for a hug - as though HE had been the one being stolen from!
And by the time I have finished typing this out quickly, all three of them are playing something new - they're taking turns playing doctor on each other (they all had physicals yesterday per requirements by our organization as we prepare to head overseas!)
NEVER a dull moment at our house.

p.s. - we're feeling much better around here now... finally! Thanks for thinking of us!

sick...

2008-02-11T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well, it was inevitable. An unavoidable part of motherhood, I know. But it has finally come. I have been vomited on. Repeatedly. Not just milky baby spit up; that doesn't count. This was the real deal.

We somehow managed to avoid or fight off vomit-inducing stomach bugs until now, and I've always been grateful. I am much more grateful now, and am praying that we go another 2 1/2 years before another one hits. The last 24 hours were pretty yucky. I guess this is "the rest" I mentioned last time. I think we're past the worst of it, though. It seems to have progressed to the diaper side of things, which I must say I prefer - it's far less likely to end up covering every article of clothing I have on. (I don't mind going back to pullups for a day or two AT ALL!)

However, the real story is how, as we always said when Andrew and Caleb were new, God gives you the grace for what He gives you. I didn't sleep much last night, but somehow, I still woke up to Jaden whispering my name after he joined the "festivities" in the middle of the night, right after Caleb seemed to have finally settled in to sleep a little more restfully and I thought I might actually get an hour or two of sleep. And I was amazed - one of my biggest fears before our children arrived was that I was too hard of a sleeper; I'd never be able to hear them when they needed me, especially if I was tired. So, I'm going to go take a nap now, while everyone else is sleeping, and rest knowing that my crazy "mommy ears" that hear the slightest peep are just another revelation of the way our Father hears us... He doesn't miss anything. And even better? HE doesn't get tired.

The day my boys grew up...

2008-02-07T23:19:00.001-06:00

Before I begin the post that brings me (Tracy) back to the blogosphere, I just wanted to comment that I have missed using this space to record milestones and reflect on things that cross our path! I frequently said "I should blog about that!" but it never happened. I'm sad I've missed doing so; I've already forgotten moments I wish I hadn't. It just seems that for me first trimester pregnancy is not conducive to really anything other than survival. And the holidays are the same. And the sickness that seems to have plagued us since then. But hopefully it won't be quite as long between posts for a while now.

Last week Monday (1/28/08) was a big day. I don't know why growth seems to always come in spurts, but it sure seems like a spurt started a week and a half ago. Our three boys are getting SO BIG (and so is the little one still hiding inside me, as evidenced by my suddenly large belly)!

The most life changing development was that Caleb and Andrew have officially and permanently dropped their second nap. At first glance, maybe this is no big deal, but for the past many many months, C & A have gone down for a nap at 11 am or so, awakened a little before 1, we all had lunch together, Jaden went down at 2, and then nap number two began at 4ish for C & A. If I was VERY lucky, J would sleep until 4:30, giving this tired pregnant mama a few minutes of child-free rest, but usually I'd get about 5 minutes... Just long enough to flop on the bed or couch in exhaustion and then get pounced on by a very energetic toddler ready to conquer the world, again. OR he'd sleep until 5 or even longer, giving me a great nap as well, but then we'd pay for it at bedtime with a toddler STILL ready to conquer the world. It also meant that I really needed to be home from 10:30 or so until nearly 6 - not exactly great for running errands or accomplishing much outside of our front door. If it had to be done, it meant a bunch of cranky, sleep deprived people, which means unless it REALLY had to be done, it didn't get done.

Well, NO MORE!! They ALL go down together sometime soon after lunch, and sleep for 2-3 hours most days. I can sleep for a WHOLE HOUR and still have an hour all to myself to cook or clean or read or write or... the options are endless! :) And instead of needing to be home for 7 hours a day just for naps, we can go places together just to get out, and still maintain a nice happy state of rested-ness. I feel so FREE!

Another fun side benefit has been that since the boys are now awake together, they are finally truly learning to play together, and it is SO FUN! There are few things in this world that bring me as much joy as being in one room and hearing all three of our boys in another room, laughing. I often have no idea what they're doing, but I love knowing they are having a marvelous time doing it, and there's no way I'd interrupt the fun by sticking my head in to find out what's happening.

Here are a couple of video clips I have managed to catch in just the past couple of days of the new "playing together" stage we've entered:

The boys will play "Ring around the Rosie" over and over and over again. Unless we're around to help, Jaden sings all the words by himself at this point - except for the last one.

This one was one of those "unexplainable laughing" moments that I did peek in to see - and found Caleb and Jaden looking at each other under their bedroom door, having a grand time. I only caught the tail end of it after it had started to calm down, but it's still fun. (Andrew's sudden outburst was because I was holding him and put him down when he started trying to grab the camera.)

And of course, just today I was working on lunch, and became aware of a very unnatural silence, so I went to investigate, and found this:

I couldn't have been more proud of my little readers.

So the nap was a big change for us, and we're loving it. Along with the changed nap times, Monday was the first day that both Caleb and Andrew refused all of my offers to nurse. I generally offer, or they ask, in the morning or after naps at least a couple times a day, but lately, it's not uncommon at all to go all day without them asking, and often they even refuse my offers! Life is too fun to stop for milk, I guess. We still nurse most days once or maybe twice, but the frequency of "no thank you" days will certainly keep increasing... I guess they're about ready to add "weaned" to their list of accomplishments. :) I've LOVED nursing both of them this long; I think I'll be much sadder than either of them when it's officially over. So many people questioned my sanity to attempt to nurse twins without supplementing - it feels nice to say "We did it."

And last, but DEFINITELY not least in the "Big Monday" changes; Jaden started pooping in the potty! He's been "potty trained" for months now, wearing regular underwear since the summer and doing very well at staying clean and dry. However, for reasons known only to himself, he simply refused to poop in the potty, preferring instead to hold it until he had a pullup on for nap or bedtime, and then going. Because he was so obviously in control of his bowels, waiting until he wouldn't get his real underwear dirty (he didn't enjoy having to help clean them when he didn't, I guess), I was so frustrated by the delay! He knew what he was doing, why wouldn't he just go in the pot??? However, no amount of ignoring it, coercion, bribery, threatening, rewards, "waiting till he was ready" or anything else we had tried seemed to be encouraging him to make the final jump to "completely trained." Oh, if only he had a "poop now" switch. However, Monday, after a long and drawn out saga that I won't bore you with here, we have finally turned the corner. We have had 3 or 4 "pullup poops" since then, but for the most part, he has worked hard to go in the potty, and is VERY proud of his accomplishment. He would be happy to tell you all about how he's a big boy now, and why. I think he is as relieved as we are that the struggle is finally over. HOORAY, JADEN!!!

All the fuss has encouraged Caleb and Andrew to get "in" to the potty, so I guess as soon as we can get another little potty so we have two for our second and third little squatter, here we go again! :)

So, naps, weaning, and pooping - and that was all in one day! And the spurt has continued. I KNOW they're going to keep doing this (growing like crazy), so why is it so hard to get used to? I guess we're just along for the ride, and I am grateful that it has so many fun moments, lest we get completely bogged down in... the rest.

Well, kudos to you if you made it through this entire long post... I guess I just couldn't stop once I got started again. Till next time!

Holiday Pics

2008-01-19T17:05:00.000-06:00

Ok, I've decided to do a quick "slide-show-catch-up" after the holidays to give everyone a big picture of the family festivities we endured ;) More to come about the various stresses encountered when spending multiple days with extended family, here are a few pics to share the joys of the season.

We spent the week of Christmas in Michigan with my (Josh's) family...

We drove to Kansas for New Years and spent a long weekend with Tracy's family... sorry no pics posted from this trip yet.

And then just this past weekend Tracy's cousins came down for the weekend and we built our first fire in our new apartment - which had to be accompanied by roasted marshmallows, melted chocolate and sticky faces!

Extruded Molten Polyethylene Terephthalate

2008-01-19T16:29:00.000-06:00

This is what has brought about my return to the blogosphere: Extruded Molten Polyethylene Terephthalate (commonly known as polyester fiberfill [pillow batting])

This fluffy substance is what our oldest son decided to stick up his nose the other night. I guess every parent experiences it... your child comes out of their room and says, "Mommy, I put something up my nose." In our case, this happened several minutes after putting him to bed two nights ago. Upon further examination and questioning he revealed that he had taken some of the stuffing out of his pillow and shoved it, well, you know... up.

After a failed extraction via nose-aspirator I held his head and limbs down while Tracy hesitantly went in with the tweezers... I mean, it was "right there!" And sure enough, we got it.

A big shout out to the Ramsey's for inspiring this post and helping us feel like we're not alone with the nose thing: http://hollyblogadoodle.blogspot.com/2007/12/mother-nose-best.html

Thankfully, we didn't have to get beyond Dr. Moore's first step.

1st Annual Klingler Gingerbread House Construction/Destruction Party!

2007-12-15T14:25:00.000-06:00

Just this morning a bunch of us got together at Matt & Courtney's place to have a holiday "build-off." That's right, sugar in every shape and size came together to form the creative confectionery concoctions you see below. (Us parents think the party was just a conspiracy on the part of the children to get everyone together so they could eat as many M&M's and mini-marshmallows as possible without getting in trouble.) It was fun, fun, fun for all.
Merry Christmas!

(click on the slide show to see the images larger and get the option to download any if you'd like)

Family pics at Olan Mills

2007-12-12T18:16:00.000-06:00

We did a family photo-shoot right after Thanksgiving and the proofs are available for viewing if you'd like. To see the pictures or, Mom, if you want to buy any, go to www.olanmills.com/reorder and enter order number 243417456-7 and our last name.

Not sure how long they'll be available, and I know this site is made available for purchasing reprints, not merely online sharing, so let me encourage all you parents & grandmas out there to give Olan Mills their share for helping create these wonderful memories ;)

Merry Christmas from the 5 of us!

Pajama Head

2007-12-04T18:39:00.000-06:00

So, Jaden's developed quite the sense of humor. Yesterday's escapade involved digging through the clothes bin and finding a pair of pajama pants that desperately needed to be placed on his head, then laughing hysterically as he ran from one end of the apartment to the other trying to avoid the camera. Man, kids are fun.

Moving Hiatus

2007-12-04T18:11:00.000-06:00

Some of you have noticed (and commented on) the absence of any recent blog posts. If you haven't heard, we've moved! So, in an effort to "catch up" a bit from the holiday I've opted for a photo-journal approach with minimal captions ;) Thus saving you some reading time and me some writing time. So, enjoy!

Thanksgiving Day --- my (Josh) Dad flew in from Arizona for the weekend and here are a few pics of T-day proper. Cooking and eating, of course, at our new place.

Well, Caleb & Andrew are 15 months old and they've finally had their first haircuts. Check out the next show below for some "after" pics.

How do 3 toddlers spell "delight"? --> C-H-U-C-K-E-C-H-E-E-S-E
And Grandpa got to be there with them... fun for all.

for comparison's sake

2007-11-05T14:41:00.000-06:00

I was looking through some old pictures and found another picture of me & Jaden napping together. This was taken in August, 2005. Jaden was 2 months old...

Daddy moments

2007-11-05T09:34:00.000-06:00

Since graduation one of the things I've cherished most is being able to spend a little more time with Tracy and the kids. Jaden, being a little older and more able to express himself, has really shown his excitement at having Daddy around more often. Here are two such moments I thought I'd share from this past weekend.

1) Learning to cook. His first dish: homemade lasagna. In celebration of our friend's new baby, Jaden helped me make a lasagna to take over to them (congrats again Rob & Jody!)

2) Nap time. A beloved tradition around the Kruse household, I don't often get to partake in because of my work schedule. Yesterday, however, Tracy let me catch a few winks and Jaden asked me to lay down with him. I didn't know this before, but Tracy and J have a tradition of holding hands as they fall asleep for naps together (I believe it started as a ploy to get the little guy to stay still). Needless to say, I loved it...

Fall Fun Festival

2007-11-02T12:19:00.000-05:00

Call them Farmer boys, or call them Huck Finn & twin-Tom Sawyers... here's what our boys looked like this past Wednesday night.
We were rushing around getting everyone ready to leave and Tracy yells, "going outside now to rub dirt on the boys, then we can go!"
Not what I usually hear her say 2 minutes before we go out for the evening.

iPod kid

2007-10-30T15:05:00.000-05:00

I thought this would be an appropriate picture to follow up my previous iPod post. Like I said before, I've made frequent use of my antiquated iPod mini while driving to & from work, so it's one of the many things I dump on the counter after arriving home in the evening. One day last week, after the ceremonial "dumping" I went into the laundry room and came back to the living room to find this. My, how they start young ;)

2007-10-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, Tracy & I teach an Accent Reduction Class at a university here in town. Every time we teach the lesson on vowels we end up fighting (er... discussing) about weather the sounds in the words "cot" and "caught" are any different. When I saw this quiz on a friends blog I had to laugh because we taught that lesson just this past Friday. It all comes down to what kind of American accent each of us has. Yes, Americans have accents, and this quiz pegged me... northerner through and through! (and proud of my Michigan heritage thank you very much!)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Blessed

2007-10-28T19:51:00.000-05:00

Right now, I am supposed to be editing our next family letter. But as I sit here with my laptop on our bed, bedroom door closed, I am finding it difficult to focus on topic sentences, tense agreement, sentence cohesion, and readability. In the living room, it seems there are elephants running through my living room!
No, now meerkats!
Now cheetahs!
Now rhinoceroses!
We've played this game before - Joshua picks an animal and they run in circles around the couch, Josh and Jaden doing their best impressions of that animal and Caleb and Andrew just running every which way, having a big time. I can picture exactly what that herd of rhinos looks like, and it's an amusing picture.

But along with the rumble of little feet and hands pounding the floor comes the real distraction, the most beautiful noise I've ever heard - one daddy and three little boys laughing so hard I'm sure they must be having a difficult time staying upright.
Letter writing? In a minute...

Got iPod - will educate

2007-10-17T11:35:00.000-05:00

I was just talking with a friend last night how owning an iPod has "revolutionized my listening life" and was reminded of that this morning when I saw this post from one of my favorite podcast sites: OpenCulture (http://www.oculture.com/)
They're a site for educational and (mostly) FREE podcasts. Audiobooks, university lectures, famous speeches, history, foreign language learning, all kinds of great stuff to get those cognitive juices flowing.

Here's today's post from their blog - check it out if you need something else to fill your ears.

***** from: OpenCulture's blog - 10/17/07 *****

Re-Organizing the Free Audiobook Podcast Collection

Posted in: Audio Books

This is just a quick note to let you know that we “re-orged” the Audiobook Podcast Collection. The list, which had become a bit unwieldy, is now broken down by genre: Literature/Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. And, within these categories, the texts are organized by the author’s name. Hopefully this all makes the collection easier to use. Check it out.

For all you world religion enthusiasts

2007-10-15T18:21:00.000-05:00

I ran across an animated map, showing the origin and expansion of the major world religions today. It only covers the "big 5," but I think it's a great visual.
It's too wide a format to fit well here on the blog (but I'll leave it up to give a visual to this post), so check it out via the link to see the full width.
http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf

One final quote

2007-10-14T20:05:00.001-05:00

I finished "The Poisonwood Bible" this afternoon and was struck with one final thought to share. Having lived outside of America my mind has recently been sparked by the discipline of sociology - I have taken more of an observer's role regarding how people live and what our default responses are to varying situations. Coming back to America for these past 5 years has given me numerous opportunities to see just how "American" we all really are (myself included).

So, the quote...
The book takes place in the Congo and this particular section is a conversation between an American woman and a Congolese man, who is telling her a story about journeying through the jungle. He tells her of crossing rivers not by ferry, but by bridges "that stretch from one great greenheart tree to another on the opposite bank" - bridges merely made of vines. To which the lady responds,
"But what if it's a huge river, like the Congo, which is much broader than the reach of any vine?"
"This is simple," he said. "Such a river should not be crossed."

The Congo River
(image courtesy of http://www.congo-pages.org/boma/pics/baobabriver.jpg)

Us Americans (again, myself included) don't seem to approach life this way. We've got something in us (call it curiosity?) that drives us to cross the river ahead no matter the cost. As I get older (yes, I know, 30 isn't that old - I did say "older") I can't help but wonder what instincts within me will eventually lead to greater ruin than gain, and I pray that each new pursuit will be guided by the One who knows my steps before I take them.

If any of you have an open spot on your reading list we both thoroughly enjoyed "The Poisonwood Bible."

First birthday pics

2007-10-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

Here's a few pictures from Caleb & Andrew's first birthday party a few weeks ago.
Enjoy!

Caleb & Andrew's first birthday

Describing the Indescribable

2007-10-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

The first child was born, and wanting to have children close in age our 2nd came due only 15 months later... little did we know it would be twins.

This last year has been indescribable. Indescribably joy, laughter, and exhaustion. I just finished reading something that came closer to describing the indescribably.

On recommendation from a friend (thanks, Melissa) both of us have recently finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's novel, "The Poisonwood Bible." Near the end of the book the mother shares her reflections on the early years with her eldest 3 (all girls: a singleton followed by twin girls) that resonated in my heart and made me think back to our own experience. I share this quote as a tribute to my wife, who has loved our boys better than I ever could.

"The twins came just as Rachel was learning to walk. What came next I hardly remember, whole years when I battled through every single day of grasping hands and mouths until I could fall into bed for a few short hours and dream of being eaten alive in small pieces. I counted to one hundred as I rocked, contriving the patience to get one down in order to take up another. One mouth closed on a spoon meant two crying empty, feathers flying, so I dashed back and forth like a mother bird, flouting nature's maw with a brood too large. I couldn't count on survival until all three of them could stand alone. Together they were my first issue. I took one deep breath for every step they took away from me. That's how it is with the firstborn, no matter what kind of mother you are - rich, poor, frazzled half to death or sweetly content. A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out. You examine every turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world." p.381

We're back to the drinking fountain...

2007-10-06T16:11:00.000-05:00

We’ve been able to sit in on a class (Acts, the Church, and Culture) back at the seminary this fall. It’s been so nice to be able to listen to our favorite professor (Mark Young) without the pressure of class requirements, and without the stress of three other classes alongside the one! As usual for his classes, we are challenged every single week in one way, or ten!
This past Thursday as we discussed the actions of Peter and John in Acts 3, and the reaction of the leaders in Acts 4, I was enabled to understand both my own and first century Palestinian culture better, and I was a little embarrased to realize how much I had been reading Americanism into that and other New Testament stories.
We reflected on how Peter and John challenged the existing social, political, and economic structures that were in place in a way I had never imagined – and yet they did so not to be anti-establishment, not just to rock the boat, but for the benefit of the reputation of Jesus Christ!
In any culture, the Gospel challenges the existing social, political, and economic structures at certain points. Yet if I don't understand and evaluate them and my own culture carefully, I won't know if it is actually the Gospel or only my Americanism that knocks against a particular thing. As I sat in class on Thursday, I was humbled by my lack of ability to present the gospel in a relevant way, my inadequate understanding of the culture we desire to serve in, my clumsiness in communicating clearly. As we expect to make a significant cross-cultural move, I am realizing how much I will need to lay aside my expectations for "how things work," how social interactions ought to go, my responsibility to those in authority, understanding the difference between an insult and a compliment. All of these things and thousands more will require "re-learning" and I must admit, I'm a bit daunted by the task. Yet I have learned (as the mother of twins!) that God gives you the grace for what He gives you! He has given us a passion and desire to return overseas to love and serve the people there, I mustn't doubt that He will provide the grace to follow that call.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!

A little family update

2007-09-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

The twins turned one on Monday (Sept 24) - can you believe it? They're both walking, saying a handful of words, growing like weeds. We just turned them around forward facing in the car, and it makes such a difference. They're getting so big!

Jaden is also ever-growing - he has become quite the little conversationalist, falls asleep at night reading, wears big boy underwear during the day (not even training pants!), and has taken to climbing everything - including the air conditioner (not sure how he managed that one) and the tree in the back yard (he had a little help for that one).

Our family is currently housesitting until mid-November, and Joshua and Tracy are in the process of trying to identify the next place we'll call home!

We're teaching an ESL class (pronunciation improvement) to Chinese students at SMU here in Dallas, as well - and LOVING the chance to be back in conversation with people from our other home!

Otherwise, Josh is working, Tracy is "mommy-ing" and we are working towards returning to China soon!

Kid friendly chopsticks

2007-08-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

For all you Asian food enthusiasts (with children that is), here's a little video I saw today to aid in the chopstick eating endeavor. Haven't tried it yet, but with three strong and growing we'll probably give it a shot someday.
Enjoy!

Another creative option is using the spring from a regular household clothespin to create a kid-friendly solution to the chopstick dillema...

Wow! Life after seminary...

2007-08-26T16:31:00.000-05:00

We're SO thrilled that God has allowed us to drink deeply from the firehose of learning that seminary has been... and doubly excited to be returning to normal life at the drinking fountain! Can't wait to learn AND have time to share what we're learning.

Caleb enjoys Jaden's turn to be thrown around...

2007-04-24T11:34:00.000-05:00

Time to catch up!

2007-04-16T16:26:00.001-05:00

WOW, it's been a long time... Jaden has moved a little beyond sweet potatoes, but his little brothers just got started on solids. More to come soon, right after Joshua graduates!

A new stage!

2006-01-09T18:07:00.000-06:00

Jaden started solids at Saltgrass Steakhouse - he finally got to share some of the real food...and ate half of mom's sweet potato!

I think he likes it!

Who says we have to wait until Dec 25???

2005-12-17T18:27:00.000-06:00

Jaden has entered the world of "mobility." Tracy put him down in the middle of the living room floor (about 5 feet/1.5meters away from the presents) and then left the room briefly... about a minute later she heard paper ripping... sure enough, he had made his way over to his target and was caught red-handed!

All those are for ME???

2005-12-17T18:24:00.000-06:00

Sorry son, not quite :) It's been fun to see Jaden's face reveal the joy in his heart. This is just a little glimpse of the happiness he brings to our family every day.

I can't decide what's more fun: the presents behind me or pulling on my sock!

2005-12-17T18:20:00.000-06:00

Jaden turned 6 months old today (December 17)! Here's our smiley baby sitting in front of our first REAL (always had plastic before) Christmas tree as a family! As you can see, he's taken quite the interest in his socks lately...

Christmas time!

2005-12-13T21:22:00.000-06:00

Family picture in front of our first real tree!

gotta LOVE the baby-guy!

2005-12-05T21:50:00.000-06:00

Just wanted you to see our beautiful little guy in all his happiness!

Joining the Bloggers?

2005-11-26T12:45:00.000-06:00

Well, it's taken long enough, but maybe we'll actually use this to keep in touch... FIRST we have to figure it out, though... So, here's the first "play" post. Let's see what we can do!

This is the only picture we have on our computer right now... so it'll be the "test pic."