Zongker Family Blog

We had a nice time on Sunday, the 4 of us.  It had been a couple of months since we saw some of our friends that are in our small study group from our church, better known as the Bridge.  But, the hosts gave us a meeting time & we all got together for about an hour & a half.  It’s a nice group of people in their 20s & early 30s, many of whom are married & have young children.  Katrina is the oldest kid in the group, but she still enjoys seeing & playing with the younger ones.  Alyssa’s best friend is the hosts’ daughter & she is only 10 days younger than Aly.  It was great for Jeremy & me, learning a new Bible-study technique & catching up with the adults.  But it was also a special treat, seeing how much the kids are growing & meeting one of the couples’ newborn daughter for the first time!  Those that weren’t able to make it were missed, of course.  But we feel blessed to have such great friends & it’s a pleasure to know each of the members of our Bridge Journey Group (and their kiddos)!

Alyssa just thinks she’s so big, it’s cute!  She got in trouble a little, just recently for something she didn’t realize she was too young for, though…  It’s kinda’ funny, so I thought I’d share…  Katrina has a small, kid-size table that she typically sits at, to eat her meals & to do art projects, & things like that.  Since Aly’s not quite old enough for that sort of thing, just yet, she still eats in her high chair.  But, just a few days ago, when her Big Sis was in school, Alyssa decided she was going to climb into Kat’s chair & sit there for a minute.  It was sooo sweet & funny, she didn’t really get into trouble then.  It was the next day, when she decided she was going to get out her Sister’s markers, crayons & other art materials that she was told, “No-no!” about.  Thankfully, she only dumped them out, onto the floor, rather than trying to use them, but still…  I think we’re going to have to put them up, out of her reach, pretty soon, until she understands a bit better that those are Sissy’s things, not Aly’s. 

Well, Katrina’s been making more progress on becoming “mobile” this week!  Her Dad took her to the schoolyard to ride her bike the other day.  They had a great time!  She was turning corners & going all over the place on that thing like a pro!  So, we decided it was a good idea to go ahead & take her training wheels off.  This was a much harder thing for us, than for her, it seems.  She was all excited about it, we just weren’t sure if any of us were quite ready.  So, we took her to a local park that has a little walking/biking trail around it.  The whole thing I’d estimate is only about ¼ – ½ mile, or so.  Jeremy & I took turns, helping her balance while riding.  Whichever one of us was not helping Kat at the time was pushing Alyssa in the stroller.  She got to pedaling rather well & got up to speed where her Dad & I had to jog to keep up, but the entire time, it felt like she was leaning one way or the other, rather then balancing on her own.  We each let go a handful of times, but only for a second or two, before we felt the need to grab on & let her use us to lean on…  She’s getting there, though.  A couple more times & she’ll probably be going around on her own, with no training wheels.  We’re proud of her for trying her best & for trusting us & not being apprehensive at all!  It’s a great first step! 

Ok, so I’ve recently come to a realization which I was hoping wasn’t true: I’m not as “in shape” as I thought I was! Ha-ha! My Mom & I went to a scrapbooking convention this past Friday & as much fun as it was, getting to spend some time with her & to just hang out & shop for crop stuff, I was truly worn out, when it was all said & done! We walked around, browsing & buying for about 6 hours, well, 5 hours, since we took a break for lunch, actually. I really didn’t buy much, but got some great ideas & enjoyed seeing all the cute items there were. Mom bought a few things & even a couple for me, which was sweet. It was a great day. Then, when we took Katrina to ride her bike without training wheels, I took turns with Jeremy, helping her balance. She got to pedaling so quickly that each of us needed to jog, in order to keep up with her & sadly, even though it was only about 1/8 mile, if that, each time we took a turn, he & I both got “winded”! I’m glad we at least had each other there, to take turns with! I can’t imagine just one of us doing it, on our own… It makes me wonder how I keep up with clogging for a couple of hours each week, though… Hmmm… Hopefully, getting that exercise in will help keep me active enough that I have the stamina to endure other activities w/our kids, in the near future!

I’ve really been getting a lot done, lately! It’s amazing what you can do when one of your children is at school and the other is napping! Ha-ha! But seriously, I’m enjoying at least the thought that I’m being more productive, here at home. Each day, I tackle a “little” project: typically something that has just been put off, or put on the back burner for way too long, as it is. And, surprisingly, I’m managing to keep up with the normal, “day-to-day” things, as well. I’ve had a couple of minor setbacks, due to having to meet with our homebuilders at the drop of a hat, but even that is probably going to change, really soon! I’m so grateful that God gives me the strength that I need to get through even the simplest of tasks! And, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming joy at the sense of accomplishment He’s given me, lately!

Well, we’ve been making good progress on having our next home built.  As you may already know, we plan on moving next summer, but we’re staying in town, only going a few miles from where we are now.  Most of our home plans are custom, meaning that we got to choose the size, locations, etc. of the rooms, and they had to be drafted up, rather than us having chosen one of the pre-planned models that the homebuilder typically builds.  It’s been a fun, exciting process, with many ups & downs, so far, but all toward the progress of a really great end-product, in our eyes!  Just today, we signed the initial documents & put a down-payment on the building.  We had a lot of reading to do, prior to that, to make sure everything was worded correctly & we were getting exactly what we wanted, but it was worth every minute!  We met with our contact & after signing the papers, went out to dinner to celebrate.  The home shouldn’t be entirely complete & ready to be moved into until sometime late next Spring/early next Summer, but we planned that schedule, as well.  The next meeting will be to pick out materials/colors from their design showcase, which should be fun!  We’re learning a lot in the process, and dealing well with all the decision-making, so far.  Here’s hoping for the best, throughout!

Alyssa’s getting to be such a little ham, lately!  She cracks us up!  But, it’s extremely cute, too.  It doesn’t matter where we are, or what we are trying to take a picture of, she grins her best, looks at the camera & says, “Cheese”!  And, of course when we giggle at her, it just causes her to do the same!  We love that she is becoming such a bright, happy toddler & that she enjoys posing for pictures.  Her Sister acted the same at that age (and still does, at times), so it must run in the family…    It will be especially fun at her Birthday party in a couple of months, to see & hear her, all ready for those action shots!

Katrina just loves first grade, so far!  We are so proud of her, too!  She is extremely responsible!  Even though they’ve only been back in school for like, 5 days now, she already has “homework”.  This week & next, she is supposed to wear something & bring something to show her class that is the “color of the day” & she’s doing really well, so far.  On Friday, she made sure to tell us, “Mom & Dad, you need to read the note in my backpack about special color days.”  So, yesterday was “red day” & today was orange.  Tomorrow will be yellow, and so forth, until the 6 major rainbow colors are done, then there are a few more to fill in the other days.  She is enjoying it, so far.  She has even made little paper hearts & colored them & given them to her teacher & a few of her friends (this wasn’t something assigned, just something she wanted to do, out of her own creativity).  We are so glad she is loving school & hope the trend continues for years to come!

It seems that I’m finally getting back to a “normal” schedule, now, since Katrina’s going back to school & things are coming together. There are certain things we like to do on particular days of the month (such as grocery shopping/paying bills/etc.) that I have just not been as “on top of” this summer as I’d like to be. Nothing’s delinquent, I just prefer to have things done on a more regular, patterned basis, typically. Well, now that we’ve got all the necessary items for Kat to start school, we’re beginning to get back into our “fall routine”, which for some reason lifts my spirits. I think it’s just because I like to feel that I know when things are going to happen, to a point… It’s strange to think that our summer vacation is coming to an end, already, but at the same time, I’m happy to be getting back to a regular schedule. I hope everyone else has enjoyed their summer break & is looking forward to the fall, too!

Last week, I wrote about the crazy heat we’ve been having, because it was really hot outside, here in our town.  Well, this week we got the relief that we needed, in the form of several rainstorms & thundershowers.  They have been happening mostly during the night, which is nice because our family are all good sleepers & the rain helps lull us & keeps us in that blissful, dreamy state.  The girls have been sleeping in longer in the morning & giving Jeremy & I little breaks from having to get up too early, which has been nice.  The local temperatures have also dropped significantly, making it feel like fall is just around the corner – it’s been in the 70s & 80s for the past few days & we’ve really been enjoying it!  Although the skies have been somewhat overcast, that doesn’t bring us down a bit!  We hope it continues, although knowing the “normal” weather patterns here (if you can call them that), we are probably in for at least one more blast of summer heat, before things settle down & the leaves start changing…