one down, twelve to go

2 pair of glasses

3 lost teeth

1 brain surgery

3 patches of lost hair

2 shoe sizes

12 holes in the knees

lots of bus rides

and

one school year

I have a 1st grader

sophie's 4th birthday

This feisty lady turned 4 yesterday. Uncle Andy spoke at South Ridge Church for Pastor Swap Sunday between the Ridge Churches. Ben lead worship. So my parents, Ben's parents and the Bensons came to church and we had Burger King for lunch. We stayed in Fairmont for lunch to avoid driving all the over the place. The original plan was pizza in the park, but it was 95 degrees. So we thought the playland at Burger King. Who knew they'd remodeled it? Not I. It was fun though and worked out well.

 Sophie's Birthday Buddy - Cameron. Ben's family tends to group birthdays. This weekend was Lilly(Saturday), Aunt Jamie (Sunday), Cameron & Sophie (Sunday) and Grandad's would've been today. Ted shares a birthday with Joanna & Uncle David. Andy & Hannah are one day different at the beginning of May as are Terri & Aunt Lois in April. Strange!

Matt stopped for lunch on his way back from Chestnut Ridge.

 Sophie's birth day

1st birthday

2nd birthday

I totally forgot that was her 2nd cake. Oh she wore those shoes everywhere. They were too small and stunk to high heaven.

 3rd birthday

Sophie Tuel, I have LOVED you being 3. It was, by far, our best year together. Your sense of humor makes all of laugh daily - hard. The expressions you use in your stories and general communication are hilarious and so animated. You also have the ability to drive me absolutely mad. You started "school" this year going one day a week. You loved it! You have learned your letters and you are starting to read. (Just kidding. Everyone else writes that when their kids are 4. My poor kids.) You have the kindest, sweetest spirit. You are a good sharer of your things. You have such a love of princesses and everything girly (dresses, jewelry, hair stuff, high heels, baby dolls). You avoided any life threatening injury this year. You cut off many, many inches of hair and we love your new haircut. You have learned to ride a scooter and a bike with training wheels. You can swing yourself and love a good park. You LOVE swimming and have taken to it like a fish. You have a new found love for books. I put a cup of water on the dining room table and you water color on and off all day. You have always narrated life but have recently started to narrate to song. I love listening to you sing.

I often wonder what you will be like as you get older. I pray you keep your sweet, kind spirit and your sense of humor. You are so beautiful on the inside and the out. We love you!

home

It started in August last summer when we got home from our assignment at Timberwolf. A need to feel settled and a desire to put down roots. It was hard coming back to Morgantown. For no other reason than it felt permanent for the first time. And that's when I knew it was time to settle ourselves. We had in so many ways but one - finding somewhere to live that would be ours.

Unfortunately, the timing of all feelings and desires don't always match up with the rest of your life. Ted was starting Kindergarten in 3 weeks. On top of that, we were in our third month of 75% salary, and the future still held a 50% month and 0% month. Not exactly great home buying conditions. So, we decided to stay put until the school year was over.

Fast forward 8 very fast months. Our thoughts started moving toward renting in Fairmont (about 30 minutes down the interstate from Morgantown) for a year to see if we actually wanted to buy a house there. There seemed to be more available in our price range that would allow for a nicer, bigger house. We go to church in Fairmont and it's also part of the YL area that Ben oversees. So, around the beginning of March we started looking for places to rent. It was a total disaster. I called and called and called (and called) every contact I could get my hands on. Nothing. Not one thing. I wasn't even able to go look at things and turn them down. It was much different than what I anticipated. Looking at places to rent in Morgantown made me want to puke. For us, it was cheaper to buy than to rent.

So, I called the bank and went to meet with a loan officer. I told her everything about us financially the past year. On paper, it really is not pretty and my expectations were very low. To my sheer joy, they had the perfect loan for us. She seemed to think that everything would be just fine. And the beautiful thing is that it was a bank loan, not a government loan (that we had pursued before). So it is much less red tape and didn't require mortgage insurance which bumped our price range up a bit. I called the realtor we'd worked with last year and started looking at what was in our price range. I was a little more encouraged.

We looked at houses in Morgantown. I was encouraged and disappointed all at the same time. There was one house that I really, really liked (the first one we looked at) but it seemed so small. I wasn't sure this was going to turn out well.

We looked at more houses in Fairmont. We had basically decided that wherever we found a house that we loved is where we would live. We didn't find anything that we instantly loved or even really liked there.

We revisited 2 Morgantown houses that we thought had great potential. The one I really liked seemed to have pretty small bedrooms. So I did some measuring of our current bedrooms and furniture. We went back and we both really loved it. Absolutely knew that this was the house for us. We agreed that we loved the house and could see ourselves living there. It was such a sweet moment that we realized that there was a house in our price range that we really liked and didn't just that it would "do."

So, we're under contract on a house in a wonderful neighborhood, across the street from a park the size of a city block and it even has central air conditioning (I've decided that really important to me)! On days like today, I'm very, very thankful. The roof, AC, furnace and hot water tank are all 2 years old. It has a cute fenced in back yard, a deck, a detached garage and a little sun room (that used to be a porch) that will offer extra space for us. We do have to do a little fixing on a water issue in the basement (BOO!), but, with the price of the house and all that it offers, we couldn't loose the house for that (we had an estimate done on the basement so we do know what we're getting ourselves into!).

And the best part about our house? The address. West Virginia Avenue. Ben, who loves this state and will never leave, gets to live on West Virginia Ave in Morgantown, WV. Oh, and still within about 3 minutes from Ben's office. It's been such a blessing to live mostly within walking distance to his office for the past, oh forever years.

We're hoping to close around June 7th. We have to clean the house and paint all 3 bedrooms. Then we'll move in when YL kids get back from camp. (We are helping them earn money by helping us move and clean the old house!) We are really, really excited!

beautiful days in may

Some Sophie conversation for your enjoyment . . .

* While holding the poop scooping bag: "Mom, I smell poop."

* While eating lunch after church on Sunday: "I like cheese pizza on Christmas. And pepperoni on Thursdays." (Who knew?)

* While being held by Ben:
            Ben: Sophie, you're huge. You are getting so big.
            Sophie: For real. I'm huge.

* While driving home from school today:
           Sophie: So Sophie, what did you do at school today?
           Me: (realizing I hadn't asked that question yet) So Sophie, what did you do at school today?
           Sophie: I don't want to talk about it right now.
           Me: Oh. Ok.

 I love when she looks for flowers.

This is where Sophie spends a large chunk of her days. That would be an under-the-bed storage box with leftover sand from last years banquet. I believe she's about outgrown it.

And this would be the average filth on her feet (and the rest of her body) on a daily basis. "Filth Magnet" should really be her middle name. Oxyclean is her summer clothes best friend.

Thus the condition of my kitchen floor everyday. Since we use the back door as our main entrance, it's just dirty all the time. I usually mop and swiffer at least once a day.

Our picnic at Dorsey's Knob last weekend.

Ted being gangster.

Ben and Ted are loving t-ball. I like it - for now. I dread endless baseball games in the future. I was thinking more along the line of basketball as our sport of choice - indoors and time limit. But it is my best sport to be able to play in the yard with Ted. I can play catch all day.

Ted's baseball team. It's fun b/c we know several other families on the team. That really makes a difference in things too. I enjoy my friend time in the bleachers and Sophie has several little friends to play with after she watches approximately 30 seconds of the game.

This is Sophie's new self-hairdo. She puts the clip in her mouth, pulls all her hair back and clips away. It's always in a different direction and different place. Very classy. Sometimes it's very Beth Moore-ish.

She fell down the stairs a couple of day ago while wearing, wait for it, her high heel dress up shoes. That's already a rule around here. Now we know why.

  

This was yesterday, a couple of days post fall. Her nose is swollen and her eye is getting black in the corner.  Today her eye is even worse.

Today was Sophie's last day of Tuesday School. Tuesday School was Tuesdays (are you surprised?) from 9:30 am - 2:00 pm. And a darn good price! It's been so special and a great thing for both of us. She has 6 other kids in her little class. These are her teachers Miss Dana & Miss Jess. Miss Jess' baby is due Thursday! Today the 3 classes (2's, 3's and 4's) did a little end of the year program. Sophie has already made plans to hang with Miss Dana at the pool this summer!

eeg #4

Ted had EEG #4 last Monday. That would be 4 since his surgery. One right after the surgery, 2 in February or March (the one where we didn't know he should sleep and was required to redo b/c he failed so miserably). And this was the 6 month follow-up. Hopefully he'll be all done with his meds. But that's what I said last time too. 

He was class leader on the day of his EEG so he missed lots of line-leading and sharing his snack with his friends. So we documented the day so he could share it with his class. 

We kept him up late and got up at 4:30 am. I let him pick anywhere to eat for lunch and he picked . . . the hospital cafeteria. BLECH! Grossest food anywhere.

He changed into his pj's (which he may wear more than regular clothes) and snuggled up with is Steeler blanket and pillow pet and slept like a champ.Way to go, Ted!

ben & michaela - 2012 wedding #2

Ben & Michaela, two of our Fairmont Young Life leaders, got married yesterday. Solid. Faithful. Obedient. Words that describe both of them. Ben (my Ben) was originally part of the ceremony to lead a couple of hymns but ended up pastoring the wedding when the pastor fell over cold during the first song. I swear. After we knew he was fine, Ben took the bible and off he went. He did a great job in such a strange predicament. Hey, they were married at the end of the day, right?! Seriously, I'm pretty sure we should rent Ben out as a back up pastor, dj, or sound tech. He'll just come and fill in wherever needed.

Michaela, Ben & Ben

My sweet friend Kaitlyn & her new baby Bruce. Too cute!

Carrie, Sarah, Shayna & Korey - I love these girls!

And I sure do love these people!

 Ben & Michaela did the reception decorations themselves. It was so impressive, clever and fun. It could all be on Pinterest for sure! Maybe that's where they got it from. Either way, it was great!

  

 

Ben and the fainting pastor! =)

 No pictures of Ben & I. I'm wearing the same dress I've worn for the past 2 years to any wedding I've attended. The only thing that really changes is my hair. I think it's time for a new dress.

Congratulations Ben & Michaela. You guys are awesome. You are going to do some damage for the kingdom together! Thanks for letting us share in your day.

mother's day weekend

We had a very fun, full weekend around here. Definitely a winner! Friday evening, Ben Santen came over early in the evening. So fun for he and Ted to play together. They're both getting so big. Games. Beyblades. Movies. Sleepover. Stacy and Emily joined us later after Emily's lacrosse match in Fairmont. Thanks for coming!

 

Saturday morning we went for a little walk in the trails in White Park. The kids particularly liked the mountain bike trails.

 

 

  We had a few injuries. Nothing major.

We had a picnic lunch at Dorsey's Knob and then came home for family naps.

In the evening we had Ted's first t-ball game. He's had two cancelled because of rain so he was ready to go. Isn't he cute? He really likes t-ball. And so does Ben. Ben played baseball all the way through high school. So it's something he really likes to teach Ted. Unlike soccer which Ben is not super fond of. I think we might have found our best sport yet. We'll see. 

Ted is on the same team as his buddy Elliot. And we played against the team of his buddy Matthew. For the first time, we have friends on the same team - and I their mom's are great friends. That really changes things.

Playing 1st base

Ted paying "back up 1st base", Elliot playing 1st and Matthew on 1st base

Today has been a great Mother's Day! Ben let me sleep in and made a great breakfast - eggs, hash browns, bacon & fruit. I got some sweet gifts from my kids (including the framed art I wanted!)

From Ted

Something Ted wrote for school:
My mom is special because she drops me off at the bus stop

(which would be walking out the front door).

He found these in the sight word cards and gave them to me. 

From Sophie:

 

 Translation:

My mother's name is Laura Tuel. (true)

 She is 601344 years old. (This is a variation of my cell phone #)

My mom loves to eat tacos. (I do)

My mom's favorite thing to do is coloring with me. (Sure)

 My mom is happiest when I hug her. (I do love that)

To relax my mom does read aloud. (ok)

For Mother's Day, my mom would like to make lunch. (Well . . . )

We hit up the 11:00 service and I taught Sophie's small group and 17 of her closest friends. We had $5 pizza in the park for lunch which was fun. Sophie napped. Ted and I read a new book series we've recently discovered. I rode the exercise bike and got to read. Ted and I played "Just Dance 3". Ben made super yummy chinese for dinner. (We've found the awesome new rice for the rice cooker. It has satisfied my love of chinese food and a lot cheaper than ordering out.)We had strawberry shortcake for dinner and even a little fun with the whip cream. Ben squirted it in Ted's mouth, and all over his face! 

We had a super fun weekend. And thanks Ben, Ted & Sophie for a great Valentines, I mean Mother's Day! (Ted kept saying "Happy Valentine's Day!)  I'm so thankful to be your Mommy!