Keith and Kristyn Getty

Growing and Learning more everyday!

A word of encouragement from my Lord in times of uncertainty

....MADE THE IRON FLOAT....

2 Kings 6:6

The axe head seemed hopelessly lost, and as it was borrowed, the honor of the prophetic band was likely to be imperiled, and as the name of their God to be compromised. Contrary to all expectation, the iron was made to mount from the depth of the stream and to swim; for things impossible with man are possible with God. I knew a man in Christ but a few years ago who was called to undertake a work far exceeding his strength. It appeared so difficult as to involve absurdity in the bare idea of attempting it. Yet he was called to it, and his faith rose with the occasion. God honored his faith, unlooked-for aid was sent, and the iron did swim. Another of the Lord's family was in dreadful financial strain. He would have been able to meet all claims and much more if he could have realized certain portion of his estate, but he was overtaken with a sudden pressure. He sought for friends in vain, but faith led him to the unfailing Helper, and lo, the trouble was averted, his footsteps were enlarged, and the iron did swim. A third had a sorrowful case of depravity to deal with. He had taught, reproved, warned, invited, and interceded, but all in vain. Old Adam was too strong for young Melanchthon; the stubborn spirit would not relent. Then came an agony of prayer, and before long a blessed answer was sent from heaven. The hard heart was broken; the iron did swim.

Beloved reader, what is your desperate case? What heavy matter have you to deal with this evening? Bring it here. the God of the prophets lives, and lives to help His saints. He will not suffer you to lack any good thing. Believe in the Lord of hosts! Approach Him pleading in the name of Jesus, and the iran shall swim; you too shall see the finger of God working marvels for His people. According to your faith be it unto you, and yet again the iron shall swim.
-Charles H. Spurgeon

Olivia Leigh is 6 weeks old!

Two days ago my darling little girl turned 6 weeks old. It seems like time goes by so fast. She is slowly growing out of her new born clothes and into her 0-3 month outfits. She is smiling, and cooing and alert. She is such a joy and a very welcomed addition to our family.

Kazoos

The kids both got Kazoos in their stockings for Christmas. Daniel loved his from the start. Monica was a bit more frustrated with hers because he could not figure out how to play it. She kept blowing into it and wondering why it did not make any noise. I tried to show her that she had to use her voice to get it to work but she did not get it. One morning she brought it to me sad that she could not get it to work. I explained again how it worked and after working with her for about 10 minutes she finally got it. The first time she made sound out of her kazoo she was so excited. Now both kids walk around the house blowing their kazoos making music. Here they are showing off their musical talents!

Olivia Leigh

My baby is almost 1 month old already. Sho Sho has been begging for more pictures so I took some today. She is getting so big so fast!

The power of photoshop

I was trying to get a picture where all there of the kids were looking at me and smiling. NO SUCH LUCK. However I do have a little tool called photoshop that I have been learning how to use and I love it. So here is a picture where Daniel is looking at the camera smiling but the girls don't look so good....
And here the girls look good but Daniel's eyes look all funny...

so you take the best from both pictures, put them together and presto I have a picture of my kids who "always" sit so beautifully for pictures! ha! Oh the power of photoshop!!!

A few Christmas Pictures

This Christmas my in laws came for a visit. It was very nice having then around for the holidays. Here are just a few pictures from the last couple of days. I will try to post some from Christmas day soon. The top picture was taken at church when we went to the Christmas Eve service. The two of the kids were taken before we left. More to come... hopefully!

Blogging is so not my thing...

Well here I am after many many pleas trying to see if maybe just maybe I can keep up with my blog. I am sorry for not keeping up with it. I check my sister's blog all the time and I am very excited when she updates and tells stories about what is going on in her life. I have been denying my family the same privilege by not updating my blog.

Today is another normal day so far. Here I sit at the computer just finishing up a delicious cup of coffee. Coffee has become by jump start drink in the morning. It is nice to finally be able to have caffeine again! Olivia is fed and in the swing. Monica is getting to watch Clifford the big red dog on PBS. Daniel is off with daddy and daddy's friend Mr. Steve. They went to see "Fantastic Mr. Fox". We finished reading the chapter book to Daniel yesterday and so he is excited to go and see the movie. Later today my in laws will be in for a few days. The kids do not know they are coming and it should be a joyous surprise! It will be nice to have some family around for Christmas.

As everyone knows Olivia Leigh was born two weeks ago today. The last two weeks have flown by and I see so many changes in her already. He little face is starting to fill out and she is already getting longer. It is amazing how fast they grow. It is sad to me that my little baby is getting bigger everyday. Olivia looks a lot like Brandon. As a matter of fact both of our daughters look a lot like him. I am glad that my son looks like me! Here is a bit of comparison of Brandon and Olivia.


On a different subject it is just three days until Christmas. I love Christmas time. It is a great time to sit back and reflect on what our Lord did for us. Since moving to Grand Rapids our family has started celebrating Advent. Advent starts 4 weeks before Christmas. The purpose of Advent is so that Christmas does not "sneak up" on us. I find that it is very easy to go through the entire Christmas season with little time to reflect on what Christmas is all about. So I went out to hobby lobby and got the supplies and made an advent wreath for our home. We light a candle every Sunday and do a family devotion focused around Christ's birth. The point of the candles is each week as another one is lit it is a sign of our anticipation for the grand celebration on Christmas day. We have been giving Daniel weekly challenges and remind him about them throughout the week to follow through on his challenge. For example, his challenge last week was to be more like Joseph. When God sent an angel to Joseph and told him to marry Mary he did not question God but he trusted him and obeyed him without complaining. We challenged Daniel to obey his parents without complaining or questioning, and we ourselves were challenged to obey God in the same manner. On Christmas day we light the candle in the middle (as well as all the ones around it) and have a time of devotions, praise and worship, and celebration before we get to open our presents. I love this new tradition for our family.

Well I am signing off and hopefully not for months and months. I will not make promises that I will be the best blogger, but I will try to update so that other can see what is going on in our lives. But for now the shower is calling my name.

My African Princess

Tonight we had our missions dinner at church. I decided to dress Monica in a kanga and tie her baby to her back. She loved carrying around her baby . She looked adorable.

Not day 2 of potty training

I have been really bad at updating my blog. My mom has said she is tired of seeing day 2 of potty training so here is an update. Monica is fully potty trained. I am 6 weeks away from having Olivia. My parents came to visit this past weekend and it was a blast. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Swimming with ShoSho
Relaxing with babu
Playing boxing with Babu
We went to chuckie cheese. Here shosho is playing deal or no deal for tickets.
This was a big donkey kong type machine that dares you to hold on while it "shocks you" in high voltage. It is very intense vibrating. Mom held on through the whole thing and here dad is trying to do the same while mom laughs at him. It was very funny!

Adventures in potty training- Day 3

Day three of the "cold turkey" potty training was one that I was most worried about. This was a busy day for us as Monica had a doctor's appointment and then in the evening Daniel had a 2 hour open house at his school. I was tempted to put Monica in a pull up and ditch the underwear at these events. Brandon reminded me that we decided to ditch diapers and that we have to see how she does.

So this morning we sat Monica on the potty before we left for her doctor's appointment and she went potty! About an hour and a half later she returned in the same pair of pants she left in. I was so proud of her. I had a brain laps though and did not put her on the potty right after we got home, so she did end up having an accident. This was the first time that she was really upset about having an accident. I got her all cleaned up and told her that she needs to tell mommy when she needs to go potty.

Sure enough soon after I sat her down for lunch she told me she had to go peepee. I swooped her up and sat her on the potty. She went right away! I could not believe she told me she had to go. Throughout the course of the day we continued to work on going, and she did not have an accident all afternoon.

Then came the time I feared, the 2 hour open house. I tried to get Monica to go before we left with no success. About an hour after we got there we took her to the bathroom and she went. I was so proud that once again we had left the house and came home in the same pair of pants. Then after her bath tonight she told daddy that she needed to go potty. Shortly after he sat her on there she pooped! I am so proud of her. It seems that everyday gets a little easier and we get a little bit closer to the status of "potty trained". Let me remind you that this girl one week ago would throw fits if I tried to sit her on the potty, and now she is telling me when she needs to go and actually going.

Summary of day three: 8 potty chart stickers, 6 successful trips to the bathroom, and one accident. GO MONICA!

Adventures in potty training part 2

Today is day two of potty training Monica. I was able to do laundry last night and I got all her wet pairs of pants cleaned and ready to go for another round. First thing this morning after she woke up we placed her on the potty. She was NOT a happy camper. The first thing Monica wants to do every morning is eat. After her fit this morning it was clear that the LAST thing she wanted to do was go potty. After much persistence she finally went pee! Yeah! So we put her in underwear and started the day.

About every 30-45 minutes I would take her in to the potty. Sometimes she would go with no problems, sometimes she would throw HUGE fits. I found out that the times she throws the fits are the times she needs to go potty. Through out the morning she went one more time and had no accidents. Before lunch I sat her on the potty and she cried and cried. I figured I would give it a rest and let her eat. Well that back fired because while she was in her booster she had an accident. After lunch I put her back on the potty and she threw the biggest fit so far in this process. She actually cried so hard that she spit up her juice that she had just had with her lunch. After she calmed down she had her first poo in the potty! GO MONICA! After fighting her all morning that was the encouragement that I needed to keep trying. I rewarded her heavily with two stickers and 4 smarties. I then put her in the "big girl nap time underwear" (a pull up) and laid her down.

After nap she was a little wet but I still sat her on the potty. She threw another HUGE fit. She was pushing herself half off the potty, or sitting sideways so her bottom was half off the toilet. Well one of the times she was half off the toilet she peed and it went all over the floor. I sat her straight and explained that she needs to sit correctly on the toilet. She cried but then ended up peeing even more in the toilet.

This afternoon she has gone potty several times. We are still in our second pair of underwear. It is 7 PM, one hour until bed, and we are way ahead of where we were yesterday.

Summary of day 2: 13 potty chart stickers, 5 successful trips to the potty, and so far only 1 pair of wet underwear! Maybe this method does work! We will see how tomorrow goes.

Adventures in Potty Training Part 1

Monica just recently turned 2 and Brandon and I have been discussing potty training her for awhile. I do not want to have two kids in diapers and now with only three months until the arrival of our newest addition I decided that this would be the time to try to potty train Monica.

Monica knows the concept of the potty. She is always following me in the bathroom and then clapping for me when I go. A few times we have put her on there, and even fewer times she has actually gone potty. When Daniel was about 2 we started training him and after a long 6 month process we finally go him trained. I decided to try a new method with Monica. We call it "cold turkey". We learned this method from a friend at church who had great success with it with her two year old. Her daughter was trained in one week using this method! The concept is that on Monday morning Monica woke up and was placed on the potty and then in underwear. We said good bye diapers forever no matter what! Well except at nap and bedtime.

So yesterday went as expected. Monica had many trips to the bathroom, and many accidents. She cried a lot and did not like sitting on the potty. I made her a sticker chart and every time she sat on the potty even if she did not do anything she got a sticker.

Summary of day one: 15 potty chart stickers, 7 wet pairs of underwear, one successful pee in the potty and A LOT of fits. We will see how day two goes!

I LOVE CRAIGSLIST!

I love Craigslist. It seems that if you wait long enough you can find what you need for more than half the cost of what you would pay in the stores. I have been searching for bunk beds for my kids for the last few months. I had a specific thing in mind. I wanted wooden beds that could separate into two separate twin beds. I also wanted a bed with drawers under the bottom bunk. After months of searching I finally found EXACTLY what I wanted. Thanks to Babu and Sho Sho for giving the kids an early christmas present we were able to get the beds. Now after Olivia is born we will be able to fit all three of our kids in one room. I feel so blessed to have these beds. They were brand new in the box and I bought them for $425 LESS than I could get the same set in the store! Here is a video of the beds! Enjoy!

Daniel Learning to Skate

As Daniel gets older he is embarking on new adventures. His new interest it wanting to learn how to skate. Brandon loves to skate and Daniel wants to be able to go out to skate and play hockey with his daddy. Brandon has taken Daniel out several times to teach him how and each time Daniel gets a little better. Tonight Daniel asked if his daddy would take him outside to skate. I decided to take a few pictures and a couple videos so I can update my blog to make some certain family members happy. So here is my big boy doing his best trying to learn how to skate! I am proud of him.








On an unrelated note it was a nice day today and we spent a long time outside playing and getting nice and dirty. When we came in to get all cleaned up I found out that we have NO hot water. So now it is time to be creative on getting the kids cleaned up and ready for bed tonight.

Wipe Out

ABC has a show called wipe out where people go through an obstacle course and they usually end up falling down. The kids think that it is the funniest show ever as they watch people fall all over the place. I decided to film them watching it last night. Enjoy the laughter.

Camping

This past weekend we tried camping as a family for the first time. We went with a friend who camps every year and had a ton of camping gear and knowledge of how camping works. I was a little scared at first how the kids are going to do but I will tell you that we had a blast. We got to the camp site on Friday afternoon. We took an hour or so to set up camp, and then we headed into town to find a bite to eat. It was so hot and humid that day that by the time we set up camp we were all a sweaty mess. We found a local place that had pretty good food. Before we left Brandon and I took a picture in the cardboard cutout of a surfer holding his girl. It thought it was a funny picture. The first night we got the kids down in the tents and were excited about spending sometime together as adults playing card games and talking. Unfortunately things did not turn out like we planned. It was not long after got the kids down that it started pouring down rain. I mean POURING! We were in a screen tent that covered the picnic table and we got DRENCHED. Finally we called it a night and went into our tents with our scared children. I am very thankful that we did not get washed away in the storm. I found out the next morning that there were 2 tents in the camp ground that were flattened by the storm, not to mention how many people had everything they owned soaked. After taking a shower, yes I showered while camping, we headed back into town. Brandon took Daniel and Jessie fishing while Cori and I took Monica and hit the shops. We did not buy much but it was fun to hang out together. After a day of fun downtown we went back to the camp and then down to the beach. The kids LOVED the beach. Daniel and Monica had a blast and could have stayed there all night. We did leave around 7 and got them all cleaned up and then made a campfire dinner, smores and then got the kids off to bed. Then Cori, Brandon and I sat by the fire looking at the stars and enjoyed conversation with friends. We had a great time and I look forward to doing it again sometime soon. Down at the beach.
Brandon, Jessie and Daniel heading out to go fishing. They did not catch anything. I think the storm the night before scared all the fish away.
Our tent that we got for $50 of craigslist. I think that we got a great deal. It is big and very waterproof!

The Petting Zoo

I posted pictures of our time at the zoo on facebook, but I thought I would post a couple of videos of the kids at the petting zoo. I like the first one because if you listen close you can hear monica say cow and goat.



Monica in the petting zoo saying "cow" and the walking over and saying "goat"




Monica and Daniel petting and brushing the cow.

Artist

This evening we decided to do a little painting. I decided the easiest thing to do is to get out our easel and have Daniel on one side and Monica on the other. Daniel painted a picture of Larry Boy, and Monica took a modern approach to her art. Daniel and Monica both had a blast and did not want to stop. We will have to do this more often.