The Redelsperger Family

I can hardly believe a year has gone by since our last family update . Every year at Christmas I enjoy taking the time to just sit back and reflect on the year that has passed. The children grow so quickly and change a lot in just 12 short months. This year has been full to say the least. The biggest news in our family is the addition of two more Redelspergers! Tana and Grey moved in with us on June 2nd, and it has been a joy having them here. Tana is a student at Sacramento City College, as well as working two jobs! She keeps us fully stocked in Starbucks coffee, and has an extremely contagious laugh! Grey is three years old and we love having him join in all our family fun. He likes to work outside in the yard with Uncle Aaron, as well as listening to stories. Our "little" family of seven is snug as can be in our quaint three bedroom home, and we feel the blessings of being near family daily. Aaron 's been a busy man this year. In addition to being an amazing husband...

It snowed last night in Rancho Cordova, CA. I wish a camera could have caught the joy on my kids faces when they saw it this morning... It's the simple things in life! You know, like snow on a slide. Poor, sad, deflated bouncy ball. I promise you will be used again one day! You look pretty with snow on you.

Last night as I was putting the girls to bed I told Noraa she could pick a Christmas story and told Gracy she could choose our Bible story. We finished reading "The Night Before Christmas" and then Gracy started flipping the pages of her children's Bible looking for her selection. Noraa sweetly whispers to Grace..." sthister, pick a Christmas one !", To which Grace promptly replies, " Silly Noraa, there aren't any Christmas stories in the Bible ." Oops. How did my five year old not know the reason for the season? So I gently opened the Bible to the beginning of the New Testament and said, " Actually Grace, there is a Christmas story in the Bible. In fact, the reason we celebrate Christmas isn't because of Santa Clause, presents, or the fun lights and trees, but because Jesus, God's own Son came to earth to be with us. Because we don't know when He was born, we choose to celebrate the day He was born, on Christmas " The...

Once upon a time, there was a wife. A "homemaker" to be more precise. And this wife, she had a husband. He was a very fine husband indeed. He was not just nice to look at but also truly a good hearted man. Well, one day this wife was having a bad day. A very bad day indeed . The husband asked his wife, " What can I do to make your day better ." But the wife did not know. " Nothing I suppose ." She said wearily The day wore on and though things improved some, the wife was inexplicably sad. The husband came home from work only to have to leave again for his Biblical Hebrew class. The wife fed the children and gave them all their baths. By herself she helped them brush their teeth, read the Bible and say their night time prayers. The husband came home at 10:30pm, and as he walked through the door... the wife's worries, frustrations and emotions of the day were all swept away. Because there in the husbands hands was a beautiful, fragrant and incredibl...

When you ask Sammy to say "I Love You", he puts his hand to his ear like this! (I think it's because he hears me say it on the phone to his daddy!) It melts me every time!

I love pictures. I found the coolest spot to take pictures in Old Sacramento, and the sun was behind the clouds so it was a perfect day for it. Unfortunately trying to get pictures of three kids who are not very photogenic, (Not to mention their parents!) presents a bit of a problem. Regardless I think they're pretty cute. Maybe when GranJan comes with her fancy camera we can head back down there and take some fancy pictures. In the mean time, here we are; unedited. Our "little" family of five! Grandma and Grandpa came for Thanksgiving, what a joy to have them here! Tana and Grey help complete our family!

The picture is a bit grainy, but you can see the general gist of it. This picture was taken my senior year ('97) at the Summit Ministries program in Manitou Springs, CO. My two friends, Garrett and Kevin and I went together. The Sunday before we were headed home, we hiked up the nearby mountain and had our own little communion service. Then we each had some individual prayer time. I didn't realize that Kevin had taken this picture of me during that prayer time, until he gave it to me the following Christmas in a frame. I came across it yesterday. Every time I see it I'm filled with fond memories (like the sweater being knit by Garrett's grandma)and I'm amazed at how long my hair was. I'm growing my hair out again...

Today as I was doing the dishes and Grace was sitting at the table doing her homework, I found myself humming this tune...and counting: 1. My loving, faithful, amazing husband 2. Running water 3. A dishwasher to do most of the work 4. Being able to stay home 5. Children to clean up after 6. The little things my kids say that brighten my day 7. Impromptu to "I love you"s 8. A friend who volunteers to drive you to WinCo at 8pm even when you have a Thanksgiving Day sized grocery list. 9. Money to buy not just the needs, but the "wants" as well. 10. Ears to hear 11. Eyes to see 12. A mouth to taste (I LOVE good food) 13. A nose to smell (even those stinky diapers!) 14. Hands to hold, to work, to play and to love with 15. Smiles (from anyone, but my kids smiles are my favorites!) 16. Laughter 17. Tears 18. Lessons learned 19. Guidance 20. Chocolate 21. A good book 22. The Good Book 23. My Church family 24. Agapeland 25. Potty trained children 26. Not potty trained chil...

So Wednesday we had Ada over and did all sorts of girlie things. Thursday was Hayden's turn to come over. I'm not so good with planning a play date for a boy, so he did some of the same things we did with Ada (minus the finger and toe nail painting!) In spite of my planning or even lack thereof, he seems to have a good time. When it was time to leave, he didn't want to go, and the next time I saw him he kept mentioning that he wanted to go home with us again. This made my day, as I desire our home to be one that all our kids friends find fun as well as safe. A place to be themselves an d to know they are cared for. We cracked walnuts (which turned out to be loads of fun with him. What little boy wouldn't like smashing nut shells with a hammer?), then made vanilla brownies using the walnuts we had just shelled! Grace is so infatuated with this sweet little boy. Ah, the simple life of a five year old! The pictures I've chosen are Grace and Hayden, watching a video, ...

So I came across the site of another blogging Mom who likes to promote other bloggers on her site. Once a month she posts links to others favorite blog posts. It's kinda neat. I've put her link here .

We've been faithfully attending story time at the Sacramento Public Library for quite some time now. Our Rancho Cordova branch of the library is closed for remodel now through January 2010. (Though according to Noraa, it's because Ms. Jess, the children's librarian, "...just needed some alone time!") We've been going to the Fair Oaks branch instead because we just can't go two months without our weekly library trip! Each week the kids pick out books, and enjoy doing the self check out. This week a book caught my eye as it had a CD with it and my kids enjoy listening to stories in the car as well. It was called "King Bidgoods in the Bathtub". At the time I picked it out, I didn't realize that Audrey Wood was the author of other books that we love! (She and her husband Don Wood make a GREAT children's book team!) Since we checked the book out Tuesday, Noraa has asked me to read it to her so many times I have it memorized already! Sh...

Grace has made some new friends at school. Ada is her "girl best friend". Today Ada came over for the first of many play dates. We had a number of activities planned for the short three hours they had together! Ada really enjoyed playing in our back yard. We cracked walnuts together, then came inside for some girl time when we painted finger and toe nails. Then, right before Ada's dad came to pick her up we made chocolate chip cookies! A good time was had by all!

Today at lunch I gave the kids grape juice to drink. Grace took a sip and said, " Mmmm, this tastes like Communion !" So I asked her, " And what is Communion Grace ?" She then told us that Communion is when we drink the blood and eat the body of Jesus so we can remember Him. It led to a wonderful discussion of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, and how thankful we are that Jesus came to be our perfect Savior. (side note: When Grace was talking about Jesus, Buggy chimed in with, " Yeah, and then they threw him in the lion's den !") This isn't the first time we've had this conversation, and I hope it won't be the last. I soak up these times when my children, with hearts turned toward God, listen to every word that I impart to them. I pray their lives will be infused with daily reminders of our Wonderful Merciful Redeemer. I love teachable moments!

Recently my friend Sarah participated in "fashion week" on her blog . She's so chic. I got the giggles thinking of me trying to do something like that! But the more I thought about it, the more fun I thought it would be... so here we go: Long Sleeved T-shirt (?Mervyns? I've had it since college so I don't know!) White Vest (Walmart Clearance) Jeans (Old Navy Clearance) Shoes (also 10 years old, so I don't remember!) Grace Long Sleeved T-shirt (Clearanced @ Children's Place) Jeans (Old Navy-gift from Auntie T.) Shoes-she didn't get the memo on wearing shoes Noraa Long Sleeved T-shirt (Gymboree hand me down) Jeans (Old Navy hand me down Shoes (hand me down) Grey Shirt (Gap) Jeans (??) Shoes (Adidas) Sammy Shirt (Old Navy on clearance at Once Upon A Child) Jeans (hand me down) Socks (hand me down) As you can see, we are a thrifty family, and we love to make our money stretch with hand me downs, but I think we look cute while doing it! Don't y...

"I found my thrill on blueberry hill , On blueberry hill when I found you. The moon stood still on blueberry hill and lingered until my dreams came true." Frozen blueberries make for a fun snack! Sammy especially enjoyed them!

Well, the Redelsperger family has experienced another first in a line of many. Our oldest child, though only 5 years old lost her first tooth. She was SO proud. The Tooth Fairy had just come to school a few days before we realized it was loose, so she was prepped and ready to wiggle! She very much enjoyed being the center of attention at school on the day it came out. One baby's getting teeth and my other baby is loosing them!

Today before the peace of nap time I took a few moments to read to my girls. Earlier at the library a book caught my eye and I thought "Oh, this is one full of art!". Some books are fun, some are cute, and some are a mastery of art. The illustrations and the words of this book are fabulous and wove a beautiful picture for my children of the joys that come with the changing of the seasons. I thought I should take the time to share it with you! (We can't wait to pick up this authors other books as well.) Fletcher and the Falling Leaves , by Julia Rawlinson , pictures by Tiphanie Beeke , tells the story of a small fox who loves a tree. He worries that it is sick and his mother tells him, "Don't worry, it's only autumn". When the tree doesn't get better, and in fact starts loosing it's leaves, sweet little Fletcher tries so hard to help his poor tree. His compassion and care had my children's rapt attention. As I turned the last page, revealing ...

It's finally Fall in Sacramento. This means it's time to pull out long pants, long sleeves, and sweaters. It means lots of soup and bread, pots of beans, apple cider and hot tea. It also means lots of rain! The cooler weather here is not like "winter" in other states. I miss the Idaho winters with the crisp cool air the brilliant fall colors and the excitement that snow will be coming soon. Fall is by far my favorite time of year. Last week we had a large storm pass through our area, and while the rain was pouring down, I decided to try and te ach the kiddos how to truly enjoy the rain. I told them to go get a good book and a cozy blanket, and then we made a "fire" in our fireplace by putting an old cookie sheet on the grate and lighting about 15 different sized candles. They were thrilled, for all of 10 minutes and then trotted off to more exciting adventures (mainly playing " Bolt ") Ah, well, at least I got another 20 minutes or so of Sammy...

Noraa's name is her father's name spelled backwards. I'm wondering if this has had an effect on her personality. Of our three children she is certainly the most like her daddy in looks and persona. I would not venture to say that she gets her fashion from him, but truly wonder if it's that she just sees the world a bit backward! Here are some of her most recent choices in what to wear. (I let her pick her clothes out each day simply because she enjoys it so much, it's not worth the fight and quite frankly it amuses me!) She'll learn someday!

At six months old my husband wanted to buzz our son's hair. I said NO. I told him we would talk about it when Sam turned a year old. So Sammy's birthday came while Aaron was gone for the weekend. When he came home we took the plunge of changing my baby into a big boy! Daddy showing Sammy the clippers! He really didn't mind the clippers so much. He held still and let Daddy cut his hair without a fuss. Wish I could say the same for me! One proud Daddy and One Big Boy!!!

On Monday, my husband was able to sit beside Sean and be with his family to help out during the day. Sean was in and out of consciousness all day long struggling to think clearly through the pain medications when he was awake. He turns to Aaron and asks, "How do you die well?" I loved my husband's response, as it is so fitting & so true of Sean. "You live well." His life was full of love for others, a life lived selflessly, and devoted to God and His teachings. I met Sean about 8 years ago when I first moved to Sacramento. He was a single dad at that point living in Gold River with a daughter Hailey, about to go into the youth ministry, Tyler (the kid who sat on the front pew and worshipped with all his heart), and Parker a young kid running the halls on Sunday's blending in with all the other little kids at Cordova, trading Pokemon cards! There was something special about Sean. He caught my attention within the first few weeks of moving her. I t...

The Maple Grove Church of Christ. A tiny church, filled with people (imperfect as all humans), loving God and wanting to do His will. Reflecting on my spiritual upbringing is, like all things, filled with both the highs and lows of emotions. I made so many friends and have loved the members that attended there as family. I have thousands of memories surrounding that small congregation struggling to survive over the 18 years of my attendance. This is probably one of the hardest reflections to write about as it's so close to my heart. Spiritual things tend to be personal and thus more sensitive to talk about or reflect on. I approach my reflections with great caution because I would never want to hurt anyone by my thoughts on this sweet little congregation, and yet sometimes even the best intentions have the potential to go astray. The Churches of Christ pride themselves in being Bible based and seeking to follow only the inspired Word of God rather than man made doctrine or rituals....

Homemade granola in very large quantities, tacos in large quantities, mac'n'cheese in large quantities, okay so FOOD in general in LARGE quantities: "today I'm praying for" hearts on the wall: intentional date nights: K-Love radio: the big yellow van: Brio devotionals in the field: basketball smack talk: "nose to the door" discipline: family room dance sessions: "Stand and Eat Liver" movie night (I'll explain that one later!): feeling a baby move inside her momma for the first time: These are just a few of the first things that pop into my head when I think about the family that moved in across the street from me when I was in third or fourth grade. The Kircher Family . When they moved in, they had six children, and I'll never forget the moving truck and the car that came along side, as it pulled up and they started unloading! As the youngest of four kids, and my siblings all being a lot older than me, I was elated when out of the...

I don't know if it's dropping Grace off at Kindergarten that has made me reflective on my own childhood or if I've just been thinking a lot lately. In any case, I've been looking back over my life and I've realized how many people I have to thank for shaping me into who I am today. I was sitting in Starbucks last night praying for our preacher of 14 years and his family as they move to Washington to begin a new chapter in their lives. I thought about the friends they made here, and the friends they will make up there. After I finished praying I decided to list out the people who have made an impact on my life. There were some experiences and people that I would have rather skipped over at the time, but now I realize it's all a part of the fabric of my life, the tapestry that tells my story. So, we begin: Part 1 The Monzo Family About a block away at the end of Tioga Street lived a family that is near and dear to my heart. I can not count the number of h...