Well, this blog is used for many purposes, so if you're looking to read about our ministry, feel free to skip this post! As with most of my friends, when I blog about the kids it's to show pictures, update you on what they are up to, and tell fun stories. But this time, I feel the need to post some advice. By NO MEANS am I an expert, but I'm realizing, that my kids travel more than the average, so here are my two cents. 

I had longed for my children to be good travelers as the nature of our work requires travel- To conferences with students for the weekend, to staff conferences for a few days, to Summer Training Programs where you pack up your family to live elsewhere for weeks (or months). Or if you're like the staff were when we were students, travel includes an annual Spring Break Trip with a 24 hour drive ONE WAY to Florida! SO all that to say, traveling well is a MUST in our family!

By the time Ellie was 6 months old she had already been to 6 states on 8 (?) major trips! So I guess you could say, tip #1 is START THEM YOUNG! If traveling is important to your family, it seems so overwhelming to travel with a newborn (When will I nurse? What will they do? Will they sleep? How can they be in the carseat that long?) But honestly, looking back, the first months were BY FAR the easiest with kids (so far)  A rattle can entertain for a LONG time. When they get tired enough they'll sleep. And you can nurse just about anywhere. Oh, and you can eat all the snacks you want because they don't know enough to ask for your food yet! So it bugged me that they didn't nap at the right time or they went too long between feedings, but I'm so glad we started young as this is just a NORMAL for our family!

#2 Food: We do our best to eat on the road so that we don't have to stop as much AND to buy time while on the road. When our kids are just starting finger foods, a snack cup with cheerios can kill a LOT of time. And yes, I'm known to cut the cheerios in half so they'll last even longer! Now we like to "splurge" and pack uncrustables, string cheese, bananas and pouches for our girls. Those are special treats we don't normally have at home, but they are cheaper, healthier and easier than fast food! And speaking of food- at one point I made a list, I think Elliie nursed at too many different rest stops and restaurants to count! It was so weird at first, but you get over it fast and learn how to make it work!

#3 Time of day: I'm always trying to figure out the best time to travel. Our kids don't really sleep in the car, so going at bedtime/nap time doesn't work for us. BUT I've found that they're more flexible than I give them credit for. In my quest to discover the PERFECT time to travel, I've discovered the best thing to do is to change it up.  Sometimes we get up and get dressed and go straight to the car for "car breakfast" as Ellie calls it. Sometimes we let them play for awhile and get out some energy before loading up and heading out with snacks and a packed lunch. Sometimes we eat dinner at 4 pm and then put them in PJ's and hope they fall asleep sometime... {Although when Josie was a newborn we did this and drove from 4 pm - 1 am. Josie slept almost the whole time. But Ellie? She slept for 90 seconds of that WHOLE 9 hour drive. MISERABLE!} 

#4 Car toys: . I have a basket of toys in our front closet that are ONLY for the car! It makes it more fun! In this technology world, we find ourselves pretty hesitant to give the girls any sort of technology at home and hate to break those habits on the road... So magna doodle, Melissa & Doug magnet board, Melissa & Doug Water Wow Pen, and books are some favorites. I have a number of busy bags that I made when Ellie was a baby that have become so great car toys. This felt snake is a favorite.

#5 "Gifts": When it's a really long trip (In my opinion that's >5 hours away) I've wrapped up gifts to open throughout the ride. My mom did that when we were kids. Sometimes it's things we already have but they haven't played with in awhile. Or it's dollar store stuff.. A new pack of crayons or coloring book. A roll of scotch tape (cover up the blade part and it keeps 1 year olds entertained for a long time!) Some little gadget. We chose a Christmas gift for Ellie to just wrap up and save in the car as we were traveling a lot!

#6 Music: We are stingy on technology, but we've discovered kid music can go a LONG way! Bring instruments to give the kids to play with... We even tried a kid audio book via my phone recently and that was a nice change of pace! I'd like to look into getting more of those now that Josie is older!

#7 Rest stops!! They're the best! Quick, close, mostly clean, Pack your food and take advantage of these!!

#8 Have a "plan" If we are headed on a 4-5 hour trip at 9 am. I usually think. Just let them play for a bit. Then We'll finally break out a snack at 10. I space out new cd's, new toys, new books, new foods in a way that will hopefully keep them somewhat entertained... Or else I find that all of my ideas are used up in the first hour. And then it's panic time!

I'm sure you all have MANY MORE pieces of advice, so please share!! We'll happily use your advice in the months to come as we have many miles ahead of us :-) 

Spring Break is just a week away and the university police are handing out these spring break "safety tips" to students passing by.

It's tempting to be cynical.  The message is, "enjoy the American spring break party experience...just do it safely."  It seems comparable to giving students a sheet of safety tips before they gather with a whole bunch of people to play with gasoline and lighters. 

These safety tips seek to address the danger to student's bodies as they head to the beaches in Florida to party.  What's missing is the "safety tips" for these students' hearts.

GK Chesterton said, "Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain.  Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure."  


Please pray for Whitewater students- that they would experience the weariness that comes with seeking worldly pleasures.  And pray that on the beach or back on campus, God would bring one of His people into their life to share where true meaning, purpose, and life can be found.


Thanks for praying!


-Noah

Whenever I think about writing- I get overwhelmed. Where do I start?

-We visited Champaign for the first time since moving this past weekend- oh we love that home away from home!

-Josie took her first steps this week!

-My little brother spoke at our Nav Night tonight!

-Ellie is going to turn THREE next month! She knows her birthday is in April and when people ask her how old she is going to be she looks to me and says, "What should I say mom? 4 or 3?" It cracks me up!

- Both girls have been sick this week... Nothing makes you appreciate your own mom like waking up at 2 am to your 2 year old plastered in vomit. Like all over her face, hair, pj's, bed, blanket, stuffed animals, sheets, floor, etc. And plastered meaning it was dried on... After a bath and washing her hair TWICE we then had to wash all the crap out of the tub. Then after washirng her sheets and clothes, we had to wash out the washing machine. The cleaning didn't end! Today Josie had diarrhea so bad my sweater was covered.... I hope to never under-appreciate my mom again! I feel like it's a new badge of honor as a mom.

I find getting time with God is getting harder all of the time- between having a 1 and 2 year old, and having MS- I guess you could say I'm TIRED! My brother asked if I took a nap today, and to be honest- YES I did. To be really honest, I fell asleep while praying downstairs in the chair. YIKES!

-We had a great talk with our dear friends the Hubbards in Champaign about parenting- I so want to type it all up on here as it was just amazingly insightful!

-We had a childhood friend and her husband over for dinner tonight! I haven't seen her in-- 7 years?? It was so sweet- to just jump back into life and see how The Lord is working in her!

-We're home this weekend! After three wekeends of travel-- 20 hours in the car and 10 days away- we're home!

-I think I need to post a blog on "tips for traveling with toddlers" - there's my title I guess!

Today a new thing happened-- my feet were hurting so badly! Keep reading... Before MS I've always needed to wear my shoes around the house- as if I walk/stand to much while barefoot my feet just hurt. I didn't realize until today that I haven't needed to wear shoes in months. Not because my feet are any better, but simply because I haven't been standing/on my feet enough to have them hurt! It just felt so good to have that "aha" moment and realize- I'm me again! So I gladly put on my tennis shoes and buzzed around the house doing laundry, cleaning up toys, making supper, etc...

It feels so good to feel like ME again! I know I'm me because I had the energy to go grocery shopping after kids were in bed last night {Mind you, I had a 2 hour nap yesterday!} I know I'm me because I looked through the pantry and looked up some recipes and made a grocery list! I konw I'm me because when looking through the pantry I found some leftover m&m's and had the energy/ability to say,"Oh I should make some cookies!" I know I'm me because after the girls were in bed tonight, I had the ability to do some food prep for later in the week.

I never have been so grateful to be ME!!

:).

I was texting with a friend today and she said, "praising The Lord with you! For stability, for Leanne, for joy and thankfulness and family and community and energy (even though it's still not pre-MS energy). Love you!"

My response, "Oh the pre-MS days. Don't know what you've got til it's gone. Isn't that a 90s song?"

I couldn't tell you anything about that song, but it just hit - we so often DO NOT know what we have until it's gone. 
 
So the last few weeks we've gotten fully back on our feet and I feel like we're embracing a new normal.  But it hit me, that Josie has now lived in Whitewater for half of her life!! (She was 7 1/2 months when we moved and she just had her 15 month dr appt!)  As we go to visit Champaign it's a surreal feeling as we haven't been there since June, but it feels like we're going home!

Josie loves to climb up the bathroom stool and ask to wash her hands, she thinks taking toys from Ellie is her job, and she loves reading certain books (especially those with flaps). She can say a LOT of words (Russia, popcorn and yeye {Ellie} are our favorite) and happily makes her way up and down the stairs whenever she so chooses. But, taking after her older sister, she is not yet walking. I truly think it will be soon, but I've been saying that for awhile :-) She's down to one {very nice and long} nap and wants to do just about everything her sister does. 

Ellie considers herself a little mommy. As we packed for our trip this weekend, she was diligent to get a diaper for Baby Stella AND she had to get a nighttime diaper for her. {Josie wears a bigger size at bed, and so Baby Stella needs to too!} She loves to tell Josie, 'You're a beautiful pink {insert whatever color she is wearing} girl today Josie'  Ellie is ridiculously verbal and has an insane memory. Leanne was talking about her dream the other morning at breakfast. Ellie asked what my dream was and I said I don't usually remember my dreams. Her response? "Yes mom, you do, your dream was about the bears" A few weeks ago I dreamt that there were bears all over our backyard... none of us had a clue what she was talking about. We dismissed her until we realized she was right! Her favorite thing is to read ALL the library books at the same time in the front room. It's a treat that she will sit and listen to books forever. We love that little things like frozen juice popsicles and the whole family having a dance party after dinner thrill her the most.

We find ourselves surprisingly settled in Whitewater and it feels more like home all of the time. Having a house we love definitely helps! 

Thanks for all your love and care and many prayers for us! As much as I'm eager for Spring weather, I can't complain with the beautiful snow and bright sunshine we see each morning. It's a joy to hear Ellie pray "Thank you for this day. Thank you for the sun. Thank you for this warm house. Thank you for this food. Thank you for your love." AMEN!  It's time to go take a shot- remember what I said about embracing a new normal? :)

This week, in preparing to teach at NavNight, I printed out a few more paper outlines than the usual 30.  I printed out 80!

That's because tomorrow night, I have the privilege of speaking as a guest at NavNight at the University of Illinois!  Tomorrow we're returning to Champaign-Urbana for our first visit since we moved north back in June.  We're excited to return to a community and people that hold a special place in our hearts.

Printing my outlines reminded me of what God has done at Illinois over the last five years.  We had the privilege of watching the Illinois ministry grow by leaps and bounds.  God is continuing His wonderful work there.  It's then exciting to think about where the Whitewater ministry could be in five years!

The Illinois ministry is doing a series of messages on "How many people are in The Navigators?"  As staff we get this question frequently, and it can be hard to answer.  Do we say 100 (the number involved in bible studies at Illinois)?  Do we say 80 (the number who come to NavNight)?  I'm speaking on 25....the number of non-believing students who are reading one of the gospels with their Christian friends.  I'll be talking about how evangelism sounds scary to us, but how a different perspective (seeing ourselves as Christ's ambassadors [2 Cor 5] and viewing evangelism as a process rather than an event) can help us make a real impact for Christ among non-Christian friends.

Would you please take a minute now to pray for me?  Pray I would speak clearly, that God would be glorified, and that students at the U of I would be challenged to trust God to use them to share the gospel on their campus.  You can pray the same for Whitewater students as well.

Thanks friends!  Grace to you this week!

-Noah