Saturday, November 10, 2012
Alley Update
I figured that since it's been six months since my last update, it was time for another one.
Derek is coming up on six months as the Manager at Healthquest Therapy. It has been a wonderful job for Derek in so many ways! He is excelling and doing an amazing job and there is great opportunity for him there. He manages the Wasilla and Eagle River offices, which includes about 23 employees, made up of office staff and therapists. The health field has been a new and exciting challenge for him and he has spearheaded getting electronic medical records (EMR) established. He works Monday-Thursday so it's really nice to have him home for three full days!
I (Janelle) headed back to school this fall. I am fairly close to completing my psychology degree so I am taking a couple of classes this semester to work toward my degree. I am taking Social Psychology and Health Psychology. It is proving to take a lot of time! Now Derek is supporting me as I work to get my degree:)
I am teaching the kids in the mornings, usually until about 2pm. I am really enjoying our time together this year and feel like we are in a really good routine. My favorite time is first thing in the morning when we all sit down and have Bible, history, science and read aloud books together.
The kids are doing well and growing by the day.
CJ is enjoying Farm School this year where he is learning all about moose.
Adrian is doing a horse class called the Blue Ribbon Badge program, where she gets a badge each week for learning things about horses. She loves it and I think horses will be a part of her life for a while!
Megan and Rowan are hanging with me most of the time. Megan is learning her letters and sounds. Rowan is super active and busy, he loves his cars and trucks and is still learning to successfully go potty.
Bless you all who read this, I plan to update a little more often:)
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Derek graduates!!!!
Derek's story I read at his graduation party:
Your college journey began at George Fox, then Mat-Su College, then after we were married, we were both in college. After one semester of working and going to school it was just too much to keep up with the demands of both.
Of course in hindsight...if only we knew then how much harder it would be to do it all with a family. So, for a while you worked while I went to school.
After 7 yrs of working hard labor jobs, and three children later, we started to think about what would be a good career choice for you, for the long term.
You worked hard without complaining and were very good at what you did, at whatever you set your mind to.
After talking and praying, the desire to go to school came as an opportunity for you to choose a career and also to open up opportunities to make things better for our family and our future.
You started out with engineering, knowing that you were good at math and it made sense to you.
After a while, it became evident that the piece that was missing for you was your giftedness and desire to work with people.
After working many different places your desire and natural ability for management became more apparent, so that became the road you took.
Throughout this process, you had some important and significant people in your life who called out your giftings and your talents, they helped with the direction of your degree choice.
There are a few stand outs for the hardest semesters from my point of view. One being chemistry, with 12 hrs per week outside of class, it was one of your first classes and it was brutal for all of us. I am so glad that not every class after that took quite that much time. You got an A in that class too.
Your desire for excellence and putting forth all of your best effort came through from the start of this journey.
Another hard transition was beginning classes in Anchorage, which required more time away from home.
Another being last spring, it was definitely the hardest semester yet, with super demanding classes and lots of evening classes, we hardly saw each other.
You started a new job while in school, which made for an extra tough year last year as well. This led to our decision to take a lighter load this past fall, even if it meant finishing school a semester later than you had hoped.
The closer we got to the end, the harder it seemed to keep up excitement and momentum, so in the fall with only five classes left we toyed with the idea of you taking time off work, taking five classes and finishing up by the spring semester. It was a bold, courageous and exciting move.
We sold our van so that we had money to live and trusted the Lord to provide. Right off the bat, we had many unexpected expenses, yet money still kept coming in and we had more than enough to meet our needs. The way we were provided for made no sense on paper yet we have been continually so blown away and blessed!
I think we started out this journey thinking that even if a degree was just a piece of paper needed to get a certain job or position, you and I were willing to do it for the betterment of our family.
But walking through this journey with you I realize there is so much more to it than just that.
I have seen you change and grow in so many ways. The first being that you recognized that you are valuable, valuable enough that you were worth the time and money and sacrifice that comes along with going to with school and raising a family.
About 2 years into this journey you set out to take care if yourself at another level, losing 70 lbs and putting your health as a priority.
You have gained such a clear idea of who you are and what you're good at .
You have learned about persistence and determination. You have learned about people, conflict, sticking to things, making priorities, being specific and purposeful about how you spend your time.
You have put forth your best effort to get an incredible GPA with all the demands of life.
You have grown so much in your care of me and the kids, your attentiveness, your understanding. As much as school has pulled you away from home, your heart and your love has grown closer to home. Your quality of time with us keeps us going with not much quantity. You are always giving us your best effort and your love.
Here we are at the end of this adventure...unbelievable! I can't express how proud I am of you and how secure and provided for I feel with you.
I am proud of you for identifying , pursuing and chasing after your dreams, it is so exciting for me to see you getting to live some of them out right now.
This journey has opened up opportunities for you to walk out your dreams.
You have reached one of your goals and you are graduated at 30!
From the beginning you have allowed people to speak into your life. You have surrounded yourself with friends and mentors in abundance and look to them for support an encouragement , so many here tonight! You know who you are.
You have some incredible friends that continually speak into your life, as well as incredible family who does the same, you are believed in!!!!
NOw more than ever, you have a deep understanding of who you are and that is beyond value!
I look forward to investing time in each other our family and our friends. The opportunity cost has been great, but what we have is greater! Well done! This is a proud moment for all of us!
Your college journey began at George Fox, then Mat-Su College, then after we were married, we were both in college. After one semester of working and going to school it was just too much to keep up with the demands of both.
Of course in hindsight...if only we knew then how much harder it would be to do it all with a family. So, for a while you worked while I went to school.
After 7 yrs of working hard labor jobs, and three children later, we started to think about what would be a good career choice for you, for the long term.
You worked hard without complaining and were very good at what you did, at whatever you set your mind to.
After talking and praying, the desire to go to school came as an opportunity for you to choose a career and also to open up opportunities to make things better for our family and our future.
You started out with engineering, knowing that you were good at math and it made sense to you.
After a while, it became evident that the piece that was missing for you was your giftedness and desire to work with people.
After working many different places your desire and natural ability for management became more apparent, so that became the road you took.
Throughout this process, you had some important and significant people in your life who called out your giftings and your talents, they helped with the direction of your degree choice.
There are a few stand outs for the hardest semesters from my point of view. One being chemistry, with 12 hrs per week outside of class, it was one of your first classes and it was brutal for all of us. I am so glad that not every class after that took quite that much time. You got an A in that class too.
Your desire for excellence and putting forth all of your best effort came through from the start of this journey.
Another hard transition was beginning classes in Anchorage, which required more time away from home.
Another being last spring, it was definitely the hardest semester yet, with super demanding classes and lots of evening classes, we hardly saw each other.
You started a new job while in school, which made for an extra tough year last year as well. This led to our decision to take a lighter load this past fall, even if it meant finishing school a semester later than you had hoped.
The closer we got to the end, the harder it seemed to keep up excitement and momentum, so in the fall with only five classes left we toyed with the idea of you taking time off work, taking five classes and finishing up by the spring semester. It was a bold, courageous and exciting move.
We sold our van so that we had money to live and trusted the Lord to provide. Right off the bat, we had many unexpected expenses, yet money still kept coming in and we had more than enough to meet our needs. The way we were provided for made no sense on paper yet we have been continually so blown away and blessed!
I think we started out this journey thinking that even if a degree was just a piece of paper needed to get a certain job or position, you and I were willing to do it for the betterment of our family.
But walking through this journey with you I realize there is so much more to it than just that.
I have seen you change and grow in so many ways. The first being that you recognized that you are valuable, valuable enough that you were worth the time and money and sacrifice that comes along with going to with school and raising a family.
About 2 years into this journey you set out to take care if yourself at another level, losing 70 lbs and putting your health as a priority.
You have gained such a clear idea of who you are and what you're good at .
You have learned about persistence and determination. You have learned about people, conflict, sticking to things, making priorities, being specific and purposeful about how you spend your time.
You have put forth your best effort to get an incredible GPA with all the demands of life.
You have grown so much in your care of me and the kids, your attentiveness, your understanding. As much as school has pulled you away from home, your heart and your love has grown closer to home. Your quality of time with us keeps us going with not much quantity. You are always giving us your best effort and your love.
Here we are at the end of this adventure...unbelievable! I can't express how proud I am of you and how secure and provided for I feel with you.
I am proud of you for identifying , pursuing and chasing after your dreams, it is so exciting for me to see you getting to live some of them out right now.
This journey has opened up opportunities for you to walk out your dreams.
You have reached one of your goals and you are graduated at 30!
From the beginning you have allowed people to speak into your life. You have surrounded yourself with friends and mentors in abundance and look to them for support an encouragement , so many here tonight! You know who you are.
You have some incredible friends that continually speak into your life, as well as incredible family who does the same, you are believed in!!!!
NOw more than ever, you have a deep understanding of who you are and that is beyond value!
I look forward to investing time in each other our family and our friends. The opportunity cost has been great, but what we have is greater! Well done! This is a proud moment for all of us!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
CJ is 9
CJ just turned 9 on April 5th! CJ spent all last week doing standardized testing for school, so his birthday was extra special in celebrating the finish of his first big test and turning nine!
CJ is such a delight to us, he is tenderhearted and kind, he is an excellent brother, he has a lot of energy, he loves people, he has a heart for orphans, he is crazy about legos and star wars...and so many other things:)
Here are a few snapshots of CJ growing up:
One year
Three years
Four years
Five years
Six years
Seven years
Eight years
Nine years
CJ is such a delight to us, he is tenderhearted and kind, he is an excellent brother, he has a lot of energy, he loves people, he has a heart for orphans, he is crazy about legos and star wars...and so many other things:)
Here are a few snapshots of CJ growing up:
One year
Three years
Four years
Five years
Six years
Seven years
Eight years
Nine years
Friday, March 30, 2012
Courage
I have been thinking about courage for a while now. What it is and what it means to me, so I thought I'd try to gather my thoughts by writing them out.
Over the past month, Derek and I have been purposing to define and write out our own personal mission statements, as well as one for our family.
For me, part of defining our family mission statement is thinking about what are my goals for my kids, what do I want to leave to them and for them, how do I live my life in such a way that I impart all that I want to into them.
We haven't yet written anything out, but the main thing that keeps coming to my mind is being courageous.
I want my kids to know and see that we stepped out and made courageous decisions. Someday it may be something huge and life-changing, but for now it's walking out day by day what the Lord is calling us to, and that is courageous too. And that is more of the 'courage' I see instilling in our kids.
The Lord has been showing me some things that we have done and are doing that are courageous:
1. Derek going back to school
2. Choosing to teach our kids at home
3. Taking a leave of absence from work to finish the goal of college graduation
4. Choosing to be a one income family
5. Trusting the Lord completely for finances and a job
6. Loving people and valuing relationships
These are just off the top of my head, I am excited to see where the Lord has us going next.
Over the past month, Derek and I have been purposing to define and write out our own personal mission statements, as well as one for our family.
For me, part of defining our family mission statement is thinking about what are my goals for my kids, what do I want to leave to them and for them, how do I live my life in such a way that I impart all that I want to into them.
We haven't yet written anything out, but the main thing that keeps coming to my mind is being courageous.
I want my kids to know and see that we stepped out and made courageous decisions. Someday it may be something huge and life-changing, but for now it's walking out day by day what the Lord is calling us to, and that is courageous too. And that is more of the 'courage' I see instilling in our kids.
The Lord has been showing me some things that we have done and are doing that are courageous:
1. Derek going back to school
2. Choosing to teach our kids at home
3. Taking a leave of absence from work to finish the goal of college graduation
4. Choosing to be a one income family
5. Trusting the Lord completely for finances and a job
6. Loving people and valuing relationships
These are just off the top of my head, I am excited to see where the Lord has us going next.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Megan Rien
Megan is born!
Megan's 1st birthday
Megan's 2nd birthday
Megan's 3rd birthday
Megan's 4th birthday
Megan's 5th birthday
Megan turned 5 this week, Happy Birthday our sweet Megan!
The Lord has blessed her with the gifts of joy and peace, she has a fun easy-going personality and a love for singing, dancing and performing...just a few things about Megan.
The Lord gave me Gal 5:6 for her, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love", she is a lover of people.
Megan's 1st birthday
Megan's 2nd birthday
Megan's 3rd birthday
Megan's 4th birthday
Megan's 5th birthday
Megan turned 5 this week, Happy Birthday our sweet Megan!
The Lord has blessed her with the gifts of joy and peace, she has a fun easy-going personality and a love for singing, dancing and performing...just a few things about Megan.
The Lord gave me Gal 5:6 for her, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love", she is a lover of people.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Finding our groove
There are some things, maybe a lot of things, I have learned over the past year and a half. But, I often feel like I haven't gained ground or figured out much about how to have a successful, peaceful and stress free daily schedule. I am getting better but still don't have it figured out exactly what works best for me. I am starting tom realize it's about learning and growing in this journey, not necessarily arriving at an 'I finally have it all figured out' point.
I sway a bit between organized structure and go-with-the-flow flexibility, which is probably what causes me frustration. My desire is that we have enough flexibility to take advantage of special moments and enjoy each other, yet enough structure that we have scheduled teaching/learning time.
Lately, I have been challenged to view distractions or disturbances as opportunitiies.
*Like, when the younger kids are getting impatient that I am doing school with the kids, instead of being frustrated and annoyed, trying to stop and spend time with them.
*Morning seems to be our prime time for getting any school work done, so if we have appts or activities in the morning, we all do better letting 'school' go for the day and spend time together.
I am identifying situations that put more strain on our days than others and not be in such a hurry to 'get it done', but to remember it is about my kids. I am not great at it yet, but I am recognizing more of what works for us and trying to hone in on that.
It is extremely important to me that education and learning are a high priority, but it is more important to me that our days and our relationships are not stained to achieve this.
I sway a bit between organized structure and go-with-the-flow flexibility, which is probably what causes me frustration. My desire is that we have enough flexibility to take advantage of special moments and enjoy each other, yet enough structure that we have scheduled teaching/learning time.
Lately, I have been challenged to view distractions or disturbances as opportunitiies.
*Like, when the younger kids are getting impatient that I am doing school with the kids, instead of being frustrated and annoyed, trying to stop and spend time with them.
*Morning seems to be our prime time for getting any school work done, so if we have appts or activities in the morning, we all do better letting 'school' go for the day and spend time together.
I am identifying situations that put more strain on our days than others and not be in such a hurry to 'get it done', but to remember it is about my kids. I am not great at it yet, but I am recognizing more of what works for us and trying to hone in on that.
It is extremely important to me that education and learning are a high priority, but it is more important to me that our days and our relationships are not stained to achieve this.
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