Sunday, October 18, 2009

Change

Change...Friday marked a day of change for us in the Gissibl household. As I was updating our blog and working on uploading our photos from this past year to the Walgreens website, Matt comes home from work. I asked him why he was home, as it was only 10am. That was when I found out he had gotten laid off from his job.

Change...so now he is back on the job market and I'll be increasing my hours to full time at the hospital. We will be making cutbacks in our lives, but at least we have been living within our means and have been preparing our emergency fund for such a day as this. (I'm so glad we didn't listen to me and use part of our fund to pay off a part of Matt's car loan...).

Change....we know we will be alright and that God is watching over us. Everything happens for a reason and God will never give you more than you can handle. Maybe this change happened to help us grow closer as a family or maybe it's to help us re-prioritize our priorities? Only time will tell.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Fall photos

burrr...we love when the weather gets crisp....bundling up in cozy jamies is always fun!
Eden and Abram in their footie pajamas!


"I'm such a big boy"

Kodi and Matt posing for a photo opp before Kodi's soccer game...sorry I forgot to bring my camera to the game...

More family photos...

The head table at Kim's wedding

Sorry the picture is sort of blurry...

Anna, Eden, and Alison at Kim and Jeremy's wedding


Kodi looking handsome at Kim's wedding on October 3!



Abe with his lovely



"Get me outta here!" :)



Like father, like son


August camping on our land

Back in August, we spent a night at our land in Ithaca, WI. We borrowed Matt's brother's camper and cooked out over a fire. We all had a blast! This was Abram's second camping trip and our first family overnight on our land! We all had so much fun. We waded in our creek - Abram loved swimming and Kodi and Eden both enjoyed the wading also! So many wonderful family memories!
Eden appreciating the beautiful view from our neighbor's hill
Mommy and Abe relaxing in the morning.

An early morning view...isn't the fog beautiful!


Yummy...nothing beats grilling outdoors!






A view of our land from up on our neighbors hill - you can see our pole shed and barn in the photo. We own everything up to the road.



Here is a pic of the kids sitting on our fence as the sun was setting

I love fall!

Eden and Lilly sang at churh last Sunday with the new creation choir

We were in Madison last weekend for a wedding and Abram was completely mesmerized by this street performer!

Nice job on the hedges Kodi and Nicholas


Say "cheese" Eden and Alex



Abram helping with the pumpkin lights




There is something so beautiful about fall. I actually love all the season changes as each season has a special meaning to me. When I think of fall, I think of cuddling down with my family, bundling up in jeans and sweaters and playing in the leaves, bonfires, carving pumpkins, decorating the house for Halloween, and of course helping the kids get dressed up for Halloween!

This year we are having another block party with pizza and a bonfire. We did this for the first time last year and it was a hit for everyone. It is fun to pull chairs out front and put a bunch of pizzas on tables and just hang out before trick or treating. This weekend, Kodi, Eden, and I are going to make a skull pinata. Last week, the kids and their friends decorated the front of our house with plastic spiders and spider webs and we hung our pumpkin lights up. I love spending that time with the kids outside as they get a kick out of decorating the house. It is so much fun!

This weekend we are hoping to squeeze in a little time at a pumpkin patch to pick out our carving pumpkins (we will most likely do this on Saturday). Both Kodi and Eden have soccer games on Saturday and Sunday (they both are enjoying the fall season of soccer, two more weeks then they will be done until spring with soccer). Tonight we will be heading down to Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee for a fish fry and a fun night of polka dancing. The kids are all super excited! I am hoping it won't be too loud for Abram.

Abram is now 8 1/4 months old and is keeping us super busy! He has officially started cruising! He cruised along the couch and futon this morning!! I can't believe how fast my baby has grown! Time sure does fly...

That's all for now...take some time to cuddle with someone you love and go for a walk and appreciate all the beauty God has filled our glorious Earth with...take in the beautiful fall colors and the crunching of the leaves below your feet!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Wow, it is hard to believe that it is October 1 today! Time sure does fly by. This has been a very busy month for us in the Gissibl household. Matt was gone 1/2 the month for work travel and we are hoping that he will be home most of October. Fall is always a busy time for him and his work. We both feel like we have been flying by the seat of our pants just trying to function to stay afloat. Hopefully more time will come our way in the next few weeks.

One of Matt's distributors, Rob from South Africa, has been staying with us this week. It was been a blessing to get to know him. I only wish Kodi and Eden would have been able to visit with him more (he is here until Sunday, but we are heading to MN today). Right now I am procrastinating packing us all up for MN. So far I have the kids and my wedding clothes ready (my dear friend Kim is getting married on Saturday). Abe is napping right now and the kids are both at school.

Kim is getting married on Saturday in Minneapolis and we are all so very excited! I have known Kim for about 20 years and our friendship has only grown with time! She is the sweetest, most genuine, caring woman I know. I don't think Kim has an evil bone in her body. It is truly an honor to stand up beside her.

Kodi and Eden are both playing soccer this fall and are having fun with it. No games for Eden this weekend but Kodi has one on Sunday (which we will be waking up super early to drive home for the game). Both the kids soccer skills are growing and most importantly they are both having fun with their teammates this year.

Abram is almost 8 months old and I can't believe how quickly time has flown! I'll post pics next week of us at Kim's wedding (Kodi and Abram have matching outfits :D...so darling!).

Take care and have a great weekend!
Beth