What's New with us?

Long time, no see. We figured it was about time we update how things are going with the family for all of you on the world wide web.

Josh got his basketball officials license so he can now ref for basketball games here in Iowa. He's hoping to be able to get into some middle schools and have some potential influence there. No, he won't wear his glasses. :-)

Jenise is enjoying homeschooling Caleb and he's a quick learner. She also got the chance to speak to about 40 girls at a student retreat we had this fall. She's back to leading a small group of Jr. High girls now that Landon is in the nursery. She loves being able to help out more in ministry and being a mom to the three munchkins.

Caleb is finishing up with his first year of Upward Soccer. He loves it and is actually pretty good at it. He encourages his teammates, he's scored about 5 goals this year and hustles the whole game. He's gotten to make some new friends on the team as well. He's also enjoying homeschooling. His favorite part is reading and learning his letters. He's also in Sparkies at church and is doing very well. He loves to come out and let us know how many jewels he got that week. He loves being in Kindergarten and being in kids church. We are praying that he will come to know the Lord soon.






Kietlyn is the little princess of the house. She loves everything about dress-up, tea parties, and princesses. I think she'll be doing ballet or dance in the near future. She's also started working on school stuff while Caleb does his and really enjoys it too. She loves to be goofy and make people laugh, she gets that from her dad. Kietlyn is also in Cubbies and she loves learning her verses and it has made her feel like a big kid.






Landon is growing fast and is nine months this week. He had something called torticollis (spelling is probably not right) which is basically where his left neck muscles were very tight which meant that he wouldn't look that way. It's like he had a stiff neck for the first 5 months of his life. He's started going to a physical therapist to help with his muscles and has done very well. He also got a bit of a flat spot on his head because of it but that is "popping out" with time. He's now learned he can crawl and get around the house so we've got to keep our eyes on him a little more often. He also loves to talk more and is such a great baby. Caleb and Kietlyn love to play with him and love on him.






We are plenty busy with all the things that God has blessed us with and life has never been more full.

America's Next Top Model

Kietlyn is quite the three year old little girl. She loves dresses, nail polish and playing dress up. Her newest "extreme girliness" has come out when we try to take any pictures of her. When that camera comes out she strikes a pose! No matter where we are or what we are doing, if she sees a camera, she strikes a pose. So look out America's Next Top Model Kietlyn is getting prepared. And we've got the pictures to prove it!

Look Out Beckham!

Caleb has started soccer through Upward this year. Last year he played with some other homeschoolers but wasn't much of a chance to learn the basics. He pretty much spent six weeks just kicking a ball around. With Upward he has a coach and they have practice each week and a game each week. They also use huddle times to incorporate scripture and life lessons about sports. He's pretty good, but we could be a little biased. It is so fun seeing your child not only learn a new skill, but also enjoy and succeed at it. Caleb was a little nervous about his new soccer program, he didn't want to "mess up". We had a great opportunity to help him understand that the important thing is to keep trying and to have fun. Here are some pictures from his first practice.

Landon's a laugher

Just a video I shot last night when Landon was in a laughing mood. Enjoy, I know I do!

Hidden Acres is the Place For Me!

Well this past week I (Josh) got the chance to speak to the Junior Campers at Hidden Acres. We were there from Sunday through Friday and had a great time. The theme was living ALL OUT for Jesus and so I had some fun speaking to all the kids and counselors.

We got to do many of the activities as well and the staff and campers were awesome. We all got to climb the 35 foot climbing tower and I made it to the top of the hard side and Caleb made it to the top of the easy side. Jenise almost made it up and Kietlyn got about 12 feet off the ground. The handholds were pretty far apart for her.

They also got to ride horses. Jenise loves horses so it was nice to see her get to do something she loves. They even let her just roam around wherever she wanted on the horse.

Caleb followed me around most of the time and I got to see what I looked like when I used to follow my dad around when he ran camps back in the day. Here's some pics of our time there and a video of Caleb climbing the wall and riding horses too.

Good Memories

This past week has been full of opportunities to remember...

Papa (my dad's dad) went to heaven on Monday, May 10th. He was a great Papa and was so full of joy and always made us laugh no matter what. He always had a joke or some crazy thing to tell us. It was nice to make the trip back to PA to be with family we hadn't seen in 7 years. We got to remember and celebrate Papa's life. The service was truly a celebration of life and I was blessed to be a part of it. Papa will be missed but I know he doesn't miss us right now.



Since we were back in PA we decided to hit some spots that I grew up going to. Sunday was Dutch Wonderland. We went with my brother Jon and his family as well as my cousin Greg and his wife and two kids. Had a blast. It was so much fun to see my kids faces light up when they went on rides that I used to ride. Yes, my eyes lit up when I saw the dive show (hasn't changed except it's told in story format now) and the old antique cars that Caleb and Kiet got to drive us around in. The kids loved the roller coaster and the log flume. It was great because there were no lines. It was great to remember the first amusement park I went to and it was neat to make some new memories also.





On Monday we went to a cemetary to visit Heather's grave. She was my sister born on May 19th. I was three when she was born and died. She was born premature. I have always felt a closeness to her, maybe because our birthdays are only 2 days apart, not sure why but we had to visit. Kietlyn's middle name is Heather so we bought some flowers and went out to the site. We got to explain to Caleb and Kietlyn what happened and why Kietlyn's middle name is Heather. It was a great opportunity to remember and help Kiet understand the meaning of her name.




We also went to Hershey. Caleb loves chocolate. I have never seen a kid who likes chocolate so much. Grandpa Gary started to get him the 1 lb. Hershey bar for holidays and Caleb always hugs it and says it's one of the best presents he ever got. So we couldn't pass up the chance to go to Hershey and see how they make the chocolate. Caleb loved it. He couldn't stop telling me about the process while we were on the ride. And then of course he got a free sample of chocolate and downed that in a matter of seconds.




We had a great time being family and know we can't wait another 7 years to visit. Thanks for the great memories, Pennsylvania.

Family Picture Day

Well, we finally got around to taking family pictures. There's a lady in our church who does a tremendous job of taking pictures and so we lined up a day to do them. WE got all the outfits picked out and ready to go and headed over to her house. She had everything set up and Kietlyn wanted to go first but she didn't really do much smiling. It took a while to warm up but eventually we ended up getting some great shots. The nice thing about Leah was that she was in no hurry and took almost 300 pictures. She didn't care how many times we changed and wasn't worried about time. We were there for about 3 hours. She let the kids take breaks when they needed them and it was a great experience. So here's our shout out to Leah Fry of Sentimental Soul photography. May we never use anyone else. And the prices are very reasonable. $25 sitting fee and then buy pics on top of that. We took the option of just buying the whole CD and the copyrights so we could just do what we wanted with the pics for $125. There were so many great shots we couldn't have picked a handful. I'll post some here but you can see the whole collection at www.sentimentalsoul.com Here are some of our favorites!

2 months old

Wow, it has already been two months since Landon was born!! For those who haven't seen him lately, he has filled out a lot. He had his two month check up this last Monday. He is now a whopping 11 pounds 5 ounces. He can hold his head up and can sit up with the help of the boppy. We are also thankful that he sleeps a good solid 7 hours at night. Landon also found his smile and is starting to babble at us.







In other news, we are gearing up for a great Easter weekend. We have an outreach on Saturday for kids called Easterfest. Sunday, we have a guy in our church who is a very talented balloonist. He has a presentation called "From the Garden to Golgatha", that he will do for the kids. Everything is made out of balloons including the tree of life and the three crosses. How cool!! We pray that everyone has a reflective Easter and a reason to rejoice that our Saviour Lives!!!

Tumbling Class

Just recently Bennett (My brother Jon's son) has started to go to a 2 year old tumbling class. My mom took Kiet one week while we had a doctor's appt. and she loved it. So we enrolled her. She can't wait each week for tumbling and she likes to show us her "tricks" at home too. It's too cute. Here's some pics and video. She loves to see Bennett there too. Thanks Have for letting us know about it!

Kiet's 3rd Birthday

Well our little princess is 3 years old. She celebrated with her tea party featuring Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. She was so excited. She had been talking about it for weeks. She got to wear her tiara and got plenty of princess stuff. It's a new experience seeing all the girl stuff. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it. But it's nice to dance with her, cuddle with her and I feel sorry for the boys one day that will have to try and get past me to get to her heart. I totally understand the phrase "wrapped around my little finger" now. She had a great birthday and got all the things she wanted from polka dot sunglasses for like $5 at Target to a new Belle dress my mom made to her favorite princess "cd player" that plays like 30 songs. She loves them.

We had a great day and enjoyed all the family being there and celebrating with us. We are blessed to have 3 kids and it's quite an experience for me to have a daughter. Can't wait to see what this year brings with her.

Pics from the party!

Jenise here,thought I should write a post since I asked Josh to start blogging.

Wow, it has already been a week since Landon was born. I know Josh shared about waiting to find out what we were having and me not liking it too much, but it was such a great moment when Josh said "Its a Boy". I loved hearing those words from him and wouldn't change not knowing for anything. We are doing really well and adjusting to three kids. Caleb and Kietlyn are doing a great job with Landon. Kietlyn loves that she is a Big Sister. She has a book about being a big sister that she wants to read all the time. Its hard to believe that she will be 3 on the 13th of this month. They just grow up fast.

Landon is such a sweet and easy going baby. He is such a wonderful blessing to our family. I can't wait to watch him grow up and see how he uniquely adds to our family. Caleb is our sensitive, old soul. He seems so much older than 4 going on 5. Kietlyn is our little princess and theatrical girl. She loves to sing and dance. I love seeing how God has made each one so unique. I have thought about that more this pregnancy since we didn't know what we were having. Just knowing that God knew and how he had wonderfully made Landon was a comfort to me. What an amazing God we have.

Also, just want to say a quick thanks to my mom and in-laws for their help this past week and for the visits. Thanks to our small group for all the wonderful meals and well wishes. We have loved it all!

The Big Day

Well the day started this morning at about 6:15 am when we woke up to head to the hospital for the induction. Got there and settled in the room by 7:30 and then waited until 10:15 for the doctor to come and break Jenise's water. Apparently she had a C-Section that she had to do that took longer than expected. Funny how impatient we were. I mean we know it may take some time to have a baby but we almost had to wait longer to break the water than we did for labor.

Landon Tate was born at 1:56 pm this afternoon and greeted by Caleb and Kietlyn who were both excited. Kietlyn was enthralled. But not with Landon. She was wondering what Jenise's IV was all about. Then she wanted to hide in the curtain and then she went to go play with the big doll house in the waiting room. Grandma, Nana, Poppy, Uncle Jon, Aunt Haverlee, B-dog, Lil' D and Uncle Adam all visited today. I was so proud of Adam, as he held his little nephew. Funny to see a former body builder hold a 7 pound baby.

As we were basking in the glow of our newborn we got a phone call from Grandma (at home with Caleb and Kiet). All at once, I could tell by Jenise's voices something wasn't right. Apparently Kiet had coughed (and she doesn't have a petite cough, picture smoker's cough for a 2 year old) a couple of times and then her nose started bleeding. Not a trickle, more like a landslide. Grandma called a little frantic as it bled for 5 minutes or so as I very quickly broke all driving laws and got from the hospital to the house just in time to have Kietlyn tell me the "blood went back into her nose". Her way of saying it was done.

So it's been a great day. Landon is doing great. Everything is checking out fine. Jenise did awesome as usual and is just tired. I know we'll sleep good tonight (at least for a few hours at a time).

Thanks for all the well wishes and the prayers and congrats to those that voted for a boy. You were right!

Here's some pics for your enjoyment...

Poll now active

I guess if I would have just done a little research I could've figured out how to do the poll. It's up. Let us know what you think our baby will be...

It's about time

Well, my wife has been talking about doing a family blog for a while now and I finally listened. How much it will get updated...I guess we'll find out as we go.

For now we do have news though. I'm home. I'm not at work. Baby #3 is coming on Thursday so I've been working at home this week helping out around the house and with Kietlyn (she's sick). Trying to be a good dad and husband.

What's been interesting and different about this pregnancy though is the element of surprise. I never really thought it would be this "surprising" but we have not found out what we are having. We already have a boy and a girl so I just wanted to experience surprise. We found out with the other two. Jenise, with tons of convincing on my part, has gone along with it. Last week the doctor did an ultrasound-38 weeks into it--and the first words out of my mouth to the doc were "We don't want to know what we're having, so stay away from that area." The excitement this has brought to me for this pregnancy is great. I don't have the joys of knowing there is a life inside of me growing or feeling every little movement and every pound gained like my wife does. Don't get me wrong, I'd be excited no matter what but the mystery of what this child is has peaked my interest. For a week now I've been on edge for this baby to come. I don't remember being like that for the other two. Maybe because I knew what was coming. It's like Christmas eve/Birthday eve all wrapped up into one. I'm just excited to see what God is going to bring us in 2 days.

If I could put a poll on here I would but haven't figured out how yet so here is my unofficial poll. Comment and let us know what you think it is.

Here's our count:

Josh thinks (and really hopes) it's a boy.
Jenise: Girl
Caleb: Boy (because he already has a sister)
Kiet: Girl (because she already has a brother)

So we're 50/50. Break the tie. Let us know what you think we're having. We'll let you know on Thursday!