We are official!

We've lived in California for over two years now and have never experiences any earthquakes worth mentioning. When we lived in our rental house, we often felt minor shaking, but since we've been in our house we haven't felt anything. We used to live closer to the fault lines and in a zone called a "liquification zone." Apparently if there was a major earthquake, the ground beneath us would likely turn to liquid.

I'm glad we moved.

Anyway . . . I was getting the girls ready for bed last night when everything started shaking. Everything on Jenna's walls was rattling and the entire house was shaking back and forth. I grabbed the girls and stood in the doorway, which is the safest place during an earthquake. It ended just as fast as it started-only lasting about 15 seconds. When it was over, all of our pictures were crooked, a few things were toppled over on our dresser, and the big light hanging in our doorway was swaying back and forth. The earthquake was a 5.6 and the biggest one since the Loma Prieta quake that collapsed the Bay Bridge in 1989.

Many of our neighbors were outside making sure everyone was okay. I called Nate, who was at a meeting at church, and he was so excited about what had just happened! The church sits directly on top of the Calaveras fault which, is the one that erupted last night. My friend, Julie said she swore that the top floor of her house was swaying and said that she had things broken in her kitchen while my boss, Arlene said she felt a strong jolt right before the rumbling. I didn't experience any of those things, which goes to show that everyone has a different experience based on where you are in relation to the epicenter.

We are thankful that the earthquake didn't do any damage to the house and wasn't too scary. Jenna keeps asking when we are going to have another earthquake!

But, we are official Californians now. We have experiences our first significant earthquake!

Faker Pumpkin Patches

I searched the Internet for a picture of the twisted thing that pumpkin patches have become in California. Of course, I cannot find one so I'll do my best to recreate this atrocity with words.

When I think of a pumpkin patch, I think of a little farm with pumpkins lining the fields. Some pumpkins are still in the vine, while others are detached, waiting for a little one to choose it to take home. There is dirt and hay and often a barn. The pumpkin patch is in a refreshing place where kids run around excited to select the perfect one.

This is not very common where we live. Please don't hear me dissing all of California, but where we live, there are not many REAL pumpkin patches.

In the parking lot of our Target, there is a big silver chain-linked fence sectioning off a large portion of the lot. In that fence, there are two big jumpy houses, hay lining the pavement (which has worn off due to all the kids in there), more hay bales stacked, and hundreds of pumpkins lined up in rows, ready to be bought.

THEY CALL THIS A PUMPKIN PATCH!

This is a sneaky trick to get kids to buy pumpkins. They lure families into the jumpy houses and then sell pumpkins on the side. We pass one of thise monstrocities on the way home from church, and Jenna asks me all the time if we can stop to play on the jumpy house.

Of course, I tell her no and that I will take her to a real pumpkin patch, wich happens to be tomorrow. Her preschool class is going and I am going on my first fieldtrip! Pictures will come soon!

Pictures from Josh and Annie's Wedding

These are pictures from Nate's brother, Josh's wedding a few weekends ago. Jenna was a flower girl along with her cousin Allie. There's a picture of Jenna and Allie, one of the Nate Hartke family, and one of the Hartke grandchildren: Timmy, Joey, Allie, Jenna, and Abby.

The wedding was great, although I ended up walking Jenna down the aisle!

A Sweet Sound

Nate and I sing this song to our girls. I don't know the name of it, but I think it came from some musical. It goes like this:

I love you Abby, oh yes I do
I love you Abby, it's true
When you're not near me, I'm blue --hoooo (make a high pitched hooo noise there)
Oh, Abby I love you, hoooo!! (another high pitched noise)

Abby can be replaced by anything . . . Jenna, Daddy, Mommy, Kiki (Binky) DeeDee (Petals, the bear) or Blankie. I usually sing this song to Abby in the morning after she wakes up, before her nap, and before bed. It's kind of our thing and she loves it.

For so long, she never sang, but then one day a few weeks ago, she started to sing bits and pieces. First, she started saying the "hooooos" at the end of the two lines, but the absolute sweetest sound came all in one day.

First, she started to sing the words, "Abby," "it's true," "I'm blue," and "love you." My heart melted when I heard those sweet words come from her little voice. But then, we were sitting in the rocking chair singing, and I had finished singing. I was ready to put her to bed, when she started singing on her own. She sang,

I love you Mommy, oh yes I do
I love you Mommy, it's true
When you're not near me, I'm blue--hoooo
Oh Mommy, I love you--hooooo!

Now, the song was very fragmented because she couldn't sing the whole song yet, but I heard the "Mommy" in there, and I turned to mush. She put my name in there all by herself and it was just the sweetest sound.

Lately, she's been demanding certain people/things to be in the song. She will often want to sing to Kiki (Binky), DeeDee (Petals, the bear) and Blankie. If I start singing to Jenna or Daddy, she will often say "Abby, Abby, Abby!" She doesn't want me to sing to anyone else but her.

We will sing this song as long as they let us. When they get married, don't be surprised it Nate breaks out this song for his girls!

Home

We just got home from a ten day extravaganza of visiting family, friends and attending Nate's brother, Josh's wedding. We flew to Pittsburgh, drove to Indianapolis to visit Nate's brother Tim and his family, then drove to Ft. Wayne for the wedding. Next we were off to Detroit for the day to catch up with old friends, then to Toledo for a visit with Nate's parents, and finally back to Pittsburgh to return the car my parents to graciously let us use and on the plane back to California.

I love going home. Everything about the Midwest is familiar to me. I love the reds and oranges in the changing trees. I love driving through rain on a hazy afternoon. I love the hills of Pittsburgh and the green all around. I love driving through endless corn fields and through the little towns of Indiana and Ohio. All of these things are things that we don't really have here in California and and being home makes me miss being there with all it has to offer.

I wish I could call a Grandma to come babysit every once in a while, without having to fly them out. I wish I didn't obsess about the education system that I am so uneasy about here. I wish our kids could play with their cousins, jump in leaves, and ride sleds down a snowy hill.

When I was at my parents' house, we went to my old elementary school so that the girls could play on the playground. As so many memories came back like playing football with Mr. Jedinak in the field or Graham Kendrick breaking Stephen Lenick's arm during dodgeball or lining up for fire drills outside, I realized that I want for our girls exactly what my parents gave me. We lived in a great neighborhood with great schools. I had every opportunity and am thankful for those more and more.

We are content with our life here in California and know that God has called us here to do His work. I have never doubted that or thought of living outside His will. I just sometimes miss being close to our family and friends and appreciate the foundation that got us where we are today.