Santa, please stick to the script!

We took the kids to the Pioneer Park Christmas display in Ferndale today. The whole experience was really fun and REALLY COLD! We walked through all the little cabins, the little school house, post office, general store, etc... The kids got to do crafts, make cookies, eat cookies, ride a covered wagon and see SANTA (this was the highlight of the trip, of course)! Jaron was nervous about talking to Santa, so Faith went up with him to give him courage and to be his "spokeswoman." She got right to the point and told Santa what they both wanted. Afterall, she had been thinking about it all morning, running different ideas by us. We had to shoot down her number one choice of gift, a ride in Santa's sleigh. I felt bad telling her she couldn't ask him for that, but I explained the safety issues that would be involved, not to mention the time crunch Santa would be in on Christmas Eve, and she seemed to understand. :)
Instead, She asked him for a jewelry box and for Jaron, a toy car. Then, Santa started asking them questions. It went something like this:

Santa: Jaron, have you been good?
Jaron: Nodded his head.
Santa: Jaron, do you help your mom?
Jaron: Shook his head. ( I don't think he understood the question, or maybe he was just being really honest) :)

Santa: Faith, have you been good?
Faith: Yes.
Santa: What grade are you in?
Faith: 1st grade.
Santa: Do you work hard in school?
Faith: Yes.
Santa: What is your favorite subject?
Faith: Bible.
Santa: Oh, what school do you go to?
Faith: Lynden Christain School.
Santa: Really? There is a church group that meets at that school on Sundays and that is where I go to church.

Long pause...

Dave and I look at each other,
Santa looks at us,

Clearly, we are all thinking the same thing. 'It's time for us to leave and time for Santa to review his script.'

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving.

At 7:30 on weekdays, you will find the kids and I standing at the end of our driveway waiting for the school bus. For the past several weeks, it has been getting darker, wetter, and colder everyday. I know, we live in Washington...it's just that time of year...what do I expect?...So, I won't complain (too much). I'll just say, it's getting a little old.

This morning we were greeted at the bus stop by this rainbow. Faith was excited (so was I) and asked me to get my camera. The sun was just beginning to rise, so with each passing minute, the rainbow got even brighter! It was such a fun addition to our normal, everyday routine and a perfect start to the Thanksgiving holiday. It reminded me that I have so much to be thankful for. I know that sounds corny and NO, I won't list everything I'm thankful for because that would take too long and just be tacky! But, I will thank God for changing up our morning just a little, and for the small reminder that the rain doesn't last forever. Thank you, God, for calling us out of darkness into your wonderful light! (1Pet2:9)

Jaron woke up a few minutes after the bus picked Faith up (I know, another thing to be thankful for!). He wanted to see the rainbow, too...but he didn't want to go outside to do it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Incog-neat-o!

Our family thoroughly enjoyed playing the part of a circus act for Caryn and Brian's Halloween carnival this year. It was so much fun seeing everyone dressed up and having fun in a carnival atmosphere! Faith even found the courage to go through the "haunted carnival woods" twice before we left. I guess that isn't too surprising...she is a brave & ferocious tiger after all! Jaron...not so much.

A Picture Medley...

Sounders FC game at Qwest Field with Caryn and Brian (Sounders 2, FC Dallas 1). Hooray!

Living room. Sasha, I told you I would steal your silhouette idea. Too cute!

Faith's new room.

Jaron's new room.

On a big tire in our new back yard. Hmmm...what will we do with that?

Faith and Jaron in their fort.

Tractor ride at Stoney Ridge pumpkin patch with Shanon and Cody.

Kids on tractor with cousins (Colton & Cody).

Faith and Jaron enjoying our "new" (okay, gently used) trampoline.

It seems like forever since I last posted anything. I would tell you it is because we have been so busy working on fixing up our new house that I just haven't had the time, but the above pictures would say otherwise. The truth is, we HAVE been busy fixing up our house AND we have also been busy playing a lot, too.

It's a miracle!

After waiting over 6 months, we finally closed on our new house last week!

She's in need of love...and we're just the family to love her!

Told you!

Conquering the jungle that is our new back yard! (and papa working on the well. Wow, having an electrician/"jack of all trades" in the family really comes in handy!)

Our new address: 7010 Old Guide Rd., Lynden, WA 98264

We know a lot of people have been praying for us. Thank you, thank you!!

1st Grader

Yesterday was Faith's first day of 1st grade! It was her first day at a new school and staying the full day. She seemed tired when she got home, but had a great day. She was very excited to go again today. I think it is mostly because today is teddy bear day and last night she picked out "the perfect" bear to bring with her. I'm so happy she still gets excited about things like teddy bears...reminds me that she is still my little girl!

Lake Wenatchee

We had our annual Knopik Family Campout (KFC) at Lake Wenatchee State Park this year. On Friday, we left cloudy & cool Bellingham and drove 3 hours to cool and WINDY Lake Wenatchee. Besides wishing we had packed a few more sweatshirts and a second pair of long pants for the kiddos, we had a terrific campout! We had a blast spending time with family!! A few pics:

Jaron 2 hours after arriving. Now you know why I wished I'd packed more clothes!

Faith and Colton on a scavenger hunt. Very serious business for soon-to-be 1st graders!

Faith in the river just outside Leavenworth, WA. Yeah, that's right. We cheated and drove to sunny and warm Leavenworth on Saturday (an adorable Bavarian town 20 minutes away from our campground and 20 degrees warmer).

The kids in Leavenworth after swimming and ice cream. No wonder they are smiling...that and the fact that it is always fun to climb all over "people statues." This is one of many photos they insisted I take.

7am Sunday morning. I hope it's not too early for one of these!

13 years!

Faith took this picture of us today. If you tilt your head a little to the left, she is a terrific photographer! If you don't, she's a sweet 6-year old doing her parents a favor by snapping a quick pic to commemorate 13 years together. Happy Anniversary, Babe!

Go Mariners!

Mariners game at Safeco Field.

Snow cones!

Go Mariners!

Dave and Luke (our nephew)

*****************************************************************************

Even though we cheered with all our might, the Seattle Mariners lost badly to Cleveland on Saturday. That didn't matter to our kids, or to us for that matter...we had a blast! Our cool shade for the first inning quickly moved up the bleachers and things started heating up. Nothing that a giant snow cone can't remedy, right? Wrong, if you drop it on the kid in the row right in front of you (poor Jaron lost his after only a few bites and some poor child got to wear lime snow cone for the rest of the day). Mariners, if you won't entertain us, Jaron will!!

Smiles...just a little late.

Looking at the calendar on Monday, in total disbelief and partial denial that July was really starting this week, I remembered I still hadn't taken Jaron anywhere to get his 3 year-old picture taken. I mean, he only turned 3 in May! Okay, so I'm only a few months late. I quickly called Sears and scheduled an appointment. Yesterday was the big day. Several clothes changes, face washings, and a bribe to sit on the riding lawn mower in Sears if he smiles for a least one picture later, we get the above result. Hooray!! The smile quickly faded when it was time to get off the lawn mower and then faded again when the mall's play area was temporarily closed for cleaning. A kid's life is so tough! Is picture day stressful for anyone else?

God is good...all the time!

I’m waiting on an answer
To a prayer I’ve prayed many times
With no happy ever after
And no fairy tale end in sight
But I’ve read that if I’ll wait for you
My strength will be renewed
So I’ll wait
And I’ll trust
And I’ll say
It’s all yours, Lord
And I give it up to you
Your grace, Lord
Is enough to see me through
Your love has given me these eyes to see
Your power governs over everything is yours, Lord

Livin’ life so stressed and hurried
Workin’ day and night on my deadlines
And I always seem to worry
And wonder if you’ll come to ease my mind
But you clothe the flowers and feed the birds
And you’ll stop to hear my every word
So I’ll pray
And I’ll trust
And I’ll say

It’s all yours, Lord
And I give it up to you
Your grace, Lord
Is enough to see me through
Your love has given me these eyes to see
Your power governs over everything is yours, Lord

And I don’t know what your doin’
And your timing seems all wrong to me
But I’ve seen enough to know
That looking back I’ll finally see
And maybe that’s the point

Now I’m looking up to heaven
Thinking ‘bout the days that lie ahead
And I don’t know what to hope for
So I’ll trust the giver of hope, instead
‘cause I know that when I wait for you
My strength will be renewed
So I’ll pray
And I’ll trust
And I’ll wait…

Last week our wait ended. We finally heard that our offer was approved for the purchase of the "Old Guide house." The dream lives on... Praise God!

(btw, the above lyrics are from the heart of my musically inclined, amazingly talented, yet modestly humble husband. He is my "almost everything" and I'd be wandering without him).

Dancing for Joy!

In January, Faith joined a pre-ballet/jazz class here in Bellingham. She had the best time learning dance moves and having fun with her new dance friends! This weekend her dance studio held a recital at the Mt. Baker theatre. The girls looked so small on the big stage, but Faith wasn't the least bit nervous (probably too excited because she finally got to wear the ballet dress that has been hanging in her closet and off-limits for weeks). Her class performed a classical ballet routine to Waltz #1 by Chopin. Can anyone say adorable?! Some pics from the dress rehearsal below.

Faith with dancing buddy and good friend, Jessica outside the theatre on the big day!

Waiting on Old Guide Rd.

Okay, so here’s the “sitch.” At the end of July, our family will be officially homeless. Potentially. How is this possible? Can it be stopped? Well, here’s the “sitch” in more detail, if you don’t mind me venting just a little bit. Hey, other people vent…why can’t I?

Way back in March, our real estate agent, we’ll call him Sean (well that is actually his name), showed us a great property that had just come on the market. It was a great old 4 bedroom farm house on 3 acres just a few miles south of Lynden. Perfect! And the best part…we could afford it. The catch, it was a short sale property nearing foreclosure. That didn’t matter much to us at the time except for the fact that It was neglected for years, smelled funny, was pretty trashed, broken pipes, shingles missing…let’s just say, the place was in desperate need of love. Almost instantly, Dave’s eyes glazed over, his palms began to sweat, his heart raced. Yep, he was in love! We immediately made an offer on the place, then waited. We waited more than 2 weeks to hear back from the seller, but finally they accepted our offer and signed the contract. Hooray, sale pending! We went out to dinner to celebrate.

Now comes the frustrating part. Here we are 13 weeks later, still waiting! Still waiting for the seller’s bank to approve our offer. I’ll give you a quick “short sale 101,” once the seller accepts an offer, it then goes to the sellers creditor (the bank) for final approval. Because short sales are normally foreclosures, the bank will take a loss on the deal (aka the reason Dave and I could afford this property). So, the bank has to decide if they like our offer and are willing to lose the difference between what the seller owes and what we are willing to pay. Some short sales get approval in 8-10 weeks, but what I didn’t know until today is that a lot of short sales take “forever” to get bank approval because until the bank approves our offer, the house is an asset to them. Once the bank gives us the green light to move forward with the purchase, it becomes a loss for the company (at least on paper). Many short sales just sit on a desk for weeks and weeks until the buyer finally gives up.

My question…why do agents list short sales? Seriously, I want to know! Is it so that they can watch an innocent and in many ways ignorant family get excited and emotional invested in a “home” (I mean to the point of doing the necessary inspections, lining up a contractor to fix the stuff needs to be fixed quickly before moving in and driving by the house weekly just to visit it)? That is just sick…and probably not the case at all.

Okay, that was me venting. I know… pathetic, right? I have been struggling to be patient for weeks, trying not to worry, even as the end of our rental lease is approaching. I cling to Acts 17: 24-28, that says God knows where we are going to live and Jer: 29:11 that he has a plan for us, but more often than not, my human-ness get the better of me and I slip again into the pit of worry. We have a few weeks left to wait before we have to let go of the “Old Guide Rd. Dream.” A few more weeks of waiting. As the weeds grow up even taller than me around the house that might be ours, I pray for encouragement and the patience to wait and the strength to move ahead when it is time…in whatever direction God leads.

Then, we’ll go out to dinner to celebrate.

Six!

Faith with cake!

Faith with presents!

Faith with friends!

It's really hard for me to believe she is six already! I know that everybody says it, but it's true...the years go by so fast.

Likes: animals (mostly stuffed), breakables, dancing, riding her bike, swimming, art (any craft), friends!

Dislikes: chocolate (I know, how is that possible with me as her mother?), that she has not lost a tooth yet, and Jaron messing with her "stuff."

Meet the newest Suprak...

Christopher the Rabbit! Our first family pet!

Faith with Christopher and a pile of grass clippings.

Faith and Jaron trying to coax Christopher out from under the deck.

3 years old!

Happy birthday Jaron!

Likes: Trucks, cars, airplanes, trains, motorcycles...anything with wheels (the bigger the better)!! Being silly and making people laugh.

Dislikes: Being alone, being dirty (that's different from getting dirty!), being helped when 'he wants to do it himself.'

Bloomsday 2009!

The Swine Flu scare didn't stop Bloomsday 2009 from happening or us from traveling across the state to join over 50,000 runners in this 12K run on Sunday. This is a pre-race picture taken at the start. We (Shanon, Clint, Dave, Kristin, Caryn and Brian) tried to stay warm with the rest of the people waiting for the gun to fire.

The girls!

Approaching Bloomsday's notorious "Doomsday Hill." I think everyone's calves are a little sore today!

Action shot. Caryn took this while we were running up Doomsday Hill. I don't know why we look sooooo happy! :)

Brian was all smiles finishing in his Sounders attire. He wore that wig the whole race. He received lots of "Nice hair" a few "Go Sounders" and one "Sounders Suck, go Timber Wolves!"

Post race shot!

Faifer's first fish!

Faith posing with her first fish. She wanted to hold the fish for the picture but it was flapping so much she needed her daddy's help.

Jaron was not so lucky. Maybe it was because he reeled his worm in immediately after Daddy would cast it out. He didn't mind not catching anything. He has fun no matter what he is doing!! He just kept saying, "I got one, I got one!"

Both of our kids share in Dave's love for fishing. I'm still not completely sold on the whole idea, but I sure do have a great time watching them have fun together! Fishing season has just begun!