Preparing for Christmas

Thanksgiving was a nice weekend in our house. We had Thanksgiving dinner with our good friends, the Angells, and just enjoyed a quiet day. Erin and I went shopping for Black Friday, starting at 11:00 on Thursday night, ending at 8:00 Friday morning. It was really fun and we got some terrific deals. I am posting a few pictures that show how we are getting ready. For your information, Grace and Faith put on a Christmas play for Ryan and I Sunday evening that is a real treat...I'll try to post some of it another day. So you are seeing pictures of Grace as Joseph and Faith as Mary. The two camels are carrying two of their Wise Men.

Every Good and Perfect Gift....Andrew Ryan Struck

You are viewing pictures of the reason the Strucks have been absent from blogging...we have been working on a new addition to the blog. We are pleased to "formally" introduce Andrew Ryan Struck. Andrew was born two weeks early on October 9th, weighing 9 lbs, 7 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. We were so glad to meet him, we forgave the fact that he came before we were completely ready for him. After he was born, we enjoyed a month with both grandmas (and Aunt Trish) and a short visit from Papa. So, we have taken lots of pictures, but time has been short in getting them posted or sent.

Here is what we know about our new addition. He likes to be held (all the time), makes a very big deal out of having to be burped (he coughs and wheezes), has eyes that are turning a light brown color, loves to take a shower or a bath, does not like to be naked outside of the shower, resents having to have his diaper changed, he growls to express his discomfort, is very patient with his sisters, has to be woken up to eat, and does not spit up as much as his sisters both did.

More importantly, we know that God has trusted us with a wonderful, perfect gift, and we have already been humbled and blessed by little Andrew.

The Birthday Celebration

Faith's birthday was a two-part celebration. We had cupcakes with our friends, the Angells, on Faith's actual birthday, then had her party last Saturday. The first couple are from her actual birthday, where she got to open her presents from her family. She got a new doll from Mama and Daddy, lots of new baby clothes from Grammie and Papa, and a new doll stroller from Grandma and Grandpa. I love the picture of her with the cupcake the best. We asked her what the best part of her birthday was and she said, "the prizes".

On Saturday, we had her party at a local place called "Lil Biggs". This is a place where there are lots of different "stations" for the kids to play in. There is a pretend hospital, jail, boutique and more. The kids can dress up and just run around. Faith and her friends had a great time. As we sat down for cake, presents and pizza, we heard Faith announce to the table that she was in charge. After correcting her and diverting her with cake and presents, everyone had a good time. For those that have heard about Cooper from school, the little boy in the picture with Faith is Cooper. Over all, Faith's birthday was a lot of fun, and she is really enjoying all of her new things.

"Baby" Faith is 4!

Fingerprints of God

Never has there been and never again

Will there be another you

Fashioned by God's hand

And perfectly planned

To be just who you are

And what He's been creating

Since the first beat of your heart

Is a living breathing priceless work of art and

I can see the fingerprints of God

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God

And I know its true

You're a masterpiece

That all creation quietly applauds

And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Just look at you

You're a wonder in the making

Oh and God's not through no

In fact He's just getting started…

- Steven Curtis Chapman

As we get ready to welcome another baby, it has been very hard to acknowledge that "Baby" Faith is 4. She tells me more and more frequently not to call her "Baby Faith", but that is what she's always been. So, when I hear her "reading" to her dolls, or counting to 75, it's a little bit shocking. She is so much fun to be around- she is so smart and affectionate. Everytime she has a treat, her face lights up as if she's never seen candy before. Her imagination when she is playing with her dolls is unending.

I am privileged to be her mother and thank God everyday for blessing us with Faith.

Staff Sergeant Ryan Struck

Ryan is officially a Staff Sgt. today. We found out on August 20th that he had received a line number from the Staff Test (essentially meaning he passed the test). His line number was low enough that he did not have to wait very long to actually put his new rank on. For those close to us, you know that this day has been about 3 years coming and has at times been frustrating, discouraging and painful.
With that behind us, his promotion ceremony was Friday afternoon. His colleagues were there, as was our good friend Brian to celebrate with him. For those who are not familiar to military promotions, you have your stripes literally "punched on". Ryan chose his supervisor and the NCOIC incharge of his department to punch his stripes on. Both of these men have been very supportive of Ryan since we have been at the Academy. I am very proud of Ryan for persevering, pushing himself and remaining committed to a strong work ethic, no matter what rank he wears.
So, Ryan is asking me to be sure to call him Sgt. from now on...I don't know if that applies to everyone else as well or not. But maybe you could be sure to call him "Sergeant Struck" at least for this week.

Pikes Peak

When Uncle Craig was here earlier this month, the Strucks made their first trip to Pikes Peak, even though we have lived here for 3 years. We had Miss Becca with us as well, whom the girls both really love, so it was very exciting. The trip up was interesting- the last few miles were really hard for Allison because of the fact that there was no guard rail- giving the feeling that you could fall off the side of the mountain at any time.

Anyway, when we made it to the top, it was a lot of fun. Ryan worried that the girls were going to jump off of a rock into the mountains below. Both Grace and Faith loved climbing all over the rocks (even if they weren't really dressed for hiking).

On the way back down the mountain, our brakes had gotten hot, so we had to stop at the rest stop for them to cool off. Faith was not interested in having her picture taken for most of the day, and this stop was no exception. I don't know why she was so upset when we had our picture taken together.

Does anyone else think the picture of Grace with her hand on her hip against the background of mountains should be used in Marketing for Pikes Peak?

Back To School

Today was the first day back to school for the girls. Faith has actually been going to the Preschool Summer Program since the beginning of August, but this was the official start for both of them. Baby Faith is thrilled to be in Pre-K this year, and has decided she will be able to read books by herself in 6 days. She is also glad to be one of the "big kids" in the preschool this year.

Grace is wearing a shirt she and Grammie picked out while we were in DC, although this shirt is more Gracie's choice than Grammie's. Still, she says that it is her favorite of her new clothes and that she is really thankful that she was with Grammie, because Mama would not have let her have this particular shirt. We can't believe she is starting 2nd grade- the time is flying by.

Anyway, we look forward to a great year for both of the girls. We are thankful that they enjoy school, and that they are able to be in a Christian school right now. If anyone ever has a lot of time, give Faith a call and ask her to tell you about Daniel in the Lion's Den. It is a very descriptive paraphrase.

My Brown-Eyed Girl

Well, it is hard to believe that our brown-eyed girl is 7. Her birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and I am just now getting around to posting about it. We went to pizza for her actual birthday, then she had a "backyard campout" with some of her friends. Unfortunately, the campout itself had to be moved indoors, due to some high wind here in Colorado Springs. The birthday party was lots of fun, and Grace was really blessed to get some great presents, among them a scooter from both sets of grandparents. She had two homemade cakes. And yes, her mother made one of them. My good friend Erin, has her sister Becca visiting this summer. Becca is an art major, so you can probably guess which is her cake, and which is mine.

We are very proud of Grace and who she is becoming. She did so well in school this year...her ITBS scores rank her in the 89th percentile nationwide. Her reading surpassed everyone's expectations, and she excels at art and math. I am posting one of her most recent pieces of art for you. I call this "Club Ruls". I don't know who is invited to join, but the rules are very creative. For those who need some assistance, Rule #8 says, "have a baby brother". We love Grace and are so thankful for the gift that she is to our family.

Around the Town with Grace and Faith

Since it's been awhile since I posted, I thought just a few pictures would be nice. Here are some of the girls from the past couple of months. We have been busy trying to get settled in our new house, so things have been a little chaotic. This is the last day of school, so we are excited about the summer.

Spirit Week

Well, here I am, back to blogging. My apologies for being away from this...April has been a very busy month. In any case, we just finished National Lutheran Schools Week, and I got the notice last week about Spirit Week this week. So, it means another week of hassle-I mean fun- in dressing up. Earlier in the week was pajama day, crazy hair day and sparkle day. However, both girls were most excited about Hawaiian Day, after I let them pick out some new accessories at Party City.

Faith is as upset as she looks in these pictures. It was a combination of things this morning, from not wanting to get out of bed, to wanting to wear flip-flops that don't fit her, to wanting to feed Oreo after Grace had already done it. So, she was not happy about having to pose for a picture. I decided we were taking them anyway.

Once we got to school, we tried one more time. First, she put her fist over her face and said no, then finally said, "FINE!- I'll take a picture" and then smiled. So, here are the results. And yes, for those wondering, it is another goose-egg/bruise on her forehead. Apparently when Faith falls, she just lets her face break her fall. It is very strange.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

It has been just over two weeks since our beloved Aggie went to heaven. It was an agonizing decision for everyone, and it is still hard to believe she is gone. Ryan and our friend Katie were there with Aggie until the end, and I am very thankful that they were both willing to take care of this last, difficult decision. It has been very hard, especially over the past year, to watch our Aggie decline. In the end, it was a decision of compassion and love, and a desire to not have her suffer.

In our house, trying to help the girls understand this death has been very difficult. Before Aggie was put down, we tried to explain it to the girls. We told them that Aggie was very, very old and sick and couldn't get any better. We told them that she was going to live with Jesus in Heaven and that she wouldn't live with us anymore. Faith said," Why? I love Aggie". We explained that in Heaven, Aggie's eyes and ears would work again and that her legs wouldn't hurt her and she could run and play. Grace sat quietly, not wanting to discuss it.

Since then, there has been significant talk in our house about death. Faith wants to know why Jesus needs her dog, and when will God bring Aggie home. Faith has asked why dogs have to get old and die. She asked about a week ago when Aggie was coming home and Grace sharply responded:"Aggie is DEAD and NEVER coming home!". Finally, Grace in a quiet moment while she was looking at Aggie's collar, asked,"If heaven is so happy, why am I so sad?"

Fairy Tale Day

Friday was a favorite in our home, because the girls were able to dress up as princesses. The only problem came when I realized we only had one functional crown, and it was Faith's. In any case, they both looked so pretty and Faith said "it is fun to wear dress-up to school".

Bible Character Day

Thursday was Bible Character Day and thanks to Mom for help with the costumes. We had to take a few liberties in getting the outfits together, but I think you can clearly tell that the end result is two Miriams. The original Miriam likely did not have a pink Superman bathrobe, or a pink penguin bathrobe, but you get the idea.

Crazy Hat Day

Wednesday is Crazy Hat Day...and the hats are ideally supposed to be tied to a literary source. Grace's is tied to Dr. Seuss because the hat reminds her of Dr. Seuss's hat, even if the colors are a little different. Faith's is not so much tied to a literary source as it is to Elton John, but its what she picked, and the Preschoolers are really only along for the ride in these theme days.

Crazy Sock Day

This photo is not a result of letting my children get ready for school without supervision, nor is it an attempt to drive their Auntie Heidi crazy with flashbacks to what Allison may have tried to wear to school in years past.

This is the second of the theme days for school this week. It is hard to find crazy socks in her size (with her super-narrow, non-Laverty foot). Faith has not-so-narrow feet, but still hard to find some really crazy socks. So, the result is ladies socks, which is why the heel of the sock is half-way up their calves. But, I think we achieved the "crazy" part, which was the goal.

National Lutheran Schools Week

This week is Nationak Lutheran Schools Week, and there are "theme days" all week. The first was yesterday with Western Day, and I think that these are two of the cutest cowgirls this side of the Mississippi. We found the hats and were very excited. Grace has this belt buckle, which is almost as big as her hand, and the vests (does anyone think Roy Rogers had a Winnie the Pooh vest?).

The problem came when we were getting ready yesterday morning and realized that Faith had boots to wear, and Grace did not, as a result of leaving them at a friends house over the weekend. If anyone knows Grace, shoe dilemmas are not fun. The solution: We leave early and drive to Payless. You will be glad to know that there was a pair of Hannah Montana cowboy boots with rhinestones on the sides that fit perfectly. As we were leaving, Grace said, "Don't you think it's fun to shop before school? In any case, it all worked out and we were informed at dinner that no one else had boots as fancy as hers.

Also, for those wondering, the first loose tooth came out on Leap Day! It came out at school which was thrilling because everyone gathered around as she pulled the tooth out, and she got a "treasure box" to keep the tooth in for safe-keeping. The Tooth Fairy was very generous, leaving her $4 dollar bills and 11 quarters. Plus, the Tooth Fairy knew she hadn't gotten to show everyone the tooth, so she left the tooth for Grace.

Look for more "theme day" photos this week.