Cal State Train Museum

Richard's parents and his younger siblings stayed the night on Christmas day. The day after Christmas, Richard and his dad headed off to Home Depot and the rest of us went shopping. Richard and his dad spent the rest of the day doing projects around the house. His dad and Richard's siblings left that night and his mother stayed another night. It was nice to have the extra help :0 ) On Saturday we went to the California State Train Museum in Sacramento which is only about 45 minutes away.

 Steven got a ton of trains for Christmas (and his birthday this past year) so he was very excited. The whole way there he kept saying "I'm cited, I'm cited(I'm excited)." He fittingly watched Thomas on the trip there and back. None of us had been to the museum in a while so it was really cool to see it again. Steven had a blast walking through all the trains and spent quite a while upstairs playing with the huge Thomas train set(s) that they have. I was amazed by how lavish the accommodations were on those trains. Most of them were nicer than any house I've ever been in. The craftsmanship was simply astounding! You just don't see that kind of quality anymore; they reminded me of old victorian houses. We got to the museum just before it opened and spent about 2 hours inside. We left just as it was getting extremely busy. After, we stopped by the gift shop to pick up yet another toy train and a train pin for Steven. Then we took a walk in Old Sacramento and picked a place for lunch. It was a very nice day out which only added to the enjoyment. There were horse-drawn carriages going up and down the street too. It was awesome to see Steven enjoying an experience that we both had as children.

We have internet!

So over the past month a lot of changes have taken place in our lives. We purchased our first home and closed on December 12th, 2008 after much craziness; I won't go into all the gritty details but it seemed like the Lord really wanted us to work to get into our new home :) We don't mind though, the good things are worth working for right? We have spent pretty much every waking hour since at the house painting and cleaning and fixing up things, and also getting the house ready for Christmas. We moved in on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 just in time for Christmas. Oh, yea before I forget, we found out on December 19th that we are having another little boy! We are so excited to be having a little brother for Steven; his name will be Jonas Richard Danelz. So we moved in and barely got unpacked when we hosted a Christmas Feast at our house. All of our family came to see the new house and eat a ton of food. We also found a church this month! We have been having a really tough time finding a church here in Fairfield. Its not that there aren't any good churches, we just couldn't find one that felt right. We have been here since July and have been trying out different churches pretty much every week (I've lost count of how many we've tried). We just love this one; it felt like home before we even got out of the car, even though we were skeptical to find out it is held in a real estate office, lol. Its funny how we think we can just pick a church, when in reality the church picks you, and really God pick the right church for you. Anyways, Steven was supposed to be a shepherd in the Christmas Eve program. Pam, Sarabeth, and MaryJo even came down on Christmas Eve to see him in it, but when the time came he refused to wear his costume. So we all watched the program together. Pam, Sarabeth, and MaryJo spent the night at our house that night and were here with us on Christmas morning which was very nice. Steven was so excited to have them here. He showed them all his new room which is decorated in Disney's Cars theme. He loves it.

 Christmas morning, Steven opened his stocking with Nana (Pam); he was really into it this year which was fun to see. I'm not sure how he knew what was going on though lol, we never really told him about it. Then I made breakfast and started baking Christmas cookies; my sister, Jen, helped me and together we made my Grandmother Erna's German Christmas cookies. They didn't last the day. Then I started to make the main dishes.  When most of the people were here we opened presents, and man were there a ton for Steven! He was so cute opening them. He would unwrap one and then bring it to the closest adult and ask them to open it. We had to ask him to wait until we were all done or the living room would have been full of toys. When he unwrapped them, which he did all by himself, he would look at the package and if the side with the tape was not up he would flip it over. Then he would rip it open from the point where the tape is! Sometimes I really think he has OCD, lol. After that I finished the food and we all dug in. The menu consisted of spinach dip in a bread bowl and bacon wrapped shrimp with pineapple for appetizers; Ham, fully loaded mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, a salad, and rolls for the main dish. We had apple pie with ice cream and pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert. It was awesome to have everyone here in our new house for Christmas. It was kind of crazy, but definitely worth the work. With all the craziness this holiday season, it was especially important that we didn't lose sight of what Christmas is really about- Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. None of this would have been possible without Him in our lives and without the sacrifice He made for us. With a little one it can be tough to keep the celebration Christ centered, but we made sure to keep pointing Steven back to Him. Our hope is that each year he will understand more and more about what Christ did for us.

The November Whirlwind

This past month has been insanely busy! Let do a quick recap: At the very end of October we went to a Place called Impossible acres; it is a farm where they have a petting zoo which is made up of a bunch of baby farm animals that the kids can hold and touch. They also have a pumpkin patch where we picked up three large pumpkins, a small pumpkin, and some gourds for only 15 bucks! Steven had a blast with all the animals and absolutely loved being able to hold them. We had our first "NO! GENTLE TOUCHES!!!!" moment as he was holding the baby kitten. He was holding it and cuddling it when he all of the sudden "loved" it too much and basically tried to strangle the poor thing. After that we moved on to more "rugged" animals- the pigs. He didn't get to hold these but he had a great time chasing them around and petting them.

 

Then we carved to pumpkins the next day which Steven thought was very interesting. He is a very clean kid and he hates to get dirty. Naturally, he refused to help clean out the inside of the pumpkin so that was solely moms job. He just kept saying "yucky, yucky!" lol, I thought boys were supposed to like getting dirty? Well, not my boy. We decided that it wouldn't hurt to take him trick or treating just for fun so we went out with some of our friends around base. Steven had a pretty good time and was just starting to get the hang of it when it started to rain and we had to go inside. I, uh I mean HE, enjoyed the candy :) He was a giraffe for Halloween.

Then came November. This month holds so many important dates for our family. First we have AJ's birthday (he turned 19 this year). Then next we have our Wedding Anniversary ( we celebrated our 4th this year), my sister Jen's birthday (she turned 22 this year), and Papa's (Steve's) birthday (we won't disclose how old he turned this year, lol). Along with all of this we had dentist appointments for both Stephanie and Steven (it was his first, sniff sniff, he's getting so big), Men's Retreat for the guys, Richard's 1 year Anniversary in the AF, and few other misc doctor's appointments. On top of all of this we have been trying to find a house to purchase. We had put in 3 other offers but we kept getting out bid. Finally, on our 4th Wedding Anniversary and our 4th offer, we got a house! We are in escrow right now and are scheduled to close on or before December 12th. The house is in Suisun City, CA and is about 5 miles from base. It's 1320 sqft- 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. We are so blessed to be able to purchase our own home. Here is a picture of it.

Only by the power of God were we able to do this. It is amazing what God can do, and in such little time. Just a year ago Richard and I were really struggling to make it financially; Richard was working 3 jobs, I was working 1 part time job and  we were still sinking. It was then that we decided that we needed to fully trust the Lord and we made a drastic change. Even though it was terrifying and the future was uncertain, we jumped in and trusted the Lord to work out the details. After much prayer Richard joined the United States Air Force. He spent a few months losing 70 pounds and was finally able to sign up to join. All along we knew and could feel in our hearts that this was were the Lord wanted us to go, but still it seemed so scary and uncertain. Richard wound up trading contracts with someone else and was given only 3 weeks to leave for Basic Military Training (BMT). We were expecting about 4 months to prepare. So we packed up our stuff and Steven and I moved in with MaryJo while Richard was to go to BMT and Technical school. The contract that he traded for was what they call "open general" which meant that he had no idea and no guarantee of what his job would eventually be. You make a list of 5 jobs you can choose from a longer list and they will try to get you one of those 5, but in the end the needs of the Air Force decide what you will get. Richard had put down Security Forces (SF) #1 and Loadmaster #2; the others we cannot recall. Security Forces is basically like a policeman in the Air Force. Richard had thought that he wanted to go into Law Enforcement and even tried to do the CHP before this, but they said he didn't have enough "life experience." So, he decided that he would go into the AF and do SF to get some and then get out and do the CHP. LOL, God was probably laughing as He knew what was in store for Richard. Ok, so he put down SF as his #1 choice and usually if you do this, you will get SF because there is such a high demand for them. It turned out that the month Richard went into the AF was the one month that SF was full; so he got Loadmaster, which is actually the perfect job for Richard. We are so thankful that God is in control and we are not. He always knows what is best for us and even goes ahead of us and ordains those things on our behalf.  WOW! All of this and we still have to tackle Thanksgiving. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for :)

We have a reliable due date

Today I had my first real ultrasound. I had one in the office but they really couldn't tell me if my due date was right or not. But today I went into radiology and they did a real one. When we first got there, I told the radiologist that when they did the ultrasound in the office the baby would not hold still so I had been praying that the baby would be more cooperative this time. He replied back, "well its just hanging out right now." The second he said that the baby woke up and started moving all over the place. Richard was even surprised at how active this baby is compared to Steven. Steven had his active moments but for the most part would just stretch and squirm. This baby was rolling all over the place, kicking and moving its arms, and doing cart-wheels. It is so weird to watch that action on the monitor but not feel a thing! Anyways, the baby is doing great and everything does seem to be just fine. I do have a cyst on one of my ovaries that is a pit painful at times especially when pressure is applied, but overall I'm feeling great. My morning sickness has already started to go away which I am so so thankful for. I am 11 weeks, 5 days pregnant and my due date is May 2nd, 2009. We are so excited! Oh, did I mention that this baby is a thumb sucker just like Steven? In all three pictures that we got the baby is just sucking away on its tiny little fingers. We were both amazed at how much the quality of the ultrasound images have improved in just 2 years since Steven was born. I'm only about 12 wks and you can make out tiny fingers, the nose, cheeks, mouth. It's just amazing. We are so blessed to be able to peak in and observe what God is forming and molding on the inside.

 

Richard's first mission

Like I said in my previous post, Richard went on his first mission in September and it lasted 13 days. It was originally scheduled to be 5-7 days. It was supposed to be an aeromedical evacuation mission which was to include the usual stops in Washington D.C. and Germany before going to Afghanistan. Well, they apparently had to make a stop on an island in Portugal to drop off a part for a plane that was broken down there. When they landed, their plane broke! Some piece on the landing gear busted as they were landing. So, the whole crew and all of the space-A passengers were stuck on a 22 square mile island in the Pacific Ocean that is a territory of Portugal for 3 days. If any of you have ever heard of the Azores islands, you would know that it is, by far, NOT the worst place to be stranded. It is a beautiful island that is known for its amazing scuba diving. Richard said the water there was the bluest he'd ever seen. (see the pictures below of Richard and the crew on the island) So anyways, while "stuck" on this island Richard and the crew were able to do whatever the heck they wanted until the plane was fixed. Basically, it was a mini vacation courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue! I wish I could've tagged along. Richard has promised to take me there some day, but the plane tickets are outrageously expensive to get there. Although the food and things on the actual island are quite inexpensive. He visited a local winery, watched local bull fights and bull runs, and eat amazing food that was ridiculously cheap. He pretty much had a terrible time. lol. Then once his plane was fixed, he flew to Germany. Since his plane had broken his mission was pretty much scrubbed and he was scheduled to come home. Just when we thought he was coming home, another plane broke and they took the part off of his plane because they had an actually mission to complete. So the poor guy was stuck in Germany for a whole day. Boo hoo, cry me a river! lol Well the morning he was scheduled to leave they decided to give the crew another mission. He actually did wind up going to Afghanistan and then finally came home. The nice part about him being gone for so long though is that he had 3 whole days off when he got back. We did absolutely nothing but hang out together. Well, we did take a trip up to the beach which was gorgeous by the way. It was so nice and warm. Steven actually played in the water. The dog, who is terrified of anything that even resembles water, was even playing in it. After Richard was home for exactly 8 days he left on his second mission. Apparently there are a lot of people on leave or something because "this doesn't usually happen." Usually they only fly about every 6 weeks. Not 3 weeks out of a month. At least he gets paid well while he gone. :)

No more sleeping on the floor

Well, its been over a month since Richard began sleeping on the floor. His small pox vaccination site has finally healed and he is back in our bed. Its been so weird sleeping by myself so its been nice to roll over and feel him there again. He went on his first real mission in September. He was gone for 13 days and he is now a qualified loadmaster! Its nice that he is finally doing his job for real; no more training. Well, they are always doing currency training and stuff but he is a "real boy" now. Up until this point he's been in the training phase which is much different than being qualified. He used to have to go in every day and actually be there for most of the day. Now he just goes in for a couple of hours and does a few tasks and then he's home. It's weird having him home so much but also very, very nice. He has never worked so little- lol. Well there is a reason for that though. In his squadron, they believe that because when they go on missions they are gone 24/7 for how ever long they are gone, that when they are home they should be spending time with their families. I'm totally not complaining about it! Actually all of this change has only made us realize how faithful the Lord is and how truly blessed we are. I'm starting to feel a little better now although I still have the occasional nauseous moment(s). I have my first OB appointment this week. They do things so differently in the military and I'm still getting used to it. Each time I go to do tests or other things at the hospital, it gets a little more familiar and I get more comfortable. It is so weird seeing a Doctor in ABU's. I feel like I'm in the military too- lol. Richard is leaving again for another week. It is hard when he's gone but I'm hopeful that it will get easier as time goes on. I don't want to ever get used to having him gone, but maybe I will just find ways to make it better. So far I've been doing some traveling and visiting family. Steven and I drove up to Eureka with my Grandmother to visit our family that live up there. Steven as had great time with my little cousin Emily. She is 7 years old and he just fell in love with her. He followed her around most of the time. He also had fun with my cousin Sarah and her hubby Peter. Sarah is also pregnant and we are doing the same week! It hasn't been all bad- we get to talk a lot more than I has thought we would and Steven loves talking to Daddy on the web-cam. He gets so excited. Anyways, it getting late and I should get some rest. Here are some pictures from our trip to Eureka while Richard was gone and a picture of Richard and Steven putting away the air-mattress for good! :)

Small pox and another contagious conditions

So on Friday Richard was scheduled to get his small pox vaccination. Apparently when you get it they make you fill out this questionnaire and one of the questions was about someone in the household being pregnant. So he called me and asked "is there a high possibility that you could be pregnant?" We have been trying to have another baby so naturally the answer was "yes!" He said he would call me back. He went in as planned at 7:30 am but the small pox clinic wasn't open yet so he proceeded to the go to get his yellow fever vaccination. After he got his yellow fever shot they went and opened the small pox clinic. He talked to them about the possibility of me being pregnant and they just told him that until we found out for sure that he shouldn't sleep in the same bed as me. So Richard went ahead and got the vaccination. Well I took a test on Saturday morning and surprise, surprise! Guess who's pregnant! ME!!!

 lol, poor Richard. He feels so bad. He really didn't think I was pregnant and now the poor guy is sleeping on the floor! haha, he cannot sleep in the same bed as me until his small pox vaccination site scabs up and falls off which is supposed to take about a month. But, despite all of that drama, we are very excited to be expecting our second child. (this is a picture of Steven kissing our friends little girl Gabbie) Steven going to be such a great big brother. I am about 5wks along now and am due April 28th. ( Oh and by the way he was getting those vaccinations as part of his in-processing to his job. He's not getting deployed until November 2009 but he flys on planes so they routinely fly all over the world where they need those vaccinations. )

Heat wave

It has been so hot here lately. We have seen triple digits for a while now, but its just seems hotter this time. So we have spent a lot of time in the pool or at our friends house with with the hose. We have met a very nice family and have been spending a lot of time with them. They live on base and are nice enough to let us do our laundry at their house. They have three kids, two boys and a little girl.The boys get along pretty well. Steven is smack dab in the middle of them age size so he gets along with both of them pretty well; he also loves their little girl. He always tried is "help" with her. I tries to give her bottle to her and gives her kisses. Lol, he is going to be a great big brother some day. It is nice to have some new friends here. It's been a while since we have had friends that all of us enjoy being around and we actually get together with. Anyways, there is a fire on base right now. We have been hearing sirens for a few hours now. I'm not really sure what is going on but I have been hearing bits and pieces about people being evacuated and the Vacaville Fire Department being called in to help. I hope it's not too bad. Please pray that the damage is minimal. At least I have heard that the fire is in the abandoned housing on base so at least it is not effecting peoples homes on base. Well, we hope it won't

So it's been a while-

and a lot has changed. We are now in our new apartment in Fairfield; Steven is now 2 years old; my dog is now very fat because he ate too much cat food. I could go on and on, but I won't to spare you all from wasting a few precious minutes reading it. Anyways, we are finally getting settled here in lovely Fairfield, California. We have a small one bedroom apartment, but Richard likes to refer to it as a two bedroom without a living room, lol. It is not big, but it does the job. It is nice to know that we are finally living within our means and trusting the Lord to work out the details of the future. For the first time in a long while, the light at the end of the tunnel is so bright that we cannot ignore it. It is amazing to me to see what the lord has done in our lives. We are still living paycheck to paycheck, but there is hope for that to change- and some day soon! After working with his recruiter in Santa Rosa for two weeks Richard went in to his squadron expecting to start work. He was surprised to find out that he had an extra 8 days of leave to find an apartment and move. Since we were already moved into our apartment we spent that extra time together as a family exploring our new surroundings. This place is much different from home, but it is a nice different. There is a lot to do and we are starting to make some really great friends. We are excited to finally find a church where we feel comfortable. Tomorrow we while try a new church, Parkway Community Church. We have heard good things about this one so hopefully it will be a good service. Last weekend we had Steven Mark's 2nd birthday party. I cannot believe my little bug-a-boo is 2! The time has gone by so fast. We had a little party at Pam and Steve's house. It was really nice to see all of them together in one place again. It had been a very long time since Richard had seen them all. Well here are some pictures from the party. Hope you all enjoy them and I'll try to be better about updating this thing. I've been so busy! I guess we all are though so I'll stop trying to make up excuses; I'll just try to do better :)

Good to be home

We have been back in town for about a week now and this is honestly the first time I have had more than a few minutes to sit down at the computer. We have been so busy running around visiting with people that Richard hasn't seen in 8 months. Richard is working with his recruiter here in town until Friday the 11th and then we are moving down to Fairfield. So far Richard is very glad that he is NOT a recruiter. He doesn't much care for the job. He has only worked a few hours since starting on the 1st though. LOL. At least it is basically "free leave."

For the 4th we didn't really do much. We spent the day getting the boat ready to take up to the lake. On Saturday we spent the day with Richard's family. It was really nice to see all of them again, and in one place too! Steven had a ball playing with his aunt and uncles. We wasted away most of the day just talking and goofing around like we did long ago when they all lived at home. We also wasted most of Papa's (steve's) pellets for his pellet gun. They have a big backyard that we utilized to shoot holes in soda cans. It was the first time I had ever shot a gun; it is awesome! My husband is an amazing teacher. He taught me and A.J.'s girlfriend, Elayne, how to shoot. Within a few minutes both of us were shooting pretty well. Richard and I made some pork ribs that were very tasty. (We love to BBQ). We finished off the night with cheesecake and a game of 'Oh Poo. " Then on Sunday we went to church. Richard wore his "blues" and I wore a dress; he looked so handsome. Then we packed up the car and spent the rest of the day up at Lake Sonoma with my family. Steven absolutely loves the water, so naturaly the day was a big hit with him. He was a bit nervous about going out on the boat at first, but once we started the engine and began to move he was very excited. Within a few minutes he was drviing the boat! He enjoyed cruising around the lake watching the birds flee as we came near. My dad, my sister (and her Joseph), and my brother where all there. Our family friend, who we lovingly call "Uncle Keith" came as well along with his friend Marsha and her son Tyler. Steven had a blast playing with everyone in the water especially Ty. He loved following him around and splashing with him; well actually he loved splashin everyone.

It was a very busy, fun-filled weekend. Everyone was amazed at how much Steven has changed and grown. I think the thing that amazed them the most was how Steven remembered them. He knew exactly who everyone was and, after initial hesitation, went right up to them. He loved having more people around to play with. It's so fun to watch the little kid come out in everyone as they play with him. This week Steven is going to VBS (vacation bible school). He gets to be in his Big Grandma MaryJo's class. It should be very fun for him.

We're coming home!

I haven't had much time to write lately but I wanted to let you all know that we are finally coming home. Richard has his last flight tomorrow morning (Thursday June 26). Providing that he passes this flight, which we fully expect him too, we will be leaving Altus, Oklahoma on Saturday and making the nearly 1600 mile trip back home. We should be back in Santa Rosa by Monday July 1st. Richard will be working with his recruiter in Santa Rosa for a few weeks, until July 11th. Then we will be moving down to Fairfield, CA and starting our first PCS (permanent change of station) at Travis AFB. We are so excited to finally be coming home, all together! The last time we have all been together as a family in Santa Rosa, CA was last November. It has been and very long and difficult journey for us all, but we have learned a ton about life and how much the Lord can provide for us. His faithfulness is so amazing! We have also learned how strong we can be and how much we can do with the Lord by our side, as well as how much we CANNOT do without Him! Thank you all for your support over the last year! We look forward to seeing you all soon-

Since we really have no pictures to go along with this blog here are a few photos of Steven that we took and little bit ago. Steven is getting such an independent spirit. He often tries to assert himself and blocks Richard from leaving for work, lol. In the end he reluctantly gives in and we wind up walking Daddy to the car and waving "byebye" as he drives away. He loves his Daddy! Enjoy :)