Boxes of Books...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderfully quiet Christmas afternoon, enjoying dinner, opening presents, and spending time as a family.

We pray that all our family and friends near and far had wonderful days as well, and are still enjoying the ten days of Christmas left!

Number Three is One!

2011-11-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

I didn't forget about this little one. She's now One! We had a low key family day...we opened presents, ate pizza and carrot cake (or "Laura cake" as our Veggie Tale loving son calls it. Ten points if you understand why he says that.)

Abi is a joy. She smiles, laughs, and loves her brother and sister. She signs "eat" and "please" and would eat her weight in cheese if we would let her. She is wonderfully average in height and weight (20 pounds and 29 inches) and took her three shots like a champ.

The obligatory pictures are below. We love you Abigail Charis!

Unsure of what to think about the candle.

Very happy after eating the frosting (and cake).

Watching football with Daddy.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

I think that Josiah's favorite holiday is Halloween. What other day can you walk around and request candy? A dream come true for my little three year old.

Here are the kids as Junior Asparagus, Cinderella, and a dragon (a costume that has been well loved in my family) Also, Ali and her pumpkin. Josiah didn't want that picture taken.

When I Three...

2011-10-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

"When I three" was a phrase Josiah loved to use in the last few weeks. Now that's he is three, he's giving himself a bit more time..."When I five" is is favorite phrase, especially when he's trying to get out of doing something.

Josiah loved singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out his candles. He was over the moon to go to Chuck E. Cheese and play games and enjoyed his "Larry Bob cake"--my first attempt at designing anything in the world of cake. I was happy Josiah knew who was on the cake!

Here's to our buddy, Josiah. I pray three is a great year for you!

Fabulous at Five

2011-09-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

I still sometimes wonder how this baby

became this little girl (who wants to be a cheerleader/teacher/mom/artist when she grows up)

She had a great week! We celebrated as a family at Chuck E. Cheese on a very quiet Wednesday night. Thursday she gave two new books to her classroom (they don't do class parties) and then had five friends over for a party today. Here's some pictures of the fun.

Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl. Ali, you are joy to all who know you!

First Day of School

2011-09-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Ali's now a week into to school and loves it. She's is learning to "sit smart", practicing all kinds of school routines and making new friends. Here's a few pictures from the first day.

Leaving the house on the first day.

After we dropped off Josiah at school, we went and had coffee (or hot chocolate in Ali's case) and talked about her goals for the year. She decided she wanted to have the chance to write on the board and read a hard book ("like my Dora books") I'm looking forward to seeing if she meets her goals!

We picked up a gift card for her teacher and she drew a card for her. It's a bit hard to see, but it is a picture of Ali and her teacher smelling some flowers.

I'm sure you will hear more about school as the year goes on!

Some Late Summer Pictures

2011-08-08T20:53:00.001-07:00

For your enjoyment, here are some pictures I (Jed) took. This is Ali after getting her face painted at "A Taste of Concord" on Sunday afternoon:

And this is Josiah, with Elmo on his cheek.

The next is Ali at her friend Alyssa's birthday party on Saturday...a Hawaiian theme, as you can tell.

And finally, Josiah as we took a ride on the Redwood Express, a miniature steam train in Tilden Park.

Our Little Graduate

2011-06-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

Jed and I sat down tonight and said "really, we have a child old enough to graduate?" Yes, we do. Ali's now a preschool graduate (but told me tonight not to call her a kindergartener yet). Ali took center stage and sang her songs, wore her cap and gown, and graduated.

Josiah gets the girl

2011-05-31T22:11:00.000-07:00

We are back from our great vacation. What made this vacation so great? We were able to spend time with friends, relax, and make memories with our kids. That last detail was the one thing Jed and I really wanted to do. We wanted our kids to have fun. We think we succeeded.

On Thursday we went to Disneyland. The kids knew we were going, but we did keep one thing secret. We made reservations at Ariel's Grotto--where the princesses come and greet you at your table while you eat your meal. The breakfast was quite yummy, but the highlight of the meal was seeing Josiah so happy to meet the girl of his dreams, Snow White.

Josiah has been telling us ever since we told him about the trip that he wanted to see Snow White. When we asked him what he wanted to say to Snow White, he always said "Will you marry me?" Josiah is a shy boy, and I didn't think he would really go through with it, but he did. Snow White let him down gently, telling him that she was already married, but Josiah was still in love. He chose a Snow White and the Seven Dwarves "action figure set" as his souvenir, so we guess he still "got the girl".

Ali loved meeting the princesses as well, and had a blast riding some rides. Small World was a favorite.

Abi enjoyed the day as well, although she liked taking naps as much as the rides.

We had two wonderful parties with friends as well, and enjoyed a beautiful wedding between Becca and Scott.

Now we are home and hit the ground running. We are busy this month with graduation, VBS, and meetings galore. And, regardless of how busy we are, it is good to be home.

Our kids are cute. Here's the proof.

2011-05-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Josiah loves to help Abi to listen to music on the Ipod.

Ali and Abi in their matching PJs. Oh, and Abi can sit up on her own. She'd love to show off her two bottom teeth that just appeared, but they are a bit hard to capture on camera.

Sisterly love.

Abi eats food, and her little mommy loves to help. Here's the video proof.

We leave on Tuesday for our OC vacation. This includes a very important trip to Disneyland. This trip is important because Josiah in on a mission. In his words "Marry Me Snow White." We'll let you know if a wedding is coming up in the near future. We're looking forward to great family time and visits with friends. We'll talk again after we get back!

Easter Joy

2011-04-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from the Maschke Five! We had a joyous weekend celebrating our Savior's resurrection. Today, after church, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon (with 3/5 of us taking naps). After dinner we had a great talk while looking at our resurrection eggs and eating Easter candy.

A few pictures for all those interested...

Josiah at the Easter Egg Hunt...no pictures of Ali hunting eggs this year. They were in different locations.

Josiah amazed at the egg changing color.

Ali loving her egg decorating.

Our homemade Hot Cross Buns (with Craisins instead of raisins and currants)

Josiah's doll house. It is what he really wanted and is super excited to have...thus far the family has taken baths, used the bathroom many times, taken a nap, and jumped out of the windows.

Happy Easter from the kids!

Yes, they are siblings

2011-02-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

Ali at three months.

Josiah at three months.

Abi at three months.

Notice the similarities?

A Little Love and Looking Ahead

2011-02-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Most of you know I'm not a big Valentine's Day girl, but we had a little love at lunch today.

The kids seemed to enjoy them.

Abi is looking forward to having some food next year.
Josiah is looking forward to the next holiday that supplies him with candy.
Ali is looking forward to two Chuck E. Cheese parties in the next three weeks.
Jed is looking forward to finishing up his class work.
Anna is looking forward to getting back into crafting and sewing,

What are you looking forward to?

Since Abi's been born....

2011-01-17T16:30:00.000-08:00

Anna's family was here for Thanksgiving.

Erin and Zach were here for Abi's Baptism.

Jed's family was here for Christmas.

We are all excited to see what 2011 will bring us!

That's pretty much it!

Welcome Abi!

2010-11-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Abigail Charis Maschke (and Anna)! She came out to join us at 7:53 last night, Nov. 6th. She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces, and measured 19 inches long. Mother and daughter are doing well!

Check out those nails!

Anna looks ridiculously good for having just given birth!

A quiet moment...

All is well!

Two!

2010-10-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, we still only have two, at least for the next few weeks. We also now have a two year old! Josiah loves being two because that means that he gets to go to school with Ali. He was so ready, and loves carrying his dog lunch bag out the door and into the car. I have to admit, the time alone is pretty nice.

That time alone won't be for much longer. Abi is due November 7. She's measuring small (for me, that is) and might even be under 9 pounds at birth! Because I have been following my diet, the doctor is okay with letting me go into labor on my own, but she has already said I can't go more than a week late, so I will have a baby in the next three weeks!

So, a few October pictures...pumpkin patch, birthday cakes, and a trip to the zoo.

Ali and Josiah both loved picking out their pumpkins this year. Ali and Daddy carved one. Picture of that are coming!

Josiah loves music. He really loves to drum, with either drumsticks or plastic spoons!

Josiah's Birthday cake. Each little ball is cake and frosting covered in candy.

We took a family trip to the San Francisco Zoo. We loved watching the sleeping lion. He was HUGE!

Will the next post be Halloween or baby? Only time will tell.

Yes, look at how big my head is....

2010-09-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

When I asked Ali on her birthday if she was bigger now, that was her response. So, I guess that means she is bigger! Our four year old managed to celebrate the big day for several days. We had our first "real" birthday party on Saturday, then we went to Chuck E Cheese on Wednesday (the real birthday). She brought cupcakes to school on Thursday. I think we are done with celebrations for a while!

Before the birthday celebrations galore, we had spent time in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. We saw lots of Jed's family, including Great Grandma Ruth (Ali thought it was so cool that they shared a name) and baby Emelia. Ali would have held Emelia all day, everyday if we would have let her. She can't wait for Abi to be born so she can hold her.

Oh, and because I've yet to post a picture of my belly, here it is. I'll be 32 weeks on Sunday.

My new friend

2010-08-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

Meet my new friend....

My glucometer. Such a fun word. My friend and I hang out together four times a day.

Yup, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It looks, at least currently, that diet and exercise should control my blood sugar levels.

Yes, the diet is probably a healthy diet for all to be on. I'm doing what's best for both Abi and me. That doesn't mean that I don't find the process slightly annoying. I now not only have to think about what to eat, but measure our how much of it I am eating. I'm not a big measuring girl, so that's frustrating.

I'm still learning what foods cause my blood sugar to spike. Today I got my first high reading...oatmeal. Since cold cereal, milk and fruit are out for breakfast, I guess I'm back to eggs and toast (although 1 Ego Multi Grain waffle with some peanut butter also seems to work!)

I'm trying to stay positive. It's only been a week. I've got quite a few more to go. We can do this!

The Camp Bug Bites!

2010-07-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

We did get a few bug bites at camp, but really our kids both got a bite from the camp bug. They both LOVE camp. Ali can't wait until next year when she can be "a real camper" (at Kinder camp with mom or dad). She is already asking when we will be going back to camp. We all loved meeting the staff and enjoying a wonderful week in the redwoods. A pictorial account of our week:

Eating out at the campfire.

Ali wanted to eat marshmallows on a stick. She didn't want to roast them, she just wanted them on a stick. She was quite happy that it happened.

The beautiful redwoods.

Riding Balance Bikes. Ali loved the fact that you steer with your bum.

Hiking up to Big Tree. We did get to look around inside. It was pretty cool.

Searching for banana slugs was quite fun. One day, we found 10!

Daddy preparing to underdog.

Checking out the treehouse. Ali is trying to decide if she would like sleeping outside all week.

Josiah collected rocks. He was amazed at the abundance of rocks to be found.

Josiah's post camp injury. He fell as we were packing, which caused us to leave quickly. A ER trip and a little glue later and he is good to go. If you ask him to show you his "owie" he will show you the small cut on his hand. Not the head, the hand. The head wound doesn't phase him at all.

Surviving Summer

2010-07-11T20:12:00.000-07:00

We have survived:

VBS: We set sail and went on a "Vast Voyage". Ali loved VBS again this year, and Josiah spent the week perfecting his dance moves and loving on (and napping on) Ida.

Buying a minivan. Yes, we are the proud owners of a minivan. We knew we needed one soon (three car seats just don't fit into a car), and we finally bit the bullet, said goodbye to Jed's car, and are falling in love with our van.

The great birthday/anniversary week: Jed and I both successfully survived another year and have now continued to enjoy each others company for six years! We went out to dinner and a 3D showing of Toy Story 3 to celebrate. And we ate cake...lots of cake.

Ali survived (and after her initial shyness really liked) her first dance class. We signed her up for a six week preschool "pre dance" dance class. They meet for 30 min on Saturday mornings and learn the basics of rhythm and stretching, as well as a few simple dance steps.

We are looking forward to our trip to Mt. Cross, where Jed is going to be the camp pastor for the week, and our trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota in August.

A few pictures to tide everyone over:

Jed eating cake on his birthday. Truth be told, this is still my cake. We decided to finish one cake before we made a second. We ate Jed's cake the next week.
My cake. Ali applied the frosting, which was about as thick as the cake itself. It was yummy!
Josiah wanted this ball so much he crawled under one of the cars....
his back looked like this when he was done. I was going to try to save the clothes, but I gave up.
Ali and Josiah both love to play games on the ipod touch. One day Ali crawled into Josiah's crib and we found them playing together. I love how Ali is cheering Josiah on.

Sorry, no good pictures of my belly yet. I think about, but it never gets done. Maybe in the next post. Have no fear, Abi and I are both doing well.

Baby Number Three

2010-06-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

So, the big ultrasound was today and here are some pictures of baby number three:

Side View

Right Leg (Looks like a runner to me! - Jed)

Left Arm

Profile

Oh, and the gender? We are having another...girl! Her name is Abigail Charis. Ali is excited beyond belief, but isn't all to keen on Abigail yet. She thinks that the name should be "Princess Peas."

All seems to be fine with "Princess Peas"; I'll know more after my doctor appointment next week.

We've been busy

2010-05-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

Doing what? Well, in short...

Celebrating Easter

Hunting Easter Eggs

Playing with cousins

Watching TV with Uncle Will

Feeding goats with Uncle Nate

Discovering the joy that is an Iced Chai

Watching surfers in Santa Cruz

Playing with the hose while watering the garden

Having picnics

Discovering the fun of washable markers.

What about you? What have you been up to?

A Night to Remember

2010-03-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'm telling this story so we can remember how precious our daughter is when she is being less than precious...

Yesterday (Monday) Ali really wanted to go get ice cream. She wanted to have a family date. Knowing that Tuesday is dollar scoop night at Baksin Robbins, we tried to convince her to wait until Tuesday. She really didn't want to wait. She knew that she had some gift certificates to use, and I explained that if we went now, we wouldn't have enough "ice cream money" to pay for all the ice cream. Ali offered to use the money in her piggy bank (that she is saving for a Barbie movie). Jed and I finally agreed. After dinner, we were getting into the car and Ali looked at me and said "Wait Mom, I have to go get my piggy bank to pay for the ice cream". I told her we would take care of it later.

Well, ice cream was on sale on Monday as well, so we had enough "ice cream money". We all had a great time, and Jed and I can't help but smile at how generous our daughter was last night. And, Ali even has some change to put in her piggy bank.

The News

2010-03-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

By now, our news of baby three has made the rounds in internet land. If you haven't heard yet, yes, number three (or Lentil as Jed is calling him/her) should arrive around the last week of October. I'm feeling sick, so I guess that's a good sign. Ali's excited, Josiah is oblivious, and Jed and I are a mix of nervous and excited (we can't really be oblivious).

Here's Ali's reaction when we told her. Enjoy.

Story Time with Ali

2010-03-01T17:42:00.001-08:00

Sit back and enjoy Ali reading "A Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle. She loves to read this to Josiah every night. And, yes, I did teach Ali to say chrysalis instead of a cocoon (moths come out of a cocoon, butterflies out of a chrysalis. There is your science lesson of the day.)

How did the happen?

2010-02-23T16:46:00.001-08:00

I leave Josiah downstairs for maybe five minutes to take some folded laundry upstairs. I hear crying. I come downstairs. This is what Josiah now looks like. What happened? I have no idea. But, whatever he hit, he hit it hard. He's acting fine now. Just a few battle wounds.
It's a nice sized goose egg, isn't it?

Things we love

2010-02-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

Woof-Woof and Doggie

Pudding

Stickers

Playing with our friends

Our siblings

Our rice table (that will soon become a water table)

Hiding in suitcases and playing with sleeping bags

Being with Dad.

Ali Would Like to Tell You a Joke

2009-12-31T21:25:00.000-08:00

Twenty-one.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-three.
Twenty-four.
Twenty-five.
Twenty-six.
Twenty-seven.
Twenty-eight.
Twenty-nine.
Twenty-ten!

Happy New Year!

(Yes, this is actually verbatim from her earlier today.)

I want YOU

2009-12-29T20:57:00.000-08:00

to see my new haircut! Does it make me look older or younger? Mom says older but Dad says I look younger. I can't decide. Tell me what you think!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Ali checking out her loot from Santa...the most exciting thing in her stocking? Dora underwear.

Josiah's favorite thing about his stocking? The food that was inside.

With his new musical lamb from Ali.

Opening is complete!

And just because I never post pictures of me!

Hope all had a wonderful Christmas!

They have skills-updated!

2009-12-22T09:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, our children have amazing skills.

Ali is mastering her hint giving skills.

Here are the hints she gave us about our presents.

Jed: "Daddy, do you remember that store we went to as a family with all the bikes? We got you something there. It goes on your hands. But, I can't tell you what it is."
Surprise! It's a pair of biking gloves!
My hint: "Mommy, it's a trash thing."
My trash thing....a french press. Even after I opened it, Ali still thought it was for the trash. When I told her I was picking up, she asked if I was going to use my new trash thing. I guess it looks like a little trash can?

The present she made at school for both of us: "It's has lots of colors and you can shake it."
It does have lots of colors, and she did the shaking....

We will have to reveal what the presents are after Christmas, but you can place you guesses now.

Josiah has skills too. Remote control skills. While he was playing downstairs today, I ran upstairs to do a few things. I come back down and he is sitting on the couch smiling and pointing at the TV. I look at it and realize that he has managed to order a movie off of the On Demand menu. This is a process that takes several steps and requires you to push several different buttons. He was quite proud of himself. I just had to laugh.

Yep, my kids have skills.

Proof that I'm not crazy...

2009-12-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

Bailey is the camel that lives on Bailey Road. We saw Bailey last winter, and then she seemed to just disappear. We didn't think we would see her again, and I was bummed that I never took a picture. She reappeared again a few weeks ago. You never know when she will choose to be seen and I never seem to have my camera at the right time. Many people doubt that Bailey really exists. Here is our proof. Driving home from church and lunch today, we see this:
She was right down by the road! She is real!

We've been doing Christmas stuff too, like decorating the tree and make decorations for the house. Ali loves counting down the days until Christmas, and Josiah loves eating all the Christmas treats in the house!

And, for all of you that couldn't be at Ali's Christmas program, here she is singing for you:
The words: "1 little, 2 little, 3 little angels; 4 little, 5 little, 6 little angels; 7 little, 8 little, 9 little angels; watching baby Jesus"

Oh, and Aunt Carrie, thanks for the blocks. Josiah (and Ali) love them!

What we've been up to

2009-11-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

Jumping to our hearts content at birthday parties.

Helping Dad paint the Master bedroom.

Attempting to take a Christmas picture where we both are smiling.

Playing ball with Dad.

Trying to avoid big hugs from my sister.

What have you been up to?

Tinkerbell and the Dragon

2009-11-03T14:59:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to go trick or treating?

Let me fly away and get some candy.
Did I hear someone say candy?

LET'S GO!

I don't know what happened. The car just ate me. I guess I'm stuck with this bag of candy.

ONE!

2009-10-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Ali was convinced that Josiah wanted "a book about sheep" for his birthday. She went to the bookstore with me and picked out "Sheep in a Jeep". She had to give to Josiah first thing in the morning. He held on to it for most of the day.

Here Dad, try some cake. Mom says it's banana chocolate chip.

Hmmm, what is this on my hands? It sure tastes good.

Maybe I can suck the last bits of chocolate off my plate.

I LOVE CAKE!

Yes, yes, a year has passed. Josiah is now one!

How to pick a pumpkin

2009-10-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

Check each one to see if you can pick it up.

Pick up every possible pumpkin, even if you think you have one picked out.

Consult with your best friend.

Rejoice when you find the right one!

Teach your brother to do the same.

The Terrible Twos are Nothing Compared with Three

2009-10-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

Daddy: Ali, go ask mommy if dinner's ready yet.
Ali: (shouts) Mommy, is dinner ready yet?
Mommy: It's almost ready.
Daddy: Ask Mommy how soon.
Ali: How soon!!!
Daddy: Ask Mommy how many more minutes it will be before dinner.
Ali: That will be twenty more dollars.
Daddy: (Can't talk anymore he's laughing so hard.)

Later...

Ali: I'm going to step over here, and then (as she's crouching to jump off the toilet)...watch this Daddy, it's gonna be sweet!

Anna: (on multiple occasions lately) Guess what YOUR CHILD did today!

In case you haven't heard

2009-09-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ali is now three! She was very excited to have a birthday, although she was a bit bummed when she discovered that she had to be three for an entire year before she turned four.

Her day in pictures:
Helping to bake her cake.

Getting ready to blow out the candles on her cake. She decorated the cake by herself!

Checking out her birthday balloons.

Showing Daddy her presents.

Opening more presents!

Let us count the ways...

2009-09-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

that we love Oregon. We went up to visit the Strand family for a short little trip, leaving Sunday after church and coming back home on Wednesday. We packed our days with fun and we all fell in love with Oregon.

Our love affair with Oregon included:
blueberry picking

visiting the windy coast

as well as eating seafood, playing at the pool, and enjoying wonderful company.

Now, we are preparing ourselves for a birthday...and a little girl very excited about turning three.

Get Down

2009-08-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ali had a blast at VBS this year. One of the songs she learned was "Get Down". She was amazed when I told her I had the song at home. So, thanks to my "Underdog" CD, Ali had her own little dance party the other day. The video fun to prove it...sorry it is sideways; it was my first venture with video on my camera and I've yet to figure out how to turn it.

Josiah is growing and is as cute as ever. He's a crawling machine and now sports four teeth. His favorite food right now is blueberries, as shown in the following picture.
Okay, you can't really see the blueberries, but you can see those cute teeth!

More to come, but I hope this satisfies you for now!

Birthdays and Beaches and Princesses, Oh My!

2009-07-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Having our birthdays so close together does have its benefits. On June 25, we headed down to our old stomping grounds in the OC for some birthday fun. We stayed with our wonderful friends, the Merciers and Cooks, who were wonderful hosts and hostesses. Ali loved seeing her buddies, Patrick and Cassidy, and was super excited to have some quality time with Miss Melanie.

However, the main reason the trip occurred when it did was take advantage of the "free ticket on your birthday" at Disneyland. Since kids are free until they turn three, this was the perfect time to go. We felt like quite the rock stars when every employee we ran into wished us happy birthday (after seeing the birthday pin we were given). We rode rides, danced in the parade, and most importantly (in Ali's mind, at least) met SIX princesses (Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Snow White, Cinderella, and Belle for you princess lovers out there). We also saw Alice (which Ali was VERY excited about as well). The teacups were a family favorite. And Ali left with a crown that flashes colored lights (leave it to our daughter to pick the tackiest crown of the bunch).

We also spend time at the beach, where we were able to catch up with our friends, the Darts, buying some new Rainbow sandals, eating many meals with great friends, and going to the beautiful wedding of Jenn and Kris (which happened on a great day; July 3--our fifth anniversary!)

All in all, a great vacation. We were sad to leave. Here's a pictorial guide to the trip:

Ali super excited to see her buddy Patrick

Having a blast on the teacups.

Our friends, the Darts (Jason couldn't make it to the beach)

Josiah LOVED the beach. He could have spent days there!

Ali and Cinderella. She was so excited to able to meet and talk to the princesses.

Ali and I "doing the twist" with one of the parade dancers.

They get along so well...

2009-06-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

On at least a weekly basis, people remark to me about how well our children are behaved in church. I always wonder where they go to church, because Ali leaves for "Children's Church" for about half the service including the sermon, and Josiah has been preaching about as much as I have lately. This makes for comments from Anna like "I thought the first five minutes of your sermon were good, because that's all I heard before having to take your son outside."

Last weekend, Ali went to Kidfest with Anna on a Mommy date. She met Dora, and enjoyed bouncing in the bounce houses. With all the kids there, Ali got very used to being ushered out of the bounce houses after a couple of minutes of bouncing, which is very sad because she is physically capable of bouncing for upwards of an hour.

Thankfully, Ali got to make up for lost time on Memorial Day. The whole family decided to take a trek down to Mt. Cross Lutheran Camp for their annual barbeque. At the camp, a bounce house was set up where Ali bounced to her hearts delight. This took over an hour, and no one was there to usher her out. Ali, being a conscientous young girl, still ushered herself out every three minutes for the first half hour we were there to ask me if she could bounce more. As I didn't have much else to do and we really wanted her to enjoy her first taste of camp, I let her continue until it was apparent to anyone who saw her that she really needed to take a nap.

Then last week, our dear friends the Berkbiglers came to town. We got to spend some time with them, checking out the sights and sounds of Concord as well as the smells and tastes of the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. And where else can you find portraits of Elvis and Ronald Reagan made of 10,000 jelly beans. We had much fun, and then shipped them off in Coastal Starlight Express.

Seriously, you're writing about us again?

Crawling?

2009-05-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

Not quite, but Josiah would love to be. Here is as close as he gets.

He had his six month check up last week (he was almost seven months, but that's when the doctor wanted to see him. He's 20 pounds, 5 ounces and 27.5 inches tall. He's wonderful, and the doctor would say. Ali is doing well. She has a great time at a birthday party for two of her friends last weekend. She could have bounced all day.

Mother's Day was very nice for us all. I was given a "green thing" (aka I pod). Sunday afternoon we went swimming at our friends house and Monday I was treated to brunch at Panera (yum!)

May is winding down and we are looking forward to a visit with the Berkbiglers and the end of the month. Our doors are always open if anyone wants to come hang out!

Just for Will

2009-05-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

My brother was sad because we posted no pictures of him taken during our trip to Kansas. Sorry, Uncle "Wheel" (as Ali says it). We love you and still talk about your big tractors!

Vacation

2009-05-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

With Easter over, the family took a vacation to Kansas to catch up with my family and have some relaxing time. We (being Jed) drove all over Kansas and even into Nebraska to see lots of people. We were able to see Gramsie, the Potters, Uncle Will, Nana, Granny, and many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was great to see everyone.

Josiah decided that Nana's house was a great place to get his first tooth. He now has two pearly whites and has lots of fun feeling them with his tongue.

After Kansas we flew to Texas to see our dear friend, Kari marry Jason. The Johnson wedding was beautiful and it was a great chance to see many friends. Ali will still tell people her favorite part was dancing (she LOVED the chicken dance). Good times were had by all.

Now we are home and back the the usual.

Easter in Pictures

2009-04-12T19:59:00.001-07:00

I'll give this one to Josiah...since my easter basket is full.

I did pretty well...I made out with a purple bunny, some egg-shaped chalk and I'm safeguarding Josiah's candy. Yeah, that's what I'm doing.

When you wake up and find Easter candy in your basket, it's always a good idea to wash it off in your new toy sink. You never know where that candy has been.

Easter? Cool!

Ali looking stinkin' cute in her dress.

Easter's the best. When can we do it again?

Bubbles and Easter Eggs

2009-04-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ali loves bubbles. She has just recently really mastered the art of blowing them herself and now wants to teach Sy how to as well. The hat in these pictures is for Uncle Will.

Ali and I also painted Easter Eggs today. We didn't go too fancy since this year she was amazed watching the water change colors and "magically" making the eggs change color. She was very proud that she did it herself (with just a little help from Mom)

Just Growing

2009-03-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

That's what the kids have been up to...they have been busy growing. Ali is now "2 and a haff" and Josiah hit 5 months on Sunday. Josiah is working to outgrow Ali. At the beginning of March he weighed 18 pounds and was 27 inches long.

Jed is super busy in this season of Lent. I keep busy with the kids and some sewing. If you are interested in the craft side of my life, you are welcome to check out my craft blog here

Some pictures for you all to enjoy!

Ali showing off the "sticker disease" that Daddy had been inflicted with. I especially like the stickers on each of Daddy's nails.

One day at the fabric store the lady behind us in line bought this headband for Ali. Ali calls it her crown. She reminds me of "Daisy Head Maizie" of Dr. Suess fame.

Josiah and Ali looking "cool" in their shades.
Josiah having his first taste of sweet potatoes. He isn't taking to solids as readily as big sister, but he will try this out every once in a while.

Ali picked out this outfit all on her own. For Christmas Nana gave her the book "Ella Sarah Gets Dressed". Great book, and this outfit is something Ella Sarah would love.

Our kids perferred sleeping arrangements. Josiah has fallen asleep several times in his saucer. He is now starting to sleep through the night as well, which makes Mommy very happy.

Ali now must sleep with about 15 blankets on her and every stuffed animal she owns in bed with her. She has also been known to sleep with several books next to her for those late night stories she has to read.

So, what have we been up to?

2009-02-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

Lets see, what has been keeping us busy?

Well, my family came in January. We had a great time and visited the Jelly Belly factory and Alcatraz while they were here.

We bought a Wii (because of much asking on my part) We all enjoy playing. Jed and Ali spend many nights waiting for dinner by playing boxing.

Ali has taken to checking her "email" on her "computer"...we smile at the pictures that are her screen.

I made this bag for a swap I am in. It was a challenge. I hope my partner likes it. The pattern (Amy Butler Weekender Bag) takes work but makes a pretty cool bag when you are done.
That is pretty much it. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

Jed's Mom Update

2009-01-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Just so that you all know...my mom Sharon was diagnosed with cancer last Thursday and had surgery for it today. She underwent a "whipple procedure" and the doctors found that the cancer hadn't spread very much. They found a tumor around her bile duct, but they think they have removed all of it. She'll be in the hospital for the next week and a half recovering from the surgery, and then she'll probably have more treatment for the cancer in the coming weeks. We just want to ask that you keep her in your prayers! Thanks!

Josiah Update

2009-01-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Josiah had his "two month" check up yesterday...he's 11 weeks old now and he now weighs 14 pounds, 15 ounces (I just say 15, it's close enough) and is 25.5 inches long. Such a big boy. He handled his shots like a champ and smiled for everyone. Here's a great shot Jed caught of the kids a few days ago

This picture shows what our daughter does after we put her to bed at night. We don't know who she takes after!

December in Pictures

2009-01-04T19:30:00.001-08:00

Josiah says "You posted WHAT?!?"

Ali's animals on parade

The purse that Anna made from her new sewing book.

Jed and his Dad at the top of Mt. Diablo

Ali on Christmas morning excited about the candy in her stocking. She also got band-aids, the two things she asked for.

Josiah smiling for the camera on Christmas Eve

Ali in a box.

Ali the angel for her preschool Christmas program. She was also an angel for the Sunday School program.

There you have it, our month in a nutshell. Happy 2009 to all.

Oh, I wish....

2008-12-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

Oh, I wish I was a princess
Oh, I wish I was a princess
Oh, I wish I was a princess
And a Happy New Year

Sung by Ali..the tune: "We Wish you a Merry Christmas"

Also, congrats to my dear friend and college roommate, Kari. She got engaged. Check out her story on her blog

Thanksgiving at Church

2008-11-27T20:48:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about the church I pastor is that they do a meal to feed anyone who wants to come on Thanksgiving. We had a few reporters out today to cover this event. Here is the link to one of their reports:

ABC News 7

And here's a newspaper article from the Contra Costa Times.

Enjoy!

Halloween and Baptism

2008-11-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, what has happened in the last month? I'm sure lots, but the two most important events were Halloween and Josiah's baptism. Ali, Jed and Josiah's godfather, Greg, went to the church's Halloween carnival while Josiah and I took a trip on BART to go pick up Nana from the airport. Ali was a carrot. She wouldn't wear the carrot for the preschool parade earlier in the day, but after Greg's encouragement to "be the carrot" she gladly wore her costume and got lots of candy.
Josiah had a pea costume, but he didn't need in on the BART, so we put him in it just for the picture!More importantly, on November 2, Josiah was baptized. We discovered that he was the first child of a First Lutheran pastor to be baptized at First Lutheran...did you catch that? Josiah was not impressed by the significance of the day and cried through the baptism and pictures after the service, although he was fine the rest of the time. We were excited to have the Strand family here for the baptism, and thankful that they made the LONG trip to see their godchild baptized. We have better pictures from the baptism, but getting them from the CD to our computer is proving to be a bit of a challenge. So for now, these will have to do.
At three weeks, Josiah weighed in at 11 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 22 inches long. Ali still likes him, sometimes a bit too much. We have had several talks about how we don't touch Baby "Siah" when he is asleep and we don't move his head to make him look at you. At the same time, she leaned over in her chair today and told him she loved him, so we think we are good!

And our Ali's quotes for the moment.
In prayer: "Thank you for Tiffany (her teacher) and cake." Which is better, we don't know.
"Reading" a book to Jed "And God says 'no jumping'"...important lessons for us all.
After pulling a book off the shelf : "I found God. He was hiding." Good thing we have her around to find him!

Introducing Josiah William

2008-10-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

At 3:30 a.m., it began.

At 4:00, Jed was awakened.

At 5:30, we waited.

At 6:00, the bags were checked one last time.

At 6:30, the journey began.

At 7:00, we arrived at the hospital.

At 9:00, the waters gushed forth.

At 11:00 Jed took off his wedding ring because Anna hurt his hand from squeezing.

At 1:30 p.m., Anna did not know if she could take the pain any longer.

At 1:50, the pushing began.

At 2:00, Josiah began to peek.

At 2:07, Josiah emerged into the world, all 21 inches and 10 pounds of him. Here's what he looked like:
At 3:30, Sy had calmed down. Here's what he looked like then:

At 6:46, Ali met her baby brother Sy for the first time. Here's how they look together.

At 6:51, we took the first picture of the rest of our life. Here's our family:

Thanks to all of you for your prayers! We especially thank God for a healthy delivery for both mother and child.

Pumpkins and Pictures

2008-10-08T20:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Ali and I went on a trip to the Pumpkin patch. Ali picked out her own pumpkin and even carried it around a bit. I'm glad that she's not like me...when I was in kindergarten I went to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin so big I couldn't pick it up and so I had to roll it, which doesn't work so well when you have to get it back to your kindergarten classroom, which is downstairs. It's a miracle that the pumpkin survived that journey.

So when we were at the pumpkin patch, we did other things than get pumpkins. I talked to the other dads who were there with their preschoolers, and we gloated in the fact that we beat all the moms there. Ali sang some songs like "Old MacDonald" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" with some guy who played the banjo, and we saw some pigs, turkeys, peacocks, chickens, and roosters. There was also a hay maze.

Hey Gramma, here's a picture of Ali on her new trike. Notice that there is no fence or anything in the background.
Ali was walking around today putting herself in time-out. "I love time out," she said. Apparently we need a new form of punishment. I've heard that bamboo shoots under the fingernails is effective.

Speaking of torture, Anna is ready to have a baby. Really, really ready. Never mind that the due date was Sunday. We'll just keep waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

And besides field trips, I'm staying busy with work stuff including hiring a music director and planning a memorial service and stewardship program and the holiday schedule. I'm happy to not be preaching for the next couple of weeks, though. I took the time off so that I could be around when the baby came...and now I'm waiting and blogging. Well, if Sy turns out to be anywhere near as cute as Ali is, we'll be just fine. We'll be in trouble, but it'll be good.

Here's one more picture illustrating how cute Ali is.

Place your guesses...

2008-10-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Because I need to have some fun while waiting for Josiah (or else I might go crazy), I've decided to make it a game. I've set it up so anyone can leave a comment, even if you could not before. Guess the birthday, weight and length of this little boy. We'll see who comes closest. Maybe I'll even come up with a prize; we'll just have to see.

To put everyone on equal ground, his "official" due date is October 5th, but at one point I was also told October 9th.

Guess away!

From the Paparazzi

2008-09-29T19:54:00.001-07:00

Some of you have wondered what it would be like to be in Anna's shoes right now. First of all, you need to know that Anna doesn't wear shoes as often as she can. The second thing you need to know is that Anna can't really tell whether or not she is wearing shoes because this is what she sees when she looks down. She feels really big, and requested once that I take this picture off the blog on account of her tummy resembling Mt. Vesuvius. I still think that she's beautiful, and I'm sure there is a beautiful baby boy swimming around in there somewhere. Michael Phelps, watch out. Josiah has been practicing...

Even though we were offered millions of dollars from People (R) magazine, we decided to turn it down and post Anna's late pregnancy pix on our blog. Here's a picture of her standing in front of our door, which Ali says is "reb," even though she is perfectly capable of saying "red."

In our next picture, Ali would like to welcome you to her house. It is in our backyard, which is curiously enough where Jed's imaginary friend lived when he was Ali's age. By the way, our backyard looks totally different now because there is no makeshift totally flammable barbeque cover, no red fence, and no dog cage made from mattress frames. That has all been dismantled and is sitting on the side of our house now, along with the yellow slide that we really will put up sometime this decade. Really.

In our last picture, you will notice that Anna is not really pregnant. At least not from the back. I've heard that this runs in her family, that they're never pregnant from the back, going back at least as far as Granny. You also have a nice view of the front of our house and some plants that get watered by our sprinklers, which is the only reason they are still alive.

Enjoy!

Joys of Parenting...

2008-09-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few notes to let you know what we've been up to...

It brings me great joy to know that Ali thinks the play eyeshadow she got in her birthday purse is a phone...she has no idea what other purpose it could serve. Of course, she uses just about anything as a phone, including her hand if nothing else is available. Considering how much I love the phone, I find this all rather amusing.

Ali is officially over whatever sickness she had. We are glad to not have to wash sheets and clothes daily because of the "icky" on them. She was sick for almost a week, and I was starting to wonder if I would ever be able to leave the house, or if I would forever be trapped with this evil sickness.

We might just be starting potty training soon. She is acting interested. That will be a exciting adventure, I'm sure.

Yesterday was a less that great moment in my parenting life. Ali wakes up from her nap and for reasons I still don't understand, decides to scream for the next hour and twenty minutes. Not cry, mind you, scream. Why? I still don't know. She would ask for something, and then tell me no. I tried everything; Elmo, fruit snacks, milk...all things that usually make the world a better place. I even resorted to offering marshmallows. All were a no go. I wanted to scream as well, but I didn't. I called Jed instead, so he could hear what our house sounded like. When she stopped (for no real reason, just stopped) and said "Sorry for crying, Mommy" I sat there and thought "Wow, and we have another one joining this fun very soon."

There you go, everyday life at the Maschke house. I have promised several people that I would post at least one picture of my Sy bump, so be on the lookout. Josiah should also make his appearance in the next few weeks. The sooner, the better.

Take care all, and more stories to come.

Friends, Fun and Firsts

2008-09-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's me, Ali. I've been busy this last week, and I wanted to share some pictures with you. On Friday, we all went to Sacramento to visit our friends, the Walton's. I got to play with my good friend, Cassidy, which was super fun, and Mommy and Daddy got to talk to Matt and Agatha, which they loved!

Sunday was my Birthday Party. The day went like this: church, lunch, swim, Elmo cake. My friends, Bill and Diane, let me use their pool, and my friends Ava and Brayden, went swimming with me. Then we all ate purple Elmo cake. It was yummy.Monday was family day. Mommy, Daddy, and I went to the park and I got to swing. Then for lunch we went to McDonalds and I got to play on the Playplace with Daddy. Mommy said she couldn't play because baby Sy was in the way. After we got home, we all took naps, and then I opened my presents. That was pretty cool. I wanted a ring like Mommy's for my birthday, but Daddy got me some pretty pink and purple ones instead. I really like them.

Today was my first day of school. I went to work with Daddy, but I didn't go to his office, I went to my school instead. Miss Tiffany is my teacher. She's nice. I painted, played, and ate lunch there and then Mommy picked me up. I go back on Thursday. I think I'll like it!

That's about it for right now. Mommy and Daddy say hello!

We finally found the camera...

2008-08-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

"Moving is hard work!"

We were tempted to put all 98 pictures of Ali on this blog, but we thought you might get bored scrolling through all of them. So we just posted the most embarrassing ones of Ali in hopes that she will learn to deal with suffering when she hits middle school. Here's our lives, in a nutshell:

Jed works all the time.

Anna's big and pregnant (AND BEAUTIFUL!!!)

Ali's almost 2. And a big girl. She wants a ring for her birthday, like Mommy's. But I don't know where the nearest Helzberg Diamonds is, so she'll have to be okay with Toys R Us.

Here's a couple pictures of our new house and Ali's GREEEEEEN room!

We're here!

2008-07-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes moving sucks. We still haven't found the cord that connects our digital camera with the computer, so we've procrastinated blogging until we found the cord, but for now you're just going to have to imagine with us on this one. We are in our new home, which looks just like the picture a few entries ago. It is still taking lots of work to get ready, but the grass is coming back. I got installed on Sunday, so that was lots of fun, and I already have two funerals this week. Ah, the joys of ministry. Anna is having lots of fun entertaining guests (including Erin Winter aka Painter Extraordinaire, who painted 3 1/2 rooms in the week she was here, and my parents and brother.) We'll be sending out a little more of an update later, but I wanted everyone to know that we're doing well.

Boy

2008-05-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

Josiah William.

Perfectly healthy.

Any questions?

PS: pictures coming

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

I found this on Google Earth/Panoramio this evening. This will actually be my drive to work come July. Beautiful.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. We got to spend a lot of time with friends and I've been mountain biking 3 of the last 5 days. On Sunday Anna and I got to go out with my Elders and their wives from Faith as kind of a going away deal. It was a lot of fun...my face hurt from smiling as we left the restaurant. I've appreciated all the growth I've seen in those men in the time I've been at Faith.

Ali has been pacifier free for three days so far. Tonight was a bit rough, but she's making it. She is definitely a little girl though. She has learned that bursting into tears gets her attention, and she has developed a shoe obsession. The last several days, the first word that came out of her mouth when she gets up is "shoe." The picture below is from a recent trip to Target, when she found a shoe as well as a little chair about her size that she pushed around with her as we shopped through several aisles.

The latest housing news is that the inspection did not turn up any major issues, and the appraisal was favorable, so all things are looking like we'll be moving in to our house in mid-June. I'll be starting officially on July 1, getting installed on July 13th, and my first Sunday preaching will be July 20th.

We appreciate your prayers for us as we close out our ministry in OC. My last Sunday at Faith is June 1, and Anna's last week is the first week in June. And then we move very soon...that still hasn't really hit us yet.

We'll put up a post sometime on Wednesday answering the question you've all been waiting for: "Boy or Girl?"

WOO HOO!!!

2008-05-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

Our offer on house #3 has been accepted!!!

Thanks for all your prayers. We'll have more information in the next week or so regarding inspections and when we're moving and when you can come and visit the Maschke abode and all that good stuff.

For your viewing pleasure, here's a picture of #3.
Enjoy!

Baby Boy or Baby Girl?

2008-04-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Find out...May 28th!

Pictures and Houses

2008-04-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

Here we are again. All of the Maschke clan is happy and healthy, and we wanted to say hello.

Ali is now 19 months old and is learning new words all the time. She now says "See ya" as well as "bye bye" when we leave. Ali also loves pointing to Mommy's belly and giving baby kisses. She also likes going down slides ("Wheeeeeee!") and climbing, which we fear may lead to further extremes in childproofing.

Baby, a.k.a. Peanut, is doing well. Thursday will mark 16 weeks, which means one more month until we find out if Peanut is as he or a she.

Anna is NOT going to Catalina with her students this year; the trip is just too hard on her pregnant body. Instead I get to stay with the 12 middle school students NOT going on their class trips and watch them work on their assignments.

Jed is finishing up at Faith; his last day there is June 1. His first day at First will be July 1 (that is a lot of firsts).

We are still looking for a house. So far we have submitted offers in on three. Numbers 1 and 3 are still options, but our offer for number 2 was declined. We welcome any prayers offered up for housing, although we are partial to #3. God willing, we will soon have a picture of us in front of our new home!!!

Here are some new pictures of Ali. They were taken at a MOPS fundraiser by the same person who took our Christmas pics. The setting is the Heritage Hill Historical Park, a tranquil batch of historical buildings from the 1800s which marked the initial settlement at El Toro. Ali is standing outside of St. George's Episcopal Mission in the picture below. Enjoy!

Coming Soon to Concord, California!

2008-03-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

It's official: We're moving! I (Jed) have officially accepted the call to be pastor of First Lutheran Church in Concord, California. We went up there for a house-hunting expedition this weekend since Anna had off for Easter Break and I needed a break after Easter, and spent some time looking at houses with Lisa, our Realtor.

In our price range (which is not terribly high, but at least enough to look at houses) we had a whole range of options, some of which were foreclosures that smelled funny and had unidentifiable sticky stuff on the walls, carpets, and mirrors. One home was quite scary and had locks on the outside of the bedroom doors and what looked like the spray-painted outline of a coffin in the back yard. Gideon had apparently been there too, and had left King James Bibles in several rooms and the garage. Other houses we looked at were completely new, with great rooms that weren't so great because they were pretty small. There were houses that I liked and Anna didn't, most notably the townhouse downtown that she said no to just because there looked like a homeless person was sleeping on the front porch. I tried to convince her that the 40 oz. Natural Light beer and grungy blankets were simply a housewarming gift from the neighbors, but she said we don't need neighbors like that.

Ultimately, we picked two that we thought we could live in, and though one was snatched up right after we looked at it, we have made an offer on the other one which is in Pittsburg, over the hill from Concord. If you go straight back about 4 miles from Anna's head in the picture below, you're basically there. Much thanks to Diane and Bridget for watching Ali while we were checking things out. Also, Diane gave Ali a stuffed Elmo and an Elmo hoodie. Ali can even point out Elmo's nose if you ask her.

On Saturday we went to Pixieland, which is a little mini theme park in Concord for little kids. Ali loved it, especially the teacups ride and the car she got to drive. She kept saying, "Weeeeee!!!" and encouraged us to spin the teacup, before figuring out how to do it herself.

The voters meeting at First Lutheran went off without a snag and the final details were hammered out on my call documents, so I signed them that afternoon before we left and made it official! We're planning on moving up there in June and I'll start work in July.

Thanks for all your prayers! We are thankful that God has been with us and has directed us to this church, and we continue to covet your prayers for us during this time of transition.

For those interested...

2008-03-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the picture we got on Friday of Baby #2. He or she measured 10 weeks and 1 day, so my due date is October 9th now (if it really matters at all). Even though we tell Ali it is a baby, she is not convinced.

Call news is still coming. We promise to let everyone know once the big decision has been made.

More news to come...

Some News

2008-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Ali and Nana, from Nana's visit this weekend. Ali greatly enjoyed the visit, and had lots of fun learning and performing the actions to "If You're Happy and You Know It" and being read lots of books. Nana even read Ali two books before bedtime! What a treat! We all had fun as Arlene visited my church (Faith in Huntington Beach) and took us out to dinner to celebrate receiving a call.

About that...I have received a call to be pastor at First Lutheran Church in Concord, California. I'll be heading up there the first weekend in March for an official visit. Please keep us in your prayers as we consider this opportunity to serve God in the East Bay area.

Anna's staying healthy with the pregnancy, although she seems to have more morning sickness than usual. Nana swears it's going to be a boy because she never got morning sickness with her girls.

Things we need to post

2008-02-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

1. New pictures of Ali, who is still as cute as ever, and is growing like a weed.
2. Information about Jed's current job situation.
3. Great family time with Ben and Jen.
4. Baby number two, due in October.

All will be updated in the next week or so; stay tuned.

2007 Ends! 2008 Begins!

2008-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Happy 2008 everybody! Mommy and Daddy let me write another blog thingy. They said it's a new year, 2008. So far not much has happened this year, but I thought I'd let you know what happened in 2007.

I had lots of fun this year at Christmas. This year I'm 16, which is much older than last year when I was 4 at Christmas. I was too little to open the presents last year, but I'm basically a pro at it now. Let me share the steps with you.

Step 1: Tear off a piece of wrapping paper
Step 2: Give it to Mommy.
Step 3: Tear off another piece of wrapping paper.
Step 4: Give it to Daddy.
Step 5: Repeat until Mommy and Daddy give me another present.

Another thing to do that's a lot of fun is when I see Mommy and Daddy eating "Christmas Candy" or "Cookies" I walk up to them with my mouth wide open and sign "Please." They know what "please" means since I've taught them well.

So as you can tell, Christmas was wonderful. We spent time together as a family, just the three of us. We went to church and sat together (Daddy didn't have a service Christmas morning) and ate and enjoyed presents.

On Saturday we spend the day in a place called San Diego. It was a fun day trip. We went to the Science Center and I ran around a lot because there was way cool stuff, and stairs that Daddy let me climb. Then I fell asleep and woke up at a place Mommy called Konos. She let me eat some of her egg burrito and then we took a walk. I walked almost all the way down to the beach and this old lady said some bad words to some people and then she said she was sorry to me and said I was darling. Mommy agreed with her about the last part. We had dinner with a friend of Daddy's from high school (Tim Jette). He and his wife have three year old twins named Adam and Patrick, which seem to be pretty popular names since I now have two friends with each of those names. I had a blast.

I also wanted to point out to you some of my artwork. It was supposed to be a private showing so I locked the door so Daddy couldn't come in, but he walked in through the doors to our porch. Mommy was a little angry that the restaurant didn't give us washable crayons, but I thought it would look good no matter what. She used a lot of elbow grease and a Magic Eraser to get the job done.

Anyway, thank you for all your presents. I especially like my books and toys and clothes. And hugs. If you come and visit me I can reward you with a slobbery kiss. I'm good at those, Daddy says.

Bye for now!

New pics

2007-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

We had our pictures taken last week as a part of a fundraiser for my MOPS group. Here are a few to tide you over until the Christmas cards come out...

Ali blowing kisses...
Playing the "Let's grab Daddy's face" game...
Kisses from Mommy and Daddy!

Found!

2007-11-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

The camera is found, so here are some new pictures of the not-so little girl.

Her new skills:

She is looking at her Jesus doll. When we ask "What do we do with Jesus?" Ali folds her hands. She also knows to pray before meals.

Her favorite toy: This box of Sesame Street books. We find them everywhere in our house. Recently, she enjoys handing them to us and saying "thae tyoo"...the closest we can get to how it sounds.

She signs "more" very well (as in the picture) , as well as "please". She says dada, mama, and nana(banana), no and up.

Just for fun, here is a picture from a year ago as well. It makes us realize how big she is!

What's new with us? Not much. Really, we just wanted to tell about our little girl.

A Snow Day, of sorts...

2007-10-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was quite an interesting day of teaching...

As most of you have heard, 16 wildfires are currently burning throughout Southern California. One is, as Jed put in to his parents "still at least three miles away from our house". Now, we really are not in danger, but the air quality is quite poor, as you can imagine. Little piles of ash were outside my classroom door yesterday, and even the walk to the bathroom would send my students into coughing fits. So, yesterday at noon, we started calling parents and had them come pick up their kids, and we called off school for today...because of the "snow" (aka ash) that is still falling.

Now, as I said, we are safe, but some of my students were evacuated. The picture shows one of the fires. To the left is the city of Foothill Ranch. Several of my students live there. Please pray for them, and for the overworked firefighters. They believe arson is the cause of this and several other fires burning in the area.

We'll keep you updated!

More Pics for You!

2007-09-10T19:17:00.001-07:00

Ali is ready for football season!

Ali Maschke is relaxing with Ali Gator.

A year ago...

2007-09-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ali had just joined us. Today was spent celebrating our little girl, who is now officially no longer an infant. We still aren't sure where the year went.

Ali had a great afternoon playing at the park with her friends. Ali picked all the foods at her party, so we had fruit, crackers and cheese, goldfish, and animal crackers. All the under five set at the party were in heaven!

Her day in pictures:
Mommy and Daddy got her a piano. It makes LOTS of noise!

The cake attacked her...

...and she didn't like it

At the end of the day with her presents.

Ali's First Joke

2007-08-12T21:24:00.001-07:00

We've been teaching Ali some sign language lately in order to supplement her usual "mama" and "dada" that she can say, but for now the only one she can do is a sign for "more." She does this by pointing her finger to her hand: "more." So we realized that she does have a well-developed sense of humor the other day when I (Jed) was pouring some Kix onto her tray while she was sitting in her high chair. Well, more Kix came out than I intended, so her tray was completely covered. As Anna came out, she asked Ali "What happened?"

Ali's response was a big smile as she pointed to her hand..."more!"

A quick picture for you all

2007-08-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

We had a picnic yesterday for our MOPS group and Wendy shot this picture of Ali. Just thought we would share it with everyone.

I start meetings on Monday, and Jed's last day at Holy Cross is Wednesday. That's all the news from us.

St. Louis and Wisconsin

2007-07-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

The rest of our trip was wonderful as well. We visited great places in St. Louis like Crown Candy Kitchen, where Ali has her first taste of a shake, The Science Center (one of Anna's favorite places), and Ted Drewes. We got to visit the Peregoy family, Angie, and Erin and Brian. It was great!

After leaving St. Louis we flew to Wisconsin. The weather was beautiful. Ali was introduced to Great Grandma and Grandpa Maschke. Lots of quality time was spent with Grandma and Grandpa as well and Uncle Nate, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jen. Ali also met the "tat", Molly, and spent copious amounts of time following her around. By the end of our time she was even brave enough to touch the cat. She was quite proud of herself.

We also had the chance to catch up with Jon and Christina Bender. It was great to see them.

More pictures for you to enjoy...

The Great Midwest Adventure

2007-07-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Now that Anna's done with her classes, we're enjoying our great midwest adventure. We celebrated the Fourth in style...Seward, Nebraska style. We joined an estimated 30,000 people who converged on Seward ("Nebraska's Fourth of July City") to celebrate the independence of our country. As always, the usual festivities were available: breakfast with "The Waffle Man," an earth moving exhibition at Concordia University, Water Wars (it's basically the opposite of a tug of war, played with fire hoses and a barrel on a pully hanging from a wire...I guess it's easier to just see it) and the commemorative cancellations and free postcards at the Post Office.

We partook of Food Alley (Ali likes lemons)...

...listened to the Van Kampen Trio, and watched the parade which featured every local celebrity, politician, and queen found between Lincoln and York. The day was finally finished with fireworks at the park.

While in Lincoln, Jed had his first Runza experience ("They're not too bad!"). We enjoyed staying with the Birkbiglers, who were kind enough to take Ali for an evening while we went out for a night on the town. We celebrated our 3rd year of marriage with steaks and beer at Misty's, and then washed it down with a coffee and chai at The Mill.

The next day we traveled to St. Louis, and on Saturday ate lunch at the same Steak and Shake where we had our first date almost 6 years ago! It's hard to believe Anna's been able to stand me for that long, but as our waitress commented after nodding at Ali, "I guess it worked out!" She gave us free shakes for our celebration. We give Steak and Shake a thumbs up.

We went to St. John's on Sunday, attending both services since we couldn't decide which one to attend. We've got grand plans for the rest of the time we're here, including Crown Candy Kitchen and Ted Drewes, and hanging out with friends!

Wednesday we head out to Milwaukee for the Maschke 35th wedding Anniversary celebration! We'll let you know more as we continue the Great Midwest Adventure!

A few more pictures

2007-06-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! I wanted to post a few more pictures of myself while mommy and I are in school. She's very busy with classes, but I'm having a good time staying with Mrs. Jensen and Miss Koch. They are very nice. Mrs. Jensen says she has a baby coming too! I'm sure her baby will be cute like me. Just so you don't forget, this is what I look like. Daddy took this picture of me after he did my hair for Crazy Hair Day at Abiding Savior.I also wanted to put in this other picture of Daddy and me. I was very excited to see Daddy on Sunday for Father's day. I've never had a Father's day before so when Mommy said I could come up with her for communion to see Daddy I got very excited. Daddy didn't take me then, but after church I wanted him to hold me so he did. Here's another picture of us! See how satisfied I look?

I'll talk to you all later!

School is out! Vacation begins!

2007-06-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hello!

School is out! Yippee! It has been a busy year, and all three of us are thankful that it is over. We are looking forward to some needed vacation time.

I (Anna) leave, with Ali is tow to head to Seward for classes. As I am cramming my brain full of literacy information, Ali will be playing with Karen and Angie.

Jed will be joining us for a Seward, Nebraska style 4th of July. I've never been in Seward for the 4th, so I'm looking forward to the experience.

After we party it up, we are flying to St. Louis for about five days, and then we are off to Wisconsin for six days. Finally, on July 17, we are home to Cali again.

So, if you are in any of these places, we would love to see you! Give us a call, and we'll make a date!

Here are some new pictures for everyone. Ali is growing; last week she was 27 inches tall and almost 18 pounds! She enjoys long walks on the beach, opening drawers and emptying them, and pulling things off shelves. Ali is available to test your home babyproofing for a minimal fee.

Jed is still looking for a call to be pastor somewhere, hopefully in the midwest, although we are considering all options at this time. Stay tuned as some exciting developments may be coming to light in the near future!

The Big Boston Adventure

2007-04-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Mommy, Daddy and I went to Boston last week. I got to meet Uncle Ben and Aunt Jen. They are way cool. We did lots of stuff there. We did lots of walking. It was very tiring.

The first day we were there we went to a place called Boston Gardens. We saw some big metal ducks. I wanted to eat them. Mommy says there are there because of a story about Boston called "Make Way for Ducklings". Mommy read it to me once, but I don't really remember it. Then, we went to this place called "Cheers" Daddy told me a TV show was made about the place. I've never seen the show, so it can't be that cool. Then we walked to the Massachussetts State House. There were lots of shiny things and bright lights there, and all the rooms seemed to have fish in them.

On Wednesday we walked this thing called "The Freedom Trail." Daddy said there was a lot of history on the trail, and it was very long so I took lots of naps. We went into this old house that Paul Revere lived in a long time ago, before I was born. We also walked to the top of the Bunker Hill monument, which takes a long time. I counted 294 stairs as Daddy carried me to the top. Mommy said she was tired afterwards.

Then on Thursday it was raining, so we went to another old house on Beacon Hill with Uncle Ben! I liked spending time with him. Then we took the T to Jamaica Plains to a Brewery. Daddy let me smell some hops. I tried to use his ID to get beer since people always say we look alike, but Mommy said I shouldn't and gave it back to Daddy.

The next day we went to Harvard! Mommy said if I work hard and apply myself I can go there to school when I get older. It looked like a fun place. They got some hot chocolate there and walked around for a while. Then that evening we went to Fenway Park to watch the Angels play the Red Sox. I was so sad that the Angels lost 10-1 that I couldn't stop crying, and it made me especially sad when people were cheering for the Red Sox. Here's a picture of me during a happier moment of the game.

Saturday was our last day there, and we went down to the public garden again so that mommy could see the swans. We tried to wait for the mayor to come and take the first swan ride, but he got stuck in traffic and Mommy and Daddy got hungry so we left. I finally got my hands on the camera after that and took the picture you see at the top of my blog! Then we took a very long plane ride home, and I was so tired. I'm glad to be back in California though! There's no place like home!

Boxes of babies

2007-03-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Tannim, Jonas and Beckett sent Ali some toys and clothes, and they arrived in this box. Ali liked the things in the box, but she LOVED the box. It povided hours of entertainment. I think in Ali's mind heaven is a room full of boxes and paper. Those two things really make her happy.

Jed and I are both doing well. We are anxiously awaiting Easter Break and our trip to Boston, and Memorial Day and our trip to Kansas.

That's about it. Enjoy the picture!

Hair and teeth

2007-02-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

We are having a great long weekend with Erin Winter. It has been a weekend of relaxing and TV watching (we love Gimore Girls!). The two most exciting events of recent history in our lives are this:
1. Ali has two front teeth (all the better to bite you with, my dear)
2. Anna has half her hair (the other half will be donated to Locks of Love)

Ali is also now mobile, having mastered the "rolling over" requirement. She also scoots quite well. She has also discovered that she has toes, which are fun to grab. She is sad that my hair is gone, because she really liked grabbing it. Alas.

Jed has nothing new to report, except that by the grace of God he still loves being a pastor.

Hope all is well...enjoy the pictures!

P.S. Ali says:
,h;0pjjjj
..
(She typed this all by herself!)

Yummy!

2007-01-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, it's me again!

I just wanted to tell everyone about how big I'm getting. Mommy and Daddy don't like to think about it, but I'm not their little baby anymore. I just went to my 4 month check up and Dr. Chu told Mommy and Daddy I was perfect. I already knew that! I am 24.3 inches long and I weigh 13 pounds. 5 ounces.

In other exciting news, I am finally eating real food. I've been watching Mommy, Daddy, and my friend Patrick very carefully and I finally got Mommy to let me try. I'm really good at eating. I've had applesauce and sweet potatoes. They are both great. Mommy told me I get to try bananas tomorrow. They sound good too! I like to chew on the spoon. That makes my mouth feel better. My mouth hurts because my first tooth is starting to poke through. That isn't very much fun, but Mommy and Daddy seem pretty excited about it.

Mommy and Daddy are fine. They are both busy. they keep telling me that I should sleep through the night, but I still like to be with them. I usually get lonely at about 2 or 3. Maybe I'll sleep longer in a few more weeks.

Here are some pictures of me eating sweet potatoes. I think I look silly!

Love, Ali

Christmas Fun

2006-12-27T17:35:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas vacation is not over, but we thought we would fill you in on what we have done so far...

Ali's Uncle Nate came to visit, and we had a great time with him. We went to Knott's Berry Farm and I enjoyed my first roller coaster ride in a very long time. It was wonderful! Jed's parents joined the fun and we visited the Getty Museum and looked at icons and went to the beach on Christmas Day....we are in California, it just seemed right.

Abiding Savior had a live Nativity, and we were Mary, Jospeh, and Jesus. We had an interesting time pondering the theological implications of Ali playing Jesus...we finally decided that God probably didn't really mind because no smiting took place.

Ali was very excited about her presents. She didn't know which one to chew on first! Next year will be even more fun, we know.

Here are a few pictures for everyone. We leave tomorrow for Texas to see Kari and watch Zach and Melody get married! Yippee! Flying with an infant...we'll let you all know how it goes when we return!

The months fly by

2006-12-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, we understand. We have pictures. Our camera is still MIA, but we used the video camera to catch a few shots. They are not as clear, but they will do. Thanks Angie for the cute red outfit! Ali's new skills include drooling, sucking on her fist, blowing bubbles, cooing, and contemplating crawling...she is watching her friends and trying to figure it all out. Yeah, she's got skills.

Yes, Ali is three months old. Time does fly.

Life is busy. I'm trying to finish my online class (just for all of you to know, master's and new baby are an interesting combination) and trying to get report cards out as well. Soon Christmas will come, and I will relax...a little!

Jed is doing well at Holy Cross. He enjoys being a pastor and likes life. That is a good thing.

That is us...hope all of you are doing well. We hope to get Christmas pictues soon. We'll let you know!

Mommy and Daddy let me write this one

2006-10-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Mom and Dad said I could write an update for you all this time. I'm enjoying my life right now. I've finally figured out who Mommy and Daddy are. They love it when I smile at them. They kept trying to take pictures of me when I smile, but I didn't like the flash. I finally smiled for the camera so they would stop taking pictures.

I started to go to school with Mommy this week. She really liked being with her big kids, but I missed her lots. Melanie and Deanna take care of me. They say I have the loudest scream of all the kids. I'm kind of proud of that. I'm glad that Mommy can come visit me everyday at lunch. Maybe someday I'll start crying less when I'm there. My friends Patrick, Troy and Cassidy try to help me. They are good friends.

Daddy likes his job at church. Mommy and I went with him one Sunday and met everyone there. It was fun but made me very tired. Mommy says we will go back again soon.

Mommy, Daddy and I watch the Cards win the World Series last night. Mommy was very happy about that. She says I will become a big fan someday. We'll see...Daddy says the Packers are the best team ever, and I was so excited I spit up on his Packers sweatshirt.

So, there is my life. Mom and Dad still think they are in charge, but I'll teach them the truth soon enough. I have to go to my friend Audrey's birthday party now. Life is busy when you are seven weeks old! Mommy and Daddy wanted to show a few pictures of me. I'll try to talk to you again soon!

Love, Ali (with a little help from Mom and Dad)

Time flies

2006-10-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that one month has passed since Ali entered the world. It doesn't seem like it has been that long! Things are going well. In general, she will sleep for five hours at night, and has moments where she is awake and not crying. She is still as cute as ever, as the pictures show.

Jed and I are starting to figure out how to be a parent. It's a slow process, but we continue to learn. In other news, Jed has a job that doesn't involve hanging up large signs at Target! As of October 1st, he is the vacancy pastor at Holy Cross in Cypress. This is a great thing, and we are very happy about it. I am two weeks away from returning to work. Ali will come to work with me, and be in day care on campus, so I will still see her every day at lunch. I'm looking forward to seeing my students, but not looking forward to getting up in the morning!

There are our lives in a nutshell. Here are some new pictures of Ali. Enjoy!

She's so Cuteiful

2006-09-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend with our families celebrating Ali's baptism. My family arrived on Thursday and Jed's parents came on Saturday. The boys thought Ali was "so soft and little" and Jonas kept telling us that Ali was so "Cuteiful".

Ali slept through her baptism...no screams at all. She wore Jed's baptimal gown, and we even kept it clean! Jed did the baptism, and both of us managed not to cry...barely. It was just a beautiful, amazing thing!

We also got to take everyone to the beach on Monday. Carrie was the only one in my family who had been to California before, so the ocean was a big hit. Tannim liked to pretend to surf, Jonas liked throwing sand back into the ocean, and Beckett just liked eating the sand! Ali seemed to enjoy her time at the beach as well.

Here a few pictures of all of us. Ali is looking more and more like her Dad. She is still doing well. Jed and I are doing pretty well too!

Introducing Alaethea!

2006-09-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, Alaethea Ruth was born on September 8th at 6:40 am. She weighed in at 9 pounds, 13 ounces (much to the surprise of all in the room) and is 21 inches long. We spent Friday and Saturday in the hospital, and arrived home as our family of three this afternoon. I was able to make it through my 13 hours of labor with no drugs, much to the amazement of the hospital staff. The hospital I was at has a 90% epidural rate, so I was the "odd girl out." But, hey, being different is a good thing!

Jed and I are both still in the "wow, there is a baby in our apartment" stage, but we are also so happy to have her in the world and to really look at her. I have to admit, having her in the world and not in me is an okay thing! Life is hard enough without someone kicking you from the inside.

Here are a few pictures because we are proud parents. Her baptism will be on September 24th. If you are in the area, let us know; we would love to have you come!

40 weeks!

2006-09-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today is the official due date for Ali...and she is not here yet. But, we know that she will be born in the next week. If she doesn't come by Thursday, the 14th, I will be induced. There is a very good chance that she will come sooner, so we will have to see. Here is a picture for all of you--what I look like at 40 weeks.

On a lighter note, you should all check out this site: It is the LA County Fair commercials. Jed and I both get quite a kick out of them. We hope you enjoy them too!

Be on the lookout for a family picture in the next week!

20, 19, 18, 17...

2006-08-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

For everyone's enjoyment, here is a new picture of me. Yes, we only have 20 days until the due date. My doctor says that I can start wishing for Ali to be born tomorrow. She would consider us full term then. As ready as I am, if I could wait until at least the 29th, that would be better. That is when all the before school meetings will be done. Talking to some teachers today, they think it would be "great entertainment" if I went into labor AT the meetings... we will see!

We are almost ready for Ali. Her clothes are washed, our bag is packed, and we have successfully completed 2 out of the 3 childbirth classes. We have also toured the hospital. This is important becuase now we know where to go. That seems to be a good thing.

In other news, Jed is currently working as a "signing specialist" at Target. It is a job and we get discounts at Target, so I like it. I start meetings next week. My nephew, Tannim, started school today, and when asked what he wanted to learn, told his teacher, "I think I pretty much know everything I need to". Ahhh, to be five and understand the world.

There you go...all you wanted to know about us, but were afraid to ask. Hopefully, the next post will be of the three of us!

It has come to my attention...

2006-07-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

...that something sinister has happened to me. Something inexplicable. Something terrible.

I'm losing my mind.

Somehow, in the midst of all my revelry and cross-state-border traveling last month, I forgot to mention in my blog that I had an absolutely wonderful time with my nephews and in-laws in Kansas! I don't know what it was...maybe a good old-fashioned Texas brainwashing? (They do that, you know, with the steaks.)

So in penance, here are some pictures of "the in-laws." I beg you not to consider me an outlaw now.

"You don't get to take seven million pictures of me..."

2006-07-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

"...because I'm seven months pregnant..." Anna said, while trying to give me "the look" she gives all her middle school kids. Such are the joys of pregnancy.

In addition, I get to learn lots of other things. Also on the "not recommended" list is going up to her and saying "Boy you look HUUUUUUUGE." She gets enough of that at from the old ladies at church. But we love them anyway!

We've had lots of fun lately. Anna got back from Nebraska without incident, barring all the usual things to do like eating strangely named foods from strangely named small towns and baby shower which attacked her without warning. She also went to class in between all the frivolities and got a great start on her master's degree.

I had lots of fun in Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, including getting to go on an aircraft carrier! The wedding was also a blast, where we visited a church that has the largest LCMS cross EVER, in Lexington, Missouri.

A week later I was visiting another Lexington, although this one did not have a huge cross. It managed to make up for it with a short runway, as it was the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington. There were lots of cool planes on it, and so I frolicked around and cavorted among the fighter jets and close quarters of this spectacular feat of engineering. I also preached at Zach's church, Fishers of Family, and you can even hear my sermon on the website. I have to admit, though, that Zach did a great job of using audio magic to make me sound much better than I really am in person, kind of like Avril Lavigne's voice.

We made it back in time for the July festivities, such as July 1st (Dominion Day for Canadians, or the greatest day in the world) for the birthday gang who celebrated at the beach in Corona Del Mar, July 3rd, for those who were lucky enough to get married on such a great day, and July 4th, for our blessed country. We were lucky enough to have our friend Art Eichhorn visiting from the Lou, and we thought "What better way to celebrate our nation's independence than watching colorful explosions in the sky in the Happiest Place on Earth (R)," Disneyland. The fireworks show was spectacular, we have to admit.

Then a few days later, Karen Sohn came to visit us for Tom Kosche's wedding to Ruth Truitt, and much more fun was had. We wish Karen the best for her wedding this weekend (although Anna still thinks Karen is insane for traveling a week before she gets married.)

So after all that, we're back to our normal, mundane, leisurely summer lives...at least until around Sept. 6th! We'll keep you updated if anything exciting happens!

Ali Update (And Jed and Anna)

2006-06-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so when Will (Anna's brother) starts complaining that we don't update our blog enough because he actually has to call us and talk to us in order to know what's going on in our lives, well, that's up there with a sign from God, so here's the update so the rest of you don't have to call us! God forbid!

So what's going on in our lives? First of all, Ali is healthy and growing and still inside Anna where she should be. I tell her to stay there for a few more months, and then she can come out and play. Anna's health remains alright aside from the usual pregnancy soreness. School is almost done for her, only about a week to go!

As for me, I finished teaching a few weeks ago and decided not to come back to Lutheran High next year. I pretty much figured out teaching wasn't for me, so now I'm looking at actually becoming a pastor. I'd like to find a position where I'd be involved in emerging worship and do some counseling. I think something like that would make good use of my talents...so if you have any ideas, let me know!

For our summer plans, we're splitting up for a couple weeks. I'd like to call it a trial separation, but Anna won't let me because that has other connotations. I'm running away to Missouri and Kansas for Paul Kyle's wedding, to visit my nephews and Anna's sister and her husband in Hiawatha. After the midwest visit, I go down to Texas to preach at Zach McIntosh's church in Portland and hang out with my dear friend Andy Bates (aka "the deacon").

Anna will be flying to Nebraska then a few days later to start on her Masters degree at God's gift to humanity, Concordia University Nebraska in Seward. There she will be supported by everyone but her husband as friends from the four corners of the globe will converge to visit her during her two weeks of intense study. Nine credits later she will emerge from her cornhusker cocoon and return to the relative sanity of California. I said "relative." Speaking of relative, Anna's birthday is June 27th, and hopefully she will be spending some quality time with some relatives and friends on that important day!

Anna gets back on July 1, (Jed's birthday, hint hint), and hopefully I will remember to pick her up amidst all the raucous partying I will be doing on the beach with Pastor Greg (Strand) and Miss (Cari) Chittick, who share that awesome birthday. After that we have some guests coming, and then the rest of the summer will hopefully bring a little time to rest and relax before the advent of school and Ali's due date, September 6th.

Josiah William or Alaethea Ruth?

2006-04-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, We did have our 20 week ultrasound last Wednesday. For those keeping track, that is actually week 21, but who is really keeping track, besides us? From the pictures, baby is doing great! I had a doctor visit that day as well, and I am also doing just fine. The due date has not changed, so the baby should come on or around September 6th.

We did find out the sex of our "peanut". Before we tell you, we need to give you a bit of background. There has not been a girl born with the last name Maschke in a very long time...about three generations, to be exact. Both Jed and I were pretty sure we were having a boy. However, we were wrong...it is a girl! We questioned the "it's a girl" statement several times and every time was told that is a girl. So, Alaethea Ruth it is (you can call her "Ali", like an Alley, not like Muhammed.)

In other news, school is slowly winding down. Jed has 21 days of school left. I have a few more than that, but I haven't counted. Next week I will take the great adventure with my students to Catalina Island. For you readers, Catalina is part of the Channel Islands, where Island of the Blue Dolphins takes place. We are going to do "science stuff". That is about all I know right now. I'm sure I'll have stories when I get back.

Here are the lastest pictures of Ali and I. We chose the nicest picture of her. She wasn't a big fan of having her picture taken, and the other shot we got looks a bit like Munch's "The Scream".