What a difference...part2

From January:

From December:

Plus a pic from a year ago:

Owen still asks to hold Eden, and occasionally she allows him a few seconds of "holding time." The day is never complete until Owen has kissed his sister goodnight. Though during the day they have their moments of sibling rivalry, I am so thankful for the bond that is growing between them.

What a difference a year makes

From January:

From December:

I'll post a couple of Eden soon too.

A Self Portrait by Owen Cramer

Owen loves to color and draw. He has a dry-erase table and markers. A few nights ago HE WROTE HIS NAME! I wasn't able to get a picture (he's a bit eraser-happy), but I did capture this later:He drew this, and said "See, mom? Owen!" I asked "Is that a picture of Owen?" He said "Yeah! Owen!"

Pretty amazing kid.

Decorating the Tree

Owen & Matt's Christmas Tree Photo Journal

There's Something About Bob

Have you met Bob?

This fuzzy creature entered our lives just after Owen was born. He was a baby gift from Group, and I used him to stuff in the corner of Owen's crib to keep him from getting an arm or leg stuck between slats.
After a night or two, it was obvious that Owen had adopted this sheep as his comfort item. Owen wasn't even two years old when he started asking for "Baahb." We had no idea what he was talking about. He cried and cried, pleading for "Baaaaahhhhhb." After pointing at everything in the house, it finally became clear who "Bob" was. A day or two later we understood how Bob got his name. Owen's favorite book was "Moo, Baa, La La La" by Sandra Boynton. "A sheep says Baa..."

After Bob was showing signs of being loved, we thought it prudent to buy a "back-up" Bob. No easy task. Matt finally found one on Ebay. We got it, and hid it. Not very well though, because Owen found back-up Bob. Owen named him "Bobbie." Seriously.
Along comes Eden. She has a few stuffed creatures in her crib:

Not like Owen though:

We even got her a fuzzy, Bob-like bunny for her birthday:
Guess whom she prefers? Original Bob (my name for him).

(photo by Owen)

Owen MUST have Bobbie, but has generously shared Original Bob with Eden. Not at bedtime or naptime though, OH HEAVENS NO. During playtime the two of them walk around with the Bobs having a blast. If Eden is hurt or starts to cry for any reason, Owen runs in with Original Bob to soothe his sister's heart. It's stinking precious.

Movie night with Bob and Bobbie:

There's just something about Bob.

Farewell to Fall

Hello Winter. We've had a light dusting of snow a couple times since Thanksgiving--nothing compared to last year (this was taken the day we brought Eden home from the hospital, which was the day before Thanksgiving 2007): Eden discovered chairs in November. She is particularly fond of her brother's rocker (which, is great because Matt is almost done building one for her). While I was washing dishes, I turned to find her standing on a chair:

Time with Daddy is so special around here. Both kids squeal the second they hear those keys jingling in the door. As soon as they see him, Owen screams "Daddy's HOME!" Eden even has her own greeting that sounds like "HI DA!" She includes a little wave, and toddles as quickly as her chubby little legs will get her to him. Owen rushes Matt, gives a hug, and starts jabbering away at whatever has been on his big heart all day (from camping to Christmas trees to trains to coloring). Here's a snippet of the kiddos enjoying having daddy home:

***I started this post several days ago, and since then we've had two very nice snow storms. We got over 8"! I'll post some pictures of Owen playing in the snow, and his adventure into the moutains to chop down our Christmas tree soon.

Pouring Out My Heart

I have a lot going on inside my heart right now, and I've only been posting "the fluff" (a.k.a. cute stories of our kids). I've got to get this out though, so please bear with me.

Why we chose to have Tamara leave her job:

1. The kids. We take the responsibility of raising our children very seriously. Our children are a gift from God, and we have been charged with their upbringing—no one else. Before we even got married we discussed this, and agreed that we would be raising our children—not a nanny, not a family member, not a friend, not a childcare facility. Owen’s CF also makes it necessary that we do not put him in a childcare environment. Something we could not afford even with both of us working 50+ hours a week. Having a family member care for our children was not an option. No one would ensure the values and routine of daily life were upheld like we would. No one is more capable of caring for Owen’s special needs, or understands his difficulties, better than us. It’s not anyone else’s job, and they shouldn’t be put in that role. Tamara had recently been promoted at work, and Group felt that her new responsibilities would not allow her to work from home at all. They were becoming more and more inflexible with her role as a mother.
2. The job. Though Tamara loved her job and work, the circumstances at work were not only becoming difficult, they were causing a huge amount of stress. They were demanding more and more of her time and talents, leaving little left over for family. She struggled to get along with her new supervisor and co-worker, and despite her continuing effort to work with them—day to day work was difficult. This stress led to many of her struggles during pregnancy, and were a huge reason she suffered from pre-eclampsia during her first pregnancy and mandatory bed rest during her second pregnancy.
3. Money. Even when Tamara was working, we continued to go backwards—remember it was while Tamara was working that we got into this debt. While we did not spend frivolously—we did not have the time to really manage our spending and make the necessary cut-backs. Being away from the home meant no time to cook or prepare meals, so we went out on a regular basis. With Tamara working we spent more on clothes, hair, food, and fuel. We couldn’t get ahead with her working. Had Tamara continued working, we would not have qualified for the government assistance, and would still be spending thousands more per month.
We used several resources to look at our budget with different scenarios: Tamara working ft, Matt working pt, Matt working ft, Tamara working pt, childcare, no childcare, etc. After reviewing these, it was clear that we would be better off financially in the long-run for Tamara to leave her job. We made a plan for Tamara to work until bonuses were paid, so that we’d have extra money set aside for the “rough time.” Matt was on-track to be promoted within a short time, and it seemed that would be fine in just a few months. What we were unable to plan for was the economy going south: Starbucks halted all promotions and closed 600 stores, fuel hit $4/gallon, and food prices went up 30-50%.
4. Matt’s leadership. It was put on our hearts that Matt needed to be the provider. This could not happen unless Tamara stopped working. Had she continued working, she would have always been the one we depended on for money. We reached a point of “fish or cut bait.” Matt had started working at Starbucks, but was limited on time he put in, because of Tamara’s job. Having Tamara at home enabled him to focus on building his career. Having her home has spurred on his career, and given it the fire it needed to succeed. She has organized his music studio, and it is more profitable today than it has ever been. She heard God calling her to use her skills to ensure Matt’s success. He’s on-track to being able to completely financially provide for our family.
5. Depression. Tamara faced serious depression after giving birth to Eden. This came from the tragic experience of nearly dying after Eden’s birth, to having to give up the job she loved, and feeling torn over choosing, and other issues. Had she continued working, she would have most likely had to continue with therapy for much longer (more money), not been able to work as efficiently (more stress), and would have emotionally and mentally (and physically) suffered the consequences of not addressing this problem. Her counselor even agreed that it was wise for her to leave her job, despite the financial burden.
6. Faith. For the first time ever, Tamara heard God telling her to come home. This was not planned. She tried to ignore it during pregnancy, she fought it after Eden’s birth, she desperately tried to make it work, and it was for naught. We prayed feverishly over this, and cried out to God for an answer that made more sense—we thought surely providing money is important? It was clear God had a purpose and a plan. Since leaving we have been shown over and over that we made the right decision—from things at Group that have changed since leaving, to seeing our children grow and overcome their struggles, to Tamara’s continued success in overcoming depression and develop into a Godly mother and wife, to seeing Matt grow into a leader and see his confidence build. These are priceless.

You may not agree with our decision, but it is not you whom we serve in this life. We chose to take the difficult path—the one where we utterly trust and rely on God to provide. You may call this unwise or foolishness, we call this faith. You may think that we’re not being realistic, and I feel sorry for you. Maybe one day you’ll get this opportunity too, and we’ll be there encouraging you to trust in God and offering our support and love.

Super Eden and Other Stories

This is just a fun post on the cute things the kids have been doing.

On Sunday Eden put her bib on backwards all by herself, and then put on my camera case. She marched around the house "talking" and babbling, and every so often giving out a very serious shout.











Shortly after this, Owen & Eden took all the cushions off the couch, and starting jumping off the couch onto the cushions on the floor. I was washing dishes at the time, and realized that there was a significant amount of laughter and "thumping" going on. I walked in to see Owen flipping Eden head first off the couch (basically doing a somersault from the couch to the floor). I gasped. She laughed hysterically. I asked Owen to please not break his sister's neck. He said "Yes, momma."


This has been going on for some time, but I keep forgetting to post about it. During breakfast, after I've assisted Owen with pouring his cereal and milk (everything now is "Owen do it, mom"), Owen insists on "reading" the cereal box and milk container. This is something he learned from watching his daddy. Today, he was blabbering on, and after a minute or so I realized he ACTUALLY WAS READING out loud. He was reading all the numbers on the milk carton nutrition panel. No, he wasn't saying "one-hundred and twenty-five grams," but he did say "Look mom, five!" and "See, mom? Two." Yes, that's my boy!!!! However, at one point I asked him what number he saw on the front, and he said "Cow. Happy." True, there is a smiling cow on the front of the container.

Eden's 1st Birthday

We celebrated by visiting the Butterfly Pavillion on Saturday, and then had a few friends and family over for lunch on Monday. She had a sweet potato "cake."

Eden loves all her gifts--thank you!

Eden's New Car

Eden's 1st birthday is on Monday, and she received her first gift earlier this week. She loves her new car, Grandma Lola!

I don't yet have pictures of it, but she also got a bunny. No, not a real bunny. She's been stealing her brother's stuffed bunnies, so momma and dada got her a bunny of her own. It also comes with her own star (yes, a real star in the sky), which she can name when she gets older. She was quite delighted with this new fuzzy creature, and carries it around by it's ears. Eden also gives the bunny big wet kisses right on the nose. (I also saw her try to poke it's eyes out, but that's another story.)