December 2021

 It's been a LONG time since i've wrote on our blog! We've been busy! We added a new member to our family on March 4, 2021... Ivan Truett Leaper...7lb. 3 oz. of perfection. He's almost an exact replica of his older brother :). We have also started homeschooling as of the 2020 school year. Everett is currently in 1st Grade and Vera is in preschool. Ivan keeps us busy and its been very challenging juggling a baby while homeschooling. 

Everett at 5: 

- Believes he knows more than mom and dad

- Everett's first few wrestling tournaments he didn't seem very aggressive or didn't really care if he got last place or first place.. so we went to a tournament in bemidji and told him if he got first place we would get him a cake... he was a wrestling maniac and did SO good and got first place!! Whole different kid!

- Everett loves ice cream on a "pine cone".

- Everett: "mom one day I want to move to Wisconsin!" Me: "You want to be a cheesehead??" Everett: "No i just want to eat cheese not be cheese!!"

- Everett lost his first tooth on his 6th birthday.

- We found out we were expecting baby number 3 on his 6th birthday!

- Everett at 6: He developed a habit cough that lasted about a month. He would cough every few seconds if he wasn't distracted or sleeping. I did some research and realized you can do hypnosis and one thing you could do is ask what they wanted to do when they were all better. Everett wanted a pizza party with cousins so I told him if he stopped coughing he could have his pizza party... the next day he stopped coughing and asked when I was going to plan his party!

- Everett changed the name of Geoff the giraffe to "hot meatball"

- "and renew a right spirit within me" Everett thought was "Henry knew a right spirit" he asked "who's Henry??" 

Vera at 2: says "Opie doos" instead of "Oopsie Daisies"

- She got into and ate rat poisoning, icy hot, and a bag of Tylenol.

Vera at 4: Stepped on the scale and said "how old are my feet?"

Ivan at 6 months: almost crawling, peas and bananas were 1st foods. Got his first tooth the day he turned 6 months!

Spring 2019

We are headed into spring time and are anxious for flowers and sunshine here at the Leaper house. We are enjoying Tommy being home even more for breakup. We are planning a trip to Mall of America next week that we are really looking forward to and we are planning some camping trips with friends this summer. Life is good. We are so thankful for Gods intervention in our life and for answered prayers. He answered our prayers for a change in Tommy's career and we feel so blessed with the career that God provided. Tommy had me out driving the buncher today to pull him out because he got the skidder stuck.... I have a feeling i'm in for many adventures being a loggers wife :).... I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I haven't wrote for awhile so we have lots to catch up on.

-Vera was walking at 14 months.

- Vera at 20 months:
-Says dada, mama, elmo, more
-She loves elmo!
-She throws things when she's mad..
- She always wants to pray before dinner. She says "hands" because we hold hands during prayer at the dinner table :)


Everett at 4:
- Everett said to me "you have little elbows" while staring at my boobs.... he meant boobs!!
- I was laying with Everett in the night because he was all stuffed up and needed me. I was freezing cold and couldn't get warm and as Everett was struggling to talk in his "nasaly" voice he says "I'll put my hand on you so you can be warm." I didn't even say that I was cold but he recognized it and wanted to warm me!

Everett at 4 1/2:
- Everett rarely shares much about school. We figured out the trick to getting some info out of him: cookies! He opened up more than ever before and told us about every detail of his day at school instead of the usual "it was good!"
-I overheard Everett say "Holy sh*t!" and I said "where did you hear that from?" He said "from my great great grandma!" (I'm pretty sure he heard it from "Harry and the Hendersons"... one of his favorite movies)
- Calls "walkie talkies" Walkie Tonies!"
- Calls the movie theater the "bird feeder"



Random thought that I wanted to share for my kids in the future: I read the book "free of me" by Sharon Miller and I really recommend it!


My children if you're reading this: Always remember how much your loved. By me, your dad and your heavenly father!

XOXO,
Stefanie

Sacrifice.

I see so many posts on facebook lately about suicide, struggling, heartbreak, divorce, etc. and a recent one had me thinking about how we can change our world for the better. For me, I look back on when I was fresh out of high school and had dreams as big as the sky. Looking back my dreams were a bit unrealistic and I knew deep down that they most likely weren't going to all come true. I was told "dream big" by well meaning teachers, friends, family and that I did. I thought that if I went to college, got a full time job and worked hard that everything would fall into place and I could keep up with the Jones' and live comfortably. Deep down, I had forgotten about my dream to be a stay at home mom and told myself that I would be able to just "do it all" without problem.

 Thankfully, my husband knew better and back when we were dating he was very determined to be financially free and knew how to achieve it. Sacrifice. Everything "the Jones" were doing that I wanted to do I had to give up for now. I wanted to spend $100,000 on our first house. Tommy found a free mobile house. It was a piece of work. He bought 10 acres and we placed that beauty on our first piece of property that is now a rental property that has blessed us greatly. We followed Dave Ramsey's advice to live debt free. Our 20's were spent working hard and putting down every extra dollar we had towards our mortgage.  The job my husband had was extremely stressful and time consuming. We made good money but we knew we couldn't keep living that way. At the age of 30,  we were able to purchase a logging business with the equity we had built up in our house because of the sacrifices we made and the "debt free" lifestyle we had. We had to continually make a conscious decision to not spend our money on things we wanted for now so that later we could be financially secure. "Live like no one is living now so you can live like no one's living later" is the Dave Ramsey motto.

Looking back, I was on a path of keeping up with the jones' and not actually living a life that mattered. I'm now 30 and have a more realistic view on the world. I see that "success" as the world sees it is not what I'm after. I'm after a slow, simple life in the country. Dinners every night with my family. More free time. Being a stay at home mom. Less stress. Looking back I'm thankful for the people who believed in me and my dreams but sometimes I needed to be told it's ok if all you have is a simple life. I live in a cozy little house in the country that is my oasis from the world and I would bet that the amount of peace, joy, happiness I feel is often times more so than the richest man in the world. It's good to strive for your big dreams. It's good to work hard. It's good to go to college. BUT it's not everything and it's ok to not live the life this world says you should live.

So why am I telling you this? Because I believe this is one way we can prepare people for a better life. Everywhere I look today, I see people who are tired, wore out, running here and there, dropping off kids and then to work and back again. It looks exhausting. No wonder we are seeing suicide rates climb. No wonder we are seeing divorce rates rise. Money is not the key to happiness but if we are smart with our money we can have more free time. More time with family. More rest time. More time for what makes our soul happy again. Make time friends. What can you give up today to prepare for a better tomorrow?                               The borrower is slave to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

Vera is 1! Everett is 4!

We had a birthday party for Vera (1) and Everett (4) and it was a blast! We had nice weather and we were able to have a sprinkler and other fun water activities.

 We are so blessed by these two children God has given us. Here is a song that I really love lately and reminds me of my children and what I hope they will always remember in their life. Have faith, hope, love REPEAT! It's so true that life can be very hard but we have a God that is bigger than all our fears. I love my children with all my heart and I can only begin to imagine the love God has for us.

https://youtu.be/NoO8POz2gtE?list=RDNoO8POz2gtE

Vera at 11 months:
-Loves head rubs
-Eats anything! We often feel like we need to cut her off from food before she gets sick!
-Sleeps through the night (finally)

Everett at 4:
- We went to see his first movie in the theaters "Incredibles 2".. when we came out of the movie he thought he was a real life superhero.. it was so cute and funny

Spring 2018

Well it is Spring time in MN which doesn't mean a whole lot :)... There is still snow on the ground and the temps are still in the 20's and a few days even lower!! Tommy has started his new career as a logger and is loving it. He's had some hard days but he is home every night with us and that has been such a blessing. Tommy's job at ITS was very life consuming and we knew we needed a change. We started praying that the Lord would open a door for a new opportunity and He did. It is so clear it was God working out every detail to transition him from ITS to logging... We are so blessed. We are looking forward to having him home more and enjoying our summers! Camping, fishing, swimming..... Oh the possibilities!! Here are a few things happening in our life!

Everett at 3 1/2:

- When asked what his name is he says "Everett Thomas Leaper big boy!!"

- Says "lasterday" instead of "yesterday"

- Finally Potty Trained!!

- Everett was being naughty one day and I asked him "what's wrong?".. he said "I'm angry." I said "why are you angry?" He said "because I work too much!" HAHA

- Everett is very independent and one day I was getting after him because I needed to help him with something and he wasn't letting me and I told him "you are not a grown man! You are a little boy!" And he started sobbing saying "I'm a grown man!"..... At 3 years old..... 

Vera at 7 months:

- 1 tooth

- rolls to get around

9 months: 

- crawling!

- 2 teeth

A sidenote that I jotted down one day::

Thank you to my children.. you changed me... I used to be selfish.. I used to only care about me.. you gave my life purpose.. you filled my heart with so much love it could explode.. you are a gift from God.. I know that so deep in my heart because only God could create such fulfillment. It wasn't always easy for me.. becoming a mom was one of the hardest transitions of my life.. but I knew one day God would bless it.. and I sit here with tears in my eyes because that time is now.. I realize my love for my beautiful kids.. even when things are hard.. and they can be hard!! So my advice to my kids if you're reading this.. Don't live based on your feelings.. Keep seeking God's will and what He wants for your life.. and know that parenting is HARD but so amazing at the same time. Remember we reap what we sow... Sowing life into our kids is hard work but the reaping is a beautiful life with so much love... 

Love you so much,

Stefanie

Throw away the negative

I wanted to share something that the Lord has put on my heart recently. It's something He has brought to light in my life. I speak a lot of negativity and doubt into my life and heart. I ALLOW negative thoughts to invade my heart regularly. I believe it's something that can creep into our lives very easily and I recently saw an activity that made a lot of sense to help with "throwing away the negative" and seeking out the positive. Every day, I have been writing down these doubts/negative thoughts that I have about myself and others. I also take each thought and in my mind "throw them away" and turn it into a positive affirmation for myself. I write "doubts" at the top and list them. Then I write "affirmations" below those doubts and turn them into a positive thought that I can speak over my heart and mind daily. This has been LIFE CHANGING for me! I don't think I was even aware of all the negative things-- big or small-- that I whisper to myself throughout the day. I'm realizing I can have these negative thoughts and get rid of them and not allow them to consume me or change who I am in Christ.

Answered Prayers

When we had Everett I struggled with a lot of anxiety and fear. I was always worried and anxious with him and it stole a lot of my joy for the first few years of his life. I worried that I was doing the mom thing wrong. I worried because I didn't feel like we were bonding. I was so focused on the struggles that a newborn baby brings that I didn't see the good. It was such a struggle I remember not knowing how I was going to get through the next minute of the day. I didn't want to change his diaper. I didn't want to be stuck at home with a newborn. These are such selfish things but that was how I felt. I felt like there was something wrong with me and that I just wasn't meant to be a mom. I know now that it was postpartum depression stealing my joy. Thank God I didn't live based on my feelings. I can say that I look back at those times and I want them back. I want them back but with me having the right mindset. When we found out we were pregnant again I was excited but the fear came creeping into my mind... Was it going to be better this time around? Was I not going to be able to take care of 2 children? Was it going to be me wishing away the minutes of the day because it would be that hard? Would I bond better with this baby? So many fearful questions flooded me.... but this time around I refused to give into them... Instead I prayed. I prayed that I could enjoy this time around. I prayed that it would be ok having 2 children. I prayed that I would feel joyful this time around. I prayed that He would help me with those anxious thoughts.... I am so thankful that those prayers came true. I have felt so much joy and it has been wonderful having 2 kids! Everett has been wonderful and has somehow become better behaved since his sister arrived. I know I owe it all to God and I'm so thankful. I look at my children and have SO much love for them that I could cry. I'm so thankful for this wonderful family the Lord has blessed me with!!

A few things I want to remember:

Vera at 2 months: 11lbs 15oz.
She rolled from her tummy to her back at 6 weeks!

Everett at 3: Cried because Pluto ran away from home on the movie "Mickeys twice upon a Christmas"...
- he says "Oh my Josh!" instead of "Oh my gosh!" LOL
- While rubbing his elbow one day he said "My boob hurts!" Wrong body part!!
- He is constantly telling me he has to "go to work".. then gives me a hug and a kiss and marches off to head to "work"...

XOXO,
Stefanie