10 Months!

Life sure has been exciting around the Choronzy house lately! Last weekend, Tim's parents came for a visit and we had a lot of fun swimming, shopping, and hanging out with them. Elijah always enjoys seeing his Grandma and Grandpa and I think they like seeing him too. :)

Grandma brought Eli this fuzzy snowsuit...even Elijah was laughing at himself!

On Monday, December 3, our new niece arrived! Autumn Renae arrived 2 weeks early in order to let her parents enjoy Christmas. :) She is teeny tiny, weighing 5lbs 12oz. Which is a huge difference compared to Elijah's 9lbs at birth! We all can't get over how tiny and precious she is.
 

Baby Autumn :)

The other big news is that Elijah is 10 months old today!! He is enjoying life and all it has to offer a 10 month old. I always list Eli's likes and dislikes at each month in his baby book. While I was doing that today, I found that I was having trouble coming up with very many things he doesn't like. We are thankful for that! We are loving how curious he is and it is so fun to watch him explore the world. He is very friendly and waves at everyone and everything. He enjoys eating in general, but some of his favorite foods are peas, bananas, Mum Mums, and noodles. He signs "more", "eat", and "all done" and often signs "eat" just to see if we will feed him! He keeps us laughing and enjoys laughing himself. He also always has a lot to say! We are proud parents of our loud, funny little boy!

Playing with Cool Whip in a baggie.

Elijah also enjoys rubbing food all over his head!

Yay! I'm 10 months old!

Surrounded by some of my favorite things.

I think Mommy's pretty funny!

So sleepy...this melts my heart!

Patiently Waiting...or at Least Trying To

There is a song by John Waller called "While I"m Waiting". Tim and I have both felt encouraged by this song at different points over the last few years, and God brought it to my mind again today. The chorus says:

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I think this is something that God has been pounding into my head. It is so important to not view our situation as "limbo" like I often describe it to people. But to recognize it as a time of waiting and an opportunity to serve, worship, and praise God now. We never run out of reasons to praise and worship God and he never stops giving us opportunities to show his love and serve him. As I write this, one of my daily opportunities to show God's love is crawling around on the floor in a pile of books. :) I must remember that even though we are in a state of waiting, our life is not on pause. I should be seeking out ways to serve and worship Him each day just as I would if we were in the place God has for us next.

And since life is never on pause, our little boy keeps getting bigger and bigger!

Eating a snack and watching the first snow fall.

Elijah was mesmerized by the falling snow.

He spends a lot of his time in the highchair these days. I'm thankful Eli is a good eater!

Every boy needs to know how to shoot a nerf gun!

We are getting excited for Christmas!!

Technical Difficulties

Technical difficulties have prevented me from posting lately because I prefer to write posts with pictures. The cord that connects our camera and video camera to the computer has gone missing, so I have a lot of pictures that are stuck on the camera. :( But since its been so long, I felt the need to keep the blog updated because now it is getting overwhelming at how much I could write about. Which, on top of how slow our computer is,and an active baby, adds to the list of reasons that will keep me procrastinating. So, no more excuses, here is a (non-comprehensive) list of what has been going on in our life.

- Tim is finishing week one of a two week roof project that he is helping a seminary friend with. Tim has been able to work several odd jobs along with substitute teaching since school started.

- We were able to spend several days with my aunt and uncle who were visiting from Texas. They had not yet met Elijah so it was fun to show him off. And I got to improve my sewing skills by helping my aunt sew for her online business: Heavenly Things for Angels on Earth

- Elijah is 8 months old (HOW did this happen??) and is army crawling, eating finger foods, drinking from a sippy cup and a straw, and is the most curious (and hungry) boy I have ever met.

- We have begun visiting churches in Grand Rapids in hopes to find one that we will attend once we move. We have been enjoying our visits and hope to find a church so we can begin to establish community before we get to Grand Rapids.

- Elijah has discovered the joys of sitting in a restaurant high chair. He loves to bang on the table and there almost always seems to be a baby girl sitting nearby to stare at. :) He also enjoys riding Sandie the Pony at Meijer and even used his cuteness on an innocent elderly man go get him to give Mommy pennies for a ride.

- We have made a few short trips with Elijah. At the end of August, Tim's parents were camping on Lake Michigan near South Haven so we spent a night out there. My mom and I have taken Elijah several times to Grand Rapids to visit my sister. Elijah LOVES his cousins and could spend the whole day watching them run around. :) He also likes a good visit to the library.

Life Lesson #264

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  -Mark 10:25

God has been teaching me recently the truth of this verse. Tim and I have had many financial “struggles” through out our marriage. I say “struggles” with quotations because I’m learning that they are not all bad. Through our financial situation, Tim and I have been able to watch in awe as God provides for us over and over in the most creative ways. We don’t understand why He has chosen to do things this way, but we have grown in our confidence of His plan, certain that His plan is best.

I am learning to be able to transition easier to the changes our life has gone through lately because I am not clinging to “stuff”. When I don’t have much, it’s easier for me to give up what I have. It’s easier to follow God when he calls us to a new job, location, season of life; because I have not become attached to things like the amount of money Tim makes or the TV/phone/car/house that his job provided. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not looking to become homeless or mooch off others forever. The point is that we, the Choronzy Family, are learning to redefine what we have always been told we needed. In Luke 14:33 Jesus says “those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” God knows I have a hard time giving up everything. He knows this because He made me and He understands me better than I understand myself. He knew before I did that I need to grow in this area. So He has put me in a life circumstance that requires my growth. He says gets this right and I will give you a “hundred times as much” (read Mark 10:29-31). Jesus goes right on to say that with those many blessings will be persecutions. Tim and I have experienced these persecutions first hand in the form of much discouragement, many big and little “mishaps”, and people questioning our decisions. But when all is said and done, we know that this is the work of Satan, which further proves we are on God’s path.

I am not writing this to judge other people or put myself above anyone. I am writing this because this is where we are, this is what God is convicting Tim and me of right now. It’s not something we have perfected. I’m also hoping this may give you some insight into why we have made some of our most recent decisions. Why Tim is beginning seminary when we have just moved in with my parents while waiting for a job and apartment. (Seminary is something that God has told Tim to obey and the rest will come.) A lot of prayer has happened and is still happening as we search for God’s will in all aspects of our life. We know that this time is not being wasted because we are growing so much in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He has been keeping his promises for thousands of years, I don’t think he’ll stop with us.

Our sweet baby boy. :)

The Choronzy Family. <3

Anniversary

Today Tim and I celebrate our two year anniversary. It's hard to believe it was only two years ago that we got married. God has blessed us more than we ever imagined two years ago when we started our life together. We are so happy to be married to each other and pray for many, many more anniversaries! We were able to go out to dinner Eli free on Saturday to celebrate and today we saw a movie with my Dad while my Mom watched Elijah.

This past weekend we took Elijah to the Kalamazoo County Fair and he really enjoyed it! He tried to talk to the chickens by clicking his tongue and we decided that a bunny would make a great future pet. Elijah had a few reservations around the horses, but we watched some of the draft horses being judged and he thought it was neat to watch them pull the wagons. It is so fun to watch Elijah experience new things. He is so curious!

Elijah the baby chick.

Watching the draft horses.

This is so fun!

Watching the horses go by. We were so close to the fence we could almost reach out and touch them!

Six Months!

Elijah is six months old today! For some reason, six months is hard for me to wrap my brain around. There just seems to be so much more "babyhood" that goes with six months and a lot less "infant". Half a year has flown by, what will the next six months bring?

In light of this milestone, here is an updated list of Elijah's likes and dislikes:

Elijah likes...

• Daddy! They dance together, wrestle, and Eli even says "dada"
• Smiling :)
• Food - any and all! There is a reason he weighs 21 pounds.
• Babbling. He has LOTS to say. 
• Wiggling. Elijah loves jumping, dancing, rolling, "bulldozing", grabbing his feet, and flailing his arms and legs with excitement.
• Squealing with delight! He has a GREAT laugh, but he mostly saves that for Mommy and Daddy. But he will squeal for just about anyone!

Elijah is not so fond of...

• Being left out. Elijah is very curious and wants to be up close to all the action. 
• Peas. But who is?

One of the best things about Elijah is that his list of likes is much longer than his list of dislikes. He's a pretty happy, content baby most of the time! 

You can't quite tell, but his shirt says "I love my Daddy"

Family photo at Cabella's.

Grabbing lunch at Long John Silver's.

Fun in the (Hot) Sun

A little Arnie is always good on a hot summer day.

Can you spot the dead man?

It's fun to play in the pool!

We are being eco friendly by reusing our old Meijer bags.

Check out my mohawk.

Apparently, Elijah enjoys rap music. At least it's Lecrae, a Christian rapper. He doesn't want to waste his life.

Stay-cation

Tim had this past week off of work for the 4th of July so we tried to take advantage of the family time before he starts into his summer work schedule. We were able to do lots of fun things! Early in the week we went on a picnic and took a walk on some nearby trails.

Happy to ride in the stroller. :)

We had frozen yogurt after our walk and Elijah was wishing he could eat mine.

To celebrate the 4th we went to the Richland parade, which I have been going to since I was about Elijah's age. We spent the day with family and enjoyed a dip in my parent's kiddie pool.

Watching the parade.

Tuckered out at the end of the parade.

Tasting his first Popsicle. Poor kid looks like a girl with Nana's bib on. 

Riding the duckie in the pool.

The last few days have been spent relaxing at home and spending time together. Eli and I have really enjoyed our week with Daddy!

Men.

The doctor is in!

I'm 5 months old!

Summer Time!

It's officially summer and we are excited for all that summer brings. Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to so far...

Elijah can "sit" in his cousin's tv chair, but I don't think he'll be playing the Wii anytime soon.

Looking so big! :)

Yummy food!

I like to be messy!

All dressed up for church.

This water is cold!!

Maybe swimming isn't too bad...

Nana, the wind!

Changing

A lot has been going on in the Choronzy family. We have kept busy and time keeps flying by, but I think what stands out to me the most lately is how quickly things can change. It has been so fun watching Elijah grow and discover the world. He does something new everyday! Here are just a few of the new things Eli can do:

• Roll over. He can roll from tummy to back and is very close to rolling from back to tummy!
• Squawk like a bird. Elijah has become quite the screecher and has a wonderful happy version and a terrifying mad version.
• Eat rice cereal, and smack his lips adorably while doing so. :)
• Play! This has taken on a whole new meaning for Eli as his hand/eye coordination is improving and his tummy muscles are getting stronger as he works towards sitting up.

Don't let the look fool you, he enjoys eating real food!

What?

 The big changes, however, are taking place for our whole family. Tim's position as Youth Pastor at our church will be ending on June 30. Subbing has also ended for Tim due to the fact that school is out for the summer. He has taken on a new job for the summer working with high school students in Kalamazoo who have been hired to do odd jobs for the summer. Our biggest change is that Tim is applying to Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and we plan to move to Grand Rapids hopefully by this fall. It is a bittersweet feeling, leaving our current youth group where we really enjoy the group of students we have been able to work with, and looking towards the future with excitement as we watch God work out the details for a new job, seminary, and moving to a new city. It is also a bit scary, as change always is, for the same reasons. We don't know how or when God will work out all these details. We have always seen God provide in the past, but not always in our timing or in the way we expected. Please pray that we would seize this opportunity to see God's hand in our life. With all these changes, Tim and I cling to the fact that we serve an UNchanging God. The same God who can part seas, send manna from the sky, and raise the dead can surely handle meeting our needs so that we can live out His plan.

James 1:17 - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

I will leave you with a little performance from Elijah...