What a great Christmas!

We have a spoiled little girl! She got so much for Christmas! She got lots of big gifts this year for Christmas. She got a pirate ship house, a wagon, and a tricycle. All from the Grandparents! We got her megablocks and some books. She got a whole bunch of other stuff too. She surprised us, by actually playing with the toys more than the boxes! Although, she loved sticking the bows on her and the stickers that we placed on all of her packages. Despite having a fever, she really enjoyed the whole day and was in a great mood. I was really afraid that she would be overwhelmed, but she took the whole thing in and loved every minute of it. And this was all on Saturday.

On Christmas day we went to Grandpa and Grandma Crum's. It was a good time. Santa Claus brought her a really cool chair. We exchange names every year, this year Aunt Kathy and Uncle Danny had Emma's name. They hooked her up with a really cool nursery ryme book library set and a dolly.

I had my mom's name and made her a quilt and hot pads. I am really proud how well it came out, but probably won't ever do another one!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is almost a week away. It will be so much fun watching Emma tear open the paper and play with the boxes (not the toys, just the boxes). We all know that kids like the boxes the toys come in more than the toys themselves. Here's a few Christmas pictures that we had taken. It is very hard to decide which is my favorite they are all very cute!

I'm trying really hard this year to keep the focus of Christmas on Christ, rather than getting caught up in the hustle and bustle. We are tight on money this year, so lots of gifts are being made instead of bought. I never knew I could be so crafty, and all of it is pretty cool too! So each time I'm making an item, I really try to pray for the person I'm making it for. Please remember that this is Christ's birthday, an awesome holiday to celebrate Jesus! Let's not forget to do that this year.

Jeremiah Thane

Congratulations to Andy and Nichole! Jeremiah was born Dec 6. What an adorable little boy!

Christmastime

It's Christmastime already. We finished decorating the house this afternoon during Emma's nap. Our last thing to do was to put up the tree. We put up the outside lights last weekend when it was warm. Now it's 24 degrees and we are so thankful that we put them up when it was 60 degrees! We really contemplated where we would put our tree this year. It's so hard when Emma wants to touch and explore everything new, so we knew that we would be setting her up for failure if we put it where she could touch it. We ended up putting it in the front office area where we have it blocked off with a gate. We can still enjoy it's beauty, but Emma can't touch it. When Emma got up this afternoon, she discovered the tree. She thought it was really cool. Immediately she went into the other room and gathered some toys and handed them to her daddy to put on the tree. She kept going back and getting more toys to put on the tree. It was sooo cute! She wanted to contribute to the decorating of the tree. I guess she thought if Mommy and Daddy can have their pretties on the tree, so can she.

It's starting to snow tonight, it's light and fluffy. So pretty. But cold!

Emma is getting to be so much fun. Tonight she was making Ohhh faces at Grandma and laughing and kissing. When I was rocking her for bedtime she kept kissing and hugging me, it was so sweet. I love when she's that sweet. The other day I came home and Daddy was pushing her around in a diaper box piled with toys on top of her. How fun was that!

We recently changed to a different family Dr. The reason we were at this Dr.'s office was because of an awesome Dr. that ended up moving to Terre Haute. So, by default we stayed at this Dr.'s office and was adopted by another Dr. So, this Dr. told us that Emma shouldn't get a flu shot because she wasn't at "high risk". Later I learned that the CDC recommends that all children 6 months to 6 years get a flu shot. This Dr.'s office has done other things that I have not been happy with as well, so it was time for a change. I love our new Dr., she seems like she really knows what she's talking about. I love having a Dr. that I trust and am happy to go to.
So, needless to say Emma got her first dose of flu shot last week and will get the second dose right after Christmas. She didn't even cry when she got the shot, such a tough girl!

"I like Big Bibles"

The children's ministry at the Lighthouse put on a dinner theatre to raise money for Christmas Presents for Basher Home, a juvenile facility. The youth participated and did the rap "I like Big Bibles" (to the tune of "I like Big Butts") As you can see, Jerrod was the big Bible. They did an awesome job! It was very funny! And all of them were really into it!

"Church of the Dome"

The last couple of days I was thinking how odd it is that we now live in a place that we so made fun of 3 years ago before we even knew that we were moving here. On our missions trip to Goshen, IN 3 years ago we passed by the "Church of the Dome". Mary-Frances made this famous with how she said it with her southern accent. I can still hear it. Ironically, I pass by that church EVERYDAY on my way to work. It's only a couple of blocks from my work. Or, how about "Mullet's Auto Sales"? I just went to the dentist last week and passed by that and all the memories came flooding back to me. On our missions trip we stopped and we all got out of the van to take a picture in front of the sign. We couldn't believe that someone would name their business after a hick haircut. It's kindof cool to live in a place that we have memories from all our youth in California and all our youth in Goshen. It makes me really miss everyone out in Cali, Jerrod and I catch ourselves often saying "Do you remember when....."
It was so much fun looking through the old pics to find this picture, that I decided to post them all to our shutterfly account. You can get there by going through www.40rods.com and clicking on pics at the top.

April's first cavity

I've went 30 years without a cavity. I found out Tuesday I had a cavity and I got it filled today. My mouth is still throbbing from where he stabbed me with his 3 inch needle. It was in the very back of my mouth, so my jaw is very sore. The numbness finally wore off this afternoon, I went right before lunch and forgot that I wouldn't be able to eat anything afterwards. Well, I guess I could have, but it would have been pointless because I would not have been able to taste it and I would have risked biting my tongue or cheek or something.

I'm crushed! No longer can I use that I've never had a cavity in the "I never" game. Bummer.

Winter comes early this year

We had our first significant snowfall today. It has actually snowed before now, it just hasn't stuck. It is really pretty, but I'm not sure I'm really ready for the cold that goes with it. It's a little early, we still have pumpkins out! Emma still is wearing her winter coat from last year, which still just barely fits her. We have not had much luck finding her a new one that we like.

We just changed clocks this past week, like everyone else in the country now (except Arizona). It doesn't seem as hard to gain an our than to lose it. It hasn't been near as hard this time to get Emma on the same time schedule as it was in the spring.

Emma is now 15 months and busy, busy, busy. Jerrod thinks she has ADD, I just keep telling him this is normal for this age. She understands now more than she can actually say. She follows directions very well, usually. She can say lots of words. She's starting to pretend. She feeds her baby doll her milk and cookies that she's eating at the time. She also is figuring out how to smile, when I take her picture and tell her to smile, she gives this goofy grin with her eyes half shut. I don't know where she got that!













A couple of weeks ago, right after we miscarried, we decided to go to shopping and pretend like everything was great in our world. It actually did help and worked pretty well. We bought Emma the tow truck from the "Cars" movie to ride on. It is so cool! I think it's her favorite toy right now.

Emma is just so smart and so cute. She surprises us every day how smart she is, she learns so much, she's like a sponge and soaks up everything she sees. Maybe we're just biased because we're her parents, but we think she's over the top smart for a 15 month old!

We went to the library yesterday for the second time and got new books to read. Emma LOVES reading books. We love how independent she is becoming. We were downstairs in the children's section and we had to go upstairs to check out. Emma followed us the whole way even into the elevator. Her first elevator ride standing all by herself, she didn't even hold our hands. When it stopped, she kindof lost her balance, but caught herself very quickly. The out of the elevator she RAN! She was so excited about the elevator ride. It was soooo cute!

One of Emma's favorite things is looking at pictures on the computer. Yesterday, we were looking at Jacob and Sharon's blog. She just kept saying "baby" everytime she saw a new picture of Issaac. Then we went to Matt and Carrie's blog and she loved the pictures of Lorelai too.


It's so fun having a little girl!!

We had a miscarriage. We’re sad.

We had a miscarriage. We’re sad.

A life, a beating heartbeat, and a spirit was created, and then taken 2 months later. One could dampen the thought by pacifying the situation, but the truth that life existed is inescapable.

Having shared the news of life coming, we must also deliver the news of life going. It’s the worst-case scenario. I looked it up in my book “worst case scenario.” However, they failed to include this event. I suppose when writing the book they didn’t consider difficult family issues.

So, here are some thoughts.

We are grieving. Our trust in God, our faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It is not too much for us to believe that God provides for and lives within us, therefore it is not a stretch for us to believe in his timing, care, and control in such a time as this. If anything, this very situation is easier, clearer and more peaceful with the very faith in Christ we brought into it.

We’re not upset that we shared with you this new life, nor do we wish that we had held off with sharing the news. We believe in community, the sharing of good and bad times, and living those moments out with each and every one of you.

A situation like this, shared, is met with awkwardness, pauses, silence and often an inability to communicate. Knowing that, we don’t expect answers, or “lift-us-ups” with common flippant antidotes. It’s hard enough to describe the event, let alone be provided some misguided solutions, reasons or thoughts. However, there are some things we would ask at the risk of seeming selfish.

Pray for us grieving parents. Ask us over the next few months what you can pray for, and remember to pray for it. We’d love this support from you over the next couple months.

Shoot us a personal note, but avoid the temptation to preach or provide a reason. Just love on us (the selfishness brews over), we could use it.

We love you, and care for you deeply, and are grateful that you share in our lives.

Jerrod & April Furlong

Time flies when you're having fun!

Oh how time flies! I can't believe that we haven't updated this in over a month! Emma is now 14 months old. She went for her one year appointment a couple of weeks ago. She is in the 50th percentile. Everyone always tells us how petite she is, especially for having such a tall mommy and daddy. She got three shots. Since she was late getting her one year shots, they just went ahead and gave her the 15 month shot too. Hurrah for grumpiness all at once instead of twice!

Last weekend we went to Ft. Wayne and took the youth to the mall and laser tagging. Emma got to ride the carousel in the mall. It actually frightened her a bit. She held on for dear life and was on the verge of tears. But afterwards, kept pointing to it, like she wanted to ride it again. Maybe next time!

This weekend we went to Alysa's (a roomate from college) wedding reception in MO. We had so much fun! Alysa and Jake look so happy together! It was a Hoedown that had to be experienced to be appreciated. All of the family welcomed us in and treated us as one of their own. All of April's college roomates were there. It was so awesome to reconnect with old friends. Emma got to play with Jaden who is about 7 months older than her. Jaden is Diane's, April's college roomate's, little boy. They had so much fun!

The Park

We went to the park today and had so much fun! Goshen has a REALLY nice playground. Emma swang, walked under the tee-pee, played with the bells, and slid down the slide.

Funny Girl!

Check out all of Emma's different expressions! Such personality!

More expressions

More Expressions

Our little monkey

Emma is now 13 months and going places! The other day Emma was sitting in her high chair and Jerrod was in the kitchen doing dishes. When Jerrod turned around, Emma was on top of the dining room table. She had gotten out of her seat and crawled up onto the table. Time to tighten and use the high chair belt!

She won't let me carry her upstairs anymore, she insists on crawling up herself. She is actually quite good at it. Now, all we have to do is teach her how to get downstairs, which I think is going to be harder.

She has a drawer in the kitchen and a drawer in the bathroom that is hers and she can put anything in it that she wants to. It's really cool because she knows which drawer is hers and she doesn't open any of the other drawers. She mostly takes everything out and then leaves the stuff on the floor for mom or dad to come by and put back into the drawer :)

I think she comprehends more than we give her credit for. The other day we asked her if she could dance and she started dancing. We had no idea that she knew that word! We have started to teach her sign language, "more" and "all done" are the two main ones that she can do. So cute!

Her favorite food right now is toast. I can't seem to get her to eat any other "real" food except for mac & cheese, spaghetti, toast, and pizza. So we're still on baby food for all the veggies. And she HATES any kind of potatoe, even french fries!

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Emma is a year old! We were at BYIC national conference on her birthday. We had cupcakes and EVERYBODY sang to her. How cool was that! We had her birthday swim party at the Ramada the Sunday after her birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Crum, Grandma Furlong, Grandpa Furlong, Aunt Louisa, Uncle John, Emma’s cousins: Rachel, Rebekah, and Sarah, her friends Brittany and Jennifer, and of course Mom and Dad were all there. She got several really cool presents. Mom made her a birthday cake, it was a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. She really wasn’t feeling well, she was actually sick to her stomach, never the less, she loved the cake. She grabbed it with both fists and was just shoveling it in. It was actually the only thing she liked eating that day.

Baptism

On Sunday, the Lighthouse had a baptism service. It was so nice, it was at a park, there was a waterfall and a really peaceful creek that everyone was baptized in. 11 baptized! Praise God! It was extra special to us because one of our youth, Brittany Campbell was baptized. She's been a special part of our lives this past year. I (April) have been able to meet with her every week and mentor her. I didn't realize how much of an impact this had until her testimony was read while she was being baptized. It really touched me how much God had used me for her to grow in Christ. I cried. Congratulations Brittany!

Swimming again!

April's family came up this weekend. Rachel went to camp last week and Sarah and Rebekah went to camp this week so they were up for the weekend to pick up and drop off them. They got a hotel room and we got to go swimming again. Emma loved it this time and I think she remembered it, not near as scared this time. It was still cold, but she didn't seem to mind too much. I think it also helped to have her cousins in the water playing with her.

Emma's 11 months old!

This month went fast!! I don't even think we took many pictures at all this month. Emma is up and moving around really well now. She can walk pretty well back and forth in the living room without holding onto anything. She's really enjoying summer and the great outdoors. We try to take her outside as much as possible, she loves picking the grass. Now that she has shoes that she can walk in, going outside is even easier. This week Emma swam in a big swimming pool for the first time. It was a bit on the cold side, so it took her a while to get used to it. She was on the brink of tears for quite awhile until she decided that it might actually be fun. Then she splashed and played and had lots of fun! Maybe next time, she'll remember how much fun it was and won't be as scared. Emma is almost completely weened off of the pacifier. She only uses it for her morning naps, she doesn't need it any other time. She's also completely drinking from a sippy cup now, no more bottles! She's getting to be such a "big girl"!

New Shoes

Emma got new walking shoes this past weekend. We went to Stride Rite to get them. The lady that worked there was really nice. Emma really liked her. She sized Emma's foot, she was right on the 4 line with a wide foot. So, we ended up getting her a 4 1/2 wide so they will last a little longer. Emma loves to walk outside in her new shoes and she walks great in them.

**picture coming soon