Christmas Review

We had another relaxing Christmas this year in Billings with just the three of us. It has been fun to make some of our own family traditions and enjoy seeing Isaac wake up for Christmas morning at home. Each of us gets a new ornament for the tree on Christmas eve that somehow represents that year. We also make cinnamon rolls for breakfast. This year, when Isaac finally realized it was Christmas morning, he exclaimed "cinnamon rolls!!!" It took him about 10 minutes to realize there were presents under the tree, but from that point on he was focused on opening them all. It was also a lot of fun this year because Isaac is old enough to begin understanding the real meaning of Christmas. He helped me make "Happy Birthday Jesus" cupcakes for the kids at church to decorate and enjoyed hearing stories about baby Jesus.

Isaac's new camping ornament

The excitement of Christmas morning:

Presents!!!

(Isaac got to open baby Johnny's present too)

Counting Down...

Only seven more weeks until we have our baby girl!! We have a c-section scheduled for February 17, so unless she decides to come early you can put that date on your calendar...

I am currently in get-things-done-we're-running-out-of-time mode. So far we have traded rooms with Isaac. For now he gets the bigger room all to himself, but come February he'll have to share. The crib is moved in with him and the dresser is on its way. I've organized his closet with lots of plastic storage bins (life just feels better when things are put into clear plastic bins, doesn't it?) and cleared out some toys he no longer plays with. I also cleared out one of the bathroom cabinets to make way for baby stuff (babies require way too much STUFF).

Now for what's still to be done...bring in the cradle from the garage (get mattress/sheets for it), wash all the cloth diapers LOTS of times so they're ready (yes, we are cloth diapering this one. I am sure I will put up a post about our experiences once we get there. But we would still welcome your loving donations of disposable diapers :)  Also need to go through all of Isaac's baby STUFF, sort and put away. What else?..... I am also trying to finish getting our house the way I want it as far as decorating, so I need to buy/put up/put things on some new wall shelves. Make some wall decorations to go above the crib. Put up some pictures in our bedroom. Buy/paint an old window to put pictures in. Go through two boxes of house 'decor' and get them off our front porch. If all of this gets done before she's here I will call it a miracle.

AND we have a new stroller arriving soon in the mail (coming from New York--so at the moment it is delayed by snow). It's the ultimate single convert to a double and also use as a snap-n-go for your car seat wonder. Just don't ask Steve how much of his Christmas money he donated toward the purchase....

And I'll get some christmas pictures up as soon as I get them off the camera!

A visit to Memphis

We just got back from a 12 day circuit of St. Louis, Memphis and Columbia. So I think I'll write a few posts over the next few days highlighting our experiences (and I still need to collect some pictures to add). 

We spent the first weekend of our trip back in Memphis. "Uncle" Larry was gracious enough to share his whole upstairs with us, so we took over with our tornado of suitcases and toys. It was refreshing to catch up with old friends, spend a couple lazy afternoons not doing much, and revisit some of our favorite places (including multiple trips to sonic and chick fil a). We've yet to find suitable mexican food here in Billings so we made sure to enjoy some Los Compadres while we were there.

One of the greatest highlights was visiting our old church for their celebration service. There were lots of new faces, but many old ones to catch up with. As always, the best part was being able to listen to and join in the worship of the many Burundi refugee families. It is such a picture to me of all the nations worshiping together before the Lord, and encouragement that people from such different histories and walks of life can join in worship and service together.

We spent the last evening in Memphis having dinner and hanging out with our Memphis 'family.' It was a great reminder of how the Lord gives us people who will always be like family to us, even if we move all the way across the country.

The Family

These 2 definitely get Entertainers of the Year Award. Isaac woke up every morning and from every nap asking for Doug and Colby. They introduced him to a new game: living room frisbee golf. It was a hit (although I can't say I want to have it in my own living room).

These People Are Crazy

I was excited today because mom picked me up from school early (right before I was supposed to take a nap!). She told me we were going to the doctor, which was fine with me.

When we got there, the nice nurse drew some numbers on my arm. I thought that was pretty cool. Then she put some drops of stuff on them. I still didn't mind.

THEN...she poked me with a sharp thing! Four times!!

It started to itch right away. I was mad at the nurse, but she made up for it. She let me watch a Thomas movie and gave me a blue sucker!

Mom and I watched Thomas for awhile, then the nurse came back in and made some more marks on my itchy spots. Then she made some more numbers on my other arm. This time, she didn't just poke me, she stuck that sharp thing in my skin! I didn't like it, but she wrapped it up to make it feel better and keep me from scratching. Then I got another blue sucker.

Well, I guess since I didn't have any more room on my arms they decided to move onto my legs. The nurse came back and gave me a shot in one leg. It HURT! I kicked and screamed so they let me watch some more Thomas. Then the nurse said since I didn't get any bad spots from the shot that I would need one more. Mom was excited (she knew if I got a bad spot then I would get four more) but I didn't like it. They gave me ANOTHER shot in my other leg! But then I got two band aids and that made it all better.

Finally I got to go home with a whole page of Handy Manny stickers and mom let me drink some of her Coke. I put on my Thomas jammies, snuggled with mommy and went right to sleep!

They all said this would keep me from getting something called the flu, but I think they are all CRAZY!!

Pride and Humility

I am the.worst.apologizer.ever. Really. Ask my husband. Ask my mom. When I was a kid and she would tell me to apologize, I would say "Why should I say sorry if I'm not sorry?" (Have I ever mentioned that I pray my children will not be like me?)  


I just hate the way it feels. If I say I'm sorry, then I'm saying I did something wrong (me?!?). It feels weak. It's me telling you I'm not perfect. 


It has been a sloooow process, but God is faithful in redeeming and sanctifying all of our crap, even mine. And he gave me the best apologizer there ever was for a husband. He's teaching me what it means to get over my pride, pick up some much deserved humility, and admit that I am not perfect. He's teaching me not just to say "I'm sorry I made you feel that way" but to say "I'm sorry that I did that"


Relationships are hard. Admitting to yourself that you screwed up is hard. Admitting it to someone else is even harder. But there can't be forgiveness and redemption for a relationship in which no one is sorry. If I'm never sorry, then I'm always right. And if I'm always right, then you're always wrong. That sure doesn't sound like the loving and cherishing we promised each other way back when. 


One of our favorite songs by Randall Goodgame goes:


And when I want my way the way I want I'm hopeless
Everyday I have to die so I can live

Sometimes I get angry I just scream and yell
I think I'd rather just go to Hell
But when I finally shed my pride
And let the Holy Spirit reach me from the inside

I rise up like Lazarus in John 11
Throw out my grave clothes
Put on the armor of the Lord
I rise up like Lazarus
Dry all the tears Mary cried
When I fall on my knees I rise


Humility allows God to change us. Shedding our pride and falling to our knees lifts us up. He redeems our relationships. He redeems us.

Adventures in Allergy

Our poor little goose has allergy problems. LOTS of allergy problems. Last year he tested allergic to: corn, milk, peanuts, eggs, cats and mold. It was a major life adjustment for us to figure out how to deal with it, especially when we had our cat. For a long time we gave up eating almost all processed or boxed foods (like rice-a-roni or hamburger helper) particularly because of the corn syrup. We've gradually been able to re-introduce things, especially things with corn syrup in moderation. I have now realized how much food in the grocery store contains corn syrup! I never would have guessed.

We're now in the process of another round of testing, this time to figure out what specific ingredients in creams, lotions and soaps he may be allergic to (including oatmeal). Instead of one 3 hour skin-scratch appointment, we have 4 appointments. Today was the first, when they put 4 large strips of tape across his back, each with samples of the ingredients. Then they wrapped him up in bandage to keep them on. 

Now we just have to keep them on, clean and dry until Wednesday (easy with a two year old, right?). Then we go back in, they take them off and examine the spots. Then we go back for them to re-look Thursday. And Friday. Hopefully by the end of the week we will know what else this kid is allergic to!

First Days...

Today was my first day of working in the Dean's office and Isaac's first day of preschool/daycare. All around I would say it was a success. The Dean's assistant was sick today, which meant there was no one to train me, which meant I did more of nothing than something. I did manage to read the whole student worker manual and the campus directory while I was unable to connect to the internet. The day ended with a phone call from the daycare regarding accident #2 of the day for Isaac, but at least he made it until 3:30. On the way home he said "Mommy, I want to go back to school." I'm already looking forward to our day off tomorrow!!

Quick Update

It has been a crazy summer, and the last couple months have been filled with lovely pregnancy-induced vomiting intermingled with lots of family and out-of-town friends visiting. So here are some quick Houlihan family updates, hopefully soon to be followed by some more interesting posts/pics.

1. Baby Houlihan #2 is due February 24. Isaac is very excited and likes to talk about his new baby sister, despite the lack of evidence that it is or is not a sister. We will let you know when we know if it is a brother or a sister (sometime in October).

2. I am starting back to school for my master's in school counseling on Sept 8. Classes are online/evening, but to pay for tuition I'll be working in the dean's office part time.  I LOVE forms, answering phones, and organizing, so I am pretty excited. Not to mention I will be working for the dean, which just sounds cool.

3. We have booked our next trip home--an extended stay over Thanksgiving. So if you live in St. Louis, Memphis, or Columbia, expect a visit. We can't wait!

And I'll leave you with a picture to show that we truly have assimilated into the Montana life, or at least Isaac has.

(these boots come complete with green LED lights in the heel. he's a cool dude)

Can We Fix It? YES WE CAN!!

With all the house projects, this little man has been hard at work. Of course, he can fix anything. Really.

Be careful what you say....

Or it may come back to bite you! When we left Memphis I said we would never fix a house while we lived in it again (let alone fix one up at all). Well, the Houlihan's are suckers for a good a deal. I'm sure that's news to most of you. So we bought this great deal, 2 duplex, right next door to our friends property that is 100+ YEARS OLD. I'm talking didn't have plumbing or electrical when it was built old. So it needs a little work. First project? My amazing, wonderful, works super hard for his family husband refinished the hardwood floors (that were hiding under old, heroine-cooking burned carpet) while Isaac and I were out of town. The man worked 8 hour days, then came home and worked 8 more to make sure it was done by the time we got back. So, here are the before pictures (we forgot to get them before we tore the carpet out, but you can see what the wood was like before Steve fixed it)

Standing at the front door, looking into living & dining room. Far door goes into the kitchen, bedroom doors are along the wall to the left:

Standing at the door to the kitchen, looking back towards the front door (far right):

Isaac's Bedroom:

Our Bedroom:

Bathroom (Jack & Jill style between the bedrooms):

Kitchen:

Those are all the 'before' pictures, some 'after' pictures to come [it's still a work in progress, but PTL the air conditioning is working now!]

St. Louis Trip (post flight)

We are LONG overdue for a post, I was doing well there for awhile but it seems that summer hit and our lives spun out of control!  Isaac and I had a great time visiting St. Louis once we finally got there. There are perks and drawbacks to having both families in the same city, one of the perks being we don't have to travel all over the country to see everyone. We're the only crazy ones who would move to somewhere like Montana.

Here are some highlights of the trip:

The Magic House in Kirkwood:

Playing in the Pool:

Time with Uncle Travis:

Time with Pops:

AND I got to take the weekend and go to Memphis sans Isaac and see our awesome friends there!

We also got to see Steve's brother, mom & her side of the family, but I failed in the photo department on that one. Thankfully, our return flight was uneventful and we made it back in time to sleep in our new house! (posts to come...)

The Most Awesome Flight I've Ever Been On

Scheduled Itinerary:

1:27 pm Depart Billings
3:15 pm Arrive Denver
5:15 pm Depart Denver
8:15 pm Arrive St. Louis

Someone had other plans for us:


1:27 pm Depart Billings
3:00 pm Redirected to Colorado Springs due to tornadoes and high wind
4:30 pm Denver airport reopened, in line to leave Colorado Springs
4:45 pm Denver airport closed again, sit in Colorado Springs longer
6:15 pm Airline required to allow passenger to get off if they want to, but you can't get back on (we stay)
7:00 pm Depart Colorado Springs
7:20 pm Arrive Denver
7:22 pm Mechanical failure on plane, no steering. Sit on tarmac in view of gate
7:25 pm Lightning, must wait 15 minutes before we can move
7:35 pm Lightning again, 15 more minutes
7:50 pm Towed into gate
7:55 pm Passengers disembark, passengers with small children wait for strollers
8:10 pm Pilot searches for groundcrew to retrieve strollers
8:25 pm Groundcrew missing, pilot retrieves strollers

AND 2.5 hours, 4 rude and unhelpful United ticket agents, 1 kind and helpful United ticket agent, 1 McDonalds dinner, and 1 shuttle ride later...we check in to a hotel.

AND arrive in St. Louis at 11:30am Thursday instead of Wednesday.

Really, we should do this more often. It was pretty much awesome.

Struggle

Seems like lately we've been confronted with the struggle and suffering of many people who are close to us. We can all relate: life can often feel like a constant battle against something.

There have been many significant portions of our marriage that have been serious, heart-wrenching struggle. With one another. With God. With the world. So many times I have thought: God, why is this happening? Why can't things just be 'normal'? Why can't we just get it right? Why does this have to be so hard?

The more I experience hardship, particularly through marriage, but in other areas of life as well, I see the great love the Father has lavished upon us. What? That doesn't make any sense!

God is looking into my heart, into my marriage, into my relationship with Him. He sees what I don't see. I like the status quo, but God wants to give me so much more than I could ever ask or imagine. And He does it by refining me. By taking those little parts of my heart (that I don't even know are there) and drawing them out. He makes those parts of my heart His own. And it doesn't usually feel good.

But it is Good.

What I Want For Mother's Day

Mother's Day has passed, I hope all the mommies had a great day and everyone else remembered to at least call their mom! We had a great day relaxing, took Isaac to the Y for some family swim time, and went out for lunch. I got an AWESOME surprise of a new coffee table I have had my eye on but NEVER in a million years ever thought Steve would actually let me get. Have I mentioned he's pretty great?

Well, this Mother's Day I was laying in bed praying for Isaac and thinking about what I want the absolute most for him (and our other children once they come). There are a lot of things moms want for their kids: a secure future (including jobs and financial security), a good education, a loving spouse, children...

I guess the older I have gotten (I know I am not that old) and the more I grow in Christ, the more I have realized how little many of these things matter. Of course they are good things, but in the end none provide satisfaction and fulfillment. None give true joy. And none can be fully trusted.

Want I want more than anything else for my children is for them to know and love Jesus. That's it. Take or leave anything else. I pray for the Lord to take Isaac to the very end's of the earth with the gospel out of a heart full of love for his Savior. I think about the story in the bible of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham was willing even to sacrifice his own son out of his trust in the Lord. I want to be able to give my son to the Lord as Abraham did, fully trusting in the Lord's grace and provision for him.

The world offers many 'promising' things for our children. Jesus offers more. I want to teach my son, and for him to ultimately choose for himself, the things that Jesus promises.

My Man

I am going to take this opportunity to brag. About my husband. Not something I would normally do, but something I should do more often. Maybe not brag, but praise out of a grateful heart. Yes, that sounds better.

I like to sleep. A lot. The bed is my most favoritest place pretty much in the whole world, especially if it contains me and I am sleeping. I also love coke. Recently, it's coke of the cherry persuasion, but I'll take a regular if that's all you've got. I also have an ambiguous love language. No matter how many tests I take, I don't fit into any one of them; really it's all of them BUT physical touch, the love language made for men. 

Every morning my husband gets up with our son so I can sleep an extra 30 minutes, even on weekends when he doesn't have to work.  He stops at the 35 cent coke machine regularly so I can have a pick-me-up in the middle of the day. These are wonderful acts of love and sacrifice (35 cents is a lot these days people!), but he is so much more than that. He is forever searching for all of those ambiguous ways to make me feel loved. He tells friends how wonderful I am because of how I can solve the puzzles on wheel of fortune, or the way that I can figure out Quickbooks without much help, or even the way that I discipline our son. He lets me (and others) know how wonderful he thinks I am. I usually shirk off his comments out of embarrassment or because I don't know how else to react, but deep down I love knowing how much he adores me. Usually I don't adore myself much, or think I am worthy of being adored, and usually I tell him he's wrong about me. He just tells me I'm crazy and goes on loving me. I often pray that I could love him half as well as he loves me, without expectation or condition, simply out of a pure heart.

This post was inspired by this blog post that I read this evening. I couldn't help but be reminded of the wonderful man of God that the Lord has given me, and how grateful I am for who he is.

411 South 31st

Yesterday we (really just Steve) finally closed on our house! I don't get to be on the loan: I have student loans and am 'self-employed', which doesn't count. I'm just telling everyone that I am a liability in our marriage.  Anyway, the house has 4 units, 2 duplexes on one property. They are all currently occupied, which is wonderful since we don't have to find renters! Unfortunately for some, we want to live there (and they were stabbed in our alley), so they have 30 days to move out, we'll do a little apartment shuffle, and in the end wind up in the upstairs, front house unit. That will hopefully happen by June 1st, but until then we remain in our rental, which is half empty (or full?) since the Basye's moved out last week. My new mission: choosing paint colors. Suggestions welcome!

Front House:

[fence and concrete to be removed at a later date]

Back House:

P.S. The Basye's closed on their house (which is right next door) on the same day. I am a skeptic, but things like this don't just happen. God is an amazing orchestrator (is that a word?), who does amazing things for His people!

Surprise Surprise

We watched the entirety of the CMAs tonight, which, by the way, seemed very very long. Throughout we get the little blips for the headlines on the 10 o'clock news, which we pay little attention to. Well, the news comes on, and here's how it goes:

"A man is in critical condition this evening after being stabbed twice this morning in the southside"

I think "hmmm, the South Side, wonder where it happened."

Up comes a picture of OUR HOUSE. The house we are closing on on Tuesday. What?!?!?

So there it is, a stabbing in the alley behind our house. Don't worry mom, that's the guy we were already planning on evicting.

**Shock**

Disclaimer: this was a targeted crime. It doesn't change how safe we do/do not feel, or the ability of God to protect us where we have been called.

Here's the story:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_b435d124-4aea-11df-bb9e-001cc4c002e0.html

First Busted Lip

It had to come at some point, and I'm surprised we made it this long without any major blood-related incidents. He took a spill on his little bike and skidded his face across the pavement. Scrapes on the outside, cuts from his teeth on the inside. Ouch!

Right after it happened: 

The next day:

Today's Blessing

The last several weeks have been quite a struggle for our family. A couple of months ago (has it really been that long?), we put it in an offer on a 4-plex located right next door to the house our friends are building here in the South Side. That same week we were contacted by some interested buyers regarding our house in Memphis. It all seemed perfect. Sell one house, buy another just in time, and make an income on the new property.  Not only was our offer accepted, but the bank that owns the property contacted our realtor and asked that we REDUCE our offer by $25,000 because they were worried about the appraisal.

Call me a skeptic, because, well, I am, but I am always hesitant to say 'God is doing this, that or the other' until after the fact. It just feels inauthentic to say it, because if we're honest we usually don't know exactly what God is doing. We do know that He is loving, and whatever He is doing is good, but His love and goodness are so far beyond my understanding that often I am incapable of comprehending what He is doing until He is done. So in the whole situation, my insides sort of cringed when I would start to say 'God is orchestrating this so it will all work out just so.'

Well, it has not all worked out just so. Due to some exasperating appraisal issues on the house in Memphis, we no longer have a buyer.  The house in Billings has some issues that prevent it being financed traditionally, including the need for it to be re-zoned by the city before we can secure a traditional loan. I am a controlling, ducks in a row kind of person and this situation has been one so far beyond my control it has brought me to my knees. Did I mention I also hate money? And banks? And that was before all of this nonsense. I struggle with stubborn independence, both from God and from others. Yesterday we were blessed with news about the house here beyond anything I could have asked for or imagined, and it was something I did not orchestrate, control, or manipulate. God did.

This morning at bible study we sang

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

This last month I feel like we have been to the desert place and back again, and God reminded me that in both places His love and blessing are present.  God is orchestrating our lives, and His way, though at times marked with suffering, is the best way.

Happy Easter!

We had an uneventful, restful Easter Day. We began with a small church breakfast/worship service, followed by an Easter egg hunt with the boys, naps, and dinner. This was Isaac's first Easter egg hunt, and with a decent amount of coaching he did a great job! We've discovered that he likes chocolate as much his mom, so we're fighting that battle about once an hour when he remembers there's chocolate in the kitchen. And, of course, he has to do the wrapper by himself. Of course.

Egg hunting at the park:

Our son carries bags & baskets like they are purses:

House picture:

Turns out April is the best time to ski

Our former housemates, current renters, and all around really awesome friends came to visit us this week! The beginning of their stay was slightly hindered by Isaac contracting a nasty stomach bug [that's what happens when 2 families live together], but fortunately he was well enough to be left with a babysitter while we skied Saturday. [sidenote--I looked up the spelling for skied, it is correct. But maybe only I wonder about these things]  We went to Red Lodge, an hour from Billings, where it had been snowing for the previous two days. The snow was great, we never had to wait for a lift, and the sun even joined us for the 2nd half of the day.

Apparently I can't ski in deep powder. Colby saved my life. Twice.

They should pay me for this advertisement

I've got a lot of catching up to do, so forgive the multiple posts in a day. Who knows when I will be this motivated again, not to mention I have 3 sleeping children and a quiet house at the moment!

Two weeks ago Steve and I got to take an amazing weekend trip to Chico Hot Springs Resort thanks to some great friends of ours. We even got free babysitting out of the deal.  The resort first opened in 1900 and we stayed in the original hotel [ie tiny little hotel rooms, shared hallway bathrooms, but very peaceful, quiet, and antique].  They have one small and one large hot spring pool, a saloon, and two restaurants, plus a day spa, horseback riding and hiking. It is only about an hour from Bozeman, so Saturday morning we drove out and spent the day walking around their downtown area.  We both agreed it was the best weekend trip we've had since we got married. Definitely super relaxing and obligation-free, which is just what any married couple needs now and then.

Two boys, two bike helmets, and a talking Jesus doll

'nuff said.