Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It will be our last Christmas at my parents' in South Dakota, so it was extra special this year. It even snowed on Christmas Eve.
We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.

Montana's Christmas dress was either my sister's or mine when we were babies. It was fun to have Montana wear it. She was like my little doll!!

Montana's Great-Grandparents

Kate's Grandma and Grandpa

She's already got all the men in her life wrapped around her finger
(or is she wrapped around their finger? I never quite got that expression)

Aaron's Grandma

(Not pictured: Kate's Gramma June - that will come soon!)

New friends

Two days after I was born, my friend Anthony Joseph was born in Ft. Collins. We got to stop and meet him on our way home to South Dakota. He is really cute. I can't wait to go camping with him in the summer.

Then on Dec 1, my friend Ruby Adeline was born in British Columbia. I can't wait to meet her and play with her.

More of Montana

Aaron turns 30!

In the midst of all of the excitement of Montana, Aaron turned 30 last Thursday. What a year, for sure...he graduates from seminary, became a father, and will begin his ministry career. He deserves to be celebrated! While in Colorado I had a surprise party in Denver for friends and family. It was a great evening and Aaron was really surprised. Everyone brought 30 of something...30 reasons to move back to CO from his sister, 30 things we've learned from Mel and Miguel, 30 bucks to REI from Lana, 30 things we admire about Aaron from Rich and Jenny, plus other clever ideas and thoughts from several friends who weren't even able to make it. Aaron's dad, Chris, wrote a funny little story about how our lives parallels Jesus' birth story. Here it is (keep in mind this was written before Montana was born...so it may need an alternate ending now!).

While in the land of British Columbia, Aaron son of Christopher and his wife, Kate, became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. The neighbors ridiculed them and Aaron decided to flee to the land of Michigan for his final wisdom. While in Michigan, an angel descended upon Aaron and said, "hey man, you need to get a job." Aaron decided to travel to Colorado and have his baby, but discovered his parents had moved and never told him. While in Colorado, the three wisemen Dan, Peter, and Miguel traveled to Denver bringing gifts. Aaron decided to travel one last time to the house of Pluimer. The Inn Keeper, Mark, said his house was full with the family of Mason and Emily, but he could stay in the shed with Mumba and the rest of the animals. A baby Izze-Montana was born and Aaron still did not have a job.

For Aaron's actual birthday, we had a low key evening here at home and ate apple pie and watched Flight of the Conchords. So this is what it's like to be 30???

The Story

Here's the story on how we got from Michigan to Colorado and back to South Dakota with a daughter named Montana!

On November 16 we packed up the subaru (yet again) in Michigan after Aaron finished his seminary courses and drove 18 hours to South Dakota where we were originally planning to have a baby. We were in SD for 2 days to have an appointment with my midwife and then we packed up and went to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with Aaron's parents and to help them move to a new house.

It started out to be a full and busy trip (and only got crazier) in Colorado as we helped Aaron's folks pack up their house, celebrate Thanksgiving and we even squeezed in a surprise party for Aaron's 30th (stay tuned for more pics)! Last Monday I spent the day with 3 of my greatest friends from college and I was feeling pretty good. I went home, had Mexican food with Aaron's family, and then went out to tea with my mom and dad and sister (my mom and sister were in town for my baby shower and to look at houses because my parents are moving to Colorado Springs). Anyway, I got home from coffee and was wiped out, so Aaron and I went to bed. I noticed that I was spotting a bit, but wasn't too worried. I just thought I would call my midwife in the morning. In bed I was feeling a bit uncomfortable and was trying to relax while Aaron was sharing a verse that he had read that morning - the story in Mark 5 where Jairus is trying to get Jesus to come and heal his sick daughter when Jesus gets sidetracked by another healing. Jairus' friends came back and said it's too late, your daughter is dead, but Jesus ignored them and told Jairus, Don't be afraid. Just believe. And these words have become our mantra this past week!
Then all of a sudden I said, "Aaron something just came out of me!" I didn't know what to do so I called my mom. She was calm and told me to call my midwife, and so I did. I got the doctor on call and I told him what was happening and he said, "It sounds like your bag of waters just broke." I asked him if maybe we should get in the car and haul ass back to South Dakota, but he said we probably wouldn't make it, but that he knew a couple of doctors in the Springs that I could try and get in touch with at Penrose Hospital. By now I was slightly freaking out and starting bawling! I kept thinking this isn't the way it's supposed to happen!! We decided to go to the hospital, so we threw a bag of things together although we had no idea what to take, considering we still had another 3-4 weeks to plan these kinds of things.
We arrived at the hospital and they checked me to see if it was my water that had broken and by now I was definitely experiencing contractions and I was 4cm dilated. I think it was at this point I asked the nurse if we were going to have to stay. She said yes that I was in labor! So my water broke around 10:15pm and we were at the hospital by 11pm and Montana was born at 2:30 am. It all went very quickly - I wish this birth experience on any woman!!
(And as a side, the doctor on call that night happened to be the doctor that was recommended by the doctor in SD - they were in the Air Force together. Small world.)

The cool and amazing thing about this early arrival is that my parents' and sister just happened to be in town, so they were at the hospital. Aaron's family got to meet Montana right away and we had so many friends in town to come and see us. This wouldn't have been the case if we had her in South Dakota. Before Montana was 24 hours old, she had about 15 people (not including the nurses or Aaron or I) hold her and love on her. We feel so supported and loved by our family and friends. Because we weren't planning on having a baby on our trip we didn't have any baby things with us at all...so again we were abundantly blessed by clothes and blankets and other gifts from family and friends and by Aaron's sister and hubby who let us borrow a bassinet and a car seat among other items. Montana's early arrival reminds us of God's timing and how we can make plans, but He might have something in store that we would never have dreamed or imagined.

We were in the hospital for 2 days and then we spent our first night at Aaron's grandma's which was very special and then spent the next 2 days at Aaron's parents' new house. We left on Sunday to return to South Dakota. Montana's first road trip! At 5 days old she had already been in 3 states...and she is a brilliant road tripper. She has discovered the secret to a road trip - sleep the entire time!

We are now in SD for Christmas and possibly January and then we will see where God leads. The uncertainty of our lives right now is at times very overwhelming, yet underneath it all I have a deep sense of peace. I know God is taking care of us and providing for us and guiding us. And this is exactly why Montana's middle name is Faith. Even before I got pregnant we had to have faith in God's timing not ours and then when we found out I was pregnant and when we would be expecting her, we needed an extra dose of faith. We have been on quite the adventure and many days it is only by faith that I believe I have not gone completely insane.

Speaking of names...several people have asked us where we got Montana's name. I have liked this name for a really long time, but there are a couple of reasons why we chose it. Montana means mountain, and for me it makes me think of wild and rugged mountains and I like that for my daughter. Also we like it combined with her middle name because our prayer for her is that she will have faith that will move mountains. Before she was born we called her Izze and that nickname may just stick...for some reason it just really fits her. It's funny because both of her grandmas keep calling her Izze Montana Faith.

So that is Montana's story of her arrival, and I am so glad she is here and I don't have to spend the next 3 weeks preparing for her...I get to have her now!

Christmas came early for the Walters

Our daughter, Montana Faith, was born early Tuesday morning on November 27 while we were in Colorado Springs visiting Aaron's family for Thanksgiving.
She weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and is 19 inches long.
She was a HUGE surprise...we weren't expecting her for another 3-4 weeks. She is doing well, although we are fighting off jaundice at the moment. Montana is beautiful and it's hard to believe how quickly you fall in love.

Family

When I first found out I was pregnant, I freaked out (I think "Holy S***!" were my exact words), but then I became very reflective. I wondered "why do people have children anyway?" "What is the point in starting a family?" (I should've actually been asking these questions BEFORE I got pregnant!)

Anyway, the only reasons I came up with at first seemed fairly petty on the surface: i.e. I want to pass on my genes...I want to take care of someone...everyone else is doing it...or I guess that's just what you do after you've been married for awhile.

As Aaron and I explored this question together, family kept coming up again and again. When I think about the most influential relationships in my life...I think family. When I think about who I call when I'm having a bad day or who knows me maybe a little too well...the answer is family. Who are the people that I can't live with and can't live without? Family! From my last few posts you can probably tell that family is pretty important to me, and this is exactly why Aaron and I wanted to start our own family...to continue that legacy, to expand our family.

My Uncle emailed this quote to us the other day and I think it is a beautiful way to consider family:

Through the ... honoring of the dead, the generations were bound together in a stabilizing continuity of obligations, so that the family was not merely a couple and their children, or even a patriarchal assemblage of parents, children, and grandchildren, but a holy union and sequence of blood and fire stretching far into the past and the future, and holding the dead, the living, and the unborn

in a sacred unity stronger than any state.

Will Durant, "The Story of Civilization "

33 weeks and still growing...

Here's the latest belly picture. I'm still feeling great. I feel so blessed by this pregnancy. If this is how pregnancy always feels...I could be pregnant forever! (Although I do miss all of my "normal" clothes and I'm looking forward to more variety in my wardrobe in January.) Izze is moving around like crazy and that is a pretty incredible feeling. Somedays I am so excited to meet her and other days I think "please just stay in there longer...I'm not ready!" Aaron and I are doing what we can to prepare physically, emotionally, and spiritually for this little one...but I don't know if we will ever feel completely ready for the responsibility of this life. But ready or not...here she comes (hopefully sooner than later!).

Tribute

My Uncle Richard...

*fiercely loved his family*had wrinkles around his eyes from smiling*gentle, warm, and kind*took the time to love*one of the only people who still call me Ka-tie Babe*leaves a gaping hole in his absence*home with his Maker

you will be desperately missed...

Notre Dame with Jeff and Jen

Fun fall day in South Bend, Indiana with Jeff and Jen. We tailgated for the first time which entails walking around in the parking lot before the football game eating the food and drinking the beer of Notre Dame alumni and parents (basically friends' of Jen's). I was amazed by people's friendliness and generosity all in the name of football. Go Irish!

My Grandma

Last Saturday my cousin, Kristin, and I spent the morning with our Grandma June. My grandma has alzheimer's and I'm not sure that she knew who we were and I'm sure she won't remember our morning together, but I will. We ate breakfast at my uncle's with her and then we took her shopping to Wal-Mart.

Things I will remember about that Saturday morning shopping trip:

1. How much she trusted us when she probably didn't really know who we were and she didn't seem to mind that we called her Grandma
2. How much she loves the color red. Seriously, the woman loves red and wanted to buy any shirt that had red in it because her husband loves her in red.
3. The vest we tried to buy for her so that she could be trendy, but it didn't quite fit, but she kept trying it on anyway (because she didn't remember that she already tried it on). She informed us that the color of the vest was wine...and it really was the best way to describe it.
4. The way we spent about 20 minutes in the yarn section trying to talk her into crocheting a blanket that was a color other than blue, but she kept wanting blue yarn even though she had a whole bag of blue yarn back in her apartment. We left the section empty handed. I guess the upside of alzheimer's is that she can be easily distracted.
5. Kristin's cool new boots...thanks to Uncle Dick and his credit card! :)
6. Buying Grandma red roses to take back to her room
7. Taking Grandma back to her "apartment" and her not recognizing the place and asking why we don't take her home. The anxiety in her voice.
8. Saying good-bye to Grandma and knowing that in a few minutes she would wonder where those red roses in her room came from.
9. Realizing that the Grandma I spent the morning with and the Grandma of my childhood is not the same person, yet at the same time she is.
10. On the drive home, Kristin posing this question: "I wonder what it's like for the people around you to know you better than you know yourself?"

I can't imagine what it's like not to remember. To realize that things are familiar or that you should know them, but can't quite put your finger on it. My grandma is so sweet and although she may not know me, she realizes I'm a friend. I'm glad I have my childhood memories of her, but I'm also glad to have this memory of her as well. Wow, even as I type this I realize how much I take memories for granted. To live fully and completely in the present...is that what it means to have alzheimer's?

Night on the Town

We had a fun packed weekend. Saturday we drove to South Bend, Indiana and tailgated at a Notre Dame football game with Aaron's cousin Jeff and his girlfriend Jen (who is a Notre Dame alumni). We experienced a whole new culture, this tailgating thing with intense football fans. It really is a cool way to spend a fall Saturday. We'll post some pictures when we get them.
We didn't actually stay for the football game, however, because we had a concert to go to in Chicago. Aaron gave me this as a birthday gift back in August and it was worth the wait. We saw Brenda Weiler (one of my favorites) at a cool restaurant in Chicago. It was a super intimate setting...only about 45 people could fit in the room. So we enjoyed her voice and guitar while we ate dinner. We had a great time. Then next morning we drove through downtown Chicago, got coffee, and took some pictures from the car. (Aaron had to preach at a Sunday night service, so we had to get back to Grand Rapids and didn't have time to explore the city) It was such a fun weekend! Thanks, Aaron, for the birthday present - it was the best!!

Getting bigger...

Here we are week 29 already. Pretty crazy! This picture was taken after we went for a Sunday drive to check out the Michigan fall colors. It was beautiful, but also extremely hot - almost 90 degrees. Not really the ideal fall afternoon drive weather. Funny thing is...we forgot to take pictures of the brilliant fall colors, so this is outside of our apartment. You'll have to imagine the colors and we'll have to hope that our memory pictures last!

TJ's to the rescue

Last Saturday Aaron and I drove to Ann Arbor for the afternoon. Very cool town...a little Boulder-esque and to make it even better - there was a Trader Joe's!!! So these are before and after pics of our fridge. Most of our food in the first picture came from the seminary food pantry (gotta love it!) and then we filled our fridge and cupboards with food from TJ's. It's amazing how one little store in Ann Arbor, MI can lift my spirits and my appetite so much! 3 cheers for Trader Joe's!!

To Future Aaron and Kate

Remember back when you lived in Michigan for a few months and Aaron was finishing seminary? Before you had "real" jobs and kids and a "to do" list a mile long? Those were the days, weren't they? All that time in the evenings to go for long walks and to watch 2-3 episodes of LOST in a row. Remember how much cereal you ate at night and how empty your fridge was? Oh yeah, and how about those minimum wage jobs that you had? But really, in a way it was just so nice to simply "clock in & clock out" and not have to worry about it until the next time you went. Remember your Saturday morning tradition of getting coffee and going to the farmer's market, oh yeah and don't forget your Sunday afternoon tradition of studying and reading for hours at Panera with hazelnut coffee and bagels. Soon enough your days in Michigan will be "back when we lived in Michigan" or "back before we had kids" or "didn't you love the fall in Michigan when we went to the farmer's market with our coffee?" and you will wish you hadn't taken them so for granted.

Him? A What?

Can you envision this man as a pastor??


Seriously, please keep Aaron in your thoughts and prayers this week. He is preaching this Sunday in a traditional church and is responsible for the whole worship service. That means he has to wear a tie, comb his hair, and stay up front the whole time, not to mention prepare a sermon. This experience seems different from the past and I think he's slightly nervous...so remember him this week!

25 week belly

I think these pictures speak for themselves! I am about 6 months pregnant now. We are enjoying Michigan for the most part (besides feeling like dirt poor college students again!). I got a job working at a cafe in a bookstore, which is pretty fun and Aaron is working part time at a grocery store. Definitely not the most glamorous jobs, but they will do just fine for now. About one month down and 2 to go in Michigan (but who's counting!?!?)

We are getting excited to meet our daughter in December and are starting to get overwhelmed with the things we need to purchase and have in place before she comes. Too many options if you ask me!! I've been feeling great, although sleep is getting interesting trying to navigate this belly! But I am trying to take advantage of long interrupted periods of sleep as much as possible.

One thing I hate about pregnancy is maternity clothes. I thought it would be fun to shop for them and get all these cute new clothes, but I leave the store feeling discouraged or cheated. I definitely decided that I am not fond of one store in particular (which will remain unnamed!) because I feel like you have to be in a special elite club to shop there. I would rather shop with the common people. :) And why the heck do maternity clothes have to be so expensive?? Lucky for me, most of the shirts these days work great for maternity, so I can get those anywhere.

Overall, I am enjoying pregnancy. It's amazing to watch my body change (although some changes are less welcome than others). And I feel privileged to be a woman. To be able to grow life inside of me is mind-boggling...what an honor.

Did I mention that we went to Africa?

Our trip to Swaziland is still on our hearts and minds...just thought I would post some more pictures as a reminder in case you forgot!! :)

Flight of the Conchords- Business Time

K8 and i discovered a great new show. you probably already know of it, "flight of the conchords" on HBO. in a word, awesome. here's a short clip we found from one of the their live shows.

I LOVE Bagels

Seriously, people...I can't get enough bagels and cream cheese! Bagels make me happy. Do you think it's a pregnancy thing?

Pleasure Reading

I (Kate) am currently reading the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. After several heartbreaks the author decides to go on a journey in pursuit of pleasure (in Italy), devotion (India), and balance (Indonesia). The book is broken into 3 distinct sections, and I am just finishing the first section on her pursuit of pleasure in Italy. I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far and have found it interesting that I am reading about pleasure as I arrive here in Michigan with more free time than I've had in years. As she asks herself what brings her pleasure, I can't help but ask myself that same question. Of course she is in Italy dining on fantastic foods and drinking incredible wines...the question of pleasure seems a bit more difficult when you are pregnant (which makes me unable to taste new wines or microbrews) and poor in Michigan!

But as I ask myself what brings me pleasure, and if I'm completely honest with myself, I think it really comes down to eating. Most of you are probably not surprised at all! I feel like I should say the outdoors or running or traveling or something hard core, but really what brings me pleasure is going to a coffee shop on Sunday after church and reading the newspaper while sipping on coffee or a latte. I love sitting outside on a warm summer evening with a beer (or other refreshing beverage that is non-alcoholic in my case this summer), and just visiting with Aaron or friends. When I go camping, my favorite part of the trip is always the meal and the campfire. I enjoy good food and drink and the way that it brings people together. Don't get me wrong...I do enjoy the outdoors, but when I am on a hike or climbing, I'm always wondering where the closest coffee shop is on our way home. So although the cash flow makes it difficult to enjoy a trip to the coffee shop everyday, I am looking for other ways to pursue pleasure this week. Perhaps I will make my own coffee and sit outside tomorrow morning and read my book. Perhaps I will prepare my meals with care and enjoy eating them (even if it is a bowl of cereal!!). I think the best way to experience pleasure is to be in the moment. The minute I think I should be doing something else or start wondering what I will do next...the pleasure is gone. My challenge to myself this week is to be in the moment and pursue a few things that bring me pleasure. What about you? What brings you pleasure?

Here's a quote from Gilbert's book:

"'No town can live peacefully,whatever its laws,' Plato wrote, 'when its citizens...do nothing but feast and drink and tire themselves out in the cares of love.' But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one's life, is it so awful to travel through time with no greater ambition than to find the next lovely meal? Or to learn how to speak a language for no higher purpose than that it pleases your ear to hear it? Or to nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?"

I want to go to Italy!

Next Adventure - Michigan

Well we have arrived safely in Michigan. We have gotten settled into our seminary housing apartment with donated furniture, and have begun the job search. Oh the joys of job hunting when you can only work for 3 months before you move again. How do you explain that?

We are enjoying reconnecting after an insane summer...might I even go so far as to say we have experienced a wee bit of boredom? Thank the Lord for LOST episodes on DVD. We have already made it through the first two discs of season one. It's funny - today I realized that Aaron and I have only talked to each other this past week besides the occasional phone call home and the times of ordering coffee. We have not had any significant conversations with anyone in person besides each other. (I have to admit that I don't really mind...although by next week I may be more ready for real life interaction!) Although it's a bit hard to be here, we know that the next few months are big for us as we seek the Lord and discern the next phase of life.

Lesson #1 from Michigan so far...don't forget sunscreen when you go to Lake Michigan and sit on the beach for over 3 hours AND try not to fall asleep so that one side of your body is significantly more red than the other.

This picture was taken prior to the insane sunburn

Lake Michigan
(which really seems more like the ocean)

It's a ....BABY!

My life is full these days (as you can probably tell with the number of posts we have had in the past week!). In the midst of trying to process our trip to Africa we are already preparing for the next adventure - a short term move to Michigan, and oh yeah, I'm pregnant, too. Lately my pregnancy has felt like an afterthought in the midst of so many changes and uncertainties.

On Thursday we got some exciting news that makes being pregnant less of an afterthought - We are having a baby GIRL!!

It was awesome to see her on the ultrasound moving around. The doctor says that everything looks good, so that was definitely reassuring. It has been fun calling her "she" instead of "it" and this morning my mom and I went to a garage sale and picked out a few girl clothes! I know not everyone likes to find out the gender of their baby, but it has been really good for me to discover. I feel a bit more attached to her now than I did before. She even told me that she likes purple and green more than pink, and I was relieved to hear that, although every girl must have a little pink in her life!

Our Sponsored Friend Bheki

Perhaps one the best opportunities for K8 and I on our trip to Swaziland was the day we met our sponsored child Bheki. We met him in the park along with other sponsored kids. One of the first things we noticed was Bheki was very shy. He seemed unsure of the day ahead. We were too. The first thing we did together was eat, KFC. Nothing like giving a kid the world’s greasiest lunch (sorry Colonel), when that kid is used to eating porridge and beans. Throughout the meal, and the day for that matter, K8 and I both were curious what he was thinking, because he was so quiet.

During the meal, his teacher came over to us and told us a bit of Bheki’s situation. The teacher told us Bheki’s dad has passed away, his mom is seriously ill and possibly dying, and his sister died this past year. Bheki, like many kids in Swaziland, has had a rough year and life. With the world’s largest per-capita HIV rate, death in Swaziland is a way of life. K8 and I wondered how much of Bheki’s disposition is defined by the loss he has experienced in his life. Along with the pervasive presence of disease in the country, poverty is a general piece of life. As you drive the streets you may see kids going through dumps looking for anything of value, adults loitering for lack of work, and shacks which house up to 10 or more people. In this environment, sponsoring a child can be, as is often, the difference between life and death. The Care Points (community centers) become a life line for the impoverished children. These places do at least 4 things for kids: they provide education for kids who can’t afford to go to school (there’s no public school system), provide medical care, provide daily meals (sometimes these meals are the only meals these kids will receive), and provide after school care. Without sponsorship many of the provisions in these Care Points are unavailable to kids.

The teacher’s explanation helped us as we spent the day with Bheki. After the meal, we played soccer with Bheki and then went shopping. We were able to buy new school shoes for him. He picked some cool ones. For only being 13, Bheki is a man of class. With shoes purchased, Bheki was given $20 to buy whatever he wanted. I figured he would pick a soccer ball or something “fun.” But Bheki chose a cool backpack and school pants. I suppose when you live as Bheki does, that makes sense. The thing is, Bheki was stoked about what he bought. It was fun to see him smile.

After this Bheki and all the kids got ice cream and then we headed home. Throughout the day Bheki became a tiny bit more open. As the day progressed he smiled more. It you look at the photos we took from start to finish, Bheki’s smile gets bigger. That being said, when the bus stopped in his neighborhood, Bheki quickly left. For being a shy kid he did pretty well, but he was excited to be home. I can’t imagine what it is like for an African kid to spend half a day with some strange crackers who constantly are probing you with questions about your life. Whatever he was thinking, it was an awesome experience for us. The day truly personalized our sponsorship. The only downside to the day was that Bheki now has my $2 Ireland shirt. He borrowed it because he got cold. I guess I'll have to go back and wrestle it out of his 13 year old fingers.

After meeting Bheki and hearing his story, I know that the $30 I send each month is making a world of difference for this one child. If you are interested in sponsoring a child check out the link for Mission of Mercy.