Celebration!

Troy and I had the opportunity to celebrate his achievements in style this past weekend. We had planned to go out to dinner, but we ended up at one of the finest restaurants in Grand Forks due to the generosity of of some friends and church members. We were very touched by their support. And the evening was wonderful...plenty of time to share and reflect and delicious food.

We definitely feel blessed to be where we are.

It is finished...

...the dissertation that is! It has been a long journey to this point, but today is a day of much celebration. Troy successfully defended his dissertation!

I wish I could be with Troy in Princeton to celebrate, but it was just as wonderful to hear how happy he sounded over the phone. (I have never heard Troy this happy in regards to his dissertation--it is a special day!!!)

We look forward, also to graduation in May to officially mark the completion of Troy's work.

Congratulations Dr. Troftgruben!

(Now there are two doctors in our house!)

16 months

Timothy turned 16 months yesterday. What a little blessing he is. In the picture he is practicing with the stacker toy. He learned how to put the rings on last night and was pretty proud. He brings many smiles to our lives.

Easter Fun

Our Easter weekend began with some fun family time on Friday. Troy was in charge of worship Friday evening, but he had the day off. We took advantage of the nice weather with a trip to the playground. Timothy took a ride on Clifford the big red dog.
Later in the day I helped Timothy color some eggs. He was pretty interested in the process and would have loved it if I had let him stick him hands in the dye.

Saturday morning we went to the community egg hunt. Technically Timothy was too young (minimum age 2 years), but I wanted to go anyway. He got to make bunny ears and an Easter sticker picture. Timothy was overwhelmed by all the action. He picked up an egg, put it down, watched everyone. Eventually he picked up one egg and brought it back to Troy.

Since Troy had to be at church at 6am, we held off on the egg hunt until the afternoon. Easter worship was a real treat for me. Troy got to worship with us. He was only in charge of kid's time and the benediction at the service I attended. Troy's mom joined us too. It was nice to worship as a family!

It took Timothy awhile to figure out the egg hunt. We had to pretty much point everything out. I put vanilla wafers in one egg and cheerios in another(remember he is an only child so he knows nothing else!). He loved that. He also got coupons for special activities with mom and dad. (these mean nothing to him now, but they will some day!) I know he caught on to the idea of finding eggs because on Monday he kept bringing me eggs in hopes there might be more treats!

Troy and I had a great day. We enjoyed hosting our first family holiday. It was only us and Troy's mom, but we were happy to have the company. We even got a cute family picture...and everyone was smiling!

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Floods, Firsts, Surprises, & Spring

Floods...the flooding of the Red River has been big news, but that was not the flooding that brought trouble to our home. It was the flooding of the nighttime diaper that caused troubles. Night after night Timothy would wake up due to a leaky wet diaper. I finally found some great flood protection...Huggies Overnights...the super absorbent diaper! I cannot say every night is a quiet night now, but at least he isn't waking due to a soggy bottom.

Waking up dry. (Well, his pajamas were dry!)

Firsts...when you only have one child you make note of the firsts that are not the usual ones of baby book records. Yesterday, for example, Timothy had his first trip to Burger King. (This was not due to my initiative, we were invited by some friends after a parent group!!) He liked the chicken and apples, but the best part by far was the juice box. Yes, this was his first juice box. Once he figured out how to use the straw, there was no hope of releasing it from his grip. Hmm...I guess he likes juice. As an added bonus, Timothy was able to climb up the first three steps of the play land...much to his delight.

Surprises... to finish the celebration of my birthday, I requested that Troy and I go out for dessert. So we did just that last night. What I thought was to be a quiet night out for two turned into a great evening with a bunch of our friends. Troy had planned a little surprise gathering! I had no idea until he mentioned at the hostess stand that we were with the "Maria Party!" Such a sweet and sneaky hubby.

Spring...It is April 8 and we still have snow, but there is hope of spring. It is getting warmer and we can go outside much easier. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and soon winter will be gone for good. (And we can't wait!!!)

The boys out for a spring walk.

Prayer

Last night as we were about to pray before dinner, Troy motioned for me to look at Timothy. There he sat in his highchair with his hands folded. Troy wondered if it was something I had been teaching him. We often pray, but I have never deliberately showed him how to hold his hands. It is amazing the things kids learn by watching. We have noticed that Timothy seems to respect a time of prayer before dinner. As hungry as he is, he always quiets down while we pray. Oh the power of prayer!!!

A flood update...we are still holding strong against the mighty waters. The river is to crest tomorrow or Friday at 50 feet--well below our permanent dikes. And the lowered crest number has allowed at least one bridge to MN to remain open. That is a blessing for many. Fargo is still holding on as well. The water is going down, although another crest is expected in later April.