Altrogge Family

Three of Charis' favorite things to do during the day:

1. Follow me around (she's usually no more than a couple feet behind me, which is dangerous, because when mommy's on a mission, little girls can easily be trampled).

2. Imitate me (hence the dishes).

3. Call out, "Mommy, mommy, mommy," whenever she is more than a couple feet behind me.

Aw, I love that girl.

On Stephen's day off, the three of us headed to the zoo. What a delightful day. Charis' favorites (determined by the volume of her squeal) were the ducks (go figure!) and the fish (especially Dori and Nemo). Although, I think she enjoyed the other animals too, because when she prays, she still thanks Jesus, "fowa the bears andddddd the monkeys anddddd the cows. In the picture, she's petting a snake. I'm not quite sure why they let 2-year olds do that. Hmm. You just never know with her. She may not walk on the grass, but she'll pet snakes (update: Charis is thoroughly enjoying playing in the yard, grass and all).

I received conflicting opinions as to whether or not I should cut Charis' hair. The back was getting really long, but she still had bald spots on the sides. I finally cut it. Looking back, I'm wondering why I didn't do it sooner. Why didn't you tell me? Of course, her mullet/mohawk combo was adorable the her daddy and I.

Well, as you've noticed, I haven't made it to the blog much recently. We don't have internet at the time, so you can imagine how that would make things difficult.

Charis loves playing outside, especially with her new "bike" as she calls it. She gets in and out and in and out, and scoots along like Fred Flinstone. As I look at these pictures, I still can't believe she stayed still long enough for me to take them.

Since I haven't been blogging, I'll give you a little taste of what we've been up to. As you can guess, things have been pretty busy around here.

My sweet husband encouraged me to train for a 10K race with a friend (although I feel as though "train" is hardly the right word for a race that's 6 miles). I finished. Stephen and Charis were cheering me on at the finish line.





In the midst of Stephen's heavy, heavy work-load, he planned for us to take a 2-day trip to Williamsburg. There were a million other things he could be doing, but he chose to leave it all and get-a-way with me. What fun it was to steal away with my best friend and have 48 hours of uninterrupted alone-time. W&K, you're the best, by the way. Thanks for taking our girl.




Here's our we're-late-for-church-but-taking-a-pic-in-the-worst-possible-light Mother's Day picture.



Today Charis and I explored outside.



This girl really knows a plane when she hears one.





"Eww, yuck," she says about some dirts and rocks that she picked up with her fingers. Oh brother!




The predicament she got herself into is simple: the ball is in the grass, and that'd be fine if you didn't mind the grass underneath your feet.



She eventually warmed up to the idea.

Stephen conveniently forgot his lunch today, so Charis and I ventured out into the rain to drop it off. Every time we pull up to the church, she exclaims with glee, "DADDY!" Charis got daddy time and chocolate out of this little venture, hence the ear-to-ear grin.

And you're not missing much hair action under the hood. While the back is growing into a voluminous bundle of hair (almost pony-tail length), the sides still show little sign of growth, which leaves our little girl with a mullet and a mo-hawk at the same time.

I am happy to report that we finally had a real snow. I'm not talking about a dusting that causes Marylanders to go nuts about, clearing out all the bread, milk and toilet paper at Target. I'm talking 4-5 inches of snow. So we bundled up, grabbed the sleds and hit the hills.


Below Charis is doing the hand motions to the, "Poop," song (a.k.a. Pooh), as she so clearly pronounces, that goes something like, "When I up, down, touch the ground it puts me in the mood. Up, down, touch the ground in the mood for food. I am stout, round, and I have found speaking poundage wise, I improve my appetite when i exercise!" (and no, I don't have the lyrics memorized...yet...I googled them). What a smile that jingle brings to her face.


As Stephen and I rose in the morning to snow-covered everything, we reminisced about our cozy, white winters back home. For all of my Southern friends, I'm rejoicing with you in this dumping!

Yet again, the pc admin. team oo-ed and ah-ed us at the sweet-heart dinner. Multitudes of people served to pull-off this unforgettable evening. God's gift of romance was highlighted in a myriad of creative ways and there was beauty in the details. I am amazed at the care we are receiving here and God's love for me displayed through that care.

One morning it actually snowed here, so Charis and I shut ourselves inside and baked. I took a stab at a healthy home-made granola bar recipe (not so tasty). I also made granola (which Stephen loves) and bran muffins to freeze.





Charis likes to sit in her bar seat and watch me bake. She smiled, took her necklaces off, put her necklaces on, sang. What a bundle of joy!







Here's the beautiful, Anthropologie apron that Stephen gave me for Christmas. Now I have a skip in my step when I cook.

Well, I wish I had something interesting to tell. Life is lived in the mundane though, right? It is good to get back into the groove of things. Stephen resumed classes this week, and I had my first ladies' meeting since Christmas break. What a privilege it is to be here!

Here's Charis asking, "Please," for something or another.

Christmas day was spent with my family. Now that us gals are older, "present time" has been bumped until after the sun rises. Sadly, I think this is the first picture of the four of us. Long overdue.



Unfortunately, Stephen and I were not able to visit my grandparents this year (hardly feels like Christmas without you), but they graciously sent gifts for us to open at my parent's house. Charis loves the baby doll (whom she happened to match) and gives her kisses (below) and soothing pats on the back.



To our dear friends back home, it was such a delight to worship with you Sunday, chit-chat and even just get a quick hug and hello. We are grateful for your prayers and miss you deeply! For those of you who were away, we missed seeing your faces.