Too many social networks = no post in over a year

So it's been way too long since a previous post and I am sorry. I would encourage you to join facebook if you would like to stay caught up a little more. I just can't seem to find the time to post pictures and keep up with more than one social network. With that said I will fill you in a little on what life has brought us the last several months.

Many of you may know that Shawna and I were able to buy a home this past year and we moved to Ripon in April (2009). Shawna has done a great job of casting and implementing here vision for our home and it looks amazing. It really has become a home. That's just one more thing that women do so much better than men (at least this man) is making a house a home.

Bubba (that's what we've been calling Hefti IV these days)is growing like crazy and it seems like every other week he's cutting another tooth. He's not even two years old yet and he's already regularly being sent to his "Timeout" mat. We've taught him some basic sign language so that he can tell us what he wants. In sign language he can say: milk, please, more, sorry, hat, and thank you (which he saves for very special occations. He's also saying a few words too, well at least a few words that we can interpret. He of course has a language all his own. I would say that Uh-oh is his favorite word and is the word that I'm sure he understands the most and uses most often. That and "No-No" while shaking his little finger at Liza, one of our two cats that tolerates him the most, but who has her limits as well. Bubba has had a few trips to the emergency room this past year, most of which were probably, "this is our first child and we are freaking out about everything" trips, but a few were definitely warrented. Like when he pulled a bar stool over in our kitchen and broke his big toe. That slowed him down for about a day and a half and then he was off and running again.

Shawna is teaching first grade again this year, still in the Empire School district,but her contract is only for the year and we hope there will be a place for her next year. I am the Associate Pastor at Heartland Community Church in Ripon and I am going to school part time to get my masters degree through Fuller Theological Seminary. It's going to take several years to finish my degree, but I will finish eventually.

Well I hope this is sufficient for the time being and I will do my best to get some new pictures posted soon. I love you all. Grace and peace to everyone.

Hefti

Six Months

Here we are, six months into Baby Hefti's life and every moment has been amazing. Seeing newborn babies now, it is hard to believe he was ever that small, and yet he still is so small. Baby Hefti has been growing so fast and he loves to just look and observe. I love every expression that comes across his face and there are so many. We recently started feeding him a little cereal and he makes some pretty funny faces, but he always seems to want some more. I'm not sure if it's hunger or curiosity.
Baby Hefti hasn't quite started crawling yet, but he keeps threatening to. He'll get up on all fours and then just plop over and go back to rolling to get where he's going. It's exciting to see how much he's developed in the past six months and I'm sure every new stage will be more and more exciting, and maybe even a little more nerve racking. Still no teeth, but we think it might be real soon. He's drooling like crazy and tries to put everything he can grab into his mouth.
Well sorry it's been so long since the last post and picture update, but life is happening very quickly. Enjoy the new photos.

Just the Boys

Yup, that''s right, today it's just the boys. We get to hang out and do nothing but boy stuff. In just a few minutes we're going to take our first trip to the Escalon Bait Shop and get some stuff for fishin. It's so good to be able to spend a day with my son. I can't wait until we can start doing some things together, like fishing, and whatever else he might enjoy doing. I only hope that I will cherish my time with my son as much as I do at this moment. I hope I will never tire of watching his every expression. It's amazing how satisfying it is to see him smile or hear him coo. How the simplest things can captivate me so completely. I know there will be days of struggle ahead, but the days we have now will provide the strength for those times. We just need to remember the moments when this child of ours lay sleeping on our chest, or cried just to know that we were still there, just a room away. I pray that my relationship with my son will be deep and true and long lived. Have a great day and enjoy the many faces of baby Hefti.

Wow, it's been a month and a half...

Hello everyone. Life is busy and flying by. I can't believe it's been a month in a half. Well, between being so busy and having our modem crash, I haven't been able to keep you posted on how much baby Hefti is growing. Yesterday was officially his 3 month B-day. He is growing so fast and is smiling and starting to "talk" all the time. Well, this is going to be short and sweet, but I hope to add a lot more on Friday, including pictures, as well as tell you about our trip to Santa Cruz.
Good by for now...
The Brunolds

Keeping up with Hefti IV

Well, it's hard to believe the little man is almost seven weeks old already. I swear he gets bigger from the time I leave the house in the morning until the time when I get back in the evening.
The other day he actually smiled back at me, it was the most gratifying experience ever. And yesterday, I think it was yesterday anyway, he rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time. I hope that I will be able to appreciate everyone of his achievements in his life with as much awe and wonder.
One of the most difficult things is wanting so much to see his next achievement, but still not wanting this moment that we are in right now to pass too quickly. Life is so amazing and I hope that our son will cherish every moment as well, though it takes some living to realize how valuable life really is.
Tomorrow is Hefti IV's first 4th of July. He'll see his first Modesto 4th of July parade (or sleep through it) and spend the day with family and friends. I'm so glad he'll have lot's of family surrounding him in the years to come. It's a blessing to have loved ones to lavish him with the love that every child needs.
So enjoy the new photos and hopefully it won't take me so long to get new ones up next time. Until then enjoy life. It's the only way to do it.

My first Father's Day

I never would have thought that changing dirty diapers, appeasing a crying baby and just sitting around watching our little man sleep would constitute a great day. It was nice to hang out at my parents house and BBQ some ribs with Dad and just be with the family for the afternoon. It's amazing how life can be so perfect when you just slow down to notice that there are people to share it with.
I didn't know what to expect on my first Father's Day, but it did capture my imagination. I couldn't help but think about the many years ahead that await and the Father's Days when my son may not be so fond of the idea that I'm the father that he got stuck with. Or wondering how many Father's Days would it take for him to realize what a blessing it is to have a father at all. But even if there are years like that, I know there probably will be, I am going to look at him with the same amazement that I do now, blinded by this love that a father has for his son.
You know, life is full of amazement. Shawna and I have spent the first 5 years of our marriage looking at each other saying, "Wow, we're married!" And now we look together at our son and say in awe, "Wow, we have a baby!" This life has never ceased to amaze me and I hope that it never does. Enjoy the pictures and enjoy the life God has given you.

From Hefti's father.

Growing so fast...

It hard to be away for a day and not see baby Hefti for eight hours or more. It seems like when I return he's grown even since I left in the morning. I miss him, I miss watching him, and studying his every move and gesture. How can you not be amazed by his perfect little body. I stare at all his perfect little parts and wonder what scars will be added to that perfect skin over the years, wanting to protect him from everything that could harm him, but knowing that life will bring pain that we can't prevent. Tonight I prayed for him, that God would give him a heart after His own, and a mind for righteousness. So amazing, seeing my hand stretch across his entire chest as I pray for God to bless and keep him safe, and to make His face shine on him. There are so many hopes and dreams for him and still you're left with such a helpless feeling because you have know idea what life will bring your child. So you surrender, again, for the hundredth time today, and ask God to lead your child and protect them, because you know that you really don't have the ability to assure his protection. I rest in knowing that God is good and He has greater dreams than I do for my child's life, and the means to make them happen. So I pray that my child will trust his heavenly father more than me, because I know that even though I love my baby more than anything I have ever loved before, that my heavenly Father loves him more, He loves him completely and perfectly.