The Many Faces of Ellie

I just have to post a few photos of Eliana at the park (and on the way home from the park) last week. They are a good sampling for you the many faces of Ellie...
Curious face...

Cracking up face...

Pretty girl face...

I'm so funny face...

Pouty Face

Spring Has Sprung

It is finally beginning to feel like spring around here. We have had lots of rain- which we desperately need and the flowers are starting to bloom. We took a little walk down by the creek today and got some pictures.

These mushrooms were huge!

I just love the sights and smells of spring- even if they do kill my allergies.
Then we came home and had wrestle-mania on the front lawn.
Eliana got in on the wrestling too!

I haven't posted pictures of Elijah's great new smile. So, here goes. He is missing those two front teeth and his tongue keeps peeking through when he talks. It is so stinking cute, it is ridiculous.


Not much new to report. All went well over the weekend up in Cheyenne. The church is really a great group of people. It was kind of a rainy-blah day, so we didn't get to see much of the city, but we will tour a bit more of this weekend. We did enjoy driving back home through Boulder and walking around. We always enjoy spending time up there. It was Noah's birthday, the big 9, so we had some fun and went to dinner at his favorite place, the Elephant Bar.

Easter Pictures

The Latest

So, here we are nearing May and I haven't written in ages. We have been working hard to wrap up school for the year. We are scheduled to finish in mid May and we are all looking forward to a nice long summer. The past few years, I have only given the kids a month off before starting the next school year. We all have earned a break and we are taking it. Hopefully, we will be settled in somewhere new by fall and the kids may even be able to get back into traditional school if we can find a good one near our new home.

Milan has now interviewed in both San Antonio, TX and Volant, PA. We are really hopeful about the latter, but we believe that either position would be a good fit. Of course, there are no guarantees and we are continuing to look. The reality is that we may not even know about the position he will end up in yet. For the month of May, Milan will be traveling up to Cheyenne, Wyoming to fill in preaching on Sunday mornings while the pastor of that church takes a sabbatical. I am glad that he will be able to help that church out as well as to get back to preaching. I know he misses teaching. It is about an hour-and-a-half drive up to Cheyenne from here, so we are going to see how it goes with the whole family. Yes, we will putting the DVD player on for the drive. If it is just too crazy, we will figure something else out. I just don't really like the idea of not going to worship as a family on Sundays, so I am sure we will make it work somehow.

There has been no news on our house. We really need to find a more aggressive real estate agent. That is on the agenda for the next few weeks. Hopefully, we will find someone that does more than just slap the listing on the MLS. It is crazy to think how much commission someone would be getting paid for how little they really have been doing. It just seems like you should be getting a lot more for your money. Hmmmm... Fortunately, as I have said before, we don't have anywhere to go yet, so it isn't really a problem at this point. We just want to be ready when the time comes. I am sure that God has the perfect timing planned out- it will all work out one way or another.

The weather here has been beautiful this week after over two feet of snow last week. I am so happy to see the sun and to watch everything start to green up. It just makes everything seem better. Colorado really is a beautiful place to live. I am so glad that we have had the chance to experience it.

Eliana has really been doing pretty well with attachment lately. We still have our moments, but she is able to verbalize so much more and to talk through things with us. She was laying in bed tonight when I went to put some clothes away in her room and she spontaneously said, "Mama, I love Daddy." It gives me such hope that her little mind and heart are starting to open up to him and that we will someday look back on all of the struggles we have had with disbelief. She is a precious little girl and we love her dearly. I continue to pray for a close and special relationship between her and her daddy. He so desires for that to be true. Thankfully, she really does great when it is just the two of them now and is continuing to improve when I am around. We have been trying some new tactics and are starting to see some change. We pray that those changes will continue. Thank you to all of you who continue to pray for us in this area. It is still a need and we so appreciate your faithfulness.


Well, that is about it for now. We are well, but desire to reestablish ourselves in a new church community. It is so difficult being in the in-between-time. Living far from family, these last few months have only emphasized how important the church family is to us. Having that basically removed, has been painful and lonely at times, but we trust that God will move us on into a new family soon. Until next time...

No News is ... Well, No News

Well, this has been a pretty quiet and uneventful week. I would have loved it to be a little more eventful with showings... it is ridiculous how slow this market is right now. We don't even have a destination yet, so it isn't like there is a big hurry to sell the house, but it is a bit disconcerting. I am trying to remember that God is sovereign in all of this and I don't need to stress out. Hopefully, we will start to get more action on the house as far as showings go and the rest will take care of itself.
Noah has his final recital and graduation tonight from Children's Music Academy. I am looking forward to him being done with the program... not nearly as much as he is, but I am proud of him for sticking with it to the end. Since Elijah will not be here for another year + to graduate, he would like to stop as well. It makes me a bit sad that he won't finish, but these are battles that I don't care to fight. I will save my ammunition for another day. I will try to post pictures from tonight in the next few days.
Our little Elf, Ellie, is doing well. She is a bit of roller-coaster with attachment lately, but she is doing some pretty funny stuff to keep us laughing. While none of our kids have seen the Lord of the Rings movies... too scary... they have read through some of the trilogy and enjoy doing their best "orc" voices. Ellie has mastered, "I smell Man Flesh!" in a pretty hysterical voice. We like to pull it out in restaurants. I must say it is a crack up.
On the job front, Milan is still in the process with a church in San Antonio as well as another near Grove City, PA. He is planning to send more applications out as well, but I don't think that has happened yet for more than these two. Thankfully, they have reciprocated interest and we will see where the process leads. Both actually seem to be a really good fit for Milan's skill set, philosophy of ministry and desires.
Church is rather strange on the weekends. Going from being the pastor and his family to temporary attenders at a church where we don't know many people and aren't planning to get too involved due to our circumstances, is bizaaarrrreeeee to say the least. Church is what brought us to Colorado and pretty much has consumed our time and lives since we arrived. All of the sudden, we are worshipping somewhere else and we are not seeing the people with whom we have served and cared for regularly, if at all. It feels a little isolating and I am looking forward to moving on and getting plugged back into a community. We still have dear friends here, but people are busy with work, family, their lives, etc and not having that standing time together once a week kind of stinks. Oh well, life changes and there is nothing to be done about it. I am looking forward to a fun evening with two of the best girlie-friends ever tomorrow night. It's a surprise, so I will have to fill in the details later.
Now that I have rambled a while on the oh-so-exciting details of my life of late, I will sign off. You'll just have to wait on pins and needles until next time.

Weekend Update

So, today we had our first showing on the house. We just got back, so no feedback yet. I am just sort of glad to have the first one out of the way. It feels more like we are actually in the process now. I expect we may have more tomorrow, we'll see. Sundays seem to be the big day for looking according to our realtor.
I have to share this picture of Ellie. I was making lunch a few days ago and turned around to see she had climbed into my boots. It was hysterically funny... the picture doesn't quite capture it. It was like she was a Weeble sitting atop my boots.

I also had her haircut again on Thursday. It is looking more and more like an actual little hairstyle. I am posting another photo here of her little "bob." Her bangs have a ways to go, but it is really looking cute.

Things have been pretty good these past few weeks with Ellie and her attachment issues. She still has her daily meltdowns, but they are shorter and more infrequent. She even has said, "Sorry Daddy" afterwards meaning that she wants to go say that she is sorry to Milan for crying when he talked to her, picked her up, etc. She will go say, "Sorry" and pretty much settle down. I pray that these next months of all of us being together so much will hasten us along in this journey.
Our thanks continue to those of you that have been praying for us in this transition time. For the most part, all is truly well. Strange, but by God's grace, well.
Until next time...

I See the Signs

Okay, not signs, but sign. The sign that is now actually planted in the front yard. Our house will be listed tonight and we just sit back and wait for the bidding wars to begin. The house looks fantastic and it should for all the work we have done in the past month or so. Yikes. I have to admit, I got a bit teary when our realtor planted the sign, but it had to happen. I liken it to childbirth, you know it is coming, but until it actually happens, you don't think about the pain. Hopefully, the analogy will continue with the excitement and joy of the new home somewhere that will be the result of the killing we will make in this awesome market. It is beyond bizarre to think that our house could potentially sell anytime and we will have no idea where we will be moving. An out-of-state move is a big deal, we have already done it twice, but we have never been so up in the air about things. Strrraaaaahhhhhhhnnnnnnjjjjjeee (that's is "strange" with a sort of Frank-from-Father-of-the-Bride-like-accent)
I took a bunch of photos of the house today. Of course, we need photos for marketing, but I also just feel like I need to capture it all so we don't forget what it was like. I love this house. When we moved in, I thought we would spend the next 30+ years here, so it definitely is the first place we have lived that had that deep sense of home. ANYWAY, boo hoo hoo, wah, wah, wah, enough already.
As for things on the job front, Milan is still researching openings. For all we know, the job he gets isn't even posted yet. But, we have heard a bit from the church in San Antonio. They are looking over Milan's stuff tonight. Hopefully, they will get a good sense of who he is and whether or not he would be a good fit. We are truly praying for the right job, not just a job. With church ministry, that makes all the difference. AND I certainly don't want to find myself doing all of this again in a few years... Lord willing. I will keep the blog updated as we get feedback or make application to different places. I know a lot of you are wondering what is going on with us crazy Norgauers. At least, that is the case by the looks of my inbox. Thanks to all of you who truly have shown us tremendous support, by the way, it is appreciated.
The kids have the week off of school this week, so I am hoping to take Eli for his first day of skiing. We'll see if it all comes together, but I want to get him out there before we move to a state with a total elevation change of 10 feet and a low temperature of 65 degrees F. We'll see.
Well, I am going to sign off for now. I would like to point out that it has only been a few weeks since I posted last. I told you I would try. And now that the house is ready for market, I should be a little better as well.

Our House

Newsflash from the Cave

Okay, I know I have been in a bit of a cave lately. No, I haven't moved to Afghanistan, been abducted by aliens or joined up with any bizarro cult. Life has been a bit of a roller coaster. So, let me give you the reader's digest version.
The fall and early winter have been very difficult for our family. Without needing to bore you with the details, my husband has decided to resign from his position as pastor of our church here. It has been a difficult and painful decision, but we believe it is what is best for our family (and believe it or not, for the church). So.... what that means, unfortunately, is that we will be looking for a new call (that's what they call it when a pastor gets a job at a new church), and will be selling the house, and moving who knows where. Now that I am over the initial bummed out stage, the reality of all that needs to be done has set in. We have a great house, but this market can be scary. So, we are doing every last little thing possible to get the house in tip top shape and staged to sell. I actually enjoy some of this type of work, but it is hard to get done with three kids- two of which I am homeschooling. Once my hubby is all finished up with what needs to be finished up with church and sorting through his office- hopefully this week- he can help with school and the tasks at hand.
While all of this is sprinkled with a healthy dose of sadness, I am looking forward to my husband having some time to de-stress and to having an unprecedented number of consecutive Sundays where he will be sitting with us in church rather than standing up in front of us. I am relishing in the fact that I will have him there to worship with and to help in training our children in the pews. This is not an easy task. If your pastor's wife has small children, do her a favor and watch for ways to help her out. Trust me, it is greatly appreciated.
As for where we will move, who knows? Almost surely not here in Colorado as there are not many open positions here in our denomination. There certainly is a job out there for him.
We will be looking very carefully at the "fit" in deciding where it will be best to apply and pursue. This process is not known for being a quick one. We know it will take time, and don't know how all of the timing will work out with selling the house. BUT, it will work out. We are trying to approach it as an adventure. Thankfully, homeschooling will make the process and transition to our next home fairly seamless. While it hasn't been easy, I am glad we won't be juggling the stress of questioning where we will be finishing the school year. That question won't need to be addressed at all until fall when we determining what to do for the 09-10 school year.
So, for those of you who have been asking, emailing, or otherwise haranguing me about why I haven't been blogging, now you have a better idea. I will try to be better about it. The fog is lifting and hopefully, in a week or two, I will actually have some more time on my hands.