Family Day

We've been attending a 5 PM Saturday evening service at our church, here in Falls Church.  Last weekend, we decided to make Sunday (April 3rd), a family day.  After being very busy and having visitors, it is always good to have a day for just the three of us.  My brother and his fiance, Sarah, gave us a Virginia State Parks pass for Christmas (what an amazing, creative gift, huh?) and we had yet to use it.  We decided to explore Shenandoah River State Park, which is just over an hour drive, west of where we live.  We enjoyed a lunch at Five Guys Burgers on our way to the park and we hiked there for several hours.  It was a beautiful, partly cloudy spring day.  It was our first major hiking trip with Hosea.  He spent most of our first hike (Wildcat Ledge - a difficult, steep .4 mile round trip trail to a park overlook) sleeping, but woke up to enjoy our second hike along the river (River Trail - an easy 4 mile round trip trail).  We stopped about half way through our second hike to enjoy a snack along the river.  Hosea loved playing in the grass and looking at the river.
Today, April 11th, is Hosea's 9 month birthday.  I am still amazed that Jed and I have a son at all, let alone a 9 month old one.  God is so good to us.  One of my favorite things about spending time with Jed is how easy it is just to "be" in his presence.  We don't have to talk much, however, we do love to process and reflect on life with one another.  Jed is my best friend.  Spending time together on a day like this one, reminds me how blessed I am to walk life with a godly husband. Having a strong foundation in our walks with the Lord and in our marriage is crucial, even more now that we have a son.  On our hike, we stopped and read A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants.  It has been an amazing guide for us to get into the Scriptures, individually and with one another.  The devotional has an invocation, one specific Psalm to be read repeatedly throughout the week, daily scripture readings, a selection of readings for reflection, a time for prayer: for the church, for others, and for myself, time for reflection: written and silent, a hymn, and a benediction.  We highly recommend it as a devotional.  The Sunday of our hike was the 4th Sunday in Lent and the weekly psalm was Psalm 143.  I was struck by verse 10, which says, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.  May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on firm footing."  God, that is the desire of Jed and my heart...we want to do Your will.  Graciously lead us forward (as Your sons and daughters, as husband and wife, and as parents) on firm footing. 

Lunch at Five Guys.  Good pre-hiking food - yummy!

Beginning of our first hike - Wildcat Ledge Trail.  Hosea was already asleep on daddy.

View from the top of Wildcat Ledge Trail - so beautiful!

Jed, Hosea, and dogs at the top.

Reading Psalm 143 in a beautiful spot



LOVE! - Smoky kisses are an important part of family day



Sweet baby still asleep on daddy as we begin hike #2 - River Trail

Pit stop for a snack and a family photo

Mama & baby...Hosea is the best!

Hosea exploring the grass

Cheesy family photo by the river

On our way back to the car - Hosea was fully awake for this portion of the hike and he was loving it!

Leaving Shenandoah River State Park.  What a great day!

Fish, Family, and Flowers

FISH
On Saturday, March 26th, cousins Deb and Cam joined Jed and I for a day at the Baltimore Aquarium.  Jed's friend from college, Scott Ensor, was able to get us a deal on some passes.  So, we joined the Ensor family (Scott and his wife, Amy, and their two kids as well as Scott's brother and sister-in-law and their two kids) and had a fun afternoon looking at some amazing underwater life. 

Unfortunately, this is the only group shot we captured (Scott's wife, Amy, is hidden behind the woman in glasses who was not a part of our group)

FAMILY
On Monday, March 28th, Jed's sister (Lisl) and niece (Daria) arrived from Minnesota for a visit.  Daria was on spring break, so the two of them road-tripped to Falls Church to spend time with us and the rest of the family in our home.  Hosea loved spending time with his cousin Daria.  Daria is such a sweet, smart girl.  She was wonderful with Cameron and Hosea and could always make them laugh.  Hosea got lots of lovin' from his Auntie Lisl.  He also got lots of practice walking and standing with her.  Hosea decided to show off to his Auntie Lisl by doing his "Wookiee" impression (check out video below).  We are so thankful for our family.  Thanks for visiting, Lisl and Daria!

On a walk together

Family dinner

Hosea loves his cousin Daria!

Shopping day - lunch at IKEA

We're so proud of our little Wookiee!

FLOWERS
While Lisl and Daria were visiting, we (Deb, Cam, Lisl, Daria, Jed, Hosea, and I) went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in downtown DC.  It happens around the Jefferson Memorial, where there are more than 2,000 cherry trees.  Crazy, huh?!  Even though it was a cold, overcast day, the cherry blossoms were gorgeous.  We got some of our best views of them from the shuttle bus, which took us took and from where our car was parked....a long way away from the festival.  Cherry blossoms draw crowds!  It was great to be with family enjoying the outdoors.  The changing of seasons is so refreshing and reminds me how God makes all things new - He is the Author of life!

Mama & Hosea bundled up to see the cherry blossoms

Jed, Daria, and cousin Cam on the shuttle bus

Getting off the shuttle bus, outside the Jefferson Memorial

Sweet photo of Lisl and Daria

Hosea and "Paddles" the Beaver - Cherry Blossom Festival mascot

Jed captured this beautiful photo

I wouldn't want to be married to me...

Lent, the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, is a time of preparation and remembrance.  Many people deny themselves something or spend focused time in prayer in order to prepare their hearts and minds for celebrating the sacrifice and love of Christ in His death and resurrection.  Jed and I decided to give up caffeine this Lent, which has been much more of a sacrifice for Jed than it has been for me, as I haven't had hardly any caffeine since getting pregnant with Hosea.  I have drank decaffeinated sodas and coffees, however, so I decided to give those up.  Someone asked us why we decided to give up caffeine and Jed explained that for him, it was about not relying on anything (person, substance, etc.), except for Christ, for his strength (and alertness - all the things caffeine promises).  For me, it is about supporting Jed.  For both of us, it is about more opportunities to reflect on Christ and His sacrifice for us. 

Jed and I love the morning ritual of sharing a cup of coffee (I take a few sips of his caffeinated coffee).  We love walking to our local Starbucks with the boys and ordering a coffee - Clover, to be more specific.  I love a caffeine-free Diet Coke in a glass of ice at about 3 o'clock, each afternoon.  One aspect of Lent can be "giving up something good to receive something greater."  Each time we deny ourselves something provides an opportunity to pray and ask the Lord to be our strength, reflect on Christ's sufferings for us, and celebrate His victory over death and the new life we have in Him because of His death and resurrection.  I have also been trying to use those times to ask the Lord to reveal the things in my heart that distance me from Him...my sin.  He has gently been revealing these things, mainly through my interactions with Jed.  The other night, I had a bit of a breakdown after Jed and I had some miscommunication.  I told Jed, "If I were you, I wouldn't want to be married to me."  He asked me why I would say something like that.  I reminded Jed that I am controlling, negative, and pessimistic...that I am the queen of putting unspoken expectations on people, particularly him.  I get frustrated when my expectations aren't met.  I am impatient.  I am not very gracious.  Jed just held me and let me cry.  He told me how much he loved me.  I think the Lord was bringing me face to face with my sin, the very things He died for on the cross.  This point of conviction and repentance did not feel very pleasant.  But then, I felt Jed's arms around me and his steadfastness, loving me through it all.  As I sat with Jed, I sensed the Lord's forgiveness, just as much as I sensed my husband's.  Christ's resurrection paid the price for all my sin...all the unkind words, impatience, and negativity. 

I continue to invite the Lord to reveal who I am...the deepest, darkest places of my heart...during this season of Lent.  This revelation of my sin casts even greater light on my utter need for God's grace and for His gift of salvation.  This Easter, I choose to celebrate the extravagant love and sacrifice of Christ, for me.  I choose to be thankful for the One who STILL desires a relationship with me, after all I've done. 

Our silly little boy

Hosea has been trying lots of new foods, mostly pureed ones, as he has a strong gag reflex and prefers breastfeeding to solid foods.  We are slowly introducing him to more tastes and textures.  He has tried apples, pears, plums, mangoes, carrots, peas, pumpkin, banana, watermelon, avocadoes, mashed potatoes, and honeydew.  He has also had some rice cereal and oatmeal cereal mixed into his purees, but he's not a huge fan of them.  It's hard to tell which foods Hosea likes until he is a few bites in, because he makes the face below to the first few bites of EVERY new food we give him.  He is so funny!  His favorite food is pumpkin puree (good thing Jed and I cooked, pureed, and froze our 20 lb pumpkin from the fall) and his least favorite is peas.  He gagged terribly and spit them out.  I hope he'll come around because I love peas.  :)

I posted an earlier blog entitled, "When I grow up...," featuring a video of the funny faces Hosea makes, where he looks like a silent movie actor or a fish.  Well, he's still doing this signature face, so I just had to post another video...we took it on St. Patrick's Day.  I mean, honestly, he is hilarious! 

Hosea has also been crawling a lot.  Soon, I will post a video of his crawling method of choice = "the worm."  I haven't been able to capture it.  He always crawls the best when I don't have our camera nearby.  I wanted to post this video, however, which shows how he likes to move backwards and takes breaks during crawling to dance.  This baby NEVER stops moving. 



Time flies

I was telling someone about our blog the other day and he asked how often we post.  It was at that moment that I realized it had been a really long time since we'd posted...three weeks...and so much has happened in that time.  Ideally, I would like to post 1-2 times per week, but lately, our schedule has been so busy hosting visitors and traveling/visiting people ourselves, that we haven't had time to post.  This will be a condensed version of the last three weeks in the von Steinbergs' household.  We have had some sweet times together and been able to share life with many close to us. 

February 25-March 2 - Whitney Thomas visits us from Seattle
Our dear friend, Whitney, took time out of her busy life in Seattle to fly to Virginia to visit us, as well as her longtime friend, Jeremy Gray, and his fiance, Laura Schaffner.  Whitney was one of Jed's first friends at Union Church in Seattle and she quickly became a friend of Bethany's after Jed introduced the two of them.  Hosea was actually born in Whitney's house - in her bathtub!  If you don't know that story, you'll have to ask us to share it with you.  It was pretty amazing! Whitney is such a genuine, loyal friend and is so easy to be around.  We appreciate her encouragement, generosity, and vulnerability.  We miss living in the same area, but we are so thankful she came to visit us.

February 26-27 - Przemek Lesniewicz visits us from the Norfolk, Virginia Naval Base
I (Bethany) have known Przemek for nearly half of my life.  My mom met Przemek on a mission trip to Poland in the mid-90's and they became very close.  When Przemek came to the States a few years later, my family "adopted" him.  He has become like a brother to BJ and I.  He is currently serving in the U.S. Navy and is stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, just a few hours from where we live.  After many years of living in different places and not seeing one another, it is a treat to once again be living so close to my dear brother.  Przemek had yet to meet Jed (so crazy, since Jed and I met in June of 2005) and Hosea.  It was really important to me that Jed know Przemek, since he has been such a key person in my story.  Przemek's visit overlapped Whitney's.  It was also great to introduce the two of them to one another. 

On a walk with Przemek & Whitney



We love Whitney!!!



Group shot



We met Whit's friends, Jeremy & Laura, for lunch and a walk around Georgetown



Hosea LOVES Whitney!  She is amazing with kids.

Thanks for visiting us, Whit!  We had so much fun with you!

March 4 - Trip to the National Zoo Deb & Cam
Virginia has been having some beautiful spring weather!  We took advantage of one of the gorgeous days by visiting the National Zoo with Deb and Cam.  We had a fun afternoon looking at the animals.  Some of our favorites were the sloth bear, the cheetahs, and the lions...with their 7 new cubs!  The National Zoo is a really great place!  Cameron is walking really well, so he loved exploring the zoo on foot, as well as in his stroller.  When Hosea wasn't napping in the carrier, he also enjoyed observing the animals. 

Gorgeous day at the zoo

Cam is ready to see the animals

Family photo...looking at some zebras...well, Hosea wasn't but we were

Visiting the "Small Mammal House" was definitely an act of love on my part, as I despise all rodents.  I did learn some fun facts - this one a nursing mother can appreciate.  Treeshrews got it easy...my son nurses every 2 hours!

The National Zoo has seven new lion cubs and they sure are cute!  We stood watching them for the longest time.

March 4-7 - Grandma and Gramps Holty visit us from Wisconsin & Przemek visits us again
Shortly after arriving home from the zoo, Grandma and Gramps arrived.  We were excited to see them.  They hadn't seen Hosea since Christmas and were delighted to see all the new things he was doing, like crawling and standing holding onto things.  While they were here, we visited Eastern Market (east of the Capitol in DC).  Unfortunately, I got very sick while we were there and spent the next 24 hours in bed.  Grandma and Gramps lovingly cared for Hosea and served us while they were here.  Not much of a vacation for them, but we were so grateful for their help.  They were also very glad to get to see Przemek and spend quality time with Jed and Hosea.

Gramps dancing with Hosea at Eastern Market - so sweet!

Grandma feeding Hosea some plum apple sauce and water

Grandma & Gramps had to see how much fun Hosea is in the bathtub

Lunch with Grandma & Gramps before they returned home - I was feeling much better by then.

 March 9-15 - Bethany & Hosea visit Auntie Linda in Minnesota
 My dear sister, Linda Schubring, is battling breast cancer.  She had a bilateral mastectomy on January 26th and began chemotherapy on February 26th.  Ever since I learned of Linda's cancer, in late December, my heart has been longing to be with her.  I told her to name a time and I would be there.  Linda's husband, Brian, had to go to Madrid for a week for work and Linda asked me if I would come stay with her.  It seemed like the perfect time.  And it was!  You can read more about our time together on Linda and Brian's blog.  Linda and I had such sweet times of conversation, laughter, and tears.  Hosea LOVED spending time with his Auntie Linda and also with Brian and Linda's daughter, Camila.  I am so thankful for the friendship Linda and I share.  It is one of the greatest gifts God has given me.
I wish Jed could have joined me in Minnesota, but he lovingly stayed back in Virginia to watch Cameron.  Jed is such a great godfather to Cam.  They spent lots of time together in the yard while I was away.  Being apart from Jed for a week was hard, but I was reminded once again of how blessed I am to have him as my partner.  Single parenting is hard work!  Jed is the most amazing husband, father, and friend.  I wouldn't want to journey through life with anyone else! 

Hosea, happy to see his Auntie Linda.

Uncle BJ and (future) Aunt Sarah stopped by to enjoy dinner with Linda, Camila, Hosea, and I

Hosea became very confident in his standing ability while at Linda's house.


A friend lent us a walker on wheels for our time at Linda's - Hosea became quite a speedy walker.  It was so cute watching him!

We had dinner with Linda's parents, Don & Marlene, in North Branch, MN

Hosea & Camila doing push-ups

Hosea's Nana and Auntie Lisl babysat so Linda and I could enjoy dinner in Wayzata

Nana, Auntie Lisl, and cousin Daria loved caring for Hosea

Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful, strong women in my life (Linda, Hosea, and I with Mary & Michele).

Hosea couldn't wait to be back and see his daddy!

March 18-20 - Trip to NYC
We are so thankful to be living in the same city as one of Jed's best friends from growing up, Matt Aldag.  Matt had been planning to run the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, April 20th.  One of Jed and Matt's other best friends, Ben Stacke (along with his wife, Joanna, and daughter, Sophia Grace), lives in NYC.  The marathon weekend provided an opportunity for old friends to spend time together and enjoy the Big Apple.  Matt, Jed, Hosea, our two dogs, and myself, loaded up in our Ford Taurus and made our way to NYC.  A big thank you to the Stacke family for hosting us and making our weekend so memorable. 

Let the road trip begin!

Gorgeous view of Manhattan from Ben & Joanna's apartment complex

An EPIC car trip to Brooklyn in the Stacke's car...Hosea's 1st time falling asleep in his car seat without screaming (he has only fallen asleep one other time in his car seat and that was from exhaustion after 20+ minutes of screaming).

Walking around Prospect Park in Brooklyn with the Stacke family

Lunch at Katz's Deli in Manhattan

NYC by night

Jed and Ben supporting Matt at the NYC Half-Marathon

Lunch and more walking around the city after the race - also pictured is Dan, who ran the race with Matt