Family Photo Friday

Posted by My Heart Song

8/27/2010

Friday once again. Where, oh where, do the days go?!

Here are a few photos of life as we know it.


Last weekend we were in Wisconsin for nephew Titus' baby dedication. This is me holding the honoree. You'd never know he was born 2 and 1/2 months premature. He's a happy and healthy guy now.


Speaking of babies, we continued to watch baby Eli this week. My daughter enjoyed reading this cloth book to him.

My kids enjoyed making numerous forts this week. Here they were playing behind the recliner and poked their heads up to show me their "dolls." They played really well together this week, which was a blessing!

It's not every week that I get to show a picture like this: my daughter and I getting a ride in a 1967 Mustang! Long story short... my brother bought this car as a birthday surprise for his wife (that's her driving the car in the picture). He bought it from the South Bend area, so we were the first to see it (and see her surprise when he drove pulled up driving it). Fun to be a part of the surprise and the shock that followed. Also fun to ride around the neighborhood in a convertible, waving like a beauty queen! :-)

Lastly... if you think of me this next week, please pray for patience and clear thinking. Some things have happened that mean I have more on my plate than I really feel I can handle. I am trusting the Lord to see me through day by day and appreciate your prayers on my behalf. I will blog more when I'm able, but it's become a lower priority recently. Thanks for understanding! :-)

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

0 comments

Family Photo Friday

Posted by My Heart Song

8/20/2010

Friday is here again.

The end of a big week for us... a week of CHANGE. I am transitioning from my old job (church secretary) to my new job (childcare provider). We started watching "Baby Eli" this week full-time as his mom returned to her job as an elementary school teacher. Overall our week went smoothly and, as you may have guessed, we have some pictures of our week with Eli.


Here is my son with Eli. My son has always loved babies. He notices babies wherever we are. He constantly asks "me hold baby" when we are around babies at church or with extended family. I wonder if he will still love babies so much after a few weeks of having Eli around... we'll see. But for now, he is totally enamored with any and every baby!

My daughter surprised me this week. She tends to not be interested in babies or other young children. She's into books and the kind of running and playing that a 7-year-old can do, so she practically ignores babies and younger children who can't do much that she enjoys. This week she asked to hold Eli. She asked if he could sit with her. She initiated "conversation" with Eli and tried (and succeeded) in making him laugh. I love seeing the motherly tender side of her peak out.

We head to Wisconsin for a quick weekend visit from Friday night through Sunday night, for the purpose of attending the baby dedication of our newest nephew Titus. More family and baby time. Then week #2.

Happy Friday to all!

0 comments

Day at the Beach

Posted by My Heart Song


We enjoyed our last "hoorah" of summer last Friday with a wonderful day at the beach with some friends who live near Lake Michigan. Leah (8 months pregnant), Ada (almost 4 years old) and Gunnar (2 years old) along with my two little people and myself all hung out at the beach for a few hours, soaking in the summer sun. This was the 3rd or 4th year we've done this and by far this was the easiest year - no strollers in the sand, no babies to protect from too much sun. Leah and I actually enjoyed ourselves and weren't stressed out by the whole ordeal! The weather was perfect too - hot, but slightly overcast. We'd had enough 90+ degree weather for the water to be a comfortable temp.

Here is my daughter, who loved being in the water, though she can't swim so she stayed close to the shore.

My son didn't want to set foot in the water but played with sand the entire time.

Here's to summer fun at the beach!

0 comments

Family Photo Friday

Posted by My Heart Song

Friday is upon us once again. Here are quite a few photos that I haven't gotten around to sharing the last few weeks.


My kiddos enjoying some laughs together.

Lest anyone think we're all too serious around here... my husband thought this orange squash looked like a baseball bat. So my son grabbed the actual toy bat and I guess you'd call what ensued a "sword fight"


We have a firepit in our backyard and enjoyed a campfire together on my daughter's birthday. Our neighbor Sarah came over to join us. She and my daughter sat around the campfire in a wheelbarrow! They are best buds. How could I not grab a shot of this?


My son, fast asleep on the floor in his bedroom. This was a first for him.

Between this photo and the previous one, you know my son is exhausted from our stressful last few weeks.

My son is 2 and loves using scissors. Daily he asks if he can go cut some paper up. Here he's showing off some great cuts he made!



My daughter turned 7 last week. One of her birthday gifts was this fun Chef puppet. He's provided a lot of entertainment since joining our family last week! :-)


Happy week-ending to you!

0 comments

End of an Era

Posted by My Heart Song

Summer is quickly coming to a close. We have a beach day planned for this Friday as our last hoorah of summer.

Starting next Monday we officially start a new phase of life - focusing more on home and childcare. Monday I start watching "Baby Eli" - my friend Julie's little guy - on a full-time basis.


And sometime in the next 6 weeks I will be done with my role as the church secretary. It's been over 6 years that I've held that position, so it is bittersweet to see it end. I've enjoyed it a lot and yet know that it is time to move on.

My husband just wrapped up his summer class, turning in his final paper. He will not take any classes this fall - taking a much needed break from the school grind.

Our church held its last worship service in our "old" building last Sunday. This Sunday we meet for our first worship service in the "new" building (an elementary school building that we are renting). The transition has gone smoothly overall, though that isn't too say that it's been easy! Many, many hours of hard work from staff and volunteers... and it's not done yet!

So we start a new phase, a new chapter as we finish up the old one. Exciting times lay ahead. The Christian life truly is a great adventure, with new frontiers on the horizon waiting to be explored.

0 comments

Cutest Boy Ever

Posted by My Heart Song

Ok, if this isn't the cutest little boy you've ever seen...

0 comments

My Grandfather's Passing

Posted by My Heart Song

Our crazy week got even crazier than we expected!


My last living grandfather passed away on Wednesday after a few days in the hospital battling pneumonia. The picture above was of me with my Grandma June and Grandpa Bert back in 1998.

Tonight (Friday) we will make a trip to Wisconsin. His funeral will be tomorrow morning and we will return home tomorrow night. This will quite possibly be our quickest ever trip up and back to Wisconsin. It's a 6-8 hour drive, depending on traffic, construction and pit stops along the way.

We are returning because this Sunday is our church's last day in our current building. It's a momentous occasion as we look back at God's faithfulness through the past and forward to what the future holds.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this stressful time.

0 comments

My Greatest Teacher

Posted by My Heart Song

Today my greatest teacher turns 7 years old! This daughter of mine has taught me more about sacrifice, humility, grace, and love than anyone else.


I heard someone once say that getting married "invites" us off the throne of our lives (ie. to put someone else's interests first). When children come, they "force" you off! There is nothing quite like your own child to force you to your knees in prayer, to force you to give up things in order to provide for their every need. But there is also no other way to experience the awesome, powerful love our Father God has for His children than to feel that parental love as you gaze upon your precious little ones!


Psalm 127:3 says that children are a blessing from the Lord. My children are a blessing, a reward from God. Sometimes they feel like a blessing to us. Sometimes they don't. But the blessing isn't just them and their "behavior" or good choices. Part of the blessing is the work God does IN US through what we encounter with them.

Patience... I used to think I had patience, then I had kids! I used to think I was a pretty good person, then I had kids. Parenting has a way of bringing out the good, the bad and the ugly in all of us. But God wants to move us through it, beyond it, to grow us up as we raise our kids. They are maturing before our very eyes... but we should be too! Growing in the fruit of the Spirit. Growing in godliness. Growing in contentment. Growing in grace and mercy and peace. Together we are all growing - hopefully closer to the Lord and more like Christ.

So today I say Happy Birthday to my greatest teacher...the little girl who has taught me so much about myself and about the person I long to become, constantly reminding me by her very presence that my role as Mom is one of influence, one of importance and one of great significance.


Happy Birthday to my favorite girl in the whole wide world!

0 comments

Let the Birthday Madness Begin

Posted by My Heart Song

The next week will be ultra busy and in the midst of it all my daughter and I both have birthdays!

Monday night - my daughter's good friend (and next-door neighbor) Sarah is spending the night

Tuesday - a final summer fun day, at the beach with friends

Wednesday - birthday package from Grandma K in Wisconsin is set to arrive with goodies for my daughter

Thursday - my daughter's 7th birthday will involve a morning at Grandma R's house and an afternoon check-up at the doctor's office; she'll open gifts from us on Thursday

Friday - a day of recovery at home (yes, I sometimes put "recovery" on the calendar to remind me that we NEED to ensure down time gets into our schedules too)

Saturday - my birthday! As far as I know, nothing is planned by anyone. My hubby will be 2 days away from wrapping up his summer class, so his day will be filled with paper-writing and research, I suspect. I guess with low expectations, the day can't be disappointing :-)

0 comments

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)