Road Trips and Cruise Ships

Our dear friends Clint and Keisa were given a gift from Keisa's grandmother of a fabulous vacation on a cruise to the Bahamas for four...and they invited us!

This was a trip of a lifetime, and what a gift from God it was! To have ten days to road trip and cruise, and relax with good friends doesn't happen for many people, and we got to go for free?!? Wow!

While Clint's parents watched their kids, and Josh's parents watched ours, the four of us made the drive down to Florida. Keis and I really had it easy...riding around in the back of their Suburban, while the guys drove the whole way. :)

We stopped in North Carolina to visit our friends David and Kristi, and had a quick meal with them. Soon we were in warm and sunny Florida!

We stayed there for a couple of days, laying by the pool, site seeing, and finding incredible little places to eat. On the third day we boarded our ship bound to the Bahamas...

We were so excited to be driving with our windows down!

The guys were excited to see all the big, shiny boats in Miami. (Check out the bridge in the back!)

Josh and I aboard the Bahama Celebration.

Here is our ship. It was smaller than a lot of cruise ships, but it was perfect for us. We had nothing to compare it to! :)

This was our room on the ship. It was bigger than I had imagined.

Vacation Holiday!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Josh and I were invited as guests to go on a cruise to the Bahamas with some dear friends of ours. Who could pass up a free vacation, let alone one to the Bahamas?

I can't wait to tell you about it, but it is a little late to start that sort of post tonight. Let me just show you this:

Yeah, that isn't even in the Bahamas. I took that picture in Miami. The whole trip was fabulous!

Goodbye Sonny

Monday we had to put our Sonny down. Even though he hasn't been with us that long (it would have been three years this May) he has become a big part of our children's lives. Hey, when you are only four years old, three years is a long time to have a dog!

I am sad. It's not so much about the dog (don't get me wrong, I do miss Sonny. He was a constant companion. My walking buddy. My greeter when I came home. My foot warmer when I would watch tv, or read, or blog). The thing I am most sad about is that I can't protect my kids from hurt. I can't make this sinful world unbroken. There are going to be many times that they will be hurt deeply in life. I wish it wasn't the case, but there is no way around that. I will say this; I am very thankful for the hurt. They can learn from hurt. I can learn from hurt too.

Sonny's death is the first real time Josie and Addie have had to deal with that in life. We have had some great conversations since Sonny has gone. Conversations about life before sin, and life now after. Conversations of life after death. Conversations on how painful it must have been for God to give His only son, Jesus. (We just lost a pet. Imagine loosing your son?)

So, farewell Sonny. You were a good pet. You brought more to our family than one could have imagined when getting a dog. You are helping Adelaide see.

Always smiling... not just an underbite.:)

Here he is, just a puppy at the lake. He always looked like an old dog, even as a puppy.

Spring Fling 2011

Last weekend the Campus Life group put on their annual "Spring Fling".They put a lot of work into setting up the event, and it showed!

The theme was Hollywood, and everyone was to come dressed as their favorite movie character. After a yummy dinner in the beautifully decorated dining hall, we went to watch the talent show.

This year I decided to take the girls along. They performed in last years show, but we just watched this time. They are getting a little older, and can handle events like this,and late nights. It was a fun evening.

There was 900 balloons on the ceiling!!!

This is one of the acts from the talent night. They were so good! Who knew there was so much talent at New Tribes? :)

Josie went as Cinderella. It was kind of funny that her shoes kept falling off. This was not on purpose, they were just too big. We made it work though!

Addie was Sleeping Beauty. This is pretty accurate as I didn't take their pictures until we came home. They were all sleepy!

Emma went as Wendy Darling from Peter Pan.

It was fun to have the girls participate in the evening. They got to go to church the next day telling their friends they were up all night at a college party. Just kidding... they were in bed by ten. :)

Icy Road Trip

Our trip back was an interesting one. It was delayed for two days because of the snow and ice storms that lower Michigan got hit with!

We took our time. We wanted to be safe on the roads, and the views were spectacular. Everywhere I looked, I could not help but be in awe of God.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1

We stopped at the welcome center on the Michigan boarder. It was as if the storm decided to only go from the boarder to south of highway 94.

My view the whole way back. (Don't worry, I slowed to about twenty to take this pic, and there wasn't a car on the road!)

I pulled over in a little town called Homer because the sun shining off the ice covered trees was simply gorgeous.

My girls are good travelers. We had a great time!

Where I Have Been All Your Life...

...No that is not some mixed up pick-up line, but more of an explanation to my lack of blogging. You see, the girls and I took a road trip down to see my sister Tomesia and her family. When we arrived, we had a crazy fun time catching up, and hanging out. I went to come home on Sunday (almost two weeks ago) but as I was loading the kiddos in the van, Josh called. "You can't come home" he said. There was a terrible snow storm coming, and he didn't want me to drive through it. Monday he called again. We would have to wait yet another day because an ice storm was coming. We came home on Tuesday evening, played catch up with the rest of the week, and then I got very sick on Saturday. I got the flu, and then strep. That was for about a week, and then Josh got the flu, and Josie got strep. They are still sick, and we are praying Addie and Emma don't get it. It is NO fun.

Now that I am feeling a little better, I wanted to blog a little about our trip down to Indy. We were able to take this trip because the girls had Friday and Monday off of school (and Tuesday, because of the ice storm! We didn't know that yet though.) We went down Thursday after school. The girls had so much fun playing with their cousins, and I had a fun time going to antique shops with my sister, eating Chick-fil-a with her, Joe and the kids (hey, we don't have Chick-fil-a up here!) and just chillin out at their house.

The highlight of my visit though would have to be seeing Tomesia and Joe's band, Somewhere Familiar, play in concert. I knew these guys were good. I have their cd, and have heard Joe and Tomesia play for upwards of 12 years with little jam sessions at my parents house, but nothing could prepare me for their live show. They are SO talented. It was a very special thing to see my sister up on stage. I loved it!

My sister, the rock star.

Somewhere familiar is great. Let me know if you'd like a cd. I am their biggest fan! :)

Alex, Emma and Solomon loved playing Batman all weekend.

Pretty sure these two would be inseparable if we lived closer. Ivy and Josie were attached at the hip all weekend.

Second Grade Choir Concert

Last week was the second grade choir concert at the girls' school. It was a short and sweet performance about the "freedom train".

Most of the concert was really great. Emma got a solo, and she did great! I am so proud of my girl!

The only part of the evening that wasn't so great was the little boy who kept pestering Emma through out the whole performance! He kept touching her hair, talking to her during the songs, and at the very end was popping out from behind her from side to side. I was so afraid Emma was going to deck the kid! The worst part is, he is my friend's son! What do you say to that?! Ah well, kids will be kids. :)

Here is the choir singing. Emma is in the middle.

Here she is singing her solo. She even surprised her parents! That girl can sing!

Emma with Mrs. Barnes, one of her music teachers.

Here is Emma with her other music teacher, Ms. Rockwell. She loves them both SO much!

Curly Q!

The other day Josie asked if I could put her hair in sponge curlers after her bath. I wasn't sure how it would come out because her hair is so short, but I thought "Why not? It's a snow day."

I had to put them in pretty tight so they didn't fall out. She slept with them in her hair all night without complaining.

The next morning when I took them out, they were VERY tight. They looked as though I hadn't even removed the curlers.

I thought that perhaps some brushing would help. I was unaware of what would happen...

She quickly got the name "Fro-sie" from Josh. Little Josie's hair was crazy unmanageable! I was so glad it was a snow day! It was a good idea, gone very, very bad.

We finally came up with a hair-do that would work.

I thought it was kind of cute in the end. Josie wishes she could have curly hair every day. :)

Snow Days!

We have been having a lot of snow in the Midwest. It is reminiscent of the winters of my childhood. The past few years have been more mild.

All of this cold is, of course, expected. We do live in Michigan!

Josh and I were able to get away for the weekend with his sister and husband to Florida! While our girls played with my parents all weekend, Josh and I suffered in 88 degree weather at Cocoa Beach. Hey, someone's gotta do it! :)

We are back to the cold, frozen tundra that is Michigan. While I would love to show you pictures of the beautiful beach we were at, or all the yummy seafood we ate, you will have to settle for these... I forgot the camera. :(

This snow was from the latest snowstorm. Not as much as they predicted, but enough to cancel school for the girls!

Sonny was covered in the snow! We had to shovel him a path because it was over his head.

The girls and I playing in the snow. The sun was so bright that day!

My Baby Girl is Four!

Almost two weeks ago, our sweet Adelaide turned four years old!

It is crazy to think that we have had this little one for four years now. What a difference her first four years are to Emma's. Addie has always lived in this house, since the day she was brought home from the hospital. Emma moved seven times in the first three years of her life. I guess it just shows that we are all in a different place in our lives.

This is really weird, but I am still not used to the idea that I don't have a baby in the house. I mean, she is FOUR. How many more years until I will get used to that? When she is six? Or eight? Or eighteen?

When we have our birthdays (some more significant than others) we may or may not feel old, but nothing makes you feel quite as old as when your baby starts getting older. I wonder what my mother must feel on my birthday.

However fast these days pass, I am thankful for them. I wish I could slow them down sometimes, or even go back, but time doesn't work like that. So, here is to the every day. To the little moments that make up a life time.

Happy fourth birthday, my sweet Adelaide!

Enjoying her presents.

Make a wish!

Her future's so bright, she just has to wear shades. :)

A little birthday spinning in Nana and Papa's living room.

Eight is Great!

Things have been a little busy around here! I can't believe Addie has already had a birthday, but I still haven't blogged about Emma's birthday!

My sweet Emma is eight years old now! EIGHT!!! Can you believe it?

Emma's birthday was the first day back to school after Christmas break. She was pretty bummed about that. When she got home, we took her out to her favorite restaurant (Los Tres Amigos) for a birthday fiesta. :) Her favorite part was when the waiter came out with a bunch of others and sang "Happy Birthday" to her in Spanish, and gave her a big sombrero to wear. It was fun.

After dinner, we went home and had cake and present time. I think she learned that having a birthday on a school day can still be fun. :)

My happy eight year old! The waiter put whipped cream all over her face. :)

Emma opening the watch we got her.

Christmas Morning

I took a little unscheduled blogging break. We were just enjoying the wonderful Christmas season, getting over the flu, having a birthday, and getting back into the swing of things. I'll post about that all in good time, but for now I wanted to share our Christmas morning with you.

Christmas eve was a great time at my parent's house. My brother and his family came out and we had a lot of fun with presents, playing the wii, and I went sledding with all the kids. Fun times!

Poor Josie was the first to come down with the flu. Christmas eve (3am) she woke up and was sick. The rest of Christmas day she has a temp of 103.8, but was no longer queasy. She didn't let her fever stop her. She enjoyed Christmas morning, then went back to bed for the rest of the day.

We all slept in to almost 9am (crazy, right?), and all the girls wanted to do was hear the end of the advent story, Jotham's Journey that we have been reading every night for the advent season. If you guys are looking for a great book, seriously go buy this one. It was all 5 of our favorite part of the Christmas season this year.

After our story, we had a leisurely breakfast, until my dad couldn't take it anymore. "Who has ever heard of children who don't want to open their Christmas gifts? It's after 11AM!!!"

Well, I actually thought that was cool. The focus of this season wasn't the presents. It never is the presents, and I think the kids are getting it. My dad was just teasing anyhow. :)

The girls cuddling on Christmas morning.

Our Advent "wreath". Not really a wreath, but they were Josh's grandmother's candle sticks, and I thought that was pretty special.

The gang all waiting for me to finish taking pictures so they could eat. :)

I love this picture. The girls were all so excited for each other as they opened gifts. Look at Emma in the back. She seems more excited than Josie! (That could have been because of the flu.)

Was to Certain Poor Shepherds

The World in Solemn Stillness Lay

All is Calm. All is Bright.

Christmas Traditions

I remember when I was growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was just as fun as Thanksgiving itself! Black Friday, you ask? No way! If you even knew my mother, you would know that shopping would never be on her list of fun activities. I am speaking of the lesser known of traditions (unless you live in the Livingston County area) of the Fantasy of Lights Parade!

My parents home town hosts a Christmas parade every year to usher in the Christmas season, complete with Santa Claus himself riding on the last float, going to the county court house to light the Christmas tree. It is very cute small town fun, even though this small town is now a large one. :)

My family has started it's own tradition as well. The Sunday evening after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree. We invite some students and staff who haven't gone home for their Thanksgiving break to join us, and it is a lot of fun! This year was a smaller group, but just as fun. With the weather being so warm that weekend, Josh was able to hang a lot of outdoor lights this year too! It looks so cheery. I love it.

Here is one of the floats in the fantasy of lights parade. One of the requirements for the parade is that your float must contain at least 5,000 lights!

We were able to meet up with former student, and long time friend Jenna. This was probably the most exciting thing about the evening because we haven't seen Jenna since March! She is one busy girl!

I gave the camera to one of the students to take pictures, so I have about a thousand pictures of ornaments, and hardly any of people. he he

This was Addie's first year she was able to hang the star! She is growing up so fast.