She's Home Now

It has been a bitter sweet sort of day. I received a call early this afternoon from my dad and as soon as I answered the phone I knew exactly what he was about to tell me...that my grandma had passed away.

All day long I have had a mix of emotions. On the one hand, I am happy that she is now in Heaven with Jesus and my grandpa and great-grandparents, whom she has talked about many times in the past several months. I am happy that she is well again. She is not suffering. She is not bedridden. She is not in any sort of pain at all. She is probably dancing around and oh so excited to see her Savior and her loved ones who have gone on before her.

On the other hand, I am sad. I have tried to prepare myself for this day for the past few weeks. My family has known that this day was coming. Her body was telling us it would be soon. We were seeing signs of her passing this past weekend. It was important to all of us to spend as much time with her as we could. We all took turns sitting at her bedside and prayed that she sensed us and knew that we were there and we loved her. This may sound stupid but I wanted her to know how loved and appreciated she was but I also wanted her to know that we were proud of her fight to stay alive but that it was O. K. to go. We all wanted her to be well again and we knew that was not going to happen here on Earth.

It has only been less than a day since she passed and I miss her already. I miss hearing her voice and seeing her smile. I am saddened that my boys will never really know her as their great-grandma and how special she is to our family. I just try to continually remind myself that she lived a great, long life and is now happy and healthy in Heaven. I am able to find peace in the knowledge that I will one day see her again in Heaven.

Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to pray for my family this week as we celebrate Christmas and celebrate my grandma's life and the fact that she is Home now.

Grandma Update

My grandma has not recovered well from her partial hip replacement surgery last Sunday. While we were all very relieved that the surgery went so well, we did not realize how difficult the recovery process would be. We were told last Monday that the surgery is the easy part...the recovery is the difficult part.

She has not wanted to eat hardly at all this week. We were able to get some "Boost" energy shakes down her and a few bites from her meals but that isn't enough.

My family has probably had one of the toughest weeks this past week. There has been a lot of talking, question asking, decision making, crying and most importantly praying. We all want to do what is best for grandma.

Today we were notified that Hospice has been asked to step in. The plan is that Grandma will be discharged from the hospital into the care of a nursing home where Hospice will come in and help care for her. As you can imagine, it has been a very tough day for us all.

If you would all please pray for my family in the coming days and weeks, I would really appreciate it. We are all praying for the Lord's Will to be done. Please also pray for strength and health for my family as we are all spending as much time as we can with Grandma. We are all very worn and tired tonight.

It is never easy to let a loved one go, however, we are blessed with knowing that when it is Grandma's time, we know she will be going to Heaven to spend eternity with her Savior and that we will one day see her again.

My Grandma

Friday morning my mom called to tell me that my grandma had fallen out of bed early that morning at her assisted living place and had been taken to the ER where they discovered that she had a broken hip. My grandma will be 89 on Wednesday. So, as you can imagine, as a family, we were all very concerned.

This is not the first time she has fallen out of bed. You would think that we could simply buy some sort of bed rails to put on the side of her bed and all would be great...right?! Apparently, there is a law stating that bed rails are not permitted in assisted living homes or nursing homes. From my understanding there were some cases of some elderly people who got their feet caught on the rails and therefore rails are not allowed on the beds any more.

To make a very, very (I am seriously not exaggerating!) long and confusing story short, it was decided to do a partial hip replacement instead of a whole hip replacement because she hasn't been walking at all for the past few months and would not be able (and she would refuse!) to do any sort of rehab. Our goal is to have her be able to sit in a wheel chair instead of laying in bed for the rest of her life. We were told that if the surgery wasn't done, she would be in excruciating pain for the next 4 months. So, at 9 pm last night she had her surgery and I thank the Lord that she came through the surgery with no complications at all. The surgeon told us that everything went very smoothly, that it was a good Sunday!

My grandma will now be going to a nursing home after being released from the hospital where she will receive more care. She will not return to the assisted living place. She needs more care than they can give and to be honest we aren't too happy with the assisted living place, but that is another story. My mom and aunt have already picked a nursing home for her and as far as nursing homes go, this one seems to be one of the "good" ones.

As I close, I ask that you keep my grandma in your prayers. Please pray for her to heal well from the surgery. Please pray for my mom and aunt as they are going through all of the paperwork to make sure that the transition into the nursing home goes smoothly for my grandma and also pray for them as they deal with the emotional aspect of putting their mother in a nursing home.

My family thanks you in advance for your prayers.

Have a blessed week!

Thanksgiving 2008

Whew...I am tired after a long and fun holiday weekend! I don't know if it is because I am getting older but I find myself becoming quite sentimental about the holidays. I really cherish the times that our family can be together and I am very thankful for our family. Here is a run down of the activities of the weekend.

Thursday: We started off the afternoon by having a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my Uncle and Aunt's house. My brother and his family were in and we all had a nice time together.

From there, my parents, my brother and I and our families along with my cousin went to see my almost 89 year old Grandma at her assisted living home. We had a nice visit with her. She is getting older (will turn 89 on Dec 10th) and not doing so good, so it was a blessing for us all to be there. All 5 of her great-grandsons were able to be with her at the same time. As you can imagine it was quite chaotic at times have all 5 boys there, but we wouldn't have traded that time for anything.

After leaving Grandma's, Dustin the boys and I headed to his parents house for our second meal of the day. We were able to visit with Dustin's family. I was very excited because I got to snuggle and hold my sweet nephew Brock who is getting so big!

After leaving Dustin's parents house we ended up spending some more time with my parents and brother and his family. We actually had our 3rd Thanksgiving meal of the day. Can you guess what we had? Betcha you can't so I'll tell you. We dined on White Castle's around 8 pm that night because it was the only place opened! How funny is that?!

Friday: Let me first start by saying that I for some reason could not fall asleep on Thursday night. It was seriously after 2 am before I finally fell asleep. The alarm was set for 4:45 am so I could get up, shower and set off for a morning of shopping with my cousin! We shopped for a bit and I was home by 9:30 am.

I rested a bit and then it was time for movie and lunch with my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, Dustin's aunt and family friend. We went and saw the movie "Four Christmases." It was quite funny but not too funny for my niece. It is definetly an adult movie. It wasn't bad but had some adult situations that we weren't prepared for. Hopefully some of it went over her head as my mother-in-law said!!! Good luck answering those questions, sister-in-law!

Then it was home for a nap and off to my parents house. Dustin had to help my Dad get his new HD tv all set up. And a big thanks to Mom and Dad for dinner that night!

Saturday: We stopped by Dustin's brother's house to help them put up Brock's crib which also happens to be the crib that Logan and Luke used, although they didn't get much use out of it. Hopefully, Brock will enjoy it more.

Then dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with my parents and Scott's family before they headed back home.

After dinner, we went to the mall for a bit more shopping with Grandma and Papa. Then home finally!

Today: We went to church were we discovered that Luke was running a temperature so we came home right after church (no Luke was not in the nursery; he won't stay in the nursery so Dustin had him the whole time...we did not contaminate the nursery!) took naps, ate dinner and am hoping to get to bed soon.

See what I mean when I said "WHEW!" What a crazy, busy, long weekend, and except for a few illnesses along the way (hope you feel better Aunt Vickie, Caleb and my Lukey!), I wouldn't have changed a thing. I love my family and love to spend time with them.

I hope everyone else had a nice Thanksgiving too!

Happy Birthday To You!

Thirty-three years ago today, the love of my life was born. I praise God that he was born and that when he was 19 years old he would meet a girl at a bible study who would later catch his eye because she was a bit knowledgeable in sports. Later, he would date then marry this girl and 10 years later while celebrating his 33rd birthday he would not only be her husband of 10 years but the father to their two precious little boys.

I am so thankful for Dustin and his life. I am thankful that he is a Christian and that he loves the Lord with his whole heart and life. I am thankful that he is my husband and that we met and married while we were young. I am thankful that we have been married for 10 years and will be married until the day we die. I am thankful that he is "daddy" (and a great "daddy" at that!) to our two little boys. I am thankful that Dustin is such a hard worker and provides for his family. I am thankful that Dustin is not only my husband but my best friend. Just simply hearing his voice can brighten my mood or make me feel that everything in the world is O. K.

I love you Dustin and wish you a very Happy Birthday. You are the best and the boys and I love you so! Enjoy your day!

Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the year. Here are my top 10 reasons why I love it so...

1. Cooler weather which leads to #2.

2. Wearing sweats!

3. Decorating your house in Fall-like colors.

4. Apple orchard/Cider mill time which leads to #5...

5. Cider and donuts!

6. Having the air conditioner off and being apple to feel the crisp cool weather in the house.

7. The colors of the changing leaves.

8. I feel more like drinking "hot" coffee as opposed to "cold."

9. The smell of "apple pie" candles to match the "crispness" in the air.

10. We are that much closer to the Holidays!

I guess for those of us here, we won't get to experience many of the Fall blessings this weekend since it is supposed to be in the upper 70s! Oh well, at least we don't have any snow yet!

Happy Fall Everyone!

He's Home!

Brock came home last week and is doing just great! We are all so excited that he is finally home, espeically Jenn and Ryan! Thought I would post a picture so you all can see what a cute, sweet little man he is. Have a good Monday!

Summer Pictures

I am not always good about posting pictures! I just downloaded some tonight so I thought I would post some pictures of Luke's 1st birthday and dedication along with some fun pictures of the boys this summer. Enjoy because who knows when I will post more pictures!!! :)

Luke was lovin' his pizza.

Logan thought he was so cute with his pull-up on his head!

This pictures was taken on Luke's actual birthday at Buffalo Wild Wings. Dustin and I took the boys there for Luke's birthday lunch. It is their FAVORITE place!

Daddy helps Lukey open his gifts.

I love this picture of my boys. I think it is so sweet that Luke wants to share his birthday cake with his big brother, Logan. They really do love each other. This picture is what being a mommy is all about. I pray that Luke and Logan will always be close to one another.

The happy family celebrates Luke's birthday U of M style.

Uncle Scott was able to come and lead the dedication for Luke just as he did for Logan.

We are so blessed that the boys are so close to their grandparents. I don't know what we would do without them. We love you Papas and GeeMas.

Brock Update

I am doing another entry because I failed to mention Brock in my last entry!

Brock continues to amaze us every day. He did have a bit of a set-back a week or so ago. He developed an infection by thankfully the infection is now gone. He has finished all of the antibiotics they had given him. We are now praying that the infection does not come back and also that no other infections come.

Bock is continuing to eat and gain weight. We are all very excited. Not as excited as his Mommy and Daddy but still quite excited.

Uncle Dustin and I went to see him yesterday. We hadn't been in 2 weeks and were both taken back by how much he looks like a newborn baby, not the tiny premie we had seen before. He is still little but is filling out nicely. He had on a little outfit yesterday which was very cute.

They are going to try and see if he will take a bottle in the next week or two. Please pray with us that he will be successful at this. Please also continue to pray for his health and safety along with the health and safety of Ryan and Jenn.

Thanks to everyone who is praying for Brock and his parents and please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Family Fun Week!

A lot has been going on in the past week or so. I called it "Family Fun Week" because Dustin was on vacation from work this past week. It was really nice to have him home. The boys really enjoyed being with Daddy. It was a bit hard today to adjust to Daddy being back at work and not here at home with us during the day!

We celebrated Luke's 1st birthday a week ago this past Saturday (8/9). We had a "University of Michigan" first birthday party. Logan had a "Detroit Tiger" first birthday party so we carried on the sports tradition. Luke enjoyed his birthday party very much. Mommy was excited because he got a lot of clothes and Luke loved all of the toys he got too! We had the party at my Uncle and Aunt's house who have a huge pool and trampoline. The kids loved it! It was a very nice time to spend with family and friends!

We didn't do too much during the week. We hung out a lot as a family which was awesome. Luke had his 12 month check up on Monday and he got shots. He ran a bit of a fever for a couple of days which we thought was due to the shots, however, when we woke up one morning to a rash on his little body we discovered it wasn't because of the shots but because of roseola! My poor little guy! I feel so bad for him, however, he is on the mend and I am very thankful for that.

We did spend a couple of days at my Uncle and Aunt's pool. Dustin was supposed to golf a couple of days and that fell through so the next best thing for him to do was sit around the pool with our laptop looking at Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Football stuff! It was nice for me and the boys too! Logan loved swimming and Luke sat in his "saucer" and watched everyone. We got to spend one of those days at my Uncle and Aunt's with Amy and the boys which was an extra special treat! It was very relaxing and we ALL enjoyed it! Thanks again Uncle Bill and Aunt Vickie...you too Sarah!

We ended the week with a baby dedication for Luke on Friday evening. Again, my Uncle and Aunt were very gracious and opened their home again to all of our family. When Logan was around 4 months, my brother came to our church and did the baby dedication for him. At that time, Scott and his family still lived around us. However, when Luke was born they had already moved away. Dustin and I aren't currently members at a church, we are STILL searching for that church where God wants us, and we wanted Scott to also do the dedication for Luke. This was really the first opportunity where we could all meet together and do it. So, Uncle Scott did a little dedication for Luke and it was great. Thanks Uncle Scott!

Also this past weekend, I became another year older! I celebrated my 32nd birthday on Saturday. It was very nice! I went to a movie with my Mother-in-law and cousin, Sarah; had lunch with my parents; and went to dinner with Dustin! Whew! Quite a day it was! I am thankful to all who made the day special for me. Love you all!

That is about it. We are trying to get back in the swing of things. We are no longer in vacation mode! Hope you all have a great week!

**Oh, guess what 3 year old now goes poopy in the potty! After 3 months, he got it! Mommy is very, very happy!**

**I will try to post some pictures of our "Family Fun Week" adventures!**

Larry King Live Tonight

Please tune in to Larry King Live tonight where Steven Curtis Chapman and his family will be the guests. If you remember back on May 21st, the family lost 5 year old Maria when she was killed in the driveway of their home in an accident involving her brother and the family car. This family has been through so much and yet they still have an awesome testimony of how God is working in their lives.

The family was on Good Morning America yesterday morning in an interview with Robin Roberts. It was their first interview since the accident. If you haven't seen in, you can log on to SCC's website here to see it http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/. I was able to DVR it and watched yesterday afternoon and was very moved by it. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through.

Please continue to keep the Chapman family in your prayers.

**Also, there is supposed to be another article about the family in People Magazine that is on stands tomorrow.**

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!

*Here are some pictures from Luke's Birthday!*

One year ago today our lives were blessed with the birth of Luke. I can't believe it has been a year since he was born. In a way it seems like it was yesterday and another way it seems like he has been with us forever.

Our Luke is quite the ball of energy. He NEVER stops. He is now walking and talking (or yelling, whichever way you want to look at it). He loves to laugh and be right by his big brother. Daddy and his two boys love to wrestle and play soccer and basketball. We laugh because Luke is going to be the rough and tumble child. It doesn't matter that he is smaller than his brother, he still gets right in there in the middle of all the action. He also loves to play with any kind of bouncing ball. We seriously have so many different kinds of balls it is ridiculous, but you know what, if it makes our Luke happy then so be it.

Today, Daddy, Mommy and Logan are taking Luke out to lunch at the boy's favorite place, Buffalo Wild Wings, for his 1st birthday. Then later tonight we are going to have a little family celebration with both sets of Grandparents and Uncle Ryan, Aunt Jenn, Aunt Heather and Lyndsey. Saturday is "party day" when the big 1st birthday party will take place.

There are lots of first for our birthday boy this week and it is exciting for me, as his mommy, to watch. I am amazed at the cute, fun, energenic little boy he is becoming. You can tell already that he loves life, especially when he gets what he wants! : ) But seriously, as I posted a few enteries ago, we are so blessed to have our two boys and am so excited to watch Luke grow into a strong, healthy young man. I thank the Lord for our beautiful Luke!

I will try to take some picutres of Luke's birthday and post them later.

Happy 1st Birthday Luke! Daddy, Mommy and Logan love you!

Our Little Brock

Just a quick update about our sweet nephew Brock. He is continuing to do better and better every day. He is eating more and more through his feeding tube and getting stronger and stronger. He most likely will be moved to the "next step up" nursery sometime next week if all goes according to plan.

I went to visit him yesterday and Aunt Stacey continues to think he is the cutest and sweetest little baby. He had been awake and looking around prior to my visit but decided to nap while Aunt Stacey was there and that is just fine. I know that I will be his favorite and there will be plenty of time to talk and hang out with me! : )

Thank you all for praying for Brock and please continue to pray for him and his parents.

My Boys

The past few days I have been in awe of how big my boys are getting. Logan is 3 and Luke will be 1 in 7 days! It seriously seems like yesterday when Dustin and I were trying to have a baby and were unsuccessful for 4 1/2 years. Then the Lord provided and we got pregnant with Logan. I was so thankful for Logan and for being able to get pregnant. I felt that if the Lord decided to bless us again with another child then that would be great but I was just so thankful to have been pregnant and to have given birth to a healthy baby boy.

Dustin and I decided to start trying to get pregnant when Logan was a little over a year old. We didn't know if we would be blessed again with another baby but we thought we would try. After deciding it was time, we got so busy with life and didn't REALLY start trying. We talked again and figured we would wait until after the first of the year and get serious about it. God had another plan.

I had gone to the doctor for my regular yearly check up and began talking about another baby and asked some questions and so on. Again, wouldn't you know it that the very next month (to our surprise) I was in the doctor's office again and this time I was pregnant! What an amazing gift and now we have our Luke. They say that after struggling trying to get pregnant and then finally getting pregnant, most women are able to get pregnant again without any trouble because your body now knows what it is supposed to do. I am living proof of that!

It touched my heart to reminise about my boys. Again, they are getting so big. Logan is talking like crazy and some of the things he says are hilarious. Luke is now pretty much walking all over and also starting to talk a bit. Both boys just LOVE each other. They are best friends and Dustin and I couldn't be happier. Right now as I type this the boys are playing together and it is just precious to watch.

I meant for this post to go in another direction but it didn't and that is O. K. By remembering all of this, I am able to see how truly blessed Dustin and I are with our family. Our issues with infertility were so hard to deal with (especially for me!). I know that there are so many other couples out there who are dealing with the same thing. My heart truly goes out to them. I pray that I never forget what it felt like to want a baby so bad and it not happen right away. Please think about people you know that may be experiencing infertility in some way or another. Keep them in your prayers and be sensitive to them. Also, let them know that you care about them. There is nothing you can say that will make them feel better, but just being there for them will help.

Our Visit With Baby Brock

Dustin and I went with Jenn and Ryan, the new Mommy and Daddy, to see Baby Brock yesterday afternoon. What a visit we had! Jenn and Ryan were able to hold Brock for the first time yesterday and we were able to be there for their moment. Only two people are allowed in the "pod" to visit Brock at a time but the nice nurse allowed Dustin and I to be in there with Jenn and Ryan for 2 minutes. I took the first family picture and how sweet it turned out.

Brock just amazes me everyday. What a strong little guy he is. He truly is a little miracle and oh so cute. He was stretching and opening his eyes looking at Jenn and Ryan. A couple of times he started to cry because he wasn't happy with everyone messing with him.

It is crazy for me to think that he was born a little less than a week ago at roughly 10-12 weeks early. It was such a scary time last week when we found out the Jenn was in labor and was going to deliver. We just didn't know what to expect. We knew that Brock was going to be little and that he was going to be in the hospital for a while, but Brock came out screaming and fighting and hasn't stopped since.

I don't know a lot about premies but from what I have heard from other people and their stories, Brock is doing just fine! He doesn't have a lot of tubes and wires at all. In fact, it seems that every day they are taking him off of one thing or another. He even was able to eat through his feeding tube a bit yesterday. I thank God for Brock and for how well he is doing.

Please continue to pray for Brock and his Mommy and Daddy in the weeks to come. Please pray that he will continue to progress as well as he has been and that he will grow to be strong and healthy.

Did I mention how sweet he is?! : )

He's Here!

A new member of our family arrived this week. He was about 10 weeks early but we are thrilled that he is here. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law welcomed their baby boy on Tuesday night. Baby Brock was born at 9:58 pm much to the surprise of everyone. He came out crying with his arms and legs moving all around. He weighed 3 lbs 1 oz and was 16 inches long. Because he was so early he was transported to another, bigger hospital with a NICU.

Before they transported Baby Brock, we were all able to see him for a few minutes. I know that I am a bit partial but he seriously was the cutest little peanut. I started crying when I saw him because I was just amazed that he was here and amazed at how sweet and adorable he looked.

Baby Brock has been doing just WONDERFUL. The doctors are all very pleased with how well he is doing. He is get stronger and stronger every day. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were told that the doctors do not believe there will be any long terms effects on Brock because he was so early. They also believe that he will be able to come home sooner than the "normal" stay for premies. Did I say how sweet and cute he is?!

So, as you can imagine, Aunt Stacey has been doing a little shopping here and there (I am not allowed back into Babies R Us for a while!). Both Uncle Dustin and I hope to go and see our new nephew this weekend and I will be sure to blog about our visit.

Please pray with us that Brock will continue to do as good as he has been doing. That my sister-in-law will heal and that both she and my brother-in-law will be able to rest and feel refreshed and strengthened to go and take care of their baby.

Thank you all in advance for your prayers. I will be sure to keep you all posted about our precious new addition to the family.

We're Home!

As I type this post I am in the comfort of my black mold-free home. I can't believe that it has been 12 days since we left. I actually sort of enjoyed being away from home for a while. It was a bit much loading and unloading the car several times but nice to be able to spend time with our parents. It didn't get too bad for me until yesterday. I had expected to hear from the mold company yesterday with our clearance testing results, but when the call didn't come, I was a bit disappointed and overwhelmed with not being home for another night.

The boys and I have been home for about 3 hours now and I haven't unpacked anything but the refrigerator items that we took with us. Dustin went to the store after work to buy the staples that we needed. You know like toilet paper, milk, food for the boys, etc. So, we should be all set for the next day or so!

We are getting settled in for the night and I am praying that the boys fall asleep soon and sleep well throughout the night. Mommy and Daddy sure need a good night's rest!

Hope you all have a good night's rest too!

**Luke has started taking some steps since we've been gone. His birthday is 2 weeks from today and I am betting that he will be walking by then. Let the fun begin or actually continue! Luke is a fast crawler and into everything so I guess him walking won't change too much for us!**

"Girls Weekend" and Still Living Out of Suitcases

I have to say that this was one of the better weekends I have had in a long time. It was very busy but it was filled with lots of "girl" time with some special people!

First, Friday I was able to go and pamper myself a bit with some hair highlights and a new (much shorter) haircut (I am over my "growing out my hair stage!"). Usually when I get my hair cut, I don't care for it. There is always some sort of "fixing" that I need to do. Not this time! I am very happy with it. I must say that it is VERY short and I love it!!! It is so easy to do now!

Saturday, I went to the movies with my mother-in-law and her sister to see "Mama Mia." It was very good and I really enjoyed it. After the movie we picked up my sister-in-law (who didn't go to the movie because she is not into musicals and you must be in order to see this movie) and we all four went to lunch and did a little shopping. My mother-in-law and her sister are something else. We laughed and laughed. They tried to recreate scenes of the movie during lunch and then while we did some shopping. They really are a hoot to be around. Never a dull moment with those two!

Finally today, I met up with a friend of mine who also happened to be my former boss. She had to put up with my while I was pregnant with Logan. May God bless her for putting up with me during those months. She was probably glad to get rid of me when I finally stopped working. Lets just say that I shared my whole pregnancy with her. The good, bad and the ugly! Thanks for putting up with me Kate! Anyway, Kate has since moved out of state, back to her hometown, so we don't get to have lunch on a regular basis. So, she was in town for a bit and we met up today and it was really nice to catch up with one another and reminisce a bit. Thanks for lunch Katy! Maybe one day I will make it to your hometown and treat you to lunch! : ) I also made it to "Whole Foods" (remember my new fav!) on my way back home, well not home but back to my parents!!

Yes, we are still not able to go home yet. The remediation was completed on Wednesday but the final inspection and testing was not preformed until yesterday. We could have stayed at the house while the remediation was being done but we opted not to. The company told us that we were free to go home now that the work is done but we aren't to go near the affected area and also not to turn the air conditioning on. For those of you that know us, you know that Dustin turns the air on the first 75 degree day and it doesn't normally go off until the first snow! No we aren't THAT bad but close! So, with it being so warm here lately we would not have made it without the air. We are hoping to be back in our house by mid-week. Please pray that everything is good and well and healthy with our house. We ALL miss being home in our own beds and having our own space. We are forever grateful to both sets of our parents for letting us stay with them. We have been taking turns staying at both parent's houses for the past 10 days! I think that we ALL will be happy to be in our own homes...alone! I tease but it hasn't been that bad at all. The boys have enjoyed being with their grandparents and the grandparents have enjoyed being with the boys. Dustin and I are just extra baggage! Thanks Parents!

Well, that is it for now. I have a busy week...hopefully. We plan to be back in our house and taking care of all that needs to be done there. Then I have to start seriously planning Luke's first birthday party. My baby will be one in a little over two weeks! I can't believe it. This past year has flown. Both boys are getting so big and oh are they so precious and cute! I will try to post some pictures of them this week if we get back into our house!!! Please pray!

Have a blessed week!

Still Kickin'

We are back at my parents house tonight after spending Sunday and Monday nights at Dustin's parents. I tell you what. I am about tired of living out of suitcases. I have packed and unpacked our bags and our van so many times that it is crazy. You would think I'd have it down pat now, but I don't. : )

Dustin is officially not "on call" for work any more as of tonight. YEAH!! He was on call for the past 2 weeks. It has been a long 14 days or nights really. We are appreciative for the extra money but it is so nice to have Dustin home (or at our parents' houses!) with the boys and I at night.

Logan is having a hard time not being home. Every night he says he wants to go home. My heart breaks every time he says that. I continue to tell him that our house is sick and that we will be able to go home in a few more days. Poor guy! I did take him to Target (his favorite place) this afternoon, along with my cousin Sarah our world traveler who just returned home after a 6 week internship in New York (what's up Sarah?!), and he got a new train. He was quite happy and played with it all night.

Luke is doing good. He loves both his Papas. That is his new word of late...Papa. Last week the boys and I came to visit my dad and when my dad opened the van door to get Luke out, he said "Hi Papa!" I am not kidding, even my dad heard it. Luke is soaking up every moment with his Papas. He is actually sleeping in the Pak-n-Play pretty good too! Thank you Lord!

Dustin went to the house this morning and let the mold experts in to start the job. He said they were very nice and explained all that they were going to do. They also gave him some specific things we could do to ensure our mold problem never returning! According to the office assistant for the mold company, we have their two best guys working at our house. I am very relieved that the cleaning process has started. I pray there are no surprises along the way and that we are back home in our own home this weekend! Also that the mold never comes back!!!

So, that is it for now. Not much else going on. The boys and I have been so busy during the past several days so I think we may just hang out here at my parents house all day and do nothing but eat, play and rest.

Have a blessed day!

Let the Remediation Begin

We are very happy that the toxic black mold in our basement has not affected our air quality throughout the house. However, we don't want it to get to the point where the air quality is affected. For those that know me, I am an "act now" kind of person. If I could have had the company there yesterday to fix this situation, I would have. So, I spent roughly 3 hours on the phone Friday with our insurance company in order to see if they would be able to help us with the cost of the remediation. On a side note, the cost of this remediation is 2 1/2 times more than we had originally thought! I don't even want to think how much it would have been to wipe down every surface in our house and hepa vacuum our furniture, beds, etc. I am getting sick just thinking about it. Do you see why I want this taken care of now?!!

So, back to the insurance company. They offered me absolutely now help at all! My original call to the service center to make the claim was quite pleasant. The gentleman that I spoke with was quite concerned and sent me to the "Rush Department" to see if they could get an adjuster out yesterday. After 2 hours filled with frustration and being transferred here and there, the manager of the "home" department told me that I was basically getting all upset for nothing. To him, our situation didn't seem to be considered "dire." I told him that I thought he would feel quite differently if it were his house and he had two small children there. He told me he dealt with mold everyday and I then asked if he dealt with BLACK, TOXIC mold everyday and he went a different way with the conversation. The call ended with him telling me an adjuster would be in contact with me within 48 business hours and that the insurance company would not be able to help us because our coverage doesn't include that kind of water damage. Seriously!

I then took it upon myself (with Dustin being in agreement with me) to call and make an appointment to get this stuff out of our house. The very nice lady at the mold company, has become my best friend in the past week and a half, said that it was a good thing that I called because they had a cancellation and that we are on the books for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week. Whew!!! I asked her if this mold would just be contained and really never go away and her response was that the mold would be gone and should not come back as long as we fixed the down spouts from our gutters and make sure that rain or any kind of water doesn't leak into the foundation back there. Thank you Lord! This was a relief that I can't even begin to explain.

Because I am me and I freak out about everything (which is something I am not proud of and am currently trying to change!) I have convinced Dustin that we should not be staying at the house until after the remediation is done. I don't want to take any chances with the boys. So, right now I am typing this post from my parents living room where we are currently staying. We are going to go back and forth between both our parents houses this next week. Thank God our parents love us (they probably just love their grandsons and are allowing us to come along because we are the parents of their precious grandsons) and that they live nearby.

For now, we are all living out of suitcases for roughly the next week, but in the end it will all be worth it. Dustin and I were talking that after all of this we are going to have a nice and cleaned out basement. (We have to remove everything before they start the remediation process.) It feels good to get rid of all the stuff piling up down there. It sure is an expensive way to go about it though!

Have a blessed Sunday.

Update on Our House

The mold company called me late this afternoon with the results of our air quality tests. The results were very good. There is very minimal counts of mold found in the air. She told me that when the level reaches 1000, that is very bad and dangerous. The highest level in our house, which happened to be right by the affected area was 178. She said we could go home and wait for the estimate of the remediation that should come tomorrow. We are still expecting the dollar amount to be very high, but at least (praise the Lord!) our air quality is good. She actually told me that I am a very good housekeeper!

So, this was an answer to prayer. If we have to be in this situation, we are happy that is isn't posing a danger to the kids or us at this point. Hopefully, we can get all of this taken care of in a reasonable amount of time. We are trusting God to see us through this time. We are very thankful for the good news today.

In a totally different direction, I had a follow up dentist appointment this afternoon from my teeth cleaning a couple of weeks ago and they saw that I need a filling. They asked if I wanted them to do it today and I said no because I thought it might put me over the edge with all that was going on (I hadn't gotten the phone call from the mold company at this point). Then when the dentist came in he informed me that I would need to have at least get 2 of my 4 wisdom teeth taken out. He will refer me to an oral surgeon and they will decide if all 4 need to come out. Once again and the last time I will say this, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Oh well, that is how life goes sometimes!

Have a great weekend!

Are You Kidding Me?

Owning a home is quite a luxury. It is the American dream. I remember living in an apartment and thinking how wonderful it would be to own our own home. Then our dream came true and the first couple of years it was great. We painted and decorated the way we wanted. No big deal I thought. HA! Is all I have to say now.

Let me just say that I know there are people that do not have the luxury of having their own home and I hope to not come across as ungrateful, because that is not my intention of this post. I am thankful for our house and that our boys can make as much noise as they possibly can at times and we don't have to worry about the neighbors hearing them. I am thankful that I can decorate and paint walls purple if I want (not that I want to!). However, I don't think I am alone when I say that owning a house can be a pain in the rear. I am having one of those moments.

We have an older home. We need new pipes, because ours tend to leak at times. We need a new kitchen because we have the original cabinets and some of the paint tends to flake off in some of them (I do not use those cabinets at all...there is only 1 that does this). I try to make our house as nice as possible working around these problems. But here is the kicker...

A couple of weeks ago, I took notice of the far back wall in our basement. It looks like the paint is pealing and it looks awfully dirty. I am not the type of person who likes basements. Ours is nice but not redone by any means. So, you will understand after these next few sentences why I hate our basement today. Any ways, Dustin and I were both down in the basement at the same time and we began to talk about this back wall and how "weird" it looks. We weren't sure if it was just dirt or if it may be some sort of mold. We knew there was another area of our basement that should be looked at due to some water leaking into our basement quite a while ago. So, we made the appointment to have a mold company come and look at the two spots in our basement.

The nice man came last week and said that the one wall was definetly mold and that the other wall just needed to be cleaned and treated. I asked if he thought the mold looked like the "bad" mold. He said no, but that he has been wrong before. We were to get the results today.

We got the results alright and IT IS THE BAD, TOXIC MOLD!! Are you kidding me? We spent $190 last week just to have the man come out and look at it and then take a sample to be tested! Today, he came back out to check the air quality of our house. Each sample is $125. He tested all of our floors that total 3. This means we spent another $375 today! Again, are you kidding me? None of this money will go to fix our mold problem.

So, now we wait another 2 days to see if the mold spores are in the air throughout our house. If it isn't then we are O. K. and will have to pay to have the basement wall cleaned and treated. It the mold spores are in the air, then we are talking BIG money. I was told briefly that every horizontal and vertical surface in our house will have to be wiped down with some special rag or something. Then our furniture and beds will have to be treated or vacuumed or something. Once again, are you kidding me? I have packed up the boys and our bags and am heading out until we get our results. We are not taking any chances.

Apparently the reason for our mold is that our down spouts from our gutters don't extend out enough into our backyard. So when it rains all of that rain water is going straight down into the foundation wall of our basement. I think I am saying that right, but who knows!

Right now I am trying to make light of the situation because I have cried too much today at the seriousness of it all. I thank God that that none of us are showing any signs of reactions to the mold, which is a good thing. I called our pediatrician today to just make sure that I don't need to do anything else with the boys. So, please pray that the mold spores have not spread to the air or whatever it does and that we won't have to come up with thousands of dollars that we don't have, like most other people in the economy today. This truly is a nightmare and again I am praying that our air quality is good.

Here is my advice...If something looks wierd, have it looked at! I know a good mold company you can call! : )

10 Years Ago Today...

...I married the love of my life. Yes, Dustin and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary today. I can't believe it has been 10 years. To be honest, I can't believe he has put up with me for 10 years or that I have put up with his sports addiction for 10 years!! : )

I thank God that he has blessed me with Dustin. He is such a godly man and takes care of me and the boys so well. Although at times we get frustrated with each other, I know that I have a husband who love and cares for me. Not to mention that he is such a wonderful daddy to our boys. I love to watch the three of them play together. I couldn't have asked for a better man.

So, on this our 10th anniversary, my prayer is that we will always be in love with each other, that we will always look to God to be the center of our relationship and that we are blessed with many, many more decades together.

**Happy 10th Anniversary Dustin. I love you and I thank you for everything. You mean the world to me and you are the best daddy to our boys. God has truly blessed me with you and I will always cherish you.**

Potty Training

I have been dreading potty training Logan probably since he was born. I don't know why, but the thought of it would stress me out. At his 3 year check up the doctor asked me why he wasn't potty trained and I had to confess that is was because his mommy has been lazy about it and hasn't put much effort into it. So, after being completely embarrassed and realizing that Logan is now 3, I knew it was time to start the process.

Tuesday was the day. I have heard that you should just plan on being in the house for at least a week straight in order to effectively potty train. Well, my take on it was let's start off slow and make our way through. Tuesday morning I put underwear on him and had him sit on the little potty all throughout the morning. Let me just say that he did not go...at all. My stress level was getting higher and higher as the morning progressed. Then it happened. I put him on the BIG potty with his little baseball seat and he went potty!!! We went nuts. I made the biggest deal about it. We called Daddy, both Papas, both Grandmas, Aunt Amy, Uncle Scott, Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jen, Aunt Heather and Aunt Vickie. They all praised Logan for his accomplishment.

Well, shortly after he went in the big potty, he proceeded to go in his underwear in his bedroom and then again in the kitchen. Ugh! That was the end of day one. I was super impressed that he went once, but I wasn't looking forward to doing it all again the next day. I have heard that it takes longer for most boys than it does most girls. I again reminded myself that we would take it slowly and hope for the best.

Wednesday started off pretty much the same as Tuesday. He went pee in his underwear in the corner of the living room. He sat on the little potty for a while with no results. Then I think he "got it!" He seriously went at least 5 times on the potty and the kicker was that he would tell me when he had to go. I really didn't have to continually remind him. The best part was that we went to my aunt's house last night and while he was playing he stopped and told me he had to go "pee in the potty." So, off we went into her bathroom and he went!! I couldn't have been happier.

Much to my surprise and joy, he has gone to the potty on the big potty all day long. He is very good at telling me when he has to go. He hasn't had any accidents yet today. I would almost say that he is trained, but I won't go that far, yet. Our only issue is going poop in the potty. He hasn't gone yet and I pray that he isn't holding it in! I know, I know, a little too much information!

In conclusion, potty training this week has been a success and I am so proud of my big boy. They cutest part of all of this is when he sits on the potty and tells me "water is coming," which means he is getting ready to go pee! Oh, my sweet boy. I have never been so excited about going to the potty in my life.

**Funny thing just happened as I was typing this post, Logan came out to the living room where Dustin and I are and I smelt something. Sure enough he pooped in his underwear. Right now Dustin is trying to explain pooping in the potty to Logan. It is quite hilarious to hear. Oh well. We are still learning and I am still proud of him! Maybe tomorrow we will get the whole pooping in the potty part of it!**

The Van

Yesterday early afternoon I called the dealership where our van was to see if they made any progress. I was told they didn't find anything yet. When they said this I knew that they hadn't worked on it! This should have been an easy fix according to the two people we talked to on the phone from the car company before having it towed. Seriously!

Later, yesterday afternoon I received a call to say that they still didn't know what the problem was. I then asked if I should be concerned that they hadn't found out what was wrong with the van yet. The nice man on the other end of the phone then told me that he was going to be honest with me (really, because that would be a first), and said that they didn't have the time needed to look into the car. They were very busy, however, it was going to be their top priority for the next day (which is today). I was told that I would be receiving a call early afternoon today as to what the problem was. Where have I heard that before?

I waited until 2 pm today to call and get an update, because of course I did not receive a call from them in the early afternoon. I was told they found the problem and that the tech was under the hood and they were making sure the problem was fixed. Then the mentioned bringing the van to us here at home (what?). He said he would call me later.

About 4 pm today I received the great news that the van was fixed and that someone would be delivering the van to our home today! This may not sound like a big deal but remember that the van was at a dealership out of state about 3 hours away! I was floored. I was sure that we were going to have to drive back and return the loaner car and pick up our van. Nope! About 8 pm tonight our van pulled into our driveway and the dealership guy picked up the loaner car to take back with him. Dustin asked him what the problem was and he explained it to Dustin and told him that it was an easy fix! Are you kidding me? An easy fix that took 3 days!!! Any way, I figured the guy was coming here to stay because he used to live around here, but he told me no that he was going to get a bite to eat and then return back home. So, he came here only to return our van to us!

WOW! After all of the stuff we went through with this dealership, they did redeem themselves a bit by returning our van to us. However, we were told that there seemed to be a problem with the brakes. The rotors may be warped. We need to take the van into the dealership here at home and this should all be covered under warranty! Will it ever end?

Tonight we are just happy and thankful that our van is home and is parked in our driveway. Hey, and they gave us a car wash too! What more could we ask for? : )

A Three Day Get-A-Way?

This past weekend, the family all traveled to Scott and Amy's for Zach's kindergarten graduation, Caleb's birthday party and Blake's baby dedication. Whew! What a weekend. The boys and I drove with my parents on Friday morning and Dustin came after work and got there about 10 pm. Not only was our family there but Amy's family was there too! There were 19 of us, 8 of which were little boys ranging in ages from 4 months to 9 years. No, we didn't all stay with Scott and Amy. We all stayed in a hotel. Can you imagine if all of us were to stay together? There would be no way!

We celebrated Zach's kindergarten graduation on Friday night. We went to Caleb's birthday party on Saturday. Blake's baby dedication was on Sunday. It was a jam packed weekend of family fun. We really did have a great time. It was nice to be with everyone.

A funny thing did happen while we were there though. Dustin, the boys and I got into our van on Saturday to go to the birthday party and our van wouldn't start!! We believed it was some sort of security issue. We called the Saturn hotline and we also called our dealership here at home. Both of the places we spoke with believed it was a security glitch somewhere. When this happens, it apparently shuts down the starter on the vehicle. How lovely! They gave Dustin instructions on what to do in order for the system to reset itself. Of course this didn't work. So, Sunday afternoon the van was towed to the nearest dealership by Scott and Amy's.

We decided it was best for Logan and Dustin to go back home with my mom and dad and Luke and I would stay with Scott and Amy overnight and the drive our FIXED van home on Monday! Wishful thinking.

Dustin spoke with the dealership yesterday morning and was told a diagnosis would be reached by early afternoon. I called the customer service number to secure a loaner vehicle in case ours wasn't ready. I had to get home Monday night. There was no one to watch Logan on Tuesday, plus I wanted to come home to my Logan and Dustin too!

The van wasn't looked at until late afternoon. I was promised a vehicle to come home with only to be told 5 hours later that indeed there was no loaner vehicle. I was also told that I couldn't take a loaner car out of state due to insurance reasons. Dustin, Scott and I all talked with different people and their managers. I was finally told, sorry but there was nothing they could do. I did not believe this. I knew there was something that could be done, but nobody was helping me.

Roughly ten minutes after being told that there was no possible way that I would be given a loaner car because of insurance reasons, I received a call that there was indeed a car for me to take home, out of state! Are you kidding me?! I asked if they had changed their policies in ten minutes. They said they didn't know what happened but there was a car waiting for me at the dealership. So, Luke and I set on our way home a little before 8 p.m. and the Lord got us home safely to Dustin and Logan last night.

What a nightmare. So much for a quick three day get-a-way. I will keep you all updated on the car situation and will devote a post to my precious nephews and the weekend full of celebrations for each of them. It really was a fun weekend and we enjoyed being with family. Unfortunately, the car was the only down side to the weekend.

A Well Household...For Now!

Remember when I wrote in few posts back that I thought we were getting over our illnesses in this house...WRONG! All was well until 4:30 am on Tuesday morning. Logan was sleeping with me that night and I was woken up by him talking. He told me he was sick. I didn't believe him because he acted fine. I was trying to humor him for a while by asking him if his leg hurt and so on. I was trying to get back to sleep when all of a sudden he threw up in the bed!!

For all you who know me, I don't do vomit well, but I did good with it that night. I cleaned him up, the bed and so on. I was quite proud of myself! Thankfully, he didn't get sick again all day Tuesday. He wasn't quite himself, but he was still good.

Well, wouldn't you know that at around 5 am on Wednesday it happened again and a few more times on Wednesday. I had him on the couch all day and kept a small trash can by him. I told him when he got sick to use his bucket. One of the last times he got sick, he grabbed his bucket and got sick in it. What a big boy he is!

The vomit stopped Wednesday night and then the diarrhea started and continued once a day or so until yesterday morning! Oh, and in the mean time, Luke started in with the diarrhea!

So, as you can tell by know, it has been such fun at our house these past few weeks. I pray that we are all done with the sicknesses going around. I don't like it when any of my boys are sick.

Hopefully, this week finds us all safe and healthy!

Enjoy the holiday.

**Sorry for all of the gross descriptions of this post. I just wanted you to get the full effect!**

Please Pray for the Chapman Family

My heart aches for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. They have been on my mind constantly since I found out about the tragic death of their youngest daughter. Please pray for this family. Steven Curtis Chapman is an amazing Christian musician and has touched my life with his music. Please go here for the complete story. I pray that they will feel God's arms around them today, tomorrow and the days to follow.

What A Week!

This past week has been quite a week. All of my boys have been sick in one way or the other. It started with Luke and went through Logan and on to Dustin. Both Logan and Luke had runny noses and coughs. Luke wasn't that bad but Logan's runny nose and cough turned into broncholitis which resulted with him having to have breathing treatments. Oh, and let me say that we started the breathing treatments the night before his birthday party! I prayed all night that he would be O. K. for his party. I didn't want to have to cancel it and I wanted him to have a good time. The morning of his party, I ended up calling all of those with children and letting them know about Logan and the wheezing and they all came anyway! Logan had a blast with his cousins and friends. You could tell that he didn't feel great but he enjoyed himself. All in all, it was a successful 3rd birthday party!

Then on Monday, Dustin's last day of vacation, he started feeling icky and it went downhill fast from that point on. Tuesday he got up and got ready for work and kept saying that he didn't feel too good. Well, he made it to work for only a little bit and then came home. When Dustin gets sick, he gets sick. He hasn't been this sick since Logan was just a baby. I actually had to call his mom and ask her to take him to the ER on Tuesday night because his temperature got so high, which isn't that uncommon, but still I was concerned. When both Dustin and Logan get fevers, they get fevers! Any way, Luke is very high maintenance and needs his mommy at night and there was no way I could have left him so my sweet mother-in-law took her baby to the ER where it was found that Dustin had strep throat. They gave him an IV and an antibiotic shot along with a perscription and sent him home. He stayed in bed on Wednesday too! He ended up going to work Thursday and Friday and made his way through. In the meantime, both Tuesday and Wednesday during the day and evening I went with the boys to my parents so Dustin could rest in peace and quiet. So, basically I was a single parent for about 3 days last week. Just let me say that it was tough! I can't give enough credit and praise to single parents. It is hard. I realized I blessed I am to have Dustin and have his help with our boys.

So, here we are on Sunday night already. Dustin is feeling better, but believes he has a bit of a chest cold. I am most likely going to force him to go to the doctors tomorrow! So, hopefully this week will be good and we all will get well and stay well. Please pray for this! : )

Happy Birthday Logan!

Logan turned 3 years old today! We were so excited to spend this special day with him. We planned some special things for him today. Dustin is on vacation this week so we were all 4 able to spend the whole day together. Here is what we did:

We woke Logan up this morning and let him open one of his gifts from us. He got a baseball mitt and a ball. He was very excited. The two things he said to us about the mitt were, "this is cool!" and "go Tigers!" How cute is that!

For lunch, we took him to his favorite place...Buffalo Wild Wings. He loves the honey BBQ boneless wings. Then we took him to Dairy Queen and he got a cup of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. He loved it and ate it all.

We then spent time at home for a while and he was able to play and relax a bit. Dustin worked outside in the "field" as he refers to it. We have lived in our house for 6 years and we have decided it is time to landscape the front of our house. So that is Dustin's project and he has been working hard at it! (Thanks Honey!)

Tonight, we took the boys to the Tiger's game. Their first game ever! Our good friends and their little girl, who Logan loves, went too. We had a very nice time. We only stayed through 6 innings because it was getting colder and everyone was getting tired. I have to admit that I wasn't very excited to go tonight, because I wasn't sure how it would be with the boys, however, it turned out to be very nice. All three kids did great. Logan seemed to enjoy the whole experience. He even brought his new baseball mitt. He carried it all the way from the car to our seats, which happened to be 5 rows from the top of the stadium! Can you imagine my stress when we realized where our seats were? I was nervous having the kids up that high and nervous myself being that high, but it all worked out just fine.

We made it home safely and called it a night shortly after, well all but me because I am crazy enough to stay up this late! Now, we will spend the rest of the week getting ready for the big birthday party this weekend. I will be sure to post pictures of the "birthday week" festivities at the end of the week!

Happy Birthday Logan! We love you!

"Jon & Kate"

One of my favorite shows on T.V. is "Jon & Kate Plus 8." It is a reality show about the Gosselin family. Jon and Kate are the parents of 7 year old twin girls and 3 year old sextuplets (3 boys and 3 girls). Yes, you read that correctly. They have 8 children, thus the name of the show. The show details their everyday lives raising their 8 children. I am truly amazed after watching their show every Monday night on TLC (The Learning Channel). I seriously admire Kate and look up to her as a mother. She has inspired me to be a better mom to Logan and Luke. I can't even imagine having 8 kids. Sometimes, a lot of times actually, I get overwhelmed with my 2. One thing that impresses me so much is that Kate has said that they want to do as much as they can with their 8 children. They have done shows about them going to the zoo and to Disney World and other amazing trips and outings. It truly makes me rethink the fact that I think it is too much at times to take my boys to Target with me!!

Anyways, I noticed on their website that Jon and Kate were going to be in our area this weekend, so, of course, I talked my mom and my friend Jen into going with me to see them. When we got to the venue there was mass chaos trying to park. Over an hour later we found a parking spot and made our way to Jon and Kate's location in the venue. Of course the place was packed and we were only able to see them for brief moments through the crowd and were only able to hear a few words they spoke. All I kept thinking was that at least I got to see them in person and that I heard a few words out of their mouths.

We then walked through the rest of the venue which was supposed to be full of booths that appealed to women's interests. Long story short, we weren't impressed. Then it happened!!! We were walking down one of the aisles and all of a sudden Jon and Kate were right in front of me. Jen, later told me that I said "it's Jon and Kate plus 8!" They were at a local radio station's booth signing autographs. Of course, Jen and I got in line...who wouldn't! It moved pretty quickly and you will understand why in a few moments. I was so nervous waiting in line. I didn't know what I was going to say. I didn't want to be all corny and stupid. So, I practiced what I was going to say. Both Jen and I had it all planned out. I seriously was just about as excited to see them as I was Bon Jovi! I made Jen go first and she said what she was going to say and Kate acknowledged her, but not in a great way because she was so busy with the autographs. She was not rude by any means but you could tell that they did not have any time to talk to those in line. The people in charge had all of us that were in line moving so fast. So, do you want to know what I said? Get ready. I said "thanks" or "thank you" to both of them and on we went! How funny is that. I spent all that time worry about what I was going to say and I end up saying one, two words at the most!

All in all is was a great day because we got to see Jon and Kate up close and now I have a signed picture from them, but the rest of our time at the venue was a bust!

**Thanks Mom and Jen for driving around for over an hour trying to find a parking spot and then battling the crowd with me today! Hopefully my next idea for an outing will be a great one all the way around!**

What God is Teaching Me

I accepted Christ as the Savior of my life at a very young age. I remember sitting in church on a Sunday night (I believe I was in the 3rd grade) and feeling the Holy Spirit work in me in a way that I knew I needed to accept Christ in my life. I was quite a shy little girl and walking the aisle to the pastor at the end of the service was a big deal. Because of my age, and something that I now appreciate more than I can explain, the pastor wanted to meet with me along with my parents after the service to make sure I understood what I was doing. That night in his office along with my parents, I accepted Jesus into my heart. I accepted Him as my Savior and believed that He came into the world in order to die on the cross to save me from my sins being the ultimate sacrifice. I confessed to Him that I am a sinner and that I needed Him. From that moment on I have tried to obey God in every aspect of my life. When I say that I have tried, that doesn't always mean that I have succeeded. I have fallen short A LOT! But the great thing is that God is there to help me back up when I fall and He is there to forgive me when I need it.

Now that I am a mom I am starting to realize the importance of letting God's light shine through me. I want my boys to grow up in a way that they see God through me. We have been teaching Logan to pray. We have been praying with him at meals and then also before he goes to bed. His meal prayer was "Thank you Jesus food Amen," which was great. Now, however, he is learning to pray for others. During meal time prayers and even at night he will pray for Dustin, Luke, me and himself and anyone else he can see and he ends by saying, "in Jesus name, Amen." Now I know that he is only 3 (as of next Tuesday!) but I want to instill in him all of the Christian values that my parents instilled in Scott and I growing up. I want them to grow up knowing that their parents are devout Christians who live their lives the best they can in a way that is pleasing to God. My prayer is that both of my boys come to know and accept Christ into their lives at an early age and that the grow to be strong men of God.

I say all of this (yes, I can talk a lot or type a lot!) because God is showing me areas of my life that need work and need work right away. Logan is so attentive and is like a sponge taking everything in. There are areas of my life that I don't want my boys to take after me. One big area is my issues with fear. I am a worrier. I can look back in my life and see along the way where worry has crept in and it has gotten worse and worse over the years. This is not something I am proud of and am currently working on getting better in this area. I worry about everything and if their is nothing to worry about, I worry about what is coming next. This is not healthy and I am completely aware of it. The Bible specifically tells us that fear and worry is not from God. In fact, we are supposed to give or fears and worries over to God and leave them there. I can give them over, but not taking them back is the issue.

God is teaching me that it is more than just asking for forgiveness for my worries, which are sins. He is teaching me that He wants a personal relationship with me that involves spending time in prayer and bible study with him. While I ask God to take away the fear and worry, it doesn't mean that He will do that immediately. I read in a book just the other day that during the time when we ask God for help and the time that our prayers are answered, is the time when He wants to develop a better relationship with us. He wants us to draw near to Him. He wants us to really trust Him and make Him the center of our lives. I truly believe that when I get to the point in my life where I have that deeper relationship with God, my fears and worries will be a thing of the past. I am happy to say that I am better than I was 6 weeks ago but I still have a long way to go. I may always have to be on guard with my fears and worries. It is so easy to fall back into our "pit" of whatever we are struggling with. They key is to get out and stay out of the "pit."

What kind of "pit" are you dealing with? What is God trying to teach you? If you are serious about dealing with your "pit" then I encourage you to get the book " Get Out of That Pit," by Beth Moore. It will be well worth it.

Thanks for listening to me and let me know if you are struggling too. Maybe we can become accountability partners and work together through our issues. I have found that it is alway comforting to know that other people are dealing with some of the same issues that you are. It isn't so lonely when you have a friend to lean on. Let me be that friend.

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." NIV

My Boys

I am truly blessed to be the mom of two terrific little boys. Logan, our oldest, is going to be celebrating his 3rd birthday in a few weeks. I can not believe he is going to be 3. Logan has changed so much this past year. He is now a big brother and a wonderful one at that! He loves his little brother. He hugs and kisses him and just loves on him all the time. He is also talking more and more every day. In fact, we had a cute moment with him tonight. He came out to Dustin and I while Dustin was on the couch eatting a bag of popcorn. Popcorn is Logan's favorite these days. I just recently started letting him have popcorn and so it is a big deal when he gets it. So, because it was bed time we didn't want him to have any and when we told him no, he stood by Dustin and put his nose up to the popcorn bag and said, "Mmm, so good" in the sweetest little voice. It was the cutest thing! I am amazed by him daily. For some reason, this week he especially looks like such a big boy to me. We are very excited to celebrate his birthday with him.

Then there is my Luke. He is already 8 months old and more crazy than ever. He is still mama's boy. Mama can't go very far without him, but that is O. K. I know that one day he won't need his mama so much, so for now I am going to enjoy the closenss. Luke is rolling all over and has started scooting around on the floor. He is quick when he is on the floor. For the past few months, I have been putting him in his saucer to play while I work around the house. Now, he doesn't like to be confined to the saucer. He wants to be on the move. Also, to my hearts delight he has started saying "mama mama ma." I can't tell you what hearing your child say that means to a mother. I don't know whether he knows that "mama mama ma" is me or not, but I am taking it any way I get it!

Again in closing, I am going to say how truly blessed I am to have my two boys. There was a time that I didn't know if I would have any babies and God has blessed Dustin and I with two wonderful boys that we are forever thankful for.

I have attached a couple of pictures I took of them this past week which means that I finally downloaded about 100+ pictures from my camera to the computer. So, enjoy my babies!

My Playlist

I have visited other blogs that have playlists and I thought it added a nice touch to their blog. So, I decided to add a playlist to my blog. My playlist consists of some of my favorite songs and some that have had an impact on my life. I hope you all enjoy listening to the music as you read my posts. I figured if you were bored by my post then at least you can listed to some music. Enjoy.

Have a great weekend!

For Suzanna

I have been "tagged" by my friend Suzanna, so here we go:

A. Attached or Single: Attached
B. Best Friend: Dustin
C. Cake or Pie: Pie
D. Day of Choice: Saturday
E. Essential Item: My wedding ring
F. Favorite Type of Music: I like all types of music. Can't just choose one.
G. Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears (not a big fan of either though)
H. Hometown: There are a few here in Michigan, depending on the time in my life
I. Indulgences: Manicures and Pedicures
J. January or July: July
K. Kids: Two sons
L. Last Movie: Can't remember the last time I went to the movie theater, but I did watch the last part of the movie "Because I Said So" last night on cable. It is a good chick flick!
M. Marriage Date: June 13th -- 10 years this year!!!
N. Number of Siblings: 1 brother (Shout out to Scott!)
O. Oranges or Apples: Apples
P. Phobias or Fears: Bugs of all kinds. On a larger level, something bad happening to my family
Q. Quote(s): My favorite Bible verses: Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me with all your heart."
R. Reason to Smile: My husband and boys. All of us together hanging out at home. Plus the reality that warm weather is hopefully around the corner!
S. Season: Usually it is Fall, but I am so ready for Summer this year
T. Tag Four: I don't have any other blogging friends, but my friends who read this blog, feel free to do this in the comment section
U. Unknown Fact About Me: I have a strong desire to get a tatoo one day.
V. I have no idea what the question is for "V" - it wasn't attached!
X. X-rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds definetly, especially when you see your baby inside of you
Y. Your Favorite Food: Mexican
Z. Zodiac: Leo

My Favorite Things

I seem to have a bit of writer's block. I have attempted to post a few times but can't put all of my thoughts together in a way that makes sense. So, I thought I would share a few of my favorite things. Now, I don't want to sound shallow so let me preface this by saying that these are obviously not the most important things in my life, just simply some of my favorite things. Here are my 10 favorite things:

1. Reality T.V. (Big Brother 9 is my current fav)
2. McDonald's Sweet Tea (I am currently addicted to it!)
3. Starbucks' Marble Loaf (a must try for everyone) and Starbucks in general
4. Whole Foods (just went there for the first time this past weekend and LOVED it!)
5. Clinique make up and skin care
6. Target
7. Word Searches and Puzzles
8. Paul Mitchell Freeze and Shine Super Spray (a bit pricey but worth it)
9. Karen Kingsbury books (Christian Fiction)
10. Purses

Well, you may not find it interesting and I apologize for that but at least when I go to my parents house tonight, they won't get on my case for not blogging in a while!

New Look

I thought I would spruce up the look of my blog. Do you like it? I must admit that I am not computer savvy. I can find my way around the internet and email but have no idea about setting up programs or anything of the such. Can I just say that I am pretty proud of myself for setting up the new look of my blog. I really didn't have to do much but click buttons but still! I also think I made it available for anyone to comment on my blog enteries. You don't have to have a blogger account to comment. So, feel free to comment and let me know that someone other than my parents (and Suzanna and Shelly my blogger friends!) read about my craziness.

Not too much to report around here. We are all dealing with some colds and the croup this week. Luke has had a runny/stuffy nose and a bit of a cough for a few days and Logan woke up coughing and sounding like a seal yesterday morning. We went to the doctors and of course by the time we got there Logan sounded like normal. The doctor said that he wasn't too concerned if it cleared up that quickly. He also checked Luke and he was good too! Now, Dustin and I both have colds now too! I can't wait for warmer weather!!!

That is about it for now. I hope that everyone is having a good week. I will post again soon. Have a good rest of the week and weekend!


Update: I gave in and Dustin trimmed my hair for me a few days ago. Trust me, it was a must. The plan is to still grow it out though. We'll see!

Spring Is In The Air

Here are a few reasons why I know that Spring is right around the corner:

1.) We have turned the temperature down for the heat on our thermostat. 2.) I have had the front door open the past few days to let the sunshine in. 3.) We have had a couple of nicer days this week where we didn't have to wear our winter coats. 4.) Dustin's fantasy baseball draft is next weekend, which means MLB is starting! 5.) Summer clothes are everywhere in the stores and I have to start thinking about a bathing suit for the summer (YUK!).

I am so excited for Spring this year. It will be so wonderful to have our windows open and to put away the winter coats. There is nothing like seeing green grass and budding trees. I can't wait for long walks, taking the kids to the park, going to the zoo and hanging out at my aunt's house around the pool. Just thinking about this has me all excited.

I thought I would also include some new things the boys are doing....

Logan is growing and talking more and more each day. He loves to sing. Some of his favorite songs to sing are the "ABCs," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me". He also likes to sing the chours of "Sweet Caroline" from his favorite movie Fever Pitch and this week I taught him "Hit the Road Jack." Lots of educational teaching going on in this house! He still loves his trains and loves to watch the Sprout channel on T.V. He will turn 3 in May which amazes me.

Luke is also doing new things every day. He is eating more and more baby food and even some table food. He rolls all over the floor. He cut his first tooth a couple of weeks ago. This week he learned to eat a cracker and also learned to clap. He is such a happy baby. He almost always has a smile on his face. He still loves to be within eyesight of his mama. I can't go very far from him but that is O. K.

Both boys love each other. Logan reallly enjoys talking and playing with Luke. Right now Logan loves to pat Luke's head and I have to watch him so he doesn't pat Luke's head too hard. They are so cute to watch. Luke just looks at Logan and enjoys when he is around. I put Luke on a blanket on the floor to play the day before yesterday and gave him some of Logan's trains, that go in the bathtub, to play with. Logan of course didn't like it so I had to have the "sharing your toys" talk with him. I can see that this is just the beginning of teaching the boys to share.

I guess I should mention my third boy, well actually my first...Dustin! He is doing good as well. He is working hard to provide for his family and I am very thankful for him and also proud of how hard he works. He just had a great review from his boss and things are going good with his job. He is waiting to hear if he has been accepted in another area of his company. This would be a total job switch from what he is doing now. He will hopefully hear something in the next week or so. He does such a good job at work. I am not just saying this because I am his wife, but his company is lucky to have him. As I stated above, fantasy baseball is starting up and he is hard at work this weekend trying to trade this pick for that pick in the draft. It is all very confusing, but he enjoys it and I am going to try to be a supportive wife about it!!! : )

I am so blessed with Dustin and our boys. I can't believe I am a mother of 2. It wasn't that long ago that I didn't think I would ever get pregnant and now I have been pregnant and given birth twice. I thank God for all He has given me. At times, I get so wrapped out with my worries or what bill needs to be paid today and the next day and so on that I forget to stop and look at my life and all of the amazing blessings I have. Not only do I have Dustin and our boys but I have wonderful parents and in-laws along with wonderful siblings, niece, nephews and friends. I am thankful that Dustin and I both get along with the other's family. Both sets of our parents even like to be around the other set. I am excited to see what the future has in store for all of us. I know that God is working in our lives and that He has big plans for us.

Well, that is it for now. I am praying that this next week is a good week to. We are entering the week before Easter and my prayer is that we are all mindful of the significance of this upcoming week and all the God has done for us.

Short Hair / Long Hair...What Do I Do?

This is just one of those silly posts, but I am stressing about my hair!! I would LOVE to have long hair but I just have not had the best patience with trying to grow it out. The longest my hair has been was almost 10 years ago when Dustin and I got married. Looking back at our wedding pictures I wish I had that hair. I actually begged Dustin take me to get my hair cut on our honeymoon. Ever since, I have had it short. One time I had it so short, I couldn't even curl it because there wasn't enough hair to go around the curling iron! When I got this particular hair cut the stylist put some goop in it and it stuck up everywhere. I looked like a little boy with a "spike" haircut, seriously! I laughed so hard on the way home from the shop that I called my one friend and also Amy to come over and see my new do. Seriously, we all had a great laugh. Needless to say, I didn't wear that style quite as "spiky" as they stylist did it that first day.

Now I am on a kick that I am going to try and let it grow out. My goal is to not get it cut (meaning just a trim) until Logan's birthday in May. The last time I got a cut was in December before our family pictures. Twice now I have wanted Dustin to cut it for me but have talked myself out of it. Yes, I am that crazy!! I get so impatient with my hair that at times I let my husband cut it! Do you think I have issues or what?! So, I am going to try my hardest to refrain from cutting my hair. My goal is to wear a cute ponytail. Let's see if I can make it until May. If I do, I promise to post a picture of me and my "long" hair.

I think that is enough rambling now. Have a great day.

My Evening with Bon Jovi

I have one word to describe the Bon Jovi concert...AWESOME!! It was truly amazing. Let me say that I have not been to a concert in a very long time. To be honest, I didn't even remember what concerts were like. I had some ideas of what it would be like, but let me say that Bon Jovi was far better than I could have imagined. There was so much energy is was crazy. Jon Bon Jovi never stopped moving. He stepped off of stage for only one song in the whole 2+ hours they were on stage. They played a great mix of all their songs. I think I sat down for maybe 60 seconds the whole time. It truly was a great time. I am so glad that I had the opportunity.


My afternoon prior to the concert was not too good. I almost backed out of going. Neither of my boys took a nap that afternoon. They were quite fussy. They only good side was that I figured becasue they didn't take a nap then they would be sleepy and calm for Dustin that night....WRONG! Apparently my Luke, can't handle it when mommy is away. He was crying and fussing all night. Logan was a handful too. Let's just say it took Dustin a good 2 days to recover. I guess no more concerts for a while!


Except for my boys not dealing well with their mommy being gone for the evening and it taking 2 hours to get to the concert and 2 hours to get home, the night was great. It was nice to get out with the girls and be a grown up for a while. I had a lot of fun and it case I haven't said it before, it was an awesome concert!

Oh, What A Day!

For all of you that are consistent readers of my blog, don't freak out that this is the second day in a row that I am posting! I am so excited right now that I can't even stand it. So, here is my news...

A friend of mine called me today and left a message stating that she is going to a concert this week and there is an extra ticket and she wants to know if I wanted to go. Once I heard who is going to be in concert, I flipped out. I have enjoyed this band since I was in jr. high. When my oldest nephew was a little tot, I would dance around our house with him to their music. Right now I am so excited, I feel as if I am back in jr. high. I am thrilled to say that I am going to a BON JOVI concert!!!!! I have never seen them in concert and am beside myself with glee that I am going.

I just got off the phone with my friend and I swear we are acting like teenagers asking each other what the other is going to wear. I feel like I need a new outfit and need a new hairdo. I, of course, want to look my best for Bon Jovi!

I am going to end for now because I would just be babbling endlessly if I continue, besides I have to go and find something to wear to the concert!!

Have a good night...I know I will!

The Latest Around Here

I am happy to state that I am typing this post from our new laptop computer. I am typing while sitting on our couch watching T.V. It is awesome! We just got this computer last week and it has been wonderful. Dustin or I can be on the computer and can still be in the living room with one another. No more nagging from me for him to come and spend time with me or sit next to me. It was definetly a good buy for us!

We have all got colds around here. It seems like the boys had just gotten over their illnesses and now they are sick again. It started with Dustin last weekend and has made its way around to the rest of us throughout this past week. The boys and I have not made it out of our pajamas today. I hate to admit it, but it has been kind of nice.

I am also happy to say that after 6 months, Logan and Luke have bonded. It was the sweetest thing. Last week, I had laid Luke in his crib to play for a bit and Logan was in their room playing too. Dustin heard Luke laughing and we went to see what was going on and Logan had climbed up on one of his little chairs and was leaning over the crib and simply saying the word "go" to Luke and they both were cracking up laughing. This went on for a while and Dustin and I were so happy. Luke smiles whenever he sees his brother but Logan really didn't want anything to do with him. Now, Logan will talk to Luke and one day last week he couldn't wait for Luke to wake up from his nap. I can't wait for them to be best buddies.

We were able to see our baby nephew Blake this weekend. Scott, Amy and the boys came up for the weekend and we all spent time together yesterday at my parents house. It was fun to be all together. It has almost been 1 year since Scott, Amy and the boys moved away. In a way the time seems to have gone by so quickly, but in another way, it seems like many years ago that they lived so close. We reallly miss them!

The last thing I want to post about is my obsession with reality T.V. I know that I have admitted this before, but I do love reality T. V. (well most of it any way!). One of my favorite shows for the past few years has been "Big Brother." It has been on in the summers and is usually on 3 times a week. Well, in a twist, the show is on this winter. I have only watched 3 episodes and I am HOOKED. I know this is not a good thing to like a reality show so much and I am a bit ashamed to admit that I like it so much. I guess it just gives me something to look forward to watching.

So, that is it for now. It should be a fun week. My dad is on vacation all week and my mom has a couple of days off too. This means that the boys and I have people to hang out with!!! YEAH! I seriously am so excited for Spring and Summer. It is getting to us all by being in the house so much!!

Hope everyone has a blessed and safe week!

Winter Blues and Etc.

I find myself with a touch of the "winter blues." I feel like I am stuck in the house. We just got over our sicknesses and I hope to not go through it again any time soon, so I try to stay in when the weather is too cold and windy. I long for Spring and Summer when I can open my windows and go outside and feel and smell the fresh air. There isn't too much to do around where I live other than going to the mall and walking around. I need to find something to do!

Now that I have vented a bit, here is what has been going on...

First, my new baby nephew, Blake, was born 1 week ago today. I can't wait to see him and hold him and smell him. I was talking to Amy last night and told her that I know that she had a baby and I know that he is here but it doesn't seem real because I haven't seem him yet. As you all may know, my brother and his family moved about 3 hours away from home last March. So, it isn't like I can run over to see him any time I want, but if all goes as planned and we all remain healthy we are going to go and meet the newest member of our family this weekend! I can't wait.

Dustin had Monday off, for the holiday, and we ended up going out to where I used to work. We had lunch with our boys and then went to see the people I used to work with. It was nice to see them and catch up on their lives. I can't believe it has almost been 3 years since I worked with them. Time flies!!! Then we met up with one of his friends for coffee and then came home. It was a very nice day.

The boys are getting bigger and bigger. Logan loves all of his new toys he got for Christmas. He plays in his room all day long. I told Dustin that I almost regret putting the train table and easel in his room, because I feel like I never get to see him anymore! He is also talking more and more, which is fun. This week we started playing the "fish" game. This is where you have a plastic fishing rod and about 20 fish that go around in a circle with their mouths opening and closing and you have to fish them out. He loves it. It is fun to play the game with him.

Luke is getting bigger too. He is almost 6 months now. He is teething and has started "yelling." The boy can be very loud when he wants!!! He doesn't like to sit still and wants to constantly be moving or playing -- no down time for Mom!! I cherish my two boys and love them so much. I love the fact that I get to be home with them and watch them grow and teach them new things.

So, that is the story around here. I hope you all have a blessed day.

Oh, I would like to wish my friend Suzanna a very happy birthday. If memory serves me right, Saturday is the big day. I hope it is a great one, Suzanna!