Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Jesus! As we sat together as a family last night and read the story of Jesus' birth I thought again how blessed we are to be able to openly teach our children about Jesus. I pray that we never take that for granted.

This is a picture of our Christmas card that has yet to reach the mailbox. Oops!
Merry Christmas to all of you!

One handed typing

I just wanted everyone to know that things are going great with baby Evelyn. Luke is still amazed by her and asks to hold her several times a day. He's such a sweet big brother! Evelyn is sleeping well, eating a ton (she's already up to 7lbs 11oz as of Wed) and is generally a content, easy going baby. We hope she stays that way! JD's semester is finished, and we're enjoying having him home. I'm doing really well. I'm tired, but that's to be expected. I love my wonderful family and am so blessed.

If you think about it, please pray that Evelyn continues to do so well, that Luke doesn't go through the jealous stage that everyone has warned us about and that JD and I stay healthy as we go through the cold and flu season with not enough rest.

I'll post some more pictures soon. I promise!

More Pictures

Getting our Christmas tree the day before Evelyn came. (Perhaps the hay ride and trek through the tree farm had something to do with going into labor???)

Mommy and Evelyn right after she was born.

Evelyn getting her bath at the hospital.

Evelyn sleeping tonight.

The baby is here!

Evelyn Jane was born yesterday morning (11/30) at 11:03. She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Labor with her wasn't quite as short as Luke's, but she did arrive here in 8 hrs with no complications at all. She is doing great, and we are now at home resting. Luke is loving having a "Bee Bee" here and so far is a very sweet big brother. Thank you all for your prayers! Here is a picture that I took tonight of Luke holding Evelyn for the first time. He LOVES her and didn't want her to leave his lap. I'll try to post more pictures when time allows.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Though we're not celebrating until tomorrow I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a wonderful day remembering all of the things God has done for you and enjoying your time with your family.
As we are separated from most of our family by many, many miles we have to cherish each moment spent with them. To all of you we won't see this holiday please know that you're missed and that we love you! Hopefully we'll see each of you soon!

Still here!

We went to visit a friend in the hospital who just had her baby tonight. On our way to her room we were asked by 2 different nurses if I needed assistance meaning was I in labor. Hmmm... Then at Walmart I was waiting in line and this little girl standing next to me asked her mom if I had a baby in my tummy. Her mom just said, "Yes, she does" and went on with her waiting. I was surprised that there was no hesitation or anything like that to her response. I guess I do look ready to burst at any moment. I think we're finally close to being ready for this baby to actually make it's appearance. I decided after having serious contractions last night that I needed to buy those last minute things and finally be ready. I'm sure that just means that it will be another 2-3 weeks though. HA!
Oh, and I did get the house clean and back to normal. Thank goodness. It was a lot of scrubbing and laundry, but it was so worth it! Now if we can just maintain it I will be proud!

Too much!

The dishes are piled up, the laundry is heaping, the bathroom is in disarray and the dog is seriously shedding like crazy. My life is FULL right now. I don't know how this happened, but it did! Perhaps it's because I'm carrying around a 15 lb basketball on my stomach that insists on moving every other second of the day which leaves me with no energy and a sore back? I don't know, but I can't take it anymore. Luckily our bathroom just got finished being tiled and we're in the process of being able to use it again. That means no more men walking through the house all day long and banging the whole time they're here. I'll post pics of the process soon. Or perhaps it's because I want to spend every extra minute of the day outside with my little guy while it's still in the 70's during the day because I know that snow is right around the corner (literally. They're calling for it on Monday.). Whatever the reason tomorrow is the day to start getting this house back together. No more excuses! No more laziness! It will get done. And no, this isn't nesting. It's the need for cleanliness! HA!

Happy Halloween!

Today was nice (well, not freezing) and the leaves were beautiful, so I decided that it was time for Luke and I to head outside for our yearly Halloween pictures. Here's a few of my fav's:







He's a monkey, by the way. He was making monkey noises the whole time he was getting dressed up. So cute!

Sleeping baby

Ok, so he's not really a "baby" anymore, but as I sit here typing I am listening to sawing and hammering coming from our bathroom that's right across the hall from Lukey's room. It's pretty loud too, and he's just sleeping away! We're undergoing a bathroom remodel starting bright and early tomorrow, so demolition is happening tonight in preparation. I really don't know how he's sleeping through this. There's NO WAY that I could. He must just be super tired or be a great sleeper who can ignore anything. Kids are truly amazing! I will post pics of the bathroom when it's finished. Only a few more days!!!

34 weeks and counting...

I really haven't forgotten about this blog. Our computer that we use to upload all of our pictures has decided to only work when it feels like it. I just don't have the time and patience to restart it several times right now. So, with no pics to show, here's what we've been up to:

JD- Working like crazy! Classes, committee's, a time consuming art piece and being a wonderful husband and father. Very busy!
Me- Getting large, trying to do lots before the baby comes, being a wife and mama, and needing a nap every day to survive!
Luke- Running everywhere, trying to talk more, showing a little attitude at times, eating every 10 minutes and getting over a cold that just won't let go.

That's us in a nutshell. We finally have nothing on our calendar this weekend and are looking forward to it. Anybody else have too much to do and no time to do it? Please tell me that we're not alone!

New pants

Yesterday I decided that I wanted to make Luke some Jack-O-Lantern pants just for fun. I whipped some together and had Luke try them on. He didn't want to take them off, so I decided I'd take some pictures of him in them.




And these are just because he was in a picture taking mood. Gotta love that sweet toothy smile! Oh, and that's a sticker on his sleeve. He's loving stickers right now and has to have one on each arm every single day! He just cracks me up!

Discovering Play Dough

The other day I decided that Luke was ready to have his first play dough experience. We mixed all the ingredients together, and I let Luke pick what color he wanted to make it. He thought it was the best thing! After it cooled down I laid it out for him to play with. At first he had no clue what it was or what he was supposed to do with it. He's not a messy child at all so he was very unsure about putting his hands in it. After a while he figured out that it was lots of fun. He squished it, cut it, patted it, etc. He really liked when I made it into a ball (go figure). Now whenever he sees the tray that we used to play with it on he asks to get out the play dough. It's so amazing to see the discovery of something new through the eyes of your child. It makes me excited for the years to come!

Still here!

Well, you say, where in the world have I been lately and why haven't I been posting? I have no great answer for you. To be honest I've been living life, being a mom and wife and growing a baby. And you thought I was going to tell you about another amazing adventure we've gone on to a far away place! I can only dream! I will try to start this up again though and keep all of you readers up to date on what's going on in our lives. It has been busy lately and shows no hope for calming down for quite some time. I like it like that though. It keeps me active and there's never a boring moment. I do need to get out my camera again though and start shooting some pictures again. Poor Luke is flash deprived lately! We'll have to fix that tomorrow! Check back soon and they'll be some pics of toddler Luke (where did my baby go?).

Summer in a box

I figured that there is no way in the world for me to catch up with all we did this summer, so I'm going to post pics of some of the events (after Germany) and give a quick summary. This way I can start posting about what's happening in our lives today and not what happened 2 months ago. Here we go!!!

We went to Lake Michigan for the first time and climbed "the dunes". I will admit that I was completely out of breath when I got to the top, but hey, at least I made it pregnant and all! Luke loved the sand and actually ate some!




Luke got a taste of ice cream at the end of our adventure. We needed to cool down!


We made the back porch into a playroom for Luke. I had another picture of it, but I can't find it now. We're still getting furniture for it, but it's coming along nicely!


Luke has found his passion for books. We've read every single book of his (and that's a lot) at least a dozen times. I'm glad that he enjoys it though. Here he is reading to himself.


Luke has also discovered that he loves to dance! I pulled out my keyboard one day and he likes playing the songs on it and dancing his little twinkle toes to the beat. It's cute!


We also went to visit my family down south for a week. It was nice to see everyone. Nana and Pop Pop took us to the water park. Luke loved the water as did we!



Lastly, I've been sewing again and knitting a little. Here's my lastest creation:



I think I'm about caught up. I know I missed a lot of other things that we did, but there just isn't time to blog it all right now. Pregnancy and a toddler has me on constant busy mode!

Summer is almost over...

...and school is about to begin. Wow! Summer just flew by as you can probably tell from my lack of posts. I have so many pics to share and so much to tell too. I promise to start up again soon. We're finally getting back on schedule and are staying put for several months. YAY! Here's a short summary of our summer:
Travels: JD to Italy, Luke and I to MD, All of us to Germany, All of us to Lake Michigan, All of us on a road trip to MD.
Luke: Running around like a mad man, Talking more and more (or should I say yelling?), Loving the swimming pool, growing 2 inches and 7 oz (he's still tiny!), Falling in love with reading books.
JD: Didn't get halfway through his list of things he wanted to do, Visited his art show in Austria, discovered Facebook, cleaned the basement, discovered the greatness of Hinkley's Bakery.
Katie: Growing larger every day, Loved traveling but is so glad to be home for a while, What did I do the rest of the summer???

The official squiggler

I thought Luke was squiggly, but so far this baby has him beat by a mile. We had an ultrasound today and saw the baby moving everywhere. Everything looks perfect and the baby is measuring right on track. Shew! God is good! Though we were given the option, we decided not to find out the gender this time around. I'm excited for the surprise. JD's still on the fence about not knowing, but there's not much we can do about that now. Here are some pictures of our new little one at 19 wks.

A profile shot:


3D pictures:



Technology is so amazing, isn't it?

Neuschwanstein

This is one of the many castles that we saw while we were away. It was so beautiful and HUGE! This is the castle that Cinderella's castle was created from. It doesn't look exactly the same, but you can definitely see the resemblance. I took this picture on a bridge specifically built to view the castle. After I took this we took the long trek to the building but no pictures there were as amazing as this one. After we finished we took a horse and buggy ride down the mountain. Luke LOVED this! He was so excited to watch the horses and say, "Ahhhhhhh..." as we went down the bumpy road. What a great day!

Let me in!


The side of the castle.


Our buggy ride before we got on.

"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"

We made it home yesterday and are so glad to be back! We had a fabulous time in Germany and Austria, but there's just something about sleeping in your own bed after 2 weeks away. I have so many pictures to share too! I hope you don't get sick of them. We saw some of the most breathtaking scenery while we were there. God's creation never ceases to amaze me! Well, enough blabbing. Here's pictures taken while we were in Austria of places from the Sound of Music. And yes, we did watch the movie while there. I love it

One of the fountains (we were driving while I took this):


The front of their house. We would have to walk far to get a better shot, but this is the front wall that's in the movie when she's going to meet the family for the first time.


The back of the house. It's so beautiful too! Also, this is the lake where they fell into it while greeting their "new mom to be".


The church where they got married. Her in real life Abby wouldn't let them film inside so they used this one.


Inside the church. I got to walk down the aisle.


More pictures to come soon!

Hello From Germany!

Hi, my readers! We're here in Germany visiting JD's parents and having a great time. Well, except for the trip to the ER with Luke. He officially has croop, but is finally doing better. It was a little scary! The scenery is beautiful here and the weather has been perfect. We look forward to seeing more sites as we travel tomorrow, and I will definitely be taking lots of pictures to post when we get back. Hopefully, I'll be able to update again soon. Sending love to you all!

Extra, Extra! Read All About it!

JD was in the paper on Sunday! He had submitted a notice to the local paper about an art piece of his that got into a show in Austria and they printed it! I am so proud of him! Read about it here.

Wow!

The other night I looked out of the window and this is what I saw:


It was the strangest thing. It was thundering and all of the leaves on the trees were turned over, but there was also a beautiful sunset. It only lasted for a couple minutes so I'm glad I could catch it on "film".

Amazing!

A friend and artist from JD's old workplace drew this for us. She had taken a picture of Luke and I when we had visited and she turned it into a beautiful drawing. We love it! It's now hanging proudly on our wall.

Book Review

I'm reading a book that my pastor's wife loaned me, and it's so good that I just must tell other mother's out there about it. It's nothing incredibly deep or long winded. It's just a mom talking about her experiences when they happened and now looking back on them. It's VERY encouraging and inspiring. It has short chapters for those 5 minutes of break we have in the day, and it's mostly in story form so it keeps you interested. I highly recommend that you read it especially if you're a mom and need some encouragement. It's called A Mother's Footprints of Faith by Carol Kuykendall. Go buy it or get it from the library! You won't regret it.

What's been happening in our house?

I'm so glad you asked! Well, life here has been exciting, relaxing, enjoyable and just plain great! First up for any who don't know we are expecting another little bundle on or around Dec 1st! Here's a picture of our little babe at 11 weeks (I'm 15 weeks now):

We couldn't be more excited and of course a little nervous.

Next, JD's finally finished with the semester and is back home from Italy. I'll try to post pictures of his trip soon. We are REALLY enjoying having him home all day every day with us. Luke is becoming quite the Daddy's little boy. He follows JD around the house and yells, "DA!" when he can't see him.

Oh, did I mention that Luke is finally walking? He's been taking steps for a while now, but just recently has started walking throughout the house. He's so proud of himself too. He is LOVING his pool in the backyard. He will immediately go to it when we outside and jump in clothes and all. He is definitely a water baby!



Our summer will be full of traveling, house projects, family visiting, pool time and just general family together time. We are loving it!


Anyone want a kiss? -Luke

We made it!

Today was the longest day of my life. It started off busy with finishing packing and traveling to the airport. It continued to run at a crazy pace as we had to wait forever to check my bag and go through airport security. I'm serious about the forever part. I just kept watching the clock and trying not to stress. I had to get some food for Luke and I before we boarded the plane because it was lunch time and we were starving. By the time we got to the gate my group (Southwest) had already boarded and most of the people were on the plane. Urgh! Luke and I quickly said our goodbyes to my parents and jumped in line. We ended up in the very last row because that was the only row still available and I just couldn't sit next to someone who was already seated with a baby in my arms. I think that people should be able to choose if they want to sit next to us. Anyway, we got our seat and a very nice couple sat beside us. We took off and everything was fine. Luke was eating lunch and was flirting with the woman next to us. Then the terror started. Luke was finished eating and very tired. He was ready for his nap about an hour before. The problem was 1. he doesn't ever sleep in my arms and 2. his ears were bothering him because they were full. Those two things mean screaming his head off for 30 minutes would soon follow. I tried everything to no avail. My ears are still ringing. He finally fell asleep and everyone on board breath a sigh of relief. We landed, deplaned, got my bag, caught a shuttle, found our car and started our trip home. We live over an hour away from the airport, and we had to stop to get our dog on the way. About 2 hours later we walked in our door and collapsed. Well, maybe I collapsed and Luke rediscovered his toys. What a long day! I don't want to do this day over again ever! Home sweet home isn't the half of it. Now if JD were here our home would be complete again. Sunday can't come fast enough!

We miss Dada!

JD's been gone for several days now, and we miss him terribly! Though we know he's having a great time in Italy we still wish he was here with us. Luke has been yelling, "Daaaa!" to the top of his lungs. He just doesn't understand where he is. I think he thinks that if he yells loud enough JD will suddenly appear. Though it's cute and a little sad it's also ear piercing! Only a few days left until we're all back together at our home and sharing stories about our vacation adventures. We can't wait!
* This picture was "stolen" from my parents computer. It was taken at Sea World in December.

Mindless fun

Lately in the evenings after Lukey goes to bed JD and I sit on the couch and just relax. It's been so busy here lately and the down time is glorious. Anyway, JD and I have discovered our new love for Yahoo Games. There are so many puzzle games that you can play on line without downloading anything, and they're so fun! Brick Breaking, Cubis 2 and Super Bounce Out are some of our fav's. They are perfect for the mindless times when you don't want to think anymore. Try some and I know you'll agree with me (well, maybe not A, but that's only because she's a game hater). Enjoy those mindless times!

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful Mom's out there! I hope you have a wonderful day!

I'm sitting here wishing that I was with my mother on this day. I would love to hug her and tell her how important she is to me. 600 long miles separate us on this day. Talking on the phone is nice, but just not the same. If she were sitting here next to me I would tell her that I love her so much and appreciate everything that she does for me. Not even the material things (though those are nice). I treasure the talks that we have, the knowledge that no matter what happens she's here for me and loves me, the constant support and encouragement that she is and the fact that she raised me to love God with all of my heart. I remember many occasions when I would wake up early in the morning and walk out of my room and there she would be sitting on the couch in the living room reading her Bible or praying. I always knew that she was praying for me and my future. That had more of an impact on me than most other things that she did. That showed me love in the most important way. Thank you, Mom, for all that you have done for me, for being a woman of God, for loving our family and for being selfless in so many ways. Happy Mother's Day! I love you!

Today

Today was quite the day! Luke's had a fever for a few days now so we decided it's time to take him to the doctor's to make sure he's ok. Well, 5 hours, 3 catheter tries, 2 sticky urine bags, 1 poke to get blood, 1 strep test and the general prodding later we discovered that he has a virus and to give him lots of fluids and med's to keep the fever down. What a day! I felt so bad for my sweet little man who just wanted to snuggle with his mommy and take a nap. He's was such a trooper. He even smiled at the nurses and doctor as we left. God has truly blessed us with a sweet little boy! I'm so thankful for him!

Lukey Boy

I finally had a second to upload some pictures that I've taken of Luke. I've been a huge slacker in taking pictures lately. I'm not sure why. I haven't gotten excited to get out the camera especially since it's been cold here again. Brrr!!! I have been video taping though. As soon as I get those uploaded I'll share some. I hope you enjoy these though!


Rome (our dog)and Luke stand at this exact spot every day that the front door is open and wait for JD to get home. It's really cute to watch them both get super excited when he pulls into the driveway.


Luke and I are just being silly in this one.


Luke's beloved thumb.


I forgot to turn this one to black and white. Oops! Luke is trying with all of his might to sit in his little car. He actually got frustrated with it after a few minutes and started yelling at it. He couldn't understand why he couldn't get in. He loves pushing this toy around the living room. It was a great present GG and Grandpa! Thank you again!

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll be taking some more soon!