Jackson

Jackson has been SO much fun lately.  He makes us laugh ALL the time and he's learning so many new things.  It's so much fun to watch him discover things and do things just to entertain us. 

This video shows some of the best of Jackson.  It is from a few weeks ago when we were home on a snow day and we called my mom.  He LOVES to talk on the phone, SCREAMS when something happens that he doesn't like, and is learning lots of new words.



We are so blessed with our two boys and I'm so thankful for all the laughter and joy they bring to our lives.  We are so busy with them and I know it will only get busier, but I'm so thankful we have them to keep us busy!!  I can't imagine life without them!

All I want for Christmas....

is a snowboard.  This is all Brady has been asking for when he is asked about what he wants for Christmas and we weren't quite sure if it was a good idea.  We ended up giving in and my mom actually got it for him.  I don't know where he got the idea that he wanted a snowboard since we don't do a lot of winter sports.  My best guess is Diego :) 
We didn't have Christmas with my family until yesterday so Brady was a little disappointed on Christmas after he didn't get a snowboard.  Don't get me wrong, he was still very happy about all of his other gifts, but there was definitely some disappointed when there was no snowboard.  Finally....he got to open THE PRESENT.

Here is video of him opening the snowboard, we saved it for last.



And, today we went out twice for him to try it.  We only got this video as our memory card was full, but I'll try to get a better one in the next few days.



We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and got everything you wanted :)

Christmas and Winter Fun

Hurray for our first snow day!! Now I can catch all of you up on our winter/Christmas activities so far this year!! The boys have both been loving the snow and Christmas activities so far this year and it just makes me enjoy it so much more too. I've always enjoyed Christmas, but having the boys allows me to see Christmas through a child's eyes again and it's SO much fun!

We didn't waste any time in decorating! We got right to work the day after Thanksgiving. Brady helped to hang our stockings with care...I wonder if he'll fill them with goodies too??

Here are a few of our latest activities in photos!!

The day after Thanksgiving Jackson and I had tons of fun baking with my mother-in-law, her sisters, and lots of cousins and kids!!! It was a big group and we made LOTS of cookies!

Jackson getting ready for the first delicious Christmas cookie of the season!! These are the BEST cookies!!! YUM :)

I was excited to learn how to make banket this year. I love EATING it, but I've never made it before. I had my first experience with making it and Jackson wanted to help as well. He had lots of fun rolling the dough for the banket :) Baking can get a little messy!!!

This is the look we get from Jackson now when the camera comes out. He's become a poser for the camera and it is absolutely HILARIOUS!! The boys LOVE the snow. Brady is constantly asking me and Brett, "Don't you just love the snow?" It's really cute and funny!! They can't wait for this snowstorm and all of the snow it will bring!!

I am sure I will have more snow pictures for you after our big storm!!

Great Fun with the Griffins

Wow....I know you're all shocked to see two posts within a few days of eachother after a 2 month silence!! Last night, we went to the Griffins game. I was a little worried we would have to get a sitter for Jackson and leave him home, but he seemed to be doing well yesterday so we decided to include him in our fun. We had such a great time.

Brady loved it and his eyes were so big the whole entire time just taking everything in. He asked lots of questions about how the game worked and even got into explaining to us what was going on :) Jackson really loved the music and enjoyed peeking at the people behind us as well.

We couldn't get many great pictures as it was hard to position the camera since we were pretty close together in the upper bowl. The saddest part about the game was that we did not witness a Griffins goal. Jackson was getting very sleepy halfway through the third period and the Griffins were down 3-0 so we decided to head out a little early and beat traffic. I should know better than to leave a game early!!! The Griffins did score a goal after we left and I was SO dissappointed Brady and Jackson didn't get to see it.

It was a little difficult to explain to Brady why the players were fighting at one point in the game and of course why everyone was cheering them on :) Hopefully that won't be what he tries to do when he plays "hockey" with his brother or other kids at daycare!! The penalty box was a good lesson for him - maybe we should make one of those instead of the time-out chair that we use in the basement :)

Brady was REALLY excited for his special treat of cotton candy and Jackson had to try some out too!!

At the end of the night both boys were VERY tired. Brady was upset because we had to leave the game and he had a meltdown (this ALWAYS happens when he stays up late!!) and Jackson was just SO ready to fall asleep - he almost fell asleep in my arms at the game despite how loud it was!!

All in all it was a GREAT family night :)

Fall Fun and Flu

Wow....I can't believe it's been months since I posted!! It has been very busy since school started back up and we've also had a computer crash in there! Here are some pictures from our fall.

Brady and I joined some friends in Richland and went to Gull Meadow Farms. Brady had lots of fun riding the Pumpkin Lane Train and checking out the corn maze!

Pumpkins....ready for carving!! The boys were SO excited about pumpkins this year and had lots of fun pulling all the guts out!YUM!! Homemade Apple Crisp with ice cream :)Halloween....Brady was a cowboy and Jackson was a turtle. We didn't do too much trick or treating, but we had a busy night! Daycare party, stopped by grandparent's houses and a little trick or treating. It was lots of fun until the end of the night when Brady threw a fit about wanting to wear his candy necklace to bed!!! Playing in the leaves. The boys had so much fun running, jumping, and throwing the leaves!! What great FREE fun :)
We have also been dealing with the flu in our house. I started it out two weeks ago and then Brady was sick last week. Jackson is currently fighting the flu with a pretty bad cough. We took him in to the doctor yesterday and his lungs are clear, but we'll be watching him closely over the next few days. I pray that this can be the last of our sickness for a long while!!

I will try to be better about posting more often!! Sorry for the long silence.

Painful Please

Apparently please is a very difficult, if not painful word for Jackson to learn. Jackson is learning to say a lot more words and he definitely mimics a lot of what we say, but note the reaction to trying to teach please!! And don't miss out on him saying "BUBBA" at the end of the video!!

Brady reading the Cat in the Hat

I know that many of you will not want to watch this very long video of Brady reading, but the grandparents out there will LOVE this one :) Here is Brady "reading" The Cat in the Hat along with my phone ringing, Jackson having a little bit of a fit, and more excitement :)
Enjoy!! Hopefully it works out as it's my first post from YouTube!!

Finally!!

Well, it still feels surreal, but we officially moved out of our house in Kalamazoo last Saturday and we closed on the house yesterday. It has definitely been bittersweet and there are moments of doubt that still cross my mind, but I am confident that we did the right thing and we are right where God wants us to be! I don't know how long it will be until I truly accept that we no longer own a house in Kalamazoo, but I'm sure it will really hit me soon.
On Saturday, after almost everyone had left the house, my mother-in-law made a little sign for the top of our for sale sign that said FINALLY and Brady drew a little picture on it. We posted it up there and I think that really about sums it up. We've been waiting A LONG TIME for this and although we are happy, it's not how I thought it would be. It's almost like the feeling of be careful what you wish for because it might not be as great as you thought it would. In getting what we wanted, we had to make large sacrifices, but I believe it will be for the good of our family and will definitely bring us closer to God and His plan for us.

Thank you to all of you for your prayers, support, kind words, and physical help to those of you who helped us move! We truly could not have done this without you and we're looking forward to a new beginning!!

Our new place in Grandville....not the best picture, but you get the idea :)

More Good News

Well, God is definitely taking care of everything. We got a call from our realtor tonight and the buyer is asking for NO repairs. There were some minor things that they could have asked us to repair, but they are taking the house as is!! I am continuing to trust and feel so blessed right now! We are moving on August 29, but don't yet have a closing date. We found a duplex in Grandville that we couldn't pass up so we decided to go for it. We are trusting that God will take care of the rest and provide what we need, even if it's not what we want! God is good ALL THE TIME!!! Thanks for all of your prayers :) I will continue to keep you posted!

Camping at Gun Lake

Last week Thursday and Friday, the boys and I went camping at Gun Lake! Brett was off on a golf trip for the weekend and Bamma Shelley (Brett's mom) was camping in a trailer out at Gun Lake. We planned on staying a few nights, but decided to come home Friday when there were rain and storms predicted. Turns out we made a good choice since there was A LOT of rain overnight and during the day on Saturday. We had so much fun camping and hope to do it again!! Thank you Bamma Shelley for being our hostess :)

Brady enjoyed his first sea doo ride with his "pal" (Brady's word) Andrew. This was the son of a family friend and he was SO sweet with Brady!

Jackson was a goof (as always) and he learned a new word while we were camping. "Uh-oh" is now heard many times a day at our house! It's very cute - I'll try to get a video up for everyone!

Brady also had his first tubing experience - it was a pretty slow ride, but he's getting more and more confident in the water. He absolutely LOVED tubing with his pal Andrew!

And Brady always had to wear his "cowboy" hat...which I think of as more of an old man hat on him :) How silly is he?

Soon to be Grandville Residents

Well, it's official...we are moving to Grandville on August 29...that's two weeks from tomorrow!! I am very overwhelmed right now as we have LOTS of packing to do, a garage sale to have, and a house to close on in Kalamazoo, but I know that God will take care of all the details. I think I'm finally starting to figure out the lesson in all of this - dependence and trust in/on God. I need to let go and I'm still working on it, but every day I feel more at peace with our situation.

We have decided that we will move whether or not this contract goes through. So far, we haven't heard anything back from inspections (they were on Tuesday) and I don't really know if that's normal or not. If I understand correctly, the buyer has until Sunday to make a new offer/ask for changes and after that we will have the appraisal. I don't anticipate any problems with appraisal since our house appraised for $35,000 more a year ago, but our realtor says you never know what can happen!!

Regardless, we are moving in two weeks...let me know if you're available to help - this is going to be a big move!! We love you all and thank you for your continued prayer and support - I will try to remember to keep blogging!! I know I've been slacking lately, but I'm just enjoying my time with the boys and trying to get things ready for our move and for the start of school!

A Day at Bubba's

Yesterday, we spent the day at Bubba & Lou's (Brett's grandparents) out on Big Pine Island Lake. We had an amazing time with great family - Brett's parents also went out for the day! The boys absolutely loved getting to ride on the boat, play in the sand, swim in the water, and of course enjoy ice cream AND cake!! Here are some photos from our day! Thanks so much to Bamma Shelley for being our photographer for the day! And, good news is our new camera arrived while we were gone!! Hopefully I will have more posts to follow!

We couldn't believe it when Jackson and Brady both fell asleep on the boat - the sun and water really wore them out and then we just putzed around the lake for awhile (yes, putzed is a word :))

Jackson and Papa D - Jackson loved walking all over the boat and visiting everybody. He was pretty good at walking on the boat too!

Brady got really brave and jumped into the deep water with Brett. I was so proud of him because it's the best he's done all year! Jackson LOVED the water, but he just floated around with either Brett or me. This was my favorite part of the day - swimming in the water as a family. I have always loved the water and I hope that my boys will too!

Thanks for a great day Bubba, Lou, Dave, and Shelley!! We had so much fun and can't wait to come back!

Uncertainty

I feel so lost right now. As most of you know, we have been trying to sell our house for almost two years now. I took a job in Grand Rapids two years ago and Brett has been working in Grand Rapids even longer than that. Since taking the job, our house has been on the market with lots of showings, but absolutely NO OFFERS! We have dropped the price $25,000 from where we started and we are now listing our house for less than we owe on it.

Let me start out by saying I am thankful. I am thankful that we have a Savior and a Father who loves us. I am thankful that we are all healthy. I am thankful we are blessed with a happy marriage. I am thankful we are blessed with two of the best boys. I am thankful we have wonderful family and friends who are so supportive of us and love us so much. I am thankful that we both have jobs. I am thankful we have insurance. I could keep going on and on about the things I am thankful for and I have no doubts about the fact that we are blessed!

However, I am also confused and lost and uncertain. Two years ago, when I was offered the Spanish position at Cross Creek, we felt like God was answering our prayers to move back to Grand Rapids and to be closer to family and many friends (even though we have some wonderful friends here in Kalamazoo!!). Everything just felt like it was supposed to happen and we felt completely confident that we were doing God's will. We knew the housing market was starting to go down, but we thought we could and would sell our house because God would make it happen. Here we are two years later with a for sale sign still in our yard.

Last year, we thought we had walked into an unbelievable position with a couple in Grand Rapids who wanted to move to Kalamazoo. We were going to try to buy each other's houses and it just seemed to good to be true. Turns out it was! Things got very complicated and there were issues with home values that prevented it from working out.

We don't know where to go from here. I would really like a clear message from God telling us what to do. I feel like crying out..."I'm willing to follow you Lord, but I don't know where you're leading me!" How do you follow when you don't know where you're supposed to go? How do we know what to do? I'm tired and I'm confused and I just really don't know what we're supposed to do anymore. I don't know if we went down the wrong path and all of this is a result of that or if we are still following, but it's just a little unclear of where we're going.

As it stands right now, we can live in our house until the market turns around and drive an hour both ways (so two hours a day) for work or we could lower our price yet again even though that doesn't guarantee a sale. We definitely aren't making money and we're willing to take a loss, but we're at the point now where the amount of loss would equal a house payment before we start talking about where we will live. While I trust that God will provide for us, we also have to be realistic about how much of a loss we can take on this house.

I guess I'm using this entry to vent what's on my heart, but also to ask for prayer. Please pray that we would know what we're supposed to do and that we could follow where God is leading us. Please pray that we could find the lesson in all of this and learn from it. Please pray that we can remember God has a plan for our lives. I know these things deep down in my soul, but right now they feel buried under all of this uncertainty and confusion. I just want to be able to move forward from this...

Air Zoo

On Saturday while we were supposed to have two showings (not sure anyone actually came at all) we decided to head to the Air Zoo since they have free general admission. We have actually never been even though it's about 10 minutes away. It was fun, but a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Lisa came to visit us this weekend and she came along with us and took pictures for us!! Our camera is broken and I just ordered a new one last night! Hopefully it gets here soon!

There is a kids' room where they have toys and four free rides. Brady and Jackson both enjoyed "flying" on the rides. I think that Brady will be riding roller coasters with me soon. He loved the rides and wanted to do the simulator with Lisa and I!! I can't wait to take him to Cedar Point.

He rode the airplanes twice and we went on the balloon ride together which went around fairly fast :)

It was a fun trip and not too expensive either since admission was FREE :) Thanks for going with us, Lisa and for being our photographer :)

4th of July Festivities

We are having a wonderful 4th of July weekend and we hope you are too!! We celebrated with family and friends on the 3rd of July at Green Lake! We did some swimming, boating, played music, and enjoyed some fireworks! Both of the kids loved the fireworks, and even though Jackson fell asleep before them, he woke up to enjoy the show!

On Saturday, we went to the 4th of July Parade in Richland. It was a fun parade once Brady got some candy :) Jackson enjoyed the music, as always, and did some dancing for the people around us!

Congratulations Nick & Kerri Petersen

Last week Saturday, we attended Nick & Kerri's wedding in Grand Haven. Kerri is Brett's cousin. Brady really wanted to come with us, so Jackson stayed home with Bamma Jess and our family of three headed to Grand Haven!

It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding with one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen. Brady was a little crabby at first because he had a very short nap on the way to the wedding, but after a few sweets, he enjoyed dancing the night away!

We only stayed until 9:30, because Brady was starting to get a little crabby, but we had a wonderful time!!