Hoo, hoo,....Parents!!!

We are trying desperately to teach Adrianna to listen more when people are talking and not interrupt. Her new thing to get us to pay attention is to say quite loudly, "Hoo, hoo parents, I'm talking to you!". It is very difficult not to laugh and still teach her about respecting other people.

She also has been asking the ever famous "Why" to EVERYTHING! I'm sure all you parents of pre-school age kids understand! It is even to the most mundane things like "Go get dressed", "Why?". Part of it is habit and sometimes she really does want to know "why"!

She is a very thoughtful little girl despite the annoying habits little ones sometimes have! I hurt my back last week and she kept rubbing it and saying "It's okay mama, dry your tears". She even prayed for me on her own before one of our meals! She is always looking out for her sister by making sure the basement door is closed and that Eliza doesn't have anything in her mouth that's not supposed to be there! She is such a great helper. I am so excited to make her aware of her tender heart and someday help lead her to the Lord!

I am learning a lot about walking in the Spirit lately. God is preparing my heart for something, I just don't know what yet! One of the things Beth Moore has said in our study is that sometimes things are caught and something they are taught. I sometimes get so focused on teaching that I forget about how my attitude during the day is affecting my girls. I see my frustration come out with Adrianna towards Eliza. She'll point her finger at Eliza and say "Don't do that sweetie"! When I am in a "down" mood, I see that in my girls and how they act during the day. I really have to pray each day that the Spirit is leading me and not my own self. I also need to live beyond myself! I am so selfish sometimes with my time and my thoughts that I try and live life through my own strength. Living beyond myself is allowing Christ help me do anything! To help me get through the routine of each day with his strength and grace. To not worry about how "I'm" going to handle something or do something. I know this is going to be a lifelong challenge and it has been so humbling to be made more aware of my own weakness without Christ.
I am trying to see things through my girl's eyes and be blessed by their lives instead of frustrated all the time. Parenting is quite a hard thing! It is very hard to sacrifice and give up things but I wouldn't change it for anything!

Eliza is going to be a strong one! She is pretty happy most of the time except when she wants something. She thinks everything is fun and silly and doesn't seem to be affected by the words "no touch"! She will not leave the CD player alone and now she won't leave the blinds alone!
I was standing right next to her when I told her "no touch" to the blinds so she moved farther down the window so she could touch them without me near her!
She also loves to try and stand up in her high chair. We have started strapping her in, but you can imagine how well that goes over! She does not like to be confined!
She is going to be our happy, strong, independent child! She also does not like her sister touching her car seat in the car. She screams the whole time Adrianna has her hand on it!
She does play pretty well by herself, but she also loves books, stacking cups, and babies. When she was a few months old, I remember her being so happy and smiley. She still is, but now we have added the strong will!

I am so enjoying the journey of parenting despite the pain and frustration! It is SO GOOD to know that we have Christ to lead us through our days and help us!

Pumpkins, Peanut Butter, & the Letter P!

I have been very anxious to get back to our school time! We took a break for a few weeks because we had Eliza's birthday and then my birthday, as well as some other things going on! We are on the letter P and have been doing some fun things with pumpkins, paths, playdoh, and peanut butter. We made some peanut butter balls today and they are SO GOOD! I've given the recipe below because they are fun to make with kids and pretty healthy too!


Peanut Butter Balls
1/2 C. peanut butter
2 1/2 T. nonfat dry milk
2 T. raisins
2T honey
1/4 C. coconut
(you can also add some wheat germ for some added nutrition!)

Mix all the ingredients together and then form into balls.
Roll in Sesame seeds.
EAT and ENJOY!

Makes about 18 (depends on what size you make them!)

(I did not add raisins or coconut. I added 1/4 C. of oatmeal in place of the coconut. (not a big fan of coconut!). You could probably add any type of dried fruit in place of the raisins.)

Beware of the Kirby man

I had the most creative marketing strategy done to me today. A guy came to my door and gave me a canister of Clorox wipes. In my naivete I accepted it and asked him what is was for. He said it was free if I would listen to a 'SHORT' presentation. I thought he was going to tell me about Clorox wipes! Oh no, as soon as I saw the Kirby box a sense of dread came over me! Has anyone else heard a Kirby presentation? This will be my 3rd one I think! They say it will only take 20 min., yeah right! Eliza was sleeping and I was trying to get lunch ready and they came in and started vacuuming. It woke up my very light sleeper and I was trying to hint that this wasn't a good time. The whole time he was vacuuming he kept saying "wow" because there was so much dirt he sucked up. I hate to admit that, but these vacuums REALLY clean. We vacuum a few times a week but ours is junk compared to one of these! The sell for $2000 or so! They of course can always give a better deal on the spot and he got it down to around $1000. Okay, so many more things that take more priority than a $1000 vacuum! They are awesome and work great, but definitely not in our budget! So if someone comes to your door with a can of Clorox wipes, hide and run the other way!

Thirty, Fun & Fabulous!

Yesterday I turned 30. I actually had been dreading it since last year at this time. One of the main reasons was because Eliza would then be 1 and time just goes by too fast! I also feel old and tired, but that could be the fact that I have 2 small children! Everyone says that your 30's can be the best years of your life. Well, I have come to realize and learn, that any age can be the best year of your life! It all just depends how you choose to spend it! Our family has had MANY up's and down's over the last year so it was hard to anticipate turning 30 with anything positive. The Lord has been amazingly good to us this past year. I have seen His hand in everything that has come our way and I am resting in His goodness right now! My family and friends have truly made this the best birthday I have ever had! I told them that my expecatations were for it not to be a normal day and that I wanted to spend time with everyone. WOW! They certainly went above and beyond anything I could have imagined! I didn't have any thoughts as to what I wanted to do, just something special.
It all started a month ago when my sweetest friend Amber gave me a photo book that had a verse, an activity, a picture, and encouragement every day leading up to my 30th birthday. It has been so fun to open every day and see what activity I was supposed to do! It was very creative and thoughtful!
The celebration continued when our dear friend's Brad & Amber, and my darling husband Shawn gave me a card with a very creative poem written in it saying that they were sending me to Chicago for the day with Amber!! We were going to go see Wicked again and do some shopping. I was totally surprised and blown away! Shawn took the day off that day so he could be with the girls. I'll write more about Chicago a little bit later.

On October 6th, we had Eliza's 1st birthday party. Then on Oct. 7th most of the family went to eat at the DoubleTree Hotel in Holland where my sister works. We had a fabulous brunch and then we celebrated my birthday. My family surprised me with a night away with Shawn at the the hotel on the 13th! Wow, quiet time with my hubby, swimming, hot tub, and relaxing! What more could a mother want! My grandparents who could not be there, (sad because this is the first time they have missed a party in my whole life!), gave me 30 gold coins! I also received some really nice gifts from my in-laws, and my aunt and uncle.
So Tues. Oct. 9th Amber and I left for Chicago and stayed with a friend of hers who lives near downtown. We got up and rode the CTA downtown so we could walk the Michigan Mile, get Starbucks, and do some shopping. We ended up in Old Navy! Isn't it funny how when you go away you sometimes end up at the familiar places and stores! Anyway, we then enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and then we were off to see Wicked. If you have never seen it, YOU NEED TO GO! It is one of the most amazing, and incredible shows I have ever seen! Every song is very emotional and powerful, and it has an amazing story line. We had great seats and it was definitely candy for the soul!
Afterwards we went to IKEA and spent a while there and made it home by 12:30am! What an amazing getaway!
Yesterday was my actual birthday and it was a great day! I was a little depressed on Thursday night because I knew I would not see Shawn all day. He of course had to work and then had a football game all night. But I knew that my family would not let me sit home by myself! I went to breakfast with my mom and nephew and then we went to the mall. My darling 3 year old thought it would be great to throw a screaming fit right outside payless and then proceed to throw her new shoes across the aisle! A little does of reality....:)
Around 5:30 my sister-in-law & brother-in-law came by. They said they were just stopping by to drop off a gift but then Jeff handed me a card. I opened it and it said My Wife on the front and I thought he had given me the wrong card! I quickly opened the inside and saw Shawn's signature so I knew it was for me. There was a poem that said:

Just when you thought
Your birthday was through,
There's one more special surprise
just for you.
Birthday's and Marching Band
Sometimes don't mix,
So that's why I'm coming
to pick you up at six!
We're going out for dinner
and then some time alone,
and You're, my dear, the winner
and the girl's will stay at home.

Honestly, the one thing I was really hoping for on my actual birthday was for Shawn to be home!
He has been planning this for a month! He is usually not a planner and this was so honoring to me that he would plan that far ahead and then give up marching band for a night. We went to Carrabba's(our favorite restaurant)and enjoyed a really nice meal together. It was a perfect ending to an amazing celebration.
So tonight, we are off to enjoy a night away and it will be great to make this our marriage maintenance weekend!

So, turning 30 was not as horrible as I thought it would be. I do feel a 'little' older but I can count my blessings in my family, friends, my hubby, my girls, and the fact that I am 30 and NOT pregnant! We are blessed to have so many family member's willing to babysit and take care of our girls! God is good and I haven't felt this special in a long time! I hope to be Thirty, flirty, and thriving in this next year! (okay, you have to watch 13 going on 30 if you haven't seen it!)

Cidersicles and Apples

Is anyone else sick of this weather?! Every year, our family from Detroit comes to Holland to do our annual Apple-picking at Crane's Orchard. It is usually my Aunt Sue, Uncle Scott, cousin Alex, Grandparents, my parents, and siblings. This was probably the hottest day that we have ever went to pick apples. Usually it's in the 70's, the smell of fall is in the air, and we can wear jeans and a sweatshirt. Wow, it was so incredibly hot that we had to wear shorts, sunscreen, and sandals! My poor nephew was sick and had to be taken to the ER. He has a throat infection and swollen lymph glands, tummy ache, and high fever. Poor little guy was not having very much fun!
Eliza loved the apples! She really enjoyed sucking the juice out of it and she cried when it fell on the ground! Adrianna was too hot to enjoy the picking of the apples. I think she picked 2 off of the tree! We tried our best to enjoy the day but the heat was unbelieveable!

We picked about 20 pounds of apples! We really like Ida Red, Jonathan, and this year we also picked mutzu.
Afterwards we always get donuts and cider. This year because of the heat we got cidersicles. It's basically a small cup of cider, frozen, with a spoon stuck inside. That really helped us cool off! I am looking forward to making lots of applesauce, apple crisp, and some pies!



Adrianna loves her big sister cousin Alex. She is almost 7 and in 1st grade. We wish she lived closer so that the girls could play more together. Alex is so sweet and does a great job of teaching Adrianna how to do things. Adrianna followed Alex around all weekend!






A funny moment......
On the way home from my parents house tonight we were driving by railroad tracks and Adrianna asked what those things were. Shawn and I both asked her what she was talking about and she said "Those candy canes right there by the train"! She was talking about the red and white gates that come down when a train is going by! Too funny!:)

Eliza's 1st Party

What an amazing and fun party we had for Eliza on Saturday! I've come to realize that you can't have too many expectations when it comes to your child's mood on their birthday! She has been sick all week and she is getting better but she just wasn't her usual cheerful self! She tried really hard but mostly just wanted to be held or sleep. She was such a good sport! We had 23 people over for dinner, and yes, we fit them all into our house! I decided to have lasagna and it was much easier than soup and salad! It was a great time eating together and just enjoying food and fellowship, 2 of my favorite things to do! We got everything cleaned up and tried opening a few presents. Well....Eliza was not interested in the least! I ended up opening most of them so it was fun for me! She of course loved the paper! And how can I expect her to know how to open presents when she hasn't done it before! She got some really cute outfits, a very modern, trendy CD player for her room(my brother works at Circuit City), some very adorable shoes, some new sippy's and dishes, some very fun toys(which Adrianna loves of course!), and her "1" angel from my mom and dad.

She opened this bear that my sister Sarah got her, kissed it, and then pushed it away!














She was not impressed with the cake! She picked at the frosting, took a few bites and then threw it on the floor! It landed on our dog's head and he really enjoyed that!












The older kids enjoyed decorating some pumpkin cookies. I think Colin, my nephew, and Adrianna had the most sprinkles! Alex, my cousin, and Jaedon were very purposeful in their decorating and Seth just wanted to eat one! We thought it would be fun to load them up with as much sugar as possible!

All this to say, you can't have expectations! Things happen for a reason and all we can do is go with the flow and treasure each thing as it comes no matter the mood or event. I throughly enjoyed the time spent with family and good friends and the very relaxed, loving time we had. It's amazing how so many people can come together, with very different backgrounds and celebrate the life of a sweet little girl. Thank you to all of my family and our amazing friends for sharing this day with us. It was a pause in time that was much needed! It reminded me to enjoy each moment and remember the gifts God gives us daily. Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

It's a somewhat Happy Birthday!

Today is Eliza's 1st Birthday! I had many expectations as any other mother would but I had to adjust them today! Our original plan was to go to the mall today and play at the play place, go out to lunch, and then this evening go to Post Family Farm. Well, Eliza has been sick since Sunday. She has had very bad diaper issues and she now has a horrible, rash on her cute little behind. She screams and shakes every time I have to change her! Anyway, she woke up this morning with a temp. of 101.5 so I called the doctor. We made the trek to Zeeland and many memories came back from last year at this time when we headed to the hospital to have her! She has viral diarrhea with high fever and it just has to run it's course. We were still able to enjoy lunch with my mom and my nephew though!
So.....we are not heading to Post family farm, but we did have a very nice family dinner of pancakes and bacon and we are going to enjoy a family movie and some games. So the best laid plan in my mind had to be adjusted for something even better! As you can tell by the first picture, she is not in a very good mood today but we are still trying to have fun celebrating! She did love the baby doll's we got her. She had to kiss each one and she hasn't put them down since she opened them! I asked Adrianna what she wanted to get Eliza and she said "A pink ball with a Princess on it". She helped me pick in out at the party store and Eliza loved it!

Our family party is Saturday so I'm praying she is better by then!

God is daily reminding me to cherish the little moments and not have so many big expectations! I love to watch Eliza because at 1, she just enjoys life! She is a blessing everyday and we are praising God for allowing us to be her parents. She is so happy most of the time and she smiles at the smallest things that we take for granted. I am looking forward to see how her personality will develop and how she will light up our family!

Cute Dimple:)

Eliza has acquired another trait from Shawn! Besides the blue eyes, she also has a cute little dimple! She had it a little when she was born but it has become more pronounced!
She is smiling most of the time and is an absolute joy! She has learned to say cookie, hi, sissy(for Adrianna), and da for everything else! She is doing better with the screaming thing. Mealtime is becoming a little more pleasant as long as she can pick up her own food and she isn't in her seat too long. The shopping cart is another story, but one step at a time right?!!:)