Gearing Up!

This week we are gearing up for Preschool! (I am sure there will be a lot of pictures of a cute boy with a backpack on here Tuesday...so check back soon!) He says he is excited about going so hopefully that holds true! Tuesday is going to be more of an orientation/welcoming day so I get to stay with him. I don't know if they do this more for the parents or the kids but either way, I am excited to stay and see what his school days will be like. I will pack my Kleenex ;)

Today at church we held our community picnics where we gear up for the fall small group season to start. I'm excited to say that next Wednesday we will be opening up our home again to young families to study The Prodigal God. I am excited to see what this year holds for our group. Every year we talk about serving and it seems every one's schedules get too busy! So, this year we decided to kick off our season last Wednesday at Gleaners Food Bank in Howell. It was amazing to hear all of the stories that one of the head volunteers shared with us. Some sad, some inspiring, some exciting and of course a lot that were tear jerking! While it was amazing to hear that they used to serve 300 people per month and now they serve 3000, it was sad to think that SO many people need so much help now due to the economy and other circumstances. Thanks to the 11 total people we had serving, we helped to sort, stack, store and stock over 2800 pounds of food in just a short hour and a half. This really inspired me to want to organize a regular schedule for our small group to serve, whether it be at Gleaners or elsewhere!! Even with our busy schedules, that short hour and a half made a difference! So, that is my personal goal...to carve out the time to make a difference somewhere, somehow!

TOP: Kelly, Matt, Christine, Me,Becky, Andy, Matt.
BTM: Lisa, Rob, Brandon, Brian.

Myrtle Beach-Part 2

Our little fish! Mason LOVES swimming!! He started swimming all by himself when we were on vacation. It was so cute to watch him kick his legs super fast to keep his head above water. He thought it was pretty cool that he could do it all on his own-he also learned how to twist himself around in circles to keep himself afloat. Needless to say he slept great every night due to getting great workouts everyday in the pool!

This was our beautiful view from our 14th floor balcony! The sound of the ocean was SO peaceful and relaxing. If it were up to me, we would have had our door wall open all the time to hear the crashing waves, but since it was 93 degrees we had the air conditioner blasting at all times so I could not justify wasting the electricity! Directly below our balcony was the hotel pool which was also a nice view, but nothing beats the beach!

Mason taking a swim at dusk. We let him stay up past his bedtime most nights. He loved the water park and the lazy river! In the lazy river he would just hang out and check every one else out, needing to know what they were doing, what their names were and knowing if they could swim. It did crack me up as I realized that he is such a people watcher just like someone else I know (sorry, I cant help myself..people are so entertaining to me!)

Ahhh, the beach! My favorite place....well used to be until we had kids and now have to lug our whole house there and back (from the 14th floor mind you). Andy and I learned our lesson! The first day we took the stroller (which we had to lift up the stairs, over the bridge and back down the stairs to even get to the sand), and lets just say a whole bunch of other large necessary and yes some unnecessary things to the beach. By the end of the week we were carrying a pretty "light" load. It felt like as soon as we would get to the beach, lather up in sun screen and settle Kailee into our new spot it was lunch time! So, as nice as it was to go to the beach it was also kind of a pain in the rear! Not to mention all of the sand that gets all over everything!

So not that you can tell by his smile, but this is Mason's FAVORITE toy of grandpa Rusty's!!! My dad bought a motorized scooter that he takes to the campgrounds they stay at so that he can motor all around and check out everybody's RV's and the campground itself. Well, it now serves another purpose...to entertain Mason! We could use this as a bribe for just about anything (potty, eating his meals, etc.) He loves, loves, loves going for rides on it! Grandpa's toys are always cooler than his own!! Who knows, the popular thing at this RV park were golf carts with custom rims...maybe Rusty will feel the need to get one of those too :)

We had such a great time, I'm so thankful that we were able to go. I am really looking forward to our Florida trip in April! There we are only a couple steps away from the beach :)

Myrtle Beach-part 1

Kailee and Grandpa Rusty in the drivers seat of the motor home :) She needed a new view after 2 days of riding in the back seat.

Mason did such a great job there AND back! He stayed entertained with his DVD player, coloring books and his trucks. He loved driving them up and down the isle. Of course there was a LOT of snacking going on too :)
While we were there he kept telling us that "he needed to find his home somewhere" and "he needed to sleep in his bed"-apparently he missed his bed and toys!!

Mason watching his "show". Lets just say he watched quite a few of them!

Kailee with her hair blowing in the breeze :) She was such a good girl! I tried to leave her in her car seat as much as possible, even to "auto-feed" as Grandpa Rusty now calls it :)
She would eat, play and sleep every 3 hours and then repeat the cycle. She loved her freedom of being out of her chair as well. She would get so excited and was such a social butterfly when I would get her out.

5 Years!!

Five years ago Andy and I committed to spend the rest of our lives together! We could not have asked for a more perfect day! It was mid-high 70s, the sun was shining, our family and friends were there to support us and of course the food and chocolate fountain were unforgettable as well! Thankfully we had no horror stories, everything fell right into place.

It is amazing to look back at all of our pictures and remember all the little things that are so easy to forget (i.e.-Jenni and my sister-in-law Sarah peeking around the corner while Andy and I saw each other and exchanged gifts before the ceremony, or how little my nieces were). I kinda miss the craziness of planning all of the little details of a wedding. Only 30 more years and then I can help Kailee! It's kinda funny think that we were not even thinking about babies at that point and now we have 2 beautiful kids! A lot can change in 5 years!!

Happy Anniversary honey! You are the best! I could not have asked for a better husband! I Love you!

BIG Girl!

Now that Kailee is 3 months old, I decided to unpack the BUMBO chair! As you can tell she loves it!! Any time I put her in her swing or carseat she does crunches to sit up so that she can see everything that is going on! She enjoyed sitting on the dinner table tonight! I have to say she is a bit nosey and I have NO idea where she gets it from ;)
She is growing up way too fast.

Catching Up!

Mason graduated from his first swim class ever on Saturday!!! He did such a great job! He now likes to swim by himself-even though he really does not know how! It will be fun to see how he does in South Carolina! We bought him a new swim vest so that he can have a bit of independence while swimming but stay afloat so that he can keep learning!


Uncle Josh came home for a couple days and came over to spend some time with the kids before he moves to ALASKA! He brought Mason a train whistle (which Mason loves a bit too much) and a cute book. Kailee got a cute sweatshirt! Mason loved hanging out and playing with him and he was asking where he was today. So cute!
Good luck with your move Uncle Josh, we will miss you!!

Celebrations!

Yesterday was Andy's 29th birthday! YES, he is still in his 20's and trust me I hear about it all the time :) We had a birthday dinner for him at his parents house with all of his favorites: veal parmesan and of course his mom's homemade chocolate cake! He is such a great dad and a fabulous husband! I am so blessed!

We LOVE you honey! Happy Birthday!

Today our little Kailee Grace turned 3 months old!!!
It has been fun to see how much she has changed! She loves watching Mason run around and gets so excited when he actually stops to talk to her or kiss her on the head!

Mason is such a good big brother. He is getting more and more protective of her! He hates when she cries and always wants me to "go get her"! It is so cute to watch them interact together. I can only imagine what it will be like when she is moving around and chasing him around the house! He loves to "teach" her new things, he knows that if he says he is teaching her something then he wont get in trouble for using her toys or laying on her activity mat!