May 1st, 2010

Just a quick post to share the joy inside my heart. I feel so blessed to have the husband and kiddos I do. These 3 people bring to my life more joy than I can put into words. Just to do life with Dan, Trevor and Ashlee is a riot. Ashlee smiles from ear to ear most all her waking hours, Trevors zest and energy for life is unbelievalbe and Dan, well whats not to love about that guy. He is one amazing Dad, hilarious 99% of the time and loves me no matter what. Blessed, joy filled, thankful, that is where I am at today. You are the best family EVER and I feel like I am living in the midst of a dream. :-)

From Auntie Hill

So special to me that my dear friend Hill got to be present for Ashlee's arrival! Here is a letter she wrote to Ashlee.....Ashlee's birth story from Auntie Hill's perspective.

Dear Ashlee,

Wow, the day you were born…it was a pretty awesome day. I was so excited, so nervous for your Mom, so just wanting to be a part of it all.

I got a phone call from your Mom, or should I say, Ingalls Memorial Hospital, in the middle of the afternoon. My heart immediately began thumping hard because I knew it was probably her and that you had decided to make an appearance. Your Mom told me that her water had broken right after her ultrasound and that they were moving her to a room at the hospital…and so the race began.

I sat on pins and needles the whole rest of the afternoon: wondering, praying, waiting, waiting, and waiting some more. I so much wanted you and your Mom to be healthy and I was also SO secretly praying that you would be a girl because I knew that that was what your Mom was dreaming about. Now, don’t get me wrong…she loves Trevor so much and would never trade him in J but there is just something about having a daughter, you guys are pretty special.

Anyway, as soon as Uncle Troy got home from work I fed your buddy, Quinn, and jetted off to the hospital. I met up with your Grandma, Auntie Jana, and Auntie Amy in the waiting room. They were pretty excited too and talking about what a great job your Mom was doing and how well she was progressing through labor! You will find out soon enough when you become a Mom, but working your way through labor is a tough thing!

We actually sat for quite a bit, just chatting it up until your Grandpa VanderMeer came down from your Mom’s room and told Auntie Amy and I to get up there. I had not thought in a million years that you would decide to hurry it along so fast but you had plans about being born that night!

Auntie Amy and I made a quick run upstairs and your Mom’s doctor was already in the room when we got there. The nurses were bringing all the new baby stuff: warmer, any tools they might need, blankets, etc. I couldn’t believe I was actually going to see you be born…talk about a heart going about ninety miles an hour!

I watched your Mom have about 2-3 really strong contractions and let me tell you, she was such a trooper! There are not a lot of ladies who can have a baby without having some sort of medication and she did it!!!! She was super calm, talking and joking around with the doctor and when she would have a contraction she would take your Dad’s hand and squeeze it. Your Dad was pretty quiet, hard to believe huh? I think he was nervous and excited too! J

Well, they got all of their gear ready and your Mom started to push to welcome you into this crazy world. Ashlee, it’s amazing. I hope that someday you will have the honor of watching a sister, friend, or cousin give birth. It is the most amazing, overwhelming experience you can imagine and I am crying again right now remembering it.

Anyway, I don’t exactly remember how many times she pushed…maybe 2 or 3 before your head popped out…but then it suddenly got very serious in the room. Your head was out but your shoulders had gotten stuck. No one was shouting or anything but the atmosphere in the room changed dramatically. The nurse standing next to your Mom told her pretty emphatically that she needed to push like she had never pushed before. Okay, so I don’t remember her exact words but she was pretty serious. Another nurse came around her bed and took her leg, which your Dad was holding, and was giving orders to your Mom too.

I could see that the doctor was working hard to try to wiggle you out. It all happened so fast that there wasn’t a whole lot of time to get scared but it was definitely a tense moment for that minute or two and all I could think was “don’t let something bad happen now, God”. But, you finally appeared, the doctor declared that you were a girl, and we all sighed with relief and commenced with the crying.

It was so cool to listen to you cry in the baby warmer…to see you those first few minutes of life, and to know that as you grow up I have that experience in my heart to remember.

Your Mom was obviously extremely happy but I have to tell you that it was more fun to watch your Dad those first few moments. At first he didn’t move from his spot next to your Mom’s bed but within 5 minutes he inched his way over to your warmer to check you out. It kind of felt, watching him, like I was invading on such a private moment, a daddy and his new daughter having a conversation for the first time. He talked to you in that baby talk that he always uses and I couldn’t help but smile.

You were such a cutie…such much hair, so much little chub, so cute even after going through a bit of a traumatic birth. You looked just like a girly version of your big brother and I don’t think your parents could have been any prouder.

So, that’s the story. That’s what I remember from the night you were born. When I realized how many grandparents were waiting downstairs to meet you I made a quick exit so they could get their chance to love you up. I pretty much ran back to my car, full of energy, wanting to get home to the girls to tell them the cool news!

Ashlee, as you grow up you will definitely have moments where you don’t agree with your parents or don’t appreciate the decisions they make for you. But please remember this: Your parents love you more than you can imagine! Your Mom struggled for SO long and wanted you SO badly! You were prayed for, wished for, dreamt about…you are a special kid to your family and they will always only want the best for you!

I hope that you grow up to be a strong, Christian woman like your Mom. You have cool things ahead of you and I can’t wait to see you grow, to see your kids, your daughters, and know that I got to be a witness to see your entrance to God’s earth. We love you!

Love,

Auntie Hill

Happy Happy

Yep, thats the words to describe you for sure. You are an amazing baby! Very contented, very alert, very smiley and very loved!

I hesitate to make this public but it is no secret that you have slept through the night every night since the day we took you home from the hospital. I am talking 8 hours or more every night. It is wild to even type! You are a great nurser and burper. We lay you awake on your back in the crib and you don't even cry, you just go to sleep. You don't really even cry when you wake up in the morning, you usually just cooo and we go in to get you. Your face lights up when you see us, in fact we usually end up scaring you and you startle every morning when you see us. You smile almost instantly and now your feet and legs go flying like you are running a race.

You smile 95% of your waking hours and you generously give anybody a smile. You turn most consistently to your Daddys voice (it is quite uniquely high pitched and loud) :-). You always keep track of where Trevor is in the room and if he leaves the room you follow him with your chubby and smiling cheeks!

Your eyes are soo alert and beautiful! You have always made eye contact with us and it has seemed like you were looking, gazing at us intently! As a baby baby you were equally as alert.

And your hair, something everyone comments about. It is well crazy....talk to your brother he can relate totally to you. You had a ton of it and it was really dark when you were born. Like your brother it is changing to blonde quite quickly....we are currently in the strawberry blonde stages. :-) Mommy has always put bows in it. As of the past month it is more tame. This means it doesn't stick up everywhere ALL the TIME! Within the past 2 weeks we can now get it into a pony tail on the top of your head! Oh it is sooo cute....combined with your chubby cheeks, bright giant smile you win the cutest and happiest little lady award in my books!~

Crying and fussing are not really on your agenda at all. Every once in a while when your tummy hurts or when we put you in your car seat do you cry but 99% of the time you are cool as a cucumber and girl are we ever thankful for this. We are curious to see if your current laid back, contented, happy self continues into your toddler and later years. :-)

Ashlee Nicole

Well, well haven't even blogged since she arrived! Well so I have but just not publicly. Ashlee is almost 5 months old and is such a gift to us! So without further adieu:

Dear Ashlee,

My dear darling daughter oh you are to me a bundle of joy and a daily reminder of Gods love for us all. You my dear have been the prize at the end of a long fertility marathon. Dad and Mom and half of the world have prayed for years for the miracle of life to happen. Of course all children are miracles but you sweet heart will always hold a special place in our hearts. Oh how we longed to have a baby, oh how we prayed for God to grant to us the desires of our hearts, oh how we tried to be patient for HIS timing, oh how we celebrated each blood test, ultrasound, kick, heartburn(well maybe not every) episode. We loved you long before we knew you and felt your movements.

Pregnancy was so fun for Mommy. I loved watching you grow in my tummy. I loved the maternity clothes b/c it was probably cuter than most of my normal clothes. I loved the ultrasounds, I loved feeling you kick, I loved not knowing your gender, I loved making a nursery for you, I loved watching Trevor prepare for your arrival and come up with names (he wanted to name you Apple for a girl and Banana for a boy), I loved the compliments I got being pregnant (often I was told I was glowing), I loved that God gave your Daddy and I the gift of being parents to another little blessing, I loved dreaming about your birth and life!

In the beginning of January I had to go back to work after Winter Break. I was a tad bit uncomfortable at that point but kept telling myself I only had 2 weeks to go. I got nervous towards the end when I wouldn't feel you move as much. I had a Drs. appointment on the 26th and we scheduled to induce on the 28th. I needed to have a non stress test and ultrasound on the 27th. You passed the Non stress test with flying colors. The ultrasound really hurt me and they kept trying to get a good measurement of your head. I almost kicked the ultrasound tech on her 5th attempt....anyhow my water broke as I sat up from having the ultrasound.

I went up to Labor and Delivery....I told the nurse what I thought happened and sure enough that is what it was. I tried going home to get a bag packed of the things I wanted to have but the nurse put the cabosh on that one. I called Daddy, Auntie Amy and Hill to tell them the news. Daddy sort freaked out, especially as I was trying to tell him what to all pack over the phone. He just wanted to be with me at the hospital and not miss out on anything. He did a great job and made it in plenty of time

The worst part of the whole delivery was the IV! It really didn't hurt this time as bad as before. Anyhow, my water broke around 1:30pm. The pitocin started after a bag of antibiotics around 2:45pm. The contractions started becoming intense around 4:30pm. I kept progressing rather quickly. Every time they checked me I kept telling myself, "You can do this for 15 more minutes." I was dilated to 8 around 6:15pm and they called Dr. Torres. 6:30 pm the contractions were VERY painful and I was unsure how much longer I could do this without some drugs. Auntie Amy and Auntie Hill were the special people that got to be there for your birth! :-) The nurse checked again and said I was at a 9 almost 10. I tried really hard to just focus, Daddy kept letting me know when the contraction was on its way down. Dr. Torres got there and I felt like Jesus had just arrived. I knew the end was in sight! :-) She checked me and watched the monitor for a few more contractions. She then suggested a practice push to see how far down you were. Practice push and wabaam we were ready for action, within about 1 1/2 mintutes the room transformed into a delivery room, it was crazy! First push and there was your head. I couldn't believe it, then your shoulder got a little stuck, it was a little intense for about 22 seconds and then there you were. I remember just looking at you and your eyes were open and you looked right into my eyes.....all I could say repeadetly was, "I am your momma, I love you, I am your momma, I love you, I am your momma, I love you."

Then you had to be checked, cleaned etc. My favorite moments were watching Daddy hold you and watching Daddy intently look at you with such pride. It took a while for it to sink in that you were a girl, I really thought you were a boy. We weren't sure if you were going to be Ashlee Nicole or Abby Nicole. Daddy said, "She is an Ashlee" We spelled your name with 2 e's because you have a great grandma Lee, a grandma Debra Lee and an aunt Jana Lee, so in keeping with the family we chose AshLEE.

Oh those first hours were precious to me...we made the grandparents wait to see for themselves that you were a girl! And what fun it was to have everyone oooooohhh and ahhhhh over you. I was overwhelmed with joy, pride, gratefullenss, love and couldn't help but smile from ear to ear! I kissed your adorable cheeks probably a million times and thanked the Lord for you 2 million times. You were so alert and had your eyes open all the time for a newborn!

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=1ad6d61e-bced-4ef5-9205-58916dae56ca

You had so much dark hair and were amazingly always bright eyed! Your long toes made me chuckle and I apologized to you for inheriting them from me. I was instantly smitten and felt an amazing connection (something I was a bit worried about). I remember holding you close as close to my face as I could and telling you, "I am your Momma and I couldn't be more happy about this."

Ashlee, we have a lifetime to journey through together. Your Daddy and I are looking forward to celebrating your milestones, to molding you into the woman God wants you to be and to sharing our hearts with you. You my dear are a gift to us and we promise to cherish your gift always.

Love,
Your Mommy

Summer top 10

1. The Lake

We spent a ton of time this summer enjoying my parents cottage. At the lake Trevor swam, had picnic lunches by the beach, got to see Gigi and Auntie auntie lots (who give super yummy snacksa),built towers in the sand, wakeboarded, went on Uncle Al's big boat, went on the Sea Doo, played at the Island, went fishing, rode bikes up and down the super long street, got to take tubbies with our cousins and just in general got to spend lots of quality time together hanging out.

2. Ethan's House

Hanging at Auntie Amy's/Ethan's house was "super duper" fun. They have a great big yard with a swing set and huge sand box. Their driveway is "giant" long and has a "super fast" hill at the end which is just perfect for racing on scooters or bikes. The boys creatively added water to the whole equation and sped through their puddles to create huge sprays! Ethan, Trevor and Isaac spent most of the days enjoying the out of doors. Sleeping in Ethans lighting Mc Q.ueen bedroom was always a bonus too.
We had such beautiful weather this summer, it was never really too hot to be outside. I enjoyed watching Trevor have so much fun with his cousins and I also enjoyed getting to spend time with my littlest nephew Tyler! Of course, the best part for me was getting to spend so much time with my sister.

3. Riding a big bike all "by myself"

Conquering riding a two wheeler was a huge accomplishment for Trevor this summer. It was soo fun to be able to go on bike rides with him riding a big bike. He is SOOO very proud of himself and we are pretty sure he thinks he is the "BOMB" of a bike rider. Most recently he has demonstrated to us many "tricks", his favorite being driving with 1 hand. You can't help but giggle at this little clown. And wearing a helmet is always something he remembers, even if it is just for a 1 minute ride. (It sure does this Mommy's heart well).

4. Bible schools

Trevor went to 2 different bible schools this summer and loved both of them. We are fortunate to have a CD of one of them. He loves the music and talks frequently about them. They have spurred on his interest in memorizing bible verses. Accomplishing memorizing the Lord's Prayer has been a joy for us as parents and you can see Trevors face explode with joy whenever he is able to say it all by himself. Seeing his little personality in new situations and around new children was so encouraging to witness. I was at both bible schools and he was great staying with his class instead of in years past running to me. You go little man, so independent.

5. Reading

With Mommy being a bit under the weather for a good portion of the summer, Trevor needed to have some activities where Mom could visit with the couch. He took more of an interest in his Leap Pad and in reading books. He cracks me up, going to the library to him is just about as much fun as gettting a new toy. He goes from book to book as though it doesn't get better than this book. He is currently into animals that swim in water and Dr. Suess books. His current favorite book is, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish".

6. Lots of firsts

First sleepover, "All by myself" at cousin Josh's. First dentist appointment. First soccer team. First time swimming in deep water, first time jumping off the side of the pool and first time putting his head all the way under the water. First sales job: selling cookies and popsicles at a garage sale.

23 weeks down, 17 weeks to go

Wow! The weeks just seem to be flying by. Little "skittle" continues to do flips and flops and this continues to make me smile. I go to the dr. tomorrow for a check-up and to schedule an ultra sound. I am anxious to get another sneak peak at our little skittle. We are going to be surprised about the gender of this little one.

Trevor is starting his 2nd week of school and continues to love it. He is becoming a little man so much more. We played UNO tonight and it had been awhile since we played. He now has no troubles identifying the numbers 6 and 9 and we have added the word cards in too. It is so fun to see him be competitve and see his little face light up when he wins. He does fairly well also when he looses. We are working on the whole concept of humility and saying, "good game" if we win or loose.

We are spending most of spare time riding bikes. He is now into doing tricks on his bike. It makes my heart skip a few beats when he attempts some of these. I would really like to know how his mind thinks up some of them. He is sure a brave little boy.

We started Sunday School this week and prasie be to the Lord I am not his teacher this year. He was very excited this week to have a visitor with him. Trevor has managed to sit through church most recently also and we are so thankful to be able to sit and listen through and entire service now. In a few short months this will probably not be the case. :-)

Work is going fine, always an adjustment time in the beginning for students and myself alike. :-) Today I had a little boy cutting unsucessfully for about 3 minutes before I realized I had given this left hander a right handed scissors, OOPS! Amazingly, his sucess sky rocketed when I supplied him with a left handed scissors, who would of known?

Loving this fall weather. We are looking forward to buying 3 cords of fire wood this year. We LOVE to have fires and are all looking forward to snuggling up to lots of them this fall/winter.

My bed is calling me, I hope to update with some favorite summer memories and photos!~

1st day :-)

Oh what a great day it was...more later! :)

Back to School

Yes it is true, the good ole school schedule is back into action over here. It has been a bit of an adjustment for me, Trevor on the other hand is doing great.

Yesterday Trevor had his 4 year old check up and got 2 shots, or as we called them, "medicine in his arm." He was so brave, he even thanked the nurse and doctor for their services. The Doctor proceeded to tell him and myself the importance of wearing a helmet at all times and shared with me some pretty frightening stories. We are generally fairly good about helmet wearing but you can guess he will be sportin it at all times now! :-) Thanks Doc for the good reminder.

We also had preschool orientation yesterday morning, it is going to be a great year there it feels like. Just that we can pray for each other and openly talk about that is such a comfort to me. I am hoping he can make some new friends here too.

Our little buddy is growing up soooo much, it seems these last 3 months have been huge for us. Some of my favorites that come to my mind our his morning wake ups. He will come into our room, (Daddy is usually already long gone to work) and crawl up onto the bed.....he will gently shake my shoulder and say "wiggle, wiggle, Good morning." He then proceeds to ask for white milk, a show on TV and a blankie on his piggies. Yes in that order every morning. Another favorite is lunch time. We typically have peanut butter and jelly. Each time I ask if he'd like his bread cut into triangles or squares and EVERY STINKIN time the goof ball asks for circles. EVERY TIME he tells me he can do it. At least he is consistent right? He also is very into us watching him do all sorts of things. He waits until we are both looking at the sames times and will continue to ask until he has both of our eyes glued to him. No more keepin an eye on what we were doing, he wants to show us his accomplishments with our 100% attention. Good thing he is getting a brother or sister soon to share the attention with. :-) Speaking of which he is getting asked whether it is a boy or girl. He rather consistently stated he would like a boy. After many a conversation we have convinced this dude that God gets to decide a boy or girl and either one will be good. :-) He is riding his bike all over the place now, we have even gone for bike rides and he really does keep up quite easily. We still do have the occasional request to ride in the bike trailer though too! ;)

All in all it has been a fantastic summer, enjoyed by all of us. Pictures to follow soon.

Loving the summer

We can't believe it is already mid summer. I really wanted to be more faithful about blogging this summer, but hanging out with Trevor and attempting to keep all my cookies inside have been my focus instead. I miss blogging more, but something tells me that the above mentioned were worthy causes.

We have been enjoying the weather and out of doors to the fullest this summer. Trevor loved anything involving water, slip n slides, sprinklers, pools, lakes, etc.

Baby VanderMeer#2, "little skittle" is growing and doing well. So well that this Momma is a bit exhausted and looking forward to trimester #2, that is when the energy level increases, right?
:-)

Back to enjoying the last 6 weeks of summer vacation, more later.

How hilarious is this cutie

Ethan is my 4 year old nephew. He is an energetic little dude who comes up with some hilarious things. Here are a few of my favorites.

He will say hi and ask questions to just about anyone who will answer him. A few days ago while at the Lake he starts chatting it up with some adults he doesn't know. The adults answer him and chat a bit, then head back up the street to continue on. As they are walking away.....

Ethan: "Stay healthy."

He apparently has told his dad when he leaves for work in the morning to be patient also. :-) He asked me a few weeks ago why my hair was turning black like his moms' hair. However instead of using the word why, he substitues the word for? So it went something like this. "For your hair gettin black like my moms?" It should be noted that both his mom (my sister Amy) and I attempt very much so to cover up our brownish hair and replace it with blonde highlights/lo lights. Leave it to the 4 year old to let the cat out of the bag!

He splashed me in the water also and informed me that it was an accident. He continue to explain to me, "Uncle Pam, axidents happin and it is OKAY!"

He wear one shoe while using scooter because he explains that it just falls off anyways. The way this guy scooters is at the speed of lighting so I can see why shoes fly off his piggy toes.

Oh boy do I love this little one, he sure keeps me laughing.

Tiny talk Tuesday

Warning to Gigi: you will consider this gross talk and should consider passing over this entry....I love you!

We needed to take a pit stop on the way back from Michigan yesterday. My Aunt Joy was riding along with us.

Trevor: Auntie, what did you do pee or poop on the potty?

She politely answers giggling all the while.

Trevor: I pee and poop at the same time, it was amazing!

Yes, my dear little almost 4 year old it is amazing to do both of those at the same time, I am glad you consider it so spectacular for that to occur. You continue to brighten my days and bring so much joy to my heart. :-)

There is someone else in our home who is getting bigger too!

Indeed we are so blessed to announce a miracle growing within this Momma! I am nine weeks along and we have been able to see and hear a heartbeat. We are overjoyed to welcome this batch of fun into our family. Trevor is quite excited about being a big brother. However, he has requested a sister who is a boy. Hmmm, we obviously need to talk about sister=girl.

I have been feeling rather sick and am trying so hard to remember to be thankful for these positive signs. It is difficult for me because I will often set out to accomplish somethings off my list for the day and in the end not be able too. I am soo exhausted. Again all good signs and all things to be thankful for. Thankfully, Trevor is at a rather easily entertained age and has been fairly gracious during my "throw up days".

Trev asks each morning if it is a Mommy and Trev day (ie summer vacation for me) and also if today is a "throw up day"? He is a little trooper. I try real hard when I am feeling okay to make it a fun filled day for him. :-)

So mid January will not be filled with the Winter time blues, but rather welcoming a new little miracle to our home. We can't wait to meet you little one. I am open for names on what to call this one, as we hope to not find out the gender till D day. :-) A fellow blogger referred to hers as a little bean, I do like that, but I kinda feel like a copycat....so any great ideas out there are welcomed. :-)

Do you want to see me biggger?

This is a phrase that has been frequently used by our almost 4 year old. He is WAY excited for his birthday and continues to be astounded by how much taller he is getting.

He no longer needs his steppy to reach the sink to turn on the water, he can even now reach the toothbrush and toothpaste, "all myself". He can also on "tippy top toes" reach the towel to dab the excess water off his mouth after brushing. He is on his way to seeing his whole face in the mirror also (so far we are just waiting for his chin to be seen).

He is apparently getting too old for tubbies. He now prefers taking a shower "all himself". The best part for him is washing his hair all himself. He even sings in the shower, usually Step by Step, with a continual repeat on the phrase, "Oh God you are my God and I will follow you all of my days." I must also record that he uses a loofah sponge. I know it is hilarious, the funnier part is that his daddy uses one too.

He is also amazed that his arms are getting longer too. He now needs one arm to buckle his seatbelt all himself. He can reach his basket of books and coloring stuff all by himself in the van too. Oh and the power window button, (not cool).

Trevor has mastered riding a two wheeler, thanks to his cousin Anika's gentle coaching. His dad helped him to seal the deal after coach Anika's lessons. Trevor can don and doff his helmet now independently.I am forseeing a few ouchies and band aids this summer, but that is okay we have Diego band aids, so its really quite fun for Trevor.

So my almost 4 year old Trevor, I will always want to see you bigger. Daddy and Mommy will always be here to celebrate these bigger times with you and we are cherishing them all along the way. This picture was taken when you were a week old. I recall saying can you believe how big he is. Four years later, we are still saying this. We love you almost 4 year old!

P.S. Someone else in our house also happens to be getting bigger, more on that in a later post. :-)

Who is countin?

Who is counting down the days until this? I have 4 1/2 days left until my 10 week vacation... I am just saying not like I am counting or anything? Ho hum ho hum it is off to sunnin Trev and I will be in just 4 1/2 short days. :-)

Help Wanted Please

Is there anyone out there that would please come and plant my flowers....actually wait a minute could you please go and decide which plants to purchase and then where to plant them and then plant them. It would be great. This task seems a bit overwhelming to me at the present time.

Trevor had a bit of a bug this past week and it translated into 1 1/2 days off of work for me (which is almost 1/2 of my work week to begin with). Seeing as if I only have 9 more days till summer vacation, these 1 1/2 days are of extreme value to me. I was back to work Friday however there were no students and most of the teachers I needed to touch base with were in meetings.

Pretty much I just need to hang on and bust my buns like crazy for 9 more days and then sit and sun those same buns for the next 2 1/2 months. WHOOO HOOOO 10 weeks of chillin like a villan...now that is what I am talking about!

I guess I will just have to wait 9 days to decide about flowers, etc. I am certain I won't be so overwhelmed by having to not work 4 days of the week! :-) More time to bond with my almost 4 year old and plenty of time to pick out flowers, where to plant and to plant oh and probably weed too! :-)

Waiting

Well we are again waiting to find out if a little miracle is growing inside of me. The waiting is most definately the hardest part for me. I want to be positive however, for me, it is such a fine line between being positive and getting too excited. So, I am attempting to just be. I can say that this time around I am not as wrapped up in whether or not things worked. I am trying to mimick my husbands attitude of if God wants this to happen it will but if not it will be okay too. Let's just say if it does I think we will have a party, big time party that is.

I was rather sick while pregnant with Trevor. I remember vividly during my 50 minutes commute up 294, stopping on the shoulder, opening my door, puking and then continuing on my voyage. It was not fun, but at the same time every time I chucked I said THANK YOU LORD as it was such a great reminder that all was well inside. (So dear friend who is 9 weeks prego remember that or maybe break into the doxology or a little praise ye the Lord, hallelujah). And please friends if I am pregnant ya'll remind me to be shoutin AMENS to Jesus if/when/while I am a chuckin! :-)

Bloggin or Braggin

Someone very dear to me recently explained her dislike about blogs. She thinks it is bragging. So I am just putting out a disclaimer that I am not trying to brag rather the intent of my blog is record memories and thoughts for years to come. It is kinda like a online scrapbook to me. As we all know, you can choose to read it or not. I am not looking for oohh's and ahhh's rather just sharing the joyous and everyday occassions in our home, if you read closely you will also notice that I share the not so joyous moments also. So please know that I am doing this more to be to share with Trevor or any future children what life was all about when they were younger. Being as my mom died when I was 8 years old, I at times long to know what life was like for her at this stage in the game. I am hoping to be here when my children parent, but if I am walkin the streets of gold I hope this blog will be a glimmer into what life was like back in the day! ;-) Now back to braggin, I mean blogging.

Oh yah, does anyone know how to make the strike throughs like I have seen some do? ;-)

Trevor's talk

I overheard Trevor trying to get Daddy's attention today in the bathroom, mind you Dan was in the shower at the time. This is what I heard.....

Trev: Daaaaaddddyy, please you look at my butt?

Daddy: (hesitantly) Why?

Trev: To see if it is "dirrrty", cuz I wipe it all my-"suff"(myself).

Daddy: Yep, it looks super clean to me.

Trevor comes running into the kitchen.

Trevor: Mommy I not need you anymore.
Thank goodness I knew what was going on or I probably would of gotten teary eyed!

Me: Why not?

Trevor: I wipe my butt all myself and Daddy said it is not dirty....I a big boy now, not need wipe my butt anymore like babies!

Me: Oh great job Trevor you sure are a big boy!

Trev: Yeah Mom, I 3 1/2, pretty soon I be 4, then I be 5.

This little guy is growing up so fast....this morning he made his own strawberry jelly sandwhich and tonight at dinner he also buttered his own roll.

Trev: Mom, I not need your help Mom, I do this all myself, see Mom.

My GRANDma

This Mother's Day I was handed a gift. The gift was great but not as important as the giver is. You see, the giver is my Grandma. She is a woman of generosity, prayer, encouragement and love. Generous with her time, volunteering often for various organizations, visiting the sick, cheering the elderly, assisting where she can with VBS decorations, bringing delicious meals to her family and friends, attending her grandchildren and great grand children's sporting events and programs, helping wherever she can with the family bakery, entertaining in her home, volunteering in numerous church functions....this list could go on and on forever. I admire that even in her retirement years she continues to serve others with acts of kindness. Her servant spirit hasn't retired, in fact it has stepped up a notch!

Generous with her resources as well. She is often sending encouragements cards, emails, letters. She generously gives to her family in abundant ways. Often times she will bless us with various grocery items. It is not unusual for her to drive the 30 minutes we live apart to bring us bread, homemade soup, cheese ends (she get these for a steal of a deal, I get my bargain blood from her, it was apparently a recessive gene), homemade banana bread, my favorite broccoli cheese chicken casserole, Wal*ts raisin bread, snacks for Trevor, etc. She sews buttons on our clothes and hems clothes for us. Once Dan's favorite pair of pajama pants was pretty much torn to shreds, she sewed patches into it to hold it together. She clips coupons for me and lets me know where milk is cheapest, etc. She will clip a newspaper column on how plants create less allergens or whatever. She is always thinking of others. She remembers us all on our birthdays, at Valentines Day, and Christmas. I laugh at her sometimes because she remembers how old people who have long been deceased would be or would of been married. She invites us over for her homemade meals and often will treat us to meals at restaurants as well. One of my favorite memories of her generosity is when she and my Aunt (AJ) blessed me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was the day my best friend left to go and live in Ukraine. It was a hard day/time for me and they knew that and wanted to cheer me up.


Grams is a woman of prayer~! She prays for each of us in her family daily. She is a prayer warrior and her speech is often filled with, "I will pray to that end". And I know without a doubt that she will pray for whatever the need/praise is and will do so numerous times. She follows up and asks how whatever praise/petition she has being answered! She knows her Bible inside and out. We are able to talk frequently on the phone thanks to cell phones...She is so quick to encourage me with scripture and will also gently rebuke me with the same! ;-)

Encouragement may be her greatest gift to me. She almost explodes with encouragement. She notices if you have a new shirt on, if you get a new hair color or style, new jewelery and will quickly compliment on it. She has written so many letters and notes to my very dear friends, yes that is what I said, she writes notes of encouragement to my friends. What a woman, huh! She often will remind me that my mission field is Dan and Trevor. She aches with me when my heart is hurting and rejoices when I am excited about something. She enjoys music, it ministers to her and she will often use it to encourage others. She gives me a hard time for not having curtains in my front window and I promise you the day I get them she will be invited over and she WILL sing the Doxology when she lays her eyes on them!

Her heart contains so much love for her family and others. She invests in peoples lives and receives such a huge blessing by doing so. She beams with joy when her whole family is together. We are very fortunate to be able to spend lots of time together during the summer months at a lake Gramps and Grams first found 40 years ago! Ever since then, her entire family has enjoyed going to the Lake and being around one another! She came to Trevor's preschool graduation ceremony last Thursday. She was thrilled to be there, so thrilled tears flooded her eyes as she watched. She whispered to me, "I sure hope I am here to see him graduate 8th grade!" I assured her that if she wasn't she'd have the best seat in the house, looking down from the streets of gold!

Perhaps the greatest demonstration of her unending love was in the way she loved my Grandpa. Oh she wanted the best for him and loved him with all she muster, even in his declining days. I recall several occasions when walking was getting more difficult for him to do and she would encourage him to do the exercises the doctor recommended. Reluctantly Gramps would do them however, when she would walk away or leave the room he would stop. His hearing was going but he would listen and look for her to come back into the room and start pumping the iron again, clad with a grin on his face. :) They joked around with each other all the time, it was soo cute to witness this. She would make arrangements to get Gramps the help he needed to participate in the things he loved. She made sure he did as much as he possibly could until he couldn't anymore. She was so sad to have to admit that he needed to be in a nursing home to have his needs met. I remember many phone conversations when tearfully she would say, "I just wish the Lord would take him home, so he won't have to suffer anymore." She made sure she gave him the best possible care she could till his last days here on earth. She spent lots of time with him there, visited him everyday and in between was quick to call the nurses and get updates on how he was. Although she misses him dearly, she is thrilled he is walking the streets of gold, freed from his earthly ailments! I was in awe of how they loved each other so much till the very end. I will never forget while he was in the nursing home, Gramps reached out for Grams hand to hold. Grams glanced at him and together they beamed with joy. They loved each other so deeply! We are able to laugh about all of his fun personality characteristics and are so thankful to have so many memories with him. (More about Gramps in a later post).

Grams, Gigi, Greta has blessed my life in far more ways that I commented about here. I wanted to be able to write about this so that Trevor can someday look back and see all that his Great Grandmother means to me and what an amazing woman of God she is! She is most definitely an awesome role model to me as a mother, wife, grandma, sister and friend. She has blessed so many and I have no doubt she will continue to until the Lord calls her to her eternal home.

Thanks Grams for who you are and for your example! I am proud to call you my Grandma. I love you!

Random Quiz about me

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