opening my eyes...

In the past week I have been making more time in my chaois for some quite time with God and I just wanted to share how cool it has been!

My mentor gave me a book titled "New Day New You" my Joyce Meyer. It is a daily devotional book and at first I was not very interested because...well honestly I am not her biggest fan but I read it because my mentor gave it to me.

This week my dear friend called me and encouraged me to start training with her to run a half marathon. This is something I have thought of in the past but never worked on and this time...with a little push :) I decided to do it.
After that converstation was finished I found a few moments to read my devotional and BAM God reaffirmed my decision to run the race "Don't spend your life looking back, wishing you had tried different things or done things differently." (hmm thats me!) Basically why not try it..."you wont have to live your whole life hearing about what everyone else is doing and wondering what it would be like (once again...thats me!)

Now for today. I have been down, on and off, for several weeks and I hate being negative and being a complainer but sometimes...well thats what I am.
I laid all of the kids down for their nap and sat in a comfy chair to read my devotional again. The title today..."Complain and Remain, Praise and be raised" "When we praise God in the midst of difficulty, He raises us up out of it"

Wow! God is amazing. The book is designed to be read daily..each selection has a date at the top. He perfectly planned for me to read about these two topics on those specific days!

So now I pray that I can stick with my running! and accomplish something that I have had in the back of my head for a long time and I pray that I can praise God in all things - even in the midst of a messy house and a grumpy husband. God is Good

september in review

A quick update for everyone out there...

Ben is now 8 years old. We had a party at Grandma Barbs with our family and a few friends. We planned our party to be outside but, it rained the ENTIRE weekend and were stuck inside.
A few days later, it was still raining, but we headed out to the bowling alley with several of Bens friends. They all had a great time bowling and playing video games. It is so hard to believe that my baby boy is getting so big. He is such a sweet little guy (for the most part) He love to play football, soccer, fishing, playing the computer/Nintendo DS and he is a pretty good reader.

Sydney is learning SO much in school. She comes home talking about all of the things she is learning. I was so concerned that she would be behind but she seems to be right on track! She loves to dance and sing and is planning to try out ice skating lessons soon.

The business is still going strong. We haven't had much down time, which is good and we have been expanding quickly. I am so proud of Chris - he is working so hard and has scaled back so much on his hunting/fishing - although he still finds time for a bit of both.

Thats all for now...

Remember when...

I was just thinking about how fast my children are growing up and thought I would post a couple of pictures of what they looked like not too long ago

Back to School

Here She is... Our Big Kindergartener!

She LOVES school. There were no tears (from her at least) and she has had no trouble with the transition. I just hope she is being "sweet" sydney instead of "sassy" sydney. She has already made a 'best friend forever' (her words) and she loves to tell me about seeing her brother in the hall or at lunch.

Ben is doing great too! He is now is 2nd grade (also hard to believe) He loves to play tag on the playground and he is a little scientist in the making - He is planning to be a biologist - Marine Biologist to be exact. He knows so much, and is learning so fast! I usually have to google what he is talking about to make sure I am telling him the right information

Our little get-away

In the early spring, Chris went to Indianapolis to a Build a pondless waterfall seminar at the Zoo there. When he came back he suggested that we go back at some point during the summer so I started planning!

We left on a friday afternoon around 2pm and headed to Indianapolis. Not only did we plan to visit the zoo, but also the museum and my friend Stacey and her family!

The kids had alot of fun running around together - so much so that we didn't get any pictures of all of them together - except this one in which the boys are moving.

Saturday was our day at the zoo! It was great. There was a dolphin show (almost like sea world), we saw an elephant show (we actually got to touch it!) sharks and Syd was able to ride a pony. There was so much to see and do! Oh and the waterfall - our main reason for going...

After the zoo we went back to the hotel for some resting and swimming! Sydney was sure that she was staying at the Tipton ( anyone else out there watch disney channel?)

On Sunday we went to the childrens museum and had a great time there too! The dinosaur area was a hit

we only ended up with one Family photo and is has a ton of bright light in the back but I thought I would share it anyway!

I forgot to mention that Grammy joined us for the drive and the zoo. She has a friend that lives in Indianapoois and was able to visit her!

Beach day

My kids - and I - love going to the beach. Today started with more rain but ended beautifuly. I packed up our beach stuff and a small picnic and we headed out.
Ben wouldn't leave home without his tackle box and fishing pole. I never expected he would catch anything worth commenting on but, I was wrongHe caught 2 large carp using soggy corn chips for bait. All of the children around were so excited to see someone catch one of the fish that swim around with them in the lake. Ben released both fish and the swam away quickly. Sydney was a proud little sister!

Camping?

We had been planning to go camping for weeks and as it came closer to the big day...the weather didn't look so good. We met up with 3 other families at a local state park on friday afternoon and had plans to stay until sunday.

I didn't take any pictures on friday night because I thought I had 2 more days to capture the perfect photos....I was wrong.

On Sat morning we all woke up to have pancakes (thanks Michael!) and then shortly after we ate it started to rain. Those of us camping in tents decided we had better pack up. It rained all day! but instead of just heading home we all went together and hung out at the Millers home (8 adults and 10 kids). We all stayed for lunch, games, naps and then dinner! We had such a great time will everyone. We are so thankful for so many amazing friends

Here are some pictures of us "camping".

Blog Hobby

I started this blog about a year ago (maybe more) and I am wondering...Is anyone out there? I just went through and noticed that I have only had one comment in the past few months and maybe less than 5 ever.

I realize that I read alot of blogs and never comment so I intend to do so more often but if I am only writing to myself than maybe I should just stop my blog.....

Does anyone actually read this blog? if so comment so I know...otherwise I may just be done with this 'hobby'

Holiday weekend

We have had a great holiday weekend. It all started on thursday evening when we had dinner with friends (Mandy and Michael, Stacey and Blaine and all of our kiddos). Stacey and Blaine came from Indianapolis and we all met up at Mandy and Michaels house. I would share some pictures but...I forgot my camera. Anyway, we had an awesome time visiting and playing with the kids and we ended our evening with a trip to Plainwell for Ice cream. (I just watched)

Friday we headed back to Richland for the 4th of july parade and then we went to a Party given by our friends Shawn and Kristin... once again I would love to share pictures but I forgot my camera. The kids had a blast playing and swimming and Chris and I also had a fun afternoon with all of our friends.

On friday evening Grammy had Ben and Sydney come to her house for a sleep over. Since we were kid-less, Chris and I went on a little last minute date. We went out to dinner (and were able to eat outside!) and then we went and visited some friends. We skipped out on the fireworks mostly because we are getting old and tired.

Sat the kids and I headed to Eagle lake with my mom for a day at the beach. You will never guess but...thats right, no pictures because I once again forgot my camera. (not sure what is wrong with my memory lately) We stayed at the beach for about 4 hours. We were so tired after that but there is still more. When we got home our good friend Aunt Shell called and invited us over for an old 4th of july tradition of swimming and fireworks with the Thayer/ Barry-Lambert family! We stayed until 10:30 (we never do that with the kids!!) and once again had such a great time.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early (Like we could ever sleep in around here) and headed to church. Ben and Sydney wanted so badly to do something fun again so I agreed to head back to Eagle lake for the evening. We called our friends Michelle, Jerry, Noah and Lindsey and asked them to join us. The kids were able to catch 20+ minnows with their nets and the were on the go non stop. This time I remembered the camera!!!!

This is Ben, Noah and Lindsey (Syd was too busy swimming to come in for the picture)

Here are all 4 of the children packing up to leave - Sydney decided to join us in this picture

I hate to have all of the fun end but I am back to work already. I have bids to type, bills to pay and menus to plan!

We have been so very blessed to have so many friends and family around us.

Thank you Jesus for the many blessings you have given me and my family!

Makes you think

We had a strong rain storm here last wednesday night and we lost our electricity for a couple of days. I went to bed on Wed night fully prepared to wake up to a house full of electriclity or as Sydney likes to call it - Lightricity.

We still had water, even hot water, just no lights, tv, stove, computer, well you get the idea.
My children found it to be an adventure at first but when they woke up on Thursday morning and couldn't watch TV before breakfast or feed their Webkinz they seemed lost. It took Ben a couple of hours to figure out what to do with himself and this is what made me think...

I thought I was doing a good job limiting TV/computer time but apparently I am not. I get focused on my office work and I don't realize how long I let them watch tv or play games. It was so nice to not have the background noise or to have people 'discussing ' what they should watch or play. It was so nice to see Ben play with some toys or games that he hadn't touched in weeks. It is so easy to fall into the habit of letting them watch just one more show or play just one more level so that I can get just one more bid typed for Chris.

I am going to work very hard this week to take time out of my busy day to get Ben and Sydney involved in some more activities that don't require a remote or a mouse!

ponds for kids

For those of you that don't know, my husband loves to install water features. He gets so excited about selling and installing ponds and waterfalls for our customers.

A couple of weeks ago he installed a Pond for Kids. He went to a local school and proposed a pond build that would include students helping with the plan and with the installation of their very own pond at school that can be used in so many ways. It was such a success! Here are the before and after pictures.

A couple of days after the job was finished, a duck moved in with her 11 babies! Every time Chris goes back to the school to check on the pond, there are teachers or other staff out at the pond just taking it in! I am so proud of the work he does! Now I want one in my yard!

Kindergarten..Her she comes

Sydney is now finished with pre-school. She had been going to Free to Be school 3 times a week since september and she loved it! Mostly the class pet, Harry (guinea pig).

Last friday se had a preschool promotion! It was so cute. Miss Pam had all of the children sing songs and do finger plays for the audience. Sydney was loving it! she did every motion and sang every word! The teachers had also prepared a slide show of things the kids had done during the school year. I had tears in my eyes mostly because the song that they played with it talked about little children growing up and moving on and not having much time with them.

Oh how I hope/pray that I am showing her how to be a women of God and teaching her all she needs to know as she grows.

Here she is getting her certificate and hugging Miss Pam.

This was taken after the program was finished. She was having refreshments with her friend Madysen

I have always heard people say "They Grow so fast" or "they are only little once"...it is so true

Blessings

Blessings come in so many different ways.

I meet with a Mentor at church about once a week and we basically talk all about me, my family and my 'stuff' and some things I should be working on or doing different. In doing this, my mentor has decided that my life is well...busy.

A couple of weeks ago she came to our meeting with stack of paper plates! HUGE blessing. I don't usually buy paper plates for a couple of reasons, 1 - I don't like to spend the money on something I just throw away and 2-I try to do little things for the environment like avoid making too much waste! Well, if someone gives you a gift you have to use it, right?

Today she blessed me again by bringing her teenage daughter to my house to help with my daily routine. She played with the day care children, helped with meals and nap time, cleaned a few windows, vacuumed and gave me some company! I was able to get some much accomplished. Almost every parent that come to pick up their child commented on how clean my house looked!

I was blessed today!

It has been too long!

April have been so crazy! so here is a quick update. (I will add some pictures later!)

First...LWLS (our landscaping company) has been very busy. Chris has our employees in at 7 and then they are all out until dark most days. After he gets home, he rests for a bit and then we work on paper/office work. We have been blessed with steady business and we look forward to growing our company!

Next...Ben. He is still growing his hair and I must say it looks pretty darn cute! He is growing up so fast. He has a friend who lives in the neighborhood and he has started riding his bike there - without me- YIKES !!!! He is doing very well in school and is having a blast playing on his spring soccer team. I may be biased but, He is an awesome soccer player! We are looking forward to all of the fun we will have this summer! He is such a helpful, happy and sweet boy.

Then comes Sydney! (aka Syd - thats what she wants to be called lately) She too is having fun playing soccer but often gets distracted by all of the chatting she needs to do! She only has 2 more days of pre-school and I am so proud of her. She has had 2 field trips this month and I have been able to go on both. The first was to a dairy farm/creamery call Mooville (we had a great time) and the second was to Binder Park Zoo which was also fun! She is getting so old, yet still has so much to learn about being a *lady* instead of a crazy wild child.

And last...ME...I have just been in the middle of a tornado! I have been trying to get back into my running routine but with the early mornings and late nights I haven't done very well with that. The day care is PACKED and all of my spots are filled for summer and for next fall! It is nice to be needed/in demand : )

Some days are crazy and I don't know how I will make it through but I am so thankful for the blessings God has given us. I tend to worry about what is to come in our future... How will I get ben to practice next tues, how will I get to the groc store, what will I do when Syd goes 1st grade (in 2 years) but then I reel myself back in and realize that God has a plan and I just need to listen better and wait for the right time.

The love of a parent

Today was a hard day. Sydney had a friend over to play and it was going well until a third little girl came into the picture. 2 is fun 3 is not much fun. Some things came out of my little girls mouth that I didn't like. Where did he learn it? well, I guess me. When I hear my sweet baby talk so mean I just cringe inside and vow to be patient and slow to anger form that moment on...I do this at least once a day.

Then at about noon, the phone rings and the caller ID says Pennfield schools. Either Ben is sick or he got hurt on the playground!!!! Well, neither. Ben is IN TROUBLE! "Not my sweet, obedient child!" In the end it was not a huge deal but due to half days and the up coming spring break the principal was unable to use her normal consequence (no recess) so she had to call home.
Chris and I decided that we would take away TV, Playsation, computer, etc and have him write sentences. "My poor baby"
When Chris got home, Ben didn't want to talk to him about it but chris did an AWESOME job! We asked ben how long he thought he should be without TV etc and he said "probably 7 days" we suggested 5 and he said "well, I like 5 better but I did something really bad so I should probably have 7 "- and then he broke down crying! (so did chris and I :) )

So it made me think. My precious, only son made a mistake and I was so sad for him. I wasn't mad or embarrased, my heart was aching for him and I wanted to forgive him and be done with it.
Lord, I know I make mistakes often and you always forgive me. You wrap your arms around me, love me and move on, even if I do it a million times! Thank you!

Fun Times

Last Sat., Ben, Sydney and I went with Grammy to see Auntie Claretta for the day. The whole gang was there to visit with Grandma Galusha and to meet my new niece Sofia Violet! My children had so much fun playing the Wii, riding bikes, taking baths (just because they can) and doing whatever else their Auntie lets them do!

Mike and Olivia - Olivia wasn't so excited about the "puppies" at Aunties houseSyd and Mommy

Aunt Myra helping Sydney with baby Sofia - Sydney just loves babies and she did an awesome job holding and rocking Sofia!

Auntie bought a bike for Ben to ride but he has trouble with it because it has too much pink -

Grammy and Sofia

There is just something about a nice hot bath! Olivia wasn't so sure she was having fun!

I have great memories of my visits to Aunties house and I am so glad my kids will have those memories too!

The Glasses are in

Our sweet Ben now has glasses! We let him pick out the frames he liked and I think he picked these because they have a very small picture of Jimmy Neutron on the ear piece.

The Dr. said that he should wear them as much as possible not just for reading. I felt a bit of *Mommy* guilt when we found out that he was in need of glasses, you know "what did I do wrong to make him have poor vision" but I am over that now. He does so good at everything he does, maybe now he will do even better!

Sydney Celebrates turning 5

Thats right! She is 5- well not until Monday, March 10th but we had her party today! Sydney and I are both planners and both had lists a mile long ideas for the party and of people to invite but in the end (based on the amount of people we can fit in our house) Chris strongly suggested we limit the fun to family! UGH!!! I guess he was right- 20 people for dinner is enough. We did let her invite a few special friends! Lexi, Ashley, Kylie and Big Brother (of course)!

The kids decorated the cupcakes and played TP mummy! it was a blast. After they broke free of the TP they played in it! it was a huge mess but they had so much fun!

Sydney has her "drama" moments (she is for sure going to do some acting in the future) But even with the drama we feel so blessed to have our sweet sister! She has so much spunk, determination and love for people. She can mother anything and is a "pro" when it comes to "caring for babies". I also love that I have an excuse to play with barbies again! I love being her mommy and pray that she grows to love the Lord with all she has and that she uses her spunk for Him! Happy Birthday Sydney Joelle!

Pinewood Derby Car

Ben joined Cub Scouts this year and has had fun going to the meetings with Chris. Today was his first Pine wood derby race. We had some issues getting the car built but in the end we had a pretty good car. Ben was so excited about racing his car. He didn't win but he did really well.

Ben wanted his car to be black and gray he wanted to have a star wars theme. We didn't find any star wars stickers but we stuck with his color scheme. He also added a lego man and steering wheel. He chose the #36 because "thats how old daddy is!" I just loved watching his little face light up when his car raced well! It was a great day!

March Madness

I am not taking about Basketball! March is reading month at Bens school and almost everyday they have a theme. Last friday was crazy hair day! If you have read my past blog you already know that Ben is growing his hair out so we had alot to work with! He loved it!

8 years ago...

Chris and I got married. It was Friday, February 11, 2000. The day was filled with so many emotions and even though many of our family and friends were not able to attend, it was a special day! God truely has a plan for our lives and we need to trust Him (easier said than done).
Life for us hasn't been easy but, we are blessed and we do know that God is leading us. One day we will look back at all of the "stuff" and praise God because we will be able to use our life as a testimony to others!
Thank you Lord for my husband who Truely loves me and who strives to be a man/husband/daddy of God!

Extended Family

This picture was from christmas but I just got a copy of it and I thought I would share.

Back row from the left: Herb (brother) Yoey (cousin) Mike (brother) Cy (cousin) Elia (cousin)

front row from the left: Melissa (SIL) Naomi (cousin IL) Chris, Myra (SIL) Sarah (Elias girlfriend) and me in front (of course)

Yup- I was the only girl growing up with all of those boys! I do have one girl cousin on that side of the family but she has always lived on the west coast so it was usually just me and the boys! I am so glad they brought some girls into the family

We had a great time getting together and talking about all of the fun we had when we were little What a blessing it is to have them in my life

All grown up

Ben is such a big kid. We brought home his report card last week and we are so proud of him. He is progressing well in every area and the has "mastered" his people skills (at least while he is at school) I love to sit with him and have him read to me. He can read almost anything- instuctions, tv menu, words I spell out so that he won't know what I am saying (that no longer works with him)...

The latest stage is that he wants to grow out his beautiful blonde hair! I am all for him having hair that is a bit longer but it is in the in between stage and it is so messy.

I just love my little man!

Christmas in review

Well, it seems like life has been crazy but I guess thats what happens for us around the holidays!

We had an amazing Christmas here in MI. Snow, family and food! My brother Herb, and sister-in-law, Melissa, decided last minute to come up from Florida with their 3 children and 2 of their nieces and I am so happy they did! We had several family events starting the weekend before Christmas. On sat we had lunch at my brothers house (Mike and Myra) with my moms side of the family - well some of them- I wish I had picture to post but I of course forgot my camera. It is always fun to see all of my boy cousins. They all towered over me in the pictures that we had to pose for!

Then on Sunday we went to my dads house for more food.

This is all of the kids at my Dads house that afternoon. Caitlyn, Spencer, Lauren, Kelsey, Alyssa, sydney, Ben, Olivia and my little brother Kyle!
On christmas eve we went to Chris' moms house and spent some time with his family there but cut out early to get home to bed for the big day!
On Christmas day we woke up around 7 (thats late for my babies) and opened our gifts at home and then headed to Grammys for brunch and more presents. This is about the only picture I have of me so please pay no attention to my apperance!

After Grammys we went to Mandys house (chris' sister) to visit with her and papa and cindy and of course open more gifts! Anything Star Wars will put a smile on that cute little face! We have been so blessed with such a generous, loving and FUN family and we are so grateful to God for each one of them. I can't wait to do it all again next year!