Checking In!

Just checking in here on the blog scene! I am alive!
:-) It's been a little while since I posted...I've just been busy with life!
This week we get to celebrate Luke's 3rd birthday!! The party itself will happen after the fact, but we'll be heading to Grandpa and Grandma's farm for the day - something the birthday boy has been hoping to do for awhile!

MITs

MITs of the day:

Dinner preparations
Prepare for leading Bible study tomorrow/email my group
Fold and put away laundry!

Fall Camping

Well between an almost 8 month old baby and a 2.5 year old toddler (who's desperately trying to give up his naps!) I'm finding it hard to find the time to blog lately! Add the fact that this Mom is ready to head to bed by 9:00 most nights and it becomes almost impossible!!

But anyway - I stole a few moments away and thought I'd share some pictures of our recent camping trip! Most of the weekend was freezing cold! We were sure happy to be able to borrow a pop up camper from our inlaws! We were toasty warm at night with that thing! My favorite part of the weekend was spending time with friends and family and also hitting the local antique shop with the gals!

Crazy?

Are we crazy?
We're leaving for a camping trip today....
the only reason I can say that we aren't crazy, is that we are borrowing a pop up camper. That should get us through the forecasted snow right?!

A Glimpse of an Artist

My two year old has outdone me artistically. I didn't realize it would happen quiet so soon. I thought his latest drawing was absolutely amazing. He is obsessed with cranes (boom arms as he calls them with technical precision) so that is what he loves to draw. I could not believe my eyes when he showed me this "huge boom arm!" He said it is "picking up logs." His best yet!

Home Again, Home Again

Home again, Home again - jiggity jig.

We returned home last night from our wonderful vacation! We had a great time visiting family and friends! We drove from Chicago to Coloardo..whoohoo we know we are kinda crazy but it was fun and we all lived through the drive! In fact, I feel quite proud that I (sort of) taught myself to knit while we drove. It was our 3rd trek out there with kids and we've had a great time each year. Here are a few photos that capture a little bit of our time. Now we are going through post vacation syndrome...the kids are getting used to taking regular naps again (in beds instead of the van), not having constant parent and grandparent attention, and all that jazz.

Off to Coloardo!

Hey All -
We are leaving for a week and a half vacation tonight!! I'm in the midst of trying to pack (I am such a procrastinator when it comes to packing!) and managing the kids while Mark is at a work conference this weekend.

We will be spending time with family and friends in Illinois, Nebraska, and Colorado! Can't wait! I"l be back in a couple of weeks!

RolyPoly

Look who I caught rolling herself under the coffee table?!

Aubrey is getting so big - she is already 6 months old! She is a delightful little girl - always sweet and cheerful. Underneath the rolypoly little girl is the newly acquired garage sale rug! I love how it looks in our living room and I love that I was able to get it significantly cheaper than I would have new! It's huge and makes our new living room look so much more pulled together. A new bigger rug was on our list of things to purchase so our neighbor's garage sale definitely saved us some cash!

Not much time to post here - we're headed out to Grandpa's farm this afternoon and still have much packing to do!

We'll be spending some time with family and seeing a cousin get married tomorrow!
In between packing we're hitting our neighbor's garage sale..thinking about purchasing a big rug...hmmm.

A MiniVan Family

Welp...we did it! Yep...I am now a mini van driving mama. Whoah!
I think it bothered my husband more than me. Though we frowned at having to spend money on a new (to us!) vehicle, we are looking at it as an investment in our family! And that, I think is a worthy cause.

This past weekend we used it to go camping for the first time and it was so great to easily pack all the kids things and have plenty of room for extra things as well instead of just the necessities. So here's to our new mini van and praying it will last us a long time and be a blessing for our family!

The Book List

Current summer reading...

Parenting by The Book: Biblical Wisdom for Raising Your Child

The Power of a Praying Wife

Jesus the One and Only (a Beth Moore Bible study)

The Scarlet Letter

Gulliver's Travels

Campin' at the Dunes

Last week we went camping at the dunes in Michigan! We had a great time despite the crazy rain storm that took place overnight. You know it's bad when you feel that your tent has actually turned into a waterbed! No joke - we were sleeping on almost an inch and a half of standing water in the morning! Water beds are overrated.
I can't believe I'm writing this, but thank goodness my husband likes expensive good quality tents from here.... after all they did keep us dry.


Note the dunes, behind the 2 beach bums.

Beautiful boy on the beach.

Awww.

The 2 kid campers, note the mud everywhere.

You can not camp without marshmallows.

Hedgehogs

My sister-in-law is babysitting these cute little hedgehogs! They are actually pretty friendly! Luke loves to watch them, but does not like them to get too close to him. Who can blame him?! They are awfully prickly.

Diaper Tip

Have you ever put a clean diaper on your little one, only to have one of the tabs pull off the diaper? Don't despair and throw that diaper out just yet. Just put on an extra diaper right on top of the first diaper. You'll be able to use both diapers this way!
It works for me!

Adorable

Welcome Home Aubrey

We were proud to welcome a little girl, Aubrey Grace into our family on March 3rd at 4:14 a.m.! She was just about two weeks early. I was expecting her to come a little early so it was only a little surprising!
She was a lovely 8 lb. 2 oz. and made for an easy delivery. She tried to make things a little exciting by having some breathing problems develop on the day she was supposed to go home and had to stay an extra two days in the NICU. Thankfully she got better on her own and we are all home and doing well!

Moved!

I'm excited to say we are officially moved into our new home! We ended up having a beautiful day this past Saturday to move and it all went so smoothly thanks to our family and friends!

Meanwhile I'm still trying to figure out which light switch controls what and where everything goes! When I find the camera I'll post a picture! :-)

Plumb Tired Out...

Well friends, I'm just plumb tired out tonight. I'm sitting here in a daze, checking my email after a few days of ignoring my inbox and felt like updating you. We closed on our new house on Thurs. and have been working in it since then, getting things ready to move in!

We couldn't be happier and can't wait to be settled into the new place. I might pop in a few times over the next week or two but I'll probably be pretty absent due to all this, plus being 7.5 months pregnant!

Double Strollers - Yes or No?

Crystal at Mom of Littles is pondering double strollers today and asking for input. This has been on my mind lately as well....

I don't plan on making any purchases before the baby is born. I think I'll wait until warmer weather arrives and see if I have the desire for one then. I'm thinking baby in a carrier and toddler on foot or in a stroller will work for awhile? Am I being overly ambitious here?! If I found a great deal on Craig's list or ebay I might change my mind but so far I don't see one calling my name.

Celebrations

Well this week has been busy already and we haven't even got to Christmas yet! I celebrated my birthday this week and am now eagerly awaiting Christmas! I'll be taking a little break from blogging to concentrate on family, friends, and the birth of Christ!

If you feel like leaving me a little birthday present, feel free to leave a comment introducing yourself! I'd love to find out who is stopping by the blog!