Friday, January 7, 2011

Christmas update.



Christmas was good, busy but good.
We started off on Christmas Eve going to Dan's Aunt Gina's house, later headed out to Muskegon to my Grandparents house. That night we went to the Midnight Service at our Church. The next morning we had Christmas breakfast at Dan's Moms house and opened a lot of gifts. Afterwards we stopped by my sister Heathers new house to finally get a tour. Then we headed to my Mom's house to celebrate the remainder of Christmas with my family. Sadly, Sunday we turned down driving out to Lansing to visit my dad's side of the family... we were pretty much exhausted! Although it seemed busy, i wouldn't trade it for the world. I love that i have a large family, and married into one!

The other thing, besides Isaiah, that has kept me busy this holiday season was all the baking i have done. I was able to spend some quality time making some unique yummies with my Mom. Its always more fun to bake with a friend.
I also spent an evening making gingerbread cookies with my niece Leah, and another evening decorating them all with all of my nieces and nephews. I love making memories with them!

I received some very generous gifts this year that i appreciate so much! I do have to brag a little about what Dan got me though................ A new Camera! What a thoughtful guy! He knew that i had been frustrated with our old cameras. Mine has broken twice on me, and his is just going bizzurks. I have been taking a lot of pictures with my camera phone and internally complaining about it.
Being able to take good photos of our family and Isaiah is HUGE to me! He is growing so fast and i want to have nice pictures of him. So big brownie points go to my husband this year! :-) 

In return i bought him a Brewing Kit for Beer. He has also been wanting one for a long time. He is going to have some fun with that! I'll be posting some pictures of is future creations with my new camera! :-)

Isaiah had fun as well this year. He got quite a few gifts from all his aunts and uncles and grandparents, and he loves playing with all of them! It was so fun to watch him unwrap his presents this year, he seemed to know just what to do. He is getting so big, and i couldn't help get a bit emotional thinking of how he was only 5 months old last Christmas. My little baby is growing up so fast! I know that is such a common thing to say, and i swore i never would say it... but it's true.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year, and that your love didn't get lost in the busyness of the season.
Leah and Kayla

Joey




Up to something....



 
 
Our little Christmas
Dan got him little TOMS, they are so cute!
Happy New Year!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Mom's Surprise

Isaiah's sleeping through the night lasted a total of 3 days... oh well. Not that i have ever tried keeping to a schedule of some sort, but this past month has been quite crazy. He began going to bed super late, and has been just all over the place as far as that goes. It hasn't helped that it has been the holiday season, which i am sure has encouraged him.

He may have continued sleeping through the night, but that same weekend i ended up spending a few nights at my mom's so that she was able to get away for a couple days. My mom's birthday landed on Thanksgiving this year and was pretty much forgotten in the busyness of the holiday. About a month before, my siblings and i all decided we wanted to do something special for her this year, just because.
She has wanted her bedroom painted for way too long and so we decided we would start with that and see what other rooms we could accomplish with our remaining time.

My grandparents, (who were in on the scheme) picked her up and whisked her away to Detroit to visit my uncle and family (her brother). That Thursday evening, after she had left, we set to work.
We chose some colors for her bedroom, her bathroom, and the guest bathroom. It was a long couple of nights full of steaming the ugly borders, scraping, sanding, tapping, and prepping. It was a good time for all of us, and we had some much needed bonding time. Coming from a large family, who has had our share of difficulties along the way it is hard to stay connected and make memories with each other. To say the least, i appreciated the time with my older sisters and brother. Sadly, my other brothers were far away. 

After it was all painted and dry we did our best at agreeing on how the rooms should all be arranged. I had some pictures printed from my brothers trip to Porto Rico and bought some new frames for the guest bathroom. We diligently worked until the moment my mom arrived home. Everyone ran into her bedroom with all my nieces and nephews, and Isaiah and shut the door on me! I grabbed my bottle of water and began slowly walking by the hallway as she opened the front door. I innocently and calmly said, "oh...hey." As if surprised to see her home. 
She made her way to her room with my grandparents and i closely following behind her. I could tell that she had NO idea what had gone on while she was away.
She opened the door to her room and all the kids jumped up yelling, "Surprise!" She was totally taken back. She couldn't believe it! After she had checked out her bathroom i told her that we had one more surprise. She got a little scared and i took her hand and brought her to the guest bathroom. She loved it, she loved it all! It was so much fun to give her such a big gift! We all felt pretty proud... and pretty tired! She gives so much to others, and (i feel) gets so little in return. She has worked so hard to provide for her family as a single Mom for the last 8 years and has done such an amazing job at it! We are all so indebted to her.
I love you Mom, you have been one of the greatest gifts on earth to me. You have been the best friend any one could ever ask for. You have loved me despite my ugly heart, and given me encouragement whenever i have needed it. You have been such an inspiration and role model to me, and i have always aspired to be like you. I am glad you love your rooms, and have felt a bit of relief from the accomplishments. I love you Mom!

Sadly, i don't have any pics of the finished project.. but i can post some later. Here are some of us working though :-)

Heather

Seth

Her bathroom

Sarah

Looking pretty tired..


My attempt at an artistic photo  :-)