Two Special Boys' Birthday Party

Last weekend we had a really busy weekend. One of the things that was on the agenda, was A BIRTHDAY PARTY!! My nephews Mason and Madden were celebrating their birthday together. Even though Madden turned 1 on July 10th and Mason, not until July 14th, my sister thought it would be just as easy to have a family party all together.
These two little boys are so special to us. We were so glad to spend the afternoon celebrating them!!

Mason turned 8! I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the idea that he is 8 years old!! I tell him all the time that I want him to stay little, but he just laughs at my idea. It has been so fun to watch this little guy grow into a tender boy. Cael adores Mason so much and already looks up to him. When I see the boys interact I can't help but think of all the memories these kids will have together as cousins.
Happy Birthday Mason!

Madden turned 1! One year ago, on the day of the party we were working like mad-"men" in the scorching hot heat to move my sister's family into their new home. It was so hot and there was A LOT OF CRAP (sorry Lisa, but its true..you own a lot of crap ;) to move. My sister was 38 weeks pregnant with this little guy and we kept telling her to take it easy and tell others what to do. Lisa, as stubborn as she is, kept on her feet and never let down! After attending her best friends bachlorette party that same night, she found herself in the hospital having contractions and in labor. "Mad-Dawg" was born a few short hours later. Madden and Cael are nine months apart and have shared so many similarities as babies. I CAN NOT wait to see these boys grow up together!!
Happy Birthday Madden!!


I had to capture this picture of Cael walking out into the kitchen with one of Madden's birthday presents! This is an example of "sharing" things their whole life! It was so cute to see Cael's face light up when he saw this enormous tractor that Madden opened up. The look on his face said "I WANT THAT"! ;) He was walking in the kitchen to find someone who would open it for him. He found Madden's uncle Troy ready and willing with a knife to bust it out of the box for him.

A Special Visit

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from my friend Hayley. It was completely out of the blue but could not have come at a better time! She was inquiring about getting together and coming for a visit! "YES...of course....WHEN....I don't care what it takes...lets make it work!!!" Those were some of the words I used in my response to her.


Hayley and I met in college our freshmen year at Iowa State. She lived right across the hall from me that first year. We have so many great memories of our "Freeman: Vollmer" (name of our floor) days! I wish I could have found some really cute pictures of us back then to insert here..but I couldn't. ;) I spared us both, I think Hayley!;)
It is hard to believe that was 15 years ago! Holy Smokes....really 15 years?!! That is just NUTS! Those days are etched in my memory like it was yesterday. Those days were some of the hardest but BEST days of my life!

Life just doesn't seem to slow down at all. I makes me sad sometimes to think of friends that I had at certain times of my life that I just don't see much any more or hear from besides in a Christmas card. So when Hayley pursued getting together and catching up...how could I say NO!?

As our kids played around us that day, we carried on as if time had not passed! We share the common thread of marriage and motherhood now so that provided us with much conversation as well.

It was so nice to have Hayley and her kids come and visit. I wish that distance didn't separate us like it does. I thought when she left...A friend that withstands time and distance is a precious gift!! I'm thankful for your friendship Hayley! Lets not make it YEARS until we hang out again, ok?!! :)

I was able to capture a few pictures of the kids.

Clae (4) and Lydia (3) spent some time in the pool before they left! How stinkin cute are they?!! I think we have a few "HAMS" for children!

July Activities

SWIMMING POOL



At the area swimming pool there is a Tot Swim that goes on before the pool actually opens. This has been a great opportunity for Cael to explore the pool without kids running, screaming and jumping all over the place. Oh wait...maybe it is more to keep my anxieties in check..than his! He really isn't quite sure yet what to think of water up to his armpits. He fell several times and tried to brace himself with his hands only to find a mouth full of water instead. He loves the water and wants to be in it and really shows no fear of being near it, which is good!


Fourth of July Festivities
This year our fourth of July celebration was very low key. Which is highly unusual for us this time of year. We usually have a family reunion around the fourth for relatives that live all over the US, but this year they decided not to come!:( We missed being with my family members this year, but had a really great time as just our little family instead.
We went to a parade in a town near us that we heard had lots of tractors in it. And sure enough, this parade did not disappoint.



The parade kept his attention nearly the whole time! Never mind the fact that it was almost 100 degrees this day and we were melting...that did not seem to bother him one bit! Then that night we went to another small town and watched the fireworks. I have to admit I wasn't to thrilled about keeping him up 2 hours past his bedtime and not knowing exactly how well he would tolerate the noise. While we waited for the fireworks to start we did some sparklers, he thought those were pretty cool. When the fireworks started, he acted a little bit afraid, but no tears and whaling, which was good! I think the fireworks were a hit because even though the fireworks were over a week ago, he STILL talks about them! He must have liked the "green ones" because he likes to talk about those the most.

We are so thankful for the men and women that sacrifice(d) so much for us to have the freedom that we have today. Watching the men and women drive by in the parade that day, I found myself getting a little bit choked up at the thought of their sacrifice for...us! We are a blessed nation, for sure!!

A Little Family Vacation

I have no idea where the month of June went, but it is gone! I can't really say that we were terribly busy in this month but somehow it slipped right on by!
I decided to check our blog tonight and realized "Wow, I really need to update this soon or I'm going to get really far behind"!! So here is my attempt at "catching up"!

I believe this is my husband's 7th summer working for Monsanto in the corn fields. So for the past seven summers we have had to work around his summer job which usually starts right after the 4th of July. So June is our month to travel if we want to. This year June really sneaked up on us and we just really weren't prepared to take a big trip. So we decided to take a quick, local vacation! We had such a great time and were so impressed with where we decided to explore.
First off, we had to stop and stretch our legs at a mall on the way. We had to RIDE a few things as well. This was the 1st time he has ever rode on a carousel and he did pretty good. Then of course we couldn't escape without seeing the Bob the Builder ride. He was just content to sit on it and not "ride" it, which was nice. Then of course on our way out of the mall we see a... lawnmower! I tell you what, this kid is fascinated with WHEELS and MOTORS! If he has either one of those things he is hooked!


After a quick picnic lunch in the van, we headed to a place per daddy's request!
Pete is a huge fan of the show American Pickers that airs on the History channel. He probably has about 8 episodes in our DVR as I type this and WILL watch every single one of them in time. If you haven't seen this show, you need to, it's pretty entertaining! Anyway, their home site is here in Iowa. This town just happened to be near the route we were taking to our destination. So we stopped and took a few pictures. The funny thing is that Pete walked around their showroom and could quote episodes that he remember seeing a lot of items on. I have to say I enjoyed seeing him light up when we pulled in driveway and as he walked around like a kid in a candy store.


Our destination was Galena, Illinois. This was C's first night away from his bed and I'm not going to lie, I was a bit apprehensive. I have to say HE DID SO WELL!! He surprised both of us! Of course what is a hotel stay without a dip in the pool!



or jumping on the bed in a diaper?!


The very next day we packed up and went to Dubuque, Iowa to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.
Since it has been so incredibly hot here we thought this would be a great way to see lots of animals and experience a kinds of fun things. This place did just that for us. Ideally though he would have enjoyed it more if he would have been school aged, but with all that said the entire experience captured his attention. There were things for him to see, hear, touch, and smell so I would say learning was definitely happening!


All in all I would say that our 2012 Family Vacation was a success!

Happy Fathers' Day 2012

Happy Fathers' Day to Cael's daddy...


Happy Fathers' Day to Pete's dad...


Happy Fathers' Day to my dad..


We had a great weekend filled with laughing, eating, playing, fishing, and relaxing. No better way to celebrate the dads in our family, if you ask me!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day
I'm so mad at myself that I didn't capture a photo of my Mom or Pete's mom on this day! We spent time with both of them during the weekend, I just didn't think to take a picture. Rats! I really wish I had pictures of these dear women that we call MOM!
Both of our mothers have helped us out a great deal and words can not express just how much we love them dearly. They have provided love, help, encouragement, advice, knowledge, and support to us over the years. I feel incredibly blessed to have such wonderful MOTHERS in my life!

On Saturday, we had a picnic with my side of the family at my sister's house. The kids played, the adults chatted and the food was delicious.
Then on Sunday, we went to church, had a graduation reception to attend and then spent the rest of the evening with Pete's side of the family.
Here is a picture of Pete's grandma Doris and her husband Mel. These are very special people to us. We were so excited that they were able to come and spend the evening with us. Family is just so precious to us.

While we were preparing supper, we had a "show" happening in the field next to our house. There was a tractor that was pulling a baler and making bales of hay right in front of our eyes! Cael thought that this was the neatest thing. Every time the tractor drove by he would run to his Great Grandma Doris and say "See Em..See Em?" She would pick him up and they would watch it drive by. How precious is that?! I love it!


READY...SET...DOH!!!!


Love Kisses from my little boy!


It was three years ago, on Mother's day, that we found out that our first round of IVF was not a success. That is a day that is forever burned into my memory. It is a pain that I will never forget. I can remember feeling so sad that the hope of being a mother was NEVER going to happen for me.
Our church started something a few years ago where they would give flowers to the mothers that came to church on Sunday. Right away, Pete expressed how he felt that ALL WOMEN, should be given a flower to show our appreciate for what women bring to us. This is a very sensitive subject for us and we try our hardest to soften it for other women who may be feeling the way I used to. I tried my hardest on Sunday to find women in the church that were not mothers (young and old) and make sure that they had a flower to wear. Almost all of them said "I'm not a mother". I said "You are a women and you are valued, here is a flower to show how much we appreciate you". I really hope some left on Sunday knowing that God loves them dearly even if they don't have the title "mother".
Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a WOMAN who fears the LORD is to be praised.

TODAY...

I rejoice in the faithfulness of our Lord for giving me such a sweet lil boy that calls me mommy!

May Happenings

It is hard to believe that the month of May is half over. As I was logging into our blog, I noticed that it has been about a month since I last made a post. Here is what we have been up to this month.

BASEBALL
We went to one of my nephew's baseball games. We hope to make it to a few more as the summer continues. Mason is playing on a coach pitch/kid pitch league and he does really well! At this ball game, he got a really big hit, threw a runner out at 1st base from 3rd base and did a super job catching! Of course, Cael had better things to do...like WALK AROUND..than to sit and watch. Some day he will, right?!




NATURE
If you know me well, you know that I LOVE nature! I am just intrigued by things in nature. From trees, to animals to the weather. I spend quite a bit of time reflecting on God's beautiful creation and praising Him for being the MIGHTY Creator! Here are a few things I praised Him for over the past couple of weeks.
Look at these precious little robins that we found in one of our pine trees. We noticed the nest and three bright blue eggs about 2 weeks prior to this picture. So we knew that it was only a matter of time when we would see baby birds. The day I captured this picture, had to be only a matter of days after they had hatched. I can't help but think of this verse
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air;they do not so or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable then they?
Our Heavenly Father FEEDS THE BIRDS! He takes care of their every need by providing for them in nature. How much more does he care for us, why can't we trust that HE will provide all that we need? Amazing!

Lily of the Valley are one of my absolute favorite flowers. Look at these tiny, petite flowers. Notice how each little petal is perfectly curled back or look at how the flower droops and looks so delicate. The aroma that these flowers have is something else, also! Our Creator is one who is greatly concerned with the details, this is just one of his examples. Stunning.


Doing some yard work with dad. I'm sure daddy is talking about how we need to spend some time giving this and all of our flower beds some TLC.


With May coming to an end, we are wrapping up the school, attending graduation receptions, wrapping up our youth group bible studies, and gearing up for SUMMER! We have lots of ambitions for this summer, I'm just really hoping we can find the time to accomplish most of them! Stay tuned!