No Longer "Homeless"

We are now the proud new owners of a big white house! After months of looking for just the right one, we happened to stumble across this...

It has everything we have been looking for... a bath by the back door, main floor utility, more than 1 "living space" on the main floor, a nice kitchen, good sized bedrooms, a big yard, and a finished/finish-able basement. (Wow, I didn't realize what a long list we, well, I had!) I think Kevin, our realtor, almost fainted when I said that I liked it! After ~40 houses, it was about time! We closed last week, and will get possession next week. After some work (which is still up for debate :)) we'll move in the beginning of April. Hopefully all that snow will be gone by then!

The best thing about the house is that is just down the street from where Jon grew up AND good friends of ours now live in that house! Dylan's pretty excited to play with Adam in their pool this summer. Hannah & I will play with Addyson & Michelle while Adam & Jon rough-house in the pool with Big D! Can't wait!

So, if you're dying to paint, rip out cupboards, or use your muscles for moving, let us know. We'll make it worth your while!

The Package

Note: This post will be most interesting to Uncle Reed & Aunt Amy. All others may wish to skip! :)

Yesterday a wonderful package arrived in the mail! Dylan saw it as soon as he got up, and here is a (longer) video of what followed. I thought that you might want to share in the excitement of unwrapping the package you so graciously sent!

We had to wash the cup RIGHT AWAY so that he could use it and we had to put away our other Bible Story book so we could read this one! Thank you so much for the gifts, and the fun it provided this afternoon. Thank you also for solving my "picture mystery". I've been looking all over for that envelope. I hope you took a couple of pics to enjoy!

We love you Amy & Reed (and lil' one!)!!!

Baptism

On Sunday, we were able to celebrate Hannah Grace's baptism! What a blessing that God has promised to be our God and the God of our children. We mess up so much, but God has promised that he will love us no matter what and will forgive us the sins we commit when we confess them to him. I know I'll make many mistakes parenting Dylan & Hannah, but what a reassurance it is to know that God loves my kiddos more than I ever could! It was a beautiful day full of promises!
Right after Hannah's baptism, a friend from church sang "Find Your Wings" by Mark Harris. It is such a wonderful song, I'll let you hear it... here's his music video:



Hannah wore the dress that my mom made for myself, Amy, & Eric. It was so beautiful! I still need to get some good "dress" pictures, so I'll update the post with those later, but for now, here are a few snapshots of the day...

We had a great day celebrating with our families! Thank you God for all the blessings you have shared with us!

Growing & Growing

I went to my 2 month check up today. It wasn't so bad to begin with... I weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 14 oz! I'm getting taller too, now I'm up to 23 1/2" long. Mom said that was pretty good. Smaller than my brother though! Dr. Pott said I was doing well and I almost rolled over for her.

But then, everything changed! The nurse came in and gave me 4 shots, or "shocks" as Dylan kept calling them! Ouch! I really screamed! Mom even noticed that I burst a few small blood vessels on my cheeks. But I'm feeling better now, I just want to sleep.

That's all for now. Check back for a few baptism pictures from yesterday. I was pretty cute!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A glimplse into my Wednesday...

When Dylan & I opened the blinds today, this is what we saw...

A beautiful sunrise while huge snowflakes drifted down from the sky!!! Just before I took the picture, the sun was shining in a ray straight up into heaven. What a way to start my day! I love winter, but a sunny, bright day is always needed. I LOVED IT!

Then, after baths (which is one of Dylan's Top 3 Favorite Things right now) I put my little girl into a 3-6 month outfit!!! Yikes! It is Old Navy which tends to run small and it is a little roomy, but still! That makes me sad...

We also ran some errands this morning. Dylan asked to get a balloon from the dollar store, so I told him if he obeyed Mom, we'd get one. He was very good, so before heading home we stopped by the dollar store. But, as I was unbuckling him, I realized that I had NO MONEY!!! Not even the $0.80 needed for a "blue balloon with a blue string." I couldn't believe it. And of course, that resulted in a complete meltdown! So much for a reward for good behavior! Good thing there was a Byron Bank nearby. The tears quickly disappeared as we got some cash from the ATM then got his balloon. He loved it. But then we got home. Dylan laughed and played with his balloon for no more than 5 minutes before it POPPED on the textured ceiling! Yup... another meltdown. Poor buddy! Good thing for Bagel Pizzas and a nap! I guess we'll be heading to the dollar store again tonight!

I love being a Mom! Really!!!

2 Months Already!

Our little Hannah Grace is 2 months old already. It seems like just yesterday I was laying on the floor with my big belly playing with Dylan, yet it also seems like she's been a part of our family forever! Amazing how God transforms our lives so quickly.

Hannah is doing very well. She's a great baby. She's not eating very well right now, so I guess she's not growing. But other than that, she smiles a lot and coos when she sees either Jon, me, or her teddy bear mobile above her changing pad! Her hair is growing a little. I think it's going to stick up all over like Dylan's did! We just finished an infant massage class with a friend of mine, which was a fun "mommy & Hannah" time! I enjoy our time together while doing it, looking at her and talking to just her. I should do it more often than I am, oh well.

1 week

1 month2 months

I love to stick my tongue out!I can't wait to see how much she grows in this next month!

Austin's Back!

After a post-baby break, Austin is back! Dylan was pretty excited for him to come this morning. They have been great today. They even slept for a little while at the same time (actually ALL THREE were sleeping!). Hopefully every day is this great! Here is a little movie of their energy at "snack time." Thanks for playing with us, Austin. We're glad you're back!

Our Little Photographer

Dylan got a hold of the camera... and won't let it go! He loves to take pictures. It's pretty funny to see some of the pictures he captures too. Maybe he'll take after his grandpa and Aunt Amy! I guess we'll have to look into getting him one of those "kid-friendly cameras" now. I don't really want him breaking ours! Here's some of his pictures... enjoy!

One Year Ago... Finally Home

We got a late morning flight! But, only into Lansing. Thank you, Mom & Dad Westra for driving in the terrible weather to pick us up! We were very happy to be home... kinda! We were really just happy to see Dylan, but not the snow!

Yes... we look great! That's what you typically look like when your stranded away from home without luggage because it was lost in the storm!

Is that enough snow?!?That's all from the "Winter Vacation Headquarters"...and now back to reality!

One Year Ago... San Juan & Heading Home

After getting off the ship (a very sad moment), we spend the morning walking around Old San Juan. What a beautiful city! I loved the colors and old world atmosphere.

Our flights were good... until we got to Cincinnati. Do you remember 1 year ago? There was a HUGE snow storm and all flights to Grand Rapids were cancelled. What a VERY sad moment! We just wanted to get home to see our little guy! But, we couldn't, so we spent the night in a hotel hoping for a morning flight. The upside was I thought I could maybe see Amy, but the Cincinnati Airport is actually in Kentucky, too far away from her. Double strike! Oh well.

One Year Ago... Cruisin'

Today was our day at sea. What a great way to spend my birthday! I'm sure that I'll never again spend my birthday cruising through the ocean, enjoying time with my wonderful husband in 80 degree temperatures! It was a fabulous day of relaxing, laughing, and spending time with family. If only we could do that all again today...

OneYear Ago... Barbados

On our last "island day", the whole family took a cruise on the Jolly Roger Pirate Ship. It was quite a party ship! We sailed out a ways then got to walk the gang plank and jump off the rope swing. It was a great day in the water and a good way to end our excursions.

Here are some shots of our last formal dinner too...