We're homeowners!!

It's official, we are homeowners! I am not as excited as I will be next week when I unlock the door to our home and start putting away all of our things, but I am still pretty pumped about knowing that we will now have a permanent address. The time here at my parent's this summer actually flew by for the most part. I was quite hesitant about staying for so long with my kids but the experience has been very good and I am actually a little sad to leave. The next door neighbors here have been awesome. They have a little girl, Gabby, who is 6 months younger than Maggie and I don't think a day has gone by since we've been here that they didn't play together. Maggie informed my mom that she wanted to stay here until her birthday so she "could have her birthday party with her very best friend Gabby and her cousin, Catherine." Ouch! I of course get teary eyed thinking of another departure. I tried so hard to make this just seem like vacation to the kids, but they consider it home and that makes it harder to leave. Maggie isn't the only one who loves the neighbors, Caleb has taken to the 6 year old, Colter. He loves to play baseball with him and throw the football. Colter is so good to play with him- he even joined us for a "party" last week where he was the biggest by 3 years. Caleb has started to telling me, "No, mom, I Colter!" He apparently has Maggie's imagination too! I also have come to enjoy my daily chats with their mother and even had the chance to spend an evening hanging out as adult with her. I can only pray and hope that I have neighbors this good when we move into our new house! I am reminded every time we move of how awesome God is. No matter where we land he always has the perfect people to place in our lives. The list just for this summer is amazing: Joan and Bill, The Sublett family, The Moore's and of course my parent's and their neighbors. We are never alone that is for sure! Our needs have always been met by Him and I trust that they will continue to be. It is my hope that through all of this craziness that our life has been, our children will know undoubtedly that God is their one and only provider!

Blogging at Mike's request

According to Mike, he has been taking some heat about the lack of updates to our blog. I take full responsibility although he too has the ability to type just the same as I =) Right now the kids and I are with him in State College, PA. It is beautiful here! We were blessed by a wonderful family to have the opportunity for him to stay in their garage apartment. The place is small when we are all here, but more than perfect when he is alone. The kids and I have racked up well over 2500 miles in the van since mid-June but we are appreciating every second of seeing this great countryside. When we aren't in the van traveling to see daddy or other family we have been at my parent's house. Luckily, my younger brother scored a job with the Muskegon police department and moved out of my parent's house just in time for his "suite" to be cleaned, carpeted and repainted for our arrival! The kids love being there and playing with their cousin, Catherine, and the kids next door (Mike's childhood home). I can't even explain how liberating it is to have a backyard. Our whole day is spent out in the back yard playing with all the toys my mom salvaged from our childhood and her garage sale adventures. She, being the ex-preschool teacher that she is, made certain that she has one of every toy for the 3 grandchildren so to limit the arguments. Caleb's favorite thing to do is play in the little car (you know the red one with the door that opens and the yellow top). He also loves to play real or imaginary baseball with anyone who will indulge him. This is a game he does not tire from. The other night he played with my dad for an hour and 45 minutes throwing the ball to my dad who was the batter. Maggie enjoys her time with Catherine and Gabby (next door neighbor). They play house, princess, and restaurant. She also loves being "teased" (spoiled) by her grandmas. On another note, we have a contract on a home and should be closing on it the end of August. We have been wanting a house for at least 2 years and now just seemed like the right time. Mike will still be doing this job with the Pirates and traveling from March to the first week of September but we decided it was best to have a "home base." The house is in Spring, TX north of Houston. Mike already has contacts for pitching lessons in the off season and we have several friends in the area. These next 2 months (Aug and Sept) will be a huge scramble for us. Between Mike's season (ending the 6th of Sept) , closing on the house (Aug 31st), a wedding in Austin (Sept. 11), and instructional league in FL (Sept 15th) the kids and I have to pack up and move from MI (more miles in the log) and Mike has to travel to FL, load the U-Haul and move the stuff to our new home. We will need prayers for 1. a smooth closing 2. good planning 3. safe travel 4. resilient kids 5. an easy move. The list of details is overwhelming for me and I am trying to take it one day at a time. We couldn't be more excited at the notion that we will not have to move our stuff again for a long time! We will definitely be traveling a lot but it will be more fun when we know where we will land when the travel is over. P.S. we did buy a new camera and I have lots of pictures to be loaded . . another day, sorry.

My Little Graduate

The first thing I did when we arrived in Bradenton was to find a program for Maggie to attend. She loved her Children's Day Out program in Illinois and I knew that she would need the socialization. We signed her up at the YMCA for a parent's morning out program. The program was for 3 hours a day 2 days a week. She was one of the youngest in her class of 10 but she held her own for the most part. They learned their alphabet, practiced writing their names and had art and music time every class. She really enjoyed herself. I had no idea until a week ago that they do a graduation for her class. She was excited for the party. It was quite informal but she wore her little graduation cap that they decorated themselves. They sung 3 songs for us and then received their certificates. After the "ceremony" we had a pizza party with cookies and brownies. I was able to video tape the whole thing for Mike and Maggie can't wait to watch herself on TV tonight.

I want to be a singer when I grow up

I always try to talk to Maggie and Caleb about the different jobs that are out there as we go throughout our days. I want them to know that everyone has a valuable position in how our community and world works. So I point out the garbage man, mail man, plumber, cashier at the store, etc. The big interest lately has been firemen and paramedics since we see and hear a lot of them where we live (by the hospital and fire station). Today while we were doing out errands, Maggie announced to me from the backseat that Caleb can be a fireman when he grows up but she wants to be a singer. She said she wants to sing about Jesus and how he died on the cross because loves us. I am not sure that she will really be a singer when she grows up but she really does love to sing. Her favorite songs are; Mighty to Save, You raise me up, and Your Name (by Hillsong). She is especially great at the crescendos but goes overboard a little and starts screaming. I do love to hear her sing though and I love to hear Caleb sing with her. The childcare workers at the Y said that they spend a large portion of their time in there singing songs together and they are always songs about Jesus! Caleb's favorite song is the "daddy song", My Wish by Rascal Flatts and "Heaven come down". He also likes Mighty to Save. We have a blast in the van singing together but they always tell me to stop- I guess I can hear why ;) P.S. As I was typing post I got interrupted by Caleb pooping on the potty!! He is doing pretty good with this potty thing. I hope it sticks even through the move and can't wait to stop buying diapers again!

First Family Movie Night

For those of you who know me very well, you know that I don't really let my children watch much TV. Last night Mike and I decided to have a movie night and I decided that Maggie is getting old enough to experience these things too. I took her to Blockbuster (which is a whole different story) and allowed her to pick from the family section. She chose Lassie. As I type she is watching the movie with Mike, in the dark. I even let her have a bedtime snack with her milk. She is eating up this special big girl time with Mommy and Daddy. We have had to skip a few parts of the movie but she doesn't even seem to notice. She is focused on the dogs and the antique cars. I think she especially likes the dog because it reminds her of McKinley!

Caleb is growing up

We have had a few major "big boy" milestones this week with Caleb. The first was that on Monday night he kept saying "I don't like it" when we put him in his crib. We ignored him because we weren't really sure what he was talking about. Then at about 11pm he woke up screaming and when I went in he pointed to the big bed in his room and said "I sleep", "no like crib". Of course his language wasn't quite as clear as my typing but it was evident that he wanted to sleep in the full size bed in his room. After a few minutes of his screaming and not being consoled by anything I tried, I laid him in the bed and he rolled over and went straight to sleep! I was appalled and saddened. He is growing up too fast for me. Before Mike and I went to bed we put him back in the crib to sleep for the rest of the night and we haven't had that problem again. Thankfully he is not trying to get out of his crib yet. Maggie was in her toddler bed before she was two because she would climb in and out of her crib and the pack and play. I am just not ready for that yet with him. The second milestone is that he pooped on the potty tonight!! This is actually the second time he has done this but tonight he actually told me that he was going to do it versus the last time I could just see that he needed to by his facial expression. I am sure this will be a long process but it is a step in the right direction. He hates to have a wet diaper and always asks to have it changed at the first feeling of wetness but I am not sure how to teach a boy to do that business in the toilet without spraying it everywhere. The insert that we have for the little toilet pinches his thighs and he won't sit with it on there. So any tips in that area would help!

Unfortunately I do not have a picture to match the subject of this blog, but I am working on remembering to take one next time. Maggie is my child who refused to wear a coat in 10 degree weather and couldn't wait to move to Florida because, "you don't ever have to wear a coat in Florida" and "it is always warm in Florida." She has completely done a 180 on this subject and is now layering on the clothes in 75 degree weather and claiming that it is "chilly outside"??? The other day she had on tights, leggings, a t shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a sleeveless dress, and a sweater over the top of it all. She looked a little ridiculous but she sure was happy. I just don't understand the total change in her clothing choices. Now more often I am saying, "it's too hot for that today" instead of begging her to put on pants and socks. I promise to take a picture soon and post it for you all to see.