Epic

Last Saturday was Epic for oh so many reasons. I havent blogged much about my sister Jamie and her husband Drew's cancer journey for a couple reasons, first, she had been doing a great job of keeping people posted (if you want to read their story, look here) and second, well it was hard to put into words what it was like to watch two people you love and care about suffer so much. Yet, through all the ups and downs, it was beautiful to see two people so in love come together battle through something like this and come out on the other side stronger and more in love. It was also amazing to see God's hand through all of this.
Last Monday, Drew had his first follow up appointment and the news was awesome! Everything looked good and he it still CANCER FREE! Yah GOD! To celebrate this awesome news, my dad gathered up our family and Drew's Mom for a night on the town. My dad planned the whole thing and kept it a secret from all of us. We (all if us except the guests of honor) were asked to meet at my parents house and shortly after we got there, a Hummer limo pulled in...yep, like I said, epic. We piled in and headed to pick up Jamie and Drew.
When we got there we saw this Can you see Drew peeking around the curtain? In the limo, reenacting she shock of seeing the limo pull up. The guests of honor! So cute,no?
So at this point, we still didnt know where we were going, but the limo began heading towards GR. Meanwhile, dad got out the wine and the toasting flutes to get the night of to a great start. "Yeah GOD!!!" was all that need be said! Finally we pulled in to Magnanimo in EGR, it is this awesome old mansion that had been turned into an italian restaurant.We sat down for an AMAZING meal in a private room. We spent some time reading scripture and looking back on the last 6 months and what God had done. He used doctors, nurses, medicine, cards, emails, meals, phone calls, prayer services, friends, family, and the touch of his mighty healing hand to bring Drew to the other side of this. Yeah God, Yeah God! We are so thankful for all of it and thankful for a God that is so BIG, so FAITHFUL and who listens to the cries of his people.
Brad and I :)
After dinner, we headed back to my parents house for ANOTHER celebration...Drew's BIRTHDAY!! Yep, at the end of all this, it is such beautiful timing to celebrate another year of life! We had my mommas delicious strawberry Shortcake and opened cards and gifts. Kate and Austin always manage to find GREAT cards :)


It really was a EPIC night. A high for all of us and closure of a hard chapter and the beginning of a new one!

Oh, and One more for good measure~

Yeah GOD!!! :)

Sleep Over

Often during playtime the girls will set up sleepovers that involve dolls, many types of beds and other toys. Its usually quite and elaborate mess :) They have been begging to have an actual sleepover in Anabelles room and while on spring break we decided to let them do it. They were SO excited. It only took 2 hours for them to finally calm down, and they ended up sleeping in till 7:45 (pretty good for our house)!

The Finished Product

I picked up the girls plates at paint a pot this week and thought I'd share the finished pieces of art. Anabelle was with me when I picked them up and immediately she said, "I dont like it, I missed some spots!" while pointing to some of the white on the rim. I reassured her about how beautiful it was, but it took her a bit to be convinced! This is not the first time she has been critical of her art. Not long ago she made a card for my grandma's birthday and she kept saying she didn't like it and didn't want to give it to her. Not sure where this all comes from in her, but I sure hope this is a passing phase. Its heartbreaking to hear her be so "down" on the great stuff she makes!

Paint a pot

As we approached the week of spring break I became a little trepidatious about what on earth we would do to fill 5 totally open unstructured days (3 of them with daddy gone on top of it). So, we ended up getting creative and doing some things we had never done together. We went to the library for kindermusic and to get books (yep, bad mom...never took them to the library. After a couple bad Barnes N Noble adventures I was a little phobic of two kids in a huge building with stacks of books all put in a particular place), we had a picnic in the cold with friends (see the Busscher Blog for pics!) and we went to paint a pot.

Paint a Pot was a little bit of a gamble as I wasn't sure how long it would capture their attention and how crazy messy they would get so Nana came along for assistance and the girls had a blast! They started off with a little color here, a sunshine there, but by the end there were 40+ layers of paint in every shade known to man! They painted for at least an hour and still weren't ready to pack up. At the end, I traced their hands on the plates by scraping paint off with the back of a paintbrush.

As you can see they were both very proud of their work! I'll post the final product once we pick them up :)

I also took them with me to my 16wk checkup for the baby where they got to hear the heartbeat with me. It was fun to see their reactions and how excited they were! :) For those who like to guess based on heartbeat, it was 150bpm.

Turning 30

Yep, its finally here, the day I enter my 30's :) Truly, not one that has bothered me really. I know its considered a "Big One" but as I'm nearly the youngest in my groups of friends, it never really had the impact on me that I think it would have if I'd have been the first to hit that milestone. The only weird thing for me is that I have very vivid memories of my mom's 30th birthday party, so remembering this and realizing that now I'M the one whose 30 is a little trippy.

That being said, it really was one of the best birthdays yet...I celebrated with my girls and hubby on Thursday night. Brad had taken the girls to get all the party supplies and he did an awesome job of letting them choose, even though what they chose may not have been what he would have. We had princess plates picked by Anabelle and Dora napkins picked by Sabrina. We made belgian waffles (after a couple false starts) and had a cake and ice cream. The girls painted pictures for me and had bought me cards that they picked put on their own and decorated. They were so beautiful because they fit them perfectly :) Brad surprised me with new camera flash and the news that we'd be spending the night in GR at the JW Marriott the next night and having dinner at Louis Benton's. I spent my Birthday Day shopping with my mom and having lunch with she and Kate. It was a relaxing day without kiddos thanks to Brads Parents! Our mini trip to GR was Fantastic and I could not have wished for a better way to spend my day. Sunday was another party with my family and delicious home cooked meal from my mommy. Nothing better!




I feel so blessed to be thirty and have the friends and family around me that I do. I'm so thankful for my sweet girls and the newest little one on the way. Each of them is such a gift. I'm so lucky to be able to say that at 30, I have been with my Hubby for half of my life now and could not imagine a day without him. He is more than I could have dreamed and the perfect calm to my crazy :) Heres to another 30 to come!