Sunday, May 1, 2011
Easter 2011
What an awesome day to celebrate our risen Lord and Savior! We were lucky enough to be able to spend time with both sides of the family and take part in devouring some amazing food and the kids participated in a Easter Egg hunt!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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!!! :)
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!!! :)
Friday, April 15, 2011
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)!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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!
Monday, April 11, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
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!
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!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Ft. Meyers and Port Charlotte
Last week we headed out on our first big family adventure to Florida. Most days I am a natural procrastinator, but seeing as traveling with two small kids was novel to us, I actually tried to get my act together ahead of time and pack over a period of days. I got some great advice from friends and family and when the big day came, we left with one big case and two carryon bags for the four of us and two backpacks with "plane entertainment". Amazingly we had everything we needed and nothing more! :) The girls talked for weeks in advance about going on a plane and were super excited. They did great both ways! Sabrina even cried when we landed because she was sad to "get back to the Earth".
The girls and I on the plane enjoying modern technology :)
When we got to the Pink Shell, it was late (10PM!) but the girls were so excited we took a quick tour of the pool and the hotel and then to our room There were two kissing swans in the master bedroom and the girls got quite a kick of this and they inspired lots of canoodling and giggling.
Each morning we would head down for the breakfast buffet. Great food and lots to choose from.
Our days then were filled with lathering up with sunscreen and heading down to the pools or beach. They had so much fun in the water and meeting other kids. Sabrina even perfected her "cannonball!"
The old folks looking on :)
A couple of family shots...
After pur time at the Pink Shell, we headed to Port Charlotte where Brads Grandma lives. We spent the night there and the girls had so much fun with Grandma Gert feeding turtles in the canal, playing with her beanie babies, reading books and playing Uncle Wiggly. Such special time getting to know Grandma better!
The last day we came back to Ft. Meyers to catch or plane but had a couple hours to spare and ended up at My Aunt Jans condo with My Aunt Lisa, Cousin Corrin and her friend Erika. The girls got to spend some time in the pool one last time and got tons of fun play time :) Perfect way to get some energy out before the long ride back home!
The weather the whole time was perfection and it was great to have some time away from "real life". It was so "easy" with kids 4 and 2 1/2. It was a good reminder to soak up all the fun this summer with them as things will become more complicated in September with a new little one to integrate into the family schedule :) Don't get me wrong, we are so excited for this little addition, but we do rememer what having a newborn is like...and being outnumbered will be a new adventure. :)
The girls and I on the plane enjoying modern technology :)
When we got to the Pink Shell, it was late (10PM!) but the girls were so excited we took a quick tour of the pool and the hotel and then to our room There were two kissing swans in the master bedroom and the girls got quite a kick of this and they inspired lots of canoodling and giggling.
Each morning we would head down for the breakfast buffet. Great food and lots to choose from.
Our days then were filled with lathering up with sunscreen and heading down to the pools or beach. They had so much fun in the water and meeting other kids. Sabrina even perfected her "cannonball!"
The old folks looking on :)
A couple of family shots...
After pur time at the Pink Shell, we headed to Port Charlotte where Brads Grandma lives. We spent the night there and the girls had so much fun with Grandma Gert feeding turtles in the canal, playing with her beanie babies, reading books and playing Uncle Wiggly. Such special time getting to know Grandma better!
The last day we came back to Ft. Meyers to catch or plane but had a couple hours to spare and ended up at My Aunt Jans condo with My Aunt Lisa, Cousin Corrin and her friend Erika. The girls got to spend some time in the pool one last time and got tons of fun play time :) Perfect way to get some energy out before the long ride back home!
The weather the whole time was perfection and it was great to have some time away from "real life". It was so "easy" with kids 4 and 2 1/2. It was a good reminder to soak up all the fun this summer with them as things will become more complicated in September with a new little one to integrate into the family schedule :) Don't get me wrong, we are so excited for this little addition, but we do rememer what having a newborn is like...and being outnumbered will be a new adventure. :)
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