Our sweet boy turns 8!!!

I can't believe you are 8 years old! It is so true that time really does fly.

You are such a happy, joyful, funny, tender hearted little boy, P. You are one of those people who truly loves life. You have fun no matter what your doing, and if the situation calls for it, you will absolutely turn lemons into lemonade. What you are doing/liking at 8:

*ACTIVITIES:

You love to play ALL sports, but mostly basketball, football and baseball.

You have played all 3 of those sports this year on a team. Your baseball/little league team, the "Brewers", went undefeated this summer. To you/us it was BIG TIME!

I loved when you guys (your team) would go to the Frosty Boy after one of your games, and all of you would stand near the road and get cars to honk for you! Living in Small Town USA sure is fun!

This was your first year to play football in a league. You played for the "Patriots" and you loved it!

You are currently playing basketball at the Y for the third year in a row. You are so serious before the games. Each Saturday, as we are driving to your game, you ask us to put on radio Disney, so that you can get "pumped up"

You love to run down the court, and shoot it! You are a pretty good little shooter for your age! We are working on passing and sharing, and you are a good sport about it.

*SCHOOL

So far, you don't seem to have any big struugles in school. You seem to do well in math. We do have to encourage you to do your reading. You are loving history.

The other night, as you said your prayers, you referred to a story that Mrs. Nabring was reading to the class about a tribe of Indians that were being killed. You said in your prayer, and I quote..."Lord, I know you already know what is going to happen, but if there's any way that the whole tribe doesn't have to die, that would be good" - HA!

Like I said...so tenderhearted :)

*You really wanted a part in the christmas play at school this year, and you are a "Manger Boy". We so happy that worked out for you, and we can't wait to see you perform in your "Boy Band" , as you call it.

*FRIENDS

Your best friends at school are: Lake, Daniel, Carson, Mason...or what I should probably say, is that these names are staples in our home.

We switched church homes this year, and you are making some new friends there as well. You have loved getting to know Ben & Evan, and they have been so welcoming to you.

And...of course, I would be remiss not to mention "the girls" (our neighbors) Lauren, Megan & Alexa. You guys play from dawn till dusk every day of the summer, and all the days in between (that you can). They have become like sisters to you, and you/we are so blessed to have such great neighbors...we are happy to call them friends.

*FOOD

Your favorite food this year has been spaghetti. I think you would truly eat it every night, if I would make it.

You love strawberries

You do a great job at eating broccolli

You of course enjoy your cherrybrook products

And of course...your plain chips and oreos (of all the things you can eat w/ all your allergies...go figure)

Bless your heart, you do so well with all of your food allergies.

* Other highlights this year would include:

-Trip to Disney in the Spring. We had a great time. The first place you wanted to visit was the "Hall of Presidents"

You also loved Tom Sawyer Island and Swiss Family Robinson Tree House (we watched that movie right before our trip, so you thought it was super cool)

-Florida trip this summer...you, LH, mommy, daddy, Nana & Peej all drove down to help set up the new condo. It was a long drive, but you were a trooper and never complained, as usual :) Once we got there, we ended up having to stay in 3 hotels before all the furniture arrived at the condo. It took much longer than expected, but we had a blast! Several of the chefs at the different hotels cooked for you, and it was so exciting since you rarely get to eat at a restaurant!

You LOVED swimming, and you got to swim everyday of the trip. You were just like a little fish. You were so excited when Peej took you to Best Buy and suprised you with picking out a PS3, and a tv for the kids room. By the way, this is not the norm pal!

There are a lot of fun memories of this trip...riding the Surrey around the Boardwalk -oh my!Hopefully it will be well documented in your scrapbook.

-Another highlight of this year would include going on your first road trip w/ Coach and the "Warriors" all by yourself. You traveled to Kent State.

The next week, you and daddy traveled with the team down to Ohio, and you were able to witness Coach winning his 700th game :)

-You also were blessed with 4 new cousins this year: Julia, Halle, Jackson & Will!

You are such a sweet big brother. You are so patient with your little sister, and she is one blessed little girl to have you as her "bubby". She adores you!

When we get in the car each day to go pick you up from school, she is so excited. She almost always says "Mommy, are we going to get my bubby?"



You are one icredibley special kid!
One thing Coach would always tell mommy when I was growing up was that the most important thing to him was that I would be in heaven one day. As your parents, daddy and I wish the same thing for you. It DOES NOT MATTER to us what you drive, where you live, what kind of clothes you wear, what your profession is etc. Those things will matter to the world. What matters to us the most is that you will always LOVE JESUS and be in relationship with him. We don't expect you to be perfect, no one is. It is inevitable that you will have struggles in life, but in those times of struggle, our prayer for you is that you will be able to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, no matter what road you may be walking. Turn to him when life is painful, and turn to him in times of joy.
As you will come to understand, you are not being raised by perfect parents. We have many flaws, and we are not a perfect family. What we hope to impart, is that we love Jesus and we are committed to that!
We love you NO MATTER WHAT! We don't /won't love you anymore if you are "a star basketball/baseball/football player", and we won't love you any less if you "sit the bench". We love you because you are ours, and you are special. Always know we are here to listen, guide and love.



This is you and LH on the morning of your 8th Birthday!
Hope it's a great year!

It's Game Day!

Cheering for the Wolverines!
Palmer & Logan

Lainey & Logan

This little guy is hysterical :)

Cousins...just hangin' at Coach & Peej's!

As always...GO BLUE!

Catching up con'd...Disney Princesses On Ice!

Coach & Peej took Lainey, Abbey and Mommy to see the Disney Princesses!!!

SO. MUCH. FUN. Our little beauty...rarely sleeping, however!

Coach, Punky Poo & the little Diva :)
Coach's nicknames!

She was so excited throughout the whole show...I love this picture.

I have about a thousand pictures of the show, but this is the only one going on the blog...will have to scrapbook the rest!

Thank you Coach and Peej, we had a very fun afternoon!

MAJOR CATCH UP!!!!

First of all, let me just say....I have some MAJOR CATCHING UP to do!

I have once again encountered problems with my computer :(!!! It is so frustrating, b/c the computer is not that old, but for some reason, it has just had one problem after the other. I am hoping "Santa" might bring me a little apple for Christmas this year...we'll see!

For now, I have inherited my Nana's old computer, as she has moved on up! Thankfully, I can now return to the world of blogging!

So here goes...the first of MANY POSTS that I want to catch up on/document!

So, this was P's first year to play FOOTBALL!!!

He has been playing basketball & baseball for several years, and I was really trying to avoid the whole football thing, but it was inevitable!

He played for the "Patriots" with several of his buddies, and he of course loved it!

This is P before his first game...totally serious!

The major action action on the field!

One of P's longtime pals...Mr. Daniel!

I will say, that I love watching him, and I LOVE that he and several of his buddies have played on teams together since pre-K!

I have always prayed that my children would have good christian friends that would encourage them in their walk with Christ! P has been blessed so far with friends that come from wonderful Christ-centered homes. I am so thankful for famililes such as the Siminskis, Pattersons, Fords, Kolbs, Ockermans etc.

It is so fun to watch our kids play together "on the field", as well as grow together in the Lord!

All in all, it was a great first football season...and now we are on to the next sport...basketball :)

Can't sleep...

Well, it is a little after midnight, and I'm wide awake!  My husband is out of town, and the kids and I are spending the next couple of days at my parents house.  P and LH are sleeping soundly, as is the rest of the household, I presume.  

Today, after I picked P up from school, I realized that he had a rash from head to toe!  Well, let me clarify, I didn't notice it right away, as he had on long pants and a long sleeved shirt. However, as we pulled into our driveway, he calmly said "Mom, I didn't want you to worry, so I waited until we got home..."  Never a calming statement!  He then proceeded to tell me that he had noticed the rash soon after he had arrived at school that morning...great. 

 Let me just say, when you have a child with several life threatening food allergies, this type of thing can send one into a mild panic (especially when one already suffers from anxiety, and especially, when ones husband is out of town!).  I took one glance at the rash, and put my little minivan right into reverse, calling the doctor to let him know that we were on our way!  I would like to add, that at this point I was approximately 35-40 min away from the Dr.'s office, while if we had gone straight there from school, it would have been a 10-15 min drive, but, I digress.  I remained calm, realizing that since he had had the rash ALL DAY, that he obviously was not having an anaphalactic  reaction or anything like that.  

We made it to Dr. Savy's office, where my 3 year old (not the patient) immediately asked the Dr "Is my bubby going to be ok?"  When Dr. Savy gently put her 3 year old worries to rest, she then said "Ok, well can I have a sucker?"  Oh to live in that sweet world!

After glancing at the rash, checking the lungs etc, the Dr. concluded that it must be some sort of virus, although there was no fever, no swollen throat etc.  He gave me a couple of prescriptions, along with a hug (such a sweet Dr), and sent me on my way.  I have been relatively satisfied with this diagnosis, until now!  Let's just say that currently, I am strongly resisting the urge to google, and self diagnos!  I am a master of the google self diagnosis!  A talent probably passed along from my mom...or my dad!  A gift that keeps on giving :)

I have decided that I will tell my little "anxiety part", as I so fondly refer to it, that I am not going to work myself up tonight, and that although, I am keenly aware of it's presence, it will have to be set aside for now.  That's years of good therapy right there people!  

However, I don't know that I will be able to convince this mama's heart to leave her little boys side, and go to bed anytime soon :)  Praying that all is well with my sweet, precious, hilarious, tender-hearted, adorable little boy!  I love you P!  

- Mama 

Lord and Savior???

This morning in our Sunday School class we began to study the book of Hebrews. As we were discussing the first chapter, and came to verse 3 (you can tell we got really far) it reads: "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." The last part of this verse describes Jesus as both Savior (provided purification for sins) and Lord (he sat at the right hand of the Majesty of heaven).

It isn't always easy to delve into scripture and understand fully what it might be saying. It is also SO NORMAL to read our Bibles and not fully grasp everything that we read, both of which are ok (in my opinion). However, there are times when we hear something in a new way, or gain new insight, or just get a great reminder about things we already know to be true.

This morning, as we were reading, I was again reminded, that it is so easy to know and love the Jesus that is our Savior. It is not always as easy to know or to want the Jesus that is Lord. We are glad to cling to the Jesus that loves us when we mess up, that is there to forgive. It is not always our desire to cling to the Jesus, who is to be our Lord. For Jesus to truly be Lord, we are to submit our will/plans to His. We are to allow Him to guide our life! I am the first to admit...not always so easy!

I would challenge us all to think about the question: "Is Jesus my Savior and my Lord?" Will my/your story be a human one, or a divine one?

GO BLUE!!!

Well...a great game with a great outcome for the Big 10!!! I didn't know if we would pull it off, but how exciting that we did! Tonight before bed, Palmer said "Boy, I don't know how they won that game" and I just simply reminded him that it's because we are the champions of the west :)! He said "Well, that IS true Mom".

A funny little story...Palmer started out watching the game w/ "the girls" (our neighbors), who happen to be big Notre Dame fans. Well, just moments after ND scored the first touch down, I noticed P walking up our driveway, head held low...I figured that might happen. When he walked in he said "I want to watch this game w/ people who are going to cheer for Michigan"! We had a little chat about good sportsmanship, and that it's about having fun (sort of), and then we called cousin Logan, a huge U of M fan at the ripe old age of 2! Let me tell you, he did not disappoint! His mommy said he was completely decked out in his U of M gear, watching the game, with a milkshake in hand...so adorable!

It's been a great fall day! Now, we are just waiting to see if the SEC half of this family can pull off a win. Go Orange!