Thursday, October 6, 2011
Emily's Red Coat
We found this really cute coat on Amazon.com for $20! Emily just loves it and wanted me to take some pictures of her wearing it. She is a little cutie! :)
Spider Webs
Here are some pictures I recently took of some spider webs in our backyard. I think they are really pretty! :)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Open House Party
We are having an Open House party this weekend so our friends and family can visit us and see our new house. It's not really to show off the house itself since we aren't the ones who made it as lovely as it is. We haven't really made any changes yet other than building rooms for Allison and Clara. The party is more for us a time to enjoy the company of many friends since we now have the room for company! :) It is just wonderful to have so much space now and know that lots of people can gather here and be comfortable. Also the party is just a small way for us to thank everyone for being there for us the past couple of years when things weren't always going so well. We just want to treat everyone to a nice day.
I was going to cook a big meal for the party, but decided that might get costly. I decided instead that since we have at least a million apples on our property that I would just make a bunch of apple pies; so that's what I'm doing. I got started today. I've made 5 pies so far and I'm hoping to make 15 to 20 of them. I'm hoping for a good turnout of hungry friends this weekend. I'm also planning a couple of fun things to do that day. I want to have a scavenger hunt for the kids. I'm going to fill some big container with apples and have everyone guess how many apples there are. There will be prizes for the winners. :) I'm also hoping to have a campfire going with the fixin's for s'mores. I'm really excited about sharing the day with our special friends and family! :)
Here are a couple of pictures of the apples I picked today and the pies I made today.
I was going to cook a big meal for the party, but decided that might get costly. I decided instead that since we have at least a million apples on our property that I would just make a bunch of apple pies; so that's what I'm doing. I got started today. I've made 5 pies so far and I'm hoping to make 15 to 20 of them. I'm hoping for a good turnout of hungry friends this weekend. I'm also planning a couple of fun things to do that day. I want to have a scavenger hunt for the kids. I'm going to fill some big container with apples and have everyone guess how many apples there are. There will be prizes for the winners. :) I'm also hoping to have a campfire going with the fixin's for s'mores. I'm really excited about sharing the day with our special friends and family! :)
Here are a couple of pictures of the apples I picked today and the pies I made today.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
New Home
Wow! I haven't updated this blog for quite a while and there is so much in our life that has been updated recently!
We just bought a new house! We love it! It's so much bigger than our old house and there is so much storage and land. We have 30 acres of property now. There are lots of fruit trees and plants that the previous owner planted. We have apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and grapes! There are also a lot of different flowering trees, bushes, and flowers growing all over. It's really beautiful!
In our old house, the 3 youngest kids were sharing a room. Now everyone has their own room, except for Tim and I, we're still sharing. ;)
Here are some pictures of our new house from the outside. I'll try to take some of the inside to post soon.
We just bought a new house! We love it! It's so much bigger than our old house and there is so much storage and land. We have 30 acres of property now. There are lots of fruit trees and plants that the previous owner planted. We have apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and grapes! There are also a lot of different flowering trees, bushes, and flowers growing all over. It's really beautiful!
In our old house, the 3 youngest kids were sharing a room. Now everyone has their own room, except for Tim and I, we're still sharing. ;)
Here are some pictures of our new house from the outside. I'll try to take some of the inside to post soon.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
My Rap! :)
Last year on the way home from the Dare 2 Share conference, I wrote a rap that I feel like God gave me. This year I actually got to perform it at the Dare 2 Share conference in Chicago! I posted a video and there is a little more explanation of it there on Youtube.com :)
Shea's Rap Dare 2 Share Chicago 2011
Shea's Rap Dare 2 Share Chicago 2011
Sunday, November 7, 2010
November 2010
Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated this blog! We have just been super busy all the time, especially since school started back up.
Allison is in Highschool now! She's had a lot of stuff going on with band like marching in parades, football games, and a concert. This is her 4th year of playing the clarinet. She went to her first Homecoming dance this year. She was so beautiful all dressed up and had a good time with her friends. It's fun seeing her grow up, but also kind of sad too. She'll be all grown up before we know it! :( She is doing great in school as usual. She still loves reading.
Clara is in her second year of Middle School. She's in band too; and got to march in one football game and do a concert as well. She plays percussion. School is going well for her too. She got to be the school mascot for one of the football games! That was really cute. I cried because I was so proud! :)
Ben and Emily are in First Grade this year. They are doing really well. It's fun listening to them read and spell words on their own now.
We are all still involved in AWANA and youth group for the two older girls. Tim and I are still Cubbie leaders. Ben and Emily are in Sparkies. We love it! It's fun working with the preschoolers and teaching them about God. It's amazing how well they can memorize verses at such a young age!
Tim and I just started babysitting a friend's 3 month old! She is adorable and so sweet! I feel blessed that we get to spend the day with her. It's fun to have a baby around again for a little bit each day.
Tim has had some health improvments recently with his pulmonary fibrosis. At a recent check up, testing revealed that his lung diffusion capacity is up to 43% now! That is the highest it has been in probably close to 10 years at least! It had been pretty stable at 40% for a long time, but then about a year and a half ago it was decreasing and got to 29% and possibly even lower. Once when they tested him, he did so poorly that they couldn't even get a result! We really thought there was a good chance that he wasn't going to be around more than 6 months at that time. Since he has quit working though, he has gradually gained back up to the 40% and now to 43%! We credit this to God because the Doctors say that scar tissue cannot heal in the lungs and they didn't expect him to gain beyong 40%. We are very thankful for how well he is doing now!
I go to Bible study on Tuesday mornings. We've been doing a study by Kay Arthur called Covenant. It's really cool. We are learning about different covenants in the Bible and how God always keeps His covenants with us! It is a great group of ladies that I study with! I've been with them for a few years now and they are a huge support in my life!
Tim and I are also involved in small groups at church. We are doing a book right now about growing spiritually together in a marriage. We haven't really gotten very far into that yet.
We are still in the CMA (Christian Motorcyclist Association) and have meetings for that every month. Our whole family and two of the girls' friends had a great time at our State Rally this year over Labor Day weekend. This is the 3rd one we have been to and we are always blessed when we go. The last night there we have a talent show. I did my "rap" that I had written after Dare 2 Share last year. Everyone loved it! It makes me feel really good when people like it, but mostly I hope they are liking it for the words of Truth and not just because it sounds cool. :) I am trying to figure out how God wants me to share it with others.
Tim has been deer hunting a lot since bow season opened, but he hasn't gotten us any venison yet. Usually he would have one or two by now. I hope he will get some soon. He also takes Allison and Clara hunting, so we hope they will also get some. Allison got her first one last year, but Clara has never shot one yet.
In August I got to go to something called the Emmaus Walk. It's a discipleship training thing that goes on for a long weekend. I had a great time there and learned a lot. I made some really nice friends there that I've been able to keep in touch with. We have reunions every month, but I only just got to go to one so far. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I recieved many blessings there.
Well, I guess that is enough updating for now. It's just regular life, not too much is new lately. I hope to post more exciting things as they happen. :)
Allison is in Highschool now! She's had a lot of stuff going on with band like marching in parades, football games, and a concert. This is her 4th year of playing the clarinet. She went to her first Homecoming dance this year. She was so beautiful all dressed up and had a good time with her friends. It's fun seeing her grow up, but also kind of sad too. She'll be all grown up before we know it! :( She is doing great in school as usual. She still loves reading.
Clara is in her second year of Middle School. She's in band too; and got to march in one football game and do a concert as well. She plays percussion. School is going well for her too. She got to be the school mascot for one of the football games! That was really cute. I cried because I was so proud! :)
Ben and Emily are in First Grade this year. They are doing really well. It's fun listening to them read and spell words on their own now.
We are all still involved in AWANA and youth group for the two older girls. Tim and I are still Cubbie leaders. Ben and Emily are in Sparkies. We love it! It's fun working with the preschoolers and teaching them about God. It's amazing how well they can memorize verses at such a young age!
Tim and I just started babysitting a friend's 3 month old! She is adorable and so sweet! I feel blessed that we get to spend the day with her. It's fun to have a baby around again for a little bit each day.
Tim has had some health improvments recently with his pulmonary fibrosis. At a recent check up, testing revealed that his lung diffusion capacity is up to 43% now! That is the highest it has been in probably close to 10 years at least! It had been pretty stable at 40% for a long time, but then about a year and a half ago it was decreasing and got to 29% and possibly even lower. Once when they tested him, he did so poorly that they couldn't even get a result! We really thought there was a good chance that he wasn't going to be around more than 6 months at that time. Since he has quit working though, he has gradually gained back up to the 40% and now to 43%! We credit this to God because the Doctors say that scar tissue cannot heal in the lungs and they didn't expect him to gain beyong 40%. We are very thankful for how well he is doing now!
I go to Bible study on Tuesday mornings. We've been doing a study by Kay Arthur called Covenant. It's really cool. We are learning about different covenants in the Bible and how God always keeps His covenants with us! It is a great group of ladies that I study with! I've been with them for a few years now and they are a huge support in my life!
Tim and I are also involved in small groups at church. We are doing a book right now about growing spiritually together in a marriage. We haven't really gotten very far into that yet.
We are still in the CMA (Christian Motorcyclist Association) and have meetings for that every month. Our whole family and two of the girls' friends had a great time at our State Rally this year over Labor Day weekend. This is the 3rd one we have been to and we are always blessed when we go. The last night there we have a talent show. I did my "rap" that I had written after Dare 2 Share last year. Everyone loved it! It makes me feel really good when people like it, but mostly I hope they are liking it for the words of Truth and not just because it sounds cool. :) I am trying to figure out how God wants me to share it with others.
Tim has been deer hunting a lot since bow season opened, but he hasn't gotten us any venison yet. Usually he would have one or two by now. I hope he will get some soon. He also takes Allison and Clara hunting, so we hope they will also get some. Allison got her first one last year, but Clara has never shot one yet.
In August I got to go to something called the Emmaus Walk. It's a discipleship training thing that goes on for a long weekend. I had a great time there and learned a lot. I made some really nice friends there that I've been able to keep in touch with. We have reunions every month, but I only just got to go to one so far. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I recieved many blessings there.
Well, I guess that is enough updating for now. It's just regular life, not too much is new lately. I hope to post more exciting things as they happen. :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Busy Days
We have been really busy with the end of the school year and all lately! There is so much going on and I'm so glad that we've been able to do so much.
Tim and I celebrated our 14th anniversary in April! It's hard to believe that it's been that long already and yet it is only a small portion of our life long marriage! We are still as much in love as ever, even more so as each year goes by! He is a wonderful husband and I am very blessed to have him! I cannot imagine anyone loving me more than he does!
On May Day (May 1st) my Mom and I and my kids made little flower boquets and took them around to friends and left them on their doors. We had a great time doing it and only wish we had made more boquets. We did 17, but Mom says next year we'll do 50!
It's motorcycle season again! We have taken a few rides recently. I love it! I love the smells of fresh cut grass, wild flowers, and pine trees. I love how we can feel the temperature in the air change from here to there. I love the sun shining on me and the wind blowing against my skin. It is such a fun thing for us to get to do together. Last week we went for a ride and got ice cream.
Allison and Clara had a band concert last month. Ben and Emily had a singing concert the same night. Tim went to the band concert and I went to Ben and Em's. They were so cute! They were all dressed up and just did a great job singing. Tim said the older girls did a great job at their concert too. Clara was the only percussionist in her band for the concert, so she got to play a few different instruments that night.
We celebrated Clara's 12th birthday last month. She had a birthday/slumber party with a few of her friends.
On May 16th, Tim and Clara rode the motorcycle to Baldwin, Michigan with our Christian Motorcyclist Association group for the Blessing of the Bikes. They had a good time and it sounds like it was pretty awesome with around 30,000 bikes there!!!!
My niece, Katlyn threw a going away party for my brother (her dad), Shawn last month because he will be gone for a couple months to Oklahoma for training for work. We also were celebrating Shawn's birthday. It was a surprise party, which was really cool, because he had no idea about it! My parents were there along with Tim and I and the kids, Katlyn and her husband, Doug, Shawn and Tracy and the rest of their kids (6 of them), Tracy's brother Jimmy and his wife Sheila and their kids (6 of them and 1 in the oven at the time), and Tracy's sister Julie, her husband Dale and their 2 kids. I think Shawn really was surprised! Katlyn made a nice dinner for us of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and she bought some delicious cakes and icecream. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and we all had a really nice time visiting with eachother.
I went to a Beth Moore Conference in Grand Rapids May 21st and 22nd. A couple of my friends from Bible Study rode with me. We had a nice time, but it wasn't as exciting for me as the Dare 2 Share conference. I love Beth Moore though! We've done a few of her Bible Studies, and I always learn a lot from them.
Allison's class went on a field trip to a local camp for the day. Tim went along as a chaperone. It was a beautiful sunny day and they had a great time! The kids could swim, fish, climb rock wall, ride horses, and lots of other stuff.
Ben and Emily's class took a field trip to the Children's Museum in Grand Rapids on May 26th. Tim and I got to go as chaperones and we had a fun time! There are so many neat things for the kids to do there! I wish we had a whole day to spend there! On the way home we stopped at a park to eat lunch and play for a while. The kids really enjoyed all of it! They have a big class of around 28 kids. I think only 3 of them didn't go on the field trip.
May 29th our town had a Memorial Day parade and Allison and the school band marched in it and played. It was nice and I was really proud of them! It was a beautiful day for it!
Tim's parents came up about a week ago. They bought a "cabin" near us to come up and visit in the summer. I'm glad that they could come when they did. They got to go to the parade and see Allison in the band and also got to attend Grandparent's Day at Ben and Emily's school last week.
This past Sunday we had a special Church Service. We had it at a beautiful place calle Fox Hill. The service was outside in the sunshine and then we went into the hall for a nice lunch and great visiting time with our church family.
Today Clara's class took their field trip to a bowling alley/game place. It's kind of like a Chuck E Cheese I guess.
Next week, Ben and Emily will have their Kindergarten Graduation! All of our kids will be done with school on June 9th for the summer. Tim has a check up at U of M on the 7th. I'm anxious to see how all of his testing goes then.
This past weekend I took the kids swimming for the first time this year. They had a slumber party Sunday night. So, you see that we've had a lot going on. It's been a fun time though.
I'm looking forward to summer vacation, but I don't really think that things are going to slow down much for us. We are hoping to do some traveling and looking forward to friends coming to visit us as well. Clara is going to be going to camp for a week. The girls still have Youth Group throughout the summer and Tim and I will be teaching Kindergarten Sunday school every other month as we have been doing. We will also be helping with VBS at church for a week in July. I hope it will be a fun and exciting summer for the whole family. I'm looking forward to more motorcycle rides, walks with the family, camping, ice cream, camp fires, smores, bicycling, great conversations, and just growing closer as a family!
Happy Summer Everyone!
Tim and I celebrated our 14th anniversary in April! It's hard to believe that it's been that long already and yet it is only a small portion of our life long marriage! We are still as much in love as ever, even more so as each year goes by! He is a wonderful husband and I am very blessed to have him! I cannot imagine anyone loving me more than he does!
On May Day (May 1st) my Mom and I and my kids made little flower boquets and took them around to friends and left them on their doors. We had a great time doing it and only wish we had made more boquets. We did 17, but Mom says next year we'll do 50!
It's motorcycle season again! We have taken a few rides recently. I love it! I love the smells of fresh cut grass, wild flowers, and pine trees. I love how we can feel the temperature in the air change from here to there. I love the sun shining on me and the wind blowing against my skin. It is such a fun thing for us to get to do together. Last week we went for a ride and got ice cream.
Allison and Clara had a band concert last month. Ben and Emily had a singing concert the same night. Tim went to the band concert and I went to Ben and Em's. They were so cute! They were all dressed up and just did a great job singing. Tim said the older girls did a great job at their concert too. Clara was the only percussionist in her band for the concert, so she got to play a few different instruments that night.
We celebrated Clara's 12th birthday last month. She had a birthday/slumber party with a few of her friends.
On May 16th, Tim and Clara rode the motorcycle to Baldwin, Michigan with our Christian Motorcyclist Association group for the Blessing of the Bikes. They had a good time and it sounds like it was pretty awesome with around 30,000 bikes there!!!!
My niece, Katlyn threw a going away party for my brother (her dad), Shawn last month because he will be gone for a couple months to Oklahoma for training for work. We also were celebrating Shawn's birthday. It was a surprise party, which was really cool, because he had no idea about it! My parents were there along with Tim and I and the kids, Katlyn and her husband, Doug, Shawn and Tracy and the rest of their kids (6 of them), Tracy's brother Jimmy and his wife Sheila and their kids (6 of them and 1 in the oven at the time), and Tracy's sister Julie, her husband Dale and their 2 kids. I think Shawn really was surprised! Katlyn made a nice dinner for us of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and she bought some delicious cakes and icecream. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and we all had a really nice time visiting with eachother.
I went to a Beth Moore Conference in Grand Rapids May 21st and 22nd. A couple of my friends from Bible Study rode with me. We had a nice time, but it wasn't as exciting for me as the Dare 2 Share conference. I love Beth Moore though! We've done a few of her Bible Studies, and I always learn a lot from them.
Allison's class went on a field trip to a local camp for the day. Tim went along as a chaperone. It was a beautiful sunny day and they had a great time! The kids could swim, fish, climb rock wall, ride horses, and lots of other stuff.
Ben and Emily's class took a field trip to the Children's Museum in Grand Rapids on May 26th. Tim and I got to go as chaperones and we had a fun time! There are so many neat things for the kids to do there! I wish we had a whole day to spend there! On the way home we stopped at a park to eat lunch and play for a while. The kids really enjoyed all of it! They have a big class of around 28 kids. I think only 3 of them didn't go on the field trip.
May 29th our town had a Memorial Day parade and Allison and the school band marched in it and played. It was nice and I was really proud of them! It was a beautiful day for it!
Tim's parents came up about a week ago. They bought a "cabin" near us to come up and visit in the summer. I'm glad that they could come when they did. They got to go to the parade and see Allison in the band and also got to attend Grandparent's Day at Ben and Emily's school last week.
This past Sunday we had a special Church Service. We had it at a beautiful place calle Fox Hill. The service was outside in the sunshine and then we went into the hall for a nice lunch and great visiting time with our church family.
Today Clara's class took their field trip to a bowling alley/game place. It's kind of like a Chuck E Cheese I guess.
Next week, Ben and Emily will have their Kindergarten Graduation! All of our kids will be done with school on June 9th for the summer. Tim has a check up at U of M on the 7th. I'm anxious to see how all of his testing goes then.
This past weekend I took the kids swimming for the first time this year. They had a slumber party Sunday night. So, you see that we've had a lot going on. It's been a fun time though.
I'm looking forward to summer vacation, but I don't really think that things are going to slow down much for us. We are hoping to do some traveling and looking forward to friends coming to visit us as well. Clara is going to be going to camp for a week. The girls still have Youth Group throughout the summer and Tim and I will be teaching Kindergarten Sunday school every other month as we have been doing. We will also be helping with VBS at church for a week in July. I hope it will be a fun and exciting summer for the whole family. I'm looking forward to more motorcycle rides, walks with the family, camping, ice cream, camp fires, smores, bicycling, great conversations, and just growing closer as a family!
Happy Summer Everyone!
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