Seriously?!

I can't believe...

...that today is December 1st. Where did the time go?
...that we are starting to get healthy (FINALLY!). I have had it with sick kids!
...that we don't have snow (although I am not in a big hurry for it!)
...that the holiday festivities start Saturday with the Shunk Family Christmas Extravaganza.
...that Cailin is almost 2 years old. My little petite princess is growing up too fast.
...that Cassidy is halfway through her first year of preschool! What?!
...that I won't see my parents for Christmas this year, but I enjoyed a visit with them right before Thanksgiving. Thankful!

I am off to work on Christmas decorations and read a book with Cassidy. Cailin is napping peacefully (thankfully!).

What a croupy day..

Where to begin?! So, the inevitable fall cold has been making its rounds with Cailin being the latest victim. My poor little sweetie is all stuffed up and sounds terrible. She is a trooper though and still keeps us smiling. Cassidy has been pretty healthy and hasn't shown any symptoms of having a cold...in fact we went to visit our lovely friends, the Soupals, and then spent Sunday afternoon enjoying beautiful fall weather with Bill, Janette, and Caleb.

Then...last night/this morning Lucas and I both woke @ 1:30am to a horrible coughing coming from the girl's room. We both thought it was Cailin since she has been battling a cold. Lucas got up to get her so we could be close to her, and when he went into the bedroom he realized it was Cassidy coughing and she was having a very difficult time breathing. We decided to take her to the Emergency Room because she was really struggling to breath. Lucas took her in while Cailin and I waited (we were told to stay out of the room because of the high level of flu activity and b/c I am considered high risk due to pregnancy and Cailin is high risk because of her age). It was absolutely horrible having to watch Lucas carry her away.

A nurse finally came out and said that they believed Cassidy has croup. She was given a steriod to take down inflammation and she was receiving breathing treatments. Then they very kindly said that Cailin and I should go home. I called Bill and Janette to pick up Cailin and I. They arrived and took us home. Lucas and Cassidy arrived home at 5:30am. We all immediately laid down and slept for a few hours. Cassidy is feeling much better. In fact, she was quite upset that we wouldn't allow her to go outside and play. I am hoping and praying for a restful and healing sleep tonight.

Baby, Baby

We had the big ultrasound with the specialist today, and everything went wonderfully. According to Dr. W. the baby looks perfect! YAY! We also found out that we are having a baby boy! How exciting! Now we can get rid of all the baby girl clothes and start stocking up on baby boy clothes!

Busy, Busy October

Does seem as though everything is happening in October?! We have been busy, busy here on Holland Rd.

The first weekend of October I had the opportunity to travel to a Christian Moms conference in Grand Rapids. It is called Hearts at Home and it was a fabulous experience. I went with the Leadership team from the Morning MOPS group (I am the MOPPETS coordinator.). It was amazing being able to not only be a Mom but to also be Alicia. I was able to create connections with the other members of the leadership team, while participating in inspirational workshops. I have to say my favorite speaker is Dr. Kevin Leman. He is the author of The Birth Order book (as well as many more). Overall, it was a weekend of inspiration, friendship, and growth. It also made me realize that I need to take more time for myself...

This weekend Lucas is fishing with some college friends. I think they are salmon fishing...I am definitely happy I am home with the cold, dreary weather we have been experiencing. I think the high today is 48F...brrrrr!

This next week we are busy with appointments, preschool, soccer, and Family Fun Night @ St. Lorenz. Hopefully things will slow down a bit in the next couple weeks. It would be nice to have a little break before the busy holiday season starts (only 11 weeks until Christmas!).

Holiday To Do List: Gather addresses for holiday cards!

Catching Up...

We are all sick with a yucky cold! It must be all those new germs we are encountering because Cassidy is in school! We are finally starting to feel better, which is good. Although, I think today will be a rather lazy day of minor cleaning and laundry. Anyway...I happened to come across some pictures from the last couple months and thought we could play a little catch up since I have been so bad about keeping this blog updated. Enjoy the pictures!

Cassidy, Cailin, and I with my Grandma Huffman. We went camping in Roscommon because I had my 10 year high school reunion. It was a fun weekend despite the somewhat dreary weather. Cassidy went on her first canoe trip with her own paddle (she only dropped it twice!).

Reading books before bedtime (sorry it is foggy looking!)

Cailin eating lunch, which is always a messy affair!

Cassidy & Cailin playing at Grandma & Grandad's.

Just a few pictures to catch up! I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to Fall. We have definitely had better than expected weather considering our slightly cool summer!

20 Things I Love about Fall

Admittedly, I am a summer girl at heart. Perhaps I prefer the warmth of the summer because I was born in the midsts of it. Perhaps I enjoy it because of my fond childhood memories of long summer nights, Higgins Lake, Grandma & Grandpa's house, sand, campfires, and did I mention Higgins Lake...

Summer continues to be my favorite time of year, but I find more things to love and enjoy during our other three seasons, and I have to admit I love that we enjoy (normally) four distinct seasons. So here it goes...my list of 20 things I love (and look forward to) about Fall.

1. Saturday morning snuggles under layers of cozy blankets
2. Crisp, clean fall air
3. Fall foliage: red, green, orange, yellow, brown
4. Apple cider
5. Cozy sweaters
6. Talking a walk through acres of crunchy leaves
7. Pumpkin farms
8. Fall decorations: pumpkins, corn stalks, hay bales, gourds...
9. Bonfires where you want to sit as close as possible to soak up the warmth
10. Fall camping
11. Picking apples
12. Soups simmering on the stovetop
13. Chili!
14. Slowcooker meals that make the entire house smell good!
15. Pumpkin pie lattes
16. Soccer season
17. M.O.P.S.
18. Holiday anticipation
19. Experiencing school for the first time with Cassidy
20. The mornings with just Cailin

There you have it. Happy 1st day of Autumn! May you have fond summer memories and anticipation for the coming season!

Welcome September!

Happy September! I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will have a lovely September weather-wise. It has been unseasonable cool, but this week as warmed up! YAY!

We have officially started soccer season. Cassidy, Cailin and I attended our first soccer game decked out in our soccer/Frankenmuth gear. The girls sure look cute in their little soccer shirts. I will have to take some pictures of them sporting their gear. Lucas' team is quite good this season. He claims they are the best team he has had in 8 years. I have to admit they are pretty exciting to watch. They played North Branch on Monday and mercied them (9-0). We look forward to a successful season.

Cassidy will start 3 year old preschool next Tuesday (Sept. 8th). We are pretty excited. She has a new backpack and some new clothes, so she is pretty excited. Her school does a neat transition thing where the parents stay with their child on the first day of school. They go through the routine with the parents in tow. We do this once the first week and again the second week. Then the kiddies are on their own. We are so blessed with Cassidy's teacher. She is a Hart family friend and really lovely lady. I pray that Cassidy loves school.

Cailin is getting so big! She is talking more and more. Currently, she is really into Dora. She calls her Dodo and she likes to say "backpack, backpack." It is really quite cute. She is getting tall and has very blonde hair right now. She is definitely our little cuddle bug.

In other exciting news...we will be welcoming Baby #3 in March 2010. We are feeling blessed and a little overwhelmed of the idea of a new baby. I think Lucas is keeping his fingers crossed for a boy...but we just really want a healthy pregnancy and baby.

That is our quick update...hopefully I will remember to update before October!

July & August

As usual, I am way behind in my blogging. July was certainly a busy month. Some highlights...

* Camping in Presque Isle

* Spending a weekend along the Lake Huron shore with our dear friends.

* Good weather (sometimes!)

* Farm fresh produce

* Alicia's 10 year high school reunion

* Camping & Canoeing in good ole Roscommon

* some other exciting developments...

We have busy enjoying our nicer weather. We actually hit the normal range for summer here in MI. It has been a strange summer, but we are soaking up every last drop of sunshine as fall is right around the corner.

Things we are looking forward to:

* Cassidy starts 3 year old preschool in September.

* Soccer season

* Indian summer (we hope!)

Now some pictures from the last month or so! (actually just pictures from camping in Presque Isle, because I can't get the others to load! I will have to try again later!)

Pictures from July 4th!

Working at the Aid Station during Volkslaufe!

Lots and lots of water!

Bouncy, bounce!

Phew!

What a whirlwind these last few days have been! The last week Lucas has been gone in the evenings working on Volkslaufe set-up. The week of work culminated in the running of the 34th Volkslaufe on July 4th. www.volkslaufe.org

Along with Volkslaufe festivities we enjoyed a visit with Derek and Emily. Derek will be leaving this week for a 6 month tour in Afghanistan. It was an appropriate time to celebrate our nations Independence while enjoying time with one of our heroes. Our thoughts an prayers are with Derek and Emily during this time.

We had a lovely family BBQ on Thursday evening at Bill & Janette's. It was fun for Cassidy and Cailin to play with their cousins. Cassidy was a little wary of all those kids taking over her turf! The kids ran up and down the hill, took a hike to the pond, and played lots of frisbee and tag. It was good time.

Friday we went down to Heritage Park where all the Volkslaufe festivities were under way. We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner sponsored by the St. Lorenz youth. Cassidy and Cailin enjoyed the free kid's activities which included bounce houses, bounce slides, and bounce obstable courses. There was a lot of bouncing to be had! The girls and I left before the fireworks. Cailin was quite sleepy and Cassidy isn't a big fan of loud noises. Cassidy and I were able to watch some fireworks from our front window. She thought they were pretty neat!

Saturday morning we were up early and headed out to help at an aid station where we handed out water to all the 10k & 20k runners. Cassidy and Cailin were very helpful. Cailin filled up cups while getting increasingly wet and Cassidy helped hand out water. They were both great and did a wonderful job! After we finished at the aid station we headed down to Heritage Park for the 2k fun run for the kids. Lucas ran with Cassidy and I pushed Cailin in the stroller. Cassidy ran almost the entire way by herself. She loved everyone cheering for her! After the race we had some Chicken Dinner and headed home for naps. After naps we headed over to Bill & Janette's for the post-Volkslaufe BBQ. Great food, great people, good times! Cassidy and Cailin had fun playing with some other children. The sandbox was a hit! It was an enjoyable day!

Sunday we headed back down to Heritage Park for the Patriotic Praise service. What a great way to show our appreciation for our service men and women! It was inspirational! After the service we came home and had a little BBQ at our house. We swam and relaxed which was a fitting end to a great but busy weekend.

We hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend and amidst all the of partying, fireworks, and festivities that you remembered what we are celebrating. Please remember to say Thank you to our service men and women. We especially thank our heroes: Robert Hanovich Sr., Robert Hanovich, Jr., Joseph Hanovich, Terry Hart, Derek Hart, Leland Hart, and Joshua Huffman.

Days go by...

It seems as though June has flown by...and we are gearing up for July. Volkslaufe is right around the corner (Saturday), Derek & Emily are home tomorrow, mini-vacations, and pool time. We have a lot happening here in July.

Hopefully, the nice weather will come back. We had beautiful weather all last week and now it is rainy, dreary, and a bit cool. The girls are not happy about not being in the pool!

The rain showers did give us a nice gift yesterday in a double rainbow! It was beautiful!



I promise to write more soon...we are busy cleaning and organizing (Spring cleaning a little late!)

Have a beautiful and blessed Independence Day! Please say a prayer for our country men and women serving home and overseas.

Our Heroes:
Joshua Huffman, USAF
Derek Hart, Army
Terrel Hart, Navy
Leland Hart, Army
Robby Hanovich, USAF
Bob Hanovich, USMC-retired
Joe Hanovich, Navy

Time flies...

Cassidy dressed herself in just snowpants...fun, fun.

Things have pretty much gotten back to normal...well...as normally as a home with toddlers can be I guess. Cassidy has made major improvements during bedtime. It has been a little stressful, but she is doing very well going to sleep in her bed without Mama or Daddy sitting with her. She throws a little fit, but is usually sound asleep in 10 minutes. I HATE hearing her cry and call for Lucas or I, but we are determined to create a smoothier bedtime routine. Cailin does fine as long as she has her bottle, which is the next bedtime issue to tackle. I am not looking forward to that saga...one thing at a time...

Our backyard landscaping (or lack thereof) took a turn over the last few weeks. We have an above ground pool now. It is up and running but basically not accessible as there is no way to get in the pool right now. That is okay because the weather as really not be great. I am hoping that June 21 really marks the beginning of summer! The pool accessibility should be fixed this week with the extension of our existing deck by adding UT's former pool deck. Hopefully it is nice so we can get this stuff done...then it is time for some flower pots, painting a table, and putting in a very small raised bed garden. We would just like a couple tomato plants and perhaps some pepper plants. Nothing too fancy!

We have also been fortunate to have a few nice days to enjoy FHS Varsity Softball. Cameray is on the team so we enjoy watching the games. They won Districts and Regionals, so we are off to watch Quarterfinals in Flushing this afternoon. We are keeping our fingers crossed because they are playing Reese, and Reese is currently the top ranked team in Division 3 softball. I am sure it wil be a good game.

I am off to make some lunch, put some kids down for a nap, and then off to the softball game.

Have a beautiful day!

Home

Cailin and I are back from our Georgia adventures. We had a lovely time in Savannah.

Highlights:
- Seeing the family, especially Mom and Dad
- Eating at The Lady & Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant)
-Walking along the riverwalk (huge hills and steep stairs)
- the squares (every city should be set up like this!)
- Uncle Bob's retirement ceremony
- Karaoke
- touring the Juliette Gordon Low house (the founder of Girl Scouts)
- trolley tour

We had a good time. I wish Cassidy and Lucas could have joined us, but they had a great time camping with Grandmom and Grandad.

Of course, all the excitement caught up with Cassidy, Cailin and I...we all got sick Tuesday - Thursday. It was not fun. Pukey, puke...yuck!!!

We are all better now and looking forward to some nicer weather. Rain, Rain go away!

Leaving on a jet plane...

Cailin and I are flying to Savannah, GA tomorrow evening. I am pretty excited. My uncle is retiring from the Marine Corp after 30+ years...so it's a pretty big deal! We will be there May 20-May25. While we are gone, Cassidy is going camping with Grandma, Grandad, and Daddy! She is super excited.

Now, I am off to pack, clean, pack, and clean some more!

Splish, Splash

Yay for Splash Village! As an end of the year hurrah for MOPS, our morning MOPS went to Splash Village with our families. It was so much fun! I was little worried about how well the girls would do because it is quite loud in there. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The girls rocked! Cassidy even went down the largest water slide with Lucas! He put a life jacket on her and sat her on his lap. He said she giggled the entire way down the slide. She is a champ. Cailin even went down a water slide with me. She thought that was great too. They both enjoyed the zero depth pool. I don't think Cassidy stopped moving for 2+ hours. They were quite tired when we left. What a fun afternoon!

Garage Sale

It's definitely Spring as more and more garage sales are being advertised, and I see them often as I drive around F'muth. In fact, I have been preparing for a garage sale. Lucas' family and I are hosting a garage sale this weekend. I have been decluttering and creating pile after pile of stuff to be rid of...which led to the last two days. The girls and I have spent the last two days setting up for a garage sale at Lucas' aunt Shirley's house. The four families participating have so much stuff that we actually had to set up the sale in the pole barn...yup...the pole barn...I think we are all secretly hoarders!

Hopefully, we will have a good turn out so we can get rid of this stuff. The extra money I make will go for the trip to Georgia for Uncle Bob's retirement party. I will be spending 4 days in Savannah! I am super excited. Cailin will be going with me, which should be some nice Mama and Cailin time. Cassidy will get lots of Daddy/Daughter time with Lucas which is good too.

I am off to enjoy some down time. The girls fell asleep super early, which means they will get up super early...I am off to relax and then to bed.

Tow Trucks & Mud

Surely there is never a dull moment in the Hart Household...just last night I had a tow truck in my front yard. Why? Hmmm...let's start with the fact that it has rained everyday for almost the last week, so our ground is saturated...in fact I have a nice pond (or as Cassidy calls it "the pool")in my backyard right now...anyone care to go swimming?! Did I mention the ground is saturated?! Squishy definitely.

Next, let's mention that Lucas is gone for a golfing weekend with some buddies. They took our camper over to Canadian Lakes to golf at St. Ives and Tullymore. Then they are golfing somewhere on the way home, but I digress...

So, last night Lucas is trying to get things around for Golf Weekend, including the camper which is generally "stored" in our side yard. Did I mention the ground was saturated?! Lucas drove his Tahoe, well, attempted to drive his Tahoe in the side yard to hook up the camper, and, well....got stuck...now, one would think it would be a good idea to get out of the vehicle and take a look. Lucas decided that if he just tried to go faster then he could get out of the ruts he created and get to the camper. This didn't work and the vehicle sunk into the ground, covering his tires. Meanwhile, I am oblivious to all of this happening because I was putting the girls to bed...it was about 9pm. I come out of the girls room, look out the front window, and see a tow truck sitting in my front yard. Interesting.

I walk outside and Lucas proceeds to tell me what happened. Abe & Shirley come over. Abe takes the four wheeler, hooks the camper to it, and gets the camper to the driveway. The tow guys (while chuckling to themselves) get Lucas Tahoe out of the mud. They leave. Lucas has to take my small garden shovel and get all of the mud out of the tire rims. The camper is finally hooked up and ready to go...it is 10pm...he started at 8.

Needless to say, it was an interesting evening.

Happy Earth Day! (and Spring)

I was under the impression that spring had arrived, but apparently I was wrong! It has been cold and rainy for the last few days. I do not like it (Cassidy doesn't like it either)! According to our our meteorologist this rain and cold is suppose to break...we shall see! Cassidy keeps gazing longingly out our window at her sandbox and swingset.

I just checked www.weather.com for our 10 day forecast and starting Friday we are suppose to be 80F for 4 days! WOOHOO! If that is even remotely correct it shall be a very lovely weekend! Yay for sun! I must remind myself to pick up some new kiddie sunscreen.

Life is going well here at Casa de Hart. Cassidy, Cailin, and I have started to use our local library more regularly. We had been going sporadically. The girls really enjoy it. The library has a really love children's wing, so we play and then check out books. Cassidy even has her own library card. She is very proud of herself when she gets to check out her own books. :-)

My father-in-law, Bill, just ran the Boston Marathon and finished 3:52:44! Go Bill! I only wish I had the motivation to run let along 26.2 miles! I was able to watch some of the race online, but of course they only show the elite runners...

Hmm...I think that is all on our front right now.


Happy Earth Day! Always remember to leave a place better then you found it!

I also came across this great site, check it out!

http://www.eattheseasons.com/

Easter Pictures

Here are some pictures from our Easter! We hope you enjoyed a blessed day!

Cassidy & Cailin are ready to color eggs!

Coloring Eggs!

At Grandma & Grandad's after church. (enjoying from cinammon rolls & fruit)

Cailin and Great Grandma Magnus

Have a beautiful day!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! What a glorious day! We enjoyed a lovely, relaxing, and exciting day.

(Pictures to follow!)

Happy Easter to all!

Snakes and other happenings!

Yesterday morning Cassidy comes up to me and says, "Mama, there is a dead snake in the hallway." She says this in a very serious tone with a a very serious look on her face. I had just walked through the hallway and had not seen any dead snakes. I ask her to show it to me, so we walk through the kitchen into the hallway and she points to the floor. I look and see a very small dead worm. Yup...just a dead worm.

Me: "Cassidy that is a dead worm. It isn't a snake."
Cassidy: "It is a snake, Mama." (this is said in a very exasperated tone! How could I think it wasn't a snak?!)
Me: "I'll pick it up and throw it away."

So I reach down, pick up the worm, and Cassidy proceeds to start shrieking, "put down the snake!" I tell her again that it is a dead worm and then throw it in the garbage. She continues to look at me incredulously. I still don't think she agrees that it was a dead worm, and I don't think she thought I was Super Mom for picking it up. :-)

In other news...HOLY SNOW!?! I think Mother Nature missed the memo that Spring had Sprung! We enjoyed a few days of semi nice weather and then get slammed with bitter cold, windy, and snowy days. Seriously? I am over it! Bring on the sunshine!

Cassidy will be starting a new spring class called Spring into Art. She loves to color and draw, so I am hoping that she will enjoy this class. It starts on Thursday and it is lead by the same teacher that did her Movin' & Groovin' class.

Well...that is all for now! Happy Easter!

It's that time again....

I keep telling myself that I am going to be better about updating...and then a month goes by...phew!

March:

March was a pretty busy month for us. The girls and I enjoyed Movin' & Groovin' and our MOPS/MOPPETS. Movin' & Groovin' is every Thursday morning and MOPS is every other Friday morning. I am a Girl Scout Co-leader and I have been busy with that as well.

Lucas is busy at work, and a new office is in the works which keeps him even busier. He is also very active with the F'muth Jaycees, especially the Volkslaufe. Three Monday evenings a month he is gone for Jaycee and/or Volkslaufe meetings. Busy, busy.

Lucas' cousin Cameray is a senior this year and she has been very active in Puppen fur Cristus, which is a puppet ministry through our church. I had only seen a performance at one of our Contemporary services. Well, they offered a Dinner Theater show, so we went at watched. It was quite good. They did songs and such from Godspell. Cassidy enjoyed it. She kept asking "where is Camay?" throughout the entire performance! Cailin fell asleep. :-)

The big event was our vacation to Isla Mujeres, MX. Well, suffice it to say that we went to Mexico for 2 days, had a rather disturbing experience, Lucas became very uncomfortable, and we came home 3 days early. Long story short...it was a disaster. The island is absolutely stunning. I would definitely return to the island. The largest contributor to our disaster of a vacation was the hotel we stayed at, Avalon Reef Club. They are pretty ridiculous and I would not recommend anyone to stay there or at any of their other resorts. Let's hope we are able to enjoy another vacation...in the future.

Now, it is nearly April and I hope that Spring is right around the corner...wait...wasn't the first day of Spring a week ago...it was...March 20th was the First day of Spring. Well, Spring in Michigan is always an adventure...it snowed yesterday/last night. Ridiculous. I hope there isn't any more of that...I will keep praying for warmer weather! We have lots to do this spring, largely fixing the backyard. We have rather destructive dogs when it comes to being outside, and the yard was dug up from the remodeling because of the plumbing and hooking into our septic. It looks like a disaster zone.

Here's to Spring and warmer weather!

The dust has settled...

Literally...I think all the drywall dust is gone (well...almost gone.) Thankfully! I think the construction phase is done. Now onto the painting phase of our house overhaul. At least the end is in sight, and things are looking great around Casa de Hart.

Now, for our exciting news...Lucas and Alicia are going on vacation sans kiddos! What?! Yes, you read it right...no kids for 5 days. We are going to Isla Mujeres, which is a tiny (5 miles long and 1/2 mile wide, tiny!) island off the coast of Cancun.

Check it out.

Here:

http://www.isla-mujeres.net/

Here:

http://www.islamujeres.info/

and Here:

http://bnwisla.blogspot.com/

In other news...we found this fabulous place to take the kids, well, Cassidy. In the Birch Run Mall, they opened this place called Spring Break, which is full of inflatables. It is fabulous and the best thing about it is the $5 it costs for Cassidy to run herself around like crazy. Cailin likes to watch Cassidy and play on the ride-on toys.

The girls are also participating in a class called Movin' & Groovin', which allows them to work on their large movements, following directions, and interacting with other children. It is taught by a kindergarten teacher at St. Lorenz School, and sponsored by their Early Childhood Department. Cassidy and Cailin really enjoy this class and their teacher, Mrs. Hessler.

That is brief recap of what is happening in our neck of the woods, er, farm fields. Ta, ta for now!

Birthday Cake Pictures

Cailin is 1

Cailin turned 1 year old last Wednesday. Incredible. I can't really believe it has been a year since we brought that little bundle home. She is a blessing.

We waited to celebrate her first birthday on Saturday (Jan. 24) so everyone could celebrate with us. My parents came up from KY and stayed a long weekend to celebrate our little one's birthday. We had a few family members over and enjoyed a lovely celebration. Cailin was quite overwhelmed with everyone focusing their attention on her. She was in awe when we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She kept looking around with this look like "wow, everyone is singing to me!" Cassidy was quite the big sister, making sure Cailin got her cake, helped her open presents, and helped her rip up wrapping paper.

I took Cailin to her 1 year well child. Doctor says she is perfect. She weighs 19lbs. 4 oz. and is 30 inches long. Dr. says she will be tall and thin (definitely doesn't take after me!).

It was a great weekend of celebrating our little one! Happy Birthday Baby!

P.S. Pictures to follow!

Remodeling Part I

As some of you may know, we took about 3/4 of our garage and had it converted into a bedroom with bathroom (master suite?). It is basically done. We have a few aesthetic type things to do, but it's coming along nicely.

Looking in from the soon to be hallway (currently the utility room).
The bedroom
The bathroom


Now, we are converting our old bedroom into the girl's room. There is much to be done to complete this project: removing carpet, tearing out the built-in closet/dresser thing, painting, and replacing the floor. This should keep us busy through this cold, cold winter.

The Holiday's

It seems that I should finally update! It has been awhile. Let's start here: Kentucky.

The week before Christmas Lucas, Cassidy, Cailin and I headed down to Chavies, KY to visit my parents and to see Josh. Josh was on leave from the Air Force, so we went to visit with him. This was especially important because he is leaving January 20, 2009 for a deployment to Iraq. As an added bonus, my Grandma (Shunk) was visiting my parents too! It was a nice visit and it was good to see Josh before he headed out. Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he prepares to leave. We pray for a swift tour and safe return.

Next, we arrived back in Frankenmuth to begin our prepartions for Christmas and the New Year. Lucas returned to work for a few days and then started a two week vacation on Christmas Eve. My parents arrived in Frankenmuth on Christmas Eve while Lucas, the girls, and I were at the Magnus Christmas. We enjoyed spending time with the Magnus' and Santa even made a stop! Cassidy and Cailin were not impressed with Santa at all! Jean, Lucas' cousin, brought a small bounce house for the kids to play in...I don't think Cassidy took a break until we deemed it off limits while we ate...she loved that thing! Cailin enjoyed toddling around and watching all the "big" kids. After the party we came home, visited with my parents, and headed off to bed for visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads.

Christmas day morning we spent at home. We enjoyed unwrapping presents while our breakfast casserole cooked. The girls received plenty of gifts and Lucas and I got a few too. The girls had lots of time to play with their new toys before we headed over to Mom and Dad Hart's for Christmas with them. We headed over to Block Rd. to celebrate Christmas with Mom, Dad, and Caleb Hart. It was quiet, calm, and enjoyable with a fire crackling in the fireplace (my favorite part!). The girls received some lovely gifts there too. (we got some too!) What a wonderful morning and afternoon. In the evening Mom and Dad hosted Christmas Dinner, which was delicious! It was a wonderful evening filled with good food, great people, laughs, and conversation. Merry Christmas!

The next few days we enjoyed some time at home. We did some work on the new room, including a ceramic tile floor (Thanks, Dad!). Everything is coming together nicely in that department...more later...

Fast forward to New Year's: Lucas and I packed up the kids and headed northwest to Canadian Lakes where we met up with some wonderful friends. The Soupal's, Stewart's and Fox's joined us from a New Year's Eve celebration. It was relaxing and fun. The kids (Cassidy, Cailin, Drew, and Marcus) enjoyed playing together. We had lots of good food and great fun. What a great way to celebrate the New Year!

We headed home to enjoy the last few days of Lucas' vacation. It was a great holiday season, and a wonderful time to remember our many blessings. We hope you enjoyed a time of gratitude and peace during holiday season 2008. Here's to good times, good friends, family, and many more blessings in 2009!