Boring Weekend

Well this weekend was long and boring. Uugh. I dont think I have ever wished Monday to come sooner. Ryan was gone all weekend with his brother and Dad in Missouri looking for hunting land to hunt on. I am sure they had fun, but I was so bored! I guess I never realized how much Ryan and I do together until he leaves. What can I say though, he is my best friend. His mom always makes comments about how much we talk on the phone, and cant believe we talk so much. Half the time we talk about nothing, but it is like talking to your best friend I guess. Not being able to have more than a 2 minute conversation is just really wierd. Anyway...Friday night after the guys left, Heather my sister in law and her kids, and Kathy Ryan's mom and I went out for dinner to Crazy Horse. Where else? I wasnt feeling too well and Evan has been sick all week too so we just came home afterward and hung out. Saturday I actually had to work at the cleaners which I never have to do but they didnt have anyone and I figured I didnt have anything else to do, and I had taken off at the dealership, but I just went in anyway. I thought I better make a little money while Ryan went out and spent some. Saturday night we did NOTHING. Wow, it was boring. I came home from work and watched HBO movies all night. I must say though, it was nice being able to watch tv in my own bed as late as I want without anyone telling me they have to go to bed. :)Today- Sunday I went to church with Evan, but of course he only makes it 1/4 of the way through the service and then gets fidgety and I have to take him to the parent room. I really think next week I am going to stick him in the nursery. I havent really been able to listen to a full sermon in a while. After church we went to my grandma and grandpas house for lunch. Nothing speacil just a normal sunday dinner. After that we came home, sat around for a while, and then realized how bored I was, so I called my parents and made them go for ice cream with me. My sister was husband-less to this weekend so she came too with Oliver and Jonas. That about covers it. Now I am watching "My big fat greek wedding." I forgot how much I love that movie. THere are some parts i cant help but laugh out loud. Anyway- That is enough of my boring weekend. I hope yours was better than mine. I did want to share some cute pics I took before Ryan left. Kathy his mom went to a garage sale and found these cute rubber boots and camo hat. Grandpa loved them too. And here are a few random ones too. :) I cant help myself.

Birthday Boys

Tuesday night was Ryan's birthday so we celebrated by having Andy (whose it was also his birthday) and Jenny  over for dinner and birthday cake. It was another opportunity for Evan to see his little girlfriend. It was a good time just to hang out again and watch the kids play. They are getting so big! At one point we both were changing thier clothes so decided to get a naked picture of them. I am sure they will love it when they're older haha but as parents we couldnt resist. Evan is getting sick again. I should have known better. He is ususally a healthy kid, but I had to watch my nephews monday who, usually are not and unfortunatly my sanitizing wipes didnt work because Evan now is starting with the runny nose and cough. I tried sanitizing EVERYTHING Oliver my nephew touched but it must have just been in the air. Hopefully he wont get so sick he has to go on the nebulizer again. I took Evan to GR on Tuesday for his FINAL helmet appointment. Even though he hasnt been wearing it for a month. (We forgot it when we went on vacation and when we got back he had out grown it. Oops!) HIs doctor agreed that he is done with it and doesnt need any further treatment. YAY! It really wasnt that bad but it is nice that he doesnt have to wear it anymore. I think that is all I have to say today. I dont have anything planned at all this weekend. I am looking forward to it actually. Ryan is going away with his brother and dad down to Missori to look for hunting land to hunt on, so I have the whole weekend to do whatever I want! I will miss Ryan, but secretly I am looking forward to it. :) Anyway-- Have a great Day!!!!

New Pictures

I took these today. Thought they were cute.

Evan and His Girlfriend

Friday night we went to the beach with our good friends Andy and Jenny and thier daughter Abigail. I got some really cute pictures of the two of them. I love the one of Abby pulling Evan's ear. Notice Evan's face. She's an aggressive one. :) Anyway, we didnt do much, just some photo's and then ice cream. It was a nice way to end the week.

The VanHouten's

I was able to take some family pictures and 9 month photos of our really good friends this past friday. Here are some of my favorites. I thought they turned out really cute. It was a lot of fun and hope you guys like them!

Mind of His Own.

I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Evan knows exactly what to do to push my buttons at the age of 7 months. He knows what it means when I lay him in his crib, give him his blankie, and stick his pipe in his mouth. And yet, he knows that if he screams and screams...mommy will come back and put his pipe back in his mouth, give him his blankie again and say goodnight. However, I have put a stop to that. I let him cry...and cry...and cry. This can go on for an hour...or more depends on what mood he is in. Sometimes I win and he actually does fall asleep, but more often than not he sceams and whines for an hour at least. Yesterday however, I did the same thing I always do, laid him down with his blankie and pipe, and he rolled over and closed his eyes and slept for almost 3 hours!!! I couldnt believe it. Sooo...today nap time rolls around...and I thought, alright, he finally has it. Laid him down, and nope. Wouldnt sleep. Youre probably thinking just let him cry it out, but people I do! But how long do you let him cry for? I dont know where he gets his stubborness from but I dont think I was that way when I was a baby. Uhhhh. I guess I will keep trying. Suggestions anyone?

7 Months Already

It is amazing to me that I had Evan 7 months ago today. He is growing so fast. Not just that, but it seems crazy to me that he is 7 months already. He is developing such a little personality too. He is definatly all boy. Even his little voice sounds like a boy. He has a stuborn personality where if he wants something, he lets you know it. He is such a gift. Being his mommy is so awesome. We've been so blessed to have him.

Another Reason To Celebrate!

This weekend was so much fun. FINALLY Dave and Wendi got married Friday night. It was so much fun and it was just a perfect wedding. Everything was just beautiful and the weather was AWESOME. You couldnt have asked for a better night. Wendi looked absoulutly stuning. I've posted just a few of my own pictures, but I cant wait to see what Tracy has. I am sure they are beautiful. She does such a good job. Anyway- I must say, the flowers looked awesome too. Not bad for a bunch of amatures. I was a little worried going into it, but was so happy with how they all turned out. I am so glad I could help Wendi with that. It was a lot of fun and the end result was great.
Something else to celebrate...Evan said "mama" and has continued to say it. Yes, I know it seems early and I didnt believe it when he did it, but you ask him to say it, and he says it! It is so cool! Kathy Ryan's mom didnt believe me either until she heard him do it. It was pretty cool, I had just put Evan down and Ryan and I were getting ready for bed ourselves when all of a sudden we heard Evan saying, "Mama, Mama," from his crib. Ryan said he was calling for me so sure enough I went in there and he was all smiles when he saw me. What a great feeling. :) Those moments are the best about being a mom.
It is almost 10:30 Saturday night and I am missing my husband. He actually volunteered to work tonight. 10:45-7:15. CRAZY! I feel really bad for him and can only imagine how tired he is going to be tomorrow, but we are so thankful still that he has a job to go to. God is so good to us.
I think that is all that is going on in my life right now...not too much new. I just thought I would share my crazy fun weekend. (minus tonight.) Oh and Steph Hill...your parents can really dance. Haha..it was really funny watching all those old people dancing at the wedding.

A great way to end this week

This week didnt start out good at all but thankfully we have something awesome to celebrate. My oldest brother Dave is FINALLY getting married! Now that is reason to celebrate! Tomorrow is when it really is going to feel real. Wendi and I are putting together the flowers. (BY OURSELVES!) Hopefully everything turns out alright. I am sure they will. And then they have rehersal tomorrow night at the ravines. I am sure it will all go well. Friday is the BIG day. They are getting married at 7:30 at the ravines in saugatuck outdoors, and it will be beautiful. I cant wait. Finally Dave has found someone so perfect for him and we are so happy to welcome Wendi and Jenna into our family. It is going to be a perfect way to end such a sad week. Cant wait.

Little Blessings

Ryan and I have been blessed so richly. God is so good to us, and sometimes we wonder why. I just thought I would share with everyone who has been praying for us, that Ryan did make it through the layoffs at Tiara. Praise God. We are very happy and excited obviously and it is important to have a job, but we cant help but feel sadness this week for the Busschers. There are worse things in this world than losing a job and we came to peace with that, that whatever happened today, we would be alright with. It put things in perspective for us. But yet, God saw us through, as He always does and continues to provide. Praise God for the little blessings He gives us.

Why?

I am sure a lot of people are asking why this weekend. Why God allows certain things to happen to such awesome people. Not just that, but people who truly love Him. Somehow every little thing in our lives that we worried about, suddenly didnt seem as important as they did before Friday night. I am talking about the loss of Grace Busscher, a beautiful 18 month little girl to Brian and Kathy. We got to see Grace quite a bit. She only lived a few houses down from us and from what we know and could see she was a happy beautiful smiley little girl. Grace was also a niece, a sister a granddaughter. To everyone who knew Grace and loved her, we are so sorry and hurt with you. If you can take any comfort at all, at least know she is in Jesus arms playing up in heaven. God Bless and our prayers are with the Busscher family.