Babies x 2!

No I am not having twins...I just thought I would inform everyone if you havent already checked thier blog. My brother Dave and his wife Wendi are expecting! They told us on Sunday night when we were at my parents for pizza. They had brought over a gift for "baby DeVries" and this is what they gave us. On the tag it says "To Baby DeVries, From Baby Kapenga." I was so excited when I opened it, seeing how we all have been giving them a hard time to get pregnant. To my suprise, we found out that they are actually due August 28. About a week and 1/2 before me! CRAZY! It definatly will be nuts at the Kapenga Christmas's and get together's. These two little babies coming make # 9 and 10 for my parents as far a grandchildren go. Exciting! Just thought I would share. Congrats again Dave, Wendi and Jenna!

At work I sit infront of my computer, and really...surf. It works out actually pretty nice, I get to catch up on the blogs I follow, and even get to mess around on Facebook a little bit. I was catching up on all the blogs I read and came across Matt Yount's. His post's are always great, and this last one really hit home. It is a little bit from the Message...
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Love it. Just another awesome reminder of how much we are blessed, even when we dont realize what we have or are going through is a blessing...

I do not remember feeling this way with Evan at all. The last four days have been aweful as far as nausea and tiredness. Yesterday I think I slept a total of 4 hours during the day while Evan took his naps. I guess being pregnant is a lot more tiring than I remember. You would think I remember this being only a year ago I was pregnant too, but funny how that slips your mind. Ryan keeps reminding me that I was like this from the time I found out I was preggo to about 14 weeks. Praying for some relief! :-) It is alright though, I can handle it and it is all well worth it! Sorry for all of you who have to read about it. :-)

Big Brother Shirt

I thought I would post this. This is how we told Ryan's parents.

ER visit

Last night for dinner I had scrambled eggs and thought Evan could eat some off my plate. He has had them before so I figured it was alright. About an hour after we ate, he started throwing up...he got all blotchy, eyes puffy and red...I wasnt sure what was going on. He only threw up once, so i just kind of figured he might be getting the flu along with everyone i know! So I layed him down in his crib but all he did was cry, and then....once again...threw up. Ryan got home around 8:30 from school and helped me with him. I was holding him in my bed and of course....ALL OVER. At this point, his eyes were all puffy again, blotchy, it almost looked like he was breaking out in hives and he started weezing. Ryan immediatly wanted to take him in, so we did. We got to the ER at about 9 and left around 11. THey couldnt really narrow it down to either the flu or an alergic reaction, but they gave him benadryl and a nausea pill and he was doing a lot better. It just scared us when he started weezing. Ryan and I are pretty confident it was an allergic reaction. I feel horrible now that I gave him the eggs, but I had no idea. I guess Evan is going to follow the DeVries men tradition with all thier food allergies. Poor little man.

Teething

I have a teething baby. I feel so aweful for him. He has one coming in on the bottom and two on the top again. Poor guy, he cant get any relief either. We have tried the orajel and the frozen teething rings. but nothing seems to help. He has been waking up every couple hours in the night and not taking good naps during the day. I dont know what to do with him. Any suggestions?

I am so excited about this! I have seen a few people have something like this at thier house, and everyone I asked had said, "Ruthanne Huizenga made it." I had to figure out who this person was, and sure enough, I tracked her down and asked her to make this for me. She does an awesome job and would recommemend her to anyone!

Just more of my baby

I got a new flash finally for my camera and was just playing around last night. I think Evan was getting a little annoyed with the huge flash going off in his face every couple seconds. :)

He Or She? We Will See...

Yup...that makes baby number two on the way! We are very excited. My due date is as of right now, September 9. I go to the doctor on Febuary 4th for my next check up, so we will see then how things look. We told our parents tonight. For my parents I made this candy bar that says "He or She..We will see." My mom got it right away. For Ryan's parents, we had Evan wear a big brother shirt, and waited to see how long it took for his parents to figure it out. It took Kathy a bit, but once she got it, she was excited. Cant wait to see what this new little life God has given us will be all about.

Evan's Stats

I totally forgot to post about Evan's new stats. I took him in on Wednesday for his one year check up. I felt AWEFUL for him. He had to have 4 shots. (with only one nurse doing it, so they did it one at a time!!) and also needed his finger pricked to test his iron. I remember them doing that to me when I was pregnant with him and it hurts SO bad. I couldnt imagine being a diabetic and doing it everyday! Anyway-His iron was a little low so we have to give him iron supplements everyday, and hopefully by 15months he will be doing better with that. He weighed 20lbs 9oz and he is now 30 1/2 inches. Still tall and skinny!

Nothing New

Nothing new lately. Just another week. Ryan is going to be layed off for another 2 weeks at the end of this month and the first week of Febuary. It sucks a lot. The only nice part is having him home when I have to work. I dont have sitter issues that way...although, I would much rather have him working!

Ryan is doing really well in school! I am so proud of him! He is on his second week and really really likes it. It is a lot of work and studying, but the pay off is going to be so worth it. Only 5 more years or more! :) He is handling it really well, and I couldnt be more proud of him.

I've been staying busy with photos. Oh how I wish I had more equipment! There are so many cool things I would love to do, but cant cuz I dont have everything yet. Someday I will, but in the mean time, I am having a lot of fun doing it for people. I have had the cutest and funnest kids.

Today I cant help but think about the Busscher family. My heart aches for them everyday, but exspecially today being Grace's birthday. Grace would have been 2 today. I cant imagine the party she is having in heaven though. Pray for the busscher family. Every day must be a battle, exspecially today. Pray for peace and continued healing.

Hope everyone has a great day and rest of the week!

Waiting and waiting!

I hate not knowing how things will turn out. Sometimes I even read the last page of a book because I cant handle not knowing what is going to happen. Ryan yells at me for it, but sometimes I just gotta know. I guess that makes me a control freak? Probably. I am sitting at home right now twidling my thumbs, waiting for anything from our realtor. We had an open house on Saturday and it went really well. I tell myself not to get my hopes up...but when your realtor says she would be floored if they didnt call and make an offer this week...my hopes are pretty high. AHH! Blogging about this may be a little premature, but I cant handle it right now. I gotta vent somewhere and Ryan isnt home to vent to. This is the worst part about selling your house I think. I said this to Ryan today, that the waiting game is what kills me! There have been a few things that I got my hopes all up for, and they fell through. I guess I will have to figure out something to do until then. My house is already clean...dont know what else I could do...maybe nap...yeah, that sounds good...off to nap...

Pictures

Happy Birthday Evan!

Yes, my baby is one! Ahh! I cant believe how fast that went. What an awesome blessing he has been in our life. I say this all the time, but the amazing privledge and responsibility God has given us by being his parents is awesome! If you think of it as God choosing you to be someone's parent...raising them and growing them up knowing God and loving Him. How awesome He chose us!!!

Evan is doing great! He takes steps on his own. He gets so excited that he starts running and then nose dives into whatever is in front of him. He is such a happy little guy, and I am so excited to say...after a year of waiting and waiting...he finally sleeps through the night!!! Praise God because another year of that and I dont know how I could have handled that! I love my little guy more than anything on this earth. I guess if sleeping is my only complaint we will take him! :)

Tonight we are celebrating with my family and Ryan's family and one really good friend of ours. I will post messy cake pictures later! Happy Birthday Evan! Mommy and Daddy love you!

Kickball

My sister in law sent this to me. It is an awesome reminder of God knowing what is best for us, even when we cant see it, or when we doubt Him and dont trust. As a mom it puts things in perspective knowing we are as little children and cant always understand when God says no...its about 10 minutes, but worth while. You are going to have to type it in because I cant get the link to work on my work computer. Sorry! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27wfNis-W_w&feature=related

My little guy

Thought I would post some more. Just some cute ones I thought.

Doubt

There are so many times I doubt God. I doubt He is there, caring for me, listening to me, I doubt He is in control, sometimes if I'm honest, if He really knows what He is doing at all. This week, God proved to me, and our family that He IS in control. He DOES know what He is doing. I was talking to my sister-in-law about this the other day when I went and visited Ashley in the hospital. She said it was amazing how God had put people where they needed to be to help save Ashley's life. God was there in that hospital when they were scared for Ashley's life. He still is there in that hospital watching over her...placing the right people to take care of her. He IS AWESOME.
I'm always worried about something. I worry all the time about things. I'm reminded again of how insignificant my worries of this world are. Again...worldly problems. God shows me daily how insignificant my problems are. Sometimes I pick up on it, and sometimes I dont. Praise God that He is in control, and we are not. What a mess life would be if He wasnt. I was reading Isaiah 40. Very farmilar to a lot of people, but I was reminded again the power our God has.
Isaiah 40: 28, 29
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

I also came across a verse in chapter 41, and I was reminded of Ashley. How God was taking her by her tiny little hand and carrying her through this.
Isaiah 41: 13
For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

I wish it didnt take circumstances like Ashley's to be reminded not to doubt Him. I wish I was strong enough to trust in every circumstance in my life. Praise God that HE is God, and He takes hold of our hand...

Just an update

Thought I would update everyone. Ashley is doing better praise God. They took the breathing tube out yesterday and she is breathing on her own! God is so good! Please continue to pray for healing, because she will be in the hospital for a few days yet, but thank you for the prayers and keep praying! You can read more of the story and updates on thier blog, http://devriesfamily-coreyandheather.blogspot.com Thanks!

Praying for Ashley

I just wanted to post something for my newborn niece Ashley. She had to be Aero Med to DeVos Children's ICU this week because she came down with RSV. It is a very scary thing, exspecially on her tiny little body. She was two weeks early, so already very small, and then to get this, very scary. Please pray for healing for Ashley as she will spend possibly another week in ICU, and for sure another week or two in the hospital. Please pray for Corey and Heather, for strength and understanding, and Brooke and Kenzie as this will be hard on them too. If you want updates and the full story go to, www.devriesfamily-coreyandheather.blogspot.com Thanks for your prayers!-Meg