The Recent Happenings

Wow, I need to get on this! You would think staying home I would have more time, but it seems almost like the opposite. Taking care of two little munchins full time is busy! :-) I am loving it though. I am enjoying my time off a lot. It is fun being able to see the kids learning and progressing on a daily basis. So much fun! The things that Evan says sometimes take me such by suprise. He is getting so smart, and more of a smart alec as well! Sometimes its hard not to laugh as he is saying something I should be diciplining him for. Ah, the joys of being a mom. :-)

Well, I havent even posted pictures of the kids from Halloween. How horrible am I? I guess I figured, most people who read this have Facebook so they saw it on there. We will skip the halloween pictures and I will start off with just a few randoms of the kiddos.





And now here are a few from Christmas...What a fun time! It was so cool to see the kids getting excited about it! Evan finally understands what Christmas is a little bit and it was cool seeing him get excited about it.






I guess you could say a lot has changed lately. I hesitate to talk much about this on our blogg, but in the last couple months Ryan and I have decided I would be joining him in the College world. I will be taking one class this semester, easing myself into it. We decided we wanted to both be a "nurse family." :-) I have come to the conclusion, (as much as I love my kids!!!) staying home isnt for me. I enjoy working part time, and I know that once I am able to stay home while Ryan is working as a RN, I would probably get bored with the kids in school etc.. I have always had an intrest in the medical field, the opportunity just never arose. Its funny how when God closes a door in your life, He soon opens a new one. One you never thought you would open, but He did. And I have felt led to go down this road for a while now. Finally, the opportunity is here! :-) I also still am job searching. However, I also chose not to settle either. I am taking a course this semester as well to become a CNA and hopefully that will give me some medical experiance to get a job in the hospital as well. Life is constantly changing and things are always happening. When you think you have it figured out, its funny how God takes you somewhere completly differnt than you thought you would be. I also will be volunteering one day a week for 4 hours at the hospital. Hopefully that will help get me out of the house and help keep my sanity. :-) (again, love my kids, breaks are just nice!!)

Anyway--thats whats going on so far at the DeVries house. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!! Happy New Year! Be safe!

So my blogging has become rare these days. I am averaging about once a month which is so bad for me! And I am sorry to say I havent posted any pictures lately. Its funny looking back and reading some of my past posts about the happenings in our household. Recently, Ryan got a job at the hospital, which I already blogged about, but about a week ago he was offered a full time job there. (yay!) The timing couldnt have been better as about 3 weeks ago I was told that the dealership I work for was closing. Today was my first day unemployed. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing of cousre, but God has always been good to us and we are continuously blessed by Him. It makes things a little easier knowing He is taking care of us, and He always has. But wow..what a rollercoaster! Regardless, through these last 3 weeks of knowing I would soon be unemployed, I couldnt help but feel grateful for all that we do have. My kids are healthy, Ryan and I are healthy (other than battleing some sinus infections and minor colds!) We are very blessed and I have nothing at all to be worried about or feel ungrateful for.

With that being said, I am definatly looking forward to seeing my kiddos more in the next little while. Of course the hunt for a job is still on, but I will enjoy the days home. The kids are growing so fast, and Alivia is picking up so many new words latly, I am going to enjoy spending my days watching her learn new things and playing differnt games with Evan.

I will try and be a little better about keeping this updated, now that I have a little more time! Hopefully even some pictures soon! Hope everyone has a great thanksgiving! There is so much to be thankful for!

What a Month!

Most posts I start by saying not much has changed in the last month, but in this post, I cant say that. A lot has been happening.

For one, we celebrated our little girl turning 1! It is so much fun watching little liv bug growing up. She is saying so many more words these days, and becoming more and more obsessed with her favorite things. She cant go to sleep without her pipey and puppy. She loves them both and will not sleep with out them. It kind of makes it hard to find a time to wash the puppy.

For two, Ryan was called back to Tiara which I posted about already. He was back for a week when he got a call from Holland Hospital for an interview. While he was laid off he was applying everywhere. A position became available at the hospital for a phlebotomist. He had the interview and a day later got the job! We were forced to make a decison to either stay with Tiara or choose Holland Hospital. The path God has been leading us down for the last couple years, the answer couldnt have been more clear. He is in training still for the next couple weeks and is exactly where he is supposed to be. He couldnt be happier and is totally in his element.

Evan also had his second MRI for his neck. The specialist determined he did not have the problem which they thought was a possibility. All in all we had a great result from that appointment, which means no surgry on his neck. We do still have to meet with a specialist on the spine to discuss his tailbone to see if he will eventually need surgry on that.

The nebulizer has already been used a multiple of times this season due to colds and sickness again. Evan was in the ED a few weeks ago because of a 105 fever. He ended up having a bad ear infection and a bad cough. Tis the season!

Hope everyone has had a good month! I will post pictures soon!

So I am like the worst blogger ever when it comes to updates. For everyone who has facebook, I am sure you already know Evan had his MRI last month and his results we pretty positive. He does not have the spinalcord issue that they thought he could have had. However...(and it always seems like in Evan's case there is a however!) He has to go back next tuesday to have another MRI done on something they saw at the bottom of his neck. They only have one image of it. What they saw was a gray image of something they werent sure what it was. He has a follow up after the MRI with his neuro sugeron for the results, and to talk possibly about his tailbone, if he will need surgry. Now that I have gone through this once, I am not as nervous about the whole sedation and everything, we just are hoping for some good news with no howevers this time!

Ryan is also back to work at Tiara..or Energetix actually. He has been back for about a week and it is going good. He got one of the better jobs at least where he isnt doing as much with the fiber glass as most of the people there. He is fortunate on that end. We have been blessed he has been called back. Now all I have to do is figure out a child care issue, and we should be all set!

I forgot to post Liv's stats as well, for whoever is intrested, but she was 20lbs 15 oz. I cant remember he height, but I know she was 50% for weight and 85% for height. Tall and skinny!

I hope everyone has a great week!

My baby is 1!

A year ago tonight, I was so nervous of what to expect on having my second child. How my life was going to change, how Evan was going to handle being a brother so young. But a year ago tomorrow, my world changed for the better. The momemnt my doctor said "you have a little girl!" I literally screamed a little scream of pure joy and the tears came pouring down. Ryan looked over at me smiling the biggest smile, "You have your little girl!" In the middle of a lot of unknown, God gave us Alivia, and we are so so blessed to have her. We love her more and more everyday, and she brings us so much happiness.

She is starting to walk on her own more and more, still on wobbly feet. She has two small tiny teeth that have just poked through. She is still lacking long flowing locks, but I know they will come. :-) Her eyes are green like mine, and my dad says she is the spitting image of me as a baby. She melts my heart even seconds after a temper tantrum, and she has her daddy wrapped around her teeny tiny fingers. Aliva Kristine, we love you so much. We are so blessed to have you as our daughter and we cant wait to watch you grow!! Love you sweetie!

August is almost half over already! On to fall my favorite time of year. (ryan's favorite time too for other reasons...hunting would be one of them!) Although, we have been extremly busy, we have found time to do some fun little things with the kids and even have finished the bathroom downstairs as well as repainted over the abnoxious blue in our basement. Ryan is finished with his last semester of Math, (EVER! other than Stats of course..) and will be starting his next semester end of August. It is so nice to be able to have this little break and not have homework that he has to worry about, and we can just spend our nights as a family together. We are getting so close to the time Ryan will be in the nursing program. We cant wait! Hopefully within the next year sometime he will get called. We will see. :-)

Our little princess is almost 1. Where did the year go? Looking back over the last year and seeing how she has grown, and all the little things she has learned to do, I cant help but be so thankful and feel so blessed for our little bug in our life. We love her so much, and cant imagine life without her.

Evan's MRI is coming up as well so I ask for prayers for that. For Evan, and for this mamma too. It makes me a little nervous knowing he will have to be put out for the procedure, but the results are what scare me the most. Please pray.

I will keep ya posted on Evan's report. Have a GREAT rest of your week! :-)

Grieving with Hope

I have never lost anyone close to me. I know there will be a day when I will. It seems the last couple months til now I have been hearing such sad stories of people who are suffering in many differnt ways. I was going through something, and not neccisarily grieving in a loss of someone, but this sermon hit me. And now, it feels more appropriate than ever on the weekend of such heartache. My best friend was sitting in the church this night. I am so glad she was there, so she could tell me about it. I encourage you to listen. I know it is long, but take the time, and listen all the way through. God whispers in so many differnt ways to differnt people.

My links isnt working so paste it into your browser. The message is called Grieving with Hope. http://www.willowcreek.org/mediaplayer/playerHome.aspx?cid=3&id=14

Scroll down to the bottom when you get to their site and click on May 2010. You will see it there.



When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Just an update for those of you who know Evan, and know about his tailbone problem. Evan has from day one been our child who has all the issues. By issues I mean medical. Between kidney appointments, helmets, middle of the night ER visits, its always something. Evan was born with a wierd tailbone/base of his spine. His spine comes all the way down to flesh basically and there is basically just skin protecting it from poking through. He is able to run, and jump and do all the things normal kids do, but if he goes down a slide too hard, or jumps and lands wrong, it causes him a lot of discomfort. He recently has been complaining more about it, so we decided to go back to his pediatrican to seek what other options we had. (Up until now, it didnt seem like much of a concern)We were refered to Helen DeVos Neurosugery. When we went today, the doctor looked at it and decided Evan needs a MRI. The problem isnt now, but it could be later. If he would hit a growth spurt and the end of the spinal cord is stretched, the result could not be a good thing. In severe cases, some kids loose feeling in there legs unexpectadly. He goes the end of August for the MRI and will be seen the next day for results. He will have to be sedated for the MRI just because he wont be able to move for 45 minutes. (Poor buddy!) I am not worried about that part. The part I am worried about is him not being able to eat all day because his appointment is at 1:00. Please pray for good results from the MRI. If there is something that is blocking the base of the spinal cord, or something pinning it down, he will need surgury. I am sure everything will be fine, but no mom likes to think of their little guy having surgry for any reason. I will keep ya posted when I know more from his MRI! Thanks!!

Seeing how it has been about a month ago since I posted last, I thought I should probably update again. We have been staying busy outside enjoying the great weather, and have taken a few small little trips away as well. Ahhh, summertime!

Toward the end of June, Ryan and I thought it would be fun to take Evan to the water fountation downtown holland. It was a hot night and thought Evan would love it. We got icecream at Coldstone, then ventured our way down there. By the time we got there, it was packed and Evan was a little hesitant but eventually ended up loving it.



Over the fourth of July we went camping with our small group. (All except the Hills! :-( We missed you guys!) We ended up at Baldwin Oaks, and actually I was pleasantly suprised with that camp group. I never was a huge camper, as I didnt grow up camping, but the pool was fantastic, and the kids had a blast. On Saturday they had pony rides and free cotton candy for the kids. It was such a nice little get away for the weekend and we had so much fun with such great friends. Looking forward to going again! Here are a few of our fun weekend.







I also was able to get out for my birthday this past weekend and head down to Chicago to visit my friend who lives there. It was such a great weekend, and much needed. We had such a good time catching up, going for dinners and shopping. So much fun! The best birthday weekend ever.

Other than vacations, not a whole lot more has been happening. Ryan is layed off again for a little while, but that was kind of expected. We will see if they get any more work by fall. We will see! Have a great weekend everyone!

A Night Away

Ryan and I will be celebrating our 5th year anniversary this July. We decided to take advantage of spring rates and we headed up to Crystal Mountain for a day/night. I highly recommend that place to anyone! It was both of our first time there and it was so much fun and SO BEAUTIFUL! One night wasnt enough, as we could have found so much more to do. When I booked our trip, I booked just a regular hotel room. When we got there, they told us they upgraded us to a one bedroom condo, ON THE GOLF COURSE! It was so nice and relaxing being away with just my hubby. Much needed, and cant wait to do it again! Here are a few of our condo. Unfortunatly we couldnt get any good ones of the two of us. Oh well.

Pictures in the Park!

Last weekend we went to Spring Grove park in Jamestown with some friends. If you ever want some awesome pictures, GO THERE! It is beautiful. I didnt get any good ones of Alivia or Evan because they were SO tierd, but we did manage a few good family pictures.

A Day At The Lake

Last weekend Ryan's parents were camping out at Gun Lake with his mom's side of the family. We decided to head down there for most of the afternoon. What a nice place! The kid had tons of fun, but were so tuckered out. Here are a few of our afternoon there.






I must explain the the little boy in his undies! If you know Evan, you know he spends most of his day running around in just his undies, so he had no problem with this. We of course forgot the bag with all the swimsuits, extra clothes, ect...so this is what he wore swimming. Lol. Kinda funny because that is so up Evan's alley.

Livvy Bug

My little Livvy bug is now 9 months old..crawling everywhere, walking around furniture, saying mamma and dadda, ball and her own little version of "Evan." She is getting to be a little stinker too. She is a total diva, and loves to turn on the attitude when she doesnt get what she wants. She is a typical little girl in every way. She adores her big brother and follows him wherever he goes. Our little Livvy bug, we love you so much. You bring us so much joy everyday and we are so blessed to be able to call ourselves your parents. We cant wait to see what God has in store for you. We love you sweetheart!

Pictures are here!

Here are a few recents of our Livvy bug. She sure is a stinker lately! She is into everything, crawling...pulling herself up, and she absolutly loves getting into her brothers toys. Oh sibbling rivalry...:-) And its only the begining!









Evan playing outside in his cozy coupe...or he calls it, his van.




My little sweeties







Our weekend away to Cabela's/Splash Universe











Tulip Time 2010