Life in Michigan

I am sure that all of my loyal readers are wondering how we are doing now that we are in Michigan!  It has been quite a busy week and a half, but we are feeling mostly settled and getting more comfortable with our surroundings.

On Thursday the 5th, we picked up our UHaul and started getting it loaded up.  We have a lot of crap!!!!!!!


We obviously put this guy to work!

Then in the evening, our wonderful friends came over and helped us move the big stuff and get the UHaul loaded to the brim (literally, there was NO MORE ROOM and we had to leave some things behind!).

Not the pic I intended to upload, but whatever.  What a great group of friends!
 

On Friday morning, we did our last bit of packing and cleaning and were on the road for MI about noon.  Adam drove the UHaul pulling his work car on a trailer, while I drove the Durango with the boy and dog.

Watching the world go by.
 

Not watching the world go by.

We made a stop for the night in Lansing, IL and then finished our trek on Saturday.  We had 3 hired movers and 3 of my wonderful cousins here to meet us, and we got things moved in and settled relatively quickly!  We are so glad we ended up hiring some guys-- they got ALL of our heavy furniture up into our 2nd floor apartment!  My parents also came later in the day Saturday and helped us get settled and also helped us get the majority of our treasured possessions (aka crap) put into storage.  We are so thankful for all the help we received with both loading and unloading!!

So the rest of this week Adam has been working, and J and I have been doing some things and getting ourselves acquainted with this area.  We FINALLY got cable and internet hooked up on Wednesday, so that has been very nice (watching our only channel, FOX, for 4 days straight was more than we could take!).

Monday J and I went and had a picnic lunch at a nice little park on Laka Macatawa-- Kollen Park.  It was a gorgeous day!

He could get used to this.

 Tuesday we didn't do anything too special.  I have gotten set up with a new OB/GYN here in MI (cause I'm 22 weeks pregnant!  With how crazy and busy things have been, I sometimes forget!), so I had my first appointment at my new office, just with the nurse.  My first official appointment with the doctor will be in a week and a half.  So J came along with me to that appointment, and then we met up with Daddy for lunch.  So nice that we can do that again!

Wednesday, we had a special day- our friends from Iowa, Kim and Ruby, were in MI visiting Kim's in-laws, so we got to hang out with them for the morning!  It was SO NICE seeing friends from home!!!!  J and Ruby had a blast at Crazy Bounce, and maybe Kim and I did, too. :)

Lots of blurry pictures!

 We ended our morning at Starbucks, of course!!

Aren't they the cutest couple?  J is obviosly trying to impress Ruby here.

 And in the evening, Kim even offered to watch J for us so we could have a date night-- how awesome is that????  So she took J and Ruby for a Mcdonald's date and back to her in-law's farm (not a house, I am reminded by J-- a FARM), and Adam and I enjoyed a picnic dinner and out for ice cream.  So nice!!!!

Thursday was cool and cloudy, but J and I wanted to get out and do something, so I did some googling, and we ended up at the Critter Barn in Zeeland for a couple hours.  J loved feeding the goats and seeing all the animals-- we will definitely go back again for a longer day there now that we know about it!

Fire boots are the appropriate footwear at a farm.

He LOVED petting these little bunnies!

Feeding the goats!

 Kim gave us a tip that on Thursday evenings they have street performers in downtown Holland, and all the little shops are open late.  So, we decided to check that out!  It was very cool!!

Watching the acrobats.

Balloon sword= happy boy.

 Friday again was a day of nothing much-- a trip to the bank and Meijer and Mcdonald's for lunch (I do not know what it is, but why do the days seem to go so much faster in the Eastern Time Zone?  Sheesh!  Feels like we just get going for the day and then it's already 1:00!  Hence the stop at McD's for lunch-- Momma, baby, and big boy were all hungry!!).

We gave Biggby Coffee a try this weekend-- we all give it a thumbs-up!  :)

Who wouldn't love a cup of whip with sprinkles?!?!?

 And today after visiting a church here in Holland, we headed for the beach for a few hours.  I really do think J would play there all day!!  And he loves splashing around in that freezing cold water!

Daddy and J

(Can't forget to mention what a great daddy Adam is-- Happy Father's day one more time!!  We love you!)

And now that things have settled down a bit, it's time to shake things up again!  Tomorrow we are off to Chicago for a week for my sister's wedding on Saturday.  So exciting!!  So stay tuned for an update and pics of the absolute cutest ring-bearer EVER (and the bride and groom and everyone else, too).  :)

Saying Good-Bye to Iowa

I can't believe it's actually time to say good-bye.  Ankeny is actually the place I have lived the longest since growing up in California!  Crazy!  5 years in MI for college, 4 years in Chicago, 2 years in Sioux City.... and 6 years in Ankeny.  We have definitely put down roots here and that makes it so hard to leave and say good-bye.  We are leaving so much behind!

This house. 

Our little twinhome, half a house, really!  But it was our first home, the first house we bought.  We have been through a LOT in this home!  We brought home our puppy, and later our first baby!  Went through the sorrow of a miscarriage.  We have been through many ups and downs, joy, pain, excitement, struggles.... all of it here in this house.  Sure, there were things that annoyed us about it, but we love this little house and will miss it so much!!

Our church.

Where Jeremiah was baptized. Where we worked in nursery, taught Sunday School, ushered, tried to get involved.  Where we met wonderful people and amazing friends!  Finding a church is hard, and I don't look forward to that search in a new place.  After having a church where we "fit," it's going to be hard to find that again (but I know we will.... it will just take time)!

Speaking of amazing friends.

Our small group and friends we met at church.  Good friends are so hard to find!!  We started as a group of 6 couples and only 1 child-- we expanded to 8 couples and, um..... like 12+ kids between us.  We played summer volleyball (when we were young and kid-free!), had BBQ's, prayed together, studied the Bible together, laughed together (a LOT), our kids have become friends.... this is not something easily found either!  We will miss this group of people so much!  They have been along with us on our ride of ups and downs and have prayed for us and supported us.  Love you guys so much!!!

Shell's House.

1st Day at Shell's house!  6 months old.

End of Pre-School picnic, last time at Shell's house. 4 years old.

Best buddies!!!

J's home away from home, J's second family!  So hard to say to good-bye Michelle--the person who has lovingly cared for our son for the past 4 years!  And J and his buddy Grady-- they are 2 peas in a pod and will miss each other so much.  They love each other and pretty much act like brothers!  They will be lost without each other, and that makes me so sad.  From their early days of being the pacifier boys, to playing with Legos and trucks-- these 2 have been through it all together!  Such a precious friendship they have.  I know for a fact we will never find a childcare provider as good as Michelle!!!  Thankfully, I know we will stay in touch.  These boys will be having playdates via Skype! :)

And my school.  Oh, I may have complained from time to time about politics or rules or how things go.... but United Community School is the school where I have taught the longest-- 6 years!  I know the routines, the curricula, the kids, the families, the teachers and staff.  I will miss this school a lot, especially my co-workers and the kids.  On Friday, I got to watch my first class of 1st graders at this school graduate from 6th grade!  I saw one class go all the way through the school.  United is a unique and special school (no other school I have taught at has a tall grass prairie and outdoor classroom!).  I know, that if I teach next year or the year after, I will not find a school like United.

At United, I know how things go.  I know people, I know the routines, I know the traditions.  The thought of starting over at a new school (if that's what I end up doing) is not appealing at all!  However, I have done it before, and I know I can do it again.  It's just sad.

12 years worth of teaching, in boxes.  Sad.

It is hard to leave all of this.  It's especially hard to leave all of these wonderful things, places, people...  (plus more than I even mentioned here) when we are going to a place with a lot of unknowns right now.  Things will fall into place, I know.  But leaving a place where everything is ALREADY in place..... it's hard.

Have I mentioned that this is hard?!?!?  I have shed my share of tears over the past few days, but honestly I don't think this has fully hit me yet.  Maybe when I don't kwhen we unload in Michigan?  I don't know. 

But don't get me wrong, there IS excitement in going to a new place (and also having our family together again after 6 months!), and seeing what God has in store for us in Michigan.  I just pray that God will guide us and help us to do His will as we make this move (and go from a family of 3 to a family of 4....!!!!)!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a busy and fun Memorial Weekend that included lots of traveling, family, and fun!  It certainly put us into "summer mode", maybe a week too early!

J and I started off the weekend on Friday morning with my Dr. appointment and anatomy scan ultrasound.  It was fun having J there with me-- he got excited when he recognized a baby on the screen and did an excited gasp when the tech told him that he is going to have a SISTER! :)  Just what he wanted!

"No more pictures, please!"

There she is

The Dr. appointment involved quite a bit of waiting, of course.  J did pretty well!  He waited until about half-way through the ultrasound before he said, "*SIGH* I'm bored!"

Trying to not be bored.

After my Dr. appointment, we hit the road for Michigan!  The couple times I have traveled alone with J to MI or WI, I have been quite impressed-- he is a good traveler!  And I am so thankful for that.  Yes, he watches several movies on the DVD player, but hey, it won't kill him!  We had to get a new DVD player on our last trip to MI because our other one died or was frozen in the freezing cold car overnight, and the new one we got has a remote.  Being a big 4 year old, J can now do "menu," "play," "stop," and "pause" all by himself- score!

We always have to make a stop at the I-80 Truckstop ("the world's greatest truckstop" according to J!).

The reason J likes to stop here!

We arrived in Grand Haven about 7 pm (I think), in time for a delicious dinner at Uncle Tony and Aunt Jeane's house.  Then it was off to bed-- tired after our day of traveling!

Saturday my aunts held a bridal shower for my sister Abby, who is getting married on June 21 in Chicago!  So exciting!!!!  The shower was so nice-- I was able to see a lot of aunts and cousins I have not seen in awhile.  And we got to celebrate Abby and Neil and their upcoming wedding and marriage! :)

Sisters!  Twins!  No, just kidding, I'm 6 years older-- can't you tell?

Saturday evening, a bunch of the family headed to Fricano's for pizza.  YUM!  Since J is kind of a Pizza Ranch snob and Fricano's super thin crust pizza is a little different, I wasn't sure how he'd like it.  However, he quickly gobbled up 3 slices!

I love pizza!!!

And after pizza, we just had to head to Temptations down by the waterfront for ice cream!

Blue Moon was obviously this guy's choice!

Sunday morning, we woke up and hit Tim Hortons for breakfast (hey Michigan people-- not sure what all the fuss is about with that place?!?!?  Not that great, in my opinion) and then we drove down to Holland to get a look at our new temporary living place-- the Spring Brook Apartments.  They are nice enough and will make due for 3-4 months, but we will be eager to get into a house!!!

In the afternoon, the weather was just gorgeous.  We went back to the cottage and made sandwiches, then took them down to the beach and ate lunch.  It was the perfect afternoon!  I do believe that J would spend all day every day on the beach, if he was given the choice-- he had SO much fun!

The water was numbingly FRIGID, but he somehow didn't mind?!?!?

Building (and smashing) sand castles with Daddy.

My cousin Bethany came down and played with J for awhile and also took him down to the beach again later in the evening.  She is his new best friend!

We enjoyed a steak dinner at Uncle Tony and Aunt Jeane's house that evening and ended the day with this gorgeous sunset!

Beautiful.

Monday morning we pretty much woke up, packed up, and hit the road for Iowa.  We made it back safely about 6:00 pm.

And now here we are-- tomorrow is my last day of school, and J's last day at Shell's house.  I don't think I'm ready!!!  How did this day get here so quickly, yet also took forever to get here?!?!?!  Crazy.  We have a lot of packing to do, cleaning to do, and good-byes to say.  Cue the tears for this pregnant lady!! :(

May So Far

Our busy spring continues, and it feels like time is speeding up and our time here in Iowa is going to be done much too quickly!  When we started this whole deal in December, the end seemed SO FAR away, and now that it is almost here, I can hardly believe it and am not sure I am ready!!

We are enjoying spring weather, and it is so nice that Adam does not have to worry so much about weather when he is traveling back and forth!

The first mow of the year!  May have been late April, but a big event like this should be documented!

Our neighborhood has both an ice cream truck AND a Kona shaved ice truck that come by regularly...

Where do I buy one of these trucks?

J is definitely a fan of the shaved ice!

The first weekend in May, we hit both the opening day at the Des Moines Farmer's Market (we will miss that!!!!) and Pella's Tulip Time!

J absolutely LOVES going to the farmer's market!

Tulip Time was nice-- we drove through rain all the way there, but after our first stop at the Mexican restaurant for dinner (our tradition) it cleared up nicely and was sunny the rest of the evening!

Our Dutch boy.

The main attraction for J was not the tulips (or "betunias" as he kept calling them), it was all the tractors!  We looked at tractors for a long time.

Last week we also had a day that hit 90 degrees!  We loved it!!

I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend!  J has apparently become very good on the computer or something, because he had 2 dozen roses delivered to me at school on Friday (or maybe he had help from Daddy?).  It made my day!!! :)

Then Friday afternoon I got to enjoy a lovely Mother's Day Tea with my boy at Michelle's house.  She does this every year, and I love it!  I'm so sad this was my last one. :(

We read a cute story and then had yummy snacks (J especially enjoyed the chocolate cookies and chocolate donuts!), and then we made a cute craft together!  It was such a fun time with Jeremiah (and also his daycare friends and their moms!)!  And of course, there were gifts!

The little candle to J's right is the craft we made together. :)  And there was a nice card, plus inside the jar is a beautiful apron painted by J!

The inside of the card:

4 out of 5 things he loves about me have to do with food/TV/being lazy..... hmmm.

J wanted to take a pic of me modeling my brand new apron-- isn't it so cute?!?!

Let's go ahead and count this as my 17 week baby bump pic, too. :)

Sunday we had a very nice, relaxing day.  J and I got to spend quality time together, as usual, after Daddy left for Michigan.  After rain in the morning, it turned into a nice day and J was able to get some good sandbox time in.

And then J wanted to get the vacuum out, and who am I to argue with that?

Figured if he was going to push it around, I might as well plug it in!

It's hard to believe we only have a few weeks left here!  For those of you who are interested, we have found a place to live so at least we have somewhere to go now.  We will be renting an apartment in Holland for probably at least the first 3 months, so we can try to settle in, get to know the area, and look at houses together (that will be so much easier when we are all in MI!!).  Any friends in Iowa, we will be loading up on June 5ish, so we'd love to have anyone and everyone over for pizza that day/night!  We may ask you to load a box or 2 while you are here. :)  And friends/family in Michigan, we will be unloading probably June 6 or 7, and we'd love to have you all over for pizza, too (and move a box or 2)!  Oh, by the way, anyone have boxes?????  We need them!

Not real sure what my job situation will be next year.  I have started the process of renewing my old, expired MI teaching certificate, so at least that should be in place in the next month or so.  There have been very few job openings posted on any district sites I have seen, so I have not been applying much yet (which is understandable, as contracts have not been given out at my current school yet, either).  I am afraid that I am not the most desirable hire, though, for these school districts-- there are so many colleges/universities around and if you think about it-- in thinking about $ (which most districts do...), who would they rather hire?  A new (cheap) college grad?  Or me, who has been teaching for 12 years AND will be 7 months pregnant at the start of the school year and will be taking maternity leave for 8 weeks (at the least) in October?  Anyway, those are just my thoughts, and I could totally be proven wrong, too.  I will probably apply and see what happens, but most importantly we want to do what we believe God wants us to do.

Busy Spring!

Well spring is here, and it is proving to be quite a busy one for our family!  I don't expect things to slow down much until June.... wait no, probably July.

One of the things that actually made life a little LESS crazy busy is that we accepted an offer on our house!  That was really a relief, as doing the house-showings was really starting to wear on me with a 4 year old and in the 1st trimester of pregnancy!  Whew!  So we were extremely happy to get a very good offer with a closing date of June 10, which fits perfectly with our timeline.

A beautiful sight.... except this means things are getting real!

We have thankfully been enjoying spring weather lately, and grass is turning green and the trees are starting to bud and grow leaves.  So happy to see these signs of spring!  Last weekend we actually hit the mid-80s, so we grilled burgers for the first time this year, AND we figured that deserved our first trip of the year to Van Dee's for ice cream.  We will miss that place!!!!

Who wouldn't love an ice cram cone with candy eye-balls?

I decided maybe I should actually document some things regarding this pregnancy, seeing as I didn't do much when I was pregnant with J.  So here is my first official "bump" picture:

I got all dressed up in my yoga pants and t-shirt for the occasion.

Adam was struggling to take a non-blurry pic, big bro wanted to be included, lighting was weird.... so all around not a very good pic at all.  But, it's documented!  See, Baby #2, we WILL take pictures of you!!!

I was 13 weeks in that picture, and that was last week, so I am now 14 weeks and entering the 2nd trimester.  Yippeee!  I feel like the nausea and exhaustion are already subsiding a bit (a BIT, I said,  not completely...).  According to my weekly reading on whattoexpect.com, baby is currently the size of a clenched fist and growing hair!  I am eager for my next Dr. appointment which is this Friday.

We had a nice visit this past week from my parents-- they were on their way back to Wisconsin after a month-long stay in California, so we were a nice overnight stopping point for them.  And it was timed perfectly because they were able to hang out with Jeremiah on Friday while I had professional development.

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma!

Yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful day, and an Easter Egg Hunt at a park here in Ankeny.  It was put on by the church that our daycare provider goes to, and J was so excited to go to the egg hunt with his best buddy, Grady!

Ready to hunt!

Found one!

He's got a good lead on this little girl!  Go J!

Slowing down a bit...

Showing off his candy stash!

Enjoying a snack and conversation with his best buddy, Grady!

And it's a good thing we enjoyed some Easter fun yesterday, because this has been the extent of our Easter holiday today:

Poor buddy.  He actually had been complaining off and on since Thursday evening of his tummy hurting, but was acting totally normal!  So like good parents, we kind of ignored that.  But about 4 am this morning it was for real-- he threw up, and then again about 10:30 am.  So, no Easter church service for us, and he barely had the energy to search for his Easter basket, poor guy!  He just woke up from a 2+ hour nap and seems to be perking up a bit, so hopefully he's on the mend!  He just enjoyed a popsicle and is begging to go outside and play with the new sidewalk chalk from his Easter basket, so those are good signs. :)  Hope everyone else was able to enjoy a blessed Easter!

In case you didn't know...

There has been more (much more!) going on in our loves than Spring Break 2014, which was my last post.  For any of you who may not be my Facebook friend, here is what else has been going on:

Yep, I'm pregnant!  About 11 weeks 3 days, as of right now.  Jeremiah is going to be a big brother!  I still can't believe I am actually able to say that!

J is pretty excited about his upcoming role, and even has said that he would like a baby sister (!!!!).  Crazy.  He also seems to be pretty aware, more so than I figured a 4 year old would be, but then again, he's not your average 4 year old. :)

A conversation we had as I was putting him to bed over the weekend:
J: Mommy, is that baby still in your tummy?
Me:  Yep, it's still there.
J: Well, when is it going to come out?
Me: It is going to grow and grow and mommy's tummy is going to get bigger and bigger and then it will come out.
J:  How will it come out?
Me: (Silence)
Me: Um, well, you know how when we go downtown we drive by the hospital where we got you?  We will go to a hospital and get this baby, too. (How's that for random and totally avoiding the question?)
J: Well, do they cut off your stomach and then take the baby out?
Me: (Silence)
Me: Ummmmmm..... I guess we'll see. (?????  What the heck do you say to that?  And where did he get THAT idea from?!?!?!)

And another one from today:
J: Mommy, why are you not feeling good?
Me: Well, when mommy's have a baby in their tummy it can make them not feel good for awhile.
J:  Is it the one in there right now?
Me: Yeah.
J: Well, how did that baby climb inside your tummy?
Me: I don't know.
(I'm sure I should have had much better answers to these questions prepared, but I honestly didn't think we'd ever be in this situation!  So for now he gets a lot of pauses and vague answers....)

I am sure there will be many more questions in the coming months.  Let's just hope they happen on weekends when Daddy is home.

I have been feeling tired, sick, etc just like you would expect for the 1st trimester.  I'm not going to lie.  Being a single-mom during the week, being a full-time teacher, having the house ready for showings most evenings (which involves the normal tidying up plus chasing after the 4 year old and putting away anything he takes out... plus then having to be gone for a few hours in the evenings when all I want to do is lay on the couch....), PLUS being in the 1st trimester of pregnancy with nausea and exhaustion, etc.... it is HARD.  I thought it was hard before I was pregnant!  Whew!  Most nights after I get J ready for bed, I get things ready for the next day and then just head to bed myself!  I've also been late to school more often than I should, but it is just SO hard to get going at 5:30 am!  I do feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, and I am hoping that the nausea/tiredness will stop soon after I hit the 2nd trimester in a few weeks.

Don't get me wrong, though.  I am NOT complaining about my pregnancy symptoms!  It sounded like it, but I wasn't. :)  And why not?  Because they help me to know that I AM pregnant and things are going the way they should.  I was honestly relieved when, at 6 weeks, I started having food aversions and nausea.  Because the last pregnancy I experienced ended in a miscarriage.  And my worst fear was that I would have to go through that again.  And I never had any "symptoms" at all with that one, so I was praying that this one would be different-- and it certainly has been, thankfully.

I feel like when I was pregnant with Jeremiah, I was naive.  Not that I didn't KNOW that miscarriage was possible, I mean, everyone knows it's possible.  And not even just possible, but very common!  I did know that, and I guess I was a little nervous during that 1st trimester, but I didn't really think it was going to happen to me, and it didn't.  Then with the 2nd pregnancy, I also did know about the possibility of miscarriage, but again, "didn't really think that would happen to me."  And then it did.  And I knew that if God ever blessed us with another pregnancy, I would be so scared that 1st trimester.  Because I would be terrified it would happen again!  And I was.  It was so scary!  I am thankful for a Dr's office that allowed me to come in for several bloodtests and ultrasounds before my first real OB appt, so I could have peace of mind.  That's hard when all you have are your own thoughts/worries and Google.  I wish Google had never been invented!

Anyway, all of this to say, we are absolutely thrilled to be expecting another baby.  We were not sure it would ever happen again, but also believe wholeheartedly in God's plan and his perfect timing.  We also know that this isn't a given and we are not out of the woods yet.  But again, we trust in God and his plan.

I have to say how absolutely AMAZING it is to see the development of a baby.  I had an ultrasound at 5 weeks-ish and there was really nothing visible there that looked or even remotely resembled a baby (but I still had peace of mind because everything looked as it should at that gestation!).  Then at 7 weeks there was a visible heartbeat (AMAZING!).  Then at 8.5 weeks, there was a little tiny big-headed bean.  And then WOW,  at almost 11 weeks to see teeny tiny arms flailing around and watching the baby turn and twist?!?!?!? (And also to have the ultrasound tech guess at the gender... "and she's usually right").  I don't even have words to describe how awesome!  God is good!