Merry Christmas to all! True to form, we've been crazy busy...too busy for blogging! We had a groundbreaking ceremony for Josh Shelly's new land this weekend which was amazing. It was great to see them both so amped up. It was my birthday today and my husband treated me to a new refigerator and stove (on a payment plan of course!!!!) Our old ones were on their last leg (and have been since 1980!!!). A bunch of girlfriends took me out for dinner which was just so refreshing- ya know, adult conversation. All of my students sang Happy Birthday to me which was so sweet. Then one of the boys asked me how old I was....when I answered his reply was an astonished, "That's how old MY mom is!" I could've died. Anywho...

There are many pictures here for your enjoyment. Some are from our trip to Amanda and Brendon's, some are of our Halloween celebration, some are of Emmy with Piper (who we sold to someone who wanted to deal with his potty training issues!), and the last are of the Grand Rapids Santa Claus parade which Elijah participated in with his karate class. My favorite picture is of Elijah holding his favorite person- Ephram. He has really taken to his as of late and it just makes me proud!
As a side note- to those of you who typically receive our Christmas picture, sorry! Time got away from us this year and it just didn't happen- oh well! Hopefully next year!

Hello again!

Yup- it's been 2 months and I know it! I even spoke the words "think I'm done bloggin'' to my sis. Obviously, I changed my mind. (One of my more annoying character traits....) Since my last post, things have been busy, busy, busy. I contracted a lovely case of mononucleosis that's been mysteriously passing around our church- ha ha. Let me just tell you, you DO NOT want this virus. It has seriously kicked my butt. I still don't feel like myself and it's been almost 3 months- ugh.(Needless to say most of the time I'm too tired at night to blog!) I also went back to work and the kids went back to school. I've really enjoyed my job this year and LOVE the new teacher I'm working with. I think we may actually have a choir we can take to state in the near future!!! Elijah is in 3rd grade, Emmy is in 1st, and Zeke started 3 yr. old preschool. Just writing "3rd grade" makes me feel old! How quickly my little boy is turning into a little man - I noticed how often he's absent in my most recent set of pictures; he's been hanging with Dad all fall at the local bar and grill watching OSU and the Indians and generally just being Jason's mini-me. He just wrote an article for school called "Why I Want to be a Pastor"... Gosh is he cute!!! Emmy learned how to ride a two-wheeler and FLYING through piano lessons. She is quite the little musical whiz and is already sightreading, playing with two hands, singing along when she plays.... They both make us so proud. Zeke is LOVING school and having fun hanging with JUST mom in the afternoons. He also has a new little mandolin he plays all the time- he even dances while he plays it- KILLER cute.
We also continue to do our best to help out Josh and Shelly as often as possible. I spend a couple days a week helping Shelly with the kids and whatever else she needs. I think it goes without saying that this is by far the biggest part of our life and we are all still trying to figure out what our roles need to be and how we can best help eachother. I won't reiterate all that's going on with them since I'm sure most of you read their blog religiously!!!
I've posted some pics of our last couple months - the first are from my good friend Carrie's wedding. She married Alex Lopez in a beautiful ceremony this August. The next are Zeke's first day of school and Emmy on her bike without training wheels. The rest are of our day on Saturday at the local pumpkin patch. Hope you all enjoy the pics of Ephram- he is REALLY getting chunky and full of spunk- what a little blessing he is!!!

Pray for Bryson

Hello blogger friends. I am writing you all with an urgent prayer request. Some of you know the Hummel and Osbourne families. Jason's parents are best friends with Charlie and Sue Osbourne and Jay grew up like a brother to all the Osbourne kids. Last night Jay's mom called crying asking us to pray for Bryson. Bryson is Nicole(Osbourne) and Beau Hummel's oldest child. He was badly injured last night in an accident with a lawn mower. Without going into too many details, he lost his leg above the knee. He is just a little 4 year old boy and he desperately needs our prayers, as do his parents, grandparents and younger siblings. He is currently at Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio and I'm sure will be there for some time to come. JoEllen Hummel (Bryson's aunt) has current updates on her blog- hummelnest.blogspot.com. Please check them and encourage all you know to PRAY!!!!!! Thank you all.

Daddy Update

Thanks so much for your prayers! My dad is home and feeling good. He had a stress test yesterday and there wasn't anymore damage to his heart; it just showed the damage from the heart attack in January. They gave him the option of having a heart cath to see if he needed a stint and decided not to. The doctor said there was more risk in the surgery than not. So he is at home with strict instructions to figure out some good stress management! We all feel blessed to have him with us and pray for MANY more healthy years! Thanks again!

Prayer for Dad

Hey y'all. Just a quick post to ask for prayer. While Jason and I were in Chicago yesterday for Carrie Lindberg's wedding, I called my parent's house to check on my kiddos. My dad answered the phone and said he was having chest pains. He was home alone with my 3 kids while my mom was at Daybreak Church with Josh and Shelly. Of course, Mom's cell phone was broken and Shelly was running some errands during the second service. I finally got a hold of Shelly who did some quick thinking and sent a girlfriend of our over to Mom and Dad's. Dad drove himself to the hospital (after MUCH stubborn argument!!!) and my Mom met him there. Right now it looks like he's had another minor heart attack. (The first being when we were in Miami with Josh.) He is having a stress test right now which will tell the doctors what kinds of surgery he will need, if any. Please pray the doctors will know what to do and the solution will keep him healthy for many years to come!!!

Trip to April's

I count myself privileged to have two best friends. My mom always has fun teasing me when I say "my best friend...."; like I'm still in junior high! But it really is true. Amanda Aspenson and April Abbonizio have been my closest friends since I was 11. I met them both at Hastings camp- I met April when I was 11 and Amanda when I was 12. Here I am 32 years old and they are as close today as they were 20 years ago. I thank God everyday (well....almost!) for blessing me with such women as these.
So....this trip was to April's. She is married to a great man (Mike) and they have two girls, Audrey and Avery. Audrey and Emmy were born only days apart and even have the same haircut. They live in St. Louis, so Emmy and I took a road trip and spent the week at their house. We spent lots of time in their pool and even took the girls to Six Flags where Emmy had her first roller coaster ride. What an experience! April and I took an evening for just the mom's and went to the Cheesecake Factory and by 9:30 were out of things to do (I know, pathetic!!). We came home to find Mike and the girls STILL splashing in the pool so we decided to get in with them! It was so great to watch our girls bond and become friends just like their moms. They played horse and owner for longer than we thought humanly possible. Too cute. I realized there aren't any pictures of baby Avery, but trust me, she's a beauty! P.S THERE ARE MULTIPLE POSTS!!!! I couldn't get them to load backwards- so today starts from the post "Back in action" and ends with "trip to April's". Hope that makes sense!!!

Hilton Head July 2007

Our biggest trip this summer was to Hilton Head, SC with Jason's whole family. It really couldn't have gone any better. The kids were angelic the whole trip there and back (even WITHOUT Benadryl!) The house Marsha rented for the week was a mansion-really, no exaggeration. We spent many hours on the beach and in the pool. We took a day trip to Savannah, GA that was unforgettable. We took a trolley ride all around Savannah and then ate at Paula Dean's restaurant Lady and Sons. On July 4th we took the kids to the Hilton Head fireworks and Zeke entertained us with his adorable dancing-he can be such a little clown. We also took a day to explore the island and even saw a baby alligator. My favorite memory of the trip was of Jay and Elijah. We woke up one morning to something akin to a monsoon. Jason got it in his head to take a run with Elijah in the middle of it. They had a blast! There are a couple pictures of them coming back to the house totally soaked!!! It was an all around fun, relaxing, and memorable trip. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Emmy graduates!

I know I'm seriously behind the 8 ball with this one, but I wanted to add some pictures of Emmy's kindergarten graduation. She looked absolutely beautiful this day and I was so proud to be her mom. The ceremony was awesome and I felt privileged have my kids at the Potter's House-it's our little utopia. So Emmy will be a big 1st grader next year and gone all day every day. It'll be just Zeke and me... WEIRD!!

Back in action!

Hello bloggers! Where have I been you ask? Well, for the better part of July I was traveling around the good ol' US of A. It's great to be back home and settled into our normal routine...well, as normal as it gets here in the Grate house. I'll be posting a few separate posts about our summer so don't forget to scroll down to see it all! More importantly, though, for those of you don't check my sister's blog (I know you're few and far between!), I have a good friend you needs prayer. Jason, Tiffany, and Hannah are a family who've been with us since the start of Greenhouse and have close friends through it all. They recently adopted a little boy named Isaac who was born at 24 weeks. Strangely enough, he is in the same NICU as our friends Burke and JoEllen's triplets! They will be staying in Canton, OH until Isaac is stable enough to transport back here to GR. JoEllen also has a link to their blog on her site (thanks Jo!) Their blog address is tiffanyandjason.blogspot.com and I have a link on my sidebar since I'm too computer illiterate to add it here! Don't forget to see the posts below!

Check out Kelley's blog!

Just a note to let you all know my sis-in-law is not a slacker! She has tons of great pics of our family on vacation that I thought you'd all like to see. We spent last week in Hilton Head, SC with Jason's whole family. I will post soon with more pictures, but until then, click on Kelley Grate on my sidebar to see my cute kids!

Spring 2007

I'd love to post about all the millions of pictures posted in the new slide show....but honestly, I'm just too darned tired from uploading them all! Hope you enjoy them and I'll post a new blog with actual words as soon as possible! Love to all our blogging friends and family. Don't forget to comment all my stalking friends..(you know who you are!!! :)))

Just a quick note to let y'all know I've not yet abandoned Bloggerland. I was talking to my sis-in-law Kelley and I think she was a bit concerned :-). Truly, I've not had the energy to summon for posting. I know, horribly lame excuse. But it's just true. Also- I continue to read everyone's posts, but am unable to comment. Why you ask? I've been using my mom's old laptop which she dumped an entire cup of coffee on. Need I say more? The letter L is permanently non-functioning and as this letter is required for all of my sign-ins, no comments from me! I know, so sad.... I'll continue to read and hopefully post again some day soon with LOADS of pictures of our insane life. Love you all and keep praying for our little family, I know you are.

Six Years Old!!!

My precious baby girl is an astounding six years old today! How things have changed since that day. She was born on a warm March day in Mishawaka IN. She had a pretty rough start. Her due date was March 23rd so she was a bit early. When she was born they did a bit of testing and said my due date was probably wrong and she was at the very most 36 wks. She struggled to breathe the first 24 hours and wasn't allowed in our room. She rebounded pretty quickly though and came home with us on time and healthy. Then at 4 weeks she caught RSV. This was our family's first foray into tragedy. When a baby is premature and contracts this infection it can be deadly. It started innocently enough at first- a slight cough, runny nose, cold symptoms. I had known what to look for though and immediately took her to the ER, thank God. I thought they would send us home, but her blood oxygen level was so low they admitted her right away. By the next morning, she was barely clinging to life. The hospital we were in could NOT help her and she continued to get sicker by the minute. Finally they decided to air lift her to Riley's in Indy. What a nightmare. We couldn't fly with her so we drove to Indy. Torture! Seeing your precious baby that sick was something I WASN"T prepared for. Funny to think back now, though on my optimism. I never felt even for a moment that she might actually die. Sadly, if something like that were to happen to us now, I'm sure I'd be expecting the worst. Praise God, she eventually got better. It took a good week for her to turn the corner, but she did!!! Funny thing- she's by far our healthiest child now! And what a treasure she is to us. A blessing beyond compare. I mean, just look at that sweet face. Every birthday means so much more to me now since losing Ava. I also admit to feeling a bit guilty celebrating them when my sister has lost so very much. I'm sure she'd call me crazy- but the feeling is there just the same.
Well...my husband is about to steal the computer for work, so I must wrap up. Love to you all.

What to write...???

The title of this post is the obvious reason for my long blogging absence. If my mom is reading this, she's probably a bit confused. I've stated with my typical fervor many times in the past month that I was "DONE BLOGGING!!" So, why the change of heart? Well, the answer is the same to most of my questions recently, "I don't know."
If I'm being 100% honest, though, I do know. This group of friends has become something of a prayer anchor for many of us, me included. Seeing the response from people who just saw the requests from JoEllen and many others has been overwhelming. So, for this reason, and hopefully as time goes by, many other reasons, I will continue to post my thoughts.
To say our life has changed since Jan. 18 would be the grossest of understatements. How does one even begin to understand the implications of what has happened to our family? Simply, you don't. Each hour is taken as a new step, and moving anywhere past the next hour is impossible. Seeing my sister and husband's emotions during this time has been nothing short of heartwrenching. Yesterday Shelly was having a stressful morning and I said,"What can I do to help?" Without taking a breath she answered, "Make everthing like it was before January 18th. Oh, you can't. So...I guess nothing." I don't say this to make any of you think my sister isn't coping...she is- in the most admirable of fashions...but there are some very overwhelming times.
Over the past weeks I've felt confused, angry, beat up, tired, stressed, overwhelmed, happy, thankful, confused (oh...I said that already) and so on. I've found myself negative and cynical and unable to get away from myself. So on Friday on adive from my wise mother, I went out and bought Avalon's recording of hymns. They redid "Total Praise", and song based on Ps. 121. To say this opened my eyes would once again be a gross understatement. At the foundation of life is THIS- "YOUR peace you give me, in time of the storm...". Without the wisdom to look upward to Jesus, I will continue to feel cynical, negative and confused. Please pray that I am able to let Him chip away the hardness of my heart and let Him soften me.
I KNOW that you are continuing to hold up Josh, Shelly, Noah, Zoe and Ephram in your prayers. Please continue to do so through the next days, months and years as life will continue to be complicated and somewhat uncertain. We are daily seeing the power of your prayers and are overwhelmed by the love of SO MANY people!! I've attached a few pictures, since I'm incapable of posting without something visual. The photos are of the kids sledding before Josh's accident; our house during a snow storm after returning from Miami, and Zeke hiding in the fort he made in the living room today. Enjoy!! P.S.- Little man Zeke is FINALLY potty trained!!! (We think.....:-)

Our Christmas Vacation!

Finally! I know, I know, what took ya so long??? Trying to find a less time consuming way to post 50 some odd pictures took some time. I officially took too many pictures, and so many turned out cute I just had to post them! A quick synopsis of our Christmas- The weeked before break we went down to Indiana for our annual Christmas party with Brendon and Amanda Aspenson. Micah and Lisa Kephart, Josh and Shelly, Aspenson's, and us.....yup- pretty fun. Micah and Lisa were absent this year because little Caedmon still needs his mommy! They were missed! That Sat. we drove down to Marion to celebrate Elijah's birthday with Jay's family. His Pirates of the Caribbean party was a smash hit, thanks Kel!
The week of Christmas break we took of on Thurs. to head to Marion OH for Chrismas with Jason's fam. Sorry- no pics from this event, Kelly took them all and they're posted on her blog! On Christmas Eve, we loaded up in the car and headed down to FL! It really was a great trip. The kids were angels and it was fun being with my whole family. Christmas morning we were in a hotel and had breakfast at the Waffle House- UNFORGETTABLE! It may sound Scrooge-like, but we had a blast! We got down to Orlando that afternoon and had Christmas with my family the next morning. On Wed. it was off to Disney!!! What an experience. It was the busiest day of the year....need I say more? 12 hours and 5 rides later, we were pooped! The kids thought it was heaven. Seeing the kids faces light up in It's a Small World was priceless. When Zeke saw Mickey Mouse on the stage in front of the castle his jaw dropped and his little eyes were like saucers! The wait for Pirates of the Caribbean was like something out of a Holocaust movie, but the ride was AWESOME! Elijah and Emmy were hysterical. When Jack Sparrow popped out the barrel, I about lost it! On Thursday night we went to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. I know it sounds totally hokey, but we LOVE it! It was our second time and just as fun. Emmy couldn't get enough of all the horses. The rest of our vacation was spent relaxing and swimming in the pool. The weather at the end of the week was heavenly, 83 and partly cloudy....why do we live in MI again???? Well, enjoy all the pictures and hope all of you had a great Christmas!!

Look who's 3!!!!!!!

Well, my little baby boy is officially no longer a baby. I've been feeling a bit blue today realizing a stage of our life is fading into the past and a new one is taking it's place. But more than anything, my little man brings more smiles, joy and laughter to my day than I could ever have imagined. We went to Target for some groceries tonight and I kept telling him that 3 yrs. ago we were in the hospital meeting for the first time. He just looked at me like, huh? On the way home I told him I loved him so much and he says, "love you,too, Mom..." Melt my heart!
BTW- I will be posting late tonight or tomorrow a slide show a synopsis of our Christmas vacation and trip to Disney-check it out when you can!