Grand Haven Vacation

What a great vacation! We spent Monday and Tuesday here in Grand Rapids with my oldest friend April (Holloway) Abbonizio and her husband Mike and daughter Audrey. We had a WONDERFUL time with them and did lots of talking late into the night. I mean, isn't that what best friends are for? (April is also pregnant with their second and is due in December!)
Then it was off to the beach! We spent Wed. thru Sat. at my parents trailer on the beach in Grand Haven. We found it quite amusing that we were taking our vacation back in our old hometown. The weather couldn't have been better. My cousin Ryan and his wife Stephanie and their 4 kids were also there for the week and Elijah and their oldest, Braden, really hit it off. It was great to see him having such a great time. We didn't do much but swim and watch the kids ride their bikes and play with the puppy. (Who, incidentally, turned us into some sort of celebrities at the park..."Aww... can we hold him??") We did all the Grand Haven things; Snug Harbor, Pronto Pups, Pier Peddler Ice Cream, walking the boardwalk and the pier.... We also took our annual trip up to Montague to Dog-n-Suds. (A bittersweet trip as Ava was with us last year on our trip there.) Other than a small mishap while trying to dump the poop (sorry, that's what it is!), it was a successful vacation! PS- I will be posting a detailed blog later in the week about our trip to Dearborn for the Walk to Remember. There were so many pictures and things I wanted to share I thought I would save it for a later post (and and earlier time as it's already almost midnight!)
Ezekiel after being attacked by a Superman ice cream cone!
The kids with cousin Braden Stevens.


Audrey being a horse, her favorite thing to do!


April and I on the beach

We have a new puppy!

The title to this blog is proof that God works in mysterious ways. As I stated in my last post, Josh and Shelly got a new Puggle puppy named Tico last week. Well, because of Jay and I's financial situation we told the kids we'd have to hold off getting a dog until Christmas. (They were actually taking it quite well.) A core team member from our church also bought one of the other pups from the same litter as Shelly's. He took Jason out for breakfast yesterday and said he was going to have to pay an astronomical sum of money to keep the puppy in his apartment complex and would we like it? What?? Huh?? You heard me right! 20 minutes later we had an adorable Puggle puppy named Piper (after John Piper.....). He is absolutely the cutest thing. The kids love him and he is great with them. God is good!
I have also posted some pictures of our new deck and sliders that I promised like a month ago! So many people have helped us and I thank you all. It is truly an oasis of peace! Jason and I are spending countless hours in our Adirondack chairs and the kids love eating at the table. Also note the chiminea (sp?). My dad found it at a campsite with a free sign and spruced it up for us. (Don't ya just love Dutch people? I sure do...) Lastly, we will be out of town much of next week camping in my parents trailer at Grand Haven State Park (another surprise blessing!). We will also be in Dearborn next weekend at A Walk to Remember for our little Ava. Please keep our entire family in your prayers next Saturday!

The FAM!

For those of you who don't know, my maiden name is Syswerda. So what, big deal, you say? Well, it is a pretty big deal, at least to me. I come from a heritage that few can boast. Grandpa and Grandma Syswerda (Herm and Lucille) bore 13 children. In this day and age there are very few families like this left. Not only are they all healthy, successful adults, they are all following Christ. There are even FEWER families who can say this! So, last night we had a little (this is a relative term) family get together. When everyone is present (only OUR family) there are right around 90 people. HOLY COW!!! Every time someone gets married and comes to the first few get togethers it's always funny to see them try to remember everyone's name. Yeah, pretty much impossible! Anywho...my Uncle Rog and Aunt Joan's 4 kids and their kids were all in town this weekend. This is quite a fete considering they live in Chicago, NY city, South Carolina, and Upland, IN. Good reason to throw a party! It was a wonderful time with people we love and let me tell you, never a dull moment. Imagine at least 50 people as loud (or louder) than me in one space. I remember the first time Jay walked into our Christmas party...He opened the doors and the sound practically blew him over. He looked at me like "Wow, you weren't kidding...". It truly is an amazing thing to be a part of and such an original family who are also close friends, prayer warriors, and just a great support network! I took some pictures throughout the night, none of which turned out very great, but oh well! Try getting 12 kids under 7 to sit for a picture! All 12 kids (13 counting our little Ava Nicole) are grandchildren of my parents and Uncle Rog and Joan. Wow!
Attached are some pics from our evening with some pretty lengthy descriptions!



From left to right: My uncle Rog, my mom in the background, my cousin Eric(Rog's youngest son), my aunt Karel (the youngest of the 13), and my cousin Mark's (Rog and Joan's middle son) wife Kelley.
Shannon (Eric's wife) is on the left with Ethan, Micah, Zeke and Thane eating at the picnic table.
What a bunch of cuties!
A crazy picture of all 12 kids!
From left to right: Owen, Madison, Micah, Zeke, Thane, Zoe, Emmy, Ethan, Brooke, Paige, Elijah, and Noah. WHEW!!
The girls holding Josh and Shelly's new puppy Tico (anyone watch Dora??).

The four of us at my cousing Niecia's wedding last weekend.




Thought I'd post some pictures of the adults for a change. Shocker! These were taken last weekend at the wedding reception of my cousing Niecia. It was a beautiful wedding and a great night out with the four of us. We've spent the majority of this week doing more finishing work on the new sliding door which should be 100% finished by this week. I'll be sure to post some pictures when it is. Let me just take this moment to say that my husband completely embodies the description "jack of all trades". Not only does he sing like an angel (i.e. this morning at SLWC singing "There is none like you" I told him afterwards that when he sings that like that I'm not thinking about Jesus.. TMI?); play the guitar, piano and drums like nobody's business; preach the paint off the walls every Sun. night; he can also drywall, tile, roof and just generally be our very own handyman. What can I say? I married the man of my dreams. Yes, 'tis true!
This last picture is just too funny NOT to post. What is it you say? Jay's best friend Micah came over a couple of nights ago. Let me tell ya, when these boys get together, get out of the way. Micah decided it would be a great adventure to take Zeke's Little Tikes car for a ride in the lawn at 1 in the morning. Problem, he got stuck. I'm not kidding. TRULY, stuck. I'm not sure I've ever laughed so hard.
On a bit more serious note, please keep our family in your prayers this week. Jason will be scouring all of Grand Rapids for a full time job, seeing that we CANNOT find a part time one that will bring in enough money. This will be a pretty big step for us, and we NEED to find a job soon as our paycheck from the church will be much smaller in 2 weeks!!! Love to you all!

It's a miracle!

WOW! This definately takes the cake for longest blog dry spell. A heartfelt "sorry" to all the faithful readers. Truth be told, the only real reason for my lack of posting - laziness! The digital camera batteries died and I was just to lazy to charge them. Pretty sorry, I know. Not that we've had a lack of activity here in the Grate household. Since my last entry, we've managed to build a new deck, landscaped the backyard, and put in a new sliding door in place of the old window off of our dining room. Whew! We've had an AMAZING amount of help. Thank you Dad, Jordan, Jonathan, and Jon! When it's all totally finished, I'll be sure to post some pictures. It really is quite amazing! We love our deck and backyard more than any place we've lived, hands down.
Well, onto less exhausting subjects.... It's officially summer break here. It really is a relief not to be living in my car taking kids to and from school. They've even blessed me with a couple of very late mornings; not getting up 'til 9:30! Ahh..... We've already spent one day at the beach, been down to Marion, OH to see the fam, and been spending LOTS of time in Josh and Shelly's hot tub. Today we spent the day at my mom and dad's to stay out of Jay's way as he was putting in the slider. Emmy, Zoe and my Mom had a girls day out today and attached is a picture of them with their Build-a-Bears. My mom is holding the one they made for Ava, since she would've been a big part of their girls day. They also each brought home a pink balloon and let them go "to her". Emmy's got stuck in a tree (of course!) and she said, "It's OK, she can see it. She's knows it for her." Funny how big a part of every moment she really TRULY is. All the kids have such an uncanny ability to recognize the things she's missing from.
Well, I've attached a bunch of pictures from our day today- hope you enjoy them!

Ezekiel tramped around in "Fwapa's" boots for like and hour. HILARIOUS!










Fun in the sprinkler!






















My tattoo- Ps. 34:18- "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."






A mommy and her boy.






Grandma and her girls.

My take on American Idol...

Well, after commenting on everyone and their brothers blogs about my varied opinions, I thought it only appropriate I should post my thoughts on my own blog. Beware!! I am PASSIONATE (to a fault!) about this,so take it all with a grain of salt. (Or don't...)
First- Taylor. I understand his appeal, but personally, he just grates on my nerves. I don't think his voice was ANYTHING to write home about, especially when compared to talents like Katherine, Mandisa, Paris, etc. etc. I think Kat had BY FAR the best voice, but her camera schmoozing was more than I could stand. Just annoying! I will definately buy her music, though, not Taylor's. Dan and Angie, I'm totally with you on this one!!!
Now my take on the two finale shows. The two new songs were just regrettable. Too awful to believe an actual SONGWRITER attached his/her name to it. I really think it was a true injustice for Kat to have to sing that- it was definately the nail in her coffin! The results show last night was just inexcusable!!! AWFUL, HORRIBLE, I HATED IT! Ok, there, I said it, whew, I feel much better! The whole Clay Aiken schtick had me hiding under my blanket, I mean, REALLY uncomfortable. I truly can't believe he agreed to do it. And what was with Toni Braxton? She is one of my favorite voices, but last night was just plain weird. Was her mic not working? What was she singing? WAS she singing? She was using Taylor for her pole dance and his parents looked about to puke at the end of it. Truly embarassing. If she was trying to revive her career, she just lost my money.
The true highlights were Carrie U., Mary J., and Prince. Carrie was FLAWLESS. She has improved markably since last season; I just loved it! Mary J. has become one of my favorites since I heard some of her latest album- genius! And what can I say... Prince just blows me away! I was entertained from the moment he stepped on to the moment he stepped off. %2

A trip to Frederick Meijer Gardens

SO sorry for the lapse in posting! The week after Ava's birthday was just hard, so hence, no posting. The week after that our modem was on the fritz, alas, no new posts... And recently, well, what can I say... I'm just totally lazy. So, like I said, sorry!
This afternoon we took a trip to the local Botanical Gardens and Sculpture Park. Some good friends of ours from church were generous enough to buy our family a year's pass for our whole family. What a treat! We had a few hours to kill, so we grabbed the camera and some sweatshirts (MAN was it cold!), and off we went.
They have a pretty amazing children's garden that the kids get a real kick out of (and the adults too). The sculpture park is awe inspiring and it's always fun walking through the inside desert. Really, it was just like a mini vacation and a great time of bonding for our little family. Jason had WAY too much fun (see pictures..) I've also attached a pic of Elijah's two front teeth that are no more. He has this little lisp that just breaks my heart. What a doll.
I'll also mention a bit of news that sis-in-law Kelley was asking me to post. As of July 1st we will be going part time (66%- who comes up with these weird numbers??). So obviously, we will be needing more cash flow. What do do? We haven't found anything for the summer/fall/winter. Please pray we find something viable that won't be a detriment to our family time which is already time challenged. The good news is Jay has some pretty amazing opportunities for the long range. He had a meeting last week with the acquisitions director of Zondervan about writing a book. What you say? Yes, tis true. My little man is a closet genius. The whole thing is pretty crazy and we're not yet sure of all the details but no matter what, he has a pretty big foot in the door and some amazing ideas for the book. He has also been spending quite a bit of time with the Vermilya's (John and Darcy) up in Buckley (Bucktucky!) Michigan. This has lead to an opportunity to join Kingdom Buildings line-up of itinerant speakers. He will take quite a bit of time and training, but it looks like something that could be a dream come true for him. Continue to pray that we would know God's will and continue to seek Him for our decisions in all that lies ahead. We'll keep you posted (or at least I'll try....)Sculpture fountain.
Inside the gardens.
The log cabin.
Jay and Holly
Emmy inside the children's door.

A SERIOUSLY ornery husband....

Ava's 1st Birthday in Heaven

What to write on a day like today? I can say with all certainty that contrasts have never been sharper than they were tonight. A year ago we were all together at the hospital in Kalamazoo holding a sweet new baby girl. Today we were all together again, but without her. We decided to make her birthday as celebratory as possible; something the kids would always look forward to; a day to remember her life and the joy she brought even if for a short time. As hard as it was to put a smile on my face (I did my crying alone in the car), I think we did the right thing as each moment seemed special and symbolic.
The first thing we did was plant a magnolia tree in my parents front yard that was quickly dubbed "the Ava tree". It was so sweet to see the kids wanting so much to take part in planting her tree. In contrast, I had a quick flash of anger wondering why we were all standing around a tree and not a growing little girl...





We then took a 5 car caravan to the cemetery that was eerily similar to the one we took on Aug. 4th (the day of her memorial service). We all got out of the car and once again commented on how the wind was blowing. It seems that every time we visit her grave, there is a strong wind. I truly believe this is God showing his mercy to Shelly as she always says she feels closer to her when the wind is blowing. We each took a balloon and let them "fly up to Ava". It was just beautiful watching all those balloons rise higher and higher. But as Zeke waved bye-bye to his balloon I just kept feeling like I didn't want to say goodbye to her, even yet. In the pictures below you can also see some of the presents we left for her; a birthday balloon, some flowers from Cindy's garden, a pinwheel from Noah and Zoe...



It was getting pretty chilly with the wind blowing so hard, so we took the cake and ice cream back to my parents house. Shelly had made a sweet little pink cake and each kid took a turn blowing out her one candle. Once again, a sweet symbolic moment tinged with heartbreak that she couldn't blow it out herself. We also sang a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" with little Noah singing so loud the veins in his neck looked about ready to burst!
Then it was on to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. Shelly wanted to do something that would be fun for the kids and she thought it was something Ava probably would've have really enjoyed. When we were walking in to get our hands stamped the worker said, "Anyone here for a birthday?" I just stood there and stammered. "Well, yeah, I mean, no; nevermind." Ugh... These are the moments I really hate. What should've been said, "Yes, we're here celebrating a birthday, but she's not here with us, she's celebrating in heaven...."???? Yeah, that would've gone over well..
All in all, it was as special a night as it possibly could've been. There were so many wonderful special moments....just being all together as a family the best of all. A couple of days ago Shelly and I and a girlfriend of ours sat around and talked about all the sweet things that were Ava Nicole. A sweet contented spirit, a hearty belly laugh already at 2 months, her mesmerizing effect on any and everyone.... These are the things that as time passes, I pray we NEVER forget...
Ps. 34:18 - "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."

Just a little quiz

How well do you know me??

For instance, did you know...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Green pepper farm worker
2. Busgirl at the Goalpost restaurant
3. Tuxedo salesperson
4. Jr. High/High School choir director

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (love Kate Hudson)
2. Pearl Harbor (Ben Affleck and history rolled into one)
3. The Day After Tomorrow (satisfies my sick fascination with weather).
4. Sister Act 2. (Can anybody say Lauryn Hill?)

Four places I have lived:

1. Grand Rapids MI
2. Allendale, Mi
3. Marion IN
4. Kalamazoo, MI
Four TV shows I love to watch: (not that i havetime to watch them)

1. ALIAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. American Idol
3. House
4. Grey's Anatomy
Four books I would recommend:

1. The Bible
2. A Grace Disguised
3. Gone With the Wind
4. Anything James Patterson

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. London, England
2. Edinburgh, Scotland
3. Paris, France
4. Nassau, Bahamas

Four websites I visit daily:

1. Yahoo
2. My blog
3. The Weather Channel
4. Sometimes ebay

Four of my favorite foods: not in any particular order!

1. Starbucks Ice Cream
2. Alaskan King crab
3. Asparagus
4. Pizza!

Four places I would rather be right now:

1.Paris, France
2.San Diego, CA
3. Haworth, England
4. Mackinaw Island

Four things I dislike very much:

1. A mess
2. Being fake
3. Big bangs
4. Being too busy