Jon and Andrea's Big Day

Well, the weekend was here and gone. What an amazing weekend. It's always so special to see two lives becoming one. It was also just a precious time with all of our family. There were so many memories... Elijah leading little Zeke down the aisle looking so grown up, Emmy dancing like a fool at the reception (no, SERIOUSLY, you've never seen anything like it- she was a dancing QUEEN!), Jason referring to Andrea as "a little brat"-albeit affectionately- during the giving of the rings, Andrea crying like there was no tomorrow during the father-daughter dance, Kelley getting asking to dance by an EXTREMELY handsome man and totally playing it cool.... and the list could go on and on. More than anything it was just a beautiful time for all of us who call ourselves Grates!! Hope you enjoy all the pictures!

Finally a warm day!

Just some random pics from our afternoon at the park. These were taken at Wilcox Park, one of our favorite Eastown locales. It's right behind Emmy's preschool and is a breeding ground for interesting people and conversation. Jason took an early lunch and met Emmy, Zeke and I for an hour of fun before walking Emmy to school. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again... I love city life. Maybe someday it's excitement will wear thin, but at the moment I'm finding it endlessly fascinating. So are the kids, thank God!
P.S. To all my American Idol peeps...just wondering if America is totally DEAF!!! Let's see, Katherine, or BUCKY COVINGTON!!! Ohmigosh...does that even make rational sense? I told Amanda (Aspenson) if she was voted off I was officially withdrawing my viewership. Thankfully, America voted off Lisa!!! Any comments?

Beach Bunnies!

Just a few pictures to share of Shelly and I on our trip to Florida. We had a great time (I guess that's pretty obvious)! Sorry about the size, but I couldn't get them any bigger despite my extensive technology experience...HA!
Had a great night tonight, too. Shelly and I traveled to K-zoo to visit a good friend of ours who had a baby girl yesterday. It was a very special time, but bittersweet, too. It was a bit of a shock when we found out the room they were in was the same Shelly was in with Ava. Despite that, Shelly did great. Their baby is beautiful and we pray for her health and safety each day of her precious little life. After the hospital visit I took Shelly to the Olive Garden for her 29th birthday. We know, a bit unoriginal restaurant choice, but yummy just the same!
I still haven't had a response to that Grey's Anatomy song, yet... My brother Derek is pretty sure it was a Foy Vance song? Any takers???

The Belated Blog

Stairway and entry
The living room
Another view of the living room
The kitchen(note unfinished cupboards next to new dishwasher)
View of the kitchen from the dinette
The dining room
Windows in dining room - love'em!
The antique curio in dining room
Kids book nook in upstairs hallway

I know, I know, I know... What the heck took so long you ask? Well, just for starters - 3 kids, a busy church plant, a messy house, exhaustion, a 5 day trip to Florida, and a camera with dead batteries. Excuses, excuses...
Things have been good here. Things have taken on a new life at the church. We recently started small groups and it's really bonded everyone in different ways. We also hosted a St. Patrick's Day bowling event at which 60 people showed up. We didn't even have enough lanes rented! Jason did a video sermon tonight that included a tearjerking segment involving Elijah(our oldest). All to say, it is a good season for us crazy church planters.
My sister and I recently returned from a 5 day Florida trip sans children and husbands. My mom and dad bought us tickets to Bradenton where they're staying for the month of March...that's right the WHOLE month. For all of you mothers out there, if you ever get the chance to do something like this, take it and run! Really, it was a great re-charge for my day to day life. All we did is go to the beach and the pool, read books, shop and eat out. (Oh, I forgot to mention the countless hours spent toiling away at a 1000 piece puzzle. I know, I'm 31, not 60. But I can't help it, I love puzzles!!) The craziest moment was in the Cincinatti airport. As I was walking out of the bathroom, Shelly and I were deep in conversation and if not for a quick look in front of me, I would've run smack into Martin Sheen. What you say? Yup, MARTIN SHEEN!!!!! I made a complete fool of myself and started smacking Shelly and saying, "DID YOU SEE THAT?? IT WAS MARTIN SHEEN! HOLY COW!" And so on and so forth. My first celebrity sighting and I didn't even get an autograph. Oh well...
BTW, did anyone see Grey's Anatomy tonight? If so, who was singing the song at the end? It was AMAZING!
Ok, I'll quit rambling and just try and post more often!

SOLD!!!!!SOLD!!!!!!!SOLD!!!!!!!!

Well, thanks to the prayers of countless thousands, our home in Grand Haven is no longer ours! Thank you Lord! Sorry it took so long to post the good news, but the sale took some bartering and we just signed the offer tonight. We will close sometime before March 31st and be official ONE home owners. Truly, this is a HUGE answer to prayer. Having the two houses has been a weight we were struggling to carry and asking God what he was trying to teach us. Haven't quite figured it out yet, unless all he was trying to teach us was patience! Well, we've learned our lesson! To all of you who've prayed long and hard for us (Spring Lake Wesleyan small groups), thank you and we love you all!!! I still plan on posting some pictures of our new house in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

A prayer request..

No, for all those waiting with bated breath for pictures of our new house, this is not one. This is a picture of the living room in our old house in Grand Haven. A house we still own... We're ALSO still official renters of a house in Grand Rapids until March 7. For those of you who can count, that's 3 houses that I am the housekeeper/maid/decorator for. I digress...
For all of you who are time prayers, at 12:30 tomorrow we have a very serious showing at our house in Grand Haven. PLEASE PRAY that it sells. The stress of still owning 2 homes is really getting old, to put it mildly. My mom and dad and my friend Joanna stayed with me until 11:30 in Grand Haven trying to make it look as nice a possible. Thanks guys!
Well, hopefully tomorrow I will post a very happy blog that's title will be HOUSE SOLD!

And what a crazy 2 weeks it's been....

To all of you who've been pestering me to get with the program, here you go!! To say the VERY least, since my last post, our lives have been a whirlwind. We finally moved into our beautiful new home 2 weeks ago today. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Unfortunately an ill-timed flu virus decided to strike our family at just the right time. As we were moving out, the germs were moving in. Two weeks later and some of us are STILL sick. Has anyone ever tried moving 3 sick children from one house to the other and kept their sanity? YES! Because I did it! (My husband would probably disagree...)
All to say, we LOVE!!!!! our new house. Thanks to my handy dandy dad, most of our projects are done and we feel pretty well moved in. I even felt well enough to throw Emmy a small 5th birthday party. At which she proceeded to kill us all with cuteness, seriously... it was off the charts. Both Jason and I have said we've never felt quite so at home in a house so quickly and loved a house quite so much. It isn't a mansion, but it sure seems to fit our little family perfectly. I will do my best to post some pictures as soon as I can. Knowing my track record with this sort of thing, though, it may be later than sooner...
Thanks to all of you who've been praying for us all to get healthy; we've needed it!
If you're even in town, give us a call and stop in!! We'd love to see you.
Here are a few pictures from the last 2 weeks.....

Our first meal at our new table. This is in our dinette off of the kitchen. It's great!

A sick, tuckered out little Zeke sleeping with Daddy.

Emmy opening presents...

Emmy modeling her new tutu from Mommy...

Can't believe she's turning 5!!

As requested...ADULTS!!

My good friend Angie Leverence had a valid comment....no pictures of us! (That is..the parents..) As I was scrolling through my ENORMOUS iphoto library, I made an astonishing discovery! Out of roughly 650 pictures, there wasn't ONE to be found of Jason and I!!! So...as we got ready to leave on a rare but much needed date (thank you Rachel, Stephanie and Dave), I grabbed the camera. Not only were we both in the house at the same time, we had both showered and done our hair on the same day!!!! SHOCKER! (Parents of children under 2, are ya feelin' me??) What results is not the best picture ever, but hey, it's a picture! Now that I've been made aware of the egregious lack of any pictures of Jason or I, I will be making the effort to prove to our descendants through photo history that yes, we actually did exist!! (Maybe we can enroll Elijah in a photo taking class?? Ha!)
Also...for those of you who didn't catch the memo, we will be moving; SOON! We are planning to load up the truck next Sat., so needless to say, I AM STRESSED! I have currently packed a whopping 4 boxes, can anyone say,"procrastination??" I am also suffering from a pretty serious spray paint high. This is a new experience for me, a novice furniture renovator. No, seriously, if this whole message seems disjointed, you know why... All this to say, pray for our little family as we journey through yet ANOTHER transition. (Is anyone sick of the caps yet? I am.) Ok, that's all for tonight, need to sleep of the spray paint... Will post again next week after we get settled in our new place!

It's a party!! (duh...)

We celebrated Ezekiel's 2nd birthday this past weekend here at the house. Just a small affair with mine and Jason's families. (Is 15 people technically considered small? Hmm..) Grandma Grate went a little Thomas the train crazy; Zeke loved every minute of it. I think he might actually be turning into a train.... But really, his "chug-a-chug-a-CHOO CHOO"-ing is just about the cutest thing EVER!
Here are some cute pics from the party.....

Grandma and her little man

Snappy little cake, huh? Nope, I didn't make it (thanks Mom!)

Auntie Andrea

Brothers...

Has the ice cream gone to his head???

THE train.

The new place!

Yup, after a year of looking, the Grate's have finally found the perfect house!!!! Well....maybe not perfect, but you know what I mean, right? It was a total God thing that we even stumbled upon it. We had been through the house across the street about 5 times(literally) and still weren't sure about it. Our realtor suggested we kill two birds with one stone and check out the house across the street. I was a bit hesitant as there were no pictures on the internet. This always makes me nervous and suggests embarrassing 70's wallpaper and turqoise bathtubs. Well, I was wrong on this one. One step through the front door and I swear I could hear someone singing the "Hallelujah Chorus". Gorgeous hardwood floors, grand oak staircase, adorable kitchen, great backyard, and hey- it's on a cul-de-sac!! What more could a girl want? Four bedrooms would've been the kicker, but beggars can't be choosers...
Just a sidenote, is anyone watching "My Name is Earl?" Major shift in gears, I know, but man is it funny!
Well, hopefully I'll be posting some additional pictures when we move in. Pray that our kids will adjust well to yet ANOTHER transition!

The terrible two's have OFFICIALLY arrived!!

Well, it's official!! Our precious little Ezekiel (a.k.a. Zeke, Zekey, Zekey boy) has turned 2! As you can tell by the above picture, HE KNOWS IT!! Mommy tried diligently all day to capture the sweetness that is my baby boy, but nope, he would have none of it. Oh well, I guess it's a much more accurate picture of day to day life than a perfectly coiffed, clean, smiling baby. 'Cuz let's be honest, anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes with him knows he's has a horrible case of CND (constant nasal drip!)


This picture is my vain attempt to have him show the world he was 2 (and very, very smart). Didn't quite get it, but you get the idea, right??
On a bit more serious note, (I can't seem to avoid them these days..), it became quite obvious today that I would never see another birthday through the same eyes again. One, I will always wonder at each birthday celebrated what Ava would've been like at that age. Second, I will forever cherish each birthday as more treasured that the last and determine to make every moment count.
Well, at this very late hour, my brain function is not at its utmost and i will sign off now.
P.S. We bought a new house!! Details and pictures to follow on a later blog..

Ava Nicole....

Just got back from my parent's house. We had a little Ohio State vs. Notre Dame party. Thank God OSU won (Jason would've been pouty 'til next week). As we were all (Josh, Shelly, Noah, Zoe, Mom, Dad, and the Grate clan) standing in the living room popping confetti to celebrate, a sad realization hit. We were making new memories. Memories with 5 kids, not 6. Memories without Ava. Where there should've been the sound of a sweet 7 month old giggle, there was silence.

But, it also occurred to me that we were ALL laughing. I'm sure our laughs will never EVER sound the same, but we were laughing all the same. In our little world that is often full of tears and heartbreak, God sent some welcome laughter. For anyone reading this who has been praying, know that in these moments, some your prayers are being answered.

Just for reference, the above pictures are two of my faves. These were taken at Josh and Shelly's when she was just a few days old. Such proud cousins! Such a beautiful baby.....

The FIRST Grate Update!

Well.... I've decided to finally join the ranks and start a blog. For those of you who know me really well, you know that the mere thought of writing gives me the hives, breaks me out in a cold sweat, etc., etc... Being the daughter of a quasi-famous author (who really needs to start one of these), I've always felt if I actually wrote something, it should at least seem profound. Well, needless to say, my blog won't be one of those...it will just be a catch me up for all of our friends and family scattered around the globe.
For those of you who don't know, we've recently moved into the Eastown neighborhood in downtown Grand Rapids and are renting a home. (Thanks Moms and Dads). Our home in Grand Haven is currently still for sale at a drop bottom price for those of you who'd like to live by Lake Michigan! My husband and brother-in-law Josh are the pastors at our new church-plant here in GR. You can check out the web-link for more info about it. It has been quite a journey... I know you all know about the heartbreaking loss of our 3 month old niece Ava Nicole, who went home with Jesus this past August 1st. This is no doubt the main reason for this blog. Experiencing such earth shattering tragedy will wake you up and make you look at your life in a completely different way. Because of this I feel the constant need to make every moment special and not to miss a moment with our 3 precious children...
Elijah is 7, Emmy is almost 4 (going on 25), and Ezekiel will be 2 on the sixth of this month. They are all thriving in their new environment; loving their new church and new schools. I'll do my best to post pictures of them here depending how internet savvy I am... Jason is crazy busy with the church plant and having a blast. It's been great to see his dream of an urban church plant finally come to fruition, it has really lit his fire!! He's enjoying preaching every week, getting to know new people, and just generally being an Eastown junkie!
Well, hope this finds all of you well, and hope to seen comments soon!
Holly (Jason is crashed out on the couch next to me underneath his treasured OSU blanket - thanks Derek!)