Sunday, March 28, 2010

Happy Birthday

Today should have been my step-mom Cindy's 48th birthday. She passed away unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm last October. Please pray for my dad and grandma, I know it will be very hard for them. We have to remember, she is up there having a great big birthday bash with Jesus!

Our Wedding- August 12, 2006


We miss you and look forward to seeing you again someday. You were a beautiful person inside and out, which was taken for granted sometimes. I promise to tell Emma all about her Granny as she grows up. I'm sorry for the time you won't be able to spend with her, but God had must have greater plans for you. We hope you have a very Happy Birthday!

First visit with Emma- August 30, 2008

Emma's First Christmas- December 2008

Tulip Time 2009

May 2009 all decked out in Granny's favorite color- purple!

"For some life lasts a short while, but the memories it holds lasts forever"

Monday, March 22, 2010

My Other Child

I came home this morning to find that Harley, my four-legged child had gotten a hold of my prescription eye drops and tore the bottle up. Here we go again.... had to call Poison Control for the second time ever for my DOG. Who says kids are more work than pets???

My eye was swollen so I've been on steroid drops for three weeks now. The bottle has been on my dresser every night since I started using them without any problems, but for some reason he found interest in them today. And since the Rx info has nothing regarding ingesting the drops I had to call the good ol' 800 number this afternoon. I love my pooch, but man he can be a lot of work sometimes!
Needless to say, the nice gentleman who helped me said not to worry. Give him a treat to wash the taste out and he'll be fine. Phew, glad we don't have to rush him to the vet. He can be a pain in the tush, but he's also a great companion. I look forward to the memories Emma will make with him. She loves him like crazy already. He gets night-night kisses before she goes to bed and she is adamant he is included in our bed-time prayers. I didn't suggest or start these rituals, Emma came up with them on her own. I am so glad Emma is able to have a four legged friend!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy

Emma was finally introduced to the pigs at Harvest Hill for the first time last night. I was a little nervous about how she would do. I figured it would go one of two ways- she would either love it and try to chase them around or she would hate it and not want to be near them. I personally was leaning towards the second option, but Jason was sure she would love them. Turns out she was kinda in between. When we first arrived she didn't want to get down, but she was definitely interested in them.... until daddy picked one up for her to pet. The pig let out a terrible squeal and we had to start back at square one. Eventually, she did get down and check them out, but since the pigs are so anxious it made her a little nervous too. She did pet a few pigs and even tried to feed them, but they were not interested. I had to draw the line at playing in the water trough.

She's a bit shy in this shot, but check out that face! She's lovin' it!

Emma finally got the courage to get off daddy's lap, but is still a bit unsure of things.

At this point she was trying to feed and pet them. She still wasn't leaving daddy's side though. Just for the record- those are old, worn out jammies she has on that she doesn't wear anymore :)When it was finally time to leave she told all the pigs "Nigh-nigh" and blew them kisses. I'd say we had a successful visit!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Praying for a Better Week

Last week I had one of the biggest scares of my life thus far. On Monday morning Emma and I headed out to church where I help clean the nursery rooms once a month with a few other girls. When we wrapped up there, I ran into town to do a few errands before returning home.

It had snowed quite a bit the night before, but nothing too major for west Michigan. As usual, I had to take a detour home since the main road to our house is closed. I was driving along when I noticed a woman sitting in her car at the end of a long driveway. I figured she must be waiting for a child to get off the school bus (I was close to a local elementary school at this point). I looked at my speedometer, realized I was going 30 mph and then looked at the clock and saw that it was exactly noon. I knew between 11:30-12:30 the speed limit by the school is 25 mph so I began to break. That's when everything went terribly wrong.

As I started to break, my truck started going sideways into oncoming traffic. I tried to correct and started going to the right. I tried once again to straighten the vehicle out and found myself back in the wrong lane. At this point, there was a local farm bus headed right for me- ironically the farm my husband works for. I had a decision to make. Hit the bus or try and get out of it's way, possibly landing in the ditch.

I chose the ditch. We were not going fast at this point. It felt like everything happened in slow motion. Unfortunately, the ditch was deep and my truck didn't handle it too well. One minute we were on four wheels, the next minute we are on our side. Poor Emma had been sleeping at this point, unaware of what was going on. Next thing she knows she's hanging sideways in her car seat. I panicked for a minute, unsure of how to get myself out of my seat belt and back to her. Thankfully, the guys in the bus all got out and came over to help us out. Once I freed myself, I was able to get to Emma and hand her out to those waiting.

Here are a few pictures of the truck afterwards. I didn't get any of it in the ditch since my camera was in the truck somewhere at that point. It really doesn't look to bad all things considered. The mirror didn't even break off the side! It folded in when the truck hit the ground.

Looking back, we have so much to be thankful for. First and foremost, Emma and I were not hurt. We may have been a bit sore that night, but certainly not hurt. Also, I was supposed to have two other little ones along that I take care of. However, I received a call the night before that the youngest one was sick so they didn't need me. I'm sorry that he wasn't feeling well, but I am so grateful they weren't with us. I am also glad that the farm bus was the other vehicle on the road. I didn't really know the guys that helped us out, but I knew where they were from and I knew we could trust them. The individual who's front yard I was in was very gracious as well. She let Emma and I come into her home and stay warm until my husband arrived. It also was a Monday, so we were able to go to our marriage seminar at church that evening and be surround by people who care about us.

It turned out to be a very long week. Emma and I spent almost all our time and home which made us both a bit crabby. When we finally got out on Friday night we went out to dinner at Wendy's. Of course it was snowing again. As we were leaving the restaurant, I came out the door and turned the corner where I promptly feel on my rear. Luckily I was able to hold Emma up so she didn't hit the ground at all. Needless to say, I am once again sore. After Monday it doesn't really bother my though. I am just reminded how wonderful it is to be here. To be able to walk around, to be able to take another breathe, to be able do so many things that others can't. Monday didn't go how I planned, but God knew how it was going to end and His hand was in it every step of the way.