A Special Lady, A Long Week

Well, I just posted my thoughts in the past 3 entries, that I actually typed a week ago in the car. We thought we were on our way to Indiana and then on to Jamaica. We were wrong :). We got the call that Steve's mom was on her way back to the hospital. She would not wake up that morning. She didn't wake up until Tuesday or Wednesday... it's hard to remember which day what happened. We came on to Michigan by Sunday and have been here since. What a week! What a journey! It was so sad to see her with so many tubes and machines. After waking up she was very confused, yet knew the family around her. Today, she looks so good, especially compared to a week ago. We had a "Christmas party" at the hospital last night while so many family were able to be there. She enjoyed taking it all in! Thanks so much for your continued prayers for her and the family! This cirrhosis thing is a crazy disease we are learning so much about! Here's the tired, yet still crazy :), bunch! ...it's missing Ryan who headed to Indiana on Thursday after many long days hanging out at the hospital! Thanks to the McCarty's for giving him some "normalcy"!Merry Christmas to you, our faithful blog readers!!!!

Christmas Adoration

Experiencing the Advent season with a 3, almost 4, year-old brings back such excitement that we tend to sometimes lose with age! We have made our Hershey kiss “countdown” the past two years ~ Ryan getting a “kiss” each morning for Jesus, then giving a kiss to us! He then counts down how many more days until Jesus’ birthday.

It has also been great to see his excitement over the holiday shows, such as Rudolph, Frosty, the Polar Express, and our book/video “The Crippled Lamb”, where Joshua, the lamb, keeps baby Jesus warm that Silent Night so long ago! While shopping yesterday, we saw one of those plastic, lit, almost life size, nativity scenes. I wish I had a camera. The caption would have read, “Come let us adore Him”. Ryan yells, look Mom, baby Jesus”. The fascination in his eyes was precious, as he stopped to “adore” Jesus.

We have a stocking for Jesus hanging on the fireplace, and he will often need to “fill” it for Jesus, finding creative ways to climb up and do it “all by himself”!! The other day it resulted in a “bonk” on the head from the heavy stocking holder! The price he paid for wanting to give something to Jesus! We are thankful for the price Jesus paid for us as he came to Earth as an innocent babe, preparing to pay the ultimate price!

Last weekend, we made the long wait in line to see Mr. Claus. It was a big deal this year and Ryan really wanted to tell him his wish list. He also wanted to make sure Santa knew where to find him, since we wouldn’t be at our house on Christmas morning! As we waited in line, for nearly an hour, I couldn’t help but think how much Jesus would love for the world to stop and spend that much time in anticipation of time spent with Him! May we stop and spend time with the Real Reason for this Season!!!

Gingerbread Makers

While waterparks at Thanksgiving(see previous post) may become an annual tradition, Steve has also started another one for the December Christmas preparation. Last year, he decided we should make a gingerbread house…. No, not the kind from the box you can buy. He had to research and find the “homemade” recipe :). So after hours of baking the “dough” for the walls, he is ready for construction! Last year’s was simple, yet impressive. Well this year, he decided to become a little more complex and create a similar appearance to our actual home! Here are some shots of the work in process!!! Steve always gives 100%, no matter what the job! And, of course you have to have a helper at all times!

Make sure you see the stain glass windows, made from melted life savers:)!

Thanksgiving Fun

So we’re a little behind on the posting, huh? So what’s been happening with us?

In November, Steve’s mom came to visit after her big trip to New Zealand. It was fun to have her here for a few days. Ryan and Steve acted out the “Chicken Little” book from the library. This one’s for you Uncle Jim! He read the book many times to Ryan this summer. So we couldn’t refuse the Pop Tart box offer for our very own hats!!!
Ryan and I took a big road trip and drove Grandma back to MI. While we were so “close”, we also decided to surprise Anne’s parents in Indiana… it was Grandma Marg’s birthday and PaPaw “Putty”’s was not too far away either. It was a whirlwind trip with over 1,500 miles in 4 ½ days! What a great little traveler we have! 900+ miles were with just he and I! Since we had done our share of traveling the weekend before Thanksgiving, we decided to stay in MN for the holiday. We headed to a new indoor waterpark in Minneapolis. We had gone to one last Thanksgiving as well. This may become a new family tradition, and hey, the turkey dinner at Perkins wasn’t too bad, either! Here are a few pics from the excitement that day….
Water fun and bunk beds! What more fun could a little guy ask for!