Fun in the South

Well, some say in Minnesota, that Indiana is in "the South".... I'm obviously almost a month behind on these pics, but we've been a little distracted :)! Ryan and I (Anne) headed to IN the week of my mom's spring break... this has become a tradition since our move to Minnesota. This was the 3rd year in a row. Ryan and I were actually only home for 2 days from March 27 through April 15th, given our trip to Indiana and then to Michigan! It has been a whirlwind month. It has been great to be back and sleeping in our own beds and having somewhat of a "normal" routine.

We had lots of fun in IN seeing almost all of my "huge" family :)! We played in the park... saw beautiful green grass and flowers ( which we are just now starting to see in MN!), played with Roxie, went to the Children's Museum and just enjoyed being with family! And I snuck out one night to have a girls' night with college buddies, Dawn and Missi! Ryan was very excited for me to leave and let him stay at PaPaw Putty and Mama Marg's all by himself!

Checkers with Grandma at Cracker Barrel after a long morning of flying and posing with Roxie as soon as we arrived at their house!

And then I think the camera was hidden the rest of the trip except for some great times at the Indianapolis Children's Musuem. If we lived there, a membership would be a must!

Fireworks of Glass is the largest permanent sculpture of blown glass by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. The 43-foot-tall tower rises above a glass ceiling. For interesting facts or better pictures check out this site... it was very impressive!www.childrensmuseum.org/themuseum/fireworks_ofglass/index.htm

This "tower" of glass weighs 18,000 pounds and this other pic is of a "glass ceiling" below the tower, that you view looking up in the basement level of the museum.

Posing with Grandma and Grandpa by more glass in the "garden of glass"

Our little preacher behind the pulpit in a walk-thru story book town. Who knows what God

has in store, huh? :)

Playing in the water with Aunt Erin and driving the big boy toy in "Playscape", the Preschool Gallery of the museum.

Becoming a dinosaur and of course, driving an Indy car...can't forget that!

We thought going into the museum our ratio was a little high... 4 adults: 1 child. By the end, we were 9:1 when some of the rest of our "huge" family was nice enough to meet up with us for a late lunch.

Thanks to the Indiana clan for a great visit to "the South" !

"Tell God what you are thinking"....

those, along with "I love you", happened to be Ryan's last words to his Grandma Donna late last night. How did he know she'd soon be able to talk to God face to face? ... She met Jesus this morning! I know a blog is not the place to share this news, necessarily, but it is our life today. We've shared lots of good times here; this is a very sad day, yet a day of rejoicing as she is pain free and with her God and Savior for eternity now.

We've shared bits and pieces here on this site of her journey the past 7 months since being diagnosed with the liver disease and want to thank all of you for your prayers on her behalf and for our family. The reality has not quite sunk in yet. And we have a 4-year-old that will keep us thinking with his questions for a long time!

Thank you, God, for this amazing and wonderful Mom, Mom-in-law, and Grandma! May she be running, singing, and dancing with you today!

Born to Ski

Or at least Dad says he was. Steve decided, after his wife :) failed to love skiing, that at least his kids would love it. Ryan hit the slopes, or should we say hills, of Michigan for his first try a few weeks ago. So far... Daddy's mission accomplished! He did great...loved it... and had a pro to keep him off the ground!



The 3 Amigos... Steve, Jim and Ryan bundle up.







A ride on the "magic carpet"... beats a tow rope any day, huh?











On the bunny hill.... skiing to Daddy. He started off pulling him, Steve skiing backwards, then moved to having Ryan between his legs, then to Ryan skiing to him. He was so much braver than his mom :)! Good thing he started early!
Whoooooaaa.... here he comes, and there was a smile under that coat too! He even turned to miss hitting someone. Mommy is impressed!!! And Daddy super pleased! I had to leave to get Steve's parents... Steve and Jim promised they'd be on the bunny hill the whole time.... Hmmm... how did Ryan get to ride in a chairlift then? :) Guess he did great on the green hills too! Skiing buddies! Look at the smile on Steve's face! After just a few hours, he's convinced that Ryan is hooked for life! We'll see!

On the Ice

Where else could you be when it's below zero? At least this rink is indoors! Steve had a new idea... why not try ice skating? After all, there is not enough snow here to get Ryan on skis on the hill in our yard! So this will suffice for now. He heard about Sunday night open skate and off we went. Steve claims he's never been on skates before and I hadn't been since probably high school. Steve was brave enough to put on skates and try to teach himself and Ryan at the same time! I skated on the ice with my tennis shoes for my refresher! Helping Ryan was my lame excuse :)! And of course it was easier to take pictures that way. These shots are all from the first night. We were having fun at times and crying from frustration at times~ just Ryan :)! Check out that "skating-walker"!! We are in hockey country up here. We could have him in the 4-yr-old hockey "league". I think we'll stick to the skating for now!

He didn't want us to let go of him or the walker for a long time and that was a good "crutch" for us, too! However, after seeing a buddy who's a year older and as more time on the ice behind him, Ryan had to try to keep up... "let go Dad!"

The second Sunday night (no pics) he was giving Steve a good race and wanting to let go and go without the walker, racing with the "bigger" boys, and screaming, "I am Speed".... :)

We're settling in for the sub-zero highs and negative 35 wind chills the next few days... Ah, yes, life in Minnesota... where only a barbed wire fence separates us from the North Pole.... yes, they actually said that on the news tonight! Crazy!

Happy Birthday to our "LarryBoy"!!

Well, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and now Happy Birthday! We celebrated Ryan's 4th birthday yesterday, remembering moments from 4 years ago, and chasing after the big boy he is today! We are thankful for the gift of his life and pray he continues to be a boy, teen, and man who loves his God with all his heart!

Given the long travels and different kind of "busy-ness" the holidays brought this year, we were planning just a day for the 3 of us. However, one little member of the family kept insisting on having friends there! My, how early in life the parents just aren't "good enough" :)!! So, we gave in and Friday brought some last minute planning and phone calls and we had a great time Saturday evening! Even the local Christian book store owner was a blessing to us! ~ See the life-size Larry Boy! This made Ryan's day... Thanks, Roger! :)
With the "LarryBoy" theme in hand, we headed to the bowling alley with a couple other families and their kids. We had 5 boys under 5 and 2 older girls, as well as some competitive Moms and Dads hitting the lanes! This was Ryan's first bowling experience and a great time was had by all! We also stuffed our faces with pizza, cake and ice cream there!
After the excitement on the lanes, the 3 of us headed home and this blessed, or should we say spoiled, little guy got to open lots of presents sent back with us after Christmas or that arrived in the mail this week! Thank you to all those gracious gift givers!

Brief Update on Donna.... we haven't officially posted here, but Donna did come home on Christmas Day and is quite the miracle lady, given her condition the week before! We praise God for her recovery, especially being able to enjoy this Christmas at home, and pray she can continue to be comfortable and pain free. She even designed and decorated a LarryBoy cake before we left Michigan! What a great memory to have!

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!

Swimming and Sweets

Ryan had swimming lessons last night at 6pm that did not get cancelled just because of Halloween. So being the dedicated participants, we went. Obviously, the other parents had different thoughts as Ryan was the only kid (out of the 8 normally) there. He had not just one on one, but two on one, instruction for the whole 25 minutes! At least that made for an easier time for me to make a fool of myself and get some pictures for the scrap book. This is his second "round" of just a short 8 sessions. The last round was earlier this year. He does enjoy the lessons, but is more timid than when it is just the three of us in a pool!

After a quick and healthy :) drive thru meal from Burger King, our little swimmer guy turned into Buzz Lightyear--thanks again Andi for the costume!-- and headed out into the 20 degree Minnesota October to ring some door bells in our neighborhood. We considered going to one of the local church's big fall festival... we hear it is lots of fun, but very crowded. Our dozen houses here in the neighborhood was very sufficient for his first "door-to-door" Halloween that he remembers. Last year, we were in Michigan and just did the festival at church and the year before we "hid" in our rental house, as we didn't know many neighbors and it wasn't really a neighborhood, anyway! Ryan said as we came in from the cold... "This was the best Halloween adventure".... where does such a little mind and mouth come up with these big words?

Hope you are enjoying fall, or winter here, wherever you are!

I Thank God for You!

Those were the words--"I thank God for you"-- on the first flowers, a dozen beautiful red roses, that I received from Steve a little over 9 years ago.

Maybe it's because we started a Sunday School class this week on marriage or because our speaker at MOPS this week was on marriage or maybe God is really just reminding us.... we (I hope :) I'm speaking for Steve, too!) are so thankful for our marriage and the gift God gave each of us in the other. Over the past 9 years, we are learning that we may be more different than alike in a lot of ways...which is a good thing... would I want another me to live with!? :)

If we are honest, of course, not every single day is a honeymoon... and for those who know our honeymoon adventure we can now laugh about... I'm glad it's not :)! But seriously, marriage is work. It takes time and energy and commitment and communication! But it's work that pays off and is for a great cause! It's a covenant worth protecting! I'm so thankful for my husband, my best friend.

So here's to all those marriages out there! May you work hard, pray often, and love much!
And Steve..."I thank God for you!"

Christmas is Here!

...At least that is Ryan's perception. Snow comes. Winter is here. Christmas is here! He asked to get the Christmas tree out last night!





We had some "white out" times last night as we looked out the back and couldn't see the field behind us. This is what we saw as the sun was rising this morning! Gorgeous!! Yet still a little cold for October.











And of course we had to capture a few pictures of playing in the first snow of the year. The wind was very strong, and we had to take them quickly or turn so the wind was against us. We hear it was a wind chill of 12 degrees today!

Hope you are enjoying the beauty of God's creation no matter what your weather! :)