Our Christmas

We had a wonderfully busy Christmas. Jonathan didn't have to work on Friday, so we took the kids to the mall for their first present--making a bear from Build-A-Bear. They were beyond excited! We've never done that before and every time we pass that store, they want to go in and look at all the cool bears and outfits. It was really fun to see them so happy over making a bear and picking out a shirt. :)

Christmas Eve morning we opened presents with the four of us, which was a lot of fun. The kids were so excited and it was nice to have a relaxing morning together before all the chaos. We read the Christmas story and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, which the kids loved. My husband even surprised me with a gift certificate for a professional massage!! I know, right???

That afternoon we headed to the Athearn family Christmas for lots of food and presents. When that was done, we drove to Indiana to see my family. We fit in three Christmases while we were there and came home on Tuesday. It flew by but it was a great time!

The kids with their Build-A-Bears.


















Christmas Eve morning in front of the tree.


















Jonathan's present from the kids.

He was pretty excited about those new jammies!

Meemaw and Papaw got him new jammies, too--and new slippers!

Aren't they just the cutest??? Addie got a new doll with a dress that matched her Christmas dress, which she really loved.

Looking pretty excited about her new My Little Pony.

My kids love their grandparents!!

The Patience of Unanswered Prayer

A few weeks ago at church I sang a hymn with the rest of the worship team for the offertory. I didn't recognize the hymn and I don't think I've heard it before. It's a beautiful song full of wonderful, meaningful lyrics. It was the last line of the fourth verse, though, that practically grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me to the core. It says, "Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer." Wow. It was hard not to get emotional when we sang this on Sunday because I felt like this line was for me. It was me. It sums up everything that's going on right now in my life.

For the past seven months or so, I've been struggling with being patient. With waiting for God to answer our prayers. With understanding what God is doing. With being okay that the plans I had--plans that I thought were in alignment with God's will, that I thought seemed great--are not God's plans. His plans right now are different and even though I don't understand them and I don't get why or what He is doing, I am okay with that.

I have been in this situation before where I had everything all planned out and then God threw me a curve ball and said, "No, Amanda. That's not what I have planned for you right now." When this happened before, I was downright angry with God. I kept waiting for Him to answer my prayer and when He didn't answer as quickly as I wanted, I took things into my own hands. I tried to make things work how I wanted them to. Instead of yielding my plans to God and trusting Him, I stubbornly refused to let go of the wheel. It was awful. I pushed myself away from God and it was a hard lesson to learn. I don't want to do that again. I want to do it different this time. Better.

So God, help me to trust You. Remind me that you still hear my cries. You haven't forgotten me. Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

What I'm Thankful For

or I guess I should say who I'm thankful for. :)

Oops

So much for that whole "I'm gonna keep this blog more updated" theory. I had you going there for a while didn't I?? HA! Okay, okay so I'm not the world's best blogger. I tend to get too busy throughout the day and remember too late that I never did post anything. Oh well. We are gearing up for our Thanksgiving trip which I am very much looking forward to. I cannot wait to see my family and the kids are bouncing off the walls with excitement!

I absolutely love this time of year. The cooler weather, the yummy food, the anticipation of Christmas, the shopping, the time with family. Love it. I don't understand why we need a specific day to be thankful, though. I mean, really?? Just one day? Shouldn't we be thankful every day? When I stop and count my blessings, I am so overwhelmed I don't even know where to begin. I try to make sure I thank God every single day for what He has given me. An amazing husband, two gorgeous kids, a roof over my head, good health, wonderful family, food in my belly, the list goes on and on. There is nothing wrong with having a specific day to reflect on all we have to be thankful for, not only as individuals but as a country. I mean, it gives me another reason to get together with extended family and eat a slice of my uncle's to-die-for chocolate cheesecake! But I want to make sure the Lord knows how thankful I am every day. Because without His blessings, I would have nothing.

Back By Popular Demand!

Maybe popular demand is a bit of an exaggeration. Okay, okay, it's a total exaggeration. But I have been asked by a couple people where we've been these past six months and I aim to please, so I will do my best to get back in the blogging world! :) I felt like I was repeating myself a lot between the blog and facebook and I just could not decide whether or not I wanted to keep the blog, so I just sort of put it on the back burner and forgot about it for a while (six months, but who's counting??).

I want to try and do more blogging about topics or things that are on my mind in addition to just posting pictures of our adorable children--which I know you all love seeing! For now I will try to summarize the past six months with a picture a month. This may be hard. Hmmm....we'll see how it goes. :)

MAY

My amazing husband and I celebrated eight years of marriage! It's hard to believe it has been eight years. He is my best friend and the time has simply flown by. Also in May we attended the Tulip Festival in Holland (a yearly tradition), went to the Indy zoo with my family, and enjoyed Memorial weekend in northern Michigan at my in-law's cabin.

JUNE

June included the third annual Athearn family camp out, where all of Jonathan's family camps in his parents' backyard. It also included a trip to Indiana, just the kids and me. They enjoyed a week at Meemaw and Papaw's eating at the Chocolate Moose, going to Greenville to get maid-rites, and helping Meemaw water her flowers and Papaw wash his new van.

JULY

July is birthday month in this family! Luke turned four on the 9th, I turned the big 3-0 (gasp!) on the 10th, and Addie turned 2 on the 29th. Busy month, I know! Between all the birthday parties, we managed to get to the beach a few times, enjoy the 4th of July at Big Long Lake in Indiana, and Jonathan and I participated in the first ever Grand Rapids Urban Adventure Race. (Think of The Amazing Race with biking and running--so incredibly fun!!!) Also in July, Jonathan and I were able to take a kid free mini-vacation to Southern Indiana. We checked out some caves and Spring Mill State Park in 100 degree weather--and had a blast doing it!! :)

AUGUST

In August the kids got new bunk beds and we took a week long vacation up north. Jonathan and I also got to take a two day mini-vacation away from our vacation to the upper peninsula. And yes, it was kid free! Don't hate--we just have awesome parents who are willing to take our kids for a few days! :) We saw so many beautiful things--including Pictures Rocks National Park. A-maz-ing! It's a definite must see!!

SEPTEMBER

September was full of fun things like Labor Day, the zoo, Celebration on the Grand, the county fair, and Art Prize. But the biggest thing was my sister's wedding!! It was a gorgeous day and she looked absolutely stunning. Luke and Addie were in the wedding and did a good job--better than we hoped! :)

OCTOBER

October was full of football games, pumpkin patches, apple orchards, parks, and candy! We had some gorgeous weather and were able to get out and enjoy it! The kids had a blast trick or treating this year--the first time they have ever gotten into it like this! Luke was a police officer and Addie was Snow White.

So there you have it! The last six months in a nutshell! Hopefully I will do better with the blogging and keep you more updated. That's all for now though! :)

Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter! On Saturday the kids got to go on an Easter egg hunt with all their cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Athearn's. Addie really got into it this year!
Jonathan "helping" Luke sort through the loot.
The kids looked sooooo adorable in their Easter outfits. My mom got Addison's dress and I got Luke's outfit last year on clearance after Easter. That's my favorite way to shop! Can't wait to get out and find their outfits for next year super cheap!! :)


I can't get over how big they are both getting!!
Family picture time!
Love this picture of Addie checking out her Easter candy...one shoe on, one shoe off!
Luke has quite the sense of humor!
I hope everyone had a blessed Easter Sunday celebrating our risen Lord!!

Spring Break with the Moores

Last week my parents and sister came up for an extended visit. We had a great time going to the zoo, shopping, eating out, and watching lots of basketball. (GO BUTLER!!!!!) The kids loved having Meemaw, Papaw and Aunt Emmy around. Meemaw even made breakfast every morning! Here are some pictures of our time with them.
This little house is at the zoo and it's always a big hit with the kiddos!
I simply adore this picture of my dad with his grandkids!
This guy was just enjoying a sno-cone on a chilly spring day.
Addison, Luke, and Papaw checking out the komodo dragon.

The zoo wore Addie out! She fell asleep on Meemaw's shoulder during lunch...but not before getting some of Papaw's dessert! (That's icing on her lips!)
Aunt Emmy gave Addison a mani-pedi--which she loved!
It wouldn't be a visit with Meemaw and Papaw without donuts!!
Emily did Addison's hair a lot and it always looked soooo cute!!
Snuggling up with Auntie Em.
*Kisses*
My little girly-girl getting some make-up tips from Emily.
Thanks for a great week!!! We loved having you all here!!!!

Oh The Places You'll....Fall Asleep??

18 Month Check-Up Stats

Weight: 24 lbs. 13 oz. (50th percentile)
Length: 32 3/4 in. (75th percentile)

She is a healthy girl and for that we are blessed and thankful!

18 Months!

Our sweet little Addison is 18 months old already!! Crazy how fast time goes by, isn't it?? She's going to the doctor next week for her check-up and I'm really curious to see how big she is now. I'll try to post those stats after we go. For now, though, she is a vibrant, active 1 1/2 year old. :) She loves to mimic her brother and she is learning so many things! She understands a lot now. She loves books, animals of any kind (but especially soft cuddly ones!), cheese, milk, and she is definitely a daddy's girl! She can identify her nose, ears, tongue, hair, belly, fingers, arms, legs, and toes. She knows lots of animal noises too, including horse, donkey, cat, dog, snake, fish, elephant, lion, monkey, cow, pig, duck, sheep, bird, you get the idea. Some of her vocabulary (which is growing every day!) includes: dada, momma (finally!!!! I was puppy there for a while), u-key (Luke), Addie, papaw, ball, me, pizza, hockey (daddy is so proud), uh-oh, hi, bye, up, please, thank you, love you, puppy, kitty, peyew (as in peyew, you stink), and poop (lovely, I know). We can't believe how much she is growing and changing every day. We love you so much Addison Marie!!!!