A great trip in pictures

post 150 - visitors :)

The past few days we've been able to have three visitors in our house. Paul, Marti & Becca got here Tuesday afternoon. And, if it is possible they haven't even visited everything yet :)

Yesterday, we traveled to Evansville to do some shopping. It was a good time, even though Amy and I didn't find the one thing we realy wanted to pick up. We did pick up a sled for the boys and I (Mike) am pretty excited about that.

We'll try to put up some pics later today.

Photo Friday

When we were in GA, Steve let us come out and look at one of the big semis. Nathan was a little unsure of it at first. Wes, on the other hand, was too eager to go up inside.

Christmas in IL

Christmas this year might be different for us. Even though they are not forecasting it to stick, they are saying it might snow (along with the rain) on Monday. To be sure, this Christmas will at least feel like Christmas. Compared to a Christmas in GA.

We'll see what it does.

random pics

Wes looking cute. This is one of the last pictures of him with his pacifier, as he no longer gets one.

Nathan really caught on to the sax. Doesn't he look like he is actually playing a song?

Wes decided that he wanted to put on the safety googles and walk around the house. Silly Wes.

This is at a Chick-fil-a we stopped at on the way down to GA. Nathan had a blast.

We'll try to post more pictures from the trip soon.

some pictures

the first snow (from last week)


the family.

Sad news

On Saturday, after our Christmas Party for the high school, we got a phone call from a friend in GA. She told us that one of our good friends passed away just an hour before she called. He was more than just a friend or father to some of the students in our youth group - he was part of our family. Their entire family was more than just some friends, over the years they had become our family.

We are planning on making the trip down for the funeral. Please pray for safe travel as we will be doing a lot the next few days.

Not much else to say, we're just at a loss for words. Amy and I did try to talk with Nathan about it today, as he loved Ron (and Ron loved him). Its not fun to try to teach your 2 year old about death.

Christmas decorations

Yesterday we put up some of our decorations. It was fun. It took longer than it "should" have because the boys helped. But I don't think Amy or I would want to do it any other way. We put up some new village scenes we've had for a few years but haven't been able to put up. We put up our tree. This year, Amy and I decided that all we are going to put on the tree is a strand of lights, that beed garland and one ornament. That one ornament is of Jesus in a manger (with a sheep next to him).

There are several nativities up (now the one on our microwave has more friends and doesn't feel so alone). We were able to get out the advent calendar and Nathan gets to start it today.

Overall it was a great day at home - though the weather started to change for the colder.

we might try to put up some pics of the decorations later

thoughts on Thanksgiving & pictures :)

Amy and I were completely blessed to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. It was a little strange not being with friends from GA (since that is who we have spent the last 5 Thanksgivings with) but nothing that we would want to miss out on with our family. Nathan continues to talk about all the people he got to play with over the past 2 weeks. :)

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure...


Becca and Nathan enjoying a little snack.


Wes wanted to wear Nathan's fireman jacket all day long after we got back.

NYWC over

We are back with family after the convention. It was a joy to be at the convention, but it is great to be back with the boys. We sure did miss them!

We got back earlier than expected last night and were able to see the boys before they went to bed. What an honor that was.

I'm going to go spend some time with them now. We'll post more later

away from the boys day 6

Its been tough. The boys are doing well, but Nathan is really starting to miss us too. So, that makes it hard to call and talk to him. He told Amy today that he cried because he missed us. :(

We can't wait to get back to see them!!

We know they are having a great time with Nene and Poppy, so we're not worried. Its been good to hear how mom and dad are doing and how much of a blessing it is to have them have the chance to be together for more than a few days.

The NYWC is going great. It has been long days, but a great uplifting to talk to others who are youth workers. God has showed up in some rather "normal" circumstances.

dropping off boys

Last night we arrived in Fort Wayne to drop off the boys and dogs. Sticky and Sadie were quick to remember grandma Carol. Nathan and Wes were equally well adjusted after just a few minutes.

Today we leave for cincy. It will be tough to leave the boys, but we know they will be more than fine here with family. They will probably forget we are even gone :)

less than a week

On Sunday we are driving up to Fort Wayne. We will be leaving the boys with grandpa/grandma and they are both excited. Even today at lunch, Nathan was talking about the trip and how he was excited!

Then on Monday, Amy and I are off to cincy for the National Youth Workers Convention. We are both pretty excited about this. This is her first time to help at the convention and my third.

Then on the 20th, we are back to Fort Wayne to spend a few days with family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Looking forward to this little vacation.

Lots to do b/w now and Sunday.

Photo Friday

Wes loves to be thrown in the air. Here is a pic from our old house where we tried to capture him midair. Not too bad.


Nathan got to get up close with the tractor that pulled the hayride. Needless to say, he is a little tiny compared to the huge tires.


Wes trying to share some of his birthday cake with Aunt Kim. He didn't get near as messy as Nathan did.


Aunt Kim visited and the boys (as well as Amy and I) loved having her with us.


Here it is. The final picture of our boxes. Thanks Aunt Kim for taking them away for us :)

Halloween

Here is a picture from the Trunk-n-Treat at church. What a cute Darth Vader! Hey, look at that big boy fireman.

Gotta love boys.

What a weekend

Aunt Kim visited this past weekend. It was great

Had a trunk-n-treat at church. Nathan was a fireman and Wes was Darth Vader. Sorry no pictures, but I'm having trouble getting them to load.

Yesterday we went out and did some trick or treating with a friend. Nathan again was a fireman and Wes was a Duck :) Yeah we ended up with two different costumes for him, got them last year. Needless to say the duck was a little smaller.

Will try to put pics up again.

two more pics

Here is a pic. of Amy doing some painting on the new house. It is a lot different looking being painted and with all the stuff in it :) You should have seen it before we primed it.



Here is a picture of mike and nathan after a long day. (Well, it was probably closer to mid morning, but it was still a tough few hours)

Wes turns 1

on Sunday!

it is over...

the moving is done. We are officially in our new house. But for those who might be mailing something - it doesn't really matter where you send it to. You can use our old address, our new address, or just the city and zip. As long as it has our name on it, it will get to us. A joy of living in a small town.

Now, on to the unpacking.

moving

Tomorrow we move all our stuff into the new house. Fun Fun Fun. Tonight is the last home game for the football team and a 5th Quarter afterward. Then tomorrow morning is the mens' breakfast. Then we move :)

We are really excited about the move and can't wait to be in. More once we get settled

a few pictures (to go with the captions)

Our little guy sure is growing up!




Our first TP since we've moved. They also got our new house, but it was such a sorry job we didn't even bother taking a picture.



This is the last picture of any of our stuff in storage:) Thankfully this has all been moved to our new house - now we have to just organize it.



Here is Wes showing some love for GA (the state, not the football team)! Sure would love to be back in GA today, its like 42 here.

Walking

Wes is officially walking. Last week, he just woke up one day and "decided" that taking steps was not enough any more. So, now he will walk across the room and is actually starting to prefer walking to crawling :)

It has made for a few more bruises and bumps, but its a lot better to take him outside now. He actually almost ruined two pair of pants this summer from crawling outside. Nathan was too scared of the grass to crawl on it, but not Wes.

On the housefront:
we are almost done painting (should finish tonight) everything we want to paint before we move. We are planning to move in on Saturday. (wow, that seems quick - yet its been so long)

This move will mean that we can walk alot more places: the park, the school, downtown Albion :), the pond for some fishing, the ball fields, the pool. Mike will be able to walk to and from school related events (thus leaving Amy with the car if needed)

Please pray about the move and the transition. Thanks.

More pics (supposed to be)

Here are some more pics. (not really, because I am having trouble loading them. But I have left the captions in the post. If I can get the pictures loaded and on the blog I will.)

-Now, just imagine the pictures that go with the captions-



This was our storage building at its max. We have since emptied it and moved the contents to our new house. Even though they are still in boxes, pretty much like the last year, we feel better because at least the boxes are at our new house.



A little Georgia love. (not the football team, but the state)



Look how cute he is! Now if that doesn't make you smile...



Our little buckaroo is growing up into an awesome little boy.

a few more pictures

Here is a nice pic of Mike being a great dad. Wearing some really cool sunglasses and helping to 'fix' the mailbox with Nathan.











Here is Amy being a great mom. Its really cool to see how much Nathan loves his mommy.










Wes was ready to go back inside. (If you look closely, you can see him pointing to the door, his way of asking to go inside).










I tried to get some more pics up, but having problems. Will post more soon. Will the pictures be of our first TPing, the new house, the boys or what?

it finally happens

Today we are going to close on our new house. So that is good :)

Yet this means, a lot more projects to be done (as we don't have many, at all, now that we are renting) and grass to be cut. We are really excited about finally moving and being in a settled location. We'll try to put up pictures soon so you can see what it looks like.

More fun, fun, fun

It has been great to have the family together this week. Though tomorrow and Saturday I (Mike) will be gone to Promise Keepers.

It is def. starting to become Fall around here. Let's just say it is cold in the morning (not something I missed being in GA). It is actually really nice to have the changing of the seasons. The weather is pretty nice and it helps to not be so hot all the time. The boys have not seemed to notice too much. They have not minded having the jackets and sweaters on.

Please pray for us as our moving to a house is no hold. There are a few things that need to get completed before we sign and move. Hoping to not take too long, we are hoping to get settled and stop thinking about moving or the fact that we are in a constant state of transition.

Excitement

Today is the day Amy and the boys get back home. I am so excited to have them back!

I can't wait to hear what all they did and learned. :)

More ADORABLE pictures from the Fort

Wes takes step

In the last post, Amy put some pics up for all to see. (Yeah, after a long wait there are finally recent pictures)

The ones of Wes are him taking a step. He decided that since he was away from home and his daddy, he would take a few steps. As you see from the picture, he was more than overjoyed with himself.

Amy was great enough to get some video for me to watch. I am so proud that he is starting to walk, though I'm not sure if we are ready for two walkers.

3/4 family vacation

This week is a good week, sorta. Amy and the boys are up in Fort Wayne enjoying some time with family. While Mike is in Albion, enjoying some time with Sticky and Sadie (who don't seem to move too much during the day with no one home).

It has been a sad few days for me (Mike) without Amy and the boys. I had the day off yesterday and forgot how different it is to not have anything to do. I can't speak for Amy, but I have gathered that they are having a good time. Lots of fun stuff going on and the little stinker (Wes) took his first step while in Fort Wayne. :( for Mike. But I'm glad family gets to be there for this cool moment. I'm sure I'll see him walk enough over the next few years.

Just wanted to update.

short vacation

The past few days we have been in Cincinnati with friends and family. We decided that we wanted to try to make the trip with the long weekend (which means I had Monday off). We left Sunday after lunch and got back last night around dinner.

It was a great trip. A blessing to see old friends that we haven't seen in a long time. The boys did great on the trip (we tried to time things around nap so that helped a lot). We stayed with our friends Jeremy and Jessica. We had a great time just relaxing and talking with them. Nathan, Wes and Mike got to make smores on Monday night. Well, Wes slept through the entire thing.

Sticky and Sadie also went with us and got a chance to hang out with Leo (Jeremy and Jessica's dog). A great time was had by all.

Amy and I are always blessed when we get together with friends. And this trip was no different. It is wonderful to hear what God is doing in our friends' lives and how things have changed over time. Lots of cool stuff going on by the way.

Again, I wish I could put some pictures up....

first football game tonight

Tonight, we are going to the high school football game. We are excited because we think it will be great for Nathan and Wes. We know Nathan will love it (at least as long as he can for a 2 year old). We're hoping Wes has enough interest or people to interact with to not get bored. We'll see, it should be fairly chilly.

We expect to see a lot of people we know, since over 1/2 the town goes to these (so we've heard). :)

uh-oh

Yesterday when Amy and the boys picked me up from work I was playing with Wes in the back seat. He dropped one of his toys on the seat and I said "uh-oh." You know, not thinking anything of it. Wes copied me and said "uh- oh" :)

It was so cute. Now he won't stop saying it. He has now joined the ranks as a copycat. His favorite words right now are: uh-oh, boo, and woof.

volleyball game

We went to the high school vball game last night. First time for Nathan and Wes to go to something like that. It was pretty fun. Overall, the boys did great. Wes just wanted to crawl around and be thrown in the air. Nathan watched for a bit and then just wanted some snacks :)

Its nice to be able to do stuff like that, now that Wes is a little older. And hopefully when we move we'll be able to walk to the school for stuff like that. Its just so dark when the games are over.

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know that we have a life outside of our house. Still don't have one outside of church stuff :)

More to come... (will we ever get pictures?)

new house

This week has been pretty busy, so we haven't blogged about this new development. About a week and a half ago we made an offer on a house and were accepted. (btw, its a lot different real estate market around here) We don't know for sure when we close and move in, but at the latest it will be the 20th of next month. We are pretty excited about the new house and its location. It is right behind the school and close to the park (as well as being "in town"). We are going to miss living next to our friends and the people who let us rent their house, but we know we won't be too far away.

We just wanted to let you all know what was going on. Please be praying for us as we make this transition. There are a lot of things we have had in storage for over a year, so we don't even remember what all we own. Again, I wish we could put a picture of the house on here, but I can't. But our move will change that as we will get internet at home and I will be getting a new computer at work soon (hopefully this week) and I will be able to do it from work now too.

Anyway, just wanted to update.

family visit

Today, we get to enjoy another family visit. (One of the great things about living semi close :))

Amy's mom and sister are coming in for a few days. Nathan is super excited. As are Amy and I. Wes doesn't really show too much change in facial expression (but then again he doesn't really understand all we're saying). We're all looking forward to the time we get to spend. Tonight is going to be pretty segmented, due to our small group that meets at our house, but we will just consider it special boys only time with the family.

Hopefully, we will be able to post some pictures in the next few months :)

No really, I've tried everything I can think of to get pictures on my computer at work, but alas it is not going to cooperate. So, until I get my new office computer or we get internet at the house or we move, you won't be seeing any pictures on here. That is, unless we can try to do it on a friend's computer.

rain, rain, rain

Today and yesterday have been filled with one thing... rain (as if the title wasn't enough of a clue).

We needed the rain. Amy mentioned yesterday that she looks at rain differently now that we live in an area that depends so much on rain. I agree. Its not a problem when you know your friends really need it for their crops.

Other than the rain, things have been rather dry :)

Wes is really starting to want to stand next to everything and will even stand on his own for a brief bit. Nathan is really growing into a little boy. And his memory is incredable. Everyday it seems like he amazes us with what he remembers.

We've been able to have a few visits from family lately and that has been great. And we look forward to many more to come. More later...

lots going on and no time to write

and we don't have any internet at home.

Let's see what has been going on: Summer in the Son (a great week with some of the high schoolers), getting settled into our temp house (fun, fun, fun), VBS this week (getting to know some of the middle schoolers and other adults), Pork Day (best one ever), Wes is really trying to start standing and walking, Nathan is learning lots of new words and putting words together, and lots of little stuff that goes with moving across country.

We'll try to write more about Pork Day and the boys soon.

(I need to get back to work)

We are here

I know its been over a week, but its been pretty busy. We are here in IL. No phone or internet at home and some limited at work (due to being in the country and in some sort of "valley" that won't let the technology of the 21st century into the building :)). So, we haven't been able to do much updating.

Just wanted to let you all know we are here and safe and happy. Next week, we will be going with the high schoolers to Summer in the Sun. It'll be a great way to get to know some of the youth better as we start the ministry.

Hope to have some pictures up sometime soon (probably a few weeks).

Bob, are you serious?

Bob, are you serious?
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Here is Wes on the Bob the builder ride at Chuck E. Cheese. He didn't seem to impressed with Bob, just look at his face (esp. the eyes)

Nathan's new hat

Nathan's new hat
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Another great pic of Nathan playing with his favorite toy. The hat is one of Mike's old ones that Nathan wanted to wear - it doesn't fit that bad.

What is he eating?

What is he eating?
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Its Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper. But he really didn't eat it. Amy did accidently try to feed it to him, and he hated it. (Thankfully) He was a lot more willing to eat the baby food after he tasted this spicier mexican treat.

Amy takes a swing

Amy takes a swing
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Here is a pic of Amy taking a practice swing with a seven iron. We never got to go play golf, due to bad weather. But I (Mike) like to believe that I would have still won, mainly because Amy has never played a round of golf before. It was a fun day.

Storage Room

Storage Room
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

This is our "storage room" as we have pretty much filled it up. It is just about as full as it will get and in a week, we get to empty it!!!

We are ready to not have a storage room, and actually put the stuff in a storage building.

we got it!!!!

Some of you have already heard, but for others here it is. We got the job in IL. We are pretty excited to be heading back into ministry. I (Mike) am really ready to get back into it. Its been a long 11 months, and God has been faithful the entire time.

We will be moving in 2 weeks - so its almost over :)

Mmm...good

Mmm...good
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Nathan really likes oreos! He had a few on the trip and didn't want any of it to go to waste, so he does what we all do and licked his fingers. Despite the messy clean up it was pretty cute.

Wes starting to crawl?

Wes starting to crawl?
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Here is Wes this weekend deciding that he wanted to try this crawling thing again. He hasn't been able to crawl yet, but he started rocking and scooting himself backwards.

another great trip

This past weekend offered us another great trip up north. The drives went well, with the boys doing great. We had a couple great opporutnities to just hang out with people (a women's banquet, softball games, ice cream social) and some more formal opportunities (Mike preaching, visiting SS classes).

We feel really good about the vote next week, and so does the leadership. We will finally know for "officially" on Sunday afternoon. Please be praying for the vote and for the next step.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today is our 5th anniversary. Happy anniversary babe.

For our anniversary, I thought we could take an 8 hour trip :)

weekend to come

First, the pictures are coming. It's been pretty busy around here this week. Yesterday was Mike's last day at the dentist office and next Wed is his last day at Target. He wanted to have some time off before the move and start of a new job.

This weekend we are heading back up to IL for one last visit. We are excited and a little anxious. Please continue to pray for a safe trip and for the overall trip. We want to be ourselves and get to know a few more people. Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts. We are thankful for all the support we have received the past 10 months.

Well, gotta get packing. Will post probably on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend.

100th post

This is our 100th post!!

(pause for spontaneous celebration and balloons - a streamer or two if you must)

Back to the post...

Well, today was a great day and a long day. Since we are hoping on moving in the middle of June, we decided to go ahead and put our house on the market. We thought it would take around a month or so to sell our house. This would allow us to be able to know for sure what was going on before we would sell the house. Well, let's just say it doesn't seem to be working that way. Today we had 4 people look at the house (with at least 1 more wanting to look tomorrow). Out of the 4 people who looked at the house, we received 4 offers on the house tongiht. How crazy is that - 4 offers in one day.

We will hear back tomorrow on the offer we "accepted" and countered. Now we just have to hear back from the church and see what happens :)

Just wanted to update. We'll post some new pics soon.

roller coaster weekend

This weekend was filled with soem great highs and a horrible low. Let's start with the low.

On Thursday night, after work, I (mike) went to the hospital to visit our friend John who was in the ICU. His wife was not there, so I had a chance to talk with one of his sons for a bit. Then when I was getting ready to leave, his son asked if I wanted to go back and see John. I had not thought about doing it, but since I am a minister Josh (the son) said they would let me. I went back to the room and as soon as I saw him I started crying (not just those "end of a sad movie tears" but the real "weeping" I can't believe I am looking at you in this condition tears) and couldn't really control myself. I prayed with him and cried.

Well, on the way up to IL, we got the call we didn't want to get. John passed away on Friday afternoon. It was a tough ride after that point. Because we were out of town, we did not get to go to the viewing or funeral.

But we had some great news this weekend, too.

The weekend went great. We had a chance to get to hang out with some of the youth and coaches/elders/staff on Saturday night. It was a fun time and we felt right at home. We even said it didn't feel like an interview. It was a great feeling to just be "right back at home" even though it was the second time we were there. We stayed with a great couple, we much prefer this over a hotel :)

On Sunday, I was able to teach the jr. high sunday school and the sr. high sunday night classes. It was good to be able to teach in those settings again. We felt like both classes went well and God used the subject matter to reinforce some things that have been taught over the last few months. We still haven't been able to meet all the youth yet :) (they must be scared of my overwhelming personality :))

Anyway, on Sunday afternoon we had a lunch with the search team and elders again. At the afterlunch meeting there wasn't too much discussion about new stuff. It felt like everyone had already made up there mind as to what they thought about me and the open position (probably didn't hurt that everyone loved Amy and the boys). So they decided they would have a meeting right there after we left. They met and decided to ask us back in two weeks to preach and meet the "rest of the congregation" - you know the people who don't have children and those who don't work with youth or are not elders. They want to give every opportunity for the people to get to meet us. We will also be visiting different SS classes during that trip.

I was offered the job and we accepted. This next trip is almost basically about "PR" with the congregation. We are looking forward to it.

Hopefully, we will be able to move and start in about a month or so. Wow that is strange to type. It has been almost a year since we started this process. Throughout the entire time God has been good, no great.

Wes sitting up

Wes sitting up
Originally uploaded by lilkup.

Just wanted to show a good pic of Wes sitting up all on his own.