A miracle from God - Brayden

As the count down began, the excitement began to mount over Julie having her baby. If she didn't respond to text message within an hour, I assumed she was at the hospital.   Everyone was so excited for them.

The day finally came for her water to break (luckily at the doctor) and then to the hospital.  After a long night, he was finally born.  Brayden Jason Ruth.  And he was perfect - cone head and all.  A sweet bundle of love at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 18 1/2 inches long.  So very proud of Julie for pushing him out.  And Jason for being Julie's protector.  What a truly perfect moment this must have been for them. So much hard work and hurt, but in the end God answered their prayers.

When the text came in, and we were off to the races to get to the hospital to meet him. And it was love at first sight for me.  I can remember the same exact feeling when I met Karle and Kahle for the first time.  It's like your heart grows just a little bit.  And the girls were just in aw over him and wanted to love him and hold him. 

I just love the feeling at the hospital after you have a baby.  There is just so much love and joy in the room.  It is one of the most blessed moments. And I was so happy to be able to share it with Jason, Julie and Brayden.

Dear God 

Thank you so much for answering prayers and giving Julie and Jason this most perfect gift.  They prayed for him for a long time and you brought this miracle into our lives. You truly are almighty. 

Amen

Christmas lights fun

We planned a fun night for the girls to go to MIS and drive through the Christmas lights, see reindeer and Santa.  And it was so fun.  We got there plenty early and didn't have to wait in line.  We actually waited to go in until it was darker.

First we saw Santa and then the reindeer.

We packed special snacks and drinks for the girls and let them sit up front with us.

Then we finished the night off with dinner on the drive home and PJs.  Both girls were sound asleep before we got home.  So fun!  Can't wait to do it again next year. 

First snow fall

The girls love snow.  Plain and simple.  Greta has been asking for snow since summer and we finally got enough to play in.  So much fun! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a quick and short trip to Unionville since I had to leave on Saturday at 6 am for Chicago.

Lola and Greta also had a Thanksgiving celebration at school... and look at my little ham.  Of course the only one smiling and looking at the camera.

In Unionville, we also ventured out and got a couple Christmas trees for our front porch and helped mom cut down her's.

And lots of fun with aunts and cousins

Craft Show 2017

Another fun and successful craft show - this time with only Mom and Mary.  Julie was too close to D-Day.  We shopped, we bought, we braved the cold and had a great time.

Fun girls

Lately the girls have been super fun and super silly!

Being silly outside - gotta love the fresh hair

All ready for church!  Sunglasses were a must because it was foggy.

Trick or treating 2017

A first in our family... we went trick or treating... like the real kind where you go house to house. Our friends invited us to join them and despite snow earlier in the day, we bundled up and headed out. 

The kids had a great time! And ran and laughed and ate candy. After we’d had enough we headed back to their house to play and there were many tears when we had to leave. But lots and lots of fun was had by all!

Happy Halloween

This year's theme for our family Halloween was Doc McStuffin's! 

Doc McStuffin

 Lambie

Stuffy

Nurse Hallie

We even won honorable mention at the Day Care party. 

And had a blast at Truck or Treat at church.  Greta's friend Aubrielle and her family joined us as well.

Julie's Baby Shower

What wonderful day celebrating a true miracle from God.  You could feel the love and excitement in the room for Julie.  It has been a long time coming and now he's only 7 weeks away from making his grand entrance. 

The Shower

We went for a rustic theme decorations and of course some "It's a Boy" mixed in. Guests decorated blocks for Baby Ruth and also wrote some messages on diapers for those late night changes. Lots of great breakfast food - cinnamon roles, monkey bread, bubble loaf, poppy seed bread, muffins, pastries, egg casseroles, cookies, fruit, yogurt - oh my!  So yummy!

We had about 40 adults there and quite a few children - who Karle was so great about entertaining. 

Julie got lots of great stuff for Baby Ruth and then we unpacked it all and sorted and organized it.  It was quite evident that Baby Ruth is already so loved.

Not sure Baby Ruth will be able to handle all the love he's going to get some all of us.

I had to include at least one picture where you could see the belly.  Greta and Lola both loved tickling the baby.

Can't wait to meet you Baby Ruth!  I hope you know how amazing and strong of a mommy you have. 

We prayed for this child and God has granted us what we asked of Him.  I Samuel 1:27

Farming with Papa

One of the girls' favorite things to do it is ride with Papa - especially in the combine.  Well this time - it only took about 10 minutes and they both were sound asleep.

Still lots of fun!

Trip to Indiana

A quick trip to Indiana for Evan's birthday party... Greta and Lola were both super excited and couldn't stop asking when we got to go.

Lots of birthday party fun - cake, pumpkin decorating, scarecrow making, candy hunt and even swimming! 

And even before we left - the girls wanted to know when they could see Colin Evan (it's one word to them - lol) again!

Plus a little inter-family revelry. 

Football Fun or maybe not

Michigan vs. Michigan State - a game that is always exciting and usually fun.

Well this game wasn't quite that - but it was fun to be there with Mom and Uncle David and 100K others.  And if they had won, the monsoon that we sat through would have totally been worth it.  But even though they didn't win, it still wasn't that bad because it was so warm out.  I was totally dry except for my feet - great poncho!  But poor mom - I told her not to bring her rain pants - oops - and she was drenched with just her rain coat. 

Vacation Wrap Up

Both girls were super excited to go on the airplane.  We arrived in plenty of time and got to watched lots of planes.  They did great on the ride down.  Greta watched a movie and then played games.
Lola watched a bit of a movie and then just enjoyed the ride.


Cruising in style



We stayed at a great Marriott Vacation Resort... 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room and full kitchen!  It was perfect.  The girls slept in their own room - most of the night without me... and did great!   The kitchen was also great!  I went grocery shopping at Walmart when we first arrived and stocked up on breakfast, snacks and a couple lunches and dinners.  Saved us so much money as well at all the hassle of eating out with a 2 and 4 year old at the end of a long day.

We also had lots of fun at the pool and playgrounds.  And even tried putt putt golf.  I'm pretty sure I won.  (I doubt Ryan will read this so I'm going to say that).

Then the flight home and awesome!  Again arrived at the airport in plenty of time.  Had some lunch and then hung out and watched Frozen in their movie section of the airport.

And then Greta watched a movie and played on the iPad and Lola slept, literally the entire way home!

So much fun and so many memories... not sure where our next adventure will take us but I'm sure we'll have a great time and experience new things through the eyes of Greta and Lola.