Amazing Family

My cousin Dulci has been entered as a local hero to try and win her a handcap van with a hydrolic lift. This family is so deserving of this and it would help them so very much. Please take the time to vote for Dulci and read her sister's letter of love. 

THANK YOU!!!

http://www.nmeda.com/mobility-awareness-month/heroes/michigan/holland/2022/dulci-genzink

The promo code is 785.

4 Months - Grant Michael

Big Guy.

The last 4 months have flown by. You are getting so big. We laugh at all your chub and rolls. It is so adorable. You are so happy, you giggle all the time and your smiles are a dime a dozen. People love talking to you because smile back so easily.

Sleep – We are still working on napping. Afternoon naps I feel are finally getting good. You nap in the pack n’ play in our room in the afternoon because Charley is napping at the same time and you don’t nap as long as he does. On a good day you will sleep for 3 hours but most days it’s about an hour & a half or 2. Morning naps have been tricky because two days of the week we have to pick Payton up from school and one day you are at Amma’s house so it’s hard to give you a good nap. You do usually sleep in your car seat while we run around or at Amma’s but it’s hard to gage. On the days we are home I try to put you in your ‘big boy crib’ and you sleep for an hour or so. You also have an evening cat nap (1/2 hour or so) around 6 or 6:30. This is usually taken in your bouncy seat while we all eat dinner. It works out great actually. As for night time, you are a champ. You go to bed around 8:30 and sleep until 6:30/7, get fed and sleep until 8 or 9. (Good Boy!:)

Feeding – You are still mainly breast fed but take a bottle really well now because you just don’t get enough so I give you formula to top you off. This happens before your afternoon nap (usually 4 oz) and before bed at night (usually 6 oz). You don’t really seem to prefer breast milk over formula. As long as you are getting fed you are happy…hints the chunk!. J
Diaper Size- 2’s. We may not be in these very long…we have had a few blow outs in them already.
Clothe Size - 3 to 6, 6 month hand-me-downs from Charley and new 6 month
Activities – We got out the saucer! You love it.  It’s fun to see your face as you play and discover.

Stats - Weight: 17 lb 2 oz!!! (90th Percentile) Height: 25 1/4 inches (50th Percentile) Head Circ: 42.2 (50th Percentile)

Every time I look at you I feel so blessed and am reminded of how much better God’s plans are than my own. 

Love you handsome boy,
Mommy 

Still Little

Payton Renay -
I have not had a post dedicated to just you in far too long. So sweet girl, this one is all about YOU!

I love watching you grow up. I marvel everyday at how big you are getting and how you are quickly going from a 'little girl' to a 'big girl'. Your independence is getting greater and greater. Everything has to be done 'by myself'. "I can do it by myself Mom" is one of your favorite phrases for sure, that and "No Charley". :) It's great watching you learn to do many things 'by yourself' but it can also be a struggle because there are just somethings that you can't yet do by yourself. We are trying to find a good balance. You have learned to get yourself dressed which is great and comical at the same time. It is your new thing to change your clothes during your rest time and you change into the funniest things. You then come out and show me and you are SO proud. It's adorable.

You are so articulate...most of the time. I love that I am able to have actual conversations with you. You can be a bit sassy and don't think I can blame Daddy for that one...I'll take the blame there. It amazes me how much I learn about myself and my reactions and comments in certain situations. I don't always love hearing it play back via a 3 year old but it makes me more aware of what I do and say. You are making me a better person and mommy. Your brothers will have to thank you for that someday...I'll remind them to do that. :)
You are really into rhyming. Sometimes you rhyme actual words but sometimes you just make up words to rhyme. 
You are in the final weeks of your first year of school which has been really great for you. It is something that is just for you and I think, I hope, it makes you feel special. One of my favorite things is in the car when I pick you up listening to you tell me what you learned that day or who you played with or what you had for a snack.
The weather is getting warmer so we are able to play outside these days. Your favorite activity is driving the Gator around the yard with Charley in the passenger seat. You are pedal to the metal the whole time and just giggle and giggle. I am not sure what is going to happen once Charley learns to drive but hopefully you will give him a chance to drive you around when that happens.
5 Nights ago you officially were done with pull-ups for night time. So far, so good. No accidents thus far. You are proud of yourself but I think you were a little sad to give up the princess pull-ups because you love princesses.
Quiet time is still a necessity. You sit in your room and watch a movie while playing with your Polly Pockets, Barbie dolls, My Little Ponies or basket of 'little things' (beads, strings, McDonald's toys etc). You love your movies though and love going to 'the movie store' to pick out a movie.

I have to remind myself a lot these days that although you are a big sister to 2 brothers you are STILL LITTLE! My patience needs to be greater at times and reminding myself of this fact helps me in those moments that am frustrated.

I love you so much Sweet Heart! You are a joy.
Love with all my heart, Mommy

A Letter to My Children About Marriage (& to everyone else)

* I LOVE this!! Marriage is hard but divorce is harder. Don't believe me, ask someone who is divorced or getting divorced. Divorce sucks!

Dear Children,
Should the Lord give you the good gift of a husband or wife, and I hope He does, there are a few things I want you to know. Things that you may not hear from anyone else, and certainly not on TV or other media. Sadly, your church may not even tell you.

Marriage, sweet little people, is not for the purpose of your happiness. Happy as I want you to be and hope you will be, you must yet understand that marriage is God’s design and His purposes must be pursued in order for you to be truly happy. His end is holiness and He will use all things in a life devoted to Him to fulfill that end.

To my girls: Marry a man whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, he is not hard to please. Admire him, cheer him on and show gratitude, and he will fall over himself trying to please you. Smile often, speak well of him always, and do whatever necessary to try and maintain a pleasant mood about you so that it transfers to your home, making it a place where he and your children love to be.
You’ll have bad days of course, crying days even, and that’s when you go to your bedroom, kneel on the floor and beg the Lord to carry you. Then get up, get a fresh perspective (crayons will come off the wall), and try again. Above all else, make a home.

To my boys: Marry a woman whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, she may be hard to please :) only if you don’t know “the secret”. What is that? I’m glad you asked. The secret to pleasing your wife is to make her feel safe and treasured. You may have to move out of your comfort zone to do this at times. She won’t always readily translate the oil change to love, though it means that. But let me give you a “secret question”–a question you need to ask her often. It’s not just in the asking, though. Be sure to focus your eyes on hers, maybe even touch her shoulder or face, and then ask: “What’s on your mind these days? “ And then be ready to listen. She wants you to draw her out. She will perceive this as your protection over the matters of her heart. Tenderness, listening, protection. That’s what she wants.

To you all: If your wife or husband does something really stupid, forgive. If they do it again, forgive again. Forgiveness must be the propelling force in your lives each day. Dwell on the strengths, push out thoughts of their weaknesses. Take every thought captive–choose to love.

Here’s that part you are not going to hear often:

If you find yourself “not happy”, having lost attraction, disinterested, etc., you are not permitted to even think about a divorce. If you find yourselves arguing more and more, don’t think for a minute that “the children will be better off out of this”, because they won’t.

The vows you took on your wedding day were not suggestions. They were covenant vows, before a Holy God, family and friends, to stay with this person the rest of your life, even if you don’t feel like it. You swore a solemn oath and if you can’t live up to it, don’t get married. Decide up front that your marriage is irrevocable. There is far more motivation for getting along if your “marriage house” has no door.

Do not share intimate thoughts or feelings with anyone of the opposite sex. Do not find yourself alone for any length of time with such either.

Divorce is not a “private option”. It will affect multiple families for many generations. When you “separate what God has joined” you permanently injure far more than just yourself.

Guard your marriage as fiercely as you would guard your own life. Treat your spouse as an extension of your flesh, just as God sees you. Treat your spouse like other family members. You know, “you gotta love ‘em, they’re the only family you’ve got”.

I want you to be happy, I surely do. But I will pray for you to be holy.

My Babies - 3 Months

Playdate & Easter Eggs

Last Monday we were invited to a friend's house for a play date and Easter egg hunt. Payton of course was into it and loves playing with her friend Josi. Charley wasn't really sure about the eggs until he discovered that when he opened them he found candy! Hot diggidy. After that he was an egg finding machine. Bunny craft"What are we doing with these bags??"Payton & Josi were so sweet. They were sharing the eggs with each other. "Mommy look, there's candy!!!""Out of my way people!"

Rylie, Josi & Payton
Payton & her candy
Everyone opening their eggs

Happy Easter!

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:15 - - He arose and conquered the grave!