Christmas All Wrapped Up!

Over the past month we have lost a few things. 1 ~ The month of December ~ I swear it was just Thanksgiving. 2 ~ The playroom floor ~ There are now toys everywhere. 3 ~ Our bedroom Floor AKA Laundry folding area ~ Just when we think we are caught up we get more new clothes.
Over the past month we experienced all that Christmas is suppose to be. Peace, JOY, Hope & Love. It was a great joy to teach the Christmas Story to my 2 Yr Old Sunday School class (with the help of Aunt Crys's books).
It was Ethan's 1st Christmas and Jakob's 2nd Christmas with our family. They are growing every day. They love to play together too.
We had a chance for each of the boys to see Santa at one of our Christmas Party's. Jakob was not a fan of that. Ethan didn't mind him, just stared.








Thank you to all our friends and family for the fun presents. We have spent hours playing with them already. The boys are sleeping right now, so I actually get some computer time. We are laying low today as we are exhausted from the holiday.
Merry Christmas!
All Our Love,
Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan

Unexpected November Weather

We took advantage of the great weather yesterday. We played outside for hours. We tried to go for a walk, but Jakob got bored. He kept trying to crawl out of the stroller. Rick had to work so it was an adventure by myself. We decide to go back to the house and play. After playing in the jeep and other toys for hours we headed to the sand box. Ethan ended up in the sand box head first - quite a site. He had sand from head to toe, even up his nose.

To help clean off the sand they boys took a nice warm bath. Jakob and Ethan always have fun in the tub.





Not much planned for this week. Hoping to clean and catch up on sleep. Sounds exciting doesn't it.
Have a wonderful week.
Love,
Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan

Halloween ~ Our Style

So our Halloween wasn't like most others.
After having Jakob's costume on Friday and determining he really doesn't like it, Rick doesn't like Choas, I hate the cold and Ethan had a cold we determined to not go trick or treating.
We started our Halloween out at Target, had to pick a few gifts and a few things for Ethan. We then went to Meijer to get a few groceries. After that we wanted to go home, but with the dog trying to escape and Jakob trying to escape we really didn't want to hand out candy. So we picked up food from Johnny Carino's. We pulled in the garage and quick closed the garage door behind us. We ran in the house keeping the lights out we grabbed our things and ran up the stairs. We laid a sheet out on the floor in our bedroom and put in a movie. We had a picnic up on the floor in our bedroom. It was very messy with the boys but was kind of fun. It is crazy how many people still ring the door bell with all the lights out.
Sorry no pictures of the picnic didn't want to get caught running downstairs to get the camera.

Resting up today, so we all feel great to start the week.
Hugs, Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan

Halloween - Pre Party

Went to Grandpa and Grandma Brower's house tonight. Had to test out the Halloween Costumes. Jakob is not to sure about the head piece to his costume. Not sure if we will venture out tomorrow night or not. Gail force winds, rain & cooler temps - doesn't sound like fun with 2 boys. Enjoy the pics, they may be the only ones we get in costume. You never know.

Jakob is suppose to be a dinosour and Ethan a Frog.

Starting off with a good record. Pictures posted the same day they were taken. WOW!

Headed to bed. It has been a week!!

Hugs,

Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan

Blogging not as easy as you think!!

I thought I used to be a pretty good blogger, updating every couple days. Then it grew to weeks and now months. Taking the time to blog is not as easy as you think. Maybe it is uploading the pictures or just getting a chance to sit by the computer without someone banging on the keys or stealing the mouse. Well I was told to step it up a bit. GGram leaves for Florida in 2 months and wants to see new pictures every week. WOW! Wish me luck on that.
We have been busy. Ethan is sitting up and scooching around. He should be crawling in no time. He not the best eater, but is working on his baby food. He likes fruit and vegtables not so much. He has had a little cold, but so far have been able to avoid the flu. No teeth yet, but drooling like it could be any day. Jakob is growing like crazy. He runs everywhere and only knows 1 speed Fast. He isn't the best eater either but loves Cheese Sticks and Hot Dogs. He can live on that right??? He helps with chores. He loves to take Ginger outside and fill her bowl of food and water. Both the boys love taking baths. Rick has been busy working as usual. He is getting his plow ready for the snow. He also has been holding down the house cooking dinner and helping to clean. I have been crazy going from task to task. Work has been quite busy. We have had a few big fundraiser lately that take some extra time. I have been working on a fundraising committee for a new Christian School in Costa Rica which is going great. Teaching Sunday School, taking care of the boys and the house fills the rest of the hours in the day. Occasionally I get some sleep. I will practice updating the blog more. Hope it goes well.
A few weeks ago we had our family pictures taken. We need to decide what ones to print. Any input you have would be great. They turned out pretty good considering.

Hope you enjoyed our photos.

Will be back soon posting soon.

Hugs,

Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan

Jakob turned 2 in September

We finally have a weekend at home to catch up on things we haven't really spent time on. One thing would be updating you with pictures. We had a party with the Browers back in September for Jakob's birthday. I made his cake. It is suppose to look like a tractor in case you couldn't figure it out. It tasted good. Jakob enjoyed it too.

Jakob had a wonderful birthday.

Hugs,

Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan

Apple Picking 2009

We ventured out into the orchard today, in hopes of finding some apples. We definately found plenty. We had a great time too.

Had to take a few minutes to show Jakob what to do. After that he was on the run.

Find an apple you might want!
Inspect the apple and pull it off!

Inspect the apple again and think about eating it. :-) His favorite part was pulling the wagon.

Well maybe it was picking the best apples from the top of the trees.

Ethan tired out from the bumpy stroller ride.

Another 4 generation outing and we forgot to take a picture of all of us.

Missed daddy while he was at work, but somebody had to pay for our apples. :-)

Had a blast. Now time for naps, busy day tomorrow. Jakob starts Sunday School tomorrow. It will be so fun. Off to California on Tuesday @ 4:00 AM.

Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the beautiful weather.

Rick, Mandi, Jakob & Ethan