Christmas Highlights

We had a great Christmas with lots and lots of family time. Elise understood way more this year, and she even knew that all the presents, trees, lights, stockings is because of baby Jesus. We talked about him every day, and my prayer is that she always knows that the baby Jesus is the center of not only Christmas, but of our whole lives.

Here are the highlights of our week...

Following tradition, we celebrated together, just our little family, on December 23rd

We gave Elise a baby be blessed doll. She's warming up to her slowly,

but I hope that baby Grace will soon be a favorite.

Grace came with Elise's name on her belly and the verse I picked out for her: 2 Timothy 1:7

The Bush family continued our homemade gifts tradition this year, and it was as fun as ever!

I made my dad MSU pj pants and a black leather braided belt

Jess made me 12 jars of delicious canned peaches and salsa. Soooo good.

Paul made Abby this gorgeous mirror. The brown edge is all wine corks. Very very cool.

Abby made Bryan homemade salsa, spicy just like Bryan likes it.

Bryan made Paul a remote control airplane. Lots & lots of work,

one crashed plane, and this one yet to be flown.

They're both excited to fly it sometime soon.

Mike made mom this really beautiful wood cutting board. I think it's walnut and maple.....

My mom made yet another one of her amazing quilts for Jess.

This one is for the boat, and it even has the boat name, "off the Hoek" stitched onto it.

My dad took a bowl-making class and made this wooden bowl for Mike. It's really really amazing how it was made: lots of little pieces of wood glued together and then shaped on a lathe.

The Linns continued one of my most favorite traditions: Christmas Caroling on Christmas eve:

We caroled in Jon & Angela's neighborhood, and their neighbors were really friendly and enjoyed it. We all met at our house in Christmas for a full day of delicious food, presents, games, laughing, and celebrating. It was a great day to be all together. I didn't take many pictures, probably because I was too busy enjoying all the fun!

Now for New Years.........

christmas jammies

Christmas jammies are the best. I love them. I Love buying them. I love the pictures on Christmas eve of all three of us in pajamas.

Elise loves all jammies. Tonight, she was especially excited to be wearing her jammies a little early, and by a little early, I mean before dinner. :) Here are a couple pictures of my cutie girl being a total ham in her Christmas jammies.

Expecting

A little change is coming to the Linn family in July: a baby! We are thrilled to be expecting, and can't wait to see what life is like as we become a family of four.

opening doors

Elise learned a new very valuable skill: opening doors. She can now get into every closet and into every room. It's crazy that I used to be able to contain her by just closing a door. So not the case anymore. After a full day yesterday of closing closet doors, picking up things strewn around each and every bedroom, and trying to keep Elise inside on a very cold day, I was sick of Elise's new trick.

Then tonight happened. I had to stay at work a little late, so I pulled into the garage around 7 o'clock. My heart skipped a beat as my barefoot little bundle of sweet joy opened the door and ran to my car door shouting "mommy! mommy!" The simple art of Elise being able to open the door to greet me made my whole day.

Love her. Love her. Love her.

Christmas Traditions

Everyone has their traditions. Our big one is going to cut down the tree. Saturday was our day, and I was, as usual, over-eager to accomplish our task.

We headed out to a place we had seen advertised on 100th street. As we drove in, I got a little nervous at the trees I saw. We trudged through the snow with Elise trailing behind, discovering that the snow was cold and kinda hard to walk in, looking desperately to find any tree decent enough to take home. Sadly, we couldn't find one. I made Bryan go back into the barn and explain to the very nice people that we just didn't find a tree in their very large field. It was then that they confided that they wouldn't buy a tree out of their selection, either.

Plan B. We drove back into town, bought a newspaper, and headed to Allendale to Bosch's tree farm. Talk about beautiful trees! Elise had fun riding on the sled out into the field, and Bryan did a great job cutting it down, and I hauled it back to the car.

Yes, our lack of a good plan cost us most of our Saturday. Yes, we paid way more money than we usually do. Yes, I lost my cool a little bit as I mentally crossed off all the other tasks I had hoped to complete that day. But! We got a beautiful tree, made some good memories, got to eat popcorn balls compliments of the Bosches, and now have our tree up and decorated to enjoy for the rest of the Christmas season.

mmmmmm!

I remember watching my mom bake a cake. She always used her kitchen aid mixer, and I can still remember the green of the base and that silver bowl spinning. My mom makes the best homemade frosting. I have the recipe and I make it often, but it's never quite the same.

I had the privilege of making my mom a birthday cake a few weeks ago. Elise had just woken up from her nap, and she was pretty excited about a cake for grandma. Although she was a little frightened of the mixer (she hates all machines that make noise!), she warmed up when she got a taste of what the kitchen aid could mix up! What a treat!

It's always pink frosting. :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I know that Thanksgiving is still more than a week away. But, I've been searching for Christmas cards for almost a month now. I love Christmas cards, and since we had Elise, I love photo Christmas cards. As difficult as it is to get that family picture of all four of us looking at the camera, (just ask my sister, Abby!) I think that the hassle is well worth it. And, I LOVE getting all of our family and friends' Christmas cards in the mail. While I love all the cards, the picture cards are my favorites.

Last year I took all the photo cards that we received and put them in a little photo book for Elise to flip through. This way we talked about all of our family and friends through the whole year. I think that Elise knows all their names better than Bryan at this point. :)

My friend Jill recently posted on her blog about a great deal that Shutterfly is offering to bloggers like us. Essentially, Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Here is the link if you're interested: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

I've used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards for the past two years. They have the greatest styles and they always print out beautifully. Also, the shipping is fast, so once I get that great picture, I know my cards are only a few days away.

While they have some of the same classic designs from years past, Shutterfly has some great new cards this year. To check them out, click here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery I'm having a hard time deciding on design for our 2010 cards.....

Another product that shuttefly offers is personalized birthday, mothers' day cards, and father's day cards. This year I sent all Elise's grandparents cards for these special days with her picture on it. Shutterfly even lets me enter my own text, like bible verses and special messages to each person. The cards aren't any more expensive than the Halmark cards we buy in the store, and I think these are so much more fun. Check out the options here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-cards-stationery

Lastly, Shuttefly has some great personalized gift ideas. While I haven't ever done these projects, I'm considering a couple for some family members this year. Shutterfly makes it so easy, and I would be confidant in my order since Shuttefly's quality is always exceptional. Click here to check out the personalized gift ideas: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars

I can't wait for all the Christmas cards to arrive in our mailbox in just a few short weeks!

Thankful Tree

In the spirit of thanksgiving, and at the recommendation of my very wise sister, Jessica, our family started a new tradition: a thankful tree. Every day we ask Elise to think of something that she is thankful for.

Even though Elise often says "thank you, mommy," she doesn't really understand thankfulness. She's only 2! But, she can think of things that she likes or make her happy. So, the first day that I asked her, she said "wawafs," which translates to waffles. Great! I wrote down waffles and attached it to our little tree. Day 2: "Elise, what is something that you're thankful for today?" Elise: "wawafs!" The girl loves her breakfast foods.

So, every day I try to have her come up with something other than waffles to be thankful for. I'm kinda tempted to just write down waffles every day and enjoy the laugh, but what if she forever associates thankfulness with waffles?!

The last few days have been things like monkeys, our fish Myrtle, babies, mommy (yes, a little coaching on that one), daddy (no coaching required), and swings.

I hope that as our thankful tree grows more and more leaves, so will our thankfulness to
God for all our wonderful blessings, even blessings as simple and delicious as waffles.

Happy Halloween & Yee-ha!

We had a fun Halloween weekend. Between going to Trunk or Treat at Ridge Point, dressing up for playgroup, carving a pumpkin or two, and visiting a few neighbors, Elise got her full share of Halloween.

The funniest part was when we visited one of Bryan's coworkers houses tonight and they opened the door and Elise walked right into their living room! After that, we reminded her to stay on the porch. :)

Her most favorite part was answering the door as kids came tonight. She got so excited every time, running to the door, opening it up, and just staring at all the kids in costumes.

I love all the family traditions, and I can tell that my little family will enjoy Halloween for lots of years to come.

Happy 2 Baby Girl!

Today we celebrated Elise's 2nd birthday. It was such a great day, filled with our families and everything wonderful about celebrating a little girl.


I remember those first few days with her two years ago. And, if I'm completely honest, those days were kind of painful. I was a stressed, tired, and very unsure new mom. I didn't know what I was doing, and I didn't understand why Elise did what she did or how to best care for her. I remember praying to God to give me a mother's heart. I know some moms are born with that amazing love for their kids, and I know I had some of that. But, really, I didn't feel it much those first weeks. There I was, spending nearly every waking minute with my beautiful baby girl fearing that maybe I didn't have what it takes to love her as a mother should.


Fast forward 2 years. Oh my. Talk about answered prayer. I still don't know what I'm doing. To say that I'm unsure is an understatement. I don't know when molars are supposed to poke through or how much milk she should drink. I have no idea what shots she gets tomorrow at her 2 year appointment or how to stop her from whining when she wants something. But I know that every bit of my being, at every moment of each and every day, I love her more than I ever knew was possible. The fact that God has entrusted this amazing little girl to me blows me away.


My prayers are a little different now, 2 years later. I still pray for a God-fearing mother's heart, yes. And I pray for patience, as any mother of a preschooler does. But mostly I thank God for Elise and how much joy she brings to my life. I thank God for her sweet smile, surprising sense of humor, and her strong confidence at only 2 years old. I thank Him for her healthy little body and that her brain works to absorb new things every day. I thank Him for our days together walking to the park and having tea parties in the living room. I thank God for blessing me with a little girl who is the best part of my day, every day.



Happy 2, Elise JoLea. Celebrating you today was such a joy.

my latest project

I have a few friends who are super-crafty and even more creative. They amaze me with their homemade crafts and learning projects for their kids. (Haley, Jill, & Martha, you know I'm talking about you!)

So, in an attempt to be that fun, creative mom, I decided to make this magnetic chalkboard for our kitchen. After a few failed attempts and a couple trips to Lowe's, we got it right. My ever-supportive husband is also very patient.

Elise has just begun to enjoy coloring and getting her hands messy with glue and paint and everything else crafty. So, I hope that through the long winter months we'll be creating lots of fun things to post on our board. Maybe we'll even learn some colors and numbers while we're playing!

Labor Day Pictures (a little late)

Labor day is usually pretty quiet around our house. This year, it was especially quiet as Bryan and Elise headed to Terra Haute, Indiana to enjoy the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Bryan's lake cabin on Dietz lake. Sadly, I had to stay home as Labor day weekend was my holiday at the hospital.

It's no surprise that they had a FANTASTIC time with Bryan's whole family. Elise was so excited to go to Indiana in "daddy's car" to see Mamaw, Papaw, Nanny, Big Papaw, Aunt Angela, Uncle Jon, Isaac, and Charlotte. After a long 6 hours in daddy's car, they finally got to the lake cabin where they went fishing, swimming, took boat rides, hiking trail 5, won bingo, ate lots of good food, and sat around the bon fire.

Here are a few pictures (thanks Angela!) of Elise and Bryan's labor day away. While I missed them like crazy, I'm so glad they had a wonderful time. Maybe next year all three of us can go!

Superhero party for Isaac's 4th Birthday!

Fishing with Papaw and Isaac

Isaac, Charlotte, & Elise

Swimming with daddy

Charlotte & Angela playing Bingo

Elise, Daddy, & Mamaw hanging out on the swing

apples!

Monday was a beautiful day! Elise and I took advantage of the nice weather and headed to Crane's Orchard to pick apples. We picked a bushel and a half of apples (honey crisp and empire) and then headed to Crane's pie pantry for apple cider donuts. Unfortunately, Elise only wanted to eat the apples and not her donut (just like her daddy!), but we had a fantastic morning.

balance is everything

What makes a good day? To me, it's all about balance.

It's getting the fulfillment of working hard all day and still getting to push Elise on the swing while she tells me about her great time at Miss Lauri's. (We love Miss Lauri!)

Balance is waking up early, but feeling rested and getting to relax in the evening as the dishwasher cleans up our dinner mess.

It's getting the mail and receiving our property tax bill but also the awesome jeans from my recent eBay purchase.

Balance is having great friends at work to laugh with and a surgery schedule to manage with interesting surgeries & unexpected challenges.

It's sandy toes in my bathroom at bedtime along with bible stories and prayers thanking God for mommy, daddy, grandmas, and grandpas....and Indy.

A great day is all of those things, and then tomorrow it will be none of them but a dozen different blessings that make tomorrow wonderful all by itself.

it goes so fast

One day, Elise was all of a sudden big enough to do all kinds of big girl stuff. Like.....

Help me water the garden....

and climb the rock wall all by herself.....

and hang from the top of the slide.....

and climb the ladder.....

Everyone says that they grow up so fast, and I'm finally beginning to believe them!

Pretty Crafty

So, this is my new thing, errr, obsession. My girlfriend, Haley, started me on these super-cute bows, and now I want one (maybe two) for every outfit that Elise has. Anyway, they're super fun and easy to make, and I just love anything that requires my hot glue gun. Check them out!

Summer Firsts

This month has brought a few summer firsts to the Linn family....

First vegetables from the garden, just in time for some delicious hummus dip:

First Popsicle of the summer, and first ever for Elise:

Bryan and my first week away together since becoming parents:

First trip to the beach to swim in lake Michigan:

Looking forward to lots more fun, and maybe a few more firsts!

Celebrating 30 in Style

We traveled from Zeeland, Grand Rapids, Boston, Magnolia, and Seattle to celebrate 3o together. And celebrate we did! Since college, life has taken us far from the people we used see every day, and our week together allowed us to reconnect, have a ton of fun, and remember why we became friends in the first place. North Myrtle Beach was our haven for a week, and the memories we made will last for the next year or two until we see them again.....

summer pics

Oh my, we are loving summer. It's wonderful to wake up and decide whether we will play in the pool, walk to the park, swing in the back yard, or meet up with our friends. So far, our days have been a little of all of those, and I'm so excited that it's only the very beginning! Welcome Summer, please stay forever!

The hose is Elise's favorite this summer, don't tell daddy that we sometimes play with it for hours!

Oooh, that's cold, cold, cold!

I just love her little belly and legs in her swimsuit!

Drinking from the hose means summer has truly arrived.



Indy doesn't ever miss an opportunity to ask me to play Frisbee. What else would I do while lifeguarding the baby pool and pushing Elise on the swing, right?