Where Did Summer Go?

Hi all! Yep, we are still alive. I just took a blog break..... I promised myself the blog would be fun - not work. The last few months it was feeling like work, and blogger kept messing things up when I'd give it a try............but here I am again! We had an amazing summer/early fall of fun with friends and family. We have welcomed 3 new babies into our family - Weston DeWitte, Eli and Ella VanEerden - and are waiting for baby girl Boyd near Christmas. Let's see....Emma learned to ride her bike without training wheels...... Ashlyn has become amazingly verbal and tries hard to do everything her sister does...... the mill Brad worked at closed (thankfully has now reopened) leading Brad to a new job in Munising at Neenah Paper, Inc...... and I've been busy with all that goes along with being a working mom/wife. Life is amazing and God continuously blesses us with his love through all the ups and downs. The pictures below are just some recent highlights......hope you enjoy!! We love and miss all of you that are not near us!!!!!!!!

Ok....so this picture just makes me giggle. Brad canned vension for the first time with the help of our friend Jake. He was quite proud, so I took a picture of his finished product. The background says it all. :)
Ashlyn and Caleb in the barn at the orchard during our latest trip to see the Blyth family.

Emma on the tractor. Sure, playing on farm equipment is safe, right?

Emma, Eli, Caleb and Ashlyn with Brad's doe.

Proud of their daddy.

Grrrr! The mighty hunter shot her in the head because the doe gave him no other option .....I guess this is a cool thing. :)

Cruising in the bronco!!

My beautiful sister (and niece) at Straits Lake......love that place.

Cousins!!

Emma's first homecoming as an Emerald Explorer - she came home with her face painted so cute!

Emma's first day of school!!!

Daddy's girls

The Jones girls.

Emma - our big kindergartner!!

Baby Boom, Boom, POW!

First off, I'M NOT PREGNANT. :) We are enjoying our wonderful little girls, and are so thankful that God has given us two amazing daughters to raise and love......BUT, it seems that there are more than a few wonderful women who are expecting babies this year. In addition to our niece Ellery Jones being born this January to Brad's brother Mark and his wife Amber, and many close friends expecting this year, I have three very special members of my family who are blessing me with MORE new nieces and nephews this year..............

Boom! - I am so excited that my sister Lindsey and my brother-in-law Kyle are expecting their first baby this December!!!!!!! She's due right around Christmas, which will make our holiday season even more blessed this year. We were lucky enough to be down visiting them just days after they found out the great news......and you know sisters can't hide things from each other. :) So I got to buy Lindsey her first maternity shirt, that she is wearing in this photo.




Kyle - I love this face. :)

Boom!- Brad's youngest sister Laura and our brother-in-law Ty are expecting their first baby- A BOY!- this July!!!! I am so thankful I was able to be at Laura's baby shower and share in all the excitement with her! Laura - you honestly "glow", and I can't wait to meet baby DeWitte!

POW!- TWINS!!! Yep, that little belly is the temporary home to two more little miracles!! Brad's sister Melissa, and our brother-in-law Justin will be welcoming two more to their clan this fall, for a total of five!! As Melissa told me when she shared the big news, God is full of surprises. Love it!

Sisters sharing such a special time.

So, as you can imagine, we have a lot to be thankful for......that's a total of 5 new nieces and nephews in one year!!!! As I prayed for Ellery before she was born, I'll be praying for these babies and their families -each one is a gift, and I pray they all grow strong and healthy!!

Showers, Birthdays, and Mother's Day, Oh, My!

We made a trip to Grand Rapids last weekend to visit our family and celebrate some fun events. On Saturday we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law Laura, a birthday dinner for my mother-in-law, and finally a birthday party for Emma and a few others in the crew. Sunday we had breakfast with Mom and Mike for Mother's Day, and were back on the road home. It went by way too fast, but it was so nice to see everyone.

Emma with her birthday cake Grandma made.

Hallie, Addi, Ashlyn and Emma ready to go to Aunt Laura's shower. We stayed Friday night at Brad's brother Mark and our sister-in-law Amber's house. Amber and I managed to get 5 little girls, and ourselves clean, fed, dressed, and out the door before 9:30 am!! (this is after the little kids went to bed around 11:30 pm and we big kids talked until 1am) We were proud of our accomplishment! :)

Aunt Laura opening presents with some help from Alyssa and Alivia.

Em and Addi

Hallie and Makalynn

Emma and her BIG birthday present from us. Long story and a fun adventure to get this Craig's List purchase, but it worked out well. Grandma and Grandpa stored it for us, and Grandpa got it all tuned up for us to give to her. We told her it's more like a family present for all of us to use - it's definitely not our typical birthday present. We are eager to get out on the four-wheelers as a family.........she LOVES to ride and was so excited!!!

This is the birthday girl on her big day, May 9th! In addition to her party with our family downstate, she had a little party with Grandma and Grandpa "in the woods" after school on Monday. She had a great day: cupcakes at school, dinner at Pizza Hut (her choice), followed by treats at the Dairy Kreme. Hard to believe she is 5 years old already! Time really does fly by faster each year.....Emma is such a blessing! I love watching her grow and change into this amazing little girl. Thank you to everyone for all the presents, cards, messages, and love!

I Just Love My Girls....

I just had to share a couple pictures of Emma and Ashlyn. I get so many great moments on camera, and I really wish I could post them all, but these two photos really make me smile. First, we have Emma and her new found love of washing dishes......she dumped the dishwater, and well, you see what happened. We both got some great giggles out of how wet and soapy she got. Notice the pink dishpan......you've never seen a four year old so excited about a dishpan.

Next, you have Ashlyn, who loves to take her clothes off and wear whatever she decides to put on.....lately she has had a thing for the tutu and Snow White skirt combo. This is how she came out of Emma's room the other day......it reminded me of a princess/professional wrestler combo, with her bare belly and sparkly bracelet pushed up past her elbow to show off her "pipes"......the socks top it off.


I just LOVE my girls!!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Sometimes this blog format seems to change the rules on me....I have no idea why the pictures are aligned they way they are, and I can't get rid of the big spaces between the pictures and the captions....I'm just going to go with it. :) We had a wonderful Easter weekend! In true UP fashion, the day before Easter, we needed winter coats and hats at the egg/candy hunt, and by the next morning, we could go to church with just sweaters......gotta love it! Here is the weekend in review. :)

Ashlyn at the candy/egg hunt

Emma, Ashlyn and some of their friends.













































Coloring eggs. I think Ashlyn had all of hers cracked before the process was over, but she didn't care.














Saturday night, right before bed. Time for some beauty sleep with their curlers in!

Easter morning, and the hunt was on!




Enjoying their new coloring stuff from the bunny!

Em with some of her friends at church, practicing for the program before the service.

Home from church, all dressed up.

The Jones Girls.

Nothing Too Exciting......

We're just hanging around. :) Brad is still working on the basement, and all of us are enjoying the spring weather heading our way. I love how 40-50 degree temperatures in the spring time feel so warm, and everyone is so excited to be outside. The changing seasons are awesome!

Emma, our expert climber.

Last week, the Lord took my childhood friend and role model, Shana, home to heaven. She was a 35 year old- mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, physician....... and all around wonderful person. Praying for her and cheering her on during her 3+ year battle with cancer has taught me so many things. Life is a gift. Each day is a gift. Each breath is a GIFT, with no guarantees. I was able to go to Traverse City to attend the celebration of Shana's life with my parents. It was an incredibly sad, and wonderful day, and I am so thankful I was able to be there. The link below is to a song that was played at Shana's funeral service, at her request. It says a lot about who she is/was and how she faced her struggles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qG1ThtgguE I ended my quick trip to Traverse City by meeting my friends' brand new baby boy, Carson, and seeing their home for the first time! It was great to see Trish, Trev, Lauren, Camden, and Carson - if only for an hour. Thanks Tkach family for letting us drop in and change our clothes, and thanks Mom and Dad for inviting me to make the trip with you. I thank God for each of you, and for making this gift of life so amazing!

Latest Happenings.....

A few weeks ago I bought some sponge curlers......just like the ones my mom use to put in my hair when I was little. :) Well, the girls were very excited to try them out.

Here is the before shot -right before bed. Em still had her whiskers on from celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday.

The after shot. She loved her curls!!

What a big girl!

Sisters!!!!!

Em's new love is washing the dishes. I'm not complaining. :)


Brad has started to finish off our basment. I am so excited to have a home for all the toys, more room for the kids to play, and for guests to stay. :)

Brad lifting the wall between the bedroom and the "hunting room".

Brad and our friend Jake after they cut the concrete in the basement for the bathroom plumbing. Jake let us borrow the concrete saw and was a BIG help. (His saw saved our home from being covered in concrete dust.) We are blessed to have such helpful friends and family. Brad has been working steady on the basement.....I'll keep you posted on our progress. :)

Our Baby is TWO!!!!!

February 27th Ashlyn Beth turned two years old. It's hard to believe our baby is turning into this amazing little girl. She has SOOOO much energy, and expression, and emotion, and well.....she's just amazing. :) We were so thankful that Grandma and Grandpa Dryer were able to come up and celebrate Ashlyn's big day with us.

Grandma Dryer and Emma, helping Ashlyn with her Hello Kitty cake.


"I'm two!" She can't hold her fingers in the standard 2 position, so her grandpas taught her how to use both hands.

First thing she did when she opened her new purse was walk over to Grandpa and say, "I need money". Smart girl. :)

She is Daddy's girl - no doubt.

Thanks for the presents everyone!



I hope these videos work. I took them just the other day when she got a package with more presents from our family in Grand Rapids. She was so exicted!! It's hard to get good video of her because she always wants to get behind the camera and "see momma, I wanna see". In the last video she had put on all the clothes she was given- too funny.

Thanks again for all the gifts and love!!!!