Thankfulness and Gratitude

Having a heart of Thankfulness and Gratitude is one thing that we are actively trying to instill in our children. Family Life Today has some awesome resources and programs you can listen to that are incredible. How many times we read in the Psalms about thankfulness, gratitude and honor to God. November isn't the only month to remember to be thankful, but it sure is a great place to start. As Thanksgiving rolls (very quickly) into our midst next week, here is a list that Andrew has started. I encourage you to do the same with your kids...their innocence may bring you back to reality:

Mommy, Daddy, Marianne, Nana, Papa, Bumpapa, Great Gram, Grammy, Grandpa, Lizzy, Uncle, Lisa, Katie, KK, Uncle Brian, Aunt Suz, Uncle Brad
My friends, my toys, Marianne's toys (you know they are sometimes cooler!), animals, the deer outside, my house, my bed, my new frog fan, ladybugs, school at church, Miss Meeley (Mrs. McNeely, a teacher on Wednesday nights), coloring.
Food, my moose shirt, reading books with Daddy, my snuggle (favorite blanket)

Happy THANKS-giving a little early. I guess it's never to early to start.

The Best

This is my hubby. He's the best. It's his birthday. Because it's his birthday, today is my favorite day....with out today. I wouldn't have him.
I LOVE YOU, Paul!!!

I just love this picture of my amazing man being an amazing Daddy!

Marianne the Birthday Princess

Yesterday my baby girl turned 1! What a crazy year this has been. Let me tell you about this special girl. She is spunky! She is BUSY! She is Way. Too. Smart.! Marianne can put a smile on anyone's face on any kind of bad day. We are so blessed to have this little one in our lives. God has richly blessed us.

Picking what cake to make for Annie was not hard. I'm in the process of redo-ing her bedroom. All butterflies and daisies. So in keeping with that theme, here is what I came up with for this special day.

And, because we are good parents, we gave her the entire butterfly. Something to note about said butterfly is that it was decorated with nearly an entire tub of frosting. Shhhh..... Don't tell! Another thing to note is that my fantastic color choices, when mixed together, make purple. Yep, purple. She really enjoyed her cake. This picture does no justice to her true enjoyment, but I'm sure you can imagine if you know our rambunctious eater!
One toy that I've wanted to be the first to give our little girl is a baby doll. She L.O.V.E.S. it! She also got a stroller and baby bed and high chair for it, because, well....I'm over the top with birthdays. Among other very generous gifts Marianne was given some of the highlights are a wagon, a musical ball toy, a doll house, a pop up toy, strawberry shortcake, a school house, and two My Little Ponies (one from her brother!)
Marianne has reached some wonderful mile stones, and some not so wonderful ones, too. She has learned biting in self defense (at least for now it's self-defense), signing many things, saying "Hi" to everyone she sees, and my favorite, when asked if she loves you, a nice hug in return!

Little Hearts

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberence Day

Each year, over half a million dreams are shattered. Out of 3.3 million babies born alive, some 30,000 die during the first 28 days. Another 39,000 babies are stillborn. Miscarriage occurs in fifteen to twenty percent of pregnancies, while ectopic pregnancy occurs in one percent. This day effects so many people. I f you have never yourself lost a baby, surly you know someone who has.
Today is the day to honor those babies, so I am asking you all to do that today, sometime, some way.

If you yourself have lost a child/ren allow me to honor your sweet baby today by leaving a comment and tell me a little something about your precious angel. I'll start us off.

If you want to leave a message of support for those mommies and daddies that have lost precious babies do that in the comment section too.

~~I'll be praying for you today.~~

Rambin' Fall

Here we are, Autumn in West Michigan. Pretty much what I'm saying is that it's been raining for a long time. To follow that up, I'm ready for sunshine. You'd think after living here for 9 years (wow, that's crazy) I'd be used to the "lake effect clouds." But. I'm. Not. In fact, I think I'm less used to them this year than last. Hmmm...sounds like backwards progress. The bad thing about cloudy days is that they make me miss home. The Big Sky Country....God's Country....my family. The sun shines there...unless its actually raining or snowing, which never lasts all day. Ok, I'm done whining, now on to life:
Here we are in the midst of what we call "birthday season." In 36 days we celebrate 6 birthdays here in the Bush family. That's a lot of cake. It just so happens that one of those birthdays belongs to my little girly girl and one belongs to my hubby. I love birthdays. Yep, love 'em! I'm getting all excited to celebrate Marianne's birthday in just two short weeks. WOW. Ok, that's not what this post is about, so lets move on.
We've been busy, crazy style busy. Between youth group on Wednesdays, birthdays, and sporting events for our teens at church, we're not so sure if we're coming or going. In fact, its become routine for Andrew to ask "Where we going, today." Or "Whose comin' over." Hopefully soon we'll be slowing down a little and settling into our non-summer routine. Not that we really have a summer routine, but you know what I mean.
So, all of this to say, Happy Autumn. Hope you find something to keep you busy.

Airplanes, Haircuts, Messes, and Sweetness

Andrew's new favorite game is "airplane" he loves it. The only danger is he likes to force himself to dive over our heads....so we always play by the couch for a soft landing.
I did it. I broke down....almost literally, and cut my baby's hair. I swore I wouldn't, but it needed to be done. She had a ring all the way round her head that was a good 2-3 inches longer than the hair around it. I didn't cut the top because its too fun to put piggy's and bows in, but I evened the rest of it out.
What you see all over Marianne is grape salad. She really enjoys her food, and I really don't like stain treating....so she wears no clothes often when we eat. A bib just isn't enough for this little one. Dinner (and sometimes lunch) is often followed by a fun time in the tub.
Marianne got this new blanket last night. I've never seen an 11 month old get so excited about a blanket. It is now a favorite, I think. Thanks Mrs. Van Der Hulst!
Paul and I went the the JV foot ball game last night. Andrew was so good for our babysitter (thanks Anna). We snuck into his room when we got home and couldn't resist trying to wake him up by taking this priceless picture. He looks so innocent. I needed that after a bit of a tough day. He has definitely been showing us his tough and tumble side lately. Gotta love little boys.

Cute kids and Mountains. Does it get better?

So we took another trip to Montana this summer. The purpose of our trip was to spend time with "Bum Papa" who is Marcie's Grandfather. He has been diagnosed with colon cancer, so we wanted to take a trip while he was still feeling good and spend some quality time with him. When not visiting him, we had a great time doing "Montana" stuff. The above picture is Andrew at Branham Lake. He LOVES to throw rocks in water...any water works. Andrew got to go camping with his Daddy and leave Mommy and Marianne in town. He had a great time, but was very tired by lunch on the second day.
Marianne had her first blueberry pancakes....Enough said.
After the camping adventure, we set up the tent in the basement of Nana and Papa's house. The kids had so much fun!!! Here's a classic happy face from the little girl. Its not to hard to know when she's having a good time!
All that playing wiped Marianne out. She fell asleep between her feet and because we are mean, we took a picture instead of making her more comfortable. It just doesn't get better than sleeping babies...

Speaking of that sweet baby of ours, she's growing W.A.Y. too fast! She will be a year old next month. I (Marcie) have started to plan her big celebration, and we can't wait to remember the day our little Princess came into our lives. She has been a huge blessing to many people. I still remember hearing the words from the specialist that we probably wouldn't have our own kids. I'm so thankful that God is bigger than any specialist. Every time I look at my wonderful children, I remember God and his love for us. Knowing how many times we brought this issue to prayer just reaffirms how God promised that in HIS will our desires become real.