Reintroducing Holly Jacquelynne Dominique

I think when I left you last Holly looked something like this:

Or maybe this:

 

Well I'm happy to report she's growing!!  And mighty fast too!

Snoozing in her stroller at Shipshewana this summer.

Snoozing, again, at Grand Rapids.

Wide awake at Imagination Station.

She even made it to her first Detroit Tigers game at less than a year old!

Spending lots of time on her belly whether she like it or not.

Jacob was very excited when she started grabbing at toys.

Big sister Bree still willing to help out.

Bright eyed in the morning.

Just getting so big.

With the weather turning colder, the cats came in for the first time since this spring and finally got to meet the newest member of the family. 

Sitting up, being fed... its all so much work.

Big brother Jake sharing his blanket, making sure she's warm enough.

Getting ready for her first taste of cereal.

"What the heck is happening?!?!"

Classic falling asleep in her walker and yes that is drool all over her shirt.

Watching her family carves their pumpkins and somehow ending up with pumpkin on her face.

 

Annual family Halloween picture.

Snoozing at Bree's swimming lessons.

Bath time!

"Help me, Momma!"

Watching Bree blow out her birthday candle lighter.

Most recent picture - Getting pulled around in a box by big sister. 

 

At this point in time Holly is:

 

18 lbs 13 ounces

 

28 3/4 inches long

 

Eating squash for dinner

 

Has two teeth

 

Can roll over from back to front

 

Can mostly sit up on her own

 

Attempts to wiggle her way forward to grab at toys

 

Has gotten her butt up in the air like she's going to crawl

 

Is growing up WAY too fast!

Fred - Days 3 and 4

Day Three

 

Fred appeared to be zip lining on a strand of Christmas lights strung across the living room

 

 

Good morning!

What. An. Adventure!  As I was heading back up to the North Pole last night, I flew through a snow storm.  It was so bad I could hardly see where I was going.  I imagine it was just like the night when Rudolph had to come to the rescue with his shiny nose!  I prayed with all my might that I would be able to find my way back to your house.  Thankfully it wasn’t snowing here in Ohio and with the lights on the lamppost that was left on helped guide my way safely.  But can I ask you a favor?  Please put more lights up on your house so I’m certain always be able to find my way to you.  Be sure to bundle up with that new birthday coat and Spiderman hat because ‘Baby, its cold outside!!

Thankful to be here,  

Fred

 

Day Four

 

Hanging from a stocking with an ornament in his hand

(sorry the picture is blurry)

 

You found me again!  You guys are great hide and seekers.  You are also great Christmas tree decorators.  It looks so beautiful in your living room, much better than outside by your patio door.  Did your parents take the time to tell you the meaning of the different decorations on your tree?  I’m not talking about the personal meanings, like which ones your grandma made for you, I mean the Christian meanings.  It may have been hard for them since they were busy with Holly so let me explain:

The star: The star perched on top of your tree reminds us of the star that the three wise men followed to meet baby Jesus and that wise men still seek Him.

Candy Canes: The white color represents the sinless nature of Jesus and the red stands for the blood He shed for us. Turn the candy cane upside down and it forms a ‘J’ to represent His precious name ‘Jesus’.

Candles: For safety purposes you use strands of lights on your tree but the meaning is still the same.  Let the light of Jesus shine from your body to everyone so that they can see it.

Wreath:  What shape is a wreath? A circle, that’s right!  Just as circle has no end, neither does Gods love.  No matter what we do, His love for us goes around forever and ever and ever...

I think that about covers it.  Remember what I said so you can share it with your friends!

 

FRED

The return of Fred - Days 1 and 2

Twas the day after Thanksgiving...

 

Day One

 

Fred was sitting outside the back door to be discovered when leaving to cut down our Christmas tree.

 

 

His note read:

 

Dear Bree, Jake and little Holly,

I’m back from the North Pole and I missed you my dears

Santa sent me again to be his eyes and his ears.

Every night I will fly to give Santa advice

On whether you were naughty or wonderfully nice.

The rules are the same and I hope you agree

I can’t talk to you and you cannot touch me.

But no worries my sweets there is fun to share

You never know when I will show up somewhere.

However there is one thing Santa said I must do

“Teach them the true meaning of Christmas” and that’s true!

Jesus, God’s son, was born a long time ago

He was the very first Christmas present given, you know. 

He was sent here to teach us how to love one another

To care, to share, to speak nicely to each other.

Showing God’s love to the world is as easy

As cleaning your rooms or giving to the needy.

So I want you to enjoy all the Holiday fun

But don’t forget to share the love of God’s Son.

                                                       Sincerely Yours,

                                                                 Fred

Day Two

 

Perched on top of our stereo with a pair of pruners, a piece of our tree and a note that said:

 

Hey guys!

I saw the tree you cut down yesterday.  It smells so wonderful that I wanted a piece just for myself.  Did you know that people used to put these trees inside their house at Christmastime to help remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus?  Some people believe the needles are pointing up towards Heaven to remind us to pray and to be thankful that God sent his son on that very special day.  Others believe that the evergreen tree stands for Jesus.  In the Bible, Peter said “He himself bore our sins on a tree and by his wounds we are all healed.”  Even though your tree is in an unusual place, every time you see it be reminded that just as the evergreen stands strong and remains unchanged through the year, so does God’s love for us.

                                              Yours Truly,          

                                                        Fred

Run, Forrest, Run

In September, 16 weeks and 5 days after giving birth to Holly, I completed my first AND second 5K... in ONE WEEKEND!

 

As I still have baby brain and the 5Ks were over two months ago AND I didn't take the time to record them, I don't remember the amount of time it took me to do them, but that's okay.  I know I did it and that's all that matters.

 

The first 5K was a glow run for Conquering Childhood Cancer.  Running around a football track in the dark on a very brisk and windy night using only glow sticks to guide your way was just a tad challenging but it kept my mind off being tired.

 

 

Then up and at 'em bright and very early the next morning for a color run that supported Habitat for Humanity!

 

 

(The before)

 

There are a few things about the color run that I found a bit challenging:

 

1. The first color station you come to you are still with your wave of people meaning there is beyond a ton of color powder being flung.  You can't see where you are going.  You can't breathe.  You pray that you aren't the one who trips and falls and begins the pile up of people.

 

2. After recovering from almost being suffocated you come to a liquid color station in which they use a hose to douse you with color.  Its a tad bit colder than you expect which shocks your system.

(The DJ getting people pumped up to run)

 

 

3.  Immediately after being sprayed with a hose you begin running downhill... with all that extra liquid under your feet.  Your heart begins beating at a whole new speed.

 

4.  At the bottom of the hill, you make a sharp left and begin running back UPHILL towards a set of stairs.  Yes, a set of stairs. 

 

And all of that happened within the first 1.5K of the race. 

 

I think they were trying to weed out the weak.

 

BUT I survived!  I loved it!  I can't wait for the spring to get back to doing more races.

 

(The after)

Monday Mumbers

5 people to keep organized

2 cats to remember to feed

1 broken laptop

2 children in different schools

250 (approx.) diaper changes

1 broken water pipe

3 birthday celebrations

2 dentist appointments

27 loads of laundry

18 or more trips to the store

135 sinks of dishes (or so it seems)

1 heart echo

8 get togethers to host

5 Christmas trees to assemble

1 real Christmas tree to cut down

7 Christmas totes to empty

5, 472 miscellaneous to do things

(such as church, weddings, painting a mural, schools snacks, volunteering in Bree's classroom, work, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning)

ALL TO FIT INTO

1 November calendar.

 

How, When and WHY did life get so busy?!?!!

 

Cider Making Days

There is a cider mill 4 miles from my house.  Literally. 4 miles!  I've known about this place for years. 

 

Have I ever visited it?  No. 

 

Why?  Just never got around to it. 

 

Sounds kinda familiar for a lot of things I'd like to do or accomplish in life.  So, at 32 years of age, I knocked this one off my bucket list and visited that cider mill. 

 

And guess what? 

I loved it.  The kids loved it.  The hubby loved it. 

 Everyone who has tasted the cider loved it.

 

I do believe we have just started a new fall tradition.

 

 

Between my friends tree that was loaded, my sister's tree and an uncle's tree, we were able to get our hands on 20 bushels of apples - all completely free and none of them treated with pesticides.  YAY!

 

You pull up to the mill and dump your apples, or watch your dad dump the apples, in the outside conveyor belt.

(nice, Jake, nice.)

 

They travel up the conveyor belt and drop onto a ramp that runs the apples thru a washer and sorter.  How it sorts out the bad apples, I have no idea.  Not even gonna pretend or guess.

 

After their washing they drop onto another conveyor belt that takes the apples up to the third story where they go through a grinder.

 

We weren't allowed to go up the third floor to see the grinder which was a bummer.  But after the apples are chopped into pieces they somehow get pushed down the blue shoot below.  The guy stands there moving the shoot and raking the apples into an even layer.

 

 Here's a video of what happens next:

(the horrible humming noise you are hearing is not your computer.  Its the generator that is used to turn the press.)

 

 

 

 

At the very end of the video you catch a small glimpse of the cider going down the tube into a big vat.

 

From there it is ready to be jugged.  Have a seat.

 

And that, my friends, is how you end up with 34 gallons of cider in 40 minutes time.

 

The best part of the whole experience?  Pressing the apples only cost $1.50 a gallon and one bushel of apples makes about 3-3.5 gallons of cider.  So if you have any friends with apples to spare, treat yourself to some awesome and cheap family time and go visit the Pettisville Cider Mill.

 

In case you're wondering why there are still apples in the van, there is a reason.  Cider made this way is not pasteurized.  It needs to be kept in a refrigerator or be frozen.  We had to go on a delivery spree with just the 10 bushels we had pressed to be sure everyone got fresh cider.  Had we pressed all 20 bushels we would have had to go buy a fridge to store it all.