First trip to the beach!!

Last week Friday was a gorgeous day! Russ and I decided it would be fun to make a tradition of sorts for most of our Friday nights this summer. We love to go to the beach and have a picnic supper whether that be hot dogs, pizza or Subway and McDonalds.

This time we picked up Subway for us and McDonalds for the boys and made our way to the beach. It was a beautiful night out there. The lake was calm and it was warm thanks to the wind coming out of the east instead of blowing off the frigid lake water.

We met my sister Chelsea and Matthew and Malaya there. We spent some time sitting by the channel and watching the boats go by, not too many were out, but we did see a few sail boats and the boys had a good time waving to all the people on the boats.

Later we walked down to the water. Bradyn and Russ had a good time playing baseball. Russ was hitting balls to Bradyn like pop-flies so he could practice catching them. All was going well until the wind took one and it missed Bradyn's glove and hit him square in the lip, knocking out his tooth and giving him quite the puffy lip. Thankfully the tooth was already loose, (just not loose enough to pull out) and not a permanent one. He was bleeding quite badly and almost hysterical about it, but we managed to calm him down, and auntie Chelsea was nice enough to run to the ice cream shop on the beach and get him some ice. When we finally convinced him to put some ice on it, he was much more calm and wanted to go for a walk on the pier. We walked to the end and sat for a while until the sun went behind some clouds.

We left the beach then and went to Captain Sundae for some ice cream. We had a great time, and look forward to many more evenings spent on the beautiful beaches of Lake Michigan, Lord willing! I'll leave you with some pictures of our adventure!


Calvin loved the sand and kept running it through his fingers


Austin and Malaya playing in the sand together


Daddy and two of his boys walking down to the water


Austin testing out the water - it was C-O-L-D!!


BEAUTIFUL sunset!


Calvin "wathching" the sunset.


Bradyn's puffy lip and tear stained face :(


Looking much better this morning, he just has to get used to the hole in his mouth for a while :)

Sewing

Some of you have been asking to see pictures of the things I have been sewing, so I decided to do a post on that. I LOVE to sew and LOVE to see what it looks like when I'm finished. I'll just post a few pictures to bring you up to speed on what else has been keeping me busy.


An outfit, hat and shoes for Calvin.


Outfit and shoes for my new niece Kayla.


New church shoes for Calvin.


A purse with fabric flower - a birthday gift for a friend.




Hats for the grandkids of a lady at church.




Purse with a fabric flower for myself.

I hope you're all having a wonderful day!

Building and planting and riding....oh my!!

Despite the rainy weather on Saturday, we were still able to get a lot of things accomplished around the house. Here is what we kept ourselves busy with.

While I went grocery shopping with Calvin, Russ took the other two boys with him to Menards (their favorite store) to get some building supplies. For what, you ask?
Well, about 2 years ago, Russ and Uncle Herman built a tree house in a tree just off our driveway. Until Saturday, there was no way of getting up in the tree house. Austin helped his dad build a big ladder so finally the boys can play in their "new" tree house. Now just to get some siding and a door to finish it off!!


The new ladder


Austin showing me how he can climb the ladder


He made it to the top!

We also were able to plant some more of our garden. Austin just LOVES to help his dad outside, so he was tickled when Russ asked him to help him with the garden. He enjoyed pouring the seeds into the planter, and following in daddy's footsteps as they were being planted.





When that was accomplished, we finally took the training wheels off Austin's bike. We have been talking about doing this for a few weeks now, but have been so busy that we never got the chance. Austin did quite well and though he isn't quite to the point where he can take off and ride by himself, he is well on his way!


Our BIG boy ready to ride his two wheeler!


Here he comes!


Take a picture of me, mom!!


Bradyn showing him how it's done.

What we've been up to....

Well, since it's been 3 months since my last post, I'd better get you all up to speed on what's been going on in the lives of the Lottermans

It's hard to believe that there are only three weeks left of school. It really has gone by fast, even if it didn't seem like it during the year!

Our boys continue to thrive. They are such a joy to Russ and I and we are so thankful that God has entrusted them to our care here on earth.

Bradyn continues to do VERY well in school, for which we are so thankful. Academics seem to come very easy to him, and he even enjoys homework!! He is a true boy, in that he is all about sports. Whatever sport is being played at that time of year, is the one he is most interested in. This time of year is of course the Detroit Tigers. He watches the gamecast on the computer every chance he gets, and if we're driving in the van, we must find it on the radio so he can listen. He is currently playing machine pitch baseball for Hudsonville Little League, and just loves it, as you can about imagine.

A few months ago, he was diagnosed with a disorder called Sensory Processing Disorder. This is the inability to process information taken in through the five senses in a way that makes it easy for him to function in daily life. He is at the mild end of the spectrum, but we have started seeing a therapist at Horizons Remediaton Center to help him with his eating, and some other problems we have noticed in the last 6 months or so. He had his first "official" session this past Wednesday. These consist of about 10 mins of rythmic movement therapy, which is almost like a massage accept we are moving his body in a rythmn to get help him experience different sensations. Next he has oral motor therapy, which consists of gripping a tongue depressor with JUST his lips for 10 seconds, blowing on a mini recorder, swabbing his mouth with an oral sponge (tiny ribbed sponge on a sucker stick) blowing bubbles, and making circles on his face with a dry washcloth. The third and longest part of the session is focused on his eating, or called Feeding Therapy. This is where the therapist is going to work with Bradyn to broaden his horizons in the food area, so maybe sometime in the future he can eat the same thing we eat at dinner time without becoming physically sick and throwing up. Things are going as well as can be expected in this area, though he still struggles with some things. The therapists keeps reinforcing the fact that it WILL NOT be an overnight transformation....bummer...but will take a lot of hard work. So we wait on God to give us the grace and patience we need to help Bradyn with his difficulties. We are so very thankful that God has provided the means by which we can get him some help, and for giving us such loving and supportive families. We are truly blessed beyond measure.

Austin is such a fun loving little boy and the entertainment in the family. He always has something funny to say, and has quite a wide vocabulary already. Some of the words he knows (and knows the meaning of) just amaze us. He is definitely ready for preschool this fall. He has a very good imagination and can pretend play very well. He gets along so-so with Bradyn, but part of that is due to the difficulties Bradyn is experiencing. Austin loves his little brother to death and is always talking to him and asking to hold him. Austin also love baseball, and is just tickled if Bradyn is in a good mood, and wants to play with him in the backyard. He already has his sight set on playing baseball like Bradyn, but we'll have to see about that.

Calvin is growing amazingly fast. He is not so much a tiny baby anymore. He is a very happy little guy, but tends to be quite the mamma's boy (not that I mind that) and is rather fussy if he has to stay home when mom goes away. He gets around very well, by army crawling, and EVERYTHING he finds on the floor instantly goes in his mouth. We vaccuum alot around here. He has, just in the last 2 weeks started sleeping throught the night, much to my relief!! So far he has taken the longest, I hope that doesn't mean anything for future children that we may have :)

Russ is doing well also. He is finished with tax season, and the final tally was about 50 clients,so he was very excited about that. He has been back working for Artistic Landscapes since the middle of March. He enjoys being back working, and doing what he loves again. They have been quite busy this spring, so that is a great feeling as well.

I suppose I should be finished now, we hope this finds you all doing well, and I hope my next post won't be so long in coming. I'll include some pictures of what we've been up to. God Bless!

I guess it's about time to sit down and let you all know what has been going on with us since Thanksgiving. Those two months simply flew by and I can't believe it is the end of January already!! Wow!

We were blessed to be able to spend Christmas with both our families. We enjoy the holidays, but are also relieved when they are past. It seems too easy to get caught up in the materialism of the world around us. It's sad how the true meaning of Christmas is shoved aside for the materialism of the world. We spent New Years eve and New Years day amongst family and friends as well.

Since then, life has slowed down a bit, and we have been able to get back into some sort of routine around our home. Bradyn is back is school, and still enjoying it so much. We have officially started the second semester. I can't believe we are over half-way finished with the school year! It continues to be cold and the snow that we didn't have over Christmas break has come, with no signs of it going away any time soon.

Russ and the boys (minus Calvin of course) were able to join some of his family at Rosa Parks Circle on a Friday in early January to go ice skating. Bradyn and Austin had a lot of fun, and have been asking ever since, when we are going ice skating again. This past weekend Russ and I traveled up to The Shack with most of his siblings for an "adults only" getaway. We were not able to spend the night, but were there for a few hours in the evening and were able to share dinner and banana splits with everyone. We also had fun playing a game called "What's Yours Like?" If any of you know what a Lotterman get-together is like, and have played this game before, you know very well, it was a good time!

I have been getting back into my sewing after some time off after Calvin was born. Now that he is more on a schedule, it is easier to get some therapeutic sewing time in. I've gathered many ideas, I would like to try out, so I'll be keeping busy with that in the future.

Russ was laid off from Artistic Landscapes in mid-December...guess you can't plant plants in frozen ground.....while he was off, we had the opportunity to clean our house from top to bottom. We went through every room and reorganized things and got rid of things we no longer needed or wanted. It looks much better now!

As of January 17 Russ is employed again. We are thankful to God for his provision for us in the form of work for Russ' hands. Although he kept himself busy while he was off, readying his tax business,hand delivering flyers and job hunting, he admits it is a good thing to be back working again. He is working temporarily at Innotech in Zeeland. My uncle is higher up in the company and was able to pull some strings and get him in as a maintenance man. It is sometimes a little boring, but he is thankful to be feeling useful again.

Our boys continue to grow by leaps and bounds, for which we are so thankful. Bradyn is excelling in school. He loves going to school, and is easily disappointed if there is a day off. I hope he continues to like it through his junior high and high school years too....we'll see about that!

Austin is a very bright little boy. He continues to entertain us all with his silly antics and sayings. He is beginning to show much interest in anything that has to do with writing or coloring and can even write his very first word....boot....lovingly taught to him by his big brother. Both love their little brother to pieces and it's so fun to see them interact with him, and to see their compassionate sides, in the way they treat him.

Calvin continues to grow by leaps and bounds as well! I can't believe he is over 4 months old already! After his weight problems in the first few months of his life, he has rebounded quite well and at his 4 month check up, weighs in at 14 lbs and is 26 in. long! Thanks be to God!! He continues to be a very smiley baby, although he saves most of his smiles for mom, dad or his brothers. He is not as of yet sleeping through the night, I think he likes cuddling with dad and mom in their warm bed instead of sleeping by himself in his cold bed. All the same I can say he is a good baby, he is able to keep himself entertained for short amounts of time, or be entertained by his big brothers, so I am able to get things done around the house.

I will leave you at that point, as I'm starting to ramble on. I hope this finds you all well and I hope to be a bit more "on the ball" with this blogging thing. God's blessings to you all in the week ahead.

Wow....four months ago....

Yeah, four months ago, I actually blogged.....now, I have things that are a little more important (it seems) than blogging. My apologies for the lack of blogging as of late.

A lot has happened since July,the most exciting, is the blessing of a precious son and brother to our family. Calvin Edward was born by C-Section on September 13. He weighed 7lbs 14 oz and was 19 in. long. He is named after both of his grandpas. He brings such joy to our lives, and we couldn't thank God more for him. He is doing well, after struggling to regain his birth weight, we have been supplementing high calorie formula for the past month and at his 2 month checkup yesterday, he was 10lbs 8oz. He needs to continue the formula until he is 4 months old, but his pediatrician is quite pleased with his progress.

Tomorrow, we celebrate Thanksgiving, and day when we remember all the blessings God has bestowed on us. We are so thankful for all the blessings and "blessings in disguise" that He has given us, but first and foremost for the gift of His son, our saviour. May we always remember to praise and thank him in all things.

I leave you with a few pictures of our precious peanut...and I will hopefully have time in the near future to update you more regularly on our lives.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!!

Time flies when you're having fun.......

Well, it's about that time again. Lest I let an entire month go by before I post again, I'd better sit down and update you all on the lives of the Lottermans.

We are keeping busy, as everyone seems to be, this summer. I'll let you in some of the more interesting highlights.

In the beginning of July, I was able to get together with my sisters and some of my aunts at my parents house to celebrate my grandma's birthday. I had an enjoyable time visiting with my sisters, and catching up with my aunts...some whom I hadn't seen in a while. The kids had fun playing together on the slip and slide, among the many other things they find to do when they are together. Russ joined us when he got out of work, and we stayed for supper as well.

The 4th of July was on Sunday this year, so we were able to celebrate the holiday on Monday the 5th. Russ didn't have to work, so we went to the Grandville Parade, and then went on to Keith and Holly's house for a pool party and lunch for the rest of the afternoon. The kids had a blast swimming in the pool, and playing with all their cousins. That evening we joined most of my family at Aaron and Erin's house to watch fireworks together. We all had an enjoyable and entertaining time (thanks to my hubby) and were exhausted yet happy by the end of the night.

Russ worked for 1 1/2 days that week, and on Wednesday the 7th, we (along with Matthew, Chelsea and Malaya) headed down to Warren Dunes State Park to go camping for a few days. It was very HOT while we were there, but the beach at Warren Dunes, is beautiful and huge so we spent most of the time at the beach. The boys had a great time playing with dad and uncle Matthew (aka FISH) in the water! :-) They also took many bike rides around the campground, and were able to watch Matthew fly his gigantic kite on the beach on the last day. They thought this was sooo cool! We all had an enjoyable time, and headed home on Saturday morning.

Last week Russ had softball on Monday evening, and I was able to join my mom, sister, and the rest of my siblngs at the beach on Wednesday. The water temperature was 75, so we spent a lot of time in the water.

On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment. Things are still going well. My blood pressure was 118/80....I just about fell over and asked her to take it again. I've never made it this far in a pregnancy without having high blood pressure!! Thanks be to God for His care over me and our precious little one so far, we are so blessed with good health! I was however measuring about 3 weeks ahead, same as with Austin at around this point. My Dr. didn't seem to concerned, and said she would just keep an eye on it, and maybe do another ultrasound, just to see how big baby is. Last time, she said I was having a 10 lb baby, and it ended up just being extra amniotic fluid, so we'll see what happens this time!

Saturday, we had the priviledge of celebrating my great grandma's 94th birthday. We got together at Innotech in their gym for lunch and fellowship with all her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. We all had a good time, and after a rousing game of soccer in the gym, we headed home. That evening after supper, we met up with some of my younger siblings at Hudsonville lanes and went bowling. The boys loved that, and we all had a good time.

This week has been busy. Austin ended up with a bad eye infection/cold and high fevers Monday into Tuesday and, after a trip to the doctor, he is finally on the mend, with some eye drops to take care of his eyes. Bradyn is attending soccer camp this week at CCHS from 8:30-10:30. He is loving it, and I think he'll be disappointed to be finished after tomorrow.

Tonight we have rehearsal dinner for Alex and Bethany. None of us is in the wedding....which is OK, but we were invited to rehearsal dinner, much to Russ' delight! Friday we look forward to getting together as a family with ALL the Lottermans downtown GR for a family picture. Russ' sister Amy and her family arrive tomorrow, and even Larry will be here on Friday thru Monday, for the picture and the wedding. It will be a busy, but fun time for the family. We pray that God will bless Alex and Bethany as they begin their lives together this Saturday.

I think that's about it for now. We hope this finds you all doing well, and enjoying your summer. May God bless you and yours in the weeks ahead.


Austin and Laura are the best of friends and nearly inseperable!


Building sand castles on the beach at Warren Dunes


Bradyn burying daddy in the sand


Sweet Malaya Lynn who did so well on her first camping trip. Did I mention
how much I love this girl?? :-)


Bradyn helping uncle Matthew fly his HUGE kite


Our campsite


Bradyn all ready for soccer camp