Life

Hmmmm. I have to see if I can remember how to do this. It's been QUITE a long time since I've even thought to come on here. We have had a lot of changes in our life over the last 7 months or so. Looking back on it, it seems much like a whirlwind. I'll try to bring you up to date somewhat chronologically, but that may be a little difficult. I think I left you last right after we moved into our barn, and began tearing our house apart. Russ and I spent many late nights with hammer and pick in hand, chipping away at the interior of our house. We (with the help of many others) spent every Saturday working there too. We are so very thankful for all the help we have received on this project. We truly couldn't have completed it without our family.

A couple of weeks after moving into the barn, we packed up and "moved" again. We headed up north to the Pine Bluff Resort to spend a week of togetherness with the Lotterman family. After a visit to Mackinaw City to stock up on yummy fudge for the week, we arrived at our destination in the late afternoon. Much fun was had together. We kept quite busy in the indoor and outdoor pools, playing many games of kickball with cousins and uncles, watching the Tigers and playing games in the game room, going for walks at dusk, sitting around the campfire, dodging hungry mosquitoes, taking day trips to Tahquamanon Falls, Pictured Rocks and beautiful waterfalls, having church together in a cabin, kayaking, cruising around the lake on the pontoon, and generally making wonderful memories. I'm sure I've missed a few things, but all in all we had a wonderful trip and were a bit sad to head home the following Saturday.

Tahquamenon Falls

Hannah and Calvin

Russ and Calvin taking a much needed nap.

After about a week at home we "moved" again. This time it was to the basement of Dad and Mom Lotterman's condo. The only room left intact in our house (the bathroom) was finally being torn apart so we couldn't stay home anymore. Russ and I and Calvin and Gracie slept in the bedroom, while the boys sacked out in the family room. It was nice to have a real kitchen to work in again, and to not have to walk across our backyard whenever we had to use the bathroom. Russ enjoyed his stay because there was always ice cream in the freezer (something we rarely have at home). After about 3 weeks at Dad and Mom's we were able to move back home again, after the plumber reinstalled the toilet in our new bathroom. This time back home, we settled into more of a routine and were able to have a somewhat "normal" life again without having to pack up and move every few weeks.

Bradyn and Austin eating breakfast before school

Gracie tried to crawl and ended up going backwards and getting "stuck" under Dad and Mom's couch. We found her like this all the time.

we celebrated Calvin's birthday while at dad and mom's

During the first week of October, Russ went to Iowa for 5 days to work on a friend's house through Tru-Built. I'm not going to say it was easy or fun staying in the barn for 5 days by myself with the kids, and there were a few days where I cried all day, but we made it, and were so excited that Russ was able to fly home on Saturday evening. We were so very thankful that he did not have to stay longer than that. We were also so thankful for the work bee that was organized for the Saturday Russ was gone, where a bunch of siblings and a few of my uncles came and were able to get a lot of the drywall hung for us.

The kiddos paused for a picture on our new steps

Lowering the upstairs floor

A newly dry walled hallway. The doorway at the end is Calvin and Gracie's room. The sheet is the temporary door to the bathroom.

Looking towards the back of the house in the new playroom.

Looking towards the front of the house, into Bradyn and Austin's rooms, in the playroom.

About a week later, God provided us with a way to rent an apartment through my uncle who works at Innotech in Zeeland. We gratefully grabbed this opportunity, as it was getting rather difficult to stay warm in the barn and trailer, even with two space heaters running all the time. On Saturday, October 19, we packed up yet again, and moved into an apartment on the backside of the Colonial Clock Building in Zeeland. After that ensued the whirlwind that made up our lives for the next 6 and a half weeks. I would go work at the house for as much of the day as I could, painting, staining and doing whatever needed to be done, and Russ would come there from work, we would have supper and I would stay until it was time to go back to the apartment to put the kids to bed. Russ would come home later, usually around midnight or so, and we would collapse into bed, only to do it all over again the next day. Sundays were even more welcomed, as we were able to really rest from our labors of the week. We are so thankful to God that we were able to finish what we had to so we could finally move back in to our home on December 4. With the help of Dad and Mom Lotterman and Heidi, we packed up the apartment and loaded our stuff into three vehicles and headed back home.

The "cool" spiral staircase in our apartment

Gracie learned how to stand by the stairs

Our first snow fell while we lived at the apartment...the boys built a snowman outside

Calvin fell down the spiral stairs and had to have four staples in the back of his head. Thankfully, he was not hurt any worse.

We celebrated Austin's 7th birthday in the midst of our painting and staining. Notice his cake is setting on the trim waiting to be stained

The newly carpeted playroom

Looking down the stairway

The living room

Since then, things have slowed down considerably. We were able to decorate a bit for Christmas, the kids were happy that we were able to put up our tree.

Looking towards the living room from the kitchen. The boys eating lunch at the bar. Yes, Calvin is still in his jammies, this is how some of our days go.....

We still have a few odds and ends to complete.....wood on the living room ceiling, building the bookcases by the hallway, finishing some trim and baseboard in the kitchen and laundry room, and building shelves in the storage room. All in all though, we are settled in quite nicely, staying nice and toasty warm in our newly insulated house and currently right smack in the middle of a busy tax season. Looking back we can see God's hand in all that we have been through. There were many ups and downs, (seemingly more downs) but God was with us through it all, and brought us through on the other side so much stronger than before. We are so very thankful to all you who helped us, and continue to help us, but above all we are thankful to our faithful heavenly Father who keeps His promise to never leave us or forsake us.

Tearing apart our house {phase 1}

By now, most of you know about the enormous project we are currently working on. Our house is over 100 years old and definitely starting to show it's age. After adding another member to our family this past spring, we decided we needed to do something to make the use of space in our home more efficient. We had to decide between adding a few rooms on or completely gutting and renovating the house. We went with the latter. The last few weeks have been spent going through our stuff, and getting rid of a bunch of it, either to the trash, goodwill or for a garage sale/consignment store. After packing up all our belongings into boxes, we moved ourselves out to our barn/garage and set up house in there for the next 6-8 weeks. Russ & I and Calvin & Gracie are sleeping in the barn, and Bradyn and Austin are sleeping in Phil and Emily's trailer.

The dining room/living room section of our "house". Notice the garage door behind the couch.

The bedroom part of our "house"

Tuesday night Dad and Mom Lotterman helped us move our junk.....ahem, I mean stuff into the barn. That was our first night in our new "home". Things went well, and we all slept decent for the most part. Early Wednesday morning we all woke up to some rain and thunder, but all was OK after that. Dad and mom Lotterman came back to help me get the rest of the stuff out of the house and took some things home to store in their basement. That evening, with the help of Cornelis, Russ began demolition. He started with all the trim and wood work in the house, and hauled it back to the burn pile at the back of our yard. After the kids were all in bed for the night, I donned my gloves and dust mask and went to work with my pick and hammer taking out the cabinets in our kitchen. We worked until about 11 that night and got almost all of the wood in the kitchen taken off.

The kitchen on Thursday morning looking from the back doorway towards the kitchen sink

More of the kitchen - looking towards the living room. Notice the lovely spindles are gone!

The pile of junk in the kitchen

On Thursday after the boys and I cleared out the huge pile in the kitchen, we went to work on the upstairs. I worked on taking off all the wood work, while the boys had a blast destroying the walls down to the studs. We were a dusty mess, but it was a lot of fun. That evening, with the help of Keith and my dad, the upstairs was almost completely gutted. I love how open it looks now that all the walls and closets are gone.

The former sewing/storage room looking towards the stairs (lower lefthand corner). This will be the new playroom, storage closet and hopefully half bathroom.

The former playroom. This will be the older two boys rooms.

All in all things are going pretty much as planned. God has blessed us richly with family that is so willing to help. We are overwhelmed by all who have helped us and who plan to help us in the future. Please continue to keep us in our prayers throughout this time of change in our lives. Pray especially for my patience as I try to make a home in our barn.

Nashville, Tennessee

The week after school let out for the summer, Russ and I and the kiddos were able to take a trip down to Tennessee with my parents and siblings at home and Matthew and Chelsea and their two kiddos. We left bright and early on Monday, June 10. After a few wrong turns (thanks to being in a remote area, and the GPS losing it's connection) we finally arrived at our cabin, our home for the next few days. We arrived in the early evening, so our first "day" was just getting all our sleeping arrangements set up and getting the tired kiddos cleaned up and down for the night.

On Tuesday, after us girls made a quick trip for groceries at the town Piggly Wiggly, we set out to find the local swimming hole. We made our way along the winding and curvy roads, trying to find this ever elusive swimming hole, and after driving for what seemed like FOREVER, we finally met up with a Houston County Sheriff, and were able to get his directions to our destination. We pulled in to the swimming hole, and experienced true "country life" for the next few hours. We met some pretty interesting individuals while we were there - think rednecks, and you'll know what I mean by interesting.... :)- The water was cold, but refreshing, and the beach was nothing like our sandy beaches here, but the kids still had a great time. We also got our first look at some Copperhead Snakes. I was personally unaware that they are extremely poisonous!! Thankfully we had no personal encounters with them!

Gracie modeling her swimsuit

Enjoying the refreshing water

Trying to convince Calvin to go in the water. (As you can see, mom forgot the swim diapers....oops!)

Some of the clan at the swimming hole

Calvin and Daddy

Gracie slept the whole time

Wednesday started off with a trip to Urgent Care for my poor dear husband. What we thought was a swollen eye and headaches, from getting hit with a construction square, turned out to be the Shingles Virus. We made a stop at Fred's pharmacy for his prescribed anti-viral, and then headed back to our cabin. We decided to just relax for the day. We had gotten a kiddie pool and some squirt guns for the kids, so we spent the day on the back deck, catching some rays and enjoying each other's company. Russ was able to rest for most of the day which was good for him too!

Gracie chilaxin' with mom

The kiddos having fun with Aunt Chelsea and Aunt Ashlinn.... :)

Calvin, Austin and cousin Malaya taking a bath in the Jacuzzi tub

Thursday we decided to go into downtown Nashville. My sister Chelsea was taking her friend out on pass from the Mercy Ministries home there, so we all made the trip. We found a reasonably priced outdoor waterpark near the Grand Old Opry. It had a couple of BIG slides, a wavepool, a kiddie pool, and some medium slides as well. The kids LOVED it, and even Calvin and Malaya were able to go on the slides with their daddies.

One of the BIG slides, it was Bradyn's favorite

Bradyn on the slide

Calvin and daddy on a slide

Austin after a trip down the slide

The wave pool with the slides in the background

Gracie testing out the water. She liked it!

Gracie and Simon in the wavepool

After we left the waterpark we headed on over to the Opry Mills mall. This is the same mall Russ and I walked through on our honeymoon. We spent a while there looking in some different stores. Austin was super excited to find a LEGO store, we couldn't get him out of there! We ended with supper of pizza and subs in the food court and then headed back to the cabin with some super tired kiddos (and parents too!)

Friday was a day mostly at the cabin again. Chelsea had a luncheon at Mercy Ministries for their 30th anniversary, so while she and her family were there, the rest of us were able to relax while my dad and Russ took the kids to a local school to play on the playground and shoot some hoops. Friday evening, Russ and I were priviledged to be able to accompany Matthew and Chelsea to the 30th Anniversary Celebration for Mercy Ministries. This is the organization that helped Chelsea through her struggles with an eating disorder about 5 years ago, and the celebration was attended by many Mercy graduates and their families. Dave Ramsey is a huge supporter of Mercy Ministries, so he was the MC for the night. There were also a couple of musical guests including a daughter of a Mercy graduate and CeCe Winans. The night was truly amazing, and it was so neat to be able to share this special event with Chelsea. We are so very thankful that God led Chelsea to Mercy Ministries and for the part it has played in her life. I truly believe that it is thanks to that wonderful organization, that we are blessed to have Chelsea with us, whole and healed today.

Dave Ramsey on stage

CeCe Winans

Russ and me with Dave Ramsey....the highlight of Russ' night!

Saturday morning we were up early, so we could be on our way home at a decent time. Our trip home was uneventful, and we made it home by about 8 pm. We are thankful that the Lord gave us a wonderful week away, and also thankful that he was with us and brought us safely through all our travels.

Looking up to the upstairs of the cabin

Our spacious room

The living area

Looking at the cabin from the road