Johnson Family

Lauren Gabrielle Karrer

2010-02-19T20:53:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the family, Lauren Gabrielle Karrer. She arrived on Saturday, February 13th at 5:40pm, weighing 6lbs. 14oz. and was 19.5 inches long. The family is doing great. See more photos at www.jennakarrer.blogspot.com.

Have a Tux?

2010-02-06T17:41:00.001-05:00

Kelsie and Jimmy are looking for a tux for Maverick (size 18 mo. - 2T) for her sister's April wedding. Got one they can borrow? Give Kelsie a call 808-2352. Thanks!

Walter Ryan Berry!

2009-11-27T23:07:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone,

We are happy to announce our son Walter Ryan -- born 11/27 at 6:18. He's 7 lbs 5 oz with a surprisingly light brown head of hair. Betsy is doing fine and pushed like a super human. Scott is doing fine and didn't pass out like a little girl.

Love,
Scott and Betsy

Happy birthday little Walt!

Suzi's Wedding Shower

2009-11-05T11:16:00.003-05:00

I know all of your single friends are disappointed, but Suzi will officially be off the market on January 2, 2010! : ) Suzi's wedding shower details:

Date: Saturday, November 14th
Time: 11:am brunch
Place: Aunt Sherri's house (6140 Baywood)
RSVP: Aunt Sherri @ 269-323-3340 by Nov. 12th

Suzi & Steve are registered at Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond

Suzi & Steve

Guess who?

Another engagement :)

2009-10-17T20:04:00.003-04:00

In case you haven't heard, Kyle and I are engaged! It happened on October 7...he surprised me by meeting me outside of my school where I teach. He said his car broke down, so when I drove by, he called telling me to turn around. When I did and got out of my car, he was down on one knee with the ring and flowers. I was very surprised and, of course, excited!

We are planning a July 10, 2010 wedding in Kalamazoo. We can't wait!!

Engaged!

2009-09-29T00:03:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone! I've been meaning to post something for a while, but am just now doing it...Steve and I are getting married! We're both very very excited! The wedding is set for New Year's weekend and will be January 2, 2010 in Kalamazoo.
Once we're married, we will be in New Mexico for a few months while Steve completes training for MC 130 aircraft . After this, we will be moving to our next base for 3-4 years which is located in Mildenhall, England. Needless to say we're both so excited to be headed to England!!! It's a dream opportunity for us both and we can't wait to start our lives together.
Hope you all will be able to make it to the wedding. For the sake of room and finances, we'll be inviting all the cousins & spouses, but won't be able to have all the kids attend the reception. I hope this doesn't hurt anyone's feelings!
You're all welcome to visit the wedding website Steve set up for us, the address is: www.theknot.com/ourwedding.SuziJohnson&SteveWeldon (it's very cheesy, just like us).
Again, we're very excited and I'm counting down the days until January!

A Few Pictures from Missy's Wedding

2009-09-05T23:13:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pictures from Missy's wedding yesterday. Missy was Beautiful and the wedding and reception was a lot of fun. Dan and Missy and their kids came from the wedding to the reception in a boat - all of the people at the restaurant who were outside cheered and clapped for them!

Before the wedding which was held at our Uncle's cottage on Lake Michigan

Brendan and Dugan (in stripes) The "Bigs" in white, Raleigh, Elliana, Lizzie, and Daphne. The "littles" in pink, RaeLeigh (Dan's niece), Sydney, and Mallory, and the "tinies" in orange, Greyson (falling over - he cannot sit well yet), Piper, and Melodie. We don't have Kaleb or Silas in this picture for some reason... The picture is not great but you get the idea!

Dad and Missy -

Missy and Lizzie

I am sure there are a lot of better pictures that Missy can post later but I thought I'd get some out here for now!

New Job!

2009-08-26T21:33:00.002-04:00

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I got a teaching job in Michigan! It's a 4th grade position at Dorr Elementary, just south of Grand Rapids. I am so excited to start, but I have a ton to do before Open House next week. I still can't believe that I actually got a job in Michigan...and so close to where I live! God is very good :) Thanks for all the prayers!

Cousins' Christmas Exchange

2009-08-19T10:39:00.002-04:00

Hey All!

From the responses I received, it looks like we'll be doing a board game exchange this year! Yippee!

So, I need to hear from YOU - are you in or are you out? It's fine if you don't want to participate, but I need to know if you do so that we can draw names. Please pass the word on, and feel free to call (269.544.2154) , email (kmjoy1@yahoo.com), or facebook me and let me know if you'll be participating.

Please let me know by October 1st, so that all participants will have time to shop.

The exchange will look like this:
-If you are part of a couple, you will receive and give just one board game.
-No price limit or minimum
-You'll remain "secret" until Christmas Eve at the old people's home when we exchange in person.
-If you are an out of towner or draw an out of towner, I will be following up early-December to be sure the gift has been sent, ensuring all receive their board game.

Thanks!
Kristen

Wedding Shower

2009-08-04T13:02:00.002-04:00

It's time for another Wedding Shower!!

Missy is getting married on September 4th so we are throwing her a shower!

Please come to the Cottage on TUESDAY, AUGUST 25TH at 6:00pm for a light dinner and dessert.

Also, for those of you who view this blog - please pass along the information to your mothers, sisters, and daughters - we are not sending out invitations.

Missy is registered at Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond. Missy will be moving into Dan's house so Home Depot gift cards are great too.

Please call Carrie with any questions 616.975.9752

I'm Engaged!!

2009-07-30T13:52:00.002-04:00

Monday night, my boyfriend Dan proposed at Tunnel Park! God is sooooo good!!

Christmas Cousins' Exchange Ideas!

2009-06-19T15:47:00.002-04:00

Hey Cousins!

I need some ideas for the Christmas exchange this year. I talked to a few of you, and it sounds like it might be best to make it optional this year. That way, if you don't want to participate, you don't have to.

Anyhow, one idea that came up was a board game exchange. You'd draw a name and buy a board game for that cousin. What do you think? Any better ideas???

PLEASE let me know soon, so we can get names drawn early and have plenty of time to shop (or procrastinate!)

Thanks!
Kristen

Greyson and Great Grandma

2009-06-14T16:22:00.002-04:00

I finally took Greyson to Kalamazoo to meet Grandma Johnson. We have not seen her since Christmas! The girls had a great time playing there. Maybe next time I go, I'll let someone know and we can get the kids together to play!

She's here!

2009-05-26T20:41:00.003-04:00

Ella Margaret arrived on May 21st at 8:28am. She weighed 7lbs 4oz and is 21in long. We came home from the hospital on Sun and everyone is doing great. Logan is being a great big brother and Caleb still has no clue. He just looks at her and then goes back to playing.

Pictures of Melodie

2009-05-20T19:51:00.002-04:00

We've been having a lot of fun outside lately. Between trips to the zoo, playing in the "pool", walking all around, and talking a blue streak, Melodie has kept us pretty busy this spring.

Jenna's First Ponytail

2009-05-12T20:49:00.003-04:00

I call it a ponytail, Ben calls it a sprout. My mom calls it Payback Time. : ) Maybe the aunts remember my hair like this?

Our babies are 2 months old already

2009-05-06T21:27:00.003-04:00

Mommy and her boys

2 Months old already

Wilson

Drewby

Drew

Where has the time gone? I can't believe they are already 2 months old. This has truly been the best 2 months ever, and I'm sure it's only going to get better. God has truly blessed Dan and me.

Wil and Drew had their 2 month appointment and SHOTS today. They were troopers, Wil screamed a little more than Drew, and mommy could have cried harder than both of them...that was a horrible thing to put a mom (and a dad) through.

At 2 months...
Wilson is 22.5 inches long and 12 lbs. 9.5 oz. (Yes he WAS our little guy). He also has severe acid reflux, and has given us some pretty good scares (choking and quitting breathing).

Drew is 23.5 inches long and 12 lbs. 1 oz. This child is healthy as a horse and has virtually no ailments, unlike his brother.

The boys are also sleeping 9 hours at night (we are hoping this continues).

We are so blessed.

Spring time with the Heeters

2009-04-25T15:21:00.005-04:00

The kiddo's are getting so big---Brady age-wise and Mady size-wise :) They are doing great, especially now that the weather is nice...they love to be outside!

Brady is 95% potty-trained---the 5% he is currently deciding is reserved for going #2 completely on the toilet but at least he is in underwear everyday and all-night---finally, no more changing like 25 diapers a day!

Mady is popping teeth and eating cheerios which she loves...still sleeping great and wearing pigtails as much as possible :)

Here's a few spring pic's of the kid's...enjoy!

Some pictures

2009-04-23T16:22:00.001-04:00

Just thought I would post some pictures from the last few months.

Time for a malt

Easter morning

Grand Canyon

2009-04-09T00:25:00.005-04:00

My mom, Kristen, and Lisa came out to visit me in sunny Arizona this past weekend. Since I live only a few hours away from the Grand Canyon and none of us have been there, we decided to take a little road trip to visit. It is unbelievable to say the least. Pictures and words don't do it justice, so if you ever get the chance to go, GO! We also took a helicopter through it which was incredible. And, lucky for us (and Peter, our helicopter pilot), Kristen and Lis kept their lunch in their stomachs :)

Here's a few pictures!

from the helicopter!

Also, today, I officially got my RIF (reduction in force) letter from my school district. Pretty much, a pink slip saying we don't have a position for you next year (because of budget cuts). It's weird, but I'm actually happy about it! This makes it much easier to tell my students and parents that I'm moving back home :) Now, just pray that I can get a teaching job in Grand Rapids!!!

Greyson, Will, and Drew

2009-04-06T20:29:00.004-04:00

Gretchen came to visit us today with the twins. It sure is hard to get a great picture of all 3 boys at the same time. Hopefully Gretchen got a better one than I did. It was fun to see the 3 together for the first time! The Blakeslee boys seem a lot bigger than Greyson - this picture does not show the size difference like real-life does.

Greyson James Kuipers

2009-04-01T15:33:00.002-04:00

Our baby boy is finally here! Greyson James Kuipers was born on March 31, 2009 at 8:45pm and weighed 7lb. 7oz. He is 3 weeks early but doing great!

Tara and Kim :)

2009-03-25T16:23:00.003-04:00

If I remember correctly, Tara and Kim are both ultrasound technicians, right? I have a friend in Kalamazoo who is looking to go into that field and she's wondering where to start. Since I don't have a clue, I thought I'd come to the experts. Did you both go to school locally? How long would it take start to finish to gain a degree? Any idea what the job market there is like? I believe my friend would like to stay in that area during and after school, would she be able to get a job quickly, or are her chances better in another state?? Thanks so much for any info you can pass on to me, I really appreciate it!

PS- for anyone who didn't know, I moved to San Antonio in February. I absolutely love it here--the weather is perfect, although I miss my family and sweet lil Jenna. My boyfriend, Steve (get used to the name, you'll be seeing a LOT of him soon) will graduate from navigator training in the Air Force in May. As a bonus, here's a pic of us from our recent skydiving trip.

Miss you all :)

It's offical...I'm moving home :)

2009-03-07T13:11:00.002-05:00

Just thought that I would share that I am officially moving back to the mitten state at the end of May!!! My boyfriend, Kyle, got an awesome job in Grand Rapids, and long distance isn't my idea of fun. Plus, I miss my family like crazy, AND there are huge budget cuts to education in Arizona, so the chances of me having my job next year here are slim to none. All of this has a been an answer to prayer!

So, if you want to come visit me, time is running out :) I will enjoy the 80+ degree weather til I leave, though. It's the only thing good about Arizona!

And, I thought I'd share a picture from a charity staff vs student basketball game I played in for our school. My students came with signs and their foreheads painted with my name on it. I felt famous :)

The Blakeslee Boys Have Arrived!!!!

2009-03-04T16:12:00.002-05:00

The boys arrived safe and sound just minutes before 8 this morning. The c-section wasn't the smoothest surgery, but looking at the boys now...I would do it all over again in a minute!!!!

Wilson Reagan (Wil)- was born at 7:56 am and 6 lbs 2 oz
Andrew Patrick (Drew) - Born at 7:58 am and 7 lbs 10 oz....YES HE WAS/IS HUGE!!!!

They are both extremely healthy and content babies. I can't believe that with 1 look at them, how quickly you can fall in love. They are just perfect.

Thank so much to all for your prayers and support... we couldn't have done it without you.

Blessings-
Dan, Gretchen, Wil and Drew (And Guinness too)!!!!

UPDATE: Some pics...

Wil

Drew with his baseball

Drew

Wil with his Yzerman puck

Proud Papa

By the way, its hard to type with one hand- this is the hardest part of fatherhood, right?

Right?

Jenna

2009-02-26T20:52:00.003-05:00

Jenna is now 8 months old and crawling like a pro! If you're interested, she has her own blog at http://jennakarrer.blogspot.com.

Message from Nancy

2009-02-12T12:54:00.002-05:00

Nancy wants me to let everyone know that her mom, Angie, is turning 90 next weekend, Feb 20th. She is having a card shower. If anyone can send her a birthday card, it would be so appreciated, more than you can imagine. Her address is:

Angie Wittrock
308 Sage St, #203
Kalamazoo, MI 49006

Can you also spread the word to your parents and those that may not check this? Thanks everyone.

The newest Johnson

2009-02-10T10:15:00.002-05:00

Jeff and I are epxecting a baby girl at the end of May. We are thrilled! Logan can't wait to meet baby Ella Margaret. He seems really excited about being the 'biggest' brother. I don't think Caleb has any idea whats going to happen.

Going to the Motorcycle Show

2009-01-24T14:35:00.007-05:00

Just about a year ago the State of Michigan implemented some new regulations requiring people applying for a driver's license to submit additional documentation. About 2/3rds of the people that Jackie and I did testing for were Hispanics. Apparently many of them were not here legally because our Road Test business slowed down quite a bit after that. Although we are still doing the driver testing I went through what was needed to get licensed to sell insurance in Michigan, and to operate as an independent insurance agency.

One of the companies I represent has a very inexpensive accidental death policy which provides a lot of coverage and will return all premiums after 20 years. There are no medical questions and many normally un-insurable people can qualify. I was thinking about whom to market the product to and thought that motorcyclists and snowmobilers and ATV'ers could be prime candidates. Thus began my journey into the world of black leather and biker babes.

I visited a lot of the motorcycle shops in the area to talk to the guys running them to get ideas. Interestingly, many of these guys look just like Larry Laurin. I decided to try displaying at a motorcycle swap meet being held tomorrow at a show place in Lansing. Monday I stopped in a second time at the Red Arrow Motorcycle Shop on Stadium Dr. to drop off some flyer's that the guy there who looks just like Larry said that I could bring over. I told him I was going to show in Lansing and asked if he had any ideas how to get people's attention. He grabbed a small helmet and told me: "This is what they call a $20.00 helmet for a $20.00 head. It won't protect you at all, but many of the riders, well, you know, they've got a problem with the expensive helmets. This was my girl friends, take a sledge hammer to it. And what ever you do, don't wear a coat and tie to the show". The helmet had a sticker on the back that said, "I would do me!" I thought, "Oh dear!" But his idea sounded like a great idea so I gave him $20 bucks, peeled off the sticker when I got outside, took two whacks at it with a small mallet when I got home, and it dented quite easily.

Then I wondered what type a display I should have. Stopping at Fris Office Outfitters I picked up a cardboard display board with folded wings for $4.00. Thinking I could slap some literature on it and hang the helmet off the top, and put it on our card table that is covered with paint smears, I asked Jackie what she thought, to which she replied; "Do you want it to look like a grade school project?". Well, of course not. So the photo's above are what we ended up with after Jackie's creative juices got flowing. Not quite a $25 display, but we did have most of the materials so we are closer to $100.00. It is not black leather, but the black vinyl with the metal (flashing) looks really good. Wish me luck (in our family we say "good faith!") at the show tomorrow.

PS One of the companies I represent has a Drug Prescription Card. If you don't have prescription coverage check it out. You can access my web site, click on the "Drug Price Search" box on the upper left side, and compare prices on any of your drugs. If you can save money, sign up right on the web site. http://www.aimhealthplans.com/robertlabarge

We also have access to a Dental Broker that gives comparison prices from over 30 dental plans. Type in your zip code and the web site will list comparisons on all the major plans, with a list of local participating dentists. http://www.dpbrokers.com/36921.dp

Baby Shower punch recipe

2009-01-15T16:18:00.003-05:00

Here's the recipe for the punch we had at Gretchen's baby shower last weekend. And thank you again for everyone who travelled through our glorious Michigan weather!

12 oz frozen lemonade (thawed)
12 oz frozen orange juice (thawed)
1 Cup sugar
1 package cherry kool-aid

Mix above ingredients together in punch bowl. Add one 2 L bottle Sprite or 7-up. Fill punch bowl with ice and water.

Thank You!!!!

2009-01-10T21:11:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for the wonderful baby shower today!!! I owe a HUGE thank you to my great Mother in Law and fabulous sisters in law for all of the hard work that went into preparing everything. Despite the awful road conditions, I did make it home safely, but was too tired to "play" in the nursery when I got home...but tomorrow's a new day.

Thanks again, we look forward to introducing our sweet boys soon.

Gretchen

Peter's Address

2009-01-06T19:10:00.002-05:00

It was great seeing most everyone for the approximate 25 minutes Kyle and I were at Christmas Eve this year, but I'm glad we made it! I'm now back in sunny and warm Arizona and missing home like crazy.

When I got back, I got a Christmas card from Aunt Nancy in Iowa asking me to post Peter's address in Argentina if anyone wants to send him stuff or letters.

Here it is:

Peter Johnson
23 deMarzo #1503
3100 Parana, Entre Rios
Argentina

His e-mail address is:

franchise_210@hotmail.com

Number 3 is on the way!

2009-01-04T23:22:00.003-05:00

Just in case you didn't hear, David and I are expecting our third little one, due the end of August/beginning of September. We found out the news on Christmas morning...what a gift, what a gift! God is so good.

Somedays, Levi wants another little sister, whom he wants to name Nyah. (Think: Levi introducing our family, "Hi, I'm Levi and this is my sister, Nyah, and my other sister, Nyah!") Other days, he wants a brother, whom he wants to name Isaac. So original! :)

We're excited for the newest family member and would appreciate your prayers for baby's health and wisdom for David and me as we raise these little ones!

Gretchen's Baby Shower

2009-01-02T21:22:00.006-05:00

It’s time for Gretchen’s baby shower!
She is having two boys, if anyone hasn’t heard!

When: Saturday January 10th
Where: Jill’s house
Time: 1:00

Bring a baby picture of yourself for a game!!!!!!!!

Gretchen is registered at Target and Babies R Us.

Christmas Tree Angel

2008-12-10T19:10:00.011-05:00

Aunt Jackie is so fabulous, because Gerry and I already have our Christmas tree angel. Here's a picture of our fake tree (yea, fake...it's easy for now) you can easily see the angel is the prettiest part of the tree!

Thanks Aunt Jackie!!!!

Just in case you'd like to see, here's a few weddings pictures taken from friends and family...

See you all at the Christmas Eve event!

Tanya

No Cousins' Exchange this Year!

2008-12-05T09:56:00.003-05:00

Hi All,

From the responses I got, it seems most people would rather not do an exchange this year for various reasons. So, NO exchange this year, but I have heard a few people say they like the idea of doing a different type of exchange for next year. Gift cards were mentioned a few times. Please, please, please let me know your thoughts, and I'd be happy to organize for next year. But, again, I don't want to force something that's not well received! :)

I leave you with more photos of my kiddos from Halloween (Levi was aarrrh! a pirate and Nyah was a pumpkin)...

Christmas Cousins' Exchange?

2008-11-27T09:13:00.002-05:00

Hi Cousins!

I haven't heard much enthusiasm about an ornament exchange (or any type of exchange, for that matter) this year. Should we not do one this year? Or, does anyone have any ideas for a different type of exchange? I'd be happy to assign names, but I don't want to do so if there's no interest!

Feel free to post comments here or email me at kmjoy1@yahoo.com

Kristen (and a pic of the kids, and yes, Nyah has underwear on her head!)

I know, it's about time!

2008-11-18T19:04:00.003-05:00

My in-house computer tech finally fixed our computer and now I can publish pictures! It was really hard choosing just a few, since I love to take pictures. We waited awhile to post as well to make sure that Grandma had a chance to tell someone something first without hearing 'I already read it on the blog!'

Jeff has started working for a new company, Aditi Technologies. He is a Director of Sales. The kids are doing great. Logan goes to school and comes home to tell me that he sings Navy fight songs to his friends. Gee, I wonder where he hears those, we only attend every home game. Caleb is hilarious. He just stares at you and jabbers like you are supposed to know what he is saying. He is all over the house and it is really funny watching the two boys play together. I am busy taking care of all my boys and handling baby number THREE. Yup, that's right, another Johnson is due to arrive late May.

On top of all that news, we will be seeing everyone at the Johnson Family Christmas shindig!

These are just the pictures I decided to post, even though it's not all I wanted to add.

Logan learns thing from cartoon shows.

This is him doing a rad move!

Logan and Levi had a blast

at Tanya's wedding

Caleb's first birthday celebrated

poolside in North Carolina

Go Navy!

Hay ride through the Bronx Zoo

Piper Jean Roberts

2008-11-11T21:58:00.004-05:00

Piper Jean Roberts finally arrived!!! She came on Saturday, November 8 at 8:14pm. She is home after two days of getting poked and tested. All the tests came back negative, and now she is home hanging out with her two crazy sisters!

Brady & Mady's Halloween

2008-11-06T07:47:00.003-05:00

Brady had a blast trick-or-treating in his wagon with Todd this year. He went as Batman (although we could not find his mask so he just had the outfit and cape). He definitely got the hang of asking for candy and eating a ton of it too. I think at one point we were on our front porch and just were laughing at him running back and forth for like 20 minutes :)

Mady was our sweet little ballerina, tutu and all!!

In the pic of the two of them, he is shaking his candy for Mady b/c he always see's us doing the same with rattles so he thought he was pretty cool.

Melodie the polar bear

2008-11-04T15:44:00.002-05:00

In keeping with the Johnson theme of cute animals (Jenna looked ADORABLE as a bunny!), Melodie went as a polar bear. It was a little hot for our artic fur ball on Halloween, but she still had a good time being carted around in her costume.

Jenna's First Halloween

2008-11-03T20:45:00.003-05:00

Jenna enjoyed her first Halloween. She was a pink bunny, complete with her own carrot rattle. She loved trick-or-treating at Grandma & Grandpa Johnson's!

Thrilled to announce...

2008-10-21T19:30:00.000-04:00

We will officially be contributing to the Blakeslee hockey team. We found out this morning we are having 2 little boys. We couldn't be more excited (especially Dan, he's still grinning from ear to ear).
They are scheduled to arrive somewhere around St. Patrick's Day (so we are figuring end of February at best)!!!

Thanks for all of the prayers.

Dan and Gretchen

Soaking up the Northwest

2008-10-05T00:21:00.003-04:00

At the end of October the Moore's are moving to Iowa, and if I remember correctly there isn't an ocean there. We spent many weekends at the Pacific this summer. I hope you enjoy the pictures of Elin, 25 months old, and Quentin, 12 months. They loved the big hole Greg dug them, with a slide included!.....so fun, but we look forward to seeing family more and hopefully a trip to Michigan soon!!!

Heeter kids at the pumpkin patch

2008-10-04T17:16:00.004-04:00

Check out our new pics/blog entry at:

http://toddnlisa.blodgspot.com

Todd, Lis, Brady & Madelyn

Pictures of Jenna

2008-09-27T22:04:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd share some recent pictures of Jenna. She's 3 months old now and is full of smiles. Her hobbies are bathtime, drooling on/eating her clothes, and mommy. : ) She is such a joy...

Lake Blakeslee

2008-09-25T18:01:00.003-04:00

We went fishing in Lake Blakeslee (Mom and Dad's backyard) last week after all the rain. It flooded the trail we normally use to walk to the river. It made it easy to see carp, however due to the noisy 5 year olds, we did not catch any! We also paddled through the woods which Eric and Ryan thought was exciting! Thanks for the temporary lake in your backyard Mom and Dad!

Here we go again...

2008-09-25T11:02:00.002-04:00

I am sure many of you have heard already - James and I are expecting again. We are very excited and due April 22nd. However, we had a meeting with the high-risk doctor this morning that left us, um...a little upset... We were hoping for some positive information and a proactive plan for this pregnancy and he couldn't answer any of our questions to our satisfaction. There pretty much was nothing positive about the meeting. He thinks there is nothing we can do to prevent an infection again. Also, if the symptoms appear that I had with the boys, I asked if I could go right to the hospital and get the IV antibiotics right away (instead of days later) and he said by that time it is a lost cause. He was not very optimistic if an infection were to start but really is not willing to do much to stop one from starting in the first place. On the other hand, our infertility doctor has been great and I am on a different antibiotic and we are doing things on our own to prevent infections. So, we are asking for prayers for our pregnancy that there would be NO INFECTIONS and that our doctors would be PROACTIVE. We did have an ultrasound and the baby looks fine - I would post the picture but like a typical Kuipers baby - the picture is terrible! Maybe next time...

New Place...

2008-09-21T19:02:00.002-04:00

We moved into our new home on Tuesday and are certainly enjoying the great neighborhood and beautiful woods out back...

The neighborhood is called Texas Heights, and it's outlined by 8th Street and Q Avenue (yep, we're in Mattawan schools)...

We've still got lots of boxes to unpack, but it's feeling more and more like home...

Here's a pic of the outside; I'll add some photos of the interior once the boxes are unpacked!

Fun out east

2008-09-18T21:36:00.004-04:00

Ryan and I took a trip out to Philadelphia and New Jersey/New York last weekend and had a blast. We spent Friday in Philly, and then headed out to spend the rest of the weekend with Jeff, Laura, Logan and Caleb in New Jersey. Philadelphia was a lot of fun, full of history...and unfortunately rain! After seeing Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' house, Ben Franklin's printing office and getting some authentic Philly cheesesteak, we headed to the ballgame, only to walk around the park for 2 1/2 hours and get rained out. We headed out to Jersey Saturday and got to see Logan and meet Caleb (both ADORABLE and GREAT kids!). We were able to see the 10th to last game at Shea Stadium, and the 7th to last game at Yankee Stadium (as well as Derek Jeter's homerun which tied him for most career hits at Yankee Stadium, and Yogi Berra). Jeff was a great tour guide, and we saw more of Manhattan than I knew existed! After our "motivated feet" finally stopped moving, we headed back to Michigan to pick up Melodie. We had a great time with Jeff, Laura and the boys, and are looking forward to going back for the new Yankee and Shea stadiums and a make-up Phillies game. Thanks for a great weekend Jeff and Laura, anytime you want to come out to Milwaukee to see...umm, the bronze Fonz from Happy Days, let us know! ;)

A good bye for Uncle Bill

2008-09-09T23:30:00.002-04:00

For those of you not there, Uncle Bill's funeral was yesterday at Fort Custer on a beautiful midmorning. Here are a few pictures:

Shameless plug...with pictures!

2008-09-09T21:13:00.003-04:00

Hi family!

I'm in my 5th week of teaching (wow!) in Arizona, and all is going well! I have amazing kids and am loving teaching. The parents are, for the most part, really supportive (except for the few that are overly involved and like to act like 3rd grade is the be and end all in their child's lives).

The reason this is a shameless plug is this: Arizona is not the best state at giving teachers what they need to teach. I've spent hundreds of dollars on my classroom already and would like some more things to make it an even better environment. I've set up this website where you can adopt a classroom. If you would like to, you can donate money online and I can use it for my classroom. Please don't feel like you have to, but I thought I would ask just in case you want to help out. Any donation, no matter how small will help out. Things that I want aren't too expensive until you buy 30 of them. I appreciate anything at all! Here's the link: http://adoptaclassroom.org/adoption/Locator_Adopt_Donate.aspx?ClassroomID=75698&schoolID=96875

As far as living in AZ goes, it's pretty good. I'm adjusting to the heat (especially since it's cooled off to 105 instead of 117) and the traffic pretty well. I've made some friends (mostly teachers) and recently found an awesome church that I will get more involved with. Thank you for all of your prayers! Living here is nice, but I know I won't stay here forever (my parents and siblings are all very happy about that!).

Finally, here's some pictures of my classroom and of some scenery that I get to see everyday. Remember, visitors are always welcome!

My drive home from school...mountains and sunsets

One of the views from my balcony...palm trees and mountains :)

The view from my classroom door. We have outdoor hallways. This is just one of the 4 "quads" at our K-8 school (it's a pretty big campus!!)

My classroom. The orange square in the right corner of the picture is a Detroit Tigers towel. Gotta represent :)

One of my 4 enormous bulletin boards

More Mady Joy Pics

2008-08-29T21:52:00.002-04:00

Thanks for posting for me Kristen---today I finally logged on to see all the wonderful comments about our sweet girl---thanks everyone!

Here is our first official family pic in the hospital and close-up of our little girl :) Enjoy!

Presenting Madelyn Joy Heeter...

2008-08-25T22:38:00.010-04:00

After being induced Monday morning, Todd and Lisa welcomed precious Madelyn Joy into the world at 9:21 pm on August 25th. She weighs 8 lbs. 7 oz. and is 21 1/2 inches long. She has TONS of thick, dark hair and is gorgeous, just like her beautiful mama! Mommy, Daddy, and babe are doing well! Big brother Brady will meet his little sister Tuesday morning (he was at Great-Grandma Johnson's watching "Shrek" with Aunt Joyce and Grandma J at the time Madelyn entered the world!)

Early Delivery...

2008-08-11T09:40:00.002-04:00

Jimmy and Kelsie welcomed precious Maverick James Johnson into the world on Saturday, August 9th at 6:37 pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and is 19 inches long. He's got lots of dark hair and is absolutely gorgeous! Daddy, Mommy, and baby are doing very well!

(Sorry, I don't have any photos to post...David has the camera up north!)

Heart Broken

2008-08-05T18:59:00.002-04:00

Dan and I had a follow up Dr. appointment today, only to learn we have lost one of our babies. We are very heart broken at this time, but we know God has a plan for us. Please keep our family in your prayers, as we work through these next several tough months.

It's hot here!

2008-07-25T20:21:00.002-04:00

Hey all!

Just thought I would let you all know that I'm offically all moved into my apartment in very hot and sunny Arizona. It took me 2 1/2 days to drive out here. My friend was going to drive down with me, but her grandma passed away 2 days before we left, so Kyle drove down with me (for those of you that have met him and kept asking what would happen when I moved...here is the short answer...he's my boyfriend and I'm super excited about it. Ask my mom if you want more details haha). My mom left yesterday, so I'm now offically on my own. The weather is extremely hot (110 right now) and it's not so much dry (it's monsoon season). I love my apartment and will be meeting my roommate tomorrow. I also signed my teaching contract yesterday so I officially have to stay until May. Thanks for all the prayers of a safe trip! Continued prayers for me not to freak out over setting up my classroom and preparing for the first day of school would be much appreciated! Visitors are welcome anytime!! Miss you all!

Brace Yourself

2008-07-22T19:51:00.003-04:00

Dan and I learned today that will are expecting TRIPLETS. While we are thrilled, we are also in total shock right now. As of right now, I will be due somewhere around the end of January.
Thanks for all of the prayers as we struggled through 1 very difficult year of unsuccessful fertility treatment. God is good, and has certainly answered our prayers.

Update your info...

2008-07-14T21:46:00.003-04:00

I've got the "Johnson Family Address List" to update, so if you didn't receive an email from me, then please shoot me an email at kmjoy1@yahoo.com so I can send you the updated list. I need to be sure that all the info is correct so that when I send out $1000 checks for Christmas, you will all receive them at the correct address.

Please spread the word...

Oh, and enjoy the pics...I thought this post would be incredibly boring without them! :)

We're thrilled...

2008-06-30T22:39:00.003-04:00

it's another girl!!! She will make her debut near November 15!

Brady Heeter Blog

2008-06-22T07:24:00.000-04:00

Check out our updated blog at:

http://toddnlisa.blogspot.com/

Have a great weekend!

Todd, Lis & Brady

2008-06-17T08:34:00.015-04:00

Meet Jenna Christine Karrer

Jenna is the first and newest addition to our family. She was born on Sunday, June 15th at 10:24 AM, which made her an awesome Father's Day present. She is 7 lbs 1.4 oz and 20.5 inches long. Both Holli and Jenna are doing great and can't wait to meet all of you.

Love,

Ben, Holli and Jenna

Chris's Great Divide Site

2008-06-10T00:49:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, Chris leaves for his next big adventure!

He will be riding 2700 miles from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico (the US/Mexico border) on his rigid single speed mountain bike. We will be leaving town tomorrow, drive 18 hours to Banff, spend a few days enjoying the town, and then he will leave for his ride on Saturday. After that, I will be driving home alone and will be awaiting his call to come pick him up in roughly three weeks at the other border.

There are two *official* races that do this route; however, Chris will not be joining either group and doing it as an individual time trial instead (due to silly bickering between the two race groups, he didn't want to have to choose a side). One group will start the day before him in Banff and the other will be starting at the US/Canada border the following weekend.

His goal is to get it done in roughly three weeks, although faster would be great, and if he finishes at all he'll be very pleased. If he finishes, he will be only the third person to ever finish this route on a single speed (and the second on a rigid bike). It is a huge undertaking but I'm sure he will do great. It is totally unsupported, so he has to carry/bring/buy anything he needs along the way. He will be coming through Colorado around the halfway point, but at the moment we both agree that it would be too hard for me to go see him and then have him leave again.

If you want to follow along as he tries to ride this, I have set up a blog where I will post updates as I get them. There is also a link at the top of the blog (under his picture), that you can click on and see a map of where he has been, where he is now, and where he will be soon:

http://pleskogreatdivideride2008.blogspot.com/

-Marni

Melodie's first Brewers game

2008-05-29T10:42:00.005-04:00

Ryan and I took Lodie to her first Brewers game last night. She did great at the game, although I think that she was more interested in the light bar that runs around the stadium, than she was in the Brewers. The Brewers won the game 1-0 and we all had a great time.

Ryan's Graduation Open House!

2008-05-20T17:33:00.003-04:00

Joyce wanted everyone to know about Ryan's graduation (I can't believe he's done with high school!) open house. Here are the details...
Saturday, June 14 from 1:00 - 3:30 at the Portage Senior Center
(where we had Christmas Eve Eve this year).

Everyone's invited! Congrats, Ryan!

Thank you...

2008-05-19T12:21:00.002-04:00

We want to thank all of you for your cards and prayers for us over the past few weeks. We are still in disbelief that we are going through the loss of another son. We are very happy that we have 2 healthy girls - they really are a blessing. We did find out of one good thing that came out of this whole situation though - James emailed his networking group that he meets with each Thursday morning since he missed his meeting and told the group what had happened. He said in the email that if anyone questions life at 18 weeks that he has a story to tell and pictures to show. This past Thursday a woman pulled him aside after the meeting and said she had forwarded the email to a good friend of hers who is 8 weeks pregnant and not married. She said that because of the email, she changed her mind on what to do with her baby. At least some good things can happen because of our little Hudson.

Jake Pitching

2008-05-13T15:37:00.003-04:00

Poster of Jake pitching from Jayne

In case you haven't heard...

2008-05-06T15:41:00.002-04:00

I have accepted a teaching position in Phoenix, Arizona and will be moving sometime in the middle to end of July. My mom and I went out there last week to check out the school district after I was interviewed by a recruiter at Grand Valley and offered a position. I feel in love with it out there and have decided to move out there for a few years and get some experience before heading back to Michigan to teach (that's the plan, at least). I'm really excited about moving out there, but also a tad bit scared. Hope to see everyone around this summer before I leave! And, if you ever get sick of the winter here, all are welcome in sunny Phoenix to come visit me :)

Hudson Kuipers

2008-05-02T19:26:00.002-04:00

Carrie went into premature labor last night at 18 weeks. She had her son, Hudson Kuipers, early this morning. His heart was beating, he was breathing, he was moving... for 45 minutes before he went to be with Jesus. A short life- but significant and created by God.

Hudson's parents, sisters, cousin, grandparents and many aunts and uncles who got to hold him this morning all think he's cute... and really small!!

The service for Hudson will be on Monday.

Please pray for Carrie, James, Raleigh and Sydney as they deal with the loss of their beautiful son.

Portland meets Denver

2008-04-28T21:43:00.003-04:00

Another generation experiences the trampoline at 5280 ft!

Pam and fam were here this weekend and mom snapped some great pictures of the kids:

-Marni

I blame Kristen...and Aunt Jayne

2008-04-27T22:06:00.005-04:00

So, about 10 months ago, Kristen asked me if I would want to train for the 1/2 marathon with her and the rest of the runners in the family for the Borgess Run for the Health of It. In a moment of weakness, I thought about it and thought about how my amazing Aunt Jayne trained for it and ran it. If she can do it, I can do it. So, I said yes.

For 10 months, I trained by running around Grand Rapids, the track at the YMCA, and Reed's Lake. I was super excited when I could run a mile without stopping. Then, it eventually got the point where 4 miles was easy for me. If any of you know me at all, I hate running. Well, hated it. I thought people were insane to go out and run. It's not fun. It hurts. And they all talked about this made up thing called a runner's high. I found out it's real. Crap...they were right.

Anyways, by different twists of fate, all the family members had excuses not to run the race. Then, Kristen found out she couldn't run it due to injury. So, I ran it. All by myself (except the first 3.5 miles where I ran with Julie, Todd's Lisa's sister).

My goals:
1. Finish the race
2. Don't die
3. Beat at least one person

I achieved all my goals :) It took me 2 hours and 30 minutes to run the 13.1 mile race and I was very sore (still am), but it was well worth it. So, even though I was hating Kristen before I took off for convincing me to run the race, I have to say a huge "Thanks" to her for pushing me to do it. Also, a thanks to Jayne because she inspired me as well :)

Before the race started

Heading for the finish line

Very sore after the race, but I got a medal :)

Thank you!

2008-04-26T13:09:00.001-04:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for sending cards to Jim's mom! It meant so much to her. She would call and say...I got three cards from your family today....I've gotten 10 cards from your family! She really, really appreciated it and so do I. She was going to write thank you notes for the cards, but I told her we'd post it on the blog. You are all the best!!! Thanks again! Love, Jennifer

For the Colorado Family, this is for you

2008-04-24T20:49:00.002-04:00

Go Wings!

Why, yes, I did just finish finals. No, as a matter of fact, I don't have anything better to do. Why do you ask?

Baby Heeter is for sure a girl!

2008-04-24T17:55:00.003-04:00

We had confirmation a few weeks ago that we are indeed having a girl and couldn't be more excited---and neither could the grandma's as I am pretty sure she already has enough clothes to outfit her for a year :) I love it!

We are planning on naming her Madelyn (I know, we are not one for surprises) and are getting ready to paint her room soon!

Here are some ultrasound pic's of our latest bun in the oven! Enjoy!

Melodie Joy Young

2008-04-17T00:19:00.005-04:00

Tonight at 6:58 p.m. Melodie Joy Young was born. Becky and I are really excited to finally get to meet her. It is a great experience, that is for sure. Becky went into labor at midnight on Wednesday and roughly 17 hours later our first baby girl. Mom and baby are doing well.

Info from Mom

2008-04-12T22:25:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone. Yesterday my dad's brother passed away from a brain tumor and my mom wanted me to pass along the following info:

Jim's brother died peacefully Friday. If anyone would like to send a card to his mom, I'm sure she would appreciate it. It's been very tough on her to lose two of her three kids to cancer.

Marge Berry
7700 E Harvard Ave
Denver CO 80231

Thanks!
Marni

Directions to Ben & Janet's House

2008-03-14T10:24:00.002-04:00

Hey family,

Here are the directions to Ben & Jan's house for the shower this Sunday at 1pm.

Take M43 like you're going to Aunt Judy's
Turn LEFT onto 22ND ST/ N VAN KAL AVE. Continue to follow 22ND ST.
Turn RIGHT onto CR-375. (1.8 miles)
Turn LEFT onto CR-652.
Turn RIGHT onto TRESTLE CREEK AVE.
Turn RIGHT onto FINCH ST.
End at 45758 Finch St Mattawan, MI 49071

Hope that helps. Coming from Holland, I take M40 to M43, turn RIGHT on Fish Hatchery Road, follow it until the end, turn left on a short little road, then turn right on CR-652, where I turn RIGHT into their neighborhood (Trestle Creek).

Did you know the human head weighs 8 pounds?

2008-03-12T00:07:00.005-04:00

Levi got a hold of Papa's (what he calls my dad) glasses and put them on. At first, they were upside down. Then, he fixed them and we thought he looked like the kid from Jerry Mcguire. What do you think??

Brady Heeter is 1 !!!

2008-03-07T10:45:00.002-05:00

Our little man turned one on Feb. 23! We had a little party with our family and friends, it turned out so nice! Although the fun pictures I was hoping for of him smashing cake, getting it on his face, etc. did not happen as he was way too focused on just eating the entire piece :) Here are some recent pictures of our big boy. He officially is 25lb.12oz and is walking everywhere!

Also, cousin Kim 80-85% confirmed we are having a little girl for baby #2!!! We are so excited! Kim will confirm at my official ultrasound as I am only 4 months now but the grandma's have already bought some cute girl outfits---with receipts of course should the girl decide to "show" us she is a boy!

Attention Johnson Ladies!

2008-03-04T10:32:00.003-05:00

What: Baby Shower for Holli/Baby Shower for Becky/Wedding Shower for Kelsie!
When: Sunday, March 16th at 1:00 pm
Where: Janet LaBarge's home in Mattawan

Holli is registered at Babies R Us and Target
Becky is registered at Babies R Us and Target
Kelsie is registered at Target and would love gift cards to Lowes

Hope to see you there!

Someone Please Tell Grandma J That Jackie Is Not A Liar

2008-02-19T17:05:00.005-05:00

Ever since Harry had enough of West Michigan Winters, Jackie has come to Kalamazoo to spend Monday night with Helen. Sometimes things don't work out, but for the most part they do. Helen tries to act like she doesn't want Jackie to go to the effort to come, and she will swoon; "Oh, Bob will miss you!", to which Jackie replies that Bob loves to sit in front of the TV with his remote, scanning all 75 channels about every 2 minutes, driving her crazy, and what a relief it is to let Bob have a night by himself to flip channels. So believing that she is doing Jackie and Bob a favor by letting Jackie stay Monday nights, everything normally goes very well.

However, last week the weather was really bad and Jackie couldn't come. We had a big one day thaw this Sunday, with a lot of rain, but then it got a lot colder and we started to get into a Lake effect mode. Jackie actually started out mid-afternoon Monday to go to Kzoo, but turned around at the D&W, thinking "this is crazy". The roads were icy, it was snowing hard, and the wind was blowing. So she called her mom to let her know that it just wasn't possible to get there that day. "Um, it's sunny here" says Helen. "Maybe I see a wisp of snow". After about 20 minutes of conversation, in which I hear Jackie say about 10 times; "It really is snowing pretty hard here", she tells Helen that she will try to make it Tuesday. The above picture shows our weather Tuesday morning. I talk to a truck driver who was on M6 in Grand Rapids, and he said that it was total black ice, with a lot of delivery trucks having slid off. All of our roads around here are icy, and we are still in that Lake effect mode, so no trip to the city of promise today. Post script. Remember that play with the great title, "Your arms too short to box with God"? That's what I think of when I see Jackie try to toss the snow far enough over the pile that it doesn't fall short and slide back onto the driveway. Post Script 2. Why go to Colorado to ski? Our slopes are a short walk from the house, with great hot chocolate after a hard day of schussing.

From the Freezer to the Oven...

2008-02-08T13:18:00.000-05:00

I know many of you have already heard but I am FINALLY pregnant again. James and I actually had to go through In-Vitro Fertiliztion this time around. We had the procedure done for the first time in November - the doctor retrieved 28 eggs from me and after playing the numbers game, we decided to have them fertilize only 5 of them. All 5 were successfully fertilized so they put 2 back into me and froze the other 3. We were pregnant in November for a short time but the embryos for some reason did not survive. So...in January they "thawed" the remaining 3 embryos and put them back in me. It is a weird feeling knowing we had 3 children frozen for 2 months! Anyway, we just came back from the doctors office and I am pregnant with ONE little baby with a teeny-tiny heartbeat.

The picture is of the 3 embryos that they thawed in January. They took the picture (blown up a bazillion times) right before they transferred them back to me. The one in the middle was in the best condition so probably the one we have now. The other two were not as good but still could have worked.

Our doctor said our due date is October 5th but they of course did not include Leap Day (who can forget that???) so he changed it to October 4th!

-Carrie

We're headed to South Africa

2008-02-01T05:48:00.000-05:00

Dave and I are flying out of Grand Rapids today (hopefully, it's snowing pretty bad today), flying into Atlanta, and then on to Johannasburg, South Africa. We should get there Saturday afternoon.

Dave will be preaching at the Soweto Vineyard Church on Sunday, and I will be broadcasting my show from there starting on Monday, you can take a listen online, if you'd like. (click on the listen live at the very top of the page) It will air from 10:40 a.m. til 3:00p.m, Eastern Standard time.

There will also be talky blogs, interview and pictures here.

Any prayers would be appreciated. The girls are doing great, their Grandma and Grandpa from California are here, Ellie's in heaven because she'll get paid attention to non-stop, and Mallory just thinks we're going to Target.

We're Engaged!

2008-01-31T21:09:00.001-05:00

For those of you who Grandma hasn't yet told, Gerry proposed this past Tuesday, January 29th! After four years of dating, Gerry decided it was time to get on bended knee and ask the big question. He did it by giving me a present. Inside the present was a picture of us in a beautful picture frame. He scanned in the picture of us, added the lyrics to our song on the bottom, then wrote, "will you..." After I read it, he got down on one knee and finished the sentence! It was so sweet.

I promptly said, "YES...did you ask my Dad if it's OK?" He said that he asked my whole family before Christmas. So, some Johnson's can keep a secret! hehehe

Gerry thinks we should get married in 2012. hehehe Really, we are thinking of getting married maybe this August. We're not sure of any details, but we'll let you know. :o)

The Story of the Log...

2008-01-08T21:51:00.001-05:00

So, recently, David ran out one evening to run some errands, and I decided to give the kids a bath. Everything was going smoothly...kids were getting clean and having fun. I took Nyah out of the tub and got her dressed in her room, strapped her on the changing table, and went to fetch Levi. As I entered the bathroom, Levi was putting a very, very large, hmmm, shall we say "log" up on the tub shelf, next to two smaller ones which had evidently made their appearance to the world first.

My initial thought was "how the heck did something that big come out of something so small?!" But since I now know that child birth is possible, I figured it could happen and moved on to my next thought: "what the heck do I do with the logs?" No one ever taught me about this...

Needless to say, I grabbed some TP, gaggingly placed the logs into the toilet and flushed them farewell. I put Levi on the floor wrapped in a towel, as I quickly and, again, gaggingly, cleaned the tub, refilled it and placed a now crying Levi back into the water. At this point, Nyah is crying, too, and David walks in asking how my night has been!
I love being a mom! :)

Baby Girl (maybe) for Holli & Ben

2008-01-04T20:21:00.000-05:00

Cousin Kim did an ultrasound on Wednesday and is pretty sure we'll be having a girl! (Tara also agrees.) Our little one was too modest to show us everything, so we'll find out for sure at my next appointment. At least she was acting like a lady. We're due on June 23, 2008. Grandma and Grandpa are SO excited for their first grandbaby!

Baseball trip 2008!

2007-12-30T22:37:00.000-05:00

As promised, Ryan and I are organizing a New York Baseball trip this fall. Because it is the last season for both Yankee and Shea Stadium we had to pick a weekend that would work for both teams to be in town. Luckily for us, Philadephia also happens to be in town that weekend and has a Friday night game. Our plan is to roadtrip out of Michigan Thursday night to get to Philadelphia by morning and in time to do some sleeping and site seeing. The game is at 7pm and is vs. the Brewers. The cheapest tickets we saw on StubHub were around $25-$30. The next day we'd trek out to New York for an afternoon Mets game against the Atlanta Braves. The ticket costs that we found were around $17-$20 for the cheapest available. The last stop would be at Yankee Stadium on Sunday the 14th for a 1pm game vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. Amazingly bleacher tickets at Yankee Stadium were $11. (However, there were some available for $3412 in case anyone REALLY wanted the Yankee Stadium experience!) We'd leave after the game on Sunday to drive back to Michigan. Although September is a ways a way, we figured that we better post now to feel out interest in going since tickets for the games will sell fast. If anyone is interested in going with us, we'd like to know by January 14 so we can order tickets and make sure that everyone who wants to go has a seat. Also, if people would like to go to one or two games and not all of them, let us know which ones work out and we can take care of coordinating ticket purchases.

To my favorite Colorado people

2007-12-30T14:27:00.000-05:00

So, this is really to Marni because she teaching in CO, but to everyone else reading, hi!

Anyway, Marni....wanna give me some names of some good school districts near where you are that I can apply to for teaching? I've done a little bit of research online, but it's kind of overwhelming so I thought I'd get your professional opinion. Oh, and I would have e-mailed you and not taken precious family blog space, but I don't have your e-mail address. So, you can e-mail me at heeter.lisa@gmail.com or just reply in a comment in this. THANKS!!!!

Oh, and mom and dad (or sister and brothers) if you're reading this, this does not mean I'm definitely moving to Colorado. Just making it an option :)

Our Scottish Little Boy

2007-12-28T19:54:00.000-05:00

So we got these cute pic's of Brady done today and everyone kept commenting on how "Scottish" he looked---I guess it was the hat, who knows.

And yeah, we were a little late doing Christmas pic's but it was the only time it worked to drive to Rivertown so sorry for the delay, but here is his pic!

Season's greetings

2007-12-28T00:05:00.001-05:00

Hello form Portland! I hope you had a great Christmas. Wish we could have been at Christmas Eve to see everyone. Since we couldn't make it this year I thought you'd enjoy some pictures of my little helper...Elin, and of course Quentin. As you can see Elin helps out by dragging Quentin around the floor, she also pumps milk, and lastly reads him books!!!!! I think all the help is working......Quentin looks happy to me!!!

Early Christmas Present

2007-12-21T13:04:00.001-05:00

Wow, we are still in shock, but excited to be pregnant again! It was definetly earlier than we had planned but it is great news. My due date is sometime late August so that will put little baby and Brady a little over a year and a half apart.

I told Todd by buying a shirt for Brady that said "I am the Big Brother." He was shopping last night for my christmas presents and I took two tests just before he left shopping so it was perfect for me to run out and get that shirt. When he finally got home I showed him the shirt and it took him a minute, but once he realized he was flippin out and so excited!!!

Anyways, I am sure we will see most of you this sunday at Christmas Eve Eve but just thought I would spread the word to those who will not be there!

I'm done!

2007-12-08T15:18:00.001-05:00

This morning, I offically completed my college education. That's right...I GRADUATED from Grand Valley (and it only took me 4 1/2 years)! I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature with an Elementary Education minor (meaning I want to be a little kid teacher in case you didn't know). I finished up my student teaching yesterday and will be subbing around the G-Rap until I find a job.

All the siblings came to Van Andel to celebrate with me :)

And, of course, the 'rents came, too

And, even though I'm a college graduate now, I still act like a little kid (and so does Kristen)

Pic's of Brady....finally!

2007-11-29T07:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have been MIA from the website, but I finally recovered my password so I could sign in again and share pictures of Brady, who is a spitting image of his dad I tell ya. He is 9 months old, weighs 22.1 pounds (I know, a big boy...we call him Box) and is crawling and pulling himself up on EVERYTHING!!! :)

Anyways, enjoy the pics! Hope everyone is doing well, cya all soon at Christmas Eve!

Lis

Addresses

2007-11-25T11:11:00.000-05:00

Can someone send out an email with updated addresses on everyone, if available? I am getting ready to order my holiday cards and want to make sure that everyone receives one. You can send it to me at laura31979@hotmail.com
Thanks!

Presenting...

2007-11-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

Baby Girl Young!
Everything looks good so far, and we should still be on for late April. Ryan and I are thrilled, although I am quite a bit shocked that she's a she and not a he!

Let me explain the above picture a bit. I brought it to work, and obviously thought that it was cool, and then I glanced at it and "got it". If you picture her hand as if she was pushing her nose up to make it look like a pig nose, then the face makes sense. You can see the outline of her cheeks, her mouth, the bottom of her nose and her chin. (I think that she has a bit of growing to do to catch up with her head! :) ) Hope that this hint helps, Kim and Tara--you'll have to let me know if I'm off on that one though. Dr. "Not so talkative AT ALL during the ultrasound Perinatologist dude" didn't really explain anything to us. :)

Recruiting Cousins!

2007-11-06T15:41:00.001-05:00

I'm putting together a schedule for "Grandma visits" to relieve our parents a bit from the 24/7 care they've been giving Grandma during this time of recovery and physical therapy.

If you're available, please give me a call (269-349-4829) or shoot me an email (kmjoy1@yahoo.com) to get put on the schedule. Please spread the word to those cousins who don't check the blog.

I know that we've all got busy and different schedules, so just let me know what works for you, and I know that our folks' generation will appreciate any breaks that they can get! Even if you can just come once a month for a few hours, that will be a big help!

Thanks!
Kristen

Pictures of the kids

2007-11-05T19:41:00.000-05:00

Logan's first day of school.

Watching the big Navy versus Notre Dame win!
What a great game!!!

Buzz and Woody!
Caleb's costume was a bib we got as a gift.

Save the date! (update on previous blog)

2007-10-16T18:40:00.001-04:00

Well, who knew updates would happen this quickly?? :)

The date of the Make-A-Wish formal has been changed from December 6, to Friday, November 30th at 7:30 in the evening. As I said before, I'm hoping as many people as possible will be able to be a part of this special day in some way. If you are able to come (!) please let me know.

Again, I will be posting new information as it is available to me. Once I've received the info on the child that we will be sponsoring that night, I will post that as well.

That's it for now, but I'm hoping that this is a great opportunity to make a huge difference in a sick child's life.

Thanks!

Make-A-Wish Formal Benefit, December 2007

2007-10-16T15:06:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone!

The Opportunity:
I wanted to write and let you all know about a great benefit that is coming up in early December. A good friend of mine is organizing a formal benefit to sponsor a child from the Make-A-Wish foundation. As most of you already know, the Make-A-Wish Foundation was established in 1980 with the goal of enriching the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting network. Sponsorship of a child is a very expensive but extremely rewarding process. According to their website, the average cost of granting a wish to a terminally ill child is over $6000. As you can imagine, the benefits of sponsoring a child far outweigh the costs of doing so. Most of the time the boy/girl wishes to go to Disneyland or become a firefighter for a day. As of right now, I don’t have the detail on the child that is being sponsored, but official sponsorship is on the way from MAW!
For more information on the foundation itself, visit their website at http://www.wish.org

The Scoop:
While the minute details of the formal benefit are still being ironed out, I wanted to get the word out to you early enough so that you can be informed of the progression of the benefit and set aside the time to be able to attend. The tentative cost of attending the function is set at $40 per person. Again, these costs will go to negate the price of the ballroom, food, beverages and entertainment, while the remainder will go directly to MAW for the delegated child in order to help make their dreams come true. While at the benefit, there will also be an auction set up to raise additional funds for the sponsored child. Attendees will be able to bid on different goods and services donated by companies throughout the mid Michigan area. This is a great opportunity for you to come away with dinner to a great restaurant for a fraction of the face value and help a charity at the same time.

The Party:
The formal benefit will take place on December 6, 2007 in Lansing , Michigan and I hope you all can make it. However, since I realize that attending won’t be an option for all of you, I hope that you will all take time to prayerfully consider making a donation for the benefit. Any donation will be greatly appreciated both by the benefit organizer and the sponsored MAW child. Plus, all donations are tax deductible, so this is an excellent opportunity to capitalize on further deductions before the end of the year.

I will try to post additional details of the formal benefit as they become firmly established. For now, please consider this your personal invite to a very important benefit. If you have any questions feel free to email me at SuziQ_4@yahoo.com or call at 269-599-3344.

I’m really hoping that we can all band together to make this benefit extremely successful and grant a child the wish of a lifetime!

Thanks!
Suzi

2007-10-15T11:42:00.001-04:00

The LaBarge clan at Gene the Pumpkin man this weekend. Gene himself was pricing the pumpkins. Dave and I got charged 7 bucks for 3 pumpkins, Carrie and James got charged 4 bucks for one pumpkin, and Ben and Janet got charged 11 bucks for 3 pumpkins. Apparently, you got charged according to the mood he was in that particular minute!