Summer Recap #2: Surprise! You're 30!

Yes...that's right...I turned the big 3-0 on August 10th...so a few weeks before that my husband decided to throw me a surprise party...let's just say...I was really surprised! Let me set the stage for you...a few weeks before July 23rd my sis-in-law Annette and I decided that we were going to do a shopping day...I had told her a long time ago that I was taking her out for her birthday (which was in NOVEMBER!) and so we decided that we'd go out and celebrate our birthdays together...well Jon got wind of this plan and thought this would be a good time to plan a party because I would be gone for sure. So on the morning of the 23rd we headed out and got to Northfield around 9...since it was a special day we decided that Caribou coffee was a for sure thing...we had noticed that the sky was getting pretty dark but the wind wasn't picking up and there wasn't any thunder and lightening at all...I kid you not...we walked into Caribou and we were probably in there for like 30 seconds and all of a sudden it started pouring...and the wind...wow...it was blowing things all over...needless to say...we stayed in Caribou for about a half hour while the storm passed. Once we could get going we were on our way...we decided to do some of the little streets and areas that we had never shopped before and my goal was to find a cupcake shop! It was really fun exploring new parts of the cities that we never had before...and we found some cupcakes...two places actually! Annette had found this cute little deli called YUM! and it did live up to it's name :) Since we were just kind of making our way around we didn't actually eat lunch until 3 p.m. By that time we were starving and we ate way too much...including a cupcake (well both of us had our own) that was bigger than my head...well maybe not that big but it was not your ordinary size cupcake...after that we stopped at a few more shops but we were both so full that we couldn't enjoy ourselves anymore! hahaha! Well I should have know that something was up (but of course I didn't) because Annette wasn't in any hurry to get home even though she had told me at the beginning of the night that she needed to be home by 5:30 so Todd could go out with his friends that night...as we pull into town I noticed that our favorite pizza joint didn't have any lights on and I told Annette..."Oh no! I think B & L's closed!" She seemed really concerned too...little did I know that that is where Jon was ordering pizzas for my party and so she was concerned about what he was going to do. Anyway...this story is getting really long...sorry...we headed to my house and on the way out there I told her "urgh...I just can't wait to get home and lay on the couch...my stomach is so full...I think I need a nap or something"...as we get into town she starts going really fast and I think "oh...we must be going to her house...that's okay...I can just walk home" and she then says..."I'm just going to do a U-turn here...at which point she whips around the corner (and scares me half to death...I'm not even exaggerating about that!) and then I see all the cars in the park behind my house and it's all starting to come together...and then I get the shakes!! Don't ask me why! I think I got nervous there for a second and didn't really know what was going on...that and the fact that I thought I was going to lose my life when Annette whipped me around the corner!! hahahaha! So...ask anyone that was there...it took me a long time to get out of the car! I rolled my window down...smiled and laughed a lot...listened to them sing me Happy Birthday...and there I still sat...in Annette's van! Then someone finally said "Are you going to get out of the car?!?" Oh yeah...I probably should do that :) And remember that storm I told you about earlier (I know...it was so long ago) well it turns out it was a pretty major storm in Northfield and the power was out...so Jon didn't get to order the pizza from our favorite place and they didn't call him until 4:00 to tell him that they wouldn't be able to make his 10 pizzas...so he had to scramble a bit but luckily he found a place and he was used to scrambling that day...'cause not only was that a problem but he also had a lot of tree emergency calls that he had to go take care of...he was up getting a few supplies for the party when he got the call that he needed to come home and get to work...poor guy...thankfully his mom and my other sis-in-laws were there to help him out...but he did a great job and it was such a fun party! Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate...it was a really fun party (even though I had to keep reminding you all that I wasn't 30 yet!!) and Jon has a disclaimer to add: He's sorry if he forgot to invite anyone...he is not used to throwing parties! Well here's some pictures from the day!

Natee's like...here mom...this is how you do it...put your finger in here...

....and then lick the frosting off like this...I know mom...I've had one of these parties and cakes before...ha!

It's good to be 30...especially when you have a cute one like this to help you celebrate!

Eating and chatting...two of my favorite things!

Bucket of water...yes please!

Neighbors...John, Amy and Jolee

The brother/sister shot :)

Aunt Suzi and me

I guess the kids thought the port-a-potty looked like fun...or at least it looked like a good place to hang out! :)

2 of my cute nieces...Lily and Ella

Randy and Shelia

I think Bob was trying to steal my cash!!

Britt's family came all the way from IL to help me celebrate! no...not really...there were already in town...but they did take time out of their busy schedule to come down and celebrate with me for a bit...thanks guys!

Shelia and I

Sarah and I and the twins...these two girls were suppose to be Emmalee's playmates! It's been fun to watch them grow and see what stages Emmalee might have been in :)

Jon's tricky accomplice! She sure is sneaky even though she doesn't look like it! :)

I don't think Ole was too sure of the hammock :)

Joyce, Katie and I

The Party Planer...he sure did a good job! Thanks Jon!

Jon and I with his other girlfriend...Great Aunt Pearl!! :)

The kids were done partying...time to go for a bike ride! The end! :)

Oh...and thank you to my mom who took all these wonderful pictures for me!!! Thanks Mom!

Summer Recap #1: Misc...

(NOTE: Blogger keeps messing up my spacing and I am tired of trying to fix it and dealing with it so now you just have to deal with it! :) Hopefully it's not too distracting!)

I don't know about where you live but up here in Minnesota it is starting to feel like Fall! Yea!! But that got me to thinking...I'd better do a few summer recap posts (I was only going to do one but then I found so many pictures and thought that this one would get too long...so I'll save your eyes some and break them up!) since I am such a bad blogger and haven't updated in forever...I think if I ever start another blog the name or title of it should be Bad Blogger...just to give everyone a heads up before they invest in reading :) hahaha! Thanks for sticking with me and understanding that I am not finding the time to blog that I would like to right now...I tell you...this is such a busy age...all you moms and dads know that...and people can tell you that...but until you've experienced it yourself you can't even begin to understand how busy these little people can be...but it's oh so fun and oh so rewarding! Anyway...on to the first recap...

One of my clients had baby bunnies so she called me up when they got to the "cute" stage...Natee had a blast being in the little pen with them and loved that she could hold them...my client and her daughter were so nice and let Natee handle them...even though sometimes she was not very gentle! :) And now...one of these bunnies (don't ask me which one) lives next door to us...our neighbors ended up buying one and so Natee is so happy to be able to go over to it's cage and just say "hi hi hi" over and over again...

We were able to take a little getaway to Brainard this summer...not as long as we would have liked it to be but we were able to get out on the water when we got up there...Natee loves the water and loves to be out on boats....she's a true Minnesota girl! We actually went up there to have a mini-family reunion with my dad's side and boy am I sure glad we were able to do that...I'll write more on it later but at the end of August my grandma ended up passing away unexpectedly...I'm so glad that we were able to get one more family picture together...and again...that's one of my other posts so I'll say more on that later.

At the end of August our friends Anna and Owen got hitched! It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at their home...Anna was such a beautiful bride...I wished you could see more of her dress in this picture...it was so pretty...it was definitely a dress made for her :) And Natee was such a good girl at the wedding and she busted loose once the music started...she definitely has a little rhythm in her bones...she's so funny to watch and it was funny to see how many of the people wanted her to dance with them...we even threw her in the middle of a circle and they all clapped and she went running out...too cute!

She also got a little sand/beach time with her cousins...and she loved every minute of it...she loves to get dirty and dig in the sand/dirt but then she is also a girly girl in the fact that she loves her purses and dolls/stuffed animals...as you can see in the next pictures...

She was all ready to go with her purse around her arm...she just cracks me up some days...and makes you realize how much they really do watch you! She knows that momma can't leave the house without her purse!

Well hopefully you enjoyed this first recap...more to come....

Yet again....

Hi all! I have so much that I want to blog about and so much that I need to blog about...but tonight is not the night...I just wanted to tell you all that we are heartbroken once again. The birthmom has decided to keep her baby so we will not be adopting here in a few weeks...we have known that it has been a possibility for a little while now but it was confirmed to me on Monday when I texted with her. I've been wanting to post it on here but I just didn't have the words to say and I feel like I still don't. Heartbroken, sad, upset, a little mad, hurt, etc...those are all words I would use to describe how I am feeling right now. I know, I really do know, that God has a plan for all of this and for us...I just don't understand it right now...and I don't think that He expects me too. We will just keep trusting Him and leaning on Him to guide us to where we are suppose to be. And my sincere prayer is that He wants us to have another child here on earth to raise. But that thought is for another post because I have had so much swirling in my mind lately (like thoughts that Natee might be my only child and I need to start being content with that...which I totally am so grateful that she is my daughter and that she is in my life...I just didn't ever expect to have an only child...I want her to grow up with a sibling...like I said...my mind has been wandering so much lately...it needs to stop! :) ) Anyway...I just wanted to update you all on what is going on with our adoption situation...I know that all of you were so excited for us and that you were all praying for us...and we so appreciate it. We did tell our birthmom (well I guess she's not a birthmom anymore but I'm just going to refer to her as that 'cause it's easier that way) that if something changes in her mind or in her life to not hesitate to call us again if she wants to...we sure hope that she feels comfortable doing so if she wants to...she did tell us that she would keep us updated on all that is going on with her and the baby and we are so grateful for that too. We just completely feel in love with this baby when she told us way back in April that she wanted us to raise him or her...and we really did not see this coming. I could go on and on but I won't right now...thanks for your continued prayers...we could sure use them. :)

18 Months!

Can you believe that our Nateebug is 18 months already?!?! Well it's true...on July 25th she turned the big 18 months old...and no one warned me that it was coming up so fast! She's just really starting to grow up on me...getting very independent and pretty helpful around the house...well...maybe that's not exactly true but we are working on picking up after our self when we pull out all the kitchen towels or empty out the Tupperware lid drawer :) She is finally getting more teeth...she's got molars coming in and she knows how to use them :) She is doing very well with her potty training...we sometimes have an accident but for the most part she is dry all day long! I wasn't sure that I was ready to start the whole potty training thing and after the first couple of days I was ready to throw the towel in...but I got some encouragement and I'm glad I stuck it out...I think it's going to work very well to have her trained young. She says words...gets more all the time...but she still isn't a real "talker" yet...I know what you are thinking...you are surprised since I am her mother after all :) One day I think she will just start and never stop...so I'm not encouraging the talking too much! haha! I can't think of too much else to tell you...she's just a good little girl and she loves to have fun...and we have so much fun being her mom and dad! She did a pretty good job with her 18 month pictures so I attached those on here so you could see them :) Hope you all have a great weekend!

Natee says: I Love...

SWEETCORN!!!!!

I know that I've been a bad blogger...and there is so much to catch you all up on...we've been so busy lately...so I promise to try and get a few posts up this week to catch you up...until then...have a good Monday and go out and enjoy some sweetcorn yourself! :)