Home Sweet Home

It looks like we FINALLY found a place to live. Our search for a home has been quite a journey. As soon as Spencer found out he got the job, we started looking for places to rent. When we discovered that it would be cheaper to have mortgage payments than to rent, we decided to look for a house to buy. The first house we found did not pass the home inspection, so we put an offer on another one that passed the inspection. We were so excited to be home owners again. Just 3 days before we were going to close on the house, Spencer was told that he might lose his job due to budget cuts. He was told that if he didn't lose his job now, he might lose it before next school year. We got scared and decided not to buy the house or any other house. So back to looking for a place to rent. We were having a hard time finding something that we liked that was in a good location that was in our price range. After a couple weeks of looking, we found an old 5 bedroom farmhouse that we really like. It's by far the biggest house we looked at, and it's also in a great location, very close to Brendan's school, and just 18 minutes from Spencer's school (according to yahoo maps). Hopefully we'll move in about 2 weeks.

Pumpkins and Costumes

The boys had fun picking out their own pumpkins at the stand across the road from Grandma VanKampen's house.

Daddy had to help Grant with the slimy stuff as he wouldn't come near it. Brendan just got right in there and dug it out himself.

Jenna even got her own pumpkin.

Officer Awesome from the Halloween Police, Cowboy Brendan, and Sunflower Jenna

A Beautiful Fall Day

Jenna's Baptism

Today Jenna was welcomed into the family of God at Haven Church. She was very good, and Pastor Randy was very considerate to do the baptism at the beginning of the service since she was getting fussy and ready for a nap. We had lunch with family afterwards, which was lots of fun. We're glad everyone could come and celebrate this special day with us.

We found Jenna's outfit at the Zeeland Christian Craft Show.

(I did not make the outfit or the cake.)

Happy Birthday Brendan!

Brendan turned 6 yesterday. Birthdays get more fun as the kids get older. Brendan was so excited for his big day. He loved bringing a treat to school, he knew exactly what he wanted on his cake, and he was thrilled when he got to go to Walmart to pick out a toy. Uncle Kevan and Aunt Marci came into town, which made his day even more special.

We're so thankful that God has given Brendan to us. He adds lots of energy to the family, he's adored by his little sister and brother, he's so friendly, outgoing, creative and intelligent. He loves everything about school and is making lots of new friends. Happy birthday, Brendan!

Brendan wanted Alex the lion from Madagascar on his cake.

My Latest Cakes

We've been eating a lot of cake the past few weeks! I had a lot of fun trying out some new frosting recipes and decorating techniques.

Brendan's Off to School

Brendan is at his first full day of kindergarten right now. Last week he had 3 half days, and those went really well. He just loves school! We were really nervous about how it would go with dropping him off, but it went way better than we anticipated. I was also having a hard time with it, but I was able to hold back my tears during our goodbyes on the first day. I just can't believe that Brendan is old enough for school already. It's so fun to see him excited to go each day and to hear the stories he has to tell when he comes home. I also enjoy being able to give extra attention to Grant and Jenna while Brendan is gone. Grant asks where Brendan is just about every hour - he misses his big brother. It seems so quiet here without him, but I know that he is having a great time at school.

Critter Barn

Brendan attended a class a The Critter Barn early in August, and he had a great time. We went back with the family, and he loved showing us everything he learned.

All Because of the Cookies

SPENCER GOT THE JOB!!!!! He had an interview this morning at Saranac High School, and he was offered the job this afternoon. We are so excited and relieved! God is good! Many prayers have been answered. Thank you to so many of you who have been praying for us. Now we have to decide where Brendan will go to school and where we will live.

Spencer brought some cookies that we baked and decorated to the interview. That had to be why he was hired ;).

A Fun Surprise

I was online tonight and decided to type in Spencer's name to see what would come up. To our surprise we found an article written about Spencer on Spring Arbor's website (the school where he earned his master's degree). Spencer was interviewed this Spring, but he forgot about it and never saw the article. It might be a nice addition to his portfolio. If you go to this website you should be able to read it. http://www.arbor.edu/edu_departmentdetail.aspx?id=62050

A Bon Fire and the Beach

We had fun doing some "summer time" activities this weekend. On Saturday night we had a bon fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. It was Grant's first experience with a fire, and he wasn't too sure about it. Brendan really liked roasting the hot dogs and marshmallows, and he was very good at it. On Sunday afternoon we decided to take the boys to James Street Beach. The weather was actually warm, and we wanted to take advantage of it. The waves were huge, so Brendan and Spencer had fun in the water. Grant and I played in the sand most of the time. He was so cute because he's not used to Michigan sand, and he didn't like the feel of it on his feet or hands at first. He had a really hard time walking in it, because he was trying to be so careful not to get too much of it on him.

Birthday Fun

On Sunday night we celebrated our niece and nephew, Lilian and Sawyer's, second birthday; and tonight we celebrated our niece, Charlotte's, first birthday. We had a lot of fun at both parties. All the cousins just love playing together. Brendan is the oldest, and he is so good with all the little kids. These pictures are from Charlotte's party. It was great weather for swimming. I had fun making the cakes and trying to decorate with fondant for the first time.

July Happenings

This month has been much less eventful than last month, thankgoodness. We've been keeping busy seeing family and friends and just enjoying the beautiful, Michigan, summer weather. We've been out to the beach a couple times just to walk around and watch the boats. The boys spend a lot of time playing outside in the yard. Brendan's new favorite thing to do is to play baseball with Dad. They also like to go for long bike rides on the bike paths. Grant loves to shoot hoops and play in his little car. He doesn't like the bike trailer much, so he stays home with Mom and Jenna when Brendan and Dad go for bike rides.

Brendan got creative with the dune buggy and wagon. He figured out how to hitch up the wagon to take Grant for rides around the yard. They both had a lot of fun with that.
Jenna started smiling a few weeks ago, and it's just too cute.

Cheeeeese!

Jenna is Getting Big

Jenna is now 6 weeks old, and she's growing so fast! She's 11 or 12 pounds already and getting very tall. She smiles for me or Brendan. She's sleeping up to 8 hours at night. She is awake much more often during the day, and she loves to look in your eyes and be in motion.

Looking cute in a new dress on Sunday morning.
Hanging out with her big brothers

Clean and cozy after her first tub bath.

Jenna's first tub bath with lots of help from her brothers.

Marci's Wedding

Spencer's sister, Marci, got married to Kevan the day before Grant turned two. We drove straight from Florida to Detroit, where the wedding was. We had a fun weekend with the family, and the wedding was just beautiful. I was one of the bridesmaids, Brendan had the job of passing out programs, and Spencer did a reading during the ceremony. I was thankful to fit into the dress, since it had been only three weeks since Jenna was born. Brendan had more fun than anyone at the reception. He has been looking forward to the dance for the past year, and he showed off his moves all night long. We didn't leave until after 11:00pm because he was having so much fun.

Dancing with one of my favorite guys.
Grant was exhausted. He fell asleep on his Grandpa Terpstra.

Brendan and Marci having fun on the dance floor.

Jenna is looking pretty.
Grant loved the cake.

Brendan is looking handsome in his new suit and taking his job as program passer very seriously.

Grant's Two!

Grant turned two during the craziness of moving, so this post is long overdue. It's hard to believe it's already been two years since he was just a small baby. He was such an easy baby and now a very easy going toddler (most of the time).

What we love about Grant: his beautiful eyes, long eye lashes and adorable smile; his manners, always saying please, thankyou and excuse me without being prompted; his love of life; his adoration of big brother Brendan; his raspy voice; his funny run; his contagious laugh; and his sensitivity. We love you, Grant!

Grant LOVES to "shoot hoops", so he was excited to have a basketball on his cake.

Celebrating his birthday with the Terpstras.

Celebrating his birthday with the Klynstras on Grandpa and Grandma's deck.

Opening his new baseball glove from Mom and Dad after breakfast at the hotel.
Grant two years ago. He still has to sleep with that blankie (it doesn't look so nice now).