Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!

Our sweet boy has turned TWO! It is hard to believe that we met Luke for the first time only two short years ago. I can picture being in the hospital room with Mike, watching the doctor hand Luke, wailing and wrapped in a hospital blanket, to us for the first time. We were parents, holding the most precious child both of us had ever seen. We still thank God for the miracle of our first son, Luke Michael!

Luke is full of life, full of smiles, full of words, full of fun:) He loves to read books, play with Mommy and Daddy, ride tractors, and play ball (doesn't matter what kind). He is quite particular about certain things. He likes to make sure his blocks are stacked straight when he's building a tower. He always helps me vacuum. He helps pick up the toys in his room each night, his animals have to be lined up in just the right order.

Lately, his favorite sayings are, "Oh yeah, did," in response to a question (sometimes he sings it), "Mommy come too," he still likes to be with me, "Luke have it now," we're working on that one!

I could brag for hours! Each day brings new learning experiences and new joys. Happy Birthday Luke Michael! We love you!

Decorating Easter Eggs

Our fun-loving boy decorated Easter eggs for the first time a couple days ago. He thought it was very exciting dropping eggs from dish to colored dish! You'll hear from the video that he is in the 'parrot' stage of talking:) He does say plenty of things on his own, but is bound to repeat everything we say also. We smile about him every day with the new things he's learning. Happy Easter! We serve a Risen Savior!

Wilken Drive

We are blessed beyond belief to be moved into our new house! A week ago, yesterday, we rented a moving truck to move all our things from the apartment and the storage unit into our new house on Wilken Drive. Despite the snow on moving day, things went really well. Several wonderful friends and family members came to help us. Most of the moving was done before lunch time.

The house itself is wonderful. Mike and I keep saying we feel spoiled to be living here, especially after living in a tiny apartment for the past four months. Luke loves the fact that we get to play outside all the time! There are three bedrooms upstairs, a living room, dining room, and kitchen with an eat-in area. The basement is finished, minus trim around the windows, and carpeting. We are making changes to the bathroom down there, as well as a few other things, before we finish it off.

We are looking forward to the warmer weather to be able to tackle some projects outside the house as well.

Luke has made the transition to his big boy bed since the first night of being in the house. Mike turned his crib into a toddler bed by removing the front rail and adding a small toddler rail. Luke thinks it is the greatest thing on earth to be sleeping under a John Deere blanket, doggy in hand, while wearing his Elmo pajamas! He is such a good boy and always sits in bed and waits for us to come get him when he wakes up (even with the temptation of books and toys close by). What a sweetheart!

Crafting:)

Inspired by my quilting teacher, Sara Pastryk:), I decided to make a new bed set for Luke's room at our new house. We will be moving in this weekend and with the move, we are switching Luke to his big boy bed. He is VERY excited about having a John Deere blanket on his bed and curtains on his window! I am excited to see how they look in his room...I'll post more pics then!

Snow is Melting!

We have been LOVING the recent sunshine over the last few days. Luke's favorite thing to do is shovel snow. It's not very effective, note his tiny shovel, but he still thinks it's great! He constantly says, "Mommy, vovel no?" (translation, Mommy, shovel snow?). The hat picture was taken as he was attempting to put his own shoes on, shovel in hand, to go outside to shovel. We're glad he loves to be outside!

Reading

Blessings

Maybe you've heard this song on the radio; I can't even remember who sings it right now. "His love's like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of the sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory. And I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me. Oh, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves us, oh, how he loves!" I felt these words (I've heard them many times before) just a few days ago as the song played on my car's radio.

My dad has polycystic kidney disease, causing the function of his kidneys to fail. After his kidneys dropped below a certain level of function, he was put on two donor lists in order to receive a transplant. They told him the average wait-time to receive a kidney was five years. God had a plan. When my parents began to spread the news of my dad's condition, we were blessed beyond belief by several people who came forward to be considered as donors. One of those people proved to be a match, and the planning and testing for the transplant began. Surgery was scheduled for December 10, 2009. A week before the surgery, final blood tests were done on my dad and his donor. On December 8, my dad found out that there was one antigen in his blood that had changed, which meant he would reject the kidney. The surgery was cancelled. It was a hard realization to grasp. God still had a plan.

On Saturday, January 2, 2010, the University of Toledo hospital called my dad about a kidney they would be receiving. He and my mom drove to Toledo for final blood tests. They waited at a hotel while the rest of the family waited by our phones. The transplant coordinator called my parents to let them know that there was a good chance that my dad's antigens would be too high to match. God had a plan. At 5:00 Sunday morning, the final match was confirmed. The surgery ended up being Monday morning at about 9:00.

My dad was supposed to have surgery on Tuesday, Jan. 5 to prepare a spot in his abdomen for dialysis. The dialysis would start on January 18. Instead, he was blessed with a young, healthy kidney a day earlier! We are still praying for the continued health and recovery of his body. His attitude and faithfulness amaze me. My dad has had several difficult health issues to overcome, and through them all, he has been a shining testament for his savior. I am so thankful that God has given me an earthly father to mirror my heavenly father.

When the realization of the surgery, and the prospect of a better quality of life, finally hit, my dad's affliction was 'eclipsed by glory', the glory of our faithful God who plans and provides for our needs. My dad, and our family, have been showered with prayer throughout this entire process. Oh, how He loves us!

I love you, Dad!

Sledding

After 20 months of living with Luke, the 'firsts' in life are becoming more scarce. This past Saturday, we made our own 'first' by taking Luke sledding. He could have cared less that it was about 20 degrees outside; he loved sledding!

Strawberries are not called Apples

This is just a fun lunch time laugh that Luke and I had the other day!

Elmo

Make no mistake, Luke loves to play like a boy! He throws his toys across the room, shoots his arms in the air to yell 'touchdown' when he sees football on tv, and 'vroom vrooms' his cars all over the living room. But, our boy has a sweet, tender heart that I love! He saw me crying a couple weeks ago and came over, wiped my cheek, gave me a kiss and kept saying, "Mommy, better." He's especially into giving kisses right now, complete with sound effects. He's so much fun:)

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, filled with lots of family time. We were able to be in Portage with my family on the 23rd and 24th and then came back to Byron Center for the 25th and 26th with Mike's family. Luke was great at opening presents! He now has lots of new toys here at the apartment (some of which are packed away for future excitement).