July Pictures

14 months old already, Luke is really enjoying summer time! He loves to play outside in his car...getting in and out, over and over. He loves to play with the basketballs and shoot hoops with Daddy. We have a fun park in our neighborhood that he loves to play at too.

No No

Our sweet little Luke has learned a word that has the potential to be not so sweet! The day before I took this video, he was getting food boxes out of the cupboard and trying to dump them out. I told him no several times and would move him away from the cupboard, but he kept going back. Finally, I succeeded in distracting him and left the room to get some laundry. When I came back around the corner, he was standing by the cupboard with a box in his hand. Caught red-handed, he looked straight at me and said "No, No!" This was my clear indication that he knows what he knows what that word means! Still, it was pretty cute:)

Our 5th Anniversary

 

Mike and I celebrated five years of being married on July 3. We took a wonderful trip to a bed and breakfast in South Haven, Michigan the night before. The weather did not cooperate the way we wanted it to, but we still had a great time being together. The Carriage House was beautiful (We'd definitely recommend it)! When we got there, Mike had scheduled a 1/2 hour massage for each of us. Appetizers were served at the house at 5:00, and then we went to a great Italian restaurant downtown for dinner. After dinner, we went to Sherman's for ice cream. We had a delicious breakfast in the morning and got to spend a little time at the beach before we picked Luke up at Mike's parents' house. 

It was so nice to spend some time alone with my husband. I am blessed to have such a loving, hard working, godly man as my partner in life. I treasure his friendship and love him more with each passing year. These first five years have flown by. We have learned new things about each other, grown to understand each other better, and still have a "little thing" for one another:) 

Mike, I love you and am so happy to be spending my life by your side! 

Luke's First Tractor Ride

Father's Day weekend, we took a trip up to the farm. Luke is fascinated with anything that moves, so of course, he noticed his grandpa's big tractors right away! He has seen them many times before, but this time he really wanted to sit on one. Already he wants to figure out all the gears and know just how everything works. The day after the video was taken, Mike took Luke on his first real ride. I think Luke thought it was pretty loud at first, but he still loved it! 

The Baby's Cruisin'

On April 24th, Luke took his first steps on his own. We were very excited for him that night and thought that was the beginning of his "upright" life. However, Luke thinks like his daddy. What I mean by this is that he thinks and thinks and thinks and thinks:) Luke refused to walk for weeks! He had to consider his options and make sure that walking was going to be a good decision. By June 1, he had made up his mind. Confident in his decision, with no coercing from Mom or Dad, Luke let go of the furniture and starting walking everywhere. We kept him up past bedtime that night because we were having so much fun watching him walk. Each day, he walks more than the day before. It's still a shock to watch him toddle into a room behind me! 

(This video was taken yesterday. Luke loves to say BOOM when he falls down or when he runs into things with his toys. It's pretty funny:) )

Outside!!

 

Luke loves playing outside, and we've had lots of fun getting out of the house when the weather is nice! He knows how to play in the dirt (really well), smell flowers, water flowers (He knows where the watering can is and always wants to help), and mow the lawn with Daddy. We love summer! 

Grandma Glass

 

My grandma, Marian Glass, went home to be with Jesus on May 20. I miss her, but it's for selfish reasons. She is forever safe, forever healthy, and forever free from pain. 

Over the past two weeks, memories have flooded my mind; memories that I want to share with my family now, and my kids some day. Grandma's house was an hour away from ours; when we were younger, this allowed for lots of sleepovers. My sisters and I shared the room with the bunk bed/trundle. I would worry that the bed was going to collapse on me since it had been around since my dad was young:) The house sits on a big hill with a creek at the bottom. All the cousins would roll or sled down the hill, depending on the season. Grandma had the best toboggan! We would catch turtles, or watch John and Blakey catch turtles, and count them in the bucket. Christmas time holds the most memories with my grandma. Usually right on Christmas day there'd be a great meal (with lots of mashed potatoes for Emily), Barbie game-playing (Abi never cared if her boyfriend was Poindexter), John and I sharing our bench when we got old enough to be a the adult table, cheating with the Rubik's cube, taking candy canes off the tree, playing with the train, sitting in front of the fire or space heater, wrapped in Grandma's shawls, white elephant exchange fun, Grandma's hand made gifts for us, and a lot of sharing and catching up with family. Grandma made delicious chocolate cakes for each of our birthdays, each year! She spent countless hours watching our sporting events, from AYSO soccer games to college volleyball. She brought treats for my team during preseason on several occasions. She would stop by my dorm room to bring chocolate chip cookies. She knew all my roommates and my teammates, and they all called her Grandma Glass. 

The memories that stand out the most right now are the more recent ones. One year ago, Grandma drove to our house to meet Luke, her sixth great-grandchild, when he was a week old. She just sat on the couch and stared at him; she told me she didn't want to let go. I had the privilege of watching Grandma line dance at one of her classes. She was pretty good! I remember sitting at her kitchen table on a beautiful day this March while she got excited because we let her eat the crust piece of a loaf of bread I made. Only a few days before she died, she was at our house to celebrate Luke's first birthday. She loved holding him and watching him play with the little egg shaker that she kept in her purse for him. She brought it for him to keep that day. I am so thankful, as I look back, that God gave me a treasured last memory of my grandma. I can see Luke taking steps, on his own, toward her and giving her neck a squeeze before she left. I gave her a hug and we both said "I love you." 

As I worshipped in church this past Sunday, I was in awe of the joy around me and the joy I felt about praising God. It made me think about what Heaven must be like on a Sunday morning, or every morning for that matter. Grandma is worshipping WITH God, and I cannot imagine a more joyous scene. Thank you, God, for preparing such home for us.

 

I love you, Grandma.