Toddlers x3

Aunt Hollie and Cousin Cooper came over to play this afternoon. The kids had fun showing off that they knew all their body parts. 

After nap Everlee and Macy played independently in the living room. They are too cute together. 

Going for a little ride before supper. 

Everlee loved the new toy mama picked out for bath time. She loved it so much that she sat on her bottom the whole time!

Independent Spirit

Not wanting to celebrate what she had done it's what happened before the picture and after the picture that made me smirk. She wanted some cereal so I put some in a cup for her. She goes over and dumps it out on to the floor, picks a handful up, and feeds it to Rambo. Then tells me "no,no." She was correct. That is a "no,no."

After a 2 3/4 hour nap she woke up in a happy mood and enjoyed a snack. 

After snack we headed outside to explore. 

We made our way down to the park. Dan and Macy Miller came to play also. The girls chased each other around all while smiling. 

On a side note, Tyler attended the MIS pre career fair last night at ISU. He dressed up in his business casual and met with a few companies. He even discovered some that hire freshman interns. The president of his MIS club, who is a senior, commended him for attending the event. Stating, "Not many freshman come out for the night. Was glad he made it out. He's that much further ahead." 

Sunday Funday

Sunday my day started with taking Tyler back to college. It was so fun to have him home and spend time with us. I love that he's so close! Saturday night the Smith's had us over for a grill out. It was fun for us all to be together. After I ate lunch with Tyler and his friends at school I spent the afternoon with Chloe and Cooper. First stop was Cherry Berry. Then it was off to the park and then back home to play. The kids have such a great imagination. I continue to enjoy being a bigger part of my Neices and nephew life:)

Family Friday

While Hollie had her dentist appt today I watched Cooper. We had fun playing cars and running around. 

Tyler came home this weekend and Rich had us over for supper. Everlee did some snap chattin' with her peeps on Tyler's phone;) This night is exactly why we moved to Polk City: family! Thanks for a delicious supper and fun chatting time. 

Home Sweet Home

Our new home at 210 Booth St. As everyone knows home renovations take time and this fixer upper project is no different. We are so grateful to be in our new home and are slowly becoming acquainted with the town and neighbors. A huge thanks goes out to the Smith's, Kneifl's and my parents. We could not have done all this work without you. We are so thankful for all your help:)

One of the things I was excited about moving to Polk City for (besides being close to family) was the farmers market in the square Thursday afternoons. Since we haven't had much time to ride since moving we rode the bike 3 blocks to the square and back home. 

Sneaking a pic

It is becoming harder and harder to get a pic of this active little lady. The first reason is because everytime she sees my phone she yells, "Steve!" Then wants to look at the pic of us. The second reason is because she loves to take selfies and listen to music. She will take about 15 pics and then have happy feet and dance. Good thing she doesn't know how to enter cc information yet or I'd have a big bill racked up;)

Baby, oh baby

Baby got lots of rides in the stroller today. She even pulled baby backwards. Everlee has very good balance for such a young girl. 

We played peek a boo in the playhouse. Everlee was laughing one of those deep belly laughs the whole time. That is one of my favorite sounds to hear. 

R u comfortable?!

Yesterday while eating lunch I looked in the living room to find Cooper watch Curious George this way. He makes us crack up everyday. 

Cousins

Today Everlee and I picked up Chloe from school while Hollie was helping a friend. 

After school snack time. 

It was such a treat to have Chloe over to play with us after school. 

Busy Day!

Today I spoke at the state caregivers conference at Prairie Meadows with Anita Stineman. She is a nurse at the University of Iowa school of nursing. I've been involved with working on some training modules that were developed through a grant by the state health department and we spoke on it today. I had a very reenergizing day getting back with some fellow colleagues and learning a few new things along the way. 

After the conference I made my way up to Ames to help Tyler with a few things. It was nice to catch up with him. He's settling into a good routine. He even made his way to the actual library yesterday. And  no visit would be complete without a hyvee run;)

Family weekend

Tyler has enjoyed tailgating with Uncle Rich and the rest of the crew. They have all seen Tyler grow up and can't believe he is in college now. Also thanks to Aunt Andrea for squeezing Tyler in for a haircut.  Were so thankful to have such great family:)

Last night we met Tyler for supper and went to a comedian to kick off family weekend. Tyler is enjoying college life. He's got a steady mix of classes, job, and extracurriculars. We are so proud to see him adjusting well to college life and some new found independence. Although laundry and grocery shopping aren't as fun as one may think;)

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Today we played outside at the water table for a little while but with the heat index reaching 102 this afternoon we didn't stay outside long. 

So we went inside to cool off. She sat in her tent for a good half hour playing with the balls. She even brought her green bowl of cereal in there to eat. 

First Day on the job

Even gingers need a few minutes of Vitamin D;)

After 18 years of raising my own red headed firecracker I have the privilege to spend a few afternoons a week with this sweet one. She's so curious and every moment of the day is a time to soak up some knowledge.  For instance, when she thought it would be fun to empty all the qtips out of the box we learned about empty and full;)

Cheers

Today Jason and Steve drank the first of many beers to come in the new bar area we are having in our new home. We have already named it "The Fox Hole."

Steve and Jason worked so hard today and I appreciate it so much! Everything is looking so great. The renovations are starting to take shape and I can see it all coming together. Thank you again for all the wonderful work. 

Date night

I made pizza and cookies for supper last night but these three enjoy the chocolate chip cookies the best!

Afterwards we went to the indoor playground to burn off some energy. This is the only pic I got of these energetic two. They were running, jumping, and sliding the whole time. 

We truly enjoy our "date nights" with the kids just about as much as Hollie and Jason enjoy theirs;). Have we mentioned how much fun it is to be aunt and uncle?! 

Watching Everlee

This is how Everlee wanted to have her milk this am. In her pink chair, Elmo sitting in front, watching Blues Clues. 

While I got breakfast ready and after Everlee was done with her bottle she joined Steve in the big chair to finish watching Blues Clues. 

We love our time with Everlee. She is such a smart, polite, and friendly little lady. The only drawback, if you can call it that, is that Steve says to me, "we should have another one" and I say "No."

Spreading the message

I have always known that my decision to place Lauren with adoptive parents through an open adoption was the right decision for me. Now, 22 years later, I am telling my story to help others explore adoption and see if that choice is right for them. 

A wonderful friend of mines son started a non profit called Beauty Amidst the Ashes right here in Ankeny.  I am so blessed to be a part of this organization. I am writing my story in blog form on the website. I am so excited to share my story and reach people that I otherwise wouldn't reach. 

The website is: www.beautyamidsttheashes.com

Click on stories of hope

Then click on birth mothers

I will write more posts as I am able. Right now were in the middle of moving so things are a little hectic. 

I don't claim to be  a professional writer. Just one who writes from the heart. Enjoy:)

Steve's 42nd Birthday

While Cooper and Hollie napped this afternoon I had the pleasure of playing with Miss Everlee. Her favorite words to say today were "no, mine, and Steve." We are working very hard on Brigett but I'm sure that will come as we spend more time together;)

Chloe was very excited to help decorate Steve's birthday cake after school. She did a fantastic job and boy was it delicious!

After a delicious supper grilled by Jason(thank you) we sang Happy Birthday to Steve. Wonder what his wish is? 

The men enjoying cake outside. 

While the ladies enjoyed their cake inside.

It was very fun to get together. This is what I was most looking forward to in our move to Polk City. Spending time with my family. Tyler is close enough that he got to join in on the festivities too. Which always makes it special for this mom. 

College Home

Today we moved Tyler into his college home. We met his roommate, Jacob Neerland, and his parents. We quickly became acquainted as our boys will be sharing a dorm and college experience for the next 9 months. We helped the boys settle into their new space, went out for pizza at Jeff's, and said our good byes. My only request from Tyler on moving day was that I receive a hug and he didn't disappoint. To my surprise, I didn't cry. The only emotion that came over me was how proud I was of him and how excited I was for him to start his adventure at ISU. For 18 years we have helped guide and mold him into the young man he is today. He may not know everything but I am positive he will figure it out along the way. And with that as he walked to his dorm and I drove away I knew he would do just fine in this next step of his journey called college life:) 

Moving day

For 28 months we called 1053 3rd St SE, Lemars Iowa our home. We have a lot of fond memories there, big and small. Yesterday we made the move to live in Ankeny, temporarily. We will close on our house this week, start rehabbing the inside, and then move to our permanent home in Polk City. There are so many thanks to give for all their help. The first goes to the Smith's. For the last 3 weeks they have opened up their home to Steve as he started his new job. They will continue to let us live there until our home is done. Next is my parents. For 17 years Tyler and I have lived within one hour from them. They have shared in so many day to day activities. I am so thankful they were able to share in the joy of raising Tyler. Last but not least the Kneifl's are letting us store our "things" in their third stall until our home is done. Even though they just got it cleaned out we filled it back up again. There are so many little but big things to us, they have done but we are grateful for them all just the same. Thank you to all of you for making our move smooth:)