"Mom, there's nothing to eat in here!"

Summer

I love summer! Here are a few reasons why:

• My hubby is home all day, every day, with us! I can't wait to spend good time with him and have him enjoying full days with Rusty. We enjoyed lazing around in bed as a family this morning and giggled and had so much fun taking our time with getting the day started.
• I love the sun! I am a Vitamin D junkie. I love going for walks in the sun, playing in the sun, going in the water on a sunny day. I began adding a slathering of sunscreen to Rusty's get ready for the day routine the minute that the sun poked through the clouds so that we could enjoy it with no worries.
• Summer means going to our cottage! Well, sort of. We are in the middle of MAJOR renos so we have yet to actually spend the night in it, but I'm hoping that by the end of summer we will have accomplished that feat. I'm excited about the process and it is coming along so well. I can't believe the way that some of the things are turning out. It is really beautiful. I am excited to have our own space.
• Summer nights mean going to bed listening to kids playing outside (yes, we go to bed early these days!) and I love that sound, the echo of giggles coming through the night air. It also means that the sun stays up really late! It's fun to enjoy the light for so many hours.
• Summer is time for fun adventures, little trips and big! I look forward to all of the things we have planned this summer. It will certainly be busy, but it will also be fun!

Here's to summer!

Nine Months Old

I know this is so late, almost a month late, in fact, but here they are! I am finally posting Rusty's nine month old pictures. Can you believe this kid? He is so adorable! He totally loved on the bear all on his own, I wasn't telling him what to do. This month has been so much fun with him. He is getting so big and turning into a toddler. I can't believe that my little baby is growing up!

A Great Father

My husband is a great father. I knew he would be. I remember my first visit to Canada. We stopped by his school that he was working at, an elementary school at the time, and I saw him in action with those kids. I swear, my heart melted right then and there as I saw him working with those kids.

I knew he would be great, but I have to admit, he has blown right by all of my hopes and expectations.

Kevin is a great dad. He hugs and kisses Rusty all of the time, every day. He tells Rusty how much he loves him, calls him his little buddy, and smiles at him constantly. Kevin is patient with Rusty, sometimes more so than I am.

It's funny, before we had Rusty, Kevin refused to hold a baby. This always caused me a bit of worry. Our friends had babies, and we would go and see them in the hospital. Whenever they asked him if he wanted to hold the baby he would always politely refuse and say, "I'll let Stacy have my turn too!" He hadn't spent much, well, really any, time around babies before Rusty was born. I wondered how it would go when we brought Rusty home. I didn't need to worry.

From the moment Rusty was born, that was it. It was love at first sight for those two. One of my favorite pictures is the first moment Kevin is holding Rusty in the hospital. Because the cord was wrapped around his neck we didn't get to hold him right away, but once they knew everything was okay, they wrapped him up and handed him over to Kevin. I will never forget the look in his eyes as he saw his son, and realized that this sweet little boy belonged to him.

I have heard that it is tough for guys to bond with the baby in the early stages. They aren't that responsive, the man doesn't always get to help with feedings, and there is just a sense of disconnect. I know that the first few months weren't always easy for Kevin, but he was there, helping out in any way that he could. Bathtime was his specialty. Dirty diapers? No problem! Does Rusty need to be held for hours on end? He's on it! He was involved 100%, right from the start. There was a time that I remember going over a week without changing a single poo diaper because Kevin was on top of it.

He plays great games with Rusty. He is the one that taught him to stick his tongue out, give a high five, play peek-a-boo, and now their current game, hide and seek. Kevin will run and hide somewhere in the house and call out to Rusty, and little Rusty crawls all over the place, squealing in delight when he finally finds his dad.

Kevin prays for Rusty. Every night when we put Rusty to bed, we pray for him as we hold him beside his crib. I love hearing Kevin talk to our heavenly Father about his precious son. I love hearing the things that he prays for him, the hopes that he has for him, the love that he has for him.

My husband is ever so patient, not only with Rusty, but also with me. When I am stressed and maxed to the limit, he whisks Rusty away for some "boy time." This may simply be running errands to the grocery store or somewhere else, but by the time they return Rusty is usually giggling and I am relaxed and refreshed. Kevin is actually better at feeding Rusty his solids than I am, he has the patience to sit and wait, or to let Rusty explore things. He also can be very good at distracting Rusty and tricking him into eating.

Rusty adores his dad. Every day when Kevin comes home from work and Rusty sees him through the sliding glass doors in the living room, he crawls over to them, stands up and starts kissing the door, all the while putting his hands on Kevin's hands through the glass. He reaches for him the minute he comes through the door, all smiles to be with his dad again after the day away.

I am thankful for my husband. He is a godly man that his son can look up to. He's not afraid to hug Rusty, to say I love you to him, and to play with him. I hope that they will always have a close relationship. That they will be able to talk and share things. That they will laugh and play together. I hope as Rusty grows into those years of teen angst that he will feel that his dad is a safe person to talk to. I hope as he grows into a young man that he will seek advice from his dad and learn from his dad's wisdom. I think that he will. I know that Kevin will do everything he can on his part to make it happen.

What a great dad!

Happy Father's Day

My dad is the best. Sometimes I think he was born to be a father, especially of daughters. My sisters and I all talk about how when something goes wrong all it takes is the sound of our dad's voice to make us cry, but at the same time to make us feel so much better.

My dad worked hard when I was growing up. Being a farmer is not an easy life, but now that I am a parent myself I realize just how hard he worked at being a dad WHILE being a farmer. He had early mornings and sometimes late nights, but he ALWAYS had time for us. He came to almost all of my sports events, concerts, and big moments. He was always at our birthday parties. He was just there, despite all of the hard work he had to do. My favorite times were when he came in for lunch every day. He always took the time for an "after lunch nap." Usually he didn't actually get that nap, because one or all of us kids would be snuggled up with him, chattering away about our day or asking for our favorite special treat, a handful of Planters Peanuts. He still keeps those peanuts at his desk and the last time I was home I got a handful and thought about the times in the future when Rusty will be able to toddle in to his grandpa's office and ask for some peanuts.

My dad is a GREAT, godly role model. He starts every day with devotions in his office. I remember running up the stairs for my showers in the morning when I was in high school. Sometimes I would be up early enough to catch a glimpse of him in his office, reading his Bible and praying for all of us. There was something comforting about that, and I also think it is one of the main reasons that all four of us kids have the faith that we have today. He never pushed it on us, but the way that he lived out his faith with quiet integrity made it impossible not to wonder about it.

I remember a particularly rough time that I was going through in high school. I was overwhelmed, stressed out, and ready to quit everything. My dad and mom took to praying with me every night, just so I could sleep. One morning I woke up to find a yellow post it note on my door knob. It was a note from my dad, telling me how he had prayed for me and how much he loved me. I was so touched that I cried. Those notes continued, EVERY single morning, for more than a year. I still have every single one of them saved in a box. I cherish them.

My dad is funny. He is not afraid to laugh and to break the mold. I remember one time we were having a pancake dinner. All of us kids were gathered around the table with him. My mom, for some reason, had stepped out of the room. I don't remember why or what started it all, but suddenly, my dad threw a pancake at one of us. We all laughed, and then the mayhem began. Pancakes were flying and my mom stepped into the room and said, "YOU KIDS!" only to have a pancake splat right in the middle of her face. We all stopped and looked at my dad, the thrower of said pancake, smiling away at his beautiful wife. She wiped the stunned look and the pancake off of her face, shouted "Bruce Edward!" and then the mayhem began again. We still all hold that memory fondly.

My dad always shows respect and love for his wife. He's not afraid to kiss her and hold her, even in front of us kids. Sometimes when I was a teenager I remember being embarassed by it, but now in retrospect I think of what a gift that was. I NEVER doubted that my parents loved each other, and was always secure in that fact. They still do that! I hope that someday Kevin and I are embarassing Rusty by kissing and holding each other in front of him!

One of the things I have loved the most is seeing my dad as a grandpa to our little Rusty. He adores the boy. He is constantly getting down on the floor playing with him, he is so patient with him, he hugs him and kisses him. He talks his gibberish language and Rusty giggles away. Rusty has my dad's chin and I hope that he will end up having many other qualities of my father as well.

People often tell me that I'm like my dad. They say I look like him, and my mom always says, "You are your father's daughter!" I couldn't ask for any better compliment than that. He is amazing, a gift in my life, and I never take him for granted. I only wish that we lived closer so I could get those great hugs every day.

We're Still the Same

It was a great week. My big sister flew in last Tuesday. I was definitely looking forward to her visit, but it far exceeded all of my expectations. I remember Kevin telling me before she arrived to not place such high expectations on her so that I wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't live up to them. Well, she lived up to them all and then some.

My big sis. She's beautiful. She has a smile that can light up a room! She's so smart and she knows how to have fun. She's not afraid to be silly if it means it will bring a giggle from one of her kids, or during this trip, from her nephew. She is a woman of God, she is giving, she gives good hugs. We have been sisters our entire lives, of course, but I remember becoming friends. She had left home to go off into the world, she had moved to South Carolina. Her future husband lived there, and she moved to be closer to him. I remember that I was mad at the time, how could she leave us? Now, of course, I understand. It was funny though, as we both grew up, we grew closer.

Distance, however, is tough. It is hard when you don't know the day to day of each other's lives. I think that was one of the things that I loved the most about this last week...just sharing daily life together. We went for Starbucks, we had lunch together, we had multiple people say "You must be sisters, right?" I LOVE that! Since moving here, there have been times when I have seen sisters out together having fun and wished that could be me. Silly things like going to the mall, going for coffee, or going for a picnic at English Bay. We did all of those things and they were so much fun!

It was fun to realize that we are still the same in many ways. We read books to our sons the same way. We have the same smile, and the same voice. Sometimes poor Rusty almost seemed confused to have someone so similar to his mom around! We love and try to be there for our husbands in the same way. We go through some of the same emotional thoughts and fears and worries. We are sisters, and no distance can take that from us!

I'm so thankful that my big sis came for a visit. It was so fun to have reconnected and had the fun time together doing "normal every day life." Thanks sis! I love you!

South Dakota 3: Cousins

One of our favorite days while in South Dakota was the day we hung out with Nessa and her kids. Vanessa was my best friend from grade 8 all the way through graduation, and I remember being so happy when she married my cousin because I knew it meant she would always be my family. She and Matt now have two ADORABLE kids that are so good, so sweet, and completely loveable. I can't get enough of them! We call them our niece and nephew, we are pretty close to them. Rusty LOVES R and J, and would probably have hung out with them late into the night if I had let him!

We drove to their house and I set him down on the floor when we arrived. One of the first things he did was crawl across the floor to J and give him a big hug! It was so cute! R and J love entertaining Rusty, and spent a lot of time talking to him, cooing at him, and exclaiming how cute he was! One of the best moments was when R said, "Rusty, you're so cute!" and J said, "He's a WHOLE LOTTA cute!" Too adorable!

It was a fun day! We started the day at the Flinstone Theme park. The kids were excited to show Rusty all of their favorite places, and Vanessa and I were both shocked and laughed when Rusty laughed and laughed at the Flinstone cartoon that was showing in the "Bedrock Theatre."

After the theme park, we loaded up in the car and headed to Bear Country U.S.A. If you aren't from SD, let me explain this place. There is all sorts of wildlife-bears, elk, mountain goats,-roaming around inside of a VERY expansive fenced area. You drive your car through at a pace of about 1 mph or less, and the animals just walk around and lounge around you. Rusty was THRILLED. We kept saying, "Rusty, where are the bears?" and he would look out the window and bang on it when he saw one. Since we were going so slow, I let him stand on my lap at the window and he was so excited.

The kids were so good, and we promised them ice cream, so our next stop was Cold Stone Creamery! YUMMMY! It's so good! The girls all got the same flavor-cake batter-with different mix ins. Man, that place is just too delicious, I think I could go there every day! We found, however, that the size we got-medium-ended up being too much and had to throw a bit away. I know, can you believe I threw away ice cream??

The last stop of the day was a surprise for the kids. We decided to go to Storybook Island. I LOVED this place as a kid, and was so happy to see that it is still in great shape and still seems absolutely magical. The thing that surprised me the most was how much Rusty loved it! He giggled almost the entire time. I'm not kidding, the kid kept laughing when he would see the various characters or places. We got some adorable pictures of him with his cousins and I even bought him a cool toy at the end as a memory of this wonderful place. I think we will probably have to go back there in July when we are there.

I love Matt and Nessa and their kids. They are so much fun and we often wish that we lived closer to them. They are coming up here for a week long visit in August and we can't wait to spend so much time with them! J pretty much summed the day up when he said, "This is the best day ever!"