Halloween!

ok so its after Thanksgiving but at least it is before Christmas!

Calli Jo got to go see Toy Story 3 as her first movie at a theatre! She was Jesse for Halloween and Andi was Bo Peep!

We spent 3 days celebrating Halloween! I know that is A LOT! Friday we went to Daddy's school dressed up as a surprise to him, (we brought him lunch too). Saturday we met the cousins at Grandma and Grandpa Rottiers, then to Booshies and Bumpas to see Grandpa Spike, and then went up to Pine Ridge Bible Camp for a trick-r-treat thing around the different cabins. On Sunday we did the traditional route - Dan's grandparents, Aunt Kate and Uncle Dave, did Trunk-r-Treat at Booshie's church, and then ended the evening (traditionally our last stop) at Aunt Beths house! The girls got tons of goodies to say the least! :)

Our girls at the 4th of July parade. Andilynn is such a little daredevil and the water (lake or pool) does not scare her at all. She tries to go underwater, she loves to jump from the dock or the side of a pool! I know her bathing suit is scandalous but I still think its cute :)

Calli Jo also loves the water but is a little more timid. I can trust her not to try to go under or go out past her belly.

The next few pics are fuzzy bc I was taking them without her knowing which was through our window. She was getting in and out of our two Cozy Coups but also had her cell phone in her hand and was talking the whole time!! She isnt quite cordinated enough to move the cars but spent like 45minutes playing. It was hilarious just to watch her. Dont worry she wasnt texting while driving- just talking. I dont know where she learned that! :)

more summer fun

calli was so excited to help "make corn" as she calls it. I told her we were going to husk corn and she set up my chair, her chair, Andi's chair and had a sand pail in front of each chair. She really is showing us each day that she is NOT a baby and is becoming a fun and smart little girl! Andi on the other hand still goes by the name "Baby" at our house. She is definitly a toddler and has her own ideas about things. She is definitly our drama queen. She can cry at the top of her lungs and stop in a matter of seconds!! It is awful when we are out and about and people think there is something very wrong but instead it is just that she wanted something that she couldn't have. :) Oh the excitement of girls!!

Andi tried to help with the corn but mainly watched Calli and I work and then she would grab the corn and take bites outta the cob (obviously it wasn't cooked yet but she loved it!!) Eww!! You can tell by the look in her eye that she was up to trouble!!

The Lowell Parade for the Riverwalk Festival was actually a great parade. Our kids loved it and it definitly wasnt as busy as the Grandville parade so it was much easier to park, walk and sit for the parade. However we did get caught in a DOWNPOUR!!! It was raining so hard Calli was crying "It HURTS MOMMY, IT HURTS!! We were so soaked after the ten minutes of rain that we just left festival. We did try to keep the kids dry but that was a lost cause even all the clothes in the diaper bag were wet.

The thought "I have such a cute family!" just went through my head when looking at the pic above! I know it might sound prideful but I am so happy about what God has given me.

Uncle Dave, the Jew, as we like to call him (married to Aunt Kate Lum Lax) was in town from California. So we met him at Ball's Ice Cream in Lowell for a catchup time and to expose him to children-(which was requested by Aunt Kate) We were able to enjoy ice cream, flowers, and playtime with Kim and Kai also! Of course Dave wouldn't pose for a pic but Calli loved chasing him around demanding a kiss and a hug! **Kate- I promise someday he will love kids, maybe not mine though :)

Summer pics

Andi loves riding the lawn tractor with Dan. She rides with him for like 2 hrs!!! She is so crazy! If he gets on and she didnt know she finds him and makes him let her on

Calli got to spend a whole day with her other family- the Ginacs! I think she actually prefers to be with them :) The day of the Start of Summer parade and celebration I had regionals for softball and Dan had to work so Ginacs were nice enough to let her celebrate with them. Andi got to hang with Booshie the whole day. I think they loved being apart for a few hrs.

Below I have put what I said at my grandma's funeral last week. Dont feel like you have to read it, it is a much longer than normal post. I just wanted to have a copy for some people to read who couldn't be at the funeral.

Beauty, grace, and love. These are the words that come to mind when I think of my Grandma. She was never without her perfect hair, makeup, lipstick, nail polish or perfume. She was physically stunning. She always walked with dignity and was given the respect that she deserved.

Over the past 83 years she was an amazing daughter, sister, sister-in-law, wife, aunt, mother, foster mother, mother-in-law, friend, grandma and great-grandma. All the stories people have shared over the last little bit have had the theme of her unselfishness and her love for others. We are here to mourn our loss but we need to take the time to reflect and celebrate the life she lived.

There are many Lessons that my Grandma taught us:
First of all she has taught us to
1) Love our spouse through thick and thin- She and Grandpa have a love that is almost unheard of. They have been married 65 years and still look just as proud of each other in the pictures taken this year as the black and white pictures taken September 6, 1944 when they married in Florida while Grandpa was on leave from the navy. We have been given an amazing example of how marriage and love is supposed to be, completely sacrificial, they have been patient with one another, have been more than kind to each other, and they have stood the test of time.
Secondly she has taught us all to
2) Tell people how we feel. If God had taken her quickly, we still would have known how she felt about each of us. She always said exactly how she felt. We knew when she was proud of us and we knew when she was disappointed with a decision we made. When we would ask for advice on situations, she would tell us what the right thing to do was but she would allow us to make our own decisions and would love us through the wrong decisions and never say “I told you so.”

Grandma had many quotes. First of all She would always say,

3) “If I don’t ask, I don’t know anything.” She always called to just chat with people. You may have thought she was being nosy or something like that. She was staying connected with you and was connecting others to you. If something happened in Tennessee, Wisconsin, Arizona, Indiana or Michigan she always seemed to be the first person to know and the one to tell everyone so we were all in the loop. She also was the keeper of many secrets. She knew we all trusted her and she knew when something had to stay between you and her.

Also one of her favorite quotes or way to live was believing that
4) “If we don’t have family and friends, what do we have” She made sure we always got together when people were in town. She never missed a party, a get-together, a round of hand and foot, a game of pee-nuckle, a birthday girls dinner or a just a casual lunch if she could help it. She made people and relationships her top priority. Also, when she knew two of us were bickering she worked her way into the situation and helped build a bridge between the people to make the relationship better than it was before.
One thing my sister and I both can quote her on is:

5) “Someday your sister will be your best friend!” Okay this quote was one thing that I hated hearing when I was 12 and my little sister was completely annoying. At the time Both Annie and I were always like, “Ya right grandma, I will never be friends with her!!” But low and behold, now we talk at least once every day and know everything about each other. So of course Grandma knew what she was talking about. She and Aunt Ellen had a sister bond that was great to watch. They seemed so opposite but were so perfect for each other. The pictures alone show that bond and how it was like nothing else. She loved Aunt Ellen so much that she and Grandpa went everyday to visit at the nursing home for the 6 years Aunt Ellen was there. She honored her sister and I hope I can live up to her examples.
Another thing Grandma would say all the time was
6) “You can’t take it with you” I believe she meant this not only about her money but also her love. She was always helping people out. Sending money to the charities that sent requests, she would randomly bring a bag of groceries to my apartment while I was in college, slip a $20 bill in my hand for gas, buy dresses for my girls. These were small things compared to the love she spread through helping 2 foster children and many people with countless needs. She has offered a listening ear, a loan, a meal, a bed to sleep in, a job, a cup of coffee, a ride, or just simply a hug to any one who needed it.

My favorite thing to hear her say was
7) “We don’t have any other plans” She and Grandpa were always willing to go anywhere, and do anything. Grandpa and Grandma were able to join my husband and I on vacations to Alabama and Florida. They went to Europe with my aunt and uncle. I know they have had many other vacations, and vacations weren’t the only times they said, “We don’t have any other plans.” I have heard this when I have called and asked if I could stop for a cup of coffee before I drove home from working a 3rd shift, or to see if they wanted to meet for lunch, do some Costco shopping, or if I wanted to bring the girls over to play. Grandma and Grandpa never made excuses that the house wasn’t clean or the laundry wasn’t done, or they wanted to stay home, they just went with it. I love that about them! .

So as we adjust to living in this world without her, we all need to remember her smile, her comments, and the lessons she taught us.
1) always tell people how you feel
2) keep your family and friends close no matter how much work it takes
3) love unconditionally, reach out to those who may or may not ask for your help and live each moment like it is your last.

My grandma was very special to me. She was a friend, a confident, a support, a travel buddy, a shopping partner, a psychologist, and a babysitter. All in all, she was amazing and I will celebrate her life by letting her lessons and love live through me.

Gigi-

She is already missed....