Colossal Coaster World!

It's that time again!  Yes, it is hard to believe, but it is Vacation Bible School time.  Like most of you, our church had the Colossal Coaster World theme.  The decorations were incredible, especially in the VBX room (6th graders) where my Dad volunteered.  I love VBS week because it is really exciting to see how God gifts people in so many different ways!  Overall, it was a wonderful week of serving, worshiping, and sharing the Gospel with  kids.  We are so blessed to be at a church that doesn't just put on VBS because of tradition, but because they care about investing in the children of our church and the community around it.  I wish I would have taken more pictures, but the week was so busy and so much fun that, honestly, I just forgot!  Still, here are a few pictures:

 Emma doing sack races

Wacky Wednesday - we had matching pigtails (it's hard to tell from the picture)

Love my kiddos!

Papa making cotton candy for the VBX-ers!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Summer is flying by!  June and July has just been packed with so many things happening in our family.  Shortly before the end of the school year, my Dad, who has been teaching for 43 years, decided to retire – much to the chagrin of those kids in his school waiting to get to 5^th grade so they could have Mr. Alvaro as a teacher.  To say that I am proud of my Dad is a gross understatement.  He dedicated his life to teaching, not just because it was a job, but because he loved the kids.  I cannot tell you how many times we have been out and about in Michigan or even other states, when someone has yelled “Mr. Alvaro!” from afar.  Even the teacher in the classroom next door was a former student!  His students absolutely loved him because he not only taught, but he invested in their lives.  We are not sure what he’s going to do next, but we are very proud of him!

 Cake!

Sharing the iPad

Saying thank you

My Dad and one of his former students, who now teaches next door to my Dad!

Then, a few weekends ago, we traveled to Caseville, MI, for a family vacation.  We went last year, and the kids have not stopped asking when we were going back!  A couple from my parents’ small group has a cabin there, and they were gracious enough to open it up for us again.  Emma and Ethan spent most of their time at the beach building sandcastles and playing in the water – I don’t think they have ever slept so well!  It was a great time of relaxation and it was great to be able to spend so much time together.  

 Lounging in the sun

 

Sandcastles!

 

Fun in the sand!

Siblings

Hanging out with Daddy!

Summer Loving!

 All tuckered out

This summer has been packed with so many wonderful events and trips, and we are not even half-way done!  We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

This week we celebrated Ethan’s third birthday!  Our little man is getting to be so big, and it seems like just yesterday they placed that little peanut in my arms.  This year, we took him to the zoo and, at his request, to Red Robin for a special birthday dinner.  Afterwards, we headed back to Nani and Papa’s for a special superhero themed family party!  All in all, we had a wonderful time celebrating Ethan and all that he means to us.  Here are some things that make him so special:

• He is a ham!  I often tell people that he was born to be the middle child.  He loves to have fun and laugh, and there are many times during the day where we end up rolling on the floor because of something he said or did.  The best thing about it is that he doesn’t try to be funny on purpose – he just has a natural talent for it.
  
  

• He is sincere.  While some kids (no one else we know, wink, wink) will lie to you when they have done something wrong, Ethan is a pretty honest kid.  Recently, we had an incident where our toilet backed up.  We asked him a thousand times if he had flushed a toy, and he kept telling us “No.”  Finally, the plumber revealed that he had flushed a Pull-Up down the toilet.  It never occurred to us that he would do that (Emma never did), so we never told him not to, and never asked him if he did.  When we finally figured it out and asked him about it, he just looked at us and said, “Yep!”  His honesty and sincerity are something that I hope he never loses!
  

• He is a snuggler.  By the time Emma could walk, she was gone.  Ethan, on the other hand, loves to snuggle – especially with his Mom.  I must admit that I am loving this phase in his life and rue the day when he rebuffs me to go play catch with Dad.
  

• He loves superheroes.  It would be hard to pinpoint a favorite, but, he tends to favor Batman and Captain America.  Ethan is all boy, and we often find him “fighting the bad guys” around the house.
  

• He loves babies.  Not just Eli, all babies.  If you have ever met Ethan and you have a baby, you know this to be true.  The moment he sees a baby, he runs over and starts “ooing” and “ahhing” all over and starts the kissing!  We have been so blessed by his attitude and help since Eli’s arrival, and we love how he just can’t get enough.

There is so much more we could write about what makes Ethan, Ethan, but suffice it to say that we feel so blessed by his life and are privileged to be his parents.  As parents, it is so neat to see God’s unique gifting of personality he gives each of our children, and we are so thankful that he has chosen to bless us with Ethan.  Happy Birthday, little man!

 At the zoo

 

Enjoying his birthday Sundae at Red Robin

Superhero Birthday!

Kisses!

Blowing out the candles

More superheroes!

Memorial Day Memories

Like most of you, we love celebrating Memorial Day!  It is a chance for us to remember those in the military past and present who serve our country and protect our freedom.  If you are a current or past member of our armed forces, we sincerely thank you for your service!

Every year, when I was growing up, our family would attend the St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade with some families from church.  The tradition continued this year, and we were blessed to spend Sunday afternoon at the parade with the Ball family.  The Balls are a part of our ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship, or as I will always call it, Sunday School) and it has been a tremendous joy to get to know their sweet family.

We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful afternoon, and the kids had a great time seeing all the bands, military floats, animals, and, of course, the candy throwers!

 Ethan and his pal, Arthur!  He just loves babies!

Emma and Ashley, discussing jewelry.

Oreos!

The whole gang.

Siblings

All my babies!

We rounded out the weekend with a trip to our local Urgent Care with baby Eli, who's cold gave him a very severe and scary cough.  He was tested for whooping cough and pneumonia, but, mercifully, the tests came back negative.  Since then, his cold has gotten a lot better, but he is still coughing - so much so that the poor little thing has lost his voice.  As much as we want him to be better, we really have no control over it!    Though we hate to see him sick, it is such a great reminder of how dependent we are on God's grace and mercy.  We also would appreciate your prayers for little Eli and will keep you posted.

Happy Memorial Day!

Emma Says the Darndest Things

One of my favorite parts of Emma being in school is that she brings home special projects for holidays.  Recently, she did a special Mother's Day project that she was so excited to share with me.  I loved it, and I am sure you will too!

She actually was not too far off on most things.  I told her that her answer to number one made my year after just having a baby!  And if you are wondering why she misspelled her own name, she didn't - she is experimenting with different nicknames that she wants us to call her: Emm and Emmie are the frontrunners so far.

It is hard to believe that she is almost done with Kindergarten!  She has loved every second of it and is already talking about how she is looking forward to first grade.  It is every parent's mantra, but I'll go ahead and say it - she's growing up too fast!

 

Eli's Here!

Eli's here!  As most of you already know, we welcomed Eli into the world a few weeks ago.  He was my tiniest baby at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 21 inches, but he was also my most challenging birth - he was what the nurses call an "optimistic baby" and was born face up (they are supposed to be face down).  Although my labor was totally not what I was expecting in a lot of ways, he was born healthy, so we are very thankful!

Emma and Ethan are absolutely loving their new baby brother and are both being big helps to Mom and Dad.  The only issue we are having is reminding them they cannot constantly be kissing and hugging him, which is not a bad problem to have!  We have also been very blessed by family and friends who have visited, made meals, and helped out in so many ways.  This is the first time we have been able to be near family for the birth of one of our children, and we cannot describe how incredibly wonderful that has been!

We wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and for rejoicing with us in the birth of little Eli.  We are truly blessed beyond what we deserve and we have been so humbled by all the ways we have been shown Christ's love in such tangible ways.

Here are some photos of our new little guy for you to enjoy!

 Big brother Ethan!

Big Sister Emma!

All my babies

Mommy and Eli

Already being silly with Nani & Papa

My boys!

Daddy and Ethan watching out for Eli

 Can't get enough kisses!

 

On our way home to start our new adventure

Tiny Dancer

Recently, my Dad came over with a community education brochure filled with tons of classes for kids to take during the winter.  Emma originally settled on swimming, but after seeing an episode of Angelina Ballerina, she was set on ballet.  So, we signed her up and were ready to start. 

A few days before her class, we got a call from the instructor saying she couldn't join because she didn't have any experience (don't get me started on why a 5-year-old taking a community education beginning ballet class shouldn't need experience), but we finally found another class in a different school district.  She started "Petite Ballerinas" last week and it was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen.  She is the tallest one in her class, and she loves it! She is already talking about going to her next class.  Here are some pictures and video that I just couldn't resist sharing!   

A special thanks to Nani and Papa for her leotard and tights and to our sweet neighbor, Mrs. Lynn, for giving Emma her girls' skirts, leotards, and broken-in slippers!

 Hamming it up with Ethan before class

She is the tallest one there!

Learning the positions

Listening to her teacher, Ms. Cindy

Stretching!