Way to go E!

First off, I just wanted to wish my mother-in-law a very happy birthday today! Hope it's great :)

So Ethan slept 10 hours last night! Ahh! I couldn't believe it! Normally he wakes up around 4 am to eat and he woke but just talked for a minute and fell back asleep. He did the same thing at 6. Of course I went in there each time to make sure he was ok but he didn't get up until 8 this morning! I am so hoping he is going to start sleeping through the night - that would be so wonderful for me! I have been so sleep deprived but of course I'm not complaining, he is worth it!

Another exciting thing happened this week and I apologize in advance if there are any men that read this :) I can officially get pregnant again if and when we decide to do that :) I have to say though, it sure was nice not having a cycle for over a year :)

This weekend we leave for Columbus, Ohio. Booo Buckeyes! My cousin is getting married and so we leave early Sat. morning to make it to the wedding which is at 1. Most of the family is staying the night in a hotel on Sat. as some are flying in for the wedding and we want to take advantage of our family time together! The Petke's (my maiden name) are by far the coolest and most fun family out there. My dad has 4 brothers and 4 sisters...enough said! Jeremy and I have a free night at the Hyatt hotel as it was a bonus for staying 2 nights in a Hyatt on our last trip to Florida. So, we get to stay for free which is so awesome. If you've never stayed in a Hyatt it should be on your to do list, it's Jeremy and I's favorite hotel...it has a big plasma in each room :)

It seems that Ethan has an allergy to oatmeal. The first day I gave it to him he started breathing funny. I called his doc and he said it didn't sound like an oatmeal allergy as normally they involve a rash or hives but I beg to differ. I didn't give it to him for 3 days and he was fine and then I tried it again and he started to breathe funny again! Needless to say, no more oatmeal for my little man! He is trying to get over a cold which has been fun....he was pretty congested for a few nights and mommy and e didn't sleep much. I still love being a mom though, no worries :)

We went and saw the inside of the yellow house and really like it. There's really nothing we don't like about it. It's just a really cute house and seems perfect for a small family. Cute sub, nice yard, doesn't need much work...we really like it. God brought someone to us that offered to buy us a house to rent to own. He basically said find the house you want and I'll buy it. Yeah. Kinda crazy and I will elaborate more if we decide to make an offer on the house, etc. but God is so incredible and it doesn't surprise me that he would send someone our way to offer to buy us a house. I think likes surprising us.

Well, I suppose that's all for now. I'm really looking forward to getting away this weekend. Some of the family still hasn't met Ethan so I'm always up for showing him off :)

Here's a video of Ethan laughing that I took this week. It's the sweetest thing ever! You have to turn your head to watch it though...couldn't get it to be upright, sorry!

What's New...

It's been about a week since I last posted...just a couple new things going on with us.

Jeremy and I are praying about getting a house when we move this fall. Our plan is to get an apt. in Fenton and there's still a very good chance we may do that but we are just praying and asking God to guide us. We can't afford much but with these foreclosures and God on our side, who knows! We've been looking at foreclosures in the Linden area and found one we really like. We haven't seen the inside yet - just peeked through the windows and it is a cute house. We're not even sure if we can get approved so that's all in the works right now too. If we do get an apt, that will be great also as our bills will be very minimal as we are trying to save enough to pay for a year upfront in an apt. if we can. If we do get an apt, we just plan on saving and paying off some family debt and maybe in a year or two we'll get a house...we'll see. Can I just say that walking with God is such an exciting life? It really is. I am completely content with where we are right now in our lives...even though my daycare is closing and we have to leave our home....I don't know, God is just so much bigger then those things ya know? I have so much to be thankful for and I'm not going to let losing our house or any materialistic thing get me down when God is doing bigger things around me.

E is doing great. He just learned how to roll over from his back to his stomach, it's so fun watching them grow and develop! Here's a funny story....so he just learned how to roll over from his back to stomach and we've only seen him do it a couple times. We were over some good friends of ours house the other night and it was time for Ethan to go to bed...I grabbed his blanket and laid him on his stomach to sleep (I know I know, SIDS, you're not supposed to do that, blah blah blah :)) and I closed the doors most of the way and went back into their family room. The room he was in was their playroom and shared a wall with the Family room....so I'm sitting there talking, and suddenly I hear this faint crash on the wall...I stop and think, "That couldn't possibly be Ethan...but I better go check on him." Keep in mind like 5 minutes has passed, barely any time. I go in there and sure enough he rolled at least 5-6 times all the way to the other side of the room and was under a toy! I couldn't believe it and just laughed and smiled at him. Needless to say, he is growing up!!

Not much else to report. We are having a young married/family bash at our house this Saturday night....should be a fun time, I'm looking forward to it!

Until next time....be blessed!
Keri

Happy Birthday Mom!

Well....today is my mom's birthday and I must say that I appreciate her more now than I ever have. Now that I am a mom it really puts into perspective how much work it really is being a mom and I have come to appreciate her even more since Ethan was born. Of course being a mom is an amazing blessing and joy but let's be honest and say it is work too! Needless to say, Happy Birthday Mom....I love you and appreciate you!

Ethan is also 5 months old today. It seems so young in the reality of people living in their 90's but yet somehow I feel he is growing up so fast! He loves balls! We were at my parents a week or so ago and Jeremy kept bouncing a ball in front of him and he would laugh so hard every time...the next thing you know it my whole family is crowded around just watching him and laughing with him...we did that for like 15 minutes...funny how a baby really does steal the spotlight. They are so innocent and sweet, how can you not love them?

He is getting more and more active and wants to crawl so bad and get around but he hasn't even figured out how to scoot yet. I am enjoying the days of him being in one remote location because I know very soon that will change and I will be chasing him around the house, making sure he doesn't get into the toilet or fall down the stairs. He is simply the cutest baby boy around and we of course grow to love him more and more as the days go on.

It's funny though...countless people told me how you have this "moment" when you hold your baby for the first time and "Isn't it amazing the love you have for him the minute you see him?" and to be completely honest I didn't have those feelings. Of course I knew I loved him simply because he was a part of me and a part of Jeremy but my first moment with him was not this amazing emotional experience like everyone portrayed it would be...well, it was emotional but that's because I was still screaming in pain trying to deliver the placenta, lol! I'm kinda glad I didn't have the typical normal "moment" with Ethan because I like being different :) Of course I knew I loved Ethan from the minute he was conceived but for me it took spending time with him before I was completely in love with him....I don't know, does that make sense? I guess I'm just saying that it's okay if you don't experience that "moment" with your child the instant you see them. So, if you are pregnant with your first baby or will be getting pregnant at some point don't let other people make you feel bad or guilty if you don't have that "moment" with your baby when they are just born. If you do, that's fantastic and I'm hoping when baby # 2 is born that I can enjoy those first few moments seeing my baby and that I won't be in as much pain as I was with Ethan. Ok...I'm starting to ramble, sorry...that came out of nowhere...but that's ok, this is my blog so I can write what I want :)

Our family of three is doing great and that is all for now....thanks for reading and listening to my ramblings :)

Our 4th of July...

What a beautiful July 4th we had! Jeremy and I slept in and then headed to Sagebrush (Keri's favorite Mexican restaurant in Fenton) for lunch. It was so good as always! We then headed out to our church as they always put on a big outreach to the community on the 4th.

This year was a little different. We pumped gas for people, had a free car wash, food and moonwalks for the kids...we were spread out all over the community. Of course with a 4 month old it with us this year we weren't able to really help with any of these things but we hung out with our friends at the different "tailgate" locations which was fun. We ate hot dogs but then went to get some real grub at Applebee's.

The fireworks started at 10 and our church had the prime spot for the fireworks this year. Ethan had been up most of the day since we were outside so he didn't take his normal late afternoon nap as usual so he fell asleep right before the fireworks started. Jeremy and I aren't into the fireworks that much and we knew they would scare E anyways so we decided to head home.

It was a really fun day though and it was even more special to have Ethan with us this year. He's so much fun and such a joy in our lives. If you are married and don't have a baby, I highly recommend it :)

Our Cadillac is gone!

As some of you know, we got this 98' Cadillac in January that I found on Craigslist for a great price. It had 74k miles on it and we bought it for $2,500. It was a real answer to prayer for us as I prayed that we would have a 2nd car before Ethan was born. It was HUGE for us because we felt we weren't supposed to ask to borrow money from anyone and we felt we were supposed to pay for it in cash. Financially at the time that was a miracle in itself. Regardless to say, we were able to buy it in cash and we got the car 3 weeks before Ethan was born. Thank you Jesus!

Well, the car was starting to have trouble and after a lot of advice from Cadillac experts and a friend that has a shop, we decided we had to sell it. It was overheating a lot and everyone that knew anything about cars said it could be an expensive fix...we didn't have the money to put into it so I listed it on Craigslist. We sold it last week for $3,000. We put a couple hundred into it but we ended up making $200 or so and drove it for free for 4 months. One thing I learned is that sometimes God answers prayer but not always in the way we think. I thought he answered our prayer for a 2nd car and that we would have it for a very long time. Obviously we didn't. I realize though that just because we had to sell it doesn't mean that God didn't answer. He did answer. I prayed we would have a 2nd car before the baby came and we did. We needed a 2nd car a lot during the time we had it because E had a lot of doctor appointments so that truly was a blessing...even if it was only for 4 months.

So, we are back down to one car....which is fine and we are content...but it does have 186k miles on it (and makes loud noises when you drive it) so we know that we will need another car in the near future. A couple friends of ours at different times told us they felt we were supposed to pray and ask God to get us a car (yes, for free!)....so, that is what we are doing...which works because we don't have the money for one anyways, lol! I know God is big enough and will provide for all our needs. Amen?

We are FREE in Christ!

The past few days I've been sick for the first time since Ethan was born. I've been completed stuffed up (but a constant runny nose - I know, it doesn't make any sense!) and have had a sore throat, headache, tired and just weak. I've been praying for God to heal my body as I really wanted to go to "Justice" tonight at church. There are hundreds of people (all different denominations) coming together at the Fenton Highschool Football Field tonight to worship our Savior and pray for our community. A lot of people feel God is going to do big things tonight in the hearts of many people and I didn't want to miss it! I woke up this morning feeling so much better than the past couple days and I know it's because of Jesus. I went to bed feeling lousy and woke up feeling so much better. We serve an amazing God who loves us so much! Needless to say, I plan on going tonight and cannot wait!

Friday is July 4th and we (our church) will be going out in the community (Fenton) to spread the love of Jesus to people. We will be washing people's cars, filling up gas tanks and much more to bless others. I pray it sparks (no pun intended) conversations about Jesus and His Love and what freedom really is. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we could be free...free from the gates of hell...free from all the hurt and pain that we may have in our lives. I know he has freed me from hurt in my life and I know He is big enough to free you of any hurt that is in yours....just ask Him!

This will be Ethan's first 4th of July and I have a little patriotic outfit and matching bib for him to wear :) It should be a fun day but more importantly I pray it is a day for lost souls to become FREE in Christ and what He did for us.

Be Free in Him!