we're surviving...

the flu!

It started on Sunday with Jackson!

Then came Mama!

Then Jadon!

Then Sydney!

It's now Saturday!

Praying he's not next!

sledding!

The tired crew after a great afternoon sledding!

Sydney walking up the big sledding hill!

Jackson being pulled on the toddler sled. He LOVES the cold

weather and the snow!



This would be the BIG hill! It was actually a toboggan run!
It was extremely steep and 2 large dips in it! If you look at
the middle of the picture in the distance, you will see a tiny child in the
middle of the run starting to make their way back up!

This would be the same run my loving husband told me to go down with Jadon.

Let it be known that it was my first time sledding...E.V.E.R.!

I knew that it was steep and fast, but I figured I'd be ok since the kids did great!

Jadon and I went down together and it was scary and I was so glad we were almost done, until I realized that no one had told me how to make it go slower. The next thing I knew, the sled went flying out from under us and I held onto Jadon for dear life! Hoping that we would not go off of the track and into the trees!

Snow and ice were pelting our eyes and this mama was screaming! (Please remember that I was born/raised/have lived my entire life on the beaches of sunny Florida!)

By the time we stopped, I had my sweet 7 year old son crying and screaming at me, telling me that it was ALL my fault!

We then moved to the sledding hill!

more christmas pictures to treasure!

Sydney with our friend Lana at the
Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game.

Jackson enjoying the hard hits!

All the kids waiting for the game to begin!
While we were at the game we saw a family a few rows
back wearing their 147 Million Orphans gear!!!




Nana B teaching Sydney and I how to make her
famous Molasses-Ginger Cookies! Nana B will
celebrate her 90th birthday in June!

a christmas to remember

This was the first year of our 11 year marriage that we spent in Michigan with Kurt's family.

We had a blast!

Thankfully there was about 3-4 inches of snow left on the ground for us.

Just enough for sledding, snowmen, snowball fights and ice-fishing!

Jackson seemed to catch on to opening presents.

It was our first Christmas as a family of five!