Easter 2011

Happy Easter everyone! This picture was actually taken last week on Palm Sunday, but I couldn't resist posting it now - the two kiddos in their Easter outfits for church. Can you believe how grown up they are looking?




Saturday our family plans changed...Dad G got in a car accident and although he is doing well under the circumstances, Easter just wasn't the same this year. While Tadd and his sisters were at the hospital, Doug and I stayed back with the kids and decorated the eggs since they were looking forward to it. It was serious business! Selah's first time and she just kept wanting to color them all pink! Sunday we got to go visit Dad in the hospital and eat out together afterwards.



Finn couldn't join in the fun so instead he just sat and ate a peep :) And the next picture I posted so you can see all the teeth he is still working on, top four and the additional one on the bottom next to his middle two. He also is still not walking, but will stand up in the middle of the room and just "hang out"



This Sunday morning as we celebrated our Savior rising from the tomb, we set out Selah and Finn's baskets...a bunch of sugar that is. They were spoiled again this year, baskets from us and each set of grandparents, enough sugar to last us for the next few months! LOL!


Hoping you all could cherish the moments you had with your families this Easter weekend. We are so blessed. Praising God for Dad G's safety and praying for a speedy recovery!

Florida's Conclusion

These last pictures are kind of all mixed in together. Finn loved the beach. He wanted to eat the sand as any 11-month old would, so mostly he got to be dipped in the ocean and then took his morning nap in the stroller while we were there. Next year...he will be allowed to explore a little more :) He loves his Aunt Ti Ti! Funny story, I had Selah's hair all done in puff balls so it wouldn't get all sandy and by the time we got to the beach her rubberbands had snapped, so this is what it ended up being that day. Not to worry, the next time they stayed in and backups were brought with us! She loved collecting shells, building sand castles, and swimming in the ocean. She just couldn't get enough of it. Of course part of the vacation experience is eating out every night and with it, having great seafood. We ate at Yabba's on Fifth Avenue in Naples one night. Selah and Aunt Ti Ti being "frightened" She met many statues on our walk down Fifth Ave. She also got in a bit of boutique shopping where she informed grandma while trying on some sunglasses, "look grandma, it MATCHES my outfit!" Oh yeah, we are going to have quite the handful with this girly girl! And speaking of statues, this one was found outside our house. One day I catch Selah talking as we walk in the front door. I look to my side and here stands Selah talking...."Hi Mary!" Yep, she named this statue Mary (I am assuming after Jesus's mother - I can't figure out anything else) and proceeded to have a conversation with her every time we went by, which drove Tadd up the wall. I thought it was humerous, but by the end of our trip I think Tadd was a little nervous about all the time she was spending with her :) We had her pose for her picture with Mary before she gave her a kiss goodnight for the evening. And this brings our trip to a close. Another year of great weather spent with family. Thanks also to mom and dad and Tiff for giving us a date night where we could eat our food in silence without shoveling it down as fast as we could! So many memories in Bonita. We love the area and now that it has been a few years with our kids, I love the fact that I can remember what they were doing at the exact point the previous year. Time is flying, way too fast that is. And as always, these trips make me remember who is missing...our precious Laynie. Whose 4th birthday would be this year and is only two days before Finn turns one. During my moments of reflection in the afternoons I couldn't help but think how far God has brought our family. How He has stretched our family, grown us and molded us how He saw fit. And even though it was painful, we are stronger and more fully knit together. We had endured! And now hopefully we can worship Him more fully in the year to come. So here is to a renewed hope and security in knowing He is our Savior, our King!

Florida Part 2

After getting settled into our new home for the next week, we started our routine....breakfast, bike ride, beach, and pool :) And that is the life as they say. We spent some days at the house the whole day swimming. Some mornings I had to turn the jacuzzi on in order to stay submerged with Selah until the sun was fully out. She would ask to go swimming the second she got out of bed. We rented a bike trailer and enjoyed taking bike rides to the beach to see Grandpa and Grandma as well as Aunt Tiff. Then we would head back to the house to eat lunch, swim a little more, and take naps...that is when we got our naps in the sun :) Selah got a tube this time as well as her floaties and she was ready to swim by herself. And even though this picture of Finn is of him in his (or Selah's) floatie, he much rather enjoyed being able to play on the steps and be "free" to play. Of course if any of you asked Selah what we were doing in Florida it would include Red Robin, which for those of you don't know is just a burger joint that gives you endless french fries, your kids a balloon, and if you are lucky "Red Robin" himself will come by your table to visit. We went here one year for Selah's birthday and she has always looked at the pictures in her scrapbook. So needless to say, she had built up this reunion of sorts to such a high expectation. Red Robin didn't make it the night we were there, but she did get her balloon so she was happy :) Most nights consisted of lots of shopping :) and the kids were pretty used to it. They did really well for as full as their days were. Most afternoons we had to wake them up from their naps in order to leave for dinner. We are not big ice cream eaters while in Illinois, but it is a definate must for vacation - and of course Finn had to have his first ice cream cone! (with sprinkles - Selah's choice) I tried to always have my camera with us wherever we went. I have to say though that with two kids it becomes lot more of a chore of sorts to make the effort to get the camera out at any given moment. By the time I got all the gear together, kids situated wherever we were at, the last thing I felt like doing was get my camera out, but I made a valiant effort :) Here are a few candids of the kiddos. Trying to get a picture of the two of them together is a near impossible feat. If Selah doesn't squeeze Finn to death they are usually looking in the opposite directions or crying. LOL! Pure exhaustion usually set in towards the end of the evening, which if not timed correctly led to incredible meltdowns. Otherwise, I could always look back and see the kids droopy-eyed and ready for bed. Sucking their thumbs while cozying up in their carseats. Meanwhile my wonderful husband always had a little more craziness left in him! One last post to go....

Florida Part 1

We got to go to Florida again this year for vacation. It is something we all look forward to since the previous year and it always goes by so quickly. It was a great time together as a family and yet, very tiring :) Our flight left around 6:30 in the morning, so here are the kids ready to leave for the airport around 4:30am or so. They were quite eager to be leaving, especially Selah to head to the airport with her Dora suitcase in tow. Tadd's parents and sister were going to Florida as well on the same day we were. They flew in to Sarasota while we went to Fort Myers, but we were together until our connecting flight = extra hands :) It was our first flight with two littles and Finn's first flight. We had to buy a seat for Selah this time which was nice because it meant a little more wiggle room. We made it on quite nicely and the kids did amazing. Finn slept through both flights and Selah was so tired she just laid on us while watching movies on her IPad. A win-win solution for all. We stayed in Naples for the first two days until we could get into our house we rented. Let's just say this will be the last year of doing a hotel. You know how it is. We couldn't really get settled and our kids do NOT do well with sleeping in the same room. We tried switching who laid down first to go to sleep and neither worked well. One night we put both of them to sleep at once and told Selah that Finn might just cry for a while, but would then fall asleep and to just be quiet. LOL! What were we thinking? We laid down as well and after a few minutes of crying we heard silence and then some quiet giggles. Yep, Selah had gotten up from her bed and was leaning over Finn's crib entertaining him :) Oh well, we survived by a thread! Meanwhile we spent time going to the Naples Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. Last year we went to the zoo and it poured down rain so we got rainchecks and were still able to use them this year. Well, it turned out we picked another overcast windy day. The lady just smiled and said, "Don't worry if it rains again we will just give you another raincheck!" The kids enjoyed it except for the fall by Selah. Here we are pre-accident... and here we are post-accident :) Selah was happily skipping/running down the path in her new little crocs and tripped. Down she went and caught herself, but in the process bit her bottom lip, scratched her top lip, and gave herself road rash on her chin (you can't appreciate the full severity in this picture, LOL!) but don't worry, the following few days you will notice the damage, not all the pictures are edited out. So nice she did it the first day we got here just in time for all the pictures :) After it stopped bleeding and we kissed her ouchy enough, she was raring to go again - and yes, we couldn't get her to stop running either! Oh well, the first of many... Finn was such a good boy. He just smiled at everyone, or flirted that is! Did very well for not having many good naps and just fell asleep in the stroller when he was tired. But, we tried to get him out and let him join in on the fun too. The botanical gardens were great as well. We could have spent a whole day there if we wanted, but we just stayed till lunchtime. They had these hammocks hung between some flowered areas so we had to "rest" for awhile. They had great gardens and unique little areas. Selah loved this hut, but couldn't sit still of course she had to jump. Actually she pretty much jumps wherever she goes. There was also a Children's Garden with a fountain area, butterfly garden, and little house the kids got to play with. Finn loved every minute and was not afraid of the water at all. He would stick his face right down by the spout and when it hit him directly in the face, he wasn't even phased. Selah on the other hand was the timid one, casually walking around observing things while stepping in the water quickly every once in a while. This concludes Part 1 of our trip, next on to Bonita Springs and our large house!

Garage Sale Spring 2011

So we just got back from Florida and I am having a garage sale this week Wed. April 13th 8-4 and Thurs. April 14th from 8-? Lots of girls 0-2T and boys 0-12 mo. clothes and shoes. Also there will be my handmade items of bows, headbands, ties, burp rags, and much more to buy/order. If you want to come early, Tuesday night is open too. Just contact me at tjgerst@hotmail.com and we can set up a time for you to come by. Hope to see you all soon and hopefully if I have time I can put some pictures up of the new items for sale. Thanks!