Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Beyond over due...
Oh my, I think this takes the cake for being the longest I have gone without posting. It reminds me of how behind I am scrapbooking. You know it is bad when you stop taking pictures because it just reminds you that you are going to have to scrapbook them later! Life has been a little hectic around here. The summer seems to be flying by as usual although I really do think it goes a little faster every year. So this post will be a flashback of the last two months because if you saw the number of pictures I took, it would take 5 posts to get them all in!
The summer started out with getting the boat out. We don't quite do it as much as we used to...the stage of life is what I keep blaming it on. I just can't help out Tadd much with the boat when I have my arms full with two squirmy kiddos. BUT, it is still great for the memories. I just need a long nap afterwards! And yes, Finn is in Selah's old pink life jacket - you can blame Tadd for that one :) To say that Finn loves sitting in the driver's seat is an understatement. It's a challenge every time deciding at what point we are going to pry his arms off of the steering wheel. Selah loves getting in to swim and watching daddy ski too. Although it will be another year until Selah is allowed to ski...don't ask, it is a sore subject. LOL!
And yes, if you stay out long enough you might be lucky enough to catch just a glimpse of me and the air chair....I still got it! Although I can't do anything even close to what my hubby can! No flips for this girl, no high jumps. It thrills me just to know that I can get up and keep my balance :)
We have been spending time with cousins at the zoo. The kids love being with Addy and Brooks.
Love this pictures of Addy and Finn. He looks so smitten with his cousin :) The bottom left picture is when they discovered a chipmunk. I know, so much more exciting than the zoo animals. Kept them excited/entertained for at least 10 minutes until we told them we had to keep moving!
Then we got the pleasure of hosting Tadd's cousin Jon and his wife Amy for a long weekend along with their adorable girls Jada and Adia. Selah and Finn were thrilled to have visitors and extra playmates.
While the men went skiing, the women stayed at home with the kiddos, swimming and playing outside. Taking a walk together, Finn LOVED the wagon.
And yes, there was a lot of drama in the household :) This picture will always make me laugh. You know how it goes, when the adults have this great idea to take pictures at the end of the day when the kids are beyond exhausted and we are all yelling and jumping in the air to get them to smile. Yep, that was this moment. The girls had enough and Selah looks completely dazed.
But not to be out done. Finn ate plenty of mulch and mud that weekend along with getting into anything and everything he could. My little man! Love it!
Fourth of July weekend was jam packed with fun. Started off with fireworks in Peoria with Tim, Jessie, and their girls. Let's see to sum up the night. Dinner was great because we were in the air conditioning :) The fireworks were a little congested and VERY sticky. Entertaining Finn for 2 hours before fireworks start is always interesting. But, it was great memories and who knows, maybe we will do it again next year.... Yeah, we are crazy like that. Then we had the local parade. Selah was so excited because now she is old enough to remember that parades mean candy, so she was all about it. Once again, scorching hot but fun. We got to sit at my brother's house and the little man in the middle picture is my ever so cute nephew Colt. What a stud!
In the evening we ate at Tadd's sister's house...marvelous food. Then we were thinking of heading home since we had already watched fireworks the previous night, but you know when the whole family is there you have to stay and join in the fun! So across the street to my brother's house and we all sat to enjoy another evening of fireworks. Joking aside, I felt very blessed that weekend to be spending time with family and friends.
Whew! I think I am almost caught up now. August will be here soon enough and then fall. Selah will be three in less than 3 months. How is that possible! Cake ideas anyone? Hope you are all enjoying your summer as well.
The summer started out with getting the boat out. We don't quite do it as much as we used to...the stage of life is what I keep blaming it on. I just can't help out Tadd much with the boat when I have my arms full with two squirmy kiddos. BUT, it is still great for the memories. I just need a long nap afterwards! And yes, Finn is in Selah's old pink life jacket - you can blame Tadd for that one :) To say that Finn loves sitting in the driver's seat is an understatement. It's a challenge every time deciding at what point we are going to pry his arms off of the steering wheel. Selah loves getting in to swim and watching daddy ski too. Although it will be another year until Selah is allowed to ski...don't ask, it is a sore subject. LOL!
And yes, if you stay out long enough you might be lucky enough to catch just a glimpse of me and the air chair....I still got it! Although I can't do anything even close to what my hubby can! No flips for this girl, no high jumps. It thrills me just to know that I can get up and keep my balance :)
We have been spending time with cousins at the zoo. The kids love being with Addy and Brooks.
Love this pictures of Addy and Finn. He looks so smitten with his cousin :) The bottom left picture is when they discovered a chipmunk. I know, so much more exciting than the zoo animals. Kept them excited/entertained for at least 10 minutes until we told them we had to keep moving!
Then we got the pleasure of hosting Tadd's cousin Jon and his wife Amy for a long weekend along with their adorable girls Jada and Adia. Selah and Finn were thrilled to have visitors and extra playmates.
While the men went skiing, the women stayed at home with the kiddos, swimming and playing outside. Taking a walk together, Finn LOVED the wagon.
And yes, there was a lot of drama in the household :) This picture will always make me laugh. You know how it goes, when the adults have this great idea to take pictures at the end of the day when the kids are beyond exhausted and we are all yelling and jumping in the air to get them to smile. Yep, that was this moment. The girls had enough and Selah looks completely dazed.
But not to be out done. Finn ate plenty of mulch and mud that weekend along with getting into anything and everything he could. My little man! Love it!
Fourth of July weekend was jam packed with fun. Started off with fireworks in Peoria with Tim, Jessie, and their girls. Let's see to sum up the night. Dinner was great because we were in the air conditioning :) The fireworks were a little congested and VERY sticky. Entertaining Finn for 2 hours before fireworks start is always interesting. But, it was great memories and who knows, maybe we will do it again next year.... Yeah, we are crazy like that. Then we had the local parade. Selah was so excited because now she is old enough to remember that parades mean candy, so she was all about it. Once again, scorching hot but fun. We got to sit at my brother's house and the little man in the middle picture is my ever so cute nephew Colt. What a stud!
In the evening we ate at Tadd's sister's house...marvelous food. Then we were thinking of heading home since we had already watched fireworks the previous night, but you know when the whole family is there you have to stay and join in the fun! So across the street to my brother's house and we all sat to enjoy another evening of fireworks. Joking aside, I felt very blessed that weekend to be spending time with family and friends.
Whew! I think I am almost caught up now. August will be here soon enough and then fall. Selah will be three in less than 3 months. How is that possible! Cake ideas anyone? Hope you are all enjoying your summer as well.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Man I Love
I have been postponing this entry for a while...why you may ask? Because I feel like in order to put my true feelings down about how I feel about the fathers in my life it takes time :)
First and foremost, I am blessed to be adopted by my Heavenly Father God, who has allowed me to be part of His family. For that I am eternally grateful. And it is only through Him that I have hope, joy, faith, love, and all the blessings that I have been granted in this life!
Next, to my amazing husband...the father of my children. I thank you. Because in my children I see you...
In their crazy, adventurous, happy-go-lucky attitude towards life...
I see you!
In their caring, sweet, loving moments....
I see you!
Seeing the love in their eyes that they have, only when they are with their daddy! Makes my heart melt!
I love you for the father you are to our children. For always being there for me. For making sure that we remember ALL of our children. I would have never imagined that this is where God would have called our lives to be, yet I am thankful...happy. That He has called us and brought us to this path in our lives. I couldn't have done it with anyone else.
I want to thank you for being a Godly father. One who will pass down to our children a Godly heritage. So that they will never doubt for a moment the love that we feel for them and even more the love that God our Father has for them!
For Dad G - We miss you. The ache in our hearts has not gone away! We love you! Everywhere we look, you are there. This time of the year was your favorite. Missing you...give Laynie a big hug and kiss for me! I pray you are spending this Father's Day together basking in God's warm sun. We have not forgotten you and you will FOREVER be in our hearts!
And last but not least, I also want to say Happy Father's Day to my daddy. Whom I love with all my heart. He has always been a safe place to fall for me. Nothing made me happier than crawling up in my daddy's lap. Yeah, doesn't happen as often anymore, but nevertheless it is a place I love to be. :) The feeling of security and love that I feel from my father. It is one that I pray our children can feel always.
A father's love is like none other. It is a great responsibility. To all the fathers out there - Happy Father's Day!!
First and foremost, I am blessed to be adopted by my Heavenly Father God, who has allowed me to be part of His family. For that I am eternally grateful. And it is only through Him that I have hope, joy, faith, love, and all the blessings that I have been granted in this life!
Next, to my amazing husband...the father of my children. I thank you. Because in my children I see you...
In their crazy, adventurous, happy-go-lucky attitude towards life...
I see you!
In their caring, sweet, loving moments....
I see you!
Seeing the love in their eyes that they have, only when they are with their daddy! Makes my heart melt!
I love you for the father you are to our children. For always being there for me. For making sure that we remember ALL of our children. I would have never imagined that this is where God would have called our lives to be, yet I am thankful...happy. That He has called us and brought us to this path in our lives. I couldn't have done it with anyone else.
I want to thank you for being a Godly father. One who will pass down to our children a Godly heritage. So that they will never doubt for a moment the love that we feel for them and even more the love that God our Father has for them!
For Dad G - We miss you. The ache in our hearts has not gone away! We love you! Everywhere we look, you are there. This time of the year was your favorite. Missing you...give Laynie a big hug and kiss for me! I pray you are spending this Father's Day together basking in God's warm sun. We have not forgotten you and you will FOREVER be in our hearts!
And last but not least, I also want to say Happy Father's Day to my daddy. Whom I love with all my heart. He has always been a safe place to fall for me. Nothing made me happier than crawling up in my daddy's lap. Yeah, doesn't happen as often anymore, but nevertheless it is a place I love to be. :) The feeling of security and love that I feel from my father. It is one that I pray our children can feel always.
A father's love is like none other. It is a great responsibility. To all the fathers out there - Happy Father's Day!!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Inspired
I am SO excited to share with you an organization Tadd and I have decided to join forces with. It is called The Forgotten Initiative. It was founded by Jami Kaeb and focuses on four areas: Children, vulnerable adults, foster parents, and agencies. Our vision is to mobilize the Body of Christ in every community across America that is not currently being served. Our method is to mobilize the Body of Christ to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the Forgotten in our communities by partnering with foster care agencies in order to understand the needs of the foster care community, raising awareness in the Body, and connecting the two.
Peoria is full of foster care agencies who need waiting room makeovers and we are gearing up to start our next Project Sunshine, but we need you! There are so many different areas you can share your talents in. If you are willing to serve the Forgotten, please email me at tjgerst@hotmail.com or drop me a comment. As project manager, I am so eager to see how God is going to work in our lives as we strive to serve the Forgotten in our community!
For more info check out their website at theforgotteninitiative.org/
or on facebook http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/forgotteninitiative
or the founder Jami's personal blog at http://www.lifewithapersonalgod.blogspot.com/
Peoria is full of foster care agencies who need waiting room makeovers and we are gearing up to start our next Project Sunshine, but we need you! There are so many different areas you can share your talents in. If you are willing to serve the Forgotten, please email me at tjgerst@hotmail.com or drop me a comment. As project manager, I am so eager to see how God is going to work in our lives as we strive to serve the Forgotten in our community!
For more info check out their website at theforgotteninitiative.org/
or on facebook http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/forgotteninitiative
or the founder Jami's personal blog at http://www.lifewithapersonalgod.blogspot.com/
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Grusy Reunion 2011 Day 2
Day 2 of the Grusy weekend started with a gigantic breakfast at Uncle Brad & Aunt Vera's, a day at Fort Wayne zoo, and lunch at Coney Island. Literally I took about 200 pictures from this day, so bear with me. I tried to narrow them down for all of you :)
Selah loved the zoo. She loved following her cousins around. I don't think she was in the stroller for more than 20 minutes tops and that was about it. Highlights: the REAL pony rides, bongo drums, feeding the giraffe, and the carousel ride.
Love all these girls! We are blessed!
Selah got to feed the giraffe a piece of lettuce. She loved it although I don't have a picture to show the experience, too many little bodies around. Just use your imagine :)
Then it was on to the bongo drums. After the kids had their fun, Adam showed them how it was really done.
The pony rides were quite fun. Selah rode on Cookie. Her pony was a little slow and got lapped a few times, but she didn't seem to notice. All the kids looked like they enjoyed it. Addy and Brooks got on the larger horses. The younger kids all rode the ponies and Bay even rode without any hands for a while :)
Grandma got some snuggling time in with Finn during the pony rides. He was fighting off sleep for a while. The poor buddy was so tired half the time. Full days mean no or little naps. He ended up falling asleep in the stroller for quite a while so that was nice.
Great day filled with cousins. Not for sure which are the real monkeys in the picture, you can decide for yourself :)
Lastly we went on the carousel ride. Finn rode with Grandma and loved every minute!
I used this picture because about half way through Selah started telling me she was done. Ha! I told her we couldn't get off yet, secretly worried that she was going to throw up on me or something. No, she has never done that but she looked a little aprehensive for a while. She ended up being completely fine and smiled a little more during the rest of the ride!
That evening we went back to Brad and Vera's for dinner followed by a sneek peak of Troy's new pad - awesome! After putting the kids down about 11:30 or so, we were up the next morning for church and then after saying our goodbyes headed back to Illinois. Finn slept for about a half hour, yep that is all for the 5 hour ride home..a measly 1/2 hour! And Selah, not a wink. We stopped at Monicals for dinner and during the last 10 minutes of our ride home, this is what I look back to see. Aaahhh! All the mothers out there know what I am talking about. Selah couldn't even hold her head up and Finn couldn't even get his thumb to his mouth he was so exhausted. I guess the full bellies finally did them in. Needless to say, they got woken up after we had unpacked the car and after bathes and playing for a little were in bed by 6:30pm.
The end of a wonderful weekend of memories. Time with family is precious and treasured around this house. Thanks to Uncle Brad and Aunt Vera for all their time and effort they put into making this year's reunion fun filled. We love you all!
Selah loved the zoo. She loved following her cousins around. I don't think she was in the stroller for more than 20 minutes tops and that was about it. Highlights: the REAL pony rides, bongo drums, feeding the giraffe, and the carousel ride.
Love all these girls! We are blessed!
Selah got to feed the giraffe a piece of lettuce. She loved it although I don't have a picture to show the experience, too many little bodies around. Just use your imagine :)
Then it was on to the bongo drums. After the kids had their fun, Adam showed them how it was really done.
The pony rides were quite fun. Selah rode on Cookie. Her pony was a little slow and got lapped a few times, but she didn't seem to notice. All the kids looked like they enjoyed it. Addy and Brooks got on the larger horses. The younger kids all rode the ponies and Bay even rode without any hands for a while :)
Grandma got some snuggling time in with Finn during the pony rides. He was fighting off sleep for a while. The poor buddy was so tired half the time. Full days mean no or little naps. He ended up falling asleep in the stroller for quite a while so that was nice. 
Great day filled with cousins. Not for sure which are the real monkeys in the picture, you can decide for yourself :)
Lastly we went on the carousel ride. Finn rode with Grandma and loved every minute!
I used this picture because about half way through Selah started telling me she was done. Ha! I told her we couldn't get off yet, secretly worried that she was going to throw up on me or something. No, she has never done that but she looked a little aprehensive for a while. She ended up being completely fine and smiled a little more during the rest of the ride!
That evening we went back to Brad and Vera's for dinner followed by a sneek peak of Troy's new pad - awesome! After putting the kids down about 11:30 or so, we were up the next morning for church and then after saying our goodbyes headed back to Illinois. Finn slept for about a half hour, yep that is all for the 5 hour ride home..a measly 1/2 hour! And Selah, not a wink. We stopped at Monicals for dinner and during the last 10 minutes of our ride home, this is what I look back to see. Aaahhh! All the mothers out there know what I am talking about. Selah couldn't even hold her head up and Finn couldn't even get his thumb to his mouth he was so exhausted. I guess the full bellies finally did them in. Needless to say, they got woken up after we had unpacked the car and after bathes and playing for a little were in bed by 6:30pm.
The end of a wonderful weekend of memories. Time with family is precious and treasured around this house. Thanks to Uncle Brad and Aunt Vera for all their time and effort they put into making this year's reunion fun filled. We love you all!
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