Christmas Time 2015

Christmas time, are you listening? Thanks for stopping by, maybe you're a regular follower or here for the first time? If you're here because of our Christmas card, welcome. If you didn't get a Christmas card and would like one, comment below...

Realization: It's impossible to describe our last year in a short paragraph, this is just a short summary.

Feel free to check out the rest of our blog for past vacations, events, life, and opinions...we have a list of posts yet to make, hopefully coming soon :)

Jeremy

Still working at Milan Center Feed & Grain, I guess the theme of this year is change, although this is starting to look like a reality to our small business. The Agriculture industry is still exciting with a constant flow of new challenges but most importantly, new opportunities! 

Maria

She has just finished up a 2 year stint with Christian Community Healthcare and we cannot say enough how much this mission blessed our family. Providing free health care to the community has opened our eyes to the local need. Also a plug, this clinic is being run by a selfless board and operated by Dr.'s and nurses volunteering their time. If you're looking for an avenue to support a real cause, check them out. They can always use your time, financial support, and most of all prayers. She'll be starting at Dupont Hospital here in town this January.

Jones

This dude has probably been the most consuming and drastic change to our lives the last year. It's been an amazing experience to watch him develop, think, grow, crawl, walk, yell, and learn through his 1st year of life. We thank God constantly for a healthy, strong boy and for the opportunity to raise him for His purpose. 

Baby due April '15

Change number two...a shock that will most likely impact Jonesy boy. Maria is feeling "as expected" and so far all Dr. visits have showed good growth and a healthy baby. We don't know yet boy or girl and for now are planning on being surprised. We'll see if mama's patience holds out.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Jeremy, Maria, jones (14mo), and baby (Apr. '15)

A decade seems like a long time..

Again this blog is probably more for the writer than the reader.. feel free to journey through Maria's emotions today  :)
Not a December 5th or December 11th goes by without me remembering 2004's December. It's different now that it's 2014.. 10 years since a sweet and precious soul entered life this side of heaven, for a brief but purposeful stay. I doubt that birthdays are very important in eternity.. but since I'm still bound by this thing called time- I found myself reflecting on Clint Lucas's little life today.. what would have been his 10th birthday.

19 years old, an EKG tech as a sophomore in college- I worked all night while my body was unexpectedly preparing to give birth to a little boy.. I had no idea that I was in labor until my trip home in the morning when I realized my stomach "hurt" every 2 minutes. That day was a blur- back to the hospital, shipped emergently to Akron Summa hospital (Akron Children's was a mile away)- after barely making it there, I delivered a sweet baby boy- in my mind he was going to be dead on arrival- I remember being shocked to hear a tiny voice- one little cry.. he was alive! They were able to intubate him and "stabilize" him enough to transfer him to Children's. "Name?" someone asked- "Clint Lucas" I said- still somewhat in shock that this was all happening. 12 inches long and 1 lb 7oz are not great measurements for a new life. For some reason I thought they'd just whisk him away.. but they got me in a chair and let me see him before the transport. (For some mom's that would be the last time their child was alive to be seen- so many things that can go wrong) It was one of the most precious moments of that whole week to come- A mother seeing her baby for the first time- so thankful he was alive.. I remember that moment very vividly, everything else went away and I was in love. So thankful to even have a moment to touch this sweet baby.. still numb to the reality of the situation, I knew I'd been given a gift.. moments with a soul who had been created in my womb by a God I was desperate to know better.

Clint was shipped to Children's then and I had to stay at the hospital I was at until later the next day. That night once everyone else left so I could sleep I remember weeping for what seemed like a long time. The exhaustion and reality of what was happening kind of found me that night. The emptiness in my life from not having Christ in my heart was probably more evident that day than any other time. I remember pleading with God for this little boy's life... my own heart full of questions and wanting peace that only the Holy Spirit can give.
Today, as I held my 13 month old, 25+ pound sweet Jones Theodore as he slept (I honestly cannot remember the last time he slept on mamma- but today was a really sweet day for that to happen) My heart was so full of thankfulness. Mostly for the PEACE in my life now- no longer an empty soul in need of redemption- I am evidence and living proof of the power of God. If He can redeem my life, he can redeem anything. It's good for me to remember what God has brought me through. I do not live in the past anymore- but at the same time our past has some things to remind us- for me this means remembering to be SO thankful for the grace and mercy I've been shown. I'm still desperately in need of Jesus on a moment to moment basis.. the difference is that he now has taken up residence in my soul. And Clint.. you can find him on the streets of heaven... I'd never wish him back.

Memorial Day '14

Sorry to you regular followers for the delayed blogging!!

May brought the first 3-day weekend and the official opening of the Thunder Lake cabin.

This was also Jones' first trip to the UP!

Kicking off the year right...on the trails.

Grand Marais, MI was our stop along Lake Superior. Town of roughly 3,000 people, this was the only place serving lunch since the other option was getting a kitchen remodel. Grilled burgers were excellent, almost as nice as the Lake  Superior view. Funny story: I was buying a new pair of socks, since my current pair got drowned in an earlier mud puddle, and I handed the lady my credit card and drivers license. She started laughing and turns out she grew up in Fort Wayne a couple miles from where I live now. Small world.

 

 

 

 

So it's the end of May, 60 degrees with the sun out and there's still snow on the ground and ice in the big lakes, pretty awesome. The DNR lady we talk to said that Lake Sup froze 96%...she's in her 70's and could only remember that happening 3 other times. Basically last winter was like our Indiana winter but 20 degrees colder, no thanks. The deer were running out of food and coming into town scavenging so the DNR let the people feed them, next thing you know the wolves followed the deer into town and started taking the women and children!! OK just kidding, but wolves in town was an issue...more for the dogs and cats.

The sand was warm and perfect for a quick nap after stuffing our faces.

Stroller rides are like warm sand...nap city.

Jones' first good look at a Northern Pike.

Triple Trouble.

A little Gma time.

The kids went swimming so how can any adult be sissy enough not to jump in?? It was so cold....like probably 45 degrees cold. Not kidding.

Campfire dessert.

Indian boot weather.

1st pontoon ride

The only picture of Faith we have where she's holding still.

Redemptive double berry tastiness

If at first you don't succeed. .. try try again. . And it. Was. Awesome. 

#ALSicebucketchallenge

Best. day. ever.

We've been trying to go for the last few years. . But it kept not working out. So we finally did it.. mid week on a Wednesday/Thursday we took off work, headed out to the Tucker's overnight,  woke up to a tasty breakfast made by mom (including Jeremy's favorite: blue berry muffins) then headed to Cedar Point while jonesy stayed behind for a thorough spoiling by grandma,  aunt Kristy and a special visit from some cousins:) 

We started the day with Jeremy's favorite: the raptor. . Then the mantus.. then we headed back to the maverick. . By this point the more popular roller coasters were getting 1-2 hour waits.. we also realized at this point that we have aged since our last trip to Cedar Point. . Just a little more quesey,  dizzy, and effected by the rides.. still fun though..

Then I played plinko.. and our day got even better! 3/20 slots had "front of the line" tickets for 2 people per coupon. . The rest were coupons to other things in the park. My first time playing we got 2/5 tickets to the front of the line.. they could be used for the maverick (we did this first and saved 2 hours of waiting. . We felt like VIP ' strutting to the front of the line) then we saved over 2 hours and went to the front of the line on millennium force. .. out of tickets.  So we tried to be regulars again. . Waited 45 minutes in top thrill dragster and it broke so we ate some lunch. We rode a few more of the non roller coaster rides and had only a few hours left.. so we headed back to the plinko game where I won us 3 more front of the line passes.. some people with not as good of luck begged us for one of them and we couldn't say no without feeling greedy so we gave it to them.  

We were pretty excited because this meant we'd get to ride 2 more rides before leaving.  We jumped on the maverick,  headed to millennium force which had been broken and opened right as we walked by so we only waited 30 minutes and saved our last tickets for the dragster. . Which we hopped right on (2 hour wait skipped again! ) it was then time to leave but we felt so blessed after such a fun time- we are attributing our success on the plinko board to God's blessing on our day-long date. It was so great spending a whole day together out of the hectic routine we've found ourselves in this summer.  

As much fun as we had.. we were overjoyed to meet Jones and mom tucker for a tasty meal and hear about their really fun day too. We from there headed towards home but stopped in toledo to give my brother Luke some things and celebrate Shari's birthday over ice cream.  (Got to see sweet Paiton girl too) Jeremy continued the drive home while jonesy and I relaxed. Then around 1130 we unloaded everything and went to bed. Exhausted but refreshed:) thanks Jeremy for another great date.. and thanks Lord for blessing our day!

Daddy Date

Today, Jones got to help Dad shop for more tools...

Double Berry=Double Burnt..

 In a last minute attempt to get a "hot meal" on the table by 6pm for my hubby... I googled an idea inspired by Grandma Rose- she mentioned that she had seen AND recreated something similar to this off a cooking show.. and said it was really easy!
Tonight I found out I'm no Rosie..
Note to self: Cast Iron Skillets are WAY heavier than normal ones= Half of my goods in the bottom of my very hot oven..
Double Berry became Double Burnt :(
I may or may not have over reacted.
The End.

http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/06/18/double-berry-puff-pancake/

Double Berry Puff Pancake

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup halved raspberries
powdered sugar, syrup and/or freshly whipped cream for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Use a blender or hand mixer to combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt.
3. Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over high heat on the stove. Add the butter and melt. Pour the batter into the skillet, then scatter the berries on top. Put the pan in the oven, and bake until puffed and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Slice and serve, topped with powdered sugar, syrup and/or freshly whipped cream, as desired.

A 2 year wait on an awesome surprise

This has been in the works for over 2 years, planned and canceled 6 or more times,  several siblings,  parents,  or friends set up "on call" to babysit.. and finally, one hot July day it came to pass.. my birthday surprise of 2014. We met at the park on Schwartz road.  I had no idea what we were going to do until I saw the "wonder aloft" truck and trailer pull in across the street.  5 people got out and began working on inflating a huge hot air balloon. 

A few first thoughts were: "ok.. so we're going to do this" 

I also had in my head a romantic Time of me and Jeremy enjoying a beautiful ride.. overlooking God's amazing scenery,  a few kisses here and there....however I was a little concerned about his hot air balloon skills- I didn't realize that Larry would fly with us at first.. so this was both comforting and disappointing at the same time.. now that the ride is over.. I'm really glad he came along- he's been in flight 840+ times:) and has a license. .. 

Another thought I had before taking off was "well. . It's a good thing we had our will made this year in case anything happens to us.. at least we've got things in order for our son".. you can tell I'm not used to living too near the edge.. I prefer caution most days (possibly inherited this from my mother?)

And we're uup and away! 

We thought about stopping in for Wednesday night church. . But hollered at people in the parking lot instead.. 

We also noticed there was plenty of room in the parking lot on a wednesday night. . 

Kind of cool seeing our church from this view..

The city of Grabill was also cool.. we flew right over Christian Community Health Care Clinic too!

Jeremy thought this was pretty cool.  He asked lots of questions and I'm pretty sure he's ready to go himself at this point. . If only we had $20,000-$50,000 to spend on our own balloon. .

"The picture" every one gets while on a hot air balloon ride

How we both felt inside a little at times. .

We considered landing in Steve and Jane's back yard.. but power lines and wind direction prevented this.. 

The "romance" that crossed my mind initially. . 

Steve/tyler/Joel .. your corn is looking good

Jeremy and Larry

The back yard we landed in brought 2-3 families out with lots of excited kids.. it isn't every day a hot air balloon lands in your backyard:)

We hit a few things on out way down. . Some large hedge - tree things by a pond and some corn stalks before we skid a few times on the ground and the crew stopped us. 

This is the kind of romance"eros" love our Father has bestowed on us.. such beauty!

After each flight they do a toast based on a tradition started in the 1600's.. 

And the final pictures with the owners by the truck. What an awesome surprise Jerms!  Thanks a bunch:)