36 Hours in Paradise

This past weekend I had the opportunity to fly to California to watch a dear friend marry the man she loves.  I love my life, but my world is usually very small - changing diapers, making dinner, paying bills.  So the idea of jumping on a plane and flying across the country was a bit unnerving.  Yet, I couldn't imagine not being there for Kelsey's wedding.  And truth be told, it was a great chance to break out of my small world to enjoy just 36 hours in paradise.

The first book I've read in a long time that doesn't have 

talking animals or brightly colored cartoons.  

A surprise sighting of an uninvited wedding guest, 

a beautiful whale playing just off the coast.

A beautiful bride with a look of love in her eyes.

The sun setting over Zuma Beach.

Spent the night in LAX, waiting for my early morning flight.

My ticket home!

It was a wonderful 36 hours, but I was ready to see my family again.

Meanwhile, back in Michigan...

Joe and the kids also had a fun weekend.

They made forts in the living room.

Spent some time at the library.

Made life-size portraits of themselves.

And visited with friends, 

even playing some video games with the big kids.

I think Joe was surprised at our son's voracious appetite.

He even managed to give baths to all three kids. 

 Not an easy task. What a great guy!

For me, it really was 36 hours in paradise, but the truth is, there's no place I'd rather be than with my family.  I'm so grateful to come home to them!

Birthday Girl

Claire's 6th birthday

After a fun morning at the television studio and a great afternoon at school, we spent a quiet evening at home celebrating Claire's birthday.  Claire requested chicken and rice casserole for dinner, and of course, chocolate cake for dessert.

A homemade card from Daddy.  

I really like how he drew himself such large muscles.

This past month, Claire has been really interested in gardening.  For her birthday, she asked for the tools and supplies needed to grow her own garden.  We're both looking forward to getting started this spring.

Over the weekend, we had a special party with Joe's side of the family. It was exciting to have everyone over to celebrate Claire's big day.

A craft and stamping kit from Grandpa and Grandma Rosen

Easy-Bake Oven mixes from Grandpa and Grandma Puplis

And a surprise from Aunt Melissa who said to 

"check the mailbox in a few days".  That will be fun!

It was such a special evening with a lot of laughter and fun.  And even some beautiful music thanks to Melissa.  We're so grateful to have had everyone together to celebrate Claire's birthday.

And we also had a wonderful time celebrating with my side of the family the following weekend.  

We had food to fit Claire's garden themed birthday.

And Claire was certainly happy to accept more great gifts.

Paper, markers, scissors, tape and more paper from the Sternbergs.

Hours of entertainment for our little artist.

Also, Grandpa's incredible craftsmanship allows Claire 

to be creative in a new and special way.

"Dirt Dessert" to inspire our gardening endeavors

Our dear Claire, we hope you had a great birthday, Sweetie.  We know that you will absolutely love being six years old.  Just don't let it go by too quickly.  It is such joy to watch you grow each and every day.  We love you! 

A Rising Star

Last month, Claire was pictured in the Advance Newspaper, 

dancing at the library's story time.  

Also recently, she had her first church solo.  

I don't have a video of her original performance, but afterwards I asked her to sing again how she sang in church.  Her solo was actually an impromptu event.  We were having a good old fashioned hymn sing, where we could request songs.  Claire raised her hand and asked to sing "Step by Step", her favorite song lately.  The worship leader asked if she'd like to come up and teach the song to everyone.  Claire went up without hesitation and sang her little heart out. 

And then today she was invited to help with a segment on FOX 17's morning show.

We had actually been invited by Leigh Ann because she was featuring Africa's Child during her Thrifty Thursday segment.  Since it's Claire's birthday, I thought it would be fun to take her to see behind the scenes.  During a break, Leigh Ann asked if Claire would like to help her with an upcoming craft segment.  Claire was definitely nervous for this, but she still wanted to do it.   And I was nervous having her on live television, but she did well.  

Afterwards, she was all smiles!  

I'm sure she'll remember this birthday for a long time.

Ompahlocele Awareness

January 31 is National Omphalocele Awareness Day.  

To raise awareness, we wear black and white.

Omphalocele is a type of abdominal wall defect in which internal organs remain outside the abdomen.  Omphalocele occurs in 2.5 out of 10,000 births and is associated with a high rate of mortality (25%) and severe malformations such as cardiac anomalies (50%) and neural tube defect (40%). Approximately 15% of live-born infants with omphalocele have chromosomal abnormalities. [Wikepedia]

Looking at those percentages, I am just in wonder at our beautiful, healthy boy.  We were preparing for the worst but are grateful for the best.  To God be the glory.

Pokagon 2014

I'm finally getting around to posting our 

pictures from Pokagon.  Better late than never!

Our 23rd year at Pokagon, though our first year with just 

our immediate Sternberg family.  We missed our extended family, but it's 

always so nice to be back.  

It was the year of Andrew's dangling tooth - literally hanging on by a thread!  Indiana's tooth fairy had to make a special stop while we were there.

It is so special for me to now have my own family 

at Pokagon.  They love it as much as I do.

First things first, the kids wanted to go swimming.

One milestone this year was Claire's new interest in the hot tub.

Grandma and George enjoy watching from the sidelines.

That evening, the kids exchanged their gifts with each other.  

George loves his soft new teddy bear from Gracie.

Uncle Mike reads Andrew his new dragon book.

Grandpa and Ruby Jean 

Claire was excited to give Grandma and Grandpa the 

dancing reindeer she picked out for them.

Cuddling in bed with their new books.

And after the kids are in bed, the grown-ups get to play!

The next day, the kids bundled up for our annual hike to the Nature Center.

No snow this year!

Henry cuddles with Andrew, his cousin and best friend.

After a fun day of play, it was nice to unwind in our p.j.'s.

Uncle Mike and the kids even played Mall Madness. 

Ruby gives George a big smooch.

His expression says it all!

Kelsey has little luck hiding from the camera.

Is it too much to ask that all 7 grandkids smile at the camera 

simultaneously?  Good thing they're so cute!

Watch and learn kids.  After 23 years, the four of us 

have perfected the toboggan picture.

On our way home, we stopped for lunch, where

the boys had fun climbing on Grandpa.

Two peas in a pod.

These pictures warm my heart.  There are so many great memories, 

so much love and laughter, as we reflect on our time together at Pokagon.  

What a gift for our family.  We're already looking forward to Pokagon 2015!