A year in review!! Part 1

Seriously, I feel like I just sat down and said the words......
Where does time go??? I remember my aunt Joyce telling me when I was in about 9th grade, that once you graduated time just fly's by! Isn't that the truth!

So here is a look back on 2014...............

January usually bring the same thing. Fishing. In fact as I sit here writing this, the boys are out fishing.

Jeremy went with his group of guys to Canada last Jan, of course they caught some beauties!!

In February, my boys were invited to go on a day trip with Uncle Dave and Cousin Nick to South Dakota. I am not sure what was more exciting to the little boys, fishing or the fact they were in another state!

In March Jeremy got to go with Izzy to the Long Lake Conservation trip. Each year the school takes the 6th graders. It is an amazingly fun trip. And a little Daddy Daughter bonding time is nice too!

                           April brings Awana games. The kids get to compete against other churches in our region. This was Izzy's last year in Awana. :(

April also brought along a project that we had talked about for a long time, but actually started. And when I saw we, I mean Jeremy and Jeff! They started the remodel of the boat. Lots of man hours went into this project! 

April also brought a little something for Mom. Mel, Tina, Carissa, Julie and I all went and got matching tattoos. Well not totally matching as we all did our own little flare to them. But the infinity sign is there on all of them. Forever, and ever soul mates we will be!! 

Ahhh, May, well, the boat is done. Isnt it pretty! We spent time online looking for the decals to make it looking as close as to how we got it. Needless to say, we think it turned out great.

May also brought this handsome guy heading to prom. He sure cleans up nice, doesn't he!

June-

Well that of course bring in more fishing!! Jeremy, Josh and Jack had a wonderful boys week up in Canada. There was many fish caught and many stories to tell. But looking at the smiles on their faces is story enough!! 

I did get a text when the boys were on their way home that the trip got a whole lot more expensive. I was wracking my brain wondering what broke that we would have to fix. Then I get a picture of Josh and his monster......

Currently at the taxidermy!

To be continued.......

Our Basketball boy.....

Our boy joins Basketball........

Jack came home from school one day and said that a coach would be calling and that he wanted to join basketball. It was the first time Jeremy or I had heard about it, but said we would look into it. When we heard it was a traveling league we were not to excited. Some of these leagues are crazy with the amount of traveling they do. But the more we looked at it, we talked with Jack about the commitment he would need to put into it for Jeremy and I to put this much commitment into it. And the next thing you know. We are a basketball family! 

Jack had his first game this weekend in Waconia. Talk about the boy being nervous. He has a lot of height on him. But he has never played Bball before. The first game started out rough. The boys did a GREAT job on defense. But actually getting the ball into the net was proving to be hard. At one point Jack and a boy named Hayden looked like they were playing catch over the hoop. But the second part of the game, the boys were able to score a couple, and still played awesome defense. Jack scored his first basket. I was watching it, holding my breath, and praying, dear God, please give him this...show him he can do it......and he did it. Needless to say the smile on Jacks face was worth a MILLION dollars! 

The second game.....well, the boys were on fire!! We commented that I don't think they could of missed a shot if they tried. Another win for the DC 5th grade boys. This should give them some confidence to play a good season! 

A picture of Jack and his favorite coach!

Great job Jack, we are SO proud of you!

Love to all, 

Mom

Time for an update

It of course has been a while since I did an update. Not that I don't think about doing one. But I never think we are exciting enough to update all the time. But this amount of time between may be to far the other way.

 

Amanda has started her year at RidgeWater College in Hutchinson. She is taking courses for an Accounting degree. She is living at home and will be starting a new job at Wells Fargo. We are very excited to see where this next adventure takes her. Her and Stephen see each other as there time allows. He is deep into his Paramedic courses so they both stay very busy.

Josh is in his senior year. I am sure that every mother on the face of the earth says....where does the time go. But seriously, where does it. He did an awesome job with football this year. He started every game, and played the last few games with a sprain in the ankle on both feet. But after being pulled the last couple of years due to concussions, he was very happy to be able to play. He is doing work program this second trimester. He is working for my uncle George. He likes is a lot. And the things he is learning will defiantly help him along the road of like! At this point his plans are to apply to Ridgewater college in Hutch for their welding program.

Isabella is in 7th grade. Its a whole lot faster then the first 2 grades of the middle school. But she is chugging away. She is a very talented little lady. She is doing jazz band, and drumline this year. Those two things keep her very busy, but she loves it. She has music running through her veins, and to keep her busy with something she loves is to keep her happy. And that is music to our ears.....day, night, morning, evening, suppertime, breakfast, you name is, she is playing some kind of music.

Jackson is in 5th grade and has transitioned well into the middle school this year. He has made great new friends. One of which is actually a 2nd cousin, but I suppose when you only see each other once a year at Christmas....your not always going to remember a face. Jack has taken up basketball this year. He was pretty nervous to join as he has not played before. Well other than in our yard, shooting hoops. But he is really catching on nicely and it is fun to go and watch him!

Well, that is a quick update on the kiddo's. Like I said not to much happening. We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays and time spent with the family. Nothing better than that!

Much love for now,

Jesse

A Bond so tight.....

When you really stop to think about your life. It is amazing the things you can remember. I was recently asked about a member of my family, to which I gave my standard short answer to the question. And the person I spoke to said; oh have I always felt so sorry for you girls. I had to stop to ask her why? She didn’t quite know what to say and to be honest, I didn’t either.

 That got me to thinking. Really thinking. Did I have something for someone to feel bad for me? It’s been so long since I looked at the dark side of things; and to be honest, I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to revisit them or not. I finally just looked at this concerned person and said, Please don’t feel sorry for us. We never did. You may look at us and think we were missing something, but let me tell you what we had.

For years we sisters have been there side by side.

 Sometimes with the weight of the world on our shoulder.

But always there to keep each other on the right foot.

 Side by side showing each other that with Love, there was always a way.

And when the weight of the world got to heavy at times we always had Faith that we could carry on.

And anytime one of us needed a little Hope the others stepped in.

We have always Hoped for peace, had Faith we would find it and Loved one another through it all.


We have always been each others best friends, and forever will be.



And God knew we needed an Angel to guide us at times. So he sent one of those too!

And somewhere along the line he must of figured that our brother would not go get matching infinity signs tattoos so he gave him a wife who would put up with and love his sisters that would!

So you see. In this crazy wonderful life that we live. We are grateful. We are loved. And we know that God has given us the most precious gifts. Faith, Hope, and love for infinity......

1 Corinthians 13:13

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The importance of Dating.......

So I have been dating someone. Life has been good. We have been sneaking away every other Saturday morning and grabbing a cup of coffee. And we have been trying the opposite Thursday to go out for supper.................
And this romance started with an email.
I got an email saying, can we go out on a date. Just once a month. You and me. I told him, the funny thing was I had wanted to run a Saturday morning coffee date by him for a long time. But that stupid thing called life kept getting in the way.
We decided that life sometimes just had to wait. We were going to start dating. I love it. I LOVE IT. On our Saturday morning dates we go to the Grounds in Cokato, sit by the big picture windows and talk about a whole lot of nothing.
The first Thursday night we went to The Red Lodge. WE love that place. Its always slow, and usually has horrible service. But we are there on a date. Just me and my date. I really don't want you coming to my table all the time. Me and this boy, we are connecting. We have nothing but time and eyes for each other. So go ahead, cook my food slow. I am here with the love of my life.
The next Thursday date, well, I had a crappy day at work and it was like -100 degrees outside. I wanted to go home, turn on the fireplace and cuddle up on the couch. And that is what we did. Kids went to bed and we sat up and watched the fireplace.
Let me tell you this dating thing is awesome. I love having myself out there again. I spent many years raising kids, doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and all of that stuff. Not that I don't do that stuff now, but I remember why I loved dating. I love the connecting with my husband. I love the undivided attention we can give one another.
Not to mention, the kids giggle when we tell them we are going on a "date"


Its the small things people. Keep them small.

2013 and Faith......

I can vividly remember sitting on the couch Jan 1 of 2013. I was crying. I was sad. I was thinking of all the things that I was feeling sorry for in my life. Friendships lost, not knowing why. Relationships where one just walked away, and seemed to be happier. And I was feeling SO sorry for myself. I was in a deep dark place and knew that that was NOT how I wanted to start off my New Year. I remember going into the kitchen and turning on the radio, and the above song was on.

Now I believe in God, I believe that he sent his one and only son to save us. I believe that he loves my sinner self. But, I wasn't relying on God as I should. I was to consumed in this world of mine to let go, and let God. I grabbed my phone and went to my Bible app found a devotional and started reading. I did a 14 day devotional that was truly a great way to start 2013. It was Joyce Meyers, Battleship of the mind. I still want to buy the book and do that whole thing, but one step at a time.

I knew that the next year would be full of changes, challenges, and hard times. But what this opened up was my mind to focus on the good times. This year I put in more time with my Bible then I ever have, and I can honestly say that what a year this has been. We still had our changes and challenges, but what we didn't have was hard times. We had changes and challenges. And as a team, the Bakers and God, we made it through each and everyone of them, some with a few (or a lot) of tears, but most with laughter and love.

I looked back at my Bible app and saw that I have finished 60% of my study. So not perfect, but what it is, is; 60% more time with God than I did the year before. That is 60 % of my troubles, challenges, changes, good times and bad, with God. That is 60% of my time giving glory to the one who gives us glory. And what that done is amazing amazing things!

So as I sit here Jan 1 of 2014, I have a smile on my face. I am thinking of all the blessing that I have had in 2013. I am looking forward to a new year with new challenges and change, and I know that with my faith, I can only continue to grow. I can not wait to see with God has in store for me for 2014.

Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

God Bless my friends.
Happy New Years.
Jesse

One more.......

So I thought I would just show a little cuteness too......


She is just cute. Don't know how she is going to steal our hearts yet, as she is purely getting by on cuteness to this point!!!!
Brynlee......
To be continued...................................

Eyes that melt your heart.....

Ahhh, my little C-dude.....

Now, I think I am on to this little man. Look at those eyes, Look deep....Deeper....Ok, in love yet? Should be. Anyway, I am on to him. This little man is WAY to smart for his britches. I have always said, he is going to be the master mind of A LOT of trouble. He will not be the one to pull it off, but he will be in the background laughing his arse off! He always looks like he is deep in thought. He is quiet to start off with, but man give him a minute or two and he will talk your ear off. I love having him with us. He doesn't give away hugs for free. If you get one from him, man it feels like you just won the lottery! He sinks right in and melts into your arms. This little man has a big big heart. Knows what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, and most of the time it will be in his undies and boots. Get over it, that is how he is going to be dressed, but lets face it. If we really had the choice, wouldn't we all?
Cohen is a super hero at heart, he is here to save the world, and if given enough time and enough clean pairs of super hero undies, he will!
Cohen my man, keep on planning. Keep us on our toes and make us think. This world is yours for the taking!! Go get it little man.

Best day of her life.....

I am getting a little off on my posts here. But I had to share this little ditty with you guys. So those of you who know my Izzy, know she is almost always happy. Now don't get me wrong, I can make this girl crabby in the blink of an eye. However, by the next blink she is sharing a story with me about something else. I have never in my life met someone who can let things roll off her so easily. She does NOT get that from me, I am however, trying to get that from her.
The other day we were driving out to church and this song was playing and she was singing along and just had this happy glow about her. I asked if this was one of her "jams". Yep. She said, This song is a great song to start the day with. Its always a new day and each day should be the best day of your life. Sometimes my kids blow me away, well frankly they blow me away often.
So make this the best of your life.

P Diddy........

Now you may get sick of me saying stuff like....Ray of Sunshine, They are like sunshine, but you are just going to have to stick with me here. Or not, your choice.
But this next little person, who I love so dearly, is truly a Ray of Sunshine.....

Seriously, Can you even stand to look at that face and not smile??? Wowza! Parker, what to say about this little guy? Well, everything that is good in the world is what this little boy is made of. Now don't get me wrong, I am sure there are puppy dog tails and all the things the poem says, but mixed in with it is the ability to live life to the fullest. He is non-stop action. And the fun kind at that. He makes you stop and smell the roses, slow down and look. And his heart. I mean really for being 3 years old, he knows how to love. He is always there with a hug or a kiss. And of course an I love you. My hope for you my sweet Parker, is that you never loose your sense of adventure. Because life can get pretty boring if you do. Keep exploring my sweet child, your roadmaps are written in the stars, just like the ones in your eyes!

This little ray of Sunshine.....

NEXT!!!!
This little sunshine didn't come to us by "blood", she came to us as a package deal, and boy, what a deal did we get!!!

Miss Aubrie. I can remember the very first time we met her. We were up at Sherwood for our annual Chap family Camping trip. Out of the car got this sweet shy little girl. So polite, little quiet, maybe a little nervous, and then she saw all the other kids. And off she was! She fit in like she had been coming to every Chap camping from day 1. I saw her today at the Chap family Christmas, and she was running by me, slams on the breaks, backs up and gives me a hug...Hi Jesse....and off she was again. Now, I think you probably know by now, that its those hugs that get to me! Holy Moly do I love them.
Aubrie, she is just a good kid. She loves to play, and the sparkle in her eyes, well, they will light the darkest days. She is one of the hardest working kids I know. I love going out to there house and seeing the mud boots lined up!
Aubrie, I love you, I am so glad you let us be part of your family. You make us very lucky people. Keep those eyes sparkling, you never know who's day you are making brighter.
-Auntie

My first niece.....

So being the oldest, and having the first Grandchildren, I can remember the day this little lady came into the world!

Oh my goodness, you had your Auntie Mel and Auntie Jesse just melting! You were so stinkin cute! Miss Kyleah, well she is turning into quite the little lady. I still see a little girl when I look at her, and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around that little girl not being there. My all time favorite memory of Ky was when she was about 1 1/2 or 2 years old. Jeremy and I were watching her over night. There was some star showers or something happening that night, and we set out alarm for 2 am. Well we ended up waking Ky up too, so we had a blanket laid on the grass outside and laid her in between us and were watching the stars. All she kept doing was hitting Jeremy and I, STARS, STARS, I see stars.......I think Jeremy and I were at that point more amused by this 2 year olds amusement then the stars themselves. It was truly one of those seeing something with the eyes of a 2 year old moments! It is also one of those moments that will forever be in my heart.
Ky, you will have to forgive me, but when I see you, I see a 2 year old. You will always be my Ky-burger. ALWAYS! 
Love you to the stars Miss Ky,
Keep seeing all the wonders in this world, you see things we forget as adults, just reminding us to keep seeing!

This Little Lady

How do I love thee,

let me count the ways....

1.Those sweet dimples on your cheek.

2. The way you say HI Jesse.

3. The way your face lights up with joy when you see Izzy.

4. Your sweet little voice.

5. The curl in the back of your hair.

6. The way you love your Mommy and Daddy.

7. You are SO considerate of other people.

Miss Madi, I could keep going and going. You have always been our peanut, small and quiet. But you have the biggest loudest heart of any child I know. If only you can stay this way forever, the world WILL be a better place.

Thank you for letting me be your Auntie!

Love

So I was laying in bed the other night, thinking I just started blogging again. And I hadn't posted in a while and I wanted to keep posting. I have lots of things to say, but never stop to say them. I decided that I was going to blog about Love. Not the mushy, I love you Big Daddy kind. I mean, I love you Big Daddy. But the other kind of love. The one that makes my heart melt. The one that would stop me cold and turn me into a puddle. The kind of love a mother feels for her kids, OR her nieces and nephews. So over the next couple of weeks I will post my love to each one of them.
                                                                      Up First.......
                                                                     This Guy!!!!!
                                                                         Nick

We are at church on Sunday and he is looking at me, and then he feels my hair. And he is staring at it. I say what's up buddy?

Well, your hair is kind of red. Its a little bit like mine. Red you know. I said; yeah, you should see it if I don't dye it. Then it really looks red. And he says, could you not dye it for a little bit so you can match me.

Yep.

 

This little man has had me from the moment I met him. He is FULL of life. What's next? Lets play. What can we build, where can we explore. So for all of that, I can never wait to hear what he comes up with next. Because it is him. Its not what he is "suppose" to say, its what he is thinking, and I tell you what. I want to hear what he is thinking!!!

But that's not the only reason, The reason he melts my heart is, I will see him at either church or Awana. And I always put my arm out for a half hug, but do I get a half hug? NOPE, I get a arms around the neck and a kiss on the cheek. MELTS. MY. HEART!

I know that full hug and kiss on the cheek are going to be gone soon. But I have everyone of them numbered in my heart.

Nick my man. Keep smiling that big smile. Keep loving with all your heart. Keep exploring until you need to find new land to explore. This world is yours for the taking. Keep being you. Cause I love that you!

<3 auntie="" p="">

Been a while

 

I am not even sure where to start! Last blog I wrote was that we were on to the phase of our lives that included college visits. Oh how time has gone fast. Of the two schools we visited, Amanda ended up at University of Minnesota Mankato!

 Move in day was August 22. Now that I am 3 weeks away from it, I can think of it and not cry. Now most of you know me and know that I am a cry baby by nature. I am cool with it. I have grown into it. We got her room all set up and got her settled in. And then the afternoon became this anxiety ridden day of dread. The dread that I had to leave. And at the point that we just were all making small talk, both her and I with tears in our eyes, I knew it was time to pull the band aide off. The walk from her dorm room to our car felt.....well, I don't have a word for it. All I know is that I cried, tears rolling, snot coming out the nose, I cant breath cry. I wanted to hold on to her forever as we stood by the car. I just wanted to rewind everything. I would take back every sleep less night, every cold, every teething session, I would even clean up vomit......
But I cant. I have to let her go live her life. As Jeremy reminded me, my favorite saying is.



And I had to let her use those wings.....Young Moms out there, screw this saying keep them Mamas boys and girls.....
Ok No. Back on track. Phew....
Its true. I raise the kids to have minds of their own. Letting them know that its ok to be your own people. You will always have a home base, and no matter where life takes you. I will be here, cheering you on.
I am doing much better with her being gone. Its the moments before I go to sleep, when I am saying my prayers, and mentally retucking everyone into bed that it still gets to me. I have never been one to be able to sleep well if all my kids are not under my roof. So she gets an extra prayer. And a kiss blown through the air.
 I read a book for book club once, and there was a saying in there....Now forgive me, because I didn't write it down, so I only kind of remember it, but it was something like....
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please help me bridge the gap between what I had time to teach her and what she needs to learn yet.
Amen.......

Visits........

2 College visits scheduled. Phew. Nothing to say about this one. Just processing..........

You know its a good weekend when........

When you are having so much fun that you don't take out your camera. I took it with having good intentions of taking lots of first trip of the year pics. Nope. Didn't happen. What did happen was lots of good old fashion talking among parents and kids. We decided to call the weekend Putting on the Brakes.
What I learned this weekend was, after a busy long winter full of things to do. One weekend at the cabin can reconnect your family and recharge you batteries.
And the coolest thing I learned?? Our kids like us. Not the I want a new bike like us. But a your a good Mom and Dad like us.
Sweet.

Open Fishing

Jack at open fishing!!

MOM!! That thing would NOT hold still!!

Finally, good grip, Jack's 27 inch Walleye!!

That fishing thing is hard work!! Anyone who knows our Jack, knows that when it is time to shut down. Its time to shut down!! No matter what!!

Jeremy, Jack, Jeff and Mason left Friday after work to head up to our place in Garrison. They were on the lake ready to put lines in at midnight! Jack had a BLAST!! And Dad was super proud of our little fisherman!

Prom



Flowers done by Stephens sister, Jennifer.



Amanda and Stephen



Prom was this last weekend for Amanda. Great time was had by all!!

Wrapping my head around it....

Or however the saying goes. I know I have 2 years yet...but, the past 15 have gone so fast that I cant not imagine how fast the next two will go. We are getting SOOO much information from colleges that I almost dread getting the mail. Its just coming and coming. Everyday. More letters. More emails.....more more more. But listen here, I am not ready to let her go. She is my sunshine on a rainy day. And even the 1 argument we have had in the last year, I am not sure who was saying they were sorry first her or me. No need to point out who was wrong, I just wanted to be with her and talk with her. And it feels good. It feels good to know that she knows that God put us together for a reason. And I thank him for it every day!! But its all happening to fast. She will be 16 in 2 months. 2 months. Then she will drive, work, drumline, youth group....but I also do know that when the weeks have been long. There will finally be a night she gets home, and I will know she needs me. She will crawl on my bed and just start talking. And once she starts, I move over, share some blanket and let her talk. Those nights are awesome. I love those nights. Little tired the next day at work. But well worth it. Its been fun, as Josh is also starting those late night talks. I think we were up till 11:15 the other night. Me, Jeremy, Josh and Amanda. We talked and talked and then talked some more. I think that was the night that they both understood, that we understood, some of the things they are going through. I love my kids. I love them. And when I look at them I see these perfect, wonderful beings.....I will stop my ramblings with a wish for everyone to see perfect when they see there kids. And with one of my favorite sayings.

Two great gifts a parent can give its child, one is roots, and one is wings.