1) For starters, planning our nine-year anniversary celebration. We're spending a weekend (sans kids!) in lovely Detroit, MI. Seriously! We've never spent time there it all and we figured it was time for somewhere other than Chicago to get all of the glory and travel business.
2) The Kurths were here! Those wonderful friends of ours drove all the way from Texas to Grand Rapids--via upstate New York. With three kids! It was a fantastic visit. But when is that ever not the case? Pictures to come.
3) We're not sure what is cutest about Carrigan at the moment--her six teeth or her new word, "apple".
4) The big girls are continuing to do well in school. Mali enjoys it more than she did last year and has no separation anxiety to speak of. Brinnly has surprised us all about that. She treasures her "individual" time at school independent of her sisters. Poor Carrigan wants a turn there too. Two more years, we tell her.
5) We've been thinking about this blog and how best to continue it without becoming burned out or boring our "audience". Is Facebook really killing the family blog? More pictures? Less pictures? A running theme? Time off? Hmmm....suggestions welcome.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
October 27, 2010
Nine years ago today, this particular Ward family was established. We lived in a small apartment with a Milwaukee address. Two degrees between us with hopes of more. Two beginning careers. No kids or babies but dreams of a full house someday. Quite a bit of mismatched furniture. And lots of plan for the future.
Fast-forward to 2010. We now live in a four bedroom house with a Grand Rapids address. We love how filled it becomes for holiday celebrations and visiting friends. The bedroom across the hall from us is painted bright yellow and has a crib, a toddler bed, and an orange 4-year-old's bed. Lots of princess clothes are draped over our now slightly matched furniture. We've added two master's degrees which we like to think have helped us in the recent years navigate the difficult economy and run our household. We still have lots of plans for the future--probably more now than ever.
Thank you to all of you who joined us in windy, rainy Berrien Springs nine years ago today. We love remembering what a speical day that was. We pray God's blesssings on your families as well.
Fast-forward to 2010. We now live in a four bedroom house with a Grand Rapids address. We love how filled it becomes for holiday celebrations and visiting friends. The bedroom across the hall from us is painted bright yellow and has a crib, a toddler bed, and an orange 4-year-old's bed. Lots of princess clothes are draped over our now slightly matched furniture. We've added two master's degrees which we like to think have helped us in the recent years navigate the difficult economy and run our household. We still have lots of plans for the future--probably more now than ever.
Thank you to all of you who joined us in windy, rainy Berrien Springs nine years ago today. We love remembering what a speical day that was. We pray God's blesssings on your families as well.
Friday, October 08, 2010
The Ryans!
Blogger is giving me some issues when it comes to formatting (or maybe it's because I'm a social worker by trade, NOT a web designer) but here's a glimpse into our fantastic 24 hours with the Ryans.
This was the first time we were all together with six kids, all of whom were out of the womb. Wow! It was refreshing to be around the family we learned to parent alongside with. We like the same foods, bibs, toys, midwives, doctors, blogs, hobbies that we don't have time for, and potential future cities. The kids picked up right where they left up and chased each other around like old times.
There were so many combinations of kids. Nine, actually, Mike informed us. Including Jack/Amalia, the first borns. Brinnly/Jack, the chatty, 3-year-olds armed with stuffed animals. Brinnly/Abigail, the higher-maintenance middles with a strong dislike for baby-sitters and bottles when younger. Abigail/Carrigan, the blondies. Carrigan/Iris, the sweetheart babes. Maybe someday we will actually take pictures that include the CMU-alum dads and the running, blogging, knitting moms.
This was the first time we were all together with six kids, all of whom were out of the womb. Wow! It was refreshing to be around the family we learned to parent alongside with. We like the same foods, bibs, toys, midwives, doctors, blogs, hobbies that we don't have time for, and potential future cities. The kids picked up right where they left up and chased each other around like old times.
There were so many combinations of kids. Nine, actually, Mike informed us. Including Jack/Amalia, the first borns. Brinnly/Jack, the chatty, 3-year-olds armed with stuffed animals. Brinnly/Abigail, the higher-maintenance middles with a strong dislike for baby-sitters and bottles when younger. Abigail/Carrigan, the blondies. Carrigan/Iris, the sweetheart babes. Maybe someday we will actually take pictures that include the CMU-alum dads and the running, blogging, knitting moms.
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| The June-Girls |
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| The firstborns |
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| The book-ends |
We went down to ArtPrize but the huge lines led us to the children's activities at the art museum and that was pretty much it. Oh, and ice cream of course, but that's a given when the Ryans are town,
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Jack loved this pom-pom. Or should I say, the wind-fan/street-sweeper |
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Happy Birthday Grandma Sandy
We celebrated with a trip to the beautiful Meijer Gardens to check out the Chihuly exhibit again.
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| Carrigan loved the excuse to show off her walking |
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| Add caption |
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| Mali likes any excuse for a tea party |
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| Yes, Carrigan really is in there--can you find her? |
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| A picture-perfect afternoon |
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