Christmas Day

Miss BedHead opening presents

A KITCHEN SET!!!

Riding her pony.

We celebrated with my family on Christmas Day. We started with just the 3 of us at our house in the morning and then headed to my mom & dads a little later. "Santa" brought Avery a new kitchen set, which she loves. ( Kraig and I wish we had taken credit ) Avery was spoiled and loves playing with all of her new toys. This Christmas could not have been better. We had 2 days filled with so much fun, laughter, love and rejoicing over Christ's birth. Merry Christmas, we hope yours was as wonderful as ours.

Christmas Eve

The "big" kids

Uncle Kraig & Naomi

We started off all the Christmas fun with the Kuipers' family. We had such a fun night together as a family watching all the kids play together and get so excited about presents. We are blessed to have such wonderful family to spend the holidays with.

Avery's First Haircut

Ready and waiting

Here we go...

This is fun!

Baking Night

My mom, my sister and I try to get together every year before Christmas to bake a bunch of goodies. This year Avery got to help us. It is a fun tradition and it's very helpful to get all our baking done in one night.

Our baby boy

The picture didn't turn out great but I still wanted to share a recent ultrasound pic of our little guy. I am 27 weeks pregnant right now and things are going well. Early in my pregnancy I had mild placenta previa but a recent ultrasound shows that it has been resolved. Praise God! He is healthy and growing and so am I. I have not felt good this pregnancy and continue to struggle with that but am thankful for a healthy baby. We cannot wait to meet him. Right now, March still feels like a long way away but it will come fast after the holidays. We are getting his nursery ready and preparing for a new baby in the house. We are so blessed.

Big Girl Room

Such a proud big girl all ready for bed in her big girl bed.

Wall art above her bed.

I really cannot believe that I am posting about Avery's big girl bed. I just can't believe that she is old enough already. I remember working on her nursery, Kraig assembling the crib and anticipating when I could lay her in it and now she is sleeping in a big bed. I have loved putting together her big girl room and I am so proud of her but it is bittersweet. I wish that I could freeze time so that she will stay little for longer. There is a children's book that talks about celebrating your child's lasts. We always focus on their firsts, first smile, first word, first step, etc but this book talks about loving every moment because you never know when it will be your last time rocking them, feeding them a bottle, reading a book while they snuggle on your lap. The days go by so quickly and we feel so blessed to have such a sweet girl for our daughter.

Snow Time

All bundled up and ready to go.

Helping mommy shovel.

Snow angel...one of many.

Look, Mommy!

Avery was so excited when we got the first snow of the season. It actually rubbed off on me! She could not wait to go outside and play in it. She had her boots on as soon as she saw it. She kept yelling all morning, "SNOW TIME MOMMY!" As soon as we got outside she ran around, jumped in the snow and made a bunch of snow angels. It was so fun to see her reaction to the snow this year after not seeing it for so long.

Happy Thanksgiving

The kids enjoyed playing games with Aunt Krysta and Brett.

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Kuipers family. We enjoyed a great day with food, family and fun. We visited with my family at night. I must be distracted these days because I haven't been very good with taking pictures. These are the only ones I took all day. We are thankful for all the blessings that we have in our lives. We have wonderful family, our health, a warm house, food on the table, jobs and the love of Christ. This year we are learning to thank God through the tough times as well. We are thankful for the things that he is teaching us , for the way the he always provides and for His never ending love and faithfulness. We hope that you all had a blessed thanksgiving as well. Now, I am getting very excited for the Christmas holiday!

Trick or Treat

Running to the next house

Taking a break, riding in the wagon.

Avery & Josie- the 2 dalmations

All the kiddos- Caleb, Josie, Nathaniel, Naomi and Avery

This year Avery got to go trick or treating for the first time and she got to go with her cousins. The kids had fun- we didn't go far because it was cold but they loved running from house to house together and Kraig and I had so much fun watching Avery have so much fun.

Pumpkin Carving

"What is in there?"

Avery would only help with the "guts" if she had a spoon.

The finished "kitty punkin"

I (heart) Fall

I love the colors, the smells, the leaves, the cozy days at home and I love the smile on her face!

Life Changes

How blessed we are to have a God that KNOWS...

A God that has a perfect plan for YOU and for ME.

A plan that we cannot understand but must have faith
that the God who gave us life and gave His one & only son for us
knows YOU and ME
and loves us more than we can fathom.


Recently, Kraig started a new job. We are overwhelmed with thankfulness for this new opportunity. This job, like any other, we have some ups and some downs. We pray that it will be an easy and quick adjustment and that God will bless us during all of this. We give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

Happy 2nd Bithday Avery

Dear Avery,

I cannot believe that it has been 2 years since we heard your first cry, counted your fingers and toes and kissed your head with tears of joy in our eyes. We loved you so much the second we met you and that love has continued to grow over the past 2 years. You have gone from a completely dependent newborn and grown into a sweet little toddler who loves life and wants to learn independence. It makes me sad that this baby time has gone so fast but it also makes me so happy that you are growing into such a sweet little girl. I can't wait to see God's plans for your life, sweet one, but let's not rush anything. For now, I will enjoy each of these moments because we have quickly learned how fast they go. I want to bottle so many things up and keep them forever like your sweet little smile, your cute nose, your baby soft blonde curls, your innocence, your love for life and others, and the sweet little things you say. When I think about you already being 2 and being a "big girl" now, it brings tears to my eyes. Happy tears because God blessed us with such a wonderful daughter. Keep God close all of your days, lean on Him for everything, serve Him in what you do. Life may not always be perfect but God has a plan for you and loves you more than you know. Mommy and Daddy pray for you every day and we will never stop. We love you so much Avery Lynne- Happy Birthday! Love, Mommy & Daddy

Birthday Treat

We wanted to do something special on Avery's actual birthday so we took her to Build-a-Bear. I wasn't sure how much she would like it but she was very into it. She got to pick out her own teddy bear and watch her get stuffed, put 2 hearts inside her(because she was 2 that day), give her a bath, name her and pick out her clothes. It was so fun to do something special like this with her.

Party day

We celebrated Avery's 2nd birthday with a small party with family. We ,of course, had to have a Dora party. She was so excited about the decorations. Avery had so much fun opening all of her presents and having everyone's attention. She loves being the star of the show. She was so sweet and funny that we all had such a fun time. She was spoiled by all the people who love her and we are so thankful. We didn't sing the traditional birthday song though because it makes Avery cry...maybe next year. Happy Birthday sweetie.

Post Family Farm

Every year we make a traditional trip to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard. This year we decided to go back to Post Family Farm. Avery had so much fun again this year. She loved petting a kitty, seeing goats, riding the pumpkin train and going on a hayride to get a pumpkin. Even Daddy got to join us this year. It was a great time.

Avery loves Roscoe

A Second Blessing

Kraig, Avery and I are excited to share that we are expecting our second baby. We feel beyond blessed with what the Lord has given us. This pregnancy has been very different from my first- I enjoyed my pregnancy with Avery and had a little sickness but not much. This time I have been much more sick for the last month or so and a lot more tired. I am hoping that this will pass soon and I can enjoy the rest of it. I am about 14 weeks right now. We have had a couple of ultrasounds already and it is SO amazing to see our little baby.

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good."