Back to 100%!

I am happy to report that the Crisp house is back to 100% healthy! I never got the nasty sickness (thank you for all your prayers), and Josh is back to himself! HOOORAY!!!!! Here's a little note on the pictures - they are a couple of weeks old - but our camera is broken. We do have another one - but no USB cord for it. I need to find a card reader, anyone know where to find those??



Esther really missed her daddy when he was sick - she didn't understand why he wouldn't smile at her or pick her up - it was really sad. They're back to cuddling!


The kids also missed wrestling with dad - who do you think wins?


Having fun under the desk.


Who likes to have her picture taken??


We love each other! Most of the time!

We are the flu!

"We are the Flu" is a quote from a loving member of our church that does a pastor prayer sheet ever week. He was letting everyone know that we needed some serious healing in our house, and to stay away!! Garrett stopped the fever last Wednesday. which is a praise. However, Olivia started the fever on Thursday and ran it until Sunday. And lucky, lucky me, Josh started the fever on Friday! Josh had an added symptom that the others didn't have, a really sore throat. On Sunday he visited the "Not-so-urgent-care" clinic (he waited for 1 hour before he was taken back to see a doctor) and was given antibiotics for this throat. The strep test was negative - but the doctor was not convinced b/c of how bad his throat looked. And I quote, "That is the ugliest throat I've ever seen". Yesterday he seemed to be the worst, I think a combination of feeling bad and REALLY being tired of being sick. Today he is A LOT better! Thank you Jesus! I had been feeling a bit lonely and was getting tired of being a single mom. I missed my Josh! So, I'm the only one who hasn't had it - and hopefully I won't get it. You know moms aren't allowed to be sick!

The picture is just for fun. It's not a very fun post without something to look at right?? And Garrett has some of the best facial expressions! I think he's part monkey. This is his new helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads.

It's a whole family of SUPERS!!!

After the party on Saturday, we had some fun with the masks that the kids wore during the party. This week our "family of Supers" haven't been so super. Garrett got sick the evening after the party and is still running a high fever. Esther has a really snotty nose and is recovering from a fever week last week. Josh isn't sleeping really well, probably from all the stress at the church, and the sick kids. The "Super Mom" feels anything but super with lack of sleep, lack of social interaction, and lack of ability to make my kids feel better. It just reminds me, once again, how out of control I am. All I can do is pray for healing and rest. But lets be honest - when you're this tired and stressed, do you even want to pray? Thanks for listening to my rant, and taking my dose of reality. Hopefully the pictures will make you laugh, b/c I know this post won't!






Garrett's angle of me being super! I must be some kind of cheerleader super hero!



I guess he thought that he'd be twice as "super" with two masks! You're still super in my book baby!

Happy Birthday Garrett!!!!

Mr. Incredible made an appearance at the party - I wonder who his side-kicks are??


The little ones were not left out of the party.


Everyone turn and say CHEESE!!!!! Garrett's the only one missing - we've got another angle of the table - but he didn't look than either - so you see the back of his head!


Garrett and Jacob - the only other boy at the church close to Garrett's age - he turns 4 in April.


Time to open presents - it was like a swarm of bees!


We are so excited to celebrate Garrett's 3rd birthday today! He is such a sweet boy - violent at times - but such a snuggler!! I can't imagine life without him! I boycotted green b/c his birthday is more important that St. Patricks day!! We had a great party for him with lots of friends from church. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Nana and Pa-Pa visit!

This past weekend nana and pa-pa dropped by for a couple of days to bring Garrett his b-day present and see the kids. It was really good to have them here, extra hands are always a plus! Linda had been asking us for an updated picture of the 5 of us - so we finally got it this weekend. Garrett was yelling "CHEESE" at the top of his lungs, as you'll be able to tell from his expression. Esther wouldn't let us take her binkie, and as always, Olivia was a big time poser! It's so fun to try to get a good picture of everyone - but always makes for good memories.



Garrett's new bike - he's been dying for his own since December when Olivia got hers!



Olivia molds play dough into a hat (see table) and shoes (in her hands) - she never stops creating.





Esther enjoys her first ice cream cone. Can you tell she's a third child? Olivia would have never had ice cream at 14 months!



A proud Nana and Pa-pa!

Meeting Avery

Other than knocking down a wall in NJ,(the finished product is the next post down) our main goal was to go meet Avery, our new niece. She was great! I have to say, she is a really good baby, so sweet natured, and beautiful! Olivia and Garrett held her a couple times, but it was Esther who wanted to hold her all the time. She loved to hold her and rest their heads together. It was really cute. We can't wait to see how much she grows when they come out to MI next month!




I was beat after driving through the night, and you all know that there's nothing that will put you to sleep faster than a sleeping baby. Thanks to Olivia for documenting the occasion.



Avery would like to say HELLO to everyone in blogger land! (Like her 4 arms. . . thanks Dora!)

Semi-finished product

Some of you have asked what the room looks like now. I am pleased to announce that they got all the structural changes done. Now it's up to mom, dad, Andrew and Josh M. to finish with the sheet rock. I have to say, we are all really pleased with the outcome and really enjoyed spending time in the house with everyone when it was all done. Of course there's tones of facial work to be done, paint, carpet, new furniture - that will all come with time. For now, we're just glad that we can all be together and not sitting on top of one another.




Of course we had to let the kids have a wack at the wall - they really liked doing that!



Olivia and Garrett found a new seat at Grammy and P-pop's when it was all done!

Vacation?

This week we have been "vacationing" in New Jersey with my family. We planned this vacation for this week, so that we could meet Avery. When we were out in January Josh asked my parents to wait for him to knock out some walls in the livingroom. This has been a dream of my moms for three years now. And now that everyone's finally out of the house, they can get rid of the bedroom and make a great room. We're all really excited. Josh was really excited to get to do some demolition, but it's been a lot of work. I'm really impressed with his drive to see it through and his leadership in the project. He said last night that he didn't know why everyone was asking him what's next, and what the plan was. . .I told him it's be/c he's the driving force and the work horse. Yesterday my dad had to yell at him to sit down! This is just a proud moment for me, my husband doesn't have a hands on, crafty job, so seeing him be so GREAT at home improvement and really enjoy doing it is so great for me. By the end of the day he's really tired and after three straight days of working from 9-7, he was really beat last night. I thought for sure, that he would wake up this morning not wanting to go again. He proved me wrong, he was feeling good, and started strong out of the gate! You think you know someone! It's so great that I continue to learn new things about Josh, just a new aspect of him I love. He is a hard worker and truely gifted with his hands, he must get that from Pa Crisp.

I may have to drive the whole way back to Michigan, but it's worth it. To see my husband find a new area of his life that he is sucessful in, to see the sons-in-laws all working together, really well, and to see my mom and dad get the living area they've always wanted.

Personality Plus!

It's amazing to me, the difference between girls and boys. What's even more amazing, is how God gives everyone a unique and different personality. Sometimes I forget this simple reality in my every day life, b/c my reality is so busy with three kids under 4. However, yesterday I was reminded that my kids are different, VERY different. I sat Olivia and Garrett down with paint, which doesn't happen very often b/c it normally takes me longer to set up the area than the time they spend painting. Anyway, I gave them exactly the same set-up, a paper bag under their "canvas" to protect my table, each color of paint on a cut-out piece of bag for their pallet, and the paint brushes. Well, the out come was soo different is scary. If you've spent any time with my kids you know that Garrett is all boy and Olivia is your typical first born girl. For those of you who haven't spent that much time with them, see if you can learn a little bit about them by their finished products and their work space. I am so thankful for my children for teaching me lessons every day about how to be a better mom and person. I wouldn't trade my life, even as chaotic and crazy it is. I never want to resent my spot in life and know that raising/teaching these blessings is the best job anyone could hope to succeed in.





I wanted to add this picture of Josh with O and G, b/c it's so funny, shows a little personality doesn't it?

Animal lovers unite!

Well, I did get in some serious trouble for my dog Vs. no dog debate - especially b/c the nos out numbered the yeses. Not that it would have had any bearing on our decision. The official compromise right now is that we are NOT getting a mastiff - that was 75% why I was fighting getting a dog. He IS looking at smaller breeds right now and I am not fighting that as hard. Thanks for all your input - it made me laugh! P.S. - J and Josh Maxwell, you can stop having a blog war on our site now!

On a happier note, Esther is our animal lover. I never realized how much our other kids where indifferent to animals until Es started to show serious interest. She loves chasing the cats around and petting them. She hasn't seen a dog she didn't like, she'll go right up to them and let them lick her, sniff her, etc, with no flinching or fear. We were in Mejier the other day and went past the pet section to look at the rodents (not really pets in my book), birds, and fish. When I turned to leave she got so upset and started throwing herself back into the cart and crying hysterically! And, while Josh was watching the dog show, she looked up and saw the dogs on the screen and ran up to the TV and started clapping and laughing. She is such a joy to have around, as much as I think she's a mommy's girl, when daddy's around she'll run up to him over me. It's really, really cute, and melts my heart. So here's a picture dedication to our animal lover (the one I would probably cave to when it comes to getting a dog) and all around beautiful Esther "Bean"!!!!!

picture

for those of you wondering what a neapolitan mastiff looks like, here is a picture of it. it is just like hagrid's dog from the harry potter books.

just a note

i killed jess when we got home, so now she will no longer be posting any blogs. (just kidding) but here is one note, she said that WE are not dog people, but the truth is that she is not and i am, it is just because of her negative attitude that i become unkind to the dogs. i just wanted to let you know that, before you read the next post. have a good day!!!

Dog Vs. NO Dog

I'd like to start by thanking the Westminster Dog show and Grand Rapids press for officially starting my husband on the obsessive path down wanting a dog AGAIN!! For those of you who don't know, we are not dog people. We like the idea of a dog, but do not, at this time, have the resources or time to properly raise another living thing in our house. This revelation has escaped my husband after getting rid of our last dog, Jada only 8 months ago. Jada was a good dog - she liked to be outside, and was known to frighten away solicitors and skateboarding kids who liked to trespass on private property. We got Jada only 9 months removed from getting rid of our first dog Sadie. Sadie lasted only two months in our home, partly to her crazy temperament and me being at home with a newborn and a 15 month old. And after each parting with the dogs, we had no regrets. We talked at length about how we aren't dog people!! So, back to my thanks at the start, b/c of the dog show, he's back to wanting a dog. And b/c of GR Press he had an opportunity to price full bread dogs - thank you very much. Oh, I forgot to thank the internet, where now we are able to contact breeders without having to pick up the phone (which Josh wouldn't do)!! Today he contacted a breeder of his new favorite dog - a NEAPOLITAN MASTIFF. I capitalized the name of the dog - b/c they are huge!!!!! You can't just feed them dog food - you have to give them raw chicken - RAW CHICKEN! And who, you ask, would be feeding this dog, ohhhhh, your's truly!!

The question I pose to all you faithful readers is this, what's your vote, Dog or no dog??

P.S. - I'm going to get in so much trouble for this post!!!!

Yoga and more snow!

Yoga is the biggest rage in our household this new year - The kids love it too. Esther is really funny b/c she loves to do downward dog - here's proof! Now, we can say - Es, do your yoga and she hits the floor with her pose!

The snow is also big news around here - this was Josh on Monday getting ready to go up on the roof to clean off the dish so we could have TV. It was cold, he was snowy, and thank goodness he didn't fall off the roof!

Snowed in to watch the Colts!

We've been under some serious winter weather here in MI the last couple of days. Yesterday we were in a blizzard warning all day and today under a winter weather warning. So, all services have been cancelled for today, which means Josh can watch the whole super bowl, in which his COLTS are playing. We are hoping for a BIG win today! We've all got as much blue on as possible, Josh and Garrett are in Colts gear, so we're all ready for a big win!

The pictures of the snow include one of our cats on the deck (that was earlier this week, before the blizzard!). And Olivia doing a snow angel, she didn't realize how deep it was and had snow all over her!