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!

sledding

Garrett sledding


Olivia sledding

Avery's here

OK - so I know that it's not my baby - but it's my sister's new and first baby - and I'm so excited!! I've been dying to post pictures of her to share with all our dear friends but I wanted to ask permission first. Last night Ange gave me the ok - so here's Avery - she's soo cute!!!! I can't wait to hold her and kiss her and love her!! P.S. - I think she looks like Andrew! (Ange, what's up with our kids not looking like us?)

the lake

We've lived in MI for 7 months now - and had not been to Lake Michigan, until last saturday. We are vacationing there this summer with Josh's family and neede to check out the house we selected. Anyway, Olivia now wants to know when the summer is, and we're all excited to try out a new beach!

Snow cones anyone?

Wanted to post this cute picture of Olivia and Tirzah (our Lead Pastor's daughter), after they got done with their snow cones yesterday. Uncle J and Aunt Cheryl gave the snow cone maker to Olivia for Christmas, and it's a big hit (Even with mom- -easy to do and NO clean-up!!!!)!!!!!!! Can you tell I like it??

The New Year

The Crisp Family, livin', learnin', laugin' and lovin' in the year 2007!!





I know I'm a little late to post about new years resolutions, but life is a little busy. I'm not the type of person that makes resolutions every year, I don't even consider the new year a "fresh start". I've always just looked at it as a new year -6 months of putting the wrong year on my checks! However, this year is different. Josh and I have been saying since the miscarriage that the only good thing to come out of 2006 was Esther, the rest we'd like to forget. I know that's negative, but sometimes that how you feel. We've learned a lot about ministry, church politics(YUCK), friends, and those we thought were our friends, hurt, spiritual truths, promises fulfilled, some more hurt, true worship (especially when you don't feel like it), and the list goes on. As much as I'd like to forget 2006, I can't. And that's OK with me now. I know the lessons are God's way of getting us where He wants us. I know that no hurt will not be in vain, HE WILL USE IT FOR GOOD! I know I sound "christian" - and am using trite ideas - but they are the truth. And without these truths, God's faithfulness to bring about good, and the encouragement that comes from His word, I don't know where we'd be. I read a good quote the other day, "Hard wind and raging seas don't always mean your on the wrong path, it means you're right on target." We don't have all the answers to the questions we've asked God. We may never know why we went through such a hard time when we were transitioning churches. We may never know why our new young youth pastor and wife had and are having to go through such a terrible accident, and why their son was taken to heaven on that day.

So, I haven't made a resolution, I feel like God gave me some resolve about the next year. It's not going to be as tough. There is light at the end of this tunnel - and it's coming in the year 2007 - Thank you Lord!

Safe and Sound

We are now safe and sound back in MI. We were greeted with a day of snow yesterday -I shouldn't have asked where winter went! I wanted to share some pictures from the wedding, unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of Josh, myself, or Esther with our camera! I know we are terrible! We all matched so nicely too! So, if anyone who was at the wedding has some good pictures they would like to e-mail me you can do so at bellajoy00@gmail.com! Thanks! Esther will not be left out of this post - she is happily riding in the car on our way back to MI!




Just call me DIVA!




Did I forget to mention the shiner Garrett gave himslef two days before the wedding?? Oh well, you get the true Garrett!

What's up with the weather?

Today is wedding day - and the forecast is 70 degrees! This is not your typical spring wedding - it JANUARY! Josh and I slept on my parents sofa bed last night with the windows slightly open and the ceiling fans on! How crazy is that?? Anyone else wondering where winter went?

Lessons Learned

Happy New Year! We are currently in New Jersey for Corrie's (my sister) wedding. Josh is officiating his first wedding, I am a bridesmaid, Olivia is the "Snow girl", and Garrett is the ring bearer. Esther is the only one not actively participating, but she'll still be there in all her fussiness. Right now we are all sick, except for Josh, pray that he stays healthy. I actually had Garrett in the ER on new years eve b/c he was running a temp of 104! He was fine, and was given antibiotics to fight his cough and cold.

I continue to reflect on the last couple of weeks in our life, and today was struck with some good application for my life. Many of you may not know that over a year ago, around last October, I was going through a Bible study that made me question how to have true peace. God was quick to answer with, "Give me control." I am admittedly a control freak, finances, child rearing, Josh's time management, whatever. I am continually being reminded that I am not ultimately in control, no matter how much I convince myself I am. So, to God's answer I asked, "Of what, specifically?", trying to trick God into not asking me to give things up. His answer surprised me, "The size of your family, do not control when or for how long you reproduce." The implications of being obedient to this command are many. One, financially, "how will we afford all the children You want to give us." For those of you who don't know, I've never had a problem getting pregnant, Josh basically just looks my direction. To which He answered, "I take care of my children." Two, "Where will we put them all?" Again, "I take care of My children." Three, "Josh is never going to go for this." "Josh is my child, I will take care of him." Four, "I'm overwhelmed with my two, almost three, kids I have, how will I cope?" "You are my child, I will take care of you too." Five, "People are going to think we are irresponsible, foolish, and crazy!" "You do not live for other people, You live life to glorify ME alone! I AM! You will have peace, give me all of your reasons, your excuses, all your insecurities." So that's what I did. Not without researching this "Full Quiver" idea and much prayer with and without Josh.

Fast forward to about July of 2006. Esther is 7 months old, still breastfeeding, and I'm a wreck. I'm so worried about getting pregnant again I can't enjoy that time with my husband. For months I have stressed about not knowing if and when I could get pregnant again. God tried to remind me about His promise to me about peace, and my promise to give him control, but I continually ignored Him. Finally, I started my cycle again and was relieved that I would know when I would be able to get pregnant so that we could prevent it, and we did. We completely abstained for the "fertile week". Obviously that didn't matter, and God showed his power and control in my life, even when I thought once again that I was in control, by our announcement in Mid-September that we were expecting again.

Fast forward to today. I pondered what it was I could take from this experience and the loss we have had. What I have learned about God's promise to me over a year ago, is that He is Faithful to fulfill His promises, even when we don't. I don't believe that I ever gave Him full control of the reproduction and family size, but He was still in control. He controlled when I got pregnant and was in control when we lost the babies. And you know what, I've never felt at peace more in my whole life. He continually wants to bless His children. He is a good and kind Father. Even in our disobedience God will lovingly bring us back into His wing to cover us with peace and love. So, my lesson in all of this, I AM NOT IN CONTROL!! How many more times will I have this revelation? I do not doubt that God's plan was fulfilled in all that has happened to us, and will continue to play out in our lives as long as we are teachable and willing to accept the easy lessons (do those exist), as well as the hard.