Father's Day

Happy Father's Day (here is what the kids made for Gary for his office)

Baby Birds

A little while ago the kids found a birds nest in our swing set clubhouse. After the discovery they began checking the next regularly to see if any eggs had been laid. Sure enough a few weeks after our discovery the kids found two robin blue eggs in the little nest. They were excited! The girls researched robin eggs and how long it would take for the eggs to hatch. They learned that it took about 12-14 days for the eggs to hatch then after that the baby birds would live in the nest for over 4 weeks. They decided as a "team" to leave the clubhouse (which includes climbing wall and slide) alone until the baby birds flew the coop.

One afternoon while busying myself around the house I heard an ear piercing scream from the backyard from the kids. Scared someone was hurt (aka Drew), I raced to the backyard to find all three kids with huge smiles shrieking "the eggs hatched". Kami quickly grabbed the camera and cautiously ventured into the clubhouse to record what she found. Here is a video of the findings.(1st video shows newly hatched birds - 2nd & 3rd video shows little bit older baby birds)

Our Growing Boy is 3

Drew bear turned 3 on April 30. We actually celebrated his birthday the day before with family here at our house. Here are some photos of this joyous event! The cake was made by Heather and looked (and tasted) great! Thanks to everyone who helped make this a special day for our little boy.

Daddy Daughter Dance

The girls were treated to a Daddy/Daughter dance and a Grandpa (Papa)/Granddaughter Dance all in one weekend! Gary took the girls on Saturday night along with our good friends, the Knolls to a great event at Sunshine Community Church. The kids had fun dancing, crafting and hanging out with their cool dad! Here are a few pics from this first event: (scroll down for the second dance pics)

On Sunday we brought the kids to Fremont so they could attend the Grandpa/Granddaughter (daddy/daughter) dance at Camp Newaygo. We kept this a secret from the girls who were totally surprised to get their first wrist corsages and told they were going somewhere special with Papa O'Brien. Once they pulled into the Camp Newaygo drive way they knew exactly where their final destination was! They danced, had cookies and got manicures. It was a well attended and fun event! Thanks Camp Newaygo!

Old Socks

Here is what we do with our old white socks! Upcycling into snowmen (snowgirls). Kami and Rian's friend Emily came over for a visit during the Christmas holiday and we whipped together these crafty snowmen. Super easy - no sewing and not overly time consuming for those with shorter attention spans. Their insides are stuffed with a small ziploc bag of beans to give them a little weight and the rest is fiberfill.  We cut off the socks just around the heel, stuffed them and then used a rubber band to close the top. Hot glue was what we used to keep the little fabric hats on and a piece of white embroidery floss was tied around their neck to give them circular snowball shape. After the body was done the girls went to town decorating faces and putting little scrap fabric scarves around their necks. Here is a pic of the finished products.

Halloween 2011

So it looks like I'm running almost a month behind on a consistent basis here for posting happenings around our house. We had a blast on Halloween with our good friends the Allens. The kids were dressed up in such fun costumes - Kami was a cheetah, Rian was a black cat and Drew was a "wobot" (aka robot). The weather was pleasant so our trick or treating lasted longer than past (coooold) years. Here are some pics of the trick-or-treaters and our pumpkin carving!

Link to a Great Give-Away!

Looking for some great holiday ideas to give as gifts? Follow this link to a great blog offering a give away for some great Christmas gifts. One of the items will be from my shop! Good luck - please leave a comment letting Karen from mommysmoments.net know you found her blog through mine!

Erin

Rian's Birthday

Better late than never, right? Well since it has been almost a month since Rian's 5th birthday I thought I'd post some pics from her party. She has a great birthday and enjoyed many great gifts, a cool cake and some great time with family and friends. Thanks to all who came to the party or send her a card/gift! Here is our sweet 5 year old in action! Oh, and by the way if you look closely at the last two pictures you can see Drew blowing out Rian's candles! We had to relight them and cover his mouth so she could blow out her birthday candles!! Silly little brother.

Time with Madelyn

This weekend we are having the pleasure of spending some time with Gary's little cousin Madelyn. She has been so much fun! Here are some things we did on her first full day here:

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings (ok after we get some ice cream tonight!!!!) Enjoy Sarah & Dan!

xoxo

Gift of Life

Unfortunately Gary and I have a friend who will be placed on the organ donor list soon because she has a disease that is destroying her liver. She is a wonderful person, mother of two, wife, friend and most importantly a follower of Jesus Christ. Her struggles with her health are a true testament to her faith. She has remained positive through all the difficult times and has turned over control of her life to the Lord. I'm amazed by her faith and at the same time encouraged.

Just recently we were chatting on the phone about her recent medical/testing results from U of M, which was good news since the test was to see if she had bile cancer! The doctors continue to monitor her to determine if she is eligible to be placed on the donor waiting list for a liver. Fortunately and Unfortunately she is just below the level (measured by certain chemicals in the liver) needed to be on the waiting list. In the meantime she is asking that friends and family share information about organ donation and encourage everyone to sign up to become an organ donor. If you are a Michigan resident and have a MI drivers license the process to be a member of the organ donor registry is EASY!! Just follow this  LINK. Along the left side of the page click on Organ Donation and follow the simple instructions. Please don't wait! Sign up NOW. Thanks! And please add the Brandt family to your prayers.

Oh, and here are some facts about organ donation that might interest you:

Organ Transplantation and Donation Facts at a Glance

People of all ages and medical histories should consider themselves potential donors. Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what organs and tissue can be donated.

Organs and tissues that can be donated include: heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone, and heart valves.

There is no national registry of organ donors. Even if you have indicated your wishes on your drivers' license or a donor card, be sure you have told your family as they will be consulted before donation can take place.

All major religions approve of organ and tissue donation and consider donation the greatest gift.

An open-casket funeral is possible for organ and tissue donors