Announcing Stephen & Amanda Lund!!!!!

 If you remember my post several months back, we were very excited to announce that my friend Amanda had found a wonderful man who completely adores her and they were getting married.  Well, here we are months later and I am happy to announce that wedding went beautifully and we are all so happy for both of them.

Amanda is more than a friend.  She is a part of me.  It's interesting the way our friendship developed because the first we knew of her she was a member of our youth group, then she started babysitting for us, then she started staying overnight to hang out, then as the years grew on, she became a part of our family.  Amanda and I have had a very unique friendship.  There have been some incredible times and there have been some very, very tough times but looking back on all of it, we have seen God's hand in every step and He was building us into sisters rather than friends.

So, as you can imagine, I was ecstatic to be able to go through this journey of planning a wedding with her.  Jack was AMAZING over the past six months, never complaining when every other weekend I traveled to Michigan and left he and the kids behind as we went to flower shops, checked out the location, made centerpieces, shopped, shopped, and shopped some more. ;)  I was so young when my sister got married that I didn't really get to share in the planning of her wedding so it was a great joy for me to be able to do this with Amanda. 

Well, the time finally came for the wedding and we had tons of fun!  The day before we set up all the decorations then all the girls went to get manicures and pedicures.  As you can see from the pictures below, Emma was very excited to be doing "grown up things" with the girls.  

We had a wonderful rehearsal and God held off the rain just for us :)  Love this picture of the kids :)

The morning of the wedding all the girls went to get their hair done together and as you can see, Emma was very excited again :)

 Here's my little stud of a ring bearer :)

We bought Emma's dress in Chicago at the American Girl Place on the night that Stephen and Amanda got engaged.  Amanda surprised Emma at the rehearsal by giving her the matching dress for her doll so she and Kit could match on the wedding day.

 So I mentioned above that God held off the rain for the rehearsal.  Well, the wedding day wasn't looking so promising.  It rained all morning a very light misty rain.  We spent a lot of time looking at the radar.  Everyone was saying that we should just decide to move the ceremony indoors.  Stephen knew how much Amanda wanted it to be outside so he finally made the executive decision to have it outdoors.  The radar showed a break in the clouds and just as God had done before, He stopped the rain about 30 minutes before the ceremony.  The ushers quickly wiped down all the seats and it actually made it so beautiful with a sort of Irish type feel with everything being freshly rained on and sort of a hazy mist in the air.  Thank you God for showing us that something that seems like a disaster to us and come out the other side so beautiful.  (so many things other than the rain come from that statement.)

I'm so proud of Amanda & Stephen for the amazing faith that they have and the wonderful way they made Christ the center of their marriage ceremony.  They said from the beginning that they wanted it to be all about the commitment they were making to each other and to Him  as they made this covenant that He established.  They started the ceremony out with Emma reciting 1 Corinthians 13.  She was such a trooper!  When she came down the aisle, she slipped and fell because everything was wet from the rain.  She got right back up and kept going and threw her big handful of flowers up in the air.  She went straight to say her verse and she held her composure like a professional while toward the end of it her voice started to crack as she so badly wanted to cry but didn't.  When I asked her if she was hurt and that's why she was crying, she said "no, I don't know why I started crying."  She's her grandma Mary's girl ;)

They also had a foot washing ceremony in their wedding which was something I hadn't ever seen before.  It was such an amazing testimony of how they will put each other above themselves and serve each other in the most humble ways following the footsteps of Christ. 

Once the ceremony was over we partied at the reception, cleaned up, then went home and crashed!

I'll close this blog today with a picture of my sister Amanda and I and part of the speech I gave at the wedding which describes the amazing, wonderful, brave, Godly woman she has become.

Fearless

FEARLESS" is not the absence of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, FEARLESS is having fears. FEARLESS is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, FEARLESS is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. FEARLESS is falling madly in love again, even though you've been hurt before. FEARLESS is walking into your freshmen year of college completely on your own. FEARLESS is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again...even though every time you've tried before, you've lost. It's FEARLESS to have faith that someday things will change. FEARLESS is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can't breathe without them. And when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they'll never stop doing, I think it's FEARLESS to stop believing them. It's FEARLESS to say "you're NOT sorry", and walk away. I think it's FEARLESS to fall for your for a person who is completely broken and taking the time to wait for them to heal.  I think loving something despite what people think is FEARLESS. I think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is FEARLESS. Letting go is FEARLESS. Then, moving on and being alright...That's FEARLESS too. But no matter what love throws at you, you have to believe in it. You have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after. 

(Written by Taylor Swift and edited a bit by me)

LARRI Project

A few years ago there were terrible storms and flooding not too far from where we live.  We always hear about things far away and want to help in whatever way we can but we tend to forget that there are people hurting and in need right in our backyards.  Our friends were looking for a way to earn a free ticket to Disney with their "Give a Day Get a Day" campaign they put on at the beginning of the year.  My friend Jen, being the go-getter that she is, started researching and found that there was an organization that's helping people here in our own "backyard" so quickly she was on the phone with them trying to set something up.  

Jen & Kevin decided to share this experience with the whole church once they found out that there were still thousands and thousand of people who were still displaced from their homes from the flooding that had occurred two years ago!  We're always quick to jump on a plane to help another state or another country but there are people right here that desperately need help too!

I wasn't able to go with on this because I had wedding details to attend to with Amanda but Jack jumped right on board.  This is SOOO his thing.  He was very excited to be able to help with this and put his skills to use.  He has such an amazing heart to help others.  I'm so thankful for that in him and that God has blessed us both with that so there's no jealousy from either of us when we want to give our time, money, and resources to others.  What purpose did God give it to us for in the first place, right?!?!    

Romans 12:6-8

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it.

*Note: the date on the camera wasn't set correctly.  My husbands not so good with the electronics but he can swing a hammer with the best of 'em ;)

Lincoln Park Zoo

There was a day back in March where the Christian school had a random day off that the public schools didn't.  Since our friends the Petersons home school, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to go somewhere fun during the week that wouldn't be crowded because most everyone else was in school.  We decided on the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago :)

Sometimes I forget about the fact that we live so close to Chicago and that there are so many neat things there to do.  The Lincoln Park Zoo is completely free, which still amazes me!  We found a parking lot that was only $12 and packed our own lunches so the day of fun and exciting trip to the city was a very inexpensive day.  The zoo has a place where you can buy food but they also have rooms in the basement where you can eat your own lunch.  Again amazes me these days when places are free and fun :)

The first area we checked out was where all of the the feline creatures hang out.  It was a bit chilly that day so they were all inside but we got there right after they had cleaned their cages and hid snacks for them in cardboard boxes so it was very fun to watch all of them rip prowl around looking for their snack.  (Jackson was scared at first that he might become their snack but he got more brave as the day went on ;) )

 Our next stop was at the primate house.  Our silly little apes had lots of fun :)

They got to see the different sizes that the hands could be and of course we steered clear of the parts saying that we used to look like that.  Rubbish!!!

 

Our last stop was in the farm section.  The kids had lots of fun with the interactive learning center.  Chanda and I talked about how interesting it is that this is the only exposure that a lot of kids to what life in the country is like  We are very blessed to be able to get some of both worlds.  I would much rather live in the country and visit the city than the other way around but it is very neat to be able experience both and especially on a fun inexpensive day like this with some great friends :)

Aquarium Field Trip

I am so thankful to be a stay at home mom. Not sure I've mentioned that lately. I love the flexibility and the things that I get to share with my kids one a day to day basis but I definitely love getting to experience field trips with them.

I'm the room mom for Emma's classroom so I get to be pretty involved and most of the kids know me. I've actually gotten used to being called Mrs. Hamstra on a regular basis. I go into her classroom every Monday morning and take some of the kids that are excelling in spelling aside and challenge them with new words and get to encourage them in their studies. I was also privileged to be able to participate with them in the Junior Achievement program and taught them about community for five weeks every Monday afternoon. I love getting to know the other kids that Emma is around day to day and also (if you remember for my beginning of school month long crying session) I hate that her teachers get to see her more than I do so this makes me feel a little more like Im a part of that life she leads too.

We got to take a trip to the Shed Aquarium in March and had a great time.  I don't think that I had ever been there and I know Emma hadn't so it was a great treat for us to be able to experience it together.

A Visit from Colorado!!

We got to have a very fun visit from our friends from Colorado in February. Dave & Erin drove out and stay for two weeks, Jenni flew in over one of the weekends and Jenni's parents came down from Michigan for a few days too.

Erin's birthday is in January and since we didn't get to see her for it we decided to have a fun little birthday party for her while she was here. She LOVES Elmo so I decided to tackle making an Elmo cake for her and I'm SO glad I did because she was very excited about it :)

We also took them to the Fair Oaks Farms while they were here visiting and Erin got to have lots of fun playing in the adventure center, watching a calf be born and getting to watching the cows go round and round the milking carousel.
Two of my favorite girls :)


CEREAL!!
Sharing a bus ride.
We even got to stop by Uncle Jack's work on the way home and Erin had fun driving and airplane.Jenni had to go back to the airport so Jackson, Erin & I drove her there. Got a few cute pictures of Erin :)

We had lots of fun getting to just hang around the house enjoying each other's company as well. With being so far apart we try to make the best of every opportunity that we get to spend time with one another. God has been very good to all of us in the fact that we haven't spent much more than six months at a time without being able to see each other. One time we even got to see each other for just a few hours while they had a lay over at the Chicago airport. We'll take any bit we can get :)
Two peas in a pod :)

Finger painting fun!
Kind of an easy fort but they were still pretty excited about it.

On one of the last days before Dave & Erin left we decided it would be fun to go to Bellaboo's. We had a great time playing in all the fun rooms they have.

Story Time

Face Painting
Art Room
Water Play Room
Ball Pit

We're very thankful to have such great friends that they were willing to drive half way across the country to visit us. God has truly blessed us to stay in touch and so close over these several years. Thank you Father for your many blessing and thank you Dave & Jenni for your faithful friendship.

First foster experience

We got a chance to help out another foster family by doing some respite care for them while they went on a cruise. You can have people babysit for you but if is going to be an overnight stay it has to be someone licensed. We were happy to FINALLY be able to do something with this license we've had for months!

I can't give too many specifics or show pictures of how stinkin' cute these three were but I can share some of the things that we learned in the process.

1. Every child is very different and receives and gives love in many different ways.
2. Three boys together in one room makes for a very giggly bed time.
3. Be careful how you talk around your children and keep mean remarks to yourself. Even if you're frustrated or being sarcastic, they hear them and hold onto them for years.
4. Be careful of sibling rivalry.
5. Build a fort out of blankets and you'll be the coolest mom ever.
6. Even when a child tries to hit and kick you and say they'll never ever be good, just a simple "I love you and I will never believe that" can make you see something in their eyes that truly makes them believe it.
7. When you have a snow day and have six kids (I still babysit Alaina too) a schedule is a MUST!
8. Being a crazy busy mom is more rewarding than any other job or ministry could be.
9. Make time for your husband. Period.
   
10. When it time for them to go, be thankful for the time you had with them and trust they will remember the thing you said and leave the rest up to God.

Fort #1

Fort #2
We even got brave enough and brought all the kids to our volleyball game.
Some snow day activities

We got called for another respite placement for over memorial weekend. A two year old cutie. Looking forward to helping out with her as well :)