The First Snow of the Year!

Well, last night it snowed. I honestly can't believe it is that time of year already. I have not fully recovered from last winter. I'm just not the biggest fan of snow. The kids, however, were really excited to see the snow. Maeci said, "Oh no! It's on the car." She was very concerned about the car. I hope that by moving, it might be a better winter. The house we are currently in, is located right in the snow belt. So moving just a bit south may make a difference in the amount of snow we will be shoveling this year.

Happy Birthday My Love!!!

Well, actually Jerimae's birthday was 2 days ago. I just don't have a lot of time right now to post anything. We are moving just one town over in 5 weeks and I have a lot of packing and purging. Also we are painting the other house...not easy to do with 3 kids.


Anyway, we did take a break on Tuesday to celebrate Jerimae's birthday. We went out as a family for dinner....Sushi. It's are new favorite food. Then we came back home for some cake and presents. I made him a Tiramisu cake (thanks for the recipe Marcie). It was soooooo good.













Then for his birthday I framed an 8x10 close up picture of Maeci and an 8x10 picture of the
boys with their hair all punked out and looking like rockers. Jerimae loved them.


















Jerimae is an incredible husband and father. He was chosen perfectly for me. Thank you Lord. I have grown more and more in love with him as the years have gone by and I look forward to growing old with him.

Road Trip to Minnesota!!

On October 21st we all packed into the van for a road trip to Minneapolis, MN. I had never been there before, so I was excited about going. Jerimae had a video shoot there so we decided to just go along for the ride. My sister, Laura, and her family live there also, so I was double excited about getting the chance to go over and hang out with her, her husband, Chris, and their beautiful girls, Madeline and Sylvia. The kids did awesome in the van. There is nothing better than the DVD player. I don't think we could have done without it...well maybe, but it made the trip easier. We stayed at a hotel that was across the street from The Mall of America. So, of course, one day I strolled over there with the kids. They loved it. Especially the area with the Legos. Later that day, daddy took the boys back over and rode a couple of the roller coasters.

We had an incredible time with Laura, Chris and the girls. We've never really had a chance to spend a lot of time with them. So it was really special for us to be able to hang out with them. The kids had a blast too. They played really well together, except for one instance when Zarek punched Sylvia (3yrs old) in the stomach....I guess to find out later she was kind of daring him, and Zarek won't pass up a dare. Sorry Sylvia!! However, a few moments later, they were close buds again. While we were in Minneapolis we also went to the zoo with my sister and her girls. Thanks again Laura, hope we will be able to do it again!!

After Minneapolis, we headed to Waterloo, IA. We visited Jerimae's best friend and musical soul mate (that's what I call him) Ben and his wife Carrie (who is pregnant with #3 and is due next week), and their two wonderful boys, Braden and Ethan. We were only there one night. But we had a really good time catching up, and Jerimae and Ben created music til wee hours in the night..or should I say morning. After our road trip Jerimae and I realized that it could be possible to take more road trips in the future as God provides the opportunities. It's just not fun to be away from Daddy.

I have some pictures from our trip, but I have to get them developed....I had to purchase a disposable, because I forgot the camera AGAIN!!! Now I did remember to bring it on the trip, I just left it in the van. So hopefully soon, I will add some pictures. I think maybe if I had a really, really good camera, I would enjoy taking pictures more and not forget the picture (hint, hint Jerimae)

You may now leave comments

Just wanted to let you know that you don't have to be a blogger member in order to leave me a comment. I changed the settings. So happy commenting!!!

I welcome Fall!

I'm so glad Fall is peeping it's wonderful head out.

It feels like it got here so quickly though.

The signs of Fall have already approached....cooler days and nights, and leaves changing color. I love Fall. It's definitely my most favorite time of year. I think I could live in the season of Fall all year round. Fall brings yummy, scrumptious soups, bonfires, football, hikes in the woods, pumpkin bread, and the smell of pumpkin and spice candles.

We had a great, mild summer...thank you God. So prayfully winter will be mild also. Winter can take it's time getting here. Right now I'm going to enjoy every single day of Fall this year with my family.

Last Beach Trip

So many of you have reminded me that I need to update my blog. Since we've begun school, my life has been consumed with it. I have finally gotten a little time to add a blog or two. A couple of weeks ago, when Jerimae had a day off we decided to take advantage of our last week of freedom before school started. So we went to St. Joseph, MI to the Silver Beach. We had so much fun. The temperature was about 75, absolutely perfect. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Fresh Veggies and Fruit

A week ago we got to go over to my brother in-laws to pick fresh blueberries, corn, and peaches. There is nothing better than fresh fruit and vegetables from a home garden...and they were FREE!!
Here is a huge bowl full of the blueberries we picked. This picture doesn't really show how BIG this bowl is..it's about 12" wide and 4' deep. I froze 3 quart size ziploc bags full and then ate the rest throughout the week.

Here's a picture of the corn I cut off 23 ears of corn. I froze 5 quarts of corn.

Then I also picked a bunch of peaches and my sister in-law gave me an incredible recipe for peach cobbler. It was fantastic!

YUM YUM YUM!

My First Painting

Finally, here is the painting I did for Jerimae for our 10th anniversary. The painting is of the Burrell's Ford waterfall in South Carolina. It was on top this waterfall that Jerimae proposed to me. For your 10th anniversary, the gift to give is aluminum. Not the most ideal gift....maybe some canned soda or a 12 pack of beer (ha ha). So, I tried to think of some creative way to incorporate aluminum in the painting....so I framed it in aluminum. The task of cutting and bending the aluminum was not as easy as I thought it would be, but I finally got it done.

Nothing Lasts Forever

I forgot to mention that when we went to the 4-H Fair, both the boys won a fish. I was excited for them because Kaleb, especially, really wanted to come home with a fish. On the other hand, I knew that I would end up having to clean the fish bowl and that was just ONE more thing to add to my list of things to do. Honestly, I didn't think the fish would last but only a few days. I wish that I had taken some pictures, but it never crossed my mind. Surprisingly, the fish have survived until today....that makes it 3 weeks. The boys went to feed the fish and found them dead. They both were really OK with it. We explained to them that there was a chance that they may not live for very long. Zarek did say that he was a little sad. We said "good-bye" and flushed them down the toilet. Now they keep talking about getting two more. I guess we'll be taking a trip to the pet store.

10 Incredible Years!!!

Friday, Jerimae and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. Ten years.....I really can't believe it's been 10 years. Being married is the longest thing I have ever done. (I've never been in one job for 10 years or lived in the same house for 10 years, or even lived in the same town for 10 years) Actually, I wouldn't mind living in the same town and house for 10 years, but I'm not sure that will ever happen living with Jerimae.

Ten years ago, we got married in Indy and headed to Gatlinburg for our honeymoon. After the honeymoon, we returned to Fishers to a small apartment to start our lives together. A year later, we moved to an old farm house in Fishers where we stayed for a little over 3 years and had our first child, Kaleb. Then we moved to a newer house in Fishers and had our second child, Zarek. We stayed there for about 2 years. Then we purchased our first home in Westfield. There we lived only 2 years and had our third child, Maeci. Finally that brings us where we are today...South Bend. We've been here for almost 1 1/2 yrs. We will be moving again I'm sure (we're just in a rental house right now). We were living in a different house when each one of our children were born. I will have to say that I'm a little tired of moving. I'm ready for the next house, to be it!! But like I said earlier, it may never happen as long as I'm with Jerimae...type A personality...big plans...changing all the time...but I do love it. Being married to Jerimae has never been boring. I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us in the future.

So for our 10th anniversary, we got to go away for the night. Before we left we exchanged gifts. He got me a MP3 player that I've been wanting for awhile and downloaded a bunch of music that we both love. For him, I made an abstract painting of the waterfall where he proposed to me (Burrells Fords, SC). This was the first painting I've ever done. I tried to find an abstract painting, but I couldn't find one I liked. So I decided that I would try to paint one myself. I've wanted to paint something for a long time now. I had so much fun doing it. I've found something new I like to do now. (I'll post a picture of it soon)

We stayed at this beautiful Inn tucked away into the woods in Michgan City. The name of the place is Creekwood Inn.



Attached to it is an incredible restaurant called Kelly's Table. The food was spectacular. After dinner we went to Washington Park to walk along the beach, relax and get connected again. Jerimae had surprised me with the video of our wedding downloaded onto his laptop. (I was wondering why he brought the laptop) It was so much fun reminiscing. Saturday we had breakfast at Kelly's Table, went shopping at the Outlet Shops and grabbed some lunch before we headed back home. It was great finally spending some time with Jerimae. I was reminded of how much fun we have together. I've truly been blessed with the best husband that is so patient with me and loves me unconditionally. I LOVE YOU J!!!!

Time for the Fair

About 3 weeks ago we went to the Elkhart County Fair - one of the largest fairs in the nation. We love it when it's time for the 4-H Fair. Unfortunately, Jerimae was out of town. But we met up with Jerimae's parents on Wednesday night (kid's day). It was only a $1 a ride, so the kids got to ride a lot of rides this year. We ate the usual fair food- cheese fries, chicken, and the best ice cream. No elephant ears this year. I rode one of the little roller coasters with the boys. This was their first "roller coaster". They LOVED it! We had to ride it again. Maeci loved the animals. We almost got peed on by a cow!

Jerimae was able to make it to the fair on Saturday. He took Kaleb with him and they got to see Trever (J's nephew) in a dirt bike race. Kaleb thought that was AWESOME!! He and Zarek want dirt bikes just like their cousins. Maybe someday when we get a house out in the country, but right now I'm just fine with the bicycles!

Can't wait til next year!!

The BIG 2!!

Saturday was Maeci's 2nd birthday. It's very hard for me to believe that 2 years has past. She has brought so much joy to our family. She is so loving. There is nothing better than a huge bear hug on your leg while cooking in the kitchen and she likes to give out a lot of those.

That evening we had my mom, Jerimae's mom and dad, Keith & Melissa and Drew & Trever over to celebrate Maeci's birthday. The theme for this year was Hello Kitty. Maeci loves cats so I thought that Hello Kitty would be a big hit for her, and it was.

Here's a few decorations:

I looked around for a Hello Kitty t-shirt for her to wear, but I never could find one, so I decided to just make one myself. So I bought her a white t-shirt and some puffy paint and here it is below:

"I'm two" (she's trying to hold up 2 fingers)

We grilled out for dinner first. Here is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma Yoder eating with all their grand kids...how sweet!!

Then we had cake and ice cream. I made her a Hello Kitty face cake.

YUM! YUM!

And finally the unveiling of the presents. Many, many presents. She made out.

Even Kaleb liked playing with her new toys!!

I think she was a little overwhelmed at first with all the new toys. She got a doll with a bunch of accessories, stroller, highchair, baby bed, baby car seat carrier, glittery purse with accessories, dress up doll, vacuum, broom, mop, new bathing suit w/cover-up, and a cute capri outfit.

The Lord has blessed us with an incredible daughter. She gets lots of love from all of us, especially her brothers. They are so good with her. I have so enjoyed watching her grow. She makes me laugh all the time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PUNKIN!!!!

(I hope to add a video clip if I can get it downloaded)

Good Times!!

Bonfires have to be one of my favorite ways to spend time with the family. The weather was awesome yesterday, so we decided to have our first bonfire of the season. We roasted hot dogs and of course, marshmellows. You can't have a bonfire without making smores.

Not too close!!

June in Review

I can't believe that a month has past since I've blogged. I was under the impression that when the boys were done with school and summer began, life would slow down. I have been terribly mistaken. It's been a roller coaster of events here in the Yoder household (all good, I must add).

We started out June with a outing to our first baseball game here in South Bend, Silver Hawks vs. Lansing Lugnuts. The weather was perfect and the food was delicious. We had a lot of fun. There was a place set up for the kids to play some games and jump around in one of those inflatable jump and slides.



Then we kicked off the summer with a party at the Williams' House, friends from church. Lots of great food and hanging out with friends. The kids played in the sprinkler to cool off. Maeci wasn't so sure about the water, so she kept herself busy with the bubbles.



The second week of June we held our church's annual Soccer Camp. We had over 400 kids from the community that took part in our camp. We had the opportunity to share Christ with these kids for 5 nights. Over 100 of them gave their lives to Christ. AMAZING!!!!! It was exhausting, but well worth it.



We also went up to Silver Beach in St. Joseph, MI on that Thursday with grandma Yoder. I love Silver Beach. You can spend the whole day there. Spend some time on the beach, then stroll into town for some ice cream. It's only 45 min. from home. It's clean, and there is also a great playground on the beach.





The boys started T-ball the following week. Not at all competitive, but lots of fun. It's the boys first exposure to playing sports with other kids. It's been really good for them. Jerimae has had the opportunity to go on Mondays to watch and help their team.

Zarek Kaleb

We camped out for the first time on the weekend of the 20th. We were at the Pro-Life Festival, just south of Warsaw. Jerimae MCed a tent there. I don't think I will ever want to go camping again in tents until Maeci is 4. Maeci did not go to sleep until 1:30am. She finally just pooped out. If we were to go camping any time soon, it would have to be in some kind of camper/RV.





This last week of June, the kids and I went down to Indy to visit my mom. It was so fun. Tuesday we took the kids to the Indianapolis Zoo. I think the dolphins made the biggest impact on Maeci because she won't stop talking about them.




Cooling off in the water.

The boys also had the opportunity to go to VBS every night at Centennial Bible Church, the church we attended when we lived in Westfield. The boys loved it and they got to see some of their old friends (me too, I really enjoyed seeing my friends too).

Then on Thursday we took the kids to The Children's Museum. It was so much fun watching Maeci discover everything there. The boys, of course, didn't want to leave.


Waiting for the dinosaur eggs to hatch!


Weeee!!


Maeci loves water, so this was the highlight of her day!





On Friday, we came back home. It was a very exhausting week. I think I could use a vacation now!!