Merry Christmas!

There's nothing like a ride in Santa's Sleigh to bring out the wonder and excitement of the season! As we grow together as a family, this year has helped us continue to learn that the things that are important are often times not things. We praise God for many blessings in 2009, many of which can be tracked right here in this blog, so sit back with a warm cup of hot chocolate and spend as much time as you'd like with the Scholtens.

As for our Christmas plans...We had a star in the church Christmas Pageant. You couldn't see him or hear him, but rest assure he was a star both figuratively and literally. Pictures were hard to come by but you can see that Mac was on stage and Bennett was on fire and trying to take off his sweater all night. It was the best and worst rendition of "Away in a Manger" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain" we have ever experienced! I guess one has to be a parent to fully appreciate this feeling.

We're heading to Grammy and Gramps Scholtens in Georgia for Christmas Day. We'll tune back in after the big day to let you know if Santa found us and if Uncle Drew received coal in his stocking once again in 2009!

And a favorite part of our holiday this year is looking at the Christmas lights and talking about our manger scene. Thanks to the boys, our manger scene has "3 Wise Guys" visiting Jesus. They came to Bethlehem "riding the reendeer". Mary and "Doufus" (how we pronounce Joseph here) are in the stable and, thanks to our cousin Greta, we refer to the Shepherds as "Hookers" because of their shepherding hooks. Gotta love it!

We continue to be humbly blessed and thoughtfully challenged to depend wholly on this small child born on Christmas! Here's to 2010! Pray hard, Play Hard, and stop by if you're in the area!

Fall Family

Oh what fun we've had this fall. Thanks to the beautiful weather, we have been spending lots of time outdoors. The past two weeks we've been having some busy work with a "little" project in the backyard. Kurt calls it a shed. Whit calls it a garage. We've compromised and have added a "sharage" in our backyard. In combination with project and play, we've spent some extra time in the bathtub, scrubbing off our frequent outdoor mud baths.















Then of course, we did have some Halloween fun at our house too. Macabe was certain he wanted to be a snowman this year, as "The Snowman" is one of his favorite movies. Mom worked hard sewing to have it done in time to wear. Unfortunately, come time to put it on...it was definitely not going to happen. SO, as you can see, Bennett is still too little to protest enough...Meet Bennett the snowman! He was a cute one! And Mac was happy to be the "P.U.S. Man" again this year. Who doesn't like a visit from the UPS guy anyway?!

And this picture? Well, what can we say about this picture? Too goofy for his own good!

In so many other ways we have been blessed this fall. We have become more settled in our new place. The boys know this as home. We have joined a nice church and had Bennett baptized finally. Much of the family was able to be there to celebrate with us. Our days are filled with dance parties around the house, morning, noon and night. These boys love to boogie! A favorite part of the week is going to our Kindermusik class on Wednesdays with some of our friends. And of course, leaf jumping in the biggest pile we could make highlights everyone's fall. Bennett was not a big fan at first, but grew to enjoy tossing a few in the air as long as they weren't poking his face. Mac, on the other hand, took them by the shovel full onto the tarp, rode the tarp and was dumped upside down in them until he could wiggle his way to the surface. Covering others is a highlight for him too. (So you can imaging how well the combo of Macabe throwing leaves and Bennett afraid of them went over! Brotherly love!)

Other than that, we are thankful for our good health, doing what we can to keep it that way, and praying for our friends who have been hit hard this season.

Bennett Turns ONE!

Oh my goodness! Where has the time gone? I know everyone thinks that, but this, this was fast. We have come a long way from early days of the pack-n-play bed and sleeping our naps away on Mommy's chest. Even these past two weeks, Bennett has become quite the little man! He has found his confidence in moving about. And with this confidence has come great happiness, exploration and personality. Bennett walks about with his arms stretched wide, smiling from ear to ear, if not laughing with excitement and pride. He is frustrated when he falls, but will search for something to pull up on and try again. Climbing stairs were never even attempted until the day before his birthday when he decided to do all 15 in lightning speed.

Other than moving about, Bennett is learning his great love of ice cream. I chuckle to see him scream like a little girl and drop the saddest of faces when you tell him it's all gone. And watch out if you agree to share yours with him. You best can say goodbye to most of yours. :) Or ask him what a puppy dog or a lion says and he is sure to answer. In fact, he is so good at the growling that our family often has a growling contest on our car rides. He usually tops the charts. Speaking of topping the charts, Bennett had a doctor appointment yesterday. He now weighs in at 22 lbs and 11 oz. and measures 30 3/4 in. long. Not bad, certainly for the amount of food he puts away everyday, but where's the topping of the charts you say? Yes, we appear to top the charts with our head size. We always knew he had a good brain. That's why we can't get all our shirts on him anymore. Never would guess by looking at this curly, blondie, blue-eyed grinning sweet potato of mine!

Enjoy a few of his birthday pictures. He wasn't too sure about the cake, just like big brother Mac. He was timid to dive in, but once Dad put Cheerios on top for me to grab and eat, he learned it was pretty tasty. (though it will likely never surpass his love for ice cream) And how could I forget to mention his second love? balls of any shape and size. Ah yes, the favorite toy of choice. You will never find him without one in hand.

"My sock is frustrated."

What's that you say? Yes, Macabe has been full of funny statements and comments these days. This weekend I had him come into me with a floppy sock hanging from his foot. He was trying very hard not to get all worked up, so he came and announced that his sock was frustrated and he needed help.

How about another?....Yesterday Kurt was in the kitchen and "poor" Lucy was wandering around waiting for something to land on the floor. Kurt asserted, "Lucy, go lay down. You are driving me nuts!" Macabe again runs in from the other room and asks, "Hey Daddy? Where's Lucy's nuts?"

And finally...Today after leaving church I shared that I left my name and number at church to offer help in the nursery. Macabe in his most empathic voice insterts, "Oh no, Mommy! Can we go back and get it?" So worried that I left my name at church.

What a hoot this boy is. Could he bring us any more joy?

ADORES playing in the rain! Thanks for the boots and coat Grammy S.

Tractors to drive at the Hudsonville Fair

My pal Parker...and cousin...a dangerous duo.

And the best pal of all...DADDIO!

Stay tuned! We will be celebrating Bennett's first birthday this week! Can you believe it?

If a picture is worth a thousand words....

...well then the progression of three photos should tell a pretty good story.

What a hoot these boys are. Is that a hug or a head lock? You be the judge.

Oh man, what joys this summer has brought to our home and hearts. We are loving our new home, spending time together as a family and finding new places to explore every week. This summer is very different from our last. Macabe and I spent last summer frequenting friends houses, the spraypark, Dow Gardens, and countless hours in the driveway together with our Lucy dog. It was an adventure together before the arrival of baby brother. I wasn't sure what to expect, nor is any mother when she adds to the family. Dad was travelling many a places, jet setting in his sales job all over North America and more. We sure missed our time with him, but had adventures nonetheless.

This summer? Well this summer is dedicated to growing families and growing hearts. Not only have we added our toothy boy Bennett to the crew (almost a year old already...where does time go?), but we have Dad home way more often now too. ALL of us couldn't be happier about this. There are days we even get to have breakfast, lunch AND dinner with Dad as he has an office in the basement now too. Macabe loves a good afternoon tackle or game of chase with Bennett and Dad before naps. It's the simple joys that we would have missed out on, had we not been here today.

More to come, as I hope to do a better job of keeping this current, since I've been re-inspired by a dear friend of mine. Thanks MB!

Certainly more photos of some of our favorite times/activities will be warranted.

Cousins, Granparents and Easter Bunnies

Time for a new update since we have a new cousin to have joined our family. Bennett is getting tired from all this waiting for another baby to come. But it was worth it because he got to sack out on Grampa'a lap (well, Grampa was excited about that anyway), and we got to meet Willa Jane Fuller for the first time. She looks just like Greta did...maybe a little more like her mama, Hannah though. Go to her blog to see those photos! (link on right)
What a handsome fella that Bennett, all dressed up for the Easter guests to arrive at the new house! For the first time, we get to have a family gathering at our house. What a treat!
This mischevious pair is always up to something. Mostly good laughs, but you never can be too sure. Usually Mac is found pushing his car around the house. He'll always tell you he's going to Nana's house, Grampa's office, Culver's or Meijer. Bennett's usually watching and laughing everytime big brother races by. Today we can hardly wait for the Easter Bunny to arrive. We heard he comes while we're at church, but I am not sure I understand it all yet. It's the bunny in my house that's confusing...not the laying of eggs behind...because I still think I'd like to grow chicken nuggets in the backyard garden this year!!!

Oooh! So proud of the Easter eggs we made! See?!?! The dye ended up being a little messy and not that exciting because all you could do was wait. So Mom got out the bright tissue paper, let us dunk pieces in water and then they stuck to the egg without trouble. Now that was some progress I could be proud of!

Other than all the Easter fun, we've been able to explore lots of new places here. We all went to the GR Children's Museum when Mimi and Gramps came to visit! There were lots of fun things to do and see here, and we loved having Mimi and Gramps there to play along. What's the only thing happier than Bennett?...Lots of Bennetts in the mirrors!

And of course, Macabe couldn't be steered away from his ever favorite bubbles. These weren't any ordinary bubbles either. They were big ones! At one point there was even one big enough for Macabe to be inside. Oh the joy of a boy inside a bubble!

Mimi and Gramps learned when they were here that it was never to early in the morning or late in the day for a good tackle.

We've Moved!

Moving Cards were sent out today, so, in the case that some of you actually check out this blog site, I thought I'd treat you to some pictures of our new "crib" and also give you a little background.

Moving Day was February 20, 2009. Almost seven months in the making, we had finally closed on a house in Hudsonville. We were packed and ready to go. In effect we had to move out of two houses, ours in Midland which had laid dormant for the last 7 months, acting only as a storage facility for most of our belongings, and Whitney's parents house in Grand Haven, MI, which was so patiently shared with us for 7 months while Kurt worked out of Muskegon. Notice, there is not a sold sign in Midland yet. Look out Hudsonville, Here come the Scholtens! Hudsonville is a conservative family oriented community located between Grand Rapids and the Lakeshore with great schools! We like the location as it was easily accesible for Kurt's work and for any future visitors. What's Kurt doing now? He's still selling Chemicals, but he was able to find a role with a private chemical distributor, Webb Chemical, that offered a territory in Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan. This meant he could drive to all of his accounts and be home every night after work. His job with MEGlobal (Dow Chemical) was going like gangbusters, but so was his travel schedule. Territory with Dow was best described as "North America" and was offering more and more opportunity but less and less family time. The decision was made as a family to scale back on travel and move to SW Michigan.


Come Visit! This house has a finished basement with a bathroom and 2nd living area that is waiting for you! Here are a few pictures of the basement, so you can see your accomodations! We'll wait to show you the rest of the house when you arrive!



Now for the rest of the story...As we closed the doors on the moving van in Midland, our house was not sold, but as we pulled out of the driveway for the the last time, we got a call on our cell phone and it was an offer on the Midland house. We closed on the midland house on 3/25! So we are officially a 1 house family!

"The Lord has done great things for us, and We are filled with Joy!" - Psalm 126:3

Mac celebrated his 2nd B-day at the new house, Grammy and Gramps S visited already, and we are hosting the Lepard/Oren family for Easter. And lucy?...well lucy's doing her best to support the family, though she misses her woods and her covered porch.

Birthdays

Macabe turned two years old! Where has all the time gone? A two-year well check allowed him to grace the doctor's office with his birthday suit and hat. Yes, he is almost always this goofy. We love it. The vocabulary has exploded from words into detailed sentences and continues to amaze us. He has been having fun finding new hiding places and cubbies in the new house. Bennett is now six months old! He loves his big brother and spends his days smiling and reaching to grab anything he can. He has four teeth and has recently expanded his world by 180 degrees by rolling over. Bennett too is enjoying the new house and the space and solitude his crib and new room provides. Sleeping longer makes both he and Mom and Dad happy campers.

A Few January Favorites

Notice the smiley face peeking in the background.

Big brother, little brother.

Sledding Snow Boys all bundled up.

Trouble on the Rise...more updates

These three amigos are just trouble waiting to happen. You wouldn't believe the way they entertain each other without a single toy and loads of laughter. Cousin Parker enjoys having a baby to love on since his mom and dad won't give him one.

Bennett Blue Eyes perches in his favorite place, snuggled over the shoulder, sometimes liking to be cheek to cheek.

Ahh, cookies in bed. Going to a hotel with Grammy and GrampS is great. I get to break all the rules. Hopefully they won't find the crumbs left behind. It's no problem though, I got my own getaway car for Christmas.

Catch up!...It's been too long.

My how time flies! We've been so busy just having fun together we haven't been able to visit here since Christmas! We had a visit with Santa, of course. He brought Macabe a "Cozy Coupe" car of his own and he couldn't have been more excited. Because it's still too cold, he drives it all over inside the house.

Bennett has grown tremendously. He's as cute as ever, growing more hair, getting teeth, sitting up and eating cereal. This boy smiles more than anybody. And no one can make him belly laugh like his silly older brother!

Macabe had a busy December building forts with his cousin, trying out Gramma's old typewriter and, when no one was looking, discovering that butter sticks to the window and wall when thrown!