July Beach trip

I can't believe it's August already. I am so far behind in posting as our days and weekends have been so full. We spent 9 days at Bethany beach back in July and had a few days there with Mom-mom and Grandpa. As much as we love the beach, we were so pooped (literally as Noah had diarrhea the entire week) that we came home a day early to rest. It was such a great time and our over-stimulated child enjoyed every minute of it. One of our favorite moments was when we were at Rehobeth, and they had to stop the swing ride he was on to take down a crying kid. Noah wasn't too thrilled and started signing "more please" to the operator. We are proud parents of our little beach bum :)

Loved the planes that flew by! I plan on taking him to an airport this week.

Loved all the rides in Rehobeth...

but maybe would rather be at the beach

and a toy for Noah from dada's win in skee ball

Pottstown PA

Not my favorite place, but if you husband can play some amazing volleyball, it's a lot of fun. This past weekend Danny and his buddy Eric played in the annual Pottstown rumble. It was a long 2 days and A LOT of volleyball. If you play well the 1st day, you go on to the 2nd day. If you play well the 2nd day, you keep playing until you lose. Being the positive wife that I am, I thought we would be home early the 2nd day. I told Danny it was a win-win situation- If he wins, great! If not, we go see Noah! Well, after every win Danny came to me and said, "sorry we can't go home baby." Who would've thought that after playing only twice this year and competing against 75 teams, they would end up in the semi-finals finishing at 3rd place :) He is gifted in his athletic abilities, but I'm always more impressed at how he glorifies his Creator with it. I love his sportsmanship. I love how he uses sports to reach out to others, how he's joyful after every win or loss, how he encourages others, how he remains silent when the trash talk is audible, and how he transfers the glory to God through it all. I look forward to him training our kids, and I look forward to watching :)

And the Devries (love those guys) left us a warm welcome to come home to:

He couldn't have said it better...

Happy dada's day. We're missing you!

Chloe prep

Danny and I woke up from a nap while Noah was playing in our room. Who needs toys when you have a hairbrush and a sundress to drag. He played with the both for a good hour.

I like to think he's excited for a little sister. He loves to push strollers, especially pink ones his size.

And now for some manly pictures...

April/May Pics

post Butler's strawberry picking

one for me

one for gido
Easter
more Easter
St. Thomas (love the questionable prego state)
us at the world's most beautiful beach, Cinnamon Bay

and us with the world's cutest couple, Paul & Lauren :)

Camping pics to come!

life

I blog so my kids can look back one day and see some of our favorite adventures of our lives.
Kiddos- I hope you guys realize that with all the joys there have been times that have been not so joyful. Times of discouragement, testing of our faith, and just pure sanctification. Mom and Dad are sinners, (mom can be a very angry one), but the cross has not left us there. Our Savior has cleansed us of these sins and where sin has been present, grace has abounded! He has been faithful to help and uphold us. Because of the cross and the resurrection our hope has been secured and we have power to persevere and change our sinful hearts.

I love the series we've done at church on the resurrection and it's power. This song speaks great volume in my times of discouragement:

How do we know we’ve been forgiven?
How do we know that we’ve been made clean?
How do we know we’ll go to heaven?
How do we know we’ve been redeemed?

You have been raised, the tomb has been opened
Nothing can take away our hope in You
You have been raised, the work is completed
Hell and its powers have been defeated

Now we are free from condemnation
There is no judgment left for us to fear
We don’t have to wonder if we’re welcome
You are the One who’s brought us near

The price You paid for us
Has fully been accepted
Because of Your shed blood
We cannot be rejected

Chloe

We've been waiting for this day since we found out we were pregnant. Today we found out that our long awaited Chloe will be joining the family. Boy names have been challenging for us to pick out, but Chloe was both one of our favorite girl name since we've been engaged. We got to see her face, her long arms and legs, and her feet today. I love our little girl, and I look forward to embracing her this fall. I'm having a little hard time with the fact that there will be pink stuff in our home, so she might look like a tomboy for a while :) In the meantime I am trying to enjoy my days with Noah. He loves to play with momma ALL the time. Fortunately the weather has been wonderful, and we've had many long walks and park time together. I've given up on our camera as the batteries die after one click. Once we have accumulated more Best Buy giftcards, I will have my Mother's day/Bday/Anniversary/ Christmas gift. Now I'm off to sort through lots of pink :)

My bday at Filomenas

Yesterday was my birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better day. The hubster was supposedly out of town until Thursday, but being the man I know him to be, he surprised me a day early. I guess you could say it was a surprise. Like I said, I know him too well and yes I was suspicious, but not until the day before. He did good. I walked into the kitchen that morning finding a vase of flowers and a card awaitng me. Who needs Proflowers when you got the Devries? So my cousins were "supposedly" picking me up for dinner, but long story short, I was able to meet and greet my knight in shining armor a day early. Surprise!

Here's the good part. We went to Georgetown and ate at Filomenas, an Italian restaurant. YUM, YUM, YUM! I can't get over how amazing the food was. It was reasonably priced, and I was so excited to have enough for lunch the next day. Unfortunately, Danny finished his plate, but if he wasn't so embarrassed by me I would've asked them to box his leftover white sauce. I don't think I could ever eat at another Italian place. At first I was alarmed with their holiday decor. It was pretty scary how many Easter bunnies there were in that place. There were bunnies in baskets hanging everywhere. Anyway, we topped off the night with a walk and a strawberry chocolate crepe at Snap, and it was just a very enjoyable evening. I felt like we were dating :) And did I mention the gorgeous weather that day? Much needed for someone with seasonal affective disorder. I did take pictures! A few of the bunnies and one of us...

bunny in convertible

bunnies greeting you at the entrance

bunny in a bicycle (from the ceiling)
the happy couple

Expecting, Noah, and St. Thomas

The title pretty much sums up the past month or so. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of baby Sutton number 2 in early October! This pregnancy has been pretty much the same as the first- nauseated, vomiting and narcoleptic. I seriously can sleep on demand. I'm hoping the symptoms will get better sooner than it did with Noah though. It's been really tough at times, but there has been much grace. I must say one of the biggest blessings has been having the Devries living downstairs. Hannah has blessed Danny with dinner several times sparing him from consecutive nights of PBJ :) I really need a seperate post on how wonderful it's been having them live here!

With the influence of his friend Makenna, who pretty much started walking from birth, Noah finally started walking on his own at 15 months. He still does the Frankenstein maneuver to help keep his balance, but he's doing it! His latest toys/obsessions has been the vacuum and the vitamix. He will sit outside both the closet and the cabinet where they are stored and "whoo whoo" for long periods. My dad will vacuum the whole house when he's here to make him happy. No complaints there. And mommy consoles him when they are turned off. We took him to the zoo on the one warm day we had in March, and the kid was pretty bored. All the animals we looked at- elephants, gorillas, lions, and tigers were prety much stationary. None of them moved so they had his attention for only a few seconds. He did enjoy the little jumping monkeys in the ape house. All that to say, Baby Einstein's, Old Macdonald is much more enjoyable for a 15 month old. He's learning to say "E-I-E-I-O" too. It still sounds more like "O-O-O-O-O." I still think he's a smart cookie.

And finally, we went to St. Thomas for 5 days last week, and what can I say? It was absolutely beautiful! Noah stayed at home with my parents, and did awesome. It was the club trip for Danny's job which is always a fun and FREE treat. You get really cool free stuff while you're there too. One of the highlights was spending time with our good friends, Paul and Lauren Rohwer. Lots of laughs and memories hoarding bottled water, eating the worlds best chocolate desert, dodging from iguanas and our all time fave, snorkeling. I lost our camera before we left (surprise, surprise) so I will post some pics up when I get them from Lauren, our photographer. And the second highlight was being upgraded to first class for FREE on the plane ride home. What a treat- a free meal with a warm chocolate chip cookie, a lemon in my always filled glass of water, and a chair I could actually sleep in. Danny and I were giggling the whole time with excitement that neither one of us slept. It was fun, but a tutorial on where and how to get the tray out would have been helpful. It was a much needed and relaxing trip. Ok, now for some random pics..

Noah's encouragement note for his sick momma (thanks for the help dada)

making a messCleaning his mess. He really is domesticated-don't know where he get's it from making another mess loving his vacuum

trying on clothes

enjoying monkeys March Madness time! not enjoying the Lions

Totswap joys

I hope to blog soon, but I had to upload this. This has been our favorite video. You'll get the best laugh after round 2 :)

Noah's game

full time mom

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. " Proverbs 16:9

About a month ago, Danny and I decided for me to stop working so I could stay at home full time. This was not an easy decision. I loved my job, and despite the emotional, mental, and physical challenges I truly enjoyed being a surgical oncology nurse. So often I reminisce of all the wonderful moments I shared with the gifted staff and patients. I had an amazing supervisor, a fun and active working environment, many friends, and an overall rewarding career. Why would I let that all go? The pay was a blessing too, but that's really not what I miss until a holiday comes by :( I was only working part time towards the end, but through recurring circumstancs, I felt the Lord strongly tugging on my heart to come home. I had to rethink my priorities and my desires, and I felt an attack on my pride. I wanted to work. We didn't need me too, but I wanted to be that mom that could do it all. It was so hard letting go of a 6 year career I knew and did so well. I still needed the Lord then, but I was getting comfortable. I really do feel it's easier being at work sometimes than at home. I am definitely more aware of my dependenc on the Lord and growing in my trust in the Lord being a mom. It was hard to say goodbye to the nurses I loved and laughed with so much, and the patients I deeply cared for. I couldn't have asked for a better place to work. When I was in nursing school, one of the first thing I said was that I didn't want to be an oncology nurse. I didn't think I could handle it. Only the Lord knew what was best for me, and in his kindness, brought me to a unit I would've never thought existed. He was too kind. I plan on maintaining my friendships and am enjoying becoming more effective at home, especially in the kitchen :) Although I want to keep my license, the plan is to stay home for now. Down the road I would love to pick up a few shifts here and there, but only if the Lord wills.

a disturbing day

A few days ago, one of my worst fears became a reality. If it wasn't for my faithful friend and Hero, Hannah, I don't know where I would be. Here's what took place:

Hannah: Noah, what's in your mouth?
Me: I don't know, but one of these days I'm afraid it will be a stinkbug

Hannah: Oh my! It is a stinkbug!
Me: (with palpitations) screams and panics
Noah: cry

Hannah SO KINDLY removed the stink bug out of his mouth, and when Noah kept chewing, she proceeded to remove the other half. I'm still very much disturbed by it all. I will trust that the Lord would have granted special grace for me to take it out if she wasn't there, but I am so SO GRATEFUL she was. Noah was a little shakin by it all, and so I put him on his ride to make him happy, and then he had a little accident...

He never rides over the step! But it was a rough day for him. He's still so alarmed, that just about everytme I say his name with concern he just sticks out his tongue. So, to remove any unwanted images you have in your mind, here's some normal things Noah is getting in to...

Where does the time go?

Ok, so much for trying to blog once a month. I am seizing nap time to catch up. If Noah takes a 4 hour nap as he did yesterday, I should be good. Thanksgiving and Christmas were so much fun. We spent lots of time with family and friends and at holiday party's. Again, I did an outstanding job taking 0 pictures of all of that.

We did the christmas cookies at mom-mom's and grandpa. I was excited that more than half of the sugar was accidently missed in the batter, so I doubled my intake of gingerbread men this year. Then we celebrated the truth of Christmas at the Christmas Eve service. We stuck to our traditions and talked about what traditions we will start in the coming years- traditions that will teach our children to exalt the message of the gospel and savor the gift of Jesus coming to die on a cross in the place of undeserved sinners.

Noah turned a year on December 19th. We said we weren't going to do a party, and somehow he ended up with 2! On his birthday we actually went to another birthday party, and Ana was so kind enough to make a cake for him and celebrate his birthday with her daughter's, Naomi. Then later that week, (I should've known) my mom broke out the candles and balloons and surprised him with more joy...

Noah, we love you so much!!!! When daddy is home in the morning we compete and race to your crib to see who gets to see you first! I love how you smile at us first thing in the morning and start pointing to everything you see. You are so much fun to play with. I wish I had known sooner that all you would need is a ping pong ball to make you happy and content for a few hours. And now, you give great hugs and you melt our hearts when you kiss us and say "mmmm-ma." I love chasing you when you're crawling because you get so excited that you start crawling towards me! You make me laugh ALL the time. You've set the standard high for your future siblings, as you're the only kid I've ever known that will eat and adult serving of broccoli- that makes me proud! We are so delighted to be your parents and we look forward to many more joys to come! Happy birthday Noah!

Happy Birthday!

dada after work

Danny,
I am so happy to be celebrating another birthday with you. I look at your 33rd year and I celebrate what God has done. I love you so much more after all that I've seen in you this past year. You have grown in humility, more aware of your need for help as you transitioned to being a father. Thank you for the way you have diligently pursued the Lord. Thank you for being a loving and patient husband who sacrifices daily for his family. You work so hard. Thank you for coming home ALWAYS joyful and eager to help and care for Noah. I love how excited he gets when he see's you. There isn't a day that goes by where I am not amazed at God's kindness to me through you. I love you and happy birthday!

little laughs

Noah is always doing something that makes me smile. Today I walked in his room, saw him and laughed. I felt terrible as I left him crying while I ran downstairs to get the camera. He learned that crawling backwards eventually leads to a dead end...

More October Fun

The busy month has come to an end. The latter half of our October weekends concluded with a trip to Butler's Orchard with the B. Sutton's and a night at CLC for the harvest party :)