River Adventure

There are moments in my life where I wonder, how in the world I get here?

Steve and I have very different personalities.  Steve is an extrovert, loves adventure, and an optimist to boot!

I, on the other hand, am an introvert {who loves people}. I am more on the conservative side, and I have a pretty clear vision of reality. 

So when it comes to family fun, I have learned to let go and try to celebrate Steve's sense of adventure. 

This weekend we found ourselves headed North with two kayaks strapped to our mini van. {we like to imagine it's a Subaru...don't burst our bubble.} 

Unlike our previous river adventures we had a three year old in tow this time, who seemed to be up for the adventure. With our box of crackers, paddles, and a robin's egg we found in the lake {yes. I knew the egg was going to eventually break. yes. I said, sure let's take it along anyway} we were on our way.

In true Steve fashion, he stumbled upon a place other than our original destination and instantly made friends with the owners.  While Steve and Gibson were getting the ENTIRE history of Henry's Landing, Elliott and I explored the store, finding $7 hats and lots to giggle at.

About an hour later {yep, that's how long Steve talks to new people} we were finally off on our river adventure.  

We had some trepidation at first as the river began with some rough waters.  But once we were past the fast moving ripples we floated, fished, caught a PIKE! transferred Finley from boat to boat to prevent toddler burn out, got a little slap happy as we approached hour 3, and all cheered when we saw the final bridge. 

The more and more I surrender to Steve's adventurous side, the more and more I think my true self was made for adventure.  As I sat on the river and watched our party of five, I realized how full my heart was and found my self thanking God that my life has taken this route.

Korea Outtakes.....

You say my husband looks dapper in his tie? Truth be told, it isn't his tie and the shoes he is wearing are not his either...... They are the accessories of the General Manager of our hotel ... long story....

Kalen....the little boy who first bonded us to Finley by playing soccer with her.

A picture taken by Finley girl.

Our first Korean meal on the floor.

It looks like we have a budding photographer on our hands.

So thankful for face time with these goofy kids.

Yes, blogger stinks in Korea too.

Yep, a baby octopus.

Another Finley pic.

Please note first picture.... the hunt for a size 11 shoe in Korea almost put me over the edge.

After Steve's relentless pursuit, I agreed to try on this dress.... as she pulled out the dressing room I told Steve he owed me one.... please note security camera above....

We even got to watch baseball in Korea!



Wohoo, Elliott hit a single.

And what do you know.... we even got a morning call from Bruno.

Moose ears, what else would you do on day 9 of face time?

Have I mentioned I think older Koreans are just about as cute as little Koreans? This gentleman reminded me of my Grandpa.

While in Asia, play ping pong...
Steve 1 - Theresa 1
{there is something to be said for slow and steady wins the race}

Let it be known that Korean chopsticks are NOT the same as American chopsticks. I finally found a pair that kept me from eating my entire meal with a spoon.

Yes, every Korean meal comes with all of these fixings.
*Please note cute older gentleman in the background....the true reason for the picture?
Maybe.

Korea......until we meet again.

project52: Shoes

It was the Christmas of two thousand and seven.

I hadn't had a full night of sleep in seven months, and all I wanted for Christmas was a baby that slept four hours straight and a pair of jeans that actually fit me.

When the time came for this tired Mama to open her brand new pair of jeans, two sizes bigger than she had ever worn before, Steve instead walked to the curtains, pulling them back to reveal.....

A snowboard.

A brand spanking new snowboard.

I wanted to cry.

I had snowboarded once before. Once.

I secretly did not like it at all, but did it because Steve loved it.

And now, much to my chagrin, I was the proud owner of a K2 women's white snowboard with a splash of lavender.

Steve could see through my fake excitement and told me he bought it because he knew that one day  we could take our boys snowboarding, and now I could join in the fun.

.....

Yesterday, one day  finally arrived, as we took our boys on their first inaugural snowboarding trip.

With the sun shining, each of our boys took to the slopes.

As Gibson and I were riding up the chair lift, he looked up at me and said, Mom, this is the best day of my life.

With that, my heart melted, and for the first time I was thankful for what stood behind the curtains on that Christmas day six years before.

They were Shoes I never had any desire to fill, but sometimes you just have to lace them up, face your fears and try something new because one day  you may love it.

Now, lace up your shoes and head to Katie's beautiful post to see the many places her shoes have taken her.

Octobers

....filled with fun,

pumpkins,

hide-n-seek,

bright, shining sun,

family,

cousins,

and corn maze fun.

A Little Bit of Grey

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

So, when one of my apples started to worry about following the rules like it was his job, I cringed knowing that apple fell directly from my branch.

As a child, I would fret about the right thing to do.  I never stirred the pot and never did anything that was against the rules.

Through the eyes of my 5 year old self everything was black and white.

In recent years I have discovered that it is quite possible that my true self may not be quite the rule follower I always thought I was.

I have discovered the grey, and have found it to be quite a lovely shade.

Today, I decided that it was time to take a break from the black and white and live in the grey.

At 11:00, I confidently {that's a lie... I was bit nervous of getting yelled at} signed the kids out from school to take them on an afternoon adventure to ArtPrize.

As we took in the city and the art surrounding us I...

savored the fleeting moments of Elliott still
wanting to hold my hand,

smiled each time Gibson wanted to take notes about 

each and every piece,

even if it meant he was lagging behind,

paused long, to capture these two boys
 and remember this day always,

stopped and asked two different families about their adopted
babies because the boys wanted to tell them about their baby sister,

and soaked in each moment because grey can be beautiful.

First Date

Eleven summers ago I met a cute boy at a wedding. His name was Steve, and he asked me if I would consider going on a date with him.

I said yes, and the rest is history. 

This summer we decided to take the boys on our first date, to show them where it all began.

Our first date, eleven years ago, lasted 14 hours and spanned the lakeshore from Silver Lake to Grand Haven. Over the course of a summer weekend, we tried to retrace our steps and reminisced along the way.

As we waited for our dune ride, our first stop was
Little Sable Point Lighthouse.
2001: Steve and I were just getting to know each other and walked slowly up to the lighthouse.
2012: Gibson and Elliott blasted up the sandy paths as we trailed behind, trying to catch up.

While we were at the dunes, we sat, took in the view and talked.

2001: We sat for quite some time talking about

 anything and everything.

2012: We sat just long enough to get a picture,

 before the boys wanted to try their hand at dune jumping.

Still waiting for our dune ride, we decided to play 

a round of mini golf.

2001: Steve and I placed a bet on the winner of the round.

 The loser had to make dinner for the winner.  

{first sign the date was going well...mention of a second date*}

Steve won... I made dinner.

2012: Steve and I were more concerned with passing the 

swearing teenagers in front of us and quelling the mounting

competitiveness of our boys than placing a bet.The winner? who knows?

The time for our dune ride arrived.

2001: I pretended I was not nervous at all and acted cool as a cucumber as we blasted through the dunes.

2012: Was a little less composed as we tried to figure out the *rules of the dunes. Instead of worrying about how my hair was getting bigger by the moment, I was worrying about the boys getting whiplash and corneal abrasions from massive amounts of flying sand. 

{*Hint- there are NONE}

After our dune rides, Steve treated me to a twist cone.

2001: This ice cream cone was the only food stop on our 14 hour date, and I was STARVING.

2012: Steve now has many years of 1st hand knowledge of the result

of  not feeding me often, and he scheduled in a stop for some real food.

The final stop of our date took us to the end of the north pier in Grand Haven.

2001: I knew that Steve could be the one for me as he prayed at the end of the pier and said hello to the lone fisherman on the pier at midnight.

2012: As Steve prayed at the end of the pier for the next eleven years, I was ever more thankful that he is the one that God chose for me.

In the wee hours of the morning Steve dropped me off at my college house.

2001: As a true gentleman, Steve walked me to the door, said thank you, and he walked away without kissing me.

2012: Steve walked me to where the door used to be and still didn't give me a kiss, explaining his first date rules to the boys.

Sixteen months after our first date this handsome man became my husband,

and eleven years later we were lucky enough to go on our first date all over again, this time with two handsome boys in tow.

Outtakes

{all of the fun things we didn't do on our first date}

We climbed the lighthouse and took in the beautiful view on a very windy day.

We climbed down and received a sticker to mark our accomplishment.

The boys hitched a ride in a authentic dune buggy.

And, we each took a turn dune jumping.