Kylie May

Kylie May

Layla Faith

Layla Faith

Zoey Noelle

Zoey Noelle

Boyee

Boyee
Our baby boy, due March 16th.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Homeowners Again!

It worked! Finally, we're done with the "buying a house" journey.

Bryan said it best:
"I'd first like to thank GOD. He makes a path when there seems to be a dead end. Thanks big guy. Thank you to the best realtor in Green Bay Greg Dallaire. Thanks for being awesome. Brian Wickert and his awesome team for getting us this mortgage. And finally my beautifully pregnant wife. Nancy Gruse you know as well as I do that none of this would have been possible with out your hard work. Thank you very much for helping our growing family get a home to grow in. Goodbye (and then I kick over the mic stand like a rock star)"

Here are some pics from today. Lots of work to be done in the next couple weeks. 





We brought Kylie's princess table with markers and coloring books for her new bedroom. Now, she'll have something to do while we're working. Bryan and Kylie took out the laminate in the master bedroom. She's a great helper!

Should be a fun few weeks!



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Experiencing Our Generous God

Just one day after my last post, we received the phone call that the offer was accepted on our house. Our prayers were heard and I just had to ask. Sometimes it just feels that simple. Other times, it feels like such a struggle. God is a generous God.

Our church did a short series on tithing a little while back. Bryan & I have always put a priority on tithing. When we lived in Stevens Point, there were many times that we 'tested God' in this and He always provided. As everyone has struggled a little in their finances these last couple years, we put our tithing aside. Not on purpose. It just happened. I didn't remember, or I spent the money on something else before I 'could' pay our tithe. A couple months ago, we faithfully began again. Full-well knowing that He would provide for us. Money had been tight with all of the expenses of getting this house. A few hundred for an inspection, a few for an appraisal, mortgage insurance, closing costs & the costs to get the house ready to move into! We knew it was time to obey God (shouldn't have stopped!) and trust Him.

It worked. Surprise, surprise. We have experienced so many unexpected blessings. Saving where we didn't think we could afford an amount. Having just enough to pay for certain expenses and normal monthly bills.

With all of that being said, here are two scriptures that I've been thinking of this week.

Malachi 3:8-11 The Message
"Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. "You ask, 'How have we robbed you?' "The tithe and the offering - that's how! And now you're under a curse - the whole lot of you - because you're robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasure so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams."

I like the way The Message reads. "...see if I don't open up heaven and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams." It kind of has a snotty sound to it. Instead of saying 'I will open up heaven...', He encourages us to test him.

The other verse was posted by a friend of mine on Facebook.

1 Peter 5:8-11 The Message
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in christ - eternal and glorious plans they are! - will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does.

I have suffered and am finally understanding my Generous God. Maybe not understanding, but seeing that His word promises that suffering won't last forever. Our family has made it through one set of suffering and are now seeing the glorious plans. I know there may be more suffering and we will stand strong again. I know some families are going through huge trials over and over. I pray that this scripture will be an encouragement and reminder. "Keep a firm grip on the faith. He gets the last word; yes, He does."

On a side note, we had our 35 weeks ultrasound with Dr. Hayes. He was happy to give us good news and his "final blessing" on our baby girl. He said she's perfect & following the growth chart as normal. Fifty-third percentile for growth. She's already 6 pounds and should be a little over 7 by the time she's born on the 15th.  Our ultrasound tech said she has a lot of hair (just like the other girls). Her head is pretty low, so we didn't get a good pic of her face. Soon enough! I'm sure these next few weeks will go by quickly.

Thanks for checking in & praying with us!



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Boring Update

Hey! I haven't posted in so long. I remember this little break I took right before we had Layla, too. I've been busy finishing up Simply Fresh Films work & preparing for Zoey! We don't have any exciting updates with the house or the baby. I suppose that's a good thing, in a way.

House update: still waiting. Yay short sales. It sure is a good deal, but takes a lot of patience. We made our offer in November. In February, they came back at a different price & we accepted it. Now, we're waiting for them to accept that. I know, I don't get it either. We were hoping to close by the end of March, but that's becoming unlikely. Even thought we don't quite have the house, we've had it measured for new carpet and paint. We're trying to get estimates and stay on top of things. Just in case we get it in the end of the month, we'd love to get it ready asap. We won't be moving in until the flooring & painting is done. Please pray with us. We're praying that the bank 1-accepts the offer, 2- accepts it soon! Also for our financing to go through in the mean time.

Baby update: still waiting. We're very patient people. I'm starting to remember how long I've been waiting for this! Pregnant since April 2011 (with a break between Layla & Zoey, but ready for a baby the whole time). It's been a long time coming for us and now I can't believe how close we are! I have a c-section scheduled for April 15th at 8 am! I've been going over scheduling details with Bryan, work & family. Now, I would love for it to go as planned, but we'll see. We had an appointment last week. Everything is measuring right and looks good. Baby is head down but not dropped. We have a 35 week appointment on Tuesday. It's another big ultrasound with Dr. Hayes and an appointment with our Dr. afterwords. I can't wait to see her cute face again. After that, we have appointments every week until the c-sec date (at 39 weeks). I'm sure this last month will go by very fast!

So, we're hoping to be in the house before the 15th. I'm trying to be realistic, so I took out 'enough' stuff for Zoey at our current place. Things I think I'll use in the first month or so. Everything else is packed away. Who knows? Maybe we'll be moving while I'm on maternity leave. I guess that could work. We want to rush to move in & get the house ready, but at the same time we want to do it right & make sure everything is done before we move in. It will all work out in God's timing. Please pray that we continue to be patient and trust in His time. Man, it can be hard!

There have been so many cute moments with Kyle & Zoey. Just last night she was talking to my belly about Layla. I said that Zoey doesn't know about Layla yet. Her response was "I can tell her about her! Zoey, Layla is a special little girl in heaven watching over us. She died and she's in heaven. So I have a necklace for you when you come. Love you. Goodnight." It was so sweet. Kylie is going to be such a good big sister. I know that's what everyone says about their kids. Kylie is so aware of everything and a naturally caring person. She's very 'motherly' in everything she does. Maybe a little too bossy, but it's cute for now.

We spent my birthday in Shawano with my sister. It was a great relaxing time. The kids were great and we went swimming. It felt so cool with swim while pregnant. What a great feeling! No pressure or back pain. Just floated around in the warm pool. Chad took the kids while we had a spa party followed by pizza & cake! Perfect bday celebration!

I've been feeling good at work. Some days are longer than others. I worked a little over 40 hours last week, so I'm going to try to slow down a bit in this last month by taking Friday's off. And I'll try not to work as much at home after I leave work! Easing myself into maternity leave, I guess. We record the radio show on Monday & Tuesdays. I run the camera so it's a lot of standing. I'm in the process of training someone to cover for me while I'm gone. I also tried to write up what our schedule will be like while I'm on leave and through the summer. Should be interesting.

That's about all I have for now. I'll probably post more maternity/family pics on my blog. I just love them so much and I didn't post many last week.

Happy days to you all. Thanks for your support & prayers through all of our craziness.

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Family Pictures

I'm so excited to share our family/maternity pictures with you! My friend, Heidi, took them last Sunday. They turned out great. I was so excited to have pics in the pretty snow. Kylie was so good, the entire day. We started outside and moved to The Creamery in De Pere for some inside pics. It was nice and cozy with hot drinks & delicious cupcakes!

Check out the pics!



Friday, March 01, 2013

Pancake Squares

We had the most delicious breakfast on Thursday. It was pajama day at Kylie's school and we were all home in the morning with extra time for breakfast.

I found this recipe on Pintrest. It didn't take long to make and was a huge hit! Bryan and I have always had issues making pancakes. Part of the problem was that Bryan was using the waffle recipe on the Bisquick box every time he made them. The other problem is getting the right temp on the skillet. The first couple are never done right. Just when we perfect it, there's not batter left!

I love this recipe for Pancake Squares, because you get a whole 9 x 13 dish of fluffy pancakes in 30 minutes. Then you can all sit down at eat at the same time!

Here's a pic from the original people who posted them. Ours looked just as good, but my pic isn't as cute.





Here's the recipe for a 9 x 13 dish:

Beat:
2 eggs
4 T melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk
2 T sugar

Beat into wet ingrediants:
2 Cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

We each like our pancakes so different. I prefer just butter. Kylie loves chocolate chips. Bryan always stacks them and adds chocolate chips and syrup!

Next time you need a delicious breakfast, try it out! You'll love it.