Hailey's First Birthday Party

I am so thankful for modern technology!!! This past Saturday was Hailey's first birthday party and I was devasted that we couldn't attend. Thankfully, my sister and I both have Skype, so our family was able to "attend" via Skype!


Betsy turned on the camera and let us enjoy Hailey's party with them. It was such a great time!!!


When it was time for the cake, the little guy felt left out, so I let him eat some "crunchies" while Hailey enjoyed her cake.

Happy Birthday Hailey!

January 18 is a day that I love...because my niece, Hailey, was born on this day last year. I can't believe she is a year old already! Even though I have only met her once, she brings so much joy to my life. My sister and her family are coming to visit in March and I am ecstatic!!!
So this is for you little girl: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! This auntie loves you very much!!! <3

One.More.Day. That is what I've been telling myself all week. Just one more day and it's the weekend. We have no major plans, but at least we can chill at home (in our house that is full of boxes!). In addition to being ill this past Monday, I have also had a sinus infection. So needless to say, my week has been crappy. We are hoping to find out tomorrow if we have the rental house for sure. Ahhh, suspense is not my thing! We are really hoping to move in next weekend (as long as it's ours). So as of right now, we are just hoping and praying and packing :) Hailey Marie is doing wonderful & Betsy is back to work. Hailey gets to spend lots of time with her grammies now-which I'm sure they are LOVING! Hailey-2 months old

This weekend has been great! The weather is UN-believable! High 80s with a warm breeze? Yes please! And today was productive for me as well; I made 8 dinners and froze them for future use. Good golly I was a happy camper to have all that out of the way. I love finding new recipes, so if you have a good one, post it! It's so nice to come home from a long day and Matt has dinner ready for me. And usually if he is in charge of preparing dinner, we eat Mac N Cheese :) But now, we can have an awesome dinner without all the prep work.

Matt is on spring break this week...yay! He works so hard all the time, so he deserves a nice break :)






Tell me this is not the cutest face you have ever seen!

Just a typically Sunday night

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God is Christ Jesus for you" [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]
It's amazing how when you need God the most...bam! He shows Himself. I get daily Bible verses sent to my phone from an app I downloaded awhile ago and the verse above was today's. It made me feel so warm and fuzzy :) I enjoy waking up in the morning and looking over at my phone just so I can see what the verse will be. I recently signed up for our youth daily Bible text and at 7am everyday, I get a text (I think it's work everytime and have a slight freak out that I'm late!) and once I realize who it's from, I get excited to read it.

Hailey is 6 weeks old today! Wow, where did the time go? She is getting so big. Betsy & Jon are amazing parents, and Cappy & Tootsie are great siblings too :)

I made homemade salsa this past weekend. It was so delicious! I also made homemade green chicken enchiladas too and froze a few meals...it was so good too! Now I just wish I had a bigger freezer :)

We are back in the desert! We had an amazing trip :) Meeting Hailey was so awesome. She is one special little girl. It is definitely good to be back with my fur-babies, but I sure do miss the simple life of the mid-west. But sleeping in my own bed last night was GLORIOUS! No matter where you stay, nothing compares to your own bed. We had some snow while we were in Michigan and it was not fun!
Reminds me of the night that Matt & I officially decided to move. We used to go to Uchello's in Standale on Thursday nights for their $2 pizzas after 11pm. One freezing November night, we bundled up and headed out there. As we were getting in the car (which was covered in frost), we waited for it to heat up and shivering Matt yelled, "why are we living here?! It's always freezing!" I agreed and he said he was going to look for jobs in the south. Not gonna lie, I thought he was kidding. Little did I know that he'd get an interview weeks later and was offered the job and we moved a month later. It's crazy the plan that God has in the works...plans that we don't even have on our radar. Even though I miss my family & friends, I am thankful for His plan that led us here :)
Check out our pictures from our trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2504101&id=22419151&l=45149d7442

I had a song stuck in my head tonight. I have no idea how it got in there. I haven't heard the song in years. It was Eddy Money's "Take Me Home Tonight". Random I know. I do not own the song but really wanted to hear it. So what did I do? I you tube'd it of course! What did we do before You Tube?! Whenever I'm on the computer and want to hear a new song, I just you tube it. I officially love You Tube!

Just a little less than 2 weeks and we will be in Michigan with baby Hailey! Riley, Numy & Emma are bummed, but we are beyond excited :) And we have direct flights, which makes the trip even better. We spent about 12 hours traveling to Florida (one way!) this past Christmas. I was so sick of being in the airport and on cramped little airplanes that I wanted to scream! I can't wait to see Hailey, Jonny, Betsy, my mom and my grandmas. We will be making a special trip to see Great Grandma Cora because she is not feeling well. She has Congestive Heart Failure and just had two heart attacks. I am so glad she got to meet Hailey and get a five-generation picture with our family.

Here's the 5 generation picture that we've been waiting so long for...

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, I finished the night by listening to "Crimson & Clover" & "I Think We're Alone Now" :) It must be an 80s night around here!

We have made it almost one week without Pauly. We miss him a ton but are trying to focus on us, work and our fur-babies. We are very excited that in just 3 weeks from tomorrow, yes-tomorrow, we will be in Michigan visiting baby Hailey for the first time!
Enjoy this blast from the past! It was taken on January 4, 2007---the day we arrived in Arizona. It has been 4 years already! We have done so many amazing things here and wouldn't trade this time for anything.

We are an aunt and uncle again! Hailey Marie Van Spyker was born on 1/18/11 at 5:22am. What a blessing she is! She is the most gorgeous baby girl I have ever seen.

See for yourself...



see, I told you!

Hailey had to be transferred to Devos Children's Hospital the day was born because her blood platelets were low, but she is doing great now and she is home with her mommy & daddy! Matt & I leave on the 18th of February (Hailey's 1 month birthday) and we absolutely cannot wait!

Pauly had to leave us today :( Booo. It was a sad day but we know that we don't have a choice in the matter and it's all in God's hands. So now we are soaking up the time we have with each other and waiting for our next placement, and we are praying that it's a permanent one. Please pray for the growth of our family.