7 Months

One month ago we moved into our new home and I couldn't be happier! Eli loves having a room completely devoted to his toys. He has space to crawl around without me having to pick him up every few seconds and place him back where he started and he is safe without the worry of shelves, books, tables, or cords to hurt himself on. Eli likes to crawl short distances but lately he will get really excited about something across the room and make this really fast, airy, excited ha ha ha sound as he speed crawls for the item (which is usually a "no" or "Eli, please don't touch - mommy doesn't need that right now" item.) Is it weird to not just say "no?" I do say no and am not afraid to say it but I feel like I'll be saying it too much and am wondering if saying it with the reason for not touching makes sense right now?! Anyway...rambling much? :P

Lately I have been very down (not quite depressed - I can still function) regarding my weight. I know that how I feel and how I look are completely on me and my lack of healthy eating and exercising. I also have been down about my lack of motivation. I can come up with a thousand reasons why I don't eat what I should and don't get outside as much as I need to but no excuse in the book is going to loose me my weight. So, I have decided to start a high protein low sugar, fat, calorie, carb diet. I also am going to treat this time like a fast (since it is a fast from the foods I used to eat) and when I feel tempted to munch or stay inside when I know I need to go for a walk or eat the carrot vs. chips, I'll pray, read, and meditate on how to keep my body as a living sacrifice. I know I should have been doing this more in the first place but there is always room for improvement and believe me, there is room!

So, why am I telling the world? Maybe so I feel a tad more guilty if I fall off the tracks and cheat but mostly so if I seem unfocused or uninterested in something you say, do, or ask, you might not take it too personally (although smack me out of it if this does happen so I can focus on those things because they are important to me). I'm going to be focusing on not eating your candy bar (or you! lol) vs. the protein bar in my hand over what shoes look better with what outfit.

Anyway, that's what is going on in this girls life right now. How is everyone's end of summer going? I have seen tons of adorable "back to school" pictures and am looking forward to Eli's first picture! :)

Through Sickness and Health, Until Death do Us Part

It has been two years to the day since Steve and I got married. It is hard to believe all that has happened since I walked down the isle arm in arm with my daddy towards the man of my dreams.

I remember like it was yesterday. The auditorium was filled with whites, greens, and light browns; the room was transformed into a forest of flowers and greenery - a dream! My mom and dad and extended family worked so hard to make it look perfect. Many of the flowers were grown at my parent's house by my amazing mother; she also made the wreath of flowers that hung above us while we made our vows before God and our witnesses.
My dress was laced up the back, I slipped into my sandals, grabbed my flowers, and waited for Claire De Lune to start before I made my way nervously down the isle towards my friend and ultimately, my lover. I was hardly able to contain my tears as my father gave me away to Steve. My father-in-law prayed and the ceremony was started. Our good friend and Pastor read us our vows, challenged us in how our lives should be lived as husband and wife from that day forward, and prayed over our marriage. As the song, Love Never Fails, was sung by other dear friends of ours, Steve and I lit the unity candle and looked longingly into each others eyes. I remember thinking at that time how blessed I was to have such a loving, caring, encouraging, godly, humorous, and intelligent man in my life (and that feeling has only grown over these past two years)! Steve and I had eyes only for each other and in that moment, felt like we were the only two people in the room. Oh how I remember that day! As the song slowly faded and we exchanged rings (me not being able to get Steve's on because I was scared of pushing too hard), we shared another look that spoke volumes to what our future would be like.
FINALLY, Pastor Raemisch gave Steve the permission to "kiss the bride!" ;) I felt like my butterflies were going to take me away! I was so nervous we would kiss too long, not long enough, would we look awkward, or would it be just right?! Finally I just didn't care any more!! I was with the man who loved me for me! He loved me no matter my faults and that was what mattered. How I am blessed!!
After we greeted our guests, we were making sure we had everything with us to take to the reception and I all of a sudden realized we didn't have our car pulled up and ready to go! "Steve, where are your keys?! Everyone is waiting for us!" Steve and I were frantically looking in our dressing rooms and couldn't find any of our things! lol Finally Steve's sister comes running in asking us what is taking so long and we explained the dilemma. She explained that if we would just come out side, everything was taken care of - and it was! Waiting for us was a limo with our wedding party waiting inside. :) Funny how all the details are sorted out for the wedding but we some how forgot to plan how we would get from point A to point B. ;) That day was quite an adventure!

Well, after two years of marriage we have a beautiful baby boy, Eli! I can't believe he is already 6 1/2 months old!! Steve has slowly moved up in his company at Gentex, I worked full time for 2 years before Eli was born, we have a new home, stronger relationships with family and friends, and ultimately are more strong in our relationship together and with the Lord than we ever have been. I'm thankful for Steve's leadership in this area (especially over the past few months) and his desire for Eli to know the Lord as well.
Steve, thank you for all you have done for me, with me, and continue to do. You are so loved and I pray we have many more years together!

Love always,
Kellbug - w.p. <3

My daddy walking me down the isle. <3

Our wonderful bridal party (sorry to the two on the end who got cut out) and the decorations 

my family worked so hard on.

Pam and John Elmore singing Love Never Fails

First kiss as husband and wife. <3

6 1/2 Months

In honor of my son turning six months old, I thought I would reflect on those past six months. :)

Eli Stephen Vruggink - Born February 4, 2012 at 3:58am. Weighed in at 8lbs, 14oz. and was 21.5in. long. This was the happiest, scariest, and most awesome day of my life. We love you, baby boy!

• Feb. 4, 2012 - Mar. 4, 2012
• Eli was born 2 days before Steven's 28th birthday! (Happy birthday daddy!)
• Eli was so fussy, didn't like to sleep for longer than 30 minute stretches (if that), and didn't like to be held if we were going to sit (what kid wants their parents to be comfy while they cuddle them! lol). He enjoyed his sponge bathes, songs, reading time, watching thunderstorms roll in, and walks outside in the unseasonably warm February air.
• Eli weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 21.5in at birth. He dropped those 5oz in the first week but shot up to 8lbs 14oz within the next 6 days. My little man was around 12 or 13lbs by one month old. :) 
• Eli went to his first euchre tournament at 2 weeks old! 
• Eli had his first professional pictures taken at the end of February (See photo below). 

Eli Stephen Vruggink - 1 month old

• Mar. 4, 2012 - Apr. 4, 2012
• At two months old, Eli weighed in at a perfect 14lbs! He did wonderful during his shots and never had a fever. My lil guy is such a heart breaker; the nurses all wanted to take him home. ;) I love going to his check ups; our doctor is always so encouraging and reminds me of what a good job Steve and I are doing and that we are doing everything "right." God is so good and are so blessed!
• A lot changed in one month. Eli loved to sleep! It was like a light was switched in his head that said, "Hey, you're tired....so sleep!" lol My lil guy was sleeping from 11pm to 8am and then 10pm to 8 or 9am! He still didn't like naps and was still fussy but since I was getting sleep, I could manage a lot easier during the day.
• Eli started enjoying floor time for short parts of the day. Eli was given his favorite toy - Elly the Elephant from this friend Jayden. :)
• We did a lot of walking at the mall since it was raining a lot. 
• We spent a lot of time visiting my family and Steve's family during the days for something to get us out of the apartment. :)
• I turned 22 on April 1, 2012 and was given a new camcorder to capture all our moments on. <3 
• Eli slept over at my parent's house for the first time...ever! It was hard being away from him even if it was just for an evening. :'(

Eli enjoying the unseasonably warm weather at 2 months old!

• Apr. 4, 2012 - May 4, 2012
• Eli went to his first Kentucky Derby party at Tom and Barb Gudelsky's house in Grand Haven!
• We did a lot of walks, outings with friends, and time in doors due to wet weather.
• Eli weighed about 16lbs. 
• Not a lot happened this month! lol

"I'm tired of playing with these things...pick me up time?!"

•  May 4, 2012 - June 4, 2012
• Eli weighed 18lbs at this check up! Doctor said all was normal!
• We visited the extended Vruggink family for Memorial day. 
• We had play dates with Jaylin and Jaden and Ella!
• Speaking of Ella, we got to celebrate her 2nd birthday on May 6, 2012! Eli loves his big buddy...it's like the older sister he'll never have. :) We love all our buddies!
• Steve worked a lot this month.
• We started considering house hunting!...continue to link for more months!!

Eli's favorite past time!

•  June 4, 2012 - July 4, 2012
• Aunti Did turned 20 on June 5! Happy birthday, Aunti!
• We went up north to Paradise Hallow for a Vruggink family vacation! We had a blast swimming, wine tasting, playing games, going for walks around Travers City, and resting with our family. 
• Eli is our little fishy! We celebrated his best friends 1st birthday on June 13 with a pool party!! 
• Eli had his Child Dedication Ceremony at Grace Community Church on Father's day. It was so special doing it on Steve's first Father's day. We long to raise Eli as a man after God's own heart and that is what we dedicated him to. <3
• We did a lot of swimming over at my parent's house during this month. 
• My dear friend, Liz, came home from AZ for a short visit and got to hang with Steve, myself, and Eli for a few days. We went house hunting and filled out papers to put a bid on our current house while she watched Eli for us. :)

Our little sailor!

•  July 4, 2012 - August 4, 2012
• We closed on our house and moved in on July 31, 2012!!
• More cook outs, swimming, and park adventures. 
• Eli had been rolling around for 2 months but finally started scooting around the floor. No official crawls at that time. 
• Eli celebrated another friends 1st birthday on 8/11/12 even though Jaylin's birthday isn't until 8/19/12. ;)
• After we moved into the house we slowly collected more furniture and I have yet to get it painted so it matches everything else. All in due time. :)
• My little man is half a year old. Where did the time go?!
• Elysa did a 6 month photo shoot (not quite in this time frame but close enough) for Eli and a 1 year photo shoot for her daughter Jaylin. This picture is not my property and all photo credit goes to Elysa Yvonne Photography. Check out her work here; she does a great job! Professional Photos 

Eli at 6 1/2 months old! (See link above for owner of this picture and check out her beautiful work!)

 Well, if you read through this whole thing, props! I am so blessed and thankful for the wonderful life God has given me. I love my son more than life its self and wouldn't change a thing!! <3

Home Sweet Home

Flowers from our relator on our recent closing.

Sorry for the long time in between posts. We closed on our house and took possession on July 30, 2012! We moved in that day with help from some amazing friends and family members. We finished moving by 5pm that following day since we needed to be out of our apartment by that time and it had to be cleaned from head to toe (not an easy thing to do with a baby). We love the new house after having been here for a week (crazy how fast that one week went)! Like all "used" things, we have found small things here and there that need fixing or change. We need to repaint Eli's future bedroom from the tennis ball green/yellow that it currently has on all four walls to something a little less violent to the eyes. The garage door doesn't want to close so for now it's manually being pushed open and closed (it doesn't look like anything is blocking the sensor so we will call on that soon). Where the previous owners decorated with nails or metal objects the outlines and holes can be seen and need to be puttied and repainted. On the plus side, they left us all the window coverings for all the rooms! We love the colors of the rooms except for Eli's neon green. The house is so spacious and inviting and Eli loves scooting from one room to the other when he has the patience for it! ;)


Today my mom and I mowed the lawn, trimmed the tall grass around the whole house, edged the drive way and sidewalk, plucked spent flower stems from the landscape, and planned future landscaping adventures. I truly enjoy the work that is going into our home and the yard we have. We are so blessed and I am excited to work on these future projects. I promise myself and Steve that I won't freak out if they aren't all done in hurry because I have time and lets be honest, we just bought a house and don't have oodles of money to throw at projects. So, for now I will plan, look on line for ideas, and plot out the next steps. Thanks for following us on this part of our family journey! Hope you all are enjoying your summers! <3

Closing and Moving

So, updating from the last update! lol
We weren't able to close last Thursday since our deposit check didn't get to us and into the bank in time. Now we are closing on Monday and moving in that evening! We are so excited to FINALLY be getting out of this apartment and into a bigger space that we get to call our own. :)

Today we are going to finish getting everything in boxes that can be put away right after we go to Real Food Cafe` for breakfast! YUM!

Hope you guys are all having a wonderful weekend!

Closing!

So, the day is finally set! We are supposed to close on the house this Thursday (only a week behind schedule) and move in two days later (this Saturday)! We are so excited and yet so overwhelmed. We are trying to decide where we want to put different furniture so we don't have to move stuff around multiple times (at least the really big pieces of furniture). What furniture do we want to keep and what can we afford to get rid of and replace?

As far as packing is concerned, I've only started on clothing. I have two boxes of clothes packed for Eli that he can't wear any more and two boxes of clothes that I wont be wearing until this fall. I have to sort more clothes for Steve and get them boxed up but this can be hard since he wears long sleeves and pants to the office. *sigh* of course he makes this more difficult! ;) LOL I can't pack up Eli's toys or bed, the kitchen stuff needs to wait, and our furniture isn't going any where yet! lol. I'm planning on packing up cleaning supplies, towels, and bathroom stuff we don't use every day so that I'm not scrambling at the last second. :)

Well, that's about all we have for you guys. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement. We are excited to have a new home soon and that Eli has some space for himself and all his "stuff." Eli has been rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and just this morning he started hopping on his knees but still can't figure out how to move his hands. Praying we are in the new house before he figures that one out. ;)

Social life - with a baby

So, this post is completely unrelated to the "theme" of my blog.

There has been a lot of bitterness that I have been holding onto for a long time - since Eli was born. I have repented but it seems like I'm just now being able to let go. I want to write about it so I can completely have it off my chest and off my mind. I've given it to the Lord and writing it out is helping to let go; so here it is.

I can't begin to tell you how many people have warned me that seasons come and go as you grow older and if you are able to count 5 close friends in your lifetime you are truly blessed. I understand that getting engaged can make your single friends feel somewhat excluded and then when you tie the knot it gets harder to stay in contact because you start making friends with other couples and your single friends mingle with other singles. I respect that truth in life and respect my friends who have done that but have kept in touch. I also understand that having a baby can distance those friendships even further as well as friendships with couples without kids or couples that don't want kids in the near future. I respect that as well. It just becomes hard to accept that after years of hanging out, sometimes working together at the same job, sharing life's ups and downs, watching certain friends find boyfriends and get engaged and then married - you all of a sudden don't exist. How could I have held those relationships in such high regard in my mind when it obviously didn't mean as much to those friends who so easily forgot I was here?  I know that friends "come and go" and that when we are in different seasons of life staying in touch isn't always easy or sometimes fun for both people. BUT I do have friends that have kept in touch and we've gotten together to catch up with what is going on in each others lives. I appreciate that SO much. It's the "friends" that you've done things with for so long that just drop off the face of the Earth despite your best efforts of staying in touch without driving them crazy that have had me in tears. Many tears. I felt so alone and forgotten.

BUT through a lot of prayer, talking with Steve, putting family first, and focusing on the friends who WANT to stay in touch, I can say the hurt is slowly going away. I have to let the Lord be my comfort, my companion, my best friend, and my refuge for ALL THINGS...not just for my loneliness or pained heart of loosing friends.  I've finally accepted that and am slowly moving on. It was hard not to let go of my bitterness for a long time.

One thing that also helps with the sense of loss is the following.
I know that becoming a stay at home mom is a sacrifice in many ways and a blessing in all ways. I sacrificed another income for my family, friendships at work that I cherish, my independence, my social life in many ways, a lot of alone time with my husband, vacations, sleeping in on mornings, new clothes b/c if I'm honest I don't feel like getting spit up on in a new blouse that I won't wear often since I don't leave the house much, and leaving the house just b/c I can and want to.
On the other hand my life has been so blessed by having my son and staying home to care for him and raise him into a godly young boy. I love that I will soon  have a house to care for and organize so that I can host fellowship dinners, parties, and soon birthday parties with little kids running around. I love that God has called me to be a mommy to Eli and that I don't have to miss all his milestones and even the little things like booboos. I love that I CAN stay home and that we CAN afford for me to not work full or even part time. God has provided so that I can be the mother and wife he wants me to be.

These are just some of the ways that I know I've made the right choice and that despite my social life (or at times lack there of), I have a little person who is a part of me that I have been blessed to love and take care of for the rest of my life. (And love him to death I do!) I know that a social life isn't the end all be all for us as humans. Our true worth is found in Christ Jesus and what we do should to bring glory to God. But for a woman who has always loved her friends, counted it a blessing to have so many friends and has always had an active social life, loosing friends and most of her social life is a hard thing.

Also, don't think that I don't have any friends by how I've posted the above! lol I have been blessed with many new friends ever since Eli was born. There are many new moms and we are all learning and growing together. Some of my long time friends have kids as well and we hang out all the time! I'm blessed to have them in my life and to know that if I have questions or concerns, they have had them too and that I'm not a lone. I have many single friends who love Eli as if he is theirs and I love that we still hang out and go out in spite of me having him with me most of the time. But there are just those times where you miss the people from your past and wish that things could have turned out differently. I guess that is mostly what I'm getting at. To all who are a part of my life and the lives of my husband and son, we love and cherish your friendships and thank God for you all each night.

We pray everyone is having a wonderful summer and if we finally get into this house, we'll do a "House warming" party. :)
If you actually made it to the end, props to you! <3
Here are a few pixs of the lovely kiddos and their parents in our lives and some of our single friends as well. If I missed anyone I am sooo sorry but it is 4am! ;)

My sister, Katie, with her nephew (our son), Eli. Auntie Did is his fave! ;)

Katie and "E" visited us at church for Eli's dedication. Eli loves his older buddies. :)

Eli's "aunts Anna and Liz." Liz visited from AZ this summer and met Eli for the first time.

Eli with his friend "J" in her big girl pool! :) Eli still didn't know how to sit up yet.

Eli will have an older buddy to show him the ropes. "J" will have to teach Eli a lot! :) His mommy, Meghan, has been a huge help with questions along the way. Nice to have another mommy with a boy! ;)

Mommy and Daughter pictures for "J" and Elysa when "J" was just 9 months. So precious. :) (For some reason none of the ones with Matthew would down load...but note that Matthew is a wonderful daddy and would be pictured if I was techy enough! ;))

Dan and "J." Dan and Steve have been best friends and as a couple Dan and Meghan have been such a blessing in our lives.

Another mommy daughter moment for Elysa. :)

Baby "E" with her daddy, Nate, when she turned 1! Hard to believe she is already 2 years old!!

Happy family! We love you guys and are thankful for your encouragement on this journey of being a parent! Love all three of you guys! <3

This is Brittney; we went to high school together and have been hanging out a lot. She's great with kids in general but she has such a great personality and Eli can't help but smile when she holds him and plays with him. :D We love you Britt!

Girls night + Eli last Friday! :D