a clean bill

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more 

than all we ask or imagine,

to Him be glory in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, forever and ever! 

Amen!

~Ephesians 3:20

My dad's 3-month post-treatment scans came back clear of all cancer.

We know that God is good regardless of the outcome,

but we sure are rejoicing today.

Dad goes back in 3 months for his next check-up.

Thank you for your continued prayers & love.

life these days

Many of our friends in Michigan have asked about life in New York.

Here's a glimpse into some things we've been doing this past week:

My grandma loves doing puzzles, and we've been working on a 1,000 piece puzzle.

It's a lovely German castle in a very scenic location... and it's WRETCHED.

I've abandoned hope. All the foliage pieces will be the death of me.

We've spent time cuddling with Grandpa. 

We've woken up to sunshine most mornings.

One morning my dad called to tell me there were 4 wild turkeys headed toward us... 

You can just see them in the picture above.

Some of us have been spending a little time in time-out...

where we are NOT contrite for our actions. 

We go for a lot of walks.

Bo loves, LOVES the animals.

Every time we walk in the barn, he immediately starts kissing at all of them.

Today the weather was glorious and we spent a lot of time outside.

Sitting in the tickly grass exploring the gifts of spring.

And swinging! 

It's been a fun, low-key week.

Doug's job is off to a great start, Bo's adapting more each day,

I'm loving spending time with my family... 

life in western NY is good! 

Best of: Canton, MI

Here are some superlatives from our past 3 years of living in Canton.
("Best of" from our 3 years in Plymouth here.)

FOOD 

Best Ice Cream: 

This one is still Dairy King in Plymouth, MI. Sorry, Canton.

I guess if I'm forced to choose one in Canton, I'd go with DQ.

Best Japanese Food: 

Ichiban

Best Chinese Food: 

Szechuan

Best dish: chicken fried rice

Best Breadsticks:

Antonio's 

Best Restaurant That Isn't A Chain: 

Ummmm... is there one?! 

Just kidding. I guess I'd go with Szechuan. 

Best "Coffee House": 

My go-to is Starbucks in either Kroger or Target. 

Village Coffeehouse opened in CHV, but I've only been twice.

Sorry, local businesses.

Best Pizza: 

Jet's buffalo chicken or Fat Chef's pepperoni

Best Subs: 

Penn Station... also in Plymouth. Sorry again, Canton.

Best sub: Philly cheesesteak with banana peppers

SERVICES

Best Haircut: 

Aimee Whipple!

Best Eyebrow Wax: 

Redhead Salon

Best Nail Salon: 

"PCA Nails" - it's right next to PCA and I never remember the real name.

Best Swedish Furniture Store: 

IKEA

LEISURE

Best Place For A Walk:

trails on Michigan Ave & Morton-Taylor

Best Place To Get In Touch With Your Inner Athlete:

Arctic Edge ice rink.

I've heard Sky Zone is pretty amazing, but I've never been... 

LIVING

Best Resident Professional Athlete: 

Apparently a Green Bay Packer lives in our neighborhood?

Best Place To Get Scolded

For Walking On The Wrong Side Of The Sidewalk: 

Cherry Hill Village

Best First House: 

590 Roosevelt Street

Best Community Group: 

Ours.

We will miss you guys so much!

our first glimpse

I shared this story on our adoption blog, but wanted to have it on our family blog too.

On Sunday, April 15, 2012, I was sitting in my friend Patti's classroom, 

and we were taking a break from hours of painting set for Beauty & the Beast.

We had ordered Chinese food for dinner and were in the process of reading our fortunes.

I opened mine and saw the following: 

I laughed, feigning terror and said, "Oh please - not this week!" 

because we were running dress rehearsals, the musical was opening Thursday - 

not to mention we had full days of teaching.

Disclaimer: I do not believe that fortune cookies are prophetic.

However, I do believe in irony.

Because the very next day, an "unexpected event" changed our lives forever.

Our adoption agency was very small, and we were never assigned a "number" 

to let us know where we were on the waiting list.

So a year ago today

- Monday, April 16, 2012 -

Doug & I were caught off guard when our caseworker called us

and asked us to look at the agency's waiting children page.

We opened the webpage and saw...

... our son.

And our lives have never been the same.
We love you, Baby Boy B.

color our world

Our church is hosting their annual women's event on

Friday, April 19th.

I'm so excited about this, because all the proceeds go to World Orphans 

- the children in Ethiopia & Kenya that we partner with.

Not only is the event for a great cause, but it's going to be a ton of fun!

There's going to be an amazing dinner catered by Jeff Zak

(he's amazing - if you're having an event in metro-Detroit, go with him).

Our speaker is Julie Gumm - she adopted two children from Ethiopia

and wrote the book Adopt Without Debt. 

AND.

What would a women's event be without shopping?

We are going to have an amazing boutique full of home decor and accessories.

I've already been drooling over some of the samples that we've seen at our planning meetings.

So go register now! 

It's going to be an awesome evening.

opening day

Friday was the home opener for Tigers' baseball.

It was the first time that both Bo and I have gone downtown for the event.

Doug left with Troy & Maria at 7am to help set everything up.

Then Bo & I headed down around 10am to join our CHV neighbors for tailgating.

However, as Doug hopped in the car to help me find parking, Bo threw up.

I think it was the combination of milk & heat. Poor guy.

So we pulled over, wiped him off and stripped him down. 

We decided that I should take him home, 

but still decided to take pictures of his first Detroit opening day experience.

I would say that Bo was the only Tiger fan wearing nothing but a diaper and blanket...

but after seeing all the crazy drunkenness... I'm just not too sure.

When I got home, this was happening in the back seat. 

(I promise he's wearing a diaper.)

After Bo took got some food in him and took a nap,

I decided that it was just too beautiful outside not to try one more time.

So we hopped back in the car and drove back to Detroit.

Success!

The littlest tailgater.

Happily, the Tigers defeated the Yankees 8-3.

And for all of you wondering, 

we will be rocking these Detroit hats in New York.

Tigers fans for life!

headed east

Our family is moving to New York.

When we were first married, I wanted so badly to move back.

I didn't know anyone where we were living and missed my family and friends.

But over the past almost 6 years, we've made some amazing friends.

We have an incredible faith family at our church.

So this move is quite bittersweet.

While we are unbelievably excited to be near my family,

we'll be saying goodbye to Doug's mom, 2 of his brothers & our niece and nephew.

We'll be leaving behind friends that we have come to love dearly.

We're selling our first house, where we brought our sweet son home.

Some details:

- Doug is done with his job of 6 and a half years this week.

- He will start training with his new job at their Detroit branch on April 15th

and starts officially at the NY branch on April 22nd.

- We will be moving a few belongings to NY on April 20th or 21st.

- We'll be living with my grandma for awhile, 

so we'll leave our big items in our house until it sells.

NY family & friends - 

know that we are so happy to be reunited.

MI family & friends - 

know that we will miss you terribly.

happy easter

Our Easter morning started off with an Easter basket hunt.

The Easter Bunny hid Bo's basket under the kitchen table, 

because Bo has been fascinated with crawling under the chairs and table recently.

Bo spotted the basket after he finished his bottle and crawled over to investigate...

... and immediately backed out and crawled away.

So, Dad gave him a little encouragement.

Bo was still not interested, until Doug pulled the basket out and he realized there were BOOKS.

He wanted nothing to do with the little toys in his basket,

so Daddy read to Bo while Mommy made breakfast.

I remarked to Doug that sweet rolls have unintentionally become our Easter morning tradition. 

They're fun and fast and give us plenty of time to get ready for church!

And did I mention delicious? Even Bo was allowed to indulge.

After breakfast, we got dressed in our Easter finest & headed to church!

After church, Bo got to napping and I got to cooking.

Our Easter menu this year:

Pineapple-Mustard Glazed Ham

Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Carrots

Sweet Potato Mounds

I didn't get a picture of the spread, 

but I did take a picture of my last minute centerpiece & place cards...

Some of us were less than helpful in dinner preparations... 

And finally, dessert. My nephew's birthday is today, so we celebrated yesterday.

I made French vanilla and lemon cake with citrus cream cheese frosting.

My favorite part of this picture... ZOOEY, ever lurking. 

In case you were wondering about the strange combination of "French vanilla and lemon cake"... 

I made 2 layers of French vanilla cake on Saturday.

And someone decided to sneak into the kitchen while the humans were upstairs

and EAT HALF A LAYER.

ZOOEY.

So, improvisation. 

Despite the dog's best attempts, the cake was delicious

and we had a wonderful Easter with good food & family!