Merry CHRISTmas!

I've realized recently that Christmas has become a lot more powerful to me since having Liam. Not only is it SO exciting to look forward to him opening gifts from us on Christmas morning, but it also makes God's gift seem MUCH more real.

I am in awe that God loves us so much that he was willing to send his son for us. When I look at Liam I can't help but think that there's no way ever I could give him up to save others. He is my most precious treasure! And yet, God did give us His son. Isn't that just amazing to think about? 

Additionally, I've been thinking lately about the overwhelming responsibility Ben and I have to instruct Liam about the Bible and to raise him up to be a godly man. The other night we tried reading Luke 2 to Liam, and attempted to tell him the story of Christ's birth. He's still a little too young to understand (or even to sit through the story), :) but I sure hope that Ben and I can find a way in our overly materialistic world to not only teach Liam the True meaning of Christmas, but also to have him appreciate it! It seems like an overwhelming task, but we're ready to tackle it!

With just over a week until Christmas, I pray that each of you are blessed this season as you reflect on His awesome love for us!

PS. One of my favorite movies is The Nativity Story. It is a well made movie, and it is pretty emotional/powerful too! AND I just discovered the entire movie in on YouTube! 

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meIDz98MFBs

Mr. Talkative

Liam is becoming increasingly talkative and I LOVE it. Although his vocab is still very limited, it still amazes me how he'll suddenly say a new word we've never heard from him before. He's going through this phase right now where he says "hi" to absolutely everyone. We went to the mall last week, and whenever we walked pass someone he would grab their arm and shout, "Hi!". 

 

We've also been teaching him the words to the song "Row your boat". So far he just says "row, row, row, row, row", but it's in tune to the song, so it works! And this morning he completely caught me off guard. I was heading out the door to work when I heard him yell at the top of his lungs, "MOM!" and then he ran up and gave me the biggest hug. It just about melted my heart. I'm learning quickly to treasure these moments, because he is growing up SO fast! 

 

And it's reflecting on these type of moments that make me realize how good life really is.

Happy Fridays, friends! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

 

I love this little guy!

 

I'm an aunt again!

They're here! My sister gave birth to her twins this past Wednesday. Dylan Douglas Breen - His middle name is my Dad's name, but he looks like my brother-in-law's family! And Declan Michael Breen - His middle name is my brother-in-law's father's name, but he looks just like my family! They are absolutely adorable! Liam isn't quite sure what to think of them yet, but give it a year or so and I know he'll be happy to have some other boys to play with finally!

Dylan & Declan!

Cuddle time with Declan! He actually looks quite a bit like Liam!

Cuddle time with Dylan!

The two cuties! I can't wait to see how their personalities develop as they get older. They are going to be so much fun!

Time for a blog post.

I'm not very good about updating our blog. I guess there just hasn't been much to blog about!

I've been in my job for over a month now, and it's still going really well! I feel like I naturally fit in with my coworkers, and I already feel more comfortable here than I ever have in any of my past jobs. Praise the Lord! I get Christmas break, Spring break and summer break off, so we're just trying hard to save up for when we won't have my income to count on. God is always faithful though, so we are not worried. 

 

I've also been working with our church's Jr High group for about a month now. I lead a small group of about 5 girls, most of who are from broken homes. It has been such a learning experience for me, and I've come to appreciate what I have a lot more. Most of the girls in my group are not Christians, and I'm trying to talk to each of them about my faith, but it's been tough. Who knew 8th graders could have such tough Biblical questions!?

 

Ben will be starting his grad classes again next week. He took a break off when we moved because he had to switch from SAU's main campus to their Grand Rapids site. I'm working on mentally preparing myself to not seeing him much & I've bought a few books so that I can read while he studies!! :) 

 

Last, but not least, Liam is still doing really well at his new daycare. He is starting to talk a bit more. He says "Dad" (Yells it whenever he sees Ben), "Good" (When he likes what he's eating), and "Ball" (Playing catch is his favorite activity)! He still doesn't say mom, or any version of it, but I'm over that. :)

 

That's about all that has been going on in the Santee home. Our twin nephews are due any day now, so we're getting excited to meet the little guys!

Labor Day Weekend

We weren't able to take any vacations this summer because Ben had just started his new job and wasn't yet eligible for vacation time. So, we decided to make Labor Day weekend a mini-vacation.

We wen't to St. Joe for the weekend and stayed at my parents' house in hopes of getting in a lot of family time.  It was a great weekend! It was the perfect combination of being lazy around their house, and going out.

Saturday we had my niece, Lily's first birthday party, followed by watching the U of M game. Sunday we slept in, and then spent the afternoon downtown with my siblings. Then Sunday night we had a date night at my favorite restaurant - Clementine's! And Monday we FINALLY made a trip to the beach - for the first time this summer!

Unfortunately, Liam didn't care for the water. We thought he'd LOVE swimming because he loves taking baths, but I think the noise of the boats, people, etc scared him. We've been learning lately that loud noises do scare him. For example, while going for a walk last weekend we stopped to watch a train pass, and he cried the whole time. Poor little guy. Anyway, it was a fun little getaway and a good end to the summer.

Saturday afternoon the 3 of us decided to go for a run. 5 minutes into it, it started to rain and we were completely soaked by the time we made it home.

Sunday morning watching cartoons. I think we're going to get him a boy version of this chair for Christmas. He LOVED it!

Liam's first time riding the carousel. Again, he cried the whole time because of the noise. We'll try it again next summer! 

On our walk at the beach/pier.

Adios, summer! You will be missed!

New Job. New Car.

Hi friends! Thanks for all the prayers. After a round of second interviews, and several days of prayer, I have officially accepted the Campus Visit Coordinator job at Calvin College! It was a bit of a leap of faith being that it was a pretty big pay cut from what I make now, but 1) I know it’ll be a job I enjoy 2) It’ll open doors for other job opportunities and 3) a job is better than no job. :)

I’m actually pretty excited about it. During one of my interviews I met with the group of ladies I’ll be working with and they seem really awesome. I also got to meet 4 of the 60 student workers I’ll be supervising, and they were a lot of fun! I’m excited that I’ll be in a job that will allow me to spend tons of time with college students!

My first day at Calvin will be August 27^th, so I have a few more weeks to wrap things up at SAU. It’ll definitely be a transition, but I’m looking forward to having a change career-wise.

Another answer to prayer – we got a new car! My impala was about to bite the dust, but thankfully we were able to get rid of it before it did, and we got a Honda CRV instead! Can I just say how awesome it is??? It’s all-wheel drive. TONS of storage space, AND it gets better gas mileage than my impala! I’m so thankful for God’s provision. He sure has been blessing us a lot lately. 

Prayer Request

Most of you know that I am currently looking for a job since I am only continuing to work for SAU until labor day. Several weeks ago I applied for a Campus Visit Coordinator position at Calvin College. I have been SO excited about this opportunity. It's directly related to my current work experience and this is something I could see myself doing long term.

WELL, I have FINALLY heard back from Calvin and I have my first phone interview with them on Thursday! Hooray!

Please be praying for me if you can and I'll keep y'all posted!

Liam's First Birthday!

My baby boy is now one! Crazy!

This past Saturday we had a party birthday for Liam and his cousin, Avigail. We rented out a pavilion at a local park and invited all of our families. It was hot. Really, really hot. And kind of crazy because we had 50+ people there, but it was a blast. We had yummy food, water balloons, yard games and the kiddos got to try cake for the first time!

It’s definitely at events like this that you realize how much of a blessing it is to have family. Everyone has taken such an active role in Liam’s first year, and I’m so thankful for that.

My cousin, Brianna took some pictures for us, and I can’t wait to get them all! Here’s a handful to check out…

Avigail looking up at her Daddy.

Liam with his birthday bib made by Aunt Jennifer!

Their birthday cakes! It was a beach themed party!

Daddy showing Liam his baby niece, Eden!

Giving them their cakes!

Liam with Grandpa Santee.

Trying it out...

Liam clapping with delight! He is such a happy boy!

"No more cake!"

It's been a while...

Wow…I haven’t blogged in a while! I guess I just haven’t felt like there’s been much worth sharing. Here’s just a quick run-down on what we’ve been up to over the last month.

·         Liam is about to turn 1! We have his first birthday party coming up in a few weeks and we’ve been busy planning it. Liam is definitely more of a toddler than a baby now, and we are just loving this stage of his life. He’s a very happy and energetic boy, and we spend most of our free time chasing him around the apartment. It’s also been fun watching him learn. He now says “Bo” every time he sees his cousin’s dog, and he says “ball” whenever he sees one. Playing ball is definitely one of his favorite activities. (I think we’ve got a future soccer player on our hands!)

·         We started house hunting. So far it’s been pretty unsuccessful, but we’re just trying to be patient so that we don’t settle for a home we don’t really love. We were originally hoping to be in a house by the fall, but now it’s clear that it might take MUCH longer than that! We’ll see!

·         We’re loving summer, especially in our new hometown! There’s been so much to do here and we’ve been loving it! During one of the first warm weeks we took Liam to one of the Grand Rapids beaches & splash-pad (a big water fountain/water park area for kids). He loves the water, but even more so loves playing in the sand. Our Apartment is also close to the paved White Pine Trail. We’ve taken advantage of being so close to the scenic walking/biking trail, and spend almost every evening going for walks. We’re still hoping to go up north sometime this summer. I’m ready to go camping!

·         I have just a couple months left at my job. I’ve started applying for other jobs, and we’re also still trying to find a way for me to stay home with Liam rather than work. Prayers are appreciated!

I think that’s all. I hope you all have a blessed week!

Mother's Day

Ever since we moved to Grand Rapids I’ve been telling Ben that we need to make a day trip to Rockford. I haven’t been there in years, but it’s one of my favorite towns in Michigan.

Yesterday we finally got the opportunity to do it! To celebrate Mother’s Day, we went to Rockford along with my sister and her family and my older brother, Chad. 

Hanging out by the dam in downtown Rockford, MI

We spent the afternoon walking through shops, and hanging out by the dam. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to spend so much time outdoors. After spending the afternoon around town we had an early dinner at Grill One Eleven. It’s definitely one of my new favorites! 

Uncle Chad showing Liam the Water

My sister, Jennifer along with her husband and Avigail

 

In other news, Liam has been walking like crazy now! He turned 10 months old on Saturday, and the same day he decided he’d rather walk everywhere than crawl. He’s loving his new found independence, and is usually giggling whenever he is walking! It’s so fun watching him!

Liam loves to walk everywhere!

 Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies I know! I'm thankful for each and every one of you!