Mother's Day in Nebraska

I haven't had the chance to update my blog in awhile - we've had internet issues. But thanks to my hubby who spent an hour on the phone this morning with AT&T (or rather a guy in India who was very helpful, but difficult to understand) we are now back in business!

A few weeks ago we traveled to Nebraska to spend a few days with family and celebrate Mother's Day. It was a short trip, but we had fun and got to see family. Boden usually sleeps a lot in the car, but not this time! He was much more interested in the cows in the fields, and the trucks driving by, and making me read stories and sing songs over and over and over. Makes me a little nervous for our upcoming drive across the country to Virginia Beach.

We had a nice brunch on Saturday with the whole family and both grandmas too.

Playing on Poppa's hammock

reading with Poppa

smelling the flowers with Great Grandma Brandt

Family

Boden & Mama

Goofing with Aunt Caela

My mom, Grandmas, Boden & Me
reading with Great Grandma Jeanne

Boden & Nana

We also introduced Boden to scrabble (a favorite of my mom and mine). he thought it was fun, but mostly he just wanted to collect all the letters on his tray and wouldn't give them up. :)

We had a really nice time and I'm so thankful for my mom -she is a blessing to me and to my whole family. Especially since becoming a mom myself, I have come to have such a greater appreciation for what she does & has done for me and my sisters - she's taught me a lot and is always there for me when I need some advice. Thank you mom!

Easter Week

It's a little late, but here's some pictures from Easter. We had an egg hunt at church thurs night, the church on Sat/Sun, and dinner & and egg hunt at Michael's mom's on sunday afternoon.

he liked the easter bunny, but this is as close as he wanted to get!

"hunting" for eggs

Easter Basket from Grandpa - lots of goldfish & animal crackers!
opening a package from Nana & Poppa - bubbles, PJs, glo-worm, & playdough!

and a singing card - he loved it and danced with it

adorable little man

the family on Easter Sunday

coloring with his new markers at Bubbe's

reading with cousin Brea

Egg hunt at Bubbe & Zeyde's house

checking out the loot

Great Grandma, Boden & Bubbe

look at those adorable blondes! Boden & cousin Andrew

We're still here

i've had so many things i've wanted to blog about and pictures i wanted to share over the past month or so, but i just haven't been able to carve out the time to sit down and do it. we've been fighting sickness in our house since thanksgiving and just can't seem to get rid of one thing before we catch the next. we all had a nasty stomach virus for a little over week - right through christmas - and now boden has an ear infection and possibly a sinus infection, and i've got some sort of sinus thing going on too! i'm not sure how we're catching it all - boden hasn't even been around another child for at least 2 weeks. it's frustrating, but i'm thankful we are not fighting anything more serious than colds.

we did get to go to nebraska for a few days at christmas and see some of my family. despite boden getting sick in the car on the way there, the flat tire on the interstate, and giving the stomach virus to my sisters, their boyfriends, and my dad we had a really good time :) lol. boden got some really fun gifts for christmas and he's been having so much fun playing with them since we got home. probably one thing he enjoyed the most, that wasn't even a gift, was my mom's "scooter". she had foot surgery about a week before christmas and instead of using crutches to get around she has this little scooter that she rests her knee on and pushes with the other foot. (it's hard to visualize, but you'll see it in the photos) boden LOVED the scooter - he wanted to ride on it constantly. he would just walk around saying "ride?", "ride?" whenever he saw it.

there's too many pictures to post on here, so here's the link to them on facebook . i will try to add some more in the next couple days.

Merry Christmas from the Brueseke's

So this christmas isn't looking the way I thought it would originially - all three of us are terribly sick with a stomach bug since Monday, we've now passed it on to Michael's mom & step dad who were kind enough to help take care of Boden when we couldn't (so sorry about that), and now we're likely going to have to delay our travel plans to Nebraska :( I'm not sure we're up for the drive and I certainly don't want to pass this nasty thing on to anyone else. But, thank God, it's just a stomach bug and nothing serious and we'll all be well again soon.

Here's the christmas letter we sent out this year - if you didn't receive one, you can find out all about what we've been up to in 2008 right here:

Merry Christmas!

We hope you are doing well and enjoying the Christmas season. For us, this Christmas is shaping up to be the most memorable. This past year has been fulfilling, challenging, exciting…basically we have run the gamut. We’ve had many changes this year and we are so thankful for our faithful God who has been along side us the whole way. We encourage you to remember the reason we celebrate this season and how Jesus coming to the earth provided a way for us to have an abundant life that is not in any way dependent on any natural circumstances. We have had an incredible 2008 that included changes and experiences we could have never expected. Here’s an update of what we’ve been up to this past year:

Michael spent the first half of the year very busy and juggling more than he knew he should. He began seminary at Regent University in 2006 and continued taking classes part time through the beginning of 2008. He was also highly involved in volunteer ministry at our church and working at Boeing in the contracts/finance area. These three things, on top of being a husband and father, kept him VERY busy! Early this year we knew there were big changes coming our way. Michael was confident that God was calling him to leave his corporate job and pursue his Master of Divinity degree as a full time student. In the spring were given an apartment offer on campus at Regent in Virginia Beach and we began making plans to pick up and move east in the fall. God had a different plan though. Just days before we had to make our final decision on accepting the apartment in Virginia, Michael was offered a position at our church that would allow him to enter full-time ministry and continuing seminary. So, in August Michael left his job at Boeing, went on staff at Destiny Church, and became a full time seminary student! He is currently serving on the Equipping/Pastoral Care team and is excited about 2009 and what God has in store.

Megan continues to enjoy being a stay at home mom. She stays busy trying to keep up with a toddler! She also continues to do a little accounting on the side (when there is time) and this year Megan has started a small business sewing nursing covers for nursing moms. She also is very active at our church – helping to lead the Mom 2 Mom group, organizing meals and gift baskets for families with new babies, and volunteering in the church nursery. This fall, Megan was sworn in to the Saint Louis Family Court as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) to help abused and neglected children who are in foster care. She has a heart for hurting children and is excited to have found another way to be a part of the solution. (CASA is a wonderful program that is nationwide - if you want to learn more visit their website- www.nationalcasa.org)

Boden has grown from a baby into a toddler this year and he loves to talk. He’s grown so much and, as any parent would probably say, we are amazed at the things he is learning. He had his first birthday in July and loved getting to eat his birthday cake! He started walking just shortly after his 1st birthday. We had wonderful experiences this year taking him to the park, the playground, the swimming pool, the zoo, and to playgroup (Michael did not go to the playgroups J). He is a bright little boy who is picking up on new things every single day. He’s learned some sign language and is also beginning to talk – a lot! He’s a very independent and driven little boy; strong willed child, yes! Right now those things can make life challenging for us, but we know that those are great traits for him to have in the future.

This year we moved again! This is our 4th zip code in 4 years! We are working at becoming professional movers J. We’re very thankful for lots of help from our family and friends. We found a great apartment that is much closer to church/work so we can spend more time together and less time commuting.

This year also brought a good amount of travel – in March and October we traveled to Virginia Beach, VA for Michael to attend week-long classes at Regent. He will have to do this 3-4 times a year for the next 2 years as part of his degree program. Boden and Megan don’t mind tagging along – especially when the weather is nice! In October we got to enjoy some beautiful weather at the beach. Boden loved playing in the sand with his shovel & bucket. He also had a little fun splashing in the (very cold) waves with daddy. In December, we took a trip to Lake Tahoe with Michael’s Dad. The mountains & lake were beautiful. When we arrived there was hardly any snow, but a few days into the trip a big storm came through and Megan & Michael were able to do a little skiing.

We’re excited for a new year and new adventures! We’re so thankful for the blessings we have received and for all of our family & friends. We pray that you will be blessed in the new year!

Love,
Michael, Megan & Boden Brueseke

fun with nana & poppa

nana & poppa (my parents) came to visit last weekend. we had a great time, it's always nice when we have a weekend together without many "plans" - we were able to just enjoy each other a bit. boden showed off all his new tricks and they read many books - his new favorite thing to do. he will just bring you the same book and crawl in your lap over, and over, and over... i'm happy that he's developing a love for books.

unfortunately, we also had to make a trip to the pediatrician to find out that boden had a double ear infection while they were here. thankfully he wasn't too bothered by it, he just slept a lot more. one day last week he took a 4 1/2 hour nap! i was sad that it meant he was sick, but boy did i get a lot done! (normally he only sleeps 1 1/2 hours, maybe 2 hrs if i'm really lucky

friday night we went to the fall festival at church. it was so fun to see all the cute little kids dressed up. boden dressed as a fireman and of course he was the most adorable of them all ;) I made him a little t-shirt that said "Brueseke Fire Dept". we didn't stay too long since we didn't want to push it with him having the ear infections - but he seemed to have a great time with the carnival games and just running around outside.

"brueseke fire department"

boden & brody wondering why the other one looks so funny

playing in the duck pond

learning the itsy bitsy spider with poppa

playing outside with nana

reading with nana
daddy, momma & bo at the fall festival



thanks again for coming to visit nana & poppa - we miss you!