Happy 2010!?!?!?

Happy New Year!!! I can't believe that it is the year 2010! We are doing very well here in Berrien Springs! We love that we have a snow hill right in our backyard. I think the kids have been outside more this winter than all the winters combined at our other house (maybe a slight exaggeration:-) They love to sled and cross country ski. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Ritter the kids have ski boots and ski's they love it!!! We also have 2 neighbor boys that love to come over and sled too.....the kids love having other kids to play with. Currently I don't think it has stopped snowing since the day after Christmas......we have a bunch of snow. School starts again on the 6th and we will be back into the swing of things with pioneers, basketball practices and games and all the fun things as well as work that come along with school. I can't believe half the school year is over.

Wishing all of you a wonderful new year filled with the Lord and his blessings!!

Back to school!!

Well it has been back to school for us for a few weeks. Courtney has started 5th grade, Alex has started 1st grade, and Natalie is going to pre-school 3 mornings a week.
We are going to be in the full swing of things come this week.


Courtney starts band and piano, she has already had a volleyball game and 2 more this week girl pioneers and Jr. Choir. She is going to be one busy girl this year. I'm excited about it and I know that she is as well.

Alex is getting used to 1st grade. All day this year, which is really wierd for me! He has reading story's to bring home, math homework pages, memory work, and spelling words. We are adjusting to needing to have things done for the next day when he gets home from school. He really is doing very well!!! He also is able to join buckaroos, which is through our church, he will be learning things about camping, how to make a pine car derby and other things that boys like to know ;-)

Natalie is a "big girl" now!! Being in the 4 yr. old pre-school brings "big" changes than being in the 3's last year. She gets to get her own puzzle off the shelf without asking!! She no longer needs color clips which meant she could only play in that center that matched her color......they can ALL play with the kitchen at the same time if they want. Really she does more than that but I still have to laugh when I think about her telling me those things, and it's all because she's not 3 anymore she's 4!!!


Most important is that they are all learning the word of God everyday!! Really what else is important?

Praying that God blesses our school year and yours too!!

11 years later!!

That's right folks it's been 11 years of marriage for us!!! Saturday August 15 we celebrated! It was great too our friends, who we set up 11 years ago this summer and who also were in our wedding were married on Saturday. So we went to the wedding and reception and had a blast celebrating with them!!

I really liked attending a wedding on our anniversary. Listening to the pastor, the vows, the music just brought back good memories and let my mind think on the past and while the pastor was preaching knowing that the things he was saying was so true!!

At the wedding my friend had a photo booth for all their guests to go in and have their picture taken!! It was like being in a photo booth at the mall. 4 pictures were taken then they printed out and 4 were put into a scrapbook and the other 4 were given to us to have!! Next to the pictures in the scrapbook we wrote a little note to the bride and groom. I thought this was a very clever idea, and we had some pictures of us which was special to me just because it was our anniversary.......and it was fun too!!!

Lovin' the house!!

It's been a long time........in that time since the last post the kids have finished school, we sold our house in Stevensville and we bought and moved into Colin's mom and dad's house in Berrien Springs. We've been busy!! I'm so thankful for how much I enjoy living "all the way out here." I have to admit I had my reservations about moving 20 minutes away from church and school and I know that school hasn't started yet, but I'm thoroughly enjoying God's beautiful creation out here. Since we've lived here we have experienced a deer eating in our backyard and a family of turkey's coming along too!! We have taken incredible 10 mile bike rides, that Courtney and Alex have rode the whole way, and now that Tom and Joyce live on the river we have been able to canoe which has been beautiful. The kids have absolutely loved seeing these things and are so happy out here. As for the drive.......going to church has not been a big deal at all it's nice to have a little time in the car sometimes. I also know that my attitude depends alot on the drive for school. I'm prepared with a good attitude about the drive to and from school.

God has blessed us tremendously in these last few months and I pray that he continues to bless us in the months to come.

I pray that he blesses each one of you too!!

catch up part 2.....

After April was over we headed full force into May with an entertainment day, Mother's day tea party and piano recital.

Natalie played the Dr. for 3 little monkey's, sipping tea at the party, and posing with Mrs. Mashke, Courtney's piano teacher.

Just so you all don't think I forgot about Alex......he has taken to hunting. He stalks the birds around our backyard what a cute little hunter!!! (oops I mean "manly" hunter :-)

Catch up time :-)

We decided to get away for a night during spring break. This led us to Indianapolis to an indoor water park and the children's museum. It was great being able to swim even though it was snowing outside. We invited grandma and grandpa Robards to come along and we had a great little getaway!

The next weekend was Easter and we celebrated the Lord's resurrection!! What a wonderful day!!

Natalie has turned 4!! The best thing was getting to ride in a booster seat now!! We celebrated with family and was able to work out a visit with Aunt Esther, Cherith, Calvin and Nora. All the kids had fun and the day was great!!

Our State Capitol!

Courtney had a field trip to Lansing to visit Michigan's state capitol. They have been learning about Michigan and American history this year. This was an exciting field trip for her class to finally see and hear about the things they have learned. I had never been to the capitol so I went with her and lo and behold I also learned a few things!! We had a beautiful day to go. We started at the historical museum then we walked over to the capitol building. It is a truly beautiful building with so much history....it was incredible! The class was able to lay down on a glass floor and look up to the dome the picture on the right is what Courtney saw while she was looking straight up!! The kids all had a good time and so did the adults.......it was a great day!

For Sale By Owner

1593 S. Teakwood Dr.

Stevensville, MI 49127

4 bedroom, 3 bath brick ranch in Lakeshore subdivision with 2800 sq.ft. finished all levels. Home features hardwood floors in living room and 3 bedrooms, master bedroom offers newer carpet and new sliding glass door, many new windows installed, main floor laundry and geothermal heating and cooling. Basement is finished with a possible 5th bedroom, 2 new egress windows, full bath, family room and rec room. 2 car attached garage and a large fully fenced in backyard with deck.

Here is some info about our house please spread the word if you know of anybody looking to buy a house. Please feel free to e-mail me for more info. My e-mail address is in my profile. Thanks

2nd Place!!!

Courtney participated in the pine car derby on Saturday at her school. She made her car, with the help of Grandpa Robards, out of small block of wood. She did an excellent job sanding and painting and taking great care to make a great car. The cars are judged for craft and for speed. Last year her car didn't even cross the finish line on its own or place in the craft category, but this year her goal was reached when her car crossed the finish line every race!! After all the racing was over they announced the craft winners and she placed 2nd!! It was surprising and wonderful!! She had fun and was very proud of herself.

Way to go Court!!!

Tagged too!

Amanda and Tim tagged me so here goes.....

Here are the rules

1.Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.

2.Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3.Explain the picture

4.Tag 4 people to do the same

No cheating (cropping or editing)

Alex is 22 months here and playing around with a silly hat. Courtney is in the background with her broken arm.

I tag

Transition woman

Eye of the storm

A day in the life of Nora Claire

peacebuilder

Sorry I don't have that many blogs that I read:)

Winter Fun!

Sledding at our neighbor's and grandma and grandpa's house!

Alex and Natalie learned to ice skate with the help of Grandpa and dad!

Colin the Hunter

Just a quick note about Colin. The hunting bug bit him this year:) So out he went day after day to see of he could get the big one. I don't know if this was the big one, but it was big enough to be proud of! He shot an eight point buck this year and now we have a freezer full of meat!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy 2009!!

Merry belated Christmas to everyone as well!

We are finally back into the swing of things here in Stevensville. Back to school, work, and extra curriculars. It's nice to have the routine back! All the kids are doing great and somewhat excited to be back in school. Now it's time to settle in for a long (but hopefully not to long) winter and dream for spring to come quickly. I don't really know when I went from loving the winter season to wishing it away so quickly, but I think it has something to do with the whole getting older thing. I enjoy snow for Christmas but when Christmas is done I think the snow should be too:) Oh well I think I'll survive. Wishing all who read this a wonderful 2009 from all of us Ritters in Stevensville:)

Snow Day (already)

That's right we have our first snow day of the season. I can't believe it! It's November we're not supposed to have snow days until January. Natalie came into our room this morning and told me I needed to come see all the snow. I told her I would get up in a little bit. I didn't really think there was that much snow. Then my sister called and told me school was closed so I got up to see for myself. We have a little over 6" of snow I think it could be more. Oh well. The kids are excited a little bit. They really like school so there was a little disappointment. Colin woke up early to have breakfast with his co-workers so he started shoveling the drive-way at 5:45 this morning and didn't finish until 6:45. He didn't make it to breakfast but he did make it out of our subdivision and made it to work. Everybody stay safe and warm today....And by the way Ashley I made baked oatmeal for the first time this season:) It seemed like a good morning for a great hot breakfast!

Happy Halloween!!

Our neighborhood had trick-or-treat on Thursday night. The kids dressed up in fun costumes and walked around the neighborhood seeking out candy:) They had a great time with friends that came along with us and we have enough candy to last until next year. We carved pumpkins on Tuesday and lit them up Thursday night to see the kids' creations. This is a tradition that I enjoyed with my parents and it's fun to watch my kids enjoy the fun side of halloween.

As you can see we had 2 fifty's girls and 1 cowboy!!

Natalie also had a Noah's Ark party on Thursday at pre-school. Each student had to dress up as an animal. Natalie was a cat (just like Courtney when she was 3:) She had alot of fun....what a fun way to have a party!

Basketball

The basketball season has come to an end. Courtney enjoyed playing her 2nd year on the c-team. She and her teammates improved tremendously from last year.

• Some of the highlights from this season included:
• Getting to wear really cool uniforms
• Scoring 12 points in one game
• Having Uncle Noel and Aunt Ashley coming to watch her play
• Making a free-throw

It was a great season and we can't wait until next year when she will be able to play for the b-team. This will allow her to play in more games (only 6 this year) and be in a tournament.

Happy Birthday Alex!!

Alex turned 6 on Sunday!! We celebrated on Friday night with family.

Alex received a set of left handed golf clubs from us! He was very excited! So on Sunday we took him golfing and had a great time. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to take my camera places so you will just have to take my word for it, or ask him yourself:) I can't believe that he is in Kindergarten and 6 years old. I know this sounds very cliche, but they DO grow up so fast.

Where has the time gone??

Natalie has started pre-school!! I remember thinking about the day when all the kids would be in school, but it came so fast. Just so you all know she only goes to school 2 mornings a week and she loves it!! I still get her the other 3 days:) I really can't figure out where the time has gone. If any of you have read Alli's post about the kids it's very true the years go by and when a milestone like going to school comes along it makes you stop and think about the time that has gone by. Where has my baby gone?? She is now a little girl which makes me very proud and also a little sad.

Back to School

Courtney and Alex are back to school!! It's hard to believe that school has started. They were both very excited to start the school year. Courtney has started 4th grade and Alex is in Kindergarten this year. It has been nice to have a schedule back into our routine. They both have done very well the first week! It's such a blessing to have kids (at least for now) get excited about the start of school. I'm sure this won't always be the case so for now I'm thankful for the wonderful attitudes they bring to the first day of school!

Signs of summer's end

Well there are signs that summer is coming to an end. The big one around our house is the pool has come down. Colin and Alex had one last hurrah in the pool while letting the water out. It was great having it to cool off in and play in but all good things have to come to an end. Since the kids are now back in school it's time to say good-bye to summer and hello to all the things that the school year and fall have to offer. Hope that you all had a great summer too!!