Valentine's Day 2013

Valentine's Day has always been a special time to me. 9 years ago (I was a freshman in high school) on Valentine's Day my husband caught my eye! I knew him through our older brothers and from going to the same school, but he was a year older so we weren't friends. When I knew I liked Benjamin, I could not keep it a secret!! I told my friends and some of our mutual guy friends. I had to let him know that I was interested but didn't want to come out and tell him! After we both finally worked up enough courage to talk to each other, I knew this guy was something special! He offered me a ride home from practice one day in March. Unfortunately, my dad was on his way home from work and was already picking me up. :( The next day I told my dad I would get a ride home. I had to get this guy to take me home some how!! After practice I sat outside the guys locker room where I always waited for dad to get me, but this time when Ben offered a ride home, I said yes!! Needless to say, on March 31st he asked me to be his girlfriend and we have been inseparable ever since!! So, when I plan out our Valentine's Day, I always think back to those two high schoolers all googlie eyed over each other, and I try to come up with something meaningful for that night.
Like always, Ben was gone at work all day, so I was able to get a lot of the house cleaned. (As much as is possible with a 17 month old and being 7 months pregnant!) I made him a special meal and had a few small gifts for him. I found a funny one-eyed monster candy heart box at the store with a great pun on it. It was perfect for my husband's sense of humor!!! He also needed new work pants so I got him a pair as well. For our special meal, I made Benjamin my famous homemade pizza- heart shaped of course, garlic-parmesan knots, and a brownie strawberry dessert (also heart shaped). It's my fun way of showing my husband how much I love him. But this year he surprised me as well!! While I was doing dishes from the fabulous meal I made, there was a knock on the door... my husband had flowers delivered to the house for me! It was a great surprise! This was the first time he has ever done that. Since Valentine's Day was on a Thursday this year, I also had one more trick up my sleeve. Isaiah usually gets a bath on Thursday night, so after dinner, I went into the bathroom to get "Isaiah's" bath ready. When I asked Ben to bring the little man in for his bath (which I always have him do), he was surprised to see I had a bath full of bubbles and rose petals ready for him! Being a mechanic in the winter time is always hard on his body, so I know how much he enjoys coming home and soaking in the tub. He was surprised by the kind gesture. He then says "I was wondering why you didn't ask me to get Isaiah undressed!" Because I also always have Ben bring him into the bathroom in only his diaper so he is ready for me to put him in the tub. Luckily Isaiah is easy going and was willing to take a bath in the afternoon so mommy's plan would work! :) I love to spoil my husband on Valentine's Day and make him feel like the king of my heart!!! I love you Benjamin Samuel Goetz!!!

Christmas 2012

I know it has been AWHILE since my last blog, but it is time to get back into the swing of things around here!!! We had a great crazy month of holiday celebrations this year. To kick it off, we had Thanksgiving with both of our families. Thanksgiving Day was spent with my side and the Saturday after we have our Goetz Thanksgiving. It really makes the day soooo much more relaxing when we do not have to bounce around from house to house! As a family tradition (a long time running) all of the Goetz siblings and Grandma and Papa head to the Christmas tree farm the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We always have so much fun picking out the "best" trees together and playing football between the rows. The kids love running around and trying not to get sand burrs stuck to them. NOT ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL!!!! It was fun this year being able to watch Isaiah run around with his cousins and enjoy our special tradition. I look forward to getting our tree picked out and up as soon as November hits!!  

Once we get our tree up and the house all decorated, the Christmas parties start instantly and don't end until the new year. In the beginning of December we have a Goetz Christmas party for all the Goetz cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, etc. Since we are such a large group, we meet at a local elementary school where we fill up the cafeteria and take over the gym! It is always a joy to see my in-law aunts, uncle, and cousins. It is fun to catch up with everyone and admire how much the children have grown. (It is also a challenge to remember all the names of the kids and who they belong to; remember, I have 17 Goetz nieces and nephews alone!!!!)
This year we started something new...... usually my husband and all the siblings and spouses draw names and exchange gifts for Christmas. We all talked it over and decided we didn't need anything from each other. Instead, we all had our First Annual Goetz Sibling Progressive Dinner!!!! It was so much fun! We were all kid free for the night! Did I mention how much of a blessing it is that we all live so close together and that almost both sets of parents (for all the siblings) are within 20 minutes from us??!!?! Makes it nice when you need a baby sitter!! Anyways, so we all meet at Luke and Michelle's house first. We loaded up in the 14 passenger van and headed off to Ben and my house. At our house we had appetizers and played a game. Then it was off to Noel and Kristen's for soup! The 3rd course of our meal was salad at Brian and Janelle's. Did you know that you can move an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth with only your facial muscles?!?! YOU CAN, AND YOU SHOULD TRY IT! MADE FOR SOME GREAT LAUGHS!!!! We all loaded back into the van and headed to Matt and Janel's for the main course of salmon, veggies, and macaroni (my husband's favorite). Janel put together the 12 Days of Christmas Singing Game. Since there were 12 of us total, we each had a line from the famous song. Luckily none of us can sing so it made the game very..... entertaining!! YES IT IS ON VIDEO!! Most of the time we were unable to sing we were laughing so hard! Our last stop was at Nate and Anne's house where we toasted up our own creme brulee. First time I have ever had it, and it was good!! We all had a great night together celebrating Christmas as brothers and sisters!!!

Lastly, we had a few Christmas celebrations like we do every year. My mom and dad hosted Christmas this year. It was fun pigging out on great food and playing a few games she had prepared! Yes I was a top winner tying with my aunt! We draw names to exchange gifts for each other, so it was fun seeing every one's reaction to their new treasurers! By the way Mike, I LOVE my blanket!!!! Before my grandparents had to fly back to Arizona (poor babies in their warm weather, I know!), they were able to come see our new house! I love showing it off to our family and friends because they know how long we have dreamed of owning our own home in the perfect location! We then had Christmas with my husband's family on Christmas Eve. It has always been a tight squeeze in Grandma and Papa's living room, but we make it work!!! Pretty soon their walls will be busting at the seams!! The kids are always anxious to open their gifts, so this year they all had to chant "I love Papa" before we could begin! Then it was Christmas at our house with Ben, Isaiah, Piper, and myself. We had fun watching Piper open her new bone and treats, and Isaiah not caring about anything but his basketball and Mickey Mouse couch! Since my dad's family all lives in Ohio, we head over their around New Year's. Again, it makes it very easy to not have to bounce all over in one quick day. The young kids get gifts from everyone, but us 'old mature adults' do a white elephant! My cousin James was thrilled to try on his new snake skin pleather leggings!!!! He and Ben made a cute couple when Ben opened his gold and black sequin zebra belly shirt!!!! We always have a blast in Ohio and it is nice seeing our family that we do not see very much!

We are very blessed to be able to celebrate the holidays with our family! I missed my brother Luke and his family this year (they are in Montana) but I can't complain too much because we had them for 2 months this summer!!! While we often get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas decorations, gifts, parties, cookies, and family get togethers, we have to slow down and remember that WITHOUT JESUS CHRIST THERE IS NO CHRISTMAS!!!! We all celebrate His birth this time of year, but we have to also focus our minds on the reason for his birth; Jesus was sent here by his Father to die on the cross for our sins, to save us and give us eternal life in heaven if we accept him into our hearts, believe in him (not Santa!), and put our faith and trust in Him! I was thrilled to start our advent calendar tradition this year. Each night we read scripture about the birth of Jesus and the REAL CHRISTMAS STORY! I pray that as this New Year begins, we can all focus our minds on Christ and God's love for us! Accept Him in and watch your life change forever! Grow in Him and your relationship with the Lord!!! I will leave you with my favorite verse...

John 14:6 "Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father, except through me."

A Time to Celebrate!!!

When I think of Halloween, I think of my mom!! This year, we were able to celebrate her 50th birthday on Halloween. Not a day I would want to have my birthday on, but she has put up with it for 50 years!!! 2 years ago, on my mom's birthday, my husband and I went up to Chicago to visit my mom and dad. NO they don't live there, and NO we weren't going out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate her birthday. Instead, we were headed to Northwestern University Hospital where my mother was receiving treatment for Multiple Myloma Cancer. It was a very scary time for our family. We had so many prayer chains and people all across the world praying for her!! We knew that God was taking care of her no matter what the outcome of the situation may be. Makes me think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). They had faith that God would bring them out of the furnace alive, but if he didn't the 3 men were still giving God the glory and the praise.
When we celebrated my mom's birthday that day, it was one of the best days she had while she was up there. Things were starting to look good and she was feeling "better". At least it seemed she had a great day when we left that evening. The next day, on November 1st, my mom took a turn for the worst. She was facing some serious complications and ended up being on a vent for a week. For the first few days, I stayed away. My dad was in constant contact with me, and he thought it would be best if Ben and I did not see her like this. We had a great memory of her on her birthday, and we were clinging onto that. We decided to head back to Chicago a few days later. I was terrified of what was about to be before my eyes. I have never seen anyone on a vent, and who wants to see their mother in that state?!!!! Mom had tubes and wires coming out of her like she was the next Frankenstein! As we took in the information from the doctors, they were going to preform a surgery that gave her a 50/50 chance of coming out of it alive. With more prayers going up, the blessings kept on coming down! Mom came out of the surgery fine (minus a colon and all her large intestines) but she was still with us!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Long story short, she had a long road of recovery and changes ahead of her. She was released to come home on December 15th! It was an extra special Christmas for our family that year! Mom returns to Northwestern for checkups with the doctors every few weeks. As of now, they are not seeing any more myloma in her body! Praise God! Her numbers are looking great and she is back to work full time!!! So when we celebrate her birthday, it is always a great time for our family. We remember to give the honor and glory to God because he was with Mom every step of the way!! Needless to say, he was also with the rest of us because we needed him just as much!!
Over the stretch of the next year, God blessed my older brothers and I with babies!!! My brother Luke and his wife Kate had Olivia in August of 2011, Ben and I had Isaiah in September of 2011, and Levi and Laura had Annabelle in December of 2011!!! My mom (and dad) was thrilled to be able to meet her grand babies! She loves to spoil them, rock them to sleep, and kiss them all over!!! That's what Grandma's are for right!!!!?! I know that my children will be told all about their Grandma's journey and how blessed they are to have each and every day with her! Happy 50th Birthday Mom!! We love you!!!
Now, on to some more cheerful and exciting news!!! My mom now has to share her birthday with our newest addition my niece Martynn Joy Goetz!! Martynn is the 18th grand baby on the Goetz side (our new addition due in April will be #19)!!! She was born yesterday morning, and joins her big brother Carson, sisters Amaleah, Alivia, Ainsley, and big brother Oakley. We are so excited to meet her, but we will let mommy rests a few more days!! She needs a break after caring for 6 kids!! :) As we gathered at my sister-in-laws yesterday for our Halloween evening, it was such a blessing to see Isaiah with his Goetz Family cousins! No matter what side of the family they come from, I know Isaiah will be loved by his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. God has blessed our families beyond measure and that is what we celebrate when it comes to Halloween!!!!

 Mom and my cousin Breckyn April 2011

 

Aunt Shelly (mom's perfect stem cell donor match), Mom, Uncle Tim, and Dad celebrating the big 50!!!!

 

Martynn Joy Goetz 1 day old!

Birthday Fun

Well it seems like forever since I have written a new post (probably because it has been forever!!!). With moving out of the old house and into the new one :) there has been no time for me to sit down and write. Finally I feel like we have the majority of the work done, and I am able to catch up on the important things around here! Like this blog! hahahahaha
In the time that I was away, our little man celebrated his first birthday! We had a fun day. While I was hoping to have his party in our new house, it ended up being our last shebang at the old place. It was a nice way to leave the old house behind. We had a Mickey Mouse birthday for Isaiah this year. I had so much fun creating his decorations and planning the big event. In the end, it felt more like a party for mommy's hard work than it did for Isaiah! We had a great evening celebrating with our family and friends. Isaiah is so blessed to have so many wonderful people in his life that love, care, and pray for him!!!!
On to the fun stuff...

In November of 2011 we went to Florida for a family wedding. While we were down there, my aunt and uncle spoiled us with a trip to Disney!! It was Isaiah's (2 months at the time) and Ben's first time going. We had such a blast! From that time on, I knew I wanted to throw him a Mickey party. We all have to get our inspiration from somewhere... for his party, most of these ideas were found on Pinterest. I just added my "Leah" touch to them!

Isaiah's smash cake: bought it at wal-mart, added some oreo ears and sprinkled it with crushed oreos. I also made 48 of these Mickey cupcakes found on Pinterest. (I did not cut the oreos to make smaller ears, why create more work for yourself?!?!?)

 

For the food and drinks, I used my wonderful Cricut to create these cute characters...

 

 

Along with the characters that labeled our food, I made a few more special decorations for Zaiah.

 

 

I think he liked it! The hard work is all worth that smile right there!!!

 

I had way too much fun using my Cricut making these banners!!! When I went to Party City to order his balloons, ok I don't know how to make those yet ;), I was excited when I found balloons with his name on them!!!

 

The last thing that I made was a photo timeline banner. I saw the idea from a lady's blog that I follow when she posted about her son's first birthday party.

 

On Isaiah's actual birthday 9/11, he opened his gifts from mommy and daddy. My parents, sister-in-law, and niece came over to help us celebrate. (It was a special treat because my brother and his family live in Montana!!!)

 

 

 I hope you enjoyed seeing all the fun stuff I made for our special boy!!!! Remember, IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN TOO!!!!

 

 

 

Abigail

This week has been a new experience for us. Last Wednesday we had a unique day to say the least. We put our Irish Setter, Abigail, down after she was having numerous health issues. Then later that afternoon we closed on our new house!!! It was hard to celebrate the closing and be excited when we had to go through the loss of our first baby! Abigail was a great dog! She came from the pound, and we could never figure out why someone would get rid of such a wonderful dog. When she passed away we believe she was about 9 years old. We don't know for sure so we went with the guess from the vet. We also have a 2 year old (puppy) German Shepherd Bloodhound mix; Piper. The first several days without Abigail we were keeping an extra close eye on Piper. She would walk out on the step and look for Abi under the tree where she always laid. For a few days, she didn't want to be outside for more than 5 minutes. This is just not Pipe!!! She has two of the strongest noses combined into one dog, so she was always tracking moles and catching birds. After a week of special attention, Piper seems to be doing much better!! We have already noticed the change in her. She seems to have grown up over night. She is calmer and a lot less aggressive now that there is no competition. It has been a week and there is still a bone laying on the floor in the living room. When Abigail was here they each had their own and never put it down!! Now she is just trying to keep it away from Isaiah!!!!
Speaking of Isaiah, we knew that he wouldn't remember Abigail when he is older, but we haven't noticed him looking for her now. I thought it would take longer, but Isaiah seems to not care that it's just him and his best buddy Piper!!! He always liked Abigail, but with her being an older dog she never had the energy to play with him like Piper does.
Ben and I are doing okay with Abi being gone as well. Every once and a while we bring her up and laugh at how heavy she used to breath. We don't miss that noise!!!! Ben buried her by his family's pond near their old dog, Gator. He was a Rottweiler. We have been down there a few times to see her tree branch grave marker, but we are also farm kids, and we don't get hung up on the emotions of losing a dog!!! Guess that comes from raising your own steers, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and rabbits, and knowing they were going to market. (Well the bunnies we took to Grandpa Oman's to run around his farm although rabbit meat does taste good.)
We are looking forward to only dealing with training one dog over at the new house. With moving, Isaiah only being 1 (almost his birthday is 9/11), and a new baby coming in April, we are honestly relieved to have one less thing to worry about! But we are going to miss Abigail, she was a gentle giant with a mean bark!!!

 

 fall 2009                                  just got Piper June 2010

                 first meeting Isaiah, September 12, 2011

 the day before we put her down          saying good bye

              our last family picture of all of us

Craft Time!!!!

We have had a very exciting and eventful week around our house!!! Isaiah (11 months) got his 1st tooth, we are working on moving out of this house, and I am due in April!!!!!! With all the changes going on, I feel like I have not made enough time for my crafts and cards lately. These are a few projects I have completed that I wanted to share with everyone. I found these on Pinterest and loved them. So I had to make some for myself!!!! Enjoy!

Yarn Wreath

Supplies

1 skein of yarn
craft wreath (I used the green ones)
hot glue
any flowers or embellishments you want to add (scrapbook paper if you do a letter like I did)
sewing pins
glue dots
cutting knife
safe cutting surface



 

Start with wrapping your wreath with the yarn. I used a few sewing pins to hold my yarn in place where I started. You could hot glue it right away, I waited til I was all done. Wrap the entire wreath (it takes a while but it goes quickly once you get the hang of it) with the yarn and secure your ends with the glue.

Now it's time for the fun part!! Play with the layout of your embellishments before you glue them on. I probably moved my things around 10 times before I was happy with the location! I went crazy on the hot glue because I wanted to be sure that they would not fall off!!!

If you decide to add a wooden letter, you can paint it, cover it with scrapbook paper, or leave it plain. I have tons of scrapbook paper so I went with that option.

To cover the letter, lay it upside down on the scrapbook paper. Again, play with your location if the paper has a design or pattern. When you are ready to attach the paper to the letter, cover the letter with your glue dots. Again, I went crazy because I wanted it to stick!!! Once you have the items secured together, use your cutting knife to cut around the letter. Go slowly so you have nice smooth curves and corners. Once you get it all cut out, you are ready to attach the letter to the wreath. I used the hot glue to get one piece where I wanted it, then I added tons :) of hot glue to all the other areas that were touching the yarn wreath.

It is simple and you can do it!!!! I can't wait to hang it up on our new front door!!!!!!

 

 

 

I Love You Because Frame & Menu Frame

 

This was so fun to make, and we really enjoy using it!!! I tend to write on it more than my husband (hmmmm), but he does participate and doesn't seem to mind either!!! There are so many options when it comes to making this frame. I made two options that I have seen and love!

 

Same techniques for the menu board.

 



 

 

Supplies

picture frame (I used 8 X 10 bigger for the menu might be better)

scrapbook paper

flowers or any embellishments you like

scrapbook stickers

dry erase markers

hot glue

 

Like I said, these were very easy to make!!

The first thing to do is get your frame. Once you know what they look like, that will guide the rest of you designs. Then pick out your scrapbook paper. Remember to use something that doesn't have a busy design or your writing will get lost. Cut your paper down to size.

 

For the I Love You Because Frame:

I ran my scrapbook paper through the printer to add the "I Love You Because...". I knew the look I wanted from the font, so I did it that way. Just be sure you check your settings and get things laid out the correct way before you print!!! Then stick your paper in the frame and add your embellishments. I played with the flower layout before gluing them! I'm a perfectionist so go figure.

Ta Da. Done!!!

 

For the Menu Frame:

I am spoiled by having a Cricut!!! I used that to cut out my MENU letters because I wanted them big and I didn't have scrapbook stickers that large. For the days of the week, I used my scrapbook stickers. Don't be afraid to mix and match your stickers!! I made one of these for my sister-in-law, and I used different stickers for the week days. It turned out so cute too!!!

Okay, once you have everything picked out (be sure the colors look nice together), you are ready to assemble. I started with the MENU to be sure I had enough room. Then add your week days. Remember to leave enough room for yourself to write the food out!!! You could also run this through your printer and do it like I did on the I love you frame.

Stick your paper in the frame and add your embellishments. I got these cute flowers at Michael's and I just love them!!!

 

These are simple and easy crafts to make. I have already given one as a gift, and I can't wait to make a few more for people!!!

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, leave them below and I will get back to you! Thanks!!!!

 

 

Remember IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN TOO!!!!!!!

Camping

I love going on vacation! But I hate things about coming home! It is so hard to get back into the swing of things. There is laundry to catch up on (thank goodness no dishes!!), bills to pay (before the due date which you almost miss because of vacation!), invoices to bill out, and typical cleaning up around the house. Oh how I wish dust and dirt would take a vacation too!!! Other than the post vacation work, we had a blast at our annual Goetz camping trip this year! This is the 4th year (if I'm not mistaken) we have gone to Monroe Reservoir down in Bloomington. All of my husband's family was able to go this year which makes it extra fun! Last year Ben and I only stayed 1night because I was super prego!!! This year we stayed a week and it makes the trip so much nicer! We have so much fun out on the boats, jet skis, and swimming. We plan meals that everyone contributes to (OK we cheat and cook over the grill that we take not the fire, but oh well!). We also take tons of crafts for the kids to make each day before we go out on the water. With Isaiah being a baby still, I made his crafts. Sadly, I think I had more fun than the kids making the crafts!!!! We had a a great time and are so blessed to do things like this with our family!!

 Isaiah and Daddy playing in our tent

   swimming with mommy and daddy; he loved the water!!!

 All 17 Goetz Grandkids!!

One of the crafts from this year. We sprayed shirts with fabric paint and the kids added their own puffy paint designs. I made Mickey for Ben, Minnie for Me, and Goofy for Isaiah!