Otto Times

Make Easter more meaningful

2010-03-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

Easter is the most significant Christian holiday of the year. It celebrates the day that my saviour rose and conquered the grave. He died on the cross to pay for my sins ( and yours and the worlds) to wash me clean so that I will be able to live for all eternity with him. Wow! now tell me that is not significant! Praise God. I want to celebrate this! Jesus rose from the grave! He was not kept down. He is alive today!
I want to celebrate this and not the Easter bunny or... you fill in the blank with the silly lighthearted traditions that have come. Now I'm not saying that these things aren't fun and not worth doing. What I am trying to say is that I want to celebrate Jesus, and not replace him with a bunny.
Soooo.... here are some of my ideas to share with you: Some are good to do with kids, but others are ones you can do as an adult.
1. Resurrection Rolls - I've made these the last couple years. You take a marshmellow, dip it in butter, roll it in cinnamon and sugar, then wrap it up in a cresent roll. The marshmellow is jesus, butter, cinnamon and sugar are the preparations done to Jesus before he was put in the tomb, The cresent roll is the tomb that gets all sealed up. While it bakes, the marshmellow absorbs into the cresent roll and pops it open. So when you take the rolls out of the oven, the "tomb" is empty!
Last year ( brayden was 2.5) Brayden kept saying can we have those rolls where we eat Jesus! Ok, so he didn't get the whole lesson, but it was great that a 2.5 year old got that much!
If you'd like the recipe, please e-mail me.
2. Easter egg hunt with easter story inside. Each egg has a piece of the easter story inside of it. Kids open the eggs then you tell the story. This is really fun. You can buy these eggs at your local Christian book store. Or you could easily make them yourself. I can get you the directions if you'd like them.
3. Read one of the first four books of the new testament. Or read them all . If you haven't read the Bible lately, this will light your passion for Christ!
Part of our biggest problem as Christians is lack of enthusiasm for reading the Bible. Get enthused! God wants to tell you something - read his book and there will be a message for you.
4. I never give things up for Lent, but I think this is actually one of the best things you can do. Pick something that you would like God to control in your life and give it to him. It might be chocolate, or coffee, or anxiety. Give it to him for this season. You might be surprised at how much you like Jesus carrying this weight for you.
Cast all your cares upon him...
5. Do something to serve others everyday this week that you wouldn't ordinarily do and give the glory to Jesus.
6. Thank God everyday for the gift of his son Jesus! and thank him for the everyday blessings in your life.

God still works miracles

2010-02-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

I felt called to relay what happend to me this morning. I could just glaze over it and say I was lucky today, but I know God's angels were protecting me today. After I dropped of Ethan and Cora at school, I headed toward the Bible Study I attend on Tuesday morning. I was approaching a traffic light and it was green and had been for several seconds, so I figured it may turn yellow before I could get to it. It did not turn yellow, so even though I had slowed a bit, I continued on and prepared to turn left. I was a bit blinded by some trees to my left, so I did not have a full view of the traffic to my left. Just before I entered the intersection, a car ran the red light that they had. It was in the lane nearest to me. It was traveling very fast. I slammed on my breaks to avoid the colision. My brakes did their job as we skidded to a stop. It was a split second difference of being in a crash and sitting here unharmed this afternoon.
I keep thinking if that car had t-boned into my car, it would have caused a terrible accident. Makenna sits right behind me. My thoughts are of praise today, that God saw fit to spare us from being hit by a speeding car.

I insist on seeing God's hand upon me. Sometimes it may seem like He's not right there with you, but I can tell, he always is.
I am reminded of the song that I have always found engrained in my mind from listening to it on the radio in Lansing...
It must have been your hand, moving my world in perfect time, I know it was your hand..
I don't think I know the lyrics well enough.. ( although it is engrained :))
Just thought I'd post about how thankful I am for God's protective hand in my life.

December 2009 Family update

2009-12-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
It is time again to write my annual family update letter, only this year, I am doing it here on my blog! This will save me lots of time that I normally spend folding and stuffing envelopes.
To summarize this year will be difficult, mainly because I think when I was making dinner, one of my kids stole my brain! I am so busy with being a mom of four small children, that I can barely remember the last year!
So let me cover some highlights that I do remember!
I'll start with Brent: He began this year with studying for his last actuarial exam. It was his first attempt at it. Despite his monsterous efforts, he'll be studying again in 2010. It has been many many years now that he has been trying to complete the series of actuarial exams, and I say with confindence that I believe 2010 is his year. He will sit for the exam in early May, so hopefully the next few months will be good to him and allow him to accomplish what he needs to get done.
On a more positive note, Brent has been promoted at work to the leader of his department. It is so nice to be able to share with you a news of a promotion in the world of lay-offs! He enjoys his work and is discovering the challenges of management.
He continues to excell as a dad as well. We all enjoy spending a lot of time together, but Brent specializes in helping Ethan with sports related things, and he reads to Brayden nearly every night. I'll chat more about things we've done as a family later.

As for me, I am keeping really busy with being involved with each child someway at where they are at.. What I mean by this is: For Ethan, I set aside a little time each week to go to his classroom as work as a reading mom. I also am a room mom for his class this year. We also spend a lot of time doing homework together. For Cora, this year I help with her Prims group, which is an evening girls Bible Club that meets once a week. For Brayden, Brent and I teach in his Sunday school class once a month, and Makenna, well I am involved with her constantly since she is just a baby still.
I am still volunteering as the MOPPETS Coordiantor for our MOPS group. This job is to coordinate all the volunteers for our mom's group that meets twice a month. This year I have a couple people on my team, so my job has gotten easier. On average we have about 50 kids each time we meet between 0-5 years old. And about 10 people taking care of those children. I coordinate getting everyone there.
In addition to that I attend a weekly Bible study. This fall we are studying the book of Exodus. It is a very exciting study. It's very interesting to look at Moses and how he led the Israelites out of Egypt. You may think that studying this subject would not interest you. But I have been surprised at how easily we can take life lessons that Moses learned and apply them to our lives.
Those are some of the things that I have been doing recently, but as I think all the way back to January, my life seems quite different than right now. This is mainly because of Makenna. Back in January, she was just 6 weeks old at the beginning of the year, but now she is a happy, pleasant sweet one year old girl. She crawls still and isn't daring like her brother Brayden was at her age. She is content to watch the older kids, but is happy to be included in whatever is happening. She is an absolute pleasure. I love being her mom. She is very tiny as well. I am hoping to fatten her up a bit in the new year!
Brayden - He is now 3 years old. His speech has improved leaps and bounds this year. He says the funniest things, and seems to me to be a deep thinker sometimes. He has taken gymnastics and swimming classes in the last year and seems to really enjoy both of those. I was surprised at how well he did in gymnastics. He is very inquisitive. He constantly is asking me questions even when he knows the answer. He also goes to a Bible Club - Rainbows and loves it. He always is learning things that I am amazed he knows. One thing that is so cute is that he says - Mom, I have to give some money to Jesus! This is for the offering time at his club. One evening on our way home from Rainbows, he asked if he had Jesus in his heart! We went inside and prayed together. It was an incredibly precious moment to see a little boy express his desire to know God. Obviously we realize that he is three and doesn't totally get what it means to accept Jesus as his Saviour, but to me it shows that he is on the right track.
He looks forward to playdates and other fun special outings and asks to be able to go places everyday: the park, jungle java, the hotel water park...
He is also a real pleasure to be able to parent, and I feel so blessed to be able to be his mom!
Corlissa is growing up. She turned 6 in March and is now a full time first grade student. She is learning to read and write and is so excited about that. She still struggles with writing numbers backward, but seems to be making big improvements this fall. I did "homeschooling" this summer with her because I was doing it with Ethan, so I included her as well. She made huge strides in reading over the summer with our hooked on phonics lessons. She is also taking tap and ballet as her after school activity, which she really enjoys. She did a great job at her recital last June. She also really enjoys art. She went to an art day camp last summer. She felt really special to be able to go somewhere and just do the things that she loves to do for 3 hours! She is a huge helper here at home too. She loves Makenna, as we all do. She doesn't mind at all sharing her room with the baby and enjoys being like a little mommy to her. She watches out for her really well and makes sure there are no choking hazards.
She is also my little prayer warrior. She always volunteers to pray whenever anyone asks "who would like to pray" . It feels good to know that she has no fear praying in front of people and boldly prays to God.
She is such a blessing to our family. I just can't believe that soon she'll be 7 years old! I am so happy she's my daughter to love.
Then to wrap up each individual update - our oldest son Ethan. He is my little athlete! He loves soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, pickleball!, tennis, bikeriding, scooters... just about anything physical, he wants to be doing it! He has been on a soccer league this fall where he played against teams from neighboring communities. It was great for him and his self confidence. He did an awesome job. He is playing on a basketball team right now, and is on a team with his two good friends that are our neighbors. So they are having a great time together.
Ethan is in 3rd grade and has been blessed with remarkable teachers for 3rd and 2nd grade. Thinking of the women that have been his teachers in 2009, I can see God's hand in his life. They have all been so patient and understanding with him, and really are driven to see him succeed.
For the last 2 years, we have noticed that Ethan was not learning to read as easily as most students, so in August, we had him tested for dyslexia. His does indeed have a mild dyslexia, which is manifested as reading and spelling difficulties.
That being said, the improvement I have seen over the last year, and especially this fall is really amazing. He is now doing more and more work on his own, but doesn't cry when he needs help. He is more willing to try to do the task, where a year ago, he would just say: I can't do it. He is a strong "first born" personality type. He wants to be the best and everytime he falls short of it, he is very hard on himself. Both Brent and I have been working on being positive and pointing our what a great job he is doing. In my exhausted state, I have to have the self control to not blurt out something negative sometimes.
God has been teaching me so much through Ethan's struggle with school. I have faith that Ethan will be able to overcome his difficulties and perservere!
He is an amazing little boy. It's hard to believe that he'll be 9 next April!
I don't know if your first born children are supposed to be the most challenging, but it feels like it to me right now.
Another thing that Ethan is active in is his Ranger club. This meets at the same time as the Bible club for the other kids. He has been learning all kinds of fun things and really enjoys his time there.
Most exciting to me, is Ethan's faith. I have seen it growing since he accepted Jesus. He loves the story of Joseph. He studied this at overnight Bible Camp he went to this summer. He is learning how his faith relates to his own struggles and how with God he can perservere through all things.
" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippeans 4.
Ethan has always been a huge joy to me and I am excited to see how he continues to grow in his faith.
One of the highlights this year, was our trip to Beaver Island.
It was an amazing time to be together as a family and with our friends the Evan's family. We spent a week exploring the island. Fishing, building sandcastles, going to different beaches, eating, going to the beach park, hiking. Amazingly we had a fabulous week weather wise too. Many people complained that this summer was cool, but we had many beautiful days, and the cooler weather didn't keep my brood out of lake Michigan! I love visiting the island every year. In fact thinking about not visiting there, makes me really sad, so we spend our vacation there every year! Our kids love it there too. Ethan and Cora always say that they can't wait to go back and that we'd like to go in the winter to do fun winter things there.

Mainly this year, it has been a time of watching our children grow and learning to balance such a large family. There is constantly something to do and activities to take them too.
Yet in the midst of all the busyness, we are dedicated to having family night together, where we pray for things going on in each others lives and do fun things together. These things are really the highlight of our lives. We do a lot of shuttling and tag team parenting, but setting aside time for us all to be together is important.

So as 2009 draws to a close, I pray that this "blog" has found you happy and healthy, and in good spirits. Remember that God is showering you with blessings everyday. Sometimes though, we refuse to see them. So take some time and thank him for the blessings in your life!

Maybe in 2010, I'll be able to find a bit more time for blogging our family activities. But for now, it looks like I'll only be doing this occasionally!

With much love at Christmas time,
Andie

Summer is almost here

2009-05-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone out there. We here are gearing up for summer. I am getting my mind set on having all four kids here, all the time. Makenna now is 6 months, and is finally consistently sleeping at night. She's gone back and forth for a few months. She's a tiny little squirt and very cute. She doesn't really have much hair. I am using new diapers called g diapers. they are like a clothe diaper, but have disposable insert. Here are the benefits for me - a lot less leaks, more environmentally friendly as they decompose within 3 months. They are flushable, but don't seem to be flush friendly in my toilet. I think our system is rather old.
She is rolling pretty well, and will probably start crawling in the next month or so.
Brayden is just a super sweet cutie right now. He has turned very affectionate. His speech is coming along. He starts his sentences with me. for example - me no want to eat cereal, me want pancake. He is a little over 2 and a 1/2 now.
Cora is finishing up Kindergarten and is excited to be a first grader. Her hair is long now. She loved being a flower girl last weekend in Aunt Tina's wedding.
Ethan is finishing up 2nd grade. He loves sports and is playing soccer right now and is looking forward to camp this summer, as well as our family trip up north.
I have to stop this post now, as duty calls. Maybe I can finish this update later. I'll try to do pictures again, but haven't had much luck lately with the program.

The unexpected snow day

2009-01-20T12:29:00.000-08:00

So today, I had my plans to catch up on a few things. I decided to skip my normal tuesday morning bible study and work on a few things that need to be done. I get Cora and Ethan to school and I am surprised to find out that they do not have school due to a building problem.

Another mom and I looked at each other and said Great at the exact same time - on with the day.
Today I was thinking though, what if I had to go to work, what would I have done? I was again just so thankful that I am able to stay home and take care of my family. My kids don't know the value of having a mom with the ministry of availability. But I do.

so what have we been doing all day. Well, first we went to the grocery store, as I had planned. Ethan and Brayden played in the basement for a while, before I knew it, it was lunch time, and nap for Brayden. Cora and Ethan did some reading, which was really nice to spend time with each of them while Makenna and Brayden napped.
Now they are watching 101 Dalmations.

Everyone keeps saying to me I don't know how you do it. I want to encourage all of you out there who want more than the standard two kids, but feel overwhelmed by the idea of it all. You may feel spread thin at times, but God gives the strength you need. ( I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me ) vs. romans...something I think. Another way that I deal with it all is that I am committed to making our household work, without having to have my mind on other things - such as a job to report to, or other distractions.

I suppose you all would also like to know how Makenna is doing.
Yesterday, we went to the doctor, she is now 9 pounds 11 ounces at 2 months of age. She was in the 25th percentile overal. She is a really sweet baby. She gives an occasional smile, but isn't overly smiley. She seems to deal with not being held constantly well, as she is often times in her swing or bouncy seat so that I can get everyone ready to go in the morning or while I'm cooking a meal, etc. If she's not content to be there, there is always a sister or a brother that wants to hold her.
It seems to me that her blue eyes are going to stay. they are a real pretty dark blue right now. Brayden's are very light blue, so they seem different from each other. She also has barely a dusting of hair. I'll be glad when it starts coming in a bit, so I can tell what color it will be. She sleeps pretty well at night. Last night she slept from around 11:30 - 7:30! That was great!

here are some of the details of her birth story.
On November 19th, I was totally cooked and called my midwife to see if there was anything we could do. She suggested Castor oil - again. I have 1 word for that suggestion - NEVERAGAIN. I took it in the morning and no labor. I went in to see her around 4 PM and she suggested breaking my water. Brent and I went to dinner, then to the hospital. I was nervous and had a hard time eating, but Brent had no problem scarfing down his steak, appetizer and whatever else he had. We arrived at the hospital, they got me set up in a room. They broke my water at 8 PM. I smiled an said no I didn't want anything for pain. I would live to regret that decision! the labor kicked in pretty much immediately. I'll spare the details of the in between. I could tell she was coming fast. She was born at 10:45 PM - Just 2 hours and 45 minutes after my water was broken! It was amazingly, scary fast!
She had the cord around her neck as she came out, which really scared me. Praise the good Lord she was fine though and has been healthy ever since. At first her face was purple from comng out so quickly. She has been a real doll ever since. I knew all along that she would be a great baby. She sure is...
So now that is my post for now. It may have to suffice for a while. I am having trouble posting pictures, but I will try again.

Just Waiting

2008-11-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

Well, everyone, Being "overdue" is no fun at all. We are just waiting for our newest addition to arrive. I marvel at how different each pregnancy has been and now at how each one has arrived in their own time.

I thought I'd take a moment just to update you on how everyone else is doing in the family.
Brayden just turned 2 in September and had his first friend party. He has lots of friends from our church, so that is mainly who came. He is finally learning to talk. The last couple of weeks have been really interesting to hear him start learning a word or two a day. He often says words that I had no idea he knew. He really loves Lighting Mcqueen and Elmo and Thomas. He thinks all characters are pretty cool.
Also, Ethan has taken on potty training him! He has used the potty a couple of times in the last month or so.

Cora is now in Kindergarten. She is doing very well and really likes being at school. She goes 3 full days a week. She likes taking her lunch and being with her friends. on the off days, she plays with Brayden or her friend next door. She often lets me rest in the afternoon as she takes in a movie.
Her teacher thinks she is so sweet. That makes me feel good to know that her teacher really likes her!
She is also taking 2 dance classes this year! Both tap and ballet. I think she is doing really well. I got to go and do observations this week. I can tell she is having a lot of fun and learning a lot.
She is so excited about having a new sister soon. She hugs my tummy everyday and tells her how she can't wait to see her and have her be a part of the family!

Ethan is now a big second grader! He is doing pretty well in school, but reading has been pretty hard for him. He has been seeing a reading specialist to help him where he is having problems, but he is making steady progress. He really is enjoying his new school this year though and has made lots of friends. I love seeing him in his uniform everyday! Just so cute!
He got to play soccer this fall and did very well in that. He is really getting good at soccer and has made some pretty good plays. We are trying to teach him to be humble about his talent though. Ethan is also looking forward to having another baby in the house. He does say though that Brayden is his and Cora can have the "new baby" .

Brent has kept busy with work this fall and was able to travel to Arizona with a conference for work. It was a great honor for him to be able to go on this trip. They choose a few employees each year to go and be honored for their excellent service to the company! It was a great honor!
Brent and I also traveled to Las Vegas in August to visit a friend of mine. We had a wonderful time. The desert really is a beautiful place. Since we had a tour guide, we were able to see a lot of places that we may not have seen without her!

As for me, I've just been enjoying getting to know this baby before she is born. I can tell already what a blessing she will be to our family.
If you can take a moment, please pray for her healthy delivery and her future, as well as all of us adjusting to having a baby in the house.

2008-08-09T21:37:00.001-07:00

2008-08-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

Time Flies!

2008-07-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer to you.
I am doing the unthinkable, on a gorgeous day, I am sitting inside at my computer thinking about updating my blog! Well for those of you I haven't talked with much, there is much to update!
Our biggest family news is that we are expecting baby #4 in November! We found out that it is a girl last month and are so excited to add to our family! To anwer your question of how I am feeling, I want you all to know that I am feeling fine! This pregnancy is going very well. I am 24 weeks pregnant which equals around 5.5 months.
Another big news at the Otto home is that Brent passed his exam that he took in May! Yeah - praise God! He also received a prestigious award at work! He is having a very good year!
Ethan got done with school back in early June. He's been going ever since! He passed first grade with flying colors and reached the benchmark for reading for 1st grade, which made me really happy that all our hard work has paid off.
He went to Pine Ridge Bible camp at the end of June for a week! This was his first time he went away to camp. He had a great time and can't wait to go back next year. Cora's not sure if she wants to go though as the cabins had spiders in them!

Cora is getting ready for school in the fall. She can't wait to be in Kindergarten. She keeps asking when she gets to start school. She had her dance recital in June. Her class of ballerinas were tinkerbell. very cute!

Brayden is growing up too. He is now 22 months old! He doesn't talk much, but tries to communicate in other ways. His hair has gotten really blond this summer. He moved into a big boy bed about a month ago and is doing really well with that. He is no longer bumping his head like he had been doing before.

We took our annual adventure to Beaver Island just a couple weeks ago. We had terrific weather and enjoyed many hours on the beach playing in the cold water and taking walks. It never fails, if Ethan goes on the beach to play, he will end up in the water.
More than one time this trip, we made the mistake of letting Ethan get near water without his suit! You can imagine the result.
One of the highlights this trip was Brent catching a 12 inch fish on a princess fishing pole! It was very funny!
The same day, we saw a snake pull a small fish out of the water and kill it! It seemed straight from National geographic. We did lots of hikes and exploring, but the bugs kept us from doing a lot of it in the woods. The mosquitos this year were horrible.
That's my update for now. I'll be posting pictures soon too.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-02-26T12:22:00.001-08:00

2 months!

2008-02-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Friends, it's been 2 months since my last post! I can't believe I've had nothing to say. That's not really the case. It's just been a busy couple months and a lot of sickness has kept me down.
In the last 2 months, I've had my tonsils removed, had another sore throat, had the flu and am currently recovering from a nasty cold. If that is me, you can imagine that the rest of my family has been sick too. I'll spare you the details.

Now to explain the busy part - we have been doing all sorts of things.
Brent and Ethan went to Monster Jam back in January. that was a high light for them. They got there early and saw all the trucks up close. They watched the 2 competitions, and another small car competition as well I think. They had a great day out at Ford Field.
Brent is back to studying again. We are hoping this attempt at Exam 7 is successful. His exam is in May. When he passes this exam, he will have the first stage of his certification complete. He will also have only 1 more exam to take. He is working so hard to finish. I will definately rejoice on the day he doesn't have to spend his evenings and weekends studying.
Ethan keeps himself busy with school of course. I've been tutoring him with his reading since December, and he seems to be making great improvements. He's still behind grade level, but is making progress! It's so great to see him reading though. He's really growing up! He also has been playing basketball on Saturdays. He also really loves this. His friend has been on his team, and they have a blast together. This last weekend, he made 7 baskets! The previous games he had made one or two each time, so he was really excited about that.

We've had birthday parties, MOPS events, preschool, ballet, gymnastics and all sorts of other events to get to. It seems the weeks fly by, and I don't even know what happens.

Cora is growing taller. She is going to be 5 in one month! It's hard to believe that she is that old already. She is a sweetheart. She loves to do art projects, and is very good at coloring. She also has been enjoying working on an ABC book we've been putting together at home. I print her out pages from a website and she practices writing her letters.
She has begun to take Ballet this winter with her friend Kayden. She just loves it. I wasn't sure if she would, but she loves going and learning. The recital is in June.
She's out playing in the snow right now, as we've had a few inches drop today. Our neighbor is out their with her daughter as well.

Then, I must get to Brayden. He is almost 17 months old, and is now 21 pounds. He's pretty small, but healthy. He's pretty happy most of the time! Especially after a nice long nap. He started pushing trucks with Ethan recently, which totally blesses my heart to see, as I can remember Ethan doing this when he was around Bray's age.
He has lots of nick names - Bray-Bray, Bro, and Buh. Most of these came from Ethan.
Brayden doesn't have any activities yet. Thank goodness, as I'm busy getting the other two to all of theirs. He does go to MOPS and Bible Study though, where he goes to the childcare room. Also he goes to KIDS Quarter at our rec center sometimes too. I've been trying to make it to water aerobics from time to time.

As for me, I'm anything but a bored housewife. I've been doing almost too much this winter. We have lots of church activities, shuttling the kids here and there. Last night, I attended a MOPS event at Dream dinners. They gave us a free meal to take home! This is a place where you can do meal preparation. You choose the meals, they do the shopping and prepwork, you just assemble and freeze them at home, to pull out at a later date. That was fun. My friend and I are going to split a first month membership and try it out for a few meals. I'll let you know how that works out.

I really want to be spending more time memorizing bible verses, to be encouraged by.
I am going to try to have a verse of the week on my blog from now on. This will keep me excited about doing studying the bible and maybe encourage you along the way to open up your Bible and hear what God has to say to you!

With much love,
Andie

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-26T19:47:00.001-08:00

Christmas time and getting ready for 2008!

2007-12-26T17:53:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh, it is the day after Christmas and I am exhausted! I have to admit all that Christmas stuff sure is a lot of work. As if it's not hard enough to do everything you are supposed to do around the house, but then I try to add baking cookies and decorating, hosting parties, going to party and my personal favorite buying presents. Praise the Lord that Jesus came, but I'm sure glad that his birthday party is done for this year.
Let's see I'd like to give an update on everyone in our family, since I didn't manage to get a family letter and cards out this year. I did however manage to print 50 of the same picture, so some of you should eventually get a photo in the mail.
As you can see, I'm kind of busy. It sometimes seems that from sun up to sun down I am constantly doing little tasky things, letting dogs in and out, making meals, taking out the trash, starting and finishing laundry, picking up toys, changing diapers, dealing with discipline, etc. That is mainly my life right now. Occasionally, I get to read a book, watch tv and visit with friends, which makes my life a lot better!
What I've been doing besides taking care of my home, family, and running kids here and there, this year, I started helping our MOPS group again with the childcare for our group. I organize all the volunteers, make sure enough people are there, and make sure all supplies are there, and many times I help with the kids too.
I also have been in a great Bible study this fall, as well as attending some women's bible studies with my church. This really helps me get rooted in God's word and encourages me to open my Bible on a daily basis and really meditate on what God has to say to me.
I also spent time this summer helping with my church's VBS program, that is always a highlight of the year.
I attended a Mom's Conference called Hearts at Home this fall with a couple of other ladies. That was awesome! It was fun to have a night away with some great girls I know from church, but also to be refreshed and encouraged as well. I can't wait to go again next fall.
I haven't mentioned much about Partylite yet. Well, I did my last official show back in May. I did several catalog orders between then and now, and as of right now, I am semi - retired I guess. I just haven't had the time to put into it that I need. I did do a final clearance sale a few weeks ago and that is why there is PL stuff on my Blog. I am really going to miss doing shows, but in the long run, I know that it's what is best for my family. I am still going to be putting in my own orders every few months, so if there is something you need, just let me know.

As for Brent, he has been very busy as well! He really enjoys his job at Amerisure as an Actuarial analyst. This fall he studied and studied and studied some more and on Nov. 1st, he took his exam. We found out last wednesday that he Passed! Yeah and Hooray. He now has 7 of the 9 exams he needs to complete the program. We are hoping that in May he'll pass that exam and then he'll study for the last exam the following spring. The best part about this for me is that he will now be studying only one season a year for tests in the spring. That is a big relief to me as it is really hard to sacrifice so much time with him on the weekends and evenings so that he can study. Every year that passes and he is still taking exams, I swear I am going to plan the biggest hoopla event for when it is finally over! Besides his professional acheivements, he is a great Dad! He loves our kids so much and is really enjoying Ethan getting to be a little bit older. They are building lego things together, playing video games and sports and stuff like that. He enjoys the other too as well, meeting them right where they are at.

Ethan is now 6 and 1/2 as he would put it. He thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year. It was fun to see him guess at what presents were in his boxes. His new found entertainment is video games. Brent got out his old nintendo that he bought when he was in middle school, and Ethan has been enjoying those games. He is in first grade and is working hard to learn to read. I decided to start tutoring him with the hooked on phonics program and he seems to be making great strides at learning to read. This has been a pretty stressful thing this fall. He has often been discouraged when seeing others in his class that can read really well, but for him it is a real chore. I can see though that if I continue to help him, he'll make progress. His teacher has him working with the reading specialist, and one on one with a parent as well to help him get lots of time at working on reading.
Otherwise, he seems to really enjoy school. He has a lot of fun with his classmates and others at the school. Ethan also has played a lot of sports this year. He played 2 seasons of soccer - think this is his favorite, he took some tennis classes this summer, he also played T-ball this summer as well. He is looking forward to being in a basketball clinic this winter.
This is the area where Ethan really excells. He loves sports.
The best news I have to share with you about Ethan, is that he accepted Jesus into his heart earlier this month. We were reading a book at bedtime, and he indicated to me that he wanted to pray the prayer of salvation that the characters in the book were praying. He knew that he needed to have Jesus in his heart to take away his sins, to help him be a better person, and be ready to live in heaven someday. It was an amazing moment to hear him say that to me. I've been praying for this moment for the last 7 years. He has a lot to learn about how to live a Christian life, but he has begun the journey!
Corlissa Grace will proudly tell you that she is 4 and 1/2 years old. She also enjoyed Christmas time very much. She loves all soft things and surrounds herself with them. By this I mean, she loves to have soft teddy bears and stuffed animals, soft clothes, mittens , coats and blankets. She loves to watch her favorite shows, and lay by the heater to stay warm at this time of year, but she also loves to jump on trampolines, play outside in the snow and go to gymnastics class.
She also goes to Preschool 3 times a week for 2.5 hours. She loves it there. Her teacher is wonderful. She also had Ethan in class and I just think she's great!
She has been growing her hair out long this year, and now looks very serious with her long bangs. Her hair has really gotten quite long, and she loves it. She often tips her head back to see if her hair reaches her bottom! I think her favorite Christmas gift this year was her pound puppy. its soft and very cute.
Corlissa also has responded to wanting Jesus in her heart. I'm not sure that she understands it as well as Ethan did that night, but I am sure it is a sweet sound in Jesus' ear to hear a little one express that she loves God so very much!
She has a very tender spirit and is just a really sweet little girl. She does get into trouble once in a while, but for the most part, she is a doll.

That leads me to Brayden. Wow has he changed in the last 12 months! he has gone from being an infant to a walking, climbing, babbling almost toddler! He has an amazing smile and laugh that could charm anyone! He is hard to take care of though. Right now, he enjoys climbing everywhere. He has defeated me many times over in my attempts to baby proof. I have been trying so hard to keep the chairs pushed in at the table, but now he knows how to move them and he often ends up on the counter tops, and table tops! He loves getting into everything and throwing things - like trash and papers, older kids toys, carrying shoes around the house and leaving them in other rooms. I think you get the picture. He is definately a challenge right now! But at the same time, he is a huge joy to our home! I do enjoy seeing him exploring and developing and changing every day.
He is a little squirt. he's around 20 pounds now at 15 months. He is pretty thin too. His pants tend to fall off occaisionally. He does enjoy eating though! His favorite foods right now are pancakes and bananas, but likes many things. I think he is going to be very athletic like Ethan is, but time will tell.

We still have our sweet dogs. They are another bright spot in my day. Sasha is almost 9 years old, and Ginger is 5. It's hard to believe that Sasha is going to be 9! She still seems like a puppy sometimes.

One of the highlights for 2007 was our trip to Beaver Island. This was our 4th year going up there in the summer time. We ended up spending aroung 12 days there. It is a beautiful place. I love being there because I feel like I can just let go of the stress in my life and basque in God's glory! The beautiful beach and forests there are just wonderful. It has a rustic feel to it, but we have always stayed in a nice home. The first few days we were there this year, we stayed with the Evan's family again. They rented the house next door to theirs for their big 4th of July party. We stayed there with some other people. We had a great time. We then moved down to the house we rented and enjoyed a week of peace and quiet there.
I highly recommend visiting there!

One thing that I've noticed this last year is how quickly time seems to be going. I pray that in 2008 you will cherish each moment you have with family and friends, create margin in your life so that you can rest and relax and not overdo it, and be able to serve your family and others around you with the love of Christ.
May love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control reign in your life this coming year (Galations 6 - the fruit of the spirit)

I send my love to you this Christmas and New Year season!
Andie

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2007-12-04T19:42:00.001-08:00

The Princess Party

2007-11-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

About 3 weeks ago, Corlissa asked me for the millionth time when her birthday would be here. i want to have a party and have cake and get dressed up! Finally without thinking much about it, I said we can have a party. We can have cake and get dressed up. It just won't be for your birthday. I was thinking why not have a play date and invite 3 or 4 friends. It would be a lot of fun. Later that afternoon, I picked her up at preschool and 2 or 3 of the little girls looked at me and said, " Can I come to Cora's party? " " Can I come too? "
She had gone to school and told everyone that she was having a party and they could come!
I couldn't say no to those sweet four year old faces! I said sure, you can come. I decided we would call it a princess party and do a fun craft and have a snack and gift exchange.
I got the invites ready and invited all 16 girls in Cora's class plus our neighbor next door. I know you are wondering, Andie - are you insane? You just invited 17 kids to your house at the same time in November when they can't go outside! Nope, I'm not insane, just completely in love with my little girl. I just wanted to do something nice for her and for the girls in her class. Corlissa always wants to wear her pretty dresses and seldomly has a good place to wear them.

Well, yesterday at 9:30 am, we welcomed 11 little girls, plus another 8 moms, plus one little sister to our castle. Here was the plan: First the girls did either craft or game time. I found this great craft to do at JoAnn's ( yes for all of you who know my displeasure for crafts, I did a craft with them and we enjoyed it, maybe I'm coming around) . It was princess wands. I should have a picture of those. I guess I don't though. The game we did was hullabaloo in the basement. There were so many of them, that it was kind of hard to get them all to play the game. Once all the crafts were done, we were all downstairs, we tried to play duck duck goose, princess version, but they weren't really into that either. For heaven's sake! I was shocked that these girls weren't excited to paly duck duck goose. Some of them were saying. I don't want to chase. I don't like this game. So we moved on to the next thing. Luckily one of the other Mom's jumped in with a fun idea. She crafted a story with them. That was really great.
Next we did story time. I read the book Gigi - God's little princess to them. It's a cute story, that in the end the kids learn that they are all princess in God's eyes. This was really fun and nice to read to them. And best of all, Cora loves the story.
After that we went upstairs for cupcakes and lemonade. I had no complaints aobut that. The cupcakes were yellow cake with strawberry frosting with cute sprinkles on them. Just perfect for a princess party.

Finally we did a little gift exchange. Each girl brought a small gift. Then I called out names and they each got to take a turn to go up and pick out a gift.
I think everyone was pretty happy.

so are you wondering what possessed me? I guess I just wanted to do something special for all the girls and have a fun time with them.
Praise the Lord it went well, and there was no fighting or injury!

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2007-11-21T13:04:00.001-08:00

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2007-11-21T12:36:00.001-08:00

What's New?

2007-11-09T15:51:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone out there in blog land!
We have been very busy and I haven't been able to blog.
Brent's exam is finally over, so that takes some stress off of us. I've been busy with MOPS and just getting the kids where they need to be and keeping some of the chores done.
I am currently planning a Princess party for Cora and her preschool friends. She's been wanting to have a party lately - well all the time. I finally told her we'd have a little get together. She went to school that day and told everyone she was having a party. So I felt like I should invite all those nice little girls.
That should prove to be interesting and fun.

Halloween went well. We spent 1 hour trick or treating on our street, then we went to Northville Christian for their party. It was a really good one. Cora won a twenty dollar gift card to Toys r us. Which made her happy, but made Ethan very jealous!

Brayden is walking nearly all the time now. He is very busy baby! He has gotten fussier lately. He often spends half the morning crying, then I'll put him down for a nap.
He is so cute that it doesn't even matter that he's cranky. He also is switching mainly to solid, non baby food. He really is eating a lot lately!

Ethan is doing well at school. He struggles with some things, but in general, I think he likes it. He never complains about going. He seems to have made a lot of friends, and even claims to have a girl friend - Lilia.

Otherwise, not much is new.
Just thought I'd offer an update.

Andie

What's New

2007-11-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

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2007-10-17T07:42:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Patch - part II

2007-10-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

I just realized that whole last post was about Halloween, and not even one word about our trip to the pumpkin patch!
So on Saturday the 13th of October, we went down the street to a church that sells pumpkins to raise money for missions. We arrived to find lots of pumpkins, but no one selling them.
I told the kids to look at all the pumpkins and find what they liked. They had so much fun trying to find the perfect pumpkin. Of course Ethan wanted to biggest one he could find. I told him he had to be able to pick it up. That is why in all the pics of him, he is trying to lift up the pumpkins.
Then Cora just enjoyed herself bopping around looking at all of them. Then finally left it to me to decide what to get.
Brayden was so funny. He just made his way all over the pumpkin patch looking at all the pumpkins, climbing on them, rolling them. Then he found all the little gourds and was having fun with them as well.
Finally we picked our 3 pumpkins and I later returned and paid for them in the mailbox. I know the pastor there and figured that it would be all right.
It was a fun trip.

The Pumpkin Patch Visit

2007-10-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Halloween. Not one of my favorite holidays. I'm sure many of you may think - why? it's just for fun, Andie, lighten up. In fact I used to love it. Then about 6 years ago, I read a book in a bible study/community group, that talked about allowing Satan's presence into your life and how to avoid that. Since then, I've come to realize that for many people Halloween is all about the ghosts, ghouls and the dark side. I never really took it seriously before, but now, it seems like celebrating Halloween is celebrating the dark side, which I refuse to be a part of.
But... my son Ethan goes to public school. Everyone knows that there are always Halloween parties there. Plus we live in the world, my kids want to get dressed up and have fun in their costumes. I am trying to have peace about it, and find a way to participate without compromising what I believe. So we'll go trick or treating, but no evil costumes. We carve pumpkins, and read the pumpkin patch parable. This is a great book for those of you out there that want to relate this craft to something positive. I highly recommend it.

We also got "spooked " the other evening by some neighbors. What this means is that they brought us a basket of candy and goodies, rang the doorbell and took off. It just says you've been spooked. I think it's a cute thing to do. My kids were so excited, they want to "spook" other kids.
I think we might HOLY GHOST them.

Just some thoughts,

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2007-10-16T13:03:00.001-07:00

The Gift

2007-10-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever prayed about a silly thing? Wondered if God really wanted to hear about it, when there is people that really are hurting in the world? I began praying about buying Brayden a climber a few weeks ago. He is so into everything and loves climbing up on tables, chairs, etc. He has also gotten hurt a couple of times. So I thought the perfect thing would be for him to have a fun little climber with a little slide. I began to look at Craigslist to find one that was gently used. Every one I found was far away, not what I wanted, or the people didn't reply. So I began praying that God would help me find one that was cheap, but nice at a local garage sale. Or even that he would put things together so that I could find one somehow. I know that all things are possible with Christ, so why not this. I still felt a bit guilty praying about it.
I had mentioned it to my sweet friend and neighbor Melinda.
She happend to be at the park right by our house on September 28th ( the evening before Brayden's birthday. She was chitchatting with a family with a 2 year old and a 3 year old. She mentioned Brayden somehow and that he was turning one. The father said," Do you think they would like a small climber for him? We have one that is just perfect for a One year old." Melinda said that she was sure I would want it
So at 8 PM we went over to these people's home that was about 1/2 mile from our house and they GAVE us a nice little climber, in perfect condition!
Praise God for answering even the silliest of prayers. Check out the gift in the slide show.
You never know how God can answer a prayer, and you never know how he will use you in other people's lives!

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2007-10-09T12:58:00.001-07:00

Brayden turns One Year OLD!!!

2007-10-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

When I look at the face of my sweet baby Brayden, I realize what a year actually is! Two years ago, I didn't know that sweetheart baby! And just a few days ago, he had his first birthday! I have to admit, I think I enjoyed this birthday and the party more than Ethan and Cora's first birthdays. By child number 3, I have learned to treasure every moment, love the individual he is and just enjoy and have fun with him.

For his birthday, we had a family party: My mom and stepdad, my sister, her husband, their 2 kids, my grandpa, Brent's Grandparents - there are 3 of them, Brent's parents, his sister Tina and her boyfriend Jason plus the 5 in our family. There were 19 of us! Four were over 80 and 5 were under 7. I was really counting my blessings to be able to have them all here!
When we moved on to the Cake is when the fun really began! Brayden wasn't sure what to do when I sat that Cake down on this tray. He soon realized though that it tasted really good, especially the chocolate frosting! He wore so much of it, but then also ate a lot too. I decided once he was done with the cake that he was the only one without ice cream, so I made him a little cone, and he just gobbled away! It was truly precious! Messy, but precious!

So it was quite a great time!

Back in School

2007-09-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone out there,
It's taken me 3+ weeks to blog because I've been getting into the swing of this as a Mom of a school aged child!

Ethan started first grade on September 5th, 2007. I can't believe he's in a full day school now! It brings me to tears sometimes. He's been adjusting pretty well. He doesn't say a lot about school. He did tell me that his teacher wears flip flops most of the time because she has a broken toenail. That was exactly what I wanted to know about her! He also told me yesterday that he had a bossy substitute teacher. He must have said it 3 or 4 times.
He's had all kinds of problems getting used to the lunch room. He would stay too long eating all his food. One day he decided he would buy lunch even though I sent lunch with him, and he had no lunch money.
I must say he has come a long way in his eating patterns. He eats a ham sandwich everyday for lunch. I didn't know if he'd be able to give up his daily hot dog.
As for Cora, she's going 3 days a week to Preschool about 2.5 hours each class. She brought home her first booklet today. It was so cute. They ask the kids all kind of question about themselves, like their favorite food and tv shows. She said her favorite food was pickles and quesadillas! Sometimes I think she's older than she actually is. She seems like she is just 1 year younger than Ethan sometimes.
She also can't report a lot about school, but Monday she did say that a little girl threw up in her class! Yuck!
It already seems like there is a lot of sickness going around.

As for Brayden, He is almost 1! We have 10 days until his birthday. He is just starting to take his first steps, which is just the cutest thing! He can take about 2 or 3 steps until he resorts to his monkey crawl.

Brent is working on studying for his upcoming exam on November 2nd. Hopefully he'll pass this one with flying colors. October is looking like a pretty busy month, so hopefully he'll be able to get all that study time.

As for me, I'm just trying to enjoy the end of the summer weather. I know soon I'll be dreading going outside. I've been trying to ride my bike to get some exercise. It's fun to pull the kids in the trailer. it's like a free babysitter!
Most of my time is spent taking the kids someplace, making food, cleaning up food, cleaning up kids, and cleaning up messes, so I don't have a lot of interesting fun things to report.

I did read an interesting book recently though. It's called the Glass Castle. I must admit, I found it very disturbing. It is a memoir of a woman who grew up in poverty. In my opinion, her parents chose to be in poverty. It's very sickening at parts, but the story of her childhood really draws you in.
It made me very thankful to think of my parents that loved, fed, and protected me during my childhood!

Until I blog again,
Andie

Make new friends, but keep the old

2007-08-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard that song, Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the others gold. I used to sing it in Girl scouts over 20 years ago. God has been teaching me a bit about this in the last year. Last weekend, we visited some friends of ours in Holland, MI that we were close with when we lived in Lansing. We hadn't seen them in about 4 years and only had talked a couple times. It was funny how easy it was to sit and talk with them, as if we had only not seen them since last week. Do you ever notice that you have that kind of a friendship, but then have something separate you. Sometimes it's hard for me to understand how I can have such good friends and then have to let them go. I believe that God wants us to be a part of each others lives for a time, but then, it is time to go on and touch other peoples lives. Yet, still holding onto the friendship that is the old one, however we need to do that , whether it be long distance ways or just through casual interaction when you see them.
Anyway, this is my deep thought. It is poorly explained. Most of you who are reading this are probably part of the golden friends club. Just want to let you know, I love you and miss you!

Now I suppose I should write something about what has been going on with life, not just what has been on my heart lately.
I mentioned a trip to Holland. That was a mini vaka we took Aug. 17-19. It was interesting to say the least. We arrived late Friday afternoon, after listening to Brayden cry in the car for nearly 2 hours. He just didn't want to be riding in the car! After another couple hours, I had developed a migraine, so that kind of ruined the first night, then Saturday, we visited with our friends that I mentioned before. That was one of the best parts of our trip! Our three kids and their three kids had a great time together. Ethan and Nathanial played the Wii, Cora and Lauren did dress up and played with a cat I think. Their youngest Rachel was a bit too old for Brayden to play with, but nevertheless, they had fun too. We also went to a beautiful park too for the kids to enjoy themselves at!
We then went back to our hotel to prepare for the wedding we were supposed to attend that evening. Taking 3 kids to a wedding is not a lot of fun. Lets just leave it at that. I think I should have just skipped the whole wedding.

On sunday we got up to find it raining. That meant no trip to Lake Michigan. Ethan was very disappointed! He kept saying that the vacation was ruined because we didn't go to Lake Michigan!
My sister was on vacation in Saugatuk, and we were planning on visiting her, but since it was raining, her family and our went to the pool at the hotel, then we decided to visit - Chuck E. Cheese. Fun. The thing I really noticed, is how it was not busy. I have gotten used to the busyness of Detroit, and how everywhere we go there are crowds. We had a good time.

We piled into our new cruiser aka a 2008 Saturn Outlook we got this 2 months ago, and headed for Livonia around 3:30. Ethan was very upset. We heard about how he wanted to go to Lake Michigan the entire way home.

On tuesday or wednesday of last week he said, It's nice weather today, let's go to Lake Michigan today. He just doesn't understand that I don't want to drive another 2.5 hours back to Holland!

We are all looking forward to back to school. We are now in the last 7 days! I am a bit meloncholy about that. I know that there is no turning back now with Ethan going for full days! Wow! I can't believe he's ready for this. I am praying that his teacher will be nice and that she'll be inspiring!

Cora is looking forward to school again too. I can't wait for her to have Mrs. Crouson. I know she is going to learn so much this year.

Then there is the sweetheart baby Brayden. He is almost 1 ! Only 1 month from tomorrow. I am hoping that the fall will bring a regular nap schedule.
He is not quite walking yet. He's still doing his bear walk. I think he'll probably be walking by his first birthday though.

Brent has been studying again for his next exam. Hopefully he'll be able to get over the hump this time and pass this exam. It's just extremely hard to take these exams.
Tonight we all went to the tennis courts and watched Brent and Ethan play tennis. Ethan is really making good progress as a Tennis player! He amazes me that he can do so well. He did take some lessons this summer, which helped a lot!

Until my next post,

Summer 2007

2007-08-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

I decided to create a place where I can keep everyone up to date with what the Otto's are doing! I really wanted a place where I could share some of my favorite pictures too.

We have had a busy summer so far. There are 22 days until Ethan and Cora go back to school. Ethan becoming a real all day student in First grade , and Cora will be going to her 2nd year of preschool.

We have been doing a lot this summer! Brayden is a little trooper! He has done so well with all of our going here and there. He naps when he can, and enjoys all the visits.

We went on vacation this summer to our favorite vacation spot here in Michigan, Beaver Island. It is an island in Lake Michigan. It takes us 4+ hours of driving, then a two hour ferry ride to get there, but it is so worth it!
We spent much of the vacation playing on the beach, going for walks, and just enjoying each others company. We were able to climb to the top of Mount Pisgah this year, which was a hard climb on a sand dune, but we all made it!
Boy that sand was hot though. As soon as Ethan got to the top, he went down the "hole" which is the tiny trail on the other side. I (Andie) followed him and Seven ( my friend's daughter) down the other side. It was very steep and tree covered, so we just slid down that side, but then we looked back up - It was a very difficult climb back up. I was praying for help! Seven kept saying she wanted me to carry her. I didn't tell her that I didn't think I was going to make it myself! We made it back up though!

Here are a few other things we've been doing: Spray park, playdates, Water park in Ypsi township ( what a great place), bowling, movies, VBS, sports - Ethan's taking tennis, as well as being in T-ball, Cora and Ethan are both in Gymnastics too for a short 4 week session 1X/week.
We also have been busy learning, I've been helping Ethan make progress on his reading skills, and Cora has been learning the alphabet. We've been using an awesome website called starfall.com! It's a great resource!

As for Brayden, he's been growing and changing constantly! He is so cute. He is crawling but with his feet flat on the ground! I think he looks like Mowgli from the Jungle book. He also loves his new push toy I bought him. He can walk behind it pretty well. He is eating lots of real people food. Today he had about 1/2 a piece of French toast and yogurt, last night he had some baked potato. It amazing how fast they acclamate to regular food.

I am going to try to keep everyone up to date on a weekly basis.
Andie