Watch out!

There are predators at Meijer. Not the "typical" predators. These are far worse. These are Amway/Quixtar/TEAM predators. They look for you in the aisles, strike up a great conversation, and then BAM! Try to manipulate you into joining their "business."

Seriously, we were at Meijer last night after church (i.e. 9:30pm) when a nice-looking young couple stopped to talk to me and Grace. Thankfully, Luke showed up not long after. He's getting pretty good at telling Amway-esque reps to go away.

So, here are your tips for the day:
1. Never wear a t-shirt with a logo on it to Meijer. These people jump all over it. Once Luke had a Cornerstone Football t-shirt on, and an Amway guy used that as a conversation-starter. Last night it was my AWANA shirt that started it. ("What does your t-shirt mean? Oh, well what does it stand for? Oh, yeah, my husband here went to AWANA as a kid. He even knows that the key verse is II Timothy 2:15. Good thing I stopped to ask you about your shirt as if I've never even heard of it before.") Shameless.

2. As soon as someone mentions an "Internet business," turn around and run. Don't even say goodbye. If they can't say, "I'm a web designer" Or "I work for Google," then their "Internet business" is a pyramid scheme. Run away.

3. If you run into a cute blond couple at the Cascade Meijer named Nate and Amanda, do as previously stated - turn around and run. They look nice and all, but looks are deceiving.

Really, it makes me sad. Don't these people feel bad at all for pretending to be interested in a conversation, just to take advantage of unsuspecting people? We talked about AWANA, our respective churches, alma maters (CU and Calvin), etc. etc. Walking away, I thought, that could have been good fellowship between believers, but instead it was all a sham. Somehow, I always feel violated by these people. Oh, and lest I forget to mention it, this was at least the third time we've been approached at Meijer like this, and one time Luke was approached at a gas station. Shameless, I tell you.

On second thought, I might ignore my first tip and print myself a nice pretty t-shirt that says, "No, I'm not interested in your 'Internet business.'" Think that would work?

Fun at the park

We had a great time with Kisha, Tayler, Stephanie, and Macie at the park in Lowell yesterday. It was a REALLY hot walk, and Caleb dropped his hat somewhere (couldn't find it), but other than that it was nice to get out and have some time with other moms and their kids. Here are some pictures:

Caleb had a good time swinging! I spent most of that time hoping his little bald head had enough sunblock on it!

Grace was such a good girl and kept her yellow sunglasses on the entire time we were out. And she kept her flip-flops on most of the time, too, which is quite an accomplishment for this two-year-old!

Stephanie and Macie...That woman doesn't look like she's ever given birth, does she? Tall and slender...so not fair. : - )

Kisha and Tayler...It was Tayler's first birthday yesterday, so we were able to spend time with the birthday girl. She really is a sweetheart, and Kisha is a great friend. We're so fortunate to have been blessed with our church family! (Hey, did you all know that Kisha is pregnant, too, and due just 9 days after us?! I'm excited for our kids to be close in age again!)

That's all for now. Tomorrow is Tayler's birthday party, so maybe we'll get some pictures of that.

Our weekends

Luke had a great time at the men's retreat he attended last Thursday through Saturday. It was at Lake Ann Baptist Camp near Traverse City. The speaker was Ken Rudolph, and Luke really enjoyed the messages. He was also able to play basketball, golf, and a funny prank on Pastor Craig. Fun was had! (Karl also went for part of it and had a great time. Hopefully they'll both go back next year!)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the kids and I stayed plenty busy as well. On Friday evening, we had a great time with some of the wives and kids whose husbands/daddies were at the men's retreat. We got to play at the Burrs' house, which was lots of fun.

Grace and Caleb also got to play with "Miss Wendy" from church on Saturday while I went to a big garage sale for about an hour, and then volunteered at a carnival for a sick little girl. Her name is Lillian Evans, and she's only five years old. She needs a heart and double-lung transplant. The carnival was to raise money for her transplant, which could cost around $500,000. (Wowsers, that's a lot of money.) I don't know how much was raised that day, but there was a great turnout, and people seemed to be very generous. I hope they raised LOTS!

We were very glad to have Luke come home. It's always hard when he's away. The kids and I missed him!

This weekend will hopefully be pretty quiet, except for Tayler's 1st birthday party on Saturday. Happy birthday, Tayler! Oh, yes, and Mother's Day is Sunday. Since I'm a mother, we're going to go out to eat. I'm thinking Johnny Carino's or Olive Garden. Any suggestions?

Oh, and by the way, I found out they didn't have to put another stent in a different artery for my grandpa. They did just have to replace the one that was already in there. All went well, and he's home now. Thanks for your prayers!

Hope everyone's doing well.

Grandpa Update

Thanks for your prayers! My grandpa had a heart catherization this morning, and they found that the stent that's currently in there is fine, but a different artery is blocked. So, they will go in and add a stent in that artery. I believe that procedure is tomorrow, but don't quote me on that. No one has mentioned any damage from the heart attack, and it sounds like the procedure is pretty common. It sounds like it's not as serious as it could have been. Praise the Lord!

Prayer request

We found out today that my Grandpa Liabenow (my dad's dad) had a heart attack. He had a pretty major one back when I was a junior in high school. So, that was eight years ago. I don't know much, but last I heard, he was in the ER and they're going to have to run tests. They don't know how serious his condition is. I might end up going up there if it's serious; otherwise I'll probably stay home. Just please pray for wisdom for the doctors, and for safety and healing for my grandpa. He's a gentle, kindhearted man. I hate for him to be in pain.

Thanks.

Ultrasound results...It's a...

BABY! :-)

Sorry! We didn't find out the gender. True, I came incredibly close to finding out, but my indecisiveness worked in my favor. So, again, we will have our dramatic "It's a _____!" moment in the delivery room. Luke thought he saw boy parts, and I thought I saw none (i.e. girl!), but I wouldn't trust our judgment anyway. I thought a leg was an arm, and we both thought the "strands" in the umbilical cord were toes. We are just not qualified in the ultrasound department.

But the good news is that the baby is healthy! And very active - and that is the reason that the pictures aren't that great. He/she wouldn't sit still! No matter how many pregnancies you have, it's always exciting to watch the little life inside you. We are both thanking God for a healthy baby! He/she is currently 8 ounces (or half a pound). Not too big, but trust me, he/she will get much bigger before coming out. Since Grace was 9lb 12oz, and Caleb was 9lb 13oz, I'm counting on a 9lb 14oz baby this time around. We'll see if that theory holds true. (Oh, Lord, please don't give me a baby over 10lbs!)

Last thought on baby for today...Would anyone like to contribute some baby name ideas? I need some inspiration. We (obviously) need a boy name and a girl name, just in case. But preferably no neutral names! :-)

We had a great time at my parents' house this past weekend. It was lots of fun to visit Grandma, Papa, Aunt Alonna, Big Karl, Aunt Melissa, Little Karl, and Baby Emma. We also got to see the Lung side of the family at a retirement party for my grandma. She worked at her job for 39 years, and some of those were while raising the five kids she had in a span of seven years! What a woman! I'm pretty thankful to be a stay-at-home mom. I have no idea how working moms survive. I think I'd be stressed all the time!

That's all for now!