The Bursleys and Family

Timbertown,Family Reunion and the Fair

2009-07-31T13:08:00.001-07:00

We celebrated my Grandparents 90th Birthday and 70 years of Marriage. They have 23 grand kids and 57 Great Grand kids. We had pictures at their house and then went to Ottawa Reformed Church and had a fabulous lunch catered in by Beechwood Inn with some play time after. each family had a different color.

We took the kids to the fair one night. Wow some things never change. I got to sit and people watch alot since Mike took Logan on rides and played games and I went with Brooklyn and Brinzie as they rode rides. My mom watched Brailee for us which was soo nice..thanks Mom.. My dad said she is a spoiled Brat..apparently she wanted to be held alot...OOPS!!! Probably My bad but they are only little once..right???

I took the kids to Timber Town on Friday to feed the ducks since I had alot of bread and it was a day that we had nothing to do. The geese and the ducks were crazy..They just kept coming in herds when we were feeding them..The geese kept on hissing when you didn't feed them. I was freaking out and Brooklyn said "it's fine Mom." UMM NO its not lets go well Logan said NO I AM FEEDING THE DUCKS!!! So I took Brailee and we watched where their was no ducks or geese.

Logan took this picture of us.

I was tending to Brailee and I turned around and found Logan eating the bread, apparently he was still hungry....

Jesse Concert and Brailee 2 Months

2009-07-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Jesse McCartney came to Berlin to perform. Dad got all of us front row tickets and back stage passes for the kids. They were so excited. They even got to go back stage and meet him, they all thought he was so nice and sooo cute. I felt kind of bad being in the front row and only knowing 2 songs. Jess only knew a couple songs but by the end of the night she bought the CD off I tunes and listens to it non stop..Dad stayed for half of the show and then left. He said he wanted to keep his hearing for a couple more years.. Thank You Dad, we all had a great time!!

Brailee is 2 months already..Where had the time gone..We are enjoying her soo much, she is now smiling and cooing, it is so cute to see. She even rolled over from her belly to back last week. We went to the doctor today and she had 3 shots and did great, she only cried for a little bit. She weighs 11 pounds 11 ounces, she is 23 1/4 inches long and is in the 75th percent for everything. the doctor says she is perfect..but we already knew that...:)

This is the first time we seen Dr. Paul for Brailee. He is my others kids doctor also. We Love him.. He asked me jokingly what I do in my free time..I said vacuum...:) What I Love to do!!

Summer so far is going good, we are busy doing who knows what. Logan is still going to school every day Monday through Thursday half days. Jess still off doing who knows what now that she can drive. She is still working at the cafe on Monday, Thursday and Fridays, so if you are in the area she loves visitors. Brooklyn goes with the flow, she has been playing alot with Lexi, its so nice to have a cousin right up the road and is the same age for her to play with. She went to Camp Geneva with her cousin Brynn and had a great time. She also got braces on which has been going great so far. Mike still continues to be busy with the business, which is great considering our economy. Our race team still continues to do good the last 2 races that he raced he finished 2nd at North Carolina and 4th in Indiana. I am busy with diapers, baths, bottles and the day to day of mother hood. Brailee has been sleeping from 10:00-10:30 till 7:30 the past couple of night so that has been super nice...I hope I don't jinks myself by typing that..She is a very good baby.

Summer Days

2009-07-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Perfect Circle Racing so far has been going great, we won the last 3 races that Brian has raced. Two of them being at Berlin. One of those he raced against Kyle Busch(Nascar racer for those of you who don't care about racing) in the Rowdy Busch 125 where we started 9th, and the other was the ASA race, where we started 6th. It was really cool to win both races at his home track. The other win was at ORP in Indiana, we started 11th and took the lead with 5 laps remaining. The guys have been very happy with the way things have been going. Winning sure does make for a happy Husband...:) This weekend Brian and Crew traveled down to Rockingham North Carolina to race...Kind of nervous, Mike keeps saying this track is very rough and Brian has never been their so it makes me a little nervous..I am sure Mike will be pacing at the cottage on Saturday with the phone to his ear all day. I just got off the phone with Lisa, Brians wife and she told me that Brian took Heathe Fowlers mini van(they borrowed his van for the weekend) around the track last night to get a feel for the track???? Crazy boys!!!

Logan loving his sister, he likes to hold her for about 2 minutes and that is about it. The other day Brailee was laying in her boppie underneath her entertainment center.(I cant think of what that thing is called that they lay on with things that hand from the top???) I walked out of the room to brush my teeth and came back to Logan pushing her out of it because he wanted to go under it..AHHHH SO he had to sit in the naughty chair..It was kind of funny how he explained it to me but he needs to learn, he is kind of sneaky that way.

This is how she sleeps sometimes when she is in a dead sleep...

Brooklyn is still a huge help when she is home. She got braces on last week and so far it has been going great. She said they didn't even hurt.. She is going to Camp Geneva next week. It sure is going to be quiet here with out her, but we will miss her!!!

Brailee loves Summer days by Aunt Deb's pool!!!

Pretty sad Logan knows how to take a picture of himself. Think he's been watching his sisters too much..

Pam's kids, Brooklyn and Brinzie swimming in Aunt Deb's pool. Thank you to Deb for always letting us use you pool when ever we want.

Hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend. I am sure I will post again when we get back from the cottage.

Kathy

Brailee is 1 Month Old!!!

2009-06-16T16:25:00.001-07:00

Sorry this is soo late but for some reason I couldn't get my blogger to work..Pam came over today to help me and what do ya know..it works..This is going to be picture over load, I really didn't know what ones to put up here since it has been so long. If you are my friend on Facebook sorry you have seen all of these. I think that is another reason why I have been slacking is because all of my pictures are on facebook too.
This is one of my favorite pictures at the hospital. Aunt Deb is holding her. She is 1 day old here. Don't ya just want to squeeze those cheeks??

Another one of my favorite, Mike holding her, this is usually how they end up at night, both falling asleep..Her cheeks are big but in this picture they look way bigger than what they really are.

Great Grandma and Grandpa came to visit her when she was a week old, she was fussy for Grandma but fell right to sleep by Grandpa. He said that he hasn't held a baby for so long, not even his own kids, he probably held her for a good half hour. Brailee is the 56th Great Grand Child.

I Love this picture too, we all think she is going to have brown eyes now..

Everyone says she looks like Mike and Brooklyn, but this one I heard she looks like me. What do you think?

I cant believe how time flies. One month old already?? Our life hasn't really changed much except for less sleep and the house isn't as clean as what I would like it to be but I have learned to say "oh well, it will get done tomorrow." And if you know me I LOVE a clean house with nice vacuumed lines.. That doesn't happen a whole lot now. As for Brailee we think she is a good baby that loves to be held and NO ONE lets her cry much, so she gets held alot which can be quite difficult at times. And when she cries she lets it all out..She is such a good sleeper, she goes down around 10:00 and gets up any where from 3:30-5:00 and then around 8 or 9. So my nights are not that sleepless. I have been very blessed with kids that LOVE to sleep..The kids are all having a good time with her, especially Brooklyn, she is a HUGE help. She changes diapers, clothes, bathes her and feeds and burps her. This comes in very handy when I am dealing with Logan or trying to get something done. She is always trying to help with anything. She is done playing ball which was alot of fun to watch and wow alot different from last years coach pitch to the girls fast pitching. If you need some one to watch your kids she loves to play with kids too!! Jessica is busy working at the cafe 3 days a week from 6:30-3:00 and then at Berlin on Saturdays and other race days selling brochures. She is also staying busy with her friends and laying out in the sun..when its out that is!!:) Logan is going to Zeeland Christian summer school 4 days a week from 9-12. This will be so nice since he is getting bored at home and needs some structure. Mike is staying busy building and fixing race cars. He is also staying busy with the ASA travel team. We won the Rowdy Busch at Berlin on the 10th of June and then went to Indianapolis on the 13th and won their also. So he (we, the team) we very excited. Makes for a happy husband!! And as for me..well change diapers, feed kids, wash, vacuum, blog, facebook..and ya know all of the other motherly duties that I love doing. Hope you are enjoying your summer. Sorry so long but I had a lot of catching up to do..:)

It's A Girl...Brailee Rian Bursley has arrived!!!

2009-05-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone...this is Pam (Kathy asked me to post a blog for her). Kathy was admitted to Holland Hospital on Monday at 1:00 p.m., to have her labor induced. On Tuesday morning, May 19th, at 11:23 a.m., they were blessed with the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Brailee Rian. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 3 oz.; 20-1/2 inches. Mom, Dad and daughter are are doing wonderful!

Easter

2009-04-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Easter at my Mom and Dads house with the whole family. Brian and Deb were either on vacation or at their relatives. Mike and I and the kids and Mike's Mom and Brother celebrated Easter with my parents at their house. What a beautiful day it was and the food was fabulous..as usual.. We started with the Easter egg hunt, it was kind of sprinkling so it was a quick one but the kids had alot of fun, the eggs are filled with money, so the older ones that can drive are appreciating it even more... Here's a picture of all the kids before the hunt.
Jessica found her basket under a bush.

Brooklyn's was by the tennis court.

I think Uncle Brian found Logan's some where but it was getting too cold and raining harder for his picture and he does NOT like the rain at all...

Pam, myself, Deb and Mom. Thanks Mom for another great gathering. Its always fun for the kids and the adults to talk and EAT alot of great food.

Nothing really new has been going on lately. The kids went through a sick couple of weeks with a terrible cough. Brooklyn was put on 2 asthma inhalers and Logan still has his cough but it has broken up. I cant believe school is almost over with. Logan will be going to summer school a couple weeks a month, these are only half days so that will be nice, and now that Jessica can drive this might come in real handy, especially with a newborn. Speaking of Baby I am 35 weeks today. YEA!!! I went to the doctor last week and to all of our surprise I am 40 percent thinned and dialated to a 1. No big deal on the dialation part but the doctor would like me to try and wait a least another week. We would all like 2 weeks but who knows, time will tell. So I have to take it easy. Which I am as much as I can. Its really hard with the weather being so nice out lately. I have been taking advantage of the nice weather and sitting in the sun while the kids are at school. I cant complain!!! Brooklyn just started practicing for ball. She loves playing ball and is alot of fun to watch. Jessica will be Dutch Dancing in a couple weeks, she is already nervous to dance. She gets very nervous performing in front of people. Logan just goes with the flow, he also loves to play ball, watch TV and now with the weather being nice he loves to blow bubbles and play with side walk chalk. Sorry this has taken so long but..I don't have any excuses I guess just lazy.. enjoy the beautiful weather!!

Busy Weekend

2009-03-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend was so nice out. We took out the stakes in the driveway,this will probably bite us in the butt later when we get some more snow :( We also cleaned out the garage and played a little ball with Logan. He is going to fun this summer, he actually like to do things now like play ball, or just hang around outside. Don't get me wrong he still LOVES his TV. And now he loves to play Nickjr.com, so now we all have to take our turns with the computer, or Jessica just goes to Grandma and Grandpas house to use their computer...Oh to be 16 and have such a busy life..:) After Church on Sunday we took Brooklyn and Logan to the Circus at the Delta Plex with Brian and Pam and their kids. Kids had a great time, even the adults had a few laughs and didn't think it was too bad. I think it was better than last years so that was a plus. Kids wanted to ride the elephant in the beginning and we said NO rides and NO junk. Well.. that is all Logan wanted to do and since this was something he wanted to do I couldn't say NO to him. Yes I am a sucker. After the elephants came out for their act all he would ask is "Can I ride the elephant now? Is the circus done?" And so on, frankly it got quite annoying, when Logan gets something in his head, he doesn't forget about it.. So after the Circus I just thought he would be content to see the elephants but NO WAY... well the line was to long so they rode the camel, which he loved just well ,but now all he says is that he needs to ride the elephant. geez are they ever happy???? :)

We also had the privilege to watch Liam again at night while Tim and Jen had youth group. Well it was supposed to be ME (Kathy) watching him but the minute they walked in Brooklyn snatched him right out of his car seat and he fell asleep in her arms. It was so cute and wow I cant believe he did that, sometimes he needs to be walked around and sung too. Reading this you would think he was mine...Sometimes I think he is..:) After Tim and Jen got home he was awake and needed a diaper change, well he ended up peeing on Jen, which Brooklyn noticed. It was quite comical. And then I got him, well he was kind of fussy so I just walked around with him and sang to him and it wasn't doing the trick. So Brooklyn said let me have him and I told her probably not honey he is kind of fussy right now.. Well she didn't care. And wouldn't you know that little stinker got him to stop crying for the rest of the night...Can you say babysitter????!! She is going to be a great help when the baby arrives. We are both baby hogs, so this will be interesting when this little girl arrives... And speaking of baby, I go to my 30 week apt on Thursday. I love going to the doctor every 2 weeks!! It just means its getting closer.. Are we ready???? Her room is ready to be painted which will start tomorrow. So hopefully 2 more weeks and it will be complete...

Liam is looking at racing websites here with Mike. Isn't he such a cutie pie!!!! I should mention that Jess got to watch him in the afternoon. I think Tim and Jen should go on a mini vacation so we can all get used to a baby around all the time.. Did you read this DeHaan's??? hint hint :)

This is Brooklyn and Liam walking around at night. I dont think she could get any happier or proove to me that she can do it...

Logan's Surgery

2009-03-02T17:38:00.001-08:00

Logan had out patient surgery last Thursday to insert a catheter into his vesicostomy so that we can start to bag him. So basically he urinates throught the cath into the bag and we just have to empty the bag. So pretty easy. And so far it is working great. The only concern we have would be infections. We go for a check up on the 20th and the doctor will show us how to remove the cath and put a new one in and blow up the balloon... That will be kind of scary, ok really scary I think to be able to put in and take out his own cath and make sure we blow up the balloon in the right spot. Scares me just typing this. I guess I can do it, I have done alot of things that I never thought I could do. Did that make any sence to you???
My picture are backwards and I don't know how to rotate or move pictures around. But this is Logan in the recovery room, and he is sooo tired, all he really cares about is watching T.V. Nothing unusual. For this surgery they wanted us to be their at 7:30 and surgery started at 9:30..YEA RIGHT!! Well since I am a pro at this we got their about 8:15 ish and surgery didn't start until I think 10:45. So a lot of the same song and dance over and over. How is Logan, any allergies, how is his skin, when did he eat last and on and on and on. Everyone that came in asked the same questions. I guess that is their job but its get real old especially when its all within 1/2 hr to 45 minutes apart. Through all of this Logan was a trooper, he handles surgeries so well. I woke him up and he shot right out of bed when I told him he was having surgery, Crazy kid, usually he like me to rub his back or just plain stall. And Bursley..Check out Logan's eyes..Looking at the T.V. Mike was getting very annoyed since it was 1:00 and we still weren't out of the Hospital yet for a 30 minute surgery. We were all hungry and sick of sitting in the hospital. We actually left about 1:45. We told them he was fine and we knew what we were doing so can we please go.. We always seem to have the same nurses so that is kind of nice, we get to know them and they know Logan. And when we have done this so many times we just tell them we are good to go so let us go..

The nurse and the anesteseologist.(sp?) They probably thought I was crazy to ask for a picture.

They now have painting in the outpatient rooms. Great idea, they probably figure they have us their so early they need to pass the time by doing something fun. Logan was more into the t.v than Painting. I was into the painting..

Logan and his Mice from school. He was the up in lights person for the week.

Weekend at the races

2009-03-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

Mike had to race Saturday night and Sunday this past weekend, so to say the least we didn't see much of him...Saturday night the kids and lots of family and friends came to watch him and Mitch Meppelink race. Mitch drives one of our cars, and is a great driver, we cant wait to watch him drive for my dad at Berlin this year. Grandma Bubbles got some balloons for Logan and had the announcer bring them to him after the second race. WOW was he excited along with all the other kids. He grabbed the microphone and said "Go Bursley Go" So cute!!! He loves going to the races to watch him and he sits great the whole time. To say the least he is not afraid of much and loves all the attention.
This was a picture from Sundays race. Mike won the A Main with a broken tie rod.(I have no idea what this does, but if it breaks its not good.) The last 3 laps were soo scary to watch, he was out of control, driving on 2 wheels and loose as ever. I was watching with one eye open and Watching Stacy's facial expressions... Saturday's race didn't go well AT ALL..NOT A GOOD NIGHT!! Crashed bad and was up till 2:00ish to fix it. He was going to be done with racing but they begged him to come back. I was kind of hoping that he was going to be done but I guess its in his blood..

Jessica took Liz Pugh to the races and the Rodriguez family came to watch too. This was the younger two on the way home. I think Logan was snoring within 10 minutes after leaving the Delta Plex. I think we got home around 11:00 so a very late night for a 6 year old, but lots of fun. Brooklyn was crashed out in the back.

Logan likes to sit at the bottom row to watch the races but I hate it, its so smelly and you cant see very well so the Grandmas sat with him.

Birthday's

2009-03-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Sweet 16 to Danielle and Jessica!!!Logan turned 6 and my Dad turned 63!!! WOW what a month for birthdays. Well D.J's is actually in March. We celebrated their Birthdays at our house on Sunday afternoon with lots and lots of GREAT food!! And again the best cake ever by Mary!!
Logan's favorite gift was his accustic(sp?) guitar. He wanted to open present after present until he got this and then he could have cared less about his presents he just wanted to play his guitar. He told Grandma bubbles he wanted a guitar and what do ya know...she got him a guitar. He is one spoiled boy..This is Logan trying to pose like a tough guy.

Logan and I. Mike was at the track racing. He had to race Saturday night and Sunday...:(

My Mom and Dad got Jess 16 roses for her Birthday, they were Beautiful. My mom always does this when the girls turn 16.

Jess wanted to go to clover Bar with friends on Friday and then they came back home and had her Hello Kitty cake.. She picked it out??? We were not invited either to Clover Bar. We didn't think that was very nice.. Especially since its my favorite...Her friends were gone by 11:00. We also got to watch Liam on Friday, I called and asked what Tim and Jen were doing and they were going to get groceries so perfect drop him off we will watch him. So they all played on the Wii or played football or races on PS2. I took a nap with Liam on me... Miss that little guy, I used to watch him about 2 times a month but now I cant, his babysitter didn't like that too much...:(

For some reason I can only post 5 pictures at a time, if anyone knows how to post more I would love your help...I will be posting more later, Brooklyn needs the computer. I think it might be time to get another computer all the kids want it all the time. Its either facebook, homework, or Logan can sit on the computer for hours playin on nickjr.com. Great Babysitter!!

Is it Spring Yet???

2009-02-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

Sydney with Mr Bursley, that is what she calls him. At the Meeuwsens for the Bud Shoot Out.
Mike getting interviewed by George, he finished 2nd.

Playing Uno, what else do you do when everyone is sick...

Brooklyn playing soccer, check out that pose...

I have been getting a lot of people yelling at me to update my blog and I keep saying " their is nothing to blog about we haven't done anything." Since I am home again with a sick kid I figured I could add a little something since I am bored out of my mind... Like I said not much has been going on, we went to the Lodge a couple weeks ago with some friends and kids, very very cold but lots of fun, We watched Mike race at the Delta Plex, Mike was in Georgia for a long weekend with Perfect Circle Racing so his mom came for the weekend to help out. The kids and I always love it when she comes and she LOVES our church so its a treat for her too. Brooklyn has been playing soccer every Saturday through Zeeland Rec. I love watching her and have a VERY hard time keeping my mouth shut. She yelled at me the first game to be quiet she can hear me and I am soo loud. Gosh... I am just excited and love cheering her on. She is a great player when she wants to be. I think soccer is one of those sports where it is so hard to keep quiet, its so intense we all just want to jump in and play. Its not only me that gets "the look" on Saturday other moms and grandparents are their too. My dad keeps telling my mom and I to be quiet too. I was home last week with Brooklyn for 3 days, she had a terrible cough and just felt terrible, fever off and on. She is not one who likes to be home she loves school. It was quite nice having her at home because she is a huge help, she loves to bake or cook, so when supper time came or lunch time she is the first to help out. She cut up all of our potatoes for mashed potatoes, made jello, made cookies, brownies, and just helped when ever I needed it. Good thing she is not home all the time we would be baking and eating way to much. The kids all went with their dad this weekend so that was super nice to have a quiet house. Friday Mike and I went out to eat with friends and then met up with more friends at the Embassy, wow I don't miss that place at all. Saturday Mike went into work and I watched Brooklyn play soccer, have lunch with Sonia and get groceries and then tried to take a little nap. At night we went over to the Meeuwsens to watch the Bud Shoot Out. Good times. Sunday Mike's mom came to church with me because Mike has to race at the Delta Plex.Yes on a Sunday, none of us are happy about that but he is 4th in owners points and 6th in reg points and the points are sooo close right now with only 5 more to go. He finished 2nd in the big race. And what a night it was. Makes us appreciate Berlin a lot more...Sunday afternoon was so nice Mike's mom and I clean up ALL the dog poop, wow its been a long winter...And then went to the races. Monday I got the kids up to Logan being so tired and bad voice and cough so now he is home with me now for 2 days. I am going to quit now, sorry this is sooo long, I guess I had more to say or just bored... you wanted me to post...:) Oh yea I have been feeling great, she has been moving ALOT and Brooklyn loves to feel her all the time, its kind of cute, she is going to be a huge help..Logan still thinks he is having a baby too.. I go to my next doctors appt on Thursday. I will try to post next week with results and our long weekend at the lodge with my family.

Enjoy this spring weather!!

Baby Liam

2009-01-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got the privilege to watch Liam for the day. OH he was so cute and so easy. Reminded me of how easy Logan was. I am hoping my next one is this easy. The kids were so excited for him to come. Brooklyn ate her breakfast by the front window waiting for Tim and the minute he pulled in she was done eating... this picture is Logan's diaper and Liam's diaper. It was so weird to change such a little boys diaper. I guess I better get used to it right???
I never had so many visitors come to see me...Or Liam. Deb, Sonia and Pam came for a little bit during the day. The picture Liam is talking and smiling at the ladies. Pam is on the computer ordering me a new camera.. Yea thanks Pam!!

Brooklyn only got to see Liam for a little bit in the morning before Jess got up to steal him away so she had him the minute she got home from school. When Tim came around 5ish we kicked him back out and told him to go and find something to do since we were not done with him yet. Jen came about 7:00 to get him. :( Thanks Tim and Jen for the pleasure of watching him..anytime!!

This is how I found Jess and Liam when I got back from the bus stop. Jess Loves babies also. she thought she could take him to school or just not go to school.. Yea right on exam week...?? wishful thinking.

Logan liked him for about 1 minute. I just got done changing Liam and I walked into the bathroom to dump the diaper and come back to Logan trying to pick him up..AAAAAAA I guess I need to remember this. We told him no touching the baby after that... and he said "bit I want to hold him too" so cute. Logan woke up this morning asking where the baby went. He couldn't figure it out since he went to bed and the baby was here and then this morning he's gone. He was so funny in the morning too, Mike walked by him and he goes " Baby, Baby(remember he calls Mike baby) look mommy found this baby" we just cracked up laughing, only Logan would say something like that.

I hope you all enjoyed a little glimpse of my showing off someone else's baby. Again, thanks Tim and Jen. Mike and I go to the doctor today to find out what we are having.. YIKES! Mike is now truly thinking girl... who knows. I cant wait to find out to start shopping!!! :)

Christmas Break

2009-01-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

During break Mike had a race at the Delta Plex. So we packed the kids up and went. Logan and Brooklyn still like to go, Jess on the other hand finds it kind of boring and would rather be with her friends??? HMMM does she sound like a 15 year old.(She will be 16 Feb 27, kind of scary) Some of the kids here waiting to throw their balls into a car that drives by, if you get your ball in the window you win a t shirt, One of the triples got it in. Mike raced quite well and won the Top Dog race. He didn't have very good luck the week before, he won the a main but at the Top Dog race he hit some one under caution and they took away ALL of his points for the night away. To say the least we I were not very happy. We are disputing it so hopefully something changes, he would be in first place if they did not take away points and 1st place pay out is $10,000.00. Wouldn't that be nice!!! This was a great race to win since Tressa and Chad, Mike and Amy, Josh and Julie, Brian and Pam, all the regulars and their kids were their to watch. Logan looks kind of goofy here but this was the only picture that wasn't just of one of them, and my camera totally SUCKS!! I am hoping to get a new one next week. (Hint hint Pam)
Brooklyn, Logan and I along with Brian and Pam and Deb and their kids went to the Lodge for a day. Brooklyn actually spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa and Steve and Deb. The weather was great with lots of snow. You would have never thought that since we hardly had any at home. The kids love going here and so do the adults, its such a nice get away. The lodge is my parents winter get away. It used to be a ski resort so the kids have a couple of huge hills to slide down and then someone brings them back up on a snowmobile. The lodge is also used for hunting, my dad has some deer that are fenced in, the kids got to see the "BIG" one. Logan and the ladies usually hang out in the cabin, he is not a big fan of the snow.

And Logan being so content with some toys or a movie. Hopefully my next kid is as easy going as Logan is. Speaking of kid, Mike and I go next week for my 20 week ultrasound to find out... We are so excited but a little nervous. At our last ultrasound everything looked great so I am hoping and praying we get the same results plus find out the sex of the baby. What do you think we will have?

We also celebrated Brooklyn's Birthday on Sunday the 4th with family. Her Birthday is actually January 7 and she turned 10 this year. She thought that was really cool to be double digits. Of course she had a horse cake which was delicious. The Best cake ever. If you ever need to order a cake let me know and I can get you the lady's number, she makes the best cakes. Sorry I do not know how to rotate pictures.Her Birthday fell on a Wednesday so before Gems she opened her presents from Mike and I.

Christmas and New Years

2009-01-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve we had a couple of friends over along with their kids. Very low key and nice not to have to get a babysitter or worry about what to wear and all that fun stuff that goes along with going out. Maybe I was just super excited we were staying in since I am pregnant. The kids all had a great time, they played great, decorated cupcakes, some of the girls took a shower..Rylee's favorite thing to do when she is here, and ate lots of junk food--their was plenty of that!! All of us girls sat around the counter almost the whole night...:) The guys either played cards in the garage or as you can see some of the ones that lost played rock band, they were hilarious to watch, they were very into it, the kids knew to just sit back and watch after getting yelled at a couple of times after they were being too loud or they would walk in front of the TV. All in all it was a great night and I think everyone was gone by 12:30 and I went to bed about 1:30 after I cleaned up and vacuumed... Yes for those of you that know me quite well, I cant stand having a dirty house to wake up to, and I love to vacuum!! New Years Day was very low keyed, I cleaned up some more, got caught up some wash and then in the afternoon we went to see Marley and Me. Very good movie. We kind of new what to expect from others, so I thought I would be prepared for the ending but Nope, I still cried. Very good family movie.

The kids decided to make their own rock band. Logan loves to sing and play instruments so we have almost everything. Can you only imagine 7 kids with 7 different instruments in the family room??? YIKES!!

The Older kids and Grandma and Grandpa getting a North Face coat or clothes.

Brooklyn picked out this bag with her name on it, and forgot all about, as you can tell she loved it.

I think every ones favorite gift was Logan's he got a drum set with headphones to sing in. Every time we have people over this is the first thing kids(and adults) go for.

Holiday Cheer

2008-12-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

I had a couple of new friends and old friends over to have a cooking party. We made a ton of different things lots of fun to hear stories and catch up on the "old times."

This is Logan and his Jingle Jog certificate. We were all so very proud of him. He had to wheel for 8 minutes straight. He walked right before this too so he was really tired. I went to school early to watch him walk again and to make sure I was doing everything right. Logan was telling me I was not putting his braces on right....well I was, what does he know. Brian also showed up early and watched him a little. Brian goes "wow this is kind of a tear jerker" Well thats all it took and the water fountain began. I kind of felt like I was going to cry earlier when Logan was whining and didnt want to walk but I pulled myself toghether. I thought I did all of that the week before. I guess not and it didnt stop until Logan was done with his jog, people probably thought I was the craziest mom. I have to say he was soo cute.. everytime he came around the bleachers he would wave at everyone. He loves all the attention!!

This is one of Logans helpers, she actually helps on Mondays when they have gym. She came in special just for him to keep him going. He sure is loved by all.

This is all of Logans cheering squad...well the loudest of Logans fans. We ALL pulled ourself together for a picture. Sorry its not the best picture but you get the jist of it. It was funny because Deb was going to say something to me and she saw me crying and then she started. Its just sooo amazing to see Logan doing all this and accomplish so much in life. We had a doctors appt this morning to see what we can do with his vesicostomy, we are soo sick of him getting wet all the time. If you know Logan you know what I am talking about for those of you who dont know what that is.. well it is where Logan goes to the bathroom... Enough of that, that could be a book in itself. We have to talk over a couple of things and get a second opinion on a potential surgery.

This is the snow on Sunday. WOW can you even believe all of it. I love the snow but when you cant even go out and enjoy it, it kind of stinks. And Logan hates the snow, he thinks he is going to melt. The girls went outside to play or shovel the steps(they said that I would make them do it anyways so they might as well get to it..Wow I wasnt even going to tell them that but how should I take that???) I told them dont worry about the steps since its going to be nasty all day and it would be bad again in 1 hour. So Mike told them to clean off the trampoline. It took them over 1/2 hour to do that with no complaining????? The dogs are having a hard time trying to find a place to go to the bathroom and the horses..well their another story. I have a horse right now who is on the verge of going colic. This time of year horses have a tendancy to have this happen with the weather. He is not eating the greatest or drinking or going to the bathroom. I had the vet over and he gave him a clean out, through the rear end and stuck this tube up his nose and ran some sort of oil through it to try and clean him out.. Still didnt work so I was off to Coopersville vet on Saturday afternoon to get some more meds for him... the joy of horses. Sorry that was probably disgusting for some of you. Brooklyn might have a different view now on being a vet, and Lexi got a great eye opener.

W e were supposed to have Mike's mom's side over on Sunday but that got cancelled. Tonight we are off to my parents for Christmas, I cant wait for her great food. She is the best cook. Have a great Christmas!!

2008-12-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

When Logan got home from school I read one of his stories that they talked about in school today. We were reading about Mary and Joseph and how their was no room in the inn and then it got to the part where she had a baby boy. and Brooklyn pipes in and says i wonder what Mommy is going to have a boy or girl and then Logan goes I have a baby too see. We all thought that was quite funny, only out of the mouth of Logan.So this is a picture of Logan showing us his baby in his belly. As the story continued I would read a little and then see if he knew what to say and I started to read and then I asked him if he knew where Mary had her baby and Logan goes "yes yes I do she had baby Jesus at the Fair" OH BOY I thought I have heard it all. So we went on to read the whole story again without asking questions and making sure Logan knew that he was born in a stable and layed him in a manger.....He should know this since they are constantly reading about Jesus birth at school.. These pictures are in the wrong order and I couldnt get it to work to change them. Today I went to school to watch Logan walk with his sticks. Wow I couldnt believe it no tears and he was so excited to show me. He told me he was going to walk like Braxton...I thought Oh boy he is a crazy boy with his sticks. If you know Braxton you know what I am talking about. The first picture is of Logan walking into his classroom to show his class how he can walk. At that point I got a little teary and then Logan says"Look I can walk, Look at me" and then the class goes "Hi Logan, wow look at Logan." OK at that point I had Alot of tears and so did the adults and then I kind of lost it. Wow what an experience to see that. And to see the kids care so much for him and the Love they have for Logan just amazes me, they treat him no different than anyone else. He also has a little girlfriend in his class.. So precious. As I am writing this I am tearing up, It just amazes me at how awesome Logan is doing in school, his reading, his walking, therapy, speech and the list goes on. Wow Thank You God. We always seem to ask the question Why.. why did this happen to me, why does this have to happen to good people, why, why why, but we alot of times forget that we need to thank him in times like this. We truly have so much to be thankful for in Logan, everyone always says Logan always bring the best out in everyone.

This is Logan having a little break down about 10 steps before entering the classroom. His hands were getting soar. Which the therapist said all his upper body weight is on his hands so it probably does hurt. I always tend to think he is milking it.. All I had to do it tell Logan no tears and I will go and tell the class that you are coming to show them how you can walk and the tears were gone.

This is when we was coming out of the therapy room, he was a little nervous(ok alot) when he went from carpet to tile because the sticks would slip on the tile. Once Linda assured him that she has him he will not fall he was off. She said Logan you dont have to be scared I have you and he told her "Yes I do I am frightened that scares me" the other Linda and I just looked at each other and said "did he just say that" And started laughting, again, oh the things Logan will say. The teacher says he loves the attention and always gets it. I should explain that the therapist hold on to the back of a scrap on Logans back to keep him up right, he has a tendancy to lean forward, which they say is a learning process.

These are Logan's 2 therapist at Zeeland Christian. They are wonderful, One of the Linda's worked with him at OAC along with Kathy(who we miss). As you can tell Logan is so happy, and loves to get his picture taken.

Tis the season

2008-12-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of the kids by the tree the other day hoping to capture the "perfect" picture.. I dont know if we got that perfect picture but a couple of them turned out. This one is not the one we are sending out but I thought it was so cute and so funny when we were trying to explain to Logan how to make a fist and put his hands under his chin. He kept looking at Brooklyn or Jess to see if he was doing it right. I dont know why it is dark on the right side, I have no idea how to use my camera.
I just had to post another picture of the animals, they are always so cute snuggled up together, Titan and the cat Butterscotch are like mother and daughter and Boscoe he is just the dog who doesnt care for the cat. I failed to mention we had a death in our animal family 2 weeks ago. Titan likes to act like a mother cat and play with the cat in his mouth and shake it around. Well the cat didnt look to good at night so Mike put the cat in the bed(cat bed) and covered it with a blanket after checking it all over. He said he didnt know if the cat would make it, it didnt look to good but it wasn't bleeding or no bite marks. Well the next morning it was stiff as a board with its legs and arms(is that what you call them on a 4 legged animal?) were straight up. SOOO.. I could have cried but kept it together, I had to tell Brooklyn something, it was kind of her cat, they were supposed to be barn cats but they like the garage better. So I told her I think Oreo went to find a happy place to run away and die, since cats do that. Right??? So she was ok with that but still sad because the cats would walk with her down to the bus stop, play with the kids and run back up when the bus came, it was quite cute. Now everyone keeps telling Brook "I think I saw your cat by my house" or "I saw a black and white cat in the tree or in the bushes" and on and on, so I still think she thinks their is hope. Little does she know.. Poor girl or should I say Poor cat. So we really dont know if the dog killed the cat or if it had some internal problems. Who knows. WOW sorry that was kind of long. Does any of that make sence to you?

Logan and I trying to bake some Christmas cookies. I bought some sugar cookies thinking how easy is this, I will just roll it out and make some cookies. Well it didn't roll well at all. Logan ended up smacking them with his hand and then I gave up. Are sugar cookies not meant to roll out?? I just bought the pillsbury roll ones??? I have no idea. I usually make the dough(my mom usually makes the cut outs, I cant lie and hers are the best). I thought this would be really easy and the kids love to bake and frost cookies. Maybe next time for something fast and easy I will have to buy the ones that are already cut out.

We also made some Hot Chocolate, probably not again with the kids, very messy since its all powdery stuff, but again the kids LOVE to bake. We turned on the Christmas music and went to town. Its so cute listening to Logan sing Christmas songs, expecially Away in A Manger. Or Rudolph, he comes home with a new song every day. You probably wouldnt know what he was singing since his letters dont come out quite right but I know and its so precious. I actually recorded him singing and doing his memory verse which is Luke 2: 6 & 7. So amazing how he can memorize that. And ask so many question about Jesus. He told me yesterday that its Jesus Birthday at Christmas!

I almost forgot to mention that Mike and I went to the doctor on Monday for an Ultrasound. And everything is Perfect. Praise the Lord!! The baby was in a position where we couldnt tell what it was, so hopefeully we will find out in 4 weeks when I go again. The technician said the baby was in a great position where she could get some great pictures. Mike thinks its a girl and I think a boy, we are all wishing secretely for a boy. I am hoping and praying for a healthy baby. The babys heartbeat was 140. I dont know how to scan the pictures so I will try and have Jessica do that some time soon.

Mike left today for Florida with some guys from his race team and Josh, his employee. They went to a PRI show, its all about Racing stuff. To but to be in a warm state would be great, he will be home late Saturday night. Chris has the kids this weekend so I am kid and husband free, what a girl to do???? I think I might shop on Friday and on Saturday morning I am going to help Tressa and Chad clean their house, so they can hopefully move in. They have been living with her parents for over a year.

I think that is all for now, enjoy the snow!! :)

Arena Racing

2008-12-02T07:11:00.001-08:00

Mike and Bobbis have been racing at the Delta Plex for about a month now and having a blast..well having fun at times. This is a new kind of racing and they are still learning. but all in all having fun with it. The kids also love to go, Logan has a blast and Brook has fun going too, she usually takes a friend and they walk around and eat junk food, and then watch a little racing. They also have freshly squeezed Lemonade just like the fair...YUMM!! If you have not been their yet, come check it out, they have a webiste which is www.arenaracinggr.com. Bobbis actually lost his ride last week to Mitch Meppelink who just turned 14, so now he is the back up driver for Mike in the #23 car. He drove the 18 car and did a GREAT job for his first time in a race car(a legal race car). It was fun to watch them at times racing with each other. The first month they usually qualified 1 and 2 so that was fun. Those competative Bursley Boys!!
This is Brook, Logan, Cole Machiela(Mitch helps) and Seth Brower. Some guy gave Logan a tire.

Grandma Bubbles loves to spoil Logan. This week she bought him a flag. He loves acting like the flag man. We have been sitting on the bottom row lately, its a little bit easier with the wheelchair and for some reason Logan likes to sit their. You know the saying if your kids are happy you are happy!! :)

After the races someone gave Logan this t shirt. Logan gets something every time we go, maybe next week we can get a free Lemonade. He got Another tire this week too but we gave it to some girl who wanted one. In the pits Logan thought he needed to put on Mitch's helmet and race.. So of course Grandma cant say no so they were off acting like they were racing and Logan was having a ball, telling people to move and so on.

Mike after he won the race. We were so excited. While they were interviewing Mike Logan kept interrupting and saying "Baby, Baby, you won, talk to me." It was so funny. For those of you who dont know this and Mike would probably not be too happy at me for me for putting this up for everyone to see but Logan calls Mike baby since I always call Mike Babe. We are trying to teach him to call him Mike but it is not working... Oh well its kind of cute. Mike got a big trophy and Logan said that it was his and he was putting it in his room, well Brooklyn beat him to it.

Logan and Baby Liam

2008-12-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn and I finally went to see Tim and Jen and Baby Liam.. Adorable!!! He is so little and so precious. It brought back so many memories of Logan and Jess, only because they were that little and had to wear that awful noisy and annoying monitor. Brooklyn wouldnt share to nicely though, I think I am going to have a baby hog on my hands once I have mine. Jen hauled out the Wii and played with Brook so then I got to hold him intil Jess came and snagged him from me. She is another baby hog until they start crying. She was doing a report and needed a break. It makes me feel really old to go over to Tim and Jens house(our old house) and hold her baby since she always babysat for me and I would babysit for her or Ashley when they were little. And now I am starting all over with the baby stage, but I cant wait only 5 more months. I know it sounds like forever. we go next Monday for another ultrasound, I cant wait! Jen and Tim sure have a preciouis gift from God.

This is our little stinker Logan. As I said in the previous post, I learned alot about Logan that I didnt know. Sounds terrible ha. Well one of the things was that he can do is put on his braces and shoes and take them off by himself. So I wanted to see for myself. After therapy yesterday I told him to take his braces and shoes off so we could get him in the shower. His first words were"I cant do it." In the meantime he wanted a snack so I told him once he gets his braces off he can have a snack and he still said that he couldnt do it and again I reminded him that he was NOT going to get anything until he took his stuff off. WELL... about 5 minutes later after alot of grunting and exhailing...basily alot of drama, he had his braces off. And he was proud to show me that he could do it. He is our other strong willed child. Another answer to prayer is that they want to start Logan with walking sticks some time before or after Christmas... Wow God is great. He is doing so good at walking with a walker that they want to keep him going, who would have imagined Logan even walking. Just goes to show God does answer our prayers.

Holiday Pictures

2008-12-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pictures from Thanksgiving and a Christmas party. Enjoy.. I will be posting some more later.
Jess and I. People keep telling us that we look alike. What do you think? They also say she acts just like me :} That makes me a little nervous.

This is Brook picking out a Bingo gift. She looks kind of dorky but I totally cought her off guard. We had the Langemaat(moms side) Christmas party this past Saturday in the Grace Center At Ottawa Reformed. It is always nice to see everyone, expecially my Aunt and her kids from Kentucky. They go to the Lions gave every year(dont ask me why) and since they are so close we just do Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. The kids love playing bingo and then we play dirty bingo, which can get a little crazy.

Here is Logan in the massage chair watching Barney after our Thanksgiving meal. Life cant get a whole lot better for Logan right now.

Here is the family picture after stuffing the turkey which is a tradion. We all go over to Mom and Dad's house Thanksgiving eve and the kids stuff the turkey, some of them love it and others prefer not to touch it. Logan this year surprised us all, he grabbed the stuffing and shooved it in. He is a kid that does not like his hands dirty.

A long time coming.

2008-11-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long. I am trying to upload some pictures but for some reason it is not working. Very frustrating. I will try later. Not a whole lot has been happening so maybe that is why i have not posted, well as I think about it alot has happened, I will try not to bore you with my life over the last 3 weeks. Perfect Circle Race Shop has moved to Jenison, with a bigger and better building, so now we can get our barn back. Jessica cant wait for the snowmobiles to be back and I cant wait for the lawn mower and golf carts to be back in the barn. Mike has been VERY busy moving things over and meeting with people. I am not quite sure if I like him gone from 8:00a.m until 6:00 if not later. I guess I have been spoiled with having him work behind the house. Jessica has been a normal teenager, here their and every where. For those of you who do not have teenagers yet, start praying now. They are very challenging!! People keep telling me it gets better, they also tell me she is alot like me!! Which scares me even more!! Brooklyn loves school and loves to bake. We had conferences this week and she is doing great at school. And Logan is quite the character, he amazes me everyday at what he says or does. We learned at conferences with him that he can do alot more than we thought he could do, he has got us all fooled. He also continues to love school, he continues to walk every day and getting better and better at that with hardly no help. Praise God! Who would have ever thought that 5 years later Logan would even be here, or walking or going to school. He is such a blessing to all of us. At school he is in a normal Kindergarden class in the morning and then in the CLC room in the afternoon with extra help and pt, ot, speech and reading. He is even reading books. It is so fun to listen to him read to us even if they are repetative books. He goes to Holland rehab on Mondays for extra pt, ot and speech, we are working very hard on his studdering. As for Me... well I havn't done a whole lot lately, I am 14 weeks along and feeling great. I just went to the doctor this week and the heartbeat is 150. I go for another ultrasound in 2 weeks to make sure everything looks OK. With this pregnancy I am a little, ok alot more nervous. I can carry up to 20 pounds now. Yea I know whoopty, it was 10 pounds so I was excited and I can vaccuum a little..YEA!! I love to vacuum. I have been helping out at the cafe when I can. If you have never been their you need to try it out, they have the best muffins, cookies, soup and sandwiches. Its all homemade and cheap. Deb or I can make you a coffee. Thanksgiving was great, I love to go to my moms and eat, she is the best cook in the world, and all I had to bring was my famous green bean casserole!!:) Its kind of a joke to my family. We went to my moms during the day, well all day, Mike hunted for the first time this year and I tried to take a nap but Logan was not going to let that happen. And then at night we went to Ottawa Reformed Church to celebrate with the De Witt side. Again great food!! We have so much to be thankful for. Tonight we are going to watch Mike race at the Delta Plex, if you ever get a chance to go they are fun to watch, and the kids love it. Sorry this is so long, I think I will end now before I bore you any more. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and now its time to get ready for Christmas.
Blessings,
Kathy

This post goes out to all of Logan's old teachers

2008-11-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Mike and Brian Campbell after his win in Tennessee! They received a guitar instead of a trophy.

Here's a couple pictures of Logan reading his books on the potty. Logan goes faithfully on the potty after an enema, so he no longer poops in his diaper. I bet you wish he would have done this last year when it was swimming time! :) If Logan only knew what I was posting!!!

First win with the ASA Perfect Circle race team!!

2008-11-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Brian Campbell in the new Perfect Circle Racing house car won the All American 400 race in Nashville, Tennessee. Congrats to Brian and team and of course to my hubby. Very proud of you boys. All the hard work and no sleep has paid off.

I promise these are the last pictures for today

2008-11-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Family tradition is carving pumpkins at my parents' house.

Isn't he cute!

Mike is trying to get Logan to scoop out the pumpkin seeds. Logan wants nothing to do with it!

Jessica's fake baby "Trent" from school.

The final result!

Good times, great food, and lots of great memories. Thanks grandma and grandpa!

And some more pictures...

2008-11-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Logan ended up having emergency surgery on October 9. To make a long story short...he fell in his wheelchair at school, took him home to watch him, threw up 2 hours later, all he wanted to do was sleep so my mom and I took him to Spectrum. After a CAT scan and xray, we found out he had a small skull fracture and his ventricles were enlarged. Dr. Foody ended up doing surgery at around 9:30 p.m. His shunt was fine. It was basically the tubing was not draining properly. After two days in the hospital, he got to come home. The nurses said he was the "best patient ever." How could you not want a patient like Logan...who loves to watch tv!

More pictures

2008-11-01T12:43:00.001-07:00

Heather, me, Kim and her mom wrapping the carmel apples.

Mr. and Mrs. Jon Ray

Pictures on the golf course.

The newly married couple.

Doing some Dirty Girl Scouts at Kirby's.

My first attempt at blogging!

2008-11-01T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to start a blog for some time...since I love to check out everyone else's blogs! Mike is gone this weekend, so Pam came over to help me get started. Logan and Brooklyn are at their dad's this weekend. Jessica and Grandma Bubbles (Bursley) are hanging out with me. I have several pictures to show. I didn't know where to start, so here is a glimpse of what we've been doing over the summer/fall. I hope you enjoy reading!

Grandma and Brooklyn at the races.

Caleb, Rylee and Brooklyn jumping off the boat at the cottage.

Heathe, Bursley and Bobbis playing ball with Logan at the cottage.

Logan loves to go fishing. Little does he know...there is no hook or fish!