Goings on in the Berger House.....

Well, it has been a long time. Sort of a reflection of how busy we have been here in the Berger house. Lots of stuff going on, not a lot of time to blog.

The fall has gotten off the a rocking start. School is going well, MOPS if going great, hunting was successful as you can see by the picture of Keith's buck.

Halloween was a fun time here. Sara is getting big enough to understand that the cuter she acts, the more candy she gets. Smart kid. She was a bunny for Halloween this year. All Keith and I could think of when we got her dressed was "Ralphy" from The Christmas Story. I hope she does not hate us later.

Bethany was a purple fairy. Whatever that is. She felt very beautiful, that is all that matters. We went trick or treating at the church, then we went to one of our friends neighborhoods to get some additional loot. It was a nice night, kinda cold and wet, but we loved the fact that it was still daylight while they were going begging. All in all, we had a good time. As a matter of fact, we are still eating candy from Halloween. I think I might still have some from last year hidden somewhere in this house.........

As for Keith's hunting season, he had success, again this year. Some of you might remember that last year was the first time Keith shot a buck. Well, he got a 7 pointer this year in the UP. Some have argued that it was really an 8 pointer but he tagged it as 7. I think this one might be going on the wall. It was so funny, when the girls saw it, all Sara could say was, "BEEEEEEEEG Buck!!!!" But Bethany, she was amazed, apparently by it's mouth?!?!? She looked at Keith and said, "Wow Dad!!! We even got it's teeth!!!" What does that mean? Does she think we leave them at the deer dentist for other deer to use?? Sometimes I have no idea where this kid comes up with this stuff.

Speaking of funny and Bethany, my funny story for this post is about her. SHOCKER, I know. Well, one night, we were coming home from some friends' house and we almost hit a rabbit hopping across the road. Bethany saw it and wanted to know what it was. Keith told her it was a bunny. Me, in my usually smart alleck mood, said, "It was almost a dead bunny." (Before you call me a bad mom, I THOUGHT I said it under my breathe.) To that, my Rainman child, Sara, started saying, "Dead bunny. Dead bunny." This went on about 5 minutes. SO, Bethany started talking about how she wanted a pet bunny. How she would love it and cuddle it and name it and let it sleep with her. Then she said she would put it on a leash and take it for a walk. Keith and I just cracked up. (Imagine Bethany pulling a much strangulated rabbit around the yard on a leash) I told her,"Bethany, you can't take bunnies for walks on leashes. That is not how it works" (snicker snicker) She got quite for a few seconds. Then real quite like, she says, almost to herself, "Duh, you have HOP them." I thought Keith was going to have to pull over because we were laughing so hard. Where does she come up with this stuff???

Anyhow, it is snowing like crazy here. We are supposed to get about a foot over the weekend. Bring it on. I am snowmobiling this winter if I have to tie the kids on the back. I need to get off here and go make some peirogies. I have people waiting for them for Christmas orders. Hope to post again soon. But then again, I always say that......

Deb

Me and My Gang

Summer is in full swing at the Berger house. We just got back from KY this past Friday and oh what a trip it was!!! Bethany and Sara loved swimming at Papaws!!!! As a matter of fact, the swam pretty much everyday. We had a very good visit and I had a well deserved getaway with one of my girlfriends.

My friend Brooke and I enjoyed 2 days in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We went without husbands or kids. (We have 5 kids between the two of us.) It was awesome. The weather was great, the shopping was great, and the peace and quiet was great!! We enjoyed spending some quality girls time together and doing alot of shopping. We were even treated to the sound of ANGELS singing. If you have never had a Krispy Kreme donut you may not appreciate this next story.

We had just gotten into town, checked into our hotel and had dinner. We were just driving down the strip in Pigeon Forge and saw a Krispy Kreme store when low and behold, the "hot now" light came on. (This means they have fresh donuts coming out of the fryer.) WELL, I had no control over my car as it took us to the drive thru. We ordered a 1/2 dozen, why waste gas in the drive thru for 2 donuts?? So we got them and parked the car so I would not wreck and had one. It was so hot you could barely hold it in your mouth. They just melted. It was at that moment, we both heard a chorus of angels singing. I have never tasted anything so heavenly in all my life. I will not soon forget it.

Then on the 4th of July we all cooked out at my dad's house. We just had a great trip. It ended too soon of course. I am not sure if we will get to go back down this summer or not. Things just seem to be piling up. I am going to need a vacation from my vacation pretty soon.

We are taking a trip to Kings Island in August. We are going with our friends Don and Lori and their 2 girls. I can't wait. The kids are going to love it!!! They have Nickelodeon City there. I am sure they will all just be beside themselves.

Well, I should probably get busy. The day will get away from me if I don't try and get something accomplished before noon. Hope everyone is having a good summer.

Deb

I'm movin' on.......

Well, it is finally over. Bethany is officially graduated from Kindergarten. This is a picture of her and her teacher, Mrs. Ozment. She just loved her. So did we for that matter. Bethany had a great year and learned alot. Thank goodness we moved out of Jackson, Kentucky before she started school. The education system there was the pits. We are so happy with the schools here. One more point for Gaylord.

The summer is taking shape in a fast way. It seems like there are a million things we want to do. I just hope we can fit it all in. We are all looking forward to a trip to KY at the end of June. Bethany is so excited about getting to swim I don't think she can think about anything else. We are gearing up for the long drive and HIGH gas prices. Hopefully we will make another trip down in August as well. Keith and I would like to take the girls to Kings Island but want to wait until schools starts back up there. We don't start school here until after Labor Day. If we wait until late August to go maybe the crowds won't be so bad. I guess we will wait and see. Other than our trips we are looking forward to lots of time at the local beach and the parks. I am so glad that Sara is bigger this summer. I felt so guilty last summer. It was such a hassle to take Sara to the beach that we only went a couple times. This summer, I have a plan. I am going to load all our beach gear onto Bethany's sled. (It is a plastic toboggan type thing.) That way I can get to the water in 1 trip and I don't have to leave the girls alone or drag them back and forth. I think I am pretty much a genius. I am going to look incredibly stupid, but I will be at the beach with all my stuff in one trip. I can even put Sara on it if I have to.

That is about all I've got for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the heat and loving the fact that it is summer. Did I mention that it is supposed to dip down to the lower 40's here one night this week?? I LOVE Northern Michigan!!!

Happy Summer,

Deb

What a great time!!!

We took the whole family to Disneyworld in February. My girls loved it. Bethany thought she was a real princess. We had breakfast a Cinderella's castle and we loved it!!!! Bethany was in heaven. She wore her Sleeping Beauty dress and thought she was "it". Keith and I stayed in tears all day just watching her facial expressions and joy at everything she was seeing. It was worth every penny. Now we have to do it again when Sara is 5. Can't let one feel slighted.

Other than our big vacation, it has been a pretty uneventful winter here in Norther Michigan. We had a great Christmas with friends here in town and went to Keith's parents for New Years. We all ended up sick, but had fun none the less. One thing that happened over Christmas break, Bethany broke her leg. She had a cast for 5 weeks. Luckily it was just from her knee to her toes. She was dancing while she was watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. She started to spin around and her foot did not move. We actually heard the bone snap. Ugly. She was a trouper and did not even really cry. She just said it hurt really bad so we thougt the best thing to do was take her for an xray. You can imagine our surprise to find out it was indeed broken. Talk about feeling like a bad parent. How could I let this happen to my child?? We got over it and made the best of it. She did great and loved the attention she got from her class.

The Berger family also got a new car a couple weeks ago. Our minivan had about 160,000 miles on it and I have at least 2 trips to KY this summer so we went ahead a upgraded. We got a 2006 Buick Rendezvous. I love it. I still feel like I stole someone elses car. I am sure I will get used to it.

We are starting to count down the days to the end of school. I think Bethany is anxious for summer break. We already have alot of things planned to this summer. It seems to be filling up very quickly. Hopefully we will fit everything in.

That is all for now. I wish I had more excitement, but welcome to my world. Hope this finds everyone well.

Deb

The Curse is Broken!!

Well, he finally did it. After many exhaustive years of hunting, Keith bagged his first Buck!!!! Talk about excitement in the Berger house. He had a great time hunting this year. He was gone for 10 long days and nights, but it was all worth it just to see the excitement on his face. I think I was as excited as he was. he got this nice 7 point buck in the UP. A good time was had by all and I am sure we will enjoy eating this bugger as well.

Other than Keith's hunting trip, not too much has been going on here. We went to the inlaws for Thanksgiving and had a great feast. That Mom Berger sure knows what to do with a ham and turkey. Good eats. We had a good visit and Keith and his brother had time to cut up the kill and get it ready for the freezer. Not a bad trip.

The girls are doing great. Bethany is still loving school and Sara is certainly enjoying being an only child during the day. (Mom is enjoying it too.) It gives me some good quality alone time with Sara. Speaking of Sara, she is getting ready to have her second tear duct surgery next week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this one works. I am sure she will do fine. I will post some hospital pics for people to see next week.

We are getting ready for the holidays. Should be a great one. Hope to talk to everyone soon.

Deb

Do you see a trend here??

These two pictures are of my girls at about the same age. Am I a bad parent because my kids fall asleep in their highchair while eating?? Maybe it is a sign that making sure they are nourished is so important to me that I always make sure they are adequately fed before naptime? I don't know for sure but I think it is amazing the resemblance in the two of them. Poor Sara's eyes look terrible in this picture but she is scheduled to have surgery AGAIN in December. Hopefully her eyes will be better after that.

I don't really have much else to say tonight. Hubby is gone hunting for 10 days and I am here with the girls. Bonding time. At least that is what I keep telling myself!!!!

I will post again before the holidays. Have a great week.

Deb

I thought they were only supposed to look like angels when they slept??

Not only do my girls look like angels when they sleep, they do when they are awake too!!!! We had pictures made about 2 months ago and got them back recently. I was so happy. I will try and post some more of them later. Bethany looked especially cute in her princess dress.

It has been an eventful summer for the Berger house. There has been traveling, working and some fun stuff thrown in for good measure. We have been to Keith's parents a couple of times and just recently, myself and the girls went to Kentucky for 10 days. I was a little nervous about the 10 hour drive by myself with 2 little ones, but they did awesome. We went as far as Dayton, Ohio on the way down and then finished the rest the next morning. Did the same thing on the way back and it worked out great. Bethany has always been a good traveler and Sara seems to be following in her footsteps. Lucky us.

Well, my Bethany will officially be a kindergartener in approximately 2 weeks. My stomach hurts already. I know she will be fine, and so will I for that matter, but it is really hard when the first one leaves for school. I thought I would be doing cartwheels of excitement for the free time I will have, but I am not. I dread it. But, you know me. I am sure I will get over that REAL quick. Life will go on.

Sara is "army" crawling out of sheer laziness. She will get up on all fours on occasion. If she thinks nobody is watching. She is pulling up to her feet at the couch and foot stool. I cannot believe she will be 1 in about 3 weeks. It is so hard to accept. She is saying "bye-bye" and waving. She also says, "dada, mama, Beff, and up". She is so big. Too bad we are done having babies, I think I am starting to get an itch. Don't tell Keith. I am sure it is just a moment of pure insanity. I'll just take a Xanax or something. I bet that will make it go away.

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!! Keith's promotion he has been waiting 2 years for finally happened. This means he will be working normal hours. M-F/8-4. He will have to occasionally fill in for vacations, but we will have a normal life. I am so proud of him. He is so relieved. We have to wait until his replacement is hired before he changes his shift, but hey, we are patient people. Thanks for all of your prayers. They worked.

Speaking of prayers, I have a few requests for the couple people who are reading this....First of all, I am a "Group Discussion Leader" in our MOPS group this year. I am just hoping to be there for these women and be able to show the love of Christ to those who do not know him. I am really excited but nervous at the same time. Also, and most important, I have a friend in KY that is going through a very hard time that really needs prayer for herself and more importantly for her 3 girls, ages 4,2,and 1. They are going through a life altering crisis right now and really need to be lifted up. Especially the 4 year old, Shelby. If you could just keep them in your prayers. Also, Sara is having surgery on her tear ducts on Sept. 15th. (Her 1st birthday. Am I a bad mom or what!?!?!?)

I will hopefully talk to you guys later. It has been a long month and September does not look like it will slow down any. Take care.

Deb