All we want for Christmas is...

gymnastics classes for Carter. Please!!! Starting at 3:30pm (every day!) he bounces off the walls until bedtime. No kidding!! We took a few pictures last night to document it. Sometimes he'll just run through the house in circles chasing the guys or Dan. Seriously though... can anyone recommend a local place?!!

Maplewood House for Rent

Ok friends... we're looking for a renter for our DARLING house in Maplewood... so I thought I would post some pictures on the blog. It's a two bedroom/one bathroom with a one and a half car garage. It has a dining room and sun room that we used as a breakfast nook. It is within walking distance to several grocery stores, great shopping, fun playgrounds and amazing restaurants in downtown Maplewood. Please pass this on if you know of anyone looking!! Thanks!

Great covered front porch with a view of Clayton.

Living Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master looking into bathroom.

Kitchen looking into dining room.

Kitchen with door leading to sun room.

The 2nd bedroom is perfect for an office or...

bedroom.

Another bonus is that we take care of the yard and a couple of the bills. We're looking for someone to sign a lease through May 2010 or longer. Thanks for your help!!!

Coming soon...

Has it really been 2 weeks?! I don't know why I even write coming soon anymore... because I obviously don't have it together enough to post here or on our photography site in a timely manner. I do have a good excuse though... it's because something else is coming soon (the middle of May to be exact)!! I am 14 and a half weeks along and have been so sick... which is a big reason why the posting has slowed down so much over the past 3 months. I can make it through the morning and early afternoon ok... but after that I go down hill pretty quick. This pregnancy has been so different than with Carter... and that's why we are kind of thinking girl... although we're not going to find out. I'm just hoping that real food will sound appetizing again by Thanksgiving... since it's the one holiday we have to spend with family (my parents, little sister and brother in law will be with us) this year. We don't have any plans to leave Joe's Place once this one arrives. That's probably the biggest question we've gotten besides people wanting to know if we're going to find out what we're having. This place has become our home and these boys our family... and we think adding another little one to the mix will be awesome. We moved in when Carter was 7 months old and are continually amazed at how being here has shaped him in such an incredible way.

Anyway... here are the pictures I promised 2 weeks ago. I do hope the posting will pick up really soon!! :)

The view on our drive in....

The Brouwer van...

In the post below you can see Micah pointing to Julie... this is what he was pointing at on her head!!!

They look so much alike here...

The older Brouwer kiddos heading off on a fishing trip...

The view from our cabins...

Micah was so excited about the fish he "caught"...

My favorite spot!!

What Glen and Audrey made us for dinner Saturday night! Amazing!!

A weekend away with some of our St. Louis family was just what we needed!! We are so thankful for our community here!

More from our wonderful weekend away...

coming soon.

Check this out...

There are a lot of people that make getting through the year here so much easier. I need to do a post about our front yard make-over soon. Anyway... I mentioned below that the pumpkin carving happened because of a super fun donation. Well... now you can read all about it HERE (the beginning of this Chevy story really starts here)!! So fun! Not only did the Dunham family bring us pumpkins... but they brought fall decorations, food from the pumpkin patch and some of the best homemade cookies any of us have ever eaten. It's amazing how these things make such a huge difference in the lives of these boys. We saw their faces light up in a new way. Thanks again Dunham family... for making this week so special!!

Our Artists!!

I promise my updating will pick up soon!! I just wanted to add a quick post tonight with a picture. Our 3 guys (4 if you count Dan) spent the night carving pumpkins (thanks to a really fun donation). They were all a little hesitant at first... but after a while really started to get into it. Not one of them had ever carved a pumpkin before. I love how we get to experience these new memories through their eyes. They all did awesome jobs... and thankfully... not one of them got hurt in the carving process!!

We miss these guys...

Steven surprised us and stopped by earlier this week. It still amazes me to see how much he's changed since we first met him as a hyper high school sophomore. He's still REALLY loud... but now I kind of miss it. :) The reason he stopped by was to show us the new car he bought that day. I love that we were one of the first stops he made... even though it had been several months since we had seen him. I also love that one of our current residents got to hear him excitedly talking about dorm life. What a great example for our current group.

I love this man!

Having Carter at school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings has changed my life!! I do miss him... but it's amazing how much I am able to get done in the 3 hours he is gone twice a week. This morning I've been working on getting pictures edited from 3 different shoots we've had recently. We love this new part of our life!! I found this picture of Dan as I was looking through some pictures we took early Saturday morning... I love it!! We've talked for a long time about doing a business together (again). We just never thought it would be this. It has been so fun to work through this together and to have something that is just ours. We have been married almost 8 years... and it just keeps getting better and better!

A lesson from Fred...

When your college closet starts to smell... it's time to head home with your laundry. :) He started the washer at 7am this morning... and he's still not done!! We're looking forward to seeing him home with many more loads this year.

Report Card to the Community

I know I've talked a lot about how much we love our school district and community here in Maplewood... but it's hard to really explain how amazing this place is. Recently the school district put together a "video report card" for the community. It's about 15 minutes long and is REALLY worth watching. It shows what our schools looked like 10 years ago... and what they look like today... and there's even a little bit about Joe's Place! :) You can CLICK HERE to see it!!

Carter Leaving His Recruiting Meeting

Coach K stopped by the Lindman house today to talk to Carter about playing point guard in 2024.

Too much... even for Ty

Breakfast is a favorite dinner around here. It's actually probably the only meal that everyone will eat without any complaints. So... last night that's what we had for dinner. Ty was so ready to eat when he got home that he even pitched in and helped Dan with the eggs (he made sure I documented it with a picture).

But the main thing that needed documenting last night was this...

he actually took syrup off of his plate. I won't tell you how much... but I was so proud!!