In honor of summer and the fact that my children are home 24/7, I've decided to do a post on each child individually. Tell you all about them right now. And if that's too boring for you...well then don't come and read it :)

I'll start with my firstborn. Jonah.

Jonah...

is 10 years and 5 months old
finally has short hair after an endured season of long hair
is so athletic, he can pick up any sport fast (much to his father's dismay)
is going to be a 5th grader this fall (lord, help me!)
is incredibly handsome
is so good with his little brother, not so much with the sisters :)
has the biggest heart for animals
He wants to be a vet when he grows up
is very sensitive to how other people are feeling, again, not so much with the sisters
kisses me goodbye every time he goes somewhere
HATES reading
loves science
is quite an imaginative drawer
like to play with his "guys" still
REALLY wants a Nintendo DS for Christmas
(he's getting one) :)
is nosy and always wants to know what's going on
yells...a lot
can sing....I love to hear him sing
gets told that he should be a model
likes the house clean
hates to make it clean :)
truly wants other people to be happy

Which makes me a very happy mom. I love this kid.

SUN, GLORIOUS SUN!!!! Now, don't get me wrong, I don't handle hot weather very well. But I do LOVE the sun. And we have had a very wet, cool June so this sweep of sun and warmth is very welcome. We spent the WHOLE weekend in the sun at the pool. It was wonderful!

We had fun celebrating our dads too. Matt took an early morning bike ride with Jonah, father and son :) That gave the girls and I the chance to make breakfast and cards. Then it was off to church and then off to Mom's where we celebrated Matt and my dad. Lots of swimming and steak eating. A perfect day, minus the moments of whining and time outs :)

Another summer week begins and here I sit, trying to find things to keep us busy. Wednesday is Matt's day off and we are heading to Lake Michigan for the day. The kids are excited about the "ocean" which we have to keep reminding them is just a big lake :) They don't care!

Summer is trudging on in the Kurtz home. We've finally had some warmer weather so being able to send the kids outside to play has been a blessing. And I am always grateful for Grandma's pool. I'm going to get a lot of reading done this summer :)

I have been debating whether or not to blog about this, but I really feel like I need to write it down for myself. It's just a bonus that you all can read it as well :)

Before the purchase of our HUGE blessing, the BIG van as the kids call it, Matt and I sat down to really talk through our finances. Now I will come right out and admit that this is a HUGE area of struggle for me. I love to buy things. Love it. I love walking into a store and buying things, not for me but for my kids, Matt, or whoever. I also love to eat out. It's oh so easy to not grocery shop and pull into a McDonald's for dinner.Because of these behaviors and others, we have struggled financially for most of our married lives. Our credit is atrocious and we are completely to blame. We've had many people come along side of us and help us, but it wasn't until recently that I realized that, if I didn't change my heart and my actions, things would never change. I wish I could say that I was miraculously healed of wasteful spending. That is NOT the case. But I am committed to submitting to my husband, to living on a budget, and to saving money. I will not pretend that this will be easy. It will NOT. But I believe that God has called me to obedience, to surrender, and to submission.

The biggest part of this is tithing. We have not tithed regularly, ever. And I have been hot over the head recently that this is a sin. Everything we have is God's. That includes every penny of our money. And by not tithing, I am robbing God. Robbing Him. God forgive me. It just always seemed that we needed that money for groceries or gas. But it was all just an excuse. This Sunday, I was reminded that God doesn't need my dollars, He needs and wants my submission and my obedience. I need to tithe because He told me to. Because it's part of my worship to Him. That I could put money in the plate every week, but if my heart was hard, that it wouldn't matter. And that I cannot tithe with the expectation that if I give Him money, He's going to give me something. I need to lay my offering at His feet, even if nothing else happens, I'll know that I obeyed and worshipped my Savior. This has been huge for me. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it, but I will tell you that this Sunday, I was shaking with the excitement of placing our offering in the plate. Who knew being obedient could feel so right? :)

Day 1 of summer break started VERY early....I was WIDE awake at 10 minutes to 6...I looked toward heaven and asked God why on EARTH I was awake? He just smiled. The kids bounded out of bed at 6:30, no sleeping in the first day or anything. They were excited to explore and play and head to the playground for a picnic. Till we took a look at the very gray sky and the very wet ground. It appeared our first day would be an indoor one. It actually went very well. The kids were forced encouraged to help with some cleaning around the house which was very nice. I'm starting to work on summer chore lists.....that will go over REALLY well :)

Our van continues to be glorious. We all went and picked up Noah for a sleepover tonight and we ALL FIT!! Legally! In seat belts!! God is GOOD!!!

We are still trying to plan out our summer so as to make the most of it. I really want this to be a great summer. Camping next week will be a blast! We scrubbed, and I mean scrubbed, the camper down on Wednesday. It was great fun, till Molli fell off of the top of the camper. The camper wasn't open; she and Sydney were on the closed top scrubbing it down, but she managed to cut her leg and get some great bruises. She was up and throwing water at us in fairly short order so I think she'll live :)

And now off to bed I go....day 1 complete!

What's new in the Kurtz house....hmmm, where should I begin? How about here.....



Meet the newest member of the Kurtz family!! It's a 12 passenger van! It is so beautiful and I am still in awe that it's ours!!! Now all of our kids fit with room to spare, we can transport my brother legally, and we only have to take one vehicle when the kids have friends over. It's a huge blessing and I am so excited about it!!!

Only a day and a half left in school year...doesn't seem quite possible that the year has come and gone. Yet here we are on the brink of summer vacation. What's even scarier is that, come fall, I'll have a 5th grader, a third grader, a 2nd grader, and a full day kindergartner. Plus I hope to have Thomas in a two morning a week program. Wow.

I was tagged by my beautiful friend . So the rules are that I have to tag the person who tagged me, complete a list or 8, and then tag 8 other people (and let them know I tagged them). So here goes:

I was tagged by my beautiful friend . So the rules are that I have to tag the person who tagged me, complete a list or 8, and then tag 8 other people (and let them know I tagged them). So here goes:

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:

1. Swimming every day
2. Connecting with new friends
3. My brother and his family coming to visit
4. Friday night bonfires
5. Camping!!!
6. Firefly catching
7. Being able to stop using my dryer completely
8. Not having to get out of bed by 6:30!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. laundry
2. Checked Facebook
3. dishes
4. Ate Subway
5. Finished my Jodi Piccoult book
6. Redid our budget with Matt
7. Made out our camping meal plan and grocery list
8. Weeded my strawberry patch

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Wake up tomorrow and be a size 12
2. Financially support my family
3. Go on a cruise again with Matt
4. Take our family to Disney World
5. Rewind time
6.Make my children stop growing
7. Pilates
8. Cook like any of the Food Network people!!!

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Lost
2. Fringe
3. American Idol
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Private Practice
6. Say Yes to the Dress
7. So You Think You Can Dance
8. The Closer

8 Favorite Fruit:

1. Cherries (fresh)
2. bananas
3. strawberries
4. blueberries
5. blackberries
6. pears
7. plums
8. peaches

8 Places I'd Like to Travel:


1. Williamsburg (well I've been but Matt and the kids haven't!)
2. France
3. Ireland
4. Australia
5. Colorado
6. Hawaii
7. Alaska
8. Prince Edward Island
9. New Zealand

8 Places I've Lived:

1. Brockport, New York
2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3. South Lyon, Michigan
4. Mancelona, Michigan
5. Grand Rapids, Michigan
6. Wixom, Michigan
7. Milford, Nebraska
8. Battle Creek, Michigan

8 People I've Tagged:

I'm not even sure that eight people read this, but...

The amazing triathlon participant at My 5 Little Monkeys

The almost ready to pop any day new mommy at Mrs. Hawk

The woman with the most beautiful smile Mindy Schoeb

My sister-in-law who I know reads this (you can do it on Facebook!) Robin

My grandma or my Aunt Lisa who I suspect read this as well (you guys could do it in an e-mail!)

And I'm fresh out of people to tag :)

Did you ever have one of those days where you wish you could just rewind it and start all over?? That was my day today...

I had a WIC appointment this morning. So after the big kids got on the bus, I quick got Thomas and Syd ready. We loaded up into the van and the van was dead. Lovely. So I quick made a call and asked someone to come and jump the van. They showed up and, low and behold, no jumper cables. Now I'm started to lose it. She wonderfully offered to take us to the appointment and then stop and get the cables on the way back. Then my appointment took forever! Golly, I sure wish they could come up with a simpler and quicker way to get in and out of there! But we lived and got the van running and life was good. Till we went to WalMart. I had to get 2 things....2. Thomas and Syd were at each other's throats and screaming and pulling hair and it was not pretty. I left without the 2 things that I needed and drove home crying.

Now they are both napping and I am eating chocolate. The day is looking a little brighter already :)