Trick or Treat!

We started the day by preparing for our fun evening ahead. The girls and I decorated the yard, opened lots of candy bags and cooked a BIG pot of chili. Riley was a cheerleader and Malia wanted to be a football player!

Ryan set up a fire pit to roast smore's, we buried TONS of candy under hay in the pumpkin inflatables and put together smore's gift bags for our visitors.

Everyone arrived early for dinner...The Nickel clan, the Bowdens, Mom Husted, Julie & the kids. Everyone ate quickly so we could get out and enjoy the fun!

Our little ones.The kids are ready to hit the road!! Lucas and I stayed back to pass out candy and keep the fire stoked.

Peyton going house to house.

Feels like 30 or 40 degrees! Thank goodness we have a warm fire!Nana and MaliaMaking smores... Becky, Ryan and Malia

Nana & Lucas

What a fun night to spend with our neighbors, family and those we love!

He's Captured My Heart

Lucas is growing so fast! Everytime I look at him, he melts heart and reminds me how blessed we are to have this little guy in our lives. He reminds me to take time to laugh and play.
It's impossible to have a "bad day" when this little guy is always smiling and giggling. Life is so simple with baby Luc around!!

Muskegon Weekend with the Nickel Family

To celebrate the start of our school year, we did a weekend getaway with the Nickel Family in Muskegon, MI. We had such a fun time together!! The kids all get along so well and we stayed up late playing cards and talking every night. Here's our first night on the beach...

The kids played on the beach playground a few times each day. We were the only ones around and felt like we had the whole place to ourselves!
Lucas, enjoyed watching the sunset with all of us and loved being in the baby swing. He did so well on our weekend away.

We took a walk on the boardwalk on Saturday morning.

Ryan and Mark led our families in devotions each morning. The kids made Smore's to show how families stick together through both good and bad times.

We wish we could have stayed longer....it was such a relaxing and fun time together!

Babies Having Babies!

It seems like yesterday that my brothers and I were building forts in the kiawe forest, shooting bb guns at GI Joe stick figures, and goofing off til the wee hours of the night.

Now we're all grown up with families of our own. This summer, we ALL had babies!!

Jon had his 4th....Aysen Asato.

We had our 3rd...Lucas Husted.

And Davin had his 1st MIRACLE baby....Sophia Asato. A incredibly healthy girl after mommy Marissa survived heart bypass surgery during her pregnancy.

We went from 3 kids to 3 kids, 3 spouses and 8 grandchildren...16 now in the Eddie Asato family. What a blessing from the Lord!

Family Camp!!

We spent Labor Day weekend in Hastings, MI at Trinity's Family Camp!! It was SOOO much fun!! The girls loved living together in our cabin, playing all day with friends, chapel in the morning and evenings and always having something fun to do!

This may be our last warm weekend of the summer!! Sunday morning we celebrated with those being baptized!

This is "granny". The girls absolutely loved her and the funny skits she did everyday!

Kids Schedules!

Today, I took pictures of the kids doing their daily activities like waking up, eating breakfast, getting dressed, etc and posted a visual schedule on the fridge.

We re-arrange the days activities first thing in the morning and put an arrow where we are in our day. The girls love looking ahead to see if they are taking a nap in the afternoon or skipping their nap to go to the pool.

All day long, they move the arrow to the next activity and remind me when we got off schedule. It was fun to see them put their shoes on and load the car without being asked. The girls thrive on schedules and predictability!

Everyday Moments

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the task of raising your child spiritually? Does it have to be that complicated? When I was a child, I vividly remember times where my parents used everyday moments to show me Jesus.

At the age of 4, I stole quarters from my dad’s nightstand. He used that opportunity to share with me about Judas and how he betrayed Jesus because of his love for money. I learned how Jesus died on the cross for my sins and how much He loved me. That night, I invited Christ into my heart and it’s a night I’ll never forget.
Another time, my brother and I were goofing off. He pushed me and my face slammed into the pavement resulting in my teeth penetrating through my bottom lip. Blood gushed everywhere as my parents rushed me to the hospital. My dad and brother sat in the waiting room in agony as they listened to my screams as the doctors stitched my lip. My dad used that moment to share with my brother about the pain Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins.
The memories of my mother passing on her faith are also memorable. I recall her banging her head on the kitchen cabinet and saying, “Lord, these kids are driving me nuts. Please help me!”

A friend shared that he uses his failures to teach life lessons. At a store one day, he received terrible customer service and got angry at the salesperson. While steaming and sitting in the car, he told his kids that Jesus would not want him to treat people like that and we should always treat others in a way that we would want to be treated. He went back into the store and apologized to the salesperson. What a lesson!

There are many ways to pass on our faith to our kids. It doesn’t have to be just at bedtime or praying at dinner. There are hundreds of opportunities we have in our daily life. How are you using everyday situations to share Christ with your kids? I'd love to hear them.

Highs and Lows

I received a letter from the Health Department saying that Malia was behind on her immunizations. I called our doc and found we were up to date in her records but she suggested we go to the clinic to settle the matter. So, I loaded the kids up in the car and headed downtown.

Riley egged Malia on all morning about getting shots and boasted about not having any herself. After waiting an hour in line, we discovered that all the kids were current on their shots but since we were there, they offered to do Riley's shots for next year. I agreed.

Riley was not happy!! She screamed in pain while receiving her 4 shots, Lucas started wailing and sweet Malia did a little dance and sang a happy song through all of the chaos. I was torn between laughing or crying but decided to laugh along with all the madness.

On the way home, Riley said, "When we share our highs and lows at dinner tonight, this is DEFINITELY going to be my "low point"." I busted up laughing! We went to the dollar store to pick out a toy for being brave. Here she is with her new cash register!!..note her sis in the bottom corner.

Rainy weekend in Cadillac

We just got home from a weekend with the Husted's in Cadillac. Ryan played 18 holes of golf with the men and mom and I took the kids to the fair. Between rain showers, we rode rides, ate colored popcorn, visited the animals and had a FUN time!

Riley didn't appreciate the cows that much. She held her nose and wanted to get out of there quickly.
The roosters were making so much noise!!

Lucas was the perfect angel...content and happy the whole weekend!

We ended the day having warm soup and fresh salad with our aunts and uncles. Riley and Malia made butterfly treats with pretzels and gum drops.

Fun on the Lake with the Ashdowns!

It was a beautiful day!! We hung out on the lake and soaked up the sun with the Ashdown Family! It's an annual event and one we look forward to each summer. Our families continue to grow and it's always fun to spend time quality time with friends.

Debbie reading princess stories to the girls! They loved it!

The girls were so hungry from playing that they each had seconds!!

Blake and Lucas.

Luc slept most of the day but stayed awake for a few min to check things out.

Malia was a little scared but gave it a shot!

Riley kept saying, "Faster daddy, go faster!"

Blake, Debbie & Ryan.
Delicious dinner...grilled chicken, oriental salad, fresh fruit, pasta salad, etc. Yummy!

We had a blast hanging with the Ashdowns! The kids slept the entire drive home and woke up asking, "Can we ride motorcycles on the water today?"