Around The Home

It’s pretty crazy to think we have now been back in Michigan for a month now (though one week was spent up north). It sure has been a hectic 4 weeks, but we look at how the transition has gone, what we have learned, what we have accomplished, and we just see God’s guiding hand every step of the way!

I want to keep up on the Around The Home posts because I hope they give you a glimpse into what our life looks like in small and big ways, in the mundane and spontaneous ways too. Mundane makes it sound like life is boring, but I like to think of the “mundane” as a life of routine. And let’s be honest – toddlers THRIVE off of routine, so that is what we hope to get into real soon here! That means we haven’t necessarily found that routine yet, but it will come!

We are just absolutely loving where we live. We truly believe God put this house on the market just for the Sterks. I don’t say that in a flippant or arrogant way, but I say that because truly we could not have gotten this house without God. We would not be sitting in this house if it wasn’t for the previous owners and God’s gracious hand. The pictures below will show you why we just love it!

2 1/2 blocks south of us is a beautiful park that Mazy loves to walk to!

SPACE! Our house has SPACE! Space for daddy and Mazy to play “nigh night”

We graduated Mazy to a toddler bed this week! We were a bit nervous and so far it has gone pretty well! Unfortunately she is working on a molar (which I feel she has been working on for eons), which caused her to be awake for hours on end the past few nights, but I understand! I think I’d be awake too if I had a massive tooth breaking through my gums! You can tell by her face that she was a bit excited…

When the pool is too cold, the sprinkler will suffice! Mazy would walk up to me just shivering and I would ask if she wanted her towel and she kept telling me, with pointer finger in the air “one more time!”

Something I have wanted to do since we have moved is go to the local bakery downtown Zeeland. We had a few errands we had to run Friday morning, so off to the bakery we went! Forget the donut, just give her the sprinkles!

We found a little friend in the pool Friday morning!

Friday night, Mazy finally gave into the puddle jumper life jacket. We have been trying to get her to wear it because it offers more freedom, yet still keeps her afloat, and she finally let us put it on her! Needless to say, she was a little fish after that.

She even kicked her way (can’t figure out how to use her arms yet) to the sprinkler in the deep end.

Dan’s major project of the week was building rails for our deck! The base was already there, but he had to build all the stair rails and railings, which I have to say, he did a PHENOMENAL job! No blueprint, no guidance, he just built it. I feel like with many of the projects around our house that he has just figured out his way through them, which I have been very impressed! Proud of that guy!

This week Dan officially starts work in the office, which he is looking forward to! He also leaves for Jackson, Mississippi for the youth group mission trip this Friday. It will be a GREAT way for him to get to know even more members and youth group kids from the congregation (not just youth go), but also for them to get to know him as well. We debated for a few months whether or not I should go, especially since we didn’t know how Mazy would adjust. Even though Mazy has adjusted extremely well, it’s now my health that has confirmed that it is best if I didn’t go. And I am at complete peace with that. As much as I think it would be a good opportunity, sitting in high humidity air with a heart that is not functioning correctly, screams shortness of breath 24/7. In other words, God has made it very clear, yet again, His will for us on this one!

Today I had back to the U of M to meet with the transcatheter surgeon, to see if replacing/repairing my mitral valve could be done via this route. I am thinking I will need more testing, but establishing the new patient relationship will be one step closer to getting this valve fixed! We just continue to pray that this will be the route that we can take, as it would be MUCH less invasive and risky! But as always, it is all in God’s hands and He truly knows what’s best! Because as the song goes, He’s got the whole world in HIS hands!