The Forbes Family

Log Home Progress

Great Room with lots of natural light

Great Room with lots of natural light

Here are some more recent photos that Ade took around the house before Sophia’s birth.  Little by little we continue to chip away at the myriad projects that are still waiting around the house…but we have indeed come a LONG way since we first broke ground in the fall of 2007 and since we received our C of O in the spring of 2009.  We will finish the bleaching and staining of the logs this summer and hope to complete the deck rails and spindles also.  The finish grade of the property immediately surrounding the house is also on the docket so that we can contemplate getting a lawn in (either this fall or next spring).  As for the past year, we have been focusing on completing more projects inside of the house and the arrival of our new little one, Miss Sophia. Continue Reading…

Add a comment

Sophia’s first camping trip

Sleeping after a long day by the lake

Sleeping after a long day by the lake

On Father’s Day weekend we went on Sophia’s first camping trip with 3 other couples and their families from our small group Bible study.  We only travelled an hour west of Jackson to Fort Custer State Park in the Battle Creek area, so it wasn’t too far away.  It would be what Ade and I call “cushy drive-in camping”.  The weather ranged from a severe thunderstorm Friday night (Sophia slept through the entire thing), to hot and humid to beautiful and breezy down by Eagle lake.  All in all, it was a nice weekend except for the mosquito invasion that we encountered. We found that the mosquitos weren’t bad down by the lake with the breeze, so we spent a lot of our time down there chatting, playing in the sand and swimming in the water.  We all were in charge of preparing a meal and we enjoyed s’mores around the fire on Saturday night.  Sophia did wonderfully and slept really well in between us in the tent (nice and cozy!) in her Snuggle Nest on top of our sleeping bags.  We can’t wait to take her on her next camping vacation…hopefully near one of the Great Lakes or up to the U.P. Continue Reading…

47 comments

Wildlife at 3700 Wolf Lake Road

The coyote trots through the wildflowers back to the marshy area

The coyote trots through the wildflowers back to the marshy area

We’ve had some more frequent wildlife spottings as of late out on the property.  As for the deer, we always see a couple of them every evening, and every once in a while, we’ll see the local “herd” out back which can be upwards of 15 deer of varying ages (the “record” is 17).  While we occasionally hear the coyotes down by the marshy areas, one of them decided to make an appearance at dawn one morning.  I also spotted this snake while on a walk with Sophia and Cody one afternoon half way to the back of the property.  We’re not sure of the species.  We think that he might have been snacking on some field mice. We’re not very proficient at birdwatching, but have seen several gold finches with our invasion of thistles as well as other species that we’re not sure of.  We haven’t taken any pictures of the variety yet … maybe another time. Continue Reading…

Add a comment

Sophia Margaux’s Baptism

Mom and Dad and the Jesus window

Mom and Dad and the Jesus window

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

On June 13th, we celebrated the baptism of Sophia at the 10 o’clock service at ULC (St. Luke at University Lutheran Chapel – on U of M’s campus).  Pastor Scott Giger performed the baptism.  Kim and Zac were her sponsors and we/she was surrounded with family and friends and her extended Christian family.  It was a wonderful service. We had a brunch  in her honor upstairs in the old “parsonage” after the service, complete with some egg casseroles, coffee cake, bagels, yogurt and muslei/granola, fresh fruit, punch, Caribou Coffee and a phenominal cake from The Cakery at Jefferson Market (Thanks Molly for the referral!!).  She wore a beautiful old family heirloom (entirely handmade) baptismal gown (and coordinating slip)  that several people have worn previously on Ade’s mother’s side of the family (~17+ previous family members).  It was made by Sophia’s Great-great Aunt “Ummie” Emma Scheiffler Spiegel,  the sister of her Great-great Grandmother Clara Scheiffler Eberle. Continue Reading…

Add a comment

Vacation up North

Sophia's first Michigan wine tasting tour
Sophia’s first Michigan wine tasting tour

We were blessed to be able to make a wonderful getaway to Aunt Susan’s and Uncle Mike’s log cabin up north (their cabin is actually on a smaller secluded lake called Pickerel Lake right next to Fife Lake).  Ade, Sophia, Cody and I arrived Wednesday night May 26th and stayed through Memorial Day evening.  Our goal was to rest, relax, spend time bonding as a family and to enjoy the up north fresh air and atmosphere.  The weather was beautiful the entire time (80’s during the day and sunny and 50’s at night). It was Sophia’s first official vacation at 4 weeks old. She did great!

 

We spent lots of time loafing around the cabin, going for walks (Ade ran a  few routes), reading, vegging in front of the TV, enjoying the lake while sitting on the dock, watching Cody (and new doggie friends Jasper and Bear who he met at the neighbors) play in the lake, wine/sparkling wine/hard cider tasting on the Leelenau Peninsula, ice cream eating and enjoying Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Continue Reading…

2 comments

Amelia’s 3rd birthday party

Amelia's opens her first kite

Amelia's opens her first kite

Miss Amelia turned 3 on May 21st. We celebrated with close family on Sunday May 23rd at Kim and Zac’s house in Farmington Hills.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and Zac’s grilling was fabulous.  Amelia chose Hello Kitty as the theme for her birthday party.  Miss Sophia also got to meet her Great-Grandpa Chauvin for the first time.  Sophia’s party gift was a Hello Kitty onesie! Continue Reading…

Add a comment

Isabelle’s last postpartum doula visit

Doula Isabelle & Baby Sophia

Doula Isabelle & Baby Sophia

Our doula for the birth (although she ended up through a series of events not at the actual delivery), Isabelle Yingling, and Bradley Birth Method Mentor and Educator came for our last postpartum visit (we had two prenatal planning sessions/visits and two postpartum “checkup” visits). She is a local Bradley Method Course Educator and has been a doula certified through DONA for nearly the past 20 years.  She spent hours before the birth answering questions about natural labor, focusing on relaxation techniques, birthing positions and helped us to complete our birthing and baby care plans.  She also helped me to focus on natural healing postpartum and provided me with specially brewed concentrated herbal healing tea baths and peri-washes.  She talked through our birth experience with Ade and I to help us piece together our birth story experience.  She also invited us to speak and share our birthing story with her current group of couples  enrolled in her Bradley Method Course when Sophia was 3 weeks old.  It was a neat experience. Continue Reading…

Add a comment

Kim comes to help after delivery

Amelia and Sammy pose with their new cousin Sophia

Cousins Amelia, Sam and Sophia

Sister Kim, cousins Amelia and Samuel and Grandma Chauvin came for a visit during my second postnatal week.  Grandma kept the kids preoccupied while Kim allowed me to relax, shower, brought me food while resting in bed, cleaned up the kitchen, made a wonderful dinner for Ade and I, and provided some sister talk-time.

Add a comment

Bathing Beauty

Sophia enjoying her bath

Sophia enjoying her bath

We gave Sophia a few sponge baths while her umbilical cord stump was still drying and attached.  She didn’t seem to like the sponge baths very much.  Once her umbilical cord stump came off and we were able to give her “immersion baths”, the story changed!  She loved her first bath (at least the part when she was still in the water . . . its kinda cold until getting all warmed up again in her hooded towel).  We decided to give Sophia her first bath while Corey took her last herbal tea bath from Isabelle, our doula. It had lots of healing herbs in it (Comfrey root and leaf, Lavender, Myrrh and Calendula), hence the tea-stained color of the water.  She loved the feeling of the warm water and was very relaxed.  We’ve adopted this way of bathing her because she loved it so much.  She was so relaxed afterwards that she breastfed and “conked out” in the middle of the feeding. Continue Reading…

Add a comment

Corey’s first Mother’s Day

Corey's first Mother's Day

Corey's first Mother's Day

My first Mother’s Day was pretty low key.  We slept in and then went to Sophia’s first church service at noon at ULC (she was 10 days old).  She slept through the entire service in Ade’s arms.  Afterwards, we drove up to Fenton for a lunch and a quick visit with my mom and dad to wish her a happy mother’s day.  Later that evening, Ade’s family came over to the house for a brief visit.

Continue Reading…

Add a comment