Dan, Nikki, Tristan, Baby & Max

June Update

2009-06-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! Still lots going on and still lots of fun and excitement ... Dan is doing well in Commercial Sales at Lowe's as a Specialist this summer. Hitting budget and achieving departmental bonus, even though they have made it harder this season. So, there's some positive news in terms of the economic downturn. He has applied for a promotion as District Sales Associate Specialist. The position calls for a Bachelor's degree, but we are hoping that his experience and performance will make the difference. We'll see. It would be a great pay increase. Plus, developing and nurturing relationships with the intent to increase commercial sales is what he has excelled at since he has been in commercial sales at the store. However, they had been discouraging outside sales for store oriented specialists just after he started to take off. Tristan's language acquisition is exploding! He loves to fish the pond and does so with Dan 3-4 times a week. They catch and throw back. He asks everyday, all day, to go fishing. Nikki took her NCLEX June 9th, passed and was mailed her license to practice as an official Registered Nurse on her 25th birthday. What a great day that was! At the moment, she is 40/2 pregnant. Overdue! Surprisingly, although we would love to have this baby in our arms, we are coping well. Nikki is still walking 3, sometimes 6, miles per day, taking an afternoon nap with Tristan and praying that the cramping and contracting will become productive. Dan is still going to work each day with the intent to tie up loose ends in order to be ready for some time at home and waiting for the call. In the meantime, they have scheduled us for a Cesarean Section at 41/1 on June 30th in the event that this baby insists on staying put. So, prayers for spontaneous labor before then would be great!

Wonderful Weekend! Graduation, swimming with Grandpa and Grandma Beaudry and fishing!

2009-04-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

Nikki graduated Saturday! Yahoo! We are so excited it is over! We then went swimming with Grandpa and Grandma Beaudry, Brad, Ayden and Michelle. It was fun. It took Tristan a little bit to get acquainted with the water, but once he was, it was hard to steal him away. Lastly, we have been fishing the last couple of days. We have caught and fried fresh bass, rock bass and blue gill for the last two evenings. Yummy. It has been almost 10 years since Nikki remembers enjoying fresh fried fish from camp. Dan ate some, too! Next up, morel mushrooms! For now, Dan is hard at work during his busy season, Nikki is studying away for the NCLEX and nesting for the baby and Tristan is fully enjoying the ride. Pray for business, quality study time and healthy growth and development for the entire family. Love you guys! Thanks for all the support!

Grandma and Grandpa Snyder gifted Tristan with a punching bag :)

2009-03-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

2009-03-20T18:31:00.001-07:00

Yummy, yummy! Nikki and Tristan made some vanilla cupcakes with vanilla meringue frosting from scratch tonight. They are tasty and they have less calories than the average cupcake. If your interested, search for the recipe at cookinglight.com under the keywords moist cupcakes. The recipe is actually for vanilla cupcakes with chocolate meringue frosting, but we decided the cocoa makes the meringue too bitter. It's up to you! If you don't like the meringue, the cupcake recipe is so delicious, it is sure to go well with a good buttercream or store bought frosting. We laughed tonight because Dan never thought his wife would become the cook/baker type, since the most advanced recipe we ate during high school/college was buttered noodles and shredded cheese. Now, with a little helper, we make out quite well in the kitchen!

March Update

2009-03-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

40 day count down to graduation! How about that? In the meantime, we have been keeping ourselves busy :) Dan spent this last weekend constructing our garden. He built it complete with deer netting and baseboards to keep out unwanted visitors and a sand box for Tristan. It is beautiful and he did a great job! Our indoor plants are coming along well. We have broccoli, assorted tomato, celery, basil, rosemary, chives, sweet, hot and bell peppers and cantalope plants coming up well. Chris, Katie and Sophia came last week and we very much enjoyed their company. Tristan is coming along well with his potty training. He has graduated to the big boy potty (the potty extension for the actual toilet). He has only actually gone in the toilet a few times and he has plenty of accidents, but he is really doing great! Dan caught him the other day just before he went #2 for the first time and they safely made it to the potty. His personality is pretty funny - we don't even bother to ask him if he wants to go soon after waking from bed/nap time. He is too grouchy. Enjoy the pics-

It Won't Be Like This For Long by Darius Rucker

2009-02-28T00:28:00.000-08:00

http://www.cmt.com/videos/darius-rucker/336930/it-wont-be-like-this-for-long.jhtml?id=1203849

He didn't have to wake up
He'd been up all night
Lyin' there in bed and listenin'
To his newborn baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says "It's gonna be OK"

It won't be like this for long
One day soon we'll look back laughin'
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So, baby, just hold on
It won't be like this for long

Four years later, 'bout four-thirty
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says, "What can I do?"
She says, "Now don't you worry
This will only last a week or two"

It won't be like this for long
One day soon we'll drop her off
And she won't even know you're gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It won't be like this for long

Someday soon she'll be a teenager
And at times you'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she's up and cryin'
And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers
He lays down there beside her
'Til her eyes are finally closed
And just watchin' her, it breaks his heart
'Cause he already knows

It won't be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be
All grown up and gone
Yeah, this phase is gonna fly by
So he's tryin' to hold on
'Cause it won't be like this for long
It won't be like this for long

What a beautiful song! Brings tears to the eyes! Tristan has followed this wonderful story to a tee thus far, except he is not a girl, it didn't take him 4 years to catch on to just what time his parents will be too tired and let him crawl into bed and Dan will not walk him down the aisle or lift his veil. :)

Busy, busy, busy ...

2009-02-23T17:14:00.000-08:00

This past weekend has been busy for us. Nikki is on Spring Break, so she took on spring cleaning tasks like shampooing main living area carpets, in depth vacuuming and mopping and organizing. Tristan is such a helper! It's crazy. If we are cooking, he must cook. If we are cleaning, he must clean. He likes to stir, pour, throw things away, put the detergent in the washing machine, push buttons, and not always the ones that are productive :), fold clothes, kind of, and the list goes on ... Most of the time, it is super cute, but sometimes it is exhausting and frustrating. He is Daddy's littler helper, too. Dan transformed the back room into a multi-recreation area, where there are now two bench press sets and other workout items his friend Luis gave him, an area for Tristan to play and be active at the same time and then a small area with a table, where scrapbooking and sewing can take place. I think we could open a small gym and start charging :) It's fun to lift weights together and stay in shape! He also cleaned out and organized the basement, so he could clean out and organize the closet that is now the closet of our nursery. We were blessed to find a beautiful crib and dresser/changer combo on craigslist for a great deal! We then placed an ad for our crib, which looks to have already sold, too! The nursery is absolutely beautiful. Tristan helped by putting the crib together and then testing it out :) We will post pictures later. Lastly, we finalized our plans for the garden. In the next week or so, we will sow seeds indoors. We plan to do square foot gardening, where Dan will craft 2-3 4*4 square foot raised beds out of untreated lumber and delivered soil from Lowe's, making room for 16 crops, each within a 1*1 square foot surface area. He will also figure out a way for us to use the watershed from rain that will go into a barrel, where you then water the beds by can. I am sure Tristan will help with this, too! Lot's going on, but it is all so exciting! Blessings to all of you!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmX8qqGbeYU

2009-02-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

The above link will take you to a lovely youtube video that illustrates the significance that the movie, Finding Nemo, has in our family. When Nikki was pregnant with Tristan, she randomly had a dream, about one week before having her ultrasound done, that there was a little Nemo swimming around in her belly. The next morning, she decided they were having a boy. The ultrasound obviously confirmed this hunch. Recently, we have been talking about Tristan's strong will. It can be cute, sometimes :) Other times, it is clear he is being supremely stubborn! Recently, Nikki and Tristan were going to read a few books together in the morning, when a family member called with the need for some help over the phone. It took about 10 minutes, but after Tristan had failed at insisting several times throughout the phone conversation that it is time to read books, he decided he would put them back in the book bin and bring Nikki the remote. "Watch," he said. He was told that since the phone conversation was over, he was welcome to go get his books, but we would not be watching tv. Tristan chose to sit and stare at Nikki while she was doing her homework for the next 1.5 hours instead of the alternative. So, visit the link and watch the 17 second video to see how and why him and Nemo have so much in common!

Flu Boat

2009-02-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hop aboard, it's great! The entire family has been out of commission since Sunday. Dan had his bout on Sunday evening and then recovered fast. Tristan set in on Monday and then Nikki. Nikki ended up in triage because she couldn't keep anything down for more than 24 hours, had awful stomach pains and started contracting. Thank you, Lord, for IV rehydration and Morphine! Since then, we have been sleeping, praying for an appetite and of course, the capacity to keep something, anything down. Just as things seem to be getting better for us, Michelle now has it! Goodness gracious! Prayers for anyone at this point who has the flu or is at risk for the flu.

Baby Snyder!

2009-01-31T23:10:00.000-08:00

Here is baby Snyder. In the second photo, he/she looks exactly like their big brother from his 19 week ultrasound. While at work the other night, Nikki could barely stand not looking at her ultrasound report, fearing she would see the sex of the baby in it. So, she trusted one of her coworkers to make sure it wasn't included in the report before she looked it over, for good measure :) Well, it was not included, although Tristan's was, so only two people know ... the ultrasound technician and the perinatologist that reviewed the report! There goes all hope that anyone of you might break us down, ha! And, no, you may not try to bribe the technician. This really is a fun game :)

Pictures from Tristan's 2nd Birthday

2009-01-30T22:33:00.000-08:00

Kudos to President Obama, kind of :)

2009-01-30T14:08:00.000-08:00

At the height of individualism and lax regulation within wall street, the American people can see how abusive it really is to the freedom that many claim to be central to our values. Most of America is experiencing a plethora of painful symptoms from a society suffering the "I want more" attitude and an economy that has not been regulated in years, subsequently moving to global strategy. Who benefits? Certainly not the American people! But, hey, wall street execs from the top four out of five firms have reported record earnings this year and paid out 20+ billion dollars worth of bonuses! It is said that this is resulting from the productivity they are receiving from investments and business not connected to the American economy. Since when is business done in America not connected to America, especially when much of wall street is lining up in the corporate breadline created by the economic stimulus package, part 2?!? So, President Obama goes on record and states that these actions are "...the height of irresponsibility and they should feel ashamed of themselves." Awesome. Quite refreshing, actually. Although much our of our history is studied from a youthful perspective, it is hard to think of a time where a president has been so straight forward in actions of accountability. However, what are the harsh consequences for those corporations, lining up with their hand out right now, that receive payment from the government in order to be "sustained" and then turn around and hand out bonuses? Provision for this exact scenario isn't even considered in part 2 of the economic stimulus package! Obama is simply looking into the possible legal ramifications if corporations take such action. News flash, it's already happening. Before you even hand it out, it's happening. It's hard not to have such passion at a time like this. What are we saying to individuals actually paying for the consequence of financial irresponsibility or the simple misfortune of the economy? Yes, this hits home for us. Many have lost their homes, jobs and are paying insanely high interest rates for day-to-day items, are being told they won't see a raise for years to come or simply can't put food on the table. Are we really going to say that lack of regulation and individualism has nothing to do with this vast disconnect? Let's venture to say that the era of how corporations have recently defined individualism and the lack of regulation in the free market is over, for now, please!

Vegetable Gardening - A New Endeavor

2009-01-29T02:04:00.000-08:00

This Spring, we plan to plant a vegetable garden. Since this is a new endeavor, any pointers from those of you whom have experience in this area of expertise is certainly welcome! Here are our plans that we have, so far.

We have purchased Rodale's Ultimate Guide to Organic Gardening - Nikki is excited to get some information, but values the experience of those who have already succeeded as well!
We will purchase some handy eco-friendly starter kits and organic seeds and Nikki and Tristan will get to work sowing some indoor starter plants.
Home Depot offers tiller rental that we plan to take advantage of and Dan will get to work preparing the ground.
Hopefully, our starter plants will be ready to go in after the last frost, in May?
We plan to enclose the garden with wire and rod.

Questions for you guys that we could use some help on include: What kinds of seeds can be sowed inside as starter plants? Some literature says to start any leaf crops, but leave root crops to be sown directly into the ground. When should we start sowing the seeds for the indoor starter plants? Some resources say to sow them 6-8 weeks before you expect the last frost. What is the best method of organizing your rows? Is it smart to keep the annuals away from the perennials (berries)? Does that makes sense, considering you don't want to till this area the following year. Let me know if we are on the right track. One last question. What is the best method in determining where the garden should be located? Any other advice is welcome!

Ultrasound

2009-01-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

We had our ultrasound, today. It went well. In Tristan's words, our "be-be" is healthy and we officially harnessed the will power to look away and not find out the sex. For us, this is exciting. We can't wait for our little surprise! However, Dan believes he observed girl parts and Nikki thinks she observed boy parts. Our debate seems to be creating a memorable experience. Yay! Prayers for continued healthy growth and development for the whole family are much appreciated. Love you all!

New stuff :)

2008-12-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

A small taste of sweet success ...

2008-12-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

Exciting news all around! Nikki finished her semester with two "A's" and an "A-" and 95% on a comprehensive predictor, which is an exam that measures your probability of passing the NCLEX on the first try! She couldn't be more satisfied. Both Dan and Nikki have found much joy in reflecting on the ups and downs of getting this far and how instrumental both really have been. Teamwork, so important!

Dan is still doing very well at Lowe's, despite the economy. He refuses to sit behind a desk and complain about the business he isn't getting. He creates his business by constantly thinking about who is out there spending and in need of commercial supplies out of necessity, then he goes to them. His clients seem to have confidence in him, because he comes home each day with positive updates on different appointments.

Tristan is doing great. He is saying all kinds of things. "All done." "Shower?" "Wah-yee?" (for water) "Tiggeh." (for who is on his toothbrush) Pretty much anything and everything you say, so watch your mouth! :) We had a little scare just before Thanksgiving, where he stuck a toothpick in his left ear and it was questionable whether he had perforated his tympanic membrane. Turns out, he did not. He went as far as the many blood vessels that provide for a reflex, so that you don't go too far, which explains why he was bleeding from his ear for a couple of days following the incident. He is doing well and has recovered. Thank you, Lord!

Nikki and Tristan heard the baby's heartbeat on Tuesday, which was a blessing. Nikki is now 13 weeks and hasn't had a chance to make the pregnancy real, yet. So, that was refreshing. Funny though, Tristan was more interested in climbing the silver platter of pap smear supplies than joining in on the excitement of the heartbeat. Eh, what can you expect from an almost 2 year old?

Christmas is near and we are looking forward to the celebration, visiting with family and being involved with the many events following. See you soon!

2008-11-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

The Snyder family has had a house full for roughly two weeks. We enjoyed time with Chris, Katie, Sophia, Dave, Brie, Tom, & Beth last weekend and time with Brad, Ayden, Michelle, Tom, & Melinda over Thanksgiving.

UM Update

2008-11-12T10:34:00.000-08:00

Good news - my department is not looking to downsize anytime soon, so no reason to sweat just yet :)

2008 Annual Ann Arbor Turkey Trot - Sophia & Tristan ran the tot trot, Chris ran the 10 & 5K, & Nikki ran the 5K

2008-11-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

Tristan does not appreciate winter apparel or dressing up as Superman, but he does enjoy time with his cousin :)

2008-11-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

November Update

2008-11-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it should be clear to all now that we are pregnant again! Tristan is expecting a sibling and this time we do not intend on knowing the sex, so don't get your hopes up! :) We are excited and thankful for this blessing.

Dan is doing great at work, Nikki is progressing well in school, and Tristan is developing into a fine toddler! It's exciting to be in the midst of it all. Of course, it is somewhat stressful to be experiencing the downturn in the economy. Nikki is unsure of her job as they have announced a reduction in workforce will occur for non patient care workers to keep a positive operating budget and it has been quite depressing since the announcement of Barack Obama's presidency. The exhaustion has sort of set in since then. Debate can be exciting, but we are not generally a couple that appreciates a heavy amount of this. However, there are some positive things we both see in the decision most of America has made. It is exciting to be a part of history in the making and to see the first black president, although we clearly don't care for what he stands for, it's still exciting. Also, the only good thing Nikki thinks could come of this, maybe Dan too, still working on him, is that we know that the focus will be on fair trade, NOT free trade. Interesting though, the concept that he is going to raise taxes and "redistribute" as he sees fit, we will see about that :) Enough political talk, it is appreciated that people are done hearing about it for awhile. Just sharing thoughts and conversation that have been flying around our parts.

Now, for the easy part. We have strength in the Lord. He is the true hope and at each opportunity, we pray for His perspective during these changes. Love you and miss you all!

Family Evening in the Park

2008-10-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

The Snyder family enjoyed a 3 1/2 hour nap after Church today! It was a fabulous time of rest spent together! Then we woke up and headed over to the park.

Dan's Birthday Celebrations

2008-10-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Tristan is always climbing, always has a dirty face, and has lot's to say, like "Potsy!" This is his word for pizza.

2008-10-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Fall 2008 Update

2008-10-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

We're going into week 6 of 15 of Nikki's last fall semester of nursing school! Yay! Dan is harnessing just as much patience and persistence as it is requiring Nikki to muster up to get through. Life is crazy! We are almost there. We have found a sense of peace and calm that didn't exist last year and you can tell. Tristan is a much happier baby and we are more energized and motivated in our priorities as a result. We also hope to have some even better news coming soon :) In the meantime, our family and friends are in our daily prayers and we look forward to seeing all of you soon! If possible, pictures and videos will follow.

1st Day of Preschool

2008-08-14T22:46:00.001-07:00

It was Tristan's first day of "Preschool" today! He was very tired when he woke up. Ornary as all get out that he had to to wake up at 7:30am, but he warmed up once he got there and even took a nap for them!

Learning to Golf

2008-08-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

Mqt Photos

2008-08-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Did I seriously forget to mention???

2008-08-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

Mom Beaudry got married on July 12th and became Cynthia Lousie Mesa. The wedding was just what they had envisioned and we all ate at Stillwater Grill afterwards. Brad and Ayden were there to celebrate. Also, my step-sister, Heather, had her first baby boy, Jonah Nathaniel Roberts.

T minus thirty days.

2008-08-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Nikki is thirty days away from saying she will have her last, first day of nursing school! Yahoo!

In the meantime, lot's of family events are happening ... Lindsey's shower, Tom, Beth, Chris, and Katie's going away party, moves, and Amanda's delivery. Also, Tristan's first day of "school" is on August 14th at Little Folks Preschool. We are excited and nervous at the same time. Nikki is probably going to be a blubbery mess :)

Another thing that we've got going on is thoughts and prayers about Dan's future. He has been praying about decisions about school and just what it is God is trying to say. We visited NMU for Construction Management and he is now exploring a 2+2 program through San Diego Golf Academy of Myrtle Beach and Virginia College, which would afford him a Bachelors Degree in Business and Golf Management. Keep that one in your prayers.

We had a fine time in Marquette and the Copper Harbor this last weekend. We visited family, Tristan endured his first camping experience when we pitched a tent in Copper Harbor, and Dan and Nikki finished their first triathlon, the Copperman. It was awesome! Nikki thoroughly enjoyed it and sees more races in her future. Dan would like to purchase a road bike before he does another one again. It was a blast! We will post pics when we can.

Hope everyone is doing well!

This may be a little harder than we originally anticipated ...

2008-07-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

Updating a blog is work! With everything else on our plate right now, I apologize that this has been a little more work than we originally anticipated. Plus, there is a possibility we will opt out of the internet when we rent Tom and Beth's, we'll see. Oh, well. We will keep trying to do our best :) As for the moment, we are having a garage sale today and tomorrow, moving our bedrooms to Tom and Beth's on Sunday and planning on moving the rest in a week or so. We've been working hard and staying active. We did our mini triathlon with Chris and Katie last Sunday and it was rough, but we realized that we can definitely do the Copperman on August 2nd, so that's exciting! It feels great to be back in shape! Tristan has been teething and Taylor started to watch him on mornings that Nikki needs sleep :) He seems to enjoy it because he smiles everytime we get to Grandma and Grandpa's house and sees Taylor's face. Other than that, we will part for now and hope to stay in touch!

Learning Responsibility - Tristan brushes his teeth, cleans out his ears (kind of), and feeds the dog!

2008-06-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

2008-06-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Dan and Nikki are training for a triathlon that will be held in the Copper Harbor in August! Chris and Katie sort of talked us into it :) Dan is nervous about biking, as he has a history of falling accidents, and Nikki is concerned about her swimming abilities, since her most skilled stroke is the doggy paddle. Regardless, we are going for it! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Hi guys!

2008-05-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog! We plan to post pictures, videos, and messages regularly to stay in touch with you guys and to make sure you don't miss out on Tristan's growth. Enjoy!