Oh the Weather outside is frightful

Well we have had a pretty mild fall, but the DuFrenes have had a very eventful one! We have enjoyed watching Malachi go from an infant to a babe of 6 months!Malachi was baptized on November 27th. Pastor Todd Harris conducted the ceremony, Malachi's sponsors were Stacy DuFrene and Matt & Rachel Karel.We celebrated Christmas with Aunt Stacy and "Uncle" Eddie! Malachi got a wonderful monkey names "Brownie" and a John Deere blanket! He loves them both and uses them both all the time.

Merry Christmas! From; Mike, Amy, Thiessen (2 yrs.) and Malachi (6 mon.)

Mr. William and a Lady Bug

Happy be-lated Halloween! As you can probably tell by the title we had a little lady bug for Halloween. Mike's mom (Nancy) bought this costume the day or close to the day we told them Malachi was on his way!Malachi and I (Amy) celebrated much of Halloween afternoon visiting Malachi's newest cousin, William. William surprised us all by coming 6 weeks early! The little guy is proving to everyone he is quite strong!Born Oct. 29th (1 week ago) he is already off all tubes, the last to go was the feeding tube. Tami (Amy's sister) is holding strong and hanging out at the hospital untilWilliam can come home. Andy, Tami's hubby, comes back and forth between home, work and the hospital. They are all troopers and soon enough William will be able to join us all here.

Time Flies

I cannot believe it has been nearly a month since I wrote last! We have been crazy busy getting ready for the 2 weddings we had in October. We ended September with 2 wonderful showers for miss Amy Backen! Malachi hit up both showers, but skipped the Bachelorette shower (he didn't want to be the only boy there for that part).

The first wedding was in Stillwater and I (Amy) officiated it. Mike and Malachi didn't come to that wedding. But we were able to go to an apple orchard near it! The wedding was for a dear friend of mine (Allison). Allison was gorgeous and her hubby was very handsome.

The location of the wedding was an amazing flower farm where they had cool buildings and

even a 1950's Ford Pick-up in the best color-Orange! The orchard we went to was Aamots, also near Stillwater. There we went on a hay ride, got to meet a goat for the first time, and enjoyed the company of "the crew!" We miss them all very much so when we get a chance to see them it is absolutely wonderful!

The second wedding of October was of one of my best friends growing up, Amy Backen (now Amy Nisse). She was stunning as well! So far the pictures aren't ready to be shown as the wedding was just this weekend. But I was so honored to stand up beside her and help her celebrate! I can't wait until she is home from he

r honeymoon in Mexico. Amy's wedding was super fun, they had a candy bar, a family tree where you wrote a greeting to them, and a lot of fun-unique ideas! Her sisters, personal attendant, and I all made a dance up as well to "Party Rock Anthem" - as soon as I know the link to it (as I was told it would be on youtube or something) I will link it so you can laugh at us being complete fools.

Looking ahead we are excited that Malachi is mastering the spoon! He is getting really close to starting to rock (that comes right before crawling). And we are eagerly awaiting his first tooth, the warning signs are very present and he is getting close to the age that his cousin (Avery) got her first tooth.

We pray that you are enjoying this warm fall we have been having and as the seasons change you enjoy the uniqueness that Minnesota brings to our lives. Thanks for reading and keeping up with us, it is greatly appreciated and your prayers for us have been felt!

Love,

The DuFrenes

High School Football

That's right Malachi got to enjoy the small town football game. Under the lights of Friday night he slept thru the first quarter, but was wide awake until half time. The Tigers proceeded to a victory. It was a good first game for Malachi to attend :).

From Wedding bells to Zzzz's

Mike was given the amazing opportunity to stand beside our friends Andrew and Stefanie as they exchanged vows. Mike has known Andrew (A.V.) since they were tykes, okay sometime in their school years. AV was the best man at our wedding and we have been able to watch their relationship mature. This wedding was Malachi's first ever wedding!

We were able to stay at the DuFrene

house on Friday night and Oma and Opa (that's Grandma and Grandpa in Swiss) took care of Malachi as myself and Mike went to the rehearsal dinner and then spent some time with the Crew.

Saturday morning came and off Mike went to the festivities that are wedding party. Malachi and hung around the cities some, spent some time with the DuFrenes and we ourselves got ready for the big event! The day was gorgeous almost teetering on too hot out for this wonderful outdoor wedding. But the bride was beautiful the groom was dashing! The wedding party all looked fantastic in their "rainbow-themed" attire. Each bridesmaid had a different color sash-the groomsmen wore the matching tie/tux. It was so creatively done and wonderful. The food was delicious and the DJ was the DJ from the Timberwolves/Lynx! It was a wonderful night!

My only wish of this weekend would be that it wouldn't have ended. I know that I enjoy (and Mike does too) spending time with our friends in the cities. It is truly a joy to see them every time we go down there. We miss them all a lot!

Much Love on this cool September day,

The DuFrenes.

Oh I nearly forgot: Thiessen fully enjoys our trips to the cities-for he gets to play with "uncle" Brinkley!

Prized ham from the fair

My lil' guy is such a ham! He just was a great trooper at the fair. He didn't get to sit on the John Deere tractors due to the rain that came in as we were in the animal buildings, but Malachi hit it off with many people at his first county fair. Mike, not a huge fair goer realizes he cannot keep me from at least the county fair. So we went with our awesome friends, the Amborns. With them by our sides Mike even had a little fun :).

We also had to get Malachi his first Sheriff's badge! I know he was pretty proud of it. Mike and I enjoyed some Gyros and a nice Cherry Limeade and of course Cheesecurds! Yum!

Love the DuFrenes.

Catching some Zzzzz's!

That's right folks! We have a sleeper! Last night Malachi slept for 10 hours! He made a few squeaks in the night, but overall slept from 9:30p.m. to about 7:30a.m.! Woo-hoo!

Love,

Thiessen (who is very happy the baby didn't cry and wake him up)

Cabin 2012

Siren Wisconsin held the crew for this year! We all headed to the Nelson (Rachel's mom's family) cabin for a weekend of swimming and hanging out! Malachi was fashionable with his swim gear and hit the water too.Thiessen, our little water pup, was in the water within 5 minutes of getting to the cabin.Begging for the frisbee to be thrown 1 more time.

We missed the Reeds as they weren't able to make it, but the 6 of us had fun. We gathered at the cabin and watched a movie on Saturday night. Sunday was spent with a relaxing morning of egg sandwiches and goofing off.

We then proceeded to spend the majority of the day at the water. The boys managed to swamp the canoe with a dog on board! The Twins couldn't pull off a win for the boys as they relaxed and watched the game. We concluded the whole-group events with dinner at a Mexican restaurant! It was wonderful and our server was a Maple Grove native. We definitely feel blessed by fun times with friends like this! Malachi also enjoyed his time in the water a little more this time than his first experience.

Much Love,

The DuFrenes!

P.S. the prayer request update. We have boughten a new vehicle! We broke down and are now stereotypical parents with a minivan!

My pride was hurt a little when we got it, but this weekend proved that it was a great idea! (I, Amy, named it Louise).

D-Day!

Today marks the first daycare day for Malachi! Oh man our little guy is going to be in someone else's home for a decent chunk of the day and that person is not our family member! But we found a gal that goes to our church that we trust a lot! So Mike dropped him off this morning for his first day. I get to pick him up about 3:30/4 today. This will be an interesting day! Pray for Malachi especially but also for us parents as we make the adjustment.

Love Amy

7 weeks

Wow the time certainly flies by! Just a mere 7 weeks ago we were a family of 2 plus a dog, and now we have been a family of 3 plus a dog for 7 weeks! Both Mike and myself are adjusting well to being parents. Now if we could get Malachi to sleep thru the night we would all be happy :).

If you haven't been watching the news or leaving your house you might not realize that it is hotter than the Amazon in MN! Yes for the past few days we have been fighting over 100F temps not counting the heat index which puts our temp close to feeling about 115F. So it is hot and sticky, but it is also a bit scary to take Malachi anywhere as he is way more exposed to getting heat stroke, or anything heat related. But not only is it hot outside but up until yesterday it was hot inside our house too! Yes that is right-our air conditioner broke! Or I am a bit dramatic, it needed a charge. So the guy came out yesterday and by yesterday evening we were closing in on having 80F temps in our house! Yes that is 80 without humidity so it felt like 60 in there-aka heavenly! With these dangerous temps and a baby who can't take that amount of heat for too long, Malachi and I stayed at grandma and grandpa Gelschus' house! I got to sleep in my old bedroom and Malachi slept in the cradle that I slept in. It was a nice night where we got to sleep in cooler temps. But now our air is working! YAY! Now if the Twins would start winning again I won't have anything to complain about.

Please pray as we still are learning the ropes of being new parents. Also Mike and I are considering getting a new car-one that fits the baby and the dog and all the paraphernalia that comes with them both.

Much love

The DuFrenes

May the Forth Be With You!

This past week Mike, myself, Malachi and Thiessen headed to the cities to visit the DuFrenes! Stacy was home from Colorado and it was a great time with the family.

4 generations of DuFrene men!

We also enjoyed hanging with the crew at the Karel's house on Snail lake.

Malachi experienced his first time in a lake and his first time on a boat! It was a lot of fun, relaxing and just being with family/friends.

Much Love,

The DuFrenes!

Rolling!

Malachi officially rolled over! Yesterday after church we laid him down on the floor for some tummy time. He was a little upset and frustrated by the work needed to lift his head up. Then the frustration peeked cause he lost his nuk! As I was heading over to give it back I picked up the nuk and before I could put it in his mouth he was on his back! The little stallion rolled over on his right and then did it again! Then finally he rolled to his left!

He still hasn't rolled from back to tummy but he will get there the little rock-star. Now we just need to get him sleeping thru the night. Malachi has had a pretty good routine 2a.m. and then again at 5:30a.m. Mike and I have developed a plan (Amy gets the 2a.m. and Mike gets the 5:30a.m.). It works out really well until Malachi doesn't follow his schedule! We have had 1 night where he only woke up one time-which we loved! And last night where he screamed/cried from 11p.m. to 1a.m. and then woke up at 5a.m. with no desire to eat, but to fuss and demand attention. So this is a work in progress! We are all doing well, lacking a little sleep-but loving being a family!

Please pray for a wonderful night sleep. One wake up call isn't terrible so we would accept that (and when that happens Amy gets the feeding unless on the few nights that Mike volunteers). Also please pray as we begin this process of looking for child care-that the house is a loving home where he gets good morals taught and within our budget.

Much love!

The DuFrenes

(Mike, Amy, Thiessen and Malachi!)

2 weeks and a new roof!

Well we are closing in on the 2-week old mark! 2 weeks ago today I was just hanging around the house as it was Memorial Day (wishing my parents a wonderful 30th wedding anniversary). But little did we know that the night of their anniversary would be the start of welcoming in their second grandbaby, and their first grandson!

This weekend Mike (with some great friends) worked hard and redid our roof! It was an awesome time watching them all work so hard! It was a tough project, but we did get it done!

Click here for more pictures of Malachi!

The Surprise Party

Well Malachi is here! He made his surprise appearance on Tuesday (May 31st)! Below is a picture of him holding in his pacifier-more pictures to follow! Thanks to those who have already texted us, called us, facebook messaged us, etc! We feel very blessed to have such great friends/family.

Looking at Daddy!

The nuk cannot leave his mouth! And "Go Twins"

36 weeks! (33 days!)

Well we are narrowing in on the last month! Yes folks it is the last month now; only 33 days left. Below I have some photos taken from the front and side to keep my mom at bay (she demands it).

We joined a new softball team this year. HEY (Hutchinson Ecumenical Youth) directors and their spouses/significant others have made a co-ed team! We won last week-it was a great, fun game. Mike wasn't able to make the game due to work, I (Amy) got to play catcher and made a sweet offensive play. Yes catcher-it is the safest in slow-pitch. You let the ball drop to be called a strike or a ball.

We are getting really excited to meet the little tyke. Thank you for all those who have kept us in prayer as we have begun this journey. As soon as Chi makes his appearance we will post pictures! And if we hear of any news we'll keep you in the loop.

**On work related prayers-Amy is preparing for VBS at Oak Heights starting on June 12th. Mike is still working at Menards and enjoying his work. Please pray that he continues to love that job and is able to work his schedule around the baby's coming.

Much love,

The DuFrenes!

Showers and weekend with the crew

Mike and I had a wonderful weekend. On a spur of the moment decision (based mostly on the forecast) Mike and I thought it would be nice to go down to the cities. So on Friday afternoon we packed up the vehicle with Thiessen in toe and we headed for the DuFrene house! We had a nice, relaxing evening with the DuFrenes and Pati, enjoying wonderful food-tacos and DQ cake.

On Saturday we woke up to a busy day. I, Amy, had a baby shower! It was a wonderful time with friends. College friends, Kali and Megan, were the hostesses; my sister, Tami, made the drive out for it; the "crew" girls, Rachel, Johanna, and Stef, were able to make it; and Nancy (Mike's mom) were all able to join the fun! Below is a picture of that group!

Mike also had a very busy day planned for himself. We are so excited for our friends A.V. and Stefanie as they are preparing for their wedding (Sept. 10). Mike is in the wedding and so came down and got fitted for his tux! Then the boys, A.V., Matt, and Justin (I don't know who else was there for the full event) went and played some softball in the rain! After both groups were done with their "planned" events we all met up to watch the Twins lose in the 11th inning at Joe Sensors for some delicious food!

We both feel so blessed by our friends and constantly are missing them.

Love you all!

Amy (and Mike).

The promised pictures!

Below are some of the pictures from my (Amy) trip to Kansas City with the girls. Or you can click here to watch the video that I created.

Even if the Twins lost (which they did) it was still a fun trip!

The last Hoorah!

Well Mike and I went our separate ways this weekend. I went with the ladies (Kali and Megan) to Kansas City to see the Royals kick the Twins Bullpen's butt. And Mike when with the guys (Bryan and Jeff) to Brainerd. I think I won the contest of the better weather. We both had a blast, I was still in shorts Saturday night, as it was still in the 60s at least. Mike on the other hand woke up to snow on Sunday morning. Crazy! But we will be posting a few pictures later (well I will be, I don't know if the boys got any or if they would be internet appropriate :) ). Thiessen had a blast with "grandma" this weekend. They got to play frisbee and run around. He did enjoy eating his bed but other than that had a great weekend.

Much Love,

Amy, Mike and Thiessen

To Suffice the Masses

After much pressure and commands I have officially taken pictures of my belly. Below are 2 pictures one from the front and one from the side. I am officially 32 weeks today so in approx. 8 weeks lil' Malachi will be gracing us with his presence!

P.S. that lovely sign I am standing next to says "This Kitchen was perfectly clean yesterday, sorry you missed it."

TOO Funny!

Much love,

the DuFrenes!

Below 70 day count down!

Well Mike and I had a wonderfully boring doctor's appointment again this morning. Mike decided to accompany me to the doc's and regretted every moment of it. For whatever reason this morning it took much longer than normal to get into the room and then another "forever" until the doctor was able to get to us. Must have been a really crazy morning. But we were able to ask some questions as we start preparing for the next 2 months! Crazy to think that a mere 6 months or so ago (mid-October) we found out Malachi was on his way, now we are only 2 months away!

As we start this final prep time, Mike and I are both taking some time to hang out. Mike will be heading up north to enjoy some fun crazy times with some of the guys. I will be heading down to Kansas City to enjoy the Twinkies pound the Royals keesters!

The doctor is having me watch the amount of salt that I take and is doing a little extra blood work. The only thing she is concerned about it that I might be one of those lucky ladies that gets swollen ankles and wrists and all that accompanies that. Which so far I am possessing-I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring for a few weeks now. CRAZY! But overall we are looking good as we make our way down the final weeks until his arrival!

Thanks for all the support and prayers as we embark on this new journey!

The DuFrenes!

Only a mere 10 weeks away!

Wow I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going thus far. I mean there are slow times and faster times, but overall I think that it was only yesterday that we were going to the orchard and finding out we were expecting! It was such a wurl-wind of a time and it has been wonderful. Mike hasworked diligently on the nursery. On the right is a picture of the nursery as it stands right now.

Now that we are feeling more prepared we have been able to enjoy our lovely niece, Avery. Avery came out last week to celebrate Mike's 26th birthday. Mike got some much needed practice. Okay probably not needed but fun non-the-less. Below is a picture of Mike and Avery.

Thiessen has started to enjoy this new "spring" weather! As soon as it hits 40 degrees we are out playing frisbee. Being the odd dog that he is, he chose to relax in the snowbank instead of the warm driveway. Or (to my enjoyment) not the grass! If T rolls in the grass it takes forever to get him clean enough for indoors! It takes 10 minutes just to clean his paws with the muddy-ness of the ground right now. So there are no complaints about Thiessen relaxing on the last snow, but just an odd move on his part.

The joys of a small town

This morning Mike and I woke up to a winter-wonderland in MARCH! The 3 inches they were predicting as recent as this morning was quickly turned into 12 inches. Yes we turned on the news and they said there is maybe more than 3 inches north of the cities, but no more than 3-apparently they did not get the memo that Hutchinson is not north of the cities.

Well I am not going to rant about the weather prediction and lack of follow-up with it. But the awakening was a shock to say the least. Most of the city by 9a.m. had not yet been plowed (again they too were prepared for only 3 inches). Mike had to work by 8a.m. so thus drove through the snow! But we have wonderful neighbors who actually own snowblowers ( a purchase we are highly considering after a year like this). Our neighbors see Mike struggling-since I cannot help much right now with the heavier snow-and push their blowers over and help us out!

Thiessen loves this weather-I think he would much rather have winter year round than any summer since he can run and run and run. Although he is starting to feel too much freedom and experimenting on exploring our backyard neighbor's lawn (this means going around the fence).

Long story short today was a lovely snowy day. Mike was able to get to work thanks to our friendly neighbors and I worked from home. Again, since the town is smaller and our church has a snowplow of our own, I couldn't get into the parking lot (the snow was above my wheels)!

Have a wonderful day!

Much love from the "boonies"

DuFrenes.

110 Days

Well we are down to 110 mark! According to the due date we are 110 days away from meeting the newest DuFrene. Thiessen is starting to act a little differently I am going to assume that is due to the fact he can sense change is in the air. For good practice I have been helping out my brother and sister-in-law while they are working, watching their daughter Avery. Avery was born in January so still a very new little one! She is very cute and I don't mind at all. Since my last post not much has really happened in our lives. Mike and I are preparing the best way we can in this MN winter for the upcoming spring. We have plans to get our roof fixed and the bats who hibernate in our attic taken care of. Yes the bats that hibernate-we have yet to have trouble in the summer, when it is most common to have issues, we only have them in the winter. Apparently our house is only good to hunker down for the cold MN winters. We had 1 bat last winter (January 2010) and 1 thus far this winter (December 2010), but that doesn't mean we enjoy them sharing our habitat. Starting in April or as soon as it warms up enough that we aren't breaking laws those bats will be taken care of! And coming in April a nice, pretty new roof should be in the works. We have talked about how the roof would be nice to be taken care of before DuBabe arrives so that we can plan a little nicer.

Coming up here in April Mike and I are both planning separate trips. For his "guys-weekend" they are going upnorth to hang out and just have fun being boys (I will leave that statement up to your imagination). I will be heading down to Kansas City with Miss Kali Veerman and Miss Megan Buchholz for a wonderful "girls weekend" while we enjoy watching the Twins dominate the Royals (hopefully Michelle and Amanda will be joining us down there).

So here is to spring, the wonder that comes with Spring. How we are reminded of all things are made new! Please continue to pray for us and I guess specifically Thiessen as he is starting to notice the changes-we want him to continue to be part of the family and so the adjustments need to be made for him so as not to put DuBabe in danger.

Much love!

Amy (and Mike-technically)

Level 2

Well a lot has happened since our Feb. 1st ultrasound. A little over a week ago Mike and I received a phone call from the doctors. This is not a phone call you ever wish to receive, but the radiologist found something on the ultrasound that caused a concern. So we had to schedule a Level 2 Ultrasound. Since they do not do those here in Hutchinson, we went down to Edina last Tuesday (Feb. 15). The trip down was quiet as I was painfully nervous. Once we got down there we were informed that what the original ultrasound saw was a white mark on the heart. This could be a warning marker for down syndrome. Since we are choosing not to do the next procedure (it is minorly dangerous and the outcome doesn't really affect how we will treat this little guy) we won't know for sure. But the doctor we met with last week is not concerned, we have taken a blood test earlier in the pregnancy and this "marker" can be found in "normal" babies too, in fact it is more common in "normal" babies.

The ride home was way different! We were still quiet but not a nervous quiet rather a we need to tell everyone that was praying for the appointment what the outcome was. Then we stopped at Target and got to start registering! That was so exciting! Please continue to pray as we prepare our hearts to be parents and our home to welcome in baby Malachi in June/July.

Love,

The DuFrenes!

Malachi Douglas

Well yesterday Mike and myself went to the doctor for our ultrasound! According to the tech we are having a boy, now these aren't 100% accurate, but pretty close. We have settled as of now on Malachi Douglas! We are pretty pumped about it and cannot wait to meet the future sports fan! While at the doc's we got to watch him do flips and jumps-I made the joke that he was practicing flipturns for when he becomes an Olympic swimmer :)

Below is the profile picture that the Tech gave us!

A Sub-Zero Winter

Well it is January! Mike and I are waiting patiently for our niece, Avery, to arrive. She is due to come on January 24th but can really come any day now. I am so excited to become an Aunt! And Mike will make a really cool Uncle. We are just continuing in our own journey with our little one. On January 24th we have our next appointment with our doctor. There we will schedule our time for the next ultrasound and we'll be possibly able to find out what we are expecting to have. As of right now the we have a split jury on what the gender will be. Mike's parents each defending the other side. Mike and I have started the slow preparation for the baby's arrival. We are going through the room that will be his/hers and started preparing it. Our house has only 2 rooms so up until now we have used the future nursery as a storage room for Mike's old toy boxes from when he was just a tyke and as an office/spare bedroom. Basically it was a "I don't know what this room will be" room. So we are going through the boxes Mike's mom sent with us and organizing stuff so that we are ready when we are able to start painting and can really enjoy this process.

I guess that is why God had humans wait 9 months for this blessing to arrive. I mean it could literally take that long for most people to just wrap their minds around having a child, let alone prepare for them. But in the same breath I am surprised that we do have to wait, I am not an extremely patient person-I just want to meet this little one! It is really trying to see how my body is changing without the end in site as clearly as it will be in the next coming months. I, and I am sure Mike is too, am nervous, excited, feeling unprepared, all these emotions run through me on a very regular basis. Then you throw a job, family, all the rest on top and I can see that patience is what is being taught and learned right now.

So I am off my soap box and am ready to continue with my day. Please continue to pray for us as we go down this road and prepare for the biggest change our 25 years of life has ever experienced.

Love,

Amy and Mike!