We're always doing SOMETHING! Keep track of what we've been up to or what's coming up for us by checking this page.
EASTER 2005!!
March 26, 2005
We had an amazing time with all the Grahmann family kids and spouses at Steven's (Julie's brother) house in Eau Claire, WI. We dyed eggs, we got Easter baskets and made a great Easter meal complete with Spiral ham, Jello Fluff and all the fixins. The boys had a great time finding Easter eggs and not getting to eat the candy...maybe next year, guys. hee hee!
Our Trip to Galena, IL
March 2005
This was such a nice time for us to get away for a night. We have friends that have a timeshare, so we all went and had a great night. We swam in the pool, gave Sam a bath in the giant tub, and just hung out together. Our first family vacation was a hit!
Sam's First Haircut!!!!!!!!
February 2005
Sam's hair was ridiculously long, we can't beleive we waited so long to cut it. But we knew we couldn't do it ourselves, so our friend at Supercuts did an AWESOME job. Sam sat still (amazingly) and loved his animal print smock. He looked adorable.
Sam's Big Photoshoot
February 2005
Sam is walking now, which made this photos a big challenge, since all he wanted to do was NOT stand still! But they turned out super cute. Notice how he's saying that's he's "one". Hurray!
SAM IS ONE!!
January 21, 2005
We had a great time celebrating Sam's 1st Birthday with his family and friends. He wore a crown for about 5 minutes, he scarfed down his cake, he made a giant mess, and he loved being the center of attention all night. We are psyched to see what's in store for him this coming year!
Sam's First Christmas-es...
December 23-26, 2004
Sam had an amazing time during all 3 of the Christmases he had this year. He had a great time with Ryan and Julie on Christmas Eve-Eve (Dec.23) - he shared their roast dinner and hung his first ornaments on the tree. Then the next night he met Santa at the giant Haack family Christmas Eve event. He was not happy to meet Santa, that's for sure. But the rest of the night he was cute and bubbly, walking around comfortably in his socks and playing with new toys. Christmas morning at the Haacks he got a ton of great gifts and had fun opening every one. Then the next 2 days were spent at the Grahmann house with all of Julie's siblings, their spouses and Noah, his cousin. There was a lot of laughter and gift wrap and food and fun. It was incredible to watch him play and have a great time. AND THEN, at the Praksti Christmas, he got his very own Elmo piano which topped off all the celebrations. It was a busy and awesome time!
Sam's First Thanksgiving
November 25, 2004 (10 mths)
Sam had a great time with the Haacks on Thursday and the Grahmanns on Friday. He actually loved all the great food - he tried some turkey, some stuffing, some squash and even some pie. He was a trooper, staying in his chair and behaving like a gentleman for all the eating! He had a great time.
SAM IS WALKING!!!!!!!
November 9, 2004
Can you believe it???? Sam has been standing alone for a while now, but just one day he decides to stay up and walk to what he wants. It was a cool day, because we had our friends Steve and Kim over to hang out. Steve had something Sam wanted, so Sam stayed on his feet and took 2 steps over to him to get it. We all freaked out, which did kinda scare him a little, but we were so proud. It was fun to have friends there to share the excitement with us. He gets better and better every day. What a strong and good boy.
Say farewell....
November 2004 (10 mths old)
This month we had to say good-bye to our good friends the Coumerillhs. Madison is Sam's good friend and Marla was his babysitter 2 days a week all summer and fall. They are moving back to Missouri for a couple years and that means Sam lost a good buddy. We had a last visit together and the 2 kids were cute as a button together. THANK YOU MARLA AND MIKE FOR ALL YOU DID FOR US....
Halloween 2004
October 31, 2004, 9 mnths
Sam's first Halloween was spent all dressed up as a "Future Black Belt", and he wore a cute little Karate outfit. He was adorable! He didn't get any candy, and we actually had church that night, but it was fun to get him dressed up and go out!
How 'bout those Yankees?
October 2004, 9 months old
So, Julie is a HUGE Yankee fan, as is her dad, and Sam is still undecided. He did, however, look really cute in the outfit his Oma and Opa Grahmann bought him. We intended him to wear it for the World Series, but instead here he is wearing it in mourning when they got eliminated....
Fall is here...
October 2004, 8 months old
The end of September and beginning of October for us has been really exciting, as we welcomed a new member of our "team" into the world and celebrated Sam's cousin Noah's first birthday. Life is all around us even as we prepare for fall and the cold of winter.
"The Journey" Begins
October 2004
Since all of our teammates are here in WI now and we are all pretty settled in, we have officially begun our more regular church services and serving our communities. If you would be praying for us as we spend time going out into our neighborhoods to bring love to people, and as we meet on Sunday nights, that would be great. So far we have had a few visitors and we have gone out to love some people in an Assisted Living home. We are all learning how best to love the people around us and to bring Christ's love to people that we meet daily. We also have a church building in the works (right downtown Madison, across from Camp Randall joined to a Pizza Parlor -Urban Pizza), and that means work and leases and other exciting things. It also means that the vision for the church is really becoming more clear and we have a direction. We officially "launch" on October 31, so keep us in your prayers as we get ready to open our doors to people.
Ryan is 27!
September 11, 2004
This past Monday night we celebrated Ryan's birthday with our friends while enjoying the PACKER'S opening game!! The game was great and we had a great time together. Ryan really got to celebrate a lot, Alex and Erin also helped us celebrate when we saw them this weekend in MN. They have a new house and it's amazing! We got to stay there and have a birthday dinner with them. It's been a special birthday time for Ryan this year...
Things are coming together...
September 2004
The team for "The Journey" (our new church) is finally all here!!! We are ready to really begin ministering to our community and becoming a team that is reaching out to others for Jesus. Ryan and I are so happy to finally have something started and Sam is really getting to know everyone, too. We're beginning our services on Sunday nights at 5:30pm, so be thinking and praying for us then!
Also, anyone in the Madison area - you are welcome!!! Give us a call for more details! (845-5850)
Smile for the camera, Sam....
This month we finally took our "6 month" pictures at Sears with Sam. He was a perfect angel, and everyone at the place loved him and his new silly faces. It was a memorable experience, and we will enjoy looking at the pictures for years. Take a look at the PHOTO ALBUM page to see his modeling debut.
Summer is almost over??
August 2004
This summer has been one of our craziest and most difficult yet. We have been transitioning into our new home here in Verona for a couple months now, and we are almost into the swing of things. We have finished getting our home painted and we're all moved in, we have gotten into some routine with our new jobs, and Sammy has been very well-behaved with all the new friends and family he's been meeting! It's been busy around here, but we are eager to get started with our new church. Be checking the "Journey" website for updates on how our church plant is going!!
WE'VE MOVED!!!!
June 12, 2004
Well, it's official, the Haacks live in Verona, WI. Well, the Ryan Haack's that is. We gathered up friends and family, packed everything into trucks and vans and cars and unloaded it all here on Hemlock Drive. It's been a crazy time getting all the stuff in a logical place, but we feel like this is our home now, and we are here to start our new adventure. Julie even started her new job this week at "Distinctive Dentistry and Facial Aesthetics" (a cosmetic dentist office as a receptionist/hostess). It was rough to say good-bye to the life we left behind, but it's so awesome to finally be back in Madison. Our new life is all set to begin...
The "Brat Banquet" is an annual event that Julie started last year as a big fundraiser for the German American Partnership Program (GAPP) she ran at Wilmot High School. It's a night of eating Brats and other German foods, polka dancing, winning prizes, and overall fun for the kids involved in the Exchange Program. This was the last big event that she had to put together before she was officially resigned from her job as the Coordinator of the program. Now, everything is being passed on to her colleague and friend, Denise Bauer. It was a great night and Sammy had a great time with the kids and learning to polka! But it was bittersweet for Julie. She'll really miss being a part of these kids' lives and getting to take them overseas for an adventure of a lifetime. It's rough to be finished, but exciting that there are other adventures waiting....
BIG NEWS!!
May 15, 2004
If you haven't already heard, we are moving back to Madison, WI to help our friends Steve and Kim Cecil plant a new church!! It's going to be incredibly fun and difficult, and it means a BIG transition for us. It's a great story - how we heard from God and what our plans are - so feel free to write and ask us all about it! We are planning to move on June 15, 2004 (or so), and we are excited to start our new chapter. PLEASE BE PRAYING FOR US!!!!! (Also, go to www.thejourneycommunity.com for more info)
Julie's 1st Mother's Day!
May 9, 2004
This was an amazing day for Julie. Ryan and Paula (who came and spent the night) put Sam in his little green chair and cooked up an amazing breakfast in bed, which was exactly what she wanted. Then she just laid around and relaxed. Also, Paula brought Sam a "Hope College" onesie, which looks perfect on him. Watch out, Sam....there may be tulips in your future...
SO many babies!!
April 24
Our friend Brian Krause got married in March in California, but this weekend he and his new wife Andrea had a reception to celebrate. Almost all of our friends were there with all their babies!! It was fun to see everyone, and Sam actually the youngest of the babies there. He stayed pretty quiet, watching all the older babies and getting to know them. It will awesome for all these babies to grow up together and be friends!
Meeting Steve Cecil
May 2, 2004
Today we took Sammy on a great day trip to meet and hang out with Steve Cecil, our old youth pastor who lives in Seattle, WA. He's moving here with a couple people to start a really cool new church. Steve hadn't ever met Sam, and he couldn't get over that Ryan and I actually have a kid now! He knew us before this was even a possibility! Brian Krause and his wife were there, too, and Sam spent some time with the Oas's also. I think he and Krause may be becoming best friends... :)
Happy Belated Easter!
April 23-24
Since all of us were really busy during the ACTUAL Easter, all of Julie's family got together to celebrate this weekend. We dyed eggs, we watched Sam and Noah hang out and get to know each other, and we had an amazing Easter dinner complete with ham and all the side-dishes! It was great for us to be together, and we missed mom!
It's Opa's turn!
April 18-25
Julie's dad is FINALLY in town!! He had to go back to Ukraine before Sam was born, so this was the first time he got to spend with him! He just totally loves Sam's nose, and we had a great time showing him how sweet and content Sam is. We went out to dinner and introduced dad to COLD STONE ice cream (AMAZING), and then dad took Ryan to a Yankees/White Sox game. They lost, but the 2 guys had a great night. It was awesome having him here.
Billy's Confirmation
April 18, 2004
We spent the day with the HAACK'S because Billy was Confirmed at church! It was a really nice service, and Billy looked great in his white robe. We were all very proud to watch him publically confess his belief. And then we spend the rest of the day hanging out with all the relatives: Grandpa and Mary, Lou and Tom, Dick and Colleen, and Dan and Cindy. It was a great day.
Long time no see...
April 17, 2004
It's been a long time,but this Saturday we finally got to bring Sam to spend time with Karen and Eddie, Ryan's mom and half-brother. It was a great time just hanging out with them. Sam got so big since we'd seen them last, and he loved falling asleep in Karen's arms.
