Spring .....Where are you?

Well, well, well...........I (kevin) have noticed that my wife of almost 11 yrs has been a 3 day slacker with the BLOG thing. So, I conned her into giving me the "password" so that I could do a little update. I chose this picture to give me fun thoughts of spring. I do believe that it will arrive some day. I am getting a little antsy to get the car out and let Lyn take it for its "First Ride of The Spring."

Gotta Go.............bye bye

me

Pengi and the Easter dress

First things first....I was just looking at the first picture in my last post and thought that I better make sure that everyone knows that Tyler gets plenty to eat! Tyty is just ALL muscle, Kevin is constantly amazed at what that boy can do because he is so ripped (secretly Kevin and I are both jealous of his 6-pack).

OK, now about the Easter dress... Most of you would probably guess that I am not really into all the fluff of buying new outfits for Easter. I just can't see spending money on that kind of stuff. I grew up just fine with out that luxury, so I know my kids can too.

This year however, Jilli had received a beautiful dress from my brother and his wife for her birthday. It is one of those dresses that I just can't let her wear (it is a dry clean only dress), but it was perfect for Easter. We had to add a little sweater (which I already had) because it was so cold, but otherwise it was a perfect Easter dress.

I tried to take pictures of it so we can remember the year that she had a beautiful Easter dress, but she wouldn't put down my penguin. Yes, I said mine...

Pengi was mine when I was a little girl he is very special to me. She discovered him in her closet. She must have climbed up the the wire closet organizer all the way to the top and found Pengi (he was on the highest shelf). I thought that maybe Pengi fell down. I couldn't figure out how he fell, but how else can I explain my daughter having him. Well, I found out the other day that he didn't fall.

I walked into Jilli's room to find her climbing up the wire shelves to get to her "pretties". She took a box of ponytail holders and then climbed back down, holding on with only one hand. When she got down she said "I careful Mommy". She was so proud of herself that she made it all the way down without spilling one ponytail holder! I was reminded of one of my favorite parts of Sound Of Music, when the children tell Maria that they can climb up to her room and Louisa can do it with a whole jar of spiders in her hand!

I love you my little Louisa!

Blessings!

Battling Tyler

Tyler...When I think about him I just want to smile. He is very challenging, yet VERY loving. He loves to care for me and Jillian. I often remind the boys that it is their job as men to protect Jillian (and I), they are our little Champions. Tyler takes this role very seriously.

If Kevin and I are messing around (yes, we still like to act like kids sometimes), Tyler will be the first one trying to blow out Kev's knee (or something...). He isn't bothered with the size difference, he attacks with vengeance. He has become quite the little fighter. That little stinker usually wins all the Star Wars "fights" we have. He has this strategy of going low and in for the kill right away. Lately he has begun to hoard the light sabers when in battle. The reasoning for this is when his blade gets cut off, he just grabs another one...he will naturally out lasts the other person. He is very smart...isn't he!

Oh yeah, he usually fights with two light sabers at the same time...I only get one. How is that for fair??

Blessings!

My Baby

I knew this day was coming....my baby is losing the last of his babyhood (is that even a word?). His first baby tooth fell out last night.

We were all sitting at the table (including Uncle Chris and cousin Abbie), for dinner. Micah had taken a bite of dinner and he got this horrible look on his face. He took this hard thing out of his mouth and handed it to Kevin. Kev looked at it, put it on his plate and said "what is that?" I looked and said it's his tooth! We all started clapping and making a big deal out of the whole thing and Micah pipes in (in his very Micah way) and said...."there's just one problem Daddy...that wasn't the tooth that was loose." We all started cracking up! So we looked and the tooth right next to the one that fell out was the one that was loose.
I, of course, started thinking about what this all means...my little baby boy (who wasn't so little 10lbs 5oz) was taking another step in growing up. I did start to get a little teary eyed about the whole thing (Kev and Chris didn't miss that one)... Anyway, we put that little tooth under the pillow and the Tooth Fairy brought him a dollar (when I was a kid it was only .25, so I thought he was doing good until I found the going rate is closer to $5). Well in this house the going rate is going to stay $1!! The Tooth Fairy can't afford three kids at $5 a tooth! You do the math!

Blessings!

What is up with this???

To say that this snow is slightly depressing is putting it mildly. When the kids and I were doing our morning errands, it started snowing. Tyler said "Mom, we were supposed to go camping soon, why is it snowing again." I know in Michigan we should be used to these last of the season snowfalls, but after a winter of above average snowfall and below average temps, I think we did our "winter time" for this year, so this is a bit of a downer for us. Just yesterday the kids were playing in the sandbox, now their sand toys are being covered by snow.

Stay warm!

Blessings!

A Week Without Maralisa

On Monday's and Friday's we have a little friend come and spend about an hour with us so her Mommy can workout at the gym down the street. Maralisa has very quickly become the highlight of our Monday's and Friday's. She is probably the happiest baby I have ever seen. She just sits and smiles. The only thing that I have found that she doesn't like is being away from the kids. It truly is a joy to have her visit us every week.

This week Monday, Emily called and said that she had so much work she wouldn't be bringing Maralisa over. Before the kids went to bed tonight, we talked about tomorrow being Friday and Maralisa would come visit us and they all went to bed happy that our little friend would be coming for a visit. Well, Emily called a few minutes ago and said that Maralisa's big brother didn't have school tomorrow so they were going to have a family day. Oh boy...this news is going to break some little hearts in this house tomorrow morning (I did of course inform Emily of this).

I guess I don't get my baby fix tomorrow and I was sooooo looking forward to that. Last week Tuesday I was at my friend Jen's and I got to hold her baby for about 15 min and it was so wonderful. I miss that stage a lot. I love the way babies smell and the little sounds they make. I know what you are all probably thinking...the answer is NO.

Maybe if I had a different body (and husband). With the diabetes, pregnancy is very hard on my body. I forget so quickly that I had to take my blood sugar at least 8 times a day give myself at least 4 injections of insulin. Deal with passing out from low blood sugar (in Target....if you want free food and pop, this is the way to get it). Ultrasounds, Doctor appts, and Non-stress tests, twice a week. It is a full time job. Plus, my Doctor strongly recommended that I be done. My body, he said, would get worse with every pregnancy. Lets not even mention that Kevin was very happy with two boys. Jilli was what we call God's extra blessing...the icing on the cake.

In a perfect world I think I would have loved to have 4 kids. I remember how much fun it was growing up with my brother's and sister, but my perfect world is not God's perfect plan for me. I am very content with my three healthy, beautiful children....and Maralisa on Monday's and Friday's.

Blessings!

Time Consuming

Kevin is working on our taxes and since I was not blessed with the business mind Kevin was, I am the gofer(this is why I have been a slacker blogger again). I have small jobs, like how much did we spend on medical stuff and how much did we give back to God. I also run to get things that he needs and then sit by him for when he has a question that I probably won't be able to answer. I am so thankful that he is gifted in this area (thanks Grandpa Koorndyk). He doesn't procrastinate (like I probably would) and he works hard on it until it's done. I would have included a picture of him hard at work, but he isn't so happy to have his picture taken when he is in his "lounging clothes". So you can enjoy one of Jilli working on the computer.

The Circus came to town

This Thursday Kevin's parents took us to the circus (minus Kevin, he had to work:-). This was the first time our children have gone to the circus. It was quite an experience. From seeing an elephant up close for the first time, to seeing people flying through the air. Of course there is a multitude of "toys" that are being sold that the kids want. Thankfully they know that if Mommy says "no", that is too much money, they don't ask for it again.

Their favorite act was the monkeys. They thought that they were so silly. They loved watching them jump. Tyler was just sitting there giggling at them. I couldn't take my eyes off of him!

The last act was a 65 yr old man who was shot out of the canon. It was full of suspense, as the canon went higher and higher in the air. Then we silently waited for the loud boom. He sailed through the air and landed in a net. The kids thought it was so cool.

To top the morning off, Poppop made a huge hit when he left for a few minutes then came back with cotton candy for everyone. Believe it or not, some of the cotton candy did make it home for Daddy to eat too. It was a day full of excitement and new experiences. They are already asking when they can go to the circus again.

Blessings!

Birthday Party

I have been going 90 miles an hour this week. I haven't had any time to post. So, while Kevin is installing our new microwave (old one puked) I thought I would quick share some pictures from Micah's Birthday Party.

It was a smaller crowd than usual, which was kind of nice and made for a more relaxing time (everyone had a place to sit). Spider Nala was a big hit and even though it had been frozen for 2 weeks, it tasted great. I look forward to sharing more of what we did this week!

Blessings!

A Boy's Initiation

Last week we watched two neighbor children for a short time. One of the kids was a 11 month old boy...

Being that Hudson comes from a home with a sister that ruled the house for 3 1/2yrs before Hudson's older brother was born, there house, has more girly stuff. Where our house was ruled by boys for 3 1/2 yrs before Jilli was born, so you guessed it, we have BOY TOYS! Tyler must have realized this and quickly took Hudson under his wing to guide and teach him the rules of boyhood.

Rule #1... You must learn about the force. It is a basic lesson of survival in our house. Without it you will surely be destroyed. First boy toy in Hudson's hand??? A Lightsaber!

Rule #2... You must be able to adapt if you don't have a lightsaber (or the big kids are using them all). You must find something that is long and looks kind of like a lightsaber and has a double life of a bat (another good thing for boys to be comfortable using).

Rule #3... Don't forget rule #1 or #2

I think by the smile on Hudson's face he was very happy with the time Tyler took to instruct him on the fundamentals of boyhood. Thank you Tyler for your very caring personality. You can see when people need just a little extra help and you are willing to take the time to help them. That is a God given Gift! I praise Him because you are fearfully and wonderfully made! I Love You!

Blessings!

Ringy Bear

Tyler has been asked to be a ring bearer for my cousin, Richard's wedding in Tenn. Amazingly, he has agreed to this, with a requirement that he is called "Tyler" not "Ringy Bear". With Tyler being my most independent, strong-willed and unpredictable child, this should be a fun adventure.

Wedding boot camp is going to start today. I have received the "Stringent Requirement List" for the Tyler (aka ring bearer). He gets to walk down the aisle by himself, which in his world, is MUCH better than walking down with a girl. He can hand the rings over to who ever looks less scary (groom or best man), walk nicely to a family member waiting on the side of the church and then sit down. Oh, and he has to have his picture taken, smile nicely and not make goofy faces or scowl! I am prayerfully optimistic about the outcome! I will look forward to posting on this very historic event the first week in Aug.

Just so that all of you know where Tyler is starting from....here are some before pictures. I wanted to take a picture of him helping me make muffins, so.....he put a chocolate chip on his forehead and smeared it to be funny. That's MY TYLER!!

Blessings!

Micah

Tonight we are finally having Micah's birthday party that was rescheduled from the rescheduled date. Poor kid has been patiently waiting for 3 weeks to celebrate his birthday.


I am again reminded how precious life is and that we have to let go of the things that constantly call our name (laundry, vacuuming, bathrooms, dusting) and spend time with our family (like playing star wars with Tyler for 2 hours) and Celebrating my son's Birthday. We are more than blessed to have three healthy, happy, very active children.

This past week my very good friend lost her Grandfather, Kevin's friend (and partner in crime at work) lost his Father and Kevin's Grandma K. had been in the hospital teetering on the edge of Heaven (thankfully she is like her cat and has 9 lives). Grandma has rebounded and is doing much better. I guess this is the reason for the reflecting (more than usual) these days.

We think that we are so strong and almost invincible. We know there is death, but lets not think about that. The problem with that is that we are all running a race, but with every race there is a finish line. Some of us might reach that finish line before others...the question is are you running a good race and are you ready to finish? Let it be said of me that....

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--" 2 Timothy 4:7-8





Blessings

The Look of a Michiganian

Ahhhh, the sun. Something that us Michiganians don't see very often in the winter time. Here is the look that we have when we are told that we are going to see the sun TWO days in a row. What a blessing it was to see the sun again today. Gets me motivated to do some deep cleaning, partly because I can see all the finger prints and partly because it gets me excited for spring and open windows and CAMPING!!

Have a Great Sunny Day!

Blessings!

Just Hangin' Around

The boys were over at a friends house playing and Jilli was very upset that she couldn't go too. She thinks that what ever the boys do, she can too. I was trying to show her that it's fun just hangin' around with Mommy at home...I just wasn't cool enough I guess, then Daddy came home. Daddy makes everything all better. He showed her how to literally hang out!

Blessings!

(on any posting, you can click the image to see it better)

Great Wolf Lodge

Tyler, Marissa, Logan, Micah, Jillian and Carter

We had a wonderful time at Great Wolf Lodge. The only negative thing was that my camera WOULD NOT WORK! I have no idea what was wrong with it, Kev and I tried everything to get that thing to work and it wouldn't. So all the pictures are from Kevin's cousin Heidi's camera.

The kids all had a ball, riding all slides. The boys are now big enough and brave enough to go down the tube slides by themselves. They are spreading their wings and branching out a little more every year. I am sure Jilli won't be far behind!

We do have one funny story. On Friday, after swimming the morning away. We decided to go back to our room shower and get ready to come back home. I was in the shower helping the kids take showers one at a time. Micah was just about done and I was getting out when the fire alarm started going off. Kevin had the other two kids dressed already, so it was just Micah and I that needed to put clothes on. We had no idea what was going on and not wanting to take a chance, we decided that we better get out. So Micah and I are trying to throw our clothes on...have you ever tried to put clothes on quickly when your body is all wet?? I was having flashes of me running out of the hotel with nothing but the hotel towel on....and we all know how big those towels are!!! The good news was that it was a false alarm, AND we found that out before I went streaking through the hotel!

All in all it was a wonderful break for our family. The kids are already planning our annual trip for next year!

Blessings!