Sweet Memories

Oh, Sweet Sweet Hannah girl. What a special blessing. Now held tight in the arms of your precious and wonderful Mommy and her sweet savior, Jesus. Your short four weeks in my life will forever change me. Your Mommy was my dear sweet friend who loved you and your sister so very much. She would snuggle you both close and sing you pretty songs. She loved you both more than life its self. Jordyn loved you too. Just the day before your tiny life was taken to be with Jesus, she was running through our house calling you her Nanny. Your Mommy is gonna be missed just as much as you are, so on days when she looks down and sees your Daddy and Sister being sad, give her an extra hug that day. She'll need it and so will you.

North Carolina and Virginia

Maymont Park in Richmond, Va. Papa tried to feed Marianne to the goats. Andrew actually touched one, but only one!
Rockin' it out with Uncle Brian. My sister and her hubby were such great hosts. They complied with most of Andrew's requests and thankfully left the air conditioning on since it was quite hot!
Treysen's graduation was what spurred this 8 day trip to the South. It was very fun to watch my oldest nephew graduate from High School. He's going to college and will soon have out his very own video game I'm sure! We are so proud of you, Trey!!
At the mall near my sisters house there was this great fountain area where kids could play. Andrew had a cup and wanted it filled up so he could dump the water on Nana's feet. Had so much fun and wanted to go every day. Good thing there's one similar her in Holland!
More water fun!
This was such a great trip. I enjoyed all of it except the part where we had to leave Daddy at home. I missed Paul and the kids did too, but I am so thankful he was willing to let us go. Also, a big thank you to Nana and Papa, who, without their help...I'd never had been able to go. 15 hours of driving with 2 little kids would have been impossible!

Happy Father's Day

I contemplated long and hard on who I should honor in my post today. . . My Daddy or my kids Daddy. I chose both. So here goes.

Dear Daddy,
Thank you for being my Dad. Thanks for choosing me. (He really did.) Thanks for taking such good care of my Mom. Thanks for loving her rotten children enough to call us your own. Also, you are the worlds greatest Papa. Thanks for loving my kids the way that you do!

To my baby Daddy:
You are an amazing husband and father...here's the top ten reasons why.
10. You taught Andrew to pee standing up.
9. You tolerate Marianne's big bows.
8. You love me first, always Mommy first.
7. You like to be with us.
6. You taught Andrew to smash spiders.
5. You like to snuggle...with all of us.
4. You understand when I've had a long day.
3. You play.
2. You desire for our kids to have a godly example of what a real man is, and strive to be that real man!
1. You change diapers, feed kids, dress kids, read to kids, and love Andrew, Marianne and me unconditionally.

Thanks for being you!

Family update

Hi everyone. So its been a while since I posted, but I've been on vacation. North Carolina and Virginia were wonderful, but more on that later this week. For now I've got an update to share with you about Lisa (our sister in law). A round of testing has been done and the results are not positive. We are not giving up hope, we refuse, but her cancer is back and growing. She has new tumors on her brain which are causing symptoms. She also has cancer on her bones in several spots. Please pray for the family. Jon, Lisa, Elizabeth and Katie. Appointments are made to discuss treatment options, but every time cancer returns, the options grow smaller in number. Thanks for your prayers.
Specific requests:
Jon-Work, that they would be understanding and supportive
Lisa-Little effects from steroid treatment (racing mind and extreme sleepiness)
Lizzy and Kate-Being shuffled during appointments ect. Understanding when Mom's not on her game
The rest of us-Doing whatever we can to help out while leaning on HIM not ourselves.

Boys vs. Girls

As a Mom of a boy and a girl, and the wife of a man, I've done some independent research on the differences of the genders. Here is what I've learned.
Boys are dirty---Girls pretend not to be
Boys think they can fly in the sky---Girls like to look at the sky
Boys can pee standing up---Girls can too, but its much more work
Boys think farting sounds tough---Girls think it sounds like a helicopter (Direct quote)
Boys think smashing bugs is cool---Girls think boys should do it for them
Boys hate clothes--Girls love them
Boys hate shoes---Girls love them
Boys think climbing things is an accomplishment---Girls think its dangerous
Boys make good sound effects---Girls don't
Boys have muscles---Girls have "squish" (Another direct quote)
Boys are fun---Girls are too! (just in a different way)

Poor baby!

I am pretty sure that anesthesia and babies shouldn't mix. Marianne had tubes put in her ears this morning. The poor little girl has had 5 ear infections now since January. In an effort to make her more comfortable, we handed her over to the little labor smurfs (you know all the medical professionals in the surgery area wearing blue) and watched the next 14 minutes drag by. I'm a wimp, an over protective mother and I'm proud of it! All went well in her surgery, but she sure gave a fight when it was time to wake up. Pretty sure they kicked us out as quickly as possible so as not to disturb the peace!
Here's to healthy ears!

If ya ain't Dutch....

You are still precious!! In your own little way! Even if your name is Andrew and you are a total stinker when you're Mom and Dad want to take your picture all dressed up to look like something you are not. The only way we could get this special Prince to pose for a picture with his little sister was if we told him he could make a "super silly face."

As pretty as the tulips are, they just don't hold a candle to this gem! She was so happy on this night! Not that I'm partial or anything, but DANG she's cute!!!
Our little Dutch Princess decided that it was much better to eat her wooden shoes then wear them. Why were we surprised by this, coming from the I'll-Put-Anything-In-My-Mouth-Just-To-See-What-Kind-Of-Germs-I-Can-Find Princess?
Pretty sure this isn't an innocent look. I'm guessing it was when he was telling our friend Jeremy, "Come!" Mind you, he was telling, not asking. Fortunately for Andrew, Jeremy thinks he's cute enough to follow.
Andrew sure enjoyed dancing with the Klompen Dancers. I'm pretty sure that the only reason he was dancing was for the laughs and smiles of all the wonderful silver haired people who found him "sweet and adorable."

So again I'm behind in posting pictures, but well....get over it! FYI for those who may think I'm a disturbed Momma, I did not actually read the book pictured in the previous post...it was for dramatic effect that I posted that picture.