Day by Day

Cell Phone Pic

2012-01-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

We saw this on our way home from Caleb's piano lesson in NW Grand Rapids this afternoon. We pulled over to take the picture and stare at frosty for a minute. One lady was passing in her van and she lifted her hands off the wheel to cheer and laugh. Another lady walking past took pictures at a few different angles, and a bus driver smiled and turned her head to look too.
I think it is so cool, since you will notice there is no snow left on the ground. I wonder where they got the snow? or if it is snow packed around something?

Can I go outside too?

2012-01-24T12:39:00.001-05:00

Quotable

2012-01-22T16:36:00.001-05:00

Tiana was remembering how she took my king in checkers
I said "Mom's dumb."
She said "No you're not. Well, I don't know what to say. You're not dumb, but I don't know if you're smart?"

Winter Wonderland

2012-01-13T10:32:00.002-05:00

Two days ago the kids were rollerblading without coats, and now winter is here!

Jude always wears sunglasses outside

knee deep in snow

Caleb tried to make a snowball, but it wasn't packing snow.
The kids played in the snow right after breakfast, and I worked in the house. I intended to do school but decided a snow day would be a good break for the kids and myself.
Rob took the kids tobogganing/snowboarding after his class, so they were spoiled

Recess Time Rollerblading

2012-01-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

rollerblading in January

Tiana's arms are constantly circling as she goes down the sloping sidewalk

loving the weather!

steam coming off the mailbox

Caleb showing some good form

Tiana showing some not so good form

she's 10 months already!

Jude drawing circles. He might be a lefty?

Tiana Quotables

2012-01-09T16:56:00.002-05:00

"In balleret they go like this and spin on one leg"

"I like 7-Up, Sprite, and Canada-Up"

Tiana was looking for the book of Jude in "the table of continents" last night.

VanDood Family Christmas

2012-01-03T16:37:00.000-05:00

It is rare to have the VanDood siblings all together in Ontario, since half of them live in the States (South Carolina, Texas and Michigan) Nick and Anita were missing this year, but we did talk to them on skype. This was also the first Christmas without Dad present.

The cousins got to decorate gingerbread men,watch Tintin, play with a suitcase full of playmobil that Christopher and Sarah brought, and eat pizza!

Kezia popped her first tooth in the bottom middle of her mouth. Can you see it?

Mom was not feeling well, so we tried to keep the kids playing downstairs. Each of them received a book and toy from Mom. We sang a few Christmas carols and enjoyed eachothers company.

cousin Hannah

Jude the Dude & a Quotable

2012-01-02T15:56:00.002-05:00

Jude is Mr. Independent. Every morning he runs to the bathroom, takes off his dry pull-up and gets himself dressed. Everything ends up going on backwards, but he's not quite three and a half. He has been toilet trained since around his third birthday. It took many months of training like it did with my other two, but I don't consider them trained until they go on their own. Having only one child in diapers makes life much simpler.

I said in a recent post that Jude is miserable! I am wondering if his irritability has something to do with a gluten allergy? He is generally happy, but there are times when it is very hard to snap him out of his grumpy mood. We are planning to get him tested this year (on one of our trips back home) It would just be a simple blood test to see if his blood has anti-gliadin antibodies After this you can do a biopsy or DNA testing to determine a gluten allergy, but with Tiana we simply put her on a gluten free diet.

He has a defiant streak which rears it's head multiple times a day. We deal with it and he is repentant. These are tough days in a three year olds life (and his parents) He feels like he has zero control over his circumstances and tries to have some bit of control. We try to mold him and train him in the fear of the Lord. If he can't or won't submit to his parents how can we expect him to submit to God's holy law later in life?

I still put Jude down for a nap every afternoon. Alone time is good for everyone. Sometimes he falls asleep and other days he just reads or plays in bed. He cries every time, but he actually craves that quiet time and after a few minutes I hear him reading happily.

He comes up with the silliest things. It is his age.
In the van Caleb said something about Jude's age and Jude replied with "I am three, you know da rule!"
Right now he just told me he is drawing "another take heed to his wills" Do you remember memorizing but not understanding Psalters as a kid? I do. I think I will explain it to him now.....

Luiting Family Christmas

2011-12-23T12:16:00.001-05:00

Friday night we opened gifts with my family. Mom bought each of the eight grandkids a gift, and they checked out their stockings. Then all nine siblings and Dad and Mom did our $30 gift exchange.

Esme opening her little pony set

Tiana's hello kitty lego set

Mia's Guess Who? game

Caleb's playmobil hunting set & Jude's lego

Mom's clock

PJ's for Shaylynn

Elise's gift from Emily

These four girls were always in front of the person opening their gift, so Grandpa sat them all down gently

My gogo purse insert. It makes switching purses easy. Thanks Kara

Erin's big fat wallet from me

Kristen opening her gift

The girls travelling around the room watching

Dan's gift - sweet wrapping job Kristen!

What are they?

Oh, they're Crocs!

Mel's blow dryer

Derek had to work for his present

Tiana's cupcake piggy bank, can you call it that if it's not a pig?

Sinterklaas Came Early....

2011-12-08T20:28:00.004-05:00

...two nights early

Saturday night we lit the candles

and let the kids open their gifts

Kezia got her own laptop (she loves our ipad)

Caleb, Tiana and Jude each got a playmobil set and Asterix books to share

It was a fun night of setting up playmobil and drinking root beer floats

Lately......

2011-12-01T19:55:00.007-05:00

Caleb loves layering t-shirts and reading Geronimo Stilton books lately. He is a master at getting things done! He is quick at school, he whizzes through his 14 piano songs, runs to do the recycles/garbage everyday, and clears his dishes from the table promptly. This sounds all good, but often he'll run to the other end of the house to get something for me and come back with nothing because he didn't wait to hear the details of the instruction.

Tiana moves at a totally different pace in life. She needs to be told everything more than once. She gets moody and whiny about schoolwork and has trouble focusing on the task at hand. She is very patient and helpful with Kezia and she is handy in the kitchen so if she gets through school she will make a good wife!
She reads out loud wherever she is. We hear her reading in bed every night.(she has a hard time reading silently) She just started reading the Boxcar Children book #1, and plans to read them all in proper order.
Yes, new pants are on order. They should arrive any day now from Children's Place.

Jude trying out Caleb's new snowboard bindings (our Black Friday deal)

Jude keeps himself busy doing his school game (mighty mind), or playing ipad games. He feels ignored while we do school, so I try to spend one on one time with him playing farm or playmobil . It often turns into him telling me how to play or him playing solo anyways, so I think a walk outside or a trip to the store might make him feel more loved. He is going through 'terrible threes' lately. Everything is bad and he is quite disagreeable.

Lately, Kezia loves crawling around in circles: from the living room to the dining room, through the kitchen and back to the living room. She stops to see if there are any crumbs under the table, or any pencils under the school desk, or to check if Mom left the tupperware cupboard open for her. If she does happen to find a pencil, eraser or little pieces of paper to eat, she is picked up and plopped in her playpen. She usually doesn't protest too loudly.
She has had a cold on and off (mostly on) for the last five weeks. Today she is coughing and snotty again. Everytime I think she is finally over this cold it reappears.
She has been gnawing on her finger for months, making me think she's teething but so far not one single tooth has come through.
I have started feeding her pablum daily again. I started it halfheartedly, so she has only gone through two boxes in 3 months. She wasn't too interested, so much of that went down the sink. I might just skip the grains (because of allergies in our family) and go right to veggies/fruits now.
She will be 9 months soon and she is not sleeping through the night. My other three were sleeping 12 hours at a few months old. I blame it on her cold (she was badly congested weeks ago) but I think I was tougher on my other kids. I do try to let her cry for a bit before getting her and nursing her, but it seems easier to just nurse her quickly.
She weighs 18.4lbs on our digital scale
That's all for now......

Freezer Applesauce

2011-11-25T20:36:00.001-05:00

I do not can or freeze anything else, but applesauce is the one thing I find rewarding and oh so tasty. I bought a bushel of Ida Reds and Galas weeks ago and left them in the garage until I had time to process them. Last year I only did one bushel, but once you get going it doesn't take much longer to do two. Monday morning I woke up and decided it was a good day. The kids got a day off school and were actually a big help. We soaked the apples in a sink full of water with a 1/4 cup vinegar to remove the pesticides. (not intestines as Tiana accidentally said) It worked well, the apples came out squeaky clean and chemical free! Jude helped me fill up the sink with apples and Caleb moved them to the next sink to rinse them.

Tiana helped me quarter the apples until the last one was sliced (no need to remove the core or peel)

We boiled them with a splash of water until they were mush, about 20 mins

and then cranked them through the wonderful Victorio strainer. I borrowed my Mom's strainer again this year, but I am always looking for one at garage sales. We let the sauce cool a bit and then scooped it into freezer bags

I only had a few containers handy, so most of it went into freezer bags. I much prefer scooping into a container, so I will start collecting for next year. Notice the one lonely apple on the table? It was forgotten. Now that the kids are more able to help, I might consider freezing or canning more foods.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-23T17:19:00.000-05:00

Our Monkey

2011-11-21T16:18:00.000-05:00

Hello, Kezia here. I love crawling around my house

I try to stand up in my crib. I can do the other side but this one's tricky

I can get up the bottom step no problem, but the next one is a bit of a stretch. I'll keep trying....

I found apples in the living room so I had to taste them

I keep myself busy jumping while Daddy works in his office. It's good exercise!

and sometimes I'm allowed in the playroom if all the little stuff is off the floor.

Are my kids born again?

2011-11-19T13:14:00.012-05:00

How much does our own experience shape our view of the covenant? I am going to take a moment to paint an exceedingly rosy picture of my home church, one that admittedly does NOT tell the whole story. Some might find this picture “proud,” but please realize that I am painting it for a reason…

I come from a church that has been blessed in many ways. In this church of about 300 people it is quite normal for large families to have every one of their children, at least externally, to grow to be an “upstanding” Christian. Faithful Sunday school teachers taught us we must repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ from as early as I can remember. We were blessed with ministers who preached the gospel plainly. Kids grew up believing that they were Christians from the earliest age. They of course went through stages of rebellion at times, but for many this rebellion was relatively “tame,” or at least carefully hidden. Many mothers prayed as only godly mothers can, and a good number of fathers were the kind of strong characters that a young person needed. In the past 15 or so years, a remarkable number of young men from this church have gone on to become Reformed ministers and leaders. Many have been involved in missions, several lead or are involved in significant para-church organizations, there are those that have become notable Christian voices in the media and politics. A similar pattern seems to be true of many faithful Reformed churches.

Now, anybody who knows my home church well will probably think that I am painting an exceedingly rosy picture, and they are correct. There have been failings, weaknesses, and regrettable episodes in the history of the church. But my question is, when families and churches are blessed so abundantly, as I believe we have been, how does this affect our beliefs? This is a church that is not accustomed to seeing radical conversions. Rather, conversion seems to be a kind of a slow and steady “norm.”

But in the past few years, I have been exposed to what seems like a different emphasis. For example, in a local church, the following was preached:

“Every baptized child is going to hell, unless they are born again. Every single one.”

This language, admittedly, is a little jarring for someone from my background! But the question we must ask is, “is this true?” The answer is yes. It is true. There will be no unregenerate people in heaven. Assuming one has reached the age of discretion, if there are no signs of spiritual life in a covenant child, we should be very afraid that they are on the path to destruction. If you yourself have no signs of spiritual life, do not presume that your baptism is your ticket to heaven. (That goes for “baptists” as well!)

I myself have not realize often enough that the covenant comes with both blessings and curses. The covenant is a blessing, scripture gives much hope for the children of godly parents (Matthew 19:14, also see 2 Samuel 12:23, 1 Corinthians 7:14). I believe that godly parents need not fear that their small children are unregenerate. (See Canons of Dort 1.17 and the liturgical form that the FRC uses for the Administration of Baptism) We may have confidence in God’s covenant promises, and we surely can plead on them! Yet this does not give the church the right to presume that every baptized member is automatically on the narrow way. Unrepentant covenant members live under terrible curses. (Hebrews 6:6-8, Hebrews 10:26-27) Many have fallen away, and it is a miracle when when anyone is saved!

Though I believe that a balanced covenant view was taught in my home church, I also think that experience has had a powerful effect on my views. Especially covenant theology, and views of baptism, seem to be particularly susceptible to being shaped by our history or emotional “baggage.” In many cases, the Lord uses these experiences to shape us in good ways, but we must also step back at times and evaluate if our beliefs are truly rooted in the Word of God. We must make sure that being blessed does not lull us to sleep. We also must make sure that the pain of seeing rebellion does not cause us to belittle God’s promises. Are my beliefs imbalanced because of environment and experience? Probably more often then I would like to admit. Again and again, I need to be reminded to go back to the objective truth of God’s Word.

Regardless, we must faithfully teach our children. We must ask our children and ourselves those ultimate questions: Do you understand how God in his perfect holiness looks upon you and your sin? Do you see your need for and do you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? Is there evidence that you are seeking to live for God’s glory with the help of the Holy Spirit? If so, to God be the glory, if not, “...the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

- Rob

The View from Here

2011-11-15T11:24:00.001-05:00

Tiana and the neighbor girl on our front yard

Her and her brother come to play often

Notice the sidewalks - I love that barrier for Jude

Tiana Quotables

2011-11-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

"On dates are you supposed to talk about how was your day and stuff like that, cause that's what Daddy did?" Tiana after her first Daddy/Daughter date

I left my purse at the St.Thomas church and realized it at the border.
Tiana said "They will just put it on the loser table"

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November

2011-11-04T19:18:00.014-05:00

I don't blog often, but I noticed this trend and thought it was worth thinking about - Rob.

Perhaps you have noticed the strange masks that Occupy Wall street protestors, members of the computer hacker network “anonymous,” and Halloween trick-or-treaters have been wearing? They look something like this:

These are known as “Guy Fawkes” masks. There is an interesting story behind these masks, and it exposes the darker spiritual side of the current protests against the “establishment.”

Guy Fawkes was an English Roman Catholic who fought for Spain against the Dutch Protestants in the 80 years war. After the Spanish lost the war, he was determined to advance the Roman Catholic cause. So Fawkes joined a plot to kill King James I of England, hoping that the young Princess Elizabeth would become a Roman Catholic “puppet” Queen in his place. The plotters deposited 36 barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament House, and Guy Fawkes was given the task of guarding the explosives on the night of November 4, 1605. An anonymous letter exposed the plot, and Fawkes was discovered guarding the gunpowder. If it was successfully exploded the next day, it would have killed King James, the Queen, and possibly the entire English parliament. Fawkes and other conspirators were executed for treason.

King James was spared, during his reign the King James Version of the Bible was published, and the Puritans were given increasing freedom to teach and preach the gospel. In 1606, the English Parliament passed into the law that the 5^th of November was to be remembered as a special day of thanksgiving for God's providential sparing of the king.

Celebrations of the event became crass over time. Guy Fawkes, dressed elaborately, and later with the mask on, was often burned in effigy. Songs were sung, some quite crude, with the line "Remember, remember, the fifth of November." This is still done in some English towns to this day on the 5th of November. Interestingly, it is said that the slang term “guy” comes from this tradition, at one time referring to overdressed men.

But why are socialist revolutionaries today adopting Guy Fawkes' likeness?

The stylized mask emerged into popular culture when Guy Fawkes became a staple “superhero” representing revolution in theatrical productions, literature, and eventually comic books. In our day, the popular 2006 movie “V for Vendetta” is a post-modern take on the Guy Fawkes theme. This is a movie I have not seen, but did read a “Christian” review about it. V for Vendetta is the futuristic story of a socialist revolutionary who fights against a conservative British totalitarian regime using terrorism. This main character known as “V” identifies with Guy Fawkes as his hero, and wears a “Guy Fawkes” mask to cover the wounds that have been inflicted on him by the regime. His goal is to achieve freedom for oppressed Muslims, homosexuals, and illegal immigrants. The film glorifies extreme violence, torture, and terrorism as necessary means to achieve change and destroy the establishment. The oppressive totalitarian leader is “subtly” identified by the well worn Bible that sits on his desk and the Christian rhetoric used by his regime.

This movie, along with the current protests, are attacks on the Puritan foundation that lies beneath the flowering of Western civilization in Great Britain and America. The ethos of conscientious working and living is traded for utopian socialist ideals. "Evangelicalism" is seen as the enemy of progress.

So, knowing this, what should we do about it?

The answer is not “…get a job, slob.” The answer is not to squash lawful protests or to shout louder than others. The answer is not the next great “conservative” politician. It begins with humbly admitting our sinfulness, and in examining the shortcomings of the present economic system. But the ultimate answer is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The answer for all of us is “Repent, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” Let us demonstrate that living and working to the glory of God, and for the good of our neighbor, out of thankfulness for God’s grace, is a sure foundation for life on this earth.

Quotables

2011-11-04T18:53:00.003-05:00

Jude is three months past his third birthday, and he challenges everything we say, or at least half of what we say. The quotables below show an attitude, but are laughable because he apologized after saying them. He knows he is not the boss (since we tell him regularly) but he still tries to have some control over his life.

"I command you!" Jude telling me to zip up his coat.

"I can't use that toothpaste it has two colours!"
I use it so you can use it too
"No, I don't use toothpaste with two colours. It has pink and blue"

oh, and a few new rhyming nicknames for us
"Mum Fum"
"Daddy Faddy"

Around the House

2011-11-01T14:25:00.001-05:00

Jude working on his school - the Mighty Mind game

She's on the move

Kezia is teething (notice she's biting her lip) and has an awful cold. Tiana is a great little Mom to her

Friday we took a feild trip to Meijer Gardens with the cousins

Tiana watching her Bob Jones English lesson online

Tidbits of late

2011-10-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

The first two weekends of October brought family from Ontario for a baptism and a sisters' weekend of shopping!

This past weekend we finally went to St.Thomas. It's been over two months since I've seen my family. We have been settling in our new place and getting into the swing of school again.

We are into week eight of Bob Jones online school. I could write a whole post on what I think of it, and how it is working for our family. Instead, I will just say that I am happy with the change of curriculum, but It takes a lot more time than Sonlight did last year. Each year gets harder as the kids age and little siblings are added to the mix.

I experimented with different ways of hair cleansing. I tried a baking soda paste to clean my hair and lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to condition my hair. I did it just shy of a month, with a cheater wash of shampoo once in the middle. It left my hair feeling a bit crunchy and not so clean. It looked clean, but didn't feel soft or clean, so I am back to shampooing my hair.

I made my own powder laundry soap. It removed a poop stain on the first load I tried, so I will keep using it.

I cook everything in the crock pot lately. Beef stew, pulled pork, chicken breasts, you name it. Anything will come out moist in a crock pot, and tender is how we like it. And it is so convenient (if you remember in the morning) I am trying to post a meal plan so my family can see what is for supper, and they get to chose a meal
once a week too.

I am washing dishes by hand, since there is no dishwasher in this house. You sure have to keep on top of it or the dish you need is always in the wrong sink.

Rob is the middle of reading week, which is supposed to be a break, but he can be seen in his office with earphones on day and night. I am so glad that he is here in body, but he's always so busy. Aren't we all?!

Caleb and Tiana are learning piano through the simply music program. I drop them off every Friday for a half hour lesson. That is the extent of our extracurricular activities this year. We have done gymnastics, soccer, and Monday school in previous years, but each year we chose just ONE thing.

Jude is the best little helper in the house. He clears the table for me and brings things to their right places. He is happy to help because he wants a job to do while the older two school.

Kezia is perfecting her army crawl, refusing formula, cutting her eye teeth, enjoying the jolly jumper, and she is the sweetest joy of our life.

Quotables

2011-10-13T07:47:00.003-05:00

"I think we're going to Art Prize tonight Caleb, that will be more fun than...."
"losing a lego competition" Caleb finished the sentence for me.

"Indeed, we don't need a Tiana" - Jude
Oh yes, we do need a Tiana - Me
"we need a little Tiana!" - Jude

After singing the abc's Jude says over and over "That's how Esme learns her wedders!" I tell him to repeat the abc's after me, and he says "I figger out my wedders a different way, that's how Esme learns her wedders"

We Moved

2011-09-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

After three years on Matilda St. we moved to a home on Worcester Dr. It is still just minutes from church and a few minutes closer to the seminary. We love the location!

We have been here for two weeks, and we are enjoying a bit more space in the home and we especially love the neighborhood. We go for nightly walks with the family. We walk, and the kids bike ahead of us. The kids are thrilled with this new freedom. Matilda St. didn't have sidewalks. We rarely took the kids for bike rides because sharing the road with cars made me nervous, especially with a girl who doesn't use her brakes!

Rob is in his fourth and final year at the seminary, so was it really worth it to move for the remaining months? OH YES is was! It was a ton of work to de-clutter, pack, and move all the boxes here, but we are happy we did it. The home is furnished with three couches, a long kitchen table, four bunk beds and four dressers. We are storing what little furniture we own in the garage for now. I think of it as a half move - we are halfway packed for our next move.

the dining room with the school desk tucked under the window

We also gained a fourth bedroom, (which Rob uses as an office) a great neighborhood, appliances that work, a bathroom with legroom, a larger living room and a backyard to explore.

Grandma, Anita & AnnaMae came for a quick visit this week

I am 6 Months

2011-09-17T19:38:00.002-05:00

Today we went to the lake and I took a nose dive in the sand - after Daddy got some cute pictures of me.

YUCK!

I am still nursing, but now I get rice pablum once a day too

I weigh 16.2 lbs

I am just finishing up my last few size 3 diapers.

I can sit up unassisted for a few minutes before flopping backwards.

I can say "awww" and mimic the way Mom says "luv ya" (but Daddy doesn't understand me)

I lick my Mom's face to give her kisses, grab my Dad's glasses and my brother Caleb's nose, and I like pulling my sister Tiana's hair. Hey, they let me so I'll keep doing it until I get disciplined for it.

I just got my first taste of applesauce tonight and I love it!

I pretty much sleep through the night, and take two good long naps in a day.

My family loves me and I love them too!

Oh, and we just moved to a new house in town, so maybe my Mom will update you on that later.

summertime bbq's & campfires

2011-08-01T09:23:00.001-05:00

This was our first campfire this year. We roasted marshmallows, made smores, got out the bug spray, and stayed up late. I love summertime.

Tiana and Raelyn

shirtless, shoeless boys

Jude & Colton - whose tummy is bigger? that was the joke I think

notice the rows and rows of bushes. Lisa and Pete have a large raspberry crop coming in Sept.

Caleb in camo

Casey in camo

Raelyn walking at 10 months. Such a big girl!

l Iove Colton's expression here. Imagine teaching these 3 yr.old's sunday school. They get to go in Sept.

Thanks for having us Bud and Lisa!

Where did July go?

2011-07-28T21:01:00.006-05:00

I guess there are a few days left in July, but it sure flew by. I hope the rest of the summer slows down. I just counted up the days we were in G.R. during the month of July and it was only 10 days for us and 8 for Rob. We drove back an forth to G.R. twice this month and Rob will be doing it again this weekend.

We started out July by flying to beautiful British Columbia with Kezia. Rob and I celebrated 10 years of marriage in April so it was sort of like a second honeymoon. We had tons of fun touring with just one of our children. Life felt so carefree with just one. We could sleep in (except that our body was on Ontario time the whole week, so 5am felt like 8am for us, so it was hard to sleep in : ) eat whenever we were hungry, go for a drive anytime of day, and shop with just one kid. It was a great break for me. Thanks to my Mom and Grace for taking the other three children! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip out west.

Here are more BC pics if you want to see more, and here too

After BC we collected our kids, and spent one night in our trailer on my parents property. Let me tell you crowding our family of six into the trailer after being apart for 10 days really made Rob and I appreciate our time away. It took the kids hours to fall asleep in such tight quarters and the fighting began immediately. I think they miss the routine of school?!

my foot was stuck :)

We had four days of adjusting back to life in GR, a piano lesson, and then we turned right around and went back to our trailer in ON. We slept in the trailer for four nights and then it SOLD.

Rob listed and sold the trailer in one day (verbally over the phone) The add on kijiji got over 500 hits and we were bombarded with emails and phone calls. One gentleman even showed up while we were swimming in my parent's pool to say we hadn't responded to his email yet. He looked at the trailer and told Rob he should have asked a couple thousand more for it. He was interested but had to sell his trailer first.

Ron, who bought the trailer the next night was one happy customer. He thanked Rob repeatedly for being a man of his word and holding the trailer for him (his bank was closed, so he had to wait a day to get the cash for us).

goodbye trailer!

Why did we sell the trailer out from under us you ask? Well, we won't be needing it again this summer, we had no idea that it would sell the day we listed it, and now my parents have their view back.

Emily & Kezia in my parent's pool

The next two nights we tented it, yep on the hottest week this summer! We then moved into my sister Mel's house for the next four nights. We would have just driven back to GR, but Rob had to speak in Vineland on Sunday, so it didn't make sense to.

Jude and I celebrated our birthdays on July 21st. We went to Swiss Chalet for supper.

.....and then when the food came I realized I didn't have fries to share with Jude, since I ordered a salad as the side. The place was packed with people, 30 degrees, and the service was slow so we ate quickly and went through Wendy's drive through for the poor birthday boy.

here he is eating in our packed van with his birthday playmobil truck beside him

We have been back in G.R. since Monday night (the 26th) unpacking, laundering and sort of settling back into summer life. Caleb and Tiana have another piano lesson this afternoon and we are looking at our new rental home. We are thankful that this home came up. It is a furnished four bedroom home in a much safer neighborhood. We are excited to live there for Rob's last school year.

What's for Lunch?

2011-07-12T19:03:00.002-05:00

what are they eating for lunch?

Girls in Dresses

2011-06-29T11:05:00.003-05:00

Kezia in another one of her sweet dresses. It is a long dress, but she kept grabbing it (something she's recently figured out) and pulling it up. It is so fun to dress a little girl again.

Tiana got this dress with a matching doll dress from her cousin Sarah. She loves it! She wears skirts all the time, but she is such a tomboy! She can't sit still, she doesn't know how to sit like a lady, and she digs in the dirt. I am glad most skirts come with a shorts under them.

Quotable

2011-06-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

Tiana had written a big red X on her arm. Caleb asked her "Is there treasure in there?"

Insert Title here

2011-06-22T13:05:00.002-05:00

shivering after using the slip n'slide

Kezia at 3.5 months - check out her rolls!

Jude dressed himself. I let him walk around like that because every time he goes on the potty his shorts come off and go back on backwards anyways. It doesn't seem to bother him : )

Kezia in her Sunday best

Help me out with a clever title here, and I'll change it. I always have trouble titling blog posts

Quotables from all three

2011-06-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

"Mom, there's a squirrel chattering its head off, so I was wondering if I could shoot it with my bow?" - Caleb

After reading Asterix & Obelix (Obelix is a huge guy) Tiana commented "I would be friends with a fat person, I would just tell them to fast for three days" and then when we all laughed at her "No, that wouldn't work"

Jude is really testing the limits lately and needing extra discipline. Here are a few from him:
"I'n a weird boy"
"Can I have some bar-ba-u sauce chips?"
"No don't talk Tiana. I'n talk'n to Mom. You can't!"

what do you do all day?

2011-06-08T12:32:00.000-05:00

In relation to yesterdays post on what gets done in a day, here is a story Jen shared:

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers thrown all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply. She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Imagine how fun the next day would be if we took a day off ladies?

What I Accomplished Today

2011-06-07T20:05:00.003-05:00

Some days it feels like nothing got done, but if I look back I actually did do something! Do you have days like that? So here is what actually got accomplished:
Today we did School, only three more days until summer break!
I washed Caleb and Tiana's booster seat covers (long overdue)
I did two loads of laundry, one dark and one light
I hung some of the clothes outside on the line to dry (no room for a whole load at once)
I nursed Kezia, changed many diapers and bathed her
I fed the kids breakfast, lunch and supper
I watched/helped C & T practice piano
I weight watched : ) It's working - I lost 2 lbs. last week
I toilet trained :) ~~It's working too - no poops in the underwear for a week~~ did I just blog that? not so anymore
I babysat neighbor kids in my backyard. Now that school is out they are here
I missed Rob (he is in Canada for synod all week)
I ordered a slip n'slide from amazon for the kids to escape the heat
I called Mel
Everyday I thank God for whatever did get done, because it is only with his help that anything gets accomplished. Did you do anything today?

Quotable

2011-06-06T14:10:00.001-05:00

We were in the van listening to Jamie Soles and Jude says "Can you turn the music louder Mom? It's noisy!"

Around the House

2011-06-03T10:34:00.003-05:00

Next week is our last week of school! This is the desk Rob built us for homeschooling. It works well, each kid has a slot to put their books in, and drawers to put their pencils/erasers etc.

Jude learned how to pedal his bike! He uses his feet to get up our little hill, and then pedals back down and around.

Our sweet 3 month old Kezzie.

ThredUP

2011-06-02T07:43:00.002-05:00

I joined thredUP a couple of months ago when they were offering a $15 credit and I just picked my first box last week. It was free so it was worth a try?! This is how it works: You buy a box of used clothing for $5 and pay $9.95 shipping. Next, since it's a clothing swap, you need to list a box of used clothing to keep the swap going. I listed a box of Jude's used shorts from last summer and a few collared sunday shirts that were hardly worn.
I got my box in the mail and I am not totally impressed. I didn't spend too much time reading the box descriptions, so it was my own fault. There are no pictures of the box contents on the website, so you just have to trust the seller and imagine the clothing in your head. My imagination was much better than reality : )

onsies, a sleeper, shorts set, bathing suit & dress

........and a few dresses that I'll be donating

I will try selling the rest of my kids clothes at our garage sale this summer. I am glad I gave thredUP a try but I found it a bit of a process to list and describe each item in my box. It was time consuming, and time is money.

Weight Watching

2011-06-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

It is time to count calories again! My baby is three months old now, and the last 15 lbs are not going to come off by themselves. Looks like I'll be eating lots of carrots, rice chips, salad, pretzels and lots of water. Maybe a diet pepsi at night. I love coke but diet pepsi tastes better than diet coke. When I diet I don't go all low fat and sugar free, I just eat a smaller brownie, or half of one, and smaller portions for mealtimes. Weight Watchers works but it is tedious writing down every calorie that goes into you. Somehow I can discipline myself to diet, but exercising is so hard for me! I know all I need to do is get out and walk around the block, but it just doesn't happen. Will you join me in challenging myself to get out at least three times a week to walk?

A Quotable

2011-05-31T20:22:00.002-05:00

"Jude, do you want milk?" - Tiana
"No, you're too widdle to pour it, Mom can pour it for me" - Jude

"That is so un-useful" -Tiana
(referring to wipes that rip when you pull them out)

Caleb is Nine!

2011-05-19T10:44:00.002-05:00

The birthday boy enjoying a root beer float

What is in this huge bag?

A playmobil pirate ship and a bow and arrow. Notice on the clock that it was before 8am? Caleb still loves to sleep in. Most mornings we flick his light on and tell him to get up. He jumps out of bed and gets dressed pretty fast so we let him.

It's all about the food on birthdays here. I let Caleb choose his cake and plan his birthday supper. He chose Jell-O cake, taco salad, (with chili on top) and root beer floats.

Tiana wanted to make a birthday surprise for Caleb, so she helped me make a birthday banner. It was top secret and had to be done behind closed doors. Caleb enjoyed the suspense and was pleasantly surprised to see it.

Caleb also got a day off school yesterday. Any day without a long tedious Math lesson is a great day!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Quotables I found from a few months ago

2011-05-17T18:51:00.001-05:00

"X to that and X to that. I mean X to going outside and X to playing downstairs." - Tiana

(apparently she didn't like the options I gave her)

"Look at me I'm tall. Mia and Sen told me" - Jude

Kezia at 10 Weeks

2011-05-17T17:15:00.000-05:00

Kezia and I had our last visit with Kathi (our midwife) last Monday. After having her at all four births I actually felt a bit emotional hugging her goodbye. I appreciate midwives so much, and Kathi is the best! Kezia weighed 11lbs. 9oz. at 9 weeks.

I do not have her on a schedule during the day. I have never managed much of a schedule with any of my newborns (is she still considered a newborn?) I nurse her probably 5 or 6 times on demand and then she gives me a full nights rest. I think it's a good arrangement. She recently dropped the 4am feed and doesn't wake up until 7 or 8am, which is swell!

I was bathing her is the kitchen sink, but holding her back with one hand and washing her with the other hand while she cried and kicked was a bit tricky. This bathtub has a mesh sling that holds her for me and it makes her feel safer. Notice her rolls?

Kezia is very smiley and interactive. She coughs for attention and shakes her fists and legs to get the sounds out. She is a spitter (thus the bib) but not nearly as bad as my other three were.

Isn't this dress from Jannyne adorable? I am trying to take out the camera on sundays, or we never have pictures our sunday best. The rest of the week she is wearing sleepers and bibs, so I will try to take pictures of all the cute dresses we were gifted.

As I type she is in her room crying. She still spends a lot of her waking moments crying, and she cries herself to sleep every night. You may think that's cruel, but holding her during these fussy times does not always help. Self soothing is something my babies have all had to learn. It is not easy to listen to a baby cry (sometimes I join her in weeping) but I think it is necessary. How else can you cook, home school, or toilet train? I tried the baby carrying thing, but the one I have is a pain to get on. Any recommendations for a decent sling?

Kezia is on my lap now, so the typing is slow going........

We have a birthday in the house tomorrow so I will post pictures later this week.

Mother's Day

2011-05-12T15:20:00.000-05:00

My kiddos and I Mother's day 2011

I love Jude in this one

and one with Dad

Derby Car Race 2011

2011-04-30T14:41:00.001-05:00

Caleb got 2nd place for best of show (an award based on creativity/design)

his car is #35

Family Comes for Kezia's Baptism

2011-04-30T14:29:00.001-05:00

Kezia yawning and doing daily exercises with Dad

Tiana & Ksena at Carinos

crazy cousins

Grandpa L. - one of the kids

Grandma V.

Cousin Sarah giving Tiana a gift

Kezia was baptized last sunday, and sadly in the busyness I forgot to take pictures. I dressed her up a few days later though (below) We enjoyed having our family in town for the weekend to visit with, and witness her baptism.

Smiley Kezia

and the reason for her smiles

Math - Caleb's least favourite subject, but he's still smiling

Tiana is 7

2011-04-19T10:19:00.002-05:00

Tiana has been talking about her birthday even before Kezia was born. She has been drawing pictures of birthday cakes and balloons, X-ing off the days on a homemade calendar of 'Aprel' and planning her outfit for the big day. Well, Tiana I hope the day didn't diassapoint.

Her own Bible!

Playmobile Doll House

GF Birthday Cake

Tiana's character has softened somewhat in the last year. She still has a stubborn streak, but her heart is softening. She functions at a snail's pace - especially at bedtime. She is slow at brushing her teeth, slow at getting dressed, she eats slow and drinks slow. I think half her problem is she talks too much and always has one more thing to say before she does what she has to. She can hurry if she wants to though!

Happy Birthday to my Mini Me. Love you lots Tiana.

Quotables

2011-04-16T11:46:00.001-05:00

On the way to the toystore for Tiana's birthday gift
Jude: "I wanna buy myself a birthday present"
Me: "Do you have money Jude?"
Jude: "ya, I have cash in my room"

Jude was walking around the house 'nursing' a doll
Rob: "Are you a girl Jude?"
Jude: "No, ac-chewy I'm a boy Dad"

the days are flying by

2011-04-16T11:41:00.001-05:00

Kezia is 6 weeks old today

Cuddling with Kezia in bed. Ignore my beautifulness - I had a fever and strep sunday so I stayed in bed all day. I went to the doctor monday and got meds. He asked if I had insurance and I said no, so he said the meds would be free at Meijer (grogery store) Nice! This made me all excited for a minute until I thought about it. Free medicine or free healthcare? Getting sick here is such a dilema, is it worth the money to see the doc? or should I just stay home and let my body fight it off? In Canada I would have went to the clinic sunday and had the meds, but here I don't have a clinic to go to. It's the doctor or urgent care (which would cost us a bundle)

Caleb and Rob working on the derby car. The two categories the cars are judged on are creativity and speed. Caleb is going for speed again this year.

This is what it will look like when it's all cut into shape.

Eating lunch in the beautiful warm wind yesterday

multigrain rice crackers/cheese, veggies/dip and craisins

John Ball Zoo

2011-04-13T00:39:00.001-05:00

The boys have the same problem and solution

Chimp entertained the crowd with clapping and throwing clumps of dirt at them

Caleb being a monkey

wonder what they're discussing?

Tiana telling secrets

It must have been a good one!

One Month

2011-04-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

Kezia is a month old already! Everyone is loving a little babe in the house. She has made a huge flip on her days and nights. I am afraid to type it, but she has slept through the night for me lately! I was so nervous to come back home and deal with a little lady who screamed for 2 hours a night, and then she decided to sleep. 'Do not worry about tomorrow' comes to mind again. I was all anxious about tomorrow and worrying for nothing. God is merciful and kind! She is not an easy going baby. She still fusses (screams) during the day, but it is much easier to deal with in the daylight.

skip this if you don't care to read about my day in detail : )
Amazingly Kezia is somewhat predictable the last week. She settles each night at 9:30 ish with about a half hour of screaming (off and on, not constant) and then sleeps until 5:00am, nurses and settles until 8:00am. She is awake and fussy all morning, and nurses often during this time. She settles at 1:30 and then has a good two hour nap. And then we do it all again, nurse and fuss, nurse and fuss until bedtime!

I'm sure things will change because babies usually change sleep patterns right when we get used to them, but for now I am loving my good nights rest. It is difficult homeschooling and toilet training with a fussy baby, but because I get sleep I can function.

Last week I was spoiled with two delicious meals from friends, and many gifts and cards in the mail.

It's Spring Break at the seminary. Rob has a couple of mid-terms to write (and sermons/assignments) but he should have some free time for family. Maybe we will do a day trip somewhere?

It's a Girl!

2011-03-24T20:39:00.000-05:00

Kezia Leigh

March 4th, 2011

10:31 p.m.

7 lbs. 5 ozs.

We are pronouncing Kezia's name Ke-zeye-a.

Tiana is thrilled to have a sister, I think she would have cried if it was a boy. Caleb and Jude love their sister too. They all love to hold her (when she's not crying) and greet her every morning. Jude always looks at her and says "Kezia, you're a cutie"

Kezia is 3 weeks tomorrow and past her birth weight, which we are very thankful for. She is a very alert girl, she watches faces intently and has a very strong neck. I am almost sure I got a smile, probably not, but I think she will smile soon. We love her very much, but she is a screamer - especially in the middle of the night. She will cry (loudly) on and off for 1-2 hours every night. If she is nursed, burped, and diapered Rob takes her out of the room so I can sleep. I am enjoying this while it lasts, once we are back home and Rob is back to classes I am on night duty again. We were spoiled (blessed) with Jude. He would nurse and settle in the night, and rarely cried. Kezia has done that ONE night so far.

Rob has a committee meeting tomorrow and then we can head home Saturday D.V. We enjoyed our stay at the Port Stanley cottage. It was so nice to be close to family for the five weeks, and in the Lord's providence we could be here for Dad's funeral also. We look forward to taking our family of six (Wow we are a big family now!) back to our Michigan home, and getting back to a somewhat normal routine. We have accumulated a few more bins of baby clothes, I don't know if we will fit it all in our van?

Due Date

2011-02-28T10:44:00.000-05:00

Tiana comes into my room this morning and says
"Mom, are you sore? I thought maybe you'd be sore since today is the day?"
Not really Tiana
"well if they call today, does that mean you'll have the baby?"
Who, the midwife?
"ya"
No, I have an appointment with the midwife tomorrow
"Oh, so they know you won't have the baby today?"
No, they don't know they just make an appt. every week in case the baby doesn't come
"I was thinking about a sister last night, and I was really excited"

Dad Went Home

2011-02-25T20:13:00.002-05:00

Below are Mom's words written on February 21, 2011:

"The Lord took Chris unto himself early this morning. Chris is now with his Saviour whom he loved so much. Chris suffered from ALS for almost 6 years. He patiently bore his trial, always resting and trusting in the Lord, and confessing that what the Lord did was good. He was my loving husband for almost 43 years and I and the children and grandchildren will miss him very much. The Lord is our strength. We grieve but not as those who have no hope."

We are thankful for the many lessons Dad taught us during his illness.
He was always cheerful, never complaining!
He was concerned about everyone else's well being (especially Mom's) and not his own
He loved his grandkids and made sure to interact with them each visit
He spoke often of God's goodness in his life
He submitted to God's will/sovereignty
He was patient
He trusted in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour

What a witness to God's grace Dad was. We will miss him, but rejoice that he is in glory no longer suffering.

Update from the Cottage

2011-02-19T19:28:00.001-05:00

We are thankful to be settled into the Port Stanley cottage and loving the view

We are enjoying having family/friends over and visiting their homes

Jude is toilet training with no regression so far

Rob is keeping on top of watching lectures, readings and writing papers

Caleb and Tiana still do school every morning, despite asking to visit family instead

Some days I am impatiently (uncomfortably) waiting for this baby, and other days I am in denial that it is even coming. Oh the joys of pregnancy hormones! 9 days to due date

Non Meal Plan

2011-02-03T21:32:00.000-05:00

I didn't plan my menu Monday, but I can tell you what we ate so far this week.

1. PW's Beef Stew again (I bagged up 2 meals last week to freeze - the stewing beef, apple juice and spices) I took it out of the freezer and put it straight in the crockpot in the morning. I added the fresh veggies later in the day. It tasted just as good as PW's way, and it was way easier! I love it when easy food tastes yum.
2. Pizza Pasta
3. GF Waffles in our waffle maker (with pure canadian maple syrup)

We eat the same thing for breakfast everyday - Cereal!
For lunch we eat leftovers, eggs, corn wrap pizzas, or sandwiches if I've baked GF bread.

Do you eat the same thing for breakfast/lunch or change it up all the time?

Meal Plan Monday

2011-01-24T15:44:00.002-05:00

I surprised myself by making everything but one meal last week, so I'll try and do it again this week!

Last Monday's stew was delish...let me know if you make it. I substituted the beer with apple juice, someone suggested a can of coke? I might try it next time. I have cooked with coke before (chicken cola)have you?

Mon - Baked potatoes topped with leftover chili, cheese and sour cream
Tues - Pad Thai (the rice noodles are GF* and the sauce is GF)
Wed - Meat/Cheese Subs(on GF walrus bread for the gluten sensitive)
Thurs - Spaghetti & Meatballs
Fri - Sandwiches on the road (we're sneaking in a quick visit to Canada to visit family and the midwife)
Sat - on the road again back to GR.....? So maybe Burger King fries since they're GF
Sun - Potato and Ham Soup

*GF refers to Gluten Free. Rob and Tiana eat GF (no wheat, barley or rye)

Two and a Half

2011-01-21T19:14:00.000-05:00

Jude the Dude is two and a half today! (or 30 months) We have been seriously toilet training this week - meaning we bought underwear! I realize you aren't supposed to attempt this before a new baby or a traumatic move. (both of which we plan to do in a few weeks) But, he doesn't like wearing wet/dirty diapers, so that was a sign to me that he was ready to start training. This week went surprisingly well, of course with many accidents along the way, but progress is huge compared to using pull-ups. He gets rewarded with skittles, and tons of praise!

Tiana Lost Her First Tooth

2011-01-21T15:10:00.001-05:00

*excuse the pajamas and messy hair, it was bedtime

Tiana is three months away from her 7th birthday, so she has been waiting anxiously for this tooth to come out. Cousin Mia explained to us that her Papa knows the tooth fairy's number (in all seriousness) so when Tiana's tooth started wiggling, she said "You better call Papa!" (in all seriousness too) He'd probably do a better job remembering the money than I do. My (or our) record is pretty bad. Poor Caleb woke up one morning all excited to look under the pillow only to discover NOTHING. He came to us concerned, so Rob snuck a few coins inside the pillow case and asked Caleb if he checked inside the case. It worked! Whew

Well, Tiana's tooth came out with my help and now she is waiting for the loose one beside it to come out too. I better get some cash, I had to ask Caleb to lend me some coin for the first tooth :)

P.S. Our kids know the tooth fairy isn't real

Meal Plan Monday

2011-01-17T16:45:00.003-05:00

I haven't had much success with sticking to my meal plans, but here are seven meals in random order that I will hopefully get to this week.

- PW's Beef Beer and Paprika Stew (this is simmering on the stove. I didn't have a can of beer handy, so I substituted apple juice)
- Chili
- Homeade GF Pizza for Rob/Tiana (I'll take Caleb on a date for his free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza from their book-it reading club)
- Chips & Salsa
- Creamy Chicken/Broccoli over rice
- Soup from a can or leftovers
- Omelets and bacon

*Pictured above PW's Stew

Judeisms and Quotables

2011-01-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

Caleb and Jude this morning at breakfast:
Caleb "are you Judah?" (one of his nicknames)
Jude "no"
Caleb "are you Jude?"
Jude "Mom, Caleb called me Jude!"

Caleb "Jude, you're two and I'm eight"
Jude "I'm not two, I'n two and a half!"

"my bed is yucky!" Everything is yucky when Jude is in a bad mood

"I'm not crazy, are you crazy Mom?"

"you're chico Mom"

"you're a microwave!" meant to be an insult or to tease someone jokingly. We laughed the first time he said it so now he says it often.

He hears something once and it is part of his vocabulary. We have to be very careful what we say.

Jude wants to be big naturally with two older siblings, so all day long we hear "I do it myself" or "I wi-yall do it!" or "my do it?" He is pretty independent, he can put his coat on (we zip it) and pull his pants up. We started toilet training him, but it is going nowhere. Pull-ups are too comfy, we need to buy some underwear and go through a few messy weeks I think!

In order to show how big and smart he is, Jude argues with us all. In response to anything he repilies "no, it's not snowing" or "we're not going to Meijer" or "Daddy's not at the semerary" This gets rather tiring! We have to correct him and try to drive out this little attitude. And teach Caleb and Tiana to let it go. Arguing with a two (and half) year old goes nowhere.

With our other children we sang "now I lay me down to sleep" each night, but Jude hears Caleb pray every night, so he wants to do the same. His prayers consist of listing off his Grandma/pa's, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.
"Dear Lorda, peese be wif gwampa and gwamma she takes care of him, and Aunt Anita and AnnaMae, and Aunt Kwisten, Aunt Ewise, Aunt Kawa, Aunt Jen.......
I prompt him "and please be with Aunt Mel" and he list off her girls too. This can take a bit of time to go through all the family. Oh and Saffa (our friend J.Mustafa makes it in there too)
he then concludes with "peese forgive my sin, I'n a bad boy" (we prompt him to ask for forgiveness, but he came up with I'm a bad boy himself)

Jude is quite the character! He is super sweet and thoughful, but stubborn and argumentative too. He has a soft heart and conscience to go along with these characteristics, so we pray that he will grow to fear the Lord that we strive to teach him of. We love him to bits.

What we've been up to

2011-01-12T17:24:00.003-05:00

growing a baby -33 weeks along

Tiana painted a turtle for her friends birthday card

and the inside of the card.....

Jude saying "I do it myself?" He is taking his temperature under the armpit. He has a nasty cough, and a fever. Everyone has some sickness in their house, it must be an after Christmas thing. I seem to remember everyone being sick last Jan. too.

Caleb also has a high fever, so he is reading instead of schooling today. I read 'Understood Betsy' to them the last two days, so it was a nice break for them and myself from a full school day.

the kids in a snow fort Dad helped them make a while back

Rob is back to school this week, so he's back to writing sermons and deep in the books.

I am busy homeschooling, going through bins of baby clothes, thinking about packing a hospital bag & cleaning the old dusty crib, searching for a new stroller/carseat (with a five point harness) and planning our move to Canada.

In mid-Feb. we are moving to Port Stanley, ON temporarily to have our baby. We have had many questions about this decision, and it is a bit complicated but we have a few reasons. Citizenship
Cost
Our dear midwife Kathi who delivered our other three so competently
Family to call on in the middle of the night :)
And a few more......

Time to sign off and get supper on the table (leftovers!)

Ultrasounds and Hotels

2010-12-09T15:30:00.000-05:00

We finally got a glimpse of our little one late November, in Canada. The baby boy or girl looks healthy. Rob's feeling is boy, mine is girl...just a hunch? This pregnancy does not feel like I am carrying a girl verses a boy, but my boys both had large heads and this one has long legs proportionate to its head/body measurements. It was using these legs to hide its gender from us, so we will still be surprised! I really wanted to know this time to be prepared. Do I need to go out and buy girl clothes or will I be able to reuse Jude's? Will this baby even out our family, or make it a male dominated home? Will we pack him into the boys room for the 18 months left in Grand Rapids, or will she fit nicely in Tiana's room (once the school desks are removed)? Oh I guess I will have to wait and see......

We rearranged our living room to accommodate a new school table. The kids have been enjoying the bigger desk space and change of scenery from the schoolroom (aka Tiana's bedroom) I am not sure this is the solution, but it is much better than the alternative of schooling in a cold basement. We need to do some serious de-cluttering to fit neatly into this house, or seriously look into renting elsewhere. This 3 bedroom home will fit us nicely if we have less stuff. I am trying to convince myself of this, to avoid a move in our last 18 months here. Simplifying is a good thing, so I will embrace this challenge starting with the kids toys : )

Playing Word Bingo at the school table. Tiana is reading the words to us, part of her Gr. 1 Language Arts

We stayed at the Best Western Inn in London for a night last month in Canada. We promised Caleb we would take him swimming sometime since he missed a summer of swimming with his broken leg. It was a quick stay, since Caleb had an appt. early the next morning to x-ray his leg. His leg is healing perfectly (they were concerned that the break was close to his growth plate in the knee, and could affect the growth in that leg) He has another x-ray in 6 months to make sure it continues to heal properly.

Jude Quotables

2010-11-17T20:02:00.000-05:00

"Mom, I wanna tell you some-sing"

"I want my air-pwane jamma's" "First take off my cwos (clothes) and my socks"

"I be back! I give you kissies"

"where's my oof?" (aka woof his dog)

"Daddy's at the semerary" or "Uncle Bill's at the semerary"

"Can I sweep in Daddy's bed?"

"that's my Daddy" or "that's my broder" or "Tiana's my sisser" and "you're my mommy"

"I wanna wake up, I not gonna nap!"

Jude talks all day long - often repeating his sentence four or five times until he is acknowledged. He learns about deserts, animals, and Egypt right along with Caleb and Tiana during school. One night after Bible reading. Rob asked everyone what happed with a leper's clothes. Caleb and Tiana didn't know, so he turned to Jude and asked him to involve him too, Jude says "burn em in da fire" we were all shocked, he was right! Never underestimate what your children are picking up/absorbing, and never think they are too young to understand God's word. Simple truths taught young will stick with them all their life, and you are planting a seed that God will water.

Applesauce

2010-11-03T13:25:00.005-05:00

Last week we headed to the orchard for a bushel of apples. I actually thought I had 2 bushels, but when I paid only $9.50 I realized the baskets we filled were 1/2 bushel each. I used Ida Red's and Gala's for the sauce. The result is a pink sweet and tart applesauce. We love sauce, especially homemade applesauce! It only took an afternoon to process into sauce, so I might do another bushel next week? The kids helped crank the apples through the strainer too. It is simple to do. wash the apples, quarter the apples, simmer them with a bit of water for 25 mins, then process them through the strainer (which takes out the core and peel for you) I ended up with 17 containers in the freezer - some will last for one meal and others for two or more. Yum!

23 Weeks - Pregnancy Tidbits

2010-11-01T14:18:00.002-05:00

5 months down, 4 more to go......

Morning (and afternoon) sickness lasted for the first 18 weeks. (I was thankful for diclectin)

This middle trimester is much easier/enjoyable than the first one!

My belly is starting to get in the way of bending over, getting dressed, doing dishes etc.

I still sleep on my stomach with my left knee propping me up, but mostly I switch from side to side.

I visit the bathroom 3 times a night, but easily fall asleep after these interruptions.

I have not yet seen this babe via ultrasound, it was rescheduled to the end of Nov.

Caleb would love a brother, Tiana would love a sister, my vote is for a sister simply to balance out the family.

I can't say I have pregnancy cravings, since I've always craved ice cream, chocolate, and burgers.

I cook better meals for my family, and bake frequently now, since I am hungrier : )

I haven't wanted coffee for most of the pregnancy. I drink it now once every few days instead of twice a day.

My face is starting to get puffy, ankles and wrists are okay so far.

I have to buy new maternity clothes since this baby is a winter baby, and Jude was a summer baby.

Our original stroller from Caleb (who will be almost nine when the baby comes) needs to be replaced.

We are trying to figure out how to squeeze baby # 4 into our three bedroom rental home?!

I am getting into the habit of cooking double and freezing meals to have handy for tired days.

I am still in awe that I am carrying another child, what a blessing!

October Already!

2010-10-01T19:35:00.001-05:00

I was writing in my journal, after neglecting it for four months and thought the blog could use an update too. Here is a highly edited version of today's journal entry. I tend to be very detailed in my journal so be glad I am condensing it for you.

I am 18 weeks along in this pregnancy, and feeling much better this trimester! I am scheduled to have an ultrasound next week in Canada. I always opt out of the dating ultrasound so this will be the first time I 'see' the baby. I am excited to see it moving around on the screen, now that I can feel the flutters inside me. We have decided not to find out the gender, even though I keep asking Rob "Are we sure we don't want to find out?" It has been an incredible surprise each time with our others, so we will wait and enjoy the suspense.

We have completed our first month of school, whew! I am doing Sonlight's Core 1 with Caleb and Tiana. It has 30-45 mins of read-a louds daily, which they really enjoy. We get to leave the school room and relax on the couch. Science this year is adding 'fun' to our school days. The kids had fun with magnets today. They taped a magnet to a toy car, and then used another magnet to repel the car into motion. Sonlight's science in a box is great! It comes with magnets, paper clips, elastics, masking tape, modeling clay, clothes pins - everyday items, but in one box so you don't have to scrounge around for them. I love it!

Caleb and Tiana have indoor soccer every thursday afternoon, and we are looking into piano lessons for them also.

Rob has been extremely busy keeping up with his regular classes and extra modular (night) courses. We miss him at nights, but at least he can come home for supper and some lunches too. Jude is so used to having him around all summer that this has been tough on him. He walks around the house saying "Daddy's at the sem-ary" and instead of "Lord Bless this food" at lunch time it's "Lord Bless Daddy at the sem-ary" He loves his Daddy!

Last weekend I went to True Woman in Indianapolis, IN. Jannyne and Mel brought Emily here to babysit for the weekend, and then us three Moms drove there with Mel's three week old baby Brie Avery. Brie behaved really well during the days, but kept us up late at nights (we can try to blame the late nights on her, can't we?) We all loved the conference and would love to go again. It was encouraging, convicting and challenging. There were a lot of tears (with 6,000 woman what can you expect?) and many, many prayers offered those three days. God is faithful, and we need to surrender every area of our lives to Him.

Number Four

2010-08-25T13:33:00.002-05:00

We are super excited to announce that we are expecting Baby #4. The due date is Feb 28, 2011 D.V. We praise God for another blessing.

a glimpse of our trailer life in Ontario

2010-08-25T13:27:00.000-05:00

Jude turned 2 at the end of July, opening his blocks in the trailer

Caleb swimming in Grandpa/ma Luiting's pool with the Aunts

no more swimming for the rest of the summer. Caleb broke his leg on the trampoline

my youngest sister Shaylynn turned 12, Mom cutting the birthday cake

friends come to play

the Dads like to play too!

Caleb watching the fun in his new camo cast

the Ladies sitting by our trailer, notice the fridge outside we are camping in style

Tiana watching the fire

you can still have fun with a broken leg!

my parents house

the treehouse

inside our trailer

the other half of the trailer, Rob built a little bunk bed for Jude (it takes up way less space than a pack n'play)

the trailer

Sisters Night at Boston Pizza - Kristen, Kara and Mel

and Amy, me and Kristen

another campfire shot from the Aug. holiday weekend.

Blogging Break

2010-07-17T13:33:00.002-05:00

Where have we been? Well, we just got back from 2 weeks in Beautiful British Columbia. The kids and I are currently in GR while Rob is on his way to Monarch, AB to speak there this Lord's day. This is the third time we have dropped him off and sent him on a jetplane. Jude still asks every half hour "where's Daddy?" or "Daddy all gone?" He misses his Daddy like crazy since we are used to seeing him everyday now that it's summer break for the seminary. I miss him too, I could never get used to him being gone three days of seven. This is his last trip away, the rest of his preaching is scheduled in the Ontario churches. We are thankful we were able to go with him for his 2 weeks in B.C. That was a gorgeous vacation - we all loved the mountains!

Below is a picture of our family at the top of Whistler.

We are moving to Port Stanley, ON for the rest of the summer. Our 31 ft. trailer is waiting for us in my parents backyard. The plan is to pick up Rob from the Grand Rapids airport on Monday night and then leave Tuesday morning for Canada. We tested out our trailer for two nights last week when we flew in from B.C. I think it should work out nicely for the seven or eight weeks. We very much look forward to spending more time with our family and friends (and missing Rob for only one day out of each week) I will post of few pictures of the trailer, but I'll be taking a blogging break for the rest of the summer.

Summertime!

2010-06-19T14:04:00.002-05:00

The church kids meet every wed night for baseball. Tiana is in the youngest group so they do t-ball

Rob making a mountain for the train set

Caleb looking for......

can you guess?

tadpoles!! Tiana caught a bunch, and then we threw them back in. We went back this week to find little frogs but couldn't find any. maybe they were at the bottom of the pond?

We just returned from Canada, and we are staying in Grand Rapids for a couple more weeks and then we move to Ontario for the rest of the summer DV. We are parking a large trailer in my parents backyard. The kids (and me too) are so looking forward to seeing family everyday, swimming, jumping on the trampoline, roaming around a big yard, and just being in Canada again! I will let you know how living in a trailer goes.

My Bep

2010-05-26T13:49:00.000-05:00

My Grandma (my Bep) was in town yesterday on a bus trip from Canada. They plan to see Meijer Gardens in town, and then go to Holland, MI for a day. I stopped by the church where they were eating lunch to see her. It felt sort of like Grandparents Day reversed - me walking into a room full of grandparents looking for my Grandma : ) It was so good to see her!

A House Full of Girls

2010-05-26T12:48:00.003-05:00

My sisters Mel and Emily came for the Canadian long weekend. Mel has three girls, so one of the first things they did was dress up - out came the princess and ballerina costumes!

Here are Mia and Ksena with Tiana looking at her new princess book from Grandma L.

eating pizza outside - we did a lot of that since the kitchen got quickly crowded with the ten of us

eating icecream

Mia, Jude, Esmé with Aunt Emily

Last spring when Mel came I wrote about sister time This time was a pretty similar experiece. We shopped a bit, walked to the Rock Park, snuck out to Panera Bread Sat. night while Rob watched the kids, went to church together (where a few people mistook Mel for me - even though she's six months pregnant) ate lots, and watched the kids bike and play outside. Thanks for coming. It's been two months since we've been able to go back home, so it was good to see family again.

Recipes

2010-05-20T17:49:00.002-05:00

I posted a few recipes on my other blog - so far they are all baked goods. All of these recipes are converted from normal recipes, I just substituted gluten free flours and added xanthan gum. If you want to bake them just omit the xanthan and use normal wheat flour

Track & Field Day

2010-05-20T13:32:00.000-05:00

This was our second year participating in the Homeschool Track & Field day in Holland, MI

8 year old boys waiting for their first event

They ran a 50 m dash and a 100 m dash

Tiana doing standing long jump

the 6 year old girls also ran a 50m & 100m dash

Joel & Jude throwing tennis balls

We did not win any first place ribbon's, but it sure was fun to cheer on others in our church homeschool group who did! Caleb did get a "sportsmanship ribbon" for cheering on others and having a good attitude.

Lego and Cupcakes

2010-05-19T19:28:00.003-05:00

Caleb turned 8 yesterday. We bought him a watch, lego and tickets to the ballgame. He also asked for a day off school, and I agreed. He's been working hard at his repetitive math pages (even on saturdays) so it was time for a break. He chose tostitos with salsa and sour cream for supper. I like that birthday supper! that's our usual sunday supper - quick and easy after a later church service.

Camari came in for a cupcake too. gotta love those dimples!

A Birthday Recipe - Mocha Cake

2010-05-18T15:42:00.004-05:00

Today is Caleb's birthday, so I made him cupcakes from scratch. This tastes just like a box cake and uses normal ingredients. It is From Our Country Kitchen Cook Book put out by Rehoboth Christian School I use this cookbook for so many recipes. I will put up a carrot cake recipe sometime. It's delicious too!

Mocha Cake

2 cups flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup butter softened

2 tsp. instant coffee

2/3 cup cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups water

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

preheat oven to 350. grease two muffin tins or two 9" round cake pans

mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl. add water, eggs and vanilla and beat for 4 mins. on high speed. pour into pans/tins and bake for 30 mins for a cake or 20 mins for cupcakes (or until a toothpick comes out clean)

I made these with gluten free flour (non wheat) I used a blend of sorghum flour, potato starch flour and tapioca flour and they came out just as yummy! there is a printable version at my gluten free blog

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-05T12:30:00.002-05:00

School Quotables

2010-04-30T10:15:00.001-05:00

"Caleb, you just snuffed up! you should take a kleenex instead!" - Tiana

Tiana had a scratch on her forehead from a mechanical pencil, this is how she explained it to me:
"I was just going to start writing, but then it suddenly turned and started writing on my head"

"why do I have to do school on a hurt head day?" - Tiana

Caleb opening up his Math book:
"Look who I have to deal with today! two rows of this......"

Around the Yard

2010-04-29T21:08:00.001-05:00

Rob built a gate to keep ~~the neighbors out~~ Jude in. Well, there is truth to both of them. We had been thinking about building a gate for a while, but now our yard has become the neighborhood hang out. We had four extra kids playing here one day (4 and 5 yr. old boys on either side of us, and two others from way down the street -where are the parents?) The kids love it of course, and don't understand why I would care?! Tiana will yell over the fence for the one boy to come over and play, and the other boy just saunters over whenever he wants. His grandma will yell "Camari, you behavin?" every half an hour or so, but I have to tell him to get off Caleb's back and share etc. the other 29 mins in between. We love to see our kids having fun, but I do not want to be the local daycare either.

Umm, who dropped her off?

Jude - the main reason for building the gate

Tiana hugging Jude? myself chatting with Mel

...and one from inside the house.

I showed you a sneak peek of this earlier. Rob designed this gorgeous shelf for our living room primarily to hold a lamp. There is no light in this room so we have to brighten it with floor lighting or table lamps. It was just painted, but it will hold books and baskets soon. I am thankful for a handy husband, and now that I discovered this blog I have a few requests for him.

Pinewood Derby Race 2010

2010-04-24T18:41:00.004-05:00

check out the creativity and thought put into these cars - we have ideas for next year already. I thought the pink ipod was cool, so it got my vote for best design, and she did win!

Caleb and Austin's cars getting ready to race

Caleb, Austin and Trienna watching their cars zip past

Caleb admiring his trophy. He won first place for grade 2. The stakes weren't too high - he was competing against two others in his age group, but was so happy to win! He's been carrying around that trophy, and talking about the race all afternoon.

Tiana swinging on the rope during the racing

Quotables

2010-04-22T13:37:00.002-05:00

this one's from a few months back.
Tiana commenting on a sticker she saw.......

"Mom, I wonder why the sun has sunglasses, he can't see his self?" -Tiana

Caleb

2010-04-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

I have been neglecting to blog about Caleb lately. He doesn't come up with funny 'quotables' since he is such a thinker. The quotables I could post from him would be serious life questions, or "which animal runs faster Mom, a horse or a rhino?" "oh probably a horse" I say. Rob looks it up, and a black rhino can run as fast as a horse. who'da thunk?

Caleb is a reader. A few weeks ago he had 3 boxcar children books going at the same time. One in the living room and two in his bedroom. He reads for hours every night in bed. from 8-10pm. I was telling him to turn his light off earlier (and put the book away) but his mind races at night and he didn't fall asleep until after 10 those nights either so I just let him read now.

He finished Monday School last week, so we are aiming to be finished our school year at the end of May. I have 5-6 weeks left in my curriculum plan, so we should be able to double up some days and get it done! We are so looking forward to summer holidays!

Caleb giving Tiana a box full of perler bead & construction paper creations for her birthday

digging in the dirt

painting his derby car

playing computer.....usually every night from 7:30-8:00

being goofy in the back of the rental car

Caleb has a birthday coming up in May. He will be 8!

Tiana's Birthday Party!

2010-04-17T14:08:00.003-05:00

Tiana is 6 today! She had five friends (and their Mom's) over this morning. The girls ate cake, opened presents, ran around upstairs and downstairs, inside and outside. They played cops and robbers and hide and seek. Us Mom's drank coffee and had a good chat while the girls kept themselves busy. It was a great way to do it. I didn't have to plan any games and the girls just got to play.

These are the candy cones Tiana helped me make for the girls to take home. We filled them with mike and ike's and jolly ranchers.

Enjoying the Outdoors

2010-04-15T14:45:00.005-05:00

I rarely take Jude outside since he still resorts to scooting, and that makes his pants filthy. He stands by the door watching Caleb and Tiana and begs "gide?" meaning can I go outside too? who can resist such cuteness?

proof that he can stand

This is where Jude spends most of his time - pushing himself backwards and spinning around in circles.

Tiana Quotables

2010-04-09T17:19:00.004-05:00

"I'm jamm'n it!" - Tiana telling me that she was poking the potato with a fork (for microwaved baked potatoes)

"he's leaving, oh no he's ordering a hotel room"

"I have to set my bed"

"you're 29, and Dad's 30......you found the right guy!"

Our Spring Break Adventure

2010-04-08T19:12:00.012-05:00

We left Tuesday morning for Detroit. We found a great hotel deal on hotwire (which I highly recommend - we've used it twice now) We stayed at the Embassy Suites right by the airport. The kids had fun watching a plane come down literally every 5 minutes. We shopped at Ikea very quickly tuesday and ate out at the Outback steakhouse. I finally tried a bloomin onion, and I wasn't too impressed. I love onion rings, so I thought I would love it, but it had huge chunks of onion, a bit too much for me.

Thursday we visited the Henry Ford Museum:

the kids favourite car
Caleb driving the massive steam locomotive

The Hotel

It was a suite with a microwave, mini fridge, table and pull out couch. Very nice hotel and I loved the modern decor, notice the houndstooth carpet?

..........and a few of the adventures that we'd rather forget :

- two breakdowns (one on the way there tues and one on the way back home thurs)

- two rental cars (a toyota minivan, and a dodge avenger which surprisingly fit 3 carseats)

- a police escort to Enterprise rent-a-car

- one sick Mom on wednesday

- one sick Dad on thursday

Considering 'all that' it went very smoothly and we are thankful for that!

I can't forget to mention.....

2010-03-15T10:57:00.008-05:00

.......this little dude finally took his first steps!

Covered Button Hair Ties

2010-03-15T10:16:00.008-05:00

I found button hair ties at a craft show last fall for Tiana. I thought how hard can it be to make them myself? So, I got a little button covering kit from a craft store and some cute fabric from my crafty friend Jen, and made up a few. I think they are pretty cute! I've been making hair bows for Tiana too. Her friends wear them to church, so she wanted them too. Hobby Lobby often has ribbon 50% off so it's an inexpensive, fun little project.

I am obsessed with DIY blogs lately. I find it fascinating to see the projects people take on themselves. I am starting a few projects myself......on a way smaller scale.

Rob is making something too. here's a peek at it.....

Meal Planning Monday's

2010-03-15T09:53:00.003-05:00

Mon - leftover chili

Tues - Aussie Chicken (like the Outback's Spring Chicken) Thanks for the link Heather

Wed - shepherd's pie

Thurs - meatballs, mashed potatoes, salad

Fri - pizza again! It was a great gf crust. It made two huge pizza's on a cookie sheet

Sat - leftovers or omelets

Sun - pea soup

Meal Planning Monday's

2010-03-09T14:24:00.006-05:00

Monday - Mac and cheese (similar to this)

Tuesday - roast beef, roasted potatoes/carrots, applesauce (we have a visitor from st.thomas)

Wednesday - meatloaf (from freezer -made 2 last week)

Thursday - no cooking -Forgotten Man dinner (for inmates)

Friday - homeade pizza (with a gluten free pantry mix)

Saturday - a leftovers, salad

Sunday - chili (visitors for lunch)

I actually went back and edited last weeks plan, because it totally changed. Happy Cooking ladies!

Meal Planning Monday's

2010-03-01T16:04:00.008-05:00

Monday -chili, caesar salad

Tuesday - baked potatoes with leftover chili, cheese, & green onions on top

Wednesday - church potluck (I'm bringing apple crisp)

Thursday -meatloaf, roasted potatoes/carrots, applesauce

Friday - chicken breast, fried potatoes

Saturday - pea soup

Sunday - pea soup

I'll see if this works? I'm not sure if I'll stick to it, but it saves trips out to the grocery store if you just work with what is in the house. It feels like I cook with ground beef all week long, so I am trying to change it up a bit.

A few things I have done to save on time and frustration are:

1. fry up a whole tray of ground beef with onions, and then freeze it in meal size portions. thaw the day you need it and easily whip up fajitas, chili, spaghetti, shepherd's pie, taco salad, lasagna, or sloppy joes

2. I baked a whole tray of chicken (from Sam's Club) a few weeks ago with a sweet/sour sauce. We ate one and froze two so it lasted us for three meals.

3. Make double of whatever you are cooking, and freeze one for later

4. Chop up peppers when they are on sale and freeze them on a cookie sheet before bagging them (I've done it with mushrooms too, but the texture wasn't the greatest)

It is such a treat to pull meals or even part of a meal out of the freezer on days when you just don't feel like cooking!

I know a lot of people who do it with baking, but around here baking is gone in two days no matter how many dozens I make : )

Heather does this weekly, you might be inspired to use some of her recipes.

What do you do to save time in the kitchen? I'd love to hear your tips

Sisters

2010-02-27T17:46:00.005-05:00

Four of my sisters woke up early Friday morning and drove here. It took them 6 hours (instead of the usual four) because of snow. They visited with my kids for a bit, and then we were off. We checked into the Holiday Inn and then shopped. We went to Hobby Lobby, Rivertown Crossings, Applebees, Woodland Mall, Vanderveen's Dutch Store (which was a highlight) Meijer for vanilla coke (n/a in Canada) and T.G.I Friday's. At the hotel we watched Olympics, talked about deep stuff, swam and hot tubbed, used Kara's laptop, ordered room service (milkshakes) and chatted about everything! We went to bed late and slept in, so we would be ready to shop again. It was a relaxing two days with no kids. Thanks sisters for coming and taking me to a hotel. We should make this a yearly thing.

Amy & Mel in Hobby Lobby
- technology -

Kristen & Kara at T.G.I Friday's
our bags? someone took this on my camera : )
Group shots at my house. The living room is a work in progress. we are rearranging it and putting up new curtains etc.

19 Month Photo Shoot

2010-02-20T10:49:00.004-05:00

Christmas 2009

2010-02-20T10:23:00.002-05:00

Bowling with VanDood's on Boxing Day

Taun
Nick
Pete

Caleb

Charity & Caleb checking out the score

Luiting Christmas

waiting for presents
Grandma handing out stockings
Aunt Shaylynn, Kara and Elise with their neices and nephew

Caleb in the Homeschool Christmas Program

Family Nov '09

2010-02-20T09:12:00.002-05:00

Jen took these for us on Nov. 20 - for our Christmas card. We met her at Pinafore Park, took of our coats and scurried around for quick 10 min. photo shoot. Thanks a bunch Jen.

Snow Tracks

2010-02-15T12:06:00.021-05:00

Remember this video we made on Jude's first birthday? Here is the long awaited sequel...

Quotables

2010-01-28T10:23:00.012-05:00

After reprimanding Tiana for picking her nose and telling her that people won't want to be her friend if she does that, she says in all seriousness " well *Sally* will still be my friend because she does it too!"

Tiana kept refilling her plate with shepherd's pie. I told her she'd better stop or she would become full. She responded with "Oh no, I'n a big fan of this, I just love it so much!"

"Mom, this is embarrassing, Tiana wants to give a picture to a man (elder visit) we don't know" -Caleb

Quotables

2010-01-25T14:27:00.009-05:00

After discussing a song that has 'chatting with angels' in it Tiana started rattling off her thoughts:

"God doesn't chat with angels he just tells them what to do. Like when God told them to watch the garden, and they zoomed over there, and they had swords that weren't real, cause when Daddy was reading about it, I saw yellow swords in my head that weren't real, so I thought that must be what they looked liked?!"

(pauses to think)

"But not everything in your head is real right Mom?"

One and a half

2010-01-21T10:24:00.002-05:00

Jude is 18 months today. he happily scoots or crawls around still. he just learned how to blow his nose. he stands up in the middle of a room, but hasn't dared take more than one step. he loves to throw things and then dive to get them. he wakes up at 7:30 every morning, calls "mama!" and then waits patiently until I get him. he is still a thumb sucker, and he does it lately in the daytime too, since he is teething. he has 8 teeth (one a molar) he is ticklish. he wants to feed himself. he spits if he is frustrated about anything. he loves kisses from Dad/Mom at the same time. he cuddles with his 'blankie' and sucks his thumb while we home school. he says "no" in an excited voice when he wants something instead of yes. he looks at the back door and asks "Daad?" he understands so much more then he can verbalize. he hums on tune. he is so sweet!

Quotables

2010-01-13T10:32:00.005-05:00

I didn't know we were allowed to have oranges for breakfast in this house! - Tiana

"Aw, that lady's sitting on a blanket with her girl, and she might be having another baby, or not? but I shouldn't say why not." - Tiana again

get an almost free nursing cover

2009-12-10T14:56:00.006-05:00

Ladies, get a free nursing cover from https://www.uddercovers.com/index.php

Just enter christmas as the promo code and you won't pay for the cover, only $8.95 for shipping (and they do ship to canada - my sister got one)I got one myself. I may gift it or keep it, for that price I couldn't go wrong, or could I? Uh hun, I did go wrong! I picked the cover and checked out through paypal without entering the promo code, oops! The folks were super nice and refunded me the difference pronto. Let me know if you use this promo and what pattern you chose?