I on the Iverson's

Turning 5 is hard work!

2012-01-06T14:36:00.007-05:00

SO hard to believe that the honey that made me a mommy is already 5!!! The time has gone way too fast! Sabrina has been our bright, sweet, thoughtful, talkative, energetic little buddy from moment one! Her quest for knowledge is unending and her passion for life can be so contagious! We are so blessed to have had these 5 years with her in our care!
Thisyear since she was a "whole hand" we told her she could have a friend party. She has recently developed a love for gymnastics and wanted to share that with her friends so we headed to a gym for her party! It was so fun to see all the kids running, jumping, tumbling and burning off the sugar from their cupcakes! :)

We also had parties with both sides of the family.
At the Hoogland party we celebrated with dinner and an ice cream cake....the cake was stored in a freezer in our barn that was not so frozen and as a result, the cake was....welll.....a MESS! Thankfully Sabrina did not mind a bit :)

With the Iversons we headed out to Alpen Rose for brunch. The girls always look forward to spending time with their cousins! After, we came to our house for cake and gifts.

Lastly, we celebrated at home on the actual big day. We made a homemade confetti cake (her fave) and had the dinner of her choice: Ham loaf and corn, applesauce and rolls (not quite as crazy as in years past, although until the day before the menu was ham loaf and pancakes!!)

The birthday girl with her little sisters. :)

Cannot wait to share the next year with you Brina-Bo! :) You are a treasure!

3 months

2011-12-15T17:29:00.002-05:00

Oh my sweet Emeline is 3 months old already! Oh my how this time with has has flown! I'm so loving having a little peanut again and adding two big ones to the mix actually has been really fun. Don't think there are not moments of crazy, but seeing the big girls grow in their new roles has been really entertaining! Watching them both "nurse" their baby dolls has been hysterical and we have regular baptism services around here...the most interesting ones are the ones that take place while they are taking a shower!

Emeline is has become a very predictable and content baby. She sleeps 12-13 hrs at a time and eats 4 times a day about 6 oz. each feeding. She is very temperature sensitive with her bottles. SHe likes them HOT which can be a challenge when we are out and about... (so if anyone has found a bottle warmer that plugs into the car or a can coozie for avent bottles, point me in that direction!). Emeline smiles often and easily and hands out a giggles every so often, but you have to work for them a little. She rolled over tummy to back at 2 months, but doesn't do it very often. She likes her tummy time and has a very strong neck and back. She is slowly creeping towards 6 month clothes which is way sooner than my other girls and makes me sad that she's getting so big so fast, but such is life. At the same time I'm daily thankful that she is a good eater and is growing healthy and strong! Such a blessing!

Tomorrow will be 5 years ago that I became a mommy, (Woah.) and my middle sister is looking ahead to starting this phase in her life in April. Each time I see her and her lil belly bump I cannot help but be so excited for her to experience the richness that children will bring to her and her husbands life. I think In some ways I didnt really become "me" fully till I had children. You finally let o of some of those selfish and childish pieces of yourself and begin to really examine what you want to impart upon your children and what parts of yourself need to me "refined" so you dont pass those parts along. Sure its hard, unglamorous, and chaotic at times, but oh my. Wouldn't trade it for the world. So thankful that God gave us Eme to savor this experience one more time!

Lil Turkeys

2011-12-07T22:25:00.005-05:00

Oh how I love my lil turkeys and Thanksgiving! It just may be my favorite Holiday for oh so many reasons. Our day usually goes like this...huge lunch with the Knotts, some family bonding, then heading over to the Hooglands for some bowling, leftovers and then BINGO as a appetizer for Christmas! Its lots of food, family laughs, and tradition. All things I am so thankful for! :)

The big surprise this year was how much ANabelle LOVED bowling. Not too much gets a huge rise out of this one, but she has caught the bug! She was giddy EVERY time she went up to bowl and would shake and dance the whole time it rolled down the alley and then huge Celebration when it hits...no matter the pin count. It never got old!
I tried to capture it a bit on "film" but even pics wouldnt do it justice.

Baptism

2011-12-01T20:48:00.005-05:00

November 20th was such a special day as we promised our sweet girl back to the one who knit her together! :) We were so blessed to have so many family and friends around us!

Saucy!!!

2011-10-31T22:06:00.008-04:00

What a difference a year can make! Last year we picked apples in the FREEZING cold and this year we were all..."glowing" by the end of our trip to the orchard on an 80 degree day! Two other differences this year, Emeline and Auntie Kate! We are SO SO happy Kate and Austin that they are living close by now so that she can join us on all our fun excursions!

We picked and picked...and overshot a bit on our haul this year. We maybe misremembered what we had done in the past and got 3 bushels this year (6 bags!!). It didnt seem like that much, until we got home and started making the applesauce!

But of course we had to make a pit stop at the pie pantry before we began all the hard work!

I didnt post any pics of the process because its a heavily guarded family secret...

no really it is!

Or maybe we all were so gross after 6 hrs of steam in our faces and 57 containers of sauce that I thought some of the ladies may shoot me if I posted them!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-31T21:54:00.006-04:00

This year we took the girls to a patch not far from our house to choose their pumpkins. It was a little muddy and cold, but we got the job done and the girls enjoyed looking for just the right one.

We all worked hard to carve them...the girls drew the faces they wanted or (used stencils for the shapes) and Brad and I cut them. We teamed up on Emelines pumpkin, but I'm sure next year she'll be able to get more in on the action!

Fall Fiesta

2011-10-31T21:18:00.008-04:00

The last couple years, our friends the Anemas and ourselves have thrown a fall party at our barn. This year, we had all the kiddos dress up in their costumes which made it that much more fun :)

We started the night with a hay ride from "Farmer Tim"...one of the perks of living in the sticks!

Then we had pizza and a bunch of fall treats.

Then we had a candy hunt outside and a fire out by the fire pit. The we brought the kids in to do some fall crafts...A ghost and a spider :)

At the end of the night, the kids were so hopped up on sugar they began an impromptu dance party :)

We're so lucky to have such a fun group of friends (with some awesome kiddos) to spend time with! Can wait till next year!

Fall Camping at RIver Ridge

2011-10-28T20:31:00.014-04:00

Brad had a great idea a few months ago...he planned a fall camping weekend for after the baby was born. He was going to take just the big girls so I could have some time at home with just the babe. So sweet, right? Well, Emeline came and we all adjusted pretty well and when it came right down to it, it seemed silly for us all not to go! We packed up and headed to River RIdge which hosts a Halloween weekend the first week in Oct. The weather was in the 80s in the day and 50s at night which was PERFECT! We had such an awesome time! There were tons of activities and everyone was in the Halloween spirit! All the campers decorated their trailers and participated in the pumpkin roll. The pumpkin roll involves each lot bringing a pumpin which bears their lot number and putting it into a trailer. All the pumpkins are then shoved out of the trailer at the top of a huge hill and sent careening down the hill while everyone lines the street! The first pumpkin to the bottom wins a free nights camping! Then the kids find theirs back and climb back up the hill to trhow them down the grass hill which ends in a parking lot and tons of smashed pumpkins! The kids run down and make sure every last one is broken to bits! We also went to the craft barn and did some trick or treating! Anabelle was so cute, after I painted her face, I was her looking at herself in the mirror and she started to cry! She was scared of her own face! What a sensitive soul! Emeline did great the whole weekend, she only woke up once a night and slept in the closet right next to our bed :) Cant wait till she can join in the fun!

i

Sweet Emeline- One month

2011-09-29T08:06:00.002-04:00

Wow! Time really flies when you're getting to know a new love!
I am already seeing Emeline growing and her face changing and wish I could stop time! Many ask who she looks like and I cant really say that she leans any which way. She has her own little look about her! Some have asked about Emeline's name, it actually was suggested to me on a babynaming board and it really grew on Brad as i as we were considering names. We both loved "Eme" (pronounced like Emmy) but wanted a longer given name that was beautiful, feminine, not super common, and yet had history. Emeline (pronounced Em-uh-line) just really stood out from the rest and fit well with the big girls! :)

The transition for the big girls has been going well too! They love to love on her, but haven't been too overbearing yet. We have been so thankful for all the love we have been shown as we transition. No lie, I have only had to cook twice since I came home from the hospital thanks to awesome friends and family. It has been so helpful as three certainly has found a way to fill my day :) We finally have gotten into a rhythm which includes Emelines eat, wake, sleep, as well as the big girls school playtime and gymnastics and finally mommy's housework. :)

This little peanut really has stolen our hearts from day one! . I really feel this is the first time our lives have been at a place where I have really been able to enjoy and soak in all the newborny goodness! Even the middle of the night feedings have been much easier to tolerate this time around. :) We are thanking and praising God every day for the fact that she is eating well, sleeping well (as a newborn can be expected to sleep) and is healthy. Cant wait to see what God has in store for our little lovey!

Sent from Above...

2011-08-31T11:25:00.002-04:00

We are so happy to introduce the newest member of our family, Emeline Jo Iverson. She was born this morning at 6:20am and weighed in at 7lbs 7oz., 19.5 inches long (not too shabby for a babe born three weeks early! Everything went very well and we feel so blessed to add this happy healthy bundle to our little corner of the world!

The girls are so excited about their little sister. Sabrina could not wait to get her hands on Eme while Anabelle was much more hesitant, but in awe. The brought sweet gifts for Emeline and mommy. Our first shot of our expanded family!

FOr those of you who played the name game, Jamie Durham guessed correctly! :) GO Jay!

Now off to get some sleep!

Clue 5

2011-08-29T14:10:00.002-04:00

When our jellybean is a bit older, she will love that there is a children's book with her name in the title!

Clue #4

2011-08-22T21:11:00.000-04:00

The first name is pre 1950's and has never reached the SSA's (social security administrations) top 100.

Clue #3

2011-08-15T23:41:00.001-04:00

No repeats :) We did not choose a first name that begins with an "A" or an "S" :)

Name game, Clue #2

2011-08-07T13:38:00.002-04:00

Ok, heres clue number 2!

Our sweet babe shares her name with a song title and a recording artist.

THE NAME GAME BEGINS!!!

2011-07-24T21:02:00.003-04:00

SO i have tried to do an update post on our lives lately a couple times, but to no avail so instead I will tackle that another day and announce the beginning of round three of the NAME GAME!!!

For those of you who still read the blog and may have missed out on the other two rounds, heres the deal. With each child, at the end of the pregnancy, given out clues to the name of our child and welcomed guesses via the blog or Facebook with the winner receiving a small prize. The clues will be about the first and middle names and you must guess both correctly to win. We wont be revealing the name until Jellybean is born, but will keep track of the winner and will get out the prize after she's born.

I'll keep a running list of the clues on the side of the blog for easy access. :)

So drumroll please:

Clue #!: The first and middle names together have a total of 9 letters.

Good luck and happy guessing! :)

Busy at work

2011-05-03T20:22:00.003-04:00

hehehe How could I resist?!?

We are just DYING for Anabelle to get potty trained sooner rather than later and she shows NO interest so the other night we plunked her on the throne with multiple sippy cup refills and kept her entertained there as long as we could. She was happy as a clam to have books read to her and to have the undivided attention of one of us for over an hour. Towards the end we gave in and let her play the "cake game" on daddys phone while daddy got some work done. Cute photo op...but sad to report no success this time!

Spring Sunday

2011-05-02T14:38:00.004-04:00

Oh how we have waited for some time to play outside! Brad has been hard at work getting the yard projects completed in the cold weather and the girls have had to watch from the house. We have been adding landscaping and a firepit! :) Finally this Sunday the weather cooperated and the girls were able to play outside and Brad could have some rest (as much as my dear Hubby can tolerate).

First he and the girls tried to fly a kite together. Though, I think it was daddy who did all the work. Unfortunately it wind kept switching directions so success was very short lived.

Here is a shot of the fire pit my dear hubby created :) I'm so thankful to have a very handy husband who enjoys dreaming up and making things like this happen. I already see years worth of family memories made in this little nook in our yard.

Sabrina testing out the pit for us :)

After a little bit, Brad and the girls got bit again by the work bug and decided to move the wood pile from where the compost is over to the new firewood pad at the back of the fire pit. The girls got the gator and daddy loaded it up with logs and they drove it over and added each of them to the new pile. Anabelle was very into looking for sticks for kindling and Sabrina with the driver extrodinaire. They had all kinds of fun helping.
Not sure if you can tell, but in these pics Anabelle had a mouthful of beef roast. We had eaten 2 hours earlier and beef roast is apparently not her fave and she tucked away that final bite in her cheek so she didn't have to swallow it. We didn't notice it until much later when she finally gagged it down. WIll her food quirks ever end? :) hehehe

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T14:22:00.002-04:00

What an awesome day to celebrate our risen Lord and Savior! We were lucky enough to be able to spend time with both sides of the family and take part in devouring some amazing food and the kids participated in a Easter Egg hunt!

Epic

2011-04-28T20:12:00.007-04:00

Last Saturday was Epic for oh so many reasons. I havent blogged much about my sister Jamie and her husband Drew's cancer journey for a couple reasons, first, she had been doing a great job of keeping people posted (if you want to read their story, look here) and second, well it was hard to put into words what it was like to watch two people you love and care about suffer so much. Yet, through all the ups and downs, it was beautiful to see two people so in love come together battle through something like this and come out on the other side stronger and more in love. It was also amazing to see God's hand through all of this.
Last Monday, Drew had his first follow up appointment and the news was awesome! Everything looked good and he it still CANCER FREE! Yah GOD! To celebrate this awesome news, my dad gathered up our family and Drew's Mom for a night on the town. My dad planned the whole thing and kept it a secret from all of us. We (all if us except the guests of honor) were asked to meet at my parents house and shortly after we got there, a Hummer limo pulled in...yep, like I said, epic. We piled in and headed to pick up Jamie and Drew.
When we got there we saw this Can you see Drew peeking around the curtain? In the limo, reenacting she shock of seeing the limo pull up. The guests of honor! So cute,no?
So at this point, we still didnt know where we were going, but the limo began heading towards GR. Meanwhile, dad got out the wine and the toasting flutes to get the night of to a great start. "Yeah GOD!!!" was all that need be said! Finally we pulled in to Magnanimo in EGR, it is this awesome old mansion that had been turned into an italian restaurant.We sat down for an AMAZING meal in a private room. We spent some time reading scripture and looking back on the last 6 months and what God had done. He used doctors, nurses, medicine, cards, emails, meals, phone calls, prayer services, friends, family, and the touch of his mighty healing hand to bring Drew to the other side of this. Yeah God, Yeah God! We are so thankful for all of it and thankful for a God that is so BIG, so FAITHFUL and who listens to the cries of his people.
Brad and I :)
After dinner, we headed back to my parents house for ANOTHER celebration...Drew's BIRTHDAY!! Yep, at the end of all this, it is such beautiful timing to celebrate another year of life! We had my mommas delicious strawberry Shortcake and opened cards and gifts. Kate and Austin always manage to find GREAT cards :)

It really was a EPIC night. A high for all of us and closure of a hard chapter and the beginning of a new one!

Oh, and One more for good measure~

Yeah GOD!!! :)

Sleep Over

2011-04-15T09:50:00.003-04:00

Often during playtime the girls will set up sleepovers that involve dolls, many types of beds and other toys. Its usually quite and elaborate mess :) They have been begging to have an actual sleepover in Anabelles room and while on spring break we decided to let them do it. They were SO excited. It only took 2 hours for them to finally calm down, and they ended up sleeping in till 7:45 (pretty good for our house)!

The Finished Product

2011-04-14T19:54:00.002-04:00

I picked up the girls plates at paint a pot this week and thought I'd share the finished pieces of art. Anabelle was with me when I picked them up and immediately she said, "I dont like it, I missed some spots!" while pointing to some of the white on the rim. I reassured her about how beautiful it was, but it took her a bit to be convinced! This is not the first time she has been critical of her art. Not long ago she made a card for my grandma's birthday and she kept saying she didn't like it and didn't want to give it to her. Not sure where this all comes from in her, but I sure hope this is a passing phase. Its heartbreaking to hear her be so "down" on the great stuff she makes!

Paint a pot

2011-04-11T14:27:00.010-04:00

As we approached the week of spring break I became a little trepidatious about what on earth we would do to fill 5 totally open unstructured days (3 of them with daddy gone on top of it). So, we ended up getting creative and doing some things we had never done together. We went to the library for kindermusic and to get books (yep, bad mom...never took them to the library. After a couple bad Barnes N Noble adventures I was a little phobic of two kids in a huge building with stacks of books all put in a particular place), we had a picnic in the cold with friends (see the Busscher Blog for pics!) and we went to paint a pot.

Paint a Pot was a little bit of a gamble as I wasn't sure how long it would capture their attention and how crazy messy they would get so Nana came along for assistance and the girls had a blast! They started off with a little color here, a sunshine there, but by the end there were 40+ layers of paint in every shade known to man! They painted for at least an hour and still weren't ready to pack up. At the end, I traced their hands on the plates by scraping paint off with the back of a paintbrush.

As you can see they were both very proud of their work! I'll post the final product once we pick them up :)

I also took them with me to my 16wk checkup for the baby where they got to hear the heartbeat with me. It was fun to see their reactions and how excited they were! :) For those who like to guess based on heartbeat, it was 150bpm.

Turning 30

2011-04-06T21:33:00.006-04:00

Yep, its finally here, the day I enter my 30's :) Truly, not one that has bothered me really. I know its considered a "Big One" but as I'm nearly the youngest in my groups of friends, it never really had the impact on me that I think it would have if I'd have been the first to hit that milestone. The only weird thing for me is that I have very vivid memories of my mom's 30th birthday party, so remembering this and realizing that now I'M the one whose 30 is a little trippy.

That being said, it really was one of the best birthdays yet...I celebrated with my girls and hubby on Thursday night. Brad had taken the girls to get all the party supplies and he did an awesome job of letting them choose, even though what they chose may not have been what he would have. We had princess plates picked by Anabelle and Dora napkins picked by Sabrina. We made belgian waffles (after a couple false starts) and had a cake and ice cream. The girls painted pictures for me and had bought me cards that they picked put on their own and decorated. They were so beautiful because they fit them perfectly :) Brad surprised me with new camera flash and the news that we'd be spending the night in GR at the JW Marriott the next night and having dinner at Louis Benton's. I spent my Birthday Day shopping with my mom and having lunch with she and Kate. It was a relaxing day without kiddos thanks to Brads Parents! Our mini trip to GR was Fantastic and I could not have wished for a better way to spend my day. Sunday was another party with my family and delicious home cooked meal from my mommy. Nothing better!

I feel so blessed to be thirty and have the friends and family around me that I do. I'm so thankful for my sweet girls and the newest little one on the way. Each of them is such a gift. I'm so lucky to be able to say that at 30, I have been with my Hubby for half of my life now and could not imagine a day without him. He is more than I could have dreamed and the perfect calm to my crazy :) Heres to another 30 to come!

Ft. Meyers and Port Charlotte

2011-03-27T20:37:00.004-04:00

Last week we headed out on our first big family adventure to Florida. Most days I am a natural procrastinator, but seeing as traveling with two small kids was novel to us, I actually tried to get my act together ahead of time and pack over a period of days. I got some great advice from friends and family and when the big day came, we left with one big case and two carryon bags for the four of us and two backpacks with "plane entertainment". Amazingly we had everything we needed and nothing more! :) The girls talked for weeks in advance about going on a plane and were super excited. They did great both ways! Sabrina even cried when we landed because she was sad to "get back to the Earth".

The girls and I on the plane enjoying modern technology :)

When we got to the Pink Shell, it was late (10PM!) but the girls were so excited we took a quick tour of the pool and the hotel and then to our room There were two kissing swans in the master bedroom and the girls got quite a kick of this and they inspired lots of canoodling and giggling.

Each morning we would head down for the breakfast buffet. Great food and lots to choose from.

Our days then were filled with lathering up with sunscreen and heading down to the pools or beach. They had so much fun in the water and meeting other kids. Sabrina even perfected her "cannonball!"

The old folks looking on :)

A couple of family shots...

After pur time at the Pink Shell, we headed to Port Charlotte where Brads Grandma lives. We spent the night there and the girls had so much fun with Grandma Gert feeding turtles in the canal, playing with her beanie babies, reading books and playing Uncle Wiggly. Such special time getting to know Grandma better!

The last day we came back to Ft. Meyers to catch or plane but had a couple hours to spare and ended up at My Aunt Jans condo with My Aunt Lisa, Cousin Corrin and her friend Erika. The girls got to spend some time in the pool one last time and got tons of fun play time :) Perfect way to get some energy out before the long ride back home!

The weather the whole time was perfection and it was great to have some time away from "real life". It was so "easy" with kids 4 and 2 1/2. It was a good reminder to soak up all the fun this summer with them as things will become more complicated in September with a new little one to integrate into the family schedule :) Don't get me wrong, we are so excited for this little addition, but we do rememer what having a newborn is like...and being outnumbered will be a new adventure. :)

Our 2011 Valentine

2011-02-22T13:40:00.001-05:00

Green cleaning

2011-01-24T19:52:00.002-05:00

I dont claim to be one who has been super into the "green" revolution. I know it may not be cool to say that, but if I'm truthful, it seems like alot of extra work for a mom of two busy little ones (YEP...i'm full of excuses here). But, recently, I have been thinking more about the health of my kids. Not just the day to day health (colds and flu, etc.), but their long term health (the big stuff).
You see, cancer is all over my family tree and My Bro in law is currently putting up a fight against the awful C-word. (Please pray for him this week as it is surgery week!...for more see Durham Diary on the right)
I also have family who battle multiple chemical sensitivity (in a nutshell, the body has been overdosed with toxins and "reacts" to even minimal exposure to everyday chemicals).
Both of these things combined have gotten me to think about what I'm exposing my girls, myself, and Brad to on a day to day basis. Have you ever sprayed cleaner in your shower and then gone to scrub and practically choked on the mist? It just cannot be a good thing to be sucking that down, right?
So, after a little research I have decided to begin to clean green. Not just buying "green" stuff from the store that still has chemicals in it...but really cleaning with things I have around the house or with concoction I make on my own. I know this will be a process of trial and error, but I feel like its worth it. I'm planning to keep anyone who is interested updated on my findings on here!

Week 1: So my first step was to get organized. I found an app for my phone called green shine that breaks down every room/surface in your house and give suggestions for what to use! Also i went and bought some empty spray bottles to put my mixtures in. I made sure to find ones with spaces to label them with what its for and what it contains for easy refilling.

My first two surfaces to try were mirrors and tile floors.

For mirrors: create a solution of 50/50 water and white distilled vineger. spray on mirrors and wipe off. It also suggests to use newspaper instead of papertowel as it lets off no "fuzz". I didnt have any lying around that day so i used paper towel this time but will try newspaper next time and let you know how it goes!

Review: Very effective! Got the mirrors super clean, no more scrubbing than usual. The vinegar smell is definately there, but not unbearable!

For Tile floors: fill bucket with warm water, a couple drops of dish soap, and 3oz of vinegar. Wipe and dry floor!

Review: it worked fine, no strong smell. On one tile it left a little residue, but the other three...no issue whatsoever. I'll keep tweaking this one!

more to come!

Let me know if you have any green techniques to share or if you try these out!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-19T23:45:00.002-05:00

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-11-04T21:57:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago, there was some time off of school so Brad and I took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge. Truthfully, its always been fun, this time was the most fun we've had there yet! The girls were able to do all the slides and were excited to do so! We got to do more as a family and didnt just stay in the kiddie areas! They also had trick or treating and a costume contest for the kiddos which we took full advantage of!

My Punkins Pumpkins

2010-10-27T23:38:00.006-04:00

Blogger and I have been in a bit of a fight. I keep trying to post, it wont let me. I stick my tounge out, It shuts down. Hence the 5 week absence. I have a big gap to fill, but we'll start with the present and work back. :)

Monday night we decided to bust out the grubbs and knives and do a little pumpkin carving! The girls had picked out thier gourds the previous weekend at the farmers market with Mommy and Nana. Sabrina immediately went for a biggun while Anabelle gravitiated towards the very petite. We had to keep encouraging her to think bigger so we could actually carve the thing!

In true Anabelle style, she got a little attached to her pumpkin and initally she didnt want to carve it at all! We really had to convince her that she would like seeing it all glowing at night after we carved it! (this is the same girl who has slept with and dragged all round the house the small pumpkin she painted nearly 4 weeks ago!)Sabrina dove right in with all kinds of gusto directing what shapes she wanted for each feature! Sabrina wanted happy cheery and Anabelle wanted something more scary!

Since it wasnt dark enough when we finished carving, we went in and got jammies on and brushed teeth and then headed out to enjoy them all aglow :)

Hola Treescolar!!!

2010-09-19T20:09:00.005-04:00

Bienvienidos a la mundo de escuela Sabrina! (Welcome to the world of school Sabrina!)
This last week Sabrina began Threeschool in the El Puente program at Zeeland Christian. This is a spanish immersion program in which the kids will be exposed to and immersed in the Spanish language! Sabrina has been SO excited to begin school and this week could not have come fast enough in her eyes! She picked out her own backpack (had to be purple, her fave color) and wore in aorund the house constantly. She and Anabelle became comnsumed with playing school and it was almost all she talked about at bedtime snuggle time! When the day came there was not a bit of hesitation on her part and she dove right in! The first day I got to go with her for the day and then the second day she went on her own for the two hours. After picking her up I had nonstop chatter about every moment of her day...needless to say she loves it! She is already using a number of Spanish words she's learning at home and is teaching Anabelle as well. I'm finding I am going to have to brush up on my Spanish to answer all her questions! WIth Maestra Hernandez
Doing a craft with Maestra Uribe

Most partents talk about being sad or teary on this day, but with all Sabrina's excitement, it was hard to not just be super excited for her! Right now she goes just two days a week for a couple hours, I imagine when she starts going evey day all day it will be much harder. Anabelle really enjoys the time she gets with just mommy and I do too, her personality is really evolving lately with the influx of language and I so enjoy getting to know this much more chatty Anabelle!

DOnt mind the goofy poses, Sabrina is a tough one to take pics of, she does not sit still and I think she things she's a high fashion model :)

Fishing and life lessons

2010-09-19T19:44:00.004-04:00

This post kept getting skipped over and forgotten, but the memories of fishing were some of the highlights of this summer! Poppy had told the girls he'd take them fishing at the cottage this August. He got all our old gear that I remembered from growing up (even the old holey tan glove we use to take the fish off the hook) and headed down the dock with the girls. I was pretty sure this adventure was not going to be long lasting, but oh was I wrong! The girls loved it and the fish were practically fighting eachother to get on the hook! (perfect for two antsy little girls!) ALtogether they caught about 10 fish, mostly pan fish but as you can see, Sabrina got a pretty good sized bass!

It was so much fun watching them learn how to fish with my dad, he taught us girls to fish when we were little and we took lots of little fishing trips to Huizenga park or Lake Laminations (the pond by where my dad used to work). I loved fishing with my dad and I loved that he taught us to fish like boys, not girls. I owe alot of my confidence and willingness to try things that are not tradiotionally "girly" to the fact that my dad never saw having three girls as a limitation to what he could teach us. When we fished, we were expected to bait our own hooks and take our own fish off, thats part of what fishing is why should that be any different because of your sex? Just that small lesson while fishing taught me about not letting the worlds expecations of me as a girl, limit what I can do! My dad always saw us as having unlimited possibilities and juch confidence in us, it was hard not to feel you could achieve anything! So blessed to have had this kind of dad :) and doubly bless to now watch this lesson be imparted to my girls!

And by the way, I still bait my own hook and take fish off :) Thanks Dad!

Here's to 32!

2010-09-15T21:08:00.004-04:00

Monday was Brads Birthday :) He's not one to make a big deal about birthdays, but we like try try to make it special, like it or not! The girs and I made him his favorite cake (rainbow chip) and the girls decorated it with sprinkles! We made his favorite dinner and set the table with fine china and candles! It was nothing crazy, but we tried to make daddy feel extra special on his big day!

Blowing out the candles with Daddy!

We love him so much and is definately the backbone of our family. He never quits and always finds a solution to whatever problem arises. He always goes the extra mile and too often without thanks or recognition. Kind, generous compassionate....I could go on all day :) I just feel so blessed that I can call him my other half!

Bristol or Bust!

2010-08-23T23:20:00.003-04:00

If you would have asked me what I thought of NASCAR a week ago I would probablly tell you I was pretty indifferent. I have watched more races than I care to say, but I also in that time learned alot about it and know there is more to it then "just driving in a circle". Would I say I have a passion for it? NO. Do I hate it? No, (only when it keeps my hubby too occupied when I need or would like his attention, hehe) there are some interesting things about it, but would never choose to turn it on myself.

THis past weekend, Brad and I and our good friends Mike and Em took a roadtrip down to Bristol, TN to watch a NASCAR race. Truthfully, I was looking forward to it as a trip with great friends with no kids...a break from the norm. I had no idea what to expect from the NASCAR portion of the getaway...

After lots of travel, a night in a WALMART parking lot, and laughs on the way down, we rounded a bend and saw this HUGE arena and a sea of campers and tents....I mean for MILES! All the houses in the area had sold patches of their lawns for tents, cars, and campers. People were parking and walking 5 miles just to get to the venue! It was BANANAS! Unlike anything i have ever seen! This alone would have been worth the trip for me! We got to our campsite and set up shop. We met some really cool people in the lots around us and everyone was very cool and friendly and unhillbillyish! HAHAHA! DUring the day we explored, shopped the vendors, and hung out by the trailer. At night it was racetime!!!!

There were two races we attended, the Nationwide (like the minor leaugeS) and the Sprint Cup (the Majors). We hiked up to our seats (21 stories worth of stairs!) and donned our scanners and microphones. The noise is so loud, you cant talk to eachother without them! You can listen to all the driver chatter and the announcers during the race on the scanner. The races are so much more exciting in person and its so easy to get caught up in it all, fan or no!

The whole weekend was awesome and I cant wait to go again...never thought I'd say that!

Magnus makes our weekend

2010-08-17T20:25:00.005-04:00

So as I mentioned in my last post, while camping at the Hungry Horse, we got so spend some time getting to know one of the horses on the property. He was a beautiful black and white horse named Magnus. Dawn, Ranee, and Stephanie brought us our and let the girls help brush, ride and feed him. The just ate it up!

Hungry Horse

2010-08-16T21:28:00.004-04:00

Yep, this is my guy, in front of a camper... in the dirt no less! Any of you who know Brad would know that 2 years ago this would have been a pipe dream! This would not have been his idea of fun, but now just look at him, camping with a smile on his face! Love it!

He loves it too :) Really! no Joke! Not sure what changed it, but so thankful for it because we have had a great summer of camping goodness and lots of memories have been made!

A couple weekends ago, Brad and I took the girls camping at the Hungry Horse in Dorr, Mi. This was our first camping trip with "just us" and our first time at Hungry Horse! The draw to this location was that it is very close to Brads shop and he was able to work while we were there. On Thursday, Sabrina went to work with Brad for half a day, she was so excited and had fun riding bikes and playing with her buddy Avery.

The time there was alot of fun. Our site was right next to one of three playgrounds which made life easier for me while Brad was at work :) We also were close to the pool where we spent much of our time in the mornings. There was a hay ride, lots of smores and an awesome night up close and personal with a beautiful horse, thanks to some friends (more about this in a later post).

The girls are smore freaks, Sabrina would begin asking at breakfast time about when we could have the smores!

Just hangin around!

Climbin

At the end of the day, we'd bathe the girls (cuz let me tell you, they were filthy!) and have story time before bed. I just love seein my girlies snuggled up to my best guy! :) I'd like to say, after storytime and prayers the girls curl up in the bunks and drift off, but that is far from the truth....lets just say smores after dinner does not sleepy girls make! Lots of giggles and goofing off till the wee hours! It's all part of making memories, right?

snapshots of a night on the lake

2010-08-09T21:44:00.002-04:00

A huge thanks to the geenens for being wonderful hosts!

Homestead

2010-08-08T22:46:00.004-04:00

I really cant in words or pictures tell you how I felt about the time we spent at the Homestead near Glen Arbor. Our extended family has gone there at different times growing up and we have always made special memories, but our last trip there, 10 years ago was exceptional! We went there for some skiing, and I left that trip an engaged woman! Beyond Memorable to say the least!

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, and our family looks so different (add in two kiddos and two brothers), but the condo was the same! I kept having moments comparing those two trips and feel so blessed! It was great to have a long weekend full of activities and places to see but ultimately just enjoy eachothers company!

Three to the clerk, one in the bag!

2010-07-23T21:56:00.004-04:00

HI I'm Anabelle and I know my mommy talks about me alot on this blog, but this time its MY turn to tell a story! TOday was a BIG BIG BIG day for me! I love my pipeys, and I mean ALOT, more than even apple sauce and milk!! Earlier this week my they turned up broken, my daddy and mommy didnt know how it happened, but it was really sad! I still held them at night time, but they didnt do much good. Then mommy started telling me about how I can SELL my pipeys for a toy! I thought alot about this and today I decided that since they were broken, and I had had a couple sleeps without them that I wanted to sell them. SO>>> after supper, we put them in a bag and got in the car... See, here they are!

Then we went to Target and went straight for the toy aisle! My sissy and i looked at lots of toys, it was a very hard decision! Then I found a little dolly that made me giggle! It plays peek-a-boo with me and talks to me and calls me "mommy"! I LOVE it! Yep, this is the one! Then I marched up the the checkout and paid the lady with my pipeys! I have never seen mommy do that, she doesnt have pipeys, she usually pays with a little rectangle or green paper...I guess I'm just lucky!
This is the dolly I picked, I know you cant see it very well, but I was so excited by all it can do, I didnt really want to hold it up for mommy who takes WAY to many pictures!

I'm a big girl with my new dolly and no pipeys!

i hope i will sleep tonight.......

Goggle Me!

2010-07-21T23:18:00.007-04:00

This summer it seems that the heat has necessitated that we spend every waking moment we can in the pool. As result, Sabrinas hair is green, Anabelle lives in swimmie diapers and our fingers and toes are almost perpetual prunes! Its a beautiful thing!

Another lovely outcome of the summer of fish living is that the girls rarely fight! They have so much fun in the pool together that there is rarely a piercing shreik (Sabrina) or a tantrum (Anabelle) to be spied in the pool area! One of the only things that could turn pool time sour in a hurry was goggles...those little yellow buggers stole both their hearts and when one would pull it out of the box of pool toys, the other would go nuts! SO after reffing round after round of knock out drag out fights, the lighbulb went on and to target I went! (Yes I know this teaches them a terrible lesson about sharing and learning to take turns, but FYI, for us the teaching oppertunities for this subject are endless these days!)

Enter the Dora and Kai Lan goggles, one for each and made for little noggins to boot! Lets just day, they were a hit! They ran around the house with them on, and checked them out in the mirrors. OH GLEE! However, it was naptime and alas, they had to wait till after for their first swim. (I had to pry them from Anabelles hands while she was kicking and screaming, she wanted to wear them to bed!) After naptime, we got our apples and went outside, geared up for goggle time!
I must say, they looked cutely silly in them and i couldnt resist snapping away!

Testing them out...(I just love wathing them discover the world together, they have such a bond that just melts my heart! Reminds me of MY sissies and all the fun moments we have shared!)

This summer we have seen such a change with the girls and their relationship with the water, Sabrina has totally embraced everything h2o and in the last months has gotten brave enough to jump in on her own (without swimmies in the shallow and with a floatie in the deep) and has even learned to swim unassisted accross the length of the pool and willingly goes under water to find things on the bottom! We're so proud of her courage to try new things in the water and her determination to master what she learned in swimming lessons!
Her "horsie"
Swimming on her back

Jumping in the "deep"

Proud as a peacock!

Anabelle also has embraced the pool in a new way, last year she was limited to floating in a tube or being held...now she can really splash about with much more independance using a variety of floaties! She loves to use her noodle to swim after things for her big sis.All this makes pool time more fun for mom and dad as we dont have to be constantly holding or assiting one or the other and we can enjoy floating the day away too!

Two!

2010-07-18T22:45:00.008-04:00

In the space between this and the last post, much has happened! All great stuff that has kept us crazy busy (hence the lack of posts and glut of pictures just dying to be see the light of day!)

One of the big things that happened was that our sweet "Miss A" has turned 2! Its so nuts to me that she's two already as she still seems like my baby!
She was a little spooked by everyone singing to her :)

We had three celebrations for Anabelle,all which were so much fun! Anabelle really loves Minnie Mouse so her parties were all "minnie" themed :)

The Iverson party was on Fathers Day and she also shared her party with Great Nana Beemer. We first ate a delicious meal at Grammie and Grampies and then everyone came to our house for a Minnie Luau by the pool!
Papa Beemer, Grampee Iverson, and Daddy with the girls
Dressed up in her luau gear :)
Opening gifts :)

The Hoogland Party was at the cottage, what more could a girlie ask for that a fun week with her extended family! Her daddy bought her minnie stickers for her to use at her party which she passed out to everyone as a "ticket" to get into the party!

On her actual birthday, mommy tried hard to make her day fun! She had princess cupcakes for breakfast, then Nana and Jay joined us for some fun at crazybounce, McDOnalds for lunch and swimming in the pool till naptime! Once daddy got home, it was time for the dinner she had chosen which was pizza and pop tarts! (Seriously, we do eat healthy otherwise!! hehehe) After supper, we headed to the barn where she got to see her present! (which she will be sharing with sis).

All in all I think it was a great birthday for this little honey :) We head to the dr on Tues and will see where she shakes out on the charts! We love our little Anabelly and so treasure her cuddlebuggy nature and her fun personality. She is always suprising us and making us smile. Thank you God for sending Anabelle Rose to us 2 years ago! We are so blessed!

Its Showtime!

2010-06-05T21:19:00.002-04:00

The last two days have been crazy busy, but so much fun! Sabrina had her first dance recital with WE Dance Academy which involved alot of makeup, hair curling, running her back and forth and finally the big day! Sabrina really loves dance and has been talking about this day for quite some time! In my (totally biased) opinion, she did great! I was so proud of her and i must admit, the tears did flow :)
First Position
FOcused on her teachers instructions
The girls in her class, top to bottom, l tor: Reece, Sabrina, Brooke, Lily, Ava, Sofia, and Shea. Sabrina has LOVED meeting all these girls and has already said she will miss seeing thim every week!
Ava, Sabrina and Lily
Post performance with the ballet bear Brad and I gave her. :)

SHe has already asked when she can do it again! :)

Memorial Day

2010-06-01T15:45:00.001-04:00

As we are

2010-05-24T20:56:00.002-04:00

If you ever run in to us out in about, generally my girlies are dressed and hair done, not always perfect, but usually they are reasonablly clean and "put together". What you may not know is that once they know we are heading home, they yank the bows out and the minute we walk through the door they (mostly Sabrina) run to get ther "comfies" on. (most of the time an odd mix of jammies and other odd pieces) The are also really awesome (like most kids) at getting dirty. :) We practice this skill often here...here are a couple "as we are" shots of Anabelle from the last couple days messy face and hair in her eyes, just like we like it!

Princess and the Parents

2010-05-22T20:51:00.005-04:00

Tonight Brad and I took Sabrina out to Beauty and the Beast the Musical and I must tell you, it was so much fun! For the last couple months, Sabrina has been telling anyone within earshot that she is going to the Beauty and the Beast play. For all the anticipation, we felt we totally got our money's worth before we even got there! She had decided she wanted to dress as Belle for the play and really got into getting all dolled up this morning. She even asked me to repain her nails and fingernails because "thats what princesses wear". Brad and I were a little nervous how she would react to the whole thing because a) she's terrified of any "character" in costume she meets in person and b) not every scene is "happy" in this movie but once we got through the first scene, (the beggar woman freaked her out) it was grins giggles, and dancing the rest of the time! The production was incredible, for sure, but the best part was seeing it all through Sabrinas eyes. I even got teary at the end when she was booging at the end and clapping like crazy at the ovation...(what a sap, i know). Afterwords, we took her for a special dinner at Max and Ermas and indulged in freshbaked cookies and the icecream bar (a little piece of kiddie heaven!). Sabrina is definately not our sleeper, but on the ride home she crashed out from all the excitement! It was awesome having some special time jsut with Sabrina and she basked in all the attention! I feel to blessed to have had the oppertunity to do this with her and hope the future brings more oppertunities like this for both our girls.

Tulip Tooties :)

2010-05-10T14:12:00.002-04:00

Random Cuteness

2010-04-29T21:49:00.001-04:00

Love me a garage sale!

2010-04-28T21:16:00.003-04:00

I'm by no means a die hard, I admit I cant do the whole Bluff Lakes Sale at 8 AM. Battling that insanity is too much for me, but give me a leisurely stroll early afternoon in and out of forigen garages filled with plunder to pick through and its a little slice of shopper heaven. Add sunshine and an eager 3 year old whole loves the thrill as much as her mommy and it's nearly perfection! Last year I stumbled upon some bigger scores (a brand new radioflyer wagon being the prize). This year I really had nothing in mind but I did stumbled upon these:

They are the cutest little sundae glasses! Got 12 for $2!!! Breaking them out brings me so much joy and the girls love them because they feel so fancy! It reminds me of playing "Spiffy Ladies" with my Grandma when I was little. I love that I can recreate it for my girls on the cheap!

Bubbles and Bathing Beauties

2010-04-26T20:46:00.003-04:00

Our last morning in Indy the girls enjoyed playing outside in their jammies with all Grammies bubbles and her scooter and then hit the pool for a dip before the long ride home!

What a great way to end such a fun trip! Thanks again Grammie and Grampie!

Indy's Childrens Museum

2010-04-20T20:40:00.005-04:00

Ready for round two? :)
We spent a few hours with the kids at the Indianapolis Childrens Museum while we were in Indy. It is always a hit with the kids when we visit Grammy and Grampy and there are exhibits that rotate regularly so there is always something new to see (on top of all the other 6 floos of things to do and see!)! Right now they have a Barbie 50th anniversary exhibit and an Exploration of Egypt, Bob the Builder and for spring break they had turned a huge flight of stairs into a slide! Seriously, a slide! It was great fun for all of us!Barbielicious! I think I liked this exhibit more than the girls! It was so fun to see all the barbies from the last 50 years! I found a few I had had growing up and it SO took me right back to the days holed up in the basement for hours agonizing over shoe choices! I digress...
In the barbie exhibit there was a runway with bumpin music, lights, and places for paparazzi to be shootin away. The kids could got "backstage" and dress up in glamwear and strut! The girls were lovin the camera! heheh

A meal with goldielocks' Three bears!The Egypt exhibit began with a plane ride in a nearly real plane! You could even feel the vibration of landing and takeoff in the seats! The girls were really taken by all of this!

The girls really like Bob the Builder and had alot of fun exploring everything in this area...they were able to see how to plant a garden, how a water pump worked, play with wheelbarros, and crawl all over bob and his friends!

Brad even found a friend to "lean on" in Bobs workshop!

This was the huge stair/slide! We did it twice and the girls LOVED this best of all we saw there!

If any of you have kids and are in the area...it would be crazy not to stop! Its really that good! Maybe even worth a roadtrip and a hotel if you combine it with the zoo and the millions of great resturaunts! No I'm not being paid by the Indianapolis Board of Tourism, I swear! ;)

The Iversons in Indy

2010-04-14T21:02:00.006-04:00

Last weekend we were treated to such a fun weekend visiting Mom and Dad Iverson in Indianapolis! We were only there for a few days, but boy did we pack it all in! The girls had such a riot and always love spending time with Grammie and Grampie!

Given all we did, this trip will probably take a few posts to cover! Here are some pics of our trip to the Indianapolis Zoo:

Anabelle was geared up and ready to go! The girlies waiting with grammie for the men to get the strollers after an exhibit. It was initally a bit chilly in the morning so we wore coats, but by afternoon it was BEAUTIFUL! One of my faves :) Checking out the polar bear
It may not look it, but the girls both really likes petting the goats! Shortly after this, Sabrina stuck her fingers in a cage to pet a chicken and got nipped!A scottish cow...Just loved this guy and his shaggy do! Anabelle got her first pony ride in! She rode a horse names sugar and LOVED it even though she was a little bit nervous getting on!
Sabrina riding Scarlette, proud as a peacock! Our best Guy :)Our little sweetie just bushed :) She sure isnt ready to skip her nap yet but both girls were troopers!

To come: the museum, bubble-rama, and swimming :)

Brownie Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

2010-03-16T13:11:00.003-04:00

Ok, so one blog I love to read is my friend Kathy's.. (The Busscher Family) not only is she honest and insightful and posts about her adorable kiddos, but she's an AMAZING cook and baker. She often posts recipes (with pics!) of things she's tried lately. I've gotten some gems from her blog and hope she continues posting this stuff (nudge nudge :)). Anywho...this past Sunday I had to bring dessert to our small group meeting and to be honest, I don't have much in my "dessert repertoire" so I tried something new and it actually turned out and was even kinda pretty (in my eyes). In addition it was yummy and simple (thank you Pillsbury Recipes) although not for those who may be "watching it" (sorry ladies in my small group!) Thought I'd post the recipe for you all.

Brownie Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Prep time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 hrs 25 min
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Ingredients:
Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 (19.5 oz.) package Pillsbury® Classic Traditional Fudge Brownie
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) canEagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preparation Directions:
1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 9-inch springform pan with no-stick cooking spray. Prepare brownie according to package directions for chewy brownies. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
2. BAKE 35 minutes or until set.
3. BEAT cream cheese until fluffy in large bowl. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
4. REDUCE oven temperature to 300°F. Bake 50 minutes or until set. Cool. Chill thoroughly. Remove side of springform pan. Garnish as desired.

TIP Chocolate chips may fall to top of brownie layer during baking, you can add some to the top ten min into baking that will stay on the top for visual appeal :)

February Blahs

2010-03-12T21:22:00.008-05:00

This last month has not produced many interesting stories or pictures as we have been hit with pneumonia, pinkeye(x2), and a cough/cold, Brad was also gone a bit and I have been busy with a bible study on Monday nights and Photography class on Tuesdays. All of a sudden its the middle of March and the snow is gone and we are seeing the light! Woo Hoo! The schedules will slow in some ways and pick up in others, but hopefully we'll be back in our usual groove!

Lately, Anabelles vocabulary has really expanded. She's now saying all kinds of words and will attempt most you throw at her. She had been combining two words at a time and attemps to sing pieces of songs (her faves are ring around the rosie, and the itsy bitsy spider). This verbal explosion has really been huge in helping the interaction between the girls. They can really communicate now and they seem to enjoy this time together (most of the time). Sabrina loves to be the mommy and spends lots of time instructing (read:bossing around) her sis and most of the time Anabelle is game. The other morning Sabrina was trying to teach Anabelle new words by "reading" the curious george book to her and asking her "can you say...." in a high, slow, sing songy voice that I'm sure I must NEVER use. :)

Anabelle is also SUPER into ballet stuff all of a sudden. She grabs Sabrinas "Ready Set Piroette (sp?)" book and looks in the back at all the moves and copies them...and is actually pretty good at it! She is also getting to develop quite a desire for things to be her way and sharing isnt too appealing to her lately. A couple days ago, Anabelle didnt want to share something with her sis and took hold of the nearby handle of her full sippy cup and clubbed Sabrina over the head. Oh MY! Then this is the look I get from her.... "you say I did what?" Seriously, sometimes punishment can be hard with this one! :)

Sabrina is in full on pretend mode lately...lots of "you be the mom...I'll be the kid" or "you be Miss Heidi the hair lady and I'll come get my hair done" :) Its very fun to see her create these worlds and the people that live in them but sometimes its hard to get her to want to be Sabrina again! Last night she and I went to the g-ville mall for some special time with just the two of us (which was so sweet and such a treasured time) and the whole ride home she was the mom and and I was the kid. This lasted through the entire bedtime routine and till the minute we said goodnight. She never broke charater. Then this morning she was ready to pick it right back up (at 6:10 AM!!). I think I need to look so forward to many more "lets pretend sessions"in my future :)

Silly Snowbunnies

2010-02-28T19:51:00.002-05:00

Sabrina has been a HUGE snow lover but Anabelle has been hesitent until lately. I think the fact she could hardly walk in all her gear had a little bit to do with her dislike of the snowy outdoors :) Since she's starting to embrace the snow we have had more family outings to enjoy the weather. We have been sledding down the huge pile left from Brads plow, we have attempted snowmen (but the snow has not cooperated!) and we have even had a family snowball fight! (Great fun and giggles all around till Anabelle caught one in the kisser!) I will say I have never been one to enjoy the cold myself (except when skiing), but enjoying it through new eyes has given me a new love for the white stuff so bring it on old man winter! We dare you! ;)

One piggie, two piggie

2010-02-10T20:35:00.002-05:00

Anabelle has begun to rock the "two piggie" look and I think it's pretty cute :) Crazy enough so does she. She wants her hair done every morning and not a day goes by where she doesnt ask for her bow. When I tried the two piggies for the first time, she giggled and giggled and pointed in the mirror. Too funny! :)

Ive had a lot of comments lately on how much the girls look alike...I both agree and disagree, but I do find they have some very similar mannerisms and approach tasks similarly...

The girlies have been really playing together more and lovin on eachother.I came up on this "moment" the other day and be still my heart :) SO sweet.

I hate football

2010-01-31T22:04:00.008-05:00

Most of you who know me can attest to my hatred of football and to be honest, most all sports really. Football is just exceptionally excruciating for me...my sensitive ears and the constant crowd noise, the crazy rules i dont understand (and dont care to), and the men prancing around is capris and a shirt stuffed with padding juming all over each other every 2 min causing pain to others who have done them no wrong!! WHo dreams up this stuff?!?
Ok ok, sorry to all you who love football, (including my husband) and most of my extended family, I hope you can love me in spite of this....the upside to all this is while "the game is on I get to have silly time with the girls and take some cute pics which you now get to enjoy, so in the end I guess everyone wins :)

Oh, and for my husband and Grammee and Grampee I must write, "GO COLTS". :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

2010-01-24T21:31:00.002-05:00

Friday was my wonderful dads birthday! We celebrated with dinner out at the Piper (I recommend the woodfired pizzas, my fave combo...chicken, pineapple and roasted garlic! Try it, its perfection!)and a Coldstone Cake...delish! There are alot of awesome things about my dad, I could write on for days, but one thing that really stands out in my mind is how he always makes a point of telling his girls how much we mean to him at just the right time...we always know we are loved :) Sounds like such a simple thing but being a therapist and seeing so many young girls with self esteem issues who would give anything to hear those words from a daddy, or anyone really...boy it means alot! It also makes it easier to really know the love of our Heavenly Father when we have truely felt the love of our earthy one. Thank you dad for that gift! Love you and Happy Birthday!

Docter Docter!

2010-01-19T15:02:00.003-05:00

The girls had their checkups this morning....yup I said check upS, 2 of them, together in one room with a total of 5 shots to look forward to! YIKES! Oh yeah, and for some reason I booked it for 8:40 AM! What was I thinking!!! Thank goodness Nana is a fan of being trapped in a small room for two hours with no toys and two anxious little girlies! heheh! On to the Stats:

Anabelle at 18 months: 33 1/2in (90%) and 23.3 lbs (25%). She also is being treated for a sinus infection after we discussed how she's been nonstop sick since November and he saw a bit of fluid in her ear and junk in her nasal cavity. SHe handled the prodding like a pro and the 3 shots she got didn't bug her too much!

Sabrina measured out at 38 1/4in tall (75%) and 33 1/4 (75%) for her 3 year check up. She handled all the questions and prodding well, but the shots were looming and when the time came she fell apart and the kicking and screaming began. It was heartwrenching! I was back to that time when they were infants and so innocent to it that it makes you cry as a mom to give shots....this time it was similar. Here was my baby begging me not to have these people hurt her, and I have to hold her down and let them do it! I felt like I betrayed her and the tears came! She has told me several times today "this is the worst day ever!"...oh the drama! :) But not all the shots are done until 4-5yrs old! Yeah!

Itsy Bitsy

2010-01-12T20:34:00.004-05:00

Around Christmas time, we discovered that Anabelle knew the motions to the itsy bitsy spider! This was not something we taught her, she must have just picked it up from sis....anywho, we started singing it and away she went! We did it like 3 times in a row and it finally occured to me to get the camera (duh) and we got this version....which starts out great and ends with a little Michael Phelps Immitation :)

Sabrina Ballerina

2010-01-05T20:34:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago we had observation day at Sabrinas dance class. I think Brad and I were as excited as Sabrina! I was really curious how things were going to go as Sabrina is the youngest in the class but she really impressed us! :) Really, they all did, it was too cute to see all these 3-4 year olds in their leotards :) Walking on tip toe through the hoops, looking in the mirror. Tendu to the side Arabesque at the barre Sabrina with her proud papa! Here's a video of the girls dancing to the "Itsy Bitsy Spider", Sabrina is the one with her back to the camera with the pigtails :)

Christmas in Review 2009

2010-01-02T21:52:00.007-05:00

Another Christmas in the books...they seem to come and go so fast! We were so blessed to spend time with family and celebrate the birth of our Savior! Here are a few highlights of the season! Brad with his NASCAR flag :)
The girls checking out the awesome princess tent they got. We went up to the cottage for the whole week of CHristmas....it was so much fun and so relaxing! Here's a shot of the girls in their Christmas Jammies, not a great shot, but the best we could do :)
Playing out in the snow, Anabelle didnt last long, but Sabrina loved it. Both girls snowmobiled a bit too!
Anabelle came in from the cold and made puppy chow with Auntie Jay...She LOVED it and snooped ALOT!We went to the Kaliseum in Kalkaska for some swimming, Anabelle was unsure at first, but once she warmed up she didn't want out!Sabrina and her gingerbread house!With her cookies for Santa :) After we got home from the Cottage, we had our own party. The girls got sleeping bags from Brad and I and loved playing in them. Sabrina has slept in hers every night since!
Our last party was with the Iverson's, the girls had so much fun with thier grammie and grampie and thier cousins! Anabelle refused to be in the picture with the cousins until Grampie stepped in and saved the day :)
This Christmas was the first one where Sabrina actually understood what was going on some... We read the Christmas story often at her request, she asked lots of questions about the Saviors birth, (some really funny!) she belted out Christmas songs, she was excited about stockings, terrified of Santa still (theres always next year!), and it was so much fun to watch her be so excited about all the parties! :)

Anabelle really got into opening presents this year and doing whatever sissy did :) She was very excited when she saw Santa at Nana and Poppys house, but didn't want anything to do with getting close to him. :)

I feel so blessed to have been able to celebrate such an amazing gift with our families. :)

My Biggest Baby Turnes 3!!

2009-12-16T20:47:00.009-05:00

Today is Sabrinas 3rd Birthday! We couldnt be more happy to celebrate this special day with her. Each day God has given us to spend with her is such a blessing and a gift! This year, she had 3 parties, one with each side of the family and one today with just us! She is a lucky girl to have such wonderful people to celebrate with her! I have gotten asked a number of times about the "themes" of these parties. We let her pick this year and she had one "Bob the Builder" party with my side at our house and a Tinkerbelle party at Chuck E CHeese with Brads family. We like to think her choices indicate her "well roundedness" :) Today she was princess for the day and got to make all the choices: clothing, where we went, and food. SHe wore her pjs with shades at breakfast, a Halloween outfit all day, and for dinner chose canned corn, brocolli cauliflour salad, and Pizza Hut Cheese Breadsticks. Lets just say we may all have indigestion soon. We also baked her cake together this afternoon, it wasnt pretty, but it was fun!!! Brad took Sabrina outside to play in the snow and in the hot tub later...all her favorite things! She was pooped at bedtime :) Here are a few shots from all the birthday festivities!
Sabrina with her Bob the Builder Cake
With her packages
Make a Wish!
With her crown at Chuck E Cheese Her new Dollyhouse
Her "shady breakfast" :)
Our interesting dinner
Gifts in her pumpkin outfit :)
Woo Hoo! My girl is Three!!! Where did the time go!
Love you BabyDoll!

Messie Bessie gets cleaned up!

2009-12-06T15:34:00.006-05:00

OH My messy Anbelly :) Lately she has really begun to embrace the mess of food instead of avoid it....of course this makes for some great pictures :)

Of course, with the mess comes the cleanup! Anabelle LOVES her tubby! At the mention of the word she goes running for the bath and starts trying to srtip off whatever clothes she has on!

Squeeky Clean now! :)

Creeping towards three!

2009-11-14T00:21:00.007-05:00

Again after many attempts, I'm back and have lots of pics to post thanks to the new camera we got on vacation :) I'll start with some pics of Sabrina playing outside a week or so ago! Her birthday is creeping up, and I've been feeling lately like she's really becoming a little lady! Naps are a thing of the past and she is more my constant companion with a multitude of questions. She's sweet, creative, and energetic. She always has a song to sing me and is becoming quite the jokester. Love Love Love her! Here are a few snapshots to enjoy of my almost 3 year old!

Let the fun begin!

2009-10-29T21:28:00.003-04:00

Today was the beginning of the costume wearing fun of the next few days...today Sabrina got to wear her costume at dance class and then we went to a Halloween Party at the VanHuis home. Heidi hosted such a fun party for the kids and adults with great food and a candy hunt for the kids! It was so cute to see all the kids dressed up and we actually got a pic of all of them sitting together (except Sophia who was sleeping) and with them all looking! (sadly, the only one of mine that wasnt blurry kinda cuts off Greyson, Jackson and Sam, sorry guys!)

Hunting for loot!

Anabelle lovin her sucker!

Sisses stick together! :)

More fun to come!

Fall Fun

2009-10-25T20:52:00.000-04:00

Applesauce

2009-10-20T15:32:00.002-04:00

Apple Picking

2009-10-14T15:46:00.013-04:00

The other morning, my mom, sister Jamie (who is now a proud fur parent I might add), and the girls and I went out for lunch at Cranes and then apple picking in preparation for applesauce making tommorrow! After lunch we bundled up and hit the orchards for some Ida Reds and Mutzu. The girls really got into it grabbing as many as they could and tossing them into the bag. It was nice that the trees were so full because the girls could easily reach on their own! We couldnt get over how beautiful the Ida reds were, they were huge, red and perfect! Thruthfully, this was the first time I'd ever went and picked my own apples and I would definately do it again. I can't wait to make sauce tommorrow!

Here is a video of Jay and Anabelle picking together. She laughed like this with each apple we picked! TOo funny! Who knew how much fun this would be to her?

Peanut Butter Jelly Sabrina Style

2009-10-06T20:45:00.003-04:00

And we're back! For a bit there we had "misplaced" the charger for our camera leaving me without much to blog with! We're back in business now though after a trip to best buy for a new charger! We've been busy with lots of new fall activities that include another semester of Kindermusik and Dance class for Sabrina! Our weeks seem to fly by September totally disappeared! We are looking ahead to some fun fall activites that we'll be sure to post pics of...but for now, heres a video of Sabrina bustin a move to the Peanut Butter Jelly song :)

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-08T22:54:00.008-04:00

Labor Day weekend is always so bittersweet, and this year, it seemed even more so...Its a great long weekend to spend with family and friends, yet its the END to summer...its packing up, picking up, and putting away. Getting geared up for cold weather, falling leaves and schedules again! This summer having been so cool it seemed like a real cruel trick to be taking out the dock and pulling out the boats when its the warmest weekend of the summer! Regardless, we had a really great time up north...
One night we let Sabrina stay out late and go to the rodeo in Mc Bain, she was unsure at first but really came to like it after we explained what was happening: Bucking bronco= is a man on a dancing horse waving to everyone, Steer wrestling= that cowboy is chasing that little cow and hugging him! The only thing that really bugged her was the clown (man with lipstick) who drove a go cart.
Petting one of the horses with poppy.

Anabelle has been teething something wicked and we have found that one of the things that makes her happy is gnawing on apples so she and Sabrina did that alot while we were up north...it gave hours of entertainment

Anabelle spent lots of time on the boat this time up north, she really has begun to love the boat rides with dada and poppy!

We also headed to the Tasty Treat for some ice cream, this was the first time we have Anabelle her own ice cream cone, we had always just given her an empty cone in the past because it was less messy and she never seemed to care....well she cares now :) She was very protective of her cone and loved it, but was very careful only to get one hand messy...she has a little of her daddy in her for sure!
Sabrina got her usual superman and you can see she doesnt really have that "clean gene"! :)
Now on to fall I suppose...I'll be honest I LOVE fall, but I wouldnt mind having a few more weeks of summer this year. We'll have to see I guess!

Hudsonville Fair

2009-08-27T23:03:00.008-04:00

SO tonight daddy came home a bit early so we could support some friends at the Lamb Auction at the Hudsonville Fair. It was fun to introduce the kids to that experience...Sabrina was confused by why the man was talking so fast. After the auction, we checked out the 4H barns, the tractor display, a kids show, hit some rides and games, had dinner in the rain. We even introduced Anabelle to cotton candy...she didnt like the texture, but loved the flavor and would reach out of her stroller for more and frantically sign "please!". Overall a fun night. Brad and the girls at the auction. Anabelle often isnt content to sit and ride in her stroller, I happened to have my sling in the car that I used when Anabelle was a newborn and decided it try it out again and it really worked great and Anabelle loved it because she was close to mama! :)
Sabrina hit the train ride all by herself and really liked it!
Sabrina checking out the wheel wells in the John Deere
Anabelle LOVED sitting on the tractors and driving!
It was one of those days to just enjoy the joy of exploring something new through your kids eyes.

The Linclon Park Zoo

2009-08-23T21:11:00.002-04:00

At the beginning of August, we were invited down to Chicago to stay and my Sister and Brother-in-laws new apartment for the weekend. While we were there, we went to the Linclon Park Zoo which is an amazing, huge, FREE zoo in the middle of Chicago. If you have kids, and haven't taken advantage of this experience, it's definately worth it! The day we went was CRAZY hot, but there was enough shade and indoor exhibits, that made it bearable. Sabrina loved seeing all the animals and spending time with her Auntie and Uncle. Here are a few pics of our trip to the zoo.

Our family :)
Kate and Sabrina in front of the lions den
The favorite for most of us was the polar bear, he was swimming alot to keep cool and would come right up to the glass. It was amazing to see such a large, beautiful animal swimming so gracefully!
Sabrina and the apes :)

Camping Part 2

2009-08-19T21:37:00.004-04:00

The rest of our week comprised of the following in no particular order :)
Playing Chalk...No Sabrina wasnt barking out commands :)
Eating Play Doh Ice Cream
Mechanic Anabelle to the rescue as Sabrina grabs her cell for AAA
Anabelles Favorite activity of the week!
Scooting on the scooter
ALl the kids in our group!
Sillies with Daddy

Dirt, dirt and more dirt!
First Smore, she didnt like all the sticky, so it was one bite and done!

We adults also had fun, even though it was alot of work! Once all the kids were in bed we had great company by the fire at night waiting for us! I feel so lucky to have such a great small group do "do life with" in this way! We had so much fun and I think we'll actually go again :)

Camping Part 1

2009-08-17T20:20:00.005-04:00

Last week we went camping at the Confrence Grounds with our small group. It was our first attempt at camping as a family with kids, a much different challange then tenting it with two I might point out! We had a great time and we even enticed daddy to stay out a couple of nights! The first group of pics are from Sunday when daddy was there all day and we were able to head down to the beach. Everyone had a great time! Even Anabelle attempted to enjoy herself (she DETESTS sand!).
SHe's trying hard to make the best of sitting on her Beach blanket!Watching daddy and Sabrina head for the water from afar!
This curious crowd of little ones turned into this:in a flash! The kids were planted in neat little rows and loved it! :) Daddy and Sabrina working on ther own project later.
It was a great day and the beginning of a great week, more to come later!

Story Time

2009-07-28T21:28:00.007-04:00

Lately, Sabrina has been really into telling elaborate stories as if she is reading them from a book. Just before this video, she had told a really great a detailed tale of Jay and Drew's wedding...it was even kinda funny with Drew "tumbling" down the stairs and landing on his "buns" and jay kissing it better. Too cute. I tried to have her retell it, but it wasn't quite the same on round two, but none the less, we'll share it with you.

Teamwork

2009-07-13T20:58:00.001-04:00

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-10T14:25:00.006-04:00

This week was so much fun as Sabrina and 12 of her friends (in 4 seperate classes) had swimming lessons with Miss Martha at our pool. For us it was almost like speed(play)dating as each day Moms and kids rotated in and out, wet kids, dry kids, kids playing, kids sleeping...you name it we had it. All the activity was so much fun! Today was the last day and all the kids and siblings stayed for pizza and more swimming afterwards. It was the only day of the week with cloudy drizzly skies, but we made the best of it!Jacob, Sabrina and Caden getting in the pool for lessons! Kicking with Miss Martha!
Jacob, Caden And Sabrina at the end of class!
Sabrina eating lunch with Parker, Ava, Lily, McKenna,and Colton
Everyone swimming :)
Sabrina did so well in her class, I was so proud! She learned to swim without swimmies on a kickboard (with Miss Martha's help of course), to float on her tummy and back, and blow bubbles. Her favorite was "scooping and kicking" and jumping in to Miss Martha at the end of class. Miss Martha was infinately patient and does such an amazing job with the kids. Thank You Again Martha!

Anabelle is Offically One

2009-07-06T21:15:00.008-04:00

Yep, another birthday post, but why not? My sweetie only turns one once right?
First off, for those who are interested Anabelle had her one year pics done (and some family shots too) By Christy Packanowski recently and they truned out SO CUTE!!! If you want to check them out go to www.clpphotography.com...the client and then the password is "anabelle". :)
We celebrated her offical big day up north at my parents cottage. It was crummy weather all week so beaching it was out so we ent to the Kaliseum (in Kalkaska, MI). What might you ask is the Kaliseum? It's essentially a hokey named rec center with a fun pool and kiddie pool for the kiddos! Anabelle was NOT into it at first, but the idea grew on her in a hurry and she really had a blast! The take it slow approach really is very much Anabelles way, she does this with most things these days.
Much has changed with Anabelle in the last month even. SHe is now preferring walking over crawling and at times even breaks into a little trot. It's too cute to see her scoot around more. It really has given her more independance and has helped her be somewhat less needy (praise God!). She is eating many different foods, but is a moody/quirky eater like her mama (I knew that would bite me in the butt someday!). We are over half done with her last can of formula and is transitioning to milk so easily! SHe had also said her first word.."Look" which we hear all the time now with frantic pointing. I love this window into her as we now can understand more what shes facitated by. Hmm...I could go on, but will not bore you with my rambling :) Here are a few pics of some other fun things that have been happening lately with Anabelle: Warming up to the water with mommy at the KaliseumWhen Anabelle learned to walk she also learned to climb...EVERYTHING!
Anabelle now sleeps with her cow pillow and blankie :) Sweet dreams love!
New sunhat and shades
The girls watch Sid the Science kid at lunch time (so mommy can get lunch ready!) and as soon as the music starts, Anabelle grins and starts rocking!Enough hair for a bow!!! "Look"

Happy Birthday Anabelle!

Anabelle's First Birthday Party!

2009-06-21T21:08:00.008-04:00

Yup, my Sweet Anabelle is almost one! Where did the time go? Yesterday we had plans to throw a fun pool party for Anabelle's 1st birthday, but plans changed unexpectedly! We (along with many other West Michigan families) had battled the monsoon we got much of Friday night. We were left very tired, but largely unscathed...lost power, water and little sleep for Brad, Sabrina and I were the worst of our damage. We were extremely lucky as so many in our area lost so much!! Needless to say, we couldn't really throw much of a party without working bathrooms or electricity, so Brad's parents hosted the party at their house. We all had a great time, especially Anabelle who was spoiled with goodies and lots of lovin!

All five of the Grandgirlies! All blue eyed blondies!
Beginning the big birthday meal! Anabelle and her cousin Sophie who were born just 3 months apart!
Trying to figure out this silly hat!
Present Time! Anabelle on her new toy!
Love my Grampee!!Cake time began like this...
And ended like this! Anabelle hated the texture of the icing and began to cry almost immeadiately! We kept trying, to entice her with the sugary goodness and the yumy cake, but with no luck!Maybe next year! Thanks to the whole family for helping us pull the party together in the midst of our chaos! It meant alot to us that we were able to still give Anabelle a great 1st birthday! Love you guys!

Sisters

2009-06-14T22:27:00.005-04:00

You may have thought that this post would be about my girlies, but that's not the case this time...I spent this weekend with two of the most treasured people in my life, my sissies!! My sister Jamie is getter closer to her big wedding day and to celebrate the end of her single days, Katie and I threw her a bachelorette party this weekend. Kate lives out of town and when she gets to come home its a whirlwind for her and her hubby, trying to spend time with all their friends and family in Holland. That means usually we dont get to spend a whole lot of quality time just hanging out, but this weekend was different. Kate and Austin spent the weekend at our house and between the wedding we all attended, the party for Jamie, and the family time on Sunday we got to bank some quality sister time. For those who don't have sisters, you may not understand the bond that develops from years of late night secrets, sharing clothes and toys, yelling and tears, and church giggles that defy explaination. Its a pretty incredible thing to have built in friends who will always stand by you. These relationships are priceless and irreplaceable! It was so fun to team up with Kate and plan somthing for Jay that we hoped she would love and then get to see her and her friends enjoy it! I can't tell you how thankful I am that my girls will have the chance to develop that same relationship with eachother.
Love you Both!! :)

Sweet Anabelle

2009-06-01T22:08:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm finally posting Anabelle's 9 mo. pics, even though they were taken at 10 months and she is now 11 months!

It totally blows my mind that she is almost a year old already! SOme days I feel so bad because in some ways it feels like I missed so much of her 1st year as we were drowning in the building process, but as we are finally coming up for air, I see a honey of a big girl! Anabelle is such a cuddle bear! She always is burrying her head in my shoulder and nuzzing up to me which I LOVE beacuse I'm a cuddler too. She also has a little sense of humor developing, she loves to play games with you like peeking around corners or popping up from behind the footstool. She also is growing into the lil sis role and is playing with Sabrina so much more. The often tries to mimic Sabrina or keep up with her (which is tough for anyone!) Recently she has taken her first steps and is standing on her own so much more. She is proud as a peacock!

As a mom I am challanged by Anabelle as her intense need to be near mommy can at times make getting things accomplished difficult as she will bust out a blood curdling scream with crocidile tears when I'm not giving her the attention she needs. I'm learning to do things very quickly and learn to tollerate the screaming some!

Anabelle is also FINALLY getting her front teeth, so she won't look like a cute little vampire much longer!

I just love my sweet Anabelle and cant wait to celebrate her big birthday next month!

Jumping Beans

2009-05-30T20:56:00.003-04:00

What A Drag

2009-05-27T21:17:00.006-04:00

Mothers Day...Belated

2009-05-18T20:15:00.004-04:00

Hmmm...I wish I could be more on top of getting these posted, but such is life sometimes!

Here are a couple of shots of the people I was blessed to spend Mothers Day with:
Four generations, Gigi, Nana, Me and the girls...I love that my girls have been able to spend time with all of their GREAT grandparents! What a special gift! When I look at this pic, I think back to a four generation picture of me, my mom, Gigi and my great grandma Bratt (with whom I shared my unique birthday). I still remember going to her house and eating bubblar! I love that I have memories of her!
My mommy and my girls...I love this picture, One of the coolest things is to see my mom with my girls. It is a window into what my very young years were like. I get to see how incredibly lucky and blessed I am to have my Mom. I lOVE YOU MOM!
I am also so humbled that I have been blessed with my two girls...being their mom is my greatest honor.

Great Wolf (From Anabelle's perspective)

2009-05-14T13:55:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago, daddy suprised us with a overnight trip to a hotel where I got wet ALOT!!! When we got there, sissy and I saw this HUGE mess of wood, pipes, rope and water spraying everywhere! I was a bit mezmerized! My mommy got me in a swimsuit and in we went! It was loud in there and alot going on, so I wasn't so sure about all this, mommy held me close but one I saw Sabrina having fun, I thought it must be ok! We slept in some strang place, I fell asleep ok, but when I woke up later, it was dark and strange so I wanted mommy in there...I made her stay awake with me for the next 3 hours while I crawled all over her. The next day we swam some! All in all it was a fun trip! Did you see me in that picture with my big smile? You can see my crazy tooth on top...last week I got another tooth on the other side! hehehehe I'm not sure if thats how most babies do it, but that's how I like it! It's way better for drooling!

Tulip Time, week in review

2009-05-12T14:00:00.004-04:00

Tuesday we went out as a family to take some pics, watch the dancers, and eat dinner at the fat wagons. Anabelle wasn't feel to up to the pictures so we didnt have a whole lot of luck...but even without smiles, they did look stinkin cute! We also used the new wagon I got at a garage sale...it worked great! Still very pumped about that find!
Wed. my mom and I went to the parade with the girls. I was positive Sabrina would love the parade and she had been talking so much about it and she has been to a number of them. I was worried about Anabelle with the noise and the fact that she would be skipping her nap. O how wrong I was! Anabelle LOVED the action, the wagon and all things parade! SHe bee-bopped the whole time and played the instruments I took along for the girls. Sabrina was an entirely different story! At the first sound of the drums, Sabrina flew into my arms and started whining about wating to go home! (Rewind back to the christmas parade where they had a huge flame thrower on one of the floats that scared the pants of Sabrina.) So, for the first half of the parade she kept her hands over her eyes and a frim grip on Nana and I. Slowly she warmed up to the action and enjoyed the last half at least! Just goes to show you, with kids, you never really know what will happen!
a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_y1JcbhmuCpI/Sgm-MuDoYpI/AAAAAAAABQ4/8ZcVIbuvKyA/s1600-h/Tulip+Time+2009+016.JPG">

Tiny (Dutch) Dancer

2009-05-07T20:49:00.005-04:00

SO, before I post the traditional Tulip Time pics, I though I'd post this video of Sabrina, after all the the festivities this week. Yes, that is a doll stuffed in her skirt...

Indy

2009-04-29T13:44:00.000-04:00

This post has been long in coming....I have tried to get these pics up a few times now and because of issues with both our computer and blogger, it hasn't happened. However, it was ay too great a weekend to just skip over so finally, here it is!!!

We were invited to spend some time down in Indianapolis (the first week in April) visiting Brad's parents and celebrating my birthday. We had SO much fun! Brad and I were treated to two dinners alone (heavenly...both the food and the peace and quiet!)while the kids got to play with Grammee and Grampee! We also got to go to the awesome Children's Museum (If you are ever in the area...it's a must! Really might be worth the 4 hour trip for a long weekend!), do a little shopping, watch State win, eat a little cake and ice cream, visit with the Nobles, and do a little swimming! It was a packed few days and the kids soaked up every minute of it! Sabrina still brings up the museum at least every other day! Here are few of the highlights:
This Museum was awesome, so much to do...we found the letters of Sabrina's name on the giant magnet board.

The sandplay area

Anabelle, Gramee and Grampee in the infant area

Can you say, "Busted?"

The Chihuley Glass art Exhibit...very cool, the kids got to make their own glass sculptures. Sabrina's personality really shone through, she first worked against an older boy who took out every piece she put in. Then a little later, she started telling the oler kids (7-8 year olds) how to do it and where they should put their pieces.
At the Chihuly exhibit

Swimming with Grampee and Daddy

Thanks again for a great weekend mom and dad! It was the perfect way to spend the weekend!

Prayer for Max and Wes

2009-04-21T21:49:00.002-04:00

Friends of ours that I went to high school with who also attend our church are currently in need of unceasing prayers...The recently gave birth to two precious boys, Max and Wes, at 24 weeks gestation. In the last three weeks they have been on a rollercoaster ride, and are currently in one of those dips...please pray for both the boys and Mark and Kate. Please read their blog for more specific needs: http://mkwiersma.blogspot.com/

Playtime with Anabelle

2009-04-19T21:08:00.005-04:00

Our little sweetie is getting so big so fast and along with that comes more exploration, more discovery, more laughs and giggles, and more thrills and spills! I love watching every minute of it! This is the stuff I looked forward to back in the days of the late night feedings. What a blessing it is to share each day, each discovery with my girls!

Easter 2009

2009-04-12T20:55:00.005-04:00

Family time, great food, finding eggs and other goodies, blowing bubbles with Poppy outside, and baking easter cookies with mommy. Great fun for all! Above all we are rejoice that He is Risen Indeed!!

Daddy's Girl

2009-04-08T22:17:00.002-04:00

Well, Anabelle is 9 mo. old now and we thought it was about time she started sporting the Proline gear :)

Sabrina visits the Dentist

2009-03-27T15:38:00.004-04:00

Last week Sabrina and I visited the Dentist together! It was the first time for both of us at this office and they made it a really fun experience for both of us (thanks Lisa!). I had my appt first, and Sabrina got to help clean and count my teeth and use "Mr. Slurpy" to suck out all the spit in mommy's mouth. Then it was her turn and she hopped right in the chair and got her teeth "counted" and polished! She even got to wear shades to keep the bright light out of her eyes while Lisa worked. At the end, she got to pick a toy. She was excietd to have sparkley teeth and a new Diego toothbrush to take home!
Inother tooth related news, Anabelle just got her third tooth, however, it's not one of her top two, nope those are still MIA. She got one of the next ones over! I'm afraid she might have a funny snaggletooth look for a while....but seriously, has anyone ever heard of this happening? We go to the Dr. Thurs for her 9 mo, so I can ask him about it then I guess...but for now we're just hoping the other teeth come in soon!!

Woodchuck Part Deux

2009-03-24T13:20:00.003-04:00

Seriously, what is it about our kids that makes them want to chomp on their crib? This poor crib never stood a chance!

Dozin' with Dad

2009-03-18T20:38:00.006-04:00

With the weather so warm, Daddy and Sabrina decided to work on moving some dirt around in the yard with the dozer. This is the first time Sabrina had actually riden on the big equipment. She loved it!

Anabelle is on the move

2009-03-13T13:33:00.013-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Anabelle really started crawling all over the place and is now pulling herself up of furniture. She also has began pushing her play table all over. I wouldnt consider it walking, as she's not really bending her legs much yet :) But she is mobile! I'm a little fearful for her though as she will be standing near something and will just let go...she'll stant on her own for a second, then TIMBER! I think a helmet may be in order for our sweet Anabelle!

Sabrina's First Haircut

2009-03-10T13:49:00.003-04:00

Sabrina has always had curls at the bottom of her hair, but they were starting to get scraggily and stringy looking so about a month ago, we went in to Mrs. Heidi for a trim. Mind you, I was very conflicted about cutting it, but knew we had to at least try something to make it look thicker. I was nervous about loosing the curl completely, so we only cut an inch. Sabrina was a little nervous, but she sat really well and I think it helped knowing Heidi.

Pre-Cut

The final product

It went really well and it looked great! Thanks Heidi! Now that Mom is over her nerves, we may be back soon! :)

We're Back!

2009-03-08T14:34:00.003-04:00

To those of you who happen to still check our blog with the hope that we may have gotten our act together....your persistance has paid off! We are back to blogging! Lots has happened with our family, the most pertinant to this post is that we have moved into our new house finally! We are getting settled in and are enjoying making this house a home. Part of that settling in has been getting everything working! We unfortunately found out that since we now live out in the sticks a bit, internet connectivity is nearly nill....so this is our only solution: Yep, its a 20ft tall piece of ugly attached to the roof of our new digs! So faithful readers, be thankful that I have a sense of humor, or we would have had to live in the dark ages!

As for the rest of our life, the actual important stuff that has gone on in the last month, I'll be catching you up bit by bit! :) Stay tuned!

Playtime with our new (but temporary) neighbor

2009-02-01T22:02:00.006-05:00

After months of entertainmnet watching the Van Huis home being built, its finally move in time for them! Were excited to have them as neighbors, even if it will only be for a couple weeks as our move is quickly approaching! Friday while Heidi was cleaning their new place, Caden came to play! We were so excicted to have him over to play!

The kids played great together and it was a hoot to watch them interact! I think Caden and Sabrina became fast friends and we hope he comes to play again soon!

Say Cheese!

2009-01-24T20:12:00.002-05:00

This week I finally got around to getting the girls pictures taken, Sabrina's 2 yr. and Anabelles 6 mo. We had alot better outcome than last time with Anabelles 3 mo pics. Here are just a couple :)

Looking at these pics reminds me of how quickly time passes, as we were posing Anabelle, I felt like I had just done these poses with Sabrina and it was one of those reality checks that I really DO have two kiddos! And there was Sabrina standing next to that giant two...I could have cried, yet there is so much joy in the newness of each stage and pride seeing your child grow up! Yeah, all that just from a trip to Sears! :)

Murder at the Four Deuces

2009-01-18T14:30:00.005-05:00

Don and Meme Wannabe
The Whole Gang, Quite Literally
This weekend was full of scandal and intrigue...we along with the rest of our friends from church were transported to the 1920's to a club called the Four Deuces where lots of shady things went down including 4 murders during the course of the evening! Brad and I were Don and Meme Wannabe, owners of the Four Deuces. There was alot of bribery, lying cheating, and stealing.
The Guys, L to R: Brad Balder as "Big Jim" Ravioli, Brian Busscher as Congressman Darrin Toosteal, Ryan Lubbers as Inspector "the Nose" Nutella, Nick Terpstra as Capo "toto" Tequila, Brad as Don Wannabe and Brent Heeres as Al Capone
Kim Lubbers as Barroness Ravioli, Me as Meme Wannabe, Kathy Busscher as Vicki Ravioli, Holly Heeres as Carrie Crooner, Sarah Terpstra as Rebecca Ravioli, and Holly Balder as Mary Toosteal
Dinner with all the suspects got a little heated at times as secrets were revealed!

Look at this mug...He won best costume!

We all had a great time, but I just gotta tell you,for those who know Sarah, and think she's so innocent......let's just say I'd think again!