Who's That I Hear?

So... Jake has now been in his big boy bed for almost four weeks. Overall the transition has gone well but there are still a few kinks we need to work out. For example, this past week he has decided he should try coming downstairs once after we put him to bed at night. The scene usually goes something like:
Mike or Lisa puts him in bed (OK, it's usually Mike)
Mike comes downstairs
Mike and Lisa turn on the TV and start to watch a show or movie
Mike and Lisa turn around (Dad sense kicks in as Mike says) and there's Jake standing in the kitchen staring at us.
Mike or Lisa puts Jake BACK in bed with a stern warning NOT to get up again. He usually stays put.

Last night Mike put Jake to bed. I was working at the computer when I thought I heard some noise in the living room. I looked up but couldn't see anything so I called out, "Jake, is that you in the living room?" A little boy voice confidently replied, "No!" I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing (as did Mike in the other room). It sure sounded like Jake! I walked into the living room and there he was playing with his little trains. I asked what he was doing to which he replied, "playing tiny trains." He was calm and composed and showed no indication that he was not supposed to be downstairs playing. So, I admit it, I let him finish his train game. He's just too cute for his own good (and my own good too!). I'm sure I'll eventually regret giving in -- I realize I'm not setting a very good precedent! Right now though, Mike and I have both found that Jake is at such a fun age and has such a fun-loving personality that it's hard to punish him. Clearly, we are going soft and poor child #3 will never have the same amount of consistency and firmness that child #1 had. Let's hope he still turns out OK -- I suspect he will! And if not, well, at least he'll make those around him happy!

Jake's Revenge

Tonight as the kids were getting out of the car Abby tried to get past Jake in his car seat. He put his legs out and wouldn't let her pass. In retaliation she hit him back. I reprimanded her for hitting her brother and she lowered her head and went back to the back seat. Jake immediately turned around after I reprimanded Abby and said to her, "Haha!" He was gloating because she got in trouble! How quickly siblings learn to get each others' goat!

BeBe Did It!

Mike (while changing Jacob's diaper): Lisa, did you put this tattoo on Jake?
Lisa: What tattoo?
Mike: The one on his back!
Lisa: What? Jacob, who put that tattoo on your back?
Jacob: BeBe did it!

That's the last time I ask her to babysit! :)

Fall Photo Fun

It's been a bit since we posted any photos so here are a bunch showcasing our fun fall adventures. In mid October we went to Orchard Hills Farm with our church. Grandma Eriks and Aunt Lizzy came with since Mike was out of town for the day. The kids did their first ever corn maze, went on a hayride, ate hot dogs cooked over a bonfire, and enjoyed the company of lots of church friends.



Mike took the kids trick-or-treating for Halloween this year while I stayed home and passed out candy. It was COLD so they didn't last as long as some previous years. Overall, they had a great time anyway and came home with quite the haul!

Annika is Laura Ingalls

Abby as a ladybug

Jacob was a bumblebee -- what you can't see in this photo is his adorable stinger in the back of his costume! It was too cute!

Playing in the leaves!

More Life with a 2 1/2 Year Old

So, just when you think the last few days have been interesting enough with all of Jacob's new discoveries he throws a couple more in for good measure. Here are his two newest budding talents:

1. Driving -- it seems Jacob has learned how to drive. Or at least he thinks he has. He has become an extremely outspoken back seat driver within the last couple of days! He tells us when to go, when to stop, points out the color of the traffic lights, and attempts to tell us where to turn. When we do not follow his directions he can get quite upset! So, now we have the youngest one trying to tell us where to drive and the elder two monitoring our speed and frequently checking to find out, "are you going the speed limit?" There's nothing like having a car full of drivers everywhere you go!

2. Art - Today Jacob demonstrated his new-found artistic talent by drawing a pencil sketch over a 2 X 3 foot area of our living room wall. He apparently had quite a bit of time to hon his skills before Abby discovered his work in progress. She kindly alerted the family by yelling, "Jacob!" in her most exasperated and frenzied tone! When I walked into the room Jacob clearly knew something was wrong since he immediately put his little head down and refused to look directly at me. I hate to think that my reprimand ("Jacob, you may not write on the walls!") may be squashing his creative expression; however, I have determined that I am just not that into creativity at the sake of my living room walls!

Ahhh.... what will tomorrow bring?

Life with a 2 1/2 Year Old

We are at the point in life where every day with Jake brings some sort of unexpected development. Most of it is language related - but not everything. Here are a few of the "newest" surprises we've encountered recently...

1. Jake has learned to drink out of a regular cup -- OK we realize many kids have accomplished this feat by 2 1/2 but we're happy for him! He' sure thinks he's a big boy!


2. Jake has decided he no longer needs to take an afternoon nap. He loves the extra times with his sister(s) but we sure miss the break!

3. Jake has begun to attempt telling Jokes. They go something like this:
Jake: Knock knock
Us: Who's there?
Jake: kitty
Us: Kitty who?
Jake: Kitty who - he he!
Jake: Knock knock
Us: Who's there?
Jake: moo
Us: Moo who?
Jake: moo who - he he!
repeat but insert different animals. I think it's time to teach him how to use a punch line!

4. Jacob has learned to actually play with Abby. In the past he merely tolerated her at best. Now that he is talking more they seem to be able to communicate better and therefore get along better. One of their favorite games to play together involves Abby setting up a laundry basket as Jacob's special seat and then pushing him all around the house in it. She brings him things to color in it, puts him down for "a nap" in it, they watch TV together in it... anything they can think of. It results in hours of entertainment for both of them!

5. Jacob has become obsessed with Bob the Builder and Thomas the Train. He sings Bob the Builder all the time and asks to watch the two shows on TV. They only come on at our house on Saturday which means 6 days a week we have a very disappointed little boy! I guess we know what can go on his Christmas list!

6. And the last surprise came last night -- it's a moment I anxiously wait for with each of our kids. When putting Jake to bed last night I told him, "I love you!" For the first time on his own he replied, "I wuv you". What more could a mother ask for?

Healthy so far...

The kids already had a scheduled short week coming up, due to the annual teacher's convention - Thursday and Friday off. However, after more than a third of the students at Millbrook were sick today, they decided to cancel school Tuesday and Wednesday as well, so Abby was done for the week when she came home at lunch. We're all fine here so far, although most of us have gone through a decent cold (Lisa has probably survived the best, but she thought she could feel it coming on). Abby and Jake got the plain flu shot already, but not the H1N1 version yet, and one Millbrook student was confirmed with having it, so says the reports. There's part of me that thinks we should find someone with it and just cuddle up with them so we can just get it over with. Somehow, it almost feels imminent right now. I haven't heard of any big outbreaks at Ferris yet, so hopefully my classes won't be thrown into disarray sometime soon.

In other news, this past weekend another professor and I took a dozen students to the Michigan Undergraduate Math Conference at Wayne State in Detroit. We stayed overnight at a Red Roof Inn because it was so cheap - fortunately it was better on the inside than on the outside. It was a good time. Next year it won't be so far away, at least.

Desperate Times...

Recently our sweet little boy has undergone a major change in his bedtime routine. For the first 29 months of his life he has always just gone to bed easily without fussing or needing any extra attention. It has been an amazing blessing! Starting last week Jake seems to have decided that he no longer likes going to bed. Now, after reading books, and putting him in his bed he stands back up, jumps up and down, and cries to be taken out of bed. The first night it started with calling for Mama and Daddy. Apparently that didn't work well enough because the next night he called for Mama, Daddy, Akka (Annika), Bebe (Abby). By the third night he was desperate to get out and he changed his cry to: Mama, Daddy, Akka, BeBe, Tate (the cat)! I guess if your parents and siblings let you down you can always hope the cat might come through for you!

The First Day of School

Well, once again we have survived the first day(s) of school. For our family the first day of school has all the usual emotions (sadness over the end of summer, excitement about seeing friends again, anticipation of new teachers...) as well as the overwhelming reality that now Mom is working again! Granted, I've been working 60+ hour weeks for the past few weeks getting ready for school but Tuesday marked the beginning of our actual routine. We are now officially all back into a schedule!

Annika is in 3rd grade this year. She started school on Tuesday just like me. Here she is getting ready to leave for school.

Here Annika poses by the Millbrook Chrstian sign. This is the last year we'll be able to take this picture since next year we will all be moving to the new consolidated elementary school.

Abby started Kindergarten today. She was VERY excited to ride the bus to school this morning with Annika. She's so grown up!


Mike and I are so thankful that we can send our children to a Christian school. The opening chapel on Tuesday was inspirational. I think that as parents we are keenly aware of that a privilege it is to have our kids at Millbrook. Having the added perspective of also working there and seeing Christian education first hand on a daily basis I KNOW it is worth every penny and sacrifice people make to send their children there. God is GOOD and He has blessed Millbrook Christian School and our family by allowing us to be a part of this learning community!

More Talk

See below the video of Jake talking more, as he finally nailed down some names for his sisters. Now he spends time calling them, like when he wanted to say something to Annika in the van the other night, and was yelling "Aka! Aka! Aka!" toward the back seats.

He also says "Wii." Tonight I was playing some LEGO Indiana Jones while Jake sat by, watched and tried to verbally assist me. "Blue money!" he yelled. "Key! Key! Key!" at the key that was sitting on the ground waiting to be picked up. And finally, "Bad man!" at the bad guy I had to defeat by hitting him with thrown chairs. At times he was more commanding me, with a very insistent voice, that I pick up that key. Such a helper.

Talk Talk Talk

Jake's language skills have taken off within the past 2 weeks. He's gone from "talking" to talking! Here he shares some of his newest words with you all. Listen for him to say zucchini, bread, Annika (Aka), and Abby (Beebee). You will also note that he's my little chef! Jake LOVES to help me bake! He's much more into it than either of the girls ever were!

Little Swimmers

Ours girls just finished another week of swimming lessons with Miss Cara and once again we were amazed by what they learned! Miss Cara is the BEST teacher! Here the girls show off a bit of what they are able to do!

The Second Half of Summer

It's July already, but a lot has happened. In what is becoming a tradition for us, we headed to the movie theater with the girls to see the new Pixar movie, which was excellent (as usual). I don't think I've actually cried in a movie theater before, but about 20 minutes into Up was the closest I've come (and this is Mike writing, by the way).

In the past few weeks we enjoyed (and survived with three kids) the three C's: Chicago, camping and Columbus. In Chicago we visited Lisa's mom's side of the family. Annika and Abby even went there earlier than we did and spent four days there, playing with Lisa's younger cousins. Two weeks later we took our first family camping trip, borrowing a pop-up camper and the services of friends to tow it for us. It was a roller coaster experience, ranging from really awesome fun (swimming with the kids, hanging out at the fire, riding horses, tie-dying T-shirts) and the insanity-inducing (like taking Abby for an emergency pee outside the camper at 3am and not having it go well). Finally, we just got home this weekend from Columbus, where we saw my entire family, celebrated Abby's 5th and cousin Will's 1st birthdays, swam at the hotel and went to the awesome Columbus Zoo. It also involved more than 12 hours on the road, which ranged from tolerable (when Jake is sleeping) to the nearly intolerable (when he's not).

Unfortunately, after getting home from Columbus, we had to deal with the four C's: Cat in the Closet and Crashed Computer. We apparently trapped Layla, our poor cat, in the closet of our fourth bedroom for four days. I first heard her meowing early Monday morning. It took me a long time to find her, but there she was. The closet became her bathroom, of course, but that's the biggest issue we have to deal with, since she seems fine otherwise. The crashed computer is a bigger worry for us, since it involves a dead hard drive containing nearly a year's worth of pictures and videos that we hadn't backed up yet (stupid stupid stupid stupid us). We're hoping to recover them without agonizing over a high cost of doing so.

One of my three summer classes has ended, and it was taking up the majority of my time, so we're now looking at a summer that feels a bit more free than before. We're hoping to accomplish a few things but have some fun too - the girls already have a sleepover at Gramdpa and Grandma's and a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with Uncle Mark and Aunt Lizzy on the docket. Lucky!

Fresh Summer Salsa

OK -- So I readily admit I am no gourmet chef but I can follow a recipe well! This one came from a co-worker who shared it as her birthday treat last year. It has quickly become a favorite for everyone who tries it! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to show it off -- it looks quite lovely and colorful when first prepared. Since it is made with fresh ingredients it doesn't last much beyond a couple of days and it looses some of its aesthetic appeal by the second day as the guacamole breaks down. The taste is still great though and sometimes even more flavorful the second time around!

1 can Delmonte "Summer Crisp" Corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1/2 red onion diced
1 pkg. Italian Dressing
1/2 c. Olive Oil
Mix. Before serving add:
2 tomatoes chopped
1-2 avocados chopped

Enjoy!

Proud Parents

Recently our girls have had the opportunity to show off things they have been learning all year. It's always fun to see then perform and both girls seem to enjoy being the center of attention.

The first event we attended was Annika's Watch Week at Gymnastics. She has been taking lessons since last September and we have enjoyed watching her confidence and coordination skyrocket as a result of her weekly trips to Gymco. They do a great job there of encouraging the students and building their self-esteem. Below are two videos of Annika showing off a couple things she's learned this year:





The next week we went to Abby's Dance Recital. This was Abby's second year in dance. Friends of ours took a video of her at the rehearsal but we don' t have it yet -- watch for it in a later post. We thought you might enjoy seeing a couple cute pictures of her though all dressed up!



The day after Abby's recital was Annika's piano recital. She played two pieces. One had to be memorized and the other she could use her music for. She did a wonderful job on both pieces as you can see/hear below!







Lastly, (just for fun) we thought we'd show you what happens when Annika gets ahold of the camera when Mom's not paying attention while driving! What a nut!

Tree Removal

A week ago we had a huge tree removed from our backyard. It was a maple that appeared to have started as 5 separate saplings close together that eventually merged into one huge tree with five trunks. It was close to the house and we were looking for some more sun in the backyard. Since it would just continue to grow into the house and have to come down eventually, we decided to get some estimates. The first one was ridiculously high, but more than three times as expensive as the second one. Why? The second tree service has a crane. First, here's the before picture:

Then there was the actual tree removal. To begin, we had a huge crane parked in the driveway:

Then, rather than putting some guy in a bucket up in the tree that cuts the tree apart piece by piece, they did this:

1. Use the crane to lift a guy into the tree. He ties a strap from the crane onto the tree.
2. The guy lowers himself down to the ground with a rock-climbing type of rope setup.
3. He cuts the tree near the base.
4. The crane lifts a large piece of the tree - probably 50 feet in length or more over the house and into the front yard, as seen here:



5. This is probably my favorite part - at first I figured that they would lay the big piece of tree in the front yard, cut it into pieces and put them into the chipper. Oh, no: instead, another guy guides the base of the huge section of the tree into the chipper, they lay the whole piece out flat and then put the whole thing through the chipper:



It went amazingly fast, and now our yard looks much different:

Lisa's garden beds are in progress now, too, so hopefully we'll have sprouting veggies soon.

One Last Good-Bye

Tomorrow will be a sad day for our family. At 3:30PM we will gather at the cemetery to bury our little Madelyn Grace. We have been waiting for her place-marker to arrive which it did this past Tuesday.

It's interesting to reflect back on how things have changed over the past month. The week after I gave birth is a blur. I remember being in awe of how many times we had to sign papers that stated our child was dead and that gave different people permission to do various things with her body. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by day to day tasks and worrying that life would never be normal again. I remember being touched beyond words by the outpouring of love and support we received from both those we knew well and others we did not know at all. God's amazing grace was present through the countless people who lifted us up in prayer.

Over the past four weeks life has gotten busier. It took 2-3 weeks for me to be able to focus for any period of time on anything. I still feel like I get overwhelmed quicker than I used to. Multitasking is slowly coming back but there are days or hours where it seems I cannot get anything done due to my lack of focus. My periods of grief are shorter now -- minutes long at a time rather than hours or days. Initially it was all I thought about. Slowly, my day to day life has crept back in and now Annika, Abby, Jake, Mike, my job, and other responsibilities occupy most of my thoughts. Madelyn has become a thought that pops into my head rather than one that consumes it. I still think of her multiple times daily. It has just been within this past week that I have gone for any length of time (more than one day) without accidentally thinking I am still pregnant. After being pregnant for four months it took me a good four weeks to readjust my mind-set so that I no longer think of myself as someone who is going to have a baby. That has been a hard transition.

Two of our friends have had babies within the past three weeks. I am relieved and happy to find that I am happy for them. I worried that it might be hard for me to accept. It has not been. I actually find it harder to see pregnant women that to see newborn babies. Perhaps it is becuase we were not supposed to have a baby yet. I suspect that next fall I will find it difficult to see and interact with those who have newborns. That's when our little one should have been with us.

Life here is slowly returning to "normal"; however, it will never be the same. A part of me has died and can never be replaced. My children have been touched by death for the first time in their lives and we have had to face questions and have conversations that no parent ever wants to have with a child. I still struggle with a shaken sense of trust and security and have had to come face to face with the reality that I am not in control of my life. I know in my head that it's OK not to be in control -- that God has a plan for our family and that this too was part of that plan. My heart just wishes it didn't have to be so. No family should have to go through this pain.

If you read this before 3:30 tomorrow please take a moment to pray for our family -- we know God will uphold us as we say one last good-bye to our little girl. We hope that His peace and comfort will surround us, our children, and the family that joins us so that we can say good-bye with confidence in knowing that she is in heaven, safely in the arms of Jesus.

Horse Racing Fun

I'm a sucker for a good sports story, and the Preakness featured one today. If you didn't know:

During the weekend of the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks is also run, which features only fillies (girls). A horse named Rachel Alexandra destroyed the rest of the field. The same jockey rode her and the Derby winner that weekend, Mine That Bird. He claims the filly is the greatest horse he's ever ridden. So, her owner decided to enter her in the Preakness this weekend, but some other owners sought to block her by taking up the last remaining spots in the race. However, another owner decided to give up their horse's spot if that happened, so in the end no blocking schemes were employed and Rachel Alexandra was entered to compete against Mine That Bird and the rest of the boys. The aforementioned jockey had to choose which horse to ride for the race, and chose Rachel Alexandra, who became the favorite to win.

We were all home today, and I managed to get the girls excited about the race by painting the picture of the girl racing against the boys - it wasn't all that hard, really - with a name like Rachel Alexandra she could practically be a princess. I think I even got Lisa interested in the drama a little bit. So, it was fun to watch the two-minute race all together. Annika was tense and cheered her on the whole time, and then was very elated when Rachel Alexandra led the entire race and held off Mine That Bird at the very end. I enjoyed it too, especially in HD. Now, if the NHL could just show some more games on the big networks I could get the girls excited for the Red Wings too.

Two Stories

of the child-rearing type...

1. The kids came in from the playground behind our house, which was still a little muddy, so we had to strip off a lot of clothing, including all of Jake's, who needed a diaper change anyway. I had thought earlier that I smelled a dirty diaper but didn't find him wearing one. Lately he's figured out how to remove a diaper when that's all he's wearing, and he started to do so as soon as his clothes came off. Annika helped him and he ran off naked, which isn't a brand new thing as of late. A few minutes later, coming through the kitchen, I smelled poo again and stopped. That was a good thing, since another step would have put my foot right in a pile that Jake so nicely left in the middle of the kitchen floor. Annika was nearby at the table, oblivious to the dirty deed done on the floor. We all had a good laugh and I cleaned it up. I can only imagine the scene of Jake leaving the pile there on the floor. The same night...

2. It was bedtime and I was reading a book to Abby while Annika brushed her teeth and got her jammies on. Afterwards she headed back downstairs, where she had been doing homework. I heard a chair squeak and figured she had sat down to do some more, which was fine with me. However, a few minutes later she returned and headed up to the top bunk. I wasn't quite paying attention to her, but a moment later my dad-radar went off and it occurred to me that she had been walking a little suspiciously when she came in the room.

"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"Then why were you walking funny?"
No significant answer.
And then my dad-intuition rewarded me handsomely: "Give me the candy."
Annika, wearing one-piece jammies with feet, starts unzipping, all the way down to her feet, where she pulls out five Hershey's kisses! Smuggler!

A few things had come together quickly in my mind: candy wrappers discovered under a pillow a few days before, candy that had just recently been put on top of the fridge, and one squeak, which was the sound of a chair being moved over to the fridge. Busted! No wonder the girl was up past 11:00 reading the other night - it was probably chocolate.

Madelyn Grace

It is with broken hearts that Mike and I share the news of our daughter's premature birth. Madelyn Grace was born at 7:41pm on Thursday, April 16th, one week ago today. She weighed 1.8 oz and was 6 inches long. We were blessed to have her be a part of our hopes & dreams for 15 1/2 weeks. After her birth we were able to hold her and spend as much time as we needed with her. Although it was hard, we are so glad we did. She was our daughter.

This picture gives a bit of perspective on just how small she was. Way too small to be in this world with us.

Volunteers at the hospital make little gowns, hats, and blankets for the stillborn babies. We did not initially know if our baby was a boy or girl. Our nurse dressed her in white which we felt was fitting.

Her loss came as a complete surprise to us. We discovered we had lost her when Lisa went in for a regular check-up on Wednesday and they could not detect a heartbeat. An ultrasound indicated she had passed on within the last day or two. It's was God's grace that allowed us to find out so quickly and not suffer the fear that would have come with early signs of miscarriage. The suddenness of it was harsh and yet a long, drawn out suffering would only have been worse. We take comfort in knowing that our angel is in heaven comforted in the arms of Jesus. We also take comfort in knowing that he cradles us in those very same arms. He knows our sorrow and feels our pain. Our wonderful pastors came to the hospital Friday morning and helped us commit our baby to the Lord. Their prayers and words of reassurance from the Bible are precious and dear to us. We could not get through this without the tremendous support we have felt from our family, friends, church family, coworkers, and the incredible hospital staff. We know we are truly blessed to have such support.

Check Me Out

Yesterday I took Jake to get his new "two-year old" haircut. We tried out a new place called Snip-Its. I've never had Jake (or any other child of ours) do so well for a haircut. These people knew what they were doing!

Jake's 2nd Birthday

This is what a birthday party should look like...


Jake opens his gifts with Daddy's help.


Jake's cake - we had a Wall-E Theme, complete with life-size Wall-E!

Unfortunately for Jake, his second birthday was not an event anyone will want to remember. Although his party on Sunday was nice, it was overshadowed by other more signficant events that weekend! Our family spent Jake's 2nd birthday suffering with the stomach flu! It all started on Sat. when Jake got sick. We thought is was something he ate! Little did we know! Here he is, cute as can be, cuddled up on the couch. This was just the start to some unbelievable illness!


By Sunday night, Lisa, Mike, and Annika had also come down with the flu! It started with Lisa at 10:40 Sunday night. Mike followed at 11:30 and at 2:00 Annika was joining the fun. Mike and Annika slept downstairs in an attempt for at least one person to get some sleep. The theory was good... the reality was that none of us really slept that night. This is Annika asleep on the sofa Monday morning. Sleep was basically all Mike, Annika, or I did for that whole day!


Mom and Dad Dekker kindly took Abby, and Jake (who we thought was better) for the day so we could try to recover. They had a lovely morning at Mejier Gardens and then returned home so Jake could nap. It turns out Jake was still sick. He shared his germs with Grandma and Grandpa (we won't go into details) and they ended up getting sick by the end of the week! Oops! That wasn't supposed to happen! Sorry Mom and Dad!

Hopefully Jake's 3rd birthday will be a much happier (and healthier) occassion!

The Family Tournament Picks

While I filled out three different brackets on ESPN.com for the NCAA tournament, I also got picks from the capable members of my family (not Jake). With Abby I just read off the two teams for each game and she picked the winner, so her picks are pretty, um, unlikely to occur (she has three 16 seeds beating 1 seeds, which has never happened). Annika understood the seeding, so her picks were based on that somewhat too, but she wiped out all the number 1 seeds before the final eight. Here are the Final Fours chosen by our family, with team seeds:

Mike: Wake Forest (4) vs. Memphis (2) and Pittsburgh (1) vs. North Carolina (1), with Pitt over Memphis in the final.

Lisa: Michigan St (2) vs. Connecticut (1) and Duke (2) vs. Syracuse (3), with UConn over Syracuse in the final.

Annika: Kansas (3) vs. Memphis (2) and Villanova (3) vs. Oklahoma (2), with Villanova over Memphis in the final.

Abby: USC (10) vs. Mississippi St (13) and Duke (2) vs. Butler (9) with Butler over Mississippi St in the final (this would be a most remarkable tournament).

I put all the brackets online, so we'll see who wins through the ESPN scoring system.

Serenading Daddy

Mike is off enjoying a weekend with his brothers and parents to celebrate Nick's 30th Birthday in Columbus. The kids have been doing really well but before bed tonight they mentioned how much they missed him. They wanted to let him know they were anxious for him to come home so below you can hear their heart-felt sentiments:

Piano Recital

Annika played in her second piano recital on Saturday. Her first recital was last spring at our church, and it featured all of her piano teacher's students. Saturday's recital was special - each year the Piano Teachers' Forum of Grand Rapids hosts a series of recitals on a Saturday at the Saint Cecilia Music Society, and each teacher can select a few of her students to participate. This year Annika was asked if she would like to do it, so she did. Her piece was called "Alotta Staccata". She was the first performer in her recital, and the ages ranged from beginners like Annika to students in high school.

Annika's performance is below - I screwed up and had the camera in photo mode when she started, so I missed the introduction. We thought it went really well.

Still Needs A Nap

Well, Jake may think he's getting too old for a nap but pictures tell no lies! Here's what happens at 4:00 on a sunny afternoon while watching TV if you fail to take your nap at the regularly scheduled time:
Sleep tight, little one!

For the Love of Fruit Snacks

So... what happens when you tell Jake he can't have his favorite food for breakfast?



Watch out Nick, Beth, Dan, and Rebecca -- here's a little preview into your future!

Monkey See...

Jake is at the wonderful age where we daily see his mind grow and develop as he strives to figure new things out. He's talking more and more, getting more and more coordinated, and showing evidence of problem solving. He also loves to imitate! While this can be embarrassing at times, say, like when his sisters starting to talk about butts in a restaurant and he yells at the top of his lungs, "butt!" for everyone to hear, it can also be great fun. On Saturday he delighted Mike and I, who were deep in conversation, by trying to get Mike's attention by tickle bombing him! Mike has done tickle bombs with Jake since he was little but this was the first time we've seen him give one. It was hilarious! He put his little arm in the air, made a humming noise, and then nailed Mike in the chest. What a riot! Beyond being incredibly cute and monstrously funny (at least to us) it also gave me great joy to see my little guy problem solving. He knew he wanted Daddy's attention and he figured out a way to get it 100%! The whole episode makes me marvel once again at how amazing childhood is and what a miracle it is when development occurs the way God origionally designed it to be.

Jake's First 3-Word Sentence

Well, in case anyone was wondering, Jake is most definitely a 3rd born child. While in the tub with Abby the two began to have a tug-of-war contest over a rubber Pooh bear toy. After pulling with all his might and getting mighty angry he rattled off his very first three word sentence to Abby, "Dis is mine!" Case closed - a definite third born child!

God Works in Mysterious Ways...

These past few days have been an emotional roller coaster for me as I was pulled into memories that had sat idle for many years. I have been continually awed by the events of the last few days.

Last week Saturday my mom mentioned she had seen a notice that an Edward (Bud) Barr, aged 61 had passed away. She saw the announcement at the beginning of the week but had not seen an obituary during the week. As we ate dinner together Saturday night we wondered if this Bud Barr could be the same man who was married to my Aunt Dawn. My Aunt died died 16 years ago and we lost contact with her former husband shortly after that at his request. On Sunday we found the obituary for Bud Barr in the newspaper and discovered that he was indeed her husband.

My aunt died a very sudden and unexpected death. At the time of her passing there was a lot of pain, sorrow, and mistrust among family members. Aunt Dawn never had any children and she treated me and my sisters as if we were her own. When she died there were several things she had told everyone she wanted us to have. Her husband was unwilling to part with any of her things. He refused our requests for old family photos, family heirlooms, or things from her past. This was a particularly difficult thing for our family to accept since my Grandma had also recently passed away and my aunt was in possession of her old photo albums, diaries, and many other belongs from my grandparents and great grandparents. Unfortunately, there really was nothing we could do about it so eventually we gave up thinking about these things and assumed we would never see them again.

After reading the obituary in the paper on Sunday I decided to contact Bud's two daughters to send them my condolences. I also mentioned that if they happened to come across any old family photos while they were sorting through their father's things that I would be delighted to have them rather than them throwing them out. I was overjoyed when one of his daughter's emailed me back and said that she thought she had some things I might be interested in seeing.

This afternoon I talked with his daughter on the phone for over half an hour. It turns out that Bud basically quit living life after my aunt died. He stopped opening his mail, paying bills, cleaning his house, and caring for his own basic needs. His family intervened several times to try to help him but eventually he lost possession of his home and his job. He eventually ended up in a nursing home sick with cancer and very much alone. Over the years he refused to let anyone touch my aunt's things and never moved any of them himself. When he lost possession of his house his daughter saved several of my aunt's things including photographs, wall hangings, jewelry, heirloom teacups, and a ledger from the Ladies Aid Society that my great grandmother was the secretary for with entry dates beginning in 1919. It turns out that several things including my grandmother's diaries and my aunt's doll collection were ruined during flooding. His daughter remembered seeing several items I asked about but had needed to dispose of them due to the water damage.

This evening I picked up 3 boxes full of her things and delivered them to my parents' house. We pored over old pictures, and marveled at the fact that we again had these things in our possession. My mother excitedly looked at all of Aunt Dawn's old recipe cards, Dad laughed at pictures which dated WAY back, and I once again tried on all of her old rings just as I used to do as a child. Those boxes contain so many memories. I cannot thank Michelle (Bud's daughter) enough for what she has done for our family. I can only attribute the fact that she choose to save those things over 6 years ago when Bud lost his house, to God. She did not know us and she did not know how to find us, but in her heart she felt that those things were important. I am so thankful to God that she did.

Photo Request

As seems to be the case recently, we are once again falling behind on our posts so, per Jen's request, below are some fun pictures from our Christmas break... Enjoy! (Above: Mike and Annika goofing off. Below: Abby and Lisa goofing off)




Mom and Dad Dekker with ALL the grandchildren finally in once place! Abby, Clara, Will, Jake, and Annika. Note to Mom and Dad Eriks - we need to take these pictures too, even if the kids are all from the same family!


Those goofy Dekker boys (in one of their non-goofy poses). Greg, Mike, Dan, and Nick. Note to Eriks sisters -- we need to make a point of taking more of these types of pictures too!


Annika is very pleased with her gift from Abby and lets her know by nearly suffocating her with a hug!



Our attempt at a picture of all three kids in front of the tree before we opened presents. At least in this one Jake isn't crying! He didn't think this was such a great idea.


Jake tries out my large drink bucket -- looks like it will work just fine for swimming or for cooling drinks!


Mike celebrates getting beer for Christmas. By the end of all the parties he had received 39 bottles of beer in all. That should hold him for a least a little bit!


Abby tries out her new gloves from Grandma and Grandpa Eriks. They look like keepers to me!


We were so blessed this holiday season to be surrounded by those we love. Although it was busy and wore us all out we are thankful to be in a situation where we get worn out -- it is evidence of the many blessings in our lives! We are preparing now to start school and routines again tomorrow. We are looking forward to what 2009 will bring and hope that it is filled with family, friends, love, smiles, and laughter!