Christmas Happenings

Here are a few picture to share a bit of our life here during the past month. We start with a lovely picture showing our beloved Jesse tree. It seems that although we had previously always thought of the Jesse Tree as a special tree used with our Advent devotionals Abby and Jake thought of a new meaning for it this year. Behold our Jessie (& Woody) Tree:


This next set of pictures is an example of what happens when you try to get a great looking picture of your four kids for the holiday card. All thoughts of cute matching outfits have gone out the door and as you can see, we're not even stressing much about hair at this point. We'd just love to have all four kids looking at one time!

Close...

Closer....

Well... at least they're all looking...

Now, if you want to get individual pictures of them, that's another story... Zach is turning into quite the little ham.



And here he is eating his first ever Christmas cookie. I'd say he looks pretty pleased with it! His first introduction to sugar...let the cravings begin!

Some Halloween Pictures

We took the kids trick-or treating tonight by Mark and Lizzy's house since Kentwood was doing Halloween on Saturday night. Here are just a few pictures for you to enjoy!

The cutest little dragon you ever did see... (Zach, 6 months)




Jake (3 1/2) wasn't so sure how he felt about showing off his costume at first. He fell asleep this afternoon and we had to wake him up to get him ready to go out. When I asked him if I could take his picture he grumpily agreed. This is him showing me what he's going to be for Halloween. Luckily, his mood improved and he had a BLAST going from door to door. He took it as a personal mission to keep track of who said thank you and who did not!



Abby (6) wanted every so badly to be Jessie (from Toy Story 3) for Halloween this year. Little did we know what that would eventually involve. We looked into to buying the costume but it cost $54.00 -- way too much! So, I foolishly thought to myself - I can make that for WAY cheaper. And yes, I did indeed make it for much cheaper money wise. Time wise - hard to say! Abby loved it though so it was worth it. A special thanks for Mom Dekker who helped me out some with the sewing which was all done by hand!



Our beautiful Hogwarts witch - Annika (9)!

Just for Fun - Fall Pictures

Growing Up So Fast

It's hard to believe that Zach is already almost 4 months old. We are enjoying watching him learn new things by the week! One of our favorite things to watch is his interactions with his siblings. Below Zach sings along with Annika.



And as if that wasn't cute enough here's a fun picture of him sleeping in Mike's arms last night. It looks like we may have a thumb-sucker on our hands!

4th of July Poem

In honor of our annual 4th of July party at Uncle Andy and Aunt Carin's house, I did the most natural thing to commemorate it: I wrote a 12-verse haiku poem (remember, each verse has the 5-7-5 syllabus pattern). Enjoy!

A Ribbens Party Haiku

by Mike Dekker

The fourth of July
At Andy and Carin’s house
A Ribbens party!

Hovings and Weenums,
Dekkers, Ribbens, Van Denends,
Hofstras and others

Just how did we all
Turn into “mature” adults
With lots of babies?

Outdoor changing room
Pull the knob upwards to flush
Go find some sunscreen

Many strapping men
Made tsunamis in the pool
No kids were capsized

I saw my daughters
Both armed with foam water guns
Squirt Zach in the head

It’s time for eatin’
The fat handled utensils
Are red white and blue

My dad at the grill
Bratwurst, hamburgers, chicken,
And hot dogs, of course

Then Chris and Heidi
Loved my wife’s blueberry pie.
Need the recipe?

Greg, Uncle Andy
Comparing surgery scars
Herniated discs!

With all the swimsuits
Who doesn’t have a tattoo?
Next year I’ll get one

Let’s do it again!
We’ll see you on July 4,
Twenty-eleven

An Unanticipated Slumber Party

Last night at 1:00AM we were awakened to the sound of the tornado siren going off right behind our house. Mike and I went downstairs to check the TV and saw a radar screen unlike any we could remember ever seeing before. The thunder and lightning was intense and we could hear wind whipping through the trees outside. A funnel cloud had been spotted and was heading for GR. We went upstairs and woke the kids up and took them to the basement. Waking them up proved to be quite an adventure. Annika was so sound asleep that I couldn't get her to open her eyes. Even once she sat up in bed she just kept starring at me blankly as I told her she needed to grab her pillow and head for the basement. Abby woke up scared and crying. We had to drag her into the basement at which time she told us she had to go to the bathroom and that it was an emergency. She was terrified to be left alone in the bathroom and Mike and I were trying to hurry to get Jake and Zach downstairs. So, as Abby cried in the bathroom Mike threw sleeping bags down the basement and I got Zach. Mike then went up for Jake who was actually quite excited about the tomato and kept asking to see it. Once we were all in the basement Mike tried to get reception on our TV downstairs with no success. We did get a radio signal to come in. All three kids ended up wide awake and quite hyper as they discussed what a tornado was and what would happen if one actually came into our neighborhood. The girls also had great fun listening to Jake continue to say tomato rather than tornado and they thought it was hilarious that he didn't seem to be able to tell that he was saying it wrong. After 45 minutes the warning was over. We knew the kids wouldn't want to sleep alone in their rooms as there was still plenty of thunder and lightening so Mike set up camp in the family room with the kids while Zach and I returned upstairs to go to bed. When I got up to feed Zach a couple hours later I checked on everyone to see how they were doing. The picture above shows 4 very sleepy people who didn't even stir as I took several flash photographs! The girls think we should sleep like this again tonight. Mike and I are personally looking forward to sleeping in our own bed, hopefully, the whole night through!

Marta, 1997 - 2010

During the summer of 1997, while I was away at Purdue, Lisa brought home a kitten from a broken feline family. Our landlord said she couldn't stay, but we kept her anyway and had some fun hiding her from him. We named her Marta after the tour guide that had shown us around during most of our Eastern European Calvin Band trip in 1996. We got Marta before our first anniversary, and she almost made it to our 14th. Other pets came and went, but she had always been around.

Just recently we noticed that she wasn't around the kitchen as much and spent most of her time in the basement laying on a pillow. After bringing her upstairs and witnessing her total disinterest in food and water we brought her to the vet where they kept her overnight. The next morning she passed away while the vet was examining her. The girls were upset, but managed to cope - Annika typed up Marta's life story (800+ words long) and even got to read it to her class the next day. Abby made a nice picture that is hanging on the fridge. We're not sure that Jake has noticed.

So, life goes busily on, and now Layla can eat out of the food dish with Tate, but no one comes running when you open the freezer in the evening, expecting a dish of ice cream.

Now That's a Little Baby!

A couple days ago Abby came running into the house yelling and laughing because she had just seen a deer chasing a cat across our street. Mike and I were surprised and curious as to why a deer would chase a cat. She then mentioned that there was a baby following the momma deer across the street. The kids ran back outside and Mike and I laughed about it and then resumed cleaning up the kitchen.

A bit later we realized we hadn't seen the 3 kids for a bit so Mike wandered outside to look for them. He eventually found them way down the street chasing after the deer. Mike's parents (who were coming to visit) stopped by the kids to see what all the fuss was about. Mike's mom took the following picture:

I guess now we know why the deer was chasing the cat. That is the smallest fawn I have ever seen!

Annika's Piano Recital

Annika had her piano recital on Wednesday night. She played two pieces -- the first one, By the Seashore, she had music for. The second piece, The Clown she played for memory. You can tell she's nervous because she plays a bit fast a makes a couple mistakes but we were still VERY proud of her and how hard she's worked at piano this year!

Don't Step on the Baby

This is what happens when you're child #4. You fall asleep in Dad's arms and he puts you down for a moment. Since you're sleeping so peacefully he decides to just leave you there. At least he has the courtesy to warn everyone not to step on you!

Zach's Big Brother

I need to go to bed, but here's a quick quartet of pictures of Jake's first real encounter with Zach. While the girls were and still are crazy-excited over the baby, Jake has been more tentative. The first time Jake met Zach was with a lot of people around and he was a bit too tired, but the next morning he came to the hospital with me and Mom and had his first quality moments with Zach. First, he first scrutinized his tiny little brother:

After some encouragement, Jake gently checked out Zach's head.

Not long after, Zach started waking up a little and making faces, and Jake is very much into making funny faces with people. So he started showing some of his funny faces to Zach:

They'll be having light saber battles soon enough. Actually, this big, brand new situation is regularly tiring Jake out, so that he's almost falling asleep at the dinner table and going to bed really early, but that's OK. Overall, things seem to be going as well as they can be when there's a five-day-old in the house. Now, to sleep...

Zachary Michael

Lisa stayed at the hospital with our new baby boy, but I'm home overnight with Annika, Abby and Jake. Here are a couple quick pictures:

Some really happy big sisters!

Here's how the day went, all times AM:

1:30 - Lisa woken up by potent contraction, eventually gets up and showers after talking to Mike

3:30 - Mike gets up, showers and shaves

4:30ish - Lisa's mom arrives, we head to the hospital

4:49 - Time recorded by the nurse when we arrived in the triage room

5:32 - Doc breaks Lisa's water in the delivery room

5:48 - Zachary Michael Dekker's first minute in this world

We've gotten pretty efficient at this birthing thing. Time for bed!

Smiling Food - Posted by Annika Dekker

This is so weird! My roll is actually smiling! During dinner We had peas, rolls, and chicken. I had three rolls. My last one had a smiling face on the bottom! Isn't that weird? I was laughing like crazy. It was so funny and unusual. I've never ever seen a smiling roll in my life until now. I bet it's the same for you. I hope I see you soon.

Waiting Game...

So, it's 2:40AM and here I am wide awake again during the middle of the night. That has seemed to be the trend with this pregnancy. It was particularly bad during the first trimester and it has returned again during these last few weeks. Normally I try to get stay in bed and rest but lately after more than an hour I find it's better to get up for a bit and hope I'll be able to fall back to sleep after a bit.

We seem to be nearing the end of this pregnancy and right now that sounds good! My official due date is May 8 but baby has been showing signs that he will most likely come before then. The frequent contractions have been doing their job and I'm guessing it won't be too much longer now! Today makes 36 weeks so technically we're not yet full term. The doctors have informed us that even if he comes right now he would be fully developed and should be healthy. Our only concern is that he would likely be quite small. Our kids have ranged in the 6lb 4 oz - 6 lb 10oz range (all born at 39 weeks) so they're not real huge to begin with! Being born a month early probably wouldn't help a lot in the size category!

So... now we wait. This time feels quite different than it did with the other kids. Annika was a bit of a surprise (I didn't realize I was actually in labor when I went into the hospital with her). Abby was induced and with Jake it was very clear exactly when real labor began. This child has given me a couple times now where I have seriously questioned if, "this is it!" I guess my body is getting older and reacting more strongly to pre-labor. It's a silly thought, but I don't want to "miss" the actual labor assuming it's just more of the same contractions and have a surprise birth at home! I seriously doubt that would happen, but given my past history of short labors and non-regular contractions, the thought has crossed my mind! Maybe I should have Mike read up on the what to do if your wife gives birth at home chapter in the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book! I'm sure he'd do a great job! After all, he's seen this before, right? How hard can it be? Women used to give birth alone on a prairie. We should be all set then with the modern comforts of home!

Anyway -- please keep us all in your prayers. We are praying for a healthy baby born at the right time. We are also praying for stamina to get through the final days of waiting, energy to keep getting our lives in order, quality time to spend with Annika, Abby, and Jake (spring break has been a real blessing), and tangible ways to show our family and friends how much all of their support has meant to us in these last few weeks! We are truly blessed!

80 + degrees Outside = One Worn Out Boy!

Although Jake often doesn't nap anymore yesterday he just couldn't help it! After playing outside all day with his sisters and friends he was just too worn out to resist! He came in after playing in the sprinkler, crawled into Daddy's lap and promptly fell asleep. What a little cutie!

Jake's 3rd Birthday

On Tuesday we had the joy of celebrating Jake's 3rd birthday. Since he's quite fascinated with all things boy, which includes cars, trucks, trains, and transportation in general, we threw him a construction-themed family birthday party. Above is his birthday cake.



Jake started off the day on Tuesday refusing to acknowledge that he was three. He just wanted to be two. By the end of the day he had changed his mind. A big part of the change was the fact that there was a 3 on his cake.

Showing off their construction hats which they each decorated. Jake's was a bit big and kept falling off!


Enjoying some of his gifts - a book from Great Grandma and a ND basketball from Grandma and Grandpa Dekker!


Eating cake! He had two pieces and wanted more! No early bed time for him!

Just Plain Cute...

Jake and Annika enjoyed the nice weather by playing together outside. Jake thinks he's pretty big stuff now that he can trace Annika with chalk -- just like the big kids!

The Madness Begins

Just more than an hour until the chaos of March Madness begins. Like last year, I got everyone in the family to fill out a bracket, except for Jake. Annika and Abby both comprehend the idea that higher seeds are supposedly the better teams, so their brackets are more or less sensible (Annika pretty much filled out her own). I couldn't come up with a way to get Jake to pick winners without it just pretty much being the same as flipping a coin. So, here are the family's Final Fours:

Abby: Butler over Michigan State, Notre Dame over Kentucky; Butler over ND in the final (she had Butler winning last year too)

Annika: Kansas over Butler, Villanova over Kentucky; Kansas over Villanova (the girls both have a thing for Butler)

Lisa: Syracuse over Ohio State, Kentucky over Baylor; Syracuse over Kentucky

Me: Kansas over Syracuse, West Virginia over Baylor; West Virginia over Kansas

As much as I'm a sports fan, I don't pay much attention to the regular season of college basketball - I'm aware of what's going on and generally know who's good this year and how the Michigan teams are doing, but I don't make a point of watching games on TV and thus don't have much to base my picks on other than the musings of sports radio personalities. I wasn't even sure if Notre Dame was in the tournament until a few days after the bracket came out. I had considered picking Kansas or Syracuse to win the tournament, but I chose West Virginia so the whole family had different winners. All of our brackets are entered on ESPN.com, so we'll see who does better (and then I filled out a bunch more just for fun). I'm actually hoping for Kansas vs. Kansas State and Duke vs. Kentucky in the Final Four, which sounds cool and could happen (as opposed to a Michigan State-Notre Dame final). Let the games begin!

Body Growths

The other day Jake and I were playing catch in the family room with a hacky sack. At one point I stuffed it down his shirt and we laughed at how it stuck out from underneath. He took it out and then put it down my shirt. It came to rest on my stomach, and pointing out the big lump it made I said "It might be a tumor." Jake responded, so appropriately and emphatically, "It's NOT a tumor!" He only needed a Schwarzeneggaran accent to go with it.

Monkey See...

Tonight Annika and Abby started playing a game that would best be called "Old Blind Beggar Woman." Annika had on a pair of sunglasses, a "walking stick" (which was one of those sticks that you turn to make your blinds open and close) and a plastic dish. She felt her way around the house with the stick, talked in an "old woman" voice and asked for money. Abby would oblige her with some coins, Annika would thank the "young man" for his generosity, and then Abby would correct her and say that she was a girl. I was trying to decide if this was really something appropriate to be playing, but eventually they quit and went upstairs to cause some ruckus up there.

A little while later Jake came and asked me to put the sunglasses on him. I didn't notice that he had the stick and the dish with him until he went over to the living room, sat down and called "Annika! Abby! Give me money!"

I gave him a few coins, and eventually his sisters came down and helped out poor beggar Jake. No one ever got chastised for it. Oh well.

Sick: Part Two

Today we took Jake in to see the doctor. Our pediatrician has Sat. morning hours by appt. only and it just so happened that our doctor was the one working today. He took one look at Jake and said it was the worst case of conjunctivitis he had ever seen! He was sure Jake would have a nice ear infection to go with all the snot coming out of his nose and eyes but happily he did not! He put Jake on some oral antibiotics due to the severity of his case and the fact that he probably had other stuff going on we just couldn't see (with sinuses and stuff). Jake took his first dose at 1:00 and already, less that six hours later, we're seeing a huge difference! The eye gunk has slowed way down, he's eating, and he's much happier! Praise the Lord for wonderful doctors, weekend hours, and medicine that brings about healing! I think we'll still pass on nursery for tomorrow just to be safe but I suspect by Monday we'll have a whole new kid!

Not For The Faint of Heart

This week Jake apparently picked up a cold. Unfortunately, it has settled in his eyes. There is nothing we can do about it except to try to clean his eyes and wait it out. Below are pictures of a little boy that only a mother (or grandmother!) could love.


Mike's addition from work: I had suggested that we not post these pictures since it's so gross, but since they're up, make sure you click on the photos (especially the first one) for the full disgusting effect.