More Than A Handful of Dekkers

Getting My "Crafty" On

2011-10-31T17:13:00.008-04:00

Anyone who knows me well know that I love to do crafty things. I have always had one craft addiction or another -- often continuing one addiction while happily attempting to start another. This had led to piles upon piles of crafting items in my home and a truly endless supply of "ideas I want to try." I can always tell when I'm stressed because the desire to craft creeps in and takes over the rational side of me which knows my time would be better spent cleaning, cooking, or in some other way caring for my home. I suppose this is my version of therapy. This past weekend I was introduced to a website called Pinterest. For those who are already familiar with this site you know how dangerous it can be! Needless to say, I was inspired. Below are a few fun things (some inspired by Pinterest and some my own ideas) that have kept me busy the past couple of days in my "spare" time:

Some fun homemade cards...

Halloween Treats for the neighbor kids...

A special thank you for Jake's teachers...

Summer Time and the Living is Easy...

2011-06-26T21:03:00.002-04:00

Summer is the joyous time of year when I can once again even consider spending time doing something "just for fun" such as updating our family blog. It's been months since either of us last wrote so we probably have lots to catch up on. Still, this evening I find myself reflecting on what a beautiful summer day we had today and wishing that life could always move at this pace.

Our day actually started with the sad realization that Zach is still sick with some type of stomach bug. It's been 3 days now that he's been ill and we were hoping today he would feel better. Mike took the three oldest kids off to church and Zach and I settled in for a mommy & me morning. After 2 retched diapers (poor kid) Zach finally felt well enough to curl up in my arms and fall asleep. There is nothing as sweet as holding your child in your arms while he slumbers with his little head on your chest. I could stare at his beautiful face forever when he sleeps like this. It is so peaceful, so intimate, and leaves you with such a feeling of being needed and loved. This is MY child and I am HIS mom. There is no one I would rather be and no where else I would rather be.

Upon returning home from church Annika announced that she really wanted to go to Grandma Eriks' house and eat baked potatoes and play LIFE. Our plan was to grill a nice family lunch and eat together but she was so set on seeing her grandparents that we relented and let her give them a call. They happily agreed to have her for lunch and said she could hang out there for a while. She felt like a million dollars being allowed her own special time with Grandma and Grandpa. Annika is the type of child who enjoys time to herself and needs some peace and quiet. That's often hard to find here. She thoroughly enjoyed having a whole afternoon to do what she wanted in the peace and quiet of Grandma and Grandpa's house. She came home refreshed and thrilled to see her siblings and play with them once again. A far cry from how she has felt about them for the past several days!

Feeling a bit left out, Abby begged to be allowed to call Aunt Lizzy to see if she could hang out at her house. She figured if Annika could hang out at Grandma and Grandpa's then maybe she could hang out at Uncle Mark and Aunt Lizzy's. She called on her own and politely made her case. Her sweet aunt and uncle graciously agreed to let her come hang out for the afternoon. Now she felt like a million dollars too! While she was there they ate lunch, went for 2 bike rides, went to the park, and played games. Uncle Mark even taught her how to play Risk (I don't even know how to play that game!) If she'd had her way she would have never come home! Here was a middle child finally getting some one-on-one attention and she ate it up! What a blessing this afternoon was to her! She also came home in a great mood and ready to play contentedly with her siblings!

In the meantime, Zach took a short nap at home while Mike snoozed and I made some thank you cards and wrote little notes to some friends. Jake got his half hour of computer time and we all felt refreshed by our half our of personal time spent doing something we had each chosen to do. Once Zach woke up we drove to Grandma and Grandpa Dekker's house. Jake had been begging to go "hang out" at their house since his sisters each had a place to hang out. While we did not intend to "hang out" there we did use their place as a home base for a lovely one hour walk along Plaster Creek which is near their home. Mike had been on this walk before with the kids and knew it was a beautiful setting right here in town. We had a lovely time! Jake fell asleep just a couple blocks from the end of our walk. We let him sleep for 15 minutes or so and then drove the whole family home.

Once we got home Mike set up the kiddy pool where the boys happily played in the frigid water (kids don't feel cold!). I put my tired and sore feet in (I should have worn better shoes on our walk!), Mike brought out ice cream treats and drinks, and we sat and enjoyed the perfect summer Sunday afternoon. Once the girls returned home they threw on their suits and joined our outdoor "party". Pretty soon, Mike started the grill and we had a delicious meal of grilled chicken, grilled veggies, and red potatoes. We were in such a great mood we even went ahead and let everyone have dessert! Talk about making the kids happy! :)

We ended our evening with the three oldest kids running around the front yard throwing water at each other while Zach puttered around throwing balls and hitting them with a plastic golf club. By 8:30 we managed to have the three youngest in bed and now Mike and Annika are playing with trains in the basement.

A day like today makes me realize that there are way too many moments in my life that I have a tendency to rush right past. Having a sick baby who forced us to slow down our pace and kids who reminded us that they benefit from some "down" time away from one another helped us all function better as a family. I am thankful for a beautiful summer day, a family I love, the blessings of home/family/resources that enabled me to enjoy the day in the manner I did today. I am cognizant of the fact that I am abundantly blessed and I see today as a challenge to myself to slow down enough to continue recognizing that fact and to make sure that I thank my Maker each and every day for the never ending abundance in my life.

Family Brackets

2011-03-16T21:26:00.004-04:00

It's that time again. I coerced everyone but Zach to fill out a bracket - Lisa helped Jake go through the bracket, but he made his own decisions. Here's the scoops on our Final Fours (champ over loser, then other two Final Four teams):

Mike: Pitt over Duke, Syracuse, Notre Dame

Lisa: Kansas over Ohio State, UConn, BYU

Annika: North Carolina over Notre Dame, Arizona, Florida

Abby: Michigan over Butler, Kentucky, Notre Dame

Jake: Notre Dame over Northern Colorado, North Carolina, Gonzaga

Yes, Jake has a 15-seed in the final. His East bracket was looking sort of reasonable, but then he moved to the West, where every first round game except Temple (7) over Penn State (10) was an upset. Abby had a hard time picking her Final Four games: she went eeny-meeny-miney-mo for Butler over ND, and really had to deliberate in choosing Michigan over Butler. Butler has been a popular choice for a few years now, especially for Abby. In 2009 she picked Butler to win it all, but then they lost the first game that wrapped up on the first Thursday afternoon. Of course, last year she picked them to win it all and they came within a few inches on a last second miracle shot of winning the championship. As a result, she did the best in our family. We'll see what happens this year.

Diary of a Night

2011-02-15T08:07:00.002-05:00

This post is dedicated to all parents everywhere --

For those of you hoping to one day be parents, it may serve as a strong dose of birth control.
For those who are currently in the same stage of life that we are -- we commiserate with you.
For those who have moved past this stage may it serve as a reminder of what you once dealt with and are blessed to no longer have to deal with (I'm sure other challenges have taken it's place!).

8:00 Put Abby and Jake down for the night -- process completed by 8:30

9:00 Zach gets fussy - Lisa feeds him and puts him down for the night

9:20 Annika is sent to bed for the night. Zach wakes up and begins to cry - Mike goes up and pats his tummy

9:30 Zach falls asleep (So far, so good -- it's often much harder than this to get all 4 down!)

2:00AM Jake wakes up and wants to sleep with us. Mike gets up and puts him back to bed.

3:00AM Zach wakes up and begins to cry. Mike goes in to pat his tummy.

3:40AM Abby wakes up with diarrhea. Mike comes out from Zach's room -- he's finally asleep. Lisa goes to investigate sounds coming from the bathroom (assuming it's Mike due to the decibel level) and is amazed to find Abby there. Abby is happy as can be and excited about the magnitude of sound and substance coming from her body. Lisa is also quite impressed but also rather turned off by the magnitude of smells coming from Abby's body!

3:45AM Abby still in bathroom. Zach wakes up and begins crying again. Mike goes in to pat his tummy again.

4:00 AM Abby is back in bed. Zach is still crying. Mike gives up and comes back to bed. He's not feeling very happy at this point.

4:10AM Abby is back in the bathroom.

4:30AM Zach is STILL crying...

4:33AM It's getting quieter, maybe he's asleep!

4:35AM Nope! Wailing...

4:37AM Quieting down...

4:44AM He's finally asleep. Now we try to go to sleep. Not easy to do when you keep hearing phantom cries!

6:40AM The alarm goes off for the morning.

7:15AM Go to wake up Annika. She's mad because Abby doesn't have to go to school today. Abby wakes up (so much for her sleeping in). She is concerned because she thinks she peed her pants during the night. Unfortunately, it turns out she did much more than that, poor kid.

7:20 Stick Abby in the tub, strip the bed, begin load of laundry.

7:25 Insist Annika get out of bed and stop feeling sorry for herself.

7:55 Mike is gone to work. Annika is gone to school. The absentee line has been called. Abby and Jake are watching TV and Zach and I are going to have some breakfast. Let the day begin!

Christmas Happenings

2010-12-13T20:42:00.011-05:00

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

2010-10-30T21:54:00.012-04:00

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

2010-10-24T17:23:00.006-04:00

Growing Up So Fast

2010-08-20T20:35:00.005-04:00

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

2010-07-13T08:37:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-22T18:50:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-21T00:24:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-06-12T17:54:00.004-04:00

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

2010-06-04T13:21:00.002-04:00

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

2010-05-21T18:59:00.001-04:00

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

2010-05-02T22:28:00.007-04:00

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

2010-04-28T21:54:00.003-04:00

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

2010-04-27T19:42:00.002-04:00

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...

2010-04-10T02:42:00.002-04:00

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!

2010-04-03T11:27:00.003-04:00

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

2010-03-28T19:01:00.011-04:00

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...

2010-03-27T16:22:00.002-04:00

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

2010-03-18T09:42:00.002-04:00

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

2010-03-11T20:38:00.002-05:00

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...

2010-02-26T20:58:00.004-05:00

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

2010-02-20T18:44:00.002-05:00

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

2010-02-19T14:52:00.004-05:00

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.

Bedtime Prayers

2010-02-14T21:17:00.002-05:00

We typically lead Jacob in his bedtime prayers - we start with "Now I lay me" and he finishes with "down to sleep," and then we continue like that. After finishing that traditional prayer we say "God bless..." and then list our family members, relatives, etc. Last night he started goofing around during that part, just throwing in an "amen" here and there. I chuckled a bit. Tonight, we hardly made it through anything - it started with "Now I lay me...amen!" We eventually made it past that, but on the third line I started with "Watch me as I..." and rather than saying "run and play" Jake said "run and dude!" I tried it a few more times, but he wouldn't let the "dude" go, and I was laughing too much, so after we did "God bless...amen!" I just said good night. So, yep, he's got the silly gene.

Bonk

2010-01-21T20:11:00.005-05:00

It's dangerous being a boy. For example, you can be running in to the room to watch Star Wars with your Dad, trip over your own two feet, and end up hitting your head on a chair! As you can see, the end result is NOT pretty! Luckily the doctor says other than looking funny for a few days and probably having a lump on the forehead for a while, everything will turn out fine. He also mentioned that this is just the first of many such injuries we should expect our dear Jake to have! Sounds like something to look forward to!

Liar - or, maybe not

2010-01-19T20:37:00.003-05:00

It is currently 8:40PM and Mike just put Jake to bed. We were talking together when we heard little footsteps on the steps. Lo and behold, there was Jake! When we asked him what he was doing downstairs he replied, "Annika said, me go downstairs." Liar! Annika is in her bed! What a stinker! (Boy was it hard not to laugh!) This is one of Jake's new favorite phrases -- "Mom said..." or, "Dad said..." usually ending with something he wants! So, Mike just went to put him back upstairs. While upstairs Mike went in to check on the girls. He asked Annika if Jake had come into their room and she said No. She then told Mike to go check next to our bed. She had put a note there for us. Mike asked if she had seen Jake up when she went into our room. Yup - she had and she even talked to him. Mike asked her what she told him. She replied, "I told him to go downstairs and find you!" Guess he wasn't lying after all! Ahhh, the joys of parenting! It's a never-ending adventure!

Our Trip to Meijer Gardens

2010-01-03T21:22:00.010-05:00

On Saturday we went to Meijer Gardens with my parents to see the trees and trains. The train was definitely a bigger hit than the trees (at least with the kids). Jake spent over 45 minutes watching the train jumping up and down each time it went into a new room.

Watching the train with Daddy:

All three kids at the Gardens:

Hanging with Grandma and Grandpa:

Mike and Lisa with the girls - Jake wouldn't stand still long enough for a picture with all 3 kids!

Who's That I Hear?

2009-11-24T13:56:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-10T19:47:00.001-05:00

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!

2009-11-09T20:12:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-01T19:41:00.013-05:00

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

2009-10-24T14:20:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-21T14:50:00.005-04:00

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...

2009-10-19T16:14:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-10-01T15:08:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-10T19:34:00.007-04:00

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

2009-08-03T23:19:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-02T20:20:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-27T16:52:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-07T11:06:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-01T12:20:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-07T22:39:00.010-04:00

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

2009-05-29T16:13:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-21T20:40:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-16T20:50:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-06T22:43:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-17T17:22:00.009-04:00

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

2009-04-05T16:17:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-02T15:56:00.008-04:00

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

2009-03-19T13:30:00.003-04:00

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

2009-02-28T20:17:00.007-05:00

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

2009-02-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-17T16:03:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-09T16:50:00.004-05:00

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...

2009-01-20T08:58:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-11T21:16:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-07T21:07:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-04T20:12:00.013-05:00

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!

To Be Or Not To Be???

2008-12-18T20:49:00.002-05:00

Well, the predictions are in... According to the local weather forecasters we're heading for wintertime doom! Unfortunately, experience with Michigan forecasters has made me jaded -- I have a very limited level of trust in the accuracy of their predictions. It seems that every storm that blows in is destined to be "the BIG one" that will cause turmoil, destruction, and a general upset to our daily lives. Usually we get a few flurries and a lot of disappointed kids in school!

But, just in case... Every teacher I know spent the day frantically getting Christmas projects finished so the kids could take home presents for their parents. I spent the day in Kindergarten with two adults doing centers that were origionally planned for Friday when there are 17 parent volunteers who are expected to show up. The day was so crazy I ended up breaking out in hives from the stress! However, we did get everything finished, and the kids did remarkably well considering they are rather excited with only 2 days left of school before Christmas break. Thankfully, the hives have now subsided.

Here at home we have not mentioned the possibility of a snow day. I think both girls would be crushed. Annika can't wait for her 2nd grade Christmas party tomorrow and Abby is excited because Daddy is going to be the special helper in Pre-School. Normally Daddy is at work, but since his semester is done already he is able to come. It's a bit strange to have everyone actually hoping we WON'T have a snow day. That is rarely the case! The only person in our house who might actually appreciate one would be Mike because then I'll be home to watch the kids while he keeps grading finals!

I guess we'll know in a few short hours (possibly before most of you read this!). So, say a little prayer tonight (you decide what for!) and we'll see what tomorrow brings!

"Loosing" my mind

2008-12-13T07:47:00.002-05:00

It seems that recently I have just had way too much going in my life because I find that I am failing to keep track of all the many details of my life. Within the last week alone:

I forgot that I was responsible for making lunch for the teacher's weekly luncheon. I remembered at 6:30 the night before that I was supposed to make soup and dessert. Not a problem except for the fact that we were walking out the door to go Christmas caroling with our church at Raybrook and we wouldn't get home until after 9:00. This resulted in a frantic phone call to a colleage who bailed me out (thank you, Heidi!).
On Thursday we lost the family Christmas photographs we had picked up last weekend. Actually, we lost them last Sunday, we just didn' t realize it until Thursday when I went to work on our Christmas cards. We spent hours looking for them and almost had Mike jumping into a paper recycling dumpster (luckily we deduced that it was logically impossible for the pictures to be there BEFORE he jumped in). For those of you who follow Facebook my profile update, written while I was quite stressed, read, "Lisa is loosing her mind. She cannot find the family pictures..." Loosing? Oh, dear! Maybe that was a subconcious reference to the fact that my mind is rapidly unraveling! Or, it just reflects that I cannot spell, especially when I'm stressed out!
On Friday Abby was supposed to bring candy for the Pre-K - 5th grade buddy project at school. They were making Gingerbread houses. Despite the fact that we talked about it several times at home that week guess who showed up for school without any candy!
This list does not include (nor is it possible to recount) the miriad of times I have walked to a destination this week only to forget why I am there, left things laying on counters, tables, etc. and totally forgotten where I put them, and the list goes on and on.

I think I need a vacation! Five more school days until Christmas break. Praise the Lord!

A Conversation with Abby

2008-11-22T21:00:00.002-05:00

While eating lunch today at Culver's we had to continually remind Abby that we were in a restaurant and that not everyone wanted to hear her every word. If you know Abby well you will know that she generally talks in only one volume: loud. She also tends to talk or make noise continuously. After several reminders to use her "inside voice" the conversation went as follows:

Lisa: What have Mommy and Daddy asked you to do lots of times today?
Abby (very proud of herself for knowing the answer and practically yelling it): Be quiet!

Glad to know the message was getting through.

Gymnastics

2008-11-15T11:06:00.004-05:00

Annika switched from dance to gymnastics this year, with considerable success. While she enjoyed dance class last year, she's much more enthusiastic about going to gymnastics. Her strength has improved, too, even to the point that the PE teacher at school commented on it. Recently it was parent watch day, so Lisa got to go in and observe up close, and she took lots of videos and pictures. Here's Annika's one-legged bridge:

And here's a handstand:

Also, unrelatedly, here's Jake riding the horse in our basement. It's a very old horse, dating back to when Lisa's dad was growing up. All of our kids have ridden it with much gusto. It's a good thing they can hang on tight or else they'd go flying off of it.

Minivan Conversation

2008-11-12T21:17:00.002-05:00

Last night the kids had supper with Mark and Liz, and after we picked them up we were discussing what they had for dinner. An argument ensued about whether they had potatoes, as Abby claimed, which didn't make much sense since they had spaghetti. It turns out she meant to say that she ate some tomatoes, so we practiced some pronunciation.

Lisa: "Say 'tomato'..."
Abby: "Tomato"
Mike: "Say 'tornado'..."
Abby: "Tornado"
Mike: "Say 'torpedo'..."
Abby: "Torpedo"
Mike: "Say 'portedo'..."
Abby: "Torpedo"
Lisa: "Say 'tortito'..."
Abby: something like that
Mike: "Say 'tortilla'..."
Abby: "Tortilla"
Mike: "Say 'quesadilla'..."
Abby: "Quesadilla"
There's some general noise from everyone, including Jake, when we get...
Annika: "Say 'smell my butt'..."
Mike: "Annika!" and it all degenerated from there, eventually leading to a discussion about what cooties are.

Halloween

2008-11-08T14:04:00.003-05:00

Halloween! After coming home that Friday to find a vehicular behemoth in the frontyard and a stove in the garage that we thought was getting installed that day, the candy haul began:

Jake was a bunny and got mistaken for a girl a few of times:

Abby was a pumpkin:

And Annika was Violet Incredible:

The night before we carved pumpkins. The girls were considerably different in their gusto for pumpkin guts. Annika touched them a little bit, but Abby got elbow deep:

The finished products were a cat and a happy face:

We stopped my Grandpa and Grandma Dekker's church to do some trunk-or-treating first, and then hit our neighborhood. The girls toughed it out for a while, but didn't dare go to the "scary house" that was down the street from ours. They each came away with quite a bit of goodies.

Below is the behemoth I mentioned. The main underground power line in our neighborhood is getting replaced, which is a good thing, but we were the lucky ones that got this 20,000 pound lawn ornament:

This thing drilled a horizontal hole for new power line that extended more than 600 feet underground. It left nice ruts in the lawn, too, but those will be fixed eventually. And the next day Dad and I installed the stove, so we're fully functioning in the kitchen again. Unceremoniously, I think broccoli casserole was the first thing cooked in the new oven - oh, but we may have had cinnamon rolls first, to the girls' delight.

Electronic Tattling and Other Things

2008-10-23T21:40:00.002-04:00

When we neglect our blog so severely I always feel like our first returning post should be stellar, so I apologize if this isn't.

Lisa's at the CEA convention in South Bend for a couple days, so I'm home with the kids. I didn't have to head to Ferris today (a Thursday), which was convenient enough. Tomorrow will involve more babysitters, though.

The other day I was home with Jake and Annika, and I was upstairs while the two of them were occupied on the main floor, albeit a bit too quiet. I was busy putting together a new bookshelf though, so I didn't go check them out. Later on I came down and Annika immediately reported that Jake had been messing with our computer. He really enjoys getting on the chair and pressing buttons on the keyboard. The worst part is the fact that our keyboard has a button that automatically puts the computer in sleep mode, but it registers each press of that button, so it has to go through the wake-up-go-to-sleep cycle for every button press. Now, Annika didn't bother to come get me while Jake was on the computer, but rather grabbed my cell phone, which was sitting by the computer, and instead documented Jake's activities with the phone. So, I now have shots of Jake playing with a calculator, pushing the sleep button, pushing other buttons, and even shots of the screen showing the results of Jake's button pushes, like a string of typing in a Word file that was open. No great damage was done, but Annika certainly can be a character.

If anyone wants to rake leaves, we have plenty.

We're still without an oven, since our old one was a built-in, and the most basic replacement would be around $800 (which is dumb, considering how cheap a basic freestanding range is). I was going to cut out a spot where our old one was, but enough issues arose that I decided not to go after that myself. So, someone came and checked it out today and will give us an estimate on that tomorrow. We already bought a basic freestanding range from Sears - a discontinued basic model with a ding or two, but it was only $160! Never used! Unfortunately, it's white, which should go awesomely with our black dishwasher and bisque fridge. Oh well - maybe I'll find buried treasure in the backyard soon and we'll redo the whole kitchen.

Well, time to finish my night - nothing but the World Series and probably a fine brew await me.

Raising Them Irish

2008-10-09T20:38:00.002-04:00

It figures that after all the blog neglect we would have two posts in one day (so don't miss the one below). Along with all the busy stuff, we went to South Bend last Saturday - it was gameday! We made it on campus, saw the band, the golden dome, the basilica, and our old favorite Americanized Mexican restaurant, Hacienda. We spent the day with our friends Joel and Julie and their daughter Natalie. Julie found some kid-sized ND football jerseys at TJ Maxx, so all of the girls were suitably decked out for gameday. After campus, Jake took a good nap, ND beat Stanford and we drank homebrew. Yay! Here are the girls:

Guilt

2008-10-09T14:16:00.003-04:00

So, I'm feeling rather guilty because ever since school started we've done a pretty lousy job of keeping up on our blog. It's not that interesting things haven't happened -- we just haven't had time to write about them!
One of the most life altering items recently has been the demise of our oven. On Sunday it decided that it didn't want to shut off anymore or stop heating up. We've had to keep the circuit breaker off in order to keep it from burning down the house. The repair man came this morning and basically told Mike that it wasn't worth the money it would take to repair it (bye bye $60 for the wonderful news delivered after looking at the oven for a whole 2 minutes). So, now we have to decide what to do since we don't actually like the oven placement on our kitchen and would prefer not to spend ridiculous amounts of money to replace it when we hope to move it someday anyway. We also have to figure out when in the world we have time to go shopping for a new one! I guess for now we keep grilling and having crock pot meals -- I'll be very thankful to have my stovetop and oven back!
In other news....Annika is loving second grade and has an absolutely wonderful teacher. She's reading up a storm and finally starting to actually learn her math facts! Abby is enjoying Pre-K again and is looking forward to a field trip tomorrow and one next week Friday (which I get to go on too!). She's really much more grown up this year in there. It's fun to see! Jake is a busy, busy, busy boy! He's into everything! He's trying to say more and more words and spends lots of time pointing to things and jabbering at us with great expression trying to get us to come/go/move or in someway do what he wants us to do! Mike and I are both very busy with work (too busy!) but we both are thankful for our jobs and the satisfaction we get from them. Overall, life is moving fast, but we are feeling very blessed for our family, friends, jobs, home, and countless other gifts from God!

Things Annika Will Take For Granted Someday...

2008-09-27T11:34:00.002-04:00

The End is Near!!!

2008-08-23T16:18:00.002-04:00

This past week I have been struggling with the reality that the end of summer is upon us. I have spent the last several days getting my classroom set up and working on school paperwork and scheduling. While it's good to be back and get excited about seeing my students there are also a feelings of panic (I'll never get it all ready in time), regret (I wish we'd spent more days at the beach), excitement (like when Annika got her letter in the mail telling her what class she was in!), acceptance (thus begins another new season in our lives), stress (trying to cope with being a mom, wife, teacher, friend, etc.), and thankfulness (that I have been blessed with so much that I actually have these things to worry about, be excited about, panic about...). Next week brings intense craziness as Mike returns to Ferris to start his pre-semester meetings and I return to Millbrook for in-service days. Then, on September 2nd, we're off!! The new routine can officially begin! I think overall we're ready for some routine, but I sure will miss the nonconformity of summer days!

Vacation Part Two: Columbus

2008-08-08T08:36:00.006-04:00

Lisa's off to San Antonio, so I'm doing part two. We spent three days and two nights in Columbus, staying at Nick and Beth's. Here are the highlights:

The girls and Uncle Nick do "a funny one" on the front porch:

A big highlight for the girls (OK, and me too) both here and at Greg and Katelyn's in Lexington was playing Wii. Mostly, they played Mario Kart (I played LEGO Star Wars), and both of them improved their skills considerably over the week.

We spent one day at the Columbus Zoo. Nick came with us. We were very impressed, as the layout of the zoo and the animal exhibits are very well done. It was good fun. Here Jake points at the black rhino and says "Kitty!":

The girls get close to the penguins:

Lisa and Jake on the boat ride through the Pacific Islands loop of the zoo:

Abby and one of the many gorillas:

Other zoo highlights: the manatees, a roaring lion, elephants, Chinese food for lunch (so much nicer than a cruddy old hot dog again), and great weather for the whole day.

We also met the newest member of the Dekker family while we there. Here the girls hold their new cousin:

And here's probably the best picture we could get of the four Dekker grandkids (to be outdated in about two months), taken at the park whose name I can't think of:

Overall, it was a great trip - we hit North Market, and Lisa went to Trader Joe's for the first time too. The ride home was relatively smooth, too - or, as much as it can be with kids this age. The highlight on the way home was stopping at a rest area that was highly populated with cats.

Now Abby's begging for breakfast, so this must end.

Vacation Part One: Lexington

2008-07-30T16:58:00.014-04:00

Our family enjoyed a fabulous vacation last week as we went to visit family in Lexington and then Columbus. Since there is so much to share I decided to break the blogs down into more than one part! This will be a rather picture heavy blog since there were just so many cute shots and I wanted you all to be able to enjoy them!

We enjoyed several outings while in Lexington many of which are chronicled on Dan and Rebecca's blog. Below are some pictures of us enjoying the many outdoor activities Lexington has to offer! Here Jake flies his first kite at Jacobson Park. He loved watching the kites fly (especially Uncle Dan's stunt kite).

Here Abby and Aunt Katelyn watch everyone fly the kites. Abby and Annika both took turns flying the kite too. Annika even tried the stunt kite. It was pretty tricky to control!

We went blackberry picking one morning. It was beautiful outside and the berries were great! After picking we enjoyed a lunch at the orchard's cafe and then the kids played on the playground connected to the orchard. That night Rebecca made Southern Blackberry Cobbler - delicious!

Jake also experienced his first every mini-golf lesson (there were lots of firsts on this trip). We went to a biblical golf course where they had three courses to choose from: the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Miracles. We played the Miracles course. We weren't sure if that meant it would take a miracle to do well or if that meant the course was full of miracles and therefore we might all do better than usual. As it turns out, it just means that all the holes are based on biblical miracles! What a hoot!
Abby and Annika took the lead as the rest of us followed them around the course. Other than the heat (we were in KY after all!) it was great fun!

The highlight of the trip for the girls was our day spent at Southland Aquatic Center which is located just a couple blocks from Dan and Rebecca's house. This public pool has two large pools designed for family entertainment. The largest pool features a zero depth entry, water mushrooms, a diving board, and a water slide. There is a smaller area designed for children under 8 which is anywhere from 1 to 1 1/2 feet deep and has a child-size water slide, water fountains, and endless water showers. The kids LOVED it! Jake was fearless as he tromped through the water and waded into the fountains. It was a riot to watch!

One of the best parts of vacation was just hanging out with family. We all enjoyed getting to spend time with Greg, Katelyn, Rebecca, Dan, Deacon, and Sunny. Our children enjoyed playing around with their aunts and uncles and seeing where they lived and spent their days. Mike and I enjoyed seeing their homes too and seeing all the preparations being made for the newest member of the Dekker family.

We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family and so grateful that they would open their homes and welcome us in! They were very gracious hosts and we look forward to being able to return the favor someday!

Stay tuned for more to come when we travel on to Columbus...

Chicago

2008-07-17T10:10:00.007-04:00

Last weekend my Mom and I took the kids to visit my grandparents who live near Chicago, IL. It was a wonderful visit! We were blessed to have my cousin, Sarah, visiting at the same time. Although Sarah is technically my cousin, she is only two years older than Annika. As you can see from the pictures, the girls look like they could be sisters!

The highlight of our trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa was our trip to downtown Chicago. The girls had never been downtown before (that they could remember) so I knew this would be quite the experience for them! We started our trip by taking the commuter train downtown. The girls LOVED it! Below is a picture of them waiting for the train.

Although they loved riding on the train they weren't so sure about all of the noises while waiting for the train. An Amtrak train came by while we were waiting and scared both girls pretty good. It's interesting because there is nothing separating people from the tracks so when the train comes flying by the wind is intense and the noise is deafening. As you can see, this wasn't Annika's favorite part of the trip!
Once we were downtown we took the trolley to WaterTower Place where we had lunch and then headed over to the American Girl Place. Neither of our girls owned an American Girl Doll (they have knock offs) but they both have Bitty Baby which is the baby version of the doll. My intent was to let Annika pick out an American Girl Doll as a special gift. We were going to get Abby an outfit for her Bitty Baby. It didn't turn out quite that way. Abby fell in love with Elizabeth and wanted her so badly my mom and I found ourselves unable to say no. Her puppy dog eyes were like none I had ever seen before. Annika took much longer to pick out her doll. She wanted one that looked like her but there were at least two that fit the bill! She finally decided on a Just Like You doll which has blond hair, fair skin, and blue eyes. She named her doll Felicity. The girls were able to pick out a special outfit from Great Grandma and one special item each for their dolls. Annika got a dog named Coconut and Abby got a dress for her doll. They also picked out some special outfits which they will get for Christmas. It was a very fun afternoon that I suspect the girls will remember for a very long time!

The Whirlwind

2008-07-08T23:07:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday (July 2), it rained. And then it poured.

We've just been getting into many of our summer activities - tutoring for Lisa, swimming lessons for the girls, and then this past week or so started. Apparently a lightning strike hit a telephone pole carrying a key transformer for the electric service to our house and burned it to the ground, so we were without power for a day and a half, starting around 4:30am on Thursday morning. Some bedswapping occurred when the kids freaked out a little. Later that day, I did some work at Mom and Dad's, swimming lessons were canceled (the pool is outdoors) and Lisa took the kids to the zoo with Lizzy. We had to move the contents of our fridge and freezers, too, but we were a bit too late on the freezer and lost some food. The girls spent a night at Lisa's parents', which was conveniently planned before the storm, while we spent the night at Mom and Dad's. That night, while Lisa and I were watching Knocked Up, of all movies, Nick called and made us an aunt and uncle for the first time (so Mom and Dad weren't home). On the 4th, power came back and we had dinner with friends but bailed on seeing the fireworks, since the next day Dan and Rebecca were in town for a baby shower (the kids were crabby anyway)! Lisa and the girls attended that while I had an all-around excellent lunch with Dan and some of his buddies at Founders. The next day was Abby's 4th birthday, so we went to church, had a party and threw some Aerobies around the park behind our house. On Monday Lisa started one of her two weeks of teaching summer school at Millbrook, for which she's been preparing mightily, since one of her topics for the week is "Fun with Gases". She's been practicing experiments at home, with has been an interesting and smoky experience. Monday night the power went out again but came back the next morning, but not before I carted the freezer contents to Mom and Dad's again. And we had more swimming lessons. And Lisa and another teacher practiced an experiment today that went a wee bit wrong and resulted in so many flames that Annika, who saw it all, was left weeping.

Somehow, we're nearly as busy as we are during the school year, but it's much more irregular, which can be harder to deal with. Fortunately, I'm not working, so that's a big help. The future holds a trip to Chicago for Lisa and the girls, a week and more for all of us down to Columbus and Lexington, a 4-day excursion to Madison for a math conference for me, and a trip to San Antonio with friends to see friends for Lisa. It's busy, but it's all good stuff. And now I should go to bed.

Tickle Warfare

2008-07-02T09:13:00.003-04:00

I recall getting roused from bed on numerous occasions by tickle bombs dropped by Dad. The girls and Jake have all experienced those attacks too, but I've expanded the range of tickle weapons. Jake gets the full assault here:

We were at the lake the other day and I debuted tickle torpedoes, too. Jake was more concerned with the whole lake experience. By the way, in the video you can see my short haircut and the blue living room, too.

The Shack

2008-06-29T17:00:00.002-04:00

This past week I enjoyed a very fun trip to Shipshewana, IN where we enjoyed a day of shopping at the flea market. For those of you who have never been, I highly recommend it. It's great fun and there is no end to the interesting and sometimes crazy things people try to sell there. During our two hour ride down we spent considerable time talking about good books we had recently read. Several members of our gr0up mentioned the book, The Shack by William Young. While none of them had actually read it they all said it came highly recommended and one person even had a copy at home that was in her "waiting to read next" pile. I had a gift certificate to Family Christian Bookstores so I stopped by there and picked it up. It was incredible. It is a work of fiction but I found myself wishing several times that it was real. I even had to go back and check several times to make sure it wasn't real. Although it is a work of fiction it is chock full of theology, but it's so well written that you don't feel like you are being hit over the head with it. You just end up being amazed at how profoundly well the author explains some of life's most difficult experiences and God's relationship to us within those experiences. I was moved beyond words by some of the images in this book and am anxious to share the thoughts and ideas presented in this book with others. I highly encourage anyone who sees this to read The Shack. For more information you can check out the book's website. I hope that reading this book will bless you the way it has blessed me.

As Requested...

2008-06-23T21:16:00.002-04:00

Per the requests we received after the previous post, here are pictures of Jake with his first haircut, taken while horsing around on our bed.

Here's the sideview, as he high-fives Lisa, with Abby doing something ridiculous in the background.

Here's where I can't think of anything to end the post!

A New 'Do, Part Deux

2008-06-22T20:36:00.004-04:00

Saturday was a day of haircuts, as 60% of our family got shorn.

In the morning, Jake got his first haircut, at the Alger Barber Shop, by the one and only Harm Faber, who has now cut the hair of at least one member from 5 generations of our family - Jake; me, Nick, Dan and Greg; Dad and Uncle Dan; Grandpa Dekker, and Grandma Dekker's dad, J.C. Lobbes. I believe I have that correct, but there may very well be more people I could list. Jake did quite well once he settled down on Lisa's lap with a pacifier and the toy mouse that Harm keeps for kids. He looks much more like a little boy now, as opposed to an infant that happens to be a boy.

In the afternoon, inspired by Jake's haircut and Abby's transformation a few weeks ago, Annika wanted to get in on the fun (and she needed a trim anyway). She got much more than a trim, however:

A few of us (including me) had the initial impression that she looks like someone we know. Any guesses?

Finally, in the evening, Lizzy buzzed me shorter than I've ever been, since birth. A couple times my hair clogged the trimmer. It's nice not teaching in the summer and then messing around with my appearance. My current goatee is only 2 and half weeks old, too.

Finally, we finished painting our living room last week. Here's the "before" picture, after the wallpaper border came off. I called the color "peach vomit," although it looks yellowish in the picture.

This is the finished product, Woodlawn Juniper, with new crown molding. The flash makes it look much lighter than it is. That should make a better background for the Dekker family Christmas photo if we gather in our living room again this year.

Surprise Prayer Request

2008-06-20T11:26:00.005-04:00

Last night, after I helped Abby say a prayer that wasn't unintelligible, Annika's bedtime prayer went like this:

"Dear Lord, thank you that we can go to Frederick Meijer Gardens tomorrow, and thank you for everyone in the world, help all the people that are sick to get better, and the people that are injured to get better, and, ummmmm -- long pause as she thinks of something to say -- and help Tiger Woods to get better with his knee surgery. Amen."

I had the US Open on this past weekend (and multiple times I was stunned at what I just saw, mostly when Tiger made improbable shots and putts), and I even got Lisa to get mildly interested in the outcome on Sunday. Annika is well aware of who Tiger Woods is, and yesterday afternoon I had my most recent Sports Illustrated, with Tiger on the cover. I mentioned to Annika that he ended up winning on Monday, and she was happy for him. Then I mentioned that he was having knee surgery and couldn't play the rest of the year, and she got only slightly irrationally mad about that. Anyway, it obviously stuck with her. We'll see if her prayers are answered.

Who Dat?

2008-06-17T22:15:00.002-04:00

Mike and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening as Jake is quickly picking up more and more language over the past few weeks. It totally cracks us up to hear him talking in practical baby gibberish sentences as he goes about telling us his thoughts with varying pitch and volume. Some of his newest words include: shoes (when he wants to go outside), dis? (this), and our new all time favorite: whodat? (which is his name for Grandma and Grandpa). We were a bit confused by this strange name for Grandma and Grandpa until Mike pointed out that the first thing we do when we see a grandparent is to point and say to Jake, "Who's that Jake? Who's that? That's right, it's ____!" Apparently we're talking too much and all he's catching are the first two words! So now, when he sees one of his grandparents, he excitedly exclaims, "whodat!" Well, at least we know he definitely recognizes them and is happy to see them!

Toss the Toaster

2008-06-12T18:46:00.003-04:00

Probably the strangest thing we inherited in our new house was a toaster built into the wall below the window by our kitchen table. The toaster pulls out like a drawer, around knee height. We tested it once, and it heats up, but doesn't pop up and turn off. On Tuesday morning I was home with Jake and Abby and went upstairs to brush my teeth. When I came down I noticed a burning smell. The gas dryer was running so I thought it might be that, but the smell was strongest in the kitchen. After a minute I discovered the toaster was on, still retracted in the wall. Abby said she didn't push the switch down, so it must have been Jake (it goes down pretty easily). I don't know how long it was, but it was burning hot. I pulled the toaster drawer out and opened the window above it to let it cool down. We have the instructions to it somewhere so I went over by our computer to look for them, in terms of disconnecting or removing the cursed thing (that's the 2-syllable "cur-sed"). While I was looking, Jake suddenly started screaming - he had made his way back over to the toaster and burned himself on it, as I hadn't blocked it off. Amidst his crying I tried to figure out where he burned himself, but I couldn't find anything on either hand, and eventually he calmed down a bit and started playing again. About 20 minutes later I found the burn - a bright red vertical line from the middle of his lower lip and down his chin. That panicked me enough to call Lisa, and we eventually got him to the doctor. We've tried to keep some bandaids on his chin, but that's only been somewhat successful. None of this has lessened his love of pacifiers, either, so it can't be too bad. Ultimately, he should heal up without any noticeable scar, but this is certainly the worst negligent father incident I've ever had (don't worry, I've finished beating myself up over it).

A New 'Do

2008-06-01T20:53:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday, Abby went with me to get her hair cut. Getting it cut short is something we always talk about with the girls but they usually end up begging us not to do. Annika, in particular, is always worried that she'll look like a boy! Abby, on the other hand, agreed to give shorter hair a try. So, here's her new look. Doesn't she look fabulous?

A Picture Post

2008-05-27T22:42:00.002-04:00

Here are some highlights from the the past month:

While I stayed home with an ailing Abby, Lisa took Annika and Jake to Tulip Time in Holland with Mark and Lizzy. We have an outfit that fits Annika and was quite appropriate for the occasion. Can you guess the main ethnicity of her ancestry?

Jake, sporting six teeth now, gets his teeth brushed for the first time:

It's been interesting to see what sort of landscaping we inherited at our new house, since we moved in during late fall. We did get a few nice bushes. This azalea bloomed nicely some weeks ago, while two large rhododendrons are doing their thing in the backyard right now.

There's been a lot of activity in the yard as the weather warmed up. We are somewhat centrally located among the houses that have kids in the neighborhood, and we have one of the flattest front yards. At my last count, there are 2+2+3+3+2+4 = 16 kids in 5th grade or below on our relatively short street, and our neighbors have 4 kids, but in middle school and above. Here's a scene from a recent T-ball game in our front yard:

We started and finished T-ball at Millbrook already, too. Abby was a little young for it, but finally managed to run the bases without any help during the last game. She didn't frequently feel the need to hustle from one base to the other, but she made it eventually. Once she made it most of the way from third to home hopping on one foot. Annika, on the other hand, has officially graduated from Millbrook T-ball. She was easier to get nice pictures of:

Lastly, I've been mowing the lawn, and got some help from the girls this day. Watch for both of them to pump their arms and say "Choo choo!"

Other than that, Lisa and the girls have less than 3 weeks left of school. I'm mostly at home, we've started a few house projects, and we're making vacation plans.

Spring Rain

2008-05-07T13:00:00.003-04:00

There is something so lovely about the sound of a gentle spring rain. Part of the joy comes in the fact that you can hear the rain now that it is warm enough to have the windows open. I love the sounds of birds chirping, wind rustling, and raindrops simultaneously gently glancing off the leaves on the nearby azalea bush. And if the sounds are not enough for you, a little breeze filters through the open window bringing with it the scents of spring: dirt, rain, and blossoms. To me, this is the sensory definition of serenity.

Dance Recital

2008-05-02T18:10:00.002-04:00

Last week Saturday was a busy day in the Dekker household as we enjoyed watching both girls participate in the Hearts In Step dance recital titled: Journey to Freedom. The recital was three hours long and told the story of Leah and how she came to see God in her life and rejoice in Him despite her struggles and heartbreak. It was very well done and provided ample opportunities for the full range of emotions! Both girls performed in the 11:00 show and Annika performed in the 5:00 show. During the dress rehearsal photographers were present to take photographs which you can now purchase on line. We were surprised to learn that Abby is the link to the Tuesday night rehearsal pictures! If you would like to see the pictures of our girls simply follow the link above and go to page 7 for Abby and page 17 for Annika. There are also a couple of pictures of Annika from the Thursday night rehearsal on page 11. These pictures will only be available until June 1 so take a look before they are gone!

How Can You Stay Mad?

2008-04-19T20:37:00.002-04:00

This evening Jake demonstrated once again how absolutely adorable & mischievous he can be all at once. As I was making dinner in the kitchen I watched, practically in slow motion, as he picked up the dish of cat food and proceeded to dump it all over the floor. Simultaneously, I could see Mike grasping for the dish and hear him yelling, "Noooooooooo!" as he tried to stop the inevitable from happening. As Mike got down on the floor and began to pick up the tidbits he looked at Jake to scold him. Jake leaned over and gave Mike a huge open mouth kiss on the cheek before he could finish reprimanding him. It was so sweet. He didn't want Daddy to be mad at him! And after that, how could anyone be?

Hanging Out At Home

2008-04-12T08:13:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. Mom and Dad D came over for lunch, and then we walked around the neighborhood, pushing Jake in his new "buggy".

Later we just hung out in the front yard. Jake practiced walking outside:

It actually felt a little, um, white-trashy, too. I was wearing a somewhat thin white T-shirt that I had under my good shirt for church, Annika was mismatched, and the girls ate a snack, using the box from Jake's buggy as a table:

Later the girls and a friend rolled the box back and forth across the yard with one of the three inside (where's Annika?):
This past week was Lisa and the girls' spring break, too. Later that week Jake and Abby ran laps while I helped Annika practice the piano:

Yeah, I had a white T-shirt on then too (it was under the sweater I wore to work!). We've reverted to some cold and rain again, but more 60 degree temps are in the future. We started thinking about what to do with our yard, too. More of that stuff might happen once I'm done with school: just over 3 weeks!

Praise the Lord

2008-04-07T15:27:00.003-04:00

It's spring break --the sun is shining, Jen is recovering well, we are all relatively healthy (I have a minor lingering cough), Jake is taking a nice long nap, and the girls are having fun playing with the neighborhood girls. Life is good. Praise the Lord!

Health Report

2008-04-02T13:17:00.002-04:00

How sad is it that the most blogable material in our lives right now is the current health condition of everyone in our family? Pathetic! Anyway, Abby, Annika, and Mike are all on the upswing. Annika continues to have a nasty morning cough but after being up a bit and drinking some juice it's much improved. Abby's nose has stopped running and now it's just her legs doing the running (all over the place!). Still in need of more repair are Lisa and Jake. Jake's rash is much improved and the doctor declared his ear infection all better. He still has a really runny nose which we are attributing to teething though and now he is also suffering from a bad reaction to some shots he got at the doctor Monday. His right leg is swollen, hard, red, and warm. Poor kid! I am still struggling with breathing issues. I tried not taking my inhaler and cough medicine today to see what would happen. Unfortunately, all the old symptoms came rushing back. Apparently I'm still not over whatever it is I have! It hurts to breath and I'm worn out - bummer!

In other health news... this week we have added another member of the family to care for. My sister, Jennifer, was involved in a head-on collision on Monday afternoon. She totaled the car she was driving when some woman turned left in front of her causing Jen to hit her. Jen broke her right knee and severely bruised her left knee when she hit the dashboard. She also hit her head on the steering wheel (no airbag) and has a nice black eye. It's been two days now since the crash and all of her body is aching from the trauma of the accident. She is slowly developing more and more bruises and looks like she's been through a war zone. She needs lots of prayer as she works hard to recover physically and emotionally. We're so thankful that she was not hurt more and that we all live nearby to help her as she mends.

Home Sick

2008-03-31T09:40:00.002-04:00

So, after a weekend of being sick it seems we are not quite all put back together again yet. I am still struggling with my breathing and being tired. I had planned to tough it out today and go to school but Annika woke up with a wicked cough and a sore throat. There's no way she should be spreading all those germs around school! So, we're home today. Jake stayed with us and Abby went on to preschool for the morning. Hopefully she'll be OK since she's not been at the top of her game either recently.

On a side note, Jake has switched to walking at least 50% of the time now! It's so much fun to see him toddle around! He's getting so big!

Attack of the Germs

2008-03-27T20:27:00.002-04:00

In a matter of one week we have gone from being a healthy family to being one rather sick group of people! I think it was the snow again last week -- it brought back the germs!
It all started last week Sat. morning when I experienced some really intense chest pain accompanied by several other fun symptoms like shortness of breath and sweating. I assumed it was heartburn (the joys of getting older!) but was still rather shaken up by the incident. I ended up sleeping for several hours after the pain finally subsided and have remained rather tired and short of breath ever since. Since my family has a history of heart disease I thought it best to contact my doctor on Monday morning just to get her take on things. What I got was a stern lecture and directions to get myself to the emergency room immediately! I was teaching and had Abby and Jake to worry about so after climbing a snow hill (and falling in up to my waist!) and physically bringing a wayward student down from the top of the hill (all the while thinking that my doctor would kill me if she could see me now) I arranged to get my kids taken care of and left for the ER. My mother was kind enough to accompany me. I could not believe how busy they were there! Still, our wait was quite short. Heart concerns get things moving. They hooked me up to several machines and then did an EKG and promptly informed me (as if this was astonishing news) that I was not currently having a heart attack. Considering that I felt mostly fine except being a little tired and short of breath I was not real surprised. They took chest x-rays and did blood work and finally concluded that I appeared to be fine. Their best guess was that I had some sort of heartburn issue on Sat. and that I would be fine. They did order a stress test though just to be safe. So, four hours later (not bad for an ER visit) I was back home and anxious to have the whole incident behind me.
On Tuesday morning, Annika woke up with a croupy cough. Five kids had been out sick on Monday from her class and she was sure she needed to stay home. We pushed her to go to school and promised to come get her if she couldn't make it. She made it, which was good, since now we needed to deal with Jake. Jake had developed a diaper rash on Monday which seemed to be getting worse and worse despite our generous use of diaper rash cream. We attributed his rash and rather crabby nature to teething and assumed it would improve. By lunch time on Tuesday his little bottom was actually bleeding and he screamed bloody murder anytime we tried to touch it (poor guy!). I called the doctor and they had us take his temp. Since he had one we had to bring him in. It turns out his rash was infected and on top of that he has a bad ear infection too! That explains why he's been so crabby! So now Jake is on multiple meds.
In the meantime, Abby's cold is back. It looks like it may be another sinus infection (she had one a few weeks ago) as it is not clearing up. The child oozes green snot! We're just a real mess here.
On the bright side, I had my stress test today and everything looked great. My heart is healthy and doing everything is should. Unfortunately, I am still having breathing problems which seem to be getting progressively worse. My doctor has ordered a visit to the pulminologist and I am scheduled to go see her tomorrow morning in hopes that we can discover something before I go see a specialist. Let's all pray for warmer weather, more sunshine, and open windows to air out the germs! Our family needs the respite!

That's it,...we're moving!

2008-03-21T19:30:00.003-04:00

When I look out my computer window all I can see right now is white. The snow started around 10:30 this morning and hasn't stopped since. The Husky's who walk the track behind our house look like they're in heaven. Everyone else thinks we're somewhere else! All the local Good Friday services have been canceled as have sporting events. Boo for Michigan weather! We're ready for spring!

Jake's Wonderful Head

2008-03-20T11:42:00.009-04:00

Today Jake had his last appointment at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. After five months he is officially done with his helmet and his plagiocephaly is considered to be "cured". His scan revealed that over the course of five months he had a 6.1% change in the ratio of his head circumference which places him now in the average range for head shape. Although we still notice a slight area where his head is flat, overall, we are delighted with how well his helmet worked. Most people will never know this was a part of his life.

This is the scan which shows the before and after look. The red is his initial head shape and size. The blue shows the changes. The goal was to keep him from growing on the sides (which is did) and to allow him to grow in the back. He also grew a bit in front which is OK. Jake's flattest spot on his head was actually above the scan line so if they had been able to show that on the picture you would see a more dramatic change.

This picture show's Jake's head as we prepare for the final scan. I wanted to show a before and after picture but it turns out the before pictures are on my mom's camera so we need to get them from her.

And this picture shows Jake enjoying a well-earned celebratory Chocolate-Chip cookie!

We are so delighted to have our little boy's head back. It will take a lot of will power on everyone's part now to keep him from going bold with all the kisses and rubs his little head is getting! The process was well worth it but we're thankful to be done!

A Sympathetic Cat

2008-03-20T10:39:00.002-04:00

Well, God bless Tate. It seems he was feeling sorry for Greg and so he decided to go and have his own back problems just so he could relate better to how Greg is feeling. It all started a few days ago when we noticed he was laying around a lot and not nearly as active as usual -- we naturally interpreted this as "he's a cat and he's getting lazy!" On Tuesday however, Tate remained sitting on the sofa in the same spot for over 12 hours. Now, while cats may be lazy at times, we thought this was a bit extreme. I put him on the floor and he slowly hobbled over to a large stuffed dog on the floor and laid down again. It was an awful sight to watch. I brought his food and a water dish over and he took a couple licks and ate a couple bites while laying down. Something was clearly wrong. We had to carry him down to the liter box and back upstairs Tuesday night and Wed. morning wasn't any better. SO...I spent an hour and a half on the phone trying to find a vet who could see him Wed. My goal was to avoid the emergency clinic since it cost $100 just to walk in the door there. We ended up going to Woodland Veterinary Clinic and the people there were wonderful! We will definitely being going back there. Upon initial inspection the vet said Tate seemed fine -- his heart rate, respiration, temperature, etc. were all normal. The vet asked several questions about his symptoms and agreed that something seemed wrong. When I mentioned how Tate was walking he asked me to put him on the floor so he could watch. Tate pathetically walked over to where his carrier was sitting on a low bench and tried to hop up. It took him almost a full minute to make the jump. The vet could now see where the apparent problem was. He ordered x-rays and blood work and I left him there for a couple of hours so the procedures could be completed. Up on returning the vet showed me the x-rays and the results of the blood work. The x-rays did not show any problems with Tate's spine or hips but it did sh0w an enlarged kidney. The blood work also indicated a possible (although slight) kidney problem which could be related to the fact that he wasn't eating or drinking much. Of more concern though were levels of his white blood cells. They decided to run a couple more blood tests to rule out cancer. They came back negative -- Tate does not have cancer. Interestingly, the kidney trouble does not seem to be related to the pain Tate is experiencing. So, the final diagnosis is: possible kidney issues (we got back in 10 days for more blood work), and an apparent back injury (of unknown cause). Tate was put on some major anti-inflammatory drugs and told not the play with the kids or jump on high things for 2-3 days. He had his first dose of medication last night and as of this morning he already seems to be perking up. He has climbed on top of the sofa and is happily sleeping there right now. He also ate and drank almost normally this morning. $450.00 later our cat seems to be headed in the right direction! Now, if we only had good insurance like Greg and Katelyn!

Jake Does Laps

2008-03-13T11:11:00.001-04:00

Jake is on the verge of walking on his own, but he doesn't quite have the courage to try it yet. However, when using his little push walker he can do circles around the house. Here he is:

Easter Birthdays

2008-03-10T11:58:00.002-04:00

First off: it was great to see Dan and Rebecca this weekend, who brought Greg and Katelyn up as well, surprising all of us. Kudos to D & R for blindsiding us with very happy news, too.

Jake turns 1 in less than two weeks, and this year his birthday, March 23, is on Easter, for the only time in his life, unless he lives to be 153. In case you didn't know, here's how the date for Easter is determined: it's on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the ecclesiastical vernal equinox (basically, the beginning of spring), which is fixed at March 21 (sometimes the real beginning of spring is on March 20). Therefore, the earliest possible date for Easter is March 22, but that's a rare occurrence, last happening in 1818 and next in 2285. The date for Easter actually has a 5.7 million year cycle. All of this is on the Internet, of course. The early Easter this year made for a goofy schedule at Ferris, as the students return from spring break, have class for 3 days, and then get Easter break.

Annika was nearly an Easter baby, about three hours shy. When we mentioned that Jake's birthday is on Easter this year, she asked about hers. Last night I found out that she'll have to wait for her 46th birthday, in 2047. But then it will come around again in 2058 and 2069, so she could very well have three Easter birthdays. Yay, yay, fun, fun.

Helmet Update

2008-03-01T07:49:00.002-05:00

I didn't want to jump on top of Lisa's post too soon, but here's the latest on Jake's head:

A few days ago he started to develop some bad red spots from rubbing right on his forehead. So, we called the doc and made an appointment, but we had to wait two days, and we were told to just leave his helmet off until then. As a result we had two helmetless days during which we enjoyed his nice little baby head. We've missed it - he's much nicer to cuddle in before bed when there isn't a hard piece of plastic in the way. Plus, he slept really well, which may have been a coincidence, but maybe not. He didn't smell like old hockey sweat either. Then on Thursday Lisa took him to the doc, he was measured (he's having a growth spurt, and thus the rubbing) and his helmet was reshaped inside to fit better. We also made an appointment for March 20, when he will get a final scan and we'll put that helmet away forever. I'm counting the days already, and the timing will be perfect, since his 1st birthday is March 23 and we're having a party on the 22nd. Overall, we're glad we went through the process, even though it will have lasted a week short of five months. Five months without his cute baby head! And now, he awakes...

Money, money, money!!!

2008-02-28T15:14:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening Annika spent time making some phone calls to family asking for pledges for the CLC Superbowl. She participates in this fundraiser every year and this year we made a point of telling her she was old enough to make her own phone calls and explain what she was doing. It turns out she really likes making these calls and she's able to do a decent job of explaining what she's doing and why.
Last night Annika called Uncle Greg to see if he wanted to pledge her. After waiting for Annika to finish having quite a long conversation with Greg Abby asked for her turn to talk to Uncle Greg. When she got on the phone the conversation went as follows:

Abby: Hi Uncle Greg.
Uncle Greg: Hi Abby.
Abby: I need some money.
Lisa (listening in): Abby! You don't need any money!
Abby to Lisa (taking the phone away from her mouth and putting one hand on her hip while holding the other hand out, palm up with the phone) : I like money!
Lisa: You do not need any money. Put the phone back and talk to Uncle Greg.
Abby: OK (and off she went on a new topic of conversation describing to Uncle Greg the toys sh was playing with while not really paying attention to the phone and on and on and on...)

It's just amazing how quickly kids learn the value of money, isn't it? The crazy thing is she doesn't understand what it's used for yet but she's smart enough to know that if her sister is asking for it, she should probably have it too!