4th with friends

Chloe is such a girlie girl. She said she was ready to go fishing...complete with sequin purse, fingerless, full length gloves and shades. She's SO Hollywood!






Turns out brothers are good for something...taking the fish off your hook!

The little one makes me so nervous!

Notice the feet.

Gorgeous sunset! Those blue stripes were even more amazing in person!




Our good friends Barb and Dan invited us to spend 4th of July at their cottage. The kids and I had such a fun time swimming, fishing and playing! Abigail and Joshua even got to drive the golf cart...well that is until Joshua backed it into a tree and then Mr. Dan said we needed to be done with the driving lesson. The fishing was fun too. Both Joshua and Abigail caught fish. Josiah didn't get anything but he really loved it and I was amazed at how quiet and still he was while waiting to see if a fish was going to bite! He is still trying to talk me into buying him his own pole. He saw some kid's poles at Target a while ago and hasn't forgotten. Chloe had a ball playing with Barb & Dan's son James. She just loves entertaining little people and they love her! The fireworks were nice but it was hard to concentrate on them because the boys were break dancing in front of us to the music some other folks were playing. Joshua and Josiah didn't watch the fireworks at all...they just boogied on the beach the entire time. The adults enjoyed the bon fire after all the kiddos were in bed. It was a great way to spend the holiday weekend! We can't wait to visit Barbie and Dan's cottage again! I hope you had an enjoyable 4th of July too!

Offroad Adventures

Uncle James (Bob's brother) suggested that we go to the West Michigan Offroad this weekend. It's like a demolition derby in the mud. Unfortunately the forecast for Saturday evening was pretty bleak, 60% chance of rain. We decided to chance it and headed out anyway. We saw a few races with just a light sprinkling and then it started raining for real. We brought our umbrellas and toughed it out for several races. Abigail really enjoyed the powderpuff races and the boys thought it was super cool when one car flipped over! By the time we were ready to leave most of us were soaked and Joshua had been standing so close that he even got splattered by some mud from the cars (I learned that this is very cool to a 7 year old boy, he didn't want to wash it off)! The kids seemed to enjoy it even in the rain and I suppose it was extra good because the rain was creating a super muddy track. I think I would go again...just not in the rain.

Fun with Grammie and Poppy

Grammie and Poppy were here for a visit and we filled every moment with activity! They got to go on two field trips, one to the zoo with Josiah's class and the other to Dutch Village with Joshua's class. They also got to see all four kids play in baseball games. We got lots of ice cream and I made some of my favorite desserts to share with them too. Our time together is always sweet and always too short! We can't wait to see them again in August when we meet up at my Aunt Sue's house!

Here's pictures from the zoo. The ride on the camel was definitely the highlight!






Dutch Village in Holland Michigan was lots of fun too!

Playing Blog Catch Up

Things are happening so fast I don't have time to blog about it all! So here it is in pictures...which is better than not at all right? :)

Going from most recent pictures to older pictures, we begin with Abigail's 9th birthday party. She had a bowling party and everyone had a GREAT time! This first photo is quite revealing. At first glance you'll notice the pesky little brother giving her bunny ears. But if you look closely you'll notice that the mama forgot candles for the cake. So poor Abigail had to pretend there were candles and blow out nothing. What can you do...just gotta roll with the punches.




Here are Josiah's Preschool graduation photos. He had to dress up as what he wanted to be when he grows up. He decided that he wanted to dress up as a "Space Man". The funny thing was that as part of the program his teacher asked all the kids what they wanted to be. When she got to Josiah he said, "fireman". Oops, I guess he forgot he was dressed as an astronaut. It was cute!





Here's a picture of my 3 favorite guys right after a night of door to door campaigning. These little guys are daddy's best campaign volunteers!

She is worth far more than rubies

Mother's day came and went in usual whirlwind fashion and I didn't get a chance to put up pictures from the Mother's Day tea that I got to attend with Joshua and Chloe at school. Finally I sit down to share the pictures with you and tell you about the cute things they said and I started thinking about my mother and about other women who have been like a mother to me and I am suddenly overcome with emotion. I am just so thankful to have a mom who is so supportive, encouraging, loving and generous. She's amazing, no seriously AMAZING! I love my mom...I wish I was more like her. She is kind and patient and a great listener and when you need her she is ALWAYS there for you. My one wish for my relationship with my own daughters is that some day they will feel about me what I feel about their Grammie. I love you mom!
Not only have I been blessed with the greatest mom in the world, the Lord has brought other women into my my life who have provided wise counsel, friendship and have treated me like their own daughter. It's amazing to reflect back and see how God used these relationships to shape who I am now. Joette, Bonnie, Mama Rood, Ellen, Kathy, Margaret, Susan and others....I am so thankful for the blessing of having them in my life. They are worth far more than rubies.


Now for my own Mother's Day...I got to attend a tea put on by the kindergarten thru second grade classes at school. Chloe made a hat and Joshua made a tie for the occasion. They sang songs and recited Bible verses. Joshua's class each took a letter to spell out "Happy Mother's Day" and each child said something about there mother that started with their letter. Joshua had the letter "T". He said, "T is for talented. My mom is talented..." (I was thinking, oh, how sweet. He thinks I'm talented.) he went on, "...when she does the wash." Well, at least he thinks I'm good at something! :) Abigail made a picture collage of my favorite hobbies. She included cooking, swimming, shopping and texting (a sign of the times OR the sign of a bad mommy?). What can I say...I text. :) Josiah gave me a special card he made himself and a little plant he grew himself and from Bob I got tulips. I had a lovely mother's day and even though it's supposed to be a day for mother's to be celebrated it reminded me how thankful I am to be a mother!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

This post is just going to be a jumble of things from the last several days. A few pictures from Josiah's t-ball game. I just can't help it...he's the cutest little t-ball player ever!

This past weekend we drove down to Dayton to see our special friends, the Geaslens. We only got 24 hours with them but it was worth the drive. It's amazing to see the strong bond that our children have formed with each other. Abigail and Eve have been playing together since they were 1 and the rest of the kids have known each other from birth. Our time with them is never long enough but was well enjoyed.

Today we were driving home from school and there was a man standing by the road wearing a chicken costume and holding a sign that said, "Haircut SALE $6.99". I had just been thinking that the boys needed haircuts so we went in. I asked out of curiosity what the connection between a chicken and haircuts is. They said that there was no connection, just trying to get attention. It worked! The girls decided they wanted cuts too and since it was just $6.99 I agreed. They ended up with short, angle cuts (as Abigail calls it). They are both happy and now I don't have to worry about doing Chloe's hair (which she hates) so it's all good.

Finally, I'm including pictures of our Michigan house so you can see where we live now.
It's small but we're making the best of it. It's in a nice neighborhood with lots of kids and fun hills for riding bikes. :)

Enjoy the pictures and Happy early Mother's Day!












I just had to throw this picture in at the last minute. This is what happens after spending the day with Grandma playing and taking long bike rides!