Then & Now

In an effort to recreate the past, my college buddy Amy & I tried to pose just like we did back in college. I should point out that there are some changes from picture to picture and they are as follows:
1. Itsy bitsy bikinis have turned into tankinis.
2. Some wrinkles now grace our face.
3. Children are now in the background (and usually in front) of every one of our pictures.
4. And finally, and sadly, our cleavage is a bit lower! :)

Summer fun

Camping = F-U-N!

Sunset on the Slide.

Zach & cousin Ben getting down and dirty.

Best recipe over the fire: crescent roll wrapped around a one inch wooden dowel, sprayed with butter, and then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. YUM - tastes like an elephant ear!

Future Hairdresser or Just Plain Naughty?

After discovering a ball of multi-colored hair in the trash,

I questioned one of the suspects.

She broke easily and used as her defense,

"their hair was just so tangly."

I have taken to calling them "Butch Barbies."

(To all you moms who little girls have actually

cut their own hair, Barbie & I understand your pain.)

Random is Good

Paige & Zoey's teachers this year were great.

I can only hope I look this good at 60.
Aren't mother-in-laws supposed to be round???? :)

Cousins are fun.
(Which is good, because our kids have 20 of them!)

Top ten reasons to blog right now:

1. Avoid cleaning the house.
2. Lament about my husband who is currently on a golf trip that just happens to be the same weekend as our anniversary. Happy Anniversary to me. FORE!
3. To admit to putting down my Beth Moore Bible study to read a "spicy" book.
4. Because this will be my last post for awhile since we are leaving for camping and I have neither the camper, the laundry, the food, or myself ready!!!!!
5. Because if I have to referee one more silly argument between my kids, I will scream.
6. Avoid cleaning the house. (This deserves to be said twice.)
7. To tell you that Zoey has attended five birthday parties the past five Saturdays and I am sick of Target taking all my money. (Seriously kid, stop being so darn likeable.)
8. To praise Paige's soccer coach who just invited every girl from the two teams he coached this spring to Chuck E. Cheese where he footed the bill for everyone. You the Man Coach.
9. Because I need to tell someone that one of the soccer moms had a very inappropriate top on and those are not real. :) (I bet my hubby is sorry he's out of town now.)
10. To tell you to have a great rest of your weekend.

Mrs. C, aka, The Best Piano Teacher Ever

Paige had her last "Piano Party" of the year this week. That's right. You did just read the words piano and party in the same sentence. No scary, palm-sweating, high society piano recital for Mrs. C. Ruth has been the most lovely, kind, patient, gentle-hearted, warm, and encouraging piano teacher for Paige. She lives just one street over and so Paige can just walk out the back door and is at her house in minutes. Ruth also picked Paige up every week for church choir since she is the accompanist for it. Why am I telling you all this?? Because Ruth & her husband are moving to Idaho and I feel a tangible loss. Besides her being a great teacher for Paige, they also have the cutest relationship. Paige comes home late for dinner because she was chatting with Mrs. C and playing with her dog named Puck. She has never complained once about going to piano lessons because she knows she gets to see Mrs. C. I don't know about you, but I ran for the door when my piano lessons were over - usually with tears in my eyes because the metronome had once again bested me! So, thank you Ruth for being a blessing in our life and for starting Paige's "music career" out on the right track & God's blessings on what you like to call, "your next adventure".

Happy Birthday to Zoey

Zoey Elise is the big 6 today! Since the day she was born, she has been a joy. I still remember taking her to a big, local church (Mars Hill) starting at five days old and I then became known as the mom of the beautiful red-headed baby. I'll take that title proudly every day. Love you Zo!

Kitchen After Picture

Way to go Jeff!

You are the only handy man for me.

Learning at a Young Age

"Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars,

Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupid-er."

As quoted to me by the girls from what they heard on the school bus. There are times, I just want to say, "Amen Sister", but then remember I am the mommy.

David Crowder Band is Way Cool

Does anyone else think he looks like Waldo from the "Where's Waldo" books but with a goatee?

Last night Jeff and I went to a youth concert. O.K., are you done laughing yet? I heard that the David Crowder Band was coming to Kalamazoo and the tickets were just ten bucks (definitely speaking my Dutch language) and so I went ahead and bought two tickets for our thirty something selves. It was quite simply, AMAZING! Their music is incredible, their energy boundless, and to see hundreds of hip young people lifting their arms and singing each song word for word to the Lord was INSPIRING. The only time I felt "old" at the concert was when a beach ball went bouncing off my head. =) To which my ever supportive husband said, "Come on old lady, be ready next time!" My favorite song ever is "Foreverandever." Everytime that song comes on when I'm running, my pace gets faster and faster and faster and faster. (If you know the song, you get it.) As the high schooler prayed before the concert, "we rocked our faces off for Jesus."

If you have time to check out another group, check out One Time Blind. This is a foursome that acts out hilarious, relevant, and thought-provoking dramas. All in all, great date night that included; Mom and Dad Guikema taking all three kids overnight (yipee), quick bite to eat, concert, & a quick trip to Meijers at midnight. Morning included waking up to an alarm, woodchipping our flower beds, going out for coffee and a scone, and meeting the family at Paige's soccer game. Great night, great day, great grandpa and grandma, great life!

a picture IS worth a thousand words

May has been filled with lots of school musicals and even a Bible study "concert".

(Check out the kid stretching next to Zoey.)

Paige sang a solo along with several other kids in her grade & did an amazing job.

(Camera failed but video camera captured it all!)

Jeff trying to entertain Zach during Grandpa's

retirement party.

Zach is one cool dude.

Zoey dressing up with neighbor Avery.

Paige & neighbor Caitlin in their trendy matching outfits.
(Paige lost her two front teeth at Christmastime &
we are finally starting to see some white coming in.)

Ode to my neighbor Patti

(Patti is on the right with her best friend.)

Definition of an ode: "Simply a poem that contains some form or rhyming pattern about a certain subject and contains the word 'ode' in the title." "Lyric, pure and simple."

A mother of four boys

She is a woman filled with many joys

She spreads it gladly to friend and neighbor

And even to the perfect stranger.

She is the one you call at ten

To tell her you're out of baking powder again

Or maybe just to chat or vent

To me she is just heaven sent.

Continuing on with my deep entries:

Tim Daly was born in 1956. Which would make him 51? OH - MY - WORD. Nice job aging there Timmy.

Opinions Please

How many of you think it's unrealistic that

George has two hot chicks fighting over him?

(And isn't his character getting Annoying with a capital "A"?)

And did you like the "Addison spin-off"?

10 Things I've Learned over the Years

My how time flies

1. When a kid needs to poop, he/she won't eat.

2. Men stink at "spot staining".
3. A library book is an elusive thing to find in the morning ... as the bus is coming.

4. Good neighbors don't need good fences.

5. When your dad cries, so will you. (Except much longer and harder and will leave you with a nose that resembles Rudolph's.)

6. Going without a little makeup is no longer an option.

7. Same can be said about going without a bra. Not an option.

8. Mother's Day is a test for all men.

9. A bed made by a kid looks very different than a bed made by mom.

10. If you have a zit on your face long enough, it is appropriate to name it.

Tribute to my Dad

Congratulations Dad on a great teaching and coaching career. As you retire this spring from Calvin College and a teaching career that spanned over forty years, I hope you realize what a positive impact you have made on your students, players, other faculty members, and your family. "This is your Life" in pictures & we look forward to taking many more in the years to come.

And way to go Mom! You can officially retire now too.

"Behind evey successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife." Groucho Marx

This entry needs just six words of explanation:

Mom thought pig tails were cute!

Tagged Again

I've been tagged by my friend Stephanie to tell 6 things that people may not know about me. Hmmmm ... I am pretty much an open book (can you say TMI?) so this might take some deep thinking.

1. I was offered a scholarship to play DI softball after my sophmore year at Calvin & after a summer trip with Athletes in Action to Russia. My AIA coach was the head coach at East Carolina University (down in North Carolina) and told me she was looking for good softball players who also had Christian values (meaning : not a lesbian.) I turned it down because I didn't want to leave my family, my current boyfriend (who incidentally dumped me that fall) and because I was just plain nervous about moving.
2. I planted an entire vegetable garden and ten flats of flowers while eight months pregnant with my second daughter. All future pregnancies would involve bed rest - FUN, FUN!
3. I am on the PTO at my kid's school and will be the Vice President next year & the President the following year. I think it is an amazing group of selfless women (and one gentleman) but still never envisioned myself on the board. And yes, you may call me Madame President.
4. I was a rather poor R.A. in college. Boys in my room after curfew - yep. Low attendance at dorm events by myself - yep. Never drinking one drop of alcohol until I turned 21 and then coming home to my dorm room smelling like it - yep. (This one is kind of embarrassing.)
5. I have three moles in one arm pit. Yuck.
6. I sweat more than my husband.

I tag Amy, Chelle, and Brenda.

Zach's Team

Great day to walk and a great day to remember just how blessed we truly are by Zach's birth and his uneventful NICU stay. Thanks to all of your donations we raised $800 for the March of Dimes. Wow! Thanks. And thanks to our neighbor Patti & her son Nick, our friend Sarah & her kids Tyler and Megan, her mom Susan (photographer), and Grandpa Pettinga and neice Mya for walking with us this year. Zach's team rocks!

Great Book

Buy it, borrow it, but just make sure you read this book. Incredible.

"same kind of different as me."

by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent