Bible verse for the week

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall: but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint!

Isaiah 40: 30-31

My little lover

It is the most beautiful night. Blue sky and cool breezes. I decided I needed a slow walk and Luke and Jaeger tagged along. I took Jaeger's hand early in the walk and he held my hand almost the entire way. My heart swelled and life was beautiful. We did a small loop and at one point I explained we would go to the end of the street and loop around past Zach's (Jaeger's best friend.) At that point and very abruptly Jaeger let go of my hand but said nothing. But we moms know and I knew that was his need to feel or look tough not tender and sweet holding his moms hand. After we had passed Zach's house and were far enough away I took his hand again and he once again held my hand. I told him I liked holding his hand and it made his mama feel loved. He smiled.

Woo-Hoo

Woo-Hoo... the sale is done, completed, finished and I am celebrating! I'll add totals next week but I think we really did do great, especially for our 1st year. I now am wearing my very happy face!

After spending another entire day at work and school this picture made me laugh and pretty much sums up my attitude for today. The sale is in 2 days... i cannot wait to put it behind me!

I hope no one is too offended by this post ( i'm simply being honest... potty-mouthed but honest)

Stressed Out!

Oh my stars... i am so stressed out! As many of you know i am in charge of the 2nd hand sale at school and i have spent hours upon hours working on getting everything ready. Pricing 8 million items was a nightmare but i think we finally accomplished that task. The sale is Saturday and i'm so ready to have it be over. Successful but over! Then one more week of school and summer vacation officially arrives...which makes me so happy i could do cartwheels. Lemonade in tall glasses, tan lines, beach days, catching fireflies, campfires... i just can't wait!

Dinner Delight

Stuffed inside this jar are 97 or 98 questions on strips of cardstock decked out in ribbon... dinner conversation starters... fun questions to ask the boys while enjoying dinner around the table as a family. I intend to pull out 1 question per night or maybe one per week and am excited to hear how the boys respond to each one. The questions are fun, some are thought provoking, they will prove to sometimes be a teachable moment. Hopefully as the boys get older and we do this, we will have great conversations and we will learn more about the inner lives and hearts of Luke, Jack and Jaeger. Hopefully it will move us beyond the pat answers boys often give like yup- nope - i don't know - yeah - ok - etc. I saw a box set of questions at Hallmark and thought it was a cool idea but was too cheap to spend $20 and knew I could do it up much cuter! I found all my questions online and typed them on my computer, printed them on cardstock in bright colors and added the fun, bright ribbons. I got the jar at Meijer for $4.99. I'm of course biased but i think it turned out absolutely adorable. Let me know if you want a jar of your own... I saved my questions on the computer so it would save you the work of finding questions and typing them up. I could simply print them for you. Leave me a comment if interested. Now the only dilemma is actually getting dinner on the table!

OK... these ribbons and all their bright colors just make me HAPPY!

the devotional book i just purchased to do with the boys...
Isn't the cover of this book just the cutest stinkin thing?

Thankful Tuesday

Jack and his friend Eli

The boys are excited for the train to arrive

Ridin' the Amtrak

All Aboard

Here is Jack giving me the look. The look of no more pictures mom and definately no more pics of me and girls. I could not resist however because this little girl chased him all morning and sat right next to him while watching the dutch dancers. I'm pretty sure some flirting was going on... I just love the moment i captured here though. It was too cute!

Riding the swing at Dutch Village

I was shocked Jack went on this swing. This is not typically his thing. I guess maybe my baby is growing up. He had a blast flying around and around on this thing.

Dutch dancers

all the beautiful tulips that were in bloom

Today i am thankful that i had the day off and it was beautiful and sunny with a cool breeze. My day started super early with my alarm going off by 5:15 am. Seriously rough for a non-morning gal. But get up i did and got ready along with my jack who had to be to school by 6:50 for his fieldtrip. In 1st grade the kiddo's get to ride the amtrak train from G.R to Holland and from there we venture over to Dutch Village for the morning and later on to Hager Park for a picnic lunch and playtime. It is always a super fun trip. Thankful for this day off to enjoy with my Jackson - to see beautiful tulips still in bloom, to feel the warm sun on my skin and to feel the breeze blow through my hair... to watch him run and play and interact with his friends underneath a blanket of bright blue sky...i am blessed!

Favorite shots

Here are a few of my favorite shots from yesterday. We celebrated April birthdays (a tad late, considering it is almost June.) It was really nice to have my entire family together again!

Kyle Kenzie and Gracie Mae...best little buddies

Reese Lauryn with the cute lollipop Auntie Ash made!


Beautiful smile on such a beautiful little sweetheart!

I was practicing how to take a picture and capture those "catchlights" in the eyes. I caught them in this shot. It may not be the best shot of Luke... but i love it because i caught the catchlights and it showcases his rosebud lips and the blueish-green- gray of his eyes and those freckles i love spread across his nose and cheeks.

J is looking so cute in his pink tie and bleached out blond hair!

Ross and Rachel ( this will always make me smile )

Yesterday we had the honor of attending the beautiful wedding of Ross and Rachel Hirdes.

Rachel is a cousin of Marc's on the Renzema side of the family. It was supposed to be an outdoor

wedding but was rained out. I felt so bad for Rach, but the wedding was still wonderful.

The pastor had a great message to love each other with an EXTRAVAGANT love,

basing his message from Ephesians. Life will be joyous but it will also have trials...

You will not always like the other person but it is then that God calls us to love with

EXTRAVAGANT LOVE!

The reception was at Laketon Golf and Conference Center. It was the most

gorgeous place I have ever seen for a reception. Oh my Word is all I can say... simply amazing!

Rachel is so creative and I loved so many of the little details of her wedding. The invitation, the place cards in grass, the chocolate fountain, the tree with messages and the list could go on.

The girls dresses were incredibly beautiful... everything was perfect!

We wish them all of life's happiness and blessings from above!

Abbie, Jamie and Cara... Rachel's 3 gorgeous sisters... these 4 girls are knockouts!

BRIDESMAIDS... the dresses were soo pretty and the girls

were stunningly beautiful!

messages from the guests, written on adorable tags. They did this in lieu of a guestbook.
I thought this was the coolest idea ever!

Love it!

Marc's cousin, Dave... father of the bride...

leaving his "love note" for his daughter and new son-in-law

Cake topper

Gift table... with our gift to them in that awesome bag I found

at Hallmark. It quotes part of Corinthians 13. Love it!

Wedding party favors

Chocolate fountain... with white chocolate

This was a huge hit and it looked so pretty too!

Slow dancing with the love of my life

I cannot believe we have been married for 15 years

It was so fun to be at a wedding again and to witness

Ross and Rachel beginning their journey together!

Thought for the day:

How is it that my boys can pop wheelies on their bikes, climb tall trees, scale rock climbing walls, skate faster than a speeding bullet, whittle sticks with knives, balance on skim boards, keep complete control of a soccer ball while running down the field and yet cannot seem to keep the pee in the toilet! Ugggh it "pisses" me off (excuse the pun) but I mean seriously, they can aim a basketball to swoosh through the net, they can aim and score a goal in soccer and yet they cannot seem to aim their parts to keep the pee in the toilet. I simply do not understand and I just scrubbed the bathroom 2 days ago... it is exasperating! So that is the thought for the day - why boys can do just about anything except keep pee in the toilet! Thank you and have a good day!

Thankful Tuesday

Today I am thankful for friends who follow through on "you owe me". Let me explain... every other friday night I play volleyball with a group of friends and one of my friends likes to be "set up" by someone on the opposing team so he can spike the ball and about take us all out. When one of us just happens to "set" him up (despite not trying to) we proceed to tell him he "owes us". Well on this particular night I not only set him up beautifully, he also at one point in the game pulled the net down and the ball hit me square in the face. Now he owed me big time and to pay his dues he had to make me a batch of scotcheroo's. He made good on his "owe me" today and brought over delicious scotcheroo's. This must be the BEST treat ever. Scotcheroo's are my absolute favorite. However, they are not only delicious but dangerous... who can stop at one? definately not me. Thanks Tim they were awesome!

i love lilacs

The lilacs are in full bloom... luscious, lovely lilacs. I have always loved lilacs, maybe I got my love for them from my Grandma Scholma, they were her favorite flower. In our first year of marriage we lived in an upstairs apartment in Hudsonville and there was a lilac bush in the yard and every spring Uncle Gary (who owned the house) would pick me bouquets of lilacs to put on my kitchen table. I loved those lilacs from their pretty shades of purple to their powerfully sweet aroma that overtook the entire room. Another of God's gifts to us, another sweet pleasure to enjoy. Go pick yourself a beautiful bouquet today!

If you give a mom a muffin:

So you know those books... "If you give a mouse a cookie" or "If you give a moose a muffin"... I love those books and one of the teachers at school gave me a "mom poem" based on those books. I took the liberty to change it just a touch but i think it is so cute and a fun read for all us MOMS!

If you give a mom a muffin:

If you give a mom a muffin,
she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some...
her 3 year old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks,
she'll remember she has laundry to do.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
she'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer...
bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger...
She'll look for her cookbook (101 things to make with a pound of hamburger)
the cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail...
She will see the phone bill that is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook,
while looking for her checkbook, the phone will ring
her 5 year old will answer it and accidentally hang up...
she'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee...
thinking of the coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
if she has a cup of coffee,
her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it!

Spring has Sprung

So today is a beautiful Spring day and April showers have brought May flowers. The sun feels warm on my face and the sky is brilliant blue. Words cannot express what this does for my spirit, there is an extra skip in my step and I feel happy all over. My friend Marnie called yesterday to come with my camera because her tree was in full bloom and absolutely beautiful. It smelled luscious and was literally buzzing/humming with the sounds of bees. It was one of those simple pleasures, another gift from God... a reminder that He makes all things new!