Saturday, July 27, 2013

Our daughter is here!


We received a beautiful, healthy baby girl on July 20, 2013
Her name is

Femke

(~pronounced as Fem-kah~)

She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and measured 21 1/4 inches
She was born at 3.18 pm after a very quick labor

She is exactly one week old today and she is a very good baby so far! 
We feel extremely blessed!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Mother's Day 2013!




I got a new camera for Mother's Day, so we decided to try it out right away!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Spring time!


             For those of you who didn't hear the news yet; We are expecting our fourth child!     
                                                                                                                     
 
My 5 sisters came out to Idaho to visit me for a week in February! We had an absolute blast together! Unforgettable memories!

Woody & Buzz!

We enjoyed some lovely winter days with snow! 

Our youngest, Finn, is going to be 2 years in May! He's developed a strong personality. He's very sweet, but also very stubborn and strong willed! He's so fun to have around, and loves to play with his big brothers! We are so blessed to have him, just like our other boys. Finn started walking in october, at 17 months. (Tys was 14 months, and Nieko was 16 months when they took their first steps). 

Tys turned 5 on March 24th. He will start Kindergarten after the summer, we don't know where that will be yet... He loves animals and helping Rudi on the dairy is one of his favorite things to do. He's still just a sweet boy, with every now and then an outburst of energy! He can write his own name and is very proud of that! 

Nieko is our quiet 3-year old. He loves to play with cars or tractors or anything else with wheels. Playing in the dirt is becoming one of his new hobbies now too, as the weather is warming up! He also loves riding in the tractor with his pake (Rudi's dad). Nieko has an easy going personality and gets along great with other children. But he also lets me know if he doesn't agree, or if he doesn't get his way! 

Here's Tys and Nieko in the calf room, getting a drink.

Rudi stays busy on the dairy, and has developed a new hobby; aquariums. He loves his fish, and owns 3 different tanks already. 2 in his office and 1 (saltwater tank) in our house. He loves taking care of them and learning about them. He's getting excited about the garden/yard as the weather is warming up! He's involved in several things at church and still volunteers for Love INC. 

Our little baby is growing well (at least my belly is, so I'm assuming the baby is too). I'm 24 weeks along and this pregnancy is flying by! I'm staying busy at home with the three boys. I'm enjoying having them all here, since Tys will be going to school after the summer, things will change... I enjoy going to MOPS and bible study and am also involved in several things at church. I am going on a short trip to The Netherlands in April to visit my mom who's going through chemo, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the beginning of this year. She's doing well and is halfway done with the treatments! 


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Our 2-month trip to Holland, April-May 2012

It's hard to believe we've been back from Holland over 2 months already. Time really does fly by and our summer has been a busy, but good one so far! I'll blog about the summer later. I wanted to post some pictures from our trip to Holland first. Maybe some of you have already seen some pictures on Facebook, maybe you don't have Facebook, either way, enjoy!



We arrived on April 2nd. It took Finn about a week to adjust. The older 2 did great.

Tys waving at pake with beppe

This was about the 3rd day we were there, the cousins got to play in the sandbox together, which was fun!

Rudi talking to my sister, Anyke.

We visited a dairy in my sisters town, that was fun!

The dairy farmers daughter, our nephew Ruben and niece Marije

Rudi with the boys

At my oldest sisters house

Marije

Eating lunch at home.

The boys enjoyed the fresh bakery bread and hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles)

Then we got to go to a fun vacation house, that was a present from my parents!

On the ferry, on the way to the museum

Fun museum for kids.

It was an outdoor museum, with traditional "old" Dutch houses and people in the traditional clothes.

Old traditional dining room

Tys and Nieko loved it.

Talking to the Dutch lady.

Picture time

Look up finn!

Our three treasures.

Eating some lunch and feeding the ducks

Tuckered out

Finn, our chocolate eater!

We visited an aquarium.

Went to the beach.

Finn was about 11 months here.

At the big sand dune.
Finn in our cute little vacation house

Finn on the beach

All 3 of them having a blast

Hungry after all that playing we ordered a pizza... We waited outside, because the boys were full of sand!

Alkmaar
Cheese market

Lots and lots of people!

Buying a souvenir for Rudi's mom

Eating breakfast (or lucnh, I can't remember :-))
This is what Tys does when I shop :-)

My mom and sister ate a salt herring...... We were taking a little break from shopping in Haarlem

At the Corrie Ten Boom museum.

The hiding place.

Doesn't my dad look adorable??

It was SOOO cold!!

Me, the boys, and my only Beppe (my dads mom)

Nieko playing with his cousin Niek!

Tys, Niek and Nieko!

Nieko, Finn and Tys!

Silly Finn with his chubby cheeks!

My mom being stylish

My sister dressed Finn in girls clothes! haha!

Anyke, me and Aly at the theather!

Me and Nieko going for a bike ride!

Jan Bert with my niece Roos and Marco with Finn (Both brothers-in-law)

Nieko and Tys at my sisters house

It was Sanne's (far left) Birthday!

Chocolate sprinkles for breakfast!

Janneke and me

Me, Margriet, Janneke & Elbrich

Beppe and the boys!

Cute display!

Rudi came back!!!!

So excited to see him again. Tys missed his dad SO much!!

Here we are in Spain! Rudi and I went and visited missionary friends in Spain for 5 days.

Main street in the town we stayed at

Alicante!

We went to this beautiful castle on top of a hill.

Gorgeous view (both Rudi and the town/ocean)

We enjoyed it very much

It was a beautiful day with nice warm weather. Holland had been pretty cold and rainy! So we were ready for some sun!

Bird

closer up

One last one of the view

Rudi's ginormous hamburger!!!!

Back in Holland! The weather had gotten beautiful over there!

Tys on the boat with pake!

Finn came too

And Rudi and Nieko too

Oh, and me too.

Sitting in front of my mom and dads house.

Finn turned one on May 25!!!

Such a BIG boy!

Having fun..

Party time!

My only sister in law (on my side of the family) Sietske!!!

A lot of people came to my hometown for a big bicycle race!

There was a lot of stuff going on. Nieko loved it as you can see... :-/

We went on the boat with all the sisters one afternoon, so fun!!

Nieko sleeping on the stairs...!

My brother and his wife live a few houses away from my parents. They have two boys, and a baby girl. The boys had such a blast playing together. Here they're having a water fight.. My brother got involved too..

Tys loved it

Baby girl, Rixt!

On the carrousel

Traditional dancers

Beppe and all of us!

My mom and dad and my sister Anyke and her husband.

Lots of people watching the bicyclists finish their 220 km race

This is the town I was born and raised, I love it so much!

On our way back to Idaho :'-(

In the airplane

Waiting in Portland.

The boys enjoying some ice cream



These next few pictures got out of order.... Not sure why!




Tys and Nieko sharing a bed

My sister Anyke spoiled the kids with a fun bike ride and ice cream!

At the beach with my sisters and the kids

My niece Roos and Finn. 2 months apart.

Our family! Without spouses and kids

Finn and Roos again!

On the boat

Having fun with sisters!!!!

Our very last night.... a sad one... as we were saying our goodbyes..

We all enjoyed a late night snack, frikandel.... my favourite!!!

Finn... here we are on our way back again!

Inside the plane. We had four seats, since Finn was under 2. The kids did very good on the flights.

Back in Boise....

Tys was tuckered out!!! But so happy when his Idahoan cousins woke him up! They'd missed him a lot!