The little house on the dairy...

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011-12-19T10:05:00.001-07:00

We wish everyone a merry Christmas! We're doing great! The weather here has been cold, but beautiful! No snow yet. Maybe a white Christmas? Yesterday morning was the children's Christmas program at church. The kids did so good! Last night was the candlelight service, which was beautiful!

The three amigos

2011-11-29T15:18:00.005-07:00

Wow, it's been 2 months since I updated... oops!

Well, little Finn is already six months, has two teeth, is starting to eat solids, en is rolling like crazy! that's what's new with him. He now weighs 18lbs. He's growing just like his brother Tys, who weighed the same at that stage. Nieko weighed 16lbs when he was 6 months.

Nieko is mostly learning how to talk. He's almost 2,5 and doesn't talk a whole lot yet, but he's learning every day. He's such a sweet boy. Tys talks so much that maybe he doesn't feel the need to. Or it could be the whole bilangual thing that slows him down, I don't know. But I do know that he understands both languages.

Tys is 3,5 and just getting to be such a big boy. Him and Nieko are real friends and play together a lot! Of course they pester each other too.... that's just part of it. Most of the time they have fun though. Tys is getting real good at doing puzzles. He's starting to like doing crafts a little more. Which can be a little challenging, with the other two little guys. But if it becomes a mess... oh well, we'll just clean it up again!

Rudi is doing good, staying busy on the dairy. The harvest and planting etc is all done, which is nice. Yesterday Peter helped us trim our big sycamore tree. There were quite a few dead branches that we wanted to remove. The tree now looks beautiful again, and the yard is full of branches! It amazed me how those branches seemed so small when they were up there, but as soon as they hit the ground, they were huge!! We've got quite a pile!
Other than the work on the dairy, Rudi stays busy helping out with Love INC and our church. Oh, and with the kids of course. He's a great dad to the boys and such a help to me!

I'm staying busy as a mom! There's always lots to do around the house and taking care of the boys is a job in itself. I wouldn't trade it for anything though!
I went on a wonderful ladies retreat, which was so nice, it was very refreshing and encouraging. It was just what I needed. God is so good to us, and we feel incredibly blessed!

We're planning on going back to Holland in the spring! We haven't bought tickets yet, but we're so excited to go. The boys see my parents on skype, and Tys actually thinks that Pake Jacob and Beppe Jelly live in the computer. I show him on his globe where they actually live, and that we're going to go on an airplane to see them! He seems to like that idea!

Well, that's about all that's new here. If I don't blog again before Christmas, I want to wish all of you a wonderful, blessed Christmas season!

bye!

Trip to California

2011-11-29T15:02:00.005-07:00

We traveled to california the end of october, for Rudi's cousins wedding. Jeremy and Marissa's wedding was beautiful!
We also got to see lots of relatives. Rudi's grandparents had never even met Nieko or Finn! So it was about time we went.
We had a great time. It was a quick trip. The boys did great traveling.

Rudi, grandpa and our boys

New facility at MJC. We happened to be there the weekend of the heifer sale. The boys loved the HUGE sandbox and tractor!

The newlyweds

Grandpa and grandma meet nieko and finn for the first time!

some cute snapshots!

The last month....

2011-09-30T13:32:00.009-06:00

It's been a while since the last post... I finally made some time to upload these pictures and share with you what the last month has been like!

At the beginning of this month we made a trip to the Oregon coast. Rudi had to judge a fair in Walla Walla, WA. And so we decided to make a little trip out of it.
It was wonderful, we had a blast. The boys especially loved playing on the beach. They did very well sleeping in the hotels!

When we came back we decided it was about time to move Finn out of our bedroom. But in order to do that we had to move Tys and Nieko into their new room. So we put the bunkbeds together and decorated the room with our ikea purchases! They love their new room and are doing very well sleeping in the bunkbeds.
Finn moved from the cradle to the crib, and from our room to his very own room. He's doing well and actually sleeps much better during the day. He takes actual naps now, which is wonderful!
Finn is four months already and just growing and he's as healthy as can be!

enjoy the pictures! (they are in the wrong order, sorry!)

This is at Cleo's museum (by Dan's Ferry in Melba)
If you've never been, I highly recommend it, fun for the kids too!

Nieko found the troll underneath the bridge..

The peacock is the boys' favorite at the park!

see here their new room

Finn is happy in his new crib

This is on the way home from our trip. They're watching a dvd, but Tys wanted to watch it in 3D!

Portland zoo! If you're ever in the area you should go, it's a fun zoo!

This was at Cannon Beach, OR. We had such luck with the weather, it was just beautiful!

We visited the aquarium in Seaside

And Tys got to hold a starfish!

And we got to feed the seals

biggest sucker they've ever had!

And we visited Tillamook cheese!

The hotel in Seaside didn't include breakfast, but we had brought some bread and nutella, and that worked out perfect!

Seaside, OR

Finn had a good time as well

The beach was definitely the most fun for Tys and Nieko! They had such a good time!

Seaside was fun!

love this!

Nieko having the time of his life, the biggest sandbox in the world!
Tys was convinced that there were a lot of dumptrucks that brought all the sand on the beach.

Tys about to water the grass

Tys sleeping under his crib, before he moved into the top bunk

Nieko playing with his dumptruck

At the fair in Walla Walla, which was great!

Finn ~ 3 months!

2011-08-25T13:37:00.003-06:00

Our beautiful little guy, 3 months already!

Tys and Nieko's daily entertainment

I made some strawberry freezer jam! It turned out delicious!

first half of August

2011-08-15T13:44:00.006-06:00

Nieko likes to get dirty.. oh, and he also likes chocolate. See here the combination

yard.

our wild garden

Tys and Dutchess bestest friends

We went camping for a day in Cascade!

burnt marshmallow. Tys had fun!

Nieko stole all the chocolate off the crackers!

front of our house

Rudi liked the marshmallows too...

Finn is just smilin' away!

New signs we bought in Cascade to add to our original one. Can you tell it's been 3 years since we've been up there?

Nieko playing in the sandbox

back to camping ~ I don't know why these pictures are a little mixed up..

Tys' favorite thing is to "make smoke"

Time for a break

watching Rudi mow the lawn

peekaboo

Finn in his cute Dutch outfit

pics of the Dutch bros!

2011-08-04T14:39:00.004-06:00

Hello,

Our computer is fixed again! After the electricity went out one morning, our computer wouldn't start up anymore. Turns out the hard drive was going bad. So now we have a brand new hard drive! And thankfully all our files/pictures etc. were saved!
We've been enjoying the summer. The weather has been hot- typically for July. And now it's already August, it seems like the summer just got started!

On July 26th my sister Anyke & Jetze had a beautiful, healthy baby girl, they named her Roos (Dutch version of Rose)! most of my family now have skype and we enjoy "skyping" a lot! It's awesome!

Finn had his 2 month check up last week. He weighed 12lbs 12oz, which is right in the 50th %tile. For lenght he was in the 75th %tile.
He's such a sweet baby and reminds us mostly of Tys.

Finn's first time in the hottub!

This was how he looked the whole time!

here he's "talking" to me! I love having "conversations" with him!

sweet baby

Tys & Nieko looking at all the equipment on the farm. The employees were cleaning and maintaining all the cows' beds. Which takes a lot of equipment, such as; loaders, trucks, skid steers etc! They had a blast!

some fun slide pictures!

cuddle time after nap time! To me it's amazing how three brothers can look so different!

Tys and Nieko are extremely sweet to baby Finn, and they're careful with him too! There has only been one incident so far, where we think Nieko poked him in the eye. Finn was pretty upset about that, but he recovered quickly.. and Nieko.. well, he got in trouble! And hasn't done it since!

3 boys @ 2 months!

2011-07-22T14:26:00.001-06:00

Tys

Nieko

Finn

Finn ~ 8 weeks!

2011-07-20T16:40:00.002-06:00

Finn is 8 weeks today! Time seems to go a little faster with each boy. He's still a sweet baby. Growing, eating, sleeping etc. Last night he woke up twice, which is very rare!!! But he must going through a little growth spurt I guess. This morning he laughed out loud for the first time, it was the cutest thing ever, it made me laugh too. He's definitely the most serious out of the three. It's hard to say of course since he's just a baby. But I remember the other two smiling more at this stage. It's amazing how different their personalities can be. And their looks too. I get so many different comments on Finn's looks! Some people say he's definitely a De Winkle, others say he looks just like me. And some say he looks like Tys, and others think he looks a lot like Nieko. One thing is for sure; he's a good mix!

I just love those chubby cheeks!

Maybe some of you have read about Nieko's tooth on facebook. Here's to the non-facebookers.
Nieko fell and chipped his tooth yesterday... Nearly half of it is gone. He didn't even really cry about it. Anyways, I called the dentist and went and saw her yesterday, and she recommended me taking him to a pediatric dentist, so I did. This morning the dentist checked him out. He filed the sharp edge of the tooth, and said that there was not much else he could do. He might get an abcess, and the tooth might start turning brown/grey within a month. But for now, we're just going to leave it. If we choose to, we can have the dentist make a filling, and kind of "fix it", but he said a lot of times those don't last on little baby teeth.
So that's the story on Nieko's tooth.
I'd take a broken tooth over a broken femur any day, by the way! I'm already used to his chipped tooth, and I think he's still good-looking.

Even though the lighting in this picture isn't great, I think it's a cute one!
Every day the boys want to hold on to Finn. And overload him with (sometimes slobbery) kisses.
Finn doesn't seem to mind.

We're waiting for my sister Anyke to have a baby, any day now! Her official due date is the 24th. She doesn't know what she's having, so we're real curious!!

Two of my sisters-in-law are expecting!!!

................................

Sietske (in Holland) & Siska (Rudi's sister)! Both of them already have two boys. And they're both due in January! We're super excited for them of course!

Finn ~ 7 weeks!

2011-07-13T16:49:00.001-06:00

Finn joined our family 7 weeks ago!
Today he weighs 11lbs 14oz!

Rudi's garden!

2011-07-11T14:46:00.003-06:00

Besides our three beautiful sons, we also have a beautiful garden! Rudi has spent many hours maintaining the flowers and grass around our house.

Pretty sunset

Rudi with two sleeping boys.

All the pretty flowers, so colorful!

lilies

Finn is smiling more and more!

Helping Rudi

Nieko throwing a temper.. I wanted to take him back to the house, bu the had too much fun "helping" Rudi!

Here he's happy again because I let him sit on the tractor!

This is my favorite part, we call it the "wild garden". Or Rudi calls it Anne's garden!

Independence Day ~ 4th of July

2011-07-05T15:00:00.005-06:00

Another beautiful, sunny fourth of July!
As always, we went to the parade in Melba, which was great fun. The older the boys get, the more they seem to enjoy it!

I was nursing Finn. I told Rudi that it seems like every fourth of July I'm nursing a baby!

Our beautiful little Finn. And guess what? His hair definitely looked red in the sunlight!

Justin, Peter, Logan & Levi in the fire truck in the parade!

Tys' favorite

Nieko liked the tractors.

our big boy

now that's my style...!

Nieko loves making "tractor sounds" with his big lips!

Tys and Logan going for a ride in the train!

The youngest two taking a nap

one last look at the monster trucks with Tys

All the boys having fun

Nieko is 2!

2011-06-29T15:27:00.004-06:00

Nieko turned 2 yesterday! We had a great day and Nieko got extra spoiled...! In the morning he opened presents, he loves mater (from the movie cars), and so we gave him a "shake 'n go mater". He loves it. He got a train track as well.
That evening we celebrated with a bbq, which was lots of fun! Pake & beppe came, and so did Oom Cory & tante Katie + their 4 girls. And friends from church with their two children as well. Oh, and (oom) Daniel, a good friend of ours too! The kids played mostly in the spa, they had a good time.
The day ended with dust storms, thunderstorms and rain!

The order of the pictures got a little mixed up..

Here is Tys with Finn

3 brothers! What a blessing!

Nieko watching tv with his 3D glasses..

So... some big news about Tys... He had such a dirty diaper on Monday morning, I just had it!!! So I told him that he was going to wear underwear from now on. He was fine with that, and has been wearing underwear for the last 2 days. And he's doing GREAT!!! He even went #2, no big deal at all.. I told him he could have 2 gummi worms if he went poop on the toilet. So he pooped 3 times that day.. go figure! We're excited though!

Friday night, we went to see RIO in 3D with the boys!

The morning of Nieko's Big day! Opening a present with Tys' help.

Very excited about his presents!

Nieko is such a good and sweet brother to baby Finn!

Tasting the chocolate cake!

This is what the morning-after looked like. It rained and so the boys watched a movie.

Pake fixed up Rudi's old tractor (on the right)!!! And gave it to Nieko for his Birthday.

And Finn weighs 11 lbs already!!!

Finn ~ 4 weeks!

2011-06-23T14:52:00.003-06:00

Our little mister Finn turned 4 weeks yesterday!
He is doing great and gaining fast. I weighed him Monday, and he was over 10 lbs already.
He's very sweet and has already smiled at me a lot, which I absolutely love!!!

Tys is doing great as well. Still not interested in potty training...
He's talking a lot, just like Rudi. He jabbers all day long. He's so much fun to be around and a true blessing.

Nieko will be 2 on June 28! He's starting to say more words. He's very cute and has a strong will. If he doesn't like something he'll let you know. Most of the time he's very sweet though.

Rudi and I are doing well. Rudi is busy as always. He finally got his shorts and sleeveless shirts out, cause it's been hot! We're loving the summer weather!

My parents left on Monday after spending the last four weeks here. Saying goodbye always sucks, but we know we'll see each other again. We had a great time while they were here, and they were such a help to have around after Finn was born!

I'm pretty busy with the three brothers, but the nice weather helps, since the big boys love playing outside!
I'm thankful that Finn is such an easy baby, I don't know who I'd "keep the house" if he wasn't!

Here are some pictures, also some of Finn's baptism, this past Sunday, Father's day!

Finn and his muis (mouse)

Nieko giving Finn kisses

giving me hugs

Nieko in church

Rudi with three sons on Father's Day

Finn, me and my mom.

Tys giving Logan his birthday present

Having fun in the spa!

Finn in the baptism gown

Family picture after Finn's baptism

Finn ~ 12 days

2011-06-06T16:04:00.003-06:00

Little Finn is 12 days!
He's doing great, he's a sweet baby and we rarely hear him complain. He's still sleeping good at night too, which is SO nice and we're very thankful for that. If he doesn't wake up at night, I usually do and then I wake him up so he can nurse.
Tys and Nieko are also doing really good with the baby. Sometimes it's hard, when I'm nursing him and they need me, but most of the time it's going great! Especially since my parents brought toys for the boys from Holland, and they're loving that!
My parents have been here two weeks now, and today they're going on a little road trip for about a week. When they come back, they still have another week here!
Here are some pictures from the weekend. The weather was great and we went to the farmers market on Saturday, which was a lot of fun!

happy Tys!

My parents took Tys to Murphy, where he got to ride a horse! He loved it!

another one of Finn in the tub.

Tys playing outside~ probably his favorite thing to do when we're home!

The "big boys"!

boys 'r us

hait & mem and new baby Finn

Nieko on the tractor! He's almost two! His birthday is June 28th... What a big boy!

Finn ~ 6 days!

2011-05-31T12:23:00.001-06:00

Baby Finn is doing really good!
We weighed him this morning and he's already above his birth weight!
He's sleeping really good at night. He wakes up only once to drink, which is so nice! Nieko was the same way. Finn is definitely an easy baby so far.

his first blow-out diaper yesterday!

All his blond hair!

in the tub, he loves it!

Finn pictures

2011-05-28T15:27:00.002-06:00

Finn is 3 days today and he is doing wonderful!
He's drinking, peeing, pooping and sleeping. All the things a newborn is supposed to do!
We're so thankful for him, and it's amazing how soon you get used to this new life, he's such a part of the family already! We can't imagine not having him!
Tys and Nieko are adjusting very well, no problem at all. Of course they're getting lots of attention from my parents, who got here on Monday. It's been so nice having them here.

Nieko holding Finn for the first time.

so sweet!

Little Finn, wide awake!

His first bath at home, he absolutely loved it!
(isn't he blond?!)

Baby Finn is here!

2011-05-27T13:14:00.002-06:00

We had another beautiful baby boy!
Born on Wednesday May 25 at 4.20 pm.
We named him Finn and he weighed 8lbs 4oz. The biggest one so far (Tys weighed 7lbs 9oz & Nieko weighed 6lbs 14oz)
We're all doing well!

Just born!

getting measured and ready for his first bath

all dressed, ready to go home!

proud hait of three sons!

We took Finn home at 9.30 pm!

Due date!

2011-05-19T21:46:00.003-06:00

40 weeks today!
I'm officially wrong for thinking this baby was going to come "early"!!!

tulips!

2011-05-13T11:06:00.002-06:00

Aren't they beautiful!?

Tys and his love for animals!
Whenever he helps Rudi on the dairy, he gets to hold and play with a little kitty.

Things are going great here!
The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days, we're enjoying it!
And now we're waiting for the baby to come! It sure is getting close. The actual due date is the 19th, but we'll see when this baby decides to come. I'm still feeling really good.
That's all the news I have for now!

hillbillies

2011-05-05T21:33:00.003-06:00

Easter pics

2011-04-28T16:05:00.004-06:00

Here are some Easter pictures.
We had a wonderful Easter weekend!
I'm 37 weeks already, I can't believe how fast it's going. Soon we'll have new baby!
I'm feeling really good and energetic still and am very thankful for that.
I've been nesting like crazy though, all the closets and everything had to be sorted through and straightened out :-s
Tys has not been wanting to take naps anymore, but when I lie down with him, he'll go to sleep. Plus that way I get a nap too! I'm not much of a napper, but I gotta admit, it's kind of nice to have a break!

Enjoy the pictures ;-)

Rudi bought some bushes on Saturday. The boys fell asleep in the car!

The boys snooping from the sugar-pot, they had Rudi's permission....

37 weeks!

beautiful tulips!

Rudi looking for easter eggs with Nieko

Nieko loved finding the eggs, he did really well!

Grandkids @ pake & beppe's house. Don't you love all their blond hair?

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-24T16:40:00.000-06:00

Lots of pictures!

2011-04-15T15:01:00.006-06:00

Finally~ Here are some more pictures! Time seems to be going by fast, since I realized I hadn't put any pictures up from March yet (except baby Titus of course). So here they are...

Things have been going well. March was pretty crazy with lots of Birthday's in the family.
The pregnancy is still going great, I'm already 35 weeks! Not too much longer now. I still feel good and up to a lot. Unfortunately Tys has not been taking naps on a daily basis anymore. Today is the first day this week he's napping! It might be because he "lost" his pacifier. (he thinks he lost it, we know where it is though..) We thought it was the perfect opportunity to take it away. Since he also just turned three, which, in my opinion, is a little old to still have one. Even though he only used it for sleeping.
Anyways, hope you enjoy the pictures!
Don't forget to vote boy or girl (on the right) if you haven't done so!

This is usually what happens after church and lunch~ the boys fall a sleep on the way home!

First tulip!

beautiful daffodils!

some ducks and chickens

making silly faces!

they love their morning-tea

Tys, on his birthday, he fell asleep on the couch.

helping their dad!

on his birthday, we went to see tractors, and animals. Some of Tys' favorite things!

Nieko came along too of course!

playing peekaboo in the bed!

Tys got a tractor for his birthday!

This was Rudi's birthday (yes, we're going back in time, March 19), he turned 30!

The boys riding their "horse"

in pake's boat! With Toby

going fishing

the other peekaboo photo, they're a little mixed up

Dutchess turned 9! this month!!!!

Nieko, taking a nap on the floor...

snow, in early March

Tys enjoyed it! He played in it for hours!

this is one of the fishing photo's! Right before they left.

Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed 'em!

~ Titus Jacob De Winkle ~

2011-03-28T20:11:00.001-06:00

Our beautiful new nephew/cousin

Titus Jacob De Winkle

He was born to Peter & Miriam De Winkle, Friday morning, March 25 at 1 am.
He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz. Mom and son are doing well. I heard that he's drinking very well!
Gideon and Moriah are very proud big brother and sister!

~

Dutch happy birthday song

2011-03-28T11:25:00.002-06:00

Birth ~ 3rd Birthday

2011-03-24T20:37:00.004-06:00

Three years ago
Our lives were drastically changed.
A beautiful little boy made us parents. Wow! What an amazing miracle!
A precious gift from God.
We feel so blessed to have Tys as our son. And today, he turned 3 years old!
He's a sweet, sweet boy. We love him SO much...

March 24, 2008 @ 2.26 am

March 24, 2009

March 24, 2010

Today! March 24, 2011

Just some pictures!

2011-02-24T15:16:00.002-07:00

We took the side off of Tys' crib and he's doing great. He started climbing out of his crib, so we thought this was a little safer option :-)
He's made one visit to our bedroom in the middle of the night so far, but other than that, he stays in his bed. How's the potty training going? It's not..! But it's ok. I'm patient with it and waiting for him to be ready for it.

Dinner time~ after dinner Rudi reads them out of the Dutch children's bible. They love it!

I'm 28 weeks today and officially in the third trimester! Yesterday I got to take another look in-utero at our beautiful little miracle. The Dr. thinks he/she looks like Tys! And no- I was not tempted at all to find out if it's a he or a she! But I am curious :-)

That's it for now!

6th child

2011-02-21T14:24:00.001-07:00

My mom holding me shortly after I was born.

I am my parents 6th child, and 5th daughter. My little sister was born 9 years later.

Nieko!

2011-02-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Getting so big!

2011-02-14T13:26:00.002-07:00

Tys and Nieko are getting so big! Next month Tys is turning three already!
His cousins (same age) are either potty trained or are working on it. Tys, however is not interested at all! He'll want to try right after he saw his cousin go, but that's it! I'm just waiting until he's a little more ready. Hopefully before the baby.
Nieko is learning how to talk, he doesn't say much at all! The word he uses the most is "haitie" (daddy). He can say beppe and poop (while he points at his crotch :-)

They are both so incredibly fun! It's weird to think how our life was before they were here. So different!

Speaking of getting big- I'm getting pretty big myself! Almost 27 weeks already. It's just crazy to think that in about 13 weeks we'll have another baby!
The pregnancy is going really well, nothing to complain about. A little heartburn every now and then, but that's all.

Other than that things are going great! We've had some really nice, warm days already. And it's another sunny day today. I just love it! The boys are able to play outside again, which they enjoy.

My parents are coming in May, to see the baby. They're staying for 4 weeks!!

Here are some pictures;

Nieko fell asleep in the high chair

Tys wanted to wear make up, just like me!

This was on a Wednesday. I took them to bible study that morning. And Nieko fell asleep on the way home, but that was the only nap he had. Tys didn't have a nap at all, he helped Rudi on the dairy. At around 5 pm we found them, both sound asleep on the couch! (The tv wasn't even on!)

The brothers!

Cruise on the Carnival Dream!

2011-01-17T13:21:00.005-07:00

Since our last cruise got terminated, we got to go on another cruise! We had to do it soon, because they won't let pregnant women over 24 weeks on board. So we went last week. The ship left Saturday the 8th, we got back Saturday the 15th.

This is right when we took off, in the background you see the Norwegian Sun. Also a beautiful ship, but not as nice as the Carnival Dream of course! The Dream is on of the newest ships and it was beautiful. It was, it really was.

We made our first stop on Monday- in Cozumel, Mexico. The weather was beautiful!

We walked through the town and shopped mostly, which was really fun! Here I was taking a little break.

We had to be back on the ship at 5.30 pm. Before we went back on board Rudi got a Margarita at a famous bar- Fat Tuesday. We had about a half an hour left.
Then, after he drank his delicious margarita, we found a really nice charm bracelet at a jewelry store. We had to decide really quick, because we had to get back on the ship! Thankfully a lady that worked for Carnival happened to be in the store and told us that she would tell security that we'd be a little late, but to wait for us!

So this is where we really quick took a picture, and then we RAN back to the ship! They were already taking the walkway away. So we barely made it! Then- when we were back on, we found out they were still waiting for one of the excursions to get back...
We bought Tys these little cowboy boots- he loves them!

On Tuesday we arrived in Belize. The weather was still beautiful. We had 5 -minute tropical rain shower, but it felt kind of nice actually! We decided to go snorkeling, since that was one of the things we really wanted to do.

A little boat brought us to this beautiful little Island! It was so pretty!
This is our friend Marie. We met a group of five ladies on the cruise, and became friends. We hung out with them during the cruise and had a lot of fun together. Marie went snorkeling with us that day. We had a blast with her! And Rudi had a drinking buddy that way. After we snorkeled- which was beautiful, they served this delicious rum punch. Rudi and Marie wanted to get their money's worth, so they uhm, really enjoyed the rum punch ;)

After a while it got very windy and it even started to rain!

The snorkeling trip was my favorite part of the cruise!

Then we had a little bit of time left, before we had to get back to the ship, so we decided to check out Belize city.

It was an interesting city. We had our own tour guide (a taxi driver), but Rudi decided he wanted to walk, not ride in the taxi. So for $5 he showed us the city.

I love the towel animals!

On Wednesday we were supposed to go to Roatan-Honduras. But it was way too windy, so the ship could not safely dock. So we had an extra day at sea. Kind of a bummer, but we still had a nice, relaxing day.
Then, on Thursday we were supposed to go to Costa Maya, but it was still way too windy, so they decided to head back to Cozumel (Spanish for Deja-Vu ;). But we absolutely loved it!

And, of course, we ended at Fat Tuesday again!
Because we missed two of the stops, Carnival is giving us 20% off of the next cruise!

Friday we were at sea all day, and Saturday we got back to where we started; Port Canaveral. Then took a shuttle to orlando, where we had about 5 hours to kill before our flight left. We had a really nice lunch with our lady friends, which made the time go by fast! And before we knew it, we were home!
We had missed the boys very much, and were so happy to see them again. They'd had a great time and were very well taken care off by Rudi's parents, which we are very grateful for!
And now we're getting back to "normal life"!

Christmas pictures ~ a little late...

2011-01-06T14:34:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we got to take a look at our third little miracle! Everything looked great, which we're thankful for. We even got to see the baby suck it's thumb, yawn and swallow. We looked away when our Dr was looking at the sex. It's going to be a surprise! Don't forget to vote what you think we're having... (the "menu" on the right..)

We got our tree about a week before Christmas, kind of last minute, but we did get a great deal, $10! And it was a beautiful tree!

Tys helping decorate the tree.

Opening presents at Rudi's parents'. The kids were very spoiled! Nieko was tired, it was passed his bedtime, so he didn't want anything to do with opening his gifts! So big brother helped him open them.

Pannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes) on Christmas morning. Nieko loves them!

Brothers. They're getting SO big! Tys went with us to the Ultrasound and he loved seeing the baby! He seems to be convinced it's a little sister...

Not in the mood for pictures...

2010-12-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

It was such a beautiful day a couple of days ago, so I decided to take some pictures of our boys. I didn't realize how windy and cold it was, so the boys were just freezing and NOT happy! I thought I'd still share them with you, since they're wearing their cute coats and hats..!

How Tys is doing

2010-12-17T14:32:00.002-07:00

It's been four weeks since the cast came off.
He started walking about 2 weeks after it came off, which we were really happy about!
But we took him to see the Doctor yesterday, because he's been limping on it and not using his foot right.
They did another X-ray (which Tys did not like too much..). And thankfully his femur looks great! It's totally healed up and you can't even see it was ever broke.
The problem and the reason he's limping is because his foot/ankle muscles are still a little stiff. So all we have to do is do some stretches every day with his foot. He doesn't like it, but it's going to work and he's going to be walking much better!
We're very happy we don't have to take him to therapy. In four weeks we're going to see the Doctor one more time! Wow, it's been quite a deal! I hope that we never have to go through something like it again, it's no fun!!!

Some more great news is that my younger sister (Elbrich) had her last major check up last week. For those of you who don't know, she had a tumor (on her sacrum-lower back) when she was 9. She's had chemo and radiation. It was a long road!
On Sunday she turned 16! And just two days before that they heard that she's still cancer free and everything looks great! And because it's been five years now, she doesn't have to do all the scans and check ups anymore!
We are so enormously grateful for this. Praise God!!!

A wedding in Vermont & visiting New York city!

2010-12-17T13:54:00.004-07:00

Rudi's friend Kylie (they know each other from Cornell) got married this last weekend.
So we flew to beautiful Vermont to be part of their special day.
It was a beautiful wedding, and reminded me of the weddings back in Holland.
Rudi had a blast seeing all his friends from Cornell. I got to know a lot of new, fun people!

Kylie & Jeremy; congratulations!!!

father-daughter dance

The beautiful snow mobile cake!!
(the "real" cake was beautiful and delicious too)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Sunday we drove down to New York city. We spend all day Monday in the big, beautiful city!

One of our goals was to see the Today show!
We didn't get there until ten, so unfortunately they were down with the "outside" part.
They just started filming Kathy Lee & Hoda. Which was fun to see. We jumped and waved to try to make it on TV!!! Which we did! Rudi's parents and even Tys saw us!
Here you see them interviewing Donnie and Marie Osmond.

Rudi trying to make an attempt to make it on tv!

The beautiful, famous tree! Wow, it's so big!

Before we headed to central park, we got a little snack from one of the I don't know how many hotdog stands!

We walked so much!! Including a walk through Central Park!

Uhm, this was in China town... interesting..

no comment..

Times square

We went to see the ROCKETTES! With Jeremy & Kylie, the newlyweds! How special is that? We had a great time!

Such a great show!

The newlyweds and us by the tree.

It almost feels like a tickle from the inside...

2010-12-09T22:10:00.002-07:00

I'm 17 weeks pregnant now and I can feel the baby!
I'm so excited, because with Tys and Nieko I was 21-22 weeks before I felt them move.

Even though this is my third pregnancy, it's still so special to me and in ways it feels like a first pregnancy again.
Such a miracle. Look at how perfect the baby already is! And now that I can feel those tiny, long, skinny legs "kick" me, it becomes even more special!

Tys thinks it's going to be a "zusje" (=sister). He knows there's a baby in my belly and prays for the baby every night before he goes to sleep.

We're not going to find out if it's a boy or girl until the day he/she is born!

Our new nephew is here!

2010-12-06T16:29:00.003-07:00

We're so excited!
Dirk and Molly had a healthy baby boy, born December 5
His name is Dirk!
He weighed 8lbs 11oz.

We thank God for this new addition, what a beautiful baby!

This is Rudi's parents' 8th grandson! Moriah sure is outnumbered by all her boy-cousins!

Now we wait for Peter and Miriam's third baby; due March 16!

He walked!

2010-12-03T20:31:00.001-07:00

Tys started walking today while he was being babysat by his pake! Logan (2,5) held his hand and helped him! How sweet is that!?

How things are without the cast...

2010-11-29T14:57:00.002-07:00

I'll start with saying that Tys isn't walking just yet...

But..

He is doing really good, and is just happy being able to move around. The first couple of days after the cast came off, he didn't really use his left leg. But it's getting better every day. He's crawling and standing on it, just not walking yet. But we know that it could take up to four weeks, so we'll just have to be patient!
It's so much easier without his cast, he can have baths again and he is just so happy to get around and go where he wants to go!

They play together again, which means they get into their little fights too! They're pretty good though, and play very nicely most of the time.

I hope you've all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We're done with the cast!

2010-11-18T12:19:00.002-07:00

Well, this morning the cast was taken off. It took about 20 minutes and it was a very traumatic experience for Tys. He did not want the cast off. He was so used to it!
He calmed down when the cast was off, and once he was back in his wheelchair.
He's doing pretty good with his legs now, they're very stiff of course. But he's already straightening them!
I think it's a little scary for him still. But he's already had a bath, and was able to relax his legs in the water. The Dr. said that it might take up to four weeks for him to walk normally.
Let's pray it won't take that long!

You can still see where the fracture was. The Dr. was very pleased with how it looks!

Day 46 ~ Tomorrow is THE day!!!!!

2010-11-17T15:35:00.003-07:00

Tys & Nieko enjoying their morning-tea!

We missed the boys when we were gone! But we found out that they had a great time with pake & beppe. Not that we were worried about that...
The next day we drove past pake & beppe's house to go to tante Siska's house, and Tys was upset that we didn't go to pake & beppe's!
They were waiting for us when we got off the plane. Tys was sitting in his wheelchair and I gave him a bug hug, he wouldn't let go. When I looked at his face, he had this little tear going down his cheek. So sweet. Then you know how much he really loves you!
Nieko was also very happy to see us! He wanted to go to Rudi right away (daddy's boy) and then to me, and then back to pake, which was really funny!

Tys' cast is coming off tomorrow, and we are very excited about that!
He has been so good through it all, it's just amazing.
When we first told him that the cast was going to come off, he didn't want to. But as we've been preparing him, we've been telling him that he'll be able to wear his pants and shoes again. And that he can go in the hottub with us. When he heard that, he was very happy, and now he's ok with it.
I'll be taking pictures and we will let you know how it went.
We know that he won't be walking right away. It might take some time, it's different for every child. So we'll see what happens. At least we'll be able to give him a bath again and diapering will be a lot easier....

And then the next project; potty training??? Don't know if he's ready or not... But maybe I'm not quite ready either.. we'll see!

Now I'm off to the Dr. to hear our baby's heartbeat...

Our Splendor adventure!

2010-11-15T11:34:00.006-07:00

As many of you know, Rudi and I had planned a vacation way back in March. We were going on a cruise in November. Rudi's parents were so kind to watch Tys and Nieko for us.
So last week Sunday, the 7th, our adventure began.
Our ship was waiting for us at Long Beach, LA. A beautiful cruise ship called "The Splendor". Only 2 years young!
We were so excited, and as soon as we got on board, everything was so perfect! Our room was very spacious and even had two porthole windows. We went out on the lido deck to enjoy a delicious hamburger.
Later that night we had dinner in the formal dining room with 3 other couples.
After dinner we headed to the welcome-aboard show. Our cruise director was John Heald, and he was SO funny! We didn't know then that we were going to hear lots of announcements from him...
(I suggest you read John's blog for many details I can't give you; www.johnhealdsblog.com)

We went to bed late that night, not knowing that we would be woken up at 6 am.
Monday morning, the ship was shaking and we heard some strange sounds. Then we heard over the PA; Alpha team to the engine room! repeated several times.
What was going on? Why would the wake up the whole ship this early? Or did someone accidentally press the wrong button?

At 6.20 am we heard the following announcement from John;

Ladies and Gentlemen. My sincere apologies for waking you up but as you may have heard we have just used an Alpha Team call which is the alert for our fire teams to attend. At this moment the captain has informed me that there is lots of smoke in part of the aft engine room on deck 0. (A side note: I told the guests this in case they thought the engine room may be close to guests’ cabins which of course it isn’t.). Please would all guests remain in their cabins while we investigate and regardless of if there is any more information I will return in 5 minutes with an update. Please don’t worry and I promise I will keep you informed.

We decided to get in our swimsuits and enjoy the spa. But when we got there all the spa's and pools were closed. We had to go back down to change, because it was cold. When we got to our cabin some of the crew told us to hurry, because now they wanted all the people put of their rooms.

At 6.45 the following announcement;

JOHN: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY IS ONLY FOR OUR CREW MEMBERS AND I PROMISE IS MERELY A PRECAUTION SO PLEASE DO NOT WORRY AND TRY TO STAY CALM.

CREW – I NEED YOU ALL TO PLEASE NOW GO TO YOUR GENERAL EMERGENCY STATIONS. WE HAVE OUR ALPHA TEAMS INVESTIGATING A SITUATION IN THE ENGINE ROOM AND AT THIS TIME THE CAPTAIN NEEDS YOUR HELP.

PLEASE GO TO YOUR STATIONS. WE HAVE REHEARSED THIS TIME AND TIME AGAIN HAVEN’T WE? SO LET’S DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IN A CALM AND PROFESSIONAL WAY. ALL CREW TO THEIR GENERAL EMERGENCY STATIONS.

We realized it was pretty serious.. We could smell smoke in some places. Thankfully they got the situation under control. But we were left with no power.. Thankfully they got most of the toilets working that same night. Without power it was very dark on the ship, only emergency lighting. The chefs couldn't prepare any hot foods. So for the next three days we ate sandwiches, fruit, salad and yogurt. They gave away soda's and there was plenty of water. They had milk too. I believe there was one freezer that was working. The elevators didn't work, and since our room was on the 1st floor, we did a lot of stair climbing! Just think of the older people or people with disabilities. Or people with children and strollers. I missed the boys very much, but at that point I was very happy they were with their pake and beppe!
On Monday night John announced that the cruise had been officially terminated. We were waiting for 2 tugboats to pull us to Ensenada, Mexico. Of course we were very dissapointed. We kept hoping they would get the problem fixed. But the fire had been a lot worse than we thought. We found out we wouldn't get to Ensenada until Wednesday. That seemed like a long time..
On Tuesday we found out that in stead of going to Ensenada, we'd be going to San Diego, because of customs, and more importantly, because the damage to the ship was major, they had to fix it in San Diego. By Tuesday they had some entertainment going on and some bars were opened, the helicopter came to drop food, and lots of beer and wine. The Ronald Reagen was right beside us, so was the US Coast Guard as well as the Mexican Coast Guard. We felt safe and we had food plus some entertainment. People were in a better mood than the day before. (Probably because of the alcohol?) We made some friends and made the best of it.
By Wednesday the mood on the ship was even better, even though we were informed that we wouldn't get to San Diego until Thursday night. We had a lot of fun that day and played games in the casino. The dealers were there to entertain guests. Because we didn't play with money, it was really funny. They let us cheat and all the rules were out the window, which made it fun! Wednesday night we found out we were going to be in San Diego around noon, which was great news! Everybody started packing their suitcases in the hallways, because the rooms were to dark!
Thursday morning we arrived in San Diego. We could see all the media and people on the pier. People started cheering! We were very lucky to be in the bottom of the ship, because we were seom of the first people to get off the ship. There was a bus waiting for us to bring us to our hotel in LA. Even though we were glad to be back on the main land, we would miss being on the ship. We actually had fun through all the circumstances. We were really looking forward to some warm food and a cup of coffee though!
It's been an adventure we'll never forget! They reimbursed us for the cruise as well as the airfare. And Carnival is giving us a free cruise! We're looking forward to going again!

A few hours before we left.

monday morning, after they sent everybody outside.

The Ronald Reagan.

On Tuesday the helicopter dropped food and drinks. We never ever saw any SPAM!!!!!

This is what we ate for 3 days.

The crew worked so hard. They had to carry all this food up the stairs, 9 levels. They formed a human chain to bring it all up!

San Diego from our porthole

One of the famous tugboats, this one's called the Chihuahua (for real!)

Coming into the Port of San Diego

Lots of media!

There were a lot of little leaks on the ship

Right after we got off the ship. Look at the bottom row of windows. Our room was the first with portholes, right next to the bigger windows.

a little blurry, but there were a lot of media vans!

some last pictures of the ship

farewell, Splendor!

A cup of coffee never tasted so good!

Rudi enjoying a first hot meal after getting off the ship!

May 2011

2010-11-04T14:11:00.003-06:00

~
I do not have a face to see,
Or put inside a frame.
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss.
I don't yet have a name.

Not yet can you hold my tiny hands,
Nor whisper in my ear.
It's still too soon to sing a song,
Or cuddle me so near.

But all that will change come this May,
When they say I am due.
I'll get to meet my two big brothers,
And I can't wait until I meet you too!

All I ask between now and then
Is your love for me to grow.
As God forms me in mommy's tummy,
Which is starting to show!

So as you're waiting patiently,
Please pray lots of prayers for me.
I cannot wait to be a part
Of this wonderful family!
~

Day 32 ~ Dr's appointment update

2010-11-03T10:07:00.003-06:00

We went to the Dr. yesterday.
Tys got another X-ray of course.
The Dr. said that it would take 6-7 weeks to heal before we could take the cast off.
Before he had said that maybe it could be taken off after just 5 weeks.
So maybe his bone is not healing as fast as it should? We don't know.
But we made the appointment, and his cast will be taken off on November 18th! So 15 more days from today.

Day 30 ~ 2 more weeks!

2010-11-01T10:40:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow we have another Dr. appointment for Tys. Very curious to see the X-ray's! Maybe we'll hear when the cast can come off!
Tys is still doing good, he got a big box full of presents from Holland. Lots of things to keep him busy. He's happy, I'm happy!
I'll let you know how the Dr. appointment went!

Day 24 ~ Halfway done!!!

2010-10-26T12:24:00.002-06:00

Hello!

Thanks for checking up on us!
We're all doing good. We had a small flu going on last week. Thankfully it didn't last long. The boys (including Rudi) all threw up once, and then they felt better within 24 hours. So I don't know if you can even call it the flu... But I do hope that was it for this year! Oh, and I didn't get it!

Tys is still doing good. He's happy most of the time and doesn't complain much! As the title of the blog says ~ we're over halfway done with this thing!
Did I say the cast started to smell last week? Well, now it STINKS!! It's pretty gross. Thankfully we have ways that we can keep it clean and we do the best we can. We're using moleskin now. So, when it starts to stink, we can just change out the moleskin. That seems to help somewhat.
His cousins come over on a regular basis, which he seems to enjoy!
Some days he watches more tv than others. And some days he enjoys playing by the table, and doing some crafty stuff, when he's in the mood.

So, of course we're looking forward to the day the cast comes off. But we're very curious to see what Tys is going to do! The Dr said he might need some Physical therapy... And I think he might be right, because Tys is a pretty careful boy. He's not much into climbing or doing daring things like that. (although he's the one that broke his leg...) So, we'll see! But not for another 3 weeks.

Day 16 ~ we're a third of the way done!!!

2010-10-18T15:20:00.003-06:00

Hi all!

It's been 2 whole weeks!!! 4 more to go... Time has actually been going by pretty fast.
He's still doing good. I guess you could easily say, he's used to his cast... Amazing how fast he adjusted to this whole thing.
He's complaining a few times a day about itchiness.. So that's interesting. Maybe the healing of the bone causes the itchiness, or just being in the cast? I don't know. But he's easily distracted and if I scratch him somewhere else, like on his back or on the leg that's not itchy, it helps.
The cast is starting to get smelly now...! Yikes.. I guess that's just part of it! I do the best I can. We change his diapers frequently. His inner diaper is a number 1 diaper, around that a number 4, and on the outside, around the cast a number 5, to make sure he doesn't pull his diaper off. Most of the times when I change him, I dry the whole area with a blow dryer. That works pretty good. Sometimes we really take our time and blow-dry it for 10 minutes! At least he doesn't mind it too much!

he's hanging in there!

What Will You Do? Awesome drama, Rudi's in it!

2010-10-16T15:56:00.000-06:00

Day 12.. Doctor's appointment

2010-10-14T15:32:00.002-06:00

This morning we had Tys' Dr. appointment.
Right before we went we wanted to change his diaper, and for the first time, he had poop on his cast! I was a little disappointed since I was so happy that he/I had kept it so clean! But, oh well. The Dr. said it's going to happen anyways.
The X-ray looked good. The break is still noticeable, but it's healing and it's straight.
He will have to be in his cast for the full 6 weeks, which we already anticipated. We want his leg to heal well.
Other than that the Doctor said that we did an extremely good job of keeping it clean, which was such a compliment and an encouragement to hear! He also thinks that Tys is extremely brave!
So, it was a good visit.
We have to go back in 2 weeks.

It's almost been two weeks now, and to me it seems like the time is going pretty fast, thankfully!
We've been praying for patience, and God has definitely given me some! And Tys too, I believe.
He's in good spirits, and we're learning a lot about him. He's just talking a lot and learning new things every day. He has to make things clear to me a lot when he wants something, because he can't get it him self. So in a way it's teaching him to ask for things.

And Nieko...

is officialy...

WALKING!!!!!!

He's so cute, walking all around the room! It's so funny, because he's just such a little guy still! He's definitely very proud of himself.

Well, that's all for now!
Thanks a lot for keeping up with us and praying for us, we appreciate it!

day 7...

2010-10-09T15:29:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been a week since Tys broke his leg.
We're doing good. The pain is gone, and he's just healing now.
There were a few days where he was complaining and crying out of frustration.
I had a nice break on Wednesday. Rudi was able to take care of Tys, so that I could go to bible study. And today I was able to go to town for a couple of hours.
I have to say that I'm thankful that we live on the farm. At least we can go outside and see the animals and the trucks and tractors.
I'm also thankful that we have family and friends around, I don't know what I would do without them.
Plus I'm thankful for the internet, where I can search other families who have been through this and learning helpful tips!

Tys is mostly sitting in the wheelchair, which he thankfully loves. He's been introduced to play-doh, which he's having a lot of fun with. He watched a little more tv than normal, but that's ok, plus it gives me a break.
Thankfully he sleeps good at night, he hasn't woken up at all. Some days he'll skip his nap, but that's understandable as he can't get rid of a lot of energy. He still rests in his bed though. It's also important for him to be in different positions throughout the day. Thankfully he can shift himself in a comfortable position at night.

So, we're doing good! one week down, 5 more to go!
On Thursday we have to take him to see the orthopedic Dr.

Tys is a real cuddlebug, and although it's alittle awkward, we can still cuddle with him.

we can still tickle him too!

in the meantime Nieko is busy in lots of ways. He gets to play with all the toys by himself! He's also learning how to walk, and since Tys can't push him over now, we think he'll ge there soon.

spica cast day 3

2010-10-05T17:00:00.002-06:00

Tante Miriam came this morning to bake cookies with Tys! He had a good time. He really likes company. You know where to find him...!

He got company during nap time, he wasn't asleep yet, so he was very excited to open a present!

we attached an old high chair tray to our dining table, now he's got a nice place to play with his trucks, tractors, loaders and other toys.

He's doing well. He knows that he can't play outside. He loves his wheelchair. In the middle of the night I checked on him and changed him, he asked me if he could sit in his "stoel" (=wheelchair). And right away this morning he wanted to sit in it too. So we're very thankful for that!

pray for Tys

2010-10-04T11:38:00.004-06:00

We were at a birthday party on Saturday. And Tys got hurt in a bounce house. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't stand on his leg at all.
So we went to the ER that night. We got there at 11 pm. (After the party we didn't know how serious it was and so we put him down to sleep and he slept until he woke up in a lot of pain, that's when we decided to go to the hospital)
Unfortunately we did not have a very good experience at the ER. It took about 2,5 hours for us to even get a "room" in the ER. After about 3 hours we finally saw a doctor for the first time. And then Tys finally got some morphine. We didn't get to the ped. floor until 5 am, where Tys finally could go to sleep. (He couldn't settle down in the ER, he wasn't crying but we could tell he was scared to even go to sleep even though he was so tired. Sometimes he would close his eyes for a second and then jump up again.) So he finally went to sleep, and so did we. The nurse there took very good care of us.
The orthopedic surgeon came Sunday morning at 8.30 and told us what his plan was.
Tys had to go under for surgery just so that they could put a cast on him. Tys was very hungry and thirsthy, so we were very thankful that he went to surgery at 9.15. It took them two hours to get the cast on.
He slept for a long time after surgery. When he woke up he was very happy to get something to drink and eat!

Last night we took him home, and he slept very good and long last night. The pain is much better this morning and we are so greatful for that! Seeing your child in pain is a very hard thing to go through.
He's coping very well with the cast. Rudi's parents have an awesome wheelchair that we're borrowing. Changing his diapers is going to be the biggest challenge.
We really appreciate all your prayers and thoughts. We need them. It's overwhelming to see how many people care and pray for us. Thank you.

At the party right after he got hurt.

Sunday morning after surgery (they only put him under to put the cast on, they didn't have to cut him open)

so tired

coloring on his new "cool" cast!

washing his hair this morning.

watching his favorite movie "cars" in the wheelchair.

From little boy... to big boy...

2010-09-30T10:38:00.004-06:00

Well, I haven't posted a blog for a whole month..!
I don't know why, but maybe I just haven't had anything interesting to talk about =)
Nieko had his first haircut, and I thought that would be a fun thing to share with you all.
On Tuesday he turned exactly 15 months. Rudi and I decided it was time for a haircut. Rudi is very good at it, he cut his hair in like less than 15 minutes! Tys thought it was pretty cool and brought Nieko toys to keep him distracted. Anyways, now our little Nieko does not look like a baby anymore...! See for yourselves...

some "before" pics.

itchy nose

thumbs up!

Tys liked it too, and wanted to be in the picture too.

Rudi made some extreme spikes!

This is gonna go in the scrapbook...

Our new yard

2010-08-30T14:57:00.003-06:00

On Friday I brought my sister to the airport. Those 7 weeks flew by way too fast! We had such a great time, she could have stayed here a lot longer!!! We already miss her.

When I got home from the airport, there was a big truck with sod by our house!
Rudi and I (mostly Rudi) had done a lot of work on prepping the dirt and laying bricks under the fence to get ready for the grass.
Rudi, Justin, Daniel, Peter and dad all helped Rudi roll out the sod that day! It looked instantly beautiful! What a change!!!

The next day we had a some more sod to lay. There was this big patch of dirt in between our en Peter & Miriam's house.
So everybody came over and helped us lay the sod in that patch! It was fun to work all together! Plus it got done pretty fast.
Here's the result;

The big strip.

snap shots

2010-08-17T15:35:00.004-06:00

we're trying to get our yard done. All the sprinklers are in, now all we need is the sod!

Camping!

2010-08-17T14:43:00.004-06:00

We went camping for a couple of days in McCall last week.
Unfortunately the weather was not great. But we still had a good time, it was fun to get away and relax for a couple of days!

My pretty little sister!

Handsome little guy!

under my umbrella

Justin and Rudi went fishing and brought back 25 rainbow trout! They cleaned them all and then they convinced me to fry them. They actually turned out delicious!

Family pic on the boat!

I love our two precious boys! They are so fun!

Nieko took a little snooze on the boat after he fell and hurt his head. Poor guy...

Tys had so much fun camping! Logan was there too, and they just had a blast together. So fun to see them growing up together! I'm sure there will be many camping trips to come in the future. Although, I gotta be honest, the boys love it more than I do....!

Floating ~ Anniversary Inn ~ Wahooz ~ Farmers market

2010-08-02T13:05:00.006-06:00

We're having a very fun-filled summer!
Since El is here we want to do lots of fun things with her.

We went to Wahooz a fun place to go to, they have go-carts, batting cages, bumper boats, laser tag and much more! This is me in the batting cage. I hit 17 out of 24 balls!

Just a cute picture of Nieko. He stands up whenever he can pull himself up. I don't think he's ready to walk yet. But he's fast at crawling!

Moriah and Nieko after a bath in their jammies.

Rudi and I spent a night at the Anniversary Inn, in the Holywood Romance suite. I really liked this sign above the soda fountain.

The next morning we went to the farmers market. Where Rudi's mom dropped of El and the boys. The farmers market in Boise is fun!

Then, later on, we floated the Boise river. Tys and Logan got to go too, in the boat with pake and Siska. It was fun, but the rapids were a little scary sometimes..

Right after floating.

We're still working on our yard. Today all the guys worked on making trenches so we can lay all the sprinkler pipes. It's quite a project! But it's coming together. Meanwhile we have beautiful flowers!

Tys likes the flowers too, and he learned to be gentle with them in stead of digging in the dirt. (that was kind of a challenge for a while)

pics

2010-07-21T12:43:00.002-06:00

sorry some of the pics are not turned. I'm figuring out this whole new system! Hopefully I'll be better next time!

Elbrich is here!

2010-07-19T20:37:00.000-06:00

My younger sister is staying with us till August 27th! Maybe that's why I haven't been blogging; too busy having fun! She's been here for a week and we're all loving it! Tys gets excited every morning when he sees her!

Nieko

2010-07-12T14:42:00.002-06:00

4th of July weekend

2010-07-05T10:49:00.006-06:00

We had a wonderful, relaxing 4th of July weekend!
The parade in Melba was on Saturday morning. Tys went with his pake and beppe to the parade, while Rudi, Nieko and me went to the farmers market in Nampa (fun!).

That afternoon we just relaxed, Rudi had to work a little bit. Then we barbecued and sat in the hot tub, it was so much fun! Rudi went to the fireworks in Melba with a friend. I watched the fireworks from a distance, they were really cool!
The weather was perfect. Most years it gets close to 100F on the fourth, but this year it only got to about 75F!

On Sunday we went to church. We were planning to go to a water park after church with the whole family, but we decided it was a little to cool. So instead we all went out to lunch.
Later that day we went fishing at celebration park in Melba, it was so beautiful. We had a great time, even though we didn't catch any fish.

The family at the parade in Melba

trying on some pretty dorky shades!

on Sunday, on the way to celebration park to try and catch some fish!

see "our spot"?

Tys had a good time!

didn't catch anything!

Holland supporters

2010-07-02T12:25:00.004-06:00

Of course we're changing to Stars & Stripes for the weekend, but today we're celebrating that Holland won!

First Birthday's ~ compare

2010-06-29T13:58:00.003-06:00

Nieko on his 1st Birthday

Tys on his 1st Birthday

Nieko's first Birthday

2010-06-28T14:36:00.005-06:00

Nieko is ONE today!
It all started in church last year, I remember it so well, it does not seem like that long ago. We even went out for lunch after church, and then we went home. Rudi worked for a little bit while Tys took a nap. Then Rudi's parents came to pick up Tys and Rudi and me headed to the birthing center at 5pm. It seemed like the contractions had slowed way down. And I wasn't in that much pain. But at 6.30 I started to feel pressure. 15 minutes later I was holding a beautiful, tiny, slippery little boy, Nieko.

What blessing he has been this past year. He was and still is such a sweet baby! And now he's one. He just learned how to crawl and he's starting to "talk". He plays so sweet with Tys, they truly are friends.

We had a fun party to celebrate his birthday on Sunday (yesterday). We kept it small, just family. It was really fun and relaxing. The "big" boys played so sweet and they even got to go into the hottub! They had a blast!

This is a beautiful banner, made by Miriam!

Nieko = the birthday boy!

the "big" boys in the hottub!

Nieko got to have his own cake!

he enjoyed it!

and shared with Tys

yum!

Moriah also enjoyed some birthday cake. She turned one on June 22nd!

rain rain!!!

2010-06-02T16:10:00.004-06:00

It was the coldest may since 1912 in Holland. So when we returned home I expected some nice spring weather...

but no,

It's been raining a lot here! it's crazy!!!
I don't like to complain, but it's time for some real nice weather!
We've been busy here on the dairy. The guys have been harvesting in between the rain showers! And Rudi and me have been working on our yard. We are putting in bricks. and then we need to put in sprinklers before we can put in grass. quite a project. It's been a year without a real yard, so it's about time. We bought a sand box for Tys, that we need to put together. He loves playing with all his trucks, tractors and loaders in the dirt.
Nieko is turning one this month, can you believe it!???

Here are a few more NL pics

By all the beautiful tulips

our family

Tys and Nieko and 2 of their cousins in the zoo by the elephants!

My mom and dad put their house up for sale.
Mixed feelings about that, since it's the house I was born and grew up in...

Tys "helping" pake Jacob putting up the sign!

Some more pictures of our trip

2010-05-22T21:56:00.004-06:00

Tys and Nieko by a "bloemen-mosaiek". People make these things by pinning tiny flowers petals in foam! Amazing!

My mom bought these beautiful bouquet at a stand by the road for 1 euro each!!!

Nieko in his cousins dress

playing outside

Girls night out!

acting like we are mannequins

On Koninginnedag (when we celebrate the queens birthday) we're all dressed in orange!

My mom gave Tys and Nieko a bath in her laundry baskets on the kitchen floor!

Tys and his cousin Dirk

Me and my younger sister Elbrich by the beautiful tulips!

Home

2010-05-21T14:44:00.002-06:00

My family

We are home!
On wednesday night at 7.30 pm we arrived at Boise airport.
We had such a good time in Holland. The time flew by of course!
It's good to be home again. Tys loved seeing his cousins again. And he played with all of his toys right away.
The boys are doing extremely well with the whole time change, it's amazing! I guess kids adjust really quick. None of us seem to have jetlags.
All the bags and suitcases are unpacked, and I did about 7 loads of laundry...!

I will post some more pictures soon.

Having fun in Holland!

2010-04-23T14:11:00.003-06:00

We're having a great time!

Tys and Nieko are getting used to all the family members it seems.

Here are some fun pictures

My niece Sanne feeding Nieko

My sister Elbrich, holding Nieko

My oldest niece, Marije and oldest nephew, Mike

Tys got to go on his first bike ride! He wasn't to sure at first, but now he loves it!

Marije and Sanne (sisters)

Me and all my sisters and nieces and nephews!

The "2009-babies" with their moms!

Rixt ~ Teake ~ Niek ~ Sarah ~ Nieko

(the "2009-babies")

Nicky and Sanne (nieces)

Dirk and Tys are the same age!

We made it to Holland

2010-04-22T07:12:00.002-06:00

We're in Holland!!!!

We arrived on Wednesday morning at 7 am. My family was waiting for us at the airport.
The flights went really well, Tys and Nieko both did great. I did not get much sleep, but that's ok. The boys didn't sleep much either, but now they're doing suprisingly well!

I've seen most of my family already! Today it's my nieces birthday, so we'll be seeing most of them at her birthday party too. Should be fun!

I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance!

We're leaving for Holland! (or not.....)

2010-04-19T09:37:00.003-06:00

Tys and Nieko and I are supposed to fly to Holland tomorrow!
For today all the flights to Europe are still canceled. We hope that our flight tomorrow is going to make it! If it is, it's going to be one of the first ones since the volcano.

I'm kind of packing today, hoping that we will go!

According to my family in Holland it sounds like the airlines are going to fly again, starting tomorrow morning 8 am (European time)! So we hope for the best!

The weather in Idaho has been beautiful, today it's supposed to be 80!

Tys and Nieko are doing great, Tys said his first sentence yesterday; "Haitie, I want koppie thee, please" (dad, I want a cup of tea please!)

Nieko is doing good, he's not crawling yet, although I think he really wants to.

Well, we will keep you posted and hopefully I'll write my next message from Friesland!

easter pictures

2010-04-08T14:16:00.005-06:00

Nieko got 3 more teeth, this last week! He's not been complaining about them at all!
This morning I noticed 2 more teeth coming in. I love the big gap between his top teeth!

For Easter we went to pake and beppe's (Rudi's parents') house. Nieko got candy, and he loved it! He needed to have one in each hand, otherwise he would just cry!!!

Tys, Logan and Gideon playing together! They love playing at pake en beppe's house!

beppe hid eggs all over the house for the boys, they were so excited to find them, AND that they had candy inside of them! (a lot of sugar = a lot of rowdy kids!!!)

Nieko in the shopping bag!

Gideon playing peekaboo! So Cute!

Tys and Nieko had their first bath together! It went really well, they both loved it

Tys likes chocolate...

Little Levi on Easter Sunday. He's doing very good! And he's a sweet baby. (And CUTE!!)

Big Brother Logan!

2010-04-02T13:18:00.006-06:00

This was minutes after Logan's brother was born. He just heard that mommy had the baby, and he was just smiling, and so happy! And he didn't even see the baby yet!

The Reece Family, what a beautiful family!

Little Levi weighed 7lbs 10 oz.

Lots of dark hair!

Logan was checking him out, he already loves his brother!

so sweet!

I got to hold him too, he was only 1 hour old here!

Praise the Lord for another healthy addition!

Planting trees and such

2010-04-01T13:58:00.004-06:00

This little guy is Logan, he's about to be a big brother, any day now!

On Saturday we planted some trees and plants in our yard! It's looking great.

Nieko is 9 months, he weighs about 18lbs now. He's sitting up and rolling and everything, I think he's getting ready to crawl. He really wants to, but can't yet!

We put in a faucet, and while we were working on it, all the boys played together outside, they had such a good time!
Pretty soon we want to make a patio out of brick, and put in some grass!

Tulips

daffodils

byebye!!!

Birthday pictures!!!

2010-03-25T13:47:00.007-06:00

Tys' birthday! What a fun day!

BIRTHDAYS BIRTHDAYS BIRTHDAYS!!!!

2010-03-22T15:55:00.005-06:00

We've had a lot of celebrations!!!!
Justin, Rudi, Gideon and Tys' birthdays are all in March!

Tys is turning 2 on Wednesday the 24th!!!
We had a party for Gideon and Tys on Saturday, it was super fun!
Last week we celebrated the "big boys" (Justin & Rudi's) birthdays at Justin and Siska's house.

This was right before Gideon took a bite out of the cake ;)

Moriah & Nieko, almost 9 months already! They're so sweet!

The birthday (cow)boys!

Tys looking at pictures of tractors. All three boys (Gideon, Logan & Tys are all SO into tractors and loaders and trucks!!!)

The beautiful birthday cake!!!

Gideon and Tys took a break outside before they opened their presents!

The huge stack of presents!

A cute "little people" farm from uncle Cory & tante Katie!

Tante Siska made both of the boys a beautiful "quiet-book"! You should really see it, it's awesome! It has zippers, buttons, strings, Velcro, and all kinds of little things to keep Tys busy (and quiet...!)

happy birthday!!!!

Tys singing

2010-03-13T22:02:00.002-07:00

Isn't Tys a good singer??? :-)

8 months

2010-03-02T21:37:00.003-07:00

Tys @ 8 months

Nieko @ 8 months

Happy baby's!

2010-02-11T16:25:00.006-07:00

Here are some happy baby pictures;

happy Nieko

I thought this was a pretty cute nap-position!

"Little Rudi ~ blonde version"

Bath time

Spikey hair-do

Nieko wanted to sit with the "big boys" (Logan on the left)

Logan and Tys looking at the chickens.

Nieko's eating!

2010-02-01T21:09:00.002-07:00

Nieko decided to start eating solids when we were in San Diego! Now he eats just about everything! We're very excited. Tys likes it too, and tries to feed him, which is really funny.

I don't know if I've told you that Peter (Rudi's younger brother) and his wife Miriam and their kids, Gideon and Moriah have moved into the house next to us (the house Rudi's parents lived before). It's so fun having them as neighbors!

Well, I don't really have any news. We've had a fun and relaxing weekend. We love Saturday mornings. Rudi gets to sleep in, and we usually enjoy a nice breakfast. Tys loves spending quality time with Rudi. On Saturday afternoon it started to snow, and I think it snowed pretty much the whole night. Sunday, on the way to church, everything was coated in a layer of snow, and it was just so beautiful. I regret not taking any pictures!

Here's some pictures of the boys;

Nieko, enjoying his carrots!

Tys and Nieko in their matching PJ's! This picture is from Saturday morning.

Tys decided to "read" a book on the couch. And he was showing Nieko all the pictures, it was so cute! If you look close, you can see Nieko drooling ;-)

This was later that day. We were actually talking to my dad in Holland via Skype (on the computer)! My dad played his harmonica and the boys just loved it!

I love their matching outfits!