Success!

"Ring, ring"...
Mom: Hello?
Jake: Mom, we got her!
Mom: you got what?
Jake: we shot a doe, I am standing right next to her!
Mom: Yeah! That is awesome!
Jake: we got her mom! She jumped over some fences and she ran...dad, how far did she run?....she ran 50 yards and we got her!

Imagine how excited a 6 year old can get that was how much enthusiasm he had when he called me! It was one of those moments when I wish I had and automatic recorder to capture that moment. Priceless!

I thought Ted would take Jake out hunting on Saturday morning and call it good. I was wrong. Ted and Jake went out together all weekend. It was very cool to see them. The love of hunting and the outdoors is getting passed down to another generation. Jake is counting the "sleeps" until he can go out again this weekend. I just hope Jake doesn't wake up at 4:55am ready to go like he did last Saturday!

Hunting With Dad

Ted is taking Jake hunting on Saturday morning. Jake is so excited! They went to Gander Mountain and bought a hunting tent, trying to minimize the distraction of Jake's movements. He has been making a list of the supplies needed for this big outing. On Tuesday my Mom helped him type up his list. This is a big right of passage that Jake has been looking forward to for a long time! I pray that they at least see deer and that Jake can keep quiet! Good luck boys.

Fall

Nana always gets into the Halloween spirit!

PJ and Ty practice naming their body parts. Ty shows PJ where his eye is! A little dangerous!

Nose!

We have had a great fall. We were spoiled this past week with the beautiful temps. My sister has been in town for a while and we have enjoyed watching the boys. They are finally playing together instead of playing by eachother. Playing ball is the favorite.

Jake and Lindsey were not in the mood for dressing up. Jake was supposed to be a cowboy, but chose his soccer uniform instead. Lindsey kept changing her mind. Some days she wanted to be a clown and other days she wanted to be a princess. When it came down to it she wore her sundress from Easter. Whatever!

It's That Time Again

It dawned on me the other day that when my first 2 kids were around 18 months old I would be pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Well guess what! Ty is 19 months old and there is no baby. This is a wonderful feeling and a sad feeling all at once. I loved being pregnant. It makes me sad to think that I will never give birth to another baby. But I also know my limits and feel incredibly blessed with the 3 beauties that God has entrusted in my care. Now I get to love on my nephew, little Joey.

Super Good

Last night I asked Lindsey how school was and her response was "super good!"

After tearing her off my shoulder to put her on the bus all of last year with that look of why are you making me do this, to hear "super good" is such a gift. This year she looks forward to getting on the bus and is excited to see her friends at school. Thank you Lord!

Ouch!

This little chickie fell off her bike last night and kissed the pavement. She woke up with a big lip and scrapes on her cheek and forehead. The good news is that family pictures were last Saturday! How often do you get to say that!

Brothers

The boys are good buddies already!

My Baby

My baby got his big-boy haircut today. He was getting a pretty long mullet and without the help of humidity his curly hair was starting to look a little shaggy! As I expected he looks so different. It looks cute, but I am sad that the little baby look is gone forever!

First Day of....

We got off to a great start for the school year this morning! Both kids were excited to go. This year is pretty non-eventful for us. Jake and Linds have the same teachers as last year, the only difference is that Lindsey goes in the afternoons. She was one tired girl when she got off the bus! The challenge is going to be keeping her awake between now and dinner. Here's to 08-09 school year!

Another tooth out! This one took a LONG time. I swear it has been loose for 6 months! The tooth fairy can finally come to our house again.

She Rides

I got a call from Lindsey at work last Thursday. She says, "Momma, I ride a 2-wheel bike with no training wheels!" I got home and sure enough, she was off and riding! She starts, she stops, she turns...all by her self. I am 0 for 2 in teaching my kids how to ride bike. I used to have visions of myself running up and down the driveway helping my kids learn and I am yet to do that with either one of them. They both learned without me. I got 1 kid to go. Maybe Ty will give me a chance to help him! Way to go Lindsey-girl!

Butterfly Kisses

Ty took a fall down the steps the other day. Ted hears him screaming and finds him on the steps, head first hanging onto the carpet to keep him from sliding down any farther. Thank goodness for the shag carpet! It looks like a butterfly on his nose!

08-08-08

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED!

Last Friday we celebrated Ted's birthday. Since it was 08-08-08 we decided to do an 80's theme. We had so much fun dressing up, singing and dancing and having a good 'ol time! I pulled my sophomore year prom dress out of the closet for the big occasion, complete with jelly shoes (sold today at Target!). There were mullets, tight rolled jeans, stir-up pants, crimped hair, pastel colors and much more! My mom had saved all our 80's toys. I had all my Strawberry Shortcakes, Pretty Ponies and Cabbage Patch kids out on display. We even found Ted's Transformers. Thanks to all our friends and family that fully participated and made the night so much fun!!

Here is my top 8 list of my wonderful hubby (in no particular order):

1) He still looks good with a mullet - When I know Ted in high school he was supporting a very long mullet

2) He is a great friend and will do anything to help his friends

3) He is a incredible Dad that would give his life for them if he had to

4) He is a hard worker and take pride in what he does

5) He is the life of the party and loves to make people laugh

6) He is not afraid to show him emotions

7) He loves the Lord

8) He is a great husband. I couldn't imagine living life with anyone but him!

I love you Ted! Happy Birthday!

Friends

Lindsey and our neighbor Ella are the best of friends. The girls love to put their "pretty dresses" on and play with their babies. They have a couple of matching outfits that they like to wear at the same time. Cute!

Determination

Can't you just see it on his face!

Ty loves to swim. The kids thought he needed goggles yesterday at my sister-in-law's pool. The little stinker can swim out to the dock and back at the lake. He loves being in the water and floating around.

My friend Jill posted a look-a-like meter on her blog showing her and her husband's pictures with each of their kids with a dial showing which parent the kids looks more like. I have done my own look-a-like meter. You may remember the one I did for Ty a while back. Here is Lindsey.

He Talks!

You can tell that things are clicking with Ty this past week. He seems to be understanding so many more things and he started saying words. He has been saying 'dad' and 'that' (short for what's that?) for a while and every once and a while mom. Here is a list of the new words he picked up over the past few days:
duck
deer - pronounced dee
frog (emphasis on the 'g')
Kaila
woof - for dog
truck
For those that know our struggles with Lindsey over the past year you will appreciate how excited I am to hear that beautiful 'k' sound coming from Ty!

Holland 2008

Jake and cousin Brea on the pier

Lindsey fell asleep in the stroller on the way back from the beach. I can't believe she still fits in there.

Ty and cousin Kaila at Tunnel Park. We rode our bikes to the park to go swimming and play on the play ground.

It was a great week. The kids played hard. The weather was beautiful! Jake got to sleep in a tent with Noah and Kyle. The same night Lindsey slept in a tent with the big girls. She thought that was pretty cool. The girls said she kept them up late. They were both taking naps by 11am the next morning!

The fireworks on the beach were awesome. We all brought our blankets and chairs to watch the sunset and play on the beach while we waited.

Ty had no fear. He walked right out into the water and once his swimmies took over he would just float. He would walk down the beach forever never once looking for mom. The cousins were a big help watching him and making sure he didn't wander away. He would stand out in the middle of the road and wave to everyone that passed by.

Now it's back to reality. We are already looking forward to next year!

Happy 4th of July

We were camping at Holland State Park over the 4th this year. It was a beautiful weekend! The park had a bike parade for the kids. They decorated their bikes and rode up and down the rows. You can tell by Jake's face in the above picture how excited he was!

Lindsey's Style

I have had a fun time watching Lindsey over the past month picking out her various outfits. She is one of those kids that changes her outfit many times a day for different reasons. Sometimes it is because she got wet, sometimes because she needs her pretty dress on and sometimes it is just because she wants to. The funny thing is that I tried to get her to wear tights all winter and she wouldn't do it. Now that it is 80 degrees she puts them on. Here are a few of my favorites....

Children's Museum

At the end of the school year I went with Jake to the Children's Musuem. We had a great time. The picture above is Jake and his friend Brendan in looking in the funny mirror. Jake had such a great year at school. He grew so much, physically and mentally. At the beginning of the year his teacher measured and weighed him and then did it again at the end of the year. Jake grew 3" and gained 12 lbs! No wonder he doesn't have any pants that fit him. He also can write his name, recognize all letters and numbers and many other things that he couldn't do last September. We are very proud of him!

Binder Park

A couple weeks ago I went with Lindsey on her class trip to Binder Park. Outside of Lindsey getting sick on the bus we had a great time. It was a big trip for those little kids. They were all tired out by the end of the day. The giraffe were the big hit.

This peacock opened up his feathers right in front of us and started showing off. It was beautiful!

The bus ride home was very quiet! I think all the kids fell asleep. It was a great way to end the school year.

Some Times It Doesn't Pay...

...To be honest that is. The other day I made my way through Meijers and am going through the check out lane. Kids are relatively under control. My patience level is in check. I stick 1 of my 4 - 2 liters on the counter and tell the lady that I have 3 more in my cart. She scans a few more groceries. I set 1 of my 4 milk jugs on the counter and proceed to pay from my groceries. When I got home I realized that I forgot to tell the lady about the other 3 gallons on the bottom of my cart. I feel bad. Ted says don't worry about, they over charge for things all the time. It all evens out.

My guilty conscience gets the best of me, so this week at the store I tell the check out guy what I did and kindly ask him to add 3 additional milks to the 3 that I am purchasing this shopping trip. He says "wow, I wish there were more people like you!" I can now sleep with a clean conscience. Until I get home and realize that the punk kid charged me for 8 gallons of milk instead of 6 and he charged me for 6 - 2 liters instead of 5. Now Meijers isn't out $8.31. They are up $6+

Next time I am going to take my buy 1 get 3 free deal and assume it all comes out in the wash!

Mom, Would You Eat Me?

Interesting topic of conversation at bed time tonight! We have one of those daily Bible story books that we read each night before bed. This nights passage was taken from 2 Kings 6 where there was a terrible famine in the land. Two women were so desperate for food that they agreed to eat one woman's child the first night and the other woman's the next.

Here's how the conversation went:
Jake: "Mom, would you eat me?"
Mom: "No, I couldn't do that."
Jake: "would you eat Ty?"
Mom: "No"
Jake: "would you eat Lindsey?"
Mom: "No, I would eat a deer or a squirrel or a robin."
Jake: "you can't eat a robin. It's the state bird."

The main point of the story for today was to remind us that only God can help us. I think they could have pulled some other nugget out of the passage to demonstrate this.

Meet Pat

Introducing the most recent DeJong purchase...Pat. Our 19 year old, 30+ mile per gallon beauty! She even has pop-up lights. Now that's hot!



.

Look Mom!

We were outside working around the yard tonight and I see Ty walking across the yard holding something. As I get closer I realize he has a dead mouse! I don't know where he got it. I'm assuming he didn't kill it. None the less, he was pretty excited about his treasure! I'm just hoping it didn't go in his mouth like everything else.