Days Gone By....

No longer Floridians...

2011-08-05T12:02:00.001-04:00

How sad is that? Very sad if you see the beaches here, but we won't mention that anymore.

10 years ago, July 18, 2001, we (with just Arianna and Asher) arrived in hot, humid, sticky, Jacksonville, Florida. We didn't know if we could survive the heat. We adjusted quickly and loved it! We moved into a 3 bedroom apartment. At the time Cor was working for PriceWaterCoopers as a Manager of Accounting. Shortly after arriving, 9/11 happened. It was an awkward time to be foreigners in a country. In late September Cor lost his job. In the Lord's kind providence Cor quickly received an offer from CEVA Logistics.

A year later we moved into a beautiful new home in St. Augustine. We lived in this house for 3 years.. We loved living there but when Cor saw an opportunity to make some money by selling our place, he went for it. We sold this house privately. The buyers came in the late afternoon on March 29, 2005. The reason the date is so clear in my mind is because it was a day before by due date! I felt like my Braxton Hicks were a little harder and was pretty certain Julianna would be born on her due date. The owners stayed for long time. I tried to hide my discomfort. They finally left and Cor left to pick up my mom from the airport. I was concerned because he would be gone for at least 2 1/2 hours. Asher was born after only 45 minutes of labor. The contractions stopped. He arrived home with my mom, and I woke up early in the morning with serious labor. Julianna was born in the early afternoon. We closed on the house a day after Julianna was born.

319 Diana Court, St. Augustine, FL

We built another house, this time a little bigger 40 miles north of St. Augustine. 2 years after moving in, we put in a pool. We spent many, many hours playing in it. Anna Grace was born in this house. We loved everything about living in North Jacksonville. The people, the sports, the beach that was close. We lived in this home for 6 years. I actually started to think we were planting roots.

12500 Richfield Blvd, Jacksonville, FL

(I even planted flowers...)

so pretty at Christmas time

Until...

March 2011, Cor accepted a position of US Controller for CEVA Logistics. The new promotion involved a move to Houston, TX. We leave with many mixed emotions. We loved living in Florida. We left behind many great friends. But, we are also excited for Cor with this new challenging and rewarding position. With each of the moves I've made I've had a sense of adventure in me, I don't feel as adventurous this time. Perhaps it's age? :)

A little bonus for me is that the housing is a little cheaper in TX and we were able to purchase a home that was quite a bit larger. I didn't think I'd like a 2 story home but preparing dinner while the kids are playing upstairs in the game room gives me lots of peace! We aren't on top of each other anymore. Pray for us as we continue to transition here.

2711 Crystal Falls Drive, Kingwood, TX

And, as always, y'all are more than welcome to visit us here. We'd love it.

Spring Birthdays and Spring Visits

2011-06-21T13:33:00.009-04:00

It truly has been a very busy spring. Spring always is for us. We have 4 family birthdays and usually the "good old faithfuls" come by for a visit. Cor has been traveling a lot lately making life seem all the more busier. Spring ball with 3 kids is fun and great for the kids, but we are always happy when it is over as well. For some reason, I don't have pictures of Cor's 37th birthday or Asher's 10th birthday. Cor won't forget that party though. He was in charge of 8 boys all.by.himself. Bless his heart! I was at a ball game with Arianna.

Arianna's 12th birthday, she got spoiled of course. Birthdays are very special events!

Julianna turns 6!!

her friends

she has wanted rollerblades for a LONG time! She looks thrilled

My mom and her cousin from Holland, Tante Eef, came for a quick 4 day visit. We had a lot of fun touring Jacksonville and St. Augustine. She doesn't speak too much English, and I don't speak too much Dutch, and my mom can speak both but she was a horrible translator!! But we made it through the week just fine. Julianna told Tante Eef that our dog was English. We laughed so hard! I remember Tante Eef visiting our family when I was a little, so her visiting me now was really special.

Mom, me and Tante Eef in front of beautiful Flagler College

Cor is always loved!

Jon and Kelley came for a week long visit. We always have a great time with them. Thanks for using your vacation time to visit us. We love being together and the kids just have a blast. The kids are getting older making the visits a lot easier. We even went out for dinner one night and didn't have to run out with any crying kids or tantrums. We definitely made 10 kids look easy :)The other patrons laughed at our two families and tried to pair the kids with the parents. They did a great job too!

all crammed in our little breakfast nook. We ate all our meals together.

apparently the kids like it crammed because here they are in the kiddie pool intended for Anna Grace and Nicolas!

still not sure why they sat in that little pool together

the gang minus Anna Grace who was miserable :(

Nana and Papa(Cor's parents) came for a visit the middle of May. We had a great time with them and were spoiled by them!

Playing spoons was a hit!

as was playing basketball in the pool

The kids had a piano recital when they were over. They were proud to perform what they had learned!

this and that

2011-02-26T19:34:00.006-05:00

I am so very thankful that it is almost March. It has been a long, cold winter for me. I don't enjoy being chilled at all. I love the heat and the sunshine, the pool and the beach. Last week the weather changed and I can feel spring in the air! We've had a few gorgeous days lately so we spent them outside and at the beach.

This month we've enjoyed a weekend in Orlando visiting our friends, the Sawkins. They've been coming to Florida for vacations for 9 years and we always catch up right where we left off the year before. We met them 14 years ago when we were young and newlywed! They were young too but not newlyweds and parents of 2 sweet girls. They also spent a weekend at our house.

My nephew Aaron and niece Ashley and baby Ashton visited us again this past week. It's always a fun time. Thanks for taking our family pictures, hopefully some turn out! Love it that you visit us.

Baseball season is in full swing again. 3 kids on 3 different teams means most evenings are spent at the ball field. It's busy but excellent and fun for the kids. Not so fun for AnnaGrace though.

no more relaxing at the pool, before Ashley and I knew it, the kids were in the pool.

Anna Grace seems to be enjoying herself immensely! Got to teach her how to swim this year.

monkey see monkey do...

will she be left handed? her daddy hopes so!

happy go lucky Julianna

our happy wanderer. She is content to just walk around all.day.long. swinging her arm!

our 4 legged friend, whom I'm actually starting to like

a relaxing way to read?

beautiful hats made by a special friend...thank you Jen!

just too darn cute not to add

me gloating...

beautiful St. John's river

glad they think so!

Us!

2011-01-11T12:55:00.006-05:00

the boys..Asher (9)

the girls...Arianna (11), Julianna (5) Anna Grace(14mths)

the dog!

Tucker (9 mths)

Candy Cane Tour

2011-01-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

We went on a field trip to Sweet Pete's. We watched how candy canes were made. All the candy in Sweet Pete's is made using organic products and natural flavoring and colors. The red color in the candy cane is from beet juice and the green is from spinach juice. The kids enjoyed this trip to kick off the holiday season. The house was so cute, I had to take lots of pictures! Enjoy.

pouring out the sugar

adding the color

pulling the sugar to expand it

twisting the colors together

extremely time sensitive job, the candy needs to stay warm.

He was moving quickly

the kids were able to form their own shape

Asher's teeth...years of progress

2010-12-18T13:42:00.011-05:00

Baseball injury July '08

Asher has all his baby teeth including an extra one

Sept '08

goodies from Holland...last picture we have with

Asher having all his teeth

Nov '08

missing (R) central incisor

Nov '09

still missing same incisor and left and right cuspid

and left lateral finally coming down but not really noticeable beside

that HUGE central!

May '10- very nice progress already

braces and left lateral down nicely proportioned to the central

(thank you orthodontist)

June '10

surgery to open his gum, attach a bracket and chain to his central incisor, and extract 2 extra teeth. He handled the surgery quite well. His central incisor was way up high, almost in his nasal cavity, and projecting straight out. So surgery was our only option. The orthodontist later attached the chain to a bracket and gradually started pulling his tooth down. His monthly visits were very painful.

Sept '10

tooth coming down

Dec '10

tooth down and lined up properly!

It's been a journey. It's been a long time since we've seen Asher with 2 front teeth! We really can't believe how different he looks now. It's amazing what all the payments have done!! He's always had his dimples...what a cutie pie!

"Camping"

2010-11-28T21:24:00.001-05:00

It's one of our family's favorite thing to do. (Just for the record, we call living in a trailer that is fully equipped with every thing that you need camping). We again were privileged to use a friend's trailer. We enjoyed the fire, relaxed, biked, hiked, ate s'mores and played games. Best of all, we enjoyed being together as a family and exploring our great state! Love, love, love living in Florida.

Football 2010

2010-11-09T22:39:00.001-05:00

Number 11 is my boy! How I love him.

So we did it! We signed Asher up for football. It is a crazy, great sport, (much better than hockey y'all!) He loved every minute of it. Some 5280 minutes of it. That's just practices, add another 1200 minutes for games! Practices were Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 6-8 with a game every Saturday. The coaches had them moving for the entire 2 hours. Asher would come home so pumped and hungry. Because the practices were so intense, he had to eat no later than 4:30,(we learned that after the first practice...gross) and then he would want to eat again after practices. He played offensive right tackle. We really enjoyed watching him play. Now when we watch football, Asher explains all the plays :)

Birthday Girl

2010-09-26T19:45:00.013-04:00

Words cannot express the joy Anna Grace has been to our family. I celebrated her birthday with many mixed feelings. I'm so thankful for her life, her health, her smiles, her development, but a little sad how fast this year has gone by. I really want time to stand still, I want to redo this whole year again. I loved every, every minute of it.

But I can't and so we celebrate!! We had 2 parties for the princess. One on her actual birthday (Sept. 14) and another on Sat. so daddy could celebrate with us.

her first birthday cake...Sept 15, 2009

(one day old)

one year old

the kids were so happy and excited

how the kids have grown in a year!

Anna Grace digging in...I made a pound cake recipe, so it was hard for her

to actually grab the cake

Oma came to visit and celebrate. I am always amazed how

excited she is about her grandchildren. She has the same love for her first

grandchild as she does for Anna Grace (her 37th).

Her Saturday Birthday cake

celebrating with our good friends the Gosherts

her own smash cake, licking the icing just to make sure

Julianna and Grace with Trevor in the background

swim party (the girls)

still enjoying....

and finally crashing! "I've had enough already!"

our sweet, sweet baby doll.

Oh, we all love her so!!

Summer Time 2010

2010-07-29T11:21:00.009-04:00

It's gone! We are starting our 3rd week of school already.

We enjoyed the time off from school, played around in the pool, organized closets and cupboards, and prepared the house for tile and trim. And because we didn't have baseboards, we decided to give our home a new look by adding some color. I asked Cor if he would paint, he said yes, and I quickly ordered the paint before he changed his mind! A sweet deal for me, for sure. Our tile is finally installed in our kitchen/breakfast nook, laundry room and the bathrooms, and new baseboards are up throughout the house. Home renovations take so much time and energy to prepare for, complete and clean up afterwards. My house is now back in order, clean, and organized. And I couldn't be happier. If you have been following our blog, you will know that Cor and I ripped up all the carpet and baseboards, in Nov 2008. So this little project has been a long time coming. Hats off to all the women out there who live in continually home reno projects.

This summer we also hosted Adventure Clubs at our place, spent a week camping at the beach, had numerous sleepovers and swim parties and trips to the zoo. Here are some pictures.

our group at our place

AnnaGrace and Cor

always up to something fun

my 4 water babies

Anna Grace in arm floats...she likes the independence

"camping" in style. A 26 foot, 5th wheel truck and trailer

we were privileged to use from Arianna softball coach!

"Americans and their dogs...." ~Cor

2010-06-07T10:31:00.009-04:00

Just of few of our favorite sayings....

..."shoot me if I ever have to stop to take a dog pee, I hate stopping when the kids need to go"~Cor (while driving on the interstate passing vehicles pulled over to let the dogs go pee)

..."I'm never having a dog, I spend enough time training children, I'm not training a dog"~Marlene

..."You can have a dog, when you can afford to feed and pay for the shots and possible surgeries"~Cor

..."We'll get a dog when we get wood and tile" ~Cor

And then, Greg and Corrie came to visit and we fell in love with their papillon named Bella.

So, without further ado, we welcome Tucker, our 4 month old Papillon. He's a great dog and we love him already.

comforting Asher after his recent surgery

fast friends with Julianna

Anna Grace's playmate

Arianna loves him

ready for action

And this was the best statement "I thought I was not suppose to be responsible for the proper care and feeding of that dog, and now you laugh as I carry the burden of it!"~Cor

Spring ball '10

2010-06-03T22:50:00.007-04:00

Another ball season is over. I love to see it start and love to see it end. This year was a little more crazy because Julianna wanted to play. She has been patiently watching Arianna and Asher play for 5 years. She knew this year she was old enough to play. Having Anna Grace has made it a little more hectic as well. But we survived, and had a lot of fun watching many, many games. It is usually towards the end of the season that I realize that I haven't taken any pictures. In fact, I didn't take any of Arianna.

Asher alternated between pitcher, catcher and short stop. He is a very active player, and very aware of every play. Often between batters you would see him "fake" throwing to first. At the beginning of the season he would take the easy walk to first, and by the end of the season he showed more confidence and starting hitting. Asher played for the Cubs.

the stare down

the wind up

and the throw

notice blue's chewing tobacco in his pocket :)

making the throw to second

And here's our little T-baller! She played for the Gators

hitting off the 'T'

she can't wait till next year when the coaches pitch to her

Julianna

Arianna played 3rd base for the Lady Gators. She improved greatly this year in hitting and throwing and confidence. However, it was a l-o-n-g season. She was on a new team with very few experienced playing and pitching wasn't their strength. We watched many, many walks, but they supported each other and had fun playing. Next year girls! Go Gators!!

Asher Playing Ball

2010-06-03T22:44:00.002-04:00

Asher's Birthday Party

2010-06-01T21:23:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Asher's birthday party in May so he could have a pool party. He invited a number of friends over from church and our homeschool co-op. Cor organized and was in charge of the party. He got bales of hay from a co-worker for the target practice, ordered the cupcakes from Costco, and supervised the swimming. I enjoyed a nice visit with some of the moms that stayed around for the party. It was a fun time.

obviously pleased with Nerf guns

HUGE cupcakes!

the party-ers

isn't he just adorably handsome!??

Birthday season

2010-04-22T16:31:00.007-04:00

Our spring birthday season is past. Cor celebrated his 36th on March 3, Arianna turned 11 on March 9, Julianna reached the big 5 on March 30 , and on April 8th, Asher-dasher turned 9!!! Lots of cake, and parties.

Cor with his gifts early in the morning

we gave him a pair of Sperrys, and I framed 3 pieces of the kids artwork

Arianna with her gifts:

she got $50 to spend at American girl store in Atlanta, a new pair of rollerblades,

and a pack of new twister crayons.

friends and cousins.

Jonathan visited from Canada with Nana & Papa,

they spent a few days with us.

Arianna with her cake that I started decorating

and then decided to leave the rest for Nana!

Julianna with her gifts.

we gave her $ 50 for the American girl store,

and a electronic cash register,

and a new lunch bag.

She was very pleased

with her best friend Gracie

Asher

with his gifts.

He got $50 to spend at the Lego store in Atlanta, a new pair of rollerblades and

mini hockey sticks. He was very happy as well!

There you have it. Obviously, a trip to Atlanta is in order. We plan to go May 12th. The kids are so excited.

Story Time with Miss Julianna

2010-04-21T21:46:00.004-04:00

Julianna has a wild imagination. She loves reading books, listening to books being read, and loves sharing her stories with everyone. She has a very captive audience. No one is going to walk away!

this picture taken in early January. Anna Grace is 4months old

this video was taken in February. It just cracks me up. Hope you get a chuckle out of it too :). I love how she shows the pictures to all her "kids" .

Just for Laughs

2010-02-05T16:51:00.002-05:00

Our sweet Anna Grace...always adding laughter to our lives

Christmas Up North

2010-02-03T21:19:00.005-05:00

After a lot of begging and much persuasion from the children, we decided to go to Canada for Christmas. After all we did have a new addition to show off and it had been 4 years since we spent Christmas with our families. On our way up, we spent time with the van Eyk's in NC, and enjoyed the snow they had. Julianna had never experienced snow, and she absolutely loved it. I tried to down play it, saying things like, "you're a Florida girl, it's going to be sooo cold, I don't think you'll like it" and "every time you come inside you're going to get wet socks, and you have to put on a coat, hat, scarf, mitts, boots, snow pants" (actually, I was the one who had to put that on her) It didn't work...they all want to go back new year.

We enjoyed time together with both our families and some of our friends. It was so nice to see everyone, however, I do think its time for "you guys" to spend Christmas in Florida.

milestone for our truck....

meeting our friends at the fire hall

Anna Grace with Nana

and Papa

Asher and I.. just to prove I spent some time outside,
I actually went sledding with them too!

kids with Great Opa

kid with Great Oma

My 37th birthday

2010-01-11T17:20:00.003-05:00

Another year! So thankful to God for Christ, my husband, my kids, my family, my church and my health. We didn't do anything extra special, just had a great day worshiping and being together!

birthday cake

homemade presents are the best!

Asher made me a "mommy" bracelet and put it inside a lego pyramid :)

my precious blessings

Another year! So thankful to God for Christ, my husband, my kids, my family, my church and my health. We didn't do anything extra special, just had a great day worshiping and being together!

Julianna's pasttime

2009-12-14T09:43:00.002-05:00

this is what Julianna was quietly 'busy-ing' herself with while I was sewing
I think she had 9 puzzles all over the family room
I wanted her to put them away but she insisted on leaving them to show Daddy, we showed him with a picture

Anna Grace in her crib
last night was her first night in her own room
(Cor was wondering why her room needed to be done in July...)

Our little girl

2009-12-05T22:44:00.004-05:00

Anna Grace 11 weeks old.

Recent shots

2009-11-17T09:41:00.003-05:00

she is so worth every gag, every dry heave, every motion sickness, every tired moment, every heartburn, every sleepless night, every pain and every pound!

mommy & Anna Grace
7weeks old
she's 12 lbs now :(

taken Sunday
almost 9 weeks old
gorgeous dress received as a gift

totally love my baby!

Recent shots

2009-11-17T09:40:00.004-05:00

she has a dimple

is she outgrowing her cradle?...say it ain't so!

the way they watch football

Camping Trip

2009-11-04T21:25:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, our family headed west for our annual camping trip with our friends. We decided not to actually tent it this time because of our sweet little addition. We rented cabins at Lafayette Blue Spring State Park. We didn't know what to expect when we arrived, but we were pleasantly surprised. The cabins were nice and spacious with air conditioning (which was definitely needed as it was smokin' hot) and a fully equipped kitchen. So to say that we were "camping" would not be totally accurate.

The kids had a blast and we had a very relaxing time. There was no TV or internet. We hiked, swam, fished, played poker, ate s'mores, smoked pipes and enjoyed spending time together. I really loved spending time with Anna Grace. There was nothing pressing for me to do after I nursed her. I could take my sweet ole time with her. She is such a gift to our family. We are enjoying her so much. Here are some pictures of our time, in no particular order.

a drive thru convenience store...the kids each ordered a soda
it's the little things

"real Florida"

Cypress stumps almost as tall as Julianna

Anna Grace loves the sling, so just falls asleep

Asher and his buddy

my man chillin'

Julianna hanging behind

Anna Grace laughing for Caryn

the things I can get accomplished slinging my babe!

Baptism

2009-10-05T11:25:00.003-04:00

We had a great day yesterday, Anna Grace received the sign of baptism. We were surrounded by our church family, immediate family members and friends. Cor's brother Jon surprised us and flew down on Saturday evening. After the baptism everyone came to our home for lunch. We had a wonderful day.

Anna Grace

2009-09-15T10:20:00.006-04:00

Anna Grace was born at home on September 14th
she weighed 9 lbs, 2oz.!! and 21 inches long
Praise the Lord with us!

(AnnaGrace~less than an hour old)

38 weeks pregnant

2009-09-03T19:01:00.001-04:00

We're due on Monday, September 7th!

2009-07-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

My baby girl...for now

Adventure Clubs

2009-06-30T21:37:00.003-04:00

We hosted Adventure Clubs at our house this year. Similar to VBS but held in 9 different communities throughout Jacksonville. There were 3 different teams, consisting of a bunch of teens from our youth group, a college person, and a group leader. Each team went to 3 different locations a day. One at 10-11:30, another at 1-2:30 and the last one at 6:30-8! It was a long day for them. Our team did an excellent job leading, sharing, interacting and teaching the children. By the end of the week the kids were given the full gospel. How exciting to be part of this! They were all invited to worship with us on Sunday, and sing their songs during the service. 4 kids from our group came with us on Sunday. We had a great week. We will definitely do this again next year.

the group at our house

singing time

Bible lesson time

craft time

water game time

29 weeks pregnant and counting...

2009-06-26T08:40:00.003-04:00

She and I are getting there! Can't wait to meet her!

Oma's Visit!

2009-06-26T08:12:00.004-04:00

We love it when Oma comes to visit. It's a vacation at home for us too! We eat, drink, and play all day long. Oma gives all her attention to the kids. From early morning till bedtime. She taught us how to play Dominoes, which we loved playing. And of course, we played Scrabble...she doesn't seem to mind losing.

playing Dice with Asher...looks intense!

we always have a puzzle going when Oma comes

the kids love, love, love Dutch pancakes....always a treat!

Too bad I don't have any pictures of Julianna and Oma. They played numerous games of Uno and Memory. Julianna kept saying, "I want Oma to stay forever!" Now that Oma's gone, she says, "I want to go to Oma's because she has winter!" She has only been to Oma's twice in her life, and she doesn't remember either time.

Thanks for coming Oma!

Anticipating Oma's Visit

2009-05-12T13:23:00.003-04:00

Asher and Julianna brushing up on their Uno skills.

Asher: Julianna when you only have one card left you have to yell "Uno" and you have to be quick!
Julianna: "Why do I have to be quick, Ash?"
Asher: Because Oma is very quick at Uno and if she says "Uno" before you, you will have to pick up another card!

The kids are very excited to see Oma...so am I!!

I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are your works!

2009-04-15T13:45:00.005-04:00

18 week baby bump
taken April 6th

All bets were on! On the way to our ultrasound we each said what we thought we were having. I thought we were having a boy, based on the fact that all my dreams confirmed that. Arianna had a feeling she was getting a brother, Asher was hoping for a brother of course, but had a feeling the babe was a girl. Julianna only wanted a sister, and said, " if the baby is a boy, I am running up a tree!" and if it is a girl, "I don't have to run". Cor, being a logical man said we have no way of knowing.

The ultrasound was fun. For some reason I had forgotten how amazing it is to see this tiny 10 oz babe kicking and squirming inside me. The technician was great and showed us all the body parts. It's was surprising to me how quickly she could identify them all, but I guess after 18 years she should know what's what! The heart was the most incredible part to see, beating at 137 bpm.

To say that I am in love with this little girl already is an understatement! I just can't wait to hold her in my arms. She is due on Labor Day, September 7, 2009! Now to think of a name!

Julianna announced after the ultrasound was over that she didn't have to run!

The baby is no longer a baby...Julianna turns 4!!!

2009-04-06T11:31:00.006-04:00

Sally(as she is affectionately called) turned 4 on March 30!! Wow, wow, wow! We have been blessed to have her in our family bringing joy and laughter for 4 years. She is fun, affectionate and a little sassy. We had a great day celebrating her life.

the birthday girl... up bright and early to open presents before Daddy goes to work

beach toys

thrilled with her iPod shuffle and baby clothes
I know, what 4 year old gets a shuffle?
A spoiled one, whose older siblings each have one!

Julianna and her great friend Gracie

took the kids to the Children's Museum~
playing store here

Arianna checking them out

being firemen

Mommy and the birthday girl, and the cake

beautiful hat from Gracie

Arianna turns 10!!

2009-03-29T19:21:00.009-04:00

Our sweet Arianna turned double digits on March 9!! Where, oh where has the time gone? 10 more years and she could be off to college~YIKES! But for now we are enjoying having her, watching her develop her interests and talents and watching her mature. She is a joy to have as a daughter. Love you sweetie. She invited her friends over for a party. I took them all swimming for a while and we had pizza and coke floats and enjoyed the birthday cupcakes. The girls had a blast together.

making party favors~ bath salts

Arianna excited with her present...a camera

a towel she has been wanting for a while~
bought it with her money from Oma

we went out for lunch with Daddy to the Hibachi grill

Arianna and Asher

Daddy and the birthday girl!

mommy and Julianna

Arianna opening her presents from her friends...
can't have too many Webkinz!

Arianna and her friends

Cor-Boy turns 35!!

2009-03-20T09:05:00.000-04:00

On March 3rd Cor turned 35!! We celebrated a day early since our friends were visiting.

the birthday boy with his favorite cake~
Black Forest Cake covered with whipping cream

we are all having fun!

watching Cor make Coke floats
I remember my mom treating us to these when I was young, everyone loved them!

Cor enjoying his present~Guitar Hero!!
a very captive audience watches

and we saved one gift for the morning
a Gator coozie!!

We enjoyed celebrating Cor's birthday!

Visiting friends in Orlando

2009-02-27T03:10:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we visited our friends from Canada in Orlando! It was so much fun to see John & Wendy and their 3 kids again. It had been 4 years since we saw each other. I was 8 months pregnant with Julianna. Time is a funny thing, especially with friends. It dissolves, immediately we were catching each other up on different things, and carrying on where we left off 4 years ago. It didn't take long...20 minutes for Julianna and Caleb to be friends. I hope she is a little more discerning later in life!:)

I really think John set Cor up for this!
Cor knows I'm not a fan of his silliness, but now I humor him and take his picture!

nothing better than water

looks like Caleb he's stirring the pot, and wondering where his little girlfriend went

our 2 families
Lauren(16), Caleb (4) Julianna (3) Asher(7)
Arianna (9) and Karissa (13)

someone commented that our children were really well behaved in the restaurant
I thanked Cor for "showing me proud"!

my precious, precious kids
the time is ticking, their getting so big

OTHER FUN:

Julianna and Gracie at Gracie's 4th birthday

sisters,
the older Arianna gets the more 'mothering' she is to Julianna
it's really quite a sweet thing to see

at a great park in St. Augustine, it's surrounded by great oak trees which is great in the summer but very cold in the winter...I was very, very cold

Uncle Cor with the triplets
twin nephews and a niece

The floors are finished...

2009-02-06T19:41:00.001-05:00

The floor were finished just before Christmas. We haven't done any more home improvements since. We plan to put tile in all the bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room, and new baseboards through out the house. Lots of work and a some cash, so it will all take time. If you haven't heard the news yet...Cor's helper is pregnant, so who knows when all this will get done. Thankfully, the hardwood is done!

hallway to the kids bathroom and bedrooms

front foyer looking into the dining room

from the front foyer looking into the family/great room

living room

hallway into the master bedroom

dining room

hallway into the guest room off of the great room

great room

It was a lot of work, more work than I ever thought, but so worth it. Sorry for the redundancy in some of the pictures, I don't have the energy to sort through them. (We did buy some area rugs which were not purchased before the pictures were taken)

Christmas Holidays

2009-01-03T20:47:00.010-05:00

We headed North for Christmas...North Carolina. We arrived on Christmas morning and left again at noon on Saturday. Quick, fun trip.
Some of the highlights of the holiday season included:

- gorgeous weather on Christmas Day,
- a competitive game of Bocce Ball with the family
- candle light dinner
- playing card games
- hanging around with no agenda or time schedule
- seeing Leigh Beth again (my nephew's girlfriend)
- playing around with makeup with my nieces
- watching the kids having a blast with their cousins
- shopping with Wilma
- Starbucks runs
- the long trip home, traffic was horrible
- the joy of being with family
- skeet shooting/deer hunting
- eating bear...a cute little black bear
- chocolate letters and dropjes from Oma
- exchanging gifts with Cor and kids
- visit with Bob & Jenette, playing poker to the late hours of the evening
- having Bernie and Patricia over for a night

teaching Asher

being tickled by Caeser...Greg & Corrie's lovebird

I bought Cor the magazine Car & Driver for Christmas...he was pleased to say the least!

Fun Christmas Preparations

2009-01-03T20:44:00.000-05:00

kids setting up the tree, the kids decorate the tree this year. I just rearranged some of the ornaments at were hitting the ground :)

so darn cute

making/decorating sugar cookies

Asher decorating the eyes and nose on the gingerbread men

Arianna decorating the buttons

Cor putting in the hardwood

our three cuties

Happy Birthday to ....ME!

2008-12-23T22:45:00.005-05:00

Saturday was my 36th Birthday!! WOW! My much older sister was surprised how old was I was getting, her baby sister is getting up there in age...but actually I am quite young compared to her. Here is how we celebrated. Gifts in the morning, breakfast made for me (which is what happens pretty much every morning), late lunch out with the kids to a Hibachi grill, and in the evening Cor organized a birthday party. I had a fun day.

delicious cake NOT made by me

my kids are getting older and now wrap my presents for their daddy

reading my birthday card
Happy Birthday!! We all love you, and wish you a happy birthday day.
How old are you?
33, 36, 40 or 45?
(when I am 45 I won't be reading a homemade card anymore...well probably not!)

me and my 3 1/2 year old baby

over exuberance over a Starbucks travel mug
actually I love it as much as I'm showing...its the best thermal travel mug I've owned

"Mommy, I'll help you"

the man who arranged my birthday party...and didn't shave!

Carrie giving the pipe a try

More work than we thought...

2008-12-07T17:38:00.003-05:00

We took on a job that was a lot more work than we anticipated. The vapor barrier was thick and difficult to spread over the slab and took more time to spread than we originally thought. After that dried we were ready to start gluing the hardwood. We started gluing the floor down, but got a little concerned over the glue marks left behind. In the morning, I went to the store and they assured me that all the glue would come off with a chemical and a wipe. So we thought we jumped that hurdle. What they failed to tell us was that you have to wipe off the glue immediately. We have the family room and foyer all complete but are very disappointed with all the glue left behind. Cor and I spent last Friday, 12 hours each, scrubbing and working with chemicals to try to get the glue up. Some of it came off put a lot did not. On Tuesday, a company is coming to get the glue off for us. Hopefully it will come off. Yesterday, we finished the hallway to the kids bedrooms and wiped the glue off right away, and it looks great! We were so encouraged. We have the living/dining room to complete and the hall way to our bedroom. Perhaps it will get finished this year....but probably not. Cor and I work very well together, we are having fun working together improving our home. Even with the glue the floors look beautiful. Most people think we are being our own worst critic.

ready to rock and roll

after being intimidated by the saw for years...I finally asked Cor to teach me how to use it. I am a master at the saw now, if I must say so myself!:)

a great team. I don't think I've EVER worked this hard!

banging every piece in and down with the mallet

gone with the carpet...no regrets.
The sand that was trapped under the under pad was startling!

If you give a guy a week off, he will likely cause more work....

2008-11-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

Cor took this week off of work to tear up the carpet and put in hardwood floor. He wasted no time....Friday night we moved all the furniture out of the family room and living room. We set up the TV and couch in the master bedroom, and the rest of the furniture went in the dining room until the floor in the other rooms are finished and then we will do that room.

3 couches, dining room table/buffet and hutch and all the hardwood stacked in this room

kids having a great time in the great room
the only time they could run around without be told to go outside!

every man needs a woman to supervise him!

the kids enjoyed being a part of the work

Asher removing the carpet strips, which is hard work because they are nailed to concrete
no basements or sub-floor in FL

Cor putting down the vapor barrier
added protection to prevent moisture from damaging the wood
it has taken him more than 12 hours to spread this sticky heavy paste all over

because the vapor barrier takes 12-16 hours to dry the kids had to camp out in our room for the night. (Why do we need a 4 bedroom home?) Most of the house is blocked off right now. We can get into the master bed/bath through the windows and we can get to the kitchen through the nook window. And I can get to the laundry room through the garage. The kids think this is pretty cool....climbing in and out and walking around the house to get to a different area.

a breath of peaceful, fresh air

After the vapor barrier is dry, we can start glueing down the hardwood. More pictures to come.

Listenin' to too much talk radio?

2008-11-13T21:16:00.000-05:00

Dinner table talk

Marlene: "Hey Cor, do you want to go to the Messiah this year?"
Arianna: "What is the Messiah?"
Asher: (without hestitation) "OBAMA"!

Let not your heart be troubled...he was corrected!

Camping Trip

2008-11-01T21:56:00.008-04:00

After bone chilling temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday, I started to doubt the wisdom of our camping trip scheduled for Thursday. I comforted myself in the fact that we were traveling south! On Thursday afternoon we headed south for our second camping trip with our great friends. The weather was great, company fun, kids awesome, nature beautiful! It was a weekend of 'firsts' for our family...first time fishing for some, first time catching something, and first time canoeing! We had a great time.

beautiful grounds surrounding by massive oak trees with Spanish moss

Julianna first time fishing...
just a precious picture

fishing dock

Cor's first catch

great shot of all our canoes
we saw 4 gators, 2 that were quite large,
I tried to act brave, but kept a watchful eye while sitting by the reeds

reflective moment

stealin' kisses

at camp

Arianna's first catch
she waited patiently for this one, she was so determined to catch something!

the dog Julianna fell in love with at the next campsite
guess what she wants now?

sisters

friends...typical 7 year old look

setting up camp

Going to the Country

2008-10-26T17:54:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we made the trek out to the country, or if you were counting political signs you would say we were in McCain/Palin country! The kids counted some 80 Republican signs to ZERO other signs. We had fun family time at the corn maze and enjoyed all the other activities that they had. This was my first time at a corn maze. To see green corn at the end of October and only maybe 6 feet tall was just wrong!

Julianna picked the "cash cow"

which way?

reminding me of all my years corn detasseling
I think I'll have to send my kids to visit Oma for the summer so they can work in the corn

on the hay ride...that had no hay
Julianna was sportin' her attitude...and Asher his!

"Asher, you make good food!"

2008-10-22T22:12:00.002-04:00

We finally pulled down the gourmet set this month, after having them for 3 years. We had a fun time watching Asher's enthusiasm for cooking. Usually after every meal, one of the kids says, "Mom you make good food!" During this meal, Asher proudly said, "Asher, YOU make good fun!" It was a very fun dinner!

we each had our own skillet pan, and made our own dinner

The ole boy goes to the Old Country

2008-10-16T21:35:00.010-04:00

Last month Cor spent a week in Amsterdam for work. This was his first time visiting the Netherlands. He loved everything about it.

Cor visiting with his great grandmother Van Dyk
(she is 98 years old!)

Cor with his Great Aunt Ann and his 2nd cousin Arie Pieter and Connie and their girls
they were very excited to see their cousin from American

one of the evenings Cor went on 3 hour canal tour.
He enjoyed great food and great wine

bikes everywhere

pedestrians everywhere!
we were super excited to see Cor come home and Julianna was very excited to get all the dropjes! Every night Julianna she would ask Cor if he was going to bring home dropjes. Here is everything Cor brought home from Holland!

Family

2008-09-27T09:28:00.009-04:00

playing mini-golf with my Mom, on what felt like the hottest day of summer

My mom came and spent 3 weeks with us in late July, we had an excellent time with her, playing numerous games, puzzling, and swimming. She stayed so long that now Julianna calls the guest bed & bathroom, Oma's room!

Oma said a silly comment and Patty & I thought we heard Stephanie respond to Oma with "duh"
she is trying to defend herself here

Daddy's little girl

showing off her Easter dress that I just finished!
love her look...she's a bad one!:)

my sweeties

my handsome men!

picture compliments of Arianna
(sun was quite bright)

Who Knew...

2008-09-23T22:13:00.001-04:00

he could do this? Does he IRON too???

She get what she wants.....

2008-09-04T16:45:00.004-04:00

She's learning early that if you want something, you'd better get it yourself!!

gettin' up there

grabbin' it

and bringin' it down!!

and now I know why her closet is always messy...

Mr. & Mrs. Greg & Corrie van Eyk

2008-08-15T22:42:00.002-04:00

A Few of my favorites

2008-08-15T13:29:00.007-04:00

We've joined the Bread Making Cult!

2008-07-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

We have just taken our homeschooling to a higher level... we now make our own bread! I love the smell of bread baking, it's so cozy.

45 lbs of white hard wheat

Wonder Mill flour mill...
not sure why they call it the world's quietest mill, it sounds like an airplane taking off!

to the mill to be ground

freshly ground flour

a delicious loaf of honey wheat bread
We love it~it tastes good and is good for you!
(nothing added or taken away)

I don't knead the dough by hand. I use the bread machine.

Summer Time

2008-07-03T15:13:00.004-04:00

Asher was chosen to play for the All Star team this year. He is playing in 3 tournaments which involves 4 games/week with a championship game on Saturday. A huge commitment for us. He is having a blast playing, we are having fun watching, and Julianna and Arianna are taking full advantage of the concession stand!
waiting to get his trophy-
not because his team won but because they played!

San Mateo T-ball All Star Team~2008

sitting cozy with daddy watching Asher play

learning how to sew

because Julianna is the mommy, and her baby needs to be potty-trained!
So, so sweet

Everyday stuff...

2008-05-14T20:41:00.006-04:00

No particular theme this post. Just a few pictures of life around our house. Things that the kids have been busy with and things that I've been sewing and doing.

Arianna & Julianna in front of one of the art exhibits. Arianna takes an art class every other week for 2 hours. She made amazing art work this year. The teacher keeps all of the art until the art exhibit, where she puts all of her student's work on display. It is an exciting time especially for the students.

I love this picture! Can't wait to frame it

we received this play set from our friends who moved to Texas :(
the kids have been playing on it all the time! as have the neighbors:)

everyone has their favorite place to read...
today this was Arianna's, mine was on the deck in the sun!

too cute not to post. Julianna received these headphones as a gift from her cousins.
(not to worry, I have since taken them away from her at nap time, lest she strangle herself)

the two skorts I made for Arianna
I've been having a lot of fun sewing lately :)

matching jumpers I made for the girls

sweet, sweet jumpers for Julianna

because afternoons are always this peaceful ;) , I thought I'd post this one. Next to new socks,
there is nothing like new crayons and markers. The twistables crayons are the best~definitely worth the extra money

I flew 'home' for Mother's Day and had an absolutely wonderful time. It was so relaxing to spend time alone with my mom. I flew to Flint, MI on Thurs. night, and stayed the night at my sister Teresa's house. Friday morning my niece, Sarahlynn, cut and colored and highlighed my hair and in the afternoon my mom and I went home. We ate dinner together and in the evening we went to my sister Betz' house for a grad party for my nephew Aaron. Saturday after sleeping in, Mom and I went out for lunch, did some shopping, and enjoyed being together. In the evening we went out for dinner with my brother David and his wife Barb and my sister Betz and her husband Jack. Sunday we went to church, went to the cemetery, celebrated my 12th anniversary over the phone with Cor and had a Mother's Day celebration with my family at Betz' house. Sunday night I went back to MI with my sister Teresa. Monday afternoon I flew home after shopping and going out for lunch with Teresa. I had a great time away. I was so excited to go 'home' and I was equally excited to come back to my Cor and kids!

me, Teresa and Betz and my mom
this picture is okay but a whole lot better than
THIS
ONE!!

wow, Teresa and I laughed ourselves silly over this one!
I guess we share a lot of expressions!
( Not sure how Betz and mom managed to keep their pose)

I got spoiled for Mother's Day! A totally unexpected gift!

Happy Birthday Asher-Dasher!

2008-04-28T08:00:00.001-04:00

Our sweet, funny, happy, trickster boy is 7! He is constantly playing little jokes on us. Last week he filled my empty wine bottle with water and put it back in the refrigerator. The next day, I pour myself some wine and noticed that it was a weird color. I took a sip and was totally confused, it tasted like water. Did the company mess up? I knew Cor had just opened a new bottle for me and I couldn't find it anywhere! So I gave Cor a call and he just laughed. (don't mess with my bottle of wine!). Asher definitely had me on that one.

here's our boy all smiles
first attempt at a football cake, I wasn't very pleased with it:(
but Asher was!

Arianna taking this picture

s-l-o-w-l-y reading his card from Oma!

little joke I played on him. I forgot to buy wrapping paper,
brown paper bag works well! I'm so green!

eating lunch at the party

opening presents at his birthday party. He had 7 boys over
his party was 2 weeks after his actual birthday,
we wanted a pool party, but it was still a little cool to swim for long

remember Wilbur? He DID turn into a pinata,
he didn't take long to break though!

all the boys
this football cake turned out so much better.
I bought a football mold for this one

Asher's room!! Lego disaster.
He just put together his Lego race car from his cousins and is watching it move

Our Family's First Camping Trip ~~Manatee Springs

2008-04-16T14:10:00.000-04:00

We survived it...and absolutely loved it! Why haven't we done this earlier?

On a gorgeous March day, our family headed out for our first camping trip. I will have to admit I had some mixed feelings about the whole adventure. Cor and the kids were quite pumped to go, I was a little more reserved. We were joined, (or rather we joined) some friends from church who are very experienced campers. When they lived in Alaska they camped EVERY weekend! We arrived on Thursday afternoon, set up our tents...(good thing we did a practice run at it at home first) and started exploring the camp ground. The creation was absolutely beautiful. We stayed for two nights, breaking me in slowly. Other than all the ticks the adventure was fantastic, and I would most definitely do it again. It was our first time camping and my first time having s'mores! Can you believe that?! They are so yummy.

the temperature of the spring is always 69,
we couldn't go swimming because apparently humans and manatees don't mix.
We could see at least 4 huge manatees swimming around.
Save the manatees!!

Manatee Spring
I could just sit here for hours it was so incredibly peaceful and beautiful.

Asher and friend Jacob

Jacob, Asher, Joshua and Arianna

setting up camp

It was cold in the evenings and mornings low 30's, but during the day it was around 70.

Do you meet the criteria?

2008-04-10T19:55:00.000-04:00

I do...so does pretty much the whole human race. Aren't you glad we can all fit into at least one category ~now that's unity in diversity people!

I want to say more but I'm just lost my train of thought and my kids distracted me!

The Baby is 3 ~~Julianna that is!

2008-03-31T17:27:00.009-04:00

In a blink of an eye...Julianna was/is crawling, walking, eating, talking, climbing into/out of her crib, potty trained, dressing herself, buckling herself, going potty by herself, fighting with her siblings, reciting scripture and sleeping in a big girls bed. She's 3! I'm happy and sad. Thankfully she will still cuddle with me. After all she is still MY baby. Love ya baby, you're the best and such a joy to have around. We love you, Sally!

Julianna was so very excited about her D-D-D-Dora cake!
I'm happy how it turned out too!

our family, we haven't changed much since last post...
well that's not true Cor has..notice anything different?

our great friends!

Julianna opening her gifts

very, very pleased with her new baby

and her new wheels

and her new stroller!

Julianna and Gracie hanging out on the top bunk, having a rare moment of play

Julianna got spoiled...but that's what birthdays are all about. Thanks to everyone who sent gifts from Canada.

Weekend Getaway-Orlando, FL

2008-03-27T08:06:00.007-04:00

Cor and I spent a weekend together in Orlando on March14 -17th. Last year Cor won the Master's Award at work and part of the award is attending the Annual Honor's Meeting. Last year the meeting was held on a cruise ship in the Bahamas, and this year the venue was a beautiful hotel in Orlando. While I loved the cruise, we had more "free" time in Orlando, and if you have even been on a cruise you know the rooms are tiny! The room at the Rosen Shingle Creek was huge, roomy, and gorgeous! Cor had to attend a 3 hour meeting on Saturday morning, I had to attend for 1/2 hour to be thanked by the CEO for helping my husband help the company...and the rest of the weekend was ours to do whatever we wanted. There were receptions every evening which we wanted to attend for the food and drinks. Oh, and we each got spending money and I won a $100 raffle. Not bad at all!

The back of the hotel. It had gorgeous, well maintained grounds. On Sunday afternoon we walked the nature trail

entrance to the Rosen Shingle Creek

Saturday afternoon Cor and I spent our time in Winter Park. While a lot of the people at the meeting braved the tourists at the Orlando Parks, Cor and I chose to tour the lakes in Orlando on a pontoon boat. It was the best $10 that we spent. It was a pleasant day and there's nothing like being on the water looking at people's beautiful estates!

Florida landscape, bamboo trees~ reminded me of high jumping in elementary school

narrow canal from one lake to another

Mr. Roger's neighborhood~ were he lived

so peaceful

We had such a enjoyable weekend together, and our kids had fun where they stayed as well. Arianna went to her cousins house in Vero and got to go to the Kennedy Space Center and Sea World...not a bad weekend for her! and Asher and Julianna went to my friend Michelle's. Asher had a blast with the 2 boys and Julianna played with Gracie when they weren't fighting and arguing! Thanks for having them.

Happy Birthday Arianna!

2008-03-17T18:31:00.006-04:00

Arianna turned 9 on March 9! Time just flies by! She has been such a joy and blessing to our family. I remember, like it was yesterday, her lying in the hospital bassinet peacefully staring at us. She was so content. She still is. We love you dearly Arianna.

Arianna with her friends
we had a party for her on Saturday

one of the activities we did at the party, stain glass painting

cake designed by Arianna and her cousin Annalee

my sister's family on Arianna's official day
spoiled girl got two cakes, her favorite van Eyk cake made by my sister Betz

thrilled with her watch with 11 different bands!
her present from us came late...a iPod shuffle which she was so thrilled to receive

our family

Birthday Time! ~~The ole boy is 34!

2008-03-03T21:05:00.008-05:00

March...

around our home it's birthday month

Happy Birthday babe!

Cor's birthday cake
mini black forest cakes

love this picture...Asher can hardly contain himself, he made a card for Cor and gave him $2.25!
notice his dimples?:)

Saturday night we celebrated with our friends,
Cor entertained us on the guitar Hero

thrilled with his iPod

and his BBQ boss flipper

dinner feast

cannelloni, spinach salad with strawberries, feta and pecans
it was all so good!

Visit with Aunt Jane and Uncle Terry

2008-02-14T22:02:00.001-05:00

A few weekends ago, we were honored to have Uncle Terry and Aunt Jane visit us. They spoiled us with everything good from Canada --Maple Syrup, Oh Henry's, Coffee Crisp, Smarties and Canadian Club! It was a very short visit but we had a lot of fun with them. Arianna heard Aunt Jane say her age, did some quick math and came to the conclusion that she was very young when she was an aunt! And we told her that young Aunts are a lot of fun.

Here are some of the pictures that I had saved to Blogger before our hard drive crashed :(
I guess blogging does have its purpose.

you can't come to our house without humoring Asher with a game of Dutch Blitz!
(we play it every night before the kids go to bed -- 4 rounds so everyone has at least one chance to Blitz)

too sweet not to post

and again

On Saturday we visited a ranch in Central Florida, we had a blast.
I think horses are magnificent animals

feeding the horses

training

...gone so fast?

beautiful Central Florida in winter, it was a cold day though

one last picture of my Mom's visit. The picture before the tears

Christmas Holiday '07 in review

2008-01-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! ...From Our Family to Yours

2007-12-24T18:15:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from sunny Jacksonville, Florida! It’s hard to believe, but this is our 7^th Christmas in Florida. As we reflect on this past year, we are able to say that we have been blessed abundantly and cared for gently by our Heavenly Father.

The children have all grown so much this past year. It is fun to watch them each develop their personalities. Arianna (8 ½ yrs old) still bemoans the fact that she is the oldest, but she has stepped up to that role wonderfully. She is an avid reader and loves playing the piano. Asher (6 ½ yrs old) is now reading and this past year he has exchanged his love of hockey for football. Julianna (2 ½ yrs old) is now potty trained, talking a lot and still making us laugh. She is no longer a baby.

We were unable to travel outside of the country for much of the year because of our permanent residency applications. We are hoping that our “green cards” will arrive soon allowing us to travel freely.

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love from,

Cor and Marlene, Arianna, Asher and Julianna

Guess what Santa Brought....Early

2007-12-19T16:47:00.001-05:00

The lost has been found, and mailed to our address. I used it as a gift and stuck it in her stocking. Julianna, as you can tell, is very happy with her gift...her much loved bunny!

thrilled

careful examination of it's face, making sure it's the same one!

Decorating the Tree

2007-12-07T08:33:00.001-05:00

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging,
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging,

Not only green when summer's here
but also when 'tis cold and drear
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging,

How often has the Christmas tree
afforded me the greatest glee
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
much pleasure thou canst give me

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree
thy leaves are so unchanging.

Thanksgiving in North Carolina '07

2007-11-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

What a great week we had! It was so refreshing, fun, exciting and relaxing! I had forgotten how much I missed the fall season. The colors were still so beautiful. When we arrived in NC the weather was comfortable and towards the end of the week...it was not! Now for the pictures, a mix-match of happenings.

Arianna & Julianna

Julianna's first time in the leaves...she seems to be enjoying them

Arie & Wilma's back yard

cookie turkey made by Jenna & Charity
isn't it cute

Thanksgiving Dinner, kids table and adult table
dinner was so delicious; ham, turkey, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole
rolls and of course pumpkin and pecan and mint pie.

Julianna absolutely lovin' the fast moving vehicle...
she has no fear of anything but women!

you will notice that Cor has Julianna's bunny (aka sleep prop) on his head,
that's the last time we've seen it...it's lost!

Cor getting a generous portion of pie & whipping cream

Charity & Arianna wearing their new dresses
I'm sure this pose is one of many!

Asher learned how to play Dutch Blitz, and loved it!
guess what he's getting from Santa?

we are all having fun playing and laughing together

WHILE
these people prefer quiet, mind activities

Andrea & Corrie (Greg's fiance) playing Mastermind

and Cor hiding out reading...a ridiculous book.
(thanks Big Ash for leaving it here)

chatting with Greg

animals have taken over the garage
an elk being used as a bow hanger

Greg & Corrie with the buck that Greg caught, oh, I mean shot on Thanksgiving morn!

after an anatomy lesson from Greg, here he hung to rest

UNTIL

he got butchered!
Cor, Arie and Andrea drove up to Virginia to visit a friend who cut the meat off

Andrea with the deer hip

that's all friends. Sorry no pictures of us girls shopping.

Quite a Husband that Cor is...

2007-11-18T21:57:00.001-05:00

Arrived at my home for no special occasion...

....being one of the last ones to leave church has its advantages. Left over flowers from a wedding.

We love Wilbur!!

2007-10-29T21:35:00.000-04:00

Arianna did a book study on Charlotte's Web and it was a delight to hear her read it to me! For all the moms who are teaching your child to read...it gets better! Rarely do I do any of the crafts that are suggested in the curriculum, but when making a paper mache Wilbur was suggested I had to make it with my kids. The kids had so much fun making Wilbur and kept saying, "Mom, thanks for making this with us, this glue feels like buttermilk, this is so much fun!"

started with balloons and paper towel rolls

for the first layer of newspaper we kept the mess outside, I took the pigs inside to dry and than the next day we took them outside to put on the second layer. The temperature and pressure change was to drastic and the balloons started to slowly expand and then pop! I was a little frustrated because of all the time it took to make it so far, but thought I'd finish the project and in the evening I made new pigs and put a new layer on.

after three layers of newspaper, we were ready to paint! After 5 layers of paint, googly eyes, black feet and a pink tail... Wilbur was "some pig"!

isn't he cute?

We thoroughly enjoyed Charlotte's Web, and watching the new movie was also a highlight! Arianna's piano teacher took her to watch the movie when it came out but it was the first time watching it for Asher and me. Arianna is going to use her pig as a piggy bank but Asher wants to use his as a pinata (a shame for all the work that was involved).

Corn Maze Visit

2007-10-25T17:14:00.002-04:00

We have been enjoying our week off of school and spending our days with Cor. Today, Cor took Arianna & Asher to the Corn Maze in Hilliard. (I went shopping with Julianna) It was a gorgeous day to be outside, the kids had so much fun doing the maze and all the other activities at the Acres. The maze was in the shape of Noah's Ark.

Thanksgiving with friends

2007-10-18T11:42:00.001-04:00

In case you didn't believe me when I said that Julianna's toys are scattered everywhere when I teach...here is some of the evidence!

(is that snow outside?)

Now for the Thanksgiving pictures: there aren't very many good ones of the food but it was delicious. We had fried turkey, cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls and for dessert, pumpkin and cherry pie. We enjoyed our time with our friends and the kids had a blast playing with the many, many toys.

the turkey was fried in peanut oil, it was the BEST turkey I have ever tasted!
juicy and tasty!

The rhythm of our days

2007-10-09T10:19:00.001-04:00

A typical morning at our house.

Arianna usually starts her morning early, when I get back from working out at 7:10 am, she is usually doing her math at the computer.

Arianna's little corner of the house so she can concentrate.

Julianna playing in the living room, she usually scatters her toys all over the house,
we do a whirlwind pick up at lunch time

Asher's desk is in the breakfast nook, not far from where I spend the majority of my day (in the kitchen). He needs more of my attention and help, and I can get a lot of things done while he does his work.

Julianna is usually close by and has her own little desk, she loves to color and play with foam stickers, she makes Cor about 5 pictures a day!
I do dress her in the morning, she's potty trained and her shorts don't usually make it back on

The best day is Library Day!

2007-10-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

A book is good company.
It is full of conversation without loquacity.
It comes to your longing with full instruction,
but pursues you never.
~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky.
My pile of books
Are a mile high.
How I love them!
How I need them!
I'll have a long beard
By the time I read them.
~ Arnold Lobel ~

Teaching reading IS rocket science.~ Louisa Moats ~

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go.~ Dr. Seuss, ""I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!" ~

Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words! ~ A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943~

Shrimp Boil

2007-09-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

Our friends, Kenny and Amy and their kids, Hayden and Molly came over on Saturday for a shrimp boil. They brought the boiler, the shrimp, sausage, corn on the cob, potatoes, the bread, and we provided the drinks, a side dish and dessert and the pool. After cleaning the shrimp,(I took no part of that!) we loaded all the food into the boiler with shrimp seasonings and three garlic bulbs, and watched it cook on the porch. After a swim the food was ready, the table lined with newspaper and the food dumped on top.

everyone enjoying the food

close up of the food

had to get Cor in the picture

the absolutely decadent dessert- brownie caramel cheesecake
homemade of course:)

...and the ruined tabletop, too much heat for the wood,
I guess I get a new table now- or sometime in the next 5 years

We had such a great meal and time together we decided to celebrate Canadian Thankgiving together and deep fry a turkey. (This will be our first time celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving in the States and with Americans!)

Saturday in St. Augustine

2007-09-18T20:14:00.001-04:00

We love spending time in St. Augustine. It has great beaches, lovely shops,gorgeous churches, busy streets, quiet streets, beautiful college, a wonderful carousel, and a shady park! What more do you want. We started our day going out for breakfast at our favorite 'hole in the wall' restaurant and then headed for the nation's oldest city.

THE CITY

THE PARK

THE CAROUSEL

Arianna

Asher

after watching the kids and crying, Julianna decided she would go on with me
she loved it in the end!

THE BEACH

I truly enjoyed watching the surfers...the kids don't look as interested as I do
wish I knew how to surf...and had time to do so
it was a blasting hot day and we did not have our beach clothes on, not really sure why?

Happy Birthday Mom / Oma!

2007-09-07T21:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Mom!! Hope you had a great day, we love and miss you so much. We would have loved to be with you today, but since that wasn't possible we tried to celebrate without you. I even made a van Eyk cake, and you know how many of them I've made. It even turned out, and tasted great. (listen carefully for Julianna's voice at the end)

WE LOVE YOU OMA

Labor Day

2007-09-05T17:14:00.000-04:00

We were invited to spend Labor Day boating with our friends, we had an absolute blast. The weather held out, it only rained for a few minutes. While some think of Labor Day as the end of summer, the weather here is still as hot as ever!

Cor and Arianna

Cor's most favorite thing to do
He took me for a ride and we tip it over! Yes upside down- he lost his glasses
It was quite heavy to un-flip

Asher's first attempt at knee boarding
At the beginning of the summer he was very hesitant to go in the lake,
today he surprised us with wanting to go knee boarding.

he's up on the first try! So proud of him
he was quite sore the next day, I don't think he wanted to let go of the rope
to tell us to stop pulling him!

soaking up the sun

Julianna LOVES dogs, there were only 5 at the beach house to love on!

Asher and his friends

This and that

2007-08-24T08:52:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since my last post. We've been keeping busy, working out, (that would be me, not us) in school for three weeks already, getting into routine, potty training, and having lots of fun in the pool. Here are a mix-match of events.

Our neighbors came over and made us some island drinks, she made special drinks for the kids, complete with pineapple and an umbrella, so sweet of her, and the kids thought it was cool.
They weren't too fond of the drink, so mama added some rum and enjoyed the leftovers!

Arianna's first day of school,
Cor is teaching her how to do her math lesson on the computer

On one of our recent drives we stumbled upon this piece of history. We also found a very old cemetery (people born in the early 1800's, and some Confederate war soldiers were also bury there) A couple was at the cemetery preparing a family plot so we talked to them, and her great, great grandparents were buried there. Quite interesting.

An hour and half later....

2007-08-09T17:14:00.000-04:00

...I have pictures, a sore back and a headache!

Up till this year I have been very prompt with getting my kids yearly pictures taken. Instead of taking them individually I thought that I would kills '3 birds with 1 stone'. It turned out not be a bad idea. My sweet, oh so cute, oh such a piece of work little girl aka Julianna made the whole ordeal a headache. We arrive at the studio and two ladies were ready to shot. If you know Julianna than you know that she does not like women very much. No pictures of Julianna were going to be taken. I'm getting frustrated and started wondering what I can do to change the situation...ah, I saw a male in the studio. I recruited him to help out and we were able to get a few good shots mixed in with the endless whining. Finally the pictures were taken and I had to pick the packages/poses. Trying to sort through 84 pictures with a BAD 2 year old was not fun. I bought more shots than I needed but all the different poses were hard to resist. Here are some of the good ones, maybe I should post all the bad ones of Julianna! That guy did A LOT of work to get her to laugh/smile. Once again I'm thankful for men :)

and there you have it, another year of pictures.
Arianna 8 years old
Asher 6 years old
Julianna 2 years old

Congratulations are in order...

2007-08-08T16:27:00.001-04:00

My nephew Greg is engaged!! Corrie Rodriguez accepted Greg's proposal this week and they are planning on getting married next summer! We are all so very excited for y'all. Have fun planning your wedding.

where Greg proposed - sunrise

(I stole these pictures from Facebook)

The finished product

2007-07-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

We came home from our vacation on Thursday evening to a pool that was completed! We wasted no time to enjoy it and have been since. The first pool party was Friday with Bernie & Patricia and their kids. Julianna doesn't want any other clothes on besides her swimsuit, and Arianna and Asher are very eager to help me around the house so we can spend the rest of our time in the water. Oh the lazy days of summer...school starts soon here though. I wanted to start Aug. 1st but it looks like next Monday will be the first day of school.

Our Vacation in Flat Rock, NC

2007-07-28T20:45:00.000-04:00

My family ( 4 of my siblings) and their families all meet at Bonclarken, the ARP (Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church) facilities for the Family Bible Conference. This was our first time attending, and we really had a great time. The kids had attended kids programs in the morning and evening while we attended the speeches. It was an edifying and enjoyable week. The kids - that would be 21 of them had an absolute blast! I think our family took over the grounds actually, there were a few other families, but mostly seniors. We had a few complaints but none that a red solo cup couldn't fix! I took one picture with Asher on it and don't have any pictures of Arianna- because I rarely saw her!

my wonderful man with Asher & Julianna

Uncle Cor having a great time with the young ladies

The next few pictures are of the 'Pampered Pole', the kids had to climb up this pole, stand up on the top and jump to the hanging bar. Once you started climbing there was no turning back, you HAD to jump. Here are the brave souls. Oh, they were wearing a harness attached to a bungee cord. It was nerve wracking to watch them. (sorry guys I couldn't post everyone doing this)

Joshua being very brave

he made it

Jenna freaking out

screaming loudly....

...and jumping no where close to the bar

even the old guys tried it...Arie & Bernie

Julianna is such a mama's girl that everyone is very proud when she actually gives them a second look.

Stephanie & Julianna

Aunt Wilma & Julianna

Andrea & Julianna

overlooking the lake
( the one that you may not swim in!)

Family Time

2007-07-21T21:18:00.000-04:00

Our dishwasher started leaking so we couldn't use it for a few days...

Here's our conversation:

Asher: Oh, I get to dry the icecream scoop. I never dry this because we have a dishwasher.
Arianna: Ya, the dishwasher's a big help
Marlene: this reminds me of living at home with Oma
Arianna: ya, I love helping Oma do the dishes
Cor: I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't get the dishwasher fixed.
Marlene: Excuse me? Why?
Cor: this is family time...free family time!

...It's fixed!

Waiting...

2007-07-17T11:02:00.000-04:00

The pool is almost complete, we are waiting for the fence to be installed. It has been delayed for a week. After the fence, the building (fence, doors and windows) need to be inspected for safety and then the pool company will put the finally coat on the pool and fill it! We are so close to completion the anticipation is growing. We are so excited. Here are some pictures in order of progress.

tiles installed

rebar for the deck to be poured

concrete being poured

acrylic deck being sprayed

the deck is a taupe color with splashes of different chocolate brown colors.
It looks really sharp with the border around the pool, and also hides the dirt with the multi colors.

as the pool is now, waiting for the fence!