a "new year's" resolution...

so. here i am. still alive for all three of those followers that i have. (hi onita, michael, and paul) :) i've decided (after spending the last hour or so finally updating my layout) that i'm going to give this another try. i told one friend that i felt like our lives were just too boring to do this. but they're not, and i know that. obviously it's not too boring since i don't get a chance to update this thing very often!

so i've decided to copy my dad's idea. he's been blogging for a number of years now, and his theme is 'finding something to be thankful for every day.' he's ideas/thoughts are a bit more in-depth and philosophical (after all, he's a ph.d.) but i like the idea. i'm going to pick out super simple things to be thankful for--something i need for myself so that i don't only look at what's NOT happening/going on. so my "new year's resolution" (okay, i'm 44 days behind for that one) is to be thankful--at least once a week--for something. so stay tuned.... :)

celebrating

i've been feeling a bit mushy lately. in a good way though.

wednesday i went to the sioux center christian school easter chapel. the first graders were reciting their memory verse so i thought i'd go watch pieter and the rest of his buddies do that in front of the school. that was the first chapel i'd been to and it was just awesome to watch. they read the story of Jesus' betrayal and resurrection and sang a bunch of songs. my most favorite was when they sang 'amazing grace/my chains are gone.' wow. what a blessing to hear all of these kids--5 years old to 14 years old belting out such a powerful song! i was tearing up there and it gives me goosebumps even thinking about it. we are so blessed to be a part of such an awesome christian school!

last night was the maunday thursday service at church. immediately when we sat down, little pieter noticed the communion up at the front. "mom, can i have some of the bread and juice this time? it's Jesus' body and blood, why can't i have some too?" what a hard question to answer.

growing up i remember my dad constantly talking about a committee he was on--children and the lord's supper. i didn't pay much attention at the time, but it's been on my mind since last night. when are kids old enough to grasp what God did for us by sending Jesus? the concept seemed so simple to pieter last night, and in a way it is. he understood what that little piece of bread and tiny glass of grape juice was for, but yet he's not able to celebrate with us because of his age. it just got me thinking....

so anyway, after they passed out the bread and juice he proceeded to tell me that he was going to celebrate when we got home. he was going to get a piece of bread out he told me. he asked me if we had any juice. i told him we had white grape juice which was almost the same. and sure enough, when we got home, he hauled out the bread, took out a piece and then poured himself a glass of juice. "want to celebrate with me mom?" he asked. makes a mama proud. :)

growing kiddos

march is a busy month for us. until ian came along, all four of us have our birthdays in march. so here are some pics from the celebrations.



9 years old!! wow! i bought a stampin' up birthday party from our church auction last year so she got to have a small party and make a cute cards and bags. they had lots of fun and we heard lots of giggling the whole evening. :)



little pieter had a scattered 7th birthday. we celebrated with my parents early since they were gone on his actual day. we planned to have a sleepover with one of his friends, but then the stomach flu bug invaded our house for the weekend. augh. so that's postponed. and on his actual birthday he got to open a few more presents.

and finally, the baby turned six months in march as well. while this is NOT his six month picture, i had to post it cause he looks "stinkin' cute" as my friend puts it. :) he managed to flip himself out of the bumbo which is mommy had on the counter--i know, i know, a big no-no. a trip to the hospital, and a reassuring doctor later, we were home with no long term effects. the first picture is the day after it happened and the next is two days after.





and just so there's a "normal" picture too...



another year has flown by! can't wait to see what this next year brings from these three...

little pieter and baby

so i went on a "date" tonight with my baby boy and six year old. pieter and i LOVE eating at hu hot mongolian grill, and since his sister had a sleepover and dad had to be gone broadcasting hockey tonight, i figured it would be a great idea to take advantage of some good food and interesting conversation. we had some really good food at hu hot--pieter loves to choose his own things and bring it to the grill--gave a bottle to my baby boy (and in the process discovered he will only take a bottle if it's warm), and then headed out to shop. pieter was SO much more behaved when he didn't have his sister to bug! :) he had fun picking out flip flops for the summer as well as picking out some clothes for his baby brother. we also headed to target where he got to pick out his first birthday party present for the party he's going tomorrow, as well as a gift for the auction basket his class is putting together as a fund raiser for the school. he can be so full of energy and a bit challenging at times, but he has a wonderful side to him as well. he helped me with the baby, held his hand, and even got him to sleep on the way home. it's so awesome to see him maturing! some of the questions he asked:

"how did papa and mima become our grandpa and grandma?"
"how did you meet dad?"
"why did you want to marry him?"
"what did he look like back then?"

and then the one to melt a mom's heart:

"i'm so lucky i got to spend all day with my mom." :)