the barkels

twenty twelve

2012-01-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those people who is always reflecting on things. I'm a ponderer and an analyzer. And each new year, it's like I need to sit down and put things down on paper (be it literal or cyber).

2011 was another incredible year! Natalie began this year as a little girl, Ruby, a toddler, and Charlie, a baby. And now Natalie is a preschooler, Ruby is no longer a toddler but a little girl, and Charlie is the toddler. Parenting is one of the most rewarding things in my life! These kids have made us so proud! They have learned and developed so much in this single year. They are also behaving better and showing signs of their maturity. I cherish the moments that we have had this year with them. We are sooo incredibly blessed.

Each day there are many choices to make but there are three decisions I made in 2011 that stand out to me. Choice 1: I decided (twice) to do a Beth Moore bible study. It seemed like an easy enough thing to do and an easy decision to make. And it is one that has brought me closer to the Lord. Choice 2: I made the decision to run a 25k (and Jordan made this decision as well). That was something that had seemed completely impossible to me. I truly believed that I was setting myself up for failure. There was no way I'd be able to do this. But I took it one day at a time and pushed myself further each day. It was never easy but always fulfulling. It brought me closer to the Lord, it disciplined me in many areas, it cleared my head, it gave me energy, it gave me alone time, it empowered me, and occasionally it gave me shin splints. But as you can see, the benefits outweighed the cost. And I completed a 25k race. Choice 3: was whether or not to go on the Guatemala mission trip. We did go and it was a life-changer. It brought me closer to the Lord, it was a time of some personal reflection, it was a time void of all fear, it is a highlight of my life. Once we returned home, we realized that there was no cost at all of going on the trip. All of the things we thought it would 'cost' for us to go were far outweighed by the benefits of going. All of these little decisions yeilded eternal results. And each of these things took some courage on my part. This courage resulted in opportunites to grow in my relationship with Christ.

This year gave way to some reality checks in the sense that the reality is the kingdom of God. My uncle Bern died this year and it was a reminder that we are not in control and we have no way of knowing when our time is up. But what we do know is that everyday counts, some things are deposits into the eternal reality.

So far this year, I've been doing some thinking about a resolution. In 2011, though it wasn't intentional, I was courageous in some things and what a thrill it was. So I've thought of some goals for 2012 that I want to accomplish and I'm going to evaluate them to see what is required of me.

Goals for 2012: to learn more about and grow in Christ, to sacrifice more of my time to my family to ensure that we are forming deep relationships with each other and with God, to be more generous with my time and money especially including random acts of kindness, to run 500 miles and to take better care of my body.

My overall resolution is to be intentional with how I use my time. To make my time count. To make time for devotions and prayer, to make time for Jordan and the kids, to make time for others, and to make time for myself as well. I'm going to have to be intentional about all of these things since they don't always happen on their own. Faith, family, and God's family are what I think my core values should be. If I discipline myself in doing what I can to take care of those most important things, then I'm hoping everything else on my self-improvement and to-do list will fall into place.

Happy New Year.

ah, the holidays

2011-12-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

We had a great holiday season around here. Jordan was laid off between Thanksgiving and Christmas and though we really wish he were busier, it was also very fun to just hang out! We love having daddy home! There were many late nights, sleep-in mornings, family shopping trips, visits with grandparents, movie days/nights, and lego building. For once, I didn't feel so busy with the holidays. We had just as much going on but Jordan was a big help around the house and even gave me some breaks from the kids! He is back to work now which is also a blessing.

Christmas was a blast. It really does get to be more fun as the kids get older and enjoy it. We didn't get our kids too many gifts knowing that the grandparents would improvise- and did they ever! We had both immediate family parties on Christmas Eve. One in the morning, then church, then one in the evening. Christmas day began with another party and that night, we did our own little Christmas party with the kids. They were exhausted after the weekend but they did so great for all of them.

These holidays always seem to remind us of how much we have to be thankful for. We are all in great health, we are warm in our house, we have food on the table every night, we are able to buy presents for our loved ones, and most importantly we can have joy in knowing that we have salvation in Jesus. The only reason for the season. And my prayer for you, the reader, is that you have accepted this perfect gift and embrace it as well.

Blessings!

And here are some random snapshots of our holiday season:

Charlie thouroughly enjoyed playing with Jordan's Star Wars ornaments...

...and Harry Potter legos with dad...

and our ukelele!

Isaiah 9:6

mas chichi pics

2011-11-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

chichi pics

2011-11-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

guatemala

2011-11-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a hard post for me. Maybe that's why it's about a month overdue. Chichicastenango. That's where we went. We went there to build homes for widows. We went there to be a blessing to the people. But we were the ones who were truly blessed. I'm going to try to keep this to the point but my heart SWELLS WITH LOVE for this city.

We worked through Pray America which has only been around for about 8 years. The man who founded it, Ron Morin, heard God's audible voice about His will for Ron's life. Ron has been obedient to that plan and Pray America is now responsible for bringing so many blessings to this city and the surrounding areas as well as the gospel to this Mayan culture. Pray America has created new ways to purify water (a big problem in this land), has built a home for abused girls in the area to teach them about Christ as well as to rehabilitate them, there is a shoe factory where shoes are produced to give away to children so that they might have a chance to attend school, and there are feeding programs in which hundreds of kids attend a bible lesson and singing/dancing time and afterwards recieve a free meal (which is a BIG DEAL to them). And then there is Manos de Jesus which is the 'branch' of the ministry that we worked out of. We built four homes for widows (each with a bunch of kids) and we installed 4 stoves (another big deal!) for four different families. We had a blast getting to know the people and building as well!

At each of the homes, we distributed clothing, toys, and shoes. We also shared the story of Christ with many children, young adults, and widows. The adults mostly just speak the Qui Che language but the children knew spanish so we were able to translate through them. And the language wasn't even a barrier! We witnessed many people committing their lives to Christ for the first time. And it was evident that the Holy Spirit was with us in those times! We sang around a dying woman and again, we felt God's presence. We were passing out shoes one day and all of a sudden, there were at least 30 people crowded around us and our little duffle bag of shoes. After a quick prayer over the bag, we continued to try them on the people one by one. And the last person who needed shoes got the very last pair. Everyone got the right size and the pair appropriate to their gender. God was in that, too! We just saw Him everywhere and we felt Him working on our hearts. I'm not sure why it was any different over there, really. At home there are also opportunities to witness, opportunities to sing in places we normally wouldn't go, opportunities to give, opportunities to love. Perhaps we're too busy, too self-centered, too embarrassed. I'm not sure but I know it's been tugging at my heart ever since I've returned.

We were so blessed at the feeding programs for the children as well. The kids immediately loved us, knowing that through our financial support they were recieving an extra meal. The program began with great singing and dancing that we joined in with, each of us in our own little crowd of children. One thing that really moved me in this time was how physical the kids wanted to get. They wanted to be held, hugged. They just had to touch. This must have been how Jesus felt, really. And their eyes just glistened with joy when they stared at us. We only knew one song that they sang, 'Jesus Loves Me'. We sang it in English while they sang it in their language. So moving. Next, a lesson follows the worship. The children would then all huddle around what must have been the oldest sibling or friend and that kid would begin to take notes. They would fill their one sheet of paper and begin to write on their hands... and then on their arms! It was so amazing to see this happening. Then the kids were led out one by one to get a bowl of food (rice and a little chicken). And upon recieving that bowl of food, almost every kid took out a plastic bag and began to scoop the food into that bag to bring home to their families. The host missionary of Manos de Jesus later told us that there was a time when he had held up a bowl for a child to lick it clean while his bag was full. I pictured these children as if they were my own. And it was heart-wrenching. Again, is this what Jesus felt? Is it what He feels?

Jordan and I had a tugging on each of our hearts to go on this trip. We blew it off until the night before we had to give the thumbs up. And I am so grateful that we said 'yes' to God's plan. We had a great team, we raised above and beyond what we had to (and actually our team altogether raised over $2500 extra!), we didn't miss our kids AT ALL which was totally a God thing, and we got to be a part of something SO MUCH BIGGER than we are!!!

God is still at work in this world. He is very much alive. Lives are being saved everyday. And we were honored to have been used to advance the Kingdom of God. So if you ever feel even the tiniest bit of a nudge toward any kind of mission work, even if it's right outside your front door - DO IT! OBEY! You will recieve a BLESSING! This trip did so much for my personal relationship with Jesus! Jordan and I continually talk about this place and we anxiously look forward to our return to this place that is so dear to our hearts.

As we rode down the mountainside, out of town, we sang together as a group 'God of this City':

"There is no one like our God

For greater things are yet to come,

Greater things are still to be done

in this city."

monstar dash

2011-11-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and Crystal, Jordan and me and the girls went to Chicago on the Saturday before Halloween (which happened to be Ruby's birthday as well) to cheer on the guys as they ran in the Monster Dash. They completed a half marathon- their first! Jordan had been having knee issues beforehand and he was in pain after the first mile already. But he completed the race. (Now, three weeks later, he is still in pain and we're hoping there wasn't permanent damage done). We could tell Jordan was in pain as he crossed the finish line. Both of his legs were locked up. We had brought along his massage therapist for such an event and she was able to temporarily relieve the pain with the help of Natalie and Ruby as well (that's me trying to tell a joke).

We spent the rest of the day downtown shopping. Both of the girls took some of their money from home and each of them bought a necklace. There were many different charms on chains for them to pick from. In the end, Natalie decided on a flip-flop with crystals and Ruby decided on a stilleto high heel with crystals. She calls it her slipper bracelet. It was a gorgeous fall day and the girls had a great time. Ruby took an awesome 2+ hour nap. We had left home at 6am and didn't leave the city until 6pm. The girls cried for about 15 minutes on our walk back to the car but other than that, they were amazing!

rubyshoot

2011-11-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

A small photoshoot. She is a hard one to get pictures of because she never wants to do things 'my way' and she has no sit in her. So I've got to just stumble upon photo opportunities and shoot away.

ruby's three

2011-11-14T10:43:00.000-08:00

First of all, I just have to say that I am going a little out of order here in the next few blog posts. That drives me crazy. I don't do this blogging for anyone's enjoyment (although I know people appreciate the posts) but I blog for the memories. One day, these 'cyber pages' will be made into a little keepsake book for our family. I'm going out of order though because there is a Guatemala post coming up that'll probably be pretty lengthy and it's already a month overdo. So I thought I'd at least get some of these little posts out of the way!

So this post, as you may have guessed, is about Ruby turning 3. Ruby continues to be our free-spirited little girl. She still loves to play mostly dress-up and with her babies as she also loves to be motherly. Ruby is just so fun! She's always got a smile on her face and in her eyes, even when she's trying to be tough. We've been doing our own little 'school' occasionally when Natalie is at school and I must say that I've seen some improvement in her knowledge! Ruby is so full of life and attitude and I have a feeling that she is going to be that stereotypical middle child who gives their parents a run for their money. I think she's out of the 'terrible twos'. Yay! We primarily had to deal with her yelling at us and verbally abusing us (no biggie!) but I think we've gotten that under control now or maybe I should say 'for now'.

We had a birthday party with the whole family on the Sunday following her birthday. She got loads of new toys that she has played with everyday since and a new dress that, in the first week of recieving it, she wore 4 times. I believe that dress was actually her favorite gift! Ruby is always putting on make-up, dressing up, and doing her hair. It's all cute during the day until before bedtime when there are a bazillion different outfits all over the floor! On her birthday, I had her in a cute little dress and before the party, she insisted that I let her do her own hair. She put some random bows and barrettes in... looked kind of tacky but it's her party, right?! So seconds before the first of the family members show up, Ruby comes out with her ballerina outfit on with her pretty dress bunched up underneath! She was quite a sight! But she can see the beauty in anything so we let her keep it on. And she is actually quite the fashionista. She puts a lot of thought into what she wears and sometimes, her style is impressive. Just not on this birthday. Anyways, we had a great weekend celebrating Ruby's birthday and we are so grateful to God for our precious and exuberant Ruby!

This first picture is, to my knowledge, an original creation of hers that has yet to hit the runway.

And this is her in all of her third-birthday-party-glory.

This was what she transformed into by the end of the party.

Ruby: identified as a precious gem that is warm and fiery, absolutely undiluted, vivacious, passionate, and powerful.

Yes.

That. is. Ruby.

pumpkins and raspberries

2011-11-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

We thought it would be fun to go to a pumpkin patch with the kids this year to pick out our pumpkins. We went to Redberry Farms but the pumpkin patch was closed that day. So instead, we just bought some pumpkins and we were able to pick some very yummy raspberries! There were also a bunch of animals to check out. It was a fun 'family afternoon' before heading off to Guatemala.

ramblings

2011-09-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

I realized I've been getting behind on posting so I figured I'd better catch-up before our trip to Guatemala that's coming up. Soooo.... I'll start with Natalie. She started preschool this year! She is loving it so far! She was very shy at the open house and almost started to cry even which we were shocked at. But the first day rolled around and we haven't had any problems. I just cannot believe that she is old enough to go to school - she's still my baby!! There are four other VanderZwaag descendants in the same preschool year (different class times) at Borculo Christian and my uncle is the principal. So that is kind of special for me! And... (this is getting added into the post way after the fact-I think my brain is trying to erase the memory) I picked Natalie up 25 minutes late on her first day of school! I had the wrong time! I felt terrible. And I was so embarassed! But at least she didn't seem to mind. Never again...!

Ruby is very jealous that she can't go to school with Natalie. I maybe should have done threeschool with her but I wasn't ready to send her off just yet! I've been trying to do some 'schooling' with Ruby while Natalie is gone. It's been going ok but I'm hoping to get more of a routine down! I haven't worked with Ruby as much as far as shapes, colors, and letters go. I feel like I was able to give Natalie more attention seeing that she and I had more time alone than I will have had with the other two. So I'm really looking forward to spending some time with just Ruby (Charlie takes a little nap while Natalie's at school). Ruby is a hoot! You never know what she's going to say... or wear! She is changing so much. And definately making the transition from toddler to little girl.

Charlie has been doing some changing as well. He has been walking since the end of August and getting pretty fast. He can't quite run away from us yet but he's getting closer. And he is starting to get into everything! He loves to sit on the bathroom floor and make a mess with the toilet paper! The other day, he went 'missing' and I was seriously starting to panic when I saw that the shower curtain was tucked into the tub the tiniest bit and sure enough, he was sitting in the tub. He's getting much more vocal as well. He knows how to sign 'more' and 'milk' but if I'm not looking at him, how's he supposed to get that through to me. So he yells! He can say 'mama' (but he only does if he's mad), 'gary', 'dada', and 'num-num'. He's copies everything the girls do and they all think it's hilarious!

Jordan and I have been busy working on the house (hopefully I'll have pics to follow soon when it gets completely done!). We're also trying to prepare for our trip to Guatemala that is coming up soon. I'm getting nervous and scared to leave my kids. Also, I'm feeling very overwhelmed with everything I think I need to accomplish. I've also been very busy with massage and with spa parties. God has been blessing us tremendously as usual! I contributed all of my massage earnings for the month of August to our trip and we raised just over $600 in one month! That is nothing short of a miracle because I have never made that much in one month! I'm hoping that maybe I can blog about Guatemala while we're there....

Also, on September 9, my uncle Bern died. He fought a cancerous brain tumor and the tumor won, but really, so did my uncle. He is now in his eternal home. The funeral was a beautiful celebration of his life and we truly do celebrate that he is much better off in Heaven. It just kind of makes you come back to reality when someone dies, you know? Everyday is not just another ordinary day. It really could be our last. And we all have to face it that life does not go on forever but that someday, we will be face to face with Jesus. It just really makes this urgency come up inside of me. Am I living for God? Am I sharing my faith with everyone? Is He the center of my universe? If you know me, you know that I am always in a hurry. I have too much to do all the time and it's all by my own doing. But am I urgently pursuing God's will for my life? Am I making time to worship Him? Sometimes the 'here and now' isn't the reality I should be focusing on since our lifetimes are just a vapor in time. Whenever I lose someone in my life, it really makes me stop and think about what I'm busying myself with and about the kind of legacy I hope to leave behind. My uncle definately left a great legacy. He knew what was important in this lifetime. My aunt Jan gave Jordan and I a large amount of money to go on this trip. She said that Bern was visited by a friend, while in Hospice, that did a lot of mission trips and Bern told his friend that if/when he would get out of Hospice, that he was going to do these trips as well. So my aunt told me that the money was given in his honor. And what an honor it is for us to accept that gift and to use our full potential while on this trip. And isn't it the same for life? Jesus gave His life for us, why shouldn't I use my life to honor Him not for just one week while in Guatemala but for all of my days?! Ok, I'm just rambling now. Anyways, my feelings are all over the place with this trip. So excited to go and serve and so sad to leave my kids!

I guess that's about everything that's new with us. Hopefully the next update will be while we're in Guatemala or once we're home. Pray for us :)

Natalie on her first day (these are all fake smiles!)

my crazy girls...

and my little monkey!

charlie photoshoot

2011-09-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

These are Charlie's one year pictures that I took in August. He's changed so much again though, so I should take some more soon.

natalie pictures

2011-09-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here are Natalie's four year old pictures that I'm just a couple months behind on. We took them in the 10 minutes we had to spare before we had to leave for school. And that's the way to do it... fast and painless for us both!

summer is for....

2011-09-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

selling veggies that we grew....

and giving away some gumballs, too.

fried green tomatoes are a tasty snack,

bugs Natalie catches that I make her put back.

sunday afternoon drives...

bathing suits...

bike rides.

warm afternoons playing in the sand,

many tomatoes waiting to be canned.

raw corn on the cob is what Ruby likes best,

but now it's time to put summer to rest.

muddy moms

2011-09-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

The last Saturday of August, Elsie, Tori, Brooke, and I got down and dirty at the 2nd annual G.R. Mudrun! It was a 5k race with mud obstacles. We had a BLAST! I'm definately going to do it next year and you should too... so fun! So here are some pictures that Jordan was able to get of us!

This was at the starting line (notice how clean we are!)

The girls didn't want to touch me but they cheered me on!

chichicastenango...

2011-08-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

... it's where we'll be in 2 months! What?! You've never heard of it?!

Me neither.

It's in Guatemala. Jordan and I will be going with 10 others from our church. We'll be working with Pray America which is an amazing organization! Check out their website. Pray America focuses on the needs of the MANY widows and children in the area. Our team will be building houses for widows and participating in various feeding programs. We'll also just be building relationships and showing the people some love. Pray America has built over 600 homes, after which the women and children are invited to come to a weekly dinner followed by Bible study. Most of these women turn from their Mayan religion and become believers. The children are also fed and taught Bible studies. We've heard some awesome stories come out of this area! God is at work!!

We had been wanting to go on this Guatemala trip for a few months prior to officially signing up. As we dug into it a little more, though, we kind of got freaked out! During the final 'decision week', we were totally distracted and didn't give much thought and prayer to it. We had kind of just said, 'not now' until the night before we had to give our answer. When I came home that night, Jordan was doing a Bible study and he announced to me, 'we have to go'. We talked about it and realized that all of our 'reasons' not to go were actually 'excuses'. We believe that the devil was working hard that entire week to keep us distracted and, quite honestly, scared. We were scared to cover the cost of this trip, scared for Jordan to take off of work, scared to leave our kids, scared of how God might use us, and scared to commit time into our group and fundraisers. Even now as I write, I still have concerns. But we have both felt this nudging to go and we're just going to jump in and hope/pray for the best!

That being said, if you're a believer in prayer, will you pray for us and our team as well? And if you have a desire to give, let me know :) Our team would sure appreciate it!

charlie's birthday

2011-08-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

before haircut

during (obviously!)

after; 'Ta-da!'

to exercise...

2011-08-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

...or not to exercise...

That has been the nagging question in my head! After the 25 k, I pretty much just quit! And I can tell. I haven't had as much energy or drive, I can tell that my eating habits have worsened, and my pants have gotten tighter. Darn it! Why did I quit such a good thing? Now I feel like I have gone backwards. Even though I haven't gained anything back, I can tell I am losing muscle. But Jordan and I are feeling motivated again to get into shape. I am doing the Grand Rapids Mud Run at the end of August so now I have something to work for. It's a 5k obstacle course through the mud. I am doing it with a team of 3 other mothers I know from church. Our team name is 'Muddy Moms'! I am super excited! So Jordan and I ran tonight (separately because Charlie was asleep!) and we feel like our mentalities have suddenly changed for the better! I have been making excuses all summer and now I am choosing....

....to exercise!

charlie's first

2011-08-03T19:17:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is ONE! Charlie turned one on July 30. We had a party for him on Friday night with our family. I think he had a good time! He didn't really get the opening presents thing but he liked all of them and he has been playing with his new toys more than his old toys! He enjoyed digging into his chocolate cake but only with little bites at a time, he didn't get crazy with it! And when the cake was about 1/3 of the way gone, he pushed the plate away! We also hauled out our enormous slip-n-slide which the kids thoroughly enjoyed! That night we had 6 of our neices and nephews sleep over. We gave them pop, junk food, and popcorn while they watched PG-13 movies, and we let them stay up til 11:30! The next morning they were back at it on the slip-n-slide. After they left, we took naps and then went out to Grand Haven for the Coast Guard Festival. We didn't get to the carnival. We got food, walked the board walk, went to the beach and played in the water for awhile (which was amazing!!), then got ice cream. We walked back to where we had parked and let the kids play in the park until we got creeped out by all of the 15-20 somethings that were just sitting around in the playarea. Can't trust anyone these days.... The next day we had a pool party for Jordan's aunt and uncle that had come to MI from Iowa. So it was another busy weekend but very enjoyable.

Charlie is my smile-maker! He's always got a smile on his face which puts a smile on mine. He can say 'dada', 'mama', and 'no-no'. He likes to shake his head 'yes' and 'no'. He dances all the time lately when the girls play the piano or when Natalie sings about what she is doing (which is constantly)! Today I was telling Charlie to say 'mama' because he hardly ever does and he kept saying 'dada'. So then I'd tickle him and he was laughing harder than I've ever heard him before. I am just so sure that he knew what he was doing! He can do the sign for 'more' and he tries to say it as well. He gives me hugs everytime I get him from his crib. He loves his daddy and his sisters so much! I'll try to get kisses from him lately but he'll only kiss when he sees Jordan do it first, then he's all about it! In honor of Charlie's first birthday, I gave him his first haircut. He had quite a few fly-aways and especially long hair on the top of his head and at the ears. And now he's lost his baby look!

It has been so amazing to see Charlie grow up in his first year. I wouldn't trade one day of it. Why is it so hard for me to let go? When I think of how Charlie and I would cuddle while he ate, I want to cry because I long to do that again. And when I think of how we could just sit and stare into each others' eyes.... now he has no sit left in him! And the first time I met him.... I would do it all over again. Feeling him do sumersaults in my tummy.... Can you tell I have the 'baby itch' again?! (Don't get your hopes up!!) I just can't believe that God would entrust to ME these three children. That is so humbling! I better stop this sentimentalism now though before I start rambling! I know I've said this all before.

So... Happy First Birthday, Charlie love! You'll always be my little man.

summer-lovin'

2011-08-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

our summer

2011-07-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

We've been having a great summer so far. It feels like we've been too busy, though. I still want us to get to the beach more often. It's just a little hard to get there with Charlie being so little yet. The girls have been having a great time playing with all of the neighborhood kids on our street. For a couple weeks, we had nightly baseball games going on in our yard. Now we've got a huge slip-n-slide that has become the new attraction. Natalie enjoyed a couple of churchs' vbs programs, swimming lessons, and in June she learned to ride her bike without training wheels. Our strategy with that was that we kept bending the training wheels up so she had to learn to balance herself. Then we loosened the bolts on the wheels so that eventually they just fell off when she was riding. And now she is zooming all over the place. Ruby still just loves to play with her babies. She is such a little mother to everyone and everything. My niece, Ava, and Ruby are best friends. Ruby's language skills are improving and I'm already starting to miss that Ruby jibberish! Charlie just had his first birthday! He isn't walking yet, just speed crawling everywhere! He has been enjoying the sand box and playing with his sisters. His language is really starting to pick up too. He was singing in the car yesterday!

Jordan and I have been busy.... Jordan was laid off for a week but he's been keeping busy enough with side jobs. He just put in a lot of work in my mom's kitchen. Jordan and 2 of our guy friends went on an 80 mile kayaking trip in the beginning of June. They started in Grayling and worked their way down. It was pretty cold that week (4os and 5os) but they had a good time. It took them 3 days. Jordan and I just did the Holland Hundred bike event for our church. We raised money for wells in Zambia, Africa. We biked for 36 miles which was a little much for me! I was tired but more than that, I just found it hard to breathe. Not sure why.... But I'm glad we did it and maybe next year I'll have to train for it! We also went to the midnight viewing of the very last Harry Potter movie with our friend, Sara. Good movie, interesting crowd....! We're about to be getting into tomatoes so I'll be getting busy with canning soon. Jordan traded his white Dodge Ram for a Pontiac Vibe. It was a good trade. There is more value in the car than in the truck! And 28 miles to the gallon versus 10 mpg with the truck! I had a terrible wisdom tooth extraction experience. I was tortured for about 15 minutes while the dentist tried to yank out and drill the rest of the wisdom tooth that remained after he had cracked the top off. A month later, I can finally yawn without pain. I actually got dry socket from the whole experience. Vicodin didn't even touch the pain. But my awesome husband went out at 11p one night to pick me up some oil of cloves which is the only thing that would touch the pain. It was actually a very nice dentist and he felt really bad that I got the dry socket since it probably happened because of the trauma. So lesson learned (a little late, I might add): get your wisdom teeth out BEFORE they come through! Wisdom is knowledge rightly applied!

As for the rest of the summer, neither Jordan or myself have been running but we hope to start up again soon (we've been saying that all summer!). I just signed up with some friends from church for the Grand Rapids Mud Run at the end of August so I have to get exercising again! This year we also tripled (at least!) the size of our garden! We're happy we did it but it is consuming much more of my time than I wanted it to! I am constantly weeding! Everything is coming up good though. But something I have to make more time for: the beach! Me and the kids just love to go, and I wouldn't mind getting a beach day without the kids too maybe!

Enjoy the rest of August!!

natalie's four

2011-07-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated four incredible years of Natalie! We threw one party before her birthday and one a few days after. She enjoyed reminding us that is was her birthday weekend. She had fun at both of her parties but she was so shy when it came to opening her presents!

Even though it's such a gradual change, having a four year old is so different from the three year old stage. This summer, she's been hanging out with all of her neighborhood friends. It started with a boy named Alec whom she got the biggest crush on. It started that they would ride their bikes together or play with his pet bunny and in no time at all, the flirting began! Jordan and I watched one day as he rode his bike over to our house to tell her a secret, she blushed and giggled, and then he rode back home. I thought it was so cute but it bothered Jordan. One night she prayed for him and when Jordan asked why she liked Alec so much she said, "because I love him!" But she's over him now :)

We had a couple of not-so-fun weeks there surrounding her birthday. She began testing us all the time and crying over everything and it felt like we were constantly getting after her! I don't know where that came from but as quick as it came, it has once again left us.

Natalie still loves to act like she's an animal! She's gotten really good at running on all fours, she makes what she thinks are dinosaur sounds, and she does these cute bird kisses where she does this puckered mouth and big eyes and comes at us moving her head from side to side! She really pays attention to detail! She's an amazing artist, too and she's getting really good at hitting a (plastic!) baseball! I don't mean to brag... I just want to remember these things :)

She has brought us SO MUCH JOY and I just praise God that He has given us these four fabulous years with her.

Making her birthday dessert

cramming everyone into our living room for the party!

broken

2011-06-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Please keep my Uncle Bern and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Doctors discovered a tumor on his brain that is cancerous and inoperable a couple of months ago. He has now begun chemo treatments. God seems to be giving the family the strength and peace that they need as He always does. And we just continue to pray for a positive outcome. One fear that I face almost daily is 'what would I do if something happened to Jordan, Natalie, Ruby, or Charlie.' I worry about others too but I feel I am responsible for these special four (and I'm just a little head-over-heels in love with them). But God always reminds me that there is nothing broken here on earth that heaven will be unable to restore. I really don't know why I feel compelled to write this down. I guess my heart is just a little heavy today thinking of my aunt and uncle. We just never know what hardships life has in store for us. Someday, we will experience that perfect place free from pain and grief!

silver

2011-06-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

We took our annual Silver Lake Memorial Day Camping Trip once again. It was a bit chilly but we still managed to have a good time. Charlie was not such a happy camper. He has allergies so being in a tent for 3 days was kind of miserable for him; he just wasn't himself. Heidi, Jena, and myself enjoyed a Sara Evens concert on Saturday (love her!) and our friends all had a good time on the go-karts that night, maybe a little too much fun which is also a tradition! On Sunday, the sun finally broke through the clouds and instantly warmed the place up. We were able to take the boat across the lake to enjoy the dunes which we were so thankful for. We were only there for a couple hours, though, before we checked the radar and saw a storm coming in an hour. We packed up our tents as fast as we could. Jordan and I were cramming everything into our bags, baskets, and van when we looked over to see that Aaron and Heidi filled their pack-n-play and just threw it in their truck bed (which had a cap)! We packed up just before the rain hit. The girls had a great time. They rode their bikes all weekend and had a blast going to the public restrooms MULTIPLE times a day. They also climbed up the dunes TWICE and enjoyed a couple of boat rides! Maybe Charlie will enjoy camping a little more next year!

Check out all of our crap! Not included in this picture: 2 kayaks, 4 bikes, bike trailer, camping chairs, tarp. Jordan said, "there's gotta be something we can eliminate from this pile," so he removed the hot-dog fork that you see standing in the back.....

....though you can't see it, later I noticed that Jordan had added Ruby's baby's stroller to the pile that was 'too big' to begin with!

baby's getting a tan....

Charlie wasn't so sure at first about this new texture....

....but he decided he loved it!

The awesome pictures are courtesy of Lucas Sweet! Love this one!!

This one reminds me of Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber :)

Alec and Charlie!

Lucky us: we didn't have to wade through the (shallow) cold water to get into Brad's boat to cross over to the dunes!

Another great weekend with dear friends!

john ball

2011-06-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

zoo.

My mom took the whole fam to the zoo on a perfect Sunday in May. It was a 'mystery trip' that she had been planning for awhile. We had a great time, too. We were impressed with the zoo as well, it was much better than any of us had remembered it being! There were kangaroos to pet and sting-rays, the kids fed birds and took a camel ride. Mom topped it all off with ice cream (after having cake upon arriving) and a trip to the gift store. The kids were exhausted after walking in the heat but we all had such a great time. Thanks, mom!

ice cream

2011-06-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

charlie at nine months

2011-05-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

My baby.

Nine months.

Unbelievable.

I'm not even going to mention it again that time goes way too fast. Charlie has 6 teeth now and the top 4 look like vampire teeth! Charlie is just such a happy little guy! He can pull himself up really well and walk slowly around furniture but doesn't walk yet (which is a relief!) He loves to eat! He has been sleeping through the night for awhile now and that is great although cuddling in the middle of the night is just priceless! (I say that now that I'm getting sleep every night!) Charlie is in the 25th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. He's 19 pounds and 27 and three-quarter inches. He is cuddly but active, laid-back yet determined! He doesn't say much yet but he did start to say 'mama' now! I usually only hear it when he's upset, though! He's been saying 'dada' for a lot longer. He LOVES bathtime! He gets so hyper and he can about pull himself up and over into the tub! And, of course, he's still in love with his sisters and Gary! We just love our little man so much and it's so fun to see his personality come out more everyday!

annual dandelion festival

2011-05-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

This was Jordan and my 6th year going to the Borculo Dandelion Festival (minus one year for me due to being a bridesmaid!) The girls loved it! Jordan and I were a little bummed that there wasn't a family fun run this year. We thought maybe we'd try to take over for next year and make it a bigger deal...? We'll see!

This first picture was during the parade. Notice all of the kids are bothered by the loud noises of the fire trucks except Ruby! And Ruby is such a foghorn that now I wonder if she doesn't have the best hearing and that is why she doesn't listen to us....?! Just a thought!

first 25k

2011-05-16T18:19:00.000-07:00

We did it! We crossed the finish line at 2:38:03, the same time. We held hands as we crossed and raised them in the air so that hopefully we only have to purchase one picture! Our race started at 8:20 and we parked the car at 8:10. We had stopped to get some ponchos and an armband for Jordan's ipod. It made us much later than what we planned for! We ran to the start of the race and got there just in time to hear the horn signaling the beginning of the race. So we got a couple minutes break before we had to run again! We were lucky that the rain held off for us. On our way to the race, it was downpouring. The 5k and 10k racers were drenched and we only had a little drizzle. We maybe could have shaved 10 minutes off of our time if we didn't stop to go to the bathroom 3 times between the 2 of us. But then maybe we wouldn't have been able to run the whole thing. For not training much for the past month, I think we did pretty well. We felt great until the last mile. Jordan's calves both locked up so he couldn't really use them without feeling pain. He was running like Forrest Gump when he's still in his leg braces. Then, just as we saw the finish line, he said he had to throw up. I prayed so hard that we would make it to the finish! And we did! Jordan was leaning on me as soon as we crossed and some medic came to his side right away and led us to a tent full of runners that were laying down or getting massaged. Jordan didn't think that that was quite necessary though. I'm writing this post 2 days after the race and Jordan and I are still sore! We are very happy to be done with the training for it but now we are considering a marathon in the fall. We're this close so I feel like we better just keep going. But for the first week in 9 months and one week, I don't think I'm going to run a single day!

april....

2011-05-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

...where did it go? We had a great month! I just looked back in my planner and there are only 5 days out of the 30 that don't have anything written on them.

We started out the month with a trip to the Frederick Meijer Gardens to see the butterfly exhibit. We enjoyed it and so did the girls but we don't think it's quite worth all of the hype. The butterflies don't exactly flock over to you if you're wearing a bright color! But we're still glad we tried it out!

We celebrated Easter in there, too. The girls and I enjoyed making some different spring treats. It's so much fun to let the girls get in on the fun. We did some nests and they thought that was pretty awesome and cake pops which were cute and delicious!

The kids were healthy for about three weeks and then Natalie got pink eye. And then Charlie. And then Ruby. They all got over it right away but Charlie seemed miserable and got a fever so I brought him in and he had an ear infection as well. He was on amoxicillin for almost a week and then broke out in hives all over his body. He's allergic, probably, to penicillin. At that same appointment, I had Ruby checked out as well because she hadn't been acting herself and she had an ear infection as well! She has a very high pain tolerance, I think, because I'd been asking her about her ears all week and she said that they didn't hurt. All of the kids are back on their feet again. Now we just have to get Jordan better (allergies?)

We had some great weather this month! I think the kids and I spent more time outside than in which is awesome! We have tans and sunburns already! The midwest states have had record-breaking tornadoes in the month of April and now in May. My heart just breaks for those people. There are so many stories of children getting sucked out of their parents arms and one spouse being left alive while the other right next to them disappears. Can you imagine? It is heart-wrenching! We have so much to be grateful for!

Jordan's been working up in St. Ignace a lot lately and we miss him so much when he's gone! We make up for his absence on the weekends where I feel like the girls and I can't get enough of him! We think he's done up there now. Hats off to all the single mothers out there! I wouldn't be able to manage my home without Jordan and I pray that I never have to! We sent him some pictures when he was gone....

And last but not least, we attended the royal wedding of Will and Kate! I woke up early to watch it and Ruby (who was in bed with me at the time) watched the first hour or so with me. Ruby never lets me watch a program without her approval (so I never get the remote when she's in the room!) but she didn't make me turn this off (which is lucky for her because I wouldn't have given in!) And then Natalie joined us and couldn't believe that princesses were for real. So there I lay in bed with my very own princesses watching this historical event! A little later, I was holding Charlie while standing inches away from the tv, waiting for the royal kiss and I looked down at him and he was leaning in to kiss me! It was an enjoyable morning until everyone got crabby from how early we had all gotten up!

So there's our month in review :)

almost here...

2011-05-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Question: How long (as in weeks/months/years) can a person train on a treadmill for?
Answer: No longer than nine months.

That is how long I have been running now. And less than 10 of those runs have been outside. It's a mental thing, I know, but I CANNOT bring myself to run in my basement, staring at a wall, anymore. I don't know if I suddenly feel this way due to a change in the weather or out of boredom but I cannot will my body to step foot on that thing! And it's been almost impossible for me to get runs in outside because Jordan has been working up north in St. Ignace.

Our run is 4 days away, now. Two and a half weeks ago, Jordan and I completed a 14+ mile run in 2:16 which averages to a 9:45 pace. We're not exactly sure how far we went because both of our NikeFits are slightly off at times and we ran all over downtown Zeeland and can't remember our exact course. We do know that it was at least 14 miles. Either way, it was by far the farthest we've ever run.

After that run, however, we have both been slacking. Right when it seems we're at the top of our game, running gets hard. Not the physical part but the mental and time-consuming part. For me, it has just become enough. Enough of spending my one and only hour of alone time during the day (aka nap time) on the treadmill. Enough of trying to fit-in two showers in one day or holding off until the afternoon to take my first shower of the day. Enough of trying to arrange babysitters just so we can do a long run. I know it's good for me and I've really enjoyed training but I've had enough of prioritizing it. I still want to continue running and I'd love to train for a marathon eventually but there are just too many other things that I need to fit into my day. Jordan seems to have hit a wall as well and he's also had terrible allergies (at least that's what we think it is). He doesn't have much confidence that he'll be able to run it on Saturday.

Our nerves are getting the best of us, now. If you think of us on Saturday morning, lift us up in prayer, will you? Thanks.

P.S: A 25k is 15.5 miles, not 16.1 which is what I stated in the previous entry!

spring is here

2011-03-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

...but the winter weather hasn't completely gone away. It's an unusually cold spring so far (still in the 30s) but at least all of the snow is gone! Our kids have had coughs/colds for the last 6 weeks. All of them seem to be getting over it this week. Illness seems to have hit everyone hard this winter. We are so ready for warmer weather. Mom and Dad Barkel took the whole family to a hotel with a pool one weekend which was fun for everyone! The girls loved swimming again and I'm so anxious for pool/beach days this summer. I've been wanting to write for a long time again but have not had the time. I feel like we are still so busy these days. For me, some of it is work for other people (massages, sewing bags, babysitting) but I also pack a lot more into my day than necessary! Jordan and I have been tackling our endless house to-do list. Jordan completed my massage room and has now moved on to finish off the rest of our basement. He's making himself an official workshop and a family craft room. But he also has some more side jobs coming up that he'll have to commit himself to so it may be awhile until it is all finished. We are also 'life-leaders' with our church's middle school youth group now (which we are really excited about)! I also celebrated a birthday in there. Jordan surprised me with a cake and I'm not even ashamed to admit that we all finished it off over the rest of the night!! I don't really make much a deal out of my own birthday but this one kind of seemed like a milestone for me. I'm 25 now. Part of me thinks, 'that's it? that's young!' but the other part of me thinks, 'I'm a quarter of a century old and probably a quarter of the way done with my life!' Whoa! But I always have to remind myself to just live in the here and now. I don't want to keep looking backward while my life goes ever-faster forward. And I don't want to miss out on the present by dwelling on the future. I need to remember to appreciate the little moments of today! My sister and I have started this thing where every-other week we swap each other's kids and take a date night. So it works out that each of us and our husbands have one date per month. So on our last date, we made a bucket list for the rest of this year for different things we want to do with the family and accomplish. I think it's going to be a good thing to refer to when we find ourselves working too much. Family time is important to us! We just purchased a couple new kayaks and we're very anxious to try those out as well. One of the things on that bucket list is to run a 25k. And there are only 6 weeks left until we run it! We ran (just about!) 10 miles yesterday. It was our first long run outside together. It was much windier than we realized and cold! Our final 2.5 miles were into the wind. It was the hardest physical thing either of us had ever done but worth it :) I started running about 7.5 months ago and would never have believed that I'd be able to do it! And we started in January training for this 25k so I'm happy with our progress. It has been so rewarding! A 25k is 16.1 miles so not too much further to go, I guess! Two weeks ago, I started to cross train and take down the running a bit. I've been getting sore knees and burning toes about the last mile so I thought maybe I should lay off a little during the week. I've been doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred every other day and I really love it. It's not as monotonous as running everyday. Jordan has been doing very well with his training. We've both been incorporating speed intervals into our 'short runs' and this really seems to be working well for Jordan. He's gonna leave me in the dust! We thought that since we're this far into the training, we might as well go for a marathon. We were going to sign up for the Chicago Marathon in October but the sign up is full. The only way we can still enter is if we want to run for a charity. We would love to but we'll have to check into it a little more to see how much we'd have to raise. Charlie is officially crawling on his knees now and pulling himself up on to furniture. He's very active! He has also started to babble a lot more. He's going to be loud like Ruby. Ruby is completely potty-trained now which is so great! She still sleeps in a diaper but that's fine by me! And for diapers for Charlie, I've actually been using (nice) cloth diapers since he was 4 months old. I'll put him in a disposable if we go out or if someone else is going to be watching him but most of the time, he's in cloth. They're not as convenient but they save us a lot of money. I think we only spend about $8 on diapers each month versus like $60+ when we had both kids in disposable diapers! Natalie is changing a lot these days. She is growing up! She is always acting like a dog or a monster and she is always drawing or coloring. I save so many of her pictures because they are amazing for her age! The kids are so ready to go outside and play but it's still so cold and their colds have wore them out. We just bought Ruby a new bike and some helmets for both of them. We're tring out a balance bike for Ruby which it will be interesting to see if it works! Once again, soo ready to get outside to play! As usual, here are some pictures....

By the way, do not let this blog fool you that we are a nice little family. We are horrible people! Remember Bambi, the guinea pig, from the last post? I had stated in there something about not keeping him for long because he stinks.... Well, he is no longer a part of this family. He's dead and we killed him. Now before you turn me over to PETA let me explain. It wasn't intentional. We had a potential buyer that was waiting to check him out and we ran out of his hay/feed. So we just fed him veggies for a few days. Apparently, guinea pigs can't go more than a day or two without hay or feed or they go into irreversible liver failure. We laid Bambi to rest in a shoebox under a snowbank. Actually, I just tossed a couple of shovels of snow on top and when the girls weren't looking I threw him in the garbage! They were sad but not as sad as I thought they'd be. We still talk about him all the time though, because everytime we leave, Ruby shouts, 'bye Gary, bye Bambi'. And then Natalie uses her sweet voice to tell Ruby that Bambi is dead while Ruby very bluntly says, 'Bambi's dead!' You gotta know Ruby, she is so loud and matter-of-fact! So RIP, Bambi. Ruby was getting dressed for church today and I had to take this because it reminds me of Tom Cruise in 'Risky Business', doesn't it?!

Damsel in distress!

Natalie is picking up dog poop (this used to be Jordan's job!)

2011-02-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

Charlie is six months old now. He is sitting up by himself now and he is scooting all over the place. He will be crawling soon, I think, which is way too soon for me. He's still very content. We started him on rice cereal and baby food 2 months ago- he loves to eat! Now he's eating 'crumbs' we throw at him during dinnertime and cheerios. He doesn't have any teeth yet but munches it all down. I am in love with his cute chunky legs. When he was a newborn, he made me laugh because he had the skinniest legs I've ever seen on a baby and no butt! But now he's got gerth! He just had his 6month checkup. He's 16lbs 14oz and 26.25 inches long, in the 50th percentile all around. Charlie's sisters and the dog are his biggest entertainment. He can really get to giggling when Gary is whipping his toy around (so cute!) Charlie has always loved his bath times: he loves to splash and squeal while the girls and I wash him up. But lately, he just sits (in his very unsafe seat that I would never leave him unattended in!) hunched over with his head down while he pinches his you-know-what! Is that inappropriate? I don't care, it's so dang cute :)

Ruby is changing so much lately. She is growing and looking less like a toddler and more like a kid. Lately she is very attached to me. She's fine when I'm gone but when I'm around, she just has to be held. She still just loves her babies! She's sticking with her own little language and I love to converse with her! Most times I know what she's saying and it's kind of special to share your own little language with each other. Jordan taught Natalie and Ruby to snap their fingers so Ruby will snap and point at me and tell me to 'come here now!' We've been having issues with Ruby staying in her own bed all night, she always comes to ours. As much as I love cuddling with her, she is a pain to share a bed with. She constantly kicks and rolls. Ruby is cute and she knows how to use it to her advantage when she's getting disciplined. She looks up at us with big eyes and a sweet face (we compare her to Puss in Boots from Shrek 2 which also happens to be her favorite movie at this time!) Ruby prays the same prayer at every meal, 'help me make Jesus happy, help me make daddy happy, amen' (that's a slight translation for you). And unless Natalie taught her that, I think she came up with that herself!

Natalie has been into cooking bigtime! During Ruby and Charlie's naptime, I work on these bags that I sew and Natalie and I watch the Rachael Ray show together. And now Natalie is obsessed with cooking. So Natalie has helped out with every dinner I have made in the past two weeks. And it's a lot of fun to incorporate her into it! She is such a little lady. She talks to Jordan and I like she's an adult, too. Natalie loves doing crafts. We haul out our craft basket almost everyday so that Natalie can cut, glue, and color. Natalie really helps me out nowdays! She's good at picking up her room and we actually have little arguements about organizing. She likes it done a certain way that she thinks is better than my way! We'll be enrolling Natalie into preschool next year so that's a pretty big deal to Natalie and Jordan and I. She must be going through a major growth-spurt right now because she is always hungry. At first I was just brushing it off but then I would hear her stomach rumble. She eats cereal, toast, and a snack all before lunchtime!

We also have another addition to the family: Bambi. Bambi is a guinea pig that we got for free. His cage is in the girls' room which they love. I am not such a fan, however. Apparently, guinea pigs poop and pee and stink... who knew?! I appreciate our dog much more these days. Bambi will not be with us for long. I tried telling Natalie that we should give Bambi to a family that doesn't have any pets and she started to cry. Jordan thinks that if we get rid of Bambi the girls will forever be scared that we'll just get rid of them when we're sick of them! So now I don't know how to get rid of the darn thing. Jordan suggested that we play with it outside and lose him but I'm not that cruel either! Bambi is pretty cute though. I wonder if we could just swap him out with a stuffed toy....

So far, this year has been busy!! I can't believe we're more than a month into the new year already. Jordan has been busy working a side job and on my massage room (which is so close to being finished!!) and I've been busy painting at the same side job, sewing bags, babysitting, and massaging! It's good but I just feel like our family has been knocked off from our routine! The girls and I are definately feeling it. Ruby won't let go of me whenever I'm in sight and she hasn't been staying in her Sunday school class. Natalie and I have been at odds... she's talking back to me a lot so I have to get after her and then I hear her mumble as she stomps off that she doesn't like me :( Charlie is currently my easiest child!!

And the training for the 25k is going much better than I could have anticipated. The hardest thing about the training isn't actually the run itself but just making time for it. I'm hoping February won't be as crazy for us!

My photo assistants!!

so long, 2010

2011-01-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

Another year is over? How can that be possible? This has been another great year. There are definately many highlights but just to name a few... our first family trip to Florida, our great weekend camping at Silver Lake, the birth of our SON, and just enjoying life with each other. God is SO GOOD.

This year, Jordan was laid off a total of 5 weeks (I think) but everytime he was, he got more than enough work through side jobs. Business is getting slower and slower but we never worry anymore because God has proven that He'll be there for us. My massage 'business' has been on the slow side since I've had Charlie but that's ok because I was busy babysitting and sewing bags for extra money. But we're finishing off a room in the basement for my massage business (since Charlie took over the previous massage room) and then I'm hoping that I'll get busy again with it. We have been attending Engedi, our home church, for a year and a half now and we absolutely LOVE IT there. We went there once while looking for a church home and we knew after the first service that we wouldn't need to look any further. Something that has been on my heart lately that came with the Christmas season is to just ENJOY my family. So often, I have this detailed list of what I need to accomplish for the day or week. And I usually do accomplish a lot and I feel good about that but then what about the kids and Jordan? I don't neglect them by any means but they're not always priority. I've decided that it's ok to not get everything done in one day or one week if it's because I've been focusing more on my family. I can't get over how fast my kids are growing and I'll never get those moments back; such a cliche, I know, but it's so true. So that's sort of a resolution, I guess - to play and cuddle more!

Not only has this been a great year, it's been a great decade! Seeing how I've only been alive for two complete decades, I realize that's not saying a whole lot! But this has been my most life-changing decade and I think it forever will be. I started this decade as a kid at the awkward age of 14 in middle school. I had acne, crushes, and homework. I went on to high school, met Jordan, graduated, went to massage school, worked, got married, got pregnant, had the baby, quit working, had another baby, had yet another baby.... Now I'm finishing this decade at 24 as a woman, a wife, a mom. I have dirty diapers, a husband, and a mortgage... and so much more! That's life-changing! I'm sure the decades to come will be just as rewarding but this first decade of the second millenium will forever be precious to me.

christmas 2010

2011-01-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

We really enjoyed Christmas this year. I guess we always enjoy Christmas. But it's so fun to see the girls enjoy it and understand it better. We did Christmas chains and an advent calender with them this year which was a lot of fun. Both Natalie and Ruby really seemed to grasp the true meaning of Christmas already. They talked about Jesus' birthday more than they did about Santa and the presents. And, as usual, we were all spoiled with Christmas gifts from our parents. We've had the best week playing with all of the new toys.

We were so paranoid that our kids would get this flu bug that seems to be going around and sure enough, Natalie got sick the Sunday before Christmas and Charlie got sick the Monday after Christmas. It was short-lived but it's sad to see your kids miserable. I've never had a sick infant before. Charlie just laid in my arms and whimpered. I don't know how Ruby didn't get it because she always has her hands in her mouth. Hopefully she won't. And I have to throw this tidbit of info into this post somewhere for my own reference: Charlie has been sleeping through the night for 2 weeks now - yeehaw!

Here are a few pictures from Christmas. We hardly took any because we don't like our camera and these are the best ones we got!

my new goal

2010-12-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

My 'old' goal was to lose the 32 pounds I gained with Charlie and to lose it by Thanksgiving (4 months). And I did it! But now my new goal is to complete the Fifth-Third Riverbank 25K in May. Jordan and I have just begun training for it! Two years ago we did our first 5k and Jordan has done 3 since then. So we'll see....

Jordan is a good runner and doesn't have to train for long to go far distances (at least that's what I think). We're just hoping he doesn't get knee issues like he has in the past. And I have been running since one week after Charlie was born (so this is about week 17). I think I've averaged about 2 miles a day. I can run 3 miles straight which is something that I've never be able to do (or never pushed myself to do) and I know that I can go further but it's more of a 'time' issue for me. It seems like I usually have to stop because someone wakes up and needs breakfast, or Charlie gets fed up watching me from the floor. I don't know how we're going to each make time to run when it gets up to 5+ miles. I guess we'll have to take turns at night or run when everyone's asleep.

I've been running mostly on the treadmill- I've only run outside a few times when it was still nice out. I ran my personal best yesterday: 3 miles in 28:58. I think my first 5k was 32 something. And I feel GREAT from all this running. My friend Jamie said that if I kept going at it then eventually I would get to the point where I want to run, where I have to run and I'm THERE!!! If I go a day without running, my body is itching to run again. And where time used to kind of drag, it doesn't anymore because I enjoy it so much.

Jordan got me some running clothes and I feel like an 'official' runner now. It motivates me that much more. Also, I've lost 37 pounds since I've had Charlie!! I gained 32 pounds when I was pregnant with him and I lost 12 after I got home with him before I started running. So I owe 25 pounds to running and a little dieting! Maybe I'm just bragging now but I'm proud of myself for setting a goal and making it!! It wasn't easy though because it took about 3 months for me to actually start wanting to run. Otherwise I was forcing myself to 'just do it'. But it was sooo worth it!

Since I've had three kids in a 3 years and 1 month, my stomach is NOT what it used to be. And even after all this hard work for all these weeks, it's still not what it used to be. Anyone who has had 2+ kids knows what I'm talking about... unless you're one of those perfectly skinny girls who I secretely hate (Just kidding...kind of!) Anyways, I've got the 'extra wrinkly skin' going on (tmi maybe?!) but I did a 'before' picture recently and I'll do an 'after' picture when I've completed the 25K and I'll share it at that time! I think this 6 months of training is going to be the final kick to my belly fat! I've come a long way (and I'm kicking myself for not taking a 'before' picture after I had Charlie to compare to now) but I still have some firming up to do!

Whew, I blogged it!! I feel so much more committed now!! Wish me luck!

halloween

2010-12-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

So even though Jordan and I never thought we'd torture our children with home-made costumes like our mothers did...

...we're doing it to our kids, too. Who wants to spend like $20 on a store-bought costume that they'll only wear once or twice? Not us, we're too cheap.

Here's what we came up with:

two peas in a pod...

2010-12-12T16:47:00.000-08:00

...or two sisters in a bed!

Shortly after Charlie was born, we put Natalie and Ruby in the same bed so that we could convert Natalie's toddler bed back into a crib for Charlie. We didn't know what to expect but it has gone really well having them share a bed. Sometimes we catch them fighting but a lot of times, we're getting after them for having too much fun!! Every night, Jordan and I peek in on them. Here are a bunch of the pictures I have taken of them sleeping together....

our little girls

2010-12-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

....they aren't so little anymore. Well not compared to Charlie. Having a baby again made me realize how grown-up and self-sufficient Natalie and Ruby are. It's nice that they can put on their own clothes and do little errands for me (like: 'go get a diaper for Charlie') but it makes me sad that they're growing so fast. Almost every morning, I try to remind myself to enjoy all of my kids just where they are in life even when it's a challenge. I don't want to have any regrets.

Natalie amazes me everyday. She is almost 3 and a half. She seems to get smarter everyday. She can write her name with my help and 'nata' by herself. She loves to think about going to school one day because she says she's going to leave home and marry a boyfriend. For now, Sunday school is her 'school' which she really loves. Natalie did gymnastics this summer and she really liked it but it brought out the shyness in her. It's funny to see her get shy in social situations when she is far from shy when she's at home! Natalie also loves her brother which she calls 'Tarley'. I love our conversations lately. Jordan asked Natalie what she wanted to be for Halloween and she said she wanted to be God. She said she was going to fly through the sky and then she ran off to get her superhero cape. And her prayers are the best. She prays for Jordan while he's at work and talks to Jesus like she knows him personally. Really gives you a look into what 'faith like a child' means. She loves Jesus so much already and that's so important to Jordan and I. We are also starting to see that Natalie is somewhat of a perfectionist. She hates to stop when she's in the middle of something and everything has to be just right or she's not a happy camper. She enjoys cleaning and picking up her room. What used to be picking up was throwing everything in her closet and shutting the door (her father's cleaning technique!) But now, everything has its own place and I can't even move it without her getting after me! She loves to color and is very good at staying in the lines (which is probably due to her perfectionism). Natalie loves to sing, either real songs or made up songs about what she's doing (another Jordan trait!) and she has some great dance moves! Her favorite things to play with are her coloring books, legos, she plays pretend (mostly pretending she's a dinosaur or monster!), and she helps out her daddy when he's working at home which she takes very seriously! Natalie also just learned how to snap her fingers which we think is pretty cool!

And then there's Ruby. She is 2 now, spunky and independant. I think she's starting with those 'terrible twos' a little bit just by testing her limits. She sometimes gets out of bed 15 times in a row in one hour and gets spanked (yes, we spank) but she doesn't care. That area of disobeying is getting better but she makes up for it in other ways. Ruby is a FOGHORN and she knows how to use that against us. She will yell at us to try to get her point across. I hear 'don't talk that way' frequently throughout the day. I'm sure I said it to her first but now she'll say it to me if we're 'arguing'. I heard a 2-year-old-tip the other day about how to give choices to let them think that they have some control but that ultimately we have the final say and it's been working well. Maybe it's a better way to get through to her than spankings, we'll see. Ruby has the cutest talk right now, too. This summer, all we heard was jibberish which was adorable, but now we can understand her. She loves to tell people (and Gary) to "follow me" or "c'mon". She's finally starting to say 'I love you' and she prays too. When Ruby finishes reading a book, she says "Amen" instead of "the end". She says Charlie really cute, too and instead of saying "pooped" she says "poot". Ruby is so playful as well. She is always jumping around or wanting us to chase her. Her favorite things to play with is mostly just babies. She LOVES her dolls. She talks to them, disciplines them, and loves on them. Ruby loves to sing, too and sometimes her and Natalie try to sing duets! We're working on the potty thing... she can pee on the toilet but no poopin' yet! I cannot believe she is two!!

So here are some pictures of the girls over the past six months.

charlie is five months already!

2010-11-12T06:35:00.001-08:00

We were without internet for 4.5 months and without tv for about 3 months and that's including local channels!! I think it was good for us though since it was summer anyways. But it sure is good to have it back :)

So, time for some much needed updating. Where to start.... Well since the biggest change has been our little Charlie, I guess I'll start with him! Wow, do I love my little man! He's looking more like his daddy all the time. So far, he has been a very calm and content little guy. I can lay him down and he'll go to sleep just fine and he has slept through the night a few times now. He doesn't cry much and when he does, it's usually something I can fix. But I've been told that he is a momma's boy. I guess he's not that content with everyone! But for me, he's not fussy at all! It's true what they say about boys and girls - girls are much more dramatic even as babies. Charlie loves to smile and chat already. He was trying to roll over from his back to his stomach for the first time and he was laughing as he was trying! I love to make him giggle! He loves his bath times, too. I can actually manage giving all three kids a bath at the same time. Of course, the girls like to help out with that! Natalie and Ruby just dote on him all day long. They love him so much! Natalie says his name like 'Tarley'. She is really gentle with him most of the time until she becomes a monster and scares the daylights out of him with her roar. Ruby is really rough and motherly at the same time. If Charlie is crying, she'll tell him to stop it but then she showers him with kisses. Ruby will hold him and be all over him and then just like that, she says she's 'all done' and she'll start to push him off of her lap. Charlie has made the transition from 2 kids to 3 kids really easy on me and the rest of his since he doesn't demand all of my attention. He is a perfect fit for our family! He has been sleeping in a bassinet until now. I just set up his crib and I'm working on his bedroom. He is almost five months old now and i don't know where the time has gone. Here are some pictures of our little man over the last five months.

charlie tyler

2010-08-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

My little man is finally here!!!!!! I knew my baby was a boy! Charlie Tyler Barkel made his appearance at 7:57 pm on Friday, July 30, 2010. He was 2 days overdue but worth the wait!

Friday morning I started having contractions around 7 am that were about 20 minutes apart and very mild. I went to my doctor's appt at 10:15. My doctor checked me out (I was finally at 3cm after being at 1cm for 4 weeks!) and my water broke! So she sent me to the hospital. FYI- if you ever get sent to the hospital when your contractions are 20 minutes apart, I recommend you make a trip to McDonalds first and then proceed to the hospital. It crossed my mind but I did not make a trip to McDonalds and was starved because they don't let you eat anything but jello once you're in labor! Jordan made it over to the hospital and then we just waited.... I was at about 6cm at 6pm and that's when I finally got the epidural. I still hate those things but it is sooo worth it!! I started to push at 7:25. The doctor and nurse predicted that this was 'one big baby'. My doctor thought he 'may be a 10pounder'. I guess his head and shoulders were positioned funny so I had to try some mid-wife techniques to get him out! At one point, the doctor left the room and later told Jordan that she had told the nurses to prepare for a c-section...sooo glad that wasn't necessary. He finally came after 35 minutes of pushing. Doctor Gootjes made Jordan announce what his sex was and Jordan was very excited to announce that it was a boy!! It was so sweet to hear it come from him! The doctor laid him on a blanket on me and he pooped and peed all over!

We are just so in love with Charlie! He actually ended up being 8 lbs, 4 oz, and 21 inches... my smallest baby so far! He's got the perfect amount of dark brown hair that looks like it may have curls someday. He's got deep blue eyes, a dimple on his little chin and a dimple on each cheek! He has the softest baby skin and I could just snuggle my face in his neck rolls all day! (Is that weird?!)

Jordan made a bunch of phone calls. He talked to Natalie and she asked if he had a belly button and teeth! My mom came up to the hospital with Natalie and Ruby who just love Charlie so much already. Ruby kept saying baby and pointing at him and Natalie had to hold him and pet him. It was so sweet! After my mom and Jordan's parents left, Jordan also decided to go sleep at home for the night (he's never had the option of leaving before since I had the girls during the night) so Charlie and I snuggled for a couple of hours. At just two days old now, Charlie is a good eater and sleeper and I've seen a couple of smiles already.

I can't believe he is finally here! This pregnancy was by far the fastest one for me. The girls did great with getting switched around between grandparents and Matt and Katie and we're so grateful for all the help. Natalie, Ruby, and Charlie were all born healthy babies! God has truly blessed our little family! We are so in love with him!! Four and a half years married and three kids already... how did that happen and where did the time go?!

best $40 ever spent!

2010-07-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Powerwheels Barbie Jeep: $10
Battery for Powerwheels Barbie Jeep: $30
Powerwheels Quad (with missing seat and battery): free
Hours of family entertainment: Priceless!!

I found a two seater, Powerwheels Barbie jeep at a garage sale for $10... no battery or charger but I picked it up for Natalie's birthday present! We ordered a $30 battery online and it became the best present ever! And for those things being $200 retail, we're thrilled at our frugality! And, ok this is sorta embarrassing... we also had a quad sitting in our shed from when we went to FL. We saw this Powerwheels quad that had no seat and no battery in someone's TRASH! Can you believe someone would throw that out just because it didn't work?! Well, we picked it up and crammed it into our van and now 3 months later, we can use our $30 battery in that too! Oh yeah!! The girls LOVE those things and it is hilarious to watch them ride around! Here are some pics:

fixing the radio (I had to take this picture because they're working together and not fighting!) 'Thumbs Up!' Notice Ruby's right hand. See those two little fingers crossed... that is her version of thumbs up!

I will have videos to follow.

If you happen to drive on our road, don't be surprised... if you see Jordan driving the quad and the girls screaming because he won't share; if you see the girls pulling the cozy coupe (via hitch and leash) with Jordan sitting on top; or if you see the girls making a beeline to the Soft Spot while Jordan runs after them trying to get them to stop!

I will have videos to follow!

my 3 year old

2010-07-02T18:37:00.001-07:00

I don't know how it can even be possible that I have a 3 year old!! I love this little girl so much more than I ever thought possible. Three years ago, I thought that I loved her as much as I ever could... but my love for her grows everyday! Natalie has got such a fun-loving personality. She's such a tease! And yet, she can be so shy around others sometimes! It's such a difference from what she's like with just family! I can't believe how much I've seen her grow and mature in the last year. And she has such a love for Jesus already and it warms my heart! She is very sensitive and cares deeply for others. I love to see her grow into all these new stages of childhood. I just want to take in every detail of her all the time and remember everything, she grows and changes so fast! Well, I better end this 'sappiness' now before I lose your attention! Here are pics from her party:hmmm, a nervous habit? While we were singing to her, she decided to 'eat' her toes!

Ruby loved the birthday cupcakes:

Happy Third Birthday, Natalie Jane! I love YOU more ;)

lovin' summer!

2010-07-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

This has been a great summer so far! We have so much fun playing outside and the weather has been so awesome (for this 9 month pregnant walking furnace). Just thought I'd post some random pictures here of the girls and what they do all day: Natalie just being her {crazy} self!

The girls love to get into trouble in the bathroom - Ruby especially:

Ruby thought she could wear my mascara!

Natalie had to be a Superhero for church one Sunday so this is her home-made costume:

I think Natalie is going to be our tom-boy and Ruby may be our girlie-girl...

what's new with us....

2010-06-08T13:17:00.001-07:00

I have been a bad blogger, I know. So here's me playing major catch-up on what's been going on in our lives.

These past 2 months have been expensive months for us....
First, our basement sort of flooded! And it wasn't from any natural disaster either! Jordan was doing a water change with his 90 gallon fish tank (which involves emptying the tank by about 30% and then refilling it with a hose) and it overflowed into the basement for about 3 HOURS! It was only by chance that he went down there when he did (3 HOURS LATER!) and discovered what had happened. Lucky for us, we had some friends over and recruited them to help. Half of the padding under the carpet was drenched so the guys ripped it out. Thanks to a bunch of fans and the shop-vac, we were able to dry the carpet over the next couple of days. We had a carpet man come to relay new padding and restretch the carpet. It only ended up setting us back about $300. I'm not blogging about this to make Jordan feel bad (because I know he felt bad enough) but more of just for the memory! And usually I'm the one to make stupid mistakes so I've gotta record this for future leverage :) And the reason none of my mistakes get recorded is because I'm the blogger and I can write what I want :)

Second, our washer died (and our dryer had been on its deathbed for about a year) so we invested in a new pair of front loading washer and dryer. With that came the 'remodel' of the laundry room that I have been anxiously awaiting for 4.5 years. And I am so happy with it! (Love my talented husband so much!)

Third, Natalie dropped our laptop so we had to invest in a new hard-drive... and then I dropped it like a week later but our friend Best Buy was kind to us and let us exchange it for another one! (There. There's a stupid mistake of mine!

So what's new with the girls... and the fetus!

Natalie will be 3 soon and she is such a teaser! Lately, she loves to play with barbies, ride her bike, swing on her new swingset Jordan built, and she is always singing (either 'Jesus songs' or made up songs about what she is doing!) Between Natalie and Jordan bellowing songs out, sometimes I feel like I'm living in a musical! Natalie's favorite movie is Beauty and the Beast so she loves to dress up in a (Snow White) costume and twirl around like Belle while singing. We've been having some attitude problems with Natalie off and on... I can never figure her out! Natalie loves to read her Bible and she is constantly talking about Jesus and God... it is so rewarding to see that at such an early age! It brings new meaning to the phrase 'faith like a child'. And her prayers are so precious and heartfelt! I can't believe she's going to be three!

Ruby is 19 months old now and such a hoot. She has changed so much since the last time I blogged 2 months ago. Somehow, she went from a full-time sweetheart to a wild child! She's so boisterous and rowdy... just a whole new person! Ruby is stubborn. She needs the occasional spankin' but she is unmoved by it. We'll tell her to stop and she will stare us down and say a firm 'no'. If we didn't go through that a hundred times a day, it would still make me laugh! She has this new little language that we can't figure out but she knows exactly what she's saying! Ruby stills likes to cuddle sometimes and I love that! I have definately babied her more than I did Natalie. Natalie or I will do the 'thumbs up' and Ruby crosses her index and middle fingers and thinks she's doing it (but it looks more like a gang sign!) Ruby also likes to sing and dance, and she loves to play with her babies! And it's funny when Jordan prays at dinner time, Ruby will cover her eyes and peek at us and mumble along as Jordan prays! Too cute :) I'm hoping to get Ruby semi-potty trained by the next baby. She's interested in sitting on the toilet but she hasn't ever gone on it yet.

Between these two girls, we have a lot of drama! Ruby is tough and brutal and a pincher, Natalie is sensitive and hot-tempered and a hitter! It's a challenge to know how to deal with their misbehavings. I can get stressed sometimes about not knowing the best way to handle them. At the same time, I just love each of the stages they are in and I just LOVE them! They both are so playful and they love to laugh!!

Baby #3 is doing well also. I really think this one is a boy (we didn't find out this time). This pregnancy has been completely different: I never had the morning sickness, I get heartburn daily, I think I'm carrying this one more out in the front than with the girls, and the baby's heartbeat is about 20 beats slower than the girls' heartbeats. So let's just call this baby 'he' for now :) I have 7 weeks left and I feel like I need all the time I can get before this baby comes! We're unsure of whether or not this will be our last baby so part of me never wants the pregnancy to end!! I think I actually love being pregnant in spite of how uncomfortable I am, how hard it is to sleep, and the occasional charlie horse in my leg that I only get when I'm pregnant (and the heartburn, and clothes not fitting...!). But it saddens me to think that this could be it! I love to feel 'him' moving inside me. It never gets old! He is a VERY active little bugger! I'm so excited to meet him (or her)!!

Jordan has been keeping busy at work which is such a blessing! We've been going to Engedi church for a year now and we couldn't be happier there! And every Memorial Day weekend marks the anniversary of our first date! This year was our SEVENTH anniversary! I cannot believe how fast time goes! I wish I could do it all over again. And these have definately been the very BEST years of my life! I think they will forever be the most life-changing years for us!

Is that enough of an update for one post?!

memorial day weekend

2010-06-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

This was Jordan's and my 6th year of camping with friends over the holiday weekend. We had such a blast. Once again, we were at the Silver Lake State Park. The weather was AMAZING! Everyday, our friend Brad hauled us over (on his brand new boat) to the dunes and we laid out and played in the water. The girls loved it! This was the third year I've done this camping trip pregnant but it couldn't have gone better. I think Ruby only woke the campground up twice the first night! I love to camp for this one weekend but since we're in a tent, I don't have much of a desire to camp any other weekend during the summer. Here's some pictures:

Spring Flings....

2010-06-08T12:17:00.001-07:00

In the busy month of May, we always attend...

First (and foremost) The Dandelion Festival in our hometown of Borculo! The girls had a blast this year playing on the bouncy/blow-up stuff and Natalie rode on a pony. They have the best parade and we got tons of candy! Jordan did the 5k run again this year and he takes great pride in the dandelion t-shirt he gets for running it :)

And then there's Tulip Time which we mostly enjoy for the junk food. Natalie and Ruby sported the dutch costumes and we went to a parade but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable for them as the Dandelion Parade! We didn't get 'official' Tulip Time pictures of them by some tulips because I know Ruby would have picked some... so here are the ones we did get:

florida

2010-03-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

At 3:30 am on Friday, March 5 we left for Florida with the girls. We were hoping that they would sleep for a good portion that morning while we drove but they didn't fall asleep until 6. We drove until 5 pm to Atlanta, GA and we spent the night there. The next morning, we went to the Georgia Aquarium (the nation's largest). We had a good time there. They had everything you could imagine an aquarium having, including 4 huge sharks in HUGE aquariums. It was the best aquarium we'll ever go to but I think we just decided that aquariums aren't our thing. Nowadays, the discovery channel is top dog! But if you like Shedd's Aquarium in Chicago, this one will blow your mind (we never liked Shedd's much!)

After the aquarium, we headed on to Florida to stay with our good friends, Brian and Dorothy. We got to their house around 7. We were there for 6 days and had so much fun. We went to Daytona Beach one day, St. Augustine, shopping in Orlando, and Gemini Springs which is an awesome park in Orange City where Brian and Dorothy live. We also volunteered a day for Disney through Habitat for Humanity. What a joke! We were supposed to work for 4 hours. We were at this house for 2 hours and probably only accomplished a half an hour of work. It was very unorganized. And after 2 hours, the guy in charge said we could just go home since there wasn't anything left to do. And we got 2 free Disney tickets for it! So with those tickets, we decided to go to Disney Hollywood Studios. We were very thankful that we didn't pay to go there. There was just a lot of shopping and only 2 good rides to go on (which I didn't go on since I'm pregnant). We had had enough of the park after 4 1/2 hours. Wow, I sound like a downer!

We had 4 warm and sunny days and 2 rainy days. We left on Friday night and drove through the night. We got home 22 hours later on Saturday. The ride there and back could not have gone better with the girls. We had invested in tv/dvd players for the girls which was a big help. We had a great time! Brian and Dorothy were so good to us and there could not be a better couple to live with!

And here our some boring pictures. Our camera needed new batteries and we kept forgetting to pick some more up, so these are pretty much the only ones we got! They are in no particular order...

a children's bible

2010-03-02T17:06:00.001-08:00

Looking through Ruby's children's Bible the other day, I came across the story when Jesus teaches us how we are to pray. I love this children's Bible because it's so easy for young children to understand and for myself! This is how The Lord's Prayer is worded in this children's Bible:

Hello Daddy!
We want to know you. And be close to you.
Please show us how.
Make everything in the world right again.
And in our hearts, too.
Do what is best - just like you do in heaven,
And please do it down here, too.
Please give us everything we need today.
Forgive us for doing wrong, for hurting you.
Forgive us just as we forgive other people when they hurt us.
Rescue us! We need you.
We don't want to keep running away and hiding from you.
Keep us safe from our enemies. You're strong, God.
You can do whatever you want. You are in charge.
Now and forever and for always!
We think you're great!
Amen!

I thought this was a refreshing way to look at this prayer.

And this is another excerpt from the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the dessert. Jesus had just been baptized and went to the dessert to 'be with his father to get ready for his new life' (which is similar to how I should make time to be with my Father since I am new creation). The devil tempts Him but Jesus refuses to be tempted. This bible says,
"Jesus wasn't like Adam. Jesus was a new kind of man. He would not believe the terrible lie that the enemy spoke. Jesus knew God loved him. And he would trust God. No matter what. It was just as God had promised to Adam and Eve all those years before. Jesus had come to do battle against the snake's work. He would get rid of the sin and the darkness and the tears. And He would suffer - but He would win."

Isn't that a great way to word what Jesus was all about?! And if we are a new creation in Christ, we should go to war with the devil just like Jesus.

This is from 'The Jesus Storybook Bible' by Sally Lloyd-Jones and I would highly recommend it for children. The stories are laid out in black and white that makes it easy for kids and adults to understand. It's brought some further realization into my own thoughts. Just thought I'd share :)

patience, anyone?!

2010-03-02T16:28:00.000-08:00

I've heard that you shouldn't ask God to give you patience because He will give you the occasions to practice patience. That being said....

My girls have been making me laugh and rip out my hair all at the same time lately. I have been losing my patience with them lately and I don't know if it's because I'm slightly more irritable since I'm pregnant (I'm only irritable when I'm pregnant :)) or if they are just acting up more. Natalie verbally abuses me and Ruby quietly gets in and destroys everything. You'd never know that this silly little girl can scream her lungs off at me:

And don't be fooled by this innocent face:

Look what she accomplished in 5 seconds right behind my back while I was busy at the stove:

That's RICE all over the kitchen floor! Do you know what a pain it is to try to get every last grain of that swept/vacuumed up?!

Natalie doesn't get into things that she shouldn't too quick and Ruby hasn't been talking back... until today. She said 'no' for the first time and she will do a single scream while staring me down when she is upset with me. It's been quite a week! But then Jordan comes home, and they put on their sweet innocence and he can't understand what I'm talking about!

ahh, but I love them! I'm trying to remind myself while in the chaos, to enjoy it and find humor in it. They are growing so fast and I am going to miss even these bad days.

in sickness and in health...

2010-02-15T18:13:00.001-08:00

So Jordan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Wednesday. What did we do to celebrate? Nothing! He was downstairs all night (he even slept down there) and I was upstairs. We had plans but Natalie got sick that day so Jordan wanted to stay away. Happy anniversary to us! She got over it in one day but I got it the next day. Apparently there's some g.i. bug going around. So we laid low the entire weekend and I sanitized like crazy but now as I type this, Jordan is sick with it too. I'm praying that Ruby doesn't get it now too....

Natalie and Ruby continue to change and grow-up. Ruby is just about the same age that Natalie was when I had her. I'm glad that I've still got time to prepare for baby #3. Natalie is at such a fun age. Lately she likes to joke with me... usually it's about Gary needing to wear shoes when he goes outside. And then she'll look up at me and wait for me to laugh. But at the same time, she has kind of been reverting back to the terrible twos that I thought we were out of. One minute she is talking back and disobeying and the next minute, she's stroking my cheek telling me she loves me. She's definately the more complicated of the two. Ruby is as laid-back as ever. Although she is beginning to hold her ground when Natalie tries to take advantage of her sweetness. Ruby knows how to throw a fit but she gets over it so fast! She is so smiley and happy -as always! Thanks to my mom, she can sing the 'Yes, Jesus...' part of Jesus Loves Me. And Natalie can just about sing the whole song. And whenever we put any music on, Ruby is dancing all over the place. She especially loves pop rock/hip hop. It's the cutest thing!! Both of my girls are just a breath of fresh air to me even when the going gets tough! And baby #3 is making himself (or herself) known too. I can feel much more movement lately which is just as exciting as the first time I felt Natalie and Ruby move. It is such a miracle. Jordan and I are still content with not finding out the sex of this baby. We've hardly discussed baby names because some of our friends and family are pregnant and I don't want to pick a same name. So far, everything looks healthy with the baby and I take that so for granted. That is by far the most important thing.

And Jordan and I are as happy as can be (I hope I can say that on his behalf!) I feel so blessed to wake up with him every morning and greet him at the door every night. We have grown with each other so much these past 4 years. We never imagined that we'd have (almost) 3 babies by now and I can't wait to see what other blessings are to come in our marriage. We have been together for just about 7 years total now and they have been the best years of my life!! I am so blessed to have him as my husband!

....til death do us part....

update

2010-01-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've last blogged. And a lot has happened since, too! We had a lot of fun with the holidays this year. Natalie and Ruby really enjoyed it and they were troopers with all of the late nights we had. And we announced that I'm pregnant again! Yep, that'll be three babies in our four years of marriage. Go ahead, do the math... it calculates :) So due to my lazy and sleepy pregnant state, enough said! Enjoy the pictures for now!

This last one is what you get when you buy the cheapest preg test there is! This is something like how the conversation went:

Jordan: "Look at the test, are you pregnant?"

Me: "Yay! We're pregnant.... right?" (hands test over to husband)

Jordan: "Well, there's a faint little line.... what's the directions say?"

Me: (fishes through the garbage to get directions then tries to explain) "I've gotta be, right? I'm tired and cranky..." (along with other non-mentionable things!)

Jordan: "Yup."

So yeah, we're pretty sure we're pregnant!!

natalie 2.5

2009-12-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight I gave Natalie her first official haircut. I think it turned out cute. Natalie has very thin and wavy hair that has a mind of it's own and many different personalities - just like Natalie! She has had a very thin but long mullet going on for way too long. So I cut about 3 inches off. She looks even older now. So here are before and after pictures:

What else is new with Natalie.... Well, Jordan taught her to say 'Yes, sir' and now she adds 'sir' onto many other phrases. She also knows how to joke with us and say 'just kidding' since we pretend to not know that she's joking. We watched the movie "Elf" with Natalie just recently and do you know when Will Ferrell burps for an abnormally long time and then says 'did you hear that?!' Well, Natalie says that now after she or Ruby burps or toots!!

Natalie's current favorite song is the 'boom boom Jesus song' a.k.a. 'Little Drummer Boy'. She's been doing really well with potty training still, woohoo!! She's having less temper tantrums but still can be little miss attitude. We were at Jordan's aunt's house the other night, and Natalie went in the basement, looked around, didn't see anyone she wanted to talk to, and turned around to the stairs with her chin up when they tried talking to her. So Jordan's cousin says real quietly, 'she can have such a little attitude' and whether it was coincidence or not, Natalie whipped a plastic toy at her. It's funny and sort of cute but I really hope that someday she will just humor people and not give them attitude! And yet she can be so overly polite and so loving the next minute! Natalie is like a box of chocolates, you never know what yer gonna git (that's from one of the best movies ever made: Forrest Gump for you sad people who didn't know that!)

When we put Natalie to bed, we have to go through all these rituals: she needs milk, she needs a kiss, she needs a hug, she needs the fan on, and she's got some kind of order that she needs to do it in because sometimes we need to give her multiple hugs and kisses! But it's always worth it to hear, 'I love you' at the end. And she crawls into bed with us later and kicks us with her constantly flailing arms and legs. But only occasionally do I bring her back into her own bed. I like it when she crawls into bed with us and cuddles up. And a few times, I'll wake up to her stroking my face or kissing me and telling me she loves me! My theory is that she won't be sleeping with us when she's ten, right? It'll stop eventually ;)

Natalie is coming up on her half birthday making her two and a half. And in spite of the tantrums and the occasional bad attitude, Natalie we love you more than we thought possible. You are such a ham and a spit-fire. It's been so fun to watch you learn and grow. These two and a half years of life with you have been a BLAST and we look forward to a lifetime with you!

grandma quotes

2009-12-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

I just found these two quotes on grandmas and I thought they were so true. Holidays always make me miss my grandmas even more than I already do. Is that normal? They've been gone for 4 and 5 years and I still miss them like crazy! It's just selfishness because I know they're happier in heaven. Anyways, I really love these quotes:

A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend. ~Author Unknown

Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete. ~Marcy DeMaree

Here's to my grandparents who get to spend another Christmas in Paradise!

bat!

2009-12-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight, Jordan and I were invited to go shopping with friends. I decided to stay home because I knew we wouldn't be able to find a babysitter. Jordan couldn't make up his mind: he felt bad leaving us but really wanted to go.... he flipped a coin and the coin said to stay home. And now we know why: a BAT flew into our basement!! Gary chased it back and forth, I put my hood on, Jordan hid under a blanket and we both screamed like little girls. After I whipped the blanket off Jordan and demanded that he 'be a man' he caught the bat under the blanket which was on top of me!!! (Which reminded me of that Office episode when Dwight catches a bat with a paper bag on top of Meredith's head! Ever see that one... you've gotta!) So, if Jordan would have gone out tonight, it would have just been me and the bat! Seriously, I don't know what I would have done!

{shudder}

....{another shudder!}

our november

2009-11-30T05:07:00.000-08:00

Where did November go?!?! I cannot believe how fast the days and weeks go especially during the holidays. A couple of weeks ago, Jordan got the h1n1 virus along with a small case of pnemonia. He was down for a week and I was so certain the rest of us would get it so I sanitized repeatedly and thankfully, we didn't get it. Us girls have gotten vaccinated since.

Last week Monday, Natalie decided to go potty all on her own and has only had accidents during naps and at night. Before that, she had only gone pee on the toilet a couple of times but she basically quit diapers cold turkey. She's such an entertainer. She's always got to make us laugh. But she's still in the 'terrible twos' stage. She can change her mood instantly which is not fun.

Ruby is walking really well and talking a little more. She's always been so much quieter than Natalie ever was. This morning, I was changing her diaper and saying 'you stink' over and over and she spit out her pacifier and tried to say 'stink'. She had her 1 year appointment and is 22 lbs + 11 oz and 30 inches long. Ruby is just so much fun. She loves to get chased and loves to mock us when we tell her 'no' by shaking her head at us while laughing and smiling at us. She loves to sing and dance, it's so cute!

We had a good Thanksgiving weekend. We have soooo much to be thankful for: our health, our girls, each other, our families, that Jordan is keeping busy at work, and so much more. We had fun shopping on black Friday, Jordan with Luke and Brad and me with Sara- we've gone for 11 years now.

So now we welcome December, my favorite month: we usually have a ton of parties to attend throughout the entire month and I love the first snow and all things Christmas. My goal for this month is to really embrace what the Christmas season is all about. I have been struggling with my devotions lately, as in I haven't been making God my #1 priority. So this month, in celebration of Christ's birth, I am hoping to give more devotion to the reason that I have so much to be thankful for and the reason that there is any joy in my heart at all.

Wow, what a long post! If you made it through this entire reading, I am honored :) Have a good week :)

sir gary barkel

2009-11-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

I love my dog but I don't usually like him. And my dog, Gary, is unlike other dogs... he's more human-like. He can ring the doorbell and open the front door (which some of my friends can't even open!) and all day long, I'm letting him outside, then inside, then outside (who knew this about dogs?!) because he has to be social. He's so high-maintainence! Maybe it's why I get annoyed of him.... he's such a baby and I don't have the patience for him. But Thursday, I discovered that I really do love the dumb dog.

Gary ate almost an entire bag of chocolate chips on Friday. And though I've always known that chocolate is bad for dogs, I didn't really think much of it. I just spanked him, threw him outside and went on my merry way. About 4 hours later, Jordan called and I mentioned it to him and he freaked and told me to call a vet. So I called one and she freaked out when I told him how much he ate and told me that 'this is a medical emergency and it's gonna cost you a few hundred dollars' because they probably would have hospitalized him. I told her I was going to discuss it with my husband before bringing him in. But before calling my husband, she wanted me to pour as much hydrogen peroxide down his throat as I could get so that he would throw up. So I did that and it worked! At this point, we decided that we didn't want to bring Gary in if it was going to cost us an arm and a leg and if he was going to be throwing up in our car. I looked all over the internet about dogs eating chocolate and everywhere I looked, it seemed like he could have ate twice as much chocolate as what he did before he entered the 'toxic' level. He is fine and I'm soo happy we didn't bring him in but I had no idea how toxic chocolate is for dogs. And did you know, there are agents in grapes, raisens, onions, and garlic that can also be toxic for dogs?!

Moral of the story: no matter how much you think you don't like your dog, you realize how much you really do love him when you think he could go into a coma and die. So take care of your pets :)

halloween

2009-11-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

We went to the grandparents' houses with the girls on Saturday and I think they got much better pictures of them. These are the ones I was able to get of Natalie and Ruby - they were both crabby and ready to go to bed so I didn't even try to get better ones!

We had a costume party later that night with our closest friends. The vote for best costumes went to Jeremy and Crystal, a.k.a. Fred and Wilma Flintstone!

Jordan's costume started out as my 1970's prom date but it transformed into a woman's costume by the end of the night. He's got lipstick on in this picture (and a woman's blouse from Salvation Army to match!)

And, of course, we had lots of goodies to munch on!

Next party theme.... the Tacky Christmas Sweater Party!

2009-10-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

Why won't this picture rotate?!?! Oh well, here's my lil one year old:

ruby turns one

2009-10-29T04:54:00.001-07:00

My baby is one today! I have such mixed emotions! Time goes way too fast. I wish she were a newborn all over again and yet I love seeing her grow up and mature!

A week ago she took a few steps and now she is taking 5-10 at a time. She is still the happiest baby I've ever known. Even when she's upset, you can still get her to smile. And when she does smile, her little eyes squint just about shut and her little nose crunches up... it's cute! And when we feed her with a spoon (she hasn't learned how to herself yet!) she opens her mouth as wide as she can while smiling and showing all her 10 teeth, she tilts her head back and resembles a little birdie waiting for her momma to reguritate some food for her! Ruby absolutely loves to dance and sing! It doesn't matter what kind of mood she's in, if I'm holding her and I ask her to dance, she's about jumping out of my arms! And of course, she is into everything! Everyday, I have to restock our bookcases with our books and movies. And just this morning, Ruby took the cap off of the baby shampoo and was emptying it onto the bathroom floor! Ruby can also be a cuddler if she has her favorite blanket. And if you're lucky, she'll give you an occasional kiss (that is, if you don't have facial hair!)

Ruby is such a blessing to this family. If I'm feeling impatient or preoccupied, all I need is a smile from Ruby to reel me in! We love you, Ruby, and we thank God that he chose us to be your parents!

Happy First Birthday, Rue Lou!

our fall in pictures....

2009-10-18T19:34:00.001-07:00

Not much is new around the Barkel household.... I thought I'd post some new pictures from the last time I posted some:

All summer Natalie would help herself to cherry tomatoes from our garden.

Ruby enjoying a chocolate muffin from the last flea market.

Zeeland Pumpkin Fest:

the girls getting along!

2009-10-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

a giveaway!

2009-10-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this blog. It's new but I just know it's going to be a great one and there is already a great giveaway!

our vegas trip

2009-09-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the previous post is not true :) I don't think I fooled anybody, either!

Last weekend, we spent 4 days in Las Vegas. Mom and Dad Barkel took Jordan and I and Jeremy and Jess, Jordan's sister and brother-in-law (Jordan's other sister couldn't make it). This was actually Jordan's and my 2nd time going, the first being 5 years ago, and it was just as fun. There is just so much to see and do. We stayed at the Bally's Resort. It was right in the middle of the strip. It was really great hotel! We had a good time just laying out by the pool, walking up and down the strip, and gambling (of course). We gambled a lot (time-wise) and had a lot of fun doing it and when we finally called it quits, we came out $10 ahead. Whoopee! We discovered a place with $1 Margaritas, really good food, and cheap beer, called 'Bill's' and it kind of became our hangout place. We had such a great time!

It was the perfect amount of time away from our girls. Our friends, Aaron and Heidi and Katie and Matt, my sister and brother-in-law, took good care of them. Aaron told us that Natalie crawled into bed with them one night and asked him a couple of times, "daddy?" and Aaron would correct her and say, "no, Aaron." But now, we've had it a couple of times where she'll point at a male stranger and say "my daddy?" and she's been calling her own daddy "Jordan"..... I'm thinking there's more to the story that Aaron told us about her asking if he was her daddy! What did he tell her? :) Natalie has been talking about Aaron and Heidi and Matt and Katie everyday since we've been home. I don't think our girls missed us at all!

Here are some pics of the weekend:

Thanks, mom and dad, for another great and memorable family vacation!!

2009-09-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

LOOK WHAT WE WON IN VEGAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

summer '09

2009-09-07T11:53:00.001-07:00

Where did the summer go?!! I thought this was an awesome summer; I loved the comfortable weather! Today, Jordan and I took a bike ride with the girls from Beechwood Reformed to the beach. The weather was amazing and the girls did really great. We pull them in a burley behind us. I think this has been the first bike ride that neither of them got bitten by the other and there was no fighting! I'm so regretful for not doing more things like that this summer. We made ourselves way too busy this summer. But it was still a great summer.

Ruby is 10 months old now! She can say a few words and she's still as happy as can be. She loves dancing and music! She can't not dance when someone sings or when music plays. When I sit her by the piano, she just pounds away... she's going to be a pianist, I just know it! She still has quite the appetite as well (like her mother!). She enjoyed her first of corn-on-the-cob the other night - so funny. I just can't believe how fast time has gone with her.

While Ruby is our overly happy and content sweetheart, Natalie is bi-polar! No, I'm just kidding, I hope!! But she does have many different personalities ;) Sometimes, she is just soo sweet, caring, and playful and literally the next minute, she's rolling on the ground throwing a fit. AGH! This parenting stuff is getting tricky! Ruby goes to sleep earlier than Natalie, so when we bring Natalie into the room sometimes Ruby wakes up and starts crying. And then Natalie yells, "Ruby, STOP CRYING!" And things go downhill from there and we've got two screaming children probably waking up the neighborhood since their windows are usually open. But what a fun age at the same time. She's talking constantly and some of the things she says are so funny. And hearing 'I wuv you' never gets old (especially when I'm so sure throughout the day that she doesn't exactly like me).

Check out some of our pictures of the girls over this summer:

At the beach with my sister, Katie and all of the kids!

Natalie and Briella put lotion on each other :)

I feel like I could write a lot more on this post, but I am very sleepy from the summer sun and the girls are asleep, too.... I feel a nap coming on :)

story of my life....

2009-09-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

Just watch (pause the music at the bottom of this page first):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU66Tlp-vpI

Multiply that by two.

Enough said.

getting my priorities straight

2009-09-02T11:18:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I was sitting in the sun. I have not done that hardly at all this summer because I've been too busy working on the house, or mowing, or blogging :).... While sitting outside, I began to think about God's marvelous creation. I've been so busy with ME, the girls, and Jordan (and probably in that order, too) that I haven't left (or made) time to be with God.

I think God has been trying to reveal it to me that I need to make Him number 1. Our sermon on Sunday really spoke to my heart. It was about partaking of all that God has to offer us when we actually have a relationship with Him. There's so much more to this life if we just give God the reigns. And last week, Jordan showed me a youtube video that shows a black speck in space actually being another universe. God is AMAZING!! We humans have not even begun to see the vastness of this creation. We are less than miniscule beings on this earth and in this life and yet God considers us His greatest creation! He knows the number of hairs on our heads! How can that be? And Jesus gave himself up for us? How humbling.

We were made to praise Him but He has not been the priority in my life, lately. This creation is so gigantic and God is even bigger and yet I put Him in a box and take Him out when I need Him or when I have the time for Him. And I praise Him often for our health, our girls, our marrige, family and friends, and even for blessing us financially. But sometimes the devil gets in my head and I subconciously believe that we deserve all these blessings, that we don't need God.... UGH! When I consider God's creation, and then look into my heart and see that it is black with sin and that what I'm deserving of is hell, then I can't believe that God chooses to love me still. I love this phrase from the song 'Here I Am to Worship': I'll never know how much it cost, to see my sin upon that cross. That's so true - we have no idea....

God created us to praise Him and we are to make Him priority number one. I have been so selfish this summer, always working on the house, or running errands. or dot, dot, dot and those things have to be done but it's September and I just finally 'smelled the roses' (literally, too!). It's time for me to praise God first and let everything fall into place after that.

If you want to see the video I'm referring to that Jordan showed me, click here. It's pretty cool!

beach day

2009-08-18T05:20:00.001-07:00

Jordan had last Thursday off so we headed to the beach for the first time this year. So it was also Ruby's first beach experience. We had so much fun. We all lounged on the water's edge. The water was perfect and it was a gorgeous, sunny, not-too-hot day.

Ruby was a little unsure at first but got used to the water real fast. Ruby is just about 10 months old already which is exciting and sad to me. She is so fun. She says mama, dada, and bah (which sometimes means 'bye'). She crawls so fast all over. And she's still super smiley and very happy. This past week, she became very clingy to me and she always wants me to hold her. Sometimes, it gets old because I already have my hands full but most of the time, I love it. She can sort of give hugs and I just love that she loves me so much :)

Natalie is talking all the time. Everyday she shocks me with some new sentence. She is a little defiant these days, too. She just has such a hot temper when she doesn't get her way or when something goes wrong. She recieves a daily spankin', that's a given. But now she always teases us and says, 'I'll spank your butt'. There was a while there where she was really being naughty all the time but it's definately getting better already.

I could definately use some more beach days but I think it'd be a little too much work for me to go by myself. Hopefully Jordan will have some more days off so we can go :) Check out my beach babes!

I hate to brag but is that not the cutest bikini babe, ever? Look at that pose!!

This is quite the pose, too!

another little project... :)

2009-08-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

Jordan and I have a house project going on (again!) which I will show you pictures of soon... hopefully. Whenever we start one project, our heads get full of a million other little ideas for things we should do. One of them that I've wanted to do for a while now is paint our garage door black. When we refinished our basement, we did the doors black and I absolutely love it. (We just love black as it is). Recently I've seen a couple of bloggers who have also painted their garage doors black and I decided to do it yesterday. So here's the finished product of the door leading into our house from the garage.

I got the idea to put our house number on the door from a fellow blogger doing it. Theirs was neater and I just free-handed this but I'm still happy with the improvement. I also painted the inside of the door and distressed it and I'm happy with how that turned out as well. I've had a lot of energy this week so I've been trying to put that energy to good use with getting lots of odd projects done like touch-ups everywhere. Isn't it a good feeling to just get so many of those annoying projects over with?!

~Update on my dieting.... the week of Chicago, I didn't do the weight watchers thing (probably the reason I didn't update you earlier!) but I did exercise. This week, I'm back on the diet, I feel great, and I've been exercising!! I haven't noticed a change in my shape yet and I've only get 4 more weeks til Vegas so hopefully I will see some results by then. Wish me luck :)

our two day getaway

2009-08-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Jordan ended up getting Thursday and Friday off this past weekend so we set up a trip to Chicago. We love, love, love Chicago! I started looking for a hotel and found one for $98! Woohoo! We are cheap, if you haven't already figured us out! It was the Red Roof Inn on the mile. Three years ago, Jordan and I did a few nights in Chicago and I was pretty certain that this was where we had stayed and we had really liked it the last time. More on the hotel later....

We also decided that we would drive to Michigan City and board the South Shoreline train. We figured that after paying gas to Chicago and parking for 2 days and driving to a museum and parking there, we'd be dropping close to 100 bucks! The train only cost us $31 round trip for both of us! Again, we are cheap!

So when we got in town, we went to our hotel and walking up to it, we thought, "hmm, this doesn't look as nice from the outside as we remember it." And when we got inside, we thought, "hmm, this doesn't look as nice from the inside as we remember it." And when we got into our closet sized room we thought, "hmm, this is not at all how we remember it!" The hotel we stayed at 3 years ago had a nice roof to lounge on with a great view so we thought we'd check it out to see if that had changed. We went to a door that signaled 'stairs' and opened it but it turned out to be stairs for staff and emergencies only. "Hmm... where the heck is the hotel we stayed at last time?" (How's that for making a short story long?!) I guess you get what you pay for and at the end of our stay we decided that we were glad we didn't book a nicer, more expensive hotel since we were only in our room for about 6 hours!! Again, we are so cheap!

Our main reason for going to Chicago was to see the Harry Potter Exhibit. That's right, think what you want, we are major HP fans!! The exhibit was awesome!! There were literally hundreds of different relics from all of the movies. So cool and I highly recommend seeing it while it's still here if you are an HP fan.

Pics of us:

We basically shopped for the remainder of our stay and enjoyed eating out (without the girls). Jordan and I even went clubbin'! We had a little picnic by the water at midnight with wine and doughnut holes (which were stale so we gave them to the homeless men crowded in the church entrance) and we walked around some more after we left 'Howl at the Moon'. Jordan insisted on taking some crazy pictures to show how empty the streets of Chicago are in the middle of the night. I forwarned him that they may show up on the blog.... Here are some of them:

Jordan... acting homeless

Jordan... proving how deserted it is at 3am on a Thursday night in downtown Chicago! (Meet my husband!)

We had such a blast and it was so great to get away! The girls stayed with my sister and she said it couldn't have gone better, which is amazing because usually Natalie and Briella can't go an hour without fighting! By the end of the trip, we realized that it was the Inn of Chicago that we stayed at together 3 years ago... a much better choice than the piece of junk we stayed at (sorry Red Roof Inn!).

(slap on the knee)...'coffee?'

2009-08-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

If you understand the meaning of this post's title, then you know who I'm talking about! ;)

Today (and everyday since she's been gone) we are remembering my grandma, Elma Jane VanderZwaag who died 4 years ago. She is the most amazing woman I will have EVER known. She had a bunch of kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and many friends who loved her so much. And all of us miss her so much still. She had the biggest heart! She was the kind of lady that sent money to any organization that asked for it. I always thought this was funny: she sent some Native American organization money because she didn't have the heart to just throw junk mail away! And she could never turn away the Schwan ice-cream man! She was the most loving, gracious, wise, funny, and godly woman.... I could just go on and on.

Four years ago, grandma had been having pain in her stomach. She had gone to the doctor and he set up a biopsy. I remember her being down-in-the-dumps then already as if she knew something wasn't right. I was at her house and asked if there was anything I could do for her, and she asked if I would vaccuum because she thought there'd be a lot of company in the next few days. At this point, I think she'd already been told that she had cancer. She went in and got the biopsy done and we all prayed for the best. I had told her to call me with the news. She called one night and told me that the cancer was in her liver and the doctors gave her 6 months to live. Everyone was shocked and heartbroken, including grandma. The next morning, I went to grandma's house at around 10 or so and she was still in bed. I sat with her... she looked so depressed and yet so cute in her little pink nighty. She got a phone call and all I heard her say was, 'Oh Edith....' and I could hear Edith crying on the other line. It was so heartwrenching. Throughout the next week, each of grandma's 7 sons took their turn staying with her during the night. She went downhill so fast and got hospice almost immediately. I stayed with my dad one night and in the morning my mom came to relieve us so we could go to work and when she woke us up she told us to listen. The radio had come on and the song 'Softly and Tenderly' was playing. These are some of the words to the song:

"Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling.
Calling for you and for me.
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling.
Calling, oh sinner, come home.
Come home, come home.
Ye who are weary come home."

It was the most beautiful version I had ever heard of that song and I've never been able to find it back. From the time grandma learned of her cancer to the time that she died, her house was full of people ALL the time. I remember I would be coming home from Jordan's house at 11 pm and would swing by to see if anyone was there, and there'd be 10 or 15 cars there yet. And though I've never seen so many of my uncles and grown cousins openly weep, it was still just so PEACEFUL. With grandma, you always felt like you were in the presence of an angel but when she was dying, there was an even stronger Presence in that house.

The Thursday before she died, my sister and I said our goodbyes to grandma. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do but one of the most rewarding, too. I'm so thankful that I got to tell grandma how I felt about her. I said something to her about seeing my grandpa again (after 7 years) and she smiled and said, 'imagine that'. That night, Jordan and I went to see her and he hugged her and told her that he was going to marry me and take good care of me and she nodded. (When we got home, Jordan proposed.)

The next day, my cousin got married and they stopped by after the reception. Grandma was so sad to have missed it. At one point during this time, we thought that grandma was dying on Saturday afternoon. All the kids and grandkids rushed to her house and we surrounded her, holding hands and singing to her. My uncle read scripture and she would try to smile at times, but she was mostly relaxed and peaceful. She continued to hold onto life.

There was also another great-grandkid born in this time and the day before grandma died, she got to hold him. She had been so weak and her mouth (and everything for that matter) was starting to shut-down and deform. But she smiled when she held the baby. The next morning, when each of her sons had gotten their chance to take care of her through the night, she died. It's almost as if she had held on to her will to live so that she didn't miss seeing Jenny in her wedding dress or holding little Josiah.

The funeral was memorable and my uncle Bob had a really great eulogy (I think that's what they call it?). At the end of the funeral, all of the grandkids were ushered out and while everyone was still seated, we each took a turn ringing the church bells for the number of years she was alive. That was incredible for some reason. When each of us was done ringing it, my cousin Mike (the oldest) rang for the remainder of her years and that was so sweet. While the grandkids were surrounding the bell rope, the spouses were just outside the church doors and I have this permanent imagine in my head of them scattered and disarrayed but all staring up at the bell reverently. And when we followed in a line to the cemetary, we passed Bill's house and he stood from his lawn chair, that's always sitting in the garage for him to watch traffic, and he saluted. At the cemetary, we sang 'Abide With Me' which was sweet and perfect.

My grandma was so proud of her family and after going through this time with them all, I am proud too. She was a great woman and was as close to perfect as you can get. I will always aspire to be just like her.

Grandma - we love you still and miss you. I think of you often when I think of the countless hours we spent playing Upwords, your amazing and legendary chocolate-chip cookies, paddle-pops, your special lemonade, daffodils, the way you would laugh (and often your laugh was accompanied by a big slap on the knee), your love for animals (and how they always got really fat- probably from eating buttered bread!), and (this is just stupid) there's a certain type of lipstick I have that smells just like grandma's lipstick that she used to put on us when we were little! I cannot wait to see your big smile again and hear your boisterous laugh and, if you still have those dentures, you know I'm going to ask you to do your special in-and-out-really-fast-flash of them!! I'll see you soon.

elston wedding

2009-08-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had our last wedding of the year to go to: Nate and Vanessa's. It was an outdoor wedding and reception and Vanessa did a beautiful job with it all. We had a great time. Natalie was the flower girl so I'll be posting a lot of pictures of her in all her glory! We got to the wedding site and got Natalie ready. I put on her white dress and her shoes and wouldn't ya know, lil'-ol'-sentimental-me got a wee bit emotional thinking that 20 or so years from now, I'll probably be helping Natalie get dressed for her own wedding (hopefully she won't still be in diapers!) We practiced walking down the aisle many times before the ceremony and she did ok except for she didn't really want to acknowledge the ringbearer. We tried to get some pictures of Natalie with the bride and groom but she didn't want anything to do with that either. She was really shy with everything at first but she warmed up a lot as the night went on. All in all, she did really well. When it came time for her to walk down the aisle for the real thing, I let go of her and Grant's hands at the beginning of the aisle and she sat down and started to get mad. And I definately didn't want her to throw one of her fits, so I walked down with her. I really was hoping that it wouldn't come to that but it was such a relaxed ceremony that it wasn't a big deal. Natalie did awesome with being quiet during the ceremony (big sigh of relief there!) So here are some pictures of the night.

...warming up to each other over a bag of chips.

I liked how this picture of Jordan turned out with the sunrays shining down on him. It reminds me of the first time I ever saw him and I heard angelic voices sweetly singing, 'ahhhhh' ....just kidding :)

You can just feel the love that Nate and Vanessa have for each other when you are around them. They have been together for 8 years already! I'm sure that they will have a fun and adventurous marriage together and we pray that God will give them many years together. Congrats, you two!

the diet

2009-07-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

I'm officially on my first diet. I've never actually participated in a dieting program, I've only ever tried on my own to watch what I eat and to exercise. But that has never worked because I have no self-control when it comes to food (or sweets, more specifically). So I'm trying weight watchers and I'm really going to try to stick with it. I thought if I make myself post about my progress once a week, maybe then I would hold myself more accountable. We're going to Vegas in a few weeks and that's about how long I'd like to try weight watchers. I'm hoping it will be the lifestyle change for me that it's supposed to turn into. We'll see. So my next post will come on either Saturday or Sunday. I'm going to post about how many points I went over or under total in the week, pounds lost or gained, and how often I exercised for the week. The last time I made a goal to lose weight, I stayed disciplined and it worked. But I stopped and went back to my bad habits of eating bad and not exercising and I pretty much reversed all of my progress. Ugh! I really want to lose a little and tone up and I know I can do it if I really try. So here goes....

a post about poop

2009-07-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

This was sort of a long weekend for me. Jordan went to Detroit with the guys for a few Tigers' games. He left Friday morning and the minute we (Natalie and I) shut the door, Natalie was crabby and mad. I think I gave her more spankings (that's right, we're spankers) in that day than I have this whole summer! My patience has really been tested this weekend and I think I'm usually a patient person. So what's the testing for?! I don't know if Natalie was acting up just because of Jordan being gone or if the terrible twos are now in effect. My mom noticed that she was being testy, too, so I don't think it was just me. Natalie was much better today (Sunday) up until she decided to take her poopy diaper off.... I was on the phone with Sara and doing some laundry when Natalie walked up to me with her pants and her diaper off and poop all over her butt. I went to her bedroom where she had been playing and there I found 2 terds and...

Ruby.

With a handful.

And a mouthful.

Of...

POOP!

I was yelling into the phone (sorry Sara!), trying to clean out Ruby's mouth, and keep Natalie from touching her butt. So disgusting!! I sent Natalie to the bathroom to wait for me (thankfully she obeyed) and she was yelling to Ruby "No, no Ruby, Nay-Nay poop is yucky!" as if Ruby was naughty one. Jordan will be coming home sometime in the middle of the night and I'm hoping he returns with my sanity that he left with.

from drab to fab :)

2009-07-16T11:29:00.001-07:00

I don't know why but this year I have been obsessed with garage sales and thrift stores (even more so than usual). This is something I picked up at Bibles for Mexico for $2.

It was an old, ugly, lightbulb fixture - maybe something you'd hang over a bathroom sink. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with it and it turned out just as I hoped it would. This is the final product:

I spray painted it black, stamped the fancy design on it, and added the crystals and candles (all of which, I might add, were already in my possession!) I put it in my massage room because I thought it would add more to the ambiance I am trying to create in there.

Last week, my 'girlfriends' and I went to IKEA. I love it there and made a list a few weeks prior to going of what I needed. It never fails- I get there and buy all this stuff that I really don't need but forget the stuff I really do need. Hence, the very detailed list. And I'm proud to say that I stuck to it (minus a few {cheap} essentials)! Included in my list were a few various items to give our bedroom a makeover. Of all the rooms in our house, our bedroom is the only one that I haven't changed since we've owned the house. Which we've only owned it for 4 years but I'm just finally starting to get the hang of this decorating thing. And for the past few years, Jordan and I haven't been happy with our room. Hence, the makeover. I should have taken a before picture because it was pretty hideous but didn't think of it in time. So here are the after pictures:

I'm really happy with it's transformation. Before, we had these (dresden dream) blue walls and a blue and brown floral, black comforter (don't ask me what I was thinking when I bought it. In my defense - I was pregnant). For quite a while, our dresser was white with a white mirror above it. So I painted the dresser and the mirror black. I found a second oval mirror and also painted it black. It still needed something else so from IKEA, I bought the shelf underneath the mirrors and a couple of candles. I also got the comforter , the big pink pillow, and the curtains from IKEA. I repainted the walls with this slate gray color that I already had in the house, and I collected other knick knacks to add to the shelf. It's funny, when I took off the switch plates to paint behind them, I noticed that under our blue color was the color of the room before we got our hands on it and it was the EXACT same color as the gray I was putting on! Isn't that crazy? And I remember that we thought the room was too dark when we bought it. Although, there was still dark oak trim and I think now the gray walls with the white trim complement each other so well. And we had these black frames that I put scrapbook paper in and covered with lace curtains I was no longer using. Another freebie!! So total cost of our 'master' bedroom makeover? Seventy Five Dollars!!

Comforter: $35
Mirror #1: $0
Mirror #2: $8
Window: $0
Decorative Frames: $0
Curtains: $5
Shelf: $15
Pink Pillow: $10
Two pink/red Candles: $2
Finally being content with our bedroom: Priceless

I'm not sure that the frames next to the bed are going to stay or go. What do you think? I always think that every wall should have something on it, but sometimes that's not necessarily the case. All in all, I'm pretty happy with our new room - and especially the fact that with a little bargain shopping, we could make it over for so cheap.

And as of last week, we are enjoying some of the 'fruits of our labor' from our garden. I LOVE having a garden at last!!

pictures...

2009-07-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

I could probably write a lot more about this past weekend but it's easier to just post the pictures. On Friday, Jordan and I just hung out with our girls and had a quiet night at home. We knew that this month would be flying by with how busy our weekends are.

On Saturday, we had 4 different parties/events that we were invited to but we could only make it to 2: Andrew and Melissa's housewarming party and a boat cruise with the Havemans that Jeremy and Crystal bid on at a church auction. We had such a great time!

On Sunday, we went to a pool that our friend was housesitting at. It felt so good to lay out by a pool and swim. Natalie loved it, Ruby wasn't so sure but the water was a bit cool. Normally we'd be hanging out at Jordan's uncle and aunt's pool but they just moved and don't have a pool this summer....so we've been having withdrawals!

I love this one of Ruby! Too bad I couldn't get it to rotate.

Yesterday, Ruby started crawling a little. She's been scooting all over the place but she's finally getting the idea of how to crawl on her knees. She's so stinkin' cute!

This weekend, Jordan and I are going on a date!! We are going to go out to dinner and see the new 'Harry Potter' movie. I am so excited. I think the last time we had a date night was shortly after Ruby was born. And that was only for dinner. Originally, we were going to go to Chicago on Saturday to the Science and Industry museum to see the 'Harry Potter' exhibit but I think we're going to go another weekend instead when it will hopefully be less busy. And I'd like to space it out a little with getting babysitters. I'm way too attached to my girls! Have a good weekend everybody!

nonsense

2009-07-07T21:49:00.001-07:00

It's really late as I write this. Jordan is on his way home from a Tigers game and I'm attempting to stay awake until I know he's safely returned home. And to unlock the door for him because I'm always so paranoid of robbers and murderers and vampires! Vampires, you say? Yes, I have just started reading the 'Twilight' series. I have gotten halfway through the first book in just a few hours. It's really holding my attention. I just finished reading the 'Half-Blood Prince', the 6th of the Harry Potter series. One of my favorites, that one. And I wanted to read it in time for the movie that's coming out next week. But back to 'Twilight'. As grabbing as it is, I cannot keep my eyes open anymore. So I thought I'd blog instead. But now that I'm typing, I realize I don't really have anything to say. I can just see myself babbling for a while and re-reading what I write and deciding not to publish it. But if you're reading this now, I probably didn't re-read it and published it without thought. So.... what can I write about.....

Natalie puked on the 5th of July. We were just about to eat (grandpa was starting to pray) and she just throws up. She hasn't since and there had been no signs that she was feeling sick beforehand or after the fact. So hopefully she's fine. So far, the twos haven't been so terrible. The only 'problem' we really have with her right now is that she somehow manages to climb into our tall bed in the middle of the night without us realizing it. But, as bad a habit as it is, we kind of like it. Usually, we wake up to find her feet in our faces. She insists throughout the night to sleep the opposite way of us. But we still enjoy her company. I know it's a bad habit but it's not like she'll be doing it when she's ten. We'll break it someday :)

Ruby said 'mama' on Sunday and has said it a couple of times since. That's exciting for me! She is so close to crawling also. She can get on all fours and scoot backwards. She's still just as happy as a baby can possibly be. Always all smiles! I think she had a good 4th of July holiday weekend. It was really laid back and we didn't do a whole lot this year but we had a relaxing weekend. On the 4th, we journied to our friend, Brad's house with many other friends and had our 2nd annual whiffle ball tournament and a bunch of food and fellowship. Good times as always with our friends.

Wish I could leave you with some pics of the 4th but I didn't really take any worth sharing! Oh well, my eyelids are beginning to shut down on me anyways.

...and Jordan just got home as I was typing that last paragraph (perfect timing!)

thrifty

2009-07-02T04:58:00.000-07:00

I've been on a big thrift shopping kick lately. I love to find random items that I can find a use for. I usually end up spray painting and the stuff looks good as new. So last week, I went to the Salvation Army (which usually isn't my favorite thrift store) and I was glad I went. I found an oval framed mirror that I have painted white and plan on hanging in the girls' room. I also got a shelf, an organizer box (originally $10 from Target), and an ugly welcome sign that I got for 50 cents just for the pegs. I spent $6 on all of it because there was a half-off special going on. Yay! I had a boring wall in our kitchen that I decided to work on this weekend and this is what I came up with.

You're looking at maybe a grand total of $15 spent for everything on this wall (minus the apron). I had gotten the strawberry picture a couple of years ago half off for maybe $5 and the other frame was $2 from Hobby Lobby with an ugly tree picture in it. So I took the glass out, glued a piece of scrapbook paper on the backing, and screwed a spray painted peg into it. I'm happy with how it turned out. A simple project but my creativity is minimal :)

two

2009-06-27T19:46:00.001-07:00

This past Tuesday was Natalie's 2nd birthday and we've been busy all week. I have such mixed emotions: on the one end, I'm freaked out about how fast she's growing up. It seems like just yesterday we brought Natalie home from the hospital (such a cliche, I know!) I'm sappy if you haven't learned that about me yet so I could get kind of sad thinking about it. But on the other hand, I think of those who have lost little ones and I'm more grateful than even that she's growing up and experiencing life. So that's what I've just gotta remind myself of everytime I find myself wishing I could experience it all again.

Anywho, back to Natalie and her birthday. We've basically been celebrating it all week (we so spoil her :) She's been talking about 'NayNay's bird-ay' for a while because she had to wait so patiently to get through her cousins', Briella, Taylor, and Hailee, birthdays. So by the time hers came around, I think she understood that birthdays involve cake, presents, and parties. On her birthday, we went to aunt Jess' for lunch with aunt Sarah and Grandma. She played with her cousins and had a pretty exhausting day. Jordan told her in the morning that she was two and not one anymore and most times, she has remembered that when we ask her. The next night, we got together with my side of the family for cake and presents. She wasn't too sure about all the attention.... You just never know if she's going to be a show-off or shy. But she loved the cake and her presents. We got her a princess vacuum that's a canister style so that now she'll leave me alone when I'm trying to vacuum. On Saturday night, we got together with Jordan's side to celebrate a belated Father's Day and Natalie got more presents again. I think she loves parties more than presents actually. It was a great birthday (week!).

Natalie can be feisty (sp?) then sweet, hyper then shy, talkative then whiney... she's always keeping us on our feet! Natalie's been in a big girl bed for about a week and a half now and has only fell out twice (it's only set at about a 10in drop!). She's climbed into bed with us quite often but we just put her back in hers and she's fine (thank goodness- thought we were heading towards a bad habit.) She's also starting to say 'love you' more often and without us pushing her to say it! She's gone '#2' on the toilet probably 90% of the time, this week, and we don't even bribe her with candy anymore. She hates to be in a dirty diaper but it's hard to get her to go #1 on the toilet so wish us luck with trying to accomplish that!

We are just so in love with her.... and everything about her. I heard on the radio this week something about how no matter what we do or don't do... no matter WHAT, God's love is unchanging. He will never love us any less or anymore than He always has. Nothing we do will ever be able to separate us from God's love. I've always known this but it really hits home having children of my own. My love for them will never be conditional, either. How could it ever be? They are such a gift from God and no matter what, I will treasure them. I just praise God that I can show my children this unconditional love that He shows us.

We LOVE you Natalie! So excited that you're two!

Here are pics of Natalie's birthday week:

5 years later....

2009-06-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

So it's coming up on the 5th anniversary (June 30, 2004) of my grandma (my mom's mom) dying.... and I still miss her like crazy. In some ways, I cannot believe that I haven't seen her for that long but sometimes it seems like it's been even longer. I want so bad to talk to her again. If there is one word that would describe my Grandma Morren it's 'Generous'. Whether with her time or money or anything, she would do anything for you. Being a travel agent, she took us on so many trips that I took for granted at the time.... not just because it was a free trip but because it was with her. How many people go on vacations with their grandparents? My grandma used to own where Townline Estates is currently located and when she sold the property, she took all of her kids and grandkids on a cruise. And not just any cruise. At the time, it was the grandest ship on the ocean and the biggest as well. It was the Royal Carribbean: Voyager of the Seas. We had awesome rooms and everything we wanted to do that week was paid for by her. It was our inheritance, she would say, and she wanted to see us enjoy it. And we soo did!

This was my 'cool' grandma that would go shopping with us to how ever many malls we could fit in in one day and sometimes overnight. She was the grandma that took us out to dinner, breakfast, and lunch when we'd sleep over and sometimes a movie as well. When we were real little, we'd refer to her as the "Russ' grandma" because that was our favorite restaurant that she'd take us to! When we turned 16, she would have us pick her up for dinner (though she'd pay) and then we'd go to her favorite gas station (the Marathon in Zeeland where they pump it for you - or used to anyway) and she'd fill up our tanks. She loved to serve us and have a good time.

You could really get that lady laughing too! For Christmas, she would invest so much time and money and creativeness into our gifts. She'd make a spiked punch and pick out games to play. One year it was a chair game where everyone ended up on each other's laps, another year it was having to drop a quarter into a jar using your butt cheeks!! Really - is that normal for a grandma?!

Growing up, I was always closer to my other grandma because she was just up the road but while in high school, I grew so close to Grandma Morren. I'd go to her house in between school and work and we'd just talk. One time, I went to the bathroom on the way out the door and I clogged the toilet! And you know what? Grandma unclogged it for me because I was running so late!! I'm telling you, she was generous! My grandpa died 12 years before her in June as well, and she happened to have his obituary laying out. We got to talking....and then we got to crying. I had never cried with her before and I'll never forget it. She was not the kind to get mushy and emotional. And only 2 weeks later, she died of a heart attack. The last time we talked, I was rushing out the door only a couple days prior to that and she said, "when will I see you again?" and I replied, "who knows". She was 73.

If I could only see her one more time. Grandma, do you know that I did get married to Jordan just like we always knew I would? Do you know that I have 2 beautiful girls? Did you hold them in heaven before God sent them my way? Do you know that I think of you everytime I do leg exercises (inside joke)? And everytime I eat at Russ'? And everytime I see a Chinese Checkers board? And everytime I eat bologna? Did I ever tell you how much you meant to me, how much I love you? And yet, all these feelings are so selfish because I know she's happier beyond imagination in Heaven with Jesus and Grandpa.

A few weeks before she died, I graduated and when we were done with the ceremony, she was walking up to me as fast as her little legs could carry her and she gave me a big hug. She looked like she was so proud of me. And that's how I imagine she'll greet me in Heaven someday. Grandma, I cannot wait to see you again....

so in love....

2009-06-09T20:00:00.001-07:00

So, I'm having a hard time believing how fast time flies. Ruby is 7 1/2 months old and Natalie will be 2 (too) soon. I never knew I could love my girls so much and I wish time would just stand still! But that's as mushy as I'm gonna let this post get because I could go on and on....

Natalie is talking ALL the time now. I guess she has been for about the last year but now we both know what each other is saying. She's been a really good girl lately and I'm hoping that she'll be in that very small percentage of kids that don't get affected by those terrible twos! She has recently discovered how to crawl out of her crib and does so repeatedly during nap time! I'm going to have to learn to keep a straight face real soon! This afternoon, I was in the basement and I heard her jump out of her crib and walk to the stairs. She stood at the top for a while before tip-toeing down and when she got to the point where we could see each other she said, "No, Nay-Nay not naughty!" like she was trying to convince both of us! And then she giggles and runs over to me and says "Hug?" and gives me hugs and kisses! I would really like to get her potty-trained soon. About 15 times a day, she's taking off her pants and diaper right after she pees and then sits on the toilet. Anyone got any potty training tips?

And then there's my Ruby! I love this new stage. She's got the cutest laugh to go with her ever-smiling face! She can melt my heart just by looking at me - her eyes are so full of love. This girl loves to eat and she's been feeding her addiction with cheerios. Or I guess, more accurately, I feed her addiction! The other night, mom and dad Barkel came over and mom says, 'what's this under her chin?!' It's a cheerio stuck way under her double chin! And a couple nights after that, I put the girls in the tub and before I even realized what Natalie was doing, she had pryed a cheerio out from a fat fold under Ruby's belly and ATE it!! Ruby has been sleeping through the night for about 3 weeks now and it is WONDERFUL!! Not to complain, but I had gone so long without getting a good night's sleep. All of a sudden, Ruby has 3 more teeth (for a total of 5 now).
I just feel so blessed to have wonderful, healthy girls. This love I feel for them overflows into my everyday life and I am a better person because of them and Jordan, too.

Oops! I got mushy again!

the birm

2009-06-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

More than a week ago on a Thursday, Jordan and I ordered some bark for our annual 're-barking of our landscaping'. We ordered 6 yards of the cheap stuff - economy mulch from Mulch Pro in Borculo (we try to buy as local as we can!) The stuff got delivered that same afternoon and - like a good housewife - I began to spread it. The mulch was like dirt and not the bark that we thought it'd be. So once Jordan got home, he brought a tub of it back to Mulch Pro and they agreed that it was not what it should be. They said they'd deliver 6 more yards that same day of the right stuff and asked if we didn't mind keeping the dirt. The dump truck man came back with the good stuff and more than half of our money back! We were so excited - we got 12 yards for $35. Mulch Pro said that being their first year, they didn't want any problems with any of their customers!

We spread the 6 yards of bark but then we had to figure out where to go with the dirt. We're planting a small garden this year, so we thought we'd use a lot of the dirt for that but what to do with the rest yet...? In our garden book (that I love) there's a picture of a backyard that has this birm that's used to seclude a play area for the kids and I've been wanting to do that but we didn't want to spend the extra money on the bark. So it worked out perfect that we had all this extra dirt to build a birm with! Now, honestly, can anyone tell me what a birm is? I kept refering to it as a peninsula and Jordan was calling it a birm. Finally we were both like, 'why are you calling it that?!' I had never heard of a birm before and apparently it's just a fancy name for a hill used in landscaping. Now I've been getting mocked by my husband for not knowing what a birm was. Am I the only one?! Anyways, after hauling MANY wheelbarrows back and forth from our driveway to the backyard, the birm is finally completed! Actually, that couldn't be further from the truth because now we need (or want - whatever!) to make it pretty with plants. We're thinking of doing tall grasses spaced out in the middle and plants in front and behind the grasses. I'll have to post final pictures once we get some plantings in there but for now, here are the before and after photos.

The rectangle in the back is our garden that we need to plant yet - Ahhh!- we're so behind!!Jordan and I really enjoy doing landscaping projects together, so now that the bark and dirt are hauled, we're anxious to get the birm full of plants (and the garden, too!) If anyone knows of any greenhouses that typically just dump all of their plants at the end of the season, let us know! Were all about free things and we'll make it work!!

jayce irwin emmert

2009-05-30T06:53:00.001-07:00

My newest nephew Jayce was born on Thursday, the 28th to my sister Katie and Matt. He's such a cutie. It's their forth baby - they now have 2 boys and 2 girls - and for once, this baby looks like his mommy unlike his siblings when they were born who looked like their daddy. Things went pretty well for Katie giving birth. She had to have a cesarean but thankfully they did it in time because her uterus could have ruptured. I love him so much already! You can check out their blog to see a picture of him.

knap wedding

2009-05-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Last night, Jordan and I attended Jamie Harrington's and Josh Knap's wedding. Jamie and I have been friends for 9 years now! We met in our freshman year of high school. Wow, time goes so fast! She was so gorgeous and was seriously glowing because she was so happy. Josh looked good too! Jamie was so on top of things for her wedding. Everything was soo coordinated and perfect. The placecards were beautiful (thanks to her wonderful friends who came up with the idea....ok, maybe we just helped her put them together!) as was everything else! The little flower girls and ring bearers were adorable. They kept running up and down the aisle just giggling! So cute! In the matron of honor's speech, she mentioned how happy Josh and Jamie look when they are holding each other and I have to agree with that. You can just see that they are so in love! I don't know about Josh but knowing Jamie they are going to have a fun and adventerous marriage!! Congrats!

In 5 months, Jordan and I have had 5 weddings and we have one more to look forward to in August where Natalie will be the flower girl!! I think we'll be done with weddings for awhile after that one.

our memorial day weekend

2009-05-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Every Memorial Day weekend, we go up north camping with our friends and some of their families. Jordan and I have gone up for 6 years now, the last 4 being at the Silver Lake State Park. We had a great time and we were grateful for the awesome weather this year - not too cold, but not too hot. Jordan left on Friday afternoon but I drove up later because I had a bachelorette party that same night. So I got up there at 12:30. Apparently, the girls (or Ruby, more specifically) were not such happy campers from the time that Jordan got there until bedtime. Ruby is kind of attached to me lately and I don't think it helped that she didn't know where she was. Natalie just cuddled with our friend Crystal for a couple of hours. But other than those first few hours, the girls did really well and both slept through the night. And everyday after that went well. I was a little apprehensive this year because we sleep in a tent and I didn't want Ruby waking up the entire camp if she would wake up during the night. At least I didn't have Gary to take care of this year. We left him home and these girls who own 'Woof Washers' in our neighborhood, fed, played, and even bathed him while we were gone!! Everyone seemed to have a good time whether playing in the dunes, hanging out at the camp, fishing, or driving the go-carts. Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Aaron and Ruby sharing a piece of licorice :)

This is our friend Jeremy and he got kicked off the slick track for riding without hands!! So he went in to park and our friend Brad followed him in thinking the race was done :) Last year, the guys were actually banned from the race track!!

Dominic took Natalie for a ride on his gator. She loved it. He even let her drive but helped her out with the steering. So CUTE!

Ruby was in bed by sunset.

Sunday was also Jordan and my 6th anniversary of when we had our first 'official' date! On our first date, we did the typical dinner and a movie and then went to Ruby Juice in Holland and Meijers and back to Jordan's house. The next morning, Jordan picked me up and we went to Gun Lake where everyone was camping and hung out there for the day. I can't believe how fast the time goes, I wish I could do it all over again! The joke while camping last year was that I'd be pregnant again this year - the last 2 years, I've been pregnant- but I am not and don't plan to be anytime soon! I enjoyed not sleeping on an air mattress with a big belly and a sore back. I also took a ride in Brad's truck through the dunes which I haven't done for either 3 or 4 years. So I think I'll plan my pregnancies around this camping trip every year :)

And on Memorial Day, we remember those who serve our country and for those who have given their lives to protect us and all of their families. I know I take Freedom for granted. Thank you!!

firsts

2009-05-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

We had a couple of firsts in the Barkel household yesterday. I had been wanting to try out a new recipe of shish-kabobs (sp?!) with meatballs, pineapple, red and green peppers with a sticky BBQ sauce. Jordan's been working later than usual lately so I decided to do the grilling so we could eat right away when he got home. That's one of the firsts: I grilled. I don't know how it is with other women/wives/moms my age but I have never grilled before (unless if the George Foreman grill is considered grilling which I don't think it is!) The kabobs turned out good and I didn't burn anything so I was pleased with my small success!

YUM!

The other first is that Ruby ate her first cracker! She loved it... gobbled it right up which wasn't a surprise! She went in for her 6 month checkup yesterday (that's right, my baby's 6 months now) and weighs 18 lbs 6 oz and is 26.5 inches. She eats baby food regularly and can sit up by herself with just the occasional topple-over (or push from Natalie). She's growing so fast. It's true what they say about the second child growing even faster than the first. And a quick update on Natalie - terrible twos: here we come. Yesterday, while Natalie was supposed to be napping, she instead was smearing poop all over her crib. It took me an hour to clean it and her up! She's never done that before (or at least not to that extent). So I guess we had 3 firsts....

riverbank 5k

2009-05-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

Today was the day that I've been training myself for (up until about 4 weeks ago, that is). Jordan and I ran the Fifth-Third Riverbank 5k Run. It started at 7:30 so we got up bright and early and headed to GR. It didn't take long for us to find a parking spot and a good one at that! We were both a little leary (sp?) about running in the morning because both of us run best at night. I ran the whole way (which I was super excited about) and Jordan ran most of the way. Jordan has had problems with his knee and was doing fine until about 2.5 miles. Then it really hurt him so he had to walk. I turned back to look for him and saw him behind me walking and thought "aww.... what do I do - walk with him or run?" Then I thought, "what would Jordan do?" I ran, sprinted actually, the last 1/4 mile. I broke my own record. The longest distance I've ever ran straight without stopping is 2.5 miles on the treadmill. My time was 31:53 and Jordan's was 32:02. I was thrilled with that time because I've really been slacking on running lately. It started to rain just minutes after we got done too, so we were grateful that it held off before that. So then, Jordan and I were getting into our van to leave and were bragging to each other about our wonderful (free) parking space and started to drive and realized we were blocked in.... the race route was all around us!! No worries though, a nice (cute) policeman let us through the yellow tape when there was a gap! So we had a good time and plan on doing more runs throughout the year. We were thinking of making it a goal to do the half marathon (I think?) in Chicago in September but we're not sure if we'll be able to work up to that. We did just buy a double jogging stroller and are hoping that it encourages us to run more.... We'll see! So here's some pics:

my little dutch girls

2009-05-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

We went downtown Holland last night to eat junk and to get pictures of the girls in their costumes. The costume Ruby is in is the one I bought before Natalie was born and the costume Natalie is in is her cousin Ross'. Of course, the girls weren't going to go the extra mile to give me a good picture so this is as good as it gets (at least they weren't crying!)

These are the girls with 'aunt' Crystal. They love her!!

horsie pictures and more...

2009-05-08T05:11:00.000-07:00

Jordan thought it would be appropriate enough to post a picture of Natalie naked on her horsie (from earlier post)! So here she is!

Isn't that funny?! I love it!

And here are some more just random pictures of the girls.

I was trying to get Ruby's outfit off.... isn't she cute?!

funny moment

2009-05-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

So I was painting that cabinet (remember the one that Jordan and I hauled up from the workshop in the basement....'pivot'!) and Natalie and Ruby were both playing and talking/babbling to each other. They sounded so cute and like they were actually carrying on a conversation. Natalie just got a new (old) rocking horse and I heard her get on him and Ruby was starting to get mad that Natalie wasn't paying anymore attention to her. So I decided to take a break from painting to give my girls some attention and I found Natalie butt naked on her horsie. She had taken all of her clothes and her diaper off. I was laughing and Natalie would hold her head back and laugh with her eyes shut like she was soo funny. I took some pictures and they turned out super cute but because there are so many sickos on the world wide web, I've decided I shouldn't post any.

Natalie was so hyper tonight. She is as fun as can be and a little chatter box. I can't believe how many words she knows. But she is almost 2. It just seems like she was just 6 months like Ruby is. Ruby is happy as always. Everyone says that she's the most smiley baby they've ever met. She's almost sitting up on her own and she's got 2 bottom teeth. She sleeps awesome and isn't spazing out when we leave her with babysitters, like she used to. But she's stilll a momma's girl. Jordan's and my love deepens for those girls everyday.

groendyke wedding

2009-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I was a part of Michelle Gebben and Bret Groendyke's wedding. I had such an awesome time. Michelle and I have been friends for about 6 years now. We have made many memories in that time. One of the first times Michelle and I hung out together, she had invited me and a bunch of other friends to a reinactment of a car/bus accident for practice for the fire department -which was a ton of fun. (Michelle had all these firemen friends that hooked us up.) So anyway, we did the accident reinactment and then went to Silver Lake for the day to drive in the dunes. (I cherish the other memories that Michelle and I have in Silver Lake as well ;))That's actually when Jordan and I really hit it off. We sat in the car, waiting to get brought into the dunes, for a good 2 hours and just talked the whole time. We went on our official first date shortly after and the rest is history from there! So I guess I owe something to Michelle for inviting me in the first place. (And to Aaron who first invited me to hang out with Jordan and the group!) Michelle and I have shared so many tears over the years as well - both good and bad and I value our talks.

I had a great time the day of the wedding and at the reception at night. Jordan and I got our dancing shoes on again. As much as I love being a stay-at-home mom, it is also so much fun to get out once in a while and I have so much fun dancing and hanging out with friends. This was our 3rd wedding in one month so we've really been 'livin' it up'! We're thinking it sounds fun to be wedding crashers! So here are some pictures....

I'm so happy for Bret and Michelle, they are so perfect for each other.

Congrats you two!! We wish you the best. I just know that you will be so happy together!! I loved being a part of your wedding day!

how great is our GOD

2009-04-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith 'United' concert and, as expected, it was amazing!! It was my birthday present from Jordan. He wasn't sure if I really wanted to go because this was my 6th time seeing MWS in concert but I think it gets better every time! We were in the top section of Central Weslayan Church but there wasn't a bad seat in the house. I don't even know how to give my description of the night justice but I'll try.

The concert got started out with both of them singing together and then SCC took the stage. In between songs, he gave sermonettes about his family and his music. For those of you who don't know, 11 months ago SCC's little girl was tragically killed. And it was awesome to see the faith that the Chapman family has kept throughout all of this. SCC had to re-evaluate his music and if he really believed it because if not, he wasn't going to continue. But he has kept his hope in Jesus and believes the promise that God is always sovereign. It was really moving to hear his take on things. He has even continued to sing the infamous 'Cinderella Song'. You can read the whole story of his loss here. Geoff Moore also made an appearance. He is a songwriter of many christian artists' songs and therefore, also very talented.

After a brief intermission, MWS took the stage and played a few of his old hits and that was great! I grew up on MWS and it was great to hear little tidbits of the songs that you'd never expect to hear in concert. He also had a good message about his ministry and about being a child of God. He put on a great show as well with his worship songs. Once again, SO moving. MWS played a song from his instrumental CD 'Freedom' (which I love) and at all of his concerts, he plays 'Friends' (one of his most requested). It was cool for me when he sang 'Friends' because a random thought came into my head that my 3 closest friends were all sitting at that concert: Katie, Sara, and Crystal. It was a cool (and kind of cheesy!) revelation!

I LOVE my life....I love being a wife and mommy and I feel fulfillment in so many areas of my life. I honestly feel as if I could not ask for more. But sitting in that concert last night, I am so excited to leave this life someday and join those who are not with us anymore and praise Jesus face to face. I mean, can you even imagine it? One of my favorite songs is Angus Dei and when the whole auditorium sang that together last night I tried to imagine millions more singing along while looking at Jesus. ...holy, holy, are you Lord God Almighty.. worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb, you are holy.... MWS and SCC also led us together in the song 'How Great is Our God' which was also amazing to sing as a group. These concerts are great because they just give me a spiritual boost! God was in that place and with the whole audience singing praises to Him....I cannot help but think that it was a glimpse of heaven.

ruby's baptism

2009-04-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ruby got baptized this morning (or as Grandpa Jones would say, 'she got a sprinklin!'"). She did good in the front of church and was her happy, smiley self and Natalie didn't give us any grief either! I was more concerned about Natalie talking or throwing a fit. Afterwards, we had friends and family over for a lite lunch which consisted of cheese and crackers, chips, breads, muffins, ham-on-buns (we're so dutch, I know!) and cupcakes, butterscotch bars, scotcheroos. We had such a good time and thanks to everyone who came to church to witness it!

These are all but 2 of our nieces and nephews. We'll have 10 all together by June!

dad barkel

2009-04-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Jordan's dad's birthday but the family got together to celebrate his birthday last night. We couldn't be more blessed to have him in our lives. He had the nicest prayer before dinner thanking God for his wife, his children and their spouses and the grandkids, and praised God for the day that HE came into his heart. It made me tear up. I know that he must feel so blessed with all that God has given him but I don't think he realizes what a blessing he is to the rest of his family. He always has the most beautiful prayers and is such a good example of what a godly man should be. I feel like I can talk to him about anything and he always has a good take on things. He is very wise. Not having a relationship with my own dad, I couldn't feel any luckier about having Jordan's dad as my father-in-law. I don't think he'll ever realize what he means to me as a daughter-in-law. He's so easy to talk to and so supportive of Jordan and I. He's the most generous and loving man. He's got such a great sense of humor and when we get together with Jordan's parents, I could sit and be with them for hours (and sometimes we are). Not only is he a great dad and wonderful grandpa, he's a mentor and a friend. Happy Birthday, Dad. We love you :)

Easter

2009-04-13T07:39:00.001-07:00

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Just like any other holiday, we stay busy and are usually with family all day. Yesterday, we started the day out with a great church service. At noon we went to Jordan's aunt and uncle for dinner, an easter egg hunt, and card games. Natalie loved finding eggs this year and it was nice enough weather that we could do it outside. At night, we had my family over for dinner. We wound up in bed at 9:30!! Hope everyone else had good days with family and may we never forget the price that Christ has paid for our sins.