Happy 3rd Birthday!

Tractor Cake
The birthday boy and his pig cookie

Julia enjoying her cookie
Daddy being silly
Present time!
Isaac received a rocket launcher that you stomp on
Such a handsome 3 year old!

Today is Isaac's 3rd birthday! We celebrated last weekend with Aunt Steph, Grandpa and Grandma Jongsma. I made a tractor cake for him which was a big hit. I started decorating the cake when the kids went to bed one night and finished around midnight. I preferred staying up late and not having any interruptions. :) Today we celebrated with just our family. He requested pizza for his birthday meal. Since we already had a cake, we did birthday cookies instead. Caleb had made pig cookies somewhere else and we thought Isaac would enjoy making them. Frosting, marshmallows, and cookies are a winning combination of course! We gave Isaac a stomp rocket that I believe said for kids 8 and older. He's 3, that is close enough, right? Don't worry he will always be supervised. :) We also gave him a Curious George DVD. The boys need some new DVDs. We're a little tired of always hearing Blues Clues or Boz. Caleb picked out a soccer ball for Isaac which was thoughtful.

We are so proud of Isaac. He is a silly, affectionate boy. He has alot of energy and throws himself into activities, literally! He hurts himself often and gives me gray hair. His vocabulary has taken off this year, but he still says funny words. He says, "I have a g'dea!" for I have a good idea. He likes to make up nonsense words and ask what they mean. He often makes us laugh by pulling his pants past his stomach and walking around funny. Isaac adds so much joy to our family. We thank God for the gift of this little boy!

R & R

We went for a 3 hour canoe trip on the Muskegon River
The flower beds at the place we stayed- (insert eye roll)
The Bed and Breakfast we stayed at
Not much of a group picture!
Julia, Heidi, Lisa and Hannah
Caleb at the bottom of the sand dune
Here comes, Isaac!
Handsome boys

Nate and I have been married for 9 years now! We celebrated by going to a Bed and Breakfast for two nights. My sister, Mom and some babysitters took turns watching the kids- thanks to you all! We went to a place called The Shack near White Cloud, MI. We bought a certificate at Caleb's school auction. The place is a mix between a hotel and B&B. We had a hot tub room which was really nice. However, the place itself wasn't our favorite ever. The decorating scheme was a little outdated and the whole place had a campy/cutesy feel to it. We weren't super impressed with the breakfast either. There were signs around the place such as, "Eat what you take," and "Go to bed, lights out at 11." I guess we felt like someone was watching over our shoulder to make sure we made good decisions. The place does give guests a banana split every night which is a perk, but I don't think we'll stay at the Shack again. :) We did have fun canoeing down the Muskegon River for a couple hours. It was a beautiful day. We ate at some small town restaurants and just enjoyed a laid back schedule. Nate gave me a wonderful present. He had my blog made into a hard cover book! I've always worried that blogger would lose my blog history or something, but now we have our family journal in print. Such a great gift!

This weekend we had our annual college friends get together. On Friday night the adults went out to dinner without children. We also went mini-golfing and were eaten by mosquitoes, but had a great time! Today, the families met at Tunnel Park in Holland for a beach day. It was overcast and there were huge waves, but that made it more fun. I am grateful my kids aren't afraid of the lake, but Julia makes me nervous! She is always running for the water. We had a smaller get together this year, but we still enjoy catching up and watching our kids play together. Tomorrow we will celebrate Isaac's 3rd birthday!

New York and Wisconsin

Box, Smith and DeMaster families
Ready to play in the water
Sam Box and Nate watching kids in the sprayground
Brayden, Isaac, Riley and Caleb
Olivia, Talia, Julia and Hannah enjoying the sand
Julia was a sandy, muddy mess!
Nice action shot of Caleb
Isaac's 3rd birthday quilt from Grandma DeMaster
Fishing at my grandparent's cottage in WI
Peeling corn at the cottage, some things don't change :)
Julia loves chewing on corn on the cob
Having fun in Lake WI


Last month we visited Nate's parents in Rochester, NY for a week. We had beautiful weather. We went to a couple of parks and took some nice walks. We went to the Children's Museum as well. We met some of our NY friends at Seneca Lake State Park for a day. There is a really nice sprayground and the kids played in it all day. Seneca Lake/beach itself was not very nice, but the kids didn't mind. :) We had a fun day catching up with our friends. Julia came down with an ear infection so we visited an urgent care in Rochester. I'm thankful for antibiotics! Isaac had a fever for about 2 days, but then he was fine. While in NY, Isaac opened his birthday presents from Grandpa and Grandma DeMaster. For the grandchildren's 3rd birthday, Nate's Mom makes a quilt. Isaac received a truck quilt that matches the boys' bedroom great! Isaac was also excited to receive a sprinkler from them. He refers to his presents as "my birthday party" and asks when he can have more birthday party? :) His birthday is on the 15th, so it will be soon! The day we left Rochester, Nate's parents got their moving truck. They moved to Ft. Myers, FL. Nate's Dad took a new Christian school principal job. It's a long way to FL from here, but hopefully we can fly down once a year- in the winter of course! :) We're excited for them and their new opportunities.

This past weekend my sister and I took the kids to my grandparent's cottage. We had great weather and the water was nice too! Unfortunately there weren't enough other adults around to do watersports, but we still had fun. Thankfully my sister took pictures during the weekend because I didn't. I just don't remember to take pictures. Don't even ask me how far behind I am on our photo books!

We're travelling alot this summer and it's great! The kids do pretty well in the car and Nate has been using vacation time. Next week Nate and I are going away for 2 nights to celebrate our 9th anniversary. We're already thinking about what we want to do for our 10th anniversary next year. :)

Finalized!

Our family
The newest American- I love the dress I found for her!
Caleb got to bang the gavel to say that Julia is officially his sister
Looking at the adoption order
My amazing sister
Judge Willis, my parents, us, Lisa Klamer (with Hannah and Heidi), the best social worker- Mary
My fabulous Mom
My wonderful Dad

Julia's adoption was finalized yesterday! It was a great day. We could tell God was working behind the scenes. :) The judge told us he adopted a daughter from Korea 20 years ago. So it was neat to hear his story. He had read through our home study so he knew we were Christians and he shared a verse with us. It was Matthew 18:5- "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name, welcomes me." We were very touched by that. The judge asked a couple of times if Julia may want a sister someday to even things out. :) He also said there are alot of kids needing families. I told him we are well aware of the need and I don't think God is done growing our family yet. :) But, we all realize that right now our family composition is good and we want to celebrate that! Our social worker and Nate said a few words about the adoption process and how Julia fits perfectly in our family. I told the judge I couldn't say anything without crying, which he understood. The judge let Caleb bang the gavel. Caleb put a little too much force into it and a splinter of wood went flying. :)

It is hard to believe that the adoption process is now complete. We still have to get her social security card, passport and Certificate of Citizenship, but all of the official requirements are met. It is a good feeling to know that she is ours and no one can take her away! I found myself looking at Julia a little differently today- she is completely my daughter and we are her family, for better or worse. :) I also thought about the celebration that occurs in heaven when we say, "Yes!" to Jesus and we are adopted into God's family. God is good and we all have an adoption story. We want to thank everyone who came to the hearing yesterday and those of you who celebrated with us in spirit! We value all of your support and love you all very much!

The beginning of summer

Caleb receiving his Character Award- Respect from his principal
Taking the kids to a family tradition at the cottage- Slack's store
Riding the ferry on Lake Wisconsin
Strawberry picking
Isaac ate his weight in strawberries
Going for a pontoon boat ride
My cousin, Emma, was a great help with Julia
Driving the boat with Aunt Beth
My aunt gave us this hand-me-down for Julia- Julia and Isaac love it!
Showing off a cute dress
Caleb making a gross picture
The men observing Nate's sprinkler system in action
Why does he need a big bed when he only sleeps in a corner of it? :)
Enjoying Lake Michigan

June is almost over, crazy! In early June we went to Caleb's moving up ceremony at school. Every student was given a Character Award and Caleb was given "respect." We are very proud of him for being respectful! Another little girl was given the award of "persuasiveness." That made me laugh. I can only imagine what her personality is like. :) Caleb was excited to move up to kindergarten and leave the ceremony with his new teacher.

I then drove the kids to my grandparent's cottage on Lake WI. I was proud of myself for doing the 6 hour drive alone! I am also thankful for the portable DVD player. Nate came up a few days later with my brother. The weather wasn't fantastic that week, but we still had a fun time. The kids enjoyed playing outside with my cousins, Ian and Emma, who are a little older than Caleb. I wish my children would sleep in during the summer. Isaac consistently wakes up as soon as the sun is up. I'm sure someday all they'll want to do is sleep and I'll be yelling at them to wake up!

We have taken the kids to Lake Michigan a few times. They all love playing in the water, no matter what the temperature. Julia continually makes a beeline for the water and wants to be outside when the boys are. She is imitating more words like, "water, shoes, socks, and bath." She understands much of what we say to her. Isaac still mispronounces words and it is so cute. For example, "sirsty (thirsty), pack-pack (backpack), and "I, Isaac, I not tired!" He can't pronounce his "L's" so he says "Y's" instead. He also likes to say, "Daddy and Caleb tooted!" even if they didn't. :)

Nate has been able to use some vacation time this summer which has been great. We'll head to the cottage again in July and do some short camping trips. Gotta love summer!