June

Wearing big brother's shoes

Strawberry picking

Enjoyed by everyone

Rollerblading

2 week gymnastics class

Tunnel Park sand dune run

Crazy kids

Craft time with Grandpa and Grandma

Such a good helper

Isaac loves games like Quirkle

Beautiful flowers from my hubby

Angela

Julia loved jumping by herself

Great visit with Dad and Mom

Cute picture of Wendy and Anahi

Woo-hoo, last day of school!

We started June off with the last day of school! I am so proud of my kids.  They worked hard and got glowing reports from their teachers.  They deserve a summer vacation.  I always feel nervous when summer starts and the kids are home all the time.  But, we are in the middle of July already and it is going fine.  It helps to have so many neighbor kids around!  Caleb finished his baseball season and he learned alot.  He pitched some games and even got to play catcher once.  By the end of the season he was getting some good hits too.  We took the older 3 kids to a Whitecaps game.  The boys had gotten free tickets for reading during the school year.  The highlight for Isaac and Julia was the food- cotton candy and popcorn.  There were fireworks after the game which was an added bonus.

We visited the new church of our old pastor, Jim Boer.  We then had lunch with his family.  The Boer family lived in our neighborhood and their daughter Ellery babysat our kids.  The kids enjoyed playing with Ellery and the adults had good conversation.  We also had supper with the Mulder family.  We met them in South Haven and they now live in Grand Rapids.  We had not seen each other in over a year and it was fun to catch up.  

While Nate was in California, we had a new foster daughter move in- Angela.  She was 8 years old, the youngest one we've had so far.  Angela was sick, exhausted, withdrawn and scared.  By the time she left 3 weeks later she was a different girl.  She was still fairly withdrawn, but she was laughing and looking healthier.  We don't know where these kids will end up in life, but we pray God uses their time with us to make an impact.  Angela left and we will not be taking any more kids til August.

Nate's parents arrived at our house- a day early!  Haha.  I wrote down the wrong arrival day so was surprised when I got a text that they were a couple hours from our house.  So much for deep cleaning the house.  It was great surprise though and not a problem at all.  The weather wasn't great during their visit.  But, we still made it to Tunnel Park and enjoyed the playground and beach.  We got a babysitter one night so just Mom/Dad and Nate and I could go out for dinner.  It was nice to have adult conversation.  The kids kept the grandparents going with games, crafts and outdoor play.  They also got to see Caleb's last two baseball games.

For two weeks during June the older 3 kids had swimming lessons.  Caleb and Isaac made good progress and enjoyed their time.  This was Julia's first time taking swimming lessons and I'm proud of how she did.  She got in the water and tried hard.  To pass the first level she has to do 10 bobs without wiping water off her face in between the bobs.  She doesn't like water in her face.  So, I think next time she'll be even more comfortable.  Julia also did gymnastics for two weeks.  She enjoyed wearing a leotard and seemed more comfortable doing flips on the bars than last summer.

In June I was installed as a pastoral deacon.  It has been a learning experience and I am excited to serve in this capacity.  I also led my first PRIDE sessions.  PRIDE classes are required for people who want to be foster parents and I am a trainer now.  I taught 2 sessions and it went well.  The participants seemed engaged and I didn't hear any negative feedback so, success I guess!  And I get paid every time I teach PRIDE- bonus.

At the end of June we had a 17 year old foster girl stay for a week.  Her foster parent needed respite care and we said, "sure."  Nene had the basement and Angela was in the guest room.  Nene was a sweet girl, but her boyfriend was over alot.  Let's just say the week was a little stressful and I am not ready for older teens and raging hormones!  I am glad we could help our friend out though.

We stayed home this 4th of July as Nate had to work.  I took the older kids (and Angela, Nene and Nene's boyfriend) to fireworks in Overisel, a neighboring town.  We went with the Petersons.  This firework show is ridiculous- it seriously goes for one hour!  I left with my crew after 40 minutes because Julia couldn't handle the noise anymore.  And it was nice to beat the traffic.  I crawled in to bed at 12:30 am and then got up at 5 am.  Angela left for the airport that morning.  Then Nene left by lunch time.  And I was tired, our whole family was tired. We are glad to help kids out and we are glad to take a break!  This past week has been a rest up and prepare for Colorado week.  It's funny how only having our 4 kids seems easy.  We leave for our Colorado road trip on Sunday morning- we're excited!

June Adventures

Fair warning, this is not Stacy.  June was an adventure month for me.  My first trip was to the west coast to visit my brother, Pete.  We met a couple of old friends and drove into Yosemite National Park to do some backpacking and to climb Halfdome rock.  The weather was perfect and the views were breathtaking.  We hiked just under 50 miles in about 3.5 days tackling some tough elevation changes.  We trekked in late Friday morning and left the park Monday afternoon.  I swam in a mountain lake with snow still on the hillsides, took pictures of incredible waterfalls, survived on what was in my pack, and just had a great time.  My only regret is not seeing a bear during the trip.

On Sunday afternoon we made it to the base of the cables on Halfdome.  The final 400 ft or so you need to almost pull yourself up with a set of large steel cables attached to the rock.  I was fairly exhausted (and a little afraid of heights), but I made it the top.  Even with some nerves, there was no way I wasn't climbing that rock!  The view was awesome and I was overwhelmed with the greatness of our God who created all of it.  

On the trail with Pete and Mike

Very quiet, reflective morning at 9,000 ft 

Just conquered Halfdome

View from our final camp - that's Halfdome in the background

The second trip of the month was our now annual summer backpacking trip in Northern Michigan.  Caleb, Isaac, and I went with our neighbor and his daughter and a friend from church with his two sons.  Last year Isaac was too young to come along, so he had been waiting a long time for this trip.  We borrowed some canoes so we could hike up river and then float back down to our starting point.  It worked out great.  We got to the Manistee River Trail Sunday afternoon and hiked in far enough to find a good campsite.  Monday was a long day hiking 8 miles with full packs, but the kids persevered and made it to the end.  Tuesday morning we pushed off and spent the day paddling down the Manistee River.  We experienced a portage, saw a bald eagle, had lunch on an island and nearly lost Dad in a sink hole at the start.  It was an exhilarating, challenging, fun trip that we'll all remember for a long time.  The only rain we got was at night, which is always a huge blessing.  Although crawling into our tent on the second night around 9:30 on a stifling, hot, muggy night as the rain was just starting was not pleasant.  It was a sweat box!

Isaac learned about pitching a tent, how to build a fire with birch bark and that "backpacking" really just means hiking through the woods with a heavy pack and pooping in the woods.  :)  Caleb put on a full size pack this year and really pulled his weight.  I'm very proud of both of them.

The troops - Will, Jackson, Isaac, Caleb, Lydia

Just a good pic of my two boys

What a great pic of a couple of grubby kids!  Will and Isaac.  

Lydia, Will, and Isaac literally playing with fire

Caleb can really paddle hard!

Hitting the trail with all our gear

May

Cute little monster

Fun weekend with Nate's parents

His Little Feet Choir performing at our church

Fun visit with Uncle Ben

Not happy about Tulip Time

Add caption

Mother's Day

"How to take care of orphans" is the first line

Julia helping Anahi learn English

Preschool graduation

Brothers reading in the "treehouse"

Mt. Pisgah

Going for a ride 

Doing kickboxing

Dutch Village

At the beginning of May, Nate and I attended Summit in Chicago.  Summit is a conference put on by the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO).  This was my 4th Summit and Nate's 1st.  It was so great that we could go together!  Summit is an intense 2 days of speakers and trainings about foster care, adoption and global orphan care. We attended some sessions together and some we divided and conquered.  The session that stuck with me this time was about the attachment style of the parent vs always focusing on the attachment style of the child.  Lots of practical things to think about.  Summit is a time for me to re-connect with friends I've made over the years.  I am in my element at Summit.  Nate said it was fun for him to see me at Summit as I am really engaged and have my sparkle. (Yes Steph, I almost died laughing. Don't let anyone steal your sparkle!)  One of the highlights of Summit was during the worship.  There were 2,000 people from 30 (?) countries worshipping God together.  It was a little glimpse of heaven.

While Nate and I were gone, our parents were taking care of the kids.  My Mom helped out and then Nate's parents flew in for a long weekend.  Nate and I returned from Summit and saw his parents for 24 hours.  But, it was a quality 24 hours!  Nate's parents left Sunday morning and then the His Little Feet choir arrived in town Sunday afternoon.

We have hosted the choir 3 times now.  We love them.  We hosted one of the same boys we had last summer, Vena.  He has matured so much and Julia was extra happy to see him again.  We got to know Zuala and enjoyed catching up with Uncle Jake again.  The choir performed at our church and I wish everyone I know could experience the choir with us.  The message is powerful and I know God is moving in people's hearts.  The highlight of the weekend was our friend, Uncle Ben visited.  Ben is from Ethiopia and we met him thru the choir a couple years ago.  Ben is an encouragement to us and we enjoyed getting to know him more.  God is using Ben in mighty ways in Ethiopia to bring hope to the fatherless.

After the choir left, Tulip Time began!  We didn't do much for Tulip Time.  Caleb had to march in the KinderParade, his favorite thing to do.  It was beautiful weather so that was a bonus!  The kids and Nate gave me a nice Mother's Day.  I received some cute cards and Nate took the kids out of the house for a couple hours- really the best present.

We had a new foster child move in, Anahi.  She is 12 years old and from Guatemala.  She is really sweet, but hard to understand.  We can not get her to speak slower in Spanish or use easier sentences. It's cute.  It is going to be hard to say goodbye to her.  She and Caleb like to do my exercise videos at night and she loves playing soccer with the family.  Anahi seems to really enjoy Nate's company.  She will probably leave next week.

Julia graduated preschool this month.  Another kindergartner on the way!  She was very excited to sit on the big stage and wear a pretty dress.  She has learned new things this year, but the biggest growth is in her social and emotional development.  When I explained to her that school was done for the summer she became angry and said, "I don't want to stay home all the time!"  I feel your pain child.

Stephen is 18 months old!  How did that happen?  He is in the 97th percentile for weight and 80th for height.  He's an adorable chunk.  We found out he is allergic to egg whites.  He had horrible diarrhea and hives for a long time.  Once we eliminated eggs from his diet, everything cleared up.  And he is finally sleeping well!  He takes a 2 hour nap and sleeps 11-12 hours at night, without ending up in our bed.  It is a milestone. Stephen loves being outside.  He has tantrums when he can't go out and when he has to come in.  Nate built a fence around part of the deck so he can be outside alone for a couple minutes while I watch from the kitchen.  We have a little sandbox for him, which Julia is using as much as Stephen.  Caleb is helpful and watches Stephen outside for about 10 minutes before he loses interest. Stephen is behind in his language.  He makes alot of vocalizations and he gets his point across, so the doctor isn't too concerned right now.

I know there is more to write, but I can't remember at the moment.  I'll update again... sometime.

April

The Cook family visited

Exploring downtown Chicago

Riding the train

Love vacationing with Aunt Steph

Hot tamale hair dye- ugh

Visiting the Critter Barn with Aunt Jenny and Dallas

Some hair color just like Mom

Easter egg fun

Easter with Andrea

Nice pic of the parents

Cutie

We started April with spring break.  We drove to Chicago and picked Steph up from the airport and spent the night in Wheaton with Grandpa and Grandma.  The next morning we took the train in from Wheaton to downtown.  We did not research parking at the train station so we had a mad dash to the train.  Stephen then broke out in hives over all of his skin that was exposed to the cold, quite scary.  His hands and ears were swelling up.  And of course I didn't have benadryl and we had to ride the train for an hour.  He was miserable and cried most of the way, but once we got benadryl he was good.  We stayed at a nice hotel downtown with a pool, a must for small children.  The kids loved having pillow fights with Aunt Steph and just being crazy with her.  We walked thru the Disney store, Lego store and American Girl store.  It was fun and hard for the kids, "why are we walking through stores and not buying anything?!"  That night we ate supper at the Rainforest Cafe.  The older kids loved it, Stephen was freaked out by the robotic animals.  The next day we spent the morning relaxing and swimming.  I had this great idea to eat lunch at a Korean restaurant.  I found one within a mile so we started walking... and never found the restaurant.  Disappointing.  We did get some Garrett's popcorn though!  Unfortunately Stephen kept breaking out in hives when he was cold during our trip.   I think Nate and I were a little too fly by the seat of our pants for Steph's liking.  Sorry!  Next time we vacation together we'll have a better plan.  We did a lot of walking in Chicago, it was freezing and the kids did awesome.

 During spring break we went to Hastings for a night.  The kids played with Cardale and we had dinner with them.  I love that we can keep in touch with little man and his family.  Isaac and Cardale are still best buds when they get together.  We also had guests during spring break, our friends Glenn and Becky Cook!  We got to know them when we lived in New York and viewed them as our mentor friends.  We hadn't seen the Cooks in 5 years so it was wonderful to catch up.  They are doing amazing work in Young Life and their kids are so great.  I thank God for friendships that last across time and distance.

Caleb is playing baseball this spring.  Now the kids pitch to each other instead of the coaches pitching.  And I love Caleb immensely and it gives me joy to watch him play, but watching 9 year old baseball is hard.  Nothing happens.  Alot of strike outs and walking.  I know this is a learning year, but it is going to be a long season.

We did respite care for a family one Sunday in April.  It was for two 9 year old boys.  We knew one of the boys had some behavior issues, but we felt confident we could handle it for a couple hours.  Overall it went well.  But, it is difficult when kids start arguing and fighting in a different language because you have no idea what the issue is!  We also learned our family prefers to have one refugee child at a time, not two.  Some families prefer two kids at once because the kids can talk and play with each other.  We found the foster kids only interact with each other and not our kids.  At the end of April, Andrea moved in with us.  She was a super sweet 12 year old from El Salvador.  I was thanking God for an easy transition back into foster care after a couple months off.

At the end of April we got together with the Dubbinks, our friends who lived across the street from us in South Haven.  It was fun to catch up and it reminded me how I still miss our South Haven life at times.

The social worker from Korea who facilitated Julia's adoption, DJ, visited Bethany.  Julia and I went to Bethany in Grand Rapids for a little open house to see DJ.  DJ remembered Julia and said how she was such a beautiful baby and was now a beautiful girl.  It was good for Julia to chat with DJ and also spend time with the other Korean adoptees at the open house.  Julia also received a package this month from her Korean foster Mom.  We haven't heard from her in a couple years so it was a fun surprise!

At the end of April we headed to Summit, which I'll save for the next time I blog!

Julia is 5!

Hello Kitty

Queen Elsa

On March 9, 2009 a beautiful little girl was born and now she is 5 years old!  We celebrated her birthday with just our family.  She requested breakfast food for her birthday meal and a Frozen birthday cake.  I did not have the time to do justice to a Frozen cake so I needed to buy one.  There was only one store in town that had gotten approval to make Frozen birthday cakes- so glad we could get one! Julia loved it.  This is the year of Frozen.  Julia loves listening to the soundtrack and watching the movie.  She dresses up as Queen Elsa and acts out the song "Let it Go."  She is still hoping to get a Queen Elsa dress.

Julia is 43 lbs and 43 inches- perfectly proportioned.  She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight.  I was curious if she would pass the hearing test because she just doesn't seem to hear very well.  But, she passed.  So it is probably selective hearing, haha.  I think she has a hard time blocking out background noise when someone is talking to her.  She is hitting her developmental milestones and doing so well.  She continues to be very social and loves talking to people.  Julia's favorite activity is having books read to her.  It is fun to watch her imagination while she plays.  Julia loves to wear dresses and loves to play in the mud.  She knows how to provoke her brothers and she loves to play with them.  A recent funny quote from Julia.  We were grocery shopping and I had to tell her no to several items.  She then said, "When I'm a Mom I'm going to buy my kids whatever they want."  She can't wait to grow up so she can wear make-up, have a cell phone and make the decisions.  Slow down little girl.  Julia is doing great in preschool.  She loves the crafts, music and learning about letter sounds.  She is going to be an early reader I think.  Julia loves the social playtime the most and often blazes through her work so she can get back to playing.  Julia's best frenemy is Asha.  They love each other and antagonize each other.  I can't keep up with if they are happy or angry with each other at any given moment.  Julia loves Jesus and has a good memory for Bible verses.  She asks interesting questions about God at this age.

We are thankful for the gift of Julia!  She brings us joy and challenges us to be better parents.  You are a precious little girl Julia and we love you very much!