So apparently it has been a very long time since I've updated my blog. Combine that with a lot of life changes and here we are. So much to catch up on!
1) 'The Move': Henry and I have known since we met that if he wanted to continue to work his way up in Oak Harbor Freight Lines he/we would need to live somewhere else for at least 2 years so he could work 'outside the umbrella'. This requirement has been hanging over us to a point since we got married but I had a job that I loved at Seattle Christian and we weren't ready to pick up and move. This spring the 'moving' wheel started turning. Anna was due at the end of May and I was hoping to teach part time at SCS. With enrollment being down we learned that that would not be an option. So, I decided that I would sub and possibly tutor to keep myself in the 'teaching' position and financially contribute. We had heard about a position that was opening up in Stockton, California, not far from Ripon. We talked seriously about the idea of moving there but decided it wasn't right for us. Henry learned that Oak Harbor would be opening a terminal just outside of San Diego, CA and that they would be needing a terminal manager. He interviewed with the disctrict manager. The interview went well. We were torn. After much prayer and thought we decided that if the right things fell into place we would go. Just like that things started to happen. Henry got hired at a salary that we could live on. He flew down to Escondido to look for housing with the help of his boss's wife who does real estate. That same day I got a call from a staff member at Seattle Christian asking about possibly renting our condo. The most wonderful family stopped by to check the place out and asked if they could sign a lease. What?! It couldn't be that easy... It was. We're renting our condo to a fabulous Christian family who is sending their 4th grade daughter to SCS. He's a police officer. It could not have worked out better. That same day Henry and Terri took a wrong turn while looking for a rental and found a beautiful house for sale that was significantly underpriced. They called the realtor who was selling the house on a Friday night at 7:30. Miraculously she answered her phone and Henry and Terri were able to go in and check it out. The house was exactly what we were looking for. It's perfect for us. We put in an offer the next day and it was accepted that afternoon. So, within two days we were able to find a renter for our Condo, without even listing it, and buy an ideal house. Amazing!
2) Anna: Anna is now 5 months old. She has grown and changed so much I can hardly believe it! I had to go shopping for a few new clothing items for her yesterday because she is growing out of most of her 0-3 month clothes. Most of her 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes are long sleeved winter clothes which may not work overly well in Southern California. So, off to BabiesRUs to find a few new summery things on clearance that will work for this warm fall. In some ways I did pretty well and in others I failed miserably. I was doing great until I decided to see if I could find any deals at Baby Gap (I LOVE their clothes!). There were some things on sale so I picked out a shirt and a pair of leggings. Then there was a sign that read "Buy 1 pair of jeans, get the second for $10". Ugh oh. So now Anna has two incredibly cute pairs of jeans that were on sale but still a little pricey. Did I mention that they are SO cute?
Anna was a trooper with all of the hubbub of the summer. July 8th she flew with us down to San Diego at the ripe old age of 7 weeks. July 21st she flew with us to Montana. August 10th she flew with me to Milwaukee for best friend Suzanne's wedding. August 28th she flew with us to San Diego where we are now. We should have opened a frequent flyer number for her!
SIDE NOTE: Everything written above was written about 6 weeks ago with a few changes made tonight to keep things correct. I finally sat down to hopefully finish it!
So we've been in Escondido for 6 weeks now. The Lord has TRULY taken care of us! We have been blessed with an amazing church family, which is a huge thing! I joined a Mom's Group that I dearly love and have also started attending a Bible study with some of the same women. It has been wonderful. Anna and I are adjusting to life at home and loving it. However, about 1 1/2 weeks ago my friend's dad, who is the superintendent at the Christian school here approached me about my math teaching experience. The high school math teacher here was recently diagnosed with cancer and needed surgery and will need treatment. He asked if I would be able to sub. It seems crazy to me that God will use me for what He has planned even if I don't seek it out! So last week I subbed for three days at Calvin Christian and thoroughly enjoyed it. This week I will sub two days and next week three more. It has been nice to get back in the classroom and also to have a little extra income! It has been a bit of a struggle, though, finding child care for Anna without having any family down here. God has taken care of that in amazing ways and I'm confident that if He wants me to continue at Calvin he will continue to work that out. At this point I'm hoping to be able to commit to two days a week. I know for the student's sake it's nice to have consistency, but for my and Anna's sake it's nice to be home together a few days a week. :)
So, there's still nothing on our walls and our only painting attempt (the guest bathroom) didn't go at all how we wanted, but our house is beginning to feel more and more like our home. I can honestly say we're doing well and are happy here, which is a wonderful blessing! If you could, pray for us that we would continue to meet new friends and fit into the community. People have been wonderful so far and we are blown away by the community here.
Well, Anna is 'requesting' that I end this and feed her... immediately from the tone of her cries. :) We pray you all are doing well and are healthy and happy!
AUNT JOAN: I tried to put up pictures! There is a banner at the top of the website that reads 'Image uploads will be disabled for two hours due to maintenance at 5:00PM PDT Wednesday, Oct. 20th'. I guess you just aren't meant to get pictures yet! I'll keep working on it :)
Love from California!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Last new post: January 2?!?
So I've known for a long time that I haven't posted since January 2. I guess it's been a combination of not really feeling like I have much to post as well as not really having the time to post. At this very moment I don't have either excuse. I have PLENTY of things to blog about and I have some time to post, so, no more excuses.
I don't really remember January so there must not have been too much that happened then. We did have our ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. That was pretty amazing. We didn't find out the gender. We had the technician write down the gender in a card and put it in a sealed envelope so that we could find out if we wanted. We never did give into the temptation of opening the envelope. Also had Amber and her friend Erin visit from Iowa. I needed some maternity clothes and Amber knows how well I do shopping alone. They were GREAT help! January was also about month 3 of being sick because of baby.
February is a blur also. I know I was coaching basketball and that was pretty hectic. We also had Mom, Dad and Ashley visit for a weekend. Everyone chipped in to help us turn our spare room into a nursery. Not sure I could have done it without them! Had a great time. Also, more being sick. Pretty sick of being sick by this time.
March: March started with the State Basketball tournament. Thank goodness for the new assistant coach this year! Her name is Mandy and she kept me sane. If you haven't heard my opinion of the head coach and his first assistant, I think he's an awful coach... maybe worse than awful. Mandy and I hung in there together to keep the girls on the team going and worked with them as best we could to help them grow as basketball players but especially as young, Christian women. Our team lost our first game, which was a big disappointment but they rallied and learned much more from that experience than if we would have won the Championship again this year. Very proud of those girls! March was also the beginning of the end of me being sick. I started only feeling nauseous 1 or 2 days a week instead of every day. WooHoo!
April: Can't think of much that happened in April. I'm drawing a blank. Maybe I skipped April this year?
May: Once the calendar page turned to May I had to keep telling myself that the baby would probably be late and be born in June. That way I was hoping I wouldn't get so impatient! I kept teaching and did some last minute things to get ready for baby's arrival. Henry and I finished up our birth classes which we actually really enjoyed! We had a wonderful instructor who has now become a great friend and resource! (Thanks Missy!). I also enjoyed my last few pre-natal water aerobic classes. Made some new friends there as well. On May 14 I had a doctors appointment. The doctor was concerned about how high my blood pressure was getting and told me I couldn't teach anymore. I was frustrated. I was hoping to continue teaching until the 26th because the baby wasn't due until the 28th (and I had convinced myself that it would be late!). But, we had to follow doctors orders so I called in a substitute and stayed home the next week. I had several more doctors appointments that week and my blood pressure stayed higher than what they were comfortable with. They put me on 'modified bed-rest'. I kept myself busy by baking between my times of having to lay on the couch. We had 2 pies, a bunch of bars and coffee cake. My co-workers were thankful as I brought the excess that we couldn't eat in for them to enjoy. We were scheduled to go into the hospital for an ultrasound on Friday, May 21st to make sure my fluid levels were ok and that the baby was not in any sort of distress. We didn't quite make it to Friday. Thursday night, shortly after we went to bed, my water broke. Hmmm... it was a really strange feeling to gather our things and put them in the car knowing that 24 hours later we would have a baby! We got to the hospital at about 12:15am on Friday morning, May 21st. They got us all checked in and then told us to try to get some sleep. What?!?! We tried anyway. Friday morning I wasn't really feeling many contractions anymore and the ones I was feeling were pretty weak. They decided to induce me at about 10am. By 4 pm I was very ready for an epidural. I never could have imagined how wonderful the epidural really was. It was great! Henry can attest... I may have been the happiest person in the hospital at that moment! After that I slept off and on for the next 4-5 hours...
Anna Grace Vander Pol was born at 10:16pm on May 21st, 2010 and was absolutely perfect. She was 7 lbs and 3 oz and 18 3/4 in long.
Since then our days and nights have been a blur. Anna has been a great baby. However, like all babies, she needs to eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours meaning I haven't slept for more than about 2 hours at a time since May 22nd. I wouldn't go back to the way things were before Anna. Love her to pieces! Even at 2 am :).
We came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. Mom arrived from Montana on Monday afternoon. She has been a cooking, cleaning, and laundry doing machine for which I am SO grateful! It's such a blessing not having to worry about making meals and keeping the house and the laundry going. Mom thinks she's leaving this coming Monday... we'll see about that :)
Anna is 12 days old today and had her second Dr. appt. At this point babies should be back at their birth weight. Anna weighed 8 lbs and 1/2 oz. Getting back up to her birth weight was not a problem! The doctor said she's a '10 out of 10' and he couldn't be happier about her health, so that was great to hear! :)
I will post pictures soon, but wanted to attempt to update things since my last post. Life as I know it has changed. I will work on updating the blog more frequently for anyone who is hoping to keep up with us from here on out. No promises, but I'll make an effort! :)
We pray you all are healthy and happy! Wish we could live closer to so many of you. Miss you and love you much!!
- Lindsey, Henry, and Anna Grace
I don't really remember January so there must not have been too much that happened then. We did have our ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. That was pretty amazing. We didn't find out the gender. We had the technician write down the gender in a card and put it in a sealed envelope so that we could find out if we wanted. We never did give into the temptation of opening the envelope. Also had Amber and her friend Erin visit from Iowa. I needed some maternity clothes and Amber knows how well I do shopping alone. They were GREAT help! January was also about month 3 of being sick because of baby.
February is a blur also. I know I was coaching basketball and that was pretty hectic. We also had Mom, Dad and Ashley visit for a weekend. Everyone chipped in to help us turn our spare room into a nursery. Not sure I could have done it without them! Had a great time. Also, more being sick. Pretty sick of being sick by this time.
March: March started with the State Basketball tournament. Thank goodness for the new assistant coach this year! Her name is Mandy and she kept me sane. If you haven't heard my opinion of the head coach and his first assistant, I think he's an awful coach... maybe worse than awful. Mandy and I hung in there together to keep the girls on the team going and worked with them as best we could to help them grow as basketball players but especially as young, Christian women. Our team lost our first game, which was a big disappointment but they rallied and learned much more from that experience than if we would have won the Championship again this year. Very proud of those girls! March was also the beginning of the end of me being sick. I started only feeling nauseous 1 or 2 days a week instead of every day. WooHoo!
April: Can't think of much that happened in April. I'm drawing a blank. Maybe I skipped April this year?
May: Once the calendar page turned to May I had to keep telling myself that the baby would probably be late and be born in June. That way I was hoping I wouldn't get so impatient! I kept teaching and did some last minute things to get ready for baby's arrival. Henry and I finished up our birth classes which we actually really enjoyed! We had a wonderful instructor who has now become a great friend and resource! (Thanks Missy!). I also enjoyed my last few pre-natal water aerobic classes. Made some new friends there as well. On May 14 I had a doctors appointment. The doctor was concerned about how high my blood pressure was getting and told me I couldn't teach anymore. I was frustrated. I was hoping to continue teaching until the 26th because the baby wasn't due until the 28th (and I had convinced myself that it would be late!). But, we had to follow doctors orders so I called in a substitute and stayed home the next week. I had several more doctors appointments that week and my blood pressure stayed higher than what they were comfortable with. They put me on 'modified bed-rest'. I kept myself busy by baking between my times of having to lay on the couch. We had 2 pies, a bunch of bars and coffee cake. My co-workers were thankful as I brought the excess that we couldn't eat in for them to enjoy. We were scheduled to go into the hospital for an ultrasound on Friday, May 21st to make sure my fluid levels were ok and that the baby was not in any sort of distress. We didn't quite make it to Friday. Thursday night, shortly after we went to bed, my water broke. Hmmm... it was a really strange feeling to gather our things and put them in the car knowing that 24 hours later we would have a baby! We got to the hospital at about 12:15am on Friday morning, May 21st. They got us all checked in and then told us to try to get some sleep. What?!?! We tried anyway. Friday morning I wasn't really feeling many contractions anymore and the ones I was feeling were pretty weak. They decided to induce me at about 10am. By 4 pm I was very ready for an epidural. I never could have imagined how wonderful the epidural really was. It was great! Henry can attest... I may have been the happiest person in the hospital at that moment! After that I slept off and on for the next 4-5 hours...
Anna Grace Vander Pol was born at 10:16pm on May 21st, 2010 and was absolutely perfect. She was 7 lbs and 3 oz and 18 3/4 in long.
Since then our days and nights have been a blur. Anna has been a great baby. However, like all babies, she needs to eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours meaning I haven't slept for more than about 2 hours at a time since May 22nd. I wouldn't go back to the way things were before Anna. Love her to pieces! Even at 2 am :).
We came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. Mom arrived from Montana on Monday afternoon. She has been a cooking, cleaning, and laundry doing machine for which I am SO grateful! It's such a blessing not having to worry about making meals and keeping the house and the laundry going. Mom thinks she's leaving this coming Monday... we'll see about that :)
Anna is 12 days old today and had her second Dr. appt. At this point babies should be back at their birth weight. Anna weighed 8 lbs and 1/2 oz. Getting back up to her birth weight was not a problem! The doctor said she's a '10 out of 10' and he couldn't be happier about her health, so that was great to hear! :)
I will post pictures soon, but wanted to attempt to update things since my last post. Life as I know it has changed. I will work on updating the blog more frequently for anyone who is hoping to keep up with us from here on out. No promises, but I'll make an effort! :)
We pray you all are healthy and happy! Wish we could live closer to so many of you. Miss you and love you much!!
- Lindsey, Henry, and Anna Grace
Saturday, January 2, 2010
New Pictures
Here are some recent pictures.
The biggest darn potato I've ever purchased... maybe ever seen!
More of the mutant potato
This sucker took up the whole bottom of my biggest pot!
Abbie (Soodsma) Broekhuis and I decided to road trip to Canada in a quest to purchase caffeine free Mountain Dew. I didn't think the boarder patrol would let us in after Abbie asked the guy if he had to ask all of these questions or if he is just a curious person. Then, after he asked what we were shopping for and I said, 'clothes and things' Abbie chimed in with, 'Can we tell you something and you not get us in trouble?' (Oh gosh Abbie... please just don't say whatever you're about to say. One way or another we're going to get arrested) She informed the man that I am pregnant and that we needed to get into Canada to buy a bunch of Caffeine Free Mountain Dew. I think the boarder patrol man let us through just to get rid of us.
We had NO idea where to actually go in Vancouver so we stopped at a Starbucks and asked an employee what we should do with our afternoon. After saying, 'Ooh! You could go to the park! But it's raining... but the flowers would still be pretty! But they're probably dead...' (haha!) she drew us a GREAT map of how to get to downtown Vancouver and how to get to two different big malls. It was a life saver :)
We almost immediately identified ourselves as Americans by asking for the 'Restroom'... then realized when we saw the sign that we obviously should have asked for the 'Washroom' to blend in. Silly us!
At one of the malls we went to we found 'The REAL Canadian Superstore'. Having no idea what this place was all about we were very excited to experience it. And very excited to have our picture taken in front of this wall.
After having shopped for a while we decided it was time to get our Mountain Dew and head home. Abbie was very proud to have found a cart and figured out how to 'pay' for it using a Canadian coin (that we would get back when we returned the cart).
Abbie ready to retrieve our "prize"
We found the Mountain Dew! Good thing they had enough stocked on the shelves!
This lady thought we were nuts. We had several people give us funny looks and a few actually asked us about it. Abbie was quick to tell them that I'm pregnant and love Mountain Dew so we drove all the way from Seattle to get Caffeine Free Mountain Dew because we don't have that in America etc etc etc (if you know Abbie). :)
And we're leaving The REAL Canadian Superstore, "prize" in hand
Our purchases and the mall:
2 Sweatshirts for Abbie to wear when she's teaching PE
2 'Canadian looking' hats that we could NOT leave Canada without!
10 12 Packs of Caffeine Free Mountain Dew
A close up of our sweet hats
Abbie and I, with our hats, in front of the Peace Arch on the way home
The biggest darn potato I've ever purchased... maybe ever seen!
More of the mutant potato
This sucker took up the whole bottom of my biggest pot!
Abbie (Soodsma) Broekhuis and I decided to road trip to Canada in a quest to purchase caffeine free Mountain Dew. I didn't think the boarder patrol would let us in after Abbie asked the guy if he had to ask all of these questions or if he is just a curious person. Then, after he asked what we were shopping for and I said, 'clothes and things' Abbie chimed in with, 'Can we tell you something and you not get us in trouble?' (Oh gosh Abbie... please just don't say whatever you're about to say. One way or another we're going to get arrested) She informed the man that I am pregnant and that we needed to get into Canada to buy a bunch of Caffeine Free Mountain Dew. I think the boarder patrol man let us through just to get rid of us.
We had NO idea where to actually go in Vancouver so we stopped at a Starbucks and asked an employee what we should do with our afternoon. After saying, 'Ooh! You could go to the park! But it's raining... but the flowers would still be pretty! But they're probably dead...' (haha!) she drew us a GREAT map of how to get to downtown Vancouver and how to get to two different big malls. It was a life saver :)
We almost immediately identified ourselves as Americans by asking for the 'Restroom'... then realized when we saw the sign that we obviously should have asked for the 'Washroom' to blend in. Silly us!
At one of the malls we went to we found 'The REAL Canadian Superstore'. Having no idea what this place was all about we were very excited to experience it. And very excited to have our picture taken in front of this wall.
After having shopped for a while we decided it was time to get our Mountain Dew and head home. Abbie was very proud to have found a cart and figured out how to 'pay' for it using a Canadian coin (that we would get back when we returned the cart).
Abbie ready to retrieve our "prize"
We found the Mountain Dew! Good thing they had enough stocked on the shelves!
This lady thought we were nuts. We had several people give us funny looks and a few actually asked us about it. Abbie was quick to tell them that I'm pregnant and love Mountain Dew so we drove all the way from Seattle to get Caffeine Free Mountain Dew because we don't have that in America etc etc etc (if you know Abbie). :)
And we're leaving The REAL Canadian Superstore, "prize" in hand
Our purchases and the mall:
2 Sweatshirts for Abbie to wear when she's teaching PE
2 'Canadian looking' hats that we could NOT leave Canada without!
10 12 Packs of Caffeine Free Mountain Dew
A close up of our sweet hats
Abbie and I, with our hats, in front of the Peace Arch on the way home
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Getting things off my chest...
Ok, this is going to be me rambling about frustrations. So, if you'd rather not read this entry, I understand. However, I feel like writing it may help me get over it.
Today was a busy day. We went Christmas shopping today and went fairly early to try to beat the crowds. It was a pretty successful day but we didn't get home until 3:00. We had just over an hour before we had to leave again for church bowling league (yay...). In that time I had to put together a meat, cheese, and cracker platter and wrap our gifts for the gift exchange. By 4:30 we were out the door with bags of extra plates and cuttlery and other things that people may have forgotten.
It was raining on the way down, which was kind of stressful because the roads were busy, and darkness and rain never help that! Before we got to the bowling alley we had to pick up some plastic table cloths. We went to the grocery store near by and could NOT find stupid plastic table cloths! Finally we found the ONE hook of table cloths that they had and grabbed a couple of those. We got to the bowling alley and had to move some of the stuff to get things set up, but we finally got it done! We began setting food out and people started showing up. The people who were arriving were opening the food up as we were putting it out and digging right in. Once others saw them scooping up their plates they started coming to get food too. Bowling hadn't even begun. I looked at the table and was definately worried about having enough food. But, I thought, more will come... it always does. The families that came after that thought brought in their small plate of cookies or brownies and all dug in to the very few plates of actual food. By the time bowling started my meat and cheese tray was gone. The plate of chicken wings and meatballs was gone too. I felt bad for the people who got there right on time and had only veggies or cookies to choose from because that's all people were bringing and they were NOT eating it! Ugh. It's a good thing that I haven't been wanting much food lately anyway. And I hope that people who brought food actually got to eat some of it and that all the spouses and kids of the families who brought a veggie tray or cookies didn't eat it all. People who cop out and bring something small and crappy to a get together, but then pig out, just really get to me. So, that was getting under my skin.
While I was trying to get the food set up I was also trying to keep the 'male' and 'female' gifts organized. When someone gets a strike they get to go pick a gift. I'm not sure if you can see where this is going, butI wasn't surprised. People who brought gifts got to pick one. I, of course, didn't get a strike until the 3rd game. By that time I had already noticed that there were no gifts left on the table. Part of me wanted to just say, 'ugh, who cares', but there was definately a part of me that was angry that someone didn't follow the rules! The gifts are usually small and sometimes stupid to the point where I wouldn't even want to take it home. It was the principle, though, that I couldn't have gotten a present even if I would have wanted one. I felt like I had gone through all this work to do my part for the Christmas party and then didn't get any food or a gift because other people were free loading. I probably shouldn't have let it, but it pretty much ruined my night.
So, hopefully tomorrow is a better day.
Today was a busy day. We went Christmas shopping today and went fairly early to try to beat the crowds. It was a pretty successful day but we didn't get home until 3:00. We had just over an hour before we had to leave again for church bowling league (yay...). In that time I had to put together a meat, cheese, and cracker platter and wrap our gifts for the gift exchange. By 4:30 we were out the door with bags of extra plates and cuttlery and other things that people may have forgotten.
It was raining on the way down, which was kind of stressful because the roads were busy, and darkness and rain never help that! Before we got to the bowling alley we had to pick up some plastic table cloths. We went to the grocery store near by and could NOT find stupid plastic table cloths! Finally we found the ONE hook of table cloths that they had and grabbed a couple of those. We got to the bowling alley and had to move some of the stuff to get things set up, but we finally got it done! We began setting food out and people started showing up. The people who were arriving were opening the food up as we were putting it out and digging right in. Once others saw them scooping up their plates they started coming to get food too. Bowling hadn't even begun. I looked at the table and was definately worried about having enough food. But, I thought, more will come... it always does. The families that came after that thought brought in their small plate of cookies or brownies and all dug in to the very few plates of actual food. By the time bowling started my meat and cheese tray was gone. The plate of chicken wings and meatballs was gone too. I felt bad for the people who got there right on time and had only veggies or cookies to choose from because that's all people were bringing and they were NOT eating it! Ugh. It's a good thing that I haven't been wanting much food lately anyway. And I hope that people who brought food actually got to eat some of it and that all the spouses and kids of the families who brought a veggie tray or cookies didn't eat it all. People who cop out and bring something small and crappy to a get together, but then pig out, just really get to me. So, that was getting under my skin.
While I was trying to get the food set up I was also trying to keep the 'male' and 'female' gifts organized. When someone gets a strike they get to go pick a gift. I'm not sure if you can see where this is going, butI wasn't surprised. People who brought gifts got to pick one. I, of course, didn't get a strike until the 3rd game. By that time I had already noticed that there were no gifts left on the table. Part of me wanted to just say, 'ugh, who cares', but there was definately a part of me that was angry that someone didn't follow the rules! The gifts are usually small and sometimes stupid to the point where I wouldn't even want to take it home. It was the principle, though, that I couldn't have gotten a present even if I would have wanted one. I felt like I had gone through all this work to do my part for the Christmas party and then didn't get any food or a gift because other people were free loading. I probably shouldn't have let it, but it pretty much ruined my night.
So, hopefully tomorrow is a better day.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Happy December
Well, November flew by without really being acknowledged in my blog. For that, November, I apologize. So far we've had a good late fall/winter. It has definately gotten colder here in the Pacific Northwest. Not as cold as many other places, of course, but cold enough for us.
Many weekends in November ended up being fun or adventurous or relaxingor all of those things put together. We spent the last weekend of October in Spokane with Mama and Papa Hoekema. We did some Christmas shopping and spent some quality time there and we ate at Sonic, of course.
The next weekend started on November 6th when I boarded a late flight to Milwaukee to visit my dear, dear friend Suzanne. She, however, was unaware of my visit. After some sneaky planning I surprised Suzanne after her and Jason got engaged. I spent a quick, wonderful weekend in Elm Grove and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Suz again.
On November 12 and 13 we had parent teacher conferences at Seattle Christian. It was a long two days and I'm glad to have that over with for another year.
The following week Henry and I each took 2 days off of work to take a weekend trip away for Henry's 30th birthday. We decided to spend a couple of nights at a lodge up in the mountains. It was wonderful and relaxing. We were sure though to make it home by Saturday night for Church Bowling league (Whew!).
Wednesday, November 25th, Henry and I boarded a late flight that, thankfully, left SeaTac airport on time and headed to Montana. We arrived just before midnight and were tired but very happy to be at the Hoekema house on Canal Rd. Thursday was Thanksgiving and we relived all of the memories and traditions of a typical Thanksgiving holiday in Churchill. It was absolutely wonderful. We started the day at Bethel CRC with a great Thanksgiving day service. We came home to the absolute best smell ever... a turkey, cooked to perfection, and ready to be carved and devoured. We took part in the best Thanksgiving activity EVER. We (I) hovered around the turkey as it was being carved and snuck pieces of delicious goodness. Quality control you know... Family came over and we enjoyed a true feast. After dinner many of us fell asleep on various pieces of furniture while others of us sat around and visited (I was a visitor, fyi). Later in the afternoon we pulled out Phase Ten and played until most of us were sick of it. As we played we, of course, snacked. Shortly after phase ten was put away it was decided that a round of the Farming Game must be played. Around 5:30-6:00 we made mom pull out the left overs and heat them up so we could stuff ourselves some more. It was a truly great day. Friday was THANKSMAS!! The ladies started the day with some shopping the met the guys (who spent the morning 'farming') at Burger Bob's for some lunch (tradition!). It was just as delicious as I remember. After a little more shopping we came home again to prepare for Thanksmas festivities. I, however, was in dire need of a nap and gave in to that need. Dinner Friday night consisted of Chicken Cordon Bleu (tradition!), baked potatoes (of course), salad, corn, and sparkling cider. It was indeed a candle lit dinner with Manheim Steamroller Christmas music in the background. We finished a delightful meal off by giving Willem (the CUTEST kid in the world... hands down) a slice of his birthday cake. He, like most kids, picked up the whole slice and tried to shove it in his mouth. I must admit, it was quite cute. Like every other dinner that precedes gift giving, dishes were done in record time. After dinner and after Willem changed into his cute little pajamas, we began opening Christmas gifts. It's not even close when I say that the highlight of the evening was Willem wearing his cute little hat and then trying to do a backstroke in all the wrapping paper. I ask you, what's more precious than a happy, giggling 11 1/2 month old? I can't think of anything. After putting Willem to bed we all settled in to watch the movie 'Up', which was a big hit. Saturday morning we all went for breakfast to the Garden Cafe, grandpa and grandma Flikk included. It was delightful. After that Amber and Andrew began the long treck back to Iowa which was, unfortunately, the beginning of the end of our Thanksmas weekend. Once we got home Ashley and I decided to put together a gingerbread house kit that Mom had gotten for us. We should have paid more attention to the word 'mini' on the box when we were considering how much candy we would need. We had plenty of candy, which was nice, because there was more for us all to munch on. Before we finished the ginger bread houses one of Drew's friends stopped by to take him to the airport. Yet another Hoekie left the nest again. Henry and I were the only out of towners left. I spent most of the afternoon playing games with Ashley and Mom. We played some great quiddler! After still more turkey (this time in the form of 'turkey ala king'... yummmm), we had a quiet Saturday night around the Hoekie house. Sunday morning Henry and I woke up early and drove in to Bozeman to meet Dave and Steph Cole for lunch at Mainstreet Overeasy. We had a nice visit and a good breakfast. It was good to catch up with them again. From there we drove over to Bethel to enjoy one more service there before lewaving for Washington. The first advent candle was lit and pastor Brad preached a good message. Yet another nice Sunday morning. After church we went home to still another delicious smelling meal. Papa H had slaved all morning over a delicious looking prime rib. Mom and Dad worked on getting dinner on the table while Henry and I packed. The prime rib was absolutely delicious. Definately a great way to end a weekend of delicious eating! Shortly after lunch Mom and Dad drove us to the airport to fly back home to Seattle. What a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Now we're home again and enjoying all the things that December and anticipation of Christmas bring with it. This weekend our Sunday School group from school put the Christmas decorations up at church. Things went well and we were quite happy with the fellowship that we had while working on that project. Yesterday, however, I accepted the fact that I do, indeed, have quite the cold.
Today I drug myself out of bed, took some Sudafed and headed off to church. We had a good message from Pastor Clay and then enjoyed some time in our Sunday school class. I was happy, however, to get home and into my sweats. Most of today was spent napping and laying on the couch with a big box of Kleenex.
So, that's where we're at. Chief and I, curled up on the couch, watching football even though Henry isn't here (he's at his friend's house playing some dumb video game... but I still love him).
In case I don't post again, I wish you all a very blessed Christmas. I pray that God gives you peace and assurance of His perfect plan in your life!
Lots of love from Kent, WA-
- Lindsey and Chief (and Henry at heart)
Many weekends in November ended up being fun or adventurous or relaxingor all of those things put together. We spent the last weekend of October in Spokane with Mama and Papa Hoekema. We did some Christmas shopping and spent some quality time there and we ate at Sonic, of course.
The next weekend started on November 6th when I boarded a late flight to Milwaukee to visit my dear, dear friend Suzanne. She, however, was unaware of my visit. After some sneaky planning I surprised Suzanne after her and Jason got engaged. I spent a quick, wonderful weekend in Elm Grove and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Suz again.
On November 12 and 13 we had parent teacher conferences at Seattle Christian. It was a long two days and I'm glad to have that over with for another year.
The following week Henry and I each took 2 days off of work to take a weekend trip away for Henry's 30th birthday. We decided to spend a couple of nights at a lodge up in the mountains. It was wonderful and relaxing. We were sure though to make it home by Saturday night for Church Bowling league (Whew!).
Wednesday, November 25th, Henry and I boarded a late flight that, thankfully, left SeaTac airport on time and headed to Montana. We arrived just before midnight and were tired but very happy to be at the Hoekema house on Canal Rd. Thursday was Thanksgiving and we relived all of the memories and traditions of a typical Thanksgiving holiday in Churchill. It was absolutely wonderful. We started the day at Bethel CRC with a great Thanksgiving day service. We came home to the absolute best smell ever... a turkey, cooked to perfection, and ready to be carved and devoured. We took part in the best Thanksgiving activity EVER. We (I) hovered around the turkey as it was being carved and snuck pieces of delicious goodness. Quality control you know... Family came over and we enjoyed a true feast. After dinner many of us fell asleep on various pieces of furniture while others of us sat around and visited (I was a visitor, fyi). Later in the afternoon we pulled out Phase Ten and played until most of us were sick of it. As we played we, of course, snacked. Shortly after phase ten was put away it was decided that a round of the Farming Game must be played. Around 5:30-6:00 we made mom pull out the left overs and heat them up so we could stuff ourselves some more. It was a truly great day. Friday was THANKSMAS!! The ladies started the day with some shopping the met the guys (who spent the morning 'farming') at Burger Bob's for some lunch (tradition!). It was just as delicious as I remember. After a little more shopping we came home again to prepare for Thanksmas festivities. I, however, was in dire need of a nap and gave in to that need. Dinner Friday night consisted of Chicken Cordon Bleu (tradition!), baked potatoes (of course), salad, corn, and sparkling cider. It was indeed a candle lit dinner with Manheim Steamroller Christmas music in the background. We finished a delightful meal off by giving Willem (the CUTEST kid in the world... hands down) a slice of his birthday cake. He, like most kids, picked up the whole slice and tried to shove it in his mouth. I must admit, it was quite cute. Like every other dinner that precedes gift giving, dishes were done in record time. After dinner and after Willem changed into his cute little pajamas, we began opening Christmas gifts. It's not even close when I say that the highlight of the evening was Willem wearing his cute little hat and then trying to do a backstroke in all the wrapping paper. I ask you, what's more precious than a happy, giggling 11 1/2 month old? I can't think of anything. After putting Willem to bed we all settled in to watch the movie 'Up', which was a big hit. Saturday morning we all went for breakfast to the Garden Cafe, grandpa and grandma Flikk included. It was delightful. After that Amber and Andrew began the long treck back to Iowa which was, unfortunately, the beginning of the end of our Thanksmas weekend. Once we got home Ashley and I decided to put together a gingerbread house kit that Mom had gotten for us. We should have paid more attention to the word 'mini' on the box when we were considering how much candy we would need. We had plenty of candy, which was nice, because there was more for us all to munch on. Before we finished the ginger bread houses one of Drew's friends stopped by to take him to the airport. Yet another Hoekie left the nest again. Henry and I were the only out of towners left. I spent most of the afternoon playing games with Ashley and Mom. We played some great quiddler! After still more turkey (this time in the form of 'turkey ala king'... yummmm), we had a quiet Saturday night around the Hoekie house. Sunday morning Henry and I woke up early and drove in to Bozeman to meet Dave and Steph Cole for lunch at Mainstreet Overeasy. We had a nice visit and a good breakfast. It was good to catch up with them again. From there we drove over to Bethel to enjoy one more service there before lewaving for Washington. The first advent candle was lit and pastor Brad preached a good message. Yet another nice Sunday morning. After church we went home to still another delicious smelling meal. Papa H had slaved all morning over a delicious looking prime rib. Mom and Dad worked on getting dinner on the table while Henry and I packed. The prime rib was absolutely delicious. Definately a great way to end a weekend of delicious eating! Shortly after lunch Mom and Dad drove us to the airport to fly back home to Seattle. What a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Now we're home again and enjoying all the things that December and anticipation of Christmas bring with it. This weekend our Sunday School group from school put the Christmas decorations up at church. Things went well and we were quite happy with the fellowship that we had while working on that project. Yesterday, however, I accepted the fact that I do, indeed, have quite the cold.
Today I drug myself out of bed, took some Sudafed and headed off to church. We had a good message from Pastor Clay and then enjoyed some time in our Sunday school class. I was happy, however, to get home and into my sweats. Most of today was spent napping and laying on the couch with a big box of Kleenex.
So, that's where we're at. Chief and I, curled up on the couch, watching football even though Henry isn't here (he's at his friend's house playing some dumb video game... but I still love him).
In case I don't post again, I wish you all a very blessed Christmas. I pray that God gives you peace and assurance of His perfect plan in your life!
Lots of love from Kent, WA-
- Lindsey and Chief (and Henry at heart)
Monday, October 26, 2009
October and Pumpkins
There hasn't been a whole lot new in the month of October. I'm finally finished coaching volleyball which is SO nice! The season definately could have gone better but it's in the past! :) Woo Hoo! About 1 more week of free afternoons and basketball starts. At least I'm a volunteer coach and don't have to be there every day! It's hard thinking about giving up afternoons until March but I do love it I suppose.
Last Saturday we went and carved pumpkins with some of our friends. Here's a picture of the pumpkins that Henry and I carved. I have to admit, we both used templates so we can't take all of the credit. It was a beautiful and fun day!
Last Saturday we went and carved pumpkins with some of our friends. Here's a picture of the pumpkins that Henry and I carved. I have to admit, we both used templates so we can't take all of the credit. It was a beautiful and fun day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
