Playgroup!

I had to share this photo of James with his lady friends. Every Wednesday I get together with two other moms and their kids. We try to chat while the kids try to stay out of trouble. I always look forward to the company! This particular day, James learned how to play "Ring Around the Rosy". He got everything but the falling down part. He would watch the other girls tumble down, and look at them with a smile as if to say, "what are you doing?". It was darling.

A Visit From Marie

Marie came out to visit on New Year's Eve and was able to stay until the following Monday. We sure did enjoy her visit and hope to see her more often! (wink wink) Aside from visiting and eating massive amounts of hor deurves and ollie bollen... we also made time for an excursion to Chicago to see the Museum of Science and Industry. What alot to see in a day! The highlight for me was to see all the trees they had on display for Christmas. Each one represented a different country. I have to say, the Canadian tree was a bit cheesy, though very patriotic... but the Dutch tree was beautiful! And I suppose the American tree was the biggest one in the middle of them all... filled with lights... at least I didn't see a smaller one showing American culture. Well... I guess the is the culture of the United States... bigger is better!

James and his Aunt Marie having a ball on the cow.

Jerry found a display of ComEd from back in the day.... photo op!

James is posing in a tractor tire... Jerry needs these kind of tires on his truck, no? Isn't bigger better?

Boxing Day Sales!

Jerry and I hit the post Christmas sales... and Jerry walked away with a big smile on his face. He got the tools he'd been wanting... and I got the hopes of home improvements! Wish me luck! James is helping him check out the tools and giving them his added touch of drool.

Christmas!!

Christmas Day, 2008. Our family got an amazing gift... a new born nephew! Trenton Richard. He was a wee bit sooner than expected... but God's timing is perfect. :) In the evening of our beautiful day, we decided to open our gifts from Mom and Dad Haveman, after being encouraged to do so by Grampa... whoopee! We sure did appreciate our books... I remember the children's devotional from my childhood too! And James sure did like his chocolate! And the book too. What a great bedtime story... "Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!" heehee.

James has been working on using a fork with his dinner to feed himself. He's not doing too bad for a beginner, but last night he missed his mouth and the meat stuck to his nose. James wasn't phased a bit! He still had big smiles for the camera :) That's what Canadian blood will do to you, eh?


Here's James sporting his new winter hat... Isn't it just the warmest thing ever?

Jerry and his new gadget. Because a man can never have enough flashlights... he got 3 in 1, and it will stand on a tripod! Cool.

And here's the blanket I made for James... cowboys and indians. I think he's smiling more at his daddy than at the blanket... but someday he'll realize how wonderfully warm it is and how cool the cowboy is ;)... I mean on the blanket... but I suppose... never mind :)

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and pray God's blessings on you and yours for a wonderful New Year!

OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL!

They were calling for ice, and the ice came! The pictures don't quite do it justice... The trees are so beautiful with a lining of ice on every branch. See my icicles hanging from the eaves? They might not sparkle at night, but when the light catches them, I think they're amazing. And all the power lines are coated with about a 1/4 inch of ice also, with little icicles hanging down. ComEd let Jerry and his classmates graduate a day early so they could deal with all the "power"ful effects of the ice... so today, he may be working extra long. Thank goodness we still have power here, or it'd be mighty chilly!

Here's our little sweetheart getting into the cupboards... hmm. We tried to deter him with cupboard locks... but I guess I didn't pay enough for them. 3 of them broke already. Sheesh!

And here's our future Mozart, once again... tickling the ivorys. :)

Our family photo... this picture took MANY tries to get to where it's at.

And our humble little Christmas tree! I need to be making a tree skirt for it. I thought I had some material lying around, but now, of course, I can't find it. Ahh well. We just need to place some presents under. :)

40 Years, and Still Smiling

My parents were married 40 years ago on November 16, 1968. So to help them celebrate this monumental occasion, we made the trip up.

Aww... isn't that sweet? You should've heard all the grandkids gasp as this photo came up on the slide show! They couldn't believe their grandparents did that sort of thing!

And forty years later, they're still smiling and still VERY much in love! I have to add that Cole is standing there waiting for my parents reaction. He told them the gift was from his family and they had to scream when they opened it. Their artwork truly was awe inspiring! It was cute, he was so excited for them to see the gift. :)

This is the best shot we got of the family... too bad it's not everyone. It was a wonderful evening with all the grandkids performing a little something. Michael and Cheryl performed a little song "Do you love me" from fiddler on the roof that actually brought a tear to Mom's eye. I night to remember indeed!