Christmas in Florida

We had a wonderful week in Florida with my parents and sister. Here are some highlights and a slide show of pictures...

• Beautiful, warm, sunny weather!
• Spending tons of time swimming in the pool and watching the kids get braver and more relaxed in the water
• Seeing my aunt, uncle and cousins and spending an afternoon at the beach with them
• Enjoying a morning at the Sarasota Jungle Gardens
• Playing at a playground, going for walks, playing games and just relaxing
• Watching Miriam's walking skills improve over the course of the week
• Celebrating Peter's birthday (again) and my birthday (early)
• Having great family time away from the busyness and distractions of life at home

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES!

Happy 3rd Birthday Peter!

Our favorite little boy is 3 already! After Peter opened a couple gifts from us this morning, we continued our tradition of going out for donuts on his birthday and headed to Marge's. Then we came home and played and hung out and also did laundry and packed for our trip to Florida. In the afternoon some friends stopped by and after supper our neighbors came over to help us eat some of the leftover cake from Saturday night. It's good to start and end the day with sweets, right?

Peter is really good at being thankful and appreciative for his gifts. He'll say things like, "Oh, thank you SO much!" or "That's SO cool!" in a very sincere and excited voice. My favorite moment this morning was when he opened one of his gifts from us. It was a bunch of extra track for his GeoTrax train set, but I had wrapped it in a Pull-Ups box. When he took the wrapping paper off, he said "Oooh, more pull-ups for me?!" in a really excited voice. This kid would make Miss Manners proud.

Peter is such a fun little guy. He's always moving and has boundless energy. He loves cars, trucks, trains and emergency vehicles. When we're riding in the car, he points out every bus, police car, UPS truck, etc... that he sees. He's been totally into puzzles lately and will actually sit somewhat still to complete one! He loves to do whatever Esther is doing, which doesn't always make Daddy very happy when she's playing Barbies or dressing up like a princess. He also loves Miriam as long as she isn't getting into his stuff. He's an all-around great kid, and we're so thankful for our buddy!

Snowed In

Today ended up being a stay inside day due to all the snow and wind we had. Church was cancelled this morning, so we decided to let the kids open their Christmas gifts from us. We will be flying to Florida over Christmas to be with my parents and sister, so we were planning to have the kids open their gifts today anyway. We had a fun day playing with the new toys they got last night and today.

We were all disappointed that Esther's Christmas program at church was also cancelled this afternoon. They will be doing it on Christmas morning instead, so Esther will not be able to participate. She has worked so hard to learn her "5 Little Candles" poem and the songs she was going to sing, so she was pretty sad when we told her about it being cancelled. We told her she'll have to do a special little program for all of us by herself on Christmas. She said Peter can do it with her if he wants, so we'll see what they come up with!

Christmas/Peter's Birthday with the K's

Last night we celebrated Christmas and Peter's birthday with Casey's family. We had a great time eating, playing and hanging out together. The kids got some really fun gifts that they were very excited about.

Peter had a fire truck cake for his first birthday, but his request this year was for a fire truck theme again. Who can blame the boy when he has a fire truck bed and a Daddy who is a firefighter? Grandma was also told that he did NOT want a chocolate cake (how can this kid be my son?), it had to be vanilla. Of course she granted his request, and he was very excited.

Sweet and Silly Sisters

Sweet...Silly...

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Amazingly, today marks 11 years of married bliss (or blur....not really sure sometimes). Where has the time gone? And who would have imagined what our crazy lives would be like today?

As crazy as life is, we are truly blessed and wouldn't change a thing....here are some highlights over the years, from my perspective anyway.

1997-1998 Casey is really glad Laura didn't come to her senses and back out on him, despite his own mother questioning her as to whether she really wants to get "stuck" with me. (We have this on tape at the wedding) Casey is also wondering if all new brides feel that the time to "talk" is sometime between the hours of 10:30 PM and midnight.....a time when civilized people go to sleep. Casey also learns that informing your new bride that she is rather "yappy" at night is not seen as a term of endearment by said new bride. We are also living in a small 2 bedroom home with contact paper on the floor. Casey is working for Comprenew.

1998-1999 Whew, that first year of "adjustments" is over and we are on to year number 2. I think people have stopped referring to us as "newly-weds". We have moved out of our rental in Alger Heights and into a very nice 2 bedroom (with a fireplace!) apartment in Kentwood. Casey has spent the year learning how to have a "filter". This may have been based in part on an unfortunate haircutting experience his bride had which Casey may have expressed too honest of an opinion.....it may have sounded something like "I didn't know I married a boy."

1999-2000 Let's see, well, we bought a house in Alger Heights. That would be 3 years of marriage, 3 different living locations. Casey has also moved from working at Comprenew to Zeeland Lumber. That would be 3 years of marriage and 2 jobs....so far not a bad ratio. Laura has now finally come to grips with that fact that her husband does not want to have pillow talks involving life decisions. Casey has never again referred to his wife as "yappy". Casey has changed jobs.

2000-2004 Well, during this time we have been living the good life as DINKs (Dual Income, No Kids). We did however get a dog....Cody. Let's see, who's fabulous idea was that? Oh, yeah....mine. It sounded like a good idea at the time. I mean, if we can manage to keep a dog alive, we'll probably do OK with kids. Though, I'm pretty sure kids don't chew the legs off of the kitchen chairs while you are at work. Casey has changed jobs twice.

2004-2005 Move to a new house, Esther is born shortly thereafter. Our DINK status is now revoked. Adjustments to no longer sleeping (OK, adjustment for Laura, not so much me), changing diapers and hiring babysitters. Casey also stays home one day a week to watch Esther...it's OK everyone, you may now voice the fact that many were worried over this.

2005-2006 Peter is born....holy cow, what were we thinking....18 months between children!!! Cody is kicked out of our home (OK, he was lovingly given to another family). Casey begins the Kentwood Fire Fighter Academy. With the addition of the second child, Casey has now mastered "pretending to be asleep" when a child starts crying. Casey has changed jobs.

2007-2008 Miriam is born, we are now outnumbered. Laura has caught on to the "pretending to be sleeping" thing. Casey now just prays for more middle of the night fire calls, after all, we are awake anyways. Casey is glad Laura is still putting up with him....I can't handle 3 kids by myself...though, I'm pretty sure Laura feels the same way. Oh yeah, and Casey changed jobs again.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Today was Esther's pre-school Christmas program. Since I took the afternoon off on Monday for her birthday celebration, Casey and Peter went today. Casey said that it was fabulous and Esther was a perfect little angel!

Christmas Carol

Happy Pretend 1/2 Birthday Esther!

Today was Esther's birthday celebration at pre-school. For the students who have summer birthdays, they celebrate their half birthday. Since her half birthday is during Christmas break, this was the date they chose for her. Esther kept saying it was her "pretend" half birthday because she knows that her real half birthday is on Peter's birthday next week! I took the afternoon off work so that I could go along for the fun and be the helper for the day, and I'm so glad I was able to be there!

Esther was made to feel so special all day. We started the afternoon by telling about what Corduroy the bear had done at our house all weekend. She got to be the line leader when they went to library and she called shirt colors to dismiss the kids for snack. She also got a birthday crown and birthday balloon flower, and we brought cupcakes and a small gift for the class.

The best part of the afternoon was when Birthday Lion came out. Birthday Lion is one of Mrs. M's puppets and he comes out for each child's birthday. He always thinks it's his birthday, so the kids have to correct him. Then they have to give him clues about whose birthday it really is by describing the child because he doesn't hear names. It's so cute, and the kids get so excited about it!

Traffic Lesson

Today we passed one of these signs while we were driving. I always thought that this sign meant that there was a school/pedestrian crossing, but apparently I was mistaken. Esther said, "Hey, there's one of those signs that means you have to hold hands when you cross the street so that you don't slip!" Kind of makes sense, doesnt it?

Good Memory

The other day we were driving along and Peter said "School bus!" It was actually one of those little buses that some daycare centers have, but it does look like a school bus. Then he said, "It's from the ice cream place!" Esther and I were somewhat confused about what he meant, so I started trying to think about what connection he could be making. Then I remembered that the Hersey Ice Cream store where we go sometimes in the summer has a daycare center next door to it, and we'd seen that bus in their parking lot. Sometimes I'm amazed at the way the kids' minds hold information!

The Reason for the Season

We've been reading a kids' Advent devotional book each night. There is a short verse, a prayer, and an activity for each day of Advent. Tonight the activity was to think of a list of good things that God has given us. I asked Esther if she could think of some and here was her response:

Food
Friends
Light
Apples
Trees
The most important thing is Jesus

Yup, she gets it. I'm glad my 4 year old can remind me of where my focus should be during this crazy time of year when it's easy to get swept up in the commericalized side of Christmas.

Happy 1st Birthday Miriam!

Sweet, silly Miriam is one already! It's hard to believe that a year has passed since she joined our family. She adds such joy to our lives and we love having her around to make us smile and laugh. She has a great laugh, loves to climb and is quite a little busybody, always on the go. Here are some pictures from her birthday celebration.

Kuperus Funny Farm

No, we haven't gone back into farming. But it is December, so it is time for the kids and I to make another gingerbread creation. Our first year was a house, last year was Shawnee Park Church, and this year it was requested to make a farm. This stretched my "abilities" a little, but all in all, we are pretty pleased with the end result. As of 10:00 this morning, the kids have finally come down off their sugar high....apparently a lot of the candy went from the wrapper to their mouths instead of to the farm. (I blame Mommy for teaching them this).