Hondorp News

Thanksgiving weekend

2011-12-01T22:38:00.002-05:00

Living dangerously...that's what we're doing lately :) The truth is, when my dad and brothers get together, they discuss ideas and formulate ways to make the ideas happen. Well, in Vander Tuin fashion, it happened again and this time, in the form of a zip-line for the grand kids! All the grand kids were thrilled and were captured on film/video grinning from ear-to-ear...even the surly teenage ones :)

Yes we are still alive

2011-07-24T22:01:00.003-04:00

Well it has been awhile since an update. We are alive and well in BC and enjoying the summer. The pool has been very busy and Emma and Sam have started to grow gills and webs between toes and fingers. We haven't ventured very far from Byron Center this summer, but are having a great time. We are looking forward to Byron Days coming up and some camping in August and Labor Day weekend.

Lucy the pony + sanity

2011-05-14T10:59:00.003-04:00

Let's be honest...I live for play dates (i.e. sanity) just about as much (or more) than my kids do. While it's exciting for them to see friends, experience new things, play with new toys, I love (crave?!) a teeny tiny bit of adult conversation and a few sips of coffee w/o two wrangling kids attached to my hip. It doesn't need to be said that I love my children with every single solitary bone in my body and that I'd go to the moon and back for them, but for real...I'm not the type to sit around, hold hands, sing kumbaya, all while figuring out our next craft. (There's always room for improvement, right?)

Today, Lucy the pony (and accompanying farm, dirt, swings, dirt, tractors, dirt, friends, dirt, cat, dirt, etc) was part of our awesome play date. Emma's smile almost broke her face she was so excited/happy to be riding on Lucy's back...which also makes mom happy. Farms (and dirt) rule!

Angelic voices

2011-03-07T21:39:00.002-05:00

Sunday, March 6

Cousins

2011-02-20T11:45:00.002-05:00

I have a nephew, Aidan, who is sweet and kind as the day is long, but Shhh! don't tell anyone, he might not want you to know that :)

I had my triplet nieces and nephew over for the weekend (Joel was gone all weekend) and Aidan thought that Sam might want to watch Star Wars with him. Well, Sam got a little bored I think...so he fell fast asleep in Aidan's lap. How precious to have such awesome family/cousins! I've said this before and I'll say it again; I grew up far away (South Dakota, Iowa, Canada) from any relatives so having family close by,now, is quite a treat and I will never take it for granted!

Saturday funtime

2011-02-19T18:38:00.002-05:00

Joel is gone all weekend with some small group boys, up north, so it was me, the kids and some cousins. What's the next best thing to the zoo? The local pet store. We spent quite a while looking at these charming specimens...they were quite "cute" in a creepy-stay-in-the-cage-please sort of way.

Pick me! Pick me!

No, meee, in the corner....Pla-ease! I beg you!

I promise to be nice, please, please, please...

I'm BEGGING you...pick me!

No! you can't walk away....Nooooooooooo!

Our baby is FIVE!!

2011-02-18T21:39:00.002-05:00

Emma turned FIVE YEARS OLD on February 13. We are still grateful + amazed beyond words that God chose us to be Emma's parents! We love her dearly and often fall into bed at night (tired, of course) laughing, while reliving one of many Emma-isms or antics. She is a thoughtful, bright, witty and FULL of love of life! She will try nearly anything at least once, and has more excitement in her pinky than her mom and dad, combined.

Needless to say, once we decided to have Emma's birthday party at For the Kidz, she never stopped asking who was coming and how many sleeps until the party. We were just as excited as she was for the big day to arrive :)

This place is a kid's dream, especially in the midst of winter

Air!

Cake, Mmmm!

Bedtime dance

2011-02-10T22:28:00.002-05:00

A classic bedtime stall tactic, but priceless, nonetheless...

Perspective.

2011-02-10T21:17:00.002-05:00

There are days that I whine, hate my laundry, am tired of my kids, don't feel like picking up, don't feel like working...my list could go on and on. I'm not proud of this, but it's reality.

These are the days that I need a slap upside the head. Today, this blog was my slap. I read this blog often and I love it. It challenges me to be different, it challenges me to remember what is important, it challenges me to be like Jesus.

You should put this blog in YOUR blog reading repertoire, you won't be disappointed.

Weekend in review

2011-02-07T21:06:00.005-05:00

Grandpa and Grandma H. were preparing to leave on a trip, so we made a visit
to say goodbye and just hang out. Here's Sam getting into Grandma's biz...what he does best!
Look how precariously he's standing on that magazine rack.

Brother-love...it lasts for about 2.7 seconds, then silliness ensues.
We went to David and Angie's for dinner on Friday night.
Angie made divine wet burritos!

This past Saturday was donut-Saturday! Mmmm!

Sam chowing down on a donut hole

No Saturday is complete without a stop at Menard's

Saturday night we went to Ada, to my parent's house to celebrate Emma's
5th birthday since my parents will be gone during her birthday
(interestingly, they'll be traveling with Joel's parents)

Dad reading the card from Grandpa/Grandma

Our typical Sunday plans were thwarted due to Emma's mild illness so she stayed home with dad while Sam and I ventured off to church. For the Superbowl, we had some friends over for a relaxing evening of food and commercial watching :)

Rugged

2011-02-06T16:51:00.003-05:00

There's nothing more rugged than a man in his overalls, pencil in pocket, reading the newspaper all while petting his cat. Whatever you call it, he's all mine (the man and well, the cat too!).

Catch-up...

2011-01-24T14:59:00.005-05:00

Grandpa & Grandma just stop over sometimes...the kids LOVE to be
read to. It's a win-win for everyone.

Winter weather means finding alternate activities
like the library. Sam is JUST figuring out there is more to
do at the library than have mom run after him while he
takes every book off every shelf.

Emma has really grown into a little mom and watches Sam very
carefully. She is happiest when he plays along and
allows her to mother him. She actually is very responsible
and does a great job with him.

Between the YMCA and our pool, swim wear is staple at
our house, year round. Emma chose a new, pink, skirted suit
for her latest swimming endeavors and wanted to model it

Emma had an eye check-up recently, her first.
Her eyes were perfect and she followed everything the doctor
said, even having to sit still a 2nd time for those stinging eye-drops.

She loved the "space-ship" chair

protective eye-wear since her eyes were dilated.

Sam's 18 mo appointment (at 21 mo).
He's 50% in height, weight and head circumference,
but off the charts in character :)

NOTE: these are all mobile phone photos. I now use this nifty sync program that syncs my laptop/smart-phone to "the cloud" so it's easy for me post using my mobile photos, and let's face it, I have my phone with me ALL the time, vs. my camera. So, prepare to see less than high quality photos appear on my blog.

Baby Joseph Matthew

2011-01-24T14:45:00.004-05:00

Joey was born December 6, to Matt & Jenny, who are in our small group. We were all hopelessly excited to meet Joey, but due to some ugly complications and a long recovery, most of our small group hadn't even met the new shortie...until last Thursday (January 20).

The gals decided it was time; time to grab a bunch of grub and invade Joey's life, at least for an evening.

Needless to say, it was a blast reconnecting, eating mad amounts of delicious Thai food and fawning over Joey.

Melissa + Joey

Deb + Joel
(is that a jug o' Margarita in front of Deb? Mmm)

Bradi + Joey + glass of wine (why am I not surprised?)

The new, proud, first-time mama (Jenny) + Joey!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-19T21:02:00.002-05:00

BULLDOG spirit!!

2011-01-19T12:54:00.008-05:00

We here, in Byron Center, love our BULLDOGS! Growing up, I was an Ada Christian RAIDER (which Joel explained to me is not very politically correct and probably why they are now called the Ada Wildcats) then for a few short years I was a Grand Rapids Christian High EAGLE. I can't say that I exhibited or felt much passion for either the RAIDERS or EAGLES. No reason, just didn't. I probably didn't hang out with people (or parents) who cared all that much. I digress...

Now, for whatever reason (I'm married to a man who "bleeds" black/orange), I'm feeling a bit more passionate and actually have begun to have fun with this school "spirit" stuff. Also, I'm sure it's more fun to me now since I get to witness Emma enjoy the all the "rah-rah-hoopla" associated with the football games, local parades, etc. where she sees her friends from school/church also taking part in school spirit.

Fun, we're all about having fun...as seen in the photos below. Emma is just about ready to venture to school for "spirit" day. What you can't see are her fingernails painted orange, which she was so proud of.

Lots of orange and black!

(naval shot, not intended...just her fun spirit)
Please disregard Sam's head between Emma's legs. He
could not tolerate Emma receiving "all" the attention of having
her photo taken so he proceeded to scream and yell and climb up
onto the chair. That's my boy...

"So long, Farewell"

2011-01-17T21:19:00.002-05:00

What started as a "fun" toy-picking up adventure (blaring music, toys flying into toy bins...you get the picture) turned into a half evening of 4yo, choreographed songs from The Sound of Music, a family favorite.

Here's a song from the movie, entitled "So long, Farewell" that Emma has lovingly choreographed :)

Please notice Joel's bellowing addition to the final note of the song...if you can bear to watch the entire video.

Fun times in 2011

2011-01-09T21:43:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd start up the ole blog again...I sort of miss it, but I mostly miss the journaling aspect and the blog book I make at the end of each year. So, here we go...

We spent this weekend doing a bit of chilling and then went to a friend's house for dinner on Saturday night. Can we say, "fun!?"

We fed all the kids early so that the four adults could enjoy a relaxing dinner with adult conversation. Before I knew it, an hour and a half had passed and it was luxurious.

Here, Sam is performing an oratory on the pros and cons of eating english muffin bread pizza when it's piping hot. Everyone is quite entertained.

The adults had personal hibachi. It was uh-mazing with a delicious plethora of meats, fresh veggies and sauces

If you're ever in need of a clean-up crew, just ask if you borrow Sam.
The kids had finished dinner and about a half hour later, Sam came upstairs
and finished all their plates. He loves left overs and everyone's food, but his.

This is going on the Hondorp family Christmas list for 2011.
The Wii. It was a blast watching all the kids play the dancing game
and it might be nice if we could play it, too...

Claire and Sam playing a piano duet

Mrs. Sytsma, Claire and Sam

Everyone else was laughing, except Sam.
Cinder-Sam was not digging the wig

Again, hilarious...but Sam not digging the wig

ArtPrize!!

2010-09-30T21:36:00.005-04:00

ArtPrize was smashingly awesome, again. The vibe, excitement, energy...whatever you want to call it, is downright sweet. I've been seeing things here-n-there by just working downtown, but tonight our family toured on foot and saw as much as we could with two kids. We started in Rosa Park Circle, then to The B.O.B., then to foot bridge to VanAndel museum, and back. There's just no way you can see it all at one time, let alone many times. I hope we get to go back at least one more time before it's all done.

It was quite windy out tonight. Here, Emma is demonstrating
that she is about ready to take flight due to the high winds.

The crowds were amazing...

Sam's posse of chicas...poor boy

One of Emma's favorite and a TOP TEN pick!

Not ArtPrize, just a car to sit in...still a winner in our book

This one had me intrigued. 87,000
toothpicks to create this mermaid!

Cute idea...all the pianos about town

Joel's expression is not one of happy...it's more like
"Ahh, this seat isn't very comfortable...get me off, now!"

This one was super cool, very interactive
and had lovely sound

Ooh...very cool, but also a tad creepy...
it was so REAL looking

Emma's new babysitters. All eyes are on her!

Friends

2010-09-30T21:19:00.002-04:00

In the words of Bette Midler, "You gotta have friends."

Emma and Raegan don't see each other nearly as much as they used to these days...different school, they go to school on opposing days, their moms are busy, etc.

But, when they do see each other, it's sweet as punch to see their excitement! They just love to hug and hold hands (most of the time).

Hello neighbor!

2010-09-30T21:09:00.002-04:00

We are still getting to know our neighbors, albeit slowly, but surely.

But, let me tell ya, nothing says "HELLO NEIGHBOR!" like having your 50'-60' pine tree fall on their pool and deck.

Thank goodness they are super nice and gracious people, phew! Joel spent many nights over the last couple weeks using a chain saw, picking up, hauling away, etc. We actually had various people want every bit of this tree...we had no trouble getting rid of it.

In addition, we decided to cut down the other two, large pine trees that were right next to it, just in case those were also rotten.

We also learned a bit about insurance. Apparently, even though it was OUR tree, THEIR home owners insurance covers the damage. Who know? We sure didn't...

Again, who failed to tell me about all this home-ownership stuff?! :)

ArtPrize Jr.

2010-09-30T21:02:00.003-04:00

Emma got a hold of my point-n-shoot and apparently tried her hand a few self portraits. We aren't holding our breath for ArtPrize Jr., but I thought they were funny nonetheless.

I don't even know how to select ONE color processing...notice
ONLY the grass is green, the rest of the photo is B&W??!!

"If you take ONE more photo of me, sis...I'm gonna...!"

First AYSO game!

2010-09-11T14:14:00.003-04:00

Emma had her first AYSO soccer game, today, at Douglas Walker park. It was pouring rain, we all got soaked, but it was a fun time. I really enjoyed watching all the 4yo peanuts running around having a good time. I have no clue what the final score was (but I could probably tell you how many goals Emma made, if you asked, or even if you didn't...it was 3!).

Joel also did a great job coaching and refereeing, despite the pouring rain. I love that it's only 6 games (4 - 5 minute quarters for each game)...enough to learn a bit of sportsmanship, but not too many games to make our lives crazy. Here's to enjoying the next 5 Saturdays in the fall, crisp air!

Coach Hondorp giving last minute instruction before game

Go Green!

My soaked little girl...she LOVED it

learning all the basic soccer skills, like how to properly throw
a ball in-bounds

both teams congratulating one another after the game

Snack time post game

Growing up before my eyes

2010-09-04T22:05:00.003-04:00

I guess they do that, don't they...grow up, that is? Good thing she's turning into a nice, young girl who makes her dad and mom proud :)

WOUND. FOR. SOUND.

2010-09-04T21:45:00.001-04:00

Notice a common theme, here? I pray he uses his voice for the good of all man kind...because he's got one to use.

Buster 17.0

2010-08-22T20:30:00.004-04:00

Here's our little man, Sam. He's goofy, sensitive, curious beyond words, always moving, always moving, into everything and did I say, into everything? He's either going to keep us young, or kill us...we pray for the 1st option. We can't imagine life without him and thank God daily for hand-picking this bustling little buster to be ours!

From AUG 21

Helper

2010-08-07T22:40:00.008-04:00

Emma LOVES to help Joel or I with whatever WE ARE doing (note: it's a little different when we ask her to do her own chore). Just the other night, I found a few moments where Sam was contained so I grabbed by perennial shears and darted outside to dead head (or pretend to know what I'm doing w/ my perennials). Mere moments later, Emma had found our kitchen shears and was right next to me (I-could-feel-her-body-heat-close), doing the same thing. It was dog-gone cute.

And, I'll admit, there are many times (well, most times) when it's easier and quicker for me JUST TO DO IT MYSELF...when I don't have to stop to explain + show + teach what I'm doing. This is when I look to heaven and beg God to give me just ONE MORE OUNCE of patience. Plus, I'm always preaching this ("Please be patient and involve your kids with what you're doing...life is a learning process...and this will show them...yada yada yada...") to Joel, so how can I not do it myself.

Oh, and again, tonight...I planned to make salsa and fruit smoothies for dinner and Emma asked "when" all day long. She was SO excited to help chop, add, create, taste, etc...and again, my patience meter was hovering on "LOW FUEL" (especially after I realized my dumb mistake of adding about 16 frozen bananas too many to my poor smoothie-maker-that-could) but we made it through and she was so proud to have helped.

Anyhow, all that to say that Joel is FAR BETTER than I am at letting our little people help, when they are able to. He is 100% more patient and an adorable, kind teacher. See him (and Emma) in action below (Joel was trying to hurry up and surprise me, before I got home, by replacing our 46, glaring brass knobs with our new, matte black knobs).

Many shades of Emma

2010-08-01T21:18:00.013-04:00

We interrupt the regularly scheduled programming (Tennessee trip) to bring you a special "Emma" post.

There are times I reflect and just sit in awe at how God handed us this beautiful little girl that we named Emma. And, I get overwhelmed at times with the responsibility that God hand-picked this child, to be ours. We do the best we can do to raise her and we simply realize that God is right by our/her side, helping w/ any hiccups along the way. A lot of time spent on our knees sure doesn't hurt anything either :)

Emma is 4 1/2 years old and has matured so much in the last 1/2 year, it astounds me. She has so many talents and gifts that I often just wonder, how will she be used for God's kingdom? It truly excites me.

She is energetic, curious, happy, fun-loving, pleasing, eager, friendly, kind, sensitive and always loves a challenge.

Emma being a girly-girl and having her hair washed
before a trim. She is SO serious and studious
when others are tending to her.

Emma couldn't wait to help Gma + Gpa Hondorp
clean their condo before they moved in. She wouldn't stop
cleaning, even when Gma offered to read a book. Oh, and I'm grateful
she wiped down all the baseboards and I didn't have to :)

Emma helping Joel install new knobs on the kitchen
cabinets. Seriously, we show her how to do something ONE time
and that's it...she's off doing it, and WELL!

Byron Days...having fun

Checking out her candy-loot w/ friends Raegan and Nathan

That's my Emma...sprinting into whatever it is she's doing

Ahh, face paint...a beautiful butterfly

Tennessee vacation - DAY 1 & 2

2010-07-25T21:34:00.007-04:00

We started off on Friday, July 2, for the 2010 Vander Tuin Smokey Mountain vacation. This was going to be a 7 night, 8 day, family extravaganza...care of my parents, a Christmas gift to all 18 of us. Awesome.

We stayed in a "cabin" (read: massive luxury log home that slept 18 people more than comfortably) in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains and had access to an association pool. Dandy. It was a smokin' hot week and I mean HOT. Thank goodness we spent lots of time in the pool and chatting indoors in the A/C.

And, to make things easy, we ate in almost every meal and each family took turns cooking dinner. It turned out to be a great way to be together, plus we got to eat some fabulous cooking!

That's not to say that we didn't utilize the Smokey Mountain National Park. We did. Lots. Nearly every morning we drove, explored and walked at least some part of the park. My two older brothers led EARLY (before it was too hot) morning expeditions/hikes that were classified "strenuous." Let's just say I never made it on one of those, and the recipients of their leading often came back arguing what the term strenuous meant :)

On a side note, we technically stayed in the town of Pigeon Forge, TN, which was a carnival of cheesy tourist stops. We stayed far away from that mess, and don't regret it.

Lastly, and most importantly, we all have a GREAT time together and get along famously. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE having a "boring, no-drama" family!

My favorite part of the drive...two kids snoozing

hotel pool at an awesome Residence Inn in Dayton, OH
(we split the drive to TN, into two days)

Joel + Emma

floating head

Mmm...McDonald's (ugh!)

The moment we arrived, we all lounged on one of the four decks.
(Sam is naked because he had a horrific diaper rash)

Catch-up I

2010-07-21T22:42:00.003-04:00

This isn't going to be exciting for anyone reading this blog (assuming someone does), but I need to play a bit of catch-up, or my 2010 blog book will be missing many, important moments. Here's my attempt:

Joel was award Clerk of the Year for 2010 at
a Clerk's conference at Soaring Eagle resort. This is us,
doing our best impersonation of being cleaned up, prior to the dinner

Here, the Secretary of State, congratulates Joel

Here's his little award, aww! I'm so proud :)

Vacation Bible School carnival! What an awesome week!
We had almost 500 kids attend...Yea

The sea of carnival attenders...fun times!

It's not the warm weather I long for, it's charcoal, grilled,
meat! Joel can smoke a pair of baby backs like nobody's business.
It's about time for him to enter a contest me thinks...

A lapse in a mom's judgment here, it was HOT! I put the
the snack drawer within finger's reach of a 4yo....big mistake!

Swim lessons with Miss Anne

A common scene for Sam...him in a safety harness. If not, you'd
see me (not pretty) running my "you-know-what"all over creation trying
to keep him from destroying the world and himself

Emma's a fish. period. (as she should be, as much as she swims)

Perennials

2010-07-20T16:20:00.006-04:00

I'd love to take credit for all our lovely perennials, but I can't. It wouldn't be right. Instead, I'll take credit for walking around the gardens, looking busy by carrying a hoe or towing a wagon and wearing my weeding gloves. I even try to get my kid in on the game and let her follow me around with her pink, princess weeding gloves. At least she does use them.

Truth be told, our home's previous owners were clearly perennial lovers. They spent hours in these gardens and tended them well. I still break out in hives when I begin to think that I'm solely responsible for all these plants. I can grow a green, house plant like nobody's business, but this yard/landscape/grass/flower business is new. to. me.

Here's this years crop, thus far.

Hondorp birthday bash

2010-07-11T21:26:00.007-04:00

About half of the Hondorp clan has a June birthday so we make it a tradition to celebrate them all, at one time. Or, it's just another reason for a party. This year Joel and I insisted on hosting it and we chose a PERFECT summer night. The weather was HOT, the pool was COOL and the music coming from the adjacent park was SOOTHING. Oh, and the food and company were pretty darn good, too :)

Some, just chilling in the backyard under our one (Birch tree)
shade tree that we will forever be grateful for

This picture can't quite capture the "ooohs + aaaahs" that came
from peoples' mouths as they ripped into this succulent chicken on the bone...
Joel + charcoal = LOOOOOOVE

Emma offering to be the drink tender...from our dual purpose
garden wagon - BONUS!

Don't go calling CPS, just yet...what's wrong w/ a diaper-only
clad baby running around with a can (empty) of Budweiser.
(FYI - that's how we roll in Byron Center)
To easy any readers' angst, we don't allow any guest, under the
age of 13, to drink. No worries...

My hostas on the north side of the house. Someone
had to tell me these were hostas...

again, more diaper-only baby, running around the neighborhood
(our front sidewalk)

Crazy grandpa and grandma Hondorp!

Sam getting a little post-swim lovin' from grandma

The weekend after

2010-07-11T20:55:00.004-04:00

The weekend after we moved, my oldest brother and his brood (wife + four kids) came up from DeMotte, Indiana, to help us do a few more things to get settled in our new home. Let me just say that family rules. They worked their behinds off so we tried to off-set that with some good grub and pool time.

My dad + brother pulling a lilac bush out w/ a chain...normal fare
in the life of a Vander Tuin

My nephew, Ethan, helping Joel build our new Gorilla trailer

With yards and yards of perennials, I had to call in an expert,
my sister-in-law, Lauri. She is my resident perennial expert
who spent the weekend weeding, pruning and telling me (as best she

could to a novice) how to care for them all.

Even Emma go in on all the action and was hauling away
weeds to the compost pile

Two MAJOR items happening in this photo. In the background, my dad is
widening the barn doors to accommodate Joel's lawn tractor. In the foreground,
my brother has turned over the garden and planted many yummy items, including,
but not limited to, corn, beans, jalapenos, tomatoes and green peppers.

My dad, working his tush off...for us! Of all people!

bush pruning...

hard work means lots of eats

More eats...the grillable kind

Happy Birthday Brenda!

2010-06-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

Today is my annual hijacking of the blog and somebody might as well be blogging on this site. I can't believe it has been another year already. Time does fly. Happy Birthday to my best friend and mate. You are a terrific wife and mother (and political consultant). We have had some great adventures together and can't wait to see where God leads us in the next year. Enjoy your great day.

MOVED

2010-06-12T21:50:00.006-04:00

We moved a week ago, today. Joel and I both feel like it's been a month. Not sure what that means, but I'm guessing it feels that way because we've been going non-stop since we've moved in. Now we know why retired people move into condos...there's nothing to do.

One of the benefits that people mention, always, when buying an older home is "character." Yep, got a ton of it. But, there is always a flip side. We've figured out many nuances of our new home (that we love, by the way) and some are: master bath toilet keeps running unless you flip up the flusher handle, about 60 percent of the windows actually open, the basement seems to be a tad damp so a dehumidifier is running constantly, many doors are "swollen" and don't close very easily, the master bath shower door doesn't stay closed unless you gently prod the handle from the inside, etc, etc.

We are still getting situated, it's a slow process and we joke that by August 31, we will be completely moved in (i.e. our garage/storage unit will be emptied of all boxes).

I can't say all this without mentioning the amazing amount of generous help that we had on moving day. I was a bit overwhelmed as I was supposed to be telling all these people what to do when I was simply stunned they were all at my house, helping ME! It was such a blessing and very much appreciated. We began moving Saturday, about 9 AM and was "finished" about noon. Granted, Joel and I had WED-FRI to move lots of little things.

driveway + north yard

Where we hang, our back yard

looking north from our backyard
(there's a park right through the trees!)

Can a 4yo get water-logged? I'm not kidding...

The reality...of a yard...is setting in...weed picking + pruning
will become a staple in my life. Hopefully my mostly
helpful 4yo will agree + participate w/ me :)

This is just funny - Sam has a rough life and wants
everyone to know it :)

Sam looking at me, while I yell at him to not
eat the flowers...again. Sam is part billy goat.

Last Days

2010-06-07T21:26:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures from the last days in our condo. I don't really miss it like I've been told that I will. Oh well, I'm not that sentimental of a person anyways....

Sam in diaper + arm wrap (pre-cast)

Sam getting along just fine with his "Go Green" cast

We all started to go a little crazy with all the packing and chaos

As sloppy as you wanna be...outside

Ready for swimming mom!

The morning of the move...bedding

Emma chilaxin' in a home w/ not much in it...she didn't seem to mind

Sadness

2010-05-23T09:12:00.003-04:00

We are printing and handing these out today :(

Have you seen me?

My name is Abe and I belong to the Hondorp family. I’m about 15lbs and have beautiful dark gray tiger markings with white around my eyes. I love people. I know I’d make a great pet for anyone, but my two best human friends, Emma & Sam, miss me a lot.

I went missing on Tuesday, May 20, at Ridgestone Condominiums.

If you see me, please contact Joel or Brenda Hondorp at: 616.901.XXXX

Bring it on!

2010-05-22T15:18:00.005-04:00

Dear summer, I think you're here, and I'd love for you to stay. You make me very happy, and my kids happy, too. Please don't leave again, especially without telling me. I love you lots and hope you're here to stay! Love, me.

From MAY 22

Delivery

2010-05-21T17:50:00.002-04:00

It's been delivered! We are done researching, test driving and now proud owners of our first lawn tractor. May there be many years of finely clipped and mulched grass and no mechanical issues! I'm not kidding when I say that it took longer for us to decide on a lawn tractor than it did a house.

I'm happy to see Emma already riding and enjoying this machine because by the time she's 8 years old, she will be using it weekly...just like I did (except on a tractor about 3 times the size). And, in fact, my mom has told me many times how she was FIVE years old and driving a full-size (i.e. HUGE) farming tractor to assist my grandpa while he worked in the field.
Here's to child labor at its best and not letting them EVER get bored again :) (Who am I kidding...I'll probably be fighting her to let me mow the grass)

But for now, I think Joel will be happy as a clam taking the first few years, getting accustomed to his new man tool (the tractor, people!)

And, she's off!

2010-05-20T22:16:00.003-04:00

Emma surprised us tonight and decided that she wanted to try riding her bike without the training wheels. I will also note that she is definitely showing a somewhat competitive nature and a couple of her closest peeps (who are older) are currently and recently riding their bikes without training wheels. I think that had a lot to do with her asking Joel to teach her how to ride on two-wheels, tonight.

In the end, Emma was successful and it was a ton of fun to watch her excitement and encourage her to keep going. in typical Emma fashion, she had it all down pat (stopping, starting, riding) in all of about 5 minutes.

Just a guess, but I really believe that riding (24/7 if she could) her Razor scooter helped her learn to ride bike so quickly...oh, and her genius ability, too, of course! :)

PAAAAAAAAARK TIME!!

2010-05-16T15:00:00.003-04:00

We LOVE parks and you will more than likely find us at a park if it's remotely nice weather. We are very grateful to live so close to so many parks, too. (In fact, our new home is RIGHT NEXT to a park...yea!)

Today after church, we grabbed some chow at Wendy's, and went to Frog Hollow, one of our favorites. Funny how I don't have to tell/encourage/insist that Emma to eat her lunch while at the park...she just runs around eating it...all if it, I might add.

Monkey

Always climbing

Sam is always happy in a swing, especially when Emma's pushing him

Sam got worn out and had to rest on Joel's head.
Time to go home for a nap.

Sam 13.0

2010-05-15T15:45:00.005-04:00

Sam is 13 1/2 months old and BUSY as ever. He keeps me an honest mom. If he's not being watched, who knows what he'll get into, destroy, take apart, eat, hide or where he'll get stuck. To be honest, I really thought Emma was a busy child. Um...I've been schooled. Emma was definitely curious and busy in her own right, but Sam is downright non-stop and INTO EVERYTHING. There are some mornings that I wake up, sigh, brace myself and just try to mentally prepare for my home to be investigated from top-to-bottom...again.

On the flip side, he's a complete tender heart and far more timid/shy than Emma was which I find mildly endearing, except for when I have to miss church and sit in the cry room for 13 months straight. He will lift his arms up and want to be held by just about anyone (female) with gray hair. Lucky grandmas. He also LOVES his big sister more than words. She "uses and abuses" him in ways I can't believe (safely + humorously) and he never fails to give her a huge smile of affirmation no matter what tricks she has him up to.

He also eats (10 teeth) and sleeps (2 day naps + 11 hours at night) like a champ and is generally a pleasant, boy. He screams/screeches when daddy (or mommy) leaves the house, but calms down almost instantly. He does NOT like to be left behind, ever, and hates it when big sister goes out to play, but he can not because mom has to tend to something in the house.

Here's to a fun summer with a busy little boy, though we are moving to a house with a huge yard, next to a park so keeping him occupied should be no problem!

From sam so cute

I want summer

2010-05-11T09:43:00.003-04:00

I posted these kids-on-the-trampoline pictures for me. It makes me think of summer and how I can not wait for it to officially arrive. It's so fun to be outside, not be cold and just take in all of God's natural glory!

Oh, and someone (Nathan) turned FOUR on April 21, and is kindly sharing
his new birthday toy (no, he's not spoiled!?!) with his cousin, Emma

Congrats!!

2010-04-30T10:31:00.004-04:00

A BIG congrats to my mother-in-law who worked her last day yesterday! I know she (and my father-in-law) are eager to start this new chapter in their lives and I'm excited for them as well. They are both relatively young and in excellent health and I pray they continue to enjoy oodles of fun together in the years ahead.

We joined my mother-in-law at her office, yesterday, to help celebrate her retirement. Her co-workers spoke many kind words about her and it once again made me feel blessed to have married into such a solid family. My MIL's co-workers are definitely mourning her retirement...

The entire office at the Reformed Church of America HQ joined
in celebrating my MIL's retirement by serving a delicious brunch.

Lots of co-workers who'll miss my MIL tremendously

one (of her two) boss, speaking about my MIL

.My MIL + Sam taking it all in..

Opening a few gifts

Christmas in April

2010-04-23T16:09:00.006-04:00

For Christmas, Joel's parents gave us a weekend away at Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. It was a kid's dream, for sure. Imagine the biggest indoor water park you've ever seen, and this was bigger. We all left for Ohio at some point in the morning on April 9 and arrived about noon, or shortly after. Even though we couldn't check into our rooms yet, we were able to get our wrist bands and enjoy the water. The trip there and back was a very do-able 4 hours, though my kids are used to 19 hour car rides...so this was a peace of cake :)

We all (12 of us) stayed in a village suite and it was plenty of room which provided for a delightful stay. We had a great kitchen and dining area so we stayed in and prepared our own meals which was well worth it.

Sam tugging at Grandma's heart strings

Preparing a meal together...awww!

Frick and Frack playing before bedtime

Sam got so tired and took a nap on Grandma for about a
half an hour. We "think" she liked it...

Emma refueling for the next water olympics

Not sure what to say here...because we are not related, that's for sure!

the game-players of the bunch (i.e. NOT ME) played games at night

Emma was all tuckered out and slept on the ride home.
Looks comfortable, eh?

SO SLEEPY

2010-04-23T14:49:00.001-04:00

If this doesn't make your heart swell with love...nothing will.

A sleeping babe on my shoulder is all I need :)

1 hour bug?

2010-04-23T14:33:00.005-04:00

A couple weeks ago, Emma came home from a friend's house after playing hard all day and proclaimed that she didn't feel well (she even had a slight fever). She laid on the couch and promptly fell asleep. This is SO unlike Emma so we just let her sleep, of course. She woke up and was right back to it...odd. Kids are SO resilient!

Sweetly sleeping

Sam could not stand that Emma was sleeping and would not
wake up...even though he screeched at her and pounded on the couch

Sam 12.0 II

2010-04-21T21:20:00.003-04:00

Sam's second birthday party was Saturday night, at my parent's house. My big brother and his family were there for Easter weekend so Sam's party was extra special having ALL his cousins (my side) there to celebrate with him.

Opening some MegaBloks

Costco dino cake...these cakes rule!

Having some down-time, fun-time with daddy
amidst the day's chaos with lots of family

Sam being admired by his THREE 11yo nieces who keep him
safely occupied at all times! (and mom LOVES + APPRECIATES it!)

Easter

2010-04-21T21:03:00.006-04:00

Easter weekend was spent celebrating Sam's birthday with family and, of course, going to church Sunday morning, followed by a quiet, delicious brunch with only Joel's parents. The quick-n-dirty journal of our weekend goes as follows:

Friday night: birthday party for Sam with Joel's family
Saturday morning: Easter egg coloring and church Easter egg scramble
Saturday afternoon: head to my parent's home for the day to spend time with my family, including my oldest brother and his family, who drove up from Indiana for the weekend.
Saturday evening: continue at my parent's house with entire family for Sam's second birthday party, dinner, gifts and to watch a very sad MSU loss.
Sunday: church (me in nursery) and then Joel's parents came over for brunch since Joel was on fire-duty call and we couldn't go to Ada with my family.

All the Vander Tuin grandkids

Coloring Easter eggs

The finished product with one egg specifically in
honor of that evening's MSU game...it didn't help

Emma and her egg scramble partner - Nathan

Scrambling for eggs...

Who's that squinty mom taking all the annoying photos??!

Angie, Nathan and David Hondorp (Joel's brother) also
scrambling for eggs. Fun times.

Sam 12.0

2010-04-13T20:34:00.008-04:00

Sam turned ONE on April 1. We had two, small parties for him celebrating first with Joel's family and second, with mine. Admittedly, we did throw a bigger soiree for Emma on her first birthday, but the timing this year just didn't allow for such planning.

We just love our little buster and his constant smiles, excited screeching/yelling/screaming, timidness (he has yet to make it through nursery), tender heart and his constant need to be held :) He's a snuggler too, which makes all the screeching worth it. Sam loves food and will eat non-stop - reason #431 that we know he was placed in the right family :) He will also eat just about anything, shredding it with the 8 teeth he's had since he was 6 months old. He puts up with his big sister in a way that amazes me and he smiles in spite of the contortions she puts him through...

Sam's red velvet cake - it was oh so divine!

Emma helping with everything...of course

Smiley buster

Uncle David showing Sam how to use his new MegaBlok table

The FAB FOUR - notice that none of us are looking
in the same direction, classic.

Edible

2010-04-05T16:49:00.003-04:00

There are days that I think I could simply "eat" my child/ren from toes to nose...

Yes, then there's reality, too :)

I don't want my children to be happy

2010-03-28T13:29:00.004-04:00

I'm typically not a re-poster, but this particular blog post captured in words how I know I want to raise my kids (+ how I want to be!) - please read on and take heart my friends!

Dear Shepherd, Sissy, Maggie and Ikey,

Recently we were told by people whom we love and respect why they oppose our plans to adopt. One of the reasons given was that we would not be able to pay for your college education.

It's true.

You all have college funds - college funds which recently took a terrible hit - but "they" say that by the time you're 18, college will cost anywhere between $200,000 to half a million dollars each. You might as well know now, we won't be covering that. I'm telling you now, babies.

The people said that the day would come when you would look at us with resentment because you had to apply for school loans while many of your friends got a free ride from their parents.

Maybe you will. Maybe you'll resent us. I really hope not. But maybe I should tell y'all now why your dad and I have decided to do what we are doing.

I know you're going to think I am going off topic (I do that a lot) but several years I saw a story on a TV show about how the latest trend was for parents to give their daughters boob jobs for high school graduation (I don't know what they gave their sons.) When interviewing one of the moms, she said, "I just want my daughter to be happy." And as I tossed a throw pillow at the television, this really huge thought occurred to me: I don't want my children to be happy.

My goal as your mom is not your happiness, sugars. In fact, I spend at least half my day making you unhappy. If I had a nickle for every tear that falls in this home on a daily basis, we wouldn't need to worry about college tuition at all.

Happiness is fleeting, sweet babies. That means it doesn't last. It's a quick feeling that comes from a funny movie or a heart shaped lollipop or a really good birthday present. It's great. I love to be happy. But happiness is a reaction that is based on our surroundings. And our surroundings are so very rarely under our control. Even when - especially when - we think they are. So no, I absolutely don't want you to spend your life chasing something that has so little to do with your own abilities. You'll just be constantly frustrated.

There are two things I desire for you, precious loves. There are two things that I spend most of my time as a mother trying cultivate in you. Happiness ain't one of them. (This means, sorry, no boob jobs for you.)

The first is, I want you to be content. Being content is so much different from being happy. Being content is not based on your surroundings. Being content comes from within. Contentment is a spirit of gratitude. It's the choice you make to either be thankful for the things you do have, or to whine about the things you don't have.

Being content and grateful leads to consistent joy.

As you know, because I've told you lots of times, Paul talked about being content. Paul said that he had "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." And Paul was in some rotten situations, kiddos, really rotten.

How could Paul be content whether he was in prison or if his life was literally a shipwreck? Because Paul was constantly seeking to be in the will of God instead of his own, was constantly sacrificing his own comfort for the sake of the gospel, and was constantly being confirmed, strengthened, and blessed by God because of his obedience. He was given a supernatural power - that means something kind of like magic, God magic - to do things that most other humans could not do. And guess what? The bible tells us (in Ephesians 1) that God will give you the exact same power! If you want it!

Which leads me to my second desire for y'all.

I don't want you to be happy. I want you to be holy. That means, I want you to seek that God-power to make you content. I want you to want the Kingdom of God more than your own kingdom. And that's hard, babies, that is so hard. And that usually means passing up a lot of what the world considers happiness. But it means that you will achieve blessings directly from God that most of the world never dreams of because they are too occupied with the achieving the perfect birthday present!

This means you may be poor, 'in want' as Paul said, and that's okay. It will never, ever be okay with the world for you to be poor. So you'll be up against the world. But not your dad and me, loves, because it was never our goal for you to be wealthy - at least not in the way that the world considers wealthy.

Darlings, we love you so much. You will never even grasp how much we love you until you have children of your own, and then you'll get it, and then you'll apologize for the ways you treated us ;) But our goal is not to please you. Our goal is to please our Heavenly Father. And nowhere in the bible does the Lord command that we save our money to send our kids to college.

But the Lord does command us to care for the orphan around fifty times. He does tell us to care for the poor around 300 times. He does tell us that when we care for the neediest, we are caring for Jesus Himself. And in chapter six of the book of Matthew, He tells us to seek His kingdom first, and let Him worry about the rest, like college tuition. Because it's all His anyway.

They said that one day y'all would resent us for using 'your' college money to go and get your sister out of an orphanage in Ethiopia and bring her home to you.

But I know my babies. Even at your tender ages, I know your hearts, and I have already seen you weep for the least of these. I know the prayers I offer up to God that He and not the world would shape the desires of your hearts. I am trusting Him to answer those prayers.

So, sugarbears - I just don't believe those people.

Love,
Mommy

Family

2010-03-26T21:15:00.003-04:00

My niece (Keri Hondorp) turned 14 yesterday...where does the time go?! We had a little birthday celebration for her, but all in all we simply had a nice time just hanging out and visiting with everyone.

blowing out 14 candles

These two are like peanut butter & Jelly

Grandma with Sam

Frik-n-Frak

A mom and her boys...

The birthday girl showing off some loot

Tumbling

2010-03-26T20:58:00.003-04:00

Emma had her last tumbling class at the Byron Recreation Building on Thursday night, a.k.a. the "award ceremony." It was pretty anticlimactic since she missed about half the classes due to vacation and surgery. She did enjoy it and told us that we had to sign up for the next class "where we learn more stuff." The jury is still out on that one...

Anyone know much about Byron AYSO? We are considering signing Emma up for the fall 2010/spring 2011 season.

Warming up + stretching

Emma is in the far back (pink/red) trying her hand at a back-bend.
the rest of the gang is in mass chaos at the moment.

Someone escaped the gym and began an ascent up many
concrete steps. Thank goodness daddy was right behind him.

high-stepping

What "perfect" form :)

I'm was seriously impressed with this move and I think
she even got her heals off the mat for a half second, or so.

Emma checking out her medal and certificate of completion

Complaining

2010-03-25T13:09:00.006-04:00

Obviously Sam and Emma are not biologically related, but I still can't help compare them, especially when at the same age. Emma was (still is) my busy body who didn't require me near her 24/7. Sam, on the other hand, is definitely more of a snuggler, lover (not a fighter), and straight up likes to be held. If I'm holding him and I even begin to adjust my body in an attempt to set him down he starts to complain. That doesn't make for very productive days so I hear lots of complaining from my sweet little boy who wants mama to hold him all. the. time.

Here's exhibit 29F - and no, I'm not a mean mom because I video-taped Sam complaining, but I simply have to find humor in day-to-day mundaness or I'd go crazy mad myself :)

Let me set the video scene. I set Sam down to put my coat on so that we could leave the house...

Note these video highlights
0:19 baby eye-ball stretch
0:37 my Blackberry drops and all complaining instantly ceases and desists

Emma's choral debut

2010-03-23T14:50:00.010-04:00

Emma's choral (on stage) debut was Sunday night. Both sets of grandparents where there as were her video taping, photo taking, crazy parents :)

I think I was "that mom" on Sunday night...standing up, walking to the front, snapping 10x more pix than were necessary...yea, that was me. I was just so proud of her and also in disbelief at how "big" she is getting; growing up before my eyes...

I'm also glad that I insisted that Joel take video because I later realized that I noticed nothing besides Emma, during the singing. Hmmm...what does that say about me??!

Emma is in the front row, wearing a long sleeved, pink t-shirt, right in front (from side view) the choir director. The choir is only a portion of the 4 and 5 year olds at our church!

They started by singing two songs with motions and then the older kids joined them for one more song, part of Sunday night's musical called GPS...totally cute!

The song that they sing in the video below is called GREAT IS THE LORD.

Success! (finally)

2010-03-23T09:08:00.007-04:00

This is real life people...turn away and find another blog if you want to read about perfect moms.

So, Emma has been a pacifier (NUK) girl since day one. She LOVED it which concerned me knowing she couldn't walk the stage during her high school graduation...with it stuck in her mouth. We did all the 'right' things and slowly phased it out of car rides, daytime or basically anytime EXCEPT while she was in bed napping or sleeping. Good enough, for a while....

Then comes the mother guilt and the KNOWING you must just get rid of it so you don't have the family-paci-secret to hide all the time (yes, I have a 4yo w/ a paci...yada, yada, yada...).

We initially did the whole "Let's take your pacis to Toys R Us and buy a toy w/ your pacis" thing. The moment we got in the car, buyer's remorse set in and she was yelling for her paci (she was 2.5 at the time). Bedtime sucked, too - screaming, yelling, crying and mom NOT getting her sleep which is the BIGGEST offense. I finally caved and in retrospect am glad that I did...

And, thanks to my mom who always has common sense insight which always helps me to relax regarding the "perfect mom must have perfect kids and meet predetermined goals syndrome" (which in actuality, I really don't suffer from that much...and less and less each day).

Fast forward to about two/three weeks ago when Joel and Emma had dental appointments scheduled together. I was home and received a text from Joel saying Emma was "done" w/ her pacis. If you know Joel, he's a tender, sweet heart who's always willing to negotiate so when he definitively says something...it's a done deal. period. I totally got a pit in my stomach and starting getting nervous thinking (selfishly) how many sleepless nights I'd have to endure in the next couple weeks....ugh!

Apparently the dental hygienist gave Joel a little tongue lashing with regards to Emma still using a paci and again, if you know Joel, he's a rule follower extraordinaire, so this just didn't sit well with him and that's why I knew Emma's 4 year paci run was going to be done.

To make a short story even longer, Joel brought Emma home after the appointment, but before he headed back to his office he ran downstairs, scrounged up all of Emma's bacteria-ridden pacis and took them. He told me that he was hiding them from Emma AND me :)

The result: She protested a little bit the first night and has asked for her paci only a couple times since the dental appointment. I think it really helped that Dr. Drew, himself, told her NO MORE PACIS FOR BIG GIRLS. And, that's who we blamed when she asked for it.

Clearly Emma (and mom) wasn't ready for pacis to be done at 2 1/2 but this time, at 4yo, it was effortless and dramaless...yea! Sleeping and the very occasional nap are going great!

This Barbie pool (what she initially bought w/ her pacis)
was in our coat closet for 18 months, awaiting
a little girl to finally give up her pacis

It was the first thing she asked for the first morning she slept
thru the night w/o her paci...go Emma!

Sam in action

2010-03-14T09:21:00.002-04:00

Sam is almost a year old, but in the meantime, he sure is entertaining us. Sam loves to be LOUD. Even if he's happy and playing, his mouth is open and he's screeching or "talking" or humming, or etc...we ALWAYS know where he is. And, if he thinks he might be getting into something naughty, he stands and screeches extra loud as if to say, "Mom! look what I'm about to do...is this naughty?!" He's such a little buster.

He also LOVES to explore...which keeps mom busy. I will have to add that thanks to Emma, he's entertained most of the time. Well, entertained or being contained...not sure which it is :)

Mouth open - screeching

ditto

This was a first a couple weeks ago. I turned
to put some clean dishes away
and suddenly Sam was in/on the dishwasher "helping" me :)

Big chomps

2010-03-06T14:16:00.002-05:00

Sam's had eight teeth for about 6 months now...will he ever grow any more?

In the meantime, we're having fun brushing the ones he does have :)

Snow + dad = fun

2010-02-27T20:58:00.003-05:00

Today (well, this week) a little girl's face lit up like I've never seen and it was due to something so simple. Joel walked through the door after work and told Emma that after a quick dinner, he was going to go play outside in the snow with her. She ate her dinner like never before and nearly jumped into her snow gear. They played outside for well over an hour, came inside for hot chocolate and then I saw a little girl nearly fall into bed...

Lovin' on a baby!

2010-02-27T20:51:00.003-05:00

I think my kids have the BEST dad in the whole world...just sayin'

SICK!

2010-02-27T14:49:00.002-05:00

I don't have many pictures of this because that would be, well, sick...

Two weeks ago (the week returned from Disney), Joel + Emma + Sam ALL came down w/ one thing or another. It was pretty pathetic around here for several days. Joel had fever + the tireds, Emma had fever + a mildy icky tummy and Sam...he had it all. He was a mess. I've never used so much Spot Shot (carpet cleaner) in all my life as I did last week. You can't really tell a 10 month old to hit the toilet when he decides to puke or leak out his diaper. Yep, it was gross.

The ONE thing I can be grateful for is that we didn't get slammed with this WHILE we were at Disney.

Oh, and of course, mom was in perfect health (except for a lingering cough) so she could tend to all the sickies. I suppose I'm grateful for that too! :)

I'm not sure why, but Sam gives a smile whenever he
sees the camera and he was SICK, too (as was daddy).

Valentine's Day

2010-02-27T14:37:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day...the BEST holiday ever! I just love to cuddle with my honey and whisper sweet nothings into his ear all. day. long. (If you know me, you know this couldn't be farther from the truth, but it's a "holiday" nonetheless so I'll take it)

We had just returned from our trip the day before, but our small group had decided a while ago that February 14, instead of our regular small group night, was instead going to be an adult-only, fun night. Matt & Jenny were gracious enough to host, so north to Rockford we all went. It was a fun break from the norm and it's always a blast (+ refreshing) to hang with the gang.

Matt braved the thigh high snow on his deck to grill us some of the best darn chicken + brats + burgers I've ever had in Michigan, on Valentine's Day!

finger food (first course) + adult beverages = Mmmm!

somehow this cute, hairy, baby sneaked into the party...

Some of the ladies doing what we do best, flapping our jaws and having fun

The always posing, always glamorous Zondervans

Matt & Jenny wondering if they could handle one of "these" someday :)

Brave

2010-02-26T13:56:00.007-05:00

Today was the day Emma finally had her adenoids removed and tubes placed in her ears. She was so brave and, I think, almost looked forward to it. We had prepared her quite a bit and talked about how the morning and procedure would work, but when I told her she could pick out two boxes of any popsicle that she wanted, and could have as many as she wanted (on the couch), for a few days...all the other details became inconsequential.

Dr. Kosta was amazing as was the entire staff at the surgical center - we are so grateful for all of them. It turns out that Emma needed the surgery pretty badly as her adenoids were "huge" and both of her ears had lots of "thick fluid" in them (yuck!). She had a bit of a rough time coming out of the anesthesia which was sad to see, but eventually (after a little shot of morphine) she calmed down.

We are so glad it's all done and look forward to her feeling better in seasons to come!

Checking in

No nerves, time for a little play before being called back to pre-op

Cute kid, cute gown

Mom loved seeing the smiles

Joel + Emma dressed in gown gear. Joel got to go back to the
surgery room to be with Emma as she went to "sleep"

a post-op, tired little girl

sort of ready to go home...at least we're dressed

first popsicle (of many) w/ cousin Nathan and Grandma Hondorp

Disney - Day 8/9

2010-02-25T20:07:00.007-05:00

I don't think I need to say it, but by day 8 (and 9) we were done. We were tired from having a non-stop, awesome time in Disney - but had two days of driving ahead of us before arriving home. We made the best of it and I must say it again, the kids were absolutely AWESOME passengers, amazing.

Two things that helped our trip home be a bit more bearable was the excitement of visiting and staying over night at a friend's house in North Carolina. Secondly, taking a different route (65) north was awesome as we got to drive through the hills/mountains of West Virginia which were absolutely beautiful!

Emma being helpful and feeding Sam some snacks

We were SO grateful to be able to visit the Quinns on our way home.
Veronica (Dan) Quinn is a good friend who I met at Calvin
(no, I didn't go to Calvin)
Emma + Sam had a blast running around w/
Jake + Lauren after the day's drive

Photos don't do it justice, but the drive through the mountains
was awesome!

Sam would produce smiles even while protesting his seat

A little on the crazy side

Moments before pulling into the garage! We are home!

Sleeping Beauty - dancing

2010-02-22T16:06:00.007-05:00

I have so much more to post regarding our recent trip, but this video below is one that cracks me up so thought I'd post it sooner rather than later.

To set the stage, it was pretty windy and chilly out and Sam had just fallen asleep in the stroller. I set out to find an inside location to relax while he napped and the place I found happened to be an ice cream shop (Epcot) and since it WAS chilly out, it was not busy and had the perfect amount of white-noise for Sam to take a long nap before we moved on to more rides and attractions.

In the meantime, Joel and Emma decided to hit a few rides and they had just returned and Emma began to entertain herself...by dancing...

Video notes:

0:26 - Joel enters the scene and admitted to me later that he wondered "who that kid was" who was dancing...seriously?

0:47 - Emma corrects me with her proper name, Aurora, after I call her Emma

Disney - Day 7

2010-02-16T12:31:00.008-05:00

Magic Kingdom is one of our favorite parks plus it's Emma's favorite so we thought we'd go back for a 2nd day - day 5 of park running...plenty if you ask me :)

It turned out to be a lovely day, though it started pretty chilly. Being it was our last day/night in Orlando, we were tired, slowing down and got a LATE start - according to typical Hondorp fashion.

We had taken the monorail to parks the previous days and thought
taking the ferry to Magic Kingdom would be
a neat change - it was very cool

Emma with Chip & Dale

Emma + Joel on Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride

The whole fam took a "jungle" boat tour. It was
the cheesiest tour operator ever...

Emma honing her firearm skills on Tom Sawyer island.
Joel and Emma had to take a raft to get there...cool.

Sam taking his afternoon stroller nap

Emma meeting the mean step-sisters from Cinderella

Minnie Mouse's house/fridge

Minnie Mouse's library

At the end of the day we ended up in Toon Town, the opposite
side of the park, from the entrance/exit. We were tired
and didn't feel like walking back so we took the train that
circles Magic Kingdom back to the park exit. Totally fun.

On the ferry back to our car + saying goodbye to Disney :(

Sam loving on his new stuffed Mickey

Emma making sure that we completed everything that we had set out to
do on this trip to Disney. She's looking at Joel's
Disney 2010 PassPorter's book that helps organize/journal your trip.

Disney - Day 6

2010-02-14T15:00:00.006-05:00

We spent day 6 at Disney's Hollywood Studios and while not my favorite park, it still rocked and just goes to show you that all of the four parks are down right awesome. The weather, again, was a bit questionable but despite the rain, at LEAST it was warm, rather than cold. And, thanks to Joel's forethought, we all already had emergency rain slickers and didn't have to buy the Disney park slickers that'll cost you an arm-and-a-leg.

Emma rode on the Tower of Terror with Joel and LOVED it. What a kid!
I love her sense of adventure. Actually, I think it has to do more with
doing "whatever it is" with her daddy. He is definitely her hero :)

Emma all buckled in, waiting to ride the Tower of Terror

Two thumbs up per Emma's review!

My little flip-flop-wearing, gold-fish-eating,
sleeping-beauty-dress-wearing girl

Here, Joel was chosen from the audience as an
extra for the Indiana Jones show.
IT.WAS.AWESOME.
Truth be told, we were hooked up w/ a cast
member through someone from our church
so we received VIP seating for this show + Joel was "chosen" as an extra.

I thought I was going to have a bit of a
situation on my hands when Joel left to be in the show
as Emma gets VERY concerned when daddy is not
around, when he should be. She told
me that "daddy should be here, with us, now!"
I diverted her angst with a peanut
butter sandwich and promising that daddy would be OK on stage.

If you look closely, Joel is the light-blue, sheet-wearing extra

And then it rained...but not enough to stop the Hondorps, never!

Joel searching out his usual, smoked, turkey-leg

A happy man - Mmmm!

Another amazing show - Beauty & The Beast. It was adorable to see
Emma mouth along as the cast sang and danced.

Emma meeting June and Quincy from Little Einsteins
(a kid show I actually enjoy)

A bit moist, but nonetheless waiting in line for
the NEW ride, TOY STORY MANIA

Everyone "home" for a WARM bath!

Disney - Day 5B

2010-02-09T20:33:00.009-05:00

Day 5 was sort of a marathon day, hence the 2nd post. Many months ago (because you have to), Joel made dinner reservations for us to have dinner at Chef Mickey's which hosted at Disney's Contemporary Resort. I was actually impressed with the fare, this time...but mostly, Emma (+ Sam) had a blast. It was cute to see ALL the kids at this dinner burst with excitement to meet their favorite cartoon characters. By this time, Emma had her character-meeting protocol down pat...per Joel's military type instruction/training :)

1. greet
2. meet
3. autograph
4. photograph
5. thank you

Each character made their way around the dining room and paid close attention to each child, even those who were too young to appreciate the hoopla (i.e. Sam).

PLUTO!

GOOFY!

Minnie!

Sam teething on Minnie's nose...

Donald!

Mickey!

Sam teething on Mickey's nose...Mickey LOVED it was laughing pretty hard

AFTER dinner, Joel and Emma took the monorail from the
Contemporary Resort to see the nightly fireworks at Magic
Kingdom where she got to see Tinkerbell "fly" through the sky.
It was a LATE night for Emma, but she did GREAT!

Disney - Day 5A

2010-02-08T20:55:00.007-05:00

Still day 4 - Downtown Disney
We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express

and she's OUT!

EARLY morning w/ Sam...makes for a LONG day...

On our way to Animal Kingdom

Emma

Emma proclaiming (I think) her dislike for the Bug's Life movie...thought it was scary
which is funny because she's done a lot more that actually WAS scary

bug eyes!

A very hot, respectable couple

Dino ride in dino land

Nooooo! Don't eat Emma!

Disney - Day 4

2010-02-07T19:56:00.007-05:00

It was another cold-ish day, but we bundled up and had a great time despite the non-Florida weather.

The day we've all (well, Emma + Joel) been waiting for...the
CHARACTER PRINCESS BREAKFAST!!!

Emma dressed as her favorite princess (+ sweatshirt, it was COLD)
- Sleeping Beauty/Aurora

Joel + Sam waiting to be called to the "Royal Table" for breakfast

The first princess she met was Belle

Our table for 4 + grub...good times

Sleeping Beauty!!!!!!!!!!

Jasmine

Ariel

Sam taking notice of Snow White

Waiting for Honey I Shrunk The Audience to begin

Another fun ride...

Sam smiles on demand when the camera is pulled out...what a buster!

Goldfish keep Sam a happy boy

All tuckered out

Bye Epcot - what a FUN day

Disney - Day 3

2010-02-07T19:47:00.007-05:00

We started our first day at Disney by going to Magic Kingdom. The weather was a bit windy and and cold. And by cold I mean mid 50's...not what one expects in Florida. Apparently it's better weather than what's happening in Michigan so we'll take it!

Cinderella's castle (mecca) in the background

This picture sums it all up...Emma's excitement for everything!

The first character that Emma met - Cinderella's fairy godmother

Dumbo ride - Emma's first ride at Disney

A hug from Tigger - Awww!

Tigger + Pooh

Sam's first ride - It's a Small World (LOVE this ride!)

Somehow mom snapped this shot between dry mouth and feeling whoozy

Sam assumed the position - Zzzzzz

Emma's first roller coaster in Toon Town - running to make sure
she misses nothing!

Waiting in line for Mickey's Philharmonic 3-D movie...awesome!

but above all - Emma LOVES to swim

so tired, in bed, barely able to lift grapes to her mouth...

Disney - Day 2

2010-02-06T20:55:00.005-05:00

We left Chattanooga, TN, about 8:00am. We have no fear of missing our ETD (estimated time of departure) because Sam is our rooster, waking us up by 7am and keeping us on task. It was a bleak, rainy day with rain nearly the entire way to Orlando. It was ok though because I think the kids slept more because it was so dark and rainy. We arrived at our hotel about 6:00pm, another long day of travel, but everyone did well.

Again, our helping hands Emma...giving Sam his bottle

Happy buster

Emma passed out - love it

Finally - checking in!!!!

One of our two rooms (mirror images of eachother) that are connected
by a door. I despise sleeping in ONE room with kids so this worked out
great - having two rooms that is.

Disney - Day 1

2010-02-06T20:38:00.006-05:00

We left Byron Center at 6:00am with our first destination being a Holiday Inn Express in Chattanooga, TN. We arrived there a bit after 5:00pm, later than we had hoped, but with kids...that's how it goes.

We are very grateful that both kids travel so well. I grew up taking lot of road trips with my family (and loved them) and always hoped we had kids that would travel well, too. Yea! Aside from a few momentary meltdowns that were followed by the head-bob and snoozes...all went perfectly!

Sam protested a few times, but the DVD player +
entertainment by Emma helped
ease the strapped-in-a-car-seat pain

Our busy little girl stayed quite content crafting on her "travel desk"

Occasionally we let Emma out of her seat to give Sam a snack. We have noticed lately that she
has become an extra set of HELPFUL hands...most of the time.

And, while Emma is excited about Disney, her greatest love is swimming!

Joel made sure that our Chattanooga hotel had a pool

Hotel room #1 - Chattanooga, TN
Notice Emma's travel air mattress under the desk. She loves it.

Cute

2010-02-06T20:31:00.002-05:00

Buddies

2010-02-03T20:43:00.004-05:00

A little rough-housing on dad and mom's bed equals a whole bunch of smiles (from mom, too). Emma pushes Sam around, knocks him over, pushes his face in a pillow and he does nothing but giggles, laughs, squeals and runs right back to her for more.

On the flip side, he's learning to "like" whatever she's holding in her hands and he has no hesitation in "going for it." I love it because Emma will need a little brother like that to keep her in line (i.e. not the ruler of all toys in our house).

I'm banking on 10-continuous days of this sister-brother love since we'll need it during our trip to Disney...speaking of which...must go finish packing and then early to bed!

See ya!

Emma

2010-01-30T09:51:00.003-05:00

She's almost 4 and as lovely on the inside as the day is long...my sweet girl!

Emma keeps us running. She doesn't miss a beat. She has our days planned for us long before we do. She wakes up and goes to bed with a happy spirit nearly every day. She has a zest for life and all things new and challenging. She LOVES to be with people and play with friends. She's a daddy's girl. She makes our lives full!

And last but not least, she's the most precious gift God could have granted us!

Sam 10.0

2010-01-29T13:42:00.002-05:00

Sam is telling you that he's 10 months old...or close to it (on the 1st of February)!

From JAN 28 II

Mayhem

2010-01-26T20:53:00.005-05:00

And this is only the stuff I'll show ya...

A 1/2 naked Emma pushing Sam around the house in the
hats/mitten storage bin. Sam just laid there...giggling

I should know this by now, but when it's quiet - watch out.
Sam found the toilet paper, or it found him...

I had been wondering what Sam's love affair with our metal trash can was
and it turns out he uses it for teething...sick! The cool metal must feel good on his teeth/gums.
(In all honesty, that trash can is shiny clean, no worries people)

Here is a video of Sam gnawing on the trash can, and no, I didn't stop him because I thought it was hilarious. And yes, we have about 400 teething toys for him, so it's not for lack of teething options. The last 10 seconds of the video are the funniest...

Sun?!

2010-01-20T20:43:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure if I suffer from mild seasonal depression, the cooped up mom syndrome, or just hormonally good days or hormonally bad days, but in Michigan, when there's sun...you just gotta get out. I abruptly bundled up the kids this morning and announced that we were going for a walk. Emma tried to tell me that she was going to drive her 'jeep' and that was shot down immediately for any form of transportation where she actually got some exercise (i.e. gets worn out).

Yes, the sun was a bit deceiving and yes, we got a little cold and had to turn around and get our mittens, but it was worth it and had a lovely rest of the day.

Weekend with the Hondorps

2010-01-18T21:09:00.004-05:00

Joel showing mom up again...baking homemade bread w/ Emma

This bread is so good...sort of like cake-bread

Look at this kid! What a head of hair :)

Hanging out at Great Gma's house

and this little buster has pink-eye :(

And the hat appears again...it's still funny

He's got hair!

2010-01-15T20:40:00.003-05:00

No fancy trips to LA or NYC for hair replacement, just an astonishing new head of hair for my sweet man. You think anyone will notice?

No plans?

2010-01-10T21:40:00.004-05:00

Sometimes those "no plans" weekends turn into really good weekends. Ours did. Saturday morning we decided to met some friends at Yesterdog for lunch. Amazing - and they're only hot dogs - something I don't normally choose to eat. But two words make me drool...ULTRA DOG.

Next, a phone call from Joel's parents led an impromptu dinner at their house. Yum + no cooking for us.

Sunday, we drove out to Ada for lunch at my parent's house to celebrate my SIL's bday and Sunday night we had small group w/ some solid peeps.

What a whoppin' sweet weekend.

Kids in a separate booth means we get
to finishing eating our dogs in peace :)

Sam, stop growing! He now stands for "long" periods
of time, until he realizes it and suddenly sits on his buns.

Emma decided to have a jewelry sale/stand at my parent's house.
She sold two, beautiful necklaces - one to Joel for a penny and
one to my dad for a nickel. I should've snapped pics of them
wearing their necklaces...

Year of the Crazy?

2010-01-06T19:55:00.007-05:00

I'm here to tell ya that our home is definitely NOT OSHA compliant; Nope, not even close. I'm not sure if we've moved into the year of the crazy, or what...but it seems the hens have been let out of the chicken coop (or something like that).

Sam is ON. THE. MOVE. and he must investigate EVERY nook and cranny even if that space is far, too, small for him. I wish he had whiskers like a cat so I wouldn't have to run to rescue him every time he put himself in a compromising position.

Here's Sam, stuck, as usual and I'm not sure what
he was even going after. He probably has no idea either, but
now he can't move forward or backwards

What, don't you let your kids play on the counter?

Here, mom had to make dinner so baby is in excersaucer ON
the counter WITH a piece of paper for him to chew on (which
keeps him happy). It's really OK, as long as I remember to swipe his mouth every 2 minutes. Oh, and of course, a dancing, pantless,
almost 4yo ALSO on the counter.
(Anyone else out there have trouble keeping their 4yo clothed?)
Anyone want to come for dinner??!!

This picture is just to show that Sam now has 8
(4 top, 4 bottom), cute, little teeth.
BTW - if I could sell drool, we'd be filthy rich...

Bring on 2010!

2010-01-02T21:08:00.005-05:00

One may not find a whole lot of sanity in our home, but one will find (on most days) loads of fun and endless snuggles and kisses...

Here's a video montage of our two most favorite little people in the whole. wide. world.

NYE 2009

2009-12-31T16:56:00.006-05:00

This year we hosted a little NYE soiree that was celebrated with a few friends, a few kids and tasty food, perfect! Even the fabricated 8pm "ball drop" was a hit with the kids (and the adults for that matter). Nope, we didn't miss being in NYC's Time Square...and I was in bed shortly after 10pm. Yea!

Truth be told (sorry mom!), I got all my partying "out" in high school and college so the "big" party to end all parties means nothing to me...really.

Mmm! Foooood!

Dave & Nate (first time really chatting in depth)
ended up being long lost brothers...it was hilarious

Nothing needs to be said here ;)

And a most beautiful, Persian princess - Hailey Zondervan

The happy host and hostesses

Joel getting a tad CRAY-ZEE!

Sammers gettin' in on the fun, too!

Who's louder???

The 2009 Hondorp clan

Nate & Melissa Zondervan

DADDY'S HOME!!

2009-12-28T19:58:00.003-05:00

Having a two-parent household is so much more enjoyable, in my book. Yes, while I LOVE being home with my kids, it's tiring, taxing and some days it's just not fun. And, while I try to squelch those thoughts by reminding myself of our overwhelming blessings namely, Emma and Sam, it's just plain AWESOME to have daddy home. period. All this to say it was GREAT having Joel home for two, four-day weekends. The kids absolutely love it, as does mom :)

Joel's general location when he's home...
ON THE FLOOR WITH THE KIDDOS!

Joel + Emma playing some throwback PONG on the what now
seems to be the throwback PS2

Joel = jungle gym

I'm not sure how Sam puts up with everything Emma does to him...

Emma, laying across a few chairs, playing some games on the computer

Reading to the babes

Once in a while it pays to hide and then pull out an 'old' toy.
They played LIKE MAD in this tent that we've had for years.

Of course, it's never complete unless cousins come over

Christmas Day

2009-12-27T11:34:00.002-05:00

Our typical Christmas day starts pretty early, though some would like it to be earlier :) We head to Joel's parents house and begin with a big, delicious breakfast, coffee, followed by stockings, coffee then presents. When you enjoy your family as much as we do, this is one, fun day.

On Christmas evening, my family (that lives in town) came over for an awesome pork tenderloin dinner. Mmmm! We had already celebrated Thankmas with my family over thanksgiving so our evening was very relaxing.

All in all, a super, delightful day!

Cousins, Keri + Sam

Partners in crime, Nathan + Emma...waiting patiently

Everyone checking out Emma's Amish doll house

Emma monopolizing Sam's truck. Notice, Emma's
princess doll riding behind her, of course.

Happy boy on his truck

Christmas morning

2009-12-27T10:29:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Christmas with just the four of us on Christmas morning...bright and early. We opened a few stockings and the kids opened a few gifts, then it was on to Joel's parent's house.

The cookies and milk were gone...

So were the carrots that we left for the reindeer.

Just waking up...

Mom + Sam

Sam didn't care about his gifts or stockings...just the plant

Hondorp Christmas party 12-19-09

2009-12-26T11:20:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday we had the Hondorp Christmas party, fancy style, in Country Kitchen's banquet room in Byron Center. It's always a good time to reconnect with all the Hondorp cousins and Joel's grandma is in her glory, surrounded by her two sons, 5 grandsons and 8 great grandchildren. A few gifts were exchanged, pictures were taken and, of course, food was eaten.

I also realized that we should do this more than once a year, the getting together part.

MSU Santa Emma

Who are YOU looking at?

All the great grandbabies

Where's the beef you ask? Look no further.
5 Hondorp grandsons + 91yo happy grandma

Emma so very happy w/ her Belle doll

Emma's school Christmas party

2009-12-23T21:29:00.014-05:00

Emma's having a blast this year in 3yo pre-school. She LOVES her teachers (as do we) and it has been great for her to have the consistent social interaction + learning. She comes home filled with excitement about what they did in class or what they are going to do next. This also leads me to be excited and without reservation in signing her up for the 4yo program at the same school.

Emma's Christmas party was on the 18th and, of course, parents were invited. This time I went since Joel has gone to her other parent-included functions.

My favorite part was when I walked in the door (they had regular class from 9-10, party at 10) and her face lit up with a huge, proud, smile. I had to refrain myself from running and knocking over the other 10 kids to pick Emma up and give her a big hug + kiss. I just smiled back and gave my "mom's here, we're all good" wink-and-a-nod.

The kids started their "program" by singing a few songs and little did I know that I'd be nearly blinded by the plethora of camera flashes. Of course, I was adding to the numbers :)

Then, each kid removed an ornament (which they had made) from the class tree, and gave it to their parent. The kids were SO proud of their handi-work...

Next, several stations were set-up for the kids and parents to work together at. Again, this was so sweet as Emma proudly took me around as she crafted away...her favorite thing to do. Noticeably, I had to be just close enough to her, but not try to help her too much. She wouldn't want her peers to think her incapable of beading a necklace now, would she? :)

Additionally, there was a cookie decorating table and then Emma's favorite, THE SNACK TABLE. I think we got through one craft before she was STARVING + THIRSTY and had to bee-line it for the snacks. That's our girl!

A few songs from the angelic choir of 3yo's started the party

Please note: Emma played the LEAD in the off off off off
Broadway musical "5 little reindeers, jumping on the bed" (aka Five little monkies, jumping on the bed). See Emma, stage left, rear w/ Dr's coat on. I've already been pricing airline tickets to LA...we have a STAR people!

Emma, intent at the snack table

stations

Emma scoping out the snack table...

DEC 17 - Sam's finalization

2009-12-23T21:15:00.006-05:00

More of a formality than anything, our finalization court hearing went great! Judge Kathleen Feeney was fantastic and did a great job sharing in our excitement.

I think the funny part was that we thought we'd have BIG questions from Emma about what all this was about, to the contrary. We had a plan to show Emma our blog book from 2006, with pictures of her finalization hearing, and then launch into the spiel about what the court hearing meant. Well, our intentions were met with a blank stare and an immediate game of finger shadows. Hmmm. No interest. Nada. I suppose a 3yo has that right...

We'll try again, soon.

Emma giving her bro a chest bump before the hearing

The entire crew: our fam of 4 + both sets of Gparents

Afterward we were invited to visit Santa on the 9th floor of
the courthouse. We hadn't been informed that he was hiding
in a supply closet (sketchy)...but we found him!

Build-a-Bear

2009-12-22T19:46:00.008-05:00

Unless you're Bill Gates, you better have deep pockets or an exceedingly generous SIL who gives your child a gift card for Christmas...to...(drum roll please)...Build-a-Bear!!

These people knew what they were doing when they crafted this joint (money-pit) because it sucks you in, chews you up and spits you out (OK, maybe a little over dramatized).

I even found myself saying a $10 outfit (for a teddy bear!!) was a "good deal." And, Joel added that these teddy bears have more expensive undies than he does. It's true.

Anyhow, Emma had a grand time and it wasn't very busy so I suppose that was a consolation.

The overwhelming decision. What to choose, what to choose...

And the winner is THIS soft, tan, teddy bear

Getting a heart and stuffed to squeezable perfection

Teddy gets a "bath" post heart surgery/stuffing

Emma choosing a pink, princess outfit. Surprise, surprise.

Elizabeth the bear is now named and registered!

Sam was SO patient through it all

The finished product packaged to take home

Ballet

2009-12-22T14:39:00.005-05:00

Emma's second session of ballet has come to a close. She loved it and so did mom and dad. The new Byron Rec Center rocks, by the way. Up next, tumbling!

Happy as lark even though her Mary Catherine Gallagheresque
ballet skills may not catapult her to Baryshnikov like fame

NOTE: skirt tucked into tights. That's our girl!

Emma looks to be in the center, doing an interpretive dance. She is neither, but simply out of step and catching a bean bag that she had thrown into the air.