Another year Down!

Yeah, Tom is done with another year of school. He has a week off and then will begin his summer classes. Slowly but surely we are getting closer to reaching the goal.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.

Saying Good Bye to a Dear Family Friend

Today we had some very sad and unexpected news. We learned that one of my mom's very good friends passed away this morning. She had a blood clot in her brain. Betty and her husband did things with my parents often. Betty helped with all of our weddings and baby showers. She often brought soup to mom and dad's during the busy spring season. She helped us come up with some ideas for dad's 60th Birthday Celebration. She did so much for her church and community. She was so kind and giving to everyone she came into contact with. She left behind her husband, Jack, four children, and several grandchildren. She will be missed by many. We are comforted to know that she is now living in glory with our Father in Heaven. We will see you at the banquet table, Betty.

"Sydney's Conference

We talked to Sydney's teacher this past week. We thought we would share with you the news of her progress. She is reading wonderfully! She is reading at a level that is equal to the end of the first grade. She is the second best reader in her class. The top reader is reading at a fifth grade level. The teacher was surprised. I was not. She said that it is so weird to see such a small child reading so well. We have been hearing similar comments ever since she was born.

Some of our March Activities!

Well, we celebrated Reid's birthday by going to Chuck E. Cheese. Yes, He said that he was older now and would not be scared of Chuck the Mouse. He really wanted to go there and would not let his fear of people in suits get in the way. He did very well, he got scared when we first got there but then Aunt Michelle, helped him overcome his fear. He actually cried as we drove away because he did not get to tell Chuck goodbye.
We also went to a place here in town with large Bounce things with his preschool class. Elyse could not get up any of them on her own, but wanted to try every one of them, even the really high ones. I was exhausted when I got home because I had to do all of them wtih her, some of them we did several times.
I have included pictures in the slide show from all of these events as well as some from Easter morning. Enjoy!
Funny little quote from Reid. As we were leaving the bank, he was asking me about what I was giving the lady in the "tube shooter" I explained that when I work in the greenhouse then I earn money and grandma puts it on a check. The lady at the bank reads the check and knows how much money to put in our bank account. So he told me that Ben gives him money when he works helping him. Then he said, "someday, maybe Ben will give me checkers too!" (checks)

Something to make you smile!

Well, as you know from the prayer list, Sydney's sign language teacher passed away. She had come in to tell the children that she was not teaching anymore and was going to be with Jesus. She said, "I will meet you at the banquet table!" At the memorial service that same phrase was used quite frequently, so Sydney was wondering what it meant exactly. So I said that when you get to heaven you are greeted and they celebrate your arrival with a big banquet or party. Well, she must have explained this later on to Reid. So on Sunday, Reid came to me with great excitement and said, "Mom, when I go to heaven I am going to have a pizza party!"

Greenhouse Fun!

Here is the play area that my dad built for them.

They even have their little house in it since it did not fit in our apartment.

One of our empluyees loves to interact with the kids. It reminds her of her own children who wait for her to get home from work.

Playing in the dirt. We have baths every night!!!

Farmer Reid
Playing with Playdough!
Yee Hah!!!!

This picture was taken right after Reid recovered from the flu and Sydney had it the week previous to Reid. They were so tired. You can see in the picture that Reid was still not quite feeling himself yet.

Reid's Field Trip to the Museum

We went to the museum downtown yesterday morning. The museum is free and changes one of their exhibits every few months. Best of all the museum is free!! We spent a lot of time in the preschool area and then explored the rest of the museum on our own with our children. Unfortunately, my batteries went dead shortly after we arrived and I did not have replacements. So here are a few shots I took.

Reid and Nicole spin the ball to see how the water moves the sand.

The kids play in the sand as the plate below vibrates and makes it jump.

Elyse joins the boys in the bus.

Rolling the balls in the maze.

Reid and Drew play with these cool puzzles on the wall.

What is new here?

Well, we did close on our home in Grand Rapids. That is such a relief.
After two consecutive weeks of very sick children we are finally enjoying good health. Reid and Sydney, despite having the flu shots, both had a bout of influenza and were each sick for an entire week. So, even though the greenhouses started back up again in the beginning of February, this was the first week we were able to enjoy the activity. Reid and Elyse are able to go to work with me and they have a great time running off lots of energy. My dad built a little fenced in play area for the kids so that we could keep them contained. After one day, Elyse found a way to squeeze herself through the rails and now can escape whenever she wants. On Friday, Reid was so tired, he said he was going to bed at 7:00 and tucked himself into bed and went to sleep in minutes.
Sydney has been going to school full time since January and is still doing well. One of her friends is moving back to Japan and so that is making her sad. before we started in the greenhouse she was disappointed to have snow days. Now she wants one just so she can spend a day with us in the greenhouses. She is just a little jealous of her siblings.
Tom is still working hard in school. He recently started an additional class this semester that goes for just 6 weeks. He is looking forward to spring break.
I think that is all of our news. Things are busy around here and will continue to get busier as we move into our busy greenhouse season. So I will try to update as often as I can, but it may not be very frequent.

New Pictures

Well, I never did get back to put up pictures from Christmas. However, I do have some new picture that we had taken of the girls now that the kids are all healthy again!
Check them out!

WE HAVE GREAT NEWS!

Sorry we have not posted in a while we totally missed December stuff (like Christmas) Things have been so crazy around here. It is about to get crazier with the greenhouses moving into full swing in February.
That is why we are so relieved that our house is finally sold. We will be signing the papers on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. What a blessing to finally be done with that step. Now we can focus on our life here. Tom will also be starting an additional class in February. Sydney has been going to Kindergarten full time since she started back to school after Christmas Break. She loves it. Her teacher said that she prayed out loud in class for the first time and she thanked God that she could come to school every day!
Hopefully I will get a chance again this week to put some pictures on here from the last two months.

Elyse's Birthday Party at McDonalds

A new Addition to our Blog!

I have decided to dedicate a spot on our blog for prayer requests. I will add any requests that you have! Just send them in an email or on the comments and I will post them in our Prayer request section. Take notice of our first request. The Sign Language teacher in our Christian Schools is dying of cancer. We would like you to remember her in your prayers. Her MANY students will be deeply affected. Sydney has only known her for a short time and has already cried when she talked to me about it.

New workspace!

This fall my parents were working on a large undertaking in their house. They tore out the floor in their basement (all 3 or four layers of concrete) to put in sturdy footings and pour a new floor. I worked in the office in their basement and the kids often came with me. Needless to say with the deconstruction going on they could not easily come with me. Well, their hardwork has finally paid off. They have completely finished off the whole basement and created a great new workspace. The office has a new paint job and new carpet. The new portion of the basement has been turned into my mom's sewing room. She has enough space for all of her sewing equipment and materials on one floor. I have been able to work with her many times since they finished it about 2 weeks ago. I have even helped her with some of her drapery projects. Oh yeah, and working in the office is more inviting too! It has also been nice to have a space for the kids to play that is on the same floor that I am working on. Take a look at some of the pictures from beginning to end.

The Three Elves

You have to Check out this link! It is really funny! I Elfed the kids!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9585719710


You can elf yourself after you see our little elves!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, we have had a very busy week. We spent last weekend at the new Splash Universe in Shipshewana. We surprised my mom for her birthday celebration. She was especially surprised when my sister and her family showed up at the hotel later on Friday night. They flew in from Lynden earlier in the evening. The kids had a blast. Elyse loved the waterslides. She even went down some of the larger ones with me. They can't wait to go back some day. We also went to the Children's Museum here in town with the Magic School Bus exhibit. That was pretty neat too. Today, we had dinner at my parents house and then ventured to the bowling alley for our Thanksgiving tradition. However, before it even got to my turn, Tom and I had to take Reid to the Emergency Room. He was carrying his ball to take his second turn and he tripped on the little step and hit his chin right on the bowling ball and split his chin open. Luckily, after some X-rays and some close inspections we were able to have glue instead of stitches. Now, thanks to the triage nurse, he is telling people that he was bitten by a turkey!