Prayers for Grandma

Last week Monday my Mom fell on the ice and fractured her femur. She had surgery on the same day to set and place pins. She was released from the hospital to home where she is able to get around very tenderly with a walker. We went for a visit over the weekend to give some distraction; a pretty easy thing to do with three kids. We noticed some improvement from Saturday to Monday with her mobility and were so encouraged by the love and support that she is receiving from her community. It is going to be a long couple of months for her and my dad. Please remember them in you prayers and ask for complete healing for her leg. Oh, and be careful on the ice!

What we have been up to

It is the start of a new year. Hailey is back at school and still loving every minute of it. Tomorrow she is the "Birthday Girl" (half birthday) at school. She says that she gets to wear a birthday vest and hat. Last week she was the VSP (very special person). We put together a bulletin board of pictures of her from birth till now that she got to present to the class. I also got to go and read to the class. Hailey was so proud of me and just gave me hug after hug; then her friends all started hugging me. How long do you think that she will love me coming to her classroom? Hailey has learned so much this year I cannot even begin to fathom how much that little mind has the capacity for. She is reading independently and loves math problems. The school is also studying the Arabian Peninsula, so the next time you see her she will probably greet you with an Arabic "Hello".

Taylor has really been seeming like a big girl these days. She has totally mastered the potty thing. She insists on fully dressing and undressing herself; this is good, but not if we are in a hurry. She got rave reviews at her 3 year well check. She continues to be very tall and lean. They say that is she continues at the current pace that she could end up to be around 5'10"! Taylor has been giving everything nicknames lately, unprompted. She calls Hailey, "Hail". She calls Carter "big stuff", and her latest obsession is playing Mike's old Nintendo. She says "Hey guys, you want to play "Mar"? Mar meaning "Mario". There has been a fair amount of drama with Taylor lately--I have even caught her watching herself in the mirror crying attempting to make an even more sad face.

Carter Dean is just the most happy little one year old around. This may be primarily due to the fact that he has been sleeping through the night for about one full month. He waves good-bye to us when we lay him down in his been and even dives towards his pillow. He does this for naps too! He takes a morning nap of about two hours, a two hour afternoon nap, and sleeps 11 hours at night. AWESOME. He has absolutely no interest in walking. He does take a few steps with lots of coaching and cheering. He has perfect balance and will stand completely independent in the center of a room, but quickly goes to the speed crawl when needing to get anywhere. He out eats the girls at any given meal. His two most favorite things to do is stand up by the fireplace and play with the pots/pans on the little picnic table downstairs. Oh, and I have to mention that he has the silliest smile lately where he wrinkles up his nose so that his big new teeth are shining out with a huge smile.

Happy 3rd Birthday Taylor!

Happy 3rd birthday Taylor!

A new doll house from Mom and Dad

Close ups

Thank you for the make-up Zeinstras'

My blue-eyed boy

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas to all of you. We are home again after having a wonderful holiday with family and friends. The girls are currently playing with all of their new gifts and the noise is bareable despite the fact that most of the gifts have musical sounds. Carter is napping and is recovering from some lack of sleep.

Vis Cousins

The Nativity Craft

The Miedema Cousins

Oh My! Thank you Auntie Teresa for the 48 piece Make-up set.

The Auntie Jessica Christmas in our new jammies

The Beckering Christmas. There is so much to be said with the difference between boys & girls.

Christmas Program

Last Sunday, despite the rain turning to snow, the girls participated in the annual church Christmas program. Hailey and Taylor both did excellent jobs in singing, smiling, and not making a scene of any kind to humble their parents.

Grandpa and Grandma Vis made it to this years program

Resident Christmas party

The four chiefs.

The Miedema's were host to the resident Christmas party this year. About 35 residents and family members came to the Miedema home for evening of food, drink, and rock band. The party went well be most people's account and a good time seemed to be had by all.

Snow

These guys decided to take a rest on our street last week after some snow had fallen. I heard some "honking" and it was louder than normal so I looked out my front window and there they all were. Odd.

We did some family shoveling after one of the snow falls last week and Carter loved it. He is not walking yet so he just crawls at incredible speeds through the snow after the sled and after Mike's shovel. One might mistake him for a dog.