my Zu-Zu's birthday

Inside the mind of a 3-year-old birthday princess...




















Does everyone have a party hat? Has everyone seen my pretty dress? Is there enough pink in the room? Are we all ready to play Ponies after the cake?







































...Look at all my presents, all my pretty pink presents.




















...Nanna, can I open one of them right now, right now, pretty please? Pretty Pony Please?




















...Okay, fine, I'll eat my pretty pink cake first. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...







































...At last, at last! Yay for birthday presents!




















...and my crazy Aunt B keeps bothering me for a picture. Okay, I'll pose for a second.

prayer request

Please say a little prayer for my almost-3-year-old niece, Ada Grace, aka "Zu-Zu." She had tubes put in her ears on Friday, and although the procedure lasted only 7 minutes and was much harder on her mommy than it was on her, Ada is still feeling uncomfortable and her equilibrium is still off. Ada's had a pretty bad time of it as far as ear infections go, so we're hopeful that she'll have a much better time of it this winter. The most darling thing about our Zu-Zu is that she is such a happy child and never complains when she feels sick...this darling always has a smile on her face! Here's a couple pix of her on her first day of ballet class just a few weeks ago...

is this what you see in your backseat?

In the foreground is Elijah's car seat. So yeah...that's FOUR carseats in ONE van. I can honestly say I've never seen a car sporting 4 carseats.

more Eli pix

my favorite picture! Last night I was holding Eli and Abby asked to sit with me and I thought, uh-oh, this won't go so well, but she shocked us all when she sat on my leg and put her arm around her baby brother. She snuggled up to him and into the crook of my neck and seemed content! It's surprising because when she first saw him, she said "baby" and then burst into tears!

so very, very tiny in that big car seat!

cuddles with mama




















Even after 3 days of taking care of the other 3 grand-kiddos, Nanna and Pa-Pa still battle each other for holding rights!




















going home finally (see my Tigger balloon, Aunt Mobey?)

random September

wouldn't that make a great band name?

In any case, it's how I'm feeling these days. Slowly but surely transitioning to fall, but since it's technically not here yet, it seems like cheating somehow? And random, well, the following is random.

I've been on a cleaning and organizing frenzy. Katers came over today and helped me clean out the big closet in the master bedroom. Adam let me buy a very purdy shoe organizer from Target (where else?) last week, which I promptly filled and now stand in need of another one! We put a tall dresser in there (yes, my closet is actually a small room and not really a closet per se...there's actually scope for the imagination in there), and I also bought 2 small jewelry organizer/caddy things for drawers. So, Katie and I sorted through all my jewelry and all my clothes...even down to my socks and tights. She even worked out knots in necklaces and coolly assessed my rear end in all of my jeans (anything that made me resemble a country-line-dancin' girl had to be tossed to the give-away pile...). So, I now have a closet that is arranged a) by season (only 2 seasons in my closet: warm weather and cold weather) then b) by function (work/church, casual/play) then c) by type (shirts, trousers, you get the idea). I feel ridiculously organized now. The best part about it is I actually know what I own, how it fits, and what I can pair it with. I'll probably actually wear all of my clothes now!!!

Hmmm, what else? Oh, watched "You've Got Mail" today. It's one of autumn's must-see movies (even though it celebrates all the seasons in New York City, I've always associated it with fall...?). Are there other must-see movies for fall? Please, do tell.

Took food over to Angie's house yesterday (she is recovering quite nicely from surgery) and she was burning a cinnamon candle on her stove and I think I could have drank the wax, it smelled THAT good. Does anyone have any good-but-cheap cinnamon/pumpkin/harvest-y candle suggestions? I don't want to spend the gross national product of a third world country on a Yankee candle, much as I love 'em. (Tell you what, I'm getting miserly in my old age...)

Speaking of old age, it has really begun to sink in that I'm turning 30 in 4 months. Everyone I know who has crossed over that great divide assures me that being 30+ is quite grand and that I won't even miss my twenties. Sorry, but I remain skeptical of that. I already miss my twenties and I'm still hanging on to 29 for dear life.

...and the randomness has only just begun...

Sarah's baby is still not here. She is technically due in 17 days, but Sarah ALWAYS goes at least 10-15 days early with her kids since the 2-foot-tall, 11-pound wonder (Ethan) made his appearance back in the day. Docs just don't want a 5'5" woman delivering half-grown children for some odd reason. Sar has been having contractions, but is ignoring them because, and I quote: "I've got 2 sick kids, I have no time to deliver a baby right now." I would love it if she gave birth on Labor Day...what a fun and ironic way to celebrate a birthday! Abby has New Year's Eve as her birthday, and we always tell her that the whole world celebrates another year of her life! Anyway, who knows? Maybe I'll be blogging about a brand-new baby boy by Monday's end...

Oh yeah, one other thing. I need a book recommendation. I'm finishing up the "Mark of the Lion" series by Francine Rivers (which I simply adored and will miss), and I'm not ready to jump back into my British history non-fiction stuff (where I spend a good portion of my reading time). I need a good piece of fiction, preferably set somewhere other than the Mediterranean in the 1st century AD (where M of the L is set).

Well, I think that's it for now. Adam is in Michigan this weekend with his parents, so I have tons of time to catch up on my blog, which I've really neglected lately. So I'll probably be writing again tomorrow. And hopefully Monday, if I have a new nephew!

so much to blog about...

So much happening!

First of all and without further ado, I've been given permission to post some wondrous news...

My best friend is pregnant! Yay! Kate and Dan are expecting their first little one in late March. "Tadpole," as the baby is being referred to at this moment, gave us quite the scare there at the beginning of things, but this morning, Tadpole gave Mama and Daddy a lot of reassurance; ultrasound showed a healthy baby with a beating heart. Praise the Lord!!! When Kate reported this news to me, I had tears of joy in my eyes, for I have prayed and prayed for this baby. And I know others have, too (thanks Monday night Bible study!!!). I'm so excited to be an Auntie to another precious human being...and I can't WAIT to meet a chip off the old Timmer/DeVries block! I also am thrilled to be introduced to Kate-as-Mommy; who that person is and what she is like. I know it will be very difficult for me to be 3+ hours away...I would just cherish being near to run over for some random babysitting! As it is, I will just have to smother the poor thing with kisses and love while I'm visiting.

Secondly, and speaking of babies, Sarah's little guy Elijah will be making his appearance in the next 4 weeks or so. It's time, little man! Ready or not, here you come! Mom and Sar and Kater and I have been pulling together resources and creativity to get Sarah all set up to welcome the baby home. The nursery area is standing at the ready...clean crib sheets, mobile in place, diapers stacked, blankets piled...now if we could only keep Abby from stealing those blankets! Abby calls blankets "nunnies" or "wunnies" or "winnies" (she mixes it up from time to time, but you can always tell what she's saying). And she does NOT like the fact that there are wunnies placed out of reach and obviously not intended for her use. It will be interesting to see what she does when there's a baby wrapped up in a wunnie! We tried to explain to her that there's a baby in Mama's belly who will need wunnies, too, but that was pretty much over her head. Ethan understood, though! We asked him where Mama's baby was and he touched her belly! And then he kissed Sar's belly! It was so precious, my throat caught with tears.

Let's see. Well, there's other stuff going on but none seem so important as talking about new people coming into the world, so I'll save some goodies for another post. Coming soon!

a mish-mosh rambling of life

July 10th. Now what seems so familiar about that date? Oh yeah, it's the day I got married, 7 years ago! To me it's still funny because I didn't even pick that day out; Franklin College Chapel did that for me when I called to see their availability for our wedding ceremony, and they said, "uh, July 10th is all we have left" and I said, "done. I'll take it."

Maybe I should pick a random memory from my wedding day...searching, searching: Got one. After our ceremony and after we walked/ran through the bubble clouds to the getaway car (which was my sister Katie's), our driver (Katie) took us on a brief jaunt through the countryside in and around Franklin (we did this spontaneously to kill some time so the wedding guests would all arrive ahead of us to the reception hall). Anyhoo, displayed prominently on the back of Katie's car was a sign that read "Honk! Honk! Just Married!!!" And we got the funniest honks from that sign...even a guy on a bicycle tooted his little bike horn at us. It was great! Katie also took us through the Wal-Mart parking lot (if you didn't know I was hick before now, well, there you have the final piece of damning evidence) and of course, THAT generated lots of honks and stares and good-natured waves in our direction. So there you have it, my random memory of my wedding day, 7 years ago.

Other general musings...
*my niece Abby, aka "Peanut," had to get 4 stitches in her chin/lower lip after she fell and bit clean through her lip to the skin on the outside of her mouth. I must say, there is nothing more pathetic than an 18-month-old baby with stitches protruding from a very swollen lower lip and chin. It broke my heart to see it. However, I actually have some hope now that Peanut will learn some gracefulness in her movements...or at least more caution! The child forces and pushes her way through life. She started walking at 8 months out of sheer will to keep up with her siblings. So, motivation is good but stitches...BAD.
*My company moved into a larger office suite over the weekend. I'm now back in cube-land (after a 2-month hiatus of sharing a small conference room with a co-worker, as we were plumb-shy of cubes after our staff grew by several people a while back). Cube-land is, well, it's still gray and boring and rather reminiscent of prison cells. Sigh.
*We showed our house twice over the weekend, and both lookers were second-timers, but as of this afternoon, nary a phone call with an offer. Pooh on them. Just buy my house already so Adam and I can get a teeny-weeny house and then be part-time missionaries and world travelers!!!
*I've decided there's really nothing better in the mornings than a grande, 2-pump, toffee nut latte w/ whip from Starbucks. I literally sigh with delight after my first gulp.

I think that's it. Perhaps more to come later. Filled with incessant urge to write down meaningless info.

more pix from Day Out with Thomas

Ethan's big day out with Thomas the Train

As part of his birthday present, Ethan got to meet his favorite "buddy" in the whole world: Thomas the Train. Before I go any further, I have to somehow emphasize how important Thomas is to Ethan...let's put it this way: Ethan won't go to sleep at night until his trains are all lined up beside him in bed, and he usually falls asleep with one of the engines clutched in his little hands!

Anyway, so this was a very big deal for Ethan, but it was a fun day for the whole family. It's just so much fun watching little kids have a good time. I think that's one of the beauties of looking at life through the eyes of a child -- they don't take ANYTHING for granted and seemed to be awed by "ordinary" things. So, without further ado, here's some pix from that day:














"here I go with Daddy to see Thomas!" (please note my engineer's cap!)
















Abby with her daddy, waiting for the "all aboard" call




















We wanted to prove to Elijah one day that he was there, too















Zu-Zu and Ethan enjoying the view from the train















Adam and I, trying not to melt in the heat (and yes, we're both wearing Superman t-shirts)

They are growing up so fast...

As you all know, Ethan, Ada, and Abby are "my babies by proxy." Sarah has often told me that she's happy to share them with me! (I just hope that the reverse will be true one day when I'm a frazzled mommy and need her!!!) Anyway, at 3, 2, and 1, they are still so little. But, I can't believe (from these pictures), how much a difference 1 year makes in their lives.














This is Abby, still so teeny-tiny, at about 2 months old. Now, she is a little woman of 15 months, full of spunk and attitude, wicked-smart and devastatingly clever. She can figure out how to do just about anything she sees others doing. Heck, she learned to walk at 8 months...there is nothing stopping this girl! But here, she was still a cuddle-bug. Just looking at this picture makes me antsy to meet the new little one in Sarah's womb. Can't wait to have another cuddle-bug!
















And here's my Ethan and Ada, at the time, just 2 and 1 respectively. I can't believe how much of their baby-fat is gone now! Ada used to be so roly-poly, and now she's pretty tall for her age and about 90% potty-trained! And Ethan, wow, he has changed so much. He rarely sucks his "fingies" anymore, he is potty-trained, and he's even in pre-school! His language, though still behind, has come a long way. At this time, VeggieTales were his favorite thing, but now he is interested in very little that isn't Thomas the Train. Awwww, I miss their baby selves. Even though they get more interesting every day, these pictures make me a little sniffly.