pictures from the pro...

I take a ridiculous amount of photos of my dear kiddos, but at least once a year, I like to let the professionals take over.  Our dear sister-in-law Christy is a photographer and has been taking pictures of our kids as long as we have had them.  =)  It is so awesome to see how she can capture each of them so well, differently than I can.  We are also both really laid back so we usually hit the park for an afternoon, and Christy will just follow them and shoot.  And if it just isn't working, the kids just play and we try another afternoon.  Love her and love the photos that she has taken for us.  Here are the ones for 2013:

 

We usually get the cousins in on the pictures too...

 (these two are 4 1/2 months apart and best buds )

...pity they never have any fun together  =)

Thanks again, Christy!

fun fridays, october 2013...

  

 

(fun fridays = a bit of fun after a busy week of school)

~ a super fun package full of acorns from friends in New York!  (that may sound weird, but Henry had a thing for acorns and they had an overabundance from their old oaks!)  this kept them busy and acorns under our toes for weeks.  (we thought of you happily, Edward and Tamera, every time we stepped on one...=)

~ pumpkin bowling.  another friend from Alaska posted pictures of doing this with her kids and I knew the kids would love it.  used lego pins the kids built themselves, kept score on a big sheet on the wall, and the winner of each frame got a candycorn in their cup.  (thanks for the idea, Alison!)

~ MEA weekend, much-needed family time, rainbow pancakes, bike ride and lunch at the dam, followed by biking to Dairy Queen for a treat (memories from Steve growing up). 

~ car wash.  need I say more?

so I took some pictures on beautiful fall sunday afternoon...

 Carsten, age 4.75

 Henry, age 1.9

 Willem, age 6.25

 Grace, age 8.1

...because I wanted a new background for my iPad and computer screen.

And let's face it, for Facebook as well (ugh, that hate to love social media!!! =)

But also because these kids are ridiculously cute too!  Love 'em!

fall soccer 2013...

Our school principal, Jack, also happens to be the dad of a boy in Grace's class.  We received an email towards the end of summer from Jack, that was sent to a number of classmates and schoolmates saying that he was going to be coaching a soccer team for his son, Jackson, and if we would like to join to specifically ask for his team, as he was hoping to fill it with Calvin families.  He also emailed out his coaching philosophy which we were quite impressed with:

"Just a few things about how I coach:
1. We will have fun working on individual skills as well as learning about tactics of the "beautiful" game. They'll learn proper foot skills, passing, shooting, defense, give and go, etc.
2. Everyone will play, and I will play the kids at every position, unless they don't want to play goalie.
3. Players will sit on one side of the field and parents will sit on the other, and no coaching from the sideline by parents, only encouraging words. The kids will learn that they can only encourage as well.
4. We'll demonstrate good sportsmanship, and try to help the kids understand how glorifying God on the soccer field as in all of life is of utmost importance.
5. We will try to win, but if we don't it is ok. They'll see that I expect them to play hard and have fun. We will be playing older kids, so if we can learn to not play "bunch" ball (where all of the kids are bunched up around the ball) I'll be happy."

After confirming that Grace wasn't going to be the only girl on the team (that was the only thing she was worried about), we signed up.   And throughout the season we realized that this was not only a great opportunity for Grace, to play with classmates and friends and learn more about the game she was growing to love from a great guy and coach, it was also a great opportunity for our family to get to know and fellowship with other Calvin families whose kids were playing.  Twice a week, one practice and one game, we would gather over this common activity and share much more than our love for the kids and for Calvin.  Friendships evolved, for me especially with some other moms, and we really felt that Calvin community spirit again that we had experienced over and over in our 3 years at the school so far.

photo credit: katyhallphotography

 Grace really blossomed with her knowledge and skill of the game too.  It is so much fun to see your child have focus and try on the field.  That being said, they are also just 3rd grade girls too, so there were many cartwheels on the side of the field.

photo credit: katyhallphotography

 Three of her good friends were on the team with her and it was great for them to bond over the sport.

Another great friendship started too!  A boy classmate of Grace's, Sam, played on the team, and his older brother Nathan had no interest in the game, but was not quite old enough to stay home on his own yet.  He loves little kids though, so he asked if he could play with Henry during their first practice and they hit it off!  So began the routine of Henry and Nathan playing together during games and practices.  I asked his mom if I could pay him for baby-sitting, as it was wonderful to be able to watch the practices and games rather than chase Henry around, but Becky was just happy to have a reason for Nathan to be excited to come with to soccer.  We gave him this picture and a small gift at the end of the season - Henry still shouts "Nay-fan!" whenever he sees him or a picture of him.  =)

They normally play on Saturday mornings, and they didn't cancel for weather unless there was lightning - they played a whole game in downpour rain one time!  Told Grace it was good for her, made her a real athlete!  But we did reschedule one game because of the CCS Challenge, and we played it at the end of the season on a weeknight.  Since it was October, they ended the game under the moon-light which was really fun.  The kids all played well an ended their season with no losses and only 2 ties.

photo credit: katyhallphotography

photo credit: katyhallphotography

 Thanks so much to Jack for coaching and putting this team together.  Grace had so much fun and learned a ton.  We were privileged and blessed to be a part of this soccer team!

fun fridays, september 2013....

(fun fridays = a bit of fun after a busy week of school)

~ a note from dadda, money for cool treats on a hot day, and water fun in the backyard

~ a school friend over to visit, fun with dressing up and a throwback picture to when they did the same a year or so ago

~ thrift store finds with a coupon (wrapping up some for a surprise), soccer practice for Grace, and finishing the afternoon reading outside in the beautiful fall weather

~ apple treats with some of the first fall apples, cider popsicles and apple crisp

happy birth day liam!!!

At 11 pm on September 16, 2013, I got a call from my brother Lucas...I was an auntie!!!  Liam Koert was born at 10:09 pm.  He was 9 lb 10 oz, 21.5 in long, and his head was 15in!  Jess had a C-section planned for later that week because of Liam's size, but her water broke a few days early and they had the fun of the surprise and rush to the hospital to have him!  He is a beautiful baby boy, and Momma and Dadda are doing great!  Jess had a good recovery from her C-section, and Liam is such a good baby.  Here are a few pictures from the proud parents:

Liam at the hospital

The new family settled in at home

We were not able to go see Liam right away, but the kids were so excited about his arrival, that we had a little celebration for Liam at home.  We baked a "birth" day cake and made a banner and sent pictures and videos to their new cousin.

Welcome baby Liam!  We love you and are so happy you have joined our family!!!  Can't wait to come and love and kiss on you soon!

2013 Labor Day picnic...

Beautiful day for a picnic with people we love!  

So glad that we live five minutes away and that both of us feel the responsibility to get together on these patriotic holidays because that is what you are "supposed" to do...has made for many lovely evenings.  

Here's to many more!