Tulip Festival

This last weekend we went to to the Tulip Festival in Orange City. I grew up in Orange City and me and my husband are both 100% dutch so we never miss it! I was a little bummed this year though because the weather was rainy so we only went 1 out of the 3 days. Normally we are there everyday!

The events start with ride night on Wednesday night! You buy a bracelet and you can go on all of the rides. Abby had so much fun going on all of the rides. It was fun to watch how much she enjoyed it!

 Every time Abby rode the carasoul she said she was a prince and her and her horse were running so fast! Then before we could get off the ride she had to say good bye to her horse. It was so funny!

After going on some rides we got a snack and ate by the tulips. Benjamin thought the tulips were fascinating!

On Saturday (the only nice day) we watched dutch dancing, the mode show (people model costumes from all of the different provinces), street scrubbing and then the parade. It was a lot of fun. My cousins and their families from Minnesota came to enjoy the festivities!

Saturday night my dad recruited us to ride on the Unity float. It was the alumni night. Brad of course did not ride on the float but road in the pick up with my dad. Brad is a Western graduate and I am a Unity graduate! Guess where are kids will be going to school?? Yup, Western! It's ok, I am finally coming to terms with it. Right when the parade was done Saturday night it started to rain so we ran back to my parents got all of our stuff and went to my sisters house with all of the cousins and hung out awhile while it stormed a little bit.

We had a lot of fun! Now we are preparing for another busy weekend full of shingling my parents house!! There will be a post next Monday about that excitement!

Super-Mom

Lately I have been feeling like super-mom or super daycare lady or something along those lines! I feel like I am working 24 hours a day. Between doing daycare in my home, taking care of my kids at night, cooking supper, doing laundry and finding time to clean there is hardly ever a break! I'm not complaining I love my life! I wouldn't trade my husband or kids for anything! Lately Brad has been super busy with meetings for church, fire fighting, doing hog chores and his full time job. There are days we don't see each other until we are in bed. Those are the hardest days for me! I tend to be crabby and a little emotional! I try to remember that he does all these things for the benefit of our family. He wants us to be able to live comfortably and have a good future! Sometimes I ask myself if the stress is really worth it! I wont lie, sometimes I love the feeling of being super mom. It makes me say "hey, I just watched 6 kids today and I got that done. Wow that is amazing!" Even if it is just cleaning the bathroom or emptying the dishwasher. Sometimes I hate it! I would love for my house to be clean 24/7 so that I can play with my kids, read a book and just enjoy a clean stress free home! I love my husband and thank him for all he does for us and this post is not complaining! Just writing about what I have been thinking about lately! If you would come to my house today I would be a little embarrassed! It is a disaster! But I love my life and my kids and cleaning can get done sometime.

I thank God daily or all of the blessings in my life. I have an amazing husband who works so hard for our family so that I am able to have the job I have and care for our children full time but still make a little income to help out with bills. I have amazing kids who make me laugh and we have so much fun together. I have great daycare families who are so understanding when I need a day off and they allow me to care for their kids! I love their kids like they are my own! I am just so thankful for everything and everyone in my life!

Some days do you feel like super-mom? How do you manage to get things accomplished? Any tips would be wonderful! I am falling so far behind on house stuff!

Happy Mother's Day

I had no clue that being a mom was such hard work but yet so rewarding until I had my 2 children. I love being a mom! I feel horrible when I have to discipline or get mad. Some days being a mom is tough! There is stress that the house isn't clean, you have crabby kids or the stress of life in general! I always try to remind myself that God forgives us for our wrongdoings and gives us a second chance so I need to do that with my children and not get so angry because they are still learning.

The love a mother has for her children is so strong. I get tears in my eyes every time I think of my kids growing up. As hard as it is to be a mother to a 5 month old and a 3 year old I would never trade it for anything. They make me smile and laugh everyday. If I am crabby they can cheer me up.

I get sad when I think of the world they have to grow up in and I always ask myself why can't there just be peace in the world and why can't everyone believe in God so there is no evil. Silly, huh? I just want to protect my kids and all of the kids from what is out there. I also need to trust that God will help me and my husband teach our kids everything they need to know about God. We need to be good role models and watch what we do or say in front of our kids. I love that Abby is starting to grasp Gods love. She loves to sing Bible songs. It is so adorable!

Even though being a mom is hard work I LOVE it!!!

Happy Mother's day to all of the amazing moms out there! I know it is hard work but the years are flying by so enjoy every minute you have with your precious children!!

Fun Weekend Getaway

Brad and I had a great weekend away in Sioux Falls! We left Friday around 6:30. Later that night we were going to sit in the hot tub at the hotel. While we were sitting in it a pool worker came over to us and said that we couldn't sit in the hot tub because it was lightening outside and that is why the pool area was empty. We looked at him like are you serious? Ugghh!! Is that not why we are at a hotel with an indoor pool? We kinda made jokes about it all weekend. Saturday we slept in and then shopped the day away. We looked at stuff for our bathroom which will hopefully be remodeled in the near future. I will post before and after pictures! We ate supper at Red Lobster which was delicious but almost too much Sea food at one time! After eating we went and sat in the hot tub because it was NOT lightening. There was a lady walking around the hotel selling roses and my sweet husband bought me one! What a nice romantic guy! After that we went to our room and read our books until we couldn't keep our eyes open. Sunday morning we slept in again and than had breakfast and headed home to pick up our kids from Grandpa and Grandmas!

The kids had a blast with Grandpa and Grandma and on Saturday Abby got to play with her cousin James. She hates having to leave Grandpa and Grandma's house! She loves sleeping in the big pink bed! I think she might get a little spoiled there!

Last night we were at Brad's parents house and I just looked at facebook on my phone and everyone had posted that Osama Bin Laden was dead! Woo Hoo!! I know it is sad that a man lost his life especially when we know that he is not in Heaven but he was such a horrible man. I pray that Al Quida will subside and maybe there can be some peace. I have my doubts. I have fears that this will bring more anger towards the United States and more horrible things will continue to happen but I trust God. He holds the whole world in his hands and has each event planned already! I thank God for our troops who are willing to put there lives in danger for our freedom! There are not enough thanks you can give all of those great men and women!

What did you do this last weekend? What are your thoughts on Bin Laden dying? I am just curious what everyone thinks about this event!

Easter and Birthdays

I meant to do an Easter post on Monday but this week is getting away from me! That's fine with me!! I am so excited for this weekend that it's fine with me if the week goes fast! The reason I am excited for the weekend is that my husband and I are going to Sioux Falls for the weekend to celebrate his birthday! Just me and him no kids. We need a break and sleep! Benjamin has been keeping us up at all hours of the night with an ear infection! Any way I am getting away from the title of my post!

Easter!! I love Easter! It is a time of newness! Jesus raising from the grave! What can be more marvelous than that! Spring time! I have been longing for spring all winter! Need to send the kids outside so I can have a break during the day! I love watching the trees get leaves and the flowers bloom. I love green grass not brown. I love the warmth of the sun and getting to sit outside with my family at night!

Easter Sunday we went to church and sang some of my favorite hymns. One of my absolute favorite hymns is "Because He Lives".  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M-zwE33zHA After church we went to mom and dad Foreman's house and had dinner with the Foreman side that lives around hear. Sunday evening we spent the evening at mom and dad Kats house. Abby loves going to her Grandpa and Grandmas house! She had so much fun Sunday dressing up in her new Easter dress and she even let me curl her hair all pretty! She had fun playing with all of her cousins. It was nice out so they could play outside!

There is my beautiful family on Easter!
Today is my husbands 28th birthday!! Happy birthday Brad! Love you so very much! It is also my Grandma Rens 89th birthday!

Last night we got together and had cake and ice cream to celebrate! I am so thankful to have had all of my 25 years to spend with my Grandma! She is still working one day a week! Can you believe that?? Love you Grandma!
It is also my Uncle Bob's birthday! Happy Birthday! Hope all of you are having amazing birthdays!

Dying eggs

Last night I took the kids to my parents house with all of the cousins to dye eggs! Abby had so much fun!! Grandma also had special egg cookies for a treat!!

I also thought I would add other pictures of the kids!! They were so cute cuddling in the chair together smiling and giggling!!

Here are pictures of Benjamin eating carrots and they are all over his face! He loves to rub his hands on his face when he has food everywhere! We end up with such a mess!

Blessings

"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16

Today I have just been thinking of all of God's blessings in my life! There are so many so this could be a long post.
The first blessing is God sending his son to die on the cross for all of my and our sins. Since Easter is on Sunday this is one I have been thinking about a lot lately. I can't help but wonder what life would be like if Adam and Eve had obeyed God! How perfect would our earthly life be! There would be no wars, no labor pains, no hurt in general. But it is by God's grace we are saved and because of sinful nature we have the chance to be forgiven and live in eternity with God! I so look forward to Easter Sunday and celebrating Jesus raising from the tomb and how miraculous that is!

I thank God for the blessing of my family! I have been married to my husband for almost 6 years and they have been the best years of my life and I look forward to so many more! He is my best friend! We are able to laugh, cry, love, forgive, have fun, worship, and pray together! I am so blessed with being married to an awesome and loving Christian man.
We have two beautiful and fun children together! They are so fun and I look forward to spending my days with them. Abby who is 3 makes me laugh so much during the day and helps me forget that I am crabby or having a bad day! Sometimes she is the cause of my crabbiness but she makes up for it in all of her cuteness. She loves her baby brother so much and I love to see them interact with each other even though Benjamin is only 4 months old. Abby makes him giggle without even trying! He has started baby food just today and it makes me laugh! He can pull the funniest faces! I will have to get some pictures of it! I pray daily that my children will grow up knowing and love the Lord. There is nothing I want more than to see them grow up as strong Christian adults!
Another blessing is my parents. I can't thank them enough for raising me in a Christian home, sending me to Christian schools and loving me and always being there! If a week goes by and I don't talk to either my mom or dad I have to just call and talk to them. There are some weeks that they get a phone call everyday! I sometimes wonder if they look at caller id and think "hmmm I wonder what she needs now?" I love to spend time at my parents playing games and just talking! I thank God that they are both healthy and I pray that we may have many more years to go on vacations, go out to eat and just hang out as a family!
My siblings are also a huge blessing in my life! Without growing up with them (especially my brothers pestering me) I wouldn't be who I am today! Yes, me and my brothers fought a lot but I love them! My sister, even though she is 12 years older than me is someone who I would consider a close friend. If I need something or just want someone to talk to she is always there to listen! My in-laws are also a blessing to me! My brother-in-law is someone who I have known FOREVER!! I feel like he has always been in my life! He is just another brother to me! My sister-in-laws are amazing! They are awesome Christian woman and I love watching my sister-in-law raise her kids and I can't wait for my brother and other sis-in-law to start their family in June!! So excited!
My in-laws (husbands family) are amazing! I have loved them since the day I have met them! My mom and dad in-law are so strong in their faith and also there love for each other! I look up to them so much and thank them for letting me love their son! My sis-in-law is my best friend! We have so much fun together and can just talk about everything together! Love her! My brother-in-law is lots of fun and we can laugh about so much! Me and him have been close since Brad and I started dating and Brad would sleep on the couch (Love you Hun)! There was nothing else to do but talk to my now brother-in-law! My lil sis-in-law is great! It has been so fun watching her grow up! I think Brad and I started dating when she was only 3 and she is now 11! I love watching her play volleyball and hope she continues to play (only if she really enjoys it)!

There are just so many more blessings in my life! Instead of giving a detail description of each of them I will just list them:
Grandparents
Nieces and Nephews
Cousins
Aunts and Uncles
Friends
Acquaintances who have stuck with me
Church
Faith
Jobs
My home
Oh my, there are just so many but I better end at this or you will all get sick of reading this! I can't thank God enough for my health, my families health and everything he has given me!!! I hope you are reminded daily of your many blessings even if your day is not going so great!