wrap it up

I suppose it's cliche, but I can't believe another year is over!  2016 has been great, and we look forward to 2017 being another fun and exciting year for our crazy little family.

As usual this time of year, we've been pretty busy.  The first week of Christmas break was spent stuck at home with sick kids and a van at the mechanic.  But, after we got through that and Mike started his break from work, we've been able to really enjoy our time!  On Christmas Eve we did our traditional family shopping.  We had the boys draw names, then took them to the mall to help them shop for the person's whose name they drew.  (On a quick stop at Gemmen's on the way Logan found his gift for Levi.)  Things went pretty well at the mall, and we even had time to look a little for Mike's gift for me (snowpants and gloves).  After we finished at the mall, we headed to Meijer to grab some baby things to drop off at Lakeshore Pregnancy Center.  We had fun picking out some girl clothes!

Christmas Day was a nice, relaxing day at home after attending church in the morning.  We had fun opening a few presents, eating a nice breakfast, and just hanging out.

Then this past week is when the craziness began!  Tuesday I took Caleb and Logan to meet up with a school friend at Kids Unlimited for open gym time.  They had so much fun!  Trampolines, foam pits, and mats and such for them to run around and play on.  Tuesday evening was the greater Steenwyk party at my parent's house.  My sister and her family made it into town in time for the party, so it was great to see them and also other family that we don't have opportunity to see much.  That was our first late night of the week...

Wednesday morning I was busy trying to clean the house since my sister was going to be babysitting Jackson for a while in the afternoon.  A bunch of the rest of us went to see Rogue One (Dad, Chad, Katie, Jenna, Eric, Lea Anne, Boden, Heidi, Mike, Caleb, Logan, Levi, and myself.).  So fun!  We saw it in 3D and that was neat.  That evening was the greater Krol party.  I actually jumped in and played volleyball this year (it's been a few years), and this old lady was a little sore the next day!

I think it was Thursday morning that we actually slept in.  Even Jackson!  He's handled the crazy schedule this week like a champ.  Starting mid-afternoon was our Steenwyk Christmas.  Family photos, carol singing, Christmas story, dinner, prayer time, and presents, oh my!  I put Jackson to bed there and he actually fell asleep.  Felt bad when it was time to get him up to go home, but he went back to bed at home just fine.  Meanwhile, the other boys have had so much fun hanging with their cousins so much!  Love seeing how they all get along.  

Friday around lunchtime I met up with my friend Angie for coffee.  Always nice to catch up!  Then Friday evening we went to my parent's to hang out with my family again.  This time was Bingo, birthday presents for some of the kids, and family discussion time (how to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary next year, and our joining in the beef business).  It was another late night and Jackson slept in until after 9am this morning!  He took two naps today, went to bed on time tonight, and hopefully will be back to normal tomorrow.  Levi also napped today, and all the boys clearly needed  a break from all the activity.

Now it's 10pm on New Years Eve, and the boys have been in bed since a little after 8pm, Mike went to bed around 9pm, and I'll be going there soon!  Party animals!

Oh, by the way, Jackson has been walking all over the place, and it's just too cute.  :)  Farmer Levi has gotten alot of work done with the new combine and grain buggy he got; and Caleb and Logan, my little artists, have enjoyed painting an alligator and dinosaur that they got.

these boots are made for walkin'

Jackson keeps taking more and more steps!  Of course, he won't really let me get it on camera.  About a week ago we were all in Caleb and Logan's room and he took about 5-6 steps - we were all cheering loudly and he clearly enjoyed the attention.  :)  We're in a 'fun' transition time right now, but I think he's moving towards dropping to one nap a day.  He's already changing in what he will and won't eat, and becoming more challenging for me.  For example, used to be that he would gobble up scrambled eggs faster than I could keep up, now he won't touch them.  Stinker.

Last week was a little extra busy because Caleb and Logan had a couple rehearsals for their church Christmas program.  Wednesday night they had a rehearsal before Word of Life, and then all Saturday morning.  The program was Sunday night and went really well!  It was a cute program about a birthday party for Jesus, and had fun songs.  The boys were just in the choir part for most of it, then at the end they got to be shepherds.  So cute!  Caleb was a little fidgity up there, but Logan was very serious and focused.  Normally I've got some sort of story to tell after Christmas Program night, but not this time!  Things were pretty tame.  A few times Caleb was sticking his hand in his shirt where he had a button missing, but probably no one noticed?  :)  And, while Levi was up there with his group, Caleb did holler something at him from where he was sitting, but we didn't have any "major" incidents this year.  Levi's group (the 4's and 5's) did great!  It was a small group so we were worried about them being way too quiet, but they did well.  We had been encouraging Levi to go ahead and sing right into the microphone, and he actually did try a few times, but I don't think that one was turned up very much as I didn't hear him.  Hard to believe that next year Jackson will be up there in the 2's and 3's!!

Friday night our school had a Parent's Night Out babysitting fundraiser for some of the highschoolers going on a missions trip this spring.  So we gladly dropped the boys off and headed out for a date!  (Too rare of an occurrence.)  Tacos el Cunado for supper, then Barnes & Noble to just hang out browsing at books and then having coffee.  After the craziness of harvest season, it is SOOOOOO nice to have more time to spend together and actually have conversations.  Kinda funny, on our way to drop the kids off we were all in the truck and swerved a little on an icy patch.  Then on our way to pick the kids up, there was a smaller truck in the ditch in that same spot.  We pulled over to make sure he had a phone to call for help and he was fine.  Glad it wasn't more serious, and glad we weren't the ones in the ditch!

Saturday morning we fit in a drive to Benton Harbor to deliver beef while Caleb and Logan were at rehearsal.  The weather was a little wintry, but not too bad.  On the way back we did see a couple separate vehicles in the median, one looked pretty bad.  Sunday was pretty snowy, but thankfully the program wasn't cancelled.  We drove around in the truck all weekend as the van needs new tires and isn't getting them until Friday.  Of course, I've been slipping around in it this week so far.  Monday school was cancelled, and we had a really nice snow day.  A year ago I dreaded snow days, but it was actually a nice, relaxing, fun day.  I even got to go out a play a bit with the big boys when Jackson napped.

Amy and I have gone to a spin class at Zeeland Rec a couple times now, and it's been great!  It was really rough the first time, but it felt good to get some exercise, and I could notice improvement at the second class already.  Now to try and get moving the rest of the week, too!  I took possession of Mike's old fitbit, so we'll see if tracking my activity motivates me at all.

merry

It's the Christmas season and we are enjoying it!  I have been partaking in Christmas music for quite a while already, but we put up the tree about a week ago, and I just love having it up.  Mike helped me get the little trees on the porch set up, and I just got candles for a few of the windows - it's all so pretty.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend.  Thanksgiving Dinner was at VanBeek's, and almost all of Mike's family was able to be there.  On Friday we ended up going up to the cottage overnight and had such a nice time!  Harold and Kara were up there with their kids, and Friday night we just hung out, then Saturday we took a drive to look at some land for hunting.

Monday evening we celebrated Caleb and Logan's birthday with grandparents.  And then Tuesday was their SEVENTH birthday!!  I can hardly believe it.  My little babies are big boys now!  It is so much fun watching them become their own persons with different interests, talents, and personalities.
Thursday evening was the school Christmas concert.  Caleb, Logan, and Levi were all a part of it, and they did great!  They were all three up front at the same time (with the rest of the elementary), standing in different spots, and it was hard to keep an eye on all three at the same time.  :)  I didn't want to miss what one person did just because I was watching another...

Friday night we were able to get a piano from some friends.  We brought over pizza and hung out a bit, then moved the piano from their place to ours.  We put it in Jackson's room as we don't really have another good spot, and everyone's enjoying it so far.

Saturday afternoon was our first family Christmas party of the season.  With my mom's side at my parent's house.  Nice to see some of the family that we don't see very often.

Yesterday afternoon was our first real, accumulating snow of the year.  The boys had fun playing outside!  We even took Jackson outside for a bit and he seemed to enjoy it.

Jackson is ALMOST walking.  Definitely going to happen soon!  He has taken 1 or 2 small steps, and is much more steady standing on his own.  He says bye-bye and waves, and a couple times has said nigh-nigh.  So fun to see him picking up on different things: he'll hold one of his toy phones up to his head and 'talk', the other day he grabbed one of his shoes and held it by his foot, when I go in the bathroom with him he puts his finger by his ear knowing I'm going to clean his ears, and a little while back when he had a runny nose, not long after I had wiped it, he took his hankie out of the backpack and kinda wiped his nose.  He has been doing a little climbing, which I'm not a huge fan of.

Levi is still pretty focused on farming and combining.  And, he's often looking for ways to work and be a helper!  Love the initiative I see in that guy.  The other day he did say something about missing me some when at school ("When Silas gets sad and misses his mom, I miss my mom, too").  Sweetheart!

Loving Mike's off-season!  We just eat up all the family time.  Every day it's a pleasant surprise when he gets home from work at such a reasonable hour.  And, of course, Friday's off are AWESOME.

it was time

Last week was still a beautiful week.  Friday was even 70 degrees, and a great day to be outside.  And then Saturday it happened.  It got cold and snowy.  Winter had to come sooner or later!  After much effort, I THINK we're all set with coats, snow pants, boots, hats, and gloves.  Phew!  Of course the snow is gone already, now today is just rainy and cold.

During the good weather last week Mike hung a tire swing and started working on a fort in the woods.  So fun!  I can see the boys having hours of enjoyment with the fort.  What an awesome dad.  :)  Caleb and Logan are getting some tools for their birthday next week, we'll see if we get some decent weather for them to help Mike with more of the fort.

Monday and Tuesday this week we had some busy days.  Monday morning after dropping Caleb and Logan off to school, Levi, Jackson, and I headed to a Moms and Muffins time.  It's always nice to have a chance to chat with some of the other moms from school.  After that we made a quick trip to the store and then had to head to the doctor for Jackson's 12 month check-up.  He's nice and healthy!  21 lb 9 oz (50%) and 31.75 in (96%).  His measurements are pretty close to what Caleb's were at that age.  Fun to see him crawling around the room, hiding under the exam table.  :)  He's doing everything he should developmentally, and there are no concerns!  Praise the Lord for another healthy child.

Jackson is mostly eating table food, I just still do some baby food as that's a way of getting some veggies in him.  :)  He's drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup now, no more bottles.  He's been doing some spitting at meal time, which we're trying to nip in the bud, but he often thinks it's funny when we he gets a swat on the hand.  Hmmmm...  A few times now he has stood for several seconds on his own.  He walks really well pushing his walker or scooter.  Jackson loves his big brothers, and tries to get in the mix with them.  :)  I think he has said "bye bye" and "nigh nigh" a couple times - so hard to tell for sure when they're just starting out!

The older boys are on Thanksgiving break now, and overall we've had a nice day so far.  They played for quite a while this morning before even having breakfast.  We did run a few errands which included flu shots.  The boys did pretty well!  Caleb and Logan hardly flinched or reacted, I had to hold Levi down, and he did cry a little, but at least didn't scream.  :)  Of course we had to go through McDonald's drive-thru for cookies after that.  Levi was upset for quite a while afterwards, but finally snapped out of it.  We'd been listening to The Magician's Nephew in the car, so now at home we're watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Nothing like The Chronicles of Narnia!

fall

We have had an absolutely gorgeous fall!!  It can stay like this for another month as far as I'm concerned.  I'd be good with just a solid month or so of winter.  A couple Saturdays ago Mike went to a U of M game with some of the guys from his family, and they had a really great day for it.

Last Tuesday was our country's presidential election.  Such a crazy time.  So many thoughts going through my mind.  I don't have time right now to put it all down here, and I don't know that I will.  Although, it would probably feel good to just get it all out and this would be a fairly safe place since only 1-2 other people read my posts.  Ha ha!

Wednesday night we dropped Caleb, Logan, and Levi off at church and then went to Russ' with Jackson for a semi-date.  Oh how nice!!  To be able to sit and have a conversation is a pretty nice thing.

Mike took Wed and Thur off of work to help my dad finish up harvesting corn.  Worked out nice since the boys had 1/2 days at school, and pickup time would have been right when Jackson was napping, so Mike was able to pick them up.  Thursday afternoon we had parent/teacher conferences for Caleb and Logan.  Mrs. Steenwyk seems like a tough teacher, but they are doing really well!  ;)  So thankful that she understands little boys, and she's excited about what they're learning.  Both Caleb and Logan got good and great marks on all their subjects and behavior.  As expected, Caleb has a little more 'energy' shall we say, but nothing out of bounds; and Logan is a little more reserved and conscientious with his work.  Logan loves bugs, which I knew was going to make him a good match for Mrs. Steenwyk; and she knows how to handle boys with some spunk like Caleb.  Sounds like they are respectful, obedient, and get along with all the other kids just fine.  Phew!  Let's keep that up!  :)

Friday was no school, and Caleb and Logan went to a friend's house for a few hours.  Levi was able to help Mike with some work, which was a good thing since he hadn't been able to ride the combine Wed/Thur and was quite disappointed about that.  (He is obsessed with combining.)  In the afternoon we went as a family to help another family clean the bathrooms at school.  Wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't too bad!

Saturday was a beautiful day for a drive to Grand Ledge to visit my Grandma Tiemeyer.  Her dementia is worsening, but she's very pleasant and still knows who we are.  The boys handle it very well, I'm so glad.  We were able to go for a little walk with her and Ginger, and visit with my Aunt Joy a bit as well.  Afterwards we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch - good times!

one

Taken from my Facebook post earlier today: "It took a little while to dawn on me what was happening, but by this time one year ago today, I realized that I was most definitely in labor and needed to get to the hospital! (I had never gone into labor on my own before, and had a c-section scheduled for the next day, hence the skepticism at what I was feeling. ) Amy Smith was here wishing me well for the next day; I called Mike to tell him I thought things were happening and we'd better head in to get checked out, but I failed to tell him I wanted him to HURRY. When he got home from work and said he wanted to take a shower before leaving, I just about flipped. But, we had to wait for his mom to get here for Levi anyways. Thankful she's close, thankful Mike takes fast showers, and thankful the hospital is only 5 minutes away. Got to the hospital and ran into Mike's cousin's wife on my way in (who had her baby the week before and didn't wait for me so we could be in the hospital at the same time!). Didn't take too long before they had me in surgery and we were anxiously waiting to find out whether we were continuing the boy theme or completely changing things up with a girl. At 2:01pm we were thrilled to meet our fourth baby boy! Certainly the birth of each of our children is special in it's own way, but this one was special because it was the most "with it" and the best I felt for any of them (really helps to not have been in labor for several hours/a couple days before delivery...). We didn't decide on a name right away, but after I was able to spend my recovery time with him and we were brought back up to my room, we decided on Jackson. They weighed him and I was floored that he was only 8 lbs! (After having an 11 pounder, you have no idea what to expect.)

Jackson's big brothers were excited to meet him, and one year later the excitement still hasn't worn off. They LOVE playing and interacting with him, to the point of driving us batty with their baby talk. :) A few days of peace and quiet at the hospital and then it was time to go home and embark on our adventure of managing the chaos of four little boys. I LOVE IT. There are plenty of days that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to make it and I don't think there's any hope of guiding these hooligans into decent, functioning members of society, but oh how I love these energetic, rambunctious, thoughtful, creative, imaginative BOYS. From not being sure what God's plan was for our family regarding children, to having four boys...that's pretty intense!

On the one hand, I think God is using Jackson to teach me even more flexibility and that each child is unique and different, but he also fits right into our family. To make sure he doesn't get forgotten, he gets quite vocal (it's a last born thing, trust me, right Mom?), and he loves playing with his big brothers. I can only begin to imagine the trouble they are going to get into together.

Happy 1st birthday to my baby! Like it or not, you'll always be my baby. We love you and are so thankful that God chose to bless our family with your arrival!"

I know it's cliche, but seriously, how did this last year go so fast??  I suppose part of it is just a blur because of lack of sleep and constantly trying to figure out WHAT IS GOING TO GET THIS KID TO SLEEP MORE?!?!  And, then there's the busyness of the three other boys, that kinda makes things fly by, too.  One year ago and for several months following, I had a snuggly little baby that nursed for a long time and fell asleep on me.  Now, I've got an almost-toddler that won't sit still and snuggle for anything and just wants to be on the go.  

This age is a lot of work (what age isn't??), but boy is it fun.  The more interactive he gets, the more his physical development progresses, the more his personality comes through, the better it gets.  Jackson is doing really well walking with his walker, and he almost stands without hanging onto anything.  He eats lots of table food and holds his own bottle.  He has six teeth.  He still uses a pacifier, but mostly just for bedtime.  He can clap, almost do "peek a boo", and sign "more".  He loves having his brothers push him around on his new scooter.  That really gets him smiling and laughing.  He's very vocal - our drive home from church on Wednesday evening's just makes us laugh.  I don't know if it's the excitement of his brothers getting back in the van and being all jazzed up or what, but he really starts jabbering (loudly) then for most of the ride home.  

Love the addition that Jackson makes to our family!  

color

It is absolutely gorgeous out right now!!  Sunny, warm, fall day with leaves changing and falling.  Fall is so bittersweet for me.  I do love the season itself, but I end up dreading it as summer ends just because I know what comes after fall, and that it's cold, dark, and lasts sooooo long.  Certainly the bright side of winter is having Mike around so much more.  That helps!  I SHOULD be out mowing the lawn right now (for probably one last time this year), but Jackson is napping and Mike took the other three boys to help my dad with the combine.

Last week I managed to pickle some peppers!  I had completely forgotten that I wanted to do that, and then Mike mentioned it.  (I love having a garden, but when the season comes to an end I am more than ready for a break.)  Thankfully I have a few pepper plants that have still been going strong, so I didn't have a problem gathering enough to do several jars.  It was easy, and Mike loves them!

Last Thursday Levi, Jackson, and I went on a little adventure to South Haven.  Mike's cousin who lives in Indiana bought a 1/4 cow, so we met her halfway with the meat.  (We've done this a couple times before.)  I'm so glad that South Haven is a good meeting place for us because it's such a neat little town.  We took a quick look at the lake (it was too cold to get out), then stopped downtown for a little treat.  It was a nice day for a drive, and both boys did great!

Friday Mike took Roxy to the vet for a check-up.  She's doing great!  She's only about 52 pounds, which is small compared to what Brandy and Sadie were, but the vet said she looks great.  It's always *interesting* taking our outside dog who is not leash trained into the vet's office.  Kinda like taking our rambunctious country boys out in public.  We all fit well together, I guess!

Saturday was Jackson's birthday party!!  I can't believe it!  We had things pretty well under control, so Mike was able to help my dad combine earlier in the day.  We had a nice party for him in the evening.  My parents, Mike's mom and stepdad, Kara and the kids (Harold was gone hunting), Eric and Lea Anne and the kids all came.  Being close to Halloween we told the kids they could wear their costumes to the party, so that was fun.  I don't think Jackson knew quite what to think of all the people in our house at first.  And, he was unsure of his cake when I first gave it to him, but he ended up digging in.  :)

Early Sunday morning Levi woke up puking, so I ended up staying home from church and Mike took Caleb and Logan with him.  So glad it was just a quick little thing and no one else got sick!

Yesterday was Halloween and it was my FIRST time trick or treating!  We took the kids to Eric and Lea Anne's neighborhood and it was so fun to be out and about with so many other people (it was a beautiful night) and see the kids really getting into it and enjoying it.  Levi tired out after a bit, but handled it well.  Now we have SO MUCH candy and I've got to exercise some willpower.  (And it would be helpful if I actually exercised my body as well...)

I won't be able to describe it very well, but I hope just the mention of it will jog my memory enough that I'll remember it clearly...  So, last night we're walking around Eric and Lea Anne's neighborhood and there's a guy with one arm (for real) who has his stump and his shirt made to look all bloody and he was walking his dog who was dragging along a fake arm.  Pretty good.  (If I ever lose a limb or something I hope I can make the most of it with a good attitude like that.  Anyways.)  From a distance us adults are watching my niece Heidi notice this guy.  She's terrified of dogs, so first she is wary and giving him plenty of space because of that. But then she noticed that he was missing an arm and boy was she dumbfounded and staring at him.  Oh the look on her face!!  It was great.

My baby turns 1 tomorrow.  I'm not sure yet how I feel about that...