September Memories

Dorian's first day at Learning Ship Preschool!  He had a moment of hesitancy that morning, but then had a change of heart and was almost excited about going.  An answer to prayer!  I was so proud of him.  We had made chocolate chip cookies the week before and it was Dorian's idea to take some to his new teacher!  So of course, we did.  :)  And he was even willing to take a picture for me before we left!  I hope that he is comfortable there this year and makes some new friends easily.

Dorian made a heart and hats for him and dad and was SO proud of them!  :)

I'm not sure that it looks very comfortable to be watching Curious George from a shopping cart, but that's how I found Levi one morning.  :)  It was pretty cute.

I love these boys!!!  And it's good to be reminded that they love each other as well.  :) 

Cooking Day!  I had been looking forward to joining my mom and sisters for one of their cooking days!  We met from 9:30 to 4:30 at our house and made 8 recipes of food to put in the freezer!!! 
Cavatini, Hash Brown Potato Casserole, Chicken Tortilla Casserole, Chicken Pot Pie, Meatballs,
Ritz Chicken, Monster Cookie Dough, and their favorite recipe of Cheddar Ham Chowder.   Mmmm.

Some routines are beginning this month.  I started going to MOPS which is on Thursdays about twice a month.  I started going to Coffee Break which meets on Wednesday mornings.  I also found out about some women (mostly women who are new to the area or have moved back within the last couple of years) who meet for coffee at The Fruited Plain on Tuesday mornings which I went to a couple of times.  Dorian goes to preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Dorian is also going to swimming lessons on Thursday evenings for 5 sessions and he's doing really well with that!  He is getting so brave!  We've also been invited over to a few playdates which has been fun.  And Mr. Levi is very flexible and willing to go wherever I take him.  What a blessing! 

So far my schedule is much busier here than in Holland, but I like it that way.  :)  And it's my way of making new friendships this year.

Labor Day

Nathan typically works on Labor Day as was the case again this year.  So I was excited to head out and have some fun plans for the day with family.  We joined mom, dad, Kerry, Ryan and Heidi and their girls at the Airport in Sheldon for their pancake breakfast and plane show.  The boys really enjoyed watching the little planes take off.  And they also loved the free little planes to play with!

Then we went over to the park to let the kids play on all of the rides/toys, walk through the outdoor craft fair, and eat lunch.

 Dorian had to wait in line a long time for this bumper car ride with Emma.  But it was worth it.  :)

The parade!  Holland seemed to have tons of parades and we did go to a lot of them.  But this parade was unlike all of those because all of the kids had grocery bags to collect all of the candy that they were going to throw out.  The look on Levi's face was priceless when he got his first piece of candy...it looked like he had won the lottery.  :) 

I remember doing all of these things each year when I was a kid so it brought back a lot of memories.  I'm so thankful to be able to join in on all of the fun this year!!!

Then mom and dad came to Sioux Center and took us out to eat at the Family Table which I hadn't yet been to.  The steaks were so good, it just might be ranked right up there with the Pizza Ranch.  :)

August Memories

How did nearly 2 months just pass by on me???  As I was looking back at our calendar and pictures for the month of August, it didn't seem like there was a lot going on.  But as I remember, it was very busy.  It takes a lot of time for things to settle when you move into a new home. 

And it also took a lot longer for things to get done since Nathan was now working full time again.  This time in his new office at Dordt!  I went one evening and helped him arrange furniture, hang pictures, and arrange the books on his bookshelves.  Even though it's a basement office, I think that it looks very nice.  The transition was going well at work which was a huge relief to me.

I really missed our MI neighbors during the month of August...still do.  The boys are needing to learn how to play just with the 2 of them which is probably a good thing, but I feel like they are much more needy of my time.  All part of the transition.

One evening, the boys were being silly and wanted to show off for the camara. :)

I have been watching Aniah and Eden about once a week while Heidi is at work.  Some days are a little more crazy than others, but I love it!  Dorian and Levi love to play with their cousins!

August 27 was Cara and Drew's wedding!  Oh yeah, it did take quite a bit of time to get ready for this trip.  :)  We decided to drive since flying is SO expensive with a family of 4.  We drove the ENTIRE day on Thursday.  And Friday evening was the rehearsal. 

After the rehearsal it became a little more real that the boys were both ring bearers and I became pretty nervous about how it was going to go.  Mom Tintle made the little pillows that the boys carried.

Saturday was the big day.

 The boys were VERY handsome!!!

We had to go with our backup plan.  :)  Levi left down the aisle without Dorian which really upset him, so Nathan walked back and took them to the front with him.  It was still cute.

 Our first ever ride in a limo!  Off to the reception.  :)

 Cara was a beautiful bride!

 Levi and Dorian were very happy to hear that they could get chicken nuggets and french fries. 

 Dancing was a lot of fun with the boys!

It was getting very late for the boys and I'm so thankful that they were both able to fall asleep despite the very loud music.  Levi had a ring on his finger that lit up which made this picture even cuter.

Drew is so much fun!  I'm thankful to have a new brother-in-law.  :)

It wasn't in the plans, but we needed to leave for Iowa immediately after the reception was over due to the hurricane that was hitting the East Coast.  We ended up being on the road for 48 hours and there for 48 hours.  And I'm still able to say that it was a good trip.  :)

Nearly August

Thursday:  Mom came to watch the boys while we went out to get IA driver's licenses, get our vehicles registered (wow...that was more money than we were expecting), and meet with a banker about our loan.  We even went out to eat together while we were out.  That was nice!  We spent a good part of the afternoon organizing the garage and by evening, we could park one vehicle inside!!!  Dorian fell asleep before 5:00 and slept through the night for about 14 and a half hours!  

Friday:  This is the day Nathan worked out in the garden.  Kerry, Heidi and their families came over for supper.  Ryan was working but took his break to eat supper with us.  The kids had fun playing with Officer Ryan.  I remember doing the same thing with Uncle Lyle when I was a kid.  :)

Kerry and the girls stayed overnight at our house Friday night which was fun!  It's like I had a babysitter because they played downstairs nicely together pretending to own a furniture business and Ashley then put Dorian to bed! 

Saturday:  Another busy day!  Heidi picked Kerry and I up at 8:30a.m. so that we could go to the Lakes for a Shower for my cousin who is getting married.  The men and children came up later and met us at Cutty's where we played miniature golf and went swimming for the afternoon.  Then we all showered and went to Uncle Darrell and Aunt Twyla's 50th wedding anniversary celebration that evening which was also up at Okoboji.  We didn't get home again until 9:30 at night.  I'm just thankful that I am able to do these things now that we live closer.  :)

Sunday:  We were both feeling very intimidated by starting the process of finding a church home here.  I think sometimes I feel like it's going to be so hard to find a church that compares to Maranatha.  But I know that it is going to take time to build relationships and that for sure didn't come overnight in Holland either.  We did finally decide upon visiting Faith CRC this morning and talked for a while with Uncle Jim and Aunt Lavonne.  I'm not sure where we'll visit next week, but we'll take this one week at a time.  And I do trust that God will provide a church home and friendships here if we're patient.

Tomorrow is Monday, August 1st.  Nathan is heading back to work.  I'm praying that things will go smoothly for him there and I'm praying for us as we find new routines again at home.  It's both scary and exciting at the same time.  :)