Beauty and the Geek

Do you recognize my good friends who came over last night? I don't know how such a beautiful woman (she IS Miss USA, you know?) ended up with SUCH A DORK!!!!!

Another Week Flew By!

Hard to believe that tomorrow is Friday already. I don't know about you, but the weeks seem to be flying by to me. I think one reason is that we have been working on Thanksgiving travel plans already, and that leads me to think about Christmas travel plans, so since I'm thinking Nov./Dec., October seems to sneak right past me. And Halloween is next week already???? I think we have decided on costumes for the kids. I was smart and got costumes last year after Halloween for 50-75% off, and the kids are okay with them, so we're going to run with it. Cobe will be a vampire, Brooks will be Darth Vader (I think-he has about 10 ideas of what he wants to be.), and Sadie can either be a fairy or a witch. I hope she'll go with the witch costume- it is adorable and it fits her personality better! haha Usually, we go the day before Halloween trick-or-treating to Herman Miller where MJ works, but this year, she isn't at the design yard, so we aren't going. On Halloween, we always go to our church for games, inflatables, dinner, candy, haunted house, etc. They are having it again this year (Light of the World) if anyone wants to join us. Then it doesn't matter what the weather is for trick-or-treating because all of the activities at church are inside.

We have decided to go to Nashville, Tennessee for Thanksgiving this year. My mom and dad as well as Brent are meeting us there. My cousin Lee and his wife Bobbie live there with their 3 kids, so I am sure we'll have a great time! I can't wait to see them and hang out with my family. We usually don't get to see my parents at Thanksgiving, so it will be a nice treat. And I love the city of Nashville- haven't been much, but the few times I have gone, it was a blast- lots to do.
The kids have that whole week off of school, so it will be a good time to travel. Then they return to school on Dec. 1st and are off again for 2 weeks starting Dec. 19th. I think that is another reason time is flying- when I work on lesson plans, it seems like there are a ton of breaks coming up.

I have gotten some Christmas shopping done already- Cobe is totally done, need to pick up 2 more things for Brooks, and need to get a few more things for Sadie. I have a gift for Miles, the Boeve girls, the Overzets and Huizengas and a few other surprises already bought for Ryan's parents, so I am well on my way. I still have my mom/dad/brothers and SIL to buy for, but they are usually good about being specific in what they want (hint, hint) so it isn't too hard to shop for them. I look forward to decorating our new house for Christmas this year- we have the perfect front room for a Christmas tree!

This weekend will be fun for us. Friday night, Aliyah and Maya get to spend the night. Ryan is helping his brother Kyle move into their new house, so I am sure me and the 5 kids will have a good time. Saturday, Cobe has his football banquet at lunch time, then we are going to a friend's house for the MI- MI State game. The guys want some quiet time to watch the game in peace, so the women will head off with the kids to Crazy Bounce. Fun fun! Then the kids have been begging me to have a slumber party in our basement rec-room, so we are going to throw some sleeping bags in there Sat. night and all sleep together. They want popcorn and a movie. So cute how such simple things make them happy! After our normal Sunday School and church routine, we might be ready for a nap!

Brooks is begging to go outside and play, so I guess I'll be his playmate for awhile!

We have had a nice weekend and alot of it was kid-free! Ryan and I got to spend some time together as a couple, and we had a great time. Friday night, I crashed hard and early. I can't remember a time when I fell asleep so early and slept all night. I wasn't even sick- just exhausted I guess. So I was raring to go to Cobe's football game Saturday morning when I woke up. He played in Byron Center- his last game of the season. It was their first loss, 20-6, so the game was disappointing. But those little guys came off the field with big smiles on their faces because they scored their touchdown in the last 2 minutes. I overheard one little boy saying, "Now we just have to score 2 more touchdowns to come back and win." It cracked me up that they were fighting hard until the end and had no idea that it wasn't possible to score 2 more touchdowns in about 42 seconds. Cobe had such a great season and learned a TON about the game. His coaches were phenomenal and taught him so much. I am thankful that so many parents are willing to volunteer their time to coach my kids. It is a big commitment- 3 practices a week and a game each week! Wow! That is dedication to kids!

After the game, the boys both went to the DeKrakers for an afternoon of fun- 6 little boys played hard all day. The DeKrakers have an amazing set-up- their house and property provided the boys hours of fun all day. Sadie went down for a nap, and Lisa and I headed off for a 5 mile walk. It felt great and the day was gorgeous! Lisa took Sadie home with her after our walk for the night, and Tracy took the boys to Lisa's later in the evening to spend the night, so Ryan and I even had free time before heading out for the evening. Heaven! We got ready and headed to Grandville. We stopped at the mall for a brief time- I wanted to look for a double stroller for Sadie's dolls like her friend Presley has, but no luck. They didn't have one. :-( And I also wanted to look for fur-crocs for Brooks. He LOVES his crocs, so I thought I'd try to find him fur-lined ones so he can keep wearing them into the winter. No luck there either- I don't want the real crocs. Besides the fact that they are $30, the fur is too thick, so I would prefer cheap knock-off ones. I found some for Sadie at TJ Maxx that are perfect, but they didn't have any for boys. Anyway, we headed to the Bekins after the mall to pick them up to go out.

The four of us headed to Bullshead to meet up with the Holsteges for dinner. They have really great food there! We ate and gabbed, then headed to the Monkey Bar to meet up with the Remicks as well. So the 8 of us had a good time! Then Ryan and I got to sleep in this morning and met the kids at Sunday School. Thanks Lisa!!!! We really enjoyed our time out knowing our kids were in good hands!

I am really enjoying our new Sunday School class. It is a class that focuses on marriage and family, and our new pastor is doing a great job leading it. You can tell that it is good b/c I notice new faces there each week- word must be spreading. Steve is easy to listen to and has good advice for marriage. Today he described marriage as a triangle with passion, commitment and intimacy each being a side. Good lesson- good practical advice, and it is nice knowing that you and your spouse are both hearing the same thing- leads to good discussions.
It was on to church after Sunday school, and then home for spaghetti. Cobe had to rush, rush, rush to eat and change because the Bedollas picked him up at 1:00 for a movie. He and Jaxson were going to see Beverly Hills Chiuaua or something like that. He is still gone. Brooks played with the neighbor boy, Elliot, all afternoon and is now vegging on the couch watching Disney, and Sadie just got up from her nap. So I felt like I had a few hours of kid-free time again this afternoon. Nice! I do love my kids, but it is nice every once in awhile to have some mommy and daddy time. Makes you appreciate them even more!

Off to do one of my favorite hobbies- look for recipes and plan dinner. Enjoy your week!

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!

My baby is 3 today! We wish you a happy, happy 3rd birthday little girl! We love you bunches!!



(Ignore her crazy dad and his weird expression!)

Notta lotta going on

I am at work. Shhhhhh!!! The kids are taking the MEAP test so from 7:40-9:50, I just have to sit here and monitor the test. It is pretty boring. I have caught up on all my school work, so I thought I'd kill some time by posting. I have to teach my regular hours after giving the MEAP so it equals a longer work day for me! I had to do the same thing on Tuesday and will have the same schedule on next Tuesday as well. Oh well- once I"m at work, it seems to go fast, so it doesn't bother me.



Nothing real exciting going on at our house. Brooks woke up Tuesday morning sick- fever, headache, sore throat, bad cough. He did not leave the couch the entire day on Tuesday, nor did he eat anything, but he woke up yesterday and seemed fine. Ryan took him to the doctor anyway because he was out of his asthma inhaler meds and needed a new prescription for those, so the Dr. said he had a virus, refilled his prescription and sent them on their merry way. He was much better yesterday, but still has a lingering cough. When he gets a cough, it is worse because of his asthma, so I do feel bad for the little guy. I do hate the kindergarten schedule for this reason though- he missed a day on Tuesday, so he only goes to school one day this week. To me it would be so much better if they went every day 1/2 day. Oh well- I guess when Sadie is there the schedule will have to be different with the new laws in place. I am curious to see how they will change kindergarten to meet the new requirements of kindergartners being in school 60% of the time as the other kids. Right now, they are in school 50% of the time, so something will have to change.



Cobe has his last night of football practice tonight- last game is Saturday in Byron Center. His team is 5-0, so I hope for his sake (wink, wink) they can go undefeated. I really think I am much more competitive than he is- shocking, huh? haha I think this weekend's game will be their stiffest competition and his coach is worried about the outcome. At the end of the season, Cobe's coach does a really nice banquet for the players at our church- he gives them a gift, pictures and does a slide show after the dinner. It will be a nice way to end the season. I have gotten to know some new parents, so I think it will be fun to attend. He goes straight into indoor soccer next week with practices on Tuesday and Thursday night. I think his banquet may be Tuesday night, so he may have to miss his first soccer practice.



The boys have been invited to a friend's house on Saturday after the game. They are both friends with 2 brothers, so it will be nice that they can spend the day together and with their friends. Ryan and I are going out Saturday night in GR- big night out!!! We haven't had a night out since the end of summer if I am remembering correctly. I know we'll have fun and the kids will have fun as well- they get to sleepover at the Boeve's house. Thanks Lisa!!! Lisa and I are getting back to our winter plan of switching kids each month so we can enjoy a night out as a couple without paying for a sitter and without worrying about getting home at an early hour. Now if we can just keep the 5 kids well... our plan should work out great! :-) It is also nice because since schedules are so busy, we NEVER get to see Aliyah, and that gives the kids a chance to all be together with their great friends. You can only go so long before you need yourself an Aliyah fix! :-)



On a more serious note, I feel like there have been a lot of injuries and other "bad" things going on in lots of friends' lives. It has made me stop and appreciate my family and friends and be thankful for life itself. Please keep Tonya and her husband Ryan (and their 4 kids) in your prayers, Lisa's family and her dad Ken in your prayers, Lisa's grandma and her uncle in your prayers, the family of the injured Zeeland West student (the Stouts) in your prayers as well as Terri herself , the family of Sydney Timmer from Zeeland East in your prayers, Jeff Elenbaas and his family in your prayers, and there are others that may want their needs to remain private. Also, please keep Grandma Hains in your prayers- she is feeling the loneliness of losing Grandpa now that everyone is back to work and not able to spend a ton of time with her. I feel like prayer warriors are needed in the lives of many.

Sadie's birthday is Saturday. I don't feel like we will do much since she has already had her family party. Maya's birthday was yesterday, so Lisa and I are taking the girls to do something fun together on Friday when they get out of school to celebrate. She will be three and is going on 21!!!!! The sass God blessed her with is amazing! She has picked up cheerleading after watching the cheerleaders at Cobe's football games, and she thinks she is ALL THAT when she is strutting around doing her cheers. She makes up her own words and motions and it cracks me up! We went to Grandma Hains' house yesterday to visit, and she cheered for her the entire time we were there. Grandma and I were trying to talk, but it was impossible to drown Sadie out! At least I don't have to worry about anyone messing with her- she can take down her brothers AT THE SAME TIME usually with no problem! She can be a stinker, but we sure do love her.

I think that is about all I have to say! I am surprised if you kept reading with all of these ramblings. Hope everyone has a great FALL weekend- the weather is finally proving to be cooler here. I love snuggling up in sweats and blankets, and it looks like this weekend will be great weather for that. Have a good one!

A Few More...

Here are some of the pictures I wanted to load yesterday. I didn't realize how BLURRY they were though. Hmmmm.... my camera was acting up in church yesterday, so in my hurry to fix it, I must have done something to the focus. I'll have to get my techie guru to bail me out of this one. (Are you reading Lynette?) :-)

Mary Jo and Jim's 9 grandkids. I guess a blurry picture works well b/c they all are usually a blur anyway- none of them will sit still. haha
Sadie making her wish on her Mickey Mouse cake.
Cobe and Justy after they received their Bibles.
More fun at the car show. Sadie jumped out of her stroller once she saw this Barney car.


Brooks and Ryan thought this old LAPD police cruiser was pretty cool. Reminded me of an Andy Griffith car.




The men in my life... how lucky am I?????

A Glimpse of Our Weekend

Of course my plan was to show our weekend in pictures. But my DUMB computer isn't cooperating... AGAIN!!!! Friday night, I took some pictures of us since we were dressed up for Grandpa Hain's memorial service and some of those turned out really cute. I included one of me and Sis at the bottom of this post, but for some reason,the ones of the boys wouldn't post. Saturday morning was spent at Cobe's 5th football game. They played another undefeated team and it was a close one, but Cobe's team eeked out the win 12-8. Their record is 5-0, and they have one more game this coming Saturday against another undefeated team. According to coach, it will be their toughest game yet. Cobe went to a friend on his football team's house after the game with some of the other players. Sadie and I went to Meijer's in search of a cake for her birthday celebration with Ryan's family today for lunch. We had to hit both Meijer's, but we found a Mickey Mouse cake that she wanted. I finally have a little girl who I thought would want a princess cake or a Dora cake or something girly, but no, she wanted a Mickey cake. Too bad she had broken Mickey's ear off before we even got out of the grocery store. We went back home and Jen dropped off her boys for the evening around 4:00. They all played outside for awhile, then came in for pizza, popcorn and a movie. After eating, Ryan and I and the 6 kids walked to the church next door for the Community Car Show. It was a lot of fun- the kids got their faces painted, got balloon animals, got chips, cookies, drinks, etc. and got to see some cool looking cars, military vehicles, an old police car, hotrods, etc. It was packed and the mosquitoes were HORRIBLE!!!! Poor Joshie boy looks like I punched him in the eye because he has bites that look like welts under his eye. We cut the trip a little short due to the mosquitoes. They had a horse and carriage that you could take a ride in, inflatables to jump in and more to look at, but Ryan and I both were miserable because we kept getting bit, so we all walked home. The boys were excited to play "ring and run" or "ding-dong ditch" when we got home b/c in our neighborhood, we trade around Halloween treats and leave a ghost on the doors of the houses that have treats, so it was our turn to hit a few houses. They had fun wearing glow sticks in the dark and ringing people's doorbells and running back home as fast as they could. The Overzets then left and it was bedtime.

This morning we went to Sunday School and church and Cobe received a Bible from the church. It is a tradition in our church that 3rd graders receive a Joel Tanis study Bible. It is a really cool Bible and it was neat to see him go before church. Of course I took some pictures of that too, but of course they will NOT post. Agh! We headed to Mary Jo's for lunch- mine and Larry's favorite- and had Sadie's cake for her birthday. She got some great gifts- make-up, Hello Kitty purse, ballerina puzzle, magnetic doll, Princess drawing book, headband, pants, and fur-lined crocs. She was very "be-cited" (excited) with her gifts. She came home and was entertained for the rest of the day with her new toys. Cobe had his first soccer practice tonight for his winter/indoor team. This will be the 3rd year in a row that his team has all played together. They have gotten pretty tight and love when the season starts up again because they play together from October through the end of April- LONG season, but he really enjoys it. Our new pastor, Steve Rimes', little boy Riley joined the team this year because one kid dropped off from last year, so that will be neat to get to know their family in that capacity outside of church. While Ryan headed to Cobe's practice with the kids, Lisa and I hit the Selah concert at Community Church. We have been several other times that they have been here, and it is always a good concert. It was stifling hot in the church though. I got to sit behind Amanda's sister Shawn, so it was good to see her and catch up some. Hi Shawn! :-)
Here are the only two pictures I could upload- I have some more of my family, the car show, Cobe getting his Bible and Sadie's party today that I will try again tomorrow. Cross your fingers! :-)

Brooks, Jake, Justin and Cobe checking out a military jeep Saturday night.
My little girl and me. She will be turning 3 in less than a week! Where does time go??????

Well Done Good and Faithful Servant

What do you want people to say about you when you die? She had a nice house? She was always well-dressed? He worked hard at his job? She sure knew how to throw a party? He had a really nice car? Her kids were always well-behaved? Sound silly? It sounds so simple, but I really haven't stopped to think about how much of my energy is spent on such fruitless things. Shouldn't the time I spend each day making the beds instead be spent in God's Word? Shouldn't the time I spend each day forwarding jokes be spent sending a kind word to someone who may need it? Shouldn't the time I spend each day fretting over my drab wardrobe instead be spent showering my kids with love? It unfortunately takes a death to rearrange priorities sometimes, and a death of a man who lived as if each day he would meet his Maker is all the example I need to remind me that I need to re-evaluate some of the ways I spend my time. We will miss Grandpa Hains beyond belief. Yes he lived 87 years; yes he lived a life glorifying God, yes he lived a selfless life; yes he lived a life where he couldn't have possibly had any regrets and YES, he is REJOICING in heaven. It all boils down to the fact that he spent his life bearing the fruits of the spirit. There is no doubt in my mind that the words he heard when he entered the kingdom of God were, "Well done good and faithful servant." Aren't those the words we all should long to hear? I have a long way to go....

The life of Reverend John Martin Hains is a testimony of what it means to be a man of His word. The only word that matters.

www.hollandsentinel.com/announcements_obits/x1196567813/John-Hains-87

Sis and I Got a New Do

We decided to go darker for the fall/winter season. Whattya think??? ;-)

Pictures???? Uploaded??? On MY Computer????

Wow! I can't believe it! I just thought I'd give it another try and try to upload some pictures. And miraculously it worked! I haven't been taking many lately, but here are a few.


Here are my three cherubs Sunday morning. They all were being cooperative for a few pictures which is RARE!

Here is Brooks beside a dead turtle. Sadie and I went on a walk and saw this turtle in the road. We rushed back to get Brooks so he could see it, hoping it wouldn't disappear before we got back. When we got back to the turtle, I then realized it was dead. I wondered why I had never seen a turtle's head sticking out so far before. Duh!
Sadie and Brooks wanted their picture taken with the cows- but it is so dark you can't even see the cows.

Let's see.... Cobe won his third football game on Tuesday night 13-0. They played against Holland in the pouring rain. It was hard to watch because we were freezing and everyone had umbrellas. Today my dad and I shopped for awhile, then I brought him home, got my mom, Brooks and Sadie, and then we shopped. Nothing too exciting- both trips were to the new Menards. I am a sucker for Menards. I love the random stuff they have that you wouldn't expect a home improvement store to have. Then I went to church tonight to teach, but the kids stayed home with my parents. Cobe and my mom worked on a book report that he has this month. It was nice to have him get some of that out of the way. He has to make a mystery box. She worked on Brooks' homework with him this afternoon as well. It is so nice having her here for those reasons- the kids do learning activities the whole time she is here. They read, color, write, make projects, play games, etc. Never a dull moment with Nana around! My dad spent the day doing projects around the house which was super nice. He hung shelves in our garage for our many shoes that get left out there and he hung some pictures as well. He thinks he got Ryan's sickness and wasn't feeling the greatest today. My parents are actually going to leave tomorrow instead of their original departure date, so we will be sad without them. They need to get back to take care of some things.

This weekend will be fun for the kids. Friday night Brooks has a birthday party to go to and Cobe gets to go on the field with his football team at the East/West high school game. They both are excited!!!! Saturday Cobe has a football game- his last regulation game before the two playoff games start. And then I'm sure we'll head to the parade in the afternoon if the weather is nice and the kids aren't too whipped. Sadie is supposed to ride on a float, but I think we are going to postpone that until next year.

This week at Cityside has been spirit week. Tomorrow is clash day so I need to go pick out my tacky outfit! :-)