wanted to get some christmas pics up for all my devoted readers! seriously, even though most of you are family...or like family, we get so busy this time of year, we don't even get to each others houses to see all the decorations....so, i've got a very small sample of my holiday cheer for you!

my favorite little chair...it was my neighbor's high-chair when she was a little girl...love it!

even cuter with present, dont ya think?!

totally not the best lighting, but i totally have the wrong camera to take good pics...anyway, i DO love how cozy lamplight is. the "W-I-S-H" word was a little thanksgiving day project we did years ago at the poelman's...


my antique store trees with my best friends, george & mary bailey....please tell me you know who they are...you dont? oh. my. stars. go rent the movie, "its a wonderful life". after you put your kids (or dogs) to bed, get in your pj's, grab a blanket, some hot cocoa, and a box of kleenex. the best movie of all times!!!!!!!! have you not noticed the name of my blog?
the bailey's are family...at least it looks like it, cuz i have their picture plastered everywhere. love them, i seriosly considered how i could somehow name my kids after a part of the movie....just think, little george vruggink.

1946....i love everything about this movie...the story...the values...good overcomes evil...the clothes...the homes...especially how they decorated! no pottery barns or crate & barrel! homes reflected the personalities of the people who lived there!

this pencil sketch was a present from my mom last christmas....isn't she good?! i always loved this picture...agian from the movie....she drew it by pushing "pause" on the dvd player and drew it...LOVE IT. it makes me happy every time a look at it. it hangs proud on my wall year round.

i love books. i love christmas books even more! court gave me the idea to read a christmas book every day of december with my kids. so i've collected a pretty nice stack...good ol' scholastic book orders, used book sales and amazon.com have made this a pretty inexpensive tradition...my favorite book? the gift of the maji, by o'henry....my mom read it to us as kids, and now my kids love it as much as me! i also have it on tape (dubbed off an album of my grandparents)...it is lorne green narrating the story...awesome.

if you haven't read it, put it on your list of things to do before christmas :)

the reason for the season...i love my nativity...if i could witness anything in the bible, it would be the birth of Jesus...oh, to hear the angels singing...i get goose bumps thinking about it. another tradition...reading luke 2

love christmas ornaments...

this is an old ornament from my mom...
"every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings"

(this will make no sense to you if you haven't watched the movie...)

my tree, which we got from behind my grandma & grandpa beld's...complete with icicles....

well...i mentioned a few of our traditions...what are yours?

post some pics of your trees, too! it will be like our own little bloggy-holiday tour!

the bakery...

oh, how i LOvE steenstra's bakery!!! i was in grandville wednesday morning...when i thought how yummy bread ends would be for thanksgiving :) me and dodge stopped, and if ONLY i had my camera....it is a teeny tiny lil bakery, and i bet they had 10 people working the counter, cuz there had to be 25 of us crammed in that little place! yummy smelling baked goods were flying out of there...well, like hot cakes!!! i could NOT pass the banket up...love almond stuff....and had to get those cute little chocolate turkeys for the boys....and i got me and doug chocolate-chip-chocolate muffins with chocolate frosting. OH. MY. STARS.

anyway, short post...packed with calories.

water

i love water. i drink it every day. i waste it more than i care to admit. i like long hot showers. i use too much when i brush my teeth. i do ump-teen loads of laundry a week. i have a handy dandy dish washer that makes my life easier.

i love kids. i have two. they love water, too. since they could drink out of a cup, they have had a water bottle with them WHEREVER they go - really. my boys like dirt. they shower every day. they play with the hose during the summer...and winter.

i love my country. i love michigan. i love the beach.

i've never been to africa. but i've seen what those kids drink. it looks like mucky-swamp water and is contaminated with bugs, parasites and poop. i dont know about you, but that is just sad to me.

so, as you put together your christmas list....put africa on there. they need water. the fresh, clean yummy stuff we take for granted. look at your kids and grandkids...or your pretty lil self. aren't we blessed?! the blessing isn't ours to keep...pass it on. it's only $10...or as much as you want. so simple....please help.

keep things in perspective this christmas season....does uncle fred really care if he gets a jar of cashews? buy some water...its good stuff.

do you compare?

do you ever have days when you think...why cant i find time to do that? i've always wanted to try to do that...i've been meaning to paint that room for YEARS...i really should somehow document my children's lives w/ some sort of baby book - scrap book thingy...my kids are finally in school, how can it be a have LESS accomplished around the house when they return home?...will i ever get the laundry caught up...

will my husband ever come home from work, and find me waiting for him at the door with a kiss & "how was your day, honey?...by the way, we're having roast, garlic-smashed potatoes, hot rolls, and i whipped up a little dessert, too....oh, and by the way, the boys have finished their homework & chores, and i was just thinking of making crafty little invitations for a last-minute slumber party...it will be sooo fun, i'm so excited!!

ugh.

sometimes i get in a little rut of "why cant i get it together?!"

you know what? the more i look at what others "do", the more i can get dissatisfied with what i "do"...i'm only one girl...and like a very wise person once told me, we all have our special gifts...God has a purpose for me and only me...it's not anyone else's plan...just mine. i am who i am...and i should do the best that i can with what i've got...and if i want something to change...guess what? its up to me to do the changing!!!

sometimes i look at other crafty girls, and think, why cant i do that...i wish i had that knack! but when i do that, i take away from the genuine-ness of those crafty girls....so....i'm gonna do my best not to be so envious and just be inspired :)

here is a link to brown-eyed fox's post about comparing....she is so totally cute & crafty...ya know...she's inspiring ;)


do you compare?

happy halloween

RATS!!!! I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE PICTURES BIG...AND ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY!

trick or treat! the peanuts gang is a big part of our holidays, and halloween is NO exception!! my mom was always a peanuts fan...it was part of our growing up, and my boys LOVE LOVE charlie brown and the gang...


i think this is where dawson came up with the idea to be a ghost for halloween...much to my surprise :) i'm kind of a halloween scrooge - which i feel really bad about. how i got that way, i'll never know, cuz my mom is crazy-nuts about gettin all dressed up...must be i got my dad's love for halloween :)

so here is my dodger...in his ghost costume. he informed me he wanted to go as "normal" for halloween this year...he's not big for wearing a costume. but when grandma had an extra white sheet...and big brother was going to be a ghost, well.....

here is his kindergarten class...he's the guy in the front

this is dawson....in case you couldn't tell...hee hee

dawson's buddy cole

victoria & kaylee...it's so fun to see all the costumes!

the craft we did with the 2nd graders....part of my craziness this week was being room mom & getting stuff ready...painting 27 pumpkins was A LOT EASIER with spray paint...thanks dad.

mrs. van denend with dawson...she is the sweetest teacher...she has the patience of job, and is soooo good with the kiddos :)

this is a small sample of what my back yard looked like last week....everything was bright yellow...its as close to sunshine as we're going to get too...it has been such a wet & gloomy fall...but when i saw those colors out back, it made me thankful God would paint such a pretty picture...reminding me he wants to give us beauty to see, too.

an old pic of the boys that i love...dodge is 22 months and dawson is 4 yrs. old

good governor...what i wouldn't do for a scanner...this taking pictures of pictures is for the birds!

this is one of my very favorites...this is me, kirk, and my grandpa & grandma wood....they were also a little crazy about halloween...i loved going to their house to trick or treat. i cant explain it, but their house ooozed autumn coziness...their house was surrounded by big beautiful trees, the interior was every shade of brown with lots of wood and character, it always smelled yummy - cuz something was ALWAYS cooking, and there was always tons of giggles, hugs & kisses.

i always miss them tons this time of year, and i think thats probably why. even when i was in college, me and a girlfriend got dressed up and went to grandma & grandpa's to trick or treat!

i can still smell them, and feel their hugs...getting poked by grandpa's pocket protector full of pens & pencils (he was a tool & die guy)and his beard against my face...they've been gone over 15 years, now. they were only 40 years older than me - 61 yrs old when they passed away - the other day, i heard a song by brad paisely talking about going to heaven, and hugging his grandpa's neck...i started bawling. it's easy to miss them and hard to remember i need to be thankful...i have a lot of good memories of them, and parts of them will always trickle down through each generation. oh how i miss them, but i have JOY, because i know i will see them again someday :)

grandpa wood with by brother-sister kirk...sorry, kirk, i had to put this in! gracie mae looks JUST like you :)....and me, and my mom...i must be about 6 yrs old?

this is me at 2 years old...with a 75 lb. pumpkin from jay & von poortenga...had to include this shot, cuz of the charlie brown carved pumpkin...i think my mom has carved one every year!

happy halloween everyone....more trick or treat pics later?

rush, rush...

ok, don't know if this is gonna work...when i get a chance, (which is hardly EVER) i love to read angie's blog....no, i dont know her personally...but she is sooooooo inspiring! one of those people that if i met her, i would probably hug her & we would be instant friends....well, thats what i think, anyway.

these past few weeks have been a complete and utter BLUR. i have been near tears more than i care to mention...feeling so busy, feeling like i'm jipping my family in the process.

now, mind you, i know sooooo many people who are waay busier than me. people who have 3 kids playing sports, and oh yeah, they coach at least one of them....teaching sunday school, on 2 or 3 committess at church, head the PTA at school...or better yet, home school....and i look at them and they seem like it is no big deal.

this is why i haven't posted an a while...i have felt like i'm drowning...i am a girl who likes routine...i DO NOT FUNCTION WELL UNDER STRESS, i dont like to be rushed...i need quiet once in awhile....i am a home-body...i need to learn how to say "no", even if it's church related...God wants me to raise my boys...be a wife to my husband....

so, anyway, when i came across this post, i felt like she wrote it for me...i need to slow down...take a deep breath and be present. life is too short not to be.

the following is angies post...hopefully, you will click & read.

I have a new post up on (in)courage....maybe you can relate?
Click here to read...

applesauce...and other stuff

october means two things in our family....hunting and applesauce! this year, we didn't know if we would all make it...it is always a crap-shoot with kids being healthy this time of year... we were soooo thankful that we were able to ALL get together! we had a very full day planned - thanks to court...she is our planner, and was this years applesauce coordinator!

here are april and dawson dumping cooked apples into the beloved saucer...we have two contraptions that mash apples going...i cant remember how many bushels of apples we did, or what kind? mom, if you're reading this, let me know!

also, we DO NOT CAN...waaaay too time consuming...we dump about 4 cups applesauce into a zip loc freezer bag and its ready for the freezer :) two things that are oh-so-special about our applesauce...we have a martha stewart recipe that we dont really follow, but feel the need to frantically look for every year...just to make us feel better, i guess. we use ingredients like...cinnamon, ginger, cardomon, vanilla and nutmeg....and a TON of sugar...YUMMM!!

the second thing is the label we give our applesauce...it started one year as a joke, but it has stuck. we give each bag a different name, depending on what is going on in our family, what is happening in hollywood, or whatever.

it was also grants first birthday...dodge & jessi were reading him some of his birthday books!


instead of birthday cake...court brought post family farm donuts and cider...awesome! it wouldn't be fall without 'em!



pumpkin carving....complete with really difficult patterns...luckily grandma and the dads had LOADS of patience & ambition...not one of my favorite things to do, but it was so fun to see how excited the kids were with their finished jack-o-lanterns!






i'm not sure what jessi is looking at...maybe the pretty colors of the trees, or leaves flying...but i love the look on her face :)

kirk letting gracie take a stab at it

nice choice, dodge...have fun daddy!

dawson loves this kind of stuff...i totally see kirk when i look at him

we also did 4-wheeling and dirt biking...dawson was big stuff riding grandpa's quad by himself

zak, i think you're a little big....

gracie wanted nothing to do with anything that had a motor (unlike her big sister!)...court would spend 20 minutes getting her ready to play outside...she would then go 15 feet out of the house...stand there for 5 minutes, and come back inside...she's her own person...

miss. independent

the girls also got a lesson in shooting zak's hand gun...if i get a pic, i will put it in here...it was a lot of fun

we also drew names for christmas, ate grandpa woods famous white chili...which i think uncle moe smelled from forest grove, cuz he came over PRECISELY when we were eating lunch...hee hee! and we finally pooped out at the end of the day...

it was a ton of fun...a beautiful fall day spent with family...yes, its exhausting...but its a good kind of tired...and i'm sure it will be a day that we'll always remember :)

stuff that makes me warm-n-fuzzy

so, i went into hallmark recently....and the after looking through the christmas ornaments (yes, i am one of those "crazies" who think its NEVER too early to start thinking of christmas...it takes A LOT for me not to start decorating before thanksgiving...i at least wait till after halloween...:))

anyhooo....i saw these warm, soft knit mittens and freaked...love 'em! then i found a couple yummy smelling candles...by the seashore and sandcastle...i wasn't looking for "beach" candles, but i do love summer and love the beach, and they happened to be in my fav colors!! happy happy.

after a little more wandering, i find a "to do list" YES!!! i love lists...and i needed a new one for my fridge...and its in my fav colors too yet!!!

as i was checking out, the cashier lady says, "wow...these colors look really good together"...and i said, yeah...i'm addicted to these colors..

my mom told me that my first bedroom was the same faded bluish-teal color....kind of cool

and if its old and in my favorite color....i am even happier...some people dont get it....but there are few who do....anyone can have new stuff....but old stuff tells a story...has a little character

FREAKED OUT

i know i haven't posted in like a lifetime...but i have a good reason...er, more like a million. it seems like the first few weeks of school, church activities, i started BSF this year, too....lots of hustle & bustle....but i feel like i'm catching my breath......i have lots of things i want to blog about, BUT I SIMPLY MUST TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO ME LAST NIGHT!

it is monday night, doug is at church for a meeting...and i am feeling all "warm & fuzzy" cuz it is 7:30 and my house is pretty clean, lunches are made, the kids had a bath/snack/medicine/brushed teeth, and are happily playing with legos and watching the cosby show :) all is right with the world...well, in my part of blendon township anyway...

i'm thinking its a good time to take a quick shower, so i go and lock all the doors and i tell dawson..."i'm going to take a quick shower, ok?" he replies, "ok mom"....i'm in the shower for 3 minutes when i hear the first "yell"....i figure if its bad they'll come get me. a minute later i hear another "yell". hmmm....probably fighting over legos or wrestling, but i get out of the shower to dry off, and i hear.....SILENCE.

usually silence is not a good thing, i open the door & yell for them....nothing. great, so off i go with just a towel around me, cuz i'm kind of freaked out. and i see the doors to outside WIDE OPEN, and i start yelling "dawson"....now, if your a mom....aren't like, 5,000 things going through your head right now? then my neighbor melissa comes running into my garage yelling my name! i am thinking really bad & scary thoughts right now...and at the same time thinking, this is really stupid i am in a towel right now, cuz if some bad guy comes at me, i'm helpless....anyway, back to the neighbor....

she said the boys were knocking on her door FREAKED OUT because they had NO IDEA WHERE MOM WAS....which freaked melissa out. oh. my. stars. you have got to be kidding me!!!! i tell her i'll be right over.

let me re-cap last nights weather for you....@48 degrees....50 mph wind gusts.... and its raining. let me tell ya what my kids were wearing....their underwear.

so, i go and get them after thanking melissa 1000 times, hoping she doesn't think i SUCK as a mom...as we are running back home, dawson looks like someone just shot our dog, and dodge says, "mom, dont EVER do that again!"

for pete's sakes, our house is so NOT THAT BIG....i assure you, there are like 4 possible rooms i could be in....why is it, when i DONT want the kids to come storming into the bathroom - they do. and when i want them to come into the bathroom, they run half-naked through a typhoon to the neighbors?

ice, ice baby...

oh. my. stars.

it's finally here...the first day of school. dawson starts 2nd grade and dodge starts kindergarten! i have been dreading this day for a while...dont get me wrong, i'm excited for them. but selfishly, i wish they could stay home with me, too. i am waaaaaaaayyyyy too sentimental, sensitive, and mushy for my own good. i did my very best to not get ONE BIT lonesome sounding as we readied for that first day....i think i pulled it off quite well :)

sometimes, i think my boys are SO different from each other...today was a good example. i heard dodge sneaking around his room at 6:45am getting dressed...talking to himself with a smile on his face...dawson woke to his alarm clock at 7 am, and dragged himself to the recliner, where he proceeds to watch "arthur" for a half hour...cuz he needs his "wake up" time...

dodge is bouncing off the walls excited, asking questions about the playground...dawson is busy telling him all the "rules" he will have in mrs lyon's class...specifically the dreaded TRAFFIC LIGHT...so funny.


so here they are...this is the only shot that wasn't blurry, cuz i couldn't get dodge to stand still.



ok, he stood still for this one...this is a kid who is not nervous...at least, he's not gonna let anyone know he's nervous...he can put on a good show when others are around...and the neighbors were waiting with us at the bus stop...and this is how he acted....hmmm. definitley NOT like his mama.

i am also an official noon hour aide at school...i help during recess and lunch..adam sandler's lunch lady routine from SNL always goes through my head :)....anyway...those kids are so stinking sweet...the youngest kids come in that cafeteria like deer in the headlights...wondering where to go...at one point, dodge came running up to me, and asked if he could eat his muffin now. you have no idea how much i just want to sit next to him, kiss him and talk about his morning. ugh.

then, i go out to recess with the older kids...just then a para-pro comes running out..."rachel, i think you better get inside" and she hands me an ice pak....all sorts of things go running through my head...but not this: "dodge was drinking the blue liquid out of this" ...good governor. so, i go inside. dodge tells me he's fine, it tasted like water, and it was all over my lunch bag. (i thought this "sheet" of ice was so nifty, cuz you can cut it to size...well, i must have sliced it a little close)

so, on the first day of school, my first day on the job, i find myself sitting in the secretary's chair, googling "rubbermaid ice paks"...lovely. dont worry, it WAS non-toxic...geez!

later...when my boys got off the bus...dodge yells, "that was COOL!" and dawson says, "hi mom". dodge's backpack is wide open, and later his teacher e-mails all the parents informing us that "after the dust settled, two info packets were found on the floor" wanna take any guesses?

more to come on school days...it has been a very busy week, full of emotions, and not just mine :)

the end of an era.....

before reading this post, please hum queen's "we are the champions" ....got it in your head? it makes reading about the following subject that much more tear-jerking...heart-wrenching...

as most of you know...doug gets attached to things...doesn't like change....could care less if he is in style...he just wants to be comfortable...

enter the nike high tops/air jordan flight....circa 1988....the shoes doug owned when i met him - and they were OLD then...if they could only talk...about the gus macker tourney (yes, he still has that t-shirt, cuz i'm not allowed to throw it away)....the purchase of snowmobiles...a marriage...a couple houses....a couple kids...they're like an old friend.

oh, sure...there have been others...another pair of black nikes, and now black NB'S....but i assure you, nothing...NOTHING have been as comfortable as the blessed nike high-tops....

...and we'll keep on fighting....till the end......cuz we are the champions...we are the champions...OF THE WORLD

and then it happened...doug announced...these are "junk" they're falling apart. i dont think he could even throw them away...he just set them in the garage...ETOD (thats estimated time of death) was 5:46 pm monday, sept. 7, 2009.

i set them by the road with the trash, and actually had a hard time doing it...like i said...they're like old friends...me and the boys watched the trash man toss them in the truck...i said, "look, he doesn't even care about them." dawson says, "yeah, we should have dug 'em a grave out back."

ha ha ha ha .....good bye nikes...we will miss the stories, the comments, the looks that only you could egg on....