verse of the day

Thursday, April 25, 2013

finally spring!

We had a great weekend in the Netherlands. We saw and did so much that it seemed more like whole week than a weekend. Even though alot of the tulips were not out yet the flower garden was gorgeous! The day at the Keukenhof started with Liam tripping over a stone and a very bloody lip( you can see the blood stain on his duck, which works great as a towel) but turned out very nice.
I loved our time at the beach the most though. I had never been to that side of the Northsea. Liam had fun playing with the sand and Lilli had fun eating it.
On our way back we looked at the famous windmills which was good too! Alltogether it was a great trip with good friends. Of course there were moments where I wondered wheather it was a good idea to go or not, mainly because of Lilli's  molar teething pain but I am glad I did.
I had to post that last picture because I find it pretty impressive that the Duck Mother is able to take a nap with her 10 babies. jealous!
 
 
 
 




















Thursday, April 18, 2013

Lilli

I just realized that I never wrote a blog about Lilli's first Birthday party in the States. Thats mainly because she was sick but with this blog I want to make up for the neglect. Having two kids just changes everything and I feel like having two makes you a real mom. Don't get me wrong I just mean that in comparison. Having one was a piece of cake compared to now. You learn to carry things with your mouth because sometimes you have to carry both (wining) children in your hands. One goes to bed just after the other one wakes up. Not to mention the ever ongoing challenge of bathing time. Trying not to get soaking wet from all the splashing and making sure one child does not drown while you clean the other one are just a few examples. Lilli is 14 month now and still not crawling and I think she never will. She will start walking soon. Somehow she is still able to move around pretty fast (see video). She pretends she is on the phone, puts her finger in her nose,communicates in her baby language and even said Helicopter the other day. Good enough at least for me to understand it. She has alot of personality and is so much fun. I love how different my children are and how different the look. Liam is enjoying Kindergarten very much and is making me laugh every day. He likes to snuggle with me and gives me lots of compliments. He randomly says "I love you Mama" and makes jokes like saying "pommes (french fries) and his friends" Just recently Lance's cousin Chris was passing through from his deployment and came to visit us. It was good to spent some time with him and Liam loved playing with hime and put the BBQ up with him. Finally Spring is here and the sunshine makes me happy. This weekend I will take the kids to the Netherlands to go to the biggest tulip garden in the world at Keukenhof. Can not wait to put the pretty flower pictures up. Until next time!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

LOVE

What Love means to a 4-8 year old: A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, ’What does love mean?’ The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined See what you think: ‘When my grandmother got arthritis , she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.. So my grandfather does it for her all the time , even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.’ – Rebecca, age 8 ‘When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’ – Billy, age 4 ‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.’ – Karl, age 5 ‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’ –Chrissy, age 6 ‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’ -Terri, age 4 ‘Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him , to make sure the taste is OK.’ – Danny, age 7 ‘Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing , you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss’ – Emily, age 8 ‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.’ –Bobby, age 7 ‘If you want to learn to love better , you should start with a friend who you hate” –Nikka, age 6 ‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt , then he wears it everyday..’ –Noelle, age 7 ‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’ –Tommy, age 6 ‘During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.’ – Cindy, age 8 ‘My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.’ –Clare, age 6 ‘Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’ –Elaine, age 5 ‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’ –Chris, age 7 ‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.’ -Mary Ann, age 4 ‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’ –Lauren, age 4 ‘When you love somebody , your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’ - Karen, age 7 ‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross..’ –Mark, age 6 ‘You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.’ –Jessica, age 8 The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, ‘Nothing , I just helped him cry’. I LOVE YOU LANCE!