Mirk, Dolly, and Family

Winter

2012-01-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

Well, almost two months later, we're still here. Not only have we survived the last several weeks, we've had a lot of fun. There was a lot going on.

Dirky turned ONE. We soak in his chubby smile and his baby jabber. We know this too will quickly pass, and we are so thankful for the amazing year of newborn to toddler. (Yes, he's walking!) God is very kind to us in giving us such a healthy, happy little man.

Between his birthday and Advent/Christmas, he enjoyed a lot of chocolate. His whole face enjoyed it...

Dirky got a 'trim', not so much a haircut, for his birthday. He got presents too. Thanks to all who contributed. He, and his brothers, enjoy them very much.

When I get Ioan up in the morning, I ask him,

"Is your diaper dirty?"

"No. I'm just trouble."

He says this as he jumps in his crib. Squeak, squeak, squeeeak. All the blankets and toys that have been collected in his crib since 6 AM are getting a nice coating of diaper juice.

"Yes, Ioan. You are trouble. Your diaper is dirty too."

"Oh...yeah."

Like he just realized it....

Still, he's cute.

Occasionally Arie allows Ioan to ride on him, and Ioan, holding Doggy, says, "Go faster!"

Future lacrosse player?

Christmas. Ahh. So many people sent toys, we all felt very well loved, despite this being our first Christmas without family. Maybe even more because of it----shipping presents on time for a pre-holiday delivery takes some serious planning and cash, I tell you what. It was fun, but may I say, for a pastor and his family, Christmas on Sunday is insane. Parties, Christmas Eve service, Church, throw in there our sixth wedding anniversary a few days earlier, and it was busy. Don't think it wasn't good. It was wonderful and so much fun. Still, by Monday much rest was needed.

On a more current note, my belly continues to grow. This pregnancy has been healthy, but the wear and tear on my body is really slowing me down this time around. Good thing we're doing this while we're young. Some days I think being pregnant must be what being old feels like.

Dirky is blissfully unaware of the meaning of the huge belly. It's just another part of Mama to cuddle on.

The weather here has been practically warm. The week after Christmas we walked outside almost every day. It was a huge blessing to get the kids out of the house to expend some of energy acquired from all that Christmas chocolate.

But now it has snowed a few inches, and we are enjoying how pretty everything out there is from inside. This year I am so thankful for a bigger house. It makes keeping my sanity a good bit easier with three little kids playing hard all day long, every day. Life is good.

Autumn Recap

2011-11-30T12:27:00.001-08:00

The last few months have been both wonderful and insane. God has been so good to us, and blessed us in so many ways. Busy ways though.

I found some more pictures of my family's visit.

Autumn was beautiful here. It's a lengthy season, not just the blink-and-it's-gone fall of Boise. We got about 3 months of 70-60 degree weather. Just beautiful. Note: our first snow was last night. It's now officially winter here. Just picture this with 6 inches of snow replacing the leaves.

My firstborn turned 5! His imagination and sense of humor have taken off this year. God has been good to him, and to us through him, and we count ourselves blessed to have such a wonderful little man with us. We had a laid back day, ate donuts, cake, opened presents, handed out trick-or-treat candy, and had a good time all around.

One event I don't have pictures for was Dirk's ordination service. He's finished school, passed all the exams, written all the papers, and was officially ordained a few weeks ago. We are thankful to God for bringing us here. It's been a journey he started in 2002, and ever since I married him it's been the goal he's been working towards. I'm so proud of him for sticking with it, trusting God and leading me and our kids through some difficult times. God's goodness to us has been obvious so many times, frequently through others and at the eleventh hour. So here we are, mission accomplished. And now, for the even bigger mission----to be a minister of God's Word.

And finally, here are some pictures from last night. I personally think they're adorable little guys.

Rainy Day

2011-10-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's pouring down rain today, and it's a good day to catch up on our blog. I don't think I'll be doing too much else today. Well, besides keeping my little hoodlums out of trouble.

There's a lot of good news! First, my brother got married to the girl he's loved for a long time. We all flew back to be there and had a wonderful time.

While we were in Idaho we got to go camping with Dirk's parents and sister's family in McCall, which was a lot of fun. We also had breakfast with the whole family (all 15 grandkids too!) and managed to get some pictures too.

Dirky slept in the baby buggy.

Arie hunted tigers.

Ioan loved to drive the boat.

These aren't in great order, but here are pics from Jordy's rehearsal dinner, hosted at my parents' home.

The happy couple, two days before the wedding.

There were great preparations....

And the kids had fun in the gorgeous yard while we got ready.

Before the guests arrive:

I couldn't leave this picture out. My dear friend Emily, and her sister Sally, were my angels during the two days of rehearsal and ceremony. They took the little ones when they got too fussy for the grown up events, and allowed me to chase the other kids and even to sit down and enjoy the whole thing. God has blessed me with some wonderful friends!

The party went late into the night. Most good parties do.

OK. This picture isn't that good, but it gives you a rough approximation of all the DeWinkle cousins.

And when we got back, we had a baby shower in our church. Our church has a lot of little girls, but we came here and it seems that boys have become the new trend. Hmmmm.

Several CREC churches from our rather broad area (covering at least a few states) had a picnic in the Howell area, and Dirk, of course, volunteered for the skit.

Like father, like son.

We went to the zoo while the weather was still nice. The kids thought the little train ride that we took at the end of the zoo tour was the best part. I enjoyed all of it---a day off for just our little family was a real treat.

And we just finished up a marvelous week with my mom and sister's family. They all converged in Michigan, and we had a wonderful time together. Our kids loved it. So did I. It'll probably be at least a year before we see them again, and I was so happy they could all make it.

And a few last tid bits of news. Dirk is just about finished up with his ordination process. He and I flew out to Minneapolis (him for 4 days, me for 2) for him to be examined by a committee and answer any questions they could throw at him in a public exam. I was glad I got to go, and I think he did well. Hopefully next month he'll be officially ordained.

And last, but not least, we are excited about upcoming arrival of yet another DeWinkle. One trimester down, two to go! God has blessed us abundantly, and I must throw in there that He was especially good to me in relieving me of some pretty nasty morning sickness about SIX weeks earlier than normal. What a blessing with three little ones to look after! Maybe this means it's a girl... We'll let you know before Christmas!

Beginning of July

2011-08-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy month, and I'll catch you up with a couple of posts instead of one huge one; there are just too many pictures!

Blueberry picking was HOT, but a lot of fun.

We've been getting a thunderstorm every week or so. I rather enjoy it.

The bunk beds are set up. Now we have lots of space for visitors. Visitors that don't mind sharing a room with two rather loud little boys anyhow. d

Speaking of visitors, we had some. Friends all the way from Moscow stopped in for a night and a morning, and we so enjoyed it! Despite the oppressive humidity, we took them on a walking tour of Howell. They were very gracious about it and we all enjoyed ourselves.

~Cutie pants~

Going, going, gone! The baby is on the move, and now I have to keep an eye on the little guy.

Ioan turned two! Thank you all who sent cards and gifts---Ioan had a marvelous day!

Arie had fun too.

Two year old pictures...

I love Dirky's smile!

Ioan likes his present from Daddy and Mamma. So do all his siblings.

More pictures to come....

Some movies

2011-07-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

June

2011-07-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

We have lots of pictures, and I have consequently been dreading the job of uploading, file copying, etc. to get the them onto the blog. It's not as bad as I remember though---our internet it wickedly fast compared to what we had in Moscow, and I'm still getting used to it. So, here we go: these are in no particular order and are random snapshots of our day to day lives, with a few fun outings thrown in there.

For those of you who've wanted a view of the front yard, here you go. Some dear Moscow friends gave me a gift card for the planters and plants, and I think they make all the difference on that front porch!

Ioan has a shoe fetish. When he's a little older we'll encourage him to give up the heels, but the clicking and clunking is such a blast. For a one year old. Anyhow, he comes by it naturally through his Mamma.

We finally got a book shelf for the kids' books. They're out of the box and being enjoyed!

Dirk is changing so fast! He can go just about anywhere with his scoot, he is almost crawling, and he loves to play with his brothers.

Balloon Fest, Howell

A note: Arie's right eye is still a little red from surgery, but if you compare this picture to ones from six months ago, you can see the huge difference. So much better!

At dark, they have all the balloons 'glow' every few minutes. I had troubles getting a picture of them doing it all at the same time, but you get the idea.

A few Sundays ago we went to a lake a few miles from us to give all of us a breather from routine and to cool off. It was a good evening.

We are in search of our favorite ice cream place. It's a surprisingly fun project.

We go on walks frequently in the evenings. Arie's tricycle has finally been rigged up well enough for him to ride, and he loves it! It's really good for his knees and hips to move this much. Fun therapy!

Fun in the Sun

2011-06-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

We've enjoyed the beautiful weather here, and continue to do so. Dirk's work schedule is taking form, and next week or so he'll have an official office and official hours. Life is going well!

Given a huge backyard, the boys choose this little spot in the mud to play in. Every day.

Sunday we spent with church friends and had a great time. The slip'n'slide was the main attraction for the kids.

Ioan wasn't so sure about it. All the girls tried to convince him how fun it would be, but....

he just watched.

Arie needed no convincing.

We took off part of Monday to go to the park and walk around the lake. Five hours later, we realized the roads around the lake don't connect. It was fun anyway.

Dirky has cut his first two teeth!

Look at those chubby little legs. I love it!

At Home, in Michigan

2011-05-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day. After nine years of work, plus or minus a bit, Dirk is officially a pastor today. God has been kind to us and orchestrated so many different circumstances to bring him, and us, to this point. We are thankful, and excited.

And yes, we've moved and settled in. Arie would tell you that we live in the blue house in Michigan. It's been a while since I posted, so I've got a lot of pictures!

~FISHING~

Snake River, Idaho

FYI: No, we don't normally give bottles of beer to our kids, especially while they're driving :) This one was empty to start with.

~EASTER~

Easter was low key, but pop guns, cool shades, and chocolates were fun.

Ioan thought at first he was in trouble. He was briefly unaware that the rules about sneaking chocolate had been lifted for the day.

~GRADUATION~

My brother Jordy graduated from NNU right before Mother's Day. My sister and her three little ones made the trek from NC to be there.

(not a great picture, Jordy is the one with cords)

~MOTHERS DAY~

We were blessed to be able to celebrate Mother's day with both of our mothers. We also got to go see my *great grandma* who also lives in Idaho. She's pretty old, but she really loved getting to see my little boys.

~THE TREK~

back East

You might say our van was very full. . .

We stopped in Denver to see Grandma T (my grandma) and some of my Dad's family.

Crossing the Mississippi

It was hot in Chicago. At this point, the traffic got so bad it took us an hour to go less than 10 miles!

Hello Michigan!

We stopped at the beach on Lake Michigan to get some dinner and let the kids play before the final few hours of driving. They liked it.

~THE HOUSE~

And we made it home! Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of where we live, but it doesn't show everything. I've left out the boys' room (main floor) and our bedroom (upstairs, complete with walk-in closet!) I realized I also need a picture of the house from the street---it's a beautiful turn of the century farm house that's been completely renovated.

The mud room, leading out to the FENCED back yard.

The Kitchen

The pantry and downstairs bathroom.

The dining room, looking into the toy room

The dining room and kitchen, another angle

The laundry room, that comes with an extra fridge

The toy room

The living room

Looking from the toy room at the living room and front door.

The stairs, obviously-our bedroom is through the door at the top

The upstairs bathroom

The unique hallway and the extremely unique bookcases

The guest bedroom

The office

~VISITORS~

We were blessed by a visit from Dirk's parents about a week after we moved in. They were in "the area" (Omaha) and stopped by for a few days. We walked around the historic down town most of Saturday to enjoy the Howell History Day and the beautiful weather.

~MY BOYS~

Siska is an amazing photographer and offered to take studio pictures of my kids before we left. One of the perks of having your sister-in-law do this is that it's free and you get the copy rights. Thanks Siska!

No pictures, but....

2011-03-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

We have big news! Dirk has been officially called to be a pastor, and has officially accepted. It's all 'official' now, which, in other words, means it's just fine for me to tell you all.

We will be leaving our home of the last five years and move across the country to---Michigan! We have all been out to visit and are happy to be moving there. Everybody warns us against the snow, but after three winters on Moscow mountain, I don't think we'll be easily daunted.

We will be in Michigan the second week of May, which is a ways off yet, but we would appreciate your prayers for us as we prepare to leave. We will only have about two weeks to put everything together, one of which Arie will be recovering from eye surgery. FYI, Arie's surgery is to correct his weak eye, and we are praying that God will allow this surgery to give him better vision.

Hopefully in a few weeks we'll be able to post pictures and better update you all on the details of this spring.

Videos and Pictures. Sorry it's been so long since we updated.

2011-03-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

Arie's Sunday School

2011-03-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Arie and fellow Sunday school mates. Arie is at the very end of the video.

Sunday School from Isaac Grauke on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

2011-02-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

Projects: Dirk flew out to Michigan to candidate at a church, while I was left at home for a long weekend with the kids. I decided to paint the kitchen while he was gone (which became a much bigger project of mudding, caulking, sanding, priming and painting) to keep myself upbeat. The kids were 'locked' in the living room during some of the messier parts of the project, and they truly enjoyed the free reign, as you can see. Cleaning up was a project in itself.

Growing: Lots and lots of growing up around here. Mostly little Dirk or Dirk Jr., or Dirkster, or whatever he ends up being called. We're not sure yet.

He's smiling. And cooing. And on the verge of laughing. Such a sweet stage.

Playing: Arie received Woody and Bullseye toys for Christmas, and we added Buzz Lightyear to the collection as a bribery gift for being good during a very long trip to WalMart. Anything from Toy Story is now adored by both Arie and Ioan now.

Sleeping: The fact that little children nap is a blessing from God. It makes meals, cleaning, phone calls, and blog posting all possible.

When Daddy will come home is a big topic around here, discussed by the little ones every day. Here is Ioan with milk, blankie, and teddy waiting for Daddy to come home from work. Ioan equates the outdoors with Daddy since it's where he goes and returns from each day.

Protecting the baby: I frequently have to protect the baby from his brothers' good intentions. Ioan told me he gave Dirk a toy and a hat, and this is what that looked like.

Baptizing: And finally, here are some pictures of Dirk in his baptism gown. He's pretty grumpy. I think the collar is hilarious.

Dirk II's Baptism - January 16, 2011

2011-01-22T17:53:00.001-08:00

All Three Boys!

2011-01-09T17:43:00.001-08:00

We managed, *before* church, to snap a few shots of our boys. That way they were dressed, clean, and I had Dirk to help me.

I'm not trying to brag or anything, but little Dirk is 14 pounds at 5 weeks and has officially started smiling.

That makes me smile :-)

Christmas

2011-01-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

We were mostly too busy celebrating to take pictures, but here are a few.

Ioan got SOO excited about presents he couldn't smile. He did shriek though.

DeWinkle present-opening efficiency

Arie opening presents with his Daddy

When we got home, we were welcomed by FOUR FOOT snow drifts crossing our driveway, conveniently located at the bottom and top of the driveway. We did manage to get in the house, but we had to call up our neighbor to bring his tractor over to shovel our driveway. Ioan was ecstatic, but not quite tall enough to watch out the window.

Baby Dirk before Christmas, ready to travel.

Baby Dirk after Christmas.

More Dirk Jr. Pictures

2010-12-21T11:39:00.001-08:00

Holidays!

2010-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

We've been a bit busy, and Thanksgiving passed unnoticed on the blog. We all had a lot of fun, and I think my belly stretched an extra bit that day. Here are the oldest two with their great Aunt Carolyn.

Here's what happens in the kitchen while I'm posting pictures here.... It's powdered sugar, in case you're wondering.

We have a Christmas tree this year. Although we've had five Christmases together, this is only our second tree. Dirk says we still need a star or angel on top, but we have yet to acquire such an item. Maybe next year.

Our winter wonderland....a couple weeks ago. It's all gone now, but not to worry. It looks like more snow is coming!

The Kiddos

Good news for little Dirk: At 10 days, he's almost 10 pounds and the doctor says he's doing fabulously. He scored in the 80% for height and the 75% for weight. Go baby!

Baby Dirk! Born 3:30a.m. 12/5/2010, 8lb. 11oz.

2010-12-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

Pictures!

2010-11-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

We were gone for six weeks. Here are the highlights.

The second week we took a trip to Michigan (yep, ALL of us!) for Dirk to candidate at a church. While we're still in process of seeing where God leads us in regards to that opportunity, it was a super fun trip.

Happy, awake, ready to ride the "air-o-plane" as Arie says.

We took a rental car from the Detroit airport to get to our host's home. We drove in a bit later than we expected because, as Dirk explained it,

"My wife is kinda slow."

I think it had more to do with going, literally, the extra mile, to find the elevators in the airport, which was for the stroller, not me. :)

As you can see, traveling can wear even the kids out.

We spent a week in Michigan, and so we took the opportunity to meet as many people as possible, and to see as much as we could. We took a tour of a dairy/creamery on the west side of the lower peninsula where Jeff, another CREC pastor, works.

Ioan's martyred persona.

Jeff took us by one of the great lakes on the way back to his house for dinner. I was amazed. It's like the ocean, except it's fresh water.

The boys 'raced' to the pond at a friend's house.

We spent a day in downtown Detroit. Arie's favorite part was the

'People Mover'

because it was enough like a bus that it fulfilled his dream of riding on a school bus. Here we are waiting for the 'bus.' This isn't the best picture, but if you zoom in, you can tell that Detroit is much more multi-cultural than Idaho. Signs were in English, French, and Arabic.

This is the Renaissance Center front entrance. This is looking out on the Detroit River, and on the other side, Canada. The center has three or so levels devoted to the general public, and many more to business. We got a tour of an OnStar office on one of the higher business levels with Joe, who works there and is also the deacon at the church we were visiting.

This is us taking up an entire row in the airplane.

These two pictures were taken while the kids were still energized about the trip home.

Arie Turned Four Years Old!

We were all blessed by another wonderful year with Arie.

He's changed a good deal in the last year. He talks so much better, his imagination is blossoming, and he's been a wonderful brother to Ioan.

We had two birthday parties due to all the different schedules, etc. The first one was with Nana and Papa.

The second one was with all of Arie's DeWinkle cousins. Arie had requested a "frog cake", hence the frog cupcakes. I couldn't find any toy frogs, so we also had dinosaurs to hold the balloons down, except for my the dear niece, who got the elephant.

And, when we got home, the boys especially enjoyed taking dominion over everything. Ioan changed a good bit while we were gone. He is walking now, putting two words together, and growing up so fast. God is so good to us. I've worried about being given more than I can handle with these kids, but as number three is just about to arrive, I realize that Ioan is actually quite a capable toddler, no longer a baby. I'll miss it, but I'm thankful too.

Hello?

2010-11-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hello? Anybody there?

It says I haven't posted in 2 months. Doesn't seem that long, but we've been gone, doing a lot of living. I'll try to post pics soon but I can't find the camera-computer connecter cord thing. So know that I'm trying...

We still have no baby, which is a good thing, but soon, hopefully, we will. I think I need to change the picture at the top of the blog, as the Ioan baby is about to be replaced. Time flies.

I'll be posting more interesting things soon, but just wanted to say we're back and doing well.

August

2010-08-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

A Picnic at the Park

Adventures on Lake Payette

We met with Dirk's family up in McCall for an afternoon on the lake. Lots of fun!

It was a first entirely for Ioan. He'd never been in a large body of water or sand. And neither of the boys had been on a boat. They had so much fun, they stayed wide awake the entire afternoon!

A Weekend in Boise

Dirk left town for the weekend, so the boys and I spent a weekend with my parents and brothers. We enjoyed the break, and their beautiful, shady yard!

Ioan liked the blackberries!

Lentil Festival

We got out of the house Saturday and took the boys to the Pullman Lentil Festival.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Our Recent Adventures

2010-08-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Seeing as the pictures posted in order of oldest to newest, we'll start with things we did the longest ago. I've been saving these up on the camera (lazy me) and so there's a lot to see!

Afternap Entertainment

featuring...

The Kiddy Pool

Wheaties

And the Sandbox!

Our Sunday morning special, protein pancakes, can't be turned out fast enough for our greedy boys. With absolutely no force feeding and consumed in record time, these pancakes ensure very full bellies at church and much less crankiness. They are very much enjoyed, as seen here.

Bath Time

~IOAN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY~

The scenery

The birthday boy . . .

The Cake Saga

Arie enjoyed himself too.

The boys playing with toys.

And finally, we took a quick trip back to Richland. We totally lucked out and came on a party weekend, complete with a huge pool, lush green grass, fresh Maine lobster, white wine, and fabulous friends.

We enjoyed ourselves.

I didn't mention earlier that Dirk preached at the church there, and our trip was rather accident prone. First, Dirk forgot his sermon. Emma saved us, so thank you Emma!

Second, Dirk jumped in the pool with his cell phone. We froze it, and things worked out OK.

Third, the van died as we were headed back to Moscow. Thank you Nate for jiggling things around, and to the Casbons for taking us to their air-conditioned home until we worked things out.

We did finally make it home, and it was all quite fun.

I'm sure we'll have more to post in not too long!

2010-07-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

So, pictures, as I promised. We're usually so busy managing chaos that I don't get enough pictures to really give you an idea of all we did. On the other hand, it's not like you'd all want to see more DeWinkle chaos than necessary.

Either way, here we are.

The Denver Zoo

Arie said he liked the monkeys.

Ioan was mostly interested in crackers.

Sunday morning at Starbuck's

Reading

Reading in Mamma's bed is considered, apparently, to be very desirable.

A Special Day

My parents took us out to a very nice Sunday brunch to celebrate mother's day and my 25th birthday.

The restaurant was right by the Boise greenbelt.

The boys loved the grass. Here Ioan strikes his 'pose.'

Grandma Turner

Grandma let Ioan enjoy Rice Krispy treats to his heart's content.

Cousin Turner wanted in on the baby action. Ioan just liked the attention.

Back Among the Living

2010-06-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well really, we never were dead, but it does feel a bit like we're back from some sort of "other" place. It's been far too long since I last posted, so I'll try to catch you up. Forgive the lack of pictures; I will be adding them soon.

We spent two months in Boise with family, which was a total delight. Dirk worked on his family's farm, driving tractor all day, six days a week. He got his fill of tractors I think, but my boys developed an insatiable love of riding in tractors. Even Ioan.

I viewed this time as a lucky sort of exile for me, as I was morning sick for the two months, but (for the first time ever!) surrounded by family who made it so much easier. Yes, we have a baby on the way! Due December 11, and now 16 weeks along, I'm feeling much better.

We're back home, although people here in Moscow say, "Back? Oh, you still live here?" I admit, we've traveled a LOT in the past four years. So much that I've given up on most endeavors requiring more than a two month commitment. But I look forward to a day when we put down our roots as a family in one location.

Meanwhile, Dirk is reading like mad to finish school, I have taken on a major organizational and purging project in our home, and the little ones grow, eat, play, and sleep. Life is as normal as it gets here, and summer is almost here. I've never seen it so green and lovely here as it is now. Our view is phenomenal, and it reminds to slow down and be thankful for what God's given me. I can stop cleaning, pick up one of my adorable children, sit on the porch, and enjoy the goodness all about me.

Spring Time

2010-04-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Spring time....

Cloudy one minute

and blue skies five minutes later.

Ioan is growing like a weed. He started crawling a month ago, and just started cut his first two teeth!

He sits up too!

Arie is talking so much now that at times I've caught myself feeling like telling him to be quiet. Funny how things change so fast. He's getting his own, brand new power chair on Monday. We'll post pictures of that next week hopefully.

Arie always wants to play outside, but with our lack of lawn, the deck is a close as we get.

A school project at school, on display here. Arie often thinks that 'Smile for the camera!' means squinting. Go figure.

Dirk is almost done with seminary. About 10 weeks more of school and we are finished. Of corse this is very exciting, and I'm really proud of him for sticking with this; it's been anything but easy. But finishing also means starting something new. scary! God has gotten us this far, and provided for our needs all the way, so we're excited to see what He's got planned for us next.

Travelling....

At the lake.

We made several trips this year, almost all for Dirk to guest preach. We visited Montana, and stopped by the lake on the way back home Sunday.

We stayed in a motel on this trip. I have to get creative to get both boys up to the third floor by myself without breaking the law.

Easter......

Easter was a blast. I think this is the first Easter we did not spend with family. Lots of food, good friends, lazy Sunday afternoon, jellybeans. Pretty good, if you ask me.

You can't see it in the picture, but the banner reads "Christ is Risen."

The food....

Easter Baskets!

I NEVER Do This

2010-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today we picked up the mail on our way back from church. We were actually picking up Saturday's mail, a day late. There was a bill, and one large envelope addressed and decorated in neon yellow.

"What's that?"
"It says it's from Sunny Side Up. What's that?"
"I dunno. Let's open it."

Inside, a shiny plastic card. A gift card. A gift card to Barnes and Noble. I like gift cards.

About a week ago, I was driving home on the back roads, flipping through radio stations. I was listening to a ridiculously inane exchange between the announcers (to defend myself, there are limited listening options way out here), and then they introduced their "Name this Sound" game. They played an animal sound clip and asked listeners to call in and name it. Two people called in and got it wrong. I knew what it was. It was a zebra. (Thanks Swiss Family Robinson!) So I called in. I got it right. And I won a gift card.

I must mention, that I have NEVER called into a radio station before. Guess there's a first for everything......

Arie And Monkey Drive The Truck

My sweet boys :)

Ioan Likes Food!

Playing "Preacher"

2010-02-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Arie likes church. A lot. It's in the top 10 on his Favorite List. He listens there, even if he does squirm. Takes after his Daddy.

A few nights ago I gave Arie bread with his dinner. I cut it into pieces. As usual, it was taking a very, very long time for all the bread to be gone. It had to be squeezed, stacked, and generally moved around on the plate before it was considered for ingestion. The rest of us had already finished dinner and Arie was at the table by himself, chattering happily.

He had a piece of bread in each hand, and he was saying, "This is my body, broken for you...."

Good News!

2010-02-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today we traveled to see Arie's eye doctor, and we got great feedback about his eyes. With the tests that they are able to perform currently (considering his age, communication abilities), it appears that his eyes may correct themselves, have excellent (perhaps not perfect) vision, and make eye surgery unneeded. The patching is working. This is amazing, especially considering the fact that we left the hospital with the doctors telling us that there was a very high likelihood that Arie would be blind, in both eyes, most likely at least in one. Praise God for His mercies!

February!

2010-02-11T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ioan's scrunched nose face

It's February. A gray month, but it holds the hope of Spring. My chives are peeping little bright green buds out of the muddy earth, and the winter wheat gives a hint of green to the brown of the fields that surround our house.

And of course, there is

Valentine's Day.

I remember making Valentine's cards, when I was little, out of various shades of pink construction paper. It was a ton of fun. Glue and hearts and bits of paper everywhere. Now that I'm grown up and so much more sophisticated, I make the same sort of cards for Arie's preschool class. And it's still fun.

Arie's crown from the school Valentine's party.

Arie started playing 'phone' with us. Dirk taught Arie how to hold his hand up to his ear like a phone and have a conversation (even though they're in the same room). Arie was trying this with me in the kitchen the other day.

"I talk to Mamma."

"OK. Ring! Ring! Hello? Who is this?"

"Arie."

"Oh, hi Arie. How are you?"

"Mamma, I watch Booty and the Beast."

"You want to watch Beauty and the Beast?"

"Yeah."

Boys ready to head off for school

And Ioan is about ready to take off, literally. He rolls all over the house, and gets into all of Arie's toys. Arie thinks this is great, so far. We'll see how he feels about it when Ioan can take toys from him.

The last two weeks have been especially tiring. Traveling a lot, therapy, school, mucking out dog kennels in the rain, teething, the list goes on. I find in the midst of it all God is calling me to rest in Him. He's calling me to be thankful. And when I stop long enough to look to God, I see how blessed I am.

I didn't mention that my husband, besides just being his wonderful self, got me an early Valentine's gift. I have an amazingly fragrant jasmine plant sitting by me, and every time I smell it in the house, I stop and wonder, "What is that?" And then I remember, my husband loves me. He bought me flowers.

This week's updates

2010-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Update: We are currently stranded on a hilltop in a sea of fog, and have been for the past two days or so. That's OK because last week we had the most beautiful weather for several days and I got my sunshine fix.

Update: A week and a half has gone by since we started Arie's program and it's going OK. I organized the activities on a page and made a checklist of everything to do. On most days we get more than half of it done, which, in the grander scheme of things, is pretty decent. Each day there are about 3 hours of therapy and/or activities to do, and Arie also has an hour to do in his standing frame and 2 hours of eye patching. Each week he has two days of school and one day of physical therapy. I'm thinking kindergarten is going to be a breeze after this! Overall, he enjoys almost all of it. He's such a sweetie!

Update: Ioan is rolling and scooting all over our living room. He's a busy boy, but his intense physical drive is fortunately paired with a very happy, easily pleased disposition. He's a delight.

Update: Dirk is managing to be a full-time student very well. He's getting over 300 pages of reading done every day. And it's not just fluff. We're talking tomes hundreds of years old that he's wading through, and translating whole books of the Bible from Greek every day. I'm really proud of him.

Update: Arie likes to talk. His favorite two kids at preschool are probably the two quietest kids there. He has a captive audience with them. He also has a hard time finishing any meal in under an hour because he like to talk. Even if no one is there to listen. I think he's making up for lost time.

Update: Ioan sounds like the reverse of Darth Vader when he's excited. It's like the horrible breathing-out sound the Vader machine makes, except Ioan does it breathing in and it's cute because he's a sweet little baby. It's still really funny.

Update: I'm enjoying a free hour sitting here at the computer, drinking my coffee, an unusual luxury. My kids are sleeping in (actually Ioan was up at 4:30 but decided at 7 he was tired again). It's nice to get a late start on the day sometimes.

Return from the Holidays

2010-01-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

It's been an eon since I last posted.

Nieko and Ioan

Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's

are so close together it hardly gives one room to do much but party it up. And that's just what we did. It was lots of fun, of course.

Arie really got into the spirit of things. He liked presents this year (not that he ever despised them, he was just indifferent), and if you ask him what Christmas is, he says,

"Chocolate. . . Jesus' birthday."

We are now home, all enjoying our new toys, some of us bemoaning how many pounds we gained, and all of us adjusting to
normal.

Normal is good right now, a blessing really.

For Arie, it's de-tox time. I mean, we do have to eat our vegetables sometimes.

For Ioan, it's getting back on a good sleep schedule.

For Dirk, it's chipping away at Greyfriar's (which is going well, I might add!).

And for me, it's painting, organizing, and cleaning like mad in between diaper changes and meals.

A few days before we left for Christmas, I decided that the bathroom floor was disgusting, and started peeling up paint, then floor leveler, and then I realized I had a bigger project on my hands than I'd wanted.

Why am I so dumb? Right before Christmas, right before we leave? My husband was kind and just laughed at me.

The Cousins

Arie, Gideon, Tys, Logan, Nieko, Ioan

Arie has a big doctor's appointment coming up next week. He's going to what's called a 'neuro-developmental specialist' to get an evaluation and therapy program developed for him. Some of our friends that also have special children have seen amazing improvements after using this doctor, so we thought there's no time like the present to get on this.

The short way to explain this doctor's approach is that it's more a look at how well the brain is working, how well it's telling the body what to do. Obviously Arie's isn't normal, and this doctor will evaluate it's function based on his abilities and behaviors, and give us things to do to help stimulate his brain to function more normally. It's looking more at the underlying causes of Arie's CP to help him rather than the symptoms.

We're going all in on this with Arie for the next six months. That means hours of therapy, exercises, etc. every day for the next six months. Obviously we don't expect miracles, but we've decided if he's made marked improvement during that time, we'll continue on.

Needless to say, I'm scared stiff. I didn't ever imagine that being a part time pediatric therapist was going to be required of me as a mom, nor did I want it to be. Of course, what this could all mean for Arie is huge. And somehow I know that God's working in this for good.

I'll keep you all updated on how it's going with him, and we'd appreciate your prayers for us. For Arie, that he will have patience and stamina. For me, that I'll have diligence and perseverance. And of course, that God would bless our efforts and help Arie to make real and significant improvements.

Ashes, ashes! I was cleaning out the ashes, forgot to shut the door, and...

Thanksgiving Time

2009-12-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Seems like we're gone traveling an awful lot and I've not got around to updating the blog in a while. This is probably true, although I can't see the date of my last post right now. Anyhow, we have some pictures from Thanksgiving, and several from just every day life.

The boys got matching PJ's from Nana. I've wanted this for quite a while now. It's seriously cute.

Arie has started school, and loves it. He can say 'school', but he calls it 'church'. He's learning there, mostly about how life works around people, which is good for him. Almost all his therapy happens there too, and that's good too. He comes home pretty tired!

We just submitted the paperwork for funding approval on his power wheelchair (along with a standing frame for hip development, and bathroom/bathing equipment) and you can pray that it all goes smoothly. If it does, he could have his own chair by early next year, and he could really start using it! He got good enough on the demo one that he would be fairly safe driving in public, as long as an adult is right beside him. He's a pretty smart kid.

And Ioan.

There's not much to say about Ioan other than that he's a happy, growing baby. He turned four months old just after Thanksgiving and is just adorable.

We spent Thanksgiving in Boise and had a grand time. Here they are

pre-dinner.

Birthdays and Such

2009-11-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

The Birthday Boy in the Birthday Chair!

A Dutch Birthday Lunch

Arie's Pake and Beppe brought some Dutch foods (that I won't even attempt to spell) for Arie's birthday lunch. YUM!

Birthday Cupcake

Chocolate, of course!

I think he likes it.

At the Fall Carnival

All in all, Arie had a very full, fun day.

He was tuckered out by Sunday though!

I can't believe he's 3 already.
If you ask Arie how old he is, he says "I fwee."

Ioan is a happy baby.

Best Buds

Well, maybe Ioan doesn't think on that level yet, but Arie ADORES his little brother. Ioan was screaming in his bed the other day (very tired child), and Arie looked at me and said,

"Ioan sad. Mamma pick him up."

Pictures, finally

2009-10-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

The Baby Shower

Ioan and I got a baby shower last Sunday evening. Jan and Suzanne did a beautiful party. I enjoyed myself, and Ioan made quite a haul!

Look at the FAT rolls!

Ioan has just recently started having daily dirty diapers. He thinks diaper changes are about the best thing ever. Previously he 'used up' everything he ate and rarely had anything left over. I think this probably means he's at the end of a long growth spurt. A growth spurt, I might add, that has left him with lotsa

chub!

Zzzzzzz.....

Ioan is a happy baby!

Brothers

Arie thinks Ioan is about the coolest thing ever, next to Daddy. And Ioan is starting to acknowledge the existence of people other than his Mamma, which means he smiles occasionally at Arie, if he's right in his face.

Daddy is COOL!

Of course this means Arie does, or tries to do, everything that Daddy does.

A Rather Blustery Day

2009-10-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

I can hear the wind howling outside, and it makes me happy that I'm inside, by the wood stove. I've been enjoying the cozy morning by the fire and the fall cold outside, brisk walks with the boys and Penny have been so pleasant, hot dinners again grace our table, and I'm contemplating making spicy, chewy cookies today, if I have time.

We're doing well. Arie is just recovered from the flu. It was nasty, nasty, and I always feel so bad for little ones when they puke. He's been working on driving his wheelchair quite a bit (when he's not sick) and it's going well. He really likes it now, but his stamina for sitting that long and focusing on driving is pretty short. He starts preschool soon, one day a week in November, and I have mixed feelings about that. I do really think it'll be an excellent experience for him though.

Ioan is doing great. Something like 16 pounds now! He's got a little laugh going, he can almost, almost roll over, he loves toys, and he's finding his hands. He spends at least an hour a day just staring at his arm, extended straight up in the air with his hand fisted. I see it all the time, but it still makes me laugh.

Ioan grows so quickly compared to Arie that I am ever so much more aware of the limited number of days that he is still a baby. It's been such a different experience this time around. Ioan can already do things, even at his uncoordinated stage, that Arie still can't do. It's interesting, amazing, and bittersweet to watch, and it makes me so thankful to God that He gave us Arie first, before I knew what it ought to have been like. Looking back, I realize how good God was, and is, to us. And now, with two sons, and Arie so much older, I'm so happy with the family God has given me. It's not what I expected and dreamed of when I was younger; it's much, much better than that.

Well, you're probably wondering where the pictures are. Truth be told, the batteries in the camera are dead. But I promise to get some up soon.

Ioan---Almost Two Months

2009-09-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a short clip of Ioan being happy on my lap in bed this morning.

Settling In

2009-09-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting into a 'rhythm' of life again. It's nice. I'm the sort of person who is most comfortable if there is order and regularity in life, and it's getting quite comfortable. Soon all will be scatterbrained again, but for the moment it's quite peaceful.

Here are some pictures of us. We haven't changed that much, except for Ioan. He's changing a lot. He's a little over 13 pounds now (according to our scale, which might not be 100% accurate), he smiles and he's just beginning to coo. He's such a sweetie!

Arie 'Driving' the Jeep
He likes the new Jeep so much! We took it to town to go on a special 'evening grocery date' with the boys, and Arie was so excited to be riding in the Jeep he could hardly take a breath the first 10 minutes of the ride. Cheap thrills. For all of us.

My Boys
Dirk gets home from work and, conveniently for me, takes over the boys. Arie loves to hold Ioan, can you tell?

We have request for those of you who keep up on our blog. Arie's physical therapist, whom we've gotten to know pretty well over the last three years, just found out her husband Jim has brain cancer. They're pretty young; their oldest just started college this year. If you think of it, please pray for them.

Arie Talks

2009-09-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

Arie is talking in sentences! The fun part for me is that I'm finally getting a pretty good idea of what goes on in that sweet little head of his.

Last night Arie was putting his toys away, and quickly, because he could take a bath when the toys were put away. But he wouldn't put his ball away. I asked him why and he said "I take a baf wif ball." Hey, I can make that happen. It makes me happy to be able to do things for Arie that make him happy, and he so often wants such simple things, like playing with his ball in the bathtub.

We find it amusing that now when Arie says thank you, which he spontaneously does quite often, he says "Thank-you-welcome." He says things how he hears them.

He also sings. While we were in Richland we had cable, and he loved to watch anything that had music. There was an ad for a computer that started off with a song that Arie now sings: "Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly-lolly-lollipop." I think perhaps he'll take after his Uncle Grady.

As for the little brother, he's getting fat. He weighs just about 12 pounds. He's starting to fit 3-6 month clothes, and he's just 6 weeks. What a blessing after an itty-bitty baby like Arie!

That's all for now. No pictures. We've been so busy trying to get our place organized after the move that we've not had much extra time. Have a good weekend all!

Brothers

2009-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

I tried to get some pictures of the boys together this morning. After breakfast, baths, dead camera batteries, and a second breakfast for Ioan I finally got a few photos. Hurray!

Ioan Protests

Ioan Protests Greatly

Why Me?

Cooperation, Finally...

Wave Hello Boys!

Practicing the Abercrombie & Fitch Look
If nothing else, this style sure does make for less laundry!

A Hungry Look

Good Times!

2009-08-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Pake with Gideon and Arie

Beppe and Ioan

Miriam and I with our Babies

Ioan on his Quilt

Puppies
We still have one puppy from our litter, and she's spending time with us in Richland right now. We took a trip to Seattle last week to sell the seventh puppy. It was a nice time for Dirk and I---we took Ioan and left Arie with his Pake and Beppe. Talk about a spoiled two year old! He loved it!

Snoqualamie Falls
We stopped on our way home from Seattle and got to see these falls. They were gorgeous!

Ioan's Baptism

Arie likes to hold Ioan's hand while he's in the stroller. Even though it's hard for him to keep his hands relaxed enough to touch a baby without scratching him, he's so gentle with Ioan!

Ioan sleeping---sweet baby!

More Pictures of Ioan

2009-08-04T19:03:00.000-07:00

New Baby DeWinkle

2009-07-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce the birth of our second son, Ioan DeWinkle!

He was born today at 12:09 PM, weighing in at 7 lbs. 9 oz., and 20 1/2 inches long. We praise our Lord for His amazing gift of life to our family, and can't begin to say how excited we are!

Daddy and Ioan

Arie Meeting His Little Brother

Arie was interested mostly in 'petting' baby and pointing to his eyes, mouth, nose, etc. So far I think it's fair to say that we are all immensely pleased with our new little guy!

More Pictures

2009-07-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

3 1/2 Weeks to Go!
We're thankful we've made it into the 'safe zone' for this pregnancy! I feel pretty good, but I'm anxious to meet this baby!

Arie playing peekaboo

July Update

2009-07-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Arster
Here's a current pic of Arie---right after his nap, half dressed, covered in PB&J. Perhaps not at his best, but most definitely a happy camper.
Arie is doing well here in Richland. His newest 'thing' is naming items around him to show off how smart he is. Very cute, and he knows it.

We've had a round of seeing doctors for Arie, so there are some updates. Arie's got new AFOs (braces), that are taller than his last day pair, but more flexible. It's a bit harder for him to crawl around in them, so we're working into wearing them for most of the day. We also started using sand bags to help Arie stretch out while he's sitting. It's working pretty well. And, the other update: his eyes. The crossed eye continues to grow stronger and improve with every doctor visit. We are so happy about this, as it most likely indicates increasingly better vision in that eye and also improves his chances of a successful surgery in a few years.

I've been trying to stay busy, and so far I've been finding plenty to do. I'd been wanting to make a baptism gown for our soon-to-appear little guy, and finally *almost* finished it. Everything but all the buttons. I came up a button short, so the back doesn't have all the buttons sewn on. Other than that, I'm fairly pleased with the results. Sewing clothes is not my talent, but I really am pretty happy with this.

The puppies are doing great, and growing so fast. Most of our puppy buyers have been over by Seattle, so we've kept a pair of them here with us in Richland. They're so sweet, and we've been working on training them. They're doing really well with that, and they LOVE to go on our morning walk with us. Arie thinks they're great!

I'll try to post a preggo picture soon. I just need to pose for Dirk... A month to go!

The Pictures, and Some News

2009-06-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got some pictures of everything.

Our Patio

Living Room

View from the Kitchen

Bathroom

Arie's Room

Being a Boy...

Preggo Picture
This is me about a week ago.

We also have some wonderful news. We finally have a niece! Peter and Miriam had a baby girl today, Moriah Adriana. She came into this world weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz, and was 21 inches long. Our first niece!

Quick Update

2009-06-18T17:32:00.001-07:00

For all of you who've been cheering us on, we got moved today! The apartment is set up very well, and was fully furnished to start with, so that's nice. Everything is unpacked and put away, and the only sign of us just having moved in is all the boxes sitting in the living room!
We'll go back to Moscow next week sometime to pick up our other car, grab the left over items we couldn't fit in the van, see the dogs, and hopefully squeeze in a fitting for Arie's new braces.
Tomorrow we're going to see the town and pick up some things we want in the apartment, and when we get it all squared away, I'll post some pictures of the apartment. There is a swimming pool here, but it's getting repainted, so in a few weeks we'll have a swimming pool too!

It's June Already

2009-06-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a bit since I posted last, but not for lack of news. It's been busy.
Most exciting, Arie is trying out a power wheelchair for the summer. We met with a vendor last week and he sent us home with one of their trial models all fitted out for Arie. We'll be practicing driving this summer---if Arie can stop and go on command by the end of the summer, we'll be doing well. He likes it, although I think he still prefers what he knows to be reliable: crawling. As soon as he figures out that he can go just about anywhere faster, there won't be any stopping him.

The puppies are growing and doing great! We sold two last week, and are pleased to have found such good homes for them. Penny doesn't seem to miss them---but then what's two when you started with eight? They're as cute as ever, and as I watch them develop, I already have a favorite. She's a gorgeous little girl, and I'm thinking twice about not keeping any of the pups. But when the baby comes, it'll probably not be such a hard decision to make.

Speaking of baby---we're almost TWO WEEKS past Arie's gestational age. I am so thankful, and although the baby feels so much heavier than I remember from last time, I feel so much better this time around. I'm a bit slower and can't bend over any more (pretty normal), but other than that I've been feeling myself. I had my last Moscow appointment for me and baby, and I was excited to learn that my baby is head down! He hadn't been about a month ago, so I was very glad to find this out. Hopefully he'll stay this way until he's born! Also, I made a quilt for him this week. It's simple, but I liked how it turned out.

Dirk has got one more day of work, and then we're packing up to move out for the summer. I'm looking forward to having him around for a few days to help me with all my 'projects' around the house. We have been provided with a furnished apartment in Richland (so nice!), and so really it's just getting organized, bringing personal effects and things I want of my own with me, and all the kids' stuff. As I organize the baby stuff, it seems so strange to have all the clothes, bedding, etc. sitting around me for a little person I've never met, but it's exciting at the same time. We found the perfect person to house sit for us and take care of things around the house, and this means I don't have to pack everything away, just leave a few drawers empty etc. and leave the rest like it is. Hopefully cleaner, as the house has become a disaster in my attempt to tie up several loose ends of our life before we leave.

Well, that's the news for now. Hopefully I won't be so long before I post more pictures. I know I'll have new ones soon of Richland, probably next weekend, so keep a look out!

May

2009-05-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

May has been a lovely month so far.

A daffodil from my garden

The puppies keep growing and are just being weaned. Their eyes and ears are open now and they all are up and walking. By walking, I mean a shaky walk, but give them another week or two and they'll be running. They are absolutely darling!

Arie is doing well. He's growing too, getting taller right under our noses. The most noticeable change is that he is talking in phrases and even sentences now. This still takes me by surprise, but I'm sure I'll be used to it in no time.

I'm growing as well. Our little guy is 28 1/2 weeks now, exactly 10 days from when Arie was born. We are praying constantly and keeping a close eye on things, hoping to pass the 30 week point and go all the way to 40 weeks. There have been a few problems, but between boosting my nutrition, some rest, and monitoring the pregnancy seems to be going much better than last time.

The baby belly

Dirk is also doing great, but he is the only one not growing at the moment. He's working hard, with lots of irons in the fire. He's taking an internship with a church in the tri-cities for a few months and absolutely thrilled about it. I think the idea of working in a church actively under the oversight of a godly and seasoned pastor has him pretty pumped about the summer. Of course, Arie and I are going with him and so the baby will be born in Washington!

And thanks to all for all the birthday wishes, cards and gifts! I had a wonderful birthday! Emma watched Arie and Dirk took me out to watch a movie and dessert at West of Paris, a fancy French restaurant. I had so much fun, especially since Dirk and I hadn't been on a 'no-kid' date since Christmas! I was thoroughly spoiled, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Mirk, Dolly, and Family

Winter

Autumn Recap

Rainy Day

Beginning of July

Some movies

June

Fun in the Sun

At Home, in Michigan

No pictures, but....

More Videos :)

Videos and Pictures. Sorry it's been so long since we updated.

Arie's Sunday School

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Dirk II's Baptism - January 16, 2011

All Three Boys!

Christmas

More Dirk Jr. Pictures

Holidays!

Baby Dirk! Born 3:30a.m. 12/5/2010, 8lb. 11oz.

Pictures!

Hello?

August

Our Recent Adventures

Back Among the Living

Spring Time

I NEVER Do This

Playing "Preacher"

Good News!

February!

This week's updates

Return from the Holidays

Thanksgiving Time

Birthdays and Such

Pictures, finally

A Rather Blustery Day

Ioan---Almost Two Months

Settling In

Arie Talks

Brothers

Good Times!

More Pictures of Ioan

New Baby DeWinkle

More Pictures

July Update

The Pictures, and Some News

Quick Update

It's June Already

May