Rileigh

Could she get a brighter pink cast!

Friends

Rileigh is loving 1st grade! She once again has a awesome teacher, the night she broke her elbow she still wanted to go to school b/c she wanted to see Mrs. Woodring!

Rileigh has grown up so much in the past 6 months. She has been my big helper, of course now she can hardly do anything with her left hand! but she still gives a good effort! Right now she requires a lot of extra help getting dressed, showering, brushing teeth, making beds ect. You soon realise how much she did for herself when she can't do it herself!

Rileigh went to the Doc. on Tuesday and they took off the splint ( and in the mean time made Rileigh sick to her stomach and me almost pass out!) and put on a hard cast that she will have to wear until the 18th of November. They will then remove the cast and do more x-rays and make sure it is healed. If it is indeed healed they will then schedule the surgery to remove the pins and begin therapy. If it is not healed they will but the cast back on.

We love you Rileigh and pray everyday for you!

Annika

Annika is enjoying Preschool on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings and I always enjoy going to help in the room when I can. Today she had her Harvest Party and we had a great time! I always feel like she is the one that never gets that one on one time and I try hard to make sure to be at all the extra school stuff for her.

Annika is the most loyal little girl, If she tells you she is going to go somewhere with you she will no matter what else she could be doing ( i really could learn a lesson from her) and she is always willing to give her stuff to Rileigh even when she knows that Rileigh would never do that for her. Annika you are a gift from God and I am so thankful God gave you to us! We Love You!

Tyler- 9 months

Dress Rehearsal for Halloween. Derick is not so sure about the Peter Pan costume!

I can't believe my baby is now 9 months! Where has the time gone? What a blessing he has been to our family!

Tyler now has 4 teeth and is crawling all over the place and has taken his first trip by himself (us right behind him) up the stairs and has started to take a few step pushing his toys! For the most part he continues to be a happy guy and can light up the room with his smiles! We love you big guy!

Sunday Afternoon Fun

Trying to pose for a quick picture possibly for Christmas card due to the fact that we will no longer be doing a family picture with a nice cast in it! This might have to do this year. Whitney I am open to other ideas!!

Crazy Girl!
Ok, So I went out to make sure Rileigh was not breaking another limb and was talking with a few neighbors and all the kids ( about 10 of them) thought it would be funny to start a leaf fight with the adults! I guess if you can't beat them join them! I had leaves all over! Stuck in my hair down my shirt in my mouth. It was a ton of fun though and needless to say the whole family got showers tonight! As we were getting this picture done the kids were throwing leaves on us.
The Leaf Monsters!
Check this one out you can't even see the kids with all the leaves!
I went in side to go get Tyler for a few pictures. Let just say he was not a big fan of the leaves.

Girls check out this handsome man!!

Hudsonville Harvest Fest.

This morning Michelle and I took the kids to the Harvest Fest Parade in Hudsonville. Let me tell you this was the shortest parade I have every been to, I think there was 5 different entries that was it and it was over in about 5 minutes! After the parade they had some activities for the kids in the parking lot by Gemmens. It was a beautiful morning and the kids had fun.Annika and Mason. This picture cracks me up! Look at the difference in the kids clothing! Annika didn't want her sweatshirt or her coat on b/c she was to warm. All I have to say is that I have to chose my battles!
Tyler all bundled up for the parade.
Annika and Rileigh petting the miniature horses. In this picture at least I was able to talk her into wearing her coat!
Annika painting her pumpkin.

Riliegh, Austin, Annika and Mason.

Rileigh thinking she was going to jump this creek with her broken arm! Thankfully she took my advise and didn't try it.

A night with the Van Hofwegens!

Tyler- 8 1/2 months old. Alyia about 8 months.

Last night we went to the Van Hofwegens for a fall feast as Lisa likes to call it. BBQ, Homemade Onion Rings and Apple Crisp! We did get a few pictures of the babes! Annika and Emmory are 6 weeks apart and Tyler and Alyia are 3 weeks apart (sorry Lisa if you do go for #3 you are going to have to go solo!) and of course Rileigh is the big sister to the whole group!

Annika's Class Trip to Post Family Farm

On Tuesday I went with Annika and her class to Post Family Farm. It's always nice to have that special time together. We had a great time going on a hayride, picking pumpkins, going on the pumpkin train and who could forget those great donuts and apple cider! Annika's Preschool class.

Annika was the rain cloud for the skit that they do with the kids.

Annika and her friend Zach Harris.

Look mom, this one is just right for me!

Annika and mom

Back Home!!!

We arrived back home about 7:30 tonight! Thanks so much for all your prayer, kind words of encouragement and gestures they mean so much at a time like this. As we speak Rileigh is up in bed getting some much needed sleep and is feeling much better most b/c her Aunt Missy was able to be her nurse today!! She is very excited to get back to school but I am going to try to hold her off until Monday when she should be off the heavy pain meds! Thanks again for all you have done! Rileigh will have to go back to the doc in 2 weeks to get a hard cast put on and then she will have the pins that she had put in her elbow removed once it all comes off, so that will be another small surgery.

Out of Surgery and Recovering

Rileigh is out of surgery and everything went as planned. She did get nauseous and threw up after surgery. In order for her to go home today she has to be able to eat something and keep it down and take some pain medication as well. Pray she can do that so everyone can go home and sleep (well Rileigh doesn't need help with that one). Until then she has the best care around-Aunt Melissa!

Rileigh is in Surgery!!

Long story short right now. Rieligh jumped off the swing and landed on her arm yesterday afternoon and broke her elbow in 2 places. We spent the night in the hospital and she was just taken back for surgery a few minutes ago. The surgery should last 30 min. I will try to update sometime today. Please pray for her, she has been so brave through all of this. Way more brave then her mother!!

Good News!

My sister in law Missi got the pathology results late yesterday afternoon, all the Lymph Nodes looked good meaning no cancer in them! Praise be to The Lord! I think she has a appt. sometime this week to talk about where they go from here. Please keep her in your prayers as recovers! Thanks once again for all your prayers! God is good all the time. All the time God is good!

Weekend Pictures

Tyler is now 8 months old and is getting into everything! He has mastered crawling and can do it with great speed!!! He is also pulling himself up on anything he can and is now sporting 4 teeth with many more on the way!! He is such a good boy and smiles at the drop of a hat!

Saturday night we picked up Justin and Jordan (we had Nici for the weekend) and headed to the fish ladder and enjoy this nice weather! Jordan said to me once we got back home "Thanks so much for taking me, I didn't think it would be fun at all but I had a blast! Bless his little heart!

Photo above is Justin, Annika, Austin, Jordan and Reese hanging out in their hide out!

5 of the 7 kids on the wall where in van doing cheers the whole way to the fish ladder! Even the boys where getting into it! Sorry Missi!!

Austin, Justin, Jordan, Nici, Annika, Rileigh and Mason

Reese, Austin, Justin and Annika

Annika's partner in crime!

Nici, Rileigh and Jordan

Rileigh had her last game on Saturday morning. We really lucked out with the weather for these games the coldest one we had was like 65. Not to bad!

Rileigh and Nici at half time

Sucessfull Surgery

From what he heard (we had to go to Indiana today) the surgery was a success. The Lymph Nodes that they removed appeared to look good, of course they have to wait for the pathology report to come back and that should happen sometime late week. On behalf of Missi and her family we thank you for all your prayers, emails, phone calls and thoughtful words as she underwent this surgery. Please keep her in your prayers as she anticipates the results from pathology and as she recovers. God is good all the time, All the time God is good!. There is great power in prayer!

Pumpkin Patch

Annika was worried about triping over the vines so while Derick carried the pumpkins my job was to carry 2 kids!

Dressed in our Sunday afternoon Best!!

Rag a Muffins ready for the hunt.

Here are a few picture we go this afternoon as we took out anual trip to the pumpkin field. The kids always have a great time finding just the right one.

Please Pray

Tomorrow is Missi's (Derick's sister) surgery. Please pray that she will be able to get some much needed sleep tonight, and tomorrow be a peace with the whole surgery.
Please pray for Jon as he has to watch his wife go through all this, that he will continue to be her rock as I am so sure that it has to be so hard to watch someone you love so deeply go through all of this.
For the kids as they try to understand all of this scary stuff. Pray that their minds will be at ease.
Pray for the doctors that will be performing the surgery that they will have steady hands and clear minds.
Pray that all the Lymph Nodes come out clean, meaning no cancer in them. They will take out a few of them and quick take a look at them, if they are good they will not take anymore out. If they are suspicious they will keep taking them until they feel they got it all.
Pray for Derick's parents as they watch their child go through this, and for them as they have the kids for the week.
God is the great physician and I know that he has a hand in this surgery. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, even though we have no idea why this is happening I have faith that God is using Missi for his good work.
Thanks so much for your prayer you have cast out already. I will update hopefully tomorrow night as Derick and I have to go to Shipshewana tomorrow.
Thanks again.

Derick New Job!

Derick has gotten himself a new job modeling celery fields for Meijers! Check today's (Sunday) paper section A8-A9! What a bunch of great looking guys! In case you did not get the paper you can see the picture when you go to Meijers and by Crispheart Celery!

On a more serious note, we feel so blessed to have another successful year in business. I know I complain when he puts in a ton of hours but what a blessing it is to just have a job in this day and age. We are so thankful for all the hard work you do Derick so it is possible for me to stay home with the kids! We love you!

Intresting Afternoon

We had a little excitement over here this afternoon! I was taking all of our stuff out of the rental car and getting everyone loaded in to go drop it off and pick up the van as Annika was playing around in it as she normally does. I told her to get in the seat and I was coming to buckle her up so she climbed out of the drivers seat and shut the door and was trying to open the side door when I hear her ask me to help her get it opened. I come over and try to open the door and realize that while she was in the front playing she must have hit the lock button and we now have Tyler looked in the rental car along with the keys on the front seat! I of course go into panic mode ! And of course Derick is not picking up his cell phone. WONDERFUL!! So what do I end up doing? I had to call 911. Annika of course thought it was cool that the police man had to come and a tow truck! Hopefully she doesn't try locking him in there for fun now!!

Warning!!!! Lots of Wedding Pictures

Ok. So it spent like an hour getting a slide show ready and then when I was loading my last 2 pictures my computer froze so I just did a regular post nothing fancy. Sorry guys it may be a little long. Enjoy!


Jason and Melissa getting ready for Mexico! - Rehearsal was at Jason parents house, They had food catered in from the Sand Man and it was awesome! Thanks Van Dyke's
Cute Hat's Guys

Rileigh wanted to get her picture taken by the turkey but would not do it with out Uncle Jason.

Silly Girls!

Roasting Marshmallows at the Van Dyke's .

Rileigh getting her nails done for the wedding

Annika getting her nails done

We had to get a picture of Tyler and the great wall of nail polish! He was such a trooper waiting for us to get our nails done!

We were so happy that my sister in law was able to do our hair, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer 10 days before the wedding and still wanted to do our hair. She will have a double mastectomy on Monday so PLEASE pray for her!

Annika- Finished product!- sorry some how this picture got deleted off this post.

The Beautiful Bride

The girls all dressed up!

Dad and Mary

The girls and I

Sisters!

The wedding party

Scott and I

Ethan and Rileigh

The happy couple getting on the Trolley

Derick and I

Tami and I

Some pictures at the beach

The girls and I

Annika getting ready to dance. aka trash the dress!

The girls dancing with grandpa

The first dance

Annika and Emma dancing

Annika

Ethan caught the guarder!

Jason and my girls.

It was so cute. Annika asked Derick to dance!

I think this is the dance that trashed the dress!?!

Jason and Melissa and the girls.