Sugar and Spice

Results Are In!

2010-12-17T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is the verse that came to my mind when I heard the news, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring GOOD NEWs, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God Reigns!" Isaiah 52:7.

The Lord has heard our cries, and we are soooo thankful. We were just called by Dr. McCahill's nurse, Coralyn and she gave us the all clear! Wow, we can both breath again, we are so relieved, and we are praising God for his faithfulness.

Thanks again, to everyone for their incessant prayers and support, it has been truly amazing and we cannot thank you enough for lifting us up.

In the coming days we have a few more post-op appointments to attend, but other than that Matt will need no further surgery or treatments. As I previously stated, he will have check-ups a couple times a year by Dr. Castanon, his dermatologist and Dr. McCahill.

We are praising God today, and we hope that you are too! God's Blessings to you all in this Christmas Season.

Matt, Kim & Kids

Surgery is Done!

2010-12-13T14:14:00.000-08:00

After 3 hours of surgery Matt is out, however, I won't be able to see him for another hour or so. I don't know a lot right now, just because results won't be in from the lymph node biopsy for another 3-7 days. We are praying the results come sooner, than later!

Both Dr. McCahill and Dr. Ford have talked to me and said that the surgery went well. Dr. McCahill's portion of the surgery took a little longer than expected because the lymph nodes were harder to find and get than he expected, however, he is confident that he got what he needed to get. Dr. Ford took a 2 cm pie shaped wedge out of Matt's left ear. We are thankful that he was able to put his ear back together without using the "flap method". This means that he didn't need to put a skin graft into his ear to reattach it and put it back together.

Again, thanks again for ALL your prayers, they have been felt and we are soooo thankful for all of you guys! God has been good and we trust he will continue to give us strength and enable us for anything that comes our way.

I will update you with more when we know more!!

Kim

Update on Matt

2010-12-10T12:33:00.001-08:00

To All Our Dear Family & Friends:

First off, a big Thank You, we are so blessed to be part of a community of believers, what hope we have in knowing that you ALL have been lifting us up before the throne of our Sovereign God. One cannot fully understand the definition of community until they face such trials, what an amazing feeling of peace we have receive already from your prayers. Let me first leave you with a few Bible verses that Matt came along yesterday when doing devotions, it is truly amazing how powerful and good our God is. Words from Matt to me, ..."So I am reading along in the Bible and I come to these verse in Lamentations. Wow, this is powerful stuff."

"¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.

We are holding onto the hope that God is in Control, no matter what happens, this is for his glory. We truly trust that the Lords plan will prevail, no matter what the outcome is.

Anyways, onto the details. Yesterday we had a meeting with Dr. Ford, a plastic surgeon associated with Lacks Cancer Center and today we met with Dr. McCahill, one of the head oncologists at Lacks Cancer Center who specializes in Melanoma Cancer and specifically the surgery end of things. What we have learned so far is that we are currently in the "staging" process of this cancer ordeal. There are basically two parts to staging. One includes determining the size of the cancerous lesion, specifically the vertical depth of the lesion. The vertical depth so far has already been determined as 2.5mm+. This means, when Matt's biopsy results came back, the melanoma cancer extended to the margin of the biopsy. So, with this being said, Matt's initial stage is "intermediate".

On Monday, we will start the second part of the "staging" process. This means, we will arrive at St. Mary's Hospital at 8am and remain there for the duration of the day. The plan of attack is to have a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy done on Matt's left ear. This means a radioactive die will be injected into Matt's body. The dies traces the path from his ear to the first lymph node(s) where lymphatic fluids flow. Dr. McCahill and Dr. Ford will work together to remove approximately 1 cm of Matt's left ear, as well as the affected node(s). The removed pieces of ear and nodes will then be sent to the pathologist for intense scrutiny to determine whether the melanoma cancer has extended into other parts of Matt's body. Following the removal of a portion of Matt's ear and his lymph nodes, Dr. Ford, will conduct reconstructive surgery of Matt's ear. The reconstruction surgery will also take place on Monday, following the biopsy removal. If all goes well, the surgery should take approximately 2 hours. Matt's surgery is scheduled to take place around 12:30-1pm. We should be home by evening. We should receive results of Matt's biopsy five days after his surgery, so we are thinking we might know something by the following Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

If Matt's biopsy comes back indicating that the nodes have not been affected we will not need to pursue further treatments at this time. However, since Matt has been diagnosed with "melanoma" he will continue to have checkups every 6 months or so with his dermatologist and the surgeon to make sure the melanoma has not come back. As, Dr. McCahill explained to us, once a person has had melanoma, they are 5 times more likely to have a recurrence some time again in their life span. If Matt's biopsy should come back with a positive result for melanoma in the lymph nodes, we will determine the course of treatment in the following days and weeks.

Again, thank you all for your prayers and support, we truly covet them and praise God for the people he has given us in our life to lift us up, bring us encouragement and support!

Matt, Kim & Kids.

Sledding

2010-02-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was pretty warm, so we decided to go sledding after the kids naps at Byron Christian Middle School. The kids loved it, especially Dylan. He loved going down the hill, he thought it was great going by himself and the faster he went down, the better. It is so amazing how kids change from one year to the next.

Random Summer Pictures

2009-09-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Before bed, Dylan and Cassidy ALWAYS have to play Ring-Aroung-The-Rosie, they are soooo funny!
Cassidy having one of her many temper-tantrums, girls are so dramatic.
Lizzie trying out our swing-set.
I think I have actually used one or two of my tomatoes this year. Either they've been infested with blight, or my son has got to them before me and eaten them like an apple (gross).

Posing for Pictures before Church

2009-08-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Sweet Iris

2009-08-22T06:19:00.001-07:00

For those of you that don't know, I love to sew. I have started selling some of my creations on Etsy, my store name is Sweet Iris. I just posted my first few items last night, it's quite a production getting everything set, so we will see how this goes.

My web store address is: www.sweetiris.etsy.com

1-Year & 3-Year Pictures for Cassidy and Dylan

2009-05-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend a friend of mine, Katie DeBoer, took pictures of my kids, she did a great job, despite my children's uncooperative attitudes. Although they were not thrilled to have their pictures taken, Katie actually captured some great shots of their "true colors", especially Cassidy's desire to be with me ALL the time, hence multiple pictures of me and Cassidy.

Anyway, take a look at them and enjoy, now I have the task of figuring out which pictures to choose, not the easiest thing for me to do, I always want them all.

http://katiedeboer.smugmug.com/gallery/8037748_mqpLg

Dylan's 3rd Birthday

2009-04-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

Last week Monday was Dylan's 3rd Birthday (ok, I am a little behind on posting pictures, especially considering today is Cassidy's 1st B-day), and he requested a caterpillar cake, so that is what he got. He liked my attempt at making a caterpillar cake, good thing he is only 3, if he was 10 he may not have thought that his mom did that great of a job.

Warmer Weather!!

2009-03-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Dylan riding his "3 Wheeler" - This is what he wants to do all day long!!

Cassidy sporting her constant smile, she is such a lover, when she's not chomping into things with her sharp teeth.

Orlando, Florida

2009-02-21T11:56:00.001-08:00

We went to Buena Vista Suites in Orlando, FL a week ago with Kelly, Ryan and Lizzie and our own kids, we had a blast. The kids were great and the kids were great. Cassidy did get an ear infection from the pressure change while flying so I did visit the Urgent Care while in FL, but it turned out fine, I just got less sleep than I would have liked to get. After playing in Florida for a week, I am currently wondering why I live in Michigan? I guess I live her because that is where most of my family resides, if I could get them all to move, I would probably leave and live in a warmer climate!! Above are a few of the hundreds of pictures we took while on vacation, enjoy.

Daddy & Dylan

2009-01-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

Dylan doing his nebulizer treatment (for asthma) with daddy
Dylan hanging out with daddy, doing the "sandwich" as Dylan calls it.

9 Months Old

2009-01-13T08:54:00.001-08:00

Everyone makes fun of me when I put pony tails or pig tails in her hair, but I love doing her hair and I figure she's not going to let me do it forever, so I better take advantage of it before she can tell me "NO".
My little girl is 9 Months old, where does the time go!?!

Christmas

2009-01-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

We tried getting a picture with all of the "Griffen" Grandkids, however, it didn't work to well...they had their own agenda and it wasn't posing for pictures!

Grandpa Griffen playing with Dylan...so much fun!

Grandma Griffen cuddlin with little Cassidy.

Grandma DeVries show Dylan his paint set.

Grandpa DeVries and Cassidy

Random Pictures of the Kids

2009-01-02T17:58:00.001-08:00

Is it okay for me to put "cute" naked pictures of my kids on the blog? I think so, I think naked baby butts are soooo cute.

My little girl, is growing up so fast, today she is 9 months old. She has been crawling for the last month and is on her way to walking, Dylan walked around 11 1/2 months old...I think Cassidy will be walking in the next month and a half. Cassidy desires to do anything her brother doesn't want her to do, she loves to bother him and be his shadow or cousin Lizzie's shadow.

My fire man, he loves to rescue things!

Sickness Strikes, Again!

2008-12-19T10:38:00.001-08:00

I wanted to post some pictures, however, my lovely children played with the cord to the camera and I have a feeling they broke it somehow, would sucking on the end of it cause my pictures not to download from my camera? (I am guessing so...this would be Miss C's Fault).

Anyway, we've been struck again by sickness, this time bad cold's, previously, about a week and a half ago we had the flu...yuck!!! Not only do we have colds, but my poor little girl has a double ear infection and RSV! I am nervous about the whole RSV thing, but they gave her Albuterol Syrup and her breathing is much better!! I had a hard time sleeping the first night, but I know that I have to just trust that God is watching over my kiddo's both when I am and when I can't.

Hopefully I will soon have pictures to post...I'll have to see if Mr. Fixit (aka Matt) can get the camera jack working again.

Merry Christmas!!

Bath-Time Abuse

2008-11-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

Cassidy loves to take a bath with her brother, I think she likes it so much because this is generally the closest that Dylan gets to her during a day, and he's actually playing with her, not yelling at her to get away. Oddly enough, Cassidy thought it was extremely funny when Dylan threw the ducks at her, she laughed so hard that I couldn't stop laughing. I haven't laughed this much in a while, my side even hurt when all was said and done.

Family Pictures

2008-11-20T08:10:00.001-08:00

We had our family pictures taken a couple of weeks ago by Tina Vink (see www.tinavinkphotography.com). Tina does an amazing job at taking pictures, especially of kids, I would recommend her to anyone!

To view our pictures click on the link below.

http://www.tinavinkportraits.smugmug.com/gallery/6483691_TfUtM#416914939_wYeGn

I am having such a hard time picking out pictures, I have a feeling this I will be spending a bit of $$ when all is said and done. Oh well, I love pictures, especially of my kiddos.

Fall Pictures

2008-11-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Dylan & Cassidy

Cassidy Ann DeVries

Dylan Matthew DeVries

Some Pictures - 6 Months

2008-10-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

I took a few pictures of Cassidy the other day, it didn't work too well, she was a bit tired, however, I posted a couple anyway.

The Husband Project!

2008-10-12T06:47:00.001-07:00

Hello!

I just wanted to share with everyone a cool little project that I am starting to do, I got the idea from my MOPs group (1st Cutlerville Christian Reformed Church). It's called "The Husband Project". The project is based on a book by Kathi Lipp. Kathi Lipp says, "It's about love." "It's about respect." "It's about letting your husband know you still think he's hot!" Anyway, she shows you how to take your marriage from ordinary to amazing in just 21 days. You can visit her website at http://www.kathilipp.com/ or just double click on the link below to go to the project details.

http://www.thehusbandproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/microsoft-word-thp-week-1-2-3-doc.pdf.

It is a pretty neat idea to rejuvinate and put some excitement back into your marriage, especially for mom's with young children, however, I think married women of any age can benefit from this project. I think it is so easy to focus on our children and forget about our men...I know I too often am guilty of this...so, Matt doesn't know what's coming, unless of course he's read this blog.

Decorating Pumpkins

2008-10-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u159/devriesmail/?action=view&current=MOV00692.flv (Double Click to view video clip)

This morning Dylan and I went to the store and we purchased some paint so he could paint a face on his pumpkin instead of carving his pumpkin with a knife. As you can tell from the pictures above he had a lot of fun painting a scary picture on his pumpkin (He told me he was painting a scary face on his pumpkin because he wanted to scare his daddy).

I think I have an aversion to pumpkin carving for good reason. When I was 10 or so, I sliced my finger with a knife when I was carving my pumpkin and had to get stiches, it was a bit traumatic, or so I thought. The whole incident shouldn't have happened if I would have heeded my parents advice and waited for the proper pumpkin cutting knives which were being used by my sister and brother at the time, however, I was the typical impatient 10 year old. Anyway, my past experience with carving pumpkins and the fact that Dylan is only 2 1/2 is the reason we painted instead of carved.

6 Months Old

2008-10-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

( She has an ear infection and getting two teeth, however she remains quite content considering the circumstances...doing better that her mom would do)
(Unfortunately she decided not to look when I took this picture)

These aren't the greatest of pictures, however, I figured I better post some pictures of my little girl, she is 6 months old today!!! I cannot believe how fast these past 6 months have gone. God is so good and faithful. Cassidy is such a blessing to our family, we love her to pieces and are excited to see how she grows and develops over the next 6 months.

More Random Pictures

2008-09-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Dylan, posing with dad's hat on.

Dylan wearing the fireman's hat that Grandma G got him to go with his upcoming Halloween outfit. (Notice the ladder in the back of the picture near the tree...all firemen have ladder's because they rescue things from trees).
My sweet little pea

Random Pictures of Cute Kids

2008-09-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

Just showing off my cutie-pies...they are soooo much fun!!

Self Check Oout Lanes

2008-09-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

Be Warned...don't take your 2 1/2 Yr. old and your 5 month old baby through a self-check out lane, it may cause a major headache!! On Tuesday this week Dylan went with my mom grocery shopping, he loves doing this, this was not a problem, until I showed up at the grocery store to get a few of my own things with Cassidy and grab him from my mom so we could head home and make dinner. Anyway, a trip that was only supposed to take minutes turned into what felt like an eternity. I went through the self scan area with my groceries because I only had 15-20 items and the regular lanes had long lines. I figured this lane would be a quicker solution, little did I know that while I was scanning my items, my son, who I thought was being very good was down on the ground checking out the self-check out machine. In a matter of minutes the machine started to act funny and all the sudden it said it was "shutting down"...I called for the service guy and as I did this I looked down to see my son with a flap to the machine open, he found the computer in the machine and shut the whole system down. I was extremely embarrassed. Let me tell you getting this this back up and running is a whole new story. Lets just say my mom who was getting a full weeks worth of groceries left the store before I did.

Climbing Trees

2008-09-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Dylan loves "climbing" in our front tree. I say "climbing" because he really can't climb the tree, Matt actually sticks him up in the tree. The first time that Matt stuck him in the tree I was not around, good thing, because I am not too fond of him being up in this tree, it is rather high for a 2 1/2 year old. The second time I was around for the event, hence the pictures. Anyway, the second time around things didn't work as well as the first go around, Dylan wouldn't slide down the tree to let Matt get him down...so needless to say I heard, "Daddy, Rescue Me, Rescue Me". While Matt scratched his head about how to prod Dylan out of the tree, I told him the logical way to get Dylan out would be with a ladder. Matt got our ladder out and "rescued" Dylan from the tree. Now, every time we are outside together Dylan wants to get in the tree to be rescued.

The Hose

2008-08-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was outside grilling dinner, and as usual, Dylan likes to be outside with me and he loves playing with the hose. Well, I turned the hose on for him and if you could've seen what happened you would be rolling on the ground. The hose was near the grill, and the grill and mommy were near the house. Dylan picked up the hose and started spraying it not realizing that the hose nozzle was pointing directly at himself in the extreme power mode. I looked up to see him getting soaked (see hair above - happened from force of the water shooting from the hose)...he threw the hose down next to me and it landed on the driveway with the handle pointing straight up at me and the house...I was the next one in the line of fire and I too got soaked. I looked around to see if anyone saw us, not sure if they did, however, we have the high school right across the street from us and they were practicing football, if anyone saw what happened they got a good chuckle.

Sitting Up

2008-08-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

5 Months Old and sitting up, looking back at Dylan's baby book, he sat up at 5 3/4 months.

The Things They Do

2008-08-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

First off, how did my 2 1/2 year old son, who weighs approximately 30 lbs, fit in our television cabinet? Second, how did he get the doors to close by himself? I am afraid what I will find him doing next. He is definitely all boy.

Next picture, I posted for my brother...I say this because I vividly remember my brother tying all sorts of things together when he was little. I honestly don't know how the mind of little boys work, but sometimes the things they do can be rather amusing. As you can see from the picture above Dylan thought it would be fun to tow his trike around with his little car.

Growing Up

2008-08-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Currently, I am downstairs in the office trying to get away from the crying little girl upstairs. This morning I went to the doctor with Cassidy because I thought she had an ear infection...she hasn't been sleeping well for the past four nights, however, this was not the case, she's perfectly healthy. According to the doctor she loves me way too much, especially at night and she is going through some separation anxiety. Additionally, she hates sleeping in her crib, she'd rather sleep in her car seat...I told the dr. and he informed me that I needed to let her "cry it out". I did this with Dylan, but he wasn't as bad, he'd take naps and sleep in his crib. Anyway, I've been listening to her cry for 40 minutes...it's really hard not to pick her up and cuddle with her, but I know it will get better and eventually she'll fall asleep. If anyone has suggestions on how to get her to sleep (she doesn't like pipes...so she doesn't have a comfort mechanism right now) I welcome your advice.

The pics above just show her growing up, she's almost sitting by herself, she started eating cereal and she's rolling over a little...how fast they grow up.

John Ball Park Zoo

2008-08-18T10:23:00.001-07:00

Last week Thursday, Matt took off from work early and Dylan and him went to the John Ball Park Zoo, while Cassidy and I went shopping. Dylan loved the zoo, he especially liked the Petting Zoo because he was able to comb the hair of the goats. Matt told me they spent 45 minutes combing goats hair...the goats must love all these little kids coming at them with bristle brushes. I only wish my son loved getting his hair combed as much as he likes to comb others hair.

Robinson Lake

2008-08-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We're back from Robinson Lake and I am tired (as well both kids), but we had a lot of fun and that's what counts. I didn't think I could handle bringing Cassidy, who is 4 months old on vacation with us, however, it worked and we ended up having a great time. I was amazed at how well Dylan adapted to his new surroundings, now I am more worried about the week ahead, I think he was a bit spoiled with all the people around and the amount of fun things he got to do, so we shall see how he handles being back at home in the regular routine of things. We had great weather all week long, good family and friends to hang out with and a great place to stay, so needless to say we can't wait for next year!

Family Album

2008-07-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Fishing

2008-07-18T10:30:00.001-07:00

Dylan received a fishing pole from his Grandpa & Grandma Griffen for his birthday in March and he loves to pretend/practice fish with it in our driveway. Today was no exception, he caught many fish and he caught one so big that it snapped his line. In about a week we will test his actual skills when we go on vacation at Robinson Lake. I am sure that he will enjoy catching real fish.

3 Months Old

2008-07-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

My little girl is growing up so fast, it is so hard to believe that she is already 3 months old. I've said it before but time flies. Cassidy is such a joy, she is generally a very content and happy little girl...I took some pictures of her for her 3 month pics, a couple of them are located above.

Good Boy = Bike Rides w/ Grandma

2008-06-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

Last night Grandma DeVries gave Dylan a haircut, this can be somewhat of a challenge, so she often has to bribe him to get him to sit still. The general bribe is that she will take him for a bike ride if he is good, most often the bribe works wonders. I think Dylan's haircuts take about 5 minutes, grandma worries about how it looks when done, but we are just thankful to get his mop cut off ever few weeks or so. I think the haircuts look great, even if grandma says otherwise, I don't expect too much considering she's working with a busy-body 2 year old. Thanks Grandma!!!

Spartan Stores Carnival

2008-06-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

The Fire Truck
Grandpa & Dylan
Grandpa, Dylan and the Monkey
Dylan riding a horse with daddy

Riding the motorcycle
On Saturday my dad's work sponsored a carnival for the employees and their kids/grandkids. The carnival was a lot of fun for Dylan, he had a great time looking at all the animals (ie, elephant, camel, horses, chickens, etc). Dylan loved the rides and all the festivities despite the cooler temperatures and rain.

My Tool Man & My Sunshine!

2008-06-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Family Photo

2008-06-09T08:48:00.001-07:00

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Cassidy's Baptism

2008-05-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning our daughter, Cassidy Ann was baptised into the Christian faith at Covenant CRC by our Pastor, Curt Walters. What a blessing it is to bring your children before the the Lord and make a covenant promise to bring them up in the way of Christ. It is an even greater feeling to know that our Family, Friends and Church congregation stand in community with us making such a great promise. Matt and I look forward to seeing what God has in store for both of our children as they grow up in the knowledge of Christ. It is our prayer that both of them one day will accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Baptismal Prayer

Almighty God, who by our baptism into the death and resurrection of thy Son Jesus Christ dost turn us from the old life of sin: Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness and holiness all our days; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

From The Book of Common Prayer

Me & My Dad

2008-05-09T11:00:00.001-07:00

Okay, this isn't a picture of Dylan and his daddy, however, this is a picture of my adorable son, he's a charmer and he knows it.

Dylan and his dad working hard in the backyard.

Little girls and their dads...it's a special bond!

She doesn't know it yet, but they are watching sports together.

My Sweet Pea!

2008-04-30T10:52:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my little girl is almost one month old already, she is such a sweetie, we are so thankful for our two wonderful children, God is good!

A Few More Pictures

2008-04-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Above are a few more pictures of Cassidy and one of her and her brother Dylan. We haven't gotten too many pictures of her brother and her because he has a cold and we are trying to steer him clear of her. Dylan is doing ok with the thought of having a new sister; he can say her name and talks about her a little, but other than that he just ignores her, which is probably normal for a two year old.

Our Newest Arrival!

2008-04-08T11:03:00.001-07:00

The newest addition to our family, Cassidy Ann DeVries, arrived at 5:39am on April 2, 2008, via c-section. Cassidy was not scheduled to arrive until the 14th of April...so we were quite surprised when I went into labor on April Fools Day, I truly thought it was a joke, however, Cassidy made sure to let me know that this was no joking matter. I went to bed at 9:30pm on Tuesday evening thinking I would get some sleep, however this did not happen. I was awake until 2:00am in the morning when I decided we'd better call my doctor and head into the hospital. 3 1/2 hours after our arrival at the hospital our little girl was born via c-section. Cassidy is a happy and content little girl, we hope she stays this way. The pictures I posted above don't do her "cuteness" justice, I will post more later when I am able to download them all.

Happy "2" Day!

2008-03-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had the privilege of celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior and Dylan's 2nd birthday, what a great day! I know Dylan didn't fully recognize the significance of the day, however, his parents thought it was pretty special, especially when one considers that his birthday will not fall on Easter again during his life-time, unless of course, he lives to be as old as Abraham and Sarah.

Anyway, below are a few pictures from the birthday celebration. We spent the afternoon with his Grandma & Grandpa Griffen and his aunts and uncles and at night Matt's parents and brother and sister came over to our house for another birthday/Easter party. Dylan had a lot of fun yesterday, however, he was ready for bed by the time 7:30 rolled around. Matt and I asked him if he had a good birthday and his response was so cute, he said "Happy 2 Day".

Dylan's first birthday cake of the day was a "Peep Cake" made by Grandma Griffen. It was fun watching him blow out the candles, he kept wanting to blow out his candles, I think we lit his candles up three times before he would move onto opening up his presents.

Dylan opening up one of the many presents he received yesterday...toys, toys and more toys, I think the second child will not be getting many toys for birthdays and Christmas because if he/she does we will be needing a new house, or we'll be renting a storage unit.

Dylan and Uncle Jason!

Dylan's Fish Cake

Dylan blowing out his candles, again!

Opening more presents!

Almost Two!!

2008-03-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Finally, I am posting again... who knows for how long since I have approximately 5 weeks left before the newest member of our family arrives, and I am sure life is about to get more hectic that it already has been, however, I guess it is better late than never!

Anyway, back to my little man, I can't believe that he will be turning "two" next week on Easter, it's such a crazy thought...it seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. I took a couple pictures of him the other day thinking that I could actually take his pictures (see above), unfortunately things didn't work out as planned, he's no longer the kid that loves to be in front of the camera, he'd rather be behind the scene trying to take the pictures, oh well, should I expect anything less from an almost two year old?

Baking with Mommy

2007-11-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

Today Dylan and I had fun making Apple Bread and Applesauce. Dylan loves to lick beaters, I have found he is not the most patient little kid, he asks to lick the beaters before you've even started to beat anything.

Fall Fun!

2007-11-09T06:22:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Dylan...one of his favorite things, being tossed into the air.

Dylan running through the leaves, he loves being outdoors!

Finally, I'm an Aunt!!

2007-11-09T06:11:00.001-08:00

Presenting...Elizabeth Joy Wolthuis, she came into the world on October 6 at 2:52pm. She was 7lbs. 8oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She is very precious, however, mom and dad are learning quickly that SHE is in CONTROL!!!

She is a sweetie pie, and I can't wait to spoil her rotten, just like her mommy and daddy did to Dylan. Paybacks are sweet, especially during Christmas time, we are very excited to get her some noisy toys!

Summer Vacation

2007-07-19T11:11:00.001-07:00

This past week, Kelly and Ryan, Matt, Dylan and myself stayed at Summer Winds Resort on Silver Lake, in Mears, Michigan. We had a great time, but it seemed to go way too quickly. The weather was up and down, however, I figure that's what you get when you live in Michigan.

The DeVries Family in Pentwater, Michigan

Dylan and Mommy in the grassy area by our condo (Dylan does not like the water or sand).

Dylan and Daddy

Dylan playing on the play equipment

Dylan swinging!

The Lewis Family Petting Zoo - this is a great place to go with kids if you are ever in New Era, Michigan

The Things He's am Learning

2007-06-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

The things he's learning...they are scary, and it is only the beginning.

First Picture : He's already stealing $$ out of daddy's wallet! Who wouldn't let him steal money out of their wallet, he's too darn cute to stop.

Second Picture: I got some bathing suits out for a friend of mine to borrow and he took them. Obviously he had a little help getting this on . Thanks Lindy, dads a little worried about this picture, and frankly I am too.

Third Picture: He's started to climb...and boy have I found him climbing some odd objects. In this picture he is in his book basket, however, his main goal is to get to the humidifier located directly behind the books. I guess Matt said he was standing on the humidifier a few days ago.

The Pop Corn Popper

2007-06-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jason and Aunt Julie, Dylan thanks you for the Pop Corn Popper! Dylan finally figured out how to push the Pop Corn Popper around without getting mad. When Dylan previously tried to play with this toy he would get supper frustrated because he didn't realize the pop corns would only pop if he wheeled it around on the floor...before he thought it would work if he ran around with it.

This moring he picked up the popper when I was trying to change his diaper (of course, then he got mad at me). Once the diaper was changed he ran around with it ALL over the house like he was a pro...he seemed pretty proud of his accomplishment.

I am thankful that Dylan finally figured this toy out, it doesn't make as much noise as the lawnmower he generally pushes around that his Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kelly got him... thank goodness, however, it is cute to watch him play with the lawn mower too, both toys provide hours of fun!!

Frog Hollow

2007-05-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Dylan experienced Frog Hollow Park for the first time. Although Dylan enjoyed playing on the toys, especially the swing, he enjoyed a dog named Wallace much more. Dylan is really into dogs lately, for those of you that don't know we had to get rid of our little Sam because we feared Dylan would enjoy pulling his hair too much. The dog pictured here was great with all of the kids, next time around maybe we'll have to get a big dog, they seem to do much better with little kids.

John Ball Park Zoo

2007-05-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday morning Dylan and I went to the zoo with Moriah and Emerald Hoekwater, we had a great time! Matt, Dylan and I had gone last year, when Dylan was only 6 months old...he wasn't that in to it, however at the time Matt and I were. This year was a different story. Dylan loved the petting zoo. Dylan is weird when it comes to animals, he loves to get down to their level...he looks them in the eyes, or in this instance the side and then squeals at them with extreme glee. I don't know what he's thinking, but it cracks me up.

What is he doing?

2007-04-30T17:48:00.001-07:00

I can't even go to the bathroom by myself! The picture to your left is a picture of Dylan trying to look under the bathroom door. This past weekend I got to go to the bathroom without Dylan coming in, however, he is very nosy so he thought he could look under the door and see me.

Our bathroom door doesn't have a lock on it, I think we will need to invest in one before he learns how to get it opened up, otherwise I will never get any alone time!

Belated Birthday

2007-04-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am behind already and I've just begun! A month ago today, March 23rd, Dylan turned 1. Looking back at the day and the past year I stand in awe of God. God is so good and faithful. This past year with Dylan has been an amazing experience and I am only excited to see what else God has in store for us as a family.

I can truly say that I never thought that Dylan would change as much as he did in the past year. A childs development in the first year of their life is intriguing and amazing and can only be explained by looking at the hands of our Maker. The "firsts" a child experiences are too many to count, however, I have compiled a list of a few milestones that Dylan experienced in his first year on this earth:

Dylan smiled, cooed, babbled

Dylan rolled over

Dylan sat up

Dylan got the his first tooth (three months) and seven more followed in his first year

Dylan started eating solids (3 1/2-4 months)

Dylan got many earaches (2-10 months)

Dylan sat up

Dylan stood

Dylan began saying words (i.e., dada, mama, hot, yep)

Dylan got tubes (10 months)

Dylan finally started sleeping through the night (10 1/2 months - we really needed the tubes)

Dylan started crawling and walking the same day (11 1/2 months)

Etc.

You get the picture....how do they change so drastically! Dylan was 7 lbs. 12 oz. when born and after a year he weighed in at 26 lbs...he almost quadrupled in size. Anyways, it is amazing and can only be described as I said before as a God Thing.