Sunshine in Saugatuck

Rick surprised Jinnae and I by taking us to Saugatuck for a day. We enjoyed seeing the lake, shopping, eating lunch at Hercules Hotdogs (even though Jinnae and I got an omelet instead), shopping more, and getting an ice-cream cone for dessert. Thanks for the great family day, Rick. We loved it.

Zoo Time!

We think Jinnae and Quint loved eating more than seeing the animals. :)

"Uh-oh, he just went to the bathroom."

Jen and Quint

Jinnae says, "I'm out of here."

Jinnae checking out the fish and Quint checking out Jinnae

Jinnae and I had a great time at the zoo on Saturday with my good friend, Jen, and her son, Quint. Jen and I teach together. Friday was our last day of school for this year and we were ready to celebrate with our children Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and we loved every minute of it.

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

The big boys wanted to play the Olympic games too. They used up all the water balloons so the big girls couldn't play or at least not participate in that part. Oh well!
Jinnae loves water balloons

Jonah

Conner and Logan

Logan and Evi

Brady

Andrea and Amaris

Tripp and Vic

Jinnae doing bubbles with Grandma Gerst

Great Grandma Gerst

Sally, Vicki, Dad

Rick

We remembered this weekend those who fought and gave their lives for us in the United States. We are thankful. We also had good times with family and friends. We participated in the "Rick Olympics", saw Grandpa Gerst preach, had a picnic with family and friends, and enjoyed a movie. We are thankful for our many blessings and freedoms.

Dress Up Time!

Cheerleader for State (Sorry, Daddy)

Cow Girl

Flower Lady

Pretty Lady
I pulled out the box of dress up for Jinnae this week. She loves it! We had a lot of fun.

Happy Mother's Day 2009

I am blessed to have such a wonderful mom, mother-in-law and beautiful daughter. I had a splendid celebration with family, homemade bananna bread, cinnamon rolls, gift cards, and going out to the movies. Rick treated me like a million bucks as always. It was a great weekend. Do I have to go back to real life tomorrow?!

Popcorn Thoughts

Jinnae is in bed, Rick is getting groceries, and I just sat outside on the deck with a bowl of popcorn pondering life. As I looked around at my neighbor's homes I thought about how wonderful the people in the homes all are. The children here always say Hi to me. The adults walk, bike and run with me. They come by on the spur of the moment to watch a game, have a campfire, or just chat. They bring back my lawn funiture that blows in their yard. They help us build our seawall, spread woodchips, start the lawnmower, etc. My neighbors understand community and I love that.

I was also thinking about Rick and I's careers, what do we still want to do in life, how do we accomplish those things, where should we live, how can we teach Jinnae even more about God, how can we help others even more? Well, unfortunately, these questions do not have quick answers. So I will wait and listen closely for God's voice and try hard not to let my own desires and selfishness get in the way of His will.

(Maybe I shouldn't eat popcorn alone anymore - it makes me think too much!)

Jinnae's First Garden

Jinnae has a little garden going. She has peas, kale, corn, watermelon, carrots and flowers. Right now the peas and kale have sprouts. Jinnae's favorite part is watering her garden. She waters it so much, I'm actually surprised anything is sprouting!

Jinnae also is enjoying her spring puzzle even though she doesn't always do it right. Sometimes she likes to stack the pieces and knock them down, or dump them all out and leave them all over. We are working on taking the pieces out and then putting them back in.

We are enjoying the nice weather, lots of wagon rides and playing in the backyard.