Easter 2011

I love celebrating Easter. The spiritual implication for believers is enormous. Our whole belief system is wrapped up in Christmas and Easter!

Besides that, family gets together. Besides my walk with God, family ranks next.

Today, after church, all the kids came over with their families. Our family is growing. We joked over the meal that we needed a new table. We don't all fit anymore. Some adults were standing behind their kids helping feed them, kids were on stools....so maybe we should consider a larger table!?

Here are some pictures of our weekend.
It starts Friday. I went over and did some crafts with Kayla and Levi.

Levi doesn't like his picture being taken.

Gina making treats for Easter.

Levi might not like his picture being taken, but he sure likes taking pictures!

Kayla the green-nosed reindeer!~~

We were not only creative, but silly!

Then I went over to Gina and Dave's again Saturday night so they could have a date night.
These two are so fun!

Letting Levi take pictures and trying to help him...he keeps wanting to put the camera right up to his face like we used to before the tiny digital screens!

There, he did it by himself...not too bad, focused and everything!

He would have taken pictures all night if I'd have let him!

Now for Easter Sunday and the family dinner!
Daniel and Laina have arrived with Solen! We all tried to get a turn holding him. Daniel couldn't understand why we all were trying to take him away from him. First time father!

See, even Jazmyn wanted a turn!

Just too stinkin' cute!!

Gina's treats 1/2 gone.

After cleaning up the table, we pulled out some craft stuff for the kids to enjoy. Jaz did the most....made a creative little bird family.

Aunt Mindi reading to Gideon

Very happy Grandpa and Grandma!!

Rayna in the 'fun' chair that both swivels and rolls.

A moment with Daddy before one of us snatched him away! ;-)

Grandpa and Nate consulted on wardrobe!

Then were told to smile their nicest, this is what we got! LOL

I get my time with Solen!

The Boening men...

Random shots....

So there you have our weekend!
Lots more happened, you just got the highlights!
Hope your Easter was wonderful.

Rotovirus

I don't think I've heard of Rotovirus until today.
Gina called me to tell me she was on her way to the hospital. She had taken Gideon to see the family Dr. and they diagnosed him with Rotovirus.
The last few days he's been throwing up, then got diarrhea, today he didn't even want to stand up, just layed his head on the shoulder of whoever picked him up.
They sent him to the hospital so they could give him fluids via an IV.
Here they are in the room...

Even kids hospital gowns are hideous, aren't they?
Even sick he's cute!

Here's some info I found on the virus:

Rotovirus (or Rotavirus) is a common viral infection among young children. It is the most common cause of diarrhea in U.S. children and is a leading cause of death among children in developing countries. The virus works by attacking the lining of the small intestine, causing often copious loss of fluids and electrolytes. The virus is spread through oral contact to fecal material, and is common in child care environments.


Then, after getting home, Mindi brought the kids over so she could run an errand. They stayed a couple hours just before my Thurs. night Bible study.


Rayna and Me

Funny T-shirt!

Rayna hiding by the couch!

They like playing with these guns that make sounds and light up.

Of course, after 5 minutes of hearing the obnoxious noises you want to throw them away, but they love 'em!


Didn't get to see Solen today. :-(
They stayed another night in the hospital. The Dr. wanted to watch him....make sure his breathing stayed normal.
They'll probably be home tomorrow.

Welcome Solen!!

We welcomed Solen into the world early this morning!

I wasn't asleep more than an hour last night when my phone rang. There was a text from Daniel saying they were on their way to the hospital and that Laina's contractions were a minute apart. I found out later, after arriving at the hospital, that she had been in early stages of labor Tuesday afternoon and evening. Gina had gone over and coached her through the initial stages then drove them to the hospital once the contractions were really close.

She refused any drugs and did really good. He was born at 6:13 a.m.
Weighing in at 6lb. 12oz. and was 21 inches long.

Daniel was so cute with him - holding and talking to him.
We all left by 9:00 a.m. so they could get some rest. Well, so we could get rest too! At that point, Gina had been up 24 hours! When she got home, she arrived to a sick baby. Gideon had been throwing up all night. Dave took the older two to run errands so she and Gideon could get some rest....hopefully they got some. I didn't talk to her after 1:00 this afternoon.

Hope Laina doesn't kill me for putting that picture of her on here!
She was so sweet through the whole thing, I couldn't believe it.
May I repeat, with NO drugs! I think she deserves a medal!!

Well, this was an exciting day. I'm hoping we get to see him tomorrow. Dan hasn't seen him yet and wants to go up tomorrow to meet him! I'll take pictures with my camera this time. These pictures were taken on my cell phone. It is a pain to download them into an email, then save them to my computer, then load them onto the blog. I'm complaining, I know. But with the camera it is so much easier and faster!

Til tomorrow!

Nate's Birthday Party

What a weekend we've had.
Actually for me, it started on Thursday. I did some chores around the house then headed over to Mindi's to help her with the kids so she could work on the cake for Nate's party. Jazmyn and I mixed up the cake, then took the two little ones outside to play while Mindi baked it.
It had gotten pretty nice outside, so we spent quite awhile out there. Then we all got packed up, went and got some dinner together (took it to my house to eat it), they spent an hour or so with me before returning home.

Friday, I spent some time here then went over to Mindi's again. She had to work at 3:00, meaning she has to leave around 1:30 or 2:00. Seth doesn't get home til 3:00 or 4:00 so they need someone to help with the kids during that gap in time. We weren't outside that day. Nate and Rayna slept the whole time I was there. In fact, I never saw Nate except for peaking in his room to check on him.

I took Jazmyn with me when I left. Dan was working, so we stopped at Meijer, got some food, took it home and put it away. She played with Donny the neighbor boy for awhile then we went to see HOP at the Ionia theater.
It is an old theater. The ceiling is ornate, not to mention the rest of the woodwork, etc. The screen is at the back of a stage. So we always go right down front and sit in the front row. No craning your neck though. The stage is so big the screen is quite a ways back.

Mindi wanted Jazmyn back to help get ready for the party Saturday afternoon. So our Saturday went pretty quickly. Here are a few pictures of the fun...


I had some old pieces of window shades I gave to Jazmyn and Donny to paint on.

Dan, Jazmyn and Gina and Gideon

The Thomas Train Cake

We aren't sure how these people got into the party!

Daniel and Laina

It was great outside. We did bubbles, softball, trampoline....

There you have it....the weekend anyway.

This morning I got a text early from Mindi asking if I was working today.
I was, so Dan called her. She and Rayna needed to go to the MedCenter and the car would not start. They've been fighting cold/stuffiness, congestion for days. Yesterday Mindi had an allergic reaction to some medicine.
They found out Rayna has bronchitis and Mindi has strep!

So, another week has started. We hope to finish the extra bedroom this week. Dan did work some more on the floor....before we had to run over to the Miller household ;-) There is still a bit to do though. On and on it goes!