Parade

Last Saturday was the Annual Touch of Dutch Festival (I refuse to use the name Town & Country days that they changed it to just to be "politically correct"). Our church decided to have a float in the parade to get our name out in the community and show our support of the town. We have this big blue bus so we decide to decorate it and pull a trailer behind it for the little kids.

When they announced at church that they were doing this and that anyone could be in the parade showing support of our church, Emma's ears perked up and she was immediately hooked on the idea. As she heard more and more about the parade and the different floats that were going to be in it, she got excited about seeing all of the them. I sat her down (not really too excited about being in the parade myself) and told her that if she just watched the parade she could see all of those cool things and get candy so maybe we should just do that instead of walking in it. She looked at me with the most serious look and said "oh but mom, I've never in my whole life been IN a parade before. I want to be IN it." That's my little drama queen. If I could just convey the "never in my WHOLE life" just the way she said it; it was hilarious. So needless to say, we walked in the parade.

I was actually really glad that we did participate. As we were getting ready to start, the guy organizing things gathered everyone together and we had some prayer time. He prayed and thanked God for this opportunity to be like Jesus praising and spreading His word in the streets of our town. I never thought of it that way. We had loud praise music blaring explaining how we are now free, broken from the chains of this world and from sin's power over us. I've proclaimed those things the streets of other countries before but I was very grateful for the opportunity right here in my own town and for my kids to be a part of it with me. WOW, that Emma, she knew what she was doing.










Jackson was ready to get that candy flying!























Can't you just hear his little mind, "maybe just one for myself real quick before Mom sees."
















Emma got tired toward the end and decided to ride but she had that princess wave down pat!



















Jackson saw that Daddy was taking a turn driving the bus so of course he had to check it out.

















I loved that young and old participated in this and we all had fun together. Even the bus ride back to he starting line was quite an adventure!









Take opportunities to share. If you don't, you never know when or if your next one will be.

PS - we got first place on our float!

My Little Handful

So you see this face. It's the face of disaster and love and ornery and sweetness and messy and clever and a thousand little "i love you's."

Sometimes he astonishes me. Tonight was another time. We took the kids out to visit my mom's friends Pam & Randy and the kids got the speech that they always get before visiting someone. It goes something like this "it is rude to ask people for snacks when you go to their house so if they ask you if you want one it is OK but don't ask them first." Well, we're visiting for a little while and Jackson walks up to Pam and says "I think you want to ask me something" and Pam says "I do, what would that be?" and Jackson says "I think you want to ask me if I want a snack." I about fell over laughing and so did everyone else. How can you punish him? He didn't ask for a snack right?!?! He's getting way too clever for me!

He's going through this "phase" where he just loves to get under Emma's skin. No matter what she says, he disagrees. It is completely ridiculous and I think I might just pull my hair out!! But along with that he is also going through a really cute "i love you" phase. He'll come up to one of us completely out of the blue and say it in the sweetest little voice you've ever heard. After his antics tonight I'm wondering if he's just clever enough to know that we might really sell him to the zoo as his book says if he doesn't counteract it with that sweetness. I guess I'll never know but I'll take those sweet little "i love you's" as long as I can get them :)

A Week at the Lake

This summer has been so full I can hardly keep up!! I know I disappeared for a week but that was because we decided that we were going to stay down in Buffalo with my mom and dad at their lake for the week. It is the same distance for Jack to drive to work from there as it is to drive from home so why not enjoy some boating in the evenings for a week!!

We left Sunday afternoon to go down there and the weather was beautiful. By the time we got there we were definitely ready to go out on the boat. Jack got to do some wake boarding and the kids and I tubed. For those of you that don't know, my parents have been going to Lake Shaffer sine I was very little. I was thinking about it while I was there and I think it has been almost 20 years!! That sounds SO weird to me, I don't even think I'm 20 years old yet!!. Well, a girl and dream :)

Monday morning Jack went to work and he called us and let us know a nice little storm was brewing over by him in Rensselaer and we decided to stay in until we figured out what was gonna happen. Sure enough, we got a storm and it knocked out the electricity. Good thing I packed books and games to play!! Emma and I got to practice some of her reading (which she is incredible at!!) and then we played some Cariboo (if you have little ones, this game is a must! fun and learning at the same time!). Anyway, after a little while Emma conned Grandpa into playing my little pony with her. Now that was a sight to see!! Check it out below! I only wish you could hear the funny conversation they were having. Priceless!!







Once the electricity came back on it was time to crawl in Pap's bed and watch a movie.









Tuesday I got to go fishing with my dad while my mom watched the kids!! WOOHOO! Quiet time!! Anyway, my dad didn't fish much when I was little so it was nice to be able to go with him now. We didn't catch that many but I did something I've never done; I held a fish!!! I decided that if Emma can do it then so can I. I still won't bait my own hook, I just can't get past the goo that comes out or sticking the hook through the minnow's eye but at least I touched a fish! I also caught the biggest one out the few we did catch.

When Dad and I got back I decided to let let the kids try their hand at fishing down by the bayou and they both caught one in a matter of just a few minutes. We were so excited! Don't let Emma's picture fool you. I was holding the fish while taking her picture at the same time. The fish looks HUGE but it's only because it was closer to the camera. And Jackson..... well he didn't even really want to come near it but as you can see from the other picture, he did LOVE casting his Spider Man fishing pole.

Jack and I decided that night to take the kids out on an evening cruise. This was the first time we put our boat in. We don't usually bring our boat to my dad's because he has one but we figured we would this time because we wanted to get a little more use out of it before someone decides to buy it. We've enjoyed it so much but it just isn't practical for us right now. We got our reminder just how fun it is but we also got our reminder of why we're selling it when we saw the gas pump go up and up and up as we filled up both the truck and boat before we left. Oh well, the evening ride made for some nice pictures anyway.











On Wednesday Jack came home early and we took the kids to Indiana Beach. And yes, there's more than corn in Indiana!! The kids love it there and again it's a spot that I've visited every year since I was little so it's special to me as well. As I watch the kids doing different things I get glimpses of back when I was little. I remember asking my parents every weekend if we could go there and my kids do the exact same thing every time we go to dad's lake. It's so funny. Emma rode the Hoosier Hurricane roller coaster three times. She couldn't get enough. Jackson's favorite was the log ride which he called the water roller coaster. It was a great day and we of course went on CVS day so we got in buy one get one free. Gotta love a bargain!!

We spent Thursday just hanging out and swimming at the beach. We played a little of our new Mario Kart game on the wii that we got for $5 and then called it a night. It was a very fun week and I'm sure we'll be doing it again sometime. These are the times memories are made!

Fourth of July Weekend

Continued from earlier:

On from Michigan we drove down to Syracuse to Jack's parent's lake house. Meeting us there were Jill & Dustin and Tom & Mary. I can't believe this is the first time that we have been able to get out there this year. We used to go there so much more when we lived in Michigan but not that we live in Indiana we are actually farther away from it. I don't know about everyone else but gas prices are killing us. We're going to be selling our boat soon because it has not even left the garage so far this summer because we can't afford to take it out. I'm not sure how no raises in pay but rising gas prices are ever going to get us through! So anyway, on to the Fourth. We had a fun time getting to go boating and hanging out with family. The water was only 70 degrees so none of the adults braved the water. But who do you think did brave it? YEP - Emma just can't stay away from it! Nothing keeps her from it!

Grandma Mary took each kid on their own paddle boat ride.

Papa Tom having fun with his little buddy:)

Aunt Jill and Emma having some girlie time.
Aunt Jill painted Emma's toenails to match hers. Emma was so excited that she had to show everyone she came in contact with.
The kids are also VERY excited for Aunt Jill's new baby to come. Should be sometime after Christmas. I'm definitely ready for someone else in the family to have a baby I can spoil and send home :)Emma Stylin'

Me & Grandma Mary enjoying the sunshine on a boat ride.

Jackson wasn't real excited to get in the cold water but he did have fun on the boat.

It was a long week but a good one. We had to go back home on Saturday morning because there was a Bierma family reunion that day. It was fun and nice to see everyone again. Summers are always pretty crazy for us but fun. I feel like I haven't been home very much but at least the kids are staying somewhat busy. This week is Emma's first time to go to church camp. She's very excited. Be watching for more about that later. Hope everyone else is having a fantastic summer!

Finally Michigan

The week of the Fourth of July we were supposed to go to Jack's parent's lake house on Thursday so I decided that I would take a quick trip up to Michigan to do some visiting and then make my way down to the lake from there and have Jack ride with his parents out there to meet me. I really do miss my friends in Michigan A LOT so I decided I would take the opportunity (after all the gas money this month I only have $17 to live on but I guess that's how it goes!!) since it is only one hour out of my way to the lake.

So, anyway, my first stop was to visit my friend Amanda. She's really busy trying to take summer classes to finish up college this next year and she works as well so I knew that on a Tuesday she would be free and I could surprise her. I got her on the phone and she told me she was getting ready to leave for South Haven for the night with a friend and I about freaked out because I was on my way to her house. Luckily I was able to keep her on the phone long enough that I could walk up to her back patio and scare the crap out of her when she looked up and saw that she was talking to me on the phone while I was standing at her door. It was a lot of fun to be able to surprise her. Here are a few pictures of her having fun with the kids.

She read the Berenstain Bears to the kids each night. They loved it!

She also had a very cool coloring book that she used with the kids.

We also got to meet up with our friends Nikki and Grace. They used to live next door to us when we lived in Michigan. Eric was working but it was lots of fun to get to see Nikki and Grace. They met us at Chucky Cheese and then the next day the kids got to swim in their pool. Lots of fun!!

They had fun riding in the Chucky Cheese bus together.

Emma and Grace also got to get their picture taken together by Chucky's camera.

And of course Jackson had to ride this helicopter thing. Here he is trying to figure out how it works. Just like Daddy would.

Eight Years!!

Yes, I still have stuff to post from the fourth and our quick trip up to see Amanda last week but I wanted to post this first.

Yesterday turned eight years that Jack and I have been married!! I can not believe it! We have gone through so much in these short years but yet it seems like it all went by so fast. We've owned three houses, two dogs, six cars, been on three vacations, one mission trip (together), we've each had two jobs, we have two kids, lived with others twice, a lot of laughs, a few cries, some very hard times, some extremely great times and the best hope for a thousand tomorrows. Jack is my best friend. He is always there for me to love me even when I'm unlovable. God somehow balanced us so well. When I feel down he helps me up, when he's frustrated, I'm somehow calm and vice versa. So I'm going to go with the cliche from everybody's favorite-Jerry Maguire; He completes me.

This is a picture of us from last night at the Japanese restaurant. It was a little smoky in there. He had just set our table on fire!

Indianapolis

I know, I know I said that I was going to catch up on my blogging last Monday but then I decided to go to Michigan for a few days and then it was the Fourth and..... well I'm hoping to get it done this week.

This post is actually from the last weekend June. We got a call a few months back from our friend Tara that she was going to have a surprise party for her husband Keith. Keith and Jack have been friends since high school and have kept in touch all of these years and we all try to see each other a few times a year. We both have friends that we keep in touch with like that and we are so thankful and blessed to have friends that have been there for us through so many years and changes.

Here is Jack, Keith and Scott (another friend from high school). They just look like trouble don't they??
Since we were in Indianapolis we decided to stay with Jack's Aunt Stacey and Uncle Tom's overnight rather than driving the whole way back home. We got there late because of the party but of course that didn't stop the kids from taking a late night swim in their huge heated pool! (no pictures of that because it was too dark.) As you can see from the pictures below, they also took advantage during the day on Sunday as well.

Emma is back to her old self from last summer, jumping right in water with no fear.

Jackson has been more hesitant about water than Emma ever was but after A LOT of convincing we got him to jump off the diving board to Mommy and then of course he wanted to do it over and over and over!

Jackson also got brave enough to let Daddy do some tricks with him in the water. That was his Mommy doing those things a LONG time ago. I even won a competition back in the day :)

Jackson also got to help Uncle Tom clean up some branches out of their yard. The two of them crack me up! I do believe it is going to be a life long war between them of antagonizing and trick playing. Jackson is always doing something like trying to trip Tom or getting him a pop and then shaking it up first. If he's like this at three........ WATCH OUT Uncle Tom!

Emma also got to have some fun with Uncle Tom playing in the water and wearing funny goggles.

It was so great to have a weekend to spend catching up with friends and family. We are so thankful for the time we have with each and every one of them and the memories that are made.