Hearts Galore!

Hearts were the main attraction today at our house....we ate them for breakfast and lunch and even used them to create animals!!!!!Our traditional heart pancakes for breakfast!

My first valentine all decked out in pink and LOVE attire:)
The kids used candy hearts in math today as we practiced graphing and writing/counting....and of course eating when we were done:)Heart animals that the kids turned into valentines to give to daddy.

Puppy love.......funny right. This is another great idea grabbed from Family Fun. Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweet Heart Pops

Today the kids and I made an attempt at these adorable heart pops from the Family Fun magazine. Kailyn and Will each got to decorate some for their friends that they take dance with (because I'm homeschooling them this year that is their "school"). Will even decided to eat his this morning and LOVED it!!! Now I'm wishing I had more mini-candycanes:)You bake the candycanes and then pinch them onto lollipop sticks.Then you fill the heart with melted chips and decorate with sprinkles (this is where the kids came in to help!)We also added a John 3:16 Valentine to each lollipop before wrapping it in a treat bag!The finished product....the kids are so excited to hand them out to their friends!!!!!! Happy Valentine's Day!

Loads of Snow

The Blizzard of 2011 dumped upwards of 16 inches in the Holland area!!!!! Ryan called and told me to get the kids outside to play, even for a little while, because this was probably a once in a lifetime kind of snow! So we geared up to head outdoors and couldn't believe our eyes.....there was so much snow!!The snowpiles are huge.....and we are amazed at God's power and majesty!!!!

Crazy Kids:)

In January, I went searching through the kids' bins looking for swimwear so I would know what each of them needed for this summer. (I think booking our vacation to Wisconsin Dells got me thinking!) Anyway, I wanted Kailyn to try on a few suits that I had had in her bin for years....and they fit her beautifully. The only problem....I couldn't get her to take them off!!!! So of course Will also wanted to try on the suits that were in his bin.....and that's how another "beach" day got started!My crazy beach bums!

Dance, Dance, Dance!

My little ballerina dancing to her new jewlery music box (which has a dancing ballerina in it too)! She's sporting one of her leotards and her new slippers from Auntie Kristi.....love your style Kailyn:)

Birthday Par-tay!

This year, for Kailyn's 5th birthday, we were able to hold the party at my parents' house so that we could invite both Ryan and my families (our house just isn't big enough). With this blessing we were able to plan a wonderful "princess" party for Kailyn to enjoy surrounded by family who LOVE her!Our little treat buffet....the kids got to load up a treat bag with goodies before heading home! I got most of this idea from my girlfriend Lindsey! If you're interested you can visit her website: www.goodiebagbuffets.com

Her blanket from Gma Stehouwer....Kailyn got to help pick out the colors but hadn't seen it finished yet...she LOVES it!Kailyn and her cake......she was so happy with how it turned out! I am too, but I couldn't have done it without my mom there to frost it and figure out some of the design things! Thanks mom!
The kids digging in to the candy and filling their bags....yummy!Every year on their birthday the kids put a handprint on their tree in the playroom at my parents! So, since we were already there, we decided to have Kailyn add her 5th handprint to her tree....she did a great job!

Thanks again Mom and Dad for opening your home for us to use and for all the help in preparing the cake and the food....I love you guys!

And to my precious birthday girl....Happy Birthday, we LOVE you!

Divas!!!!!

To celebrate Kailyn's 5th birthday this year she got to choose one friend to do something special with!!!! She chose her bff Anne Hope to join us in a morning at Stanely Harris getting our hair and nails done and then to Mc D's for a happy meal! All the kids also recieved a cup of ice cream(at McD's)...Kailyn's came with a candle in it and the amazing employee singing "Happy Birthday!" The Divas!!!Thanks to my friend Andrea who made it possible to take the girls without a tag-along!!!!! What a fun way to spend a birthday:)