Vacation #?????

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

We just spent another wonderful week in Branson!

Highlights of this week included:

*Swimming, swimming, and more swimming. Joshua especially liked getting into the hot tub while Luke liked the indoor pool because it was not so hot.

*Riding the Ducks. Joshua and Luke both earned a Captain's certificate for driving the duck into the water on a "duck."

*Attending the Kirby van Burch magic show. This was very exciting! Ethan is still trying to figure out how Kirby van Burch cut two girls in half!

*Played miniature golf at Dinosaur canyon. Luke was a little upset that he stayed home with mom and had a rootbeer float, a bath, and an early bedtime with mom. It was not until the next day that he realized that everyone else had fun at miniature golf.

* Completed our annual buying spree at the Stride Rite store and the mall outlets.

* Joshua finally watched Star Wars with his older cousins.

We were very lucky to have cousins Elsa and Ethan, and Aunt Lisa with us for most of the days here. Daddy did an amazing job of cooking each night - chicken, chicken, and the best pork steaks in the world! Watching the kids make up their own magic tricks, play Star Wars, hide and seek, and more was the best, too.

Even though this was a shorter vacation time for me this year, I had the best time with both of you! It was a blast watching Luke put his face under water in the lake and Joshua swimming like a fish everywhere in the lake. The picnic at the beach and the huge playground was an extra special treat, too. I can't forget how much fun you had riding the go carts, too. Daddy always enjoys this, too.

Vacation was extra fun this year. I love you both very much.

Love,

Mama

We Love Our Cousins!

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

Upon arriving back in Illinois, you got to spend the next several days with your other favorite cousins, our South Dakota cousins! We were so happy to have them as the first guests at our new house. It was a great week filled with a trip to the Zoo, lots of playing at Grammy and Papa's house, playing Star Wars and making "booby traps" on Grammy's castle.

It was so much fun getting to know these cousin's a little better. It was wonderful to see all of you having so much fun and getting along so well. And it is always a treat to see Aunt Amy. We wished we could have visited with Uncle Ray, too, but we all understand that he has to work and has a very important job of defending our country. Thank you, Uncle Ray, for all that you do for our country!

Isaac and Levi were also here to celebrate Joshua's birthday with all of his friends. It was extra special to have Issac and Levi here for Joshua's birthday celebration.

Isaac and Levi are very special to us. We have not gotten to spend as much time with them growing up, but the time that we do get with them is always extra special. I will never forget the first time that we met Isaac when we were visiting the family in Belgium. Isaac was almost one year old, and travelled all over Europe with us to sight see with Aunt Amy. Issac was such an easy baby, and was so content with us just talking to him and giving him a little attention which was so easy to do. Levi has been such a blessing, too. Levi is generally quiet, but when he talks, he usually has something very important to say. He is a very sweet boy, too.

What an awesome week and summer that we are having!

Love,

Mama

Vacation #1- 2010

Hello Joshua and Luke,

After a great week at Vacation Bible School, we began our first vacation over the summer. On our trip to visit family in Minnesota, we stopped for a day at Uncle Jose's house in northern Illinois. We have not seen Uncle Jose for about 14 years, and neither of you had met Uncle Jose in person. It was a wonderful visit. You got to see Uncle Jose's birds as well as he bought a new bird, Karat, while we were there. We met Henry, Uncle Jose's nephew, too. Uncle Jose totally spoiled you guys with a shopping spree at Dollar Tree. Both of you placed everything you wanted in the shopping cart, and actually bought it for you! Uncle Jose gave us a tour of his hometown, and we spent hours talking in our hotel afterwards. Hopefully, we get to see Uncle Jose a little more often!

The next day we were off to Minnesota to visit the cousins! This was an awesome visit! We began by watchng Elsa compete in a swim meet at the local university. It was great to watch all of you play together. You played for hours outside in the backyard. You played in several forts (built by Elsa, the fort expert). You splashed in the water, had water balloon fights, built bridges and canals in the rocks under the swing set, jumped on the trampoline, caught fireflies......I could go on and on. Uncle Luke and Aunt Lisa took us to Lake Minnetonka on their boat for swimming and floating in the water. We had so much fun. I can not believe what fish you both are in the water.

Once again, Joshua got to spend his birthday at his cousin's house. We spent the day on the lake and Joshua chose to eat at Teresa's, a Mexican restaurant in town. We also roasted marshmallows and made smores until late into the evening. On July 4th, we spent the day by going to church, lounging around, and watching fireworks in the evening. This was another great visit with the Minnesota cousins.

Your dad and I have always enjoyed visiting the cousins in Minnesota. We used to go a little more often before you two came along because there was so much more time...so it seemed. We loved being Elsa and Ethan's aunt and uncle. We spent time playing Barbies, trains, reading to them, watching gymnastics class, going to Mall of America, just spending lots of time with them. The whole family is very special to us. Even though we are not able to spend as much one-on-one time with Elsa and Ethan, our love for them continues to grow, and the family will always be very special to us!

I love you more today than yesterday.

Love,

Mama

Happy 5th Birthday, Joshua!

Dearest Joshua and Luke,

Yes, happy 5th birthday to Joshua. And as mommy's often say, I can't believe that Joshua is actually five years old. I very much remember the day he was born. I was exhausted after 23 hours of labor, then a c-section, but I will never forget looking at Joshua's face for the very first time. I could not believe that this beautiful baby had been growing inside of me for 9 months. He was handsome. A head full of black hair, and his eyes open so wide to the world. All of the nurses and staff in the delivery room continued to comment on how alert Joshua was. I insisted on nursing him right away even though Nana, Papa Ed, and Lisa had been outside in the waiting room for a long time. Your family was so proud. Daddy called everyone he knew. It was the best day of my life. Daddy and I had difficulty sleeping because we were busy staring at you the whole evening. We insisted on keeping you in the room with us. But we managed to watch a few fireworks out the window. That was a most amazing day!

As Grandpa Al would have said, this is not your actual birthday, but your 4th birth anniversary. For the second year straight, you spent your birthday with your cousins in Minnesota. And we spent the day boating on Lake Minnetonka. Joshua was quite a fish - going everywhere in the water. You were not afraid of a thing. Luke loved the water, too. At Joshua's request, we went to Teresa's, an authentic Mexican restaurant, for dinner. Dinner was followed by roasting marshmallows, catching fire flies, and having a perfect summer evening with the cousins.

When we came back from Minnesota, you celebrated your birthday with the neighbors, friends from school, and Isaac and Levi. We had a treasure hunt at the city park. It was a great birthday party, and the rain even held out for us. It was fun to have so many friends at the party. I hope these are children that will be your friends for a long time.

This will be a most special year for you as you begin kindergarten. I am so excited that you will be going to my school. I know you are ready for school. You are so eager and excited to learn new things. Learning seems to be so easy and natural for you. As you go through school, school will get harder. Try not to get frustrated and approach school and a challenge, head on. Just as you approach problems now. There is not anything that you can not do. You are an intelligent, bright boy with a kind heart. And in case I did not tell you today, I love you more today than yesterday.

Love,

Mama

Back from Egypt

Dearest Joshua and Luke,



What an amazing week at Vacation Bible School! Yes, we are back from the land of Egypt. We might have left the land of pharaohs, the Nile River, and the story of Joseph's amazing journey from prison to his palace, but we brought many riches back with us! We learned that God gives us hope, God gives us special abilities, God gives us wisdom, God gives us forgiveness, and God gives us a family. I can not say enough about the wonderful week we had. Joshua was assigned to the four year old classroom while Luke spent time in the nursery with his good friend, Caleb. I was blessed to help with the snacks each day until Friday. I was the substitute teacher in the fourth grade class. What a blast! I really do miss teaching! I had a lot of fun working in the food shop, but I may volunteer as a teacher next year.


On Friday evening, we all gathered in the city park to hear 242 children sing about all they had learned during the week. It was an awesome sight. Three churches came together for this wonderful production. Here is just a glimpse of the tremendous evening. Anyone who has ever wondered about our youth today, would have been inspired by this sight.

I am proud of both of you for all that you learned this week. Luke was great about going to the nursery and being away from his Joshua. I know it was not easy for him, but he did it! Even on Friday when I was not in the food shop, Luke did a great job. Joshua totally got into studying Egypt. He got a book from the library about Egypt. He has asked a million questions about Egypt. He even asked Miss Sarah to cut his hair all off like the Egyptians did. I am happy to say that he got a great hair cut, but did not get it all cut off. :)

In the top picture, Joshua is standing on the far right of the first line that is standing up behind the children that are sitting down. In the video, Joshua is standing behind the second boy from the left that is sitting down. Joshua is standing behind him singing his heart out and showing how he is going to serve God! You are both amazing children. I love you so much!

Love,

Mama

Happy Father's Day!!!!!! #1 DAD

Dear Joshua and Luke,

We spent a great day with your dad today. The day began by all of us letting Dad sleep in. What a treat for Daddy! We went to church together. Then, spent time playing and reading books in the afternoon. After a nice nap, mom and the boys went to see Toy Story 3 while Daddy and Papa Mort stayed home and watched Fox News, one of their favorite TV shows. After the movie, Daddy and I ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant while you ate dinner with Grammy and Papa. Thanks to Grammy for giving us time to eat out and talk about the boys the whole time!

We are so lucky to have all of the dads we have in our lives. I try hard to tell you stories about my dad, Grandpa Al, so that you can know of him through the memories that I share of him. It always amazes me how saying, thoughts, memories of him creep up on me so often when I least expect it. He would have been so proud of you both. I miss him and wish you could have gotten to know him.

Papa Mort is an awesome grandpa. I know it is very difficult for you both to understand his Parkinson's Disease, and how that has affected his body. I do know that you both know how much he loves you. He has been such a part of your short lives, and I know he enjoys every second of his time with you (as we do, too).

Papa Ed is the sweetest, most gentlest man I have known. He has the kindest heart. I know it is difficult for both of you to understand why Papa Ed does not feel well, and why we do not see him, Nana, and Aunt Lisa more often than we do. I also know that you know that they love you very much.

I am officially off work for the summer! Yeah! Earlier this week, Joshua said, "Mommy, are you going to be one of those moms that stay home now?" He is so sweet. I assured him that I would be for the next four weeks.

Here are highlights of last week......

• Joshua talking to Grammy on the telephone. He has so much to say and so little time. :)




• Both of you had so much fun drawing with Grandma Nichols. She is quite an artist. Maybe you got your artistic talents from her?




• Reading with Grammy at her house. You always have so much fun with that. She can never read enough stories for you.


• Papa loves tickling you and hugging you every chance he gets.

I love you both more today than yesterday.

Love,

Mama

Margaritaville........

Dear Joshua and Luke,

Yes, Luke's favorite song of the week is Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. As soon as the music started, Luke proclaimed in a very loud voice, "This is my favorite song!" Anyone who knows Luke knows that he loves to dance. He dances every time he hears music. He is disappointed when the music is only from a commercial because the music does not last long enough. I am not sure what part of the song was so interesting to Luke as he was dancing - was it the sponge cake? shrimp? Strummin' my six string? Flip flops? Who knows? But he was certainly groovin' to the music. The next song on the radio was Bryan Adam's summer of 69. And you guessed it. Luke proclaimed loudly, "This is my favorite song."

Summer is well on it's way for you two. Mama is still working for another 7 or so days, but the time is getting closer for me. This week you started t-ball and swimming lessons. T-Ball was a lot of fun to watch. Luke had a very difficult time adjusting to playing without Joshua at his side, but I think this experience will be good for both of you in the end. Joshua needs an opportunity to play with his age level friends without Luke being at his side. In turn, Luke needs to venture out once in a while to work on making friends without Joshua always at his side. And there really is a huge difference between 3 year old and 4 year old t-ball. I know that you will both grow so much this summer. And as much as I would like to stop it, I know it is going to keep happening. I have to admit, though, that I love how close you both are. Even though they are squabbles over favorite toys, and you both can be good at pushing each other's buttons, in the end you are the best of friends. You truly care about each other and love each other.

Swimming has been fun, too. Sarah has been taking you to the pool each morning this week for your lessons. You have done very well for the first week. Joshua is even playing hide and seek under the water! I can't wait to take you swimming this weekend!

I love you both so very much.

Love,

Mama