It's a B...

It's a BABY GIRL!
We had the "big" ultrasound today! What a blessing it was to see all of those little body parts and get a peak at the growth of our baby..... girl!
When I woke up this morning I knew I would be posting later in the day about the ultrasound and the baby's sex. I had decided the title to my post would be "my three sons" I really thought we would learn a boy is on the way, we were so surprised to hear "it looks like a GIRL!" I'll go back in 4 - 6 weeks for another check so I'm not painting the nursery or going on a huge shopping spree... but in little ways I will begin preparing for a daughter.
Merit has not been shy about telling people how badly he wants a sister, so his excitement is very evident~! We are so thankful that the baby looked healthy and the growth looked good on the ultrasound. Seeing her move and squirm was a JOY! She has adorable feet. And her profile was precious. God is so good.

Willem, loving the outdoors

What a beautiful weekend we have had. Vance and I worked out in the yard a little, everything is so green and beautiful. We enjoyed visiting with Grandma Kris and swimming in her pool! We went to the Ephrata Races Saturday night, Merit is SUCH a race car fan! We ended the weekend with a wonderful BBQ at Mitch and Marilyn's with awesome friends... it couldn't have been a better ending to a nice weekend.

Ducks and Geese at the Molitors

Slip and slide FUN!

Marilyn and Sammy

Vance and Will working outdoors.

Nephew and Niece photo shoot :)

Katie came over with Fischer and baby Kendal for a little photo shoot! Fischer's three year pics and Kendal at three weeks. Kendal was so sweet and for most shots, wide awake. Fischer was on the run~! It was fun to photograph these cuties!

ROOM TO RUN!

Loving Room to RUN!
Vance, the boys and I just got home after spending two and half days in Seattle. Vance had meetings while the boys and I played. I love Seattle. I am glad we don't live their because the traffic and "crowds" aren't really our thing... but what a fun city to visit! We swam in the hotel pool a ton! That was a treat. I took the boys to Chuck E Cheese's yesterday -- oh what fun we had there! And going on a weekday while most kids are in school was a bonus. I also tried to fit a little shopping in... Merit was cooperative. Willem was a wild, loud three year old boy!! Trying to do SouthCenter Mall with Willem was something I will probably never forget! Keeping him quiet at 7 or 8 am in our hotel room so we wouldn't wake our "neighbors" was also a bit challenging!
I quickly became very thankful that at home we all have a lot of room to run! From gardening to fishing to hiking to camping in our little cabin, these energetic boys get some good running time and outdoor exploring.

Bargain Town Junk, I mean treasures

Friday afternoon at Bargain Town left Merit, Willem and myself all smiling. The boys each got their free toy plus we found a Nascar still in the package for $1. I bought these fun glass pieces that will act as vases and the two aged, weathered terra cotta pots... herbs will be planted in those soon. For $3.23 we had all sorts of treasures!

I am playing around with Blogger, wanting my pictures to appear larger, but not wanting to get rid of the fun stuff on my sidebar... what I am ending up with is kind of weird. My sidebar stuff appears at the bottom of my blog... hmmm.

Friday Fun

Yesterday and today have been fun days. The weather is beautiful. We had our friends the Wests over this morning. Emma, Molly, Merit and Will played outside the whole time, wonderful time with friends. We have all sorts of wildflowers growing on our property. Lilacs are blooming... I have found some fun thriftin' goodies. Fun stuff. And as you can tell by the first picture, I am growing! And this is fun! I feel good. I am still comfortable, so I need to enjoy that!

I am plugging away at my classes s-l-o-w-l-y!

Our family is loving weekends together and the weather is supposed to be great this weekend.

Merit is enjoying the last 20 or so days of kindergarten! This has been SUCH a fun year for him.

Bargain Town is a place I love to stop once or twice a month. To call it a thrift store would be a compliment... it is a little more like a dump... oh I hope the owners of Bargain Town don't know I have a blog. Maybe it is just a junk store. ? Our lilacs are blooming and I seem to want a vase full in nearly every room of our house so I like to go to Bargain Town for old vases, pots, or in search for dishes that can be used as vases. The boys and I went there today after school and found several goodies!

Check out this cute basket with a fun liner. My friend Maria gave this to me. She MADE the liner for the basket. I love it. I bought the little bird painting at Goodwill for 99 cents, found the rug and large basket with hinged lid at Grocery Outlet. I bought the chair years ago at Goodwill and the chair pad at IKEA --- fun little additions to add some fun and flare to my dining room.

Willem -- Will is ALWAYS up for a hike. And imaginative exploration. :) He is not, however, always up for having his picture taken!

Have a wonderful Friday and a fun weekend! I'll be back soon...

Gardening... what do you love to grow? This tomatoe start picture (compliments of BHG) caught my eye. I want to go galvanized in my kitchen with some herbs. I love growing herbs. Last year I had Basil that went crazy and I loved using it for spaghetti and other sauces. {photoBHG}
Vance and Will... we went on a hike last weekend. Willem is a climber. He is adventurous and likes to climb the basalt. I had to take this sweet pic of the father and son conversing.

I have a Dr appt this afternoon. I am 18 weeks along. This pregnancy is a blessing and this baby is already so sweet to me! I'll try to post a pregnancy picture soon... I am growing!

The Kooima Family

A beautiful Saturday made for some fun pictures of the Kooima family! Thanks for coming out!

Leap out of bed and enjoy YOUR mother's day!

Mother's Day.
This day is so happy/ sad for me.
Very bitter sweet.
Missing my own mom is hard.
But being a mom to two sweet, wild boys is a blast.
Being pregnant is such a miraculous blessing.

My sister Lesha who lives in Lynden, visited our mom's grave yesterday. With her were her three young children. Cemeteries are such strange places to visit... and sometimes especially challenging with children. We certainly don't want them to think our mom lies beneath the ground, and a constant desire of mine is making an effort to share the beauty and perfect peace of heaven.
My niece Amara is two and she is one of the cutest little things you could ever see. She has little features, this petite little frame, a really sweet smile... she is a doll. Yesterday, she carried the Gerber daisy through the cemetary following my sister. Amara kept looking around saying "oh no, she isn't here. I don't see her. " It made me so sad to think that Amara FINALLY thought she was about to meet this heroic, fabulous Grandma Karen. But I suppose this was also a great teaching moment for Lesha.
When Merit was just three he would often tell me "your mom is coming back!" Because he knew I missed her so. I explained, she isn't -- but that we will see her again someday.
Life is full of challenges. Feeling "short changed" because my mom, the involved, go to parent, died at the young age of 45 -- doesn't heal much. Feeling sorry for myself because we don't have her, isn't very courageous. Being thankful for the guidance and love she gave is healthy. Remembering her sweet spirit and wanting to be for my children what she was for me are goals for me.
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I was woken up this morning by our sweet Willem about 30 - 60 minutes before I desired being awoken! I thought "hey kid, it's Mother's Day! Wake up your dad." But I did slowly step out of bed. Willem began begging me to play "monster" He loves being chased around the house and I talk and roar in a scary voice until he gets a bit too scared and begs "Just be mom! Just be mom." I start talking like me, he smiles and he begs to do it all over again. This morning I was in no mood for this game, but I played it and to see his smile and hear his laughter... it is worth it.
Why is it, by the way, that three year olds can LEAP out of bed and start the day running while the rest of us need a little time or a nice shower and maybe a cup of coffee. ??
Happy Mother's Day!! I know so many fabulous moms...Moms with character and grace...what a special day~

Wordless Wednesday

Spring, brave birds and kite flying

Cousin fun!

My nephew Fischer, Merit and Willem. These boys were riding the dinosaur at the park today. We were there having lunch to celebrate Grandma Adie's birthday(she is in town to help and celebrate the birth of our new niece, Kendal). I said a couple of times "boys, look over here" But they were busy laughing and rocking the dinosaur. All of a sudden all three boys looked over ... I snapped away. But I did wonder "what are they focusing on so intently??"

Then Merit yelled "MOM, that seagull is getting our lunch!"

I had to laugh and then rescue our food!

Windy spring days are common in Moses Lake, WA. One of our favorite spring, windy day activities is kite flying! Willem, dirty faced, blonde hair, blue eyed son.

Willem enjoying the wide open spaces and kite flying.

Color. My life has needed a little color. I haven't planted many things - but I have chosen to add some refreshing, springy color to our front porch and flower beds.

Last weekend's house guest, Jocelynne, oh we loved having her here. What a sweetie.

Willem and I did a little photo shoot the other afternoon while Merit was in school! Willem is usually not big on having his picture taken. Lots of hiding from the camera... but on this afternoon I had a cute little poser on my hands.

Ok, this is the "are we about done with pictures?" look.

My fav.

The last weekend I saw my mom, together we bought a bundle of tulips for a bridal shower she was hosting. Each spring when I see these tulips pop up in my yard I think of that memory.

Betty, my gardening helper! If I let her get a hold of the plastic containers the plants come in, she goes wild!

On April 29th, Vance's brother John and his wife Katie had a healthy, adorable baby girl - Kendal Grace! Thank God for a healthy baby. Hopefully I can post a picture or two of her soon.

Oh and next time I hope to post some pics of Merit... he didn't make this entry!