Happy Merry Christmas!!

It's been snowing like crazy over here! We had a foot of snow in our driveway this morning...and that was AFTER Curt had snow blown everything last night. Joel loves it!

After celebrating with Curt's family on Thanksgiving, we headed down to Chicago to spend some time with my sister Cate, my Gram (GiGi) and my Uncle John, Aunt Caryl and cousin Brendan who were in from out of town. It was so good to see them and catch up. We found out that my cousin LeAnn (and her man Ben) are having a baby BOY!

It is always good to spend time with their family. We left feeling excited about what the Lord is doing in their lives and thankful for their love and encouragement. Here is a pic of me and Grace and some of Gracie with her Auntie Cate.

Here is Joel reading with his buddy, Uncle Chris. (Hmmm...I see they are enjoying everyone's holiday favorite...Spooky the Teapot Ghost)!!!

The Christmas countdown is on at the DeBoer house. Curt's Grandma DeBoer made a Christmas countdown tree for Curt many years ago. Now that Joel is older, he absolutely loves it! Every day, he gets to pick an miniture ornament out of the calendar pocket and put it up on the tree! Here is a video of him putting up his ornament...

And a Happy Merry Christmas to all of you!

The Book Exchange

Our friends all got together this year for a Christmas book exchange. The Mejeur Family hosted and each child got to go home with a new book. It was a lot of fun. Until we all got together, I didn't realize just how many kids there are amongst our friends. It was a little crazy! Here are a couple shots from the night...

Joel checking out the ornaments...

Our little Gracie... Present time!
Poor Gracie! Don't worry, she's just mad someone took her book. Joel in front of the tree...

Joel & Layla giving hugs...

Joel & Brady

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy Thanksgiving from the DeBoer family!
We've been talking a lot about thankfulness in our house over this past week. We have so much to be thankful for! Joel made a special Thanksgiving picture that he wanted to share (apparently he is more thanful for his stuffed dog, Bingo, than he is for his little sister, Gracie!).
We hope that you all have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. We want you to know that we are thankful for each and every one of you! We are blessed to have you in our lives.

That's my dad's favorite...

For the past week, Joel responds to almost any question I have for him with "that's my dad's favorite." It doesn't necessarily matter what I am asking him. It somehow always comes back to...that's my dad's favorite. Here are a few examples:

TREAT TIME

Me: Joel, you can pick one sucker. Would you like blue...orange...or green?

Joel: Blue. That's my dad's favorite.

READING TIME

Me: Joel, which book do you want to read?

Joel: How about Rainbow Rob? That's my dad's favorite.

(it actually doesn't matter which book he chooses...they are all "his dad's favorite!")

LUNCH TIME

Me: Hey, bud. It's lunch time. I have some peanut butter and jelly for you.

Joel: That's NOT my dad's favorite.

Me: Really? What is dad's favorite?

Joel: Hot dogs and beans.

(What a coincidence...hot dogs and beans are Joel's favorite, too!!)

ALL THE TIME!

I was actually going around the house stocking the bathrooms with toilet paper. Joel was helping me and Grace was crawling around with us. I handed him a a roll to put in the bathroom and...

Joel: No...I need a different roll.

(Joel chooses a different roll out of the bag)

Joel: This is the one! This one is my dad's favorite.

Really?? Dad has a favorite roll of TP?? Who knew?

Here is my little man catching a nap with his dad (and Bingo, too!)

On another exciting note...our friends, the Kroes, have passed down a new toy for Joel and Gracie. It has been great having a new toy around (especially now that we are snowbound!). The kids have had so much fun with this thing. You can't believe all the things it does! Ringing doorbells...working mailbox...radio...songs...clock...it has it all!

A Special Message for Pop Pop!

Every time Joel talks to my dad on the phone, they go through the ritual of this little cheer. It cracks me up. Especially when Curt saw Joel in his Tigers hat the other day and said to Joel, GO TIGERS! To which Joel responded, "No, Daddy. Go CUBBIES. BOO Tigers!"

They went back and forth a few times before Curt finally said, "Stop listening to Pop Pop. He doesn't know what he's talking about! Go TIGERS!"

I love it!

My Big Little Helper...

I made spaghetti for Grace for the first time tonight. I cut up all her noodles and put them on her tray. I went back to get a helping for Joel and I, and when I turned around...there was Joel feeding Gracie dinner! It cracked me up, so I grabbed my camera. Here's a video..

Joel is too funny. He thinks he isso big. He is such a good big brother, and he loves to be my helper. Grace was a good sport, too. I think she was a little confused as to why Joel was feeding her, but she went with the flow.

Here's a picture of our Gracie girl trying to figure out what is downstairs. She is pulling herself up on everything. She has done a little cruising from chair to couch, but she hasn't been brave enough to take a step out on her own yet. No rush...I still love watching her do her little army crawl around the house. She is surprisingly fast on her belly.

Curt was working in Detroit today, so Joel got to talk to him on the cell phone while he was driving back home. I could hear him talking on the phone. I don't know what Curt was saying...but here are a couple word-for-word phrases that came out of Joel's mouth...

"I so excited for you to come home."

"I have a cookie with your name on it."

"I'm so proud of you!"

"I love you, too, buddy!"

I had the kids at the mall today walking around...it was so gloomy outside, we HAD to get out of the house! We passed by one little girl who looked at Gracie and said, "Baby!" Joel looked at the little girl and said, "She is NOT baby. She is Gracie and she is MY little sister!"

So take that, mall girl!

We can't wear sandals in the winter...

I was in the car with Joel today and we were talking about how the leaves were changing and falling off trees. I explained that when all the leaves fall on the ground, that means that winter is coming soon. He caught onto that and started asking me about winter.
I told him that summer is when it is warm, and winter is when it's cold. "So...once winter comes, we can't wear our summer sandals any more," I said.
Joel responded, "Oh. No more summer sandals...and no more somersaults!?!?"
I wasn't sure how to explain that the "somer" in somersault was different than the season "summer." So...I just let it go. Now he's worried that he can't do any more somersaults until next year! So much for my little educational lessons in the car.

Picnic at the Park...in November?!?!

Believe it or not, we decided to have a picnic in the park today. I can't believe we are getting 70 degree days in November, but we'll certainly take them! We were able to meet up with Curt after work. The kids love playing with their daddy! Here's some pics of our park adventure! I love that Curt is riding on a teeter totter in a business suit!

Miss Gracie in the swings... Joel & Grace...
Grace on the spinny things...

(in the background is the hospital where Joel & Grace were born!)
Daddy giving Joel a push...
Dad and Joel on the Teeter Totter...

Mom and Gracie girl...

Dad and Grace...

This one was just a picture I took of Joel in our living room yesterday. When I got it up on the computer, it hit me how big he is getting and how fast he is growing up. We love him so much!

Take a Deep Breath...

Joel was being a brute to his little sister today. Every time she pulled herself up to stand on the couch, he would push her down. After several warnings, I sent him to his room. He came out and apologized to Grace. He could obviously tell that I was not happy because he kept asking me, "You happy mommy? You happy? You happy mommy? You happy?"
I finally replied, "No. I am not happy Joel. I don't like it when you are mean to Gracie."
He came over and sat in my lap and said, "Okay, now. Just take a deep breath."
A deep breath??? How can you stay angry when a two-year-old tells you to just take a deep breath?!?! I had to quick write this one down because it cracked me up!

And here is Joel in a friendlier moment with his little Gracie...

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a huge hit this year! Joel was SO excited to go trick-or-treating. He started asking me when we could go out at about 8AM! He caught on pretty quickly to the whole knock on the door for candy deal.

We got together with a bunch of friends at Ed & Holly's house. It was a great time...and definitely a different atmosphere than the historic "Freaky Deaky" parties at the Annen's place during our childless days! Here are a few picture highlights of Halloween with the DeBoer family (I'm trying to figure out how to get some videos up, but I'm having some problems. I'll add them later if I can!).

Miss Gracie as the cutest duck in town.

Daddy and the J-man...or should I say BATman.

Mom and Gracie girl and Grandma & Grandpa DeBoer's house.

Brother & sister. We loved having the wagon this year!
My sister Cate carved this Sarah Palin pumpkin! Wow!
That's a big time investment for someone didn't even vote Republican! :)
I had to put this one up...Grandpa & Grandma DeBoer at their church's Halloween event!
How fun!!