Welcome our new nephew/cousin Gerrit!

We have a new nephew/cousin! Gerrit Bolks Guthmiller was born on 10/25/21 at 9:05am, 20.5" and 6 lbs. 7 oz. This is Kley's sister Elizabeth's second. We got to meet him this week and it was the best! He seemed so small and sweet. I can't believe our girls are so huge already, seems like they were just that small too. 

So very thankful for a new little one to love on! We love you so much already, Gerrit! You have some cousins who will always be ready to hold you!

Air Madness.

Kley introduced Norah to Lego Ninjago awhile ago, and she has enjoyed it. She even had a Ninjago birthday party (she was set that that was what she wanted for months). Her and Kley also found a few kids ninja course videos on youtube that they watch together sometimes when he says goodnight to her, so she has been asking to go to a ninja course. I thought that was a long shot at first, but then I found one! It was an hour and fifteen minutes away, so a bit of a drive but not too bad. All three girls had a Friday off of school, so we planned to go! It was super fun and everyone had a great time. We packed a picnic lunch, hit up Air Madness, and also visited a park on the way home that we had never been to before. Wins all around!

Lucy and Ellory were a bit tentative to try this at first, but they did pretty well considering they are only four!

Jumping!

Shooting hoops.

The girls got a big kick out of the mechanical bull- they were a little nervous at first, but they all did it! Norah and Lucy did it several times!

They had several different foam pit areas with different ways to jump in. Super cool!

This was fun to experience with them. It had several different things to try that were new to them and challenging, but not so tough they couldn't do it. Perfect opportunity to practice some bravery!

Most of the things in the ninja course were too hard for Lucy and Ellory, but they enjoyed trying what they could. It was pretty challenging for Norah and she couldn't do everything, but I'm proud of her for trying what she could! There was one part in particular that she practiced over and over again on her own. Way to go!

Thankful for a day off of school and time together! :)

Halloween 2021.

Happy Halloween from our ninja, Rapunzel, and Belle! Trick-or-treating was so fun. They were so excited and we had amazing weather. What a special day with these cuties. :)

Norah is 7- De Jong family celebration.

We celebrated sweet seven with Norah with the De Jong side also! I'm so thankful for our families. I'm grateful we get along well and getting together fills my heart. I'm glad for grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins for our girls that they can grow up with and be involved in each other's lives. I didn't get to live by either set of my grandparents growing up, so it's special that my girls get to live by one. And thankful that the other set is only a few hours away- an easy weekend drive!

We went to a local restaurant for supper, and Norah got this free birthday shake- so fun!

Cousin Will.

Kley and Norah's birthdays are five days apart- fun they can celebrate together!

Jana had a local bakery make these special cakes. They do such a nice job!

My favorite four!

Unfortunately didn't get a whole group shot, but I'm so glad we got an updated picture with Kley's grandma Shirley. She is his last living grandparent and lives in the same town as us, which is so special!

Happy 7th birthday, Norah! You are so loved, by so many here, and most importantly by Jesus!