Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Lucy and Ellory recently.

Lucy and Ellory are growing up so much and are becoming wonderful young ladies. Both are beautiful inside and out! Being a twin mom will always be the best surprise we ever got and we love it. Lucy and Ellory finished up kindergarten very well and had a special graduation ceremony. First grade is going well this year and it's been so fun to hear their reading get better and better and learn more advanced math and many other things. We went back and forth about whether or not to keep them in the same class this year, and we ended up separating them. We felt at peace about it because the deciding factor was them- they both were saying that they were ready for it, which helped a lot in the deciding process. That has been a great decision and gone very well- nice they can have their own teacher, friends, and room but still see each other in the halls and at lunch and recess. They are also in the new school building this year- wow it's big and fancy! There was a little hesitation with going back to school and the newness of the building, but they both handled it quite well and we are so thankful they both enjoy school and are doing so well.

A massive event this summer was moving! We always said we would be sad to leave our neighborhood, and God weaved our new house so perfectly for us. It's only a couple down from our old house, so we are still in the same neighborhood and liking it a lot. We are thankful for a bit more space for hosting and for the girls to have better spaces to hang out with friends as they get older. It's been fun to have a bigger yard for hosting as well and for the girls to play in. Daddy is loving the three car garage! We are so glad for our new space and it's been a gift to our family. We had been keeping our eye out there for about a year and a half, and we bought our new house over Easter weekend and moved the beginning of June.

This summer Lucy and Ellory enjoyed T-ball, golf camp, and swimming lessons and did very well at all of them. They also did a short dance camp, and they did well but both said it maybe wasn't a favorite and were fine with not doing a dance class like Norah. They did some ballet in the class and Lucy wasn't a big fan and asked if she could just go to T-ball instead! We took a girls trip to Rapid City to visit Papa and Gigi (with some family- Kley stayed home to work) and loved seeing sights (like Mount Rushmore for the first time) and some fun activities. Just Lucy, Ellory, and Mommy got to go on a trip to DC to visit Stephanie. It was a fun trip because they hadn't been before, so showing them all the sites was special. Norah was on her “it's great to be eight” trip with Grandpa and Grandma and Daddy was home working, so it was a fun trip just the 3 of us! We also spent a week in Beaver Creek, CO with the De Jongs and a few days in Des Moines with the Schuts. We had a busy summer of travel and when we were home we were busy with house projects!

Lucy and Ellory both started piano lessons this year and they are doing great! It's maybe not the top favorite activity, but they do pretty well practicing most days and it's fun to watch what they can learn in such a short time. They are also in first grade Sunday School at church. For Halloween, Lucy was a basketball player and Ellory was a fairy. We recently had their Christmas piano recital and Christmas program at church and they did excellent! Norah's teacher didn't have room for them this year, so they are going to a different teacher, who also does a great job. She doesn't do recitals, so Norah's teacher kindly said they could play a song at her recital. Ellory played Jolly Old St. Nicholas and Lucy played Away in a Manger. They are both going to do winter rec basketball (you have to be first grade to start) and will do soccer in the spring too. Ellory is moderately excited and Lucy is over the moon excited. They are both wearing M/8 clothes and Ellory is in a size 13 shoe and Lucy size 12 shoe. They have been so close in height their whole lives, but Lucy is about an inch taller now. Ellory has been losing lots of teeth! She lost her top right central incisor on 9/28/23, bottom right lateral incisor on 11/8/23, and her bottom left lateral incisor on 12/1/23. Ellory had a fever for a couple days in September, but other than that both girls have been super healthy and so thankful for that!

The greatest update ever for Ellory is that Jesus lives in her heart (7/2/23)! We are so thrilled for this answer to prayer. She was asking questions about it after church and said she wanted to do it and was so excited to tell everyone. Ellory enjoys listening to music, coloring, making crafts, reading books, dolls and accessories, Barbies, legos, and playing outside in our new backyard. She is loving having her own desk in her room at our new house and she keeps it very clean and organized. She asks periodically how many months until Tulip Festival.

Lucy is the lover of all sports. She is so determined and athletic! She also has a true servant heart and loves to help me with things. I love that about her! Lucy loves playing outside (especially throwing the football or kicking a soccer ball), picking out books at the library, legos, hot wheels cars, reading, crafting, and listening to music.

We pray for both of you to know and love Jesus and that you would understand His deep love for you! We love you so much and being your parents is such a joy!



















Sunday, January 21, 2024

Norah recently.

Norah is growing up so much! What a beautiful young lady she is becoming, inside and out. Norah finished up second grade very well and has been doing well in third grade also, so glad for that! She had an adjustment period at the beginning and took awhile to get used to it, but glad that every year the adjustment seems to get a bit easier. Of course there are moments, but overall Norah is doing better at managing anxiety and big feelings than the really rough patch awhile back, yay! Third grade has been a jump academically too- Norah is learning cursive, multiplication, and writing stories/typing. A new change for this year is the new school building- wow, it's big and fancy! That made the adjustment tougher too with also getting used to a new space, but Norah feels more comfortable now that the routine and layout have been learned.

A massive event this summer was moving! We always said we would be sad to leave our neighborhood, and God weaved our new house so perfectly for us. It's only a couple down from our old house, so we are still in the same neighborhood and liking it a lot. We are thankful for a bit more space for hosting and for the girls to have better spaces to hang out with friends as they get older. It's been fun to have a bigger yard for hosting as well and for the girls to play in. Daddy is loving the three car garage! We are so glad for our new space and it's been a gift to our family. We had been keeping our eye out there for about a year and a half, and we bought our new house over Easter weekend and moved the beginning of June.

This summer Norah enjoyed softball, golf camp, dance camp, and swimming lessons and did very well at all of them. We took a girls trip to Rapid City to visit Papa and Gigi (with some family- Kley stayed home to work) and loved seeing sights (like Mount Rushmore for the first time) and some fun activities. Norah got to go on a weeklong trip to Branson with Grandpa and Grandma for her “it's great to be eight” trip and got to go to Silver Dollar City, Esther, Branson Showboat, and spend lots of time in the lake. What special one on one time! We also spent a week in Beaver Creek, CO with the De Jongs and a few days in Des Moines with the Schuts. We had a busy summer of travel and when we were home we were busy with house projects!

This year Norah is doing a jazz/tap dance class once a week and is really loving that. She's doing piano lessons again also and is in third grade Sunday School. She will start the six week winter rec basketball soon and soccer in the spring too. Norah celebrated her 9th birthday in October with inviting a few friends and their families to the pool for an ocean themed swimming and pizza/ice cream cake party. We also did her family celebration at Fazoli's and Drop Zone, and got to have a celebration with both sides of the family too. What fun! Norah got a good report at her nine year wellness check and we are thankful she is healthy and growing well! Norah had a fever for about a day and a half in September, but was pretty mild and other than that she's been very healthy this year! Norah is wearing size 3 shoes and XL/12-14 clothes. She took her first communion a few months ago, which is very special! For Halloween, Norah was a gymnast/dancer. We recently had her Christmas piano recital and Christmas program at church and she did great at both! Norah played The First Noel and Joy to the World. She also had her end of the year piano recital in May and dance recital in June for her tumbling class last year and did so great! Norah and Kley played a worship song duet together at the recital with piano/guitar that was special.

Norah loves to go to the library to check out chapter books. It's been a true joy to watch reading click for Norah and to see her enjoy reading more than she used to. She loves to ride bike/scooter outside, and be in our new backyard with our new swing set, big swing, and playhouse. We are backyard neighbors with two friends from school, and she has been loving that too. She has been really into making bracelets lately, either rainbow looms or just with string. She got an electric scooter and karaoke machine that can play songs with a mic for her birthday and those have been fun gifts. She loves to listen to music and Taylor Swift is a favorite. She likes drawing, writing/typing stories, playmobil sets, dolls and accessories, Barbies, legos, and is very good with younger kids, like cousins or the younger kids in our life group. She says she wants to be a babysitter and mom when she grows up. Norah, we pray for your heart to continue to increase in love for Jesus as you get older and know deeply how much He loves you. We love you so much!













Monday, January 15, 2024

New Year's Day at the zoo.

Before heading home after our fun Minneapolis weekend, we headed to Como Zoo on New Year's Day. They did a confetti drop for NYE at noon, but there were so many people at that that we stood in the back and watched from a distance. It was fun to see some of the animals inside! The girls got a kick of this monkey picking things off the back of the other monkey and eating it. 


Como Zoo had a new baby giraffe born on November 6, 2023 named Ivy. 




Lucy was proud of this picture she took in the conservatory. 


The gang- my parents, and my sister and her family. We were there to celebrate Brooks' first birthday and dedication at their church. It was great to be there!


Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Christmas break fun- friends in Des Moines, NYE cousin party, Brooks' first birthday/dedication.

We've had a fun Christmas break! We spent the first part at home and celebrating with the De Jongs. After actual Christmas, the girls and I went to Des Moines for a couple days. Kley had to stay back to work. We got to see my sister and my brother and his family before they left for a trip and my sister had to work, and we also got to see two of my good friends from childhood, Lauren and Stephanie. 

Then we headed to Minneapolis for NYE weekend to my other sister's house. Kley could come with this time! We had a fun cousin New Year's party, and we also celebrated my nephew's first birthday party and his dedication at their church. Thankful for sweet times!         


We had a fun cousin dance party in the basement and watched the ball drop from last year! :)





Brooks enjoyed his first birthday cupcake. 



The girls loved swimming at my parent's hotel while the younger cousins napped. (We stayed in my sister's basement and my parent's and Zack's parents stayed in a hotel.)


Brooks being dedicated at their church. 


Cousin picture before church.



Ice cream run. We went to Original Malt Shop, where we used to go sometimes when we went to Bethel, and it was delicious and fun to go back!


Seeing friends in Des Moines- Lauren's kids Reese and Ray.


Lauren and I. 


Stephanie and I. Glad to see some friends that I don't get to see very often!