Thursday, May 27, 2010

Rhianna's Pinkalicious Birthday

Rhianna's choice for the theme of her 7th birthday party was Pinkalicious, a children's book by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann. Pinkalicious loves the color pink. Her magical pinkatastic world is filled with friends, family, fun…and plenty of pink! The book goes something like this... Pinkalicious and her mother make pink cupcakes on a rainy day and she finds herself unable to stop eating them and she turned pink. Pinkalicious takes a trip to Dr Wink and finds she has a rare and acute case of Pinkititis. She was to not eat any pink foods for a week and eat a steady diet of green food. She ate one more pink cupcake while everyone was asleep and woke up red! She then ate every green food she could and turned back to herself again.

We had a wonderful time at her birthday party. Most of our party guests wore pink or raspberry red. I served pulled pork on pink buns, red grapes, strawberries, sweet cherries, pink fruit dip, veggies with pink dip, watermelon and cherry Jello jigglers, pink cupcakes, strawberry ice cream, and pink juices and pop! We had our first pinata which was a cupcake I painted pink and filled with almost 9 pounds of candy.


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

in honor of the middle-born child

I AM a middle-born child. I have an older sister and a younger brother which places me as the middle-born in the birth order of our family. Since the day Dr. Kevin Lehman's book entered our home, it has been the standing "soap box" for this middle-born child. The middle-born syndrome has been a sort of running joke and/or conversational piece among my family however, many points are very true. On one of my journeys surfing the internet I found the following article. Sorry I can not give credit to the author because I'm not sure where I found it. I wanted to share some positive traits middle-born children offer our communities as adults to those other middle-born children who are in search for significance or those first-born/babies who forgot (or still wonder why) they have a middle-born sibling.

In Dr. Kevin Lehman's "The Birth Order Book," he describes a grown middle-child lamenting his position in the family, describing himself as having been born too late and too soon. As an adult, you might still hear your parents telling you that you were too young to do what your older sibling did and too old to act like your younger sibling. Even so, it might come as a surprise to learn that the challenges you faced as a youngster might help prepare you for life as an adult.


According to Lehman, the middle child's middle-born child struggles for recognition but might grow stronger as a result. According to Lehman, the middle child's birth order deprives him of the special distinction afforded his older and younger sibling. If you are a middle child, your position in the family might have caused you to feel excluded from the family spotlight and might have left you competing for your parents' attention. Children born between the first child and the last struggle for recognition and respect from their families.

An adult middle-born often has impressive social skills. After growing up in the middle, you might see yourself developing into an adult whose background in the middle prepared you for reality; as a result, you might work harder for recognition while making fewer demands from others along the way. Lehman's research suggests that middle-born children often evolve into resourceful, tenacious adults capable of turning obstacles into opportunities. You might see yourself reflected in Lehman's depiction of a middle child whose background prepared him for life and gave him the tools needed to compromise, empathize and share.

Familiar with "give and take," the middle-born might become a balanced adult. Lehman's research indicates that because of an adult's experience as a middle child, he might empathize with victims of injustice. Sometimes, however, the grown-up middle child's capacity to endure unfair treatment compels others to take advantage of him. If you grew up in the middle, you might relate to the simple explanation given by Jane, a grown middle-child, when asked why she accepted her spouse's mistreatment. "It's not so bad," she said, "I can handle it" .

An adult middle-born may put a great deal of effort into making relationships work. When you reach adulthood, you might resist sharing your thoughts and feelings with others, including your mate. This cautious, reserved behavior might carry over from childhood, when you might have felt excluded from the secure family circle. However, as an adult, your appreciation for being included and accepted might impel you to nurture your relationships and to stay faithful to your spouse or partner .

Your skills and strengths as a middle child might serve you well in the adult world. Once they become adults, Lehman advises middle-born children not to under-sell themselves by comparing themselves to their older siblings or to others. As adults, middle-born children often possess excellent managerial skills and leadership qualities. If you receive an offer to take a job in management or in some other leadership position, don't turn it down, thinking you lack the qualities necessary to do the job. Lehman recommends going for it, using your natural middle-child skills and strengths to your advantage.

Todd Keene and the Power Team



Our home church, Rush Creek Bible Church, served host to Todd Keene and the Power team earlier this month. The Power Team is a group of athletes who perform great exhibitions of power, strength, speed, inspiration, and motivation. They performed five evening shows and went to thirteen schools during their visit with us. The school Assemblies are presentations of encouragement and inspiration as the Power Team encourage kids to stay away from drugs, alcohol, cutting, and suicide. Each evening show lead to a powerful gospel presentation. God is using the Power Team to reach kids all over this nation. They are able to reach many individuals the church can not reach for Christ through this "unconventional" method.

I must admit, the muscle building and strength shows are not "my thing", but I enjoyed watching all the kids take the team on as a positive role model in their lives and even more kids and adults turning from death to life as they made Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior.


Saber is the Power Team's first female member. Being the only female member, she is a powerful witness to many little girls who look up to her as a role model. Saber quickly became Rhianna's favorite Power Team member. She asked for two hundred frying pans to learn practice rolling them up into a burrito just like Saber!


Monday, April 12, 2010

Spring Break 2010

Thursday, April 1st

Rhianna had a half day so I hooked up the tandem bike and rode to school to pick up her up. The ride home was bliss. It was sunny, warm and beautiful. Rhianna and I stayed outside to play with sidewalk chalk, she rode her bike, we read in the hammock together and she played on the swing set.

Friday, April 2nd
Corey was able to stay with Rhianna most the day before he left for work and I came home from work. The two of them worked hard in the back yard putting up another section of our privacy fencing.

Saturday, April 3rd
We headed to Lansing for Morgan's 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. What a fun time all the cousins had playing together. I have to admit the siblings, along with Nana and Papa, sure had a good time!

Sunday, April 4th EASTER
We enjoyed our celebration of our risen Lord and Savior at our church in the morning. Corey was able to play drums which hasn't happened in at least six months due to scheduling issues. We celebrated Easter dinner at the Stratmeyer home. The food and company was wonderful. The afternoon and evening were spent celebrating Emily's 12th birthday!

Monday, April 5th
We were able to sleep in as a family until 8:30am! Two of us are early risers so that is very unusual to sleep in that late. Lazy mornings are nice every once in a while.

Tuesday, April 6th
Our first day off together as a family in a very long time. We had no schedule to follow and absolutely nowhere to be! We all slept in again until 8am. We were hoping to see butterflies but the weather was not so nice and Rhianna wanted to stay home and play with her dolls. Cousins Michael and Joshua came over in the evening for Boz, cars, Guess Who?, pretzel ice cream dessert and a very long walk outside.

Wednesday, April 7th
Corey and I both worked and so Nana had Rhianna for the day. Nana had scheduled a play date with the Vander Giessen girls. I was called to go in an hour later than usual for work due to the slow schedule so I was able to enjoy snuggles with my darling and conversation with Nana before heading to work. After I had left, Morgan and Kendall joined the fun over at Nana's. We all had dinner together at Nana and Papa's after work.

Thursday, April 8th
Again, we all slept in until 8:30am! We fixed a large breakfast and then headed downtown to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. We surprised Rhianna with a family membership including Nana! GRCM had a dance company come in a do a show and Rhianna was able to squeeze in and see all the girls dance. She loved it! After playing so hard, we walked across the street and had lunch at the Cottage Bar. I punched out all the dolls, clothing and accessories in Rhianna's new Klutz Paper Doll book. Rhianna and I went to Applebee's to see Corey and have some dinner.
Friday, April 9th
Doctor was out of the office so we went down to one person in our department and so I was able to have the day off. Again, we all slept in until 8:30am! We played paper dolls as we waited for Corey to wake up (he had closed so he sleeps later). We then headed to Naked Plates where each of us painted a work of art. Rhianna and I said goodbye to Corey and then headed to the Holland Aquatic Center while Corey headed to work. The two of us hit every attraction there. Rhianna stood on the side cheering me on while I did the zip line and obstacle course. We swam for four hours. After leaving waterlogged and starving, we stopped for dinner at Culvers.

Saturday, April 10th
We went to Klingman's park to play. Klingman's went in the old Roger's Department Store building and they also bought the land next to Roger's which was an old Taco place if I recall. Klingman's demoed the building there and built a park. The park is very nice. Rhianna played for quit awhile but the wind made us leave sooner than what we wanted. We came home and played with her model clay.

Sunday, April 11th
After cleaning the office we headed to Hager Park for the Age of Discovery. We walked the huge replica of the fifty states and played at the Age of Discovery. The weather was sunny and beautiful! Before heading home, we stopped in to see Nana and Papa. Nana made us yummy smoothies.

We sure did enjoy our spring break this year! I have not had this opportunity to spend so much time over break with my family as I have had extra hours in the past few years due to coworkers leaving over break and needing to fill in. I am very thankful for the wonderful memories I have made this past week and I'm sure Rhianna and Corey did as well.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Baby News

We just received the following news from my brother Jason and his wife Kelly:

It's Official.....Jason and I(Kelly) are unexpectedly expecting. Baby VG is due around October 7th, but mommy is already hoping for late September :)


Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Mondays

I am thankful Corey has a job and I am thankful I have a job as well. For the past three years I have worked Monday evenings and Saturday mornings because Corey would generally be home with Rhianna at those times. A new job for Corey has brought a new schedule and Mondays have now proven to be challenge for us. When Corey first started, he was training to be the Kitchen manager and the evenings wouldn't be an issue because KM hours start at 8AM. Corey's new position is Service manager and the hours very greatly. It will be rare for Corey to be home on Monday evenings. My schedule is set and I would have to find a different job if I want Monday evenings off. I am having a difficult time with having a caregiver pick Rhianna up from school, work on homework, feed her dinner, and putting her to bed on a school night. Corey and I drop Rhianna off at school Monday morning and then we don't see her until Tuesday morning. I want to believe her caregiver is taking care of her and giving her the attention she needs but I just feel it should be coming from one of her parents on a school night. I guess if it were only once a month, I would be alright but it is every week. I feel as though we are starting off the week with a lack of structure for her. When Corey was home with her on Monday evenings, I never gave it a second thought. Now I find myself looking at the clock at work and wondering if she has finished her homework, or has eaten, or read a bedtime story, or did she go to sleep wishing her mommy was home. I love my job but I feel as though I am putting my job before my family. Corey and I thought we would wait and see the schedule for April in hopes it will bring improvements over this past March schedule. If no improvements are seen, we only have May to get through and then we have summer! Summer means we will get to all be together as a family all morning until afternoon! How cool does that sound!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Growing Pains

Rhianna has always had pain associated with growing. She will be sleeping and we hear her moaning and crying in her sleep. She will wake up and cry out because her legs hurt. This only seems to happen when she has a growth spurt. We will have this carry on for a few weeks and sure enough at the end of it all we need to move up to the next size in her pants. We have tried heat, cold, ibuprofen, and massaging but nothing gives her relief. Have you experienced this at all? Have you found anything to work for your little person? I recall my oldest niece having the same issue growing up as well and I seem to recall my sister could not help her daughter's knee pain go away either. One more reason I need to find a way to keep my little person from growing up!
Last night was a hard night for her. I scooped her up and carried her to bed with me since Corey was working. It felt wonderful to cradle her in my arms again but I sternly explained that sleeping in our bed was not going to happen every time her legs hurt. She quit moaning and crying and slipped right into sleep. I would like to find something to help her but sleeping in our bed is not going to be it!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

a few of our favorite things







These items here have been our family's favorites for the past two weeks. Yup two weeks now with this miserable stuff in our heads and chests. I am starting my second week now and I am ready to be done. Corey brought it home first two weeks ago and then I started last week and today Rhianna has been complaining of a soar throat which starts it all. I am tired of all the sickness and would really enjoy being healthy again. Our family seems to have been hit hard with illnesses from this past fall until present. So hard it makes me want to start on vitamins or some other form of prevention.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

the missing shoe

Several months ago, Rhianna learned she had many compartments in her backpack. She decided she would use them for her various treasures. One November day, she had picked a new compartment to hold her shoes. She could fit most of the shoe into the mesh pocket and "behold" there was a mesh pocket for each shoe.
Rhianna bounced from the school door and ran down the hill to the parking lot for me to pick her up. I observed a shoe barely hanging in the pocket of her backpack and explained to her as she climbed into the car that her shoes need to go into the big pocket so there would be no chance of losing them. She agreed and went about our ride. She was very quiet and when I looked back I saw giant tears streaming down her face. She hesitantly told me that the other shoe must have fallen out because it was gone. I tried to tell her we would search for the missing shoe. Someone will find the shoe. We searched her classroom, her teacher searched the other 1st grade classrooms, and took numerous trips to the lost and found box. No shoe. It has been several months now with out that shoe and I really have given up hope. I made my usual stop to lost and found today while working in her class and I found our beloved shoe. I was happy! Thrilled even though I thought in the back of my mind Corey had thrown the other shoe out thinking it wouldn't be found. As soon we arrived home, I ran upstairs to Rhianna's closet to search for the other shoe. YES! There in the closet and all alone was the mate to the missing shoe. A pair again! It's the little things in life.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Gramma's 90th Birthday


Today is Gramma Pleune's 90th birthday! The angels are celebrating with her in heaven as we celebrate her life spent with us. She left her home here on earth a week after her 88th birthday. I sure miss my little lady!



I grew up with Gramma living with us in our home. She went everywhere with us and did everything we did. She even went camping with us. Fun times!


She was always willing to try anything new. Corey and I taught her how to shoot pool just two months before she passed away.

Miss you Gramma! Happy 90th Birthday!