At home recovering

Madison had her surgery this morning to remove the plate and screws from her arm. We arrived at the Surgery Center about 6:15am and she left for surgery about 7:25am. She walked all by herself into the OR and even wore one of their hair nets. (Too cute!) Dr. Luewellen came and told me about 8:45am that the procedure went well and that she was in recovery. About ten minutes later, they called me back. Like the sweet, excited girl she is, the minute she saw me, she said, "Mommy!!" and leapt into my arms. She ate a popsicle and drank some water and apple juice. I sang her some songs and tickled her while she woke up and about 20 minutes later she said, "I want to go home." That was it. They released us and we arrived home by 10am where Derrick was holding down the fort with Aliya and Breanne.

She seems to be doing remarkably well, relaxing with her arm propped, playing some board games, reading Clubhouse Jr, playing Lite Brite and Kid K'Nex. Right now she's resting. Thank you all for praying for this procedure and for this to be the last surgery she ever has to have on her arm...or ever for that matter!

Let the games begin...

Christmas has begun! We were able to celebrate this past weekend with my grandparents on the Veldkamp side and also with my parents and siblings. Above, you can see the photo of my parents and all 11 grandkids. Yikes, like we'd ever get them to all sit still and pose, let alone look at the camera. This is the best picture I could get. The big girls had a blast playing with their cousins and got to have a slumber party. After the festivities of food and presents, Grandma and Grandpa kicked out all the parents and the grandkids were allowed to "be in charge" as Grandma put it. I think they played with Holly's Wii, played toys, and watched a movie until 11:30 pm!! The next morning they had french toast, played, frosted Christmas cookies, played more Wii and I think the party ended when they all got McDonald's Chicken nuggets, fries and chocolate milk for lunch. They're napping now!
Aliya didn't stay for the slumber party, but she did get some good quality cuddle time in with Grandpa and Grandma.

Christmas with the Veldkamps was at Uncle Rob's. To the left, you can see Aliya (almost 3 months) with the other new babies this year. Abigail TenNapel is in the middle (6 months) and Samantha Veldkamp is not quite 2 months on the right. Madison and Breanne loved playing with Rob & Tricia's girls!! When the Kracht cousins arrived, Madison was quick to inform them. "Don't worry, there's lots of toys...down there," as she pointed to their basement. It was so fun to watch them play. We didn't see them hardly at all; they were so busy playing. Here they pose with Grandma and Grandpa Great Veldkamp and Rob and Tricia's girls: Madison, Hope, Ana, Ella, Breanne and Olivia.

Santa & his reindeer

Just 1 more day and we get to leave for Grandpa & Grandma's! We are all really excited. Derrick & I are probably a little anxious about the long drive. Aliya's never been in the car longer than just running around town. It could be interesting.

Yesterday, Madison brought snack to Preschool. Breanne and Madison set to work on Tuesday night to make Santa's reindeer for snack. Sorry the picture is blurry, I had auto focus turned off by accident. It's a nutter butter with pretzel antlers, chocolate chip eyes and a red m&m nose. Aliya posed as Santa...

In our hearts

Every morning, the girls and I pray on our way to work/preschool in the van. After Madison finished praying this morning, she said, "God can just hear us when we pray." I affirmed that and took the opportunity to explain that it doesn't matter when or where we are, God can always see and hear us. Madison quickly replied, "Yes, because He's just always in our hearts." I am amazed at how God is revealing Himself to a four-year old!

Christmas shopping

Last night, Derrick and I braved the Montana cold ( I think the projected high for today is -10 degrees) and went Christmas shopping for our girls. It is so much fun to walk through ToysRUs and pick out something fun for them. We got a babysitter for all three girls and we went out for dinner, so it was truly a date. We started this last year (shopping together for the girls) and I think it's a tradition that we'll keep for years to come. When we got home, we put in a movie (I wouldn't recommend Monster-in-Law) and I wrapped presents while Derrick worked on his 1000 piece jig-saw puzzle. It's a great feeling to know that all our presents are bought AND wrapped under the tree. Now we just have to be patient and wait until Christmas!!!

Gingerbread House

Today Madison's preschool class decorated gingerbread houses. She told her dad she didn't want him to come, she just wanted some "girl time." It was fun to help her decorate. Of course she needed ALL pink frosting. As you can see from the picture, she did her own hair too (there's nothing wrong with teaching her independence.) After we were finished with the gingerbread house, we checked out the preschool fish and sat in the reading corner and read some books. Then I helped her finish up a craft. I enjoyed seeing her in her own environment and interact with the other children.

On the way to preschool or church every day we pray in the van. Today, when Madison prayed, she said, "God, and even though I can't see you, I just love you..." What a lesson in faith we can learn from our kids. The girls' memory verse this past Sunday was, "Faith proves what we can not see."

Breanne continues to try her best to keep up with her big sister Madison. Last week, a friend from church gave us her "fish." It's basically a baby rocking horse, but in the shape of a fish. Madison and Breanne thought Aliya's new toy was pretty fun. Here you can see Breanne, just hanging out on the fish and making a few calls on her cell phone. What in the world would I blog about if it weren't for my girls?

17 Days 'til Christmas

Just 17 days 'til Christmas and we can't hardly wait! Madison and Breanne are counting the days until Santa comes. We've heard an assortment of stories about Santa this year and yet Derrick and I have never even mentioned Santa. Breanne started it shortly before Thanksgiving, "Santa's going to bring me presents." Some of Madison's friends saw Santa at Walmart over Thanksgiving weekend. I asked Madison what Santa was doing there, "He's probably just buying presents for some kids." When Breanne found the stocking in the Christmas boxes, she said, "Mom! Look! Santa's boots!" A bit later, Madison tried on "Santa's boots." Breanne says "Santa's going to put candy in my stocking."

The girls were so very excited to wear their Christmas dresses, I had to let them wear them early. They are quite cute and it gave us a chance to take some Christmas pictures.

Right before Thanksgiving, Breanne got her hair cut again. She likes going with me to get her hair cut and she gets a sucker when she's finished...who wouldn't be happy about that. She and Madison helped Derrick bake crescent rolls for our Thanksgiving dinner.
Last week was busy with doctor's appointments for both Madison and Aliya. Madison had a check up with her orthopedic specialist in regards to her arm. Dr. Lewallen had her arm x-rayed said her arm is totally healed and the plate is now ready to be removed. Surgery is scheduled for December 31st. Madison is a brave little girl and isn't concerned at all about the surgery. They will remove the screws and plate from the bone and then she will have to wear a brace and take it easy.

Aliya's two-month appointment was uneventful. Her pediatrician was pleased with her weight gain and development. She weighs 12 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches long. This puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for length. She continues to be a pleasant, sweet little baby. Very kissable and huggable! She can't wait to meet her grandpas for the first time in just a week and a half! Until then....enjoy her picture!

November's Fusion

Here are some pictures from Fusion...finally. We had a professional take the pictures and she got some of our girls and Derrick as Gordo on stage. Above, Breanne is dancing with their friend Faith. To the right, Madison was an M&M sorter on stage. She and Breanne got to sit by Madison's friend from preschool, Shelby (you can see her and Madison in the picture above). The girls both got to dance at the front of the crowd. I know they had fun. I really want to post the picture of Derrick in the moomoo costume he had to wear, but I don't think he'd appreciate me sharing that out of context. Enjoy and if you're ever able to come see our Fusion...do! It's great fun!

Gone Huntin'

Derrick took Madison on her first hunting trip this past Saturday. She was excited about going and it sounded like they had a fun time. They went with another dad who has 2 little girls. (Can you imagine hunting with 3 preschoolers? These guys might win Dad of the Year awards!) Early in the morning, they spotted a young white tail buck and Derrick was able to shoot it with just one shot. She and Breanne can't wait to get the deer back from the locker and eat deer sausage.

Nearly Two Months

I can't believe our little Aliya Evelyn is nearly two months old. She's getting big and wearing 3-6 months clothes now and graduating to size 2 diapers. She has a doctor's appointment next Friday. I'll post how much she weighs and how long she is then. I was able to capture a big smile on camera...enjoy!

Weather Girl

Madison loves Preschool at Harvest Church. Above you can see some of her crafty work at school. They made some beautiful paper mache hats. She accents with "doctor glasses." Every day she gets to preschool and runs in to see if she has a job or if she's "on vacation." This past Monday, she was the "Weather Girl." I think I'd take the weather from this funny looking character very seriously!

Fusion was a blast!

So we made it through Fusion and I would say it was went pretty well and I enjoyed myself. The added challenge of having Aliya at practices and preparation was something new. Thankfully, the cast seems to love Aliya, so we got lots of help with them holding her. Derrick was really excited to act the part of his character, Gordo. It was fun to see him on stage. 

We had a huge crowd and the performance was one of our better ones. It's so rewarding to see the actors and families attending having fun and enjoying themselves. I will post pictures as soon as I get them from our photographer. 

One more quick note, Aliya slept 8 1/2 hours last night! She's as cute as ever and starting to smile more often.

Back to Work

We made it! We all survived my first week back to work. It went amazingly well. Aliya started sleeping even better at night (one night, over 7 hours), so that helped a lot. Madison & Breanne were excited to get back to church to play and hang out with their friends and teachers. Fusion is next Tuesday, November 18, so I was concerned about being overwhelmed with so much to do. God has helped me work efficiently and I don't feel overwhelmed and actually feel kinda ready for the production next Tuesday. I'll have to let you know how it goes. Thanks to all of you who prayed for our transition and a special thanks to my sister, Traci & mother-in-law, Barb who provided the meals in our freezer that we used for dinner this week! That was super helpful!!

I'm posting a picture of the girls right before bed last night. Madison & Breanne love it when Aliya snuggles in bed with them.

U is for Underwear

Every week Madison's Preschool class learns a new letter or number. On Fridays, the children are encouraged to bring something that starts with that letter for Show & Tell. This week the letter is U. On the way home from Preschool Monday, we were starting to discuss what in the world we would bring that starts with the letter U. Any ideas out there besides umbrella? To be funny, I said she should bring underwear. She seriously thought that was a great idea even though I kept telling her that's "kinda weird." On Wednesday after Preschool, she climbed into the van and said that she, Anneka and JoJo were all going to bring underwear for Show & Tell. (The less crazy kids were bringing umbrellas.)

Last night, I thought about Ursula, the "bad guy" in The Little Mermaid. I recalled a book about Ursula from the library and tried to convince Madison that we should bring that book for Show & Tell. She simply said, "No, I'm bringing underwear." Thankfully, at the library I found a book entitled, Authur's Underwear. So what should she bring: Authur's Underwear or her underwear?

Of Mice and Girls

Breanne & I just finished creating some fascinating creatures with her KidKnex: a little girl, a queen catepillar and some other created beings she hasn't named yet. This week has been maybe a bit long and I might contribute it to the change in weather. Last week was 50-70 degrees all week and on Tuesday the weather turned to cold and windy. This has kept us inside and all the girls are going a little stir crazy. (Including their mom.)
Last night was a little exciting in more ways than one. Aliya slept for six hours! This was a first. She's also started to be more awake/alert during the day and conciously smiling at her mom and dad. She ate at 2:3oam and by 3am Aliya and I were headed back to sleep. About 5am I was awaked by a very strange "crinkly" noise. I ignored it, but it continued. I thought, it must be the water softener regenerating. But wait, that's finished regenerating by 4am. Now my brain was in full gear....hmmmm, what could it be? I crawled out of bed and cautiously tip-toes out into the hallway, following the sound. It was coming from the bathroom. I thought it might be leaves rustling in the exhaust fan. But that didn't seem quite right...I flipped the light on. What to my wondering eyes should appear, but a mouse. In our bath tub. The noise was caused by the mouse trying escape the tub by climbing up the shower curtain. YUCK! I still have the oogly-googlies thinking about it. I reported to Derrick (whose husband doesn't sleep through everything?) His only words were, "Do I have to deal with this right now?" I looked for the mouse traps myself immediately, but couldn't remember where they were. I guess there were a few cobwebs in my brain at 5am. It took me about an hour to settle myself down and fall back to sleep until Aliya woke up at 6:30am.
This morning I told Madison & Breanne that a mouse took a bath in the tub last night while they were sleeping. Madison says the mouse is a girl (what else would we have in our house?) and that we should name the mouse Zoey. Tonight, we will try "catch" Zoey and her family. I'd rather NOT share my home with a family of mice. Thank you very much!
On a more serious, less gross note. On Tuesday, I start working at church. It's hard to believe that Aliya is 6 weeks old already! I think it will be a good thing for me and the older girls especially and hopefully the transistion for Aliya and myself will be smooth. Since the girls stay at on-site childcare, I will be able to nurse Aliya and therefore see her every 3 hours or so. And if she wants to stay with mom (more likely mom wants her to stay with mom), she can. We've began a 40-day prayer campaign at church and we're praying about our dreams as a church and on a personal level. I think getting back to work will revive my passion/dream of teaching kids about having a relationship with Christ.
Before I leave to get MJ (Madi) from preschool, I'll give you all a heads up on the next American Idols: Madison & Breanne. They're new favorite song is "Today Is The Day" by Lincoln Brewster. When it comes on, they immediatly break from what their doing and start singing and dancing. Two days ago, we added "microphones" to the dance performance. I'll have to snap a picture and post it soon.
One more nugget. Breanne wrote her name this week for the first time! Way to go Breanne!

Corn Maize

Yesterday we went to the Corn Maize. It was a really fun time to have with our girls and Auntie Melissa (here from the weekend). The maize was challenging and the girls had fun trying to lead the way. In the maize, we would arrive at posts on the path with a number on it. Then you read a question and it directs you in the correct direction to the right or left. We took the kiddie questions. One question read,"Where does popcorn come from?" Madison yelled out, "the microwave!"


Madison volunteered as "half-time" entertainment during the pig races. (They seriously raced pigs...it was quite entertaining.) She raced another boy in a horse race. As a prize, she won a pig nose. Aren't you so proud of her papa Leon? We decided that next year the girls could be the Three Little Pigs for Halloween. Then we had fun on the hayride telling the girls that story.

The big girls also had fun playing in the box of corn, sliding down the huge slides, pedaling the big bikes and riding the cow ride.











Here the girls pose with dad before we leave.

Before I sign off for the day. Aliya continues to be cute and adorable! The last two nights she's been sleeping 5 hours! Praise God for more sleep for momma! I took this picture because Derrick has a baby picture like this as do all three of our girls now.

Happy Halloween

Today was a very fun day for our oldest girls! They were so very excited that they just couldn't sleep a wink past six this morning. We started our day earlier than usual with "Halloween pancakes." I made pumpkin pancakes and "carved" jack-o-latern faces on Madison and Breanne's pancakes. We quickly got the big girls dressed. Madison was Cinderella and Breanne was Sleeping Beauty. I had made them each dresses and they loved them. It was most fun to twirl in their dresses.
Next, Madison was off to Preschool where they would have fun all morning long. One of the other girls was also Cinderella. Miss Amy said,"I think I'm seeing double...two Cinderellas!"

Breanne joined her friends later in the morning at church. They trick-or-treated through the staff offices. Then I picked up Madison from preschool and we had pizza and some fun playing with the kids at church.

We left church and drove to the airport to pick up Auntie Melissa who flew in to visit for the weekend. After some candy and expelling some energy on the trampoline, we took some time for naps and quiet rests.

After dinner (always pizza on Friday nights..and a piece of candy for dessert tonight) the girls got dressed up again and got ready to trick or treat. We had excellent weather! It was about 50 degrees earlier this evening. Aliya even got to join us, swaddled in a nice warm blanket.

Watching the girls trick or treat was a hoot! Madison was definitely the comic relief. We heard lines like, "thank you, but I'm just not comfortable in these shoes," "there's a dog here" and "thank you from Breanne." There is seldom a dull moment with her around!

Not to leave Aliya out of all the excitement, she is doing terrific. She continues to be a sweet, content baby (as long as she doesn't need to eat.) Here she is right after a bath. She's starting to like that a little better. She is a beautiful baby, and I'm not biased at all! Her eyes are a gorgeous dark blue.

How fun to spend a day watching our children enjoy themselves!

Pumpkin Patch

This week Madison invited Breanne to go with her preschool class to the Pumpkin Patch. Of course that meant Aliya and mom would have to tag along. I think Aliya is the cutest little pumpkin I've ever seen!

Let it snow? Not yet...

Last weekend we got 22" of snow! It was a wet, heavy snow and Madison & Breanne had a blast playing in it with their daddy. They made a fort, snow angels, snowballs and a snowman. The picture on the left is of our deck.

Aliya Evelyn

Derrick teased me that I found another subject for my photography passion...she does make a pretty picture though.

These photos were taken of her when she was two weeks old.

Why blog?

We have 1-2-3 beautiful pink packages delivered from up above in our home. On September 28, 2008, little Aliya Evelyn joined Madison Joy and Breanne Maggie in our household full of little girls (and all the pink that entails). Derrick and I undoubtedly realize that each of our girls is a gift from God and gifts are meant to be shared. So enjoy this blog to stay posted on how each of our little gifts are doing and growing in Billings, Montana.