They survived!

FINALLY, after waiting and watching and waiting......my tulips are blooming! This is very exciting for me as I just planted these in the Fall and wasn't sure if they would survive the ice and snow that we had a few weeks ago.

A Visit from the OTHER Abbates.....

We had a visit from Mikes brother and family over the weekend. It was great! This was probably the first time, since having kids, that we have been able to actually talk for a while and do something together.

reptile show....

Grandma D. and I took the boys to a Reptile show at the mall today. Joseph couldn't believe that he was actually able to pet the reptiles!

He was a little nervous as it was crazier than a Stone Temple Pilots concert but after a little moshing, we made our way to the front to see the stars of the show.

Tree fort

Mike decided to build the boys a tree fort in our old Hazelnut tree yesterday. We were going to cut it down as it had outgrown it's spot in the yard and was making a huge mess of the lawn with it's leaves. ANYWAY, we decided to keep it for now and build a fort in it for the boys. Needless to say Joseph was beside himself with excitment. Mike was up there with them drinking tea and having snacks as soon as he got home from work.

Which song was #1 on the day YOU were born?

My mom sent me this link: http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm. It's pretty cool. You can find out what the #1 song was the day you were born, got married, had your children, etc. The #1 song on the day I was born was "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash, funny cause I've always felt a connection to that song. Hmm, interesting.

Yogurt Maker

Had a great day today with the boys. I took them to the fish hatchery on Hawkins Pickle road to see the sturgeon. It got quite cold so we headed into town to the health food store to find out what's involved in making your own yogurt. They had a yogurt maker that was WAY too expensive so we bought some dried apples and bolted. I'm going to check out some web sites to see how to make it without one. I don't think they had "yogurt makers" in the old days so there's got to be an easier way. This pic was taken yesterday by my friend Paul.

LUCAS IS FAMOUS!

OK, not quite but check him out on this web site www.honey-bunch.com - he's wearing the white Mally Bib with the turtle on it! Our friend Nicole makes these bibs and this is one of the sites that offers them.

Soapworks

I just have to quickly say that I've discovered this new line of non-poisonous, environmentally-friendly cleaning products (at Zellers!) that are way cheaper than the other brands that I've been using. The Zellers flier says they are between $2-$6 so I'm totally excited to try them out. I'll keep everyone posted about how they actually clean (really, how bad can they be?). Brand name is Soapworks and I've attached the link in the link section. Speaking of soap, the boys helped me wash the car today. It was hilarious. Lucas was absolutely soaked (pretty much sat in a puddle the whole time splashing soapy water on himself and laughing his head off. Joseph washed the same wheel about 10 times and helped with the back. It was so nice to be outside with them!!

lentil soup......

I thought this pic was kinda cute. Lucas is eating on his own and LOVING it. He absolutely loves lentil or pea soup. So messy! So what if I have to wash the floor 6 times a day?!

Every adult should read.

An e-mail from my mom.......

A message every adult should read, because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

"When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted
to paint another one.


When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking , I saw you make my
favorite cake for me and I learned that the little things can be
the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always
talk to and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take
care of our house and everyone in it and I learned
we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come
from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you
cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be."

Visit from Gran and Gramp Heather

Grandma and grandpa Heather came for a visit last week. We were all so excited to see them. Jojo got to spend some quiet time relaxing with grandma.

Grandpa Diekema

Here's a pic of grandpa Diekema in his new car circa 1960. Very cool!!

Jojo spent the night at grandpa and grandmas last night. They went for a hike this morning and had tonnes of fun!

Our new blog site

So, from now on we are going to try to post recent pics and goings-on to our blog site for fun. We'll see how long this lasts as I'm a bit technologically challenged and haven't really figured out how all this works. Anyway, here we go.........

testing

Our first day of blogging, nothing terribly interesting to say. Just testing it out to see how it looks.