Happy Birthday, Katie!

Katie couldn't wait until her birthday dinner to open her presents so we let her open one after breakfast and she enjoyed it all day long.

Love of horses and unicorns make balloons fun.

Molly made Katie's dinner. Ham, cheesy potatoes, BBQ green beans, jello, and rolls. It was a very yummy meal. Molly is a very exceptional cook. She keeps us happy and healthy.

Katie's nice collection of gifts.

Katie wanted to swim on her birthday so we went to the Days Inn and swam for about an hour. She was soooo happy. We love her smile.

Of course Abby loves to swim, too. They would spend all day in the pool if we would let them.

We had a really fun day. It is really hard to believe our girls are 9 and 6 now. What on earth happened? Are the days shorter? It sure feels like it.

Happy Easter!

Easter basket from Easter Bunny.

He brought new webkinz and lots of candy plus he hid some easter eggs.

Nothing there.

Can't reach!

Clever Easter Bunny.

Later in the day we were at Mea and Papa's for an egg hunt. It was a race!

Good hiding spots.

Race on!

Trees make good hiding spots at Mea and Papa's house.

Wow! What a basket full!! It was a profitable day for Abby and Katie. They had a great day. We all did! Molly got off of work at 1PM and was able to join us for dinner. Steve Playter and Norm and Judy joined us as well. We had ham, cheesy potatos, BBQ green beans, banana bread, strawberry salad, jello, rolls, and dessert. It was very good and very filling. Tim played golf at 5PM while Molly and the girls stayed and played at Mea and Papa's. When they came home they went for a little walk. Abby told Katie that maybe the Easter bunny couldn't hide the eggs and maybe the deer did it instead (they saw deer tracks and the mind began working). Katie told me that the deer couldn't get into the house because they didn't have hands.;) It was a beautiful day. Mid 50's and sunny and a terrific day to remember our God lives. It is always a good reminder that Christianity is the only faith that serves a God who is alive. Praise God!

Easter traditions.

21 roses. Why 21?

When I was in 9th grade I bought Molly a rose for Easter. She liked that and so every year I buy her roses on Easter. Each year I add one more rose. This year I bought her 21 roses. Wow! Where does the time go? I get asked frequently if it is breaking the bank. Fortunately (no pun intended) roses are cheapest this time of year so it hasn't been too bad.



Easter egg coloring tradition.

The girls love to color Easter eggs.

The dark purple and dark green were done by mixing the colors differently. The girls thought it was cool to see what color would come out of their personal mixing.

A date for Charlie?

Abby got her new American Girl pet. Her name is Sugar. Sugar looks like Charlie and Abby thinks she would make a good girlfriend for Charlie. Sugar loves Yorkies. Especially shaved ones. What does Charlie think?

Pregnancy: Week 8

Here is what is happening with our unborn baby at week 8.


Go, baby, go! Your talented child has doubled in size in the past two weeks, and is now approximately three-quarters of an inch long. Body parts that formed in the first few weeks are growing more complex and specialized, including the eyes, limbs, mouth, heart, and brain. Fingers and toes are taking shape, along with the palate and pituitary gland. The eyelids are also forming--until they're complete, the eyes appear open.

WOW! This is pretty cool stuff.

We are enjoying sharing this information with the girls. They think it is really cool and so do we. Molly's first appointment is this Friday.

No Camera!! UGH!!!!!!

We just returned from our short trip to Lansing. We spent 4 nights at the Nickels! We celebrated birthdays with the whole family (Curt and Melissa and Mom and Dad were there too!) and just had an all around great time while we were there. Molly and I got to go to see the Pistons play the 76ers on Sunday. One of my company reps took us along with his wife. They are very nice Christian people. Our seats were 5th row, center court, right behind the reporting table. Unbelievable seats! It felt like we were right in the action. We won't soon forget that. We all went to see Madagascar II on Monday. The kids (and adults) loved it and it was a funny movie. The cousins wore themselves out playing hard the whole time we were together and the adults were able to relax and enjoy the company(Molly and Betsy rock at Nertz beating the boys soundly 2 games in a row with the boys only having 3 Nertz called in 2 games!). The girls were not too excited to leave(including Molly), but were able to go swimming at the hotel on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning(plus have fun going in and out of the twirly doors!). They really enjoyed that. We stayed at the J.W. Marriot in downtown Grand Rapids. Very nice hotel. Too nice for us to pay for so I am happy we didn't have to. I was there for a company meeting and they paid for that. We stayed on the 17th floor overlooking downtown. Really cool. This was a nice mini vacation that didn't cost too much but was just when we needed some time away. We feel refreshed with a new perspective on life. It is good to have time to relax and have fun. Sorry...no photos as I (Tim) forgot the camera(because Molly had to remember everything else!)