$66.66

that was my total at the grocery store this evening (and that, i might add, is a SMALL trip). it is also a pretty good representation of how i feel about that place.

i have a confession -- i despise grocery shopping. and that's a real problem when a large part of one's full-time job is feeding a family of five. it does go a bit better when i am more organized with a meal plan going into the week, but even then it's tough. other factors besides an all-too-often disorganized list include being tired, annoying stores and long lines at the checkout, trying to shop healthy in a world of processed and prepackaged food, and of course, the bill!

i need advice, tips, encouragement, anything from you, my readers, to help me better embrace this inevitable part of my responsibilities. actually, a volunteer to be my personal shopper would be fantastic. :)

p.s.--i forgot to mention that tonight my neighbor and i went together, which did help to make it more bearable. love you, janet!

home school testing plus

just an fyi for all of you homeschoolers out there...

just wanted to give a little shout out for linda nikkel, a local (to west michigan) woman who used to work for the school system, homeschooled her daughters (who are both now pre-med students), and in the past couple of years has begun administering standardized tests for homeschooled students. we decided to have miriam tested last month, mostly for my own peace of mind ("how can i possibly be doing enough??"). apparently i am, because she did great. linda came to our home, and though i paid for a test, i got so much more than that! she was SO encouraging and affirming of what we are doing. i so value people like that in my life, as it can be hard to come by when you choose a path different from the "norm". so, while i don't think that testing children this young is absolutely necessary, i would highly recommend her services if you are looking for something like that.

brrr & grrr....

i wish weather didn't so easily affect my mood, but it often does. this morning, much like the past few days, was bright and sunny... deceivingly beautiful... because once you get outside you discover that the wind is freezing! this morning we rode our bikes to the library. keep in mind it is almost june. i was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a sweater, a fleece, and gloves, and i was still uncomfortably cold. granted, my husband claims that i only have about a 7 degree window of temperature that i am comfortable in... but the kids were cold, too. we nixed our plans to ride on to the nature trails and decided to come home and cozy up inside instead. come on, warming trend!!

i thought these were pretty

the first two were taken last weekend at jen f.'s house, the next three were taken at our house, and the last one was taken on hope college's campus. i love spring!!

"once" / swell season concert

this past weekend matt and i attended what we think was our first real concert ever together! hard to believe considering our mutual love of music. my parents were kind enough to take our kids overnight, and we headed to the detroit area to see the couple from the “once” movie (which I have mentioned here before) live! And yes, they are a REAL couple – how sweet. :) he’s a fiery irishman and she is a quiet, humble girl from eastern europe -- both with great voices and other musical talents. he was even using the same beat-up guitar he plays in the movie. their music is unique and creative, and right now i cannot get enough of it. what fun to see and hear them in the flesh! this concert was perfectly timed with matt’s birthday, and the venue was just minutes from the homes of two of matt’s college friends, which is where we had dinner (at one) and crashed for the night (at the other).

surprise

matt surprised me with a new camera for mother's day! he had been talking about getting a better one before we take our trip to washington state in july, but i didn't know it would be this soon! i was hoping to post some fancy new pictures to accompany the news, but i have a feeling the photos may be getting worse before they get better. i was feeling pretty comfortable with my methods using our first digital camera, but i know i can't get much better unless i challenge myself. i just so do not have a technical brain that all of the numbers associated with photography have always intimidated me. but, it's time i move beyond our fixed lens camera. so, we'll see how this goes. (and thanks, rachel, for helping make this possible!)

the best part of the gift was actually the memory card. it has a water lily on it. matt hadn't even made the connection, but i thought it was rather appropriate. :)

the mom song

background: last christmas, my parents gave our kids a CD by a group caled Go Fish. (they are sort of like a wholesome "New Kids on the Block" for little kids.) i had not heard of them at that point but quickly learned of their popularity. levi has completely fallen in love with their music and will literally sit and listen to the entire CD several times a day, with drum or shaker in hand. (i already have visions of him being 14 and locked in his room with the stereo blaring... yikes.) at this stage, though, it's still really cute -- i love to see how much he loves music. matt, miriam, and levi also went to see them in concert earlier this spring.

anyway, there was a stretch where he would play this particular song over and over again (to the point where the part about "you work all day and never get paid" was starting to seep into my mind a little too much...) when i found the video online, i thought it would be fitting for mother's day. click on the picture to link to the video and enjoy!

think pink

we've been soaking up tulip time this past week. the kids are old enough now to really enjoy the parades and klompen dancers, and i love how the entire town lights up with its signature flower.

spring of last year was the first time i really got out and started going crazy with my digital camera. i have been trying to get out again this year to photograph this new season of holland’s beautiful blooms. it was interesting coming back a year later to see if i could find new ways to creatively capture them. i'll probably post more later in other colors, but pink seemed to be the stand-out for me so far.

please consider giving

We learned of the Water Missions ministry through Matt's company, as they partner with them and help to build some of their equipment. One of the most desperate and immediate needs of the people affected by the recent cyclone is clean water, and these guys are directly involved with that. Please read this and consider helping. Thanks.

day at the farm

it seems to be becoming a tradition of ours to make a springtime trip to our friends' little farm. this visit is usually motivated by hearing news of new baby goats being born, which we simply must go and see... you know, for educational purposes. ;) they also have sheep, free range chickens, rabbits, cats, a beautiful collie/border collie mix, and this year they've added a horse to boot. and as if the animals were not enough, they have some of the coolest kids ever -- the youngest of which is a girl a little older than miriam. they are some of our favorite people, and their home is one of our favorite places to go.

miriam and frosty, only a few days old

miriam and major

if goats can be adorable, this is. look carefully... notice which head goes with which body!

fully within character for each of the boys: levi was still most enthralled with the collection of matchbox cars and trucks indoors, and sawyer found a ball within one minute of arrival and carried it around nearly the entire time we were there.