ONE DAY AT A TIME

Maxwell John Leenstra

2009-10-01T20:42:00.000-04:00

ArtPrize Downtown Grand Rapids

2009-09-29T19:59:00.003-04:00

Wow can you believe it has been 7 months since my last posting! I even had to think about how to do a blog post again :( Anyway I have decided that I am going to try my best to keep this blog up to date - I need some sort of way to keep track of my crazy life :) Anyway I am also thinking of posting pictures of the last 7 months just so there is record of it and you can see a little bit of what our family has been up to. I wonder if I still have any readers?!?!

Last Saturday we took a trip to as I would say "the new downtown"!! We went to see all the art that was put up all around downtown Grand Rapids. Wow what a lot of people!! It was neat to see Grand Rapids so full of activity. Here are a few pictures of us viewing all the ArtPrize work. We went with Michelle Donker and her girls. What a fun night out!

a bench

us on the bench - I was going to put the kids on it, but you wouldn't have been able to see the full picture :)

Alex, Zoe, Maddie, and Ella

the kids running through a maze

This next picture is bizzare and I really think that you would have to have a mental problem if you bought one of these dolls - yes that is a doll - It felt, looked, and weighed like a real baby. It was a little freaky.

Yes - I am updating my blog!

2009-02-06T21:00:00.004-05:00

Well here is a little inside scoop on Alex - He is loving Pre-K!! One of the things they have been doing is taking home a "theme" bag. Alex's theme bag last weeks was all about music! He loved it. He was introduced to many musical instruments - the cymbal, drum, recorder and xylophone. Personally, I think that the recorder needs to be banned! Those things are so loud. Alex was marching around the house just a whaling on the recorder! He had a blast - Me not so much. Finally, I tried to show him how to play Hot Cross Buns - with many attempts it did not go so well. I did eventually convinced him to play the xylophone and he could play any song he wanted. He did great and my ears got a little bit of a rest from the recorder. The best thing about these "theme" bags is he learns so much and he gets to return them the next time he goes to school! I wonder what will be next!?

And the comments still come!!

2009-01-03T00:26:00.007-05:00

While we lived in South Africa we attempted many things. One of the things that we failed at was how to properly take care of a lizard. Here is the post we did on September 23, 2007:

So a few weeks ago, I caught a baby lizard for the kids. We see them everyday on the walls around our home baking in the sun. We found this little guy in our garage and decided to keep him as a pet. Since this was not a planned capture, we first kept him on the kitchen window sill in some of Lia’s Tupperware. He seemed very happy in his new home where the kids put rocks, grass, water and bugs in there for him to eat. Lia did make it clear however that Lizzy the Lizard needed an new location and a new home. A couple of days later, we went out and bought Lizzy a very nice new condo. It was much nicer than his old home, much larger than he needed, but we hoped he would be able to grow into the new home.

Well, he did fine for the first couple days eating bugs and laying in the sun. Unfortunately, something went horribly wrong a few days ago. Lizzy the Lizard actually BAKED in the sun. She was fine in the morning eating her ants and then later in the evening, she looked like this: A dried out crispy version of her old self.
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WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING PICTURE MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR THOSE WITH A WEAK CONSTITUTION OR SMALL CHILDREN WHO LOVE LIZARDS.

What have we learned? · Baby lizards should not be kept in direct sunlight for an entire day when the temperature is above 90 degrees. · A full glass lizard cage can cook a baby lizard in one afternoon even though it has vents in the top. · Lizards shrink to ½ their size after a full day in the sun in a glass cage. · We should not have tried to take care of a baby lizard without large lizard care experience. · We will try an adult lizard next and probably not keep it in the sun the entire day. · Maddie says that the lizards need some shade during the day the next time we catch one. · We are much better at taking care of cats than Lizards (Here is a picture of Sylvester who we have managed to keep alive for 2 months now).

I would have never guessed that we would have so many opinions from so many people!!! I wanted to share some of these comments with you.

16 comments:
Katie said...
Poor little lizard. Actually I am cracking up right now after looking at your picture. Glad you do better with cats :)
September 23, 2007 11:27 AM

chelle said...
oops.better luck next time.
September 23, 2007 4:19 PM

Anonymous said...
Once again, even though there was a warning, I threw up in my mouth a little bit. What goes on around in your lives is a little too graphic for most of us. You should think about putting a PG13 rating on this site. Cat looks good though.G-
September 23, 2007 4:49 PM

sassy sara said...
Oh how funny is that!! At least the kitty looks great. Missing all of you.....
September 24, 2007 7:36 AM

Marva's "Marvalous" Memories said...
Poor Lizzy! Goes to show that not just anyone can care for a lizard - it takes special training, I guess. Well, I'm sure we all learned something through Lizzy's tragic death. Love ya! Aunt Marva (we'll miss you at the car hop tonight!)
September 24, 2007 2:40 PM

denise said...
That is a pretty disturbing picture! Poor Lizzy! You'll have to try it again now that you have all the lizard gear! We'll be anxious to hear how the next one goes.
September 28, 2007 11:28 PM

mark said...
wow he looked like a man eater scott lol so Hi you guys and Maddie and Alxe too I will get a pic on here soon your dad and I did the car hope we missed ya Lia let the kids know the cats are ok I know Maddiewill want to know bye for now yes you are missed and you are always in my prayers bye for now Stubby :)
September 29, 2007 9:26 PM

Anonymous said...
That's so sad! I too am having lizard trouble. My little bearded dragon is not eating or moving around much any more-I don't know what's wrong! :(
February 16, 2008 12:23 PM

Anonymous said...
Poor lizard! Perhaps showing/teaching the kids about lizards in the wild will be a bit more productive :) (psst: I'm a lizard owner, and they are classed as being a stress-free pet - not true! they have tons of requirements and need lots of research done before owning) :)
March 12, 2008 10:59 PM

Trustthapo said...
I'm sorry, but that was not a lizard- you had a baby Mediterranean gecko. Not much difference, besides some minor differences in appearance. Such as him having cat-slit like eyes, instead of round pupils.BTW, I would suggest getting a bigger gecko- or lizard- so that he could feed easier ;)
July 12, 2008 9:25 PM

KISS said...
that's hilarious i just caught a baby lizard i have no clue what to do with it so thanks for the advice!
August 3, 2008 7:09 PM

THIS ONE IS OUR FAVORITE!:

Anonymous said...
.... I personaly think it is a very irresponsible thing to take any of God's creatures out of their natural habitat for a soo called "pet"... there is one thing about adopting a cat or dog but taking a lizard, frog, ect, form your yard trapping it in a cage, under an un natural environment is cruel....come on people experiments take place too often in labs everyday, let the ones that are lucky live free in the wild, thay dont need humans beings altering there habitat! would you leave your baby in the sun all day?!?!? also you are teaching your children that this is ok..... futhermore i think in any circumstance like this you sould feel ashamed of and have never posted a blog bragging to others. You two are obviously irresponsible ignorant humans and parents.
August 11, 2008 9:05 PM

Anonymous said...
thay regulate there body tempature in the sun for short period of time. your prison needs to be bigger with a heat lamp on one side and a thermostat hooked up to a heating pad, and slapped on to the side of the tank. never put them in the in direct sun light. grrr
August 26, 2008 2:54 AM

Anonymous said...
That is disgusting. That little lizard had thoughts and emotions. Now it's just a raisin. I'm surprised you don't leave your children in the car with the windows shut to suffocate.
August 28, 2008 12:26 AM

Anonymous said...
Try a salamander or a dog

Here is one I received yesterday:

Puff Matty said...
Big Ol' Snowman.Hi. I needed a picture of a lizard for my blog and Lizzy the Shriveled Up Lizard showed up on Google Images. That was funny. I once posted a pic of a mouse in one of our traps here in Baghdad and I got sooooo much hate mail from the animal lovers, too. (These also happen to be the people wearing leather shoes, eat meat, etc).
January 1, 2009 2:42 AM

Again - just for clarification - we did not intend for this to happen to our lizard - It just happened. And we hope others can learn from our mistake!

Keep the comments coming - We love to read them!!

Walking with the DINOSAURS

2009-01-01T17:17:00.008-05:00

On December 10 our family went to the VanAndel Arena to see the Walking with the Dinosaurs. The kids loved it. Alex was ready to see it with his mask and all! He was waiting a whole month to see his beloved friends - THE DINOSAURS!! It was a great family night. Here are some pictures of our night.

We had front row seats so everything was up close and so real (minus the robotic stands some of the dinosaurs had). This guy here "walked" us through the life of the dinosaurs. How they became and how they were lost.

It was a great production!

Some of the dinosaurs we saw

These ones were fun to watch - they were men dressed up as dinosaurs - you could hardly tell!

Out came the "long neck" as Alex would say

That is Alex in the bottom right of this photo. The dinosaurs towered over us! So BIG

Seriously - this is how the kids looked during the whole 90 min production

Petri
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Well throughout the whole night Alex and Maddie awaited the arrival of the Bad Boy - T-Rex! They finally got to the moment and a shadow appeared of the meanest, baddest dinosaur - THE T-REX - ALEX SHOUTED (while trembling) ITS T-REX!!

Ok maybe when he is full grown! The large shadow was only a baby!
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Soon to follow came the mother T-REX and satisfied Alex's imagination!
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Then it got loud as the destruction began - a large comet came and destroyed all the dinosaurs! WOW was it loud and to have seen it all so close was AWESOME!!

The kids will never forget it - I think Alex dreamed of dinosaurs for the next 3 nights

Here is a little video clip that we saw:

Scott - he just had to!!

2008-11-30T17:09:00.008-05:00

And there you have it - Scott's mind at work again on how he can out do what his wife. The kids really enjoyed it!! I guess my challenge to you is - Who can out do Scott? I want to see pictures!

What did you do today?

2008-11-24T16:37:00.003-05:00

Alex, Riley and I built some snowmen. What a great day! What did you do today?

Annual Shopping Trip

2008-11-17T19:14:00.004-05:00

Every year we (my mom and sisters) pack it up for an overnight stay for our annual shopping trip. I was so excited to go this year (i missed last years)! It was so different though - Amy and Betsy live in DC so they were not able to come and Sara had a funeral to go to on Saturday so she was not able to make it. That left Michelle, Katie, Mom and I. It was so much fun. We have a tradition of taking a picture before, during, or after the trip. This picture is of us near Ikea in Canton - at a Tim Horton's with our box of Timbits (funny at the time). Overall I think Michelle and Mom accomplished the most in Christmas shopping and I think Katie and I accomplished the most in shopping for ourselves and kids. We laughed and cried (that is laughing until we cried). What a great time.

I am ready for next years trip already - HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET ALL OF US TOGETHER.

FALL BACK A LITTLE

2008-11-13T14:01:00.011-05:00

Well I see I am a little late on the fall blog. Fall is definitely my favorite season. I love the smell of dried or burning leaves. I love being outdoors in the mid 60 degree weather! There are so many memories I can remember as a kid in the fall time - playing in the leaves and of course Halloween. I wish I had a scanner so I could show you some costumes of some Halloween pasts. Instead here is my update on us this fall.

It starts with our new house - Isn't it so awesome in the fall! I LOVE IT!

I had to throw this picture in - Alex fishing in the pond with his new fishing pole - I think he is confused if he is to be a fisherman or a cowboy!

CARVING PUMPKINS WITH AUNTIE SARA

Alex's mean pumpkin

Surprise!

LIGHTS OUT

HALLOWEEN at Church

Alex, Chase and Maddie - Chase's mask kinda scared me

THE LEAVES

Maddie in her own world - she raked her own leaves and did not know I was taking pictures

Alex, Maddie and Zach

MAKING APPLESAUCE

I decided to do some canning of applesauce and apples for apple crisp. I went up north to my moms house - FUN

SUSIE HOMEMAKER - :)

My mom working hard

Oh and then there is Alex - my mom gave him a huge - and I mean huge sucker - here he is when he was finished - A STICKY MESS - not sure if he is mad that it is gone or that I am taking his picture - Either way - he makes me laugh!

Give thanks to the Lord for HE is good - His love endures forever!

STILL HERE - MORE TO COME

2008-11-07T21:41:00.002-05:00

Just a note to say hi to all my fellow bloggers. I am happy to say we have internet now and I will be updating my blog after the weekend. I have the BIG GIRLS SHOPPING TRIP tomorrow - so excited!!

Here is a new picture to look at for the next few days. Doesn't my sister do a great job?!?

Happy Birthday Alex!

2008-10-08T08:41:00.005-04:00

ALEX IS FIVE!!
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I can not believe how big he is getting! And Oh Man - Turning the big 5 was so exciting! For weeks - or should I say months he has been asking - "when is it my birthday?" and on his birthday yesterday - he made sure to tell everyone!
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He has been a busy birthday boy - We had a party last Sunday with other family members who had birthdays.

Alex, Aiden, Jessica and Scott's Dad
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The pinata was the hit of the party!!

Alex's turn

All the cousins waiting to get a turn
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Then Yesterday - He had his birthday celebration at School with all of his friends and teacher. I had so much fun watching him and all his excitement!

The Chimp sang Happy Birthday - I will post a video soon!

The Birthday Star

He has been into the Star Wars and I know how much he loves books - SO Scott and I got him - A DK book of all of the Star Wars - It will take him months to page through it

This book goes everywhere now!

Even got Maddie to look at it with him!
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Alex then of course could not wait for his Chuck E Cheese Birthday party with the rest of his cousins and grand parents!
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The party was for the small and BIG alike!

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This is Alex at the end of the night - 2 seconds after getting in the car on the way home from Chuck E Cheese:

Overall - I think He Had A Great Birthday!
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We all love you Alex!
You are a precious GIFT FROM GOD!!!
God BLESS you with MANY MORE BIRTHDAYS!!

Love

2008-09-20T17:51:00.010-04:00

HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

September 19, 1998

September 19, 2008

Then...

Now...

What a beautiful day!!

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Scott and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. As my mom and sisters would say - I was like a girl going on her first date! I was so excited to spend some time with Scott out in South Haven. Since we have been back from South Africa we have hardly seen each other (which is completely different than seeing him 24 hours a day in Africa). And then I was thinking - DO I STILL GOT IT! 11 years later am I the women he fell in love with?!

We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in South Haven. It was so nice. This is the hors doeuvres that they served to us while we looked at menus of restaurants near by.

South Haven

SUNSET on the beach

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Scott once asked me What is love? (He was not sure what to say when I confessed my true feelings for him one day in 1997 - I never wanted to be the first one to say I love you to a boyfriend). I think you can define love by what we are - our lives together. We have been greatly blessed! 2 lovely children - Maddie 7 and Alex 5 - an awesome adventure of living in Africa - and the list can go on and on..
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A gift for a 10 year anniversary is to be aluminum, tin, or diamonds. I got all three!

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You say what is that? - 10 aluminum roses handcrafted by Scott (coke cans, jolt cans, a mountain dew can, and barbed wire).
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This is the card that was with it (+/- a few stuff)(hope you don't mind Scott):
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I couldn't decide what to get you for our anniversary and apparently they say you are suppose to give either tin, aluminum, or diamonds. So I did all 3. The aluminum coke cans are red so that you know I will always love you and to remind you of our adventures in South Africa. Tin is a metal which is strong but sometimes can be weak and fragile. The tin vase represents the strength of our marriage with the realization that there are things that could easily weaken it. Finally, the "diamonds" that the flowers are planted in represents the value of you and our marriage to me. Our marriage and you are a huge part of what defines me and they both mean the world to me. You and the kids keep me humble, make me feel loved and needed daily and give me a great purpose for living.

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I knew I loved this man for a reason!!! He used to write these lovely sentimental notes when we were dating and it is nice to see him still writing them! I love you Scott!!
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Here's to another 60 years or so!

A giraffes tongue!

2008-09-10T22:18:00.001-04:00

fun times 025
Originally uploaded by lialeenstra

This was a giraffe we saw in South Africa. He seriously could not stop messing with his tongue. It was like he had peanut butter stuck on the top of his mouth! We stood there for about 20 min and he was still doing it when we left.

I miss all the animals. But I will get to see a few familiar animals by going to an animal Farm with Alex's preschool class! He is so excited! He will probably think that we usually have zebras here in Michigan! I'll post the pics tomorrow of our field trip!

STARTING OVER AGAIN

2008-09-01T19:06:00.009-04:00

We have had to start all over again here in Michigan. "New" cars, "New" house and adjusting back to the "real world"

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We just purchased a "new" home and we couldn't be more excited!

Check it out! (You can click on the picture on the link to view more pictures)

We are waiting for inspections to be done and hopefully we will close on the house soon and be moved in by October 1!! This is such a perfect location for us. It is 3 min from Maddie and Alex's school and much closer for Scott to get to work. Inspections are hopefully going to happen this week! I will keep you updated.
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To add to the excitement - Maddie and Alex have started school and are back into the swing of things. Maddie is in 2nd grade at Dutton Christian and Alex has started Noah's Ark Preschool at the same school

I am just so happy that they have not pulled the "My teacher is better than you" card. After homeschooling them for about 7 months - I wonder how I did. Maddie has been coming home with school papers on things she is working on and it makes me cry to see her getting it. I must have done something right!!

Maddie was nervous and a little frightened by all the people on the first day. She even complained of a stomach ache in the morning. She was greatly welcomed and felt right at home. One of her classmates was so excited to see her after Maddie's year away and she was excited to show Maddie her desk which was right next to hers!

Here is Maddie's 2nd Grade first day of school photo

Hanging up her backpack next to her name

Maddie was happy that her friend Zoe was in her class!

Alex had his first Day - He had just a short day of visiting. This helped him get acquainted with the teacher and other classmates. He really enjoyed it. He goes to school in the afternoon and so all morning he was ready to go - shoes on and backpack packed. I am looking forward to all his stories and excitement for preschool. What is really cool is the first two weeks of school they are learning about AFRICA! How neat is that. Alex brought in a picture today of him walking an elephant and his teacher was so excited that Alex will be able to share his stories too!

Checking out the playground - VERY IMPORTANT

Alex's First Day of PreSchool Picture

Making friends

Listening so good to the story of the Kissing Hand! (A story of going to school and leaving your mom and dad)

We definitely have been busy and I HOPE to slow down a bit. We are starting over and beginning a new chapter in our lives. We are happy to be home! - Yet, I am also sad to be away from all my friends in SA! I miss them so much!

Pray that things continue to go well and that we can adjust well to all this busyness!!

We are finally home!

2008-08-21T20:14:00.012-04:00

It has been a week since we boarded a plane in South Africa to home. What a week it has been!! We are busy looking for a house - two cars - busy getting reacquainted with family and friends - and missing friends in South Africa!

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House hunting is exhausting!! It is fun to go through other peoples houses, but I get tired just trying to make the right decision on what house is good for us and the family. I found the perfect house - well maybe if you combine the top 3 - is that even possible?
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Here are some of the houses we have been looking at - what do you think?
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KRAFT HOUSE

http://www.greenridge.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=720894&PRM_MlsName=greenridgeGrandRapidsMI&VAR_AgentCode=3416&VAR_OfficeCode=66

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STIMSON HOUSE
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http://mls.grar.com/GRARReports/ListitLib/report_builder.aspx?report=public_full_prop1&mls_acct=1724465&footer=5651485376837974&header=5651485376837974&maillog_id=5038739153

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http://www.theultimatetour.net/videos/5882_Stimson.html

Well, we have finally adjusted to the time change and are busy getting ready for school starting and Maddie and Alex are busy catching up with cousins and friends. On Wednesday we went to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens. The cousins had a chance to play together. We were missing sweet Stella! We had a great day.
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The kids all excited to go inside the gardens

I went with my mom, my sister Katie and my sister-in-law Michelle

Maddie and Arianna - sporting the same shorts!

playing in the great lakes splash pool

The Gang

The horse sculpture

READY

SET

GO!

Maddie and Arianna

Andrew, Alex, Chase and Nicholas
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I also got to spend some time with my new nieces that I just met. HOW PRECIOUS THEY ARE!!

Juliet

Sylvia

BREAKING NEWS!! Scott just came home with a car tonight - ON A TRAILER - not a good sign! He bought a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8 turbo with a blown motor. He says "all I need to do is put in a new motor" - like he has done that 100x before! He says 20 hours worth of work. I know how much he loves projects - well I think he has his work cut out for him!

backing the trailer up to my dad's shop

the car

Scott proud of his purchase

FAREWELL

2008-08-11T08:34:00.009-04:00

AHHHH is all I have to say right now! We are busy packing, saying goodbye and keeping you updated on us. My blog was down for several days so sorry for the lack of blogging. I did not want to leave the blog on a sad note. Anyway - I thought I would post some pictures now and some later on what we have been up to this past week.

We had a farewell speech in our church (Eastside Community Church)on Sunday. We could not have asked for a better church while we lived here in South Africa. They had such open arms for us. We also have meet so many great people!!! A lot of friendships we will treasure. It was also so great to be part of a Bible Study group here. We have become so close! They have been a great support/prayer team for me these past few weeks. Here are some pictures of our send off:

We also had a Farewell party with friends. We played soccer(football) and had a nice braai. At the end of the party we shared stories and prayed together. I have grown so much in my prayer life! It sure is amazing to pray with a group of friends. You really bond and grow your friendship on a different level. We are so blessed. We are going to miss everyone so much!

We have been living with our friends Steven and Robyn for the last few days. They are great!! Robyn is a wonderful friend who makes me laugh - well I think we make each other laugh on a daily basis!

They have a nephew, Keenan, that the kids have become friends with. So last week sometime we took the kids to Dros restaurant to say goodbye. I think I have mentioned before the great kids areas in their restaurants here. I would say about 1/3 of this restaurant was catered for the kids. This makes it great for us adults to spend quiet time and enjoy our dinner. The kids had a great time making their own pizzas and then eating them in their own seat in front of a movie screen. It is great! Here are some pictures:

Alex, Keenan, Maddie

Rolling the dough

Alex's famous pout - he thought his wasn't round enough.

The pizza going into the wood burning oven

Sitting in front of the movies - Yes I noticed Alex took his shoes off - YUCK!

Well it is time to say goodbye to South Africa and hello to another chapter in our lives. It is so bittersweet leaving here. We will miss so many things here! Our friends, church, warm weather, the animals, and all the adventure. We have grown so much! We are defiantly so excited to come home and see everyone. I will warn you the tears will be flowing when I step off the plane! Ok they are flowing now as I am typing. There are so many emotions! When I get back I will have more time to share more on the blog.

We love you all and we will see you on Friday! Now I have to go to finish our crazy last few days.

GLORY BABY

2008-07-31T04:25:00.008-04:00

Glory Baby - Watermark

I want to say thank you to everyone who has sent us emails of encouragement and comfort during the past few days.

On Monday I went in for a normal 13.5 week check up for our baby. I had Maddie and Alex with me and we were so excited to see the baby again. Our 9 week check up was amazing - we saw the baby moving and a fast heartbeat. But on this visit the baby was only measuring 12.5 weeks and the doctor could not find a heartbeat. I was looking on the screen at the baby and my heart stopped a beat and I just prayed - please let this be a mistake! He just isn't looking hard enough! It was so hard to keep myself together so the kids were not alarmed, I did not feel that they needed to know right then - I still needed to tell Scott.

I got home and told Scott news that I was never expecting to tell. We had lost our baby and we just cried! It seems like we already had these amazing plans for this baby. He/She was so much a part of our family already. He/She brought so much happiness and love.

Yesterday I had a D&C in a foreign hospital, with foreign doctors, but had Scott there every step. I am so grateful for a husband like him. He held my hand and made sure I was OK.

This definitely was a day that we wished we were back home in the states! We do have to say that even though we were far from home - We could feel the love and comfort from everyone praying for us! God is still amazing and even if we can not understand why this happened, We know God is still here. He has comforted us and held us during this time and we feel at peace. We are also blessed with amazing friends here who were also praying and welcoming our kids for a few days. We are sure glad we have such amazing faith and hope in God and that we have such amazing families and friends. We do not know how anyone can go through a sad time like this without God and family and friends!

Please continue to pray for me/us as I woke up this morning with this very empty feeling. I feel like I am missing a part of me and it is so sad.

Pray as we continue to pack and head for home! We are so HAPPY to be going home in 15 days!! We are so excited to get off the plane and see everyone again! We need those hugs!

AGAIN - THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR PRAYERS! WE DEFINITELY FELT THEM ALL THE WAY OVER HERE!!

Not sure how this happened!

2008-07-21T12:27:00.003-04:00

Alex lost his first tooth in Africa!!

We still are unsure on how it happened. His tooth was not loose before last night. Alex came down from his room (after he was to be in bed for 2 hours) and told me his tooth was loose. Not really believing him, I checked anyway. Not only was it loose, but it was close to to coming out. I told him that it would be a bit before I could pull it because the roots on one side was still very much intact.

Then today, the bugger pulled his whole tooth out. "Look Mom my tooth came out"

We are still confused. He has wished for a loose tooth since Maddie started losing hers. I told him maybe when he is 5 or 6. He is so excited for the tooth fairy to come. (I hope he doesn't start pulling his teeth just for the money!)

My Zebra Rug Has Come!

2008-07-17T15:26:00.004-04:00

We are sending it to get black felt put on the back and to do an outline on the outside of the zebra rug.

I still can not believe that I shot a zebra!

UPCLOSE WITH THE ELEPHANTS

2008-07-16T10:46:00.008-04:00

Well here it is Dad - the much promised updated blog! I admit I have been a slacker. Just think on August 15 at 6:15pm at the Grand Rapids Airport, you will all have a chance to welcome us HOME!!

We have been busy getting things ready to ship home, packing, buying airline tickets, finding a new person to head up ICT, finding replacements for us for GEMS and BUGS, spending time with our friends, and definitely seeing more of Africa and its beauty!

Last Saturday we went to an elephant sanctuary near Hartbeesport Dam. We took some friends with us - Kelli and Melissa. WOW! It was an amazing experience. We all learned a lot. The kids just had their mouths open wide.

Here are some pictures of our day:

The elephant posed for the picture!

Listening to the guide talk about the elephants.

Have you ever seen the inside of an elephants mouth? HUGE!!

And then comes the fun part. I was the guinea pig to get a kiss from an elephant. Now I was just thinking a little nudge on the cheek. What I got was a HUGE VACUUM stuck to the side of my face! Gross!! Stinky!! Hilarious!!

My surprised face!!

The "lipstick" left behind on my cheek.

We learned a lot about elephants. We learned how to tell apart and African Elephant from an Asian elephant. The African elephant have huge ears (shaped liked Africa). We also learned that the ear hole of an elephant is in front of his huge ear and not behind - so crazy!

After my kiss and scream, Alex was not too sure about getting close to the elephant.

Maddie was the opposite. She was so excited to touch him. We were able to touch their long trunks, under their hairy chin, their squishy bellies, their tough knees, and their tough bottoms of their feet.

Scott had his fun too! He was almost as tall, but definitely not the same weight. Temba (the elephant) was 7 years old and weighed a lot. Here are some African elephant facts:

African elephants are the largest land animals with body growth continuing for up to 30 years. Bulls (males) may reach a height of 9-13 feet (3-41/2 m) at the shoulder and weigh between 9,000-13,000 pounds (4,500-6,000 kg). Cows (females) are smaller in size, averaging 7-9 feet (2.5-3 m) at the shoulder and weighing between 4,500-7,000 pounds (2,200-3,000 kg). An adult elephant will be almost as tall as it is long. The ears alone can measure nearly 6 feet (2 m) high and 4 feet (1.5 m) wide and weigh almost 100 pounds (45 kg).

Madison loving the day!

Madison walking an elephant.

Wow - what an amazing experience she had!

Alex softening up as the day went on.

Not sure if Alex is walking the elephant or pulling the elephant!

He was so afraid the elephant was going to suck in his jacket (I would be afraid of my whole hand)!

Feeding the elephants

This picture is for Grandma Leenstra - notice the tongue sticking out in concentration - I think that is a Boersma trait!

The elephants loved Alex - He would give them so much food at a time!

Maddie would give a little at a time and then the elephant would wait until more was put in before he put it into his mouth.

Another great experience and I am so glad we have had this opportunity!

This is who we went with - Kelli and Melissa. Kelli (in the black jacket) left for home to Ohio on July 15. She lived in South Africa for a year working for Ambassadors in Sports. She is getting married in Seattle in December! I am so excited for her. I will greatly miss her, but what is so awesome is we will only live 6 hours from each other. It was great to meet such a great friend in Africa! I wish her all the best in planning her wedding!

Miss you already Kelli, but I will see you soon!! God Bless You!

THE RUMOR IS TRUE!! WE ARE COMING HOME!!

2008-07-10T03:55:00.003-04:00

A few days ago I asked the kids to get their shoes on because it was time to go. Alex with the greatest excitement says "Are we going home today?!?"

Not today Alex, but in 6 weeks we will be heading home! The news is bittersweet. We are so excited to go home and "start over" and to especially see our family and friends. On the other hand we are so sad to leave here. We have really met some great friends and we feel like we have come to a "normal" here. Scott (I am sure) is disappointed in how things are turning out for the business, but is still hopeful for the company after we leave. He is still working hard! Actually yesterday was his first sale!!! HE SOLD 200 blocks!! YEAH! Funny how that happens a few days after a decision has been made to come home!

Anyway, the kids and I have been spending extra time with our friends here. We went to another animal sanctuary with our friends Laura and her kids Caleb and Samuel. Laura has become such a dear friend to me. She is so full of encouragement, excitement, and just plain fun!! She is a type of person who you want to be around because of all her positive energy!

Here are some photos of our day together. While the kids played in the sandbox (almost 45min) Laura and I got to just enjoy time together. It is so sad to me to leave friends behind. It was easier leaving friends in the states because I knew I would see them again soon, but here it is much harder! I am not sure if we will be back (or at least anytime soon).

Oh and the first picture is of Maddie and her new smile, missing a tooth!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Presenting Maddie and Alex performing Father Abraham

2008-07-09T02:10:00.002-04:00

Enjoy this clip! The kids spent some time practicing and then performing. They have the giggles by the time they are done!!

As Decisions are being made....

2008-07-03T05:23:00.002-04:00

We just want to say thank you to everyone who has sent emails of encouragement and all your prayers! We greatly appreciate them. This has been a crazy adventure for us and we are grateful for everything we have seen and done. This was a little piece of encouragement Scott received recently and I thought I would share it:

.......If it seems almost insurmountable at times, remember that time seems to give answers as to what the Lord's programme is. He is in control always, and He has a plan that goes well beyond our finite business plans.....possibly He even plans that we table/abort our plans 'til a later date or 'til things open up at a future date'. ......Possibly He wants us to wait 'til the developer gets clearance in a year or two before going forward......whatever happens I can assure you that you'll look back on these things/experiences as growing and memorable ones.

We will keep you updated!

My Ponytail Palm aka Elephant Foot

2008-07-02T10:34:00.003-04:00

A couple of months ago Scott and I decided to do a little landscaping. We took a long time to decided what to do and where to put the plants. It was a hard decision to even put plants in knowing that it is a rental property and that we are not going to be able to take it with us when we move.

Anyway we decided on this awesome looking palm - the ponytail palm. I loved it because the leaves were long and went to the ground:

Sample picture of what they look like and what ours did look like a few days ago!:

Here is a picture of what they could look like if taken care of properly:

Here is a picture of our ponytail palm after our gardener decided it needed a "trim!"

This is what Scott found when he came home and I was a Holiday Club! Who does that to a tree that doesn't need trimming! SO SO SAD!! I wouldn't be so upset if it was actually trimmed evenly! Not sure what animal character he was trying to make. Do you see the vision he had?

THE BABY

2008-06-30T06:50:00.004-04:00

Here are the ultra sound pictures from this morning. We (Maddie, Alex and I) were so excited to see the baby move and to hear the heartbeat. Alex says that there are triplets (because there are three pictures). Maddie's face lite up when they put the sound on. She just stared at the monitor.

I was excited to see that things are going well with the pregnancy!!

I am measuring 9 weeks 3 days pregnant.

My Estimated Due Date is January 30!

The Heart rate is 181.