Luke Theodore, 1 month

My little Luke turned one month old yesterday.  Aunt Alice took some pics of him.  He wasn't too cooperative, but still cute.  :-)

Some say this pic makes him look like Daddy.  :-)

Thanks again, Auntie Alice!

My little monkey

Luke, 4 weeks old

Pic by Auntie Alice

What's Cookin'

Back at it.  :-)

Mon~Pork and gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans with company
Tues~Lasagne, bread
Wed~A friend is bringing a meal.
Thurs~Chicken chili (F), corn bread
Fri~Pork tinga enchiladas (F), chips and salsa
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Beef veggie soup,bread

*F is for Freezer meal!

Miracle Stain Remover

I recently discovered this recipe for stain remover and gave it a try today.
(And I just now reread the recipe and realized that I made a 1:1 ration, not 1:2.  Oops.)

Noah had a bloody nose a couple of weeks ago and I finally got around to cleaning his mattress pad.  I sprayed some of this stuff on, let it sit for 2 hrs and then washed it.  And there was no trace of stain when I pulled it out of the dryer!



Someone (who shall remain nameless since I don't want to embarrass him) has been frequently missing his diaper when he has a dirty pants, so I'm keeping a hefty supply of this stuff available!

A time to be born and a time to die

From my cousin Aaron's facebook page:

"It was one year ago that Grandpa Roffel passed away, followed 10 days later by Grandma. Here they are with their only great-granddaughter. Hard to believe a year later we'd be without all three of them. Our loss is heaven's gain."

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:9-11

This Week in Pics

I told Noah not to smile.  This is what I got.


Wide eyed!





School time.


15 days old.


Ended up eating dinner with Uncle Don at McDonald's.


Cookie smile.



He slept through our whole trip to the museum.


Luke likes tummy time in the evenings.


Andrew and Noah's derby cars.


BIG yawn!

Meeting Great-Grandpa and Grandma

We took Luke to meet Great-Grandpa and Grandma VanDen Toorn last night.


Grandpa even got out of his chair to see his new great-grandson!  They were pretty tickled.


Grandma held him most of the evening and didn't even mind his fussing.


Grandpa got some snuggles too.

Joe Frog

Taken by Auntie Alice.  Joel stayed with her all week and learned how to put his clothes on by himself, practiced writing his name, and played with "gack."  He had a great time!

5 boys!

After much anticipation, Luke Theodore arrived on his due date, February 25, 2013 at 6:37 AM.  He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 in long.

I started having contractions at about 2:30 AM.  Since Joel was born after about 2 hours of labor, I didn't want to wait around too long to go to the hospital so we went in at around 3:30.  However, I wasn't dilated much farther than I had been at my doctor appointment earlier in the week, so the nurse sent us to walk for an hour.  We checked out the baby nurseries on a couple floors and then walked the entrance lobbies of the main hospital and the heart center, encountered a friendly old janitor numerous times who offered to let me mop the floor.  :-)  The nurse checked me again and since I had progressed a bit farther, they decided to keep me and said they would send me up to labor and delivery when they had a room available (It was a full moon and I guess it was crazy busy.).  About 10 min later a nurse came to walk me upstairs.  My contractions were coming a bit quicker now and the triage nurse noted that I had a different face than before.  By the time we got to the labor and delivery room, I decided I was ready for an epidural.  Or not.  Luke was ready to be born!  The doctor had to run back and forth from my room to the room next door, delivering babies.  Chris was quite surprised to have another boy!

So happy with my new boy!

Blue Grandma and Grandpa

Adrienne meeting her newest cousin.

Aunt Cindy, Bereket, and Tiz

Aunt Aimee, Cady, and Connie

White Grandma

Aaron meets his new baby brother.

White Grandpa

Aunt Angie

We had a huge room which is a good thing, because Luke had lots of visitors!

We are so thankful to have another healthy son.  Surely the Lord has been good to us.  Please pray that He will give us the strength and courage to raise these boys to serve and love Him, and that they would all come to know the peace that passes understanding.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16