Aaron is 5!

Aaron turned 5 today!  Hard to believe that its been 5 years since I had this little boy.

 

He started opening this present and says, "It's a box!"

 

Turned out it was 4 of his absolute favorite cars, "Herbies."  He also got a new comforter for his bed and a Thomas swim suit (Goodwill specials).

Grandma Roffel's chocolate cake for dessert.  He requested pizza for dinner.  He ate 3 pieces!

 

Another present:  "I LOVE bubble baths!"

And a present to share with his brothers, squirt guns!

We love you so much, Aaron!  As Daddy prayed at dinner, we pray that not only will you have a first birth, but a new birth in Christ.

What's Cookin'

Mon~Aaron turns 5!  He requested pizza and I'll throw in a salad.
Tues~Italian chicken over noodles, broccoli
Wed~Noah's last soccer game of the spring season so we will pack a picnic for the park.  Probably sandwiches, chips, veg/fruit,and cookies.
Thurs~Balsamic Chicken and veggies, applesauce, crockpot bread
Fri~Chicken tacos, fruit, chips n salsa
Sat~Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
Sun~ Leftovers/sandwiches

2015 Homeschool Track and Field

The boys were super excited to participate in another track and field day this year.  It wasn't very warm, but it was nice and sunny.  Sunny enough that Luke's cheeks got a little red.

Here is Joel running the 50 yard dash.  He didn't place but he said he kept someone behind him.  :-)

 

 Joel got first place in the soccer kick!

Here's Andrew running the 200 meter.  He said it was a bit long, but he had a nice smile and wave for the camera!

 

Andrew had a great time and got a ribbon for participation.

Andrew's group~The kids are split into small groups of 5 or 6 according to age and gender.  A volunteer leads them around to each event.

 Here's Noah's 50 meter run.

Noah, the athlete of our family.  He got first place in the 50 meter, the soccer kick, and the tennis ball throw.  He received a 2nd place ribbon for the 100 meter after doing a tie breaker run with another boy who beat him.  He said his favorite event was running!

This is our 6th year participating in track and field (Check out 2010, 2011, and 2013).  The year that Aaron turned three was super rainy and Aaron was petrified of the starting gun.  You can hear him sobbing hysterically in the videos I took that year.  Last year was his first year of participating and we thought he was over being frightened by the gun.  I guess not!  No ribbons for Aaron this year, not even participation!  He held his ears and whimpered for an hour.  I really don't think it hurt his ears because its not that loud and I moved him to the far side of the field so that we weren't even close to it.  Hoping he gets over it again by next year!  And next year, Luke gets to join in the fun!

What's Cookin'

Tues~American Goulash, Red Lobster bread, carrots
Wed~Chicken Tet, green beans
Thurs~Cowboy casserole, cauliflower or broc
Fri~Beef burgers and black bean burgers, chips, veg and dip
Sat~Pizza with friends, bringing veggies and dessert
Sun~White bean and ham soup, bread
Mon~Beef tacos and honey lime chicken tacos, fruit, veggies and dip
Tues~ Seminary dinner and grilled cheese for boys

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken chili, bread
Tues~Pizza, cold veggies
Wed~Pulled pork, oven fries, cold veggies
Thurs~One pot chicken Alfredo, broccoli
Fri~Steak, baked potatoes, green beans
Sat~Chicken patties on buns, chips, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

What's Cookin'

I only have to cook 3x this week.  Awesome.  :-)

Here's what we hope to have:

Beef and mushrooms over egg noodles,cauliflower
Cowboy cassrole, carrots
One pot Chicken Alfredo, green beans

Free clothes!

Check out this link.  I just signed up for Schoola and got a t-shirt for Luke and a sweater for me for $0!  If you don't have any kids, check out the teen girls section for women's sizes.

1.  Register for Schoola.
2.  Select what clothes you want.
3.  Your $15 credit is automatically applied to your purchase and shipping is FREE right now!

What's Cookin'

I've had a hard time coming up with meals these past couple of weeks.  I think it's because my freezer and pantry need a restock.  Here's what I've come up with for this week:

Mon~Mexican chicken, brown rice, strawberries
Tues~I have this made already since the two oldest and I are going skiing tomorrow!-Enchilada lasagna, carrots
Wed~???  Chris says he's making dinner.
Thurs~Crockpot steak and gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans
Fri~Kids are having chicken nuggets and fries while we go to the youth group's dinner they are having to raise money for their mission trip.
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken Pot pie, green beans

Mabel and her Great-Grandma DeVisser

Here are some pics that my sister-in-law took of Chris's Grandma DeVisser and Mabel:

One of the first things Grandma said about Mabel when she was born was, "What a precious piece of humanity!" Grandma is celebrating her 95th birthday today!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spaghetti, garlic bread, carrots
Tues~We're going out and the boys are having their favorite meal-chicken nuggets and french fries.
Wed~Fellowship dinner.  I'm making these baked beans and adding pulled pork.
Thurs~Crockpot Chicken and stuffing, green beans
Fri~Pizza, cold veggies
Sat~Taco soup, corn bread
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, bread

What's Cookin'

Mon~Enchilada pie, corn
Tues~Barbecued pulled chicken (freezer), roasted potatoes, roasted cauliflower
Wed~One pot Chicken Alfredo, green beans
Thurs~Swedish meatballs with noodle, carrots  (Anyone have a good Swedish meatballs recipe?  Haven't settled on one I want to try yet.)
Fri~Leftovers/Sandwiches/Cousin's Night Out
Sat~Pizza
Sun~Spaghetti, garlic bread, broc or beans

PRTS family

The PRTS student council organized a cultural night to highlight all the different countries that PRTS students come from. Everyone was asked to bring an appetizer or dessert from their country. PRTS has students from 14 different states and 24 different nations this semester.

Mabel and her friend, Eva, at the PRTS Cultural Night.  Eva's parents are from Malawi and her dad is actually the chief of his tribe.  These two were also baptized together. 

I couldn't put the video here, but if you go to my Facebook page, there is a video of the PRTS kids singing, "God is so Good," in multiple languages.

Andrew's day out

Blue grandpa and grandma took Andrew for a day this week to celebrate his birthday.  He had a GREAT time alone with his grandparents!

After a hearty McDonald's breakfast, they went for a walk in the snow.

 

And they did a special project with Andrew.  He helped screw this bench together and paint the legs.  He also got to take some lego men home that Grandpa found in some furniture.  Andrew really enjoyed this project and now we have a beautiful bench on our front porch.

When I was growing up, I would sometimes leave notes written in chalk around my dad's shop.  He says he kept finding them years later.  Andrew left some notes too.  This one says, "Satisfaction Guaranteed!"

Sledding!

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for a great birthday gift!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Southern Slow Steaks, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, bread (It's my mom's birthday!)
Tues~My birthday!  Oh, and its kids' night at Applebee's!
Wed~Boys and Chris have a pizza party for Boys and Girls Club.  I think I'll make Pineapple Salsa Chicken.
Thurs~Enchilada Casserole Pie, cold veggies
Fri~PRTS Culture night-I'm going to bring either Dutch meatball soup or boterkoek.
Sat~David Kwekel Benefit at Cascade Grill

What's Cookin'

Mon~Honey balsamic pulled pork, roasted potatoes, carrots, salad
Tues~Better than Panda orange chicken, loaded fried rice
Wed~Goulash, red lobster loaf, green beans
Thurs~Chicken gloria, egg noodles, broccoli
Fri~ TACO NIGHT!
Sat~Pizza

Double digits!

Andrew turned 10 YEARS OLD on December 26!  Chris took the day off from work and we all went to the museum together. 

Andrew is really into lego so he was excited when I made a lego cake topper for him.  He has a huge lego city built in his room that he plays with every day.  He also loves to read.  Mysteries are probably his first choice, but he likes history and science books.  His favorite series is the Chronicles of Narnia, which he's read 2-3x.  He loved The Hobbit, too.  You can often find him drawing pictures which usually involve some kind of super hero character.

Andrew has proven to be a big help to me, especially with a newborn in the house right now.  He loves little kids and is usually willing to play with Luke or hold Mabel if I'm busy with something else.  He can be tad forgetful, but he is very diligent in doing his school.  He just finished his 4th grade math book and is starting 5th grade math.   

 

His favorite gift?  A spy kit I found at Meijer for 50 cents!  His first target was Noah.

We love you, Andrew!

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

Proverbs 23:24

Mabel Anne is 3 months old!

 

Our baby girl is now 3 months old.  It's always amazing to me how fast the itty bitty baby stage goes.  She is still very much an infant, but you can tell she's getting older (and bigger!)  She gives smiles more frequently now and she sleeps about 10 hrs most nights.  We are still working on some sort of consistent schedule during the day.  She is my first screamer.  I have never heard a baby shriek and scream the way she does.  But we still love her! 

What's Cookin' and a recipe for Chicken Burrito soup

I tried a bunch of new recipes last week.  Monday's chicken burrito bowl was just so-so.  The instant rice really soaked up the moisture to make it kind of glumpy (new word).  The white bean soup I made with a ham bone and the cottage meatball pie are both recipes that I will make again.

Mon~Tomato orzo soup, grilled cheese
Tues~Chicken Tet, green beans
Wed~Youth group dinner
Thurs~Meatloaf and gravy over mashed potatoes, corn, cauliflower
Fri~PCS Spaghetti dinner
Sat~Pizza

Last week I made chicken burrito bowls and had mounds of leftovers.  On Thursday, I used some as filling for enchiladas, but still had a bunch leftover.  So I invented Chicken Burrito soup, and it was pretty good!  A little spicy, but still yummy, especially with sour cream and tortilla chips.  Here's the recipe:

Chicken Burrito Soup

olive oil
small onion, chopped
1 t dried minced garlic
4-5 cups of chicken broth, depending on how soupy you want it
14.5 oz diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 c of cooked brown rice
1 c of beans (black/pinto)
1.5 c cooked chicken, chopped
1/2-1 chipotle pepper, minced (depending on how spicy you want it)
2-3 T of homemade taco seasoning, or use your own variation of taco spices

1.  Saute onion in olive oil until tender.
2.  Add rest of ingredients and simmer about 20 minutes.
3.  Top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips.

Aww!

Aaron and one of his best buddies, Raelyn

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken Burrito Bowls, salad
Tues~Barbecue chicken, potato wedges, cold veggies
Wed~White bean soup, artisan bread
Thurs~Meatball Cottage pie, green beans
Fri~Goulash, Red lobster biscuit loaf, carrots
Sat~Pizza (Best pizza crust I've ever made), cold veggies