Christmas Program - Peter's Preschool

September 2014

We moved into the church parsonage on September and Peter turned 5 in September! He got to start preschool at PCGS, too. I'm glad we waited for him to start preschool until this year. He was ready to start and has done so well. His class is for older 4 year olds and 5 year olds. It meets three mornings each week. He is really loving it!

September was also an exciting month as Brad passed his classical examination and was ordained and installed as a pastor in the CRC. It was the final step in the seminary journey and it was exciting to see the dream fulfilled and his hard work and calling affirmed.

Peter's first day of preschool and our new home's front step - sorry for the crooked picture

Peter got to help drive the excavator that working at church - on his birthday!

Our friends and family gathered for Brad's ordination- we ventured to Red Rock and tossed stones in the water for a while

Group picture on the hike back - you can see it was a hot day as the kids decided to go shirtless

Love birds

Family picture on Ordination and Installation Day

So special to have both of our parents here for the weekend

Special men involved in the day: Pastor Paul Hoekstra, Pastor Mark Quist, Brad and Dad (aka Pastor Merle Bierma)

These cousins got "caught" playing in the balcony after church!

2014: Who's in the driver's seat?

Peter calls to me from the back seat, "Mama, this isn't the right way home. Are we getting lost?" Or "Where are we going? Why are we going here?" He does this almost every day.

It kind of drives me nuts! I don't think I've ever actually gotten lost, at least not in the last 16 years. So not in his lifetime. I'm good with directions. I understand maps and I plan ahead to make sure I know how to efficiently get where I'm going. I do enjoy taking a different route once in a while, or just because of the series of errands we have to do we end up taking different roads than normal. Occasionally I miss a turn and we have to turn around, or a detour catches me off-guard in an area of town that I don't know very well.

But, lost? Not really!

So while it's an innocent question from his limited perspective and it's fairly humorous, it also insults me just a little when he asks me if I know how to get where we are going! I feel accused and mistrusted! I understand that from his vantage point he recognizes the familiar things on the roads that we typically drive. Perhaps he gets a little nervous when we go on unfamiliar roads. But he has no reason to doubt me! I'm his Mom! I only ever plan good things for him! I know where we're going! I have a plan!

One day in the van when I was felling more annoyed than humored about having to constantly reassure him that we're doing just fine and re-explain to him why we're going the way we're going, a little voice (Holy Spirit whisper maybe?) said, "Isn't this like you and God? Aren't you wondering if God has a plan, and knows the way? Aren't you sometimes wondering or worrying about the different route, the unknown roads, that God is bringing you down?"

Ouch. Oh me of little faith.

************
Update: I wrote that portion of the post about 2 months ago - early November. That "plan" and "unknown roads" I was referring to was the unknown future that lies ahead for us in June. When Brad finishes seminary, we have no plan other than to take a call to a church. That in itself comes with many unknowns. Our only guarantee is that we have major change coming. Sometimes a scary thought. Since this reminder that God is my loving parent in the driver seat, and I'm the one in the booster seat in the back I've been washed over with a renewed peace in regards to our future.

And Peter doesn't ask as often if I know how to get where I'm going.

2014 will be a year of change, no doubt for all of us in some way. May the God of Peace comfort you, too, as you encounter the unknown and the new.

Things that go bump and the prayers of a child

Peter has been suffering from bad dreams for a quite few weeks now. Almost every night he wakes up screaming in terror or comes running into our room, terrified. It's very sad to see him so tormented. But is has been getting better recently, thankfully. He has started praying at his bedtime "Dear Lord, please keep the bad dreams out of me, and give me good angels."  It's touching to hear him adopt his own version of the prayers that we say with him in the middle of the night after a bad dream as his own. 

He also has been very excited about praying before our meals. He often says his prayers like this: "Dear God, thank you for our food. I really bless you for..." followed by whatever toy, friend or fun event he's thankful for and also for someone he's asking God to help, which lately is his recently injured uncle.

Cora also takes her turn praying. She starts with the memorized "God is Great" prayer and then follows it up with thanking God for her family and friends, and asking him to help the people in, (Where is the place with the really bad storm? she always asks), the Philippines.

Addie is cluing in to the prayer time, too. She folds her hands sometimes and mimics the sing-song tune of God is Great. It's very sweet. But most of the time she just wants her food-now!

May these family prayer times penetrate their spirits, so that Philippians 4:6-7 is a daily reality for them and they choose to turn to God in prayer in every situation: 

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A Happy 4 year old Birthday Boy

It was all about our birthday boy last week! We played classic preschool games with a few of his friends like "Hide-and-seek", "Duck, duck, goose" and "Freeze Tag". 

 Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting was his choice. Oh yes, and chocolate ice cream!

 Thank you to everyone who helped him feel special on his birthday! Cards, phone calls, gifts!

 He's getting so tall! Look at him stand there so seriously. :)

 Seeing as how 90% of the time Peter spends with toys is spend playing with race cars and monster trucks, we thought it'd be a fun way to celebrate by taking him for his first go-cart ride. He loved it!

 Scooping, dumping, scraping lentils.

Happy 4th Birthday to our little man! It gives us so much joy to celebrate you! We are so thankful that you're in our family, that you are healthy and growing into such a fun boy. Thank you, God, for Peter!

Paci and Teddy

Aaahhh, Paci and Teddy. What would we have done with out you? 

Paci was a necessity since Peter was a baby. We've been getting up in the middle of the night for 3 years to find the missing paci for our son. We've struggled to keep track of it around the house, to restrict its use to only bedtime, and finally to convince Peter he's too big for Paci. 

 Teddy was an accident. He came in a box of handed down clothes when Peter was a newborn. We used the soft little animal to stuff one of the corners between the crib and the mattress so Paci wouldn't fall through the crack and down under the crib. At around 9 months (?) we started finding Teddy pulled out of the corner each morning and after each nap. We'd always stuff him back down, but Peter kept pulling him out. And so began a friendship. Teddy is not only a bedtime buddy, but a playmate and a source of comfort. (Click here for a picture of 1 year old Peter giving Teddy a ride on his shoulders - something he still does!) I admit I've been jealous when Peter is sad and crying and just wants his Teddy! But Teddy has been worn out, literally. Here is a picture of his most recent state. Brad and I often think of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit when we see poor Teddy.

Well, it's the end of an era: We offered Peter a trade-in for Paci. If he threw his pacifiers in the garbage dumpster he would get a toy castle/fortress. We had pre-purchased it this fall but decided to wait for Christmas break, in case the weaning of the pacifier caused sleep disturbances then at least school work wouldn't suffer. So the first weekend Brad was done with school we told Peter what we had for him, showed him it, and told him to tell us when he was ready to throw away Paci. Within a couple days he was ready...and so were we. Peter was such a big boy and proud of himself, throwing it in the dumpster himself. He was thrilled with the castle and didn't say anything about wanting Paci until today, almost two weeks later! He has not had a problem going to sleep or staying asleep at night, and is even still usually taking a nap. 

I admit, I'm so surprised. 

We were prepared for a battle and serious sleep-time repercussions.  I guess this is a child who makes up his mind and sticks with it and this is a way in which it is a good thing!

How have you helped your children wean (or go cold-turkey) from a pacifier or other comfort item? 

By the way, Brad sewed Teddy a new body! We joked about Teddy undergoing surgery and when Brad showed Peter Teddy 2.0 his response was, "Teddy! You're back!" 

So cute. 

Seasonal programs

Parents were invited to attend the Thanksgiving Chapel and Christmas Chapel at Cora's school. It was so nice to be a part of her school day and see the kids and teachers she spends her day with. They put a lot of work into the Thanksgiving chapel (I couldn't make it to the Christmas chapel) with all the different grade levels participating in a unique way. They incorporated a lot of Spanish, also, with some of the older SI (spanish immersion) students reciting bible passages and Cora's kindergarten class sang a praise song in Spanish. 

Cora and Peter both were able to participate in the Children's Christmas program at our church this year. We listened to the music CD almost non-stop for at least a month before the program and we all knew the songs very well! The kids practiced motions to all the songs for weeks, also. It was a big production and a very nice presentation of celebrating Christ at Christmas-time. 

Tonight at dinner Cora and Peter started reciting part of Luke 2 and got most of it correct. The only thing we can think of where they both learned it so well is from listening to the CD of the program! It included all the dialogue for the program in addition to the music, so they heard Luke 2 over and over again and apparently it stuck in their heads. I love it! Kids' memories are amazing!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Peter!

Peter, oh, Peter. I have not the words to describe you, little man! I absolutely adore you. You are a bundle of energy and passion, and smarter than I know what to do with. We love your exuberance, and your constant singing brings joy and a song to our hearts, too. You can hardly keep still if there is music playing but just have to dance and wiggle! You adore your big sister, Cora, and get so frustrated when you can't run as fast as her; you're sweet and attentive to your little sister, Addie. We are so blessed to have you in our lives! Thank you, Lord, for our Peter!

Peter helped me bake and decorate his cupcakes for his playdate birthday party. He chose chocolate cupcakes, blue frosting and M&M's as decoration. This boy knows what he likes!

We had a few friends over Friday morning: Alex, Tatyanna, Josiah and Owen. 

Yum!!! Peter ended up mostly just eating the frosting off the cupcakes. Hey, it's his birthday!

This is so sweet: Cora found this toy version of a car ferry on the SS Badger and asked if she could get it for Peter for his birthday. So we secretly bought it and kept it hidden till his birthday and she gave it to him. He loves it!

Peter has been riding hand-me-down bikes his whole life and his little plastic tricycle is on it's last legs (or wheels). He was so excited to uncover this cool boy bike on his birthday and he loves riding it around the basement. We've been working on getting used to breaking so he can ride it more confidently outside on the hills and he's really getting the hang of it.

Peter's Birthday Cake! Just what he wanted. :)

Reading a book with Grandpa S. and Elena while waiting for birthday dinner.

I think one of his favorite parts of birthday (besides the frosting) is the birthday song! He loved watching everyone singing to him.

Peter is growing big and strong! He weighs in at a solid 37 lbs and is 38 1/4 inches tall. He still loves his teddy and paci (I know, I know: we'll give paci a few more months). He often refers to teddy as his baby and puts him down for a nap or puts him on his shoulder and pats his back gently. He loves to sing "I love you, Lord", "Now unto Him who is able", "ABC's", "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus loves the Little Children" and many others. We sometimes joke about the playlist that runs constantly in his head. We often hear him humming himself to sleep, or when he wakes up in the morning before getting out of bed. Speaking of that, he's still an early bird, but we now use the "OK to Wake" Clock and he has to wait till the green light goes on before getting out of bed. Wonderful! He is a decent eater but has a strong sweet tooth. He prefers to eat grains and fruits and vegetables over meat. 

Some of the funny things he often says: "Once upon a time ago", "I spy with my doo-doo eye" ("doo-doo" is how he pronounces "little", he's not trying to sound dirty, but sometimes he and Cora get goofy and say "poopoo peepee" and crack each other up over it...), "Lookit at dat". He likes to tell knock-knock jokes that often go like this: Peter - "knock, knock", Me - "who's there?", Peter - "Banana. Ha ha ha ha" and that's the end of the joke. I can't help but laugh with him. :) 

Peter is expressive, not only about his frustrations and disappointments, but also about his endearments. He often tells us he loves us, or he takes my hand when we're walking somewhere and says "You're my dest dend" (best friend)! and when one of us returns from being gone he says, "I missed you so much!" It's so sweet to see how happy he and Cora are to see each other when she gets off the school bus. They often hug and he says he missed her and she tells him about some picture she drew for him.

What a blessing this little boy is to our family!

June 2012

Early in June we moved to a larger, 3 bedroom apartment. We are now just across the street from the seminary. After Addie was born, Brad took Cora and Peter for a one-night camping trip to Walton Lake, a campground owned by Calvin College. He also took them fishing a number of times to a few different places. Cora has become quite the fisherwoman! She is very patient and focused while waiting for the fish to bite...and they sure do!

Keeping the "bully flies" away!

Cora loves holding her baby sister!

We really do fit all three kids in their carseats in the back of the Toyota Camry. It's a squeeze but the benefit to being close together is that it's easy to help pass toys or snacks to the kids. Cora even helps with Addie by giving her the pacifier, wiping up spit-up, singing to her to calm her down and occassionally even giving her a bottle!

Addie's first visit to Great-Grandma and -Grandpa's place. She is about two weeks old in this picture.

May Blessings

What a month May was! Brad celebrated the end of the first year of Seminary with an overnight canoe/kayak trip with 3 other guys from seminary. I think the following picture is supposed to have the caption "This is the life"

It was a well planned and executed adventure, but an adventure none the less. They covered 50 miles on the Thornapple River with a fully-loaded canoe and two kayaks.

 Cora also finished a year of school! Here she is with her preschool teachers Ms. Illiana and Ms. Joyce. 

 With some of her friends: ?, Sharon, Tayse, Cora and Daisy. Her teachers said this was a wonderful class and you can see the sense of camaraderie here!

 Cora herded all her classmates together for me to take a picture of the whole class!

 Peter is growing up so much. When I think of a new baby coming I realize how big he really is! Not the baby anymore. He loves to help me vacuum the dining room floor!

 We enjoyed a day of Tulip Time festivities in Holland. Despite the fact that most of the tulips had bloomed early and lost their petals by the time the festival came around, it was fun to have a blast from the past and share some of the traditions with Cora, Peter and Brad. 

Below: we sampled some Dutch food: croquetten, "pigs in a blanket", oliebollen, currant bun with edam cheese.  

 We watched the Musiekparade (Parade of Bands) despite the rain. The kids loved it!

 My Alma Mater: Holland Christian High School. Always a nice band, but I have to admit that the Holland High School marching band in their wooden shoes is pretty cool!

A time to sow: Cora has been saving seeds from any fruit we ate all winter until they turned moldy. So we asked Grandpa S. if she could help him with his garden and she was very excited about this. She thought she would get to grow apples, oranges, grapefruit...until we explained that they grow on trees and take many many years to produce fruit. She agreed that planting green beans that she could help pick and eat later this summer was a better option! 

I'm a Big Boy now!

Peter has recently gone on a baby strike. A few weeks ago we moved him out of the crib and into his "big boy bed", the bottom bed of the bunk bed. He transitioned like a champ! He was definitely ready. He had been asking for a couple weeks if he could sleep in the big boy bed so I think when the time came he knew it was a big deal and he's done such a good job. We are so proud of him!

Since then he has started boycotting other things that are baby-like: sippy cups, his booster seat at the table and most recently, diapers. Yes, diapers.

I was waiting till he was staying dry through naps or at least for an hour or so during the day before I was going to attempt potty training. And since we were getting closer and closer to Baby's due date I figured we would just be waiting until the end of the summer. However last week he told us he wanted to be all done with diapers and tried to persuade us a few times to let him wear underwear to bed at night! We didn't give in but told him that he had to keep his underwear dry all day before he could wear them to bed at night. (We would occasionally let him wear underwear for 20 or 30 minutes at home in the mornings and it was pretty exciting for him, but he'd often have accidents and then we'd change him back to a diaper.)

Since Peter seemed convinced he really wanted to be done wearing diapers I thought we'd try it at home for a few days. The first day in underwear he had a few accidents but always ran to the toilet to try to finish. Then we had a busy weekend and didn't do any practice times. This week I had a pretty open schedule during the mornings so we tried some more just for the portion of the day that we were at home. He totally surprised me! He has been yelling "Potty" with his standard level of great enthusiasm and runs to the toilet before getting wet. He has only had a couple accidents and those were while we were outside playing and he first told me "Potty", then changed his mind and said he didn't want to go inside. He's not the easiest one to persuade to do what he doesn't want to do and since we were outside anyway having an accident maybe is a good way for him to learn that lesson (I hate cleaning potty off floors more than off of clothes!) He even has been staying dry during nap times and for periods of time as long as 4 hours! And he's even figured out how to do most of it on his own, only needing help pulling his pants back up when he's done. I'm completely surprised. I feel like I've totally underestimated him! I think the only hang up right now is that he doesn't seem to want to go to the bathroom while in public (and just holds it till we get home!), or when with someone other than me or Brad. He's not staying dry all night but he is at least willing to wear a diaper to bed at night.

I'm trying to not get my hopes up too much about this, even though it's exciting to see him doing so well since this was really his idea. But knowing how many changes are coming up soon makes me suspect we may have a regression or just some more 2 year old defiance on our hands in the next few months. But for now it's impressive to see him putting his mind to this and succeeding!

Chicago a la Familia

Brad and Cora were on Spring Break last week and since the kids spend much of their time pretending to take a train to Chicago ("Uncago" in Peter's words) we thought it would be fun to take a day trip. We drove to Michigan City, IN where we picked up the South Shore Commuter train. Not as nice a ride as the Amtrak, but the tickets are super cheap and it's still a train by any child's definition. It rides on tracks, moves quickly and blows a horn. We chug-a-chug-a-choo-chooed the rest of the way to Chicago.

We got off the train at Millennium Park and had a snacky lunch there. The highlight of the park was enjoying green grass and trees on a sunny day with a brisk chill, and possibly the very friendly and hungry squirrels and birds we shared our snacks with. We didn't explore the park much so we'll have to do that another time! We trekked along the Riverfront path to Navy Pier, enjoying views of Lake Michigan and sounds of roaring traffic

It was a perfect day for a Ferris Wheel ride. That's not my favorite way to spend 7 minutes so we saved a few bucks and I enjoyed watching them from a sunny, out of the breeze location.

Off they go! 

And there, at the very top of the Ferris Wheel, I see a little blondie stick his head out to wave "Hi, Mom!" I was much more comfortable with that from the ground looking up than I would have been from up there looking down! I would have ruined all their fun had I been the parent riding with them! Give me a roller coaster over a Ferris Wheel any day!

After our fun at Navy Pier we gave our feet a treat and took a Water Taxi back to Michigan Ave where we only had to walk a few blocks back to the train station.

Cora preferred riding under the draw bridges more than walking across them - they were bouncy! 

We had a great day together as a family. It was fun to watch both the kids be so excited about riding trains, big city buildings and traffic, Police boats, Fire boats, riding a boat, etc. We rode the train back to Michigan City, at a pre-packed dinner in the car and got home in time for bedtime! In a sense it was a whirlwind day and we only saw a fraction of Chicago, but our intent was to have the thrill of riding a train and spending the day together doing a few fun things in the Windy City. Goal: achieved!