VandenHeuvel Family Blog

Eliana's Dedication

2009-03-15T17:37:00.001-07:00

Check out the video that we showed at the dedication today.

2008-12-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS 2008

And the angel said to Mary...

"Nothing is impossible with God!" Luke 1:37

We have had an exciting, blessed year! Our big news, in case you haven't heard, is the arrival of our daughter, Eliana Renee Hope VandenHeuvel! We were at the hospital when she was born on May 12, we brought her home from the hospital when she was two days old. "Eliana" means "God has answered my prayer" and she truly is the answer to our prayers. God is so good, and so Gracious! She is a beautiful, amazing, joyful, sweet, and funny baby. We are having such a great time! This is an open adoption and we have an on-going relationship with both of Ellie's birthparents, which has been such a blessing! Just this month everything was finalized and made legal (check out the video below). She is forever a part of our family, and she was worth our five-year wait for a baby!

We have had other events happen over the past year, as well. Here are some highlights:

Spending six months with Kristina's sister and family (on furlough from the mission field)
Tent camping (with a newborn!) with Kristina's family at Bass Lake
A Thanksgiving adventure - van broke down on Interstate 5, God delivered us a new one!
Making over the kids' bedrooms with the addition of Eliana
God's provision, blessing, grace and love...all year long!

Mariana is our beautiful girl who just turned 9 years old! She is loving 3rd grade at Valley Christian and doing a great job keeping up with homework and being a contributing part of her class! She is growing up way too fast! Mariana continues to enjoy arts and crafts, loves doing science experiments, and played softball last spring (and... tolerated it!). Kristina is teaching her to play the piano, and Mar is proving to be a natural! Mariana LOVES being a big sister all over again, and does a fabulous job helping with Eliana, and even gave up her privacy to share a room with her baby sister.
She always looks forward to going to church to spend time with her friends and to learn more about God.

Jack is such a funny, sweet and happy 7 year old boy. He's doing a great job in first grade and is being quite the skilled reader! He's a leader in his class and helps his teacher by setting a good tone for the whole room. He loved playing T-ball this past spring and wants to jump into the next season. It was fun to have other coaches yell out "move back, everyone!" whenever Jack was at bat! He also learned how to swim and is now water-safe.

Jack also loves to spend time with his friend Jared, who lives down the street. They play with legos, Star Wars toys and make up all sorts of boy-shooting-roughhousing-things too.
It is a JOY to watch Jack fulfill his role as Big Brother. He is so sweet with Eliana and can't help smile whenever she's around. (She's my secret weapon in the mornings when I'm trying to get Jack out of bed!)

Eliana is seven months old and is growing too fast! She just cut her first two teeth, and her newest "tricks" include sitting up, almost crawling, and playing peek-a-boo. She loves people, and her favorite time of day is anytime her brother and sister are home. She loves to "pet" Maebe, our boxer, and Maebe is so patient. Eliana loves music, and loves being loud - growling, yelling, jabbering, laughing. She definitely lets us know she's here!

Christiaan really enjoys his ministry at Cornerstone. He gets to work with a great team of people and he looks forward to heading out to the office every day. His days are filled with meetings, but he has learned to see the value of developing other leaders around him in addition to doing a lot of the work himself. This was the first Presidential election in which Christiaan was able to vote as a U.S. citizen. He loves being a dad to three very different children and tries to spend one-on-one time with them whenever possible.

Kristina loves being a stay-at-home mom. Life is always busy, and having three kids is, well, more than having two! She continues to teach piano lessons and serve in music ministry. Most of her time is spent keeping up with the housework, helping Mariana and Jack with their homework, and holding Eliana. It is her privilege!

From our house to yours,
we truly wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!
May your lives be filled with love for our Savior,
and love for others.

We can testify that God is Good, He loves you,
He is Faithful in all He does, He hears our prayers,
and He is worthy of our praise!

Because of Jesus,
Christiaan, Kristina, Mariana, Jack and Eliana

2008-12-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

Each year, the Cornerstone staff gets together for a Christmas party. This year we met in the main auditorium since the group has gotten too large for other places. We had such a great time. The food was excellent and Pastor Steve sang with Alvin and the Chipmunks. We also played a game. We competed in teams to see who could make the best Christmas-related photographs. Here are some impressions of that evening.

2008-12-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

Eliana's Adoption Hearing from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-12-19T08:46:00.000-08:00

Jack's Christmas Program from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-12-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

Mariana's Christmas Piano Recital from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-11-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

The kids being silly and fun

2008-11-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

Some more random pictures of the kids and our adventures.

Our neighbor Christina

2008-11-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

Some random pictures of the kids and our adventures.

2008-11-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

Eliana's Five months old already!!!

Time is definitely racing by! Ellie is growing so fast. She gets cuter and more fun by the day. She has such a GREAT, EASY disposition! She can already roll from tummy to back, and back to tummy. She's starting to rock up on her knees and we find her several feet away from where we put her. We are like, "NO!!! Slow down! Next you'll be crawling!"

Mariana and Jack are having a blast with her, and she loves being entertained by them. It's so fun to watch an 8- and a 7-year old being silly. Ellie doesn't care what they do or how weird they do it -- it's hilarious to her! She's proving to be loud and silly herself, full of squeals, shouts and laughter - she fits right in!

Eliana's only "difficulty" has been the fact that she's been teething for almost three months, and still no fruits for her labors! Poor thing!

She sleeps through the night most nights. Occasionally she wakes up around 4am and has a little party and practices all her new sounds for 5-10 minutes, then falls back asleep.

We've started a little bit of food. She's just starting to get a hang of swallowing her cereal or sweet potatoes. She'll keep a little bite in her mouth and then, bloop! - spit it out.

We love her so much! She is such a blessing to our family, our little answer to prayer. We know God has big plans for her life, and we fe l so privileged to be a part of it!

2008-11-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

What a Kid!

Jack is 7 years old and in 1st grade. He's growing up so fast! He is a typical boy in most ways - loves Star Wars, all action figures, sound effects, video games... He's learning to read and is doing an amazing job! His two front teeth are growing in, which also ages him into being that school-aged kid.

Last Sunday (Oct. 26), he called a family gathering. He had a baseball cap filled with fold-up papers. He told us we were going to play a game for one whole week. He explained that on each paper there was someone's name. We were to draw a name, and don't tell anyone. Then, for a whole week, we were to secretly to nice things for that person.

He told us that he got the idea from a Veggie tales video (from the "extras" on the menu). So he had watched the idea and thought about it, and took matters into his own hands and organized the whole thing, all by himself! Isn't he cool?

We've had notes taped all over the house. Here's on that was left on Christiaan's pillow on Friday (Halloween). We have no idea who might have left it (even though he asked me how to spell "Halloween").

Also, on the same day, I was laying down for a little snooze, and Jack came in with this:

He's the best. He's my best boy in the whole wide world!

2008-11-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

My Bat (Mariana), my Cat (Eliana), and my Clone Trooper (Jack)

HALLOWEEN 2008

I know, I know...I'm way behind on my blog posts. Well, there's no time like the present to get caught up!

We had a great time getting dressed up and getting ready for CandyZone, our church's Halloween alternative. The kids even ended up with the day off of school and Halloween landed on a Friday! Yeah!

Christiaan was already at church, setting up for CandyZone, so we all got ready. We first stopped at our friends, the Esmeyer's, to premiere our costumes and get some good pictures.

Mariana in full bat face Jamie and Eliana Two "clone" Clone Troopers - Jack and his friend Ian Mom and the Three Kids - I'm dressed in my "not me" character...as in, "Who are you?" Answer: "Not me!"

2008-10-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Stirling's Last Night in The US

Right before they left for China, Christiaan asked the kids and grownups what they were looking forward to as they got ready to fly back to Yanji. Here's what they said:

Stirling's Last Night in The US 2008 from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-10-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

NEW VIDEO: Mariana Lipsyncs to Jack's Sweet Tunes

Mar "Sings" from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Day at the Glen
The kids and I had a great time a few weeks ago (when Kristina was off to her God Chicks conference in Southern California) at the Dublin "Day at the Glen" fair/carnival.

Mariana and I actually won a prize (shooting water in the little hole, you know what I mean?)

2008-10-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

Mariana spruces up her shoes

Mariana thought it would be a cool idea to bedazzle her "plain ol' gym shoes" with some... duct tape. I gotta give her: it's creative.
So, after a few days I made her take off all the tape, but you know duct tape, it leaves a slight glue residue, so now when she walks around the house she sticks to the floor and makes this weird sound. It totally made us all laugh this morning.

2008-08-29T17:15:00.001-07:00

Eliana's Three-month Pictures

2008-08-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Jack's First Grade Pictures

Camping Pictures

2008-08-22T15:44:00.001-07:00

2008-08-22T09:05:00.001-07:00

Our Camping Trip Near Pescadero from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-08-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

Jack's 7th Birthday!

For his 7th birthday, Jack got to pick one friend to do something fun with. He picked a friend from school, Grant Garcia.

Grant scored huge points by giving Jack a cool Lego Starwars set.

Jack wanted to go play miniature golf with Grant. They had a great time running around the course!

2008-08-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Bakker Family Camping Trip

I thought I should add a little text to the pictures Christiaan posted -- he's on the ball!

We always try to vacation together in the summer. This year, we were able to camp for a week at Bass Lake with Kristina's WHOLE family: her parents; her sister, Karen, and her husband, Alan, and six kids (a real treat! since they live in China and are only home every 3-4 years!); her brother, Dan, and his wife, Crystal, and two of their boys; her brother, Jordan, and his wife, Erin, and their two little girls (ages 18 months and 3 months!). Dan and Crystal also brought along Crystal's nephew, Hayden - 16, and niece, McKenna - 13. Hayden is the good-looking guy with brown curly hair holding Eliana in one of the pictures. McKenna has long hair and is so cute! They were awesome to have there - great attitudes, very fun, and helpful. Let me total that for you: 10 adults + 15 kids.

We all did TENTS! I'll give you a moment to let that sink in.

We all grew up tent-camping, so we were looking forward to it, and with today's super-sized, multi-roomed tents, it's pretty nice.

Dan and Crystal have a boat, and our campsites were within walking distance to the lake. So we'd have a slow morning, pack up lunches, snacks, swim stuff, sunscreen and the kids and head down to the lake. We had a little stretch of beach where the kids could easily play in the water, and we'd take turns heading out in the boat for water fun! They have great "toys" for all the ages to be able to experience being pulled behind the boat. Jack's favorite was the race car toy -- you sit in it and bounce a lot!

In the evening, each family took a turn at making dinner (at catering quantity!), and the kids played and played, we played games, and later we roasted marshmallows, made s'mores and learned a new favorite: honey bears. I'll blog instructions later.

A fun time was had by all! The babies did great - Eliana was 2 months, and Brenna (Jordan's daughter) was 3 months. Tents, bottles, pack n' plays, dirt...what more could you want?? :)

2008-07-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Link to more photo's and videos of our Bass Lake vacation.

Bass Lake Camping Trip Highlights

2008-07-26T20:29:00.001-07:00

2008-07-26T11:27:00.001-07:00

Bass Lake Camping Vacation

Vacation with the Bakker and Stirling families, July 20-26, 2008

Bass Lake 2008 from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-07-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Latest Pictures:

2008-07-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

Check out the video

Jack at Valley Christian's "Field Day"

2008-06-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Supergirl

Jack and I were watching the original Superman movie (with Christopher Reeve) and we get to the part in the beginning of the movie where the Kent's coem upon this little boy. Realizing that the boy belongs to no one, that he'd just fallen out of the sky, the Mrs. Kent tries to convince her husband that they should keep the boy. When he finally relents, she exclaims somethign to the effect of "Oh, our own little boy. The Lord has finally answered our prayers!"

Jack immediately turned to me and said: "Just like we did with Eliana, huh?"

So, I guess Eliana is our little Supergirl!

2008-06-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

End of the School Year sharing

Kristina asked Jack and Mar to go ahead and share (show-and-tell style) all the things they took back from school on their last day. These are items that had been hanging in the room or hiding out in the classroom throughout the school year.

Warning: this is a great video for Grandparents and very interested parties. The video goes on for 8 minutes or so... be prepared. Ha ha ha.

2008-06-14T13:30:00.001-07:00

Eliana's First Bath

Eliana took her first bath. Here's some short clips for you to enjoy.

Eliana's First Bath from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

Eliana's First Bath II from Christiaan VandenHeuvel on Vimeo.

2008-06-14T12:25:00.001-07:00

Mariana Line Dances!

Mariana had a chance to show off her mad line dancing skills during Valley Christian's Pioneer Days.

Catching Up with the VHs

2008-06-12T08:56:00.001-07:00

2008-06-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

Jack and Eliana
Two of my most favorite people.

2008-05-31T18:53:00.000-07:00

Snugglebug

Eliana loves to be held. She's a such a great baby... totally quiet and sweet. The only time she can get fussy is if she feels she needs to be held more. Well, we're (usually) glad to indulge her!

2008-05-28T08:38:00.001-07:00

2008-05-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Sisters

2008-05-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

More Pictures

2008-05-20T10:24:00.001-07:00

Sleep anyone?

So what do you get when you cross sleep deprivation, a dirty hallway and a green bottle?

Give up?

A sticky (hardwood floor) hallway from "cleaning" it with Spray n' Wash!

I have to admit, it did get the hallway pretty clean!

But seriously, look at these bottles -- can you skip several nights of solid sleep and then can you tell at a glance which one is Spray n' Wash and which one is OrangeGlo floor cleaner?

2008-05-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

More PicturesChristiaan and Marieke

Rachel and Eliana

2008-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

VISITORS -- Eliana had LOTS of visitors. She is so loved. Here a few special arms...

Auntie Rosalyn (Esmeyer)

Uncle Steve (Madsen)

Auntie Brenda (Madsen)

Grandma Bakker

Grandpa Bakker

2008-05-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

ONE DAY OLD -- Meet the rest of the family!

Mariana and Jack met their new sister at the hospital, the morning after she was born, before school. Thank you, Marieke, for bringing them! They were so sweet, and a little surprised at how tiny Eliana is!

Eliana got to wear her special hat that MARIANA MADE! Mariana knitted this last fall, full of FAITH and HOPE that God was going to answer our prayers and bring us a baby. Thankfully, Eliana turned out to be a girl, since she only finished a girl hat!
Eliana arrived just in time for Marieke (Christiaan's cousin from Holland, who "happened" to be visiting) to hold her. Her plane was scheduled to bring her back to Holland two days later!

2008-05-17T11:15:00.001-07:00

SHE'S HERE!!

We are proud to announce the arrival of

Eliana Renee Hope

She was born Monday, May 12. She weighed 7 lbs., 12 oz. and was 19 inches long.

God is SO GOOD!!!

2008-05-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

Tim and Audrey Fate

Some friends of ours at Cornerstone are also in the Adoption Process, but their story is very different from ours. Check out their amazing, unfolding story.

2008-05-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Ready and Waiting...!
We are officially in countdown mode. The baby we are hoping to adopt is due any day! And we know she won't go past Wednesday, May 14th! We are so excited, and a little nervous. It's strange and surreal to be "expecting", with no baby belly to see. Mariana is especially excited, since she'll be sharing a room with her baby sister. She helped me put away some baby items and wanted to try them out herself -- I drew the line at actually getting IN the bassinet!

Trying on the baby towel

Our family's bassinet -- Mariana and Jack, and many other babies in my family, have spent their first months sleeping in this bassinet. Thank you, Grandma, for keeping it in such great shape -- 52 years!!

2008-05-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mariana's Penguin Speech

Mariana did her last 2nd grade speech. She chose to talk about penguins. She did an AWESOME JOB!! We encouraged her to look up once in awhile (and not read the speech), and she did! We're not sure where she gets her confidence, but she definitely has it. (They had a casual dress day, by the way, which is why she's not wearing her uniform).

2008-05-09T18:05:00.001-07:00

Marieke and Maebe, Reunited

We've been blessed to have Marieke visiting us for 3 weeks! Marieke is Christiaan's cousin from The Netherlands. What a great visitor! :)
And Maebe loves it because she gets special long walks!

2008-05-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Some Baseball/T-ball Pictures

(top)
I love this shot. All the kids are going for that ball. You can guess that in the end no one really catches it, but they get that ball to home base in no time.
(click on any of the pictures to see it full-size)

(below) Jack getting ready to hit it out of the park!

At last week's game, we all showed up to cheer him on, and so was cousin Marieke and the entire Stirling gang, all 8 of them! All taking pictures of our baseball star. He later told me: "I am so popular, Dad..."
This thing might be going to his head!!

2008-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

Jack T-Ball Action

Jack is loving t-ball. Here's a video of a recent play!

2008-04-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

Jack's a Funny Kid

So every night, Jack goes through the grueling process of picking out which lucky stuffed animal is going to sleep with him that night. It's quite a decision, based on size, color, animal type, how long he's had it, and on and on.

The other night, Christiaan was helping Jack get ready for bed, and as he contemplated the choices before him, he asked Christiaan, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "So who should be employee of the week, Papa?"

Christiaan replied, "What does he do as employee of the week?" of course, trying not to smile.

"Oh, you know," Jack said, "he gets to sleep with me tonight, and then, of course, he's in charge when I'm gone."

2008-04-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

Jack's View of the World

It's fun to see the kids already fully accepting of our soon-to-be-born new addition. During school the kids had an opportunity to draw or color. Jack drew a picture of his family. He's really into writing people's names, but was only confident enough to mark each person with a first initial. Notice the "E" for Eliana, that the boys stay on their side, and the girls on their own, and Maebe, the dog, is kind of in the middle. And, yes, you recognized it: that is our house.
(click on the picture to see it full-size)

2008-04-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

New Dressers

Here is the baby's dresser, all painted and finished and ready for a baby! (This is the same dresser that Kristina and the kids were busy painting in the garage). Thank you, Denise, for the cool green glass knobs! Perfect finishing touch!

Both Jack and Mariana need new dressers, and we were given a new one for Jack, and it's perfect! He's decided he wants a race car room, so we are working on that for him!

We spent our Friday night assembling it!

Finished product

2008-04-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Getting Ready for Baby!!

We have been busy here at the VandenHeuvel house! We're in full "nesting" mode -- cleaning, de-cluttering, painting, sorting, organizing... it's a lot of work, but a lot of fun! We're just about ready to officially switch the kids' rooms. Mariana and Jack are so excited. They are being champs, too -- willing to get rid of some of their stuff, all because we are having a baby soon, and they get new rooms, too!
I know it doesn't look like Mariana's having fun in this picture! She is, though! And there's Jack, painting away! (for the record, I didn't let them paint the "real" paint...they're good, but not that good!)

Both kids helped me paint the changing table/dresser that someone gave us. They helped me to sand and prime it. Mariana, especially, really was committed to helping, and she did a great job! I loved working out in the garage with her, listening to music, talking, laughing. Special!

2008-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Mariana's softball game

This is Mar's second year playing softball. She's in the next age bracket - the 8-10 year olds. It's definitely a step "up", since many of the girls are older and have been playing longer. And the girls are doing the pitching (in the lower age bracket, the coaches did the pitching). She has two games a week! Saturday's and mid-week.

Her team name is the "Cal Bears". She's having a good time getting to know the other girls on the team.

2008-04-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Peter Rabbit Play

Mariana's 2nd grade class put on a little production of Beatrix Potter's "Peter Rabbit". Mariana got to be Mother Rabbit. She did a great job! They performed the play in their classroom, complete with backdrops, which gave them a "backstage". Mariana was very impressed by that! They did four performances, for parents and for the kindergarten and 1st grade classes.

Great job, Mariana! Great job, Mrs. Handy!

(I was impressed that Mrs. Handy got the boys to wear pink bunny ears!)

2008-04-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

We're Tickled Pink!!

We found out today that we are having a GIRL!!

We get to meet her in about 5 weeks! We are so excited!! We'll be doing some Trading Spaces in our house -- Jack's room will become the girls' room, and Mariana's room will become the boy room.

Both kids are very excited, even Jack! (He realized that with a girl, he'll still get his own room) He's very excited to be a big brother, since he's never been one before!

We keep posting as we keep getting closer...

2008-03-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

Two-fer / Tooth-er

Jack had an exciting day! He's been working on losing his top front teeth for weeks, and then...

He and Mariana were messing around and as she yanked a blanket from Jack's hands, it pulled out one tooth.That left the more dangly of the two teeth.

Then an hour later, Jack came to me with the other one in his hand (and a mouth full of blood, which, surprisingly, he didn't care about!).

So two teeth in one day! Two-fer / tooth-er!

Boy oh boy does that change his look! He really looks like a Jack-o'Lantern! :)

2008-03-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Jack's tender heart

Yesterday (Saturday before Easter), we went to Valley Christian Center for their 2nd annual "eggs-traviganza", a fun outreach to the community with Carnival-type games and food, jumpy houses, face-painting and petting zoo. This is the church in Dublin where Mariana and Jack go to school. The main attraction was the egg hunt out on the soccer field -- 20,000 filled eggs for each of the three "hunt times".

Sorry -- we forgot the camera!!

We were sent into the gym before our hunt time to see a guy who performs feats of strength. It was cool. Then he briefly described his life as a kid who couldn't talk and was treated like a disabled child his whole upbringing, being sent to special ed classes, told he would never amount to anything, that he was a loser and would always be one. He shared how when he was a teenager, God got a hold of him, and God used someone who believed in him to show him he was special and God had plans for his life. Seriously, you would have never guessed that his guy had never talked until he was a teenager.

Anyway, as he was finishing his talk, Christiaan looked over to Jack and noticed he was looking very sad. The gym was pretty noisy with anxious parents and kids, itching to get outside and start the egg hunt. But 6-year-old Jack had listened and heard every word of the speaker's testimony. Christiaan took Jack into his lap and asked him if he was crying. Jack responded, "Just in one eye."

(such a guy! :)

I love my boy!!

2008-03-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!

"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!" Luke 24:5-6

Blessings to you and yours on this Resurrection weekend!!

Christiaan and I observed Lent this year (...we gave up coffee for 47 days...and I love coffee...). Not because I trying to be "Catholic" or anything. Our pastor has suggested observing it the last two years to really make a choice to fast - make a sacrifice - something that we enjoy. To willingly give up something to draw us closer to Jesus, Who gave up EVERYTHING for me. I have to say, it really heightened the anticipation of Resurrection Sunday! Not because of the coffee. But because we did give up something, which, by the way, we missed more and more as the weeks went on, and it meant more and more as the weeks went on. Even last night (Saturday), I was busy cleaning the house and cooking in preparation for our lunch and company on Sunday (my parents, who seriously give no pressure to have be Martha Stewart in domestics). I was almost giddy in anticipation of the next day. It really became more exciting! I just wanted to share that!

Jesus paid it ALL...all to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

2008-03-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

A Mariana funny...

We were watching "Bee Movie" the other night for our family movie night, and Mariana noticed one of the male bee character's eyes and asked, "Is he wearing 'guy'-liner??"

Where did she learn that?!?! LOL

2008-03-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Patriot Musical

Mariana's 2nd grade class performed an exciting patriotic musical in honor of President's Day this past February. Mrs. Handy, Mariana's teacher, adapted and directed the musical, and did a fabulous job! All the students had parts to learn and all of them learned many songs, celebrating our forefathers, our 50 states, American heroes, our flag, our soldiers, American workers, and most of all, God's blessing on America.

Mariana was given the part of Sybil Luddington, the "female Paul Revere". She was 16 and rode her horse to warn the settlers of the coming British troops. Mariana did a great job, with lots expression, saying her part, explaining what she did the same night that Paul Revere rode his famous ride.

The class also performed at the Veteran's Hospital in Livermore for a room full of elderly veterans. It was so moving, especially when the students sang a medley of each military branches' anthem.

Grandma, Auntie Rosalyn and Mommy after Mar's performance

2008-03-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

BABY ON THE WAY!!!

No, we're not pregnant! But, after almost 5 years of trying to have another baby in the family, God is answering our prayers! We are adopting a baby! We are adopting an infant from the U.S. We have just been "matched" with a birthmom. She is due on May 11! We don't know the gender of the baby, but will hopefully find out in the next couple of weeks. We are all so excited, including Jack and Mariana. Please pray that all goes well. We desire God's will for this situation, and are trusting Him to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

I promise to keep posting on this subject...

2008-03-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

Mariana's Speech
Mariana has to give a speech each quarter for her 2nd grade class. This quarter each student had to give a speech on their country of origin. She gave a great speech on Holland, focusing on the fact that Holland is famous for tulips, windmills and wooden shoes. She also passed out mini stroopwafels (hooray for Trader Joe's) for the kids to experience a "taste" of Holland. My favorite part was when she said that Holland is "an extra special place because her family (especially Opa and Oma) live there!"

2008-03-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

Jack's First T-Ball Game!!

Jack joined T-Ball this spring for the first time ever! He's loving it! Most of the kids on his team played last year (it's for 5-7 year olds), but he's definitely not behind in skills. His has a great coach, and is already learning so much. He's proving to be a good listener and imitator -- watching the coach carefully to see how to throw correctly, listening where he needs to throw the ball if he gets it, etc.

His first game was this past Saturday (March 15). He looked so great in his Giants uniform! As we walked across the field to join his teammates and warm-up before the game, he said to me, "I'm kind of nervous!" So cute!

When the Giants hit the field, his coach put him in the pitcher's spot. I overheard the coaches discussing who to put there and at 1st base, since they get the most action, and Jack was one of the three boys they mentioned. At the risk of bragging, this made me so proud! In that inning, Jack even fielded a grounder and successfully threw the ball to the 1st baseman and got the runner out! The first out of the game and the season! (in T-ball they play 7 batters or 3 outs, whichever comes first -- can you guess which usually comes first?) I think we got a total of one out for the game. AND, they give the game ball to one player at the end of each game (this was new to me...), and they gave it to Jack!! Way to go, Jack!!

2007-12-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Merry Christmas! We are wrapping up 2007 with thankful hearts for all the many ways, both big and small, that Jesus has loved on us. It has been a year of blessing, of growth, of provision, of waiting, a year of hope. Our Savior is truly our Emmanuel - God with us! He does not leave us on our own to figure things out. He loving and faithfully guides us, nudges us, sometimes pushes us...to grow and trust in Him, and not in ourselves or our understanding of things. He proves Himself with unexpected blessings, with daily provisions, and with sustaining us and teaching us in the difficult and, at times, disappointing times. Our faith in Him has been tested and strengthened this year!

We have traveled the world this year! Christiaan and Kristina had an amazing opportunity to travel to Israel with our church during the spring. (Christiaan's parents came from Holland to babysit!) The four of us were able to spend three weeks in Holland in August, reconnecting with all of Christiaan's immediate family. Then, in November, a special family from our church blessed us with a free 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera, for all four us! Our passports have certainly been well-used this year! Scroll down the blog for more pictures and stories.

Our big news is that we are currently a "waiting family", waiting to adopt a baby! We are with a non-profit adoption agency - Independent Adoption Center, or IAC - and plan to adopt within the U.S. We have completed all of our paperwork and requirements and could receive news at any time! We are so excited to bring a new child into our family, another hand to hold.

Our adoption website is: www.christiaanandkristina.com.

Christiaan continues to enjoy his work at Cornerstone Fellowship as the Director of Children's Ministry. He also enjoys working on computers and staying up-to-date on the latest technology. He's looking forward to becoming a new dad again!

Kristina spends her time as a stay-at-home mom and a part-time piano teacher. She has stepped down from doing music for the women's ministry at church, in preparation for our new baby, but still occasionally participates in the weekend services' music. Both kids are in school now, but it's still amazing how busy life has stayed!

Mariana just turned 8 in December. She is in 2nd grade at Valley Christian. She loves school and is becoming an expert reader. Her favorite subjects are science, math, art, music, and reading (I told you she loves school!). Mariana loves Jesus and knows that He loves her! She started piano lessons this past fall, and loves it. So far it's working out to have her mother as her teacher. We are embarking on our orthodontics adventure (yikes!). In January, she will have four teeth pulled, the first set of several. It's a bummer when both your parents needed lots of work done on their teeth.

Jack celebrated his sixth birthday in Holland and started Kindergarten at Valley in September. He loves school, too! He is a hard-worker and is so proud of the assignments he brings home. He loves transformers and all kinds of action figures. Jack is learning to pray and loves learning about the Bible.

That's us in a nutshell! We pray that you might experience the true Joy of the season, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate at this time of year!

Come, let us adore Him,
Christiaan, Kristina, Mariana and Jack

2007-12-22T13:36:00.000-08:00

Jack's Christmas Program

The best 16 minutes of your day. Money back guarantee!

2007-12-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas Recital

Kristina's students performed at the annual Christmas Piano Recital. First year performer: Mariana!

2007-12-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

Santa...revealed.

Friday morning I went to wake Mariana up for school. Usually she "mm-hmm's" me until I come back again five minutes later, when it's time for her to really get up. This time, however, she immediately launched into the question, "Mom, is Santa Claus real? And I WANT THE TRUTH."

I knew this was coming. She has been pondering this question for weeks now, and I'd been able to evade the question thus far. I had even wrapped a few gifts from Christiaan and me, purposely, so she would know that we give her and Jack presents, and then I was planning on putting out a few more for Christmas morning from Santa. (Disclaimer: we teach our kids the REAL meaning of Christmas - Jesus becoming a human, coming in the form of a baby, a Gift to us, which is why we exchange gifts. We hang stockings and enjoy pretending Santa comes, too. For fun.)

So, back to her question. I didn't want to lie. She had successful phrased the question in a way that pinned me to the wall. I told her I'd be right back. I ran down the hall to Christiaan and was like, "What do I tell her?" He said, "Tell her, 'Santa is fun!'" I told him, "She's not going to buy it. She's been thinking way too hard on this!"

I went back to her room and told her the truth. Santa was real. But not anymore. We have fun pretending he comes. She guessed, "But the presents are really from you and Papa?" I had to admit, "yes." "I KNEW IT!" she exclaimed.

Then we had a nice heart-to-heart where I threatened her that she would not get any of those extra presents if A) She went looking for the presents, or B) She told Jack. I think the threatening worked! :)

Now we have to keep the dream of the toothfairy alive...

2007-12-08T09:41:00.001-08:00

Mariana's 8th Birthday!
Our little girl is growing up -- fast! She loves Jesus, is becoming an accomplished reader, still loves school, is learning to play the piano, and has big teeth coming in. Boy, that changes her look!

We started her birthday celebration last Saturday (Dec.1)with a trip to see the movie "Enchanted" and ice cream with Chloe Sylvester, her friend from church. Cute movie!

Then our neighbor, Christina, and her mom, Pat, took Mariana for lunch and birthday shopping on Sunday.

Mariana's birthday was on Tuesday, December 4th. We started the morning by waking her up with 8 roses...8 roses for Mariana Rose! OK, actually she was so excited that she woke up 20 minutes before I usually wake her up on school days, and I had to send her back to bed so I could "wake her up". Grandpa Bakker stopped by to wish her a Happy Birthday and Grandma and Opa called.

Good morning, birthday girl!

We had baked special cupcakes for her class. She even said a speech to her class. She has to do one per quarter. Her speech was on Maebe, our Boxer. She did a great job. She got to wear a golden crown and the class sang to her and prayed a special prayer for her.

For our finale -- the one with opening presents and cake, we had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner with the Esmeyer family (Grandpa and Grandma had to go to a class and came over on Thursday instead).

Oh yeah, got money to burn!

Music box from Opa and Oma

Pretty cake

New ugg slippers

Oh, brother!

We love you, Mariana!

2007-12-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Family Vacation November 2007

Our family was given an ENORMOUS BLESSING by some friends - a 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera for the four of us! We were blown away! And, of course, we accepted!

Christiaan and I had been on a cruise before, but the kids hadn't. Jack was so cute when we told them about the trip -- he said we should take our fishing poles along, since we were going to be on a boat, and all. We looked up lots of pictures on the internet to help them get a concept of how huge the ship would be...all the pools, food, etc...he didn't bring up fishing again.

We sailed on the Golden Princess, of the Princess Cruise Line. Beautiful. It was SO much fun! We did a whole lot of...nothing! Nothing besides eating, resting, swimming, eating, playing games, eating. You get the picture.

The weather was hot, and so beautiful. That was such a treat! So every afternoon we would hang out poolside with the kids. Nice to maintain a little of what was left of our tans.

We thank God for this unexpected blessing. He is our Provider, and He loves us so much. To give us this treat, not because of anything we did or earned. He just loves us.

Checking out the port as we leaveFather/daughter dessert on the balcony right before dinner - not bad!

Riding the shuttle to go walk around Mazatlan

Check out the name on this boat we saw...same spelling, too!Swimming...obviously

Fun in the sun at Cabo San Lucas

Shopping for stuff

What a long day!

2007-11-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2007

We give thanks that we were able to be together with the Bakker family, minus the Stirlings :(. We all gathered at Dan and Crystal's house. We had a great time hanging out, playing games, eating, sharing, holding babies, laughing and joking around! "Scattergories" was our adult game of choice. The kids enjoyed Jr. Monopoly and Zingo.

We thank God for our family! We thank God for His mercy, His goodness and faithfulness. We thank God for His love on our family, that we all share in His salvation and can share in the work that He is doing in our lives.
One of our favorite new traditions is after our delicious Thanksgiving meals (with Dan as master chef), we each write down 2-3 things we are especially thankful for. Then we go around and share those things. The kids are definitely included in this. It is such a sweet time. Crystal, who started this tradition, has kept our cards from previous years, and place them all at our place settings, so we can look back and remember what God has done and the things we were thankful for in previous years. What a blessing!

Since we will not all be together for Christmas, we wrapped up the weekend with "Christmas". So everyone got to open a gift. No complaints for that!

Dan, Jordan and their babies: Owen, 15 months and Morgan, 10 months

Playing at the park
Jack and Andrew

Uncle Jordan giving the kids a whirl

Christiaan doing uncle duty with Morgan

Owen and Morgan

"I love my pretty mommy!"

Dan and Crystal - still cuddly after hosting 14 people for three days!

2007-09-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

School started TWO DAYS after we got back from Holland, and the kids did GREAT! Now they are both at Valley Christian School. Jack is in Kindergarten, and Mariana is in 2nd grade.

Jack got Mrs. Bennett as his teacher, and we are so excited because she taught Mariana in Kindergarten, and we love her! Mariana's teacher is Mrs. Handy, and she is awesome! Both kids were excited about school and ready to go (phew!).

Off he goes!

Does this kid look nervous about starting school???

Getting all of Mariana's supplies unloaded and ready to go. 2nd Grade has a lot more to keep track of than 1st grade!

Mariana and Jack's 1st chapel dress day (Friday). You can tell they have perfected that "natural" smile!

2007-09-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

A Visit from Friends

We had a special visit from Kristina's college roommate, Tracey, and her family over Labor Day weekend. Tracey and her husband, Sam, and their two kids, Caleb (8) and Ema (5). Tracey is Kristina's bosom friend from their days at The Master's College. They are missionaries to Portugal. We hadn't seen each other for six years! So it was a sweet visit - a chance to catch up, share ministry and Europe experiences, and see each other's school-aged kids.

All of our kids -- from left, Jack, Mariana, Ema and Caleb

Both families

2007-09-22T11:50:00.002-07:00

Holland Trip -
Part 3
Jack's Birthday

We started out Jack's birthday with opening presents from Opa and Oma and one we brought from home. He scored on an awesome playmobil castle, complete with knights, horses, and weapons

We had fun assembling all the parts, and Mariana even got a present.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Jacoline and Paul's house for a kids' party. Our cousin Sam's birthday is a week after Jack's, so we had a joint party with other friends and relatives, and then a BBQ. Thank you, Paul and Jacoline!

Christiaan and Jacoline

Jack and Maurice (Paul's nephew). A bonus -- Maurice speaks English!!

The cakes - straight from a real Dutch bakery - #6 for Jack, #7 for Sam. They were delicious cake, fresh fruit filling, and loads of real whipped cream on top, and, as you can see, lots of goodies on top. YUM.

Sam's ready to blow out her candles!

Opening presents in Jacoline's living room. Oma is in the middle by Maurice, and Paul's sister, Patricia is on the righthand side, holding Lies.

Paul, the muscle man and master bbq-er!

2007-09-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Holland Trip -
Part 2

OUR FIRST DAY in Holland was great! The weather was warm, and we enjoyed several hours outside in Christiaan's parents' garden. They have a huge yard, and it was in full bloom, full color.

An American flag, special for our arrival. That's Jack and Sam next to it.

We had a delicious BBQ for dinner with the whole family: Christiaan's parents, us, and Christiaan's sister, Jacoline, her husband, Paul, and their two daughters, Sam (7) and Lies (3-1/2).

2007-09-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

Jack's 6th Birthday!!

We were going to be in Holland for Jack's birthday, so we celebrated early at home in California with some friends and family. I know, you're feeling really sorry for poor Jack. He got to have two parties!

We were blessed to have Jack's party at Super Frank's, where we dined in the glow-in-the-dark "golf room", ate delicious pizza, played glow-in-the-dark miniature golf and ended the night with arcade games and tokens.

We had our friends and family come, and even though all the kids ended up being girls, Jack didn't seem to notice or care, and had a great time with Abby and Faith Spica, Christina (our neighbor), and Mariana.

Jack had so much fun opening all his presents. The theme was "Transformers"and he certainly scored many transformers robots -- more than meets the eye, eye, eye. :)

2007-09-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

Holland Trip - Part 1

One of the first places we went to was a HUGE playground called the Linnaeushof (named for a famous artist). It consists of original, unique, fun play equipment for as far as the eye can see. We were amazed at how few staff people there were, definitely different than in America! On most things you generated motion by bicycling or cranking or running on. We went with Marieke and her sister, Marleen, and her family - Arien (husband), Daan, who is 6-1/2, Janna, who is 4, and Naut, who is 2. So I guess the kids are second cousins. We had a language barrier with the kids, but you need few words to have fun at this giant playground!

Jack and Daan

Janna and Naut

Bicycle Merry-Go-Round

Jumping Jack, with about 11 other trampoline jumpers

Mariana and Janna

2007-09-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Jack lost his 1st tooth!

Jack lost his first tooth at the end of our trip to Southern California. He would let us touch it, and we almost lost it when it came out with a bite of pizza! Thankfully, Mommy found it on the ground and he didn't swallow it!

2007-09-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

Bakker Family Vacation

This year our annual Bakker family vacation trip was a four day stay in Palm Desert, CA, over the 4th of July
week. You could say that we suffered from the heat - 120 degrees every day, except that we stayed in beautiful apartment-style suites. We were either swimming in the pools (that they had to COOL every day, not heat!) or in our nice air-conditioned rooms.

Uncle Dan, Tommy, Andrew (behind), and Owen

We had a blast with Grandpa and Grandma;our family; Kristina' brother, Dan, and his wife, Crystal and their three boys - Ethan, Andrew and Owen; Kristina's brother, Jordan, his wife, Erin and their baby, Morgan; and Tommy and Olivia, nephew and niece. We were missing Kristina's sister, Karen and her husband and other four kids. Next year, hopefully!

Playing "catch the beachball and jump in" game

Mariana and Olivia enjoying the impressive waterslide - a definite hit with the kids (and grown-ups) in the pool area!

Crystal and Owen, the sleepy swimmer

Baby Morgan (6 months), just finished with squash. Mmm...

Andrew ready to jump in!

Baby Owen (11 months) - he is a busy boy! Would someone feed that kid?!

Silly and ready for pizza
The cousins - (clockwise from left) Tommy, Olivia, Mariana, (Christiaan), Ethan, Owen, Jack and Andrew. (we're missing Morgan)

2007-09-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

Tommy and Olivia Visit

We had a fun time visiting with Jack and Mariana's oldest cousins (kids of Kristina's sister, Karen). They live in China and were here for more than a month. We had fun one afternoon together.

Tommy and Olivia playing fetch with Maebe (our dog)

Dinner and fun at SuperFranks

2007-06-09T15:40:00.000-07:00

Five-year-old logic... PRICELESS

Jack and I were on our way to his school the other morning, where we drive past Castro Valley High school. Our timing was bad because it was right when lots of high schoolers were on their way to school and crossing the street we were driving on. A group of 7-8 guys wandered into the crosswalk without looking to make sure that they were seen by the cars. I was quite annoyed with that. Then Jack piped in, "Mom," he said, in a very disapproving voice, "those boys weren't even holding hands!"

2007-06-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

LOST TOOTH

After many days of dangling, Mariana finally lost her first top tooth!

2007-06-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Berry-Picking

We spent Memorial Day morning picking berries at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Christina (our neighbor) joined us. There is an abundant crop this year, so we each picked a huge bowl! YUMMY!

2007-06-09T10:21:00.004-07:00

Open House

We enjoyed an evening in Mariana's 1st grade classroom. We got to see many of the things Mrs. Prince and the students had worked on all year. It's so exciting to see all their skills improving - their handwriting, math, reading, art, spelling. They're ready for 2nd grade!

Big Book of Art

Mariana and her friend, Loriana.
It's hard to get a "regular" smile when you're having a fun time hamming it up!

2007-06-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

2007-04-02T19:36:00.001-07:00

Awesome footage of Mariana's (stupid) Human Trick:

2007-02-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

ONE...TWO... Joke's on you!

I was waking up Jack this morning, and he was glued to the bed. After my usual, "I'll come back in a couple minutes," I was back and trying to mess around with him to get him up (our usual routine). This time, as he was burying under his blankets, I started poking pairs of body parts. "One, two...two legs. One, two...two shoulders. One, two...two ears." You get the idea. Jack was even moving around to help me out, and even would whisper "feet" or "elbows." Then he took a turn and said, "One, two...go away!"

Jack's Snowday Video

2007-01-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

Snowday at Redwood Forrest Preschool. Snow in California!

2007-01-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Jack's Snow Day

Redwood Forest Preschool brought in a huge pile of snow for the kids to play in last Friday. Jack was so excited all week! All the kids came to school ready with their hats, gloves, snow pants,etc., plus dry clothes to change into. Jack, of course, was OK with the gloves, but not his hat. The weather on Friday was cold and overcast, so it felt like a snowy day. Christiaan went to hang out and all the little boys got a big kick out of throwing snowballs at him.

Jack looks SOOO much like Christiaan and Christiaan's dad in this picture!

2007-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

Mariana's Chapel
Mariana's class was chosen to lead their chapel's opening pledges and prayer. Christian Clephan (not pictured) led the pledge to the American flag, Mason Thompson led the pledge to the Christian flag, and Cameron Levine led the pledge to the Bible. Mariana was chosen from her class to pray. We were on our vacation and missed the whole thing!!! Thankfully, Rosalyn took great care of Mariana and curled her hair so beautifully and was there to support her. Cameron's mom took these pictures. We're so proud of Mariana!!

2007-01-25T14:26:00.000-08:00

January Vacation

Christiaan and I were able to go on an early 10th year anniversary cruise!! We went with our good friends, Kevin and Phoebie Carcot, who hooked us up with a great deal. We sailed with Royal Carribean (Monarch of the Seas), leaving from LA and visiting San Diego, Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. I had had been secretly saving for several years to surprise Christiaan with a cruise, so we were able to take advantage of this particular cruise. We had an awesome time! My parents and our friends generously watched our kids for us while we were gone (Mon-Fri), so we had a blast sleeping in, eating, relaxing, eating, sightseeing, eating... This was our first cruise, and hopefully the first of many!

Looking cute during the "mustering" -- you feel pretty dorky, but then again, everyone around you is wearing one, too.

Sightseeing in Catalina (you can't tell from this picture, but this is right before it started pouring rain!)

Towel creation left on our bed (including Kristina's glasses)

On our way to the "bufadora" (blowhole) in Ensenada. You only need to do that once!

Leaving Catalina Island

Enjoying one of our many delicious meals!

2007-01-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2006

OK, we kind of did a bad job of taking lots of pictures this Christmas. We had a very nice, quiet few days together and spent most of Christmas day in our pajamas. The pictures don't reflect this, but we did a lot of preparations for Jesus' birthday, the true meaning of Christmas. The kids and I really cleaned our house and got things in order, and had a great time wrapping presents for papa and others. The kids still believe in Santa (for now), and still haven't figured out why the stores like Target are full of mayhem this time of year if Santa is coming. So up until Christmas morning, we had lots of presents for others under the tree, but none for them!

Cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer

Reading the note that Santa left in her new robe

New legos and other cool stocking stuffers...in his new robe

The First Grade Girls

2007-01-24T20:36:00.000-08:00

The First Grade Girls
Originally uploaded by ChristiaanV.

Last day of school before Christmas break -- class party. Silliness.

Clockwise from top: Isabella, Nemiah, Mariana, Loriana, Blessing

2007-01-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Mariana's 1st Grade Christmas Musical

Mariana and her classmates worked so hard learning all the songs and words for their Christmas musical. Each student was one of six different animals. Mariana was a kangaroo, and was a little bummed when she realized she would NOT be getting shoes with springs on them. It seemed logical that she would get something to help her bounce like a kangaroo! I believe they performed the musical at least four times!

Mariana and Nemiah Woodson

Other animals in her class: elephants, buffalos, birds...

2007-01-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

Riding the Christmas Train

One of our Christmas festivities was going on the Christmas Train in Pleasanton with a bunch of Cornerstone families. We left in the late afternoon and enjoyed seeing all the lights and decorations on the train, along with the scenery around us. It was fun getting bundled up and being together!

Christina, our neighbor

Joanna and Ethan, Alison and Danielle, both great gals and moms who are on the Children's staff at church.

2006-12-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas News 2006

Christiaan loves his job at church and the challenges it brings. This past year he had to replace a lot of his great staff members, so things were very busy for a while. But he has hired and is expecting a few great new staff members at Cornerstone. Any spare time he fills with doing a lot of reading, volunteering at Mariana's school, watching television, playing with the kids or tinkering with computers. He really enjoys leading the Bible Study we have here in Castro Valley.
One of the highlights of his day is praying with Mariana in the car on the way to school. She has such a sweet heart and prays the most... interesting prayers. You should ask him about those sometime.

Kristina continues to live a busy life! Her biggest joys are being Christiaan's wife and Mariana and Jack's mom. She stays very busy taking the kids to and and from school, helping them with homework and house projects, and having fun. She still teaches piano students three days a week and loves it! She continues to be involved with music and leading worship with the women at church, also a joy. It is so amazing to be used by God, doing the things you love!

Mariana just turned 7 on December 4! She is in first grade this year at Valley Christian Elementary School, and is doing excellent. Learning to read has been a thrill and she also especially enjoys math. She continues to love doing all kinds of arts and crafts and is learning how to clean up after herself (not as fun!). Mariana got her first “real” Bible for her birthday and is busy reading Luke 2 every night (they are memorizing it in her class). She loves going to church and she loves Jesus. Mariana is such a joy and it is a privilege to watch her grow into the girl that God intended her to be! Two classic "close, but not quite" sayings by Mariana are: "Maebe (our dog), get a lot of this!" as she showed off her bicycle skills, and, "Mister Steve, you're a piece of wall!" Funny.

Jack turned 5 in August and you know what that means: he gets to chew gum, a major milestone in the lives of VandenHeuvel kids! Last spring he finished at Kids' Kingdom Preschool and even prayed at the graduation ceremony! This fall he started at Redwood Forest Preschool in the Pre-Kindergarten class. He has (finally) decided that he is right-handed, though he eats with his left hand, and this has caused quite a change in his seat work! Now he goes around the house coping anything he can find, including labels on wipes containers, cereal boxes, etc. It's so exciting to watch. Jack continues to crack us up with his sense of humor and wit. He is getting so big and is a real kid now. One way we know he's getting ready for Kindergarten is that he has started to spell everything, and he wants to know how to spell words. Not only will he come up to us to ask "What does UQRDT spell?" But he also asked Christiaan the other day about one of his favorite movies: "Papa, how do you spell ET?" When Christiaan told him he got so mad! He was finally told to drop the question with the promise that it'll all become clear to him in Kindergarten.

Family Highlights:

- two camping trips – one with family, one with friends
- a visit from Opa in October!

We pray that this season of Christmas would bring you closer to the truth and love of Jesus, our Savior!
He is and has been so faithful to us this past year, sustaining us through easy and difficult times. He provides for us in unexpected ways, and lavishes His love on us. We continue to seek His will and purpose for our family as we desire and hope for another child, maybe even in 2007!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Love,

Christiaan, Kristina, Mariana and Jack

2006-12-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Mariana's Birthday

We started her birthday on her birthday eve. She enjoyed opening presents from Opa and Oma, Ome Paul and Tante Jacoline. They sent a box FULL of presents! Then she was all ready to talk to them first thing in the morning.

Reading the card

All the loot!

Talking with Oma

Mariana and her 1st grade class at Valley Christian. We celebrated the December birthdays - Mariana's and Tyler Doyle's.

Later, we had her birthday dinner with Grandpa and Grandma, Christina (our neighbor), and Uncle James and Auntie Rosalyn. We had chicken soup - Mariana's request - and bread, with butter, of course (Mar REALLY enjoys the butter -- the bread is just the vehicle to be able to eat the butter!)

New clothes from mom and dad and an amazing craft kit from Grandpa and Grandma - good for hours of crafting!

Jack was the big gift helper. Feel the sibling love!

So, our girl is officially seven years old! We can hardly believe. We are so proud of her and so thankful that she is our daughter.

2006-12-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

Mariana's Beach Party!

Mariana's birthday is in December - every year. This year she really wanted a beach party. So, on December 8th, with houses aglow with Christmas lights and decorations, and with rain pouring down, we turned our house into a beach paradise! We had six girls - some from school, some from church, and had a great time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARIANA!!!

The girls dressed up with leis and flower barrettes, made flower pens, ate pizza and fruit kabobs, and had makeovers! What fun! Rachel, Jamie, and Christina (Rachel's friend) did the girls' faces and toenails!

2006-12-15T07:39:00.000-08:00

THANKSGIVING

After Disneyland, the Bakker clan (minus Karen and family) shared a wonderful day together. We had our traditional feast, complete with Grandma's stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. Crystal set a beautiful table!

The most special part of the day was going around the table and sharing the things we were thankful for. Crystal had kept our thankfulness cards from last year, and it was so cool to read things from a year ago, and to think about God's goodness to us. It's exciting that the kids are old enough now to participate, and such a blessing to hear them share the things they are thankful for. Jordan and Erin had us all crying. A year ago they were struggling with infertility and their deep desire for a baby. And this year, they have a baby girl due in January!!! God answered their prayer! He is so good!

Mariana kept Owen happy in the swing. She's such a good big cousin!

Dog pile on Uncle Jordan!

Monkeying around!

Later in the evening, we celebrated Christmas together, since none of us will be together then. This, of course, meant presents!!

Andrew is so adorable! He said, carefully and slowly when he opened this gift from Grandma (it's Crayola marker), "It's...........Pens!!"

I thank God for my wonderful family. I praise Him for His provision. For Hope. For health. For salvation. For my kids. For my husband. For our church. For our friends. For His kindness and grace.

2006-12-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Disneyland!

Mom and Dad and all the VandenHeuvel's travelled down to Orange County Tuesday night for our exciting Thanksgiving weekend. We were so excited because we were all going to Disneyland together on Wednesday! It wasn't the entire Bakker clan since Karen and Alan and the kids couldn't be there - we sure missed them! The rest of us were together, though, and we had a wonderful day together. Everything was decorated for Christmas!
Pictured here are the VH's on the left side, then Kristina's brother, Dan (in red) and Crystal, with two of their three boys, Ethan (hugging Jack) and Andrew (Owen, the baby, stayed with Crystal's mom for the day). Kristina's youngest brother, Jordan, is proudly emphasizing Erin's round tummy - anticipating parenthood with baby Morgan (due in January). Then, Mom and Dad.

The VH's with Mickey!

Dan and Crystal, Ethan and Andrew

Auntie Kristina and Ethan on the huge ferris wheel at California Adventure. I can't tell who's protecting who here...I got a little green on that!

Of course, our adventure wouldn't have been complete without going on "It's a Small World".

2006-12-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Jack's Thanksgiving Feast

Jack and his classmates at Redwood Forest Preschool celebrated Thanksgiving together. They decorated the table with handprint turkeys and things they were thankful for. The moms all brought in parts of the turkey dinner.

Jack wasn't too excited about the stuffing and the corn. No one else seemed to mind! I did manage to get him to take at least one bite of everything.

Jack's buddies from school: Darius and Langston.