Wild Kids and Dogs, and Me.

Santa and his reindeer ate our goodies
Russ, Chris, Nick and Brynn

Russell and Auntie Amy

Crazy days

Two little dress-up fairies are screaming and being chased by two little grubby boys. Three dogs are barking and climbing all over my furniture. It is loud and chaotic, with crazy laughter and shouting. A remote control dragonfly is buzzing around my head. I am in between loving it and being extremely annoyed. Soon it will be time to banish them to the backyard I think. It is Christmas vacation, and we are babysitting my in-laws dogs and each kid has a friend over. Now I remember why I was glad summer vacation came to an end. I love spending time with my kiddos, but when things turn sour and the remote control dragonfly is getting tangled in a screaming 5 year old girl's hair, it makes me glad school will be starting again next week. We had an awesome time with my sister and family last week, I wish it didn't go by so quick . Hope you all had a great Christmas.

My Christmas Angels

Lauren and Brynn

I am eagerly awaiting tomorrow, when Nicole, Kevin and the boys arrive for a week in California for Christmas! I love this time of year, and love spending time with my family.

These pictures were taken before the kids performed in their Christmas programs.

Hope you all have a blessed Christmas!

10-year Anniversary trip to Maui

Royal Lahaina Luau

Breakfast in our Condo
Waterfall pool that we swam in - off the Road to Hana

Beautiful Maui Beaches

Our trip to Maui was incredible! What an awesome time we had together- no responsibilities, time to enjoy eachother, and a beautiful place to explore. We did a lot of snorkeling, and saw 6 huge turtles that swam within a few feet of us, as well as an octopus, eel, and many beautiful tropical fish. We dined out in the evening a lot, and made picnic lunches most days. The luau we went to was a lot of fun. Our trip through the rainforest to Hana was filled with beautiful flowers, waterfalls, beaches, and adventures. On our way back, we took the southern route around and the roads were very primitive. We explored the Upcountry, with it's incredible views, sugarcane fields and winery. Lahaina was a fun town to explore, and we just really enjoyed the beaches in front of our condo. We took a morning to check out the volcano on Mt. Haleakala, and it was really cold up there, with great views of the island. We saw an incredible music and dance production called 'Ulalena' one night that explored the history of the Hawaiian Islands and its people. I could go on and on. The best part was getting to spend time with my best friend and love for ten days, and have it be all about us. I adore my hubby.

Halloween

Our cool pumpkin carvings


Ready for trick-or-treating with the Browns and Verhoevens

Rapunzel (Brynn), Punk Witch (Madyson) and Indiana Jones (Nicholas)

My Sister

My Sister

She knows the things I dream of,
the places that I've been,
she accepts the person I've become,
she's a very special friend.
She's always been there for me
no matter where I roam,
and whenever we're together,
it's just like being home.

I had a marvelous time visiting Nicole and her family last weekend. I love being with my sister. She is mine!! It's hard to explain the deep connection I have with her. She is always in my heart. I like the last line of this poem because that is how I feel about her. I love you Nicole.

Disneyland

So, the kids had a day off of school this past Friday, which we thought would be a great day to take them to Disneyland since the other schools around here were not off that day. We were at the park from about 8:30am till 10:00pm. We hadn't been there for over two years, and figured the kids are at a great age to take them. Well, Pirates was too dark and scary, we didn't even attempt the Haunted Mansion. The Matterhorn, according to Brynn and Nick, was a definite NO!, the abomidamable snowman in there is too freaky. Star Tours and Space Mountain- too dark in there! NO WAY! We did go on Thunder Mountain, which Nick liked, Brynn, not so much. Tom Sawyer's Island was pretty cool, other than the "spooky" noises in the dark caves. By late afternoon, the park was jammed packed with all the people who have yearly passes, I think they all showed up that day to see the Fall decorations. After the fireworks show, of which we viewed behind a LARGE tree, we were herded down main street to the exit. People were actually mooing. WOW! That was a LOT of fun for the smoking deal of 260 dollars for admission. (Not counting the $43 dinner of hamburgers, fries, and drinks, $12 parking, and $20 for lockers) We didn't even realize that Nick's souvenier bouncy ball made noise when you bounce it till we got in the car, it was so loud at the park. During the parade, the announcer announced that we were at the HAPPIEST place on earth, and Lauren whispered "BULL****" in my ear. Okay, so we did have a lot of fun too, there were many rides that the kids actually liked and the decorations were amazing. I guess you'd say it was a memorable trip!!

Nick and Mickey Mouse

Brynn and Nick giving us a wild ride on the teacupsWatching the princesses going by during the paradeIn Tarzan's treehouseBrynn and Daddy in front of the castle.

October Days

So I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write. We found out some not great news concerning my sister Nicole. She's been having different symptoms over the past few months that finally led to her having an MRI done. It looks like she may have multiple schlerosis. She is such a positive and beautiful person. I am so proud to call her my sister. I know that she will continue to live a full and rich life, she is just that kind of girl. I am going out to visit a week from Thursday. I can't wait to see her and Kevin and the boys. I ask for your prayers for her, for her health and happiness.



We had a beautiful day today up in Julian, CA. It is a neat historic town in the mountains about an hour from here. It's apple season, and we took the kids to an orchard near there to pick apples. When we got home, Brynn and I made a yummy apple crisp, which made the house smell heavenly. Tasted pretty good too! Brynn loves to help me in the kitchen and she really relishes good things to eat- kinda like her mom that way. I love having her around. She is my little sweetheart. I love this time of year. It was only 65 degrees today, which may not sound that cold to some of you, but after some days last week in the 90's, it feels very "fall-ish." By this time of year, I am ready for summer weather to be OVER.


In the Apple Orchard

Making Apple Crisp

Riding Red

Nick and Red

Amber Roest giving Nick a ride on Red

Brynn mounting Red

Happy Cowgirl

Today we went up to my good friend Amber's place in Valley Center. They live on 5 acres, and Amber is a horse trainer. She let the kids ride her horse, which they were thrilled with. They love going up to Amber and Arlan's because they get to explore and they love the horses. Nick was talking on the way home about Amber and said, "She's like a MAGICAL aminal person!" She feeds birds out of her hand and was letting the kids spread birdseed around the property. She is such a free spirit, and truly a natural person. Brynn calls her a cowgirl, and wants to look like her. She was thrilled with the white cowboy boots she recently got. She doesn't ever want me to cut her hair because she wants it to "look like Amber's." Amber is one of those people who is completely comfortable in her own skin.

Lauren and I went out for dinner together tonight without the kids. It was so nice, we really need to do that more often. I miss that. I can't wait for our trip to Maui next month to celebrate our 10 year anniversary... 10 days, just the 2 of us. Hopefully we will not be ready for bed at 9:30 like we often feel like during the week. It's really pathetic how tired I get, after having worked night shift so many years, you'd think I'd be really good at staying up late. I think I'll blame it on the kids- they wear me out!!

Another Day...

Nick and Brynn, 6am.

Nathaniel, Nick and Steven- 3 buddies at 7 years old.

My dog Charlie and me.

Today we had 2 of Nick's buddies here after school. Three 7 year old boys make plenty of noise and chaos. They are really fun. To have the exuberance and carefree-ness of youth...

The picture on the top is a common site. We have a little couch in our room, and often at least one kid sneaks in to our room and goes to sleep on the couch in the early hours of morning. At least they don't wake us up.

The bottom picture is of me and our beagle Charlie. He is so cute, and can be a really sweet snuggly dog. Most of the other time he is still a pain in the butt. I still miss my Rottweiler, Clydy-boy. He was irreplaceable.

It was in the 90's here today- October 1. Can't wait for cooler weather.

Saturday at our house

Saturday at the Jongetjes... We have my cousin Kristin visiting us this weekend, which we love. Hope she won't mind a typical weekend day with us, complete with a trip to Chuck E Cheeses, and Nick's soccer game. Hopefully we'll squeeze a little shopping in, and have fun barbequeing and going in the spa tonight.
The other day I was reading a book that talked about how we fill our lives and times with the urgent, not important things, when we really need to focus on the important, not urgent stuff. Do you think that gives me free reign to leave the house and laundry undone? :-) I can go have fun with my kids at the park, or go out with Lauren, or especially to open my bible and actually meditate for awhile. I am so bad at actually just sitting down and spending time in God's presence. I am really trying to not let our family be so over busy that we miss the good stuff about being a family and being humans in God's world.

Here's a little piece of scripture I want to share that really lifts me up:

Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
(from Psalm 103)

Jongetjes Happenings

Nick with his cousin Gregory

First day of Kindergarten for Brynn

Ready to go to the Luau

The other day, I was asking Nick what he did at school today. He said, "Well, I chased Aubree at recess today, and when I caught her, I asked her if she wanted to go on a date with me." I said to him that he is WAY too young to go on a date. He kind of rolled his eyes and said, "I KNOW, mom, but I need to practice so that when I get older I won't freak out or anything!" It's going to be interesting...

This weekend we went to a fabulous luau, complete with a pig roast, Hawaiian dancers and other fun entertainment. Mom came down for the weekend to hang out with us and to babysit on Saturday night. It was really fun to get dressed up and spend time with old friends.

Time to Myself!

Wow! Life sure changes when your youngest child enters kindergarten. I actually have time to play around on the computer. I can go shopping without having my kids in the dressing room with me asking if that thing I have on is called a boob holder. I can excercise without waiting for Lauren to come home. I can watch What Not to Wear instead of Sponge Bob. I can read a book at Starbucks. I can actually get the house cleaned up all at one time! I loved the preschool years, but I am definitely ready for this next stage that I am entering. Being a parent of young children is exhausting! I thought I might feel lonely when I was home alone, but my time gets filled up quickly.

Now that I work for Welcome Home Baby, and make home visits to 1st time moms, I have a normal person's schedule. No more weekends, nights, or holidays!! I miss some of the gals from the NICU, but I sure don't miss the stress! I work 2 1/2 days a week, which leaves me plenty of time to do my home stuff, and enjoy time to myself. I definitely feel like this job change is a blessing to me.

So, we will see how I do at this blogging thing. I am not the most computer savy person, but hey, we'll see what happens!

Amy