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Top Three Spring Break Events, by Jamie Bird

3. Tessa's first outing was to the Kalamazoo Air Museum.

As you can see, she stayed pretty far away from others.

You have to start somewhere, huh?

Little Miss Social, she loved being in the new surroundings.

Kayden took a friend along, and they spent hours riding the kiddie airplanes and hot air balloons. I enjoyed hearing them giggle as each ride began.

I am not going to lie, though. There is something about staying home all the time that I surely will miss.

Life is so much busier, even in the two weeks since given the "all clear to go in public".

2. Bryce-y Boy turned FOUR years old.





Four birthday parties later....we finally took the streamers down.

1. Easter Sunday- what a glorious day!

All day long, I praised God for the JOY these blessings bring to my life.









My apologies to our pastor/congregation, but I had to get a picture taken of Tessa's first time in church.



The Bird family at it's finest:-)

Ephesians 3:20

0%.

Against all odds.

Never going to happen, kiddo.

Now to him

who is able

to do immeasurably more

than all we ask or imagine

One year ago, I was lying in bed.

Feeling Tessa kick, not knowing if it was the last.

Listening to the thump-thump of her heartbeat, wondering how I would find the strength to make it through the next 24 weeks.

Crying, not quite understanding how to explain death to my kids when she was so very much alive to me.

Waking up every morning, having to realize over and over again that it wasn't all a bad dream.

On this one year anniversary of sorts, I thought it a might fine night to celebrate, eat a little Smashburger, and give my mom a gift to say "thank you".

So, I printed out Tessa's blog.

Not until it arrived did I realize what 263 pages looked like.

It's thick:-)

So many verses come to mind, but the verse I put on Tessa's first doll is still a special one to me.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

It encompassed this last year as God held my hand, showed me His faithfulness, and blessed me in a way I never imagined.

Naturally

It didn't take long, after we added Bryce to our family, that I found a new love....matching clothes.

I loved finding coordinating outfits for the boys and getting them all gussied up.

Still do.

They are almost to the point they no longer allow it. A few good arm twists are required lately for anything other than a sports jersey.

It got me thinking WHY I like matchy-matchy outfits so much....

Clearly, I come by it naturally.

SIDE NOTE:

Photo 3 cracks me up, as you can see my mom and dad in the shadow at the bottom.

In Photo 4, my brother Justin looks just like my niece, Alexis.

A new love

Thursday afternoon, Bryce found a new love. Hunting for treasure at garage sales.

He would jump out of the van and run ahead of me, yelling for me to catch up to behold the bounty.

I couldn't believe how long he hung in there- we were out scouring for deals for a few hours. I never did find the one thing I was looking for- cleats for Kayden.

Bryce found a ton of other goodies- a telescope, dinosaur, monster truck, pajamas, a robe, basketball, a new bat, hot wheels cars.

At every stop, he HAD to pick something out.

Thank goodness most things were paid for in change instead of dollar bills.

The final garage sale of the day, I found this:

which is cute, but probably not something I would buy. This coat was designed to go over a dress, and I much prefer a soft sweater since this is kind of stiff.

Until I checked the tag for size and found this goodie.....

Rogers Department Store....where Josh and I met almost 14 years ago.

I would say it $1 well spent:-)

Milestones

I think, because I am more worried about some sort of developmental delay, I get caught up in Tessa's progress...what words she is babbling, how fast she is sitting, rolling over, eating cereal, etc.

Just for comparison sake, I dusted off the old baby books to see when the boys reached their various milestones.

Tessa is almost the exact same size that Bryce was at two months. I do not remember him being that big of a baby!

As Natalie says, my kids all look the same "brand", huh?:-)

True enough.

Spring Break has arrived.

To celebrate, Thursday after school we headed to Grand Rapids with the kids. Josh wanted to pick up a few athletic shirts, so we all went along for the ride.

We decided the next stop was dinner at the airport viewing area. Josh and I have been loyal Smashburger fans since we ate there almost every day this past summer.

Walking in to pick up our food, I immediately spotted Richard, the general manager. We got to know him quite well--he always asked about Tessa and the boys, how we were doing, how much longer until we could take her home.

He smiled and looked at me quizzically. I could tell he recognized who I was, but was having trouble placing me.

Refreshing his memory, we engaged in a little back and forth about how Tessa and the boys are doing.

After checking me out and handing me the shopping bag full of burger and fries, he said to me "You know, I kind of recognized you, but you just look a lot less tired."

True enough, Mr. Richard.

There is lightness and joy filling my days, and I will forever be thankful (as well as more rested).

“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” ~ C. S. Lewis

Hobbyist

A few years ago, I was talking to a friend whose dad runs a fairly large and established photography studio in this area.

I remember her saying that the invention of DSLR cameras was the birth of a million people wanting to be professional photographers.

I am not one of them:-)

But I must admit, I really like it as a hobby.

Setting up different backdrops, finding fun props, editing pictures once they are taken--all of it is fun to me.

And in true VanderPloeg fashion, a hobby isn't a hobby unless it is an obsession!

Where I am at.

There once was a little girl who played a complicated piece on her violin for a large audience.

The movement was sad and sweet and played with eerie precision, especially for someone so young.

As she finished and the applause thundered through the concert hall, a man in the audience leaned over to his wife and said, “Imagine how much more beautifully she’ll play once she’s had her heart broken.”

I read this story a long time ago, and it stayed with me.

Fact is, I don't like pain.

I don't seek it out or ask the Lord for trials.

Someone told me they specifically prayed that the Lord would allow them to take a portion of our burden.

I found that so beautiful; I could cry just thinking about the sacrifice.

My mom and I were re-hashing her birth today, as we often do. I love turning over key moments and lingering there for a while.

I can remember so much about that day- her first little cry that I waited so long to hear, the resident saying "She is opening her eyes and kicking, Jamie", Josh spelling out her name for the nurse to put on her name card, them tipping her face toward mine and seeing her scrunched up little nose all ticked off that she was born too soon.

Heaven on earth, folks.

Collectively, I felt our community exhale a sigh of relief.

She was here. She could breathe. She would live.

But everything about that pregnancy had been so awful, I had difficulty relaxing.

I felt like, at any minute, the other shoe was going to drop.

Talking to other moms that have been through a very difficult experience, I think the "Ok, I went through this once, Lord, but please don't ask me to do it again" thought is pretty common.

Someone recently asked me if I ever think back to what was happening last year at this time.

I replied that yes, unfortunately, I have the memory of an elephant.

I remember too much-things like laying awake until 3 am, rubbing my belly and talking to a baby I was suffocating. Sitting on the crinkly paper at the OB/GYN as he took every last morsel of hope away. Watching the kids circle through the revolving hospital door, wondering if I was going to leave with her memories in a box.

If there is anything I really struggle with lately, it is fear.

As exciting as it is to think about taking Tessa out and about, there is a huge part of me that is afraid. Like if I can keep her in this little bubble of our house, somehow she will be protected from harm.

I see my faulty logic. My head knows that God has her life under control and doesn't need my help. I was reading through my "I Still Have Hope" blog book the other night and someone had written that God doesn't all the sudden peek over the balcony and go "Holy cow! How did that happen?"

Fear is sneaky, though. It hits at the strangest of times, when I am least prepared for it.

Please don't misunderstand- God has been so incredibly faithful to us. We were carried through the valley. Prayed for, loved on. I can boldly testify that He is good. Before her life, I was proficient at pretending everything was fine. Vulnerability was difficult and I can see the beautiful music that was played through sharing months of sorrow.

The witnessing that would have never taken place without Tessa's story.

But try as I might, I cannot forget the pain and easily push aside the fear that comes with it.

I wish I could wrap this up neat and tidy.

I really do.

These are my wanderings as March creeps into April, when one year ago our world fell apart.

I read this verse today and it seemed so perfect:

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:7

Friends in Lower places

I often find myself reflecting back on last year at this time.

Maybe it is because Spring is around the corner, her baptism date is set; perhaps it is the little pink Easter dress that arrived in my mailbox that I ached for last year, or the fact that we might actually take Tessa in public soon.

Exciting events I wasn't sure would ever happen.

This past weekend, to celebrate Cara's incredible weight loss (100 lbs!), we went for pedicures.

A few months ago, this same group met up at Cascade Roadhouse for a rousing night of karaoke fun.

Aside from my age disqualification, it is fair to say that I will not be auditioning for American Idol anytime soon.

Josh is an extremely talented musician...I barely feel confident singing next to someone in church. I may or may not lip sync as the pastor strolls by.

Our second group o' girls song was "Friends in Lower Places" by Garth Brooks.

I have always seen it as the bawdy bar song where drunk, happy people link shoulders and sway to the beat, reveling in the low places they are inhabiting.

Strictly referencing the title, this picture represents my friends in lower places.

....and I ain't talking about the establishment.

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.
Elbert Hubbard

Without a doubt, they love me even when life isn't pretty.

When I don't have it all together.

They held my hand through the worst time of my life, and value me the same.

I {heart} these girls, and am so thankful God brought us together four years ago in the baby boom of 2008.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Wonderful Weekend

Josh heard the weather report calling for 11 inches up North, so we wanted to get as far as we could get before the snow fell Friday afternoon.

As we approached Cadillac, it started to get slushy. Viewing a car flipped upside down in the ditch slowed our pace to 30 miles an hour.

It was a {turtle} race to arrive, and we finished second (kudos, Dielemans!). Texting on the way up reminded me of the good old days of CB radios during our caravan mission trips to Canada.

Verdict: 19 kids + 10 adults = one of my favorite GWL trips ever.

Pictures don't do it justice....in true fashion, I didn't haul out my camera until the last day. I am missing half our group!


The news said there was 10 more inches after this photo was taken.

The GWL crew singing Happy Birthday to Chelle.

Tessa stayed in the room, but had to get into the action in her bathing suit for a photo.

Happy to be in a different surrounding, I am sure!

Spent lots of time in the lazy river

These two are quite funny together.

Spraying Dylan...as I said....horrible photographer that I only got half the picture. UGH!

A great time was had by all.

Apparently, GWL is exhausting.......

This is one of Tessa's favorite toys. I am pretty sure she missed it because she has never been this excited before for playtime!

As Kayden said a tearful goodbye to the room (four times), we promised him we would be back for his birthday in October. It's not going to be the same without the slew of kids to entertain each other, though!

So thankful for these friends and a wonderful weekend of fun!

Oh, how far we have come.

Praise Ye the Lord! :-)

I know Jeff Goldblum

Yeah, I just did it.

I name dropped.

But there is a bigger story I want to tell, so I hope you will forgive me just this once.

Back in the We-don't-have-kids-yet-so-I-want-to-try-and-be-an-actress days, I attended Playhouse West.

More because of my gender than talent, after a few months, I was placed in Jeff's class. I am sure he would have preferred it had I been single.

Twice I week, I presented my rehearsed scene in front of the others and jotted down his expert critique in my black, pocket sized notebook.

They always say "Those that can't do, teach" in regards to acting. I didn't want a washed up wanna-be; I was paying good money for the best.

Not that Mr. Goldblum is the best, but you get what I mean. I wanted to learn from someone I respected and was actually working in the field.

The first few scenes under his tutelage were uncomfortable and nerve wracking.

As time went on, though, the fame haze began to clear and the kinks in his personality emerged....the funny way he used words that most of us scratched our heads upon utterance, run-on sentences that never quite fell on one coherent topic, the cadence of whispers and stutters upon examination of our work.

He became normal.

Every once in a while, his band played at clubs around town. Most of the students would go to watch his performance and try to make industry connections.

A few months after I met him, I was standing to the side of the dance floor and caught eyes with Jeff.

He smiled and waved, mouthed "hello, Jalynn".

Have I mentioned that my agent recommended I go by that name to sound more exotic? Not my proudest moment.

I smiled back.

A simple exchange, really.

I didn't think much of it, until it hit me later.

Jeff Goldblum knows me by name.

A few other times this happened- when paparazzi would take a photo or a tourist would stop him for his autograph.

It would again hit me that he is famous, and I felt special that he was a small part of my career.



Yesterday, I was driving to Village Kids Consignment.

I always get a little backward when driving to Ada. I don't drive the roads much on that end of town.

As I was traveling Cascade Road, I spotted a building that looked very familiar. I couldn't place why.

Like a punch in the gut, I remembered it was where Josh and I went on April 20th and heard the words, "your baby has a 0% chance of survival".

The wonderful, sweet realization that I was driving past the place where we got ZERO HOPE to go pick out summer clothes for all three kids made me deliriously happy.

And it was a hundred million times better than my days of being an acquaintance of Jeff Goldblum.

I am still so thankful, so grateful.

Psalm 71:5-8
New Living Translation (NLT)

5 O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
6 Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you!
7 My life is an example to many,
because you have been my strength and protection.
8 That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.

I can usually get two of the three in good moods;-)

Tessa girl turns 7 months old tomorrow, and continues to be a joy.

Taking her off caffeine changed her disposition entirely. I would have called her high-maintenance before, but she is currently easy going and quick to laugh.

She weighs a whopping 13 pounds.

22 inches the last time we checked.

She delights when her brothers smile at her, but doesn't much like hugs.

She is cooing and talking, rolling over, and getting into a nice routine.

Handing her monitor over was slightly terrifying, but it is absolutely awesome to not have to lug that heavy machine around.

She continues to stay home 95% of the time, and only veers out once in a while to Grandma's house. Every once in a while we head to the airport (another tangible reminder of last Spring) to watch planes take off and land.

I have tentatively set May 13th (Mother's Day) for her baptism, so please save the date!;-)

A fluffy post

Sorry, folks.

It's been one of those weeks. I wish I could muster a bit more content here at the MiniMe Mom blog.

My girl that was sleeping eight hours at night is still sleeping eight hours....but it's not as easy on me now that it is from 2am-10am, instead of 11pm-7 am.

All three kids made their rounds at the doctor's office.

Kayden had an earache.

Tessa has a cough, fever, and runny nose.

Bryce may or may not have giardia again.

Stop laughing.

It's not funny.

My French teacher in high school used to quip every Friday as we left her classroom, "Viva La Weekend!"

Long live the weekend, indeed, Mrs. Terpstra.

If nothing else, I am ready for some help loading the never ending stream of medicine syringes.

P.S.-Want to know where she thinks the giardia came from? See above photo.

Personally, I think it is from Bryce licking the floor at the mall a few weeks ago.

Why, Bryce?

My bathroom toilet has been in and out of service for a few weeks.

Josh would fix the clog; the boys would use too much toilet paper and clog it right back up.

It has been a never ending battle.

Add to that the stomach flu passing through all three men of the house...I have gone through four cans of lysol and three large tubs of wipes.

Today, Josh set out to find out what the true issue was with that toilet.

He augered and plunged and augered and plunged.

After an hour, came downstairs victorious.

Lysol was sprayed on every last living surface up there, so that my bathroom could again be in use.

Our family Christmas party was this afternoon at a local hotel. The boys were thrilled that they were going to get to go swimming, even though it was snowing. Bryce could barely wrap his mind around how that was going to happen.

After a morning of being crabby, we told Bryce that he needed to at least lay down for a half hour in order to have the privilidge of going.

Twenty minutes into his nap, I went up to see if he was sleeping and start packing swimsuits.

I noticed the bathroom floor was flooded with water.

One look into the toilet, and the reason was clear.

An entire roll of toilet paper was wadded up in the bowl.

I asked, okay, shrieked, "Bryce, what have you done?"

"I didn't do it, Mom," he replied. "I think Kayden did."

"Try again," I said. "Kayden has been downstairs playing basketball this entire time."

Bryce: "Well, then it was Baby Tessa."

Me: "How did the floor get all wet?"

Bryce: "I kept flushing til the water overflowed."

While Josh picked up the bathroom (thank you, dear!), I found an entire wall scribbled with pen and my Bible in a heap on my bed with a page ripped.

At the rate we are going, the kid is not going to have any toys left.



As I was feeding Tessa upon our arrival home, Bryce said he was picking up. Proud as punch, I praised him for picking up without my even asking.

He set the pillow back up on the couch, and was tidying up Tessa's diaper bin.

I heard him up in the playroom, and figured some toy had probably distracted his janitorial service.

A few minutes passed, and I realized he was quiet.

Too quiet.

I got up to double check where he was, and he stopped me to tell me not to go in his playroom.

There, in the middle of the room, was my new faiting sofa, freshly recovered from Josh's dad for Christmas.

Smack in the middle was a return address stamp for MiniMe BabyGear.

After being punished and put to bed early, I just went back up to check on him and tell him I still love him, even though I am dissapointed.

I asked him why he was so naughty today.

He replied, "Mom, I just couldn't control myself."