More Birthday Parties!!

Yesterday we celebrated our 5 April and May Birthday's. We had a great time out on the Veening Farm. Mom came with her Navajo taco's which are a big Faber family tradition. The weather was great and the kids had a great time! Here's the gang enjoying a great meal!
Jake 9, Erik 5, Taiji 9, Kali 2, and Luuk 8- The Birthday Buds!
Kali with Bampa and Maama!
Kali is ready for the office...Shane's new personal assistant!
Gotta love the DQ Birthday cake...they did!!

Kali's World!

I realized that it has been awhile since my last post. Not a whole lot happening around here. We pretty much go to baseball games or practices! I know this is the life of a mother with three boys and I am not complaining...but it does make for monotonous posts. So instead of another set of the boys playing ball, you get a little snippet of Kali's world!! She loves to climb, here she is on top of a bar stool...with the usual Kali cheese grin.
Grandma with her girls, Tessa, Kali and Emily!
Life is very rough...play, eat, play, poop, play, sleep!!
Duke and Kali on a date, a night at the movies watching Dora of course!! Kali loved Jeff's ride!! My little biker chick!!

Happy 9th Taiji!!

Happy Birthday Taiji!! He can sleep in til 10 or 11am every other morning, but on Birthday Morning and baseball game day we are up at the crack of dawn!
Taiji's treats from Japan. Some cool new Duds and great snacks!
Duece is always good for a great wrapped present that's always just perfect. This year is was some black sunblock for under the eyes and a tub-o-gum! Yeah I was thrilled about that!
This weekend was also Jake and Taiji's first tournament on a select team. They started a little rocky, losing their first two games....but they came out really strong and won both games today. In fact, here is Taiji driving in Jake.
Jake is ready to go!! We love baseball at this house!

Hope you had a great day Taiji!

We Love you!

mswalk 2007

My sister Kate and her good friend Shannon, put together a great team of walkers to raise money and awareness for MS. They worked very hard with fundraisers and coordinating. Our team ended up making close to $7,000!!
The Faber sisters and a couple of Faber babies!!
Kate's crew, here to support and love a friend, the best part was that we actually had a great time.
We're heading off! It was a beautiful day and a wonderful turn out!
Here is the gang helping each other take our participant badges off! It was great, and we'll take a little breather and then start thinking about next year!!

Spring Break Fun!

This is one of the reasons that I love living in Washington! What a blessing to have this to look at. God's imagination and creativity is very evident here!
My friend Amy O and I decided that we would take the boys up to Mt. Baker to go sledding. (Sorry LP, we had to go find snow on our Spring Break) We drove for an hour and a half and found a great hill and the boys had a great time.
Taiji
Truman
Jake

If you know me, you know that this was not on the top of my list. I don't enjoy snow and I enjoy sledding even less. However, I do enjoy my friend and spending time with her and I love my kids and making them happy so this was a win, win! Thanks Amy for making me step out of my box!! You rock!

VanDalen April Birthday's & Easter Egg Hunt

Yeah baby!!
Kissing cousins!! Kali and Weston!
Jump, Jump, Jump!
April Birthday's...Jake, Taiji, Bree, Chelsea, Stac, Kali & Emily(march)
Kali is pretty excited!! She loves her books...especially if Elmo is involved!!

Annual Easter Scavenger Hunt!

Every year Shane puts together a fun little hunt for the boys to find the Easter basket.
The adventure usually takes them inside and out and across the yard.
This year Kali was even able to get in on the action.
They found the basket and were very excited about all the goodies.
Baseball cards-$9.99

Elmo Video-$7.99

Candy- $3.99

The promise of eternal life with our Lord in heaven- Priceless!

May we never forget why we truly celebrate Easter!

Remembering a Friend!

Trisha Ann (Bosman) Zylstra, age 31, and her infant son, Fletcher Paul Zylstra, died suddenly Monday, April 2, 2007 at St. Joseph Hospital. Born Aug. 29, 1975, as a twin with Trent, to Terry and Norma (Bos) Bosman in Bellingham, Trisha was a 1994 Lynden High School graduate. She married Tim Zylstra Oct. 6, 2001 in Lynden. Her greatest love was for her family and home as she joyfully anticipated Fletcher’s birth and cherished the thought of his joining twins, Dexter and Ruby, in their home. Trisha’s free-spirited heart was evidenced by her appreciation for flowers, music and the simple things in life. She loved flowers and worked side-by-side with her mom, Norma, at Cottage Flowers for five years. Trisha attended Third Christian Reformed Church in Lynden. Her loving heart will be missed by all who knew her.

Trisha and Fletcher are survived by: husband/father, Tim Zylstra; twins, Dexter Lee and Ruby Ann of the family home; Trisha’s parents, Terry and Norma Bosman; father and mother-in-law, Doc and Joyce Zylstra, all of Lynden; Trisha’s siblings, Troy (Melanie) Bosman of Everson; Vonda (John) Vande Hoef of Lynden; Karma (Jody) St. John of Lakeland, FL; Gina (Ty) Mathers; twin brother, Trent Bosman; Tad (Shannon) Bosman all of Everson; Trisha’s sisters-in-law, Doreen (Lauren) Meenderinck and Karrin Haan; brother-in-law, Tom (Bridget) Zylstra all of Lynden; Trisha’s grandparents, Nell Bos of Manhattan, MT and Shorty (Jean) Bosman of Lynden; grandfather-in-law, Andrew Mellema, Sr; 21 nieces and nephews and numerous other relatives. Trisha was preceded in death by grandmother, Ruthie Bosman; grandfather, Henry Bos; uncle, Todd Bosman and uncle, Nelson Van Dyke.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 7, 2:00 pm at Word of Life Church, 1986 Main St., in Lynden preceded by private family graveside services at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorials be directed to the T. Zylstra Family Fund at Bank of the Pacific, 1800 Front St., Lynden, WA 98264. You may share your memories and condolences in the on line guest book at www.gilliesfuneralhome.com.

Please continue to keep this family in your prayers.

Jake turns 9!!

It truly is amazing...life that is. I remember giving birth to this boy like it was yesterday. Time just keeps going even when you think it should stop. Even as we sit here grieving the loss of a life, we still are compelled by God's grace to take time to celebrate life. So today was our day to celebrate Jake's life. The handsome birthday boy!
All the kids getting in on the fun!
Kali didn't think it was fair that only Jake was getting the presents today, kinda cute how he sits patiently smiling in the background.
Playing away with his new life sabor? life saver? Whatever!!
Birthday dinner at the Nuthouse!! Seriously, that is where he wanted to go, I figured he had spent countless other birthday's there why not #9!!

So Happy Birthday Jake!! We Love You!!

In memory of my dear friend Trisha

Dexter & Trisha

Tonight I sit at the computer with a very heavy heart. Early this evening I received a phone call that my dear friend Trisha and her baby died today while undergoing an emergency c-section. All of the details are still really hazy but all the explanations in the world aren't going to bring her or her little baby boy back to her 2year old twins or her husband. Tonight and for a long time this family will need to be lifted up in your prayers. This was not how any of them had envisioned their lives to be and will need some time to find their new normal. Please pray for them. As Christians we have the wonderful comfort of knowing that Trisha and her baby are safe in the arms of the Lord, yet those of us left here on earth struggle to pick up the broken pieces and wonder how we will ever get through this. Please, please pray for them!

Fun with the VandeHoef's!

What a view!! Jake and Taiji aren't bad either!
Marty and Geri had a great little hot tub/pool. Kali couldn't get enough of it!
Like Father, like Daugher
Thank you Marty and Geri for the wonderful afternoon. We really had a great time catching up and enjoying the wonderful view and weather!!

Amazing Jake's!!

Amazing Jake's was exactly what it says....Amazing. It was like a Chucky Cheese on steroids. They had a bowling alley, laser tag maze, bumper cars, go carts, climbing wall and arcade. The boys had fun running from one thing to the next, collecting tickets as they went. The nice thing for the parents is that they actually had decent food. Salad Bar, Soup Bar, Baked Potato Bar, and wine bar!! Yeah!! Where ever there is a climbing wall, Jake is there!!
Here the boys are showing off their bumper car tickets!!
Look at those smiles!!
Kali loved all the action and noises.

Had to get a picture of the logo...not every day you see your name up in lights!!