About Us

Holland, MI, United States
Chris and I met through mutual friends Melissa and Andy Kuiper six years ago. I can honestly say that it was not love at first sight, but as time went on and I got to know Chris I realized that this was someone I wanted to get to know better. As we dated and got to know each other better it became apparent to me that Chris was someone who I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Chris and I were married June 11, 2005 and have been married for four years. In that time we have become the parents of two beautiful little boys. Simon Thomas, born August 3, 2007, is a very happy and energetic two year old. Baby Luke is a wonderful little baby born June 3, 2009. In the winter of 2008 Chris was offered a fantastic job with Sentry Insurance. He quickly excepted the job which has turned out to be his "dream" job. As a result of Chris starting this job we decided that after teaching first grade for 7 years that I would quit my job and stay at home with Simon and future children. Being at home is truly where my heart is and I am so thankful to be able to stay at home with Simon and Luke. Our family is truly blessed and we are very thankful for all we are given by God!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Tulip Time 2010

The first week in May is always such a fun time in Holland. Tulip Time is held annually the first week in May. It is a beautiful time of the year, with thousands of tulips in bloom Holland is alive with springtime!! Not only do we have thousands of tulips but also hundreds of Dutch Dancers dressed in Dutch costumes and wooden shoes, three parades, and many community activities.
This year we were blessed to have wonderful spring weather the beginning of the week. We ventured downtown twice with the boys for junk food from the food booths and Dutch Dance. Tuesday we went with Tom and Sharon, Thursday we went with our good friends Hossinks and Borgmans. One of the best things about going downtown during Tulip Time, not just the food, is the sense of community. It is always amazing to me to see people that we have not seen since last Tulip Time.
Here are some pictures of our cutie little Dutch boys in their Dutch Costumes.




Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Easter


We were blessed to have an awesome Easter celebrating the resurrection of our Lord! We began our Easter celebration with going to church on Saturday night.
We woke Sunday moring to a lovely, but cool morning. Perfect for Simon's first ever Easter egg hunt in our yard. Chris did a great job of hiding the eggs so that Simon had to hunt for them, but not too hard to find that he got frustrated. It was a blast!! I'm not sure who had more fun Simon or us.




Later that we were able to have a wonderful Easter dinner with Chris family. It was a great time of being together with loved ones.



Spring Break

Spring Break was at the beginning of April and unlike many years the weather for the beginning of the week was fantastic! Now that I am not teaching anymore school vacations are when I get a chance to catch up with my teacher friends. One of the really fun things we did was plan a trip to John Ball Park Zoo with a couple of my friends and their kids. We went with my friend Tammi, who is a second grade teacher, and her two girls (Summer and Aubrey). Simon has a major crush on the girls (he says they have beautiful hair). Too cute! The other friend we went with was Tonya and her kids Kassidy and Porter. Porter and Simon are good buds!
We had such a great time. The weather was sunny and warm. The animals were very active and all out. Simon had a blast seeing all the different animals! After a few hours in the zoo we wrapped up our visit with a picnic. It was such an awesome day! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends- both big and little!



Aubrey and Simom having a little pow wow.


Aubrey and Simon. We think this could be a little love match. We are considering an arranged marriage :)


Simon and a bear. Notice the bear checking Simon out.


Simon petting a goat. He kept saying "Hi, Goatie"

Monday, April 26, 2010

Luke - 9 and 10 months

Here is a long overdue update on our little Lukie! He is almost 11 months old (May 3 he turns 11 months). It is amazing to me to think how fast times flies!
Luke continues to be a very happy baby! He is also VERY busy! He crawls all over the place and pulls himself up on everything. He is also walking along furniture and he walks very well behind a little toy "walker". I think he may be walking before 1 year. EEEK! He also does "So big", pattycake, peek-a-boo, and most recently if you ask him he has a bad cough he does the cutest little fake cough. Such a ham!
Luke absolutely loves being outside and crawling around in the backyard. Thank God it is fenced in or I would be chasing him all over the place! He just discovered the sandbox last week, needless to say there has been much sand eaten!
Luke is the exact opposite of Simon when it comes to eating and sleeping. Luke is a great eater and a terrible sleeper. Simon on the other hand is a terrible eater and a great sleeper. Go figure!
We continue to be so thankful for Luke! He is such a blessing and a joy!




Sunday, March 14, 2010

Wow! Time sure flies!


Please forgive me for being a total blog slacker! It is amazing how quickly time flies. Here we are in the middle of March and I have not updated my blog since January. Life was pretty uneventful for the months of January and February. We have all been blessed with good health. We had a couple of bouts of colds and Luke did have pneumonia and an ear infection a few weeks ago. Thankful he has recovered from that with no complications.
The boys continue to grow like weeds! Simon is a very busy 2 1/2 year old. I am continually astounded by how much his vocabulary has blossomed this past 2 months. He is quite the chatterbox! Simon is officially signed up for "3" school. He will be attending First Presbyterian in the fall. Needless to say we are beginning the process of potty training in our house!
Luke is 9 months and is crawling all over the place! He also pulls himself up on everything, thankfully he is not furniture cruising yet. I am not in a hurry to rush the walking thing! Luke is doing "so big", Patty cake, and he gives fives. He also is very generous at giving big open mouth kisses. They are the best!
Life in the Arendshorst home continues to be an adventure and we are so very blessed to have such wonderful children. We are looking forward to the promise of beautiful spring weather and many more adventures!




Friday, January 1, 2010

Playing in the Snow!

Last weekend we got several inches of snow after a rainy Christmas Day. We decided to bundle up the boys in their winter gear to head outside for a chance to try out some of their Christmas gifts. Luke got an entire snowsuit from my parents and Simon got a snow shovel to help Daddy shovel. Both boys got sleds from Chris and I. Needless to say bundling up to two little boys to head outside is easier said than done. It took me about 15 minutes to get both of them and myself ready to head outside. Poor Luke did not(or could not) move at all in his gear. He was like Randy in the movie "A Christmas Story". He could not put his arms down! He was super cute! Here are some pictures of our adventure.





Monday, December 28, 2009

Merry Christmas!

We had a fantastic Christmas this year! It was so much fun having two kids to celebrate with this year. Simon was pretty excited about it this year. It was the first year where I really felt like he got into the fun of the holiday. We did make a trip to see Santa this year with the boys. You will notice in the picture that there is no Simon. He was terrified! He was crying and clinging to Chris, so there was not a chance he was going to get near Santa. You can tell by Luke's expression that he was not that thrilled with Santa either!


Christmas Eve was wonderful. My dad graciously came over to stay with the boys so Chris and I could go to church. What a blessing it was to go to church and celebrate the birth of our Savior! That night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Chris' parents, grandparents, and his uncle Bob from Indiana. The boys were so well behaved! Simon was incredibly patient while Poppi (Chris' dad) chatted with the adults and did not play with him. After the boys were down that night Chris and I cozied up on the couch together to watch our favorite Christmas movie "A Christmas Story".


Christmas Day started bright and early at 7:30. Simon was a little overwhelmed at first, but once he started opening his gifts he warmed up!




After some family time at home we went to my parents for a great brunch with my parents, grandparents, and Kirk and Kathy and the boys (my brother and his family). Simon got his first bike from parents! He was super excited!



Next, we headed over to Chris' parents for a very relaxed and enjoyable time of exchanging gifts.


Christmas night we had an awesome time with my extended family! It was a wonderful time of fun and laughter!
We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. It is such a blessing to be able to spend Christmas with all of our loved ones!