South Carolina

Chris, Simon, Luke and I had the pleasure of going to South Carolina for the week of September 25 - October 3. The boys and I left Holland on Friday, September 25 to pick up Chris in Indianapolis where he had been in meetings since Wednesday. The drive to Harbor Island (near Beaufort), South Carolina is a 16 hour. The plan was to pick up Chris in Indy then drive to just east of Knoxville to stay the night, then continue rest of the way to meet my parents at our beach house on Harbor Island on Saturday.
We arrrived safely, but very exhausted, at our cute little beach house on Saturday evening. My parents were already there and thankfully my mom had already started dinner. The boys were ecstatic to be out of the car and Simon had a great time exploring the house.


After a great nights sleep we ventured to the beach late Sunday morning. Simon was very excited to be walking on the beach! He was a little leery of walking in the water until he saw other kids in the water. Once he saw them he loved walking in the 84 degree water. This was the beginning of many wonderful walks on the beach throughout the week.




Monday and Tuesday were repeats of Sunday with long walks on the beach, splashing in the water and looking for shells. We also spent time swimming in the pools. Chris and Simon spent lots of timing driving around the Island on the golf cart.


Wednesday we ventured into Charleston with my parents. Charleston is such a beautiful and historic city. We spend the day wandering around the city looking at the beautiful homes, parks, and waterfront.


Thursday was again spent on the Island walking the beach and swimming in the pools.




Friday was overcast so we went into Beaufort to explore that charming and historic city. We had fun visting the shops downtown and exploring the waterfront. Simon got to see a shrimp boat up close and personal. He thought that was so cool since we had been seeing them everyday off shore. Simon also had some fun playing in the park in downtown Beaufort. We headed back to the house in time for the boys to take a nap and for me to catch a little time laying out by the pool.


Saturday we loaded up the cars and headed out of Harbor Island about 9:00AM. The goal was to drive to Lexingon, Kentucky that day and finish the last leg of the trip on Sunday. We arrived home safely (and exhausted) late afternoon on Sunday.
The trip to South Carolina was WONDERFUL. We were blessed with wonderful weather (sunny and warm (80's) everyday). As great as it was to have good weather it was even better to be able to have family time with our little family of 4and to be able to spent time with my parents!


We loved every minute of our time in South Carolina and we are ready to go back anytime!!

3 months old!

It is hard to believe that Luke is now three months old! It seems like he has been part of our family forever. He is such a joy! He is a very happy baby who is much more liberal with his smiles then Simon was at this age.

Here are some things that he does:
* Smiles tons
* Talks and coos when you you talk to him
* Loves to suck on his fingers
* Obsessed with his blankie
* Almost rolls over from stomach to back

The only complaint that I would have is that he still does not sleep through the night. I have to remind myself that he is still only three months old and getting up twice could be way worse!
Simon continues to adore his little brother. He shows very little jealousy, which is such a blessing!

Ma2's Visit

I will begin by explaining who Ma2 is. Ma2 is Chris' grandmother from Atlanta. She is Chris' moms mom. She got the name Ma2 when they became grandparents for the first time. Ma2 and Chris' grandfather Pa2 decided they were too young to be called grandpa and grandma. Therefore, they named themselves Ma2 and Pa2. The names stuck, and now all of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren refer to them as Ma2 and Pa2. Pa2 passed away almost two years ago from cancer. Ma2 and Pa2 were married for more than sixty years, and Ma2 continues to live in their home in Atlanta. Ma2 is a very elegant and lovely lady who is extremely proud of her family, and she loves each and everyone of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Physically Ma2 has become quite frail, but her fierce determination and strength keeps her going.

We recently had the pleasure of having her visit us here in Michigan. She will only visit Michigan in the summer because Michigan winters are just too cold. Since summer in "Hotlanta" is just plain hot, and Michigan is usually quite pleasant, her visit with us this August was nearly two weeks. However, with the cool summer we should have told her to bring her winter coat, hat, and long underwear. During her visit we were able to share some time and very special events with her. She joined us at our home for brunch. She was also able to attend Luke's baptism. Of course, she was shocked to see how much Simon had grown. It was wonderful for her to have the opportunity to meet Luke. I can honestly say that she was thoroughly enchanted by Simon!

During her visit we were able to get some awesome pictures. At Luke's baptism we were able to get all of Simon and Luke's great-grandparents in one picture. We were also able to get a four generation picture with Ma2, Nonnie(Chris' mom), Chris and both of the boys. I know that these pictures will be treasured now, and in the years to come.
We were so thankful for the opportunity to have Ma2 visit here this summer. We hope to have her visit with us again next summer.

Luke's Baptism

Luke was baptized on August 22nd. Our church (Ridge Point Community Church)does baptisms on Saturday nights after the Saturday night service in a separate baptism service. We had the pleasure of having my parents,grandparents, and Kirk and Kathy and the boys. Chris' parents were there as well as Nana and Grandad and we were excited to have Ma II (Chris' grandmother) there from Atlanta.




It was awesome to have all of the great-grandparents there because chances are we will never have all of them in one place again.



As part of baptism preparation we were asked to choose a life verse for Luke. Here is the verse we chose:

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4

We chose this verse for Luke because our hearts desire for our son is for him to be a loving and faithful man with a good reputation among man and God.

Luke did fantastic during the baptism. While we were on the stage and Jim (our pastor) was talking Luke was looking up at him and smiling the biggest, cutest smile. In fact Jim laughed and said that he lost his train of thought because of Luke's smiling. It was so awesome!

As parents we recognize and accept the responsibility to lead and guide our sons so that someday they will have a relationship with the Lord. We are so thankful to have a wonderful church and MANY family members and friends who will support us in this awesome responsibility.

Two years old!

We are now officially into the terrible two's, which thankfully are not that terrible. Simon turned two on August 3. It is amazing how quickly time flies. I look at him and I have a hard time even seeing a toddler. He is very much a busy little boy. Simon continues to be a big boy. At his two year appointment he weighed 32.5 lbs and is 38 1/2 inches tall. He is off the charts for height!
Everyday his vocabulary seems to expand by leaps and bounds. This morning we were watching the Today Show and Barack Obama came on, Simon said "Barack Obama" without even hearing the name. Needless to say I was shocked. He also has amazing manners. He uses please, thank you, and excuse me quite regularly. He even said "God bless you" to me when I sneezed. The thing that amazes me the most is that I can carry on a conversation with him! It is awesome to be able to communicate with him.
Much like his dad at this age Simon is obsessed with all types of vehicles that move- trains, cars, trucks, fire trucks, etc. He has an extensive collection of Matchbox cars, tractors ("tracties" according to him), and larger cars and trucks. It is not uncommon to see him carrying around at least 2 Matchbox cars and usually more. We can not leave the house without him carrying several cars.
Some of Simon's favorite things to do are feed the duckies, play at the park, play with his cousins (Andrew and Matthew), and to swim in his pool.
We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful and loving little boy and we thank God for the two awesome years we have had and look forward to many more!

Introducing... Luke David Arendshorst

Chris and I welcomed a new member to our family on June 3, 2009. Luke David was born in Holland Hospital weighing 8lbs. 5ozs. and 21 inches long. The first thing I noticed about him when I saw him was he was not huge! This was quite a concern for me considering I had gestational diabetes. Second, I noticed he had hair! Simon did not have a lick of hair on his head when he was born. Granted Luke did not have a ton, but certainly more than Simon.
Luke is now almost 3 months old. At his two month appointment he weighed 14lbs. 5ozs. and was 25 inches long. A very healthy boy! He is also such a joy. He is a very happy baby and always quick with the smiles. He loves to talk. If you smile at him and talk to him he coos and talks back! Super cute!
Simon is an awesome big brother. He loves Luke very much and asks where Luke is as soon as he wakes up in the morning and kisses him goodnight every night.
We are so very thankful that Luke is here. We are truly very blessed.

What a difference a year makes!

Well it is official I am a blog slacker. That's not exactly true, I am learning as I go so bear with me.
Last year at this time I had a little one year boy who wasn't even walking yet and saying a few words. Now look at where we are. We have a VERY busy two year old who runs rather than walks and talks a mile a minute. It is amazing how you can actually carry on a conversation with Simon.
The biggest change of all is we now have an awesome 11 week old baby boy. Luke is such a joy and blessing to our family. He is quick with the smiles and he coos and talks a lot (I think he gets that from his dad - the talking not the cooing).
It is truly amazing to think back to our life a year ago and realize that I would not change a thing!