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Monday, December 21, 2009

Promises

This Sunday, we had the privilege of having our new baby girl, Jocelyn, baptized. It was a chance for us as parents to make a promise to God and the rest of our church to raise Jocelyn to love and serve God. It was also a chance for us and our other children to have a visible reminder that Jocelyn is a child of God, a precious creation that God has sent to our family to love and care for. It was a wonderful day that we shared with our families and friends.

Jocelyn looking very cute in her baptism dress, made by Grandma. A family shot before heading off to church.

Pastor Nathan putting the sign and seal of baptism on Jocelyn.
Proud mom and dad!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Thanks Uncle Sid & Auntie Holly!

I just had to post this picture of Jocelyn. I received this outfit from her Uncle Sid and Auntie Holly and I just love it. It is super soft and is just perfect for December! (the booties were way too big and made her feet look giant size so they are just off to the side for now!)

Saturday, December 12, 2009

After 1 week . . .

So, it has been a week since the arrival of little Jocelyn to our family and we are loving her! Here are a few shots of everyday life around our house this week:
Jocelyn posing for a picture in her playpen! Kendra and Owen admiring their new baby sister. I think this was the first time that Owen actually acknowledged that she was in the house! He wanted to give her a toy and didn't quite understand why she wasn't playing with it.
This is a very regular occurance: "Mom, can I hold her?" Kendra is loving being a big sister!
Giving Jocelyn her first bath at home. The kids love watching this!

Another good pose by Jocelyn, this time in her bouncy seat.

There is something just so relaxing and peacful about a house that is decorated for Christmas, the fireplace on, the weather chilly outside and a sleeping baby!
Okay, so this wasn't at home, but we did get a picture of Jocelyn with the big guy in red! This was at the kids' Christmas party at Kevin's work. The other 2 kids still wouldn't come anywhere near Santa!
And finally, today, Owen decided that he would pay a little more attention to the baby that seems to be sticking around!
So, just a few snapshots of life around the deWolde household this week. As you can see, we seem to be a little focused on a teeny little precious miracle!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Announcing . . .

Jocelyn Marie deWolde. Born on December 4, 2009 at 3:54 p.m., weighing 6 lbs 9 oz, 49 cm long and totally cute!! We are so happy and excited to have been blessed with another miracle from our Heavenly Father!
For those of you who would like to know more details about how she made her arrival, keep reading. If you just want to see some pictures, skip the writing and have a look a little farther down!

I went to bed Thursday evening, with a little bit of an upset stomach. In the back of my mind, I thought, "Maybe . . " but I had also just been out for a piece of rich, but oh so delicious, cheesecake with a friend so I thought it might be that too! Anyway, I woke up at around 5:30 a.m. and discovered that my water had broken. I quite calmly woke up Kevin and informed him that he might not have to go into work today. We were fairly calm as this is what had happened with Kendra's birth as well. I had a shower, we packed a few bags, phoned Sylvia and Sid to let them know they would be having 2 little people for the day. We arrived at the hospital by around 7:00 but not really much else was happening. I was assessed and basically told to come back when things were a little more exciting. So, we walked around for while, did some shopping, and then went home for a few hours. We went back to the hospital at around 1:00 but still nothing.

At just before 3:00, we decided it might be nice to get outside for a while. It was chilly but the sun was shining and a walk might do both of us some good. We debated driving to Mill Lake and walking there but thought maybe we would just do around the hospital first. Once we started walking, the contractions finally started. By 3:30, we headed up to the maternity ward again and things were heating up. They admitted me into a room and after a few more good contractions and 2 pushes, there she was! No time for a doctor, just a few kinda surprised nurses!

Jocelyn, pretty fresh after arriving!

A proud daddy with his little girl!

Hilda in awe of her new little miracle!
Jocelyn feeling quite content just after her first bath.

Kevin took the kids to the hospital the next morning to meet their new baby sister. Kendra was completely and totally excited, not really saying anything - which tells you how overwhelmed she was! Owen, on the other hand, walked right by her and proceeded to set up his cars and trucks and his mat on the floor and begin playing. We're sure he'll come around but for now, she isn't a real big priority in his life yet!

What a gift from God!
I'm sure more pictures will follow but for now we are all doing very well enjoying our new little package from above!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I think we're ready!

Well, the walls are painted, the crib is set up, the diapers are bought, clothes and blankets are washed. After a very busy month, I think we might actually be ready! Now, we just wait!!!! :)


Saturday, November 28, 2009

Skating

This morning we took the kids skating at the local arena. This place has a great little rink just for beginners. This was the second time we had done this and we were again amazed at how quickly kids learn to do stuff!Kendra really didn't have any fear of learning how to skate. From last week wobbling around and hanging on for dear life to . . .

. . . dropping the skating helper and skating on her own! We were very proud of her!
Owen, on the other hand, was a little tired today!
Of course, what would skating be without a treat after at Timmy's!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Owen!

This week Owen turned 3 years old! He had decided long ago that he wanted a race car cake for his birthday. Even though I knew he wouldn't eat any of it, as he doesn't really do cake, I went with it anyway! He loved looking at it so it was all worth it!Unlike his older sister, Owen is not real big on having any attention on him so the whole singing of the "Happy Birthday" song didn't go over very well with him.
Monday morning, he discovered a few presents waiting for him on the counter and this was quite exciting!
He loves anything to do with numbers or letters so this book was quite a hit!

In the afternoon, we had two of Owen's friends, Daniel and Zachary over for lunch, cupcakes and some playing. They all had quite a bit of fun!
My little buddy is now 3 years old - and will soon graduate from being the baby of the family to big older brother. We'll see how that adjustment goes for a little guy who likes to have things his own certain way!!

Friday, November 20, 2009

More progress!

Everyday we are making a little more progress at getting things moved around in the house. We have most things moved downstairs now and so this week was about setting them up and putting them all in new places. Today I finished organizing the computer desk and everything that goes with that as well as my scrapbook/craft area. It feels good to have it all set up!
The playroom has a few things moved into it, although getting that all set up will have to wait a while. I did find this cool tunnel thing at Value Village today for the kids and they had a great time playing in it all afternoon. I have a few ideas to make the room a little "funner" looking but there are a few other things that need to get finished first!
Next on the agenda - painting the baby room and getting that set up!

Monday, November 16, 2009

35 weeks and counting!

I don't usually post pictures of myself, but I had someone comment that they hadn't seen me pregnant so I thought I would make an exception! We are just over 35 weeks - meaning about 5 more to go! I'm still feeling pretty good, just starting to get a little heavy! We are getting things ready for our newest family member and can't wait to meet our little miracle in a few weeks!

Empty!

The room is now empty, (besides kids and some tools) the studs are gone and most of the wires are tucked away (thanks, Jeff!). It still needs some finishing off on the sides, floor and ceiling but that can wait. After a good clean, it is now ready for moving stuff in!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Comin' down!

Yesterday was the big day when the wall in our basement was going to come down. For those of you that have done whole house reno's, I'm sure this is pretty minor but I've never been a part of a home-reno before, so I was pretty excited - even if it was just 1 wall! I'm also excited at the prospect of just having some more room in the house! I'll post more pictures once we get a bit further!

Before:

The first few swings:


We can see through!


All the way through! Now to haul away the debris and figure out what to do with all those wires!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Pumpkins and Halloween

Our Saturday morning began with the carving out of our pumpkins. The kids each got to scoop and design their own pupmkin, the one they choose from the pumpkin patch. Neither were really big on the 'yucky stuff' inside! Kendra was very excited to draw on her own face and help to carve it out!


After supper, it was time to head out for a little trick-or-treating. The kids were excited to put on their animal costumes and practice making their animal noises. They looked pretty cute as an elephant and a lion! They thoroughly enjoyed having their buckets filled with candy!

Checking out the loot afterwards and having a few pieces before bed! Done again for another year!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Fall centerpieces

This year I am part of a leadership team for the Women's Ministry at our church. Part of my "job" is to take care of the creative side of things, like making centerpieces for the tables. So, for the month of November, I decided to stick with the fall theme and go from there. Michael's had all their fake flowers on sale for 80% off, and although I'm not always a big fan of fake flowers, these ones looked quite nice and were a good deal! Then I went off thrift store shopping to look for a few things. I found some old canning jars for $0.29 each! They are really old ones with the glass sealer and the "weathered" rings. A few other things from around the house, and this is what I came up with!