The Dutchies

Hadrian is FOUR

2011-03-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hadrian is four now. Where does the time go? I need to figure out how to upload pictures from my phone to my computer so that I can put pictures here on the blog. Pictures to come soon.

The week before Christmas

2010-12-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas...in pictures and a few words. The kids started getting sick last weekend. They have just gotten worse and worse the last few days and all three or coughing up a storm, watery eyes, runny noses, low fevers and Christmas is quickly upon us. I'm not sure if our Christmas plans will have to change; I'm praying for a little miracle that they are all healthy enough to at least make it to church. I'm trying to adjust my expectations to be different than what was planned, but that is not easy for me. So, it's been a hard couple of days. However, there have been so good times too! It started out with Hadrian and his school Christmas program. You can see from the pictures that he seems a little tired, or maybe now I can look back and say he was just starting this cold...it was a fun 30 minutes, I was so busy watching Hadrian that I didn't catch any of the other funny children. Hadrian was in a bit of daze, especially after he fell off the stage - yes he just tumbled right off. Jair calmed him down and Hadrian went back on stage; all the while looking so serious - so McDonald.

Over the weekend we got to get away Jair & I and went with the family to see the Narnia movie, the voyage of the dawn treader. It was good, I enjoyed it. And always nice to be out! After the movie we got the kids and headed to dinner with the family in celebration of my SIL's birthday. We went to Ruby Tuesday's and it was the absolute worse experience we waited, and waited, and waited and we were practically the only ones in there. I think we were there for 2 hours and the majority of the time....waiting. The kids were absolutely incredible! What a blessing to have such wonderful children. They sat in their seats, they weren't loud or obnoxious; they were very well behaved.

Later in the week, as Hadrian & Hadassa were taking naps Matthan and I sat down and made a few button wreaths. Let me tell you, this was another highlight of my week! To sit down with my baby; who has a hard time doing this and seeing in him the growth he's had to be able to thread buttons on a string was a huge blessing and just a joy - to do something creative with him.

With the button wreaths done, I started getting a crafty feeling inside and at the same time wanting to clean and organize the kids' rooms. Which for Hadassa's meant changing her bed in to a toddler bed as well. It looks great in her room now; she is getting so big. But, here's one other crafty thing I did for her room I made her this hair bow hanger. I had all the stuff just here and there in my craft box.

Later still in the week in preparation for Christmas Eve & Christmas I thought it'd be fun to make Matthan a few goodies of his own that he could enjoy too. So, I made chocolate cupcakes for him and he decorated it with the snowman. Another very fun moment with just him!

So, although sicknesses lurk here and are quite discouraging; I can see looking back that my week was good. Praying for a healthy Christmas Eve & Day.

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Parade

2010-11-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

Spontaneously my mom & I took the kids to a Christmas Parade in downtown Olympia. It was a lot of fun. I packed with me some rice krispie treats and hot cocoa with marshmallows and we enjoyed ourselves watching the parade. I hope next year is a nice dry day like it was this time; it'd be fun to go again.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T06:02:00.001-08:00

We had a great thanksgiving! It was fun in the week prior to talk with the kids about being thankful and trying to teach them about thanksgiving. On thanksgiving day we took the kids to see a movie; which was a lot of fun - minus the wiggly 18 month old :) Then we went over to my parents for the afternoon/evening. Always so good to be all together. There are times especially during holidays, and birthdays but even on an everyday day that I wish we had more time with Jair's family too. Often, here friends and sometimes family will say how lucky we are we don't have to share a holiday and go from one place to the next since Jair's family isn't here. We often tell them, that we'd much rather share holidays than seem them occasionally. We tried to take family pictures with our camera on a timer - that was fun :) Challenging and a test of our patience and the kids' but here are a few of those pictures.

The First Snow

2010-11-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

It's snowing here - a real winter wonderland. We ventured out for a short time this morning. Matthan enjoyed it the most. Hadrian was his moody self upset that he had to wear multiple socks to go out side; he finally cheered up a bit while we were out there, and then he got hit by a snow ball so that sent him back into his mood. Hadassa wasn't too sure about the whole experience; she pretty much just stood in one spot the whole time :)

Time For A Party

2010-11-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

The kids and I are all sick with an awful cold. We are home today enjoying our time in our jammies and watching movies. Just about lunch time; Matthan says "we should have a party" and of course Hadrian jumped right on that idea! I said "okay lets have a party with our toast, hot cocoa and grapes. You can wear your hats" (one Hadrian made at school; and I threw one together for Matthan). They were excited! Of course you can't have a party with out candles, so they each got one candle in a piece of toast and they sang happy birthday to themselves. These are the moments that are so sweet and treasurable!

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we made it out to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful fall afternoon. Everyone had a great time!

Back To School

2010-09-13T12:13:00.001-07:00

Fall has arrived and school has begun. Last week was the first week back to school for Matthan; and Hadrian just starting preschool. Somehow, I haven't gotten pictures of Matthan yet (I'll have to do that this week :). They were both really excited to get going to school. Matthan is attending preschool 4 days a week all day. He did VERY well his first day back! Hadrian, is loving his school. When I took him his first day he just couldn't wait for me to leave - I was waiting for the teacher as well as just observing for a few minutes and I think in 5-10minutes time Hadrian asked 4 times when I was leaving and what I was doing there still. He finally came up to me and gave me a big hug and kiss and said "see you later mom". So independent!

I'm really looking forward to this school year. I have high hopes for Matthan as he goes all day and am looking forward to some individual time with the kids.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for colds to set in. All 3 of them are sick with an awful cold and the start of the 2nd week of school are home. I hope and pray that get well soon and that this won't be an awful cold season.

Summer Time Fun

2010-07-16T08:42:00.001-07:00

We have been having a lot of fun this summer. Starting off with the 4th of July.

Then on the 5th of July Oma en Opa arrived! The boys were so excited to see them and are really enjoying their company.

The boys also have had their first fishing experience....

We just spent 3 nights in Lake Chelan, had a great place to stay, awesome warm weather, and a lot of fun.

The place we stayed

The view from the place we stayed

While in Chelan we spent a day at the water slide park. It was so fun, we all enjoyed it and it is such joy to see your children experience new and fun things. I loved going down the slides with Matthan & Hadassa - Hadrian stayed close with Opa & Daddy.

All Things Summer & More

2010-06-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full speed ahead now! The 4th of July is only a few days away and we are going to the beach for our usual family celebration. I'm really looking forward to it, food, campfires, beach walks, fireworks and most of all being with the family.

On the 5th we have yet another great event planned. Mamma en Pappa are coming! Yes, Jair's parents are due to arrive the evening of the 5th and we are so excited to receive them and be with them for the rest of July! We have a few fun adventures planned, but again I most of all look forward to being with them, drinking a cup of coffee with them, seeing memories being made with Oma & Opa and the kleine kinderen (small children). We have a small house, it's even small for the 5 of us - so this time around we've got a very special setup for Jair's parents - in a way it reminds me of the story Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - where all the family; parents, and two sets of grandparents live in one little house...We'll be nice & cozy that's for sure. Or as they say in YWAM sleeping under each others armpits.

Matthan has been doing really well on his diet and his supplements. He is such an amazing child, watching him take these vitamins (15-20) a day that are pills he has to swallow is just incredible to me - he does it! Some days he doesn't want to, but he still does :) His time in therapy (speech & occupational) are going well - at least today! He still has good days & bad days. Since school got out 3 weeks ago now, we have officially ditched all pull-ups and are toilet training (again), he is doing the best he has thus far and I am praying that by the end of summer, he will be well on his way for the coming school year.

I continue to pray for Matthan's healing. That Jehova Rapha (the God who heals) would touch his body, his brain in a miraculous way. I was very blessed by an incredible evening at church tonight - worship and praising Jesus. In that time of worship I received a verse: Psalm 139:5

"You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me"

The power of the Word is incredible. I love it when the words jump off the page at me! The Lord has his hand on Matthan, yes on me too, and my family - but I really felt strongly a reminder to me, for Matthan. His healing hands - the great physician - is touching my baby boy and I will continue to knock & to seek Him in all things!

Hadrian is a wonderful little boy, who loves to play, be the "boss", and is unfortunately quite the "middle" child. It is hard to remember sometimes that he is only 3. He has got an older brother who takes and requires a lot of help and a baby sister who is simply the baby, the princess. There are times that my heart is heavy for him and I ask the Lord to help me protect his "childhood", to not make him grow up too fast and to remember to treat him special too.

And yes our little Hadassa is growing up. She is doing very well and loves being with the boys and doing what they are doing. It is so fun having a girl ;) She is often in my shadow (as most children are at this age) helping me, doing what I do - laundry, dished, groceries, etc...

In only a few short weeks - Jair will be turning 30 - We are planning on a little gathering of family and close friends for kayaking & dinner out!

And that my friends is a little update from The Dutchies

May

2010-05-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Fun in the Sun with bubbles & mud.

Hadrian loves helping his daddy. He is our little worker. He reminds us so much of my brother, Chris.

Our sweet lil' angel....

The kids love their swings - I'm so glad to have them it keeps them occupied for a good while, although I have to push still, it's okay :)

Beach

2010-04-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is 1

2010-04-21T19:34:00.001-07:00

This is Hadassa's birthday invitation Jair & I created.

2010-04-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Autism & Motherly Emotions

2010-04-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to another appointment at the naturopath. We found out that we will begin a process of reintroducing all the foods that Matthan has reactions to one by one. This will tell us what his reaction is to that particular food; for example - maybe an orange will give him a stuffy nose, as to a piece of beef will send him in a tailspin of meltdowns - so an orange maybe okay here and there and the beef we would stay far away from. This will be really helpful to know how he reacts to each food. We are also going to do the organic acids testing for him, which will tell us a bit more of how his body is doing and processing things. And as I've mentioned before that the cost to all of these tests, and supplements, diet changes, and vitamins is really a lot - but I'm amazed at how the Lord continues to provide for us and our every need. Thank you Jesus!

So, on the way home from this appointment yesterday - we both felt very discouraged that it's not getting any easier yet - there's always something more to do. And then the emotions came at me full speed ahead! I cried so much on the way home, the tears streaming down my cheeks. It doesn't often happen, but every once in a while I ask God "why? why me? why us? what did I ever do to deserve this? Why can't I have 3 typically developing children?" and of course I don't get immediate answers. I feel so bad that autism and the search to help Matthan takes up so much of my time and my thoughts. I feel like I miss out on the other children's milestones. Recently as Hadassa is growing and changing there are the questions, were the boys like that? And honestly it's really hard to remember Hadrian as a baby because I was just going through so much in the beginning of discovering something was wrong with Matthan. So, it just puts a damper on things - autism. It's really turned my world upside down - and is the furthest thing from what I ever expected I would have to journey through. Even now as I'm trying to get my thoughts down - I tear up because I long for my baby - Matthan - to be back as he was. This is my prayer - that the Lord would heal him. In the car ride home I just kept having that chorus line "I surrender all, all to thee my blessed saviour I surrender all" run over and over in my head. It is hard to surrender! A little later after I dropped Jair off at work I was listening to the song Healing is in your hands by Christy Nockels this is such a powerful song to me lately. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to hear the song) I realized two things in this song yesterday; one was that as much as Matthan needs healing from autism, I need healing in my heart. My heart is broken, broken for my son, broken from my dreams and ideals - I need Jesus to heal my heart. The other thing I realized is that the healing for Matthan is in the Lord's hands! Not mine - and I will do all that I can do, to help Matthan, to heal his body, to make him healthy - but no matter what I do or don't do - it's Jesus that can heal him if and when he chooses. What that realization does is bring freedom to a degree to myself. I don't have to carry around the burden of trying so hard on something that only He can do. I will and do fervently ask Him for healing, but it's up to him.

This afternoon I read the first chapter of Traveling Light by Max Lucado. I've read this book before a number of years ago - it was good then and today it spoke to me again. The first chapter gives analagoys of traveling and packing and trying to deal with all these heavy bags and luggage - and in life, we have luggage too, burdens. "The suitcase of guilt. A sack of discontentment. You drape a duffel bag of weariness on one shoulder and a hanging bag of grief on the other. Add on a backpack of doubt, and overnight bag of loneliness, and a trunk of fear" "Come to Me" he invites "all who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 NLT Then Max goes on to quote the 23rd psalm and today verse 3 jumped off the page ^"3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake." Yes, Jesus restore my soul! The last part of that verse also was intriguing me "For His name's sake" I've kind of been thinking about this lately too - maybe all of this, these specific trials and heart wrenching times, the challenges we face in having a child with autism, all of it, is for Him....On the other side of my heartache and tears yesterday - I stand here and pray Lord, all for you, all for Your glory. May my life be pleasing to you. How I deal with my challenges, with my children and family. As well as today I realize again that I don't have "it" as bad as some do. My life is good. My child who does have autism, is a really good kid! He has so much going for him. There are others who have autism or who have children with autism and life is much harder for them. I am thankful that God does not give me more than I can handle!

Hadassa's latest smile

2010-03-31T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hadassa has recently been smiling for the camera - and this her "beautiful" smile :)

New Paint!

2010-03-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

We did actually paint the inside of our house! We did it all in one day - we finally got started at about 11am and finished just after midnight.

We've got one really good shot that Jair took with the new camera!

New Camera...

2010-03-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

So, my new camera should be coming soon. And this is why I would like to try a better one - every picture I take of Hadassa the flash makes her close her eyes and if the flash isn't on it doesn't come out good...

Day by Day

2010-03-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

This whole process is a day by day situation for us. Each day seems to get a little easier and a little more hopeful for things for his menu.

We have a number of different supplements to give Matthan - he even has a huge "old person" pill box with 4 times each day for a week. It's a lot to keep straight :) Some of his vitamins he does just fine with, but others particularly the newer ones he his having a hard time getting them down. They come in a capsule form and we are supposed to break them open into applesauce, or a smoothie - well so far that hasn't worked. So, we tried to put the entire pill in a spoonful of applesauce and it worked for the first couple of times, then he got "onto us" and began swallowing the applesauce and biting the capsule - yuck! That's so gross I can't even imagine - and no wonder he doesn't want vitamins anymore. Today I found a nice webiste that listed a number of ideas for how to get your child to take these things. One, I tried this morning was to put the capsule contents in some frozen juice concentrate - that was good - although he was still so smart that he new there were vitamins in there and he didn't want it after a try or two. But, I tasted it, it was good, cold, sweet. Maybe too sweet actually - so we added some "pop" club soda and that made it a little better. He did good and finished it all. I rewarded with a little bit of candy. I think candy reinforcements might work too. So, day by day....

The other day Jair came up with a very good idea to prepare snack packs for him for the week. So, that when we are on the go - it seems we are often headed somewhere. I can just grab a snack for him and know that he has something to eat wherever we go. So, I made up a couple of those today.

I've also read a lot about egg replacers and am hopeful to make pancakes soon - using some ground flaxseed and water. I like the idea of the flaxseed because of it's fiber and nutrition. As well as I'm hoping to make some bread for him in the coming week.

We are gearing up to paint this weekend and are buying the no voc paint - no toxins. I'm super excited to have color on our walls!

Matthan's Progress

2010-03-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

We went yesterday to the Naturopath. We have been on the GFCF diet now for 3 weeks and had in mind to go over with the dr. the changes we observed in Matthan (which in fact were not many) as well as go over his blood work results.

Shall we do the good news first?? The good news is, he tested negative for celiac disease, as well as gilberts syndrome (gilberts syndrome is a low count of bilirubin and runs in Jair’s family – Jair has this as well as an aunt of his), his sugar levels were good. His kidneys and liver are functioning properly.

The “bad” news…Matthan has a low count of red and white blood cells. His red blood cells are enlarged. Before I go into more detail, the dr. said he overall looks healthy. With a low count of red blood cells he is anemic and low on iron. This could explain the circle under his eyes. I had been watching for those to lessen in the last 3 weeks thinking they were due to food allergy, but it could be his iron levels. So, hopefully in the coming 3 weeks those will begin to clear up. With a low level of white blood cells it means he bruises easily – which is so true, he’s got bruises all over and sometimes I’m like “what did you do?” they look awful. As well with his white blood cells usually your blood cells are in a 60/40 split, 60% is fighting with your immune system, like when you get a bug, a cold, flu, etc…and 40% fights chronic illness. Well, his white blood cells are 30/70 split, 30% fight his immune system and 70% fight chronic illness – so he is constantly fighting something. My poor baby! I have to not weaken and feel sorry for him or me, I have to keep pressing on to try and help him feel better. Lord, help me! More, to the facts…Matthan also shows some pretty high levels of heavy metals in his body. There are treatments for this known as chelation and over the course of time; you slowly draw out the metals in his body. How does he get those heavy metals there? It is from vaccines, some drinking waters (or tap waters), and I can’t remember if she said anywhere else – those were the 2 I recall. So, maybe in the future we will work with this, but first we will try to tackle the diet J He also, may need to have some vitamin B12 shots. I’m not entirely sure how this is helpful, although I have read that it often does help children with ASD (autism spectrum disorders). I do think it’s to improve your overall red blood cells. And you can often get it from food, but at this point with his diet his intake of B12 will be minimal. So, that too is one of those things we may work on in the future. Matthan was low in vitamin D and actually all my children probably are with living here! He also showed low cholesterol, and while for us adults that sounds good, but cholesterol actually feeds the neurotransmitters and so he kind of needs “all he can get” so we won’t be shy with him in using the fats. Now, to the food allergy testing….We had a food allergy test done for him, which was pretty expensive (we were blessed by a generous family member who paid for it) and I was pretty excited to see the results. Although, they are not what I expected and I think my world of cooking just got a bit harder and more challenging! He is allergic to:

Milk

Whey

Beef

Eggs

Cranberries

All Citrus Fruits

Gluten

Soy

Peanuts

The milk and the beef he reacts to immediately as with the others he will show a reaction later - a day to a week later. I’m thankful that he didn’t show positive allergy to casein, cheese, yogurt, or goats milk. And over time we will slowly add those things into hid diet one by one. I’m bummed that he can’t have beef (he really likes it) especially steak! And for me, I’m bummed that he can’t have eggs, or soy because really those are also in a lot of things! So, cooking healthy and creative just got harder again! And for peanuts – oh man he loves his peanut butter. So, yesterday I picked up some almond butter and hope that he will like it. One of the great things about Matthan is he really is pretty flexible. So, now for the next 3 weeks we will be cutting out his entire allergy foods and see how that goes. Jair thinks he wants to do it too, because he is a lot like Matthan and maybe Jair will benefit from the diet change. We’ll see.

We continue to pray for the Lord’s leading in all of this; His wisdom and His discernment on how best to help Matthan. It has been a very expensive venture thus far and it will continue to be so we also pray for His provision. The Lord is always faithful to provide for us.

Hot Cocoa & Popcorn

2010-03-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

They boys have both been asking for hot cocoa the last number of days. I found a recipe in a book I checked out from the library and decided to give it a try today. It turned out really good - especially since I haven't had chocolate for 3 weeks! The boys liked it too and well for the popcorn - they decided that would be a good lunch and since I had little motivation, it sounded alright to me!

The recipe for the hot cocoa was:
1 T agave nectar
1 tsp of cocoa
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 mug full of soy milk heated.

Basically you mix the heated milk with the other ingredients and voila! Hot cocoa!

Hadrian-o-saurus Birthday

2010-03-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

Hadrian has turned 3! I can hardly believe it. We celebrated with a dinosaur birthday yesterday. It was really fun and he totally loved all the aspects of his birthday, people, gifts, cake - it's so fun to see the excitement in your child's eyes. Here are a few photos. Oh, and the cake we made, Jair did the precise design work and I frosted, and baked. It's also completely gluten & casein free!

It's been a week!

2010-03-01T20:52:00.000-08:00

We've done the diet now an entire week. It's going really well! Today, I made my first batch of GFCF pancakes for breakfast! They were really great. I also made some cornbread to go with chili tonight for dinner and turned out amazingly. It was our first piece of "bread" in a week and we all really enjoyed it! I actually had my parents over for dinner and the liked it too - so it really must have been good.

This past weekend I ventured out to get a bunch of GF flours to cook and bake with. I think I spent like $30 on flour - $30!! That's so much money. I'm not sure how long it will last - time will tell. Hadrian is turning 3 in 2 days so we are having his birthday which I will be baking the first GFCF birthday cake. I sure hope it turns out!

Day 4 of the Diet

2010-02-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well so far so good! Matthan is doing really well on the diet. He absolutely loved sandwiches - which we've not had any bread now for 4 days. He's doing so good on it, not asking for things he can't have. I think it's really helpful right now not to have things around that are "off limits".

We had our first get together tonight (for my dad's birthday) and that went okay. It was too awful not being able to eat what everyone else was. The boys really wanted dessert though, that was the hardest part - but my mom gave them a rice cake with p.butter & honey so that helped.

I'm still not sure how long I can do it though - I find myself resisting the fact that I can't have something. When something is off limits, I just want it more it seems. And the things that are available to supplement with are just not as good. I made my regular cup of earl grey tea the other night and put almond milk in it, totally gross - tonight I'll try with soy milk and see if it's any better.

On to other notes::

Hadassa is just getting her first tooth in and she's walking really good holding onto things. I wish I had a picture to post - but our camera is broken and we don't have another one...I really need to get one, I'm missing so much of her especially as a baby.

That's all I can think of for now - until next time...

GFCF Diet

2010-02-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

We have officially begun the GFCF (Gluten Free, Casein Free) diet here at the Reitsma house. We are doing it primarily for Matthan as we've heard of success stories with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) kids who have really blossomed on this diet. So, we thought we need to try it. After seeing a Naturopath we (Jair & I) were encouraged to try the diet as well - she suggested that often if a child has an intolerance to a certain food it's most likely inherited from one or both of the parents.

So, here we are now day 2 of the diet. We started with ambition - but even after a day of eating a lot of fruit & veggies, it's already becoming hard. Jair was so funny last night talking about his food for the day - literally everything he ate had a "crunch" to it - and Jair hates food noises or having to chew things - he gets tired of chewing. Anyhow, we've got 3 weeks on the elimination of such foods and then we go from there. With Matthan we've done some extensive blood work and food tests - so that will be helpful - and for us, I think we will slowly add some of these things back into our diet but are praying we will actually notice the difference.

My cousin - who is such a great friend and blessing to me; suggested we blog this experience - and so here I am giving it the first go. I'll try to keep it updated.

On a side note: The other day Matthan was asked by my uncle "who is your best friend Matthan?" He replied "Mommy!!" "who??" says uncle "Mommy!!" repeats Matthan. It was so sweet!

Christmas

2009-12-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting anything. I was reminded yesterday by my little brother that we need to update this blog!

I've been busy posting pics and things on facebook that I haven't posted anything here.

Life has been going pretty well lately. We are enjoying the Christmas season. The boys are still not very aware of Christmas and that it's now only a day away. But they are aware of the Christmas trees and the lights outside as we drive at night - especially Hadrian. He loves pointing out the lights and the moon :) As soon as we got into the car last night, he found the moon and says "see mommy, the moon there's the moon right there" I couldn't see it "no I can't see it" "see right there, there it is" "nope I still can't see it" "mommy, it's right there look" "okay, now I see it" He wasn't satisfied until I had seen it :) The boys are singing a couple christmas jingles - Hadrian sings in his sleep - the other night he was sleeping in our room on the floor and I woke up to him saying "santa cwaus is coming to town" (his l's are w's)

Matthan is doing well in school and therapy. We are really thinking about trying a diet for him after the first of the year it's a GFCF (gluten free, casein free) diet. It has helped many children with autism spectrum disorders, such as himself. So, we might take the plunge and try it and see if it helps him at all. It's a little overwhelming, but worth the try I think. He is such a sweet boy, Matthan loves to give hugs and kisses these days - which is such a blessing to us.

Hadassa is on her way to crawling. I can't believe she's 8 months already. She's eating a lot more different foods now, cheerios, cheese, yogurt, wow! It goes by so fast.

I will try and post more here for those that do check up on us every so often.

Merry Christmas!

3 Days Later...

2009-07-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

2009-07-22T19:59:00.001-07:00

Matthan & Hadrian were jumping on my bed...bonked heads...Matthan's first black eye

Sunglasses

2009-07-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the Sun

2009-07-02T08:36:00.001-07:00

Laundry

2009-07-02T08:32:00.001-07:00

Helping Mommy with laundry...

Smiles

2009-07-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks now and Hadassa is smiling and cooing...it's such a sweet stage.

2009-06-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Our Little Princess is growing!

It's hard to get a good picture of the 3 of them...

We'll keep trying!

Pictures...Flickr

2009-05-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

I should use flickr more, and just post that there are new pics there...but until then... here's a couple more.

More Pictures of Hadassa

2009-05-16T09:08:00.001-07:00

Per my father's request...here are a few more pictures of our baby girl.

Everyday Life

2009-05-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day Oma en Opa left for the Netherlands and on Monday Jair went back to work. So, now we are back to everyday life. It's been okay for the first 2 days thus far. It is an adjustment still though - me home with the three kids :) Hadrian is probably having the biggest adjustment out of everyone.

I hope to post some new pictures soon....

Hadassa Rae

2009-04-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

Hadassa was born on the 22nd of April at 5:20 pm. She is so adorable! She weighed 7lbs 1 oz and is 19 inches. She is doing really well, nursing great and the first night home slept wonderfully. However, the 2nd night home was a total different story ~ I will be a zombie today :) Here are a few pictures...

Brotherly Fun...

2009-04-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

We've made up the guest bed for Oma & Opa (they arrive in a week) the boys think it's pretty fun to have such a bed to jump on and play on...pictures were in order at this time...

Easter

2009-04-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter! Good church service, good food, lots of fun! Matthan really got into coloring the eggs this year as well as hunting for them, but Hadrian wasn't quite as interested.

Soul of New Orleans

2009-04-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

In March we went down to the Oregon Symphony in Portland for a concert. It was a concert we had chosen for the one that we couldn't make in December due to the weather. It was really good, jazzy, trumpets, well symphony, but fun! My mom & dad went with us and we had a really good time!

Kindness

2009-04-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

It's been probably about a month now that I had gotten walking pneumonia. I was so sick, I had lost my voice completely for about 5 days and was pretty much useless around here. Anyhow, one day when I was really at my worst - completely tired of being so sick and coughing so much, I got a special delivery....flowers from my cousin Julie. It brighten my day so much and even the days to come as they sat on my dinning table. I wanted to post the pictures sooner but....

Baby Shower

2009-04-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

I had the most amazing baby shower last week! A tea party, with all the perfect food, table scapes, and friends/family. I was so blessed by it. I got a lot of wonderful gifts for baby girl as well. The pictures don't really do the "tea party" justice, it seriously was a real tea party. Anyhow, a few pictures to share. I am highly anticipating the arrival of baby girl now...

Tears & Birthday Cake

2009-04-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

This morning I was having a rough bout because I had been up half the night so I was pretty tired and not feeling all that well. I can't wait for this baby to arrive! Anyhow, as Jair was leaving for work I was crying a bit and getting Matthan dressed for school. Matthan asked "what are you crying for mommy?...You want some birthday cake too?" Nothing like the sweetness of a child to make you smile and get you out of your slump :)

note: more posts to come soon...baby shower...Matthan riding his trike.

New Business Effort

2008-12-29T19:08:00.001-08:00

Vanilla Snow

2008-12-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

I showed Matthan that he could eat the snow, when he did try it he said "mmm...banilla" (which is vanilla) it's hard to hear him say it, but he does say it in the video. Enjoy!

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

Baby Girl ?!?!

2008-11-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had my ultrasound done. Of course, its always way cool too see the baby, the heart, the spine and all of that. And I had been praying and praying that baby would cooperate and show us what they were, but baby was more uncooperative than we had hoped for. So, the technician tried a number of times to get the right picture to determine if it's a boy or girl. And the pictures she did get, which weren't that great said girl, but because they weren't the exact picture, she (the technician) said probably a 70% chance girl. Well, and really no matter what they are never 100% guarantees on the ultrasounds and the sex of the baby. The other thing she said was that because the baby was super active while she was working on the ultrasound, usually if it's a boy when they are that active you would see that it's a boy. So, going into this ultrasound I really built myself up to think it's a boy, since we have 2 already...so I was really in shock and I'm still kind of in disbelief and afraid to go for girl things because it's only 70% or so, and if I do go for it, and have a boy in delivery, I think it will be really hard for me to adjust to that idea. Not that I wouldn't still totally love the baby, but change isn't always easy - especially for me :) Anyhow, I had to get some of my thoughts down and welcome any prayers or suggestions :) I don't think another ultrasound will happen unless determined medically necessary...so Lord, I need help to know how to be and think now.

Pumpkin Patch Bash II

2008-11-06T08:48:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Patch Bash

2008-11-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

Oh Baby!

2008-10-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Hadrian sings Oh Baby, oh baby...

Scrumptious

2008-09-24T13:15:00.001-07:00

Summer in The Netherlands

2008-09-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

Rokanje

Matthan's Birthday

Eftling

Matthan's First Day of School

2008-09-14T08:51:00.001-07:00

Swimming with Opa

2008-08-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Cake

2008-07-21T15:19:00.001-07:00

Not so sure...

"I like that!"

It was good!

3rd Birthday

2008-07-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Matthan's birthday early since we will be over in The Netherlands on his actual birthday. We also did a combined family party for Jaïr & Matthan, since their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart. Even though the thought of sharing Jaïr's birthday was a little difficult for him to swallow, he managed and it went very well. We had a picnic at the Tenino Quarry, the weather was perfect, the fellowship, and the food! Matthan got a lot of clothes for his birthday (which will be good for school in the fall) and he got some tools and his favorite so far, the red wagon!

Matthan & Uncle Chris enjoying the grass

The Red Wagon from Papa & Nana

Tulips

2008-04-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

We took a drive to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. We had a really nice day, the boys were troopers! It was such a long drive in the car for them, but they did pretty good all in all. The colors were just amazing!

Hadrian is One!

2008-03-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

Our little cowboy turned one a week ago. He enjoyed his cake most of all!

Trumpeting...

2008-02-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

Photo Shoot I

2008-02-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

Making Cookies

2007-12-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

A Family Christmas Party

2007-12-23T10:19:00.000-08:00

We had a family Christmas party with my mom's side of the family last night. Here are a few pictures...and yes...that's me & Jaïr playing the guitar.

Hadrian's first Sinterklaas

2007-12-17T16:01:00.000-08:00

Hadrian received his gifts from Sinterklaas the other day. I think he's excited about his chocolate letter!

It's beginning to look a lot like Chirstmas

2007-12-09T07:15:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was the perfect day to get our Christmas tree. The weather was beautiful; cold, but sunny! Matthan loves being outdoors and so of course he loved getting our tree and helping us choose just the right one. Matthan also got some new boots yesterday from Nana & Papa, they look like alligators - the boots that is - and he really loves those too! In the evening we decorated the tree and I being the not very practical one, thought it would be fun for Matthan to help put the bulbs on. Well at first it didn't go too well, he was just throwing them towards the tree...yikes! But then we figured out a system, I would take the bulb out of the package, Matthan would take it over to the tree, which ever side he thought needed it, and then give it to Jaïr to put on the tree. It was fun! And now, officially our house looks decked out for Christmas, well at least the inside :)

Pumpkins

2007-10-17T08:21:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of our pumpkins, Matthan & Hadrian at the pumpkin patch! Matthan had fun, but Hadrian was a little cranky.

Beautiful Boys

2007-08-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

Our two beautiful boys! Matthan (2) & Hadrian (5 months)

Oma & Opa

2007-08-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

Oma & Opa were here with us for 3 weeks. They really enjoyed seeing Hadrian for the first time and Matthan loved having the extra attention. We did a lot while they were here. All of us went down to Seaside, OR and up the WA coast for about a week. Opa & Jaïr built a sandbox for Matthan, which he loves too! Unfortunately so far this summer the weather hasn't been really great. We did have a few nice days, but not very consistent. Oma enjoyed sitting outside as much as possible and reading books with Matthan, especially One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.

Apple of my eye

2007-08-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Summer Fun

2007-07-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

2nd Birthday @ the Zoo

2007-07-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Matthan turned 2 today and on Saturday we took him to the zoo for his birthday! He loved it, he really enjoyed the animals and all the other little kids that were there. We had cake and presents for him that evening and as most 2 yr olds he got distracted on every gift not wanting to open the others.

The Beach

2007-05-29T09:17:00.001-07:00

We went to the beach for Memorial Day. We had a lot of fun!

2 Month Smiles

2007-05-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

When Hadrian isn't spitting up, he feels pretty good and gives us lots of smiles & coos.

Brothers

2007-05-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Matthan & Hadrian are doing well together! Matthan really does adore his little brother and at times Hadrian thinks Matthan's pretty cool too.

The Birth of Our Second Son

2007-03-14T10:15:00.001-07:00

Reitsma Update

2007-01-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over and life is slowing down a little bit, just in time for a break, before it speeds up again with the birth of our second baby. The holidays were nice; w had a great time with Matthan as he was more interested in gift opening and ripping paper. He also really enjoyed looking for Christmas trees. The day after Christmas Jaïr's parents came for a 10 day visit. It was so good to see them and have them at our house again. About a week before they arrived Matthan learned the word "opa" (dutch for grandpa) he said it the whole time Opa was here and used it appropriately too! Of course, Opa thought that was wonderful! We are in the process of getting Matthan's new room ready before the baby comes. Jaïr is really busy with his work and I may soon have a part-time job from home. That's about all the news for now.

Christmas Lighting

2006-11-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

A Little Frog

2006-11-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we went to a friends house and had a little get together so Matthan got to dress up again. I'll post those pictures. We are still waiting for the pictures from Ben.

Pumpkin Patch

2006-10-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

Jaïr & I took Matthan to Lattins, a local pumpkin patch. He had a lot of fun walking through the patch and looking at all the pumpkins. Matthan was really a boy, boy...falling down and getting dirty and enjoying it, it was fun to see. At this particular patch they also have a lot of farm animals. After we chose our pumpkins we took him around to the animals, which he didn't really like as much. They kind of freaked him out.

This last weekend we had a progressive dinner party with our family and we all dressed up in costume. Matthan was a little frog. As soon as we get the pictures from Ben, we'll post them here too, so you can see how cute he looked and how ridiculous we looked!

It's been 4 months...

2006-10-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's been about four months since we gave an update on our lives, and quite a few things have happened.

On July 4th we headed to Sea-Tac to board NW airlines and went to The Netherlands! Matthan did so well on the plane, we got all kinds of comments how he should get the best baby award. We were very thankful for how well he did. We had a great time visting with Jaïr's family and it was fun to see Matthan interact with his cousins.

Later that month on July 30th Matthan turned 1 year old! He did such a great job at making the classic mess of cake & frosting everywhere!

In August my oldest brother Ben was married to Anneka. Their wedding was beautiful! We were busy that month preparing for all of the wedding stuff.

September came, and it was the start of routines again. Jaïr started school taking one class in the evening a couple nights a week.

Now it's October, the leaves are changing and there are cold mornings and warm afternoons. We went to Leavenworth last weekend with my brother Chris and his girlfriend Renee. We checked out Oktoberfest. It was fun, but not what we expected. The weather was beautiful that day. And we enjoyed the little bit of Europe that is here in Washington.

The last bit of news is that just before we were leaving to go to The Netherlands, we found out that we are pregnant. The due date is March 7, 2007. We also just found out this week that it's a boy! It will be so fun for Matthan to have a little brother and they'll be close in age...about 20 months apart. We are excited for this addition to our family. We pray that the Lord will prepare us for what is ahead and how to deal with the addition.

Swinging & Friends

2006-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

We took Matthan to the swing set at the school yesterday. I think he wasn't too sure of it and held on for dear life. But, he was super cute! The last couple of days were able to have another friend (Amy Moore) visit us from our time on the ship. Amy Moore & Amy Rae, missed our other Amy...Amy A. She's in Afghanistan. Anyhow, it was super fun to be with Amy M and to swing!

Four Year Anniversary

2006-05-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Today is our fourth year of being married!

Living By Faith

2006-05-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

Don't you just wish that sometimes you could go back to being a child, not just the care-free part of life, but also the faith that you had in the people who were around you. What a profound phrase: childlike faith.

To live by faith is a stretch. You sometimes think you got it down, but then you realize you don't and again you need the Lord's help to trust Him and walk by faith. Faith by definition is belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. We, being logical creatures and desiring to see things first hand, think faith sometimes is nearly impossible. However, it's our desire to live by faith. In our times of living that way, really living it, the Lord has shown his faithfulness like never before. There were times when we were on the Anastasis that we weren't sure how we were going to pay our crew fees, or just before we left for the Anastasis, we weren't sure how we would raise support, pack our things and our house, buy airline tickets and get to the ship in three weeks. When we decided to try and buy a house, we by normal standards couldn't expect much, because we had no work history for even a year, but again the Lord was faithful and gave us an amazing house. And again He was faithful to our desires for a child, he gave us Matthan. But yet, here we are again knowing that it's right for me to raise our child, but struggling with finances and car problems, why is it so difficult to put our trust in Him right away? He is Jehovah-Jirah, my provider. He will take care of us, but it is not logical and I cannot see it. I have to choose to live by faith and my spirit cries out to have faith like a child. So, we wait and we pray to see our Lord and the way that He will continue to orchestrate our life.

New design

2006-04-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

No, this is still the same blog, but after a little internal discussion, the blue and white needed to go. It now is officially the "Reitsma Family" blogsite vs. "Buck's Blog".

Friends

2006-04-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

It is so fun to have friendships. While we were away to Mercy Ships we built many lasting friendships during that time. One of the greatest things now is when we are able to meet some of those people again. This week we have our friend Renee R visiting us. It's been so fun! There is such a unique bond with friends from the ship and it's exciting to see where our lives our now and how two worlds collide again.

Who?

2006-04-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is us.

Sunday

2006-04-02T12:06:00.001-07:00

Today is just the 2nd day of having my blogsite and I hope that many of you will find this site interesting and helpful. I have allowed anyone to post a comment, because I think the people that will access this site are mainly friends and relatives, so feel free and leave your comments any time! Thanks.

Almost walking...

2006-04-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Matthan is ready to walk!

Welcome

2006-04-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new blogsite. This blogsite is created to keep you informed on what is going on in our lives. Stay tuned!