Wow! It's been awhile!

I can hardly believe its been over two and a half years since I've posted. Next year one of my resolutions is to blog more often! I want to be able to look back at the moments that can too quickly pass out of memory.  We are doing great! Tim still enjoys his job at Argonne National Lab and enjoyed helping coach Abby's first season of Shorewood Park District Soccer.  I am still loving my job at Bednarcik Jr. High School and can't believe this is my 8th year of teaching there! Wow! God's calling for my life was teaching and I really enjoy it.  I have two classes left in my Masters program.  I cannot wait for May 5th, graduation day!  Abby loves school and is learning and growing by leaps and bounds in the full day kindergarten class at Troy Hofer Elementary School.  She will turn 6 on January 3 and loves dolphins, American Girl, and reading.  Emma is a spunky sweet almost 3 year old.  She is finally catching on to the whole potty training and is very excited to move to her big girl bed from her toddler bed over Christmas break.
The next few days we will be remembering my maternal Grandmother, Bertha Boonstra, who passed away early this morning.  While we will miss her here on Earth, I can't imagine the joy she is feeling today in heaven!  
Well, that about does it for now.  Hopefully the next post won't be quite so far away...
Cathy

Hurry up, summer!

It's been a bit since I posted last but things have been very busy! I went back to work on April 12 and am ready for summer to come! Tim has started CYC softball on Monday nights and the team seems to be off to it's usual domination. Emma was dedicated on Mother's Day and we were thrilled to have our immediate family celebrate with us. Emma is such a happy baby now that she's on her reflux medicine, but already has such a different personality than Abby. Emma is far more intense and has a temper that Abby has never had. I think we are in for it with two red heads! Abby continues to adore her baby sister and cannot wait until she can play with her more. Right now she's happy to make her smile and giggle. We love watching the two together! The next month looks busy with the end of school, weddings, and vacation but we are looking forward to it!

Blessings, Cathy

Welcome, Emma Kate Vugteveen!

Emma Kate Vugteveen
7lbs, 12 oz, 19 3/4 inches
Friday, January 22, 2010 at 12:41 pm

She's here! 7 days late but worth the wait! We checked into the hospital for induction around 6pm Thursday, January 21 and began the Cervadil which needed to be in place for 12 hours. After not much progress overnight, they begin pitosin around 7:30 am and broke my water. Apparently the breaking of the water was all our little girl needed to get the idea it was time to be born! Contractions quickly got rough and frequent and Emma Kate Vugteveen was born at 12:41pm. She has a head full of auburn hair and is absolutely beautiful! We can't believe how different she looks from Abby though! Emma looks a lot like her Daddy!
We are enjoying every second with our new little girl and loving being a family of 4!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Tim, Abby and I had a great Christmas celebrating with both sides of our family and enjoying Christmas traditions of our own! Both Tim and I had time off of work (me 2 weeks and Tim a week and a half) and were able to do a lot of fun activities with Abby and get a lot of work and decorating done in the house. We are so happy with the progress and results! Abby turned 3 on January 3 and we enjoyed hosting our first party at our new house for her birthday! Now we are back to work awaiting the arrival of our new baby girl...due in just 11 days! We can't wait to meet her and start our lives as a family of 4!

New House!

We've officially moved! Yay! It was exhausting and stressful but totally worth it! We absolutely love our new house! We have some work to do...mostly painting and fixing a few minor issues...but it's so fun! I'm loving decorating and planning each room. We have a while to go before we are unpacked and fully settled but it is really starting to feel like home! Pictures to come soon!

Here's a picture from Halloween since I've been so bad at posting pictures on here....
Abby had a great time trick-or-treating in Uncle Tim and Auntie Carrie's neighborhood again this year! Below is a picture of Colin, Abby and Maddie before we headed out.

So busy!

Wow! It's been awhile since I blogged...but honestly, we've been so busy! Our townhouse sold in early October and we bought a new house shortly after. We close on both homes Monday! We are busy packing up all our belongings right now and getting everything ready for the big move! I'm 30 1/2 weeks pregnant - I can't believe how fast time is flying by! Abby is excited for her new Princess bedroom (although there is only one Princess sign going in her room!). I am excited to get this all done and make our new house our home for the holidays and before our new baby girl arrives in January! Please say a prayer for us in the next week!

Summer!

I can't believe it's July already!! We've had a great summer so far! I've enjoyed being home with Abby and spending every day with her!! She's a riot! June brought Abby's 1st Cubs game with Auntie EB & Mommy, a trip to the zoo, a week long family vacation with the Vugteveen's in Michigan, and the announcement that we are expecting our 2nd child in January!! We are very excited!!