A grandpa that will never be forgotten

Well grandpa got approval from everyone that he could go to heaven and he wasn't going to waste anytime. As we were heading to Hospice House this morning at 3:30 am we got the call that grandpa stepped foot into eternity. The doctors thought he would probably live a few weeks; we never thought it would be one day. I miss him so much already and am so glad that Carter and I spent time with him on Monday. The picture I took of Carter and him was his last picture and one that I will cherish forever. My grandpa Boers passed away when I was 3 so Grandpa De Jonge is the only grandpa I remember. He was so special to our family and loved every one of us so much. I will never forget him saying that he was so proud that all of his grandchildren made Profession of Faith. I am sure he is one of the rare grandparents that can say that. He definitely lived a fulfilling life and taught us many lessons. We miss you grandpa!

Carter's first ride

Wheelchair ride that is! Today Carter and I went to hang out with Jen and since it's Tim's b-day we needed to go shopping! So I loaded Jen and Carter in the wheelchair and we headed down to where else, the gift shop! We actually had some luck finding some stuff for Tim and the PERFECT card (it says Gitty Up on it!). I told Jen she needs to take Carter (or Norah) along more often b/c everyone paid attention to him and didn't even realize Jen was in the wheelchair. One lady said he looked just like his mom! Jen and I had to hold in our laughter til we got to her room and we started cracking up b/c we assume he was talking about Jen...it was funny. Maybe you had to be there.

Carter thought he needed to nap on her bed too. He actually fell asleep until we woke him up to go for the wheelchair ride. I swear he will sleep anywhere. He loves the blankie Jen made for him and has to have that over his face and his fingers in and he is all set. Isn't he so cute? Maybe I'm biased. :)

Please keep my grandpa De Jonge (in the below post) and our family in your prayers. He was admitted to the hospital this week and moved to the Hospice house today. We hold our faith strong knowing that he will be made whole again in heaven. He has definitely been a blessing to us and him and my grandma raised 3 Christian children and 8 grandchildren (4 of which are married) and his one great grandchild, Carter. He is 80 years old and him and my grandma will have been married 60 years next year. We love him so much and are cherishing our final days with him.

And we have....

APPLESAUCE! Today Carter and I went to Grandpa and Grandma De Jonge's house to make applesauce. It took about 4 hours and we made 35 containers full. Smooth and creamy and absolutely delicious! Our secret?? Lots of cinnamon and sugar! :)

Apples, apples, and more apples!

Yesterday we went on our annual trip to Crane's Orchards to pick apples. My neighbor Rylee missed out on it last weekend b/c of the rain so she came with us and we picked up Kate, Karinda and Kylie. The three girls love to hang out. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun.

Kylie, Rylee, Karinda

We spotted this praying mantis. So cool! Can you see it?

Carter did great in the baby bjorn and just took it all in.

The girls pushing the wagon full.

Rylee showing our full wagon. Overall I took home 73 pounds and Kate had over 100. Monday I am off to make applesauce with my grandma. Yum...can't wait!

Nothing in particular

As the title notes this post will probably be totally random. First off Brian is finally feeling better. He was flat on his back for about 4 days with fever, aches, cough, you name it. Women...you probably have more sympathy for me, right? :)

Secondly, here is a picture of the project that yes, I was able to complete WITHOUT the help of Jen. I definitely missed her help BIG time but I was able to manage. I created wedding programs, table tent cards, favor tags for the caramel apple favors (YUM) and place cards (not shown) for a friend of a friend. It's not the greatest picture but you get the gist of everything. Since we have great printers at my work and all the fancy cutting machines and stuff I think this is about the 6th wedding I have done. I do love doing it...its a lot of work but fun.

Jen De Witt, Lenah and I went to see Jen today so that was fun. She is doing great...as you can read from her blog. We were able to wheel her down for lunch. I want to say a HUGE thank you for everyone that has wanted to visit Jen and has been willing to pick me up and drive to help save me some money and for everyone that has been so willing to watch Carter for me. It has been AWESOME and so nice so THANK YOU to each of you!

And what post wouldn't be complete without a pic of Carter! He is getting so big so fast and he is so fun lately I just love it. I broke down and bought him a Jumperoo and he goes nuts in it and could spend hours in it. It wears him out so he sleeps great too! He smiles at everyone lately so its sticken cute...such a little charmer!

Rain, rain go away

Ugh, what a day, eh? Brian is sicker than a dog on the couch and Carter is napping so here I sit in the bedroom. Fun, fun. :) I did get up this morning and started a new workout class at Borculo CRC. My neighbor Briana came with me so that was nice. It was fun and it was nice to get up and get going this morning. And Carter was way too good to his daddy b/c he just hung out in his crib quiet as could be until I got home at 8:45! Some days I really wonder how long he would lay in his crib b/4 he would start crying! He spoils us!

My mom and I went to see Jen yesterday. We brought her a "real" lunch. She was having a good day and I just chatted with her and she has wheelchair privileges so that's awesome! You can read more on her blog.

Alrighty...guess I better find something to do around here. Don't you just feel like laying in bed all day on days like today? (besides you Jen!) :)

And she has a blog!

Yep, Jen finally got going on her blog! It is finally approved :) so Jen told me to pass the link along! It is http://www.gittyup-dehaanfamily.blogspot.com/. Jen promised she would be as faithful as I am at putting updates up...we shall see!

I am working on quite the project while Jen is on bedrest...something she stuck me with. Just kidding. I will post pics once I am done. Nothing too exciting but something I am usually her sidekick for and now its all on me!

My mom and I are off to hang again with Jen tomorrow. I think Carter might tag along for once too.

And lastly a post of our little monkey! I think he's getting some teeth in...fun, fun!

"Today is a good day"

Those words came out of Jen's mouth several times today. Stacey and I went up to see her. When we got there she was getting an ultrasound and when she came back she looked pretty happy. The baby looked great. He was 2 lbs. 1 oz. so right on track; a little ahead. And her cervical length increased to 21-23 mm's and NO change with pressure! Yeah!! That was awesome news! The doctor said it's not as strong but b/c it is lengthening is great! They did switch Jen to yet another med yesterday b/c she was having contractions and they seem to be working. No contractions last night or today. She is still able to shower so that makes her feel really good. She almost has one week in and will be 26 weeks tomorrow....only 14 to go! :) Ugh, its still going to be a long road! But Jen is staying positive and her days have been going pretty fast...thanks to visitors! Yesterday she even got a facial and hand massage from a volunteer from a new program the hospital has.

And don't worry...Jen knows I am writing her life story on my blog. :) ha,ha. Thanks for everyone who has been sending her emails and notes! She has a laptop now so she definitely is reading them!

Still hanging in there

So after my post last night I was feeling pretty good about Jen and keeping that baby in there. Then when I talked to her this morning she was having contractions every few minutes and she was kind of worried. They had her laying on her side and had talked about maybe upping the Procardia med (calcium blocker). I can remember it b/c it sounds like Bacardi..ha,ha. So I did a lot of praying today and my heart dropped every time the phone rang. I don't think I have ever prayed for Jen NOT to call me! I just called and talked to her and she was much more upbeat so I figured things must be going better. She said it was kind of a whirlwind of a day. They did up the Procardia to 2 pills every 4 hours and they gave her some meds to knock her out this afternoon so her body would relax and she could sleep. She said the contractions went away around noon and she hasn't had any since. God is good! They did an ultrasound today and her cervical length stayed the same and when they put pressure on it it only went down to 13 mms instead of 8 on Friday and she isn't dilated at all either so that was good news. They also tested her for protein b/c that can be a sign of going into labor and that came back negative as well. Her mom had asked the nurse what she thought and the nurse said this was nothing so keep on praying that that baby boy will stay put for a couple of months! Every day is a milestone!

Baby DeHaan is staying put

Kathy and I went to go see Jen and Tim tonight. Lots of good news to share! God is definitely hearing your prayers...thank you, thank you!

They were able to take out the magnesium IV this morning b/c it helped to relax her uterus so she felt a lot better today. She didn't have any contractions today so that was awesome! And yesterday one of the nurses thought the baby had dropped b/c she had trouble finding the heartbeat but that didn't seem to be the case either. He was just hiding. :) So now she is on a calcium blocker pill b/c apparently if your body takes in or builds up too much calcium that can make you go into labor. So she takes that every six hours. She is still able to get up to go the bathroom and was able to shower but has to lay pretty flat while she is in bed. She definitely is sick of laying down and just wants to walk around so pray that her days go fast and that her back doesn't get sore. We tease her that she will get bed sores...anything to keep that little guy in for a couple months, eh? : )

To answer some questions that I have been asked:

They didn't sew her cervix shut b/c they would have had to do that around 20 weeks and that still wouldn't stop her cervix from thinning and she still would be at where she was at. It doesn't prevent you from going into labor either and her doctor said it is very controversial and sometimes does more harm than good.

Her doctor doesn't really say how long she thinks she will make it b/c its hard to know what her body will do. 27 weeks would be great b/c the risk of health problems decreases drastically. We are hoping she makes it well beyond that!

Her spirits are good and she is feeling pretty good that this little guy will stay put for a while. It's a long road yet but she is staying positive.

Yes, visitors are welcome! Anything to make her day go faster! We actually moved her to a bigger room tonight b/c the other room could hardly hold all of us! The nurse made a quick call and 2 minutes later we were moving her down the hall. Her room # is 4406 and the phone # is 391-7318.

Thanks again for all your prayers...they are working! God is good!

I found out in the last few days more people read our blog than I thought so I thought I better keep everyone updated since Jen doesn't have a blog. :) That's what 'sisters' are for, right?

Update on Jen

First of all a big THANK YOU to each of you who are praying for Jen and their baby boy. I took my laptop up to the hospital yesterday so she could hear your wonderful comments and she is very grateful for everyone that is praying. I know a lot of you are thinking and praying for her so I wanted to give an update. She is pretty much flat on her back. She is able to get up and go the bathroom and the doctor told her that most hospitals wouldn't let her do that so she is lucky. We were able to play a game of Banagrams and Skip Bo yesterday and she was feeling pretty good. Then the doc came in and said they need to start her on magnesium. Her cervix increased to 18 mm yesterday but when they put pressure on her it decreased to 8 mm so the magnesium will help relax her uterus. The downside is that it makes her feel kind of groggy. I talked to her this morning and she did feel a little groggy and weak but she is still able to eat so that is good (we were reading online yesterday that sometimes you can't) and she said food still tasted good. The magnesium is through an IV. They did put the monitors on this morning and she did have one small contratction but it wasn't as strong as the couple she had yesterday so the magnesium is working. She will definitely stay at Spectrum until the baby is born. Each week is a huge milestone so pray that he stays put in her belly! Tim might come pick up my laptop on his way up today so write a comment, email her (jennidehaan@gmail.com) or write on her Facebook wall. Thank you! I will try and continue to keep everyone updated.

PRAYER REQUEST

Please say a prayer for my best friend Jenni, her husband Tim and the little guy inside her. Jen is currently 25 weeks pregnant and she was put on bedrest today at Spectrum. As most of you know she lost Addison last December at 23 weeks so to get this news today was scary and brought back those memories and feelings. This pregnancy she has been watched carefully and has taken a lot of precautions. They never were able to determine why she went into labor so early with Addison. She has been going every two weeks for ultrasounds to a doctor in GR that deals with high risk pregnancies. Her cervical length went from 35 to 17 since her appt. 2 weeks ago. Thankfully she has not had contractions so its just a matter of laying low along with some steriods for the baby's lungs at this point. The doctor said if things didn't change or if the cervical length increased she could possibly go home but it would be strict bedrest at home so its going to be a long couple of months for Jen. The doctor wants her to at least make it to 27 weeks and every week beyond that is better yet.

Guess I am going to have to haul the sewing machine to Spectrum to keep Jen occupied! This may force her to get going on a blog too so we can all stay updated!

We love you Jen, Tim, and Baby De Haan and are praying for you!

Fun in the Sun

Monday Heathe and Brian and the guys went golfing so Briana, Kate and I decided to take the kids swimming to Bri's moms. The girls had a lot of fun playing together and Big Syd and Carter did a little swimming and both took BIG naps so it was great.Kylie jumping off the diving board.Rylee was being a nut when I was trying to get a picture of her but I managed to get one!
And miss Karinda...she is growing up too fast! She started kindergarden today!

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend we headed up to Pentwater to stay on the boat with mom and dad Meeuwsen. On Saturday and Sunday we took the boat and anchored out in front of Silver Lake and took the dinghy in. It was PERFECT weather and so much fun. There were about 4-5 other boats with the group so we had a lot of fun. All the ladies once again couldn't get over how good of a baby Carter was. We would just put up his Sun Stop'r tent and he would nap in there. He slept great on the boat too. Mike and Kim were up at Silver Lake so we were able to get a ride in the dunes in the Bronco. Mom and dad De Jonge came up for the day on Sunday on their Harley and met us out at the beach.
Saturday night we went to the Brown Bear for dinner. It was yummy. And yes, Carter isn't wearing any pants...it was super HOT in there so when your a baby you can do those kind of things! :) It was kind of surreal b/c we ate at the same table as last year and we had just told them we were expecting! No announcements this year!

Can you tell he is their first?

Ever since Carter has been born my mom makes sure to take a picture with him each month. He happened to turn 5 months last Thursday when he was there so they had to get some pics with him. Grandpa happened to be home too so we got to snap one with him.