WARNING!

just a word to the wise (or unwise in ben's case)...it is NOT recommended to spray shaving cream on a sleeping 13-yr-old. there can be NO happy ending!

the original scrabble

the denbleyker's original scrabble game. i have to smile when i see it. the tiles are still in a brown paper bag that's as good as new-back when stuff was made to last. the box had been taped with masking tape but crumbled off~now it stays together with a rubber band. the board is in perfect shape too. (sounds like i'm writing a description for ebay~but that's a whole other story for another post)

i wouldn't sell this for anything! and no, mom, you can't have it back!

it's the little things!!

soft water. no scuz (sp?) in the sink. no rings in the toilet. hair that doesn't feel like wire. these are the things that make me crazy...and this is the thing that my awesome husband let me get~A WATER SOFTENER!! the phrase 'little things mean a lot' is so true...especially for making a wonderful marriage ;) i love u E!!

organize me??!!

maybe if it has colors, and boxes, different fonts, lines...ok, we'll see

one word...

one word answers. not as easy as it sounds!

1. cell? phone

2. spouse? wonderful

3. hair? blonde

4. mother? friend

5. father? reliable

6. favorite thing? Bible

7. last dream? sweet

8. favorite drink? fountaindietpepsiwithice ;)

9. dream/goal? catch-up

10. lazy reading? photography

11. hobby? photos

12. fear? widowhood

13. favorite place? home

14. last night? church

15. not? discontent

16. music? Messiah

17. siblings? missed

18. childhood? happy

19. kids? amazing

20. thinking? dinner

21. tv? nope

22. radio? politics

23. computer? appreciated

24. life? blessed

25. mood? content

26. Missing? family

27. drive? suburban

28. known for? smile

29. shop? home goods

30. summer? anticipated

31. friend? ed

32. color? orange

33. laughed? today

34. cried? yesterday

huh?

18-yr olds studying on a friday night? oh, how things have changed since i was 18. or not. how would i know?~i was a slacker!! c'mon i loved {the social part of} school! raise your hand if you know what i mean.

messy meat (name compliments of mady-girl)

(seriously, i CANNOT figure out how to make this look edible...(PioneerWoman HELP ME!!!)...trust me~it's GOOD)

aaahhh...comfort food at it's best! i always loved this "stuff" (and i don't use that term lightly) when i was a kid...i mean i really loved it! it was/is probably one of my favorite meals. every time i make this my kids scream "YESSSSS!!". it can be whipped up in the amount of time it takes to brown ground beef ['hamburger' if you live in the midwest...or 'hamburg' if you're my grandpa genzink (oh, i miss him!!!!!!!!!!!)]

you're anxiously waiting for the recipie aren't you?

huh?

right?

ok-here you go, but i have to warn to about the complexity of this...

i've warned you~

ground beef
(however much you have-i usually use about 2 pounds for us...but in our house there HAS to be at least enough for leftovers for lunches for j & k...or, as it goes in our house, "I SHOTTY THE LEFTOVER MESSY MEAT TOMORROW!!" shouted DURING dinner!! {usually followed by an argument starting with "NO WAY, DUDE"...})

canned corn

canned potatoes

(trust me~it's not as bad as it sounds)

canned cream of whatever you have

(mushroom, celery, broccoli, etc...just mix as much of each as you have 'til you like the consistency)

as you're salivating, thank my dad...he's the king of, as we used to call it~goobie gahnni. (have i mentioned how amazing he was? well, he was...and still is!)

confession: as i remember goobie gahnni to be, it was his elbow macaroni and spaghetti sauce, but i called trac and i was so wrong. (have i mentioned that i'm the oldest and most-likely-to-be-loopy of us all?). but...whatever it's called, the nieuwenhuis family is crazy for this food (crazy is a relative term). just thinking~if it's relative does that mean all my relatives...never mind!

i love you dad-thanks for introducing me and the next generation to goobie gahnni!!

cinderella

my cinderella. my sister-in-law. my friend.

michael's

michael's flagship store in rockaway. aisles and aisles of scrapbooking stuff. makes me happy. very happy.

don't faint

i actually thought about dinner BEFORE dinnertime today. GET UP OFF THE FLOOR!! here's a look at the very yummy fajitas (before cooking) i made in the crockpot before breakfast. not difficult. i sat and cut veggies tues. night at the counter while chatting w/the kids. threw in the flank steak and veggies in the AM. delish!! if i can do it, anyone can do it...

it's here!!!!

project life 365. a christmas gift from my sister. love it.

barb. a gift from God. love her.

chemise-homme

just a preface here-jake likes clothes. a lot. he has no problem wearing pink, flowers, or something completely different. when we were in paris this summer jake found a new style shirt popular there that we couldn't find in jersey-or america. i shopped on a website totally in french but made it thru because it came in the mail the other day. fits him like a glove. believe me, i pounded it into his head that this is in NO way indicative of future shopping for shirts. have you seen how many shirts there are at tj maxx for $20 or less??!! once a deal-lover, always a deal-lover ;)

far away

Ed. My Best Friend. The Love of My Life. The Father of My Children. The One Who Brings Out the Best in Me. The Subject of My Dreams. Stability in My Crazy World. My Laughter. My Joy. My Rock.



he left this morning for the dominican republic with Healing the Children on a medical mission trip to do surgery on less fortunate (understatement!) kids with severe deformities. i'm so proud of him~this makes him so very happy. i'll miss him...i miss him already!!

kayt's surprise

on tuesday, kayt's friend ashley from work surprised her by bringing her 'babe', tamisha, here for dinner. the doorbell rang and i opened the door and tamisha screamed, which she does when she's excited. it was a surprise for kayt but when she heard that, she came flying into the foyer. you should have seen her eyes~she was in her glory!! kayt has pretty simple pleasures...and tamisha is at the top of her list! you can really see it in this pic...mutual affection. we all LOVE it when mishe comes here~thanks ash...you done real good ;)

finally over

Today we mourn with our friends John and Arlene and their family at loosing their 31-year-old son (& brother) after a long fight with cystic fibrosis. What can you say to a family who looses an immediate family member when you've never experienced it yourself? He has been in a hospital since around thanksgiving so the family's life has been completely consumed with taking care of Matt and making sure that someone was with him all the time, plus trying to hold it together at home.

Please pray that they will have the strength to go on. They know that the everlasting arms of God will uphold them, but it will be a daily trial, needing new strength day by day.

Please also pray for the other kids, Beth (25-ish), Brian (19), Sean (10) and Abby (8), who have lost a brother...they've never known life without him. My heart breaks for them, truely hurts.

My hope is that his death will make an impact on others (myself included) about the brevity of life, and that it may be blessed to the hearts of those still living without Jesus.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have i hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!! Lamentations 3:21-23

no more stitches!!!!

we went to the dr. today and she got her stitches out. have steri-strips ever looked so 'good'? (here's 2 out of the 3 incisions) i know it's kind of gross to look at but medically speaking they look good. (and watch out, i'm married to a doctor so i really know my stuff-haha).

after being sick for close to a week, she's doing much better every day. because of the amount of pain that she had post-op, today the doctor gave her some very simple exercises of lifting her left arm with her right arm and bending her elbow. she has to do that every day for 2 wks. and then she has to start more intense physical therapy. he also told her to squeeze her shoulder blades together (read: stand up straighter~am i hearing voices, mom?).

she was able to finally take a shower today so we're all happy~I'M SOOOO KIDDING!!! she's been taking showers since day 2...everyday, mind you~she IS a teenager after all ;)

actually, the best part of it for her was that he had internal real-time pics from the surgery and explained exactly what he had to do. with a nurse-brain, she was intrigued...i have to admit it was pretty neat.

thanks to everyone who prayed for her before and after her sx. Also those who sent cards and flowers, and those who called and visited~it really means a lot to her.

eeeuuuwww...gross!

this was disgusting! i walked into the powder room this am and it had backed up (AGAIN!) so, in all my toilet knowledge, i opened up the top and pulled the lever to empty the bowl. just a warning...NOT a good idea. it went all over the floor~gushed, actually. i was gagging (speaking as someone who has to stick tissue up her nose when her kids throw up). that bathroom is so clean now you can lick off the floor...not recommended, though.

ny day 2010

no guilt!

this is the year i'm ditching guilt! no guilt for not posting christmas pics on time...no guilt for not entering an entry every day in my Life 365...no guilt for not getting all the laundry done in one shot...no guilt for not getting my scrapbooks up to date. HOWEVER...i'm allowed legit guilt for not hugging my kids enough or not telling ed how much i love him-that's it.

so welcome to 2010 and join us on the journey of a little glimpse into our sweet life.

a blessed new year to you and yours!

it's so clique (clee-shay...whatever!!)~but this year has flown by. we can't get a minute back. honestly, there are some i'd like to, but others not so much. but this we know, God has been gracious to us, to our family and to our friends! we will answer for every week, every day, every moment~kind of a scary thought. looking back, the things that i thought were so important at the time are hardly a memory. the people's opinions i thought mattered so much...DON'T! kids-did you hear that? peer pressure is so over rated!!! can anyone over 20 2nd that? thanks! :)
welcome to 2010~we pray that this year may bring you close to Christ...and really, what else matters more?