ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

This just came in my mailbox.  When did parents stop being able to parent?!  She's 13 years old!!  I guess now's the time she's supposed to get an un-managed, do-whatever-she-wants-on-the-web-without-my-supervision account.  SO not happening.   This is outrageous!!

"Dear parent or guardian:

According to the birth date provided for your child's Microsoft online account, Mady is now 13 years old. You are therefore no longer able to manage permissions for the Mady account through Account Services, and your child may create a new account without your permission.

United States law requires websites and services to obtain parental permission to collect, use, or share personal information from children under 13. Because this child is now 13, you can no longer manage permission for this child for Microsoft online services."

Dear MSN:

WATCH ME!

Love, Lori

jake's grass

i saw jake drive on the grass on the side of the driveway!!!

i'm.
not.
kidding.

i hope i can get over the shock...someday...

science fair 3-7-11

oh, it's that time of year again (already??!!)...the Science Fair.  the kids put SO much work into it: from Preston in Pre-K, to Jake in 12th.  i love to see what the kids thought of and this year i actually got pics of 'my kids' :)

Preston's spider plant...10 little plants from one big one!  and they didn't even need dirt!

Jack and his very cool book on the what makes animals different from each other.

miss lily's lizard...a fun, fun blue one too!

sarah's styrofoam iceberg,

but the fair is really about friends, isn't it sarah-bear? 

I COMPLETELY agree! ;)

abby's muscles and bones...she even had real bones (thanks, uncle ed).  i told her to tell the boys not to mess with her or it could be their bones next year!

ash and the oil spill...hey, why don't you give our goverment a call. 

 just saying that maybe she's smarter than they are and could give them a helpful word or two!!

liv and christiana (who's usually all smiles...and usually on her hip ;)

and crafty mr. jake (notice the gatorade bolt as the 'y'?  i sure did!...he gets it from his dad ;)

  the high-schoolers especially had some really awesome experiments!

benny's blubber experiment.  yes, you actually had to put your hand in a blubber 'mitt' to see how warm it was.  (it was only Crisco but it was pretty real looking...aka: gross!)

who else could do an experiment with methaline blue besides the daughter of a dad who could hock it from the hospital?  it was really cool to be able to see it under a microscope!!

great job, everyone...including the ones i don't have pics of.

and thanks, teachers, for all the work you put into this~i know it's an incredible amount of time, but know that we appreciate it!

refresher course

i think aunts should have a refresher course on 6-year-olds who ask a lot of questions...especially those who have 3-year-old little sisters that repeat everything they say ask.

aunt lori,
   what are you doing?
   are you going to clean that?
   can i open this?
   if i put it back?
   look~did you see this?
   where's the CARS cup?

hey, mr. p, how about we try to talk without asking questions...
   why?

ahem...

   did you make this?
   for who?
   who's that?
   do i know her?
   why are you giving it to her?
   this room is a MESS!!  (no question about that!)
   when are we leaving for dinner?
   are all the kids going to be there?
   is uncle ed coming home soon?
   oh, man, don't tell me...is this (CARS blow-up car) kayt's?
   you love me, don't you?

i pulled out the vacuum and he walked into the room so i thought i'd beat him at the game.  before he said anything i said, "vacuuming"
   just this room?

uuuhhh...yep, just this room.

say anything...

what kind of answers do you get when you play 'say anything' game with ben & liv?  the gist of the game is that a question is asked and everyone writes down an answer that they think everyone else will pick. 

my card: if you could have one magical power, what would it be?
ben's answer:

 
 
huh? (brainiack strikes again!)
 
dad's card: what's the worst thing about money?
livie's answer:

interpretation:  is it that there's no money tree or that her money tree would dry up? can't imagine.

liv's question:  what would be the best thing to throw off a tall building?

ben's answer:  a booger.

ick.

strange kids.

love them anyway.

lego night 2-4-11

this was the first-ever nrcs lego night and it was awesome!  this was organized by some of the younger grade teachers~and what a great idea.  everyone brought legos and built stuff with parents and friends (and aunts ;)...and then they gave out mini bags of legos on your way out.  i really hope they do this again, the kids loved it.

ha!  i got a partial smile...

mrs. peters, you won't believe what i made

do they get any cuter??!!  there's a soft spot in my heart for bald babies :)

love this kid! ;)

emma & new friend micah

watch out...partners in crime!!

mommy & girlies

a couple weeks ago a couple of girlfriends and i were going to go to lunch but...the weather didn't cooperate~neither did karen's plumber!  so...i took our girls and headed for lunch at p.f. changs of course followed by a little shopping.  i love, love, love these girls!!!

just as an aside...who agrees with me that wait staff should be required to at least snap a picture on a point-and-shoot IN FOCUS!!  seriously~how about a 5 minute class even!  just sayin'...

icicles

isn't this the coolest pic? every once in a while you just capture that unexpected detail. the circle isn't the moon...it's a reflection of a snowflake.
snowflakes and icicles always remind me of being a kid. being a kid where we played outside for HOURS on end. a kid where we ate icicles off of the roof (and didn't get sick from dirt or tar). a kid where we built forts...and houses with rooms...in snowbanks. a kid where we caught snowflakes on our tongues. and made snow angels. and snow angels. and snow angels. a kid who had a mom who would put our frozen (literally!...i grew up in MI off lake michigan) coats, scarves and mittens in the dryer as many times as we came inside. as a mom who does that now, it makes me appreciate this 'small' gesture from her all the more!!

thanks, mom, for making the winters so memorable...and for being a great example of what a fun mom is...it comes in pretty handy with 3~almost 5~teenagers ;)

romantic...

my hubby is (un)officially the most romantic man alive. he brought me these tulips~in the middle of winter, mind you~for NO reason at all. and we did lunch...he knows exactly what i need when i don't even know how much i need together time. he's sweet, that's all there is to it. the end.

international acceptance day

this is a post from kayt's blog...i want to ditto this...if i was one of 'those' bloggers, this would be my GUEST POST ;).    these 'kids' are some of the most adorable, loveable and misunderstood i've ever known.  thanks, kayt, for having a heart for these special people and for sharing them with our family!

"Thursday, January 13 is International Acceptance Day…this is a day to spread awareness and education about handicapped people.

 I {kayt} would personally LOVE to work on this campaign..but since I can’t I’m spreading it on my own.



I have worked with handicapped kids since I was 14 years old and they are my life. Especially the one in the picture. She is my life..she is the reason I live. She brings a smile to my face just by hearing her name. I take her home for holidays and her birthday…we party and go shopping..and to me, she’s no different than any other friend I have.






You see, thats the problem with society today. It makes me so upset, when I take these guys out because all people do is stare. So please, do me a favor, when you see some handicapped kids out, at least smile. say hi! You could make their day! Just because someone looks different, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t accept them. Seriously, on behalf of my them all, I’m here to say that if you could only spend 1 afternoon where I work, your entire viewpoint on this would be changed. These guys don’t know anything but to love you right away. They don’t judge, they don’t hate…but they can give you all the love in the world.






maybe the world could learn a lesson from them."

courage

My Dad and Mom are in China smug*lin* the word of the Saviour to people who are SO hungry for His Word.  This is the 4th year they are doing this and I'm so proud of them.  This is SOOOOO them!  Their hearts are fixed on God and they are following a call that they felt was extended to them.  This isn't easy~by any means.  It means walking a long way with a backpack full of books on your back, trying to get them across the border, and then, succeed or fail, you have to walk back after an exhausting, FULL day.  They have great fellowship with the people they go with, and it's not all work...Mom went shopping and bought a *few* purses (...how about one of almost every color, every style.  can you tell we're related?  how about some shoes to go with that?  but i digress...)  She sent me this quote today, which is so perfect for their situation:

Courage is not the absence of fear; but the belief that something is more important than fear.

Yep, they're brave alright. 

Thanks, Dad & Mom for doing what the likes of me would not do...you're a special couple~may God bless your work above what you could ask or think!

google reader

people are always telling me that they were looking at a blog that i had linked from mine...but i have a whole bunch that i read that aren't on my blog.  where are they?  enter:  google reader.

if you haven't signed up for this yet, what are you waiting for?  it's so easy that even i can walk you thru it.

1.  go to a blog you want to follow
2.  right-click on address and copy
3.  go {here} and register (google.com/reader)
4.  at the top left side of google reader is a tab called "+ add a subscription"
5.  it will open a box where you can paste the address for the blog (right-click and paste)
6.  continue to do that with the blogs you want to follow

that's it!  now when you want to look at blogs, you can just go to one place.  this program will show you if there are any new posts since the last time you opened your reader.  very much a time-saver instead of having to go from blog to blog linking from one to another opening each one to see if there are any new posts.  you can forward posts, star them, e-mail them, organize them...it's amazing.

have fun and let me know how it works for you!

The mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee

My mother-in-law gave me this article yesterday.  I love it...it says a lot.  Enjoy!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,

when 24 hrs in a day are not enough,

remember the mayo jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with an unanimous "Yes!".

The professor then produced 2 cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.  The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.  The golf balls are the important things~your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions~and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter in life~your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else~the small stuff.  If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same goes for life.  If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Spend time with your children.  Spend time with your parents.  Take your spouse out to dinner.  Play another 18.  There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.  Take care of the golf balls first~the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.  The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked.  The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

future felon

yep, at aunt lori's we let 3-year olds drive in san fran at 180 MPH with a cop chasing...great influence!

garlic

garlic...

i love your texture.

your color is serene.

i love your smell!

you make me happy just having you around...

you make dinner a pleasure.

thank you.

posting the past...

I'm working on old posts~you know, the ones I should have done during the last part of the year but didn't~yea, those.  So, you may have a dig a little to get any new info.   I have to get these posted because in order to make a blog book, you can't have huge gaps in life...the procrastinator in me is roaring loudly~man, I hate that!

Christmas day

Christmas Day, 2010

Dad & Mom Nieuwenhuis'

Special guest: Tamisha

 i love this picture!  ash has such a way with these disabled kids

and here you can see her really enjoying tamisha.

 this was so funny because one by one tamisha had everyone sit on the floor...then the game was done and we all just sat there.  she loves being in charge!