Keith

Taking you back to sometime in July.  John gets home from work and this is the conversation.

John: So, one of the nurses at work has this cat...

Me: (cutting John off midsentence) No.

John: But she says he's a really nice cat.

Me: No.

John: But she's going to have to bring him to the pound.

Me: I don't want a cat.

The next morning John texts me this Facebook post.

I text him back, "I'm sure someone will take him.  If not, we'll talk."

He texts me back, "I already said we would take him.  He is coming over Wednesday night."

So, we have another cat.

Keith.

Sigh.  

He likes Carly.  Carly tolerates him.

Holly loves him.

I tolerate him.

Okay, I kinda love him too.

Still catching up....

This picture makes me miss summer.  Katie got all gussied up for a Josh Turner concert one night.  

 

Had to say goodbye to Sam again.  It's always hard to see him go.  No one is ready but Katie especially takes it hard.  They fight like cats and dogs but she does NOT like being an "only child".  He had a good summer although I think he lost track of how many bee stings he got (a hazard of weed whipping 40 hours a week).  

James is trying his best to turn Holly into a baseball fan.  He is a big Cubs fan and really wanted to take her to a game but he also wanted her to experience a Mariners game.  Something about the difference in fans, the field, the atmosphere...whatever.  Apparently, the Mariners did really good this year so that's cool.

James is a smart man.  He knows the way to keep Holly happy is feeding her.

Jayleen got us totally hooked on a local band "Babycakes" and they were playing at a vineyard in town so we joined them for the show.

John and Pastor Bryan took some of the youth group kids for a hike up on Mount Baker.

They chose a beautiful day!

John and I went to Vancouver to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at an outdoor theater.  

Unfortunately, we did not pick a nice day.  Fortunately for us, we came prepared and it did stop raining about 20 minutes into the show.

Katie started up cross county again.

She doesn't love to run but she does love the team and enjoys pushing herself.  So proud of her at every race.  She always has a smile when she's done!

Our fantasy football league with the Corkills started up again too.  I'm doing pretty good.  This week I was especially proud because I smoked Sam.

Johns' summer project.  He took down this HUGE maple tree on our property.  Since it was right on the bank of the creek, he decided to turn it into a bench.  His creativity constantly amazes me.  

This picture turned up somewhere.  Look at my babies!  Sometimes I wish I could go back but mostly I don't

Mom Hiemstra

Typically, Mom Hiemstra comes around the beginning of the school year, right after my folks typically leave but this year, my mom requested they overlap by a couple of days.  Great idea!  It was so fun to have all of them here at the same time.

We didn't do anything special with mom this time.  She just hung out and did life with us.  

Katie sang the national anthem before a volleyball game one evening so she got to go along to hear that.

She did an amazing job!  So proud of her!

We had the family over one Sunday so everyone could see Grandma.

We feel pretty thankful that Mom is so healthy and still able to travel on her own.  

I got pretty lucky in the mother-in-law department.  

She said yes!

Interrupting playing catch up on this little blog of mine with some exciting news....

HOLLY'S ENGAGED!!!

Just kidding...here's the real thing.

We couldn't be happier to welcome James to our family.

John and I have prayed for our kid's spouses since they were little and we are feeling so thankful for this answer to prayer.  

They are planning a July 11, 2026 wedding.  Only 8 months away...buckle up for a wild ride!

Back to School

My baby is a senior.  Now that's crazy.

I have read the book "The Night Before Kindergarten" to all my kids every single night before school starts.  They sometimes pretend like they're too old but I know deep down, they like it.

Last first day pictures on the steps.

I'm not sure why I always take pictures of their shoes.  Probably because it's the last time they'll be nice and clean!

Beautiful - inside and out!

Holly venmo-ed me money for a congratulations-on-your-last-first-day-of-school-treat.  I took mom with me to convocation, so we stopped for some coffee on the way there.

Seniors get to paint their parking spots at school.  In John and my wildest dreams, we never thought Katie would be driving the GEO to school.  We brought Holly home from the hospital in this car and it's still going strong.

John met us at convocation.  It's always such a nice way to start out the new year.

It's been our tradition to go out for donuts after.  

I'm definitely feeling all the feels this last year.  It's hard to believe this is out last year at Lynden Christian and we'll be empty nesters but also so excited for our Katie Kat to stretch her wings and fly. 

I talk tough.  I'm going to go cry now.