...kacy and jd, my sis and bro-in-law in honduras. i don't want them to miss a thing so that is why my posts have tons of pictures and information. plus, since i plan to print my blog it's really nice to record all my memories!
:)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
albuquerque, new mexico
our spring break was very busy this year...after a fun weekend watching our nephew we packed up and hit the road to visit my mimi in new mexico.
on our way, my mom wanted to detour and see palo duro canyon in Amarillo. well, after a 30 min drive (out of the way) to the canyon, we discovered we were very low on gas..too low to drive through the canyon in fact. so instead we just let max run around for a few minutes and then got back in the car...it turned out to be about a 2 1/2 hour detour with getting gas and lunch, but what a memory!
our 1st day in albuquerque, we went to the zoo. this was max's 1st time to go to the zoo and he had fun, especially when we let him walk around.
jared (my sis amy's boyfriend) and joey showing us how manly flamingos can be!
a new cute thing that max does...points with one finger at any and everything and 'talks' to us about what he sees :)
on the train that went around the zoo...
...and this was our final animal to visit...guess he's as tired as we are after a day at the zoo!
we bought combo tickets that got us into the aquarium and botanical gardens too....
on our way, my mom wanted to detour and see palo duro canyon in Amarillo. well, after a 30 min drive (out of the way) to the canyon, we discovered we were very low on gas..too low to drive through the canyon in fact. so instead we just let max run around for a few minutes and then got back in the car...it turned out to be about a 2 1/2 hour detour with getting gas and lunch, but what a memory!
our 1st day in albuquerque, we went to the zoo. this was max's 1st time to go to the zoo and he had fun, especially when we let him walk around.
jared (my sis amy's boyfriend) and joey showing us how manly flamingos can be!
a new cute thing that max does...points with one finger at any and everything and 'talks' to us about what he sees :)
on the train that went around the zoo...
...and this was our final animal to visit...guess he's as tired as we are after a day at the zoo!
we bought combo tickets that got us into the aquarium and botanical gardens too....
here's what joey enjoyed at the aquarium...
...and here's what max enjoyed!
i liked this pic bc it looks like amy and jared are walking underwater
the botanical gardens was really big so we only saw a small portion..but they had this children's area that was really cool
they also had a huge train display straight from "i love toy trains"...complete with a thomas (which i assume max will appreciate at some point in his little boy life)
the next day, joey and i, and amy and jared hit the slopes
we went to the small resort of sandia peak but it was perfect for one day of skiing
joey celebrating his success in skiing
after a day of skiing, the heated pool and hot tub at my mimi's apartment felt just right...max loves to swim and even when i took him under he was still happy...can't wait to see this little fish in the pool this summer.
"mom, why didn't you bring me a swim diaper? this is really uncomfortable"
our final day in nm, we drove to santa fe. but as soon as we had finished lunch and were ready to walk around, a snow storm hit (it was actually snowing behind us in this picture)
bc of the bad weather, we had to take the long way home on saturday and were in the car for about 14 hours...but max was great and didn't fuss much at all so it really wasn't that bad.
...and here's what max enjoyed!
i liked this pic bc it looks like amy and jared are walking underwater
the botanical gardens was really big so we only saw a small portion..but they had this children's area that was really cool
they also had a huge train display straight from "i love toy trains"...complete with a thomas (which i assume max will appreciate at some point in his little boy life)
the next day, joey and i, and amy and jared hit the slopes
we went to the small resort of sandia peak but it was perfect for one day of skiing
joey celebrating his success in skiing
and
me celebrating the fact that i was having a majorly bad fashion day and didn't care at all!
after a day of skiing, the heated pool and hot tub at my mimi's apartment felt just right...max loves to swim and even when i took him under he was still happy...can't wait to see this little fish in the pool this summer.
"mom, why didn't you bring me a swim diaper? this is really uncomfortable"
our final day in nm, we drove to santa fe. but as soon as we had finished lunch and were ready to walk around, a snow storm hit (it was actually snowing behind us in this picture)
bc of the bad weather, we had to take the long way home on saturday and were in the car for about 14 hours...but max was great and didn't fuss much at all so it really wasn't that bad.i am so glad that i have a great family who loves to travel and is easy to travel with...looking forward to our next family trip to see kacy and jd in honduras!
max, tysen, and st.patty
a few weekends ago, we got to keep our nephew tysen...he's 5 months older then max and they are great buds! saturday was such a beautiful day so we loaded up and headed down to the stockyards for the "cowtown goes green" st. patricks day parade.
the boys dancing an irish jig!
checking out the petting zoo...
...and the baby goats inside.
max seemed to think that petting the baby goat was the same as hitting the baby goat; i guess we need some more practice with animals!
tysen had a fun time with the animals until joey tried to keep this rooster from flying out of the cage, and it flew a little close to him...and that concluded our visit to the petting zoo.
luckily, the parade started right after...to be honest it was pretty lame but we still had fun waving to all the horses.
we walked around a bit in the stockyard station area before heading home...
...and i guess the boys were pretty worn out bc the next day after church we turned around to see this....
...two sleeping vanderveer boys!
the boys dancing an irish jig!
checking out the petting zoo...
...and the baby goats inside.
max seemed to think that petting the baby goat was the same as hitting the baby goat; i guess we need some more practice with animals!
tysen had a fun time with the animals until joey tried to keep this rooster from flying out of the cage, and it flew a little close to him...and that concluded our visit to the petting zoo.
luckily, the parade started right after...to be honest it was pretty lame but we still had fun waving to all the horses.
we walked around a bit in the stockyard station area before heading home...
...and i guess the boys were pretty worn out bc the next day after church we turned around to see this....
...two sleeping vanderveer boys!Tuesday, March 23, 2010
my husband, worship pastor
i'm writing this blog as it's happening, but may not be able to post for a while....but i want to publicly praise God right away:
we need to rewind to the beginning. when joey and i first started dating. and he was in a band called destination known. as his girlfriend, i was proud, but not impressed. after all, i have no musical talent in me so i just didn't understand the coolness of it all. in fact, when he quit the band, i was secretly glad bc i knew a proposal would be next, and i was right. we get married, move to keller, and a great opportunity is presented to joey to lead worship at our new church. i love this bc he gets to do worship part-time, and i get to see our lives as 2 full time teachers begin. fast forward about 4 years through part-time worship jobs at various churches to the fall of 2007. joey begins to talk about worship more and how he is starting to feel God calling him to full time ministry. all i can hear is God calling me to have a baby and it appears i hear God correctly when we find out we are pregnant in the spring of 2008. all summer, joey continues to feel God's calling and my response is (selfishly) "I married a teacher. Not a worship leader. And I don't want to be a pastor's wife". Skip the next couple scenes of max being born and the beginning of my full time mommy career (instead of teaching). It is now the spring of 2009. joey still wants to be a worship leader. and i start to see why. summer 2009 brings me to the realization that God has changed my heart and now i desire as much as joey for him to be a in full time ministry. fall 2009 begins the daily prayers, weekly discussions, and monthly opportunities and job interviews for the much desired worship position. during this time, joey is offered an opportunity to play 2 sundays a month at a nearby church. he takes it, along with many other opportunities and continues to search for a full time worship job. it appears that every church we are interested in and that we feel God may lead us too is only offering part time. so we discuss, have our fall back plans of what to do, and start to be anxious that he may have to return to teaching in the fall of 2010. then, a phone call in the magical month of march. someone is leaving; joey can be full time. for about 3 weeks we hide this information from all of those around us...but we pray and we pray hard. and through what could only be God's perfect plan, joey becomes the associate pastor of worship and administration at crosspointe community church in corinth texas this july.
words cannot express the overwhelming praise that we feel. we do not have to move away from our families and friends. we do not have to compromise the type of church we want to belong too. the pastor and this church believe in joey. he can be a pastor and i, a pastor's wife. and joey is happy.
on sunday, when joey officially accepted the job, he had a smile on his face during worship that i haven't seen in a long time. and as he led us in "revelation song", i began to cry from the pure joy that my husband is awesome and has an awesome talent to lead worship and now we have an awesome church who believes in him to use this talent full-time.
"jesus, your name is power, breathe and living water, such a marvelous mystery"
amen.
we need to rewind to the beginning. when joey and i first started dating. and he was in a band called destination known. as his girlfriend, i was proud, but not impressed. after all, i have no musical talent in me so i just didn't understand the coolness of it all. in fact, when he quit the band, i was secretly glad bc i knew a proposal would be next, and i was right. we get married, move to keller, and a great opportunity is presented to joey to lead worship at our new church. i love this bc he gets to do worship part-time, and i get to see our lives as 2 full time teachers begin. fast forward about 4 years through part-time worship jobs at various churches to the fall of 2007. joey begins to talk about worship more and how he is starting to feel God calling him to full time ministry. all i can hear is God calling me to have a baby and it appears i hear God correctly when we find out we are pregnant in the spring of 2008. all summer, joey continues to feel God's calling and my response is (selfishly) "I married a teacher. Not a worship leader. And I don't want to be a pastor's wife". Skip the next couple scenes of max being born and the beginning of my full time mommy career (instead of teaching). It is now the spring of 2009. joey still wants to be a worship leader. and i start to see why. summer 2009 brings me to the realization that God has changed my heart and now i desire as much as joey for him to be a in full time ministry. fall 2009 begins the daily prayers, weekly discussions, and monthly opportunities and job interviews for the much desired worship position. during this time, joey is offered an opportunity to play 2 sundays a month at a nearby church. he takes it, along with many other opportunities and continues to search for a full time worship job. it appears that every church we are interested in and that we feel God may lead us too is only offering part time. so we discuss, have our fall back plans of what to do, and start to be anxious that he may have to return to teaching in the fall of 2010. then, a phone call in the magical month of march. someone is leaving; joey can be full time. for about 3 weeks we hide this information from all of those around us...but we pray and we pray hard. and through what could only be God's perfect plan, joey becomes the associate pastor of worship and administration at crosspointe community church in corinth texas this july.
words cannot express the overwhelming praise that we feel. we do not have to move away from our families and friends. we do not have to compromise the type of church we want to belong too. the pastor and this church believe in joey. he can be a pastor and i, a pastor's wife. and joey is happy.
on sunday, when joey officially accepted the job, he had a smile on his face during worship that i haven't seen in a long time. and as he led us in "revelation song", i began to cry from the pure joy that my husband is awesome and has an awesome talent to lead worship and now we have an awesome church who believes in him to use this talent full-time.
"jesus, your name is power, breathe and living water, such a marvelous mystery"
amen.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
date 3 of 12
on sunday, we enjoyed our 3rd date. after church we headed to lunch at one of joey's favorite fort worth spots...
and then on to another one of his other favorite spots in the fort worth cultural district...
to see one of his favorite artists on display....
and this fun filled date cost my favorite number...$0. (well, not lunch, but that was still cheap!)
and then on to another one of his other favorite spots in the fort worth cultural district...
to see one of his favorite artists on display....
and this fun filled date cost my favorite number...$0. (well, not lunch, but that was still cheap!)you see, the modern museum in fort worth is free the 1st sunday of the month and this includes all the exhibits and a guided tour. what a deal! one of my favorite things about being an at-home-mom is that now i have time to explore online and see what free stuff and activities i can come up with. and since we are a museum-loving family, i am sure we will be hitting the museum on many more free sundays to come!
the rainy weather made the museum even more appealing...especially to some people from the big D. as i was standing in line to coat check our umbrella, a woman got in line behind me. apparently the coat check was understaffed and it was taking a little longer then expected. the lady stood there for about 3 minutes and then asked me "do you know what's going on? why is it taking so long?". i said i wasn't sure. to which she responded with a very aggravated sigh "fort worth...." what does that mean? sorry dallas snob lady, but i think funky-town is just as good as your little dallas any day....well, except for the fact that sprinkles cupcakes is in dallas...i'll give her that. :)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
it's a beautiful d-ay!
we enjoyed the weather outside on thursday so much! i can't wait for spring and summer so we can be outside even more!
we bought bikes with some of our christmas money. i have such fond memories of family bike rides when i was a kid and wanted to get started with our own. max likes to ride as long as we get started about 2 seconds after he has to put his helmet on!
we rode down to our neighborhood park and played for a while....
we bought bikes with some of our christmas money. i have such fond memories of family bike rides when i was a kid and wanted to get started with our own. max likes to ride as long as we get started about 2 seconds after he has to put his helmet on!
we rode down to our neighborhood park and played for a while....
for about 20 of our 45 minute playtime max was doing this:
the bridge has a little arch in it so i guess it thought it was so fun to run uphill and downhill!
the bridge has a little arch in it so i guess it thought it was so fun to run uphill and downhill!then, after dinner we all went outside to enjoy our new (and FREE) trampoline. my dad's neighbor's house got foreclosed and they left their trampoline so he brought it over to our house...max loves to "jump" and i must admit i can't wait for him to be a bit older so we can play some 'crack the egg' and 'flip the bacon'. and i would like to master a flip if possibles :)
Lord, thank you for the gorgeous weather!
Lord, thank you for the gorgeous weather!
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