Staying Sane With Twins

the Doeve cousins

2012-01-02T19:27:00.002-07:00

10 of 13 cousins.

Lynae

Cohen

Ashlyn

Kila

Andon

Aaron

Ethan

James

Mikalyn

Joel on Andrews lap

missing:

Jenna

Zack

Addi

knuckleheads

2012-01-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

raspberry melt away cookies

2012-01-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

family 2011

2011-12-16T12:45:00.001-07:00

andon

2011-10-15T11:50:00.002-06:00

2011-09-14T23:16:00.002-06:00

My Body tells me no!
But I won’t quit
I want more, I want more
My Body tells me no!
But I won’t quit
I want more, I want more
And it rides out of town

2011-08-06T16:03:00.000-06:00

camping for 18 days and only 1 family picture to show for it.

9 years.

2011-05-25T16:28:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was our ninth wedding anniversary.

how did we celebrate?

2 episodes of extreme couponing.

2 overtime periods.

that's it.

I KNOW!

settle down kids! this is a PG rated blog!

honesty

2011-05-19T20:33:00.002-06:00

At my door this evening i had a canvasser coming around wanting donations for foster plan canada. He was a refugee from Jamaica... I told him we already supported a child from compassion canada. He then went on to ask me what church i went to - so i said, westminster chapel. He then very enthusiastically went on to tell me he loved the Bible and Proverbs was his favorite. Then he asks me - What is your favorite book of the Bible?

I just stuttered around... i couldn't even come up with a favorite book... i couldn't even come up with one just to pass off as my favorite.

SAD.

and yet i don't feel the urge to read the Bible at all.

Just being honest.

2011-04-29T11:04:00.002-06:00

I remember when i was a teenager having to get up at the unearthly hours that dairy farmers made their daughters wake up at... I would drag my feet to the barns full of anger and bitterness at everyone else sleeping. I would not take time to even appreciate the beautiful sunrise or that i would be spending time with my dad, instead i would feel sorry for myself and all the "insane cruelty" of being born into a family that loved me enough to make me work. I would often hear this song of being stuck in a concrete sea... and felt like the song was right - my life sucked - and i didn't deserve to be stuck in it.

Looking at my life now - i sure wish i would have appreciated the little things more instead of always thinking i deserved better and that my life sucked. I would love to go back to those days and enjoy the sunrise and enjoy the ease of being a teenager.

I would love to go back to when our boys Ethan and Andon were born. If i knew then what i would go through now i would have cuddled them more, i would have enjoyed the smaller things like reading on the couch with them, taking them to the parks and pushing them for hours on the swings - i would have pushed them even longer!

I would love to go back two years ago when i was pregnant, maybe with my last baby. I should have spent hours laying on the couch enjoying his movements in my belly. I cuddled Cohen lots as a baby, but wish i could go back and cuddle him for days and days. I wish i could go back before pain, loss, emptiness and loneliness entered my life.

"No one was meant to be

Living here in this concrete sea

Everyone including me

Wishes that we could be set free"

2011-04-29T11:01:00.001-06:00

2011-04-21T11:27:00.000-06:00

2011-03-14T12:43:00.000-06:00

Ethan and Andon perfecting their smiles.

2011-03-14T12:39:00.000-06:00

at least he doesn't shed.

hardcore!

2011-03-14T12:27:00.002-06:00

Precious Cargo.

2011-02-14T16:57:00.002-07:00

after another long day of snowboarding - the taxi ride back to the condo.

Fun with Cousins.

2011-01-12T23:17:00.002-07:00

Coco LOVES babies! Babies actually for a few seconds calm him down. Joel's giving me this look like seriously... a camera?

Ashlyn and Coco wishing they were older, or their mom/auntie was nicer so they could go sledding outside with Ethan & Andon.

2010-12-20T21:23:00.002-07:00

"It is foolish to pretend that one is fully recovered from a loss. Such wounds always leave a scar.”

2010-12-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

21 months - when did that happen?

2010-12-16T18:01:00.001-07:00

Daddy's are so funny! from Janice Vandyk on Vimeo.

Coco gets trimmed

2010-12-16T16:53:00.002-07:00

slippery slopes

2010-12-16T16:35:00.005-07:00

Yesterday at school Andon was sledding with his friends at recess - unfortunately it was really icey on the hill. He was running up the hill, slipped and broke his left collar bone. Poor kid. (this picture was taken late last night after the emergency room - he wasn't smiling - i made him smile... on top of a broken collar bone his mother forces him to smile for the camera... poor kid.)

2010-12-15T16:50:00.002-07:00

http://jv-photography.blogspot.com/

hang time

2010-12-14T09:18:00.002-07:00

Ethan and Andon were given snowboards this weekend from their Opa and Grandma, so we thought we should try them out. I was NOT expecting the boys to be doing jumps and landing them the first time they went snowboarding!!!

2010-12-07T14:31:00.001-07:00

we are not messing around with our soy sauce any more!

2010-12-02T16:24:00.001-07:00

a good giveaway.

2010-11-29T10:46:00.002-07:00

go check out a good giveaway if you are into photography!

2010-10-27T20:09:00.002-06:00

three of my five nieces - Kila, Sissy and Mikalyn.

I miss summer!

my family.

2010-10-27T16:10:00.002-06:00

On October 20th my youngest sister was married!! It was a gorgeous day - Justin was a groomsman and Ethan and Andon were the ring bearers.

thanks to my mother in law for snapping some photos!

2010-09-30T13:16:00.002-06:00

at the end of August, my mom, sister Deanna and i took 8 kids into the corn maze! It was great fun - in the beginning - before we realized that actually this is frustrating not being able to find our way out! So finally we get out - i want to document this moment and i realize... my camera is somewhere INSIDE the corn maze!!! it had fallen out of my stroller! So Deanna and i go in and try find my camera in a massive corn maze. Nope - couldn't find it - had to get some little kids to lead us out because we were so annoyed!

We meet up with mom who was watching all 8 kids - i am totally grumpy and upset - SO we decide once more to go back in and find this tiny tiny camera in a giant corn maze. Mom and i go in this time... we had been in there for about 15 minutes and we about to give up and try find our way out -- when we see a lady with a similar camera dangling from her wrist. I asked if they had found a camera by chance AND THEY DID!!!! there was my camera!! Relief!

took us another 30 minutes to get out... but we had my camera!

Above is one of the pictures - Kila, Aaron, James, Ethan, Andon, Lynae (Denise - i totally forgot how to spell her name) Mikalyn and missing in the picture was Cohen.

(i also may have spelled Mikalyn wrong)

2010-09-29T08:48:00.002-06:00

Cohen has this weird, frustrating obsession with insisting on sitting in this tiny little bucket. It takes alot of effort for him to keep his balance while trying to sit - often resulting in him tipping the bucket over and then having a fit - but then he gets up and tries it all over again... Why? i don't know - we have plenty of toy buckets that are big enough for him. Yet for some reason he only wants the tiny one...

2010-09-29T08:37:00.002-06:00

one of my favorite times during the day is the last 10 minutes before bed when the kids read their library books. They are both really good readers and focus intently on the books while reading. As a parent, it makes me incredibly proud to see them reading chapter books - and enjoying it!

2010-09-28T19:28:00.001-06:00

Cat Walk Style* from Janice Vandyk on Vimeo.

2010-09-04T17:40:00.001-06:00

Whoop Up Parade

2010-08-24T15:54:00.002-06:00

i dont endorse Meheden for mayor - Cohen just really wanted a balloon!

Cohen waving hi to all the people.

me saying "puppy" and Cohen ignoring me.

Ethan bracing for the semi horn.

waiting.

Cohen did not brace for the semi honking - did NOT like it!

Ethan and Andon couldn't believe those were real army men!

time marches.

2010-08-09T00:03:00.003-06:00

when did this happen? my boys are 7!

I know this is a total cliche, but i really don't know where the time has gone! I vividly still remember when i seen Ethan and Andon for the first time, held them, cuddled them, brought them home and started my life as a mom.

Now they are 7. Going into grade 2.

Children are precious - gifts - I'm thankful for the ones God has blessed me with.

Reality. i guess.

2010-08-04T21:11:00.002-06:00

back from our 16 days in Riley Creek, ID - had a BLAST!

when i find my way out from this mountain of laundry i hope to get a few more pictures up.

a HUGE day in the Van Dyk house!!!

2010-07-15T16:11:00.004-06:00

ANDON LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!

2010-07-14T23:09:00.001-06:00

Untitled from Janice Vandyk on Vimeo.

i LOVE this video! i love how they boys are so concerned for Cohen, i love how Cohen looks at his brothers, i love how he thinks his older brothers are hilarious. LOVE it!

July 12, 1pm - Heading into Calgary.

2010-07-13T09:08:00.002-06:00

These are pictures taken from my phone - Yesterday, Deanna and i went to Calgary to visit my Opa in the hospital - this is the weather we encountered!! In July! This is at around 1pm. Baseball sized hail pelted my van; and eventually the weather was so out of control everyone ended up pulling over because no one could see where we were going! It was absolutely crazy! the pictures don't really do it justice - it was so loud in the vehicle you had to shout to even be heard!

CRAZY!!

2010-07-09T09:08:00.002-06:00

finally, after 3 months of growing our pathetic looking tomato plant finally yielded us its bounty... one whole red cherry tomato. Unfortunately the boys were so excited to try it they forgot to leave me a tiny piece.

2010-07-06T10:31:00.002-06:00

family.

2010-07-01T16:21:00.000-06:00

2010-06-23T09:02:00.001-06:00

"If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world."

- Mercedes Lackey

2010-05-30T16:18:00.001-06:00

Cohen always watching his brothers play outside - and CHUBBY thighs!

big brothers.

2010-05-27T13:36:00.003-06:00

Ethan & Andon are such good big brothers! Cohen is very lucky!

This is a typical family moment - Ethan being weird, Cohen is oblivious and Andon making sure Cohen is ok.

2010-05-26T13:06:00.001-06:00

the first hair cut...

2010-03-27T12:52:00.003-06:00

his pre-haircut picture (above) and a tear.

and his after picture... the boys came upstairs and said he looks like Sean (Justin's brother) as a baby... i think he looks WAY to old... i wish i never cut it.

2010-03-25T14:44:00.000-06:00

poor kid

2010-03-25T14:27:00.003-06:00

Cohen for the last few weeks has been on a puffer morning and night for suspected asthma - we hope we are not traumatizing him too much...

2010-03-21T20:00:00.004-06:00

Untitled from Janice Vandyk on Vimeo.

this is how Cohen reacts when he is not allowed in the shower with Justin in the mornings or the bath with the boys. sucks to be the baby.

2010-03-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

handmade

2010-03-08T19:03:00.002-07:00

i made Cohen this adorable little tie ensemble. he's so stinkin cute!

yummy snack time!

2010-02-10T11:55:00.001-07:00

2010-02-10T11:51:00.001-07:00

Friday - Justin cooked dinner for me. Gourmet!!

Filet Mignon over Lobster Boursin Mashed Potatoes with a Merlot Reduction

it was delicious!!!

thanks.

ahh winter...

2010-01-22T09:46:00.002-07:00

(click on the pictures to see bigger)

Los Cabos, mexico 2009

2010-01-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Justin's parents took the entire family to mexico for Christmas. We went to Los Cabos near Cabo San Lucas. December 24th to 31rst. It was a different way to spend the holidays. A nice break from the then -20 weather. We had a great time! Thankyou!

Above you can see santa at the bar... he also had some showgirl sidekicks with him - for sure not the wholesome santa we are used to back home.

Jumping from the waves with Uncle Eric.

Andon gagging on salt water and sand...

our home for 7 days - our deck faced the garden (thanks Mitchell and Julie for trading)

Uncle Mitchell

awesome spiderman and batman kites from Grandpa.

This guy made the boys bracelets with their names on them right on the beach.

we went to town one day to Cabo San Lucas - and COSTCO!!

me. the only pictures on my camera of me are basically self portraits - thanks Justin.

Ethan and Andon were also spoiled for Christmas and got nintendo DS's for Christmas!

henna tattoos for the boys - Ethan had a panther, Andon a tiger.

on the last morning, the kids played bingo - and Ethan WON!!!

it was an awesome trip! Memories forever!

thank you mom and dad!!!

2010-01-12T11:20:00.003-07:00

Finally, the leggings i bought for Cohen have arrived... i bought two, the other is a bit more tame with black and grey argyle. So Cute! I love them!

i love this picture above, it really shows off his intense personality - nothing is low key or calm with Cohen. nothing!

this picture below really shows off how wild his hair is! honestly, i comb it right flat after baths - as it dries it just starts to stand up - i think he has like 4 cow licks all through out his head... i guess it will be another buzz cut hair style...

2010-01-05T16:50:00.002-07:00

sporting some new chicklets....

2010-01-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

yummy snot!

2009-12-20T19:44:00.001-07:00

click on them to make them bigger...

2009-12-16T19:50:00.002-07:00

Cohen!

almost 9 months...

2009-12-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

2009-12-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

Cohen is on the move! from Janice Vandyk on Vimeo.

Old Man Winters aggressions...

2009-12-07T18:26:00.002-07:00

this is what we woke up to Saturday morning!!

and no we did not actually shovel all this... we paid someone with a snowblower $10.

Christmas Decorations...

2009-12-02T16:37:00.002-07:00

2009-11-14T09:55:00.001-07:00

2009-11-13T10:25:00.003-07:00

i asked the boys to write the title of the book they had read for home shared reading... then i am supposed to sign it... later they told me they had signed it like dad... cute!! Who doesn't remember forging their parents signature? My dad's was pretty easy - but my mom, she would write so incredibly small there was no way you could forge it... all though i never started "signing" my notes till at least junior high.

2009-11-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

pretty sure this is the face of someone who does NOT enjoy peas.

2009-11-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

friday supper on the floor... Monday night - chaos.

2009-09-30T18:59:00.001-06:00

two thingse... My kids all seem to smile with their mouths hanging wide open, and they are growing up way to fast!

FIVE generations!!!

2009-09-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

2009-09-02T10:27:00.001-06:00

It's just the two of us... Ethan and Andon started their first day of grade 1 today!

Ashlyn.

2009-08-29T11:58:00.001-06:00

2009-08-25T13:27:00.001-06:00

2009-08-25T13:16:00.000-06:00

serious cuteness!

2009-08-12T17:09:00.002-06:00

if anyone is wondering why Ethan and Andon never get their picture taken anymore - it is not because of i don't try - they just wont let me, or they are way to silly. So for now, i will enjoy my baby who doesn't have a say.

2009-08-11T12:50:00.002-06:00

Mitchell is MARRIED!!!

2009-08-11T09:55:00.003-06:00

Mitchell and Julie were married on Saturday! Mitchell is Justin's third brother. Here are some pictures of us all dressed up. And if you can believe it - the picture of Cohen is the only one i took of him through the day - so you can't even see his adorable outfit. That is his Uncle Jordie holding him - which is Justin's fourth brother.

Riley Creek 2009

2009-08-05T10:35:00.005-06:00

when i finally manage to find a few spare moments i will post more pictures of our awesome camping trip... but for now... this is it.

2009-08-04T12:49:00.001-06:00

jv photography

2009-07-13T10:11:00.003-06:00

This picture was from July 4th during all the wicked lightning storms - I of course only clued in to maybe grab my camera right as the storm was calming and the clouds were moving in...

(its better appreciated if you click on the picture.)

big brothers

2009-07-08T11:42:00.000-06:00

WHAT??

2009-07-08T11:25:00.001-06:00

oh yeah, and i baked a fresh cherry pie! I am so domestic! and apparently slightly obsessed with food - by the way - it was delicious!

more summer time eating - fresh peas! and Cohen.

2009-07-08T11:20:00.002-06:00

snuggli

2009-07-05T12:14:00.000-06:00

2009-07-02T16:54:00.000-06:00

Cohen's Great Oma Doeve

aka - Coaster

2009-06-29T14:51:00.001-06:00

3 months

summer time = cherries!!

2009-06-29T14:43:00.001-06:00

beauty

2009-06-25T13:52:00.002-06:00

one of the best things about having to get up during the night to feed Cohen, is to see all the amazing sunrises - i usually get up between 5 and 6 am and am treated to some amazing sights. Things that usually you take for granted. I always take 5 minutes or so and go on my back deck to just enjoy - it is always so silent and peaceful, you can just feel the beauty of God's creation. This is by far my favorite part of the day! Total calm.

This was a picture taken this morning off my back deck - and no, its not "photoshopped" that was actually the colors of the sky this morning! Gorgeous!

(the other good thing about having to get up is I get to cuddle my baby all alone. )

maybe we've gone to far with this....

2009-06-18T15:48:00.002-06:00

First , go watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzgOS8dbF64

now read this -

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports:

PETA has a few words for President Obama: Brush, don’t kill.

After the President very publically swatted and then killed a fly during an interview with CNBC yesterday, the outspoken animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said they wished Obama had served a better example.

“We support compassion for the even the smallest animals," says Bruce Friedrich, VP for Policy at PETA. “We support giving insects the benefit of the doubt."

Friedrich says PETA supports "brushing flies away rather than killing them" and was disappointed that the President had gone ahead and squashed the pesky fly.

This afternoon PETA sent a Katcha Bug, a device which traps bugs and allows their safe release back into nature to the White House.

(here is the website source - http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/06/peta-says-no-more-flykilling-sends-obama-a-humane-fly-catcher-.html )

I'm thinking we have a few more pressing issues in life that could make national headlines instead of Barack Obama killing a fly...

skateboarders -

2009-06-16T10:23:00.005-06:00

Last weekend the boys helped Justin and I all day clean out the garage, and so were rewarded with $20 to spend on whatever (we knew they had wanted skateboards for a while) So off to Walmart went and the boys picked out the sweetest boards they could find and bought themselves some boards. And if you ask them, they will first tell you they have their own receipt - finally they can have receipts like mom...

Once we were home, with out hesitation they just started skateboarding! no lessons were even needed! When i expressed my shock that they already knew how to skateboard they kinda looked at me like i was from another world and told me "they were almost six" like duh! of course, then you would know how to skateboard, my mistake.

poor guy -

2009-05-19T16:19:00.001-06:00

even while feeling like crap Andon still wants to hold his brother.

Poor guy went to bed with a terrible headache and woke up feeling dizzy and had a raging fever. Still.

2009-05-11T11:21:00.000-06:00

Cohen's baptism day. April 26th - his due date.

2009-05-11T10:59:00.001-06:00

this picture was taken on April 11th - the heart of tax season...

glad that's over!

2009-04-30T12:07:00.001-06:00

go check out my brother in law and soon to be sister in law. Super cute couple! And we are very excited for their wedding in August.

Cohen at 2 weeks - photoshoot

2009-04-26T18:48:00.000-06:00

2009-04-17T15:10:00.001-06:00

Cohen is 4 weeks today. 7lbs 4oz. still 19.5"

family life - 3.5 weeks

2009-04-13T19:49:00.003-06:00

i love babies toes.

2009-04-03T12:09:00.001-06:00