Family Photos

My family did the family picture thing this Saturday. A special thank you to my neighbor, and an awesome photographer by the way, who took the large group shot of all of us, and Dean and I's family. My mom figured since there will be no more grandkids coming along (cross your fingers that modern medicine works!!), it would be a good time to have a family picture taken. Even though the weather was frigid, the kids did wonderful, and we are so glad that we got them done.

Someday, when I get older....

Tessa eyeing her cousins beautiful wings.

One of my beautiful princess'

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Opa and Oma--We MISS you this year!!

Don't take away my Christmas

So, we had a pretty rough night last night, or early morning. About 5am, our power went out due to strong winds. Our whole family is so used to having white noise going during the night (fans, dehumidifiers), that the silence of the morning was too much for any of us to sleep. So, at 5am the kids were talking, getting up to look outside, acting like it was morning, according to Dean and I, "acting like morons." Needless to say, we are all a bit tired. Dean and I are a bit "touchy" with eachother and the kids, the kids are overly emotional about EVERYTHING, and everyone needs a nap. Dean gets very crabby if he doesn't get his Sunday afternoon nap, and I say that with his approval. So, as the kids were finishing lunch this afternoon, he looked at them, and in full seriousness said, "If you guys DON'T take a nap today, there WILL BE NO CHRISTMAS." My eyes popped out of my head--WOW---who threatens their kids with taking away their Christmas? Those are pretty big threats that he'll have to run by Jesus first I'm sure. So to you all, here is hoping that the Vink kids take a nap today, otherwise Jesus may just cancel Christmas this year. Someone is a total bah-humbug!!

Who's The Boss

So, we're all in the car this morning bringing Elli to school. On the way home, here is how the conversation went:

Josie: "Mom, can you marry your brother?"
Mom: "Nope"
Josie: "Well, then who am I going to marry when I get older?"
Mom: " I don't know yet honey--we'll have to wait and see."
Josie: "Well, all I know is that I WILL be the boss when I get married!! And I WILL eat burritos"--(totally random)

You go girl!!!

We Got Dumped On

We finally got dumped on. Last night we had a ton of snow come down. The kids were begging to go sledding this afternoon. Why is it that it takes you 20 minutes or so to get them all dressed in their snow gear, and then after 10 minutes outside, they want to come in already? Frustrating. Is it wrong to lock your kids out of the house for a few more minutes, just so that you feel like it was worth your time to put all those clothes on?

Playing in the snow!

Yes, I had a snowball in my face after this shot!

My Failed Attempt

My son is a whiner. Whining to me is like running your fingernails down a chalkboard. It gets my blood boiling and sends evil shivers down my spine. I turn into an evil mom whenever I hear it. I would much rather be locked in a room with a screaming baby than in a room with a whining child. Looking back on video of Thys, he seems to have always been a whiner. I don't know why all of a sudden the last few weeks it has irritated me so much. Simply telling him to stop whining wasn't helping. I felt like a broken record, telling him up to 50 times a day to quit whining and use a "normal" voice. He got to the point where he wouldn't even talk in a "normal" voice anymore, just whine whatever he needed. So, I thought I would try the reward approach to parenting. I am so not against bribbing or giving candy for good behavior--my philosophy is, "If it gets me through the day, I am all about it". So off we went to the Dollar Store to get the supplies we needed to start the "Reward Program". The insentive was--if he made it through the day without whining, he got to put a sticker on that day. I would give him 3 warnings throughout the day, but no more. If he exceeded his 3 warnings, he lost the sticker for that day. If he filled an entire week with stickers, then he gets to go to the Dollar Store and pick anything out that he wants. (I lose $1.00---he gains the best present in the world according to him). Well, as you can see, the first week went great. The 2nd week--not so good, the 3rd week--horrible, and now we are on the 4th week and so far things aren't looking so good. The whining has resumed, the stickers are a thing of the past, and not so fun anymore, the cheering from the siblings is long forgotten----oh the failures we as parents have to overcome.

Happy 2nd Birthday Tessa

My baby turned 2 yesterday. I love the fact that I am FINALLY able to do most things now--get out of the house, skip naps if need be....but, I am also a little sad that her "babyhood" is flying by. I absolutley love this age, and would freeze her right now if I could. But I know I can't, and am excited to see all that God has planned for her life as she grows. She is such a delight to us. She definately is the "Princess" of the family, and I am sure (I know) she gets away with everything she shouldn't just because she is the youngest. She is the nightly entertainment at the dinner table, with all of her funny faces she has to show us. She is a walking tape recorder, as I hear daily my own words come out of her mouth. She definately has been a blessing to our family, and I pray God allows us many more years with her.



Proof of the terrible 2's. Yesterday I put her down for her nap. She has always been the easiest one of my kids to put down. You lay her down and she just goes right to sleep--no fussing or crying. And, she sleeps 3 hours--no hands down. Well, yesterday (on her 2nd birthday) she decided to refuse a nap--the FIRST time she has ever done this. So, I let her talk to herself for 2 hours, and then decided that because it was her birthday, I would just let her skip a nap today--which if she hadn't gone to sleep yet after 2 hours of talking to herself, she wasn't going to do it. So I went up to her room to get her, and this is what I found. A completely naked girl who had thrown everything out of her crib. This is the first time she has even attempted to do this--weird that she decided to choose her 2nd birthday to start. And yes, it happened again this afternoon. Completely buck naked!

New boots, New boots, I can't believe my eyes...

$1 to whoever can guess which kid DIDN'T get new boots this year? Hint.....it's all in the faces!! The sacrifices that middle children have to make.

Vink Christmas Tree

We went to a local Christmas tree farm and picked out the 2007 tree. I always fight for the artificial ones, but for some reason, Dean always seems to win out every year. Although, he isn't the one picking needles out of 8 tiny feet all day, or listening to shrieks from 4 high pitched voices as one spears them in the heel, or picking up needles for the next 10 months, just in time to pick out another tree and start all over. For some reason he feels that our house "smells" better with a real tree--like he is saying our house stinks!! The Boys

The Girls--minus mommy!
My Clan.

The pre-cut tree!

The finished product!