Mormon Prom - The Invite........

Mormon Prom! It's a rather big deal here. It's an alternative to the prom at the high school (a good alternative). It is put on by the church and includes three to five stakes. It includes dinner and the dance and the kids don't have to pay for anything!

Emotions are quite high the few weeks leading up to the prom. Will so and so ask me? What if this person asks me? He's asking her, but his friend is asking this person and one of two people might be asking me. If this person asks her and this person asks me, then we can all go in the same group. Mims needs to make me another dress - yes, plans for a new dress were under way before she was even asked to go to the dance!

And then......the invite comes! The doorbell rings, the door opens, and all that is on the front porch is a bouqet of balloons!........

Inside the balloons were pieces of paper that made up a puzzle asking Wendy to go to Mormon Prom. As you can tell by the photos, a fork is a far better tool for popping balloons than say a nail, a pin, or even a sharp knife!

I like the expression on Wendy's face in this one!

The anticipation and the excitement were almost too much to bear. Thank heavens the day finally arrived! Except, now the dilemma is how to respond? A simple 'yes' certainly would not suffice! The theme of balloons was followed - water balloons. An affirmative response was written on a piece of paper and 'sealed' with scotch tape and placed inside one of the water balloons. (We were outside filling water balloons as people were arriving for book club. A few people were extremely curious as to why we were filling up water balloons when we should be having book club. Most people just commented that we never have a dull moment at our house!) Wendy and entourage took the filled water balloons and put them on her date's front porch. He had to stomp on them to pop them until he found the note inside. A date was secured for the upcoming event! Now we can all rest easy for a few weeks!

Koninginnedag..............

Friday was koninginnedag in The Netherlands! On this day, things can get really crazy - REALLY crazy! Steve was fortunate enough to spend the day with his Uncle Mike and Aunt Lill (thanks to both of you!). Arrangements were made with the mission president in advance. Mike asked if it would be okay to invite Steve, and the president said yes! He wanted missionaries out of Amsterdam for the day. And, of course, the rest of the Stigter family was there as well! From the looks of the photos below, a great time was had by everyone.

Oma, Steve, Opa

Steve and cousin Thomas

Uncle Mischa, Uncle Mark, Steve, cousin Thomas, cousin Kevin, Uncle Mark, and Opa

Thanks again, Mike and Lill for including Steve in the days activities!

Happy Birthday Monique!!...............

Another birthday has arrived. Monique's 29th (okay, 42nd) birthday was Monday. Another performance by the family choir (Monday's are not the best days for this family to perform - especially that early in the morning). Unfortunately for Monique, it was her day off from work, yet we still work her up early to sing Happy Birthday and to open gifts. But, she was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours more, so it wasn't all bad!

And the day couldn't have been any better, as she was able to spend the entire day with me! Too bad we spent the day looking for a washing machine.

(Mikki, please notice that there are not any holiday decorations on display).

Happy Birthday, Babe! Love you!

Wendy and Camille's Young Women's Recognition...........

The goal has finally been reached. THE goal that has been a process over several years. Several long, patience testing, arduous years (for Wendy, anyway). The celebratory evening has finally arrived. And, as Wendy and Camille do nearly everything together, the evening wouldn't be the same if they didn't celebrate together. They both had fulfilled all of the requirements to receive their Young Woman's Medallion!

But, of course, these two cannot do what everyone else would do. They needed to celebrate in their own way. Thus a 'Pajama Party'! (This was tamed down from a 'Princess Pajama Party' with tutu's). Most everyone showed up wearing pajamas. It was a great evening. One of their advisers had written a story about the two girls, and her daughter had done some illustrations. They are having the story bound into a book so Wendy and Camille can each have one.


Everyone enthralled with the story of the Two Princess Fairies.



The Two Princess Fairies!

Congrats Wendy! You are an inspiration and an example to the rest of us. Keep up the good work.

Love you!

Happy Birthday Ryan.............

In the midst of all the excitement going on at our place, we also needed to celebrate a birthday! Ryan's 12th birthday, no less. It was a rough start for the family choir, but we pulled off the performance quite well (a miraculous feat with it being so early in the morning)! It was a big day for Ryan. Not only was he turning 12, he was also scheduled to have surgery for his broken arm. He managed to single-handedly (literally) rip through his presents by himself. It took a little longer than usual this way, but we all managed to enjoy watching him. He commented that he wouldn't be able to play his new DS game, because he would need two hands to play that one (good thing it won't rot or go to waste). His main concern was that he didn't get any cards (we usually save any cards that come in the mail and have the kids open those the morning of their birthdays, too). But, he did get a couple of cards in the mail that afternoon.


Happy 12th Birthday, Ryan! It's hard to believe that you are already 12. You are becoming quite an incredible young man. I admire the testimony that you have of our Heavenly Father and His gospel. You are an example to all of us.

Love you!

Ryan's update.........

Today we took Ryan to the orthopedist for a follow up from his adventure last week. The doctor looked at the x-rays from last week, had some more x-rays taken today and then came in and visited. I guess visit really isn't the word that I should use - it's not like we had cookies and punch (which would have been nice, as we ended up being there during lunch time). The end result is Ryan will be having surgery on Wednesday (yes, on his 12th birthday). They are hoping to straighten the arm more than what it already is, most likely inserting a rod and possibly pins in the elbow, hoping to avoid having to put in a plate and screws. Here are x-rays that were taken the other night, and these are after it was set the first time..............

Ryan's End to the Year.................

Most people would think that our year has already been filled with fun and excitement. Apparently, Ryan was feeling a little shortchanged on the excitement part and decided to contribute to it. He was invited by a friend to go to the 'Family Fun Center'. What a great way for the kids to burn off some built up energy! Well, that lasted all of five minutes! Literally! Ryan and his friend were playing on some balls. Ryan rolled on a ball, rolled right off of the ball and fell down a hole and broke his arm. This was confirmed after Monique spent three hours at the doctor's office waiting for the x-rays. Another joyous six hour was spent at the emergency room. It wouldn't have taken nearly so long, except they had to set his arm twice. The poor little guy. Fortunately, he was given some medication that pretty much put him out so he wouldn't remember the pain he was experiencing while they were setting the bone. It hurt just to watch! Tomorrow he goes to the specialist to see what needs to take place next.