Ladybugs and Skateboards

 Kees loves to draw and lately his drawings have gone from scribbles to real looking drawings. He made a ladybug above complete with eyes, smile and even little legs.

This is a skateboard Kees drew. When he learned how to draw a circle it opened but a new world of drawing wheels and eyes. I love to see the creative things he thinks of to draw!

Bubble Bath!

Crochet Creations for Sela

Baby Bump 20 Weeks!

Happy Mother's Day!

 Happy Mother's Day! My boys blessed me with a special day! This was the special card from Kees and Papa.

 Steve found some of my favorite snacks online and ordered them for me! Kees also enjoyed the goldfish!

 My sweet card made my Kees at school. I love all the things he paints and draws at school.

Special heart painted by Kees

Chalk!

 Kees won sidewalk chalk at Kidz Club last week so he has been waiting for a day free of rain to try it out! Today he got his big chance before the rain clouds came rolling in!

 Goofy little guy! :)

 "I like this!" -Kees while drawing outside

GIRL!!!

Today we had the 20 week ultrasound and have a healthy baby girl! Steve wrote this about the name on facebook:

Sela Hannah Kramer

Today we had the 20 week ultrasound of our little baby.  It's a girl and we are glad to report that everything looks good and healthy!

People have asked us what the name would be.  Honestly, we have felt it would be a girl from the beginning.  Of course, we would be happy either way but we just felt right about a girl.  We have also always felt that it is important to pray for your child from the time of conception and also to pray about the name we are to give them, a name that has a special meaning.  Of course, since we are of Dutch background and have a love for the Netherlands, we have always chosen Dutch names.  Here is a brief explanation of the name we will give our girl, Sela Hannah Kramer

Sela (pronounced like "sayla"), is the Dutch spelling of the Hebrew word found in the Psalms.  This name means to "pause, consider, reflect" on what the Lord has done.  In 2008, a few months before Kees was born, we were praying about what we would name a little girl and we were in a prayer and worship service at Waardevol Leven Gemeente (Precious Life Church) in Loppersum (north of Groningen).  In this particular service, we were praying through the Psalms in Dutch.  We noticed "Sela" right away and knew that was the name if we ever were blessed to have a little girl.  

Hannah (English spelling) is a special name to us because when we were having difficulty getting pregnant with Kees, Julie would pray (unbeknownst to me) what Hannah prayed in 1 Samuel 1.  Hannah means "grace and favor".  So we thought it was fitting as we "pause, consider, reflect" (Sela) on "God's grace and favor" (Hannah).

We realize that God has been so faithful to us and we are thankful for His goodness.  We can't wait to meet Sela Hannah Kramer!

Our sweet baby girl! Love that cute little nose! :)

Kidz Club

 This week was Kidz Club at our church. Kees had a blast with the puppets, games, and singing!

 Here Kees is singing, 'Oh happy day...' not making the symbol of the Oregon Ducks :)

 Our missionary friends from Leiden came down for the week to share with the kids. They did an awesome job and made it so special for the kids! Thank you to Mike, Anita, and their daughter Grace!

Queen's Day

Yesterday was Queen's Day here in the Netherlands. We put on our orange and headed into the city. They put on a huge 'yard sale' in the city. Kees enjoyed getting to pick out a few new toys and we picked up a neat Dutch painting of a windmill. You can see a little of the baby bump in the last picture. I had my appointment today with the mid-wife. Baby is doing well and I was able to hear the heartbeat. I have been feeling well too. Kees is starting to think maybe there is a baby in my tummy as it is growing! :) I'm at 18 weeks along. We will find out (I hope) if we are having a boy or girl next week!