He's 16!!

Well, it's official.  He's sixteen...how in the world did that happen?  How did my sweet, little, long anticipated baby grow into a big teenager!?

It happened in the blink of an eye.  Those of you who know me pretty well know there's only a few things that make me bawl my eyes out.  One is when I get so angry I can't form coherent words, I just cry.  The other is whenever I hear a song, or hear a conversation or read something that makes me think about how fast my babies have grown up.  I melt into a blubbering puddle of tears.
When in the middle of raising my children, I thought time was moving so slow and that I'd be raising them forever.  When we had four we thought "We're done!"  But after about five or six years, Cade was about to be in school all day and I realized I desperately wanted one more and felt so strongly that there was one more child waiting in heaven to join our family here on earth.  After what seemed way too long, we finally looked into our baby, Travis' eyes and when he looked back, he seemed to say "What took you so long!!"   He was worth the wait.  We have been so thankful everyday for him and for each of our five children.  They bring us unmeasurable joy and happiness...but they have all grown up too fast.  Sob!! Sniffle!  See, I told you I can't deal with my babies growing up.

Surprise!!   Golf Clubs!!

Anyway..Travis celebrated last week by going to Europa Park with friends.  On his official birthday, he wanted to go to Popeye's for dinner, but ended up hanging out with friends instead and just getting home in time for the strawberry shortcake he requested and to open presents.  

Birthday Boy....16.....sob!

This week we took Vella to Mannhiem for her first visit to an IKEA store.  I think she found it really interesting and she enjoyed eating there, too.  On our way home, we stopped at a little village called Neuliningen.  We wanted to stop there because from the autobahn we can see some castle ruins on the top of the hill.  It was worth the stop. 

Looking over the Rhine River Valley

Mike and Vella

Neuliningen Castle ruins

On Friday, we drove up to Cuijk, Netherlands where we went to the Flea Market on Saturday morning.

Vella by some old wagons at the flea market

 After the flea market we drove over to Keukenhoff Gardens just south of Amsterdam.  We were hoping to see the fields of tulips in bloom, but we missed them by a few weeks.  We did see some amazing and beautiful flowers in Keukenhoff.  

Welcome to Keukenhof Gardens!

Windy Windmill

Dutch style vans

Vella enjoying the flowers

Today is Vella's last day.  Just like always, the time has gone by way too fast!  It was a fun visit and it was fun to spend time catching up on what 's happening back in our hometown.

Tree Hugger

Have a great week and remember to cherish your babies and young ones because soon they will be sixteen or twenty or thirty or married or have babies of their own...oh dear, I've made myself all teary again!


love and miss you all,
-corri