my friend Jesus

Yesterday Ky made a very important decision at church, he asked Jesus into his heart! As Kev and I entered the room to pick him up, we noticed that he was holding a brand new Bible and a special certificate. His teacher then told us that Ky had decided he wanted to ask Jesus to come and live in his heart and be his friend. Obviously, this is a moment we all hope for as parents. I tried to hold back the tears as Ky exited his class. I pulled him over and gave him a huge hug and told him what an awesome and exciting day it was for him!



Both Koby and Kyan have asked Jesus into their hearts and Kevin and I are so very thankful. It makes you reflect on asking Jesus into your own heart. Have you? Although I was raised in a Christian home and baptized as a baby, I can vividly remember the night when I, then 16, asked the Lord into my heart. I can honestly say that my life was changed from that moment on. I know that it may sound silly or trivial to some, but it is so far from that, it is truly life changing!

I encourage each of you who read this to stop and take a moment to think about when you personally asked Jesus to live in your heart and be your Savior. Maybe you have never had the opportunity. Just take a minute, close your eyes and ask. It's that easy. We would love for you all to know our friend Jesus!

jack-o-lanterns

We kicked off the pumpkin picking and carving evening by enjoying a spooktacular snack...a chocolate spider web!

When Dad got home we packed up and headed out to find our perfect pumpkins. We visited the apple orchard last month, but felt it was a bit too early to get our pumpkins, so we ended up at a local nursery and the boys found their pumpkins right away. First things first, get those slimy guts out of the pumpkins. Koby had no problem reaching in and grabbing fist fulls of the guts.



Ky on the other hand, not so much. In fact, surprisingly, he wanted nothing to do with it. I found a pair of tongs that he could use to grab the guts with, but even that proved difficult.



So Dad stepped in and got the job done for Ky.



The next step: carve out the carefully designed faces. This is Dad's job and he does an amazing job. The boys watch and direct Dad in their designs.



Ky's jack-o-lantern:



and Koby's...



Proudly presenting the VanderWoude Boys and their masterpieces 2010!

soccer weekend

This weekend Koby's soccer team participated in a tournament in Traverse City. The entire team and their families spent the weekend together up north, playing soccer and spending time together during down time.

Their first opponent Saturday morning was the club PASS. Koby ended up with one goal in the game and 2 assists. The final score was Vardar 5 - Pass 0.






After lunch the boys played their second game of the day against the club SCOR. This team was very talented. Our boys came out strong, scoring the fist goal and holding them at zero the entire first half. Unfortunately, the other team came out very strong the second half and ended up scoring three. The final was Vardar 1 - SCOR 3.







Once our games on Saturday were over, we headed back to the hotel so the boys could swim and just hang out together playing their video games.





The final game was played Sunday morning in 43 degree weather and very wet fields. We played the club RUSH and knew going into the game that we had to perform very well in order to make it into the finals, where only the top 2 teams advanced. We started very strong out scoring them 5-0 in the first half. During the second half, we allowed 2 goals, scoring only one more for our team. While Koby did not get a goal, he had one beautiful assist. The final score was Vardar 6 - Rush 2.






Overall our boys tied for second place in the U9 Division of the tournament, but did not go on to the finals because we had more goals scored against us over the two days than the other team.


Ky was a real sport during the tournament, content eating snacks and cheering for his big brother's team.

score!

Yesterday was a big day for Ky. First day of 4-year old preschool and also his very first soccer practice and game. To say the kid was excited would almost be an understatement! The game consumed his every thought!



In the U5 division of AYSO, the kids play 3 vs. 3 without any goalies. Kev is coaching Ky's team this year and the team only consists of 3 kids, which means no subs. However, last night, one of the kiddos refused to play, so it was just Ky and Edward on the field and let me just say, that couldn't stop them! The final score was 10-0. Ky had 9 goals and Edward 1. At one point in the game, all the kids from both teams were bunched together trying to get the ball. Suddenly the ball popped out of the group and you hear Ky yell, "YEAH BABY!" Couldn't have said it better myself!

ky's first day

Today was Ky's first day of 4-year old Preschool. He was so excited! This is his first year at a new school, St. Paul Preschool, which is just down the road from our house. Mrs. Rop is his teacher this year and Mya's daughter, Riley, is also in class with Ky.

Last night he picked out his first day outfit. While he would have preferred to wear his soccer uniform (his first game is tonight!), he settled for something a little more up Mom's ally. He even made sure to have all his Silly Bands around his ankles!








Class is three hours long and when I picked him up I was ready for some stories. As I type (he knows I am writing about his day), he is telling me stories about what happened today with one of his new friends in the lunchroom. Unfortunately, Ky is not at school during lunch, so there goes that one! He did say that he had fun, ate a snack of orange juice, crackers and cupcake, read a book, played with toys, played with Riley and his "new" friend Brody, the one who apparently stuck out his tongue at Ky during the whole lunchroom incident, and got to pick a special book bag from the library at school to bring home.

Overall, great day for our little guy. Now his focus is on his soccer game tonight and figuring out just how many goals he is going to score.

Today is the first day of school for many kiddos. Our niece, Kali, our nephew, Taylor, and our niece, Jeongran, are high school freshman this year! While our nephew, Landyn, is starting his first day of Preschool today.

A few others have been at this school thing for a couple of weeks now. Our nephew, Riley, is a third grader this year. Raelin, our niece, continues to attend a Preschool in Arizona.

Finally, there is Ky, who starts his first day of 4-year old Preschool next Monday.

It has become a tradition in our family to bake a special brownie pencil cake to commemorate the first day of school. This year's picture is missing a few of the kiddos.....




Happy First (or 14th, or not quite yet) Day of School!

number 5

On Tuesday Koby lost his 5th tooth, second tooth in on the bottom right. A piece of corn on the cob helped loosen it when he ate dinner at his friend Michael's house Monday night and Koby worked his wiggle magic at school on Tuesday. He came home with the tooth taped to a piece of paper, very proud of his accomplishment.

Koby wrote a note to the Tooth fairy:

I wont to keep my toth and get the monay to. thank you

He claims to be starting a tooth collection. We'll see how that goes!