Memories and Thoughts about Grandma Koning

My Grandma Koning passed away on Monday, May 14.  One day shy of her 89th birthday.  What a great birthday gift for her though, she got to meet Jesus face to face and celebrate her birthday with  Him.

My Grandma is and always will be loved by all five of her children, their spouses, her 19 grandchildren and their spouses, and her 29 great-grand children.  I have a lot of my cousins as friends on Facebook and it has been neat to see the pictures and words that they have posted about her in the last few days.  We are sad that we don't get to be in her presence anymore but at the same time I am incredibly happy and comforted that she is praising God in heaven and that we will see her again.  I have a peace that passes all understanding about her death.  Thank God!

I wanted to post some of my memories of her here on the blog.

My grandparents lived very close to our elementary and middle school as well as to our church. (Their house is right in the middle).  I am sure I share this memory with many of my cousins, because all of us went to the same school and the majority of us grew up going to the same church.  Our church had a junior choir and practice was on Wednesdays after school.  We would walk from school to church, but we had a little time in between, so we would stop at Grandpa and Grandma's house and Grandma always had special treats for us.  We often took our friends there too on those days and she treated them just like her grandchildren.

I remember hanging out at with my Grandma and her making up her own songs.

One of my greatest memories, is going strawberry picking with her and my dad.  My mom was sick, so she didn't go.  We hit the jackpot and picked so many strawberries, we filled a car trunk basically.  My mom wasn't too happy that we had gotten so many, it meant a lot of cleaning, but this strawberry lover was in heaven. :)  We gave many away to other people.

When it was either my dad's or my mom's birthday week, we would get to have Sunday dinner at my grandparents.  Grandma would always make strawberry jello for me; she knew it was my favorite.

On one hand she knew strawberry jello was my favorite, but she always seemed to forgot I was allergic to nuts.  Almost every cookie she made had nuts and she always offered the red cookie tin to me on Sundays at church coffee.  I almost always had to decline due to the nuts.

I remember playing hours of Rumikub with her as well as helping her with her puzzles.





Unfortunately, we couldn't find a ton of pictures, but I do have two that will hold a special place in my heart.  One of her, me and Kyper as a newborn and one that was just taken a few short weeks ago with Anja as a newborn.  I am so glad she got to hold my two children and that they could experience her love.

Grandma holding Kyper

Grandma holding Anja

I hope and pray that I can live a life like my Grandma Koning.  She has taught me so much about being a wife, mother and grandmother.  I thank God for blessing me with her for a grandma.

Please remember my family, especially my grandpa as we grieve for my Grandma and celebrate her life.

Love you Grandma!  I am thrilled you are with Jesus but will miss your presence on earth.

Anja's Baptism

 Anja was baptized on May 13--Mother's day.  What a great day!  We had family come out for the service.  Both sets of parents and my two brothers and their families were able to make it.

Pastor Dan baptizing Anja

Our friends Josh and Angie had their daughter baptized too

Kyper showing his sister some brotherly love

Our family of four

We had a photo shoot at home with Grandpa Rog

A Clean Mess

We were eating dinner on Monday night.  Kyper decided he was done and we excused him from the table to go wash his hands.  He was taking a rather long time.  We had started potty training that day as well, so Joel decided to check if everything was okay or to see if he had an accident.   Joel happened upon a very clean mess.

The soap dispenser we had in the bathroom had gotten jammed and the pump hardly worked.  So, yesterday I just unscrewed the pump part and just poured a little soap out each time I used it.  Joel and I never really screwed it back on, so this clean mess was not just Kyper's doing. We keep the soap in his reach so he can do wash by himself.  We had quite a bit of soap left in this dispenser, so when he washed his hands he got quite a bit of soap and bubbles. He had a great time playing in the bathroom that night.  And all we could do was laugh.  Fortunately, it was an easy clean up job.

Our Own Plot of Earth

This spring, Kyper and I wanted to start a garden for the summer.  We decided it would be good to make raised gardens as our lawn has a history of grubs.  So, Kyper and I went to the lumber yard in our pick-up--oh wait, I mean our mini-van (it felt like a pick-up since it can haul.  I can fit 12 ft boards in it with only 8in hanging over the bumper. I've never been so impressed with a mini-van).  We got 2x6 pretreated boards and 2x4's for the studs.

When we got home, I got out my power saw (which honestly has not gotten as much use as I would like), and we cut the wood to size.  Kyper got to help me screw the frames together after I pre-drilled all the holes.  The frames came together quite nicely to make two 2x4 ft beds that are 1 ft deep (stacking the 2x6's on top of each other).

 

Putting the frames together

 

2 weeks ago, we added landscape fabric to the bottom, to contain the dirt and keep out weeds/grubs.  We added 12 cubic feet of soil to the beds.  Now I can proudly say I am a landowner...I own 16 sq feet of dirt.  Unfortunately, it is on top of the the lot I am renting.

Then we waited for the weather to warm up.

 

I had started seeds growing in pots in early March.  The plants were growing well in Anja's room, as she has a lot of morning sun come in.  But, then nesting kicked in, and my plants got kicked out.  They were relegated to the basement, so we could get the room ready for Anja.  Too bad for the plants, all but the pepper plants died, and they were stunted.  So, most of the garden was bought at Meijers as seedlings. 

On Saturday, Kyper and I planted the garden.  First we planted 4 tomato plants (one cherry tomato), the basil, and the cayenne pepper plant we bought from meijers.  As I proceeded to transplant my tiny bell pepper plants I had grown from seed, Kyper decided to plant the entire seed packet of cucumbers in 1 corner (marked off by bamboo in the picture).  We'll see how well those grow!  I was not sure if I was going to plant the cucumber in the beds or in its own pot as it has a propensity to grow wildly.  I guess Ky made the decision for me!  Also in the box, we have plenty of beans planted.  I wanted to plant some maize since it was Cinco de Mayo, but had not yet prepared that ground along the garage--so that happened on Tuesday.  I will have 1 row of corn, which I am growing kinda as an experiment; I'll let you know how that turns out too.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the event.

Preparing the soil

Kyper likes his basil

Planting beans

More beans

Its all planted!

Tomato plants

Basil and peppers, the bottom corner is filled with cucumber seeds

Well, now we wait....I will keep you posted.

Impromptu Trip

Meeting great-grandma VanFarowe

Cousin Syd with cousin Amelia, Cousin Peyton with Anja (4 of the 6 granddaughters on the Koning side)

Great Grandma Koning and Anja

Kyper learned how to ride his bike--same bike Joel rode when he was little.

Anja in the lilacs

Our first family of four photo

G-G-ma and Anja (Joel's grandma Phillips)

Anja in the blanket Great-grandma Rosema made.  This blanket was made for Joel's mom to use, but she didn't have any girls.  So, 30 plus years later Anja gets to use it. :)

G-G-ma, Kyper, Joel, Anja and Grandpa Rog--4 generations of Phillips

 The above pictures are from our impromptu visit to Holland.  Anja got to meet all her great-grandparents and many of her aunts, uncles and cousins.  She just needs to meet her Uncle JP and Aunt Katie and cousin James who live in Virginia.  She also needs to meet her cousin Mariah--who was busy with school and work while we were in Holland--Mariah hopes to come out to visit us for a few days sometime this summer and we hope to get out to Holland for her graduation and/or open house.

Our Latest Adventure

When Kyper was 7 days old, the three of us moved from Des Moines, IA to Detroit, MI.  It was quite an adventure, one I was happy not to repeat with little Anja.  I was so excited to take a baby home to a house we have lived in for almost a year and not one I hadn't seen at all.  Well, I guess Anja needed to go on an adventure with us as well.

We came home from the hospital on Monday night.  Wednesday morning, I went downstairs to get something from our pantry.  We have a rug at the bottom of the stairs and when I put my foot on the rug, I discovered that 90% of the basement was wet.  It hadn't rained at all, so the water came from our drain.  Along with the water came food remains and an awful stench.  Oh, joy! 

Fortunately, we do not own the house, so we called our landlord, Matt, right away and he made work of getting Mr. Rooter over to our house.  We along with Matt hoped that all the drain needed was to be snaked.  Matt said they had to have the drain snaked once a year due to the age of the pipes and the fact that we have a huge tree in the backyard.  Mr. Rooter came that afternoon and left about a half hour later after he told us and Matt that he had to come back on Thursday with a jackhammer.  Again, oh joy!

So, they came back on Thursday morning.  Kyper was at daycare and Anja was fast asleep.  They jack-hammered for 10 minutes and then told Joel and Matt that this was a much bigger job than they originally had thought.  They had found mud/clay in the pipe. They had to jackhammer the entire length of the basement and replace the pipe.  However, they didn't want to do it with little kids in the house.  (If it were just Joel and I we probably could have stayed, but due to kids we had to be out o the house when they were doing the work.)  We also were not able to use the kitchen plumbing or washer and dryer during this time.  Fortunately, the pipe was not connected to our septic tank, but smelly rotting food also smells a bit like poo.  This was going to be a 2 day job.  Matt offered to pay for a hotel for us, but we decided instead to go to Holland and visit family who hadn't met Anja.  So, we have gone to Holland and back before Anja was even a week old!  What an adventure.

So, we left the house in a rush. We couldn't do our dishes or the laundry.  Joel had done a lot of cleaning of the basement on Wednesday night.  The water didn't ruin anything because we have learned from friends' experiences to put anything valuable in plastic tubs or off the ground in any basement--no matter if there is a history of flooding or not.  We did however have some sheets and rugs on the floor that did need to be washed.  That unfortunately, we can't do until at least tomorrow night.  We need to make sure the cement is dry before moving the washer and dryer back in place.

Joel's mom is coming on Tuesday for a few days...needless to say we have a list of things she can help us with.  Mainly cleaning and organizing the house after this lovely adventure. :)  Don't worry I am sure she will also get lots of cuddle time with both Kyper and Anja!   Actually, I hope to go to the village with her on Wednesday, so she can experience riding the train and carousel with Kyperman.

Here are some pictures of our basement:

Sibling Gifts

Kyper is totally smitten with baby Anja.  He loves to give her kisses and hugs.  He also loves to hold her.  We tried our best to prepare him for her arrival, but I know his world has been rocked.  So far, it seems like he is adjusting to it very well.  Yesterday, he came up to Anja while I was holding her and told her "I love you baby sister."  It made my heart smile when I heard that.  I hope and pray he always feels that way.  One thing we did to help him prepare a little is to take him shopping for a baby gift before her arrival.  He got to pick out a gift for the baby and then we told him he could take it to the hospital when the time came.  He picked out a really cute stuffed lion.

We also decided that since the baby would be taking a lot of mommy's time and she would be getting gifts from other people, she should probably get a gift for her big brother.  I thought about something that Kyper would love and that might be something he could do by himself.   Well, we had a playdate awhile back with a friend and they had a marble run toy from Discovery Toys.  It was a huge hit!  So, that is what we decided to get Kyper from the baby.  He absolutely loves it.  He needs some help to set up different tracks, but once that is done, he plays for a long time with it and does not need our help. This is very nice especially while I am nursing Anja.