34 weeks

My friends put on a baby shower for me this past Tuesday. As you can see from above, we played some fun games. One game was to guess which kind of candy bar was in the diaper. They looked pretty disgusting all smashed in a diaper and looked even more funny to watch everyone smell them. I got some wonderful gifts and now I am in the process of washing baby clothes, blankets, and bedding and getting things organized in the babies' room. As you can also see from above, my stomach continues to enlarge. I had a doctor appointment yesterday and all is well. My doctor did a quick check and she laughed and said I am not even dilated to 1cm. I guess they're going to stay in there for awhile. She set me up for an induction date of Dec. 28th at 7am, if I do not go before then. I am feeling pretty good. My back gets sore quicker and sometimes it is hard to find a comfortable position to sit. I am still putting in 24 hours at work doing paperwork and other things on my unit. We'll just continue to take it week by week. We plan to get a Christmas tree today. It is pretty cold out, so I might stay in the car while Tim gets it (I haven't told him that yet).

Thanksgiving at the Hotel "Stuive"

Hotel "Stuive"

Grandpa Van Dyke with Andrew

Lori trying to keep warm against Beth!

Mom and Dad at the wedding

Here are the sisters boiling the beans!

The most current "Family" picture

The Van Dyke Girls minus Marilyn and Beth Ann


Well Thanksgiving was in Michigan this year and turned out to be a great time with family. We started the day at church with Tim's mom's side. We had the traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings. Around 7pm, my parents and grandparents rolled in from Minnesota. We again had another Thanksgiving meal. Tim's parents also joined us. My parents and many of my aunts and uncles drove up for the wedding of my cousin Richie. My aunts and uncles rolled in on Friday and we all went out to eat that night. Everyone stayed at our house. We had air mattresses everywhere and it was quite fun to hear the next morning on who snored or talked in their sleep. My aunt Iris was was making all the food and asked my mom and sisters to boil 70lbs of green beans on Saturday morning. We were a little worried on how well they would stay until we would actually eat them at 6pm, but they ended up tasting great! The wedding went good and it was so nice to catch up with family. Needless to say, I did not do a lot of dancing at the wedding! Tim and I did slow dance, but I had to stand sideways! I think I got as many looks at my swelling belly as the bride did in her wedding gown. The crew all left on Sunday morning. Although it was a short stay, I am so glad everyone came up, especially my parents. They were pretty surprised at my belly size and commented how it made everything more real. It is so exciting to think they will be back up here in December when the babies arrive. I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving and are enjoying the upcoming Christmas season!