Guess Who

Guess who this is...

Klaasen!

Guess who he's waiting for...

His big sister, Maida!!!

Guess who loves this BIG boy...

His Mommy does!

So Peaceful

Sunday afternoon naps are the BEST!

Robot Number One

Maida has her first dance recital at the end of May. Last week we had recital pictures taken. It was Maida's first time wearing make up and she was SO EXCITED! She loved everything about the make up, including the smell! And I loved everything about her! I couldn't get over how beautiful she looked and took a million pictures of her. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would ever have a daughter this beautiful.... the big brown eyes, the mile long eye lashes, the natural bouncy curls, and the smooth fair skin... she's so perfectly cute as a button and I love her so much!

She loved looking in the mirror at herself as I was putting on her make up.

I felt bad for all the moms who had to sit and curl their daughters' hair with curlers or a curling iron. It was pouring down rain on the way there. Most of the other little girls' hair went flat, but Maida's just got more curly!

Posing in make up and the hair piece.

We tried on the costume quick before we went to pictures to make sure that we had all the pieces to it and that it fit alright.

Her class is doing a tap dance to the song "Robot Number One".

This is her robot pose:

Here is her number one:

All ready for pictures!

Waiting in line to get her picture taken.

I love you, beautiful Maida!

My Little Leaf Raker

It snowed before I got the yard raked this year. So, as soon as the snow melted (or at least most of it), I had to rake and bag the leaves.

Skogen had such an interest in helping me this year. I was so proud of him!

It never seems like it is as much work when I have a little helper. Not because they are a whole lot of help, but because we like to sing songs and make up games while we work, which makes the time go by quicker!

He is SUCH a big boy!

Prayer Requests

We believe in the power of prayer, so therefore we are asking you to join us in praying for these two families...

* Carissa is the 12 year old daughter of Maida's preschool teacher. She was recently diagnosed with Moyamoya and is having brain surgery today. The family is keeping everyone updated here.

* Steven and Joy, some friends of ours are nearing the end of their pregnancy with a precious baby girl who is having some complications. Please go to Steven's blog for all the details and updates.

"Never stop praying."

1 Thessalonians 5:17

SURPISE! A HOUSE!!!

You might be as surprised as he was

... to hear that we bought another house!

We close on June 1st and couldn't be happier or feel more blessed. God has smiled on us.

From the moment I expressed my feelings to Erik about not wanting to do the long-distance family thing for the next year, to the email we got from a second year medical student wondering if our house was for rent (we didn't even do any advertising, just a text message to one of his classmates!), to my mom regaining her strength quickly enough after surgery to come down house shopping with me, to empowering me with the knowledge and confidence to buy a house on my own... there is NO way any of what has happened in the last month would have ever turned out the way it did without God's presence.

After I made a [very low] offer on a really awesome, really big house, I questioned whether or not it was the right decision... Maybe we should just rent? Maybe we should invest in a smaller, less expensive house?... With doubts racing through my head, I prayed that we were making the right decision, and if we weren't making the right decision, I really had faith that God would see it that even our highest offer would not be accepted. After I got off the phone with our realtor, giving him to go-ahead with our "best and final" offer, he called the other realtor and the family called back in less than three minutes to say that they would accept our offer. WOW!

We have been blessed and I am fully confident that we are right where God has intended for us to be.

Come visit!

Brother Love

"There's no other love...

like the love for a brother.

There's no other love...

like the love from a brother."

-Astrid Alauda

8 Months Old

Dear Baby Klaasen,

You are eight months old. I can hardly believe it! At times it seems like you were just born and at other times it seems as if you've been with us forever. Just like with Maida and Skogen, I am amazed at watching you develop. You didn't roll over until you were six months old, but ever since, you have sky rocketed through the roof and you are now crawling everywhere. I can't leave you in a room and expect you to be there when I come back! You are constantly on the go. You know your way around the house pretty well, already, and can crawl between all of the bedrooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen. Luckily you haven't tried the stairs, yet, but I'm sure that will be coming.

There is nothing you love more than playing with your brother and sister. They keep you entertained all day long and I'm sure they have taught you everything you know. You love to pull yourself up to standing, and can do so on anything around! I think you like to be up on their level. Whenever I come get you from your bed, now, you are always standing up and you constantly try to stand up in the bathtub, too. You love to hum and dance to music. You say, "Mama," "Dada," and "bye-bye" and you can imitate and copy any sound you hear us making. One night I was yelling, "Erik! Erik!" for Daddy and you copied me by yelling, "Errr! Errr!" too. You are learning your signs very quickly. Right now you are working on, "all done," "milk," and "more". You also are still perfecting your wave and clapping. You know how to hold a pen or crayon to color on paper and how to hold a drum stick to drum. You know how to draw a crowd! I can't take you in public without people asking how old you are and how heavy you are. Everyone likes to touch your rolls. Most people say they have never seen such a cute baby. I don't remember Maida or Skogen getting this much attention, so it must be all the chub that people are crazy about.

Even though you love and adore Daddy more than any other person around, you are also a Momma's boy and don't let me get too far away. You eat solids at least three times a day with your brother and sister and love it when they share their food with you. You nurse every four hours during the day and sleep about seven hours at night before you want to eat and go right back to sleep again. You take at least one three to four hour nap a day and if you're really tired, you'll take a few 45 minute naps, too. You love bath time. You love your bed. You love your room and your toys. You're still a big fan of your Johnny Jumper and exersaucer. You aren't too sure about going to Bible class, though, but have been making it through without crying lately. I love how you grab your toes when I change your diaper, even in the middle of the night when you are completely asleep! You no longer take a pacifier or suck your thumb. You love to drink water from your sippy cup and snack on baby rice cakes, puffs, chunks of fruit, toast, and whatever else you can feed to yourself.

I really wish I would have been better at documenting more of the little details of your life, like I did your sister and brother, but hopefully I have just enough recorded that I'll always remember the things you do, your sweet smile, your addicting laugh, your rolls, the way you smell, and the way it feels to kiss your squishy cheeks. I love you, Klaasen Burke! You are the light of my life and I can't wait to see what you are up to in another eight months from now.

Love,

Mommy

Look at me, Mom!

Star of the Week

The week of Erik's match, Maida was the Star of the Week. She was so excited for this honor and did a great job of making a poster and picking out things to bring in the Star of the Week backpack to share with her class.

The Star of the Week backpack full of Maida's things

In the backpack she brought (I asked her to tell me what she brought and why):

- "Dolly, because my cousin, Kinley, has a matching doll and that's very special."

- "My Bible, because I am learning to have a heart like Jesus."

- "My pony. I even washed her hair yesterday!"

- "My Nemo book. Maybe my teacher will even read it to the class."

- "My shot because my Daddy is a doctor."

- "My jewelry cause it's fancy. I like to be fancy."

- "My mom's old cell phone cause it's what I use to call my pretend husband on."

Here is her poster. She wrote all the words herself and decorated it, too. It says, "All about Maida Raine Scharrer. I am three years old. My favorite animal is an elephant. Mt favorite color is pink and purple. My favorite food is Mac and Cheese. The Kid's Museum is my favorite place. When I grow up I want to be a Mommy. My favorite thing to do is hold new babies. If I had one wish, I would wish for my own zoo."

This can't be healthy!

Klaasen's left leg at 7.5 months