8 days left.....

For my 30th birthday, Bryan, Abby, and Jessica planned a "30 days of blessing" count down to my birthday on June 2nd. Each day, a friend or family member plans to do something thoughtful for me as the blessing of that day. For example, yesterday my dad took me out to lunch and then sent me shopping for the afternoon while he watched Elise. Today, my coworker, Rachel, planned an ice cream sundae bar for all my surgery coworkers at the hospital. Salsa, flowers, a cinco de mayo party, gift cards, a step ladder, wine, Q'doba, books, lawn mowing, planted herbs, sangria, pj's, homemade meals, babysitting..... It goes on and on and on. Amazing, right? Needless to say, the last 22 days have been so fun. And I still have 8 days left!

At first, when Abby, Jessica, and Bryan told me about this surprise, I was skeptical that they could even find 30 people willing to do it. I actually asked Bryan if my friends were each taking 3 or 4 days. :) To my delight, it turns out that I do have 30 people who like me enough to participate.

After 22 days, blessed is exactly what I feel. Overwhelmingly blessed. It's not so much about the awesome gifts and thoughtful acts as much as a great joy in the wonderful people God has placed in my life. Somehow, even confident, social me doubts that anybody really likes me. We all have that, at one time or another, right? Well, going into my 30th year, I am blessed beyond measure with lots and lots of good friends and family that bless me way beyond what I deserve. And in that light, 30 doesn't sound so bad.

It Wouldn't be May with out a Tulip Time Post

Tulip Time 2010 is over, and it was a great week. I love all the time downtown, dancing in my rock star alumni group, the junk food, the pretty costumes, and all the Bush family traditions. I know that it makes me a tick dorky, but Tulip Time could very easily be my most favorite time of the year. Here are the highlights:

Fun at the Park

After a long lazy Sunday, we needed to get out of the house. So, Bryan and I decided to take Elise to Huizenga park here in Zeeland. If you've never been to Huizenga park, you need to check it out! There's not only the biggest wooden play structure I've ever seen, but a big pond with ducks and bridges.

I brought along some moldy hamburger buns, which I always seem to have in my house, to feed to the ducks. Only when we got to the park, there were no ducks. While we pondered where they might have gone, along came the answer. Two HUGE swans had landed in Huizenga pond. Apparently, ducks and swans do not care to swim together, and I'm assuming that the size of swans easily won them their spot on the water.

We got to feed one of the swans for a long time. The bird had no fear and nearly walked right up onto the grass to get to the bread. Elise thought it was pretty cool, and her shouting "Bird!" didn't seem to bother our new friend at all.

We had such a nice night, and it would have been perfect if it had ended there. But, with a toddler, we all know things never go so smoothly as all that. In the end, Elise ran into the water and lost her balance, plunging right into the murky water of the Huizenga pond. Mommy was the hero and ran in to get her, soaking her shoes and pant legs in the process. (Aren't daddies the ones that are supposed to rescue??) So, we headed home for tubbies and dinner, and hope nobody gets a weird rash from the brief dip in the water.

more like a little girl....

I think that I woke up the other day and Elise was a little girl. It feels like it just happened over night! Not only does she look more like a little girl than a baby, she does little girl things. She swings on the big kid swing, chooses her own snacks, kisses us (and anybody else who happens to be around) good-night, asks to go outside to play, feeds her doll, Marylin Cecilia, and learns a new word almost every day.

Here are a few pictures of the last couple days.

Looking very grown up, don't you think?

Marylin likes to eat everything that Elise likes :)

Elise loves the big kid swing

Her shirt says "everyone loves a dutchgirl"