My Year (2010) in Status on Facebook

If you know me well it's no mystery that you know I'm an avid Facebooker. I check my Facebook daily, and even may post a status update daily. Stephen on the other hand is a Facebook stalker, he has a Facebook page (that I set up for him - hey he had lots of old friends trying to contact him via my Facebook!), but he never posts a status update, (well actually I think he did once last year on his birthday), yet he hops on it almost daily to read and see updates. So I thought for my first blog post of 2011 I'd post some of my status updates from 2010. It was fun looking back and reading all of them from last year.
Hope y'all had a wonderful New Year's celebration!
• Remembering my Tante Pop today - a year ago today she passed away peacefully at home at the age of 101.
• Vikings looking good baby! :)
• Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent. - St. John on the cross.
• Can't believe Jack didn't make it in time.
• This California coastal breeze is cold! Guess I'm officially a Texan since I'm missing my warmer humidity. LOL
• Letting my hubby take a nap on Mother's Day. :)
• It's my best friend's wedding day!
• Hup! Holland! Hup! Thinking of the Dutch today. Ate my favorite Dutch breakfast, Boterham met hagelslag!
• Heading to the French Quarter, taking the kids on the St. Charles street car and then maybe on a carriage ride.
• Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing," Mother Teresa. Trying to teach Jimmy-James, our frowny Chloe boy (those that watch 24 will understand) this one. :)
• Heading over to my Oom and Tante's new lakehouse - the kids are excited to swim! And my other Tante from Holland just gave me stroopwafels...I love her. :)
• Twas the night before school...her lunch is packed with a special card hidden inside, clothes set out, bath done, she's in bed, and camera is ready..
• Cousins get to watch Madeline cheer - Go Invaders!
• Can anyone else relate to this quote? :) "Having one child makes you a parent; having two you are a referee." David Frost
• Going to make some Egg Nog Chai, relax on my new sofa and watch some Law & Order.
• Hubby keeps putting up more and MORE lights outside the house.
• Mmmmmm our house smells like the brownies that Madeline made in her Easy Bake Oven.

2009 Year in Review

Mickie just did a blogpost with 12 photos and short blurbs of their family's 2009 year in review, so I decided to steal her idea and do it too! Boy it was difficult choosing just one photo for each month. Here's our recap...January

On the very first day of this year we experienced a solemn New Year's Day when we received news that my mom's Tante Pop had passed away peacefully at her home in Las Vegas at the age of 101... Mid January we decided to get our first family dog and adopted this adorable 7 week old Boxer/Basset Hound puppy... The month ended sadly with my Oma passing.

February

Our family flew out to California to attend my Oma's funeral. It was nice to be around family and friends... After, back in Texas we were busy house training our puppy... Some of my childhood friends happened to be in town so I was able to catch up with them.

March
We attended for the first time the Austin Zilker Kite Festival, kids loved it and the crowd loved our cute puppy... Stephen's brother Mike and my parents came out to visit, we all went to our first Rodeo here in Austin... Family from Houston came out to visit so we could celebrate my 31st birthday along with Oom Folly and Oom George's birthdays.

April
We went to our city's Easter festival and Madeline met Miss Teen Kyle... We sold James' crib and transitioned James into his new big boy bed - he did great!.. We had a blessed Easter with our friends from next door... We went to the Wiener Dog Races in Buda... Enjoyed the beautiful spring weather & dined lakeside at the Crab shack - a new favorite spot.

May
We got a new dresser to go with James' new bed... Summer heat came early so the kids started playing outside in the water, we visited new Swimming Holes in and around Austin... Madeline used some craft scissors on herself - so I had to give her a short haircut... Our Godson, Elias, had his First Holy Communion... Stephen and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary cruising in a convertible mustang and dining at the famous Alamo Drafthouse movie theater... Another childhood friend was in town... My mom came to watch her granddaughter perform in her Dance Recital.

June
Penny Lane had a hernia repair surgery for complications she had with her neuter recovery... My brother, David and his family came to visit for our cousins reunion with 2 of our cousins families from Houston and Hawaii... The reunion was jam packed with fun on the river (notice Stephen & David chillin' with no kid duty!), fun on a steam train, fun eating lots of yummy BBQ, fun swimming at a beautiful swimming hole, great memories... We started looking at homes to buy in our area.

July
Taking advantage of our free Hertz car and gas we packed up the kids and Penny and headed down to the Texas coast for Independence Day!.. Port Aransas was a beautiful beach town, we'll be going back there again... We found OUR house and started escrow!.. Let the packing begin.

August
With the help of my parents and relatives from Houston & Hawaii, who all came out to Austin - we closed on our beautiful new home and moved in!.. We got a Home Depot charge card, and our new home was dressed with new paint, ceiling fans and among other stuff... I left Stephen and the kids and flew out to CA to go wedding dress shopping with my best friend... While out in CA with Mark & Laura we threw a surprise party for Mom and Dad Spence to celebrate Mom's 60th birthday and their 40th wedding anniversary... Our baby girl, Madeline, started Kindergarten (above pictured on her first day of school in front of our new house)!

September
Still unpacking and decorating... Stephen and I took a trip out to Boston for a long weekend without the kids (thanks to my parents coming out to stay with them)... We loved exploring Boston's historical sites and catching our first game at Fenway Park... Our city had it celebration and blessing of a brand new hospital... Stephen celebrated his 32nd birthday... Madeline lost her first tooth... James turned 3!

October
Enjoying the beautiful Fall season... The kids and I took a 1 night trip out to Houston to attend Oom George & Tante Xenia's 50th wedding anniversary... I cut my hair real short... The kids and I went to the Elgin farm with our friends, the Wrights, where the kids painted pumpkins and went on a hayride (pictured above)... The kids had fun trick or treating in our new neighborhood as Snow White and a Pirate.

November
Still unpacking and decorating... We purchased our first 46" LCD HDTV... Madeline received an excellent first report card... Mom and Dad come to visit!.. Madeline & James loved having Nana & Poppi here, we went to the San Antonio Zoo, the Riverwalk and did lots of fun stuff... Stephen's brother, Mike, came to visit again while Mom & Dad were here... We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with them.

December
Stephen and Mike went to AZ for the Viking game... My mom came out for a weekend to help with an early birthday party for Madeline & her friends... I chaperoned Madeline's kindergarten class on a field trip to the state history museum and 3D IMAX theater... Our first Christmas in our new home - which was decorated with new LED lights!.. A quiet Christmas at home with a celebration dinner with wonderful friends... It was an awesome year!

Life put into perspective

Poppie Euveline Tengbergen-Bauermann

October 25, 1907 to January 1, 2009

New Year's day for our family came with sad news. Tante Pop, whom was 101 years old, passed peacefully at home yesterday morning. The news yesterday brought tears to my face and pain in my heart with the sorrow felt of knowing I wouldn't see her sweet smile and joyful eyes any longer. I do have peace inside due to my Faith in our Lord, that Tante Pop passed onto eternal life in the arms of our Lord. She was one of the most sweetest, thoughtful and generous ladies I have ever met. I have many fond memories of her. And I'm glad our children were able to meet her. The first time Madeline met her, she was under 1 and Tante was 98 - then, the oldest and youngest members of our family. Madeline saw Tante Pop again this past summer, and James was able to meet her too. I remember James just walked right into her bedroom and started tapping her arm. Tante was sleeping, but awoke with a smile and a chuckle. She said she thought an angel was tapping her in her dreams. Tante Pop will be missed by so many, because she was loved by so many.

God our Father, Your power brings us to birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your command we return to dust. Lord, those who die still live in Your presence, their lives change but do not end. I pray in hope for my family, especially Tante Pop, relatives and friends, and for all the dead known to You alone. In company with Christ, Who died and now lives, may they rejoice in Your kingdom, where all our tears are wiped away. Unite us together again in one family, to sing Your praise forever and ever. Amen.

Tante Pop turns 101!

What a celebration of life! This weekend on October 25th Tante Pop turns 101 years old, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANTE POP!!! This summer in June we were able to visit Tante Pop in Las Vegas. I loved seeing the smile on her face. When we arrived she was actually sleeping but James ran back in her room, he started gently tapping her arm...her eyes opened up and she had a big smile on her face.

It was priceless!

I found some interesting facts about the year Tante Pop was born so I thought I'd share...

The YEAR 1907

• The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!!
• The average life expectancy in the U.S. Was 47 years old.
• Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. Had a bathtub .
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more Heavily populated than California.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
• The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. Took place at HOME.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea Hadn't been invented yet.
• Two out of every 10 U.S. Adults couldn't read or write.
  
  

Las Vegas - Days 4 & 5

We just got back from Vegas, it was a lot of fun...and hot! I think it averaged about 115. But we stayed inside the casinos most of the time. We stayed at South Point, a newer hotel on Las Vegas Blvd. just south from the strip. We had a really nice room. And the hotel had a fantastic buffet, we ate breakfast there both mornings. It also had a bowling alley and a movie theater. Stephen and I saw "The Happening" last night, it was okay. We did some gambling, won some (I won $25 on roulette but lost it later)...but we ultimately lost about $100. Luckily some of the money we gambled happened to be around $40 we received from exchanging some English pounds we had found from our trip to Europe back in 99! Expensive entertainment I guess! O'well, Stephen enjoyed the free cocktails and even stayed up until 6am the first night playing at the Blackjack tables.


It was great to see my family. We ate dinner both nights with Tante Eef and Oom Sam. The first night at Planet Hollywood and the 2nd night at Silverton. Madeline really took to them and we had a lot of fun. We got to visit with Tante Pop. I still can't believe she's 100 years old!




Tante Pop happy to get a drawing Madeline made for her.


James showing Tante Pop the puppy dog.


Eating our HUGE sundae dessert at Planet Hollywood!


Swimming at our pool at the hotel, James really liked the water.


Madeline and Stephen cruising around the pool.


Boy was it hot outside, we all get pretty tan from that swim!


Tante Eef, Madeline (striking a pose) and Oom Sam at Planet Hollywood.


Madeline (striking a pose, again) and Oma at Caesar's.


James throwing pennies in the fountains at Caesar's.


The kids in front of the aquarium at the Mirage.


Eating at a really yummy Mexican restaurant at Silverton.


James goofing around in our hotel room. :-)


Saying our goodbyes to Tante Pop!

Happy 100th Birthday Tante Pop

Yesterday was my Mom's Tante's 100th birthday, yup she was born in 1907!!! Tante Pop is one of the sweetest persons I know. Growing up, they didn't live too far from us only the next neighborhood over. She would come and stay with us whenever Oom Sam and Tante Eef would go out of town. I'd love to sit with her, talk and watch TV. She would always spoil me too, giving gifts of money to go buy something fun. For the past few years now though they have been living in Las Vegas. So sadly I do not get to see her that often. The last 2 times were when she came to CA for my wedding in May 2002. And in August 2004 when we went to Las Vegas and she met Madeline.

I made her a special blanket for her birthday. It has her name, birth date, birthplace and parents names on it. As well as her late husband's name, her daughters and son in-laws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I hope she liked it. I miss her so much and wish I was able to be there to celebrate with her.