First Official Mini Triathalon

Here I am at the end of a 300 yard swim, 15 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run. Luke and Lis(she's off to the side and missed the picture) ran the last mile with me and the rest joined in at the very end(Liv is trailing behind) to get me over the finish line.
This is Aimee, a friend I met at the gym. She has 4 kids and is a stay at home Mom like me. We work out together and decided the tri would be a great challenge to accomplish together. It was a blast.


This is my support crew(Best supporter taking the picture...). They were yelling "Go Mom" the entire time. They piled in the car and followed me everywhere. Everyone loved them and commented what a great family I had. I agreed!

I finished 2nd in my age group and 9th female. I was happy to just get over the finish line!

Happy Birthday John and Olivia!

This is a goofy picture of Liv wearing her new sunglasses from Alyssa.

We had a big birthday party for John, Liv, and a good friend Kristin. They all share the same birthday on June 17.
Happy Birthday to you.....
Olivia and the Tobins

Schools Out..Summer time is finally here!

The girls on their last day of school
Crazy times in the pool. Fun even when your eyes are closed!
Emma loves tennis so she tried out tennis camp this week
Close up of the girls on the last day of school
The famous toothpick game...a Dirkse family favorite!

As of last Tuesday the kids have fiinshed out another year of school. YAHOO! We said goodbye to Kindergarten(forever) :( , 2nd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, and 7th grade. It went so fast and yet we are so happy to have a break. Thanks to some sweet friends sharing their condo, we took a quick trip into WI to stay for a couple of nights in celebration of a GREAT year of hard work at school. It was a blast!

I always enjoy my kids in the summer as it's my chance to sort of scoop them back into the nest and give them lots of Mom's love and instruction without the distractions the school year brings. Most mornings we study through Proverbs and talk a lot about how important our family is. It's a sweet time and I am thankful for it.

Happy Birthday Lauren!

Lauren and Lis
Lauren and Luke
Lauren and Emma
Lauren and the Goellners
Laruen and the Spielmans

Today is Lauren's 10th birthday. I can't believe that I now have three kids in the double digits. We celebrated with the usual night out at Red Robin on Monday night. We had friends from church join us for dinner.



Lauren is one of the most lovely little girls I know. Some things I love about her are the following. She LOVES people. She would have people over everyday if she could. She is also incredibly compassionate and merciful and often looks out for the one left behind. She is very generous, always the first to share any of her stuff. She got a new shirt for her birthday and offered to let Lis wear it first. Unheard of! She is a hard worker and doesn't cut corners. She gets the job done well and as soon as possible. I could go on but I won't. I love these things about her and many more. Today we are celebrating the gift of Lauren's life. We are so blessed to have her as part of our family and we are so thrilled with what God is doing in her heart! He is going to do wonderful things for His glory through her life! Happy 10th Birthday Lauren! WE LOVE YOU!

My Favorite Preacher

What my favorite preacher said on Sunday...

When our kids were little John used to put all five of them in our wheelbarrow and give them very crazy, fast, seemingly dangerous rides around the yard. For the younger three it was a bit thrill and a bit terror. They would laugh half of the time and cry the other half. Hands gripped to the sides of the wheelbarrow they wondered if Dad would ever stop and let them off. For Luke and Lis, on the other hand, this ride was the time of their life. Their screams and shrieks were those of great delight and fun. Often times they were seen with their hands up in the air or even trying to stand up and get more out of it.

After sharing this story on Sunday, John went on to describe the difference between faith and joy in the Christian walk. Faith, he said, is like getting in the wheelbarrow. Yes, we get in, we say ok to trusting God with our entire lives no matter what happens, and then we hold on for dear life, white knuckles and all. Joy on the other hand, is not only getting in the wheelbarrow and saying yes to a ride, but letting go and standing up with screams of delight along the way. Joy is loving the process of trusting God.

I can't stop thinking about wanting that kind of joy.