Welcome Tobin Pokorzynski

Say hello to the newest member of the Pokorzynski family, Tobin Pokorzynski.

He was born the afternoon (sharing his Birthday with a Proud Uncle Tom). He weighed in at 7lbs. 13oz and 21 1/2inches long. He is so adorable and healthy as can be. Both he and Rebekah are doing just great. Of course Gavin and Ella are happy "big siblings." :)

Isn't he the sweetest little guy???

Happy Birthday Tom and Dan!!

Awwwww......the twins have turned the BIG 27!!!! Yeah, I'm bitter...I'm still and always will be older than Tom. Happy birthday boys!

Happy 1st Birthday Talen!!

On Saturday we went to our friends Jeff and Tara's for their son Talen's 1st birthday. He is such a cutie and just loves Maddie. They are crush'n on each other for sure. :)

I had to post this great shot of Tara, because MADDIE took this!! :) She was on my lap and wanted to look through the camera. She looked and pushed the button. Good shot if you ask me!!

Happy 1st Birthday Talen!! We love you sweetie!

Pretty Butterflies

On Friday Tom and I took Maddie to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens to see the butterfly exibit. She LOVED it. They are truly beautiful and it's worth going for sure. Here a few pictures. :)

Soak'n Up the Rays

Madilyn and I spent the afternoon and evening with my Mom and Dad yesterday. My Mom and I took her out to play in the snow, of course she just loves it. Here's a cute shot of her soak'n up the sunshine. Thanks Mom!!! :)

Relapse

Last night Katie, Austin, Kellie and I met Claire (our cousin) to watch Relapse at Billy's in East Town. Tim Roy the lead singer is Claire's boyfriend and really part of the family. They haven't played Grand Rapids in a while, keeping busy touring the Mid West. They were AMAZING! Really awesome and Tim rocked out. :) I stole the picture of Katie, Clarie and I from Katie (thanks Kate). ;) I also added Relapse's My Space page to our link list, so go and check out their sound. :)

Future Olympians

On Friday a group of us Moms took our kiddos to a gymnastics gym to get some of this pent up energy OUT. :) The kids had a blast and we as Mom's got a little work out. Maddie has no fear, so she was all about the big kids areas. She walked on her first balance beam and actually did it without me. It's about 2 inches off the ground...no worries. :) I was impressed I will say that. I can't walk a straight line to save my life! :)

Here are a couple of shots from the day. The little sweetie is Ruby B and the crazy lady with TWO kids (Ryar and Nolan) on a running trampoline is Kristen. She of course is motion so that's why she's in a blur. So much fun!! We will do it again for sure.

Sleep Well Grandpa

The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind for the Hosford/Snellink family. Grandpa Snellink (Gloria's Father), went into the hospital yesterday morning for his weekly radiation treatment for the cancer he was battling again and was admitted with sever phenomena in both lungs. He had been very week the past few days, and was so exhausted. We later found out that he had a laceration or whole in the bowel area that was making his body toxic. He got very ill, very fast and passed away late last night with family at his side.

We were very blessed to spend a great deal of time with Grandpa on Sunday and he was oddly reminiscent. He spoke of playing cards and camping with the kids and the many wonderful times he has had with Grandma. He was so positive and there was almost a calm about him. The Lord had his hands in this for certain and that was so important yesterday when we were faced with all of this very fast. Please keep Grandma Snellink in your prayers as this will be a hard adjustment after almost 60 years of a wonderful life together.

We will miss Grandpa ( or G-Pa) very much but know that he is with his Lord right now and free from pain. We love you Grandpa.

This is a picture of Maddie when she a newborn with her G-Pa.

Happy 22nd Birthday Kellie!!

Tom's "baby" sister Kellie turned 22 on Friday....good Lord I'm getting old. :) I was at her 10th, with a Winnie the Poo on her cake! :)

We had a family dinner on Sunday to celebrate and we did a little sledding in the front yard. Here are Aunt Kel Kel, Aunt K.K. and Uncle Austin (which Maddie says now!!) taking Maddie for her rides. :) And yes...that is Austin in shorts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLIE!!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Chicago or Bust

We spent this past weekend with our dear friends Jason and Johanna in the windy city.Maddie spent the weekend with my parents and had a blast. :)

We left on Friday and went straight to Sheds Aquarium, which was amazing. They had everything from small "Nemo's and Dori's" to huge sea turtles, beluga whales, sting rays and so much more. I wish more of my pictures would have turned out, but there was no flash allowed of course and it was quite dark.

From there we checked in to our hotel and then we headed to ESPN Zone or dinner and games. What a cool place that was! Great food and of course great beer. Later that night we had drinks at the Martini bar in our hotel...lets just say $13.00 martinis...good times. :)

On Saturday we indulged in more food at the Cheese Cake Factory, which was out of this world. Totally recommend it if you haven't had the chance to eat there. We stuffed ourselves silly, but had to get cheese cake, which was to die for. It's located in the bottom of the John Hancock building, so we went to the top after lunch. After that we need to work off some calories so we shopped Michigan Ave.

Later that evening we had reservations at Stetson's, an amazing steak house in our hotel. It was just fabulous. The only thing we can complain about there was the fact that apparently in Chicago it's a HUGE deal to split tabs. We asked to have it split per couple and our sever came back with it in half. Like right down the middle. :) It worked out ok...:)

The other little rough part about our weekend was the the fact that our hotel room's air conditioner didn't work. It was up near 75 most of the time and set at 40. It was a tad bit "balmy" lets just say that. ;)

We had a wonderful time and ate like fools. Here are a few pictures.

Fun with the Wilsons

On Saturday we spent the evening with Jeff, Tara and Talen Wilson. Jeff and Tara just built a beautiful home and welcomed us for dinner and a playdate for the kids. Maddie and Talen had a BLAST together. Talen is almost a year and has 6lbs on Maddie, so he's quite the little hunk. :) Thanks Wilson's for having us!! :)

Jackson's 2 Years Old!!

Happy Birthday 2nd Jackson!! Thanks for inviting us to Chucky Cheese. We had SOOOO much fun. :)

Sleepy Head

Here is little Gracie sleeping the day away. She is such a little love and we are very proud to be her Aunt and Uncle. Six weeks old already!! Time goes so fast.

We love you Gracie!!!

Congratulations Dave and Stephanie!

This past Saturday we went to a good friends wedding, despite the blizzard warning. A good thing too, it was a blast and always wonderful to see two people unite. We wish Dave and Stephanie the very best. Here are a few shots from the reception.

Look at all those pregos!!! From left to right Megan, Rebekah, Katie, Amanda, and Jodi.

In a galxey far far away...

Thanks to Papa Hosford, Maddie has a new favorite Movie. Actually, the ONLY movie she will watch. Star Wars!!! You're probably thinking that she just watches it, oh no....after a couple of times seeing bits and pieces, she was asking for "Chewie" and "Yoda." Not kidding. Not only this, but she now sings "dun dun dun...." the Imperial March theme, which comes on when Darth Vader is in a scene, swaying side to side or clapping. But best of all, she does the Darth Vader breathing sound when he comes on the T.V. Seriously... this is one of the funniest things she has done to date. I SOOOO wish I could get a video file on here so you could all see this. I have seen more clips of Star Wars in the past week then I have in my entire life.

Take a close look at who is on the screen of the T.V. in this picture. As I am loading this, she is sitting next to me making his famous sound. HA! This is a hoot.

Big Girl

Maddie is just getting so big. Everyday I look at her and want to freeze the moment. Her vocabulary is growing everyday. Today she likes the word "apple." :) She is such a blessing.

Madilyn's Blood/Health Update

Well, it's been 19 months since our scare with Madilyn's health. That was absolutely the most frightening time in our lives. Our little trooper went through so much with blood draws every other day, blood transfusions and just DRAMA. We are so glad that she won't remember any of it.

On Tuesday, Maddie had an appointment with her pediatric hematologist and got a clean bill of health!! :) We are so thrilled!! She was finally diagnosed with an incompatibility with my blood. The issue is actually with Tom's blood and my blood, and she being half Tom and half me, and our blood mixing was the issue. In reality, it's Tom and I that aren't "compatible", go figure!! :) So there is a chance with any other children we have to have similar issues, but we know ahead of time now. It won't be so life threatening as it was with Madilyn. Thank God. Anyway, we are just so happy to have this news that I wanted to share. I didn't take pictures or anything, but thought this was a cute one of her at bath time. :)

Little Sweeties

So I stole this picture from Tracy and Dan's blog because I don't have one of myself and these two little sweeties. :) Thanks Tracy! Aren't they cute???

When I Grow Up

Tom and I of course are already telling Maddie she can be whatever she wants to be when she grows up. Yesterday, she wanted to be a Doctor. :) Well......OK, we GUESS that's alright.

She was all about listening to he Daddy's heart and even gave him a shot. Tom was such a trooper, as we all know he HATES shots. :P

Thank you

Tom and I just want to send a thank you to all of our family and friends who have been so wonderful through out this tough time. We can't tell you what you kind words and prayers have meant to us. I haven't been good about posting recent pictures, but I promise to get on top of my game soon. Much love to you all.