IT'S A GIRL!

Good morning;
We have another new granddaughter! Adam & Lindy had Isabella Joy at 9:30 last night. She weighed 7#12 oz. and is 20 1/2 inches long. Everything went wonderful (as told from Adam to Doug); I might get a little different version when we go to visit (just kidding). Lindy says that she has the TerBeek nose and Adams chin. I'll take a picture this afternoon to verify. They're at Zeeland Hospital.

Jessica Joy Polavin got engaged on Christmas day to Gilbert Garcia, they plan on having the wedding in Sept. 2008 when Gil is finished with school. Lots of fun new things happening here in the Polavin family. Yeah!!!
here is our wonderful new little darling, that came into our lives on

December 26th at 9:25 a.m. and weighed 8lbs and was born to

Ben and Robin Polavin

Hello Family

Hello everyone!! Well greeting from Norfolk, Va.
Well I have been informed by my mother that everone has been interested in how I was doing and would like an update. So here it goes. I am currently in the security division onboard the Harry S. Truman and I actually like it better than I do my normal division. In my normal division I carry boxes do a lot of paperwork. The hours aren't too bad for security. I usually work 12-13 hours a day. Long days but I am on a 5 and 2 sechedule. So one week I work 5 days and then next week I work 2. We recently got done with our sea trials and I loved it. We ended up going about 150-200 miles out to sea going around in some circles and then coming back a couple of days later.
Well in the future of my boat/ship we will be out to sea getting qualified in everything to become a battle ready ship for the majority of 2007. I am looking foward to that very much. Not being gone for so long but being able to travel to places like Africa, Brazil, Italy and many others (hopefully).
I am coming home on leave from the 30th through the 7th. Honestly it will be a big relief to be home and see family again. There is nothing like your loving support and encouragement.
That is all for now if anyone has any questions feel free to email me at scottld@truman.navy.mil , keep in mind there are some questions that I may not be able to answer ie. when we are going out to sea again. I love you all and can't wait to be home to see you all again.
Levi

Fearfully and wonderfully made

How amazing is that experince, I know so many of you have had this experience, what a miracle. We had Avary Ann on Dec 26th by C-section, she was 8 lbs on the money, she was 20.5 inches long. She is beautiful, beyond words. Our precious baby girl, we already love her so much.

~Feliz Navidad~

This is Paula and Tashina saying Merry Christmas from Honduras...we celebrated a little early (we all know Paula is SO impatient ;)) no, but really...we have plans to spend Christmas Eve and Day with Tashina's pastor's family...and Paula got Tash a sweet red purse to use for Christmas anyway :). Here are a few pictures of a "Honduran Christmas" for you! We love you all and miss you so much! Be blessed this Christmas with whomever you are spending the day with! Mom and Dad...we'll call, and we love you! Here are some pics of us sharing our Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

Tash and Paula

Just saying hello and Merry Christmas

Dear family,

Merry Christmas from California. I've been here for 7 months, and I've seen a lot, learned a lot, grown a lot--guess that's life. I have vacation for 11 days, and I was going to go to Colorado to ski and be with my friends and people I consider family in that region, but circumstances are such with my current job that I felt it better to stay in the area and look for my next opportunity. I gave my company an opportunity to keep me, but they could not offer a raise without having to offer raises across the board, which would be healthy for the organization--turn over is 100% every year. So, I let them know I would stay with them until they could find a replacement. They have found her and as of the turn of the year she will be coming in to work with me for a few weeks. This is a good move for all involved. I am not afraid, but excited. Many things can transition in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to something new, better pay, and the opportunity to perhaps learn something new.

California, as I look back on 2006, has been good for me in many ways. I've been in MI, CO, and CA this year. This is the longest I've been in one area for almost three years now. I'm very, very happy to stabilize. I feel my heart constrict, expand, weep and settle--shaking off old things to come into something richer, the hues of these colors are not as vibrant as the primary colors of the adventures of the past three years, but they are deep and good and fulfilling.

I have loved someone deeply and lost him, and that has taken a toll on my heart. But he was wise in his decision to move forward, given our differences in perspective. Roree is an exceptional person. I am more...for having known him. I have found a good church and a good Bible study. I am slowly making friends that will mean something to me for a lifetime, not just acquaintences that are here today and gone tomorrow. I love San Diego for the most part. There are some people and some places in this metropolitian area that are so cold and heartless, and I found myself floundering in the culture. But then the Lord kindly directed me to some different areas of the city, different pockets of culture, families and churches and organizations that care. It blessed me and encouraged my heart. I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be, but finding my way in this city is and has been tough. There are a lot of transient folks that come in and out, and when you live that way...as I have for a long while...it creates this cultivated detachement that makes people cold sometimes, unable to be transparent and open and invest in others. I've had to really step back from myself a few times and ask Christ to keep my heart soft.

I find that's where I am these days...hopeful, prayerful, watchful--that my heart would stay open, soft and feminine. Pray for me in the next few weeks please, as I would truly, truly appreciate a gentle shift into something better vocationally. I need the Lord's guidence and ability to open doors for me. I would really like to be married as well, so if you would pray for me this year to meet a good man, a godly man, an attractive man who finds me beautiful and I find him the same in return, a man who loves me and loves this deep heart I've been given... I would really appreciate the combined efforts of my people. I know you pray. I'd like to have children. I'd like to grow old with someone. I'd like to have a home. I'd like to have something normal and good even if it is hard. I pray for something ordinary and magical. God can do that.

I love all of you. I know I don't post things often, but that doesn't mean I don't think of all of you. I do, and I'm grateful to be from such a great family. If any of the cousin's reading this have a myspace account visit me, join my friends list: www.myspace.com/js7887.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Jenny

My First Go At This New Technology

Hello all,
This is Lindy TerBeek speaking, and forgive me if this does not go so well for me, it is my first time ever "blogging " before. I never quite understood what it all meant but I seem to be getting the hang of it. It was fun logging on and hearing from everyone and seeing pictures from those of you in other places. It gives me a warm fuzzy to hear whats going on in other peoples lives.(sigh,smile)
So I just wanted to update you all a little on the life of Adam and myself. If you haven't heard, which I am sure most of you have, in September we sold our little house in Wyoming (with much relief) and picked up and moved out to the beloved country back to our roots. (AHHHHH) fresh country air (cow manure and corn) I love it. I had to laugh because not long after we moved to the country Adam called me at work one night and said he had all the windows open in the house for "fresh air"...the farm down the street was spreading manure in the fields across the street. I know what your thinking, that is not fresh...well, coming from car exhaust fumes and city smells it is actually quite refreshing. We moved to a house on one acre our in Beaverdam, which for those of you that are not familiar with the area it is located directly between Hudsonville and Zeeland just off Chicago drive a little jaunt. Beaverdam consists of a fire barn, a church a somewhat well known ice cream parlor.
We are loving it there, us and our adopted "wild cat" we seem to have inherited from the former owners. I say "wild" because the people we purchased the house from said they weren't taking it with them because it was "wild" well, if you call wild laying in the middle of our living room floor the day we moved in because it walked in the open door and made itself at home and the fact that the thing is rubbing so hard on your legs the minute you step out the front door, then yes, perhaps it is wild. She's a good mouser though, so I have given her the name "DeCon".
On other fronts most of you probably know that I am very much with child right now. My official due date is Dec. 30, however, becacause of some insurance issues with my job if I do not have this baby by Dec.28 I am going to be induced before the year is out. I am hoping to go naturally so if I could ask fr all you prayer warriors to go into action and pray I go naturally before that, that would be greatly appreciated. I had a wonderful pregnancy, after a long and rocky start trying to get there, but alas we did get pregnant and after the few months (women are right, you do forget the horrible parts) of all day long nausea and vomiting..I can't complain, I have felt great! We don't know what we are having as the little tyke is quite a modest sort and would not uncross their legs for our ultrasound so we are up for a surprise! We will let you all know whats up asap.
Adam is doing great. Being a wonderful husband and trying to help out as much as his busy schedule allows. He is so excited to be a daddy although, for some reason the baby likes to kick him very hard everytime he trys to rub my belly. I think this kid is going to be very active like his/her daddy. I tell adam sometimes I envision the baby in there riding the placenta and using the umbilical cord as a lasso like its bull riding, because thats how wild it gets sometimes.
Well, I suppose I better run...I hope this finds you all well. Have a very blessed Christmas, thanks for listen'in.
Lindy

HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY

JASON SHRONTZ!!!

You'll laugh your guts out!

Hey you guys!

You gotta see this... http://xmas.daileyads.com/

It is so funny! (click on the link or copy and paste it into your browser/address line) :) That was for grampa and grandma and all you OLD people out there....especially Gramps though because...we all know he's a big faker! :)

Love to all. O.G.I.G.
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

Jenny

thankful

Last week an officer was shot and killed here in Colorado Springs. He worked for the city and so it wasn't directly with the guys I work with, however it did affect me. This officer was an DUI officer so when a traffic cop pulls over someone who is drunk they specifically dispatch a DUI cop out to the scene. In this specific circumstance Ken Jordan got to the scene and approached the car. I will not put in the details here. The other two officers that were on the scene shot and did not kill the suspect, however Ken Jordan died that night. Prior to this year the Colorado Springs Police Department has not had an officer die in 20 years, but we lost two guys this year.

So I got the privledge of riding in a 200 car processional on the day of the funeral service for Ken Jordan. What an amazing experience to see everyone who serves in our line of duty all come out to support this tragic event. On the way there we rode on the highway which was completely shut down so all you could see were lights on top of cars from as far as you could see in front and behind you. At the service it was amazing to see over 900 people there supporting our city and Ken Jordan and his family. At the service one of our guys came in playing the bagpipes and sending chills up and down my body. At the end of the service the military presented Ken Jordan's mother with the flag, and there is something about that moment that just gripped my heart. Sitting there watching her as she held the flag so cloesly to her chest, wishing more than anything that what she could be holding was her son. It brought tears and grief to my soul.

On the way back in the processional it was amazing. This time the highway was once again shut down, however this time each side was lined with thousands of people. Everyone from little kids waving at us, mothers crying, and retired veterans saluting us. People holding signs thanking us for our service and all the dedication we have to serve our communities day in and day out, making the a safer place to be. It brought so many emotions to my heart and spirit as we traveled among the on lookers who were just watching.

I thought to myself this is why I do what I do. This is the reason that I go out to crime scenes and serve people who are at their worst and just listen and support them. This is why I do things that I sometimes do not want to do, because God has called me to serve, love, and protect those who need help. It made me proud to be an American. It made me proud to see our community members coming out and supporting the service men and women who sacrifice their lives everyday and maybe say goodbye to husbands, wives and children and those they love every morning.

Now I do not know how to feel about the war, but today I want you to say a prayer for all those soldiers who are over seas and away from families this Christmas and over the holidays. I know that even I get lonely being on the other side of the country from my family and all those I love; and I can't imagine having to be over seas away from children and family and in their circumstances. So take a break from whatever you are doing and say a prayer for them. They sacrifice everything that we may have a safe place to come home to at night.

All this to say, today I am thankful for my freedom, my family, my car, a warm house to sleep in, all those who love me and my life. I am thankful.

Katie

Thanks to Representative VanderVeen

Dear Barbara Grace,
I wanted to post an official thank-you for your years of faithful service to God, our country, State and our family. Thank-you for giving your whole heart and soul for these past years. We appreciate the sacrifice you made on our behalf. You have served nobley and we wish to honor you for your service. You will not be forgotton. We look forward to the transition that will be occuring soon for you. You are a mighty woman of God. I am proud to call you my sister and friend. I admire and love you deeply. Donna

The world we live in

Hey Folks,
I know that we all live in this world and we have a heritage of love and joy and Christ in our lives and in this family. In my job and in all of yours as well I am sure that you witness on a daily basis the Sin that runs wild in our world. As we speak here and share I believe that we are speaking of the kingdom coming, as in heaven here on earth. What I am speaking of is we as disciples of Christ know that our future is sound, and the blessing that is, yet I love that fact that we remember that our passion is to bring pieces of God's kingdom here to earth. Grandpa you asked me to share what Summit meant to me, I have struggled with that question, I don't know why, maybe it is because I was more interested in the mountains, caves and cliffs around than I was in the classroom and lectures. But I think that I just realized recently that growing up I knew that Jesus was in my heart, as in the emotions I felt I conected to him, but there was a disconnect between that and my thoughts, my ideas and sometimes my actions. Summit was the beginning, or another stop in a long journey to understand that my relationship with Jesus was not something I could compartmentalize.
I sat in church this morning and our pastor talked of God touching Mary's womb and Jesus growing inside of her. You, whom have been pregnant can understand this much better than I, but as I have watched Robin's world revolve around this pregnancy, how it effects everything, it made sense that my life needs to revolve around God. I spend most days living in this word where, like the men of old and ptolemy's theory of the universe revolving around earth, everyone's first thought is 'me', how do we continue to unlearn these habits and messages that are being thrown at us. Now I have known this message but it continues to sink in. I am mentoring a couple of guys right now, and one of them recently asked me how I make desecions. I thought of the quick answer, the sunday school answer, but I heard a small voice whispering in my head telling me to really comtemplate this and answer as honest as I could. I told him the truth, which is there are many different ways and factors that I include when I make a desecion, then I told him I know a man who makes choices in God's will, who has made choices the world might have thought foolish, or maybe even his family at times(I am not aware of them, maybe someone from between our generations Grandpa), I told him that I aspired to live my life like that, and if he wanted to know how to make decesions, this is how he should make them.
This is getting long but I started writting this to tell you all about something I have heard about it is called postsecret, a guy sent out a ton of postcards and asked people to write their secrets on them and send them back to him. He is posting them on the web, the site is called postsecret.blogspt.com, I have been so touched by the pain and the hurt that haunts our world and my hope and prayer is that for us who have been given much, much is (I know the word here is expected but I am changing it.) desired. I have seen the effect a smile can have on a soul, much less a listening ear and caring embrace. We are just clay pots and the message is what we know and carry inside but let's paint our pots and smile at the folks around us, and as we make decesions based on our Father and his Word, our actions will continue to set us apart and God will give us oppurtunities to love those around us to Him.
"He came to that which was his own but his own did not receive him. Yet to those who did he gave the right to become children of God,"
In Christ,
Ben

Pictures

So, I guess I did something wrong with the pics....let's try this again :). Under the cows is a picture of Lago Yohoa, one of the only lakes in Honduras...it's about 3-4hrs outside of Tegus, where I live. The next pic is of a restaurant in Copan we ate breakfast at...I loved the colors! And the last photo is a glimpse of the Mayan ruins we saw in Copan...enjoy! Love you!
Tash

Driving update

Thankyou to all who prayed over Thanksgiving for my driving adventure...it was an adventure :P! I had so much fun...and would do it all over again. Tracy came in on Nov. 20 and after school I picked up the car and they showed me all of the things I would need to know...including where the deactivating button for the alarm was :) (I would really need to know this later- hee hee) So I picked Tracy up from the airport and as we are driving away the alarm begins to beep telling you have a few seconds to push the deactivating button. WELL, I can't find the button...a few seconds go by...then a minute...and I'm starting to panic a bit because if I can't find this button the car will automatically shut down. I finally pull off to the side of the road (a busy road) to better concentrate...and just as I pull off the car shuts down (this is all within an hour of having the car :)) and the alarm starts going off full force. We're talking crazy loud sirens, beeps, and flashing lights. And I still can't find the button to deactivate it. I get on my cell phone and call the rental place and we shout at each other over the noise of the car to figure out how to turn the alarm off. Still nothing is working. They graciously tell me to wait (as if I was going to go somewhere...:)) and they would come over to where I'm at (at least a half hour drive). SO...no kidding, Tracy and I sit in this beeping, flashing car on the side of a busy Honduran highway for AT LEAST a half hour...all the while I'm pushing buttons from every angle...trying to figure this out. Finally, very randomly I push two different buttons at the same time and the alarm turns off. I quickly call the rental place to tell the guy to go back...and we drive home incident free. BUT...oh how funny, Tracy's first few minutes in Honduras are spent prisoned in a car with the alarm stuck on. Very memorable.

Then....the next day we head out for Copan...a tiny city very close to the Guatemalan border where some of the best Mayan ruins are at. I do get a little lost about half way there...but that all worked out no problem. We spend 2 days at the ruins, which was very interesting and enjoyable (although cold...we were in fleeces/hats/and wool socks :)) Then comes the drive home...It is a beautiful drive...although mostly through moutains...so I'm going up and down and passing on blind curves- doing everything very safely of course...;)...anyway, we get to one of the only straightaways...and remember, I'm not going very fast 60ish...and I see something dart out in front of me towards the left. I swerve and just hit a stray dog on the right hand side of the car. Oh, how awful I felt. Now, please understand this was a stray dog...and there are dogs all over the place here...so it wasn't someone's best friend....but STILL I felt horrible. AND THEN...when we stopped I had cracked the front bumper slightly, which of course I had to pay extra for...BUT, we got home safely and we definitely made some memories in the process :). So those were some of my adventures while driving in Honduras :).

The rest of the time we spent around Tegus doing some short day trips (using public transportation :)) It was so wonderful to have someone from home here...it's just so nice to share my world that I love so much.

School is going very well, I can't wait for Christmas Break, as I'm sure all my students feel the same way :). I'm done on Dec. 15 and I don't have to go back until Jan. 8...AND Paula flies in on Dec. 18- I'm not sure what we'll do, perhaps travel, perhaps hang around here...but either way, I can't to see her! AND...Leah just emailed and said she's going to fly down in Jan for a week and a half...YAY...both of my sisters in Honduras with me...I can't wait! (Mom and Dad...you better be next ;)) There's nothing like sisters!

I do have another prayer request before I end this novel of a post :)...I am praying about whether to stay in Honduras another year, or to pursue something else in the States. Over Christmas I hope to take some significant time and pray and fast about my decision, but I would really appreciate/need your prayers as well. As of right now I want to stay...but not necessarily at the school I'm at (International School or IST). There are some circumstances and situations that I want to separate myself from at the school, but I would still love to stay in Honduras. I love teaching, and teaching here, I love the country, language, and people...I'm just not sure about where God wants me next year. I have been getting more and more involved at my church- and I feel like I'm growing spiritually here, I have wonderful friends etc. SO...other than my amazing family back home, I don't have a lot drawing me back, in fact I feel as if I have more keeping me here. AND THEN....let's throw the monkey wrench of money into the situation...I do have school loans that are coming up, so I really need to be making more money than I am now...but I would hate to have money be the sole reason I come back (although a very legit reason). Yet, I want to be wise as well about my decision. So...I say all that to sort of explain the position I'm in and to ask for you to pray for me to have wisdom and guidance. More than anything else I want to obey God, and I know He'll provide for my needs...but I still just want to know I'm listening and hearing His voice....and then obeying. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!

I love you all, and hopefully these pictures from vacation will post too! The cow picture is when we had to completely stop to allow a herd of cows to pass around us...I felt like I was parting the Red Sea....except instead of water we were surrounded by cattle. Gotta love Honduras :).
Tash!

P.S. Grandma...your package was amazing! I shared some M&M's with my 9th graders...they love you :)! I told them it was my first Christmas present :)- Thankyou!

Thanks Katie!

I just asked for addresses of far away family. Katie had such a great idea and I wanted to ask anyone who does live far away to post a picture of yourself. (If possible!) What an awesome idea. I have learned in my study that long term memory is obtained through an emotional connection. What better way to "emotionally" connect with geography than seeing a picture of family living far away. If anyone can do this, it would be such a blessing! Thanks Katie!

Greetings from the Vander Veens...

I am sending a request out to the non-Michigan members of the family. I want to get a list with addresses of all the family members who are far away. We are doing a lot of geography with Tori in school right now. So I thought I would show her on the map where all you guys are. I know some of them... especially the ones who blog. But I know that I do not know everyone. So if anyone could help that would be great! Have a blessed day!

Hi from Nick and Barb

Hi everybody, Nick here
We just got back on Mondaay night from visiting Brad's family in Tennessee. We had a great time and always we realize how much we miss them. We left on Thursday at 7PM because Barb had Session and didn't get home until 6:30. We wanted to get out and on the road before the snow fell so we traveled all night and got in Clarksville at 5:30 AM. It rained hard and was very windy all night. Needless to say it was not a pleasant trip. But seeing the kids made it all worthwhile. Saturday we all went to Nashville to the Opryland Mall and did some Christmas shopping and had some dinner at the Opryland Hotel. On Sunday we went to their church which is so much a blessing for them and for us too. Mariah and Hailee now play the guitar and violin respectively and played at a Historic Mansion overlooking the river. Every room had it's own Christmas tree and there was food and music and dancing ( 2 step - Tennessee style ). It was lots of fun and we were so proud of our grandkids. Derek is still very involved in Tae Quan Do and he makes it look easy. I don't know why but my leg can't even come close to the way his leg can kick. Derek is growing like a weed. He now stands at 5'3" or very close to it. He does a considerable good job of arm wrestling his grampa's bad arm which is getting to be pretty good. Brad is nearly done with his current job as his replacement will be taking over after the holidays. He will work until the end of March and then apply his 90 leave days he has accumulated. He will be discharged by the end of June. I just realized that maybe Brad should be telling you all this but I guess he will write you himself with updates. The weather was cold but sunny and now we are home in the gloom and snow again. Barb still needs your prayers as she has no job after December is over. God's timing is always perfect but it rarely coincides with mine so I tend to get a bit nervous at times. Great to here all the news around the world from the family. Blessings to all, Nick

Out in the sticks with the Sticks! : )

This is Tina Stickney here, I don 't have much time but wanted you all to see some recent photos.

Ava got in the dryer herself, put the underware on her head herself...got into the turny cabinet herself...: ) She is such a ham!!!! Cory wasn't joking when he said she is the other comedian in the family!

Here is Cory with his 2nd 7 point buck this season and a photo of the three of us this past October! We just need three more kids..a couple horses... some chickens and you can't forget the cows - then the picture will look more complete! : ) heheheheee...

I can't wait until I have more time to blog..because God is doing some incredible things! But I'll have to tell you later!

Love you all! Teeners!

news from luke....

Hey everyone! This is Luke, Grandpa yelled at me for not posting before, so I thought I would comply... ;) Well, I am 18 and a senior at Allendale High Schoool. I am almost done, I graduate May 31, 2007, only 176 more days!!! (Yes, I'm counting haha ) The last grandchild to graduate! Hard to imagine, lol. Here is one of my senior pics. I will keep everyone posted on when my open house is!

I have been accepted to GVSU for next fall, and will hopefully be getting a double major in Criminal Justice and Political Science, and a minor in Spanish. I want to be an FBI Agent, but will first probably become a police officer for a few years before I apply to the Academy at Quantico, VA. I currently am taking two classes at GVSU for Dual Enrollment: Ethics 102 and Biology 105. Both are pretty good, and I am passing both of them ; )

This is the last year I will be in Science Olympiad (obviously) and after last years 6th place finish at State and Class B State Champions (We were the best Class B school in the whole state of MI) we are aiming for top 3 at State this year. I am in:
Remote Sensing-- analyzing satellite photography and maps and interpreting them and their causes/effects
Food Science-- studying foods and their properties: lipids, carbs, protein, etc. and molecular compunds/ amino acids, a bit of chemistry....not my fav : ) lol
Scrambler-- building a vehicle/device that will travel a certain distance while carrying an egg and get the closest to that distance w/o breaking the egg. Whoever gets the closest and is the straightest, w/o breaking the egg wins.

I recently got a new job at Bono's Pit BBQ in Allendale, I am the dishwasher boy and do a little prep cooking too. Meeting some new friends there and having a little fun! ; )

I am going to Res in GH and having a lot of fun there. I have some AWESOME friends there, and I am a leader in the Youth Group.

I am spending most of my time working, hanging out with friends, youth, and SLEEPING! : )

Well, love you all and talk to ya'll soon!
-Luke

Snow & Christmas Cookies...Nothin Better!

Hello Again! After Aunt Renee's post I thought I'd send you a picture of the snow. That was taken yesterday....we've gotten quite a bit more since then already. Although I spent some time this morning shoveling off the deck..that's always quite a chore when the snow is that deep! The whole time I'm shoveling I'm thinking "Great! I'm just making it easier for the squirrels to get at the bird food!" For those of you I haven't complained to yet....we've got a SERIOUS bunch of squirrels that are bound and determined to eat all our bird food. Can't tell ya the last time I've seen a bird but my heavens we can't keep the squirrels away. I keep saying the bird feeder is my squirrel feeder and quite honestly I told Dan I've given up on trying to scare them off. It was a full-time job standing at the slider door scaring them away. (not kidding!!) Dan's going to get me a little pellet gun to pick 'em off with - not killing them hopefully just scaring them enough that they won't come back. I have my doubts if it'll work...they've gotten so brave that now I've even had "stare offs" literally face to face with them before they finally give up and scurry away.
YIKES....apparently I'm a little bitter about the squirrels 'eh?!? =) Anyhow Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jon came to visit this past weekend. What a nice time we had visiting and eating! =) Hopefully they'll come again in the spring and then the boys can get some fishing in while us girls hit the outdoors! Love, love love my family.....it's fun getting time with everyone as they come visit!!
Last night we decorated Christmas cookies - Makayla got through about 2 before she decided eating was the better way to go instead of decorating! So cute though and Dan humored me as I like to do "christmas things" this time of year.
Had my first experience snow blowing the driveway last night. Bless his heart....Dan so graciously stood by and watched even though I KNOW it was killing him cuzz I wasn't doing it just right!! He was a trooper though and smart, it's defintely to his advantage to let me learn the new snow-blower so when he gets home at night it'll be all done! =) It only got a little crazy once as I forgot which handle does what and got a little too close to Dan's truck (which, by the way, was parked INSIDE the garage!). That incident got a little dirty look but HEY - I finally got 'er figured out I think!
Love you all - enjoy this time of year. So much to be thankful for...

Kim

Happy Birthday Andrea and other family news!

Happy Snowy Day! We have had a nice day celebrating Andrea Joy's 21st Birthday (it is officially on Monday) and hiking back to cut down a Christmas tree. It certainly was perfect tree-getting weather! We missed you Stacey, Jason, Grandpa & Grandma TerBeek and Meghan.

On Friday David, Renee and Ross were up in Traverse City for orientation for Ross who will be moving around January 13 to attend school at Northwestern Michigan College where he will get his pilot's license. Sorry Kimberly . . . .we had all the intentions in the world of calling you when we were up there, but as you know, hokey pete, it was quite the blizzard and we headed home as soon as we were done. I'm not sure this picture does it justice but just ask Kim, it was quite the day!

Have a good week. aunt renee

just checkin' in...

When I shut Jesus out of my consciousness by looking the other way, the icy finger of agnosticism touches my heart. My agnosticism does not consist in the denial of a personal God; it is unbelief growing like lichen from my inattention to the sacred prsence. The way I spend my time and money and the way I interact with others routinely testifies to the degree of my awareness or unawareness.

With the passing of years I am growing more convinced that the discipline of awareness of the present risenness of Jesus is intimately linked to the recovery of passion.

Lord Jesus, Teach me to weigh and measure the things I allow in my life, keeping only those that have eternal value. Amen.

B. Manning

Thoughts from the westside... Love, Jenny

Happy Birthday Grandma!

I was reflecting on you today because of your special day. So I wanted to post a thank you blog! You are such a blessing to me and I am sure you don't even know it. When I was 16, my grandma passed away. She was my mom's mom and I was very close to her. I am not really close to my other grandparents. Although many don't know it, losing her left a hole in my life. The role a grandparent plays in a person's life is so special. There have been times where you have just walked up and rubbed my back or encouraged me in my parenting or just gave me a hug. It touched me in a way I can not explain. You have such a sweet spirit and I am so thankful for you. So just know that there are so many that you have touched just by being you. Thank you for your years of service for the Lord and the legacy you have left! We all love you very much!

Love, Jen V.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!

We love you and are glad you are our grandma!

Have a great day!

Sick of Being Selfish

Hello Amazing Family-
Its Lisa Vander Veen here! Sometime's known as Liser-Bageser! (pronounced Lee-ser-Bah-gee-ser) And for those of you that don't know that is just one of the names Kurt has given me...he even wrote a song to go along with it!! Ask him to sing it for you sometime :) Let me tell you...we have a very fun, interesting, and silly house. But we have so much fun together!
I absolutly LOVE being married to Kurt! He is such an amazing Godly man and he has taught me so much! And for that I have to thank God, G & G TerBeek, and of course Mom and Dad! Kurt truly is my other half! He is such a warrior, and at the same time he has such a sensative and peacful spirit! I love that I can laugh and cry with him! Sorry to carry on...I am just so proud of my husband and I want everyone in this family to know what an amazing man he is!
So a little bit about me...I am still working as an RN at St. Mary's in Labor and Delivery but I have also started working at an OBGYN office a couple of days a week. It is good to have a little variety because I was getting burnt out before waking up at 5 am everyday! I have recently joined the choir at our church, Res Life (in grandville) and I absolutly love it! It is a spiritual gift of mine that has been sitting on the shelf and collecting dust...so I thought that is was time to use it again! I can't explain the closeness I feel to God when Im singing on that stage...it gives me chills everytime! And another excited bonus is that we are singing with Point of Grace for a Christmas concert on Dec. 14 at our church...You should all come! Other than that I enjoy spending time Kurt, working out, organzing (I know Im wierd), and my new found hobby, is reading!! I used to hate it but I am loving it and learning so much!
Sorry to carry on but I thought I should explain my title to this blog. I feel like I have been blessed by reading everyone else's blogs and I kept saying "I should really post something sometime" and then procrastinated. Well, after I read Kim's last entry, God told me to stop being selfish. So I just wanted to tell you all how much you mean to me!
I just feel so blessed to be a part of this amazing family! I feel like this blog is a "safezone" and you could share anything and not be judged but rather have the loving support and prayers from this family. Thank you again Stac for setting this up! This family is an army and many of you have proved that nothing will stop us! At times I feel like an infant in my spirital walk with God...only begining to crawl and take those first steps. But there are so many people in this family that I respect and that I am learning from and I know I am growing everyday! THANK YOU!! So My Dream...(this is kinda scary because now I will be held accountable for what I say) I strive to be a Godly woman that will make a difference in this world. I want people see me and say "wow...there is something positivly different about her." I want to be a Proverbs 31 woman! I want Freedom for Kurt and I so that we can in turn give hope and freedom to others. I want to hear God and have the faith and strength to follow through with what He tells me. I want to be a strong women and yet I always want to be in submission with my husband. I want Kurt to be as proud of me as I am of him! Whatever I do, I want to do it for the Glory of God!
I am so sorry that I rambled on so long....I hope that I didn't bore you to much. I just felt like it was my time to share a little of my heart! I love you all and I am so thankful for you!
Many Blessings,
Lis

A time to reflect....

Hello precious family! I'm having what I'd like to call a "thankful" day today. Every day is a thankful day but these days are different. I'm finding myself more and more - opening the door to all the emotional things I went through when battling my leukemia. It's one of those things that people tell you will happen and you just sortof brush it off. Well....it's been hitting me a little harder and honestly, I'm grateful. I guess it makes sense, when you're going through the treatments you need all your energy to focus on making in through one day at a time. You sortof "brush off" the emotional stuff because you don't have the energy to think about it. That all comes later on..so.....I'd like to just share with you a little bit of my heart, sit tight it may be a little lengthy. =)
When you have an experience that turns your secure world inside out it does something to you on the inside. Almost as if a little part of you has died and a new piece has replaced it with something even better. My experience first and foremost has taught me what a MIGHTY God we serve. I have an attitude of praise every time I'm reminded of all he's done. Not only for me, but for my whole family as well. I can't begin to tell you how often Dan and I reflect on the the love that Jesus has shown in such a powerful way. And he's shown it through my precious family....so thank you again for being obdient and showing His love in everyday ways. You truely are an amazing group of people!
I do sometimes have feelings of "why did this happen" - but mostly those thoughts come when I get the feeling once again, that God has called me to help others through my experience. I always have said that I'm grateful for my journey, as strange as that sounds, because without it Jesus couldn't have shown Himself to me the way He did. That verse Psalm 91:14-16 is so very special to me because it PROMISES that when we call on Him, He will rescue us. Period. I think of how He's taught to trust Him like I never have before. There's "I trust Jesus" and then there's "With my LIFE I trust my saviour"!!! Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross so my life would be saved, so my sickness would be healed, so my faith would be restored!

I admit I get angry sometimes when I think of all I had to "give up" while being the hospital or recouping from all the treatments. I remember thinking things were never going to the same. And they're not - and I'm so glad. I have scars on my arms from the PIC line - and ya know what? I hope they stay forever because they remind me of where I was and where I am now and that's a powerful thing.
I remember people saying they would pray that I'd "forget" but the truth is there are certain things I want to remain because they've made who I am today. And who I'll be tomorrow.
I want to encourage each of you today - don't wait until tomorrow or next week when you're not so busy - to give your TIME to the ones who really matter. The family you have right beside you. Those are the things that are important...everything else is just "stuff". Treasure those special times, even if they are a little hectic, when you're with the ones you love. It's the little things in life that mean the most - take that to heart. Be who God wants you to be TODAY - don't wait!!!
You are all so very very precious and I'm thankful for each and every one of you!
Much Love, Kim

Hi All,

Aunt Sally here :) That wasn't so hard. I have been reading all the postings regularly but this is the first time I tried to actually post something myself.
I did figure out how to leave a few comments too. This is great!
Don't have any significant news really, just wanted to see if I could get on. I am sure Ben will post the baby news as soon as there is some :)
Should be soon. Anytime between now and Christmas.
Paul and Anne and Hunter are taking a cruise Dec 9-15, Hunter's first family vacation. Should be fun. He is in the young fives program at school so he won't miss too much.
Michael and I are going to Costa Rica for the company trip this year :)
Should be fun also.
Feb 5-9, Ruth and I are going to go down to Venice, Florida to visit Dad and Mom and bunk out with them at the condo.
February will be a traveling month for me this year :)
Okay, I didn't plan to go on this long. Have to go pick up Hunter at school. Signing off. love you all Aunt Sally

happy thanksgiving

To everyone out there. I hope all have a blessed Thanksgiving whether those of us get to be with family or without. I love you all and am so thankful for our family.

love katie

Our Little Miracle... Elaina Grace (or Elli)

As I was posting the other picture of our girls, the Lord told me that it was time to tell little Elli's miraculous story. To be honest, it has been hard for me to look back at pictures. Most of all, I have struggled with feeling unbelievably vain but the truth is that it is always hard for any mommy to have anything be wrong with their baby. OK - let me catch up anyone who doesn't know about Elli. When she was born, she had a small area that had a lack of pigmentation. We didn't really think a whole lot about it. To be honest, I could barely see it. Then when she was about two months old, red dots started to appear on both cheeks just in front of her ears. I took her into the doctor who had no idea what it was. She did nothing. Finally after her four month check up, the right side starting growing puffy. That was when I took charge. I made my doctor refer us to a dermatologist. He then referred us to a specialist. She ended up having hemangiomas. They are simply extra blood vessels that grow for 2-3 years then regress and reabsorb into the body. They can last from anywhere to 4 to 15 years, but usually go away completely on their own. The complication with hers was that she had them in front of her ear and on her lip. It was possible that she also had them on her voice box. That could be dangerous if it began growing puffy. It could block off her breathing. She then had to go under two different times, one to have a scope which was not very clear. The second time she had to have an MRI. She did have one on her voice box but it was only a red staining, not any puffiness. Thank you Lord. When she was about nine months, the Lord told me she would be healed without a blemish remaining. The six months was a kind of rough to walk through. I knew that Jesus could heal her. I had many people lay hands on her, but really didn't see a whole lot of improvement. Satan kept trying to tell me it was because "I didn't have enough faith". But we knew that was a lie. During those months, God really gave me a revelation of His power and my faith really did grow strong. He showed me that sometimes a mommy needs to be like a momma bear. I knew that once I asked for healing, it was done. But I felt God wanted me to battle the lies Satan was trying to plant. So evey day I would lay hands on her and thank Jesus that she was healed. There were times that I literally felt it shrink under my fingers. What an awesome miracle. Now, it is almost completely gone. The really cool thing is that "normally" the reabsorbing would just be starting. So God is amazing. I think through it all the biggest thing I learned is to just be honest with God. Elli was really not in any physical danger. So I felt "melodramatic" and vain struggling so much when others have much worse situations. But once I could open up to the Lord and tell him that I was hurting for her, he then could come in and heal my heart. Besides, it is not vain to want our little girls to feel lovely. After all, that is what he created them to feel. The pictures are in order. The green PJs in when she is almost a year old. The blue shirt is at a year and a half. The next one is at her two year birthday party. The most recent one with Kayla and Tori was a few weeks ago at the capital. That one really shows that the lumpiness is basically gone. She has some marks still but the doctor told us that would go away last. Thank you Jesus!

Pictures from Mark & Jen

I know some of you don't really get to see our kids very much. So I thought I would post some pictures. (Thanks to Katie for the adorable pictures of Kendall and Hunter.) This is from this summer. Elli is on the left and she will be three in December. Tori is on the right and she turned five in July. They are the best of buddies. As you can see, they LOVE to be matching. (Thanks Auntie Kim for finding the adorable suits!) It is a blessing to mommy because I love it. Hope everyone is doing great!

Grampa & Gramma TerBeek

Well How ya all doin?
I'm Just fine all done with surgery on my hands, I am looking out at a
BEAUTIFUL DAY , Just to let you all know Sandy My Niece is looking for a roommate, a Christian Lady to help with the home expenses, so if you know someone or know someone who knows someone, please let us or her
know. Thanks. also on the blog from Mark I entered a comment about all
the grandkids that went to summit , and I would like your input about that
experience in your life. Can you think of anything to be thankful for this
year? We are thankful for all of you wonderful kids, Grandkids and Great--
Grandkids. and SOOOOOOO MUCH MORE.
We are really enjoying our new Pastor he is A Nut and so He makes Church fun . Rachael wowed the doc last week when she went for her
first check up and walked in with a cane, the Doc. said almost everyone
who has two knees done comes in , in a wheelchair, and her flexability
in her knees (of course) was GREAT!!! So only a few more ???? of thearapy and she will be. Dancing maybe? We I think are ready for winter
that is as ready as two old people can get. Well I guess that is about it for
now we love you and pray for you all .
O.G.I.G. Gramps

Driving in Honduras

Hey family! SO...tomorrow Tracy (close friend from home) and I are going to be traveling by car to Copan, Honduras which is close to the Guatemalan border....PLEASE PRAY :). I have never driven in Honduras and driving in Latin America is VERY different than back home. I have also never been to Copan so this will be an adventure on ALL levels :). But I'm up for it and I'm just asking you to pray for safety, good weather, direction (i don't want to get lost ;)) and FUN! Thanks you guys, what a blessing it is to know I can call out the prayer warriors for something as small and simple as vacation safety! Anyway, have a wonderful Thanksgiving...I won't be around to post, but please know I am thinking about home, family, and turkey ;). I am THANKFUL for you!

Love Tash

Bueniis Dias FROM THE STICKNEY'S

Greetings YALL,

WE THOUGHT WE HAD BETTER POST A BLOG FOR THE FIRST TIME EVEN THOUGH WE HAVEN'T GOT TOO MUCH NEW AND EXCITING TO SAY. WE HAVE SETTLED INTO OUR NEW HOME IN WEST OLIVE AND ARE LOVING IT. AVA IS GROWING LIKE CRAZY AND MAKES US LAUGH EVERYDAY, SHE'S THE NEW STICKNEY HOUSEHOLD COMEDIAN. HARLEY(our dog) ENJOYS COUNTRY LIFE AS WELL AS JUMPING INTO THE POND AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WILL STAND THERE THROWING A BALL FOR HER.

TINA IS WORKING PART TIME DOING BOOK KEEPING AND CORY HAS BEEN WORKING TWO FULL TIME JOBS, BY DAY A SALESMAN, BY NIGHT A CAMO DRESSED BUCKLESS HUNTER AT LEAST UNTIL LAST WEEK.

WE WON'T BE BLOGGING TOO MUCH, WE DO NOT HAVE A HOME PHONE OR THE INTERNET. CORY HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR GRUBS IN THE BACKYARD TO COOK OVER AN OPEN FIRE. : ) WE HAVEN'T DECIDED WHETHER OR NOT TO SELL OUR VEHICLES AND GO BACK TO HORSE AND BUGGY. JUST THINK OF ALL THE FUEL WE COULD SAVE.

WITH ALL THE COMEDIANS IN THE HOUSE TINA HAS DECIDED TO KEEP HER FEET ON THE GROUND SO THAT THE HOME IS WELL ANCHORED. :)

FOR YAALS INFORMATION THE FOLLING LIST IS SHORT LIST OF GOODIES FOR SALE
1. 9 SNOWBLOWERS--100--225
2. 1 45 FOOT GREAT DANE SEMI TRAILER--1000
3. 10 ACRES OF LAND IN ALLENDALE---56TH AND M-45
4. 1987 BUICK REGAL WITH 10 SWITCH HYDROLICS--Yes you can drive it on 3 wheels!!!
5. 7.65 bolt action hunting riffle with weaver scope and case-200
6. ford 8n tractor-2800
7. 1979 pontaic trans am-white w/blue bird
8. jeep libery 3.7 engine--500
9. 2 rusty wagon wheels-free
10. designer chandalier --56'' x 18'' hand hammered copper--robert kuo-baker furniture-600
11. horse saddle--outback style-200 (i don't think crocadile dundee used it either fyi)
12. ......

I thought I would quickly interrupt Cory's...UHHHMMM.. listing so you can get on to reading the rest of the Blog! : ) Love you all and hope everything is going well in your world!

Signing off,

The Sticks!
Cory, Tina, Ava & Harley

This is hunter and I, we put paint on our noses and we were touching them together. It was really fun and cute. Precious moment with the kiddos. It's hard being on the other side of the country from family. But pictures like this help keep you close to home. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

Katie

this is kendall polavin, Paul and anne's little girl I thought it would be good for you all to get an updated pic of her. Isn't she adorable? It looks like she is posing here for a picture shoot, but really she is just cute. So here you go enjoy. Love you all

Katie

Stelly Jelly Bellies Here

Dear Family,
Well, with Kristina's help I have finally made it to post a comment on our faboulous Family Gathering Bolg Thank-you Stacey, what a great way to keep in touch. Weston had his tonsils out this afternoon so say a little prayer for a speedy and uneventful recovery. We wish all of you a blessed Thanksgiving. If anyone has any great game ideas I would appreciate them. We have the company Christmas party @ our house this year. I sure am thankful for all of you. Family is what life is really all about. Family and leaving a legacy such as O.G.I.G and Reformation Day Stories. Don't you all just love the logical flow of my thoughts...... it's a joke. I am..... can you all say it together RANDOM Spontaneous........Bye for now Auntie D.. for Darling Donna

Howdy! Jen here!

Hey everyone! I thought I would just say hi. I loved reading all the blogs from you guys. I especially loved the ones who were answering Mark's question. It is so cool to see the differences and similarities with everyone. I have something I really wanted to throw out to everyone. For all the married couples out there, I have an unbelievable book for you. It is called Love and Respect. Probably most of you don't know about the journey that Mark and I have taken on our almost ten years together. (WOW!) However, if you would describe it in one word, volitale would be accurate. If you know anything about personality types, we are as opposite as can be. But God knew what he was doing. Now as we are learning to work together smoothly, we make one powerful team. But the process of learning has been a little more than difficult. (By the way, he would tell you the same thing.) But we have both earnestly sought out the Lord and have grown and changed, along with some supernatural counseling! Anyways, I said all of that to tell you that I have read a lot of marriage books. But I have never read anything as powerful as this Love and Respect book. I think that every couple and especially anyone who mentors young married couples should read it. Anyways, that's all for today.

PS: Thanks Lisa for the recommendation!! It great how little sisters can help their big sisters!!

** Also, I love to read. So if have any book recommendations, let me know.

Whoa

So, It´s sort of been a while. And, I have a TON of work that I should be doing. Therefore, settle in and get comfotable, because this will probably be long. :) So, the last you´ve heard, I went camping. It was so much fun. Imagine a smallish island, then add a few craters, a TON of Moai, a couple Rapa Nui Romeos (the male islanders who happen to appreciate the gringas), amazing beaches, and 16 gringos. That would be a pretty good description of our week. On my favorite day, we rented a ¨family van¨ and drove to all of the famous Moai platforms and visited a pink sand beach. Then we made up the rest of the food that we had left and had a big dinner, family style. So here we are in our family van:

And a group shot of us reading about the Moai. See, we even made the vacation educational! :) Apparently the Japanese helped fund the restoration of one of the platforms.

So that was Easter Island in a nutshell. The next big event, aside from school and studying and tests of course...was Halloween. It´s not really celebrated here, but we had a gringo costume party. I was an angel, ¡claropo! Nothing super exciting. I followed it up with some more studying, homework, tests, and papers.

We left for a city called Pucón on Thursday night. It´s about a 12 hour bus rideto the south, so we arrived early morning Friday. There were a bunch of activites planned for us to learn about the Mapuche culture. It´s the largest surviving native culture here in Chile and was exciting to learn about live...they gave us food... On Saturday I went whitewater rafting in the morning. Class 3 - 3.5 rapids, nothing too thrilling, just enough to get you a little damp. Then I went horseback riding through the lower parts of a volcano, beautiful scenery. And...they let me gallop...I´ve never been before. I ended my day at the hospital. One of my friends here had gotten sick, and she couldn´t keep anything down. The problem is, she´s allergic to sugar, so if we let her get too dehydrated, we couldn´t give her any of the normal juices and mixtures and such. So we went to hospital thinking it would just be a quick visit. It turned out that she had a gastrointestinal infection and needed to spend the night. So we did. She´s much better and home resting now, but it turned out to be a little bit of drama. And I´m fine, we think it was from a virus she caught earlier and then the stress of this month brought it out. So, Sunday I was exhausted all day but we went on a tour of the region followed by a long stay at the hot springs. Lovely! Not so lovely was teh bus ride back. Another 12 hours to arrive at 7:30am on a Monday morning followed by a full day of classes. Asi es la vida.

Let´s see, other goings on in my life...I´ve been spending a lot more time with my youth group here. We recently had some people from Texas here and they had some Michigan connections, and anyway, the talk turned to football, and it came out that one of the guys is an Ohio State fan. And so I will be receiving a humbled e-mail after the game. Which I unfotunatly am not able to watch.

Ok, I think I can head out now. I´ve spent enough time not doing what I should be doing. It is late for me, and I need to catch up on my sleep. Oh, and prayer request. So it´s taked me probably about two and a half hours to write this because I was mostly chatting with a friend of mine here, Lizzie, who will be returning with me next semester. She is very liberal, and very open about her beliefs with me, and they do not include Christianity. She knows that I´m a Christian though, and we´ve actually been able to talk about it some. Her experience with Christians hasn´t been great, so we were talking mostly about forgivness. Anyway, just pray that I can be the witness that she needs to see right now the next time you get a chance. And now...I will be going to bed!

Paula

Gracias!

Thanks Aunt Renee for the package! It was so great to get a surprise...I received it last week during one of our cold spells and the socks where SO cozy! Thankyou...I feel loved.

Just a quick Tashina update...School is going very well, one of my students was expelled last week...and he was quite a problem! We have parent-teacher conferences today...which is always a busy, long day!

I have a friend coming to visit Nov. 20-Nov. 27 over Thanksgiving and Paula is coming to spend a month or two with over Christmas...I won't be coming home over Christmas break, so this is the next best thing! By the way, if any of you EVER want to head south for a warm vacation...let me know! Talk to you soon!
Tashina

Freedom!

Hey Everyone. Jen here. At the risk of sounds almost sappy, I wanted to tell you about an amazing woman that Mark and I got to listen to about a month ago. Her name is Anka and she just recently became a US citizen. She was born and raised in Romania. Then she met her husband online and move to the US after getting married. For about an hour she told us about her experiences growing up in a socialistic government. She told us horrific stories about waiting in lines for 3 hours to get a liter of milk. That milk was to last her family a month. She told us how her father was taken to prison because he refused to serve as uncover spy to rat out anyone who was not loyal the current government. (I forgot the name of the man who was in charge.) And in her words, "Prisons in Romania are not like prison here. Prisons here are resorts." She told us about how amazing it is to have stores full of items to buy. If they somehow were lucky enough to save up money, they would go into stores that had empty shelves. She also told us that it was everyone's dream to be able to live in America. Why do I share this? Because today I was so blessed to be able to go in and vote. She told us that they did have elections in Romania. Unfortunately there was only one name on the ballot. What a blessing it is to live in a free country. For those of us who have never experience a world that is not richly blessed and free, it is so easy to take our country for granted. So today when you go into vote, think of all the people in this world who would give just about anything, including their lives to be able to do what we are doing today. I also couldn't help but think about all the men and women who have fought and given up their lives and portions of their lives so that we can be free. Thanks to all you military men and women!! Have a blessed day!

PS: By the way, Anka also lived through the revolution of Romania. Her father fought to overtake the leader (name?) and Romania is now free. (I am not up on all my history.) I can't remember the year that occurred but it was awhile ago. She told us that there is still A LOT to rebuild the country. It really gave me amazing insight to what it will take to rebuild Iraq.

HEY! It worked!

This try got a "Please Lord, let it work this time" and here it is! The other one is the view so you can see we really were quite a ways up!
Kim

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!!

A question....

Hello everyone! Mark here. I was thinking about the blog this weekend and I realized that it can be more than just a way of keeping each other updated about the latest news. We can also use it to learn more about each other. So, I thought I'd give it a try by asking a question prompted by a book I am (re)reading right now.

The book is called "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson, and it's one of the best books I've ever read (and that's saying a lot :) ). The basic premise of the book is that God gives everyone a "Big Dream" that they are meant to accomplish during their lifetime. Most of us don't pursue it though because there are so many things trying to hold us back like finances, time commitments, self image, and the big one - FEAR! Yikes!

So, here is my question: What is YOUR "Big Dream"? What are you passoinate about? What makes you come alive? What would you do with your life if nothing was holding you back???

We have such an amazing and diverse family that I can't wait to hear what your answers are. I'll post later to let you know what mine is...

No Pics...

Sorry guys - after repeated attempts at getting those pictures published as I'd said, I can't seem to figure it out and for now, I've gotta be done trying if ya know what I mean!? =) I'll try again later - maybe it'll go smoother then! See Grams, you're not the only one who has issues with this thing sometimes!! =)

Velderman Happenings

Hello Everyone!!!!
It's been a little while since we've posted so I thought it may be time again. We haven't anything too exciting going on....just every day life things. We did go back to GR a couple weekends ago for a tour to the VERY tippy top of the dome in the Capitol building. Ummm...let's just say if you're afraid of heights, even a TINY bit, probably not a good idea. I guess I would even go as far to say even if you THINK you're not scared of heights probably not a good idea. Now throw in a tiny bit weary of heights with a little more than tiny bit closterphobic (totally not spelled right?!?) and ya got me! Everyone (Dan, Dad, Mom) thought I was a bit weird I think but my whole body seized up trying to manuever those steep (and that ain't no joke!) stairs through the walls (which means it's a super tiny space) in semi-darkness - - geez it makes my legs wobbley all over again just thinking about it. BUT in spite of it all it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, since it's not open to the public (go Rep. Vander Veen!) and those are always worth it! I felt much better when after Dad, Mark and Jen came back to hear that Mark was in dire straits the whole time too!!! Sorry to rat ya out Mark! =)
We had Dad's work day/birthday party the next day - man did we get a lot done around the house! The kids all played great and family time is always special.
Dan and I went to Sault Ste. Marie (oops...I wasn't supposed to let Stacey know we were only about 1.5 hours from her) for our anniversary weekend - that was fun! I've never been up that far and since Dan works all over the place up there he kinda got to show me around. I told him it's a good thing because I feel rather foolish sometimes when all the locals are talking about "this town or that store over there" and I'm clueless as to where they're talking about! Now I'm a little more educated!
I'll try to post a couple pics from the capitol trip - the smile on my face was COMPLETELY forced as I was pretty much scared to death in that picture. =) Gotta love it!!!
We'll be around for Thanksgiving and Christmas - I'm very much hoping to see lots of you then! Lots of Love - The Veldermans

Megs and Joel posting for the 1st time

Hello Everyone,
I have to admit that I really have enjoyed our blog. (good work Stacy and Jason). I figured that it is about time I posted. Megs and I have been doing very well. We both have parent teacher conferences coming up and report cards to do. We have been very busy! For those of you who don't know, Megan has a long term sub job with 1st grade, and I have a full time 6th grade job(yea benifits). The good thing about both of us teaching is that we have all the children we will ever need for at least 4 years =]. Yes that is FOUR years mom and dad. Anyone who wants to come to the east side to visit is more than welcome we have room, (well at least a queen size areo-bed). We look forward to seeing everyone over the holidays. Talk to you all later. We love you grandpa and grandma.

Megan and Joel

The latest HOT!!! NEWS

Well Hi there everyone This thing is nice sooooo many times I wanted

to say something and NO-ONE apeared to be listening but now I gotcha

Well Rachael is doing Great !!! we saw her Thursday and she is getting on with the Needed Thearapy , Aaron for all who did'nt hear yet has the report back from his Tumor (NO CANCER CELLS--NOTONE) so therefor
he is going to have his Port taken out this next wed. and only needs to see his doctor every two months Wooo-Peeee Gettin back to normal life.
Gramps ( Me) is going to have the Left hand done Thursday 11/9/06 at
two thirty,PM. the Right one is great . Talked to Levi on the phone this
morning he is on his way to meet with Travis at Leahs apt in D.C. . Then
they are going to walk some of the Appalaition Trail . you know the one
that starts with A AND SOUNDS LIKE what i just mis-spelled . Ben is coaching football at HAMILTON HIGH Complaining about the weather
but LOVING it. the snow is almost gone for now the leaves came crashing
down this week (REALLY THE CRASH WOKE ME UP) do you believe it?
well it's not true . I just finished a Book by George Sada who was one of
Sadamm"s Generals and is a Christian Never tried to hide it and got into
Sadams inner circle because He always told the truth, a VERY good book

Well its time to Go--- Farewell goodbye it's time to say Goodnight ?
remember that song? I've heard it 17 times every time we have to listen to
the sound of music. --- That was free info. Smile!

Love and prayers Gramps and Gramma Ter Beek O.G.I.G.

the miracle ointment

one last thing for the night....and only terbeek's will be able to appretiate this. as i type here, i have more than one band-aide on with a 'lil something specail underneath.....COW SALVE. i always wait til the last resort to use it and when i do i think....why didn't i try this the first time? I have one story and it happened at one of the parties over at grandpa and grandma terbeek's. i asked one of the cousin's...(probably katie or tashina) to look at a tooth or something in my mouth. then all of the sudden i had the grossest taste in my mouth...the finger that was in my mouth had recently touched some cow salve. take it from me....DON'T EAT THE COW SALVE!!! thanks grandpa and grandma! (stacey)

if it is this cold out....why isn't there any snow? there should be snow shouldn't there? there should be snow! greetings from the UP. stacey

what is TODAY!!!!!!!

For all the immediate members of the FAMILY you should KNOW!!!

Today is Oct. 31st also known as -------------xHxoxl no no no it's

Reformation day REFORMATION DAY!!! THATS ALL FOLKS
GRAMPS Love & Prayers O.G.I.G.

P.S. hey Leah this icon thing works GOOD!!! this only took me

10 minutes .

first attempt

Hi everyone, this is Barbara grace, I am heading off to Detroit to do some door 2 door for my friend Laura Toy. Joanne Voorhees is going with me so we will have fun. Might get lost, but we'll have fun. Not going to go on for long because I'm not sure this will even post. If it does I will be elated, and I will be greatful to Kimberly who has made this almost "fool proof" (not that I really want to call myself a fool) I will be glad when this election is over(won't you all? No more mail and no more of those awful TV ads) but just a reminder to all to VOTE next Tues. or get your absentee vote in. Pray that God's people will get out to vote and that they will vote for righteoueness. Love to all Barbara

the LATEST NEWS

hI YA"all I 'm tryin for the title of SOUTHERNERRR , how'm Ah doin

? not necessary to answer . Rachael is HOME!!! she has a hospital bed and was getting instructions from a nurse when we left
she has two sore looking knees I meanSOOORE was happy to be home
and now the hard work begins. the doc told her she would be VERY
happy at Christmas time , so keep praying for an easy as possible
time thru thearapy.
Love and prayers Gramps T.B> O.G.I.G.

informationGathering Point

Hi there everyone : this is gramps , talked to Doug a couple times today,
he said rachael could not go up two steps this morning, but they wanted her to be able to
do that when she gets home, so they needed two more people to release her,probly today.

When I talked to him later He said they just got her release and would leave about

3:00 PM and expect to get home about 8:PM So as I type they should be on there way
PTL. They are having a hospital bed and camode delivered today yet.

She is a hurting puppy!!!! she said she was glad that they did both knees now , because

Well that is about it for now. we love and pray for you all

Gramps, & Gramma TB O.G.I.G.

she would not be to anxious to go back for another trip,----I've heard that before.

blizzard

Hello everyone,

Katie here. Just wanted to update you all of the BLIZZARD we had here yesterday in Colorado Springs. By my house we got about 20 inches in one day!!! it was crazy. But it was a really fun snowday. My roomies and I just watched movies all day and ate, built a snowman and octupus. Is there any way to spend a day? Nope. It was really fun because it is rare that all of us are home at the same time to hang out together. The good thing is I got to sleep in and that it is supposed to be 50 today so all the snow will melt. If you want to see pictures copy and paste this link below into your address bar.

http://gvsu.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31874066&id=22406704

I hope you all have a great day. Miss and love you.

Katie.

Rachael's condition

just talked to Doug at the hospital , rachael had just got back from her walk today-----260 feet ALRIGHT!!!!! she was getting info from the thearpist. doug said she had a fever of 102 which broke last night . they are going to give her 2 units of blood her red count is down, soooo she won't be comming home today.

the plan is tomorrow , after getting the lab report about her blood, probably late getting home.

Love and Prayers O.G.I.G. Gramps.

oh yeah I just got back from the doc. and I am no longer Lefty

He said everything looks good use your hand carefully.---so I am.

Gathering Point

Gathering Point

Mark's first attempt..

Gathering Point
Wow! What a cool way for all of us to keep in touch! I will have to post back later when I have more time to write (I'm at work right now), but I thought I would at least figure out how to do it for future reference. For now I'll just say that Jen, Tori, Elli, and I are all doing well. We are blessed to have such an awesome family. Even though we don't get to see you guys all the time, we always know that we are loved and cared about. What a rare and wonderful thing!

The Middle Vander Veens

Hey Everyone! I am loving this!! Despite the awesome attempts of Mom V, we tend to be out of the loop. This family is so big and blessed that it is hard to stay updated on everyone. I have learned so much by reading from everyone. I figured I better post something because I know most of you have no idea what is going on with us. So we better fix that problem. Oh where to start... Of course the kids.

Tori is now 5 and I am homeschooling her this year. It is an amazing blessing and an awesome challenge. The first two weeks I called the "honeymoon phase". It was so much fun and since it was all new it was a piece of cake. The next few weeks were interesting. Tori and I had to establish the "Laws of School". Sounds very military!(That's not necessarily bad for those awesome military men and women.) For those of you who have raised a strong willed child, you will understand the more clearly you define the rules, the easier it is on both of you. Since then, school has been great. Tori is also doing swimming lessons. She is a fish like her daddy. (Mommy is still working on gaining fish status.) She is just getting ready to start her second session of swimming. We are going to go back to gymnastics once Elli turns three. (3 is when mommy doesn't have to be in class with them. After my years of gymnastics, I just want to watch!)

Elli is two and will turn three in December. She is a bubbly ball of energy. Her curly crazy hair fits her personality perfectly. She is an absolute joy to be around. Both of our girls are unbelievably social. We go through the mall and they talk to everyone. Elli famous phrase is, "What's yours name?" She asks everyone that question about ten times. She seems to be very creative. We have had everything on our walls from poop to applesauce to finger paint. (Sorry for those of you who have not experienced the joys of parenting!) But some of the things she comes up with is hilarious for a two year old. We love her. She told us that for her birthday she wants a real white horse and she is going to keep it on the shelf in her bedroom!

Mark and I are doing well. Mark's job is going good. He is a great engineer. I remember when we pulled into a Meijer's parking lot and he got super excited. He had designed the trash can that they were using! We laughed so hard. For those of you who don't know, it is pretty rare to actually see something you designed make it into production. So it was cool. (They are still using those trash cans for those of you who fill up at Meijers!)

For both Mark and I, we have known since we got married that we are called to build businesses. Marketplace Ministry is what our church has called it. So for the last ten years we have built many businesses. Some have been good, others not so good. But through it all we are learning a lot. There is a whole segment of people who you can touch for the Lord through the marketplace that you would never reach any other way. We have really built some neat relationships through our marketplace ministry over the last few years. God is good!!

I just realized that this will probably be really long on the blog so it is time to say goodbye. Sorry! But we did need to update everyone. Adios!!

grampa and Gramma Ter Beek

Hi There everyone
this is gramps, I just talked to Doug & Rachael (yes Rachael) at
the hospital and she said they took her off morphine completely no
taper off. they need to find out what works orally so she can do it at home. she also said she walked 100 Feet YEAH !!!!!! this is
GOOD!!!!! she sounded GOOD!!!! but she sighed a lot.

O.G.I.G. Love and prayers Gramps

News on Aunt Rachel

Hello Everyone - Kim here! Grandma called and asked if I'd put the info on our blog regarding Aunt Rachels surgery. She had double knee replacement yesterday at a hospital in Detroit. Grandpa talked to Uncle Doug this morning and he said she's doing okay but they're hoping to get her up and walking today. Can you say OUCH?!? I guess the doctors don't like you sitting around too much after a surgery like that or your muscles tend to "slack off" a bit! They're all set for meals (aren't we grateful for friends and family?!) and she's expected to be home by Thursday already. That's it for now - lots of love!

hello

i just wanted to say hi. have good weeks! stacey

Grampa & Gramma TerBeek

Hello ,From the Terbeek house we are attempting our first posting so this is short and sweet . Lefty and Gramma say that they love you all !!!!!! O.G.I.G.

Hi Everybody

Greetings from Uncle Nick or Grampa or Poppy or Dad to some or whatever. I have just enered the blogger world and have finally crossed the finish line with sweat dripping off my face. Thank you Kimberly for your undying patience. Hi to you sweet girls in Central America and to all in Michigan, Colorado, Tennessee, Levi (wherever you are) and to any I may have missed. Just running through a routine day if there really is such a thing. Missing my Tennessee family which we will see on Dec. 1. A CALL!!!!!! every now and then would be nice (hint, hint). Have to get on with my physical therapy now which usually feels more physical than therapy. Dad Ter Beek - know that you are loved and being prayed for today while having your surgery. Have a blast everybody cause life tends to shorten up on you when you get older (duh). I shall keep up with the family now that I am a blogger (that is such a silly word). Talk later gotta run (or creak loudly in another direction). From the one who married Barbara or Aunt or mom or Gramma or whatever.

Prayer Request

This is from the lips of Grandpa. (don't worry he'll be posting soon!)
This Wednesday October 18th Grandpa is having carpal tunnel surgery on his right hand. And on November 9th he is having the same surgery on his left hand. If I know this family I don't have to tell you to pray for a quick recovery and a safe surgery. Don't worry it's outpatient so he will be home that day. love you all....stacey

Brad, Kelli, & Family

Hello Family!

I love it. Use the technology to your advantage! This will be short and sweet but wanted to send out a quick message to the family we never get to see.....and miss. We'll post our family picture here when it done.

Kelli and I are doing very well. Derek is going to be 13 on 1st JAN!!! Can you believe that? A teenager......seems like yesterday I was one and still don't feel any older than that. Mariah is 11. Hailee is 9. Derek is one step away (a few months) from testing for his black belt in tae kwan do. Mariah plays the guitar and Hailee plays the violin......both very well too! they are all doing spectacular with the homeschooling (trying out the satelite classes this year and Kelli is LOVING IT).

Kelli continues to be amazing and home school, be a mother, and assist with business......not to mention being the wife of a military doctor who's kinda busy.

I will leave the military in JUN07. I've actually not taken much time off so will have over two months of vacation time to burn before then. God has blessed us tremendously and I already have another job lined up (contracts signed and all). There is a fantastic group of individuals that came looking for me several months ago when they heard I would be leaving (they heard something good from someone....). The rest is history. This will be much more pleasant 8a-4p hours and almost never on call. We are part of a growing church that is awesome. We are very blessed. Needless to say, since my job is here and our church is here we'll be staying . The only thing that is missing is ya'll (definately getting the southern accent down). Seriously, this is where God is calling us and though we miss the family we need to stay here.

Well, I guess that wasn't so short but didn't take long to type. More later.

Gram and Gramps TB: Did you ever imagine the legacy that you would lead and the impact that your faithfullness would have on the world? Look at how far your family has spread and taken the values and Faith that you instilled in your children, who passed it on to theirs! Humbling for those of us with kids and those who will have kids.

Love to all. Brad.

Viña Update

Hey everyone!

Hope you are all enjoying the lovely Michigan weather. We are coming into spring right now, so the mornings are a little chilly but then it warms up and we go to the beach. :) No, we don´t go every day. :) Ok, I´m done, I´m sure I´ll eventually miss the snow.

Last weekend two of my friends and I went into Santiago for the day. One of the girls had a craving for Starbucks. I definatly felt a little guilty about it, but...we don´t have real coffee here. Though instant is starting to grow on me.



My next trip starts Wednesday morning. We leave the bus station at 5:00 and I´ll eventually end up at Easter Island. There´s a group of about 20 of us gringos who will be camping on the beach, observing the Moi and learning all about the Rapa Nui culture. It should be fun!

Now for a couple of pictures. Here´s one of us celebrating a birthday. We took her out for completos, which are amazing hot dogs with palta (guacamole), tomatoes, ketchup, mayo, and mustard. They are absolutely horrible for you, and are so filling, and actually delicous. Extremely messy though. So, here she is eating.



And like I said, it's messy. :)



And...the real reason for the post. Thanks for the package Aunt Renee!!!! I love it, all of it!! And the other exchange students also appreciate the gummi bears. I feel loved!!!

Aunt Barb or AB

Hi all, Uncle Nick and I are at Dan/Kim's and she has finally shown me how to do this Blog thing. It is SO neat!!

We went to the cottage yesterday to mow the lawn but that was difficult to do with 2 inches of snow. So poor Uncle Nick had to just SIT and read a book.

This am we headed out to Kim's so we could see Makayla,(Dan/Kim too) It was kind of a scarey drive as you never know how people are going to do with the first snow, and there was about two inches of that wet slush on the road.

Tomorrow am Uncle Nick will be dropping me off at the GR airport on the way home. I have a conference in Penn till Tues afternoon.

I have till Jan. 1st till my job gets passed along to the next person. I am praying for the Lord to open the next door, which so far hasn't shown up. I know it will though. So you all can join me in kknowing exactly what I am supposed to do next. While I wouldn't mind a little more time for my grandkids, I think the Lord has other things for me to do yet. I DO feel really blessed in that I got to spend time with all my Mi. grandkids this week!! It takes some doing but I made it.

Makayla just came down here to see me ,she is having the worst time not eating the mint she helped Kim put on Poppy's pillow this am. She keeps saying" Kayla not eat nint, thats Poppy's"

I love being able to keep up with you all. Till next time,Hugs AB

Hopefully this works

Okay I did it I posted pitcures, this is a big deal for me. Anyway, Robin's mom is a nurse at her OB-GYN so we get the royal treatment when we go there and today we got to have a 3D thingamabobber, and these are the pitcures we got below. How amazing is our technology today, and way more impressive is how precious does our little baby look.


rt hand up by face
profile
hand by right side of face
back and white
The quality isn't great but we don't have a scanner so I had to take pitcure w/ digital camera and go from there. (Oh yeah it's called an ultrasound, not a thingamabobber.)
In Him,
Ben

Hmmm....didn't like that view

SO....just wonderin if anybody else thought Mother Nature didn't get the memo that winter usually starts around December??? I couldn't believe that I had about an inch of snow on my deck this morning and it's still comin' down pretty hard. I bet all you guys in the warm sunny weather are jealous of us Michiganders right about now huh? =) Love, Kim