Catching up with the Veldermans....

Hello fam!
WHEW....can anyone say crazy busy around here?!? It seems as if we've been extremely busy with lots of different things. I'll try to update you without taking up TOO much time seeing as I have a tendancy to do that! First & foremost I'm happy to report that our basement is officially finished!!! Dan, bless his heart, has put so much time and effort into it and should be very proud. You can see for yourself how beautiful it turned out. It's pretty much going to be a play room for the kids so Makayla is loving that. We're going to be moving her downstairs into her 'new' room in the next couple weeks, she says she's excited but I'm not sure if she completely understands that 'binkie' is bye-bye once she's moved down there! We've been preparing her and it's defintely time so no matter what - Dan & I are gonna take it away cold turkey and stand our ground! =)
We had a great Mothers Day & Fathers Day - got to spend time fishing on both occassions which is always a treat for each of us. Thank heavens I got my fishing license now...the DNR busted me on Mothers Day for fishing without one! OOPS! That was quite embarassing but luckily they gave me a break and didn't fine me!
My tummy is growing more rapidly now but all looks good so we're happy about that. We didn't find out what the sex is....we wanna be surprised like we were with Makayla. I don't have a hunch but other people have said they're sure it's a boy...we'll see!!! Sept. is fast approaching and the baby just can't get here fast enough! While I feel the need to spend lots of quality time with my first baby, I'm just so anxious about having a newborn around again. It doesn't help that Bren was here for 3 days and Evan gave me baby fever all over again! What a good baby they were blessed with! The pictures of him (and the rest of the kids) are from this week.
Well I promised to TRY and keep it short so adios for now! Hopefully we'll see most of you at the Stellema's in Sept. It'll be fun to have a huge gathering with everyone there like we did in the good 'ole days! =) Enjoy your summer - we love you!
Dan, Kim, Makayla & Baby

the Shrontz's

Hi all! I just thought I would write an update about the Shrontz's.
Jason and I are both in the last 2 weeks of our first summer class. Jason is taking a Literature class and I am taking a black and white photo class. I love my class, but I am so ready for it to be over. It's normally over 16 weeks and we are fitting everything into 6 weeks. Talk about intense.
Jason is working at the Red Fox Inn as the midnight desk clerk. He is also on a softball team, which he is the captain of. They practice twice a week even if only 2 people show up and have a game once a week. He loves playing! Plus it gives him a chance to be outdoors with his crazy sleep schedule.
I am working at a retail greenhouse. Our hoop house is set up in the parking lot of our "really great" mall. We sell almost everything from annuals to perennials, shrubs and trees. I really like working there, but will have to look for a new job again once the selling season is over, which will be July 12th.
In the mean time we are really looking forward to having family come visit. We can't wait to show everyone around the city we have fallen in love with.
Speaking of having family come to visit. On Sunday, I was working at the greenhouse and I turned around and then did a double take. Sure enough it was Joel and Travis. They were passing through on their way to Isle Royal, and needed a place to take a nap. So they called Jason and slept in my living room for a couple of hours. They came to visit me before they left though, because they knew they would have one mad cousin on their hands if they didn't. It was so great just seeing them for a couple minutes!
I hope everyone is taking time to enjoy their summer, I know we are.
Lots of love, stacey

ENGAGEMENT PICS!

Hello~
Andrea has given the OK to post a link to her engagement pictures. I don't know how they are going to decide on one, they are all so great. Click on the title 'ENGAGEMENT PICS' and it will take you to the online gallery.

Andrea Shower

Hi there wonderful family. Just thought I would put the word out there that we will be giving Andrea and her Love a shower 0n Aug 20. My house 7pm. I will get beck with you as to where they will be registered later. Now you can all pout the date on the calendar.

Uncle Nick,Dan, and Brent are heading to the cottage today to pour a sidewalk in place of the little round cement pads. YES, no more stubbed toes on the little rounds.It will be blue-gray stampcrete so it will look like a stone path.What a great gift the kids gave Uncle Nick for his birthday.We are venturing into the world of renting starting this week hope it goes well. Kinda scary sharing this family treasure with others.We are praying they will have as blessed a family time as we have had over the years.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY, a little early to all you awesome Dads out there.You may not realize it but, in the"cement" of those little hearts The Father has given you to shepherd, YOU yes YOU are the one that establishes their understanding of TRUST.Be there for them, choose them, love their mommy, and keep your word to them.Being a Daddy is THE most important "job" you will have in life.Well enough of the preaching.

Love you
Barbara Grace

Andrea shower

Hi all you wonderful Family members
Thought I would put the word out that there will be a shower for Andrea and her love at my house 7pm on Aug 20.Now you can all put that on your calendars. Will get back to you later as to where they are registered.

Uncle Nick, Dan, and Brent are heading to the cottage today to pour a sidewalk in place of the little round cement pads. No more stubbed toes on the edges of those cute rounds. The kids gave this to Nick for his birthday last year. It's going to be done with stampcrete, so it will look like a stone path.

A little early,but HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all you Dads out there. You may not realize this but,in the "cement" of their little hearts the Father has given you to shepherd, YOU set the foundation for trust, for how they will relate to others as well as their heavenly Father. BE THERE, follow through on your word, and be merciful. Well enough of the preaching.

Love to you all,
Barbara Grace

Gramps and my most precious

Hey Stacy where did you go? we miss you are you still breathing?



let us know. while I have the Blog open I will tell you all about our

trip to Norfolk Va. to spend a day with Levi and the Scotts on the ship

Harry S. Trueman or HST a nucular powered Aircraft carrier .(BIG)

WOW BIG!!!!!! it is just about the size of all our property here on

Jackson 1096 feet long and 271 feet wide, thats about 10 acres with a

crew of 5000 and we had more than 4000 guests aboard for the day

we went out in the ocean at 7:30 A.M. and returned at about 9:ooP.M.

they fed us breakfast, lunch ,and supper. food available all day on the

hanger deck. also port-a-potties. they had bleachers set up on the

flight deck for the air show. we had a fly over of four fighters, two

AWACKS planes, a helicopter landed they tried the catapults a few

times . then the four fighters landed at 180 miles per hour and stopped

right in front of us AGAIN WOW. then the four fighters were catapulted

off right in front of us. they had a cruiser , and a destroyer , and another

boat that launched hovercraft boats three of them.and came right up to

us. then they had asupersonic fighter fly by and break the sound

barrier and when that happens (suprise to me , you can see the shock

waves) it looks like a flash of lightning all around the plane for a

second or a split second then BOOOOM it had four booms along the length

of the ship then , right straight up till out of sight that happened

three times and was to me worth the trip out there just to experience that.



Well then Levi was our guide and did a fine job of showing us his home

in the Navy he is now out to sea for about 10 days they are getting ready

to go out for a prolonged time, maybe 8 months. He met us at the airport

showed gramma and me around norfolk, took us into the base,showed

us all around the ship, arranged for our Motel , stayed with us for Sat.

nite and took us to the airport on Sunday morning, what a guy!!!!



It was a fast trip but lots of new experiences, O Yeah almost forgot

Sally arranged our Flights thru " Cheap seats " and they had'nt gotten

seat arrangements for us , so when we got to Detroit they sais we will

assign seats at check in so I went up to the counter she said I'm just

getting started I'll call you. So I said will you call us by name yep

so when she did I got our boarding passes and did'nt pay attention to

where we were seated, then will all who are in FIRST CLASS and those

needing extra time or assistance board now., we went over near the

gate and stood there , she motioned for me to come up to the desk,

and I said ARE WE IN FIRST CLASS? she shook her head yes, I blew

her a KISS and we went aboard she said ENJOY! we did. First time

we ever flew in FIRST CLASS ------ IT's NICE.



Gramps and my beautiful traveling partner

Baby Evan Thelen!

Im just a blogging machine tonight!! I know these are a little old as well but i just thought they were too cute not to share! Im sure he is just changing and growing so much already! These are from our visit to Brent and Brenda's when Evan is only 3 days old! You can tell what a proud big brother Gavin is! And I just love the picture of Uncle Kurt and Gav playing video games...those 2 will always have such a special bond and I know Kurt just treasures that!! So I guess that's all from the proud Auntie!! Love you all-Lis

WE DID IT!!

I am so proud of you Jen!!!
I know that I am a little late in posting this but I just now finally downloaded all my pictures onto my computer and I found a couple from the big race.
This picture was taken after Jen and I ran the 53rd River Bank Run this year! It was 15.5 miles and we never walked!! Notice I didn't post any picutres of us during the race...let's just say we didn't have such huge grins on our faces!
This was my 3rd time running this race but it was Jen's 1st and I just had to post this so everyone could know how proud I am of her...she did awsome!
Now onto our next big feat...were training for a Marathon (and for those of you that don't know how far that is...its 26.2 Miles)...yeah...I know what your thinking...and sometimes we think were crazy too! Notice the key word was TRAINING though, we haven't quite committed to actually running the race yet. So you can keep us in your prayers about that! I hope everyone is doing great and having a fun-filled Spring!
Love, Lisa Vander Veen

The Eisen Family

So Hello family this is Audrey here, thought I would update everyone with some things that are going on in this part the neighbor hood. So Elijah and Lily are growing so fast Eli just turned 4 and Lily is 9 months now. The house.................. yeah the house is going good not as fast as I would like it but.......... it happens. we're just waiting for our loan to go threw to finish the house if it weren't for the money waiting we WOULD have it done cause it's really not that big. :) But I feel bad for Jason he's doing a hundred miles a min. doing work, working on the house then trying to get his concrete Bus. going, so I try to help as much as I can. Well enough with the house, other than that things are good. I love being able to read about every one and what's going on with people, life what a great adventure. Well I must go cause my Lily is crying and she needs to be fed and put to bed. So i shall bid you all a happy farwell and much happiness.

( this Pic. is a little old we have the joices on and r ready for the second story floor. )

Toodles Jason & Audrey w/ eli & lily

The Eisen Family

Jessie and Gilbert's Wedding

Hi wonderful family,

Sally here to say a BIG , HUGE Thank You to all you fabulous people who came to my rescue and made this event come off so great. !!!

I am overwhelmed with the support, both prayer and all the other. Everyone pitched in and we are Sooo grateful!! We couldn't have pulled it off without all of you. Nothing went unnoticed and my heart is blessed!
You guys are AWESOME!

The newlyweds are packing their cars and we begin the treck down south this weekend. We are driving Jessie's car and stay a few days to help them get settled and then fly back :) Whoa! Crazy!

I'll post more when we get back. Once again, Thank You All So Much!!! love Sally and Michael :)

Save The Date!!

Friday October 12, 2007
Yes i know i have 4 months and 2 weeks and counting i cant wait!! Love Andrea Joy (Speyer) :) hehe

gramps and the fellow traveler

Hi there we are back from Norfolk , and what a DAY IT WAS , on

the GOOD SH .IP LOLLYPOP. cancel out the last word of the last sentance. It was the good ship HST HARRY S T RUEMAN Aircraft

carrier of the U.S. Navy and for which the honorable Levi Scott are

responsible to get going. He is in charge of getting all the stuff aboard

for such a monster ship as that is. 1096 feet long and 271 feet wide. It

takes quite a canoe paddle to get that thing going , I'll tell ya. We

saw everything that was'nt locked off, saw where levi,s office is, his

bunk room, his kitchen , exersize room flight deck , rode up and down

on the elevators they bring the planes up and down to the flight deck'

they served food all day, breakfast, lunch and supper. Good food.they

even had ice cream, cake ,and other deserts.

The Captain of the ship walked the Flight deck talked with people

had his picture taken with some, we had a VERY NICE AIR SHOW

they had a fly over by four fighters which later landed and were launched

by catapult, back into the wild blue, then these boys did several landings

withthe hook NOT down so they would come in at 180 miles per hr.

just touch the deck and kick in the afterburners and roar ROOAAR

off again . they had awacks planes fly over too, and one supersonic

fighter fly by and of great suprise to me you can see the shock wave

when

they hit the sonic barrier . it looks like a halo of lightning,AMAZING!!!!

they also had ship accompanying us that they can flood part of the

stern and launch hovercraft they sent four of them out the back and

later retrieved them.also there was a large helicopter accompanyin us

all day. and they had other ships along too, destroyer, cruiser, a sub

is normally too but I did'nt see any that Day. so you can see it was

QUITE A DAY for a little dutch boy from the Dutch Getto. Levi seems

to be enjoying himself. now if we could only get him to behave(joke)

We also had one more First--- We got to fly From Detroit to norfolk

First Class how bout that?

That is our report for now Gramps and Gramma T.B..O.G.I.G.

Thankyou!

Hey family! I just wanted to say 'thankyou' for all your love and support and gifts these past few months! I leave tomorrow morning (June 3) EARLY to fly home to Honduras...it has been wonderful to be home, and it will be wonderful to go back!

To all my 'favorite aunts' ;)...thankyou for the shower! Cousins who couldn't make it, but contributed...thankyou! And to all of you who were there...it was so great to see you!

I'll be sure to post pictures of the house and what we have purchased with your help when things are settled in Honduras.

Important dates coming up for Carlos and I:

June 16: Legal wedding- subject to change due to paperwork

June 22: (7:30a/9:30a MI time) Carlos' Visa appointment at the US embassy! PLEASE pray!

Aug. 31 (give or take ;)): Baby Valladares! pronounced Vy-ya-dar-res ;)

I'll continue to keep you updated on what happens in the Latin end of the TerBeek family :)!

Again...THANKYOU, from both Carlos and I...we love you!

Tasha

CONGRATS LUKE!

The youngest of the grandchildren graduated from high school on Thurs! We're so proud of you and we love you Luke!

Grampa & Gramma Terbeeks 59th Anniversary Bash/ Family Party

--Dear Precious Family, We want to invite ya'll to our farm on September 15th for a combination Cell Anniversary /family party celebrating the 59 years of marriage that Gramma & Grampa TerBeek have survived? NO enjoyed and modeled to us all that yes, it can be done. Matthew Stellema has volunteered to roast a pig / or chicken on his big Barbeque's spit. We would need to know how much of a pig to order if we decide to go that route. We have plenty of land for quads, bikes, motorcycles, golf carts.... we also have land to camp or plant your RV on for the weekend. We are just wanting to have a time of celebrating & connecting with each other. We love you all and miss seeing everybody. The official party time is Saturday from noon - til whenever... we can roast marshmallows... sausage... play spoons ( now I know that is going to be the big drawing point. ) Well, enough rambling... Sept 15th.... BIG FAMILY PARTY ...... Stellema's ....Please put it on your calendars. Please all RSVP by August 31st...... or else it's Mac N Cheese . (:-)
Aunt Donna Home - 616-895-7148 /Cell 616-299-8188 E-mail mom6996@aol.com LOVE

canoe trip

hi everyone,
this is lindy. hey i have to be quick, i'm at the library any isabelle is blowing mouth bubbles really loudly but i wanted to plan a cousins canoe trip this summer, perhaps thefirst weekend in Aug, but i wanted to see if peopple were interested. either the muskegon or the white river, sat or sun. let me know if your interested and when it would work best.
lindy 862-5334

Gramps and you know

well we got back yesterday from PA. Landcaster that is we went on
one of those OLD PEOPLE Tours on a COACH (not a BUS) for
four days, don't think I'll set down now for a few days , because of
F.B. ( thats flat butt) disease . We saw the Flight 93 memorial,
the musical Joseph,s coat of many colors, Creation, a production of
that,Psalms of David And had a tour of The amish country around
the Town of intercourse (yep thats no mistake) very interesting.

WE had lots of good food, good company, . wewill be home for a few
days then off to see our naval hero Levi , and the aircraft carrier he is on
we will be gone for the next weekend then back home till the next
adventure comes along.

while we were gone we got notice of an upcomming marriage Jessie
and Gilbert are going to tie the Knot next Sat. WE wont be able to
be there , so------ HAVE A HAPPY LIFE KIDS. I'll comunicate my
normal advice to newly weds somehow. Well thats all for now

LOVE & PRAYERS Gramps O.G.I.G.

Tasha & Carlos' Shower

Hello Everyone!

This is Tina Stickney blogging here... I had taken quite a few images of Tasha & Carlos' shower and was asked to post some on the blog! Thank you to everyone who pitched in for the evening, the house, food and company was wonderful! So for those of you who were not able to attend, here is a snap-shot of the night!

Hello Everybody!

Hello Everyone,

This here is Lindy. Its been a while. I just wanted to join in the blogg fun and update you on the happenings in our new little family. Lifes been busy but great. Adam and I have enjoyed watching our little peanut grow up. This is Isabelles three month picture. She is going to be five months old next week already, my how time flies. Adam has been VERY busy with work. God has blessed them with lots of landscaping businees despite our economy. We are enjoying the beautiful weather. Mommyhood is awesome! I definately know why God put me on this earth, to look at Izzys precious face every morning and be the best mommy I can be. Well, I have to cut this short, I hope you are all well. Until later... Lindy

Happy Valentines Day!

Check out Andy & Adams website

I just visited Andy and Adams website and couldn't believe the awesome pictures of work that they've done. Moms have a obvious right to brag. Anyway, I thought that some of you family members might enjoy the link to look at them also since they'd never post it themselves.
It's: www.Bouldercreeklandscaping.com
Have a great weekend, Rachel

Life in the US :)

WELL...I've been home for almost 6wks and have about 2.5wks to go until I leave on a jet plane again :). My time home (although that word is a bit blurry now for me :)) has been wonderful....very relaxing and FULL of reading! I love to read and finally have the time to...I think I might go through withdrawals when I'm back in Honduras :). Other than reading, my time here has been spent nannying for a little boy, Marcel- a connection Megan hooked me up with. He's 8yrs old and lots of fun, although a bit spoiled...its been great to practice my "mommy" skills. I was able to spend a week with Joel and Megs over on the East side and got to see Joel's classroom and meet his students....they LOVE him (and its easy to see why!). Megs and I did lots of running around and hanging out, and she made lots of yummy food :) (its amazing how my world has begun to revolve around food these days :)) I went up to TC for a weekend while the boys went fishing...its so beautiful there and the company couldn't have been better! AND Trav, Luke, Levi and I just got back from visiting Leah in DC. 5 out of the 7 Scott kids in the same place at the same time...minor miracle :)! I love her city, the weather was perfect, and she has a precious roommate Candace(finally!) :)...although I personally think her best roommates ever have been her sisters ;). We went to an aquarium in Baltimore for a day and it was cool to see all the aquatic life...sharks, snakes, frogs...and we even found Nemo! :). We were able to see Leah play in her softball league from church...she plays a stellar first base! (like her Pa :) The only down side to this trip was gas prices....which, unfortunately were going nowhere down :). Aaahh well, what do you do?!

I fly out for Honduras on June 3....and I'm so excited to go back to my other home and see my honey again! I miss him! We've been able to keep in great contact via Skype and webcams...so he's been able to see my tummy grow and we can talk and see each other almost every day. Its not quite the same as a real life hug, but my mom has been filling in :)! My suitcases are already filling up with random things...a few diapers, baby clothes, and house stuff...I might be paying extra for the 'over 50lb' limit airlines give you :D...oops!

My mom and I did go to the doctor for a check-up on Baby Valladares (I'll practice with you on how to say my new last name when I see you...its a mouth full! ;)) and all is healthy and growing with mom and baby! He/she moves all the time, especially when I'm hungry...which makes me think Baby V might be a boy ;)...who knows though...as long as he/she's healthy, I'm happy! We heard the heartbeat and chatted with the doctor about the possibilities of having the baby here or in Honduras...and we'll see how everything pans out. Mom and Leah have felt the baby kick already...Leah had to work for her kicks (she poked my belly until the baby got annoyed I think ;))...but its all worth it! I love feeling him/her and pray for the baby and my new family every day...

Anyway, thats the long update here from Tasha :)....love you all!

I thought I would be nice and show you my pretty face since it has been awhile since I am sure some of you have seen it. So there you do I gave you a present today of seeing ME!!! The first one is of avary (ben and robin's little girl) and the next one is of me and my friend rachel.

Have a great day!!

ANNOUNCING. . . . .

Tim & Andrea are engaged!

Big Star Lake

Thanks to Nick & Barb for hosting all the siblings up at the cottage. We had a great time, although we missed you after your early emergency departure!

Happy Mother's Day!

Update From Family Headquarters

Well this is Gramps.
We have been without our computor since last Tuesday, our phone
line went dead, so I called A T&T , they cheerfully told me by a voice
that wasn't , we will have your problem fixed by 8:00 P.M. tomorrow
however, tomorrow went by and no one from there showed up. So
I called again and got the same answer. So on Thursday a nice man
came and fixed what was their part of the problem, and told me we
had a short on the wiring in the house.--- so while he was still here
I started to pull telephones off the line, when I got to the computor
he says "thats it " . We now had telephone but no blog (sob-sob)
I talked to Dave he recommended I talk to Ross, who begged off the
help Gramps pick out a new one duty. then Travis just happened to
stop by and said you can buy a new modum for about 15.00 so ,the
light came back into my eyes, he took it with him and installed a
used one I think. So now we can live our life on the blog again.

One week without the Blog makes one WEAK , seriously we do look
forward to what we can learn about our PRECIOUS FAMILY
we have had a new member added, reports from several members
GOOD NEWS from Aaron, and a Great Grandson Named
EVAN MAX-----WELL , . well thats the way I say it. how great
to have another healthy baby in our group . how do we get all the
family to join in the fun and BLOG? No fair peaking if you are not
going to blog. We appreciate the renewed ability to get with it.

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

Hello! Thought I would share a few pictures. My dear friend Nancy (Voorhees) Baker graduated from Cornerstone with her Master's on Saturday! Good job Nanc!

It was David's birthday on Monday, but we celebrated on Sunday night. He is now 48!

I had an appointment in Lake Odessa this morning and then was able to buzz out to Brenda's and see and hold new baby Evan! She gave me permission to post a couple of pictures! Gavin was at school and Caden stuck to his new brother AND mom like glue!

DATE CHANGE!

Hey Everyone, we had to change the date for my open house due to the Family Day on Levi's ship, so........ My open house is now:

June 10, 2oo7
1-5 pm

1051o Lauren Dr.
Zeeland, MI 49464

Hope you all can come! : )

Much Love-- <3
Luke

HAPPY (#48!!!) BIRTHDAY

DAVID SCOTT TERBEEK!

Evan Maxwell

Here's a picture for you....I know there's gotta be a better close-up but my choices were limited since I didn't take them myself! =) Anyhow Brent and Brenda were right....he's ADORABLE!

Kim

Introducing......

Evan Maxwell Thelen born May 2, 8lb. 13 oz. with dark curly hair who looks just like his big brothers Caden and Gavin! Mama and baby are doing well, he's nursing like a champ and sleeps his little heart out. Oh and OF COURSE he's just adorable!!! (sadly I haven't seen him yet but Monday isn't too far off!)
Thought I would keep you all in the loop - Brenda comes home from the hospital tomorrow morning just in time for the weekend to get all settled in! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post but soon enough we'll get some up for you!
Love you all - Auntie Kim

Joel and Megs

Well, Joel and I in just a few short months will have been married for an entire year and will finish our first full year of teaching. As you all know, Joel is a full time 6th grade teacher to a class that adores him and he feels the same about them. It was well worth the long wait and he has been such an encouragement to me to hang in there. I have been subbing for my first full year. I had a long term experience in 1st grade and anytime now I will be covering another maternity leave for a fifth grade teacher in the same school. God has blessed us at our schools this year pressed down shaken together and running over which we are truly are grateful for!
We enjoyed our first spring break as teachers in Florida which did my heart good. If you know me at all, you know I'm not a big fan at all of the winter months, however, I'm a huge fan of summer time! We also went to Joel's 10 year high school reunion this past weekend! I'm very proud of him and all he has done and the many lives he has touched in these past ten years and to also see the lives he touched while he was in high school! Everybody loves Joel! He truly has a God given gift with all types and ages of people. This brings me to my next update.
When Joel first moved over to the east side of the state, a year ago this past December, he moved in with my Grandma Tack. We have kept up a special relationship with her and after much prayer and guidance we have decided to move in with her when our rent is up in June. She lives all alone and has not had a good night sleep since Joel moved out about a year ago. She needs help with things around the house and also needs some company. What she needs most of all is a relationship with our Lord. I have been praying for her since I learned to talk and have talked to her on many occasions. She has had a hard life, but I have seen her heart become a bit softer this past year. Joel has a very special relationship with her and has also talked to her about accepting Christ. If you could pray for this next step in Joel and my life and Grandma Tack's salvation it would be much appreciated. We truly love her and can't imagine heaven without her. I always say that the day she accepts Christ the angels rejoicing in heaven will have some competition with the rejoicing that we will be doing down here!
Joel is enjoying a weekend of fishing and I am enjoying being outside again after a long winter! We have enjoyed keeping up with everyone through this wonderful blog. It definitely has brought a special closeness! We will be spending quite a bit of time this summer on the west side and would love to get together with anyone who wants to hang out! We love you guys!!!

Aaron & Barbara and the boys

Hello Everyone,
I know it has been a long time since we have put an update here. Well I have some wonderful news! I had a Catscan and doctors appointment this week. WELL Dr. Rotman says that the CT shows all clear (even in my lungs) and all my blood counts and markers are normal. Which of course we knew all along, only by the power of God. We serve such a wonderful Lord. I will have a chest X-ray in 2 months and some lab work. Dr. Rotman told us that he will be retiring at the end of June. I will actually be his last patient on his last day of work:)

I have been feeling quite wonderful except for being a little tired. The boys started T-Ball so that takes up 2 or 3 nights a week. Barbara and I will be starting co-ed softball next week. We will play 2 nights a week on Wed and Thurs. So we have been busy and will continue to be busy. But that is fine with us! We are having fun and making up for a lost summer. We are so blessed to be able to be busy and having fun enjoying sports and outdoor activities again as a family.

DC Update

Hey Everyone!!

I thought I'd drop you all a quick note :) Life in DC has been good, but I feel like I'm ready for a break so I decided to head out to Shenandoah Valley this weekend for a quiet, electronic free (this will be tough!!) Saturday. I'm leaving on Friday and will get back in time for some social activities (aka smores over a grill - I've got some "creative" friends :) We're trying to get around the no bonfires rule) Saturday night.
Next weekend, the 20's & 30's group (yes, I'm now officially in the "30's" category!) at my church will be going on a weekend retreat which I am really looking forward to. Some of us girls have got a few pranks planned for the guys :) (we gotta keep them on their toes ya know :) Its sure to be a memorable weekend :) I think we've got a good plan though - we're only gonna be there 1 night, so there's no opportunity for paybacks..... ;)
On the work front things have been going good, never a dull momment as usual! I was invited to attend a dinner at the Dutch Ambassadors residence last week with a couple of my co-workers - we had a great time. Those Dutch folks are a lively bunch!! The dinner was great, but I wasn't quite sure about everything we ate - I figured if I said a quick prayer before (and hoped I didn't gag!!), I'd be okay :) Everything was okay.
Speaking of prayer, I know this is kind of vague, but part of the reason I am heading out of town is so that I can spend some quiet time alone. I'm praying that I will get some clear direction from the Lord, especially concerning some things I'm involved with now and other possibilites in the future. I'd love your prayers :) I want to hear clearly from the Lord. I am constantly reminded of how important family is being out here - DC is full of "independent" people who "don't need" each other, which I KNOW is not true!! It can be tough sometimes, where encouragement (real encouragement w/no hidden motives) doesn't happen often. You all are important and I always look forward to checking this every day!! Everytime I tell people we have a family blog, they are always amazed and tell me how cool that is. One of my co-workers keeps asking if he can make a post....
Seen as I am talking about family, I'm having some VIP's come into town May 11th-May 13th = they are Travis, Tashina (can't wait to rub the belly :), Luke and Levi. We're gonna hang out and have some FFF (friendly family fellowship) that weekend. I'm not sure what we're gonna do yet, but I'm planning a little itinerary (scheduler extrordinare/excel spreadsheet here we come:) I can't wait to see them all!!
I do know one thing we will be doing, and that is going to one of my softball games. The 20/30 group I'm apart of put together a team so we've got a game on one of those days. Should be a good time :)
Well, I think that's all the news from the front here in DC. If you ever wanna visit, I MIGHT "know some people" who could hook you up with a Capitol tour and White House Tour....hint, hint, I'd love visitors :)

Much Luv to you all,

Leah

38 more days!!! : )

Well, to think that my secondary schooling is almost done! Really exciting but a little scary too. lol. Only 38 more days until I graduate, it's almost here!!! Here's some news...

At the Michigan Science Olympiad Regional Tournament at GVSU, we finished 6th! We had one of the best scores in 20 years! Unfortunately though, only the top 5 places went to State at State (its held at MSU). But, we were the first alternate team. Then a couple days later, we got a call saying that we were going. Throughout all the other regions in MI, ours is the hardest and we were chosen as the alternate based on our score. So we are going next weekend! We will see how that goes! lol ; )

Recently I went on a "ride-along" with a deputy with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Dept. He used to be Levi's coach for rocket football, so I kind of knew him before, so that was nice. Besides, he has pulled over most of my siblings but then gave them warnings b/c Levi was such a good player. lol. But anyway, we went to court to begin with b.c a guy was trying to fight his ticket. Then we went to the Jenison Baptist Church and looked for seatbelt violations. BE WARNED! lol they are watching haha. We would spot someone then pull them over, he would go to their car and I would get the ticket and payment envelope ready then would run their license thru the govt. databases. That was a lot of fun. Now it gets INTERESTING!

A call came over the radio about a possible dead body found in Springrove Park! So we responded to the call and went there. About halfway up to the scene, I was told to stay where I was bc if it was a homicide, they have to report and record everyone that was there and why, etc. and its a lot of paper work and I might have had to court later...... Then the deputy came back and said that they def found a dead caucasian male in his 40-50's..... The rest of the details are kind of dirty, so I will spare you. But the detectives said that it was more than likely an accidental death on the behalf of the victim based upon his first look at the scene. So that was really exciting to actually go to the scene of a dead body, even though i didnt actually get to see it. But quite an experience none the less!

I am going to the Lakeshore High School Police Academy June 10-15, at GVSU. That will be a lot of fun, and I can't wait!!

Then, the 17th i fly to CO for SUmmit!!! That will be a BLAST as well! I cant wait lol!! : )

I think my boss might not like me after I take over a month off of work haha ; ) but it will be fine.

Much love!
Luke

Brad, Kelli, Derek, Mariah, and Hailee NEWS

News from down under......

I am officially finished with the Army. I'm still active until July 1st and then I'll be a regular civilian again.......in the meantime I'm on vacation and will start my new practice in May here in Clarksville, TN.

We are all doing very well. Kelli and the kids are looking forward to summer break from homeschooling. They'll be doing some traveling to visit friends and family. Life is great!

We recently took a week and rented a cabin in the Smoky Mountains just outside the national park. I highly recommend it. The area is gorgeous. We had beautiful weather that ranged from several inches of snow to near 80! I'm going to try to post some pictures of that trip.

The kids are getting big too fast. Derek is quite the young man. Grampa TB took a picture of Derek showing off his muscles while they were visiting. The girls are beautiful young ladies (inside and out) and have a great time with their friends.

OH....if anyone is looking for a Suburban.....I've got one for sale. Excellent shape....Great price...all the bells and whistles. Call or email for the details.

We love you all.......if you ever come this direction you are more than welcome to visit.

Brad, Kelli, and the Kids.

note for Jen VV

Heh Jen;
I don't have your personal email address anymore and didn't have the time to call around and get it so I'll try this. We thinned out raspberries today and I have extra "raspberry plants/roots" to share. So give me a call or come on over and get some if you're still looking for some.
Love you,
Aunt Rachel