Party at the Thelens!

MORE OF THE THELENS

i didnt get to put pictures on last time so... here are some. some are of camerons 1st birthday, we had everyone over and also painted pumpkins! some pictures are just of my boys. have a great weekend all!! love, brenda

The Stickney's!!

Hello All,

I love having a blog that we can all "keep up" for the most part!! Congrats Kurt and Lisa!!

Stickney news... Ava's turned three, we recently went to Colorado to visit friends and Jennifer.

Katie, I'm sorry we didn't make it to the Springs... we were EXHAUSTED just being in Denver alone. VERY SORRY!!

Traveling w/ the kiddos went pretty good the first couple of days in Denver were terrible! Naps were off, Graham had 3 teeth come through while we were there, we all shared a room (which we've never done), eating schedule was off... and then add pregnant woman plus the effects of the altitude... BUT we had a really good and God time with our Colorado clan. Cory got some fly fishing and ground hog hunting in. Jen came up to visit for a couple of days... it was GREAT to see her and she gave Cory and I a day date!! :)

Here are some recent pictures! Love you all! Tina Stickney

3-2-1 BLAST OFF!!!

Makayla's Tip: "Ya gotta wear your helmet when you go to outerspace Mom!" Well spoken darlin'! =) We love you all...

THELENS

hi everyone!! thought i would write something since i get sick of seeing the same ole,same ole!! we have our outdoor woodstove up and running. man , it will be nice not to haave to pay for propane. we are getting wood in a woods right by our house so we dont have to go far. the boys have fun building forts and just being in the woods. we saw a deer last saturday. fun memeories!! we are planning a trip to Cabelas-- for you who dont know what Cabelas is , its ONLY THE WORLDS GREATEST HUNTING AND OUTDOORS STORE EVER!!! Brent and Gavin LOVE it, gavin says caden and evan will love it sooo we are planning a trip! thats what happens when you have a boys!! we are finally feeling better this week. all the boys have been sick for 2 weeks, i am sick of it!! i washed all the blankets in the house yesterday hoping that will help!! who knows if it will but im desperate for healthy kids again! we went to g.h church for halloween to their trunk or treat, then spent the night at poppy and nannas. we had fun only if we kept the ugly masks out of caden and evan sight. their was a guy dressed as a monkey that scared the pants off both of them. caden haas this "thing" about monkeys anyways. sheesh..... gav and caden are sad to put their dirtbikes up for the winter, but now we can get out our "boats" (sleds) as caden calls them, and pull them with the quad! they are excited about that. well, this is about as much time as i have in front of the comptuer. its off to put the kids down for naps and then i will make supper! the life of a happy homemaker!! love to all--- brenda

JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO GET OUT AND VOTE FOR LIFE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween or so much more

Happy Reformation Day!!!
This is for you Grandpa!!
And if you want a little info about reformation day this is very loose history of the day. Have a great day, enjoy the life of those around you, costumed or not.
Ben

"On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church, and not in the vernacular. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran tradition was born. This in turn would later ease the creation of the Reformed and Anabaptist traditions as well."

~APPLESAUCE UPDATE~
Saturday, November 15
Give Grandma a call if you want to make applesauce

APPLES

ok, I feel a little bad about adding this to the blog because I don't want anyone to miss the 'blueberry news' :) . . so if you haven't read it, scroll down and take a look. . . . staying on the 'fruit' theme. . . . is there any family that is interested in making applesauce? Grandma already has some apples in storage . . . if you are interested, please call her, we will be peeling away the first part of November, no concrete date yet, you can let her know your availability.

Blueberry On Board

Hey, Hey, Hey Family!!! We know that you all have been patiently waiting (well except you Lindy-your not very patient) for this day to finally come! Kurt and I are expecting our first baby (aka blueberry) at the end of May!!!!! We are so excited! This picture is how we told Mom and Dad! We wrapped up this pumpkin-better known as a Mumkin-and gave it to Kurts Dad for his b-day! He didn't quite get it at first but Kim was sure all over it! She read the Mumkin first and just screamed!
Kurt Here-we aren't going to find out the sex and we are keeping names top secret so don't try and pry them outta us. =-) We really don't care if blueberry is a boy or girl(at wk 7 baby was the size of a blueberry and we didn't want to call "it" "it"...so blueberry has stuck) we just want a healthy baby. I'm really excited but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little nervous about this....but we've waited long enough. =-) Lisa is feeling pretty good but she does get random waves of nausea throughout the day and night but has (proudly) never puked!! So prayers are always welcome for a safe and uninteresting delivery and for wisdom as parents. Love you all tons. (I finally feel like I have something interesting to add to the blog vs going to work and going home...=-) )

Kurt, Lisa, and Blueberry!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLI!

Jon & Donna Stellema

Hello Dear Ones,

Just wanted you all to know that Jon and I no longer have a land line or the internet. So, if you need to contact one of us, please use our cell numbers listed below.

Donna - 616.299.8188

Jon - 616.318.8357

Much Love,

Aunt Donna (Tina posted this for me)

Happy October

Happy 1st Anniversary Tim & Andrea!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY CAMERON DANIEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY DAD OR UNCLE NICK!!!!!!!!!!!!(OCT.6)

THELENS

Not much new here but i have some cute pictures i wanted to share! We bought a new outdoor wood stove! So that means lots and lots of wood cutting!! Brings back such fun memeories. The stove will save us a ton of money. Propane is skyrocketing in price! So if you need some trees cut, call us we could use the wood. Also if anyone knows of a full bed they want to sell, let me know. we are looking for a bed for Gavin. thats all for now, love you all!! brenda

Election

Hi Ya-all,
I am going to venture in where many fear to tread, POLITICS!!! OK, so you all know there is an election coming up--Duh? But are you prepared to make an informed vote? I encourage you all to do your homework on where each candidate stands on the issues that matter to our country's future. Please don't think that because you watch the news you are informed.
I'd like to suggest a website that is non-partisan that allows you to see a comparison of both an many issues. It is http://www.wallbuilder.com/ and look for President Voters Guide. Also if you email Ericmoore@migopvictory.org you will be able to access video clips of the Saddleback Church interview where you can hear the candidates actual answers. Also, Garybauer@cwfpac.com is doing a daily commentary until the election that you can sign up for. And finally. if you have a particular questions, I would love to have an email conversation with you barbara_vv@yahoo.com
One more thing, for those of you who vote in Michigan, we will have 2 Proposals on the ballot 1 deals with medical marijuana, 2 is to change our Constitution to allow for UNRESTRICTED scientific research on HUMAN embryos and embryonic stem cell research. you can go to www,micause.com to get more info. This, in my opinion is EVIL.
Also, don't forget to vote for supreme court Justice Taylor he is in the non-partisan part of you r ballot.
So check things out, spread the word & pray
I love you all
Aunt Barb ( or whatever ) :-)

The Stickney's

Hello Everyone,

Cory and I had the ultrasound today for baby #3!! We have another boy on the way! :) My due date has been moved up two weeks to the 21st of Feb. No wonder I felt like I was so much bigger! :) Next week I'll be five months along!

Here's some pictures of the Stickney gang!

Tina

Shipping Container

Hey Family,
I (Luke) spent 4 1/2 weeks in Guatemala last summer
with Paradise Bound Ministries. They are currently in
the process of finishing their new mission base in GUA.
They emailed me and asked if we would be able to help
finish the base. They have a shipping container that is
being sent to GUA on Nov. 14, but they still need a lot
of things before they will for sure be able to ship the
container. The following link shows everything they need.
I can only do so much to help, but together with my
awesome family I know we can help a lot.  If you feel led
to help or if you have connections with people that will be
able to provide the items on the list, PLEASE contact me
ASAP so I can start the process of getting things
arranged. I appreciate the support of everyone!!!!
Cell- 616.916.2290
Home- 616.895.6493
Email- scottluk@student.gvsu.edu
http://www.paradisebound.org/websitefiles/PBM_Container_List.pdf

Much Love,
Luke

PS. If you would like to get more information in general about PBM,
see www.paradisebound.org

I LOVE FALL....

Hello Family....

OK, so I too have failed to write and keep you all posted on the goings-ons of our little family. Really, its the same old thing. Adam continues to enjoy working for Integrity. They keep him very busy but in these economic times work is a blessing. He has recently become obsessed with salmon fishing and would gladly spend every spare minute like a pirate on the river gathering his "booty"

Leah update.....

I (Leah) just did a post but for some reason or another it put it down below a little ways?!! SO - scroll down to the posts for Friday, Septebmer 19th:)

Leah

HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY MARIAH!!!!

Pictures coming! Mom is still learning how to post:)!

Happy 21st Birthday Ross Mitchell

Hi from the East Coast :)

Hi Family!!

Yes, my butt was kicked too by whoever posted about us being a little lax in the posts lately so I thought I'd better send a quick update :) Life has been BUSY!! but - I know that's nothing new to any of you. I feel like summer has gone by soo fast but I am LOVING the fall weather here. Not so much humidity!! Its been great for walking home from work. As some of you know, my roommate and I (Candace) moved to a new home at the end of June. We absolutley love it and have sooo much more space than we did before. I think the thing we liked the best was not having share a bathroom anymore ;) ;) In July there were a couple of hi-lites. My roommate and I host what has turned out to be an annual 4th of July Party. We had just moved in and had about 35 people rsvp which turned out to actually be about 60 people!! We had planned for some extras but not quite that many!! It was still a lot of fun though and I think everyone had a good time (at least we didn't hear otherwise ;) The 2nd hi-lite was a trip to NY for the first. I went with a couple of my closets friends down here in DC and had such a great time!! We took the train up from Union Station to Penn Station and then saw some of the sights in NY. We made it to Times Square (sensory overload!!), went to a Broadway show (we saw "Rent"to which I feel I need to make a disclaimer - I had no idea what it was about until AFTER we had purchased the tickets - I wouldn't recommend it BUT - the singing was just amazing), then headed up to Central Park. I think Central Park was my absolute favorite. It is just really pretty. Afterwards, we went to the restaurant "Serendipity" (from the movie "Serendipity" with John Cusak and Marissa Tomei) which was just adorable. We were told there was about an hour 1/2 wait when we put our name in so we decided to sit on the bench out front for a few minutes before we did some more exploring. After sitting out there for literally about 3 minutes the manager came out and said, "Is it just the 3 of you? I think I can get you in right now" - so that was great!! We didn't have to wait long at all and had a really fun waiter so over all it was a great experience. After dinner we made our way back to Penn Station and then got on an 11pm train back to DC. It was such a great trip that we are going back in December for Christmas time :) In August I made it home for about 11 days when Tash, Carlos and Andres were back for some vacation which was awesome - I had such a relaxing time and it was great to hang out and see everyone. Labor Day weekend included a trip to Assageague Island National Seashore for some camping with the wild horses (seriously!!) It is an island right on the Atlantic Ocean and just beautiful. The horses basically roam wherever they want. They left us alone except for at night when I heard this muching sound and realized they were eating the grass right next to my tent. I then decided to move a little closer to the center of the tent!! Other than than, it was a lot of fun and we had some great beach weather. I am pretty much not planning on being home a lot in October!! I will be in Atlanta, GA for a conference and then Pennsylvania with some friends for the fall colors and then in MI for a period of time, not sure how long at this point but likely for a week at the least. So, all in all, I think I'll be in DC for 1 weekend! Anyway, life continues to be busy and full for me but I am happy and content!!! As always, stay in touch and let me know if you ever want to visit :)

Luv Leah

Me, my roommate Candace and my friend Lauren


Candace and I at Serendipity

Andres and I at the beach with Tash and Carlos

Andres being a goofball :)

Some pics of my new place (yes, I know, the walls are bit bare, we're workin on that!)

Speyer Family....in Florida

Well this past weekend Tim and I were able to come home from a Jam packed weekend. We have a count down of 240 more days until tim Graduates! Don't get me wrong we are enjoying the place we are at but I made tim promise that some day he will take me to the country where i can grow old! Its a little hot here for my liking but i think its because i am temperature sensitive i am always too hot or too cold it tends to make me craby but they say in about a month it should cool down and we will be having perfect weather.

This is of down town Orlando at Lake Eola on our swan ride

Happy 60th Anniversary Grandpa & Grandma

Kurt and Lisa's Update!!

Hello Everyone!! I thought that a post from Kurt and Lisa was long overdo so here is a little update on how we have been doing! At the beginning of the summer Kurt and I officially "coined"it the "Summer of Fun" because we knew we had a lot of fun things planned to do and we both just love summer so much! But I think a better name would have been the "Summer of CRAZY fun"!! Because it was such a whirlwind of a summer for us! I have enclosed a couple pictures from the summer but we have more recent ones that I want to share but I cannot figure out how to download them from the camera right now....so....I will just have to have kurt send another post with some pics of more recent events. Some of the fun we things we did was go to a Detroit Tigers game with Joel and Megs! I think it was one of the hottest days of the summer and we had some good laughs-as always with joel and megs!!

We also went camping with Joel, megs, adam, lindy, and izzy! The boys got some fishin in and us girls just enjoyed the summer sun!! We camped at Little Switzerland in Newago and had the most perfect campsites!

Otherwise...throughtout the summer my dearest and best friend becky got married in July and I was her maid of honor and I also sang in her wedding so that

THELENS HOUSE

here are some pictures of our house.

i thought i would send pictures since most of you wont ever see it! this is the next best thing . i will take some of the interior and send them soon. love you all. If you DO want to come visit we would LOVE to have you!!!!!!!!!!!

THELENS

hi everyone, its the thelens. well evan is finally walking. hes so chuncky it took him awhile. Gavin has started 3rd grade and knows everyone in his class. he just did a punt , pass, kick contest and won first place!!!! he is soooo excited!! now he moves on to another one and if he wins the next one he will go to the silver dome. im sure it is only the start for us thelens and sports!!! we are excited, of course i had to cry, but so did grampa pat and gramma!! gav said he was shaking he was so nervous. bless his heart. Caden is riding his dirtbike like a mad man. we are always telling him to slow down! our days and nights are crazy busy but we love it. we just tell ourselves that all to soon we will wish our house was noisy again. i posted some pictures of cadens 3rd birthday and gavins school and his punt pass, kick.