Bethlehem, Snow & Christmas Cookies

Hello out there!!!! In case you didn't guess from the title it's CHRISTMAS TIME up here!!! I must say this might be my favorite time of the year. Not my favorite season, but my favorite time of year! If the snow would all melt on Dec 26 I'd be a happy little mama! =) Anyways I'll describe the pictures - hopefully they'll stay in the order as I see them now once I hit the "Post" button so here's hoping it doesn't get messed up! The first few are of our Christmas cookie decorating extravaganza last night! Makayla was so excited to get her hands on those that she could hardly stand it. (too bad my roast took FOREVER to cook last night so we got a later than 'supposed to' start!) I made Dutch Sand cookies because...well let's face it those are THEEE best cookies for Christmas time! Not to mention they were a family tradition growing up so I may be rather partial! Anyhow I know the neon colors aren't really fitting with the whole Christmas theme but what the heck...it's all I had! =) And the kids had fun, especially eating them!

The next few pictures are of our beautiful snow! Although it really IS beautiful....there's just entirely TOO MUCH of it for my taste! There comes a time when you wonder "hmm...where are going to put anymore of it" - I think I may be there! (how's it by you Stac?) But we've been snowblowing like good little girls and boys....Dan even made a path around the house for the kids. Obviously it's too deep for them to play in, so this way it gives them a place to play besides the driveway or the road! Of course if you ask him he'd say he made it for the meter man because he is 'not going to pay the bills based on estimates all winter long'. Okay - fair enough - but I still say he did it for the kids first! Makayla tried riding her battery powered Jeep through it but to no avail. The thing needs some snow tires I guess, which is something mommy & daddy are not willing to invest in! =)

The other pictures are from an event we went to last weekend called A Taste Of Bethlehem. It wasn't at our church but we saw the article in the local paper and it caught our eye. So we checked it out. It was a seriously bad snow storm that night but how in the world do you tell a 4 yr. old who's heart is so set on going that the roads are too bad? You don't....you forge ahead at full speed...so that's what we did! And we're glad! They did an awesome job getting things to really look like you were back in the town of Bethlehem. Not only were all the people dressed appropriately, but they had tons of food (hence the title TASTE of Bethlehem) all in keeping with the times. Among the people they had chickens, sheep, donkeys & doves much to Camerons liking I must say! He's an animal lover for sure! Makayla wasn't so sure at first but she warmed up to it towards the end. They had a story teller (I think that's one of the pictures), belly dancers, pottery makers, soap makers, etc....it was very cool! And what a great learning experience for Makayla who's a very visual learner!

Anyhow that's pretty what's happening here in a nutshell. We're coming down for Christmas/New Years so hopefully we'll get to see some of your shining faces. Love you all!

THE VELDERMAN FAMILY

"Draft" Posts are now "Real" Posts :)

Hey all. I logged in to delete the blank post that Lindy accidentally posted, and I noticed that there were about 25 posts that had been saved in "draft" mode and never published on the site. That's probably what happened if you ever had a frustrating experience with a post vanishing after you put in a bunch of hard work.

I went through and deleted the ones that were blank and published all the rest, so you'll see the long lost information. There are some cool pictures and updates among them, but they go all the way back to 2006, so you'll have to go on a little treasure hunt to find them. :) Have fun!!

Also, if you add a post, remember to click the orange "Publish Post" button,



and not the blue "Save Now" button.






Have an awesome day! Mark :)

Happy Birthday Andrea Joy!

WHAT WE ARE THANKFUL FOR....

OK, LET ME TRY THIS AGAIN...I DON'T KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED....LINDY HERE..I JUST WANTED TO WISH YOU ALL A WONDERFUL AND BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON. I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT THANKSGIVING! ADAM, ISABELLE AND I HAVE MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR(AND EVERY YEAR FOR THAT MATTER) BUT WE JUST WANTED TO JOIN IN THE FUN OF ''GROWING BLUEBERRIES" AS KURT AND LISA PUT IT AND GROW ONE OF OUR OWN. YES, WE ARE ALSO EXPECTING AGAIN...A MONTH AFTER KURT AND LISA AND FIVE DAYS BEFORE MATT AND COURTNEY...WHAT FUN! THE GREAT PART IS THAT WE DID NOT NEED ANY ASSISTANCE THIS TIME AS WE DID WITH CONCEIVING ISABELLE. A FUN SURPRISE! I HAVE BEEN FEELING ICKY SO I KNOW THE BABY IS DOING GREAT. GOD IS GOOD! JUST WANTED TO SHARE!

Hello from the Vander Veens

Hello Everyone!

We have not disappeared into a black hole! :) I finally have remembered how to post on this again. So sorry about our lack of updates. Since it has been so long, there is so much to share. But I thought I would do some basics first.

We are in our own house again and we are so excited! For those of you who don't know, we sold our house and were living in my (Jen's) parents house. Don't get me wrong, they were awesome. But it is hard to raise your family without your own home. Luckily, my mom and I see eye to eye on almost everything. But I am a typical woman and wanted my own place. So we are now renting a duplex in Hudsonville. It is such a blessing... our whole reason for selling is that we have felt compelled to get completely out of debt. That has been a little challenging because of our real estate business. To spare you the gory details, God moved many mountains and provided in many other ways. We are within 6 months of being completely out of debt. What a relief! We wanted to rent something cheap but nice. God brought us this duplex where everything inside in new, trendy, and spacious... and cheap! We adjusted instantly, even Tori. (An absolute miracle... bless her sensitive heart.) So we are truly doing great.

Tori is in 2nd grade and I am still homeschooling her. This past week, reading finally clicked. She has been able to read but it has been like pulling teeth. I have been very patient (nothing short of a miracle) and haven't pushed her. I knew it would just connect and she would love it. Sure enough, it did. Now she is reading like crazy and LOVES it. Whew! Mommy will admit she was a little nervous. It is a big responsibility to be in charge of your child's education. So I was feeling the pressure. But our philosophy and goal of homeschooling is to develop a passion for learning in our children. So if I had to force feed it, she would of eventually learned to hate it. So God is good! :) She is in gymnastics this year on Pre-team. She is loving it and progressing well. Her first meet in the end of January. Mommy will have to admit that she is secretly hoping she grows out of her love for the sport. It is involves long hours and unfortunately mommy knows what is coming. But if it is her dream, then we will help her every step of the way. I am very proud of her hard work. Plus, she is on a team of 14 girls and I LOVE the social aspect of it for her. However, she has a lot of dreams and passions. So we will see.

Elli is not starting school yet. She turns 5 on December 8. She is counting down the days. The weird thing is that she is already reading. She seriously can sound out many words and read them. I have never done a single structured thing with her but she learns from Tori. Mommy is pretty excited about this! It will make school next year that much easier. She is also in gymnastics and doing great. She is developing into a very independant little girl. I love to watch her. Just today, her & I were talking. I asked her if there was anyone from her gymnastics class she wanted to invite to her birthday party. I specifically asked her if she wanted to invite Jade, a girl she has been in class with for awhile. She said, "Mommy, she doesn't like me." I thought, how strange. So I asked her why she thought that. She said, "Well, she is always telling me, 'Don't touch me!'" I tried super hard not to laugh. You see, Elli has absolutely no personal space. To her, touching is saying I love you. But that is obviously not the case with Jade. :) So I told Elli not everyone liked to cuddle. She was seriously baffled. That is my Elli! She has never met a stranger and love to hug everyone! What a blessing.

Mark & I are doing great. I thuoght I had better tell you quick about the pics I uploaded. The one of the girls in pink is when we went to see High School Musical 3. They are girly girls all the way. The ones of Mark & I are from our Adventure Race. We did our first race which was a dream come true. We did a 6 hour race that combined Trail Running, Mountain Biking, Canoeing, and Orienteering (finding your way in the woods with a compass). We loved and plan to do many more.

We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Be blessed!

Thankful!!!

Happy Blest Thanksgiving to all!


A special thanks to Stacey for setting up this family site and getting us all connected this way!! I LOVE being able to keep up on it. It has been such a blessing.

Getting to see all my kids (except for Brad and gang) on Thanksgiving. Grampa & Gramma are joining the bunch of us too. I know I will be tired by Monday morning, BUT it will be such a satisfying tired.
Dan & Kim and kids are arriving late this afternoon and the fun begins! Tomorrow we are gathering around 10 and working together to make all the fixings. That way no one needs to stress about getting it all done ahead of time. I do all the shopping and we have the fellowship while we prepare, plus little hands get to help and learn how to roll a pie crust from scratch!! We usually eat around 4.
I am doing 2 turkeys this year because the last time we got together(we only meet every other year) we ate all the turkey at dinner. You have to have leftovers to munch on! Brent volunteered to fry one of them in his turkey fryer so we'll see how that tastes.

The girls and I are going to brave the throngs on Fri to do Christmas shopping, but not the 4AM stuff. Yes, we might miss a few of the deals but we tried that early stuff and found out that MOST of the deals are still there at 9AM and a lot of the people have gone back home to bed!

Blessings to all in so many parts of the world where we live!!

Barbara Grace (I love my name!)

The Stickney's!!

Hello,

Just wanted to update you all!! Graham is turning one Dec 3rd!!! YIKES!! Where does time go? He's so fun and very funny!!

Cory's grandpa on his mother's side passed November 22nd while we were visiting. It was expected, he was 88 and we belive went to heaven. The neat part is that we arrived Friday night, had Thanksgiving with that entire side of the family except two of Cory's cousins - then while almost all of them were in the living room (Grandpa's hospital bed was in the living room too) talking, telling stories and laughing... he passed away peacefully. What a great way to go, surrounded by family, laughter and joy!

Please pray that Cory and I would be able to sell our property. We NEED to sell it very soon and trust that God will take care of the rest.

Much love and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

Tina

Hi there, Scott family here. well here goes, Levi is coming home for christmas and will be here the 17th- the 30th of December. I am of course looking forward to that. Leah is going to Honduras for Christmas to see the fam there, Andres christmas present is already on it's way from grammie and grampie. For those of you who may not know Joel and Megs bought their first house, it's beautiful and they are homeowners now. Also proud "parents" of a black lab girl named Angler she is well behaved and well loved:) Travis, Luke and Paula are all at GVSU working on their degrees. Tashina and I keep in touch via SKYPE we both love it's free and I get to see Andres, he blew kisses and did his horsie thing and we got to watch.... gotta love that!! Work has been busy enough for both John and I for which we are thankful. On opening day John got to enjoy the company of three of the boys and he was pretty happy about that too. Looking forward to the holidays. I get 12 whole days off between christmas and new year's can't wait. That is counting week-ends and yes , I counted :) hope you enjoy your family's this holiday season. God is faithful and I am glad about that. Love to you all. Aunt Ruth

Crazy!!!

It is too crazy a world whenI have to "see"my grandkids on the computer!!! I haven't been on for a few weeks so it was fun to see the nes stuff. made me cry though cause it truly does seem like fro the fal a nd winter months we see each othe too seldom.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!! We have so much to be thankful for!
Barbara

Deer Hunting Success!

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