Family, Friends, and Fun

Lots of family and friends filled the last few days with fun and good times....

'Dining' with friends Shirley and Gary on Wednesday

Nephew Kenny's j.v. football game on Thursday

Devoted mom Becky sits in the rain

Deven had a Saturday morning football game....

Deven (far left) gains some yardage

Grandpa and Ty make sure every player gets some time on the field

Part of the cheering section - Tori on far right with friends Riley and Ellie

Strategy session at half-time

Doug & Lynn B. organized a great tailgate party preceding Grand Valley's football game at the Fifth/Third Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.

Lynn and Doug Baker

Niece Tina stopped by for a chat

Mark and Sue

Steve & Lynn, Mark, Bill

There was a lot of interest in the MSU game on the portable t.v.

On Saturday evening we celebrated the birthday of our forever friend, Bob.

Bouquet Tori picked for me :)

May your life, too, be filled with sweet surprises!

Prayers, please

My sister Marva will be having reconstruction surgery today. Seventeen years after a double-mastectomy due to breast cancer, she has 'sprung a leak'. (She gave me permission to write this and told me what to write, so I'm not giving away any secrets.) The surgery is scheduled for 2:10 this afternoon and she will likely be sent home this evening or tomorrow.
Prayers for her are appreciated!

My mom flew in from Florida last evening because of Marva's surgery;
we enjoyed a great dinner out with the five of us.

Prayers also, please, for nephew Ben who is undergoing
some oral surgery this morning!

These pictures were taken Monday evening. With temps at 90 degrees, it was a great night for some fun with the kids at Kollen Park.

Sophie, Tom, Abby, and Noah head to the park

Sophie laughed so hard she could hardly run :)

Noah loves the dinosaur

Fun on the tire swing

Abby, Sophie, Noah

You may get dizzy watching this video, but you'll love the giggles!

May you enjoy the laughter of children today!

Thank You, God, for.....

Family!
When we were all together at the cottage in July, our sweet and talented niece Katie took our first-ever professional family portraits. She graciously permitted me to post some of the pictures she took of our beloved family.

Steve & Lynn
Zac, Ty, Deven, and Tori
(by age)

Tom & Anna
Noah, Sophie (by Tom), and Abby

Laura and Ben

You can check out more of Katie's photography on her website - http://katiedeboerphotography.com/


Friends!

We enjoyed the company of great friends this weekend. First was an evening with John and Jo, the parents of our favorite son-in-law :) We had dinner in Fennville, enjoyed the evening drive through Douglas and Saugatuck, and then spent some time back at their home in Holland. As always, we talked a lot about the kids we share....we can boast a bit when it's just the four of us!

John, Jo, Bill

Pizza (all organic and locally-produced food, Laura :)

Beautiful sunset along Lake Michigan

Tonight we celebrated the 43rd (!) anniversary of Dick and Jacque, our forever friends. It is our tradition to celebrate all of our birthdays and anniversaries together, which always include a prayer and a toast. We dined outside - the weather and the 'company' were absolutely perfect.

Happy Anniversary, Dick and Jacque!

May YOUR life be filled with sweet moments -
and may you always have friends to share them with!

I'll end with the prayer that Noah likes to say at the dinner table:

Thank you, God, as this day ends
for my family and my friends.
Taking time to sit and pray -
Thank you, God, for this great day!

AMEN!

Finding Joy in Ordinary Moments

Just posting a few pictures taken during the last week....

Not a great picture, but football season has started for Deven.
He scored two touchdowns but the game ended in a tie at 12-12.

Today Deven and Tori went with me for ice cream and then over to watch Byron and Johnny's soccer game. There was quite a cheering section for those two - about 17 of us!

Laiya, Lucy, Tori

Tori was thrilled to see Arly on her horse when we got home. Arly treated her to a ride - Tori's favorite thing in the whole world!

Ty bought a quad with his summer earnings from working for Grandpa at the Co-op. He worked really hard to save up enough money and is quite proud of his new possession!

This is Deven on their other quad....

And some pictures of Tom & Anna's kids....

Noah's favorite food - bread!

Sophie loved the spaghetti and garlic bread

Noah and Abby (I think....)

Grandpa and Sophie

It was raining when Tom got home from work and the kids wanted to run in the rain. They made about eight trips around the vehicles, squealing the whole time.

Even though some of the pictures aren't spectacular, the kids are! They fill our lives with laughter and fun. We are blessed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURA!

Laura celebrated her 31st birthday today - September 13. She emailed us these pictures after opening her gifts and cards (after a few hours of sleep after having worked until 7:30 this morning). They spent the evening at a baby shower for their pastor and his wife and then hoped to spend some time by Green Lake, just north of the city.

Bill has given Laura flowers for her birthday
ever since she was a few years old.
Since they moved to Seattle, Bill has sent some cash and a card to Ben
who then buys a fresh bouquet at the market.
She cries every year....

I looked through Laura's 'baby book' today and found this notation from September of 1976:

"Because a boy seemed so natural after three others, and because Dr. Eldersveld had predicted a boy on all but the first time in his office, we just couldn't believe we had a little girl! We called her 'him' for the first few days and it took quite a while before it sunk in that we really did have a daughter. So the 'Paul Ryan' we had planned on became our little Laura instead!"

To Laura, our beloved daughter - You add such joy to our lives! You are always so thoughtful, generous, and kind and we admire the beautiful person you are. We smile at your 'zip' and take-charge attitude that blends so nicely with your compassion and faith. God has blessed us with a wonderful daughter and we thank Him for you constantly. We love and cherish you!

GRANDMA GOES TO A TIGER GAME!!

Tom called Grandma Bonnema a week or so ago and invited her to a Detroit Tigers' game, along with Bill and Steve. Tom had access to tickets in a suite and wanted to treat his grandma to the excursion, knowing she's an avid Tiger fan. She knows all the players' names and their positions, watches every game (sometimes into the wee hours of the night), and has a favorite player - Pudge. When Tom called her, she didn't hesitate for a second - and could hardly sleep at night until the big day. She called all her friends and told everyone she saw about the up-coming trip to Detroit.

A friend provided a wheelchair so she could easily get around and they arrived early enough to tour the stands (with no one else in the stadium!) and watch the warm-ups.

Steve shows Grandma around the stadium

Tom took lots of pictures - check out Anna's blog soon :)

Bill and his mom - heading to the suite

Steve and Tom watch the warm-ups

LOTS of delicious food!

Must be something impressive that Steve is pointing out...

Doesn't Tom look happy to be able to treat his
Grandma to such an exciting event!

Tom and Grandma in the suite

Of course - the field

Steve and Grandma after a great victory

This last shot is one you'll rarely see - Grandma with a can of beer! They tried to get her to drink some, but that's as close to her mouth as the can got :)

It's now Wednesday morning and the big day is behind her. She called a bit ago and said she didn't sleep all night - just re-lived every minute of the day. She had such fun!! She so enjoyed spending time with the guys and told me about all the food that was available, the stadium, the game, the players, etc., etc., etc. It's a day she will never forget! Thanks, Tom, for the invitation to her - she's still talking about how thoughtful it was of you to 'think of this ol' grandma'.