So Much Fun!

There have been so many special events in the last week, I had to divide the pictures into slide shows so you could see all of them.
But first...Zac's truck was hit last May by a woman trying to cross several lanes of traffic on a busy street. He has been working on the truck nearly every day since then, saving money for parts and rebuilding it himself. This is what his truck looked like last May.....


...and this is what it looks like now:

Great work, Zac - the truck looks terrific!

We celebrated the June birthdays of Beckie and Denise at our 'Sisters' Lunch' last week. Happy Birthday to two people who are very precious to me!



On Friday we spent some time with Abby, Sophie, and Noah. We had supper in downtown Holland, made a stop at the Peanut Store, and enjoyed the flowers. There was even a quick, unexpected moment with Tom and Anna who were out on a 'date night' :)



On Sunday we celebrated the baptisms of great-nieces (is that a word?) Sylvia and Juliet. We enjoyed a time of coffee with the families at John and Denise's after the worship service.



Sunday afternoon and evening was spent with our family (minus Laura and Ben who will be with us this weekend!).

Happy Fathers' Day Bill, Steve and Tom - three of the finest fathers anywhere!

Monday night was spent at the ball parks - first Ty's game and then Deven's.

Bill had a little extra time in Holland this afternoon so he headed over to pick up Anna and the kids for ice cream at Captain Sundae....an unexpected pleasure in his day :)

Tonight we enjoyed the company of great friends as we 'dined' outside, right in downtown Byron Center :)Shirley, Jim, Gary

This is the view to the east of our condo....

May your pastures be green and plentiful
and may you always have friends to graze along side of you.

Iceland!

Finally posting pictures from my trip to Iceland in May. Meike and Ute, my friends from Germany, invited me along on their 'sister's trip' and met me in Iceland. What a relaxing, fun-filled time it was! I arrived in Reykjavik early on Sunday, May 11 after an over-night flight; Meike and Ute arrived about 6:30 that evening. We spent the week seeing the sights in southern Iceland and on Friday headed to a horse ranch where I spent four days - what an adventure that was! I had to leave early in order to be home for Zac's graduation but the others spent the rest of the week at the horse ranch.

I am so thankful for the opportunities I've had to spend time with Meike and Ute over the years! My friendship with Meike goes back to 1971 when she lived with our family as an exchange student. She has made several trips back to Michigan and I have made six trips to her home in Germany. The every-year visits over the past few years have been wonderful! I cherish their friendship, admire their adventurous spirits, and appreciate their easy-going natures. They are great travel partners :)

The pictures are divided into two groups - the first are shots of the three of us and the second are pictures of some of the beautiful places we saw. Enjoy!

Through fields and streams and mud,
over rocks and rough terrain -
may your boots take you to beautiful and interesting places!

Celebrations and parties!

Our days have been packed with fun since the last post! Tyler graduated from the 8th grade at Byron Christian School on Wednesday. We're so proud of him! He's headed to South Christian High in the fall after working at the Co-op for Bill this summer. Congratulations, Ty!

Proud and happy parents - Steve and Lynn


Lynn and Ty


Proud grandparents!


Ty and Great-grandma B.


Ty and Grandma V.

Zac's graduation open house was last Sunday. It was a great celebration!

I spent four days with Abby, Sophie, and Noah last weekend while Tom and Anna were visiting family in L.A. What fun I had! Check out the pictures.....




Who knew getting washed up for bed could be such fun?!?

Niece Laiya graduated from 8th grade at Dutton Christian on Thursday night. She has been in our family only a year and has done amazingly well in school. Congratulations, Laiya!

Proud parents - Dave and Marva

Bill and me with Laiya and Ji Su, who will be living with Dave and Marva during the coming school year. She is a student from Korea who is attending South Christian (and she loved her math teacher - Bill!)


Niece Rickilyn celebrated her graduation with an open house last weekend. Way to go, Ricki!

Beckie, Ricki, Rick

The following are miscellaneous pictures taken in the last two weeks.....

Sweet Tori with her hat from my trip to Iceland :)


Ty at bat - Village Flooring Little League team


Silly Tori :)


Nephew Byron and brother Rick at Rickilyn's last soccer game


Sister Denise plants flowers at the cottage - she's a great gardener and we can always count on her to make the place pretty and colorful!


This orchid was given to me by Steve and Lynn a year ago for Mother's Day. After it bloomed the first time, I cut the stems down to the soil - dumb mistake. The chances of it blooming again were slim, but it's received lots of tender care over the last year and I am once again enjoying the beautiful flowers.

Lynn celebrated her birthday on June 3.

We will celebrate as a family at the cottage in a couple of weeks
when Laura and Ben are home for a few days.
But this is a great opportunity to say
what a wonderful 'daughter' she is!
We cherish her and thank God for her.
Happy Birthday, Lynn!

One final note....
Please pray for our friend Dick. After two failed attempts, a biopsy was finally taken on Thursday and he was allowed to go home from the hospital. Pray that a clear diagnosis of his cancer can be made so that chemo can begin soon! There is a link in the right-hand column you can use to access his carepage. Thanks!


Hopefully I'll get my Iceland pictures uploaded soon. Until then, thanks for checking in......

This picture was taken in the nature preserve
on my walk with the triplets.

Just as the names and dates are carved in the tree,
may you have memories of wonderful moments etched in your mind!