Friends, Faces, and Frogs

It was a perfect night for a meal outdoors with friends! We appreciate their friendship, enjoy the conversation....and their willingness to always let me take their picture :)

Bill, Gary, Curt, Shirley, Jan

Eye surgery to repair a macular hole takes place tomorrow afternoon. Head down, no reading or computer for two weeks - so this will be my last post for a while unless the doc changes my instructions. Thanks to photobooth, these no-so-flattering pictures of me will give you an idea of what the vision in my right eye is like; whatever I look at is pinched in the middle. So when I look at someone's eyes, this is what I see....

Nose...

Mouth....
Add to that a gray 'felt' circle over everything, heavy blur, and black spots popping around and you'll know why I'm eager to have the surgery. All of you will be much better looking after the procedure :) I'll appreciate prayers for restored vision and patience during the time I'm face down - thanks!


It took me a while to figure out why the stems of my plant were breaking...the culprit can be seen in the middle of the picture. Never saw him until he jumped out and scared the wits out of me! He had been dining on my geranium, apparently for at least a week or two. There's a moral to that story somewhere, just can't think of one right now. Perhaps "Beware of hidden dangers" or "Stay out of where you don't belong". Anyway, hope he found his way back to the pond....

Thanks for checking in
and
God bless!

Summer Fun with Family and Friends

Just can't beat summer for special times with special people! My sister Marva and I took our granddaughters, Abby and Tori, to see the play "Sarah, Plain and Tall" at the Hope Repertory Theater in Holland on Wednesday. The girls had front row seats and loved being so close to the action. It was a wonderful play that we all enjoyed! After the play we strolled down 8th Street, making stops at the Peanut Store and the toy store before having a special lunch in the garden at Alpen Rose.

Mid-afternoon we went swimming at Marva's pool where Abby's mom, brother, and sister were. Then it was back to Byron to have supper with Ty & Deven, a trip to the General Store in the big town of North Dorr, and games of whiffle ball and charades. What a fun-packed day!

We dined al fresco with Mom and Rich on Thursday evening right here in downtown Byron Center. It was a beautiful night and it was good to see both of them again; we hadn't seen them since early April. They are now in Michigan through Labor Day :).


Friday afternoon and evening was spent with Abby, Sophie, and Noah while Tom and Anna went to a Tigers' game with Bill, Steve, Grandma Bonnema and her friend Marian. Be sure to check out the pictures Anna posted on her blog - they're great! The link is on the sidebar to the right. It was a special night for all of them!





Friends Tom and Joan and Rich and Lin hosted a Bollo tournament on Saturday evening at Rich and Lin's. The setting was beautiful, the weather perfect, and the friendships priceless.

It was a well-organized tournament complete with rules and regs, intense competition :),
and prizes for the winners.

Chuck - my high school buddy and forever friend
(with all those friends around, you'd think we could have found someone to take our picture instead of me stretching out my arm and snapping this one :)

Just one section of Rich's beautiful gardens!

Quite a gang!

Thanks, Tom & Joan and Rich & Lin - for the snacks, the meal, and the hospitality!

We arrived back in Byron in time to watch the Byron Days fireworks with Gary and Shirley - perfect view from their driveway.

We are so blessed to have friendships that last through the years, family and friends who bring laughter and joy to our lives, and special moments that make precious memories.

I took this final picture in Wurzburg, Germany last summer. It shows the pavement in front of the Residenz, a familiar and famous landmark in that city. The picture reminds me that we all have big chunks and events in our lives, but it's the small pebbles - the ordinary days and treasured moments - that make our path 'walkable' and steady beneath our feet.

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

p.s. Don't forget to click on Anna's link to the right for pictures of the Tiger game w/ Bill's mom :)

The Fun Continues

Friday was a day packed with fun with Abby, Sophie, and Noah. We spent lots of time playing in their backyard, made stops to get some sand for the sandbox and a few groceries (to make 'Grandma mix'), played at Kollen Park, and picked a few vegetables at the garden plot. Bill joined us about supper time and we enjoyed dinner outdoors with Tom and the kids at Boatwerks (aka Outdoor Doggie Froggie's). Ice cream cones at Captain Sundae ended a perfect day with the kids.

We were able to catch a marvelous sunset at Holland Beach before heading home. The sky was gorgeous for twenty minutes after the sun went down - pictures, as usual, don't do it justice.....


Saturday evening was spent with great friends, enjoying lots of wonderful appetizers, a peaceful boat ride and fishing, a delicious meal, and the fun of watching the guys try to assemble a charcoal grill. The directions clearly stated that the process should take only 30 minutes....

...and Bob had most of it together before we arrived.
Another 2 man-hours of labor later....

....Bob and Kristi christened their new grill :)


Bill, bless his heart, is not known for his love or skill of fishing. But he won the honors Saturday night by catching not only the first, but the largest fish.


Monday evening was a Sisters' Night Out - what fun we had! BFF Jacque (how's that for being savvy and hip?) joined us Brummel girls and we all headed to Holland where we enjoyed dinner, a light-hearted musical, and coffee at JP's. Perfect! (Thanks, Marva, for making all the plans and arrangements!)

Tuesday was dinner out with Deven, who will be celebrating his 13th birthday on Thursday. Can hardly believe he's a teenager! He is such a great kid - as Steve says, Deven has been a 'grin' since the day he was born :) We're so thankful for him!

Happy Birthday, Deven - we love you!

Deven had saved his birthday money from his uncles & aunts and,
together with our gift, was able to buy a new helmet.

Grandpa and Deven

Yummy!

Deven and his buddy have spent hours putting in a ball diamond - complete with foul lines, bases, and outfield posts. It's quite a project! This picture was taken by the left field foul pole.

The reason Deven needed a new helmet.....

This final picture was taken in Portland, Oregon last summer.

It reminds me to 'take time to smell the roses'
and treasure the moments with family and friends.

Can't Beat Summer!

Can't tell you how wonderful it was to spend Friday evening with Dick and Jacque! They treated us to dinner for our anniversary and it was the first opportunity we had for an evening out since Dick's diagnosis of lymphoma. We think his new look is pretty trendy and we're so thankful that he feels and looks stronger. Their sense of humor is intact, their faith is solid, and their testimony of God's faithfulness is sure. If you're a praying person, please keep Dick and Jacque on your prayer lists. He's through two of his six rounds of chemo, so he still has a way to go.

Dick is quick to show off his shampoo-saving hairstyle :)

We took a short trip down memory lane before meeting up with Tom and Anna and the kids last weekend. We drove to the golf course where Bill worked during the summers while in high school and college. We spent many date nights riding on a cart like this, picking up golf balls on the driving range. Who knows, this looked like it may have been the same cart from 42 years ago.....

Tom and Anna have a membership at a pool in Holland and we spent a few delightful hours with them and the kids. What fun!




After ice cream with the kids, we returned to the beach and spent some time with the Lappenga's and much of their family. It was great to see Dan and Elissa and Elliot who are here from LA, Deb's ever-growing belly, and Jo's extended family members. They feel like family to us and we're thankful for their friendship.

John, me, Jo, Bill

Also at the beach were friends Bill has had since kindergarten, their wives who have been friends since our double-dates in high school, and the ones we share many Marine Corps memories with. It was great to see them and most of their families!

Carl, Lin and Granddaughter

Gail and Bob

On Monday evening, we stopped at Steve and Lynn's to pick up Ty for our annual birthday outing. Lynn, as usual, was busy working in the yard which looks beautiful!

Ty treated me to a ride on his quad :)

Do I look like I'm ready for combat?

Steve took me for a spin on his new motorcycle.

We headed out for dinner and shopping with Ty, who will be 15 on Saturday. He is a great young man who is working hard for Grandpa this summer and is looking forward to high school this fall. It seems he has grown up over night!

You are very special to us, Ty, and we love you so much!

Ty chose some arrows and wisely decided to save the rest of his
birthday money in his 'car account'.

After bringing Ty home, we saw Steve, his sister Jean, and her husband John. All three are in the military - Steve in the Air Force and Jean and John in the Army, stationed at Ft. Bragg. Their mom Cindy is my friend and my connection with Jean goes back to youth group years at church. It was great to see all of them and we thank them for serving all of us through their military duty.

Steve, Jean, John

Tori spent the day with me on Wednesday and we had great fun together. After she spent two hours helping me at church, we hit the usual spots - the Dollar Store, Houseman's, and McDonald's. We drove by Tori's favorite store - Millbrook Tack and Trailer - and found it indeed had closed, just as Steve had said. We were so disappointed - Tori and I made many trips to that store where she day-dreamed about having her own horse, saddle, etc.

We spent a few hours at Marva and Dave's pool. The water was perfect, the skies sunny and bright, and the giggles plentiful. Tori had such fun in the water and I enjoyed seeing two of my nieces and their children, who I don't see often enough. It was a wonderful day!

May your life be painted with bright and colorful moments.

Summer Fun

Time for an update of the last ten days....
First is a short slideshow of fun with Tom and Anna and the kids. Thursday nights in Holland are wonderful - lots of street performers and people taking it all in. Reminds me a bit of B.C....well, maybe not. The new projects nephew Ryan has going here in town will certainly spruce things up a lot! Anyway, enjoy the pictures......

These next photos are various shots taken of friends and events. The first was taken at Jim and Chris' cottage and is of some of the ball team players and their lovely wives. Bill is the unofficial, no-show 'coach' of the team :)

Bill, Jerry, Chris, Ron, Arlene, Jim, Arla

Beckie's niece Karen visited from California and we had a nice breakfast together. Happy Birthday, Karen!

The next three pictures were taken at the wedding of our friend Tricia - beautiful day, wonderful ceremony, and great friends!

Tricia and Jeff

Ron and Bonnie

Bill and Ron

We had the most fantastic storm last week! It was a good ol' summer thunderstorm and I loved every minute of it! This picture of the clouds rolling in was taken at 5:30 p.m.

If you can see the sign in the middle of the picture, you will get an idea of the amount of rainfall we had. The sign is normally at the edge of the pond.


Our Pete's buddies, Gary and Shirley, met us for supper. It's great having them right here in town and they, like us, are spur-of-the-moment type folks so we're able to see them often.


Steve, Zac, and Ty were having supper at Pete's and we got a look at Steve's new fuel-saving mode of transportation. He's more excited about it than his mother.....


Had a great lunch with 'sister' Beckie on Wednesday....a nice, unexpected surprise in my day :)


Happy Anniversary to us! 39 years on Thursday! Still happy and still lovin' each other after all this time! We share our anniversary with Tom and Anna who celebrated nine years. It's also Anna's birthday today, so this is a great chance to say how much we appreciate and love her. She's a wonderful wife, mother, and 'daughter'! Happy Birthday, Anna!

Tonight it's dinner out with Dick & Jacque...so the fun continues. Please continue to pray for them as Dick is receiving chemo for lymphoma; a link to his carepage is in the right-hand column.


This picture was taken in Cozumel in April - it just says 'summer' to me....

May you make time to enjoy relaxing and quiet times
with family and friends.