Fun Pictures of our Week

Just posting some pictures taken this week. The first is of Tori (on the right) and her friend Riley playing on the bleachers at Deven's football game on Monday.

This next one is of Sophie (standing) and Abby coloring their wall mural. They are serious 'artists' who color really well for 4-year-olds!


Tori and I get to spend some time together on Wednesdays. Our traditions include a stop at the Dollar Store and lots of games of Uno. She's a pro!

She's also flexible!

Tori participated in Byron Christian's Fall Walk on Thursday and lots of her friends and teachers signed her t-shirt.

I promised an action shot of Ty this week. It was hard to get a picture from the bleachers which were really far back from the field, so this is the best I could do. He's out there, I promise. He's second from the back on the far side :)

Tori won't like this picture, but it's a nice one of Lynn :)
Notice the clothing - it was a HOT evening!

Saturday night we celebrated the 60th birthday of friend Bob. He's been a friend of Bill's since 1953 and a friend of mine since 1966 - can't beat life-long buddies!

Ron, Bob, Bill

I don't have pictures, but on Wednesday evening we attended a fundraiser for Karen Malestein who is fighting brain cancer. It was a night jammed full of fun, activities, and hundreds of people. A link to Karen's care page is on the right hand column. Prayers, please, as she continues treatment that is coordinated with her doctors here and Duke University.

On another note: Son-in-law Ben took a very important test this week that will determine where he gets in for his PhD studies. He did well and we wish him the best as he continues at Fuller Seminary and applies for post-graduate work. Laura will be here with us in ten more 'sleeps'! We are eager to see her and celebrate her pregnancy with a couple of baby showers, birthday celebrations, and family time.

That's it for now....except for this - please pray for Travis Gortsema, a student at Calvin Christian High. He is hospitalized and is in critical condition with a brain injury. Type in his name under carepages.com for updates.

Blessed Sabbath to each of you
who checked in on us.

Family Fun

Our week of fun began with Deven's football game on Monday. That's him - # 8.

Team prayer after the game

Bill and his mom :)

Tuesday afternoons are spent with Abby, Sophie, and Noah. Their neighbor called to say they had some great toys the kids could have, so off we went to get the treasures......

Bill drove the bus for South Christian's band which played at the McCain/Palin townhall event on Wednesday night. He got some great shots, including some video which shows the excitement and energy in the Ford Fieldhouse.


Ty plays for South Christian's freshman team on Thursday nights. He's # 36. Hope to get some action shots this week.....

Steve and Grandma after the game

I had a nice lunch with Beckie on Thursday - had my camera with me as usual, but never took a picture. Ditto for Friday when Tori and I spent some nice time together....my family won't believe I missed the photo ops :)

Laura emailed this photo showing her at 26 weeks of pregnancy. Can hardly wait to see her in a couple of weeks!


These next pictures were taken over the weekend when we stayed with the kids while Tom and Anna enjoyed some time in Chicago. The first is a slide show of some of the fun things we did and the second one is of the kids pretending they are rocks rolling down a mountain. The 'mountain', of course, is Bill. Bless his heart, the rock-rolling went on for a full ten minutes!

On our way home Saturday evening, we stopped at the small airfield near the kids' house. There were lots of Power Paragliders (the official name) who entertained us for a while. It was a beautiful sight with the cloudless sky. Tom thinks it's a great sport he'd like to try :)

May your life be blessed with family, games, and adventure -
enjoy the flight!

Making Memories

It's been a great week of fun times with friends and family. The first picture was taken at our church picnic last Sunday evening. Still wearing those stylish sunglasses.....


We enjoyed dinner out with friends Gary & Shirley and Curt & Jan on Tuesday night. We wonder how many more evenings we'll be able to eat outdoors - we are certainly enjoying it while we can!


On Wednesday, Tori and I made our favorite stop at the Dollar Store where she picked out some new sunglasses :)

On Wednesday evening we had dinner with friends John and Jo. We made a toast to the new granddaughter we'll be sharing soon :)

John refinished a cabinet for us as Lynn's birthday present. It looks great and she loved it :)

Ty & Lynn

Thursday night was Ty's football game - he plays on the freshman team for South Christian. It was fun to see nephew Tony and his family at the game :)

Ethan, Tony, Kirsten, Brianna, Alex

Ty after the game

Ty and Great-grandma, a faithful fan!

We spent Saturday and part of Sunday with Ty and Deven in the Silver Lake area. We had a great time in spite of getting rained out of our golf game. But the skies were clear long enough for a great hour on the beautiful dunes; Bill drove a Jeep and we joined hundreds of others on the beautiful dunes. What fun!! We played lots of arcade games, rode go-carts, and spent some time in the hot tub at the hotel. Deven and I beat Ty and Bill in the arcade games and Ty was the big winner at Uno. It was a wonderful weekend and we all agreed we'd like to go back next summer.

Last, but certainly not least - Friday was Laura's 32nd birthday. Bill always makes sure she receives flowers from him - now via Ben, who gets them from the Public Market. This is a tradition since her third birthday and he always plans ahead by leaving money and a card with Ben when we visit every summer. Maybe Laura will post pictures on her site....it makes her get teary every year. Anyway, Happy Birthday to our beloved daughter!

You bring us great joy, Laura, and you bless us with your thoughtfulness, sense of humor, and zest for life. We love you and thank God for you!

Beauty All Around!

You'll have to admit, there's almost nothing more beautiful than a pregnant woman. That's why these pictures begin with a photo of Laura that was taken yesterday at 24 weeks. Baby Girl is on the way and we can hardly wait!

These next pictures were taken on Labor Day and include shots of some of the beautiful people in our family.....

Sisters Marva and Denise

"Sister" Beckie and brother Rick, always mugging for the camera :)

Niece Ricki's new tattoo - I think it says "Strength and Perseverance" in Korean

Kristofer and me (like those stylish sunglasses?)

Pure beauty - Nieces Lidia, Ricki, Ji Su (our niece for at least a year :), Laiya, Margie

Nephews Johnny & Byron, Joey & Kristofer

At the cottage.....where's John?

Anna began her teaching position through Hope College on Tuesday. She's teaching an accelerated Biology class to middle school students one afternoon a week. It's a perfect job for her and a tremendous gift to her students! This photo was taken as she headed to class for the first time.

Sophie, Abby, and Noah were playing hospital - those are, of course, medical masks and gloves they're wearing - must be the Infectious Disease Unit :)

Sweet Abby

This is Sophie at the garden plot where we pulled up some carrots for supper.

Tori came out on Wednesday afternoon and spent some time with the kids. They LOVE playing with her and she is a natural teacher who did a great job of preparing them for preschool next week :). By the way, this was afternoon snack number three for the kids....don't ask.

Fun at Captain Sundae's

I missed a lot of great shots on Thursday when Beckie joined us for some hours of fun with the kids - can you believe I left home without my camera?!?


We celebrated my Mom's birthday on Tuesday. As you can tell from the numbers on the cake and would never guess by looking at her face, she is now 82. Happy Birthday, Mom! You are a great blessing in our lives and we love you very much!

Mom and Rich

"Brother" John.....now you know why we love him so much :)

This morning we went to the Reeds Lake Triathlon to cheer on some friends from church who participated in the race. Two friends were part of the 'Chariot Team' who competed with disabled children by pulling them in dinghies in the water and in bike strollers on land, then pushing them in strollers for the run. Their goal was to raise awareness for ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a fatal genetic disease that attacks children and causes progressive loss of muscle control and immune system problems. Friend Kevin participated with 7-year-old Olivia and Pam (the 2006 WINNER in the female division in '06!) participated with Olivia's 10-year-old sister Kate. It was an inspiring event and our heroes of the day are Kevin and Pam!

Click on the photo of autoplay doesn't start the slides for you.

This very short video clip is of Olivia and Kevin rounding the last bend before the finish line!



And last, but certainly not least, is the beauty of hearing the doctor's declaration of CANCER FREE for our friend Dick!!!!! We are celebrating and praising God for this cure! The link to Dick's carepage is in the right-hand column.

One of the Bible verses that was very special to Dick and Jacque during the last four months is Isaiah 41:10:

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Praise God for his promises!