Chicago!!

This is the response to the question, "Who's excited to go to Chicago?"

For the last several years we have planned excursions with Abby, Sophie, and Noah as part of their Christmas gifts. Because the kids loved our trip to Chicago last year, we chose to go back again this year. Noah decided we should make it a 'routine' - translate 'tradition'.

We drove - actually Tom drove - to Michigan City where we hopped a train to Chicago. I made activity folders that helped the kids pass time during the 1 1/2 hour trip. They looked for different modes of transportation, colored pictures of dinosaurs, and used math to fill in colors on other pages.

We booked a room at the beautiful Hilton Chicago which was near the Field Museum, which was our first stop after lunch. We saw Sue, the T-rex and then spent time in the Native American area where the kids harvested and ground corn. We also were 'shrunk' to only one inch in size so that we could travel below ground to see all the activity that takes place beneath our feet - critters, roots, and tunnels. We ended our time at the museum with time on the Nature Trail where we saw lots of animals. It was a great afternoon and the kids loved it!

We spent a lot of time in the hotel pool before supper. It was really wonderful that Tom & Anna's friends from Annapolis were in Chicago the same weekend - in the same hotel! Tom & Anna went for dinner and to the Comedy Den with Mike and Tonia while we had pizza in the room with the kids.

After breakfast the next morning, we took a cab to the United Center where we saw Disney on Ice. It was a terrific show with all of the kids' favorite Disney characters. Then it was over to Miller's Pub for a late lunch before the kids had another short swim in the pool. Then it was time to pack up and head back to the train station for the trip home.

It was a marvelous weekend for us! The kids find everything exciting and fun, and they were so delightful to be with. Bill & I enjoyed it as much as the kids - and they are already talking about going back again next year.

Enjoy the pictures!

Day by Day January 10-21

It's been nearly two weeks since I've added new pictures.... They'll give you an idea of some of the great people and events that have filled my time.

January 10 - brunch with friends Carole and Bart

Sunday evening at Steve and Lynn's - Tori made us Purple Cows :)


Mom B.'s 87th birthday on Tuesday, the 12th - she REALLY enjoyed a visit from friends she's known for 65 years!

Tuesday afternoon lunch prep - serious business!

Abby enjoys hot cocoa on our 'pajama day'

On Wednesday, the 13th, I enjoyed a beverage and chips with my friend Sue. No picture of her this time, but evidence that children had fun at the table next to us.....


Rick & Beckie invited me to join them for supper on Friday, the 15th. It was a nice break during a busy, but quiet, weekend while Bill was enjoying a visit to Mom and Rich in Florida.


Sunday, the 17th - supper at church


Monday, the 18th - Bill putting together a bookshelf for Mom's room at Brookcrest. It's not a spacious room, that's for sure - took us a while to find a bookshelf that would fit.


Tuesday, the 19th - fun with the kids in Holland....

Noah helped me chop some ice off the driveway

The girls played in the snow - Sophie gave Abby a wild ride on the sled...hence the helmet :)

Wednesday, the 20th - the sunrise was 100 times more beautiful than this picture shows!

Thursday, the 21st - Sisters' Lunch!

And an evening visit with precious Amelia and Laura in CA via computer.....


I'm thinking this plant may have been lovely at some point. And it clearly served a purpose because it's much more noticeable than the electrical outlet it attempts to hide. People like me tend to trip over things like that outlet.
The plant sorta reminds me of people in general....we don't have to be beautiful or vibrant. We just need to do what we were designed to do.

"He has shown you, o man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God."
Micah 6:8 - The Holy Bible

Mom's 87th Birthday & Other Special Moments

Bill's mother will turn 87 years old on Tuesday! Our family gathered on Saturday evening to celebrate with her. Mary & Ron have a large, heated garage that was perfect for the 45 of us - the only five of her family that weren't able to be there are out-of-state. It was a wonderful party that she anticipated with great enthusiasm. She enjoyed watching all the children, eating a great dinner, and hearing some of our memories and favorite stories. She was still beaming today when we saw her :)

We are so thankful for Mom's testimony of God's faithfulness to her
since her stroke more than 13 months ago.

While we were celebrating in Michigan, three of our family members were together in California. Nephew Ned spent some time with Laura and Amelia in sunny CA :)

And Amelia has a new crib, which she clearly likes :)

The rest of the pictures are in reverse order, starting with lunch with Marcia on Wednesday, the 6th. We sat for three hours and solved all of the world's problems :) One special friend and about six mugs of coffee - a perfect way to spend a wintry afternoon!


This is my friend Bob who has a great way to transport the Bibles back to the bookshelf in the Cave at church. He can always be counted on to help pack up after Bible study on Wednesdays.


Abby, Sophie, and Noah played outside in the snow for 2 1/2 hours on Tuesday afternoon. Their cheeks were pretty rosy when they came indoors.

Sophie & Abby

Brunch friends on the 3rd

This is what happens when a camera is left in the car when it's 20 degrees outside...

This is our mysterious group of friends at Bob & Julie's on the 1st......

....and these are our Pete's friends on the 30th :)

This pic of precious Amelia was taken on the way to the airport at the end of Laura & Ben's Christmas visit. What a happy little girl she is!


I pulled these pictures off facebook...they are of Laura when she was a cheerleader at Hope way back in the mid 1990s. They were posted by the guy who is shown lifting her. Those were fun days!

May you be lifted to great heights in 2010 -
but may your foundation always be strong, steady, and sure!

Christmas Celebrations!

What a wonderful Christmas season we've had! Every day was spent with family and friends, was packed with fun and at the same time was relaxing. The week began with an unexpected trip to pick up Laura, Ben, and Amelia who were stranded in Chicago. Because of weather conditions, their flight had arrived late and they missed their plane into GR. Rather than have them spend the night in Chicago, Bill and I headed out around 6:30. Driving was treacherous in spots and there were MANY cars in the ditch, flipped on their sides, and overturned. The first picture shows the ice on the back window of our vehicle.

It was a slow trip and we were happy to be safely back at our house by 5 in the morning. The clock next to Amelia shows the time.... she was still smiley and happy after a l-o-n-g day of traveling.
Later that morning (Christmas Eve), we went to Holland to celebrate four birthdays in Ben's family - his, Amelia's, Ben's brother, and his niece. It was so nice to have a separate celebration in the midst of the Christmas parties. Thanks, Deb & Matt for your hospitality!

Tom and Anna had invited us for a special raclette dinner at their house, so we headed over there in the early afternoon. We had a delicious and relaxing meal with them and Anna's parents before going to their church for a Christmas Eve service. Abby, Sophie, and Noah were all sheep in the children's program, which was both meaningful and delightful. Then it was back to their house for snacks and their family's gift giving. Each of the kids had shopped and chosen special gifts for the other two, and it was great to see the excitement with which they gave their gifts and told why they had selected them. Perfect day in every way.

After church on Christmas morning, we visited with some friends and with Bill's mom.

Adelfine, Anna Marie, and Lela

From Brookcrest we headed to Holland where we spent a very special Christmas day with Laura and Ben and Amelia at Ben's parents' home. Thanks, John and Jo, for the delicious meals (plural!), your warm hospitality, and for inviting us to enjoy Christmas day with you and our shared family.

We celebrated Christmas with our family on Sunday, the 27th. Because we are not often all together, we took advantage of the opportunity to have family pictures taken by our niece Katie. We're eager to see her work...you'll see a few of my amateur shots in the slides show. We had some snacks before opening gifts, which was followed by dinner and several games of Bingo. After the party, we made a visit w/ Laura and Ben to see Mom at Brookcrest. It was another perfect and wonderful day!

On Monday we visited Mom B. before meeting Tom & Anna and their kids for lunch in Holland. There was plenty of time for the kids to play in the afternoon.

Monday night Rick and Beckie and Marva came by for coffee. Not really - they came by to see Amelia....and Laura and Ben of course :)

Just a fun picture.....

Laura and I missed part of the movie.....

Steve and Lynn, Deven and his friend, and Tori joined us for lunch on Tuesday. In the evening we celebrated Tom's 36th birthday (which was the 4th), Amelia's first (the 22nd), and Ben's 33rd (23rd). It was wonderful to be together one last time (minus Zac and Ty) before Laura, Ben, and Amelia headed back to Pasadena. It was especially nice to have Mom B. here with us once again.

As you can see from the pictures, we had a marvelous Christmas!

2009 was a year filled with blessings and great joy in spite of some sorrows and difficulties.
We anticipate God's continued goodness and faithfulness to us and our family in 2010.