This is what happiness looks like....

Mom's wedding pictures

I am sitting here at Mom's and I wanted to add a favorite wedding picture and oh yeah one of Mom and Paul. :)

Verburg family

It is finally quiet in our home. We had a great time with all of our guests since the middle of December but have to admit that sometimes the peace and quiet feels good. Having said that I am already trying to figure out when I will see the kids again, nothing officially planned until Graces birthday in March, that is a long time.
Mari will be home at Easter, with Jesse this time. She asked me to find out when the entire Van Wyk family can get together that weekend. Does Easter Sunday work for everybody?? She is anxious to see everyone and also wants you to meet Jesse.
We are in the middle of wedding plans, details, details, details but I really don't mind most of the time, but there are days.
John and I are so pleased that Mari is marrying a Christian man who loves her and God with all of his being.
The last three weeks we had the pleasure of hosting Peter, a South Korean teacher. It was a time of fun learning about his culture and sharing ours with him. I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him, he would have been amazed at the size of our family. In Korea no one has more than two children.
I don't think I ever said how I felt God working the night we got together to divide some of Mom's stuff. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't worrying about that event. But since worry and prayer can't live in the same house, I prayed and prayed and prayed. God chose to honor those prayers and showed all of us how mature Christian women act in times of challenge. What a blessing that all of us love and serve the Lord and when push comes to shuff we walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
I love you all!
Bonnie

We are so blessed. The other night I was in a group of people and we were working on recording an ad for the radio station about the marriage simulcast. The sentence was "Marriage is...." and we had to fill in the blanks. It was good to be in a room with couples who actually loved being married. I am surrounded on a daily basis by people who simply tolerate their husbands or as one person said, "I loathe him". And these are people in our churches and claim to love Jesus. I cannot understand it.

Then I was thinking about marriage and how easy it is to let your marriage go in the tank. A little disrespect for him, a little white lie, a nasty comment, looking at someone else, someone else looking at her and if not admitted or acknowledged, the beginning of huge problems.

Well, marriage is heavy on my mind and I hope you all take some time compliment your spouse and love them for the person they are.

Looking forward to next Saturday and taking Mom out for her birthday - I love Latin King!

Rosa

We are back

A breakdown: (it's not a video-I'll work on that)
6 people
1 car
12 days
Almost 3000 miles
40+ hours in the car
12 states
3 hotels
4 children lost (only 1 knew he was lost so I think he is the only one who should count)
4 parks
Unknown number of roller coasters-Jett could ride all but 2
18 character autographs
2 Beaches=1 very happy mom
1 Kennedy Space Center=1 very happy dad
2 Birthdays-Steve and our friend Elliot
200+ pictures
Best of all, abundant, blessed hours with friends and extended family
No flat tires, breakdowns, lost tickets, below freezing days or events that could derail this trip-Hallelujah!
Do it again? Absolutely!
I love this picture because it is taken as we got on the Small World Ride at Magic Kingdom. It is the end of the day and we are all still smiling.
Thank you to those of you who prayed for us on this trip, helped with the animals, shoveled our drive way and shared in our excitement. We are very happy to be home and back to our routines. We have some incredible memories and sweet moments I know I will hold on to for a long time.
I thought of Mom and Dad often on this trip. I remembered Mom when I saw the ocean and felt the overwhelming happiness just from being there and the joy I experienced when my kids saw it for the first time. I morphed into Dad when I was driving into the Blue Ridge Mountains I hollered at my kids "Look at the mountains!" and then feeling so frustrated because all I got was a glance up from whatever square screen they happened to be staring at. "Look! You may not see this again!" Became my parents. Funny how that happens isn't it? I am thankful to Mom and Dad for teaching me that although it is work and it requires some sacrifice it is worth everything to take a step out of life even for a short while and make memories with your family.
joy

Trying something new

Katey spent quite a bit of time putting this together for me as a new "techy" way of sending out our year end letter. However, I couldn't figure out how to upload it. So, drumroll please, we are going to try it here and see how it works. If you don't want to hear Christmas music, just turn off your speakers and enjoy the pictures from our year in review!

Diane

Checking in...

We made a quick trip to KC yesterday. Angie was supposed to have a dentist appt. on Monday, but the crown didn't come in so we went down there to bring her stuff that she left at home before she went to Mexico. We didn't want to have her drive 4 hours this way, pack her stuff and then drive 8 hours back to school today before the storm comes in tomorrow. It was a nice little get away for Bob & I too to have some good conversation about life and kids and such.

Classes start tomorrow at DMACC. I'm taking math and speech this semester. Two extremes on my like scale...totally do not like Math and totally love to talk! :-)

Not much else new here. Back into the routine of a new year...anybody have a new year's resolution they want to share?

Diane

Another week has passed. We have Charra (Joy & Steve's dog) at our house. The Flinchums are at Disney World and other sights in Florida. I hope they all come home together. Joy threatened that if one got lost, she was not going to look for them - it takes too much time and she has things to do and see.

Mom and Paul left the wedding and Mom slipped and fell and has been nursing a sore knee since. I hope she is feeling better soon.

Life here is good. We are working on a couples ministry vision. Bernie has been talking about this for over a year. So we are stepping out to see where this thing goes. There is a simulcast on Feb. 28 that we are hosting that will kick it off. This is a challenge because we have no idea how many people will want to come to Pella for a boost in their marriage. The simulcast has Beth Moore, Gary Chapman, Gary Thomas, John Trent, Jeremy Camp and others. It is a great lineup and we have an awesome team to help, but we are still walking blindly. "We walk by faith, not by sight"- a little un-nerving!

I started tanning this week for our trip to Cancun in March. Dot and Duane Bruxvoort invited us along for a trip through the store. I love this part of being friends and Bernie working for the Bruxvoorts. What a Blessing!

I was impressed to see that Mari and Abby commented on the grandchildren blog - I know they are checking it - you may post also.....I would love to see what everyone is up to. My kids don't want me to get facebook - and I am choosing to honor them on that. Besides I don't have the gumption to try to figure it out.

I love you all!
Rosa

The weekend

I just read Diane's beautiful post about those awesome nieces and nephews. Every bit of it is true and I too am so proud of them and are thankful they are our "next generation." I am thankful for my place in the family because I get to have my feet in both generations.
I am almost tearful as I think about the weekend-maybe a little tired but also overwhelmed with emotion. I believe God moved in all of our lives in ways we never expected. He was faithful and what could have been difficult situations only drew us closer and actually created some very sweet memories.
The wedding was beautiful because of Mom and Paul's love for each other and for the Lord. We were ourselves and got to know the Vos's a little bit better. Paul is a wonderful addition to our family and it is wonderful to see Mom with that sweet sparkle in her eye.
As is all the time we spend together I am reminded of what I think is our family verse-
"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy... The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:2-3
I will never forget the joy, blessing and faithfulness we received this weekend.
Love you all,
joy

What a day!

I'm sitting here tonight reflecting on the day and sorting through the pictures that Matt took. I came across this one and thought "Wow! What a great group of kids to represent us into the next generation!" Seriously, have you thought about it? Let's do:

Abby--first of the next generation, beautiful woman who is a loving mom to 3 adorable little girls...the next generation! The love of God and family is written all over her face!

Kim -- another beautiful woman of God, loving mommy to 3 more sweet little girls....the next generation after these kids is in good hands if these great neices we have are any indication of where it's heading!

Mari -- successful, beautiful, and planning a wedding from a distance! What charm and talents she has. We missed her today, but we understand! We'll see her soon, right?

Jenny -- a lovely young lady who loves nothing more than to play at the zoo all day! We are so proud of her...plus it's nice to have someone with connections at Disney, right Joy? :-)

Kris -- a preacher in the making. I mean really, who else walks around with CS Lewis in their back pocket? With this many family members, it's high time we had an official preacher in the family! Yeah, I know, youth pastor...but its as close as we've ever gotten!

Steph -- successful, beautiful, stylish and a lot of fun are just a few words that best describe Steph! There is never a dull moment when Steph is in the room, and we love you for that!

Teresa -- did anyone else think that girl looked like a super model today? Oh my goodness, she was STYLIN' and gorgeous! And yet, she can stick her hand in cow's stomachs! Which is more than anyone else in this family is willing to do!

Randy -- oldest grandson, the one who gave Dad hope that he wouldn't be stuck in a sea of girls forever! Cute as can be, isn't he? Doesn't someone have a girlfriend for him to hook up with? Thanks for walking Mom down the aisle today, you've been there for her through a lot of stuff and we appreciate you!

Becky -- what a lovely young lady, I mean really...who else could be in Mexico earlier this week, drive from Denver, have the flu and still look so darn adorable? Plus she's mom to a darling little Jessa, who wouldn't say a word to me, but teased me anyway by not telling me about her braids!

Rianne -- with a sunny personality and beautiful looks, Rianne turns heads when she walks in! And her heart is so caring that I know she's perfect in her current job!

Brandon -- ok, so Rianne said I could call him Bubbles, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He's so handsome and bigger than me... :-) His artistic gifts will make him famous some day, even if it's just among his aunts!

Angie -- missed her today too. Her heart is so tender for little ones that I know she will be a great teacher one day! I'd like to say she missed us today, but I'm thinking that she only thought of us once or twice. Josh has a way of distracting her these days!

Matt -- so did any of you know that Matt even owned clothes other than blue jeans and a hoody? He cleans up real nice, doesn't he? I am so proud of him and cannot wait to see where he will be 5 years from now!

Katey -- poor thing, every time she turned around this week someone else was telling her how much she looked like her mom! I only wish I was that cute when I was 17. She did a fantastic job handling the little kids table with grace and beauty...and a whole lot of fun!

Lauren -- she had so much fun today playing with the little girls and getting to know Lydia better! She likes being looked up to by Grace, Jenna, Ella, Audrey & Jessa...instead of feeling like the little kid she feels like the big one when they are around her!

Brady -- he is growing up so fast! His voice is deeper and those eyes are going to steal some girl's heart one day! What a kind and compassionate young man he is!

Isaac -- Smart is the word I'd use to best describe Isaac. He is taking in every detail and will one day be the one who will remind us of things we'd long since forgotten. Plus he's durn cute with those mischevious eyes!

Libby -- Princess Libby, Dad would have loved to have spoiled you sweet girl. You are independent enough to walk clear to Third Church to get your baby brother, and yet you love to be doted on too! Your independent spirit will get you a long way in this world Princess...just not yet, ok?

Jett -- baby boy who is turning into this little boy who is absolutely adorable with those long eyelashes. Dad would have loved making wooden cars for you Jett and taking you fishing with your brothers. You bring up the end of this generation. They all seem so much older than you, but the truth of the matter is that it was just yesterday that Abby was your size. Hopefully, when you are all adults, you and Abby will share something special as the first and the last of the next generation.

So there you go.....what a great bunch of kids we've brought into this world! They all did so great today! It spoke volumes to me when Christine said last night "I just couldn't miss this opportunity to see you guys again!" What we have is special, unique and amazing.

I love all of you!

Diane

Reindeer Games

I thought that we had lost these pictures right after the Christmas tour of homes. Happily tonight, I found them again and just had to post this picture of our Reindeer games! We do love to have fun together, don't we? These are almost better than Mickey Ears!

Diane