Sand Castles in the winter?

Jack and I were walking along the beach and witnessed another interesting way the beach was formed into little sand castles! Between the ice, sand, and the wind the beach was full of miniture sand creations. It was something to see!

Holland State Park on Christmas Day!

Jack and I took a drive to Holland State Park while the kids were resting. There were people kayaking down the channel.
This is a view looking out toward the lighthouse. 'The rocks were ice covered and sparkling in the sun!
We had had a lot of wind the last couple of days, and the winds did amazing things to the ice on the walkway to the pier.
Anyone want to take a walk on the pier? No thanks - it was a sheet of ice with handrails of ice also.
The rocks along the lake glistened when the sun shone on them. It was really amazing!

Sickness on Christmas

What a difference a night can make! Ben and Emily both came down with the flu on Christmas Day! They spent the whole day sleeping and being very sick. Fevers and trying to keep food down was the order of the day for them. What a bummer! It wasn't a nice way to spend their first Christmas day together. They were feeling better this morning to go to spend Christmas time with Ben's family in Indiana. We want you better!

Christmas Eve Celebration!

Aunt Wilma always joins our family on Christmas Eve. We usually begin our evening with many wonderful appetizers and wine. Traditions are great!
Megan and her fiance, Bob were ready to celebrate the joys of Christmas! They are in the midst of planning their June 7 wedding. We are very excited to have another wedding in the family!
Pam and Tim taking time out for a picture. This year was hard for us because Grandma (mom) was not with us. She was celebrating her first Christmas in heaven! We missed her very much! Pam gave each of the grandkids a memento of Grandma along with a devotional book. We all know how much Grandma loved her Saviour and that she spend much time in her personal devotions and journaling.
The Koeze kids always liven up the party! By the time we were done eating and opening presents - it was time for our traditional pizza time. The pizzas were great - although we were all pretty full from the appetizers! Dessert was definitely out of the question!
Ben and Emily spending their first Christmas Eve celebrating with the family! We are very thankful that everyone could spend Christmas with us. We of course missed Jenni, Nate, Brooke, Hudson, and Uncle Tim! We plan on celebrating later in the week with Nate and Brooke and Hudson when they come to Michigan on Friday!

Preparing for Christmas

Nick flew in to Grand Rapids on Friday night. We went out for breakfast and then did some shopping. Jenni stayed in Florida preparing for her family to arrive on Monday evening. The Levan family will be spending Christmas in Florida with Nick and Jenni for the holidays. Nick left for Florida on Christmas morning.

Jack and Nick picked up Ben and Emily in South Bend on Sunday evening. It was a blustery, windy night. They made it home safely on the slippery roads. We are thankful for safe travel for them. Monday morning after a big breakfast, Jack and Emily dipped pretzels in chocolate while Ben shoveled the driveway.

Ben volunteered to shovel the driveway. We had about 4 inches of snow and most of it had drifted over the driveway. Thank you, Ben!

Adella and family

Adella and her family were thrilled to receive the gifts that my Bible Study and Brenda Kwekel were able to give to her. The boys were excited about their new boots, snow pants, and clothes. Mileana was happy with her new shoes and clothes. I sure appreciate all who were able to help her out with some must needed things for her kids. It always is more blessed to give than to receive! Thank you everyone!

Christmas and Kids!

Sunday night we had our children's Christmas program at church. It is always so precious seeing all the little kids dressed up for their performance. I got a couple of pictures of them practicing their songs downstairs before they made their debut upstairs for their families. They are more interested in seeing their mom and dads and grandpas and grandmas than singing. It is a good thing they are so cute and everyone knows the words to the songs they are singing. Their favorite is always - Away in a Manger. Such innocent faces singing about the baby Jesus - the real reason we celebrate Christmas!

Friends and Cookies Galore!

Last night, I was invited to my first Christmas cookie exchange hosted by my friends Carol and Caryn. What a vast array of cookies - and great hostesses! We were all able to take a variety of Christmas cookies home for the holidays. I am not sure mine will make it until Christmas! Thank you for the great time last night!

Godwin Christian Friends!

Last week, June (Mosher) Hoffman and I met at Applebees for "coffee". June and I have been friends since junior high. We have had many girl talks, laughs, and coffee. We had our daughters, Bree and Emily at the same time in our life. We enjoy catching up on our kids' lives. While we were sitting there, another blast from our past walked by, Denise Brummel (as we knew her then). We have great memories from Godwin Christian - and as always I wanted to take a picture and share this with someone whose friendship I treasure (yea - it's you JB), I get a lot of my great ideas with my camera from you! Friends are wonderful!

Prayers for Kim and her family

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I went out to lunch with the Legacy Bus Drivers. We were going out to lunch to anticipate the joy of celebrating with Kim and the birth of her baby girl. Yesterday I received a call from Kim and she and her husband were on the way to the hospital because she had just been to the doctor. The doctor could not find a heart beat for the baby -- the baby had died! This would have been their 5th child. Please pray for Kim, Chad, Dallas, Justin, Mikayla, and Sawyer at this time. I appreciate your prayers for them.

Snow and ice in Michigan

Last night it started snowing and then it turned into sleet and ice. I guess winter is on its way. This is our driveway this afternoon -- it is really gloomy, dark, and foggy.

Adella and family

Adella is a really good friend of mine. She is a busy lady with three very active kids. She recently accepted Jesus as her Savior and is very anxious to live her life for Him. She also has some struggles and some prayer concerns. She would love to be able to get her car running so she can go back to school. Also she needs some warm winter clothes for her kids. I am trying to help her with things such as budgeting, cooking, and just being a friend to listen and talk with her. As a new Christian she is really taking everything to God in prayer and believes that he will answer her prayers. Please pray for her and that her faith will help to see her through. Pray for me also as I try and help her meet some of her basic needs.

Lunch with the Legacy bus drivers

The LCS bus drivers along with Karen and I went out to lunch at Russ' on Thursday. One of our bus drivers, Kim is going on maternity leave and we wanted to wish her well as she anticipates the arrival of a new baby girl. This will be Kim's 5th child. We wish her well and a must needed time for her to spend some time with her family and new baby. We had a lot of fun and laughs together -- it takes an amazing person to drive bus!

Looking up!

Every year at this time we look up to our Father in heaven from whom all our gifts come from. We thank Him for time to spend with one another on this Thanksgiving holiday. We thank him for our family and all those we care about. We will try to live our lives for God and His glory. We remember that the next generation is looking up to us and is watching us as try to be like Christ.

Friday - shopping in Saugatuck

Sarah and Hudson

Sarah and Hudson spending time together on Thanksgiving Day!

Aunt Pam and Uncle Tim

Aunt Pam was playing with Hudson while Unky Tim thinks his furry friend, Jake poses better for pictures.

Hudson and Aunt Jenni!

Hudson had fun getting to know his Aunt Jenni!

Chillin'

Sarah, Allie, Megan and Bob watching a movie after Thanksgiving Dinner!

Thanksgiving Day!

We all gathered at Aunt Pam and Uncle Tim's for our Thanksgiving feast. We were missing Emily and Ben who were spending Thanksgiving in Austin, Texas. As always, the table was set like a picture in Better Homes and Gardens. Tim opened our feast with a wonderful devotional. We all felt and knew that Thanksgiving was different this year - without mom and grandma. As we felt her absence, it was very emotional - but as Tim prayed, it was time to "have a good cry and then have a good time". Our Thanksgiving feast was delicious as always. Hudson was there and he added the extra "life" to our dinner. He was having his first taste of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. After dinner and watching the Lions get beat by the Packers, the family settled into playing a game of Trivia, boys vs girls, and the girls won!! As our day always ends, we eat our famous hot turkey sandwiches, with chips and leftovers! God was definitely with us on this Thanksgiving Day! We praise God for his faithfulness!

Grandma babysits Hudson!

What a wonderful day Hudson and Grandma had! We played really hard -with toys, danced to music, and crawled all over the house. Grandma didn't get any of her Thanksgiving cooking and preparation done - but being with Hudson was worth every minute. Nate and Brooke spent the day at Birch Run buying lots of new clothes for Hudson (he just keeps growing)!