Letting GO....

We are venturing into a new phase of life....letting go! We have had teenagers for awhile now but this is a new side of it.....driving with friends. Having a moody, disrespectful, hungry, lazy, sleepy teen is one thing....but this is different.

Tyler went with his friend Isaac to a movie yesterday. We thought this would be a great lesson for him on independence...you know, figuring out how to survive with out mom (mostly mom) and dad there to help. They left at 4pm and decided to see Seven Pounds. All was good....Tyler is a pretty responsible driver. He hasn't had a tremendous amount of winter driving though. We did our parental duty of reminding him to be careful on the road , drive slow and double check before changing lanes......

We were confident with his abilities! We got a call around 7pm stating that they had decided to go to the BK lounge for some burgers....strange thing for teenagers to do??? We were okay with that...and feeling quite proud that he had managed to get to Star Theatre, get tickets, find seats, find the van at the end of the show......

We received a call around 8pm from the parking lot of BK...I answered optimistically. "Mom...we left the lights on and the battery is dead....but Isaac's brother is on his way to give us a jump" Whew..only a dead battery. He later told us how they were planning to get a jump from a stranger and never let us know....I guess the 20 year old girl that was trying to help them didn't know how to use the jumper cables either. Plan B...call Isaac's brother..that plan worked.

He made it home around 10:30...not bad...only 6½ hrs! We all grew last night...Tyler grew more into a man that will some day be able to go to a movie & BK without me. I grew patient and learned he CAN do it without me. Steve well..I'm not sure what he learned...he's pretty laid back. Remember he was a boy just like this not too long ago!

We have the distinct privilege of attempting to raise three Godly men. We not only have to teach them to survive in the world but to be different in this world. To shine a light. They are only on loan to us for this time. We are in the process of letting them go....to be men...men of God. Warriors for HIM. Our prayer is that we can look back some day and feel confident with the job we did. We know we will not be perfect but that we will be satisfied with the job we did.

Practicing letting go!.....

Can We Build It???

YES WE CAN!!!

You guessed it.....we went to see Bob the Builder at DeVos Hall. We were given 4 free tickets to attend a matinee performance.

Carson Snyder and Dolan Bair went with us.........

Even Bob has an 'agenda' .....he's on the wind turbine band wagon! The show was all based around building a recycling center and having wind turbines. Who doesn't have an agenda these days???

We recieved back stage passes to meet Bob and Scoop!!!

Meet Scoop....

Come on Bob, work with me would you!!! Someone always has to look away from the camera!

And what trip wouldn't be complete, with out finishing up with dinner at Ronalds House???

Saying Good-bye......

Monday night we said good-bye to some friends of ours, the Glidewells. They are leaving to go back to Arizona on Wednesday morning. We were able to meet them for dinner at Applebees and have a nice loooooong visit! Little Cherry pie came along with them!

Ace and Angela lived in Kent City and attended KBCB for 8-10 years before they felt God calling them to the mission field. They have been in school for a couple of years now and there last leg of training has taken them to Arizona. After being there only a short couple months, the school where they were training to be missionaries, asked them if they would consider staying in AZ to help train other missionaries. They have accepted this call and will be staying in North Mexico...as Ace calls it.

Angela home schools their 4 school age kids and has 2 little ones besides. She is a loving and kindhearted women. I'm not sure how much she will be helping at the school but Ace will be training incoming pilots and mechanics. He comes from a flying background...I think that's what you call it!!!

After Steve and Ace had done all their napkin drawings, we had to call it a night. They are a great family, that is using their talents and abilities to serve the Lord. We pray that God will bless them and the lives they come in contact with in AZ or North Mexico. We love you guys!!!

One More Party.......

Saturday we headed down to South Haven to a late Holiday Party at the Spencer's new home. They just moved in in August. As we rounded the ½ mile drive this is what greeted us. Now, let me just say this picture does NOT do this home justice! I couldn't even get it all in without running down the drive way...so I settled for this half shot!

Yes, that would be a lookout on the 3rd floor.

This picture doesn't do the kitchen justice either......

It was a beautiful home..to state it mildly. I didn't take any outdoors shots but the Black River winds around ¾ of the house.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Peggy herself. Soup/salad, meal and dessert..it was all yummy!

The Spencer's own the business that Steve sells for, hence... Spencer Manufacturing!! Brian and Peggy are seated on the far right.

This is their almost finished basement. They are in the process of finishing the bar....where the table saw is. Yes, that would be a 72" plasma TV at the far end.

Can you guess what it is....a hallway? nope...a bowling alley!

Here is Lindsey gearing up for a strike!

We also played a tabletop shuffleboard game...I won't bore you with the details of how Steve and I 'owned' Brian and son Garrett during our first game ever.

We then headed over to the bowling alley were I ruled with high score...my many years of 4-H Saturday bowling paid off!!!

Most of all, we enjoyed the company and time spent with the Spencer family! They are wonderful people to know! What a great evening.........

January Recipe....

We went to a 'late' Holiday Party tonight and we enjoyed this salad. And knowing how we all committed to losing weight in '09...I thought it appropriate to post a salad recipe!

Now in case you are wondering.....this isn't a picture of the actual salad. I didn't bring my camera and take pictures of all the food!!

So here it goes.......

BLT Salad
3 heads of Romaine lettuce-chopped up/ripped up/cut up or anyway you want to do it!
1 bag of pre-cooked bacon- or similar-or fried
1 small basket cherry tomatoes-halved (or none at all in my case!)

mix and set aside.

Dressing-
¾c. Miracle Whip
¾c. sour cream
1/3 c. sugar
1t. liquid smoke

Mix and put on salad just before serving.
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I don't care for tomatoes so I picked around them...but the salad was surprisingly good!! Also some of the recipes I looked at (to find a picture to post) added cheese and many added croutons...so you be the judge and add what sounds good to you!

Hope you enjoy it!

bragging...a little

I hope it's a okay to brag a little...of course it is my blog...so if you don't think it's okay......

I'm just posting this card I made for Joel & Carissa. It turned out so cute that I wanted to share it with my card making friends.

To be perfectly honest....I'm a card maker wanna-be! I love to collect all the stuff and look at others beautiful cards and dream about making them...but I often fall short. Since I'm confessing stuff...I'm a perfectionist...there I said it...I feel better! I so want my cards to turn out perfect, I never start them! I know it sounds silly but it is the truth. So, when this one turned out, I couldn't wait to show all of you!

I printed Joel and Carissa's name and wedding date on cardstock....and then Cuttlebugged it with a tag die. Then I ran ribbon through the tag to told it in place. I also put sparkles on the card part...you can't really see it well.

I have to admit it was fun to see it all come together and turn out! Hope you enjoy it!

Does anyone else struggle with knowing they can't make it "perfect" so they don't try......

One Down, One To Go!!

My oldest sister's son got married......

Joel and Carissa exchanged vows Friday night in Salem Oregon. I was not able to attend...=(. It sounded like it was a festive occasion though. Congratulations Joel and Carissa...May God RICHLY bless your marriage!

Joel, formerly of CA, attended a school in Salem, OR...and found a job there and decided to stay. This past summer, he was introduced to Carissa and fell in love!

I think the fun part of the story is that both of Joel's and Carissa's grandparents live in Sparta & in Casnovia. They did not realize that when they first went out. Isn't that fun to know you live on the West Coast and your grandparents, from both sides, live 10 minutes from each other in MI....how amazing is that!! Her last name is Schutter....a great niece to our friend Dave Schutter!!!

Another fun fact....our former pastor's son, Craig Hammond, is working at the school Joel attended while in OR, Willamette University. While Dad and Linda were in OR for the wedding, they called Craig to see if they could visit him.....Surprise....Pastor Tom and June were there visiting as well. Dad and Linda said they had a wonderful time visiting with all the Hammond's.....Chad and his wife were there also!

What a small world we live in......