The Perry Family

Grateful for Technology

2012-02-15T22:29:00.002-05:00

The longer Zachary has diabetes, the more grateful I am for the wisdom God has given to those men and women who have done and are doing research to improve the quality of life for diabetics. We are also so appreciative for such great doctors who are so knowledgeable and yet so personal in their care for Zachary. For almost a week now, Zachary has been "trialing" a continuous glucose monitor. It's been a fun new toy for us all. :) Zachary wears a transmitter in his upper arm (inserted with a needle and kept in place with a plastic cannula).

The transmitter then wirelessly communicates to this receiver Zach's approximate sugar level (somewhat variable since it's not a true "blood" sugar level). The receiver can also indicate to us whether his sugar level is increasing or decreasing.

Zachary wears the receiver in this little pouch. He's done great with it. We will have to return it at the end of the week. We are going to pursue the option of Zachary getting one for himself, although not sure if it's going to be feasible or not. But overall we are just grateful for technology and for the wisdom God has given to those people studying diabetes. Zachary already is benefiting from their work. We thank God for them!

Happy Birthday to Us!

2012-02-15T22:18:00.002-05:00

With the help of Grandma and Grandpa Petersen, the girls made a birthday supper for Daddy and Mommy a couple weekends ago. The grand finale was a delicious brownie smothered in frosting and decorated by the three girls. It was a very memorable birthday dinner!

Awana Grand Prix 2012

2012-02-15T14:10:00.004-05:00

I'm several weeks behind in posting these pictures - Time has gotten away from me again! This time of year the girls always get excited for the Awana Grand Prix. They work with Daddy to shape and decorate their cars exactly as they want them.

Here are the final products (kinda hard to see - Sorry!).

This year Hannah received 3rd place in the Girls' Sparks division for speed - What a big smile, huh! She was one very happy girl that night!

Sweet boy. . .and so tired

2012-02-15T14:05:00.002-05:00

Blessings

2012-01-24T12:35:00.003-05:00

One of the biggest blessings of my college years was my roommate, Susanna. We met as freshmen and developed a special friendship over the next two years at BBC. We stayed in close touch over the next few years though geographically apart, and then God brought us together again in Grand Rapids when our husbands were both in seminary. Over the past 10 years we have only seen each other a couple times, and most of our children had never met. So we had a very fun "reunion" a couple weekends ago at their new location in Ohio. I've always appreciated Susanna for being used of God to sharpen me, so it was just great to have about 24 hours to talk and share together. Here is a picture of our kids together, all except for the littlest one who was napping.

A Big Boy Bed!

2012-01-24T12:25:00.002-05:00

Last week we took the rail off of Zach's crib, so now he is in his "big boy bed." We have been so surprised at how well he has done with this transition. He has only fallen out of bed 3 times over the past 7 days (which actually isn't too bad!). And he has required NO discipline for getting out of bed without asking. . . . . much better than his three older sisters. :)

Christmas Surprise

2012-01-08T09:41:00.002-05:00

Have I ever mentioned that we have a wonderful church family?? We feel so blessed and are so grateful for FHBC. Christmas morning Craig and I, along with our senior pastor and his wife, were surprised by our church family with a food shower and a gift card shower. Here is a picture of our baptismal filled with food (the other side had food for our senior pastor's family - by the time we took the picture they had already taken their portion home).

Kairsa and Hannah had fun helping Daddy bring all the gifts home. The girls were especially thrilled with the box of Lucky Charms, and Daddy was especially thrilled with El Matador chips. :) We praise God for His creative provision of our needs and wants!

Merry Christmas

2012-01-08T09:39:00.002-05:00

We continued another Christmas tradition this year by letting the girls sleep by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!!

Play-Doh Restaurant

2012-01-08T09:35:00.001-05:00

Karisa, Hannah, & Megan made me a play-doh restaurant over Christmas break. I had some delicious food to choose from!

Joys of Ministry

2012-01-08T09:19:00.002-05:00

One of the greatest joys of youth ministry is watching God work in the lives of teens and then watching those teens grow up and continue following after Him. Dan & Sarah have been two of those teens for us. A couple weeks ago Craig had the privilege of performing their wedding ceremony. It was a great day of celebration with them. Now we have the privilege of working with them as youth leaders, too. We love you, Dan & Sarah!

More Christmas Traditions

2012-01-08T09:02:00.002-05:00

Making (or should I say eating!) buckeyes is one of my personal favorite Christmastime traditions.

Zachary even joined in the effort this year to dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate.

Another fun tradition we've done the past few years is visit the Meijer Gardens where they have about 35 Christmas trees each decorated representative of another country. Here we are in front of the Brazilian tree - a family favorite!

And for the second year in a row we all put on our pajamas a few nights before Christmas, made ourselves hot chocolate, loaded up in the car, and drove around looking at Christmas lights. What a special time of year to make some special memories!

Maggie's Carnival

2011-12-11T22:35:00.002-05:00

Last week Megan designed a carnival for me to go to. It was really cute and super creative. Most of the carnival got taken down before I could get pictures of it, but I did manage to capture the animals in their cages. What a fun imagination Maggie has!

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-11T22:31:00.002-05:00

One of our favorite holiday traditions is making "shape cookies" together. So yesterday was the day to make the big mess. . . .which is always very well worth it! Zachary joined in this year for the first time. . . which would have been OK except for the small detail that he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. . . .Oh, well. . . maybe next year!

A little clumsy

2011-12-02T16:40:00.003-05:00

The combination of boots, snow pants, short legs, uneven turf, lots of tree stumps and branches, etc. made for a very unhappy Christmas tree expedition for Zachary. I lost track of the amount of times he fell down. . . What we thought would be a really fun night for Zachary, ended up in lots and lots of tears!!

Searching for the perfect tree

2011-12-02T16:35:00.002-05:00

Last night we headed out to find the perfect Christmas tree. While Craig and I get all excited about looking for a tree and cutting it down, the kids really just enjoy the wagon ride. :)

The sheep and goats were also a big hit.

Finally. . . here it is!

The influence of older sisters

2011-11-28T20:45:00.002-05:00

Someday maybe Zach won't think this is so cute. . . but for now we appreciate the influence that Karisa, Hannah & Megan have on their little brother. . . .

Daddy's Helpers

2011-11-06T21:13:00.001-05:00

Happy Trick-or-Treating!

2011-11-04T11:21:00.002-04:00

A happy group of trick-or-treaters (including our neighbor friend)!

Daddy Date

2011-10-28T09:42:00.002-04:00

Megan and Daddy enjoyed a special date this week. . . . McDonald's was the obvious destination choice. :) The entertainment to go along with the meal . . . . silly pictures together!

Parade Watching

2011-10-17T11:23:00.000-04:00

Watching a parade with Daddy. :)

First Dentist Appointment

2011-10-17T11:22:00.001-04:00

Megan was all smiles at her first dentist appointment last week. She did not even want Mommy to sit in the room with her!

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-17T11:17:00.001-04:00

Our Special Gift

2011-10-02T15:09:00.005-04:00

In early spring of this year, our church family surprised us with a very special gift to honor Craig's 10th anniversary of working at the church - a family vacation. We were truly surprised and reminded of how grateful we are for the people God allows us to serve with. We absolutely love our church! So at the end of August, we drove up north a couple hours, where we stayed for a week at Boyne Mountain ski resort. At the end of the week, we drove a little farther north where we spent a day on Mackinac Island. The time away was better than we ever could have imagined. It was great to have a week together as a family. Here are a few snapshots of our time together: Riding the chair lift up the mountain - a HUGE highlight for the kids

Playing at the beach - building sand castles

Paddle-Boating

Kayaking (Karisa is in the far kayak, Craig is with Zach & Megs in the middle, and Hannah is the closest one)

Swimming

Hanging out with Daddy

Relaxing in the hot tub with the ski slopes in the background

Riding the zip line (only Daddy, Mommy, and Karisa could do this - Karisa is in the picture here)

More time with Daddy

Sleeping together - I love this picture!

This is the family room of the condo where we stayed for the week

A picnic at the base of the Mackinac Bridge

A carriage ride on Mackinac Island

Riding bikes all the way around Mackinac Island (8 miles).

The New Normal

2011-09-30T21:53:00.003-04:00

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. . . . Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him." Psalm 115:1,3. How grateful we are for God's love and His faithfulness which have been so evident in our lives this week.

Last Saturday evening I asked my dear friend, Lacey (whose husband and daughter are diabetic), to check Zachary's blood sugar so I could "put my mind at ease." I had been concerned about him for the last couple of weeks because he had been drinking an excessive amount of water and milk and had been having an excessive amount of soaking wet diapers. With my nursing background, I knew those were the classic symptoms of diabetes. Well, that simple finger poke last Saturday evening changed our lives. After a quick trip to a pediatric emergency service, my suspicions were confirmed that Zachary has Type I Diabetes.

While that news was a complete shock, and while we are feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with all that we need to learn and do, we are so very grateful for countless blessings already. Let me just share a few with you:
1) Knowing that Zachary was fearfully and wonderfully knit together by a loving Creator Who has all his days ordained for him (Psalm 139).
2) My nursing degree which helped lead us to a very early diagnosis, which means Zachary is as healthy as can be at this point and we can ease into this new world of diabetes a little more slowly.
3) Dear friends with Type I Diabetes who are offering so much needed support and practical advice.
4) A pediatric endocrinology clinic about 15 minutes from our house with excellent doctors who are taking great care of Zachary.

Zachary has been a trooper - He doesn't seem to mind too much when we check his sugar, but he gets a little sad when he gets his insulin shots. Overall, though, he's doing great. And, yes, with a bit of extra insulin, he was even able to eat a piece of birthday cake. :)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Zach!

2011-09-30T21:50:00.002-04:00

Here's our birthday boy. . . and, yes, he does play with dolls, and he does wear headbands. :)

23 Months Old!!

2011-09-11T16:27:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Megan!

2011-09-11T16:26:00.000-04:00

1st Day of School

2011-08-30T21:54:00.003-04:00

A couple of VERY excited girls!!

Zachary - 22 Months

2011-07-29T14:01:00.001-04:00

Zachary LOVES to play dress-up with his sisters!! He's going to love this picture some day!

Our 4th of July Celebration

2011-07-07T16:36:00.006-04:00

Hannah watching the parade. . . eagerly awaiting candy!

Zach hanging out with Daddy during the parade

Karisa (in the front window) and Megan (in the 2nd window) had the opportunity to ride in one of the firetrucks during the parade. (Hannah chose to watch the parade and collect all the candy!)

Enjoying the free rides at the little fair in Ada.

A picnic at the park with church friends.

Swimming with more friends. . . . And then it was on to supper and fireworks! What a very fun day!

A Zoo Trip

2011-06-23T16:21:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we met our Rumley friends at our local Zoo for a very fun (HOT) day! What precious kiddos these are . . . all 8 of them!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-23T16:20:00.000-04:00

Chef Zach

2011-06-23T16:08:00.000-04:00

Strawberry Picking 2011

2011-06-23T16:00:00.002-04:00

A night at the park

2011-06-23T15:30:00.001-04:00

Observing God's Creation

2011-06-23T15:24:00.003-04:00

Last week we had a fun morning at the Meijer Gardens. One of the highlights was finding baby ducks and also some frogs alongside the boardwalk in the water.

Cousins' Camp

2011-06-20T14:57:00.006-04:00

Karisa, Hannah, and Megan joined their cousin, Kaylee, in Indiana with Grandma and Grandpa Petersen for a few days of Cousins' Camp last week. It will definitely be a highlight of their summer! Playing games with Grandpa

Making die-cuts with Grandma

Riding bikes

Making personal pizzas

Bowling

A tea party with Grandma

Lots of dress-up

Matching dresses for church

Riding horses

Karisa's Birthday

2011-06-09T23:01:00.002-04:00

We had a great time celebrating Karisa's 8th birthday last weekend with both sides of our family here with us. What a joy it has been this year watching Karisa mature in so many areas. We are especially thankful for her spiritual sensitivity and her desire to do what pleases her Lord.

This was Karisa's birthday cake. . . A Polly Pocket pool party.

Since Karisa's birthday party was actually a couple days before her birthday, we gave her the option on her real birthday evening to pick an activity for all of us to do together. . . . .like taking a walk or a bike ride, playing outside, playing a game together, etc. But. . . true to the person that Karisa is. . . she chose to have us sit together in the family room and each write a book report on a book of our choosing. No, I'm not joking. :) Daddy, Mommy, Karisa and Hannah each picked a book out of Karisa's closet and then wrote a book report which we then had to stand up and read to the others. This was what the birthday girl chose. . . . and that's just one of the reasons why we love her!!

Kindergarten Celebration

2011-06-08T23:01:00.007-04:00

What a special celebration we enjoyed last week with Hannah's Kindergarten Class. The class recited 32 verses, sang several songs and each student received a "Christian Character Trait" Award. Hannah was recognized for the trait of Loyalty. Here is Hannah with her teacher. (Notice the cute flower balloons, which were all over the gym).

And aren't these cupcakes SO cute!!??

How I Spend My Time These Days

2011-05-23T21:47:00.003-04:00

For all my relatives and friends out there who eagerly await new blog posts and wonder why I've been slacking recently. . . here are a few pictures explaining how I spend most of my time these days. . . cleaning up our DVD cabinet (yes, this is a "no-no")

re-stocking our pantry

cleaning up spilt crayons

restocking our diaper bin

re-filling up our wipe tubs

and, once again, organizing our DVD cabinet (and, yes, this is still a "no-no")

putting back our remote controls (you guessed it. . . another "no-no"). But isn't this such a loveable face??!! Grandma and Grandpa Petersen bought this shirt for Zachary. It says "My Mom Loves Me". This is supposed to remind me that I truly do love my son. . . even after days of cleaning up repeated messes (and lots of discipling in between!). And I truly wouldn't trade this clean-up job for anything!! I am truly blessed. . . Thank-you God!

My New Laundry Helper

2011-05-14T16:54:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe I've made it through all these years without Zachary helping me with the laundry!

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Hannah!!

2011-05-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

Rummage Sale 2011

2011-04-19T21:30:00.002-04:00

Well, we have survived our annual Student Ministries' Rummage Sale!! What a HUGE blessing it is to see how God turns "junk" into money that will be used to help our students go to Brazil to minister at camp next summer. We raised over $4,000 this year - Praise God!!

One Happy Boy

2011-04-19T21:19:00.002-04:00

Oftentimes I put Zachary in his booster seat while I'm finishing up supper preparations. And usually I'm careful to make sure any food is out of his reach. Well, Daddy wasn't quite so smart the other day :). . . . I was out of the room for a few minutes (well aware that Zachary was very quiet for a change) and came back to the dining room to find a very happy boy enjoying a bunch of tortilla chips.

Hand-in-Hand. . . . Sibling Love

2011-04-17T15:33:00.001-04:00

Megan's Winning Moment

2011-04-04T16:13:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago we attended the Carnival at the girls' school. It's a very fun night full of games, prizes and candy. The highlight of the evening for Megan was the Cake Walk. She was pretty oblivious to what was going on - just following her big sister Karisa walking around the circle. Well, out of all the participants, Megan's number won and she got to pick out a cake (off a big table FULL of yummy cakes and cupcakes). She was so cute - wanting to save her cake for her birthday. . . which is in September. We finally talked her into eating it that weekend and she was so excited about that!

Daddy's Big Helper

2011-04-04T16:09:00.001-04:00

More trouble for Zachary

2011-03-31T08:34:00.002-04:00

So Zachary was not very happy the other night after he accidentally fell over the bathtub wall and joined his sister in the bathtub. . . . So this is why we are very careful with our children around water. :)

Solving the Mystery. . . .

2011-03-31T08:30:00.002-04:00

So I ask myself two questions: 1) Why is the toilet paper strung from the bathroom to the kitchen? 2) Why is Zachary running the other way?

Matching Dresses

2011-03-19T14:13:00.002-04:00

I love it that our girls still enjoy wearing matching clothes. . . I'm guessing that these days will be ending in the near future. :)

Special Memories

2011-03-19T14:07:00.001-04:00

This was probably the best lunch I've ever had. . . chicken noodle soup, vegetable salad, and fruit salad. And the best part was enjoying it with a very sweet 3 year old girl!!

A Sign of Spring

2011-03-06T20:50:00.002-05:00

The Butterflies are back at the Meijer Gardens. . . one of the first signs that Spring is coming! I surprised the kids and took them to see the exhibit after school last week. Here are some happy girls. . . . .

"Trouble Man"

2011-02-26T19:00:00.003-05:00

One of many reasons Zach has earned the nickname "Trouble Man". . . . .

My precious girls

2011-02-15T14:11:00.001-05:00

So my girls decided to dress themselves the other day. . . and this is what they ended up with. . .

Zachary - 16 Months

2011-02-15T14:07:00.001-05:00

"Marvelous Me!"

2011-02-15T13:52:00.003-05:00

So it was finally Karisa's turn to be "Marvelous Me!" at school. . . . .

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-05T16:17:00.003-05:00

The kids were so excited to play in our big piles of snow this week after the "blizzard." It was especially fun having the neighbor girls home to play, too.

Megan was especially thrilled to find her bike after several months of not using it.

A happy . . . and cold. . .bunch of girls!

Zachary wasn't too thrilled about sitting on top of the snow pile.

And he was a little unsure of what to do when he wiped out in the driveway (multiple times!).

Zachary was even less thrilled when Daddy put him into the snow to see how deep it was!

Our new walker (finally!) was just content to waddle up and down the driveway.

Zachary also enjoyed a ride in the sled from Megan.

The men of the neighborhood had a little "shoveling party" to help out one of the older neighbors.

Cowboy Day

2011-02-01T15:37:00.001-05:00

It's Spirit Week at school. . . . .Here are my precious Cowgirls!

Freeze Out 2011

2011-02-01T14:47:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we took 33 of the students from our youth group to Lake Ann Baptist Camp for snow camp. It was a great weekend of teaching, learning, and fun!

Awana Grand Prix 2011

2011-02-01T14:39:00.002-05:00

Last Wednesday was our annual "Grand Prix" at church for the Awana kids. Karisa and Hannah both were excited to design and paint their cars. They didn't win any awards, but the girls had a lot of fun!

To the Delight of My Girls. . .

2011-01-16T16:22:00.003-05:00

To the delight of my girls (and niece Kaylee), I surprised them and put on my wedding dress while we were home over the holidays. Karisa, especially, was absolutely thrilled! The wheels were turning in her head. :) Oh. . . may it be about 20 more years before we have to think about that!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T21:10:00.005-05:00

We are just now catching up after a fun and memorable Christmas season - celebrating with both sides of our families. Before we set out on our family road trip to Lansing (for the Perry Christmas) and Indiana (for the Petersen Christmas) we enjoyed a special day together as a family on Christmas Day. Here are a couple highlights: For the second year in a row we allowed the girls to sleep by the tree on Christmas Eve night. They loved that! Daddy joined them this year.

Here are the kids with their stockings on Christmas morning.

Karisa and Hannah went shopping at the Dollar Store this year to buy gifts for the family. Hannah was absolutely thrilled to pick out this candy jar for Daddy for him to put in his office. :)

And Karisa picked out this nice scarf for me to wear with my winter coat.

And our little Zach kept us on our toes this year playing with all the paper and bows. :)

Karisa's a Trooper!

2010-12-21T11:10:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday Karisa was involved in a sledding accident at school. She cried A LOT the first couple days, wouldn't move her shoulder, complained of a lot of pain, etc. Well, being the good parents we are, we encouraged her to "be tough" and deal with it. Well, after watching this "droopy" shoulder for 4 days and having several people encourage us to get it checked out, we finally got an X-Ray yesterday. And now Mommy and Daddy are feeling VERY bad. . . Karisa has a fractured collar bone. She has been such a trooper as she has tried hard to function as best she could with the immense amount of pain she must have been in! Well, we are SO thankful that it is already starting to heal (oops - guess we shouldn't wait next time to get something checked out until it has already started to heal!) and she does not have to wear a sling. No sledding for a few weeks. . . but that's OK all things considered!!

Zach's First Haircut

2010-12-21T10:57:00.003-05:00

So we finally decided Zach needed a haircut. . . it was actually WAY overdue!! Here is the "before" picture: And here is the "after" picture:

And here is Zach's response to the whole process:

Yes, he cried the entire time. He sat VERY still, though. We love our senior pastor for many reasons. . . now added to the list is his willingness to make a "house call" for the purpose of cutting hair. :) Don't you think Zach looks mad in this picture??

And here is what we cut off:

Special Music

2010-12-21T10:39:00.003-05:00

Every month we take our teens from church to a local nursing home and help lead their weekly church service. Karisa and Hannah love to go each month, but this Sunday was especially exciting for Karisa, since she was able to play special music for the first time. Mommy played a piano duet with her. . . It was the best sounding duet I think I have ever heard. :)

More Dough and Frosting!

2010-12-21T10:33:00.002-05:00

Since Megan missed out on our sugar cookie extravaganza last week, we decided to let her join in on the fun this time around. I had some very eager bakers!!

Zach's New Pack-n-Play

2010-12-21T10:23:00.005-05:00

Hannah is a big helper these days. . . Last week she came up with this new idea. . . a place to keep Zach out of trouble. Surprisingly, he actually liked it!

Church Christmas Program

2010-12-15T12:00:00.002-05:00

(Don't you love Karisa's blue teeth from her candy cane!?)

Friends. . . Dough. . . Frosting. . .and Sprinkles

2010-12-15T11:56:00.002-05:00

What fun we had last weekend with our friends, the Rumleys, making Christmas cookies together. I'm thinking that I'll be finding sprinkles all over my house for many weeks to come. . . and it was SO worth it!!

Another Holiday Tradition

2010-12-15T11:49:00.002-05:00

The family tradition of making buckeyes is definitely one of my favorite Christmastime traditions. OK. . . so maybe it's not the making of them that is my favorite part. . . but the eating of them. :) Unfortunately, the older girls have decided this year that they like buckeyes, too. . . so the 100+ buckeyes we made 1 1/2 weeks ago isn't going to last much longer. :)

'Tis the Season

2010-12-04T23:36:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we all bundled up in our winter gear and headed out to cut down our Christmas tree. The wagon ride was tons of fun for the kids. . . but they weren't quite as excited as Daddy and Mommy to search for the perfect tree in the cold weather! When all was said and done, though, Karisa picked out a great tree for us!

Zach - 14 Months Old

2010-12-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Playing in the Leaves

2010-11-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

Caught. . . Again

2010-11-17T10:42:00.001-05:00

Somebody is having a hard time staying out of trouble these days! Zach was thrilled to find the candy bag in the closet. :)

Caught in the Act. . . . . Again

2010-11-06T15:07:00.002-04:00

So it was cleaning day yesterday here at the Perry household . . . . Zachary thought he would be helpful by emptying out Megan's dresser drawer for me. He has such a cute guilty face, don't you think??

Wacky Hair Night at Church

2010-11-06T15:05:00.001-04:00

Turkey 2010

2010-10-31T15:17:00.011-04:00

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." - Psalm 115:1

After leaving Greece we headed off to Turkey to visit some friends who are working in Antalya. This is Istanbul where we had some time during our lay-over to step outside and view the city. We stayed with our friends in their apartment. This is the view of Antalya, a city of about 2 million people, from their apartment windows/porches.

A short walk from their apartment, this is the view of the city and the water - absolutely gorgeous!

Craig and I helped lead music for the International Church in Antalya.

Then later on Sunday we helped lead music for a Turkish Church.

This is the St. Paul Cultural Center (presently under construction) where our friends work.

Sunday night we took a tram ride with our friends down to the harbor for supper.

This harbor (Attalia in your Bible map) would be where Paul sailed into.

It was interesting to help our friends with their laundry. . . . being VERY careful to not drop anything from the third/fourth floors to the street below!

Our last day in Turkey we took a hike up a mountain to see ruins of an old Roman city (around 300 B.C.)

Unlike many other "ruins" you would visit, we were able to climb all over the old city.

The highlight of the hike was this old ampitheatre.

Here Craig is standing at what would probably have been the entrance.

To give you a sense of how big it was, the little purple dot at the bottom is me. :)

Here Craig and I are sitting in an old tomb.

"to YOUR name be the glory". . . . this is what we continue to meditate on as we attempt to live changed lives because of what God has done in and through us over the last couple of weeks. Thanks for all your prayers!

Greece 2010

2010-10-31T14:13:00.013-04:00

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1

Thursday morning, October 14, a group of 8 musicians from our church (and one local college student) headed off to Greece to help lead worship for a group of ABWE missionaries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Region. (Can you see the teary-eyes from the mothers in the group who just said good-bye to their kiddos??!) The next day we found ourselves in Greece overlooking the Aegean Sea - absolutely gorgeous!

The missionaries, serving in countries such as Romania, Hungary, Slovokia, Ukraine, Israel, Poland, etc, gather every 2 years for a week of encouragement and edification. We had the amazing privilege of helping to lead them in worship throughout the week. Words cannot describe what it was like to listen to these servants of God sing - many of whom have not sung corporately in their native language in quite some time.

One of the afternoons we were able to take a few hours to tour the city of Thessaloniki.

We sure enjoyed the times of fellowship with our teammates - often centered around some really good food!

And, yes, I really did eat the squid. . . including the tentacle things!

We became big fans of Nutella. We were SO excited about licking this plate clean. . .until the waiter came and took away our plate before we could accomplish our task!

The highlight of the week was interacting with so many different missionary families - each of whom have a unique story of how God brought them from the point of salvation to their present place of ministry. Here our team is with the Postema family - serving in Romania and supported by our local church.

What a joy it was for me to sit around a small table with 2 of my former nursing classmates from Cedarville and one of my nursing professors (serving in Togo) - 13 years after graduation!

Harry and Jan Gebert have been friends of my family for many years. It was a special highlight for me to reconnect with them and to hear of God's tangible goodness in their lives this past year as she recovered from a severe illness.

Scott and Lisa Carter live in the Ukraine - We enjoyed eating lunch with them and hearing of their expanded ministry in Eastern Europe.

Ken and Jinner Rudolph share a love for youth - We appreciate their enthusiasm for reaching the youth in Europe.

We continue to process all we witnessed and took part in. . . We are often speechless to put it all into words. . . "but to YOUR name be the glory. . . "

One More Picnic

2010-10-09T20:33:00.004-04:00

Praise God for such a BEAUTIFUL day today!! We took advantage of the warmer weather to have one more picnic at our nearby park. And we were finally able to make an attempt at our annual picture. . . This being the first one with Zachary in it! As you can see. . . Zachary experienced a wide array of emotions while at the park. . . .

Apple Picking 2010

2010-10-03T23:11:00.001-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Zachary!

2010-09-29T23:01:00.000-04:00

Hmmm. . . This cake isn't so bad after all!!

Zachary had A LOT of help opening his presents from his 3 sisters and 2 cousins!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Megan!

2010-09-12T16:30:00.000-04:00

Hannah's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-12T16:18:00.003-04:00

First Day of 2nd Grade!!

2010-09-07T08:56:00.001-04:00

. . . there's still hope!

2010-09-06T15:02:00.002-04:00

Zachary has finally figured out how to pull himself into a standing position. . .and he's really enjoying it. I think there's hope he may walk some day. :)

Sister Love

2010-09-06T15:00:00.001-04:00

While walking through the Meijer Gardens a couple weeks ago, Craig and I watched as Karisa and Hannah spontaneously walked ahead of us - holding hands. SO precious!!

Michigan's Adventure 2010

2010-09-06T14:28:00.004-04:00

As part of our "staycation" a couple weeks ago, we spent a day at Michigan's Adventure - a HUGE highlight for the girls!! You probaby can't see us. . . but Karisa and I are in the front seat of this coaster, with Daddy right behind us.

Here's the big view of what we rode! Karisa was SO excited to finally be 48 inches this year, so she was able to enjoy many of the bigger rides.

Zach had a "cozy" place to sleep.

Karisa rode an upside down coaster for the first time - She and Daddy are in the 4th seat, right behind me. She said she "liked" it, but wasn't so sure she wanted to do it again. :)

Summer Splast 2010

2010-08-17T23:37:00.003-04:00

Sunday and Monday of this week was "Summer Splast" - a mini retreat for the middle school students from church. We had a lot of fun with messy games (including lots of flour as pictured below) but also had some good times together discussing some relevant topics from God's Word.

Zach enjoyed watching the game time.

Sometimes the girls are sad when Daddy is gone at youth group activities, especially the overnight activities, but God continues to shower us with blessings (some of them "shallower" than others!) that far outweigh the sacrifices. . . . like jet ski rides and boat rides. :)

A Day at the Beach

2010-08-17T23:21:00.003-04:00

Last week we spent about 24 hours with our good friends, the Rumleys, on Lake Michigan. What a blessing to have the time for refreshment, fellowship and lots of fun!

More Cute Pics

2010-08-17T23:17:00.001-04:00

Our Day at the 4-H Fair

2010-08-07T22:29:00.003-04:00

Last week we joined up with my parents and my sister Kristi, David, and Kaylee at our hometown county fair. The Elkhart County Fair is a BIG deal if you grow up in Goshen, so it was fun for Kristi and I to relive our "growing up" years together. Craig even surprised me and showed up to spend the day with us all.

One of the big highlights of the day was watching the rodeo.

The rodeo was especially exciting for our animal lover, Hannah. She stood up much of the time and had this "spellbound" look on her face. While the other kids eventually lost some interest, Hannah couldn't get enough of it!

The bull riding at the end was the favorite for us all.

Zachary was a little tuckered out by the end of the day.

Besides the rodeo, Hannah really enjoyed the horse barn.

Karisa waited all day to ride the Crazy Mouse.

We ended the day watching the elephant show - quite a treat for a little hometown fair!

Random Pictures

2010-08-07T22:19:00.002-04:00

Zachary finally figured out he could stand up in his crib. . . and since his crib mattress was still at the highest level, I got a little nervous when I walked in and found him in this position recently! Needless to say, Daddy lowered his mattress soon after that!

Here's a happy Maggie hanging out with Mommy and Daddy at a youth group activity. . . playing in the sand and "driving" the boat.

And here's a couple pictures of what our hallway walls looked like for a few weeks. . . Karisa put on an "art show" for us. . . priceless!

It's About Time!

2010-08-05T10:50:00.001-04:00

After working in the same youth ministry for 10 years. . . the teens finally got us last night. . . We're not sure what took them so long. . . but we are feeling loved this morning. :)

2010-08-03T22:08:00.004-04:00

This is "Base Camp" Week at Church where we have the amazing opportunity to share Christ with about 80 kids. We are studying the life of Jonah and have titled the week "HUGE." Craig and his good friend Luke do a little skit each night as part of the closing program. . . . Here is what they looked like last night. :) You can see some pics of our week at basecamp.fhbcgr.org. And as soon as possible. . . I'll catch up on blogging with some fun pics from the last couple of weeks. . . Stay posted!

Daddy's Comin' Home!!

2010-07-19T22:21:00.006-04:00

This was the scene at the Grand Rapids airport 2 weeks ago today when the 16 member team from our church flew off to Brazil to work at Camp Paradise (with their 31 pieces of checked luggage!). Karisa and Hannah held tightly to Daddy as they walked through the airport together.

When the good-byes started. . . Karisa especially got pretty emotional.

Zachary, on the other hand, just wanted to play with Daddy's hat.

And Megan was pretty clueless as to all the emotion. :)

Poor Karisa sobbed and sobbed as time went on.

We put on our smiles for one last family picture before Daddy left. :)

So to make that first afternoon at home go quickly, Mommy had to use her creativity a little bit. . . of which I have NONE! Anyhow, Karisa and Hannah spent a long time that day making paper chains with 15 links (the number of "sleeps" Daddy would be gone). And then, since there were 16 people on the team, we put Daddy's name on every link and then one other team member's name on each of the links. Then each night when we tore one of the links off our chain, we prayed for Daddy and that other person.

Here's the mess we created. . . . But it was SO worth it!

And here was Karisa's final product!

Now we can fast-forward two weeks later to tonight at bedtime. . . We are on our last link of the chains!! We actually got to talk to Daddy tonight from Miami, and Lord-willing, we will see him sometime between now and daylight. And while we have missed Daddy SO much, we are so thankful God has given him the opportunity to minister in Brazil again.

A Zoo Trip with Grandma and Grandpa

2010-07-13T15:46:00.003-04:00

The petting farm is a highlight for our animal lover, Hannah. :)

Grandma and Grandpa's Zoo has a train, which was a big hit with the girls!

The Best Day of Hannah's Life :)

2010-07-13T15:29:00.003-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa had a special treat for the girls this past weekend. They took us to a horse farm owned by a friend where the girls were each able to ride a horse. For Hannah, who is our animal lover, this was a dream come true!

Zach even joined in on the fun!

It took Megan a little while to want to ride, but once she got on the horse she loved it, too.

Hannah and Karisa's horses trotted a bit, too - That was even MORE fun!!

More Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House

2010-07-13T15:23:00.003-04:00

Making personal pan pizzas

Swimming in the pool with Grandpa

Zach's on the Move

2010-07-13T15:19:00.001-04:00

Zachary has found himself in some "hard to get out of" positions recently as his mobility increases!

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House

2010-07-10T15:11:00.002-04:00