Flash Back Friday 58

Trey & Lindsay, 1988.

Today, the Ring Bearer from our wedding is getting married. Aren't we all getting older? We will be headed down to Celeryville today for the big event.

Everyone Loves a Mime?

John by a fireplace at Calvin College, Feb. 2008

John is probably the funniest person I know even though he says that I am the funniest person I know. People who know him have told me we must have fun all the time. Our kids say I always repeat his jokes to make them funnier - what can I say? I recognize good humor.
Anyhoo, John has a post up about mimes on his blog which he updates once in a great while. Check it out here!

Never Too Much Beauty

Edward playing the cello with Elizabeth

Sunday night, we went to a choir/band/orchestra concert at South Christian to hear Edward & Maria in the orchestra. Again, they graced us with a combined rendition of "For the Beauty of the Earth" and Bridget took the video below with her little camera. Everyone was all, "Bridgie did this?" You can see Edward on the right side of the stage, Maria is in the back middle so you have to use your imagination to see her. This song always makes me happy. If you are reading this before bed and you listen to it, you will have a good song in your head while you dream!

Netherlands Nuesday 18

Grocery store, Bedum, 2007

Here is a fun advertisement that is all in Dutch!

Let's Talk About More Cold Things

Unfortunately, I have been tagged to show what's on my refrigerator, so that is why you can see this not so pretty picture here today. I was relieved when I realized it was not what's IN my refrigerator!

Not a lot of thought went into this arrangement, just a lot of little thoughts - a few pictures, pizza magnets & coupons, library schedule, postcard from Sumatra, Neuschwanstien, a note that Edward was a finalist in a math competition, a Bible test of Bridget's with an A+ and 2 canal house magnets - but I do see it everyday, and in a way, it's comforting.

I'm now tagging Gracie, Annette, Pearlie, Anooja,and Donna. Let's see what you've got!

Contemplating Shadows

You have to get up pretty early in the cold and snow to walk this tall.

Soon, I was joined by a friend who really is 6 feet tall. The morning sun is the great equalizer.


At our retreat last weekend, the rooms were very sparse - I gained an appreciation for shadows there.

And the winner is...

This morning, the Bridget & I made sure all the names of the people in the 2nd Blogaversary earring give-away thingy were properly accounted for on a slip of paper.

We enlisted Edward as a not-so-enthusiastic, neutral party to hold the pink hat and Bridget pulled out the winner's name...

... it was Marianna! The model for the underwear party! And it just so happens we will be seeing her next week at her son Trey's wedding. Congratulations, Mar.

Flash Back Friday 57

Niece Annelies' 2nd Birthday with Yara and Maria, 2001

Chicken Rehab

I was coming home from work today with a throbbing headache, but as I walked in the door, my nostrils were greeted by the smell of chicken coming out of the crock pot. I rarely manage to pull this off in the morning, so it's a surprise when I do.

I did come up with one little bloggable thing though -even with a headache. It's not much, but here it goes. Maria & Bridget have been hounding Edward for years to wear something pink. That's one of the benefits of having 2 younger sisters. A couple of weeks ago, he wore a pink shirt on the day when the seniors wore pink to show school spirit. So there you have it...

...pretty in pink. Good thing I'm on chicken rehab.

Anyone Want Some Snow?

We've gotten about 91.5 inches of snow so far this winter. I saw somewhere that our average is 73.2 inches per year, so yay, we are ABOVE AVERAGE! Yesterday, I had to give a speaker who spoke at the Institute for Spiritual Care a ride to the airport for his return trip to San Diego. He hadn't seen snow in over 20 years, so he had quite an adventure here. I told him the good thing is, it covers up a lot of ugly this time of year. Or as my friend Gracie so eloquently put it, the snow-filled splendor disguises what otherwise may appear to be deadened, barren moments. That's a good way to say it.

Netherlands Nuesday 17

Goose on canal, at the Rijksmuseum

Dancing

I was hoping to post a movie of this, but will have to settle for a still life and your imagination.

This was perhaps the most memorable thing we did at the retreat this past weekend: we divided into 4 groups who were each assigned a verse of the song "In Christ Alone" by the Newsboys. We had to make up a dance routine to our verse. We, the people of group 3, ranged in age from 3 to 45 and we were given verse one.

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

Our group set out with the enthusiasm of High School Musical using pieces of cloth, roll-offs, lowering and raising up, and joining arms in a cross-formation to empasize different ideas in the song. The memories of our teamwork, the sights, and actions will add to the impact of this song whenever I sing it, though I will admit I am not ready for a career in liturgical dance.

Blogaversary Give-Away

Today, Bridget reminded me that it is the 2nd anniversary of "Jewels of the Kingdom." To celebrate this milestone, we decided to give this pair of earrings, "Jewels" :) to a person who signs up in the comments on today's post. Bridget will draw the name of the winner for me in about a week. These were hand-made by a very good friend of mine with my favorite color and will be sent to the winner with lots of love, good wishes and many thanks for reading this blog!

Retreating

Yesterday, we left for a retreat with our dear friends from church. I didn't take pictures there, but Bridget did take a few on our afternoon cross-country ski trip.


Today's Guest Photographer

Maria seemed to thrive on cross country skiing leaving John & I in the dust...

...or snow as it turned out to be.

Soon, we all had the hang of it. I was feeling one with nature and hardly felt the skis anymore. It was a perfect, sunny afternoon for it, and I was so thankful for this time. Tomorrow, I am hoping to blog about a cool thing we did at the retreat.

Flash Back Friday 56

The Blogger, 1968

This past week Mom (aka the Queen Mother) sent me this picture along with the story of the beautiful emerald green coat which Oma Bouman bought for me with the black fuzzy hat and matching geen tights.

We went out shopping with Oma and went to lunch in a nice restaurant at O'Neill's Department Store. I was wearing the coat and looking very smart (see above) when I spilled a chocolate milkshake over the coat. (I don't remember this though I remember the story of it.) Mom remembers it vividly though as Oma was not too happy, while she calmly marched me in the bathroom to clean it all up. Fun times.

Happy Valentine's Day

. . . from our house to yours.

Senior Pix

This past weekend, I took some pictures for the son of a friend of a friend at their home. Joe is a really nice kid who is going to U of M this fall to study medicine and I felt it was an honor to photograph him. We had fun as he changed clothes/sweaters/ties about 10 times - all his grandfather's old clothes! I also took pictures of the rest of the family and friends - we soon had a roomful of 10 people. His older brother was leaving for the Peace Corp so we did some fun group shots.

Speaking of Seniors, we just ordered Edward's cap & gown - yikes!

Netherlands Nuesday 16

Mar doing Amsterdam "hardcore", September 2007

Homecoming

Marie, Abby, Maria, February 2008

This past weekend I was honored to be asked by Maria to take pictures of her with her friends getting ready for the Homecoming dance. It was a good time.

Memories of a Favorite Professor

Yesterday, John & I went to Calvin College for a luncheon to see Don Wilson receive the Faith and Learning Award. This award is presented to a former Calvin professor for excellence in teaching, spiritual impact, concern for students and lasting influence. I can think of no one more deserving of this award. Don was an anthropology professor and my freshman year at Calvin, he became my advisor even though I was a math major. I visited him often in his office where a 10 foot snake skin hung from the ceiling and the African masks, drums and other artifacts decorated the shelves and walls. He always had the best stories and I could talk to him forever. Because of him, I acquired a love for learning about other cultures. He eventually performed our wedding, so now John & I both have a lasting tie to him.

Today, he sends out over 6000 postcards a year, so every year on each of our family member's birthdays, we hear from him. We still see him from time to time, and he always has a story to tell. Read this article about him which shows what a unique person he is.

B.F.O.T.I.

Pearlie, 2008

As I approach the 2nd year anniversary of this blog later this month, I wanted to post this picture of a dear blogger friend on the opposite side of the world who has been here almost from the very beginning. We found each other's blogs randomly and soon recognized our love of the Bible, grammar, books, learning, and blogging. I loved this picture of how she blogs over there in Malaysia where she is 12 hours ahead of me each day. Every day! She is posed appropriately in front of her books, but I was surprised to see her in jeans. I don't know why, I guess I naively thought jeans were American while there on the humid equator region where she lives, she would be wearing something cooler. Anyway, thanks Pearlie for your blogging friendship. Someday, we'll meet for sure.

Flash Back Friday 55

The Queen Mother, 1950's

Ice Chunks on the Grand

Right now, it's hard to believe all this ice on the Grand River will melt.

Leo Says

You wrote about the wrong kind of animal, Bridget.

Today, at the Family Institute, in the midst of pelting snow outside, we hosted Dan Seaborn of Winning at Home at a luncheon. He talked about the Necessary Nine from his new book. Ok, this is starting to sound like the e-newletter I do at work, but anyway, it was good. One of the things he said was to remember that your spouse is a treasure. He held up a treasure box and said that you should continue always to discover what is in there. As I was leaving, I felt treasured indeed when I walked out to the snow & ice-covered van and remembered how John had made sure I had a snow scraper in the morning.

Netherlands Nuesday 15

The Queen Mother in the Palace Het Loo Restrooms

I'm not sure why I took this one - maybe I wanted to remember that eager anticipation that you feel each time you enter a bathroom in Europe. As anyone who has traveled there knows, there are 101 ways to flush a toilet and each time is a learning experience. It's weird how I remember almost every potty break as a big event.

Go Sailors!

Maria getting ready for school this morning.

This is Homecoming week at Edward & Maria's school this week so they will be showing their school spirit. Today it was Clash Day, hence Maria clashed a bit this morning.

What Living Free in NH Looks Like

Is it Art, Social Commentary, or Photo Essay? I think he's trying to tell us that life in New Hamphire is more dream-worthy than that in California because for one, you have ice fishing. But what do I know? Or that song comes to mind, "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things, doesn't belong..." Or did you notice that there are three different species of fish? This photo is such a conversation piece! I could frame it and put it on my wall next to the sad little blue man.

Note: These fish were all caught from under the ice and eaten and not photoshopped onto the above picture. And yes, Uncle Alan is taking credit for the catch.

More Adventures at the Grocery Store

Awhile back, I bought some re-usable bags at the grocery store where I shop. My kids will roll their eyes when I say this, but I will anyway: They are Winners! I love my blue bags for many reasons, not least of which is cutting down on waste. They hold so, so much, they have long handles, and they are blue. Most of the cashiers love them and can pack them nice and tight. The guy I had yesterday though, packed one with only 3 cereal boxes. What was that all about? He finished up with those dreadful plastic bags while I was trying to pack them tighter and leave the plastic bags behind. They haven't caught on in a big way where I shop, but I wish they would.

So on my way out to the car, it was snowing so bad that my front foot slipped forward on the ice while my back leg with the bad knee had nowhere to go but bend inward leaving me to do the splits for the first time since I was 10 years old. All the way down, which lasted an eternity in my head, I was going, this is going to be a bad one. I lay there on the ground waiting for the sirens, but then I got up and wondered what it felt like if you step on a broken leg. It was fine after 2 steps. Some guy drove up behind me and asked if I was all right, and, with surprise in my voice, I told him it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Flash Back Friday 54

Opa & Bridget, September, 1997