Life!

Skype

2008-08-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

Skype is a pretty fascinating tool! I got to spend a couple hours this morning hearing and seeing J on the webcam. Good to know he has not changed much as you can see by the pictures below. He also was kind enough to bring his new motorbike into his bedroom and start it up to show me. He almost got gassed out but I got the affect. It was so nice to see him and talk to him, it has been since April.

He was getting tired...he is 11 hours ahead of us.

Ahhhh life.......

2008-04-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

The next 2 months are going to be a nightmare if I don't get busy. We must be moved by June 6, the girls have a trip to take after that and then we are camping the last week or so of June. So...what do I do? I sit down and play with Google Earth. It's pretty cool, I located where Jeremy will be living for the next year or so then I zoomed in on it again and again and thought I would share it. (As if anyone reads this....haha) So anyway he is living in Salatiga on the Island of Java (They might spell it Jawa...who knows?) in Indonesia. :

Saying goodbye to Jeremy

2008-04-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Out doing last minute errands and getting a last ride on the Black Pearl!

Here we are all at the airport on April 12, 2008.

Lots of baggage!

Last time we see J, going through security

J's last Sunday in the US

2008-04-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today after morning service our church had a send off party for Jeremy. They gave him a money tree and there was a potluck dinner and much of our family was there. He is leaving this Saturday and will arrive in Indonesia later the following week. We are sorely going to miss him but he is so excited to get going and we are happy for him and proud of him. Here are some pictures:

Jeremy, Pastor Harris and some deacons

Peg, Mom, Christy, Ruth, Drew, Jan, Eric, Lisa, Phil, Dusty, Gordy and Mandy

So it seems that we are moving

2008-03-28T01:13:00.000-07:00

Wow things happened really fast, I still am a little numb! Just a few weeks ago we felt hopelessly stuck in a house that was falling apart around us and a neighborhood that was getting more ghetto-like every day. We have wanted to move toward Lansing for a long time now anyway because of church and mostly for the sake of the girls' involvement and friendships there. We also wanted to be more involved with all the people we know there who home school. And we also prayed about the fact that Jeremy is moving to Indonesia next month and mom will be alone. It has been a comfort to us that he has been there off and on over the past several years to help take care of things around there and keep her company. Phil and I have also been hesitant to get involved in church because of the distance and it has been hard to cultivate friendships there for the same reason. So we prayed about all this for a long time and BAM! the Lord answered it all at once. It just so happens that an acquaintance of ours has been trying to sell his house for 3 years and it has just been sitting there empty. He is selling it to us on his own and is working with us even under the worst of financial circumstances. God is so good! He totally did this! We are still looking at our options as far as our house here and will probably have to sell our camper and truck but trust that will all work out too.

The girls will still be able to see their family here as much if not more than they do now as Phil will still be working in Grand Rapids and can bring them in. They will also keep in contact with their close friends here but most of their friends are in Lansing anyway.

Drew's 27th Birthday

2008-03-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

We all went to Bennigan's for dinner and got to know Drew's friend Miranda better. It was a nice night!

Kids

2008-03-07T08:58:00.001-08:00

Just a few recent pictures of the kids doing what they do.

Jeremy went to Quebec to visit NORM and they got some air (off the roof)

TWO DREWS ???

Hello I am Sarah and I am HAPPY!

Amanda and Peanut

Home School Stuff

2008-01-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

First sewing project-a pillowcase that is going to travel to Indonesia with Jeremy. (Upside down pic courtesy of Jeremy)

Chemistry class-we meet with Amanda's partner Joanna to do labs every other week.

What is this concoction?

Joanna and Amanda

Belated Christmas Post

2008-01-25T15:11:00.001-08:00

I was not my usual self with the camera this year so did not get very many pictures. We had a nice relaxing time with the family. December was a bittersweet month as my Mom's youngest brother, Uncle Doc passed away. He was one of my many and very, very special Uncles. It is good we all got to see him at his daughter's (my cousin Kelli) wedding last fall. He will be missed a lot and our love and prayers will always be with his wonderful family he left behind. Below, left to right: Uncle Doc, Mom, Uncle Maury and Uncle Bug.On a happier note, we got to spend a special evening with Steven. We went to dinner, did some shopping and went to see Grandma Grooters. We enjoyed it very much and hope to do it again real soon. Below, left to right: Grandma Grooters, Amanda, Sarah, Steven and Drew.

Turkey Day

2007-11-22T22:12:00.001-08:00

J and Drew took a wintry ride to the store. We were happy to have Christin with us this year and as you can see by the last pic she was really excited too! Didn't get many pics this year but here are a few of some of them looking thrilled after eating too much.

Drew and Christy

Dusty and Amanda

Drew and Lisa

Christin and J

Another one bites the dust

2007-11-18T13:48:00.001-08:00

We all finally had to say goodbye to Drew's Toyota, it just couldn't do it anymore..but we actually had passersby fighting over the engine parts so off it goes. Why do I take pictures? I am just sentimental like that. P.S. I am very thankful Drew was not injured in the accidents.

Change can be a good thing, Drew went out and found himself some nice new wheels,we hope these ones will be around for a long time.

Just for fun!

2007-11-01T21:15:00.001-07:00

Sarah decided to be a cat and went out with her friends for the evening.

Amanda dressed up to pass out candy.

This past weekend

2007-10-15T11:23:00.001-07:00

We decided to go see my dad for his birthday and for a change of pace went camping up by Mackinaw. This was the view from behind our campsite. It was chilly out but very beautiful. The bridge and the island looked awesome at night with all the lights but I did not get very good night shots.

Dad with his gifts and his birthday brownies!

The girls chilling on the hammock...they made a video which I have yet to see. Ought to be interesting.

My babies, Peanut and Dex.

My big baby first thing in the morning. Nice jammies!

Back to School

2007-09-26T10:22:00.002-07:00

The rat race has begun again although it is a little different this year. Amanda is now being home schooled (10th grade) and is doing very well. We have gotten to know each other much better over the last few weeks and enjoy (most of the time) the time we get to spend together. We are also BOTH learning a lot! Here is a picture of the mad scientist doing her chemistry experiments! She will be starting driver's ed next week so we will add that into the mix and see how it goes.

Sarah is very busy with school (7th grade)and basketball. She is working on an edible social studies project, we will post pictures of that when it is done. It has been messy and fun!

Here are this year's school pictures and a few family pictures from church. Laters!

Amanda 10th grade

Sarah 7th grade

Jeremy age 24

Drew and the girls

Lundo Fall Gathering at Mom's

2007-09-18T07:54:00.001-07:00

Back Row: Phil, Drew, Dusty, me, Jeremy, Jeff and Eric. Front Row: Ruth, Sarah, Amanda, Lisa, Mom, Christy and Jan

Jan, Mom, Jeff and me.

Lisa, Jan and Eric

Jeff, Ruth, Dusty and Christy

Drew, Sarah, Phil, me, Jeremy and Amanda

Long weekend in Yooperland!

2007-08-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

We decided we needed to squeeze in a few more camping trips this year and spend some time together as a family since our summer was so busy. We had a wonderful time together. It was fun to see the girls enjoying themselves so much. This is really their thing. We wanted to camp at Bay View but it was full so we went to Monocle Lake, a National Forest Campground. It was great, we camped in the woods right on the lake. We had Sarah's friend Taylor with us and wanted to show her around so we did some touristy things too. We also saw part of the forest fire, it was sad but we were glad to see some new growth already coming up. The fire is 67% contained and they figure it will not actually go out until it snows. Here are some pics! Amanda chilling on the hammock.

Sarah and Amanda at Point Iroquios Lighthouse.

Tahquamenon Falls, the water level is so low this year it looked really strange to us.

Sarah, Amanda and Sarah's friend Taylor in St. Ignace.

These are the most bizarre hats I have ever seen!

Long Weekend

2007-08-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

First we took the Car Ferry across Lake MI because we had to take the girls to Wisconsin to stay with their aunt for a week. We really enjoyed the trip and Sarah cleaned up the prizes playing "Badger Bingo".

At the dock in Wisconsin

On Friday Phil, Dex and I took a wonderful drive through the UP on Hwy 2. We had to get to Kalkaska for the family reunion by Saturday. The line of smoke you see in the background is from the Luce County Fire, it had just started but we could smell it and see it from where we were.

Phil and I rode over to check out the cabin and see the new additions. Jeff has done a lot of work. This is one of my favorite places in the world to be and it has been recently dubbed "Paradise".

What we've been up to

2007-08-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to stop by where my brother works and get the grand tour. It was pretty cool to see where he works and what he does.
Lt. Peco

On being content where you are at...(Back from Vacation!)

2007-07-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Downtown Manistee just before J left for home.The kids on the pier at Ludington.

You hear a rather loud crash and a small groan as J gets on the hammock and it collapses. Then he just lays right there and you hear his guitar start playing.This is what we did for a lot of the week, it was so relaxing and nice to spend time with the family. No, that is not our camper in the background.

J's new ride

2007-07-11T20:50:00.001-07:00

I guess he needed something that he could store while he is away in Papua, New Guinea. He took me for a ride, it was pretty fun!

2007-01-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from all of us! Front row: Phil, me (and Dex). our Jeremy, my brother Jeff. Middle: Jan's hubby Eric, my sister Jan, their daughter Lisa, our Drew, my mom (Gramses), my dad, Jeff's wife Ruth.

2006-11-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2006-11-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

Phil, J and me

2006-11-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

Amanda and Sarah

2006-11-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

Mom, otherwise known as Gramses!

2006-11-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Sarah playing hoops!

2006-11-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Drew, Sadie and Amanda

Have you seen this guy??

2006-10-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

Chances are that if you are reading this you probably have!