June

Wearing big brother's shoes

Strawberry picking

Enjoyed by everyone

Rollerblading

2 week gymnastics class

Tunnel Park sand dune run

Crazy kids

Craft time with Grandpa and Grandma

Such a good helper

Isaac loves games like Quirkle

Beautiful flowers from my hubby

Angela

Julia loved jumping by herself

Great visit with Dad and Mom

Cute picture of Wendy and Anahi

Woo-hoo, last day of school!

We started June off with the last day of school! I am so proud of my kids.  They worked hard and got glowing reports from their teachers.  They deserve a summer vacation.  I always feel nervous when summer starts and the kids are home all the time.  But, we are in the middle of July already and it is going fine.  It helps to have so many neighbor kids around!  Caleb finished his baseball season and he learned alot.  He pitched some games and even got to play catcher once.  By the end of the season he was getting some good hits too.  We took the older 3 kids to a Whitecaps game.  The boys had gotten free tickets for reading during the school year.  The highlight for Isaac and Julia was the food- cotton candy and popcorn.  There were fireworks after the game which was an added bonus.

We visited the new church of our old pastor, Jim Boer.  We then had lunch with his family.  The Boer family lived in our neighborhood and their daughter Ellery babysat our kids.  The kids enjoyed playing with Ellery and the adults had good conversation.  We also had supper with the Mulder family.  We met them in South Haven and they now live in Grand Rapids.  We had not seen each other in over a year and it was fun to catch up.  

While Nate was in California, we had a new foster daughter move in- Angela.  She was 8 years old, the youngest one we've had so far.  Angela was sick, exhausted, withdrawn and scared.  By the time she left 3 weeks later she was a different girl.  She was still fairly withdrawn, but she was laughing and looking healthier.  We don't know where these kids will end up in life, but we pray God uses their time with us to make an impact.  Angela left and we will not be taking any more kids til August.

Nate's parents arrived at our house- a day early!  Haha.  I wrote down the wrong arrival day so was surprised when I got a text that they were a couple hours from our house.  So much for deep cleaning the house.  It was great surprise though and not a problem at all.  The weather wasn't great during their visit.  But, we still made it to Tunnel Park and enjoyed the playground and beach.  We got a babysitter one night so just Mom/Dad and Nate and I could go out for dinner.  It was nice to have adult conversation.  The kids kept the grandparents going with games, crafts and outdoor play.  They also got to see Caleb's last two baseball games.

For two weeks during June the older 3 kids had swimming lessons.  Caleb and Isaac made good progress and enjoyed their time.  This was Julia's first time taking swimming lessons and I'm proud of how she did.  She got in the water and tried hard.  To pass the first level she has to do 10 bobs without wiping water off her face in between the bobs.  She doesn't like water in her face.  So, I think next time she'll be even more comfortable.  Julia also did gymnastics for two weeks.  She enjoyed wearing a leotard and seemed more comfortable doing flips on the bars than last summer.

In June I was installed as a pastoral deacon.  It has been a learning experience and I am excited to serve in this capacity.  I also led my first PRIDE sessions.  PRIDE classes are required for people who want to be foster parents and I am a trainer now.  I taught 2 sessions and it went well.  The participants seemed engaged and I didn't hear any negative feedback so, success I guess!  And I get paid every time I teach PRIDE- bonus.

At the end of June we had a 17 year old foster girl stay for a week.  Her foster parent needed respite care and we said, "sure."  Nene had the basement and Angela was in the guest room.  Nene was a sweet girl, but her boyfriend was over alot.  Let's just say the week was a little stressful and I am not ready for older teens and raging hormones!  I am glad we could help our friend out though.

We stayed home this 4th of July as Nate had to work.  I took the older kids (and Angela, Nene and Nene's boyfriend) to fireworks in Overisel, a neighboring town.  We went with the Petersons.  This firework show is ridiculous- it seriously goes for one hour!  I left with my crew after 40 minutes because Julia couldn't handle the noise anymore.  And it was nice to beat the traffic.  I crawled in to bed at 12:30 am and then got up at 5 am.  Angela left for the airport that morning.  Then Nene left by lunch time.  And I was tired, our whole family was tired. We are glad to help kids out and we are glad to take a break!  This past week has been a rest up and prepare for Colorado week.  It's funny how only having our 4 kids seems easy.  We leave for our Colorado road trip on Sunday morning- we're excited!

June Adventures

Fair warning, this is not Stacy.  June was an adventure month for me.  My first trip was to the west coast to visit my brother, Pete.  We met a couple of old friends and drove into Yosemite National Park to do some backpacking and to climb Halfdome rock.  The weather was perfect and the views were breathtaking.  We hiked just under 50 miles in about 3.5 days tackling some tough elevation changes.  We trekked in late Friday morning and left the park Monday afternoon.  I swam in a mountain lake with snow still on the hillsides, took pictures of incredible waterfalls, survived on what was in my pack, and just had a great time.  My only regret is not seeing a bear during the trip.

On Sunday afternoon we made it to the base of the cables on Halfdome.  The final 400 ft or so you need to almost pull yourself up with a set of large steel cables attached to the rock.  I was fairly exhausted (and a little afraid of heights), but I made it the top.  Even with some nerves, there was no way I wasn't climbing that rock!  The view was awesome and I was overwhelmed with the greatness of our God who created all of it.  

On the trail with Pete and Mike

Very quiet, reflective morning at 9,000 ft 

Just conquered Halfdome

View from our final camp - that's Halfdome in the background

The second trip of the month was our now annual summer backpacking trip in Northern Michigan.  Caleb, Isaac, and I went with our neighbor and his daughter and a friend from church with his two sons.  Last year Isaac was too young to come along, so he had been waiting a long time for this trip.  We borrowed some canoes so we could hike up river and then float back down to our starting point.  It worked out great.  We got to the Manistee River Trail Sunday afternoon and hiked in far enough to find a good campsite.  Monday was a long day hiking 8 miles with full packs, but the kids persevered and made it to the end.  Tuesday morning we pushed off and spent the day paddling down the Manistee River.  We experienced a portage, saw a bald eagle, had lunch on an island and nearly lost Dad in a sink hole at the start.  It was an exhilarating, challenging, fun trip that we'll all remember for a long time.  The only rain we got was at night, which is always a huge blessing.  Although crawling into our tent on the second night around 9:30 on a stifling, hot, muggy night as the rain was just starting was not pleasant.  It was a sweat box!

Isaac learned about pitching a tent, how to build a fire with birch bark and that "backpacking" really just means hiking through the woods with a heavy pack and pooping in the woods.  :)  Caleb put on a full size pack this year and really pulled his weight.  I'm very proud of both of them.

The troops - Will, Jackson, Isaac, Caleb, Lydia

Just a good pic of my two boys

What a great pic of a couple of grubby kids!  Will and Isaac.  

Lydia, Will, and Isaac literally playing with fire

Caleb can really paddle hard!

Hitting the trail with all our gear