SUMMER OF 08’

So, I’m back with more non-profundities.
“Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer...” Not so much this summer. Maybe crazy does apply. Wow! I can’t believe it is the end of the year and the holidays are here. When I look back at the activities since summer began, it’s no wonder I haven’t written anything. ...So many stories, so little time to share them.
A few of the biggies this summer include Sara’s graduation and wedding a few weeks later :), Matt’s graduation, many softball games, basketball games, many trips to DeWitt to see Mom and a quick, drive through the night type, trip to Colorado to visit Kevin. We also squeezed in a trip to Ohio for a family reunion weekend. In addition to all of that activity, we worked very hard at preparing my house on Azalea St for selling.
After our wedding in February, Lisa and her daughter moved into my house. From the beginning we knew that it would be best to sell both of our houses and get one that would be “ours” together. Before I had even started dating Lisa, I had begun to remodel my kitchen knowing it needed updating asap. As we looked forward to selling, the kitchen project became a high priority. We painted the cabinets, installed new counters and backsplashes, new flooring and painted the walls. As I am too “dutch” to pay someone else for what I can do myself, I did it myself. Of course, that takes a longer amount of time. Once we completed the kitchen we contacted a realtor and put our house on the market. The real estate market in Michigan pretty much stinks as many of you know, but God is good and our house sold fairly easily. We had it priced aggressively and the new kitchen and addition really helped. So, in August we were packing like crazy, preparing for our moving date. In the meantime we decided to build a new home (another story...). We are very excited about building but that meant finding a place to live temporarily while our home is being built. Again God had that one figured out long before we did and we were led to a nice little home in Wyoming that very adequately meets our temporary needs, dogs and all. We will likely be on Walter St until mid-March or so.
It has been a pleasure seeing our two families “blend”. There continue to be challenges but so far things have gone very well. We appreciate the continued prayers of many as our families move forward together. Bryan recently gave a speech at the high school he graduated from and one of his themes was “restoration”. It is good to observe that our children also see the restoration process happening in our lives.
Lisa and I wish each of you a Blessed Holiday season. We pray that LOVE may increase in the coming year.