Not exactly Seven Lords a Leaping...but it is Seven De Vries girls sitting! These are the Seven baby girls born this past year as great grand daughters of Harold and Leona De Vries. Starting at the left: Ella Dykstra, Meagan De Vries, Jessa De Vries, Cambria Van Dyke, Breckyn De Vries, Georgia De Vries and Abigal De Vries. Whooooh! We feel we accomplished quite a bit getting this picture, they started crawling away within seconds! We celebrated Christmas and Grandpa's 80th birthday Saturday night with over 60 family members in attendance. and no, it wasn't at our house...we are thankful for the use of the Peoria Grade School gymnasium!!
Santa appeared at our gathering to hand out presents to all the good girls and boys. Cambria, just a year, was fascinated by Santa and several other children reserved judgement of Santa, but managed to get close enough to open a gift. Santa does hold a special place in his heart for Colby...who kept Santa's "real identity" to himself.
This was my first Christmas in over a dozen years to NOT be on the radio. I always enjoyed working Christmas morning, sharing songs i loved with the listeners who had become my "extended family". I was not looking forward to getting through yet another season of my lost life. But, because of snow and situations, I slept through what would have been most of my morning radio shift. and as the day progressed, I found I didn't miss it as much as I had thought i might, though I do still miss so much talking with so many who touched my life over the past 12 years. My work at Best of Thymes has brought contact with some old friends as well, and it's always good to catch up. If you're one of those people I miss, please feel free to email! I love connecting in this new way, while still missing the old way!
At our Christmas gathering with my husbands family, my sis in law gave a brief over view of the things our 9 different families have to be thankful for. It made me pause to think of what an amazing year we have had. While I am thankful for the things she mentioned, a new home for Randy and Jodi, a new place for Scott and Stacey, and Val's passing of her LPN year at Indian hills, we have many more reasons to be thankful. This past year brought Valerie through a difficult pregnancy with the end result of the healthy delivery of Georgia Naely. And though the next 2 months found us in situations we never saw coming, Valerie's Congestive Heart Failure and immediate start on Chemo for her leukemia, my losing my job, position, financial support ,and mission at KCWN, and many other life style changes for all of us, we have found that God is always faithful. True friends have remained to offer support and joy through this new season of our life. So I am thankful for God and his promises, that JOY can remain even when life is hard, and that a baby's smile can make any day worth living.
I am thankful for my family..great kids and 6 grandkids, a husband who has learned all over again the art of raising an infant, parents who are healthy and happy, a church family that feels like family, my class at Third church, my new work at Best of Thymes, with good people who make me feel important, needed, and worthwhile. I am thankful for Salvation, full and free, for a God who is very fond of me....and disciplines those he loves. I am thankful for all of you.
Merry Christmas
Blessed New Year
