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

Poppa and the girls at snack time..does anyone look overwhelmed??
Georgia has discovered mobility with her walker...to the point of getting INTO the drawer that holds that prized above all possessions: the remote!
and a glimpse into a typical family gathering these days, kids and babies everywhere!!

Just a few pictures of life with us these days
and while you're all sending out Christmas cards and writing those annual letters..I'm thinking of doing the same, only right here, once and for all!
Getting snowed in might just be the stimulus needed to complete such a project! Stay safe and warm, travel only if you need to, make sure the cell phone is charged!

Mid November

Time is rolling along, as is Georgia! Crawling seems to still baffle our 9 month old baby girl, but rolling has become a wonderful way to get from point A to point B...along with scooting backwards. All this brings us to places we never dreamed possible, like UNDER the sofa, BEHIND the footstool, well, you get the idea! The baby walker also helps further our sense of independence, especially at Aunt Stacey's house, where a large amount of hardwood floors makes is possible to FLY!
As Georgia's world expands with each day holding another room or object to be discovered, so it is with my life too. I'm finding my way back to work, helping Dennis a day or so a week, and spending Monday's and Friday's (and one Saturday a month) at Best of Thymes in Pella (next to the Opera House) The work is all very different from my last 13 years, and I'm learning more about what makes life meaningful. My old radio job made it easy to believe that I was doing ministry and fulfilling a purpose..my new life makes it harder. It was easier to proclaim Christ while playing Christian music and programs, it was second nature to encourage people from my 'pulpit;, now I have to find ways to let my little light shine in the way I conduct myself while waiting on a customer, checking in inventory, or using my time. My circle of influence has become much tighter, but that doesn't make it any less meaningful. So while I always considered one of my greatest abilities that of being able to "be real: and connect", I now find myself being more like 'everyone else". Being reminded that it's not so much about doing Great Things, but doing small things with Great Love.

Thanksgiving is only a week away, and there is much to do! May I remind you, and me, that it's not about the cleanest house, or the best turkey, it's about the people around the table. For the first time in a LONG time, I'll be home to start my Thanksgiving feast! I rather enjoyed working that Holiday and leaving a nice long note on the table for my husband about when to start the turkey, and what to put in the oven, before we met at church. I have a funny feeling, I'll be the one up alone early on Thanksgiving morning!

For the day AFTER Thanksgiving, I will not be shopping, but I will be in a store! I'll be working at Best of Thymes, so if you'd like me to help you with your Christmas list, stop by! The coffee (flavored and wonderful!) is always on and always free and I would imagine a snack or two to taste as well!
The morning is getting away from me, I best get dressed, thanks for checking in! One huge thing on my Thankful For list this year: Val has completed her LPN year of nursing and just this morning started her RN year, with a clinical assignment in Grinnell!
God is good.

Travel

What I do not like about traveling ( and mind you, I'm not talking world wide..for me "travel" means a trip to NW Iowa for a family wedding)

• packing. I am bad at it. I keep trying, but I do not seem to be able to come up with a system that allows one to find what they pack...any suggestions??
• living out of above stated suitcase (probably because it is NOT packed correctly...
• repacking to go home one day later, which means throwing everything that was tossed out back in...
• unpacking at home...again, do you see a flow of the problem here???
• playing, tickling, soothing, feeding, changing, singing with a baby in a car seat for 300 miles

What I do love about traveling...

• arriving safe and sound at a destination (even with a traffic ticket and fine....)
• checking into a hotel, finding your room more than adequate, and several family members already checked in!!
• attending a family wedding, seeing cousins and siblings, several children..witnessing vows and exchanging well wishes, and of course, receptions and dances!
• Saturday lunch at Uncle Willy and Aunt Joyce, the usual warm welcome, the abundance of food, complete with the famous Cinnamon rolls, and more family than I could count...
• walking in my own front door and thinking," isn't it good to be home?"

We did totally enjoy a weekend jaunt to Sioux Center for Cousin Laurie's daughter Jenna's wedding. A quick trip indeed, but as stated above, so good to see family and catch up just a little!

Georgia and I can't help but notice the combines, tractors, wagons, and semis all busy with the work of bringing in the harvest. The weather will be cooperating this week, and I'm even thinking we might plan a picnic for Sunday, with a forecast of 60's and sunshine for the weekend!This will be a busy week for us, Noah turns 7 on Friday, and Jodi will celebrate a birthday too! This Friday, I'll be giving my sister her Christmas gift..a ticket to the Mercy Me concert in Des Moines, with one little catch...she has to take ME along! We are soo looking forward to it!!

Enjoy your week, more from us later!