phewwww. bloggin'....finally....

left to right......

shanda www.sprickcrew.blogspot.com, her babe, penny, yours truly, gloria, mom, lori, tricia, gg (gretchen), tessa and noel.

back in june, we were able to spend an amazing evening with some of the most dearest people on the face of the earth. shanda and tricia are my first friends.

i've written about them before and they're worth mentioning again.

shanda, tricia, kevin and ryan are the children to gloria (my mom's bff) and her hub, dan.

this family has been through SO much in the past few years and yet, they stand united.

the koemans are one of the bravest, strongest, families i have ever met.

yeah for me, i was privileged to be part of this family, so to speak.

most of my childhood memories, somehow have these people in them.

kevin and ryan married amazing girls....kate and gg. shanda and tricia married a couple of studs...matt and gary. all four 'newcomers' are the cream of the crop.

i love these people as if they were my own flesh and blood.

it feels like years of my life have been spent around this very table.

gloria has this incredible gift of hospitality. everyone who walks into her house feels loved. that's how i always feel.

over the years we have eaten more loaves of homemade (and i mean from scratch!!!) bread, pots and pots of soup, Cinnamon rolls. oh, the food. oh the people. oh the memories.

my 'tape recorder' friend. :)

my old siblings. well, they are old. older than me. yes they are. love these peeps.

Max and gg have a very special bond. after vacationing with the koemans years ago, she's the one he's still smitten with. he'll tell you so.

sam with a great throw.

jack with a great catch.

this is max. (#55) max is a machine out on the field.

my #19. he's speedy like the wind.

bai and max~ cousins and yet, best of friends. last night bai stayed overnight. a little after midnight i had to go up stairs to get these two to pipe down. they were giggling (sorry max, you were) and being all chit chatty. as much as i wanted them to quiet down, truth be told, i could have stood in the doorway and listened to them all night long. these are precious times.

my hope is they always laugh together and they always have each others back.

middle school has been good to these boys.

although, they're looking a tad bit naughty right here.

speaking of naughty.

ok, before you look at this next batch of pictures, let me give a shout out to my Bff, kath. www.wubbenworld.blogspot.com

she was a brave, brave friend.

she willingly came out to photograph. and she did it all with a good attitude.

thankfully, she knows how to deal with my children. sometimes better than me.

she caught real life.

oh no, my pictures are all out of wack. hold the picture taking session, we'll get back to that.

in the meantime, this is gina. she's my girl.

my girl got married.

my girl was the most beautiful bride.

she waited patiently (ahem, sometimes) for the perfect guy for her.

God blessed her for that.

she is now married to a great guy!!

scott is perfect for her!

sorry, forgot to upload their wedding picture!!! duh.

coming soon.

here's the bride and her non-bride cousin. i mean i was once a bride but hello, i like my life...i don't need to go running off being a bride again. not that i didn't like being a bride. i did. oh i did. i would go be a bride tomorrow if i could but since the groom needs to go off and work like most responsible groom should be doing. i think i'll just stop chatting about it since my sleeping pill is obviously starting to do it's job. it's job is to primarily make me really loopy and crazy silly before i sleep. i've been warned to never blog after taking one but what the heck, it's the day after Christmas.

party on.

left to right....

amber, sadie, lisa, jodi, traci, heather, lori, misty and deedee

another wedding. another chance to get a girl cousin pic.

sadly, belle and dulce we not able to make it. we think someone needs to photoshop them in SOMEWHERE.

we're a fairly good looking bunch, wouldn't you agree?

these people are one of the BIGGEST (and only) reasons why i would ever consider moving back to michigan. which by the way, will never happen.

this is my #1 baby. ok, so his number is 77 but to me, he'll always be my firstborn, number 1.

tall boy #56 is joshua. he's sam's sidekick.

please note that my very confident child is wearing PINK shoelaces to show his support for Breast Cancer Awerness month. i love it!!

we are teaching our boys to Be BOLD. we were referring more to telling others about Jesus but that's ok, standing up for cancer is Bold so you go!!!

oh sweet happy day to one of the best sister-in-laws anyone could have ever asked for!

we adore you lis.

and those children of yours.

yup, i adore them too!!!

ryes number in high school was #77 . how cool was that for sam to choose #77 just because dad picked it way back when.

ok, back to the quick last min. hurry up and do a photo shoot before the kids realize that it's an 'acutal photo shoot'.

ya, someone ratted us out. it went from bed to worse. then ok to great. then ARE WE DONE YET??? so kath and i just figured we'd take what we can get.

we almost lost them but thankfully, bff jumped in and saved the day.

in theory, having a family of five, jumpin on a trampoline, on a sunny, beautiful day, having a load of fun is sure to create ONE perfect jumping picture.

not always.

in the picture above, you can see me holding up my hand, pleading, no BEGGING to get me off the ride. i was getting dizzy. i was getting panicked. (those of you who have had a child or two knows EXACTLY what i'm talking about. if you don't know, than you need to come on over, jump a few jumps. you'll KNOW what i mean.) i digress.....

mom and dad get off the tramp and all the sudden, the real fun begins.

kinda.

i will not post the pictures of how the this little 'wrestling match' ended.

oh, how i love my little monsters.

post below has finally made it online.....
it sat in my 'edit posts' for a whole week.
didn't want to post until i could upload pics.
now that my 'uploading' is apparently on vacation, i'm posting anywho.
i promise i'll be back soon. (happy sister??)

back

friends....

i'm blogging and it isn't even Monday. (see previous post)

lucky you....i'm feeling chatty. that being said, in exactly 13 mins. my sleeping pills are going to turn my now sane thoughts into mush so enough explaining....let's blog.

September 19 was my last official post. that's sad, just sad. not for you, but for yours truly who needs to get you up to speed on our life.

since the likkel family Christmas card will be in your mailbox this week, i need to sum up our last few months in a nutshell. wish me luck. nothing i do is done 'in a nutshell'. (aka: speedy.)

September always seems crazy busy. i was happy to see it end.

October brings routine. i thrive on routine. it's a good thing.

Jackson and Maxwell played football.

those who know me well, know that i don't understand OR love football.

HOWEVER, there's change a-brewin'.

i still don't really understand the game but for a girl, i follow it just fine.

love football? i don't know if i'll ever admit that but what i DO love is watching my little people out there, playing their hearts out. they LOVE the sport so since i'm their mama, i vow to you that i will learn to love it too.

you boys made me proud.

the biggest event in the past few months was trip out to Michigan in November for my cousin, Gina's (AND Scott's!) wedding. not only was the wedding beautiful but i had 6 days of vacation bliss, hanging with my sista. we agreed, it was probably one of the best get-together we've ever had. we had close to NO agenda. we slept in. we shopped. we laughed. we watched a ridiculous amounts of CSI and HGTV. oh, and Lawrence Welk. come on you 70's children, you know you LOVED Lawrence!

we ate out. a. lot. except for all the frozen oatmeal creme pies we ate while sitting in front of the tv. i think i've said just about enough about THAT.

we discovered stores we didn't know existed.

we bonded, my sista and me. yes. we. did.

we 'silently' bad-mouthed our FAVORITE consignment store that SHOULD have been opened, but was closed for remodeling. HELLO?? did they NOT know that the DenBleyker sisters come to Holland just to visit your store??? we'll call ahead next time. drat. i'm still mad about this. if i didn't love you so much, i'd boycott. (a super big threat from someone that lives 3000 miles from you. well, be afraid, be very afraid)

and family...where do i begin to brag about my Michigan family?

i am blessed. that's bragging in a nutshell. (i'm getting good at this 'nutshell' stuff)

we were able to hang out with Gram. i keep meaning to blog about my Gram. she's what my kids would call "rad". yup, she's a rad gram.

saying goodbye was lousy, as usual. i hate it. i hate every.single. thing about it.

in heaven there will be no goodbyes.

i look forward to that.

mid November we celebrated both mom and dads birthdays. (hey sibs, when are we going to take them out to the dinner we promised them?? :)) we are thankful for another healthy year for both of them. we pray for many, many more.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful, relaxing day. tim and lisa opened up their cozy home to us. our cup overflows. our blessings abound. we went around the table, saying what we were thankful for and wouldn't you know it, little miss cry baby couldn't get through it. there was so much more i would've said but really, in a matter of seconds, i would've been a sobbing mess. no one wants to see that. so, i stopped talking.

for that everyone was thankful.

December 1st brought a reality check.

ONLY 9 DAYS UNTIL THE HOME TOUR.

mercy me. stress is a great motivator. i'm the truest definition of procrastination.

back in October, we were asked to have our house featured on the Bethany Christian Services annual Christmas Home Tour. we were honored to have been asked. yet, overwhelmed at the projects that have been looming over our heads for 4 1/2 years. nothing like the potential of hundreds of people walking through your house to get my 'to do' list moving.

and it moved.

and moved.

and i have the greatest dad in the world. really, i could NOT have done it without him.

he's amazing and i'm thankful that he has not only the time, but the patience to help me complete all these little projects that seem so easy in my little head. usually not so easy in reality. (right,dad? :)) i'm so glad he's my dad. he's taught me SOO much. i love that man.

here it is, the day after the home tour and i have to say, i feel incredibly blessed to have been able to be part of this fundraiser. i am tired but in the end, it was worth it.

all projects are done. (done-um....really, are they ever ALL done?)

all beds are made. 3 bathrooms clean. dishes done. laundry done. ok, not really the laundry. it's no where near to being caught up. who am i kidding?

that's it. i'm starting to tell lies so we must call it a night. sleeping pills make me lie. i will have no part in this so goodnight.

bye.

tomorrow

monday, i'll blog.

i have no cute and sassy title for this post. the end.

my children, God bless them, have a enormous love for animals.

 this is a trait they did NOT get from their parents. sad, but true.

the thought of a dog curling up in bed with me, a cat rubbing against my leg or a gerbil, um, gerbilling in my house does NOT appeal to me.

however, when my children come to me with a wounded animal, my heart breaks.

not for the animal but for the broken hearts of my kids.

a few weeks back i was torn.

what's a mom to feel when her eldest shoots a bird, meaning to kill it, only to just wound it?

jack says "we can 'fix' it guys!"

"boys, please, just put it out of it's misery already".

fortunately, time (very little) took care of that.

however, not before my babes made a bed for it, feed it apple peels and hugged it.

uhg.

that's all i have to say about that.

we are now into the full swing of fall.

school has started.

i've begun to start on those projects i've been putting off for months.

like sorting thru their school papers from last spring. (the downside of having a spare room, with a door. out of sight, out of mind.)

before Summer officially ended, we had one last outing at Birch Bay with my family.

sweet times.

my brothers played football for hours with the kiddos.

i love watching them love them.

teachers letters have arrived!!

everyone was thrilled. including their mama.

nice socks jack.

in the midst of my fall purging, i can across the kitchen set that i had as a kid.

what's a gal, who only produces boys, to do with a girly kitchen set that has been sitting in a box for 30 years?

of course, take a picture and pass it on.

below is a pic of my failed attempt at becoming the Pioneer woman.

no point in making a 2 gallon batch of iced tea, when NO one else in your house drinks it.

probably should have thought of that before i used up 15 tea bags.

my callling.

i found this great article.

just wanted to share.

A few years ago, when I just had four children and when the oldest was still three, I loaded them all up to go on a walk. After the final sippy cup had found a place and we were ready to go, my two-year-old turned to me and said, “Wow! You have your hands full!”
She could have just as well said, “Don’t you know what causes that?” or “Are they all yours?!”
Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.

A Rock-Bottom Job?

The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.
Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing.
If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children. How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? Do we believe that we want children because there is some biological urge, or the phantom “baby itch”? Are we really in this because of cute little clothes and photo opportunities? Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking?

It's Not a Hobby

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.
Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.
Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death.

Run to the Cross

But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.
Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to know what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back.
The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children.

The Question Is How

The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely?
It isn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That person in line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fake smile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they stand with you. They know the things that you rate above them. They know everything you resent and hold against them. They know that you faked a cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark at them in the car.
Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty.

Hands Full of Good Things

When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!”
Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.
Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone.

dad

this is my dad.

he's one of the kindest people i know.

even his face shows it.

i'm so proud to call him MY dad.



catchin up....

hailey sue, kath and my SIL, lis. love these sassy girls.

if i'm needing a girl fix, these are the two that i choose EVERY time.

honestly, what's not to love about that smile?

and that purdy little dessert in front of him was lovingly made from my bff.

it's a fancy Australian number. i would gladly give up my daily Diet Coke if i was promised this instead.

yup, it's THAT good.

this dudes got moves.

"daddy, please don't break something. you're kinda old."

cousin emily was fearless.

if only our house was just a tad further back on our property.

this would be our view.

lovely. just lovely.

jumping with her daddy was a HAIR raising experience for Em.

a little girl looks good on him, don't ya think?

grilling AND holding a kid. that's hot.

don't ask. there will NEVER be a little baby girl likkel.

just wanted to clear that up.

the boys and Taryn. this girl has some moves too!

i love this shot. (you may need to zoom into Sam's face) we have such amazing cousins! 

Brandon and Todd (Ryan's sisters and brothers kids) have always been very involved in our kids' life.

for that we are thankful.

even in their OLD age, they're never to cool to hang out with our boys. i love that about them!

surreal

it has been a surreal 24 hours.

last night, our family experienced something i never thought we would. praying we never will again. The Lord, in His good grace protected us.

let me start from the beginning. i will make this short since all the little details probably won't matter anyways but since i write this blog for my children and a journal for me, i must try to articulate my feelings right now, for fear that i may forget the significance of this experience. (dang, big ol run-on sentence there).

any who, those who know me, know that i tend to be a tad giant of a kill-joy when it comes to the fair. all those people, the smells, the whole experience of the fair does NOTHING for me. in fact, truth be told, the fair brings me much anxiety. and yet, i go. i go because i have children that love the fair and since i love my children, i always agree to go. kicking and screaming? maybe, but i go.

well this year, since we had passes to the motocross, Saturday would be my ONE day to go. i went with a good attitude. (yes i did Kathy!).  we met up with the cousins and spent a few hours rambling about the fairgrounds. since it was stinkin' hot (84 degrees but i'm NOT complaining), we made our way to the grandstands to sit in the shade and watch the guys excavate the 'field', getting ready for the evening show. meanwhile, the adults (rye, myself, Tim and Lisa) decided we would save the 75 bucks and skip buying dinner there. sounds reasonable since Little Ceasers was right around the corner, right? so back to t&l's for dinner, then back to the fairgrounds for the motocross at 7ish. useless details to the story but again, i say, this is a journal for our family so i'm writing....

any who....

the show was awesome. since the WRS had done some work for the fair, as a company, we had 40 seats up on the stage, opposite of the grandstands.
 so dang cool. very loud. very impressive.
after the show, since we were on the carnival side of the fairgrounds, we decided to take the shortcut (via the carnival)  to the poffertjes booth. (owned by our very own sweet nephew, Brandon and his dear wifey, Greta) around 10:00 pm.
unfortunately, the way the evening ended we barley had time to really talk with the kids about the great fun that they had. feeling like we got a little jipped out by having the evening end the way it did.

we stopped. we chatted. we chatted. and chatted some more. children (my 3 + bo) were getting restless so they asked if they could head over to the little magic booth, right up the 'street'. "sure, just STAY together."
off they went.
we chatted some more.
then the unthinkable.
a gunshot.
than total and complete mayhem. really, felt like i was in a movie. people were screaming. folks dropped to the ground, grabbing their children, running into buildings. unfortunately, i had no children to grab.
rye yelled (in a kind, sorta panicked way) to keep the boys in the barn. (they had just been in the building that holds the Lego's, directly behind where we were standing.)
um, the kids aren't here.
(insert heart sinking feeling here)
without thinking, like any mother would do, i set out to find them. only in hindsight did i realize that i should have been a little more careful in WHERE i was walking (soon found out it was a crime scene!)
thankfully, i knew right where they were.
grabbed them and quickly whisked them away to safety. (which at that point, i had no idea what safety meant.)
out of the corner of my eye (and unfortunately for my children) i see a man laying on the ground, obviously he had just been shot. in hindsight, i should have walked around the back of the magic booth...my boys will forever have THAT memory engraved in their little heads. :(
was the gunman randomly shooting?
did they know who he was??
where should i be hiding with my kids?
where was my husband?
it's amazing how many thoughts can run thru your head in such a short amount of time.
meanwhile, cops and security officers had come from every direction so we decided that staying put for the time being.  hiding behind a big, metal booth seemed the safest place to be.
close to an hour later we felt safe enough to venture out to our car, which was parked 3 blocks away at my brothers place.  3 long, dark, very scary city blocks. we later found out that it was ....
1- 15year old boy was apprehended.
3- people shot.
1 -person stabbed.
all within a few feet of where we were.
it was a terrifying night. a night i pray we never experience again and yet, it spurred conversations that may have never taken place between us and our children.
the topic of race.
what being racist means.
what bad choices can do to your life.
how choosing 'good' friends vs. 'bad' friends can make all the difference.
and regardless of the fact that we have been blessed to live in this sheltered little town, and it IS a safe little town for the most part, there is still much evil out there. we need to be aware.
even our safe little town has gangs. yup, gangs.
and yet, God is still good.
He is still in control. even in the events of the evening, He still has a purpose. word is it that some local youth pastors were some of the first ones on the scene. we're going to continue to pray that SOMETHING good is going to come out of that.
it was NOT an accident that they were there.
it wasn't a fluke.
it was not a coincidence.
i believe it was PROVIDENCE.
God knew.
please be in prayer with us that He will do good things out of this tragedy. pray that what the boys saw last night will be used for good. somehow, somewhere they will make sense of this.
pray that although this town will be forever changed, we can still be a town that is known for being a peaceful, Godly place to raise kids.
thank you for hearing me out. this was very therapeutic for me. really, it was. :)

it's my birthday...get your game on...

July 10 was my 41st birthday and it was wonderful.

woke up to a breakfast of eggs Benedict, lovingly made by my family.

a bouquet of sunflowers. oh, i love sunflowers. unknowingly, rye put them in a vase, inherited from my grandma denbleyker. not only did i cry with joy from the flowers but i also cried because i miss my gram. she would have loved the though that this dear man bought me sunflowers for my birthday.

Post point for a picnic with my bff and our families. 

then home for a make-shift game of baseball with my boys (um, i didn't play. it was my birthday. it's a rule, no exercise on my birthday.).

my favorite little brother,uncle B stops by to hang out.

hub makes me another cup of coffee,in the middle of the day. nice. 

it was the perfect day.

the best way to start another year of this charmed life that i life.

dear boys, the letters D.A.N.G.E.R usually mean you probably shouldn't be climbing on anything near it.

thank you for being careful. 

next time your mamas will stop talking long enough to make sure you stay FAR away from these signs.

thankfully, you have daddy's that can not only keep you safe but can also take pictures while mamas chat.

this is jacks 'pondering pose'.

sam's 'i've conquered the DANGER sign' pose.

attempting a group pose. um, boys on the right, pull it together.

thank you.

love you baby.

the flowers and the lovely vase (gram used it as a cookie jar).

gorgeous flower pot from my bff.

 

 

great action shot.

nice form maxwell.

hurdling.

hurdling X-2.

another awesome 'form' shot.

uncle B hitting and the boys retrieving. a friendly wave from our trusty border patrol.

Max gets in on the catchin!

my dad puts up netting, around his fruit trees so that the blasted birds don't eat his cherries.

sad day for this little guy.

lucky for him, 4 boys were kind enough to set him free.

that'll teach him.