Around The Home
This past week Dan was gone to Jackson, Mississippi on a mission trip with the youth group from our church. It was definitely a do-able week considering last year it was 2 weeks in Haiti, and now we are in a new place, with much to explore, moms close, and a girl who is just LOVING life.
Dan had an AMAZING trip! In fact, all of the high school youth group kids were on the trip, so it was the perfect setting to get to know the kids for Dan and for them to get to know him. He came back with many stories and how fun it was to see Sunday morning, the kids wanting to talk to him! We decided that’s the perfect way to start off a new position in youth ministry – go on a mission trip right away. Couldn’t imagine a better setting to get to know the kids.
Meanwhile, back home, Mazy and I kept plenty busy, having dinner dates with people from the church, exploring new places, and eating ice cream. She talked about daddy often, asking if he was going to come back, but as long as we kept busy, she was as content as could be.
My mom took Mazy Monday morning so that I could paint her room, which Mazy was very excited about! The color was called Swimming (the blue-ish color on the left), which Mazy loves to do, so Dan said that was the color we should do, and it was a good choice!
On Tuesday, probably the hottest day of the week, we went to the Critter Barn. It is this adorable little farm that has every farm animal under the sun, for little kids to walk by, feed, touch, and talk to (for Mazy that is). Mazy loved every minute of it and I’m sure we will be back this week.
I told Mazy she had to pick up the chick with two hands (Critter Barn policy), and this was her adorable attempt:
Mazy wanted to paint a picture for daddy, so we got out the finger paints. She gets the biggest kick out of getting paint on her hands (can you tell by her face?)
She decided she was too big for her booster seat one day, even though she can barely see over the table!
Everyday we would send Dan a picture of “his girls” – Mazy thought that was great fun…
So thankful for an AWESOME park 2 1/2 blocks down the road!
Mazy spent about 7-10 minutes chasing a bird around the park! I knew she’d eventually tire, but she literally ran that whole time, clearly never catching it. Finally she stopped and said with a big sigh, “TIRED!”
Another park we checked out 3 times last week was Timber Town, again about just a mile down the road!
Even though we missed Dan greatly, we definitely got into a routine and had fun hanging out together, with 2 ice cream stops in there too! I think she got sick of me though…
AND…after MUCH trouble with the pool when Dan was gone, all my issue was, was a simple clamp that needed to be tightened. And of course, it has never worked better. Go figure, right? Oh well, you live and learn…
We are thankful for a safe week for Dan and the mission trip team, for an amazing week with the kids, and for Mazy and I having the opportunity to get to know a number of people from the church too. We are incredibly blessed by the welcoming love we have received from our church. Much to be thankful for!
So happy that things are working out so well for your family! We are members at North St. but spend the summer at Gun Lake so haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you and your family yet. I’ve enjoyed reading your blogs and feel like I know quite a bit about you already. Our daughter, Kerri (VDB) DeWindt, taught at Borculo Chr. and seems to remember your family.? Hopefully, we’ll meet you soon in person!
Ken and Carole VandenBosch
Hi Carole! Thank you for your message! We have been thinking about your family with Ken’s health and so forth, so know that we look forward to meeting you as well! Summer is always a crazy time, isn’t it? Hope you are enjoying your summer, Carole and we look forward to meeting you!