RN you glad you came to my blog

Cruising on the Freedom

2011-12-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

The girls at the table, some of us are already planning a girls cruise in the near future.

Jim and I went on another cruise after Jim drove my dad to Florida. We hopped the ship , enjoyed the food, relaxation and even made some new friends along the way. From left , of course Jim and I, then Dave and Kathy from NY, behind them standing is Lisa and Ezra from FT Laud.( who met eachother in Israel, and Tobie and Heman from Ft laud, originally from NY. We were so lucky to have such a nice, fun group. Kathy has 2 daughters and she and I are already planning to set one of her daughters up with Jeff.

Our first stop was Key West. I am standing at a cafe and grill on the beach where we ate, it is on the most southern spot of Florida. Ask me about the man in the orange suit sometime. Shucks, I tried to get a picture but it did not turn out.

Jim and I paid extra money to eat in the 5 star dining room on the ship, the food and wine were spectacular. Worth the extra $60.

This was my dessert - a chocolate sampler. Needless to say we did nothing after that meal, went right to bed. It was almost 11 pm when we were done eating all the courses. Keith would have loved it !

We went to Grand Cayman, just went to the beach there. The shopping is too expensive in Grand Cayman but the water is the bluest I have ever seen.

This is Jim at a cafe in Jamacia. We did go shopping there. Jim bought a really nice watch. I was a sucker for all the poor people selling their items- I came home with a necklace, 2 braclets, a cd, and my hair braided. None of which I needed or really wanted. That's Jamacia man !

We had a really sweet waiter, here he is dancing on the table- that is a wig, not his hair. He felt bad because I could not eat alot of the food so he would bring me 2 desserts- did not really need that either but you did not see me sending it back.

This was a cafe in Jamacia, just loved the quaint little flowers on the tables, the bright colors on the walls. So cheery.

Can you see my braids ? A very fun vacation, very restful. Love cruising.

Grandpa and Bandit

2011-10-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me what Grandpa and Bandit do all day? They sleep !

They sleep somemore !

And some more !

And Grandpa is good about sharing his bed !

Kansis City Mission Trip

2011-10-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

You spend a week with 13 teenagers and you would find this picture of piglits riding on a semi hilarious too ! It was like they were staring at us.

Downtown Kansis City they say if you kiss the pig , it brings you good luck, hope he doesn't get a disease from a million people kissing that pig !

Every youth mission trip needs one kid with ADHD who accidentally on purpose lands in the fountian.

We went to see the Negro league baseball museum and Jazz Museum, this was really cool, I did not know they were the first to think of playing evening games under the lights.

Only one accident all week, not bad. Josiah hit himself in the eye, again an accident.

"Big guy in a little shirt" Jason trying on the size small junior sweatshirt they were auctioning off. I ended up buying it for my mentee for Barnabas Ministry.

We went to help at a day program for developmentally disabled, this was Harold, he was sad because Jimmy stole his pop at lunch. Jimmy has been known to sneak into the workers lounge and down 12 pops before they caught him.

We also worked at a soup kitchen in Kansis City, this is Kenny, he was originally from Detroit, so I had to give up my Tiger hat. He is also a Judo instructor.

This is the gang at our picnic on the last night. We were at a park, it was 105 degrees. They had a policy, no sleeveless shirts. Sorry but I broke that ridiculous policy ! We did have a really good time. Glad I went along.

Whats Jimmy up to now ?

2011-07-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

What is that contraption on the roof ? Is that a T.V. ? What is going on ?
For those of you who have not heard the story it begins like this : Jim- I think we can save alot of money getting rid of cable, a guy on Talk of the Town said he can get 60 channels with an antennae. Rachel- Are they good stations ? Can you get 3, 8 and 13 ? Jim- Oh yeh! you can get alot of great channels for free !

Fast forward : We have been able to get channel 13 on a pretty regular basis. Channel 8 and 3 we have been able to get when the wind was not blowing more than 3 MPH, it was not raining, hailing, and if birds did not perch, and insects did not crawl on the antenae. The other 57 channels are religious channels, and t.v. shows and movies made before 1948.

So after paying the antennae guy from talk of the town $100 dollars to set up the antennae, adding netflex for $10.00 a month. Getting cables and Roku boxes, other computer gadgets at an undisclosed amount of money....... Oh yeh, and having the antennae guy come again for another $100.oo when we totally lost all t.v about 2 weeks ago for some odd reason, maybe all the storms knocked the antennae off the roof.( Oh yeh , and did I mention the new antennae Jim bought for another $125.00 because he thought the one we had for one year was not working )As you can see Jim added some reinforcements to hold it on the roof, and sat on the roof about 3 nights before calling in help. By this time the neighbors are all asking ? What the H is that guy doing watching t.v. on the roof ?

The good news is, we can now get channels 3,8, and 13 along with the other religious and old shows made before 1948 again. The bad news is, it cost more than if we had kept cable !

When Jimmy is not on the roof you can find him either landscaping ( or drinking pop) on the ground in one of his unusual get-ups.

Through it all he is always smiling !

Nurses Week

2011-05-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

This past week the hospital celebrated nurses week. Each year the hospital gives out 2 awards to the nurses. I received the Dorothea Milbrandt Mentorship Award. The "ceremony" was in the hospital cafeteria Wednesday, May 11. This picture is me with my boss Jan Langeland, she is telling a little about what I do each day.

This is Patti Vandort, she is telling about the award and she gave me the flowers.

I rarely get flowers , I thought it was one of the prettiest arrangements.

I even had to go to DeVries Studio to get my picture taken the week before. This was the article that was in the paper. My Dad, sister and Jim were there for the presentation. The boys were not able to be there. I thought it was very special. It is hard to believe I have been a nurse for 32 years, 30 of those have been at Holland Hospital.

Why Not at the What Not

2011-03-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

Jim and I went to Fennville Saturday night to the What Not Inn. We met Esther and some of her friends there for dinner and music. This band Entourage was there, and they were really fun to listen to . They are based in GR, they play here, in GH and GR at the BOB. This guy was my favorite, how often do you get to hear an accordian player with a band Huh ! I can about imagine what Dan will say when he sees this blog, open up to new things Dan ! Oh and by the way, when they played a love song the accordian player mouthed to me "This ones for you " I'm really not sure if I imagined that but what the hay, it makes for a more exciting story.

The keyboard player and the guitar player who also sang, played trombone, trumpet, etc.. Very talented guy.

And not to forget Alvie, her voice is awsome !

Esther and her friend Carol, both wishing they were up their playing their saxaphones !

Ed and Carol, the soon to be newlyweds !

We had so much fun, this band played a variety of music : Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffet, just to name a few. Oh and the food was really good too , we may have to go back again.

New Toys

2011-03-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Jim has been busy with his latest toy (it's actually a toy for Ben) he had fun hunting for, fixing up, getting all the necessary supplies for the new moped (raising a ruckus Honda).

Here Bandit is trying to get into the action, she was hoping to go along with me as I delivered Ben's belated birthday present.
Here's Ben on his new moped. I did not stay real long since Ben had to go to work at 3 pm.

We did have time to have lunch at the Grand Traverse Pie Company, it's about 1/2 mi. from Bens apt. on Hagadorn in Lansing. I usually buy him lunch and a chicken pot pie to go, thats what he is holding up , it comes frozen so he can bake it for an easy meal next week.

Since I had the week off, I spent a day in Chicago seeing Dan, I took Esther along and we rode the train. I also went to Chicago over the weekend with Jim,Bill, and Jean H. as he had his lab convention. I also spent a day with my friend Gret and we went to Good Will stores in Holland and GR. We found some fun stuff. We also went to a second hand boutique in East GR, I found a Jones of NY spring dress coat for $24.oo. I wanted this really cool Jimmy Choo purse but it was pricey $78.00 so I thought it through and decided against it. Then we found this Second Time Around furniture store and I saw these bar stools and fell in love. They will look great in the basement if it ever gets finished. The down side to my vacation is I have been sick. I started an antibiotic for a sinus infection today. Oh well, glad I did not have a trip planned, no fun to be sick away from home.

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Well this is what is looked like around 3 in the afternoon, actually quite beautiful. I happened to plan to have today off. I had planned to have fun for the day with my girlfriend Gret, but since a co-worker could not get to Zeeland hospital where she works , she had to go in. So instead I shoveled, cleaned the house, did laundry, made an appt. for Bandit at the vet (since everyone else canceled there appt except for one weiner dog) made corn chowder soup and creamed chicken on buns.
Chad stayed home from work and we saw the open sign on at Deboers after I shoveled at Esthers, we planned to have a great breakfast, but only the bakery was open so Chad had a cinnamon roll and I had a date cookie ( ok I had 2 date cookies) I brought Jeff to work with Jimmy's Jimmy and it's a good thing I did, as they had not plowed his street where he works, I just stayed in the previous trucks tracks and made it no problem.

Grandpa called worried about the snow on his roof, so I called 911 to Keith and he came to Grandpa's rescue, thanks Keith !

I actually enjoyed waking the boys up to help shovel snow, I know Jim could have done it with the snow blower , but a little hard work never killed anyone.

Dan called from Chicago, they got dumped on too, Dan said he could have never got his car out today. He did unfortunately miss an interview. It was probably meant to be as it was an Irish Pub, what would a dark complected dutchman do working at an Irish Pub. Bythe way, they had no shovels left in Chicago, so Dan had to use a pizza pan to dig his car out.

Ben called and said MSU had the first snow day since 1975. But he was scheduled to work at 5 pm, hopefully they had things plowed by that time. Well it's back to work tomorrow. At least we have plenty of snow for skiing and sledding !

Man in the trunk

2010-12-29T05:25:00.000-08:00

I have always been a fan of mysteries : books, movies, mystery dinner theatre etc...
One day I was riding in the car with a friend and she asked what was sliding around in the trunk of my car. I said " I have a man in the trunk "
First of all, don't call the cops, I have not killed anyone ( not that it hasn't crossed my mind from time to time, Har Har)
Now you need to figure out what I have in my trunk ! If you guess, I will send you a prize !
Answer will be revealed in the next week or so.

Where In The World is Rachel

2010-12-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight we were at Alpen Rose for the Creative Crowns Christmas Party. We had our own room, so it was very cozy and nice. I had whitefish, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, salad,and egg nog creme brulee.

Jean and Bill

Dave and Sue

Ernie and Deb

Kristen and John

December 11 we were at GVSU for Jeffs graduation -BA in accounting. Sorry the good pictures are on Jim's camera.

Sorry to say after our cruise, we no sooner were off the plane and Jean and I went to Portland Oregon to get Carol after she was very ill with encephalitis. Were glad she is doing much better.

We went with friends on a cruise November 7-14, 2010 on the Norwegian Pearl. We had a fun time but were not crazy about the ship.

Horsing around on the ship.

One of our stops was in Key West. They had power boat races there, very expensive and loud.

Here we are in Belize getting ready to go cave tubing.

We saw lots of animals on the beach in Belize. This is what they call an Island rabbit.

Jim relaxing on the beach.

Iguana

A very mischievious monkey.

Going on the zipline in Honduras.

Spending time this fall with great neices and nephews

Derek and his blanket.

Grandpa N. , Taylie and I

Silly Kelsey

Happy Macey

Elvis ( Avery)

Bella and Elise in their poodle skirts.

Summer Fun

2010-08-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

We went camping at the Son Life Camp in Wayland. Wanda had this pipe with strips of pvc piping in it, it made a beautiful fire with lots of different colors.

Beautiful sunset ( singular) . The rest of the nights we had either thunderstorms or tornado warnings. But still had fun !

I really wanted to go on the blob, but it was only for the youth camping that week.

Then we had our Versendaal reunion. Lots of action which I like, I am not one for sitting around. We had bag games, golf cart rides.

Lots of cute kids !

A fishing pond.

Archery ! Hey Keith, I'm ready to go bow hunting with you !

Four Wheeling !

More cute, hungry kids!

Tiger games when they were on more of a winning streak. We went on Elvis night. This was the worst Elvis impersonator I had ever seen.

I went to an art show for my friend Amy Greving, she especially likes doing art with cement. I bought this flower and fireball. She also does photography, painting, chalk etc... I think I will have her make me a custom water fountain, hopefully next year.

So glad summer is not over yet.

Weekend Family Fun

2010-06-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

The busy season of fun began Memorial weekend with family parties and a Tiger baseball game. We were glad Aunt Carol could see the new Tiger stadium for one of her trips in from Portland.

We were glad Keith and Brenda could tag along too !

Who are those mysterious sexy women!

The Versendaal party at our house Memorial Weekend 2010

My dad and Esther.

My brother Rich.

Lana's Graduation Party. June 6, 2010

June 6 we had Lana Baker's graduation party. Lana and I spent the day cleaning her house, then a bunch of us girls set up for the barn party that evening. Lana has this huge horse barn, not used for horses, so it was nice and clean. She got several bales of hay to arrange in the stalls for people to sit on while they ate and chatted.

Lana even had a great DJ , DJ Tom so we could rock the barn.

We set up all tables for food outside, that was a waste of time, as it rained and the party pretty much needed to stay in the barn.

Lana must have been a girl scout as she was even prepared with a port a potty outside the barn.

Lana in the middle of her celebration, sorry this picture was blurred. I think she was doing her soul train dance at this time.

Jim and Carol having their roast pig and all the fixings.

Esther knows Lana too ! Who doesn't know Lana ?

Lots of good food, nothing like a potluck !

But of course, like I said , we should not have bothered setting up anything outside, it happened to be the night of the rainstorm and did you notice the picture with the tables outside and the field ? That is where the cars parked . Several people started getting stuck and as it rained the ground got really muddy. It was just like last years B 93 birthday bash. I spent the rest of the night helping push people out the muck. Needless to say I was drenched and muddy, but still had a grand time. Congratulations Lana !

The Amazing Race: Three Dutchmen and a Hillbilly . June 12, 2010

We had our first, First Amazing Race at church saturday. Our team name was the Three dutchmen and a hillbilly (Jean thought of that one) This first picture was at the finish, we had to do the dutch shuffle to the next flag before we could go inside for our hotdog supper. Needless to say we lost, but we had alot of fun trying to win !

This was our team, the Nykerks and the Rumrills. Any guesses who the hillbilly is ?

Each stop had Rangers with hats and bandana's so we could get our next clue. It all started at church, then each team drove to the bus depot. The driver of the cars stayed with the car and were allowed to go to the first desitation. The rest of the team members had to hop on a max bus and go to a particular start point to begin. Our first stop was at the Southside pool parking lot. There we had to get a frozen t-shirt apart and on before we could get the clue to the next destination. I did this one, it was chilly. Another stop was at the Holland High football field and we had to kick a goal , I did that too , on my second try.

We had several other stops such as Window on the waterfront, the civic center, the Moes and Dehaans houses, and our last stop was at Mount Baldy where we had to ride across the lake and back on the ferry. On that trip we had to write out the fifty states in alphabetical order.

This was the group at church before we started out. We had 14 teams and they were made up of families, young, and older adults. Kirk and Pam Johnsons team won, they were the Wil E. Coyotes. Rumor has it Kirk tipped the Ferry driver in Saugatuck 20 bucks to leave Pastor Dicks group behind so they could get a head start to be the first team at First. Very Wil E.

Freedom of the Seas

2010-02-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

Well , Sat. feb. 13 we were off to Orlando , spent the night in Amerasuites hotel, went by bus to Port Canaveral on Sun. and hopped on the Freedom of the Seas, a Royal Carribean Cruise. Of course Sandy had a heavy bag ( just like someone else I know, Carol) I tease her all the time about being HM( high maintainance) we make a good team sharing a bathroom, I take 10 min, she takes an hour, we still have time left to get places.
It took a bit for me to get to this vacation per usual. I worked in the office until 12 noon that saturday and we left at 1:15 . My borderline patient I saw on friday tried to get info out of me as to what I was doing on vacation and all I would tell her was I was just taking the week off to rest. As I left her house she said " Did you ever see the movie What about Bob ?" Oh yes I saw it and the movie was funny but not in real life ----- that is why I did not tell you where I was going !

This is a picture of our ship from a hill on St Thomas. It holds 4000 passengers, not counting the 400 crew members. It has an ice skating rink, flowwave pool for surfing, rock climbing wall, soccer/dodgeball/ volleyball/basketball court. A full gym and track, mini golf, pools and play water area for kids. The shows in the theatre are the best I have seen on a cruise ship.

Sandy and I sharing wine and having dinner one evening in the dining room.

Soaking up the sun on the deck. Our first day out in the sun, the waiter came to us and said some gentleman wanted to buy us a drink. He would not tell us who it was, so we were trying to guess ? We decided since most of the people on the ship were families , it must be some lonely old man. So we enjoyed our drinks and later forgot all about it.

The next night we had time to investigate around areas of the ship we did not see yet, we took pictures, here we were on the 3rd floor checking out the ice skating rink when we stopped to take pictures in this comfy chair. A young man came and asked us if we wanted our picture taken together. We said sure, so he took our picture and asked us if we liked the drinks he sent us our first day. After we picked our lower jaws up off the floor we told him yes and thank-you. He soon found out we were not available and he told us his heart was broken. We did find out his name was Roman,30 yo, he was Russian, but worked as an electrician in Seattle Washington. He asked if our husbands were not worried about losing us. He also said he was not sure which one of us he liked better. I was begining to freak out about now, as a psych nurse I am reading between the lines( losing us? Is he thinking of killing us ? Where Sandy is thinking "no our husbands trust us".) We ditched him fast and the rest of the cruise kept a wary eye over our shoulders , and I worked out in the gym every day just in case I needed to use my Tae Kwon Do skills.

This is Nelson , our waiter, he was very cute, from the Philipines, he has a son and daughter 6 and 4, he was very sweet and had some sappy jokes and magic tricks to entertain us with. He had a little trouble understanding my allergies, and every time he saw me he called me something with the word soy in it.

Our room attendant Lilliana made us a towel monkey and had it hanging from our vent in our room, kind of freaked me out at first after encountering our stalker Roman.

This is on the beach on St Maarten. We got our best bargain here. Two beach chairs, one umbrella and six beers for $15 ( we only drank two) The guys with the big beer bellies enjoyed our leftovers. You won't find a deal like that in the USA.

You like my cute hat, I bought it in St Maarten, it is from Italy ( some of you know the inside joke- Jim and his shirts made in Italy , it makes them special)

This is a picture from the hill above Megens Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world which is in St Thomas.

Sandy on the beach at Megens Bay. The beach chairs here, $7 a peice, beers $4.50, burger and fries $ 10.00.

Just having fun on the ship.

This is CocoCay, the private destination this cruise ship stops so we can enjoy another day on the beach.

This is me and my lovey dovey. No , not what your thinking, the waiters name is Deisel ( he has lived in Detroit) and the drink is called a lovey dovey.

Sandy and I at the Bull and Bear pub on the ship. We enjoyed the singer Shane and his guitar ( from Australia) singing all the old classics.

This was the promenade deck ( deck 5) where all the shops are , our room overlooked the promenade from deck 6. That thing from the ceiling is a mermaid, hard to see with this dark picture.

They often had parades down the promenade deck, they had colorful costumes, people on stilts, and they had a carnival theme with these blow up animals. It is a very family oriented ship. Very cool . Lots of kids. You can see the windows above , our room was directly across from that room .
A great vacation! We did run into Roman a few times, we kept our eye out for him. We had one other guy who flirted with us but for the most part did not have too much to worry about. I would recommend a cruise to anyone who has never been on one. ( But don't go alone !)

Not again

2010-01-24T18:10:00.001-08:00

I was kind of hoping for a less injurious 2010. On Friday nights game I took another shot in the eye, this time from a soccer ball. I have had to evaluate alot of things with the start of this new year. I will be 51 in march. After workouts at the gym, playing soccer , softball , or any sport I have noted more achy muscles, stiffer joints, and increased fatigue. Lately I am not sure if it is just my age, or partly the stress and overwork I have had at my job. I have had to ask myself: Are my reflexes getting too slow ? Am I just too old for these sports ? According to Chad, he thinks I am just playing too aggressively. Is it time for me to take up knitting or golf ? Or have I just had a run of bad luck. If it wasn't for bad luck , I would have no luck at all " I probably would have given up soccer long ago if it wasn't so much fun ! I love playing sports so much more than going to the gym, I am a competetive person. So will I be happy if I give up soccer ? Should I go back to another winter sport such as bowling ? These are the things running through my head. Well, time will tell. Right now we are at 2 strikes, is it 3 strikes and I'm out ? I have about 4 games left in this session. Then on Feb. 13 I leave on a cruise with Sandy. We are going to the bahamas on the royal carribean for a week. This will be my time of renewal, rest, and contemplation on what I will do. One thing I know for sure, I am no longer playing soccer with glasses on , I think the injury is worse due to the glasses.

Wii Good TIme

2009-12-25T06:25:00.001-08:00

We had the Versendaal Christmas Party at Malissa and Duanes this year. Our menu was lasagna, salads with all the fixings, frozen Pina Colada fruit salad, bruchetta, and for dessert, christmas cookies and chocolate fondue. In the above picture( Terry, Chad ,Heather and Duane we were playing Wii Tennis for prizes, then Wii boxing in order to steal someones prizes. As you can guess, big Jim really got into it.

This is me holding little Derek , what else would I be doing when a cute , sweet baby is around.

Malissa, Al, Marcia, Floyd, Heather and Derek, and Esther , watching the Wii tennis players.

Avery doing what he does best, charming people. During supper he asked me when we were opening presents? I told him after we were done eating. Five minutes later he came back to me and said his mom told him it was OK for him to open the presents that were from me . Now I know Tracy better than that. I am looking forward to the book they will write someday on the Escapades of Avery.

My Dad, does the nose look familiar ? He could not find a comfortable chair, of course he doesn't sleep in his bed because that is not comfortable either.

My brother Rich and Ron. Is Rich sleeping or is he deep in thought ( since he is a night shift worker, I am betting on sleeping).My nephew Joe, he works at Phil's in Saugatuck, he said it is real busy these days. he's a fan of the right school !

Our Family Party

Later that night, we opened our presents, I got this special one from Daniel, a picture frame, and he picked out some pictures and filled it , Loved it ! And Chad got me a new , fancy crockpot, I have meatballs cooking in it right now, it's fabulous. I can throw the old one with the broken handle out .

You gotta love their picture picks !

Jim getting excited over some chocolate covered cherries. (Whoopee !)

Chad opening his presents : a blender, lawn chair, cologne,and socks.

Jeff with his favorite present a Kid Rock t-shirt. I put Dan in charge of getting a couple of presents for Jeff, that was a mistake, I would have never bought him a t-shirt with someone pointing a gun at you. He better not wear it around the little children. Next year I shop, and he gets a t-shirt of Andrea Bocelli. He also got a softball glove, a double hobo pie maker, lawn chair, and airbed for camping.

Ben with his new northface jacket, he also got some socks, a dress shirt and warmer gloves.

Dan waiting patiently for the presents to come ! Not ! He bought a used Suburu Outback and wanted money towards his car, lucky for him I already had 2 presents bought : a panini maker and an expandable fishing pole, so he had a little to open. Looking forward to the Nykerk party tomorrow !

This was Advent Sunday before Christmas and Dave and Jeff were asked to be participant's by pastor Dan along with 2 other college age people, well one was sick so Dan graciously volunteered to help . Its not a great picture but proof they were there !

Christmas 2009

2009-12-19T18:08:00.001-08:00

Well the real reason for this blog is I could not stand looking at my nose from the previous blog any longer. This is our mantel . People still laugh and offer to buy me some real stockings which would look classier but..... I did not think I was very sentimental but I just cannot stop putting these goofy animal stockings out that the boys have had all their life. Each year they joke about which one is the best and put down the other guys. Chad is the black bear, Dan is the raccoon, Jeff is the panda ( which he will remind you is the coolest as his is reversible from panda with legs to a stocking, and Ben is the bunny.

This is our Christmas tree, this also is full of memories, my old ornaments from when I was a little girl, my favorites from the past are the carousel looking ones which have foil in the middle which rotate from the heat of the bulbs. My later favorites are , you guessed it , the homemade ones of the boys. One of the personal favorites of the boys is the one of a picture of Dan with a bowl haircut, and Jeff with a goofy smile and a large mexican hat. They have provided the most laughs.

Bandit happy, content the boys are home but also exhausted from having to share her poof with the boys friends.

Some of the shoes which collect when the boys friends come over. I could never get tired of seeing these worn out shoes. It makes me cry to know the ones missing this Christmas are Jeff Christenson's, he will never be forgotten.

Another pick of bandit.

soccer shot and Bandit

2009-12-08T19:16:00.001-08:00

This is me after Sundays 4 pm soccer game at soccer spot. It was my worst game ever . I took a hit from one of the guys directly in my nose, my nose is swollen ( as if its not big enough as it is) and I have under the eye swelling, and my nose is bruised. Then to add insult to my injury, I took another hit at the end of the game getting a soccer ball kicked into my R jaw, so now my jaw clicks and is sore. Luckily bodies heal. No I am not ready to give up soccer yet.

See how well my glasses hide the injury, I look almost normal.

Dan dedided to do a photo shoot of Bandit for Christmas. She was not real cooperative. We did get a few pictures, my camera does not take great pictures.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

This halloween , on wednesday Jenny came to town from Colon with the girls. We were able to see Macey ( cute as a mouse) and Kelsey ( cute as a bug) in their costumes. They said trick or treat and thank-you so sweet. When Bandit and Dolly heard the word treat , they hightailed it to the dog treat cupboard. Bandit did a backflip for hers ( accidentally as she was afraid she might not get hers) and Dolly waited obediently for her. Bandit could learn something from Dolly.

Saturday night Terry and Tracy came with the kids. Tracy's mom always make their costumes, she usually has a theme, this year they came as cinderella ( Bella) , prince charming (Avery), and the fairy child (Elise).

We had to take a few pictures as the fairy child really was not having it . She did like the candy though !

Then came along Malissa and Duane with Brianna. Brianna made a pretty snow white. It was facinating seeing snow white diving into the poof chair in her costume.

Bella and Brianna in a cousins picture !

Aunt Rachel just loving seeing all those darling little ones ! Come again soon !

Grandpa's 91st birthday

2009-10-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

We went to Crazy Horse Saloon for dinner to celebrate Grandpa Nykerk's 91st BD. Here he is with Macey on his lap, he could not be prouder ! He asks alot about how Macey and Kelsey are doing. Tonight he was able to see first hand !

Dad and I

My sweet neices Brenda and Jenny !

My great nephew's Keith and Jason !

I did not get pictures of Kelsey, Jim and Jean Hoffman but they were there to celebrate too ! Sorry Carol, Jean, Scott, Katie, Rachel and Dave were not able to be there, hopefully next year. We celebrate some more tomorrow at our house so the boys will have a chance to wish grandpa happy birthday ! A happy birthday to Carol too as she also had her birthday this week !

Cruise in September

2009-10-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Went cruising on the Carnival Inspiration in september. Since work has been so crazy, one psych nurse quit, one is on medical leave, and with covering for vacations, work has been very busy ! I was going to take a week of in september to work on the basement but Jim found a great deal for going on a cruise for $300 . So Carol, Esther, Jean H. and I left out of Tampa to go to Grand Cayman, and Cozmel Mexico, a 5 day cruise. We had a grand time ( one of Carols favorite expressions).

We went on a trolley ride in the rain in Grand Cayman. But it did not put a damper on our fun !

The girls in the dining room !

At a resort in Cozmel, Jean and I rented a taxi and rode around the island to see the sights. They have alot of small bars in Cozmel along the ocean.

Jean getting ready for her first plunge down the slide.

She survives and no bathing suit malfunction like Carol when she zoomed down. Obviously I could not show you Carols picture .

Jean dancing with the waiter

Carol being a diva and practicing her dance moves before going to the club.

Esther and I as we waited for one of the shows to start.

Esther chilling in the casual dining area our first day.

Carol enjoying the dog towel creation by the room service staff. You can tell its her first cruise.

Yes, I did it , so did Jean H. We have our first tatoos ( and last) I decided to get a bad girl tatoo since I did feel like a bad girl for getting one !

Jean was sad to say good -bye our last night in the dining room. Had a great time ! I recommend last minute cruises to anyone, it is cheap but fun !

Country Living Fair

2009-09-20T21:02:00.001-07:00

Sept. 18-20,2009 Carol, Jean, and I went to Columbus, Ohio to the Country Living Fair. When I told my friend Gret that I was going , she just said "You" "Really" As most of you know I am not the art and decorator type, but I had a great time. Some of the booths were not my thing but most of them I really enjoyed. I did find a few goodies, some Christmas presents and gifts for co-workers who are seeing my patients for me while I am vacationing. This first picture is actually at a restaurant we found about 1/4 mile from our hotel ( ok , close enough to walk but we still drove, had enough walking at the fair.) It is called the Columbus Fish Market- It was awesome. We worked on the manager to try to get him to open one up in Holland. Carol even smoozed a rose out of him.

They had this wonderful Carrot Cake, about 5 # of it in one piece. I just had to go off my diet and try it.

Carol and Jean at the Country Living Fair. They found a few goodies to buy themselves.

At the hotel , I was showing off my sacrifice for the coed softball team the night before. I took a softball in my ribs, thrown from one of the guys at shortstop as I was running to first base, obviously the girl at first did not catch it and it hit me instead. Some family gathering we will have to tell you the story of how Carol taught us, "How to get the most out of your hotel stay, literally "

Carol by a huge pumpkin and gourd display.

They had the fair at the Ohio Historical museum area, it was really cool. At the female seminary they taught us how to give a proper tea party.

Well sorry I have not blogged for awhile. I have been really busy with work , 10-12 hour days, and the thought of going on the computer any longer was enough to push even this psych nurse over the edge. Talk to you all again soon after my next trip tomorrow "The Cruise" In about 1 hour I am headed to Tampa to hop on the Inspiration. See you all again when I am rested. I decided not to sleep as I had to work at the office from about 6 pm-11 pm. before I head out.

Chicago/ Fort Custer

2009-07-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

We started our vacation out by going to Chicago ! We were able to stay at Dave and Rachel's. They fixed us a fabulous supper with hamburgers, brats and grilled asparagus, Dave's famous red mashed potatoes, fresh fruit , and cake ( in honor of Scotts birthday )We also were able to go see Katie's new apt. and as you can see her cute new addition Bella.

Ally still liking being top dog.

We also saw where Katie works in Evanston. Jean and Scott were also there for one of their art shows , the art show and area was a great place to shop. Sunday while Jean and Scott were at the art show, we went with Dave and Rachel to brunch at a local restaurant Moonshine Cafe. Thanks for letting us stay with you in Chicago , we had a great time !

We then went camping in Augusta with Gret and Randy. Here Gret and I are at the restaurant Clare's on the River. It is an old railroad station with beautiful stain glass windows, huge fireplace, lots of beautiful wood and cute decor.

Gret and Randy at supper

Since it was a cold , somewhat rainy week we did not spend much time at the beach at Fort Custer. Fort Custer is where the military trained during the world war . It has over 200 campsites, lots of shade from huge trees. It is known for its mountain biking trails which is a new sport I have taken up thanks to Gret and Randy. It has some easy courses and some very difficult ones. As you can see from my injury above ( on the back of my R calf) I had one mishap . On one of the more difficult courses I had just taken a ramp, it had lots of twists and turns and tight squeezes through the trees, my left pedal got caught on a tree trunk and my R foot slid off and my leg came down on the spikes on the pedal. The good news is I did not fly over the handle bars . ( Randy did that on his first run). If you ever camp there be wary of the racoons, they are military trained. I had my food in a rubbermaid container, I had it bungee corded tight. I woke up and the cord was still on it but my bread wrapper was empty on the ground. Sure enough, they workin teams, covert operation, one raccoon pulling, the other pushing, the evidence was the claw marks on the rubbermaid container. They eat so well they have super human strength.

Jim talked me into golfing with him on thursday at Custer greens, $ 8 per person, I did my usual 10 stokes on the first couple of holes. Jim bet me on the third hole, a par 3 , that he would give me 200 dollars if I could get it in 5 . Guess what, never motivate a competitive woman ! I did it in 5 . Pay up Jimmy !

Prayer

2009-06-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted everyone to know that my sister-in-law Marcias daughter Lyndsey had her baby . Lyndsey actually went to the hospital because she was having symptoms of stoke : weakness, inhability to talk. They started running alot of tests, also did an MRI and it did not show anything. The baby started to show signs of distress so they ended up taking him by c-section. The baby, Tyler is doing well but Lyndsey still needs prayers. She is getting heparin as they think she may have had a clot somewhere and the heparin helps to dissolve clots. Please pray that she recovers and is able to go home soon with her new baby boy.

River City Rap

2009-06-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

After a 50 hour work week , Jim and I decided to go unwind at River City Slims. Now many of you have heard him talk about this favorite place of his. Since I said no the last 5 times he asked , and because my softball game was cancelled due to the weather ( that should have been a clue ) I said I would go. Well , the picture is not real good but it shows that noone else was there ( except for 3 people at the bar )

But you know Jim, he was just happy to be in his favorite place, waiting for the blues to start at 9 pm. Mind you, we paid a $5.oo cover charge each just to get in to hear the blues.

Well to my horror, they did not even have a band, but a DJ. To make matters worse ! He was a rapper ! What in Sam City is a rapper doing in a blues bar ? Sounds slim shady to me !

So we decided to go to the piano bar downtown GR. Another not great picture , but what a difference ! The place was packed, even on a stormy night.

They had 2 piano players, a drummer, and guitar player. They were interactive with the audience, you could request songs , and the place was rocking. They play all the music by ear.
We had just ordered a drink when I recieved a call from Dan " To get home now, because it was like Hurricane Katrina at our house !" Some people are just not supposed to have fun !

It took an hour or more to get home as we had to reroute several times to avoid flooded roads and downed power lines. The boys had hooked up the extra pump in our pond we get in the back when it rains alot. They were vaccuming up the water , then bringing it up the stairs to dump out. We wondered why my whole kitchen floor was flooded too !

Ben keeping a sense of humor through it all.

Dan did not have to go to the gym the next day.

Ben thankful the clown costume from his halloween days was spared .

Noone told the boys using all my towels I own would be enough to mop up 5000 gallons of water.

Junk !

More Junk !

We were able to make it to Lyndi (Kuyers) and Jeremy's wedding on saturday. Then it was back to clean-up.

Everyone is welcome to come see our new basement , it will be very different the next time you see it.

Whats up

2009-06-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Dan graduated from MSU in May with a BA in Advertising. He is the first of the Nykerk boys to graduate. We were able to see him walk but did not go out to celebrate until a week later. He needed a little more bonding time with his friends after graduation.

Dapper Dan

And Barbra Rubio graduated from Hope with a bachelors degree in Communications and Spanish. Jim attended the graduation and took lots of pictures.

This is Jeff putting a new roof on Uncle Bills barn.

This is Dans graduation party at Pereddies with the whole family , plus grandpa Arie, Aunt Esther, and cousin Joe. We had a great meal ! Oh yea, and Dan your graduation gift is that we paid your tuition for 4 years !

There will be a baby boom this summer. This is at Heather's baby shower, she is due I think in August. And we have another baby coming, Al and Marcia's daughter Lindsey is also due in july and we are giving her a baby shower this saturday. And I am going to be in baby holding heaven very soon ! By the way, I asked Jim if we could start having foster children, and I received an immediate no. So unfair to not even think about it first.

Looking great, feeling great and PG.

Softball has begun. The boys play on Monday nights at Matt Urbin. I play tues nights in the church league in South Olive and East Saugatuck. I also sub for a co-ed team in Grand Haven on Friday nights. We made lots of pig in the blankets last saturday. We are planning a family trip to see the Tigers. A camping trip at the end of the month to go mountain biking, and am looking forward to kayaking as soon as it warms up a bit. Anyone want to join me kayaking ? Oh yea, and I am trying to keep my father in line. He has another leg ulcer and he told his brother in Illinois he was going to need his leg cut off. Of course he was joking but my uncle did not know that , so Gary called their sister Jackie in california who was ready to fly home, and his brother in Florida came home to give him some treatments to heal his leg. He is doing just fine and soon to celebrate his 87th birthday.

Tulip Time 2009

2009-05-07T19:48:00.001-07:00

I was able to get a little taste of Tulip Time this year. I was able to go watch Brenda and Lisa dance tonight. They did a great Job. It looks like so much fun. I never did dutch dance myself. Afterwards for Jims birthday we went down to get an elephant ear. Maybe we will get to the saturday parade this year. Hoping for no rain.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

2009-05-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Jeff, Dan and Chad all heard that Oprah and Kentucky fried chicken had a special free coupon available on line for 2 peices of free chicken and 2 free sides. Everyone is allowed to get one free coupon. Well that was before they found out that the web site had a malfunction and they recieved several coupons. Jeff went to use one tonight and found out they had to give him 2 peices of the regular chicken as they were out of the baked, they felt bad so they threw in a coleslaw as well as the 2 sides of mashed potatoes. Jeff also felt bad so he ordered $1.50 appetizer, he's all heart. Well they can get back on their diets next week !

Oregon 2009

2009-05-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is Jayden, grandson of Lana who I went to Portland with. Jayden exhausted Lana this trip but he did provide quite a bit of entertainment and excitement. He got his head caught in the rungs of a chair at Changs restaurant, it needed to have the screws removed and taken apart to get his head out. Another incident, he went golfing with his uncle Trevor and threw a golf club in a pond, this cost Trevor an extra 25 bucks. Such an innocent looking child in the picture. He really is adorable !

Sunset at the condo in Lincoln City.

Sheba and I going for our daily walks on the beach. I had to hit the good will shop for my lovely hat, its cold on those 6 am walks.

Carol and I seeing the local coastal sights.

This is Earl, he's a big boy. We took Earl to Lincoln City with us to deliver to an adoptive family. Sheba was being a diva and sat in the middle so he could not lay down, she soon had second thoughts and eventually moved over. Lets just say Earl did not earn any brownie points when he took a huge dump in Carol's bedroom (she just had the carpet cleaned.)

Carol and I eating at the Doug Fir restaurant before going to the play ZOO ZOO. Very nice restaurant, beautiful wood.

Took me awhile to down this huge bottle of wine ! Actually , didn't have wine, that was what they put their water in.

These are Carol's friends Doug and Val. They came for dinner at Carols house sunday night, we had a really nice time, very nice couple.

Carol and I eating at a restaurant in Newport, watching the sea lions. This was right by our fishing charter we took our last trip to Oregon.

Sweet isn't he . Kind of reminded me of Bandit, lazing around all day in the sun.

Carol sitting in the front row beach chairs waiting for ZooZOO to start.

This picture is dark, but we were in Portland, eating at the Rockport. This was the day of the Kentucky Derby. We decided to make a $5.oo bet on the race. We decided to avoid the work of checking all the stats and just doing a random pick. She picked Dunkirk to win just because it sounded like Nykerk. I picked Chocolate Candy for obvious reasons. Best show won. Thanks for the 5 bucks Carol.

Carol looking good ! Notice the rain coat. Next time dont jinx us by telling us the weather is 80 degrees and sunny .

Walking around Portland on the day of the farmers market and shopping market. I had to put this picture in because I had some really nice shots of what we thought was a Cinco De mayo parade but as it came closer we found out it was a march to try to legalize marijuana. I never deleted pictures so fast before on my camera. You boys know how I hate drugs, and quit laughing.

Lana and one of the local artists at the market. I felt sorry for this guy so I bought a picture from him , I have to admit the art was really weird.

These were just a few of the things I got pictures of. We also went to the Candlelight where they have live music every night. I heard a band Keegan Smith, I have to ask Dan if this is Dr. Smiths son Keegan, that was really fun. We also were taken out to lunch at a really nice restaurant by Carols friend Deanna, she was also very nice. Carol you are lucky to have such good friends. We also did alot of shopping. We did not get to see Lana as much as we had hoped so we will have to plan another trip with just the girls. Thanks so much for you hospitality Carol, I had a wonderful, relaxing and fun vacation. It is really beautiful in Oregon , even when it rains.

New Dog

2009-04-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

How do you like our new dog ? Carol , I know its not a greyhound but it has the brindle color like Sheba ! It is a male, he is so cute and very friendly. Jim gave him the name "Butch" .

We found out too late that he is a pitbull and he attacked Jim as you see in this picture, went right for the throat. Jim thought he would go for another part of the anatomy so he was protecting that part. Little does he know that chimpanzees go for that part when they are attacking. Pitbulls go for the throat !

Actually, the real story is, Jim is fine. This is not a new addition to the family , and as of today he is out of our lives and was only in it about 2 days. The adventure started tues. evening. I was at consistory and Jim was home putting Bandit out. That is when he saw "Butch" . Knowing he was an unknown dog, he went into panic mode, quickly got Bandit in the house so she would not get killed by this menacing dog. Later when I came home he told me about this dog. Then we went out to the hottub. As I was walking on the bottom deck, I ran right into something furry, it was Butch. I warned Jim that the killer dog was still here. He was not sure he wanted to go into the hot tub as he was in panic mode again. I reassured him the dog was still a puppy and I stepped on him and all he did was lick me and wag his tail. So Jim did waringly come out to the hot tub, I reassured him I would protect him. Butch would not leave, I felt bad because it got cold that night so we let him spend the night. He really was quite playful and made himself right at home. The picture of Jim on the floor with Butch is of them playing. At least Jim now knows not every stray dog is a danger. Butch was picked up by animal control today. I could never own a breed of dog like that just because I would rather have may neices and nephews and their children around, and I would never trust that breed around children because they can be unpredictable.

Easter

2009-04-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Bandit , tired from all that begging !

The grandpa's relaxing on Easter evening

Brianna singing in front of the t.v while Dan and Jeff were trying to watch a movie. They were so sweet thanking their mother for putting the toy bag in the living room. ( My form of birth control)

Bella also belting out a tune.

The girls in their Easter dresses. So cute !

Avery, looking smart in his Easter vest ! I missed his singing the hippopatamus song !

Elise looking darling on dads lap

For those of you who don't know, I had to exercise my authority as a mother to get the boys to go to church on Easter. I basically told them if they did not go, they did not have to show up at the dinner table to eat. I made some of their favorites to entice them with the smells. I made a turkey, a spiral ham, mashed and baked potatoes, corn and beans, hot rolls, jello, and cheescake. Guess what ? They all made it to church ! Then they filled their tummies and took a nap just like Bandit. These were the action shots of the day : Chad pulling the covers over his face so I could not snap his picture, Ben half waking up during the picture, and Jeff and Dan out like lights. What an exciting crew. And Jim was outside trying to move a barn. I did enjoy the Easter service. And I loved seeing all the Nykerks at church, and Macey and Kelsey had the cutest dresses on ! They are so sweet ! And Dan thanks Macey, I guess she did not find one of her candies in the Easter egg hunt , Dan did, and he ate it. I guess some kids never grow up !

Ben

Chad

Jeff

Dan

Then for supper I had Tracy and Terry and family, Malissa , Duane and Brianna, Esther, my dad and Jims dad ( Oh yeh! and Tansy) As you can see , I put my crown from my 50th birthday party to good use in the toy bag !

I had Ron and his father, Al and Marcia, my nephew Phil , and my family for Easter dinner. It was a hard holiday for me as Marti has been gone just one year. I remember bringing her purple tulips when she was at Spectrum last year for chemo. Whenever I asked what she would like she said she did not need anything. I felt at least she could enjoy some of the outdoors inside , those hospital walls are so gloomy ! I have a hard time when I hear about people who don't get along with their siblings. I just wish I still had all of mine around. Hope everyone had a good Easter . What a blessing to know our loved ones who have passed are in heaven !

.

Too Many Cars, Too many Problems

2009-04-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know my father started as a mechanic and my brother too. So growing up , I was pretty spoiled when it came to getting my cars fixed. I also realize I should have had more interest and paid more attention to what they did.

Then I married Jim. Now Jim has been a good husband . But, he is no mechanic ! And in his defense, with 4 boys in christian school and needing to be clothed and fed, we did not always have money to fix the cars, so Jim would say " Oh it works if you do it this way"
I want to write a list of car problems I have had to put up with during my married life ;

1) Most of you have heard about the window washer pump which failed so I could not spray my windows when they were dirty. Jims fix was to put a spray bottle on my front seat.
2) My windsheild wipers were wore out, so Jim put on new ones . I went to turn the wipers on , the next rainy day. One of them flew off my car and the metal then proceeded to scrape my windsheild like nails on a chalkboard. ( this happened 2 times before it was right )
3) My driver side door of my Capri started to sag so when closing it, it would not latch. Jims fix was " Roll the window down, put your hand at the top ,half in and half out of the car, lift with all your might, then pull the door closed , then roll up the window " Be sure to wear gloves for this one in the winter.
4) Driver door will not open on the monarch ( mustard yellow car which we aquired very cheap when my 92 yo grandfather quit driving) Just don't worry about it, get in from the passenger side .
5) Trunk of the capri will not stay open on its own. Not a problem, just hold it open with your back, head and shoulder while you get the 15 bags of groceries out. Then take an advil for the headache.
6) Driver seat will not latch on the firebird so it cannot be adjusted. No problem, just shove a box between the front and back seats or drive in the reclining position.
7) Front bumper and light of cougar is loose after being hit by Esthers car when she did not see it behind her car. Duct tape it so it does not fall off . ( currently still a problem)
8) Windsheild wiper controls on the Jimmy just keep spinning around since the plastic part broke. The wipers go on and off randomly like a phantom and if you spin the control long enough , they may go off or on even when you need them.
9) The sky is falling ! The material on the roof of the Jimmy starting falling off. Jim tried glue, duct tape, both temporary fixes. Then he tore it all off. Now when driving it looks like you have yellow dandruff from the dust which falls off the roof of the car.
10) The ignition of the cougar makes a loud grinding noise at times when you start it. Jim says you have to shake the key and turn the steering wheel and keep trying until it starts.
11) The shifter in the cougar( and the Jimmy) are not as they appear. They have both been rammed so roughly that reverse is neutral, neutral is drive, and drive 1 is really drive 2.
12) Lets not forget the sable : Driver side mirror was torn off by an 87 yo driver going down 32 nd st. when I was taking care of Zak. Jim duct taped it but finally took it to the tech center ( cheaper) to get it fixed. When my car was returned ( middle of winter) When I turned on the defrost, the driver side window went down and would not go back up. ( back to the tech center, Jim had alot of faith) And it only took 3 months to fix both times.
13) Passenger seat in the cougar broke in the short person position. No problem, just squish in the front, it gives people in the back seat more room. We are all 6 ft tall or >.
14) 2 cars with broken gas gages. You better know how many gallons of gas you just got and how many miles to the gallon the car gets, or your screwed.
15) Stearing and brake problem on the cougar. Now this is the most current. Mind you Jim has now decided after all these years to fix it himself. He has had no formal training, and you see how the previous problems were fixed. He said its ready to drive. Soo I took out the cougar-and guess what ? It stears like a truck, it took all my strength to turn corners. And the brakes do work , however in a jerking gradual way. Luckily I did not need to go out of town.

Since I value my life, I am taking this cougar to a certified mechanic. And when my guys are all out of college, I am getting a new car !

Embody Christ Fellowship

2009-04-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is the name of our new church plant. For those of you who don't know. First Reformed Church is starting a church plant. They hope to meet in the Laketown and Fillmore Townships. They have very few churches in this area. Nearly 35 % of the residents are unchurched and they have many young families who are looking for parenting and marriage relationships. For now they are going to meet at the Lamar Construction building until they can get the church to grow. We had a potluck at church last night ( yes, during the MSU and UConn game , we taped it and watched it later when we came home, thank-you Chad ) and they did a service which represented what the new plant will be like. They have Lee Heerspink for the music , he and 2 others played guitar, and they had a drummer. It was more of the contemporary music, with words to the song on the screen. As my dad would say, it was the music where you just repeat the same thing 50 times. But it was very nice and I must say I had fun. And you know Big Jim loves a good potluck. Jim and Dana Daniels are the pastor and wife, they have 2 young children, Madalyn and Alex. Jim had a sermon about how we need to be the hands and feet of Christ. The verse form Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do " You can find out more about it at churchplantprayers@gmail.com

Opposites

2009-03-13T04:01:00.000-07:00

I was baking cookies last night. I made peanut butter blossom's. Ben loved them, Chad stated I am not eating those salmonella cookies, Jeff said "Oh I'm not worried about that !"
Jim is talking about building a barn, he wants to put a studio apt. on the top floor. Ben , Chad and Dan are all for it, even had suggestions on how to finish it off, what to add to it. Jeffs comment : Your not really going to build a barn with the economy the way it is are you ?
Jeff came home last night, brought a few of his friends. 3 girls came over . I talked to one of them, and was excited as she was a new girl. I found out later it was Hannah who has been here several times, she was blond the previous times, now she died her hair black. I must be getting old.

Turning 50

2009-03-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well, the time has come ! I can hardly believe it, but I am turning 50 tomorrow. My uncle in Florida said if you just think you are younger , you can be younger. Ssoooo, I am thinking I am 35 ( these days I am going to have to think real hard). It seems to work for my uncle , he is 72 and jet sets it all over the world, he hardly sleeps. This is his secret breakfast for keeping young:

1/2 cup dry one minute oatmeal

fresh fruit of your choice: he uses blueberries, strawberries, pineapple and bananas

Then add 1/2-1 cup of Looza brand pear, apricot, or banana nectar

Mix it up and eat ( thats right , you don't cook the oatmeal, that takes out all the nutrients. )

Jim took Esther, my dad, Chad, and I out for our birthdays ( Esthers was monday) . We went to Alpen Rose. On tue, wed. and thurs. they have a menu of 5 meals for $12.95 which include the main entree,bread, and dessert of hot fudge sundaes. We had prime rib and it was delicious, it came with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. Very good portions also.

Tomorrow I have a very busy fun day planned. I start with getting a haircut at 10:00, then I go to lunch with my friend Gret. She is also baking me a no soy chocolate cake with frosting. I am going to eat the whole thing ! I then get a massage at 3 pm with my friend Lana. I then will stop to see Jen, Brenda and the girls at Bills as I will miss the birthday party since I promised my neighborhood mentor kids I would take them out for dinner for my 50th birthday. Happy birthday to Elise, Kelsey and Macey too !

My dad was so sweet. For my birthday he bought me oranges, apples, bananas, cantalope, pineapple, celery, carrots, and tomatoes. ( I will need that several days after the chocolate cake !)

Esther gave me this really cool necklace that you can buy charms for and put them between the glass of the necklace.

Turning 35 isn't so bad after all. ( 35 and holding)

Ft Lauderdale 2009

2009-02-23T10:03:00.001-08:00

I'm back ! But man was it hard to return to this weather. I made the drive back in 23 hours . The traffic and drive was great until I hit South Haven. It was blowing snow, icy, and I needed to drive 50 mph. The weather in Florida was sunny, warm, around 72-85 each day, a little windy a couple of days so Floridians complained about it being too cold. Hello ! I can show you cold ! Come visit us in Holland Mi. We did our usual shopping at my favorite Sawgrass Mall. We of course ate at the Cheesecake Factory, Grand Lux Cafe, and Bahama Breeze, all located out by the Sawgrass Mall. My uncle took us to a couple of his favorite restaurants ; a mexican one called Carlos and Pepe's, and an Italian one called Marcianos. We of cource hit our favorite Italian bakery . My uncle graciously let us use his home again for our vacation. Thank-you Uncle Dick ! I took a couple of friends along , Julie and Sandy. We spent most of each day just reading, sunbathing by the ocean and pool, we also walked every day for some exercise . I think I did see enough pampered pets on the Ocean Mile. Several people carrying their pets and also pushing cats and dogs in little covered stollers. Don't anyone tell Esther ( alias the crazy dog lady) or you know who will be the next pampered pet .

My Uncle Dicks home in Ft Lauderdale.

I broke the bottle opener but I was determined to get that wine bottle open with fierce determination and some plyers.

Julie and I at Sawgrass Mall.

Our favorite Italian bakery, they also had all kinds of flavored sorbet. european coffee, espresso, and cappucino

These are Italian pastry, called Bara or something. I told Sandy they looked like a penis, it took her several days before she forgot what I said and could try one.

They actually are like a donut and had some glaze made with a liquor. I had chocolate covered strawberries, and Julie had tiramisu.

Sandy getting tanner at the beach.

Me getting a massage in the massage chair, it even massages you calves. I also had an oil treatment by my uncle, it is to cleanse the toxins out of your body.

Julie getting a treatment from my uncle. Being a chiropractor you don't get out of there without one especially if you show any signs of illness.( Julie caught a cold ) He also did some neck cracking.

Now back to reality, and back to work.

25 Random things

2009-02-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

Joining in the fun with the rest of the fam.

1. I loved climbing trees when I was a kid.
2. My first vacation was going to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We went with 7 of us in the family, in a mercury, saw the cave and came right back home.
3. I had 2 girlfriends and 13 boyfriends in elementary school. The reason why should be obvious.
4. I was angry with my mom when she bought me a Tammy doll and I wanted a Barbie.
5. My first and last time I ever stole something was when I took a piece of bubblegum at Yff's when I was 5. My mom found out, you would have thought I had robbed a bank with her reaction.
6. I once danced on the table at Wayside East.
7. I carried (with help) a statue of Mary at Mercy Central School of Nursing, put it in my catholic roomates bed , shown the light on her face, covered her up with a blanket , and listened for her screams. We still remain friends despite it.
8. I dated a paraplegic.
9. I love clothes which are different from what everyone else wears.
10. I had a dog (poodle named Pepe') I never had another dog as good as he was.
11. I moved 8 times , all in Holland , while growing up, and have not moved since I was married.
12. I still love chocolate though I should not eat it.
13. My favorite vacation was our family cruise to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman.
14. I hate talking on the phone.
15. I hate sitting in a meeting.
16. I love going out for breakfast.
17. I am glad I am in Florida right now but vacation weeks go too fast.
18. I have secretly been dreaming of becoming my uncles housekeeper, changing my name to Maria, and staying here.
19. I had key lime cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory last night, and a drink called the Georgia peach. Yum!
20. Today I walked off the cheesecake and the Georgia peach drink along the Ocean mile.
21. I dream about going shopping with future daughter-in-laws.
22. I hate mammograms.
23. I have not had a colonoscopy but doubt they are much fun either.
24. I donnot mind turning 50 but I really donnot want any junk mail from Evergreen commons, AARP, or funeral homes wanting to sell me a cemetary plot.
25. I really am dreading driving my dad home on sunday. I think I will change my name to Maria.

Neighborhood Mentor Valentine Party

2009-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is what I do on wednesday nights while Jim goes bowling. At First Reformed Church, we have a neighborhood mentor group. These are kids that donnot attend sunday services at our church but they live within walking distance of the church and come for supper and our group every wednesday evening. Sometimes we stay at church , play pool, soccer, basketball, dodgeball, and even games the kids make up. We try to have some Bible lessons but they don't have a very good attention span, we keep it simple and try to set a good example for them. We also just try to keep them on the right path, making good decisions, staying in school , have dreams, and if they fall down , no matter how many times, keep getting up. A Bible verse that sums things up is John 15:17 These things I command you, that you love one another. These kids have alot of love, they love us , eachother , and always have hugs and smiles . They also are happy with little things. They love games , Rock band, and sitting around talking and joking.

Tonight we had our valentine party at our house. My nephew Keith and a friend Mark from church also help with them . They love Keith, they call him Detroit because of his D tatoo, and he was raised in the Detroit area, he is so much fun, and quite the joker , they laugh with him all the time, and when he cannot make it they always ask: "Where's Detroit" . Mark and I just enjoy being with them, they keep us young ! Food is always included in the night. They love anything "hot", hot cheetos, hot wings, hot meatballs, you get my drift. I attempted to make a valentine cake, it ended up being a broken heart, it even had a hole in the middle of it.( Claudia , who goes to learn about bakery work at the tech center gave me some tips for the next time) Luckily my neice Brenda made up for it with her delicious cookies which looked as good as they tasted. Thanks Brenda ! ( We got to keep the leftovers )

Bens Birthday

2009-02-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

Ben, my baby turns 20 tomorrow. We went to Lansing to take Ben and Dan out for supper. We went to the Pizza House (Bens pick) Ben had deep dish pizza, I had salad and we ordered another regular pizza. It was very good, and right accross the street from Hubbard on Haggadorn at MSU. Ben said he gets to go to an elementary school on fridays to work in a classroom with kids for one of his classes, he seemed excited about it. The down side is he is not sleeping real well these days. Sleep is important for him, so pray he can get enough rest. Dan has finished his resume, and has started to apply for jobs. He has applied for a job for Hospice which pays 25 dollars an hour , and that is right in Lansing. Brenda, Dolly is not the only bad dog. We had bandit go to grandpas for the superbowl because she bothers us when we have alot of people over. She got into his garbage, ate a bunch of junk. So I did not get much sleep last night as she got sick and vomited too. What is with these dogs ?

The Tazmanian Devil

2009-01-31T15:38:00.001-08:00

This is Tanzy, alias Tazmanian Devil, she is dark like the devil himself. We are dog sitting as Esther is on her way to Florida. The evening was going pretty smooth, Tanzy just sat on our lap to watch the pistons, all was well. Then we went to bed, of course Tanzy has to sleep on the bed like at home, so now we have 2 dogs on the bed. I had fallen into a deep sleep after a long work week, I so look forward to my weekends and sat. morning going out for breakfast. I think I was alseep for 1 hour when I woke up to someone licking my ear , thought it was Jim and I swatted away his hand, then I realized it was too furry to be Jim, to my horror Tanzy had been licking my ear, and I couldn't move because she was standing on my hair ! She not only was licking my ear but sticking that tongue of hers deep into my ear, then she began chewing on my diamond earrings and necklace. She was walking over our heads , woke us up several more times before I had the energy to boot her out of the bedroom. The last time I had such a bad night with an animal was 27 years ago when I cat sat for a friend, it was a similar experience. This dog has Obsessive compulsive disorder of licking. Jims comments on the night were the best : 1) Your sister has taught this dog some bad habits. 2) Why did this have to happen on Superbowl weekend, its like a holiday for me. 3) Do you think Tansy is hungry ? 4) I think Bandit is scared of Tansy.

Floyds 40th birthday

2009-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

As I approach 50, 40 seems really young. Saturday night we went to Floyd and Heathers for Floyd's 40th surprise birthday party. I donnot know how my niece Heather ( My sister Ruths daughter) does it, she works part-time, she is going to nursing school, she had a son in middle school, a daughter in 4th grade and is pregnant with her 3rd. And she found time to throw a party. How do you like the bikini cake the neighbor made ? Alot of people over the years have thought Heather was my daughter , I am 14 years older, not entirely impossible , she definately resembles the Versendaals.

Beersicles

2009-01-18T12:46:00.001-08:00

Saturday as I was preparing for Floyds 40th birthday party I noticed what looked like an accident Bandit had in front of my alcohol refrigerator downstairs. As I got closer I noticed it smelled like beer. When I looked inside I saw several bottles frozen with the tops popped off. The interesting thing was , all the beer that froze and popped open was the cheap bud light. My corona and heineken were fine. Another good reason to drink the good stuff. By the way, Jim decided the beer was not cold enough so he said he increased the temp a little. He actually turned it to max.

Remember When ?

2009-01-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

Last saturday night Jim and I took care of my darling niece and nephews children : Isabella , Avery, and Elise. As you can see, Bandit demanded equal attention. And Elise at this point was not sure she wanted Bandits close attention.

Now Elise is starting to feel more comfortable around Bandit, she better because Bandit was not about to leave and miss anything. As you can see, Bell was not happy that Avery took her blocks and she was doing a girl thing (pout) which she has mastered by the way. As you can see Avery is totally oblivious to the pout.

Here Bell and Avery are helping Uncle Jim with some woodworking . Yes , he is doing woodworking in my new kitchen, nothing is sacred !

Avery and Bell helping make rice krispie cookies and cleaning up afterwards. Again Bandit in the picture too.

Elise, wanting to be by us decided to play in the dogs food dish with her toys. Don't worry Tracey, I cleaned the dish just before she got to it, I put the dogs water bowl up high out of her reach.

Feeding Elise. I forgot feeding an almost 1 year old is like feeding an octopus.

Movie time after p.j s are on. You can see Bandit definately having some insecurity issues as she is not about to leave my side and let these children get too comfortable in her spot. What a fun night . Go to dinner and a movie again soon Terry and Tracey.

Life At The Nykerk's

2009-01-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

Well it is friday night and we went out to eat at Johnny Carino's for supper. We decided to get Dad Nykerk out of the house for awhile since we did not see him New Years Day. My sister-in-laws Carol and Jean , Jeans husband Scott, my sons Ben, Dan , and Chad went along. We had a great meal. One of the waiters was Luis who attends my neighborhood mentor group wednesday night at First Church. He always gives us special treatment and a hug before we leave. I made it a New Years resolution to start a blog, so here it is. I decided it was high time I joined the fun. Well here it is only Jan. 2, not bad if I say so myself. And mind you, Ben has jacked the battery from my laptop, so when I type this , each letter has a 5 second delay. ( I was luckily born patient).

The house is full of boys again. Tonight the game of choice is poker. Much quieter than Rock band. I have a couple of pictures so you have an idea . Oh , and they wanted to watch the Pistons while playing poker, so they turned the t.v. set. Then Jim could not see the Pistons, so he hooked up another t.v. I asked him why he did not just go watch it in the other room. His response was he wanted to see the Christmas tree. I think the tree will definately come down tomorrow.