Ludington Day Trip

Yesterday we had to be out of our house for two more showings (YEAH!). We decided to venture out to Ludington which is a town on Lake Michigan. As you can see we hit a beautiful day to be by the water. The only thing was the windy, cool conditions caught us by surprise so we ended up investing in some touristy sweatshirts to keep us warm.

Posing Kids

We took a little family outing to Rockford, MI the other morning. It's a quaint little town which we enjoyed exploring. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have the kids pose by these flowers.

Sitting so still...

Knew it couldn't last.

Fun at the Lake

Upon our arrival in Grand Rapids about three years ago, we began attending a local CRC church. We wanted to become more involved and missed our small group in Visalia. We asked around at the church about joining a small group, but nothing seemed to be working out. Scott decided to take matters into his own hands and asked three other couples if they wanted to be in a small group with us. Fast forward three years and here we are. Our time in GR is almost complete. We have come to love these people who we have laughed, cried, studied, and shared many stories and life with. We will miss them very much!

Last night we had a final gathering of our group out at the lake. We were wonderfully hosted by Pete and Deb at their condo. We took an always exciting boat ride with Pete at the helm out on Lake Michigan. We headed over to Saugatuck for dinner and also enjoyed strolling through shops. It was a wonderful evening full of laughter and fun. We have been blessed by these couples and are thankful they have been a part of our lives.

Raterinks, Klavers, Stysmas and us

The women after a windy boat ride.

Scott protecting his fudge.

Hilarious!

Sorry Lynn-couldn't resist!

The Gang's All Here!

This is our first summer since we have lived in Grand Rapids that we have actually been home for the summer. The past two years we have been away on internships in other states. It has been really nice to just stay home (even if it is for just another month or two!) Anyway, we are just getting such a kick out of Troy and his neighborhood friends. They play together every day for as much time as possible. There are minor arguments, but nothing major and they get over it and move on to another activity if there is a problem. This is most of their group assembled on our front lawn this morning.

House Showings

Many of our conversations with people revolve around summer activities and plans. So far much of our activities have involved getting our house ready to sell. Our house went on the market last week. Up to this point we have been working feverishly to make sure it is in great shape for potential buyers. We have had good interest in the house and have had to be out the past couple of afternoons for showings. What to do? We decided that since the weather has been beautiful we would do things outdoors and since this is Michigan they should be located near water. Yesterday we took a picnic lunch and hung out by a river. Today we put on our suits and headed across town to Millennium Park which has a lake and splash pad.

Summer Reading Program

Troy has been having a wonderful summer so far. He has a posse of boys in our neighborhood that are all about his age and they hang out together basically whenever possible. Troy wakes up in the morning and immediately asks, "Can I go play with my friends?". The kids are outside most of the day except when one gets called in to eat a meal. They make the rounds and ring doorbells until the whole group is assembled. They then decide (I don't know how) what activity they will be doing. It's often hockey, baseball, soccer, going on someone's trampoline, etc. Then a couple of weeks ago they got into trading cards. (I won't say which ones.) So now before Troy runs out to play he grabs his baggie of cards. The funny part is we did not buy him any of these cards, but he has a whole collection already. Anyway, he's been asking us to buy him some more. We've been saying no. However, the teacher in me came up with an idea to use this desire for good. We told Troy that if he read 10 books by himself he could have one pack of cards. (Our kids are amazingly driven when they want to be and this did the trick.) Troy was immediately gathering easy reader books from all around the house. I sat down with him and listened to 7 in a row. (With a beginning reader this is not an easy task!) I needed a break, so he asked if he could get his friends to listen to him read. I eagerly agreed! So a few minutes later I looked out the front door and this is what I saw. I love it! These two boys were patiently helping Troy sound out words and listening to him read. What fun! Troy was rewarded with a pack of cards and I did buy a few packs so he is anxiously working toward the next one.

Scott's Official!

Yesterday was a special day for our family. Scott and several other candidates from Calvin Theological Seminary were approved for ministry in the Christian Reformed Church. This is a big day because now they can accept a "call". It was a beautiful day at Trinity College and much fun to see many classmates and their families. There were also several people we knew who were at Synod as delegates from across the country and Canada. Afterward there was a party at our friend Steve's parents' home which was a lot of fun! We also stopped in Saugatuck for dinner as a family on the way back to Grand Rapids to celebrate. We praise the Lord for his protection in our journey this far!

The delegates lined up and ready to walk in to Synod together.

Standing in front of the delegates.

Scott on the big screen.

The candidates received a standing ovation from the Synod delegates.

A verse from a song we sang.

It was special that Pastor Vink could take part in this day.

The "old guys" from the Seminary class of 2010.

The "old guys" and their young wives!

Special friends, Geoff and Ashley.

Seminary buddies.

A happy Elgersma family.

Dinner in Saugatuck.

Scott and Kamryn

The kids down by the water.

us

This sign directed us to the party after Synod at the DeRuiter's. It said, "Libronix Seminar". (This is a Seminary joke.)

Snapshots of Summer

We're enjoying our third day of summer vacation. Here are some things we've done so far...

We've said goodbye to friends at school...

We've played at the beach...

Kamryn played in her last softball game for the season...


And we put our house up for sale...

And no, we don't yet know where we will be moving! :)