Annual Grandpa & Grandma Night

Last Saturday was our annual night to take Tyler and Gracie out to have our photo taken together,
(Believe me the photo from the photographer turned out much better than this one with the timer on our camera), a yummy dinner at Steak 'n Shake then back to Gramma and Grampa's house to do some creating in the kitchen.

This year we decided to cut brownie shapes using cookie cutters and then decorate them...



Sticky fingers = a tasty lick.
























Even Grampa got into it this year.



And this is our finished product - don't they look yummy?!















Look at all the left over pieces... Can you say "Brownie Trifle"? So we froze these pieces and will use them soon for a yummy trifle.











After we cleaned up we played a few games of UNO before it was time for the kids to go home.















Even though we get to see the kids a lot during the week while Julie works, we always look forward to this special night with the kids, and we look forward to the future years when perhaps there will be more grandchildren to join our fun.

Dale and Christi
aka Gramma and Grampa

An Eventful Evening

On Saturday we went with Jeff & Jessica to pick out some furniture for their living room.  We had decided to wait to buy their wedding gift until after they were settled in.  They decided they would like a new entertainment unit to hold their TV and Stereo and DVD player.  We had a great time and then went out to eat afterwards.  On Monday night I picked up their new piece of furniture at Talsma’s warehouse and brought it out to their apartment.  When I arrived Jeff was just working on finishing up washing the dishes, and so Jessica was showing me around the apartment and how they had set their home up.  We were almost done when we hear Jeff yell “LOUDLY”, OUCH!!!!!!!!.  We came into the kitchen to find him in pain and holding a towel around his right hand tightly.  He had reached into the sink to grab the next thing to wash and there was a broken glass underneath the soap suds and it cut deeply into his right hand.  After taking a look at it, we new right away it would need some stitches I drove Jeff and Jessica to Spectrum Emergency on Wilson and M-6.  We spent about 2 hours there, and after 15 stitches and his hand wrapped up we were on our way back to their home.  Jeff was a real trouper and he still helped me carry the entertainment unit up one flight of stairs and into their home and unpacked it.  We were just thankful that he did not cut any major nerves or ligaments.  He even was able to smile for the camera.

I did tease Jessica that this would not have happened if they would have used their dishwasher.

Dale

Tuesday Tasks #8

"Tuesday Tasks" is coming to a close - in fact yesterday was my last Tuesday off for a while. Good thing Christi's "honey-do" list is nearly completed too.

Sometimes it's the last few 'little' things that I have put off are the least 'fun' to do, like fixing a drawer that wouldn't open and had to have new runners put on it, and then there is the wall decor'... Christi put up this verse above the sink in the kitchen a while back, but never got to

adding the reference So this week was the week to finish it off.

Then there was the empty wall above the couch by the front window...

These proved to be a bit of a challenge but we are very happy with results.



Of course while you're up there you might just as well do a little cleaning...


When we were all done Christi said "Done" the remodel project that started last spring is FINALLY - TOTALLY complete! Of course, that is, until she finds something else to do (haha)

Dale

A Great Thanksgiving Day

We had a great Thanksgiving Day with Julie & Jeremy and kids.  Jeremy and Julie made a great dinner and Jeremy was able to use his new gift that Julie had given him. So here is the food ready to be served buffet style.

We had a great time around the dinner table and the great food and company we both enjoyed.

                           

After dinner it is tradition to watch the Detroit Lions “attempt” to win a football game, and they did not disappoint us by losing to New England.

Christi and I and both Gracie and Tyler all took a nice nap.  Must have been the turkey, it could not have been the Lions that put us to sleep.

                                              

It was a great day and we have so much to be thankful to the Lord for the goodness He has shown us this past year.  I hope everyone had a wonderful day as well.

 

Dale

Tuesday Tasks #7

No pictures today - sorry, but I told Dale I would still blog for him. You just can't imagine how thankful I have been for Dale's Tuesdays off. Not only has he accomplished many boring chores around the house, he has also helped me to entertain Aiden - the five year old boy who comes all day Tuesday. Yesterday Aiden helped Dale work outside which was soooo good for him. They cut down the raspberries, roses, and other plants, and picked up all the leaves getting our yard "winter ready". Dale came in so very cold it took him hours to warm up.

Because of sleeping babies he had to save a task for later in the day/early evening. But my allergies thank him so much for moving our bed to vacuum under it and dusting the walls down. If I were alone I would have to hire this job out - so I am VERY thankful for his servants heart.

On Monday he helped at Julie's house as their furnace went out on Sunday. Good thing it didn't get too cold that night, but we did loan them our small heater to warm up the kids rooms before bedtime.

There are so many many many more little things he does on these days off that sometimes I forget to blog them, but you get the drift - right?!!! he is a GREAT guy and I am thankful that he is MINE!!

Thanks Babe!! I love you!!

Christi

Tuesday’s Tasks #6

Here it is the end of the day on Thursday and I am now just getting to the blog I should have posted on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Life can get very busy.  Well this week I did not get much done for my wife (Sorry dear!)  I did sleep in though - does that count for anything?  I did go to Joey & Melissa's after he got out of work and helped Joey blow out his underground sprinkling and get it ready for winter.  I was also able to help Joey fix a closet door and unclog their tub that had been giving them problems.  Then it was time for Joey to take me out to the barn and show me what he had done to the loft.  You Michigan State fans should love this, me it’s still okay, just would be GREAT if it were MICHIGAN colors.

This is what you see as you are walking up the stairs to the loft which he is going to put his pool table in.

Mellissa’s brother painted the MSU emblems on the walls.  He did a great job

 

 

This is a picture of the White board Joey had when he and Jeff lived together in the apartment.  He will use it to keep track of who is doing the best at pool whenever he plays someone.  The walls were just bare joist when he moved in and now with help from Grandpa Joslin on the stairs and Melissa’s brother and Joey and Mellissa putting up insulation and ceiling board it looks great.  They even carpeted the floor and have a small couch and fridge up there.  They have a small heater and hope to be able to use this room this winter.

   

While Joey was showing me what they had done, Melissa was cooking us a Great meal and so I stayed for supper.  We got one more thing done as we hung a wall decor in their living room above their couch.

                          

So while I did not get much done around home it was great to be able to help out Joey and Melissa.  Well there are still some things on my Tuesday task list so I better get to them next week as my Tuesday’s off are coming to an end very soon.

Dale

Tuesday Tasks #5

This morning I woke up to what is supposed to be a beautiful day and week. The weather is supposed to be in the 60’s to near 70’s and Sunny through Thursday. But it’s still quite cold in the mornings so I decided to work on inside tasks to start the day. Last week I got my office/ computer room in order but did not get to the storage closet in that room, so I took everything out and wiped it all down and reorganized it. I did not take a picture of it because “Hey, it’s just a closet." Then in the afternoon when it was nice and warm I decided to take on the two sliders that need cleaning a couple of times a year. We have a power steam cleaner that makes the job much easier, but it’s still not a whole lot of fun. Charlie, one of Christi’s Day-Care kids, just loves to be in on the action so I let him give me a hand. Charlie is just over a year old and not walking yet, but he can get anywhere fast so we have to keep everything up and out of the way for good 'ole Charlie. He is a great kid and always has a smile for you.

After supper I was off to my cousin Jerry Vruggink’s home to help some others from church load up a semi-trailer for their son Tony who is moving to Colorado. I took a picture of Christi just before I left. She was just worn out from a day with the kids, but she didn't want it stuck in cyberland. You could not pay me enough to do what she does. She has like 6 or 7 kids all under the age of 5 not counting our Grandkids. Today at lunch I caught her feeding both Charlie (13 months) and Caleb who is about 10 months old at the same time. She was feeding Charlie with her left hand and Caleb with her right. Now that is multi-tasking. I love you my Dear and appreciate the hard work you do each day.

Dale

Tuesday Tasks #4

This morning when I woke up to frost on my windshield I knew it was time to tackle that shed again so that I could attack the garage and make room to park in there once again. So after a trip to the Doctor for yearly blood work and a stop off to vote it was time to dig in.

You probably remember this "before" picture of the shed.

After some more rearranging I finally have the shed clean and functional. However...when I took the table saw from the garage to the shed I managed to land it on my toe...OUCH! Broke? Probably, but what can they do for a toe, I'll just have to deal with it.
Take a peak at who my helper was today.
This is Aiden, the oldest of Christi's day care kids. Tuesday is his day to spend the whole day here and I am sure that Christi was glad to have the break from this busy young man. He actually was a good help to me. Here we are sweeping the garage out together. Everyone can use a good helper.
Now that the shed AND the garage are clean (I even got the snowblower out and ready to go for the upcoming winter.)
it is time to get on the roof and repair where the shingles have come off in last weeks storm. I used up every last one of my left over shingles from when the house was originally built. Won't be too many more years when we will have to reshingle the entire roof.

Christi was just thankful that I didn't fall off this ladder.

Here is the van loaded up with trash ready to dump


Last week Christi and I both had the flu so it felt especially good to feel good and be able to tackle some of these "honey-do" items. Here is my final reward after a busy day... Icing my broken toe. How long do you think I can get sympathy off this one? Not! Remember at the beginning of our remodel job I landed an 8 foot board on the top of Christi's foot? I will get just about as much sympathy as I gave her - oops - should have thought of that then. HeHe


Dale


A Note From Christi... Baby You Rock!! thanks so much for all your hard work. I hope your big toe feels better real soon.

Gracie's 5th Birthday

Yesterday was our grand daughter, Gracie's fifth birthday. She still is such a little peanut it is hard to believe that she is 5 years old now. Julie had invited so many friends and family that the party was planned for our house. When Gracie arrived she was mesmerized by the cake Gramma made for her.


Gracie chose to have a Ladybug themed birthday because she has been wanting a ladybug pillow pal so bad. Guess what? She got one!! Along with a bunch of other fun presents

Doesn't she look pretty in the crocheted hat from Gramma and Grampa?! Time to blow out the candles - she blew them out one at a time - savoring the moment I guess.

After everything was cleaned up it was time to get dressed for Trick-Or-Treating Tyler chose to be Batman this year and Gracie dressed up in her Raggedy Ann dress and pinafore that Gramma made her last year (she finally grew into it)

They had a lot of fun gathering all the candy, but were ready to stop when they got tired and cold. Look at their stashes...

Looks like Gracie's favorite was the airheads that Gramma handed out. I always love handing out the candy (and we get a LOT of trick-or-treaters) because I like to hear the comments from the kids. We handed out a variety of candy like Smarties, for the little ones and one little boy was so excited he was running back to his dad saying "Dad, we got SMARTIES" as he is waving them in the air. The older kids got airheads and one kid said "wow! I'm coming back to your house next year!" and then another one said "This is the second best treat of the night!" When I asked him what was the best treat - he told me someone handed out full sized Snickers. Not sure who that someone was, but my grand kids didn't bring one home in their bag. When the kids dump out their stash I get right in there to see what their first pick is going to be and which one they plan to share with Gramma (tehe). Tyler was very quick to say that I could have his individual bag of mini carrots. Who gives carrots to trick-or-treaters?

What will this next year hold for our little Gracie? We are seeing some gradual changes with her in school now. She is willing to write her name now because Teacher, Mrs. LePard taught her how. What am I?, Chopped liver?? I have been trying to teach her for the last year, but then I remembered how our Joey refused to put his own coat on until he was five. Once he had his fifth birthday he could do all kind of things - including putting his own coat on!! Amazing how they can have such a strong mind set. We pray that Gracie has a growing desire to be more like Jesus every day.

Christi

Tuesday Tasks #3

This week's Tuesday Tasks did not turn out as originally planned as we had non-typical West Michigan wind storms. Several of the schools closed in anticipation of the bad weather, and it WAS VERY WINDY! Tornado watches and warnings all over the area. It felt like we were living in the windy city of Chicago. Needless to say I didn't get back out to the shed to finish that project. On the other hand I was able to accomplish cleaning and organizing the computer room.

These are the BEFORE/DURING pictures...





And here is an AFTER pitcure ...


I even found some "treasures" a photo of my mom's eighth grade graduation.




I helped Christi wash all the area rugs (thanks to the new washing machine we had to buy), and... over the course of a few days I hooked up the TV to receive the NETFLIX movies through Christi's subscription. Sadly I had trouble with that one and had to call the tech guy in to figure out where I went wrong.

I guess that is it for this week-since I don't have pictures to show the couple hours I had to go into church to help the Creation Theatre guy and the couple hours I spent at my sister-in-laws trying to fix their computer. Hopefully I can get back to that shed soon because that means I can clean the garage and FINALLY get my car parked back in there.

Dale