The Hollands

Summer of Blessings

2010-10-03T22:29:00.005-04:00

In order to make this the most relaxing vacation we tried not to cram so much into our time that we would be totally exhausted when it was all said in done. Most of the days we all slept in (which was quite a treat) and didn't actually leave the house until after lunch.

There were so many inexpensive things to do in the area we had a hard time choosing! One day we headed to Blue Springs State Park to do some tubing. Even in the hot temps of Florida the water was FREEZING. This was the park that I saw the manatee!! This was the HIGHLIGHT of my trip! Yep, I even teared up a bit! :) I had told the family that I just wanted to see a manatee at some point on our trip...in the wild...not in an aquarium. We had just finished tubing and decided to drive on to another part of the spring and was amazed at all the gar to be seen! The water was crystal clear and there were hundreds of them! According to a sign we read this was a refuge for the manatee in the winter months but they were usually gone by April. Well, one stayed behind....just for me!! :) It was awesome...so slow...so huge...yet so graceful! And to think we were just tubing right up stream...I would have FREAKED if one of those swam by me! :) No pictures of this awesome experience...just in my head...and I don't think I'll EVER forget it!!

These pics are from De Leon Springs State Park. We just did some hiking and had a picnic. It was really hot so we enjoyed our time and then headed back to the pool! :)

The community pool at the house was unbelievable. I think Joseph and Anna could have spent their whole vacation there. Even if we spent the day at the beach, they wanted to go back to the house and go swimming!! :) When we first arrived Joseph was scared to get in the water...after two weeks we couldn't get him out!

Summer of Blessings

2010-10-01T10:16:00.006-04:00

I wanted to share with you the wonderful vacation we had the privilege of taking in June. I haven't posted in full about this because I'm still overwhelmed with it all and just don't feel I can express in words how big a blessing it was to our family. Hopefully the pictures will do the talking! (and there will be LOTS of them) :)

Over a year ago Brian stumbled upon this website http://www.pastorsrr.com We took the time to fill out the application and thought we'll just see what happens. What happened was that God blessed our family in a BIG way!! :) We were approved and were offered a two week stay at the most b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l home in Deland Florida!! Two weeks...two SOLID weeks away from home. We have NEVER done that before!! What a wonderful time to unwind, relax, refresh and renew!!

The kids finished school on Friday and we headed south Saturday morning. We stayed in Georgia so that we would be able to worship with the Hill family on Sunday morning at their church in Americus. Brian was on staff with Pastor Steve at Bryant Wesleyan. Our kids grew up together and it was such a great time to get together with them again. For some reason I didn't take ANY pictures of this...not sure why but :(

Fun in the van!!

The amazing house! When we got settled in Joseph said, "Mom, this feels just like home!" I had to giggle knowing this was NOTHING like our house...but he was right. For those two weeks that was our home as we were together as a family enjoying one another!! God is good! :)

2010-09-05T16:45:00.003-04:00

I've got a little itch to start a new project!! I know a few of you who are rolling your eyes at this! That's okay, I'll finish a few others before I attempt this one. When I was a kid we macramed all the time. My sister taught me and I made owls, plant hangers, "bird cages", wall hangings, bracelets...it was sooo fun!

When we get our living room painted there will be one of these bad boys hanging in it

...made by little old me!! :)

Jess found this little jewel at the Upland rummages.

She brought it home just to inspire me.

Jessica making her own feathered friend...

...and she finished it...she's good that way! :)

The Jig is Up!!!

2010-09-05T15:57:00.007-04:00

The teenagers is our house have gone to sneaky measures

to be sure they get what they want!!

The old hiding the "good" cereal in the "gross" cereal box gag...

But, we've caught on to their silly little scheme...

fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me!!

You won't get away with it again!!! :)

They're Gone....

2010-08-20T22:51:00.004-04:00

Joseph's 1st day at preschool.

There were no tears but he did keep rubbing his eyes when I dropped him off.

He said they were just burning!! :)

Jessica and Krista...the beginning of the end!

Seniors all bright eyed and cheery cause they

didn't have to show up to school until 3rd period!!

Anna 4th grade and Wes is a sophomore!!

Backpacks thrown by the back door...I didn't miss this sight all summer long!!

Prom!!

2010-05-08T21:55:00.005-04:00

The hemming of the dress.

Mischele did an excellent job on Jessica's hair.
Can you see the cloud of hair spray!!

Joseph wanted to wear his suit. He thought he was taking her to prom!

yea...they really love each other!

The look that says a thousand words!!

Well, what can I say...

Jess and Scott...with the heel pop and they're out the door...

...but back home again to get her prom ticket!

friends

and dates

a lovely dinner hosted by Upland Christian Church!!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-07T07:30:00.004-04:00

Easter pictures are almost impossible to take when your kids are on a jellybean high!!!

That's okay...I was too! :)

Jess, Joseph and Meredith

A brief moment of stillness....

...and back to being themselves!!

Anna and Allison with their build a bears...complete with their OWN Easter dresses!

Claiming Her Fruit..

2010-04-05T22:18:00.003-04:00

In our house, you sometimes have to go to extremes to get a banana!
They don't last long...must be a bunch of monkey's livin' here!!

We're Goin' to Disney World....

2010-04-05T21:44:00.005-04:00

We signed up for Disney's Give A Day-Get A Day program. The Holland Family made fleece blankets for Project Linus. In return we each earned free admission to Disney for a day!!
It was a win/win! Yippee!! I LOVE FREE THINGS!! :)

...so does Joseph!

We all made 2 blankets each...except Joseph...he was too young to participate! We'll just have to break down and BUY his ticket!!

Happiness

2010-03-30T11:20:00.004-04:00

The attachment knob on my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer broke over the weekend.

It still works but...well, you know...it's just not perfect like it was.

One little phone call to the company and my new knob will be here in 7-10 days...free of charge.

Yippee!!! Kitchen Aid you rock! :o)

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-20T11:11:00.003-04:00

The kids started spring break yesterday after school. I as well started spring break. I've taken the week off from work to spend some time with the kiddos.

Jaye happened to have a really short day at the office for her so when she got home we started to do some yard work. It was nice being outside in the sun. We picked up sticks, cleaned up some leaves, and I even got the lawn mower out....I had to put the charger on for a bit but it started right up. We got the van cleaned up, swept it out. All and all a great start to well needed spring break and week away from work.

The New Van

2010-03-20T10:57:00.004-04:00

Life

2010-03-15T11:30:00.004-04:00

Seems that so much is going on, and with the old facebook accounts we have neglected our blog. Here is a run down:

· Church is going well, our pastor got a renewal vote this week, if he accepts he's good for another four years.

· The Hollands got a newer van, a 2002 Town and Country! It's nice, lots of cool gadgets inside! It's blue by the way, we've never had a blue car before.

· Looks like Anna's school is closing down which would move her to another school and add about an hour more bus ride....not a good thing. We got the official word tonight at the school board meeting.

· I'm losing another youth sponsor this month, they all seem to move away. It's hard on me.

I know it's not much but it's a step in the right direction. I'll work on being more updated on a regular basis.

Brian

I'm Reading!!

2010-02-17T21:22:00.003-05:00

If you remember from my previous post...I said I wanted to read a book a month
Not that I want to get smarter...just to clean out my book collection!

Funny thing this book wasn't off my shelf...just recommended by Brian.

Plan A...And There's No Plan B by D. Robertson. You can get it here. It's a great book! Easy to read...lot's of stories! :) Although I already knew the "just" of it...I really needed reminded of it. I made a whole outline to put on here but thought...ahh, you should just read it yourself!! :) You'll be happy to know this one didn't find a place on our crowded bookshelf. It was too good to keep for ourselves and we passed it along!

The Law of the Big MO

2010-02-09T14:22:00.001-05:00

John Maxwell writes in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, about the law of momentum. It's law #16. As I watched the super bowl this year between the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts and the underdog New Orleans Saints I could see this law play out. With the second quarter coming to a close the Saints were able to get the football and score right as the half ended. They had controlled the flow of the game, they had the ball most of the second half. Knowing that they would have to come out of halftime and kick to the Colts, Sean Payton did something that no one had ever done to start the third quarter. He had his team do an onside kick. Very risky! They kicked and recovered the ball. This was what most seen as the turning point of the game. Why did they do that? The Saints needed to maintain the momentum of the game. They had risked it all to hold the momentum. Wow, is momentum that important? Is momentum something worth the risk? In the 2010 super bowl it was worth the risk. It was important. It totally changed the outcome of the game.
The question is are you willing to risk for the sake of momentum? Is it easier to play it safe? I say if you start to build momentum, don't risk losing it. Do whatever you can to keep it. Even if it is a big risk.

Thoughts

2010-01-31T20:15:00.006-05:00

I bought a replacement window regulator for my Jeep last week. It comes with a lifetime warranty. Question, why didn't the one that came with the Jeep come with a lifetime warranty?

Fox news. On their news program there is usually a story about American Idol. Is that news? It's like reporting "Plankton tries to steal the Krabby Patty recipe from Mr Krabs, but Sponge Bob saves the day."

The Wii. It's a video game. If you like bowling, go to the bowling alley. Iif you wanna exercise, exercise. Wanna play a video game, sit down and play a video game.

Beyonce if you were a boy, we really wouldn't care. But nice job on the Grammy's.

Quote from the sermon today, "My dad said the difference between me and God, God doesn't walk around thinking that he's me all day long." Kory Christensen.

Marion AT&T store: Brian, "I'd like to update my phone." AT&T guy, "Sorry, we can't do that, your mom needs to be here to sign the paper." (we are on a family plan) Brian "She lives in New York, can she sign the paper and send it in?" AT&T guy "Let me ask the manager." AT&T guy comes back, "No." Brian, "What can we do to work this out? How do we solve this problem?" AT&T guy, "Sorry, nothing we can do." AT&T offered only excuses no solutions.

Love the Grammy's. What a fun show.

Indiana North youth leaders: Love you all, you are amazing people!

Why Am I Like This???

2010-01-17T16:27:00.004-05:00

As I was cleaning off our bookshelves in order to make room for all the new book Christmas brought I noticed something. I have two whole shelves of books that I have collected over the years. Most of them are the "self help" type of books like how to be a better mom (which I'll have plenty of time to read after the kids are grown), how to grow in your walk with Christ, how to deepen your relationship with your spouse, etc...you get the idea. I LOVE these books and I joke about "collecting" books. The sad thing is that I have never finished a ONE of these books! I noticed as I was rearranging them that most of them have bookmarks about halfway through. Obviously, started off with good intentions but got sidetracked along the way.

I did read a couple books last year. "Mistaken Identity" was a great book and I even read through the "Twilight" series so I could see what all the hype was about. But these books didn't come from my collection, so they don't really count!

So, this is the year. I will read at least one book a month! It's not a big goal, but an attainable goal for me! After I read the book, it's outta here...pass it along...donate it...GONE! Well, of course, unless it's a really good read that I want to keep!! :)

Funny side note: I found this book of Japanese gift boxes. It has beautiful boxes that you cut out and fold together for gift giving. This was a gift from my sis-n-law at least 15 years ago and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I have kept it all these years saving these boxes for special occasions!! Many special occasions have come and gone but I still have this COMPLETE book! I think I have a problem...I may need help!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

2010-01-17T16:01:00.005-05:00

Years ago at Christmas when money was a bit tight Brian and I had to get creative in our Christmas gifts. We came up with the idea of a "coupon book".

Anna was too small to really benefit from one at the time,
but Jessica and Wes got one of these.

They cashed in on these coupons quite a bit at first. But over the years these particular books have kinda been forgotten about. That was until yesterday when Wes had homework that needed completed. Out comes the coupon for me to finish his homework. It was only a poster that needed "assembled". He already had done the research but the "crafty" part was not his thing. He asked me if I would finish it for him. He even suggested that I could use my cricut. Enough said, he's growing up to be a smart man...giving me a chance to use my scapbooking supplies!

Here are a few examples of the coupons:

awww...Lady Bird is no longer with us...

You will notice Wes "rated" his coupons.

Hey, this one has been used several times. Guess we need to sign off on it!

Anyway, these coupons books make great gifts. There is not a celebration that goes by at our house without a coupon book being given away. It's really fun to see what the kids come up with. I've even made one for Brian. They last quite a while...
this particular book dates back to '03!

Videos

2010-01-07T14:32:00.002-05:00

I posted some videos on the youth group web site if you would like to go check them out.

www.thenetat.blogspot.com

Gingerbread Cookies

2010-01-04T10:40:00.004-05:00

I've always wanted to bake and decorate gingerbread cookies but never "found" the time. This year in our annual cookie baking, Anna (Burry) decided she wanted to do it! Yay!

She's much more patient than I think I would have been!!

Time to decorate!

Joseph's masterpiece...notice the purple lips!

Christmas smiles! We found some pretty interesting cookie cutters in our collection.

Jessica's creations.

A "tipsy" snowman and a Christmas margarita??? creative minds at work!

They weren't as hard to bake/decorate as I thought. The kids had a blast with it and the house smelled WONDERFUL afterwards!! :)

Footballs over

2010-01-04T10:00:00.002-05:00

Well, I can't say I'm sad...what a miserable year. It is the responsibility of every Chicago sports fan to say "There is always next year." To my beloved Bears, do the right thing!
Brian

Bragging...Because I Can!

2010-01-03T19:47:00.003-05:00

Jessica was inducted into the EHS National Honor Society!

Here with her friends Payge and Krista

Birthday times Four!!

2009-12-14T13:38:00.011-05:00

Wesley starts off the b-day season in October by turning 15!!

Whatta goob!

Brian took a trip up north and scored some "Bears" gear for Wes.
So hard to find down here in Colts country!

Jessica turns 17...the "8" was one the cake cause we sometimes combine our
candles to come up with the right age!! Next year we'll be right on!

Fried ice cream at La Cha's with friends and family!!

I got to celebrate with Joseph's preschool class by reading them a story!
He turned 4 in November!

The Birthday Parade...Joseph was the leader and they march
thru the church (preschool) playing their instruments!

Joseph celebrated his birthday at Chuck E Cheese.
Whoa...I think every parent should have to go thru that...at least once!!

Birthday buddies....

Anna finishes off our 3 months of b-day celebrations. She turned 9 this year and got to have her first slumber party! There was lots of partying and VERY LITTLE slumbering!!

Anna's most awesome rainbow cake! Got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs!
I don't know Meg but she seems like the kind of person I could really get a long with! :)
Check it out...her photos are awesome and her writings are hilarious!

Craft Hideaway

2009-11-20T20:37:00.008-05:00

I have to tell you about one of Kokomo's best kept secrets...Cherished Moments Craft Hideaway. A few friends and I got together for a day away of crafting. Where do I begin? I guess I can't put into words how wonderful this place is...I'll just let the pictures do the talking!

Just about a 1/2 hour drive from IWU and the whole gang made it!

...the porch swing kept beckoning us outside.

...Carol repairing a quilt that has been in her family for years!

Computer with internet access...in case we needed a fb fix

...but it also had a printer and photo paper in case we needed to print.

...punches, cricut, cutters
...pretty much any crafting gadget you wanted could be found here!

...all the stamping supplies we could ever want to use!

One of Carol's many projects of the day...no it's not a landing strip Bekah
...it's a table runner!
This was such a cute sewing project that I've been inspired to attempt one of my own!
This is my new friend Tracy Curfman helping her out!

Bev and Bekah working on their projects.
Check out Bekah's blog for all her pics.

Sarah and Teresa...Sarah was the one who set this whole thing up for us!!
She's da bomb.com Thank you Sarah...it was wonderful!!

The food was unbelievable!!

This was lunch...chicken with some yummy topping!
I'm sure there's some fancy name for it...but I made up my own!

...and yea, I made room for this!!

...and dinner

Sarah trying to finish the yummy apple cobbler.

and Bekah calling it quits.

good food...good friends...good conversation!

Our lovely hostess' who made us feel right at home...and quite pampered!!

Check out the website...check out their pictures of the rooms upstairs.
This house had such a warm, cozy feel to it.
We didn't want to leave...but we shall return.
We are already planning another one for after the first of the year!

Halloween Fun...

2009-11-02T11:25:00.005-05:00

Someone said what are you supposed to be?

Brian said, "broke!"...Jess said, "an owl"

Wesley as Barton Damer...some skateboarder dude

The Jopho was sickly this day...but we made sure he got some candy!!
Notice Brian holding "Lizzy". Lizzy is Anna's teddy bear.
I spent the most time working on HER costume...not my kids!!

"Like, okay fine, fur sure, fur sure...she's a valley girl...and there ain't no cure!"
Some authentic 80's buttons she's wearing!!
Why Be Normal?

Yikes!!

One tired Buzz Lightyear

Anna was a Ninja. This is at the mall trick or treating. Joseph wasn't very healthy so we kept Halloween on the down low this year. This is our friend, Lauren.
She works at Penneys and got to pass out candy to the ghouls and goblins!

Why a Bears fan?

2009-11-01T20:53:00.002-05:00

Here's why.

Totally Shocking!!!

2009-10-31T09:19:00.003-04:00

Did ya know that while you are shopping at WalMart you can continuously be shocked by the carts?? By the time I got to the check out after my 1/2 hour shopping trip, I made a comment to the cashier that I was having a hard time getting to my $$ because my right hand was numb! I explained I kept getting shocked by the bar on the cart. I was seriously getting ready to head back to the laundry aisle to stock up on fabric softener!!

She said, "Oh, it's just your cart. It isn't grounded. See that cart up there with the wire by the wheels? It is grounded. You should look for one of those when you shop."

What??? I've never heard of such a thing. But, be sure that I WILL be looking for a little wire dangling down as I choose my cart for now on!! I am usually shocked when I get to the check out...but unfortunately it's NOT because of my cart!! google this...it's not a new thing!!

Things That Make Me Smile

2009-10-28T13:31:00.003-04:00

~ Laughter of my children.

~ Listening to Joseph use his imagination to play and seeing how embarrassed he gets when he sees me watching him.

~ How Brian straightens the living room before he goes to bed.

~ Seeing the kids reading just for enjoyment and not cause they have to.

~ That my younger kids think "hate, stupid and shut up" are BAD words.

~ That the older kids still hesitate to say those words and won't say them around the little ones.

~ Recycling - our family of 6 only took one trash bag to the curb this week.

~ Cuddle time w/Anna...wrestle time with Wes and Joseph...chat time w/Jess.

~ Seeing Brian walk thru the door with a polar pop just for me.

~ Our maple tree that is the last to turn and the last to lose its golden leaves!!

Yep, I even smiled as I typed them...What makes YOU smile?!?!

Mama's Got a Job!!

2009-10-26T13:18:00.005-04:00

Yippee...I've been looking for something part-time for quite some time now and in today's economy I was realizing how hard it was going to be!! BUT...in God's perfect timing the perfect job came along! It's a children's resale shop.

We sell all kinds of children's clothing up to size 12

Toys, Maternity, Books, Videos

Baby Gear

Keetha...this one is for you...A Wisconsin Badger sleeper!! :)

And the best part is (besides a paycheck).....

I can bring my kiddos!!

This is one of the playrooms she has set up in the back for her kids
...and mine too!

Another playroom...plenty to keep the little guy happy!!
Yay!! Praising God for this WONDERFUL blessing!!

Applesauce!!

2009-10-01T14:30:00.004-04:00

It sure ain't pretty!!!

But it was sooo worth it!!

I was given lots of apples...so I made lots of applesauce. I also made a yummy apple crisp and froze up enough for two pies!! :) Notice the apple cinnamon candle on my stove...definitely didn't need to burn it that day!! :)

Tippmann World Challenge 2009

2009-09-28T16:46:00.004-04:00

I wish I would have taken some pictures and more video but I was chicken the camera would get hit. There were tons of paintball flying around. So this is all that made it out of the woods. Hope you enjoy.

Tippmann World Challenge 2009 from Brian Holland on Vimeo.

2009-09-04T18:43:00.002-04:00

Click on image to enlarge.

They are in, THE NET is selling discount cards to raise money to attend the area youth convention this year in Kentucky. They cost $10.00 please see one of our teens or Pastor Brian to get a card. They are good for a year and as you can see there are some pretty good deals.

First Day of School

2009-08-30T13:36:00.002-04:00

Joseph goes to preschool!!

He's a happy camper too!!

This is the fake picture...

ahhh...now there's the Jessica I know and love!

Oh Anna...

2009-08-29T20:28:00.005-04:00

Anna: "When I was taking a bath tonight I was in the tub trying to think of things to make me mad just so I can see if the aroma therapy soap (anti-stress) really worked."

Mom: "So did it??"

Anna: "Yea, I feel so relaxed now and I know it's time for me to go to bed and I'm not even mad about it!"

Help...I'm Addicted to Recycling!!

2009-08-27T14:52:00.003-04:00

Since our field trip to the Recycling Center earlier this summer, our family decided it was time for us to start recycling. We are a family of six and produce a LOT of trash. It was time to start being responsible and do our part for the environment!! Ha...I can make this commitment since we are through with diapers!! So here it is...OUR RECYCLABLES!! I thought we'd have a ton more but this is a little over a months worth
...not too overwhelming.

I have to say everyone is doing their part by putting the recycling in the proper containers and NOT leaving it lay on the counter!! :) I have to control myself...I have a hard time throwing my trash away when I'm out and about
...I kinda want to bring it home and recycle it!!

All In A Days Work!!

2009-08-25T15:58:00.002-04:00

Our first time planting corn and we were quite pleased with the turnout!

Joseph wanted to sword fight with them.

Our bounty!

Aww...shucks!

Ready for the freezer...15 bags!

Wow...a lot of work for the day...I'm whipped! :)

Family Camp Fun!!

2009-08-23T13:51:00.004-04:00

Family Camp is a blast for us. Fairmount Campgrounds holds a special place in our hearts since we started attending there as children....but that's a whole other blog!! As a family we started spending the week there when we bought our cabin back in '97. It is a great way to end our summer break. There is something for everyone to enjoy! Our friend Keetha paid tribute to our wonderful camp in her blog. Check it out here and here if you wanna! Here's a few shots of our week! :)

Jess, Payge and Lauren
We didn't see much of these girls as they were too busy socializing.

Kadyn Falk with his little black eye. Oh, that camp playground!! :)

Cail Bowlin blowing her flute

Tony Bye and his best buddy!

Amy Bye enjoying the ribs!! They were delicious!!

Avery Bowlin liked them too!

Josh and his new rib cooker. Man, that was some good eatin'!! :)
We shared ribs with everyone who walked by the cabin!!

They had awesome face painters at the Kid's Carnival!
Anna sparkled and glittered for days!

Micah Beal and Joseph went for a scarier look!!

Just a close-up view of my sweet little boy!! :)

it figures

2009-08-18T20:26:00.006-04:00

The other day as I was rolling up my Jeep window I heard a "snap" and the window stop going up. Not too much of a big deal because I was able to push it the rest of the way up and tape it. It looked really silly but I kept dry. I was enjoying the nice cool weather, pulled my tape off and wedged a green pine scented tree air freshener in the window to keep it from going all the way down. I enjoyed driving about town with my window most of the way down. But it happened, the window went down all the way, I couldn't pull it up. So I get out the tools and go to work. Turns out I need a window regulator...to the tune of 200+ dollars. Great! So into the garage it goes waiting on the big lotto to hit this weekend.

The Jeep sits in the garage, in pieces waiting on a part. I start driving the Grand Prix. No a/c! so windows must go down. The first day, with the Jeep in the garage and me driving the Grand Prix, guess what? Yep the window goes down and doesn't go back up. We have lots of rain forecast this week. So the tools come out, I rip the door apart, bad window motor. 80 bucks. Great.

I took the broken motor off, pushed the window back up into the upright position and put the motor back on to keep the window up. I replaced the speaker, the clear-keep-fresh/keep-the-wind noise out-sheet of plastic that is held on by some nasty gluey black stuff. Note: all the bolts holding all that stuff together are nicely, tightly placed inside the door where fat fingers have a hard time getting to. So I'll be driving around without the inside door panel for a while. Come on lotto! Question, has anyone ever won the lotto without buying a ticket? Maybe I'll be the first!

Summer Stuff...

2009-08-11T16:34:00.011-04:00

Our weekend get-a-way to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary!!

...hmmm...lovin' my honey!! :)

Our little chipmunk friend who lives around our back porch!
At halloween he lives in our jack-o-lanterns!! :)

Mississinewa class of '86 mini reunion.
Thanks to facebook we were able to work out this mini reunion.
Good times....

....at my favorite restaurant in the Marion area...BWW!!! :) Man my mouth is watering just thinking about it...I seriously could eat there EVERY day!!! :)

Fireworks at our house! Our friends are "really into" buying and setting off fireworks...and we got to benefit from their love of pyrotechnics. They used our backyard to put on an awesome show...so awesome we didn't even head into town the next day to watch the "real" ones! I seriously didn't know the common person could buy fireworks this big!!

We invited a small crowd over and it was a Par-tay!!! :)

Waiting on the show to start. Jake and Diane were "really" waiting on the show to start...she went into labor that night (see pic of baby down below)!

Our corn was definitely knee high by the 4th of July...and then some!!

Anna spent a week at Junior Bible Camp...her first year! She LOVED it!

Our girls and their counselors.

Little Sam the "firecracker baby". He was born July 4th.

Joseph checking out g-pa's monster truck!

A little putt putt action

Guess Nate can't look mean and intimidating?!?!

Watching our pizza being made...gotta love the Pizza King!! :)

I wanted to add this close up picture of one of those yucky tomato worms.
Pretty cool camouflage this little thing has!!

How Dare They...

2009-08-10T17:43:00.003-04:00

While we were on vacation...these little buggers were having a vacation of their own...
on our tomato plants!!

They didn't do too much damage...but they could have!!!

Cradle School Fun

2009-08-06T10:45:00.008-04:00

This lucky horse was getting a mani/pedi

I couldn't figure out why Joseph wouldn't go near the horses in their stalls...

until I got down to his level. YIKES!!! Guess I'd be scared too! :)

He preferred the "dogs" at Black Dog Farms

Jonesboro Park

Josephs' nature collage

Anna joined us for this trip

Gas City Park

Crafts with Daddy

Isn't this hilarious...bad hair cut or what??

This trip had more impact on me than any of them. I decided, we as a family, will start recycling. It makes me ashamed to admit that we haven't done it...until now. I put the idea out there, knowing that it would take more than just me to make this work, and they were excited. So we have been collecting instead of trashing our recyclables. It's kinda fun! The trash doesn't need emptied near as often (wes frowns on that $$$). We Holland's produce ALOT of trash...so here's to helping the environment one cereal box at a time!! :)

Who knew recycling can be kinda pretty...crushed plastic.
This is still at the recycling center...not at our house.
We don't produce THAT much trash!

Curiosity...could be dangerous...but wasn't.

Mini Update

2009-07-24T12:34:00.003-04:00

Wow. We have been very blog neglectful. Sorry.
Here is a brief update.

We are back from vacation. You'll get a full run down of that. We spent a week in Louisville, KY. Jessica and I went to Gurus, a church tech conference.
We went to Eastview Wesleyan Church for our last vacation Sunday. It was great to see all our old church family.
After finishing up vacation we jumped right into VBS. Jessica and Jaye are group leaders and I am leading the recreation portion of VBS. Wow, those kids are really wearing me down.
Our friends the Quicks leave for Hong Kong tomorrow....It's going to be hard on the red head to see them go. Well, to be honest it's going to be hard on all of us. We've enjoyed having them stay in Granny's empty house for the last couple weeks. That's been an extra blessing for us! :)
Family camp starts next week, should be a hoot. We are looking forward to that.
Pastor Steve starts his sabbatical Aug 1st so I get to preach every Sunday and be the "real" pastor for a month.
I was voted in this month as District Youth President. I'm very honored to have been elected. I'm excited to be working with some of the best youth pastors in the Wesleyan church.
Jaye was voted on to the District Board of Administration. She's excited and a little nervous about that!

That's the run down....We'll try to get back into the swing after we rest up from VBS. That might take a month...lot's of little kids.

Vacation 09-Day 3 & 4

2009-07-09T20:33:00.008-04:00

Well yesterday wasn't as exciting as most would like to see on a vacation day....but I did get to do some things that I don't often get to do. I started with one of my favorite things to do, I mowed. The yard is pretty dry and we could use some rain. After getting the yard mowed I started to clean up the yard. We had a spot behind the garage that has been looking pretty "hillbilly" for a long time. Weeds had grown up and I had a big stack of old lumber from when we started on Granny's house. We got the wood clean up and the weeds pulled. I must say it looks pretty nice. After that I started on cleaning the garage...which carried over to day 4.

Today was sleep in day. Nice :) So after a little extra time in the sack I headed to Lowes and picked up a new outside water spicket. Then back to Lowes to get a longer one. I installed that, no leaks. My next project was Joseph's jeep. You've seen the pictures on here before. It is over 12 years old and the red paint has faded a little over time to the point where some have called it pink. It happened again the other day so I decided to paint it. Jaye, Joseph and myself taped it off and gave it fresh coat of RED paint. It looks pretty sweet. After that, more cleaning in the garage. Not a lot of wild crazy fun but it was nice to get the opportunity to do it.

Taping the Jeep

Joseph and his RED jeep

Vacation 09-Day 2

2009-07-07T22:14:00.005-04:00

Great day! We started off with a visit to Gas City Park/Zoo. Today was "cradle school". Jaye, Joseph and myself decorated a paper turtle with markers/pipe cleaners/buttons. Then a quick snack and the highlight of the trip....feeding food pellets to hungry, headbutting goats. We also had the opportunity to feed some deer which was pretty cool.

After that we swung by Eastview to say hi to their new pastor...but he was in a meeting. Home for
lunch then a quick trip back to Gas City for the big canoe trip.

Wesley and I put in at Gas City Park and floated down stream to Marion. I have done the Mississinewa River from Upland to Gas City many times but this was my first trip to Marion. I think people would be really surprised at how pretty the river is from Gas City to Marion. It took us about 3.5 hours. It was a long trip. My friend Pete should have been with us...maybe next time. Wes said it was fun but really long, he thought it would be a much quicker trip.

I'd like you to meet Daisy. This dog started following us about 5 minutes into the trip. She stayed with us the entire way...3.5 hours! She swam, ran along the bank and stayed right along side of us. Wes and I tried to ditch her but with no luck. When we ended our trip she swam up to shore about two minutes after us. We called her owner (she had tags) and he drove over from Jonesboro to pick her up.

Vacation 09-Day 1

2009-07-06T19:07:00.006-04:00

I started the first day of vacation with a trip to Gas City to pick up this bad boy....then from there it was up on the roof to help my friend tear some shingles off. It was hot, but we did get one side off. After dinner, to the garage for some cleaning.

My friend Dave decided to let us have his old lawn tractor. It's an old Allis-Chalmers. I used to have one like it a long time ago. It is my new project. I hope to have it running soon. As you can see the Joe has put his claim to it. He heard me telling Jaye that it's not getting any spark...so he said we need to go to store and get some spark.

The First Harvest

2009-07-04T10:51:00.003-04:00

The garden is producing!!! Yeah!! :) This was my first harvest a week or so ago. It made for an excellent salad with grilled chicken breast and homemade croutons (thanks to Bekah!) Since then we've had a cucumber, 1 cherry tomato and several bunches of broccoli!! It's nice when all the hard work starts to pay off! :) When it's in full swing I could be sending some your way!

Committed....or need to be?!?!

2009-07-02T15:14:00.004-04:00

A stinkin' hot 92 degrees out...and these guys are off to play paintball!

...and they returned with barely any paint on them!

2009-07-02T11:18:00.002-04:00

Cradle School

2009-06-29T21:41:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I JUST found out about this program offered by Family Service Society. It is for children birth to 5 years old and apparently open to all Grant County residents. They meet every Tuesday thru-out the summer and various locations. Our 1st "meeting" was at Matter Park. The kids got to play, make a couple cute crafts, have snack then head home....lasted maybe an hour.

The next Tuesday was a trip to the FIRE STATION!!! How cool is that???? Here are some pics of Joseph and Anna. Although Anna is technically too old, siblings are permitted to attend...we would have to pay for them if there was an admission fee to any of our outings. BUT...Mom, Dad and child are FREE...totally free!! :D

This is our Cradle School group. These are some of the fireman who took time out of their day to give us our tour. They really made the kids feel special. They all just seemed so excited to show us how everything worked and they were really patient with the kids, letting them try things out! Very impressed with these firemen!! Thanks a bunch Fire Station 1.

All the kiddos got to spray the fire hose...
I thought they should be spraying the passing cars! :)

Watch for our next field trip to the Marion Airport!

Welcome to Marion White Castle

2009-06-29T12:05:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Marion White Castle. Jessica, Joseph and I drove into town last night at around 9:15ish to get in on the grand opening. This morning I remember why I only eat sliders once or twice a year.

Fun Family Gatherings!

2009-06-23T10:04:00.007-04:00

The "Armstrong" side of my family got together to celebrate my cousin, Ashley's, high school graduation. We took a Sunday afternoon drive down to southern Indiana to celebrate with them!

This is Ashley with her family.
My cousin Dale, his wife Faye, their son Christopher and Ashley's boyfriend.
So really Dale is my cousin so would that make his daughter, Ashley, my 2nd cousin??

So this is the Armstrong men...telling tales I'm sure.

My uncle Freddie on the right, my brother Jim and then cousin Dale

Not such a good picture but here are the ladies listening to the tales.

Cousin Sherry on the right, my neice Alex and sis-n-law Tammy

Here they are...standing still for the moment!
The line up left to right: Cousin Loren, Cousin Christopher,
Uncle Leon, Uncle Freddie, Uncle Don, Brother Jim and Cousin Dale

Here we are...all the Armstrong's that were there!! :)

The Family Business!

Next graduation open house will be in 2011 when Jessica graduates!! WOW!!
Maybe a wedding will be tossed in there before that...hopefully no funerals.
For now we part...until next time!

Happy Anniversary!!

2009-06-11T09:40:00.005-04:00

Today is our 21st wedding anniversary...
off to celebrate!! :)

Schools out, schools out...teacher let the monkeys out!

2009-06-09T15:06:00.003-04:00

Last day of school...waiting on the bus...7:15 am.
They haven't seen that time of day since!! :)

Joseph already enjoying his summer break.

Think he liked his ice cream???

Birthday Bliss...

2009-06-09T14:47:00.002-04:00

Yummy b-day cupcakes to share with the youth group

Lot's of candles on that, there cake!! :)

It took two blowers...created lots of smoke too!! :)

Brian and Joseph showing off their new brad nailer! Joseph will like this gift because it requires safety glasses. Any time Daddy puts on his glasses...Joseph does the same! :)

In Honor of Brian's B-day...

2009-06-02T14:57:00.004-04:00

Remember in grade school when you used to bring treats in our your b-day to share with the class??? Never made sense to me, they should treat the b-day child!! Well, sticking with that theme, Brian thought it would be cool to treat YOU on HIS b-day so he worked out a little deal with Sonic...

Sonic Drive-In's across the country will be giving away free Root Beer Floats to all customers tomorrow (Wednesday, June 3, 2009...Brian's b-day) from 8:00 p.m. until midnight. More details here.

I recommend you call your local Sonic ahead of time to verify they are participating in this promotion.

Birthday idea

2009-06-01T14:18:00.003-04:00

If you are wondering what to get me for my birthday.

Since high school...

2009-06-01T13:54:00.007-04:00

I am getting ready to clean up my office. It is much needed. But before I do I wanted to give you a little insight into a strange side of me, I keep things a long time. This marker I use to highlight in my Bible. When I preach from a section of scripture I get out this orange marker and underline what I am preaching from. Not all that strange, many people do that. What's strange is that I've had this marker since at least high school. So the age of this marker is much older than the teens in our youth group and older than many that are in the seats on any given Sunday at Chapel Pike. Since getting this marker I've graduated high school, finished my degree at IWU, gotten married, had four children, gained 50 pounds, grew a giant bald spot on top of my head, lived in six different houses, served at two different churches as youth pastor, will shortly celebrate my 41st year of life on Wednesday and my 21st year of marriage in a few weeks....

It has been a good marker, still works, it's getting pretty light, but works great for what I do with it. It has been a good marker.

Camping at Pokagon

2009-05-26T14:28:00.009-04:00

Looks like it was a long trip but Pokagon was only an hour and half away.

Joseph and Isaiah...showing some love.

...testing the COLD water!

Ben contemplating the vastness of Lake James.

ahhh...the good life!

..fun in the sand!

Getting some more freckles!

A perfect seat for Meredith!

Amber wore out after a big day!

Storytime!!

How come the little one always gets buried???

If you look closely you'll see dead mosquitoes at the top of each of those little stakes. It was Nate's shrine to scare off all others...uhhh...didn't work!!

Our camping buddies the Quicks...Nate, Amber, Ben and Isaiah

Our other camping buddies the Santees...Kent, Angie and Meredith

Joseph getting a much needed bath...the cleanliness lasted about 10 minutes!!

Lot's of fun...lot's of memories made...lot's of pictures to share!! Considering we had over 200 pics...I think I did pretty good narrowing down to this many!!!

Random-ness

2009-05-26T11:01:00.007-04:00

My Beautiful Mother's Day flowers! I vow to water them often and not kill them!!! That first basket seems to have a strange bird lurking in it!!

Joseph talking to G-Ma on the phone...really looking forward to her visit the 1st of June!!

Joseph still enjoying his Jeep...pickin' up girls too!

My lilacs were beautiful this Spring!!!

Wesley's 1st broken bone! Skateboarding accident...Break is right below the first knuckle on his right index finger...lucky for him he is a lefty!! :) The dr said he couldn't participate in gym the rest of the school year...he was really bummed about that. Boy, the girls would've soaked that for all it's worth!! I would've taken a picture of how he has to wear it all balled up but it looks pretty dirty and disgusting after the camping trip!!

Our Weekend

2009-05-25T21:10:00.002-04:00

We spent Memorial Weekend at Pokagon State Park with a couple of friends from church. It was a great time. You will read more about it tomorrow if you come back. Let me just say it will be nice to sleep in our own beds tonight.

It Happens....

2009-05-13T13:13:00.003-04:00

Last month Brian pulled out the trusty, old charcoal grill...

...only to find some patties left over from last years BBQ!!
Even Wes wouldn't dare eat them...they made nice frisbees out to the field!! :0)

Ahhh...now that's more like it...and there were NO left-overs!

This past Christmas I was taking a wreath off the wall to hang up my Christmas one and guess what fell out from behind the one on the wall...yep...two plastic Easter eggs full of candy!! 8 months hanging on the wall...that candy was still good!! :)

Daddy Day

2009-05-08T12:15:00.006-04:00

For Wesley's 2nd birthday we got him a Power Wheels Jeep. He loved it. He drove that Jeep all the time, so much so that one day we watched him drive around the house and around the house until he fell asleep at the wheel. It was cute. Well, today I took that same Jeep over to Yorktown, Indiana to have a recall repair done. I bought a new set of batteries and charger. Joseph was so excited about this repair. Today Joseph took over the wheel and is following in his brothers footsteps, or should I say Jeep tracks.

Crazy Day

2009-05-06T08:53:00.005-04:00

Let me share with you my day yesterday.

I took the kids to school, and on the way home I thought "It would be nice to take Jaye breakfast" so I swung into McDonald's for a pancake and sausage breakfast.
Later that day I met with a friend from church to talk about dealing with stress in ministry (very encouraging by the way) at Subway. We eat and chatted.
From there I met with another friend for our "couple times a month" hang out time at Fazoli's. From there....
I have a standing get together each Tuesday with one of our youth group students after school, we usually go to Arbys and yesterday was no exception.
And to end the day, Jaye took Jessica to Drivers Ed class and came home with a bucket of chicken from KFC.

Here's the good news....I didn't eat at each of these places. I did drink a lot of Diet Soda yesterday. I was just doing my part to keep our Marion Economic Strength growing.
~ Marion Fast Food Industry , you are welcome.

Connie the Quilt Diva!!

2009-05-03T20:42:00.005-04:00

Let me introduce you to our friend Connie. She is a wonderful lady and a faithful reader (and commenter) to our blog. This weekend was our Ladies Dessert Fellowship at church and Connie was our special speaker. Our theme was Women of Passion. Connie spoke of her passion...which is quilting. She especially loves taking the many pieces of fabric and putting them together to make something new and beautiful. She showed us many beautiful quilts she has made over the last few years. I would love to someday make a quilt. Maybe with her guidance I can accomplish that (hint, hint)!! Anyway, she challenged us by asking if our passion (for whatever) meets or exceeds our passion for the Lord. Do we desire to spend time with the Lord as much as we desire to spend time with "our passion". Hmmm...something to think about!!!

Saturday

2009-05-02T18:14:00.006-04:00

This blog comes to you from the back porch. The grill is lit, the kabobs are cooking, that would be beef/pork/shrimp/mushroom kabobs. What a good day it is. Here's a little update for you...yesterday the big kids and I went to the picture show in Marion to watch X Men. Good show, lots of fighting/action/mixed in with a love story. If you're an X Men fan it's a pretty entertaining movie. Today was a run around day. Jess had several appointments and I ran over to IWU for a taste of the Jr. High Weekend. After the rush this morning, I went to work in the back yard. I moved the Buick from its winter resting place into the "if I get some money I will work on it" summer place in the other garage. One of the rear brakes was hung up....so before I moved it I had to do a little work on the brakes...but it's moved. I really miss driving that car, maybe this summer we can get it back on the road. I got the swing put up out back. Today is one of those days Granny would have joined us outside, especially after I got the swing out. We miss Granny. It's going to be hard to get use to her not being here anymore. That's it, I've got to flip the kabobs. Boy do they smell good!

Summer around the house

2009-04-24T18:32:00.007-04:00

A Blast from the Past!

2009-04-21T12:32:00.006-04:00

THIS is the way to make ham salad. Mom got me this little
beauty years ago. It's just like the one she used when I was
growing up.

Of course, this job was fun for everyone! The best
is the sound the onion makes when you squish it
through...then of course clean it all out with a
piece of bread...just like Mom use to do!

Even Meredith got into the cranking!

Enjoying the yummy results!

I think they enjoyed making it more than eating it!

Another Lost Art...

2009-04-21T12:26:00.006-04:00

I thought about Jaye talking about the lost art of ironing a few posts back and I was reminded about another chore that most families have forgotten about, polishing shoes. You can see from the photo that I intend to pass this skill along to my children. There's nothin' like a freshly shined pair of shoes. We were getting ready for the big trip so we shined up the kickers. Does anyone else still do this, I wonder?

Our Weekend

2009-04-19T21:54:00.008-04:00

In the van....drive, drive, drive (9 hours total)

Stop for gas....everyone has a job to do.

Quick trip to The Falls Saturday morning

After the ten minute (really 10 minutes) service. It's official, Granny is married.

9 more hours on the trip home.

It is time

2009-04-16T11:32:00.002-04:00

Well, Granny packed up and moved away on Monday....we head up this weekend to watch her get married. Its going to be a lot of driving, little visit, lot of driving. Sounds like we'll have great weather on Friday for the trip :) Check back in later this weekend for some photos of the big day.

A day in the life....of the Hollands

2009-04-10T20:35:00.006-04:00

Jaye got her sewing machine out today to work on a birthday gift for one of the little guys from church. Liam is having a party tomorrow and is a big fan of Lightning McQueen. He will soon be the proud owner of a new homemade pillow. While she was working on the pillow, Wesley and I were surfing the youtube site looking at paintball stuff. I have been wanting a sling for my gun...there are several youtube videos on how to make your own. I was inspired so I made one of my own. We all had a nice time working with Jaye's new sewing machine.

As you can see my many days in home ec class have paid off so many years later. Now Jaye on the other hand has honed her skills over the years. So what are the skills and hobbies you share with your special someone?

Mom-isms

2009-04-07T19:48:00.001-04:00

Yes...slowly but surely I am becoming my Mom!! I look like her, I act like her and more and more I'm talking like her. Monday on the way home from picking Anna up from school...I said it! She had the window down with her arm hanging out and I said, "You be careful or you're gonna draw back a bloody stub!" It always worked on me when I was a kid...Mom put the fear into me that if I put my hand out the window I would be one handed for the rest of my days!! :) It didn't work so much for Anna, she just asked, "What's a bloody stub?" Another "Mom-ism" is, "You better knock it off or I'll take you down a few notches!" Not sure what that really meant other than we knew she was serious and we better straighten up. I didn't hear that as much as my brother!! :) One of my favorite, "If in doubt, don't." I may still hang my hand out the window but I will always follow this last one...and it has proved true over and over again!

Cheri Colter, our pastors wife, shared in bible study this past week that she has found her daughter using the same lines on her kids that were used on her...so it's not just me!! Just curious...how are you becoming like your mom and what do you think of that??

btw...this little beauty of a picture was obviously taken in the early 70's...one of my favs! :)

Big News Week!!

2009-04-06T11:49:00.003-04:00

Wow, I'm not sure what was bigger news this past week, the Bears signing a new QB or Eastview Wesleyan lands Mark Atkinson as Sr Pastor. I know I am way more excited to see Mark and Ronda come home to Grant County. Should be good times ahead for Eastview.

Mark and Ronda came over for a visit last night to share the news with us. I am very thankful that they will be near by. For those of you that don't know, Mark was Jayes youth pastor, and Mark was my camp counselor when I was a teen. Mark is probably the guy that has the biggest influence in my life. It will be great having him around. The news has stirred up a lot of Facebook chatter too.

The Bears are working over time

2009-04-02T19:32:00.003-04:00

Welcome the big man Orlando Pace to the team. Hmmm looks like its turning out to be a busy off season for the boys in Blue. Wesley is a little sad to see Kyle Orton leave the windy city. I'm glad we didn't get a Orton jersey this year. Exciting Bears News. We need a few more pieces, how about Marvin to teach our receivers how to catch and run?

QB

2009-04-02T18:48:00.001-04:00

Wow can you believe it? A quarterback coming to Chicago? I am speechless. Welcome to the Bears Jay Cutler.

Spring Break 2009

2009-04-01T12:27:00.013-04:00

This year for spring break I took some of the teens from church on a "mini mission trip" to Merrillville, Indiana. We went up to work with the Wesleyan Church and took a side trip into Chicago to the Chicago Area Food Depository. We had a great time. We went up on Wednesday afternoon, settled in and went to prayer meeting that night. At prayer meeting Pastor Chris Kaste shared his salvation story and asked me to do the same. After that we prayed. It was really cool. The church is really on the verge of seeing God do some amazing things. I appreciated the fact that most of the prayer requests were outwardly focused. Cool stuff.

The next day we really got the "work" part rolling. They had a storage area above some classrooms in the back of the sanctuary. We removed the old press board floor and put down new tongue and groove plywood. We washed windows, picked up trash and really stayed busy all day. I think we went back to the house around 11:30 that night. I'm very proud of the teens, they did a great job!
On Friday we loaded up in the van and headed to the Windy City and I might add the Cold City. It was GREAT being among Bears Fans...no sissy light blue and white up there. We boxed up "Senior Boxes" at the food depository. These boxes of food would be given out to senior citizens with enough food for three days. They told us they wanted us to do 250 boxes, we ended up doing 1019 total! It was a three hour shift. Good times were had by all on the assembly line. We then spent the day in Chicago. We went to Ginos East pizza for lunch, amazing pizza! Then we headed to Navy Pier for some shopping, we walked down Michigan Ave. It was a good day.

Saturday we did some yard work for a couple of Merrillville Church member shut ins. We took the leftover plywood into the attic and made a walk way for them down the middle of the attic.
And of course if you are familiar with Merrillville we did take a trip to the mall. It happened to be a sports memorabilia weekend at the mall, tons of really cool stuff. I wish I had some $ I could have left with some sweet Bears items.

On Sunday Jaye, Anna, Joseph and Jessica (fresh off her trip to New York City) drove up for Sunday Morning Service. I was given the chance to preach that Sunday. Then we had a carry in lunch after service. It was a great time.

More pictures Here

Our Group at Navy Pier

Chicago Area Food Depository

Ginos East

Jill my "oldest" friend, she was my next door neighbor growing up.

Pastor Chris and Linda Kaste

A Lost Art...

2009-03-24T11:47:00.002-04:00

When I was growing up Mom would iron everything from their jeans (it was the 70's) to Dad's hankies. I remember laying under the ironing board and feeling the spray starch mist over me as she was spraying the clothes. She taught me the correct way (correct to me cause that's how she does it) to iron a shirt.

I have not passed down that tradition to my children. Oh, I iron on occasion but it's not a weekly chore like back in the day. For most things the dryer and a wet washcloth works just fine for me.

As I was ironing today I just wonder...does anyone still iron??? Maybe I need to teach my kiddos the correct way to iron a shirt (and that's not throwing it in the dryer).

Spring...

2009-03-18T14:44:00.004-04:00

Look who peeked thru today...

Look who is coming soon!!

David After Dentist

2009-03-17T12:53:00.003-04:00

Take a minute and watch it...you'll laugh so hard!! :)

This is the greatest!! Everytime I watch it I laugh more!

More Ideas

2009-03-15T22:38:00.002-04:00

Marriage Weekend

2009-03-14T19:48:00.002-04:00

This weekend at our church we had a "marriage" focus. Mike and Cindy Helvie shared with those of us that were there some thoughts on having a strong, growing marriage. It was really a great time. I wish more couples from the church would have been there. Jaye and I had the opportunity to hang out with some of our friends which is always a fun thing to do. One of the highlights was getting to share "our" story. When we met and started dating... Jaye had a "boyfriend" and was kinda off the market, she had no interest in dating a flirty guy like me. Well I'm glad it all worked out the way it did. Jaye is a fantastic wife and I'm very lucky to have her. Great weekend; thanks Mike and Cindy!

What do you think?

2009-03-13T14:43:00.004-04:00

updated version 2

So what do you think? There are a couple of opinions around the house about this...one, the coolest youth group t-shirt idea ever in the history of youth group t-shirts, and one, the worst idea ever. Wondering what you think.

Good Friends...Good Times at La Cha's

2009-03-12T13:05:00.006-04:00

Kent, Angie and Meredith

Wes and Ben

Us :)

Nate and Jon

Bekah and Amber

Jess, Julie and Baby Esther (she's really happy to be there)
Hmmm...think she has her mommy's eyes or what!!!

Anna and Ben

Joseph and Isaiah...Joseph will miss him when he moves to "King Kong"!

Random-ness

2009-03-09T13:45:00.006-04:00

B-O-R-I-N-G....I haven't posted anything because there hasn't been anything EXCITING to share on the world wide web! My hubby says I've abandoned our blog for facebook. Feeling somewhat guilty, I guess I better update! After all I know we have blog readers out there that are not on facebook (why I ask??)

Life has become VERY disciplined at our house! Brian and I both have stuck ourselves back on the Atkins Diet. He LOVES it...all the meat you can eat. He is in beef jerky heaven and our dehydrators are getting the workout! I'm okay with it but I miss my breakfast of choice...oats or cereal! It'll be worth it :)

Not only can we not eat everything in sight...we can't BUY it either. We have started back up in the Financial Peace University. Brian and I are helping lead a seminar at our church. We have returned to the budgeting (wish we didn't fall away from it in the 1st place) and are working on the baby steps. We totally love this stuff...just takes a lot of discipline!

So Discipline...what doesn't kill ya will make you a stronger person! :)

Wesley's Room

2009-02-23T19:47:00.008-05:00

Stripping wallpaper...

...really only 1 layer of wallpaper and 5 layers of paint!

Everybody does their part!
Well, ALMOST everybody!!

Painting the Camouflage

Making it level...

Brian made an entertainment center to hold all the stuff

Finished for the most part...still need to do bedding and blinds...
you know, things that REALLY matter to a boy! :)

On the 7th Day...

2009-02-23T19:30:00.007-05:00

...We Rested!!

Ahhh...gotta love Sundays!!

Another Job

2009-02-17T11:05:00.000-05:00

Brian's thoughts for the day:

One of Dave Ramsey's principals in the Financial Peace University is to attack debt. The idea is to modify your spending habits and concentrate your focus on paying down debt. He suggests getting in attack mode, have yard sales, sell your stuff or pick up another job or two to pay off as much as possible. So I've been thinking about that approach for "attacking" our debt. There is a new Myers store opening up here in town. I thought, "Hey, maybe I could nab a third shift job stocking shelves." I have been thinking about getting my resume together and what that would look like. I worked at Marsh supermarket a million years ago. I started off as a carry out, worked my way into the produce department and from there into the dairy department. I ended my career at Marsh as being the only male cashier at that time. It was a fun place to work. I bring all that up to say this. We don't have carry outs any longer at the grocery stores. It's just one more step away from customer service. We have "baggers" (you know guys that stick too many groceries in those plastic sacks). There is no longer a need for the skill of bagging a nice square paper bag. So not to overload it causing the sides to rip out. Start with the heavy stuff on bottom and end with bread/eggs on top...skilled bagging. I think in this age of economic depression someone could make a killin' with a business that offered top of the line customer service.
Here is a thought; what if in the church we thought of others before we thought of ourselves? Would we be more attractive if we offered a little Christian customer service? What would that look like? I've got some ideas...do you?

Family Update:

Grannys off in New York planning her wedding. I think she went up and got her marriage license. It has been a good practice session for the kids for when she moves away. It's kinda quite around house and they have adjusted well???

Jess got her drivers permit and we've been out driving. Hard to believe that time of life has snuck up on us.

We just finish revamping Wesley's room. It looks really cool. I'm sure you'll be seeing a post on that process soon. Here's a head up, we painted one wall camo. It looks amazing.

Anna is amazing and beautiful as ever. She is doing great in school.

Joesph has found Wesley's old pile of Pokemon videos and has been glued to them. It has been a fun trip down memory lane for me. I've brushed up again on my Pokemon lingo. It even makes me want to bust out the old Pokemon yellow and play some Gameboy.

Church update:

In board meeting we talked about adding a second service that would start this summer. I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out. Maybe I'll get more opportunities to preach? If you haven't heard we have a newer church van, Jaye has been blessed not having to drive around "big brown" on Wednesday nights. We have a big paintball trip planned for Presidents Day. I'm sure you'll hear more about that too soon.

Paintball Trip

2009-02-17T10:34:00.005-05:00

Something to think about.

2009-02-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Along time ago Jaye’s first youth pastor at Eastview Wesleyan in Gas City was a guy named Mark Wilson. He is now a pastor in Wisconsin in a growing church. I’ve met Mark a few times and have gotten to know him better through his blog. I read an interesting blog entry the other day about church fractures. Check it out here. I am always amazed and sometimes heartbroken by the way “church” people act. As I read this entry and the comments that followed I was saddened. I was so moved that I went to my office and grabbed a book off my shelf. It will be a reread for me. A book called Well-Intentioned Dragons, Ministering to Problem People in the Church by Marshall Shelley. The back of the book says this,

Every church has them-sincere, well-meaning Christians who leave ulcers, strained relationships, and hard feelings in their wake. They don’t intend to be difficult; they don’t consciously plot destruction or breed discontent among the members. But they often do undermine the ministry of the church and make pastors question their calling.

The dragons Mark mentions are those folks determined to protest their pastors from the “use of new music and new methods to reach a new generation.” Yep, the old hymns vs chorus fight. I don’t want so much to debate the issue of what type of music a church should offer. I’d rather talk about the effect that kind of stuff has on a pastor. I don’t know if lay people understand what a pastor does. Way back, when I worked at the “stone quarry”, I would clock in, work, clock out and go home. That was it, for 10-12 hours my job was to keep the plant running. If I did that, it was a good day. Once I clocked out, I didn’t care if that place exploded, caught fire, was sucked into a black hole or destroyed by a ray gun from outer space. But for those 10 hours they had my undivided attention. It doesn’t work that way in the church. A pastor is always working. Really, always. He is on call, all the time. He is thinking about the next sermon to preach, the next lesson to teach, the new Sunday School class to start, the people that haven’t been at church in two weeks, the rising cost of heating the building, how to better reach the lost, how to inspire the regulars to do something besides warm a pew, what they are going to do for Good Friday, Easter, Christmas, spring kick off, summer, fall, winter….how to get more people to invite their friends/loved ones….the list is endless. Really it is, because just as soon as Easter is here, planned for and enjoyed, next Sunday is just one week away, followed by the next one, and the next one. Now the business world says, “Yep, that’s life. Better time management skills will take care of all that.” True, but do they factor in the burden for the lost? The pain shared with a family that has lost a loved one? How about the joy that comes with a new baby? See, the pastor deals with the people. Most are a blessing but some are “Dragons.” Why does it hurt the pastor so much when they get that person that starts the conversation off with, “I believe in what you’re doing BUT….” I think that it’s because they give and give so much that when in a normal day, to a normal person, a little jab from a “brother” wouldn't hurt. It hurts the pastor because they don’t have much in the tank.

There is a great deal of sacrifice that comes with pastoring. Time away from: their family, their interests and their lives. I also believe that there is a great deal of joy that comes too. I just want to put this out there. If you’re getting ready to make that call to say, “I believe in what you’re doing BUT...” hold off doing it because there are 16 more people lined up ahead of you wanting to do the same thing. My advice, pray about and do your part to further the cause of Christ. Please don’t be a well intended dragon.

Hall of Fame

2009-01-29T23:58:00.007-05:00

Ok lets put Richard Dent into the football hall of fame. I think this super bowl XX mvp deserves the spot. Oh, do I miss the good ol days. Do you remember superbowl XX?

From chicagobears.com
"Remarkably, New England gained positive yards on just one of its first 15 plays. Eason was yanked in favor of veteran Steve Grogan after going 0 of 6 with three sacks. At halftime, the Patriots had one first down, minus-five yards rushing and minus-14 yards passing."

And Richard Dent was a big part of that day.

I want so bad to forget the old days and really get excited about now...so if any of the big dogs up in the office are reading this blog...this year, a qb, some receivers, and let sure things up on defense and get a pass rush going, and some dbs would be nice. And put Hester back on special teams, he not a good receiver. Please?

The Jo-Pho

2009-01-24T08:38:00.002-05:00

My little guy has been sick the last couple weeks. What started out as a high fever during our snow days has now been diagnosed as mono. He went to the Dr on Wednesday...poor guy was poked, prodded, stuck, swabbed, drained of blood and peed in a cup! He is acting fine for the most part. The fevers have been gone all week...but boy can he sleep!! Last night he fell asleep at 6pm and didn't wake up until 7:30am. He even has been taking naps and he is NOT a napper!! I thought he would need to be confined to the house for some time but apparently that's not the case. As long as there is no sharing of cups, utensils (no swapping spit), lots of washing hands and no rough-housing (he has an enlarged spleen) we'll be okay!! :) Yeah...he gets to go to church Sunday...which makes him a VERY happy camper!!

A new blog for you to follow...

2009-01-21T13:19:00.002-05:00

Check out our friends blog. Here's a little blurb from his wife, Jama, as she was telling us about it: "Matt and Cesar have both been pastors and Matt is currently doing community work with the YMCA and Cesar is currently an addictions counselor. Cesar would eventually like to compile a book with some of the articles on the blog, and both he and Matt would like to eventually use this blog as a jumping off point to do some other things working with families and churches, etc."

Here's the link to the website:
http://www.familyinsights.net/

How Come....

2009-01-21T11:14:00.001-05:00

This cat always is drawn to those who are allergic to cats...or can't stand them!!
I'll let you guess which category Brian falls in! :)

History In The Making...

2009-01-20T12:43:00.004-05:00

No matter what our political views may be, today was a GREAT day in history!
We even enjoyed our lunch in front of the tv so we wouldn't miss a bit of it!

News

2009-01-19T16:41:00.001-05:00

Have you heard the news? Brian's mom is getting married. The big day will be in April.

New Experience

2009-01-15T14:23:00.002-05:00

I had a new experience today. I've been a youth pastor for a very long time and today something happened that has never happened before. I had a board member stop by, sit down in my office and pray for me. It was a great experience. I thank God for his timing, it was a very much needed prayer.

The Way I See It...

2009-01-14T10:41:00.005-05:00

This is what I am seeing out my windows!! Really, I didn't even step outside to take these. Just wiped off the window and here ya go! The kids will be coming home soon on an early dismissal. Although there isn't enough snow out there to suit me...the winds that are coming should make it interesting!! :)

Char-broilin' on a Cold Winter Day

2009-01-13T14:12:00.011-05:00

In 2004, for my birthday, my mom bought me a new grill. We went to Lowe's and I got to pick out the one I wanted. I got this one, a Commercial Series Char-broil grill. I picked this one for a few reasons. I like the black and stainless look. It has a large grilling area. And it has three brass burners. This grill came with a five year warranty on everything and a life time warranty on the burners. I do a lot of grilling and over the years I've had some parts wear out, including the burners. So I got on the phone and called Char-broil. The lady I spoke to really knew her grills. I told her the burners were getting a little worn and there was an uneven flame. She said, "I'll have a new set sent out right away." I checked online and this is a $79.99 replacement part. She also told me when I get to the point I need to replace the burners I would probably need....she mentioned a few parts. I went out to the the grill while I was on the phone and she was right. She sent those parts too. Now the really cool part is the push button lighter. On every grill this part wears out in like 6 months, well she sent one of those too. I did have to pay for shipping, a whopping 8 bucks.

I told you about the amazing Canon service department a while back...Char-Broil is also top on my list. I'll never have to buy another grill but if I did, it would be a Char-Broil.

Oh by the way, I did grill up a couple of steaks this past weekend.....nothing better then grilled meat on a cold winter day. I've got an idea, give us a call and we'll have you over for dinner. I'll be more than happy to fire up the grill.

A Whole New World!

2009-01-12T10:16:00.004-05:00

Last night after church Brian took the kids "skitching" in the church parking lot. Skitching (or hitching if you're from this area) is when you grab hold of the bumper of a car, crouch down and the driver pulls you along on the icy, snowy road (or parking lot). The kids had a blast doing this and aside from cold hands there were no injuries. I think Brian made some great memories with the kids last night.

Jess commented on how fun it would be to do this on the road. This sparked an interesting conversation on the way home. When Brian lived in Merrillville he use to do this all the time. Wait behind some trash cans at a stop sign, then when a car came by they would grab on and get a free ride...unbeknownst to the driver. I remember way back in '78 during the "real" blizzard my dad would hook the sled to the back of his big tractor and took my brother "sledding" on the roads (I was WAY too young for this tom-foolery).

Also, when we were kids we would walk or ride bikes anywhere in town w/o any fear. To our friends house, to the store, to the pool...where ever we wanted (and had permission) to go! My kids go for bike rides today and I make them take a cell phone and they are called several times for me to check up on them! I wish we could feel "comfortable" as our parents were back in the day. Brian talks of times when he would leave house in the morning, play around town all day and return at dusk. Are we too over-protective? I don't think so...after all we DID take our kids skitching!!

Playing with Photoshop

2009-01-05T11:10:00.007-05:00

I was playing with my new software over the weekend and made this little image. SO much stuff to learn with adobe, it is overwhelming. I'm going to learn it! I promise I will.
I took the two photos below and made the one above. I've been going through the online training with "Illustrator" and thought I was making progress, I sat down one night to show Jaye the cool things I could do, and couldn't remember how to do them. I am so used to using MS Publisher I've been having to retrain myself. I'll get there. I started playing with photo shop too. Fun Stuff!

The Hollands

Summer of Blessings

Summer of Blessings

The Jig is Up!!!

They're Gone....

Prom!!

Easter Sunday

Claiming Her Fruit..

We're Goin' to Disney World....

Happiness

Spring Break 2010

The New Van

Life

I'm Reading!!

The Law of the Big MO

Thoughts

Why Am I Like This???

The Gift that Keeps on Giving!

Videos

Gingerbread Cookies

Footballs over

Bragging...Because I Can!

Birthday times Four!!

Craft Hideaway

Halloween Fun...

Why a Bears fan?

Totally Shocking!!!

*Things That Make Me Smile*

Mama's Got a Job!!

Applesauce!!

Tippmann World Challenge 2009

First Day of School

Oh Anna...

Help...I'm Addicted to Recycling!!

All In A Days Work!!

Family Camp Fun!!

it figures

Summer Stuff...

How Dare They...

Cradle School Fun

Mini Update

Vacation 09-Day 3 & 4

Vacation 09-Day 2

Vacation 09-Day 1

The First Harvest

Committed....or need to be?!?!

Cradle School

Welcome to Marion White Castle

Fun Family Gatherings!

Happy Anniversary!!

Schools out, schools out...teacher let the monkeys out!

Birthday Bliss...

In Honor of Brian's B-day...

Birthday idea

Since high school...

Camping at Pokagon

Random-ness

Our Weekend

It Happens....

Daddy Day

Crazy Day

Connie the Quilt Diva!!

Saturday

Summer around the house

A Blast from the Past!

Another Lost Art...

Our Weekend

It is time

A day in the life....of the Hollands

Mom-isms

Big News Week!!

The Bears are working over time

QB

Spring Break 2009

A Lost Art...

Spring...

David After Dentist

More Ideas

Marriage Weekend

What do you think?

Things That Make Me Smile