blessings

So, it's about time to catch up on what's been going on with the Huizenga's.

Mid-August we had the pleasure to do our summer vacation...my parents let us use their camper, so we booked a week at Oak Grove and had our first camping experience as a couple! We were blessed to have quite a nice week weather-wise, and good company! It was fun to sit around the campfires, bike around, and sun-bathe by the pool!

While we were camping, our "neighbor campers" had a dog with them. Let's just say that gave us the idea to get a dog of our own. So, we spent a few weeks checking stuff out, and we got a little Havanese puppy named Gracie! She's been so fun to have around...Derrick's definitely enjoying having someone to play with around the house.

This is what she looked like when we got her. Since then, we've taken her to the groomer.

We miss her fluffy hair, but it'll soon grow back.

I had to put this one up for Ruthanne & Addisyn...she wants to look like her cousin :o)

With school starting again, we've started up our small group once again for the year. We're really excited to see everyone again and dive into our new book study for the year. We feel so blessed to have that group as our friends!

And, it seems like 'tis the season for babies! (No, not us...our "baby" for now is Gracie) But, we've had 3 births in the past 2 weeks. We are now Uncle & Aunt to Ethan James and Everett Abram. Ethan was born early, so he's hanging out at Spectrum with Aunt Carla. But, he seems to be doing great, so we are incredibly grateful for that! And, Everett is down in North Carolina, so we anxiously await for Christmastime to come so we can meet him, too! And, our dear friends just had their first child, Mekiah Grace. How cool it is for us to see the progress of pregnancy, and now the birth of a perfect little girl. It is quite something to realize that, yes, we are at the age that our friends are becoming parents. It kinda seems like we shouldn't be that old. But, we're very excited to see them as they transition into parenthood. We pray that we can be there for any of the new parents we know in anyway we can help! And, with the 3 new babies who have safely arrived, we pray for continued care and development for the other 2 babies in our circle of family and friends who haven't arrived quite yet :o)

We've also celebrated our niece's 1st birthday party...Addisyn is now 1 year old. It's amazing how fast time went! What a joy she's been to our family, and we're so excited to see what type of little girl she becomes in year #2!

We've also been searching for houses since the beginning of the year. And, now we're in the process of possibly buying a house! We're definitely excited about that. But, with the excitement there also comes so uncertainty. We want to be sure we're making the right move in stepping out and making this big of a purchase. So, let's just say that's always on the list of things to pray about here at the Huizenga's.

So, needless to say, we are feeling quite blessed lately. We give all the glory to God for our recent season of joy. Blessings to you all, too!

what have we been up to??

Time has flown by! My goodness - it seems like it was just Tulip Time!

Well...it has been a long time since I've done an updated post - so I thought I'd better get something out there to explain what life's been so busy with. Let's see...

...we decided to plant a garden this year! It's purely a plant it, water it every now and then, and see what happens. And, from how things look now, I think we tried to fit a little too much in the

space we have.

**early signs of growth****growing, growing...*******vegetables to pick!******

To date, the tomato plant seems to have some kind of disease (although, it's so big right now that it would see like things are just fine) The tomatoes look like there's a bug eating them. Derrick & I are slowly teaching ourselves to like tomatoes, so it's not too big of a let down. And, I when I planted the sweet corn, I wasn't sure if I needed to sow each seed a few inches apart, or to just scatter them in a trench. I opted for the latter (we really enjoy sweet corn, so I thought "the more the merrier") Probably not so smart - they got to be about a foot tall, and then they kinda stopped growing. So, we thinned them out a couple times. We'll see if that helped. And, I picked my first basket of green beans on Sunday, and there's plenty more to eat!

...we got caught off-guard when the major rainstorm hit at the end of June. We were actually out by the lakeshore looking at a Parade of Home house when the rain started. So, we decided to head back home, but found out that we were trapped in Holland! Every street we went down in hopes of getting back to Zeeland was either blocked by the police, blocked by a fallen tree, or

completely flooded to the point of impassable! It took us and hour to get from Butternut Dr. (where we first realized what was going on) to our home in Zeeland. And, for those of you who

know where we live, know that our house was built much higher than the houses around us in

the neighborhood, so we've never had any problems with water...until that night. And, we didn't even think to check our basement...until the next morning. Sure enough, we had water!...ugh! Our basement isn't really finished, so there was no real damage.

The biggest loss was that there were quite a few of Derrick's books he had gathered from his time spent in Israel & Turkey that were being housed in a cardboard box. Most are still readable, but kinda wrinkly and warped.

Lesson learned from this = we now have our stuff stored in plastic tubs, and we have a couple extras sitting around for any future storage.

...it was Derrick's golden birthday at the end of June!

*Derrick at around 1 yr old****Derrick at age 27***

He's still got those sweet cheeks!!

We celebrated the day by attending his cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding on a beautiful day! And, it was a great night to spend in celebration with his family.

We also got together with both sides of our immediate family to

celebrate his June birthday. We got together with my side of the family to go out for pizza. There are 4 birthdays in the course of a week amongst my family...so, in June, there's usually a cake to go along with our pizza. And, Derrick's side of the family thought it'd be fun to go golfing. Which it was fun, until it started to rain. But, everyone was a trooper and made it through the 9 holes.

...and golfing has been something that Derrick's enjoyed doing in

his spare time this summer. We even get a little putting practice in

when he's not even on the course.

Other than that, we've been trying to spend as much time as we can outside...taking walks, biking, watching a few softball games, reading in the sun, hitting the beach...stuff like that. We're looking forward to heading out to Oak Grove next week to do some camping! We've got a lot planned that we'd like to do, so we're hoping that the weather will work with us so we can really enjoy ourselves!

I remember you...

There are so many times that something little will trigger a thought or memory of you!

I remember you...

...when I see someone who is still wearing the old 80's-style big-framed glasses - for I can still picture the blue ones you wore.
...when I am outside and I can smell the many blooming flowers - for I remember how you liked to plant and care for the different kind of flowers that were around our house.
...I look at my sister - for there are so many things about her that remind me about you: the darker skin that tans so easily in the summer, her brown hair, her ability to sing the melody of a song, her knowledge of the body and natural care that led her to become a nurse, etc.
...when I look at my wedding pictures - for I always pause when I see a picture of a specially placed and lit pillar candle.
...when I look at my teeth - for, even though you spent so much money for me to have braces, I still ended up throwing away my retainer, and now 1 tooth is slowly turning crooked just how I remember 1 of yours being.
...when we now get together for family gatherings - for, in spite of what you knew what God's timing and plan was for your life, you still thought try make a plan for Dad for when you wouldn't be around...so, now there's a whole new group of people in my life that I would have never before grown to know.
...when I sing certain songs - for sometimes I can't sing the words because I get a lump in my throat thinking about how you know what Heaven's actually like.
...when I laugh - for that's how I remember your laugh sounding like.
...when I help someone at work whose name is Linda - for that was your name, and it's not too common anymore.
...when I look at my husband - for I always wonder what you would have thought about him.
...when I'm driving, or home alone some nights - for I would love to be able to call you on the phone and just chat about our days.
...when I hear someone order bread-pudding for dessert - for you loved that stuff, and I still think its gross.
...when I'm out shopping and I hear a daughter arguing with her mother about what fashion style looks good on her - for I think of how lucky they are, and that the daughter should just listen to what her mothers says...she knows best.
...when I'm watching a movie or a show on tv, and a single tear falls from someones face - for I was told that you only shed a single tear before Jesus took you Home.
...when I see a pregnant woman, or a mother holding her newborn baby - for I wish you could be around for me when I become pregnant to share your pregnancy stories with me, to calm my fears about becoming a mother, and to eventually hold your grandchild.
...when I hear piano music - for you made me practice, and take lessons, and play in recitals & in the hospital, and to greatly appreciate the beauty in the ability. I promise to fulfill your wish someday whenever I can get a piano again!
...when I eat homemade blueberry muffins - for whenever you made them, they tasted so good!
...when I see the color navy blue - for I think that was your favorite color, at least in the clothes you wore, that's the color that looked best on you.
...when I'm looking though cards at the store - for, even though I have plenty of important people in my life that I'm picking the cards out for, I do find the special one I would have picked out if it was meant for you.
...when days like December 20, August 11, August 18, my birthday, Christmas, and Mothers Day come around each year - for those are the dates in my mind where memories of you come to mind more than they normally do.

It's been over 10 years, and even though it gets a little easier each year, it's still hard. I'd give about anything to be able to celebrate Mothers Day with you today - to give you a big hug and tell you how much I love and miss you. But...I do know that you're in the Best Place, and that someday I'll have an eternity to make up for the lost time. So, I'll keep living life here on earth so that I'll have stories and memories to share about when I get to Heaven. Keep peaking down on me every now and then - I cherish the times when I feel you watching!

Happy Mothers Day, Mom~

So my goal of trying to get at least 1 post per month didn't quite work out in April. Oh well...moving on.
I am super excited about this warmer weather! I had a major case of spring fever, and it feels so much better now that the colder, dreary days of winter have left us with this beautiful sunshine & warmer temps. I'm going to just soak this up!!
I love waking up in the morning to the sunshine streaming in our bedroom window. This past week seemed to go so slowly for me, and I attribute part of that to having to wake up to my alarm clock & a dark bedroom. I think the rain's great when I have to fall asleep (raindrops on the roof seems so soothing to me...who needs chamomile tea?) But, if it's still raining in the morning, it unfortunately has the same effect on me...can I say 'wanting to hit the snooze until I've left myself hardly any time to get ready'.
Another thing I've fallen in love with all over again this spring is something that I was lucky enough to do this afternoon. In our humble abode, we have a sliding door that faces south - so the sun usually casts a shifting ray of light & warmth on our living room floor throughout the day. I absolutely love to lay down in that area with a good book. And, today, to make it even better, my husband joined me - what a treat! We sat there with the door cracked open so we could hear the subtle noises of the neighborhood while we relaxed...the sound of birds chirping as they flew from tree to tree, children playing a few houses down, a hum of a lawnmower a block away.
Oh yes, it's springtime. Hallelujah!

birthday weekend

Saturday night, Derrick took me out to Grand Rapids for my birthday! I had told him earlier that I kinda wanted to do something or go somewhere different for my birthday. So, he came up with going to the Grand Rapids Symphony. I thought that was a great idea! I did play in the school band when I was in high school (which, whenever people hear of that, I always follow that up by saying that even though I was a band nerd for a while, I did play in the coolest section - percussion)...Anyway - just had to toss that in there. But, I was excited about going to hear them - I've always really enjoyed music, and what better way to enjoy it than to hear it live.

So, Saturday afternoon, we got all dressed up (which was also something fun to do...I'm kinda a girl sometimes) We had heard from Derrick brother and his girlfriend that there was a "green" restaurant called The Green Well. I figured that since Derrick was choosing to spend his evening doing something he probably wouldn't have chosen to do on his own, we could go to a restaurant that he'd be interested in. This place was built "green"...using some of the latest ways of using recycled or environmentally-friendly products. He's been into this kind of stuff lately...with his job, and with some ideas he'd like to possibly do in his spare time. So, I could tell he was interested in checking this place out.

Anyways, we hopped in the car and headed to GR. We walk into the restaurant, and it was pretty packed. Maybe this is a good part for me to say that The Green Well is a pub with a wide selection of different beers. And, Saturday was the day to be watching March Madness basketball. Those two put together equals a place that if you're wearing a cute dress and dress pants, you kinda stood out. Once we were seated, Derrick made the comment of, "I wasn't expecting it to be like this - I thought we were going to have a quiet sit-down meal." We kinda laughed it off, ordered a drink, and enjoyed our nice meal amongst a crowded, noisy, basketball-watching restaurant.

We finished our meal, which was very delicious, and headed toward DeVos Performance Hall. The performance was great. There was a guest musician...a Celtic violinist. She was very entertaining! She had the Irish accent, she was great at playing that violin, and she even did the Irish foot dance during some of her songs.



Even though I'm over a quarter-century old, I had a great time celebrating the day. And, I was very impressed with my husband for coming up with the idea...I'm such a lucky girl!
I love you Derrick!