Moving: Part 2 - Michigan Time

Since my family lives in Michigan, it was the perfect place to stop for Labor Day weekend. We had a nice get together with family on Sunday afternoon and we also spent time with both of my grandma's. A few other family members dropped in here and there, so we saw a lot of people.

A bonus is that Wilbert's brother is student teaching nearby, so we were able to see him (and meet his girlfriend). We met up on Saturday to look for Jacob Talen's grave site and found it without too much trouble in the North Holland Cemetery. Here are the boys by their ancestor. We learned that he moved to the US with his second wife and daughter when his son (the great-great grandfather) was 27 and already married and established in the Netherlands. So that explains why all of the Talen's are still in the Netherlands.

We also met up with our friends Aaron and Cheryl who live in Grand Rapids. We were able to meet their two month old baby as well. She is a peanut and it was fun to think that soon we will have a little one like that. My mom had the wonderful idea of having them over for supper. She even made most of the food. But, I think there was an ulterior motive here.

She wanted to hold the baby. While we ate, she held and fed the baby. She said she was practicing being a grandma. My mom is pretty excited to be a grandma. She was telling everyone she is going to be holding our baby on December 2. I am pretty sure that I won't have to do too much for my baby while my parents are here. And from the picture, you can tell she is pretty good at taking care of a baby.

Get ready for the next installment...crossing the border.

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A Perspective

I have already mentioned my "Word of the Day" screen saver that I have on my laptop that is hooked up to the projector in my room. I am learning that the words go in cycles a bit, so the same word will pop up in several classes during the day. Today's popular word was "entitlement." A fantastic word to share with teenagers who often think they are entitled to a whole lot of stuff. In fact, we as humans often think we are entitled to a whole lot of stuff when really we are fallen people who deserve nothing but death. We so often miss how wonderful and blessed our life really is and we get caught up on the little things. This video sort of puts that in perspective in a rather humorous way. I am by no means promoting this comedian, but if you take what he says to heart, it is so true. We live in an amazing world, created by an amazing God. We really should be happy with the blessing we have been given.

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

Twenty years ago, the summer of '77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde's life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow--the Four Seasons--had big plans. But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, "Nowhere," Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures. Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It's a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love's voice. This was an enjoyable book to r...

Birthday Fun

It was my birthday on Saturday, so Wilbert asked me what I wanted to do. Since it was nice weather, I decided to have a picnic in the park. We opted for the easy picnic and picked up Subway and headed to the Elliot River Dream Park. It was a lovely day. After our lunch, Wilbert and Joash explored the park. They found musical instruments... played a bit of hide and seek... and tried out the slides. Joash did pretty good in the park, but he is still pretty timid and cautious over all. He never really dared to go down a slide by himself, but he was running around on his own by the end. After we were finished at the park, we stopped for dessert at Cows Ice Cream since we didn't get an ice cream cone we went earlier in the week. It was very tasty! In the evening, we had a bonfire and invited lots of people over. At 5 in the afternoon, we had a crazy thundershower pop up right over us and it rained like crazy. But by 7, the weather was great and once it got dark...

The Talens' Tales

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