I KNOW - It's Been Forever.....

Decorating Christmas cookies....

Good morning loved ones. Scott and I are enjoying a week off (both our companies are shut down) to enjoy taking our time to clean up from the holidays, start some projects and get a few things done around the house that we haven't been able to get to.

We really enjoyed the relaxing couple of days with Dave & Rachel, which we spent mostly at home, except for a visit to Scott's mom and dad's prior to the Nykerk family party. Scott's dad is doing quite well from his chemo & radiation treatments, but of course is very tired. A feeding tube has been inserted so that he can get some nourishment, and so he is beginning to look and feel better. His surgery (cancerous growth near his esophagus) is scheduled for Feb. sometime.

As per normal, the Nykerk family Chistmas party was a blast - I think Pictionary needs to be an annual tradition - Jim and Bill cracked me up the most. Also so good to see Jen, Jason and the girls - they are too cute for words, and so polite! I was happy that Macey remembered me. Dad will be all set for awhile, now that he has four word search books to work on. (He'll probably call me in about two weeks asking for more.....)

We spent about 1-1/2 days in Chicago, leaving late Saturday morning and returning late evening on Sunday. Had a wonderful time seeing Katie - we spent most of the time at Dave and Rachel's, where we enjoyed playing canasta in the evening and just being together. Katie has such great taste, just like her sister, Rachel - they both got me the same beautiful sweater that I love, but in 2 different colors (neither knew about the other), so now I can wear what I love twice as often! We went to Woodfield Mall for part of Sunday and found a few bargains there, too.

Well, laundry is calling my name, so time to go. I have posted some pictures from Christmas below. I'll try to do better with keeping up with my blog (ahhhhh, Carol?)....

"God Bless Us Every One!"

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When I visited Minnesota recently, I stayed in this charming B&B. The house and the women who run it (81 y.o. mother and 53 y.o. dauther, Lois and Sally,) reminded me so much of Grandma Millard and Mom.


They were Swedish, and so I found out all about their customs, including Saint Lucia Day, for which they made me a special breakfast (below).




Here they are, the lovely Lois and Sally.

Back in Holland - decorating Christmas cookies....

Not too shabby.....

Bella and Uncle Dave....

Christmas Day breakfast...

Don't worry Ally, there are presents for you, too!

It just wouldn't be Christmas if Dave wasn't working on a puzzle...

Thanks!


A new drill, perhaps?

The Nykerk Christmas party at "bumpa's" house....

Kelsey - what a darling!

Just plain fun all around....

I know Jen - that pencil could be dangerous! Sorry about that - Mace - please don't poke anybody in the eye!

"Thanks, daddy, for helping me with my new sticker picture book."

And in Chicago.......Love those MAC cosmetics....

Doesn't she look adorable with bangs? Gotta love bingo - we can stock up on lotions and gels for the whole year, right Kate?

Helping dad with a computer question.....

What a guy - Dave offered to watch both of the dogs while the rest of us went shopping - thanks, Dave!

"Don't Put All Your Nykerk's in One Basket" (+ the Nykerk Reunion)

You have to admit, this is pretty cute. Longaberger Baskets had a display at the Country Living Fair last weekend, and our new friend (Carol, was it Marcelle?) took our picture. He is one of the basket weavers.

My two sisters looking fab in front of one of several Fall displays throughout the grounds....

Just to give you an idea of the historic village where the fair was held...

We COUNT NOT stay away from the delicious desserts at the Columbus Fish Market restaurant! That cheesecake was enough for all three of us to enjoy back at the hotel. I'm holding a creme brulee, with a burnt sugar topping...yum!

Carol - "hotel concierge extraordinaire." Let me just say that we received hot chocolate chip cookies and many extra bottles of shampoo, shower gel, etc. thanks to her "due diligence" after we had called down for towels on more than one occasion and never received them....as "per normal", Carol was on the case.....

We had had beautiful weather, and outside of a blown tire, everything went smoothly. Thanks for the great time, Rach and Carol!

NYKERK FAMILY REUNION

We also had the reunion at Cousin Dave & Mary's cottage last Monday. A few shots are below. Other than Scott and myself, everyone else seems to have aged a bit? I don't get it. Anyway, had a nice time, lots of laughs over old memories, and even Jack behaved himself for the most part (at least he recognized me). He and Dave had lots of old pictures of the Nykerks from way before our time that I had not seen before, and the one I scanned below is my favorite:

Uncle Chet, Aunt Lu and Dad: This was taken on Griggs Street in Grand Rapids - no date, but I would guess around 1932.

Dave and Mary are really pleased with the painting of their cottage that Scott did for them...

All of the "first cousins" that were there....

Most of Harry's kids - missed you Carol and Rachel! Just so you know, Scott was there, but he must have been getting seconds on dessert....

And, of course Uncle Chet's girls and spouses...


And last but not least, Aunt Lu's boys and spouses - am I the only one who thinks Loren looks just like Aunt Lu? No one else thought so....

We talked about everything from the Minnow ponds to how Carol and I used to collect the money for Jim and Bill's paper route. Lots of laughs.

Katie Works for Habitat for Humanity...

Katie's finance group at Thomson Reuter's spent a day volunteering for Habitat for Humanity a few weeks ago, and they published this nice picture and story on their website. (Click on picture to enlarge). Thought you might enjoy - it was hard, but satisfying work! (Stay tuned for update soon on the Country Living Fair weekend in Columbus Ohio that Carol, Rachel N. and I took last weekend, and a few pics from the Nykerk Reunion at Cousin Dave's......)

Help the Bella Boomers Chicago Canine Rescue Team!

Next weekend, I'll be in Chicago and Katie, Bella and I will be participating in the Chicago Canine Rescue Organization's "Mutt Strut" on Saturday. (Carol, your work with the rescue greyhounds and then our kids' love of animals has really helped to make me more of a real "animal activist!") Our team is called the "Bella Boomers" and if you feel compelled to donate to this very worthy cause, here's a link to our team website:

http://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1531&AID=801&PID=95087

For more about the organization and what they do, click below.

http://www.chicagocaninerescue.org/

Ally on TV!

Ally has been on TV in Chicago! First, click link below:

http://www.wciu.com/udog.php?section=vote

Scroll down page - you'll see "Vote for Top Dog" - scroll until you find "Meet Ally from Wicker Park"

Click on picture of Ally to view video!

You will see that she is a fan of the "Everybody Hates Chris" show. That's her running thru the picture at the end, too. What fun.....

Treehouse Island Vacation Wonderful and Relaxing....

Need I Say More?

Just returned from a wonderful week on our "private island", where we spent a relaxing and fun time with Katie & Bella and Rachel, Dave & Ally. Occasionally we went to "the mainland" on our pontoon boat, which we joked about, because it was a 5-minute water ride to reach the shore. Bella learned some very good swimming skills and will be giving Ally a run for her money in the near future. I'll let the pictures do the talking, because I think you can get a good feel of our trip from those. Suffice to say, Katie & I made one terrific canasta team, (to be fair, Scott & Rachel did too; Dave, trooper that he is, was the dog sitter during our matches), and so we are now ready for all takers. The hard part is always coming back and getting back to it. It was so great to be all together for a week that now I miss my kids more than ever!