Adalynn's First Birthday

Almost two weeks ago we celebrated Matt's niece Adalynn's first birthday. She looked super cute in her pink tutu and seemed excited about all of her great presents! She is really mastering walking now so we enjoy seeing how much better she is at it every time we see her! She didn't get too crazy about her own personal Elmo cake and instead chowed down on the frosting only. She had an Elmo themed birthday party because he is her favorite character right now, she calls him "Mo". The last picture is of Sarah, Matt's sister (and Addy's mom).

Happy first Birthday Adalynn!!!!!!

Puppy Update

Hey Everyone! I thought that it was about time to share some more pictures of our "kids". Koda is almost 16 weeks old now and weighs more than 20 pounds. He is now taller and longer than Maya and we can tell that she is not liking that! Maya weighs around 25 pounds so he will soon outweigh her too. It's hard to believe that my little puppy who I used to carry around in one hand, and who couldn't even climb up our back steps is now too big for my lap, almost too heavy to carry, and able to jump over babygates! He still likes to "mouth" alot but otherwise he is a very good boy. The first photo below is taken by Urban Village Photography as a part of our family photos in early November.

The next photos are ones taken in the last week or so. You can see Koda's growth just from the first photo to the others! Besides playing and being rambunctious together Maya and Koda also like to sleep together on the loveseat, so we couldn't resist snapping a few photos of that.

Enjoy!

Family Photo

Vandevoort family photo taken after Grandma Bernice's funeral.

From left to right:

Evan (Matt's uncle),

Pat (Evan's wife),

Mike (Matt's cousin),

Nathan (Mike's son),

Stephen (Mike's son),

Charma (Mike's wife),

Lindsay (Mike's daughter),

Scott (Lisa's husband),

Michael (Lindsay's husband),

Lisa (Matt's cousin),

Jeff (Matt's cousin),

Airen (Matt's cousin, holding Isla)

Joe (our brother in law),

Sarah (Matt's sister, holding Adalynn),

Matt,

Me,

Mark (Matt's Dad),

Jill (Matt's mom),

Jayne (Matt's Aunt) and

Ed (Jayne's husband).

Grandma Bernice

Hi Everyone. It's been a little while since I last posted. We have been busy with work, the new puppy, and everything else. We took family pictures this last week so hopefully I will be able to post some of those within a few weeks.
Matt has been doing alot of groundscrew work, which resulted in his (and my) first case of poison ivy. His evenings at the golf course are getting shorter as the days get shorter and I am glad to have more time with him at home. He has been helping his cousin clean out an old barn and crushed the tip of his right ring finger which led to a trip to the ER. Everything is ok and expected to heal nicely.
Last Monday, October 18 Matt's Father's Mother, Grandma Bernice, passed away. She had been dealing with alzheimers for quite a long time and more recently battling bouts of pneumonia that eventually took her life. This sad time created positive opportunities, such as meeting family members from California for the first time and seeing an aunt and uncle from Montana for the third time. It also allowed me to learn what a great public speaker my father in law is. He shared the following speech at his mother's funeral, and I loved it so much I decided to share it with all of you. Enjoy.
"The things I know about my Mom are almost non-existent compared to the things I have never known about her. A couple of examples:
In looking through old photos and other items in the last couple of days I ran across an old newspaper article that had been clipped out. It was about a community play that had been performed sometime in the 1930's and based on the story "Little Women". There was a picture of the case and in looking at the photo I saw a face that I have seen thousands of times, but yet a face that I had never seen before. Sure enough one of the cast members was Bernice Langerak, before marriage and family.
We found her diploma from Central College, a two year secretarial degree from 1937. There was also a report card that was signed by her mother (Grandma Langerak) after each semester. One of the courses she took was Philosophy. Apparently secretaries in the 1930's had to be deep critical thinkers. The grade she received was a "C". Forty years later I attended Central College and also took a course in Philosophy with the same C grade. I think how much fun it would have been to sit down with her and share our philosophy on philosophy courses. It might not have been pretty, but it would have been funny and also probably just average since we both received C's.
On Monday morning when we were in Mom's room at the nursing home, a very nice case worker with Hospice was with us. She asked us what word we would use to describe Mom if we only had one word.
I did not say it immediately, but the word for me was FEROCIOUS.
There are a lot of people that would jump all over that word with agreement. They would say there was a mean old lady that lashed out and said what she wanted, when she wanted, and did not care who was hurt or offended. Some people, her family and close friends, understood who Mom was and dealt with it, some could not and left her behind.
For me, the word has a whole different meaning. Intense and extreme.
Life was pretty good in 1987. The family was all living their lives. Mom and Dad were well into retirement. In looking back I think Mom maybe was already showing signs of dementia, but everything was good. Then in December Dad had a stroke and died. Although lonely and scared, she fought on with ferociousness.
Then in September of 1990 a phone call came from Montana. Her son Paul had been killed in a small plane crash. She fought on with ferociousness.
Again in December of 2001, her only daughter Linda died in her sleep from a heart ailment. Again, and amazingly, the ferociousness came.
Add in through the years the death of her sister's husband Clarence, her brother's wife Betty Jane, her brother Esley, grandchildren and great grandchildren that did not make it into this life. My Mom did not live a life for the weak. She was an example to them.
I was the one to tell her of many of these tragic events. I saw a woman kicked in the gut more than once, but who fought back every time through this immense loss with ferociousness.
Along with all this loss she was slowly losing her mind to Alzheimer's.
One of my favorite sayings comes from the movie "The Shawshank Redemption". It is not a movie for everyone, but it is a story about hope triumphing in a most desperate situation. The saying is "Get busy living, or get busy dying". I see a lot of people that seem like they can't get old and suffer the ailments of elderly people fast enough. She fought age with ferociousness. She got busy living.
She fought age through the daily routines that made her feel safe and sane. Breakfast at Central Park with friends, rides in the country (we were all thankful when the driving came to an end), paying bills, making farm decisions, spending time with sister Dorothy, winter trips to Florida that started years ago with Dad, baking a birthday cake for a Central student, attending church and reading her Bible, the 5:30 beverage. A tradition she and Dad started many years ago where they would sit down at the kitchen table, or on the front porch, and discuss the day's events. Their aone time. Only for the last 23 years there was rarely anyone there to listen. And so on.
There are a few things she never lost. I loved her sense of humor. I can't remember when the conversation occurred or who was there, but the subject of her getting re-married came up one time. Her response was "No way. I don't want to wash another man's dirty underwear."
She never lost her love of family and friends. The love was ferocious. If she ever thought anyone was doing wrong to a member of her family...well... welcome to the Vandevoort version of a junkyard dog. Run for your life! She did not have to meet you. If you became a member you were loved and it did not matter what your status in life was.
There are several members in her family that she never got to meet, like her great granddaughter Isla who is here today. But Isla was loved. Mom would have given the same smile and look to her that she gave to her great granddaughter Addy when she met her for the first time a few months ago.
The other thing she never lost was her strong faith in God and this Church. It was unbreakable. Through all the loss in her life, she never turned away from God, but always turned toward Him. Her faith was ferocious. Lord, you must have needed a lion because you got one.
If you are looking at me right now, you are looking at an accident. In early 1954, Hank and Bernice learned they were going to be parents again at the ages of 43 and 38. I knew my parents well enough to know that the first words out of their mouths were not "Yippee" or "Oh Boy". But Mom would do just about anything for me, and I unfortunately took advantage of that too many times. All the way from her giving me rides to grade school instead of me walking or riding the bus, to typing all of my college papers for me. I mean, she was a secretary at one time. She needed to keep her skills sharp, right? I was loved ferociously.
Here I am today, the accident, and the last one standing in my birth family. The most indecisive person of the family put in charge of making the decisions that affected how the last years of Mom's life were lived. Talk about God's plans for us. Lord, I know I made mistakes, but I hope I did ok.
Here I am today to testify for, and honor my Mother, and to spread the word.
Be ferocious in your love, in your giving, in your kindness, in the life given to you, in your faith.
Be Ferocious."

In honor of Grandma Bernice Vandevoort. What a legacy you left behind.

Koda

Our family has grown by one five pound puppy!

This is Koda, our male German Shepherd puppy. He is the runt of his litter, which was born on August 15 (so he is just 6 weeks old). We brought him home on Sunday September 26. We took about a day to decide on a name we both like, but Koda is a great fit because it keeps the same "uh" sound at the end like our cat Jeda and our other dog Maya. (I love matchy-matchy things like that!) He is SUCH a good boy. He is still a baby so loves cuddling, takes many naps, and can be a little clumsy. He loves playing with Maya and they are getting along great. He has had some accidents but is adjusting fast to potty training. This has been a great experience for me becuase it is my first time caring for a puppy. Matt has been a great help but I have the more flexible schedule so I'm his main caretaker. We had been planning to add another dog to our family for several months now but nothing had felt right until at the spur of the moment we met Koda on Sunday. I never expected to be buying a big dog at this time but it will be an easy adjustment.
I am loving having a new puppy. He follows me around outside and inside, or when I stand still (such as doing my hair this morning) he curls up between my feet. He loves to sleep in my arms or on me. I'm really enjoying this time while he is still very cuddly! I love seeing Maya play with him and they are so happy together. Everyone who has met him (such as my friend Summer, and our cousin Carrie and her kids in the photos above) has loved him and taken to him really well. I am reading up about proper training and learning alot about taking good care of him. Having a six week old puppy is alot harder than when we got Maya at five months old! She was already crate and potty trained then. But I am glad to do it. This weekend I will be out of town for four days and I'm sad to leave him! He really is my baby right now!

I will keep the blog updated with pictures as he continues to grow- I know it will happen fast! He is going to be a big boy, even if he was the runt of the litter!

Spring Lake

This weekend Matt and I had the opportunity to go with our friends Carson and Chauncy Eggland down to Kirksville, MO to stay at Carson's parents' house on Spring Lake. It was an awesome trip and very relaxing! Our friends Pete and Hannah were supposed to come but couldn't make it.
Sadly, we didn't take any pictures but we definitely had fun swimming, reading, watching movies, cooking, and watching Matt and Carson play chess!! I have to admit that despite being together almost 4.5 years, I had no idea that my husband plays chess. And he is pretty good at it too! I guess you can still learn things about each other even when you think you know everything!
On the way back to Pella we got the good news that our new puppy was born Saturday the 14th. There are two red males so we will get to go down and pick him out in a couple weeks! My little sister is supposed to go see them soon and take some pictures, which I will share when I get them.
Finally when we got back home Matt and Pete played a round of golf at Bos Landen (where Matt works) and Hannah and I followed on our own cart. It was nice to get to talk to Hannah and enjoy the gorgeous evening! It even started feeling cool as it was getting dark. I'm excited for the heat and humidity of summer to be over!
Well, that's what's up with us! More to come soon I'm sure!

Lake of the Ozarks

Hi Everyone!! Time for an update.

July 17-24th we went to Osage Beach MO to enjoy the Lake of the Ozarks with Matt's parents, his sister and her family, and other family members. It is an annual trip for the Vandevoorts and a tradition I love being a part of, even if I do get pretty motion sick on the boat sometimes!! We did alot of shopping, swimming, boating, enjoying Vista Grande margaritas, and the boys got up early and fished every morning. I loved having the time off and enjoying it with Matt's family, they are not only great people but fun too! And of course spending time with 8 month old Adalynn is always great, she is growing up too fast! Here are some pics that pretty much summarize our trip, I was behind the camera most of the time so you won't see any of me! haha sorry.

Matt holding Addy as we were getting ready to leave. She is getting so big! Maybe she will be tall like her uncle.

Above: Addy with her mom and Nana, with Uncle Curtis and Aunt Barbara, and with Papa at the "Dam bait shop".

Addy with uncle Matt (waving!) and below with her Mom and Dad (Matt's sister and her husband Joe) Also below: Matts biggest catch (a blue catfish) and friend Brian Steenhoek and brother in law Joe Harms showing off thier catches!

Now, we are getting settled back in the normal routine. I am looking forward to the Bachelorette season finale tonight (I hope she picks Chris!) and Matt is planning a trip to Kirksville Mo to stay at a friend's cabin. That's what's up with us!

Bittersweet

Hey everyone, things have been so busy lately!! Miss Kaitlyn Krabill (my niece) was visiting us this past weekend and she sure kept me busy! We went shopping, had fun at Adventureland, and attended Adalynn's baptism (Adalynn is Matt's sister Sarah's daughter). Pictures to come soon.

Now I am back at work and getting into my routine again--but looking forward to our Ozarks trip! We leave Saturday morning. It is not too much of a drive (I used to drive it every weekend to visit Matt while I was at Coe!) and then we will be enjoying the sun and the lake! So excited and looking forward to time with family.

Today got some kind of sad news. Two boys, 14 and 15, drowned at the Pella Aquatic Center yesterday. I know this is probably not the most unusual event but for those of you who don't know I worked at the pool for a part time job last summer. I know alot of people who work there still so I just feel terrible for the staff, and of course the family and friends of the boys. I guess we all just need to take this as a reminder-- you can never be too careful, even when your kids are older!! I remember kids a lot younger than these two being allowed to roam the pool without supervision, and it just makes me worry! You never know what can happen, better to be careful and safe! It's truly sad when things like this happen.

Our Kids

So everyone generally uses their blogs to show off adorable pictures of thier kids..... however Matt and I don't have any children yet. So for this blog I wanted to introduce you to our "kids" which are our pets. This is Jeda, our cat (I named her, wanted it to be "jetta" like a volkswagen but Matt vetoed that option) these are some old pictures of her!

In the last one she is chasing the bug that was flying on the screensaver. It was pretty cute! Jeda was born on Mother's Day 2006 so she is 4 years old now. She lives in the house all of the time and never gets to go outside. She is not quite as friendly as she used to be before we got Maya but she does like to sleep in Matt and I's room.

Our next "daughter" is our dog Maya. Maya is a black and tan Shiba Inu who was born on October 15, 2007. She joined our family in March 2008. Her breed is not very common but we love it! She weighs only about 24 pounds so just bigger than a sheltie. Kids love her and most people who see her always think she's a puppy, even though she is really full grown! Maya's favorite things to do include going camping with us, visiting her "Aunt Izzy", and barking at people outside of the window. Here's some pictures starting when we first met her!

It's actually kind of funny that several of the pictures of the pets are with me holding them because Matt is really the big softie when it comes to the pets! Most likely the reason he wasn't in the pictures is because he was taking them, he loves making use of his camera! He truly is an animal lover and really does think of them as our "kids"! He will be a great dad to real kids someday too!

We like Maya so much that we have decided to add another Shiba Inu to our family this fall. He will look like Maya except he will be red (really foxy looking!). We have been going back and forth on the name but for now we really like "Mason".

That's not quite all of our kids, we do have 6 fish too but they are not so exciting. Their names are Herbert Hoover, Frank, Orville, Wilbur, Larry, and Mo (Curly has passed on). I got them from a pet shop last summer and am honestly surprised they have lived this long! Matt had pet pirhanas in college so he already had a nice fish tank from that and the new fish live there now.

Well, that's our kids! Hope you enjoyed "meeting" them. : )

First Post

Hey everyone... So I was reading friends' and family's blogs and decided it was about time Matt and I start one. We know you all are so excited to see pictures of the fun stuff we do! : )
Just to catch up... Matt is working at Bos Landen Golf Club. He works in the pro shop and helps out on the maintenance staff too. He likes getting to work outside. His favorite things to do are go out on the boat, and go fishing or play Call of Duty with his friend Pete. He is looking forward to our family trip to the Ozarks coming up in July.

I graduated from Central College a month and half ago with my bachelors in sociology and business management. I am now working as the general manager at Gowns Bridal and Prom here in Pella. I love my job! If you need a wedding/prom/attendant dress come see me! My favorite things to do are read (right now the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan), spend time with the kids in my family especially my 7 month old niece Adalynn, and watch the Bachelorette with my "girl friends".

What is new and exciting with us... Well we are adjusting to me being done with school, which has been great. We celebrated our second anniversary last week which was very nice. We are planning a trip to Florida for this fall to visit our friend Deke. Matt is constantly working on something with the house and in the last few months has put in a second bathroom and redone the walls in the stairway/upstairs. We decided we want to get another dog and will be bringing home Mason the red Shiba Inu puppy in a few months when he is born and ready to go, Maya is very excited to meet her little brother, Jeda not so much. And thats about it!!

I will continue to post pictures, etc, as our adventures continue!