...after the turkey

This is the lovely Nord family after the turkey dinner...they all look like they have been rode hard and put away wet....thus the after effects of turkey.

Such A Good Sport

Cal is playing football this year, I'm so proud. He's a freshman and his dad wanted him to try it and his mom wanted him in band...needless to say, the dad won this round. But I wanted to show you how cute he looked in his little outfit. "It's a uniform, Lauri" Cal-dan says with great seriousness. But, he says, the coolest part of being on the team is on Friday, they have to wear thier jerseys to school....Oh, says, I...you like wearing the get up? Nope, he says....the cheerleaders talk to ya. Does my nephew have his priorities straight or what...like I said, I'm so proud!

T-DAY

I’m thankful for the winds of autumn Leaves turning orange and brown I’m thankful for cars Where the top can go down I’m thankful for sweet corn and summer vacations To spend a few days With all the relation I’m thankful for tv’s And DVD players And that Mexican bean dip With all of the layers For the sun in the morning And the moon at night I’d like to be thankful For a little more height For sweet nieces and nephews With a bunch of blond hair Who have me wrapped round their fingers And I don’t even care I’m thankful for music And mountains and skies And especially thankful For cute, single guys I give thanks for cell phones text messaging and more For a light in the window And a wreath on the door I’m thankful for goldfish And trambolines and rocks And honey nut Cherrios And warm fuzzy socks I’m thankful for cameras And eggs by the dozens For aunts and for uncles And for 100’s of cousins I’m thankful for my job So I can make a half-decent living But mostly I’m just thankful It’s finally Thanksgiving!

SMILE

This is my editorial from the last issue of the Church Newsletter that is part of my job. For those VH cousins, out there, I took a little "editorial" license...but you get the idea. Aaron, thanks for the pic...you're my hero for getting it taken...did you even get into the shot this time....I don't think so...that is just not right..... I like to take pictures. It brings me joy. It doesn’t always bring joy to the person in my photographs, however. Just ask the ERC staff. I have a whole wall full of smiling and not so much smiling faces in my office. But in the end, they are always glad my Canon and I are around….I really believe that. We gathered for a Van Hofwegen reunion this summer. In beautiful Canby Grove, Oregon. It was a great blessing. For 3 days we ate, talked, laughed and worshipped together in that place. 3 generations strong, with the 4th one gaining on us quickly. And we took lots of pictures. I was able to put together a slide show of some of the photos of the last 18 years of reunions. We all laughed at the first reunion when my cousins tried to beat the uncles at tug-a-war….and we were amazed as the pictures flashed by, how children have grown….babies have arrived…others have joined in by marriage…and we cried a bit when the faces of those gone Home smiled at us from the screen. We have developed a few traditions in years gone by that always take place at these gatherings. We are fortunate to have a few pastors in the clan, so worship on Sunday morning is always a wonderful thing. My uncles played for square skips (barn dances) when they were growing up in the Midwest, and their favorite thing to do is to tune up the guitars and play the night away. Old country songs and hymns often float on the evening air when my family is around. And I am proud to say we all know how to square skip…we’re not the experts our aunts are, but we try…even the little kids. We always have an auction. We use the funds to give to the new Reunion Committee for start up for the next time. This year was extra special, because my cousin who is a real-life auctioneer was able to attend….and he did well. One of the highest bid-on items was the middle name of the offspring of a 3rd generation cousin, ready to deliver any day. I said we had fun, I didn’t say we weren’t a little strange. On one of the last days, we gathered on the back lawn for a family picture. Not a small job, let me tell you, but with the help of Uncle John’s pick up to stand on and a wide-angle lens, we got the job done. 125 smiling faces frozen in time…that’s who we were in 2006. During our church service, my oldest uncle got up and said a word about how thankful we should be for this group around us….this small tribe we call family. That we should count it a blessing to be raised in Christian homes, that we all know Jesus….and because of that, how much sweeter that reunion will be in heaven. We ended our service by singing… When we all get to heaven What a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus We’ll sing and shout the victory Isn’t that what we do at Emmanuel every Sunday? We gather together for a family reunion. Brothers and sisters in Christ, meeting to greet each other, pray for one another and listen to what our Father has to say. And, like my uncle says, because of that, the reunion in heaven will be oh so sweet. We headed back to Southern Cal with smiles on our faces…and songs in our hearts. Of course, it didn’t last long because we were on a road trip with 9 ½ people….but, that’s a story for another article, folks. Celebrate the season ahead with your family and friends and take pictures….take lots of pictures. It will bring you joy…just wait and see.

Someday My Prince Will Come...oh sure

We went to a production of Cinderella this weekend. It was all kids under 13. Put on by a local Christian college youth theater company. Dalaynee loved it. She doesn't understand the whole darkening of the stage to change the sets part. When they went down the first time, she said, Wow, that was a good show...it's all done. We finally got through to her that it was like a commercial. That she got. When intermission came, she turned around and said to the people behind us, it's just a commercial...it will be back in 5 minutes. So, by the time we left, the child believed in fairy tales...and in commercial time...not a bad accomplishment for a Saturday afternoon.

The Elgersmas Gather

We did lunch a couple of Sundays ago with the Elgersma side. It had been some time. The food was good, the company grand...hopefully we'll restart the tradition...gramma would've been proud!

Halloween was "ducky" this year

Dalaynee and her friend Harley. A Cowboy and His Duck. Yup, Halloween is here....

H.B. Dad

So, my father turned 77 the other day...and the celebration went on all day. I guess when you're that old, you deserve that. At lunch time, we lured him down to a local deli for lunch with just Jayne and I. Lo and behold, Danny showed up...so did Jeff...a few cousins...some uncles and aunts...and a host of Dad's cousin who were in town from all over for a funeral. Dad was definetely suprised..and it was good to do that to the old man for a change. At night we all went out for dinner...then the grandkids were there and all. I think Dad had a good time....after 77 birthdays....you should be able to have a good time on that day, right? Yeah, I'm right.

Yippee Ki Yi Ay

So, we traveled to the petting zoo/pony rides with Miss Dalaynee a few weeks ago. We have taken every one of the kids here. They have all loved it. From watching them plod slowly around on the slow ponies until the day they are finally tall enough to ride the trotters. Smiling the whole time while they whiz by, waving furiously. The petting zoo is full of goats and sheep and I think there was a llama there when Cal was small. Laynee was a little apprehensive her first time, but this time, she rode like she was Dale Evans. During the time that Dale served with the Secret Service that is....the chick does love her shades. It has always been a kick to bring the kids here. Our way of showing them a small part of the way we grew up on the farm, I guess. Suffice to say that this small slice of "country" nestled in Southern Cal on the shore of a riverbed has brought this auntie much joy....and that is a very cool thing.

Dalaynee Jo and Papa

It seems that Laynee's favorite person in the world is her "papa". She thinks he is the best thing since sliced bread. She loves sliced bread too, don't get me wrong....she's a member of this family after all. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday....I think papa is a little fond of her too....

A Day of "field" trips

It was a fun day at work today. I got to take a picture for women's min Christmas promo. It's a Christmas Open House, so we tried to get all the different cultures in there. A Mexican blanket, an African American doll, wooden shoes. I think I got something I could use...so I've not been at my desk all day. It suprises me sometimes that this is my job...it's always

something new. And anytime I can use

my camera, it's a good day....

A Very Long Time Ago

This is a photo I happened to dig up...one from many years ago. Mom wanted to take a nice shot for a Christmas card, so we traveled to the park in Rock Rapids and posed our little heads off. Look closely and you will see traces of Cal, Sam, Claire and Dalaynee in those faces. I don't think we ever put it on a Christmas card tho....I think it was because Danny was so funny lookin...hmmm

A Little Fall has Fallen

One of the favorite parts of my job is creating postcards, flyers, etc...and the artwork for them. The other day I had to create a flyer that will go out to the area public schools for a Harvest Festival that we do every year here at Emmanuel. We have booths for food and games etc. This year I got roped into working the photo booth. They we also do something called Trunk or Treat. Members of the church park their cars in the parking lot and open thier trunks filled with candy. Kids walk from car to car and trick or treat. Some people decorate thier cars, some dress up. We usually have sometimes 4000 people from the surrounding community attend. It's our biggest outreach event of the year. Dalaynee will be a duck this year. Whoo Whoo. Anyway, in my travels on the internet searching for scarecrows etc for this flyer, I came upon this photo. Taken in Canada at sunrise, the photographer was riding with a friend and got him to slow down the car enough for him to take this shot from the passenger window. Reminds of my days living in both Iowa and Washington....I just liked it...and thought I would share it with you...Happy Fall!

This was my editorial for the last Church Newsletter I did here at work. That was this summer...the June issue...brides and all that stuff. Since I've never been one, I took a shot at writing about the experience I've gained from helping to plan one.....and here we go..... A girl dreams of her wedding But she hasn’t got a clue Of all of the things That she’ll have to do Search the world Find a mate Receive a ring Set a date Tell the family Search for a gown Make sure the pastor Will be in town Book reception hall Reserve the church And continue on The wedding gown search Meet with the caterer Taste the food Got to make sure The eats are good Pick the flowers Now don’t stress But keep on shopping For that wedding dress Decide on bridesmaids What they’ll wear Make a guest list Of who will be there Pick out the music And just who will sing Get a free jewelers cleaning On the big diamond ring Book a pianist Or a string quartet Had any luck Finding a wedding dress yet? Get to a bakery Order a cake Don’t forget to register For heaven’s sake Attend wedding showers With family and friends Make sure the guest book Is supplied with 2 pens Find a photographer Someone with style Who’s able to capture every smile Make honeymoon plans Someplace sunny will do Get something borrowed Something old, something blue The bride is exhausted From planning the day She asks one thing of the groom remember what to say When the pastors asks Say a simple “I Do” Put the ring on her finger Wedding Day Dream come true The day has dawned Church is filled as it can get Pastor says do you take this woman? Groom says, yeah, sure you bet.

More Pics from Breakfast at the Beach

These are a few more photos from that day...gotta get the motorcycle in there. It's a 2005 Kawasaki and it only had 80 miles on it. Somebody won it in a contest and had it at a shop to sell. Danny says it "rides really nice"...and a lot faster. Mom was not too crazy about that...know what I mean? Somehow, Danny looks cool on a bike, don't ask me why....

An Anniversary, 2 Birthdays and No Funerals, Thank God

We celebrated Brother in Law Bill's birthday, Danny's birthday and the Yargers Anniversary at the Harbor House Cafe in Sunset Beach. Danny arrived on his new motorcycle, very cool. Congrats to all