Christmas 2017
Merry Christmas Everyone,
This year has been a very good year. Hope your 2017 was good for you as
well. Eric and I are still at the same
jobs and same church. Eric has been
with Wynalda Litho for the past 14 years and I have been with Vredevoogd
Heating & Cooling for 9 years.
Standale Baptist Church has been home for our family since we met there
in 1981 (Eric started there with his family many years before that.) We love our church as you can see by our
longevity there. God has been good to
us and blessed us with a great church family and many opportunities to serve!
Caleb is in between jobs right now, but looking for just the
right opportunity working with computers.
That is definitely his talent.
As I have mentioned many times before, he is our go-to guy for all things electronic! It is good to have that
tech-guy so close by. I just wish we
had a mechanic and handyman in the family as well..
Grace and Vic have three kids. Gavin started Kindergarten this year. Emma started pre-school, and Carter started his school in
November after his 3rd birthday. Carter
was born 6 weeks early and has been behind on everything and since he is not
talking yet and there are a few other concerns, they have decided to put him in
a special school to see if he can catch up or determine if there are other
factors in play. We are enjoying our
grandchildren a lot and take them to church with us as much as we can..
Josh, Lisa, and Clara are presently living in an
extended-stay Residence Inn in Grand Rapids while their house in Greenville is
finally being modified for Josh. They
have been in their home in Greenville for 2.5 years and the insurance company
is finally getting around to modifying it to fit Josh's needs. The inn does accept pets so they are able to
keep their 2 dogs there with them. It's
like deja vu from 13 years ago. The
pros are the indoor pool and hot tub, hot breakfast in the lobby every morning
and sometimes a light dinner provided in the evenings as well. There are walking paths for a stroll or for
walking the dogs. They are closer to doctors and other amenities they were used
to when they lived in the Grand Rapids area.
The big con is the long wintery drive for Lisa to get to work in
Greenville. It will be really nice once
the house is done so Josh can shower in his own home. Josh had another bout with pressure sores this year but this
time they were on his feet, ankles, and lower legs. There was a scare that he might lose his feet, but things are
healed up and his feet are still at the end of his legs.
Kristi is in between jobs now. She was caring for an elderly man in his home. He was like part of our family. We had him over for dinner and lunches a few
times and I even had a special lunch with Kristi and Bernie at Arnie's
restaurant. He passed a way last month and we miss him dearly. Kristi got really attached to Bernie and she
was quite torn up about his passing.
Now she will either go to school for nursing or possibly find another
job at a nursing home,
Isaiah is working for Josh.
Since Josh was in very poor health this past year, Isaiah quit his job
to be Josh's attendant. Josh still
needs a lot of help since this last episode with pressure sores took its toll
on his strength and health. Isaiah
helps Josh on the days that Lisa works.
He is a hard worker and Eric and I miss him around here for all the jobs
that we are too tired to do after working all day. We aren't as young as we used to be....I know that is hard to
imagine, but it is true.
We were fortunate to have everyone here for
Thanksgiving. Next year the in-laws
will have some of them. We have made a
new tradition for Christmas. We have
started having our Christmas get-together on New Year's Eve so that there isn't
a worry about in-law time at Christmas.
I want my grandchildren to have time with both sides of their families
at Christmas. Family is so
important! Eric and I (and sometimes
some of our kids and grandkids) usually go to our New Year's Eve church potluck and then come
home to spend time with the kids and grandkids. We have snacks, games, open presents, and ring in the new year
with sparkling juice.
Thank you for listening.
I love my family and I love talking about them! I love my Lord and Savior for leaving heaven
to come here as a baby and then to die for my sins. Now, that is LOVE! And He loves you too!
Wishing all of you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New
Year!
Eric & Sue 
