Kevin&Stephanie

It has been a while since our last update. Part of that is because there isn't much to report on (and after the last update, in many ways that is a good thing). Since I know it's what everyone really wants, here are a few pictures of Aundrea. She is getting a lot bigger, but she still won't laugh. For some reason Stephanie likes to take pictures of living things surrounded by stuffed animals (She has previously done this with Ein). Speaking of babies, Congratulations are in order for both Greg and Liz Wojo, as they have summoned the stork and are expecting a delivery, as well as Erik and Mary Youngdale who most likely (although this has not been confirmed as of the time of this writing) received their delivery. Greg and Liz, enjoy your sleep and free time, in a few months it will vanish entirely. Erik and Mary, welcome to the parenthood club! We did, earlier this month, visit Erie. As always, it was a good time. We took our usual walk at Presque Isle and searched for b...

Yup. I'm pretty sure that my body hates me. Particularly my left leg, as it has been taking most of the brunt of my misfortune/stupidity (emphasis on the latter). It all started about four weeks ago when I was going to work at Gary's and a black cat ran in front of my car. I thought, "Boy, it's a good thing I'm not superstitious!" Thus began my downfall. It began innocently enough. That day, I was tearing down a field-stone 'wall' (only about a foot and a half tall) in order to replace it with landscaping blocks. I kicked a stone to try to loosen it a bit, when I felt a sharp pain on the back of my left calf. I look down, and there's some strange foliage on my leg, but I don't see how that can account for that pain, so I raise my foot to kick again. The same pain comes from my right ankle. This time, when I look down, I see three or four wasps hovering about my leg, and one on it, preparing to attack. I run away like a little girl. Apparent...

In mid-August we spent a long weekend at Rockwell Lake Lodge with the entire VerMerris family to celebrate Grandpa and Grandma VerMerris' 50th wedding anniversary (coming up this December). We had a room with 2 full-size beds, a living area, kitchenette, and bathroom to ourselves, but Nate and Tracie spent a lot of time in there with us. Tracie claimed Aundrea first thing. Aundrea is lucky to have such a doting, fun aunt. :) Rockwell Lake is very isolated, and very beautiful. We enjoyed going on the trails around the lake, as well as enjoying the water. Kayaking was a favorite activity. That's my sister Tracie in the picture below. Fishing was pretty productive, although it was catch and release only. Here are the guys with their large-mouth basses. Kevin also caught lots of sticks and logs Derek really wanted to keep his whopper Nate FINALLY got one! Incidentally, we all love turquose/aqua :)

On August 8, Aundrea was baptised at our new church: Calvary CRC in Lowell. Aundrea's Grandpa Anderson performed the ceremony. After church, we had a party at our house. We were blown away by how many people attended the baptism! Praise the Lord for so many wonderful, supportive family members and friends. My mom always had a cake that said "Jesus loves ___" for our baptisms, so I made one and continued the tradition. Aundrea was baptised with water. Unfortunately, there was no water in the basin at first, so someone had to go get some! That was pretty awkward. Proud parents Mark, Marla and their kids were among the guests. We hadn't seen them in years! 4 generations of ladies baptised in the same dress. The baptism dress was purchased in the Netherlands during WWII for my (Stephanie's) grandmother. Since then, the dress has been worn by every female in the family. This picture shows Aundrea, me, my mom, and my grandma DeBoer. We are all the first in ...

Ok, so this is an extremely large post with LOTs of pictures, but we hope you enjoy it! You'll see quite a few pictures of our beautiful Aundrea of course. Stephanie made this onesie, proudly declaring our heritage Daddy and Aundrea Lots of visitors...Aunt Diane, Grandpa and Grandma, and Aunt Eva came to visit, and then we all went our for lunch. Friends from church, Joyce and Christina Aundrea and her Grandpa Anderson Aundrea's "uncle" Otto Grandpa and Grandma Anderson came to visit - Aundrea's GREAT grandparents Aundrea in her crib, in a popular sleeping position with her Great-Grandpa DeBoer at Sheila's wedding. Aundrea attended her first wedding at 2 1/2 weeks of age! Faith was happy for a little girl cousin (once-removed) VerMerris family photo presenting Mr. and Mrs. Daniels! Tanner chasing bubbles Aundrea with Don and Sheila Kevin, Nathan and Dad VM got a little bored, so they made a little sculpture with the plastic crystals at the table we caught...