Moving Onward

Hey friends and family-we wish you a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year filled with the hope of our Savior, Christ the Lord!

We had a wonderful weekend with the Boersma family out here in the hills. Dad, mom, and all the siblings made it out and brought Christmas to us. I don't have pics downloaded on this computer, so you'll have to do without for now. The weather was great and we spent a lot of time outside riding horses and on Saturday we all went over to Jeff and Tracey's for a hayride. Dad and Daron got to drive a team of horses for the first time and we all lived:) More importantly, they got to hang out with Daraby and love on her. Mom even was able to live through a weekend of 3 puppies and 2 dogs in the house! Unfortunately, the flu bug cut their visit a little short, however, we are on the mend and looking ahead to a quiet Christmas out here in the hills.

We won't be back in Michigan this year for the holidays. This saddens us but we are also being realistic in light of Darcy's pregnancy, puppies, and our transition coming up. I (Andrew) have taken a job at a small Christian school up in Miller, SD called Sunshine Bible Academy. We will be moving there the first of Jan. This school is a boarding school, and we will be living on campus. My job there will be dean of students, which will be an administrative position dealing with the students in both their school and residential lives. We interviewed there two days in early December and were impressed with the commitment to Christian education by both the staff and parents. We are excited for this new opportunity and a chance to be closer to our family in Pierre (about 80 miles west of Miller).

Please pray for us as we move and make this transition in the next couple of weeks. It is going to be hard to move from our friends and community here in the sandhills. God has blessed us with some wonderful relationships here and our friends and neighbors have taken us in as family. The sandhills will always have a special place in our hearts-there is something about the rugged beauty and quietness that makes it unique. We call it "God's Country" but not everyone sees it that way.

I think that's all I have time and energy for right now. We will pass on contact info at a later date. Thanks for tuning in!

Our crazy life...with puppies!

The puppies have arrived! Abby gave birth to them in the suburban during our move up north (Nov 8th)- glad we didn't lose any between the seats. We were in Pierre for Thanksgiving and the pups were a huge hit with the kids.


Darcy holding the only male of the litter-1 boy, 3 girls (right on par with the ratio we have going around our place:)

Daraby's made some new friends, however, we have to continually teach her to be "gentle" with them so she doesn't hurt them-they are not as strong as Abby.

For those who don't know, we have been blessed with an opportunity from a neighbor to stay at his ranch through the end of the year. We moved up there (7 miles north of our old house) Nov. 8 and it has worked out well. We don't have the internet up there, so we haven't done much communication on that front-so I figure I better get some of these pictures up before the holidays.

We are excited to have the whole Boersma family (dad, mom and siblings) here next weekend for a Christmas visit. The next weeks will be a time of transition for us and we will post about that at a later time. We appreciate all the prayers and support of family and friends through this difficult last 10 months.

We still have a couple of puppies for sale if anyone is interested. They are registered springer spaniels, have great hunting bloodlines, and are going to make excellent family dogs. Let us know if you or someone you know may be interested. Our new number is 308-588-2200. Thanks for tuning in!

More Photos for Your Enjoyment!

Andrew captured this photo- Good Job!


Daraby is normally happy and laughs a lot. I really enjoy being a mother at this stage.


Andrew was repairing some shingles on our roof. Daraby loved watching him walk on the roof. Abby thought he was going to throw something for her to fetch. She ran crazily around the house until he came down.


These two are quite the pals.

Andrew was on the roof when he took this photo. It was a beautiful night to be out on the lawn. Although we just went up to move some of our stuff we took full advantage of laying out on the grass. Andrew had some work to do on the roof so we soaked up the setting sun. The lawn down by the home we've been living in is covered in stickers so we can't hang out there. Daraby likes to pull the grass out and throw it. Most children don't like the feel of grass so they don't crawl on it. Daraby doesn't mind the feel of the grass at all. I have to keep a close eye on her. She doesn't walk but she can crawl really fast.

Lately, Daraby will stand on her own and take 1-2 steps and then fall. If she holds my hand she will take off like a rocket. I think she prefers to crawl because she can cover some ground. Last week we had a community meeting so she hung out with the other kids for a couple hours and has a hard time saying goodbye. The other kids are so much fun. She doesn't care where we are at all. Her personality is a real kick. During the day she chats and chats to me, herself, Abby and the cats. It cracks me up. I have no idea what she is saying most of the time. I catch words here and there. She is very social and has a hot temper.

We were glad to relax this last weekend and move some of our belongings to storage. We are really trying to be prepared for this move. We are anxious, nervous, excited and fearful. We don't know if Daraby will do ok in the home. If she doesn't feel good we will be homeless. There are no more housing options on the ranch. Life could change dramatically in the next three weeks. We have faith that the Lord will take care of us but that leaves a lot of unknowns if the home isn't safe. Pray that we would have peace even if we must step out in faith. We are glad that finally after 8.5 months we are finally getting closure to this mold issue. We hope to have a home again whether that be here are somewhere else. Pray, Pray, and Pray that we will be strong no matter what.

Thanks for all your thoughts. AnDD

Summer Fading Away

Some of the fall color behind us. The trees don't stay colored for long-within two days of turning yellow, this tree lost most of it's leaves (probably something to do with the 50 mph winds as well)


We took a sunset ride last Sunday on top of the bluffs above the creek



Daraby getting ready for school-she's quite studious!

Daraby sitting on food tray on deck-she loves hanging out on the deck and so far she hasn't fell off

My landscaping crew-overworked and underpaid (that's what they claim)

This weekend we were supposed to be moving up to our old house but that isn't happening quite yet. The heating guy found a crack in the heat exchanger of our furnace and is replacing the whole furnace next week. We will probably move in the weekend of the 17th of October now. It will be a little crazy starting to work buffalo next week and then trying to move, but crazy has been the story of our life so what more could we expect?
We hope that all the work up north on our house pays off and that it will work for us to settle there again. So far the water damaged areas in the kitchen and laundry room have been remodeled, the duct work has been vacuumed and cleaned, the new furnace along with a hospital grade air filter unit will be installed, and it will be professionally cleaned.
The pregnant ones in the household are doing well. Darcy had a great check-up this week and we'll have another ultrasound done at the end of October-and yes we'll hopefully know what it is. We can't tell yet if Abby is pregnant, but we're still hoping for a early November batch of puppies.

We had a great weekend in Colorado earlier in September. Rachael and Daron took care of Daraby for us while Darcy and I attended a bison conference up by Cheyenne and then went to a company outing at Ted's restaurant in Denver Saturday night. We met back up with the Shorts on Sunday and had a great time hanging out and going to church together. We saw Rachael's school on Monday and then headed back in the midst of the first snow of the season in Colorado. Thanks again to Daron and Rachael for taking Daraby!

As mentioned earlier, we are starting to work buffalo next week which means a busy schedule coming up. If all works out well, we should be done by Christmas. Hard to think about that time of year already, but it's coming. Thanks for tuning in!

Fall Expectations

We traveled up to Pierre on Labor Day weekend to spend time with family. Abby was already in her heat cycle and we found her a boyfriend. They played a couple of times over the weekend and we hope to have pups around the first part of November. Here's a picture with Cappy, who looks almost identical to Amber, our first springer spaniel.

On a more important note, Daraby is going to have to get used to a new playmate in February. We are expecting another child towards the end of February, hopefully not in the middle of a blizzard. We are very excited that God has blessed us with this opportunity. Life keeps multiplying here on the ranch! At least Darcy and Abby can share their pregnancy woes:)

For a little while longer, Daraby is our little princess. She's developing quite the personality and here she's showing off a new favorite toy-a string of fake pearls. Darcy and I are starting to be able to communicate with her on identifying certain toys, such as lamby, and certain people, such as dada. Her teeth are coming in and she continues to grow before our eyes. She had a great time playing with all her cousins up in SD last weekend. The boys get mad at her when she wrecks their lego sets but then the next minute they love on her and drag her around everywhere. It's really nice to let them all play together because she doesn't have many other kids around here to play with. That will all change very soon...

That's a brief summary of the last couple of weeks. We'll try to get back on soon with more pics and stories, including some from Colorado. Thanks for tuning in!

Busy August

August is a month that is always very busy. Every year it is a busy month. Not only are we attending fairs, auctions, rodeos but we are getting together with family members to celebrate birthdays. My Mom's birthday was the 16th, Andrew's and Joel's was the 17th, my brother Dan's and Daron my brother-in-law's was the 18th, Lori my sister-in-law was the 25th, while my parents anniversary was sandwiched in there on the 20th. No I haven't even got all their cards sent but I did think of them of them all on their special day. So Happy Birthday to all of you!
Just a couple weekends ago Andrew's parents along with Joel came to visit. They did a trip out west to visit us, vacation a little and then visit Andrew's sister Rachael and her husband Daron. While they were here my parents were able to come down to see them. It just so happens that it was my Mom's birthday that day and since Andrew's and Joel was the following day we all went out to eat and celebrate. It was a nice time.
No sooner had I got the sheets washed and put back on and my nephew, his girlfriend and her daughter came to visit. We were tickled pink to meet her and tease him for a little bit. It is crazy as an aunt to see the babies grow up. What you are dating? What you are the age I got married? No, you are just the little boy I used to pick on! On the other hand, it is very rewarding to what them grow and make their own decisions in life. When he was little I used to watch him and had to keep him out of trouble and now as an adult he keeps himself out of trouble. Now I am his friend and not his bossy aunt.
This last Sunday we found out that the company is going to try and fix our home and have us moved back in by the beginning of October. We are optimistic and we are doubtful. There are so many feelings at this point. I'm just thankful that we are now moving in some sort of direction. There is some light at a 8 month long journey of "I don't know." Perhaps this will be the answer, perhaps we will finally find some kind of peace, perhaps we will be home. If it doesn't work- we will need to find our own housing of some sort off the ranch. We hope it works! Pray that if it is the Lord's will that he will heal the home. We have been packing everything up- that we haven't thrown away, so that the home is empty for them to work in. It is a lot of sweaty work! I feel like I'm back in college moving from one place to another. Thankfully my father has a moving van for us to store our stuff in so the mice can't get in it. Thanks Dad! and thanks to Brady and Rachel for getting it here.
All in all we are doing well. We need to pack up this home soon. Looks like September is going to be a busy month. I've been pretty active with the women's group at church. I am on the planning committee. I set up and decorated this last week for our garage party. It was fun! It is nice to be plugged in the community. I'm also on the planning committee for the young adult get together which will take place at the end of September. It is nice to live in such a small community where I can be part of it. I don't know if I would push myself to be so involved somewhere else.
Lastly, I want to say "Happy Birthday!" again to my husband. My buddy, my lover, and my other half. He is my softer side, he is my more loving side, he is my more understanding side, he is my more rational side, and he is my more positive side. I feel like I would be half of a person without him. He completes me. I love you B!

Daddy's Birthday Gift to his Little Girl!

Daraby got to spend some time with Dad riding her birthday away!




Andrew has been trying to work with the horses consistently. Dually is progressing nicely and he plans on riding her in the next week or so. I have to help him. I'm a nervous wreck.

Andrew's greatest wish for Daraby was that she ride on Dutch with him on her birthday. It was his birthday gift. I have to say I was a bit nervous about his gift. All the what ifs always pop up. But I knew it was so important for him to do this so I supported him. He warmed up Dutch and made sure he was a willing partner in his endeavour to bless Daraby's day. Dutch was very willing so I handed Daraby over. I can't say for sure that she loved it nor that she hated it. She was just in awe of holding on to the horn. For the most part Daraby is a willing kid. Sometimes she is a very strong willed kid but overall she is even keeled. We take her on the four-wheeler and in the tractor all the time and it doesn't rattle her in the least.
Andrew was tickled pink to be able to do this for her. He was planning on this ride for weeks. The love of horses is something Andrew wants to share with Daraby. I'm sure they will be the best of riding buddies in the years to come.
Daraby had two birthday parties for her first year. One with Andrew's family and one with my side of the family. Of course she loved the cake and all the attention. It was very nice of our families to make sure her birthday was special. Thanks for all the gifts and thoughts on her first birthday! We are so blessed with a healthy and happy little girl!

***check out additional photos below***

Happy Birthday Daraby!

Forget the present the paper tastes great!


Ready, Set, Open!

My father, my nephew Tyler and Daraby

Cake at the cottage in Michigan.

I can point. Yes this is my cake!

My very first bite. Wow that is yummy!

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

Balloons + Aunt Susan= FUN

Vacation photos part 3

Daraby with our good friends' little girls in Des Moines, IA.



Family shot at the cottage. Daraby didn't really enjoy the beach so we would play in the back yard grass.

Huh?

We took a tour at a local dairy in Michigan. I absolutely loved it. It is so fascinating to see the process. Plus I love milk, ice cream, and cheese.

We petted and rubbed on the baby calves. So sweet! I love animals!

We took a vacation to Michigan to see family and friends, celebrate the fourth of July and attend Andrew's cousin's wedding. It was a busy vacation. We wanted to see so many folks. We *attended Grace Adventures Chapel

*ate pizza with Scott and Alicia and Taylor and Jackson

*visited Grace Adventures Camp with Ryan and Kendra

*hung out one night at the Huls home

*watched fireworks, floated the channel, caught fish, walked the beach, ate great food,

*went out for ice cream, visited the local dairy

*watched Daraby celebrate her first b-day at the cottage

*ate out with Nick and Delores, ate sweet cherries and tried to spit the pits,

*spent a night with Lisa and Cecil in Northern MI- Lisa loves Daraby

*attended the rodeo and saw many northern MI friends,

*visited Timber Wolf Camp, walked the grounds and chatted with former staff

*Ice cream at Tasty Treat! One of our favorite places

*Eric and Angela's Wedding

*Breakfast with Jake and Jessica

*Stayed over at Ben and Brenda's in IA, ate pizza, went to church and out to Panera

*drove, drove, drove- I hate the drive! It is hard to do with a baby and takes forever.

Vacation will never be the same again now that we have a baby. We had a lot of help but we just realize that we can't do as much as we want anymore. Daraby has needs and it is tough to take care of her and connect with everyone. I think we will look into flying in the future.

We were very grateful to see everyone and all the hospitality we received. Many thanks to Andrew's parents for taking Daraby so we could visit folks. Thanks to all our friends for housing and feeding us. We really appreciate your input in our lives! We are now recovering from a two hour time difference and Daraby is cutting teeth. ARG!

****check out additional photos in the two posts below.

Vacation Grandparent photos

Great Grandpa Van Duinen with Daraby

Great Grandma Van Duinen with Daraby

Great Grandma Boersma with Daraby

Daraby with Nick and Delores (my dad's cousins- who I refer to as my Aunt n Uncle)

One day we went golfing. Andrew, Susan and I were in one group and shared a ton of laughs. No we are not golfers.

Vacation photos part one

Daraby's first s'more!


Beautiful sunset on Lake Michigan!


Ahhh sweet Abby!

Abby and Belle- cousins

Girl photo- at the cottage

Driving Miss Daraby!

She loves holding the wheel!


It's funny how it comes so naturally!


We had just gotten home from talking a walk in the blazing heat.

Andrew climbed the #1 windmill which is also the tallest windmill on the ranch for me to take a photo. During windy days they won't even attempt to work on this windmill as they would quickly blow off.

Everything here is super green. We've had a record amount of rain this year.

This is one of the red calves. Did you know that baby buffalo are born red and darken into their adult color which maybe brown or black or a combo of both. Side note: If God the creator of heaven and earth can mix brown, black and blue then I do too. I don't mind if you laugh at my brown flip flops with jeans.

This is one lonely bull hanging out by his lonesome. Does he not understand that it's breeding season?

Here he is again. He just wants to wallow in the side of the hill to get away from the bugs.

We've had some answered prayer. We will not have to move until the end of July. The hunters decided to forgo the middle of July hunt. Thank goodness! We are still in a pickle but not in a jam. Ha Ha! This Friday we will be traveling back to MI for the fourth of July and to attend Andrew's cousin's wedding. We are excited for this bi-annual visit. Most all our friends and some family members haven't seen Daraby since Christmas. Boy has she grown and feels so much better so they will get to see a whole new kid. Please continue to pray for our current situation and for our travels. Daraby doesn't like to travel very much anymore since she started to crawl. We plan to travel in the wee hours of the morning and perhaps through the night. Pray that she will feel well the entire time. We never know what sets off her sickness. A smell at a rest area? A strong odor in a store? etc... We hope you celebrate our freedom this 4th, the men/women who have fought for that freedom and the ultimate freedom Giver! Thanks for your support! AnDD