We are back on! Moved and Ready to Communicate!

We are glad to be on the Internet and connected to ya'll again. I plan to post about once a week until the new baby, Dakota Joy, comes. At that point I don't know what I'll be able to do. Ha! For those of you that don't know we have moved to Miller, South Dakota. It was a big haul but we made it. We need send a huge thank you to our families for all the hard work they put in. We wouldn't have been able to get it all done otherwise. My parents and nephew put in a lot of time and physical effort. I think we about killed them. We didn't think we had that much stuff but carrying it to and from the trailers and driving them is a huge undertaking. I didn't have to drive at all, much to my relief. When we got to campus the staff and their families helped us unload along with my sister. It was a blessing to us!

Despite all the help, there are things I just need to do myself. Currently I am struggling with boxes of scrapbooks and pictures. Oh what to do with them? They smell very moldy and Daraby has had some flair ups with her health, which I am sure is due to the moldy smells coming from the last boxes. I'm tempted to do away with it all and call it good. If I wasn't so tired I probably wouldn't say that. When I was pregnant with Daraby I was constantly nesting. This time I don't want to nest at all. I would like to sleep all day and night. So far I haven't been sleeping much at all. I go to bed and can't sleep which drives Andrew and me crazy.

On a more positive note, Andrew is really enjoying his job as the dean of students. He likes working with kids again. He thrives in this kind of environment. I would say he is challenged, invigorated, excited and nervous. The only bummer for him is dressing up in slacks, dress shirts and ties. No need for me to say, "I told him so!" He can't wait to get out of his dressy clothes everyday. He is just as bad as the students here about dress code and he is the Dean. Ha!

Daraby and I are settling in the home and community here. The people are very friendly. We've attended a student chapel, basketball games and go to lunch at cafeteria everyday. Not only does lunch cut done on our grocery bills but it allows us to see Andrew while connecting to the other staff members and their families. I know we will make some lasting friendships here. The small town of Miller is a perfect size and offers many amenities while still being personable. We are glad to be closer to town, living in a community, and an hour drive to my parents place.

It is a good feeling for us to be here and in this community. We do really miss Nebraska and our friendships there. I feel like part of me still live there. After we moved there, I knew I should have been born in NE. It is so rugged and free like every part of me but on the other hand we truly like living in SD. Someday when we get old, we would like to buy a place in the Sandhills. All of our other moves have been relatively easy but this one tore at a part of me. Perhaps my wanderlust is wearing off!

Daraby is really growing and developing a wonderful personality. She is smart and adores people. That is why I like going to lunch at the school. The kids and adults fawn over her and she loves it. Living here has been a positive experience for her. She is developing socially and has a hard time when we go home or people leave. She thrives off people! She even cries when we take her out of the nursery after church. I think she is the only kid that does that. :) We love her for it.

Please check out the pictures below. We are excited to be back on the Internet so drop us a line we would like to hear from you! Our best to you!


Daron and Rachael with 3 of the 4 puppies.


Christmas Hayride with Boersma Family!




Jeff and Tracey, very good friends of ours in NE, took us out for a hayride.


Andrew and Joel on horseback. Andrew, Joel, Susan and Andrew's Dad took turns riding horses and 4-wheeler.


Aunt Susan and Daraby

Daraby being bitten by one of the pups. No need to worry about Daraby- she beat them up too.

Daraby is giving Ben a hug. I just loved this tenderhearted pup. I think they were all my favorites and how we ever sold them all is amazing. If we didn't have the one pet rule- we might have kept at least one. :)

Daraby with Grandpa Boersma

Daraby riding with Dad on Dutch. I don't do so well with her riding yet.

However, I am in huge favor of her riding this horse. If only she wasn't so scared of it. Yep, she fell off once and now won't have a thing to do with Rody. This guy is supposed to help her get balance and coordination.

Andrew is very excited to ride Dually. Andrew worked on all the ground training with her and then a friend of ours finished her out. She has some work yet but is progressing. It has been a blessing to see our baby horse grow into a working horse. Andrew thinks raising them and training them out ourselves is the way to go.

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!