Video from the Haiti trip

One of the couples who went to Haiti made a cool video of the photos, along with some descriptions.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oES8PDaFxns

Haiti - Day 3

They treated 166 people yesterday and 152 people today! The people walk for miles to be treated at the clinic & wait in line for hours to visit the clinic on the hill.




Below is the school for the Haitian children at Mountain Top Ministries (mtmhaiti.com) orphanage. The next picture is lunch of rice & beans.




In the photos below, Lindsey is helping count pills at the clinic, among the other things I might be able to describe if she'd send me an update. :-) Just kidding -- well, not really, but I'm sure she's got lots of things to keep her busy!



Prayers & praises: Thank God for the opportunity that Lindsey has to serve Him in a safe place and alongside others. Pray for their on-going safety & that lives will be changed for both those who are serving & those who are being loved on.

Lindsey is in Haiti

Lindsey left early Monday morning for Haiti! She is assisting on a medical mission trip at a clinic outside of Port Au Prince, with a church/orphanage that our church partners with. It's called Mountain Top Ministries. She is traveling with a nurse from our congregation, who serves there once or twice a year.

Here is Lindsey's first message to us: We've been pretty busy here but the evenings have been good down time. I did intake at the clinic today - just blood pressure and weight. Last night on the way to the house from the airport it took us about 2 hours just to get through the city. I don't think I've ever seen so many people in the same place before. It was worse than Chicago during rush hour. The sidewalks were jam packed, I have no clue how anyone got anywhere because it was so crowded. And there were very few stoplights so the drivers were really aggressive. Willem had to pretty much just go and if someone else wanted the same spot he made it pretty obvious that they were going to have to back down because he certainly wasn't going to. It was pretty scary. Anna and I took a four wheeler up to the clinic this morning and it was such a bouncy ride because it's so rocky. I was flying all over the place because I'm so little. But it was so fun and the landscape is beautiful. Also the food here is pretty weird. Apparently what we call soup is only called soup if you put pumpkin in it, otherwise it's boulion, pronounced with a French accent.

The two photos are of Lindsey and her boyfriend, Brandon, and of Anna (sorry it's blurry). More photos to come through the week. The camera's batteries were dead when they arrived, so none were taken the first day.


Prayers and praises: Thank God for a safe trip. Pray for their time with the Haitians and that their love for Christ will shine through and make an impact on the people they interact with.

Fishin' in the rain

I just have to add that Logan love, love, loves fishing!!! At every possible opportunity to get someone to accompany him to the docks, he would go. Even in the pouring rain! He was happy to put his own worms and grubs on, but hasn't quite graduated to taking his own fish off the hooks yet - they're a little too squirmy.

Vacation 2011

I guess it's been a while since we've posted anything! Wow -- an entire year has gone by. Well, anyway, here are some photos from our summer vacation in Minocqua, Wisconsin. We did lots of fishing.....



some boating......



and some hangin' out.....

A day trip to Yellowstone

We were so sad at what we saw when we got to Yellowstone. There was a huge fire in 1988 that burned nearly 40% of the park & it still hasn't recovered. The new trees are probably only about 5 - 10 feet tall. Here is a photo of what most of it looks like.

One part of the park we really enjoyed is the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone". It had 2 waterfalls that were really beautiful. Check out the photo of Dave's bravery!

OK, I admit it....I doctored the photo - he didn't really climb out on the rock! Here are the real photos......

Float trip down the Snake River (more of the Teton trip)

The next morning, we woke up at 4:45 a.m. to take a sunrise float trip. On this day, it was just Dave & me and the tour guide, so it was basically a private trip. We put in at about 6:30 a.m. and saw a moose first thing. Further down the river, we got a very special treat - normally you can't go very close to buffalo, but in our case, he was grazing along the shore, so we got a VERY close-up look at him with NO RISK of being trampled! Other things we saw were beaver, antelope, geese, ducks, a bald eagle, and don't forget the SCENERY!

Dave & Jen head to the Teton Mountains

For our 15th anniversary, Dave & I flew to Jackson Hole, Wyoming! The first day we just putzed around the town of Jackson & drove around checking out the area. The town is a bit touristy, but kind of rustic. The view can't be beat. We stayed in Teton Village, which is a group of hotels, restaurants, shops, & even a gas station at the base of the ski slope. You can practically walk out of your hotel & ski straight to the lift. You can see the resort town in the distance of the last picture.

Trip to Milwaukee

We drove to Milwaukee to visit Minal & Matt and kids. We had a great time, as always. Jen & Minal managed to squeeze in an early morning latte & a round of golf, while the dads & kids slept in & had breakfast at home. The kids had a lot of fun hanging out, playing basketball, video games & playing in the pool. In the photos, you can see our family and theirs: Minal & Matt, and their kids Alex, Ryan, & baby Maya (who isn't such a baby anymore). Minal & Jen met in college & have been great friends ever since.

Summer Vacation 2008 - Chicago

We went to Chicago for our family vacation this year. On the first day, we went to Six Flags & had a blast! There weren't very many people there & most of the time, we didn't wait more than 10 minutes to ride.

The girls loved the rollercoasters, especially going through the upsidedown & sideways loops. They rode the American Eagle & Viper twice. Logan loved driving the cars, especially when he got to drive his own - he just met the height requirement. Dave also convinced him that he would like the log flume, but forgot that there is a very big drop at the end. Logan screamed the whole way down that hill & was not a happy camper afterwards. You can see him pasted to Dave behind Mommy.

After Six Flags, we headed to downtown Chicago. Our hotel was right on Michigan Avenue, close to the bus stops. It was a great way to get around & not have to navigate traffic & look for parking. We went to the Field Museum & saw Sue, the T-Rex. It was the highlight of Logan's trip.

Some of the other things we did were to go on an architectural boat cruise, visit the Museum of Science & Industry, & the Shedd Aquarium. We also went to the Hancock Building Observatory, which is north of the skyscraper district. We enjoyed it much more than the Sears Tower Observatory. It is glass all the way around & they have audio stations that tell you about different things that you can see. In the photos, you can see Navy Pier & the city skyscrapers.


Oh, it's also nice to have the kids help with the window washing!