Well, it is now March and the year just keeps marching on...Bernie & I made it through the simulcast last Saturday. We had an awesome team to help. We are now looking forward to our trip to Cancun. We leave on the 15th. Please don't worry about our safety. We will be very careful and not put ourselves in harm's way.

I am not sure when we will get an opportunity to get together as a family - we have to get Mem and Susie to California and back, maybe Easter...

Love you all,
Rosa

Upcoming Events!!

I thought I'd pass on (in writing) some fun things coming up!!

March 12-13 Katelyn will be performing in the 7th and 8th grade musical based on Charlie and the Chocalate factory!

March 28-30 we will be in the Des Moines/Pella area with the silent messengers ministry that the girls are a part of. Sunday morning we'll be at Crossroads in West Des moines and the evening will be at Heartland Reformed in Pella. Monday morning will find us at Pella Christian High School for chapel. Anson was able to get that Sunday off, so we will both be driving, and of course we will bring Justin along for the ride.

May 22-23 Rachelle will be graduating on Saturday, May 23 at 2:oo pm from Baldwin- Woodville High School. We were excited to learn that she is salutatorian (2nd) for her class which means she gets to give a little speech. She also will be sitting up on stage with the valedictorian and class pres. so that'll give us something to watch besides that back of her head :0). We do plan to send out cards but thought we'd give you a heads up that her open house will be Friday, May 22 from about 4:30 -8:00pm.

June 13 Emily will be running for the Baldwin court!
Yeah!! June Bug Days and possibly more parades!!!

These are some of the "big" things coming up for us in Wisconsin. You are always welcome to join us in any or all of these events! I will try to update you on some of the daily happenings (i.e. basketball, snowball days, etc.) soon.

What Weighs A Ton?

I hadn't thought of this question since grade school.  I knew a hippo or a small car could weigh a ton.  I always say I got a ton of things to do today.  Recently we heard on the news that if we get heavy snow and you scoop your driveway, that you can move a ton of snow!  I even think trouble can weigh a ton if you don't hand it over to God.  So we knew that a ton is a lot, but we still underestimated how many tons of rock we would need for Mem's driveway!

  

We wanted to hold off until we were certain the snow was gone, but this yard was getting to be a muddy mess.  Jonathan had to walk down the lane because the bus driver didn't want to make deep tracks in our yard.  This was no problem for him except on this particular day he had to carry all his sister's homework and brother's homework in addition to his because they were home with the flu.  Something needed to be done and we couldn't wait until spring.  

Mom said to call Pete Van Soelen who has helped Heit in the past.   Doyle and I thought we'd need a ton or two, but to our amazement, Pete said that he would start with a truck load which is SEVENTEEN tons!   Wednesday morning he brought a truckload full.   I was expecting John or Doyle to have a ton of work to do leveling out the rock, but he spread the rock nicely in front of the garage to the mail box while avoiding the wires.  

Now I'm thinking that all this rock will cost a ton of money, but couldn't believe that Pete told me not to worry about it.  He said Dewey was a good friend to him and knew what mom was going through.  Wow!  I was humbled a ton and realized that God is always sending tons of blessings our way!  What weighs a ton?  Today, blessings weigh tons and came in the form of rock through Pete!  Susie

A Tournament Close to Home

We are so excited about this, I thought it  is blog worthy!  After spending about every Saturday at one of Jonathan's tournaments in towns that we never heard of or been too, we finally get one close to home.   For example, last week was the North Mahaska tournament which we had to figure out was actually in the town of New Sharon.  This Saturday, there is a tournament at Lynnville-Sully.  I know where that is at and the high school is only two miles from our house.   This is the one time I didn't care if there was a game at 10:00, 12:00 and 3:00. We can even run home between games to pick up anything he might forget or grab a snack.   We don't even have to figure out what to bring to entertain ourselves between games.  Well, there are two games back to back in the afternoon this time, but at least this one is close to home so we don't have to kill a whole day.  Now don't get me wrong, we have enjoyed watching our son play basketball and see big improvements since the beginning of the season.  We just will be able to enjoy the game more knowing that we didn't have to travel far to get there.  

Flying the Friendly Skies

Mom and I still feel like we are dreaming, but we actually purchased tickets to San Diego to visit Anne and the De Groots.  The price was right so we decided to take a little trip.  (Note:  The last time I went traveling without Doyle was when I went with John to California about 18 years ago.) I'm sure if we didn't have kids in school that Doyle would come with us, but someone had to stay with them.  Actually, they wanted to go with, but a cheap ticket isn't so cheap when you take it times 5.

  

Anyway, we will leave Sunday, March 8 out of Omaha and come back Tuesday, March 17 to Minneapolis.  Doyle will pick us up and will visit more family during the kids' spring break.  Katelyn and Justin also have spring break like our kids so we are going to enjoy a couple of days with them too!  

We pray that the trip goes smoothly and hope the friendly skies are ready for us!  I also hope that all works out with Doyle and the kids while we are gone.   I don't think it will be a problem since the kids will be in school.  As long as there are no snow storms or sick kids, Doyle will be able to juggle it without me.  Susie

George, George, George of the Jungle, Watch out for that ......

Before I tell the rest of the story, lets start with our New Year’s letter.  There was a comment about my new toy (4-wheeler) and right below that was my cell phone number.  Obviously I was a little surprised when one of my nephews sent Susie a note on Facebook asking about it.  Then today, I left a personalized message on the same nephew’s phone explaining what I would be doing today.  Instead of a phone call back, Susie gets another message on Facebook.  I guess I better get on Facebook so I can be a friend of Tim’s.

 

Now back to  my adventure.  My friend at work, Scott, was so excited to hear I bought a four-wheeler.  He just bought one and was so excited to have someone to ride with.  I doubted I would ever take it off the farm, but he found an ATV park by Oskaloosa and since we both had today off (Thanks Martin L.), we went there today.  I was talking to Rosa earlier and I liked her comment, she said maybe that is my mission to reach non-believers through some of these hobbies.  It could be the Christian ATV Association or maybe another activity I would like to start called the Christian Prairie Dog Hunter Association.  Scott wants to do that someday too, but Susie thought I may have a PETA protest if we ever started that one.

 

We had a great time at the park.  It was especially fun since there was no one there.  We had to figure out if we were on the trail or making our own since there were no tracks to follow.   There were a few long steep hills that one of us could make it up, but the other would get stuck near the top since all the snow cover was now gone and all you had to climb on was ice.  Couple bad things about the day though, I came over a little hill only to find that the other side of the hill was much bigger and included a sharp turn at the bottom.  I slid down the hill, didn’t make the turn and yes, ran into the tree.  (I’m o.k., but the front guard of the four wheeler will have to be bent back :-)  I will have to watch out for those trees!

Doyle

Happy 2009!

The tradition continues....we had our oliebollen and played some Farkle. We had alot of fun and laughter. My puzzle was worked on and now it is finished - thanks, girls.

I won't say that it wasn't hard, but I am glad that we didn't just forget about it and drop the tradition.

God Bless you all in 2009!

Rosa