Dear Olivia, Happy Birthday! My “little girl” is now officially, legally, an adult. And to be honest, that feels a little bizarre… sad… scary… surreal… but mostly — really and truly — amazing. You! Are! Amazing! I look back on … Continue reading
Dear Cor, Happy Birthday, my son! Everyone seems to be talking about how quickly you’re growing up these days. People ask, “What grade is Cor in?” And I’ll say “He’s a sophomore in high school.” And they’ll say, “What?!? No … Continue reading
It’s the first day of the 2022-23 school year for students in the Kent City School District. That actually applies to only one person in our family, now. But he’s still a pretty special person. Cor is starting the 10th … Continue reading
We helped Olivia move into her residence hall on campus at Kent State University this morning. She’s going to be living on the second floor of Clark Hall. And she seems to have a great set-up. She’s living on a … Continue reading
Cor recently made a change in his life. He switched from playing on the school Soccer Team to running for the school Cross Country Team. In the grander scheme of things, the switch from one sport to another is not … Continue reading
We’ve got oppressive humidity. We’ve got Back-to-School advertisements. And — as of this week — we’ve got Handel’s Peach Ice Cream. It must be August in Northeast Ohio! The ice cream itself is incredible. But I’ve got a story that … Continue reading
We’ve left Nevada. We’re heading back East. And already, with the state barely out of our rearview mirror, my memory drifts towards the nothingness of Nevada. I think about the tumbling tumbleweed that crossed the highway within the first ten … Continue reading
The grasshoppers pelting our minivan sound like plugs of tobacco hitting a spittoon, as we hurtle northeast through the brush country of northern Nevada. It’s hot and dry here, in late July. The towering, snow-streaked peaks of the Ruby Mountains … Continue reading
July 10th, 2012 It felt weird to leave our ground-floor apartment completely empty. To step out into the early-morning quiet of our neighborhood in Amsterdam Oost. To drive through the city for one last journey as Amsterdammers. A group of … Continue reading
I’ve been on ministry assignment for the Estes Park Leadership Training program four times in the last six years. And three out of those four summers have coincided with one of our kids being 14 years of age. Amazingly, 14 … Continue reading