Ode to Birchwood

Fishing

What kind of slam poem am I going to write?
A poem without rhymes just doesn’t seem right.
I’ll tell you a story of one day of my life,
The story will prove I’ll be one heck of a wife.

Here’s a story it happened last June,
In Birchwood Wisconsin, the home of the loon.
An 8 hour drive to this paradise,
It happened just once, but I’m hoping for twice.

The story I tell, is a dad and his daughter,
The memories they made out on the water.
An early morning companion my dad he was wishing,
Someone who would wake up with him and go fishing.

Fishing you’d think, it isn’t so girly,
The crack of dawn comes mighty early.
There is no need for an hour of prep,
The fish don’t care if your hair has any depth.

Bait in hand, your pole in the boat,
Kick the motor on, that baby ain’t made to just float.
The race is on to your favorite spot,
Pullout the Garmin and stop at the dot.

Bait on the hook, set the bobber to depth,
Cast out your minnow; let it drop to its death.
The unknowing bobber is floating on top,
You stand at the ready waiting for it to drop.

The moment has come when it’s taken the bait,
You give it a jerk; you don’t want to be late.
The bend of your pole, proves you’ve hooked into the quarry,
The first fish in the boat is the start to the story.

With the radio playing and sun block applied,
This spot is producing the reason you lied.
The crappie are biting, and filling the basket,
Haven’t caught nothin, if someone should ask it.

You start to get hungry; and notice its noon,
Just one last catch, we’ll go in soon.
Who’ll catch the last fish, it’s onto the bet,
When after a moment you hear get the net.

With the last fish in, you add to the meal,
Their flopping around, but at least they don’t squeal.
Their just in the boat for a short ride in,
Some picture for boasting, then preparing din-din.

Into the fish house, they go in the sink,
You get your knives out, we’ll be done in a blink.
The electric fillet knife makes quick work of the slabs,
While the traditional knife fine tunes both halves.

The grinder takes care of the parts you don’t eat,
Feed them in slow, or they’ll be all over your feet.
Clean ups important you scour the sink,
A fish house with parts left is certain to stink.

Pull out the fryer, lets heat up some oil,
The debate on the breading causes many to toil.
The ingredients mixed and ready to dip,
Wait till their floating and give them a flip.

The stage has been set, for a meal to savoir,
A blessings been given to thank God for his favor.
With dinner cleaned up, we then hit the sack,
The alarm clock will wake us when 5 AM’s back.

Written by Courtney and assisted by her dad Tom for an English assignment. They fished with the Richards Family last year.

Easter at DeVries'

We are going to have Easter lunch & supper at our home. We are going to give it a try... Nikki always loved having it here, enjoying the set-up & decorating and preparing for our annual Easter egg hunt:)
Let me know if you plan on coming to any of our meals, and if you could help bring a dish... and don't forget the bags of candy to fill the eggs.
Maybe we'll be able to share some pictures from our Israel trip and Jason can share about Ethiopia.

Comment Posting Help

A while back, I changed the comment options so that comments would pop up in a separate window. Grandma recently informed me that some people were having problems posting, so here's a few pictures that show step-by-step process for commenting.

Step 1: Click comment, type in your comment, and click the orange "Publish Your Comment" button.

Step 2: The pop-up window goes to a separate log-in screen. The only problem: the log-in portion is on the right side of the window, so you can't see it.

Step 3: Either maximize the pop-up window or scroll over the right so that you can log-in. Write in your e-mail and password. Click "Sign-in" and you're all set.

graduation party

Yous kids are growing up!

Save the date for a yous kids graduation party on Sunday, June 3. Mark is graduating from Illiana Christian High School and we will also celebrate our college grads - Karley, Liz, Craig, Anna, and Scott.

Another Addition to Yous Kids

We would like to share some great news with you....


WE ARE PREGNANT!!!


Due in September! Heard the heartbeat 2 weeks ago. Mommy and baby are doing well :)

(Sorry Alex and Heidi we can't make it to your wedding)

Love you guys and hope to see you soon,
Wes & Korie

Free Skin Care

Hello everyone,

Nicole and I are excited about a new opportunity we have been introduced to. Nicole needs help with a contest she is in for the month of March. She nees to do 20 skin cares. If she achieves her goal she wins a $50 Gift card. There is no obligation for you to purchase. She will be using a line of anti-aging products that guarentees improvement in your skin in 30 days. If you can help her out or have questions contact her at (219)-929-6199 or tnrichards@yahoo.com

8TH ANNUAL FAMILY GOLF OUTING

We have scheduled this year's golf outing for Saturday, June 16, at 12:00 noon, at River Pointe Country Club, 6700 Country Club Road, Hobart, Indiana (same course as last year). We would like each of you who are planning to play golf to let us know as soon as possible. Mike & Kim again have graciously offered to host our supper. We also would like a head-count of those who will be joining us for supper. Looking forward to another great family time.

Family Update

The Van Drunen family would like to let everyone know that Emily and Scott Zandstra are engaged and have set a wedding date of August 18.
More information to follow.
Keith and family

March Madness 2012

It's that time of year again. Time to lace up your zips, PF Flyers, Chuck's, Jordan's or new Addidas D-Rose's. The tournament starts next week. Log on to: http://youskids.mayhem.cbssports.com/e to join. Password is Elmer. Fabulous prizes await the top 3 players. Any questions, let me know.

Try This

Youtube didn't like the song I had for the video so it wouldn't play it. (Copyright, schmopyright) Try this one.

Home!

I just arrived home! An exciting, stretching, and wonderful trip. My admiration for foreign missionaries willing to sacrifice for The Lord grew. I am so thankful for His provision for me and our family during this time. Above is the first shot at a video so that you can see a glimpse of the trip.

Also, way to go Rudi, weighed in and I lost 22 lbs. during the last month. It wasn't for lack of food, but more of an apprehension as to restroom facilities I would be forced to use if I over did it. A wonderful prize was purchased and delivered to the states for you!

Thank you all for your prayers and support for us during this time!

Love you,

Jason

VAN DRUNEN GOLF OUTING

We are looking forward to another golf outing this year. The dates we are considering are Saturday, June 16, or Saturday June 23. We would like to know if either one would conflict with other family plans. Please let us know as soon as possible so we can contact the golf course.