Kendall & Ashley plus Dad makes for a fantastic photo
Tracy & Christa: nice cheek to cheek
Carissa & Molly: I work at the Nederlander with Carissa and Molly is a neighbor of Christa's at NWC.
Tracy (again) & Renee: who is in my 6am leadership class on Mondays :)
Sisters!
Renee and Kendall didn't know how to act at a party in social situations. They were a bit weird!
Erika receives a great gift of nice clothes from mom and Molly is crazy jealous. Thanks!
Tracey, Jackie, Lisa, Shawna, Erika, and Stacy (Acy), Becky is not pictured.
From red sweatshirt left clockwise: Morgan, Colleen, Raquel, Meredith, Malea, Amy, Ranell, Anna, Josie, and Angela.
January 13 I organized a girls retreat for the highschool girls in our youth group. It was a great time....not as many people showed up as we thought would, but we had an intimate group to play some games and get to know each other a lot better. I often have an urgency to satiate a stirring in my heart and this girls retreat was definetly a stirring for quite a long time. So we went ahead with it. I think one fun moment was first of all going grocery shopping with Ash and filling this cart...then taking the cart across the road to the building--driving the cart into the building right up to the fridge and unloading it. Talk about service.
I have a great small group I like to call "Creative Worship" and they were all present at this shindig...I love those girls.
Brooke Damstra and myself practiced some songs did worship. She has a great voice.
We ate smoothies--my treat!
I have had some time to think about doing whatever I want in the last year and I have neglected to do that...just anything I want. I have done some sleeping in, but not much...and I have sat on the couch, but not much. So what does it mean to do anything you want? In a first reaction I think it means be completely and 'utterly' selfish and self seeking and playing games like Selfish Skipbo...(which doesn't work at all ask Bobby or Tracy or Adam or Aaron---its a quick round of anyone playing by any rules to do whatever they want to get rid of thier cards first.) So what would you do if you could do anything? Well I have discovered what that looks like. Little bits here and there. So as I pondered the jobs and the livelyhoods of those arounds me---I considered trying to understand what they did all day long...what they were busy with...and why they do it. Couple that overwhelming thought with having most Tuesdays and Wednesdays off and I have some time to discover these things. I would call it the Shadow Project 2007. In trying to fill that time...and not sensing a need to get paid for it I want to do all I can to just 'know' my friends and my aquaintences a bit more by knowing what they spend all day doing. Maybe it's an escape from my 'non-linear' job life....if so who cares. So this project was off with a bang. January 9 brought my first Shadow Project. Most of the appointments are things I have never done before and in a moments time...just feel like doing. And I think that is the definition of doing whatever I want---its not whatever you think I should do, but actually doing what I want.
Shadow Project #1-----The Dairy Farmers
Glen and Yvonne De Vries
Tracy and I awoke at 4:15am to drive to Newkirk, IA to spend a normal morning on the De Vries Dairy Farm. It was cold, it was stinky, it was eye opening. How did I come to get to this specific farm...well I am a waitress with Yvonne at the Nederlander's Grille (She is the small red coated princess with her hand on an udder) She never gets up this early but kept saying, "For you Erika....just for you I will get up to show you around....just for you." Tracy looks a bit nervous. Standing in the milking parlor (a pretty fancy name for a little alley way with machines and 10 cows backed up to the poles) was a dangerous thing. No, you won't get kicked, but you might be sprayed by a vaccum pressured machine that upon its completion of the milking---releases pressure and flies off the udder spraying milk at anyone standing close. The udder anxiety was soaring.
Glen was a great teacher and showed us how to squeeze the teat (can I say that in a blog entry...it sounds vulgar...I suppose it is not) I was too gentle with it....but finally I sqeezed hard enough to get some milk action. Yvonne told me that she would mind a bath in fresh cow milk--its about 80 degrees F.(or more!)
We listened to classical Mannheim Steamroller---some old Christmas CD's in the mix while we learned the cleaning and preparing of the udder. I tell you some of those bags were droopy. Glen knows the cows by the udders. That's like saying you only know the girls by thier chests...except I have never heard of cow rights activits...that were cows to defend thier rights to udder abuse. The day cows realize that they are being milked is a scary day.
Then before we left we got to bottle feed some calves. Yvonne usually does this job...getting those small ones all weened off the udder. This cow I have is a crazy one...not as much as Tracy's---she wrestled the thing (arm around the neck in a head lock and a slam to the hay floor). My cow has a bad disease and is loosing hair...similar to kemotherapy. He was cute when he kept ramming his head into Tracy's butt to see if there was more milk for him. Meanwhile I was in the stall next door with some calves born yesterday....feeding them. And in that stall was the mother, still dripping with birthing juices and kindly giving off a delicious placenta smell. Mmmm, my stomach is churning.
Shadow Project #1 was a success on the farm. We will go in the spring to see the rest of it. I imagine that they wont do anything until we come next time. But that is false. They will milk cows and feed them twice a day until we join them again. wow. That really blows my mind.
de Vonderful Eve
Matt Kunnari a Scottishman in a tight black kilt, Cassie Lane is the Hostess with the Mostess, Kevin Zonnefeld as himself, Moi, Adam of the Gelder hugging Andrew Kroeze whose last name means 'fuzzy feeling after drinking'--I think that is why Adam is hugging him-He's so fuzzy.
As said in blog by 'Zonnefeld' the evening was grand talking of travels, plans of, and the hardships of . My taste for South Africa was invigorated as Cassie brought out her photo album that beamed of her time in George, South Africa. I was amazed at the tickling feeling of missing and home I had when I thought of those people and those places. We blushed with excitement just to speak of that place. She had Rooibus Tea---which brought me all the way there. The smell of the tea was a sensational fix--to relive those last moments like it was right now. I loved South Africa. Now what am I supposed to do with that love? What pocket do I put it in? I might not see these friends for a long time...but was good we touched base. It seems like we are all in the same kind of place- except Gelder he's the youngin'. But just because we are in the same place doesn't mean we hang out in the same places. I found myself becoming animated when we shared our thoughts...I didnt' think I had so many---but I guess I am persuasive like that. I want to be a missionary. I want to dance. I want to love Jesus. How? When? Where?
Cory and I played at this coffee shop. Oh yeah, CoryGrimm ...he's my guitar guy--his wife and two kids let me hang out with him and do gigs at churches and coffee shops in the area. So far we have done 5 shows and are looking for more opportunities. Cory is going to seminary in Sioux Falls but really loves music so much. All of the music we do is original. We even put together my song. The debut of 'Isaiah 58:8'.....so wonderful to work with him.
Erika & Cory During the two sets
Noah Adams and I
Noah is in my creative worship small group---and an amazing guitarist in the making
If you have a need for some musical entertainment give us a call. You will be glad you did! And by the way we love it and we love the Lord!
What a fun night at the Van Wyk's. It was fondu FUN DO! Myron and Andrea will be married this summer...June 23! (I think..someone correct me if I am wrong). We played these games where we looked at different kitchen items and then answered questions....what is it, what is it used for and what will Andrea and Myron use do with it. For example....a zester might be used to trim Myron's back hair. :) I brought two recipes for them in thier new kitchen. The photo is of Andrea realizing that the casserole I wanted her to make was one she hated when I brought leftovers to our apartment. Its called Hot Dog Casserole. The ingredients (in which Myron is reading out loud) Layered hot dogs, cream corn, and sliced potatoes with salt to taste. You can imagine the chuckles!
Then a good time with Kev-o! Kev and Matt K are like the Sara Prins of decorators. They have an awesome apartment...not a lot of room....but they have a Sam G art room, Matt K's art desk and Kev's lamp atop three large books---one which was a dictionary.
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Josie Visser, Brooke Hiemstra, Karina Smit, and me
At Christmas Eve service I was able to organize a group of high school girls to do a creative dance to the song O Little Town of Bethlehem. Oh, it was so great to have this opportunity and the girls did so well. I had about 20 ladies of all ages stand up and help us with the last verse to do the sign language. This type of thing has not happened very often in my church and in the likings of its tradition has not moved that way...but with true sensitivity and a heart of worship I believe that God opened all the doors and provided the perfect time for a worship dance to be given back to him. I am so glad I know the hearts of the girls too.....and the our church family does too. It changes my ideas about true worship, when the heart is there and God is too. I love this....I truly love this....if I can learn to be a true worshiper for the rest of my life....I will.
This is Ashley Stanislav and she is my new friend. Ashley goes to my church in Orange City and works as a youth sponser with the senior high. She is beautiful and splendid. I am forced to spend strange morning hours of class with her creepy husband who happens to be the youth director. Creepy in this sense is good.....I mean, she married him. But she's the hot one!
