Thanksgiving - Ivy style

Hi all,

Hope you're all doing well.

This past month we've enjoyed Thanksgiving, a surge from the Denver Broncos toward the playoffs (fingers crossed!), another edition of the "Dump Meal" and Noel's 44th birthday. Last night, we went out to the Boulder Cheesecake Factory to celebrate together. All the kids had other things to do, so it was fun for the two of us. The snow was falling on the Pearl Street Mall. The Christmas light were up. The restaurant was quiet. It was a great time! Bummer I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures! Doh!

This blog's pictures will feature Ivy. She is our 3rd daughter, 13 years old. And a very funny child! The kids took some pictures of themselves "jowling." When you jowl, you shake your head back and forth as fast as you can while somebody is taking a picture of you. Some of the faces that end up as photographs are quite hilarious. I put them on the blog (hopefully they won't see them and kill me!) to show how how crazy our family life is. Never a dull moment.

We had a great Thanksgiving. Matt and Simone were out of town, but Mom and Dad, Mark and Steph, and all the cousins were able to get together. It's my favorite day of the year, and this year was no different. We started off with a fun (and very physical!) game of touch football with some guys from the church. Then Monk and I went out and had some hot chocolate at a local coffee shop what was open; that was fun. Then we came home, showered up and got ready for the Thanksgiving meal. My job is to carve the turkey every year. I volunteer for it because I know that I'll get first dibs on the turkey skin! Yes, turkey skin. Fatty, greasy, heart-attack-on-a-plate turkey skin. I love it. But others have figured out my ploy and have started to carefully watch me as I carve the turkey, so I have to be extra sneaky! Anyway, we had a great time.

We also went to Mike and Paula Fisk's house for our annual "Dump Meal." It's a low country boil, but we put tin foil on the table and just dump the food out and eat it like a bunch of carnivorous, pagan barbarians! It's great! King crab, shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, etc. We even try to convince one of the kids to try a large clove of garlic. They've all figured out that's not too smart, so we couldn't sneak it in on anybody this year. Anyway, it's always a highlight, and this year was no different.

Hope you are doing well. I'll update the blog probably after Christmas sometime. It snowed last night and the sun is out, so Colorado looks as beautiful as you could possibly imagine!

Dont' forget the pics at the bottom of the blog.

Take care for Christ's sake,

MJD,Sr.

Ah! November!!

This is my absolute favorite month of the year. Thanksgiving, soon to be here, is my absolute favorite day of the year. I love fall but November the most! Yes!!

Football season is done, and Monk has now started basketball practice. Their team did really well, took 5th place in the end of the season tournament. Michael actually caught a two-point conversion on a tackle eligible play. That was the highlight of his year. He is a natural tight end, but he weighs too much to play the position according to league rules. However, they do allow for the heavier "patch players" (as they are called) to catch 2-point conversions, so he was very excited to be able to do that. He is also quite the musician; he is working on the tuba and the drums and really enjoys them both.

Ivy's soccer season is over too. Their team did well, and we look forward to the spring semester when it is upon us. She wants to play volleyball over the winter months. We'll see if she's able to fit it in with all of her extra-curricular activities with her friends, etc.

Jami continues to read voraciously and has actually done a fair amount of writing. She loves to read/write in the science fiction genre; some of the stuff she encounters can be downright weird. She is so creative and thought-provoking. I never fail to benefit from the conversations I have with her. And to make sure that she is reading biblically faithful and spiritually stimulating books, I have her read a book of my choice between each of her choice of books. So far, she's read a missionary biography, a book on apologetics, one on basic Bible doctrine and one on church history. She retains a lot of what she reads so we're able to have some pretty good discussions on these issues. Lots of fun for a Dad who is also her pastor!

Dennae recently landed a job as a nanny for a family with 8 children. Her responsibilities are varied and challenging. She takes care of children from infancy on up, so she is always doing something new. She continues to home school as well. She and Noel spend a lot of time together. And of course, Brett is always in the picture. They are developing a very godly and spiritually sharpening friendship. We are proud of both of them.

Noel continues to work hard at selling real estate in a very difficult market. Pray that her spirits would stay high; there are lots of setbacks. But she's doing a great job.

We don't make a big deal out of Halloween as a family, but the kids did dress up in goofy costumes this year and took their younger cousins out "trick or treating" in the neighborhood. Michael was Indiana Jones, Ivy and her friends were pumpkins, Jami was a vampire (yikes!) and Dennae and Brett were a boy and a girl respectively. You'll be able to see what I mean from the pictures.

Also, I went hunting with a great friend, Jeff McKinney. I shot a very big buck with a very nice rack. Nothing world record but most undoubtedly the biggest one I'll probably ever shoot in my life. Now, to get Noel to disguise the meat so the kids don't think they're eating a dead deer!

Hope you are all doing well for Christ's sake. Don't forget to look at the pictures at the bottom.

MJD,Sr.

Made it to the playoffs!

This is my favorite time of the year! Fall! The aspen are changing, the leaves are falling, the sky is gray, the sweatshirts are out, the marching bands are playing and the footballs are flying! Yes! How I love fall. Thanksgiving Day is my favorite day of the year and November my favorite month, but October tells me that it's right around the corner! Yes!!

Dennae and Jami's softball team has gone through a dramatic time this season. Their coach resigned due to a series of run-ins and conflicts with some parents and players. Another gal stepped in and did an admirable job. My friend, Andy Roob, agreed to help out as an assistant; he's brought a lot to the team. But in spite of all that, they made district playoffs and will go down to Aurora to play next weekend, October 16-18. This is also most likely Dennae's last year to play (she has another year of eligibility - but would rather get a job she says); Jami has a couple to go. They have both improved dramatically, and it's been fun to watch Dennae at shortstop and Jami in center field throughout the year. They've played really well; we'll see how they do in the tournament. I'll keep you posted. The pictures are of their last regular season game and the "farewell seniors" party they had afterward. Jami "roasted" Dennae during the whole thing; it was quite funny.

Michael's football team made the playoffs too. I've been an assistant coach on his team, and that's been a lot of fun too. Ivy's soccer team is doing very well also. They should move up to the next level, Premier 2, after this season. Everybody seems to be doing well in school. Michael continues to excel on the tuba. I also feel like we are going through a season of spiritual growth as a family. That's been very encouraging.

Noel continues to work hard in a very difficult real estate market. We've started a little side business with the rest of the DeVries family out here, and her real estate experience has been an invaluable tool in getting this business up and running.

The church continues to grow, thank the Lord! I am excited about what God has called us to and enabled us to do. Please pray for us! Trust you all are continuing to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ yourselves!

Don't forget the pics at the bottom of the blog.

For Christ's sake,

MJD,Sr.

Taking a step back in time

I, Mike, had the chance to go on a 2-week trip to China and visit a country of mystery, progress and darkness. Along with Mark and Brett, two members of NRBC, I went to visit a friend who teaches English in a university in Yunnan Province. It was 12 days of action-packed adventures that left my mind spinning with the cultural differences as well as the opportunities to minister to some very needy and searching people. I wish I could tell you more on this site, but security demands that I be brief and concise.

Regardless, during the trip we also visited a spot on this globe which I'd hoped to visit many years ago. About 15 years ago, I was sitting in my sister's house in Michigan, looking at a picture book of beautiful places on this earth. One place caught my attention, and lodged a longing in my heart to go and see this unique place on God's green earth. Little did I know that I would actually get the chance to visit. Well, this trip was that dream come true for me. I wish I could adequately my thanksgiving to God for giving me so many of my wants as well as supplying all of my needs.

In the meantime, things progress at home with a busy fall season, sports schedules, school, church growth, etc. Noel continues to work hard in a struggling real estate market; her niche has been to help young couples, first time home buyers, go through he intimidating process of securing that first big purchase of life.

Hope you are doing well and growing in God's grace. Enjoy the pictures below!

For Christ's sake,

MJD,Sr.

She's baaaaaaack!

We've officially begun the fall sports season, which for the DeVries family, is a very busy time. With 4 teens (well, Monk is big enough to be a teen - just took him and his size 11 shoes to the doctor and found out he's in the 95th percentile in height at 5 ft. 4 in. and in the 95th percentile in weight at 149 pounds) this is an extremely packed time of life. We've always been busy; we are just now busy with other things. Dennae and Jami are playing softball for their high school. Ivy is playing club soccer, and Michael is playing club tackle football (I'm an assistant coach working with QBs and receivers). The next few blogs will just provide some pictures of the different kids in their various sports. Hope you enjoy.

Ivy is a striker and thinks about nothing other than making the back of the net ripple with a shot from her foot. Her first game of the season was yesterday, and she picked up where she left off last year: several shots and one goal. The pictures below will show a progression in the goal she scored. It was a rebound off another shot by one of the other forwards on her team. This year, a new player on the team has a photographer for a Mom. So, we'll be getting some pretty good pictures. We're glad to share them with our friends and family.

Have a great day!

The Trip of a Lifetime

We just got back from 2 weeks of vacation! All six of us went to S.Korea to visit Noel's sister and family. Kent is a chaplain in the Army, stationed at Jongsan Garrison in Seoul, and Shawna teaches at an international Christian school. They will be there for another year, and then it's off to another assignment. While we make the difficult adjustment back to Colorado time, we will cherish the memories of our trip for a lifetime. The cousins all got along fabulously, and we got to see places in this world that we would otherwise probably never have a chance to see. We were able to experience a different culture up close and personal; it is a culture that has a lot of good things to teach the Western mind set. All in all, it was a great trip! We will always be indebted to Kent and Shawna and their children for going through the difficult process of hosting a family of six for 2 weeks in their apartment.

Some of the distinct memories from the trip include the following: 1 - preaching, singing and playing during a chapel service on post 2 - traveling to Sockcho and Busan and staying at the beach in some of the best hotels Korea has to offer 3 - morning trips to Starbucks where the four of us sat around and chatted about everything we could possibly think of 4 - watching Jami on stage at a Korean cooking/Taekwondo show 5 - pulling my hamstring at another show where they hauled me up on stage in front of everybody 6 - watching Andrew and Monk launch home runs in the baseball field behind the apartment 7- Jami and Katherine reading and writing books together 8 - Jessica and Dennae becoming buddies 9 - Ivy diligently shopping at the outdoor markets for all her friends back home 10 - eating out every meal (the cooks need a vacation too!) 11 - Korean food at the Korean restaurants 12 - ministering at the Shalom house for handicapped Koreans 13 - dinner with our Korean friends the Ahns and the Uhms 14 - Nathaniel and his computer games...and the list could go on and on. Take some time to look at the pictures below.

MJD,Sr.

Happy Birthday, America!

These past several weeks we've enjoyed a number of opportunities to be together and enjoy each other as a family. We celebrated all the DeVries family birthdays in the month of June together with our monthly get together. We all got to go watch Dennae play in a double header up in Windsor, a nearby town that was recently devastated by tornadoes. Maybe you heard about it on the news? We celebrated my 25th high school class reunion; it was great to see that everybody who showed up is serving the Lord with their lives. That was a blessing indeed. We celebrated the 4th of July as a family with a church wide picnic and then fireworks that night in a nearby city, Louisville. Then today, July 5, Monk and I took a hike with Peter Landry and his son, Wil. Peter is the other elder in our church plant. We went to the Royal Arch up above Boulder. Spectacular views of all of Denver. You could say we had a royally good time!

Hope you had a Happy Independence Day! I'm proud to be an American!!

Don't forget the pictures at the bottom of the blog!

MJD,Sr.