Van Gundy Family 2009

This is the Van Gundy family picture we took at Dad's 70th birthday. My two brothers are with their wives on the right side of this picture. Baby Zella is Brent and Amy's daughter and Art and Kristi's grown kids were unable to attend. My sister is sitting with her family in the driver's seat, and Mom and Dad are front and center. The left side of the picture are Dale's and my kids and grandchild. What a great picture!!! Thanks Derek and Amy for your expertise and organization!

More of Dad's 70th Birthday !!

My sister-in-law Amy enjoying some cousin time between Mgan and Zella!



This is a funny pic of what happened between family pictures on a windy Sunday, the day after Dad's party. We planned ahead of time for white shirts and jeans. Cooper is either enjoying his Aunt Mikiah's embrace, or he isn't at all!!! Mommy is watching closely!! Derek and Ty are the technical guys, as usual!



Here is the family pic of Derek, Amy, and Cooper. Maybe you remember in an earlier post I put a picture of everyone trying to get Cooper to smile, well, this is what it looked like from their angle!!! It seems to have made Cooper make a funny face instead of a smile! What would you look like if 15 or so people were making fools of themselves for you????



Here is Cooper getting ready for the family pics. Everyone was saying, "Where's Cooper???" He was playing along with it and didn't pull his shirt down over his eyes for a little while, which was so cute!!! Finally he couldn't stand it any longer and here is the "peek" we saw!



My daughter-in-law Amy, and my sister-in-law Kristi! Isn't family wonderful???!!!! Kristi was hoping to make a trip to Ohio from my parents' house to see Art and Kristi's grandbaby, Lacy. She is an adorable little girl, the daughter of my brother, Art's son, Brad. They were either looking at Ohio or Florida in this pic. Amy lived in Florida in her second year of marriage to Derek, so she knows her way around there too!!!! Me? Well, I'm lost quite a bit, but I don't have to know some of those things since Dale takes such good care of me!


My daughter-in-law Lauren, was having a nice conversation with my Dad, and I just had to interrupt them for a picture!! Don't mind the blue print. I'm still trying to learn how to do this blogging!! Trey and I do not know why this is doing this!!!!!!!! Dad and Lauren, I hope you feel special!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Trey and Drew were talking about something that looked like they were up to no good, so I pointed the camera at them, and said, "I want you to tell me everything you are talking about!" Then I clicked the picture. Obviously, Trey felt guilty!



I am sorry I didn't make this a complete cousin picture with Derek and Amy, and Tyler and Lauren in it too...... Cooper is 2nd cousin to Zella, or maybe I'm wrong on that. Does anyone know what my brother's baby would be to my son's baby????



Art, Brenda, Brent, and I haven't had many times of being all in the same place at the same time since we grew up. We decided to act like kids here just to make it fun. I had a thought of asking Mom and Dad to stand behind us for the picture, but Mom was busy in the kitchen and I opted not to. Next time I will!!!

I wanted to get some more of the pictures from my Dad's birthday party. This is my sister-in-law, Amy Van Gundy and our newest member to the Van Gundy fam....Zella Grace. She is a very precious and special baby!!




I picked a bad picture of Derek....that shows that my eyes are not telling me the full truth anymore! That is scary considering that I look at myself in the mirror and think I look ok... Anyway, this photo was to commemorate the oldest and youngest cousin represented in the Gordon VG grandkids. Derek will be 28 in June, and Zella is 7 weeks. Zella's Dad, my brother Brent, was 12 years old when Derek was born!
This is a georgeous picture of Zella, so don't mind Aunt Debbie.....



Uncle Tyler was one of Cooper's best friends when he was hanging out on the stage at the party. I think Tyler wanted to keep him from falling off the edge. Tyler used to do the same things for Mallory, Trey, Drew, and Mikiah.......he had lots of practice! This guy is going to be a great daddy someday!!!

Here is my Dad thanking everyone for coming to his party. This was the first thing we did after food was served. All four of his kids introduced their families and then the picture video was shown. Dad is good with the mic. He's been an auctioneer all of my childhood and most of my adult years. He's retired now, and playing really hard!!!

Eight Kids in our home

Dale and I opened our home to 4 wonderful kids for the week. The Arbelaez's have been friends of ours for several years now. Mitch is Mikiah, Trey, and Drew's gymnastics coach, which gave us a chance to get to know the whole family. Jayden and Alyssa are ages 5 and 3. Jayden really has taken a liking to Trey, which has been a chance for Trey to practice his big brother skills again on a sibling younger than he is used to!!! It has been kind of funny to see what a 5 year old can do to a 15 year old! Lots of piggy back rides, etc.



John Kyle is the oldest child in the family and the same age as Drew. They have been hanging out since last Saturday and haven't gotten tired of it yet! Ginger, their dog, is also staying at our home. Ginger has stayed here several times now and makes herself right at home with Bella. They are friends too!



Alyssa is probably one of the cutest 3 year olds on this earth. She has a personality that matches her as well! Very precious and sweet!


Mikiah and Brianna wanted to dress as nerds, so they got into the dress-up clothes and came up with this.



For me, it has been fun to imagine what it would be like to have 8 kids fairly close in age. When Derek was 18, Mikiah was born, so we had 6 kids in the same house for a few years. We lost 2 babies in 2002 and 2003, so I've often wondered what it might be like had those babies survived. 2 more lives to know and love. I can't want what God didn't allow, but it has been a blessing to have the extra kids and all that comes with that for this week. I know the Arbelaez's will be glad to get back together this Friday and we'll feel like we fit our house again, but for now, we are enjoying the chance to say "Eight is Enough!!!" (Actually, Braden made nine today, and I might add he was a little out of sorts with the extra kids here. He didn't ask for this and he pretty well let us know that he thought we were all about him here!) Braden is a special little boy that we will always love, but Cooper is tops!

Mallory's 19th Birthday

We took Mallory out for dinner for her birthday this year.








We went to Friday's, which isn't a restaurant we frequent, but it was good and Mallory almost won the "free bar" catagory. I'm not sure what she would have done with that. As it was, she won a free appetizer.

Our party size is shrinking without our big guys and their families, but we are learning how to party anyway and had a good time. Mallory got a chicken pasta dish, Drew a chicken sandwich, and Trey the usual burger.

Mikiah ordered the kids' chicken fingers and a salad. She loves salad with ranch dressing! Dale got the spiciest entree, but was disappointed it wasn't very spicy!!! I got a chicken and shrimp entree with mashed potatoes. It was good!!!

We ended the night with an ice cream cake, a better attempt at singing happy birthday than we did for Amy on April 10th, :) and Mallory opened her gift of a jacket, and the latest Tony Dungy book.

Mallory got several phone calls today, her brothers Derek and Tyler as well as Grandma Jan and Gpa Gordie. She got cards and money from Gma NeeNee and Gpa Don and Gma Jan and Gpa Gordie. She bought some shoes with some of the money she received!! Cooper and Derek and Amy got on the computer via skype to talk to Mallory and all of us tonight. That is a really wonderful blessing to be able to do that. Check out Cooper's birthday song pic for Mallory on Amy's blog. How sweet!!! It is our latest screensaver now. More later!

Dad's 70th birthday weekend!!

Last year, we made plans to have a special birthday party for Dad's 70th. It was a weekend of honoring our Dad with family and many, many friends. This is my brother, Art's wife, Kristi. She is a dear sister to me and I love to spend time with her. Most of all, I'm blessed to know that Kristi is my brother, Art's, best friend and helpmeet.




This is my brother, Art, helping my grandson, Cooper, work off some energy before our ride home on Sunday. You'll have to imagine this blog reversed if you prefer chronological order. I just wanted to get a blog done, so it is starting with Sunday and going backwards to Saturday!!!





Derek and Amy did family pics of everyone on Sunday afternoon. It was windy and cold, but we found the south side of one of Dad's sheds that made a neat background and wind block!! Here everyone is checking our their pics on Derek's lap top. Cooper is getting some loving care from Mommy!!!






Here is the cheering squad for Derek and Amy and Cooper for their family pic. Tyler is taking the pic, and everyone else was trying to get Cooper to look the right direction and smile!!!

This was taken by my camera, so Derek's shot will be better, but this is a recent pic of our family.

This is a special picture for me. I love lining up with my 2 brothers and sister, Brenda, for a fun pic when we are able to all be at the same place at the same time!!!! It doesn't happen as often as I would like. We had a lot of fun together!!!


This is my brother Brent and his wife Amy and baby Zella....only 7 weeks old and she did wonderfully throughout the whole weekend of activities! Zella was baptized in my parents' home around noon on Sunday. Pastor Amy married Brent and Amy almost 3 years ago, and it was a touching service for her and all of us to see the blessing of God through this little life He gave Brent and Amy. Everyone agreed during the service to be a godly example to Zella and share the love of Jesus with her through our lives. She is a blessed little girl with so many family members that love her. Amy's parents were present, but her 2 brothers' families were unable to attend.

Gma Debbie and Gpa Dale with our precious little Cooper!! Cooper looked for dogs all weekend and birdies too!! He liked Great Gpa Don and Great Gma NeeNee's brittany spaniel, Alby, the best. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic of him.

Cooper was passing the time at Gpa Gordie's birthday party by walking on a small stage. Uncle Tyler and Gpa Dale were keeping him amused!!

My Dad is a wonderful husband and father. It was so fun to have this party for him. Dad never had a party as a kid, so this really was his first organized party with more than family present. It was such a special evening. Words really can't express how touched so many of us were with Dad's video of his life that Derek put together with the help of Amy and Brenda. I'd love to let anyone who is interested see it and get a picture of a man who loves his family and was a hardworking provider all of his life. Dad's father died when Dad was 12 years old, so I know that Jesus has been with him in a special way because of the Bible verse that says God is a father to the fatherless. This is evident in Dad's life.


Dad's mother was a wonderful woman as well, and the mother of 12 kids. Here is a picture commemorating Zella Eudella and Zella Grace, Brent and Amy's baby named after Dad's mom.


Dale and I and our entire family all stayed at Dale's parents' home throughout the weekend. Don and Neva have been married for over 50 years now and are a very important part of all of their children's lives. It was a blessing to have Dale's parents celebrate with us at Dad's party. Donald even made it in the picture video!! He and Dad had a picture taken at Dale's and my wedding in their baby blue tuxes!!!!


Here is a picture of much of the man power behind this party. Brenda put a lot of work into the planning and food prep. Everything went smoothly!! Grandkids served drinks and dessert.


Tyler and Lauren arrived Friday night at the Mleyneks' and had their own 5th wheel camper as lodging. Tyler and Lauren did a lot of the tear down and clean up work after the party along with anything else that was needed.


Ryan, Drew, and Trey.....cousins that have grown up together.


Our blonde girl cousins. We just needed Zella in there, but at 7 weeks, we will be sure to get her once she has a chance to grow alittle more.

Den's dog Ozzie being silly with Cooper!!!

Five Mleyneks @ Mens' Retreat

Here's the Mleynek sons. This is the first year all four of our sons went to mens' retreat together. I was really blessed with the reality of this. I praise Jesus for our sons.





Here's Dale with his boys. He has been such an awesome dad over the years and here is the product of that. It's hard to comprehend our sons growing up, but it is happening big time!! Mens' Retreat is a time for the men of The Missionary Church in the Midwest District to gather together to encourage one another to live for God's glory, draw nearer to Jesus, and tell others this good news!!! This year Caleb Bislow spoke. Check out his website www.unusualsoldiers.com. Caleb is a man of God that has committed his life to proclaiming Christ wherever God leads him. Tyler went with Caleb to Kenya 2 years ago. Since that time, Caleb has been on many other evangelistic missions trips.





I'm really sad that I don't have a picture of our little grandson, Cooper to put here. He's the next Mleynek son in training.....next to Cooper, though, is our little adopted by our hearts neighbor, Braden. We have taken care of Braden since he was 6 weeks old. I knew it was an opportunity to touch his little life with the love of Jesus and allow God to use us as vessels to raise Braden up for the LORD. We have encouraged Braden to love God and His Word. We are training him in this daily by teaching him to pray and reading the Bible. Braden hasn't wanted to sit still for Bible reading, but with a little encouragement (ask me if you need details) he is enjoying sitting for God's word and is always happy to hear the Amen!!! That means he can get up!!! Here is a picture of how much Braden is loving the Bible. He wanted to hold his own and wanted to take it outside. This photo looks like he is saying....."Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near!!"