December 2021
Happy holidays everyone! It seems like this year went by in the blink of an eye. But it has been a wonderful year full of blessings, and great memories with family and friends.
We started out the new year by celebrating with my immediate Kooima family staying with us. It was exciting to have all my Iowa family members under our roof for a week, and we made so many fun and lasting memories while they were here!
From there we continued to watch the kids grow - Aria learned to crawl, stand, and walk in the late winter months, so Camden has had to learn to adjust to her getting into all of his things! As time went by, Aria’s short fuzzy hair continued to grow until it stood straight up on her head! Camden had lots of fun learning to drive his little electric four-wheeler through the nice days of late winter/early spring.
At the beginning of March, the Lord took Darren’s Oma Heystek to be with Him in glory. Since her passing, we have missed her very much, and will miss her through this holiday season too. Yet we know that she is spending this Christmas in the presence of our Savior!
In April, we traveled to Iowa for a short time and learned that Justin and Vanessa were expecting another baby! We looked forward to September when we could meet this little person! We spent Easter in Iowa with my family for the first time since we’ve been married, and also celebrated Aria’s 1st birthday a little early with the Kooimas.
Once we returned home, the kids and I went with Grandma Heystek to the Tulip Fields near Mount Vernon for the first time! Since the tulips bloom around the same time Aria and Grandma share a birthday, we are thinking we should make it a yearly birthday tradition to go see them. What a colorful and beautiful testament to God’s creative work! On April 28, we celebrated Aria’s 1st birthday as well as Grandma Debbie Heystek’s birthday with our immediate Heystek family.
With the beautiful spring weather coming around, we spent lots of time going on walks and playing in the sandbox outside. At the end of May, Grandma Kris came to babysit Aria for a week at our house while Camden, Darren and I traveled to Florida with the Heysteks. We spent a week in Orlando visiting places like SeaWorld, the Kennedy Space Center, and Cocoa Beach. It was fun to swim in the ocean and spot alligators on an airboat tour! Though we missed Aria, she had a great time making memories with Grandma Kris during that quiet week at home.
Through the summer we enjoyed warm days spent in the kiddie pool, and ventured out on some easy, family-friendly hikes: Horseshoe Falls, Washington Park trail, and Point Whitehorn Trail. We spent a few long, sunny days skiing and wakeboarding out on Lake Whatcom with the Heysteks’ boat. The kids actually loved being out on the water and didn’t mind a chilly dip in the lake either!
In July we took our annual vacation with the Kooima and Schwitters families to Lake Carlos in Minnesota. We always look forward all year to our week-long lake vacation! We love boating, playing games, and fishing with family, making great memories. We also had a great time celebrating ‘Christmas in July’ during that week.
On August 18, we celebrated Camden’s 3rd birthday! ‘Bumpa’ and Grandma Kris were able to stay with us for a week over Camden’s birthday, and we had fun going to the Northwest Washington Fair, playing at the park, and making lots of trips to Edaleen Ice Cream Shop.
A few other fun things we did this summer & fall: watching a Mariners game in Seattle with Darren’s siblings and taking in a grand slam; making a trip up to Artist Point with the kids; & enjoying two different visits from two of my first cousins - Lindsay and Alicia. At the end of August, we said ‘see you later’ to Auntie Amanda when she left to teach in Colorado. Things sure are different with her gone, and we miss having her around, but look forward to her breaks when she comes home.
On September 23, nephew and cousin Reggie Lee was born to Justin and Vanessa, and we waited two long weeks to be able to visit him in Iowa! In October, the kids and I spent a week in Iowa snuggling Reggie and celebrating Sadie’s third birthday! We also spent time riding in the combine and tractor with Jordan, visiting Shane at his job at the airport, watching Jamie play volleyball, book signing for God Made Blue, shopping for a prom dress with Jamie, and visiting Jordan and Nicole’s house for supper. The week was packed with fun and memories even though we all went home with some nasty colds!
Just before Thanksgiving, our town of Everson as well as surrounding towns were devastated with flooding. Thankfully, our property was out of the flood path, and we were unaffected other than power outage. We continue to have sympathy and pray for the families who have lost so much due to these floods. As the water receded and roads opened back up in the days after the flooding, the kids were able to stay with Grandma Heystek while I traveled to Minnesota for Trevor and Kalley’s wedding on November 19! It was a beautiful day, and I was able to spend precious time with family members from the Groen side that I haven’t seen in so long!
We’ve been closing out 2021 with holiday activities: Kaptein Thanksgiving, hunting for our Christmas tree, playing in the snow, and Darren’s Northwest Electric Christmas party. We also were able to break ground on the new spec house we plan to build on our property, just south of our house. We anticipate 2022 being very busy with this project as we finish and list the house for sale. Very recently we have also been celebrating Darren’s sister’s engagement! Lisa and Titus got engaged on December 10 and we thank God for this as we look forward to their wedding in 2022!
As we look back over the year gone by, we are reminded of God’s abundant blessings and see His constant faithfulness in our lives. We continue to find our hope in the gift of His Son, our Savior, as we move forward into the new year. He will be our guide even unto death.
Love,
The Heysteks - Darren, Kelsey, Camden, & Aria
“Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.” 2 Thess. 2:16-17
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