March Happenings

At the beginning of this month, Aunt Esther and some of their kids stayed for a week to keep Grandma company. Thankfully, we had great weather all that week; so the kids spent most of their time outdoors.

The kids all had fun making and trying out some stilts. Here they are having a competition of who can go the farthest on them.

Matthew made it 3/4 of the way down our long driveway before he fell; 2 ft. short of winning. :-(

Katie Bergen, Ashley, Abby Bergen, & Josiah enjoying the merry-go-round.

John playing on the monkey bars.

Remington loves it when Mark brings out his remote control truck for him to chase around.

Mark & Caleb Klassen fishing

Kara helping Tiffany Klassen arrange flowers for her wedding.

Justin and Laura came out one Sunday afternoon; so of course we spoiled Braxton. Here Grandma Bergen is enjoying some Great-Grandma time.

At first, Braxton wasn't so sure of this huge beast in front of him; but he soon found out it was safe to touch. ;-)

Braxton showing off his vocabulary.

Burning time is here!! Dad and the boys burned the side of the dam Saturday morning.

Trevor

Mark being his usual dare devil self!

Josiah & Mark

Emily, John & Ashley enjoying the warm sunshine.

Ashley and John helping Trevor plant onions.

With all of the really nice weather this week, the guys have been doing a lot of yard work.

John and I watching the boys play basketball on the back patio.

::Boys will be Boys::

They never seem to get enough of blowing things up!

Our video didn't turn out so well, so I grabbed the video from Busenitz's website (hope they don't mind;-).

Josiah and Mark thought they'd see how many snakes they could catch. Don't worry, they're all just gardener snakes. They caught 21 in all!!

Heritage Bible Church Celebration

This past Sunday, after the fellowship dinner, our church had a special time of sharing how the Lord has been working in our individual lives as well as a church. We then spent the afternoon together in games and fellowship.

Brady Beeson, Alyssa Smith, & John playing 'Tumbling Monkeys' (John's favorite game:-).

John enjoying a game of 'Guess Who' with Kyle Beeson.

Several of the Moms enjoying some fellowship.

Matthew Kientz, Jonathan Kientz, Rachel Busenitz, Ryan, Trevor, & Mark playing an intense game of 'Settlers of Catan'.

Traci Beeson, Bethany, & Susanna Kientz (the last ones left) in a game of 'Spoons'.

The Dad's enjoyed some fellowship too.

Emily, James Beeson, Jesse Busenitz, Ashley, Emily Beeson, & Matthew playing a new version of 'Sorry'. Some of them are just spectators, so it must be exciting!

Our Little Buckaroo

Yesterday, we celebrated John's birthday.

John looks on while Kara decorates his cake. Kara found a whip cream frosting recipe and used it to decorate his ice-cream cake; it worked out great!

Grandpa & Grandma Isaac were in town for Grandpa's surgery, so while Grandpa was occupied watching basketball games at the hospital Grandma came out to join us for the evening. Grandma Bergen also joined us.

John wanted pizza for his birthday meal.

"My very own horse!!"

Josiah lighting the candles!

John enjoying his ice-cream!!

Happy Birthday

to our little Buckaroo!!

Laura

"victorious one" :: "graceful one"

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning os wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Psalm 111:10

Happy 23rd Birthday Laura!

John

"God is gracious" :: "seeker of truth"

"For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel."

Ezra 7:10

Happy 3rd Birthday John!

Mom

"abundance" :: "graceful lily"

"Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"

Psalm 32:11

Happy Birthday Mom!

We Love You!!

This post is probably long over due, but we are assuming that most of you reading this have probably already heard that Brent's dad went to be with the Lord on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 1:30 am. We are so grateful that he went peacefully, and we know without a doubt that he is in a much better place. Brent's mom is doing great; a great testimony of God's grace and trusting the sovereignty of God in every situation.

It's hard to know where to start with this, but on Friday, Feb 26 the Lord worked out the details for us to bring Dad back home from Memphis, TN. It was a long ride for him, and it was looking like he might not make it; but the Lord was gracious and gave us a little more than a day with him before he passed away. It was not easy for any of us to see him in the condition he was in, but it made it all that more easy to rejoice when he finally did go. He is deeply missed by all, and since Brent's parents live on adjoining property our kids rarely went more than a day or two without seeing him.

Leaving Memphis, TN

Mom rode with Dad in the ambulance while Stan and Pam followed in the car.

Arriving Home

Braxton getting uncle time with John.

Working on the powerpoint for the funeral.

Cousin Time!

The Lord provided beautiful weather the week of the funeral which allowed the cousins some outdoor time together while the adults planned.

When the family went to the funeral home to work out details and pick out a casket, the whole family was in agreement when they spotted a pine wood casket. Dad was not an extravagant man; the more simple the better. He loved the Lord and always said his money was better spent given to ministries or missions. The one thing he enjoyed was doing things with his grandkids. He has built many projects with our boys, including the total remodel of our current home. After seeing the pine casket, the family came up with the idea of having the grandkids (& children) wood burn their signatures onto it. We brought the casket home and set it in the middle of Dad's wood shop and did just that! It was a memory the kids will never forget and a way we could give back to Dad.

::Funeral::

Kara agreed to play "I'd Rather Have Jesus" if she could be first on the program; before her emotions took hold.

The four children each shared a tribute to their dad.

A rarity; John fell asleep. We realized after the service that he was running a fever.

Grace Baptist Church provided a wonderful meal for those attending.

::Sunset Burial::

We had a time of fellowship with family and friends after the burial.

Thanks Dad/Grandpa for all you have done for us and the testimony of Christ's love that you left!

Here's a shortened version on the powerpoint that was shown at the funeral; we also added some additional pictures that included our family.