Presque Isle Pier

A jewel of a place to visit is called Presque Isle Park in Marquette Mi.  I could have explored this park all day.  I loved it's hidden views and winding trails that led to sights that were awesome.

The Park is a peninsula that juts out into Lake Superior.  Although the locals call it "The Island".  There is a road that follows the shore line (for the most part).  It has many pull offs, just ask Kevin, I was begging him to stop at almost every one!  Although the road is there, it is not open to cars during certain times of the day, they close it down to only foot traffic, so you need to make sure you are there during driving hours.

I will be posting pictures from the park over my next few posts.  Todays pictures are of the "pier" that is just inside the park.  We decided to walk it.  You would never guess that about an hour earlier it was cloudy and spitting on us as we left the lighthouse.

On our way out to the end this little guy was spotted.

He jumped into the water, so the kids went to see if they could see where he went.

This is Mom and Dad walking back to shore... 

Andy would have stood here gazing all day, his mind could not comprehend the beauty of the water.

We quick grabbed a family picture.

Then my silly husband acted like he got locked on the pier.

This is actually what that gate looks like.

Plenty of room for him to walk through!

This is a quick picture of the lake shore by the pier.  The water is so clear! The average visibility is 25ft,  some areas you can see 65-75ft. deep!

One last picture.  I took this of Micah sitting on a fence right on the lake shore. He is so handsome!

That's it for today!

Blessings!!

Crazy??

I was awoken this morning to my husband saying "TyTy has a runny nose, and his throat hurts, he doesn't feel good."  I jumped up and came right downstairs and grabbed.... no not medicine.... essential oils.

I can't remember the last time I pulled motrin or tylenol out of my cupboard to give to my child or to myself.  I have not taken totally away that option, but when I ask them what they want, all three of them, always choose oils.  Why would I give them something man made, when I can give them something God made? The Bible references essential oils 188 times!  What do you think will be better for them?

I will state right now that what I am about to write will be controversial.  People will think me nuts, and that is just fine.  I only have to worry about what my husband thinks.  And he thinks... well he thinks, I am a keeper and "something else".  Which is his way of telling me I am "special".

My grandmother was a RN, a fact that I am very proud of.  But I don't think she forgot the "home remedies" that she was raised with.  I remember a story she told me when I was pretty young.  She said that she had a patient who had just given birth.  At the time the medical community said that a new mom needed to stay in bed for 10 days.  Not getting up at all.  Now, does that really make sense?  Well the new mom who gave birth stayed in bed like a good patient and died.  It so affected my Grandma that from that moment on, she went against the medical community and got new moms up and out of bed right after birth.  She didn't lose one more new mom.  She figured that the patient who died, died of a blood clot because she didn't get her blood moving by laying in bed.  Smart women.  Do you think she was questioned about her "non-conforming" ways... probably.  She never told me how the medical community acted, but working in the medical community for 8 years, I can only imagine what was said to her.

As I just stated, I worked in the medical field for 8 yrs.  I worked with people from 104 yrs old down to pregnant women and babies that were just days old.  I have seen a lot during those years.  Sadly, I was just a brainwashed as the next person.  It makes me sad, to think about how I promoted things that I would NEVER do now.

I guess my road away from the mainstream medical world started when I was much younger when my parents took us all to a Chiropractor.  My Dad had carpel tunnel syndrome.  He went to all the medical doctors, went through surgery, wore horrible braces to bed at night and none of it helped.  He went to a Chiropractor and he hasn't had a problem since.  My oldest brother, dealt with horrible allergies and asthma.  He had a breathing machine that he had to use and went to get allergy shots several times a week. Once he started with a Chiropractor he stopped allergy shots and his breathing treatments.  My Dad told us that when he was little, if he got sick his parents wouldn't take him to a doctor, they took him to a Chiropractor.

Back in August 2005, my doctor told me that by the time I turned 35 years old, I would be on an insulin pump.  I started researching all about diabetes.  I started to find research that was done in Europe about the link to diabetes and Vitamin D deficiency.  Guess what, living in Michigan, you have a pretty good chance of being Vit D deficient.  Why? Because in the summer we smother our skin with sunscreen to block sun-rays (vit d) and in the winter the sun doesn't shine very much and when it does we are usually not out in it.  Back to the research... it was found that those who lacked vitamin D were much more likely to get diabetes.

Most know there are two types of diabetes.  But what many people don't know is that diabetes can be caused by a regular cold that attacks the pituitary gland.  You get a cold, get better, and have no idea the havoc that your pituitary gland went through.  That is me.  A virus attacked my pituitary gland at one point in my life and now I have a broken gland.

Here is the good news... I started taking high doses of Vitamin D (my doctor tested me and I was very deficient... surprise, surprise).  I will be turning 37 in a few days and my A1C (diabetic test) shows my sugars at a "high normal".  Hmm.... coincidence?

I have continued to research and learn.  I have been stretched in my beliefs, I have been woken up.

Most of you know that in the beginning of the year I was having thyroid issues.  I started researching about my thyroid.  I won't go into all the things that I learned, but I started using essential oils specifically for my thyroid and taking a natural pill that supports my thyroid.  I have gotten a clean bill of health for my thyroid.  My doctor knows what I am taking and doing.  He told me that he could put me on chemical thyroid medication (synthroid), then told me that he didn't think it would help me though.  I started with my natural pill (herbs and essential oils) and my thyroid started going down and now is back to a normal size.

We all have to do what we feel lead to do, but please don't follow blindly because that is what "mainstream" tells us to do.  I have learned very quickly that if "mainstream" tells us to follow, you will be pretty safe if you run the opposite way.  Do your research, make sure you are reading reputable sources.  Money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), so if you follow the money trail, you can quickly discover if it is a reputable source or not.

Back to this morning....
After I checked out what Tyler's symptoms were and applied appropriate oils for his ailments ,Thieves-on throat, Eucalyptus-on chest, and mixture I made called Flu Bomb (Oregano, Thieves, Melaleuca)-on bottoms of feet.  Oh and he is drinking water with Lemon oil as well.  I then sent a text to my Dad telling him that Ty was getting a cold.  My whole family was all together for lunch yesterday and my parents are being extra cautious because they don't want to get a cold before they leave to visit their brand new granddaughter.

Dad sent me a text back saying that he was at the doctors office this morning and lots of people were sniffing and blowing.  So I should mix them up some flu bomb capsules just to be sure they don't come down with anything.  It made me smile.  I love that my parents are interested in staying healthy in natural ways!  I think they even skipped the Flu shot and the Pneumovax this year!

And that brings me to a whole other area of health awareness.  Vaccines.... Just this morning I received another email regarding the HPV vaccine (Gardasil).  Wow, to think that parents would submit their children to this is totally beyond me.  But I honestly think that if they knew the risks they wouldn't.  When China refuses to give this vaccine to their people, that should tell you something!  You can read the article HERE.

Then I saw another article about vaccinating your children.  I have been researching this subject for awhile.  I have a couple different friends that have had children that have been harmed by vaccines.  It's so sad to see these kids struggle and to see my friends struggle with the knowledge that their decision had a life altering impact on their child.

So why don't you hear more about how bad vaccines really are and how they have done basically nothing to eradicate diseases?  Follow the money trail.  Vaccines are a multi-billion dollar industry.  You also don't hear about the damage vaccines do because the Supreme Court made it illegal to sue pharmaceutical companies.  Since 1991 $1.8 Billion has been awarded to those injured by vaccines.  75% of those were awarded to those who had reactions from the DPT shots.  If vaccines are safe and they are good for us, why is the government paying out so much money?

I encourage you to read the article.  It is so good and spells out better than I ever could all the information about vaccines.  The graphs speak for themselves!  You can read the article HERE.

I warned you that what I was writing would be controversial!  The more this country goes all healthcare crazy, the more and more thankful I am that I have educated myself, that I know many natural ways to deal with different illnesses, and that I don't need to depend on a government for my families health.

By now most of you will think I am crazy and that's OK...  But for the record, according to my younger brother, who has been a recipient of many different emails from me, ranging in subjects, some of which we agree on and some we don't,  I am not certifiably crazy until.... I sell my house, move to the country, live off the land, and stop shaving.  I am currently working on three out of the four.  I will let you guess which one will keep me in the sane category per my brothers definition!  HaHa!  Good thing my family loves me just the way I am!!

If you have any questions about what I just wrote or would like more information, just let me know!

Blessings!!

Marquette

There is a little town, that over the next few posts, you will be introduced too.  It's a town that I would love to go back to and spend a lot more time at.  I loved it!

First stop is the Marquette Lighthouse.  I could go into detail about our "adventure" in finding this lighthouse, but I won't.  Let's just say that it was a good thing we found it when we did!

It is currently being restored.  It is on a active base, so you have to have badges to go on the property.  It was built on a rocky cliff.

There was a "cat walk" you could use to walk farther out on the cliff.  It was VERY windy, but never one to walk away from an opportunity to photograph a lighthouse (especially one that our camping buddies have yet to see), I threw caution to the wind as well as my hair and took this selfie (did you know that selfie is the word of the year).

Please take a moment to pause.... There needs to be silence.... The Patterson Pants came out for this adventure... yes it was THAT cold! Notice he even pointed his toe, almost like he knew the great white Patterson Pants were about to be photographed...

Always wanting to document the kids on the adventures that we have had, we asked them to pose for a picture by the museum.  One child was not too thrilled to have his picture taken... You all get one guess as who that child was!

But never fear, PopPop to the rescue!  He can always get Tyler to smile!

This was just our first stop of many in Marquette... Stay tuned!!

Lake Superior Swim

Wouldn't you know that week that we are up in the UP it was mostly cold.  Usually that time of year, you can count on mid to high 70's we were lucky to hit mid to high 60's and there were some nights that were in the 30's!

One of the activities on my "Vacation To Do List" was swim in Lake Superior.  Now when I say "swim" I don't mean frolicking in the waves.  I mean run in, dive under the water, and run back out.

It was the first day, the weather was the warmest it was forecasted to be.  The sun peaked out of the clouds for a few short minutes, so it was decided that we prepare for the plunge.  The leaders of the families did some grunting and big talking and heading into their respective trailers to don their swim suits, the rest of the families quickly followed.

We all headed to the beach.  Along the beach there was a stream that ran along the Lake's edge, you had to walk through it to get to the Lake.  When our toes hit the stream water it was frigid! But that was NOTHING compared to Lake Superior!

The Leaders stood on the waters edge watching their children head into the water along with PopPop.  They continued to egg each other on, but made no movement towards the water.

Jilli amazes me... water temp doesn't seem to affect her at all.  I think she is like her Uncle Dick that way.  I remember him playing in the ocean waves when the water was cold, laughing at the rest of us watching him from the beach.

The other kids slowly attempted to get into the water.

Even PopPop made it into the water before the Fearless Leaders!

Here is a picture of my Leader before his big splash.

I only have a video of the plunge and for some reason I can't get it to load :( All I can say is male voices were octaves higher than they should have been with one of the Leaders running into the water like his butt was on fire and the other one s.l.o.w.l.y walked into the water until the first fearless leader came running back splashing the other fearless leader when he dove under water to just get it over with.  I will let you decide who was who.

(OK, we will try this... click here to see video)

Jacob manned up and went under water.

Then it was the ladies turn to "go swimming".  I do have to mention here that the rocks at the shore of the Lake were brutal on the feet!  But we did it!!

(click here for a video of us going under)

At the end of the video Kevin makes guttural sounds and he abruptly ends the video.  Romeo ran into his knee and caused all kind of lamenting.

Jason... Well, Uncle Kevin grabbed him and went running into the water but Jason didn't like that so much.  He was dead set against going under water (that day).

Drew conquered his nerves and went under water, but I don't have any pictures of him going under.

Tyler with Nana and PopPop looking over discovered rocks.

After the "Great Swim" as we crossed back over the stream to head back to the trailers... the stream actually felt warm!  The Leaders then sat in their chairs by the fire reliving their very manly adventure on the banks of Gitche Gumee.

That Ends our Lake Superior Swim.

Putvin and a UP Shed

This was the first time that our trailer ventured further west in the UP.  Our plans were to camp for a week in Munising along the banks of Lake Superior with my cousins and also my parents.

One of the first orders of business was to find a drug store named Putvin because...well... it's too much to explain.  Let's just say it's near and dear to Andy's heart, so here is the picture to prove we found it.

Next was to get wood!  You would think that being in the UP, that would be easy.  It wasn't.  Everyone seemed to be out of wood.  Except the campground and it was ridiculously expensive to buy from them.  So Kevin, Andy, Carey, and I took off to find the elusive wood.

We drove out of town a little ways and passed a "wood for sale" bin with no wood in it.  We decided to just drive up to the house and ask if they have any more wood for sale.  Lucky for us we were not met with a shotgun (thought did cross our minds).  A man came out of the "house" and Andy rolled the window down and asked if he had any wood for sale.  The man told us sure, "I got more wood out in the shed."  They agreed on the price and we drove around to the "shed".

I laugh still thinking about it... Only in the UP would this be called a shed.

The guys started to load up the truck and load up the truck.. and load up the truck some more.  Carey and I sat in the truck watching and the man just kept piling it in, so our guys decided to just keep piling it in too.  We drove away with a truck full of wood for like $25.

Back at camp, all the guys worked together to unload the wood.  Good thing there was a whole bunch of guys so the girls didn't have to help with any of that manly work!

See all the wood piled up against the tree??  It lasted the whole week and into the next!

More to come....

She is Here!

Last Friday I mentioned I was feeling a little sentimental and here is why....

Early Friday morning I got the call that we were on "Baby Watch"... Melissa's water broke and she would be heading to the hospital around noon.

Tim kept us all up to speed as to what was happening until about 2pm when he handed the updates over to Sissy (Melissa's sister).  She kept us in the loop until this little miracle was born.

All day Friday I felt as if I was walking around in a fog.  I kept thinking and praying for Tim and Melissa and the baby girl they were about to have.  I remember the excitement and fear of not knowing what to expect when delivering your first baby.  

Sissy did a great job of controlling my whole day!  The technology now is so much different then when my babies were born, we were kept up to speed, in real time, with pictures and quick updates. Instead of listening to the radio while doing errands, I had my phone in my hand waiting for Siri to read me the latest update.  I felt anxious when Sissy updated that the contractions were getting stronger and they had to wait for the epidural, then relief when the text came that she finally got it.  She sent pictures showing Tim's face as Melissa worked through a painful contraction.  She sent a picture of Melissa all hooked up to machines looking at the ultrasound of her baby girl...

Then the text that Melissa was at 9.5cm came.  I literally sat down at my table and started crying.  Time was almost here.  Then a very short time later came the text "bAby is coming!!!! getting ready to push!!" I just sat and prayed, crying the whole time.  Such a special time and scary... you never know what is going to happen.

Just after 5:15pm came the text "welcome to the world baby vandyk!!!" along with this picture.

My brother holding her hand... so precious... so sweet...

Later we learned that there were some complications in delivery.  The only indication to us that something had happened was Sissy's text "I'll let melissa and Tim fill you in on the details - melissa is a fighter!!!" They had to quickly get the baby out because her heart rate was going too low with every push.  She came out in a kind of traumatic and very painful (for Melissa) way.

Since that day, we get daily pictures or video's for those of us that are too far away to visit.  I had to laugh at a video they sent us as they were getting ready to leave the hospital.  Tim was checking the 5 point harness on the car seat with his little girl strapped in it.  6 times, he adjusted it to make sure it was perfect!  It cracked me up!  He is not protective of his little girl at all!

 

So do you want to know what her name is?  Katalina Helena.  A perfect name, for a perfect little girl.
It is a name that both the Peruvian and Dutch relatives can pronounce (Lol!!)  We are to call her Lina (Lee-na).

She is so precious...so perfect... I can't get over how beautiful she is.  The other night while I FaceTimed with Tim and Melissa I asked them who she looked like.  I totally see Melissa in her cheeks and mouth.  They agreed but said that she has Tim's nose, eyes, and forehead.  It will be exciting to see how she changes over the next few weeks.

Dear Lina,

I have yet to meet you, but you already take up residence in my heart.  The day I found out about you your Mommy and Daddy FaceTimed your Uncle Kevin and I.  I was so excited, I cried.  From that day forward I prayed for you.  At first I didn't know if you were a boy or a girl, but then on July 4th, 2013 your Mommy and Daddy opened a box with pink balloons in it.  From that day on I prayed about their little baby girl.  

You aren't even a week old yet, but I can already tell you have your Daddy wrapped around your finger.  Wait to smile at your Daddy for the first time until you really want something big.  That first smile holds a lot of power.  I can tell you those things because I am your Aunt.  Your Daddy will be your protector, you can always feel safe with him.  I know he would give his life to keep you safe!  He's pretty tall, but you don't have to feel scared when he holds you, he won't drop you!  You might actually love to be flown around in the sky when your a little older.  Your Daddy is a pretty special guy, I helped raise him, so I should know... you are in the best of hands when you are in his hands!

Now your Mommy has been doing her best to give you the absolute best start from the beginning.  I even watched her eat a hockey puck (hamburger) for the sole purpose of keeping you safe!  She even gave up sushi (which between you and me, I never had to give that up because I never ate it... it grosses me out!) but your Mommy LOVES sushi and she gave it up just for you!  She is the one thats going to run to you in the middle of the night when your hungry, scared, wet, or just need company.  Your Daddy probably won't even wake up.  Your Mommy can run on a few hours of sleep and work circles around your Daddy who had a full nights sleep.  Your Mommy is going to care for your every need, and she is going to learn so much about herself because of you!  You are going to stretch her in ways she never dreamed, so go easy on her at first.  

I can't wait to meet you, and hold you and give you kisses instead of me asking your Daddy to give you kiss for me.  I can't wait to sing you a very special song that I sang to your cousins before I laid them down to sleep at night.  They still ask me to sing that song to them at night!  I can't wait to see you smile and hear your laugh.  But don't grow up too fast... I have to wait a few weeks before I can come see you!

I love you Lina!!

Aunt Lynny

Memories

I am feeling very sentimental today, my thoughts run deep.  Perhaps in the next day or two I will tell you why.

God has been impressing a message upon me the last few months and His message to me is getting stronger and stronger.  It started this past summer with a conversation with my Dad on our Trip Up North.  But as of late I hear the message in song, I hear it through words spoken by others, I hear it through words jumping off my Bible's pages, I hear it in situations that others are currently walking through.  It is all around me, I can't help but listen...

Let me start by saying... my Dad is a very special man.  I value our "talks" more than I think he knows.  He has so much wisdom that he lovingly bestows upon me (and I think my brothers and sister as well).  This wisdom was earned through difficult life experiences.  I don't believe my Dad would be as wise as he is without his active pursuit of God's best for him.  He has humbled himself and stayed on his knees searching for God's plan for him and for his family.  I don't think he even recognizes in himself, the gift he is to his children.  There are times I grab the phone to call Dad to ask his advice and then put it back down because I don't want to bother him.  I think all of us kids seek out Dad in our own ways.  Whether it's calling about spiritual issues, maintenance issues, or just life in general issues.  We all know that our Dad is someone who we can count on and gain wisdom from.  What a blessing it is to have a father like that.  As his children we have so much to learn from him.

Back to the conversation with my Dad.  It was about building memories with my kids.  Taking time to just be with them, go places with them, teach them, share experiences with them.  It's taking time away from the crazy schedule of life... slowing down and just enjoying being together.  It's not even quality of time... It's quantity too!  If we are so busy running the rat race of life, will our children feel loved and cherished? Or will they feel second best to activities and schedules and responsibilities?  And at the end of our lives as parents what will we have to show for it all?

I guess that is where my mind has been stayed... When my life is at it's end, what will be left?  Will my friends and family be sorting through a life of stuff?  Or will there be something more important that I have left behind?

Here are two things I hope to leave...

#1 and most important. Leaving my children a solid and beautiful spiritual legacy.  There in nothing greater than knowing all your children are walking with the Lord.  Even though mine are still young, my heart rejoices that today I know they have all three given their lives to Jesus.  But they will grow up... I know what Satan does to draw you away from your Heavenly Father.  I know how life can slowly pull you away from Jesus.  Each of my children will have their own spiritual journey but knowing that I will be united with them in Heaven would be the greatest gift any child could ever give to their parents.

#2 Memories.  Being purposeful in creating memories.  Building time with my children outside of a schedule.  Thankfully we have camping that we use as a memory building platform.  It has been such a blessing for our family.  We have built MANY memories this way.  And over the next few (many) posts I will be sharing our August 2013 Up North Adventure that had lots of memory building going on!
*****************
We started off our vacation just our family.  We left on a Saturday afternoon and headed up to Aloha State Park.  Doesn't the name itself sound like a wonderful place?  Well it is.  It is our second time being there and we plan to go again.

On one of our exploration adventures while we spent two days at Aloha I snapped this picture.  At the time it just made me laugh, cuz I had never seen anything like it.  Even as a child when camping was done with a tent, our camping was much more... organized... than this.  But now I am proud of the family that decided to strap their pillows to the roof of their car as bug catchers and head out for an adventure.  Building memories doesn't need to look like my families memory building, it just needs to happen!

Our family loves Lighthouses.  We try and visit as many as we can each camping season and always try to locate new ones when we visit new places.  This lighthouse was different than all the others we had visited before.  It's a river range light.  It guides the boats safely through the river.

It is slowly being restored.  Here is a picture looking up the stairs that lead to the light.

Part of our adventure was going to the local Walmart to buy Micah some summer clothes.  When I told him to pack, I had said to make sure he packed warm clothes because the forecast was for cooler weather.  Well he packed ALL cold weather stuff.  So we had to quickly outfit him with some summer attire.  Then after the quick shopping trip it was off to the laundromat to wash them all.  Because of his "mistake", our day turned out to be amazing... because had we not ventured out to find a Walmart, we wouldn't have found the lighthouse nor would we have seen the awesome 'strap everything to the roof' camping car. Or had a great lunch at a local restaurant that the kids still talk about going back too!

This is how I spent my Sunday afternoon.  Relaxing and reading while watching Jilli play in the water.

Such an amazing afternoon!  I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this little piece of Heaven on earth!  While I was soaking up the rays, Kevin was taking a long deserved nap.  And the boys??  Who knows!

Then there was the sunset... Do you think God grabs a paintbrush and hand picks the colors and clouds every night?

It was a beautiful start to our August memory building vacation!  There is SO MUCH more to share!!