Looks like our Blogger Family is Growing!

Welcome Glenda Bruggom, Laura Schat, and Aleisa Schat as new members of the blog! If you have any questions on how to post new messages or comments, let me know. If you have any birthday's, anniversaries or other special events you would like added to the VanderStoep Calendar shoot me an email and I will be glad to add them!

I took this picture of the "fam" last night. Kari, Astro and Torre were all hanging out on the couch watching Family Guy. It isn't very often that the cat and dog are on the same piece of furniture, not to mention so close! Within 2 minutes of posing for this picture, the cat and dog were asleep, and Kari couldn't move because she didn't want to wake them. Since they were asleep, she decided to play fetch with me. Ben, fetch me some supper, Ben, fetch me something to drink :).

I'm staying quite busy with work, indoor volleyball and an indoor soccer league. Kari has been working around the house. Her current project is the upstairs bathroom. She has painted it, and got some wainscot (vertical plank looking stuff). She wants to turn our home into a cottage! Sounds like we're supposed to be getting another large dose of snow over the next couple of days. Can't wait to dig out the edge of the driveway again after the snow plow buries it. Probably my favorite thing to do at 7:00 in the morning after I wake up... Well, second favorite, can't beat cinnamon toast crunch!

Hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you soon. If you haven't posted something in a while - get to it! Let's keep this thing filled with family fun and keep in touch. That was in fact the goal of this handy dandy contraption. Now, if we could just get Dan to translate his messages into plain english :).
Ben

VanderSpotlight - Stephanie Benedict

Where were you born, and where do you currently live?
I was born in Orange City, IA. When I was 10 we moved to Arizona where I've lived in a number of Phoenix suburbs. When I was 21 I moved to MN and have lived here in a variety of Minneapolis/St Paul suburbs and now reside in Eagan.


What is your favorite movie, and what makes it your favorite?
This is tough. I like lots of movies. Um. The Princess Bride is a classic as it combines humor, romance, action and suspense. I can also quote from that movie for a variety of real life events. I also really like Napoleon Dynamite because it gets funnier every time you see it, I swear I went to high school with that guy (in a girl form) and again, quotes from that movie are completely required in my daily conversation. And finally, Memento is one of the best over all movies I've ever seen as far as movies go. That one messed with my mind and I saw it twice, in two days, in the theatre to see if I'd missed anything the first time that would have revealed the tricky ending.


If you could only eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh this answer depends on the day. Today I suppose I would eat home made macaroni and cheese for the rest of my life. It's delightful, delectable, delicious.


Describe your favorite trip or vacation.
Finally an easy one! Last year I went to Jamaica in December for a good friends wedding. It was the best trip so far. The water is gorgeous, the beach is beautiful, the atmosphere is warm and friendly. I scuba dived four of the seven days I was there. I read three or four books. I slept in (which means past 6:30 in the Benedict family). We were at an all inclusive resort which had really good food. It was warm and relaxing and I'd go back right now if it were an option.


Please write a paragraph or two about your life and experiences that you would like to share!
Pretty soon I will have been married for half my life. After that I will have been married for most of my life. Luke's the best friend I'll ever have. I worried, when we got married, that because I'd already known Luke for so long we'd get bored with each other, but even after nearly 16 years he can surprise me and the fact that we have so much history together makes what we have even more special. Then, the most amazing thing happened, we had Hayden. Luke and I were married 10 years before we had him. Having him completely changed EVERYTHING. There's honestly not one thing I do today that is anything like what I did my life before he was born. The whole world crumbled and collapsed the second he was pulled out and it's been a totally awesome journey rebuilding that world and seeing everything new. That sounds sappy, I know, but I really mean it. Luke and Hayden are the best things in my life and nothing would be worth anything without them. We have a very blessed life so far and I'm very thankful for it.

I'm very fortunate to have the friends and family that I do. I live far apart from my siblings (and parents) but we keep in touch and I think we all make an effort to stay friends and part of each others lives. Luke's family has always been a blessing to me, even though they drive me more crazy since I live near them. I'm happy that as I’m getting old I'm starting to meet family members I've never met before and develop relationships with family members I have never really known.

VanderStoep Calendar

Hello fam! The calendar seems to be working well now, so here's what I need from you. Please email myself or Stephanie with any Birthday's, Anniversaries, or special events or dates that you would like posted on the calendar. Once we begin receiving them, we will add them to the calendar which will always be located at the bottom of the homepage of the blog. This will just serve as a nice reminder, or informative calendar to help keep us up to date on the lives and celebrations being celebrated in our family.

Thanks
Ben

Happy New Year!

Hello all-
Just wanted to drop a quick note and say Happy New Year! Kari and I spent the weekend in Galena, Illinois with friends (15 people in all). We rented a house for a couple of nights, did some snow-skiing (downhill for Ben and Cross-Country for Kari), shopping, and watched some bowl games. Fortunately, I didn't crush any small children on the slopes. I have no problem building up some speed and momentum going down the hill, but the stopping and turning often give me some trouble!

Also, I wanted to remind everyone to share this site with your/our family! I've sent out multiple invitations (via the admin tool on the site), but many "invitees" have not registered. I'm not sure if this is due to a lack of interest, or if they did not receive the emails (spam filters, or something), or something else. In any case, if you talk to your mothers, fathers, daughters, sisters, brothers or anyone else who might like to get back in touch, please share the website with them. If they aren't responding to your emails, then give them a call!

I don't know if I ever got an email address for Jim and Carole, but if you have one, please comment on this post and list their email. The members that are currently registered are Glenda Bruggum, Rachel Johns, Steph Benedict, Ben Johns, Dan Johns, Megan Jaques, Chris VDS and Robben Schat.

I will be adding another section to the left column, called the Vander Spotlight. I hope to have a "featured family member" that changes out monthly. I will probably highlight Steph first, as she has been my tester! So keep your eyes open for a brief email questionnaire.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and has a great 2008!