Just who is this group of Americans?

#KupborgdebostakeEurope

Let me tell you about the group we have here. It is called the Kupborgdebos group.

It is made up from

IMG_8630KUP represents Aunt Dot who is our third parent. She has been as important to us in life as our parents in different ways. She has been my role model to live well as a single woman. She lives across the street from me and that has assisted our friendship in growing. We travel together, share life together and delight in the younger generations together. It is right that she represents the KUP in KUPborgdebosIMG_8761

BORG is a pretty easy one. The Borgdorff’s are a big group with lots of personality. We understand living and lLBorgdorff familyosing, celebrating and life. This represents my Dad and Mom who are faithful, generous and always creating space for us and others to gather. My oldest brother Len who now awaits us in heavin and hisnickandjonnafamily wife Marcia, Olivia, Sonta, Noah and Jean Marc. They come and fill  a room with wild etrishborgdorffnergy, sensitivity, compassion and an ability to get things done. Nick and Jonna, Andrew and Ryan bring commitment, discipline, brilliance and order to our group. They are witty and often have us laughing. I come as the aunt whose door is open and bed is always free for a house guest. I love celebrations and bring the invitation to my family to celebrate well.  And  together we make up the Borg in kupBORGdebos

The Dekams make up the DE and hold their space well. They number 8 of us with the dekam famaddition of Matthew Cole who married Janneke. The DeKams live life fully and with lots of joyful noise. The DE in kupborgDEbos brings much JOY.

And then we have our dear Suzi. The child who completed our original bunch. Suzi and Andy, Peter, Isaiah and Johanna. The Bos’ are a family who bring youth and laughter, delight IMG_8770.JPGand invite us all to be interactive with each other. The kupborgdeBOS would not be the same without these awesome five.

And that completes our Kupborgdebos group. Our pictures are labeled with #kupborgdebostakeseurope. Stay tuned for the adventures of our group walk to the North Sea.

 

 

The Borgdorff’s take Europe

Day One

As I wrap up today (Tuesday night)

I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude for all this day has held. I am writing from a retreat center in Castricum Netherlands. That in itself is delightful but to be surrounded by almost my complete family is even better.

As I have written about before, my parents both immigrated and had a strong desire to share their story with their grandchildren. As a high schooler me and my siblings returned with my parents and we still have such good memories of that trip. I am so grateful to be back again to hear the stories again, to understand even more and to share in the experience more fully.

Suzi found a great place for us all to stay. It is a beautiful retreat center and has such comfortable spaces. I will write more about the rooms and spaces in the coming days, but as we all gathered for dinner around the table, it just felt so right.

My Dad suggested we all meet each morning in the Chapel for morning devotions. I love how the kids are all so comfortable with that. I am looking forward to that time each morning. It will be simple and it will include a song and a few words, but it will honor the Faith that we share and God’s faithfulness in all of our journeys.

My Dad and Mom and Aunt Dot have spent much time creating options for our days. We will travel to a variety of places and the week will move quickly. The kids are eager to hear the stories and experience this new land together. Suzi and Andy, Peter, Isaiah and Johanna and I spent a few days in Germany before we arrived today and Suzi and i  spoke a bit about the European influence that shaped us. I love how things feel familiar and comfortable here. I can say the same about my life with my Canadian family. I am so aware and grateful for my Dutch – Canadian – American life and all it has taught me.

So tonight as we all gathered I was aware that there is so much joy when everyone is together. It is not a giddy type of joy but a deep sense of gratitude. The kids all enjoy being together and are quickly at home with one another. Their is no age separation for any of us. From 7 to 76, everyone spends time sharing with each other. There was a comfortableness in the room that I was very aware of and it was lovely to all have traveled from different places today and spend the evening enjoying one another.

I hope to write often while I am here. There will be stories to tell and document for our family story ~ and that is clearly my purpose for blogging. Our family is living our story and I am committed to documenting it in consistent and creative fashion so it will be able to be shared for many years to come.

Stay tuned for more Netherlands adventures.

It is all in the story….

I am so grateful for the power of story. I have been diligent over the years at learning, understanding and embracing my story. One of my favorite realities of everyones story is how other stories intersect and bring rich experiences.

And I now see that in my family story as well. We are about to experience the best of all of that. My parents have a story and both of their stories started way before they fell in love. As a family, we are traveling to the places each of their stories began. We will visit Rotterdam, Netherlands and  Wijnjewoude, Friesland, Netherlands. We will listen to stories, we will experience a small sense of what initially shaped them to be the people they are. And we will recognize that the first 10 – 12 years of their lives are significant and there is so much more that has shaped them as well. I would guess we will hear stories of life in the Netherlands and beyond. We will hear stories of family members and relationships and experiences and Faith.

I am grateful for their stories of immigration and how through their sharing over the years, that has also become part of our story. It is delightful to hear, through my nieces and nephews, how they relate to being grandchildren of those who immigrated and how they also embrace that as their story. Through this trip we will  experience so much together which will allow for a greater understanding of all that has and continues to shape the Kuperus/Borgdorff bunch we are.

So as we board planes and travel over the coming weeks, I will stand in awe of how God invites us to understand His place in our stories. His invitation is kind and His presence is real. I am grateful for my story and how it is interwoven with both struggle and hardship and amazing abundance and blessing. As a family we will deeply miss Len, my oldest brother who died in December of 2012. He would have loved this trip. And we will celebrate the way we continue to carry his story  with us into everyday living.

Thank you Dad and Mom for being story tellers to each of us. It will be an exciting chapter.

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Mothers Day Makeover

Today I had the privilege to surprise a sweet 87 year old woman named Ann with a mother’s day make over. It was something Visiting Angels was doing to bring some joy this MoIMG_0285.JPGther’s Day season.

There was so much goodness in the hour we were together. There were sweet interactions between Ann and her caregiver Judy, between Ann and her daughters, between Ann and the TV reporter and I had a few sweet moments with Ann as well.

Ann was surprised and so animated. She was expressive and she both laughed and cried. She couldn’t believe that we picked her and she expressed her gratitude in about 20 different ways.

As I walked away from Ann’s home my eyes welled with tears. Ann was asked how it felt to be loved by so many people. She had no words. HIMG_0290.JPGer tears fell as her smile grew. She slowly spoke of her faith, her family and her love for her grandchildren and great -grandchildren. I was reminded again it is not about what I own or seek to posses but it is about the people I am blessed to interact with each and every day.

I thought I was going to appreciate Ann today. I am so grateful for the way that my heart was reminded of what is important. I will always remember Ann’s honest words shared with us today about what is really important in living every day to the fullest.

Double Digits is a big deal

Especially when your double digits are a 1 and a 0. Happy Happy 10th birthday to my amazing nephew Isaiah Edward Bos.

Isaiah is athletic, smart, a whiz with numbers and he remembers facts about almost anything. Isaiah can tell you the names of streets I have driven for 30 years and still don’t know and license numbers of family vehicles. What I have learned about this amazing kid is how observant he is in his day to day. Although this is amazing and fun, what I love most about Isaiah is his kind heart and incredibly compassionate ways. He is a prayer warrior and aware of the needs of those around him. He is a good and loyal friend, he is thoughtful and growing in confidence. I am so honored to be his Aunt and I marvel at God’s design of his mind, body and soul. I can’t find just one favorite, so I will share with you a collage of some photo’s that just by looking at, you will get a feel for this double digit wonder. I love you Isaiah. Have a great time being 10.

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On this day…

I am enjoying a beautiful day in Atlanta today. This evening we will begin a Journey event through Open Hearts Ministry. I am here with a community of people that I enjoy like my family. It is comfortable and wonderful. And yet there is something that is much more exciting about today….

On this day, 16 years ago, we celebrated the birth of Ellie Grace Dekam.

ellie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 years ago is so hard to imagine. And yet as I think of sweet Ellie, I can picture her over the years. Her innocence, her smile, her laughter, her desire to serve, her sense of adventure, her love of horses, her growing faith, her interest in travel.

 

Ellie is growing up each day right before my eyes. I may be in Atlanta with people I enjoy but I wish IMG_2399I was with Ellie, giving her a big birthday hug and letting her know how much I love her.

I am grateful God allowed me to be an Aunt to Ellie Grace. My life is richer, my heart is fuller and the time we spend together is always fun.

I love you Ellie…IMG_3576

I am proud of the person you are….

I hope your 16th year brings you great joy, some adventure, many sweet moments and lots of laughter and love.

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Growing in wisdom and stature….

dadandmomandandrewMy amazing nephew is 19 years old today.

As I was praying for him this morning, this verse came to mind: Luke 2:40
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Andrew is a quiet, thoughtful person. He was that as a young boy and he remains that as his amazing self continues to develop.

He has demonstrated his brilliance in academics and his discipline in athletics. Andrew knows what it is to commit himself fully to something and give it his all.

IMG_6230But it is not his strong mind or daily discipline that I admire most. What I love most about this boy is his kindness, his insight and his care for others. Andrew is growing in his faith and understanding God’s call on his life in deeper and more real ways.

On the 23rd of December we have a memory dinner remembering my oldest brother on the anniversary of the night he was killed in a car accident. Len was also an Annapolis graduate and would so love that he and Andrew shared this experience. This year Andrew brought the Naval Hymn to our gathering and shared the story of how and when it is sung. It was a sweet moment of Andrew’s tender heart, leadership and love for our Eternal Father.

Verse 1: Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

And so in this year as Andrew is journeying his first year at Annapolis Naval Academy I am in awe of how has he grown from that teenage boy to a young man with purpose. He is sorting out what is next as he prepares to serve our country.  He is strong, wise, passionate, compassionate and fun. Hoping this 20th year will bring you great adventures, clarity, good friends, lots of time with your family and deep peace. I love you Andrew John. 12711085_10209106907896878_718503981313358671_o

 

How long is your table….

ifyouaremorefortunate

There are really two questions here….

How long is your table….

How tall is your fence…

I believe that as I am living life in my mid 40’s I am learning about my table and my fences. I used to believe that I should be all about the length of my table and in that I lost sense of myself. I have invited people to my table who took advantage of me and it took me some life lessons to learn that there is a place for fences (boundaries). But overall, I am more interested in extending the length of my table than the height of my fences.

And so, as you live in the abundance of what you have been given, consider where you desire to grow? What does it look like to extend the length of your table? Where have your fences become barriers as opposed to healthy protection. Where do you feel curious about exploring the phrase if you are more fortunate than others….

My journey over the last years has invited me to consider where being more fortunate is an opportunity to offer generously…

My journey over the last years has invited me to consider where being more fortunate has actually become a hinderance or hurdle to relationships…

It is my hope that my table will always be longer than my fences are high.

 

 

 

Celebrating in Greece

That is exactly what my 20 year old niece is doing.

anneandsibsToday is Anneliese’s 20th birthday. Anne has always been the quiet sibling in the midst of four noisier ones. Anne has often loved animals more than people, and would rather hang out in the barn than with a group of peers. Anne has always been the one who was even keeled, mild tempered and full of anneandredthoughts, ideas and passion that wasn’t often shared.

Well, let me tell you that this niece of mine is likely made the greatest transformation in her later teen years and is entering her 20’s fully alive.

Anne never lacked confidence or brilliance or a well developed stance on what she thinks or believes. She has been a delight and a delightful mystery at times, but no matter what, she has always brought joy.

And then at age 19 she wanted more. She was growing in her faith and in seeking God. So IMG_6004this past September her and her cousin (my other amazing niece) left to participate in Youth with a Mission. I am catching glimpses of how this experience is changing her and I love every minute of it. Anne is growing in her faith, in her boldness in her vulnerability and in her leadership.

Anne, you are on a beautiful and amazing journey. You are encountering so many new situations and growing with grace as you offer your heart and kindness to people in different parts of the world.  I am proud of you and will continue to pray that God will show you how big and great and mighty He is as well as how much He holds the intricate shipandhammocks.jpgdetail of your travels, your needs and cares about everything that your heart holds. I am proud of you and believe that your 20’s will be a wild and wonderful adventure. I love you Annelise and will be one of your biggest cheerleaders with every step you take. I love this picture of the ship you are living on as you enter your 20th year. This picture makes me think of you and Liv resting in the Vastness of God’s Beauty and Creation. It is so amazing and so right at home with your hammocks hanging. Enjoy it fully. Happy Birthday!

Baby it’s cold outside…

I am fortunate to have friends who live all around the world. It is not uncommon at some  point to compare weather patterns. I often hear what is most longed for or most missed for those who left West Michigan is the change of seasons.

TheFourSeasons.jpg

I thought of that this morning as I ventured out to the cold. I thought of those who live in warm climates and wonder what they miss about winter? And on this cold and icy morning I remembered the beauty of winter when the sun shines on the white snow or when the snow falls in such a soft and peaceful fashion. I considered the smells of spring, the heat of summer and the crunching leaves in the fall. I thought of the days when summer felt to hot or spring felt to wet or like this morning, when winter felt to cold.

Then I choose to shift my thinking and marvel at the miracle of seasons. To remember that I live in a region where the seasons change and there is beauty with each one. Not only within each season, but the days that lead to the coming of seasons and the assurance that a new season is just around the corner.

I am learning about framing my thoughts and finding the beauty in every moment. I wonder if you are able to find beauty in moments when your feeling discouraged or weary. I believe this world will be a better place when we become people who appreciate the beauty that surrounds us, even on days when the beauty seems hard to find.

I have no plans to move out of West Michigan.  May I never lose my appreciation and delight in the amazing wonder of changing seasons.