Wednesday, March 28, 2007

the parent rap

I always enjoy the week of parent conferences. It's great to touch bases with the parents. As a multiage, we get to see the same parents for two years. I love to report the progress that we have witnessed from the beginning of fourth grade to the end of fifth grade. They really do come out as different students. Part of our conference is student-led. Students pick their best work from the trimester to include in a portfolio which is then shared with the parents. The spring conference also gives me a chance to give a detailed description of the upcoming trip to Neah Bay.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

whoever acknowledges me. . . I will also acknowledge

Calvin was baptized today. It was special to have 'John the Snell Baptist' baptize Calvin, as he has now baptized all three of our sons. John's spiritual impact on our family has been immense. We appreciate him so much. I'm not sure what Calvin's namesake would say about this afternoon's ritual, as he reportedly condoned the persecution of the anabaptists of his day. Bjorn and Jenny made a quick trip down from Canada to witness the event. Wedding planning is in full swing, and Esther and I needed to cough up an invitation list for them. In another month, it will be graduation day!

Saturday, March 24, 2007

playin in the mud

How do you like to spend your soggy Saturday morning? Well, Tim deLacy asked me to lend a helping hand at pouring the foundation walls for the new outdoor shed that he is building. Tim is an engineeer, and this shed has a foundation that would put some skyscrapers to shame. Having nothing more important to do besides sleep in, I joined the muddy party. The challenge of a foundation pour is to 'row' the mud through the forms until the walls are filled with cement. Tim, myself and his two boys, Josh and Ben, got our donned rubber gloves and paddled away. The pour went well, and the driver was pleasant to work with. What amazed me was that after thirty years, nothing has changed in cement truck technology. The equipment and procedure was exactly the same.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Markus home on break


the hangout pit
Originally uploaded by Southworth Sailor.
Our neighbors never have to guess when Markus is home; it is always pretty evident by the pile of cars in front of the house. The gang has once again converged on the Bulthuis house. Last night they canoed over to Blake Island and spent the night. -hot dogs and frozen waffles-roasted over the fire. The ranger wouldn't believe that they didn't have any alchohol for the night and kept checking on them. Today they have been hanging out here. I'm going to have to chase them out sometime tonight as Calvin will need his brain sleep for WASL testing tomorrow. My weekend has been spent balancing yardwork and report cards. Esther is finally recovering from a nasty lingering cold. Only trouble is I'm starting to battle it now!

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Lynden High School - make it two!

Last night Esther and I went to Tacoma to watch her alma mater win the boys 2A state championship. The game wasn't even close. After charging ahead to a 15-2 lead, they never looked back. It was fun, just the same, watching the well-tuned dutchmen dominate the game over a previously undefeated rival. This is Lynden's second boys state championship this year. They also won the football state championship, with several of the same players. This is now the third time that the school has taken both championships in the same year--Must be that unpasteurized milk!

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

spiritual reflections of a college student

One of Markus’ assignments this quarter at SPU was to trace his spiritual formation. He chose to compose a series of blog entries to express his ‘life map.’ He did a great job of expressing his perspective on his emerging faith. If you have a few minutes, it’s worth the read. You can find it at http://markuslifemap.blogspot.com.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

another toyota for the Bulthuis'

After casually searching craigslist and autotrader for the last couple of months, I came across this 96 tercel with 100,000 miles. I drove to Seattle two nights checking it out, and brought it back to my mechanic for an inspection. We ended up paying $3500 for it. This is actually the first vehicle that we have purchased for the boys to drive. We were fortunate to have two uncles donate cars to their nephews, providing the rabbit and 200sx. This vehicle has by far the least miles of the Bulthuis fleet. Our five vehicles together have almost a million miles!