hey y’all! thanks for stopping by to read about our year (or snoop on what’s going on in our lives...i get that). anywho, i first wanted to say thanks for being a part of our lives. we’re so thankful to be surrounded by some of the most encouraging & fun people. y’all are the best. now to the good stuff: our 2018. it hasn’t been a year free of hurt & struggles, but we’ve once again seen God be so faithful to us & we’ve spent the past 365 days living in His goodness. 

 

dad has maybe had the most exciting year of us all! this summer, he started a new job working as the prairie city monroe middle school principal. he loves getting to spend every day with students, who all think he’s really cool (at least according to the stories he’s told us). we’re so proud of him! work has kept him pretty busy, but he still found time to help coach some pella baseball this summer. he also spends lots of time in the gym with his friends doing crossfit. actually, my whole family except me does crossfit. they’re super fit & athletic -- it’s honestly pretty annoying. #fitlife 

 

mom’s still working in the surgical department at the pella regional health center & loving it. she spends her free time reading, working out & following the boys around to support them in all their activities. a lot of her time in the past few months has consisted of packing, cleaning, organizing, & unpacking. this year, she got to spend her birthday in the ozarks with dad & all of their friends. i’m still waiting on the day when the boys & i get invited on one of their fun trips...

 

i am currently in my second year at northwestern college in orange city, where i’m studying youth ministry & planning to graduate in may 2020 (a year early!). i’ve recently started working at granite church in hawarden, leading their ministry for middle school & high school students. i love it & my students are so fun. i love to fill my free time with crafting, baking (when i'm home with my kitchen...college problems) & most of all, photography. it’s been so fun to get to share that passion with others (check out ivy anne photo & design). 

 

noah is now a junior at phs. if you’re thinking “WHAT THE HECK? how is he so old???” -- join the club. but yeah, he’s a stud. this year, he spent another summer playing varsity baseball & is now starting basketball season. he’s also a crazy talented artist & is one of the funniest people alive. i'm not kidding. he never fails to bring me to tears from laughing so hard. this year, he got to travel to nyc & see his first game at yankee stadium. he’s also starting to look at colleges...i don’t want to talk about it. 

 

tate is still the coolest member of our family. he’s now in third grade & he has the sense of humor of a 17 year old & the voice of a 30 year old (he told us some kids at school call him batboy because his voice is so low hahahah). he’s finally getting old enough to participate in sports that aren’t (always) painfully boring to watch. he loves to play baseball & basketball & frequently joins the rest of the fam at the gym, often making up his own crossfit workouts. he’s seriously hilarious -- everyone needs a tate in their life.

 

our family as a whole has had quite the year, as well. we had to put down our beloved dog, veronica, this summer, which was hard on us all. anyone who’s had a dog knows how they become part of your family, so it was really sad to let her go. we’re believers that pups go to heaven though, so we know she’s in good company. we also moved into a new house (still in pella) this september, which was equally stressful & exciting. now that we’re all moved in, though, it’s nice to have a more open space to all hang out & what not. 

 

on top of this all, we’ve experienced that life goes on after loss. for almost seven years now since blake died, we’ve cried & laughed & praised & hoped, all while feeling a hole in our hearts. it is important to us that you know that hole has not gone away. the hard days are still very hard. we have learned that, contrary to popular belief, time does not heal. but Jesus does. our family photos will feel incomplete for the rest of our lives on earth. but they are also a reminder that through Jesus, we have the promise of eternal life. we still grieve some days, but we do so with the hope that our family will be complete someday when we all bow down to worship our Savior in heaven. praise the Lord for that!! He is so good. 

 

blessings, 

halle & the van vark family