6 Years and Counting

Today marks a special day for our family, 6 years ago Susan and I tied the knot.  It was a memorable day in our lives along with the stormiest day for the month of July 2005.  The storm clouds rolled in just as our guests were arriving and then the rumbling began as soon as the beautiful bride came down the aisle.  Even with the rain it was a great day.  There have been many wonderful events in the Benthem family since July 16, 2005.  For a short time we lived in our first house.

It was a nice place to begin, however, after only 5 weeks of living in our first home we were led to our second home.  We boxed up most all of our belongings, gave away many others to a neighborhood free sale, stored our car and countless other items with our family and moved to Honduras to begin life in our second home.

It was a nice three bedroom apartment on the end of a quiet street with a wonderful view of the neighborhood river and picturesque hillsides.  Susan and I had the opportunity to teach at the International School Tegucigalpa for the 2005-2006 school year.   We had a wonderful time, Susan taught 1st grade and I taught 4th grade.

 It is most likely the only school where you can be teaching your 1st grade class and have a herd of cattle pass by your classroom window on a regular occasion.  We had many interesting adventures that you can read about here or here.  It was an amazing adventure that we are so grateful to be blessed with and something that we regularly talk about.  Such as our wild horse back riding experience in the mountains of Copan.  White Lightening didn't get his name just for his coloration, boy could that little pony bolt.

We returned home to Michigan and settled into an apartment and teaching jobs.  We had other great adventures after Honduras, small ones and large, but our greatest adventure began in 2008 when we became parents.  Our daughter, Julia, was born in April and you can read about her early years in our blog archive here.  She was and still is a bundle of joy.  She used to be so little and sleep all the time and now she's all grown up at 3-years-old.

Julia on the day we left the hospital

Julia, 3-years-old, at Sleeping Bear Dunes NP

In 2010 we added another bundle of joy to our household.  Landon was born in September, and made us what they call a "Million Dollar Family."  Well we haven't seen the millions but now that we are the Benthem four we have definitely had a million laughs, a million hugs, and a million wonderful moments.  Landon is quite the character and he has the best belly laugh you'll find in a 9 month old.

Landon, 1 month

Landon, 9 months

What started 6 years ago on a stormy summer's day has turned out to provide countless adventures and experiences, four different homes, different jobs and positions, and two wonderful children.  Our family of four is the best I could hope for and all this in only 6 years!  How exciting to dream about all the years yet to come.

Jared, Susan, Julia, and Landon - July 2011