Tuesday, August 23, 2011

We're planting new roots!

OUR NEW HOME SWEET HOME

The Overbeek’s have moved (again)! My aunt said that it was a good thing she used pencil for our address in her book because she’s had to change it so much in the last few years. Well we are hoping that this one will be for a while…but you should probably stick to pencil just in case. Bob got hired as an account executive at Orion International in West Chester, Ohio. He is working hard to place military veterans in jobs with fortune 500 companies. So far he is really enjoying the work.

We found a house in West Chester that we liked and we love having some extra space. We have a great big backyard for the kids and Jack to play and there are lots of kids in the neighborhood so everyone has a friend. We are also very excited about being so close to all our friends in Dayton!

The kids will be starting school this week and the families we have spoken to from the school rave about how wonderful it is. Abigail will be starting 5th grade, Joshua will be in 3rd grade, Chloe will be in 2nd grade and Josiah will be in Kindergarten. We are all looking forward to meeting their teachers and classmates.

I am going to substitute teach and possibly work as a cashier at Sam’s Club. On top of that I am looking into taking some classes and working toward getting my teaching certificate in Ohio. So I should be quite busy if everything works out.

We are attending a Presbyterian Church, North Cincinnati Community Church PCA, in the area and we feel that it is a good fit for our family. In the next few weeks we hope to get involved in Bible Studies, Sunday school and a small group. It will not be long before we are in the full swing of fall activities for everyone in the family! This is what we have been waiting for.

It has been a long time since we’ve had a sense of normalcy and we are just so thankful that, in His timing, God has prepared this job and this place for us. We praise Him for providing abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. He is so good to us.

Now that we have some extra space we’d love to have some visitors! West Chester is a great town. We have outlet shopping, cool museums and Kings Island (oh and don’t forget IKEA, which I still haven’t been to, EVER!) J Come to shop, come to play or come to chill…just come!

Email me if you want our new address.

With Love from Ohio,

Bob, Susie, Abigail, Joshua,

Chloe, Josiah

And Jack

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Happy First Decade Abigail!

My baby girl and the bunny rabbit that Great Grandma and Grandpa Mullikin gave her

Those days, Sandra Boynton....These days, C.S. Lewis

Looking fabulous on your birthday date with daddy!

Serious fun at Abigail's aquatic center birthday party!

My little Abigail reached her first decade yesterday. It's been an amazing 10 years...watching her develop into her own person. She does her own hair, paints her own nails and has her own sense of style. She reads books and likes to cook. She loves to draw and sing and already has received instruction on how to play several instruments! She loves lemon poppy seed bread and pomegranates (individually that is) and she runs screaming if she thinks someone is going to throw up. She gets all A's in school and doesn't have a hard time making friends. She is organized and tidy (and has lots of fights with Chloe about keeping the room clean). I think her temperament is more like Bob...she can be a little melancholy at times, my little Eeyore with a cloud over her head. But she has her happy, playful side too. :) As I think about all the little things that make Abigail Abigail, I am excited to see what the next decade holds for my beautiful daughter. My prayer is that whatever she does, she does it to the glory of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Happy 10th Birthday sweet Abigail!

So this is the story of the day I became a mom, which is also your birthday! :)
It was a Thursday and I was teaching at Northwood Elementary. I headed in to school like any other day. I remember starting to feel contractions but didn't think too much about it; it was still a week before your due date. However it was during the spelling review that I started to realize that the contractions were getting stronger. My classroom aide told me I should go home. I waited until lunch time and then went down to the principle's office. I peeked in the door and said, "Good-bye. I'm going to go have my baby!"
Providentially it was raining that day. Bob was working construction at the time and they weren't able to work so he was home when I got there. We started timing the contractions, took a walk, I stood in the shower for a while...finally we decided to go to the hospital. Grammie was in Grand Rapids so she drove down and went with us. When we got to the hospital I was dilated to 4 cm and they admitted us. After a while the contractions weren't getting any stronger so the doc said he was going to break my water or send me home. I said, "Break the water, I'm not going home!". I immediately had a crazy, intense contraction. I was hyperventilating and waving my hands because they were tingling. I decided to get in the tub to labor for a bit in the water but as soon as I got in I felt the urge to push so they got me right out. The nurse said they were just going to get me right back into the bed so they didn't bother putting my gown back on. I walked out of the bathroom into a room full of people. The mid-wife said, "My, that's a lovely outfit you've chosen." If I wasn't in the middle of labor with no drugs I might have punched her but now it's just funny. Within minutes I was back in bed pushing and after 15 minutes of pushing you were born! We were all amazed at how quickly you arrived. Daddy cut the cord and they cleaned you up and we held you. Then we read a Pslam and thanked God for our precious baby girl! A short time later Bob looked at me and said, "Honey, I think you have a rash." I was thinking a rash from what??? Later when I got up and went to the bathroom I realized I had pushed so hard I had broken blood vessels all over my face, neck and shoulders; I was covered with little red spots. Thank goodness for Cover Girl! We took you home to your blue, Peter Rabbit nursery (which is the only bedroom that you'll ever have to yourself) and you were the BEST baby. It's been my joy and pleasure to be your mama ever since!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

A tale of two cities



The Grand Finale to our spring break this year was two fold...the girls went with friends to Chicago and the boys went to Detroit to catch a Tigers game! We all had seriously fabulous times...even though the Tigers didn't get a win for the boys. But hey...you can't get much better than eating hot dogs at the ball park with your dad!

So here's the long and short of it in pictures (ladies first, of course):

Abigail and her buddy Emily!


We pit stopped at Culver's for lunch on the way! YUM!

The main reason for our choice of destination...The American Girl Place. LOVE IT!


Who let the girls out!


Mama and her Bear

Me and my buddy Amy :) We had a great time with our girls...but decided that we wouldn't mind coming back with a few of our friends...MAMA TRIP!

Chillin in the awesome hotel room at the Westin! It was so nice!

Abigail and Emily made a bed by turning chairs on the floor and putting cushions in the middle. They are so creative! They said it was comfortable...I'm glad they thought so because I was happy to have the real bed!

Doing the Mary Tyler Moore thing on Michigan Ave!

Me and my girlie girls! We had a great time on our first Girl Trip. I hope there are many more in our future!

Did you think you were done with the post? Not quite...you still have to see the boy trip!
Take me out to the ballgame. Take me out to the crowd!

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. I don't care if I ever come back!


Daddy always keeps score



Chillin' at the ballpark, literally. It was pretty cold but the boys toughed it out.

How's that dog, Joe?

My three favorite Tiger fans!!!
Did you see that?!?!

Maybe someday they'll be a statue of these boys out here!

Brothers at the ball park

...So that's our spring break! Even though we didn't take a big trip we had a great time!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Spring Break 2011: Day 2,3,4,5,6,7...

















So my great idea of blogging each day of spring break didn't come to fruition. It did seem like a nice idea but then how many great ideas do we have that we can never quite pull off? Oh well, I don't feel too bad about it. After all it is still spring break and this is my second blog of the week so that's pretty good, all things considered. :)
We've tried to pack in lots of fun activities this week for the kids. We've been swimming 3 times, went to the movies (the free kids movies, of course!), ice skating, indoor amusement park, and topped it off today with a kickball game at the park with daddy and some friends. Grandma joined us at the indoor amusement park where we were all excited to ride the ferris wheel. The kids enjoyed doing a bungee bounce thingy-ma-jigger and the mechanical bull. We were all surprised when Grandma decided to give the mechanical bull a try! :) Today was a special day for me. Bob had the great idea of me arranging lunch with my friends and he volunteered to watch everyone's kids while the moms went out! What a guy!!! My friends and I enjoyed lunch at Rose's, which is one of my favorites! YUM! While we were dining Bob fed 9 kids and took them to the park to play a rousing game of kickball. It's been a great week thus far and it's not over yet! YIPPIE!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Spring Break 2011: Day 1

It is day 1 of spring break and the kids wanted to go swimming. No problem! Since we are members at the YMCA this activity is FREE! Gotta love that! Daddy decided that he would swim with the kids and mommy was happy to sit on the sidelines and take pictures (just don't know if I'm ready to pull out my swimsuit yet, ugh)
They had a great time playing water basketball, racing, doing handstands and flips and sitting in the hot tub! Bob even encouraged Chloe and Josiah to give the deep water test a try. They had to swim one length of the lap pool. Neither of them were able to complete the test but it was great to see how far they've both come in the pool. It won't be long and they'll be able to make it! After swimming Bob took the kids out to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a sleepover. It's date night for Mommy and Daddy...YIPPIE!! I would say it was a great start to spring break!

Josiah always loves playing in the little fountains

Joshua goes for the long shot!

Josiah's slam dunk!

She shoots, she scores!

Abigail powered water gun (Mr. Spencer taught us this trick)

Cannonball!!!

Chloe and daddy hanging in the deep end.

Daddy helping Josiah work on his front crawl

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A Bible story I never heard

This weekend I had the privilege of attending a womens conference at church on the topic of encouragement. During one of the workshops the speaker told us about a little known woman of the Bible...Ahinoam. Have you ever heard of her? I hadn't. I was so moved after hearing the story of this woman that I wanted to share it.

Ahinoam was a wife of David. We meet her in I Samuel 25:43. To set the scene we need to know that David is basically a renegade at this point. He was married to Saul's daughter Michal but Saul gave her to another man. David married Ahinoam and also a woman named Abigail (if you don't know Abigail's story you really must read I Samuel 25).
In 2 Samuel 2:1-4 we learn that the men of Judah make David their king. So Ahinoam goes from being the wife of a renegade to being the wife of the King of Judah. 2 Samuel 3:2 tells us that Ahinoam has a son, this is David's first born son. His name is Amnon. It is a very big deal to be the mother of the first born son. This basically means that Ahinoam is set for the rest of her life. She is the wife of the king and her son is the heir to the throne. Things are going well for Ahinoam.

But our lives often go in directions that we never expect and unfortunately for Ahinoam things were about to go from very good to very bad.
In I Samuel 30:1-6 David was thinking more about conquering cities than caring for his family and his wives Ahinoam and Abigail were taken captive by the Amalekites. Her husband put his own agenda and ambition before the good of his family. She must have been thinking, "What is my husband doing?" Eventually Ahinoam and Abigail are reunited with David but I am sure not without great pain and suffering.

Being the mother of the king's first born son was a great honor but Ahinoam's son Amnon's heart was evil. He was taken by the beauty of his half sister Tamar and wanted her for himself. He tricked her into coming to him and he raped her. This brought shame, disgrace and embarrassment to Ahinaom, to think that her son would do such a thing! Her heart must have been ripped out of her chest.

As bad as that must have been for Ahinoam, her suffering was not over. Tamar's brother Absalom was so enraged about what Amnon had done that he had him killed. She must have been filled with grief when her son committed that terrible act and now her grief is increased because she has lost her only child. She has lost everything.

After laying out the tragic story of Ahinoam our speaker asked "What do we say to Ahinaom?"
There are many women who have had their hearts ripped out. Who live with utter embarrassment. Who are weighed down by utter grief. If Ahinoam was my next door neighbor or a woman sitting behind me in the pew at church, her life just crumbing, one thing after another...What do I say to her? What if it's me?

Our speaker took us to Isaiah 12. He entitled it "Singing the song of praise in the midst of life"

You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

First, it was pointed out that the "You" in verse one is singular, it's the voice of one person crying out to God. In the midst of the trials of life we must turn to Christ. We must be reminded that God is not taking His wrath out on me. NO, He already took out His wrath on Jesus when he was on the cross! We must remind ourselves and the Ahinoams in our life of the glory and riches of God's grace.

Here's the part that really touched me, in verse 3 and 4 the word "you" is plural. Why is this important? Well, when thinking about a person who is hurting so deeply and feeling great despair they may say, "I understand that Christ took God's wrath for me...but I can not 'draw water from the wells of salvation'. I have no strength." The plural you is the Body of Christ. This is what we do. We drop her bucket in the well of salvation and together do the hard work of pulling it up for her, and with joy we do this. She can't do it. It's too much. We do it for her, we bring her the water.

It's the same when it comes to verse 4 and 5. The "you" is the Body of Christ. She may not have the strength to sing. She just can't do it, she has no voice. We will sing the praises of the Lord for her. We will call upon His name for her. We will sing to the Lord for her. This is what our church life is to be about.

I know I have not been able to share this story as eloquently as our speaker did yesterday but I hope the underlying message was conveyed clearly enough for your heart to be touched. The bottom line is that people are hurting more deeply than we know. We have all experienced times of embarrassment, pain and grief and there are people in our lives whose hearts are being ripped out by difficult circumstances, like Ahinoam. It is the responsibility of Christians to bring these hurting people to the cross, remind them that God's wrath was poured out on Christ, draw the water of salvation for them, and sing to the Lord for them.

And someday...they will sing again.


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I remember the day you were born...

My Sweet Chloebear
FAST forward 7 years....and she's still my sweet little Chloebear!

The story of my Chloebear starts on a Sunday afternoon. We were at our pastor's house for lunch after church. I was still a week before my due date but feeling like I couldn't go another day! My pastor's wife told me I should try castor oil. I had heard of women using castor oil to start labor...but I didn't really know what it was or how exactly it started the labor. After a few questions were answered we decided that I would try it that night. After we put Abigail and Joshua to bed I mixed the dreaded oil with orange juice and drank it. YUCK!!! It was terrible and what came next wasn't too fabulous either. After 4 hours of unpleasantries I realized I was having contractions. YIPPIE. At 1 am I woke Bob up and asked him if he was ready to meet his daughter. Our neighbor came right over and we were off to the hospital. When we got there they checked me out and even though I was dilated to 5cm and having contractions they told us to go walk around the hospital and come back in a few hours to see if I was really in labor. We walked down every hallway in that place and looked at what seemed to be thousands of inspirational posters. Finally we went back upstairs and they checked me again. Big surprise...they informed me I was indeed in labor. Hello!
I had done the labor thing twice with no drugs and thought it might be fun to see what the epidural was all about. So I got one. I was totally bummed when I could still feel my contractions on one side. Right at the end they gave me more drugs and it finally kicked in but it was a complete disappointment. When Chloe finally arrived the morning of Monday January 12 the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and it was too short for them to just unwrap. Chloe was a bit purple and they had to cut the cord right away. She didn't cry for what seemed to be forever...but it was probably just a minute. Bob had a worried look on his face and he started praying. Chloe started breathing and was totally fine. She was the smallest Baby Beek weighing in at 7 lbs 5 oz and she continues to be the smallest Beek (comparatively). Josiah is just about as tall as she is and weighs more already. Yep...Chloe is going to be the littlest Beek, but that's okay, we know that good things come in small packages. :) In the past year Chloe's personal sense of style has really started to emerge. She likes things to be fancy. She enjoys wearing scarves, especially the ones with a little sparkle, and she really loves earrings and jewelry. She always has a purse or bag on her arm, which usually is holding some sort of stuffed animal. She's a girl with stuff! Abigail says that Chloe is so "lipstick" and also complains that she is too messy (I think my own big sister could identify with Abigail on this issue). She may be a little on the messy side but she makes up for that with sweetness. Chloe is the snuggliest girl and endears herself with everyone she meets! She loves to sing and does it with all her heart and she is so excited to start taking piano lessons. It's so fun to watch her blossom and change and develop into her own special person.
Happy 7th Birthday to my sweet Chloebear!!! I love you tons and tons!