2011 DRURY FAMILY UPDATE - Posted January 1, 2012

LAUREN

Lauren is 6 years old now and loves kindergarten. She draws and paints and plays school with her sister and most of all enjoys playing dolls and making a mess of her room when her parents are not looking. We find Lauren singing wherever she is: in the car, at dinner, at church, in her bedroom, even in the bathroom (actually: especially in the bathroom).

Quotes of the year from Lauren:

• "God doesn't make chicken nuggets; they're not real."
  
• "My jack-o lantern looks weird--I think I put on too much eyeshadow."
• Dave asks: "Do you know who I love?" Lauren replies with nonchalance: "I know, it's me!"

KARINA

Karina loves to do cartwheels and handstands in the living room and is deeply engaged in after school art and also in art camp at Taylor University. Outside of school, she loves to play school--setting up her bedroom as a fully functional classroom, where friends and siblings all receive her keen instruction.

Story from this year:
Karina cleaned the bathroom and got paid some money from Kathy. She said: "Oh, good, I need more money... I gave $3.75 at church this week and you know the $5 I made from selling the gift cards I made? I gave that too so now I don't have money, so thanks!" (This was all the money she had at the moment, apparently she hasn't learned about tithing, just about generosity--total generosity, that is.)

MAXIM

Max launched into his Scratch computer programming deeply this year, creating animation videos and learning all kinds of things. Even though he's now in the 5/6th youth ministry at church, he still likes Legos and Star Wars--but he's now officially a "big kid" and no longer a child. He informs us from time to time that he is in "adolescence." Yes, Max, we've been there too.

Story from this year: Dave comes into kitchen to find Max fixing a bowl of predawn breakfast-- pouring out some fiber cereal.
Dave: "Why are you eating my cereal?"
Max: "We have testing at school today; they told us we have to eat a healthy breakfast."
Dave: "How do you know that's healthy?"
Max: "It doesn't have any marshmallows in it" ... after several bites Max begins rummaging around the kitchen cupboards.
Dave: "What are you doing?"
Max: "Where's the sugar? That stuff tastes horrible!"

KATHRYN

Kathy sadly lost her last remaining grandparent (Grandma Mae Veldheer) this year. But the year was full of many joys as well. All three kids in school much of the day, Monday through Friday. The extra time in Kathy's life filled up with Kids Hope mentoring, volunteering at the schools, gardening, cooking healthy, and exercising far more than ever before. She still loves to plan vacations and made her 15-year anniversary cruise with Dave one to remember.


DAVID

It was a key year at College Church as the massive SoulShift (www.oursoulshift.com) emphasis and What If outreach campaign both kicked off and reached outside of the church walls pretty far. He continues to write, edit and do research on his Fridays, and some of the same skills are now needed at the Church too. Every now and then Dave and a few other Marion Dads play video games together to be irresponsible and thus recapture some of their lost youth.

2010 Drury Family Update

This is our annual Drury Family Update for 2010. However, this year is a first, Kathy has written the update. Yes, the words will be less crafty and the humor gone, but nonetheless here is our year wrapped up:

This has been a fun year of memories including lots of travelling. As a family we went to Schaumburg, IL for spring break and went to Legoland Discovery Center. We went on a long 12 day vacation to the Shenandoah National Park area in Basye, VA where we rented a house on a mountain. We also made the yearly visit to the grandparents cottage in Walhalla, MI at Long Lake. Dave and I were blessed to take 3 get aways together: Jacksonville in Jan., Dayton, OH in Oct, and San Antonio in Dec.

Dave:

*Ageless Faith came out March 1-- a book he co authored with his dad Keith

*He reworked Soul Shift that he co-authored with Pastor Steve DeNeff that comes out in 2011.

*He did several side projects with Thomas Nelson Publishers primarily for work with Max Lucado's new book Outlive Your Life that came out in September including writing the participant's guide for the book.

*He continues to work hard in the Executive pastor role at College Wesleyan Church.

*Enjoyed his new Heroscape hobby with Max and always enjoys video gaming.

Kathy:

*I enjoyed my first break in 10 years after sending our youngest to preschool.

*I became a Kids Hope mentor again after a 15 year break.

*I enjoyed gardening as always.

*I led a bus trip of young senior adults to my home town for the Tulip Festival in May.

*I enjoyed 2 shopping trips away with family and friends in October.

*I have enjoyed being in a Bible study on Wednesday mornings with ladies at church.

Max:

*He enjoyed learning "Scratch" at computer programming camp at Taylor University this summer.

*He spends most of his free time with anything Star Wars or Legos.

*He enjoys playing Heroscape with his dad.

*He did a couple track days in town and came away with some ribbons.

*He enjoys Splash and Club Splash at church.

Karina:

*She accepted Jesus as her Savior in January.

*She took 2 art camps at Taylor University.

*She sang in the kids choir at church in the spring.

*She learned to sew at Club Splash at church.

*She took swimming and tennis lessons.

*She got her first pair of glasses and a root canal in the same week!

Lauren:

*She took ballet for 5 weeks this summer at CSA in Marion.

*She started tennis lessons this fall.

*She took swimming in the winter and fall sessions at IWU.

*She started preschool (pre-K) at Westview in August where she attends 5 mornings a week.

*She enjoys singing and dressing up.

Drury Update on the Last Year (2009)

Welcome to our family update site – we post here annually on what happened the previous year in each of our lives. We all went on a family vacation to Gatlinburg, TN this year (enjoying hiking in the mountains, the aquarium and the hot tub at our Chalet). Scroll down to see the other pics and details from the year.

Be sure to leave a comment here to let us know you stopped by!

Lauren 2009 Update:

• Lauren loves singing and dancing (see her videos on Kathy's Facebook).
• Had swimming lessons.
• Goes to MOPS, Sunday School, Story Time and Club Splash each week.
• Dressed as Cinderella for Halloween. (As well as many other days of the year.)
• She hiked a 5 mile trail in the smoky mountains with the family!
• Quote of the year: "When we go on top of the mountain can we say 'Hi' to God?"

Karina 2009 Update:

• Changed schools along with her whole class to Westview.
• Had her first hospital overnight stay in April (dehydration from rotovirus).
• Lost her first tooth in November.
• In Kids Choir again this year in Club Splash.
• Made jewelry in Club Splash to support the building of wells in Zambia.
• Had tennis and swimming lessons.
• Quote of the year: "I want to be a pastor, a gymnastics teacher, a music teacher, kindergarten teacher and an art teacher when I grow up."

Maxim 2009 Update:

• Max was in Program Challenge (an advanced computer class after school and in the summer).
• He ran a mile in 8 minutes and 43 seconds (a bit more than twice the time of a professional).
• Had tennis and swimming lessons.
• He made a birdhouse in Club Splash (in order to raise money for wells in Zambia).
• Spent many hours playing Legos and Heroscape.
• Now officially knows much more Star Wars trivia than most fans.
• Quote of the year: [Upon agreeing with his mother unexpectedly] "I'm getting older, so I'm starting to think like you now."

Kathy 2009 Update:

• Kathy entered the 5k Wildcat Challenge in Marion and completed it.
• Enjoyed MOPS this year (on the leadership team in Spring).
• Fun to be back into fantasy football (with people in our church).
• Enjoyed places we traveled to this year (Parent's Cottage in Michigan, Spring Lake friends, Tennessee, San Antonio)
• Liked getting even more into gardening this year.

Dave 2009 Update:

• Dave visited several "trust" villages in Zambia in July along with a team from our church.
• He did research for Max Lucado's forthcoming book on Acts.
• He enjoyed the Indianapolis Writer's Conference.
• Dave continued to work with the leadership of College Wesleyan Church.
• Commuted to work on his new bike most of the summer.
• Picked up a new hobby with Max: Heroscape Game.
• Spent nearly every Friday writing: co-writing two books in 2009 (Ageless Faith & SoulShift).

The Drury Family in the Last Year

Welcome to our family update site – we post here annually on what happened the previous year in each of our lives. Scroll down to see the pics and the details. Be sure to leave a comment here to let us know you stopped by!

General Family Updates from January 1, 2008 through January 1, 2009:
>We moved into our new house on March 8th
>We all attended the Wesleyan General >Conference in Orlando, Florida in June
>While there we also took a vacation to Disney World
>We drove up to Michigan a few times to stay at Kathy’s parent’s cottage
>We spent some time at our district Family Camp in Fairmount, IN
>We met Dave’s new nephew Sam and spent a week with him and his parents (John & Mandy) during their visit in May
>Our kid’s new favorite hobby – to sing along to funny songs on the family iPod (see Kathy’s Facebook profile for videos)

Lauren in 2008 Highlights:
>Turned 3 in July with a “Dora Beach” Party
>Likes to do “hair salon” with her mommy & sister
>Plays dress up constantly (changes clothes multiple times a day)
>Enjoys MOPS group, moms group & Sunday school because she can be with her friends.
>Likes “reading” her preschooler books
>Does not really enjoy coloring (except on the walls apparently)
>She was the first Drury kid to be potty trained – before she was 3
>Lauren rode her first roller coaster this year!

Karina in 2008 Highlights:
>Karina turned 5 on Easter with a “Madeline” party
>Took Tennis lessons in the fall and learned a ton
>Baked cookies and sold them to everyone she knew to help build a well in Zambia
>Took swimming lessons in the winter
>Loves to draw and color for HOURS each day
>Now wears skirts or dresses only 300 days a year (down from 330 last year) – she’s branching out into pants from time to time

>Loves singing and being in the kids choir at church: http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=744746310&s=30&hash=4b64a4b27478849217551df27c511e90#/video/video.php?v=48402346310849217551df27c511e90#/video/video.php?v=48402346310
>Loves to laugh http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=39833511310

Max in 2008 Highlights:
>Had a Lego Party for when he turned 8 in June
>Took Tennis lessons in fall
>Loves school and joined the “program challenge” because he’s good with computers
>Was a part of Upward Basketball (January and February)
>Joined Kids Choir at church (see video above)
>Had a fun “Colts Day” at Lucas Oil Stadium on the field where Peyton Manning plays.
>Mastered Mario Cart on the Wii – no one seems to be able to beat him consistently
>Will have a singing part in the school program this year
>Likes Star Wars again (memorizing the 4 minute “Moosebutter” song about it this year)… see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4&feature=related)

Kathy in 2008 Highlights:
>Moved into new house after picking out all the details for it.
>Landscaped the house shortly after move in.
>Got two other moms together and they now do a Supper Swap each week
>Loves her Mom’s Group on Tuesday mornings
>Joined MOPS leadership this year—doing the publicity & newsletter
>Went to the MOPS conference in Dallas with the local MOPS steering team
>Loved watching the Olympics with the family (including making our closing ceremony meal we do every other year – themed around the ethnic food of the host country)
>And she’s indoctrinating the kids in Olympic Love: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=35947271310
>Known as the “queen of Facebook” by her friends

Dave in 2008 Highlights:

>Went on a marriage retreat with Kathy in September
>Went to the “All Pro Dad” event in Indy on the Colts Field with Max
>Has led the church through a strategic planning and realignment process this year
>Hired two new wonderful pastors at College Church: Thad Spring & Charlie Alcock
>Loves having a great time with the staff and leaders at CWC – the role and environment has been a great fit.
>On the side he taught the IWU Christian Ministry Capstone class for Seniors about to go into the ministry or to seminary.
>Continued working on vacation days with research assistance for Max Lucado and his forthcoming book on fear (included a trip to San Antonio for planning.)
>His grandfather died in August, which resulted in a trip to Arizona for the funeral—good to see his grandmother, aunts, uncles, extended family.
>He surprised brother John in New Jersey for his birthday party in November – showing up by train after already being in Washington DC for a speaking trip
>Plays cards each week in Marion with a bunch of new friends.

Christmas Update -- December 25, 2007

It has been quite the year of transition for us as a family, moving from West Michigan back to David's hometown... Marion, Indiana. We're now living in a rental home next to Indiana Wesleyan University near College Wesleyan Church where David works now as the Executive Pastor. We're building a home in nearby Gas City and expect to move in around February. Thanks for stopping by to see this once-a-year update on our family. Feel free to leave a comment to let us know you came by.

-The Drury Family

Lauren 2007 Update

• Went from not talking at all to talking all the time
• Went from serious to goof ball
• Started to love all things Mickey Mouse and Disney
• Wear play high heals around the house every moment of the day
• Loves her Dora blankie
• Hugs and kisses her brother and sister every day when they come home from school
• Thinks her mother is the queen of the universe
• Thinks her father exists to wrestle her daily

Karina 2007 Update

• Loved going to "Art-itude" -- her amazing art school in Michigan.
• Started pre-school at Lakeview, her Dad's old school in Indiana.
• Had a 4-Year Old "Princess Party" in March. Loved it!
• Draws and does amazing crafts on her own every day.
• Started Ballet classes in Marion from 2 IWU students.
• Had her first Ballet recital in November.
• Getting pretty good at "Finding People" game on the family Wii (the "Druii")
• LOVED going to the cottage in July.
• Has worn a dress on 330 of 365 days in 2007.