The Raak's

Final John deere restoration pictures

2009-06-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

FOR MICAH!!!!!!!!

2009-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of my John Deere I restored from dead sitting in a woods, to alive and fully functional. It is a 1969 John Deere 112. I will get the finished product pictures later, couldn't find them on our computer.

Happy Baby!

2009-03-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

What a happy girl! This is our niece Ashlyn on her baptism day. The beautiful dress she wore was made by my Great Grandma Kannigeiter. My cousins and I wore it and now another generation is starting to wear it too.

From there to bare!

2009-03-07T04:23:00.000-08:00

One way to tell at our house that spring is just around the corner!

Olivia Kate

2009-01-22T15:53:00.001-08:00

This is our new niece Olivia Kate Vander Kooy
She was born at 7:22 this morning, weighing 6lbs 150z
She is sooo cute, but she is from my family so what do ya expect ;-)

Bolt Project

2009-01-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a project i've been working on at home in the garage and basement. I have a series of pails loaded with all different sizes of bolts and nuts and I was sick of seeing them sit around the basement. So I decided to organize them and make more room on the floor, it also gave me something to do after work out of the cold. I made a 4x3 sheet of half inch plywood with buckets free from work that are used in grain elevators and bolted them to the wood-works good!

I'm the biggest loser

2009-01-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

No, i'm not actually but, the wife and i started diets awhile ago. We have been doing good and sticking to our diets. I have lost about 30 lbs., and Christy lost about 28lbs. We are starting to fit back into our old clothes from high school!!! Which makes us feel alot better!! Here are some pics of me now(sorry i didnt take pics when we started). I am wearing my old jeans from high school after my first big diet my senior year, size 36 waist!!

2009-01-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Buddy Loves his new pillow!!

2008-12-26T06:09:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Here are a few pictures of our day.

FUN IN THE SNOW

2008-12-21T11:21:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Buddy wanting to get back in the house after playing with him outside in the snow on Sunday afternoon.

Fredrik Meijer Gardens

2008-12-15T06:22:00.000-08:00

My cousin Duane got married last night at Fredrik Meijer Gardens, so I thought I would take the opportunity to take some nice Christmasy pictures!

My dad and I and my mom and I

African Christmas tree

For Alex and Jen

2008-12-08T16:52:00.001-08:00

This post is for Alex and Jen, who just tonight, told me that we do not update our blog enough. So here you go, these are some pictures of our Christmas tree that I was finally able to finish thanks to Jen's parents who gave me the Pheasant feathers, and our two new windows that Dan installed. Sorry our lives aren't more exciting!

Silly Dog

2008-11-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a current picture of our chocolate lab-Buddy.

Happy Belated 50th Birthday Dad!

2008-11-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry this is late, Dad's 50th birthday was on the 24th.
We had a surprise party for him. Better late than never!

Surgury

2008-11-14T05:00:00.001-08:00

It is the morning after my surgury, i am doing well but pretty sore. Everything went well as planned at the hospital. I was put on anesthesia for a little over an hour, so I don't remember a thing but I praise God for a successful surgury and pray for a quick recovery, I don't have any pics, I doubt u want to see them anyway!

sick and bored!

2008-11-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today, I(Dave) stayed home from work because of a terrible head cold! It's making me feel miserable. While at home I got absolutely bored. If you know me well, then you know that I can't sit around all day! So, I went to menards for really no reason, went to Meijers for some cold drugs, and played with dogs and cleaned my Gun. Here are some pictures of my gun.

Happy 1st Birthday Sam and Katelyn!

2008-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

It was Sam and Katelyn's 1st birthday on Friday.
They got ton's of presents, and Christmas is just right around the corner!
Maybe Dan and Heather should wrap some of them back up!
I don't think Sam and Katelyn would know the difference!;-)

Meet our new baby niece!

2008-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is Ashlyn Grace Vander Kooy
She was born Oct. 25 at 5:54pm
7lbs 11 oz, 20 inches

She is sooo cute!

goose blind and dogs

2008-10-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a goose blind I made.

odds and ends

2008-10-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Here are afew other pictures of stuff around our house...enjoy

WHITE CEDAR REFUGE GOOSE

2008-10-05T06:35:00.001-07:00

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF GOOSE HUNTING IN MANISTEE THIS WEEKEND WITH MERLE AND ALEX DEWITT AT THEIR HUNTING CABIN. IT WAS FREAKIN' AWESOME!!

WHITE CEDAR REFUGE GOOSE

2008-10-05T06:33:00.001-07:00

JOHN DEERE 5: THE LAST ONE

2008-09-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here I have pretty much completed the restoration of the 1973 John Deere 110 electric lift(the hood says 112 electric lift, but it is actually a 110)! Few light and minor things to do to it yet like, repair and paint hood, make a front grill and fix seat. This took me about a month to complete from the first bolt to the last. Now I have two complete working and running tractors. The third tractor is going to be this winter's project. I finished sandblasting the parts, just need to start painting it. ENJOY! I know I will!!

John deere 4

2008-08-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here I have installed new tires, motor(which is running perfectly), and other odds and ends. Just a few more things then it will be done!!

JOHN DEERE 3

2008-08-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here I have installed the rear transaxle and hitch plate, which was about the toughest to do yet.

JOHN DEERE 2

2008-08-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here I have done some more work to my tractor by installing the electric lift, steering wheel and console, tie rods, and motor mount. It takes time but will be well worth it in the end.

JOHN DEERE

2008-08-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

The restoration project of my 1973 John Deere 110 has begun. I started back in December and January tearing the tractor apart and buying new pieces that I needed for future completion. Here are some pictures of my 110 in early stages of rebuild. It has been completely repainted and will eventually be used for tilling our garden, with our John Deere attachment tiller.

Some pictures from our vacation

2008-08-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

1 David on top brockway mountain (lake Fanny Hooe in back)
2 our camp site at Fanny Hooe camp ground
3-4 our Pictured Rocks cruise
5 Log furniture store in Traverse city
6 Quincy mine tour

Vacation!

2008-07-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

We are so excited! We are finally taking a much needed vacation! We'll be leaving the evening of the 15th and heading up to the bridge to stay for the night. Then it's off to Copper Harbor for some camping. We have an old pop-up camper that we've been fixing up. Its looking pretty good! Can't wait!

NOTHIN NEW

2008-06-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Not too much new around here, other than getting the camper ready for camping. We are hoping to go to copper harbor if our plans turns out. Other than that just working and doing stuff around the house lately.

OOOOOOUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

2008-05-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

Please pray for me as I injured my achilles tendon over the weekend and I am having a hard time walking!!!!

New pic's of Sam and Katelyn

2008-05-24T08:12:00.001-07:00

More Pictures of our soon to be food!

2008-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

boat

2008-05-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here is the boat we are trying to sell, it is very nice, anyone interested?!

2008-05-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

stuff

2008-05-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of a tree fully bloomed in our front yard and some other pictures of our ducks swimming in their pool, also some of our big turkeys.

Tulip Time

2008-05-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

Mom Ann, Heather and I took Sam and Katelyn
to watch Aunt Rachel dutch dance last night.
Here are some pictures.

Quad

2008-04-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our new quad for trail riding!

Babysitting

2008-04-05T15:34:00.001-07:00

We got to babysit Sam and Katelyn a couple of weeks ago.
Here are some new pictures. They are getting so big!

Our New Pets/ food

2008-03-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the Ducks and turkeys we were given on Tuesday. I got them through a guy at work, free of charge. But there is a reason why I took them and will raise them. The reason is that they came from a duck farmer and whenever he gets new baby chicks, he sometimes gets a few too many and don't have room for them so they just drown them and kill them. It's sad I know, so that's why I am raising them. I will probably butcher the turkeys and most of the ducks for freezer food. There are: 6 turkeys, 3 indian runner ducks, 3 pekin ducks, and 3 mallard ducks. They are cute and are already following me around the yard! The dogs sure go nuts around them. I will probably keep one or two ducks for pets. About the end of May is when I will butcher some of them, so if anyone would like to try duck or homeraised turkey give me(Dave) a call.

Awesome time, GREAT MUSIC!!!!

2008-03-03T17:37:00.001-08:00

My brother Steven and I got tickets to Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy back in December right when they went on sale. This was a chance in a lifetime for me so we had to go.
The Concert was March 1 at 8:00 pm in Rosemont, IL, just north of Chicago at The Rosemont Theatre. We had a great time at the Concert and bought some souvenirs. The music was amazing, the orchestra played very well, it sounded just like the music from the Final Fantasy Games. Ignore the date on these pictures.

Just Another Day At Work

2008-02-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

These are the kids that I babysit for during the week

3 year old Madelyn

Laura 10 1/2 m in purple

Elise 10 1/2 m in pink

and Andrew 10 1/2 m in red

ARN'T THEY CUTE!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-02-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of mom's suprise 50th birthday party.

And Sam and Katelyn of course!

Sorry Sam is sideways!

Personalized Painting

2008-01-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a personailized painting that I ordered,

I love it! It has out names and wedding date on the tree trunk

Our New Car

2008-01-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our new car.

It's a 2007 Chrysler Seabring.

We are really enjoying it!

New Color

2008-01-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

We took the advise of our realtor and painted the living room.

I can't say we like it 100%, but it does brighten up the room a lot!

Our Kids

2008-01-06T13:16:00.001-08:00

Here are some new pictures of Buddy and Sally at Sarah's request. Sally is bigger than Buddy, but he still has alot more meat on his bones than she does.

Deal Or No Deal?

2008-01-06T13:09:00.000-08:00

We had dinner at my parents this afternoon, and played 'Deal Or No Deal?' My mom took the deal of $80,000, but my dad, David and I all played to the end and all won $50,000. If only it were real money!

Raak Christmas Party

2007-12-23T09:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the Raak Christmas party.

Hopefully we can get more pictures of Katelyn on Christmas

Just Because

2007-12-20T16:03:00.001-08:00

David had these flowers sent to me at work yesterday.

No he didn't do anything wrong!

He is THE BEST!

I took this picture with my awesome new digital camera

that the Rynsburger's gave me for Christmas.

Totally unexpected and unnecessary!

Sam and Katelyn

2007-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Sam and Katelyn. 2 1/2 weeks old.

Baby Pictures

2007-11-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know if you want to see pictures of Samuel and Katelyn you can see them at Zeeland hospitals website and leave them a message. zch.org then go to health care services at the top right, then down to list of newborns then view photos. They are sooo cute. Katelyn looks like her mom and Sam like all the Raak boys- you can definitely tell he's a Raak 100%. Mom and babies are doing great!

We're an Aunt and Uncle!

2007-11-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Dan and Heather. Samuel Lee and Kaitlyn Christen (not sure how they are going to spell it) were born yesterday, both over 5lbs. We can't wait to see them today!

David and the Deer

2007-10-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

A deer ran into David's truck tonight on his way home. He is OK, the deer I'm sure has a concussion, the door is dented and David is crabby. Enough said.

Update

2007-10-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been awhile since our last up date, but we've both been so busy lately. Things are going good here. It was a busy week, my birthday was on the 2nd and Ben and Rachel's wedding was on Friday. It was very nice and the reception was a lot of fun! My new job babysitting the triplets is going great. Between that and working at Dr. Mackus' office I've been working about 50hrs a week. David's been super busy as well, working overtime and even down in Coldwater for 2 weeks. We had an open house on Saturday and it turned out to be a good one. The man who grew up in our house is going to be retiring soon and is interested in moving back into his old house. His father built it so it has a lot of sentimental value to him. Personally I don't care who buys it as long as it's sold! There is a house in the Oakland area that we are very interested in, but we're keeping our eyes open every where! Here is a picture of us on our trip up north a few weeks ago where we put about 100 miles on our quads riding the trails.

To Iraq and Back

2007-09-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today my brother John returned home from Iraq after a tour of duty. I am so glad he is home safe and sound. Now he's telling us all the scarry things that happend to him that he didn't want us to know before!

Happy Anniversary to us!

2007-09-15T18:50:00.001-07:00

We have offically been married for one whole year! Here are some pictures of us eating the top of our wedding cake. Yum yum!

Super Sally!

2007-08-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a silly picture of Sally. She was trying to fly!

New stuff

2007-08-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things we got recently. First is the pop-up camper. We picked that up this past week from Mike and Lindsey, who no longer wanted it. Then there is a picture of a 4-wheeler that we bought for a really good deal that we couldn't pass up. It's in really good shape and we will be going up north trail riding together this fall with our 4-wheelers. Lastly the trailer that I have been building is almost done, needs just to be painted.

Golfing

2007-08-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

The day of Micah and Lisa's wedding, Micah decided he wanted to go golfing with the groomsmen, so here are a few pictures of Micah and his golfing expertise.

dirty jobs

2007-08-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hey if anyone gets a chance to watch tv tuesday night at 9:00 p.m., on August 7, on the discovery channel, Mike Rowe from the dirty jobs show is going to paint the mackinac bridge in Michigan. It might be pretty interesting!

Sally is getting so big!

2007-08-04T15:22:00.001-07:00

Sally is getting so big! 12 more pounds in 3 weeks!

Pretty soon I won't be able to hold her like this anymore!

Before and After

2007-08-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the trailer I am redoing. One is before and the other after. I welded more metal on the frame to make it stronger. I also got new tires for it, then repainted it. It's quite a project, but now instead of borrowing somebody else's trailer I can use my own. I didn't do it all by myself though, Micah helped me a lot. All that's left is wiring for the lights and to make a wood floor for it!

The New PSP

2007-07-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Last night David received his most prized possession to date. A PSP. He is VERY protective of it and wouldn't let me hold it until I washed my hands and they were thoroughly dried. It is pretty cool, we are even able to go on the Internet with it, although just trying to look up one website takes 10 minutes just to type it in!

PSP

2007-07-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well I finally broke down and am letting David get a PSP which he so desperately wants. Now he wont have to hog the TV for hours while he plays his games. It will be nice to have something to watch movies on if we go away on a trip or something, plus we can store pictures on it and possible get Internet access for it. So if everything goes as planed David will have his new toy tonight and get the new Final Fantasy games as soon as they come out. He deserves it!

dogs

2007-07-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

here are a few more pictures of our dogs

Summer Flowers

2007-07-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

My flowers are looking pretty good. These are older pictures, they a lot bigger now. I'll be so sad this fall when they start to die. Oh well, that means it time for mums!

new barn

2007-07-14T07:36:00.001-07:00

new barn

2007-07-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! Just wanted to post pictures of my new barn I build from scratch-no blueprints!

Sally Mae

2007-07-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here is our new puppy. Although we've had her for awhile, you may have not seen her yet. She and Buddy are becomming best friends!

David and Christy blog

2007-07-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hello all