van's rv trailer company

Over 50 Years of Service (I took this straight from the Van's RV website. The things I added in to give you more of an idea of how much the family is involved is in parentheses and is bold.)

It all began with a prescription for health and sunshine for a young Michigan man (my great grandfather, George Canon Van Liew, Sr.). At the encouragement of his doctor, he brought his wife and three sons (my grandfather, George Charles Van Liew, Jr.; and my two great uncles, David Van Liew and Paul Van Liew - Paul works at Van's still) to warm Arizona to begin a new venture in the growing community of the Valley of the Sun. Becoming a pioneer in recreational vehicles in this area, he began a family business (Van's RV Trailer Company) which has served Arizona for 53 years (begun in 1954). Now, years later, we still follow the doctors [sic] prescription for health and sunshine, and additionally the prescription (from our LORD God) for good will and honest dealings with our thousands of customers. We are still a family business, including third generation participation (including my uncle George Charles Van Liew, III, or simply Chuck; my first cousin once removed, Todd Van Liew - Paul's son; and my first cousin once removed-in-law, Kevin Plummer) and have maintained doctor's orders to serve our many friends with fair prices, honest dealings and ongoing award-winning service. May we prescribe to you the good fortune of visiting our dealership with the expectation that you will benefit greatly from the experience and relationship we offer. Our records affirm that we will serve you well. (Whelp, that's my family's business. I didn't even know they had a website until this morning. If you're looking for a trailer, check out Van's RV, located in Suprise, AZ.)

helpin' larry

Larry Van Liew, my uncle, my dad's next oldest brother by 15 months, is an RV repair and handyman. He is really good at what he does; he's quick and knowledgeable. I am not. I am slow and don't know tools. But, I was still asked to come help him yesterday put some metal siding on an RV he was repairing. These pieces of metal were around 30 ft. long. He also had me pick up his daughter Ashley's boyfriend, Tyler, since he is a tall (about my height, 6'2") 15 year old and could help us with the long length. So we helped Larry from 1pm until 3pm out at Van's RV (even though Larry doesn't work for Van's, since it's family owned, he can use space on the lot when needed). It wasn't really that long, just 2 hours, but man was that sun unkind. It must have been around 110 degrees F, and we were in the sun working. The sun was hot, the metal was hot, and we were hot. If you want to make "hot" mean "good looking," by all means, go right ahead, but that's not what I meant. Larry always takes care of his works, and I appreciate that. God has enabled him to be the man he is and to do the work he does, and he does it well. He loves the LORD and leads his family that direction, as well. I am proud of my family.

the wheel of time

For anyone who loves fantasy books, Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series is a must read. You would need to be secure in your understanding of God's truth in Christ being the only way and that reincarnation and a "One Power" are not realities, but Jordan brings these stories to life in like manner with JRR Tolkien. The first five books' covers are below. I have now read four of the series, and just started the fifth: The Fires of Heaven. There are twelve books in all, that is, right now. And I don't think the story has ended yet. I'll have to see when I get there (in four years!). I do read slowly, but these are well written enough for my time.

It took me a long time, but I finished The Eye of the World in 2005.

The Great Hunt I finished in early 2006.

I believe I finished this one sometime last year, maybe Christmas, 2006.

I just finished this one on Saturday, June 23, 2007.

I just started this one Sunday, June 24, 2007. We'll see how long it takes me.

late comers

I just got this pics from Francy (Zsa-gi) that she took on Mothers' Day. Enjoy!

summer school

I've been teaching summer school at DVHS for the last 3 1/2 weeks. I've found a way to fit an entire semester's worth of material in that amount of time: craziness. I had 17 students to start, one found out she'd passed the class, so she left, and two more dropped for absences. 14 students for the past week: not bad. All of these students were given the shot to retake this class after they just failed it this past semester during the normal schedule. I think this set up works better for these students, though: less time from lesson to quiz, from quiz to test, and so on. I do four things each day: any mixture of lessons, reviews, quizzes, and tests. For instance, the first day of summer school, the students had 4 lessons in the same day, but yesterday they had a test first thing, and then three lessons after that. It was a lot of material in a short amount of time, but these students seemed to enjoy it and did well. Other than the two that dropped for absences (they were allowed 2 at most, they both had three and then were dropped), I now have no students with Fs in the class as they enter the final exam (which they are taking right now). I have liked this setup, as it was more like college. We had four hour sessions each day, each with two 15 minute breaks evenly spaced in the day. It gave a sense of trust and freedom that the students normally don't get throughout the regular semester. I am now really looking forward to possibly teaching at a community college one day. We'll see what the LORD brings our way.