Julie's Productions

2010 Women's Retreat

2010-04-25T17:24:00.001-07:00

Well, another year has come and gone. Where does the time go? All the hours of meetings and planning, registering and organizing, planning and making decorations, getting speakers, making gift bags, etc. So much work but so much fun and so rewarding to serve the women when the time comes. Just received word today of several ladies back in church and giving their hearts to the Lord as the result of the retreat. That's what it's all about.

This year had a sad note to it. Our Director, Kim Purvis, is leaving us to move to Alaska. Quentin will be the new Vice-President of the Alaskan Conference. Going to have to hook them up with our Michelle and Bryce. Kim will be dearly missed by all the women. Her southern ways have endeared her to all our hearts. Sweet smile, beautiful voice, dedication, willingness to try new things, have made our committee and Women's Ministries a success in Michigan. Alaska, you are lucky to be getting the Purvis team.

Well, Camp Au Sable couldn't let her go without a gift. This is what they hauled in. Took three of them to do it. So funny. Kim was truly surprised.

They also gave her a carton of Moose Tracks ice cream. We are preparing her for those big animals she can expect in her back yard. Hee Hee. A little different than a squirrel or a deer.

Our decorations were outstanding this year if I do say so myself. The banner is where we started. My talented daughter-in-law Natalie designed and made it at work. Thank you Natalie. It was perfect. Then Jane and I worked around that. God is funny how he can make it beautiful using two ladies from the other side of the state and only communicating several times during the year. When we get together, he has sent the perfect things we need to make it all come together.

The wonderful camp staff made everything possible. We brought the 3 chandeliers, and they constructed a frame, crawled into the ceiling to hang it without any holes, cleaned up the insulation mess, got it working so we could actually turn them on, hung our curtains and banner. Another big thanks. Couldn't have done it without you guys.

I put the Cricut to work making the centerpieces again this year. Each chandelier took 4 pieces cut out. Then all folded down the center after which I had to glue all the sides together. Little gems were then put on. Maria glued the skewer painted silver on at the camp. I spray painted all the styrofoam blocks with silver glitter, wrapped the ribbon around, and put a beaded string on top with straight pins. The candles were printed on wraps I found at Michaels.

Just put it this way, every step took twice as long as I had planned. Finished them in the nick of time. Whew ! We will use the white and black ones for our tea party/piano recital in a couple of weeks. Should be cute with a bit of pink thrown in for the girls at school.

I thought the sliver and black would be the nicest, but the pink and white showed up the best. After three weeks of moving and replacing all weekend, they started getting a lean to them. Drove me nuts every time I walked through the dining room I had to go and try to straighten as many as possible. Never ending job.

We also made the little pink cards on the table above as a favor. They were pink recipe cards we printed, cut out, punched, put on a ring, and tied a ribbon around. 600 of them. Sarah came over one day for about 2 hours and thought we could get them done. We succeeded in putting 400 together and had ribbons on 200 for the first weekend. Had to finish when I got to camp and did 200 more before the third weekend.

Our speaker couldn't have been better. Ruth Ann Thompson if anyone is interested in using her. So sweet and down to earth. Originally from MI so she had fond memories and many friends from the "olden" days of Camp Au Sable and Cedar Lake Academy that she got to see.

Our retreats are always the first 3 weekends of April. Can't wait for next year. I go for sure the 1st and 3rd weekends and some times all three. Would love to have all my friends from church and around the state join me. Keep in on your schedule. Prices are not going up again and there are many comfortable places to stay if you get your reservation in early enough. Just call me if you have any questions. Start planning early. You will be blessed and come closer to God in this day and age when we need him more.

Candyland Baby Shower

2010-04-18T03:21:00.000-07:00

In case you hadn't heard, our Natalie and Adam are expecting their first child May 6th. It's a BOY! Can't wait. The ladies at Oakwood Church threw a shower for Natalie on March 28th. It turned out so nice. There was a great group of ladies and we were excited to have Natalie's mom and 4 sisters with us. Also 6 nieces and 1 nephew. Guests came from Berrien, Chicago, and

New York.

Since Natalie really loves candy, Melissa Williamson suggested the theme of "Candyland", the childrens game. We had a great time decorating for this. I posted some random pictures so in case you couldn't make it, you could still enjoy some of the fun we had. Of course they are in no particular order cause I still am not a pro at this blogging.

I asked my hairdresser Liberty if she knew of any cute ideas done at a shower. She loves Natalie and was excited to share. She told me about putting a smaller basket of baby essentials together. Then you buy lots of cute baby clothes in all sizes and put them on a clothesline with clothes pins. Next you lay those in a basket and place the first basket on top so she can't see the clothes. So that is what Sarah and I did for our gift. It turned out pretty cute. We found so many beach theme, off roading theme, surf themed, Lions/Tigers, Quicksilver, and Harley themed clothes. The best was the Harley leather jacket, gloves, and hat we ordered off line. Nat loved those. Here we are holding the clothesline.

Natalie's Berrien nieces helping with the gift opening.
Leah took this "wonderful" picture of me. Gotta love the angle.
Lily hiding under the table eating a lollipop. We see you girl!

What a wonderful bunch of daughters with their mom. So glad they all could make it.

Gram, Nilza, and Lily enjoying the party.

Lily following the "Candyland" path. Check out that backside. She kept messing up the pathway.

This is Madelyn, the New York niece. She loved Lily.

Sarah made these adorable "It's A Boy" suckers for the candy table.

Here's the entrance. Our walkway path was made of felt squares. Sarah even put them in the same order as the ones on the game. You can see one of the lolipops I made out of styrofoam and celophane wrapped with ribbon and put on a skewer. They turned out pretty cute. We clustered them around the room. Also made candies out of chinese lanterns but didn't get a pic or those. Natalie probably did. I was too busy to take pictures.

Here's our candy table. Every kind you could want. The take homes were chinese take out boxes. Each had a ribbon tied on them and a toothbrush stuck in the side so you could clean those teeth after you indulged. I think the ladies liked the candy cause a whole bunch was gone by the end of the party.

I made two of these candy topiaries using a foam form and mini lolipops. Just cut them off and stuck them in the foam. Then put in a pot and tied ribbon around them. So cute. We used them as the centerpieces on the serving tables.

Sarah had the bright idea to make rainbow cupcakes. You divide your cupcake batter into 6 different bowls and then color them like the rainbow. A layer of each color is then put in the cupcake paper. Very tedious work. Kept us busy until about 2:00 am. In the picture the paper has been removed and you are seeing the batter. I bought the surfboards at a cake decorating store since his room is surfing themed.

This is where Natalie opened her gifts. She received so many nice things. Can't wait to put them to use. You can see all the candy's we made around the bench.

Balloons are always a nice finishing touch to a great day. Thanks again everyone for supporting Natalie and all your gifts and hard work. Now we will sit and wait for his arrival.

BAKING FROM SCRATCH

2010-03-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

I received one of the nicest presents this year for Christmas from my kids. It was a class offered by Zingermans Deli/Bakery in Ann Arbor that taught you how to make three cakes from scratch. I have made Texas Sheet Cake from scratch, but not Angel Food, Flourless Chocolate Torte, or Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

It was a 4 hour class and all cakes were made and finished in that time. We also received a discount at their bakery the night of the class and any drinks there that we wanted for free. Only thing not nice was that Natalie didn't come with Sarah and I. She would have liked it but something came up and she couldn't make it.

Here is their class list, my name tag, and recipe book. They offer pie, cookie, pizza, bread classes and more. So much fun but not cheap. Also, hard to get into because they fill up pretty fast.

Sarah getting ready to learn to Bake.

Check out this great technique. Think I am cracking and separating eggs.

Sarah showing off her first creation.

First cake we made was the Flourless Chocolate Torte. So rich and delicious dark chocolate. Really quite easy. Here is a sweet girl we hooked up with. Sarah took pictures of her to send her via email since she forgot her camera. She was even more inexperienced making cakes from scratch than we were. Her hubby came to pick her up and enjoyed the tasting time with us. Sweet couple.

We had never made an Angel Food Cake before, not even from a mix. I am not sure Sarah had ever separated an egg. Well, we needed 12 so we each got to separate 6. It wasn't too bad. I only messed up one. Sarah did all six perfectly. Then we had to whip them. There was a certain consistency needed and they told us if we did it correctly, we should be able to hold up the bowl over our head upside down and nothing would come out. Looks like we did it RIGHT!

Dividing up the Angel Food batter. We each made two of those adorable little cakes. Actually used real vanilla beans in this cake. First time I ever did that.

The big ovens they used to bake the 30 some cakes we made that night. Kept the girl busy running back and forth checking all the cakes and getting them cool enough to take home.

Everything was so organized with two ladies helping the instructor. All the ingredients were set up for each person. One lady just did dishes the whole night. There were 10 ladies in the class. Our instructor was a great teacher. He showed us how to do everything and then we did it all by ourselves.

Delicious Angel Food Cake. Everything was wrapped so cute to take home in Zingerman boxes and bags. We sampled the instructors cakes and were able to take ours home uncut. Used them for lunch on Sabbath that week.

Sarah's flourless chocolate cake was just about perfect. Mine was pretty good also.

The best ever Pineapple Upsidedown Cake. Made with fresh pineapples and frozen MI cherries. Ummmmmmmmmm! We liked it the best and didn't think we would like it at all. Made with the most expensive Brown Sugar around and tasted like it.

Life Goes On!

2010-03-13T04:29:00.001-08:00

Second try. I was saying, I always start saying it seems like a "Million Years" since I last blogged. Not quite that long, but a long time.

God has been good. Everyone healthy and still working in Michigan. That in itself is a blessing.

Our new Pastor has been at Oakwood a year. We all like him a bunch.

Sarah is still home with the girls. She teaches 17 piano students on Tuesday at school and I baby sit for her. LOVE IT....

We are excited about the upcoming arrival or our first grandson, thanks to Natalie and Adam. Can't wait. He is due to arrive the first part of May. Looks like he may be a big one.

Soaking up the sun in Florida finally. Cold at Christmas, cold in February for boat show, but now we have one nice day. 77 and sunny. Hope it continues cause Leah is on her way here on Monday and is ready to go swimming.

Gram Lois has been in Myrtle Beach enjoying herself with Joe and Stella for the last 6 weeks. She is headed here on Monday also. That will be a great reunion between great grandma and the kids. Wish Joe and Stella were coming also, but spring breaks don't align.

I wanted to share our pictures from a few happenings this year. Most important was the dedication of our sweet Lily to Jesus. On January 16th we had a special service at Oakwood church doing just that. We were delighted that our good friends and family came from far away to share our special day. True friends, we love you all.

Here is the little family waiting to be called up front.

Pastor Kim offering the prayer of dedication.

Lily checking out the Pastor's face.

All the family up front during the prayer of dedication.

Sarah and I sang the song "Hold On To Jesus". A beautiful song

especially for a baby girls dedication.

Of course, Aunt Stella had to tell the children's story.

Leah loved the service!

We enjoyed a "Pink" potluck with our church family. It was the Sabbath for my team to be in charge of Fellowship Dinner so we just turned it into a celebration for Lily's dedication. This is part of our sweets table. We made everything on it. All mostly pink.

These are cookie suckers we made and tied little tags about Lily on them.

Our friend made chocolate bear cookies for dessert.

This is our table from a distance. The mini cupcakes are in "Papers" that we made with real chocolate in a mold. My friends boy was so upset that he threw his "paper" away. Had to find an empty one so he could try it.

These are our Peanut Balls dipped in chocolate we made, thanks "Bakerella".

Our "Gumdrop Brownies" on a stick and "Dipped Oreo" suckers.

Another shot of the cupcakes.

Table from a different angle I think.

Leah with her one of her favorite people.

Here's her other favorite.

Our friends enjoying potluck.

Lily on the big day with Uncle Joe.

Sarah, Kim, Samantha, Lily, best of friends.

David's family joined in the celebration.

Our new tent and tunnel.

I am back, sorry. Had to take a walk with Dan and go to the channel and see the world's largest cruise ship, "Oasis of the Seas", leave. Wow, it is huge. Holds 5000 passengers and 3000 crew members. A real floating city.

We are starting our Women's Ministries with a bang this year at church. Our new leader Grace brought us the idea of making sundresses for the orphans in Africa. They are supposedly no sew and made out of pillowcases and trim. We found they were easier to make if we sewed them. So 4 ladies brought sewing machines and the rest of us ironed, cut, thread elastic, folded, etc. The devil worked hard on the machines and jammed up 2. We fought him all the way as you can see Sarah helping Heather thread our machine. Finally got it working. Natalie and Dawn are going to town behind them. Will have to say, Natalie was the lead sewer. Here is our assortment of trims. Too bad I didn't take a picture of the dresses. I am the worlds worst blogger/scrapbooker when it comes to photos.

Julie R. was the girl who would finish up the leftovers. She sewed so many and we are so thankful for her help. She is behind Jenny in the red.

Had to have some supper of course. Even the pastor joined us for that.

Thanks to all the ladies who came and helped, donated supplies, cooked, and supported our Women's Ministries. That's Julie R in the pink.

Couple shots for Gram Lois while she was away and I was babysitting all by my loneself. Sarah got a really nice new kitchen table from IKEA. Love that store. Chairs also behind Leah.

Here's sister in one of the chairs. Love the runny nose. It is finally gone after some antibiotics.

Here's another adorable picture. How could you not fall in love with this.

Our girls love church. Leah even recognizes the way there. She has lots of good friends in Sabbath School. Benson, Megan, Gelani, Colin, and most favorite, MIA (Jeremiah). This Sabbath it was nice to have Adam and Natalie stay home for a change and David put Adam to work as a Deacon collecting offering. He looks pretty sharp.

Natalie was babysitting Lily. You can also see my future grandson in the picture.

Here's Leah as a tiger in SS during the story of Noah and the Ark.

Snow outside the window on the way to church. Had another picture of Lily eating her bible but I accidentally deleted it. If I re-upload it, it will end up on the top out of order and I don't know how to move it down. Used to but can't get it to work so will forget about it.

At Christmas we went and had a more current 4 generations picture taken. It was fun. But Leah would not smile. She always smiles for pictures. Lily was great but Leah kept making a smushed up face. This picture turned out pretty good and we got some nice ones of the girls. David came but Leah would not cooperate. We were there for three hours. I was beginning to lose my Christian experience when the girl accidentally deleted the order and had to start over. I took the girls home in Sarah's car and let her figure it out without us. Of course she did a great job. I love this shot of us all. I guess she finally smiled after all.

Here's the first picture of baby boy Woolf. Check out Natalie's blog for the most

recent shots of him.

Natalie told me to!

2009-08-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

Natalie thought I was joking when I said we wanted to make purses. She finally took me serious in Holland when she and Francie told us they were going to a fabric store. We asked to tag along and that is where the addiction started. It was so much fun. They helped us purchase the fabric, pattern, and accessories. Then it was back to the camper after getting Sabbath groceries, eating lunch, Hobby Lobby, etc. But, when we did get back, Francie got us started. Natalie had brought the sewing machine along with her CAMPING.

We worked all Friday afternoon til sunset and then Sarah and I had our first crafting session together. She has penciled in Wednesday morning for us to craft/scrap together at her house. Well, it took us all morning to get her sewing machine up, new bobbin winded, and the machine threaded. I know how to do mine but not hers. With Sarah reading directions, and finally a phone call to Natalie, we got it done.

Sewed until 5:30 when I sat in the car to go home. It was so much fun and such a good feeling to accomplish this by ourselves, at the end anyways. Natalie came and helped us put Sarah's flower together and I finished mine at home in the evening. We love them.

Thanks Francie and Natalie. Going to Fields Fabric on Friday. Gram Lois now wants one and Natalie will show me how to do a new one. Can't wait.

Of course the pink is Sarah's and mine is the blue.

Oakwood Vacation Bible School

2009-08-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Leah and her friend Laura riding Shamu.

Another VBS. "Waterworks Park" was our theme. Great program. Everything is run like a water park and all the bible stories relate to water. Such as crossing the Red Sea, Jesus calming the storm, Jonah and the Whale. Sarah, Cori, Christie, and Kim were in charge again and did a wonderful job. Sandy could not possibly have made the snack area any better than it was. All water park foods but healthy. Even had frozen chocolate covered bananas.

The girls decided to set up a special area for children under 4. Covered the floor with a huge tarp and had actual indoor water and sand activities for them. Everyday we had at least 6 children in this area. Here I am as the "Lifeguard" helping them keep the sand and water separate. Nice try. Giving the tubes a try. Leah deep in thought about VBS and what to do next.

Are there any seashells in here?

I love this picture of Leah and Jeremiah so deep in thought.

Sarah giving some instruction to the entire group. We registered close to 100 children this year. At least 27 from the neighborhoods surrounding the church. Our members were great volunteers and it made the work load so much lighter for everyone. Pastor Kim was a super addition to the Bible Bay story area. What a delight to have a pastor who has a passion for the young. He is the same age as Sarah and David. He sure enjoyed getting wet!

Sarah and I were "Lifeguards" and led out in the singing and the opening and closing segments. Thanks to Char for her painting abilities on our backdrops. This was the main area to start and close in our foyer. Also had an adorable puppet segment each morning. First day each child received a bright colored beach hat.

The children loved the music. "Splish, Splash, the Bible Bash" was the theme song. Every song had a video with it and hand motions. As you can see they thoroughly enjoyed the music.

Can't go to a waterpark without sunglasses. On Wednesday everyone got a pair. Thursday all families were invited to go to a local waterpark for a group price of $5.00. We hoped at least 30 would show up to get the group rate. Surprise, Sarah said at least 75-80 people from VBS were there. Gram and I babysat Lily and got some work done around the house while Sarah enjoyed the water and sun.

Bubbles were pretty important also. All total we set up 4 bubble machines. Kids loved them. Pastor Kim is entering thru them here. He was funny the first day. Came in long pants and dress shoes. We put a stop to that and finally got him in shorts and sandals.

Miss Leah liked the bubbles along with all the children. We went thru gallons, and I do mean gallons, of bubbles.

Our set up sound man couldn't be beat. He projected the pictures and words of the songs on the front for the kids and also in the back so Sarah and I could see them. Great. We didn't have quite as much time to learn them this year, so my old mind was pretty happy to have them to see.

This was the front of the foyer.

The walkway into the "Coconut Island"

And, our ticket booth. Of course, Miss Nilza helped put this together. She had just finished a week of VBS at Metro church and so willingly came and did the following week with us. Didn't miss a day. Outside we set up 4 sprinklers for effect before they entered thru the bubbles. All the games were outside and involved water. So much fun.

God truly blessed us with a wonderful week. Can't wait to see what he has in store for us next year. Little Lily will be swaying to the music then. Here she is with her friend Lily.

We Have Been Busy!

2009-08-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? I have so much good stuff to blog about that I don't know if I can get it all done. It is hard to even know where to start. So, expect this stuff to be pretty mixed up but I am going to get started.

We just returned from Alaska and Michelle's wedding. But, before that, Lily, our second grandchild was born in May and lots of stuff in between. Had a great VBS at church, wonderful Women's retreats, wedding showers, and more.

Here are a couple of pictures from the shower in Alaska we had for Michelle. Our dessert was so cool. I found them on the internet on a great site called Bakerella, Cupcake Kabobs. You make them with mini cupcakes and marshmallows. Can also add strawberries or other fruit.

First you must cover the tip of the marshmallows with melted white chocolate and then roll in sprinkles.

These are all the little purses Natalie made. She also made an adorable purse for Michelle that matched and another one as a big door prize. Vonda was pretty happy to get it. She even used it at church the next day. Amongst all that Natalie had to do she still found time to make a beautiful purse for Sarah. That was so sweet and thoughtful.

In each of these we put a hand sanitizer and lip gloss. Then on the table we put nail polish and files for the ladies to choose from. It all looked so good at the "Scraptique" store cause her decor is bright pink with black vinyl cutouts on the wall.

These are the freshly coated marshmallows. You can even buy pink ones, which we did, and add a little more color to the kabob. To separate everything, we put a small slice of the neopolitan colored sugar wafer cookies. These we made for VBS potluck as a special treat.

The ones for the shower we colored the frosting pink, purple, and green. I liked those even better. The way Natalie took the picture makes them really look professional. Since they tend to be a bit sweet, they are a great dessert to share.

Here is Stella picking out her favorite purse cookie. Natalie and Sarah had a competition on their decorating skills while making these. Natalie is just so crafty that she sort of put Sarah in a downer mood. I kept asking Natalie to fix Sarah's cookies. Then Stella picks one of Sarah's as her favorite. We had a good laugh at that. Nilza and Joe got delayed on their flight and we missed Nilza helping us.

For the shower we wanted to do something different so asked Michelle what she would like. This is the owner of Michelle's favorite scrapbook store and they got together and found an adorable purse kit to make at the party. We had over 25 ladies show up. It was great fun. She walked us thru the kit. Had lots of good food and fun.

This is one of the centerpieces Sarah and I made at home and brought with us. All paper. We made 7 different ones and filled them with things you would find in a purse. They were given away as door prizes. So cute. Can't wait to make some more.

Grandma and Nilza at the shower.

Girls all went to have pedi's and mani's after the shower to a store they could walk to.

Michelle opening one of her adorable gifts.

This is what each one received to take home with them. Natalie made 25 of these coin purses with a little help from Stella, Sarah, and I in Manistee over the 4th of July. They were sooooooooooo cute.

Cookie purses.

Great cousins.

Can't resist this picture. Leah and Sarah after Michelles wedding. Sarah was matron of honor and Leah was one of 3 flower girls.

Matching Sabbath Outfits

2009-06-01T04:07:00.001-07:00

We had another wonderful Sabbath at Oakwood Church. Our new pastor, Justin Kim, is the best. Every week Oakwood thanks God for sending him to our church and school. Great report, 43 students have filled out registration forms for 2009/10 school year.

Here is Sarah with Lily's new friend and mom Farrah before church. Isn't Sarah's diaper bag adorable? It is a backpack and so soft and of course, pink and brown. We found it in Florida. I want one.....So, after church we all had a great lunch at Sarah's. Lots of food cause we were going to invite guests from church, but our new fellowship team had it covered. Thanks Melissa. We will get them another time. Since no guests, we decided to get some cute pictures of Leah and Lily in their matching outfits. Thought you would get a kick out of our try. Wow, we need a professional to give us some help.
Sarah is always worried I will put up unflattering pictures on Facebook so I promised her I wouldn't. But, I didn't say anything about my blog......So, some of these aren't the cutest, but I thought you could see what we are up against trying to get cute pictures.

1. Leah will never look at the camera anymore.

2. If she looks at camera, she won't smile.

3. Lily's head won't stay propped up.

4. She has a problem keeping her eyes from crossing.

5. Leah won't leave Lily alone.

Just a few of our challenges. Hope you enjoy the pictures and get a little chuckle out of it.

A little help from sister.

Now, help from mom.

Time for a kiss.

What's up?

HELP!

Watch that elbow.

Check out those eyes!

I love you!

They are both at least looking in the same direction.

Another adjustment.

Hands off! I think Lily is actually flinching.

Watch the nose!

Is it over already? So which, one of these gorgeous pictures would you use on an announcement? The outfits are cute though and we had fun and some good laughs trying to take these pictures. Believe it or not, the best picture of the crossed eyes was to blurry to post, but we were rolling on the floor laughing. There is never a dull moment at Sarah's, but somehow, Dan, David, and Adam all were able to fall asleep.

Sabbath

2009-05-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Sabbath. Pastor Kim preached an amazing sermon on the Sabbath and that the 7th day, Saturday, is still the Bibilical day of rest. He is so good for being so young. God blessed Oakwood church when they sent us him as our new Pastor.

From there we went to the boat for lunch. Made Aunt Stellas Rueben Sandwiches and Vege Pigs-in-a-Blanket. Taco Salad, Sarah's Salsa, Smore's Brownies, and Watermelon topped off the meal. It was a little cool with wind blowing off the lake. Grandma was freezing. So when we changed clothes to go to the zoo, we put on long pants and long sleeved shirts. Got to the zoo inland in Toledo and it was 85 degrees. We were all pretty uncomfortable, hot and stuffed from lunch.

Even Dan, Joe, and Adam came along for the fun. Had 7 adults and 2 babies in carseats crammed in one car. All had seatbelts but it was uncomfortable. Kept saying "This is practice for Alaska".

We met up with some friends from church with 2 girls who kept Leah company. The zoo is really very nice. Oakwood gave Sarah a year pass when she stopped teaching so we all had free passes and parking free for ONE car.

I bet you are wondering where the pictures are? Well, after the zoo we headed back to boat to pick up 2 motorcycles and another car. Kids and Dan decided to take a boat ride. Gram and I watched Lily on shore. Well, Leah overflowed her diaper and was on Sarah's lap which got Sarah's pants all wet. She soaked them and forgot her camera was in her pocket. Bye Bye Canon.....So, she has confiscated mine. Pictures will have to wait till I can get my hands on the camera or Dan brings his home from work and I can put those on the computer.

Never a dull moment.

Fun Day In The Sun

2009-05-22T18:49:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful day at the park. 80 degrees in MICHIGAN. Everything is not all bad here. Look who is big enough to run away from us on the playground. Uh huh, Leah. She loves it outside. First made a tip to Sam's and loaded up on diapers, wipes, diapers, formula, diapers, you get the picture. It was fun. Used the double stroller for the first time. That thing is dangerous. Will have to get a shot of the girls in it. I love these hiding places. We needed to be quick and grab her before she went down the slides. They were so fast I couldn't get a shot of her on them cause I wouldn't have had enough time to run to the bottom and catch her. Whew!
Swings were a great thing cause we had her locked up in there.

Catch me if you can. Remember when she used to always look at the camera. Not anymore. I have to be a contortionist (sp) to get her looking at the camera. Light doesn't fascinate her anymore.

This little sweatheart looks anywhere you want her to, only problem is her eyes are never open. She slept really good last night for her daddy. I love her so much.

She has her hippy retro daisy sleeper on. Things are still so big for her.

These are the letters I made to hang over her crib. Made them for Leah's room also. Of course, I am so dumb I forgot to take a picture of them lined up saying Lily. They did turn out pretty cute and look great in the room.

And of course, I don't know enough to attach them spelling Lily the correct way.

Lily says to tell Gram O to hurry and get here on Sunday. She is excited to meet you and Gramp O.

Of Course, More Baby Photos.

2009-05-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Picture below is Lily leaving the hospital in her beautiful new blanket her Aunt NayNay made her.

This is Baby Leah below on her first day. Here is baby Leah leaving the hospital.

Here are just a few more pictures on the day we left the hospital. We had Leah there at about 10:00 am. Notice the matching outfits. Since there is no boy to buy for, we are going the matching outfit route. It is really fun. Lily's outfit is by Baby Nay, the same people who made Leahs going home from the hospital sleeper. They also had matching outfits for toddlers so that is what we got.Four generations plus one.

Leah having fun at Gram's where she got to play on the swingset that was mom's and Uncle Adam's when they were little.

We Have a New Baby!

2009-05-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sarah arriving at the hospital and walking off her contraction. Here is our sweet Lily Ann, only hours old. Everything went so well for Sarah. It is like nothing else, holding that baby for the first time.

Here is your new playmate Leah.

GiGi meeting her for the first time.

Let me just touch that eye....
This was when we first went in the room to see baby Lily.

Here they are arriving. We are a little closer to the hospital so we beat them there. Dan drove the camper. We arrived at the hospital about 1:00 am. I sure had to resist hard from calling Adam and Natalie and Joe and Nilza. They said not to call till baby arrived if in the middle of the night. Leah was wide awake in the car. We scooped her up and took her out to the camper. She played for about an hour and then we got her back to sleep.

Sarah was so nervous that they wouldn't have time to give her the epidural. Never fear, they did and she delivered in only about 20 minutes. Baby arrived around 3:15 a.m. At 5:30 we woke Leah up to go meet her new sister. Called Adam and Natalie and had them come over also. It was a wonderful time as you can imagine. Nilza was dropping off someone at the airport so she drove over around 8:00. By then, Sarah and David were ready for a long nap.

We had a happy experience at the hospital. All the staff were so nice and they loved Leah. Lots and lots of babies. The most they could remember in a long time. Leah was a perfect girl for her grammy. Slept both nights without a peep and took 2 long naps in the afternoon.

2009-05-08T04:52:00.000-07:00

Singing in the choir in the black and white sweater at the Florida SDA Conference Women's Ministries Retreat.
My roommates at the retreat. Great gals from Fort Lauderdale, Sonya, Mary, and Carol.

Pastor took this picture of us in front of our bus before we left. 59 women from the Fort Lauderdale church went to the retreat, out of a membership of about 225. Great support for women's ministries. Thanks for inviting me.

Julie's Productions Growing

2009-05-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, haven't posted a blog since Christmas. Seems like I am always saying this.

My position as Professional Volunteer seems to have kept me pretty busy over the last several months. Also this little girl named Leah seems to have us running constantly. She is soon to be 19 months and her mom is expecting her little sister, Lily, any day now. We can't wait. Motor home is cleaned, gassed, and loaded up to head to hospital when we get the call.

I have been to Florida several times, once for a Women's Retreat, worked three Women's retreats in Michigan, been to Manistee to check on mom's house, Berrien once, Myrtle Beach once, babysat a lot, helped Sarah get nursery and house ready for baby, helped Sarah prepare for seminar at Retreats, held tea party at school, welcomed new Pastor at church, became new Head Deaconess at church, and many more fun things since Christmas.

We are so blessed. I have a wonderful, supportive husband, great children, grand kids, and family. My niece is getting married this summer in Alaska so we are looking forward to that trip. Dan turned in air miles and we are all flying first class. 7 of us and two babies. Should be exciting.

I will try to add a few new pictures within the next couple of days. Working on two different computers doesn't go very well. I also got a nice new laptop for Valentines Day and then put a nice new virus on it. My son-in-law was so kind to get it all set up nice for me again, so need to put my pictures on there now.

Right now I need to go. I am heading to the "Mega Meet" scrapbooking convention with Sarah. Can't wait....

CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS

2009-01-04T04:25:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Sarah has taught at Oakwood Academy for the last 4 years. She attended school there from grades 1-8. Went to Andrews Academy for 11-12 and graduated from AU. Her student teaching was also done at Oakwood and she even substituted at Andrews Academy. There is a soft spot in her heart for her former schools and teachers. This last year since having Leah has been the first year she hasn't taught. When making that decision, she promised Oakwood that she would help with their Christmas Program. Through her 4 years at Oakwood, the Christmas extravaganza has been the highlight of the school year. So, here we go again. Our Canatata, "The Treasures of Christmas" was held on Sunday, December 14th. Sarah was in charge of decorating and drama. The Oakwood Church choir sang the cantata this year which was different. Children joined on several numbers along with a bell choir.

One of the challenges facing Sarah was that out of 31 students, there are only 3 boys. Try dividing up positions for shepherds, Joseph, Kings, etc., with only 3 boys. Somehow it worked. So, for the last two weeks before the program, Sarah and Leah were at the school every day but Mondays. Whew, exhausting. And Julie was at Choir practice every Friday night, most Sabbaths after church, and on the last weekend, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday for performance.

It was well worth every minute. Just beautiful. And I must say, the choir really only made one or two visible mistakes. Quite a challenge singing with an accompaniement trax, live saxophone, and live handbells, choir and childrens choir. The drama was great and considering the children are in grades K-7 it was even more amazing. During the two dress rehearsals, which every student attended in the evening, UNBELIEVABLE, scene changes, costume changes, and the like were very scary. But as usual, on the day of the program everything went so smooth. Sarah had a microphone hooked up to speak with the sound men up in the balcony. She also recruited 4 prop men to change scenes rapidly and they did a terrific job.

Our stable was handmade by a recently baptized new church member and was absolutely perfect. We will have it for many years. He also put some extra wood to prop up our life size animals we have had for years thanks to old member Vern Fought. Mr. Bosman, the best grandpa a school could have, built a long lasting portable fire for us. We will be using that for many more activities. Thanks to Melissa Bellenir for her backdrop that she put up and personalized, Trumpets from Mr. Drapiza, Costumes from April and Diana, and all our backstage help. Candace Walls was the director and it was amazing what she brought us. Lots of fun was had by all. These are just a couple of pictures Natalie took for me. I was to busy singing. The whole scene. You can see the stable, manger, big cow, fireplace.

I am sure you know the song "Do You Hear What I Hear" where it says "Said the night wind to the little lamb". The girl in the black cape is the night wind speaking to the little lamb. I think this was my favorite song. The shepherd is looking for the King to tell him and then the King came forward and told the whole crowd of people. I am in the choir with my head over the book by the shepherds rod. Guess I should have really been looking at the director.

This is Mary and Elizabeth talking about their expectant babies.

Here are 4 pretty cute lambs.

Another shot showing the star and the hillside and night sky background. This was our girls choir who sang "Oh Holy Night" in three part harmony. Remember, grades K-7.

Our own little angels waiting for their next scene with their trumpets in hand.

Every Tuesday we do hot lunch at the school. Here we are getting ready to eat. Sarah then stays until 4 or 5 giving piano lessons and tutoring so we babysit the rest of the day. It's fun being part of the school still.

Our grateful recipients.

So, my friends in Berrien, now you can see why I can't get time to come to see you as much as I want. Hopefully with the Cantata done and Nilza back in town, I will be able to slip away a bit more.

This is a picture of Stellas Christmas program for the needy children she does each year. She had over 40 children this year. She buys each one several gifts along with her church children. This year they had a big pinata. Their local newspaper came and captured many nice shots and had a very favorable article on their newspaper on line.

A yearly tradition we have started is to bring the school children to sing to the workers at Woolf. They seem to enjoy it. Natalie always sets up such a nice party for the children and the workers get pizza along with our students. Then, there is always the take home bag with goodies for them. After us, they go to several senior citizens homes from church and sing to them.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a picture of Prince and George. They are enjoying their new present from Uncle Tim.

One of the saddest things happened the Sunday of our Cantata. Sarah went in her basement to get some wrapping paper and right in front of it was her kitty Farva dead. What a shock and sadness, and then have to head to the Cantata and direct it. She is a wonderful daughter and my heart aches for her and the lose of this kitty. He was her favorite and would cuddle her and just make biscuits in her neck all the time. We left for Florida shortly after that, so I think the loss will set in more when we get home. Hopefully Boo is doing okay by himself. It was hard to leave him knowing how sad he would be without his brother. Michelle, Gram Ann, Gram Cheryl and Angela all check in on him and he seems to be okay.

Broccoli and Cauliflower

2009-01-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

Tina, the recipe is so easy. Basically Cheryl steamed the cauliflower in one piece and then steamed the broccoli spears around it in a large pot on stove until tender. Then she spinkled what we Adventists use for chicken seasoning on top of it. It is called McKays Chicken seasoning. Cecelia could tell you how to get hold of it. She served it the same way on a platter with the broccoli surrounding the cauliflower. Crazy easy but so good and tender.

Thanks for compliments on Leah's outfits. We do have fun with her shopping. The other day we went to a store in Aventura, FL. They had the cutest "Big Sister" shirt and "Pinkalicious" shirts, since Sarah is an all pink girl. Since we couldn't make up our minds, I said "Oh, I'll treat to both". They were all bling, bling. Well, I gave Sarah a substantial amount of money to cover it and 2 barrettes and left to go to another store. Ha, Ha. She had to charge some on her credit card. Next time we'll remember to check the price on the shirts first.

Too bad I didn't know you when you were in AA. We could have been good friends. Many similar interests it seems from checking on Cecelia's blog. Great getting to know you electronically.

CHRISTMAS SEASON MEMORIES

2009-01-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Before I tell you any of the exciting things we did this season, I must introduce you to Leah's official Holiday outfit. She was a gingerbread girl at all the activities. Everyone just loved it and it kept her nice and warm. We bought it at the Outlet Mall at a store called Heart Strings. They have the best clothes for children. So unique. So here she is in the official first shot.

We decided to enjoy a few excursions during the season. Monday night was the most convenient so that is what we chose. Unfortunately, Adam, Natalie, and David pulled the late shift on Mondays until 8:30. So, the first spot they all missed. We headed to a town called Rochester where they were having a lighting ceremony to turn on the city lights. About 3:30 we started north. First a stop at Don Pablos for supper. It was an hour trip at least. Most of you know Dan has been in a state of depression since they closed our Don Pablos in Canton. So whenever near one we are forced to eat there. He is the only one who likes it but we put up with it anyways. Then a quick stop at Archivers Scrapbooking store for some last minute Christmas supplies and we continued to the light show. The weather cooperated and began snowing very hard and it was also nice and cold!!!!! Here is Leah bundled up for the walk down main street. She would not leave her mittens on so we finally have invested in clips for them.These lights were spectacular. Every building on the city street had lights covering the entire front of the building and each one had a different color to it. Lots of cute shops to walk in. Live carolers sang beautifully. There was a Christmas tree decorating contest to walk thru and cast your vote. Also hot chocolate and kettle corn being sold on the streets. It was a great trip. Only problem we had was that the compass on Dan's car wasn't working, and we drove for about 30 minutes thinking we were going south, remember it is snowing heavily, and finally Dan said, I think we are going the wrong way. Sure enough, the hour ride home quickly became a 2 hour trip. But we had a fun time together and will surely go back next year.

The next Monday took Sarah with her friends Ryan and Melissa to Henry Ford Museum for their holiday celebration. Remember, this is where Sarah had her wedding reception. Sure looked different now. Here the four are in a carriage ride. Notice Leah's official outfit.

Here's the standard picture with Santa where child doesn't want to be in it. Great picture of Sarah and Santa isn't it.Lots of fun things to play in so they enjoyed the Hot Dog.That evening, another Monday, we headed north again to Birch Run and Frankenmouth. David had to come to put the car seat in Dan's car cause we are all so stupid we couldn't figure it out. Well, it turned out that his boss told him to take the evening off, leaving Adam and Natalie alone at the shop, and come with us. Sorry guys, we really missed you. Here is David breaking the news to Adam. He looks pretty upset don't you think. After a stop at the outlet mall it was on to Christmas town. Another snowy night and a beautiful Christmas setting made for a fun trip. Roads weren't even as bad as we were afraid they were going to be on the way home. The Bronners store is unbelievable. You could get an ornament for any occasion, hobby, pet, color, shape, etc., that you would ever want.
The first thing you are greeted with is a huge gingerbread house, perfect spot for a picture.

Just some of the things I thought were pretty.

David introducing Leah to a friend. Can't pass up the opportunity to get a 4 generations picture.

Leah hates hats so we torture her by putting them on her as often as we can.

David was pushing Leah around illegally in the cart after carrying her for an hour in the store. This is right before they got in trouble and told to get her out.

FEW MORE THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS

2009-01-02T12:47:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I am at the end of November finally. This was our Thanksgiving dinner at Sarah's house. Cheryl and Ron joined us along with Gram Ann and Uncle Tim. We were stuffed as usual. Work crew above receiving orders from the boss below.

Dan and I took an early morning trip into Windsor, Canada where it was not Thanksgiving. We did a little Christmas shopping. I went to Sarah's the day before and had most of the food prepared ahead of time. Cheryl did the potatoes and a delicious broccoli cauliflower dish. Looks like we tired Dan out shopping and eating. He just can't keep up with me.

Here is the centerpiece being used again. These are the pumpkins we glittered and stuffed for the Women's Retreat. I love them, especially the white ones.

Someone is ready for her Thanksgiving dinner.
This is her special plate and bowl, but I can't get it in the correct way so I am just putting in in sideways.

Appetizer and drink table makes me hungry even now. We all love our home made vegetarian chipped beef cheese roll and our Gerry's dip and veges.

Aunt Angela came with Uncle James to see us in Florida the week before. I love these two pictures of them. We just had a nice relaxing time together, swimming, eating out, shopping, etc. Hope we will see them again sooner than later.

These are two crazy guys.

THANKSGIVING and Church Blessings.

2008-12-26T17:55:00.000-08:00

Can you believe this is Thanksgiving in Florida, actually the week before. Looks like they got a jump on the decorating this year. It is beautiful and we were able to take some lovely pictures including these two pictures of 4 generations.
Leah at Sweet Tomatoes. She loves her carbs.

James and Angela playing chess with Leah on the pool deck.

Her first sucker.

Leah and her church friends. Looks like she likes to share treats. Audrey and Benson are just two of her friends that we sit with in our section at church. Sometimes it gets pretty rowdy. We love all the kids and it is special to have all these friends to grow up with that have the same beliefs as you.

SORRY NATALIE!

2008-12-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

There is just to much going on in the fall to stop. I had to put a couple more pictures from the fall on here. Leah is receiving her birthday present from her Auntie Michelle and future Uncle Bryce from Alaska. I guess she is a bit excited.
What can it be?

First she better check out the card.

Oh, it's a cool book and stuffed animal. Just love it.

Here we are at Grandma Anns trick or treating. Yup she is the pumpkin again.

Then it was off to Uncle Adams to carve pumpkins for the porch.

The finished products. Adam and Natalie and Sarah and David had the distinct experience of participating in a record breaking event this year. They attended a Lions football game at Ford Field during the year that the Lions made the record of being the first NFL team to ever loose 15 consecutive games in one season. We are looking to see if we can break that record this week and make it a perfect

0-16.

FALL FUN

2008-12-22T04:08:00.001-08:00

Leah celebrated her Birthday at SS by floating a duck on the pond.Pops helping out during church.

Praying for those with October birthdays in church. Don't know why that hand is up in the air.

Saturday night was our fall festival and Sarah and I were in charge of donut game again. Recycled the cardboard donuts. It was fun.

We took our annual trip to the Apple Cider Mill. It is funny how I have only pictures of Leah. The lady at the mill did take a nice picture of us all, but it is on Adam's camera and I don't have as easy access to that as Sarah's. Here she is in the pumpkin patch.

Great Grandma Ann bought me my own pumpkin.

You've heard of the game Find Waldo, this is Find Leah.

What a difference a year makes.

BIRTHDAYS

2008-12-21T09:31:00.001-08:00

Phew, I can't remember when I last blogged. Looks like I need to remember how to change my background to a winter scene.

We did have a couple of birthdays in October. Leah was born two days after me, so we had a great week of celebrations.

She was such a sweet girl she even helped with the cleaning fresh from her shower.

Here is her cupcake outfit. It was a little big, 24 months. Only size we could find.The presents were great, a horsie, stroller, stuffed animals, cupcakes of course.

One of Leah's favorite things are the musical cards that cost $5.oo, but she still received at least 4 of those, one from each of her great grandmas.

Uncle Adam seemed to enjoy himself. The got Leah the sweetest cat outfit along with the rocking horse that took two grown men to put together.

A collection of 1st Birthday party hats which we couldn't get her to wear.

This is so cute, and we will take the number one off next year and actually use.

These were her table settings. Sarah did a lolipop theme and served all sorts of old fashioned candy. Everyone received there own lolipop also.

This was the big cake. So cute.

Leah blowing out her 1 candle. Did I do that right? She didn't quite know what to do with the cake.

Her own lolipop cake. At the end of the day she was exhausted. Turns out she went to the Doctors the next day and had her first ear infection. Ouch! Here she is arriving for Grammy's birthday celebration. She looks pretty excited.

The first present they gave me was an edible bouquet. I just loved it.

Gram and Leah gave a concert while we waited for Pops to come home.

Then off to the Mongolian BBQ for our dinner out. I actually had stir fry while Leah seemed to enjoy the bottle the best.

Off for Kilwins for ice cream.Wait a minute, a quick detour to the new store we found in AA, a cupcake shop.This is the dozen we picked out. It was after 8:00, so they had a special buy one get one free.Of course, that didn't stop us from heading to Kilwins anyways. Some one was able to serve themselves. The next day we were having hot lunch at the school, so we made little Rice Krispie lolipops for the dessert and treat to the kids at school to celebrate Leah's birthday.

First Weekend!

2008-11-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Looks like someone likes Camp AuSable. I want you to notice this adorable suit that her Auntie NayNay and Uncle Adam bought for her. It says "Harley Davidson" from Las Vegas. Some of Sarah's school friends were up north and they pegged it that Adam had gotten the outfit for her.

This is our room in the Deer Lodge. Nice with it's own bath and one double and a set of bunk beds. Our little girl loves the computer and came to help her grammy. I made Sarah sleep on the top bunk.

I brought 25 of these pumpkins in our room to decorate. They are glittered and then I added a floral arrangement on the top. Couldn't keep them away from Leah. I wonder if she thinks this is a wierd shaped bottle?

One of our song services. We were in charge of them all, 9. Sarah did such a great job planning them and doing the power point. They were all based on Bible texts. We also taught a new hymn every day and told the story behind it. Remember, this program was for 7th and 8th graders, and believe it or not, they loved the songs and really sang along. She received many compliments and requests for the introductions we gave. Couldn't quite get a good picture of us cause the kids we asked always sat in the front row and shot us up close and from down below. I warned them about no shots with a double chin of me, so this is the best I could come up with that both of us had our eyes open on.

Lunch in the dining room sure was different then the way we do them at the women's retreats. Ours is always so fancy. Not so here. Plus, we always have some ladies who get to come free if they do all the dishes, so need for us to wear the aprons and hairnets.

These are our Oakwood girls taking their turn at the dishroom.Every day the students chose three breakout sessions to go to. This is the SDA artist Nathan Greene teaching art at his breakout. It was so much fun to watch him draw. What a wonderful man with a wonderful talent.

He was on one end of the auditorium teaching and Sarah was on the other end. Her breakout was "Bible Labs Outreach Card Ministries". We had them all make the same Get Well card and then had at least 15 samples for them to make another card using their own creativity. Their hand out showed how to make all the cards, opportunities for their use, bible verse and quotes to use on them, etc.

Here are a few of the cards. The get well card had a kleenex, cough drop, and tea bag in the pocket. They were all so cute.Aunt Stella made this and you will see you can take the bookmark off the right side and use it.After making the cards, we went to a nursing home the next day to deliver them and sing and share with the residents. We went three times that day. Looks like this trip was when Leah was ready for a nap. The folks at the home really enjoyed Leah and singing "Jesus Loves Me" with her. This trip went a little better.

Sarah introducing the first group. Second group passing out the cards.

Third group sharing with the folks. These kids were great even though some were uncomfortable. Each group had at least on guitar player and that helped so much.

Here's the girls with the lake in the background. See the colors a little in the background.And of course, the required deer picture. It was a wonderful time and you just had to marvel at how well these 250 kids behaved and acted. They are at a quirky age and so much fun. Hope to do it again sometime.

And last but not least, a future Oakwood Academy student who will hopefully attend LIFT when she is in the 7th grade if the Lord doesn't come first.

Remember Way Back When . . . .

2008-11-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

Remember way back when I told you we were heading north to Grayling for a week. Well, here are some shots of the trip. These are from the Mother/Daughter Retreat that we worked on. Leah is taking her first ride in a wagon that Renee and Kevin provided for our decorations. Here is the front of the auditorium after we decorated. Doesn't it look like a fall festival? It was the beginning of October and out the windows were the most beautiful colored leaves on the trees surrounding the lake.

My daughter-in-law made me this beautiful banner for our backdrop. Wow, did the ladies love it. I had several offers to purchase it but I said no.

Sarah led all the song services and did the power points. I played piano and Lisa Glenn and Staci Osterman are singing with her. Katie Purvis was playing guitar with me. Then Lisa and Katie also played violin on some songs. They play so beautifully.
Following the evening program the teens met with Sarah and Lisa and had an afterglow candlelight time to sing and share.Looks like someone is not too tired. We spent this second weekend in the hotel and boy was it nice. Didn't have to worry about Leah keeping up the ladies at night. She had the worst diaper rash she ever had and Sarah also had a UTI. Several trips were made to CVS.

Our offering was unique this year. Kim, on the right, our WM leader in MI, is going on a mission trip with her daughter Katie, on left, at Christmas. They need many stuffed animals to put invitations to VBS on and hand out to the Mexican children and every year they run out. So we asked all the moms and girls to bring stuffed animals for their offering. It turned out great and they received bag after bag full.

These are a few of the girls bringing their gifts to the front.

Sarah and Lisa again.

Another group activity.

Sarah and Leah at their SS in the Deer Lodge. Looks like they both are having a good time learning about Jesus.

Saturday night brought the Fall Festival. We were in charge of the donut on a string game. First one to eat the complete donut off the string without using their hands is the winner. We were so busy hanging donuts that I hardly got any pictures. It was a great night and everyone had a good time. Lots of balloon, games, caramel apples, donuts, cider, popcorn, etc.

Face painting by Renee and Lisa was a huge hit. God blessed us with close to 200 women and their daughters ages 1-17 from all around the state. Weather was actually perfect, in the 70's. Sunday was a day of activities for mom and daughter such as canoeing, horseback riding, hayrides, go karts. If you have never come before, try to put it on your schedule for next October. It is always the second weekend and I can help with any info you may need.

13th Sabbath

2008-10-25T03:29:00.000-07:00

In our church every 13th Sabbath at the end of a quarter, our children come up front during Sabbath School to do a program highlighting what they learned in their SS class. This is Leah up front with daddy singing a song on coming to Sabbath School on time. Our church is very hard to take pictures in. High ceiling, bad lighting, and bad photographer so this is the best I came up with. Clearest picture I have is of them from the back. No surprise there. She is feeding the cow which Jesus made for her to enjoy on the farm. It is cute cause they all have a clump of green felt cut to look like grass.
During church she was such a good girl looking at her Sabbath felt book and being very quiet, for that few minutes anyways.

We do go South also!

2008-10-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

This Sabbath morning we picked up the Canada's for church and afterwards headed south to Toledo. Looks like someone is happy to be in the camper again. Here's the bus driver and his wife.
Toledo has a beautiful park close to their church where they have a potluck every summer Sabbath. It was so crowded we needed a rancher to help us park the camper. He was so nice to us. Adam followed in his truck. We missed Natalie since she went to her sister's graduation from nursing school.
Sarah hoping for some time to just lay in the sun and read.

Lucky great grams don't know how to ride a bike so they got to sit and relax.

Here's Dan getting us ready to start.

I don't know what he said to me as he was taking this picture, but it must have been something I didn't agree with.

David and all were glad to return back to the camper. The 8 mile ride was nice but there were so many BUGS hitting us all the while. You just had to keep swatting. ICKY! Couldn't wait to get back. On the way we saw a parking lot of tailgaters for a University football game. Confirmed I am not missing much by not being able to do that on the Sabbath.

Adam getting refreshements after the ride.

Walter enjoying his favorite toy, an empty water bottle. He chews off the lid and the round white circle left after you remove the lid and then he is done. See them laying in the grass next to him.

Sunroom

2008-10-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

Here is my favorite pet Prince, but don't tell his brother George I said that. This cat has the craziest personality. He is watching me prepare for the Women's retreat in the sunroom. These are the pumpkins we used for the centerpieces. They are fake, and I glittered them. Once at Camp, we put flowers on the top. Boy were they cute, but the pictures I have of them must be on Sarah's camera. I will try to confiscate that and get them loaded on my computer.
We filled little bags with Reese's peanut butter cups and gave these as a favor at lunch.

This is the idea we used on tables but this was used on the platform in the auditorium. Lots of work getting ready but you will see later how beautiful everything turned out.

Time to Blog Again!

2008-10-25T02:46:00.000-07:00

Guess who likes getting into trouble, I mean places she shouldn't. We have now designated the tupperware cupboard as the official Leah cupboard. Don't forget to rinse out the plastic before you use it if you are ever at Sarah's house. Looks like someone needs to wipe that girls face. I think we were all busy doing something else. Her other favorite pastime is the phone. It is crazy. Just ask Sarah about all the phone calls she makes. Must admit I am the first she ever called on her own. Even Dan got a call in Florida one Sabbath. You will see how much her cats love her on the video also.

Up North Again

2008-10-06T02:22:00.000-07:00

Here we are up in Grayling, MI again. Not quite as far as Mackinaw Bridge. The trees are just beginning to change colors. Should be beautiful in a couple of weeks. Sarah, Leah, Gram and I are here for the LIFT program of the SDA education department. Lifestyle improvement program for 7th and 8th graders. We are in charge of all the song services, 9 to be exact, and Sarah is leading a seminar on card making as an outreach for Bible Labs.

This program is from Sunday - Wednesday and then we are back here from Fri-Sun for the Mother Daughter retreat sponsored by Women's Ministries in MI. I am in charge of decorating and music and helping with anything else that needs doing. Whew, I am tired already.

It is 5:00 am Monday and I woke up with a bad headache, a combo of stress and hunger. No time for supper last night and just to much going on. Couple excedrin later and I am doing better. Yesterday was a horrific day.

We packed up Dan's extended length Yukon with decorations, scrapbook supplies, music, computers, sleeping bags, banners, stoller, baby bed, luggage for 4, baby food/bottles, etc., and barely had room to move. Thanks David for your help stuffing it all in. Of course we got a late start.

But, we did have time to stop at Birch Run Outlets for only 45 minutes and then eat lunch. Good thing, no food after that. Picked up some cute things for Leah at Carters and sunglasses for Sarah which we forgot.

Well, Leah decided to get the worst diaper rash she has ever had on Sunday am. Wow, hope we make it. She screams bloody murder and we are in a lodge with people next door to us. Pray we have a miraculous healing cause it is so hard on her.

Then, Sarah spent hours on power point for her presentation and was told they no longer had a projector for her. So we borrowed the schools. Of course when we were testing last night it won't work. Well, turns out Sarah forgot to take the lens cap off, so we are hoping for success this morn.

Had to get gas last night at about 10:00 pm. cause I was on empty. Yeah, $3.72 here instead of $3.37 at home. Also picked up a few treats for Gram since she was babysitting with no supper. Yes, she is still speaking to us, but barely.

Leah did go to sleep good last night which was a blessing. And through all this, not one picture. I will try to be better today. Boy, a picture of that car would have been so nice to show you.

And another blessings, they have the internet in Deer Lodge. Yeah! Well, will try to keep you more informed as the week goes by.

Baby Dedication

2008-09-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

Friday was the preparation day for the Sabbath. Even Leah grabbed the swifter to help with the dusting. Had to get ready for the big dinner tomorrow when her friends came to visit.

While we were cooking and cleaning the doorbell rang and this package was delivered from Auntie Michelle in Alaska.
What is it Leah?
The card says it all.
Oh, those are beautiful. It really was a beautiful bouquet and looked so nice on the front table in the sanctuary at church. We did miss you Michelle, but knew we were in your prayers. Can't wait for Leah to meet you at Christmas.
Next came the phone call from Uncle Joe in Mrytle Beach. I love you too Uncle Joe.

September 13, 2008 brought a very special Sabbath morning. It was the day Sarah and David officially dedicated Leah to serving Jesus. We have not had a Pastor since December so we invited Pastor Glenn Russell, who married Sarah and David, to do the dedication. He and his wife are such wonderful people and so nice to be around. Thank you for coming and sharing this special day with us.

It was a treat to have Kim and Joyce with us and to be able to sing with them. We did the praise songs together and I played the piano. No picture of that since Kim was our photographer.Here is Leah and her mom listening to Aunt Stella tell the childrens story. She is our story teller extraordinaire. How nice that she and Joe and Nilza were able to make it to Michigan for the weekend. We miss them so much and time went way to fast. Here is the lovely family with the pastor.
How nice to have so many family and friends make the long trip to be with us! We were pretty nervous that Leah would scream when Pastor Russell held her, but she was fascinated with his beard and played with it during the prayer.
Sarah and I learned a beautiful song called "Hold on to Jesus". Funny part was we are both comfortable singing alto, but the sound man played the high version instead of the low track. And to top it off, I was singing above Sarah with the harmony. I looked at her when it started waiting for her to stop and tell the sound man to start over but she didn't. Wow, it was hard. I could hardly even hear my part. We didn't completely murder the song, but let's say we were pretty disappointed with the way it went. Important part really is the words and hopefully they were conveyed to the people.
Grandpa Ron, who is now a part time pastor, had the a very meaningful pastoral prayer.
Once again, thanks to all our friends who came to support us and spend the day together. We went to Sarah's for lunch after church but those pictures are on her camera. Thanks for all the gifts. Leah did great thru most of the day but really had a crying time about 5:30. She did eventually fall asleep for a long nap.
I love being a Grandma!

Final Destination

2008-09-21T17:32:00.001-07:00

The ultimate goal of this trip was to walk the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day. So, we headed back over the bridge to the rest area across the bridge for another "good" nights rest. Adam was driving again only this time it was in the dark. Yahoo! He was even more nervous and we only went about 25 mph with lots of prayers. We had had a few scary off road trips with the camper trying to find a campsite but finally gave up and went to the rest area. This time Adam and Natalie got a little paranoid and were afraid someone was trying to break into the camper or take the bikes. Even had to turn the camera on to see the back of the camper to check on bikes. Eventually they settled down and let us go to sleep. Morning came and of course another day without a shower. Sarah could hardly handle this. She did the sink wash up.

Gram doesn't look like she knows for sure where she is.

5 miles is the total length of the bridge with at least half of it going uphill. My feet are the worst feet and I was pretty nervous about them hurting me. I brought my tennies and my trusty croc sandals. The crocs are what I thought would work best for me. Well, the night at the campground was extremely cold and the furnace came on. I didn't realize that the rubber crocs were on the heat vent on the floor. When I stepped into them to go to the bathroom in the morning I couldn't get my right foot into the shoe. The heat had shrunk it so bad it would not fit. So, I was pretty frantic. Stuck them in the water and started pulling. Did get it large enough to wear and I ended up walking in them for half of the trip. Pretty funny.

First part of the walk was at least 1/2 mile to get to the place you line up at. They put you in a school bus and drive you across the bridge and you walk back. It was surprising how quick the line went. 50,000 people, including the governor, walk the bridge. Here we are in line for the bus.Here Leah is giving her mother a great big kiss on her first school bus ride.David and the trusty stroller

4 Generations at the starting point after being bussed across the bridge to walk back. 82 years old down to 10 months. I walked part of the way with a sweet couple and their 3 month old baby. After talking for a while they said they lived close to Edmore and I was saying how my church has a school there and camp every summer. They asked what religion, so I said SDA. Believe it or not, they said they were Adventists also. Turns out their new pastor is Willie and his wife Jodie Poole that was good friends with Adam and Sarah. Small world.

Leah made some new friends and even walked a little by herself.

David and I crossing the finish line.

The fun wasn't over yet. On to the ferry and over to the island.

First thing we saw as we approached was the grand hotel.

It felt so good to ride the bike and be off of your feet. Okay, the island is 7 1/2 miles around so I did exercise overload on that day. We didn't have much time to shop on the island but enough time to get to the fudge shop and make a big purchase. Riding is fun but the horses leave quite a few droppings that you have to maneuver around during the ride. No cars allowed on island, only bikes and horses. Notice I am not in the picture with everyone. I was so far ahead they could hardly keep up with me.

All in all it was a great trip. Kids are already planning a trip with Joe and Nilza joining us next summer. I guess we will have to invest in a bunk house to pull behind the camper. And then the boat, which they will not go without next time, will have to go behind that. I think you will have to tranquilize me to get me over the bridge in that caravan.

More up North

2008-09-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we woke up in Munising, MI to another beautiful day. Time for a boat ride. The water was so beautiful the boys were so disappointed that they hadn't brought our own boat. Maybe we could have stuck one of those in the camper also......We reserved a spot on a boat tour for the Picture Rocks. Guess what? We couldn't all get ready and be there on time so we lost our spot..Dan sure was happy. But, never fear, another boat left in an hour so we made sure we were back on time. After all, what's the hurry. We were on vacation. First we parked gram under the tree with Walter and she pulled out her book for some good reading. Started out on the top deck of the boat but it sure got hot. Since the captain said it was a 4 hour tour, Oh no!, I eventually went down under with my book. Rocks looked the same going back as they did heading out. They are really amazing.
Heading out into Lake Superior.
This is the Indian profile.
Captain Woolf
This was the Vase.

On Sabbath, we actually found a campsite and spent one night there. A real bargain at $18.0o with electricity even. It was beautiful right on the lake. Bathrooms left a lot to be desired, but remember, we spent the last night in the rest area with no showers, so we were pretty happy for anything. Natalie and Adam found a hotel and got a great pizza and good nights rest with a little cable tv thrown in for the fun of it. There aren't even any Walmarts around to park in their parking lots. Here's Natalie taking a quick swim. Notice the wet suit.

Just down the road was the famous town called "Christmas". Wow, how far up north did we go?

In the afternoon we went to White Fish Point with White Fish Bay off to one side but we were on Lake Superior. Even witnessed a wedding on the beach. Believe me, they don't go all out for beach weddings like we do down south. I think the bride actually had a gown on, but everyone else, including the minister, was pretty casual. Told you we brought surfboards. To bad it was so calm without even a breeze. No waves all weekend. That's Adam itching to catch one. Leah's getting into the act. Notice, no hands from dad. She has a great surfing form.

Her favorite thing on the beach were the rocks. We kept pulling her out into the smooth sand, but right back to the rocks she went.
She must be looking for a different flavored one.
I think she really loves her daddy.
I love this picture of her in the dunes. It was a great day

Labor Day Activities

2008-09-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great Labor Day this year. Looks like these girls are ready to go. You know grandma, she just gets in the vehicle and goes wherever it goes. She is just happy to be on the move just like Leah. Our destination was the UP.....LONG RIDE! But it turned out great. Dan says we drove over 1100 miles from Friday night til Mon. Our trip started with trying to cram 9 adults, 1 baby, stroller, bike carrier, bed, etc, 1 large dog, 4 surfboards, 2 bikes inside the camper and 4 more outside. To bad the boys couldn't fit in the golf clubs, they were pretty disappointed. It worked out great cause we were so busy there wouldn't have been any time for golf. Here is Adam taking the fins off of the 4 surfboards. Two were stored over the pop out in the camper and then two went inside the closet in the back, out across the bed, and into the bathroom. The two bikes were on the other side of the bed but there was still room to sleep two people pretty cozily on the back bed.
Natalie wasn't so sure about this trip......It did turn out good and she really loved Mackinaw Island. Thought we had transplanted her on a Carribean Island with the blue clear water and 90 degree temperature.
This is our vehicle.
Our start up driver. His first stop, Don Pablos in Flint, his favorite. They closed ours down and boy did he take that hard.

Sarah and David in their designated spot, the dinette. They can sit up in it or set it down and recline with Leah on the end at their feet so she can be strapped in.I'm already working on my vacation. Sarah and I put together the invitations to the baby dedication on the trip. Had everything all cut and prepped and they were finished when we returned. I think they turned out so cute. All Sarah's ideas.First night we spent in the rest area before the bridge. Did not pop out so it was very tight. Dan and I on dinette, oh my back, gram on couch, Sarah and David on floor, Adam and Natalie in back on tight bed with boards and bikes, and Leah in the bathroom in her car seat.Only problem is Walter is wondering where he is to go.. I think he ended up on bed crowding Natalie and Adam.Leah woke up not to sure where she was and who that was sleeping next to her.First view of the bridge from a great rest area in town. We had breakfast and a short walk here before heading into the UP. Beautiful view and way to start the Sabbath.Walter found his favorite spot.Okay, needless to say, I was very nervous about crossing the bridge in the camper. I am sure some of you remember when a car was blown over the bridge and the women died. We were pretty high up with only a little rail to guard you. Adam did the driving. He admitted being a bit nervous. Notice both hands gripping the wheel. I just looked out the side window and enjoyed the water view.
First stop we made was the Soo locks. Dan sure loved it but the rest of us were a tad bored. Luckily though a big boat was coming thru at the time we arrived so it brought back memories of doing the locks in the Ohio river on Uncle Eddies House Boat.
On to Tecquanamin Falls, (sp). Walter encountered his first bear.
Then Leah had to go have a touch for herself.
Couldn't pass up a ride on a moose head. Yes, we are voting for Sarah Palin, I mean McCain. Love those Alaskan people and Mooses.
It was just a nice trek to see the falls. Beautiful. Oh, and the weather was terrific, 88-92 degrees every day and not a drop of rain.
Here are the falls with three generations in front of them. What a beautiful sight.

Fun!

2008-09-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

I guess pulling weeds isn't fun, but being with friends is. This little garden we have gets so full of quack grass, that we have to spend hours on it just pulling weeds. It looks pretty nice when it is finished. Joyce brought her little rotatiller over and cleaned it out good for us. Then it was off to get flowers. We brought some beautiful rose bushes, mums, and Russian Sage. They looked so nice but of course you know I didn't take a picture of it after we finished. Can't wait to get back there and see what it looks like. Hope it still is nice but I have my doubts. Doesn't seem to work that you plant it and then let it go for 4 weeks and expect it to still look nice. Well, we had a great time shopping for the plants anyways.
Following day was a nice dinner out with Cynthia and Lynda. Actually did Paneras for lunch and then Papa Vinos for dinner. Not to good for a WW diet........Of course we had to hit Macy's while we were in South Bend. We all got a new piece of clothing. Even had a bathing suit fashion show with the two Grams. How fun is that? Our time ended to soon and we had to head home to Detroit. But, that house looked good when we left. Had the carpets cleaned, windows washed, cleaned garage, washed and painted some cabinet doors, straightened all the cupboards, along with all the gardening fun. Hope we can go back soon and have some more of that good FUN . . .

Breakfast in Berrien

2008-09-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here's your cereal Leah. Open wide.Let me see, do I like this or not. Mommy, are you sure that is the same stuff I always have.
I think she decides she isn't too fond of this flavor.

Here's Dan loading my Townie bike onto the Silverton boat. He spent the night and I let him use the bike to get around St. Joe. He takes a trip to Kilwins for a strawberry cheesecake cone or a hot fudge sundae. Good thing he is getting some exercise to get there. Adam and Dan brought the boat home from Michigan City boat show in the water. They left at 8:30 p.m. and didn't arrive in St. Joe until almost 11:00. Boy were they happy to be home. Waves were going over the top of the boat and Adam thought he was either going to run aground or hit the pier and ruin the boat. Angels guided them safely into harbor and to the dock with no harm to either men or boat. Mom and I had a great time at the outlet mall in Michigan City shopping while the boys surfed and went to the boat show. No luck selling the Silverton so will put her in storage for another winter and enjoy some more nice times on it next summer.
Ricky and his friend, who you can't see cause he went running when I came with the camera, were enjoying a dinner of kitty chow delight left out by my back door for the stray, Marble. They are pretty icky looking with those long pointy noses. Haven't seen them since thank heavens. I guess they beat a skunk or opposum sitting at the back door. Oh the joys of country living.

Leah Driving!

2008-09-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

This is the first video I have put on the blog. Wow, that is too cool. We were going to Berrien Springs for a weekend and bought this little driving toy for Leah to keep her occupied. I think she liked it.

Yahoo!

2008-09-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am not discouraged anymore thanks to some tips from my good friend Connie. I did lose the scrapblog header but will work on that another time. Kind of like that picture of Leah, don't you. She sure is growing up. Her first birthday will be here in October, only 2 days after mine. Where does the time go.

She is so much fun now. Her first steps happened about three weeks ago and we can't keep her still now. This week she started opening all the cupboard doors, so another job for mommy to make sure it's safe and then to pick up everything after she pulls it out. That along with her toys, the DVD's out of their basket, then her books, and then back to the DVD's, toys, etc. Mom says she is pretty tired at the end of the day. I think I still remember those days.

Discouraged

2008-09-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I posted anything. We have done a lot of fun stuff in that time. I worked for several hours trying to put new pictures on the scrapblog top and then tried to get the cute background that Connie has and it's been so long since I did it I forgot how. Nothing is working for me and I am getting discouraged.

The place to get the backdrops won't register me and let me in to pick one. Even if I got in I am not sure I could put it on my blog. I need a hands on refresher course.

I will try again for a bit tonight and see what happens. Wish me luck.

Take A Look!

2008-08-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

You just have to go to my daughter-in-law Natalie's blog and look at the cute ceramics that she and her sisters have done. Not like any other ceramics you have seen before, or at least in the ceramic stores. They are so creative. www.natisuzanne.blogspot.com

Family Camp

2008-08-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Our camping trip this year started out at Andrews University. This is where Dan and I attended college and met. Sarah and David met while attending Andrews Academy and Sarah went on to graduate from Andrews. Adam and Natalie also were introduced at Andrews and graduated together from the university.From there we headed to Holland, MI for two weeks of camping. The campground is right on the beach and we had the campsite closest to the water this year. It was so good for walking to the beach. Thanks David for snagging it for us online. We were lucky to have Aunt Stella and Uncle Joe in Berrien Springs so we took Aunt Stella camping with us. Our first night out eating was Russ' in Grand Haven. Boy, did Leah love the potato soup. We could hardly stop feeding her long enough to eat ourselves. Looks like she wanted to just eat it herself.
From there we went downtown GH and waited for the musical fountain. Gram Ann was there and wanted to see it also. As usual it was beautiful.
Next day we had to do a little shopping. Here Leah is trying on a hat in one of the adorable shops in South Haven. Lots of Havens on the west coast of MI.
We met Uncle Joe for dinner at Clementines.
This is how cheerful Leah wakes up in the morning.
We hated for Auntie to leave but really enjoyed having her with us. They had a busy summer coming to Manistee and then heading to Alaska for a couple of weeks.

The first Saturday night we head to Saugatuck for the fireworks. Sarah and Dan rode their Townie Bikes, 22 miles, and we met them there. Boy, they were exhausted. Leah had her jammies on to be prepared to fall asleep in the car. On Sunday we headed back to Detroit for the wedding of Sarah's good friend, and family friend, Melissa. Sarah and David greeted and we babysat. Here is Dave with his two girls ready to go party.
The stunning bride.
Here Leah plays with Gram Lois's birthday balloons while we wait for mom and dad to return from wedding and head back to the camp.
Adam, David, and Natalie all took off a week to join us. First night Dad took us to Craigs cruisers for a little miniature golf, but had to try the batting cages first. Here are the kids all taking a few swings.

Mom and Dad stuck to the slower, smaller balls.
Couldn't hardly go without a day at Culvers and a frozen custard. Here is the Culver mascot with Sarah and Leah.

On one of our shopping excursions, Leah made friends with Bambie.
Tee shirt says it all.

Her first taste of MI beach sand. Yum!
Tried to get some good pictures in the sand on Sabbath before attending church in Holland, but the sun was so bright Leah could hardly open her eyes.
One more 4 generations picture. I love these girls with me. I am so lucky to have all of them in my life. .
Biking is so much fun in Holland since they have miles of bike trails. Kids bought one of those carts for Leah to ride in that attaches to the back of their bike. Her she is getting fitted for first trip.

I think she likes it. The second Saturday we were there was the annual terrific firework display in Grand Haven. She rode behind her dad with her mom and pops all the way from Holland to Grand Haven, 24 miles to be exact. The fireworks were just at good if not better than the previous years. Only problem was it took us at least two hours to get out of town and back to the campgrounds. We were all getting pretty peeved with the law enforcement officers directing traffic.
This is the coolest tent we found for the beach. Only problem was we couldn't keep Leah under it. Her mom enjoyed the shade every now and then.

Here's my girl hanging on my umbrella pole. Water went up to 76 degrees and she liked riding the waves as much as she enjoys floating in a pool.
Every year we have hobo pies at least one time at the fire pits. They were just outside our door this year.
Natalie's sister Francie came and visited us on that day. She had fun making a pie. First one burned, second one fell in sand, and finally the third one was a success. Walter got a great supper that night. He did much better this year staying by the camper alone. No complaints from other campers, and no potty messes. What a treat!
This shows how close we are to the lake behind Gram and Francie. It was a wonderful, but too quick vacation. Can't wait to go again next year. Just hope we can get a reservation. Come and spend the day with us sometime. Sorry, I can't offer a room for the night, but our family has completely filled up our motor home. Adam and Nat even ended up out in a tent cause it was getting a bit cramped. I love that the kids still want to go with us. They hold a sentimental spot in their heart for Holland. We have been going every summer since Sarah was a baby. I remember bathing her in a wash tub on the counter in our pop-up camper. Now we are doing he same thing with her baby. Think we all like the motor-home with pop out side a bit better. Happy summer to all while it lasts.

Sumer So Far!

2008-08-08T04:27:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering about these two kids, I thought I would stick in a picture of them. They are still two of the coolest cats that ever existed. Prince, Whitie as Dan calls him, succeeded again this summer to push out the screen in the bathroom window and get out on the roof. Finally I had to open another upstairs window and pull him in. That is quite a challenge. Good thing he is declawed. George is still his lazy laid back self.Summer included an all out push for VBS. Sarah and her good friend Christie, decided to take it on. Boy, did they do a great job. Only thing missing was Aunt Stella. She could only make it for the final program on Sabbath. But, never fear, she did VBS in Myrtle Beach before coming.

The theme from the conference this year was "Castles and Crowns". Below is our castle made out of cardboard, freehand, by one of our young adult church members. Thanks Melissa! Isn't it great. We added many pillars, a throne, drapery, mirrors, candles, etc.

The Lord truly blessed Oakwood's VBS. Over 80 different children registered this year. Our highest attendance for one day was 68, and on that day at least 30 of those children had no affiliation with the church or school. So our goal of outreach was successful.

This is the marketplace along side the castle. Tents are made out of table paper and upside down tables.
One of our leaders was so kind and made princess hats and crowns to give out to the children. Aren't they special. Julia and her brothers were a great help this year. Love to see those older kids pitch in. We had the best volunteers available from kids to grannies.

How about this jester? She and her brother were terrific. They also made these hats. Her brother really got into the act and would not speak while doing his role at recreation.
Here's our Leah arriving for her first VBS day.
Our stone entry way was just beautiful. David's mom Cheryl and her hubby Ron set this up for us. Loved those flowers draped over the walls. Kids did stay right in the walkway.
Happy registration!
Sandy could not have done a better job in the Banquet Hall. Doesn't it look like a banquet? It was upstairs in the Youth Room. Her assistants all dressed in Bible costume and served off silver platters, crystal pitchers, etc. They were very regal in their service. Kids loved it. A bible story went with each treat that was served.

Our new teacher telling the daily bible story.
Craft time is a favorite of all.
Recreation was wonderful, but got a little hot at the end of the week. That worked out great cause we went in the gym and the kids learned Hop Scotch.
Here is Sarah doing the closing or opening of the program. We met together both times and of course one thing the kids enjoyed the most was the music. We are still singing the songs. Even Leah loved it. I would take her up with me and she could see the children on the screen singing and doing motions. Mostly sign language to the words. Now whenever they project words on the wall at church to sing with, Leah joins right in. Can't hardly blame her or stop her. She especially enjoyed the song "There's a Flag Flying High". First time I ever heard that song was when Sarah was small and her Grandma Ann sang it to her.
Lots of friends came to VBS.

Here is Leah's friend Megan in the stroller. Her mom is Sarah's helper and they are 10 days apart in age. I am so glad she is there to grow up with Sarah since Sarah grew up with her mom and sisters.
This surprise came on the second day of VBS for Gram cause she celebrated her 82nd birthday. She still is as active as ever, except all she wants to do now is hold the baby. I do still make her get up and clean every now and then, just to keep her healthy............

Can't Believe I am still Blogging, but just one more.

2008-07-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Grandpas birthday was this week. We had Bumpy Cake again, just like Aunt Nilza's party. She gave me some more this time also. We will miss you Joe and Nilza as you head back to Hermosia.
Natalie, pay attention to the gift opening and stop studying books on pottery designs.
I won't reveal his age.
Who couldn't love a face like that.
See my Holland sweatshirt. At Grandma Lois' house I got some new cereal, strawberry and bananas.

My motorcycle family in Manistee. It was fun exploring and they even found quite a few washed out roads from the severe storms. Dan led them into some off roading that the boys were not to happy about. Imagine that.

Baby Update

2008-07-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is crawling and now she even is lifting herself up and standing on her own. Wow, is she a handful. When she is not sleeping, she is constantly on the go. Sarah is wondering how to get anything done. It is so wonderful to see all the advancements she is making. She is also getting very heavy. This week we will get the official weight at her doctors appt. I will just put some shots in of our trip to campmeeting and Grandma Lois' for July 4th.

My first fourth of July celebration.

Can you believe someone gave out frozen treats. YUM!I love you mommy.
Is this parade ever going to get over?
Natlie designed our banner for VBS. Looked like a professional job. We helped with the last minute touches when we went to the shop for the annual July 3rd BBQ.

Campmeeting here we come.

We were in the overflow parking with no electricity. Got a little hot over night and my hair was pretty goopy when I woke up.
See how well I stand up. Problem is now I don't want to go inside the bouncy anymore, just stand outside of it.
We ate at Cracker Barrel on the way home and they blew these neat bubbles for me.

Quick Catch-up on Us!

2008-07-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been almost a month without a post. I guess that is nothing new for me. Problem is it takes me forever to put one up. I will try to just put a few pictures up so you can see what we have been doing over the last 4 weeks. Never a dull moment.

These pictures are from Brian and Laurens wedding in Milwaukee. It was a fun time. Brian is Adam's good friend from college now in Medical school at Loma Linda, CA. Lauren is a sweet girl we worked with on Higher Ground Sabbath School. Loved seeing them and enjoying the wedding. The reception was at the Aquarium on Lake Michigan. Just beautiful. The food and service were outstanding.

This is the old gang from college and even academy. Justin in the middle is Adam's surfing buddy.

Two great looking guys. I am so proud of them both and lucky to have them in my life.

This is the perfect picture of these two. Lake Michigan in the background. A little to smooth to surf.
They look like they are having the time of their lives hey?
Our church greeters, and so nice to see them as the first people we met at the wedding.

I love Steve Peck. How great to chat with him about Politics.
The happy couple.

Crawling

2008-06-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hi, you would think I am the mom wouldn't you with all my blog news. Well, my daughter doesn't have a blog yet, and I will probably have to teach her how to do one, so I have to do all the bragging.

On Leah's 8 month and 1 day birthday she started crawling forward. Yeah! It is so cute. We hadn't seen her for two days and went today to watch her crawl. She was so happy to see us. Big smiles and arms reaching out. This time I think she really likes me better than Grandma Great. She is kind of wobbly also but gets where she wants to go. Leah loves the phone, so Sarah puts it out way in front of her and off she goes for it. We are afraid we may have emergency vehicles at the front door someday since she loves to press those buttons.

Okay, I will add one picture. Leah is also getting her first tooth and we think she plays with her gum because almost all the time her tongue is curled over. Well, I can't get her to open up for a picture of the tooth, so the closest thing I have is a picture of the curly tongue. It's good for a chuckle.

Bathtime

2008-06-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

It was our last bath time together so I decided we should take a few pictures to show how she has grown from the first pictures I took. Of course, couldn't find any bath, but this was a few months ago. Leah turned 8 months on

June 15th, Fathers Day. The day before we discovered that she is getting her first tooth on the bottom. Also, she started crawling forward yesterday. How exciting. Now we will really have to be on guard. She is a real mover.
I know it may be hard to believe, but she can also be an imp. This picture says it all.

Nothing feels better than cuddling with this sweetheart after her bath, all wrapped up in her towel. The one thing we can't figure out is that she hates to get her clothes changed now. She screams the whole time. So I end up giving her the desitin, my watch, my reading glasses, anything in site to keep her occupied. That is one pretty cute baby. Lori, she would give Anthony a run for his money in that Gerber baby contest.......Maybe we could get them to chose one girl and one boy.

Dueling Cameras

2008-06-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

One of the best things I ever did was buy Sarah a camera just like mine. Not only does it take great pictures, not blurry, but I can download her pictures very easily onto my computer. I guess it is legal, like scraplifting for you scrapbookers.

They had a great weekend in May when they went south to Louisville, KY to visit their good friends James and Kim. Kim went to Andrews Academy and Andrews University with Sarah and David. Sarah and Kim graduated as teachers together and taught in MI for several years until Kim married James and moved to KY. They got engaged at our condo in Florida. Great kids and I am glad Sarah and David have them as friends. This is their baby, Levi.

Looks like he is checking out Leah. From what I was told, they turned into fast friends. She didn't even care when he licked her face.Leah also like to play with Auntie Kim. Those balloons were great and I have a cute video off the camera, but don't know how to put that on the blog yet. Still working on it. Kim and James are working very hard on the house they bought. Looks like Kim likes green like Sarah likes pink.

Time for bed and Leah was tucked away in a dresser drawer. Guess it didn't last too long cause she is quite the mover now.

After church on Sabbath the kids went to the zoo. Weather was great and they were able to buy tickets online before Sabbath. Leah loved it. Sarah now has a season pass to the Toledo Zoo as a gift from the school and can't wait to go.Those shades are great and mommies and daddies are nice too.What a great group picture.I think she likes this Kangaroo.
This is Kim's school with James getting ready for a 5K run that they sponsored. David was the brave soul who ran. Kim of course was in charge and made sure James and Sarah knew what they were responsible for.

Here are the official judges and time keepers. See what I mean about green?
Sarah and Leah were in charge of the refreshments.
He made it. Whew! (not really, he actually is a triathalon athelete)
Family picture at the end of the day. Looks like Leah even got in the green of things. David is faithful to his old school, check out the AA on his shirt.

Finally, with the medal. Great way to end the weekend. I know Sarah had a great time and can't wait to get together again. Study hard Kim and great going on that Masters.

Doubled Up

2008-06-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Can you tell we love Joe and Nilza. That is so funny that I put that picture on twice. They do look cute though.

School Comes

2008-06-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

Another school year has come and gone. They seem to fly even faster now that my children are grown and we just volunteer to help Sarah. It was a hard one knowing you would be gone at the end. Sarah loves teaching and this year some of her friends children and the secretaries grandson were in her class. That made it especially hard to leave. Don't worry, she will be back. This was her 4th year of teaching. The school had 31 students and Sarah had 14 of them in her class. They were great kids. Two new teachers taught with Sarah this year and we enjoyed getting to know both of them, even though it was strange not to see Lynette and Stacy there.

Sarah and her class had some exciting times. Below are some pictures of the last few activities we enjoyed. Gymnastics was a great hit that started in the middle of the school year. It was done at a downriver Gymnastic center, and the instructor continually complimented Sarah on her students and how well they behaved and listened to and followed instructions. We can't wait to sign Leah up when she is 18 months old. She may go for a few early lessons next year when the school goes since she received a special invitation from the instructor. This picture is of Sarah and her 4 Kindergarteners at one of their last days of gymnastics.

Pool day was how they celebrated the last day of school. It was in a new facility in Romulus, close to the school. Perfect for little children and adults alike. Swimming pool, childrens water area with a huge bucket that spilled water on the kids, lazy river pool, and water slide. Leah looks pretty excited to get in. Grandma had to make a quick stop at Walmart for a floatie.
Here she is going down the lazy river with her friends. Grandmas never thought to bring a swimsuit, thought we would just be babysitting. Ha! The water was so warm and we were sure sorry we didn't bring our pool gear.
This is Sherwin heading off the water slide. Are those real flames on his swimsuit from the speed of his downhill slide? ? ? ?

Our annual Tea Party is held in May. We invite all the seniors from church, grandparents, moms, etc. Problem is with Sarah as teacher and in charge of the program, Grandma Lois as babysitter, me as caterer, and Nilza as craft director and all around helper, we could have used a photographer. Not to many great pictures, but a few so you can get an idea. The children performed musical selections, played a few games with the adults, made a beaded bookmark or key chain, and we all enjoyed a lunch. Made over 280 little pigs in a blanket and still had people asking for more. They are always a big hit.

Cori Hamstra made these adorable cookies for our dessert. Every last one was gone.
Here are our singers from grades 3-5
Sarah and I made rice krispie treat pops. We started by trying to cut them out with a daisy shaped cookie cutter. It was tough. Sarah was getting a blister, so we decided to just cut squares. When we dipped them in the colored chocolates, the daisy ones lookes like Mickey Mouse ears. We didn't like them at all. Should have made all squares. But, they also went pretty fast.
We always have a nice crowd for this event.
This was Leah's first Tea Party and she loved it. Of course she had to wear a party dress like the other girls. She is holding her spoon that we dunked in melted jolly ranchers to stir into your tea. Everyone was just eating them like suckers.
Their last field trip was to the old fashioned school house at Greenfield Village. Everyone dressed in period costumes. Looks like Mrs. Canada is using Mrs. Hamstra as an example of what happens to those girls and boys who don't behave. Thankfully, no one else had to wear that hat.
Hear are the boys paying close attention to their instructions. What and adorable set of boys they are. All unique in their own way.Class photo on front steps. Looks like they stepped back in time. Recess was really fun. Old fashioned games were enjoyed by all.
Here is the Bible text for the day. Good advice.Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America. Of course, graduation topped the school year off. Now class, line up and be quiet please.How could you help but smile with those adorable girls behind you. Or else Sarah is just trying to keep from crying.And here are the four graduates. It was fun because every year Sarah and I have made a mini scrapbook for each kindergartener. It is so much fun. We shrink down some of their work, and put in lots of pictures of them. We even dress them in an old Oakwood Academy jacket Adam wore when he was in first grade and take their pictures. This years looked like a black chalk board but of course we forgot to take any pictures of them, or did we just run out of time?????Passing out the graduation certificates.April and Jodi presenting Sarah with a membership to the Toledo Zoo and an adorable quilt on which the children each signed their names and a short message. Thank you all for being such great parents for Sarah to work with. We will see you at church.

MOTHER'S DAY

2008-06-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

No, this is not my mom, but I do love sitting with her at the restaurant, especially since Uncle Adam was out of town receiving an award for Woolf Aircraft in Texas. I kept my Aunt Natalie company at our Mother's Day brunch. She shared me with Grandpa. He looks pretty good in that suit doesn't he. This is our traditional brunch at the Romulus golf course close to the shop. I was there for the first time last year but don't remember cause I was still inside my mommy. Unfortunately I didn't get to partake of any of the good food. Maybe next year. They have lots of choices for vegetarians.....
Uncle Tim always makes our reservations and treats. Thanks Uncle Tim.. Looks like we were right on time according to your watch.
Couldn't go without a group picture of the moms in the crowd. Here we are with our four generations on both my moms parents side. We missed Grandma Olney and her mom and Great Grandma Canada. I am so lucky to have all these grandmas.
Afterwards we went to Grandma Anns to see her new decorating and her flowers. Then on Monday we went out to eat again. Papa Vinos will be one of my favorite restaurants when I grow up. It was Auntie Nilza's birthday. Aren't they a cute couple. Aunt Nilza took care of me for two days while my granny's were out of town. I love her alot. She plays with me all the time and even takes me shopping. I hope she will teach me Spanish as I grow up. They are going back to Mexico for 6 months or so and my whole family will miss them alot. I had a fun time at your party. Please invite me again next year. That bumpy cake was delish!

RETIRED

2008-05-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Our job ended today. Last day of school. Sort of sad. We brought all of moms things back to our house. I just had to yell at her to put her shoes away cause she was messing up the house. Had graduation last night. Sarah and I made four scrapbooks, one for each kindergartner. They were adorable, but took a long time. Then we made 36 iron-on shirts for the kids to sign today as a keepsake. Did the punch for the graduation and decorated the church and then had to haul all that home and put it away again. We have had a couple of busy weeks. Oh, and Sarah had to get things for breakfast today for the kids, so that meant a trip to Sams for me.

In the meantime, my cat got in a fight and was bitten and developed an abscess. She was hiding all over the house. So on memorial day Sunday I spent half the day in the pet emergency room. That was an experience.......First cat who came in after Prince, yes it is a boy but I get gender confused with pets, had to be put down. Happened in the same room we put Bingo down in two years ago. It was so sad listening to them cry and then they said the nicest prayer. After that, two more dogs who collapsed were rushed in. Next was a 2 month old puppy attacked by the neighbors bull dog. The girl was a wreck. Puppy was fine by the time I left. So had to take her back yesterday for a recheck. Doing great except ear infection, needed rabies shot, heartworm pill, and must return in 6 weeks to make sure she didn't contract Kitty Aids or Leukemia. Just like humans, you are better off not taking them to the doctor because they always find way to many things wrong with you. George the other cat has never been to vet and is the picture of health.

Also had the Orkin guy come this week. We have been running non-stop. And don't forget the bathtub back-up that ran down in the basement, so Dan wakes me up at 5:17 to tell me he has to go to work and I need to get up and mop the basement. That was a great day. Actually, it could have been much worse.

Believe me, I would love to go to Berrien for a rest and visit all my friends. Haven't been in a store except for Meiers and Walmart. Now that is unusual for me. Haven't even had time to shop on the internet. Mom doesn't even get in them, since the baby is usually sleeping and we don't want to wake her, so she sits in the car.

Dan is in Berrien tonight. Their rental house in Stevensville is getting a new renter, so everything was cleaned and painted and this was his only time to check on it before new renter moves in. He will stay for church and come home. Has to work Sunday. They are swamped.

Erin and Justin and Jake and Kelsey came over here this weekend to stay at Natalie and Adams. They will have a good time. Adam has his boat in the water. Had a nice barbeque last weekend while they tubed and stuff.

We go to Florida on Thursday, so Berrien won't happen until after that. We laugh cause it looks like it will be perfect weather here and we will swelter in Florida. But we will have the pool, eat out, shop, and relax. Sarah needs to wind down. It was a good time to take a break.

Leah is rolling all over and pretty much will sit up by herself. She is such a good girl. The school had a swim party today at a indoor pool with a nice part to float on tubes. We took Leah's floater and she just loved it. Sometimes all those kids get her nervous because they won't back off and want to be so close to her. But at the pool they had lots to keep them occupied so they left her alone for a while.

I hope this explained why I haven't called some of my friends for a while. I am missing you all and will try to do better after today. Sabbath is a welcomed rest. Then we start all over again.

Pictures

2008-05-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

Had to add a couple of pictures of our girl. My babysitting days are just about through. Sarah finishes up in three days. Can't believe how fast the time goes. Sarah will now be home with her during the most fun times. Leah waved at Grandma Lois and I the other day. Oh, and is Grandma Lois ever spoiling this girl. Sarah and I get so ticked cause Leah is always reaching to get away from us and go to her. Errrrrrrrrrr.......

Here she is having a tea party at my house but had a bad stinky diaper that ran out on her clothes. So, we had to have a quick wash and dry and turned the heat up nice for our girl till those clothes were ready.

Sarah and her cousin Danny in Berrien Springs. That Woolf family has produced some good looking kids.
This was Sabbath after church in the camper. Had a beautiful day and we took a 12 mile bike ride on our new Townie bikes. I will have to get a shot of those for you. Sarah got one too and feels like an old lady riding it, but sure likes the feel of it.
Auntie Nilza, is that a diaper on my head.
Here are Joe and Nilza at her birthday party at Papa Vinos. We love those two. She is such a great girl. Thanks Joe for bringing her here to us. Now stay home for a while will you. We miss you when you go. Had a great night out and we are enjoying our time with them while they are in Michigan.

OKAY !

2008-05-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, Natalie and Francie, I am really mad at you now. You forced me to add a blog, so I did a nice long one about my 6 quirks and accidentally erased it trying to preview it. Now I have to start all over. I guess I am really not mad at you, just upset with myself for making such a silly mistake. Here goes . . . . .

1. Massages, keep your hands off. I don't need people coming up to me and rubbing my shoulders and then telling me how "tense" I am. Sorry, it runs in the family. Just ask Sarah and Mom.

2. Tailgaters who tailgate me even when I am doing almost 80 mph. I will get over, just give me a minute instead of swerving to pass me on the right and then just about taking off my front fender as you swerve back in front of me.

3. People who sing with their eyes closed in church. How can they get the message of the song across to the audience if you don't even look at them.

4. Sound men at church can get pretty annoying also. It seems they all listen to their music very loud, so feel compelled to turn your accompaniment track up so loud that no one can hear the words of the song you are singing. Then there are those annoying squealls they make with the sound system every now and then to keep us awake in church. Also, when you can sing a whole song and your microphone is not turned on and no one bothers to tell you or do something about it. Sarah is very helpful to me in this situation. She never lets me sing without a mic. Sometimes the monitor speakers are so loud you can't tell whether you are on or not.

5. People at church who are very power hungry.

6. Putting groceries and laundry away and unloading the dishwasher. I don't mind washing and shopping but putting those things away is not fun. I have many times offered to pay the baggers to come home and put groceries away for me, but have had no takers yet. Thank heavens I have Grandma Lois with me cause she is a great putter awayer. (Is that a word?)

That's it. I feel much better now. Only problem is I don't have any blogger friends except Natalie and her family. Oh wait, CONNIE and KIM... you have just been tagged. Hope you have as much fun as I did.

Cruisin

2008-05-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Florida was calling Dan's name again. This time Sarah gave me a few days off and I went with. The weather was high 80's and sunshine. We spent two days at the condo then headed off on a short 4 day cruise. Our ship was the Caribbean Princess, a beautiful boat that is in our harbor in Ft. Lauderdale. We just wanted to try the Princess Line from the show "Love Boat". We really do like Royal Caribbean the best. Here Dan is packing his own things, hallelujah.

I am getting mine stuffed in a carry-on. Still need a lot of things for only 3 actual days.
Here is completed luggage. Dan still had to run back from the boat and get his snorkel and fins. I think he just wanted to prove that he could make it across the bridge and back and still have lots of time left.
Our dependable chauffeur Gaby drove us to the dock.
Here we are saying good-bye. Today Dan drove Gaby and Linda to Miami to catch a plane to Israel. They will stay there for about 6 months visiting with family. It won't be the same in Florida without them.
Bye Gaby.Dan checking out the cabin and waiting for take off.This is what Dan likes the most, to look at the condo's on the way out. Ours is the shorter one in the middle. Our friends are on the 21st floor waving at us, but the telephoto shot I took is to blurry to see, so you will have to take my word for it. They are one floor beneath us. That's right, 22nd floor, but you can't beat the view of the ocean and harbor and Miami.This is our beach and our cabanas. Why do we bother to go on a cruise?
We are on the tender taking us from the cruise ship to the private island, the only place we went. It was Sabbath, so nice to just sit and read and relax. The tenders are really the ships life boats.

We took a glass bottom boat trip. I really did see some fish. I think there is one in this picture if you look close.

These are the cabanas that we sat on at the island with our ship in the distance. Beautiful weather with a refreshing breeze. Water felt cool but they said it was 78 degrees.

Looks like I should have gotten a closer shot of the boat. I am heading back to eat supper. Can't miss a meal you know.......

Dan is getting excited to get off the boat and back to the condo and relax some more. It was a fun time.

Baby Pictures of Course!

2008-05-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Leah loves to visit my house. She thinks she is at the Botanical Gardens with all the flowers every where. Here she is all excited cause she is rolling over both ways. I have a video but haven't learned how to put that on yet Connie or Rachel......Her new best friend, George.

That tickles!
Love those feet!

Look at those eyes!

She's having a tea party at grandmas house. Don't exactly know what she was doing with her lips. Probably giving me the raspberries.

I love to tease David that she watches TV when we babysit. I had to go to the basement so I put her in the chair. She does seem to like Clifford.

These chairs are great, especially for watching TV dad. Only problem is that those chubby legs get caught when we try to remove her from the seat. Chair usually comes right along until we tug a little.

WOMEN'S RETREAT

2008-05-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here I am on my way to Camp AuSable the first weekend in April, Easter 2008. Look at the lovely snow. The weather did turn out to be beautiful and the snow was only in the shade. Actually, we were dressed a little warm for the good weather.Saw the first deer of the weekend when I drove onto the camp grounds. He was having a grand time and was not the least bit nervous about me stopping to say hi.First job at hand was to set up the tables. If you remember, we made about 45 vases in Natalies Kiln from the school. We poured, sanded, fired, painted, fired, and decorated with wire and beads for about 3 months. They turned out great. I actually sold all but about 6. They looked so cute so I thought I would just put a few shots on for you to see.

. I attended the retreat 2 times since I am on the Michigan Women's Ministries Committee. The third weekend is always the most fun cause my church friends, family from Gobles, and mom and daughters attend with me. This is Natalie's sister Francie with Grandma modeling the vases. Francie has a beautiful voice and sang with Sarah and I. We did a trio and led two song services. They were fun and I think the ladies really appreciated them by the way they sang out. Thank you Frannie and I hope we can do it again next year.

Three more vase models.
Our speaker was Ginny Allen from Washington state. I loved her. Kim Purvis, our director, is directly behind us. Ginny was going from MI to Alabama where Stella was cooking and decorating for a retreat down there. Can't wait to talk to her and see how she liked Ginny's preaching. The girls loved her also.
The speakers theme for the weekend was "Catch the Wind of the Holy Spirit". So, for the Saturday evening meal, we centered our decorating around the theme of the Comfort of the Holy Spirit. We used lots of candles, water features like drink fountains and floating candles, blue denoting water, wind chime sounds and butterflies and doves, all representing the traits of the Holy Spirit. All the ladies on the committee wore blue shirts and slippers for "comfort".

Our evening meal had "comfort foods" such as "meatloaf", mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and pie ala mode.
This is my long time friend from Oakwood Academy, Jini Lane, once Whang. (Sp) It was so nice to see her. On the third weekend the speaker asked Sarah and I to sing a song with two of her friends from nursing school that were in attendance. We sang a beautiful song about seeing our loved ones again in our heavenly home when Jesus returns. It has special meaning for them since Ginny lost her grown son in a snowmobile accident several years ago at their church camp. Turns out one of the friends we sang with was Jini's mother-in-law.Our special feature for the Saturday night vespers was my friend Renee doing a chalk drawing while Ginny spoke. She drew a beautiful sunset with three crosses and a rose. It lit up with shadows when the black light was turned on. Francie has a picture on her blog which you can get to thru Natalies blog. Her address is on the side of mine. It was a great weekend and hope that more of our friends will come next year. Believe me, I can put you all to work.

Just Kidding!

Our Friends New Home

2008-05-05T08:17:00.001-07:00

Our last Sabbath in Berrien was so special. The sermon and church service at Pioneer Memorial on the campus of Andrews University was in celebration of Pastor Dwight Nelson's 25 years of service at the church. So hard to believe. After church we headed to Grandma's best friend Cynthia's new Villa. It is beautiful. Here the two girls are together as we arrive for the first visit.

Those two are so cute. My favorite room in the Villa is Cynthia's bedroom. I love the spread and bedroom set. She and Lynda did a beautiful job decorating the home.
What a great lunch we were served in the new kitchen. The granite countertops were a little hard for us to put hot dishes on without hot plates, but Eddie and Lynda said we could. Cynthia made a delicious cauliflower dish that I had never had before. Mashed potatoes were great, but what can go wrong with those. Loaf was a little over cooked since Dwight's service went a bit longer than usual. Dessert was chocolate cake with toffee bits in it. Frosting was light and airy to top off the meal. Oh, we also had jello, wonderful breads, pigs in the blanket, a salad I just loved, and more I can't remember. Needless to say, we were stuffed. Dan had to stop two times on his way home to Detroit to sleep he was so full and tired out.
These three are terrific hosts and treat you like royalty. Isn't this a great kitchen! So roomy and everything is new.
Even Darryl helped serve us. Those tulips are real....It's finally spring in Michigan. The girls are resting after that lunch. Soon they will have a spot of tea. Thank you friends for a lovely Sabbath day.Grandma and I headed up north to her house for a few days. Unfortunately we had to attend Uncle Roy's funeral. Only consolation was that we got to see relatives we hadn't had contact with in years. After cleaning the house and visiting with neighbors, we made it safe and sound back to Detroit by Tuesday night. Oh, I didn't clean much. I always feel like I am on vacation when I go home to Manistee. Don't worry though, I did make a list of things for the boys to do when they go up there this summer.

Easter

2008-04-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's my first Easter. Don't I look adorable. We went to church at the Fort Lauderdale church. We were still missing you Uncle Adam and Aunt Natalie.

Pretty nice back drop for a picture. This is the view out of our condo window. Cruise ships are off to the right.
Here's my new friend in Sabbath School. He held my hand the whole time. My mommy had to lead out since their teacher was busy doing something else so daddy held me.
What exactly is an Easter Basket?
My shirt says "My First Easter".
This is my mommy reading me a story. She is a teacher....I am getting my first peeps ever, but they are not real.Yummy!
I love Easter.

Family Fun Together

2008-04-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

We all made it safe and sound to Florida. Only sad part is that Natalie and Adam are grown ups now and working full time with no spring breaks. They were really missed. Grandma and Grandpa got a lot of loves from their girl Leah.
Daddy and his girl hit the pool on the first day. Some cool shades hey? Yes, she also has a pink pair.

Time to go out to eat. I think we went for our first trip to Cheesecake Factory.Leah got one of those cool little chairs also Anthony, but of course it is also pink.
She had to get a few cuddles from the "great" grandma.

FLORIDA HERE WE COME!

2008-03-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Another spring break has come and gone. We had wonderful weather and a nice relaxing time. Looks like someone was excited.

WHERE IS OUR LUGGAGE?

SCHOOL

2008-03-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Oakwood Academy did the church service several weeks ago. It was quite interesting when Mrs. Blair and I did the welcome with out grandchildren, Leah and Belle, who are both future students of OA. Belle will begin next year and she was quite upset to hear Mrs. Canada will not be her teacher. Leah has a few years to go. Leah and some of her school friends.

STILL CRAFTING

2008-03-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

These are the two new Campbells Soup Label containers I made for the school. I think they turned out pretty good. For those of you who don't know, Sarah has decided to not teach for a few years and stay home with her Leah. Great decision girl ! ! ! ! I am proud of you. We will all miss those kids at Oakwood but I have a feeling our Volunteer days are not over just yet.

EVENING OUT

2008-03-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

That night it was time for a little more fun. Unfortunately Lynda works and she missed out on a lot of our excusions. We miss her too......So, that night she drove and off we went to Benton Harbor. Pretty snazzy truck she picked us up in.
Grandmas were in the back and then we headed to pick up Erin. She is Allisons good friend who now works for Lynda. She is also married to Adam's best friend Justin and lives just around the corner from us in Berrien. She is the Hawaii girl with the beautiful Hawaiian wedding last summer.
Out to eat and then some entertainment. Snow started and it was pretty messy when we headed back to Berrien. These were the roads on our way home to Detroit the next morning. Thanks girls for a couple of fun days. We hope to be back soon when Sarah is done teaching and we have a little more free time. Also have a little work around the house to do. Hope we have time to party.

FRIENDS

2008-03-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

I finally got back to Berrien Springs to be with my good friends. It had been since November, so we were happy that Joyce had a surprise birthday party for us to come to. It was a beautiful affair put on by her two daughters and held at the Howard Center at Andrews University. She really was surprised. There was a lot of love in the room from her family and friends.
The music, food, speeches, and tributes were all great and Joyce was happy she attended. At first she didn't want to do anything but relax on her special day. Then her friends John and Sylvia Baldwin invited her to a brunch celebrating Love since it was close to Valentines Day. Turned out to be a birthday party.
It was great to go and then we spent two extra days since Sarah had Angela, James, and Cheryl visiting her and they babysat for us. Of course we had to take a trip to South Bend with our good friends, Cynthia and Joyce. Fun times as usual.
Most the time I drive cause Joyce talks fast and then her driving tries to keep up with her talking and then Lois gets nervous. So it is just better that I drive. It was still a bit cool to go to Shipshewana and Amish country, but we already are looking for a day to go there come warm weather.
Best stop of the day was the Pages In Time scrapbook store. It is huge but we didn't buy anything. Even so, the ladies there appreciate the importance of pictures for a scrapbooker so they offered to take a picture of us good friends. It will print up well and look super in a scrapbook.

Leahs room

2008-03-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

We finally finished Leah's lollipops. These are the special ones painted by Grams, Aunties, and counsins. They look adorable over her changing table. Here's a little closer look. We have the lollipops all around the room on the bottom also. It did turn out good. Natalie painted the room for a gift to Sarah. That was so nice.
Leah loves color as you can see....

HELP!

2008-03-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

As you can see I seem to have lost my blogging skills. I have tried now for 30 minutes to correct that text but I am still doing something wrong.

So, to avoid getting to discouraged and quitting right now, I will start another entry and try to do it right this time.

Hi again!

2008-03-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm back to do just a quick posting. How come we get so busy? Right now I am working hard getting ready for 3 women's retreats up at Camp Au Sable that the MI Women's Ministries Committee is putting on. I am doing all the decorating so that is keeping me and the girls here very busy.

I thought I would just give a quick overview of what has been going on.

First let's start with Adam and Natalies Christmas present. They got "Rock Star". Here they are enjoying an evening of fun with the game. Look at Natalie sing it. Even Leah gets in on the action

Wow, Adam is really concentrating. I think us older folks were in the other room. The music is very upbeat and played LOUD ! ! ! !

Remember, Sarah and Adam both took percussion at Andrews Academy and Sarah went on to play in the University band and Symphony. One time she and two other students played a percussion trio on Garbage cans for a concert. It really was cool. Oh, Natalie is doing another solo.

Check out how great they did on their fireplace. Adam and Natalie did all the stonework and the mantle.. They now have book shelves on either side of it and the room is a beautiful brown. The view of the lake is best from this room also.

Happy Birthday Edwin, Jr.

2008-01-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

One of our first activities for 2008 was to help celebrate Edwin, Jr.'s first birthday. His party was held in our school gym. Wow, was it great. The theme was construction and everything done followed that theme. Ada did a great job getting supplies and Sarah and I helped her set up tables and decorate. The gym was transformed. I loved the outfit on his Dad. This was the bouncy that was brought in. I never even knew there was a construction theme bouncer. Unfortunately it broke down in the middle of the party. That could have been a complete disaster if there hadn't been an extra bouncer in the corner of the gym. Thanks to Raymond he was able to take this down and set up the new one.

Edwin, Sr. constructed this site for the food table center peice. The sand is brown sugar and topped with confectioners sugar to look like snow. Yes, the train is functional and circled the site.This is how the birthday boy arrived. Probably was good because he kept going the whole day with no crying or fussing.Isn't big sister turning into a real beautry?All the workers look pretty happy.
Leah and I had to have a picture with the Birthday boy. What a doll he is. And he loves to have his picture taken. That hat is great.
Another of our friends was there drawing pictures for the kids to color. She does it all free-hand. This is her picture for Leah that we took home with us.
Leah put in a full day at the party and slept pretty good that night. Thanks Edwin for inviting us.

"Cousins"

2008-01-21T18:06:00.000-08:00

Adam is so lucky to have Natalie. We love her and her family. She is one of 5 girls in her family with one brother. All 5 of the girls are very sweet and attractive. It was fun for us to find her sister Lori was pregnant and due only two months after Sarah. Following her progress and waiting for Anthony to be born was exciting for us also. I think it was on December 5th or 6th. He is just the sweetest little boy.
Natalie had a great weekend when Rachel, Lori and Francie all came to visit. Three nieces and nephews and Lori's huband joined them. The only problem was they didn't stay long enough. The girls had a great time painting pottery with Natalie.

First they all came to Oakwood church. I don't know how they did it, but they were right behind us on the freeway and prompt and on time to Sabbath School. That was pretty good for all those adults and children to be ready and drive 25 minutes and arrive on time.

It was the first time that we met Anthony. He is just adorable. So much hair, and he looks just like a boy.

The two kids met for the first time also. Are they just not the two most adorable babies. And just think, they both have the best auntie in the world, Auntie Natalie......And notice the appropriate pink and blue. Those two moms look pretty amazing also.

This is Leah in SS. She seems to really be paying attention. My good friend Lorraine plays the piano in Cradle Roll, so it gives me an excuse to visit her and see Leah in her class at the same time. I can even help with the piano if Lorraine is not able to be there. Seems like I was just down in Cradle Roll with Adam and Sarah. Dan keeps making the statement, "things were easier back then". I have to remind him to think before he says that....

Our good friend Cynthia knit the adorable booties that Leah has on. There is a matching pink sweater but that is a little large yet. Leah has so many beautiful outfits in her closet and most of them were gifts to Sarah. How blessed we are to have such great friends and family who were so generous to Sarah and David. We have only had to by a few sleepers since she outgrew several. Every now and then we pick up something really unique that we can't resist. I got some great headbands for her off the internet. Hopefully we will get a picture of those soon.

Happy New Year

2008-01-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas vacation went way to fast, even though we stayed away until January 7th. It was a great break. Weather most of the time was 80 or more. We did face a few days of record cold, but then we just went to the stores instead of the pool. Picked up a few of those after Christmas sales. A person could get very lazy living like that.

Our flight down was extremely bumpy, but a smooth one on the return. What made it all the better is that Dan splurged on Spirit and flew us first class. Wow, it is like there is no one else on the plane. Your seat is so big you can't see behind you. Lots of leg room and great places for your carry ons. He even let me pay to bring home 3 suitcases. Yes, on Spirit not only do you pay for your drinks and snacks, you also have to pay for all your luggage you send thru.

Dan looks pretty happy even though he is going home. I think he knew it would be 65 degrees when we returned.

Looks like I got just about the right amount of tan. We sure do look comfortable.
Who could be upset about returning home when this precious bundle of joy is waiting for you. Great Grandma Lois did a great job babysitting all by herself for three days while I was gone. She loves being with us where all the action is and we love having her.