It's Been Too Long

It's been a while since I have been here. Facebook seems to be the more common method of networking. We are getting ready for some special times in our lives. Mike is graduating in two weeks. In the mean time we have a concert tonight and senior banquet next week. And after graduation it doesn't stop there. The summer is filled with activities. It starts with several graduation parties. The weekends are filing up with them! Then there are weddings, youth rallies, vacation Bible school, ESY (extended school year for Zach). And before I know it we'll be packing Mike up for college. Busy times, fun times, sweet times.

It hit me last night when my hubby and I went on a date. I asked Mike what he would like for dinner and he said he was going to take his brother out for dinner since we were already going out. Wow. He wanted to do this on his own. I thought how sweet, and then, how wonderful. Zach was very excited to be with his big brother and was anxious to hit the road. I am glad Mike is willing to spend time with Zach. It really warmed my heart.

Who Knew?

Tonight we went to Hessville Baptist Church in Hammond (Hessville), IN. Sacred Heritage, a wonderful group of Christian men, were giving a concert as part of that church's 75th anniversary. It was GREAT! We went as a family. I had originally tried to surprise Mike with this outing. Sacred Heritage is a favorite of his and I thank God that this is the music he CHOOSES to listen to. He was thrilled to learn that we would be attending. Zach loved it too. He was singing and clapping and having a good ole time. I think he was amazed to see the guys that he hears on the cds. Bob was toe tapping, clapping and doing some singing as well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself too. Did you ever hear a song and it just gives you a chill? "It's Still The Cross" was that song tonight.
On our way home I was thinking about how blessed I am to have a husband who wants to take his family to an event like this. And also to have two teenage sons who want to go to a Christian concert, and with their parents!!! If you asked me 20 years ago if I thought this could happen, I would have told you that you were crazy. I surely had no clue. Who knew? God knew. I am ever so grateful that He brought us here.

Fishing With Brother Larry 2009

Today was our annual "Fishing With Brother Larry"! What a beautiful day. We couldn't have ordered a better one. Although it started out a little rough (we had a blowout on I55), it turned out wonderful. Our Blowout. I'd like to thank Brother Larry for asking his wonderful wife Gerlinde to bring us their hydraulic jack, and coming to our rescue. Thanks to Gerlinde we didn't have lunch on the shoulder of I55!

This is Tanner wading.

Mike and Tony

Cajun Catfish

LUNCH!!!!!

Amanda and . . . Who is that mystery woman?

Zach, with a mouthful.

Bob, and MORE LUNCH!!!!

Today was Ryan's 14th birthday! We all sang "Happy Birthday" to him. What a great way to spend your birthday!!!

Larry, Russ and Sam enjoying their lunch.

Max and Jayne

Paige, Amanda and Meghan

Beth, Jayne and Jim at lunchtime

Jim and Kyle. Who knew Kyle was soooooo shy?

Paige, Sam, Bob (at the grill) and Ed (in the background)

Zach
Brother Larry, the man who started it all. Thank you Brother Larry and Gerlinde for all your hard work and organizing for this day. What a great family day!

In The Garden

The garden is starting to fill in nicely. It's looking very green and lush. We are anticipating tons of fresh veggies this summer. "Tons?" you say. Well, it's ok to be optimistic, isn't it? Here's what has been planted: Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, peppers (green & HOT!), green onions, okra, cantaloupe, watermelon, eggplant, broccoli, beans (several kinds), corn, butternut squash, asparagus, basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, lettuce, potatoes, spinach, arugula, orange mint, and chocolate mint. I think that's all, but I may have missed something. So you can see why I might be optimistic when it comes to the harvest.

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

It's been a while and here are some highlights of what's happening around here. I had a great time with some really great friends at Camp Joy where we attended a Ladies Retreat.

Zach had a fun boy/girl day out with Best Buddies.

I had a very "full filling" Mother's Day

Marquette had their junior/senior banquet. It was wonderful.

"A Better Champion" was the theme for the youth rally at Grace Baptist Church. The entire day was amazing.

The King's Kids had a Pinewood Derby

And last, but CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, was the pie throwing! The girls won the penny parade in King's Kids and Bob and Jon were very good sports about being the targets!

And the summer is just beginning!

20 Years . . And Counting

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. What a journey it has been!

Happy Anniversary Bob! Thank you to all our family and friends who have been with us along the way.

Congratulations!!!

Yesterday we were blessed to go to Schaumburg Christian School to see a wonderful competition with several schools in the IACS. Wow, what talent! Marquette Manor Baptist Academy did an AMAZING job! They took first place for the state in MANY categories. The most exciting for us was when they took first for the men's ensemble. Mike is in this one and now they are going to Nationals at Bob Jones University next month. He is elated. The men's ensemble is a wonderful group of young men. All of the students did a fantastic job. We saw incredible artwork, an amusing dialog competition, some skits, and very talented singing groups. And we were only able to be there for half of the day. When the awards were announced it was so great to hear the student cheering for their schools. Their hard work definitely paid off!!!