Our 15th Wedding Anniversary

Love is not a matter of counting the years... But making the years count. ~ Michelle St. Amand ~

Wedding Memories

Morgan needs our prayers now more than ever

Live every moment God has given you~ With Love, Morgan
Morgan with Jenny and Christina, Val's daughters.
Lifting our hopes and dreams to the Heavens

I know some of you remember the post I did back in December about a special girl named Morgan who had a rare form of brain cancer. (I don't know how to link to my past post but it was Dec. 4th 2007 if you want to go back). I just received a prayer request from Pastor Kelly asking us to stop what we are doing and say a prayer for Morgan and her family. Hospice has informed them that it won't be long now, just a matter of days. My heart is breaking for everyone who knows this special young lady. Her mother has been updating her caringbridge page and I leave with tears every time. Morgan just amazes me, her faith and courage are unheard of in a child her age. I don't know her personally but my good friend Val ( who watched Myah for us) and her daughters are very close to Morgan and my heart is breaking for her and the girls as well. I just ask that you pray for Morgan and her family today. I took these images and the next paragraph from her Caring Bridge site, this was written by her mother on the 20th of June.

Someday I'll wish upon a star~ And wake up where the clouds are far behind me...

It's so amazing what God has given us all who have entered with Morgan a time that marks the end of her journey here on earth. I pray daily that our Lord will keep my mind and heart open to all that is around me. I try despartly to a peace in all of this, so that in any small way I may be of comfort to Morgan. My heart tells me we are in the last few weeks or so, as we try to soak all that she is into our souls and beings. She is truly THE MOST couragous young woman I feel I may ever know. As we hold each other, she consouls me that there is nothing to be afraid of, and that God must need her home. I have had many conversations with God too. I need my baby home here with me~ and then regretfully remind my heart that this is not her home. It is not listening. Morgan continues her fight daily. Her breathing is slow and has developed a musus cough. It is so hard for her to speak as it requires to many breaths in between. She eats~ and eats.. which is so funny, as it is from the ton of steriods she is on daily. Although it takes her maybe 30 minutes or so to finish something small. Her sense of humor is still wildly funny, she will break into dance on our way to the bathrrom which sends us all to the floor laughing. She is our Hero.

Summer is Here!

Yippee! Dayton jumping off the back of the boat!
Lookout people, crazy driver at the wheel
Dayton's big catch!
I love the expression on Austin's face!

Finally Summer has arrived and we are taking advantage of every second of it! We spent the past few days out on our boat. We purchased the boat last summer and were a little "wet behind the ears" if you will but this year we are much more comfortable with the lakes and canals in our beautiful area. The kids love being out on it and so do we! We took Dayton's friend Austin out yesterday with us and did a little fishing, swimming, tubing and skiiing, Myah had a little fishy friend (we threw him back unharmed don't worry!) but a few worms and a little sunfish sure kept her busy while the boys fished. Here are a few images and a little video from the past few days. *** pause my music at the bottom in order to hear Miss Myah talk to her fishy

Busy Weekend

Myah just loves her Nate! Aunt Bev, Vicki, Aunt Ginger, Me, Aunt Barb and Aunt Jan, l-rMyah loved jumping with cousin Blake
The beautiful quilt hanging from the deck, they have the best backyard, complete with a babbling brook!
I love me some cake!Boating with Kim on Friday night

The Bulldogs waiting to play their game.
This is how Myah looked when she woke me up on Sat. morning, she had tights on over her pjs.

This past week has flown by, seriously, we have put 1,000 miles on our new car in 7 days, we have been so busy! We had a baseball tournament this past weekend and had a four hour rain delay. Dayton hit in the winning run and advanced us in the tournament, it was very exciting for him and all of us! That meant that we had an early Sunday game in addition to our nephew Nate's open house. We were on the go! We played the #1 team and were tied 1-1 in the last inning with 2 outs and bases loaded, never had I hoped we would make and error, I really wanted to go to Nate's party and not sit through another game! (Bad mom, I know but it was a long weekend at the ball park I assure you!). We ended up losing by 1 and so we were able to get to the party a bit early. It was so nice to see all of Mark's family, we love them all and miss them so much. Myah was her true self and bossed everyone around, she made out like a bandit, Uncle Charlie gave her pop, Aunt Vicki took her to see the bunnies and colored with her, Aunt Jan caught her in her arms as she raced down the hill, Blake and Sydney jumped on the trampoline with her, Aunt Bev and Aunt Barb gave her cookies. Dayton played ladder golf all day long with Sean barely taking time out to eat. The highlight for many of us was seeing Aunt Ginger, who just had her last radiation treatment and is as pretty and sweet as ever, such an inspiration to me! Nate was so cute, I think he enjoyed himself. Lora had all of his many awards displayed proudly. She had made gorgeous scrapbooks for him, my how the years have flown! Just like many grads, he was anxious to add up his earnings, we gave him a laundry basket filled with supplies for dorm living. A small trash can, laundry detergent, softener, towels, bathroom cleaning supplies, hangars, an iron and small ironing board, and Spaghettios of course! His grandma made a gorgeous quilt from all of his old jerseys through the years, Lora hung it over the deck, it was such a special touch. We stayed afterwards and had a bonfire with Mark's brothers and their families. We always enjoy spending time with our families that is for sure. Here are a few images from the weekend.

Nate's Night at Comerica

Nate before the game hanging out in the dugout. He got to go into the locker room as well. Nate's biggest fans, Rachel, Dayton and Taylor taking it all in while leaning over the dugout. (this is where we sat!)

Our family eating in Greektown before the big game.

Nate is throwing out his first pitch in this picture. We were the first people to arrive at the stadium!A very proud set of parents watching Nate run out from the bullpen!
Nate is sitting in the bullpen after warming up in this picture, he said the bullpen had vending machines in it!

Our family with Nate after the game, they were waiting for us to quit taking pictures (see the man on the right!) We had such a great time!

Nate and his friends posing with his coaches.
After the game, he is in the dugout watching his crazy family.
Star Spangled Banner

Last night we had the pleasure of watching our nephew Nate play in the Michigan All Star Baseball Classic game at Comerica park (where the Tigers play). This was a huge honor for Nate to be chosen by the Michigan High School Coaches Athletic Assn. as one of 32 of the best high school seniors in Michigan. He had attended a banquet on Monday night and was put up in a hotel and attended a practice with the team and then played in the East vs. West game Tuesday night. We were the first family to arrive at the stadium, we got down there so early! We were all able to go to Greektown and had a fun time at dinner before the game. We were able to sit in the front row right above the dugout. Such a cool night! Nate got to warm up in the Tiger's bullpen and pitch from the pitcher's mound, it was awesome! He had the largest crowd of any other player rooting for him, several of his teammates came across the state to watch him play. Some of Mark's extended family also came for the game. Nate's biggest fan, Myah, was happy at our friend Val's house for the night, (thanks Val, she had a blast!), so that we could enjoy the game ourselves. We were the last family to leave the game, they were basically kicking us out of the stadim, (too many pictures I guess!). We are so proud of Nate and told him that we have him to thank for giving us one of the coolest nights in all of our lives! His team lost 3-1 but it didn't matter, it was a great game and we got to see some awesome players, all of the young men are going on to play at colleges, who knows they might make the big leagues someday and we can say that we were there! When we were in the parking lot to leave Nate realized that his luggage was in one of the coaches cars, we laughed when we got home and looked up the city where the coach was from and it is 5 hours away from their house! We had to laugh! Oh and a bonus to the evening was that we were able to celebrate Mark's younger brother Eric's engagement to Stephanie, Congrats to you both!

Father's Day Weekend

The look of determination!

Happy Father's Day to Mark!

Sarah and Myah checking out the drinking fountain
Dayton relaxing before his game, tough job!
Myah loves the sand!

You didn't really think I would forget did you? We were just out of town at a baseball tournament this weekend. We were in Holland and it is just so beautiful over on that side of the state. The weather has been so iffy around here lately, but somehow we ended up with two beautiful days. We were so excited that Sarah and her family were able to spend time with us, we were in their neck of the woods. They came to Dayton's game and then came back to the hotel to swim with us. We went to the Holland State Park on Sunday morning before we had to be at the game and enjoyed walking on the shores of Lake Michigan and the pier by the lighthouse. I wish that I had taken my good camera with me but these will have to do! It was a nice weekend and I am glad that Mark was off and we could spend the day with him. He is a no fuss kind of guy and being at a baseball game watching his son play was a perfect way to spend the day. Happy Father's Day to my own Dad as well! I did call him on the way home! Miss you Dad!

Dayton's Last Day of School

Last day as a 7th grader!Walking to the bus stop!

This was taken on the first day of school. It is hard to tell but he has changed alot!

It's is official, school is out! Boy this year flew by, I can't believe it is over actually. He is now an 8th grader, which means that at this time next year he will be going into high school which totally freaks me out! I always take a picture of him on the first and last days of school, and of course the sunshine is always blaring in his eyes and he "can't see" so the pictures are always oh so fabulous, yeah right. He had a great year, he loved all of his teachers and they loved him as well. It is strange that the older they get the less you know about what is going on in school. I used to be volunteering all of the time but you rarely get a chance to walk into the school now let alone volunteer, nor does he want me to chaperone on fieldtrips anymore. Boo hoo. Times are changing, instead of a nice end of the year gift for his teachers like I used to do, I sent them all a very sweet email thanking them for being so good to Dayton this year. I actually got very nice responses from all of them thanking me for my kind words and telling me what a great son we have. Aw shucks! He is a great kid and we sure are proud of him. He had a rough year heath wise, he probably missed more school than he ever has. Between getting braces and running to the allergist, I think next year should be better for him. Just a few years ago he had perfect attendance. The difference a few years makes. He brought his yearbook home today and we were giggling at all of the signatures, everyone is trying to sound cool, some girls left their phone numbers, (what is that all about?) and the most popular sentiment was H.A.G.S. (have a great summer). Oh to be in Jr. High again!


We are excited that summer is here, we have to stick around home for baseball games but hopefully we can get out and enjoy some time on the water. It hasn't sunk in yet that school is out, I am sure tomorrow morning when I don't have to wake up at 6 am it will!!! Yeah!

Gotcha Day Reunion

L-R: Ellie, Sarah, Sophia, Myah and Emma
Sophia, Sarah and Myah, our Hubei Honeys!
Ellie and Sarah
Sophia, Myah and Emma
Our girls all loved the splash park
Our little picnic area, just before we were evacuated!

On Sunday 5 out of the 12 families from our group were able to get together at a park to celebrate our 2nd Gotcha Day. We had a great time catching up with everyone, and splashing in the spray park. The girls are getting so big, they are all approaching 3, of course Myah is already 3, but the others are close behind. They are all talking, running, working on potty training, getting ready for pre-school, and little Emma is even going to be a big sister next month! Gary and Candy are going to have a little baby girl! So amazing that after all of those years of trying to have a child, after they adopted Emma they got pregnant! So exciting for all of us to see them so happy.


These families mean so much to us and we were glad that we could share this day with them. A few families had graduation parties for their older children, two families now live out of state, but we still feel the connection to all of them when we are all together.


As our luck would have it, a huge storm came barreling in and they park officials told us that we needed to evacuate the park and seek shelter somewhere else due to severe weather. We literallly shut the car door and the downpour started. Tornado warnings were going off and it got pretty scary for a while. We all were safe and sound but it cut our celebration short.


On our actual Gotcha Day anniversary last Friday another bad storm came through and wouldn't you know it, a rainbow appeared!


*****fyi, for those of you who follow my other blog, I put up some great Father's Day ideas for you today!

Congratulations Nate!!

Way to go Nate! Last time I saw him walk down the aisle was when he was ringbearer in our wedding, this time he was in a gown! Gosh that was almost 15 years ago!
Nate with his family and girlfriend Rachel.

Nate giving Myah some love, she was very fascinated with his hat!
And also with Rachel's little brother Joey from Guatemala
Our family with the graduate! Myah was not cooperating a whole lot, she did however do amazingly well during the ceremony!

Dayton really looks up to Nate!

Happy Birthday to our niece Rachel! She is 14 today!!
Nate and his adorable girlfriend Rachel, they both graduated with high honors (Nate lost his scarf after the ceremony!), they are both attending the same university in the fall! We just love them both!

Our oldest nephew Nate graduated from high school on Thursday evening. We went to WMU for the ceremony and it was such a wonderful celebration. Our whole family was there to share in the excitment. Nate is an outstanding young man and I can brag on him a little bit. He graduated with high honors. He has chosen his college to attend in the fall. He was offered full scholarships to other colleges to play baseball as a pitcher but he turned them down. He was thrilled the other night when the college that he chose called to say they want him to play for their team and have held a position for him! We are so happy for him! Nate has received so many honors in baseball lately that I just have to share them. We were able to be at the game where he broke the school record for the most career wins, it also was the conference record as well with 29. Nate is not a large guy by no means, but on the plate it doesn't matter what the size he has 4 pitches that he can throw consistently, his record is 30-2. Nate is very humble, you won't hear him ever brag at all, he likes to blend in with his team. He never has a bad game, he is very consistent! I don't know how he does it, seriously, I don't! They just won the district championship in a very exciting game on Saturday and are hoping to advance in todays game. He was thrilled to receive a huge honor this past week as well (actually the same night as the university call), he has been chosen as one of the 32 best players in our state to compete in the East vs. West side game at Comerica Park (Tiger's Stadium) 16 from the East side of the state vs. 16 from the West side. Out of all the divisions. This actually brought a smile to Nate's face, we can hardly wait to go watch him play in a few weeks! We are very proud of him! What an honor.

The extra special part of watching Nate pitch is seeing his younger brother Taylor behind the plate catching for him. Taylor and Nate both took 1st Team all conference honors this year. Taylor is a sophomore and is a very decorated athlete and scholar as well, he has just been chosen as one of 8 students across the state to serve on the MHSAA Student Advisory Board. This was a super huge honor as well. I told my sister in law Lora to share her secrets to raising such fine young men and she simply replied, "lots of prayer". She and Scott have raised their family in the church and have always put God first in everything that they do. God gets the glory for all of their accomplishments. It is very refreshing to see young men who aren't afraid to bow their head in a restaurant before a meal and pray. They are very thankful.

We pray for a bright future for Nate, he is entering into a business law degree. We wish him the all the best and are so very proud of all that he has done so far and can't wait to see what his future holds!