Happy Birthday Daddy!

Mark's Birthday is today! Poor guy has to work all day, we will have to wait to celebrate when he gets home. We all love him so much and are so thankful that he is "ours". Happy Birthday Sweetie! Tomorrow our little girl turns 4, oh my lots of cake coming our way! (I had to put one of his favorite songs by PCD on here for him today!)

Mark Schultz Concert

My hubby, not to be confused with the "real" Mark Schultz

We had great seats!

I know, you thought my hubby had taken up vocal lessons right? Not quite. I am married to a wonderful man but this was not my beloved on stage, it was Mark Schultz the talented CCM artist, whom I do love too but in a different way than the man who shares his name, and my heart. We had a special date night on Saturday with our good friends Kurt and Debby, we had a nice dinner at a trendy little restaurant and then a great concert. Mark was just incredible, it was a more intimate concert, he was very casual and hilarious. People could literally walk up on stage with him. He was amazing and I laughed and cried at the same time. His songs have always been my favorites, he writes so passionately. In the audience that night was the family of a young girl who had died of cancer, Mark introduced a song that is going to be on his next album and was inspired by this young girl. He cried during it and the Dad stood up first for a standing ovation, so did the rest of us. You will love this song when you hear it, trust me! Get the tissues! One of my favorite songs of his is "Everything To Me", Mark was adopted and this song is about just that, "when you gave me up, you gave everything to me". As an adoptive parent, I was so thrilled that he fulfilled someones request to play it for us, he cried during that one too!
We had a great time and it was a special night out for us, much needed after the long week that we had with Lon's funeral and all. I will put a favorite Mark Schultz song on today for your listening pleasure, if you have never listened to him before, I guarantee you will love him as much as we do. With a name like Schultz he has to be great right?!

Myah's Dance Recital

Our "Little Red Rappin' Hood" with her trophy
Showing off all of her treasures.

It was so hard to put makeup on her!

The star posing with us!

Her favorite teacher BriGrandma, Aunt Mel, Chloe and Annabelle came to cheer her on.

It was a busy weekend with Dance and Baseball.Our special neighbors Pam and Linda.

These aren't the greatest pictures I know but they are all that I have!

Dancing in a circle can prove to be tricky!

"My what big eyes you have"

"My what big ears you have"

Myah and her buddy Parker who she calls "Partner", she really thinks his name is Partner.

Getting ready to go on stage.

She was so excited but didn't like the big curtain.

Bravo Myah!

Myah's dance recital was on Saturday, Dayton also had a baseball tournament, luckily we were hosting it so it was local. Sadly, I kind of forgot about Myah's recital after learning of Lon's death, we have been up north and back, we are going back up today for visitation and the funeral tomorrow. So I want to post pictures of her recital to celebrate her special day. She did so good! Friday night was rehearsal and we were able to take video and photos then. These aren't the greatest but they are all that I have. On Saturday she loved getting all of the attention from our family and good friends. Kym and Randy came to rehearsal to watch her and the morning of her recital Randy brought her over a dozen yellow tulips for good luck. She loved her dance instructors especially her student teacher Bri, she loved Myah too! I was so impressed that she remembered her whole routine and didn't cut anyone one off when they run in a circle. She is one of the littlest out there and she looked so cute! Way to go Myah we are so proud of you!

Lon's Passing

Another early morning phone call from my hubby came this morning at 6:45, this time with more bad news. My mother in laws husband Lon had a massive heart attack and died suddenly this morning. We are shocked and saddened. He just turned 71 on Friday and Phyllis' birthday was yesterday. He was a very nice man and will be missed. If you remember they were just married a year and a half ago. Please keep Phyllis and Lon's sons in your prayers as they deal with this sudden tragedy. He was a very active man and this is a complete shock. Rest in peace Lon.

Way Behind!

Baseball, baseball, baseball.

Dayton's job shadow day.
Dayton's class on the Capital steps in D.C. We didn't know it but at this exact moment a small plane was flying over this area and was being escorted by military jets and helicopters, the Capital was being evacuated for fear that this plane meant trouble. Glad I didn't know until afterwards.

Our monthly girls night out at Olive Garden. I didn't get the whole group. Our friend Jeanne (the red head) had a grease fire at her house and had nothing but a sweatshirt and capris to wear so we surprised her and all wore sweats, it was fun and she loved it!
My good buddies Linda, me and Kym.

Kortney's prom, so pretty!
Kortney is my youngest cousin, she graduates this weekend and also turns 18!

Dayton's birthday dinner at Rainforest Cafe with Myah and Brandon. We embarrassed him by having a Volcano dessert sent over, it was hilarious!

I will try to give a shorthand version of what has been keeping us busy!

-Dayton has been working on his huge portfolio project, just this morning it was turned in! We have been working on this since November. Whew!

-Myah is in an instructional soccer class, she loves it but really likes to hang out in the goal area!

-Dayton's baseball games have finally started, the weather plus the D.C. trip were the reason for the delay.

- I have been going to the chiropractor for my back and am seeing great results, I am so grateful to get relief from pain!

-My energy is coming back and I am trying to get caught up on things around the house. Things have been piling up and I need to weed out big time!

-Mother's Day I was up at 5:45 for a baseball game at 8 am! I made a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and croissants and o.j. for the moms! Spent the day working on Dayton's project, fun times!

-The kids allergies are terrible right now, I love that we are in full bloom right now but it is not fun for my family.

-My cousin Kortney had her senior prom and I went and took a few pictures, Myah loved seeing all of the pretty girls and Dayton thought the girls were "hot".

-The orthodontist told us this morning that Dayton's teeth are looking great and maybe after the next visit we will talk about removing his braces! Yippee!

-Myah's dance class is over and the recital is this weekend, it should be crazy, Dayton has a tournament this weekend too!

-School will be out in less than a month. Wow, high school is on the horizon!

-Dayton had to job shadow for a day, last week he rode along with one of Mark's officers all day, he had a fun time and I think he had a few eye opening moments. He was excited because he had to be 14 in order to ride along and he had just turned 14 a few days prior. He said he was amazed at all of the people who don't wear their seatbelts. Funny, I feel naked without mine on I can't imagine riding around without it on. He still wants to be an anesthesiologist but a police officer is in his top 5.

-Mark started working days again, we are trying to adjust once more but hopefully he will be on this shift for a few years.

Well, that is about it for now, we are super busy but I like it that way. Keeps us out of trouble! Ha ha!

Happy 14th Birthday Dayton!

I can't believe that we have a 14 year old in our household. Last night we watched the video from the night he was born. What an incredible day in all of our lives. Seeing the room full of our loved ones, so anxious to get their first peak at our son. It was a night to remember.

Recently I had to write a letter to Dayton for his huge 8th grade portfolio project, he said "it only has to be 1 1/2 pages double spaced", I laughed because that is just not how "I" do things. He should know that by now! I had originally asked my Dad to write it but he got so sick so fast, there just wasn't time. So I figured that I should be the one to do it. It had to be somewhat biographical so I included highlights from his life the best I could in 5 pages double spaced ;) . I thought I would post it today on his special day. I love that boy (ok, young man) so much, and am so very proud of him.

Happy Birthday D!

A Letter From Mom

Dear Dayton, April 2009

I hope that I can put into words what a special young man you are to your Dad and I. Before you were born we always dreamed of having a child, we would later learn that you were our only miracle baby. You are extra special for that reason. The day we told everyone that we were expecting you was one of the best days of our lives and everyone in our family as well. My Grandpa A was very ill and it was wonderful to be able to share the news that we were expecting before he passed away in December. I wanted a little boy to fill in the empty place that he left in our family. The night you were born, the waiting room at U of M was packed with our family playing euchre and pacing the floor. You decided to come early, I was due on Mother’s Day of 1995 on the 14th and early on May 1st you made it known you would wait no more. Our family rushed into our room to get their first peek at their first grandson, great grandson, nephew and cousin. Your birth gave everyone a new “title”. Boy oh boy did you get attention. Everything you did and said when you were young was so cute and funny, you definitely “worked the room” and had a very captive audience. You were loved so very much right from the beginning and still have a very special place in everyone’s hearts. You were such a happy baby, you had the best giggle and Daddy could make you laugh the hardest. We had no family close by so it was mostly me and you during the day and Daddy on his days off, you became our best buddy. You walked at 9 months! We captured so much of your life on video and I am so glad! You were always so happy go lucky and really were quite the little comedian. You could watch a tv show and pick up the lines right away and recite them back to us to make us laugh. You loved playing “police officer” with Daddy and always liked to get under arrest. You also began your love of the outdoors at a very early age. Grandpa took you on the pontoon for the first time when you were just 6 weeks old! You caught your first fish on that same pontoon on your 3rd birthday, I don’t know who was prouder, you or Grandpa. You were always Grandpa’s little buddy. Your Great Grandma F loved you to pieces too, she would call EVERY day and ask “how’s that baby boy?”. Boy did she spoil you! You also went out into the woods with the “men” for the first time around 4 ½ and watched “Big Papa” get a deer. We always said that you knew more about the out doors than most grown men did. That is when your passion began.
We enrolled you in Willow Creek Preschool when you were 3 years old, it was so hard for me to leave you there and you screamed and cried the whole first day, you even hit the teacher, I saw a very different side of you that day! You grew to love Miss Bonita and enjoyed school very much. You met your good buddy Nick Smith there and have been great friends ever since. We lived in B----- up until you started kindergarten and we decided to move to P==== 6 weeks into the school year. You started kindergarten at St. Michaels and then transferred you to FHE once we moved. Before we left B----- you played your first year of T-Ball. Oh how fun it was to watch you play. You loved baseball from a very young age, we said we had to move because you started hitting balls out of the backyard and over the house into the street, we knew then that we needed more property! You thought you were a professional ball player at first, you would tap your shoes every time you got up to bat, and we always laughed at how you slid into every base! We knew right then that baseball was in your soul and that we were probably going to be spending a lot of time at the ball fields throughout the years, and we were right!
You loved your elementary years at F H and were a great student, we never ever had any problems with you and the teachers always thought you were a joy to have in the class. You were one of the first classes to ever participate the all day every other day kindergarten in P--- Schools. You also were in the first class to participate in the multi-age classroom in 1st and 2nd grades. Mrs. L asked if I would let you be a part of it and I agreed. Now they are very popular. You also were the first kindergarten class to start in the new millennium, when you graduate you will have gone all of your years in the 2000’s, that will also be a first.
When you were small you loved the movie Free Willy and you loved killer whales. We took you to Sea World a few times and you were just in love with Shamu! You always said you wanted to work with whales someday.
Your love of baseball has remained and you have played every year since you were 4. You made us very proud when you made your first travel team at 9 years old. Boy have we spent hours at the ball field, we love watching you play. Each year we are amazed at how much stronger you are getting. One major highlight for us was last year when we had the opportunity to watch you play in Cooperstown.
As our only child for 10 years we cherished every moment of your life and hope that you will looked back on your childhood and remember all of the fun that we had together and know how special you are to us. I know your world completely changed the day we went to China to bring Myah home. You were no longer the only person that we needed to focus on, but we were so thankful that you welcomed her with open arms and took on the responsibility of big brother with such grace. I love you for that. I know it wasn’t easy (and sometimes still isn’t) being her brother but trust me, someday your friendship with her will be worth it all. She looks up to you and wants to be grown up just like you. We are so thankful that you were able to join us in China and witness the very moment that she became “ours”.
The past few years that you have been in middle school have gone by so quickly and I fear that your four years of high school are going to go even faster. We are so proud of the young man that you are becoming. You have always maintained a high set of morals for yourself and I pray that you will always stay true to yourself. We are very excited for all of the changes coming your way, we are learning right along next to you on many issues so please give us some slack sometimes! We love your sense of humor, you truly inherited that from both Dad and I. It will get you through the tough times so never forget to laugh, sometimes at yourself first. You have endured much sorrow in your young life, we have lost so many people who loved you so much. This year you lost Grandpa, someone who meant so much to you. We know it is not easy on you but you have dealt with it very maturely and kept your grades up, we were very proud of the way you have handled yourself through this tough time. Grandpa loved you so much, you brought joy into his life from the minute you were born. I am sure he misses you as much as you do him.
We love you Dayton and I pray that your future is full of opportunities for you to be yourself and shine. Whatever your dreams are, reach for them. Know that we are always here for you no matter what, we are your biggest fans and want the best for you. Stay true to yourself and you will be just fine. We have no doubt that you will be successful in whatever you choose to do. Enjoy your next four years in high school, they will be some of the best years of your life!


Lots of Love,
Mom