Bringing in the New Year with Shalene, Gary, Bethany, Michael, Alivia, Brandon, Christa & Tessa was AWESOME…  We started out with an AWESOME surf and turf dinner, complete with lobster tail, crab, shrimp (cocktail & scampi), sweet potato fries, and ramen salad.  The girls cleaned up the kitchen, then we played Imagine If and had mini cream puffs and peanut butter balls for dessert.  We had a fun white elephant gift exchange then watched a little of a few different…

On Christmas night, the entire family, along with Shalene, Angie and Jeanette, headed up north to the Cabin!  It was great to wake up and be there the next day.  Jesse, Hannah, Gabe, Shalene, Angie, Jeanette, and Lizzy took off to Boyne to ski in the awesome snowy weather, while the rest of us chilled at home.  Amber and Bethany made some chili.  The rest of the extra long weekend was great:  we played games, watched movies, finished the chocolate…

On to the Sidelines! This is the last Easter I have a son living at home.  In two short weeks, Daniel will be married, and the whole beautiful time of raising children will be past tense for my husband and I. I loved every minute of raising my children.  What a privilege to have five amazing children I have been able to raise and send off as arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior!  Seeing the life partners each…

There aren’t many men like my Dad, and not many Dads like him either.  Today (another) of the nurses told me how she’d wished she had a Dad like mine.  I know.  Everyone does and always did. My Dad’s children weren’t PART of his life:  they WERE and ARE his life.He always told me my children would do more for me than I did for them. I can definitely say that wasn’t true in HIS case:  he did INFINITELY more…

Ended 2011 in an amazing way, and started 2012 with a challenge! Day after Christmas, Gary, Daniel, my brother David, and I went to Ft. Lauderdale — we had an awesome place right on the beach. Met up with Lizzy there, and had a great vacation… celebrated New Year’s Eve, and ran along the beach, and saw Robin, Michelle and their beautiful family… Then, on New Year’s Day, just before our plane home, Gary and I went for a “last…

Another amazing day in Rome — After another amazing Bible study by Hannah, had breakfast together at the hotel (they put us together in an “upper room” today!), then set off on foot to shop and stop and tour the area. We all split up in groups today. Walked down Via de Corsa and stopped at several stores and piazzas. Then met up with everyone at 2 at Trevi Fountain, and went to lunch at an amazing spighetti place. Went…

Our second day in Rome! Had an amazing breakfast at our hotel, and then the excitement began. We waited and waited for our tour bus to come, but it couldn't get through our street because of the pedestrian area. After several phone calls and walking back and forth three blocks to find the tour bus, we finally connected an hour after the tour was supposed to start, only to find out our tour guide was MIA!!! We contacted the tour…

Went to the train station via water taxi and waited there awhile for our train. It was a little crazy when we got on the wrong car of the train and had to move quickly to go to the other side of the train, but we all got on the train in the end! We got to our amazing hotel in Rome right by the Pantheon — then we walked to Trevi Fountain, where we had an amazing lunch panini…