Tammie and Kevin

GOD'S BLESSINGS ON OUR FAMILY WITH A NEW ARRIVAL

2009-03-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

IN APRIL OF 2007 WE WERE A WHOLE FAMILY OF 11 MEMBERS. GOD HAS BLESSED US WITH A NEW ADDITION OF ANOTHER LITTLE GRAND DAUGHTER. CORY AND SHANNON HAD A VERY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE 5 POUND 10.5 OUNCE, 19 INCHES LONG DAUGHTER. HER NAME IS TEAGAN LEE CHURCH AND SHE ALSO JOINS HER BIG BROTHER CIAN NOW.
WE ARE SO BLESSED AND THANK OUR GOD FOR HIS BEAUTIFUL CREATION OF CHILD BEARING. YES IT IS PAINFUL BUT THROUGH IT ALL WE ARE GREATLY REWARDED WITH A BEAUTIFUL CHILD. WE NOW HAVE A DOZEN TOTAL IN OUR FAMILY AND LORD WILLING WE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW ESPECIALLY IN OUR LOVE FOR GOD. I PRAY EACH DAY FOR EACH OF OUR GRAND CHILDS SALVATION. I KNOW THAT EACH OF OUR OWN CHILDREN WILL BE IN HEAVEN ONE DAY AND IF THE LORD SHOULD TARRY I PRAY THAT WHEN OUR GRAND CHILDREN CAN FULLY UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF WHAT THEY NEED FOR SALVATION (JESUS IN THEIR HEART) WE WILL CONTINUE TO PRAY.
SO WE THANK YOU JESUS FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL GROUP OF CHURCH CLAN THAT YOU HAVE CREATED.

FAMILY

2009-01-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

Kevin and I are so excited to have our son Nick and his wife Amanda and our 3 grand children to be moving back to MI and to live with us for about 2 1/2 to 3 months. God has a new adventure for their family to experience. They have had a door open for them to go to Slidell, LA to serve the Lord with a pastor friend of Nick's. The church there is growing with leaps and bounds since Hurricane Katrina hit that area. Praise the Lord! It is to the point of needing help with teens and children and that is what Nick and Amanda love to do so in the mean time they are heading here to MI. Sometime is needed to relax and recoup and gear up for that calling. Their house in Harbor Beach has still not sold and they have been in GA for 2 1/2 years. This has been a burden so while they are here Nick and Kevin will go and do some repairs that are needed and Lord willing get it sold before they leave or find some renters for it that they can meet and find the right people for it. I am asking to really pray about this situation to be resolved by April when they are looking at leaving for LA. Pray for Nick and his family as they are going through this transition and so desiring the Lord leading in the direction for their lives.
As parents, we would love to have all our children near to us. Even living with us. I know many parents can't wait for their children to move on but for us we would LOVE to have all our children and their families to be under one roof. This is the time we as parents have waited for to have our grand children and children close---under one roof---but we know that GOD is leading all of them in different directions doing his work where ever they end up and THAT is the #1 thing that Kevin and I so desire for our children. To be serving the Lord!
So whether they are in LA or SD or MI---Serve the Lord but always know to all of our kids---our home is your home and we will always be glad to have you all move in.
So for any of you that are reading this please pray for Nick and his family with the decisions and directions they are needing. For Cory and his family please pray for a wonderful, safe, healthy, delivery for our future grand daughter to be born in March. Shannon and Cory are having a home birth with Teagan (our grand daughters name). Pray for job situations for both the boys and our grand children as they will be having to leave friends and make new ones and for Cian to be a wonderful big brother to his new baby sister. We love you all very much!!!
Also, Cristal's boyfriend Andrew has been deployed to Germany now with a few weeks there and then to Kosovo. He will be there about a year so please pray for his safety and also the unit he is with. Andrew is in the National Guards-Army-so it is a very emotional and trying time for Cristal and especially his family as he is over there. Pray for support and comfort for the family and a hedge of protection over Andrew and his buddies as they serve our country.

CELEBRATING OUR 32ND ANNIVERSARY!!!

2009-01-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

On January 6th, 2009 Kevin and I will be celebrating our 32nd anniversary. Our new year has started out a little rough with both of us going through some health issues but we managed to get away for a over nighter at the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge. It was very enjoyable and of course to short of a stay. We did a lot of looking around in some stores, just hung around and relaxed a little, ate our favorite meal at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant, took a horse carriage ride around the city. The video you see are us taking the carriage across the wooden bridge with the sleigh bells on the horse ringing and clippity clop of the horses hoves going across the bridge. I thought it was a neat sound. We were cuddled closely inside the carriage to keep warm and covered with a blanket but we did enjoy the quietness of the city (believe it or not) and hearing the horse making its sounds.
I did put in a picture of our wedding day. What more can I say? It was 32 years ago. (1978) :)

CHRISTMAS 2008

2008-12-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas has been here and now it is gone. Unbelievable!! I trust all of you had a great Christmas with your family/families. We unfortunately, were not able to have our sons and families home but we got to visit with Cory, Shannon and our grand son Cian on the web cam.
What a precious boy. They all are so special. Their all my favorites!!! Teagan is looking like she is still growing well in her warm little womb also. It's coming around the corner with the arrival of our 2nd grand daughter Teagan Lee. I can hardly wait! I am sure Shannon can't wait either.
We weren't able to see Nick's family on the web cam because unfortunately, 3 out of 5 of them were extremely sick and up all night. It was not a good night for Nick as he was the only one (so far) that is not sick. What a rotten deal for them. Hopefully we will get on soon with them. Please pray for them.
Our Grandson Bryson made us rock candy crystal that I hung on our tree but we have to make sure to eat them now. Then Nick made an awesome video of the kids as they were born to the age now. AWESOME! Truly things like this are the best gifts grand parents can get. We will watch them over and over for a life time. Also, we received a book named "Room for a little One". Nick made a cd of Bryson reading the book (he is only 6) with Zeke making the sound effects (of animals in the book he is 4). It was absolutely adorable and brought great warmth to our hearts to hear them read "there is always room for one." Yet another one that we can enjoy for a life time. Cristal gave me a necklace with birthstones of our children, Nick, Cory and Cristal. Now I will add to it of all my grandkids. :) She also gave us each a mug with pictures of our grandkids on it. How cool is that! Sip in style now.
Of all the neat gifts received from all, the gift of Christ is the best. I know my children and the in-laws will be in heaven and to this day we are praying for each grand child that they will receive Jesus in their hearts also. THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL.
We were able to gather with some of my family in the early part of the day and then part of Kevin's family in the evening at our home so really we had a good day but I was exhausted from all the coming and going so I am looking forward to things slowing down now.
I pray everyone had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND NOW WE WILL PREPARE FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR---2009.

CHRIST IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

2008-12-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? The Holidays are all ready upon us. I am sure we all are enjoying putting up the Christmas trees and lights and nativity scenes. These are all fun and memorable but I want us to remember THE REASON FOR THE SEASON! Luke chapter 2 tells the story of the birth of our Saviour. Luke 2:10-11 says, And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. I am so thankful for this. I hope all of you will take the time to remember this wonderful Gift that GOD gave to us all. If you are not a child of GOD'S than I pray that you will take this free gift now and ask him into your heart. Become a child of God's starting this glorious Holiday season. In my previous blog I put many of the Thankful things I have been blessed with so if you would like just scroll down to that to read my blog. Even those mentioned are just a few of the many many things I am thankful for but wanted to share some. It's been an interesting year with health and all but GOD has been in control of all of them and will continue to be so forever.
MAY EACH OF YOU HAVE A VERY GLORIOUS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

MANY REASONS FOR A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!

2008-11-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? FOUR MORE DAYS UNTIL THE HOLIDAY SEASON STARTS!
NEEDLESS TO SAY, I FOR ONE HAVE MANY THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR. WHERE SHOULD I START? I WILL MAKE A LIST FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO PRESENT.
1.) JANUARY STARTED OUT WITH KEVIN & I CELEBRATING 31 YEARS OF MARRIAGE. I LOVE YOU KEVIN. LOOKING FORWARD TO MANY MANY MORE.
2.) JANUARY WAS THE MONTH THAT OUR ONE AND ONLY DAUGHTER, CRISTAL WAS BORN. WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR HER.
3.) JANUARY IS ALSO THE MONTH THAT OUR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW. AMANDA WAS BORN. WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR THE WONDERFUL WIFE THAT SHE IS TO NICK AND THE FANTASTIC MOTHER SHE IS TO OUR 3 WONDERFUL GRANDCHILDREN.
4.) FEBRUARY WAS THE MONTH THAT KEVIN HAD A BACK PROCEDURE DONE THAT MADE HIM STAY HOME FOR SIX WEEKS. I CERTAINLY ENJOYED THAT BUT MOST OF ALL, I AM THANKFUL FOR GOD'S HEALING OF HIS BACK.
5.) FEBRUARY WAS ALSO THE MONTH THAT WE DECIDED TO APPLY FOR DISABILITY FOR MYSELF (TAMMIE). LEAVING IT ALL IN THE LORD'S HANDS FOR THE OUTCOME.
6.)MARCH IS THE MONTH THAT OUR OLDEST SON NICK WAS BORN AND HE TURNED 29 THIS YEAR. WOW THE BIG 30 THIS NEXT YEAR NICK. WE ARE THANKFUL FOR YOU AND THE WORK YOU DO FOR THE LORD AS WELL AS YOUR WIFE AMANDA.
7.) APRIL-WELL, I AM JUST THANKFUL THAT SPRING IS AROUND THE CORNER.
8.) MAY WAS A BIG CELEBRATION MONTH. KEVIN HAD A BIRTHDAY PLUS IT WAS MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR MY FIRST BRAIN SURGERY THAT WAS A SUCCESS FOR MY ESSENTIAL TREMORS. MY HEALING WAS LONG BUT WELL WORTH IT. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR TECHNOLOGY TODAY AND MOST OF ALL FOR GOD'S HEALING POWER.
9.)JUNE IS THE STARTING OF SUMMER MONTHS. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR SUMMER AS I AM NOT A REAL FAN OF WINTER.
10.) JULY, WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR OUR GRANDSON EZEKIEL DANIEL CHURCH CAUSE HE WAS BORN THEN.
11.) AUGUST WAS A VERY THANKFUL MONTH BECAUSE THE LORD ANSWERED OUR PRAYER THAT WE STARTED BACK IN FEBRUARY CONCERNING MY DISABILITY. GOD ANSWERED BY HAVING MY DISABILITY APPROVED WITH NO COMPLICATIONS ANYWHERE AND HAVING NO HELP FROM ANYONE BUT FROM GOD. BY THE FIRST PART OF AUGUST I HAD MY FIRST CHECK PLUS BACK PAY. WHAT A POWERFUL GOD WE HAVE!!!! AUGUST IS ALSO A MONTH OF WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES. BOTH OF OUR SONS, NICK AND AMANDA WERE MARRIED AND CORY AND SHANNON WERE MARRIED. THIS IS ALSO THE MONTH THAT IS SHANNON'S BIRTHDAY, INFACT, HER AND CORY GOT MARRIED ON THEIR WEDDING DAY. GOD HAS BLESSED US TIME AND TIME AGAIN WITH SUCH GREAT WIVES THAT ARE DEVOTED TO THEIR HUSBANDS AND TO THE LORD. PRAISE THE LORD FOR OUR FAMILY. AUGUST WAS ALSO CRISTAL'S ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF WORKING AT JCPENNEY. JOBS ARE HARD NOW AND WE ARE THANKFUL FOR HER DEVOTION TO WORK.
12.) SEPTEMBER WAS A GREAT MONTH OF THANKSGIVING WHEN OUR FIRST GRAND DAUGHTER, ARIANNA JANE CHURCH WAS BORN. THIS IS ALSO THE MONTH THAT MY DAD EXPERIENCED SOME SERIOUS HEART ISSUES AND WITH MUCH PRAYER FROM MANY AND A PROCEDURE DONE THAT HE HAD A DEFRIBULATOR/PACE MAKER PUT IN, HE IS DOING GREAT AND IS EVEN OUT DEER HUNTING THIS MONTH. THANKFUL JESUS!
13.) OCTOBER IS A BUSY MONTH WITH BIRTHDAYS. LOTS TO BE THANKFUL FOR AS CORY, MYSELF (TAMMIE) AND OUR GRANDSON CIAN ANDREW CHURCH WERE ALL BORN THAT MONTH. CIAN IS FIRST BORN SON OF CORY AND SHANNON. THIS WAS ALSO WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT CORY AND SHANNON WILL BE BLESSING US WITH ANOTHER GRAND DAUGHTER AROUND THE FIRST OF MARCH. HER NAME IS TEAGAN LEE. HOW COOL IS THAT! OCTOBER WAS ALSO THE MONTH THAT I HAD TO HAVE MY SECOND BRAIN SURGERY FOR MY ESSENTIAL TREMORS FOR MY OPPOSITE SIDE. PRAISE THE LORD IT WENT WELL. WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THE LORD'S HEALING POWER? I FOR ONE AM SO THANKFUL FOR MY LORD AND SAVIOUR. TO GO THROUGH BRAIN SURGERY TWICE TAKES A LOT OF PATIENCE AND CARE FROM FAMILY AND I AM SO SO THANKFUL FOR MY LOVING HUSBAND WHO HAS DONE EVERYTHING TO TAKE CARE OF ME AND THE HOUSE AS I HEAL. I AM SURE HE WILL BE GLAD WHEN I CAN GET HELPING ONCE AGAIN. I AM THANKFUL FOR MY DAUGHTER CRISTAL ALSO AS SHE HAS TAKEN CARE OF THINGS WHEN KEVIN HAD TO GO BACK TO WORK. THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU AND I LOVE YOU LOTS!
14.) NOW IT IS NOVEMBER---THE MONTH WE OBSERVE THANKSGIVING! WITH THE YEAR 2008 COMING TO AN END I AM THANKFUL FOR ALL OF THIS AND SO MUCH MORE. AS I THINK UPON THE MONTH, I AM THANKFUL THAT CORY HAS A JOB NOW WORKING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN SOUTH DAKOTA. THANKFUL FOR HIS DEVOTION TO HIS FAMILY AND LOVING THEM. KEVIN AND I ARE SO THANKFUL FOR OUR 4 GRAND CHILDREN WITH ONE ON THE WAY (IN MARCH). THEY ARE THE APPLE OF OUR EYE AND THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD LIKE HAVING GRAND CHILDREN. OF COURSE, THERE ARE MANY MORE THINGS THAT WE ARE THANKFUL FOR BUT THIS IS JUST A LIST OF THINGS I WANTED TO JOT DOWN.
SO IF ANY OF YOU KIDS READ THIS: PLEASE KNOW THAT YOUR DAD AND I ARE SO VERY PROUD OF EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU. WE COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD OF EACH OF YOU AND WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR LIVES. GOD BLESSED US WITH 3 GREAT KIDS, WITH 2 WONDERFUL DAUGHTER-IN-LAWS THAT WE CONCIDER DAUGHTERS AND 4 PLUS ONE ON THE WAY GRAND KIDS THAT ARE THE BEST IN THE WHOLE WORLD. WE LOVE AND MISS EACH OF YOU!!!!!!

BUT THE MOST I AM THANKFUL FOR IS FOR MY LORD AND SAVIOUR. MY SALVATION FROM SIN. I AM THANKFUL THAT HE HAS SAVED EVERYONE CHILD OF OURS INCLUDING THEIR WIVES AND SINCE THE DAY EACH OF OUR GRAND CHILDREN HAVE BEEN BORN WE HAVE PRAYED FOR THEIR SALVATION ALSO, SO BRYSON, EZEKIEL, ARIANNA AND CIAN AND OUR FUTURE TEAGAN PLEASE KNOW THAT WE ARE PRAYING FOR YOU TO GIVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS SOME DAY WHEN YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS. YOUR PAPA AND MEME CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DAY WHEN WE RECEIVE THAT PHONE CALL SAYING "I JUST ASKED JESUS INTO MY HEART". WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY THAT WILL BE.
GOD HAS GIVEN US MUCH AND WE COULD GO ON FOR EVER AND EVER BUT MOST OF ALL HE GAVE US THE CHOICE TO HAVE LIFE WITH HIM.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!

SOUTH DAKOTA TRIP

2008-10-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well, our trip came and went all ready. We had a blast, seen and did many fun things like:
a trip to Country Bear USA where you see many different animals roaming the area. The pictures of animals that I will post are taken at the Country Bear USA. The Badlands where Cory and Kevin climbed up to a cave to explore, went to Custer State Park to bugle in some elks (which unfortunately we did not see any-RATS!) After wards we went to a great steak restaurant in Hill City, SD called The Alpine. YUMMY!!!! We celebrated Cian's first birthday along with Cory's birthday and Brian's birthday (Shannon's dad). We found out that same week we are having our second grand daughter born in March of 2009 :) . We shopped a lot, spent the week end at Shannon's parent's home in Spearfish which received 3-5 inches of that white stuff we call snow. :( While there we went to Hill City again to take a 1880's steam engine locomotive ride through the mountains between Hill City and Keystone, SD. That was the first day it started snowing. One of the pictures I will post if one that Kevin took looking out the window of the front of the locomotive. The picture reminds me of The Polar Express.
We enjoyed so much being with Cory, Shannon and Cian. Cian is growing so fast and is just one funny fella. We always have a great time with Shannon's family. We are looking forward to going out again in March to welcome our grand daughter, Teagan Lee.

Fly Away vs. Work - No Fair!!

2008-09-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Tammie gets to fly away on a jet plane and I get to stay home and work. There's something terribly unfair here. Oh well, I'm really glad she can get to spend time with the kids and that they enjoy having her. I miss Tammie when she is gone, so you know what I do? That's right, I tackle a "PROJECT". Do I love to work or what? I AM SICK!!
This time it was one of the last uncharted territories of our little homestead. It was a place that all MEN cherish. THE GARAGE. That's right, I gutted the old garage like stabbing a knife in a dead deer and pulling all the guts out and tossing them aside and letting out a primal scream, ARRRRRRRR. Well it was just the cabinets and they went to the dump, but you can see for yourself by the pictures. All I can say is "new and improved". I think it turned out well.
You might be asking what in the world is he gonna do next time Tammie flies that big jet plane? Stay tuned.

WE'RE LEAVING ON A JET PLANE AGAIN IN 5 DAYS!

2008-09-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been an incredible two weeks in GA. I got to spend that time with Nick, Amanda and 3 of our grandchildren. Lots of fun memories were made. God has certainly blessed us with fun loving and funny grand children.
I was able to watch the kids many times as Nick and Amanda were able to enjoy some time out doing stuff that normally is harder to do with 3 kids. Of course, I enjoyed every minute I was there playing with them.
Bryson started his first soccer season games while I was there. I will have a few pictures of that. Nick is also his coach. :) Bryson is getting the hang of the game and almost made a couple goals. OH SOOOO CLOSE! Zeke enjoyed cheering for his brother also.
Zeke had his 8 hour sleep test and they determined he does not have seizures. The first doctor had been treating him for that now they do not say he is having them, possibly migraine but Nick and Amanda are just unsure about it so they are getting 2 and possibly 3rd opinions. I am glad they are pursuing this. So please pray about this as those of us as parents hate to see our children go through any medical difficulties. It is only by prayer that we have the strength to go through these trials.
AJ is running all over. Needless to say, I slept very well at bedtime. She is a very pretty lovely little princess (so her daddy calls her) that is definitely a daddy's girl. It is so sweet. She reminds me of linus. Dragging her blanket behind her and sucking her thumb. SO SWEET!
I will have pictures to follow.
I even had the chance to go to Savannah with all the family and eat at "Lady and Sons" restaurant in Savannah, GA. This is Paula Dean's restaurant. For those of you who do not know her, she has a cooking show on TV. HEY YA'LL---you should be watching her and learning to cook scrumptious food. :) FOOD WAS OF COURSE FANTASTIC. EVEN HAD MY PICTURE TAKEN WITH HER (cardboard of course.) It was a very fun and enjoyable time.
The time went to fast and is always fun being with all of them. Lots of laughs from the boys but I especially will remember that every morning between 7 and 7:30 am Bryson would crawl into bed with me and then about a half hour later little Zeke would come out and crawl into bed on the other side. Now what meme wouldn't enjoy that? I remind you that these pictures of me in the bed with the boys is in the morning--we all know what we look like in the morning, right? I will always cherish those moments and memories. One day (and it will arrive to soon) they will be to big to do this so I will take every chance of it now.
Now that I am home in 5 days (Friday, Oct. 3rd) Kevin, Cristal and I will be flying out to SD to visit Cory, Shannon and our grandson Cian for 1 1/2 weeks. Cian will be turning one year old then. WE can hardly wait to see him (and of course his mommy and daddy also).
There will also be a picture of AJ experiencing her first lemon so I have her expression of that also.
As Shannon mentioned her in blog, please leave a comment because it is always nice to know that someone is reading our updates, even if it is a Hello! :)

I'm leaving on a Jet Plane!

2008-09-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow bright and early I will be flying the big bird to Rincon, GA. That is near Savannah. By noon time I will be enjoying the heat and probably more rain as in GA this is their rainy season.
A year ago at this time I was also down there to welcome our new grand daughter AJ who just turned one year old on Monday, September 8th. How times flY! (No punt intended).
I am thrilled to be going but while I am down there our grandson Zeke will be going through another longer sleep test to check on him having seizures. Please pray for him as they go through this once again. I know GOD--the great physician--can take this and have it completely gone so this is what I have been praying (if it be his will).
Also, when our sons started having our grand children we always said once they were starting in sports it would be neat to go and see them play in whatever they are in---WELL----believe it or not---that time has arrived. Can't believe it! So while I am down in GA for two weeks I will be able to take in some soccer games that Bryson is in. Cool, huh? To top it off, Nick is his coach. What a riot! I can't wait to take pictures of him playing. Unfortunately, Kevin is not able to go with me on this trip due to the fact that 4 days after I get back from GA, Kevin, Cristal and I will be flying out to SD to see Cory, Shannon and Cian for a week and a half. I can't wait for that trip either. Cian will be turning one also on October 11th. We love being grandparent but having them far away was not part of the deal. :(
So if you remember--pray for Zeke--pray for safety as I fly--and for safety for Bryson as he plays. I remember all the pains that Cory and Nick got while playing sports. EECCKK!

The finishing touches on our rock garden and a well deserved fun day at Frankenmuth

2008-08-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

The first 4 pictures show our fun day at Frankenmuth. There was a chicken shaped shrub, then Cristal on the carriage ride along with Kevin and I in the other picture pulled by horsepower named GUS. The last picture is all of us standing by Gus. The day was beautiful and very enjoyable. Of course, we ate the famous chicken dinner, shopped the shops, and walked a lot.
The last few pictures are of our mostly finished rock garden that is in our front yard. We will continue to add flowers and shrubs as time goes on. We put the wrought iron fence up along the driveway and it completed the look. We are enjoying it a lot. We bought a big bird feeder that we now have to add to it. We enjoy watching hummingbirds, finches, chickadees, cardinals, doves, titmouses, blue jays, gold finches and some that we don't know are coming. We have pesky squirrels that like to enjoy the bird food so we are finding ways of getting rid of them because they eat up the food and the bird feeders themselves. Pesky things!!

He ain't Moses but it is a burning bush :)

2008-08-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

Kevin decided that taking this picture of him posing as Moses with his (shepherd's rod- in his hand) but he is standing in front of our new burning bush we just planted in our rock garden. We now have it completely covered where we wanted the rocks at and have started planting some of our bushes and flowers. We have some black-eyed susans planted, we will be planting a couple Hydrangea plants tonight along with some ornamental grasses and a Hyssop plan. We also have some miniature trees to plant, four of them to be exact. We will have many more to plant as we decide what we want because eventually we will have it full of beauty along with the blessings of many birds flying in and out of the 3 or 4 feeders I will have available when finished. So I will share the few more picture of our front rock garden and hopefully more in the future.

ANNIVERSARIES AND BIRTHDAY

2008-08-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

August is a very busy month for us as both our sons were married in August. On August 7th, Nick and Amanda celebrated their 9th anniversary. Nine all ready! They were able to go to Savannah and stay in the Hilton and do some tourists stuff. They had a good time. God has blessed us with great daughter-in-laws. Amanda is a very loving and patient wife to Nick and they both have a heart to serve the Lord by working with the youth group at their church called Rincon Baptist Temple Church of Rincon, GA. They have blessed us with 3 wonderful grandchildren, Bryson, Ezekiel and AJ.
On August 25th, Cory and Shannon will be celebrating their 2nd anniversary all ready.
They live in Spearfish, SD. So far away, but I am thankful for the web cam. They are planning on taking a day trip (which I am so happy they can do). Shannon is experiencing the morning sickness stuff so her days are always uncertain, so I will be praying for a great day that they can enjoy. At the same time of celebrating their anniversary Shannon will also be celebrating her birthday that same day. Remember Cory? HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANNON! God has been working in their lives as well as finding a good church that they enjoy. They have one now but are considering another one in a different city so we are praying for that also. Shannon is such a loving wife and cares for Cory deeply and they have blessed us also with a very funny little grandson Cian.
Dad and I wish you all many many more HAPPY ANNIVERSARIES together! (and many Happy Birhdays, too.)

A Little Fair Fun

2008-08-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

This week has been the Midland County Fair. We go every night to have our supper and then just hang. We watched the animal auctions on Thursday which is always interesting to see how much people spend for animals plus we had some friends their with pigs and wanted to see how much they got out of auctioning their pigs.
Anyway, I took a few pictures of the highlight I thought which was three bears doing some tricks. They were fun to watch.

OUTDOOR PROJECTS UNDERWAY

2008-08-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

These last couple of weeks Kevin and I have been working outside getting some projects started and completed. Projects that we have been wanting to do and FINALLY got up and started them due to the fact that fall weather is creeping around the corner plus in a couple months I will be having my surgery and won't be able to help out with much.
One of the first projects was to bury our downspouts under ground making the yard easier to mow plus look nicer. Kevin rented a ditch witch and dug 3 trenches. The longest in the front yard with 2 on the side of the house. They are now buried and covered. Praise the Lord!
Now------We have talked about making a rock garden in the front yard for a couple summers now so guess what? We finally started it because doing the trenches it left dirt on the yard so we thought this would be a good time to start the rock garden/yard in the front. Our plans became a larger version of a rock garden but once we lined it out with larger rocks we finally decided on what we wanted so we started up next to the house and planted some new mums and started covering the yard with stone. The layout we have will go to the edge of the driveway clear down to the edge of the street. We will have plenty of things to display in the garden like, bird baths, bird feeders, small shrubs, medium shrubs, unique type statues that have yet to be found. As we further the project we will show the pictures but I will share what we have now.

Mackinaw City Getaway

2008-07-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I finally had a chance to get a way for a weekend so we headed to Mackinaw City. I have always loved going there. It's fun just walking to everywhere.
We did some metal detecting (found a few coins but no diamond ring---rats!) Anyway, it was fun walking the beaches, the souvenir shops, looking at the beauty of the island and Mackinaw Bridge. We went to the Mill Creek Historical Park and walked a couple trails there, seen some history, and Kevin got the chance to ride a zipline. Following this you will see a video of that.
On Friday evening a terrible stormed rolled in that only lasted a few minutes but it was quite intense so I put a picture of it with a video also. Then a few minutes later the sun came out and we had a beautiful evening that came out with a double rainbow. It was so vivid. It actually looked like a sphere instead of a rainbow. It was awesome!
The evening ended with a laser show right in the heart of Mackinaw City Crossings Mall. Always enjoyable.
On Saturday we had a family reunion to go to and it was a beautiful day for that. We had to travel about an hour away for that but the park, food and fun was worth it. Always good to see family that you only see once a year.
It was a good time for Kevin and I and really wasn't ready for it to be over.

A mirage of pictures we forgot we had on our phone cameras

2008-07-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

First two pictures are the cousins first meeting at the airport back in April.
Third picture is Bubba's swollen eye he had gotten while at meme and papa's house. He has tree bark flown into it and rubbing it had scratched his eye. I was so sad because papa had to take him to the ER. This was the morning after.
Fourth picture is Cristal and Bubba shooting targets at Chuck E. Cheese's.
Fifth picture is Bubba (Darth Vader) and brother Zeke.
Sixth picture is Lou E. Loon and me at the Loon's game. They won. :)
Seventh picture is the Blue Man Group that Kevin and I went to back last November.
Eighth picture is watching for Nick and family coming off airplane. We spotted the boys and they came running. :)
Ninth picture--look at the tower of onion rings at Red Robin Restaurant.
Next two pictures are everyone meeting babies and cousins for the first time at Detroit Airport.
Last two pictures are of Zeke at Chuck E. Cheese. His best friend is Chuck E. Cheese
Lots of memories that we forgot we had on our phone cameras.

Beauty of Flowers

2008-07-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of the flowers in my back yard. Thought I would enjoy them with you. My picture of my trumpet vine is over taking the corner so it needs some trimming which it has all ready had one all ready. I was hoping for some flowers on it this year but didn't happen. It's pretty to look at anyway. My Hollyhocks are standing tall this year for some reason. My fence is 6 ft. tall and they are probably another foot taller. Crazy!
The tiny pink flowers are from my carpet rose bush which they are all bloomed out and they stay this way all the way through Fall.
Our corner spot has all kinds of beauty growing mainly in the later summer and fall. There are 3 different kinds of Hosta Plants, lilies which are finished now but the one orange one I took a picture of, there are snowcrops which will bloom in the fall a dark red color, there are 3 Jacobs Ladders , buttercups which are a brilliant yellow but I didn't get a picture in time of those some ferns that are growing in the far corner some mum plants and I even have some wild stuff going on in there.
The little bell shaped flowers are from my Hostas Plants. Lots of those.
There are two pictures of up close to my Hollyhocks.
Hope you enjoy. I love doing flowers and feeding birds. If I can catch a few bird pictures maybe that will be next.

NEW LIFE

2008-07-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

This last week I had the privilege to go to our church camp (Bethel Youth Camp in Hawk, MI) and work in the kitchen. I really did enjoy myself but needless to say, it was very tiring but it was well worth it. In a couple of my pictures you will see a nest with 3 baby birds with their beaks wide open waiting for their mommy to come along with more food for them to eat. These pictures reminded me much of the reason we were at camp. We prayed for new life, for souls to be saved and with much excitement we had 8 souls saved. These little birds remind us of new life. They were getting ready to spread their wings to fly, waiting for momma bird to feed and teach them. These birds are starting a new life just like the 8 souls that were saved but their lives will live eternal lives. Working in a hot kitchen, sweating in the humidity all the sore achy feet really made it worth it all knowing that we were actually a part of these life changing decisions that were made.
There are just a couple pictures of the camp itself which lays in the middle of no where and is beautiful and peaceful (that is when the campers weren't screaming with excitement from all the games and contests going on).
It really was a very blessed week and I had a riot working with the ladies in the kitchen. You can't work in a kitchen full of women and not laugh a lot. :)
There is one more picture that I thought I would sneak in of my mom, sister Donna, Cristal and me together during the 4th of July picnic that we held at our church. We all wore red, white and blue that day.

Day of celebration

2008-07-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

Well, can you believe that the 4th of July is gone all ready? But the weekend still goes on. It's been a beautiful week for fun and weather. Yesterday we were able to gather with family. We enjoyed it a lot but we sure missed our kids in Georgia and South Dakota but Praise the Lord we were able to talk to all of them by way of web cam. What a great invention!!!! I put together a mish mash of pictures and a couple videos of the Midland Fireworks. Their is a picture of me (Tammie) with my flag jello cake missed out Nick :( another picture of all of us on the back deck playing some yard games, a picture of Ashton (grandson of Kevin's brother Steve) holding a frog that he had a great time with, a picture of the group of us sitting at the Tridge grounds waiting for the fireworks to begin. Our group for the day and evening were mom and dad Booth, Dad Church and wife Marilyn, Marilyn's son Victor, Donna and Bill and grandson Darren, Cristal, Uncle Clark, Kevin and I. Of course, we ate good food all day long and it was a good evening.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE AND OUR NIGHT OUT AT THE LOON'S GAME

2008-07-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of us at the Loon's game that we went to last night (Thursday). We started the night out by eating at Daddy-o's Diner downtown. Then we headed to the Dow Diamond for a baseball game between the Midland Loon's and the Dayton Dragons, well, not realizing they were playing a double header due to a rained out game the night before our game was scheduled to start at 7:05 and when we got there they were in the 3rd inning of their make up game so needless to say it was a long night but praise the Lord the weather was nice. The loon's won their first game and then our game actually started at 8:55 pm. We had the pleasure of watching two games for the price of one. There are a couple pictures of the stadium and one of us sitting there. Then a couple pictures of the scoreboard. The one says the Loon's won because they actually won both games. One picture is of Lou E. Loon mascot. To top off the night they had fireworks at the stadium after the game was finished. COOL!
As the evening got later it did get a little bit chillier so we had our hoodies and blankets and while we were waiting for Kevin to take a couple pictures Cristal and I gathered around the fire pit they had going at the entrance of the stadium. That was neat---all we needed then was a stick with a hot dog and the makings for smore's. It was an enjoyable evening.
Today we will gather with family and have a grill out (at our house) then tonight we will head to the Midland fireworks. I will post pictures tomorrow of our fun today.

This and That

2008-06-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today is a beautiful day(Sunday)so as Kevin and I are sitting out on the deck we decided to update the blog starting with a picture of one of our many recent storms. We've had lots of rain, nasty lightning, wind and thunder. Seems like one of these blow up everyday or so but some are pretty awesome for Kevin to watch (not me).
Another picture is of our YUCCA plant that blossomed for the first time in 5 years. This neat plant was given to us by Kevin's mom and dad.
Now it seems like we are proudly supporting the state of Georgia bulldogs flag given to Kevin for Father's Day from Nick and Amanda and family. Hey Cory? We would support South Dakota also--Do you know if they have a flag? :)
The next picture is of Kevin's red Bricklin. Please pray that this would sell this week so he can get underway with restoring the orange Bricklin and the Crosley hotrod.
The week of July 7-11 I (Tammie) will be going to our church camp to help cook in the kitchen. Crazy, huh? So I am praying for cooler weather because I understand the kitchen has no AC. Hey Nick, do you have any advice how to survive up there without internet? I will have my phone so Lord willing I can be reached so keep in touch with me everyone.
This last weekend has been a mix of emotions due to a funeral on Friday and then a wedding on Saturday but the Lord blessed them both in different ways. Kind of like some endings and beginnings so to speak.

ANOTHER MAN'S JUNK IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

2008-06-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

This has been a very busy weekend for Cristal, Kevin and I. We decided to have a garage sale. Man---that takes a lot of work to get ready for one of those but it paid off.
It is amazing that what we consider junk---you put a price on it and it sells. AMAZING!
I am really glad it sells though because I like going to garage sales also. Something that you are ready to toss and people like buying it. Cool!
I would consider our garage sale was very successful in getting rid of a lot of stuff.
I was glad really to see that it will give other people pleasure in what they purchased. With all the flooding out west recently the Red Cross is hurting for donations of clothing so guess where I am taking mine. We had 4 big bags of clothing left (I am sure there would of been double that to begin with) so we are going to take them to the Red Cross. They have been asking for donations of clothing because their supply is getting low so help them out and take your donations of clothes to the Red Cross.
We can show our support for these people that are suffering right now and loosing so much. For those of us who are not affected by these floods, let's remember to pray for them and support them. Some day we, ourselves, might have to rely on someone to help us out.
GOD is my main support but we need to show that through our actions also when someone needs some help.

A GODLY FATHER HERITAGE

2008-06-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.
I was very blessed to be raised in a Christian home with a Christian father. At times as I was growing up I am sure I didn't seem blessed but now as an adult and a parent myself I can look back and say I am very THANKFUL for the earthly father that I was given from my HEAVENLY father. Thanks dad (and mom) for raising your 6 children in a Christian home. GOD bless you and all the father's out there celebrating this day.
I also am very blessed to have a Christian husband who is a great dad to our 3 children. Thanks Kevin for always supporting me and the kids, for making us feel important, loved and well cared for. I hope you have a great father's day.
All of us love you Kevin. God has blessed us a great deal with a very loving and caring family who love the Lord themselves. I know we will see all of our children in Heaven one day when the Lord returns for his great FATHER'S DAY. We pray everyday for our grandchildren to know their heavenly father one day soon.

Results of Zeke's test

2008-06-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, June 10th Nick and Amanda had to take Zeke in to see his neurologists. Their first phone call telling them to bring him in on Tuesday was very stressful. They didn't say anything except to bring him in. That's it so like the humans we are we all became very worried about what they might of found on his MRI. We all know that GOD has full control of every situation we face but we also know that through trials like this it should bring us closer to him. For me, it certainly does. Prayer is the ultimate.
Well, later on that day Nick and I were discussing the possibility of me staying down there another week. I couldn't leave on the day that they were taking him back to the neurologist especially when they called and told them to bring him in. (Thinking it is very serious, at this point) while talking things out the office called again telling us that Zeke's MRI was normal. What a relief!!! You know, you always start thinking bad things (because they won't tell ya over the phone) They found sinusitis was all but they didn't have the results of the EEG he had on the Monday before. Well, knowing that the MRI was normal, I decided to come home to Michigan.
The appointment turned out telling them the results of the EEG. It turns out that our little Zeke is having little seizures. The only reason they have been having him checked out is because for the last year he complains of his right eye hurting. They have had his eye checked--it is fine---they took him to an allergist and had him tested which showed allergies to dust mites (I think everyone has that at some point)
well, nothing has really improved his pain so the neurologist was next.
Now Zeke is taking seizure medication. It is one that they increase after a week for the next 3-4 weeks reaching the full amount they want him at.
MY PRAYER REQUEST FOR ZEKE IS: Pray that this medication works for him and gets rid of the pain, that there won't be any side affects and that he will take the medicine without fighting against it. Apparently, it taste horrible which would make it easier to give if they could improve this when it involves children.
ZEKE--MEME AND PAPA LOVE YOU AND WE PRAY FOR YOU (as well as all our grand children) everyday.

Report on Zeke's medical tests

2008-06-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we are so thankful that this week of medical tests are over for our grandson Zeke. God was with the little guy through it all but it is still hard to think of the pain and scariness that he had to go through. He had a EEG, blood work, and yesterday was the MRI. That alone was a bad experience for him and more so for Nick and Amanda. I just give all the praise to the LORD for getting them all through it and now they will have to wait till June 30th for the results. One of the blood work results came back as low iron which he has always had an issue with that so they are working that out now.
Just pray that they can find an answer or some way to relieve the eye pain that Zeke experiences. Probably preventative medicine for migraines is what I am thinking.
Anyway, I (meme) have been down here in Georgia since May 28th to be here to care for Bryson and AJ so that the focus could be on Zeke. I have had a lot of fun with them all especially in the morning when Zeke and Bubba come and crawl in bed with me and we just stay there for a while just resting or talking. The greatest time of all. I will sure miss that when I fly back home on Tuesday, June 10th.

GOD ANSWERED ANOTHER PRAYER!!

2008-05-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

Back in February when Kevin had his back procedure done we thought it would be a good time to start filling out my forms for disability. Kevin was off for 6 weeks recovering (which by the way he is doing great). We printed off the forms from the internet and filled out each answer before we put them into the real form on the internet. Let's put it this way---there were numerous pages and they all seem to repeat. Anyway, when we were finished with that we started around 9 am filling in each form on the internet. Having the answers down all ready you would of thought it would of been a breeze, well it wasn't. We didn't finish until 10 pm that night without a break. We wanted to be finished with it totally. Needless to say, I had a terrible headache when we finished.
Before we finally were able to push the submit button we prayed.
This procedure can take 2-3 years to finish with all the approvals and usually visiting their doctors. Which usually end up with having to get a lawyer. We were not looking forward to it all but we felt we needed to give it a try.
On Friday, May 29th, we received news that they actually approved it all the first time around. WHAT A BLESSING! No hassles, no other visits and especially no lawyer.
In the next two weeks we will find out what my limit is and when it will start. We pray that we will also get back pay from when I quit working. That would be cool.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this blessing. It was all approved in 3 months instead of 3 years. :) That is the power of GOD to intervene like this.

HEADING TO GEORGIA

2008-05-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

I am flying to Georgia again tomorrow morning bright and early. I have to leave around 3:30 am. Need to get to bed early.
I will be heading to much warmer weather though. Tonight we actually have a frost/freeze advisory----it's almost June.
Memorial Day was really nice weather wise, But a cold front came in through the night. I know it is quite warm in Georgia which I will have to get use to. Going directly from cold to hot takes the body a while to adjust. It will feel nice though.
I will be taking care of the kids while Nick and Amanda go on a youth activity for a couple days and then the first week of June Zeke has some medical tests to go through so I am asking for your prayers in behalf of Zeke that he will go through these tests fine. Especially pray for his mommy and daddy because as a parent myself and having gone through many things with my own children it is hard to see your children go through rough situations---young or old.
If I have time I will try to update while I am there but believe me I will be busy and I am looking forward to every minute of it. I am so blessed to be able to play with and see our grand children.
I miss our grandson Cian who lives in South Dakota but I am making a trip out there also at the end of summer or maybe sooner. I might have to make a trip out there by myself while Kevin works but we both will be going out in late summer. He is growing so fast.

May 23rd, 2008

2008-05-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

One year ago this date I had my second part of my DBS surgery. The brain surgery was first and then one week later I had the neurostimulator put in. ONE YEAR TODAY. How ironic, that today I also had my appointment with the surgeon to discuss having surgery again for the tremors in my left hand. Many thoughts and thinking has been laid on my shoulders once again.
Do I want to go through it all again? Do I want to suffer the tremors for years again? When should I have it done? At this point, I have an advantage because I WON'T be going through all those nasty drugs again. PRAISE THE LORD! We know the surgery works. I don't like the tremors and to know I can be tremor free and much earlier this time is good but it still don't make it easy to think about it all over again.
I don't feel like missing another summer and not be able to enjoy it like last summer so I am thinking fall time or so when it is cold and miserable outside and I don't like going out when it is cold anyway so maybe then. It is all up to me so this is a huge prayer request. That I would know the correct timing from the Lord to pursue this big decision.

HAPPY 49TH BIRTHDAY KEVIN!

2008-05-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today is Kevin's birthday. He has almost reached the half a century year old mark (which I have all ready done). I believe Cristal and I will take him out for dinner and a movie. We will probably go see the new movie Narnia-King Caspian. Love these movies.
I love you very much Kevin and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!!!!!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY / PARKINSON'S OR ESSENTIAL TREMOR

2008-05-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

ESSENTIAL TREMOR

One year ago I had a very scary thing I had to face. I was scheduled for a DBS. This means Deep Brain Stimulation. For 6 years I had suffered with tremors on the right side. It was a very trying time not really knowing if I suffered with Parkinson's Disease or not. During this trying time many doctors weren't even sure so I was given many many strong medications to see if any of them would take care of the tremors. NONE OF THEM DID! It really made things worse and the pain and then I had problems with my toes curling which was a side affect of the whole thing. We didn't know what to do so finally I had to consider this newer surgery where they drill into your brain and place an electrode in the left side of the brain (which controls the right side of your body). A week later I was scheduled for another surgery which was to have the neurostimulator out into my left side of my upper chest kind of like the placement of a pacemaker. It took longer to heal from that then it did the brain surgery.

Anyway, the surgery was a success and my right side is tremor free when I turn the stimulator on. I turn it off at bed time which preserves the battery life. This can last any where from 3-5 years (hopefully 5 or longer) and then I have to have a new one put in.

It has been a good year finally having it under control. The Lord gets all the praise and glory for everything. I had much support and most important many many prayers. I couldn't of gotten this far without any of them and they were coming from all over the country. What an encouragement to know that anyone, anywhere in this world we can pray to our Lord Heavenly Father and know that he hears each one of our prayers. He has such great healing power.

I would ask for your prayers again as now I am facing tremors on the left side involving my hand and fingers. I will be meeting with my neurologist next week for a check up plus discussing future possibilities of another surgery for the left side. I will also make an appointment with my surgeon to see what his opinion is. I am asking for wisdom and guidance as I will have to face this decision of when to have it.

GEORGIA TRIP & MOTHER'S DAY

2008-05-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, all the fun came to an end. On May 7th, Kevin and I had to fly back to Georgia with Bryson and Ezekiel. We didn't want to do it but we had to. It was fun flying on the airplanes with them. They made it interesting and they did great. They were excited to see their mommy and daddy and especially their baby sister AJ. They sure love their baby sister.
When they got back to their home their mommy and daddy had a couple surprises for them. One was the Mario Karts for their wii system and they had their pool set up in the back yard so later that afternoon we had to give it a try. Their best friend Ronnie was their to enjoy it with them as he missed them a lot and also came to the airport to see the boys get off the plane along with mommy and daddy. The boys were so happy to see their best friend also.
Kevin and I were introduced to the wii system while there and guess what? I am hooked. We are needing to get one now also. I loved the bowling game. We did some golfing on it also. It certainly get you to interact with it and move. Good exercising. Anyway, it was fun.
We had a great time as always and then I was able to go to a Mother's Day Luncheon with Amanda and her daughter AJ. That was fun. On Mother's Day we were able to go to a new restaurant in Georgia which was very good. The day started out with tornado warnings in their area but it cleared up in time to go to church. Went to lunch afterwards which the day weather wise ended up really nice especially when we had to wait out doors to get into the restaurant. It was a good day. I heard from all the kids and I am truly blessed. Thank you to each one of our children for all your love, gifts and cards. Just knowing that we have such a wonderful, loved filled, caring family is all that I need for any day. I love you all.
Our first day back in Michigan was nice which makes it a little easier to have to come home to. Kevin mowed the lawn for the first time this year and earlier today I went out and watered all my flowers and fed my birds which took about an hour today.
Well, just a few pictures to follow of some of the activities.
I thought it was so cute to---one morning I woke up and found Bryson sleeping with papa in the big chair. Having our grandchildren climb into bed with us is always a sweet memory. While the boys spent the week with us one morning I awoke with Zeke sleeping in my bed. Neat memories.

Bulldozers, Trucks, No Trees, Oh My!

2008-05-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Twenty-two years ago we moved into the city where we are now. Living at the end of a dead end street we were still surrounded by trees. The kids would ride the trails that were in the woods. Not much out in the woods but that is changing quickly. Unfortunately, the city has approved a business to build a 5,000 square foot warehouse right through our woods. :( Everyday now we hear them tearing down many trees and clearing it out. Now we can see completely through the woods to the rest of the buildings on the other side of the woods. It's so sad! I don't know why they have to build a new one because right next door there is another building completely empty.
Oh well.....Here are a few pictures of our woods now.

Zeke getting down with Alvin and the chipmunks

2008-05-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

videos of our family week together

2008-05-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

I figured out how to make slides so I have been practicing today. Hopefully, you can get an idea of how much fun we had together and the many things that happened and places we went. Their were kids everywhere and that is the way we like it. Having our children around us is precious and few. (Isn't that a song?)
Anyway, loving, kissing, eating, swinging, parties, eating, laughing, parties, eating (all right---you get the point, I think!)
We all had a great time and hope you enjoy watching the slides.
Remember, I am a amateur in making slides.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

OUR WHOLE FAMILY

2008-04-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

We had a very good friend of ours come to take pictures of our family while everyone was home. We have been having a blast with all of them home and of course, the grand children are fun to watch. The boys are reading to us now, their only 5 and 3. The babies are a riot to watch crawling all over the place and sometimes over each other.
We've had lots of food, fun, and never a dull moment. We sure will hate to see them go on Tuesday but looking forward to having Bryson and Ezekiel stay an extra week with us. :) Here are just a few pictures of our family. :)

The big Arrival

2008-04-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! Our Two sons Nick and Cory and their wives Amanda and Shannon and our four grandchildren, Bryson, Ezekiel, Arianna and Cian will be flying in from Georgia and South Dakota. It looks like the weather here will be nice for them to fly in. We are praying that the whole week will be nice as we have activities planned for outside but if it rains we have a big house. We will travel to Flint to pick up Nick and his family at 2:30. We will then travel down to Detroit to pick up Cory and his family around 6:30. We will drive two vans so we are going to have a full day plus a full week which we are really excited about. Kevin will have the week off for vacation :)
Cristal has not seen her newest niece and nephew yet so she is looking forward to that.
They are both 1 month and 3 days apart in age. Aj is 7 1/2 month and Cian is 6 1/2 months so it will be like having twins around. They are doing just about the same things right now. It will be loud, I think.
We just praise the Lord for them all. Please pray for their safety. The boys have been counting down the days of flying to meme and papa's house in Michigan.
TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it back to Michigan

2008-04-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sadly, we had to leave Florida and head back to Michigan BUT at least the weather was nice and enjoyable. Today was great also. I believe now we can safely say that winter has left us FINALLY! We hate snow--must be our age :).
Anyway, Cristal and I had a great time in Florida and enjoyed great weather, fun activities, good Florida strawberries and the famous Mike's banana split built for two. I will share a picture. We got to swim which was fantastic after the ton of walking we did in the amusement parks. I will share a few pictures with you of our trip.
Today it was great outside (75 degrees). WOW!!!! I got to go shopping and buy a bunch of hanging plants for my fence outback and a few for out front but I realized I need more that I had forgotten about. Last summer I was unable to have any flowers because of my brain surgery I had in May. The summer was used for healing and I really missed the flowers so I started much earlier this year and I am loving it. I will even start some of my seeds this weekend. Glad to be able to enjoy planting again even though I still have to be careful and I am limited but I will do what I can.
So now here are a few pictures.By the way, I seen some Brahma bulls so I couldn't resist a picture or 2 or 3 of them also. The first time I seen these kind of cows were on our honeymoon in Florida. How cool. That was over 30 years ago. :)

Our Florida Vacation

2008-04-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't have time to update before we left for our mother/daughter Florida vacation.
We flew down on Wednesdy, April 9th and we will be flying back on Thursday, April 17.
We've been busy but having fun. We've been to Busch Gardens twice, Sea World, Tarpon Springs for shopping and a cool boat tour, flea markets and lots of little things in between. The weather at first was hot and great. A cold front came in and the mornings are cold (turned on the little heater) but the day gets nice. It will get warmer tomorrow and then of course, warmer when we leave but we have been in the pool and that was great.
I have lots of pictures but I have not downloaded them yet because my sisters computer is dial up which takes a long time, so I will do that when we get home.
Just wanted to put a up date and let everyone know we are having a good time.
Looking forward to a week from today though because all my kids and grandkids are flying to Michigan for a week and we can hardly wait. I have 4 days after I get back to get the house kid proofed and ready to go. I am so excited and can't wait for it to arrive.
I will blog later about that.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG AND SO HAVE THE BIRDS

2008-04-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

WELL, YOU WOULD THINK THAT THE BIRDS WOULD LIKE TO EAT FROM THE BIRD FEEDERS BUT TODAY I CAUGHT ON CAMERA AND VIDEO DEER EATING MY BIRD SEED. ALL DAY I FOUGHT OFF THE SQUIRRELS AND THEN IN THE MID OF DAY WE LOOKED OUT AND THESE TWO DEER DECIDED TO GIVE IT A TRY. I HAVE DECIDED I MUST GET A HIGHER POLE WITH A SQUIRREL BAFFLE TO HANG MY OPENED BIRD FEEDER SO THAT I CAN ENJOY SEEING THE CARDINALS AND OTHER BIRDS EATING FROM IT INSTEAD OF OTHER PESKY ANIMALS. DEER ARE FUN TO WATCH BUT I DON'T LIKE HAVING THEM AROUND AS THEY TEND TO EAT MY PRETTY FLOWERS AS WELL. I AM HOPING TO PLANT PLANTS THAT I HAVE HEARD THAT DEER DON'T LIKE. I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW THAT TURNS OUT. IN THE MEANTIME, HOPE YOU ENJOY THE VIDEO. WE ARE STANDING ONLY ABOUT 20 FEET AWAY FROM THEM DURING THIS TIME. I DID CHECK THE FEEDER LATER ON AND HIS TONGUE DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF CLEANING IT OUT!!!

GETTING READY TO FEED THE CLAN!!!!

2008-03-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

In three weeks we will finally have the clan which is Nick, Amanda, Bryson, Ezekiel, Arianna, Cory, Shannon and Cian and our resident Cristal all home in Michigan for the first time in over 2 years that has happened. THEN---to have our newest grandson and grand daughter meet each other for the first time. AJ is 6 1/2 months and Cian is 5 1/2 months old. We are ecstatic to get them all here. As you can see we went grocery shopping today and it was reminiscent of days gone by when all our children were still at home and it would take two grocery carts to feed them. It was just like old times doing it all over again. We have enough food to feed a church army. LET THE BAKING BEGIN!
April 22nd they all will be flying in from Georgia into Flint and from South Dakota to Detroit so we will be driving here and there to gather them all together.
Please pray for safety and good weather (HA-this is Michigan?)

HAPPY EASTER

2008-03-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

What a glorious day! Easter brings out many Spring feelings, many Spring colors and most of all it brings out the remembering of our true Saviour who died on that cross and gave us eternal life. He died that we would have the opportunity to spend the rest of eternity in heaven with him and to do that we must ask Jesus to live in our hearts and I praise the Lord today and everyday that each of our children will be with us in heaven. our wonderful daughter-in-laws will be with us also. How much better can it get? My prayer everyday is for our wonderful Grand children, Bryson, Ezekiel, Arianna and Cian to truly understand this one day and give their hearts and lives to the Lord and serve him as their parents do. Papa and meme are praying for you little children each day. :)
We are also thankful for furniture! It arrived on Saturday so no more lawn furniture.
I have attached pictures of the furniture that the Lord has blessed us with.
I also am attaching some pictures of Kevin, I and Cristal together on Easter.
Kevin returns to work tomorrow so remember to pray for him still. He is doing and feeling great so far.
A big victory is that it is one week today that Kevin has not had to take a pain pill that he has had to do for the last 6 years. PRAISE THE LORD! GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS ALWAYS! We just have to be patient in waiting sometimes for his answers. I myself have been learning this for quite sometime.
God Bless Everyone!

WAITING FOR FURNITURE

2008-03-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here is Kevin relaxing in our lawn chair in our living room. I get to sit in the office chair. Tomorrow we are expecting all new living room furniture so we were able to donate the furniture we had to get prepared for the new to move in. We can hardly wait because these chairs are not comfortable. We thank the Lord for the supplying of new furniture.

Church Look-alike Meter

2008-03-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Church Look-alike Meter

2008-03-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Church Look-alike Meter

2008-03-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family history research - Lineage

Church Look-alike Meter

2008-03-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free family tree - Family reunion

Where is Spring?

2008-03-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

The winter of 2007-2008 will be long remembered as one that would never quit! For a week now we have actually gone without receiving snow. :) I think we will actually have a heat wave this week--around the mid 40's. Out in Spearfish, SD I have noticed they are in the 5o's. What? It sure seems backwards BUT we have had sun everyday :) so I praise the Lord for that. Little by little, we can see the snow trying to melt.
Six weeks from today ALL of our children and grandchildren are flying to Michigan for a week. Kevin and I are so excited. The snow HAS to be gone by then so we can enjoy the warmth of spring. Please dear Lord let it be gone and warm. :) Our grandsons, Bryson and Zeke will be staying a week longer with us after their parents fly back home. Boy, are we excited. We will have two little babies to have around for a week to hopefully spoil some more. Our house will be full and busy but it will be filled with much LOVE and excitement.
Kevin will be returning back to work on March 24th. He has been doing great. Still has to wear the brace (he was looking forward to getting rid of it and bending) but the doctor said not yet. He will even wear it to work for a bit. He is getting out, will be getting onto the treadmill and the doctor even said swimming would be great for him. He is finally off tons of medicine that he had been on and doing good. He is still working on the sleeping area because his body is wanting more but he is working it out. It is good to see him back to himself. We praise the Lord for the healing that Kevin has had and will continue to receive.

UPDATE ON KEVIN

2008-02-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

Kevin has finally been up and doing things here and there. We needed a stronger pain medicine than what they started him on at first. It seems to be helping but he is still having pain and Lord willing that will go away eventually and permanently. Please continue to pray that this procedure he had will work. We are just glad that he is finally on the healing end of all of this. It is so snowy and cold outside that we just sit inside the house and watch movies together. I don't mind that but pray for Kevin's healing. I am putting a picture of one of his x-rays to show you what he had done. You will see a probe on each side of the disc that they use radio frequency waves to heat the disc and repair. We 're just glad it is over and pray that it will work for him.
Thank you for your prayers!

Kevin's procedure date

2008-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

For those who read our blog, I wanted to let you know to be praying for Kevin tomorrow--February 11th. He will be having a procedure called Transdiscal Bicupulasty.
He will have two different levels of disc (L2,L3) & (L4,L5). They will put in two prongs into each side of the discs and then they will use radio frequency to heat up the disc causing it to reform the disc repairing the tears and rips plus burning off the ends of the nerves there to rid of the pain. This is a fairly new procedure but there has been success with it. The only other option would be to fuse the disc together which is a very serious surgery and the very last thing they would want to do. So pray for him and the healing and that this would work for him. To be without pain would be a great thing. It has been two years now he has been dealing with this and meds do not help any more without making him like a zombie.
Thanks for your prayers.

Here we go again

2008-02-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

When will it stop? We are expecting over 6 inches today and I think we are all ready at that and it is continuing to snow with no end in sight. Sure would love to have some of that heat and sun in the south! :)

SNOW AGAIN!!!!!

2008-01-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Here we go again. Another three inches fell over night and it is still coming down.
Unfortunately, spring isn't close enough. :(

Cristal's 23

2008-01-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 21st, Cristal will be 23 years old. Where has the time gone? Our baby!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CRISTAL
We love you, mom and dad

30th Anniversary Announcement

2008-01-07T16:18:00.000-08:00

Rings of Love

2008-01-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

1-6-78
Old pictures.
Young Hands.
New love,new rings.
Can we make it?
With God we can.
30 Years.
New pictures.
Old hands.
Old love/new love.
New rings.
Can we make it?
Yes another 30.
With God we can.
Tammie, I love you.
Kevin

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

2007-12-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that 2008 is just around the corner? Needless to say, it's been a year of many different happenings in our family. In January 2007, all our kids and grand kids were able to spend a couple weeks in Georgia and Florida. This was our Christmas gift to our kids. What a blast! Then we found out in January (while in Florida) that Nick and Amanda were going to have another baby (grandchild #3). Cory and his new wife Shannon (married in August of 2006 were there with us. A couple months later we found out that we were going to be grandparents again (grandchild #4). Cool, huh? On September 8, 2007 our first grand daughter Arianna Jane Church was born to Nick & Amanda. Then one month and 3 days later, October 11, 2007, Cory and Shannon had their first son Cian Andrew Church. I wish we could be grandparents every month. :)God has blessed us with 4 beautiful grand children. Bryson Church just turned 5 years old, December 27th, 2007. Ezekiel Church turned 3 years old last July. Nick and his family live in Rincon, Georgia where he is a youth pastor and Cory and his family live in Spearfish, South Dakota where he is a manager of a car dealership that his father-in-law owns. Cristal lives home and is working at JCPenney at the Midland Mall.
On May 16, 2007, I had major surgery here in Midland. I had what they call DBS surgery. Deep Brain Stimulation. I had tremors for 6 years (which they were doctoring me for Parkinson's) I do not have the disease and tried telling them that as for 6 years I was taking medicine after medicine that never worked. I finally was told that this brain surgery would be my answer which I can joyfully say it worked. I am typing this letter which was impossible to do for the last couple of years. At this point, I am doing great with operating the stimulator (which I turn on and off at night with a powerful magnet). I praise the Lord over and over for his healing power and for all the many people all over the country that prayed for me and my family during this very difficult time. Now I just have to deal with the other arm coming down with a frozen shoulder due to having to adjust to the stimulator being in the way but I have been getting use to its limitations but because of this my muscles have become frozen so getting a cortisone shot soon will relieve that hurt. It will always be an adjustment I have to live with but it has given me back much of my quality of life.
Now we are working on getting Kevin healthy again. For over a year now he has had terrible back pain. Now he has gone through many different tests and as of today he had what they call a discogram (very painful) but it will tell the doctors what the next step will be which we will find out next Friday, January 4th, 2008. All in all, it's been a year of many praises and a year full of ups and downs but GOD has always been with us through each one of them. We praise the Lord for our wonderful children that are serving the Lord and for the awesome grandchildren they have blessed us with. Having Cristal here during my recovery was a blessing because she was able to do many things for me that I was not able to. I didn't have to have anyone come in (outside of my family) to help me.
Mostly, I need to give many thanks to my wonderful husband for standing by me through all these years of going to doctors and other appointments. I love you forever.
I will be there for you throughout this new year with you facing uncertainties with your back.
What would we do without family and friends and mostly what would we do without GOD?
May you have a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

After Christmas fullness

2007-12-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Well, if you are like us you probably ate to much and feel like Santa Clause (a bowl full of jelly) :) Why do we always eat to much? BUT--we always enjoy our time with family celebrating Christmas. Our family enjoyed a quit little Christmas with just Kevin, Cristal and I and then later on Kevin's dad and Marilyn and Uncle Clark came for dinner and then my folks came later on in the evening as they had to travel around to celebrate with other members of the family. The day was busy but we had a very good holiday together. Now we can think about bringing in the new year of 2008. MORE FOOD!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

2007-12-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

The blessed season of Christmas is just around the corner. WOW! Kevin, Cristal and I would like to wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas. Let's remember the real reason for the season and that's the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord has blessed our family over and over through 2007. We have three wonderful children who have in return blessed us with 4 of the greatest grandchildren. May you all have a great holiday season and GOD bless you all.
We love you all and are very thankful for each and everyone of you.
Kevin, Tammie and Cristal

Can you beleive that Thanksgiving is over?

2007-11-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

It's unbelievable to think that the holidays are all ready here. Thanksgiving has arrived and has left us. We had a great Thanksgiving with Nick, Amanda, Bubba, Zeke and Arianna in Georgia, and by the way, it was much warmer there also. Nick decided to deep fry his first turkey for Thanksgiving. It was so tasty. Our trip down there was to also bring back yet another Bricklin that Kevin bought a couple months ago. We also enjoyed seeing our grandchildren. They are growing so fast and especially AJ as you can see by the pictures. Make sure you check out Nick's blog to see some new videos of the boys saying their Bible verses they learn every week in their home schooling. I trust all of you had a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING holiday.

BACK FROM SOUTH DAKOTA HEADING TO GEORGIA

2007-11-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

Can't believe it but the two weeks spent in SD is over. We had beautiful weather and unbelievable views of the black hills, Devil's Tower, prairie dogs, mountains, hundreds of deer and of course the main reason was to see Cory & Shannon and our newest grandson Cian Andrew. What a lovely funny baby he is. I will miss mostly the meme and Cian time we had. Every morning we would be up together alone to watch the sunrise come over the black hills. Every minute the beauty would change just like the growth of Cian would change before I would have to leave. The little guy grew so fast and how fun it was to watch him do so. Cory & Shannon you are very good parents to our grandson.
Believe it or not, we are getting ready to leave a week from tomorrow (Tuesday) to head down to Georgia. Yahoo!!!!! We will be spending Thanksgiving weekend with Nick, Amanda, Bryson, Ezekiel and Arianna. Can't wait to see them all especially our little AJ as she is 2 months old now. She is growing so fast. Check out the blogs for Nick and Cory to keep up with the events. Kevin and I are looking forward to another trip as we are driving down for this one and we are also taking my mom and dad with us so they can see where their grandson Nick and his family live and visit their great grandchildren.

visiting Cian

2007-10-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

Here is our little South Dakotan. What a blast we have been having with him and of course, Cory & Shannon. The mountains are beautiful and we were able to go to Devil's Tower. What an awesome sight! How can anyone say, "There isn't a GOD!" It's absolutely breath taking.
Cian is breath taking also. How alert - all the time. We are enjoying the time of spoiling him. He will be growing up so fast when we leave but he has great parents that will rear him with lots of love, care and memories. Like Nick always say, "they will have to degrandmatize" when we leave to go home. :)

Flying to South Dakota

2007-10-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here we are finally heading out to see our latest grandson Cian Andrew Church.
Today, October 25th, he is two weeks old. On Saturday, October 27th, we will be seeing him for the first time and we are so excited. The time we have to spend out there will be to short but we are going to enjoy every second that we can and cherish our time together.
Cian has all ready filled our lives with happy moments and I am sure he will
continue to do so. Our three other grandchildren living in Georgia have also
filled us with much joy and laughter. Praise the Lord, as grandparents, he has given us the ability to take advantage of being able to fly and travel to see
them all. Pray for our safety there and back.

The BIG 50

2007-10-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

I made it to 50! Half a century year old! Sounds nasty doesn't it? BUT I am so thankful to my Lord for his healing power this last year. I enjoyed this birthday much more than in the past because it was pain free and tremor free. I praise the Lord over and over.
Kevin & I had a great weekend together as we celebrated then as my birthday was in the middle of the week. We did a lot of shopping and Frankenmuth. It was a lovely day. Then Kevin surprised me again in the evening of my birthday with friends and family showing up to have snacks and cake & ice cream. It was a fun evening. Thanks to everyone that came. Thank you Kevin for being such a wonderful husband and standing by me through my surgery and recovery time. I love you!!!!

Cian Andrew Church

2007-10-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

He's here and boy are we excited. Cian was born on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 10:30 pm and is 20 1/2 inches long. What a beautiful baby boy. God has blessed Kevin and I with four beautiful healthy grandchildren. We have enjoyed being grandparents again the last two months. Infact, having a grandchild every month is quite fun. :) We will be heading to South Dakota on October 27th---13 more days. Can't wait!!! We are anxious to see Shannon's family and enjoy the birth of our grandson with them.
Shortly after we get home from SD we will be heading to Georgia for Thanksgiving to see Nick and Amanda, Bryson, Zeke and Arianna again. Our latest granddaughter. We miss all of them. So a reminder to all who read this please pray for safety for flying (SD) and driving (Georgia).

FALL HAS ARRIVED

2007-10-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable!!!!
It's hard to imagine but FALL is here although the heat this last weekend makes it feel like summer. It has been in the low 90's for October, Unusual.
Before the week is done it will feel like fall once again. In the 60's and maybe 70's. Any way, just wanted to share a couple pictures of my fall decorating in the front yard.

Our new addition to the church family

2007-09-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been an exciting month of September. Sadly to say, I am back in Michigan now, although, I did miss my husband and daughter while I was there. I had the privilege to stay with Nick & Amanda and the boys during the arrival of our new grand daughter Arianna Jane. I was there for about 3 1/2 weeks. Now I am home waiting the arrival of yet another grandson due in October. I can hardly wait to make that trip.
Our grand daughter is such a blessing and GOD gave her good health and she is doing great! She is a very content baby and very good.
Our grandson's Bryson and Ezekiel are so proud of their little sister AJ. They love to sing to her and help mommy take care of her.
Nick and Amanda are wonderful parents to their children and GOD has blessed them and us as well with three very healthy grandchildren.
WE ARE SO BLESSED!!!!

Georgia Peach

2007-09-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well, here she is. Our ittle Georgia Peach is finally here. She arrived on Saturday, September 8th at 1 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 8 ozs and is 19 inches long. Lots of dark hair which she got from her oldest brother Bryson. On her left eye she has a little birth mark which she got from her next older brother Ezekiel. They both had it in the same place. She is a joy to be around and so far so good with the sleeping and eating schedule. She is adjusting quite well. Lots of fun to see all the cute little dresses on her.

Zeke singing to AJ

2007-09-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

This was Zeke's first encounter with his new little baby sister Arianna Jane. He ran into the room, gave mom a kiss and hug, and then threw down his toys and put his arms out and waited to hold his baby sister. Listen to him as he sings her a song!

On the Road Again!

2007-08-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend we head down to Nick and Amanda's in Georgia. Can't wait to see everyone, especially Bubba and Zeke. Proud grandparents, can't ya tell!! I have to return on Labor Day to what else-labor, bring home the bacon, put the bread on the table, work for "the man", support uncle sam, well enough of that nonsense. Tammie will stay and help with the boys while little AJ arrives. She sure is lucky being a full time grandma(meme) and enjoys it very much. I'll go back down a couple weeks later. Hopefully AJ will be taking up residence in the nursery by then so I can see and hold her. Papa's first granddaughter. Do you think she will be spoiled? Yes, I think so!
Before you know it we will be heading out to SD to see little Cian. Nick and Cory's families are growing and Meme and Papa are prouder than ever. Cristal is doing great with her new job and we thank and praise God for all these blessings.

Once Upon a Cool August Morn.

2007-08-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I really hate to rub it in to all you sweltering southerners, but I will anyway. This is mid August and when we got up this morning it was around 57 degrees. Burr!! We lit up the chiminea, sipped coffee and munched on cinnamon rolls left over from the fair last night. It is unusually cool this weekend for August, but what a delight to just kick back, smell the cool air with a hint of burning pine, and watch the birds and squirrels go about their daily business. What a great morning, just to sit beside my love and enjoy life.

Midland County Fair

2007-08-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hey Bubba and Zeke,
Papa and meme went to the fair and we had remembered the fun times that we took both of you boys with us. Meme was able to pet a two week old miniature horse. I also petted my favorite baby calves and a huge black cow. The black and white bunny was so cuddly and adorable. We ate lots of fair food like cotton candy, elephant ears, ice cream, corn dogs and of course, the famous Omar's Cinnamon rolls. Those are papa's favorites. :) We had a lot of fun and the weather was perfect for the fair this year.

Us. The Beginning

2007-08-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

As we continue with our "beginnings" theme we thought you all would like a little bit of history. It was 1977, June, right after High School Graduation. I went to my best buds graduation party. I asked him who that girl was sitting on the couch. He said she was his cousin. What's her name? Tammie. She was sitting with his sister. She(Tammie) said to his sister, who's that? Kevin. Well like they say "the rest is history". We first met that day, and within the first week of dating, although we hadn't said anything to each other about it but we were pretty sure we would be seeing a lot of each other. Let's see, how about 30 years worth now. Well after our 4th week of dating we started talking about the "m" word. Yeah, marriage.
So, six months later we were married on a beautiful lightly snowing January evening. We honeymooned in Florida, and I don't care how old I get, the Magic Kingdom will always be a special place for us. We were young, but not foolish. We took whatever life threw at us and tried to make the best of it. "We" got pregnant early. Rats, no motorcycle trip to Niagara Falls, but we knew we were going to have a family to raise, and that's when it hit me like a ton of bricks. You see we weren't exactly living a "good" christian life, although we were going to church. What hit me was the fact that I , whether I liked it or not was going to be an "example". What were our children going to see in me, their "father". Wow what a responsibility. Well enough rambling on. God has given Tammie and I three beautiful children. And I believe I mentioned before that the boys have married beautiful christian ladies(we prayed for them since the boys were born) and are now giving to us beautiful grandchildren, to whom I again must be an example to. We are still praying that our daughter will find the christian man that God would have for her , but we know that will come in His timing. Wow what a life God has given to us. We've had our share of medical problems, heartaches, and tough life changing decisions. No, life is not always easy, but we look at the family pictures on the walls all around our house and say "thank you God" and good night.

sunflowers

2007-08-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

I planted sunflowers this year for the first time. How fun to watch them grow. My tallest one now is between 10.5 to 11 feet high. Unbelievable. The picture that you see has a bumblebee right in the middle of it. The span of this blossom must be close to 6 inches or more. They are all so tall that the neighbors are getting to enjoy them also. Have a great day.

We've only just begun.

2007-08-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, we've only just begun. Sounds like a song does'nt it. Actually we've only just begun this blog site. Inspired by the talent of our children(I say children but now they are having their own children-save one)although she has a dog so that might count some how. They have blog sites which keep us updated on day to day happenings and pics. We laugh, we cry, we have LIFE! and we LOVE! it. Well we will try our hand at this thing called the Blog.