Friends spend their "day in the city"!

Beth, Jan and I have been friends for many years. We share our joys, sorrows, successes, fun times, and lest I forget our weekly breakfast time. Every week we go out to breakfast at Sandi's. Two of share the veggie omelette and the other one (who we keep track of) orders off the menu. One of the highlights of our summer is spending a "day in the city". Every year one of us plans a day for the others (usually a surprise) and it is a special time together. This year, it was Jan's turn to plan so we began our day with a great breakfast at her house. Then we headed to get more beautiful by having a micro-abrasion at a salon in Cascade. It was a beautiful day, so we then drove to Rockford and shopped at all the cute shops. We had a great lunch at new restaurant, 110 Grill where we shared a bottle of wine and talked, laughed, and made new memories. We ended our day by stopping at McDonalds for some ice cream (I still think it is low-fat yogurt). We truly are blessed by our friendship and my prayer is that we will have many more years to plan our day in the city. Beth -- it's your turn next year!

Bittersweet times

The house is quiet - I can't say I like it much! After having the kids home for a month or so and trying to get back in a routine seems a bit overwhelming. The hustle bustle of the wedding preparations, rehearsal, wedding, seeing all the kids going back home was a bit emotional. I really enjoyed having everyone around! I am back to work, spending time with friends, going through all my mom's things - my mind has been stretched in many directions. I pause many times during the day thinking of Nick and Jenni and how supportive they were to me when my mom was so sick and dying. Still hoping that Nate and Brooke and Emily and Ben could have been here. We know that was not in God's plan - but I was very thankful that they arrived safely after traveling so many miles. Spending time with Hudson was time I truly cherished - he was the bright spot during such a sad time. Spending time with my brother, Tim during the funeral and during Emily's wedding will be a time I will forever treasure. Crying with Pam and her family and spending time with Aunt Wilma while reliving many great memories about my mom. It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends during the wedding and share our joy with everyone who came. It was a perfect day - God is good! Even though we all wanted my mom to be there, she was, even dancing)she ended up having the best seat in the house!
Then it is time to say good-bye - see you soon - to the kids. The time we had together was wonderful and I can't wait to see them again. God brought them all to their destinations safely and for that I am truly grateful! It is wonderful that we have a God that is with always during bad times and joyful times. Christmas will be here before we know it and we can celebrate family times once again! Thanks for everyone's prayers and well-wishes during the past several weeks. I love you all!

Enjoy the pictures!

Look what came UPS

Family times in Traverse City

Ben and Emily opening gifts and moving to Texas

emily and ben's wedding

Traverse City Celebration

Thursday, June 28 - the family all gathered in beautiful Traverse City to celebrate God's wonderful goodness and His wonderful creation! We began Thursday evening with relatives arriving from Lynden, Washington, Vineland, Ontario, New Orleans, Louisiana, NewPort Richey, Floriday, Houston, Texas, and of course Grand Rapids, Michigan. We had a evening of pizza, rum and cokes, beer, and great company! We caught us with our extended family and enjoyed meeting the new members of our family.

Friday we spent time getting our pedicures and manicures. We finished up some of the details of the reception. We had the wedding rehearsal and dinner (taco bar) -- it was awesome. We went back to our condo and had some margaritas with family and friends. We were all ready to call it a night to get ready for the big day tomorrow.

Saturday morning - everyone was busy - helping decorate the tent for the reception, getting hair done, getting the appetizers ready for the wedding reception. The skies looked cloudy and it did sprinkle a little. I tried not to worry about the weather - God's voice kept telling me "Trust Me".

It could not have been more perfect! The sun was shining, a light breeze that blew the streamers, and it was about 72 degrees. The groom was so handsome, the bride was so beautiful and the ceremony was definitely centered around our majestic God.

The reception was wonderful with grilled pork, potatoe salad, coleslaw, baked beans, etc. and lemonade. Brownies with soft serve ice cream and toppings were on board for a wonderful dessert. The dancing with friends and family was over the top.

We are very thankful for all our friends and family that could join us for this wonderful weekend!

Emily and Ben's Wedding

The beautiful bride!