H A L L O W E E N

Thanks to Meg & Kara, we veered from the norm this year and went to a costume party! It's not one of my favorite things, coming up with costumes. I was never good at it when my kids were little but it was fun and we had a great time!  Here are some of the characters who showed up:

Michael & Andi

 Collin, the cutest clown ever!

 Meg & Andi

 Kelly the Tin(wo)man

 Gabby the Scarecrow

 The Wizzard!

 Gordy the Roarin Lion

 The Wizzard & Dorothy

 Collin taking it all in...

 Andi & Gabby

 Gary & Meg. He was the moving man, another story for another day.

 We love our Gabby!

As much as I hate to post it, I was there as a pumpkin with a clown wig :)

Gigi, the friendly witch!

Madsy, our darling butterfly. She was extra sweet!

Nana the pirate with our baby butterfly.

Making memories, that's what it's all about. Fun times!!! Bring on November & December...

Fall, Football, & Family

I don't know anyone who lives in a four season state that doesn't love fall; so, stating the obvious, I LOVE fall!!! It is my favorite season. The cool temperatures are a welcome relief following summer. I love the change of color against blue, sunny skies. I picture God's paint brush bringing it all to be.
We also enjoy football, it is synonymous with fall. I've loved football since high school days when Barb & I were in 10th grade, Jan in 11th, and Ed in 12th. Ed was one of the quarterbacks on the undefeated 9-0, second in the State of Michigan, Lincoln Park team! Very exciting stuff every Friday night! Us girls were on the sidelines cheering... GO RAILSPLITTERS!!!  I played quarterback in the girls powder puff game, throwing the winning touchdown pass to my sis and go-to halfback. I don't know why they call it powder puff. It was rugged, cut-throat competition. I remember having lots of trouble walking up to the second floor at school the next day! But it was worth every sore muscle, especially because we won. I married a football man too. He played in high school and coached for nearly 20 years at the high school where he teaches. He's an awesome coach! The kids and I loved going to watch him coach and cheer on the Huron Chiefs.
So these are some of the things I love about and have memories of fall. Here are some pictures taken in our neck of the woods:

Heritage Park - Taylor, MI

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Del Webb Community - Brownstown, MI

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I went back to Heritage Park with Collin after our first sleepover on 10.8.10. Other than that, I am still working on getting fall family pictures. Why? Because fall is my favorite season and family is my favorite everything!

Sleepover

We had our first sleepover with Collin last night! It was not under the best of circumstances but he was great and I hope he will want to stay over again and again. Baby sister, Madelyn, has been sick all week with what was first diagnosed as chicken pox, but turned out to be something else. A terrible rash covered her sweet body. It was hard to see her that way other than the fact that her ready smile remained. After a second visit to the pediatrician and a 'wait and see' uncertainty, mom and dad made the right decision and took her to Children's Hospital for a second opinion. Peace of mind is a gift! We have decided that being grandparents in these situations is tougher than being parents because you aren't right there, you sit and wait for the phone to ring, and you pray. I wasn't surprised that a few hours went by with no word, figuring they could not get a cell phone signal or were still waiting. In the meantime, Collin played around, writing, "delivering" almost 50 pieces of mail, while Polar Express played in the background. Then came the next video "All About" The Ultimate Collection-Vol. 2. I am still asking myself why I ever bought it! It is "all about" boats & ships, cars, fire engines, trucks, and construction. Sound interesting? Collin thinks so and watched it for 3 hours until he FINALLY fell asleep at 12:30 a.m.!!! I never really told him he was spending the night, I wasn't sure how he would feel about that. There were a few "where's mommy" "I miss mommy, I love her" "I miss mommy and daddy," "I want to go home now," but no tears and he was easily distracted with other things. He must have thought this is one long evening! Papa went to bed at around 10:00 p.m. but I knew he went up to pray for his sweet girl. He was so bothered by her condition but knew she was in good hands on all accounts. I managed to have some quiet time to pray too so from the penthouse to the cellar, Madelyn was being lifted to the very throne of grace by us and others who knew. Shortly after, when the call came "she is fine" the first thing Papa said was "an answer to prayer."

Thank you Father that you never leave us, thank you that we can cast all our cares upon you, thank you for being the great physician, the God that heals, thank you that your yoke is easy and your burden is light, and thank you that the eternal God is our refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. Where would we be and what would we do without you. I'm so glad I don't need an answer to that.

"Look Grammy, it's morning" the first realization 

that he had stayed with us overnight :)

Friday morning in the Park:

City Hall Park in Woodhaven

Catching up with Mommy.

Heritage Park in Taylor

He said, "Sure I do!" when I asked if he wanted to sit on this bench for a picture :)  Good answer sweet boy!

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2

Remembering...

...eight years ago today. Remembering it as the saddest day of my life. Dad lost his battle against cancer. He fought hard for just over a year. It was heartbreaking to see him so ill, the one we all saw as so strong, so tough, so Dad. I will always remember his last words to me the day before he died, before he began to slip away from us. He said, "We all have to die, you just have to be ready." Those words bring me comfort to this day. 

Dad was a hard-working, hard-nosed kind of guy and proud of it. He loved all of us just as hard, to be sure. He was not a church-goer; when we went, it was with Mom. After finding the Lord myself as an adult, I tried to share the gospel message with Mom and Dad as often as I could, following the scripture that says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" and believing another verse that says, "My word will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." I remember a few conversations between just me and Dad. I always felt so inadequate but wanted the message to be clear. I remember telling him I knew I was going to heaven when I died, not because of who I was but because of Jesus Christ and who He is. I remember telling him that I wanted to know he would be there too. I don't remember if I said anything about being ready, but maybe I did. These conversations could be awkward, for sure, but I know in my heart he was glad that I loved him enough to share these important truths with him. So when it finally hit us that he was not going to last much longer and he uttered those words, "you just have to be ready" they were significant and meant something deep within my soul. Ironically, God used Dad's passing to bring Mom to Himself. Her grief and depression was met with God's mercy and love in a very big way. We are proud of the life she has made for herself since Dad died, although we know she still misses him every day, and so do we. 

I'm glad for the times we had together to talk about what is most important in this life; and the question to all of us that still begs an answer, "Are you ready?"

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 

While we were still sinners, Christ died for  us." Romans 5:8