Our year in Pictures

Our Christmas Letter

Dearest Family and Friends,

The Adams Clan wishes you and your families a very Blessed Christmas Season. We hope that you are enjoying all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon you this past year and are looking forward to the blessings of another year.

This has been an unusual year in the Adams' house. The winter began with the kids practicing for their Children's Theater production of HONK!Jr. It was a lot of work with long practices, but in the end they enjoyed it and would like to do another one soon. The final performance was in May and lots of family and friends came out to see our little froglets.

In early spring we got to visit Greenfield Village with Grandma and Grandpa Adams. We actually did this several times over the course of the year, but the spring visit was a Civil War reenactment. The boys even enlisted in the army and were mustered out on the field. Poor Daniel thought he was really joining the army. He had a very sad face as he and his brothers marched out onto the field for some practice drills.

In June school ended and VBS began. Joel and Ben Brenner came for their annual visit while Mark and Renee went to Mexico for their 10th Anniversary. Lucky them!!! We had a great week with the boys. It is always fun having 5 boys and 2 girls in the same house for a week. It is true what they say though, after three or four kids the more you add it isn't really any harder, just louder!!

In July Grace, Sarah and I traveled with my mom and dad to North Carolina to see cousin Amy get married. We had a great time. The girls were great in the car and for the whole trip. Grace pretty much lived in the hotel pool and Sarah and Peyton, my niece, were joined at the hip! This was a trial run for our big family trip to Florida this coming June. I can't wait to write about that in our next Christmas letter.

August was quiet, but September brought big changes. September 1st we moved into a rented home in Hillsdale so that the church could handle some major repair issues at the parsonage. The rental house was big, beautiful, and temporary. We moved back to the parsonage on October 25th. On October 27th Doug received a call to be the sole pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Britton, Michigan. After several weeks of heart to hearts with God, Doug accepted the call. So, November 23rd was Doug's last Sunday at St.Paul's in Hillsdale. We moved into the Emmanuel Parsonage on December 5th and Doug's installation was December 14th, just in time for Christmas. We have hit the ground running here, but are excited to see what the Lord has planned for us in this place.

We are all still occupied with our old hobbies too. Warhammer for Doug and the boys, violin for Grace and just being kids for Daniel and Sarah. I keep busy keeping everyone else busy and I find time to read an occasional book or surf the web. We look forward to hearing from all of you. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord!!

Blessings to you all,
Doug, Robyn, Grace 9, Nathan 8, Jacob 8, Daniel 5, and Sarah 3!
10925 Welch Rd
Britton, MI 49229

Offline

We will be going off line for a while. The new parsonage doesn't have internet yet. It is in the works. In the meantime I may find free wifi somewhere to keep you all posted. The movers will be here at 8am. Keep us in your prayers.

Our new address is 10925 Welch Rd. Britton, MI 49229
our cell phones will stay the same. Hope to talk to you all sooner than later.

Installation is Sunday December 14 at 3pm with dinner to follow. Please call the cell if you are planning on attending!!

We love you all!!

Blessings!

Some Thoughts

Tomorrow is election day. Are you voting? If you are registered you should. I will be. This is an important election. So much is riding on whom we put in office tomorrow. I won't give you my speech as to who you should vote for or why. Just vote. Oh and check out the "It's Time for More Coffee" blog. Interesting, very interesting.

Do you Facebook? I have caught the bug. I find myself checking my profile for updates at least three times a day. I call it a little mini reunion each time I log on. I have caught up with some dear high school friends and have been able to stay in touch with college friends too. Honestly, some of them I never would have seen or talked to again with out Facebook. Not that I didn't want to but I had no way of finding them to make contact. Facebook has given me that opportunity. It is exciting to see what everyone is up to and how we have all changed. Although I don't think we have changed as much as we think. Facebook has even given a forum to a group of College kids from our congregation in Hillsdale to petition Doug to stay at his call in Hillsdale. That brings me to my third point of the night. Oh and by the way, if you aren't on facebook yet, you should be. I would love to catch up with you there.

Doug received a call to Emmauel Lutheran Church in Britton Michigan this week. He has a few weeks to make a decision. We have looked over all the documents they have sent us and we plan on visiting this week sometime. They have a growing ministry in an area of the state that is growing. It is about 20 minutes south of Ann Arbor. Other neighboring towns are Techumsea, Dundee and Saline. It has a parsonage too. All of which will factor into Doug's decision. We have grown to love the people at St. Paul's and they us. Ultimately we know, however, whether we go or we stay, that the Lord has a plan for us and both congregations. He will provide for St. Paul's if we leave and he will guide Emmanuel to find the right pastor if we stay. He has a plan and we all need to remember that. Prayers are what is necessary now. Not selfish prayer, but prayers of thine will be done. Trust that the Lord will do what is best for all concerned, even if it doesn't look like it in our sinful eyes. Those are the hardest prayers to pray, I know, believe me, but isn't that what we want in the end. Imagine the world if we always got our sinful way.

No pictures tonight. My camera is broken and there is no where in Hillsdale to have it fixed. You can check out Aftermath for some good pics from this summer. Dad has made another great musically inhanced slideshow. Blessings all!! Spell check didn't work. Sorry for any spelling errors.

"Shut the Damn Door!"

Of all the things I worried about my kids picking up from watching Harry Potter movies, this was not one of them. I worried they might think magic was real. That there really was a Hogwarts or any number of other things. I did not, however, forsee the three year old picking up this obscure quote in the middle of the third movie. Maybe she picked it up because when I slip this is one word I use, more often than I care to admit. And add that to the number of times I am telling kids to shut doors around here, maybe that is why it stuck. Whatever the reason Sarah now says that phrase whenever she wants someone to shut the door. Cute? Not really, but as bad as it is, technically, it is funny. Can't you just here her screaming at an Elder at church to "Shut the Damn door?" I pray that never happens, but I would probably laugh before I punished her. :-)

A Job Kinda Day

Have you ever had one of these? Where everything seems to go wrong and nothing can go slightly right? I would have to put today into the category of a Job day. And I guess it started a few days ago. We moved back into the parsonage on Saturday. It started out great -- no rain, which was good because it had a 40% chance. The move went well too, but in the end we had did it backwards. Doug and I very tediously marked each and every Rubbermaid or box with the room it went it and then stacked them in the garage or near the front door. We also took apart all beds in order to make the move smoother. Well the Rubbermaid's went over first and then there was no room for the furniture. We had loads of great help and were done in mere hours, but we are still sleeping on mattress on the floor because the beds aren't up yet because we can't empty the buckets and boxes fast enough.

That first day we killed two dozen bees. Yes, bees. We have a nest in the attic and the walls. Since it was the weekend the bee guy didn't come until today, but that is for today's story. I bleached each bathroom on Saturday too, which is about all we had time for before we were off the Oktoberfest. We had a great time playing the games and singing. Pastor Johnson and a few friends played in the oompa band. The kids love it. We do the same songs every year. Their favorite is the one they sing in German and hold up signs for the new verse repeating each one before adding the new one. The kids scramble to be the ones to hold up the sign. It is more fun to be at the beginning than the end cause you get to do it more!! The other hit of the night, the one they wait all year for, is the Ziky zaggy (forgive the spelling I spelled it like it sounds) It is a German toasting song. Ziky, Zaggy, Ziky Zaggy Oi, Oi, Oi! Probst!!! They love to hold up their glasses of Root beer and toast along. The night ended earlier than usual, about 7:30 but that was ok by us, we were tired.

Sunday, we had church, thankfully I had set aside church clothes for everyone and no hunting was involved. Breakfast was leftover donuts from the move. No milk or cereal made it over from the rental. After church we had yet another fast food meal, can't remember what now. Then Doug was off to Salem in Sturgis for a Reformation service held at a church with 14 members. LONG DAY!!! Once home we made sure we had uniforms and homework for school, which we did, barely.

Monday, today, was CRAZY! Kids were up a little later than usual at 6:45 and we big folks didn't climb out of bed until the little ones did. Breakfast was cereal, which had made it's way here somehow on Sunday. We were running behind so we took our time and the kids got to school by 8:35, only 20 minutes late. They didn't have lunches though. No lunch food at the parsonage. I went home, moved some stuff around, planned the day then went to get lunchables for the kids at school. I shopped at Market house at 10:50am, debated whether to get McDonald's then or wait. I waited. At 11:20 I dropped off the missing lunches at WCA just as the Dial a Ride bus was picking up Daniel from Kindergarten. I beat the bus to the church by 2 minutes. I gathered Sarah and Daniel, went to McDonalds and came home. When we got there the bug guy was dropping bombs in the attic. We left, with Doug and spent the rest of the afternoon doing errands. Groceries, banking, mail, more stuff from the rental, phone calls and kid pick up were all done between 12:30 and 4:00pm. Once home we did homework, had Cavonies for dinner, not fast food, but not homemade either. Then bed for the kids and Internet for me.

A Job kinda day. Now God and I are gonna have a talk while a take an nice Long Bath!!!!

Thursday

I promised my sister that I would blog today. I don't have much to talk about though. I am not on my laptop so I have no pictures. I am on Doug's office computer which is painfully slow. I think it is dying. It is ancient, almost 8. I wasn't even sure I would be able to blog on it. I have yet to try to actually post this, so if you are reading it I guess I was successful. :-)

Let's see, an update might be in order.

On Sept 1 we moved from the parsonage to a rental home. Great house, all hard wood, pool table in the basement, yet in some ways not kid or family of 7 friendly. We are surviving and adjusting. On October 25 we will move back into the parsonage. It will have no visible mold, a new furnace, new wiring to the furnace, some fixed toilets, a new ceiling fan and other sundry repairs. Meanwhile, the kids are doing fine. Grace continues to play the violin and every one is doing well at school. Daniel loves Kindergarten and Sarah is the model Montessori student.

Doug and I are learning patience. Prayer is a constant source of comfort in our hectic lives.

We loved seeing everyone at the Block wedding and at the Wyckhuys one too. We wish you could have all seen the kids, but believe me we needed that night off!!!! The next big wedding is in June and we are bringing the whole clan! Can't wait to see everyone!

Well, I am off to pack and pray!! Love you all!

A New Beginning

A lot has happened since last we talked. It has been a hectic crazy beginning of the school year. I will try to update you without boring you, but bear with me, I tend to ramble!!

So my story begins a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.... Just kidding. It began with mold. Quite a bit, according to one test. Then we had a very sick winter. The furnace breathed it's last just after Easter and the Central Air smelled in July. So the congregation moved us to a rental in town. It is a beautiful newer home, with hard wood floors and lots of space. Three large bedrooms, everyone fits and we aren't on top of each other. The house is for sale ($265K) so we are keeping it clean in case it needs to be shown. It is easier than it sounds since we left a bunch of stuff over at the parsonage and the house has LOTS of closets and places to hide stuff. I like closets. It took us about a week to pack our stuff and mark it for the move. ( I used colored dots that corresponded to each room in the house) It took about 30 members 1.5 hours to move all the stuff that was going over to the rental house. Everything was "put away", as much as we could since we will probably be packing again at the end of October to move back to the parsonage, by Tuesday this week. Now we are working on keeping it clean and just figuring out life.

That all happened the DAY before school began for the kids. School. Grace is in 4th grade and has a new teacher, new to the school teacher. The twins are in 3rd grade and they have a new teacher too, not new to school, but new to third grade. Daniel has begun Kindergarten, he also has a new teacher, again not new to the school, but new to kindergarten. He also goes to Montessori school in the afternoon three days a week. Sarah has begun preschool. She goes 4 mornings a week. It is the same Montessori that Daniel goes to and is at the church, not church run, but at the church. All of the teacher changes took place on the Wednesday before school started. Daniel's Kindergarten teacher is Miss Smith and his Montessori school teacher is Mrs. Smith, very confusing!!! Such has been my life since school began. Don't even get me started about the schedule. WCA, the kids school, begins at 8:10 so I drop them off at 7:55. Sarah's doesn't start until 8:45 - I work on Nursery stuff at church until I can drop her off. Then Sarah is done at 11:15 and Daniel at 11:25. I pick up Sarah then Daniel then drop Daniel off and take Sarah home for lunch. We nap!!! Daniel gets picked up at 2:45 and the rest at 3:30- yet another 45 minute gap, but I either run errands or just sit in line while Daniel naps!!

Are you tired yet? I am. It is Thursday and I am sitting in the local coffee house just being alone!! I need to finish paperwork for substitute teaching. Yes, I am going to throw working into my mix. I will all work out I am sure. The kids are adjusting better than I am I think. We have had some rough mornings and a few nights too, but overall it is going well. I will try to keep you posted. I am hoping to put a bunch of pictures onto my computer over the weekend so that I can post them the next time I sit down for a quite coffee. We love and miss you all. Talk to you soon!!! Blessings!!

Higher Dad, Higher!!!

Still on location in Clinton Township. Yesterday Doug and I were able to get away for the night. We went on a really long date. It had been a while ;-) Grandma and Grandpa graciously watched the kiddos while Doug and I went out. We shopped a few book stores and had a great dinner. We slept in then this afternoon we went to Jimmy John's for lunch. Very yummy!! We spent the rest of the day in the pool with the kids. Doug got a work out. He was tossing them in the air and they were loving it. Even Grace did it this year. She has always been too afraid to do it up until now. They boys look forward to it every year. Daniel gets the best height and the twins are now doing "tricks" in the air. Wait till they start watching the diving. Grandpa's pool is only 4 feet deep. We will have to make sure they are only jumping!!!! Tomorrow I think we are making our way to Southgate to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Adams. I may try to post from there, but don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while. Keep an eye on my dad's AFTERMATH blog for more pictures and updates!!!

He is Superman!!!!!

We are into the Olympics. If you couldn't tell from my new background, the Olympics have been a hit. We just finished watching Michael Phelps win the Butterfly by one one hundredth of a second. Unbelievable!!!!! He really is Superman, like the commentators keep calling him. It helps he is nice to look at too ;-) I get goosebumps every time I hear our national anthem being played and we have heard it a lot lately.

My kids have really gotten into these games. These games are the first ones the kids have been old enough to remember. The kids all studied ancient Greece in school, it is a unit in second grade. They have classroom Olympics and a toga party. So when these Olympic Games began the kid wondered if they were just like the Ancient Olympics, when they competed naked!! We spent some time explaining the new Olympic games. I think that every Olympic athlete needs an 8 eight year old boy for their cheering section. The boys really get into each and every event. From Beach volleyball to water polo ( or water hockey as they call it) they cheer like they have been cheering for that team forever. They don't know any names and in some cases they don't even know how the game is played, but if they are American the boys are cheering them on. When the event is over and while they are waiting for the soap operas to finish airing, the boys and Grace are playing their new favorite sport. "Beach" volleyball over the line hanging in the back yard. Breast strokes, back strokes and the butterfly in our 12 ft wide pool. Water polo in our 12ft wide pool. Fencing with light sabers. Tumbling on the floor and parallel bar exercises on the monkey bars at the local playground. Now we are at Pappa's and he has a 30ft long pool and goggles! They are trying to perfect their strokes. Anyone know a good swim coach?? My children are blessed with athletic ability. I look forward to seeing how it develops. Will they pursue team sports like baseball or will they go for the individual ones like golf, fencing or swimming? Or will they just be backyard athletes and excel elsewhere? Whichever path they might take I know they will be blessed and they will have their own cheering section, mom!!!

Today, we separated by gender. The BOYS ( minus Pappa who had a previous golf engagement) went to see the new Star Wars movie. Then they had lunch at Denny's, a quick run to Toys R Us for new Star Wars figs, and a trip to Meijer for steaks and ribs for dinner. The GIRLS made our way to David's Bridal to order a bridesmaid dress for me and a flower girl dress for Grace. Different weddings. We didn't find the flower girl dress, but we are still looking. Then we headed to Oakland mall for lunch at Olga's and more shopping. Everyone ended the day with a great grilled dinner and a swim in the pool. The kids crashed early and I think the adults will too. If not you know what we will be doing! GO USA!!!!

On Location

Today I am reporting from Dad's computer in Clinton Township. We are finally on vacation!!!!!!! This is a good thing, if you didn't catch that from all the exclamation marks ;-) We got out of dodge (Hillsdale) late on Wednesday. Our ETD (estimated time of departure) was before 5pm - so we didn't run into the trustees attempting to fix the broken sewage drain in our crawl space- but we didn't hit the road until nearly 7pm. The office computer was giving Doug fits. It is 8 years old and won't talk to the new kids in the office. It almost got shot with an SKS or thrown out the window. He ended up finishing here on dad's computer. His August Cornerstone articles are complete now, however and that is what matters. We crashed here Wednesday night. The kids were a little excited. They got to sleep in the basement, which Pappa finished just recently, on camping cots. Loads of fun for 9,8 and 5 year olds!! They ended up staying up to watch some Olympic coverage. We have been Olympic deprived since Monday when a very kind trustee was weed whacking our front yard and accidentally cut the cable that connected our roof top antenna to the TV -- and as you already know we don't have any cable or satellite service so that was our only source for TV type entertainment. We were able to see Phelps and Co. win the relay on Sunday, but missed two more nights worth of swimming. Anyway, we now have Pappa's large screen tv to watch the Olympics on. The kids, and me too, are in heaven!!!

Thursday, we trecked over to Lapeer to visit with the Strawn's. They were finishing up their two week vacation in Michigan. We couldn't let them be so close without seeing them. The kids had a blast climbing apple trees, playing baseball, freeze tag, picking peaches and just having fun. We big kids were able to catch up and vent. Pastors and their wives need to do that every now and then ya know. We had a great visit. I think we all wish we lived closer together. Nebraska is pretty far away!! Thanks for a great afternoon guys! We really enjoyed the day!

Once back at Grandma's we threw all the kids in a shower or bath, they stunk and were very dirty, then put them to bed. They were also tired and cranky!!! Doug and I stayed up to watch the gymnasts take gold and silver. It was late, but it isn't every year you get to see history being made! Tomorrow is another fun day. Stay tuned for more adventures!! I may even add pictures!!

Finally, The Pictures from our NC Trip!!

It's been a while

Sorry. We have been pretty busy this month. I know you all wait with bated breath to see when I am going to post a new blog, so here I am.

We have been busy, really. My family is waiting for me to post pictures from the wedding in NC and they are coming, just not right now. I have also been working on the BIRTHDAY BASH that is coming up on August 2. The festivities begin around 1pm. We hope that you can all be there. What else has been keeping us so busy you ask? Well.... let me fill you in.

July 9 we began by loading up the car super early and then headed to Grace's tutor at 8am. While she was there we swung back home and picked up the dog. We picked up Grace at 9 and were on our way to Grandma Adams'. We had lunch, left the boys and the dog and headed to Grandma Wyckhuys' where Grace got to swim for a few hours before we hit the road for Winterville, NC. We stopped around 10:30pm just north of Marietta.

July 10 we were on the road by 8:30am and arrived at Rachelle's by 7pm. A very long trip!! We stopped several times for gas, meals and stretching. The girls did great thanks to a portable DVD player. We unfolded ourselves from the car, said HI to everyone at Rachelle's then got back in the car to go to dinner. We ate at a favorite Mexican place.

July 11 we got up slowly, repacked the car and headed an hour west to Wake Forest, NC, where the reception and hotel were for the wedding. We spent the day & evening in the pool. Grace is a fish!! Sarah, not so much. Peyton used the swimmy thing I brought for Sarah since Sarah wanted nothing to do with it. No, I got to hold her and swim, she really liked that. Dinner this night was an absolutely brilliant idea. We ordered a party package from a local Barbecue place. We got fried chicken, pulled pork, Cole slaw, potato salad, sweet tea and hush puppies, enough to feed an army! For $10 a person we had dinner and lunch the next day!

July 12 we spent the morning in the pool, had a great leftover lunch then got ready for the wedding and reception. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was very nice. Very Southern too. No dinner and it only lasted about 4 hours. They had finger food and snacks, cake, drinks and other neat things. There was dancing, all the traditional stuff, and a send off. We were back at the hotel by 8:30pm, where the kids swam and we adults hung around and talked until nearly midnight, well some of us left a little earlier, Grace was falling asleep in a lounge chair.

July 13 we got up slowly again. We enjoyed a hot breakfast at the hotel then headed back to Rachelle's house. Here we had a birthday party for Sarah and Grace. Grace got to see Camp Rock on Disney and the young adults played tailgate golf. (See my dad's pics for more)

July 14 we were up really early and left Rachelle's by 7am. We drove all day!! We arrived back in Clinton Township by 11pm. It was a long ride, but again the girls did great. This time we had two DVD players thanks to Aunt Rachelle lending us hers.

July 15 - Sarah's Birthday we took our time getting up and packing again. Grace swam again in the pool and after lunch we headed back to Grandma Adams' to get the boys and the dog. We were home in Hillsdale by 4:30pm. We picked up a pizza (where my drivers side window wouldn't work), ate the pizza, unloaded the car and made it to the ball field by 7pm for the twins baseball game! That was another crazy long day!!

July 16 we unpacked, cleaned house and just relaxed for the day!!!

July 17 we played at the Weidmeyers for the morning and then we had a ball game in the evening. A comparatively easy day.

July 20 Sunday! I worked in the nursery at both services, since everyone who volunteers is out of town. The good thing is that I only had like 3 kids besides mine all morning. That made it bearable.

July 21 Doug traveled to Ft. Wayne for a funeral and the kids and I hung around the house and played and cleaned up.

July 22 Grace had a tutoring session while the rest of us played on the playground. The twins had a ball game in the evening.

July 24 was another tutoring session and ball game. Doug had a funeral to do here in town. When he got back he went promptly to bed. I had a feeling he was getting sick!

July 25 Grace had a tutoring session then we went to the hair dresser where I got my hair highlighted and cut. It looks so much better. We left the house at 9:45 and didn't get home till 2pm. Then we shopped for the church's Ice Cream social, set it up, had dinner and went back for ice cream. We had a small attendance, but it is the middle of the summer. I wasn't expecting too many anyway. Doug stayed home because well, he is sick AGAIN!! Fever, aches, dry heaves, loads of fun!!!

July 26 brings us to today. Doug is still under the weather. I hope he can recover enough to finish his sermon for tomorrow. He is alone at church this weekend because Pastor Dan is out of town until Tuesday. The twins are at a 4-H camp with a friend from school. They are probably going to come home wanting livestock!! Daniel slept in until nearly 9am this morning. Either he was really tired or he is getting sick. Hopefully he is just tired, we have been busy!!!!!

Preparing for a trip

Why is it that I clean my house before I leave it for a week and I can't seem to want to clean while I am actually here?? I have been getting ready for our trip to North Carolina for what seems like weeks now. I am just finishing the last of the laundry and am ready to pack the suit cases. The kids have all their stuff in backpacks and are pretty much ready to go. I have my dozen or so lists on the table, patiently waiting to be crossed off. I have yet to cross off much of anything by the way. I am typing this instead of doing any number of things on "The List."

Also, in typical fashion, I have a sick kid. Nate, who is headed to Grandma Adams' instead of North Carolina, all the boys are so don't feel bad for him, has been running a temp today. He has an upset tummy, no throwing up yet, and has bowel problems. Grandma, bless her heart, is still willing to take him so that Doug can do a funeral, have a beach day with the youth, play warhammer and preside over an anniversary vow renewal and dinner without worrying about a sitter. The girls and I are headed to NC for my cousin Amy's wedding. Grace is all set to ride in the back as we drive the whole way in one trip. She has a bag packed for her and one for Sarah. She has the whole trip planned out in her head. She even has lists. Umm, who does that sound like??

I have put the kids to bed early in hopes of being able to get a few more things done before Doug comes home and in order to help everyone ward off whatever bug it is that Nate has. No one is asleep yet, but the boys are at least in bed and quiet, Sarah is not. She keeps popping up trying not to fall asleep. Figures!!!!

Sarah was very cute saying her prayers tonight. She has learned The Lord's Prayer only she says it with a few minor changes. "Our father who up in heaven, hallowed be my name. My kingdom come my will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The rest is alright. She can even say trespasses and deliver pretty well. She loves to say it by herself without help.

Well, I think I am going to go clean the bathroom while I wait for everyone to fall asleep. Look for pictures when I get back on the 15th!!

Mini Concordia Reunion

Birthday Bash

Invited to a party, you have been!!

Please join us for the Adams Clan Birthday Bash!

A long time ago (1999-2003)

in a galaxy far, far away (St.Louis)...

Five great kids were born.

(OK so two were born in Michigan, anyway...)

In honor of their births we are having a cosmic celebration,

Star Wars Style.

Please join us on

Saturday, August 2, 2008

at

The Mos Eisley Cantina (our backyard)

Costumes are encouraged, but not required!!

We plan on making a day of it, so come early, but...

Pod Races will begin at 2pm

Dinner will be at 5pm

Medal ceremonies will be at dusk.

Come early and stay late!!

We even have bunk space available for those who need it!

Hope to see you all there!!

RSVP by sending the force our way!! (call or email Robyn)

Gifts are not necessary, your presence is your gift!!!

An Update

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. VBS week got the best of me. With 7 kids and two dogs in our house all week I really didn't have the time or frankly the energy to blog. I shouldn't even be blogging now, I'm sick, but I wanted to post a quick update so you all didn't think we had fallen off the face of the earth. I do have some pictures of the past week but I am too tired to try and post them here tonight. I will try and put them in a slideshow soon.

We did have a great week at VBS. We used CPH's kit, Friendship Trek. It was a lot of fun. CPH does all the work. They provide music, skits, PowerPoint, puppets, and lots of extras. We maxed out at 65 kids, which sounds like a lot, however we have maxed at nearly 150 before. This was just a very weird summer. Most schools got out the Friday before we started, so that kept some kids and volunteers home, then there is the economy. Not everyone could afford to drive into church 2-4 times a day all week. We aren't exactly in the middle of anything. I think that the kids that did come had a great time and it is for them that we do this anyway. For some of them this is the only exposure to Jesus or Church that they get all year. I keep hoping too that the congregation will see how cool it is to see 60 some kids all worshipping together in the sanctuary. That is one of the best parts of a Day school, but alas, we just can't talk them into making that leap of faith. Prayerfully, someday, it will happen!! But I digress....

We had Joel and Ben Brenner stay with us for VBS week. This is their third trip to our house for VBS. Mark and Renee used the time to vacation in Mexico for their 10Th anniversary. The boys have lots of fun and it makes the week go by quickly. They all get along fairly well, although Daniel tends to get on Ben's nerves come about Wednesday. We stayed busy though and that helped.

This week will be quiet in comparison. I am of course sick. With what I don't know but I have had a fever and sore throat for a few days now. I could probably stand for a trip to the doc, maybe get some meds. I did manage to take the kids to see a stage production of High School Musical yesterday before I got too sick. They enjoyed it. They knew a few of the people in the cast. Next we will go see Oliver! in August. They will get exposed to theatre one way or another!!

Well I am going to sign off for now. Thanks for checking in on us. Hopefully we will see you all sooner than later!!!

Oh, I have a new "toy" too. Facebook. It is an interesting Internet tool. Scary, but interesting. It is kinda like six degrees of separation on the Internet. Check it out sometime, you'll be surprised at who you may find!!!

Remembering...

We have a busy week coming up. It is Vacation Bible School. Please say a quick prayer that we get lots of last minute volunteers, because we may end up with more kids than our help can handle!!!! I will try to post daily or more realistically, every other day, to keep you up to date on the fun of our Friendship Trek!!!

The reason for my post today is politics. I am not a fan of politics. I hate debate, mostly because I am not any good at it, but also because I am not big on confrontation. I can count at least 100 things I like better than politics. However, on the rare occasions I needed to listen to a political debate or commentary, in order to make a decision about which candidate to vote for in an upcoming election, I usually found myself listening to Tim Russert. I liked him, maybe because he was easy to understand, maybe because he had a strong faith and it showed, or maybe because he was just a likable guy. Anyway you look at it though, he will be missed. My heart goes out to his family as they mourn this weekend, but I pray too that we rejoice together in the fact that Tim is now at eternal peace with his Lord and Savior.

Happy Birthday Pappa!!

OK. We had a busy day today. VBS is fast approaching and we have people coming to our house tomorrow so we didn't get a chance to make our phone call to Pappa and sing Happy Birthday. We will do that belatedly tomorrow, but for now this will have to do.

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Pappa!

Happy Birthday to you!! Cha Cha Cha!!!

We love you!!!

Our Week in Review

Wii Fit

9 kids, ages 8 months to 9 years. That was my day today. I willing volunteered to watch my friends children so that she could pack in peace. They are moving to Columbus, Indiana in a few weeks and we are coordinating a play date and dinner schedule. We had both the play date and dinner today. Needless to say it was busy at my house today. How busy you say? Well, lets take a look. Oh and by the way no need to worry about us adding number 6 or 7 to our clan, I am pretty sure I would be institutionalized if we had any more kids. 9 is good for a few hours or even a day, but 24/7, I don't think so. Anyway, back to my day.

6:30 up and in shower
7:00 kids up/breakfast
7:45 kids to school
8:00 Curves for me!
8:45 pick up Daniel and Sarah & head to Walmart for groceries
10:00 home from shopping
11:00 Cook family arrives Lorraine, 5 Aggie, 3 Seth, 2 and Marcus 8 months
12:00 Lunch
1:00 NAPTIME ;-)
2:30 Wii Fit

The Cooks have Wii Fit and brought it along to keep the kids busy since it was raining today.

ATTENTION: This will be a great Birthday Bash gift!!! The kids loved it!!! I think the "big kids" will like it too. :-)

3:30 WCA kids arrive, now we are 9!!
5:30 Josh and Emily return, having gotten much accomplished
7:00 Dinner Brats, fruit, salad and chips
8:30 Cooks return home and we settle in to watch the Wings win THE CUP!!
10:00 Put the kids to bed, no the game isn't over, but we are in a Tornado watch and they need to sleep now in case they aren't sleeping later due to weather.

I will post pictures tomorrow!!! GO WINGS!!!

A Day with Daniel

Friday's are usually Doug's day off. I say usually because as a Pastor he often doesn't get his whole day off. Sometimes church functions or other responsibilities fall on Friday so he either takes a different day off or just doesn't get an off day that particular week. Today though he was able to spend the whole day as DAD and didn't have to share it with PASTOR. I ended up have a busy day, so Doug and Daniel got a lot of time together. This morning Doug took the big kids to school then drove over to the eye doctor for an annual eye exam. It went well, especially since his prescription didn't chance which meant we didn't have to sell a kidney for new glasses!!! They did dilate his eyes which always throws him for a loop. I am actually surprised he made it home! When he got back he asked Daniel why he wasn't dressed. I answered "because we haven't got there yet." To which Daniel replied, "Yeah, she's a WOMAN, so she tells me what to wear." I wasn't sure whether to laugh or punish him for that one!! Doug laughed!! After that I took Sarah to Dr. Herberner and the daddy/Daniel day began.

Sarah has the same strep infection Daniel did on her bottom, so we went to the doctor, picked up the antibiotic from the Market House, talked to Jonathan for a few minutes, ran over to church to meet with the violin teacher and show her the room she will be working in for the month of June and chatted with the TGIF team. Meanwhile, Daddy and Daniel were painting Warhammer scenery and talking. Actually Daniel was talking and painting, Doug was just listening. They also did some cleaning in the "War Room". Daniel was getting into trouble, climbing on something he shouldn't, and Doug said,"Daniel if you had a theme song playing everywhere you went it would be "Living on the Edge"! Too True!

The rest of the day was very similar. Daniel did a loooooot of talking and Doug listened!! At one point Doug asked Daniel to turn it off and zip it. Daniel agreed but not two minutes later he asked a question, realized what he had done and said, "I unturned it off and unzipped it, sorry!" I love the way his mind works!!!

Nathan came home around 1pm, he wasn't feeling great. His arm was really bothering him today. Still no news from the Doc, maybe by Monday. We had Taco's for dinner and were all ready to watch the hockey game when much to our dismay, it isn't on until tomorrow! Who puts those schedules together anyway??? Well, we will be ready to cheer on the Wings tomorrow then. Hopefully it isn't too late of a game. Got to get up early for church ya know!!!!

He's Safe! The boys Win!!!

Tonight Kris, our regular babysitter, and her boyfriend Aaron(yes, that is Aaron Johnson) came over for a game of baseball in the field and dinner after. The kids have been looking forward to this for a week. Aaron brought his brother Isaac too. I think it was big "Kids" versus little "kids". I was in the house making spaghetti. Everyone had a great time, until Nathan slid into home plate. He scored, but he broke his arm!! Not bad, mind you, just enough to have to wear a splint for a month. :-) Dr. Herbener will call tomorrow after the radiologist takes a look at the x-ray. It may be worse or not even broken. He was having a hard time reading the computer generated x-ray. So I guess it is a good thing that is wasn't a blatantly obvious break. We will update you tomorrow.

Despite the game ending injury, the kids all had fun and would probably be up for a game tomorrow if everyone could play!! Nathan and Jacob have been signed up for coach pitch baseball. Practice begins next month and the games are in July. Hopefully Nate will at least be able to play in the games. I will be sure to post pictures when I get them. TTFN!!

Our Trip to Greenfield Village

More About Greenfield Village

The rest of our Memorial Weekend was wonderful. Sunday after church we packed up and headed to Grandma and Grandpa Adams' house. We arrived around 4pm. Papa had been working hard all day on dinner. Ribs on the grill, potato salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, hamburgers and hot dogs. Yum-o!! Grandma even made a chocolate cake. So much for my diet!!! Great Grandma and Grandpa were there too! The kids ran and played with the dogs and had a grand old time. We headed to bed early so we could get up and get to the village a little before it opened.

Monday we rose early and arrived at Greenfield Village by 9am. This is a great idea since no one is there yet. We got a prime parking spot and were one of the first families through the door. They were handing out flags to everyone who walked through the park. Sarah liked hers. We got a schedule of events for the day and headed onward and upward!! We checked out the two armies drilling on the green, explored the two camps and the boys even enlisted in the Union army. Daniel actually thought we were making him join the REAL army. He didn't realize we were only acting!!! You can see his dejected look in one of the pictures in the slide show. We had hot dogs for lunch, with the band playing in the background. At noon there was a Memorial Day commemoration. We couldn't see anything so we opted to ride the carousel and train while everyone else was busy. The kids loved that, so did the big kids!!! Daniel even fell asleep on the train ride. We left the village around 2pm. It was a great memory!! We spent the rest of the afternoon at Grandmas, playing Civil War. We headed home about 5pm. It was great to not be in a rush and just enjoy the trip and the time with family.

I finally got around to putting the pictures into a slide show on Tuesday. Thanks to Sarah Strawn for the photobucket site. They make great slide shows!! You will probably see lots more of those on my blog now. It was really easy to post them here.

Lately Sarah has been singing, a lot! She knows several songs, but not all of them, only certain parts. Here is a sample of what I hear from her through out the day.

Wanting to get out of the blue room she sings "I'm gonna break! I'm gonna break my.. I'm gonna break this rusty cage and run!"

Playing house she sings:"It's the joy of Motherhood. I do what any other mother would to keep my ducks decked out and living in style."

Just playing she sings "Sarahspundel, Sarahspundel, Sarahspundel, rat zat zat. An Oreo. A chocolate Oreo. I love the creamy center in my chocolate Oreo."

She will also just start singing other songs from Honk! and High School Musical. What ever happened to Toddler Tunes like The wheels on the bus or the Hokey Pokey!!! I guess that is what comes from having 4 older siblings!!!

Boys vs. Girls

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice, that's what little girls are made of. Toads and snails and puppy dog tails, that's what little boys are made of.

I think that is how the poem goes, or at least that is how I remember it. It is too true! Today, as we cleaned the house top to bottom, I observed my children and the way their gender effects their character. We began our mission at 8:45am. The BOYS liked the idea of 15 minutes on one job and then move on to the next. Team work was best for them. The GIRLS lingered over the details. All the DVD's had to be put back just right. All the windows had to be cleaned, the pillows on the couch just right, the blankets folded and put away in an organized fashion. The BOYS used one Clorox wipe for the counters, sinks, faucets and toilet. ( I made them go over it with a few more) GRACE'S desk has to have everything on it just so. She has little things everywhere, but knows where it all is. She likes to have a space for everything. The BOYS desk has a few lamps and a puzzle half put together on it. GRACE's bed has sheets, blankets and comforter. I am lucky if the BOYS actually have a fitted sheet on their bed each night. All they use to cover up is a fleece tied blanket, no cover sheet, no other blanket or comforter. It took GRACE about 30 minutes to have her room ready to be vacuumed. It took the BOYS about 90. They had less to clean up too, by the way!!

Once the inside was done about lunch time, we moved outside. While the bottom two slept, I cleaned the kitchen and the others helped Dad outside. The BOYS were pooper scoopers, GRACE organized the order it was picked up!!! Sarah and Daniel soon joined them. Daniel is all boy and runs, jumps and skips everywhere. Sarah found a doll and played with her. She is so sweet. It amazes me how little girls are hard wired to mother. Even at nearly 3 she is very motherly toward her dolls and other stuffed friends. She has never really observed me with a baby or any woman with a baby for that matter and yet she seems to know just what to do. It is amazing.

Our company came about 4:30 ish. We hosted a BBQ (sorry Grill -Out) for the youth. Kudos to the Rushing Family!!! I am so glad they came over. We have over two dozen jr and sr youth families and they were the only family to come, even after spending the day sanding and staining their hard wood floors!!! Along with them, several of our College youth came to eat. Jon, Isaac, Zander, and Nick threw a football around with the BOYS and Renee and Courtney played with Sarah while Alana (Zanders sister who is in Grace's class at school) and Grace found secluded places to whisper their deepest secrets. Once the Rushings arrived, Grace headed strait for the baby, Sarah and Ashley played and the boys continued to toss the football along with the Rushing boys, Alex and Andrew. Anna, the only jr youth, helped with the little ones and chatted some with the big girls. Again that boy vs girl thing was very evident.

I was bummed that only one youth showed up. i guess they just don't know yet how much fun it is at Pastors house. The college kids are our core group. They were part of Doug's first confirmation class here and they have had many picnics and events at our house. They know how much fun it can be. I hope that we can develop the same relationship with this new batch of kids, but it just seems harder to make that connection with them than it did with the first ones. It is cyclical. That core group didn't really develop until they could drive on their own or get rides from older friends. We have very few drives right now. There is a bubble of no kids in the upper high school grades. We have one senior, one junior and few sophomores and mostly freshmen. Then there are the 6-8th graders. Who knows? We will keep trying though, we will keep having these kinds of events and hopefully word will spread and eventually we will have a great crowd of kids at our house like before. Then, it will be our kids and their friends!!! Heaven help me!!!

Have a great Memorial Weekend!! Remember in you prayers the families of those who have lost a loved one in the military. Remember too those serving currently, especially those is hostile countries. We love you George!!!!

Spontaneity

Spontaneity does not exist when you have children. Case in point. I wanted to thank Doug for driving to Shelby on Saturday for Jason's wedding. It was a long day for everyone and since he doesn't wear jewelry or particularly like flowers for his desk at work, I wanted to do something manly for him. My idea? Get a sitter, take him to a bar, and let him watch game 6 of the Red Wing playoff game (we don't have cable or satellite and it is never on network TV). The usual obstacle to this plan would be the sitter. I got lucky this time though. Tara just graduated from Ferris and is at home looking for a job. She would love to watch the kids and she was free. Sitter, check. The next obstacle was Doug's schedule. Usually Mondays are busy with either HOPE or Cub Scouts. Luckily the game didn't start till 8 and the Blue and Gold Banquet was early at 6pm. We should be back by 7:30 or 8, just enough time for Tara to help settle the kids into bed. Yes we might miss part of the first period, but the game really only gets exciting in the third, so we were good. Cleared schedule, check. The final obstacle was the kids. This is the one that tripped us up. Jacob got pink eye. Nathan is close and so is Daniel and of course Doug's eyes are itching too. I didn't want to risk our lovely job hunting sitter getting pink eye., that wouldn't help her chances any. Healthy kids and hubby, no check. No spontaneity. We took Jacob to the Dr today. He confirmed the pink eye, gave us a scrip for drops, with a refill, and told us to just go ahead and give drops to whoever got it next, no need to bring them in. In fact when I called the office I told them I had two with pink eye and asked if I could bring one in. They didn't even bat an eye and said sure, how is 10am? So instead of watching the game and drinking a beer or similar beverage, I am sitting on the computer, listening to the game on the computer and blogging while trying to get the kids to go to sleep!!! Not exactly the night I had in mind!!!! Is it wrong to hope they lose tonight so I can try for another night of spontaneity on Wednesday??? (score as I post: Wings 3 Stars 0 )

In other news: I totally forgot to post this yesterday. Jacob is going to be a published author. His poem, BLUE, which I posted a few days ago, was chosen to be included in an anthology of poems. We ordered the book so we can show it off in the Winter when it arrives. Now you all can say you knew Jacob when...

Trying to get back to normal...and not succeeding!!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but as my title says we have been trying to get back to normal. I have yet to succeed.

HONK! was a hit. The kids had a great time. Grace is ready to do it all again. The boys may wait a while. They were tired and bored for the most part. They liked being on stage, it was cool. Daniel and Sarah love the hoops and umbrellas. We got a cast picture to hang up too. If we get a video we will let you know.

Today was our Church's 10th anniversary celebration. We had church at 9:30am then dinner at noon. There was lots of special music and presentations. Church lasted 2 hours!!! It was Trinity Sunday so, of course, we recited the Athanasian Creed. It is very long!!! We had a guest preacher today, Rev. Hosemann the Michigan District President. He had a very nice sermon. The kids did remarkably well in church too. Daniel only lasted a half hour before I put him in the nursery, but the others made it through and so did I!! ;-)

We will be making a trip to the doctor tomorrow , however. I think that Jacob and Nathan may have pink eye!!! I will keep you posted!!

So now you know what we have been up to. Blessings to you all!!!

A Random Week

Aunt Nora brought all the kids a giant coloring book and lots of markers. They came in a neat holder. Sarah decided she liked coloring on her body instead of the Dora coloring book.

Yes, she even colored in between her toes!!!

I think there are actually pictures there not just scribbles!

There are days when all these two do is fight. Then there are days when they are best friends. There are even days when they are husband and wife or "honey and son" as they like to say. Aren't they too cute!!
Grace had a violin recital on Saturday, May 3. She did a great job. It was short but sweet. She played the tune of "Go my Children." It helps when she knows the song!!

BLUE

by Jacob Adams

Blue looks like my sister's eyes.

Blue smells like a stinky t-shirt.

Blue tastes like salty sea water.

Blue sounds like a bluebird singing a cool song.

Blue feels like a sponge when I scrub the floor.

RED

by Nathan Adams

Red looks like a new barn.

Red smells like a hot fire.

Red sounds like a gunshot when someone is hunting.

Red tastes like really hot redhots.

Red feels like red hand sanitizer.

Hell Week

Can I say that on my blog? I really can't think of a better term. This week is Hell Week for the production of HONK!jr. Sunday we had rehearsal from 2-7pm. Monday, 6:30-9:30pm. Tuesday, 6:30-9:30pm. Wednesday,?? I had to drop them off today and they are getting a ride from a member and her daughter. I don't expect them before 9pm. Thankfully there is no rehearsal tomorrow night, at least there wasn't when I dropped them off. They may add one after tonight's rehearsal. All in all the rehearsals have gone well. The kids do their opening song, go to the Green Room/Girl's Dressing room to hang and watch a movie, come down to do their big number, go back upstairs to hang for a scene or two more, then come down to do the closing number, curtain call and reprise. The boys are a bit bored, but Grace is having fun. I have her convinced to do another play this summer, I am still working on the boys. I am having fun helping back stage and I would like to do more. Maybe with a few more shows under our belts I will be able to help out more. Yes, I know I have said I wouldn't do another one for a while, but they are doing "Oliver" and I think the kids would have fun with that one. Besides it is during the summer, in August. We are still talking about it but.... we will keep you posted. Here are some pictures I have taken lately. HONK! is pretty much our life right now so there isn't much else to talk about. I am glad so many of you are going to be able to come and see the show, but if you aren't never fear, I do believe there will be a DVD available and I plan on getting one or two. Enjoy the pictures and we will see you all soon

Daniel fell asleep in the time out corner.

Sarah was getting a drink from the sink. Guess who taught her that trick? And no she isn't standing on anything!

The boys were being silly. The underwear is clean!!

"Poultry Tale" That is the nest with the eggs in it in the front. Couldn't tell you which of my kids is in the picture if any. They all look the same in those costumes!

More of the cast in "Poultry Tale"

Between scenes the froglets hang out. This night they are watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks"

My Little Actors

Lately I have been having to take Sarah and Daniel to Honk rehearsal with us because Doug has been busy with work. Needless to say they are quite familiar with the story and most of the songs. They even know the warm up songs the kids do at the beginning of rehearsal. Sarah's favorite is "Sarahspundel" -- I wonder why? I will even catch them quoting several lines of the play. Daniel's favorites are "Yes!Yes!Yes! I made it through Thanksgiving!!!" and "Well curdle my cornflakes! He's escaped!!" Sarah likes the line in one of the songs that says something like "it went the way the Dodo did." She has also become very fond of the cat. The girl who plays the cat anyway. She will almost always come over and play with Sarah when she is waiting to go back on stage. Daniel even sat and watched quite a bit of the rehearsal very nicely today and last week too. I am seriously considering taking him to a show. As long as he promises not to shout the lines from the seats!!!! They got a special treat tonight too. We have moved to the theater which is in downtown Jonesville. So we went for a walk and got ice cream at Marcella's. It serves hand dipped Mackinac Island Ice Cream! Yum-o! Daniel got a Superman cone, Sarah a vanilla and I got a mint fudge one. Delicious!! I am pretty sure that now they are going to want ice cream EVERY time we go to rehearsal!!

A Great Weekend

I have no pictures. Just wanted to get that out of the way. I have no pictures from the shower this weekend. My husband insisted he needed the camera for the weekend to take pictures of the youth for some ministry display board for the 10th Anniversary celebration coming up. So therefore, he had the camera and I didn't. I have no pictures, but we had a great time. I hope that you will check out "Peyton's Place", "cstreet", "Aftermath" and hopefully "R3" for some great pictures of the event.

This weekend the kids and I went to Grandma Adams' Friday night after dinner. We all slept there, then the girls and I drove to Clinton Twp to Grandma Wyckhuys' for Amy Howard's bridal shower. It was a blast. We saw lots of family that we haven't seen in a while, both because of sickness and distance. (see pics at other blogs please)

Mom made a great lunch. We had chicken salad, which even with out the chow mien noodles and almonds, was great! Along side that we had chips and a crescent roll and punch to drink. Dessert was fresh fruit with pound cake or angel cake with a drizzle of chocolate from the chocolate fountain. That was the hit of the day, the chocolate fountain that is. We had it going by noon and it didn't get turned of till almost dinner!!! There were banana, pretzels, chips, marshmallows and strawberries for dipping. I think Grace spent most of her time planted in front of it. She is looking forward to the one Amy promised would be at the wedding dinner!!! The big girls even found creative ways of eating, or should I say drinking, the chocolate. (See picture at other blog please)

Amy got to help Sarah and Peyton open the presents. They were all great newlywed gifts. Microwave ovens, Corningware, an endless bag of Misc. kitchen stuff, you know, the usual bridal shower stuff. No lingerie though, maybe I'll put that on my list of things to buy for a wedding gift! I digress, all in all we had a great afternoon.

The party never really ended though. Some people went home around 4, but a lot of us stayed, especially the ones who had booked a room at the Wyckuys B&B for the night. The girls and I finally left after dinner. We had an impromptu Grill out since The Round Robin wouldn't accommodate all 14 of us in a timely fashion. Renee and Kevin supplied the burgers and Rachelle, Amy and Grace made a Wally world run. It was much more relaxed than a restaurant would have been!!

The girls and I finally left around 8pm and crawled back into Grandma Adams' around 9pm. Everyone went right to sleep. Of course they were up at 6am today, but hey Grandpa had to get up anyway to go to work so it all worked out well. Grandma even let me go back to bed for an extra hour to catch up on some sleep. Thanks!!! We packed and left Southgate by 10am and arrived just in time to pick Doug up from church and get lunch.

The kids had HONK at the theatre for the first time today so I stayed all afternoon with them. It went well. It is going to be great show. I can't wait for everyone to see it.

Now it is 9pm. Everyone is asleep. The big kids were very tired and so am I. I think I will sign off for now. Don't forget to check the other blogs for some great pictures!!

Come and See Us Warts and All!!

The weekends of the show are fast approaching. Costumes are being fitted, lines are memorized, dance steps are being practiced. We had our parent meeting today at which we signed up to help in several area over the course of the two weekends. The kids would love if any of could come and watch then in their first ever performance in a real theater. The following are the dates and times of the show. Doors open one half hour before the time of the performance. I can get discounted tickets for adults if I have 10 or more, not the same night, just 10 over the course of the two weekends. I need to turn those in by April 24 so your deadline is April 23 or sooner. Please call or email me if you are planning on attending any of the shows. Grandma and Grandpa Adams and Wyckhuys are already on my list, so you don't need to call!! I will be taking lots of pictures and hopefully some video so that you will be able to see it even if you aren't here live and in person!!! Hope to hear from you all soon.

Friday, May 2 @ 8pm
Saturday, May 3 @ 8pm
Sunday, May 4 @ 3pm

Friday, May 9 @ 8pm
Saturday, May 10 @ 8pm
Sunday, May 11 @ 3pm

A bit more information: The tickets will be $6.50 for any night. There are no pictures or videos allowed, but have no fear, I will take tons at dress rehearsals. The show is about 2 hours with an intermission. The kids are in the opening song,"Poultry Tale", Scene 6 "Warts and All", and the closing song and reprise. Hope this helps!!

The Hills are Alive...

Today we are beginning our big Spring Cleaning. We have gone through buckets of clothes and put away too small, too big and rummage sale items. Later we will be going to see the Hillsdale and Will Carleton presentation of "The Sound of Music." I will edit this later and let you know how it went. I added more pictures to yesterday's post so scroll down and take a look.

The Adventure Continues

Saturday, March 29

Our second day of Spring Break. Today was spent packing and getting ready to visit Grandma Adams after church on Sunday. Grace had her friend Ann over and the three of us went to the college to see the Tulloch Ard Scottish night. It was a hit. The girls loved the dancers and I liked the bands and pipes. They had two great fiddlers that Grace loved. She wondered how they could get their fingers to move so fast and remember where to put them. Ann spent the night and she went to church with us on Sunday then home with her family.


Sunday, March 30

Today we went to Sunday School at 9:00 and then church at 10:30. I ended up in the nursery. The kids sat with the Muellers. George, their son, was home on leave from the Marine Corps. He is a much loved friend. He is who the boys chose to write their "friendly" letters to at school. Anyway, I digress. After church we loaded the car with kids and a dog, stopped for lunch at Micky D's and headed to Grandma's!! Once at Grandmas we settled in and then had Arbys for dinner. The kids went to bed and Doug and I visited. It was a great beginning to the week.



Monday, March 31

We woke up today to Grandpa making breakfast. Scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage and bacon. The kids devoured it!! They love breakfast. After they ate their fill we had to walk it off. So we went to Kohl's and then the mall. The boys needed tennis shoes, since they had outgrown the ones they had. In the end they got more than we bargained for. Grace got a new pair of white church shoes and new tennis shoes. Sarah got a new pair of tennis shoes (which I got for a steal at Kohl's; NIKE for $4.99) and sandals. Daniel got a pair of shoes on the bargain rack at Kohl's too for the same price then he also got a pair of tennis shoes with the twin and a pair of sandals just like the twins. Doug also found new sandals for me. Count the boxes!! Payless loves us now!!! The kids also got a new spring/summer outfit. Doug also found games, and Wii stuff. It was quite a shopping spree.
Once we got home we put the little ones to bed and the big kids got to work helping Grandma organize and straighten her basement. They had fun.


Pizza for dinner and before bed we got out the old slide projector and screen and looked at pics of Daddy and Uncle Scott when they were babies. It was a great way to end the day.

Tuesday, April 1

Bob Evans for Breakfast!! Grace -- Plate of Pancakes, Twins, Belgian Waffles, Daniel -- fruit and yogurt, Sarah -- Plate of Pancakes!! They love breakfast! This time we worked it off by once again working in Grandmas basement. Doug doesn't like to leave a job unfinished and he claimed he needed the physical labor to help him feel better and take his mind off of church work for a while. When the work was done they hung up Aunt Amanda's kick boxing bag and Doug and I got away for a while and did some shopping and picked up Applebees for dinner for the grownups. The kids had nuggets and anything else they could find at Grandmas. Our original plan was to be home in Hillsdale by now but as you can see we opted to stay another night.
Wednesday, April 2

We had an early morning today, but we had lots to do so it was OK. We headed to Toys R Us because Grandpa wanted to get the kids something for all their hard work in the basement and we needed to get Peyton a birthday present since our plans had evolved again and we were going to Grandma Wyckhuys' after lunch to see them. Soooo, we did the Toys R Us thing, bought way too much stuff, picked up White Castle for lunch and headed to Great Grandma Adam's house for lunch and a visit. They had the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks for the kids. That kept them entertained while we were able to visit. After the movie we all piled in the car, went back to Grandma Adams', loaded up our stuff, said goodbye to the dog and headed to Grandma Wyckhuys'. Once there we unloaded, visited for a while, the girls went to Walmart for a cake and supplies, a new shirt and tie for Doug's meeting on Thursday, and KFC for dinner. (Since we didn't make it back to Hillsdale and Doug had a meeting in Ann Arbor we had to get the shirt and tie for that) . Aunt Renee, Peyton and Uncle Kevin joined us for dinner and cupcakes. We even sang Happy Birthday to Peyton. Hopefully now Sarah can move on!!! It was great to see all of our families again. It has been since Christmas, which when you only live two hours away, is not often enough.

Thursday, April 3

Today we got up and headed to Ann Arbor. The kids and I met up with Aunt Amanda while Doug had his meeting. It was a beautiful day. We got to see Amanda's room and where she lived and we got to chase geese. We even ran into Amelia!!


Doug was done a little early so we climbed back into the car and headed back to Grandma Adams to pick up Tiger and have lunch. They kids played out side and we visited a little more. Then we headed home. We got to Hillsdale around 4pm, we unloaded and the kids were back out side. It is going to rain tomorrow so they played while they could. Dinner was Micky D's so I didn't have to cook. They had a picnic while they watched Alvin again. Then it was off to bed.



It was quite a week and it isn't over yet!! Check back for the rest of the story!!!

Spring Break 2008

Today was the first official day of Spring Break. We woke up to this:

Not a good sign. However, we were not to be deterred. We have plants for our garden in the house ready to plant outside. Not gonna happen anytime soon I am afraid. We did stay inside today, though. Daniel is just getting over pneumonia and I didn't want to chance it coming back or getting worse, so we played inside. Every one did very well today. Our activity of the day is a Bag Pipe and drum concert at the college. They also have Scottish dancers, the works if you know what I mean. The twins and Doug went tonight. It started at 8pm, hence the naps today, and as I write this at 9:20pm they are still not back yet. The other three stayed with me and we will go tomorrow night. Us homebodies played Wii and just had fun. As you can see.

Sarah is also doing well with the potty thing. She still has it quite backwards and has yet to go on the potty, but she does come down very early in the morning to "go potty" and change out of her wet pull up or diaper. I know she will eventually get this, right? ;-) Even though she is my fifth and you would think I would be a pro at this, each child seems to do it differently and I have little to no recollection as to how I did it with the last one. So I kinda start from scratch each time. Not the smartest idea in the world, but I'm going with it for now.

I forgot to mention our parsonage excitement over Easter. Remember at Thanksgiving our heater broke and we had to have a member, who is also a heating and cooling guy, come out and fix the heater on Thanksgiving Day? Well over Easter weekend our well tested positive for coliform, a contaminant in the water. So we had to pour 4 gallons of bleach in the well. Let it run till we smelled bleach in the water in the house, let it sit for 12 hours, then run it again until we couldn't smell bleach in the water. The pictures are of Doug hooking the hose up to the house to rig up something in order to do the above mentioned project. Thankfully our water tested negative on Monday and is once again safe to drink. No, we have no real idea how it got contaminated in the first place, we have some, but nothing for sure. We will hopefully be testing in again in a few weeks to be sure we did indeed kill the contamination and not just mask it for a while.

I am planning on posting everyday this week, or close to it anyway. We are feeling so much better and are anxious to get out and do things as a family. Doug is taking off next week so he can join in the fun. We have plans to go to Grandmas, visit the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, go to Ann Arbor to visit Amanda and Amelia, go see the play The Sound of Music and lots of other fun things. So check back often to see what we have been up to. Maybe we will see you in our travels!!!

Update

Here is an update for all of you keeping track.

Grace -- still healthy. She lives with hand sanitizer and Lysol in her room.

Nathan -- back at school. Still coughing but much better.

Jacob-- back at school. Still coughing but much better.

Daniel -- influenza mutated into pneumonia just like the others. He is on Omnicef for 1o days. Contagious for at least three. That means no school for him this week.

Sarah -- much better too. Still going potty in the pull up THEN sitting on the big girl potty. Putting her in underpants didn't work, she promptly pooped in them. Back to pull ups for a while.

Doug -- tired but hanging in there. More under the weather today than usual, but we are hoping that is just stress induced. Tuesdays aren't good days here. They are meeting day at church. ;-)

Robyn -- tired but OK. Glad most of the kids are back at school. Looking forward to planning some fun activities that limit interaction with others but still allow us to get out of the house for a few hours at a time. Will be carrying hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes with me EVERYWHERE!!

As you are planning your summer calendars Save this Date : August 2, 2008. This is the day we are planning the Big Birthday Bash at our house. The theme this year is STAR WARS. It is going to be a nice sunny summer day with lots of fun, family, friends and fellowship. Come early and stay late!!!

Third Quarter Report Cards came home today. The kids did excellent. Grace got all A's and B's. She improved in just about all her subjects. She is doing better each quarter. Jacob got the equivalent of all A's and Nathan was close with only one B in penmanship, who'd have guessed! The boys will get actual letter grades next year. In second grade they have an O for outstanding S for satisfactory and N for needs improvement. You can also get S+ and S- too. She also lists % so we know what the letter grade would be. They did great!! They really do enjoy school and are keeping up quite well, despite all the days they have missed.

Grace will be reciting a poem during opening on April 21. This is something each child in the school does once a year. The teacher assigns a poem, the student memorizes it and then recites it for memory in front of the entire school, K-12, during the opening. This is when they assemble at the beginning of the day to raise the flag, say the pledge, acknowledge birthdays or good grades, and make announcements. They also have one or two children recite a memorized poem. It is great for memory skills and public speaking skills. Grace almost has hers memorized already. I will post it on the 21st along with some pictures and if I'm lucky, a video too. The boys will have their turn shortly after Grace. They begin with the Seniors in the fall and end with the Kindergarten at the end of the year.

Happy Easter!

I hope that all of you had a blessed Easter celebration. We stayed home!! Daniel had a fever and the twins were still coughing and very crabby! They will head back to school tomorrow for two and a half days this week. Daniel will visit the Dr soon, he still has a fever and we think his influenza has also mutated into pneumonia. Happy Joy!! He will not got to school tomorrow.

This has been the craziest Holy Week we have ever experienced. It has just been a weird Lent season all around. The weather has been nasty. The kids and adults have been sick seemingly non stop since before Ash Wednesday. We canceled Ash Wednesday service and Good Friday service due to weather conditions!! There was snow on the ground for Easter!!!!

I am sooooooo looking forward to Spring Break! We are not going anywhere. We are staying right here. I plan on being outside as much as possible. We have loads of work to do so it shouldn't be a problem. We had thought about taking the kids somewhere, but each place we thought of we thought of ways they could contract germs and diseases there so we opted to stay home. We may get over to visit the grandparents, but even that is an iffy prospect.

Sarah has added to the fun by deciding to want to go on the big girl potty. I should be happy about this I really should but I am not. I am just not ready to spend half my day in the bathroom waiting for her to tinkle on the potty. She has it backwards right now and I have little patience to help her get it straight, but I will because I am a good mommy. Right now she pees in the pull up then goes to sit on the potty. She climbs up, sits for a few seconds, wipes, hops off , checks to be sure the toilet paper made it in, then climbs back up, sits a while longer, wipes again, hops off, flushes,watches it all go down and puts on a new pull up. She does this about five times in one hour then plays and forgets until she pees again and repeats it again another five times. She has yet to actually GO ON THE POTTY!! Any tips on how to get her to reverse the order and pee on the potty not in the pull up? I was kinda hoping she would wait until this summer when she could run around in a bathing suit or whatever outside and just pee until she figured out what she needed to do. No, she has to want to do it when there is still snow on the ground!!!!!! Oh well, such is my life lately.

Got to finish up this blog for now. Our new show is on at 9pm. It is called New Amsterdam. Anyone else watch it? It is on Fox on Monday nights. If you liked Highlander you will like this. Same concept, sort of. Check it out!!