Grandma's Roses

I wrote earlier about one of my favorite memories being my grandma's flower gardens. She had SO many! When she lived on her and my grandpa's farm, I remember what seemed like fields of iris. But when she lived in town, I remember her roses and peony's most of all. After her funeral today, I asked one of my aunts if it would be ok to take one of her roses. Thankfully, she was all for it, so I found one that seemed to be saying 'take me' and now it sits in a jar on my table. Pretty soon, it will obviously wilt and die but for today, I am enjoying the memory of a beautiful life that touched so many... what a legacy she left behind. I hope you enjoy the photo of my grandma's rose.

My Grandma

My grandma passed away yesterday. I am still in awe of her! She was 100 years old! The cool thing is that her mind was unbelievably clear. I will remember her for many things, especially her HUGE flower gardens, angel food cake, full cheecks, my quilt that she made which is like a security blanket, her cup and saucer collection, and for her tenacious spirit that I enherited. :) Goodbye, Grandma. I'll see you another day.

Maggie!

Our friend, Maggie, rode a bus all the way from Ohio to visit us last week. It was so great to have her stay with us!

Ally REALLY LOVED having Maggie with us. It definitely helped even the odds of having a male dominated house!

Even tho we are miles apart we keep her in our prayers, especially that she will choose God in everything.

Yep, she just seems like part of the family! We will miss her!

The Wedding!

On Saturday, the most beautiful bride walked down the aisle to her prince charming. We were honored to watch as Beck and Shannon were married in Kansas. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful bride! It was kind of hard to realize that just yesterday she was the little girl who was at my own wedding. As they played the music "God Bless the Broken Road" to begin the ceremony, I couldn't help but cry. My, but life goes by fast! Congratulations, Beck and Shannon!

Kristina, Sarah, Beck, and her third little sister, Ally

The happy couple!

They are so in love! Woo-Hoo!!!

Having Fun

Will, Ally, Maggie, and Tanner hanging out after the younger kids were gone.

Kristy, Dean and Cole...One of the few moments Kristy looks like she's behaving herself. ;)

Jordan was overseeing Matt and Dirk's work on the grill.

Yum! Beef!

Atheena, Tiffany, and Jennifer relaxing in the shade.

Ally and Sofie.

Cole and Chad after a long day.

Softball Practice

Something I never thought I'd do... Of course, by the photos, you can tell that my favorite part was talking in outfield... :)

Kenosis Effect

The Kenosis Effect Community Church Service was today. It was so awesome to see God bringing so many people together to worship Him! What a way to bring God to the forefront of this great ministry! Check out their website at kenosiseffect.com for tons of information!

Honey, You're Right!

Dirk brushed up on his hosting skills last night for another round of "Honey, You're Right!" Basically, it's a version of The Newlywed Game except the goal is to help couple's communicate better. The results were hilarious and enlightening to say the least! Tiffany definitely had the reddest face but James had the funniest answer! Dirk said he was just really impressed that the guys were able to keep quiet about the secrets Matt shared when they were downstairs. hmmmm? History is not any of the womens' strong points but we sure know how to cook from crockpots to microwaves, these women have it all under control!

KRISTY

This is Kristy (and sweet Sofie). She looks so sweet and innocent.And for the most part, well... yes, she's sweet but...she comes up with some very interesting ideas...
And how she gets me involved, I will never know.
But I do know that in spite of the things she gets me into, I appreciate her for her friendship. Moving here hasn't been without it's interesting moments, but having a person like Kristy to laugh and be crazy with has lightened the load and definitely helped my heart to heal. So, thanks Kristy, for buying watermelon-scented shaving cream and loving God more than anything else.

End of School Party

Party Time at Lighthouse! Water games were the thrill of the day!
Anytime is a great time as long as you have water balloons!
Shaving cream isn't just for shaving...
Sydnie and Sarah loved singing King of the Jungle. Syd is one of the best monkey's around!
The tweens were jammin' along too!
The lesson included an almost impossible maze that helped us to know that we truly can't make it on our own. Thankfully, if we ask, Jesus will make us free indeed!

CONGRATULATIONS, ADAM!!!!

Woo-Hoo! My nephew, Adam, just graduated in Kansas last weekend. He and Cole have been buds since they were babies so it was pretty sentimental watching him walk across that stage but we are so hugely [I know, not a word] proud of him! He has stood up, overcome, and conquered! It's off to college and a whole open world of opportunities! We love you, Adam!

Adam and Beck! Only two weeks until her wedding.

The Farber Family. I love my sister and her family is pretty great too.

Ally's First OFFICIAL Babysitting Job

There's no doubt about it, Ally loves Sofie! She had a great time babysitting except for the fact that Sofie slept way too long for her nap time! She said she doesn't need to be paid at all for watching her, but if she sleeps that long next time, she wants paid double. :)

Of course, Ally has had lots of practice giving care and love...

Welcome to Whispering Pine Treehouse

Will has successfully finished his treehouse! After spending quite a few days of his after school time up in the tree, he finally deemed it 'finished'. If there were ever a kid that belongs in a tree house, it's Will.

Lighthouse Fun

Ally loves to help out at church. She got to help out one night while Kristy was upstairs.

This is the group that Ally goes to class with. They just finished up a big study on creation so the mural that they painted depicts what all they studied. Unfortunately, she received her artistic talent from her mother and tried to keep her talent limited to painting clouds, etc. :)

Something Isn't Quite Right with This...

YAY!!! The beautiful weather is back...at least for this day anyway. I was caught up in the sweet brother/sister time that Cole and Al were having but not enough that I didn't notice Will doing all the tilling for the garden plot. I love taking photos of the kids (so much that it annoys them, except for Ally, and she loves cameras and being on either side of them works for her). So anyway, I did have a good time taking photos and when I inquired about why Will was the only one working through the first of the snowball fights and a lot of other outdoor fun, I was told that he didn't want to let anyone else do it. I was fine with that and I could understand him saying that. He did finish his chore and then proceeded to have a snowball fight with Cole. I'm still kind of struggling with having snowball fights and tilling the garden at the same time, but hey, I'm not complaining about the weather today. Who knows what it will be like tomorrow!

What Is Up With This!

Ok, I'm almost positive I just wrote about the wonderful SPRING weather that we enjoyed earlier this week. So, imagine how I felt in the night when the wind began blowing 150 miles per hour (or so it seemed) and included some snow! Well, I guess it feels like we were definitely in Nebraska! So much for SPRING weather today. On the other hand, it could be entirely different tomorrow. There's something to be thankful for! That and I get to make chili one more time before the heat of summer overtakes us.