It has been 5 months and 9 days since my last post. It seems like centuries ago when I think of all that's happened since then! Let's see.... Chuck and I celebrated 13 years of marriage with a camping getaway to Muskegon....Rachel went to VBS twice- at River terrace and at our church....celebrated the birth of our grandson, Zachary...we went to 4 family reunions (Waterman, Willick, Aldrich, Robinson)...spent a week in Tennessee (Rachie and I) for the Willick reunion and a few days with my dad in Chattanooga...spent 5 days camping in Ohio....had a big ol' yard sale...went to Armada with my grandma to visit my grandpa's grave for the first time in 25 years....Rachel began 4th grade and is starting to settle in...got Rachel back into dance class and GEMS...enjoyed weekly visits with our grandson, Justin...
That brings us to today, October 17th- our daughter's 11th birthday!! I cannot express how very proud I am of the girl she is becoming. My prayer is that I will be the mom that she deserves and that God expects me to be.
This weekend was jam-packed with good times! (Good, but nonetheless exhausting!!!)
Friday was the annual Very Special Arts festival out at the school where Chuck works. It's a day-long event for all of the disabled kids in Kent county. Visual, vocal, instrumental, dramatic, dance, and poetic arts are all represented in interactive workshops for about 2500 people (students, staff and volunteers). It quite a day, let me tell you. We always pull Rachel out of school for it (since she is in a regular classroom, she doesn't go with her school) and she loves it! This year, my friend Suzanne Grasman (fellow Calvin alum) came out with her daughter , Amanda, for a couple of hours. I was so glad to have them there!
Saturday was a zoo! Chuck worked 6-9 am. At noon, Rachel was picked up and taken over to Godwin Heights (SE GR) to the school where her recital was at 1:00. Teri met them there and got her ready for the performance and watched it. Meanwhile, Chuck, Mary and I went to Justin's baptism. I am still groaning about the experience. When a baby is baptized (or dedicated), it's a very personal and meaningful time, right? Well, not this one!! The priest had 23 kids baptized at the same time!! 23!!!! It was literally an assembly line production. He never mentioned Justin (or anyone else) by name or anything!! After the service, we went back to Tammie's mom's house (Brenda) for a luncheon. It was very, very nice. All 6 of the grandparents were there, which I thought was just great. We left there at 4 pm, and went to the school for Rachel's 5:00 performance. We had quite the contingent- Mom, Grandma, Bob, Christy, Bill, Rachel, Paris, Kailey, Molly, Mary, Chuck & I. The performance was like nothing I have ever seen before. It was truly a time of worship and praise. Rachel's group "brought down the house" at both shows! Of course, I cried the whole time. We were so very, very proud of her. Afterwards, we all went to Russ' for dinner. Half of my family had never eaten at one before and were quited impressed. We finally got home about 10:45 pm.
Yesterday was another emotionally moving day. Jim Bates (one of my brother's two best friends for the past 20 years) graduated from U of M Flint with his doctorate of Physical Therapy. He's been plugging away at this dream for about 15 years and we were all there to witness it! I was so proud of him! Jim is as much of a member of our family as his own! We didn't get home last night until 11:30 pm.
All in all, one of the most fufilling weekends on record!
Wow! It's been nearly three months since my last post. So much has happened since then. In March, we all went to the Special Olympics state basketball tournament in Midland and had even more fun than in past years (which were great!) !! Rachie got a silver medal and scored two baskets! It was so nice that my mom, grandma, Bob (grandma's friend), sister and neice could come up and watch.
Later that month, we got free tickets to the "Smuckers Stars on Ice" show. We were able to get enough for much of my family to come with us and we had a ball! For me, it was a dream come true to actually see Olympic medalists in person! When I was in high school, a friend and I were able to see a similar tour, but with the gymnastic men and women. It is still one of my fondest memories!!
April seems to have flown by! The month started out lousy- I sprained my knee on the 28th(of March). I spent two weeks in an immoblizer which was no fun. Then I went to an orthopedic specialist and he said that the muscle that I sprained is one that I can't help but use every time I stand, so there is really nothing else to do but wait. He said that it ought to start feeling better in a couple of months. MONTHS!!! My patience ran out 2 weeks ago!!!! The only bright spot is that I've "graduated" from the immobilizer to an ACE bandage wrap.
The past couple of weeks have been one big blur.... we got a new car, a new baby was born in the family, celebrating Easter, Rachel's first dance performance, dealing with Rachel's school, and the death of a very dear aunt. No wonder I'm so tired!
We took Rachel to the doctor yesterday. She's not sick, but she's been having a hard time dealing with things lately. Her frustration level is so high, and she can't (by "can't" I mean does not have the ability to) tell us exactly what's wrong. We are being referred to a specialist, which is exactly what we had hoped for.
We did have a surprise when we were there though. She got measured and she's taller than we thought. She now stands 5' 1"!!! And she's only 10 years old! The doc told us that we're in "trouble" because she still has 11 years of growing to do. Well, there's a good chance that she'll be as tall as her Uncle Chad, which means that I'll have to start scouting the big and tall shops!
Right now is basketball season, and it is alive and well in our home. Chuck coaches and Rachel plays on a Special Olympics team. We watch every Pistons game that is televised and faithfully follow the MSU mean and women teams. (At least Rachel and I follow our beloved Spartans!) It seems like we know the Pistons' starting line up personally now- it's pretty fun to be a fan!!
I have always known that there is no guarantee that I will live to a "ripe old age", that doesn't mean that I have ever believed that I wouldn't. This past week, a young man from our church died. Brian was 30 years old, a middle school teacher at the Christian school (that 90% of the kids in our church go to), a soccer coach, a gifted musician, and all around great guy. He was playing basketball on Monday with some fellow school teachers and just didn't feel right, like his heart was racing. He went home and laid down, and never woke up. Our pastor and a friend of his went to his house to check on him after he didn't report to work and they found him in bed.
I wasn't a close friend of Brian's, in fact I barely knew him, but his death has had a profound impact on me. Life just seems so much more precious to me than it did at this time last week. It has made me really stop and think about the blessings that I enjoy and the people that have blessed me. I've taken a closer look at my life and what I spend my time doing, or worrying about, or thinking about. I realize how blessed I am to still have both of my grandmas and both of my parents living. I value even more the time I have with Chuck and Rachel. I'm going to make a consious effort to make "each day count" and to thank our Lord for each day.
This has been a rollercoaster of emotions for the past few days. I got to spend time with my siblings and neices on Saturday which was great, if not all too short. Monday was great too- I got to spend the day with my good friend, Teri. It's been a long, long time since we did that. We got to go to Olga's for lunch and then to see "Glory Road" at the theater. (The last time I was in a theater was last May, the day that Star Wars III was released!)
When I got home, we got a phone call from Tammie saying that they had just got home from Ann Arbor and that Justin was with them!! It had been exactly one month since we saw him last (the day after surgery), so we high tailed it over there. WOW!!! He has grown A LOT!!! He is now over 10 lbs and is longer too. We can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Matt, Tammie and Justin are coming over for dinner on Friday to celebrate both Tammie's birthday and Justin's return home.
Then on Tuesday, we learned of a guy in our church died very unexpectedly. His name is Brian Dyk and he's 30 years old, single, 7th grade teacher at West Side Christian School. He's been a member of our church for about 2 years, and he played the trumpet, sang in the choir, and ran the sound system. He was also the soccer coach for WSCS and had been a coach for the GR Eagles (a team of disabled players) for 10 years before that. I guess he and some other teachers were playing some basketball Monday night and said that he just didn't feel right, so he went home. As far as we know, he went to sleep and never woke up. A memorial service at the school will be held tomorrow, the funeral and burial is on Saturday in Kalamazoo, and I think that the plan for our Sunday Morning worship service has been scrapped and a third memorial service will be held then. Even though I wasn't really close to Brian, I can help feeling a sense of loss and wonder how I can be used to help others in this time.
It's only 10 days into the new year, and already it seems like our calendar is filling up to capacity! Between Special Olympics basketball and Rachel's ballet class, our Saturdays are pretty much booked up until the end of April. Add in Gems and Care Circle every other week, and it's no wonder that I'm feeling tired. At least all of those things are good ways to spend our time!
I made two New Year's resolutions last week, and so far so good. First, I'm going to read my Bible every day, or at least do my best to. You'd think after 35 years that this wouldn't be an issue, but it is. Secondly, I'm going to be more organized, so I don't feel so overwhelmed and out of control. I'm planning out meals for the month so that I have a plan for dinner before it's time to start preparing it. I'm making myself a housework schedule so that I can keep on top of it. Now, if the weather would cooperate, we'd be all set. For the past week, I haven't gone to bed before about 2 a.m. because the pain in my feet has been so intense. So, after I get Rachel on the bus, I usually end up sleeping and my housework plan doesn't go exactly as I planned.
All of my siblings are coming over on Saturday and I'm excited about it. Christy and Paris are the only ones who have seen our new place. Hopefully the Calvin-Hope game will be done before they get here. If not, I'll be a lousy host till it's over!