Here are a few snapshots from Christmas 2009. We celebrated our traditional Christmas eve fondue with Beppe and Pakka. It felt very different this year to have Archie and Jade here for Christmas but not Michelle. Jade had some presents under the tree from her Mommy that she had wrapped a couple of months ago. It was a surprise for all of us. She got some dress up clothes and wigs. So cute. For the first time ever our kids spent Christmas Day in our own home. We slept in, opened presents, played games and of course ate. The day after Christmas six of us went to Iowa for about 5 days. B&P went to Kansas by train for a week. It was good for all of us to see some other scenery and visit with some different people. : ) We went roller skating and ice-skating while there. Overall the holidays were somewhat rough, not to be unexpected for grieving families I guess. We actually feel pretty good to have them behind us this year. Looking onward to 2010 and wondering what it will bring. We certainly wouldn't have been able to make it through the holidays without family and our friends. Thank you for each kind word you have said to us and each prayer prayed for us as we ended 2009 yes.
This was the exact time that our world was shattered with a phone call. To make a very long story short my sister-in-law Michelle(38), very suddenly passed away while almost 5 months pregnant. The pain that we've experienced in the last two months has been incredible. I've decided that there are no words in our language to describe it. It has been the most painful experience of my life. Michelle and her growing baby girl Leila left behind Archie and their beautiful four-year-old daughter Jade. Archie was in Iraq this time and it took him 54 hours of travel time to make it home to our family. What incredibly long days those two and a half days were while waiting for him to arrive. We held memorial services both in Goshen and in Kalona, IA where Michelle is buried next to her brother Don. It seems like such a short time since they lost their stillborn baby girl, Emina, last December when Michelle was eight months pregnant. I miss Michelle so much. I miss the looks that we could give each other and understand what we were thinking, without having to speak. I miss being able to text her and getting her texts to me, telling me the funny things that Jade said that day. Michelle spent a lot of the last four years in Goshen while Archie has traveled for the military. We usually saw each other about three times a week. I am very often reminded of her while listening to Jade, through the inflections in her voice and watching her mannerisms. Archie is accepting the military's compassionate reassignment and is not deploying back to Iraq even though he was supposed to be there until August of 2010. He will be returning to Fort Riley, Kansas where they had previously been based until sometime this next summer. We fully support Archie and his decision not to move Jade around at this point and keep her near family here locally. I feel so bad that Archie has to get their belongings out of storage and set up a home all by himself this time. When Archie is unavailable for decisions, Tony and I have legal guardianship for her. Madison and Jade are sharing a bedroom. It will be interesting to see how a 13-year-old and a four-year-old get along as roommates. Madison has had an incredible attitude through this whole situation. She and her and her Aunt Michelle were very close. They texted each other often and Madison would often spend the night with Michelle and Jade, Beppe and Pakka too. This situation has made Madison grow up even more. She has been a great help with Jade, even though they both are going through their own grieving processes. Unfortunately we have had to learn a lot about grief, what it's like for adults to grieve, and what it's like for children to grieve. We fully understand that this is a day by day process and will take a very long time to get through, if you ever "get through it." Archie has been here now nearly 2 months. He leaves for Kansas on January 6 and our "new normal" starts again then. We will miss him so much. Jade and her daddy are so close, it will be tough on both of them. We aren't sure what the next several months or even years look like. I expect there to be more trips than usual to Iowa since this will be halfway for each of us, both of us traveling six hours and meeting in the middle. I'm so thankful that he didn't have to go back to Iraq! So many of you have been such a big help to us these last two months. Honestly I don't know that we could have ever made it without our faith, our friends, and of course our family. We certainly appreciate your continued support and prayers for the coming weeks and months ahead. We love you all and can feel that you love us too. We sincerely thank you.
The Flames U13/14 team finished 2nd out of 8 teams at the Fall Fusion Festival in Brownsburg, IN. Their first field was extremmely wet! Notice the water flying! Our team played great all weekend and it was exciting to come home with the 2nd place trophy. How do you like Madison's "war paint?"
We have a teenager in the house! I know, I know... we don't look old enough to have a teenager. You are all so kind! We celebrated Madison's 13th birthday last Saturday night. We had pizza at our house and then went rollerskating. It was a lot of fun! I have to say, the parties have certainly gotten easier as they've gotten older. No games to plan any more. They just entertain themselves. I love to listen in on their conversations and listen to all the giggling. A teenage chapter is just beginning at our house!
The picture of the girls: (left to right) Peyton, Megan, Heather, Madison, Maddi, Kiley, Alexa and Jade in the front.
I had fun making Madison's cake this year. I think it turned out pretty good... for someone who decorates cakes twice a year!
For as long as I can remember Tony has played softball over Labor Day Weekend in Fort Wayne... until last year. Over the last 18 years, the college guys have become dads with busy children and families which means that there aren't enough men who can commit a whole holiday weekend for softball. So, 5 of the guys have decided that their guy-weekend should continue. Although they miss playing the softball, they've managed to still watch the great American past time. This year they took a road trip to Philli and Cleveland for MLB games. They sat 4 rows behind the dug-out, caught 2 foul balls and found themselves during the ESPN highlights! While they have started their new tradtion, the kids and I have gone to Iowa for the last 2 years. This year was great fun as well. Grandpa got a new antique tractor to restore and got it to the place where he could at least give rides to the grandkids. It also meant that Quinn, Grandma, Aunt Amy and I got to go to the home opener for Iowa football. Usually their opening game is nothing too exciting, but with beating Northern Iowa by a score of only 17-16, it kept us on the edge of our seats. We also can say that we observed history in the making by watching 2 field goal attempts get blocked by Iowa. One with 7 seconds left in the game and the second with 1 second left. Madison and Jenna got to go to a Tenth Avenue North concert which was fun for them to recognize songs they hear on the radio. Labor Day Weekend... the unoffical official end of the summer. Fall is my favorite time of year so I will welcome its arrival.
Quinn has been practicing with the Concord Football League (CFL) twice a week since the end of July. He is #66 on the Colts team and Saturday was their 2nd game of the season. Quinn enjoys playing but gets discouraged because he doesn't get the ball much. It's 4th, 5th and 6th graders together so we've told him he pretty much needs to put his time in and when he is a 6th grader he will be leading on the field and getting the ball. At this age they ALL want to be the glamorous quarterback and it's hard for them to see the importance of the other roles. The other night he practiced at quarterback for a couple of plays. This is what he told me... "I couldn't see a thing, all these big guys were rushing at me, I couldn't see who I was supposed to pass it to so I just threw the ball up in the general direction and hoped somone from our team would catch it." LUCKILY ONE of his passes was caught. OH BOY... think he needs to grow a foot and go to a few more practices. WHEW!
Michelle and Jade are back... which means that Archie deployed for Iraq again. : ( He is in Kuwait right now for a transitional period. It was 130 degrees when he got there! We are HAPPY to have Michelle and Jade with us again... but sad Archie had to leave.
Tonight was Madison's first soccer scrimmage as a member of the 7th/8th grade soccer team. We lost to the older girls 4-1 but it was a great experience. She had to guard Brittney most of the time... she knows her very well from softball and soccer seasons of the past. We caught them talking with a few smiles when the ball wasn't on their side of the field. This is the first full season of playing on the big high school field with 11 players, instead of 8. Lots of adjustments this year! It was fun to finally get the season started! Their first "real" game is next Tuesday. I'll try and do better at keeping you up to date on what's going on around here.
Last week we were gone to Kansas for a family wedding. Tony's 1st cousin, Monty, married a beautiful bride named Hope. We had a great trip! I will try and quickly summarize the trip with you with some pictures.
Kansas is faaaar away from Indiana! We knew it would take us 12 driving hours so we decided to split up the trip and do something fun along the way. We left on Wednesday evening, July 22 and spent the first night in Illinois and the next day we stopped in Hannibal, MO and toured the Mark Twain caves. These are the caves that were his inspiration and setting for some of his books, like Huckleberry Finn. We've been to caves before (they are really neat, if you haven't been to one, you really need to go) but like most caves, this one was very unique in it's own way. In the 1800's when it was discovered, they let people write on the walls of the cave! So this cave has lots of names all over it... with dates back to the early 1800's. They also used lanterns to light their way and there is still the black oil residue on the ceiling to prove it. They also didn't care if we touched the cave walls and even encouraged us to sit down for a break at one point.
Usually caves are very "hands-off" type of places. There were no bats this time and no big stalactite or stalagmites. It was very neat to have our guide quote conversations from the books that specifically talked about areas of the cave.
We travelled on to Fort Riley which is a military base in Junction City, Kansas. Tony's sister, Michelle and her family (Archie and Jade) are here for just a little while longer. Archie is deploying next month to Iraq for his 3rd tour there and will be gone for a year. Michelle and Jade are moving to Indiana for the year. We are excited about that, but super sad Archie has to go to Iraq again. On Friday morning we went to watch Archie get a promotion. The military has so many ranks and "tracks" for advancement to be on. I can't keep it all straight. What I do understand is that he is on the Warrant Officer track and he only has 3 more levels to go, until he is at the highest rank he can be at in the military. His specialty is in Military Intelligence and that's what he will be doing again in Iraq. He is an Interrogator and is good at getting needed information out of people. Boy, you should hear some of his stories!!!
Jade wore her little uniform and got to help put the new patch on her daddy's uniform and a new pin for his hat.
He was the only one receiving a promotion today. It was held out under a big tree. Here Archie is repeating his vows to protect and serve his country. Seriously, whether you agree with this war or not, how can one not tear up at this? Ask me, and I will tell you in person what Archie thinks of this war from his first hand experiences.
And here below is a more "typical" looking picture of our brother-in-law, right after he stole my plate away to finish off my potato salad... because he knew I "was getting full and he was doing me a favor to eat it for me." Ummm... OK... right. This is a typical Archie thing to do. You never know what he will do next... and yes, he did finish off my plate for me! He is taunting me with his last few bites in this picture.
Introducing Monty and Hope! Don't they make a beautiful couple? Tony was an usher for the wedding and I'm just now realizing that I don't have any pictures of him ushering people in!! How could I have forgotten that? If you were at the wedding and took some pictures, please email them to me. He ushered us in early (because we were there so early) and I never really saw him in action with the "real" guests!
Madison and her Uncle Archie at the wedding.
One of the highlights of the trip was going boating and tubing with Michelle and Archie's boat. Wow, was that ever a blast! The kids loved it! Uncle AJ and Aunt Bonnie surprised us by deciding to spend a few hours on the boat with us... which made them drive all night long to get home before work on Monday morning in Minnesota. We were so glad they stayed though!
Tony, Madison and Quinn having a blast on Lake Milford.
Typical Archie... up to no good. I lost count on how many times he just picked Quinn up and heaved him over the side of the boat!! Beware... don't stand to close to him. You might be heading over board!
...And there he goes!
Madison and Aunt Bonnie try out their hand on the tubes.
My camera battery died but I got some beautiful sunset pictures with my cell phone. If I knew how to upload them here, I would. I LOVE sunsets... what a great way to end a really great day!
Altogether we were gone 6 nights which involved a stop in Iowa on our way home. We left Madison there and my mom and dad are bringing her back this weekend. I took over 400 pictures so if you didn't get enough of this trip, let me know... Ha!~
We went to the Battle Creek (MI) Air Show on the 4th. We were excited because the Thunderbirds were going to be there again. We saw them a few years ago in Chicago. They are awesome! Quinn was pretty delighted to get one of the Thunderbird pilot's autographs on a book about them. He flew plane #6 so it was fun to watch him soar through the air. We had little diagrams in the book to show us wear he was at on each formation. Cool! These pictures were taken by my little Kodak Easy Share. Double click on the picture! I thought it did a pretty good job to capture planes flying 700mph! Oh Wait... I think I took some of them on their "slow passes" for those trying to take pictures; only 400mph. Madison spent the day with a friend (MacKenzi H.) at a lake cottage. She had a great day too... air shows aren't her thing. Hope you all had great holidays as well!
It was a great softball year! Madison's team finished 17-2. Six of these girls are moving on to play with the All-Star Team and hopefully they will do well. They start playing games next week.
I dropped off Madison at camp today. She has 6 other good friends going this year too, and ran into a lot of people that she knows while in line to register. I'm sure she is going to have a great week, but it sure is hard not to "wonder" about her all the time. She comes back on Saturday afternoon. I miss her already!
Pictured above: (L to R) Kiley, Alexa, Erin, Madison, Maddi, Peyton. Not pictured is Rae Ann.
After Sunday School and church this morning we had to split up again for soccer games in different cities. Tony and Madison went to our home field for a 4-0 win against Warsaw. Quinn, Pakka and I drove to Fort Wayne (1-1/2 hours) for a 4-2 win against Fort Wayne Blau Weiss. Today's weather was in direct contrast to yesterday with it being very windy, overcast and cold. Thank goodness our nice weather was yesterday!
7 games: 2 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties in a matter of about 18 hours.
I'm going back to work tomorrow to rest up for the next weekend!
Quinn played in a U10 baseball tournament on Saturday in Warsaw. It's a 45 minute drive and he had to be there by 7am. Quite the early start on a Saturday! They played 3 games, completely spread out over the day, with the last game starting at 6pm. They lost all 3 games but gained a whole lot of experience. He had fun playing with his friends and it was a beautiful day in the 70's so if you have to spend 13 hours outside... it was great that it was so nice! I was able to be at the 8am and 6pm games. Tony spent the day there with Quinn. I went to Madison's 2 soccer games with her. They play the boys in different positions and he played short-stop and 2nd base in the games I saw. In the second game he pitched and played 1st base.
Madison's Flames soccer season also started on Saturday afternoon in South Bend at the Invaders. We tied 2-2. The girls played really well and dominated the whole game. I love to watch Madiso play! After this U12 game, we headed right to Elkhart (30 minutes away) for the U13 game, she doesn't practice with them but they need a few extra legs so she fills in as needed. This team also played well and tied 1-1. Madison and I are realizing that in this crazy weekend of sports openers, we don't even know who they played... ha! Some red team, without their names on their shirts! After this game, it was back to Warsaw to catch Quinn's last baseball game.
The day started at home in Goshen and we went to-Warsaw-Elkhart-South Bend-Elkhart-and Warsaw. What a day! When we finally got home at 10:30, we showered and melted into bed!
It's Spring Break here in Northern Indiana. We took our big family vacation to Florida over Christmas so we didn't have any big plans for this week. Madison went with Peyton and her family to Gulf Shores, AL. This is the farthest and longest time away for us... 10 days! I'm not worried about her, but I sure miss her! We all do! Tony and I took Quinn and Nate to Dayton, OH to the Air Force Museum and then on to Cincinnati for a 3 day weekend. We tried to do something that we knew Madison wouldn't mind missing... like spending 7 hours at an Air Museum!! We left on Friday night and spent the entire day at the Air Force Museum on Saturday. It's free to get in! You can't say that about many things any more! They LOVED IT! Quinn was in his 7th heaven of course. It was a HUGE, really really nice museum with 1000's of airplanes! AMAZING! They even got to sit in the cock-pits of 2 jets. Too bad we didn't live closer! Quinn could probably live there surrounded by all those planes. I'm absolutely amazed about how much he knows about those planes. We would round a corner and he would get so excited because he found a .......(and then name the plane)!! And this went on and on and on! You would think that I would be catching on to this by now but I know about 10 different ones and am calling that good. He could walk up to a plane and tell me details about it, why it was flown and something unique about it. That's truly a love for airplanes!
Definitely the highlight for me was the Presidential Airplanes...all Air Force One(s). These planes are kept in a separate hanger and they only take 4 bus loads over to that hanger each day. We signed up shortly after arriving and after we finished, there was only 1 seat left for the whole day! It was awesome to actually walk in the planes where Roosevelt took his only flight, and to look at the special elevator they installed so that he could use his wheelchair and not be carried on/off the plane. We walked on President Kennedy's plane and saw where they cut part of the bulk head away and then fixed it, so that his casket could rest in the passenger section of the plane, and not be transported with the baggage in the rear. We saw the seats where Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into the presidency, while Jackie Kennedy stood by, flying the body of her husband home. We walked through 5 presidental airplanes including the airplanes for Presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush. Nate even said, "I can't believe that I'm walking in the same steps where presidents also walked". It truly was an awesome experience! Nate's aerospace 4H poster project is on Air Force One so this was perfect for him! Quinn loved it as well. This museum was completely free... an added bonus!
On Saturday night we went to Dave & Buster's for supper and then all 3 of the boys got their fill with video games. Nate played the claw game until he won this watch. Boy was he excited! Quinn saved enough tickets to buy some Pokemon' cards at the end of the evening. It was a very full but very fun day!
