Saying Goodbye to Summer

As summer retreats into a lovely new fall season, we thought we'd say goodbye to the warm weather with a short tribute to all the fun we had in the sun.

We enjoyed the park,

had some great adventures,

played with new toys outside,

hung out with cousins (including Andrew),

had fun with Austin and Joselyn,

and, of course, made many trips to

the air conditioned library!

Down on the Farm

This weekend was both fun and productive as we gathered

with friends at their family farm.

On the Left :: The Hart Family including Chris (holding an animal skull he found in the barn), Julie, Peter and Lily

In the Middle :: The Mazurek Family (whose farm this is) including Blake, Anna, Bethany (holding Rufus) and Jack

On the Right :: That's us, the Puplis family

We met both families at Lighthouse Village Ministries, the church we attended for a couple of years before it dissolved this past December.

Yeah, we're kind of a crazy group, but we love it!

Saturday we harvested corn. It was a blast as everyone chipped in.

Well, everyone except for Claire. She did more wandering then picking.

Lily picking corn

loading the corn

Peter and Jack

Lily and Peter

Claire's ready to take off


Maybe it's better to leave the driving to Blake.

Julie and Anna shucking corn

I don't know what these two are doing. They're in a league all their own.

Okay, maybe I'm in a league all my own, too.

Our reward...the best corn on the cob we've ever eaten. As well as close to 20 quarts of corn for each of us to freeze for this coming winter!

Sunday we picked several bushels of green beans. We had some for lunch, but we also blanched and froze some as we did with the corn.

It certainly wasn't all work and no play. We also enjoyed other activities around the farm. Claire really liked this tire swing with Lily.

But her favorite was riding on the golf cart. She'd get so excited anytime she'd see it pull up.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a kayak trip (adults only) down the Pere Marquette River. We made some great memories!

Joe even talked me into going on the four wheelers, which to my surprise, I liked.


What a great weekend at the farm. We definitely feel an annual tradition has been born. We can't wait to do it again. And we certainly can't wait to dip into our freezer full of yummy vegetables.

Osh Kosh, Wisconsin

We had a great weekend visiting my sister Katie Bug and her family on the other side of the pond. We sure do miss them when we're apart, so it was great to see them. The weekend went all too quickly, but we managed to fit in as much fun as we possible could.

We went to the zoo...



We played at the Timberland playground...

Claire loved it here!

We went swimming...

We played several fun games...

And we even managed to spend some time just relaxing...

We wish we could do this every weekend. Thanks to Bug, Shawn and Aaliyah for being wonderful hosts. We look forward to celebrating with you the completion of your new home in a few weeks! We love you all!

Feeling Good!

I wanted to post a final update on Claire's health. We saw the doctor on Friday, and she said that Claire had recovered wonderfully. In fact, Claire has been sleeping, eating and playing incredibly well. It's been great to get back to our everyday adventures.

We even gussied up our new wagon and enjoyed a walk to the park.

Health Update

Hello everyone! I wanted to take a moment to update you on Claire's health. She's doing much better. She still has a low fever and has been sleeping quite a bit, but it seems her smile says it all. She is certainly on the mend. She was up and walking a bit today, playing with some of her favorite toys. She's still quite weak, so she'll take a few steps and then her legs give out. But she always gets right back up again. She is also eating a bit, which is encouraging. Slowly, she's getting stronger.

Joe and I were reminiscing last night about Claire's birth. It, too, was a scary situation as she was five weeks early and there were some complications during the delivery that put her at serious risk. I remember as Joe and I waited to go into the delivery room, we prayed over our unborn baby and sang to her "T'his Little Light of Mine". We didn't know her name, or even that she was a little girl, but we loved her so much. And last night, as we held her in the hospital, once again, we prayed over her and sang "This Little Light of Mine". It was a special moment that was a wonderful reminder of the gift God has given us to know and love this little girl.

Thank you to everyone who said a prayer on Claire's behalf. Thank you for your care and concern. It's greatly appreciated. I'm certain she'll be up and about, tearing through the cupboards again in no time :)

We love you all!

Seizures are Scary

It's 10:30 p.m. and Claire is tucked safely in bed -- something I have taken for granted. I'm so grateful to have my baby girl home and healthy. Joe and I agree, tonight was the scariest night of our lives. Claire has had a fever the last couple days, but as I sat and rocked her this evening, she started shaking, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she wasn't responding to me. I shouted for Joe, and we quickly gathered what we needed and headed to the car. We didn't know what to do, but we knew we needed to get to the hospital. At this point, though, Claire started turning blue and frothing deep in her throat, so I called 911. Within a few minutes a fire truck pulled up to our house and an ambulance came to take us to the hospital. They reassured us that she would be fine. She was suffering from a Febrile Seizure. In their words, her body was "rebooting" as a way of dealing with the fever. After checking her out at the hospital, the doctor felt it was a virus which caused the fever, and that she should recover quickly with no residual effects. While she was scared and confused for a while, it wasn't long after we got home that she perked right up and was even laughing again. A sound so sweet to a parent's ears.

Showing off my new teddy from the nice firemen and my comfy gown from the hospital.

I'll even do a one-armed "so big" for daddy!

Thank you, Lord, for our beautiful baby. Thank you for health and happiness. Thank you for giving us peace when we're scared and for watching over us when we're in danger.

Amen.

John Ball Zoo

Dad, Mom and I spent the morning at the Zoo with Uncle Mike, Aunt Laura and cousins Sylvia, Gracie and Andrew.

We had a great time...

and saw a lot of animals. Including...

Bears

[Sylvia, Gracie and Andrew watched them closely]

Birds

[I wasn't too sure about them]

Wallabies
[Aunt Laura and Mom liked how the Joey sat in the mommy's pounch]

BIG Monkeys

and Pink Flamingos

[Notice the Classic Haverdink Stance]

If you would ask my Daddy, though, he would tell you I spent most the morning, not admiring the animals, but exploring cool things like long hallways to walk and fun steps to climb.

Now this is what I call a good time!