35th Anniversary...

Our church...1977

Us...about the same time  :-)

Our church...present

~ January 2012 ~
Wish I had one of the whole family!

January 29th, 2012 marked the 35th Anniversary of my parents coming to the Lima area to pastor.  On January 28th, our church held a very nice dinner to celebrate the milestone, and presented them with a trip to Israel for March 2013.  I was waiting to get pictures from the photographer, but since I'm so far behind, I'll share a few that I have that others might want (Valerie :-) )...

Head table - I don't have a pic of the delicious food:
roast beef, ham, red potatoes, seasoned green beans, veggie bake,
 tossed salad, dinner rolls, specialty teas, coffee
(each dish was given a fancy name that I can't recall)

a tiered cake and cheesecake bites

 

Family time

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Andrea surprised us by coming to the
dinner...7 hours travel time...each way.  :-) 

Uncle Joe and Aunt Carol came from Circleville

This one's a keeper! Love those chubby cheeks!

Aunt Carol and loooong time family friend, Lorna

The next morning, we had a special service. Our conference president preached, and there were solos by Nathan Bailey (Shepherd Boy) and Renee' Hunsaker (Find Us Faithful), who are fourth and third-generation Lima Pilgrims. Greg, Valerie, and I sang "Faithful to the Faithful."

While Renee' sang "Find Us Faithful," the church children
filed in from Jr. Church and throughout the congregation and
brought roses to mom and dad.

The church board presented a beautiful wooden plaque.

At the end, the congregation was asked to come for
handshakes and hugs.

Special times with special children

At the end, the people of the church surrounded my parents
at the front, and Bro. Southerland prayed a special blessing
upon the ministry here at Lima. 

Crazy Candids

Free pretzel day at Auntie Anne's :-)

In January, we were able to spend a little time with our cousin,
Beth.  She lived in Lima with her sister for a little while, and
sometimes took Kaitlynn on fun outings.  Kaitlynn's favorite
was when Beth had a tea party with her.  Kaitlynn ended up
 being Beth's flower girl, so there's a special little connection
going on there.  :-)

Favorite part of any birthday cake...icing!

And more icing!

Healing teeth...

And little Will lovin' his ice cream cone.

So...the candids could have been a whole lot more crazy, but I might have gotten into trouble. :-) 

Lansing, MI Trip Part 3

Before our trip, I scouted the area online to make sure I would have enough to do.  You never want to get bored with four children depending on you to keep them entertained.  We found a nice little children's science museum type thingy (been to plenty of those in my day), and planned to visit, but when we awoke to such gorgeous temperatures and bright sunshine, we decided to avoid being indoors.  Lansing has an old town district, a river, fish ladder, etc., and that made for a couple of hours of fun.  Greg's meetings were finished a little earlier than expected, and so we left for home as soon as we could.  I've heard a lot about what a rough place Lansing is, but my overall perception of the place isn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I always felt safe, and I did cover a decent portion of the city. 

Not sure whether this restaurant is closed permanently or
for the season.  It is really attractive.

It's amazing how smooth the water seems just before
it crashes over the dam.  Several object lessons to
be found in that example.  :-)

I had such a fun weekend exploring with the kids.  They were
patient with my constant use of navigation, and my little
blondie even asked, "Does that lady know how to get
everywhere?"  Oh, she brings us lots of laughs!

Lansing, MI Weekend Part 2

After Greg finished Friday's meetings, we headed for south Grand Rapids to meet his older brother and wife, their family, and an exchange student they are hosting for the year, for dinner. Family truly is one of life's greatest blessings, and we were blessed to be able to spend a fun-filled evening with them! It was good to laugh till our sides hurt, ya know? And we did plenty of that!

Ryan, Greg, Evan, Gene

Tina and Amanda

Evan, Ryan, Kristen, Allison, Kaitlynn, and Sonny

Harmony and her soon-to-be sister-in-law

Sonny wasn't too sure what to think of all the giants!

Just as we were finishing our visit in the beautiful outdoors,
a hailstorm like we've never seen came on us.  It was deafening!
It was 70+ degrees, and pouring ice!  The ground looked like
it was covered in snow. 

Some hail in the windshield area

About an hour later, there were two little girls very happy to be
back at the hotel and safely tucked in their bed!

Lansing, MI Weekend Part 1

Greg had the opportunity for a business trip to Michigan last weekend, and we were excited to be able to go with him!  We left Friday morning, and dropped him off early afternoon at Maurer's Textile in Lansing so that he could spend the afternoon touring the facility and talking with the employees and owners.  I should have taken a pic of the actual headquarters.  They have an attractive facility, and Greg really enjoyed getting to see another operation that is so similar to the one where he spends his days.

The kids and I headed straight for downtown.  There's just something about the history and architecture of a state capitol building that is intriguing to us, so we try to visit them when we can.

Rich staircases

Love how the chandaliers reflect MI wildlife and game

One of the entrances to the Governor's Office.

Looking down onto the glass floor...

Looking up (as far as I could comfortably lean over the
ledge)...

There always has to be a little rivalry with the MI/OH thing, so here's my analysis: Ohio's statehouse is much more beautiful on the outside, but Michigan's recent renovation makes their interior far superior to ours!

Oh, and just for Grandpa Burley, we took a little trip around Michigan State University.  :-)  The boys proudly wore their Wolverine gear in Spartan territory, and no one even spit on them or called them nasty names...lol.