This weekend my friend Kylee and I took our babies on a retreat. Life can be stressful for 9-month-olds, so we thought they needed to get away for some R & R. Just kidding. The retreat was for us, and yes, we had a fun time. We snapped a few photos—of the babies, of course.
Happy Birthday, Kayla!
Kayla is four today! We had a birthday party for her at Island Park last night, and today the girls and Aaron ran in the Highland Festival Races. Madeline ran 50 meters, and Kayla ran 100. Aaron’s race was a 5K. Everyone had fun and did a great job. Here are a few pictures:
Kayla with her Mickey Mouse cake
Madeline wearing Grandma’s Mickey Mouse shirt
After the Fun Run
On a much sadder note, Aaron and I drove to Lansing after the party last night to say good-bye to my grandma. She has been in the hospital since the end of April with numerous health problems. We thought she was going to make it, until yesterday when the medical staff discovered she developed pneumonia. My dad called yesterday saying they expected her to pass away that afternoon. Thankfully she was still alive when we arrived at the hospital after 10 p.m. last night. We stayed for a couple hours and arrived home around 1:30 a.m. She was still hanging on today but will probably pass away soon. I appreciate your prayers. This has been a hard season.
Remembering Graeme Johnson
Today we mourn the loss of our dear friend, four-year-old Graeme Johnson. Graeme passed away late this afternoon and is now free of pain and sorrow in the presence of our Lord Jesus. Graeme had serious heart complications since birth, resulting in numerous surgeries. He had surgery April 18th to repair a leaky valve on his heart and was recovering remarkably well. A few days later the doctors discovered the surgery unfortunately had not repaired the valve, only to leave it worse than before. Life was challenging for Graeme since then, and yesterday we learned that the largest vein to his heart was blocked. There was nothing the doctors could do. Graeme came home today and passed away at his house around 5:30 p.m. Please pray for his parents, Jim and Kylee, and his brothers, Chase and Ian. While we rejoice that Graeme is in heaven, we have lost a very special person. I wish you could have known Graeme. He would have charmed you with his smile and made you laugh with his jokes.
Here is a picture of precious Graeme. I took this picture while babysitting him nearly three years ago, and unfortunately I don’t have a more recent photo. Here he is with Kayla in June of 2005.
Welcome, Ender & Grey!
Around 4 p.m. Monday afternoon, Ender and Grey, twin boys, were born to Aaron’s brother, Joel, and Joel’s wife, Emily.
Aaron drove to Grand Rapids yesterday for a visit. The girls and I are eager to meet the boys, but we’ll have to wait until Easter weekend. Here’s a picture of Joel (holding Ender) and Aaron (holding Grey).
Change is in the Air
The weather today couldn’t be more perfect in my opinion. [Read more…]