Birthdays

Faith Alexandria

Vera Lynn


Amanda, Sarah and Aunt Laurie

My family has a way with bearing children in October/Novemeber/December...
Although Dad is not in favor of this, because all three of his daughters...and three grandbabies were born during hunting season, he has been a trooper and supported his daughters (and wife) throughout the years. Faith, my new neice, was born Dec 3, same day as her 1 year old cousin, Vera. Jack, my newphew, me and both my sisters, mom, aunt linda and aunt lori...all end of the year birthdays!

Above are some fun shots of us eating our favorite birthday treats, and of course, my new god-aughter, Faith, who is now home with mom and dad. So to all of you who celebrate your big day the last quarter of the year, Happy Birthday!

Vacations

If I were to write a list of my favorite things, going on vacation would be near the top. Growing up, my family went on vacation almost every year to some place exciting, like Maine, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Tennessee, Walt Disney World, Cancun, Myrtle Beach, Italy with mom, and up north...

Each trip has fun memories with my parents and sisters. I think we even kept a daily journal during some of the trips, I'd love to find those and see what I thought of Magic Kingdom in '93.

David and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. We've also went out west a few times (a region that I had not traveled before) to Colorado and Arizona for friends' weddings and California to discover that San Diego isn't always sunny and 75 like they say it is. "May Gloom, June Bloom"...we went in May. Boston, NYC and Rhode Island was a fun trip too, the east coast is very charming. I've also traveled down south recently, to New Orleans, LA, Alabama and Georgia; each state offering a unique service style, food and accent...ya'll.

Our next planned trip is to the UK and Ireland this spring. At least on this vacation, I know in advance it will be chilly and rainy! I'm looking forward to kissing the Blarney Stone, searching for Loch Ness, standing in front of Big Ben and driving through the green hills of Ireland. One learns a lot about geography, and more importantly, cultures when traveling. I'm thankful I have had so many amazing opportunities to see different parts of the world and look forward to seeing where my next trip may be.

Sisters

“Three Sisters”

We are three sisters
Three sisters are we
I love each of you,
And I know you love me

We’re not always together,
Life sometimes keeps us apart.
But we’re never separated
We’re in each other’s heart.

We have had lots of good times
That we’ll never forget
Sometimes we worry
And sometimes we fret

But if God ever gave me
Something special you see,
It was that of a blessing...
Three sisters are we.

Francis Gillespie

GO GREEN!

In honor of the best Univeristy known to mankind, our cat, Miss. Chelsea F.C. Toy would like to sport her newest shirt. She likes to wear it especially on days like Saturday as MSU's football team rose victorious over the other school down the road.

GO Green, Go White, Go State!

Detroit Free Press Half Marathon

Sunday, Oct 19th, I completed my first half-marathon. Nathan and Kristen were kind enough to be our host the night prior and part of my cheer section early the next morning. David, Vanessa, Sarah, Jack and Vera were also in the fan club, thanks for the support guys, it was really special to see you during and after the race. My goal: under 2 hours. My time: 1:57:11. The feeling of accomplishment was awesome. All those days after work where I would have rather drove home and got cozy on the couch, I stayed ran. Or the early Saturday mornings when sleeping in sounded so perfect, I ran. It was worth it though, a sweet feeling of victory. Training takes up so much time and energy, kudos to those who have children and crossed the finish line. Will I do the full 26.2 next year? Time will tell. Until then, I thank God for pushing my legs toward the end goal and when I was tired, made me fly like wings of eagles.