Could she be 16 already?

Happy 16th Birthday, Abigail!!

Yes, the dog ate the cake. We were able to salvage about half and still get 16 candles on it. :)

Some fun pics from the family party...

Everyone was huddled in the office trying to get a peek at Calais through Skype. :)

Abby & Audrey (We missed Uncle E and Nora!)

Great Fun, Bummer Outcome

Jon and I were fortunate to be able to get tickets to last Saturday night's 

Penn St. vs. Ohio State game.  We met Dad, Scott & Heather, and Brady.  We sat in 3 separate places, but were able to spend a couple of hours together before the game.  Even though the outcome of the game wasn't what we had hoped, we had a great time 

being a part of the "Scarlet Fever".

Pictured below is Coach Tressel talking to the university president, E. Gordon Gee.  We had good seats--about 20 rows up from the field in the corner of the endzone.

Lebron James made a showing at the game, too.  He doesn't stand out, now, does he?

Fun Times in Chicago

Picking apples a couple of weeks ago...

Some cousin fun....

Happy Birthday, Brady & Avery!

Pausing for a picture with Mama-mit :)

We had a great time--thanks for hosting, Scott & Heather!

Me & My Shadow

As we alluded to in the last post, yes, we do indeed have a puppy. We brought him home over a week ago on July 14th. He was a birthday gift for Anna, but is a family dog. After much deliberation, he was affectionately named "Shadow", partly for his dark color, and partly because he is constantly on our heels. :) (Sorry, Dad, but the names Stonewall and Pickett were not in the running.) He really is a good little thing. We're all enjoying him......

We try to wear him out during the day so he will sleep well at night (just like a baby, huh?).

Grandmom loves her new little grandbaby!

Jonah and Lydia enjoyed meeting Shadow, too, when we were in Bluffton last Saturday.
Uh-oh! He found Granddad's shoe....

Shadow's first trip to Graeter's

Anna's 12th Birthday

I know...I know...It's a shocker that I'm posting again. I thought I would show you a few pictures from Anna's 12th birthday. Where has the time gone? We almost have 2 teenagers!

Anna enjoyed a day with her friends, Emily and Devon, at the Groveport pool, then they came back here to hang out and spend the night. They enjoyed time on the trampoline, sprayed each other with Silly String, and spent most of the evening trying to come up with a name for our little Nameless Wonder. We are going out for her birthday dinner tonight at Genji, a Japanese steakhouse. Thanks for all of your calls/cards/gifts.

The Party's Over :(

We have thoroughly enjoyed our 2-week Christmas vacation! We have spent time with many members of our family (looking forward to seeing the Geneva Smiths in a couple of weeks!), gone to the movies, stayed up late, watched football, played games, enjoyed some one-on-one mom/daughter time, and slept in!!!! But.....tomorrow it's back to school! We are thankful for each one of you and pray that 2008 is a wonderful year for all of you! Enjoy some pictures of our precious time with family.....

Long-Overdue Update

Well, I know it's been awhile since I've blogged, so I thought I'd send some highlights of what's been going on in recent weeks:



Thanksgiving weekend...We enjoyed having both grandmas and Mom & Dad here to celebrate with us. We even got Grandma to shoot some pool!




We enjoyed watching football games in our new basement. Notice....the grandmas look pretty comfortable. If it weren't for the fact that we have no bathroom down there, I don't think they would have left those seats!



It was Anna's turn to put the angel on the tree this year.



...after the tree is all decorated...



Anna wanted to have some friends over to just "hang out" after we got the basement done. They danced to music downstairs, watched a movie, and decorated Christmas cookies. (above)



Jon's Christmas party at work: The girls thought the ice sculpture was cool, but were especially impressed by the chocolate fountain!



Anna graduated from the school's DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program last Monday night. A deputy from Franklin County comes to their class each week to educate them on drug awareness and resistance. At the end of that period they have a ceremony and receive diplomas. They are also required to write an essay on what they learned. They had to present those essays in class, then classmates voted on the ones they wanted read at the ceremony. Anna was privileged to be one of four to read her essay that night. She is pictured below with Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes, and her friend, Emily.






Last night we were treated to a concert by the jr. high and high school choirs, bell choirs, and band. Abby is in the choir. MaMa and PaPa joined us. Below: Abby & Lauren





We hope this finds you all doing well. Just in case you're wondering why you haven't received a Christmas card from us yet, well, I'm taking this year off. So... consider this our "Merry Christmas" to you, and we pray that 2008 will be a wonderful year of blessings for you!