Thankful

We are so thankful for our family!

Happy Thanksgiving from Indiana.

Drumstick Dash Success!

So thankful to have legs and lungs to run!

Drumstick Dash

This year there will be a large number of us running & walking the Drumstick Dash!

The race benefits Wheeler Missions which helps to feed those who are hungry in Indianapolis.

Happy Thanksgiving To Everyone!

Belated Thanksgiving

A slightly belated Thanksgiving Post because well . . . we were a bit under the weather after the big event.  The good news is that we are all feeling a ton better and having a jolly 'ol time. 

Dad and I ran the Long Grove Tukey Trot.  We had a lot of fun together.

I am thankful that Dad has passed on his love for running to me!

 We did a lot of cooking.  Tim & Pete roasted the turkey to perfection . . . I'm not even exagerating . . . Perfection.

I love freshly made cranberries.  Why do people eat canned cranberries when they can so easily make fresh? 

Addison thinks that Thanksgiving meal is a particularly good idea.

 One of my favorite pictures of the day of Lynn and Emily Ann.  Mom and I had been discussing how photogenic these ladies are - this is proof!!

 The stuffing came out great.  I used Grandma Nadeau's recipe.  Mmmm!  One of my favoriet foods. 

 Mom carved th e lamb shank. 

 Tim carved the turkey.

My plate:  Starting at 9'o'clock and moving clockwise:  Mashed Potatoes, Rootabaga, Cranberries, Stuffing, Lamb, Tukey, Crescent Rolls, Carrot Soufle, and 24 hour salad.  There were a billion desserts but I forgot to take pictures of those - so here is a picture of a beautiful pumpkin pie! 

 Alaina is a budding photographer and artist!  We spent much of the afternoon coloring while the football games donned the t.v.

 Later that evening Alaina played dressup!  Gotta love that belly.

Late in the afternoon I had the pleasure of baptizing/dedicating Addie Jane!  It was very special.  Later this week I will post the script for the service!!  Mom knitted her beautiful baptismal gown.  Look at how happy she was!  She loved it!!

And because I'm still a bit tired from the . . . um . . . sickness. . . I'm not going to put this in order.  Here are the Thanksgiving Chefs!

So many highlights from the day. 

Here is Poppy (Emily Ann's Grandpa). 

He told me some great stories about growing up in Indiana and then about his time in the war. 

What a treat!

A Thanksgiving feast of family and food

Adam and Isaac having a little fun outside

I think everyone enjoyed the feast....ad the leftovers.

Listen to Bob!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Ken & Carol's home! Bob, Linda and Grandma drove down from Ishpeming and we shared a delicious meal (thanks Carol!) and lots of visiting and yummy leftovers for everyone to take home!!! Adam went up early on Tuesday evening to get some extra time with Grandma & Grandpa. When we left Thursday evening we were a few miles down the road and Adam was a sad little boy -- he didn't want to leave! So we called Grandma Carol and turned around to drop him back off. We'll see him Sunday night : )

Something everyone and especially Bob was excited about is ...

The Ishpeming Hematites football team is playing in the State Championship football game on Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit. Bob left on the bus to ride down so he can do the play-by-play and stats on the radio. If you'd like to hear Bob and the game he told me we can hear it at uplocalsports.com. We'll be tuning in!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
Love, Joy

The Advantage

The advantage of driving 1mph through the city is that . . . I can take pictures of the skyline from the highway.

Day of Thanks

Wishing everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm thankful for all of my family. Sending LOVE to you all. Love, Debbie

Week In Review

Monday's Mediteranean Feast

Friends came over to celebrate another year with me. We ate and ate and ate. Lemon Peppered Chicken, Spinach Pie, Meze Platter, Syrian Rice, Staffed Dates, Baklava, Pomagrantes, Cake, Greek Salad, and much Fun.

Tuesday's Two-In-A-Row

Tuesday I managed to double book myself, scheduling my alternating bible studies on the same Tuesday.  Nice.  So I met at Deedee's earlier to study Jonah.  It's kickin' my butt.  A quick drive home and I met the ladies of Genesis for our almost final week of our Church Wide Initiative Study "Portrait of a Disciple."   The ladies all brought me beautiful cards and for the second week in a row Michelle brought me FRESH eggs from the farm.  They are deliciously rich eggs.  I am thinking of photographing the eggs and using them for the art in my new kitchen.  The colors are perfect!! 

Wednesday's Whimsy

Wednesday was my birthday.  Carrie stopped into my classroom and announced my birthday to each of my classes - it was very sweet of her. I told my students that I was older than dirt.  They proceeded to guess my age . . . 24, 30, 52.  Fifty-two?!?!?!?  What kind of grade do you want in my class?   It was a pleasant day that ended with spinning class, meeting with my friend Luann, and going to Wednesday Night Bible Study and Fellowship.  I love Wednesday nights because it always ends with good friends and conversation.  I received a lovely book, several heart-felt cards, and many lovely calls and text messages.

Thursday's - That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

It was work, work, work on Thursday.  My kids were fairly well-behaved and cooperative - even my not-so-easy-to-manage kids had a pretty good day working with nuclear reactions (alpha, beta, and gamma decay).  I showed them a video about the Radioactive Boyscout.  (A local man who got himself into a little bit o' trouble)  We thoroughly discussed the potential harm/effects of radiation in order to discourage them from getting any "wise" ideas!  They loved the clips.  Your'll love them too.

My Biology class finished their webquest and started making old fashioned "Flip Book" animations of cell division.  They then watched these two videos clips. 

That evening we had an open house for middle schoolers and their parents to see the school.  There are always a ton of parents and questions and kids and question and parents and kids and well . . . that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Friday's Fun

I rehearsed with James for Sunday's service after work.  I love to sing - to worship our Great God - and that is FUN for me :)

Weekend Plans

Clean up a bit, do some photo editing, lunch with Kim, take a long run, watch the derby girls at Cobo Center, grade papers, Sunday service & Community Summit at Genesis, and get things ready for Thanksgiving!  I can't wait!

Thank you

Well, it has been a great week for Faith and I getting back to work and school! We do so much better on a schedule. It has been snowing here for 8-9 days and today is the first day without snow! Yesterday Faith and i visited GG and had a wonderful visit. I helped her take down her christmas decorations and get ready for Valentines day. Faith was a great helper and GG loved to watch Faith hang the window clings in the windows.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has posted pictures of Addison and Alaina on the blog i think i can say this for everyone that we ALL enjoy it and it feel a little closer like we are there right along with you. Congrats and gods blessing to you and your family!

It doesn't have to be thanksgiving for me to think about all i am thankful for.....
Faith
My Family
My Friends
Good Health
The smile Faith brings to my face
Listening to Faith sing when she is playing and doesn't know that i can hear her

Have a great week!

We Came - We Ate

Seriously good eats for Thanksgiving.

Here's my plate statring at noon and moving clockwise:

12 - braised lamb, asparagus, and brined turkey

1 - Grandma's sausage dressing

3 - Rootmoose (rootebega and potatoes)

5 - Fresh Cranberries with orange essence

7 - Cheesy potatoes
9 - Carrot Souflee

10 - Baked apples with cornbread stuffing

11 - Hawaiian Roles

We had a lovely time at Marilee's house! She is a great hostess!

We drove the Skyway into Chicago on a cloudy evening and found a ray of sunshine at the end of the road.

Here she is - our ray of sunshine.

I'm so perfectly pleased to be your auntie -

I love when you call my name - I love the way you you smile.

Fall Follies

Hello Everyone - Around the Detroit Area it seems like we have an extended fall - maybe even an extended summer. Today's high was 64 degrees F!

As usual because November marks another year in which I 'turn older' - I've done a lot reflection. This year's reflection has brought about a big change for me - I put in my resignation at my part time job at Portable Church Industries. I've had nine wonderful years there, but it is time for me to only have one job. I wish I could say, "I have no idea what I'll do with all that time," but I do know that I am going to be working on "working out" throughout the year instead of just the summer. In fact, while I was at the Royal Oak Holiday Parade, I signed up for the LA Fitness Club. I can't wait to get started. This time will also give me time to pour into our discipleship initiative at church this year. We are using the The Way of the Alongsider materials (slightly cheesy but it does the job) from the Navigators. My church is committed to making disciples who live in community and who reach out to the community. This initiative strikes a lasting chord with me.

Speaking of Fall - Here are some of the pictures from my trip to Harbor Springs/Mackinaw through the Tunnel of Trees.

I have been a busy bee at school as well. The end of October we had parent-teacher conferences (we do two evening and 1 afternoon session). Our assistant superintedant took a superintendant position in Romeo Schools which left an opening at the central office. Our high school principal moved into that position and now we have a new principal at the highschool. He started this past week - midstream in the year. So much change. Mr. Gawell will be my 5th principal in 9 years. CRAZY. Our open house was this past week and the science department did a real "smash up" job. Instead of leaving our classrooms open like we normally do, we shut our classroom doors and opened up our two biggest labs in which we did demonstrations all evening. The community loved it. We had a lot of fire-related demonstrations: flame tests, fire/music demonstration tube, and how to start a fire in the wilderness. I sang into the fire/music tube and watched the flames create sine waves from my voice. It is really cool. I am going to try to get a picture/video of it the next time we set it up!

Last week I celebrated by birthday. I ate way too much. On Friday I had a huge dinner at PF Changs (mmmm!) and Saturday Bastones. My friend Kim special ordered me a beautiful cake. I ate WAY TO MUCH CAKE!!!! (hence LA fitness). Last night I went to see Tim's musical Urinetown at Rochester High School. The pit orchestra sounded great, the teenager/actors/actresses did a really good job. It was my favorite show yet that I have seen at RHS. Oh - and Alaina called me on gmail Video Chat. It was a really big highlight of my birthday. Next week we will all be together in Chicago. I can't wait!!!

That's all for now - please keep posting. Let us know how you are doing or tell us about something interesting!

Love, Tracy

Alaina's Baptism

Thank You Lord for Alaina!

Here is the Ceremony:

Welcome all who are present to be witnesses to such an important event in Alaina’s life; for today her parents, Peter and Emily, commit her through holy baptism to the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Peter and Emily, before the thought of Alaina entered your mind, the Lord had already determined that on June 20th Alaina Marie Nadeau would be born and you would become her parents. Alaina’s life, therefore, is an occasion to celebrate and reflect on God’s goodness.

God’s Living Word commands you as parents to teach Alaina about the Lord Jesus Christ. Only then will she be adequately equipped for the challenges of this life and sufficiently prepared to meet the Lord when He returns. Alaina’s spiritual welfare, however, will not be accomplished merely by telling her about Jesus. It is the words of your mouth combined with the presence of the Holy Spirit in your own life that will effectively communicate the message of God’s love and His power to redeem her life; for God paid for ALL of our lives. I pray that Alaina’s life will inspire within both of you a resolve to let Christ shine through you in your intentional pursuit of holiness and the supremacy of God in your home. As written in the Holy Scriptures, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your daughter and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

As Alaina’s Parents, Peter and Emily – do you commit to pursue the Lord with all your heart, soul, and might? If so, please respond “We do”.

We do.

Do you commit to diligently teach Alaina Marie to do the same? If so, please respond “We do”.

We do.

As Alaina’s Godparents, Anna and Maris – do you commit to pursue the Lord with all your heart, soul, and might? If so, please respond “We do”.

We do.

Do you commit to diligently teach Alaina Marie to do the same? If so, please respond “We do”.

We do.

As a family we need to work alongside Peter and Emily in their efforts to portray Christ to Alaina. Will we rise to the challenge of being brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers, and great grandmothers and great grandfathers who commit to serve as examples of people who passionately pursue Christ and seek to obey His will for our lives? Will we lift up Peter and Emily in prayer as they raise Alaina to be a woman after God’s own heart?

Family – do you commit to this challenge? If so please respond “We do”.

We do

We have the privilege now to hear the letter that Peter and Emily have written to Alaina about their hopes and dreams for her life as a child of God.

Peter and Emily read. . .

God has commanded believer’s to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and although Alaina has not yet made her own public confession of Christ’s role in her life, we proceed in faith, knowing that Pete and Emily long for her to have an intimate relationship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We will rejoice with her on the day that she fully accepts Christ as her only Savior. Baptism is indeed an act of faith where we allow God to buy our sinful self and cleanse us from our sins and raise us up in a new life which has been offered by God as a free gift. Because of this gift, Alaina forever will walk in the Light of God

We will now light a candle symbolizing the Light of God to remember this day on which Alaina received God’s gift.

Godparents will light Baptism Candle

Peter and Emily to hand Alaina to Tracy for Baptism.

So with the Authority of Christ, we present God’s gift to Alaina and we offer Alaina to God who first gifted her to us.

Alaina Marie Nadeau, chosen daughter of God, by the Authority of Jesus Christ I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He has washed away your sins and given you a new life.

And with this oil I mark the seal of the cross on your forehead symbolizing the faith we have that you will proclaim Christ as your Savior, God as your Father, and the Holy Spirit as your true Counselor.

Pray according to the Holy Spirit – Allow others to pray - Amen.