Sweet Pea

Berkley High School Educator of the Year

We are so proud of Tracy today! She was honored at a Banquet for the Educator of the Year. She was also entered by her Principal Dennis McDavid for the Educator of the Year for Oakland County. She had several of her friends from her church come and many people from her school. We were very proud of what a great teacher she is.

MidWinter Break

It's Sunday Evening which marks the end of an overall wonderful midwinter break. I am fortunate and still have an entire week's time off in February. Tim had Wed-Fri off and Carrie had Mon-Tuesday. But I had the entire glorious week. Thank you Lord.

I rested the first weekend and had fun with friends at a pizza party on Saturday evening and a Chili party for Sunday Night Dinners (a once a month event my friends and I partake in). I lead our church in musical worship on Sunday morning in which the message concentrated on God's Knowledge. He knows EVERYTHING - even the things we wish He didn't know - He knows. He still covers us in His grace. I am so thankful. This is one of the messages in our latest series called Your God Is Too Small. After church and before chili dinner, Flat Adam and I had a great time with my friend Alli exploring some of Detroit. We even took a ride through the tunnel to Canada. It was a lot of fun.

Monday through Wednesday I spent most of my time working on my taxes (still not done yet), preparing for my trip to Africa, and getting things in order at the house. Housework never seems to stay put. I also had the opportunity to see Tim's new house in Troy - he placed a bid on the house and it was accepted. Hopefully he will soon tell us all about it here at the blog!

On Thursday, Flat Adam and I took the train from Detroit to Chicago to visit Pete, Emily, and Alaina. It was so much fun. We relaxed and enjoyed each other's company the entire time. Alaina is growing so fast!! She is really starting to get all over the place. You should see that way that Alaina looks at Emily - it's precious - she knows that she loved - what a secure little girl. Pete made homemade baby food: carrots and apples. Pete told us how Alaina started crawling into their room to find him and that it just made his day! I had such a wonderful time and I can't wait to get back again.

I hope you are all well - Miss you lots - Tracy

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you have a great day! We love and miss you all. Adam and I made a Valentine's Day Video for everyone!

Love, Isaac (and my whole family too!)

I just have to brag!

I'm a proud mom tonight and here's why...
March is Youth Art Month in Manitowoc. The local art museum features wonderful art from K-12 grades chosen by their art teachers. Both of our boys have had their artwork on display in past years. Well, to advertise Youth Art Month a local billboard company donates 3 billboards in town for a month and a contest is held...all 5th graders and Jr & Sr High art students draw a billboard design. The results are in! Isaac won! His billboard design was chosen out of all the 5th graders in the city!!! He's soooo excited! As soon as the billboard is up I'll take a picture of our artist by it and post it for everyone to see!
Congrats Isaac!

Happy Birthday Ken!!!

We had a birthday party for Ken on Saturday and Mom, Bob and Linda came from Ishpeming and Ryan, Joy, Isaac and Adam rolled in from Manitowoc.  It was such a pleasant day.  We had roast beef in gravy on rolls, caramel apple salad (delicious Joy) and teryiaki vegetables for our meal topped by Ken's favorite chocolate cake with thick chocolate frosting. YUM.  We had a nice visit highlighted by two vigorous rounds of clothespin in the bottle including prizes. It was such a fun day. I am thankful to have my wonderful hubby, Ken!

Our videos...finally.

Adventures of the Nadeaus .........----------------->

Me and Sock Monkey thought it would be fun to put together a map of all the places the Nadeau family has visited over the last 40 years. So we got a world map. We mounted it and took a few color pins and went to work. Black pins are for Paul's work travels, red Emily's, green are where Paul and Emily went together, white is where the whole family went. The big pins are places we have owned a house and blue are where family live. There is one lone yellow for Tracy by herself in South Africa. She has been the farthest south in the family and Paul the farthest north with Helsinki. It was a lot of fun to do and see. Paul really enjoyed the surprise! He got to add a lot of pins from places we did not remember. How he wants to go through all the boxes and boxes of old pictures we have and sort by decade. So look forward to the next addition with old pictures to come soon.

Emily Marie

Special Visitor Arrives in Royal Oak.

I have a very special visitor staying at my house for the next month. His name is Flat Adam and I am thrilled to have him. He arrived in the mailbox today. I hope he wasn't too cold - the temperature has been rising here - it's around 30 degrees. We welcomed him into the house and introduced him to everyone living at tracy's blue house: Not-So-Flat Tim, Not-So-Flat Tracy, Not-So-Flat Carrie, and Not-So-Flat Guinea the Pig. We are all going to get along smashingly (pun intended). Flat Adam was a bit tired so we showed him around the house and then he took a few minutes to write an e-mail to Not-So-Flat Adam.

(picture of the whole gang)

(Flat Adam meeting Not-So-Flat Guinea the pig)

Here's what Flat Adam wrote in his e-mail:

Dear Not-So-Flat Adam,

Thank you so much for sending me on this
adventure. It was a bumpy ride but I have made it safely to No-So-Flat Tracy's house. I'm tired and will write again soon. I wonder what I am going to see in the lower peninsula of Michigan? I heard that they have the first paved road in America right down the street and tunnel into a foreign country called Canada. I forgot to bring my winter jacket but No-So-Flat Tracy said that she'll pick one up from Target for me. Have a great day at school - work hard and have fun at recess. I am going to go to school with N-S-F-Tracy in the morning - I heard they don't have recess at the high school. Boo Hoo!

See you soon,
Flat Adam

Afterward, Flat Adam brushed his teeth and went to bed in the guest room. I wonder what tomorrow's adventures will be?

Love, Not-So-Flat Tracy

ps. Flat Adam is inspired by a book called Flat Stanley written in 1964. There is a large Flat Stanley Project going on that schools participate in. You can visit the Official Flat Stanley Project Website here.

Taking the Train.

This February I'll be taking a short trip to see Pete, Emily, and Alaina. I am so excited to see them. I'll be leaving on a Thursday and taking the train from Royal Oak to Union Station. The Royal Oak train station is about 1 mile from my house and Union Station is kitty-corner to the Sweet Pea's (Pete, Emily, Alaina). I don't have to do any driving. I'll just sit back in my chair; grade some papers; read a book; take a snooze. After six hours - I should be well rested and ready to visit!

The only problem might be that there isn't checked baggage! Here are my limits: Carry-On Baggage is limited to 2 - 50 lbs.(23 kg) @ 28" x 22" x 14". I think I'll go get my measuring tape out!

"SEEING" the eye doctor

Ken and I had the pleasure of going to Dr. Mark for our first eye exam with our cousin.  Here he is with Rebecca, his assistant, who travels with him to all three sites he covers.  What a nice visit we had with him.  We had a thorough eye exam and he smiled the whole time.

Mailman Madness

Hi Everyone - What do you do when your grumpy old hardworking mailman leaves a notice in your mailbox saying that he won't deliver the mail because he is crazy thinks that you don't put enough salt on the driveway and sidewalk? Mind you, I have shoveled every day that it has snowed and have placed 400 pounds of salt down; enough that the cement is coming loose again on my steps. Mind you, this is the same mailman who felt it necessary that I cut my beautiful pinetree all the way to the trunk so that the branches didn't brush against his delicate handsome postal jacket everyday. Mind you, this is the same mail man who would not deliver because the cement on one of my steps was chipped off because I put 400 pounds of salt down so that he would be safe and sound last year. Mind you, this is the same mail man who illegally left me a gift certificate for ice cream in my mailbox 7 years ago with a sympathy card and a poem about Dante when my sewer pipes backed up into the house. Albeit, very thoughtful, it was WEIRD!!!! So, Any Advice? ps. I filed a complaint yesterday - the lady on the phone was very nice.

Scrabble Champ

Greetings!

As promised here is the picture of us following the great Scrabble game in which Isaac completely dominated and beat both his mom and cousins! This is something he won't forget any time soon!

Look how proud he is ... and he should be!

The Board

I'm looking forward to us all being together again soon and having a rematch!

Love, Joy

Hello from Isaac!

Hello!

It took awhile but I was finally able to load this cute video of Faith. I hope you're able to see it!I'm planning on posting videos of Adam and me too! In February I'm having a band concernt at Wilson Junior High. I'm hoping to post some of my songs I performed! I also just joined Jazz Band. I have my first practice on this Thursday. On Tuesday it is the Inaugeration and our school is going to celebrate the historic event by all wearing red, white and blue. Then when the Inaugeration is on t.v. the whole school will watch it in our class rooms or the gym. I miss everyone and I hope you can visit me soon! Love, Isaac

Marvin - A Tribute

M: Marvelous Grandfather
A: Amazing Carpenter & Avid Sports Fan
R: Ready To Help & Reaches Out
V: Very Kind & Vivid Photographer
I: Inventor & Ishpeming Hematite
N: Never Ceasing Love

Wedded Bliss - 66 Years

What an outstanding example of love, kindness, patience, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, that Marvin and Evelyn have modeled for all of us.

(picture compliments of Carol)

A Few Poses

One Generation Will Commend Your Works

Over Christmas I took around 500 digital photographs with my camera. Now that they are all uploaded, downloaded, and right and left loaded, there are about 150 that I want to share with you all. Of that 150, however, this is my favorite because when I saw it - it reminded me of my favorite psalms: number one hundred and forty-five. What a blessing it is to be in a family in which one generation will commend the works of the LORD to the next generation. Though Grandpa barely has the ability to speak words right now - his gentle touch speaks endless words of how great our God is. And now, as the psalm states, the LORD is near to Grandpa since he has called His name and as He has always done, God is watching over him - even when we cannot.

Psalm 145

A psalm of praise. Of David.

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise

his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend

your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They will tell of the power of your awesome works,

and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They will celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.
All you have made will praise you, O LORD;

your saints will extol you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,
so that all men may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is faithful to all his promises

and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD upholds all those who fall

and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand

and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.
My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.

Let every creature praise his holy name

for ever and ever.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of my family and friends.

How amazing is the Love of God that He sent is only Son to us.

God is Love.

May He fill your heart with Joy and Gladness.

Love, Tracy

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Ready for some sledding fun!

There's Isaac in the center playing his trombone at his first band concert.

Wishing everyone a blessed holiday! We can't wait to see everyone in Michigan!

Love to all!

Joy, Ryan, Isaac & Adam

Happy Christmas!

Paul and I have started our Christmas Journey. We started in Chicago with our Christmas Angel who is currently the Christmas Moose!!!!LOL

WE LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures of Faith!!!!!!

Emily and Paul

Christmas Cheer

Hi All, Hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season. We have a Winter
Wonderland here in the UP. Looking forward to seeing everyone after Christmas. Here are some pictures of Faith enjoying the holidays!

Snow

Job 37:5-7 (New International Version)
God's voice thunders in marvelous
ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.
He says to the snow,
'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower,
'Be a mighty downpour.' So that
all men he has made may know his work,
he stops every man from his labor.

We ushered in the snow today.
I've been praying for snow.
Tim - our hero - shoveled the entire driveway and the sidewalks.
He even distributed salt around the slippery areas.

I sat on the couch and watched local coverage of the snowfall and the auto bailout.
Thanks, Lord, for the snow.
Thanks, Lord, for the loans. I pray we use them wisely.
Thanks,Tim, for shoveling.
Thanks, Tim, for shoveling without me even asking.

So far we've had 5 inches fall and it is still coming down.
It's beautiful.
Did I mention Tim is beautiful? He shoveled.
Did I mention I ate challah french toast for breakfast?
Did I mention I am still in my pajamas?
I love the snow.

Psalm 51:6-8 (New International Version)
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Putting Her Lights On!

Every year - no matter what - there is a light issue. This year we ran out of lights because one of the strands had gone bad.