Grandpa: Our Gentle Giant

Today I had the pleasure of watching Grandpa meet and hold Alaina for the first time. He barely opened his eyes - but upon the first moment that he touched her - he began to cry tears of joy. His ever-so-strong hands gently caressed her and she was the most relaxed she had been all day. Oh how awesome it was to see - they seemed connected - they enjoyed each other's company. God bless Grandpa and God bless Alaina - I love you both so much.

ps. Pete was also priceless - he was so proud to introduce his beautiful (inside and out) wife, Emily and precious daughter to Grandpa. It was moment, if I may say so myself.

It is over . . .

Goodbye Summer.
Goodbye Vacation.

Gone are the days of taking off our watches and guessing what time it is by the position of the sun. Gone is the unconcern for the date it is - or day for that matter. Gone is our carefree nature - endless hours in the garden, a mid afternoon run, or ice cream in the wee hours of the night.

Oh Summer days - Oh Vacation - How I will miss thee.

Oh I just can't help myself . . .

How can one little person bring such joy and hapiness?


I felt the same way when the sweet PEA's (Pete,Emily,Alaina) had to leave - it was just very very sad. I wish we lived closer.

And yes - I do think her eyes are going to remain blue!

Ahwww!

Isn't She Lovely?

Lovely
Like a flower in the garden; A bird in her nest
Like the sun shining down; or setting in the west
Lovely

Update on Chuck

Thank you for your prayers for Chuck - please keep them coming.

We have heard that he is making progress - that he has regained some movement and some sight that he had lost. Thank you, God. The doctors are trying to pin the root cause and location of the stroke in order to provide him the best treatment.

That's all I know at this point - as I find out more I will update you all.

Thanks. Tracy

Prayers for Chuck Apap

Dad and Chuck
Hello Everyone - I am asking that you pray with me for my Uncle and Godfather Chuck Apap. He is mom's first cousin, Dad's dearest friend, and my Godfather and he has been a positive influence in not only our lives but thousands of high school students throughout his many years as a coach and teacher. Recently Chuck had heart bypass surgery (5 bypasses) and today suffered a stroke. We don't have a lot of information but Please join me in praying that he recovers fully from the stroke and that His heart is strengthened. Please also pray for his family - his beautiful wife Carrie Ann, sons Chris and Chad, and his sisters Dolly, Rosie, Patty, and Sylvia.

Hello Family!

Baby Blues

I couldn't wait to share this picture with you all. Look at those beautiful eyes. I had a wonderful opportunity to spend a few hours with Alaina, Emily, and Pete on Tuesday. I'll share more pictures and videos soon. In the mean time - enjoy God's Creation!

The Wildlfe at Hidden Springs Lane

Paul and I have been enjoying the wildlife this summer in our backyard. We have had deer with fawns, hummingbirds, wild turkeys, many different wild birds, and our personal favorite the squirrels. We have names the three squirrels out back Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They chase each other all day and get into them most mischievous mishaps. They are as rambunctious as Donald’s three nephews and as much fun to watch. We have put up a bungee cord corn feeder I found at the wild bird feed store. You attach two ears of dried corn and hang it about four feet from the ground. The squirrels jump up on the corn to feed and then start to bounce all over the place then fly off. They are so smart that they think of all these different ways to climb on and keep the corn still so they can eat. It really is great fun to eat our dinner out in the screen room at watch them play.

The deer have us so trained that if there isn’t any corn out they stay out back and call us to put some out. Really they snort or make noise with their feet until we notice and take out corn. They only move back from us about 10 feet and wait until we are done putting out the corn. I swear they are eating before we make it back to the house. When the fawns were really little the doe would bring them to the back and they would lay down most of the day in the shade and wait for her to come back. But now that they are getting bigger they visit once or twice a day.

The humming birds have been feeding a lot lately too. They are so small and quick that at first I thought they were a large insect. They are just so beautiful to watch. Because they are so small and hard to see I moved the feeder closer to the house and now they come and feed only a few feet away from us when we are in the screen room.
The only animals that are not welcome are the wild turkeys. We have a mother and six chicks. They are large leave a mess and eat a lot. Our neighbor who is a great hunter talks out coming by and bag a couple for Thanksgiving. He figures they are really well feed on corn and should taste really good. I have to say that it is great fun watching Paul chase after them. He has tried to get them to leave but they keep coming back every day.

I hope you enjoy their pictures.

38 Hours in Grand Haven

My friend Deedee invited me to join her for a quick trip to Grand Haven. I always enjoy going and spending a little time at the beach. We drove in VERY late Wednesday evening - really Thursday morning and I took a quick picture of the coast guard ships that were docked.

I love the bright red light house that is on the pier in Grand Haven. It is right across the street from where we stay - its a specatular scene.
We stayed on the beach all day on Thursday after we had blueberry pancakes in the morning. Mid afternoon we went to Bil Mar and sat by the water and had a bite to eat.

At the Beach!

Alaina and I went to the beach today with two of the other moms in the building.  I had a great time watching the other kids play, and Alaina -surprise- slept! I had a hat on her for a while even though we were under a big umbrella, but as you can see, it was a bit large:)

 

Guess What!?

I signed up for another 10k today. It is the "Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo" on September 7th. My goals this time are (1) to finish (2) to beat my time from the May run!

Happy first month Alaina!

Alaina turns one month old!

Today Alaina had a big day.  Pete, Alaina, and I had brunch with our friend Herm to start our very special day.  Then, Pete gave her a bath and changed her into a new dress for church.  It was a blessing to be able to take her to her first worship service one month after we were so blessed with her!  

Thinking of you all!  Can't wait for Labor Day!!!

Emily Ann

Mama Mia!

Tonight my friend Deedee and I went to see Mama Mia! It was a great movie! I recommend it for its great music, fun cast of actors, and beautiful Grecian scenery! Have you seen it too?

Alaina meets Great Gram and Poppy

Alaina met my grandparents last weekend. We were so glad they were able to come up and visit. We can't wait for Labor Day when we'll be able to visit with the family in Ishpeming!!!

Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

Yesterday was the start of the summer heat wave in Detroit. Ugghh - I'm not a hot weather lover - but at least I don't have to work - so I manage to find places to cool off. The window air conditioners have been working well this year - but really - today was HOT! So Carrie and I decided to go to the Red Oaks Wave Pool. I love going on the Lazy river - round and round - I could go forever.

We decided to go in the afternoon and looked up the prices of the tickets: $16 a person. If we waited until 4pm they were half price: $8 a person. Afternoon it would have to be. We drove over just after 4pm and behold there was a line out the door - it was long . . . really long - and it wasn't moving - they were at capacity! What were we going to do? Well - it was time to take matters into my own hands. I drove to Meijer Thrifty Acres and bought myself a good ol' kiddie pool. Our next door neighbor Chuck hooked up his 150 psi air compressor and pumped that baby up!

We filled it up with the hose - and AHHHhhhh refreshment! All for the price of $23.99 plus water! What a deal - who needs the water park anyway?!

A Sweets Invasion

We have been experimenting with different sweeteners at my house. I am growing a plant called Stevia. It is an herb that has leaves that are 1000x sweeter than sugar. I am going to dry the leaves and crush them into powder. It's great for coffee, tea, and most beverages that require sugar. I am going to look for some recipes that use it too. Ohh - and it hardly has a calorie in it.

I also picked up some Blue Agave Sweetener from Trader Joes. MMMmmmm. It's a lot like honey but it doesn't cause a spike in a person's glycemic index. In other words, unlike other sweets, it doesn't make you more hungry.













the only problem is . . . well the recent ant invasion that I have had. Every day I am greeted by hundreds of tiny ants. I need new ant traps. Apparently they love Agave Nectar too.

Spending Time On the Cart!

Hi Everyone

Paul and I have been enjoying the summer and driving around Peachtree City with our cart. These are a few of the places we like to visit. Paul reads the paper and I paint or draw or knit. We usually take a pinic lunch and enjoy the ride. So here are some of my watercolors and pictures of sites.