Class of 2020!.....

HAPPY KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION TRENT.... You are on your way to a successful life! He will graduate with the class of 2020.....WOW! that's seems like a long time off.

Here he is with his teacher...Mr. Crofoot. He is an excellent teacher, all our boys have had him. He's taught K for over 20 years. Trent has really enjoyed his year with him...he can now retire. He will receive an extra jewel in his crown for all the years of teaching these little ones...he is saintly!
Our little graduate.......
with some of his classmates.....
Getting his diploma......
They did a wonderful job of singing patriotic songs. They sang America the Beautiful, My Country 'Tis of Thee, This Land is your Land, You're a Grand Old Flag and God Bless the USA. One song they even signed while singing it. I couldn't help but think of the words to those songs and wonder when they will not allow the kids to sing them...especially at a public school!!! The mention of God or even loving the USA.....it seems that it's unAmerican to love America anymore. You have to wonder sometimes why people come to the US and then want it to be like 'their' country......baffling to me? Okay sorry for that Rant!

Some people bring home the oddest things.......

Steve traveled to Ludington today to pick up this truck for a show he's attending tomorrow. He leaves right after Trent's Kindergarten graduation and heads to Midland. I think it will be a long drive over in this big boy! I told Troy, dad was going to drop him off at school in it......he thought that sounded pretty good!! I'm sure there has been some strange looks as people pass by our house!.......

A Momentous Moment......

I'm kinda late on part of this post...but I'll post it anyway! We celebrated our 20th Anniversary on Wed. the 21st. Wow!!! Can you believe it...20 years together......I know what you are thinking....I got married when I was 12....such youthful looks we both have. Well, not actually but...19. It was young back then, but not as young as it would be today. Well, anyway we are still together.....so age actually doesn't mean anything, at least in our case!



We had great plans to leave at 4:30 and enjoy a special meal at Bonefish Grill and then do a little looking for a washer. Okay they WERE great plans but we didn't end up leaving till 6:30. We decided to go to Lowe's first, as we weren't sure how long our dinner would take. We then decided to go to Best Buys for a check of their prices. Needless to say we never ended up at Bonefish Grill but we did eat at one of my favorites......IHOP. You have to understand what kind of Anniversary sacrifice that was for Steve....he doesn't care for IHOP. We did purchase a Anniversary washer...isn't that what a 20 year anniversary brings???? Well it works for me.....I'll get diamonds when the kids are gone and we will take a big trip or even a cruise at our 30th! (or maybe 25th!) I'll tell you about my washer later.





We did get to get-away for 4 days to Auburn Hills and Dundee. We left Thur. morning and headed to AH area and stayed at a Residence Inn near Great Lakes Crossing Mall. To walk completely around the mall is 1 mile, not including any shopping stops. It has a Bass Pro Shop and a movie theater (which Steve took advantage of both!) I did conquer the mall...but it wasn't easy! I think we got to the mall Friday sometime around 10am and we left around 7pm...it wasn't easy but I did manage to see it all!! It's kind a indoor outlet mall. Great Lakes Crossing brings numerous "firsts" to Michigan, including Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World (five football fields worth of outdoor gear and shopping fun). We have been there the last couple of years...maybe 5 years now. Some of you can't imagine that much shopping...it's in my genes. I'm driven by bargains. We left and got some nourishment and actually stopped back to pick up something I wanted before we headed back to our hotel. We then enjoyed a hot soak in their hot tub.





Saturday morning we were off to Cabelas...which is the largest hunting/camping/boating/clothing/guns/bows/boats/furniture store in the US (that's for my clueless sister)



This was my chauffeur for the week-end....if you know anything about me and driving....I fall asleep on the way to Alpine!!! Just like a baby. Here is the front of the store....... it boast a 225,000 sq ft shopping dreamland
This is a look at the inside of the store.....Hard to capture the magnitude of the store and size! You can even enjoy a Bison burger or try an Ostrich sandwich in the food court..... This is a shot of Steve and I in front of Cabela's, with some Moose antlers or something else big..... Okay this is where the story gets weird..... Steve was shopping away and along come Tom and Joni Lutke, friends from church. How weird is that?...we had no idea that they were coming down too!!! We went out to dinner with them and wished them well as they were making the trek back home that night.
This wins the funny photo...we were going through a McD's when Steve spotted this winner......Check out the spoiler and the yellow rims...I whipped out my camera and the rest is history......
We had a great week-end together and had lots of laughs and fun together. (and way to much food!) Spending time with my best friend, which I happen to be married to, is joy to my heart!



This was all possible because of two grandparents, that were willing to give of their time, to make this happen......Thanx soooooo much Neil and Bonnie...that's the best Anniversary present we could have gotten.



~joanne

You know you are in a small town....

You know you are living in a small town when the kids go on a field trip and it's 2 blocks from the schools and across the street from your house!! Trent went to a 'hobby' farm on a field trip yesterday at Katie's house, a girl in his class. They own 4 sheep and 1 llama and a dog. Her dad sheered the sheep and showed the kids how they spin it. He also has a loom where he makes rag rugs. Who knew he was hiding all that in his back yard!!! She is getting a hair cut next.....
They are keeping there distance after that haircut......

For Uncle Tod......

Trent has learned how to apply his own tattoos! I knocked on the bathroom door to see what he was doing and to my surprise he opened the door and said "No, I got it!" Sometimes you just have to laugh at the crazy things kids do!

Another Year Down.....

Yep, that's right, another year down!!! We had another successful garage sale. We started on Thur morning and it ran through Saturday noon. We have taken in a total of over....drum roll please....$1400! WOW!!....can you believe it....totally amazing! I'm totally bummed that I never got a picture of the sale when we opened on Thur. morning. People were asking if we were moving out? Some asked if we owned a furniture store? It was a sight to behold. We were sure we were going to have to call the police for a fender bender. There must have been 10 cars there at any given time on Thur.
We have returned the tables, taken left overs to Mel Trotter, swept the garage, taken down the pipe for hanging stuff, counted the money and closed the garage door!!!!!!! We said good bye to 2 couches, one vanity, one love seat, 2 Lazy-Z-Boys, one chainsaw, a boat w/ trailer & motor, a dishwasher (with no racks!), many clothes, cd's, movies on vhs, 2 end tables, 3 pc set of tables (Julie and Janice you will remember them, as the brown set made of titanium plastic!), basketball hoop, treadmill, stepper, 2 totes full of fabric........
Things that didn't go........old lady sandals (3 pairs all matching in different colors), 2 pc fireplace poker set, a custom bowling ball (can't imagine why?), 4 boxes of used curlers, the black ones with pokey bristles sticking out of them (just to set the record straight...I sold 4 broken curling irons)......
It is totally amazing to watch people at a sale picking up stuff. You just have to wonder what they are going to use it for and where they might be going to store it. I honestly would love to go home with some of these people I think it would be a hoot to see them in action with their 'stuff'! People are just crazy I'm quickly realizing!!!!
Two boys were fighting over Dad & Linda's $2 bike.....Linda got quite a kick out of listening to these boys arguing over it. One boy was on it and the other boy was trying to pay for it!
Well another year done! Sorry I didn't get a picture to capture the moment! There is always next year.......

Find us Faithfull......

Find us Faithful...... that was the theme of the week-end festivities. The week-end started out with a community wide open house and kids games on Saturday morning. We had carnival type games and a bounce house. We had a good attendance from the community, some just so see what it looks like and see what was going on...which we welcomed!
Sunday morning we had invited our former pastors to come and help us dedicated our new building. Four of them were able to attend......Dolph, Balbach, Batchelder and Hammond. We honored them with a gift card and the wives with a planter. (sorry, bad picture!) They all played a huge role in growing KCBC to what it is today. We also enjoyed a video that was set to Steve Greens, Find us Faithful. It had pictures from the start of KCBC to present day. It was so fun to watch and even remember some of the people! To think of the legacy left by those people and to think of the sacrifices they gave of time and money to see the church grow. It's especially meaningful to me as so many of my relatives were a part of that early church.
We honored some of our missionaries that were able to come...Denise Thomas, Shirley Mundinger and Marian Hunt. We had supported Marian, my Grandma, for over 40 years! Shirley is Grandma's sister-in-law and Denise is her Grand daughter! What a Legacy! Steve's Grandpa and Grandma were very influential in the early years of KCBC. I read there name quite a few times as I looked back over the history of the church.

Sunday evening we had a tail gate party, The Jocks grilled for us
Here is a picture of the concert we had Sunday after the tail gate party
My personal favorite......Me and MY Grandma!.....
Doesn't she look awesome! She turned 89 this year! She still gets around great. God has showered His blessings down on her in her old age!!! This is definitely one of the best parts of living near family, you get to share events like this together!! What an awesome privilege to get to see my Grandma and be blessed by her life! She is a Wonderful Women with such Godly character!! I hope I can grow old as gracefully as she has....she has some BIG shoes to fill.

Steve and I pray that KCBC will never lose sight of reaching our community for Eternity. May our focus be on growing lives for eternity and focusing them on HIM!......