Troys Life

Troy Graduates!!

We put on a brunch Graduation Party the day before the actual ceremony....

one crazy week-end!

Troy in front of his artwork, awards and his clay sculptures from elementary!

With his cake..and brothers!

we made him work at his own party....

a few guest pictures

chatting with our beloved neighbor man...Mr Brott!

when I showed him this picture...his response..."I don't mean to brag but I look pretty good in this picture!!"

The Graduation Ceremony

Yep..that would be Troy in the arms of Jordan!  Those guys!

Listening to the speeches!

getting the diploma

 sense of relief!

all is good!

with their principal, Mr Crane

Jordan, Troy & Trevor!

with Grandpa & Grandma Buckner

the Fam!

it was a tad bit chilly after the ceremony..we will take that ANY day over 2 years ago 

when we about melted at Tyler's ceremony!!!!

with Grandpa & Grandma Rexford!

A Kent City High School Alumnus!

2013!

Boys Jumping

hugs from Dad!

hug and kiss from Mom!

headed out for Senior Bash that evening!

just in case you were wondering ....

a picture of the first day of school senior year!

Happy Birthday!

This is what 18 looks like!

Troy's Birthday feel on a Sunday ..he like Spankys Pizza in Fremont..since he is GF there isn't always a lot of options!  I can honestly say, I don't think I have gone out for pizza on a Sunday after church!!

He thought the card said...."MOM"...lol!

Dude it's WOW!

Happy 18th Birthday Troy...you have such a sweet smile!  We have loved you from the moment we laid eyes on you!  You didn't waste any time making your appearance on June 9..one day earlier than you were suppose to!  You were suppose to wait for your Mom's birthday, June 10th!!! You were such a shy guy. You loved mini burgers with Darica, camping in North Muskegon & riding your bike!  You loved spending time with your cousins at the Grandpa & Grandmas Houses & playing with Darica after school.  You wanted to grow up to be like your Dad! You enjoy the great outdoor, hiking, camping and quad riding!  

We are blessed to have you in our family!  We are humbled to be your parents!  Tho...we screw up and continually mess up....we love you so!  So happy God called call us to this job we call parenthood...and He sent us you!

Trentsters Spring...

 He had a Spring Concert.

 They sang some songs..Pizza Love, Fifty Nifty United States, I'm Grateful.

They played their recorders and some did a dance. 

It was really cute!

Kent City Elementary Field Day...

Trent and his friend Abel having lunch together

after playing Capture the Flag.  

Their Teacher asked the kids..."who can we nominate for doing good"....the kids raise their hands and say..

"I think Joe did good running fast"..nice idea to encourage them to think of others!

Kick ball

....let me get on my soap box a minute...  They didn't "keep score"..they just went through the line, then changed sides.  What is with games with no scoring these days??...  Why is everyone a "winner"??  How is that inspiring kids (or adults, for that matter) to do better? to push themselves? to improve?  Why do we not sign up for field day events?  Why are the good runners not rewarded for their abilities?  Why is their a spelling bee to highlight good spellers..isn't that the same?  I recently heard of a t-ball team that doesn't even have the kids run the bases?  If we don't keep score, why have a goal for soccer..lets just run up and down the field kicking the ball?

I know..how do I feel about this??? Hahahaha 

Soccer Kid...

action shot

hahaha..that's him doing a dance move!

warming up...

his mom must really love him..she puts his name on the back of his shirt!!! 

movin' the ball 

Field Trip

 Greenfield Village & Ford Museum

Dearborn MI

We (as in 'I" did..instead of carpooling with the mom's...lol) rode in style...
paid a bit more and took chartered buses.

Trent and some of his buddies

Clark, Trent, Noah, Dolan & Brendan

 Rosa Park Bus

The fountain in front of the village 

Train ride 

Buddies...

Juan, Nick, Travis & Trent 

Model T ride

They actually drive you around the village..it's not a on a track 

Carousel 

 in the museum...the kids participated in "working" on an assembly line making cars

Trent added 2 wheels on the right side.

They assembled 12 cars in 4 minutes 

Life in the fast lane!!!

My Love

This is long delayed...part of the problem is I'm not a "writer"..it's HARD for me to put my feelings into words...and EVEN harder for me to get in touch with my feelings.  I'm not super emotional...that's not my strong point. So for me, to write an entire post about feelings is uuggghh...

Happy 25th Anniversary Steve

25 years ago at the age of 19 I said "I Do"...we started this adventure we call marriage.  We headed to a honeymoon in the Poconos, the "80's" honeymoon destination!
We came back to our first (and only!!) house....

We both worked jobs the first 4 years of our marriage ..then came the day we wanted to start a family!

Tyler was our first bundle!

Three years later we welcomed little Troy!

Our family wasn't complete till little Trent came along, 6 years later!

We had fun together....

One of our Halloween costumes (pre-marriage) 

A family photo...Camping...Lake Michigan...North Muskegon 

Still hanging together after all these years

Quad riding in the U.P. 

Steve, you have brought me so much joy!  

We have laughed, cried, hugged, said good-by to loved ones, been on vacation, welcomed loved ones, yelled at each other (I know, shocking!!!), parented, bought cars, washers, fridges, fixed toilets, mowed lawns, enjoyed sitting in the hot tub, watched sons graduate....we have persevered...we have so much to celebrate!!  When the world told us to "give-up"...we stuck it out.  The world says you deserve "to be happy" you deserve "to make YOUR dreams come true"....but at the end of the day..we knew we loved each other..and that's the whole reason we worked it out!  The world doesn't teach sacrifice....sacrifice for anothers sake!  I see so many people leave marriages for someone else..and honestly it's heart breaking.  The grass isn't greener on the other side!!  I wish I could say at 19... I was so mature that I knew what I was doing when I said "I do" to this man....I wasn't and didn't!!  Only by God's loving grace did He bring us together and bring us this far!  

Thank you God for looking down on this young inexperienced girl and bringing Steve into my life.  Thank you Steve for never giving up on me.  It took me awhile..but knowing you love me so deeply fills my heart with gratitude! 

So, on this 25th year..I say a THANK YOU!  Thank you for loving this unlovable woman!

Bonefish Grill