And yet another benefit of a large family...

Family Volleyball!

(and Daniel and the engaged daughter weren't available).

Summer Sunset in Burnips

We're in that time of year where we see sunsets after 9:30 pm. Within a matter of seconds, the colors morph from bluish pink to reddish orange.

Josh Graduates!

Josh graduated from Byron Center Charter School as valedictorian! We're proud of you Josh!

Marching with Chuck Taylors!

The valedictorian speech has the principal laughing!

They're Engaged!!

It's official!! Simeon and Abby are getting married! It's bittersweet for Mom and Dad, but Dad did consent and had given his blessing. We are thrilled that she's found a wonderful man and have no doubt God has great plans for their future.


The proposal happened at Disneyland and Simeon had made arrangements for a photographer to capture the moment. Here he is down on one knee.



She said, "Yes!", much to his relief! :)


Disneyland gave them VIP treatment for the rest of the day.



We'll share a date as soon as it's set, but are planning next spring.

Update

Here's the latest news at the Joneses...

Abby's school year is done and she and Simeon are home for a short visit. They'll leave this weekend and fly to his home in Oregon where she'll go with his family to Disneyland next week and then join him (singing and playing the piano) in several concerts that he'll be holding. She'll come back mid June to spend the rest of the summer in Michigan.



Joshua is just 2 weeks from his high school graduation. Here's one of his senior pictures:

Baseball season is off to a great start. After several weeks of practices the games have begun! Tonight we had David's first T-Ball game.

waiting for his turn to bat

he swings

he hits it!

safe at first and ready to take second!

Now playing at 3rd base...

Update (long overdue, I know.....)

Lots happening for the Joneses in April! I'll try to keep it short and get in all the news!!


First, the sad news. Our family's dog, Buddy, who's been with us for almost 8 years (since he was an 8 week old puppy) died this week. We live on a very busy highway and had worried since we moved here that his natural instinct to run out into the road would mean his demise. Unfortunately, that's what happened. We were relieved that he didn't suffer. Lots of tears around here!

On a better note....Steve lives on!! We just celebrated his 45th birthday!


Happy Birthday, Dad!

Other April news.....vacation! We took a trip to Alabama during our spring break. It was great to see old friends and spend some time in Tuscaloosa during its most beautiful time of the year. We also enjoyed a couple of days at Grammy Jones and PaPa's house where the river provided lots of enjoyment.

Philip thought it was warm enough to swim, but quickly learned otherwise!!

Yes, Daniel is fishing with a swim noodle! :)

Continuing with the news......it's baseball season!! The snow has melted, the grass is turning green, and it's time to play ball! This is our first year to have the boys in baseball so we're all looking forward it.

Our wonderful neighbor cleared some land for the boys to build a practice field behind our back yard. He even cut down some trees for them to make a backstop. Philip, with some help from Sam and Andrew, dug the holes for the posts, cut the wire and stapled it up. Should provide hours of fun!!




And lastly......the house in Tuscaloosa is sold! The sale is closed and we're very thankful to have that chapter behind us. Thanks to all of you who've been praying about that with us.

So...there's the news. Perhaps it won't be May before we post again!!

Chicago

Steve, Allison, Megan, and Matt Stewart spent last week visiting with us! We had a great visit and loved being together. We learned something, too - at our age it is NOT possible to stay up half the night talking and then get up and function normally the next day! :)

We had a great day trip to Chicago while they were here. Here are some highlights:







Lunch at a genuine "Chicago-style pizza" joint:

Inside Union Station:

Downtown between the Sears Tower and Union Station:

Daniel at the base of the Sears Tower:

David's turn! :)

Maple Syrup Time

Another fun learning experience for the southern kids.....tapping the maple trees, gathering buckets of sap, and boiling it down to make sweet, 100% pure maple syrup! It's very basic process, but rather time and energy consuming. First, the maple trees are "tapped" - a hole is drilled and a spout inserted. A bucket is hung on the spout and the sap flows into it. The rate of flow varies depending on the weather. Sharp cold nights and very warm sunny days make the sap run best.

The buckets are emptied daily into large storage barrels. Every couple of days our neighbor, "the maple syrup maker", fills large vats with sap, brings it to a boil over a hot wood fire, and keeps the top skimmed clean while the water evaporates from the sap. It can take 12 hours of boiling 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup!

Cute (odd?) things kids say....

When I picked David up from his SS class his teacher told me an interesting thing. The lesson was about sharing. They talked about giving and sharing in different situations and circumstances. When she asked what we can give in church David's responsed, "BIRTH!".

Not sure where that came from!

He's cute, though! :)

Sun Worshipping

Well, not exactly. But this is only about the 4th day of solid sunshine that we can recall in 2008. And so you tend to view it as a worship experience (of the sun's creator).




The sunset snow-shoveling solemn sixth son. (Andrew)