First off we finished school in grand style. Both Josh and Cate have done a super job this year at Woodside Middle School. They have worked hard and done amazing. I am really proud of their endurance and effort.
We had a couple of fun weekends with the big kids. First up was a trip to New Lenox to see our oldest grand graduate from preschool. We are always proud of Nolan! He did a really nice job at his preschool program and the whole weekend was a blast. We always love being with family. Nick and Autumn are expecting sweet baby boy #3 in August to go along with Nolan (4 years) and Wyatt (18 months). We can't wait for his arrival.
Next up is Memorial Day at Lake James with Grandma Carol plus Luke's family. Luke and Susi have adorable King Konrad (23 months) and are expecting a precious baby girl in late July. We are loving how our summer is turning out! Babies all around!
Josh and Cate had their annual physicals. They play alot of school sports and these are a must so we get them out of the way as soon as summer starts. Josh has hit a growing spurt and is now 5ft 3in, 123lbs. Cate seems to have leveled off and may be done growing. She is 5ft 1in and weighs 94lbs. They are healthy strong kiddos! God has blessed them in their physical attributes. Eye exams also followed that week. Josh has perfect vision. This probably explains how he hits a pitched ball so far. Cate wears glasses and her eyes seem a little worse plus she has headaches and the sunlight bothers her. She got new tinted spectacles. She still looks marvelous and is proud of the new look!
For Mother's Day I always like my flowers for the yard. The gift not only is the flowers but the help in planting them is part of the deal. Josh was off playing baseball so Cate got to help me with the fun planting day. She did a great job! Father's Day rolled around also and we celebrated that with a new putting green for dad. That will be great for the basement!
On June 18th we left with 4 other families for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We stayed at Crosswinds Caribbean Academy in the mountains. It was a great week of work and worship. We really bonded with the other families and loved the Dominican way of life. Josh and Cate felt right at home in fact they kept begging us to let them live there. We told them God wanted them in Fort Wayne, IN at this point in their life with us as their parents. We encouraged them to pray about it and if as adults they feel God is calling them to be missionaries in the DR then we will support them in that decision. Right now though they must go back to the states with us. We have been home about 2 weeks now and they still talk about that week at Crosswinds and how great it was. Here are some pictures from that week. The Dominican Republic is a beautiful country.
We arrived back from the DR early Sunday morning (3:00am) and after a few hours of sleep headed to the lake cottage. Some of our favorite people were up there and we wanted to see them. Both Luke's and Nick's were at the cottage that weekend along with Grandma Carol and we thought we were missing all the fun. We do love being around our family and are so excited to be blessed with 2 more grands this summer.
My fun birthday gift was a hammock. We had one of these in the DR and everyone loved it so now we have one at our house. Currently it is in the great room and seems to have found a home there. It is the spot of choice to relax in!
Our sweet dog, Zoe, of 13 years became old and ill. We had to let her go and it was a rough couple days for all of us. Rest in peace Zoe. You were a good furry friend. I sure loved you! You were just what I needed when my big boys went off to college. You helped fill the void. Thanks for being a great companion. Addy has a long ways to go to fill your shoes!
The Lord reaches out and puts miracles in our lives. (See Luke 5:4) As I look at how Josh and Cate have changed our lives, plus look back over a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and stand in awe of new life that is about to be birthed into our family, I have to believe in miracles. And these miracles are all at the hand of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My goodness we are blessed. I pray you know Jesus today. Thanks for reading the blog and praying for us.
Choosing joy,
Chris & crew
