Our Trip to Florida

February 8-16 we were able to get away and enjoy a week in Florida. This was the first time Grandma and the kids would get to fly. It was fun to experience this as a family but unfortunately our trip was clouded with sickness throughout the entire week. We decided if we had to be sick we would rather be sick in Florida:) We were giving a huge gift by a couple from our church. They gifted us a weeks stay in their timeshare, Cypress Point Resort. We had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry room, living room and a screened in porch. We felt spoiled. It was so nice for Grandma Deeren to have her own space. This is a picture of our living room/dining room.On Wednesday we went to the Magic Kingdom. We started out the day in the pouring rain, had sunshine for a couple hours and it turned cold (about 55 to 60 degrees) about 4pm and stayed that way the whole evening. The forecast the night before was predicting rain in the morning but the sun would come out and the high was 74. They didn't say it would hit 74 and suddenly turn 60 or cooler. Shawny was quite sick with a fever but really, we did enjoy it:)

I think the highlight of our day at Disney was taking Grandma Deeren on a roller coaster. She had misunderstood me, thinking we were taking a train ride. She had no idea it was a roller coaster!!! She had never been on a roller coaster before and had no intentions of starting that day. She was a hoot!!!! I was surprised she was up for such a adventurous ride but was impressed she would try it at her age. I had no idea she didn't know what she was getting herself into. I don't think she will ever trust us again. I held her tight and she did fine.

On Friday we headed over to Clearwater for the day. The weather was in the upper 70's. We took a ride on the Dolphin Encounters day cruse. We watched 2 dolphins play in the wake of our boat for at least 20 minutes. They would jump over and over again. They looked like they were having more fun. What a cool experience. We also walked the gulf coast, picked up sea shells and watched the sun set. It was wonderful!!! I can't wait till summer. We get similar sunsets here, overlooking Lake Michigan.Again, Shawny was miserable. Poor little guy. Sierra had a ton of fun picking up sea shells.

We have decided we need a redo. It was nice to get away but maybe next time we can try it well and with warmer weather. By the way, we did bring sunshine home with us on Saturday. It's not our fault if Michigan can't keep it:)

Introducing the Newest Member of our Family, Jack Jack

Ever since Claire died in December, someone in our family has been obsessedwith buying a new puppy. I won't name who it was, I'll just say he is tall dark and handsome. Anyway, the plan was, upon our return home from Florida we would buy a puppy. Well, because of the freezing rain yesterday we had to wait until today to make the trip down to Cadillac. Jack Jack is a Shitzapoo (actually spelled Shih Poo). His father is a mostly white Shih tzu and his mother is a black poodle. He is really sweet. I'm not crazy about his coloring but this is the one Lyle and Sierra liked best because he was full of it. He is really spunky yet cuddly.

My Friend Stacey

Stacey and I have been friend since 2nd grade but we have only been sisters for about 5 years. Stacey and I were close through high school, sharing lockers and such, and have kept in touch to some degree ever since. In 2002 I was driving west on M-72 reading a letter I had just received from her. I know, I know, not a good idea to read while driving:) With tears streaming down my face I read how she, through a hard time in her life, had found Jesus. I'm so happy that God has since blessed her with a christian husband and a renewed outlook on life. She is coming up to TC this weekend and will be attending our church this Sunday. It is so cool share this part of life with her now. I can't wait to spend some time with her.

1st and 2nd Grade Christmas Concert

Sierra and Shawn sang and danced in a Christmas concert at Westwoods Elementary School. Shawn sang a duet with his buddy Owen. They sang a verse of "Up one the Housetop". Shawny did so well. He has such a sweet voice. We were super proud of him. Sierra also did a great job shaking the bells as all 150 kids sang "Santa Claus is coming to Town". She was the only one playing and kept everyone together and on beat. It was also fun to see the kids dance their dances. You can tell the kids are just loving it. My favorite part of the evening was when they all sang "Silent Night" and used the sign language. We all joined in on the last verse of the song. How precious!! I love these years.

Black Family Christmas

Christmas at my mom and dad's house always includes music. Go figure:) Before we open presents my dad will share from the Bible, we sing together, share about how God has blessed each of our families and pray together. What a blessing. I look forward to this far more than the presents. I don't know if the kids agree:) Brooky, my brother Dan's daughter and my kids sang, "Come on Ring those Bells" over the phone lines to Aunt Bonnie in Canada. Sooooo sweet. Brooky has a sweet little voice.

Sierra and Shawny singing Silent NightHudson ringing bells as we sing and Isaiah dancing.
Look what Isaiah got, an elmo guitar!!!Andrew and Charity Thompson, their second Christmas together.Aunt Kim with sweet Isaiah.The girls mothering baby Adalena.

Buddies!!!

Goodbye Sweet Claire

Today we had to say goodbye to our sweet Clairey. She was Born May 5, 1999 and died today, December 15, 2007. She was so dear to our family. Her life was too short. Everywhere I turn I am reminded of her. From the mess left under Shawny's chair with no Clairey to clean them up to no one there to greet me at the door. I know I will have a hole in my heart for a very long time. This has been a very painful day. She will always be missed. She was a very good dog. Claire with a 12 year old Santa. Can you tell we didn't have children yet. We must have been desperate, bringing our dog to see Santa:)
If you are wondering what happened to her, here it is. We returned home from Muskegon Sunday night and Claire appeared to be doing fine. Monday she kinda laid low. Tuesday I said, "I don't think Claire is feeling to well." She just kinda laid around. Not much spunk. Wednesday I noticed she wasn't eating or drinking much and her urine was kinda dark against the snow. Thursday I knew something was wrong. I encouraged her to eat a little meat and gave her a Tylenol (Bad move by the way, Tylenol is toxic to dogs). I also gave her a bath and a hair cut. She looked nice and I was sure it would help her feel better. Still no improvement. Sleeping a lot, no eating or drinking and really dark urine, no other symptoms. I let her sleep a lot on Friday but around 6pm picked her up to give her some love and noticed her belly was yellow. Not kinda yellow but really yellow. At that point I could see all of her skin was yellow. I instantly knew this was an emergency. We had to wait to see the vet until Saturday at 8am. When we saw the vet we were told Claire was in severe liver failure. The costs of treating her were to high and the chances of her being cured were slim. After many many tears we made the painful decision to have her put to sleep. I have never had to endure this before and don't know if my heart could handle doing it again. It was one of the most painful decisions I have ever had to make. I am just thankful Claire isn't in anymore pain and that the live failure hadn't progressed any further. From what I was told, the later stages of liver failure are much worse. Lyle dug tearfully her a grave in the semi frozen ground behind our house. She was so loved and we will miss her dearly. Now I must head to bed without letting the dog out and having her follow me to my bedroom to sleep. I'm so sad.

My Little Man

It's tough to be a man. Why, with all the shaving you hardly have time for anything else.

Grandma Joyce bought Shawn a toy shaving kit. For a few days, each evening he would lather up and do a thorough job of shaving. I got such a kick out of it. Take a look. He's very serious.

I could just kiss those sweet cheeks!!!!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

As usual, we bought our tree the day after Thanksgiving from Williams Tree Farm. The unusual part was picking it up on our way home from Muskegon, at 8pm, with our little Escort loaded down with luggage and hunting gear. The next day we decorated. The kids were so excited. This is the first years they have actually been a HELP in the process. You know how it can get. About the time I couldn't handle one more decoration being broken the Clark kids called to see if they could go sledding with Sierra and Shawn. They headed outside and stayed out for about 3 hours building snowmen, snow forts and sledding. Sierra set up the nativity with a little help from Shawny.
Shawny helped check strings of lights to see if they were working and set up, or partially set up about every other decoration we have. He was everywhere. Wow!! what a mess:)
Sierra, sporting the Mrs. Clause glasses. Oh yeah, I have to tell you we went to see Santa and Mrs. Clause at the Mall. Shawn & Sierra are sure this is the REAL Santa. After she sat on his lap, Sierra leaned over to me and whispered,"Mom, Santa has stinky breathe. Don't tell him though." She also said Mrs. Clause must have went on a diet. She was very thin.
Sierra and Shawn gave our little Santa and Mrs. Clause a makeover, brushing their hair and washing them up.

Our First Broken Bone & School Pictures

We had quite a day today. I know this x-ray doesn't show up well but Shawn has a break right below the wrist through his radius bone.

On Monday the kids were home from school because of a snow day. In the afternoon the kids were sledding with the neighbors. With a little help from Sierra, Shawn and Abby flipped off their sleds and Abby landed on Shawny's wrist. I could tell Shawny was hurt because he had that look in his eye. We mom's know the look. Not only did he have the look, but he had no desire to play for the rest of the day, from 3:30 until bed time. Normally he just shakes it off and heads back outside because he doesn't want to miss a minute of play time with his friends, Jon-Michael, Abby and Jerad Clark. To shorten this story, we went to the doctor this morning at 9am, Munson for x-ray's at 10am, waited at Munson until 11:30am, want to the Orthopedic specialist at 2:45pm and left with a cast around 5:15pm. From there we had to go to Wal Mart to pick up a Sharpy that could write on a black cast don't you know:) Well we can be thankful it was a typical break and shouldn't effect his growth. He should only have to wear it until January 4th.

While I'm posting I figured I would include the kids latest pictures. They are growing and changing so quickly these days!!! Where have my babies gone?

Tooth #2

On the way to FW Friends, our Wednesday night kids program, Shawny thought his tooth might fall out. I said, "If if falls out tonight at FW Friends I think you will be entitled to a prize from the prize box." Well thats all it took. Right after we entered the building he pulled it out. When we shared it with the FW Friends Kids, all of the sudden they all started trying to pull out their teeth so they could get a prize too. I was bustin' up!!! Sooo, the moral of this story is.... Kids will do anything for a prize..... or is it Leanne, you had better watch what you say or our church will be full of toothless kids.

A Successful Year

Today is the last day of rifle season. I have to say, I'm not feeling as bad as Lyle and John. They are mourning while I am celebrating. They have had a good year. Lyle got a 7 point on opening day and John's patience was rewarded the next day with a nine point buck. If you want the gory details you will have to ask Lyle or John. They would be more than happy to fill you in. Here are the pictures of their trophies. Look at the smiles on these boys.

One Down and One To Go

Last week Shawn lost his first tooth. I know this is a kinda yucky picture but you can see how thrilled he was. His teeth have been stubborn about coming out. His 2 front bottom teeth have actually come in and are waiting for a spot to fill. His other bottom tooth is also very loose but not quite ready to come out. Hopefully it will happen in the next week or so. Just after realizing he had pulled out his tooth he lost it in the carpet. After searching for 15 minutes or so we gave up and used the vacuum with a new bag. We found it within 5 minutes.

37

Today I turned thirty seven and I was reminded to remember all that God has done in my life as I looked at the scripture for today posted on my blog. I know this scripture was there just for me today. I couldn't begin to list all that God has done in my life but I will list the top ten that come to mind.
1. My parents who modeled their faith before me.
2. That I asked Jesus into my heart at 10 years old, the night before our family was in a tragic car accident in which I very well could have been killed.
3. That God brought Lyle into my life, my life long love and companion.
4. That God gave me the privilege to be called mother to a sweet little girl, Sierra Joy.
5. Sixteen months later our second gift arrived in the form of a little boy, Shawn Oaklee.
6. I have had the chance to be a pastors wife for the last 13 years.
7. We were able to build a home 4 years ago. What a blessing.
8. I am able to stay home with my children.
9. My family is healthy.
10. Today I have a new niece, Adalena Cathryn Black. My brother Tim and his wife Kim's second child born this morning at 6:31 am, 9lbs 13oz. and 21 inches long.

Trick-or-Treating

Sierra was a precious cowgirl, fully armed. (Not fully armed at school I must add) Shawny was a friendly skeleton as you can see. We had a great night for trick-or-treating. The rain ended around 5:30 and we were good to go. The first stop was Grandma Deerens. She even had treats for her baby boy and his wife.


Shawny and Chandler the ghost.
Sierra and Paige as Harry Potter