It has only been one week since the NorthWood Panthers finished an excellent season and all who have ever been involved with that great program are just coming out of the shock....
Reflecting on the comments from the press, I know that those many years of anticipation created great character within all of us
Carmen's first year of club volleyball was eye opening for us. There was a great diversity in intensity from player to player.
Jackie and I were the hosts of the reception at Jayme and Heidi's wedding. As if a wedding is not exciting enough all on its own, this wedding was special because of Cheryl's presence and even her ability to dance with Bill after such a difficult start to the year.
The wedding was picture perfect and intimate.
Heidi and Jayme rode of from the wedding in a huge horse drawn carriage that pulled up along the candle lit drive.
Every July, the Etsinger blood of the Eby family heads back to Elkhart County to the 4H fairgrounds. This tradition is very strong for Jackie and she has transferred that successfully to our children.
I believe that all of them represented the Swine Club.
We’ve got a trail to blaze through life’s little changes. At Christmas time, we’re reminded that the night of this world’s best change followed a long mule ride.
In the afternoon, while we were letting the horses rest, we would go tubing on the Medina River that runs through the Twin Elm Guest Ranch.
Well, as Adam began to notice rocks and things in the river, he decided to lay down like Carmen was doing in the calm part. This is really were the story begins as young Adam can not get up. With water rushing over his back, he yells for help!
Wesley Woods is a campground that Tatesbrook had used for several years in a row. It really became a tradition for us to camp there the weekend before school started back up.
Other memories are those seen in the pictures here. The famous green scum that covered the pond every night and receded only slightly in the heat of the sun. Many paddle boat and canoe races were held on top of the scum and it seemed that every year someone would involuntarily end up scum covered.
The free time usually was consumed by a relaxing game of football in the afternoon sun.
The new addition referred to in the title is a puppy. We picked up Buster from the humane shelter. We believe he is mostly a German Shepherd. You can judge for yourself.
Adam has been very entertaining this year. He is always making something out of nothing or destroying something of value. This summer a bunch of ants were making tracks to and from an ice cream sandwich Becca left in the garage the night before. All the neighborhood kids were concerned about how to remove the ants without hurting them. As soon as the kids left, he blasted the ants with RAID and posted this sign, using all the elements of his personality.
Carmen and Adam are both doing well at public school. Becca enjoys preschool for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday and this gives Jackie a chance to volunteer in Carmen and Adam’s classrooms. Here’s a collage of all the kids’ first day in school. All three kids have great Christian teachers, which is an answer to our prayers.
Our summer vacation to South Carolina was a highlight of the year. We saw lots of dolphins at the beach, lots of deer at the condo, a few alligators at a plantation, toured Charleston, visited with friends and spent a day on the USS Yorktown. It sounds like a busy week but it really was relaxing.
If you have spent any time with our family, you know that the oldest four of us are very competitive. Carmen and Adam are continuing to be aggressive athletes. However, God decided it was not good for us to always be in a contest and He made Becca. Becca loves to have fun. She loves to be pretty. She loves to encourage. She is our cheerleader. When everybody is negative, she is positive. Everyone was stunned at a basketball game when Becca shouted, “Adam, where’s your man?” Well, there are four of us against one of her. Eventually, we knew she would have to cave in, but so young. But no, she didn’t mean it. She looked at as with a Becca grin, indicating she wasn’t aware of Adam’s open opponent. She was letting us know that yelling is just part of the fun.
Jackie and I had a great time on our trip to Albuquerque, NM for Matt and Kim’s (friends from church) wedding. We had a wonderful time seeing, experiencing, and especially tasting the Southwest. Cable cars, desert, history, culture, a rodeo, concert and beautiful weather. Mountain biking will always be etched in my memory thanks to Scott (another friend from church), who demonstrated an incredible dive over the handle bars into a cactus. Ouch! We want to go back some year for the balloon festival and some more food.
In honor of a friend at work, I've decided to start a new set of blogs entitled "Way Back Machine".
Three energetic children posed for a picture before changing out of their Easter clothes on Sunday afternoon.
Spring flowers make beautiful children even more beautiful.
Adam started pre-kindergarten classes in the fall. He has the same teacher that Carmen had two years ago. Adam has matured significantly since starting school. He really enjoys learning with the other children three mornings a week. He is quite the artist. Everything is a creation to him; he may be an architect some day. He sings, dances and acts better than either of his parents. He asks his father to pray for him nearly every night. Occasionally, he moves his parents and grandparents to tears when he prays before meals.
Becca is talking but still sucking her fingers. Adam and Carmen imitate her and claim they are “doing the Becca”, but it doesn’t look near as cute. Her hair is so blond it is nearly white. It was just long enough to tie up in a sloppy one inch pony tail this year. She is still cute. She runs around the house chasing Adam all day saying and singing everything he says and sings.
Carmen can color like nobody’s business. She won a coloring contest and has been coloring more since then. The principal has selected some of her work to be displayed in an album to remember this school year. She is reading this year, too. She will read to anyone that listens. I especially like to watch her read to Adam and Becca. She is also developing some of that same antagonistic edge that drew her mother to her father. This part of Carmen’s personality is not so endearing when Jackie has to deal with the kids by herself all day.
I have tried to raise my children as Boilermakers but it is very difficult when my wife dresses them like this and their friends wave NCAA championship banners in their classrooms.
Kevin, Jackie, Carmen, Adam and Becca
