twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago, our life seemed pretty much picture perfect. I was 25 years old and Matt was 30, we'd been married five years and had two beautiful babies. David was 23 months old and Jessica was 6 1/2 months old. That summer we had both quit our jobs and moved to Ann Arbor so Matt could attend the University of Michigan to get his Master of Social Work. 

We were attending Grace Bible Church and renting a house on their property usually used by missionaries home on furlough.  I was working in the afternoons as a secretary at a beautiful Presbyterian church right by U of M's campus, and we had found an in-home childcare run by a mom who wanted to be at home with her kids.

October 3, 1995 seemed like any other day.  Matt had classes and I was scurrying around getting ready for work & the kids to daycare. I picked Matt up so he could have the car, and then he dropped me off at work.  The verdict for the OJ Simpson murder trial was being announced as I arrived at work.

As I sat at my desk tucked around the corner in the church office where most people couldn't see me (the church had several secretaries), I could just listen in as things happened throughout the afternoon.  That day, the parents of a 16-year-old girl who had just been killed in a car accident came in to speak to one of the pastors. The mother was weeping, and I remember thinking that I didn't know how I could survive if something happened to one of my babies. 

The rest of the story is really best told as I wrote it a few months later...

The Little Winnie the Pooh Socks 

a short story about Jessica's death 

(written a few months later)

The day stands out in my mind like few ever have before or since. Every detail of the day is frozen in time, as if each minute held a significance because of the way the day would conclude. How could we have known our precious little Jessica would leave us that day? It was the furthest thing from our minds. 

October third seemed like any other Tuesday, except for the fact that finally, the OJ Simpson murder trial would be over. The jury had reached a verdict and the world would finally know at 1:00 p.m. 

I, on the other hand, had a lot to do before 1:00 p.m., the time I had to be at work. I called the babysitter to see if it was allright to bring the kids over at noon instead of 12:30 because I needed to pick up my husband so he could have the car. I laid down with 6 1/2 month old Jessica in the bed and nursed her. The bedroom door was shut so David, our 23-month old son, couldn't get into mischief. Jessie and I dozed off, and eventually so did David. I woke up and changed the loads of laundry, with Jessica in the backpack. I spent just a bit too long on the laundry... already I was running late, and I hadn't even started getting ready for work! 

I stared at the clothes in my closet. Why does it always seem like I have nothing to wear, even when I can see lots of clothes right there? Finally I decided on an outfit to wear. After doing my hair and makeup, I had to get the kids ready. I changed both their diapers, put Jessie in her carseat, found her a pair of socks--the Winnie the Pooh ones my parents had gotten her at Disneyworld three months before she was born. Okay, out to the garage... David, will you please hurry and get in your carseat. Mommy is already late for taking you to the babysitter's house, and we're still 15 minutes away. 

Whew! I got the kids off to the babysitter's house. It really was too rushed. I hated leaving Jessie in her carseat, watching me go out the door. My heart felt a little pang, but I didn't have time to nurse her one more time before I left. Besides, I'd see her in just over four hours and then I'd nurse her a long time. How could I have known it would be the last time I'd see her alive? You know how it is... you think back on that moment and wish you could have done things differently. Not that nursing her that one last time when she wasn't really hungry would have kept her from dying. But I just wish I'd spent my last minutes with her in a less hurried way. 

I rushed off to pick up some food and then Matt. I dashed out of the car, through the rain, into Arby's, only to remember that the ten dollar bill I'd thought was with me was in my jeans from yesterday. Now I wasn't going to get to eat lunch before work! 

So I rushed off to get Matt. I was so worked up and upset because I was late, but he didn't even mind. I wish I was as forgiving towards myself. We stopped at McDonald's, he dropped me off at the church where I worked, and I ran upstairs to the church office, panting as I signed myself in at 1:00. Everyone was listening to the radio to hear the OJ verdict... but then that's another story altogether, isn't it? 

The afternoon at work went fairly well. I was looking forward to seeing Jessica and relieving the fullness that I was feeling as a result of not nursing her that one last time. I checked the clock... only an hour... I can make it that long. 

Right at five, the phone rings. It's for me? Maybe it's Matt... but no; it's the babysitter...? "I need you to come right away." (Why is she saying that? I'm leaving in a minute or two, anyway.) A strange burning sensation went through my whole body as she said in a worried tone, "I went to get Jessie up from her nap, and she wasn't breathing." I assumed that Jessie was okay by then, so I said, "Okay, bye," and hung up the phone. To the other ladies in the office, I said, "Jessie stopped breathing. I have to go," and ran out of the office. 

Partway outside, I realized I had no details. I ran back to the office and called the babysitter. She was crying. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She didn't know if Jessie was allright. She had called 911 and they were still working on her. I asked to talk to one of the paramedics and got a police officer instead. I asked him if I should just meet them at the hospital, since I was near it already. He said I should, and I double-checked to make sure it was the University of Michigan Hospital, and he said yes. So I ran downstairs and waited for Matt to come. 

It was raining, but all I could think about was our precious little baby girl. I didn't even know if she was alive or dead. Where was Matt? Normally he was waiting for me when I came out the front door. I ran to the sidewalk by the front entrance. When Matt came, he could tell just by looking at me that something was wrong, and he rolled down the window. I blurted, "We have to go to the hospital. Jessie stopped breathing!" "Get in!!!" he said, and I did. 

When we got there, the people in the ER didn't know anything about Jessica. She wasn't there, and they hadn't received a call saying she was coming. We called the babysitter's house. Apparently they'd taken her to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital instead, since it was closer to their house. Great. It was raining, rush hour, and we didn't even know how to get to St. Joe's since we'd only lived there for 2 1/2 months. 

That ride to the hospital was my worst nightmare. I couldn't stop sobbing the whole way there. I think Matt was worried about me. He asked me to pray, so I did, aloud. I prayed that she would be allright, and I asked God to give her a hug for us, wherever she was. I just had the feeling it was too late, that she had already died. 

After almost getting in a car accident, we finally made it to St. Joe's emergency room entrance. We got to the entrance, and Matt told the paramedic standing outside who we were. She immediately took us inside and pointed to a little room with a name plate bearing the words "Consultation Room". She said we could wait in there, and did we want any coffee? No, we didn't want any coffee. We just wanted to know if our daughter was allright. 

But the instant I saw the words "consultation room," I knew it was too late. We hovered near the entrance to the room, looking toward the door where the woman had disappeared. A few seconds later, an entourage of medical personnel came down the hall and took us into the little room. They told us the words we were afraid to hear, that they had tried their hardest, but they were unable to revive her. It was just like on the TV show "ER", but this was happening to us. 

Someone led us down the hallway to the room where they had tried to save Jessica's life. She looked so small, so alone, almost like she was sleeping, but at the same time I could tell she wasn't there anymore. My first impression was, "You left us and you didn't say goodbye!" It wasn't until I held her limp body that the tears came. I couldn't stop them, and I didn't care. 

Jessica was dressed in a baby-sized hospital gown and the little Winnie the Pooh socks my parents gave her. It was the only time I'd ever put those socks on her. When we left several hours later, I took the socks home. 

Sometimes I kiss the socks, as if kissing them was kissing Jessie.

Twenty years later, we remember those days so clearly. God carried us through as we clung to Him, and lots of people loved and cared for us and weren't afraid to be with us. It's amazing, really, because grief is hard and being around grieving people is scary.

Twenty years later, it all feels so far away, almost (but not quite) like it happened to someone else. So much life has happened since then.  I guess that's just how life is. You get the joy and the grief and the love and the sorrow and the passing of time, and it's all just wrapped up in there together. 

We are so thankful to be Jessica's parents and to have had a few short months with her this side of heaven.  Her life and death are forever a part of our story, and we remember her today. 

25 years!

Can you believe it?  We celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary on May 5th! It's hard to believe it's really been that many years. Just seems like we were 25 years old not that long ago, so how can we have been married that many years?

I am so blessed that Matt is my husband, so glad to have his love and encouragement, to have him as my biggest fan and to have him challenge me, too. I am so thankful to be doing life with  him.  Words really aren't enough.

So to celebrate our twenty-fifth, Matt took some days off from work, and we ended up doing a two-part celebration over May 1-6.

The Friday before our anniversary, we spent a night at an airbnb place in Phoenix. It was so peaceful and romantic. We also went downtown for First Friday, to check out the Art Museum and local galleries on Roosevelt Row, and then out for dinner.

The place where we stayed.  It was in a really quiet, older neighborhood in Phoenix.  Really peaceful.  And for a better price than the majority of hotels we were finding. :)

Being silly on the sofa.

Us in the living area the evening we got there.  I'm really sad that I accidentally deleted most of the photos I took but so thankful for these that I posted on Instagram. :)

The whole unit was decorated in a really modern, European style.  This area was in the bedroom.

We picked fresh grapefruits from the tree in the front yard and ate them at breakfast.

After checking out of our airbnb place, we went to Songbird Coffee House in downtown Phoenix and enjoyed coffee on the porch swing at their new location.  It was a lot of fun.  (Notice the photobomber in the background?)

We've had our vacation rental in Marquette listed on airbnb for about four years, but this was our first time using airbnb as guests.  We highly recommend it, wherever you plan to stay.  There's nothing quite like staying in a vacation home versus a hotel, and many times, the rates are very competitive.  In some places, the rates are ridiculously high, but you might be pleasantly surprised, as we were for our nearby getaway.

That Saturday, we all loaded up & went to the airport to get Marissa.  Her first year of college is finished, and she came home for a few weeks before going to work as a wrangler at a Christian camp in lower Michigan.

Rue was SO excited to see Marissa.  It was really hard to get a decent photo.

On Sunday, we stayed home and enjoyed church and hanging out as a family.  Then on Monday, we went camping in San Diego for a couple of nights. It was a fun time at the ocean, though too chilly to swim this early in the season.  Notice the long sleeves...

Just after arriving at Campland on the Bay, a campground on Mission Bay.  Our spot was really just a parking lot, but it's pretty hard to beat camping right in San Diego, only about a 5-6 hour drive from home!

On the morning of our anniversary, we all walked around downtown San Diego and saw this literal hole-in-the-wall Mexican take-out place.  We ordered breakfast burritos and ate them at a nearby park.

Best breakfast burritos ever!  So filling.

This is in the park where we ate our breakfast. The kids played around on some of the stuff in the playground, and in the background you can barely see the pier where guests were getting onto cruise ships.

Downtown San Diego.

Later in the day, we walked along the shore at La Jolla, just to the north of San Diego.  In this photo, you can just see a tiny glimpse of the many sea lions that were on the beach down below.  It may look beautiful, but the stench from all those animals was quite horrible.  It smelled like a gigantic litter box or something like that.  Yuck.

The ocean is so beautiful.  I've seen it before, but it never ceases to amaze me.  Wow.

Blurry pic, but it captures the sentiment just the same.  I didn't mind my husband walking arm in arm with this young lady on our anniversrary!  It was so great having Marissa with us for most of the month. :)

Looks like Marissa was walking Rue, except for the leash going to my hand. :)

Jesse building something on the beach.

That's Joshua over there.

And a twenty-fifth anniversary selfie.  How is it possible that it can be that many years already? 

With Marissa. :)

Waiting for a table at a Mexican restaurant on Cinco de Mayo.  It took over an hour and a half to get one.  Marissa is being silly there and I can't remember what the boys were doing.  Naomi looks shocked,  but she really wasn't. :)

The patio was dog-friendly, so Rue sat under our table while we ate.  It was a little hard once we got home, convincing her that she wasn't allowed at the table!

Hard to see us, but there's the anniversary couple.  This restaurant was in the Gaslight District of San Diego, and there was a huge Cinco de Mayo celebration going on.  Many Mexican restaurants, all with equally long lines to the one we waited in.  It was a fun experience.

Our campsite on our last night at Campland on the Bay.

Just before we drove away.

It was a really fun anniversary vacation, and I loved that it included some just-the-two-of-us time, as well as a family-ish getaway, too.  Now that we have a couple children off on their own, these years seem all the more short, so it's good to enjoy the time we have with them when we can. :)  And it's also nice to have a night away without any kids, so this was really the best of both worlds.

it's my one decade craniversary!

Craniversary.  That's what a lot of brain surgery survivors like to call the anniversary of their craniotomy.... and ten years ago today, I had brain surgery to remove a meningioma brain tumor.  

This morning at church, it seemed rather fitting that the first song we sang was "Blessed be Your Name." Ten years ago, Tree63's version of that song played a lot on the radio and was the key song in the soundtrack of my whole brain tumor diagnosis and surgery. 

Our family, August 2004, just before my first MRI.  The one that revealed the meningioma.

Below is what I wrote about the whole experience on my Caringbridge page after being home about a week after my surgery.  (I must point out that I was rather heavy on the exclamation points.)

Just after being wheeled to my room in the ICU. It's funny, but I was wondering if I should smile at Matt when he took these shots, and opted for the more "serious" look since I'd just had brain surgery.

WOW!! GOD IS AWESOME!!

Thanks so much for praying for us during my surgery and the beginning of my recovery! We can REALLY tell God is answering your prayers!!

There is so much to tell about the surgery, it's hard to know where to start! We believe it went about as well as it could have... Dr. Ciric and his team were able to remove the WHOLE tumor! The tumor was wrapped more around my optic nerve than could be seen from the MRI, so that was a surprise, and they were also able to remove the part that was around my internal carotid artery. It was a HUGE answer to prayer!

I knew God was with us, answering prayers, on the morning of my surgery. I awoke at 2:30 a.m. with a racing heart. I knew I couldn't live like that for 5 hours until my surgery, so I asked God to help me. I felt a calm wash over me, and then I laid in bed, with praise songs running through my mind. It was very cool!

We were able to get special permission for Matt to go into the holding area--where they normally don't let anyone go with the patient--so he could talk with Dr. Ciric ahead of the surgery, as well. We met and talked with the anesthesiology team, who were both from the Ann Arbor area, where we lived for a couple of years. :)

As time went on, I became more and more calm. I asked the anesthesiology resident if people ever go into the OR without the "cocktail" she was going to give me to relax. She said sometimes they do, and if I changed my mind that it was drawn up and she could give it to me.

I said goodbye to Matt, and the anesthesiologists rolled me down the hall to the OR. We talked on the way about Michigan and what church we go to. As they rolled me into the OR, Dr. Ciric said, "Oh, she's not sleeping!". I said, "No, I wanted to be awake!". They wheeled me to the OR table and asked me if I wanted to put myself onto it. So, I did.

I laid there looking up at the huge lights and thinking, "Wow! I should be SO freaked out right now, but I'm not!" I KNEW it was God making me so calm & peaceful! I silently prayed as quickly as I could for everyone I knew would be worrying during my surgery. The nurse squeezed my hands a couple of times as the oxygen mask was put over my nose and they asked me to take a couple of breaths.

I squeezed back, and the next thing I knew it felt like I'd been dreaming a little while, and I was waking up! It was so interesting feeling myself waking up. They let Matt come into recovery with me! :) And Dr. Ciric told us that they got the whole tumor!!

The whole experience at Evanston Hospital was wonderful! We had so many great nurses, nurses' assistants, neurosurgery residents, food service people, etc. It was really amazing! The cultural diversity was so refreshing... we met people from Jamaica, India, Nigeria, etc. and heard about some of their families. It was really great!

We've been home for over a week now, and every day I feel more and more like my normal self. Today, the staples were removed at Dr. Rovin's office (one of the local neurosurgeons). Everyone was so glad to hear that our experience at Evanston went so great!

My parents stayed almost a week after we returned, and we were all sad to see them leave. It was such a HUGE blessing that they watched the 4 older kids and helped so much around here after our return! We were also SO thankful for our friends Jim & Jane, who watched Naomi... we felt bad taking her away from them! They were having such fun with her!!

We have help through church and Youth for Christ with food and childcare. It's so amazing how much God's family wants to help us!! Thanks so much to all of you out there, who are praying, writing, helping with the kids & making food, just to name a few of the things we know you're doing! We appreciate you all so much!

God is SO great!!
Amy & Matt,
David, Marissa, Joshua, Jesse & Naomi :)

do it yourself car repair. (day twenty-one, write31days)

We've been going through things in the house and listing them for sale.  One of the bigger items we need to sell is our minivan, so we've been doing things to it to get it ready.  YouTube is a great place to find videos for car repairs, and we've saved ourselves so much money by buying the parts and learning how to do the work ourselves.  (I say "ourselves," but really it's Matt doing the work and me providing moral support, holding lights and that sort of thing.)

Last Saturday, we replaced the alternator, which was making a crazy loud noise.  Last night we got a new battery because the van suddenly didn't want to start, and the tester at the car parts place said it was bad.  But we were able to get a discount because it was prorated under the warranty.  Yay! :)

The automatic sliding door had stopped working some months ago.  Now, I really don't mind using my hands to close a door.  But if you're trying to sell a vehicle that's supposed to have an automatic door and it doesn't work, people don't like that.  And if we're going to get the price we need out of this van, we need things to work before people start looking at it.  (Also, this is a crazy-easy repair, so anyone with one of these vans shouldn't have to live with that door not working!)

So yesterday after I was done working on school with the kids, I looked at my favorite place to find repair help, Youtube.  As I watched one of the videos I found, I realized the problem was a broken wire, and that I was completely able to diagnose the problem while Matt was at work, and then let him do the soldering part once he got home.

So that's what we did, and it was an amazing thing to press the button for the door and see it close the way it used to do! :)

thankful.

I was reading something online the other day, I can't even remember where, that made me think.  It was talking about how we don't realize what good things are in our lives until we no longer have them.  Don't you think that's so true in our American culture?  It seems we're always wanting more, more, more, when we probably could use to stand back and take a look at what God has already blessed us with and be thankful for it.

Today is the first day of October, a month that really gets me thinking deep thoughts.  

Eighteen years ago this Thursday (October 3), our baby daughter Jessica died, suddenly and completely unexpectedly.  To say that was life-changing and the worst day of my life is probably quite obvious.  I can't even begin to tell you how that day affected us, and I wish so much that others didn't have to learn from experience what having a child die is like. 

Nine years ago, I had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and learned I had to have a craniotomy (the fancy word for "cutting someone's skull open with a saw") to have it removed on October 26.  We had five kids at home, the oldest not quite eleven years old and the youngest only four months old.  This was for sure the scariest thing I have ever dealt with in my life so far.

So when Matt & I were facing this scary thing nine years ago, knowing I had to have neurosurgeons cut my skull open and dig into the middle of my head to get this tumor out... that they might not be able to completely remove the whole thing, that there were possible side effects that could affect me the rest of my life (including a slight possibility of death), what really helped us was looking back nine years and seeing how God carried us through that.  

(I realized today that it's been nine years since our brain tumor experience and we had been looking nine years into the past and feeling like it had been so long ago.  Wow.  Where does the time go?)

Being a part of the body of Christ is amazing... you don't have to go through things on your own.  The term "body" isn't a joke... when your thumb hurts, the rest of you suffers, too.  It helps so much when you're going through something you can't imagine having to deal with.

When Jessica died, family and friends came to our house just to be with us when we didn't even know what we wanted.  We collapsed in bed in exhaustion that first night after she died only to wake up a few hours later, not able to sleep.  It was so nice to have friends from Marquette show up just then, having driven through the night to be with us.  So good to have people with us when we had to make meals and plan for her funeral and to have extra noise when otherwise it would have seemed so much quieter and empty.  And then an older lady from our church that we hadn't met yet (we were still new in town then) came to our front door with a box of pastries and with tears in her eyes, told me that her baby daughter had died forty years earlier.

Grieving is a tough process, and it's not neat and organized like in the textbooks.  There are the so-called stages of grief, and with Matt working on getting his Masters of Social Work degree at the time, you can be sure we were well aware of those stages.  But they don't happen in order, neatly, like you read about them.  It's messy and unpleasant, and sometimes both of us were in different places with our grief.  I'd want to talk about Jessica and Matt didn't because it was too painful for him.  And a couple months later, his mom died, too, so that was especially hard to deal with at the same time.  Sometimes he would just go in the basement and cry out because it was too much for him.  I remember on New Year's Day 1996, just hoping the new year would be easier on us than the previous year had been.

But through it all, we truly felt God carried us and loved us and didn't judge us for being all messy and ugly inside.  I had thought at the beginning that surely God must have something really BIG for me to learn from this, but really what it came down to was much more simple.  Just, "I love you and I care.  It's okay that you hurt.  I love you."  No big expectations from God.  This wasn't some big assignment I was supposed to learn something from and share with others or else I had failed the test.  Nope.  Just that He loves me.  (Which I guess in itself is pretty big.)

So, nine years later, I felt like we were the Israelites being reminded of how God had carried them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, how He had parted the Red Sea and cared for them in the wilderness and brought them into their own land that He had given to them.

And the truth is, all our prayers about my brain surgery were answered in the way that we had hoped.  It seemed so perfect ending-ish, when I know many, many people's stories aren't like that at all.  (And sometimes I fight off feelings of guilt about how well my story turned out.)  My brain surgeons were able to get my whole tumor out, my vision was restored fully, I was able to get home five days later, get back to nursing Naomi (when I'd been told I might have to stop), I didn't need to be on anti-seizure medications, and within a few weeks, I felt totally back to normal again.  I had been told it could be as long as two years before I'd feel "normal" again, and many brain surgery patients never do.  We had lots of people from our church and from Youth for Christ helping, bringing meals, watching kids, and planning to keep it up for at least another month.  But after three weeks, I realized it wasn't necessary. 

It is truly mind boggling to think of all the things that could have gone wrong that didn't.  Or haven't since.  Every other year I have an MRI to keep a close eye on what's happening, and every time it's been clear.  I am quite aware that one of these years that could change.  As the neurosurgeon out here said to me when we asked him about recurrence rates, "Well, you've obviously shown that you have the ability to grow a meningioma."

So in October, I am reminded of a couple of the "bigger" reasons I have to be thankful.  There are so many others, and when I think of the people in my life and the blessings God has given to us, I am grateful.  

God, please help me not to get distracted by things that don't matter.  Help me to be thankful always.

our happy anniversary.

We celebrated 22 years of marriage on Saturday the fifth! :) 

The day I became Matt's wife. :)  May 5, 1990.

Matt had taken Thursday & Friday off from work, so by the time Saturday came along, we felt like we were on vacation!  A very good feeling indeed. :)

David had to work, but the rest of us hopped in the van and made a day of it.  We went to our favorite Goodwill (it was half-off day) and got a *lot* of really great items.  It's always interesting when you thrift shop, because you might have some ideas of what you need, clothing-wise, but it's all hit or miss as to what the store has when you happen to be there.  

Well, I hit the jackpot on Saturday!  (Please feel free to skip this paragraph if you don't want to hear the details.)  

I got: 

two dresses ($4.99 each)

two skirts ($2.49 each)

a blouse ($2.49)
a tank top for layering ($1.98)

a pair of J. Crew shorts ($2.98)

a pair of brand new Minnetonka shoes ($4.99)!!  

We found clothing for others in the family, as well, and a couple of household items we needed.  The thing I absolutely love about having found this particular Goodwill (aka: my favorite boutique) is that I have so many more great things to wear now!  When I look in my dresser or closet, I feel rich.  Before, I mainly relied on garage sales for clothing... but my wardrobe was pretty sparse and most of those things didn't fit quite right or look good on me.  I didn't like to spend money on clothing for me.

But that is all different now... I've got so many pretty things that look good on me and didn't make a big dent in the finances, either.  It's pretty much a win-win situation.  And a blessing I am most grateful for. :)

 So it was a family-ish sort of day, spent enjoying exploring the Valley together.

Jesse & Mario at the electronics store

Joshua holding a chick at the feed store we visited

Naomi with a little chick

The two of us with the pepper plant we bought at the feed store, and the kids hanging out on the John Deere tractor behind us.  Always refreshing to find a little bit of country in the midst of the city. :)

Once we got home, we left David & Marissa in charge and went out for dinner.  

David kept inserting himself into the before-date pictures, with the supermoon in the background.  He was in a silly, silly mood!

There.  Just the two of us, with the (much-hyped, slightly disappointing) supermoon just behind my head there.  (I was wearing one of my new dresses, but you can't see it here.)

Matt brought me to the Cheesecake Factory, and we enjoyed our time out on the patio with the supermoon in the sky above us.  And I just have to say that the coffee and cheesecake were *very* delicious!  (Thanks, Mom & Dad, for the anniversary check, which helped pay for our date!)

Mango Key Lime Cheesecake & (decaf) coffee... yum! :)

Me next to the movie poster of Avengers, after we'd decided not to see it.

After dinner, we contemplated seeing The Avengers--were even standing at the theater looking at the showtimes--but decided against it when we realized we wouldn't be getting home until 2:00 a.m. if we watched it.  Matt gave me a hard time about "being old" because I was the one who made that call.  Haha, I'm not old... I just can't stay up as late as I used to and function properly the next day! :)

We had a great day. :)  I am so very blessed to be Matt's wife, and it's amazing to me that we've been married more than half my life so far!  God is good.  :)

happenings around here.

What's going on around here lately?  Well, I'm glad you asked  (okay, I know you didn't really ask, but I'll tell you anyway!)...

An Anniversary...

Our family on the day we left the U.P.~June 10, 2007

Today marks 4 years since we became Arizonans.  :)  I'm reminded this year of all the work that goes into a move, since our next-door neighbor is packing up to move next week.  Whew!  It's a *lot* of work!!  I am glad that we made the move from Michigan, despite all the work it involved, and the adjustments that moving so far away involved.  It's been good... God has been good, and we have much to be thankful for. :)

HOA Politics...

Matt & I have gotten involved in HOA politics (!) lately.  This is the first time we've lived in a homeowners association and we recently became aware of some issues in our neighborhood that needed addressing.  We went around meeting & talking with neighbors this weekend, and I set up a website for our neighborhood within our HOA.  

And, I surprised Matt and quite a few other people (not to mention myself!) Monday evening at the HOA board meeting by getting up in front of everyone and talking.  It's a long story, but I am actually contemplating applying for a vacancy on the HOA board.  Yikes!  I have some time to decide... it will be a couple months yet before the board decides who will fill the vacancy on the board.  In the meantime, I am mulling it over in my mind and praying about it a lot.  (This is so far out of my "comfort zone", it's crazy!)

What's really cool about all of this is that we are finally meeting more neighbors.  Matt prays almost every day that God will use us in our neighbors' lives, however He sees fit.  I can't help but think that this is a direct answer to those prayers.  We are actually beginning to develop relationships with neighbors... Frank, Rosemary, Matt, Jared, Sue, Christien, Lee, Dexter, etc.  There is definitely a need for Christ in our neighborhood, and we are excited to see how God will use our neighborhood involvement to share His love with people around us!  :)

Art Stuff...

I've been working on a painting for my sister-in-law.  She had an idea of something she wanted me to paint for her newly-remodeled kitchen.  She was going to pay me something for it, but we are giving it to her as a retirement gift.  It's getting close to being done... my goal is to have it done by Saturday.  I'll post a photo of it then... until she sees it, it's a surprise what it looks like!  :)

I have a "commissioned" horse portrait I'll be doing next.  It's a barter for plumbing/heating work on our Marquette house.  Should be fun to do another horse painting, since I've been doing other things for a couple months.  And we always need that sort of work done at our Marquette house, sooner or later, so it will be good to have that "credit" with one of the companies up there.  :)

Travel...
Normally we're getting ready for our Michigan trip at this time of the year.  So it's weird not to be doing that this year.  We're planning to make the trip in the fall this year.  And we're contemplating taking Amtrak again... had been planning to drive, but they're having a great sale right now. 

Guess that's about it for now.  Hope your summer is off to a great start!

Amy :)

twenty-one years!

Matt & me on our wedding day, May 5, 1990

Matt & I celebrated our 21st anniversary last Thursday, the fifth of May.  It's so amazing to me that I've been signing my married name more years than I did my maiden name!  An older gentleman in our church told us last week that we are just getting started.  It's just amazing to me to think that 21 years is just getting started... wow!  :)

I love being Matt's wife, how he's my best friend and has so much confidence in me and challenges me to push myself when I think I can't do something, or when I need a little "iron sharpening iron".  I love how he loves me despite my weaknesses and flaws.  It's so great to know that he loves me, despite all that.  (He says it isn't hard... but I know what I'm like sometimes!)  

And I am still just head over heels over him.  I love his eyes, the sound of his voice, well... you get the idea.  Twenty-one years haven't dampened any of that.  In fact, it's just gotten deeper and stronger in my heart.  

I am so very grateful that God brought Matt & me together, that I can be his "help-meet", his helper.  God knew just exactly who I needed and I am so thankful!  :)

Just for fun, here's a video of Dave Barne's song "God gave me you", which played a lot on the radio last year at this time.  I just love it! :)