Marcus Joel - Yesterday and Today

Today is our, son-in-law, Marcus' birthday.

Marcus is married to our first daughter, Lori.

He's a very important part of this large family

And a very important part of this beautiful, smaller family.

I wrote about Marcus in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015; and those posts tell a lot about Marcus and how his life has changed through the years.  Likewise, the following pictures will you give you an idea of how his appearance has changed through the years that we've known him.

But this post is more about what's been going on in Marcus' life during the past year which of course wasn't covered in any of my previous posts.  Marcus has continued to work for the radio station in a job that he loves

which actually involves some sports broadcasting and since Marcus is a bona fide sports nut, the job is perfect for him.  The drawback was that the job involved a giant commute and weekdays away from home.

But there has been a big change in his life since last year at this time.  Lori has joined him in Pella IA. They've moved into a condo that is perfect for them.  And Lori used some of Marcus' amazing artistic skills in her decorating theme in a design similar to the one they incorporated in Waverly.

And, they have a new pet, Cy, who Marcus must be somewhat fond of because he posted this picture on Facebook not too long ago.

A big event in Marcus' life this year was actually a big event in his Hall of Famer Dad's life when he helped him celebrate his 600th IHSBCA coaching win - a feat only accomplished 40 times previously.

Marcus also spent the holidays in Gulf Shores

and vacationed recently (and briefly) in Florida

So that about sums up the changes in his life during the past year but I need to mention a few more things about Marcus.  He's one of the sweetest, kindest people you could ever know.

He's agreeable, hard working, and smart and he even runs the family basketball pool during March Madness.

We love Marcus and we're proud and happy that he's part of our family so we're hoping his birthday has been awesome but not as awesome as the coming year and the many years after that!  Happy Birthday, Marcus!