Teresa's

Tuesday was Teresa's birthday!

Teresa is married to our firstborn son (by 10 minutes) and has been for almost 24 years!

She's an important part of this large family

and, of course, a very important part of this beautiful family.

I wrote about her last year on her birthday in this post and visiting that link will take you to other links - all of which tell lots about Teresa and show lots of pictures taken 'through the years' so I'll just post a few pictures here showing how she's changed since we've known her.

And now I'll talk about what's been going on in her life during the previous year and it's been a very busy and eventful one for her!  Starting with her birthday last year when two of her sisters-in-law visited to help her celebrate her birthday she's done a lot of traveling and had lots of company.  Here she is on her birthday 

Then in early July she, Dan, and Tessa visited with her sister, Amber, and her family at Anna Maria Island in Florida.

and later that month she, Dan and Tessa went to the theater in Tampa to see The Little Mermaid.

Not too long after that she agreed to foster some kittens in desperate need of a home.  

and so those kittens, along with the family pets, were part of their evacuation to Nashville when Hurricane Irma visited Florida in September.  It all worked out though and they were actually able to turn it into kind of a mini vacation.

In October her nephew, Parker, visited for a few days

in early November Dan, Teresa, and Tessa visit Port Orleans Disney,

and they spent Thanksgiving with Teresa's sisters, Amber and Molly, in Muncie, Indiana

I'm pretty sure it was about this time that Teresa started packing for their next move which was scheduled for early 2018 so that by April they were ready to go

to Savannah!

The move wasn't without it's complications, though.  After all their belongings arrived but before they could be unpacked, Teresa, Evan, and Tessa returned to Florida where Evan still worked and Tessa still went to school.  They lived in a hotel for about 10 days and then stayed with an Army family for a week or so.  They finally returned to Savannah and Teresa must have just had time to finish unpacking and organizing her house when they flew to Muncie

for Amber's son's wedding.

And shortly after they returned, she helped Dan greet guests after his Change of Command ceremony

There was also a visit to Universal Studios and a couple of weekends to visit us in Sanford, Florida where we always visited our favorite authentic German restaurant, Hollerbach's downtown.

And weaved throughout the year were Dan's frequent deployments lasting anywhere from a week to two weeks.  And I have to add that Teresa doesn't just pack for a move.  She's an expert at organizing and documenting everything!  She also took care of scheduling everything from garbage and recycling pickups to cable and Direct TV installations.  And because she was so organized, everything went like clockwork.  All the hardware for all the furniture pieces that had to be taken apart were exactly where they were needed and all of the boxes were carefully labeled and documented!  I couldn't have been more impressed!

And throughout all this she managed to train for the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon in November,

 the Disney Princess half marathon in February

 and the Star Wars Dark Side back-to-back (a 10k on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday) in April.

And there's lots more to say about Teresa.  While anybody else's world would be spinning out of control, she's the calm in the storm and even quickly responds to my queries when I get worried about Dan's travels, etc.  She's also sweet, loving, and kind and is gentle with her children and her pets and other people's feelings.  She's sensitive and caring and wouldn't hurt a flea.  We're proud of Teresa and all that she does and we're hoping her birthday was wonderful and that the coming year is even better but not half as great as the many more to come!  Happy Birthday, Teresa!

Jeremy's 19th

Tuesday was Jeremy's 19th birthday.

Jeremy was our 9th grandchild and 6th grandson.

He's a very important part of this large family,

 this smaller, but still large family,

and, of course, this beautiful family.

I wrote about Jeremy on his birthday last year in this post and going there will take you to links to all his previous posts that will tell you lots about how he's changed through the years and show lots of pictures of how he's grown.

Now I want to talk about what's been going on in Jeremy's life during the past year.  As we know from his last birthday post, Jeremy graduated from high school in June.  He then spent the summer working at a golf course and since he loves to golf, it was the perfect job for him.  As an added bonus, there were times when he actually got to work with Jenna which was fun for both of them.

In the fall he enrolled at Eastern Michigan to study Engineering and by the end of the first term he had gotten his driver's license and a car and was able to provide his own transportation to and from school.

He, his mom, and his sister vacationed in Gulf Shores with his big extended family over the holidays

and then it was back to school for the spring semester.    After the term ended, he continued to work at the golf course and got a seasonal job at Home Depot where he was given an award for 'going above and beyond' after a woman left her car in gear and got out.  The car started driving away without her and quick-thinking Jeremy jumped in and turned off the ignition probably saving a lot of property damage and maybe even injuries or death.  That was shortly after he started there and he was recently offered a full time position.

Another significant event in his life was the addition of a new puppy to the family.  Heidi is a frisky, friendly little rottweiler who is getting bigger every day and is adored by the entire everybody.

And Jeremy still plays golf as often as he can and recently shot his best round EVER, a very respectable 71!!!

So you can see he's a busy guy and he's had a great year so now I want to mention a few other things about Jeremy.  In addition to being a great golfer, he's a great musician.  During out family talent show in Gulf Shores, he and his cousin Evan brought down the house when they played an original song written by Evan but scored by both of them.

And Jeremy is a sweet and loving person who likes nothing better than spending time with his Young nieces and nephews.

 He's hard working, courteous, and respectful and always ready to lend a helping hand.  He also fun-loving, smart, and thoughtful.  We are so proud of him and all he does and we're hoping his birthday was his best one yet but only half as great as the many many more to come.  Happy Birthday, Jeremy!