Teresa

Today is Teresa's birthday!

Teresa is married to our 3rd child and first son (by 10 minutes), Dan.

She's a very important part of our large family

And of course a very important part of this smaller family.

I wrote about Teresa on her birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show you links to all her previous posts.

And the links in THAT post will take you to many pictures and stories of how she's changed over the years.

So I'll just post a few pictures here.

and talk a little about what's been going on in her life during the past year - and there's a lot!
First of all, she's moved - almost 2,000 miles from here - their much loved home in Colorado Springs.

to here - another much loved home

that has a special amenity that the last home didn't have and that she enjoys VERY much.  Especially the fish races where she laughs really hard the whole race.

She's currently training for two Disney half marathons and she's started crossfit which she absolutely loves!  And she's very much the swim mom right now with practices every day for Tessa and swim meets once a month.  Although she's not currently working outside the home which is an adjustment for her, she's traveling back and forth to Colorado Springs as much as possible to see her boys.  Because that's a big change too.  She's here and they're still there.  I know her hope is that they'll all be in the same area eventually.  And there's another change for her too.  After driving her beloved mini van for many years, she's got a new car that she loves.

And another perk in the past year is that her 'team' won the world series.

All in all, Teresa has had a busy year with lots of changes but she's very adaptable to change and she's very organized which really helps when lots of changes are happening.   They've visited many of the theme parks in the area and spent a weekend or two at the beach. 

And of course I have to add that Teresa is sweet, loving, considerate, and a lot of fun to be around.  She gets along well with her sisters-in-law and puts up with lots of teasing about her height but she is the best sport EVER!

We are so lucky that she is part of our family and that we get to call her a daughter!  What a blessing!  So Happy Birthday, Teresa!  We're hoping it's the best one ever but that it's only half as wonderful as the many more to come!

Evan

Sunday was Evan's 20th birthday!

Evan was our 6th grandchild and 4th grandson.

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

And a very important part of this beautiful family.

I wrote about Evan for his birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show you links to all his previous posts.

And the links in THAT post will take you to many pictures and stories of how he's changed over the years.

so I'll just post a few pictures here.

and talk a little about what's been going on in his life during the past year - and there's a lot! First of all, Evan has moved - twice.  Done with roommates for awhile, he's now the lone renter of a downstairs apartment in a great neighborhood.  Oh wait, he does have a roommate.

Evan adopted Quintus or I should say Quintus adopted Evan during a visit with a friend to an animal shelter.  For Quintus it was love at first sight and Evan just had to make him part of his family.

And here's another change in Evan's life during the past year.

Evan and Meagan met at Comic-con last summer and are now in a relationship - albeit it's a long-distance relationship to say the least since she lives in Illinois.  And the exciting news is that Evan plans to move there in the next month or two which is awesome since they would only be about three hours from us!

Evan already has a job lined up and is looking forward to the move.  He was recently promoted to a manager position at Burger King and I'm sure that that experience will help him in his new position in Illinois.

So Evan's had lots of changes and there are lots more to come.  But I have to add a little bit more about him.  He's a willing and hard worker.  Here, he and his closest cousin, Jeremy, voluntarily do the clean-up after one of our massive dinners in Gulf Shores.

Evan is also sweet, agreeable, smart, and has a wonderful, loving sense of humor.  He has his dad's gift for figuring out how things work and then making them work again and he's happy to lend a hand whenever it's needed.  He's also very creative and a gifted musician.

He's a loving brother.

And a sensitive, caring son and grandson.

Evan's been out on his own for over a year.  With his parents almost 2,000 miles away now, we're proud of him for his independence and his self reliance but most importantly, we're proud of him for the kind of person he is and we could not love him more.  So happy birthday again, Evan.  I hope the coming year is your best one yet and it's only half as great as the many, many more to come.   

Emily

Today is Emily's 20th birthday!

Emily is our 5th grandchild and 2nd granddaughter!

She's a very important part of this very large family

and a very, very important part of this wonderful family.

I wrote about Emily on her birthday last year in this post and visiting there will show the links to all her previous posts.

And those links will take you to many pictures and stories of how she's changed over the years.

So I'll just post a few pictures here

and talk a little about what's been going on in her life during the past year.

First of all, after a summer off from school but still working at Olive Garden, Emily enrolled at Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids to pursue a degree in Geology.   Although she feels she will always be interested in Geology she realized that it was not what she envisioned for a life career.  That, coupled with the fact that she missed South Bend resulted in the decision to move back.

Indiana University South Bend offers an excellent course in Marketing/Business which she was interested in pursuing and a much less expensive educational option.  

She shares a small townhouse near campus with her roommate, Brooke, and loves taking care of herself - shopping, cleaning, etc.

She's doing well at IUSB, loves her new lifestyle, and dates Chandler.

So now Emily is starting to look at internships in Marketing and hopes to work for the South Bend Cubs next summer.  

Emily's busy, motivated, and smart.  She's loving, sweet, and thoughtful and no one could ask for more in a granddaughter.  We're hoping she had the best birthday EVER and that the coming year is even better!  Happy Birthday, Emily!  We love you!