Tracy Allen - Yesterday and Today

Today is Tracy's birthday!

He is married to Amy, our second child and 2nd daughter.

And he's a very important part of this large family,

this fairly large family,

and this beautiful core family.

I wrote about Tracy in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015; and of course those posts tell you a lot about Tracy and the following pictures will show how he's changed physically 'through the years'.

But now I want to talk about what's been going on in Tracy's life during the previous year.

To begin with, he became a step-grandfather for the 5th time just a little over a year ago.

And he and Amy have spent a lot of time remodeling their bathroom perfectly and now that it's done they're on to their next project - the living room.

His ankle continues to slowly but surely improve after his horrific 2013 fall from a roof which shattered his heel and severely injured his ankle.

And just a couple of days ago was able to hit the driving range for the first time since that injury.

They are also back at Waffle Farm Campground right now for the first time in several years.

Tracy has always been

and continues to be a loving step father

and husband

and step grandfather.

He's helpful, thoughtful, hard-working, and a lot of fun to be around.  And he's very tolerant of my picture-taking even though it makes him self conscious.  We love Tracy and we're happy and proud that he's in our family!  And we're wishing him the happiest birthday EVER and a year full of happiness and lots of good fishing (and vacationing in Gulf Shores)!  Happy Birthday, Tracy!!

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!