Another Concert

Our family had the opportunity to participate in our community's outreach by giving a concert at the fairgrounds here in our town. This was our last scheduled singing date as an entire family before Daryl leaves for college. We shared a variety of selections using trio, quartet and solo arrangements. Daryl has been singing bass for us this year and doing a great job.

Daryl is singing the song that he composed entitled "Independence Day." He accompanied himself on the acoustic guitar.

Nevaeh was excited to have her face painted!

Her completed Bob the Tomato from Big Idea's Veggie Tales series.

The evening ended with another round of fireworks!
It was a blessed day.

Planting Seed

Yet again.....life is ever changing!
We planted, and we watered. Now another will nurture. And by the mercy of God, growth and increase will one day be realized.
C, our latest foster son, has been moved to a different situation and so one more time, it is just us here in the ole' homestead!
We find ourselves dealing with mixed emotions, yet we feel that we gave this little boy everything we had to give while he was here with us.
Still, it's always sad to see the little ones go and know that likely you will never witness the blossoming of their flower.
When permitted again, we will keep planting seed. We will water. As God allows, we will nurture and cultivate. Perhaps one day again, we will watch a flower bloom.
In the meantime, we never forget the precious gift of our rare flower in little Nevaeh.
She's our reminder that what we do no matter how little or much, is of great value.
And one more time, we thank God that she is a vibrant part of our family bouquet!

Take time to smell YOUR flowers today!

INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Our youngest son, Rob, is really getting involved in photography. This is one of his shots.

"INDEPENDENCE DAY"

Song composed by our oldest son, Daryl.

There were no fireworks - There was no celebration - Only the tears of a sorrowful mom - The crowds had all left Him as He hung there on that tree - To pay sin's price so you and I could finally be free.

On that Independence Day when our wrongs were made right - And we didn't have to fight to secure our life - On that Independence Day when He died on that tree - When He chose to set free evil man like you and me - On that Independence Day.

There'll finally be one day when we will have the chance - To celebrate our freedom that Christ bought for us that day - We will rejoice with loud singing and choruses of praise - thanking Him for what He did on that special day.

On that Independence Day when our wrongs were made right - And we didn't have to fight to secure our life - On that Independence Day when He died on that tree - When He chose to set free evil man like you and me - On that Independence Day. When He chose to set free evil man like you and me - On that Independence Day.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

DD....Is that........DUDLEY DORIGHT?!

Doris Day.....Dumb Dellaweese.....Snoop Doggy Dog......Daniel Daylewis.......David Ducovning.....Daphne Doowarray......Deloris Delreyo..... Dudley Doright?!????
Nope! That is definitely Dude Daryl!! Or maybe Daring Daryl!!!


As you can see, he is dressed for the "part." And that has ALWAYS been Daryl. From the time he was a little boy, if he was going to play baseball, he had to wear a baseball shirt and sneakers. If he was going to play hockey, out came the Philadelphia Flyers uniform and skates.
Switching to soccer guaranteed another clothing change.

One day, I pulled into the drive to discover Daryl in the parking lot....flying his remote controlled airplane. He was dressed to the nines in a suit and tie. Man! He looked sharp! Didn't you know that pilots dress the part?!

While Daryl, to this day, can accumulate MORE laundry than a girl, I have discovered something about him that I wouldn't change. Whatever the boy does, he does with EVERYTHING in him and more! It makes the laundry more bearable. Just think. If everybody in our world would apply themselves in this manner, what truly could we as mere mortals accomplish?


Daryl is our oldest son. He's almost 18 now. He is scheduled to leave home in August to move into the dormitory of God's Bible School and College in Cincinatti, Ohio. He is stepping out into the next phase of his life and I want you to know how proud we are of the man he has become!

Daryl turned four and started Kindergarten many years ago. When he completed his required years of education, he was still 16. He had already been working a part time job, but following graduation, he turned in a copy of his diploma and began working full time. This past year, Daryl has been holding down a mans job. Throughout the winter, he rose from sleep between 4 and 4:30 AM and his boss would pick him up before 5:00 AM. Daryl still has a Jr license so his driving times are still restricted. Many days, he would not return home until 5 to 5:30 PM.

Daryl has participated in youth camps and church functions, been sports director for summer VBS programs and has been a vital part of our family ministries. Daryl plays an acoustic guitar well and has become a wonderful song writer.

Daryl is an amazing big brother and is also an involved supporter of our foster care ministry.

Also, in the past couple years, Daryl has been involved in the Civil Air Patrol which is an auxillary of the United States Air Force. He has been permitted to fly a small plane, participated in Basic Encampment and gone through Survival Training as well as Search and Rescue phase 1. He has continued to receive training and maintained physical drills. He has gone through testing and as the testing is passed, he qualifies for ranking promotions. Currently, Daryl carries the rank of Master Seargent. Very recently, Daryl was placed in a position of much stress and discomfort.....a place where his character was "under fire." And we watched as he behaved as a real man should and was cleared. We were proud of the way that he handled himself in a real life situation.

Daryl, I hope that you know just how much we love you and that we are so proud of who you have become. We are going to miss you more than you could ever dream, but we are thrilled with your decision to seek preparation through college and we support you in any way that we can. So, dress the part and give this all you've got and more, Baby! We'll get through the laundry! We always have!!