#12

So, only one more year until Lyric is a teen. Then it hit us that we will be living with teenagers for the next 17 years...that should keep things interesting.

Dan and Lyric ran a 5K the day before her birthday. Lyric even out-ran her dad! We had a pretty good cheering section too! Her birthday fell on the weekend of Byron Days so there was lots of entertainment around...which led to a couple of"firsts" for Mical and Moses. After the race, they got to go to their first parade. It didn't take long to figure out how to scramble after candy! That night they got to stay up for their first fireworks display. (We didn't make it to fireworks on the Fourth of July) Moses jumped a couple of times in the beginning but really liked them!

On Lyric's birthday they got to experience their first water balloon fight. Then we celebrated with friends, Grandma and Grandpa Thede and Grandma Bronkema, who surprised Lyric by driving down for the party. Sugar was had by all.

Yesterday I dropped off Lyric and Gavin at Pine Ridge Bible Camp for the week. So until Saturday, I'm back to three kids!

A week of birthdays

This has been a week of birthdays! I managed to get older this week on the 16th and started my day with breakfast made by Lyric! (Chocolate waffles and lots of toppings...how great are 11 yr olds?!) We then ventured to the park and splashpad. Mical and Moses thought it was pretty fun and we had a good time there until Gavin stepped on a bee. I couldn't figure out why a nine year old would have such an extreme reaction to a tiny sliver until he asked, "Why are their hairs on my sliver?!" After closer examination, I realized this was not any ordinary sliver. Lyric saved the day by making mud and covering the sting. Later that day we celebrated at Mom and Dad Thede's. Mical went on her first "buggy" ride with Grandpa!

Then on the 18th we made our way to McBain to celebrate Mom Bronkema's 60th Birthday! We met with Chad, Jill and baby Grace and Scott and Lucienna at Lakeside Charlies to surprise her. Dad B. had to fake not feeling well in the car to delay mom for a few minutes, but we pulled off the surprise.

Oh, and Moses is a walker as of TODAY! He's been walking all month, but now he's got it and has no need to crawl! My arms rejoice!

12 years and 5 kids later

We spent the weekend visiting family up north. It is always fun for all of us to hang out with my family. We got to meet our niece, Grace Mary. She is a beautiful addition to the Bronkema family!
We decided that we would visit Mackinaw Island on Sunday. None of our kids had ever been there and Lori and I hadn't been there since our wedding 12 years ago. It's amazing that just 12 short years later, we returned with all 5 of our kids. If someone would have told me when we got married that I would have 5 kids, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy! Funny how life changes a person.
On the way home, we stopped by the cottage in Newago and spent the afternoon there playing and taking turns going on kayak rides. It's always a good time up there and we hope we can go back a few more times this summer.

I guess this means we're bloggers...

Due to the fact that we have family and friends scattered all over this planet, we find this may just be a downright helpful way to keep people updated. We have been very blessed by the prayers and support of so many as we have journeyed to bring our youngest kids home from Uganda. We've been home as a family for one month and this is our attempt at better communication (inspired by you, Kris) with those who would like to follow our adventures as a family of seven.