Our trip to Dearborn -Day 1

Sorry it's taken so long to post this, but I've put it off for a myriad of reasons. Writing a serious blog being the main reason. I know most of my posts have been a day in the life of our family with a few laughs and tears thrown in here and there. But as we approach August 1st, I find myself feeling generally somber and not always sure how to express what I'm feeling, much less write it down for all the blogging world to see... Let me begin by giving a quick rundown of why we went to Dearborn.
Compassionate Friends is an organization that exists to help families as they grieve the loss of a child. Every year they have two national events. The first is their candle light service, which we participated in this December. The second is the national conference and Walk to Remember. Each year it's held in a different city and just so happened to be in Dearborn this year. Anyone who has lost a child can participate in the conference or take part in the walk.
On Saturday afternoon, the whole family (Bucks, Grates, G&G Syswerda, G&G Buck and Geoffrey) met up at the hotel. We started the afternoon by letting the kids swim for a while. Of course I neglected to take one picture of Emmy swimming for the first time without the help of her swimmies... Then it was out for pizza in downtown Dearborn- can't remember the name of the restaurant but it was fabulous. After dinner it was back to the hotel to celebrate Zoe Marie's 3rd!! birthday. There was boundless noise, chaos and general pandemonium as 14 of us were packed like sardines in my parents hotel room. But, celebrating her birthday was a glimmer of true joy in the midst of much sadness. After cake and ice cream, my mom brought out the t-shirts. The organization provided Walk to Remember t-shirts for the adults, but not for the kids. Not wanting them to be left out, my mom bought each child a plain t-shirt and things they could put on them. It's funny how something so small can mean so much to them. It gave them each a chance to really focus their grief in a good way and they were also able to spend some time talking about Ava and some of their memories of her. After finishing up the t-shirts it was off to bed so we could all be up at the crack of dawn to walk 2.2 miles!
I will post all the pictures of our walk tomorrow as once again it's almost midnight (why do I do this to myself???)

Grand Haven Vacation

What a great vacation! We spent Monday and Tuesday here in Grand Rapids with my oldest friend April (Holloway) Abbonizio and her husband Mike and daughter Audrey. We had a WONDERFUL time with them and did lots of talking late into the night. I mean, isn't that what best friends are for? (April is also pregnant with their second and is due in December!)
Then it was off to the beach! We spent Wed. thru Sat. at my parents trailer on the beach in Grand Haven. We found it quite amusing that we were taking our vacation back in our old hometown. The weather couldn't have been better. My cousin Ryan and his wife Stephanie and their 4 kids were also there for the week and Elijah and their oldest, Braden, really hit it off. It was great to see him having such a great time. We didn't do much but swim and watch the kids ride their bikes and play with the puppy. (Who, incidentally, turned us into some sort of celebrities at the park..."Aww... can we hold him??") We did all the Grand Haven things; Snug Harbor, Pronto Pups, Pier Peddler Ice Cream, walking the boardwalk and the pier.... We also took our annual trip up to Montague to Dog-n-Suds. (A bittersweet trip as Ava was with us last year on our trip there.) Other than a small mishap while trying to dump the poop (sorry, that's what it is!), it was a successful vacation! PS- I will be posting a detailed blog later in the week about our trip to Dearborn for the Walk to Remember. There were so many pictures and things I wanted to share I thought I would save it for a later post (and and earlier time as it's already almost midnight!)
Ezekiel after being attacked by a Superman ice cream cone!
The kids with cousin Braden Stevens.


Audrey being a horse, her favorite thing to do!


April and I on the beach

We have a new puppy!

The title to this blog is proof that God works in mysterious ways. As I stated in my last post, Josh and Shelly got a new Puggle puppy named Tico last week. Well, because of Jay and I's financial situation we told the kids we'd have to hold off getting a dog until Christmas. (They were actually taking it quite well.) A core team member from our church also bought one of the other pups from the same litter as Shelly's. He took Jason out for breakfast yesterday and said he was going to have to pay an astronomical sum of money to keep the puppy in his apartment complex and would we like it? What?? Huh?? You heard me right! 20 minutes later we had an adorable Puggle puppy named Piper (after John Piper.....). He is absolutely the cutest thing. The kids love him and he is great with them. God is good!
I have also posted some pictures of our new deck and sliders that I promised like a month ago! So many people have helped us and I thank you all. It is truly an oasis of peace! Jason and I are spending countless hours in our Adirondack chairs and the kids love eating at the table. Also note the chiminea (sp?). My dad found it at a campsite with a free sign and spruced it up for us. (Don't ya just love Dutch people? I sure do...) Lastly, we will be out of town much of next week camping in my parents trailer at Grand Haven State Park (another surprise blessing!). We will also be in Dearborn next weekend at A Walk to Remember for our little Ava. Please keep our entire family in your prayers next Saturday!

The FAM!

For those of you who don't know, my maiden name is Syswerda. So what, big deal, you say? Well, it is a pretty big deal, at least to me. I come from a heritage that few can boast. Grandpa and Grandma Syswerda (Herm and Lucille) bore 13 children. In this day and age there are very few families like this left. Not only are they all healthy, successful adults, they are all following Christ. There are even FEWER families who can say this! So, last night we had a little (this is a relative term) family get together. When everyone is present (only OUR family) there are right around 90 people. HOLY COW!!! Every time someone gets married and comes to the first few get togethers it's always funny to see them try to remember everyone's name. Yeah, pretty much impossible! Anywho...my Uncle Rog and Aunt Joan's 4 kids and their kids were all in town this weekend. This is quite a fete considering they live in Chicago, NY city, South Carolina, and Upland, IN. Good reason to throw a party! It was a wonderful time with people we love and let me tell you, never a dull moment. Imagine at least 50 people as loud (or louder) than me in one space. I remember the first time Jay walked into our Christmas party...He opened the doors and the sound practically blew him over. He looked at me like "Wow, you weren't kidding...". It truly is an amazing thing to be a part of and such an original family who are also close friends, prayer warriors, and just a great support network! I took some pictures throughout the night, none of which turned out very great, but oh well! Try getting 12 kids under 7 to sit for a picture! All 12 kids (13 counting our little Ava Nicole) are grandchildren of my parents and Uncle Rog and Joan. Wow!
Attached are some pics from our evening with some pretty lengthy descriptions!



From left to right: My uncle Rog, my mom in the background, my cousin Eric(Rog's youngest son), my aunt Karel (the youngest of the 13), and my cousin Mark's (Rog and Joan's middle son) wife Kelley.
Shannon (Eric's wife) is on the left with Ethan, Micah, Zeke and Thane eating at the picnic table.
What a bunch of cuties!
A crazy picture of all 12 kids!
From left to right: Owen, Madison, Micah, Zeke, Thane, Zoe, Emmy, Ethan, Brooke, Paige, Elijah, and Noah. WHEW!!
The girls holding Josh and Shelly's new puppy Tico (anyone watch Dora??).