Heathers new job!

Our daughter Heather is starting a new job on Monday!

She has a degree in accounting, but has been working as a cook at the same nursing home I work at. This has been a good job and she's really enjoyed the residents and staff there, but she wanted to get a job where she used her degree. The job market hasn't been too great here in Michigan and it seemed that everyone wanted to have 3 years of experience.
We've been praying for the right job to open for her. We heard that a job was open right here in our own town and she applied for it.
It seemed to take a long time, and there were many more prayers as she went through the interview process, but a little over 2 weeks ago, she got the call that she was hired!

This is the building she will be working in, as a receptionist and also using that accounting degree. We are thankful for this great opportunity for her and for the way God has continued to take care of her!

Family times

We so enjoyed having Andy home for a few weeks over Christmas. He will be deploying to Afghanistan in February so we won't have a stretch of time with him for a while. He may be home to leave his Jeep here along with his belongings while he's gone, but if that happens it will be a very short time.
So - we tried to take in all the family time we could.
Here are a few pictures from our house during these 2 weeks.

Oliver loved crawling under the tree.

The night we opened our gifts, Oliver was in his glory. There was wrapping to play with and bags and boxes to craw into!

It's fun to watch Andy playing with Oliver. Andy hides around the corner and Oliver tried to sneak up on him. Soon there is a cat zooming around the house and Andy laughing his head off!

There was a lot of this going on too. We got the new Donkey Kong for our Wii and Bob and Andy had lots of fun trying to defeat it!


I try to get a picture of all the kids in front of the tree every year. This year Laura protested, saying she looked horrible because she had been sick, but they agreed, after I threw out the fact that I couldn't get one next year because of Andy being gone.
Anyway - I was blessed to have them all with me. That's the best gift for any Mom!

I can see clearly now...

On Friday, both of my daughters had Lasik surgery done. They were scheduled 30 minutes apart, so we all were together in the waiting room. Heather's surgery was scheduled first.
This Dr has a big window into the surgery area so family and friends can watch if they want.

Here they are doing Heather's surgery. The Dr is sitting directly in front of the window, and the screen near the ceiling shows what he is doing.

Here is a close up of Heathers eye, as they prepared to work on it. She was only in the room for about 15 minutes. Both girls said there was no discomfort as they worked on their eyes, but it was quite sore for a few hours afterward. however - they both came home and slept during that time. Now they just have a few weeks of eye drops and they are done. They were both amazed to walk out of the building and be able to see clearly. No more contacts, no more glasses!

Happy Birthday to Heather!

Valentines day is coming soon, and although it's a fun holiday, something else happens on that day that takes precedence. It's Heather's birthday!

Here she is, when she was only a little over a year. She was always such an easy going kid. We saw those dimples frequently!

And here she is now. I can't believe she's turning 24 this year!
Happy Birthday, Heather! You are a blessing!

Congratulations to Heather!

Look what came in the mail! It's Heather's diploma! She finished college about a month ago, but the diploma's are mailed out, so she has been waiting for it. Since she has it in her hands, it feels official, finally.
Now for the hard part - finding a job! Jobs aren't too plentiful here and so far in her search, it seems everyone wants about three years of experience.
Heather - we are really proud of you - good job!
* Her degree is in accounting

Happy Birthday, Heather

February 14 may be Valentines Day for most of you, but in our home it's even more important. It's Heather's birthday! I always tease her that she made me go through the worst and longest labor of all 3 kids just so she could be born on Valentines Day. I was in labor with her for 24 hours and she was born at 12:09 am - making me wait till just after midnight. Then again, the long labor may have had something to do with the fact that she weighed 9'6"!
Once she was born, she was an easy baby and remains easygoing to this day.
Happy Birthday Heather - We love you!
PS - Happy Birthday to my friend Diane, too!