The Last Week of October

Well, I can't believe that the end of October is here! As you can see the kids have their costumes and Sarah has already gone to a party as a bunch of grapes. Our church will be holding a "trunk or treat" Friday while Mary will be passing out 1,000 pieces of candy to the people at our house. You see everyone in town trick or treats on our street. We have dogs, adults holding newborns, kids with 2-3 bags for cousins who are sick and some adults dressed up for candy for themselves. After passing out "good" candy the first year, and our kids getting a bag of jolly ranchers, I pass out tootsie rolls and dum dum suckers to the neighborhood. I keep a few chocolates for people we might know. So if they want the big candy..they can visit trunk or treat at church. I am going to put up a little sign on our front door.

Our Reformation Service was very nice. The West Michigan Lutheran Chorale came and sang several anthems. The service was a hymn festival, my favorites were "Thy Strong Word" and "A Mighty Fortress". Our church choir sang as well, and did a great job. I was also proud of our chime team. It was our first day of playing publicly this year. We added a new member to the team last night at practice and we had a great rehearsal! We will play again in about 3 weeks. Next Sunday the kids choir, made up of all girls, are going to sing with choreography. Our song "Soon and Very Soon".

Now on to baseball. I am so distressed at the poor calls made by the World Series umpires. It is beginning to look like they "want" the Phillies to win. I am glad the Rays tied the game last night with the awesome running of Upton and the single by Pena. Otherwise, they might have had to call the game and the Phillies win due to the weather. The playing conditions were horrible. We don't know when they will be able to play the rest of the game. I'd like to see the series go back to Tampa.

We have had wet cold weather for the past few days. There was talk of snow showers too, but so far we haven't seen any flakes. Sunday afternoon we did have small, soft hail showers. It was incredible. Sarah said Holland had hail showers monday morning while see was walking to class. She is assigned to football now, where she goes to the football practices and is available to assist with injuries. Sarah called my cell phone and left me a message that she had pitcher/catcher warm up this morning @ 0630 and that it went really well. I am so happy for her. She really loves to play catcher. I pray that she makes the Hope team this winter. She sure is showing her passion, commitment and abilities to the coach and making a lot of friends on the team. Jeff and I are going to spend Friday the 7th at Hope for parents weekend. We will attend some classes, have dinner with Sarah, go to a concert and a parents reception. We decided against going back on Saturday for the events since it is just too hard getting ready for church the next day.

Tonight is Mary's first Orchestra concert. She says the music is pretty easy, since we have to let the freshman adjust. Still I am looking forward to it. I work tomorrow 12 hours, and Friday 9 hours. Wednesday night is always long with 3 hours of choir..kids, adults and praise team. I like them all (I lead the kids choir). The high school musical is in 2 weeks and Mary reports that they are a little behind. She gets frustrated with the lack of commitment and lack of focus that some bring to the stage. I am sure it will all turn out well in the end.. It has in the past. Matt has enjoyed working in the scene shop for the play, using new tools and learning about sets. He came home and explained all kinds of things yesterday and was happy to learn to use new equipment like a jigsaw. Don't worry he is using safety goggles and other required protection!

Well, we didn't golf this morning. Too cold and I have a cold, sniff-cough. So my buddy Norma and I are going to meet for lunch in just 30 minutes! Our bowling team is still in first place! We managed to take 3 points from a very good team of bowlers. The most exciting moment was when the lights went out just as I released my ball......there was silence. I was thinking what happens now? I felt pretty good about my ball and now there was no power. Just as my ball hit the pins, the power came on and I got a strike. I bowled a strike in the dark! WooHoo! The whole league applauded! What a moment!

Better get going to lunch! Have a great day!

Grace

(Sarah's Pumpkin)

PS: Happy Birthday GG!

Be Proud to Be an American

Election Day is just 10 days away. I enjoy researching facts and thought you might too. So I have added links with information about the candidates and today's issues. They are just a click or two away! Happy reading and remember to vote on November 4th!

First Show of the Year!

Tonight was the first show of the year! It was really fantastic. Matthew sang his debut with the High School Concert Choir and Mary had her debut with a solo, "L-O-V-E", and as a member of Village Green. One young man sang "Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera. He did an outstanding job. The auditorium was packed! Don't the kids look great? Mary's friend is included in the picture. Tuesday is the first orchestra concert of the year. Middle School and High School. I think I might go a little late and bypass the middle orchestra this time.

Thank you to everyone who was praying for Matt. He is doing much better on a new stronger antibiotic. He sure was sick for a good 5 days. The rest of us seem healthy and hope we don't get what Matt had. Just got word that my friend from high school's son broke his femur at football practice. He is ~10 years old and needs surgery. Please keep Mikey in your prayers. Thanks! Our other doctor appointments went well. The doctors were professional and knowledgeable. They took time to explain things to us respectively.

We will celebrate Reformation Day this Sunday with a Hymn Festival. The West Michigan Chorale is going to sing along with us and we will also sing a anthem as well. The Chime team is supposed to make their debut too. We have a practice on Saturday morning to determine if we are ready. With a group of only 5, it is a challenge.

Well, I am pretty tired after a long and eventful day. Besides the concert, I had the MD appt in Grand Rapids, Quilting, gave a piano lesson and attended a dinner for Habitat for Humanity. I got the laundry done too! Yay!

Go Rays! They won tonight....3 wins to go!

Grace

A Long Weekend

So sorry that it has been a while since my last post. Time really flies by and I don't get to everything I want to do. I know I am not the only one with this problem. Anyway, I hope that I can accurately update you on the past four days.

Thursday I finished my quilted runner for the clavinova. Now I am starting a baby quilt. I like making them, because they are smaller and I can use really cute flannel material. I will have to take a picture of my latest piece now in use.

Later that evening, Matthew got the chills and had a sore throat. He had a fever over 100 and red throat with white spots. By Friday morning it was over 101 and he was miserable. He did attend school for 1.5 hours until he went to the doctor. The doctor's appointment wasn't good. They almost didn't let them get seen, since they were 10 minutes "late", eventhough the place was crowded with people. Jeff informed them that he tried calling the office from 0800 - 0820 with the same recording, sorry the office is closed. We had to have the after hours people connect us with the office that opens at 0800. Anyway, the "nurse" came to swab Matt's throat and decided she need to swab it twice to make sure she got "enough". The test was negatice for strep, but because it had it's characteristics, he was put on Amoxicillin twice a day. Well, it hasn't done a thing for him. His temp this morning was 103.4! His throat is worse than Friday. Jeff has been a real godsend. He has been taking care of Matt since I worked both Friday and Monday. Today Matt went to the hospital lab for bloodwork. We will know the results tomorrow. Last check was 99.8 with the chills setting in. He took penicillin and advil and fell asleep. Doesn't look like he will go to school tomorrow either. Mary brought home his home work and he got the majority of it done. Way to go Matt! It is hard to miss two days of high school.

Back to the weekend, we had small group at our house on Saturday. We got the house cleaned up just in time before the two couple arrived for study. We had a nice discussion and study on our discipline. Our book is called, Who You Are When No One is Looking" by Bill Hybels. Mary had play practice in the morning and had her friend over afterward. They spent time singing songs most of the afternoon. Mary really loves theater and music. It really defines her passion. She will be singing a solo on Thursday night at the fall Choir concert. It will also be her debut as part of the prestigious Village Green, the school's show choir. Hopefully Matthew will be well enough to sing with the concert as well. Not many freshman are approved to sing with the concert choir. Mary also had a gig this weekend. She played her cello with her quartet at the community center where "Thomas Jefferson" attended and spoke about his life. The quartet was there to play during the refreshment period. Tomorrow Mary and many from the drama club will be going to Grand Rapids to see "Sweeny Todd" on stage. She love to go on these trips and experience life on stage. Guys and Dolls opens at our high school in just about 3 weeks. I can't wait to see it!

All of us went to see "Fireproof" the movie yseterday afternoon, while Matt's advil was working, and I enjoyed it very much. There were a few issues that I have with the movie that I won't go into here, since some of you may not have seen it. Anyway on a whole it is a movie with a good message and really helps put things into perspective. Jeff and I are reading through a 40 day book that goes along with the movie called the "Love Dare". I like it. It is a book intended to help you love your spouse more. We went straight to our bowling league and split the point 2-2. We are still in first place. I had a great game with a score of 154! I hope I can do that again.

Tomorrow promises to be busy as well. I am way behind on laundry. The cable man comes at 3pm to see why our picture has turned fuzzy/snowy. I am supposed to golf in the morning, but the weather is supposed to be cold and I am not sure if Matt we will be well yet. It is my "turn" to be at home with him. I also have a Stampin Up party tomorrow night at 6:30pm. I need to have some type of snacks. We are going to have a Christmas theme stamping party, so I might make Christmas treats! Great idea, right?

I had to reschedule chime team from tonight to Saturday. With Matt sick, I would be down to 4 ringers. We are supposed to play on Sunday, so we need to all be together. Saturday will make it fresh in our minds about our music especially those who are new this year to the team. I told Jeff not to include it in the bulletin, just in case we aren't ready for Sunday. It is reformation sunday, so I'd really like to be able to pull it off for the special service at 4pm.

Jeff has his meeting with the neurologist tomorrow. He has been feeling better lately but we figure he might as well get established there so that when he has another flareup, he can make an appt there instead of jumping through the many hoops all over again. My appt is Thursday. I will have to make medical updates at they become available.

Well, that does it...Have a Great Day!

Grace

PS - Have a look the family blogs with links in the left column. There is some interesting stuff to read and listen too!

Just A Few Words

Sarah was happy to receive a package from her Grandma and Grandpa Wilhelm today. She posted a picture on her facebook and I thought I would share it on our blog. It appears that her goldfish are thriving so far, and she is back to her college routine. I know she will miss softball this half of the semester, but she is enjoys watching the MLB playoffs and world series. We even bought some peanuts for her to eat during the game. Go Rays!

I had a busy night at work, my patient stayed awake the whole time. I work again tomorrow, but it is regular day hours. I also finished my latest quilt project. It is a runner to conver the keys of the church clavinova. My next project is a baby quilt. We make a lot of them. Some go to babies baptized at our church and some go to the county for donations to babies that need them.

We are having more fall like weather with cooler temperatures and beautiful colors. The heat has been going on during the past few nights. Hope your world is colorful in every way.

Grace

Back Home..Safe and Sound

Sarah is back at college and off to the AT office for clinical hours. She gets off at 6 pm. We bought some goldfish for her dorm room. They travelled from Greenville well and now happily swim in their bowl in the bathroom. That is a good place for them I think. I also stocked her up with snacks, drinks and other needed items. This morning she visited the high school and then we had lunch with some church friends. It was enjoyable. The drive home alone wasn't too bad. I listened to Sean Hannity all the way. Keeps the ride interesting. He has a lot of good things to make you think about today's issues.

I got home in plenty of time to be back to pick up Mary and Matthew from school. Mary had play practice and Matthew has decided to work in the scene shop for the play rather than try out for basketball. He really likes to make things with wood and materials. After we got home Matthew and I raked leaves for about 30 minutes and added to the already huge pile Matthew started last week. Now Matthew is going to cut the grass. The weather is beautiful..60's sunny and blue sky and fall colors all around.

Mary and Matthew got their school pictures back and I have posted them for you to see. Don't they look great? No more school pics for Sarah. Her senior pictures were sure awesome though. Jeff comes home tomorrow. I work till 5 pm and then we have family night at church. All kinds of fun activities, including a meal. I work Thursday and Friday as well. My patient is doing well, and came home from the ER very early this morning. Docs decided that there is nothing serious at this point, and we will watch at home and treat ear infection with oral antibiotics. Thanks for your prayers! I need to write her bimonthly reports by Sunday! I'd better get started.

Signed,

A Proud Mom

The Fun is Almost Over

It sure has been fun having Sarah at home. She has been able to spend time with her friends and enjoy home life. Today we went shopping to replenish some needed supplies. We even bought some goldfish for her. I hope they survive the trip to Holland.

Yesterday at church, our congregation has a pastor appreciation fellowship. We received many nice cards and gifts. It was really very nice. We also received some flowers as shown here. Praise service, including the orchestra did quite well. Next week our Sunday school is going to hear more about Bethesda Lutheran Home. That is where our mission offerings are going.

Just heard that my little patient had a seizure today. She is on her way to Grand Rapids to the children's hospital to find out why. She has also had a stubborn ear infection that might be related. Please continue to pray for her health. I also learned that my brother fell and injured his shoulder. That is all the information I have at this time.

Jeff left early today for the pastors' conference and golfed when they arrived at Boyne Mtn.. I hope his score was better than my was last week. I think we took three points in bowling last night. Our teammates did well, and we did just soso. I'd really like to be able to throw the ball consistently.

Better go make supper. I have chimes tonight, and it is Sarah's last night at home :(

Love,

Homecoming Part Deux

The kids came home early from the dance-- it wasn't as great as it has been in years past (if thats saying anything). So instead I did a photo shoot with Mary, and we are adding some new pictures. Matthew is happy to be back to his video games. We are still waiting to see how Sarah faired from The Haunt-- we'll see if her hair turned gray, hahaha.

The Homecoming 2008

It has been a wonderful weekend! Sarah came home in time for the homecoming football game and worked on the sidelines with her mentor Mr Day. It is really fun having her back for a few days. She goes back to school on Tuesday. Tonight she went with some her friends to "The Haunt" an indoor haunted attraction to scare you out of your wits. There is a dark maze too. That stuff is not for me!

Matthew marched in the homecoming parade and then played the National Anthem with the band on the field for the first time. He did great! Mary and Matthew went to the homecoming dance tonight and met their "dates" there. They both look great don't they? I will pick them up at 11 pm. See more pictures at Wilhelm Family Photos!

Tomorrow is a busy day at church. The orchestra is playing, the praise team is singing and I still have to prepare for the Sunday School opening. Not sure what we will do in the afternoon, but we will be bowling tomorrow night. Jeff goes to the pastors conference Monday-Wednesday. I don't work until Wednesday. Right now I work MWF one week and WF the next week. It works out really nice. With the economy the way it is, I might need to start working more hours.

Well, better be ready for tomorrow.

Grace

Super Hero Day

This is homecoming week at Greenville High School. Today is super hero day. Is that one word or two? Anyway, thought I would post their picture. Matthew always loved superman since he was a little boy. Mary was attracted to underdog which I always liked as a kid. So far there has been favorite college day, crazy hair day, class color day and now super hero. I suppose tomorrow will be Purple and Gold Day.

I have obvioiusly added to my picture column. I really think that the question should make people think about the sanctity of life. Animals are more protected than human babies! My new favorite motto from Horton Hears a Who is "a person is a person no matter how small!" That's all!

Matthew's last soccer game is this afternoon. Mary has no play practice today. Politics continue to play a part in school activities. There seems to be a lot of no shows of important people in the play and there are no consequences. Hmmm. Rules change all the time and are different from one person to another. Either way, Mary does her best at whatever role or assignment given to her.

Sarah comes home tomorrow! Yay!! Can you tell I am excited? Both of her friends found a way to stay with family, so Sarah is coming home alone. It should be a really fun time.

I need to get some laundry folded and head off to quilting. I sure hope to finish that project. I have piano lessons today and orchestra practice after the soccer game. Better run!

Grace

Wednesday is Here..Two days until Sarah Comes Home

We have had a pretty good week so far. I had a good day at work on Monday and work again on Friday. My haircut yesterday turned out really nice and a played a good round of golf. My score doesn't really reflect that, but I had a couple of great holes. Matt played soccer yesterday and did well. Still the team lost only 2-0. Mary had another musical gig with her string quartet. I guess it was fun and they got free food. She is trying to figure out what to do for homecoming. Her date had to bow out due to a tennis tournament on the same day. I am sure that she will go, look like a $100 (or more) and have fun. Matthew is going to the dance too. He is meeting a girl there, since her parents won't allow her to go with a boy to the dance. Sarah's cold is getting better and her friends dad is showing improvement. Praise the Lord! She has fall break this weekend. She looks forward to hanging out with Mr Day at the football game and visiting some teachers at school while she is home. When she returns to Hope on Tuesday, her softball class will be over and she will have a religion class instead. Sarah would rather play ball. :) She been working at soccer games as a AT student and that will change too. She is going to start working at volleyball games. That will be fun.

There is lots going on the rest of this week. I have music committee meeting at 1100, and then choir from 1830-probably 2130 tonight. Praise team sings on Sunday, so we need to be ready. I have chosen a SS Christmas program and am looking for a new SS teacher too. I am optimistic. Tomorrow is quilting, and I hope to complete the little quilt for the keyboard of the clavinova. It gets dusty and the vinyl one is ugly, bulky and hard to deal with. Matthew's last soccer game is tomorow afternoon. We hope to encourage Matthew enough to at least try out for basketball and also to embrace his awesome musical talents at school in choir and band. Church Orchestra is Thursday evening, and we play As the Deer on Sunday.

Friday is a BIG day here. After work I need to get Matthew to the school for the homecoming parade and be ready to take pictures. Jeff is going to pick up Sarah at Hope @ 1600 in hopes that they will be home in plenty of time for the game and who knows maybe the parade too. We should have nice weather and a good game of football. Jeff is speaking at an LWML rally held at our church Sat morning and the dance is Saturday evening. I am sure I will blog around that time, so I will stop here and post more events later.

Need to get ready for the meeting..

Grace

Weekend Madness

Saturday morning came early and Matt was on the bus at 0745 for his soccer game. It was 29 degrees. I took Mary to play practice by 0930 and was on my way to watch Matthew's game about one hour away. By the time I arrived, it was in the 50's and I didn't need the extra sweatshirt. The sky was bright blue and unfortunately, there were plenty of bees attending the game too. Matt's team continue to play better,but still lost 1-0. Matt played a lot of the second half and I finally have some action pictures. Here are a few.

The drive home was long. I was very tired and it took lots of concentration to stay awake. I took a nap as soon as I got home. Mary was already home with "her boys" and singing barbershop music. I guess play practice didn't last as long as scheduled, as many didn't show up. That is very frustrating for the ones that do and for the director.

Our small group met for an hour at 5pm and then we all enjoyed a potluck dinner at church before a Southern Gospel concert. It was really good. Everyone really like the bass singer. My client and her family came and enjoyed it as well.

This morning sunday school attendance was down, and we had a few sick. Kid's choir did a great job for the first appearance this year. Three girls sang. A few other girls from last year didn't know we changed practice. They plan to join us this week! yay!

Mary is playing her cello this afternoon with a quartet from school. Don't know when she will be home. Matthew is looking forward to youth group tonight and I hope that I can bowl at least average tonight. I have to think positively and say I will bowl at least average tonight. I do work early tomorrow 0730- 1630. Have Tues-Thurs off. Sarah and her friend come home Friday late afternoon! Yay! Sarah has been sick with a cold this week. Please pray that she recovers quickly.

That is all for now. Have a blessed day!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Jeff passed his AF test this morning. He has a few loose ends to finish up the class before the promotion board meets next week. Jeff is very happy about his accomplishment. I am very proud of him.

Sarah's friend's dad isn't doing well. I guess it is just a matter of time now. Continue to pray for the family. Sarah texted me a little while ago. She went line dancing and was on a hayride. It is a perfect night for fall activities.

Mary and Matthew are busy tomorrow. Matt has another soccer game south of Grand Rapids. He needs to be on the bus at 0745. Mary has play practice from 0900 to 1500. We have small group at 1700, potluck dinner at 1800 and a gospel concert at our church at 1900. We sure have busy Saturdays. Jeff will attend the Habitat for Humanity groundbreaking for the next Greenville house in the morning. He is the chaplin for this chapter.

Jeff got our fireplace to work without danger. Jeff used to light our gas logs manually with a lighter aimed under the logs. Today he stopped at a fireplace store and learned more about them. Now we just have to turn over the "pine cone", the switch, and slide to on. How nice! We are under a freeze warning tonight. I covered our tomato plants with a bed sheet. There are still plenty of tomatoes to ripen.

Well that is about all..quite a bit in the last 24 hours. Have a great weekend!

Grace

Please Pray

Sarah's neighbor across the hall, Carrissa, returned home to be with family after her dad has had a series of heart attacks. Please pray for "peace and (comfort) and for God do what He needs to do." It is a joy to know that her school family prays together for each other. Sarah has really shown maturity and personal growth at Hope College. We look forward to her visit home next weekend.

Jeff will be taking a test tomorrow for his AF studies. They will most likely affect his chance of promotion next week. Please pray for safe travel to Lansing, positive results of the test and ultimately promotion to full colonel. He also received word that he needs to see a nerve specialist about his neck/arm weakness problem. Seems there is a pinched nerve in the cervical spine. Will know more after the next appointment. Pray that symptoms can be relieved with minimal intervention. My required surgery has been postponed until after a second opinion later this month.

My job/activities are going well. Praise the Lord! Mary and Matthew have brought home good progress reports and their after school activities continue to keep them and us busy! Thank you Jesus for our safety, health and recreation. Our orchestra practice was a lot of fun tonight. We did some new things and picked up the pace. It was nice to have Mary playing with us again.

Pray for our country, our troops, for God-fearing leaders, and all americans as we prepare to elect a new president. Thank Him for all our blessings including family and friends like you!

The weather is cooler now. Our heater has been on and we are wearing more layers and sweaters. The leaves are changing color and falling, covering our lawn as a blanket. I guess it is time to get the rakes out and clean up the yards before the first snow.

Grace

Phillipians 1:3