Blink two times

Well, today is a "good news" update.

First, they transferred my dad to his room in step-down ICU. And Dr. Dark-hair (I can't pronounce his real name, so that's how I refer to him) okayed him to move out to "the floor." I assume that means out of ICU into a regular room. That's great news. When that happens, Melissa will be able to introduce him to his newest granddaughter.

Second, he was able to respond to a new command. The nurse resituated him (something with his pillow or something) and said, "If that's more comfortable, blink your eyes two times." And he did! He was able to do this again later with a different nurse! Praise the Lord!

Praise God for Dad's improvements! But also continue to pray that he'll be able to respond to voice commands to move his fingers, toes, tongue, etc. This is imperative for his transfer to a rehabilitation facility (possibly Mary Free Bed) instead of a nursing home.

Back at the homestead, something exciting happened today. We asked Grace if she wanted to throw her pacifiers ("tassies") in the trash, and she said yes. We asked her again, and she still said yes, so we took her to the trash can, and she threw them in of her own accord! Wow! We're incredibly nervous about how little sleep we'll get tonight, but also relieved because we wanted her to be done with her tassies before she turned two. Now is as good a time as any! Pictured is two tassies in the trash can.

Also pictured is Grace on the old cell phone that Melissa gave us, and some cute pictures of our afternoon excursion to the playground. Fun!

Keep praying!

-{lkr}

Quick update

"Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything...It is at your discretion that men are...given strength." (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)

Well, I'm about a day behind in my updates - sorry! This is the news from yesterday...

They did an MRI, and his neck looks fine. (They were worried that he may have strained/damaged some ligaments, but they're pretty sure he didn't.) So, they took his collar off. That's probably more comfortable for him!

The MRI also showed no damage deep in the brain or to the brain stem and no sign of stroke - praise the Lord!

They took the staples out of his huge incision from the neurosurgery. And they took out his central lines and put in a regular IV.

This is the good news - He actually opened his eyes and looked right at the nurse and my mom, by himself (without physical stimulation), multiple times! My mom said he looked at the nurse, and the nurse said, "Hi, David. Look who's here." And he looked right at my mom. How cool is that!? So, they're saying he's much brighter and more responsive. But they want him to be able to respond to other commands, like sticking out his tongue or wiggling his fingers or toes. Please pray specifically that he'll be able to do that soon.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Our family really appreciates it. Some days are harder than others, and I think as time goes on it will just get really emotionally exhausting. I've been doing well, thanks to the grace of God, but I also can't think too much about the times my dad was with our kids, because that makes me cry. He loves them so much. I want them to get to know him, too. So, please, keep praying! And pray for my mom, too, because she'll have some decisions to make in the future (when she should go home and be with my little sister, etc.).

On a happier note, baby Emma went home yesterday! What a sweetheart. And Grace is learning to say "Emma." Sometimes she says it clearly, and other times it sounds just like "Momma." : - )

-{lkr}

Welcome, Emma! and Home, sweet, home!

Yep, two titles for one post. That is because so much has been happening lately.

First of all, isn't this face the sweetest? This is my new neice, Emma Jean. She is just a darling, with a head full of black hair. (Poor Melissa had heartburn a lot during this pregnancy!) She was born on Tuesday, September 26 at 11:53pm, and was 7lb 9oz and 20-3/4in. The fun part is that September 26 is also my Grandma Lung's birthday, so now she has a great-granddaughter that shares her birthday!

I took this picture in the hospital, and then we printed some and brought a bigger one up to the hospital in TC to show my dad. I told him all about her and tried to show him the picture. I don't know if it registered at all. It looked like he was sleeping, even though one eye was cracked open. It makes me really sad to think that he's missing this part of Emma's life. I can't tell you how much my dad loves his grandchildren. I just hope he'll wake up to meet her someday.

Well, speaking of my dad, not much improvement is happening right now. I can see that it's potentially going to be a very long road for us. He's pretty much the same, except the nurse told me that since he's successfully been off the ventilator for over a day, he's in the "step-down" ICU, which is pretty much just a step down from ICU. That's good news. There's also been talk of transferring him down here to Mary Free Bed sometime for rehabilitation. That would be great for Luke and I, and probably very hard for my mom.

And the home, sweet, home segment of my post....After 2 long weeks of being away, we're finally home! Hooray! It felt so good to be in my own bed last night. We got home around 11:30pm, and Grace was SO excited to be at home in her own bed, too. It was cute. I feel really bad about not being up in TC with my family, but my kids especially needed to come home for a while. They're all out of whack. So we'll be working on their schedules this week, hopefully getting them back into their routine. (And we're avoiding the car like the plague, since we've been in it for at least two hours every day lately.)

Well, that's the update. I'd better go start picking up the mess that we brought back with us! Again, thank you for your prayers. Please keep it up! We want to see Dad completely healed!

-{lkr}

Monday

Today they were able to take my dad off the ventilator. This is good news! That means he's breathing on his own. They did, however, put a "trach shield" over his tracheostomy, which supplies him with oxygen to ensure saturation. (Honestly, I'm a little vague on what that means, but I know it's good.)

He also kept his left eye open longer today, and it looked like he was really looking at me. He moved his arms some, too. Every now and then he gets tears in the corner of his eye(s), and I wonder if he's sad. Can he hear us, but not respond? I always tell him it's okay and wipe away the tears, and I marvel that I've been given the chance to show my dad such care and love even when we haven't always had a very tender relationship. I look forward to hugging him and telling him I love him again when I know he's fully conscious of what's going on.

Caleb and I are leaving tomorrow at 7am to take Melissa to get induced. We're going to entertain her until Karl gets off work at 11am. (If she happens to progress faster than that, of course we'll call Karl to come early.) I'm praying for a quick, easy labor and delivery for her. And a happy, healthy baby! Please pray for her tomorrow! I can't wait to meet my sweet neice Emma!

Again, thank you all for your continued prayers for our family!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:3-6)

-{lkr}

Sunday

We went up to TC to visit Dad again today. Lately, he's been moving his left arm. (He doesn't like it to lie straight out. He bends it over his stomach.) Anyway, Luke and I were in the room with him, talking to him, and his arm was straight out. After a few minutes, I said, "Dad, show Luke how you can move your arm." And he did it! I'm choosing to believe that he actually heard me and responded. How cool is that?

Also, the nurse said that he opened his eyes and actually focused when he was bathing him today. I wish I could see him open his eyes!

Keep praying! "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16) Pray that he'll wake up and make a full recovery. Also pray for Melissa and Karl - Melissa will be induced to have baby Emma this Tuesday!

And welcome home to the newlyweds, Dan and Emily! We're glad you had a great time and want to hear all about the fun time you had!

Thanks for all your prayers and support! I can't tell you what a difference it makes!

-{lkr}

Saturday update

I accidentally lied in the last post. My dad lost 12.9 pounds of fluid from the diuretic, not 14.8. Sorry!

Not much new. They're going to try to wean him off the ventilator, which is good. It's better for him to be able to breathe on his own than to have to have the ventilator.

Today when Melissa and I were talking to him, his left eye slid open a crack. It wasn't much, but it was encouraging. Maybe he knows we're there? Maybe he wants to wake up?

I really, really want him to wake up before we have to go home on Wednesday. Let's pray for that! Progress is so slooooooow now. If he doesn't make some great improvements before Tuesday, they're going to do an MRI to see if there's some soft tissue damage that they aren't aware of. (Let's hope there isn't!)

Praise God for our friends and family! I really miss our church family. It seems like it's been so long since we've seen them. They are such great friends to us. The Brewsters, Sturmans, and Perrons made Luke dinners when he was home alone. (They must've thought he wouldn't survive as a bachelor, haha.) Then the Brewsters, Sturmans, and Dows made us the nicest gift box of stuff (gas gift card, water bottles, apples, trail mix, cookies, banana bread, chips and homemade salsa...yum!). Truly, we have the best friends. We thank God for them!

On a completely unrelated note, I just had to kill the hugest spider in my parents' basement. It was not much smaller than Argi, although not quite as scary looking. Why do spiders seem to follow me around? Ugh.

And welcome home to the newlyweds - Dan and Emily Stauch! We love you two!

-{lkr}

Slow progress

Not a lot to report...Today my dad underwent a tracheotomy, and they also inserted a feeding tube directly into his stomach. He looks much more comfortable now without all the tubes in his mouth.

Yesterday they gave him a diuretic, and he lost 14.8 pounds of fluids. He looks much less swollen now, which is nice.

When Melissa and I were talking to him yesterday, we saw his eyelids/eyes move. (His eyes were still closed.) It was exciting to see a new sign of movement. I hope he can hear us talking to him, telling him we love him and encouraging him to wake up. He didn't seem quite as active today, but he was also sedated during his surgery, so that makes a difference.

He's going to have quite a scar on his head from the neurosurgery. The staples start in front of his right ear, stretch all the way to the back of his head, and then all the way up the middle of his head toward his forehead. It's crazy. I think it'll be a good way to scare the boys off when they start wanting to date Alonna. : - )

I wish I could report a quick recovery, but that hasn't happened yet. We are still praying for a full, complete recovery, but it seems to be taking longer than we'd hoped. So, pray for patience for us!

Melissa is still scheduled to have her baby (Emma Jean Webster) this coming Tuesday, and then Luke and I and the kids plan to go home on Wednesday sometime. I really hope I can see my dad awake before then. It would be wonderful.

Thank you, everyone, for all your prayers and support. I'm amazed at God's provision, and at the generosity and love of all of our friends and family! I can't tell you how much we appreciate it! Amidst all of the craziness and hard times, I will still say GOD IS GOOD!

-{lkr}

Praise the Lord, again!

He opened his eyes! Both eyes were opened on command today, though just for a second. We have really been waiting for this step.

Tomorrow they will take off his intracranial pressure monitor, and they want the family to begin speaking to him more. To date, the doctors have wanted the family to stay quiet to keep the pressure in his brain down.

Another tidbit about AAR; they are paying to put Lacey's mom up in The Manor House, a low-cost boarding option on the hospital grounds!

Woo-hoo! Keep praying – we know that God is working.

--
Luke and Lacey

Quick Dad Liabenow Update

Dad Liabenow is still in a comatose state, though the doctors have been trying to wake him periodically, and even left the sedatives off today for most of the day. He is moving his arms and legs around, but still cannot obey voice commands (he did try to open one eye when asked to, but was unable to - this is a big improvement over the last couple of days).

Please:

1. Pray that he will come out of his coma, and begin the long process of rehabilitation
2. Pray that his aspiratory pneumonia would be controlled / eliminated by the antibiotics
3. Pray that the family would remain strong / at peace
4. Praise the Lord for his company, AAR, and his co-workers there (AAR is letting him use his sick days, then is paying the 20% of his salary that disability does not cover, and his co-workers are taking up a collection for him!)

That's all for now...we are praying and hoping for good news soon. Thanks for your prayers and concern,

--
Luke and Lacey

A Beautiful, Heartbreaking Weekend

Emily's wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and went SO well. She was a beautiful bride, and I had so much fun doing all the flowers and being a bridesmaid. I love my Rumley (and now Stauch) sisters!

We planned to return to GR after the wedding on Saturday so we could be at our church on Sunday. We were so exhausted when we got home around midnight and couldn't wait to sleep in our own beds. But as soon as we opened the door, the phone rang. It was bad news.

This may be something that only deer hunters (or their children) can relate to, but my dad had been wanting to hunt from a certain spot on my grandparents' property (across the street from my parents' house). The only problem was that the trees there wouldn't support a tree stand. So, on Saturday evening he and Karl (my brother-in-law) were working on setting a 35-foot telephone pole (in a hole in the ground), so he could mount a tree stand on that. My dad was on the tractor, and Karl was on the ground. Something happened, and the 300ish-pound telephone pole cracked in half and fell on my dad's head. I am heartbroken that Karl had to experience that, but I praise God that Karl was there. He pulled my dad off the tractor and ran until he could get a signal on his cell phone to call 911.

My dad was taken to Mercy Hospital in Cadillac, and the ER doctor knew what needed to happen, but they didn't have the equipment/facilities to do it. It was up in the air as to whether he'd even stay alive on the 20-minute helicopter flight from Cadillac to Traverse City. He did live, and they did immediate brain surgery because he had developed a massive hematoma (blood clot) that was pushing aside his brain and affecting his brain stem. Praise the Lord - the doctor pulled back his scalp and was able to just lift out a fragment of his skull and scoop out the hematoma, which was much quicker/easier than having to drill/cut to get in there.

Still, the phone calls we received told us to hurry up to Traverse City, because they didn't think he'd make it. (Most patients with injuries this severe do not live, and if they do, it's in a vegetative state.) So, we packed back up and left, thinking we'd be attending my dad's funeral this week. It was devastating.

We were able to see him after we arrived at the hospital around 3:30am. He looks pretty bad. But this morning they did a CT scan, and were happy to find that he did not suffer a stroke like they feared. Also, his brain stem is back in place, his brain is working on getting back in place, and the swelling is going down. They tried to wake him, but he did not open his eyes (which is typical of head trauma patients). However, he did respond voluntarily to the doctors a little bit, which is incredibly promising.

It was so hard to be in the room and watch the doctor yell, "David, your family is here. David, open your eyes. Open your eyes, David." And he didn't. All I wanted in the world at that moment was for him to open his eyes, but he didn't.

We are encouraged by his progress, and so blessed by the many people (family, friends, and people we don't even know) who are praying for him. Praise the Lord for the progress we've seen. Please continue to keep him in your prayers, and pray for my mom and Karl (and the rest of us). I will be up in Manton/Traverse City this week, and Luke is coming back to GR. We'll try to keep updating so you know how to pray.

Thank you!


-{lkr}

Our cuties

Caleb is such a big boy! He's sitting up in his crib, playing with his alphabet ball. We have a picture of Grace that's very similar to this one, and look at her now! He'll be all grown up before we know it!


Here he is, sitting up again, chewing on Grace's rubber ducky. Did I mention that he's teething? Oh, yeah, we can't feel them yet, but we can see his two bottom front teeth getting ready to come out. Ouch!


Just because she's pretty! Her 2nd birthday is two months from Thursday! Wow!

The countdown is on for Melissa, Karl, Kade, and Emma/Hailey (I'm not sure which name they've chosen for sure yet). The doctor will induce her on Tuesday, September 26 if she hasn't gone into labor by then. And then I will have my first neice! How exciting!

Speaking of countdowns, only 4 days left until your first "sleepover," Emily and Dan! SO excited for you!

-{lkr}

What have I done?

We took a last-minute trip to Manton on Sunday night, to spend Labor Day with my family. It was a tiring trip with all the driving, but it was really good to see them. We had a great time! Thanks for the birthday gifts/cards and cake! Yum!

We went to the annual Harvest Festival parade in Manton. Alonna carried the banner for the AWANA float. It was fun to be there and see people I haven't seen in ages. (Although, it's a little weird to recognize someone and not be able to remember their name or why you should know them!) Anyway, I saw two of my friends from the past that I really haven't seen in a while. One of them, Chris, still lives in the Cadillac area and has three kids. We used to ride the school bus together. He lived around the corner from my parents' house. I think I lost track of him sometime around eighth or ninth grade.

Then Will. We went to school together for most of the thirteen years I was at Manton. He asked me to "go out with him" pretty much every three years (sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades). In spite of my "no" answers, we were still pretty good friends. Now he works down here in the GR area at a camp for disabled people. I think that's a pretty cool job.

Anyway, today I was online, and I randomly found a whole bunch of people I went to high school with on myspace. (Myspace has the ugliest, weirdest bunch of web pages ever. They make my eyes twitch.) It made me sad. All of them talked about getting drunk and partying (except maybe one? not sure). None of them seemed to have the hope that comes from knowing Jesus.

And so I thought, what have I done, in the past, to either encourage them toward Jesus, or to push them away? I know in high school people viewed me as the holier-than-thou kind of person, because I wouldn't drink and party, and I insisted on staying a virgin until marriage. (Which was the best choice ever!) I made mistakes, that's for sure, but I still aimed to stay pure and keep my focus on walking a Christ-like walk. I don't know if anyone ever appreciated that back then, or if they just resented me for it. I feel like I wasn't able to really make relationships that changed people's lives back then, though. Maybe I was too judgmental and not loving enough?

And, after so many years, what can I do now? I know prayer is powerful, and I can certainly pray for them. But is there more? It just makes me so sad to think that most of the people I grew up with will end up living aimless, purposeless lives. They don't know the real purpose for living! I wish I could share it with them and make them understand. Living for the glory of God is infinitely better than living for our own glory. Maybe I'm finally really starting to understand the need for spreading the Gospel. I want to share this gift God's given me!

-{lkr}

Goodbye, Argi!

Thought you might like to know that Ms. Argi has been adopted by our next-door neighbors. They're going to feed her to their turtle.

-{lkr}

We are AWANA Cubbies, we're happy all day long...

I've been a busy beaver trying to get ready for Cubbies, which starts in one week. (AUGH!) I'm excited for it, and think it'll be a lot of fun, but also not feeling ready quite yet. Hopefully I'll be able to get enough done this week to feel ready when it actually does start! We have 11 possible 3- and 4-year-olds coming this year, not including any new people that might show up. That's a lot of little people!

I'm excited to finally use some of my college education, though. I feel like this is an area where I've been trained - so I might as well use my education and skills to the glory of God!

Emily's wedding is in 2-1/2 weeks! Wow! I'm excited! We took our corsage/boutonierre class last night, and it was harder than the bouquets! I hope it goes well with the real flowers! Now I need to get my dress altered.

Happy news - Caleb is just about crawling! All the Rumleys except Erin and Betsey got to see him last Friday when he got up on his hands and knees and started rocking back and forth. He's a pretty cute little kid. It won't be long until he gets the hang of actually moving his arms and legs...and then I'll have to chase him around the house all day! : - )

Speaking of babies...It feels like people are having babies all around me! My friend Diedra had a little boy named Isaac Robert 8 weeks ago. Then Angie had a litte boy named Alex Michael this month. Sheri, Kelly, Melissa, and Rebekah are due in October. Stephanie is due in December. Goodness! Must be the time of life, huh?

That's enough babbling for now! Just wanted to update!

-{lkr}

P.S. Grace and I were just looking at Dan and Emily's pictures on their website, and I asked her who was in the picture, and clear as day, she said, "Dan." So, there ya go, Dan-o. She likes her new uncle! : - )

Showers and flowers...

We had two successful bridal showers for Emily, and I've been wanting to post some pictures of the one that was at our house, but it takes forever to upload those things on dial-up. So, I guess it'll wait until another day. Sorry! Let's just say, we had a great time!

Emily and I took a class on making hand-tied bouquets last night, so that we can do all the bouquets for her wedding next month. The picture is actually the bouquet we made. Beautiful, isn't it? It's not the exact bouquet that will be at her wedding, but it's close to the right colors. Next week, we'll learn corsages and boutonnieres. (Definitely had to look up the spelling on that one!)

The wedding's coming soon! We're excited!

Cubbies is starting soon, too - AUGH! It starts two weeks from today. I'm SO not ready. Yikes! And I can't quite put Backyard Bible Clubs out of my head, either, because we have a follow-up meeting coming up with a couple of the elders. Sometimes ministry overwhelms me.

-{lkr}

Argiope aurantia

I was standing about two feet away when I saw this gigantic spider who apparently thinks our motto is "mi casa es su casa." It's an "argiope aurantia," or common garden spider. The name "garden spider" makes it sound like I should invite it to tea or something. Trust me; this is not the case. This thing gives me the creepy-crawlies just thinking about it. Rumley girls, you would have screamed if you were here. This picture is one that Luke took through the basement window, since Ms. Argi has built her home there. I asked Luke to kill our new houseguest, but he thinks it's good that she's eating our bugs for us. In fact, she was eating one as he took that picture.

If you want to read about Argi and her friends, this is a good site. One disturbing thought gleaned from this informative site: This spider can have an egg sac containing anywhere from 300 to 1400 babies, which hatches in the late summer/early autumn. If we have 1400 of these scary spiders around our house, I'm either moving out or declaring war.

-{lkr}

We're still alive!

The plant didn't end up poisoning us. I was pretty nervous for a while there, but things ended up fine.

More good news...Caleb slept through the night last night! From 10pm until 7am. Not bad, hey? We've been waiting for it to happen. Funny thing is, I'm STILL tired! MomR says the tiredness lasts at least 25 years. Lovely.

-{lkr}

The Cardinal Flower

Grace and I were walking around our yard and pond tonight, when I spotted this beautiful plant near the pond:


So of course I picked one of the flowers for Lacey and took it back to the house because it was so cool looking. I held it, then Grace held it, then Lacey held it.

Lacey put it in some water, then got herself some water (touching the ice), drank it, then nursed Caleb.

Guess what? IT IS POISON!!! "Beautiful, but deadly..." that site says. Yikes!

Hopefully, just a small amount, if any, was ingested by Grace or Lacey. Some prayer wouldn't hurt. Thanks,

--
Luke

Remember this?

It wasn't so long ago. Well, it'll be three years in December already!

I FINALLY bought a photo album for all of our wedding pictures. I can't believe it took me 2-1/2 years to do that. Thank you, WalMart, for stocking a wedding album I like. Now, whoever would like to browse through our wedding photos does not have to hold a huge stack of pictures. Instead, there are ten photos in each 2-page spread. Quite pleasant to look at, actually. : - )

Now, it's Emily's turn! I can't believe there are only 32 days until the wedding! YAY! I love weddings, especially when it's my sister (in-law)! I just need to get rid of these pesky tan lines before wearing that strapless dress!

-{lkr}

Grace's First Pigtails!

So stinkin' cute!


The rodeo tickets are still for sale - don't get distracted by the cuteness.

--
Luke

Rodeo, anyone?

The Professional Bull Riders are coming to Grand Rapids. Melissa and Karl have excellent seats (not sure where, but they're Fan Club seats). Anyway, the show will be here on September 22 - just one week before Melissa will be induced to have her baby girl. She's not supposed to travel down here that close to delivery (just in case). SO, would anyone like to buy these tickets from her, and enjoy a lively rodeo?

I gotta tell ya, Luke and I went to a smaller rodeo with Melissa and Karl (at McBain Cow Camp) last year, and it was SO cool! Rodeos are way cooler than you might think.

I think they have two tickets for $100 ($50 each). Sounds pricey, but these are the professionals. Any takers?

-{lkr}

Home sweet home!

We're home! We got back yesterday afternoon, and it still looks like a tornado came through the house! Hope it cleans itself up before Saturday! : - )

Caleb had his four-month check-up today. He weighs 14lb 3oz (35th percentile), and is 25-1/2 inches long (55th percentile). So, he's not as big as Grace was at this age (she was always around the 90th to 95th percentile), but he's healthy and happy. And he did SO well with his shots. Praise the Lord!

Now we just need to get him to sleep through the night again...

And another bit of happy news...Luke's coming home from Texas tonight! YAY!

-{lkr}

North, south, east, west...

I'm in the "northlands" for a couple of days, visiting my family with the kids while Luke is on a business trip. He's in the great state of Texas. (I don't really know if it's great or not, but I'm sure some people think it is. And George W. came from there, so that's good.)

We had a good day today. We drove up here through a rain storm after church, and then visited for a while. Then my dad took us out. He bought burgers for the whole family, and we went to the beach/park. The kids had a great time playing on the playground equipment and throwing a big rock in the water. Then he even treated us to ice cream at the Tasty Treat! We're getting the royal treatment! It was a lot of fun.

It's nice to have help with the kiddos. I love them with all my heart, but I am just not cut out for single parenting. I hope I don't ever take Luke for granted, because I'm really seeing how much he helps me with them. They're good kids; it's just harder by myself. I have to say, I have a pretty daRn amazing husband.

Well, not much more to report. Emily's shower is coming up on Saturday. Everybody come, and bring lots of presents!

-{lkr}

The last of the pictures, for now!

Grace and Kade cruising around Grandma and Grandpa's yard in the Barbie Jeep (again). Notice Grace talking on her cell phone?



Grandpa held Grace and Kade during the "Greatest Fourth in the North" parade for a while.



Then Grandma and Grandpa shared the grandkids! How cute!



Grace loved swinging on this tire swing with Aunt Alonna!



Caleb looks like a little man in this outfit!



Emily, Erin, Betsey, and I spent some time putting together Emily's BEAUTIFUL wedding invitations. Only 54 days until the wedding! Don't forget to RSVP at their website!

More pictures!!!

Grandma had a good time holding her second grandson when we visited. (Aren't they a beautiful pair? I think so.)



Grace and Kade really enjoyed playing with Alonna's old Barbie Jeep. Sheesh, kids learn to drive so young these days!



Either Kade didn't want to ride with a woman driver, or he was a little too short to reach the pedal. (Can you tell he's sitting on top of Grace? They rode around like that for a while!)



Grace's first Fourth of July sparkler!



Grandpa took Grace for her first motorcycle ride down the street! She did okay, but that heavy helmet made her like a little bobblehead. :-)



Dad and Karl's Suzuki Savage 600's. (Dad's is blue; Karl's is black.)



And the picture you've all been waiting for...Luke's induction into the Manton Motorcycle Gang!

#2 of 4

The Cherry Creek Community Church worship band entertained us at their pig roast. See Luke on the far right, playing the electric guitar?



Grace brushed this pony before she rode him.



Grace's first pony ride! Thanks, Kathy, for letting Grace ride the pony! She had a great time!



Grace made fast friends with Abbie Belcher when we visited. I cannot believe Kelly and Abbie are getting so old!



I just can't post without a cute picture of Caleb!



And a cute picture of Grace!



We found a free beach in Lowell, not too far away. Grace loved playing with her shovel and bucket!

A Sampling of the First of Four Rolls of Film...

Hyo-Sun Kim, our Korean exchange student/sister for the year



Erin, Hyo-Sun, and Caleb at Hyo-Sun's going away party



Luke and Grace's first ride on the new lawn tractor, right before they cut down our jungle



Great-grandma Laga stopped by for a visit with her first great-grandson!



Luke and his kiddos on Father's Day



This picture is fun for two reasons. One: Grace didn't mind that we made her a "swimming pool" out of our wheelbarrow. Two: she's making the "monkey face." Who doesn't love the monkey face?



And who doesn't love this sweet face?

Terry Sturman is our favorite photographer!

Our new family picture, with all four of us!



The sweetest picture of our little 3-month-old Caleb.



Caleb loves his puppy, just like Grace loves her lambie. Thanks, Debbie (and Steelcase PDM)!



Peek-a-boo!

Jambo (Jambo!) means hello (Hello!)...

Week One of Backyard Bible Clubs is over! We had 35-40 kids every day (except Friday, when a bunch of them went away for the weekend or had swim meets.) It was a little chaotic the whole week, but we survived! We didn't see any salvation decisions this week, but we had some unchurched kids that were at least exposed to the Gospel. I hope we planted some seeds!

Our theme was a safari theme, called Kingdom of the Son. (It's a VBS curriculum by GospelLight.) It was all about the Lord's Prayer. I think it went pretty well, but I also feel like I was running around like crazy all week trying to make it happen, so I didn't get much of a chance to just sit back and listen to the Bible stories and lessons.

Anyway, we survived! I was (and still am a little bit) exhausted! It was a rough week for me and the kids - very tiring for all three of us. And housework went to the wayside last week, so we're trying to catch up now. Laundry and dishes - fun!

Hope everyone is doing well. Glad to hear that Mom and Dad Rumley, Zach, and Elyse are home safely from their trip to Georgia. Oh, and by the way, Emily's wedding is in LESS THAN 9 WEEKS! WHOA! Are you ready, Em?

-{lkr}

P.S. I'm in the process of getting pictures developed (FOUR ROLLS!), so more pictures to come...SOON!

Hog wild.

Yes, I did want to join the Manton Motorcycle gang after being able to drive that thing down the road at 65mph! It was awesome. Lacey will make sure that I don't join the gang, at least for the time being.

I never imagined being a biker, but 60mpg could convert anyone with a 25 minute drive to work. For the record, Lacey's Dad bought one first and has been riding them all his life, then Karl bought one.

Grace did get to ride and we will post some fun pictures of that once they are developed / scanned. She was scared at first, but got used to it.

Alonna has started a blog, and we updated our list of blog links over in the sidebar to include all the family blogs (I think). -->

Bed is calling...later,

--
Luke

A newer family picture:

Two steps forward, one step back...

Well, we had a great time in Manton! It was wonderful to spend time with my family and some friends. We got to spend quite a bit of time in the sun, too, so it's REALLY nice to have some color on our formerly pasty-white bodies.

When we got there on Sunday, my family had a little party for us, I think just because we haven't been there in a while, and people wanted to see Caleb. My grandma (from about an hour away) and great aunt and cousins came, as well as some friends. It was really nice to see everyone and not have to worry about trying to go to all their separate houses. They all came to us!

My dad, Karl, and Luke had fun riding Dad's and Karl's motorcycles. They got them recently. They're 2001 Suzuki Savage 650s, I think, and they match (except Dad's is blue and Karl's is black). Isn't that cute? I took lots of pictures, so I'll post some when I get them developed.

The only bad part about the weekend was Caleb's loss of sleep. Remember how he was sleeping through the night? Yeah, not anymore. DaRn! I'm tired again. Hopefully he'll get back in the groove soon. We'll see.

Now that we're back I've been overwhelmed with Backyard Bible Clubs stuff. They start next Monday, the 10th. I will be relieved when they're over.

Welp, happy weekend, everyone! Can't wait to see my Rumley sisters this weekend! (YAY for sisters and wedding invitations!)

-{lkr}

*The picture of the motorcycle is borrowed from the Internet. It's not actually one of their bikes.

Just plain ol' "T-Bone"

Oh, man.

Luke got a free trial subscription to download songs to our computer, so that's what we were doing last night. And I thought, let's try to find that T-Bone song we heard on the radio the other day. I like that song. Yes, it's Christian rap, and yes I'm whitey-white, but it has a nice beat and good lyrics, and frankly, we like to boogie. Even Grace likes to dance in this household.

SO, not knowing the name of the song, we searched for T-Bone. And one of us suggested that maybe T-Bone Burnett is his full name - let's look at his songs and try to find one that sounds like it might be the one we like. So, we picked a couple of songs and started to download them...Did I mention that we still have dial-up? Yeah, it took a while...But FINALLY the downloads were done, and I was so excited to find out if the songs were the right ones...

OH, MAN! It was the weirdest music ever. I wondered if T-Bone fell off the wagon or something. It was NOT rap. At all. Surely the person who made these songs was on drugs? Poor T-Bone. I lost all faith in him.

So, I signed off the Internet, because as we all know, you cannot use the phone and be online when you only have dial-up. (Oh, how I miss the wonder of having DSL.) Anyway, I phoned my local DJ, who answered, "WayFM?" Thankfully, he knew who T-Bone was, and he told me the name of the song I wanted to hear. So, I signed back on and downloaded it. And played it. And YES! It was THE song! Woo-hoo!

So, in a flash of inspiration, I said to Luke, "Google T-Bone Burnett." We found him. Yeah, he's not our beloved Christian rapper T-Bone. He's a scary, old white guy. PHEW! My faith was restored.

Boogie on, T-Bone.

-{lkr}

Manton, MI - here we come!

Things are going well. Caleb's still sleeping through the night like a champ. About 7-8 hours every night. Not bad! It sure makes for a happier mommy in the morning, let me tell ya!

We're excited to be able to go to the "northlands" (as Luke calls it) this weekend, to celebrate the Fourth with my family. It's been almost a whole 6 months since we've been there, so I'm really ready to be back. I miss my family! I'm excited to see my Mom, Dad, Alonna, Melissa, Karl, Kade, and Melissa's baby belly...See Jana and meet Trent...See Megan and Michael, their baby Sidnee, and their new house...See Megan and Tommy and meet their baby Teddy...See grandparents, aunts, and uncles...Swim in the pool, watch Grace ride in the Barbie Jeep with Kade, relax...Go to Melissa's ultrasound and "meet" my new niece for the first time...Go to the parade in Lake City, which celebrates "The Greatest Fourth in the North"...And oh, so much more! :-) I'm anticipating a great weekend! Manton, here we come!

Oh, but when the weekend is over, I will be in overdrive working on Backyard Bible Clubs, which start July 10. Yikes! I'm the new lady in charge, so I'm concentrating on pulling it off this year with not enough preparation for me. (The former lady in charge recently moved to NY. We miss her!)

So, that's what's going on. Hope everyone's doing well. The weekend's coming soon!!!

-{lkr}

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y...

...that's the Rumley battle cry!

Everybody ready? Last night Caleb SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! YAY!!! I woke up at 5:50am and my first thought was, "He hasn't woken up yet?!" So, hooray!

He's also started giggling a little bit. It's the happiest sound in the world.

-{lkr}

6:57 am

Wow, I am not really a fan of being up at 6:57 am, but here I am, showered and ready to go. The kids aren't even up yet! It's because Luke got up super early today (good job, honey!) to go on a business trip to Chicago for the day. (I'm sure he'll wave as he goes by, Portage Rumleys!) He gets to visit a conference called NeoCon, where Steelcase is unveiling three new office chairs. Pretty cool, huh? He'll have to write about it when he gets back.

On a happy note, we're making progress with Caleb's sleeping habits. He's not sleeping through the night yet, but he did GREAT with his naps the past couple of days. He goes down with just a little fussing (not much crying), and if he wakes up during the nap, he'll get himself back to sleep on his own. YAY! Last night he was up a couple of times to eat, but the night before that I fed him at 10:30pm before bed, 3:30am, and then not until 9:00am. That might not mean a whole lot to some people, but trust me, it's great! I'm hoping it just keeps getting better.

We went to Tom Ritchie's visitation on Monday. It was sad, but the family is holding onto the hope of seeing him again one day. For those who aren't sure how we know them, Luke's ministry team RISEN worked with their church for VBS one summer and also a SuperBowl party later on. And I had the privilege of going to Romania with Tom and Terre in January 2001. We worked with this ministry organization.

Hope everyone has a great day!

-{lkr}

P.S. Grace is 19 months old today.

Our "lawn"

I bought this on Saturday...


...and I am super excited to give a test run. I am sure after a couple of weeks I will be ready to train Caleb how to use it, but for now, I am excited. This will allow me to plow down our 2ft tall weeds and call it a lawn until we rototill and re-plant real grass in the fall. Woo-hoo!

Some sad news: Hyo-sun (my parents' exchange student from South Korea) is probably sitting in construction traffic right now on her way to Chicago to fly back home.

Some sadder news: Tom Ritchie passed away this past weekend unexpectedly. He has been a great leader in ministries in Grand Rapids and around the world, and his wife Terre is the executive director of Children's Bible Hour. Keep her in your prayers.

--
Luke