46 weeks

47 weeks

48 weeks

49 weeks

50 weeks – all bundled up to go out & carve pumpkins!

Can’t believe I never got weeks 41-52 uploaded. Now that he’s almost a year & a month, I thought I’d go back & post those last few from his first year.

41 weeks

42 weeks – in the high chair

43 weeks

44 weeks

45 weeks

Many of you know that Veterans Day holds a special place in our hearts as both of our fathers served in Vietnam. This year I was fortunate enough to be employed by a school district that feels that same. Last Monday we held a Veterans Day celebration that we could be very proud of. I actually had the opportunity to thank my dad publicly for the very first time. It was a life changing moment. Part of that celebration was a powerpoint presentation put together by our students including some readings of papers they wrote about an interview with a veteran. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as we did.

The beloved school pictures have arrived….check them out! I’d say it was worth the chaos of the morning. Of course, how could the pictures not be good with blessings as precious as these??

But what do you think of the ones I took AFTER school??

And now, for the much more realistic shots…

And we can’t forget little Mr. B.

So today was school picture day – the day we dread…the hair, the clothes, the EXPENSIVE pictures…suffice to say, we’re opting for the class photo & a couple of wallets option.

At any rate, Jac was upset b/c we didn’t know where her sparkly pink barrettes were (I just don’t take care of my stuff good enough! Can we say “tired little girl”?) not a big deal, the purple butterflys are way cute & pretty – let’s just use those. And then, “I just don’t want to wear these grubby old tennis shoes on picture day” (what was I thinking??…her “new” tennis shoes have lost ½ their outside in the week she’s had them, so they will be returned for a refund – yea, they’ll actually do that since I still have the receipt!)

Bless his heart – Rob tried to help…”Jaclyn, those aren’t grubby, they look really….ummm, nice – they look…really nice.” And that’s when it happened…the look. She’s 6 & she has “the look” down to a science. Noticing this, I shielded my first-born with a bear hug hiding his face & quietly whispered “Thanks, Rob” into his ear & realized, hmm, he has his hood up. So I took it down & asked, “did you do” but didn’t need to finish as I saw his locks screaming for attention! Laughing I yielded a perfect pitched “Robert Wilkie – you look worse than I do!!”

Did I mention the bus driver had already honked??? Quick to the bathroom & under the shower hose the head went. Grab the mousse – mom, that’s a LOT of mousse – trust me Rob, you need it & out the door he went.

Meanwhile, there’s Tom – easygoing, free-spirited Tom… shirt buttoned to his chin, toes in one shoe & strings on the other shoe stuck….got him laced & tied & unbuttoned to avoid the geek squad calling for interviews, when suddenly, my beautiful dainty princess returns (she had forgotten her backpack) and yet, she’s holding her jacket (it was crisp this a.m.) and crying….Jac, honey, what’s wrong?? I fell. I FELL on the WET, SLIPPERY, SLIMY GRASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many kisses, hugs, one backpack & a gentle shove out the door & they’re off – all three are on their way to school. Looking wonderfully spiffy for pictures too rich to purchase, but feeling good (?) about themselves – well that was the goal – at least we (some of us) had some laughs to start our day. I shut the door & sigh with relief, one more picture morning checked off the list & marvel at these wonders God has blessed us with. Meanwhile, wonder #5 sleeps peacefully & I settle in with a steaming cup of coffee (thanks, honey!) to get some work done before he arises and am reminded once again, that yes, God is good. He is so very, very good.

(Pictures will be posted upon arrival…perhaps I should repost this when I add the pics??)

Many of you that read this blog have probably noticed that it’s usually pretty easy to decypher which posts are written by myself and which ones are written by Jo. Mine are usually very factual, almost newspaper story in flavor. However, Jo is usually very eloquent in including thoughts and feelings much better than I am. I would have to say that this will probably be a small exception (so just be forewarned that it is actually Chris doing the writing this time).

Today we said our final goodbyes to a wonderful man that had quickly become such a large part of our lives. Pastor Al Somers is celebrating life in heaven this week. Six years ago when we moved to the Avon area, we accepted an invitation to visit Checkrow Church. We had been commuting back to Canton for church to try and ease Robert’s transition (as with the twins joining us earlier that year, and hence trading in a vehicle, the poor little guy was about over the edge!). As we got in the van and left Checkrow that very first morning, Robert asked “Do they do that every day? When are they doing it again? Can we come back tomorrow?” We were thrilled to say the least. The folks that we did already know there were wonderful and those we managed to meet that first morning were fabulous as well. I don’t recall the exact message that morning, but do remember it was quite impressive.

It was shortly after that, we had a call and then a visit from “Pastor Al”. He stopped over for the evening, had some pie and shared some wonderful information about the church. Robert (to Jody’s horror) gave a COMPLETE tour of the house including closets etc. Al tagged along for the ride and just in over-hearing the conversation, you would have thought he was getting a personal guided tour of the Whitehouse. He was so interested in every little detail that Robert had to share and show him.

We very quickly fell in love with Checkrow (and Pastor Al). There was something different about Checkrow. It was a great group of caring people and a place of great teaching about what the Bible was all about. It was also a place of great fun through Shot and Shell club, ATV Rides, Spud Shoots, Chili cookoffs (and the list could go on for a long time!) Later came Awana that gave the kids (and often Jo and I) the opportunity to get to spend time with the great people and Al more. I only wish I could describe the genuine caring that Al felt for all of God’s people. Just a wonderful example for us all.

A few years ago, Jody started working as the secretary at the church. It was at that point that the family really started to get tied into Al and his family. Jo of course spent time each week with Al getting ready for the service on Sunday and handling many other items through the week. Even beyond that, the kids (when not in school) would often go down to spend time with Jo (and Al of course). Everything from copying feet on the copy machine to scaring each other through the church. It was great to sit back and hear the stories of the antics from the day. When Robert went through his issues with stomach trouble and found himself in the hospital, Al was quick to visit, and bring the gift of toy cars. Robert was so impressed (as were we all). When Jo and I had to make the early morning trip to the hospital to take care of things with Speedo, I’ll never forget sitting in that waiting room so quiet and alone as we were the only ones there that early. I was sitting there just holding Jody, and glanced up to see that wonderful man walking across the hospital lobby. We both were so touched. He stuck around long enough to sit with me so I wasn’t alone while Jo was in surgery, and then he ducked back out again. I’m not sure if he ever really knew how much that meant to me.

A few weeks ago when Al became ill and we were really afraid that it was the beginning of the end, we told the kids we were going to the hospital to see Al. Robert promptly asked for a gift bag and gathered some cars to send to Al. He even made sure one of them was a Mustang as he knew it was Al’s favorite.

Now, we make the adjustment to life without Al here. Oh, he’ll always be there in our memories and in our hearts, but it won’t be until heaven that we get to see him again. There are so many lives both local and around the globe that he touched and had such an impact on. Today’s service was a wonderful celebration of the life of the man we all loved so much. We’ll all adjust (each in our own way) and enjoy the fact that he is actually having a fabulous time on those streets of gold. However, there is no question about it that Al Somers will be missed. He was a pastor, friend and mentor to so many.