Houghton Prism

December 7, 2019 | Stacy

I know I was more excited than Stewart was.

Last year, Stewart was invited to send in an audition for the men’s choir for Houghton. If accepted, he would receive a small scholarship. He sent in an audition clip and has been singing with the men’s choir this semester.

This weekend his group (as well as women’s choir, college choir, an orchestra and some soloists) performed their Prism concert. Their first performance was at Browncroft Community Church and their second was on campus.

How nice for us that we could not only hear him perform, but that we could do it without going all the way to campus!

AND – he is right behind the harp. Not even kidding.

Then I could see him!

The music was excellent and it really put me into a proper state of mind for Christmas.

SO SO good to see their big brother. ♥

Fun fact? –

The first place I ever enjoyed Stewart singing from a stage was in the same building back in 2002. Of course I didn’t realize he’d be singing that day and camera phones weren’t something I’d have for another 10 years. The earliest photo I have of Stewart singing with CBS that I can find on my computer is from 2003. I love that when I was first sitting in that sanctuary in December 2002, struggling as a mom of two little boys, and wondering how long it would be til I figured this parenting thing out (still no sign of that!) God already knew that one day I would hear my college-attending son sing from that same stage. I am sure I was berating myself that I was so flustered that I didn’t even know he’d be singing that day…

Clearly I did know in May 2004, because I had my camera that day.

The Stew factor…

September 6, 2019 | Stacy

It was Katriel’s turn to set the table.

She wasn’t happy that Stewart’s seat was still empty.

So she made him a dinner of his own.

Meanwhile Stewart sent us a photo of he and his roommate Dustyn actually having dinner…

And this is how Johanna felt about having a phone conversation with him.

He’s been gone a week!

That thing where you send your oldest off to college…

August 30, 2019 | Stacy

And it was surprisingly joyous.

Sent this guy off to college today. Do you see his smile? For years I’ve wondered about this day were it to come. Would I hold it together? Would it feel like my heart was being ripped out? I have to say, other than a tear or two I have been fine. I’m sure part of it is that our family has been slowly transitioning into this zone. We got used to him missing meals when he got a job at 15, and he eased into college classes since 16. His schedule has been heavy these last two years as he’s balanced FLCC and 2-3 jobs at a time. This past summer we barely saw him as he went to Costa Rica for 10 days and otherwise worked 60+ hours a week. I think it’ll be the little things that trip us up, but technology will make it easy to keep in touch. I’m rejoicing for how God even made Houghton a possibility. I see the ways God has just totally had his hand on Stewart.
Love you Stewart. I’m praying that you’ll do good AND you’ll do well.
(Oh. And he’s only 90 minutes away.)

These are two drawings Marie had me leave for him in his room.

John and I also attended a message from the President. It was remarkable. I was tremendously blessed.

We headed home, grabbed the rest of the family and used up our last guest passes for Seabreeze with the purpose of getting out of the house and focusing on fun, not the empty spot at the table.

On the way there, Katriel randomly hoped she’d see her friend, Asher there.

And then we did.

And it’s not like we even anticipated it, nor have we run into him there before.

We ordered some pizza and wings.

Tab and Marie tried some Dippin’ Dots.

And we ended our Seabreeze Summer for 2019.

Cruise Day three–Cozumel- Stewart is 19!

August 20, 2019 | Stacy

Gorgeous sunrise.
For those of you who do not cruise, you might not realize how hard it is to see a great sunrise. There is so much cloud cover in the early morning. Maybe it is just fog because of the contrast in sea and air temperatures. But a crisp sunset is far more common than a crisp sunrise.

This one is through a sea-splattered window… so it was never going to be crisp. Smile

Early breakfast. This time we had a window seat in the Washington Dining Room.

Tab had been up all night long with emesis. She was not feeling well at all.

Though it was a smaller, “Port Day” breakfast menu, it was exceedingly generous.

I enjoyed another parfait.

As did Marie.

And Nigel.

This would become my breakfast go-to. Poached eggs on avocado toast.

The birthday boy enjoyed his frittata.

We went back to the stateroom briefly to grab our gear and that was the first time I noticed that our daily news papers were personalized!

It was raining on and off and had slowed to a sprinkle as we disembarked.

But it started pouring again as we waited for our excursion.

The girls dodged raindrops to take a few cheesy photos.

And in a short while we were escorted to our catamaran for our jaunt to the north end of Cozumel.

This marks my third time to Cozumel and the rest of the family’s second time.

Our first trip was in 2016 when it was a port for our Norwegian Cruise. In fact, that stop was the whole REASON I had picked the cruise I picked; I wanted to go to Playa Mia. Here is a link to that day. However, our take home from that day was that the sand was unpleasant and the beach was kind of yucky. I learned after the trip that the sand on the north side of the island is different than the sand on the west side where most of the beach clubs are.

I visited again in 2018 with Jenn. Although I was not eager to visit the west side again, we weren’t eager to spend any more than the minimum on our excursions. We got into a group with a discounted rate to visit a club on the west side (Nachi Cocum).

When we picked this Carnival Cruise we did so because of its rock-bottom-low-price. That left us a little wiggle room to splurge for an excursion to the north side of the island.

We had about a 40 minute ride to Pasion de Isla.

We passed the Disney Fantasy. I am SO GLAD we weren’t in the same port. Speeding past it was enough to tempt me.

It was a smooth ride and though it had rained on and off on our way, the sun was really breaking through as we arrived.

Tab was holding it together, but she was exhausted.

Let me confirm right now that the sand was exquisite.

We got the spiel on what is and is not included and how you can add on 572 different options to make your day nothing short of paradise. (We passed on most.)

We found spots and started to the water. It was a while before I remember to take some photos.

Now, I was not at all interested in sleeping through any of my beach day, but if I were going to allow myself a nap I can think of no better place on earth than in the sand in the Caribbean, canIgetawitness?

Non-alcoholic and well-alcoholic beverages were included. We had plenty of the former and none of the latter.

Lunch was good. The guac was not as good here as at Nachi Cocum last year, but it was still better than I what I buy at ALDI or Walmart. Winking smile

Before we knew it they were telling us it was time to return.

I took a bunch of photos as we were leaving as if I could somehow capture this place and take it home.

I bought some vanilla for me and my friend Tiffany. I confess I was a little worried we’d get home and find out it was water. LOL.

Back on deck we took quick swims, got more drinks, and moved through the stages of cleaning up.

Marie drew a while on deck.

And we went to dinner. Poor Tab was still tired and her appetite had not yet returned.

Prettier than it tasted.

You don’t say?

Ratatouille.

Blobbity-glob-glob??

I was ready for something a little simpler.

Do you see the Hidden Mickey?

Not going to lie – we gobbled dessert, quickly ordered Stewart’s dinner for tomorrow, ~~threw the girls into,~~ walked the girls carefully to their Club Ocean…

And watched Endgame.

Marvel on a cruise ship with coffee at my side. I’m not sure there is much more you could offer me this side of Heaven. (Just kidding. Sort of.)

John found Tab and I loungers half-way through the movie. This is where we had been sitting and where they sat.

He’s (almost) 19!

August 14, 2019 | Stacy

We celebrated Stewart’s birthday early, as we will be out of town on his actual birthday. The kids drew him cards.

Doesn’t everyone have a card of Danny Trejo????

Some lemon cheesecake for the boy who loves lemons.

I can’t believe I’ve been a mom for (almost) 19 years.

Costa Rica 2019

July 12, 2019 | Stacy

At 3:30AM Stewart and I drove to pick up some other travelers and got over to the airport for their early morning flights to Costa Rica.

During their time there, Stewart’s team hosted a VBS for children in both Carpio and Pavos during their short, two-week, summer break. The played games, prepared and served hot lunches, and with the help of translators, told the kids about Jesus and His love and the gift of salvation.

Stewart and Justyn stayed with a host mom who made safe breakfasts and dinners for Stewart.

They had one overnight debriefing on the west coast and got to swim in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the local team from the local church also got to go. This is Ariel and Stewart messing around. He’s not playing Santa Claus.

And this is Stewart providing his mom with a good laugh from thousands of miles away…

dork.

I picked them up in Buffalo at 1 something A.M….

He was home by 3:30AM and his alarm went off at 5:30AM for work.

Stewart’s FLCC graduation

May 19, 2019 | Stacy

Stewart walked across the stage today at FLCC and accepted his Associates Degree in New Media. To say we are proud is an understatement.

Stewart got the degree, but God gets the glory! His hand has been all over Stewart every step of the way. Stewart plans to go to Houghton in the fall for his BS in Communications.

Capstone Project

May 11, 2019 | Stacy

It was a special day for all of us when Stewart and his team presented their capstone projects. Earlier in the semester Stewart and his classmates were each assigned to pitch three potential projects to the group. The group then considered each project and whittled down the list until there were four projects total for the students to work on together. Stewart’s project, “Listen” was one of the projects selected. It is a 3D animated Virtual Reality experience from the point of view of a blind man. This gave them the opportunities to both animate and really invest themselves in sound and editing.

Here is a link to the project on YouTube. Without VR glasses it is best enjoyed on a mobile device with headphones and a swivel chair if you want it as close to perfect as possible.

https://youtu.be/ndNH6Zm2jRs

Easter 2019

April 21, 2019 | Stacy

The morning started with a basket hunt, as always.
Despite the fact that John and I believed that all the good spots had been overused over the years, it still took the kids a long, long time to find their baskets. WTG Mom and Dad. The big kids didn’t want early morning photos shared of themselves.