Summer Has Begun!

I had six of the grandkids on Monday from 11:00 to 5:00(ish). Mindi came and got her three around 4:30, then I took Gina's kids home. Kayla had softball in the evening, and I wanted to see her game, so instead of Gina driving out, I took all of them home. During the day, we did everything from eat, nap, make puppets, have puppet shows collected rocks and made "rock creatures" to sing and read stories. I told Gina and Mindi I want to have the kids one day a week during the summer. The first one taught me a lot.....first and foremost: without Kayla and Jazmyn, I never would have pulled it off! Naps would have been longer, and I would have had one!! Here are some pictures of them while here. (I messed up the location of the pictures on the page....too tired to go back and figure it out...so all the captions are first! SORRY!) Painting rocks After the game Watching Rocks dry! Rayna LOVED painting! Kayla was VERY creative Puppet Show ready, set.... Puppet Show audience Puppet Show in progress Kayla's dog puppet Levi and Nate with Nate's favorite pillowcase After the game Then today I had Solen (we also got to watch him on Sunday afternoon!) Can't forget Adalia!! Here she is being her usual sweet self, watching all the activity around her - and believe me, there is plenty of that!

hi :) does anyone subscribe to this? here are some pics from Isabella's first Horse show and Gianna's big game at Ross Field-they get their names announced & get trophies. also, the girls & I will be in IL from 6/23-7/6 - would love to get together with anyone available!

Mother's Day and Beyond!

Hello from the Conklin Clan! We all got together in the afternoon on Mother's Day. Daniel and Laina and Solen hosted. Daniel had made Stromboli and French Bread. Laina had made Ceasar Salad. The rest of us contributed more yummy "stuff". Oh, Daniel also made chocolate chip cookies that were a real hit with the little kids all evening! They kept going into the house for more. At one point Mindi had one in her hand and stated that she needed to put do something outside. Nate piped up right away that he would hold her cookie for her. Once in hand, he asked if he could have a bite. I think she got maybe one more bite! He got the rest ;-) Here are a few photos of our day....

Then today the four of us girls all got together at Mindi's house to scrapbook - this is Gina and Adalia from today.

Who gave us the pizzaz? That's awesome!!!

Sheila - Our cousin

I received the email from Mother Saturday night late. It stated that our cousin Sheila Arthur is in stage 4 of cancer. I knew immediately what I had to do - GO! I called Mother. She and Lelia had considered going, and after hearing what my desire was, decided to go for sure. We arranged to meet in Hobart around noon on Sunday. I left home at 9:00 a.m. and flew to Hobart. Traffic was light and the car pulled me along at 85 mph practically the whole way. We had a few minutes of confusion trying to hook up, but we figured it out and arrived at her house around 1:00 p.m. She came to the door and asked who it was. I answered, "Emogene!" She tried to open the door but couldn't and asked for our help. Once she saw all three of us, I thought she was going to stand at the door and talk to us, but she did let us in and we spent over an hour talking with her. She had surgery two weeks ago - had a kidney removed that had a tumor on it. She gets the staples taken out today. She needs our prayers most of all. She was open to talking about spiritual things, that was nice, and let us pray with her before we left. When we walked out our reactions were very different. Lelia immediately had a list going in her head of what needed to be done in the house, i.e. cleaning, some home repairs, etc. I couldn't get past the spiritual/emotional needs. Mother/Grandma Davis can let us know her reaction! I'm not sure what hers is/was. Most of you younger ones don't remember Sheila or even know her, but you can pray for her. For healing, strength, that she know the Lord personally before leaving here. After driving back to Michigan, I met Dan at the main Res (our church) and we heard Perry Stone. ( http://media.voe.org ) It was a good day, tiring, but good.

So here is my addition to the family blog, a picture of the most amazing young man who is loving Lacrosse this season. Hard to believe it has been almost six years since I got this gift from God....can I just say it's humbling and wonderful at the same time?!?! Bill is working overtime like a madman; I am working a bit of OT each day, too, and am loving going to Lacrosse games and having a busy Freshman around! Love to all, Martha

In The Beginning....

In the beginning, Emery met Emogene. They fell in love, married, had 7 beautiful, amazing children.
They taught them how to love God, their siblings, and other people.
Those children grew up, got married, and had many children.
There are now 12 grandchildren. They grew up, got married, and are having many children.
There are now 13 great grandchildren....and counting!

This is to celebrate our heritage and each other.

This weekend, Grandma Davis and Aunt Lelia drove to Michigan to help us celebrate Kayla's 15th BD party/event. While here, they also helped us celebrate Nate's 4th BD, and Solen's 1st BD.

Here are some pictures of the weekend:

Hilma and Kayla at her Party

Not sure what she's thinking!!

Kayla and Liz

Then we go to Nate's party. Mindi and Seth got a pinata and let the little ones take turns hitting it. After they gave it their best shot, the older kids got to take turns! They all enjoyed taking swings at it.

The older kids waiting their turn.

The adults having too much fun maybe?!