Celebrations

While we were in the Midwest celebrating the arrival of Daniel, we found many other reasons to celebrate. One of them was my birthday! We had a lovely brunch at the home of Jill's inlaws and a surprise cake. I can't remember when I last celebrated the passing of another year with most of our family in attendance. Phone calls from our other two kids back home in Seattle made the day complete!
Surprise!
Sisters and Brothers

The folks at Sylvan Lake really know how to celebrate the Fourth! They kicked off the day with a parade, which I watched from the window, because Dick and I babysat for Daniel so Jill and Michael could attend with David and Sophia. You can see that David participated with great enthusiasm. The afternoon rains didn't deter the picnic at the beach, and the day closed with a private and very impressive fireworks display put on by the neighbors across the street. We also celebrated with a nice picnic at Michael's folks' house in nearby Vernon Hills.
Bicycle Parade

Enjoying the Fourth

We also celebrated seeing my sister and her hubby Ted twice in one month, first at Sylvan Lake and then in Minnesota. We had a fun time catching up with our niece and nephews as well as meeting the two newest grandchildren, Analise and Libby.
Analise and Libby

Lastly, we celebrated the good news that our friend Debbie was recovering well from heart surgery on June 1. To speed her along, we sent a prayer shawl that I finished during our visit. Thank God for modern medicine!
for Debbie