And Yet Another Update……..

Back in February I started another blog, The Faces of My Family, in order to document the genealogical research I have been doing.  I thought I could keep up with both blogs but once Faces debuted, The View Off My Deck was neglected.
Yesterday I received a comment on this blog from my genealogy friend Rootdigger teasing me about my update from January 2010!  It was just the nudge I needed to resurrect this blog!
Since I ended with an update from seven months ago, I guess I’ll start with one to get 2010 up to date!
After our wonderful New Year’s celebration with Bill and Jackie, we got back to the business of, well, being busy!
In January the Clay Boys Bowling Team competed and advanced through, sectionals and regionals and found themselves once again in semi-state competition.   The boys had to  compete that day without their anchor bowler and, although they bowled their hearts out, they weren’t able to make the cut that would send them back to state.  But never let it be said this team doesn’t know how to celebrate a season! 

The parents aren't too shabby at celebrating themselves!

In February I made my annual girl’s trip to LaPorte for a scrapbook weekend at Michelle’s Memory Loft.  Each year we return for a few days of no make-up, pajama wearing, chick flick viewing, food, laughter and fun (with a little bit of scrapbooking thrown in!)


April was a busy month.  We celebrated Easter at my Aunt’s with all the cousins present (except for Pat, Steph, Will and Ella who we miss terribly).

April also brought the Youth State Bowling Tournament in Indianapolis.  This was the last year that Ben, Richie and Daniel were  competing.  Andy is the lone team member who will still bowl in 2011 which made this state tournament bittersweet. 

Speaking of changes, after 12 years of playing baseball, Andy made the decision to hang up his cleats and pick up his golf bag.  In April he tried out for and made the Clay Boys Golf Team!  Since we live on the ninth hole of one of the golf courses we were able to jump our back fence and follow the team for a couple of matches this season.  It was quite a change from sitting in the baseball stands, one I really loved.  Can’t wait for next season!

May brought about two exciting events!  Mom, Aunt Connie and I made a research trip to Wabash, Indiana in search of an old abandoned graveyard containing some of our family members.  We spent two days tromping through cemeteries and asking locals if they had ever heard of America Cemetery and where it might be located.  On the second day we got lucky and were able to determine  the location.  I donned my hiking boots, cut through a  backyard and entered the forest where I was rewarded with the following sight! 

This is heaven to a genealogist’s eyes!  Lots of stories to tell about this trip.  Too much for this update but I’ll be going back in October to attempt to replace stones that have fallen over.  I can’t wait!
Also in May my nieces graduated from high school.  The cousins are stair stepped.  First there’s my niece Rachel (now an incoming Junior at Notre Dame), then Ben (an incoming Sophomore at Manchester), then my nieces Sarah and Dana (incoming Freshman at Purdue and Saint Mary’s) and then Andy (entering his senior year at Clay High School).  Their graduation was a celebration for the whole family.  Gosh, I love those girls so much!

In June, as a result of my other blog, I was able to connect with distant family members!  Mom and I traveled to Kokomo to meet Jean and DeeDee to get to know each other and compare our family research.  Do you know that feeling when you meet someone and you immediately feel comfortable with them?  That’s how it was for mom, DeeDee, Jean and I!  In fact, we have a research trip planned together for October!

The rest of June was spent in travel.  Andy made college visits to Manchester, Butler and Valparaiso.  He also made a solo trip back to Tampa to visit with friends we miss since our move  to South Bend in 2006.  I have, of course, no pictures of that trip.  That’s what you get when you send a 17 year old boy someplace by himself!
My final update is our yearly trip to the lake in July.  We have been making this trip since the boys were little and it is still the highlight of our summer.  They say  a picture is worth a thousand words.  So I’ll let these pictures speak for themselves.
 
That’s it!  A whirlwind tour of the first seven months of 2010!  Let’s hope I do a better job of staying up to date the last five!

A Year in Review

I’ve been a blogging slacker as Patty calls it! Things got a bit crazy around here in November when I posted my last entry and I never got back on track. But it’s a new year and I vow to do better!

So, to get all caught up, I thought I would do a year in review. If I had to sum up 2009 in one word, it would be……change.

To start the year Andy and I, along with Mom and Dad, headed to Disney World for one last vacation before the “paying for college” years began! I have to say that this turned out to be my favorite Disney trip (beside the first one when the boys were little). That is saying a lot since we have made MANY trips to the happiest place on earth. This trip came just at the right time. Who doesn’t love a little sun and fun in January? And I was in desperate need of a vacation around this time.

February was filled with surprises. The high school bowling team, which included both Ben and Andy as part of the starting 5, had spent most of the season in the middle of the conference and missed an opportunity to repeat for the 4th year in a row as conference champs. But they found their groove in post season play. They placed in sectionals, regionals and stunned everyone by winning semi-state! In February we traveled to Anderson, Indiana and competed for the state title, finishing in 3rd place. It was such an exciting time for everyone but even more special for Mark and I since the boys experienced it together. This was also the day I pushed my way between arms, legs and elbows and stood on my tip toes to watch Ben throw his last ball as a Colonial. His high school bowling career was over but what a season he had as a senior! He threw a perfect 300 game the first match of the season and made first team all state and the all state academic team. He managed to win a bowling scholarship which he will have for all four years of college.

Throughout the spring we kept busy following the Varsity (Ben) and JV (Andy) high school baseball teams for Clay and helping Ben make a final decision on college. In May we took the field on senior night and Ben played his last game as a Colonial. It was bittersweet knowing the seniors would be going their separate ways in the Fall. After all those year of sitting in the stands together we parents have made it a priority to still get together every month to stay connected and to keep up with the boys who have gone to different colleges.

In May, Ben graduated cum laude from Clay High School. We threw a big party to celebrate! He, along with Cody, decided to attend Manchester College to major in Accounting and continue their baseball careers. Having attended Manchester myself, I was thrilled with that decision and the fact that he is a mere 1hour and 45 minutes from home.

In July we took our annual vacation to the lake and enjoyed 7 days of relaxing sunshine. We have been taking this trip since the boys were little and it is the highlight of our summer every year. This year seemed more special since it was the last one before Ben left for school and he took the whole week off work and spent it with us. I manage to catch NO fish but did spend my days laying on the beach reading and floating on the lake catching plenty of rays!

The month of August brought about the most change for our family. My parents sold the business they owned all of my life and retired.

Ben moved to college and began playing baseball for the Spartans. It is taking some getting used to seeing him in black and gold (the colors of our high school rivals the Penn Kingsman) instead the purple and gold of Clay high school!

Also, I went back to work full-time for the first time since Andy was born. I had been working part time for the MBA Admissions department at Notre Dame and in August I officially became a member of the team. I love my job and the people that I work with which I realize is unusual for most people! The word I use the most when describing my work situation is…..blessed.

In September, Mark and I decided to Walk for Hospice and asked if anyone would like to join us. To our surprise 16 others joined us in raising money for this awesome organization filled with remarkable volunteers. What a perfect day we had for the walk!

November brought another major celebration for us. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. My brother and I had been planning their party for over a year and the day turned out beautiful! The party went off without a hitch and mom and dad were thrilled.

December brought numerous holiday celebrations including the annual Swanson eggnog party at Scott and Anna’s.

Dad was in the hospital for tests just before Christmas and ended up having surgery. He made it home in time for the family Christmas Breakfast which was cause for extra celebration!

We topped off 2009 the same way we ended 2007 and 2008….with the Schell’s. This year we bowled better than ever and Bill and I beat Mark and Jackie in cribbage long before midnight! (Last year it took until 2am).

To sum it up, 2009 was filled with endings, new beginnings and celebrations for me. I don’t know what 2010 will bring but I do know that for today…..I feel blessed. And ready for the future.

Happy New Year!

Lisa

Andy Turns 17!

In the midst of preparing for my parents 50th wedding anniversary party and beginning preparations for hosting Thanksgiving, Andy had his 17th birthday on November 10th.

I know everyone tells you how fast time will pass when you are a new parent but, gosh, it is so true! I remember very clearly the morning Andy was born. He arrived at 9:30 a.m. at Memorial Hospital during Regis and Kathie Lee! He didn’t cry much and really never did. He was the perfect baby! He slept through the night at six weeks, no colic, no fussing. Mark likes to say that if we had Andy first and could guarantee that all of our children would be just like him, we would have had 10!

And he did grow up so fast!

I’ve been looking back at photos in preparation for the anniversary party and have run across many of Andy growing up through the years. Here’s a flashback of some of my favorites:

He will always be the "baby" of the family but now, standing at 6'2" and growing, he is no longer our little boy. He just remains that in my mind and in my heart.