How many dogs in one bed?

So what fun we have been having this week!! We have learned that Bailey really doesn't like the UPS truck and you can convince him there is a squirrel in every tree. Tonight we had him chasing the beam of a flashlight all over the house. Ethen found out that Bailey sure doesn't like when he tries messing with me...maybe we need a bigger dog!! The funniest pecking order was when Bailey and I were wrestling over a stuffed monkey, which no longer has appendages, and Gem was getting upset and was trying to bite Bailey's legs. I will admit that one scared me a little but we stopped that game before Bailey decided he had had enough of Gem. Joey is the best, he now has a small collection of rocks at our house. He has fun trying to get the other dogs to play with him. He loves to run on walks and has been keeping us in shape. So after all our fun tonight we were tired and ready for some sleep, so off to bed we went.

As you can see there sure isn't much room for Jason!!

No husbands were left sleeping in the dog house in the making of this blog.

Bailey and Joey went home for the night!

Dog Sitting Adventures!!

How much fun can you have with a three dogs, two teenagers, a dad and mom in a little red neon? TONS!! Most of you know we have a dog, well some of you choose not to believe Gem, the 7 lb. chihuahua, is really a dog but a rodent. So being the dog lovers we are we decided it would be fun to dog sit a spaniel named Joey and a chocolate lab named Bailey. Now to those of you who call my dog a rodent, I'll let you know that a full grown lab is more on the lines of a miniature horse. What fun we have had the past 4 days walking, having them visit our house, and today Jason decided they can come on the ride to church when we drop off the kids at youth group. Oh, I forgot the best part, we aren't going to take the spacious truck where the dogs could ride in the back, no we'll all fit in the neon. My only question was how in the world will we all fit without someone riding in the trunk? Jason is the genius, Tabetha and Ethen get the window seats, Bailey will sit in the middle, and Joey can sit on a lap. Jason, Gem and I will just have to squeeze in the front somehow.

So packed like sardines in the back we head out, youth group or bust!! It didn't take long till Bailey is dripping drool all over Ethen in the back seat. Lesson #1: you can't catch drool very well with a walmart bag. It was a little while later we were all reaching to get the windows open!! Lesson #2: When you put a dog into a closed car it will for sure have gas. With the car aired out, Ethen gets the grand idea of letting Bailey put his head out the window, now understand this is a very small car and the windows only go down, oh, about 10 inches. That is maybe enough for the miniature horse to stick his head out, but that would put the drool on the outside of the car. Brilliant, except Ethen forgot Bailey would need to get to the window which would mean sitting or leaning over him. Well, the first attempt ended with Ethen singing soprano and the rest of us laughing pretty hard. It was at this point I remember I have a camera/video phone....now that's fun. So you can watch the clip below to see just what fun this was:)

Well, we did make it to church!! Bailey, Joey and Gem had a great run in the front yard. Ethen might be a little thinner and his voice a little higher. Jason is convinced it wasn't that bad...dude you were driving!! The best part after all the laughing was that Joey found a new rock and can't wait to show JP and Sue when they get home next weekend!! Keep watching for any other crazy antics that may happen this week!!

(Please note that no humans, dogs or neons were hurt in the making of this blog.)

From 2 to 20 Reunion

It was 37 years and 10 months ago on Aug. 22, 1970 that Muffy Leber & Everett Halstead united to become a family of two. Madly in love ready to spend the rest of their lives together taking on the hard times, good times, fast times and slow times. I remember them saying they would never let anything come between them and then joking about which ever one of us kids just happened to be sitting between them at church, in the car, or at home on the couch. 2 to 20 + 1 coming in August

Here is the family breakdown:

1. Ev & Muffy Halstead

2. Jason & Jenni DeMarce w/ Tabetha & Ethen

3. Dalton & Sue Dueck w/ Jessica, Caleb, Benjamin, Jacob & Jeremy

4. Steve & Andrea Halstead w/Koty, Jayla, Maddie, & baby due in August

5. Thom & Kris Halstead
   

FAMILY FUN FOTOS:

Even Pop-pop Leber got in on the fun during our Family Photo Marathon.

Here is a photo taken probably around the fall of 1980. This photo hangs at Pop-pops so he can proudly display his first 4 grandchildren. Below this photo you will see the up-to-date summer of 2008 version. Tabetha and Jayla hanging on the couch waiting for photos to start. Ethen & Uncle Thom resting after a morning of photos!!

Here is Maddie reading to Gem. It was so cute to here her "reading" to Gem and then asking questions like the dog just might answer back.

Jayla and Daddy
Jacob attacks Uncle Jason with some leaves!!

Lunch & Video Games
Aunt Jenni reading our favorite book, It's Pajama Time by: Sandra Boynton!! All a person would have to do is say "It's" and from all corners of the house you would hear "Pajama Time" replies.

Uncle Frank & Aunt Karen, Dad's brother & wife, drove from Pittsburgh to see all of us.This is of the Halstead cousins. Melissa is Frank & Karen daughter.

Strong Daddy!! Where will he put number 4 coming in August??
Pop-pop with his 10 great-grand children!!!
I include this photo to show you what Jason & I were going for in the photo below. Thom made it look so easy I figured Jason & I could pull the same stunt but sitting on the bench. Well, was I suprised when Jason decided to stand up. (No husbands were hurt during the shooting of this photo. I have been reassured that it wasn't as rough as he was letting on!!)

We have a family tradition of building family pyramids whenever most of us are together. We now have an adult pyramid and kid pyramid.
As I'm sure you have gathered we had a great time! As our time together came to a close it was bitter sweet. The Duecks will be headed back to their ministry in Guinea, West Africa on July 22nd. It was so hard saying good bye this time since we had just spent the last 8 months ministering together in Jackson, Michigan. We also said good bye to Dad & Mom who will be joining the Duecks on the 29th in Guinea. Having Dad & Mom head back for their 2nd term is a testament to an amazing God. It was just about 1 year ago Dad started getting sick. We then found out in September that he had leukemia. It has been a long road but we are so thankful that Dad is in remission.

So as I end this post I can only say I don't really know when I'll be able to do a 2 to 20 something Reunion update. We will wait and see what God's timing will be for our next reunion all I know is the little kids won't be so little and the big kids will only be bigger!!!

March is still roaring like a lion!!!!

We woke up Friday morning to another 1-2 inches of snow. It started the night before and melted pretty much as it hit the ground. When we went out Friday morning it was snow with a nice layer of ice under it. So much for the cute little saying we learn in elementary school, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Here in Jackson the lion is still roaring! I am happy to report that my evening the snow had melted as for the most part was gone. What a way to start Spring Break!!

Jason's truck covered once again in white stuff.

Tabetha headed to school and not too happy with the snow.

Sleeping Bags & Frost!!

Looking forward to camping this summer Tabetha and Ethen decided to get a head start and "camp-out" on our balcony. They couldn't fit a tent so they started lugging sleeping bags and blankets, I think anything of warmth we own ended up out there. When I got up this morning they were still both sound asleep and quite warm dispite the 28 degree temp and frost on the ground.

They emerged from the blankets so I could take this shot, then it was back under.

Pizza Night!

Every Friday night here at NTBI is pizza night! Now you should understand that this is not just for the students but is quite the social event of the week for all the staff, students and families. Really, all the kids look forward to pizza night, and heaven forbid they should be grounded from a pizza night. So, I finally remembered to take my camera and get a few shots. These are mostly of the Dueck and DeMarce families with a few friends thrown in.

THE BOYS TABLE!!

This is the scary table! When I took the picture not all the boys had made it through the line yet. This is usually the first table to fill, eat and be gone. They only have enough time to shovel it in and they are off to the gym or outside to play. Amazingly they can consume a fair amount of pizza, salad and ice cream only to come home a few hours later hungry.

THE GIRLS TABLE!!

The girls table is usually around quite a bit longer than the boys. Please don't misunderstand me, there are plenty of things the girls could be off doing but what girl doesn't like just sitting around chatting.

Here is Jacob, with a mouth full of carrots, because he doesn't like pizza. He is a privileged child and get to sit with dad, mom, uncle and aunt at the "big people table." Note this is also the table you will have to sit at if you are grounded or have lost the privilege of sitting with friends.

Last but not least, Jeremy! I would have to say he may have it the best, all snuggled in the carrier, with not a care in the world!!!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY GEM!!!

These are the cupcakes we make every year for Gem's birthday. The kids in child care love that there is a "doggie treat" in them. The preschool class even sang Happy Birthday!!

This is Gem enjoying a quiet birthday evening snuggled up in mom's blanket on the couch. She had quite the eventful day. The morning spent at the Bible School with lots of kids. After supper she got to go to the park, her favorite evening activity!! The only thing left is a bath since the walk in the park was a muddy one, her least favorite activity!

Just a little interesting side note. As of today Gem is 29 in human years and I, Jenni, am only 5.75 in dog years. Should you be interested in finding out just how many dog years you are check out this link, http://www.onlineconversion.com/dogyears.htm

Family!!

We were all excited to find out back in September that my sister and her family would be joining the staff here for a few months. The Dueck family was headed back to the states from Guinea, West Africa in October so that Jermery could join the family in January!! This would be the first time in 16 years sisters were residing in the same state let alone only 3 blocks from each other. Tabetha and Ethen were both overjoyed to have cousins close again. It has been a great 5 months of getting to know each other again and enjoying family times together.

So one of the best days together was January 2, 2008!! It was an early morning phone call, 3:45ish to be exact, from Dalton that started my day. I was needed up at their house so Dalton could get Sue to the hospital. Now you have to understand some geography to really get the rest of the story. The DeMarce house is just across the road from the hospital. The Dueck house is 3 blocks up a hill from us...so they are very close! Ok, back to the fun...I jumped out of bed, dressed, and ran for the car. I arrived at the Duecks about 13 min. after the call to find my sister already in the van and ready to go. Then I headed in and waited, and waited, and waited. The kids all slowly woke up and the excitement grew as we waited for word from the hospital. At about 9am Dalton came in and let us know Jermery Dalton Dueck had arrived at 5:03am weighing in at 8lb 11oz and was 21 1/2" long. Now for those of you who noticed the time of arrival will understand why having the hospital so close was a good thing. I found out later that they made it to the 4th floor and into a room by about 4:20am, with several contractions along the way. So there wasn't much time to "settle in" before that 5:03am arrival. It was such a privilege to be apart of that day!!

Jeremy Dalton Dueck

Then and Now!!

Still Alive!! Part 2

I, Jenni, still over see the Child Care department at NTBI. This semester we started with 33 student and staff children, ranging in age from new born to 5 yrs. Since Jan 1st we have added 3 more newborns with 3 more on the way in March and April. Wow...Seeing that count in print makes me wonder if we will need more cribs?

Ethen enjoys relaxing after a hard morning of shoveling snow playing X-Box. He has had two steady shoveling jobs all winter.

Still Alive!! Part 1

Ok, it has been a long time since updating this blog. Thanks to the few of you that have asked us lately about it.




The biggest news so far this year has been Tabetha's haircut!!
Sadly I totally forgot to get pics of how long her hair was before the cut. The first cut was a good 8 inches off the back!!


Jason continues to oversee the Physical Plant Department here at the school. This includes organizing reno projects, planning out general maintenance, working with students in their Student Work Program, budgeting, and being on call for emergencies.





Here is the most disturbing picture of Jason!! This is his regular attire year round. When it is really cold and he has to be outside for a long time he will slip into his Carhartt snowpants and winter coat. One semester a student ask him if his shorts got shorter in the summer!

9 WEEKS!!

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been 9 weeks since we got the phone call from Mom telling us about Dad's leukemia. We, as a family, spent almost a month Skyping daily and finding out how Dad & Mom were doing. Dad made it through a week of chemo and his second bone marrow draw. The results were good...no leukemia was found!! The only lingering problem was a heart thing. His heart would start racing, this was not a life threating thing but still needed to be dealt with. He was able to have surgery to fix the problem and all is well now.

For Tabetha's 15th birthday we met the family at my grandfather's cabin in Pennsylvania. It was good to see Dad doing as well as he had sounded on the phone. My sister and her youngest son, Jacob, were there, home early from Africa which made the visit that much more special. Dad even had the energy to take Jacob on a 4-wheeler ride!! The highlight of the weekend was when my Dad's brother, Frank, and his family came to visit. Their oldest, Megan, was the flowergirl at our wedding and it had been almost that long since seeing her. Since that weekend my sister and her family have moved to Jackson, Michigan and are on staff here at the Bible School until next summer. They are looking forward to adding another little one to the family in January.

So today Dad is to start the next round of treatment!! He will start a 4 month process of 1 week of chemo each month through February. His schedule will be 1 day chemo - 1 day rest - 1 day chemo - 1 day rest - 1 day chemo. These rounds of chemo are stronger than before but are needed to make sure he is in complete remission.

Well, that about rounds out this update!! I was hoping to post a few pictures but figured that by the time I did it might be another 9 weeks. Thank you for you prayers and emails. I'm sure Mom will be posting again at Dad's Carepage. http://www.carepages.com/ his page is listed under EverettHalstead (no spaces).

Praying for my parents!!

My Parents!

Everett & Muffy Halstead

I would like you to meet the two people that are responsible for bringing me into this world, Everett & Muffy Halstead. It was way back on a hot August afternoon in 1970 that this all got started with those two little words "I Do." Since that most wonderful day they have had 4 children, Jenni (Me), Sue, Steve and Thom, or ABC and D. Those 4 children have since married and have rewarded my parents with 9 grandchild, and the 10th on the way. Here is the break down in case you don't know. Jenni married a Canadian, Jason DeMarce, way back in 1991. They started the whole grandkid thing with Tabetha and Ethen, both of whom are teenagers now. Sue also found a Canadian, Dalton Dueck, and were married in 1995. They added Jessica, Caleb, Benjamin, Jacob and one we are all looking forward to meeting in January. If you are following the math here you may have just figured out that the Dueck family will be responsible for half the Halstead grandchildren come January! So then there is Steve or as he is known by his youth group Pastor Freako. Steve married a girl from back home, Andrea, and they supplied Koty, Jayla, and Maddie. I would tell you what year they were married but I being the oldest have started loosing my memory and can't come up with it, but Koty will be 6 this year. So to a beginning there is always an end. The end here is Thom. Now Thom met his wife, Kris, from around our home area. She is German and has since made Thom a world traveler taking him to Germany to meet her family. Again, I don't remember the year they were married and as of yet have no children. So that is the basics of the family tree!!

Now to let you all in on the reason for this post, praying for my parents. It was 3 weeks and 3 days after my Dad celebrated his 58th birthday this August 17th he found out he has Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). I bet you just figured out why were praying. Well, here it is. Everett & Muffy are missionaries in Guinea, West Africa and were home for a 9 month furlough. Just days before they were to leave on Sept 2nd they decided that some health problems Dad was having needed to be taken care of before the flight back so they postponed their tickets and waited to see what was wrong. Dad was getting weak, pale and was tired all the time. They were eventually referred to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for answers. They have since received an answer and have now begun a new journey. Mom has moved in with Dad, coffee pot, popcorn, laptop and just 2 other suitcases. Together, with the prayer of many, they will journey through this. We siblings keep in touch through Skype and Facebook since we are a bit spread out. Jason & I are in Jackson, Michigan. Dalton & Sue are in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, but returning stateside to Jackson, Michigan in October. Steve & Andrea are in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Thom & Kris are the only ones down home and close.

So here we are 6 days after what I thought might be the worst day of my life, to hear my Dad was really sick and would need to fight for his life. So many thoughts and memories have come to mind this week...remember the day Dad "fell" in the tub with all of us kids and he still had his clothes on, remember all the games and track meets Dad & Mom were there for, remember showing up at Papaw's and surprising him with his first great-grandchild, Tabetha. My parents have been there for me through thick and thin. They have prayed for and watched God heal my marriage. I know they pray for both Jason & I as we parent our children. They have been a wealth of wisdom and encouragement over the years. I may not be able to be there physically but God is using people from down home to take care of them in so many more ways then I could. I will continue to lift my parents up in prayer from here in Jackson, MI.

I have had so many people ask how I'm doing and I have finally come up with an answer. I can see how God has been in control of this even before Dad got sick and because I can see how God has been at work, I can rest in Him for the future. How great it is to have hope in an unknown future, how great a God I serve.

Doggie Hospital Trip #3!!!!

Gem is having to learn the hard way that she can not chew on her bandages. I had to take her today after lunch back to the vet because she had chewed through quite a bit of her bandage this morning. The following pictures tell the rest of the story...

Look at me...what do you think?

Poor Baby!!

Family Picnic in Pennsylvania!

What a fun Labor Day!! We traveled to PA for a family picnic at Uncle Al & Aunt Marty's house. It was a great time to see parents, sibling, grandparents, aunts, uncles and even some extended family. Tabetha & Ethen had a great time swimming and playing on the blow-up slide. It was a long trip but a fun time, and you can't beat the food at a Leber Labor Day picnic.

The only way to travel...sleeping!!

Grammy first!!

Ethen relaxing at the top!!!

Uncle Thom ready for slide!!

4 Generations of Lebers!

Phil & Bert

Muffy

Jenni

Tabetha & Ethen