It’s that time again…our BIG party of the year! We planned, and prepped, and worked, and slaved, and then had lots of FUN with those of our friends who could join us this year.
Here are some pics to highlight the day.
If you look real close, you can see the plane formation through the tree line…it’s the only pic that I took that you can actually tell the specks in the sky are planes.

While watching parts of the air show, I really missed having my dad around to tell me what each plane was. I’m sure he would have loved to see the fighter jet zooming over our backyard. maybe next year Dad?

Here’s a pic of Jon torturing Jim Dreier’s sons on the neighbor’s trampoline.

Later on, Landon decided to show the boys how not to light fireworks. His example does come in handy for those moments when safety is important. The boys learned to watch out for backfire and upper lips.

As always, we were pretty tired from all of the work involved into having 50 people at our house and from all the volleyball we played until dark. Looking forward to what next year’s party will be like…

Last night we were whisked away by an Amish buggy (can you imagine the hilarity of it in our subdivision?) to a secretive, yet romantic evening planned by our friends from our church community group – lifeSOURCE.
We were greeted at the Stutzman home by 14 dear friends lined up for our arrival. It was quite touching to see them all there waiting for us as we rolled up in the buggy. The evening ensued with a serenade by Kaitlyn the violinist, a 5-course meal, amusing entertainment, and expressions of thankfulness and love by each of our friends as they waited on us.
It’s hard to put into words just how blessed we were by their love and their gratitude. Jon & I have been doing young adult ministry together for 8 years, and this is the first and only group to honor us in such a way. Our hearts were full of emotion, gratitude, and genuine love for this community. All our sharing and caring has made a difference in their lives, and we know that their lives and hearts have been entrusted to us by God. Our prayer is that we continue to impact their lives by setting the example of Christ.
To see pics from this wonderful evening, please visit our photo gallery.
Thank you friends for loving us. We LOVE you all!
and thank you Mom, Gretchen & Luke for your assistance is this romantic evening!!