Kiff's Prom

Kiff's prom happened to fall on her 18th birthday! So we didn't get to celebrate her birthday that day - which was yesterday. We're about to have her birthday dinner tonight, actually. But here are a few pics from last night. Isn't she a gorgeous girl?!
with her date, Andrew
all the girls
and with their dates... this was the group riding in the limo together.
Charlie's Angels :)

happy girl
what a beauty!

Phil Turns 21

Kiff carried the made-from-scratch chocolate cake in...
...while I sang the traditional Decker birthday song :)
Phil eating up all the attention
and showing off his "It's About Time" 21st birthday watch...
I couldn't have the chocolate cake of course, so I enjoyed a pineapple popsicle instead :)
Time to cut the cake
Phil and Jeff before the traditional "take your son out on his 21st birthday for a glass of beer" outing
Happy 21st birthday Phil!!

Next is Kiff's 18th birthday on Saturday :)

Weekend Fun

First, some fun pics Jeff wanted to take of me in my new fun hat :)
I love having a husband who loves buying me pretty things to wear...
Yesterday, Jeff and Kiff and I drove up to New Jersey to see Jeff's parents as sort of a late Mother's Day thing. We brought them an Olive Garden lunch when we arrived and then visited with them for the afternoon. Jeff's sister Linda stayed to visit for a few hours too. Definitely good to reconnect with them.

Their beautiful dog, Penny

We brought with us a new phone and a headset for them. Jeff's mom, Doris, has trouble holding the phone because of her arthritis, so with this new phone she can let the phone sit on her lap and either use the speaker phone or, for a private conversation, the headset. She deals with a lot of discomfort and frustration every day, but she's as loving and sassy and talkative as ever. Love her so much!!

Here's Jeff showing his dad, Bob, how to put the headset on Doris' ear. They had us all laughing... The headset wasn't being very cooperative... Bob is such a sweet husband and father. Jeff takes after him. :)



In other news, today is Phil's 21st birthday!! Big milestone for him. Pictures coming soon... that is, if Phil lets me take pictures of him. He can be stubborn that way. ;)

Roses for Mama

Mother's Day is a happy one for most people, but for the Case family it's filled with sadness. Maureen's been gone for almost four years now, and there's still grieving going on here. I never knew her (I'm looking forward to getting to know her in heaven), but of course I feel some measure of pain along with my new family. This morning at church they gave roses to all the moms, had a slide show of pictures of moms with their kids, honored and thanked and celebrated them and the invaluable roles they play in their families..... How does a family who recently lost their mom suddenly to an untimely death respond to all of that? It's just a tough day.

What helped to brighten it a bit was the continuation of a Mother's Day tradition. Every Mother's Day for the past couple years the Cases have planted rose bushes in honor of Maureen. This year we added two yellow rose bushes to the four pink ones that are already out there. It's a sweet way for the family to work together in creating something beautiful in her honor.

Here are the first two bushes that were planted in 2008.
Phil dug the holes, and Kiff helped with everything else.


That's Kiff under that hoodie. :) It's been a chilly day.


A tiny bud on one of the new bushes.
The neighbor ladies bought this bench, along with planting a few trees in the backyard, right after Maureen died. We thought the bench would look nice in front of the roses, so Phil and Jeff moved it here after the roses bushes were planted and mulched.
If you would like to, our family would sure appreciate prayer for peace and grace, when we come to mind! The intensity of Mother's Day has passed, but there continues to be need for grace for all of us, especially as our new family is being formed and strengthened. For the most part, it is going extremely well, and Jeff and I joyfully thank God for that! We all basically get along, there's lots of love going around, and the stress level is relatively low - especially compared to what it could be. God is definitely at work in our hearts and in this home. And we are looking to Him to allow that to continue and deepen. :)

What a great privilege we have! We get to see Romans 8:28 up close and personal in our unique situation. Despite the deep, deep pain this family has known, God is working all things together for our good. He is so amazing!

Sylvie Goes to Work

Meet Sylvie's new employer! :)

Jeff and I have been praying and thinking for a little while about me getting a job... Something part-time and low-stress to keep me busy doing something I like and to bring in a little extra cash. I tried to substitute teach with the local school district this past year, but let me tell you - WHAT a hassle!!! I never got ONE job with them. Nothing but red tape, and once I was finally approved, there simply were not any jobs available, and I checked online nearly every day. So with that not working out, Jeff and I just basically said - well, if something appropriate opens up, great. If not, no big deal.

Anyway... with Kiff about to get her license, that frees me up a bit more - since I won't have to drive her around to soccer practice and such. So... I guess about two weeks ago, I decided to look online for a job. I went to craigslist, and low and behold there was one lone job advertised for Purcellville, and it was for a health food store, which is right up my alley! I'm not a health food freak by any means, but I do like taking natural vitamins and in general eating as healthfully as it makes sense to. I've actually thought for a few years now that I'd like to work part-time at a health food store, and so when I saw this job, I thought - perfect! I sent my resume in immediately, a few days later I got a call, I went in for a casual interview, and she offered me the job on the spot! They are great people - so friendly. The store is a relatively small one, and it's part of a small chain of Healthway Natural Foods stores throughout the the northern Virginia region. I wanted to come home and discuss it with Jeff before I accepted it.... which I did... and we both thought - yes, this is such a good fit. It's 22 hours a week. Just right! Thank you Lord for your provision! It's amazing that in this economy and in this small Virginia town, I was able to find just the right job at just the right time!

So.... I start Monday. And yay for my 20% discount!

Sunny Cali

I love having a husband who has to go to California on business trips. :)

He had a meeting out there this last week and took me with him this time; he took two vacation days while we were there so we could do a little sight-seeing. And I was pretty excited because I've never been to the LA area before. It is GORGEOUS! (Well, parts of it are.) I especially love the palm trees everywhere! And the beautiful vibrant flowers. It was chillier than we anticipated (60s instead of 80s), but still a lovely trip.

View from our hotel room in Newport Beach:
Jeff joined the Apollo 13 crew while we were there, by the way. He'll be going up soon.
At Universal Studios, overlooking the Burbank area... I think.
Set from a Dr. Suess movie. So fun... Wish we could have gotten out of the trolley car and roamed around a bit. The trolley took us on a tour through various sets ~ this was fascinating to me. I love going behind-the-scenes.
Me getting eaten by Jaws.
I always wanted to meet Lucy!!
We love Bill Cosby ~ had to get Jeff's pic in front of his star in Hollywood.
This is me and Suzy, who I was friends with in Shanghai. She lives in LA now so we got together and caught up while Jeff was working! So fun.
Along Laguna Beach... breathtaking.



My handsome man on the Huntington Beach pier.

Miss Kiff Got Baptized!

Today marks the day Kiff made her faith in Christ public. She took such a big step and we are so proud of her!!! My face was positively beaming this morning! Phil came with us to church to be there for Kiff, and her two aunts on the Adams side, Alice and Theresa, drove down from New Jersey for the occasion as well! It was a big blessing to have them here for it... so special. Maureen would have loved to see this day. Who knows ~ maybe she did. :)

Enjoy the video below! (To give you perspective, Jeff was videoing this from the balcony, and Kiff and our pastor, Jack, were in the baptistry which is on the second story, above the stage.)