Daniel's Dedication

We had the fun of babysitting Daniel for a few hours on Saturday so Kat and Jason could celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. Then on Sunday the Marquiss grandparents and Rich and I were present at Kat and Jason's church for Daniel's baby dedication - the promise that he will be raised to know the love of Christ.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Daniel listening to the worship music.

Daniel with Jason and Kat during the baby dedication.

The cake at the reception for the four families and six children
who were dedicated.

Upside Down. Playing with Pop-Pop.

Some of the many faces of Daniel...

What an adorable, silly little guy!

Daniel is One!

Time goes way too fast! Daniel turned one on Monday and was here for the weekend for festivities with the Marquiss family. We will celebrate when the cousins are here from Chicago and CA. It was hard to take pictures because we had so little time to grab the camera and keep an eye on this active little boy at the same time. The photos I did get were a blur. I wonder why? He liked the rocking chair - it is just his size. I did get some sweet time with him on Sunday morning when he fell asleep in my arms at church.

Now that the Prom is over...

I can breathe again! As junior class advisor, it fell to me to coordinate the planning of the prom this year. After three weddings, as I told the committee, a prom is a "bunt." Actually, it turned out to be a lot of work! We had a fabulous prom on May 7 at the West Shore Country Club. My prom committee did a great job of planning, decorating, and encouraging students to attend. We had 360 kids there. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Let me tell you about this last picture... Michael is a student in the junior class and as his advisor, I took it upon myself to see that he was able to attend the prom. He and his mom live at the poverty level with all his medical expenses.

Michael has a very rare vascular disease and was recently featured on a National Geographic special on blood. He is completely wheel chair bound and only comes to school for one class a day. He has doctors in Boston and Hershey that he visits regularly, has routine blood transfusions and three chlorine baths a day to keep his skin from getting infected. No one ever thought he would live to see a junior-senior prom. He has a friend in Pittsburgh with the same disease, although Amiee's is not as advanced.

After finding out that Michael wanted to come to prom, I arranged for a tuxedo for him, got his girlfriend approved as a guest (routine for anyone not from our school), and arranged transportation with the school wheelchair accessible van. Amiee's parents brought her from Pittsburgh.

I have never seen Michael so happy - in all the years I have known him. It made the entire prom a very special event. His mother cried most of the evening with tears of joy. Amiee's parents took pictures and kept a close eye on her (she also has a bad heart). This may be her only chance to attend a prom.

A fun part of Susan's job

If I could have a week like this past one every week, I wouldn't even think of retirement! This week was what I love to do on my job. Field trips. They're the best!

On Wednesday I took eight students out to Indiantown Gap for leadership training with the National Guard. They have an educational unit that works with all sorts of groups to train people to stand against the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Perfect for my SADD Club leaders.

We started with a nine station obstacle course requiring group participation. To demonstrate leadership, I started out strong - doing each station right along with the kids. There were three I couldn't do - two were physically challenging to me because of some back problems and one was just wet and dirty!

We had the perfect day, a wonderful group of students, a fun co-advisor, and great teachers. Here's some pics of the day...

First, everyone over the wall!

I always loved monkey bars - but couldn't do this one...

Line up on the log - then reverse positions without touching the ground.

Everyone through the swinging tire tunnel...


Then over the logs - all different heights.


We all made it - this was the last obstacle.

On Friday, another field trip. This time to Mission Central in Mechanicsburg where students in my Utopia Seminar (Man's Changing Views of Utopia) went to help make life a little brighter for others. Students packed flood buckets, rearranged boxes in the warehouse, prepared toothpaste to put into health kits, and helped clean up the area around the shipping dock. They had a blast - and worked really hard for 3 1/2 hours. Then we stopped for lunch at the new family restaurant in town. As one student said, I wish we could do this all the time! Me, too!