Farewell (N POZEGNANIE) Dear Friends

Tonight we are getting together with our friends, the Martys, for the last time while they are PA residents. We've always known this day would come, but that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye! Four years ago in October, we were unexpectedly and pleasantly blessed with the gift of living close to each other. Bethany and I met in jr. high and immediately clicked - we've been best friends for over 21 years now. We met Quenton & Jon in college and the 4 of us went through our early dating years together. After both getting married in '96, we went our separate ways, never believing we'd ever get to live near each other again (but always holding out HOPE!). Eight years later, we got that chance when Quenton's job with HOPE International brought them to within an hour of us.

Over these past four years we have created so many special memories. When they moved here we vowed that we wouldn't let this time pass us by and end up with a bunch of "if onlys" or "we should haves". We made so much effort to not let the hour drive be a deterrent from getting together as much as we could - and it was worth every minute and every $ of gas! Our friendship as couples has grown so much over these years and it has been a great joy to watch our children grow into the best of friends. We have built the foundation for a life-long friendship for our families, regardless of the distance between us.

Quenton, Bethany, Eden, Truman & Briar, we love you so much and will miss you immensely! You are going to leave a big hole in both our hearts and our calendars. We wish God's richest blessings on you as you begin this next phase of your amazing journey in POLAND! We admire your faith and sense of adventure!

So many of our special memories include the Z's and so they are in many of these pics! DMZ gatherings just won't be the same without you! Enjoy this slideshow that captures many of our fun times together!

With much love,
Jon, Dawn, Sophia & Anthony

AAAAAARGH! Halloween Was Sad!

I am all about the costumes on Halloween...so I was very disappointed when we woke up Friday morning and Anthony was very sick! You know a kid is sick when they don't want to go trick-or-treating! We had such great plans for that day too. I had a 1/2 day off work, the kids were off school, it was beautiful weather and we were supposed to attend our 1st Annual DiCo Cousins Halloween Extravaganza at Joel & Shannon's! Sophia headed over with Grammy, PopPop and Aunt Lizzie while Anthony and I laid in the dark house and hid from the trick-or-treaters! She was a great big sister (as always!) and brought home candy for her Bubba.

Since the kids had such fun costumes, I decided to dress them up today and get some pics. Enjoy the pics of our pirate and gypsy!

AAARGH FACES:



and check this out...(I'm not a very crafty/creative person, so I am proud that I "made" this shirt)