Weekend visit

Daniel flew to see Candice for a few days this past weekend....and they were able to stay with Rebekah, Ben and Brock on Saturday night! What fun! Here are some fun pictures from that weekend....enjoy!

4 months already!!!

It was January 26, 2006 that we received the early morning phone call from Rebekah and Ben with the announcement "we're pregnant!"
What an exciting morning that was for us!!! We would officially be grandparents in September.
Well, our precious grandbaby, Brock is now 4 1/2 months old...and getting cuter every day!
He is even trying to get on his knees to begin crawling...and he can just about roll over by himself. He loves to smile, and watch everything that goes on. What a joy he has been to our family. These were his 4 month pictures.

A Marriage made in heaven....

Yes, just two months from today is the wedding of Daniel and Candice. It will be a beautiful, intimate wedding in warm Georgia - with family and friends.
Just to fill you in about this new daughter we are getting, and our son, Daniel - here are some things you might want to know!

ABOUT CANDICE
Candice lives in Charlotte, NC, and works as a Volunteer Coordinator at a shelter for the homeless. Candice enjoys music, photography, college football and anything creative and different.

ABOUT DANIEL
Right now Daniel is living in Grand Rapids, MI, working as a Maintenance Director at the Best Western Hotel. Daniel enjoys home renovation, basketball, writing poetry, snowboarding, football and line dancing.

HOW THEY MET
Candice is friends with Joel and Lisa, who Rebekah and Ben also knew from their church. One weekend Candice came down to visit Joel and Lisa, and met Rebekah and Ben. They all went out for dinner together, and after the meal, Rebekah told Lisa that she wanted Candice to marry her brother....and it wasn't too long after, that Daniel met Candice when he was visiting Rebekah and Ben!

THE ENGAGEMENT
November 17, 2006!!!
Daniel TOTALLY surprised Candice and flew down to see her on November 17th. It didn't take very long for Daniel to give her a VERY sweet and emotional poem that he had written...and within that poem he asked her to marry him! A phone call came a few minutes later to the family and we were TOTALLY thrilled with the news that Candice said "YES"!!!!

THE WEDDING
It's coming just 2 months from today....and then after the honeymoon - they (along with Candice's parents) will fly up to Manton for a great reception here with our families, church family, and friends.

THE MOVE
Daniel will be moving to North Carolina when they are married - Candice will stay at her job for the time being, and Daniel is applying to several jobs that are open in his field in the area.
Now we will be able to see Ben, Rebekah and Brock in South Carolina, and Daniel and Candice in North Carolina when we visit!

On your mark, get set.......GO!

Some have such imagination when they make their cars!

"Awana Clubbers, you may start your engines".... our Awana leader called out as our Awana Grand Prix started this afternoon! 32 cars were racing down the red, green, blue or yellow race track. Three cars in each division received the prize for the fastest, and three cars received awards for design. In three weeks our Rollins Awana kids will be competing against 9 churches in the area for the top prizes! The designs on the cars were amazing!

Pistons and Chris Webber

When Chris Webber was with the Fab Five at U of M, all 5 players came to our Manton School!
Each of our kids were able to play one-on-one with the Fab Five, and get autographs and talk to them! Now Chris Webber has just signed with the Pistons - and is back in Detroit! Here are some fun pictures of the kids with the Fab Five!

Children are a gift from God....

The month of January is Right to Life month.
Did you know that there are 1.3 million abortions performed each year in just the United States alone? The statistics say that 1 out of 8 women seek an abortion!!!The news media stresses how many soldiers were lost in Iraq each day, but they never put on the nightly news how many babies were aborted each day! That would sure get the attention of Americans!


These are our precious babies in our nursery and pre/school at church. We are blessed with such beautiful babies. These pictures are in our "showcase" at church - and how thankful we are for each and every one of them!

Off to the press....

It's time to put the engagement/ wedding announcement in the Cadillac Newspaper....


Rev. Robert and Nancy Lanning of Manton are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Daniel, to Candice Whitley. Candice is the daughter of David and Debbie Whitley of Martinez, Georgia.

Daniel is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Architecture. Candice has received her master’s degree from Clemson University with a degree in Counselor Education, Student Affairs Administration for Higher Education.

The wedding will take place on March 24, 2007 in Georgia. A Dinner Wedding Reception will take place at the Rollins Christian Fellowship Church in Manton, on April 14th at 1pm.

To tickle your funny bone!

Here's a funny story that came through on my email this morning, and made me laugh....hope you get a laugh for the day from it too!

A lawyer and a blonde woman are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde is tired and just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and tries to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists, that the game is a lot of fun. "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5; you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500." This catches the blonde's attention; and, to keep him quiet, she agrees to play the game. The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches in to her purse, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer. Now, it's the blonde's turn. She asks the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?" The lawyer uses his laptop, searches all references. He uses the Airph one; he searches the Net and even the Library of Congress. He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail. After one hour of searching he finally gives up. He wakes up the blonde and hands her $500. The blonde takes the $500 and goes back to sleep. The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes her up and asks, "Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?"

The blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep.

16 weeks and 17 lbs!!!

After sever weeks of being gone over Christmas vacation, Brock is back home and enjoying the warmer temperatures and familiar surroundings. He just had his 16th week birthday...and is now 17 lbs 1oz.! He is growing so fast! Now Nanny and Papa are looking forward to seeing him in March at his Uncle Daniel's wedding! :)

The Lanning Painters

Today we drove to Grand Rapids to help Daniel paint the inside of his home. Daniel flew in from North Caroling (seeing Candice for the weekend!) and we met him at 1:30pm - and began the fun job of painting. We painted his living room and kitchen, and had time to get the foyer, hall closet and dining area primed! It looks so beautiful! Daniel painted the ceilings, Bob painted the walls, and I did all the corners and edges! What a change in this little home! When we first saw this house almost 2 years ago, we couldn't imagine what Daniel could do to make it into a nice home! But with a lot of vision and hard work, Daniel has made it into a beautiful "new" home. He has redone everything, including rafters, walls and floors! Putting in new kitchen cabinets and finishing up the kitchen, along with the laundry room will be next on the list. We are praying that it will sell in the next 2 months, as he will be moving to North Carolina in March.
If any of you need painters....we're available! HA!

Twelfth Night Dinner Party

Saturday night we were invited to a "Twelfth Night Dinner Party" at the home of some friends. In Victorian times, families celebrated January 6th as the feast of Epiphany or Twelfth Night. This was the day when the kings from the east arrived in Bethlehem with their gifts for the Christ Child. What a fun way to end the Christmas season!
Brenda's table was beautifully set with gold tableware, and frankincense candles. Her meal was delicious....beef wraps, candied carrots, red potatoes, a great salad, rolls, all kinds of relishes, hawaiian chicken fingers, and tiramasu for dessert! We were also given the historically traditional "kings cake" to take home, which was a gift they gave to the visiting guests.

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Rachel in Manton?????

Well, Rachel isn't really home in Manton in person, but she does come into my family room every day via my computer. She is now the lead on Studio Classroom, and I can get her TV program
and watch her "teach" with Gabe. What fun that is for me! Today she was talking about her brother being good in Math, and her sister in Science. It's always fun to hear her refer to our family! You never know what Rachel will look like...sometimes she has long straight hair, curly hair, her hair put up on top of her head, or even wearing a long black wig! Not matter what they do with her make-up or hairstyle, she is still our Rachel. She "perks" up my day when I watch her...and seeing her each day helps me not get so homesick for her! I LOVE the new show, Rachel!

Hildebrand's New Year's Day Hospitality!

What a wonderful New Year's Day we had with Elizabeth, Jason, Ben, Rebekah, Brock, and the Whites (friends of Jason and Elizabeth and their two babies). Elizabeth put on a tremendous meal...taco's with all the extra's! Those extra's were amazing....crab/mushroom stirfry, crab/artichoke dip, rice, broccoli with cheese sauce, many fantastic desserts, and ending with hot choclate topped with peppermint whipped cream! Hungry??? Ahhhhhhhhhhh! It was so YUMMY! It was great seeing Ben, Rebekah and Brock one more time before they left for South Carolina. We got home just in time to see the 2nd half of the Michigan game....guess we should have stayed at Elizabeth's longer! Enjoy the pictures!
Happy 2007!!!!