A WONDERUL FRIDAY........

What a wonderful day Friday, March 2nd was!

Rebekah celebrated her 27th birthday - Happy, happy birthday to you!!! It was such an exciting day for us when you were born, and how we praise the Lord for these 27 years! You have matured and developed into a beautiful wife , mother and woman of God, Rebekah!

Daniel completed his last day of work at the Best Western in Grandville and is packed and ready to move to North Carolina! Daniel has 2 job interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday - and we're praying that the right job will open up! We are looking forward to the wedding in just 21 days! What a beautiful couple you both are, and we are so thankful to the Lord for such a wonderful companion and wife you will soon have!

Heard the forecast????

And the weather in Manton today will be....

"early morning will be partly sunny, turning to snow - about 2". Then look for a change as the snow turns to freezing rain, and tonight more snow and rain mixed, with thunder! "

Talk about getting it all in one day!!! Whew!

I sure miss the warm sunshine of Hawaii and sandy beaches - I'm a "summer girl" at heart!

Happy March 1st everyone...our weather is coming in like a LION, and hopefully we'll go out like a LAMB.

More fun pictures from Hawaii

The skyline of Oahu

Beautiful Diamond Head.... Rachel and Matt at lunch

On the beautiful beach

Beautiful Maui

Beautiful Maui... this is the ocean view from the Paki Maui where we stayed. We took the road to Hana - it was 600 curves one way! The scenery was worth the long trip - seeing the beauty of Maui - waterfalls, black sand beach, and the seven pools.

This was the black sand beach....

Hawaii Adventure Trip - First Stop: San Francisco!

Tuesday, February 13th we flew out of Grand Rapids to Chicago, where we changed planes for San Francisco. A huge snowstorm was coming, and we were so thankful that we were one of the last planes to take off from Chicago- we heard later that 600 flights were cancelled due to weather!
We arrived in beautiful San Francisco, and had two wonderful, fun-packed days there.

Our first stop was at the Muir Woods...where we saw the most majestic redwoods! We took the walk through the forest. The redwoods were just awsome in their height and beauty!

We also got to see Alcatraz from a distance....

We also have fun walking through Chinatown....

What a fun "trolley car" ride we had at Fisherman's Wharf! We LOVED walking all over and having a "fresh clam chowder" right on the boardwalk at an outdoor stand!

Here we are at the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge

AWANA Regional Quizzing

Today our church hosts the Regional AWANA Quizzing and Grand Prix. The morning is for quizzing, the afternoon for the Grand Prix. We have a great group of 3-6th graders competing...it consists of speed, multiple choice and a written section.

WILD GAME DINNER

The friendly bear!
Anyone for a taste of Mountain Lion???
We had a great group of men...there were around 220 there!

Here are some of the animals that our men got on hunting trips! Glad we didn't have eat this meat!
This was the "welcoming committtee"!!!!

Fun Groundhog facts......

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

How Did the Groundhog Get a Day of His Own?

The lowly groundhog, often called a woodchuck, is the only mammal to have a day named in his honor. The groundhog's day is February 2. Granted, it’s not a federal holiday; nobody gets off work. But still, to have a day named after you is quite a feat.
How did the groundhog come by this honor?
It stems from the ancient belief that hibernating creatures were able to predict the arrival of springtime by their emergence.

The German immigrants known as Pennsylvania Dutch brought the tradition to America in the 18th century. They had once regarded the badger as the winter-spring barometer.

Traditionally, the groundhog is supposed to awaken on February 2, Groundhog Day, and come up out of his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he will return to the burrow for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he remains outside and starts his year, because he knows that spring has arrived early.

In the U.S., the “official” groundhog is kept in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Every February 2, amid a raucous celebration early in the morning, “Punxsutawney Phil” as the groundhog is called, is pulled from his den by his keepers, who are dressed in tuxedos. Phil then whispers his weather prediction into the ear of his keeper, who then announces it to the anxiously-awaiting crowd.

Of course, this is for show. It’s a fun celebration and a great tradition. But Phil's keepers secretly decide upon the "forecast" in advance of the groundhog's arousal.

Besides, spring always arrives on or near March 21, so whether the groundhog decides to return to his den or remain above ground. The fact is- spring is always at least six more weeks - especially here in Michigan!!!

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!