Happy Father’s Day

 1 The proverbs of Solomon:
       A wise son brings joy to his father,
       but a foolish son grief to his mother.

Mark me as a joyful father on this day.  A big part of my joy comes from our two sons and the kind of men they have become.

Bryant, husband of Barbara and father of Briana.  President of the company and active in church and ministry.  Wise and thoughtful.

Scott the adventurer and retired USAF Master Sgt.  He is single, holds a black belt in martial arts and is a teacher and mentor.  A computer whiz who is inclined to help.

They make me glad to be their dad.

Happy birthday Briana.  I hope you have a wonderful day.

Another Busy Weekend for Briana

Saturday was hot and humid in west Michigan.  It was the day of Briana’s open house.  Barbara, her mother, had everything well organized and with help from family, all was ready to go on time.  That morning, the radar loop showed a front with several active cells headed this way.  It looked like the rain would arrive about the time the open house was to begin.

It didn’t arrive.  It was a muggy day, but it never rained.  More people than expected came to wish Briana well after her graduation from High School.

Sylvia, Chuck, Briana, Bryant, Barbara and Dottie (Sylvia’s cousin)

Family members and friends were there in abundance.  There were displays, photos and plenty of food.

 John and Miij are Briana’s maternal grandparents

Plenty of aunts, uncles, great aunts and great uncles.  From both sides of the family there were cousins and oodles of friends.

 Paul, Joyce (Sylvia’s sister) and Great-grandpa

The above photo was taken in front of a quilt that Barbara made for Briana.  It is super neat.

 Briana and Coach Lane

Most of the gals from the water polo and swim teams came, as did the polo coach.  It was nice to see so many of them there.  I had a chance to talk with the father of one of the gals.  We have seen each other for the last two or three years, but had never been close enough to speak.  Also met some of Bryant and Barbara’s social friends.  The youth leader from their church was there and I talked briefly with her.

My sisters, Maggie and Clara (the blogger) with Clara’s husband, Rick stopped by our house to visit Midnight before we went on to the open house.  I’ll tell you more about that another day.

When the party was over and the guests had left.  Several of us pitched in to fold and stack chairs, fold and load tables and clean up.  Tables went back home with Barbara’s sister and brother-in-law and we took the chairs back to the rental center.  The women had washed dishes, divided the left overs and had everything wrapped up by the time we drove the few blocks to return the chairs.

Briana was tired.  So was everyone else.  It had been a great party!

Briana’s Busy Weekend ~ Part 3

Three of the most important factors in my life are family, faith and friends.  You can imagine how good it is to see those values carried on in my sons and now in my granddaughter.  She is blessed with wonderful parents.  They have dedicated themselves to unity and the nurture and care of their daughter.  Sunday, was (High School) senior day at Cornerstone Church.  Briana had played a game in the state tournament on Friday, and two games on Saturday.  Briana and her parents got home late that night.

Briana, who has been a bit shy in the past, had volunteered to speak in Sunday services at her church.  They have three on Sunday morning.  So she was at church early on Sunday.  At least it wasn’t another 5:30 AM practice in the pool.

I was able to attend the 11:15 service with Bryant and Barbara.  (Sylvia had a commitment in our church and couldn’t be there.)  We arrived a bit early and had a chance to talk with Briana before the service.

 Riane and Briana



If you were to look up friends in the dictionary, you might find a picture of Riane and Briana.  They were the speakers and they each shared their experience with a youth-group project.  The project involved praying, listening and acting on what they heard.

Briana share with us how her experience led to helping a boy–a friend of a friend–who needed some help and advice.  Riane ended up in an elder care facility where she found a warm welcome.  Next week, the audio should be posted online.  I’ll share a link to that so you can listen if you would like.

After Riane shared her part, Briana came to the front and wrapped it up with a few words in which she asked those in attendance to follow their example.  I said earlier that Briana has been shy in the past.  On Sunday, I saw a poised and confident young lady share intimately with 1000 people.

After church, we stopped for a sandwich.  As we sat in the restaurant a woman came up to the table and said, “I was in the service and really appreciated what you said.  You are a beautiful young lady.”  Briana responded with a smile and a “Thank you.”

Later that afternoon, Bryant took Briana to Grand Valley State U.  She spent the night there and participated in an orientation session for Honors College students.  Barbara and Bryant were there on Monday for six hours.

More blessed than I deserve.

Briana’s Busy Weekend ~ Part 2

I thought I had wrapped the water polo season for Briana on Tuesday.  Well, that was wrong.  You’ll have to forgive a proud grandpa for sharing a few stats from this year.

  • Number 2 scorer on the team
  • Number 2 on assists
  • Number 2 at getting opposition players “kicked out” (that’s good!)
  • Top shooting percentage–38.5%
  • Top player for steals

Briana was awarded an Academic All State certificate and was named to the third all state team for the entire season’s performance.  I told you earlier that she won the Coach’s Award.  Her parents and grandparents are button-popping proud.

Last week, I received the following from my son, Bryant (Briana’s dad):

Seeing your blog today reminded me that if we are going to brag about Briana, I would add that at graduation she had gold cords from NHS and a Silver stole from a GPA of 3.989 and Cum Laude designation (missing the Gold and the “Summa” by only .01).

 Then last night at the Varsity Award night she received her 5th & 6th Letters for Swimming and Water Polo, 8th season “All-Academic” and also received an award and cash scholarship from the Kentwood Athletic Boosters. The KAB hands out 4 awards each year and it is based on coaches’ recommendations and an essay that the kids write.  They announce the winners by reading from their essay—so the winner knows within a few words that it is their essay being read.  Barbara & I knew she was up for some sort of award because we were told to make sure that she was there and that we had our camera—we didn’t tell Briana—lot’s of fun.


There is more to tell you about the weekend, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  I have an ocular migraine and so must stop for today.

Briana’s Busy Weekend ~ Part 1

Briana and the Falcons played in the Women’s Water Polo State Tournament.  On Friday night, they met and lost to Okemos (the first seed) 4 to 9.  Okemos had scored at least 12 goals in previous games this season.  The Falcons felt great.  Her parents, Barbara and Bryant were there to cheer on the team throughout the tournament.  Okemos went on to win the tournament and end the season with a perfect, undefeated record.

Saturday morning, they won against Ann Arbor Huron with a 9 to 7 score.  In the afternoon, they came up against Ann Arbor Pioneer.  The Falcons were on the short end of a 5 to 7 score.  Disappointing?  Not really.

The Falcons had been rated 8th in the state, and they ended their season in 6th place.  That ties the best that the EK Falcons have done in school history.

Eliza was named to second team all-state.  (That means she is recognized as the second best goalie in the state!)  Congrats Eliza!

Briana and Julia were named to the third team all-state.  Julia has just completed her sophomore year, so she’ll have two more years to continue to develop.

And that wraps the water-polo season and Briana’s High School career.  Sylvia and I will miss the games.  Over the last four years, we’ve come to understand the rules and appreciate the plays as well as the players.

And the Winner is . . .

Tuesday evening was dessert night for the Falcon gals’ water polo team.  Sylvia and I had been invited to attend and we were there for that special time.  After folks helped themselves to a selection of yummy desserts, Coach Lane and his assistant summarized the season for us.  First they talked about the gals on the JV team.  Then Coach talked about the varsity.  He called up a couple of freshmen who ended up playing with the varsity by season end.  Then the sophomores followed by the juniors.  It was interesting to see the gals in regular clothes.

It reminded me of an experience at the regional tournament.  I ended up sitting next to a very pleasant chap and soon we were talking.  He is the uncle of one of the players on the Jennison team.  He said, she’s number 11 and she’s 6 ft 1 inch tall when she’s out of the pool.  You’d never know it because in the pool she’s only this high–and he held his hands about a foot apart.  At the time I thought about the way Briana treads water and lifts herself up so that’s she’s out of the water almost to the waist.  It really helps get some power on her shot.

Then coach called on the two seniors that played on the varsity team.  That would be Eliza and Briana.  Eliza has played goalie for her entire High School career.  Her teammates voted her most valuable defensive player.  She was named all conference (only one goalie is selected for that honor).  Briana has played a number of roles and for the last two years she has directed the team from the pool.  Her teammates voted her the most valuable offensive player.  She was second high for scoring with 100 goals and led the team in steals.  Briana was also named all conference.  In addition, Briana was given the Coaches Award.

All too soon, the evening was over and it was time to go.  First, they took a team photo.

These are the gals that will be going to the state tournament this weekend.  We’re hoping that they do well.  In the back row is Julia (high scorer with 112), Sarah (a team captain), Briana, Eliza (both seniors were team captains) and Chloe, who is the tallest gal on the team.

Turns out that Julia is the joke teller.  So they asked her to tell one of her better jokes.  She started laughing uncontrollably.  That’s when someone spoke up to say, “All her jokes start the same way.”  She started to tell her joke, but you couldn’t understand for the laughter.  That’s when Sarah stepped in to interpret for us, “There were two peanuts . . . much laughter . . . walking in the park . . . much more laughter . . . and one of the was a salted.”  The gals on the team broke up in howls of laughter.

It was a wonderful evening and Sylvia and I were so glad to be part of it.  Some of the gals that are tigers in the pool were such kittens out of the pool.  All in all they are a wonderful group of kids, and we’ll miss watching them play.  We’ll have to catch some Grand Valley State U games next year when Briana plays for them.

Briana and Patches ~ Then and Now

Briana and Patches ~ The early days
Briana and Patches ~ May 2010
Patches has been with Briana all the way through her school years.  He was just a pup when she started school and now he is an elderly gentleman.  In dog years he’s as old as Briana’s great grandfather (Sylvia’s dad).  Fortunately, Patches can’t see Briana making fun of his serious demeanor.

Briana’s Baccalaureate Service

Sunday evening was the Baccalaureate Service for East Kentwood High School.  The service was held at Cornerstone Church where Briana and her parents attend.  Sylvia and I met them at their home and we all went to the church together.

I fully expected the kind of service that Sylvia and I had when we graduated.  There was some special music and local clergymen were in charge of the rest for prayers and sermon, etc.  That is not what we saw.  The seniors (High School seniors that is) were in charge and they did everything.  It was one of the most beautiful, moving and well done services I’ve ever attended.

There was special music led by the praise band from the Cornerstone youth group and others.  They young musicians did their part to set the right tone for the evening.

There were words of welcome and then an interpretive dance to Only Hope.  A couple of the seniors sang solos.  There were four different speakers sharing their thoughts, words of encouragement to each other and personal testimonies.

There was a wordless drama in which the girl on the far right is controlled by this group of demons that lead her into substance abuse and an attempted suicide  (issues that young folks face these days).  Things go from bad to worse for our young protagonist.

Then Jesus comes, dispels the demons and frees her from the ropes that bound her.  It was very powerful and very well done.

Becca and Liz sang Temporary Home.  These two gals are not imposing but their voices are powerful.  Seldom will you hear someone of that age that can project a full clear voice the way these two do.  And their harmony is wonderful.  Their song brought tears to my eyes.

Brianas friend, Riane, was the final speaker then we sang a song and were dismissed.  As I said before it was a beautiful, moving and well done service.

Afterward we went to Bryant and Barbara’s house where we had an extended visit and ate some apple pie that Briana had baked.  Yummy!

Special thanks to Sylvia and Barbara for the photos.  Sylvia took the first two and Barbara the second pair.  I wish you could have been there with us.

Happy Birthday Bryant

Happy Birthday Bryant!

He is our first born and better known these days as the proud father of Briana and husband of Barbara.  The photo doesn’t show his red hair.  I was going to write that this shot was taken before color photography, but I know you won’t believe me–and it’s wrong to lie.

Hope you have a wonderful day son.  God bless you and guide each step you take.

Falcons move on to State

Emma, Briana, Eliza

Friday evening, Sylvia and I were present for the Falcons’ game against Zeeland in the regional tournament.  The Falcons came on strong and had a commanding lead at half time.  Late in the fourth quarter, Zeeland tied the score at 6 to 6.  Briana scored once more and the Falcons won 7 to 6.  In winning they assured themselves a berth in the state tournament to be held June 4 & 5 in Saline, Michigan.

On Saturday, the Falcons played twice.  They met regional powerhouse, Hudsonville in the first game.  Going into the fourth quarter, the Falcons were up 5 to 3.  Could they do the impossible?  Evidently not!  Hudsonville scored 4 goals in the fourth and came out of the pool with a 7 to 5 win.

In the afternoon, they met East Grand Rapids.  The Falcons were on the short end of a 6 to 5 score.  The good news is that they are going to the state tournament.  The bad news is that they will probably meet Okemos, probably the best team in the state this year, in the first round.

Briana and Eliza were named to the all-tournament first team.  Julia was named to the second team and Sara received honorable mention.

At state, a Falcon loss to Okemos is not the end of the tournament for the girls.  However, the best they can do after that is fifth place if they win their next two games.  We’ll be following the action.

As a footnote.  Twice before the East Kentwood Falcons have placed sixth in the state tournament, so a fifth would be the best ever for the school.  Check back in a couple of weeks.

Barbara, Briana’s mom, uses the high-speed burst on her digital camera to capture the exciting action.  She has done a couple of flip books.  Each of them is a series of shots where Briana ends up scoring a goal.  As you flip through the images it is an animation as you follow the action of the shot, the flight of the ball, and the score.  Great job Mom!