Tom & Brenda's Family Journal

We are back in Alto right now. I've been working a few days at my schools. Right now I'm working at four different middle schools. Hopkins, Byron Center and two in Caledonia. As I did last year, I'm working with teachers investigating ways to increase their students' achievement in reading and writing. But until school gets going in full swing, I'm doing lots of fun things. When we were up at the cabin two weeks ago, we attended the Boys and Girls Club Ping Pong Tournament with Mom and Dad. It was a fund raiser for their reading lab which my sister Susie runs through the EUP Learning Center. Here's Susie in the first round. She won her first round and had to face her husband Roger in the second round. I felt sorry for Roger because Susie is extremely competitive. It was a hard fought battle with the 2 of them. Roger won the first game and Susie won the second. The playoff game went to 24 -22 before Roger beat her. She didn't take it well. But it...

Since returning to the cabin our days have been fun. Some have been busy and some are simply relaxing. Thursday we took my mother and dad out to celebrate my dad's 82nd birthday. They are always a fun time. Yesterday was our time to work in the yard between the rain storms. One benefit of working in the yard of the cabin is that you have a great view while working. Here I took a short break to watch the Paul R. Tregurtha, a 1,000 footer, pass down the river. You can also see how well my flowers are doing in spite of the little care I give them. Last night we went to the Bay Mills Boys and Girls Club to attend the Ping Pong Tournament. We didn't play but sponsored some friends in this fundraising event. My sister's EUP Learning Center has put a reading lab there and this event was to raise funds for that. Susie & Roger both won their first round and ended up playing each other. That was fun because Susie is highly competitive and she hated eventually losing to ...

We traveled back to the cabin on Monday. We passed through a pretty heavy thunderstorm just south of the Mackinac Bridge. The sky was clearing up as we drove over the Bridge and I took this photo of the sunset. When I looked to the east I saw a beautiful rainbow over Mackinac Island. Yesterday we drove to Escanaba for the UP State Fair. Our good friends, the Bells, were showing their draft horses and we watched the various events all day. Plus we had time to explore the fair and eat some of the best fair food I have ever had. This is Owen Bell, Arlen and Lovada's son, driving in the cart class. This Belgium horse did very well. The Bells who were showing yesterday were Arlen & his brothers Don & Bob. Several of their children and grandchildren also took part. In this competition, there were 5 Bells in the ring at one time. The State of Michigan is no longer funding fairs so the Michigan State Fair near Detroit is no longer. So the UP State Fair is Michigan's on...

I had a blood test this week and I was happy with the results. Let me tell you the whole story. I have always had high cholesterol. It 'runs' in my family. I've been taking Lipitor for several years and that always has controlled it well. Until this year, that is. In my annual blood test this spring, the numbers had skyrocketed and the doctor wanted to increase my Lipitor dosage. I asked Dr. Davis to give me three months to try and bring it down with diet. And she agreed. I was already eating what I thought was a healthy diet. I tried to be low fat and watched my portions but I needed something new. I went to Schuler's Book Store in Grand Rapids and starting looking through their food and diet sections. I came across a book called SOS Diet and it caught my attention. The basic premise is that sugar in foods and also sugar added to food turns into fat immediately. It appealed to me because it made sense and it was simple to implement. I started as soon as I g...

Emma C. Nason Home A Children's home in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan When I first met Tom and was telling him about my family, I said that I had 22 sisters and brothers. But I went on to explain that I lived with my parents at a children's home where they were the directors. For our first year there, I lived right in the large bedrooms with the girls-about 10 of them. Then I was given my own bedroom. My parents had an apartment in the building but my sister Susie was the only one who stayed in it with them. The Emma C. Nason Home has a wonderful history in the Soo. Emma C. Nason was a woman who moved to the Soo in the early 1900's from New York. Her goal was to start a home for wayward sailors. I'm sure there were many of them in the Soo during that time. Nason's vision for this home must have changed over time and she actually established a home for unwed mothers on Ridge Street. So when the city leaders started a children's home, they named it the E...