Quality time with Nellie

We've had a lot of good times with Nellie this winter as she lives out her senior year as a flute player and future music major. 🤞We've been to Holland, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Haslett, and East Lansing in the last couple of months for auditions, lessons, and All-State Band - and we're not done yet! It's been fun, though a tiny bit stressful as a parent waiting and hoping.

First was the All-State Band prep and concert in Grand Rapids. Kevin and I met Nellie after work on Thursday and stayed through Saturday. We got to stay at the Amway Grand, which was an experience in itself! It felt very metropolitan, and we got to eat good food and go ice skating at the Rosa Parks Circle ice rink, which was a highlight even though I was terrified about broken bones the whole time. And it was freezing. The concert was beautiful and we were blessed and thankful to have lots of family there!

Ready to perform!

Fancy dinner the first night

Skating!

It was totally her idea, and I'm glad we went.

With the best music teachers around!

It was hard to get a picture, but here are the flutes!

The view in the hotel

The view from the hotel

As soon as that was over, it was time to audition. We were at WMU, Hope, and MSU all within a week. The WMU audition was a fun way to spend Valentine's Day - we carpooled with Nellie's bestie and her mom and we got to introduce them to our favorite coffee shop!

Waiting at WMU

Before

After

Waiting in Holland

Finally, I got to accompany Nellie for both district and state solo and ensembles. Those are always great days for me - we have a routine now that includes good food (Thai Princess) and coffee (Moka and Co.) And I've gotten over my nerves on Nellie's behalf because she's always so calm, though I definitely teared up during her solo at states. 

My favorite sign at Haslett High School

Woodwind quintet

All those notes!

A duet with Ellie, a super talented freshman! Nellie and Ellie - adorable.

Bonus photo of us driving to Hope for a flute lesson on a very snowy and cold day

It's hard to believe this particular season of our lives is coming to a close! I'm so thankful for these experiences this year.

Snow days, winter 2025

Our January snow (and cold) days came at the perfect time this year, because three of us had influenza and needed the time to recover! So it was very chill.

The first day was MLK Jr. Day, so not technically a snow day, but it was extremely cold and we were headed to Hope University so Nellie could have a flute lesson with the professor there. I took Nellie and the three youngest because it was a work day for Kevin, and it might not have been the best idea. As soon as we hit Lowell or so, we were driving in some pretty intense winter weather conditions! It was a fun adventure but a little unpleasant.

Driving conditions in West Michigan

Day 2 was a lot more restful

Poor sleepy and sick Mary!

By Day 3 we were at least healthy enough for puzzles!

Some meds, a homemade peppermint stick mocha, and my favorite puzzle

Welcome, 2025!

The first time I remember the year 2025 ever crossing my mind was when Nellie enrolled at LCS for the first time as a MWF afternoon preschooler. She received a certificate that read, "Congratulations Nellie - Class of 2025" and I thought to myself that it had a nice ring to it. How did we get here already?

Now here we are, celebrating New Years for the last time with all these kids living under our roof. We decided to head north for some time in the woods for an old-school Wernet party for the first time since 2019/2020. We enjoyed all our favorites - some hiking and hunting, Back to the Future, games, a variety of appetizers, homemade Pin the Ball on the Tower, and lots of noise and sparklers with sparkling juice at midnight!

New Years up north circa 2017 - it was a lot snowier and colder that year!

A little hiking and tree climbing

A little Spoons and Back to the Future. I can't for the life of me get a good photo out of Eddie, but he was the Spoons grand champion.

Sparklers at midnight

Family night hike!

Pin the Ball on the Tower. Mary didn't win but I did much worse!

Looking back and ahead, here's what we had to say about our favorite 2024 memories and our commitments for 2025:

Mary: One favorite memory was leaving for Sault Ste. Marie right after school in October. Another was going to the Tigers game and they beat the Brewers 10-2. Her goal for 2025 is getting better at making decisions. 

Eddie: Playing Spoons and watching Back to the Future.🙄His goal is to get taller.

DJ: When the Tigers went to the playoffs and beat the Astros. He wants to do more strength and conditioning workouts.

Annie: Taylor Swift concert! And all the "up north" trips were really great. Annie wants to prioritize her relationship with God this year and making sure she has the right level of motivation for the right things

Nellie: Her top three are the Germany trip, flute concerto, and the Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins concert. Her goal is to have more balance so that she has margin to focus on her overall wellbeing.

Kevin: Rend Collective concert, two Tigers games, Annie running in states and Nellie playing in states on the same day, getting a huge deer, the Green Day concert. His first idea for a goal in 2025 started with "invent a basketball player," so we'll just leave it at that. 

As for me, I think my favorites were all named already! Finding out about Nellie winning the concerto competition while we were shopping for Annie's homecoming rep dress was pretty amazing, though, so that might be my top moment of 2024. Then the Tigers game, the Taylor Swift concert, trips to Petoskey and Sault Ste. Marie, and time with our extended families. Hearing the kids and Kevin make music (singing, piano, flute, saxophone, ukulele, guitar, and now trumpet, drum set, and banjo) isn't exactly a memory but it's a great source of joy. 

My goal is both simple and enormous. To summarize, it's to love others well. I've been thinking about that for four months, since Pam died. Because one thing is for sure, Pam loved us well. In the turmoil of those first days, I found myself wondering, how do we survive such a great loss? The only answer I have is to commit to loving those around us better, as fully as we can. To be more gracious, more present, more patient, more interested in understanding than being understood.

We woke up to a surprise snowfall this morning. Happy New Year!

DJ, age 13

It might take me a while to get used to having a teenage boy in the house! I've heard stories of kids eating a whole box of waffles for breakfast and second dinner at midnight. :) But really, we're excited for what this year holds for DJ. We have so much fun cheering him on in baseball, basketball, and soccer. He has great friends at LCS for whom I am so grateful, and DJ is a good role model for Eddie and Mary. I love having him in the middle school (he might not exactly feel the same) because I get regular updates from his teachers and can hang out with him in Math Club! DJ remains my favorite person to watch sports with because he always knows what's going on, what the foul was about, who that player is, and why the coach is so mad. He does not care, however, how many Taylor Swift sightings there have been.

DJ is reliable, hard-working, and consistently wants to do the right thing. He gets cooler by the year and I pray this one is a great one for him. He's not a man of many words with the interviews, but we hope you enjoy. Love you, DJ!

Birthday morning!

Playing a sax solo at the Wacyk Christmas party

First day of 7th grade

Playing with some honey bees

So it was a sad day when DJ was too sick with pneumonia to go trick-or-treating. But he put on all his Michigan sports gear for a quick picture and his siblings, cousins, and friends were very generous in sharing their candy!

DJ chose an MSU basketball game with friends for his birthday "party"

What is your favorite memory from the last year?

I don't even remember all the way back to the beginning of summer! Maybe my really good soccer season this fall.

What is one way God's been working in your life this year?

Helping me to try harder with my responsibilities, things that are important, like sports and schoolwork.

How do you feel about being thirteen?
I don't know, it doesn't feel that different!

What are you most looking forward to in the next year?
Being a teenager and doing teenage things. Baseball season, being an 8th grader I guess.

What is one goal you have for next year?
Being a better baseball player, working on my hitting power.

Who would you say are your best friends?
Ira, Wesley, Caleb, Jurian, Cullen, Amado, Jack. Otto, Eddie, Mary, and Alexa.

What are your strengths?
Learning new things, getting along well with others.

What careers are you considering?
Football player, baseball player, basketball player. Maybe a math teacher.

What’s your favorite song or type of music?   
The Beatles songs on my iPod, but I don't really have a favorite song.

What's your favorite food?
Chicken pot pie 

Current favorite movie?   
The Sandlot or Back to the Future

Current book(s) you're reading?
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Favorite color?   
Green

Favorite place to be?
I don't know, maybe home.

What are your favorite things to do? 
Play sports, read, hang out, play with cousins and siblings and friends.

What was your favorite present?
Either my Kirk Cousins jersey or my new Lego set [he's working on a Mars Rover during this interview!]

Is there anything else you want us to know about you? 
I don't think so.

Christmas 2024

This Christmas held most of our favorite traditions and lots of surprises, laughter, and good food. One thing I love about the kids growing older is that they can tell me what their favorite traditions are - some I didn't even think of! Like the way they sit on the stairs until they're allowed to come downstairs, or how Annie and Mary lay in bed together tracking Santa on the iPad until they get tired. I love that the kids are buying their own gifts for each other (Annie and Nellie even have their own money!) and that they all are becoming thoughtful gift-givers. They had some creative homemade gifts, too. 

Interactive picture DJ made for Kevin

It was a wonderful Christmas week, if a little jam-packed. We sure missed Pam this holiday season, but we extra appreciated the time we had together and with all our family. 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Here are some photos of special moments, in no particular order.

The kids all got paper crowns in the crackers Genny and Jason brought! Love this crowd!

The biggest gifts this Christmas were an electric drumset and banjo - they are getting a lot of play so far!

Christmas apples and oranges

Ready to open presents!

Christmas Eve service with Grandpa Mike

Look at all the special guest cookie decorators!

Uncle Kevin teaching Ira how to build a fire

Family selfie at candy cane lane, with coffee

A newer tradition is a low-key Wacyk grandkid musical revue! They are a talented crew!