Wernet Fall Round-up 2024: Annie

Sophomore year is the kind and gentle year of high school, in my opinion. You know the ropes but the workload isn't as intense as junior and senior year. Annie is transitioned into 10th grade pretty smoothly this fall! There was no fall musical for her this year so she could focus on cross country. It was another great season; her teammates and coach are amazing, Annie improved significantly, and they went to states for the second year in a row! 

The biggest day of Annie's year involved running in the state meet in the morning, then zooming to Indy for the Taylor Swift concert that night. It was a little overwhelming but a lot of amazing. I will treasure that time with her forever, and I'm thankful for all her patience with my worrying about driving and parking navigating our way around an unfamiliar city.

Annie also continued with Chorale and made it into the regional honors choir again. Last year we were in Florida, so we were excited to make it this time!

In between all that, Annie enjoyed spending time with Robynne when she visited from college and hanging out more with friends. Now on to basketball and auditions for the spring musical, Annie!

Honors Choir at WMU - Annie is in the back row on the left

Hanging out at Impression 5

The concert of a lifetime!

Okay I took this because it was funny to see urinals in the women's bathroom at Lucas Oil Stadium but Annie is also adorable.

The big day - taking down the last link in the countdown chain!

Papa John made it to a choir concert!

This one is bitter (the night of Pam's funeral) sweet (falling asleep over her homework)

The first cross country meet. Her teammate-besties are wonderful friends.

Wernet Fall Round-up 2024: Eddie

Eddie decided to pass on soccer this fall to try out a musical! He auditioned for the Midway Theater Company's show, Honk Jr., and played Billy the duckling. It was hard work every weekend this fall, but he loved it and it was a blast watching him in the show. The tap dancing was a particular highlight. 💛

As a fifth grader, Eddie also got to start playing in band - he chose the trumpet with hopes of playing horn eventually. If you stop by and you're really lucky, you can hear saxophone, trumpet, flute, and piano practice going on at the same time! (Possibly some guitar, drums, or banjo, too.) Eddie's still taking piano lessons, too, so he is definitely leaning into his love of music right now.

Just "hatched"

Learning stage makeup from Annie in the staff coffee room

First band concert

Wernet Fall Round-up 2024: DJ

DJ had a relatively relaxed fall. He played soccer on the 7th and 8th grade team, and they played really well. I have precisely zero pictures, though! With everything else going on, the season went by in a bit of a blur. Soccer season blended right into the early middle school boys' basketball season. We appreciate these opportunities for him to continue growing as an athlete, and he's been fortunate to have the same great coaches several years in a row. 

Aside from sports and and schoolwork, DJ is a student ambassador, still plays saxophone, and likes being in Math Club. He actually missed a lot of school this fall between time off for Pam's funeral, his little battle with pneumonia, and a couple of long weekends to hunt with Kevin, he became the first Wernet kid to be on attendance probation! 

A photo of "doing what he loves" to add to the middle school wall display

Fall band concert! Not pictured - desperate shopping trips and an overnight Amazon order to find everything for the uniforms.

Wernet Fall Round-Up 2024: Nellie

Nellie's main thing this fall was the Grand Ledge Marching Band. She was the senior drum major and played a flute solo, which was super cool and a little crazy. 

But the other big story in Nellie's life was college application season! She had already done most of the application before she tagged me in, and I was surprised - though I share an office with the College and Career Counselor and should know better - by what an elaborate and somewhat confusing process it all is, even with (or especially with) the Common App. I learned a lot, so hopefully I'll be better prepared for the next four go-rounds. We spent hours at the kitchen table reviewing data, navigating music school applications, looking at scholarships, and brainstorming essay topics. Nellie drafted essays on our way home from the U.P. in October. While I drove, we'd discuss, then she'd write, then we'd switch drivers, and we'd discuss and I'd edit. It was great!

There were visits to U of M with Kevin and visits to WMU and Hope College with me. Nellie continued for a third year with the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony and auditioned for the All-State Honors Band. She started three AP courses and continues to work at the Sun Theater to round out her senior year. For most of the season, we didn't really see her much! We're all thankful that marching band has wrapped up so we can spend just a little more time together. Well, I'm very thankful for that, Nellie is probably a little thankful. 

First day of senior year!

Fall Homecoming

Senior Night

Conducting at Ford Field

SYWS chamber concert

GLMB Banquet

Visiting Hope - we were both enamored with the campus

Senior pictures 💗

Fall 2024 and life lessons

Fall has been a very full-of-life time in the Wernet household, and this year was no different! We had months of marching band, soccer, cross country, music and dance lessons, hunting, and a musical. School life is a bit of a hurricane from August to December every year, we helped my dad move his "home base" to an apartment in Grand Ledge, and both boys had a bout of cold/flu and DJ ended up with pneumonia. We lost Pam, then Chief and a coworker or Kevin's. We (primarily Alex, Kevin, and John) worked through the difficult process of managing Pam's estate and several weekends were spent sorting and packing and cleaning at the house. And over and under and through it all was the grief, which felt like a mist that settles into all the gaps and cracks of our lives.

Something I think I knew in my head but really sunk into my spirit this fall was how much joy and sorrow, delight and difficulty can and will coexist. For most of my life, I've seen things in black and white - it's a good day or a bad day, a good week or a bad week, a good season or a hard season. But over and over in this current season, things were wonderful and filled with joy and delight and the same time that stresses were piling up, relationships were challenging, and sadness was deep. And I learned that to live most fully, you can - you need to - lean into both the joy and the sorrow. Luckily, we don't have to do that on our own strength (Psalm 46). Here are a few of the delightful moments from our fall.

Looking through photo albums together at Pam's

Family trip to the U.P.

Robynne joined us and we enjoyed the weather

An artist at the coffee shop offered to sketch their favorite characters

Sorting out candy after trick-or-treating

The Halloween crew

Dad and daughter date to see the marching band state finals at Ford Field (while Annie and I drove to see Taylor Swift in Indy!)

On a day off in November, we have a tradition of going to the bookstore to pick out a book. One of my favorite days! This particular time, the kids all ended up with peppermint mochas instead of peppermint hot cocoas. The barista assured me they only have "a little espresso." 

Then a trip to Impression 5

Some impromptu cousin hangout time. It was impossible to get a good picture.

Annie teaching Eddie how to apply stage makeup in the LCS office.

Turkey Trot date

Thanksgiving - four generations of Tuinstra women! It was wonderful to spend some time with my grandma.

The kids were banished to the basement after Thansgiving dinner so we could clean, so they wrote and performed a play for us. Here, they are stargazing before travelling into space.

Mary Cate is officially eight

 For most of her life, Kevin's sang a song to Mary that goes something like:

Mary Cate, Cate, Cate
She is so great, great, great
Even though, though, though
She was one week late, late, late!
Mary Cate, Cate, Cate
She is so great, great, great
And I can't wait, wait, wait
Until she's eight, eight, eight!

And she finally is!

We 💝 Kerry Carpenter

Presents around the campfire

Birthday decorations on vacation!

I can't think of another year in which a child changed quite so much. Mary's always been nervous to the extreme about trying new things or being without her family, and being nervous makes her MAD. Then all of a sudden, Mary got brave. She started piano lessons, soccer through LCS, basketball camp, spending the night with grandmas, and softball. She has always been (understandably, I suppose) terrified of being upside down but this year she learned how to do somersaults and tricks on the bars. I guess it was just a big year of growth! I also think that she came to the realization that if she can tough out life with two older brothers, the rest of the world is relatively kind and gentle. :) After her first night of softball practice, for example, she told me that she doesn't like playing outfield with her brothers because "she's the only one out there and they're really hard on her," but at softball "there are like three other girls playing outfield and everyone's nice! It's easy!"

 Mary loves 3rd grade, her after school dance class, playing outside, and chatting. Her birthday itself was a little rocky; it was the week Aunt Pam passed away and we spent the day out of town for Labor Day weekend then funeral preparations. But we made the most of it and it was fun to celebrate with all her Wernet cousins, aunts, and uncles. Mary is still just as much her spunky self and who knows what this year will bring?

How do you feel about being eight?  

Good! I feel like I've grown 5 inches but really it's only like 3 centimeters.

What kinds of new things do kids to when they're 8?   
I don't know...I'm not a regular kid, though. [Okay...what do YOU think you'll be able to do now that you're eight?] Actually be able to reach that branch when I climb the tree next to our house. Now I actually want privacy sometimes, I don't want to be around everyone all the time. Especially when I'm outside. I'm an outdoor person.

What are you most excited about for the next year?
Playing ukulele in music. Learning and doing more advanced stuff.

Who are your best friends?

Hannah and Emma, Abigail, Julianna, Elliot, Kenzie.

Who are your favorite people to play with?
Eddie, actually. All my friends, Charlotte, Alexa.

What kinds of things are you pretty good at?

Piano, math, writing (my hand never gets tired), rollerblading, running, sports, reading, including people, being funny, kayaking.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Astronomy scientist, teacher, be a good mom. 

Why are you interested in those things?
Well I want to be a mom because I want to take care of people. For astronomy I love to learn about space and I did a project on Neil Armstrong. I like the idea of teaching.

What’s your favorite song?   
Rewrite the Stars from The Greatest Showman, and any songs from The Greatest Showman.

What's your favorite food?
Pesto pasta or Swedish meatballs.

Favorite movie?   
The Greatest Showman

Favorite book?   

The Chronicles of Narnia or the Penderwicks series.

Favorite color?   
Blue

Favorite place to be?

At home, Fun Tyme, or Impression 5. Papa John's house in Sault Ste. Marie or Grandma's in Petoskey. Also Florida.

What are your favorite things to do?   
Math, music, playing outside, read (especially learning, so nonfiction), hiking.

What was your favorite birthday present?

The Kerry Carpenter poster

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?   
Strangely, my favorite planet is Mercury.

Our most devoted cheerleader

It's been over a week since we got the news that Aunt Pam had passed away unexpectedly. For a variety of reasons, I couldn't put "pen to paper" until today, sitting in her house among her things with the morning sun shining in (finding it rather rude that the sun has the nerve to shine so bright today). It's hard to explain why the loss of my aunt-in-law is so great, though if you're a faithful reader I'm sure you've heard Pam's name showered throughout our memories. Pam was our close friend, first and foremost. She was our most devoted cheerleader, our caregiver, our reluctant matriarch. She was our host for countless summer days, winter weekends, wedding showers, baby showers, and so many birthdays. She was there for us with wedding planning, hospital visits to meet new babies, sporting events, and concerts. She was our link to the past.

Pam saw us at our best and our absolute worst (oh the stories I could share) and loved us all the more. She was there for nearly all the big moments in our lives and infinitely many small ones. She was a solid presence, and I think what struck me this week was how much joy she brought us simply because she delighted so greatly in who we are.

Because of all that, we have so many memories and I wish I could write them all down. But here are just a few.

• I met Pam on a late evening in May when Kevin suggested at the last minute we drive over from WMU's campus. Because that's what college students do, I guess! She was wearing her bathrobe (long-sleeved and floor-length, always) drinking Pepsi in the kitchen, and I was a little embarrassed to show up unannounced. I didn't know then that Kevin was as much at home at their house as his own. Pam welcomed me like I was family that night and every day since.

• In the last months before our wedding, I student taught at a rural school about 40 minutes from campus but a relatively short drive from Pam's. To save some driving time, I would stay overnight with Pam on Wednesdays. I had never watched The Bachelor in my life, but there was a girl on that year from Kalamazoo so we decided to watch until she was kicked off. She was one of the two finalists (if that's what you call it - it's been awhile) so we ended up watching the whole season. There was a lot of deep analysis of relationships and a lot of laughter.

• The first Thanksgiving after we moved to Grand Ledge, we attempted to host dinner for both our families and Pam stayed with us for a couple of days. The night before Thanksgiving, probably around midnight, I went to take the turkey out of the fridge and discovered it was still partially frozen. And also that I knew nothing about raw turkeys. I just remember Pam and John falling out of their seats laughing while I tried to thaw it, remove the neck and whatnot (I nearly fainted), and figure out with some difficulty which end was which.

• A favorite memory for me as I reflected this week has been Christmas a couple of years ago. Pam was planning to stay Christmas Eve night, but we were watching a big snowstorm forecast and Kevin convinced her to come a few days early. She got to be there for cookie baking and decorating, gift wrapping, and the general frenzy of Christmas at the Wernet house. She was our first real guest in the office bedroom (that we set up when Nellie broke her leg the second time). The storm did hit, so Pam ended up staying through Christmas and several days past. When she was finally able to go home, I remember how, after all the craziness of the week, and regardless of the fact that our house was still full of people, it seemed a little empty without Pam there. She'd stayed much longer than anyone had planned, and we missed her.

And although we can rejoice that we will see Pam again, we miss her now, and I am sure we always will. 

Some favorite photos, in no particular order: