Risen, Grodacks Brunch & Off to the Bahamas!

This year for Risen, Amy and Kelli were asked to help lead out in the volunteer t-shirt department - we had helped out in years past, so we were familiar with the process for much of it, but still had a lot to learn.  It was relatively easy to get up to speed, and we had lots of takeaways for next year on how to make it even better.  The day was a beautiful day, and so many people came through - one little boy at the end was overhead to say "Now I love Jesus even more!"  That's what it is all about, letting our light shine for Him!

Near the end on Saturday after most of the t-shirts and gifts were handed out - not much left!

Karis helped out with our t-shirt set-up and at oh-dark-30 we were there on Saturday morning to set up to hand out for the security and AV teams.  In addition, he and Kaleb went and helped with the construction aspects!  Kaleb also came over and helped with the Lower Youth Center (Amy was at Warehouse and Kelli was at Lower Youth Center on Saturday).

Addison enjoyed the marketplace again this year.

Sadie located her during her tour time!

Two muskateers - London and Addison

Amy had told Addison to keep her shoes on so that she didn't accidentally step on any splinters etc, and notice what immediately was missing once Amy went back to her t-shirt distribution post! 😒

Amy popped over mid-day to be sure she was getting enough to eat and drink.

And look who I found - Miss Erika!

Afterwards, we helped take things down for Risen - our friends the Hollands are the leaders in that department and who can say no to a lovely friend's request!?

On Easter Friday, Addison and London enjoyed going to watch the Christian Easter movie

The next day we went to Grodacks for the annual Easter Brunch.  Addison found the golden egg (or shall we say, she found the clue that led to the Golden Egg, which Calleigh knew immediately and she was gracious to give the "loot" to Addison - thank you Calleigh for your kind heart!)

Ready to feast!

Ready to hunt!

Ready to eat their candy!

Zachary's FLA senior cruise departed on Monday.  Zachary roomed with a friend Denar, so he was pretty happy about that.  It was on the Royal Caribbean Utopia of the Seas, so it was QUITE the new ship!

Ready to go!

Cristian, Blake, Jake and Denar in front. 
Jon-jon, Zachary, Nathanial, Brandon, JC and Chris (the last four aren't known to us, but they sat at the table with the crew so here they are!)

And just a random picture:

Making pasta together!

Andretti's & Cruisin' Prep

Kaleb's birthday of course is quickly after Zach's and he wanted to go back to Andretti's this year to redeem his first birthday experience there in which he had to ride the "baby" go-carts instead of the fast ones.  So we waited until all of his friends had driver's permits and off we went!

Becca, Lucas, Lily, Leticia, Kaleb, Gabriel D, Evan and Diana

As the normal party system was down, Kaleb had the good fortune of getting wrist bands that allowed them to play every single game/feature that was there at Andrettis rather than having to pick and choose, so they got a lot in!

Go carts of course

Virtual reality

Arcade of course

Weirdo parents! 😂

We had some food over in the bowling area and then ate cake before they finished up their time in the bowling alley.

Where did 17 years go?!  So fast!

Poor Kaleb was the recipient of some light-hearted fun when he got some of his cake icing smashed in his face by a few of his mischievous friends - all in good fun and he took it well!

While Kaleb was having a fun time at Andretti's, Addison was over at Alison's house celebrating her birthday - such a fun afternoon!

Addison, Elin, Alison, Lily, Lele, Shanel and Penny and of course baby Emy!

We always do a birthday treat at home on their actual birthday, and this year Kaleb once again chose a pint of Jeremiah's ice cream - yummy!

A super cool gift that Kaleb got from his friend Becca was a suturing practice kit - he is considering going into medicine so this has been a lot of fun for him to try out! Thanks Becca!

In other news this week, that Sabbath was a busy one as we had the Una Voce concert over at the Apopka SDA Church - this year's songs are just so beautiful, we love to hear them sing!  And we raced home afterwards to host a Sabbath potluck - we are going to the Mediterranean this summer with a big group of friends, and we had everyone over on Sabbath for some final planning / logistics.  It will be a great time!

Random pictures:

Aria loves to snuggle with Addison - and just lays there soaking up all of the affection!

Disney's Singing Workshop

The Una Voce choir wasn't able to go on a trip this year, so Miss Esther found a Disney singing / acting workshop that they could attend instead.  What a fun day - the kids went to work with the Disney team on singing/acting and then after lunch came over to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day in the park.  Amy typically will go and accompany Addison on various field trips, so she took the day off and went as well.  Amy and Kelli carpooled and got down there late morning to meet up with the other moms and ride some of the rides before we joined with the kids. 

We were able to ride Tron (very fun!), Space Mountain (twice), Pirates of the Caribbean, and a few other thrown in as well.  It was hot and we were tired by the time that we got home - but super fun!

We were with a group of moms and the girls from Una Voce, so it was a blast for all to have fun and visit with friends.

Playful, imagining what it would be like!

Very tired mamas at the end of the day!

Terry Shaw Retirement

 At the beginning of April, Amy's long-time mentor and boss - Terry - retired as the current CEO of AdventHealth.  Terry made an incredible impact on Amy's life - helping to grow her career, supporting female leadership, and in many ways made a positive impact on all aspects of her life - whether it was parenting, personal financial money management, general life advice and more.  Recently, he has employed another Zbaraschuk, with Kaleb doing yard work at their house.

He will be deeply missed. He was fun to work with, authentic, relatable, an excellent teacher and mentor.  He took the time to continue to meet periodically with Amy even after she transitioned back to the hospital side of the company back in 2016. 

The company had a farewell event for him, and it was beautifully done, emotionally touching, and very fitting for someone whose fingerprints will last on our company's legacy for many years to come.

Thank you Terry, for caring for me as a professional, a mom, a wife, a friend, and for all the ways that you made my career life a joy - you made coming to work something that I did with delight, and I will never forget that.  I only hope that I can pay it forward to young professionals around me in a similar manner to what you did for me.  AdventHealth won't be the same without you, but we will do our best to carry on your legacy.  Enjoy this next phase of your life!

Amy and Khelsea - he mentored both of us over our careers.  

The Birthday Season Begins!

 Kelli and Zachary share a birthday, and it was a very special birthday for Kelli this year, as evidenced by her funny glasses in this picture!  Karis and the two youngest kids were at at the church's surf safari (a spiritual retreat) out at the beach, so it was just Zachary and I who headed over to her house for dinner that night for a little birthday celebration.   Happy birthday to one of my longest besties!

Surf Safari starts on Friday and ends on Sabbath after lunch, and includes a lot of spiritual reflection time, including watch the sunrise come up.  What a great picture of Kaleb watching the sunrise!

We celebrated Zachary's 19th birthday on Sunday at Top Golf with his friends.  This will be the last birthday party that we throw most likely assuming that he is away at college next year!

Zach, Cristian, Aiden, Jake, Luke, Erick and Blake

We love you, and are so proud of you!

London came over to hang out with Addison one afternoon, and the 

Random pictures:

She is getting so big, pretty soon she will be taller than Amy

After many years of hating the living room rug as it gets dirty instantly, especially with a dog now, we decided to throw in the towel and get a new one.  It isn't expensive, so if this thing looks terrible we will just get a new one every year! 😂

The new one is a shag, so it is very nice on the feet and thankfully hides dirt very easily!

Surprise Delight!

We had a lovely last minute surprise when our dear friends Kevin and Rhonda Hicks came down to Orlando to see their son Erick who is stationed in Jacksonville as part of the Navy - studying to be a nuclear engineer.  They came down to see his apartment and spend time while he was in port, and came down to Orlando for the Sabbath.  We were super excited to be able to see them - they just are so fun and easy to reconnect with - we love you guys!

Erick, Erick holding his phone with Kayley on it, Rhonda, Kevin and the Zs

Phyllis was leaving that week, so we took the opportunity to get together with her one last time with Erika - what a lovely evening!

And this month appears to be the month of bathing Aria - she seemed to be really itchy, so we bought some oatmeal shampoo & conditioner to try and help calm down the scratching.  We took her to the Pet Supermarket metal tubs, and she did quite well!

And after that, we tried doing it again at home in the bathtub - both seemed to be doable as she is pretty relaxed and loves the water - especially if Addison is with her!

That's a wrap for this week!