Tuesday, June 2, 2009

May Happenings

My goodness, May was full of all kinds of crazy stuff!
We went to Cincinnati early in the month – just me, Tony and Emma. Tony and I decided one child is EASY!!!! Especially when neither of you is working, the maid cleans your room and a breakfast buffet is waiting for you in the lobby! While we went there for some medical tests for Emma, we were able to sneak in some fun too… We took her to the Children’s Museum and she had a ball.

While we were gone, Zach attended his first Athletic Banquet with his Memee at his side. At Mom’s request, he wore a sport coat and tie! He liked the look so much, he did it again for 8th grade day at Monteleone Jr. High. Next year, Zach will be going to high school – he’ll be attending Lakeshore High School. He’ll be playing in the band as well as on the football team again – and he’s already started the summer weightlifting and speed & agility training …. GO TITANS!
We attended Meghan Brown’s high school graduation – and were honored to be a part of her family dinner celebration that followed the official ceremony. Meghan is such a wonderful young woman – she’s been part of our lives for so long now, we do consider her family. Congrats, Meghan! BTW… she graduated with Honors!

Mia sang at her school’s Spring Concert – she finished her final year at New Covenant Weekday School. She’ll be going to Kindergarten in the fall and will be attending Zach’s alma mater, Woodlake Elementary School. She’ll be one of three Tulli girls attending WES – Sara will be in the 2nd grade and Chloe will be joining Mia in Kindergarten.

Emma was so excited to see her 'Na' (that's Emma speak for Mia) on stage!

Sadly and unexpectedly, PawPaw Mike Matheny passed away on Sunday May 17th… He died of a heart attack within hours of giving his testimony to the congregation of his church, where Michael (his son) is a pastor. The day before the services, Tony piled us all into the car and drove our family the 12 hours to Leesburg, FL. Michael and his church provided the most fitting and beautiful ‘Homegoing Celebration’ at which we got to see a film of PawPaw’s testimony. It was a blessing to see Mike so vibrant just hours before he passed. The church services were followed by a military burial at the Florida National Cemetery – and our motorcade was lead by several Vets on motorcycles carrying the American flag. It was all done beautifully. We will miss him…

So the five of us spent Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend at the Happiest Place on Earth! When we got there, they asked if we were celebrating anything special. I said, “Yes, Life.” PawPaw Mike would have really liked that… And yes, it was hot, and yes, it was crowded… but it’s Disney! The pictures say it all!





And finally, Peter and Tony built the girls a swing set in the backyard – You guys rock!