Yeah, so I pretty much have the most awesome family ever. I got a letter in my mailbox yesterday saying that I had a package to pick up. I wasn't expecting anything, so with a slightly quizzical countenance I headed towards the Dean of Women's Office to pick up my mysterious package. Leanna slightly groaned as she picked it up off the floor and handed it to me over the counter. Now I'm really curious. I first check the return address and see it's from my Aunt and cousins. "Care package!" Ahh, the very thought of it.... Unless you've been a college student you simply could not understand this. I actually opened it right there. The first words out of my mouth were, "That, is a lot of food!" And Life cereal none the less, which I had just ran out of! I was slightly overjoyed. I could definitely use the encouragement this week with finals beginning Thursday (ughh...). So, my belief that I have the greatest family ever has been greatly strengthened. No, not simply because they were nice and sent me cool stuff, but because I know that the care and thought that went into putting this package together is evidence that I am loved and supported by my family. I never want to take this for granted because I realize just how much of a blessing it is to have them! So, to my Aunt Kathie, cousins, Travis, Olivia, Jacynda, and Heidi, "THANK YOU!" It definitely made my day! (it also made people jealous )

- Ryan
P.S. Yes, indeed, Heidi, we need to go ice skating again!
P.S.S. The toilet paper was a nice touch It definitely got some looks when I first opened the package. I also like your suggestion Can't you see me running around tee-peeing peoples rooms!

Tags: Family, Care

IHC 2009 has come and gone. I love IHC! I've been every year I can remember. It's definitely a very busy time these last couple years, but lots of fun. For some more pictures go here. Sorry, I would post more, but I simply don't have time. With finals 11 days away I'm afraid I have some serious amounts of homework to get caught up on.

- Ryan
P.S. Thanks to my awesome cousin Amanda for taking this picture, and the picture of the GBS choir. It's kind of hard to be in the choir and take pictures at the same time

Tags: Photography, IHC, Family, fun, Busy

Over break my family had our family pictures taken for the first time in, well, I really don't remember the last time. I love spending time with my family, and this was a memorable occasion. So many little stories, like me beating my brother repeatedly with a Curious George book in order to get my niece to laugh for a photo. A quite profusely enjoyable experience, I assure you. I love family pictures. They serve as a link to the past. To the memories surrounding them, and the people you care most about. I am truly blessed.


Meet my family. My Grandma & Grandpa Watters, my Mom, and my two older brothers and their families.


They were struggling with where to place me, and just told me to do something, so...


I love being an uncle.


L-R My oldest brother, Jason, wife Kara, Mom, Jenn holding Jayla, my brother Andy, Katie, Me holding Jax, and JeNa.


My middle brother Andy and his family.


Andy & Jenn.


Mom and her grandkids.


Katie looking quite pleased with herself.


Us being stupid (Mom was reading a Curious George book to us). I was laughing riotously!


My Mom, brothers, and I.


My oldest brother Jason, and his wife Kara.


Jason & his family.


The weapon of choice previously mentioned (Curious George book)


Jax, just after running into a wall.


JeLayna sleeping through it all. She has to have major surgery quite soon


They're quite cute, eh?


My one of a kind Mom, and I


My brothers and I. There's four years between each of us.


Us again.


One of my favorite pictures form the entire day!


JeNa posing.


Again, I love being an uncle!

Tags: Family

It seems at times that my break has been just as busy as my semester; but I have had times to relax and kill time. I trust you had as wonderful a Christmas as I did. It was good to spend time with family. I'm afraid I tend to be an impulse driven writer, and at the moment, I don't have the impulse So, I will simply post a bunch of pictures and hope you won't notice.


I was blown out the water to get this! It's a bag to hold both my laptop and my camera when I go on an overseas trip at the beginning of the summer.


Man, I wonder who stole that one piece of cookie dough


Mom holding Jayla


Katie opening a present.


Kara opening her patriotic gift.


My brother, Jason.


My brother, Andrew.



My grandma & grandpa holding Jayla, their fourth great-grandbaby.


Jayla again.


Me holding Jax.


JeNa, Katie, and Jaxon.


My brothers, Jason & Andy.


My grandpa and Andy.


Katie driving the remote controlled dozer.


Jaxon playing around.


We all got t-shirts with our family's name on it.


My aunt, Debbie, and JeNa.


My friend, Becky, came over with her family one night for tacos! (family tradition)


My cousins came up and we went ice skating yesterday. It was a lot of fun. This is Jacynda.


My cousin, Travis.

Hope you don't mind my cop out

Ryan

Tags: Busy, Family, Christmas, Relax

I got another care package today! My cousins heard that I liked to read the Sunday comics as a stress reliever, so they've been collecting them for a couple weeks now, and sent them to me along with two packages of mints and personal letters. It was so cool! I showed everything off at supper tonight. Where would I be without family. I also realized that I never posted any pictures of the newest addition to my room, my chair! My grandma was kind enough to purchase a chair for me and brought it down just before Homecoming (thanks, Travis, for helping me carry it up!). I love it! it is so nice to have. I also get more visitors now Not only did she get me a new chair, she also brought me a new mattress which is substantially thicker than my old one. It also seems that I have a steady inflow of food that my grandma and others send me! Cornbread & butter, homemade peanut butter cookies, homemade rice crispy treats, and other snacks to numerous to count. Life is good in my room right now! So to all of my family who has been so kind to me the past few months, my humblest, and most heartfelt gratitude! It has made my life much brighter. Here are a few pictures of the package and my room.

Ryan










lol, no idea why I did this...

Tags: Care, Family

We had a surprise birthday party for my Mom yesterday at my Grandpa and Grandma's house in Waynesfield, OH. I will gracefully brush past the potentially uncouth age question, and simply state that it involved black balloons. It was a lot of fun. My brothers both came down/over for the event, as well as other family members. I got to see my newest neice, Jayla, for the first time! She is so cute. It runs in the family just kidding. I was able to take a few snapshots of my family as well. The product of said snapshots is evidenced below.

Missionary Convention started tonight with Don Richardson, author of Peace Child. It was fascinating! I was spellbound. If only I could speak like that (as I hear echoes of 2 Cor. 10:12 telling me not to compare myself). It should be a really good convention!

For those of you, who would be so kind, please pray that I can get caught up on my homework. This week is going to be extremely busy, and I am 6' under before I even start. I could really use some divine enabling!

Ryan

Tags: Family, fun, Photography

A lot has happened over the past few weeks, and, unfortunately, I don't have the time to give a lot of details about it all. So, I will resort to a much quicker (and easier for you) way, pictures! Thanks for reading/viewing.

I've been spending a lot of time over at my brothers house. We played a game of chess the other day for the first time in a while. It nearly ended in a stalemate because we think so much alike we anticipated each others moves. Katie officiated, of course .


Our church had its VBS with the theme "Custom Built Garage". I helped out where I could. It was a lot of work for those involved! But rewarding.


Mom and Kara (my sister-in-law) planned a secret excursion for Jason and I last Saturday, and we just had to be along for the ride and guess what came next. It was a blast! Our first stop turned out to be a train ride in a nearby town. I have lived in Adrian for 21 years, but I've never actually ridden the train. Katie loves "Thomas the Train", so she was in heaven. It was a really fun experience.


We then went out for ice cream and a cool place called Handels Ice Cream, and then headed back to Adrian for our final stop. Those of you who know me know that I dearly love to ice skate! And I was overjoyed to find out that was our destination as we neared the ice arena. They dropped off Jason and I, and went to pick up a few groceries while we skated. The place was nearly empty, and so I had some freedom to try a few new things. I'm slowly improving.


A couple days later we went back over to Jason and Kara's for a very good meal, followed by one of my favorite deserts, homemade sugar donuts!! I can eat these things till I'm sick!


Last Thursday, my cousins, aunt, and grandma came up for another ice skating excursion. Again, a lot more fun!


I am now writing this (somewhat hurriedly) from my Uncle Dan's house for my cousin Amber's birthday party. Her boyfriend, Seth Fish, and friend Amber Petty, are also here to help celebrate. It has been a blast!

Clayton goofing off.


Making pizza rolls for dinner


Seth


Amber


Amber


Their very spoiled (and aristocratic) dog, Buddy.

Well, it's after midnight and I need to get to bed. I will try and post a more substantive post at a later date. Have a good day.

Ryan

Tags: Summer, Family, fun

I am writing this sitting in the hospital with my grandparents as they make their fourth trip to the hospital in two weeks. But, don't worry, they're alright. Just a persistent cough that needed to be taken care of. In fact, we walked through the door of the hospital and they said, "He belongs in bed #6" (the bed they are usually in). They were even thoughtful enough to put up a sign.

In case you can't read it, it says, "Watters, George & Bonnie - Honorary Bed." It does make you stop and think though about just how fragile life is. The other day I did some yard work out to my grandparents house, and on they way home I felt something crawling up my leg. So, I pulled up my pant leg a little bit, and pulled off a tick just a little below my knee. Ticks are not fun creatures. Not only do they enjoy the delicacy known as your blood, they are also very hard to kill. On top of this is the chance that it will carry some disease such as Lymes disease. It's kind of scary isn't it. Something 1/100 of my size could possibly carry something that would either kill me, or permanently ruin my health. Life is fragile. That's why it's so vital to have the security of a relationship with Christ.

Across from us is an attempted suicide from a drug overdose. My heart goes out to him. To feel so hopeless. He's not much older than me. People need to know the truth. They need to know that there is Hope, and His name is Jesus Christ. Do you feel the need?

Ryan

Tags: Family, Hospital

My Mom, Grandma & Grandpa, and cousin's Amber and Travis came down to GBS for the last day of Camp Meeting. They not only came for the services, but also to take a load of my junk home. I had already sent home one other load, but without this second trip I never would have gotten everything home! Thanks Travis for traversing the treacherous stairs with me and carrying my stuff down!

Ryan

Tags: Family

It was arranged several weeks ago for me to preach at a youth service that was to be held at my grandparents chuch (Voice of Victory) in Waynesfield, OH. It really snuck up on me, and Thursday afternoon I was in Mr. Craven's office with a pleading look in my eye asking for his assistance. He was gracious enough to lend me aid, for which I am grateful! So, Megan and I left Saturday morning to go meet my grandparents and three cousins at an ice skating arena near Dayton. We skated there for around 1 1/2 hours before going to a Krispy Kreme donut shop for a treat. We then departed with my grandparents back to their house. Saturday night was spent talking and preparing for tomorrow. Sunday morning came soon enough. To briefly summarize it, it went...ok...not good, not a train wreck, just ok. We then had a good dinner before heading back to GBS, arriving around 5:00. It was a very good weekend, and I am glad I went.

Ryan

Tags: Family, Preach

Last weekend Megan, Joy, and I traveled back to MI with Mr. Cravens (who had to preach a revival in northern MI). It was SO much fun! Andy & Jenn traveled up to stay the weekend with us. We went ice skating Friday night where I was finally able to defend myself from Andy's years of spraying me with ice. I got up a lot of speed and with a sudden stop I had successfully covered him with ice up to his knees. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt...sweet revenge He then proceeded to make me fall in a ice spraying contest, 'sigh' So, he did come out the winner after all We then went out to Cracker Barrel for supper and enjoyed a delicious meal. With that we called it a night and Megan went back to spend the night with Joy, and I traversed back to my house. Saturday we met up with Jason, Kara, & Katie at Applebees for lunch, and had a lot of fun spending time with them. Saturday night Jordana Arnold and baby Emma came over and we played ImagineIf. It was a good time and helped my family learn more about Megan & vice versa. I went and picked Megan up from Joy's house Sunday morning and brought her back to my church. Much to the chagrin of everyone, the furnace on our church stopped working and it was approximately 30 degrees in the church. So, we went to the parsonage for service. However, it turned out to be a really good service, and the Lord helped. For supper we had a personal favorite of mine, my Mom's tacos! It's something of a family tradition. Jason & Kara then came over Sunday afternoon and we played Taboo. It was also a lot of fun, and a good time was had by all. We attended Bird Lake Church Sunday night and Megan & Joy sang a special, doing a phenomenal job. We then left to meet Mr. Cravens for the return trip to Cincinnati. It was a long trip and we arrived on campus around 3:15 A.M. Monday morning. Needless to say, I used one of my skips for my 7:00 A.M. class. And that brings you up to date on my weekend. Have a great day!

Ryan

Tags: Family, Break, Relax, Iceskate

We traveled up by Detroit to my Uncle Dan's house today and I went ice skating with my cousins Amber & Clayton Plemmons, and their friends, the Don Newport family. We all had a good time, and believe it or not I didn't even fall. We are going to the iMax tomorrow for my birthday. Have a great day.

Ryan

Tags: Family, fun, Family, Iceskate

We traveled up by Detroit to my Uncle Dan's house today and I went ice skating with my cousins Amber & Clayton Plemmons, and their friends, the Don Newport family. We all had a good time, and believe it or not I didn't even fall. We are going to the iMax tomorrow for my birthday. Have a great day.

Ryan

Tags: Family, fun, Family, Iceskate

We arrived at the cabin in WV around 9:00 P.M. Monday night. After unpacking and choosing bunks we played a few games of Amish Dice. We then retired and waited for the action to start tomorrow. I should pause here and give you a few significant details. First, one of our main purposes of this trip was to bring as many guns as we could and just have fun shooting them. Growing up, my brother and I used to set up army men in the back flower garden and shoot them with bb guns. So, my brother, Andy, had the brilliant idea to recreate this fun memory. I brought my bb gun and he brought his and we went at it. As much as I hate to admit it, I was soundly defeated in this endeavor. But to this day I'll blame it on faulty sites! Also, during that first night it rained profusely! It really pounded down in torrents on the roof of that cabin. This is significant considering another one of our objectives for this weekend was to go ATV'ing. Can you say mudholes OK, now we can move on to Tuesday, the 26. After putzin around the cabin for a while Andy and I decided to go on our ATV trip. Andy's vehicle of choice was a Honda 3-wheeler, and mine was a Suzuki 4-wheeler. So, we set off. After some light riding around the cabin we decided to head off, planning to be back in 20 min.... 2-3 hours later we returned. But man what a trip! The recent rain left the trails and roads with deep mudholes. We both came close to getting stuck, but with a little effort we managed to escape. There were many beautiful sites, including a number of deer. I will spare you the tale of every stream crossed, and mudhole conquered and simply tell you we had a blast and arrived back at the cabin where Andy made chili and venison steak. The rest of the day consisted of Uno, a quick trip to town, Amish Dice, and more eating. We then retired, sad that tomorrow would end it all. We awoke the next morning to the beginnings of a beautiful day! Andy and I set off again for the trails, this time with my camera in tow. We were disappointed to find that the water had significantly subsided in the night and we were not able to capture the full ATV experience of the day before. Still, we had a lot of fun and took a lot of pictures. You can see them here. We then returned to the cabin, packed up and headed out. We arrived at Andy's house around 4:30 that night and I arrived back at my house around 8:00. All in all it was an amazing weekend with many good memories made.

Ryan

Tags: Break, fun, Family, Relax, Photography, ATV

We traveled to Marion, OH today to see the Christmas play at my brothers church. They did a phenomenal job! Ironically they did the same program that GBS did, and so I could not help but sing along with many of the songs from my seat I also took a lot of photos of Andy& Jenn & the kids. You can see these posted in the New Photos page. Have a good day!

Ryan

Tags: Family, Photography, Relax

Hey Everyone, I know this is a bit late, but Happy Thanksgiving! Things have been so busy around here with school, set construction, and narration practice that I haven't had time to post much. I trust you had a good Thanksgiving. Mine was excellent! We went to my Grandparents house in Ohio and spent time with family. Although two of my uncles were not able to attend because of transportation problems. I ate a lot of good food and did a lot of relaxing/sleeping We left there Friday afternoon to return to my home in Michigan where I stayed until I returned to campus on Monday. Overall it was a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend. These next two weeks will be very hectic as I head into the Christmas play and finals. Please remember me in your prayers! Have a great day!

Ryan

Tags: Family, fun, Break, Return

Well, I was headed north on Interstate 71 Saturday afternoon when the thought suddenly occurred to me, "Why don't I just pop up to Andy and Jenn's for the day?" Well, It was only a 2 1/2 hour drive, and I was already headed in that direction anyway...so I did it. Unbeknownst to me Seth and Jordanna were there visiting for the weekend so I was able to see a lot of friends and family! I took a lot of pictures of the kids and posted the pictures on the Photography Page. I had originally planned on coming back that night, but was convinced to spend the night and attend church with them in the morning. It was a very relaxing weekend, and I arrived back on campus around 7:30 tonight. Well, I have met my spontaneity quota for the month Enjoy the pictures.

Tags: fun, Family, Relax