Update from the Hugans

Well, it has been a few months since I've posted on this blog, so I will try to summarize it all in this post.

In October we celebrated Sandra's birthday on October 9th. I'm so thankful for her! (More on that later.) Then, we began going through a series of doctor appointments due to Katie’s shoulder pain. It turned out that she had injured her shoulder due to over-pitching during last year's softball season. Over the past several weeks Katie has gone through physical therapy, and is in the process of a return-to-throw rehabilitation. We are hoping that her shoulder will become stronger and that she will be pain-free.

November is always one of our favorite months. November 10th was our 21st wedding anniversary. I am so thankful for the godly wife that the Lord gave me. She is truly my “true north”. The Lord has been so good to us over these 21 years, and I look forward to many more years of serving Him with her.

Michael's 18th birthday was on November 15th. It has been an amazing experience, and a great blessing to have raised Michael thus far. As we pray for the Lord’s direction and purpose for Michael, we are seeing the Lord bless him in many ways, day after day. He just recently finished his first semester at the University of Michigan, in Dearborn. Meanwhile, he has a good job working for a very stable company. His is remaining very active in church ministry; especially in the music ministry. He is also a great help in many aspects of the church, many of which are behind-the-scenes. I am thankful to the Lord for his willingness to not only serve in areas that are noticeable to others, but also in ways that only he, I, and the Lord know about. I am looking forward to seeing how the Lord develops him and guides him in the direction of his God-given destiny.

December was, as always, an enjoyable month, despite the busyness of the season. We were able to spend some family time during the holidays with my parents and Sandra's mom, and we are still currently enjoying time with the kids during the holiday break. Although Michael is off of school, he is working every day through the week; he really likes that - especially the paycheck!

That should get us up to date for now. Hope everyone has a happy new year!

The Hugans - November 2011

Happy Birthday Katie!

Today is Katie's 15th Birthday.

Words cannot express our thankfulness for our little girl, turned beautiful young lady. The Lord has blessed in so many ways in regard to Katie. As I look at pictures from the past, it is evident why years ago I began to call her my "Sunshine".
With all the experiences that have come in her life, the Lord has blessed her beyond description. We're so happy for her for how the Lord has and is continuing to work in her life. We are so proud of her!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE!!!

Goodbye To Our Beloved Buddy

In late August we took Buddy to the vet because he kept having ear troubles. When the doctor checked him out, he found some of the lymph nodes swollen. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics. Well, over the next couple of weeks, the nodes kept getting bigger. We took Buddy to another vet on the 6th of September and they did a test that came back positive for lymphoma. We were given a different antibiotic, but it didn't help. Over the the next two and a half weeks we watched Buddy get worse. We were slowly coming to the realization that Buddy wouldn't be with us much longer.

September, 2010

During the last two weeks of Buddy's life our family spent some great quality time with him. Michael and Katie each took their final turns at having Buddy sleep in their rooms. For nine years and nine months Michael and Katie took weekly turns with Buddy sleeping in their rooms on his floor bed. Sometimes they would sleep on the floor with him. Needless to say the kids, as well and Sandra and I became very close to Buddy.
With Michael / 2006

With Katie / 2004

2002

I made sure to get some pictures of Buddy doing some of the fun things he's always done; some of them he had stopped doing because they took too much energy out of him. He wasn't too interested in playing ball much anymore. He used to be great at playing catch; sometimes with his U of M football, and other times with a tennis ball we would hit out in the yard to him. He was awesome at jumping up and catching those balls! He truly was our own "Air Bud", and he loved playing that role. A few times I played "dot" with him (from the laser level we keep in the cupboard). Any time we would get out the "dot" he went crazy; he loved trying to catch that little red dot. It was so fun watching him play that game! All the games we would play with him added so much enjoyment, for him and for us!

Now that he didn't feel good enough to play because of the discomfort (he never displayed that he was in any pain), we got to where we would just take him outside for a walk around the church property. He loved to go outside and walk the perimeter of the property. As a puppy we trained him where the boundaries of the property were, and he was very good at staying within them. Every once in a while a squirrel or a rabbit would get his attention and sometimes we would have to go out and call him to keep him from chasing them too far - I'm gonna miss that... "Buddy, come home!"

(I'll add more memories over time)

This past Saturday, September 24th was going to be a busy day with our youth ministry Fall Festival in the morning and the church Fall Cookout at night. Earlier in the week Sandra and I contemplated how to work the timing out with relieving Buddy of the pain and suffering he undoubtedly was going through. We talked to the kids and decided, with our busy schedule, that Saturday was going to be the best day. I won't even try to describe the pain the four of us were experiencing, especially beginning in the early morning hours on Saturday. The short version (the long version being too painful to describe): we took Buddy to the vet and spent some very quality time (mainly for us) with him. The doctor and his assistant were very gracious and kind. They gave us all the time we needed. As he lay on my lap, we each gave very heart-felt hugs to our dear Buddy and said goodbye to, in our minds, the best dog on the planet.

We are all very, very sad that we had to let Buddy go. We will always hold the memories, some of which I plan to put on a blog about Buddy. Even though the conversations keep coming up about whether or not there is another dog in our family's future, all four of us unanimously agree - we will never find another Buddy.

We thank the Lord for the wonderful 9 years, 9 months He allowed Buddy to be a part of our lives. As Christians we know there is no "doggy heaven" and that Buddy is no more, but we do believe that the joy that Buddy brought into our family was truly a gift from the Lord to season our time here on this earth as we serve Him and look forward to being forever in His presence in Heaven. Still, there is the pain of the loss of a good friend, a great friend - certainly our favorite four-legged friend.

Another Good Year In Softball!

Katie and the Inter-City Varsity Girls Softball team had another "banner" year. And by that I mean they actually won the regional championship - for the second consecutive year!

Michael's Senior Pictures