"Shelley is someone special. Her relationship with the children and their families at the children’s hospital where she works as a registered nurse shows her love for them, whether she is planning crafts and activities for the children, bringing in a meal for a family, to being asked to be one’s Godmother. One sees her special bond with children when nieces or nephews spend the night, reading stories, doing crafts, giving horseback rides, or just spending time together watching a movie. Having nursed a colt, to saving an abandoned, starved kitten, she shows abundant love, care and concern to all people and animals. Shelley loves living in the country- the animals, walks in the moonlight, gardening or just swinging in the backyard. She looks forward to sharing these things with a child."
-- Tim

Our niece Danielle loves to go for a ride on Kreme

We are very close with our families and value special occasions together. Shelley is the oldest of three. Her parents live close. Both retired early to spend more time with family. Her mom first retired to baby-sit for our niece, Danielle, when she was born, and is looking forward to caring for another grandchild.

Shelley’s sister, April, and brother, Brett with their families live within a half an hour drive. April has a daughter, Danielle, who is in pre-school. Brett and his wife, Maddie have 3 girls, Samantha, Alexandra , and Brittanny. They range in age from elementary school to junior high school. When all of our schedules permit, we get together for dinner, birthday parties, the kids baseball games or school programs. We also have many cousins in the area, which brings many family weddings, birthdays and holiday get-togethers.


Shelley's grandma with many of her grandchildren
and great-grandchildren at a recent
family wedding.

Tim is the middle child. He has two brothers and two sisters. His parents and sister, Judy, live in South Bend, Indiana, just a couple of hours away. His sister, Becky, her husband, Paul, along with their 3 boys, Calvin, Evan, and Ian live about half an hour from the folks. The boys are in preschool and elementary school.

Tim’s brother, Greg and his wife Phyllis live in Denver, Colorado. They have 2 adult daughters. Tim’s brother, Mark, and his wife, Cherie, adopted their daughter, Megan, and live about half an hour from us. We attend the same church. When she was younger, Megan thought Aunt Shelley’s lap was the best seat in the house (and at times still does).

We spend a week with the entire Peters’ gang on the beach each summer. Imagine a dozen adults and four kids (soon to be 5) in one house. We always have a special event for the kids, such as, a pirate treasure hunt or a themed birthday party. Two years ago we even had a surprise wedding. Tim’s folks renewed their wedding vows for their 50th anniversary.


The Peters' family Florida vacation

We refer to our pets as our 4-legged kids. They include 3 cats, 2 golden retrievers (who love to play fetch), 2 full size horses, 7 miniature horses, a miniature mule and a miniature donkey. The 6th and 7th miniature horses were born this past spring. The joke around us is that the donkey is the neighborhood alarm clock. If she hasn’t been fed by 6:00 am or pm, she lets everybody know.

We started raising miniature horses so that the nieces and nephews could learn about horses without fear. We get many visitors, adults and children just wanting to see the horses. Claire, our 4-year-old neighbor likes to come down to visit “her” horse and take a ride. We are active members of Pilgrim Lutheran Church and have taken our minis to several church functions for the children, including the summer school program and “Rally” Sundays. The children have enjoyed riding, petting, and having their pictures taken with the horses. We have also been asked to bring them to another church for more children to enjoy.


Nephew Evan with Bailey!