A Very Useful Engine...

Jared's current obsession is Thomas the Train.  He L-O-V-E-S Thomas!!!  Would watch him 24/7 if I'd let him! 

So, when we found out Thomas would be in the Cincinnati area the same weekend we were going to be there, it was a no-brainer.  We booked tickets for Harold, Jared, and MaKenzie to ride on THOMAS!  I don't know who was more excited, Jared and MaKenzie or Harold and me.

When we arrived, there were several activities.  A VERY TALL juggler,

A hay bale maze,

Tatoos,

And a photo op with Sir Topham Hat!

Then it was time to board the train!  ALL ABOARD!!!

The excited passengers said their last goodbyes from the train windows

then settled into their seats for the ride of a lifetime!

The rest of us, who were left behind, waved a final farewell,

then high-tailed it over to the ice cream joint we spied as they were boarding.  We had to hurry, we only had 25 minutes before they'd be back!!!

If this wasn't a post about Jared, MaKenzie, and Thomas, I'd tell you the funny story about why Jonas is standing by the cow.  It involves a double dip cone toppled on the ground during the first bite.  It's all good though.  They replaced it free of charge!

The train passengers returned safe and sound just as we were finishing up our cones.  They had a blast and were stocked with conversation material for the rest of the weekend!  They never wearied of telling us all about how tired Thomas got and how they had to cheer him on to encourage him to make it the rest of the way back to the station!  Phew!  I'm so glad Thomas made it back!  What would I do without my 2 little sweeties and all their stories???

Take Us Out To The Ball Game...

One of the afternoons while we were in Cincinnati, we headed out to a Red's game!  This was the first time we'd taken all the kids to a big league game.  Harold grew up in Cincinnati, but hadn't been to a game since the Red's began playing in the new park.

The weather man called for scattered thunderstorms that day, so we were a little nervous that we'd have to run for cover at some point during the game, but we only felt a couple drops and the sun actually came out for the middle of the game.  The cloudiness was nice, it kept us cool, and there was a nice breeze for most of the time.

We ended up with great seats.  We were just to the right of home plate up high enough to have a great view of not only the whole ball park, but also of the Ohio River and some of the city surrounding the ball park.

We got there early and found our seats, taking in all the sights and sounds.  There's nothing like hearing the organ playing all the fun ditties and the announcer's booming voice.  We dug into our peanuts we had bought on the way in.

This was Lena's birthday, so Daddy bought her a special treat of her favorite--COTTON CANDY!!!  Nobody loves cotton candy like Lena!

We had a ball park lunch of hot dogs, chips, popcorn, and pop.  A trip to the ball park's just not complete without a hotdog!!!

Matthew enjoyed all the music and cheering!  He didn't like it when the sun came out, so we had to go out and walk around the breezeway to cool off.  He was a much happier boy when the clouds made their appearance again.

Jared loved the game.  He cheered and clapped and laughed the whole 9 innings.  He would repeat the announcer's phrases and add his own commentary occasionally.

Everybody had fun watching the game.  The kids were all very into it.

Sadly, the Red's didn't win the game that day.  But I think the day was a success anyway!  We all had a great time just taking it all in and being together.  What could be better?

Happy Birthday My Sweet Girls!!!

Lena's and MaKenzie's birthdays are only a day apart.  This year we had a camping trip planned over the weekend of their birthdays.  The trip originally was scheduled around a couple of doctor appointments and a Thomas the Train event that Jared and MaKenzie were going to attend, and since it was the girls' birthdays, we got to celebrate those, as well.

MaKenzie wanted to eat at Skyline for her birthday!  When the waitress found out it was her birthday, she asked if it would be okay for them to sing to her and bring her an ice cream.  Well, of course it was!!!  I wish I had had my video camera!  It was so cute to see MaKenzie's reaction to them singing to her.  She belly laughed the whole time! 

The next night it was Lena's turn to choose.  Not surprisingly, she chose Cracker Barrell--she's a big fan of their pancakes, especially those cute little syrup bottles.  Toward the end of dinner, I had to take one of the other children to the bathroom and when I came back to the table, we had MISSED them singing to her!  I was SO disappointed, but have it on good authority that she was pleased as punch with the whole thing and she REALLY liked the sundae they brought her.  The "icing on the cake" was Jared singing Happy Birthday to her (quite loudly) for the rest of the time we were there!

That night after we returned to the camper, we had cupcakes and presents.  I loved this picture of them diving in to their gift bags.  A sweet reminder that these precious girls ARE the true gifts!  My gifts!  I am so thankful for their bright sunny personalities.  Their giggles and girly games bring a touch of sweetness to our house full of boys!  Happy birthday my sweet girls!  May you always be as sweet and joy-filled as you are today.

Good reminders...

Before you read this conversation, you have to know...Jared says my name a MILLION times a day.  Often to ask the SAME question he just asked 43 other times, getting the same answer.  I guess he thinks if he ask ONE MORE TIME, he might get a new answer.  Not happening.  So, sometimes he'll say "Mommy" and I ignore him in hopes he won't ask the 44th time.  Today was a little different.

Jared:  "Mommy....Mommy!....MOMMY!!....MOMMY!!!!"

Me: (exasperated) "WHAT, Jared?????

Jared: (in a dreamy voice and said with the sweetest smile) "Look at the pretty clouds!"

And they were...GORGEOUS!

How thankful I am for my sweet boy.  I'm thankful for all of my kids, of course, but Jared, MaKenzie and Matthew remind me on a DAILY basis to appreciate the little things...the simple things...the beauty God gives all of us to enjoy each day. 

How Do These Things Happen?

So, one morning, we were sitting in the house, minding our own business, when down our driveway comes a neighbor from 1/4 mile or so down the road.  He was wondering if we were missing a pig cause they had a stray one at their place.  Nope, ours were all accounted for---in the freezer.  But we knew our other neighbor had just gotten some pigs and they were away from home, so John Wesley got on the 4-wheeler and rode over to see if it was theirs.

Turns out the stray was a cute little pot-belly.  Even though it wasn't one of the ones that we had seen of the neighbor's, we knew they had talked about having a pot-belly, so maybe it WAS theirs but we just didn't know they had gotten a new one.  So, John Wesley said we would keep it until they got back.

Turns out it WASN'T their pig after all and the other guy who had it to begin with didn't want it.  So...meet Wilburta.  (You know, like Wilbur, from Charlotte's Web, only this is a girl, so Wilbur-TA!  Makes perfect sense, right?  We thought so!)

Memories...Not Perfection...

(John Wesley making some crazy moves on some unfortunate fly that kept bothering him!!  Haha!)

This past weekend, we loaded up the camper and headed for a nearby campground. Harold had a few work-related meetings lined up at the state park where we were camping, but for the most part, we were just looking forward to relaxing and having a good time.

We brought Anna, William’s dog, with us for her first camping trip! Being a “farm” girl, she has almost NEVER had to be on a leash, so she doesn’t really understand how they work. To illustrate…Harold had Anna in the bus with him as he went to drop the kids off at the tennis court early on Friday morning. On the way back to the camper, he stopped to help one of his volunteers with trying to get her keys out of her car. Anna didn’t like being in the bus alone, so she jumped out the driver’s window after him. What she didn’t understand was that she was attached to the leash, which was attached to the bus’ door-opener arm. So…when she jumped out of the window, she got caught on her leash and tumbled, landing sideways on her rear leg.

We thought she had dislocated it, but after William and I spent most of the day at the vet and spent a few hundred dollars on pain meds and x-rays, we found out it’s broken--really badly…so badly that it‘s going to require surgery. The vet sent us home with her leg splinted and some pain killers for her, with instructions to see our vet on Monday morning to set a date for surgery. In the meantime, keep her comfortable, don’t leave her alone, etc.

So, William and I had spent literally ALL of the first day at the campground getting Anna taken care of. But that’s okay I thought , ’cause we’ll have all day Saturday to relax and enjoy ourselves, right? WRONG!!! Jared woke up throwing up the next morning. He didn’t just lose it once. Over the course of the day, he went through 4 outfits, we had to clean his wheelchair AND a camping chair, 4 blankets and a pillow. Poor guy. He just kind of laid around for most of the day. So, while Harold took the kids to “tomahawk-throwing” lessons, cave tours, horseback riding, and the ice cream social, I stayed at the camper with Anna and Jared.

I was tempted to write this trip off as a wash, but really, I bet this will be one of those trips that the kids will talk about when they get older. You know, “Hey, do you remember that camping trip we took when we were 10 or 12 and Anna broke her leg and Jared puked all over everything??? Yeah, those were good times!” --and they are…

These are the days! These are the days I’ll look back on someday and wish hadn’t gone so fast. The days I’ll wish I could recapture. So, as imperfect a camping trip as this may seem, the truth is that the kids will have lots of fun memories from it. And THAT’S what is important. It’s not about it all being picture-perfect and flawless, it’s about making a life out of the imperfections, having fun together, and loving each other even when it’s not-so-fun.

Doesn't he look so pitiful?  Poor guy!

Thankfully, Jared was better the next day (just in time for us to leave).  As for Anna, she did have her surgery Monday, and she is currently officially the most loved-on doggy EVER!!! Poor girl!

Watch Out World!!!

BE AFRAID......BE VERY AFRAID!!!!!