Moved in!

We have officially moved into the schoolroom, however, we haven't actually done school work yet! We LOVE our new room. Thanks so much to Dad,(Grandpa), for all the labor and love he poured into our room. I spent several hours this afternoon unpacking boxes and trying to find a spot for all the books. I didn't freeze while I did it either, which was our number one reason for moving out of the basement. Dad is going to add an additional homemade bookcase with a custom built toy box under it for Noah, so during school time I can keep track of him and we won't have to carry toys in and out all the time. Looking forward to putting the room to use, but I'm not rushing summer. We are enjoying our vacation. On Monday we took a field trip with my sisters to a local water park. It was fabulous! Very cloudy day, in fact, it ended up raining for about an hour of our time there, but that keep the crowd down to only a few dozen people or so. We had a great time, I think I enjoyed going down the water slides,(both with and without tubes) as much as Hannah and Zach did. We even talked Aunt Diana and Aunt Angie into trying them out! A huge thank you goes to Aunt Diana and Aunt Angie for paying for breakfast, our admission, a snack, and even our supper! Thanks Angie for finding this great spot, we'll be sure to return.

Happy 12th Birthday, Hannah!

Happy Birthday to Hannah. What a blessing you are to our family. Such a soft heart and willing to give a hand anytime we need you, and sometimes even when we don't even ask! :)
Hannah wanted a chocolate/caramel cake with cool whip icing. Grandpa, Grandma and Papaw, and Aunt Diana and Aunt Angie came out. Dad and Mom gave Hannah a new 26" mountain bike, Grandpa and Aunt Diana got her 6 new outfits(and spider killer for a joke!), Grandma and Papaw got her numerous shirts and skirts and a beautiful black and yellow dress, and Aunt Angie got her a gel pad bike seat, bike gloves, and a bike helmet. Thanks for your love and gifts! When Hannah tries out her new bike I'll post a picture. We love you, Hannah!

Almost done!

Our school room is almost finished. On Friday, June 10th, I installed the tact strips, put down duct tape over the seams, and laid and cut the carpet pad. Hannah helped me put up the border, and I finished a few touch up spots around the outlets. Shawn and I rolled out the carpet on Saturday, and Sunday afternoon, Tad came over and cut the carpet to fit. All we have left to do is put up the trim, and Dad is going to build 2 bookcases. Oh, and buy the pocket doors. Yippee!PadBorderCarpet!

Josh cast off

Josh had his cast removed on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011. On Monday, June 6th, he tripped and fell and of course landed on the same arm. I wasn't sure what the "lumps" were I could feel on each side of the previous break so I took him to our Pediatrician. He wasn't sure about the x-ray he took, because it was plain to see the break from before. So, he sent us back to the Ortho Dr. and Dr. Allen said it all looked fine to him. The "lumps" are from the bone repairing itself, so we are glad we didn't have to have it recasted!

Josh Graduated!

We attended a graduation ceremony from kindergarten for Josh on May 26, 2011. It was really cute, I'm glad his school arranged something like that to recognize all the learning that goes into the first year of school. Shawn was able to arrange inspections close to the grad site, and I took my Dad and sister, Diana, along with the children and I. Congratulations, Joshua!

Thankful for changing seasons!

Very chilly morning here today, 57* with no humidity, reminds me of the following snow pictures. Well, ok, it really doesn't feel THAT cold, and after the very high 90 degree weather we have been having, a little chill is nice now and then. Just think, we could be seeing the white stuff in only 20 weeks or so! Enjoy the heat while it lasts!

Noah playing in powder

Noah likes to play in baby powder with his tractors now and then(supervised of course), this time however, while I was at work he snuck into the powder and the first shot is after Hannah discovered what he was doing. I'm so glad she thought to grab the camera so I could see. The second picture shows how Daddy cleaned him up!

Good bye to Benji

Our outside dog, that started as an inside dog (couldn't get him potty trained), Benji, died yesterday, May 10th. We aren't sure what happened. He was fine yesterday, eating, and jumping up to be petted, and then while I was mowing grass in the morning, I noticed he didn't come out of the barn with Lucy. Thankfully, Shawn took Monday and Tuesday off for Josh's birthday, and he was home. I stopped the mower long enough to tell him something must be wrong with Benji, and when he looked, he said he was just about dead. He was right, within about 20 minutes, he died. He was still a young dog, he was born August 20th, 2006, so he was only 4 yrs and 9 mos. He died the same way the cocker spaniel, Fancy, that my mom had when I was young, died. I think it was heart issues for both. So, good bye Ben.

Happy 6th Birthday, Joshua!

Today Josh is 6. He had a Dr.s appointment this morning to recheck his broken right arm. Both of his bones are healing nicely, 3 more weeks for the cast. We had Reese Peanut Butter Bars and chocolate cake yesterday afternoon(Mother's Day) for him. Shawn took today off to spend with our little man, and to hang drywall. Happy Birthday, Josh. Mommy has to help Daddy hang drywall, so I'll post a few pictures of you and your presents later! We love you!

Very special visits with Dora and other workers!

Our visiting workers.
Sister workers, Dad, and our children.
Mushrooms we found with Dora Mushrooms from side of road compared to my hand.Food line at Dad's!8 workers with our children.


This past weekend was our Special Meeting. As far as I know, every since I have been a newborn, we have went to 2 special meetings, (excluding the year we went to Florida with Ken and Megan), however, due to scheduling issues, we only had 1 this year. That one meeting was like being blessed 10 times over. Such a wonderful meeting, the fellowship and words heavenly. It humbles me to think of sitting in God's presence, who am I?
This year, the worker I was named after was on our special meeting rounds. So special to see Dora G, she hasn't been home to the states since my mother passed away. We had the special blessing of having the 4 sister workers, Dora G., Pat R.(Canada), Grace O'K. and Dorothy L. here for lunch on Friday. Unfortunately, Shawn had to work and missed this visit, I did ask Dad to come up. After lunch, Dora, the boys and I went mushroom hunting. We found 29 or 30. It was a trecherious hunt, climbing straight up steep banks and climbing over large tree trunks, trudging through the mud, but what a sweet 2 hour walk it was! We then had Dora and Grace for Friday supper and the night. We enjoyed a walk with Grace and while gingerly strolling along with Noah, counting 11 discarded pop/water bottles on the side of the road, I found a really nice sized mushroom along the side of our road. I called to Shawn, and he and Zach picked 5 nice sized ones. Those were the easiest mushrooms I ever found, when I wasn't even looking! On Saturday, all 8 workers were invited to lunch at Dad's, and Shawn, myself and the children went up for that. Angie was also there, and of course Dad and Diana(17 in all). I made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, fried the mushrooms we found the previous day, made my first strawberry, rhubarb pie(which was a hit and delicious if I say so myself!), and a chocolate caramel cake. Another wonderful time was had. Then the meeting on Sunday. We arrived almost 30 minutes before, however, the only seats available was on the front row! We took those seats, and I wouldn't have wanted to sit anywhere else!So much was shared to feed. A few thoughts..,, God would like to strip us of things that would keep us from Heaven.,/ Some would be our friend to have us taken up with them, others would encourage our friendship with God., /God can't show any more steps to us, unless we're willing to take the first step.,/ Sheep is attracted to the light, wolves are afraid of the light and won't come to the light.,/ What do we pour out?.,/ To be a peacemaker, we must have peace within first.,/ Good when people look on our lives and see our actions and reactions, and they see Jesus.,/ How do I buy?. So much more that was living water, but since I already have a wordy post, I will let that be all. Not a good picture of me, but it's a good picture of Dora!