Gettin' Ready

We're officially just 6 days away from our vacation!  Last year I took a picture of all the stuff we had gathered, and it had lots of beach stuff, because we were headed to Maine and New Hampshire.  This year we have backpacks, hiking boots, and camping supplies, because - you guessed it! - we're camping.  We're headed down to KY to Mammoth Caves for 4 days (M-Th).  We're SOOOO excited!!!  Last night our plans changed a bit, so you'll notice in our supplies above there's no tent or sleeping bags.  That's because the forecast that showed the temps potentially being in the high 80s changed to being between 99 - 102 degrees each day.  After a lot of back and forth between me and my brother, and later my sister, we decided that keeping our kids in tents without any way to cool them off in those temps would be unsafe.  We have 2 little girls under the age of 1 and Noah with his diabetes and it became a concern.  We were scared that perhaps our whole trip was ruined, but Pete went online and found a 4-bedroom, 8 bed cottage in the park that was nearly the same cost per family as the campsites themselves.  It's still very rustic.  It has no a/c, no television, no kitchen, so we'll still be cooking with our cookstoves and by campfire out back, but it has electricity, so my brother is bringing a portable a/c unit and we're bringing lots of fans and hoping that will keep it bearable during those 4 days.  The kids were a little disappointed we were going to get to have the fun of the tents, but we hope to do it again, maybe in the fall or early spring, when the temps are more conducive to being outside like that.  Let me add that finding this cottage available just a week before our trip was a total act from God.  When I called the gal I spoke to said she doubted it was still available, because those are the spaces that go first.  When she looked it up, though, it was still open!  I've been praying that the weather would be good for camping.  God answered me with a "no" for that prayer, but I feel like it was because He has something better in mind for us.  This way we have a homebase, so to speak.  Emma and Avery will be able to crawl around on the floor of the cottage, without having to worry about them crawling off.  The kids will be able to sit inside and play games, yet still be able to play outside and explore.  Really great all the way around!  So, we're getting our gear gathered.  Got the food piled up in the kitchen.  Just have a few more things to cook/bake for our trip and a couple other small things to take and then we'll be ready for Monday!  Hoping our time together as a family both with each other and with my brother, sister, and their families will be lots of fun and that we'll make great memories of our time there. 

Changes and Visitors

We've made a couple changes to the girls' room this weekend, so I thought I'd share that on here. :-)

After seeing Livie's awesome painting, we knew we had to hang it up.  She really wanted it to be in her room and not in the playroom with some of the other artwork, so we made a space for it right over her bed.  Looks great, right?!

When Madie, Noah, and I were shopping the other day, we found this palm leaf picture on clearance for $9.  I thought it looked like something Madie could use to have people sign.  So, we hung it up and got ready for some visitors!

Of course, we all signed it first, but we had our first visitor yesterday - Papa T!  He was our first official guest and got to sign Madie's leaf picture.  She was so excited!  He barely walked in the door before he was quickly shuffled off to her room and given a marker to sign. :-)  Hopefully we'll have lots of visitors come and sign it.  We haven't really had anyone over since her bday, if you can believe it.  Between busyness and wood flooring installs that took 6 weeks, we haven't had an opportunity.  We hope to take care of that very soon.

Papa stopped by our place yesterday, on the way home from Jill and Adam's, to bring us some of his camping supplies for our vacation next week.  He got us all geared up with the essentials - a campstove, lantern, and water jug.  More to come on that soon....

The H-aid!

Know what that is?  Why, it my new hearing aid!  I was SO excited about getting it, because I've been frustrated for years about my inability to hear people.  It's fits in my ear quite comfortably, but it's weird to hear through it at first.  I only got the right side, because (a) it's hugely expensive and (2) because I'm right at the border of needing them, so I figured using one would be ok.  It has a teeny-tiny microphone with a teeny-tiny speaker, so when I have it in my ear, everything is very heightened and sounds electronic.  I can hear pages turning and keys on the keyboard clicking.  It's not annoying.  Just different.  I had it in yesterday at the house and could hear everything my kids were saying in the other room.  Usually I can't hear them much and drown them out.  I realized they talk about diarrhea A LOT! ;-)  Because they were noisy and distracting, I've decided to wear it when I'm out in public or have company.  That might change as I go on, but for now that is my plan.  The gal at the Ear Center told me that with constant use, my brain will retain itself to hear with the hearing aid and reduce the electronic sounds I'm hearing, but it'll take upwards of 6 months to do.  I don't anticipate wearing it constantly, so that might be a normal thing for me, but we'll see.  Just SO excited to have the H-aid and getting the chance to hear things I have been having trouble hearing for a while now.

Art Camp

Livie began her first camp this week and she had such a great time!  She has watched as her sister and then her brother started going to the IVCC camps several years ago.  She was waiting until she got old enough, so she could start attending some too.  Last year was her first year of eligibility, but we weren't able to do any last year, because of the impending arrival of Avery Jane.  So, this year was HER year and she couldn't wait to get started.  She wanted to take an Art Camp and I thought that was a great idea, so I signed her up and she started Monday.

Because the main hall is under construction, the kids would meet by a picnic bench outside and walk to class together.  It was 3 hours (from 9-12pm), starting Monday and ending today.  She had her paint smock on and was ready to go!

Such a happy face after her first day. :-)  Even Noah and Madie were excited for her!

Because the college is so far away from our home, we just try and stick around town while she's there.  The first day Madie and I came home, because Noah had golf camp at the same time and we had to pick him up.  But, Tuesday and Wednesday we just shopped, visiting lots of different stores in the nearby city.  Today, because it had cooled down a lot, I took their bikes and read a book, while they rode around one of the big empty parking lots and explored the grass and trees.  They found pinecones and sticks and all kinds of treasures, naming all the places they visited things like "Weed Wonderland" and "Swimming Sticks".  They had a ball!

We didn't get to see anything they worked on all week, so when they came out today, their last day, they had a big canvas in their arms and their instructors were carrying their portfolios.  Livie was THRILLED to show me what she made!

This beautiful work of art is going up on her wall tonight!  Isn't that a great self-portrait?!  So, now, Basketball Camp and Art Camp are over.  But, we still have four more camps to go!  This is turning out to be a GREAT summer!!

Weekend in Indiana

 We left on Friday for a quick trip to Indiana.  We may have only been there for a couple of days in total, but we sure did pack in a lot during that time!

We got to Nana and Papa T's house around suppertime and shortly after we arrived, so did the rest of the "crew"!  One of the reasons we went back was for Pete to go on a really fun fishing trip with his family.  His Uncle Scott (not shown above) planned this trip for Pete, his brother, his cousin Matt (in the green) and Matt's son, Kyle (whose legs you see on the right) to go on.  Pete hasn't gone fishing in quite some time, so he was very excited.  Everyone, including Francy and her kids, came to the house for us to have dinner together.  It was a really fun time to all hang out and visit.  And, yes, even Tater came along on this trip.  Since Matt, Kyle, and Nancy are all dog people, he felt right at home with the new faces. :-)

Because Nana had such a full house spending the night there, we headed up to Goshen for the night.  The guys all drove up early Saturday morning and met Pete, so he could drive them all to Michigan City for the trip.  That meant we were without a car that day, but that didn't stop us.  We had a lot of fun while he was away!  First things first, though.  We had to introduce Tater to Sherm!  At first they were overly excited to meet, so we let them play outside that first night to get used to each other.  They very quickly became friends and had a ball chasing each other around for the rest of our visit.  See how much they like each other?!

The kids were thrilled to see Sherm again.  And, he had grown so much!  He was up to 11 lbs now.  Still a total sweetie and definitely an energy-filled puppy!

We walked downtown to have lunch with Papa D, before meeting up with Em, Jeff, and Kendalyn.  We headed to a bookstore dad told us about just a couple blocks away.  It was AMAZING!!  I love a bookstore and this one was not a disappointment.  They had all used books, but it was huge inside!  Very old-fashioned with lots of seating for reading and a music center too.  We had a ball there!  We had to throw pennies in the fountain outside before we left.

We hit a local coffee shop on the way home.  Notice all the kids had their books out to read while they waited on us adults. ;-)

Another reason that we wanted to go back to Indiana was to see Larry and Jane DeMoss - dear friends of our family.  Dad and Larry went to seminary together way back in 1970.  What I remember most of our families getting together was the laughter.  All they did was laugh together.  They wanted to drive out, before heading down to St. Louis to see their kids, and see Mom before she passes.  They know, as we all do, that her future is uncertain.  She may live another 3 years or another 3 months.  Only God knows what He has planned for her, but they wanted to see her while they could.   Livie decided to get all fancied up for their visit.  She is one gorgeous girl, isn't she?!  HA

Meanwhile, on the lake, Pete and the guys were out fishing in beautiful, warm weather.  It was perfect for their trip and after a cancellation due to weather last year, they were so glad for such a great day!  Looks like they had all the poles cast and ready to catch!

Pete caught a pretty good sized one yesterday.  So great to see him having so much fun!

All in all they caught a great amount of fish and I now have a freezer full of it at our house.  So glad he was able to go and have a great time!  Happy Father's Day, babe!!

Back at the house, after seeing Kendalyn add eyeshadow UNDER her eyes, Livie decided to do the same and get even FANCIER!  She later colored in her nose to make the look complete.  I think Larry and Jane were quite impressed. ;-)

Here are Larry and Jane.  They looked terrific and had a great time visiting with mom and dad.  They stopped by for about an hour, before leaving for the nursing home and then supper with dad.  We were so glad to see them!

During Sunday School today, Em, the girls, and I headed over for a brief visit with mom ourselves.  I wish I could've gone yesterday and taken a picture of her with dad and the DeMosses, but I knew they needed that time for reflection, laughter, and goodbyes.  Our trip to IN was a lot of fun and we're so glad we got to go back and see so many of our friends and family.  The older I get, the more I realize how quickly life gets away from us and nothing is more important than spending it with family. :-)

Camps Begin

It's been two weeks since summer vacation began and I finally feel like we're out enjoying it!  We have a full 6 weeks of camps planned and today Noah started a couple of his.



He was SOOO excited about starting Golf Camp, as you can tell from the picture above, but sadly, it was rained out.  The rain literally poured for all of 10 min, but it was just as the camp was to start, so they called it.  Darn it!

We didn't have his next camp for another hour and a half, so we went to the park and enjoyed some time there instead.  Though he was sad that Golf Camp didn't start today, he really had fun at the park with the girls. :-)

He DID get to start his Basketball Camp though and he LOVED it!!  It was a lot of fun for him and while we was there, the girls and I went on a long walk with my friend Debbie and her daughter Bella, while her boys were at camp too.  I feel like we've finally kicked off the summer and I'm hoping it's a fun-filled one!