Time flies when you're having fun.

We have had some fun since my last post of more than 8 months ago! We've also had some difficult times. Here's what we've been up to:

January/February: Another year has passed since my cousin Melissa went missing. We continue to pray for closure. We celebrated 3 birthdays between the 2 months. There were field trips & tee-ball registration.

March/April: Addison's 3rd birthday was celebrated, along with my mom's birthday & my parent's anniversary. My brother & his family came to visit for a few days (yay!) and tee-ball practices started. Ian was in his first parade for Little League opening day. He did great!

May/June: Celebrated Ian's 6th birthday! and my mother-in-law's birthday as well. Enjoyed watching Ian play tee-ball & had my nephew off & on for a week. Ian graduated kindergarten & won the "best handwriting" award! We also had to put my Grandma in the hospital for a strep infection. She was there for a month & then placed in a nursing home up north. We have been looking for a place for her closer to us, but keep waiting for something to open up.

July/August: We have been making trips to see Gram. She is fairing well. Her dementia has kicked in full force. It's hard to see her not remember things. So far, she still recognizes people, but does have a hard time recalling names. We took her to a family reunion & she was able to see her sisters & 2 of her out of state daughters. Aunt Bobbi came home for the reunion & married her longtime boyfriend in a quiet ceremony on a small lake. It was beautiful! She continues to fight her cancer & has remained postive throughout. The kids were sick for 2 weeks straight with a virus. No symptoms other than a high fever that lasted 5 days each. I've been canning, as is par for the course this time of year. Keith had a staycation again & we were able to make it to the Erie Co Fair this year. Ian had a blast on the rides! Addison, not so much. They had to stop a ride & let her off because she was crying! We also had our annual ABF picnic at the lake. It was fun despite the rain. We're also getting ready for Ian to go back to school & for the MOPS year to start.

I'm sure I have forgot some things, but that's what's been happening around here!

A blueberry story....

This is where I spent 2 hours this morning

picking 8 quarts of these
while my children played in the van because they didn't want to help.

Happy Birthday To My Firstborn!

Today is Ian's 5th birthday! I cannot believe how the time has flown! God made me move out of my comfort zone when He blessed us with a boy ~ what was I going to do with a boy?!? I've learned to look at bugs, dig in the dirt & spend time with the cows at the farm; not to mention that I can name most of the different kinds of tractors! It has been a joy to watch him grow & learn. I can't believe he'll be starting kindergarten this fall! Anyway! Here are some pics to look at:

May 4, 2005

May 2006

May 2007

May 2008

(for the record, he asked for pink frosting!)

May 2009

May 2010

vacation ~ part I

Very late last night we got back from what was supposed to be a relaxing trip to Cape Cod. Keith, myself, our 2 kiddos & my mother-in-law. Drive out Sunday, drive back Friday. Miss 2 hurricanes. Simple enough.

Or so you would think. We had all of our plans in place.

Hurricane Bill gone -check.
Free lodging - check.
Swim gear - check.
Suitcases packed - check.
One toddler w/ a throat virus -check.

We went on vacation with our sick toddler, who was at the doctor saturday before we left. The dr then called, after we were already in MA to say it wasn't a virus, but strep. We then ended up with a sick 4 year old & a sick daddy. We spent the 1st 2 days @ the local urgent care facility, pharmacy & on the phone w/ the uc in Rochester. AND, a grandma who was counting the days on the calendar until she came down with strep. (I haven't even gotten it & I live with them!). So we kind of laid low until Wednesday.

Once everyone who needed them was on drugs, we started our vacation. A week that was supposed to be spent on the beach, included precisely 2 hours of beach-going. We did however visit quite a few museums & ate a lot of ice cream. So, it wasn't very relaxing, but it was nice to spend time with family. For some reason it seems that being sick at the ocean is easier then being sick at home.

I did manage to take a few pictures which I'll post later.

Addison Jael & Mommy

People have always said that Addison looks like me, and she does. I just didn't know how much until my mom found a picture of me @ the same age Addy is. (Sorry the pics are a little blurry.)

Michele:

Addison:

Out of the mouths.....

My handsome dude has some funny ways of pronouncing certain words. He also says some funny things. When we're going somewhere in the van, he'll make up a song. It's usually about farms & cows; his 2 fave things. As is typical, we were driving to church on Sunday. Handsome dude was singing away and I wasn't really paying attention. But then, something caught my attention. He started singing, "God bless me for doing good things!" and then continued his song about cows. He had spent the weekend with my husband bc I was @ a conference, so I looked at the hubs and asked if he had taught him that. He said he hadn't. I guess kids pay more attention then we think.



Pretty girl is starting to say more words now, too. Her fave word right now is HELLO! She says it with gusto! She hasn't quite got the difference of a few common words yet. For instance, we call her grandpa, Papa. She says this quite well, but thinks this is also the word for baby and puppy. If she sees any of the 3 she yells: Papa, Papa! She also pats her belly and says Papa. (My dad has a big belly!) It's too cute!