God is Good!

I often think of blogging.  I have friends that blog on set days and they talk about their families, their hearts, their recent project, or whatever is happening in their lives.  I don't want blogging to be a 'have to' but rather, a 'want to'.  I also feel like I need something newsworthy to say in order to blog.  That most likely isn't true but, I feel like it is!

So, here are the highlights of the last few months in our household.

Alexander turned 3.  Where does the time go?  Three is so grown-up!  He's begun preschool.  Learning, songs, numbers, colors and about Jesus.  He loves it!  Somewhere along our trip he picked up three grandsons.  Nate, Forrest and James.  Everyday we hear of new adventures these three go on.  They take planes, buses, and cars to various places.  They frequently call Alexander on his cellular phone to update with him their plans.  What amazes me isn't so much the story that Alexander weaves about these three but the details of their stories!  I am often left wondering where he learned about something that has found its way into his Grandson's lives.

We went on a crazy, fun, sad when it was over, road trip.  We saw family, old friends, met some new friends, and I was able to introduce my children to people who have been influential in my life.  We were in the Mid-West during the heat wave.  It was definitely an experience to remember.

With Alexander in preschool, I have found a friend to walk with during that time.   We'll call her Ms. K.  She has two girls the same ages as my two.  So, while our older babies are in preschool, we bundle up our younger babies and go for a long walk.  Pretty soon we decided to walk on non-preschool days.  We both leave our houses at 4:30 AM (yup, while the rest of the world is sleeping).  We meet half way and then go for an amazing walk.  Our current goal is to exercise to lose weight and feel better.  Ms. K is a wonderful (crazy) friend and I appreciate her company every morning as I groan about getting out of a nice warm bed to go out into the cold dark morning for a walk.

Which brings me to my health.  I'm not really sure where I stand with all of the lab tests and such (my last labs haven't been sent to me yet).  What I can tell you is that I've been seeing doctors and getting labs done for 10 months.  I'm feeling better but not overwhelmingly better.  I think that after being on meds, and doing what I should be doing for most of this year, I should feel incredible.  So, next week I have an appointment with the doctor.  My plan is to come up with a different plan.  In my opinion, I should be feeling stellar!  Stay tuned!!!

We haven't spoken about Dora.   Well, she's a little gem.  She is learning words.  She is quiet until she feels she's being left out of something and then she speaks up.  She is very into reading books.  She has two dollies that she's never far from.  She also has a shoe fetish.  REALLY??  I'm not sure what to do with that most days.  She brings me different shoes to try on about every 30 minutes.  Its fun to watch her but boy are we going to be in trouble when she realizes what shoe stores are!

We've spent lots of time in the last few months at the park, riding bikes, doing a few crafts and loving life!  Below are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

I plan to blog more in coming weeks.  We'll see how it goes.  My next blog will be about obituaries.  Have you ever thought about what people will say about you when you die?

My sisters and I

My Grandparent's head stone

Alexander and Bob going for a ride

Alexander and Sophie

Sisters!  (My mom and her sister)

Watching the Blue Angels

Carving Pumpkins

Grandma Necklace, Dora and Mommy

Alexander the Firefighter

Playing Music!

Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant at the Puyallup Fair

Sibling Love

It was a long day . . .

It was a long, long, long, did I say long? day in the car.  We drove from North Western Wisconsin (near LaCrosse) to Racine, Wisconsin (which is on Lake Michigan) to see Sister Evelyn again.   


We had a nice drive in the beginning, saw lots of corn fields, some small lakes, stopped for lunch at Wendy's, and then just before we got to Racine we were having some snacks in the car.  After all, what kind of a road trip would this be without snacks.  The kids were eating Veggie Straws (Alexander's snack of choice) and I was also giving them M&Ms.  That was the first mistake!  After about five M&Ms Alexander thought it was a great idea to shove one up his nose.  Yip, our first emergency stop involved an m&m, a nose and tweezers.  Did I mention that m&ms melt in your nose, but not in your hands??  It didn't take long to fix him up and then we were back on the road again!


We went to the Sienna Center and had supper (that's what they call it in the Midwest) with Sister Evelyn.  We had a delightful conversation with her, had supper with her and the other Nuns, a walk along the beach, and then back in the car.  It was nice.  The Sienna Center is located on the lake so we went for a little stroll knowing we'd be back in the car for awhile.  When we got back into the car, it was my turn to drive.


From there it was a big adventure.  Between my two back seat drivers, our TomTom we call Gabby and two children who always need something it was comical.  I only missed our exit twice and had to turn around.  We also drove by the White Sox Stadium (this is where my husband will be disappointed that I don't know the name of the stadium), saw an amazing heat lightning show, drove through a HUGE windmill farm (all with blinking red lights), and saw a few trains.


Our intention was just to drive a little ways but, then we got into Chicago and then we were into Indiana and then why not go all the way? So, at 1:22am Eastern Time we pulled into Shelbyville, Indiana, very small quaint town south of Indianapolis.


We are settled here for a few days visiting with friends, relatives, and friends that are like relatives.  We're also thankful for a great bed, air conditioning, and a very sound night's sleep!