Labor Day with Cousins

It was a beautiful day on Saturday of Labor Day weekend! We took advantage of being able to be outside. It was warm, but not Alabama warm!!
My brother, Rick, and his wife Christina enjoyed the park down the road from us, but the heat started getting really intense. Where was the breeze? We hung in there for a few kicks of the soccer ball, but we left on a search for Eddie.




Morgan and Blake share a sweet moment while we were at our neighborhood park. We had a great time cooking out, laughing, playing, and just hanging out!! Good to be together again!!

Jeff is seen here getting his rocket ready for lift-off. It went super high on the second "engine" and sent our sweet dog Eddie running...all the way home. We had no idea where he went until I ran home from the park to find him at our back door. Poor Eddie was traumatized by the rocket show!!

First Day of School, August 27, 2009

Hunter is now in fifth grade, the oldest in the school. Luke is in 4th, Blake in 1st, and Hayden will go to preschool 2 days a week for 3 hours each. Hayden wanted to join in on the pic as well. May God bless their year!!
The First Day of School was exciting for the boys, after having been homeschooled last year. I was a little sad to seem them go, really, but I was in desperate need of some down time. They really LOVE their teachers--all very kind and organzied. So we hope it to be a very good year!!

Sweet Souls reunited in California!!

Ahh..the beauty of California scenery makes me reflect on the artristry of God's hand not only in creation of nature, but of us!! So wonderful how he puts us with just the right people to fellowship, it's as beautiful as His hand upon his created world.
He created us to uplift, encourage, carry, listen, laugh, and so much more with each other. I thank the Lord for a friend like you, Tracy!!



Tracy and I were reunited mid-August for 3 days, but what wonderful days those were. We went to the beach, visited a vineyard, and explored Old Town Temecula Valley.
We enjoyed so much laughter that it made it even harder to say good-bye, but true friends don't know time and space. We will pick up where we left off, Sweet Tracy. You are a treasure, and I thank God for our rare friendship!! I love you!

Alabama Visit 2009

Sweet Home Alabama!! The Sensational Six back together again:Hunter, Claire, Mariel, Blake, Luke, and little Hayden. The last day in Alabama we captured a similar pic of all of them, so this was appropriate. The boys did all sorts of things with Mariel and Claire, besides swimming: trampoline, soccer, kickball, tag--you name it!! It really was some of the greatest times they've had. We love and miss you!!

The Broussard family, Cathie, Rob, and daughters Claire and Mariel lived next door (other side of an empty lot). It was a great reunion of our families. Wish we lived closer!!
Luke was thrilled to see Hunter Glenn again, although he would've like it to be longer. They spent some time back at Hunter's house, and this pic is in front of our former pool.
Our good friends, the Cawthorne's met us for dinner one night. Kent, Angela (our realtor), son Travis, and daughter Hadley all went to church with us. Good to be together again!!
Blake and buddy Cole smile big. At this moment they had just seen each other for the first time in over a year. Cole always made Blake laugh, so it was great to see them back together again.
Hunter and his best bud Nicholas enjoyed catching up: swimming in his pool, played PSP, spending the night together, and just hanging out.

One night we all went to a Mexican restaurant in Huntsville with the Harvey family. Randa is on the left, and I'm on the right between 7 boys!! Thanks to Luke's friendship with Matthew (next to me), our families came together!! So great how the Lord works. Seven gentleman ate with us all that night--didn't even know there were 7 boys eating with Randa, Paul, Jeff and myself!!
Blake was able to reconnect with his friend Graeme and his "first love" Anna. It was really great to see them all back together again. They played a little baseball, jumped on the trampoline, and ate lunch. Blake was thrilled to be around his good friends again!

Our first full day in Alabama we visited our former next door neighbors, Eileen and Bob Bogard. We were welcomed with cookies and cinnamon twists and big hugs. It was fun to catch up, and see our boys' Alabama "grandparents." Thanks for a great time!!

Visiting with Lynne

Just recently I was able to catch up with a good friend, Lynne, who has been in China for several years for her husband's work. In this pic is Beth Puls (friend from church), Lynne, and me. Beth really helped orchestrate our getting together--thanks, Beth. It was so nice to finally see you again, Lynne!! We enjoyed talking, laughing, and even squeezed in a quick run on Beth's zip-line that her husband, Bob, created in their backyard woods. Yahoo!! (any incriminating pictures, Lynne, please hide from public view!:))
So good for the soul, again, when friends come together!! Love you Lynne and Beth!

First Camping Trip

Our first camping trip was with some of our neighbors to nearby Findley State Park. It was a fun adventure for us all. A kind stranger took this great photo of all of us before our first canoe trip around Findley Lake. Hunter and Hayden went with Jeff, and Luke, Blake and I were in another canoe. A few splashes and mad faces, but in the end we all talked about doing it again. This is where we slept for two nights!!

Luke found this interesting bug--possibly a cicada. He let it rest on his shirt while he was doing other things. He's our nature boy!

Hunter, Hayden, and Blake did a before-the-trip canoe jig. I think it helped with no tipping of the canoe, although it came close a few times.

California Cousins visit 2009

It's so good when two or more are gathered in His name!! On June 29 Jeff's brother, Mike flew from CA to Ohio with his wife, Kris, and three boys, Nathan, James, and Nicholas. We took the very same picture on July 19 before we headed to Cedar Point in 2008. So we decided to take another pic almost a year later. This time our house has furniture!! It was a wonderfully cloudy day at Cedar Point and some rain came, but the rides stayed open, and so did our spirits! We enjoyed another fun day together as a family. We love you, Mike, Kris, Nathan, James, and Nicholas!!!

Baseball Blake!!!

Aye--batter,batter,batter--aye, batter, batter,batter---SWING!! Blake cracks another one to right field!! Yahoo! Blake is a lefty, so that does make him quite unique in baseball. This is his first year, as well as the first of the boys to try baseball. He's done quite well, and just might continue with the sport

In the pic with all his teammates, Blake is actually walking on the field at Canal Park in Akron, OH. The Akron Aeros minor league team plays here, and this was Medina Youth Baseball Night. Blake was the only one chosen to go out on the field with the second baseman of the Aeros. It was quite a thrill for him to be that close to the players. Way to go Blake!!

Reunion continues...Twins come to Medina

Following June 21, I was able to visit some more with my cousin Jimmy, his wife Julie and their kids, as well as my cousin Jeff from CA and his wife and kids. It was a dark, stormy night in Ohio, but the fellowship was bright and good for the soul!! In the picture above, left, the twins, Joe and Anthony are in the middle. The pic to the upper right is my cousin Jeff, his wife Claudia and their two kids, Addie and Drew. So good to see all of you!! God bless!

Family Reunion 2009--(my mom's family)

On June 21, after Father's Day celebrations, we headed to my second cousin Jimmy's house in North Canton, OH. We celebrated Jimmy's twin boys' graduation as well. Anthony and Joe were the ring bearers for Jeff and my wedding 13 years ago!!

I'm on the right, unfortunately blocking Jeff behind me. Hunter, Luke and Blake are on the bottom right. My mom is next to me, and my nieces are in the front row in the middle, Meredith and Morgan. My cousin Jimmy is in a white shirt, next to a wonderful lady in the pink shirt. It was really a beautiful day for Ohio weather!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!! On June 21 we headed to Homeworth to do a little Father's Day celebrating. I was able to capture this smile from Jeff's dad! Hee hee not his normal smile, but it was fun to "catch" him smiling like this. Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day, too!

A day on the Slip n Slide

The pool we joined wasn't open today, so we pulled out our slip n slide. With four boys, fun can be created at any moment, so Hunter, Luke, Blake, and Hayden enjoyed a few hours of their own games. Luke brings out the cd player and keeps the music playing, and I'm always sure to provide the snacks and drinks. It was a beautiful day to slide away all our harsh winter months!!

Trampoline Fun

Yahooooo!! Our latest "toy" for the boys after many, many years without a playset, is this awesome trampoline. We purchased it in April. It's a double bounce, so a little safer and better on the joints (good for the old folks like Jeff and me!). There's a basketball hoop that we all love trying to slam dunk like Lebron James. All the boys try their hand at flips and tricks. Blake is here in the picture below. He is a little acrobat, doing fun stunts. We feel better that they took a gymnastics class before trying things on the trampoline. It's a great workout, and a great way to wear four boys out during the day! Even I tried a flip, and I've gotten better, although my body isn't too sure!!

Someone Ate my Socks

Hee hee hee...what happened to my socks, Jeff wonders? Luke received a gift from his cousins in California for his birthday--Geodes! You need to put the rocks in a sock or something while you pound the living daylights out of the rock--or that's what we did!! Inside are crystals and crystal-like rocks. We decided (really I did) to wash the socks and put them back in Jeff's drawer. We had to prompt him to look after 3 weeks of waiting for him to choose these socks. It was really funny even though we had to set the stage. These were old socks, but now not even Cole, our dog, will play with them!!

Our New Addition...

In two days MGM landscaping was able to put in this beautiful walkway, build the firepit to the left of it, and the retaining wall. We decided this would be our one and only project for awhile. So we look forward to having many good memories with our friends and family around the warmth of the fire!!

View of retaining wall and the back of our house. It was only two days of dust, noise, and chaos. This was a nice result for very little interruption in our every day life. Now we just have to work on growing the grass back, but I'm glad we have a sprinkler system!! Ahhh...the wonders of modern convenience. I thank the Lord for such things!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY, LUKE!!

Our Mother's Day baby, Luke, is now 9!! He had a great time celebrating his birthday all month!! We had to spread out the parties because of Mother's Day and schedules. So, we had a friend party, a real-day party, and then a family party. For the family party I made this cake for Luke. It had lemon icing and white cake inside. It was so good that there was not a crumb left!!

More of Washington, D.C.

Washington monument at sunset....

Bundled up and ready to go visit our new house...we took a little break to capture our excitement at our new purchase.:) Last year I jokingly sent a pic of the White House to my mom while we were looking for homes in the D.C. area, and I said, "We found a house..." and I sent a shot of the White House.

All of us together helped to hold up the Washington monument. I know the authorities were glad we were there to help.

Great pic of all of us, I think. Little Hayden is tucked in between all of us so nicely. It was a little chilly again, but still we made the best of it.

Following this we headed to the Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and finally the always moving Vietnam Memorial. It never ceases to touch me to see so many lives etched in stone. We should never forget their sacrifice.