All kinds of trips

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a week since I have written anything! We had a great week of school last week and this week has a few more activities, so probably not as much school. I'm sure the kids are ok with that.

First, another trip to the dentist last week, Jord and I -no cavitites! Yeah! Second, another trip to Indiana, my Aunt Ginni's 60th birthday party. The girls and I traveled with my Aunt Alma and her daughter Shelli, there and back in the same day! It went alright, the girls held up pretty well. We were all tired! We had a good time and were able to see my cousin Mike and his girls (the ones who just lost their mom). ALL the girls had a great time playing together! Abby loved all the dogs! And of course, we were able to see Nana and Pappy again!

Monday, we took a field trip to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. They have homeschool days there every year and the kids were signed up for classes. We had a great time looking at all the planes, learning the history of planes and finding out about astronauts.

Last night, we had AWANA again. I need to mention that Jord works with Rach everyday to help her memorize her sections and at her first AWANA last week she said the entire verse of John 3:16. She was so proud of herself and so was I. Jord is such a big help in this area!

Today, we have another field trip to Sports Ohio. This is a big complex that houses fields for soccer and other field sports as well as a basketball course and a section where they have inflatables. Once a month they open their doors to homeschoolers only. The kids always come home from this exhausted!

Thursday, we have our homeschool group classes and that is usually all we get done in a day like that. So, as you can see, the week has already been and will be filled with extra things this week. Hopefully we'll get some school accomplished today, a full day & more tomorrow and then some more on Friday - for some reason everyone has trouble staying on task on a Friday.

Abby's newest phrase "_____is my bess fwend" Anything or anyone could go in the blank - Mom, Dad, Zach, Sissy, Ray, Kylo, bunny, bear, Jazzy, Vincy-pooh, Luke, - it depends on the day and who she is with. Yesterday it was Dad!

Excited About AWANA!

Tonight will be the first night of AWANA at the Baptist church close to us. This will be Rachel's first year to go and she is so excited. It was supposed to start last Monday, but the wind storm had knocked out power to the church. This morning Jordan reminded her that AWANA was "this night" and she giggled and almost cried I think with joy - she has been wanting to go for 2 years now! We will be left with only Abby for an hour & 1/2 . We will be taking her to Appliance Smart to look for a new dishwasher for the one unit of the duplex that we own. Fun huh?

We had a good weekend - first off the Buckeyes won! At church on Sunday, I played the piano for the praise and worship (I was also singing when I wasn't to nervous about what I was playing). The P&W leader just had a baby and is taking a couple of weeks off. I play the piano
around the house for the kids and I to sing "Jesus loves me" or "This little light of mine", but I haven't played for a whole set of songs for over 2 years now! My fingers were actually sore from all the practice leading up to this Sunday! Guess who played the drums????? Yep, Kevin was hooked into playing the drums because the regular drummer had to go out of town for a funeral!
We were both nervous, but it went well. We made a few mistakes that hopefully the congregation didn't catch - the rest of the p&w team helped to cover our errors. It was kinda fun to play - I like to - I just don't do it too often!

The weather is supposed to be wonderful all week - 75-80 degrees & sunshine. We haven't been able to put away our shorts yet, and the girls are enjoying riding their bikes. Rach and Abby have both moved up to a bigger bike and I need to get some pics of them riding on here. Abby goes fast enough now that I can walk beside her while she's riding and actually feel that it is exercise! It's looking to be a good week around here!

We're Family!

We had a good trip to Indiana and back - changing clothes in the van, getting lost and running wild in the graveyard are just a few of the highlights. It was good to see my cousin Mike and his three girls - Emily, Erin & Lindsey. Mike seemed so strong - trying to keep up with the flow of visitors coming into the funeral home to say farewells to his wife Jama. The girls all seemed to be handling the situation well. Emily had attached to cousins and was enjoying being the oldest of the group. She didn't show much emotion, she was "tough". She seemed matter-of-fact about what had happened. Erin, "who looks just like her grandma" (my aunt Ginni), was adorable looking at everyone through her glasses on the end of her nose - she wanted to know who all these people were and took to my kids right away - showing them around and taking them to the snacks in the basement of the funeral home. She has such a sweet spirit. Lindsey, was a joyful little thing with a mothering spirit - Abby quickly became her "baby" - Rachel, Abby and Lindsey had fun chasing each other, laughing and sharing snacks.
Toward the end of the night, we were saying our goodbyes, until we met in the morning for the funeral. Erin was standing beside her grandma as I gave her a hug. She looked up at me and said, "I forgot, Who are you again?" I began to explain that my dad and her grandma were brother & sister, so her dad and I were cousins so that makes you and I .... and before I could finish, she piped up, stuck her finger in the air and said "Family!" That's all she needed to know, with that she came at me with a big hug. Tears filled my eyes as well as Aunt Ginni's as we reaffirmed to her that "Yes, we are family!"
Family is what will see Mike and the girls through this. God has given us each other here on this earth to be his arms of love, His hands of kindness and His heart of compassion. He uses family! I love my family - all of them, down to the 3rd cousins! I know it's hard to get together as often as we would like because everyone lives here & there, but it's important that we try.
I want my kids to value the importance of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Just to know that we have an army of support if we should ever need it!
It was great to see so many come to show their support to Mike and the girls. They are moving back to Indiana and will be surrounded by family who will be their continued support!
We have been reminded here again in this house just how precious life is and what we do with our life matters.

Planning a Short Trip

We are planning to travel to Indiana again for the funeral of my cousin-in-law, Jama. She died on Saturday and they have brought her back to Indiana for the funeral and burial. What do you say to a husband who has lost the love of his life? She was only 32 - they had the rest of their lives to live together. What do you say to 3 young girls who have just lost their mother and are facing life without the single most important person in their lives? This is what's going through my mind right now as we prepare to leave tomorrow for the viewing, stay all night with my mom and dad and go to the funeral on Thursday. Holy Spirit bring comfort to their hearts, especially those" little girl " ones.
Well, half of Columbus is still without power - hard to believe I know! They are saying it could still take up to a week to get some areas up and running again. Houses behind us are without power, but we never lost power. They said on the news that there were wind gusts recorded between 60-75 mph. That's STRONG WIND! We had a couple trees split behind our house, but nothing brought damage. Almost all school districts in the city are closed because the schools do not have power. Some big stores are open- running on generators!
It's a whole different world without electricity!

Weekend Extra's

We obtained a couple extra kids for the weekend. Ellie & Noah (parents: Dave & Julie) have become part of the Brown family. We spent the day yesterday playing outside and getting ready for our homeschool group's "Kick-Off Party". Everyone had a great time and the weather was nice - no rain - Thank you Lord! We came home, bathed everyone and put them all to bed just in time for the Buckeye Game - which didn't turn out the way we had hoped - We'll get 'em next time Buckeyes! We were back at it this morning - everyone up and getting ready for church. I helped with praise and worship today and at one point I looked back to see Kevin sitting at the end of a row with 9 kids in it! 6 were ours plus a few extra's! I guess it looked like a fun row to sit in! We grabbed Wendy's on the way home, changed clothes, ate and went back outside. The wind is very strong here. The little ones were having trouble staying on their feet. I'm guessing these are "Ike" winds. Pretty strong though! Trash day was Friday and everyone's empty cans are falling over and blowing down the street! The trees behind us get loud when the wind picks up. I'm sure the rain is coming, but for now the sun is shining and the temperature is hot! We came back inside - we couldn't handle being blown around anymore. We'll watch a movie, play and wait for mom and dad to get back this evening!

Abby's asthma is much better - thanks to all who called/e-mailed to check on her! We'll go to the doctor again to discuss preventative treatment!

I need to ask prayer for a cousin. Mike's wife Jama died on Sat. in a hospital in Missouri. They have 3 girls - 10, 7, & 5. I don't know all the details at this time, they are going to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death, but it stems from complications from a gastric bypass surgery that she had 2 years ago. Please pray for them as these girls grieve for their mother and this husband as he deals with the loss of his wife. Mike's mom and sisters are with him as well as Jama's family (all from Indiana). I heard that there is "a lot of crying going on!" They are all devasted and in shock. No one got to say good-bye! Help me pray that God's grace will be upon them, that His peace will bring them comfort and that He will surround them all with His love.
Thanks for helping me pray friends,
Stace

Homeschool Group and Asthma

Today we had our first homeschool group classes. Zach is taking a Cooking class (they made apple pie today) and a Drama class (they are writing some sorta production). Jordan is in an Art class, which she said she loves and a Human Body class. Rachel is also in a Human Body class with the K's, she learned about "dem bones" today. Abby is hanging out in the Nursery, and she was not having a good time today. I picked her up from the nursery and as we gathering our stuff to go outside for a picnic with the group, I noticed that she was breathing heavy and coughing. At times, it sounded like she was choking. She just followed me around crying and coughing. I kept picking her up, patting her back it seemed to get better for a few minutes. I kept thinking, "once we get outside she'll feel better". When we got outside I sat down next to Teresa (sis-in-law) and mentioned to her that Abby was breathing kinda heavy, what did she think? - making a long story short, she continued to cry, cough and she couldn't catch her breath. I had never experienced this with any of my kids so I wasn't sure what to do, until one mom says, "I think she is having an asthma attack." Finally, I thought what am I still doing here - my daughter can not breathe. I packed up, called the doctor and was on my way. Sure enough, she was having an asthma attack and needed a breathing treatment immediately.
She seemed to respond well to the one given to her in the doctor's office so they didn't send me to Children's Hospital. I came home with a nebulizer machine, tubes, face mask and prescriptions for steroids. She is alseep on the couch now and still breathing kinda fast and heavy. I have given her a dose of steroids, and one breathing treatment so far (3 more yet tonight). I wasn't expecting this today - Asthma - who knew?
She goes back in the morning to check the progress of the treatments. Pray for her!
Thanks,
Stace

Dentist

A couple of weeks ago, I finally called the dentist and scheduled appointments for everyone. It seems we can only make the appointments yearly, although the dentist office starts sending postcards at 6 months. Just curious - Do most people go every 6 months? yearly? We started going to Just Smiles last year and have had a pleasant visit every time. Last year, I divided the family into 2 visits - this year 3 visits (2 of us each time). Our appointments are every two weeks. This helps to spread the cost out - we have no dental insurance! It's $119/adult & $99 for kids for the cleaning and exam. I thought that was a great price. What do you think?
Anyways, today was Zach and Abby (her 1st time) I knew she would need me with her and Zach wouldn't so they could both go at the same time. We were in and out in about 45 min. with no cavities - well Zach has one in a baby tooth that is about to fall out - Nothing we have to pay for!
So by the time we all go we will have paid $640.
Like any good mom, I took my kids to get Icees at Speedway! Way to keep those teeth clean, shiny & white - right?

Happy Birthday PAPPY!

Today is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Dad! The kids say, "Happy Birthday Pappy, Hope your day is happy!" Here is a pic of my dad with the kids - he came over early summer and built the playhouse for the girls!
Love you dad ! Have a great day!

The trip home!

We are home and back to school, chores, phone calls and laundry! Let me though, take you back to Friday night. Kevin was on his way to Kokomo in my mom's car when suddenly the back tire blew. On a dark, country road, somewhere between Ohio and Indiana. Luckily, my mom's car had all the necessary tools for changing a flat. Thank goodness there was even a flashlight - dull, but still enough to get the job done. He pulled in to my mom and dad's house around 1:30am.
Now, on to Sat. The packing in the morning went well, and we were off by 11:00 am, which is good for us. We headed to Indianapolis, which is not the way we go home, but I wanted to visit my cousin Heather and her family. I had blogged sometime ago about baby Max and since we were so close, I wanted to see them. Baby Max had been in the hospital again and had just gotten home the day before we were there. It was nice to see them and put a face with the name of the little boy we have been praying for. This stop of course lengthened our trip home. On our way out of Indy, we grabbed lunch on the go and headed East on 70. About one hour on the road we were stuck in construction traffic and of course Abby had to potty - "on the twoylet" she says. She doesn't want to do cups, side of the road or in pull-ups. As soon as the traffic gets going again we pull over at a rest area. Not only did Abby potty, but she pooped as well. Yeah! I'm thinking no more stops. Back on the road again and 20 minutes later Abby is shouting, "I have to go poopy!" Thank goodness for all the exits on 70, we would have been in trouble if we had taken the country roads home! We pull over again and let her finish the job, and finally we make it home - oh yeah - one more stop at Chick-fil-a by our house. They were giving away Chicken sandwiches to every customer. We drove thru and came home with 6 free chicken sandwiches for dinner.
It's good to be home, but it was nice to be with family and catch up on all that we miss being so far away! Thanks to everyone for showing us a "good time"! Rachel was crying about missing everyone the first night home. Oh how we all wish we lived closer!
I also had to start a diet today - I needed to anyway but with all the food, bread and cake I came home worse than when I left. Zach and I are planning on walking in the morning before the girls wake up - we'll see how that goes. Now that I've told everyone, I'm going to have to get up and do it - Right?

Green Beans

Here are the girls breaking green beans with their Nana! We are going to have them for dinner tomorrow night. My Aunt Ginni came to visit us yesterday and brought us potatos, tomatoes, and green beans from her garden. YUM! Rachel commented, "we have never done this before!"

Great Grandparents & Uncles

Some of the pics are of our "Labor Day" get-together with my mom's family.

There is nothing better that Great Grandparents! How wonderful to have your kids interacting with your grandparents. There is so much to be gained from all that they have been through and all that they have done in their lives. I'm thrilled to have them around on my side of the family and Kevin's side as well. Great Grandpa Hall and Great Grandpa Sizemore both served in WWII. We have often enjoyed the wealth of history and service from their stories of war. I've often wanted to do a "Family Tree" project with the kids - maybe we'll get to that this school year sometime.

We've also enjoyed some time with Uncle Matt - we had lunch today with him and he took Zach, Jord and Rach to see "Star Wars: the Clone Wars" . There was nothing else worth seeing at the only movie theater in Kokomo. We picked up Nana from work, took Matt home and got back to the house just in time to have dinner with Great Grandpa and Grandma Sizemore.

If you're reading this Kevin - don't forget to water the tomatos & feed and water the bunny.

Love you & Miss you, Stace