My Dad

I actually started this post on Father's Day 2014...just couldn't find all the right words to say. Not sure I have the right words now but I really wanted to share how I feel.

We have some amazing Father's in our family! Bryan is a great dad and I am so blessed that God chose him to be the father of my children. My Father-n-law is a great father and grandfather. He likes to take the grandkids riding on the farm and spending time with them. My dad is the best dad I could ask for! 

I love this picture of my dad and Joanna! She looks so little and this is a true picture of my dad...he LOVES playing whatever the grandkids want to play, even if it is Minnie Mouse! He has always been this way. I remember as a little girl he would play with me for hours and it was always whatever I wanted to play. Barbies, baby dolls, dress up, or dancing to a silly song...you name it and my dad would spend some quality time with me. Those are memories that I hold dear! 

This time last year I thought we would loose my dad, he had two heart attacks. We were completely surprised and very unexpected. I thank God every day that he has given us more time to make lots more memories with dad! He is a very special man and he loves my mother more now than ever before. He would do anything for anyone, a very kind hearted man. Dad is very crazy about his grandkids and I know he wishes we lived closer and he could spend more time with them. Because we don't see them all the time it makes the visits we do have very special. He still calls me doodlebug and he would still drop whatever he is doing to be right there for me if I ever need him. My dad has been a great father-in-law to Bryan. Dad thinks of Bryan as a son and treats him like one too. I have seen God do great things in dads life and I can truly see that God has changed my dad's heart spiritually.

Dad, I love you more than words can say and we look forward to spending lots of time with you and mom. I am so thankful that God has given us these times to make more memories that will last a lifetime! Love you Dad!!  

2 post in 1

I don't really know which one to share first. I believe I will begin with Elijah writing his name. Last week I gave him and Timothy a place mat that they could draw on. I was watching them but paying closer attention to Timothy as I did not want him writing on anything BUT the place mat. When I looked back at what Elijah was doing this is what I saw. I was amazed! We have been working on writing our name but did not realize that we were this far. I think he did a very fine job. This boy is wanting to learn everything he can soak up and writing his name happens to be one. Great Job, Elijah!!

The next thing I would like to share is about our company this past weekend. My parents came up and spent the weekend. We enjoyed their visit very much and the kids are always so excited to see them! At this visit my parents watched the kiddos while Bryan and I had a "date" (Joanna went with us). That was so nice, Thanks mom and dad! While we were gone my mother took Elijah and Sarah to the Cracker Barrell. Isaac is not fond of eating there so my dad stayed with him and Timothy. As I have said Elijah loves everything blueberry and he has been talking about blueberry pancakes, so my mother just had to take him to get blueberry pancakes. Well you may have guessed it, they did not just eat breakfast....they also shopped and come back bearing gifts. You are right, my parents know just how to spoil my kids and they do a very good job of it!! :) Elijah and Sarah enjoyed their time with my mom and Isaac and Timothy loved having Paw all to theirself. Sunday was also mine and Joanna's first Sunday back at church and it was nice for my mom and dad to be here to help make that happen. Because Bryan has to be at church early on Sunday, Sunday mornings can be a little crazy around here. Someone asked me "How was it getting all 5 kids ready for church" and my reply was that my mom and dad were here so they needed to ask me that again next Sunday morning! LOL!! My parents are always a huge blessing when they come and I am so thankful for them!!

The boys are showing off their matching shirts and stick horses. Thanks Maw for the horses!

Sarah loves these paper doll magnet things. Bryan's mom got her one while they were here when Joanna was born and then my mom got her this one.

My dad was so tickled to get to spoil Joanna. He use to come and watch the boys while I took Sarah to piano when we were in Alabama and when I would come back this is how I would find him and Timothy. Dad got to hold and rock Joanna a good bit while they were here. Thanks dad!

Mom got Isaac this checkers game at the Cracker Barrell.

My sweet mom ironing our church clothes for us. She is great about helping when they are here on Saturday night to get things together for Sunday morning. I pick out their clothes and she irons them for me. Thanks mom!!

My Dad

I have another post titled "My Dad" and you can read it here. Please go and read that post because it really says all I need to say in this one. The only difference is my dad is no longer with us. The Lord took him home on December 15, 2018. God was good in so many ways and I am very thankful for His blessings.

Our family went to visit my parents on December 13 and spend a couple of nights with them because we were having our Christmas with Bryan's family on the night of December 15th. Dad had not had a good week and when we arrived we could tell he didn't feel well but the next day (December 14) he actually had a real good day. We really had a great time with him and enjoyed every moment of it. We went to bed and like every time we are there to visit I went in and told him good night and that I loved him. Dad and mom had plans the next day with the senior adults at their church so he was looking forward to that. Early the next morning mom came in and woke Bryan and I up and said she couldn't get dad awake... of coarse I just thought maybe he was sleeping really hard. We tried everything and then we knew he was gone. Tears flow as I type this because I miss him so much!

I am so thankful we were there and that he didn't suffer. Thankful for all the memories I have of dad and the memories my children have of him. It still doesn't seem real. I love that man and miss him every day!

What a week!

Should I post it all?

Last weekend my Nanny (dad's mom) was not doing so well. They said her kidney's were almost failing and things were not looking good. My parents informed me that she was recognizing them and could respond some. I knew that I wanted to see her before it was so bad that she would not even recognize us. Bryan and I decided Monday at lunch that we would leave that afternoon for our 4 hour trip to Alabama. We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 and we all got to see her. Nanny just smiled at the kids and talked some to them, so I know she knew we were there.

Let me back up a couple of days....Sunday morning after sunday school Joanna had a temp of 102! She ran fever all day and would not eat. I took her Monday morning to the DR and she has hand/foot/mouth! Yuck!

Here Joanna is not feeling the greatest and we are needing to be in Alabama. I wanted to be there with my dad also! He was going to have to make a decision to do surgery or just take her home. They gave her a 20% of making it if she had surgery and with her kidney's not functioning great it was not looking promising! Tuesday morning when I got to the hospital my dad said he had decided to let them do surgery. He felt that this decision was doing all he could do to help her. On Tuesday night we went to eat with my parents and Sarah and Elijah didn't eat well. They both were complaining with sore throats! My first thought was they have what Joanna has.

On Wednesday morning the surgeon came in and saw my dad. He told dad that he would do surgery mid morning (to the dr's that means between 10 am- 4 pm). By lunch I felt awful! I started running a fever and sore throat. Elijah and Sarah both were running fever too! :( I knew I needed to stay through the surgery and be there with dad. Surgery started at 2:15 and at 4:15 the surgeon came and let us know that she had made it through and would be in ICU for awhile. We were praising the LORD that He had seen her through and beat the odds!! He is GOOD!

We headed home first thing Thursday morning. Took Sarah to the Dr on our way home and she has strep. I saw the Dr and mine is hand/foot/mouth (they say if an adult gets it it is ROUGH). My boys were still not feeling great this morning and Isaac even was vomitting this morning. Around supper we looked at the boys (all 3) throats and we saw puss pockets on Elijah and Timothy and red dots (crazy) on Isaac's. Bryan loaded them up and headed to the after hours clinic and they all 3 tested positive for strep!

Nanny got off the breathing tube this morning and seems to be doing well. Tonight she was tired and a little confused. If she makes out of ICU she will need dialysis. We are praying for the best! Thanks so much to all of you who have been praying for her and our family!

So thankful!

This past weekend Bryan was gone on a Youth Trip so my parents and Bryan's mom loaded up and came for a visit. It was perfect timing and I am so thankful they came. They arrived on Friday night and then Bryan left first thing on Saturday morning. I had taken Joanna on Friday evening for a second shot to try and clear up this bad ear infection, etc. and I knew that I would have to take her back Saturday morning for a third and final shot. Having extra hands there on Saturday morning was really nice. We all got ready Saturday morning and headed to Murfreesboro. After Joanna's shot, which she was NOT crazy about (who would be?), we picked up a few things at Wal-Mart and then we went to eat at Red Robin. The food was very delicious. None of us had ever eaten there before and we would definately be going back! Joanna was so pitiful. She was in so much pain that she would just scream and not know what she wanted. Before we left on Saturday morning we noticed that Timothy was running a fever and after lunch Sarah was not feeling well. Argh!! What was going on! Gigi bought the kids a movie so we watched that on Saturday night. Since we had sick ones we didn't get to make it to church Sunday. We instead took care of sick little ones and just enjoyed our time together. My parents and Joan (Bryan's mom) were the BIGGEST help! I am so thankful that they came and were here to help me out. They left after lunch on Sunday and Sarah was much better when we got up Sunday morning. Timothy has still run a fever and it has even gotten up to 103.9! Took him to see Dr yesterday and it looks like its viral. So we are hanging in there and praying that Joanna gets 100% better, Timothy gets 100% better and the rest of the crew stays well. Bryan arrived safely back home last night and he is not feeling well himself. I thought I would include a few pictures of our weekend.

This is a picture of my Dad, Isaac and Elijah in the "woods" behind our house.

Gigi loving on Timothy. She was playing cards with Sarah and Timothy crawled up in her lap.

Timothy is a "read to me" boy! My mom and Gigi love reading to their grandkids.

All the boys love my dad! The little boys wanted my dad to watch a movie with them.

Gigi was a big blessing! She helped do whatever needed to be done. She unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, prepared meals, held babies, she even bought the kids cute t-shirts... you name it, she did it with lots of LOVE! Thanks a bunch Gigi!!!!!

Joanna struggles to sleep with her nose so stuffy. My mom rocked her for one nap so she might could sleep a little better. My mom was an awesome help, she helped give baths, clean the kitchen, fold clothes, etc....you name it, she did it or has done it for me countless times! Thank you very much Mom!!

Everyone of my kids are crazy about their grandparents. My dad is so great about just being an extra hand and he does it so well! When we were in Wal-Mart on Saturday he volunteered to sit up front and hold Joanna while we grabbed a few things. She fell asleep on him and got to take a little nap. My dad is good about grandkids sleeping on him! :) Thank you so much Dad for your willing heart!!!!

Here is a picture of everyone. Joanna is about had enough and so ready to feel better!

I am so thankful that I have family who loves us and is willing to come and be with us! I know with God's help I would have made it through the weekend without Bryan but when God sent Joan and my parents to help it made it so much easier!! SOOOOO VERY THANKFUL!

Christmas 2009

Timothy's 1st Christmas!

Elijah had fun playing with everyone's things!

Isaac is opening some books that we got him.

Isaac and Bryan with Isaac's tools.

Sarah got some cooking sets!

Sarah's doll house...

We had a very fun and great Christmas! It is so hard to believe that last Christmas I was pregnant with Timothy! He had a really nice 1st Christmas! Elijah got all kinds of fun things and really did enjoy playing with Sarah, Isaac and Timothy's things! Isaac got a set of "lil helper" tools. They are real tools just a smaller version! Sarah got a Barbie doll house, the one pictured above. That actually was the barbie doll house my Dad made me when I was little. We got it and Bryan worked really hard at cleaning it up and putting new flooring in it, new back board, new roof and new wall paper in it and it looks so good! After we opened our presents my parents came over and we had Christmas with them...

My Dad opening the gifts we got for him!

My Mom loved the things she got!

This is two peas in a pod!

I am an only child and so my parents only have one stop to make on Christmas Day! They have come for breakfast on Christmas morning for the past few years and then after breakfast we exchange presents with my parents. The kids always have so much fun with Paw and Maw. Isaac thinks my Dad is great and Isaac just loves to be with my Dad. So the picture of Dad and Isaac is for them! We ended the day with a Birthday Party for Jesus...

This is the Birthday Cake we made and shared.

This year we went to our friend's house, The Oehrig's, and did our Happy Birthday Party. We ate supper with them and got to meet their families and then we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and ate cake, cookies and ice cream. What a great way to end an awesome day!

A full week!

Last week was Youth Camp and that means a week without my hubby. I never look forward to him being gone but I see it as our family investing in eternity. These youth are not just playing games and goofing off, they are hearing the TRUTH and lives are being changed!

I also never look forward to the kids and I being here a week by ourselves. So it worked out to where we could spend the week with my parents. My parents had come up the weekend before for Elijah’s birthday party and when they headed home on Sunday afternoon we loaded up and went with them! :) (There are too many pictures for one post so I will divide this into 2 post.)

My mother was off work on Monday so we spent all day with her. We really did not do much except play and enjoy being with mom. It rained on Monday so it was one of those “take it easy days”. Monday night after supper we headed to Bryan’s mom and dad’s house and spent a couple of days there.

On Tuesday the kids got to swim. The kids LOVE being at the “Farm” and getting to ride around with Pop looking at the cows or crossing the creek. Pop has retired so we got to spend a lot of time with him. My kids so enjoy being at Pop and Gigi’s!! We also were able to spend some time with Bryan’s brother Rusty and his family on Tuesday night! We enjoyed every minute there!

Timothy at Gigi's. As always there was delicious food!

Sarah LOVES the pool! Even if it was cold she wanted to be in the pool.

Joanna is way too funny! :)

Elijah loved playing in the pool!

Isaac had a great time!

Joanna riding on the big wheel! This was her favorite riding toy while we were there.

The kids also love playing in Gigi's play room. The little boys will play for hours in there!

Joanna stops playing to pose for a picture.

These two had so much fun playing together.

Timothy is our laid back child.

Then on Wednesday we stopped and visited with some friends on our way back to my parents house. That night we took my dad out to eat for his birthday. Mother had made dad a cake for all of us to enjoy after supper. It was so nice to be there when dad got off work.

The boys!

The girls!

Dad likes to grill so mom got him some things for the grill.

Happy Birthday Paw!!

The rest of our week.

Wednesday night when we came home from Daddy's birthday supper the kids were catching lightning bugs. They loved being outside and playing.

My mom was helping them to showing Joanna the lightning bugs.

Elijah showing off his 3 bugs.

Joanna would rather slide than catch bugs.

Timothy just happy to be there!

Joanna having so much fun!

I think she was trying to help with the laundry.

Timothy trying to look like Maw. :)

Mom and Dad both took off on Thursday. Dad took Isaac fishing that morning and the rest of us got to hang out with mom! We had a few errands that morning. Thursday night my dad took us to a friend of his who has deer, peacocks, and turkey. The kids loved it. They got to feed the deer and make the turkeys gobble. Ha!

Then my dad is off on Friday’s so we got to spend all day with him on Friday! The kids got in the garden with him and helped pick some veggies. The weather was just right for being outside, not too hot and a little breeze.

Timothy helping Paw pick beans.

Supper! They were delicious and FRESH!

Dad and I! Mother says we are two peas in a pod! :)

Of coarse Sarah steals a moment to read!

Then she is off playing with Joanna!

We came home on Saturday and was so glad to see Bryan. How sweet it was to see how excited the kids were to see their Daddy! :)