Update

Hello everyone. Doug's grandmother is actually doing well again. I think the last I heard Grandpa had taken her home. My grandparents, on the other hand aren't doing very well either. Grandpa is in a nursing home but will be moved to another one when things are put in order. At least that is what I have heard. Grandma has been falling some since she refuses to use her walker and she is too quick sometimes to get out of her chair for someone to get to her before she falls. I think that is all for now.

Some News

Something to pray about. Doug's Grandmother is in the hospital. For lack of better explanation she is in a coma. It doesn't look good. However, Grandma has been bad before and God has seen fit to leave her with us. However, we would appreciate prayer for the family. Linda is working, Steve and Evie just left South Bend and are in PA now. If she were to go on to Heaven, we would probably make a trip out to Michigan. With this, however, Doug would have to use his last two vacation days and therefore, he would not be able to join us for our family Christmas in PA.
As you read in my last blog, our van had broken down. It is now fixed for less then what Doug had thought. We should be able to make the trip if the worst happens.
Please pray for Linda and Mel, and the rest of the family.

Thankgiving is over

Yes, it's over and we are moving on to Christmas. However, I will tell you a little about our Thanksgiving. It was busy. Marcus and Elizabeth got in on Wednesday night. Ed and Tina got in very early Thanksgiving morning. We had our family Thanksgiving meal at our church because none of us really had room for everyone to be together and be comfortable, especially the kids. The church was great because it has a gym and a fellowship hall so we had a place to eat and place for the kids to play. Each child had their own place for quiet time, except my kids who shared a room, which they are used to. On Friday we were all at Mom's most of the day. Doug had to work and since we only have one working vehicle, Marcus and Elizabeth picked the kids and I up since they were staying with Elizabeth's parents which is only about 6 minutes from us. After work Doug came down too. On Saturday, we had an Open House for Ed and Tina' new baby Jack Stephan Curtis. Not too many people came but we enjoyed getting a lot of time to visit with those who did come. Afterwards we were invited to friends for pizza. it was a relief not to have to worry about supper. Sunday saw departure for Ed and Tina and Melody and Joe. Marcus and Elizabeth are still around. they are in no rush so they will hang around and do some things for Mom and try and get some meetings in the area.
We have some pictures. I think Doug may put them on his site soon. If not, I will try to post some.
The most recent news is that our van is in the shop. The power steering went out on Sunday morning. Doug tried to put more power steering fluid in it but it leaked right out onto the ground under the van. So, we had to put the car back on our insurance but we are still not driving it unless we have to. Our neighbor has offered to do the work on the car for us for only the cost of the parts but since we have to pay to get he van fixed we wont have the money to get the car fixed either.
We are back to school now although we haven't done any yet today. Ia m taking a break this morning since I need to do some clean up before we can do school.
This should catch everyone up for now.

Open House

Hello Everyone,

We are having an Open House for Ed and Tina's new baby boy, Jack Stephan Curtis. It is Saturday November 24th from 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM at Huntsburg Baptist Church. The church is 1/4 mile west of 528 on 322. Ed and Tina are registered at Walmart, Baby Depot, and http://www.cottonbabies.com/ for diapers.

We look forward to seeing you there if you are in the area.

God has provided the Lamb!!!

Doug and I stepped out in faith this past month and today I saw just how God is taking care of us because of this step of faith. I was so excited that I was jumping around and laughing and crying and my kids didn't know what was wrong with me, poor things, but since I was happy they were happy. It is so awesome to see how God is taking care of us and well... I am not sure what else I can say without repeating myself!!!!! Just THANK YOU GOD FOR LOVING US SO MUCH!!!!!!!! Just wanted to share!!!

Kali playing dress up.

Heidi's hair for the wedding

Danny's current funny face

I know, It has been a long time again! Sorry!

Forwhatever reason I really haven't felt like there was much to tell.

School is going okay. I am getting the hang of it and the kids are mostly cooperative. We have days though whree nothing goes the way it is supposed to and those days turn into nightmares.

My mom is doing well but she is way too busy. Hopefully things will settle down soon but it doesn't look like it will until after Christmas.

Doug is getting a lot more work as a photographer. It is exciting but means a lot of work. Thankfully it is work he enjoys. He has at least three sessions on the calender and we are hoping he will get some more. Doug also has some appointments for family portraits for some family friends too so that will add to the business. We are pretty excited about all of this.

Danny, despite the lack of Speech therapy is learning so much. Kalista is in some ways ahead of him and in other ways behind him. Kali has started reading which Danny was doing this summer. She isn't up to his level yet but she is reading.

I still have tomatoes groing on my plants outside as well as peppers. I want to do some canning but I haven't found the time.

We are having Thankgiving at our church this year because no one has a place big enough any more. We are also having an Open House for my brother and his family to welcome new Baby Jack Stephan. I will try to post some more pics . I tried to post some before but they wouldn't upload.

If I can find some new ones, I will add some of the kids too.

Hope everyone is having a good Fall.

Long story Short

Okay, I just typed out a whole long story about my suicidal fern and I hit the wrong button by accident. So to make a long story short, I had a fern that was flourishing. It took a couple leaps off my porch. I left it down front by the front door of our building. No one had any problems with it. The manager of the apartments walked off with my fern last week. No one knew why but three people watched her do it. I sent her a note asking why she took it and that I could move it if it was in someones way. She called last night to tell me that she didn't know that it was mine and that they had been having trouble with another tenant leaving things around and to just make sure that my name was on anything else I put down there. Now, having talked to almost all the tenants, I know who she is talking about the people who live out front. They were very kind in allowing me to keep my tomato and pepper plants out front with their plants. When my fern went missing they told me that she would take there shoes that they let out side of their door because they were muddy or wet. I guess they complained about something and ever since then the apartment people have not been very nice. I think it is wrong of the lady to take anything without telling people first that there is a problem. She actually straightens the shoes of a family that lives on the second floor, when she cleans the hall way and to take something that isn't hers doesn't seem right. So that is my shorter version of the story.
I also want to ask you all to pray for us. Our nice Buick LeSabre is making strange noises. We were told that it is probably the universal joint and that is something we can't afford to fix right now. We may be going down to one car for a while. it will save us money on gas and we will probably take the car off the insurance for now and save a little money that way too. It will be hard to go back to only having one car after having two cars for 2 years or so. However, with the kids doing school, it wont be too bad. I want to get a trip to the zoo in before we go down to one car but even that may have to wait.

Some pics and an update

Hello all,
things here have been very busy. I miss all the time I had to do everything else. We were late starting school today and right now we are on a break. The kids are playing with a giant balloon.
I have a couple of pictures to post. one is from the kids and I went down to visit my sister near Columbus. We went to a really cool Fountain Park. It wasn't very big but there was plenty of room for the kids to play and I didn't have to keep a real close eye on them because there wasn't a huge area for them to play in. It was GREAT!!!! The other picture is the kids on their new toys. Kalista got a bicycle for her birthday and Daniel got a scooter for Kali's birthday. It didn't make sense to buy something like that for Kali and not for Daniel. They love going to the near by bike trail to ride or "scoot". It is great exercise too and they are usually tired from their exercise. once they get a little better at their different modes of transportation I will maybe try and find a bike to ride with them. Right now, I just walk along side of Kali. She falls down some times and sometimes I catch her. i fell it is important for her to find out what it is like to fall down and then get up and try again. I don't want her to be afraid. she does well. She has also figured out how to fall off her bike. She gets her foot down and basically walks off the bike before it hits the ground.
Well it is lunch time so I need to get going!

School update

School is going okay. Today we didn't start until late morning. My house is a disaster and there was no way I was going to be able to do school until I had done some clean up. Thankfully the kids can get through some of the lessons quickly. This month has turned into a crazy busy month. All our weekends are booked. We are celebrating Kali's 5th birthday this Saturday because the weekend following her birthday is the Curtis Family reunion! the weekend after that we are going to a birthday for a friend.
I think that is all for now.

School Days

Well, last week was mostly good with one bad day. i felt like I was slamming my head into a wall all day. I finally wrote to the kids teacher and asked her what I should do. I have a very hard time getting through to Daniel. That was Wednesday. The rest of the week went okay.
Friday evening we went down to Momma's. Doug helped her set up her new computer and then drooled all over her very nice flat screen monitor. He wants one now. I do too! We really need a new computer but that will have to wait. On Saturday, I had another bridal shower for the bride of the wedding that I am in in a month. This was a much smaller personal shower with just the bridesmaids and the mothers of the bride and groom. It was really nice. I was back to Mom's by 3 PM and we packed up and headed home. Doug had some work he needed to do and he wanted to get home in time to get it done.
Sunday was Promotions Sunday. Neither of the kids moved up in to a different class but Kali moves to the next teacher up. We had doughnuts after the Promotion service. The regualr worship service.
After church we went home and ate lunch and all took naps. Well, the kids had their quiet time but Doug and I slept. Then we got up and headed to the home of our Associate Pastor. They were having a small group gathering. It was GREAT!!! All the families that were there, other then us had a small baby. I got a major baby fix and Doug just looked at me and rolled his eyes. he was afraid that I would come away wanting another baby, but I don't. I get the urge occasionally and then I see my kids working on school work and think that I just couldn't teach them at home if I have a baby. At least, not yet. The kids had a blast with their friend Makayla and when it was time to go, Daniel was covered in mud!.
It was home for showers, a bowl of ice cream and then bed. I had a hard time sleeping since I had such a long nap and a very chocolate brownie at supper. i was up until 3 AM. If you are reading this on Monday morning, please pray for me. I am tired. Usually this might mean, for other people, that they are short tempered and get easily frustrated. This usually isn't the case for me but please pray any way.
Gotta go. School is calling!

Today was better

Hello all. After only 5 hours of sleep I got up and decided to face the day. I was able to get in my exercise and Bible reading, breakfast, a cup of Hot Cocoa, and some cleaning before the kids got up. Once they did, I was ready for them to eat breakfast and jump right into school. It went better today. I was more prepared. I still have no idea how to get Daniel to focus and comprehend what I am telling him. It is a constant battle. After telling him something, a minute later, he can't tell me what I just told him.
We were done with school by quiet time. When the kids went down, I finished folding my laundry while watching a movie. It was the only thing I could think of that might keep me awake. It worked. Supper is over and Doug is headed to Prayer Meeting. The kids and I need an early night so we stayed home. I still need to log the kids hours and look over tomorrow's lesson plans. Hopefully nothing new. I think that when we start new concepts, it will be a longer day for us.
I also think that doing school away from home wont be as easy as I had hoped. Mostly because we would have to travel with enough stuff to fill a suitcase. Maybe when all the curriculum finally gets here it might make it a little easier but for now, I have to do way to much just to be ready for the next day.
I am going to let the kids relax in front of a movie for a little while and I will do the same, although I will be finishing up my house work and not relaxing while I watch.
That is all for today! If I can find them, I will upload some new pictures. Probably tomorrow or soon after.

Weekend plus....

Our weekend was busy. We had fun at the Fair on Thursday and went through all the barns and learned about the animals and what they eat and how to take care of them.
Friday we spent the day doing our school work and then going for a walk. The kids spent the evening at their Grandparents and Doug and I went out. It was a nice day. Saturday, I went to Lowellville for a wedding of a childhood friend and neighbor. The kids spent the afternoon with their Aunt at the Fair and Doug spent some time at the Fair with his camera but met up with his sister and the kids and brought them home. I didn't get home until after 11 PM. church was normal. No evening service though.
Monday my mother came up in the morning and she and I went over to the fair for a few hours. We wondered around and looked at the exhibits and looked for some good food. We came home for about an hour. Momma napped and then we grabbed the kids and walked back over looking for another person from Lowellville who was working a booth. After searching all morning for him we finally found the booth he was supposed to be working only to find out that he wasn't working that day. Oh well. Next time.
Today has been a trial. I was up late last night so I made the decision not to stay up when Doug left for work. I know that if I am short in sleep, my temper and patience run thin. We started school before 9 AM though. We were through two lessons when i had to stop and log on to an Online session with the Administrator. I settled the kids in front of Blues Clues and got myself ready. I waited and waited and waited with no sessions coming up for me to join. I finally called the school and got through to our teacher who told me that they had just finished the session. when I told her that I had been logged on the whole time and was never able to join the session, she was a little worried. Only 5 parents were able to join the session and again, it didn't go very well. I guess they will try again sometime soon.
When I was done trying to find the session, I got the kids back to the table and went back to the school lessons. Not long after that, it was lunch time. We still have to finish our Language Arts lesson, which has taken about 2 hours already and we have Social Studies left. It just seems like everything kept happening to slow us down today. My house is a disaster, supper is not even a thought in my head and my husband is due home in an hour! AHHHHHHHHHHHH
I hope things get better. Please continue to pray for us. the kids have small concentration abilities and Daniel's comprehensions is very limited. It makes for a very frustrating time.
I will try to keep you all updated but my time is very limited and my on-line activities will be what gets neglected.
I would love to hear from any of you.

Day two

Today's school didn't seem to take as long but since I realized that I was late for an online session with the school administrator, I guess it was okay. I had a whole lot of trouble getting on to the session and by the time I figured out what I was doing, it should have been mostly over but they were having trouble too and they ended up rescheduling for next week. I think I am the only parent who actually made it onto the site. They really need to be more helpful in telling parents how to participate in things like that.
The kids are playing on line games again at PBS.Kids. They love it and it is educational. I got permission to take the kids to the fair and have it count for 2 hours of Science so we are going to the Fair on Thursday since kids get in free that day. YEAH!!!!! Meanwhile I have to figure out how to log in the hours we did yesterday and today. Ia m not sure how to categorize them.
The kids have done really well though. Kalista was up before 6:30 this morning so she will be good and tired at bedtime. I was up at 5:30 in order to make Doug breakfast. He doesn't want it everyday but maybe once a week I will get up early and make a nice breakfast. Eventually it may turn into an everyday thing but for now once a week is good for me. I was in bed by 9:30 last night. This school thing is sure changing our lives! AWANA starts next week, I think and that will change things too. Many changes this year. We haven't even gotten into the thick of school yet! YIKES! it is going to be busy.
Well take care everyone. I would love to hear how you all are doing!

First Day of School

Well, today we started school. I have no idea how it is going, to be honest. I haev gone over the lesson plans the teacher sent and I did a few extra activities of my own. We also went fora walk. the kids have had luncha nd then spent 30 minutes playing educational games on their school sites. Apparently this is acceptable. they are now having quiet time. I want to go to bed but supper needs to be made and the house needs to be cleaned. There are still a few things we need to do for today but I may wait for Doug as I can't get the kids to understand what I am asking of them. Actually the problem is that they are supposed to answer questions and then make up their own and they don't understand that. Maybe Doug can help.
Please be praying for us as we are all going to be adjusting. this week will be easier then the rest as they don't want to overwhelm the kids with a ton of work. We also don't have the real curriculum yet either. That should come this week. I hope so because I am lost.

Busy,Busy, Busy! Again!

WOW! This past weekend was CRAZY!!!! It was supposed to be a slow weekend. the only one we are going to be home for this month however, I had to clean for a sleepover I was having, Doug helped, thank goodness. I also baked for the pot-luck at out church. Doug and I were scheduled to do Junior Church on Sunday so we had to come up with a craft and pictures to color and a snack. After we came up with our ideas for both the snack and craft, I had to do the shopping. once that was done, Doug had to do a small bit of work and then I put together small bags with the craft pieces in them. I did 35 units. I also put together the snack in the same way. I got in a walk that evening too. I also showered the kids. Sunday morning, I woke up with a sore throat and swollen glands. My Sunday was busier still. I was asked to sing for Sunday school. As you can imagine, swollen glands and a sore throat aren't condusive to singing. I didn't sleep good for the 4 hours that I did sleep and then I was up around 5 AM. I was able to doze in the chair for a while before the kids got up. I also made myself a cup of hot tea loaded with honey and lemon. I HATE THIS but it does wonders for a sore throat and by the time I got the kids up, I was able practice my song, although I couldn't sing loud. Because of the pot luck going on at church, I had been told that the adult sunday school class was going to be in the sanctuary. Since the Worship team usually practices before Sunday Schol I figured I would have to be at church extra early in order to go over my song. I got to church and found that Sunday School had been moved back to where it usually is in the Fellowship hall. I was still able to practice but I didn't need to be at church quite so early. this is okay though. I took a cup of my special tea with me to keep my throat in good condition. So I sang at the end of Sunday School. Because of the song, I decided that I wanted to sing out of sight of everyone so that they could focus on the words that were being sung, not the person singing them. This made it really nice. I think more Special music should be done this way. People wouldn't worry so much about how they looked and concentrate more on singing well and clearly. So, After Sunday School, I made juice to go along with our snakc and then wen to set up a room for Junior church. Junior church is also usually done in the Fellowship hall but was moved because of the pot-luck. this did not change. However the alternate place for Junior Church is usually the basement but because of resent flooding, the basement had been torn up and nothing was ready for us and 25 kids. So we took over a classroom. The kids were dismissed and we had a about 27 kids. It was a small room and this made it loud. As it turns out, not only was Danny there who has a hard time with loud noises. there was at least one other child with noise issues. I think he is Autistic too but I am not sure. I felt sorry for him. Danny made his prblem known and then dealt with it. this other child didn't deal with it quite so well. So we got through Junior Church without any major problems. Doug did the story. I did songs and we taught some of the signs for them songs as well. After Junior churhc was the pot-luck. I went through first and got the kids situated with their food and then got back in line for my own food. By this time, I was flagging, big time. After eating and visiting a little with the church family, I grabbed the kids and headed home. Doug had a meeting and then he was headed up to his father's church to preach for their evening service. Our church had an afternoon service, which we didn't stay for. I got home and put the kids down for quiet time and then took a two hour nap myself. I got up and started getting ready for the arrival of 6 girls who were sleeping over. I baked a few more pizza crusts so that my family could ahve pizza as well as the girls. I also made brownies and cleaned up the kitchen. The girls were all supposed to bring a favorite topping for the pizza, a snack to share and something to drink. I was going to provide the pizza crust, sauce and cheese. Well, I didn't have enough cheese. When Doug got home I sent him out to get more cheese and paper plates. One of the girls showed up a little after 7. The rest of the girls didn't get here until between 8:30 and 9 PM. The kids kept us entertained while we waited for the other girls to arrive. once they did, they made their pizzas and opened their snacks, which was mostly candy! We arranged the TV so it was visible to all and then started a movie. Movies was all the girls did all night. I went to bed at 2 AM, unable to keep my eyes open any longer. When Doug got up at 5 AM they were still up and watching a movie. They were kind enough to take care of an issue with Danny that came up in the middle of the night that I didn't hear.Some of the girls were picked up around 10:30. Thankfully they all got some breakfast before they left. The rest of the girls left around 11 AM. The rest of my Monday was spent in a daze as I was still so tired. Today the kids went to do school at Beth's. I worked on getting the computers ready for school. Doug finally got the computers hooked up to the internet. We ahd to log in before the enrollment process was finished so I did that this morning. Now I have to wait to hear from the children's online teacher who will walk me though the rest of everything in order to be ready for school by August 27. Which is this coming Monday. The down side of this is that the kids and I were supposed to go to Columbus on Thursday and stay until Saturday. Depending on when we hear from the teacher and I get everything ready for school, we sill still try and get a short visit in but I am going to be majorly stressed!!! Sunday Morning I am supposed to sing with the worship team so I will need to be at church early again. Hopefully it will be a more relaxed day.Our September is starting to shape up into a very busy month as well. On the 1st, I have a wedding to attend with my mother. The 8th is a personal shower for the bride of the wedding I am in. the 22nd is the Curtis Family reunion. You can pray for us on ths day as it will be a bitterseet day for us. My father is the one who reinstated these reunions. He wouldn't have been happy if we decided not to have one this year. Unfortunately it was hard to schedule this year so it is later in the year then usual. It was kind of nice though because, in order to get it scheduled, we had a lot of e-mail traffic from the family to figure things out and to plan for future reunions. I am scheduled to sing with the Worship team two Sundays in September and who knows what will land on our schedule between now and then end of September. Well, I think I have caught you all up on the goings on at our house.

Friday

Well, we didn't get to the zoo yesterday. Linda called early to tell me that she had hurt her knee the day before and didn't want to spend the whole day walking on it. She had also gotten a call from her father to tell her that her mother was back in the hospital. Something about her gallbladder and water on her lungs. I got to talk to Grandma Wesner on the phone last night and she sounded good. She said there was a party going on in her hospital room because "EVERYONE" was there. She is loved, that is for sure. Linda is headed out to visit them the first week of September. She offered to let us come with her but I will have just started school with the kids and want a little more time to figure things out before I try to pack them up and do school on the go. The Lap top that Danny got has Wireless capabilities so as long as we can log into Kali's account from his laptop, we should be able to do school as we travel. I am praying that is the case. Doug can never take vacation during the summer so school time is now the only option we have.
Today is much cooler then yesterday and I have plans to take the kids out to play soon. I also need to finish up my laundry and do a little bit of cleaning up. We are headed to my mother's this evening for dinner. Doug was supposed to have a Photo gig but the person called and asked to postpone it for a week or two. It was going to happen at Mom's house and she was really excited to see us. So we are going to go anyway. Mom called me this morning. She has to make an appearance at a Picnic for the school in order to be introduced as new faculty. She will meet us at her home and we should be able to have the food ready for her when she gets there. She was also heading out for her walk with her new CD player. She was then going to go out and buy a new car, which she desperately needs and also go to a Piano show and possibly get a new piano. She is planning on setting up a Piano studio in what used to be the dining room. We are so Thankful that God has sent a Godly Financial advisor to her.

Pictures

This is a picture of the kids with their Aunt Bethie. The Zoo has a dinosaur exhibit right now and Kali was so excited about it. they are animatronic dinosaurs and they piped in the noise and stuff, which we had to explain to Daniel by showing him the speakers in the trees and tell him that the dinosaurs were just big toys. After that he was fine.
Yesterday the kids and I went up to Lake Erie to play at the beach and Aunt Bethie went with us. We went in the morning and the beach was basically empty. It was nice. The water was warm and there were big waves for us to play in. We also played int eh sand and fed the seagulls, which Kali loved!!!!!! I thought we were going to get attacked by the whole flock but it was fun to through bread int eh air and watch the birds catch it before it landed.
We didn't stay too long because Beth had to get home and get some work done. They are going on a trip this weekend and she needed to be ready.
While on our way home I talked to Doug's mother and asked if they wanted to go to the zoo with us today, since Linda is done working now that Sparkle has closed. Linda said she could go but that Dad couldn't. This morning she called to tell me that her knee was bothering her and she didn't think it would be a good idea to walk around on it all day so our plans are scratched for today. She also got a cal from her father in Michigan. Her mother is in the hospital. It sounds as if it is a gallbladder attack but they can't do anything right now because she has water on her lung or lungs, we aren't sure which. Linda is planning on going up to see them in a week or two. Please pray for them, and for Linda. Their names are Art and Irene Wesner.
Well, I will work on finding some more pictures from the zoo to post in a while. I was so mad at myself for not taking the camera with me yesterday up to the beach!!! It is water proof! Oh well. Hopefully we will get another chance to go before the water gets cold again!
Have a great Day!!!!!

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Busy Busy Busy

Hey All,
We finally got both computers and Doug has them set up. We couldn't connect them to the internet though so I had to call and see what they told us to do. Doug figured we would have to get a router in order to connect all three computers to the internet. That is what the school told me but they don't provide that so we have to buy one. I think they should provide it since we only need it when we have the school computers but oh well.
Doug's birthday was very nice. The kids and I decorated the house and I cleaned all day last Monday. I cooked a nice meal and made Carrot cake, which Doug loves. When he came home from work, the kids hid under the table and when he opened the door, they yelled "SURPRISE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" He was THRILLED with this reception. He had to run out to the DMV and renew not only his licence but also the tags on both cars. On Thursday we went to Doug's parents house for a birthday dinner with his family too. We had steak and potato casserole, green beans, corn on the cob, salad and I made a double chocolate Pumpkin cheesecake. The cheese cake took forever to make but it was worth it. It was better then I ever imagined, if I do say so myself.
I had invited Momma to come too but she had just gotten back from her vacation and was tired. She also had to unpack the car and return it to the rental place. When she got her car back she found that it needed to go into the garage. So, her plans for Friday, which had been to run a lot of errands and maybe come up here to see Grandma and Grandpa and us too fell through. I called her Friday morning and asked if we could come visit her since she couldn't come see us. She was thrilled to have us visit. When I got there I had her hop in the car and we went to the Market for lunch. (Ask if you don't know what I am talking about.) when we got home We read some e-mail about a project Mom is thinking about starting and then just kind of hung out for the afternoon. The kids played really well. I called Doug and he said we didn't have to rush home so we ate dinner with Mom and then headed home. I made a stop to see a friend's mother and chatted with her for a few minutes and then I had to stop to get gas. I also had to go the long way home since two roads that I usually take are closed for construction for a while. So I also stopped by the Johnson's to say Hi and say goodbye to their son who was headed back to Cedarville for the school year. I stayed for a while and visited with them too.
The kids and I got home around 8 PM. I got them ready for bed and then we did devotions and put them down. After they were in bed, I decided to go out for a walk. On my walk I met up with family friends and chatted with them for a while. It was a nice evening. Until I remembered that I had to go and buy a birthday gift for a party that the kids and I were going to on Saturday morning. while at Walmart I ran into a lady from church who is moving tomorrow and we talked for about 40 minutes in the parking lot. I was home late!!! I had to stay up even later to wrap the gift and get things ready for Saturday. Not only was there a birthday party but our church was having a picnic that we were going to go to as well.
the kids and I went to the party and we had a good time. It was at Lake County Metro Parks Farmpark which is basically a large farm. They have tons of animals and PONY RIDES!!1 The kids were excited about this. I didn't think that Danny would want to get on the pony but he climbed right on and rode around without any fear. I think it helped to see a lot of other kids doing it first. We got home from the birthday party at 1:45. I insisted on a quiet time and while the kids were "napping" I cleaned the house. I decided not to go to the church picnic. It would have been too much for us. After the kids "nap" I put in a movie and finished cleaning. Once the movie was over and I was done getting the house in order, I grabbed a bag of old bread an the kids and I walked over to the fair grounds and fed the fish int he Natural resource area pond. then we walked over to another pond near by and looked for frogs and fed a duck. The kids had fun but I was tired. I had been on my feet a lot throughout the day. So we went home and Daddy was home from the church picnic. I made supper and then I gave the kids hair cuts and showered them. After the shower they watched a short video and then went to bed. Once the kids were in bed, I decided to try and go for another walk. I walked for a while but was ready to get off my feet by the time I was done. I went home and get breakfast ready for Sunday morning and got ready for bed. I slept really well that night and so did the kids. I had to get up early for Sunday because I had to be at church by 9 AM. I had breakfast ready on time and the kids and I were ready before Doug which is rare. We got to church in plenty of time. Danny was in a great mood. He actually wanted to go to Sunday school. That doesn't happen much. He usually tells us that he doesn't want to go and that he is scared. We know that there is nothing to be afraid of and he never has any real problems so we were thrilled when he wanted to go. The rest of the day was pretty normal. Today I had some work to do on the computer and I need to straighten up the house and catch up on things. Later on this week I am having about6 girls over for a sleep over. Two of them are leaving for Israel and I wanted to do something for them with their friends. I wish I could fit more girls in my apartment but as it is, it may be a little cramped. I have personal pizza crusts all made for them and they are going to bring toppings and drinks and chips. They are going to watch Jane Austen movies all night so something like that. I will enjoy being with them as I can pretend I am young again. Well, that is all my news for now. I know I talked a lot didn't I? Oh well. I would love to hear from you all! I will post some pictures from this weekend as soon as I can.

Today is Doug's birthday!!!!!

click on the images if you want to see them a little better

Here are some pics of the kids swimming last Wednesday. I tried to get some underwater pictures of Kali but I couldn't see and so I couldn't aim the camera right. I also found out later that I Was way too close to get a good picture. I do have a ocuple interesting pictures where you can see her mouth wide open and bubbles coming out of her mouth and nose but even then, it is only half of her head.

Well, we got the lap top last Friday, almost two weeks before they said it would come. We still haven't gotten the desk top for Kali though. If it doesn't come today, I will call them and ask about it.

It seems to be muggy today. It is supposed to get up around 88 today but I am hoping that the cloud cover will keep that from happening. It supposedly feels like it is 81 already even though it is only 77 degrees.

I need to do house work today and I might just turn the air on for a while this morning while I work and hopefully it will stay cool and take the humidity out of the house. I hate working when it is hot and muggy but I hate having my house a mess too.

I went to a bridal shower yesterday for a girl that I wen to high school with. I am actually in her wedding in October. I didn't know very many people. Actually, other then the Bride and her mother, I only knew 4 people, but I had a good time and it was nice to meet the other bridal attendants. I heard one of them comment yesterday that it was nice that we all got along. I hadn't really thought about that since every wedding I have ever been in, the bridal party got along but I suppose it is a valid argument. Anyway, the Bride is Roman Catholic and so this will be a different experience for me. The shower was different then what I am used to as well. They had it at a catering place and had as much food as at a wedding reception. The whole bridal party sat at a table int eh front, facing the rest of the rest of the group. Since I haven't ever done that, it was good practice for me for the actual wedding. It will be the first wedding where I don't get to be with my husband. My first wedding where I HAVE to dance (with a complete stranger) and where there will be toasting and such. I am now nervous about dancing, since I have never really done it before except with my husband who isn't much of a dancer anyway.

Today is Doug's birthday. Because of this, I have decided to definitely turn the air on and work hard to get the house clean. I will also be baking a carrot cake, since that is his favorite and making a nice meal. I will have to hit the store but I shouldn't need to much. The kids want balloons and streamers so I may do that too. The family is getting together on Thursday for dinner at Doug's parents. We have a small gift for him and he got his gift from the kids last week for the White water rafting trip. He needed water shoes so the kids got him a pair. Not very exciting but it works. I might pick up a few new t shirts, since h always needs those. Maybe a pair of jeans too.

So that is life today. Hope you all have a great week!

Home schooling

Danny and Kali doing school work at their desks at Aunt Bethie's.

Well I got a call yesterday from OHDELA telling me that Danny qualified for a laptop. I have bene waiting for Kali's desktop to arrive since Tuesday. Kali's printer arrived on Monday. today we got a printer for Danny and we got a box with a power strip, a desk microphone and a USB 2 storage port. I expect that we should get the same for Kali too.

Doug has been getting more business for photography lately. He is doing a wedding reception for a family member of a friend of mine. He felt it would be very irresponsible to do this job without a back up camera. Since his camera broke at Ed and Tina's wedding he has been very worried about this. He made the decision to purchase a back up camera on Tuesday. He had it overnighted so it showed up this morning. Actually the old camera will be the back up. We talked a lot about this and prayed about it a lot. We weren't sure what to do for a while. This purchase was made with business money.

WOW!!! It has been a while!

I have to admit that I don't enjoy writing as much when I don't hear back from people. It seems like a waste of time. However, I will try to bring you all up to date on the happenings here in the Chandler house.
Since the 4th of July we have had several outings, one to the zoo. A couple to area parks. The kids have also continues with their school times with their Aunt Bethie. She has worked wonders in them this summer. Daniel started reading a couple weeks ago. We are so excited by this major hurdle that has been crossed. I am pretty sure that Kali wont be far behind, especially since she wants to keep up with Danny as much as possible.
In July, I went on a trip to PA with my Mom and sister and Aunt for a baby shower for Ed's wife, Tina. We are so excited to welcome little baby boy Curtis to this world. Not that his first name is Curtis. We wont know his first name until after he is born. While on this trip, the kids split their time between Aunt Bethie and their Dad. We have had play dates with friends from church and today, we are going swimming at a friends house.
We have plans to another trip to the zoo next week and I want to get the kids out as much as possible. A trip up to the beach would be fun too. Maybe an outing for our family to do int he evening. Maybe even bring along the grandparents. The kids would love that! I think they would too. I don't know how it would effect Dad's allergies though.
Momma is in Wisconsin visiting Marcus and Elizabeth and Hosanna this week and will go to Music College in Chicago next week.
Momma has been offered a job in a Christian School as a music teacher. It sounds to be exactly what she needs. It should fit her pretty well. She will hopefully be getting some health insurance too.
As I sit here typing this, the kids are eating breakfast. Anne of Green Gables is on the TV and I am getting ready to get dressed and do some exercise. I will need to figure out what to do with the morning with the kids. I have laundry to fold, but I want to work with them on their reading skills too. Maybe run some errands.
Well, I hope that you are all doing well.

Happy 4th of July!

Well, as we celebrate tomorrow It will be hard not to be thinking of what we were doing last year. Last year was our summer family gathering. Dad was loving it. It is hard to realize that Dad wasn't even sick at that time.
tomorrow we will have a mostly lazy day. We will go to Doug's parents in the afternoon and play yard games and grill steaks, corn and whatever else Mom has planned. No fireworks tomorrow night so we are heading out to watch some tonight. Doug is probably going to go up to the lake on Sunday night to catch those fireworks. Maybe I will grab a baby sitter and go with him. That would be nice.
Tonight we had Dan and Grant Johnson over for supper. I made chicken Parmesan, corn on the cob, salad and mixed berry crisp with ice cream and cool whip. YUMMY!!! If I do say so myself.
the kids and I went to the zoo yesterday with my friend Robin. It happened to be the day that the zoo was free so all of Cleveland was there but it still worked out to be a good day. the weather was beautiful and not too hot. The kids did great, even though we were there for a long time. From 10:30 AM until 3:45 PM. No one had a camera so we didn't get any pictures this time. Maybe next time!

I know, I know,

It has been a while again. since my last posting I have picked more strawberries and I bought some too since the price was comparable to picking them myself plus the time and gas. I have put up a ton of strawberry freezer jam and I have started working on watermelon pickles. A family favorite. Well, at least in my family. since it was hitting 90 today, I turned the air on this morning. I worked on my house all morning since it was a mess and got everything aught up, for the most part. Momma came up to visit her parents and stopped to say hi and drop of some stuff that we had left at her house and she had left a pair of shoes here. She also brought me some lunch. After lunch I cut up the water melon rind for the start of the pickles and then the kids and I headed to a friend's house who has a pool. We swam for a while and when we heard thunder and lightening we got out. It never rained but we heard it. After swimming, we went to Walmart. I called Momma and she was in Middlefield so she turned around and came back to Walmart and did a little shopping with us. We parted ways in the parking lot. I ran over to my in laws to pick up some jars to put the pickles in and then we came home. I had turned the air off before I left so it was 80 in here. I turned the air back on and I hope that we can get it down a couple degrees but it doesn't usually. It usually just keeps it at the temp. that it is.
That about catches you up.

Yesterday and today

Yesterday I spent the morning on working on housework and laundry. I still have some of that to do. After lunch, I took the kids to a park near Walmart. When they were done playing, we did our shopping at Walmart. I picked up some hot pepper plants and two tomato plants and two large planters and when we got home, I re potted them into the large planters and put them out on the porch. I also had supper in the oven by 3:15. It wasn't ready until 6:00 but I was able to get in a little nap, by accident, while I waited for the food to cook.
today, I am up early. I am hoping to get the kids over to Bethie's house and then go and pick some strawberries. The house is pretty cool right now so before I leave, I will close it up and it should stay pretty nice. We are going to our Pastor's house for supper tonight so I don't have to worry about cooking. It think we are having hamburgers and stuff out on the grill. It should be a nice evening. I hope you all enjoy this beautiful week we are having!

The end.......

... of school for Danny. He was done on June 7th. Because he is 6, he has to start Kindergarten next year. They were going to place him in one of the 3 Kindergarten classes in our school district. We were very uncomfortable with this for many reasons. One, we knew he would get bullied and picked on. His Pediatrician was against the idea of putting him in Public school for this reason. two, we figure that he is going to get labeled as a problem child or troubled and get left far behind and have to do Kindergarten over again. Three, he would be going from a 12 student class, with three to four teachers/aides/therapists to a class of 30 with only one teacher and, if necessary, an aide. Also, he would go from two and a half hour days 4 days a week to 6-7 hours a day 5 days a week. WAY TOO MUCH FOR DANNY TO ADJUST TO ALL AT ONCE!!!! Alot of Danny's therapy circles around social language skills but I have also read recently that kids with Autism can't be "socialized" in large groups of peers of similar age. Daniel has Sensory Integration Disorder and his hearing is ultra sensitive. Can you imagine putting him on a playground, or in a gym with all those children and expect him to act normal? NOT!!! So after doing a lot of talking with family and friends, we have decided to try homeschooling Daniel next year. Because of the program we are going to use, we will be able to start Kali in Kindergarten as well. this will help Danny in that he will have a typically learning child to copy when he needs help and he will be able to help Kali in learning her letters and numbers and things he already knows. Now this means a lot of work for me so I am really scared and nervous but i keep coming across people or articles who are just confirming for me that this is the right decision. The program we will be going through is a program run by the Ohio Public School system and is tuition free. they supply a computer and Internet access. They also give us money for school supplies and can supply Daniel with the Speech therapy and Occupational therapy that he will need. We are also hoping that we can get Danny and Kali into some kind of organized sport or activity like karate or gymnastics. This would count as the Physical Education part of school. please pray for us as we start the process and get things moving.
For the summer, I am hoping to keep the kids very busy. My sister in law has asked if she could have the kids 2 mornings a week throughout the summer in order to work on school things with them. Kind of like preschool. i would also like to find a lot of places to visit, that are free or inexpensive and people to visit that aren't too far away. I am not a person who enjoys the heat of summer but I don't want my kids staying inside watching TV all day either. they badly need to have the time to run outdoors and get some exercise. If you are interested in having a play date with us, give me a call. If you have some ideas of what we can do for fun cheap activities, please let me know.
This past weekend, I went to my mom's for an overnight with the kids. The purpose was to pick up two school desks that she had in her garage that she wanted to get rid of. I thought that my sister in law might like them for her"summer school" and then we can take them back when school starts or leave them there, depending on where we are living and if we have room. Anyway, we left on Friday and got a chance to swim in a friends pool. Friday evening we had bad storms. Saturday was beautiful, if not a little chilly. Mom and I get the desks in to the van and then decided to finish clearing out the garage so that she can park her car inside. We moved things around and put a lot of stuff in the trash. She was thrilled when we were done but a little teary. She and dad loved to get big projects like that done and doing it together was always fun for them. She missed him. Saturday afternoon, we ran up to Mom's church to look at her new Sunday School classroom that she had been working on redecorating and then we stopped at a birthday party for a friend. The kids and I stayed for about an hour and then headed up to my sister in laws to drop off the desks and some preschool supplies that Mom had leftover from her tutoring days. Beth was thrilled to get them. While we were there, the kids planted some flowers that they had picked out earlier in the week. Once those were planted, we headed home where Doug was starting dinner for me. The kids had eaten at the birthday party. We got home and I got the kids settled in front of a video and I ran up the street to visit a few friends who were having their own birthday party. I chatted for 20 minutes and then came home to eat with Doug.
Today was a busy day too. Sundays are usually stressful but today was different. We got up and went to church but after church we went to the home of our Associate Pastor who was hosting the college kids for lunch and some spiritual discussion. then we all were outside doing different things. My kids played with the Pastor's daughter and the guys were playing catch with a couple footballs and a Frisbee. I jumped in and played for a little while too. We stayed all afternoon and left for the evening service. When the service was over, there was a fellowship fro a family that was leaving. I am tired but I need to get Doug's work clothes washed so he has smocks to wear tomorrow for work. As soon as I put them in the dryer, I will go to bed. come to think of it, I am not sure that this Sunday was as stressful as usual. I really enjoyed visiting with Jess, the pastor's wife and Krystal, the only female college student. I wish people would be more open to visiting on Sunday afternoons like they used to when I was little. it seems like my family always had someone over or we were always at someone else's house.
I hope this has updated you some. I know I don't write nearly as often as I should. Hopefully, with a busy summer, I will have a lot more to write about more often. Catch you all later!

Memorial Day Weekend

Hello all,
Well last week was quite eventful. Kali started the week by throwing up Monday night. Tuesday was fine, all day. Wednesday morning though, I woke up sick to my stomach. I had diarrhea and I was vomiting all day. Doug came home halfway through his day with the same problem. We spent most of the day not doing much and just trying to keep the kids occupied without too much work. Sadly, the TV was used most of the day. Wednesday night, Danny came down with it. Thursday, Doug and I were fine. Wednesday night, Danny came down with it. I kept him home from school on Thursday although he seemed fine most of the day, he did throw up two more times during the day. I was supposed to head down to Mom's Thursday afternoon but with Danny being sick, I decided to wait until Friday. I took my time getting ready Friday morning to make sure Danny was fully over his sickness. It seemed to only last 24 hours. So we packed up and headed to Mom's and were there by 12:30. The kids ate on the way down. I left them with Mom and Marc and Elizabeth, who had arrived the day before, and went to the Market for lunch and a chat with Pam. I got back to Mom's around 3:30. Melody and her boys were there by that time. Doug got to Mom's after work on Friday and Joe showed up later that night after he was done with work. He had quite the adventure but that is a very long story. Ed and Tina and Melanie didn't get in to Mom's until 4 AM on Saturday morning. Ed had not gotten much sleep so he was rather grumpy. Saturday we just kind of hung out and got meals together and talked together. Saturday evening, we all went through Dad's books and marked the ones we wanted. then we packed them all up in boxes. About half of Dad's library is gone. Mom is going to put the rest of the books all on one book shelf and then let a few men go through and see if there is anything they want. Sunday morning, we made arrangements to take family pictures. Each family had their turn before church. After church, we took a group picture. Hopefully one of those will be good. After lunch Marc and Elizabeth and Ed and Tina headed back to their homes. The rest of the kids had quiet time and I took a short nap. We left the guys home with the kids and Melody and I went to church with Mom that evening. When we got home, we started to get the kids ready for bed. Doug and Joe played a game. Then DD, Joe, Doug and Mom played Scrabbled while I watched and chatted with them. We were again, in bed late. Mom woke up feeling sick to her stomach. Doug packed up the van and headed out. He also helped me load up the car, although the kids and I didn't head out right away. We had lunch together, but Mom wasn't feeling well so she layed down. the kids and I left around 2:30 or so. We made two stops. one for a bathroom for Kali and one stop at a grocery store. We were headed to Doug's sister's place for a cookout. We did stop at home and unload first though. Doug was there and he helped but drove separately again. He had borrowed his father's pressure washer to take down to Mom's and wash her porch off really good so she could paint it. Doug and Mom painted the porch Saturday morning and then when it was dry, they put the new, larger sand box on the porch. anyway, Doug had to deliver the pressure washer back to his father so he drove the van and I took the kids in the car. We had a lot of fun at Doug's sister's house. We played Bocce ball and a new game called ladder ball. then we made mountain pies, or campfire pies. i love these and it was a to of fun. The kids had fun playing with all the toys and bubbles and Frisbees and stuff. We got home before 9 PM but had to shower the kids before they could get into bed. they were filthy and we all smelled like smoke. they were in bed by 9:30 but it must not have been soon enough because Danny slept in this morning and had a bad day at school. I have been cleaning up the house and unpacking. i was able to keep the house pretty cook but the temp. just jumped int he last hour so I will probably need to open the windows to let in the breeze soon. Hotter tomorrow and the next day so I will be doing more at night like my baking and cooking and laundry in order to keep the heat down in the house. I hope you all had a great weekend!!!

Happy Spring......

These pics were taken at the zoo!

.....a little late. We have been very busy lately which is why I haven't been blogging much. We have made trips down to my mother's to help her out, Doug is getting very busy with his fledgling photography business and the kids are getting restless to get out and run so we try and do that as much as we can. Today, Doug has a coworker coming to get family portraits done. He is hoping to get a lot more business from this one family. he is hoping that the co-worker will take the pictures in to work and show them around and tell everyone what a good experience it was. Because we have never had a coworker in the house before, we have been feverishly cleaning and getting everything ready for the photo shoot. We also have to make sure the rest of the house is ready in case the kids that are coming need to be distracted while the parents are getting their pictures taken. So our bedroom and the kids room is clean too. We have slowly been working to get the house totally clean and set up so that whenever someone comes to get pictures taken, we are basically ready. We have also been trying to just get rid of a bunch of stuff that we don't need that is just taking up room. Our little apartment is finally clean and not quite as cluttered as it used to be.

Last night Kali and I went to a Ladies banquet with my mother and grandmother. It was a nice evening and Grandma did pretty well considering that she couldn't hear what was going on and doesn't like to sit on hard chairs for as long as she did. I had forgotten that I had brought a long a cushion for her to sit on.

Next weekend everyone is congregating at Mom's for Memorial Day weekend. It will be a time of going through some of Dad's stuff and helping Mom get rid of some stuff that she wont be needing. It will be good to be together again but hard too. We would appreciate your prayers throughout the whole weekend. You can start by praying for Marc and Elizabeth as they are starting earlier the then rest of us. They have to do their presentation at a church in Michigan on Wednesday night and then they will get to Mom on Thursday sometime. Danny has school until Thursday but we may go down early too, so we can have as much time as possible with the family. I purchased a bigger pool for all the kids to play in in the yard and Doug and I went down last weekend to build a bigger sandbox for Momma so that all the grand kids will fit in the sandbox. Mom also has a smaller swimming pool that we will keep for the smaller kids.

So after this client is gone, I am not sure what we are going to do. I know Doug has a lot to do. He has some pictures he needs to finish working on and then post so people can buy them, and he also has two sermons to prepare for Sunday. At least Sunday morning. He can work on Sunday Evening on Sunday afternoon, although he doesn't like to do that. he may do some of both and then tweak the evening service sermon tomorrow afternoon.

Doug and I went to a meeting this past Monday for homeschooling Danny. It is with a group called OHDELA. It is part of the Ohio Public School systems so it is all free. No tuition. They provide computers and any equipment that your child might need in order to learn. For example, Daniel needs a Speech Therapist and an Occupational Therapist. they will pay those people to come out to our home and give Daniel the therapy he needs. If we were to find that he needed a special computer or a special keyboard for his computer, they would provide that also. We are still doing some thinking on what will be best so you can pray for wisdom. We would also start Kalista in Kindergarten at the same time.

So much to do so I will close for now. If I can find one, I will post a picture too.

Daddy and Danny

Doug has been working hard on his photography and he is having a lot of fun doing it. If you are ever interested in getting your picture taken or having family pictures done, ask him. He is really good! He can do all sorts of neat things with pictures. He has his own professional site. Check it out here. He loves using the kids as subjects. He has been working tonight too but the kids weren't quite as cooperative. Hopefully he got something he can play with, anyway.
Hope yo all enjoy these.

Kali

Loving Siblings

Daddy's little princess

Danny

Another new picture

We went to the zoo today. this picture isn't from the zoo though. I will post some of those next week after Doug has had the chance to do a little work on them.

Some new pics

Hey all. Doug got out all the equipment that he got from Daddy and he did some expeiramenting with the kids and I and himself. He gotsome great pictures of himself and the kdis and I. Seperately, and together. The one I am posting now was his favorite and the only one he was dressed up so far. There will be more soon, I hope so watch for them!

How I acknowledged this day

Last night I became rather upset because I knew that I wanted to acknowledge this day in some way but I had no idea how to do it. Ask, Doug. I got pretty cranky. This morning I decided that I would check to see if Beth, my sister in law could keep the kids all afternoon. She was watching them for me anyway because I had a meeting at Danny's school with his teachers and therapists. After the meeting, I stopped at the local florists and picked up 4 roses. Two white roses, a red rose and a lavender and white striped rose. I had wanted to get two white and two red but they only had one red left. The lavender and white striped rose was left over from an Amish wedding that morning. So, I had the man wrap up the white, red and lavender roses and keep one white rose all by itself. I headed down to LowellvilleI called Mom to see where she was and what she was doing and she was at home but headed to the Lawyer's office. That was fine with me. I went up to the cemetery and put the single white rose on Daddy's grave. I stood there for a while and cried. I felt the need to bring those emotions to the for front of my mind. I had been so busy the past two weeks and I felt numb. Everything still felt unreal to me. This seemed very strange to me. Anyway, I headed down to Momma'swhen I was done and went in and used the bathroom and wandered around the house looking at pictures, reading notes and cards. Then I went out for a walk around town. Thinking of memories the whole time. Doug told me that I was fine where I was and I didn't have to rush back, as long as I was home so he could go to work in the morning. I called Momma again and told her that I was in town and they were on their way home. "They" being Aunt Carol and Momma. We had a nice supper together and then I went digging around the basement for some stuff that Doug had seen a couple weeks ago. We loaded that up and I headed home around 7:55. I got home at about 9:05. I feel much better now and I think I have startedmy own little tradition in how to commemorate this day.Mom seems to be doing okay for now. The lawyer had all positive things to say and Mom was able to pick up the Guest book from the funeral home and she spent some time looking that over as well. There is still much for her to do so I am sure she would like continued prayer for strength, comfort and guidance.One more thing. My mother has one of those calendars that gives a verse of scripture everyday. Today, on Daddy's birthday was the verse we used for this blog. The verse Daddy chose to help him get through the last 4 months. My mother was so very pleased to see this. I think it made her day. God know just what we need, when we need it, no matter the circumstances!!!

JUST A HINT!

Click on the images to see them bigger. They are really great!

Kali and Melanie

Kali and Melanie were able to spend a lot of time together over the past few months. They became very good friends.

Some new pics of the kids and nieces and nephews!

Melanie is Ed's daughter and Nathan is Melody's oldest.

More pics

Joah is Melody's youngest (18 months) and Kalista is my youngest(4yrs)

Last two pics!

Danny is my oldest (6 yrs.) and Hosanna is Marcus' first (9 months).

Hello All

Well, It has been a while. Most of you know what has been going on in my family over the past four months. A week ago Monday, my father past away. It was a long week. This week has turned into a very long week as well. Monday morning I woke up to a very sick little boy. He has been sick ever since. He has a doctor's appointment today for his yearly check up so I will talk to the doctor about this as well. Maybe that is all we will talk about since I am sure that she doesn't want to get this too.
So far the rest of us have stayed healthy. I am giving all of us Airborne in the hopes of keeping it away.
I have some pictures that I want to post of my kids and nieces and nephews that Doug had taken for my father before he died. They are great pictures! We also have some pictures from the funeral that I want to post as well. Nothing inappropriate. I promise. Here is a link to the photo slide show that Doug put together http://chortler.smugmug.com/gallery/2729267.
Enjoy! I do.

Finally a few pics

And I do mean a few. In fact, two for now. Doug has the Photoshop on a different Viewing pattern and all the pictures come out like art work instead of photos. I think the pictures are self-explanatory but I will tell you that there is one of Danny and one of Kali. Yes, that is Kali's eye and her eyelashes. Take a good look at how long and THICK they are. Danny loves setting up dominoes and watching them fall down. We got out a birthday gift from last year and he loves it even more now. It is a domino set just for setting them up in patterns and knocking them down. Thank you Uncle Ed and Auntie Bean and Melanie! Oddly enough, the dominoes in the picture are also from Ed and Tina and Melanie!

March 2, 2007

Again, It has been a while since I have written anything. With having to keep my father's site up to date I don't usually feel very much mike doing my site too but I know we have some new pics that I want to post.
Since the last post, my father's leukemia has come back. His oncologist didn't give him much hope. He told him he had two choices, go home or go thru the chemo again with a very slim chance of getting a bone marrow transplant. His told my parents that his chances of getting the transplant were like winning the lottery. My parents didn't like those chances and Dad didn't want to be sick like that again if it was for nothing, so my parents made the choice to go home and they were told that Dad had, at the most, 2 weeks to live. We were stunned by this news. Plans were made for the whole family to come into town to spend as much time with Dad before he died. The kids and I were at Mom and Dad's by Thursday afternoon. Dad's sister, Aunt Carol, and her husband, Uncle Roger came in a about an hour after the kids and I got there. Now, my kids were fighting a nasty virus but Dad said to come anyway. The kids wore masks and gave Papa Cheese (my father) a hug. then they went down to the playroom and were more then happy to stay there.
Dad and Mom received a few calls from a friend who is in the medical research profession and works in the bone marrow field. She told my parents that she felt Dad had better chances then what they were told and urged him to take steps to go after the bone marrow transplant. Hospice delivered a hospital bed and oxygen. On Friday morning I made the decision to take the kids up to my sister in law because they didn't seem to be getting better, but worse. After I left, I found out that Mom and Dad had made the decision to go back to the hospital to start the chemo. They went in to the ER and Dad's family doctor paged the Oncologist. No could find the oncologist and so they sent Dad home. This was discouraging to us but Dad's family doctor called and told Dad that if he was going to do this, he needed to get up to the Cleveland Clinic ASAP. The Leukemia was more aggressive this time and he was going down hill fast. I really believe that if he hadn't gone back to the hospital, he would have lasted maybe 5 - 7 days.
My Aunt and Uncle and Mother drove Dad up to the Cleveland Clinic ER. They were in the ER for a while. I guess Dad wasn't showing any signs or symptoms of the Leukemia and they were going to send him home and told him to make an appointment with the Cancer Dr. And then they did a blood test and they admitted him right away. The numbers for the blood work are on Dad's site (sjcphotos.blogspot.com) My sister and her family got a hotel room near the Clinic as well as my Aunt and Uncle and Marcus and his family. We all met in Melody's hotel room on Saturday We had lunch together and took it in turns to visit Dad. He was very tired and would fade in and out of sleep while we were there. Dad started Chemo on Saturday night. Three days on Chemo, 5 days off. I spent most of Tuesday with Dad. He was feeling okay and we got in a good visit.
Ed and his family have been around all week and are heading back to PA today. Marcus and his family are coming here for a visit this afternoon and evening. I don't know when they are planning on heading back.
I think I have caught you all up on the goings on here with our family.
Just for every one's info, I tuned 30 last week. It wasn't the way I had wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday, in fact it was downright depressing but things have turned around. I don't feel any older then I did two weeks ago but I never do feel very old.
I will post some pictures in a little while!

Wow it has been a while.

So much has happened since I wrote last. My dad got home from the hospital. He is slowly adjusting to being out. Our van broke down. The front Suspension was basically gone. The struts were riding on the tires and digging grooves in the tires. We got a new van too. It is newer, nicer and has fewer miles. In order to get the new van, we traded in the van and the car that used to be my grandparents. We are still adjusting to being a one car family. It is hard for me because I want to be able to go to my parents and go visit my sister and my friend Katie but with Doug working everyday, I can't go anywhere.
We got a couch, my in laws old one, we got rid of two tables and got one new one, we got some new file cabinets and have done some rearranging. We have a little more room and yet a little less. I also got a new mattress this month. Something that I have needed for the past year or so.
the kids are doing great. Doug didn't have any students in his BBI class this semester so he gets a break. It is a load off for him. he is teaching Sunday School this semester and that was going to be almost more then he could handle. He ahs some other commitments that he needs to finish up with soon. Some family portraits he took back at Christmas.

A little bit of news

Hello all. It has been a few days since I wrote anything and a while since I posted a good picture. Today Doug and I had a meeting at Danny's school. It was the start of the transition to Kindergarten for Danny. Basically we just made decisions about which areas we wanted Danny re-tested in before he goes into Kindergarten. It actually went very well. I was dreading it but they were nice and it was helpful to have Doug with me this time. He had some really good questions for them that really helped to clarify things a lot.
This past weekend we made the decision to start looking for a place to live in the county south and east of us. We know that they have a good Special Education school and program because we know someone who is a teacher in the school. We will start to get some info from them and we are starting to search for places to rent in the area. Please pray as we look that we would know what God's will is for us. Since the meeting today, we are not quite so set on moving. We would be okay with staying in the area but since the other county is cheaper to live in, that would be our preference, I think. It will mean that I have to stay very busy getting information from t eh school and looking for places to rent. Plus all the general busy-ness of staying at home.
Danny stayed home from school today because he has a cold. Apparently a number of kids and the teachers aid from school are all out sick too. I had hoped to go visit my Dad soon but with Danny being sick, I wont risk exposing him to that.

For Christmas, Kali got some dress up dresses and things and she dressed up for us the other day and we got a good picture of it. Cute, isn't it? This other picture was taken of me on Christmas night. I was being silly but everyone seemed to think I looked cute too.

I am back.

(This is the latest family picture we took over Christmas in Dad's hospital bedroom. No kids were allowed except the baby)

Finally! It has been a while since I have had an update of anything other then my job and my Dad. I am glad to say the job is over and my Dad is doing well.
the kids are doing great. Doug and I have a meeting with Daniel's teachers and a few other people about transitioning to Kindergarten. Since we don't want him in Public school this should be an interesting meeting. Doug feels very strongly about this so I told him he had to come to the meeting too.
It was so cute, the other day while he and I were waiting for the school bus, he pointed up at one of the many airplanes that fly over our house and said,"Look Momma, see the air plane? How does it stay up there?" DUH....... My answer was something about going very fast and having strong engines. I then thought that it probably wouldn't be too long before he will be able to explain to me how airplanes stay in the air!
Kali has been obsessed with singing and being a princess and many little girl things. She was given dress up clothes fro Christmas along with dress-up jewelry and a crown. I have been having conversations with her about how she doesn't need all those things to be beautiful but that what makes a little girl truly beautiful is what is on the inside. I don't think I have penetrated much but it is a starting point. Last night on the way home from AWANA she had a very long conversation about her smile. Apparently she lost it and when I asked her where it was, she said that it was in the trash? I had to know how it got into the trash but she just kept going on and on about finding her smile and then losing it in t he trash again. At one point, I had apparently lost my smile and my eyes in the trash. I found the whole conversation hilarious. The things she comes up with astound me. She grows up a little more everyday. We have had a few issues with some inappropriate phrases coming out of her mouth. She usually stops and thinks about it before the whole phrase comes out of her mouth and that is very fun to watch because she stops mid phrase and looks at me and then changes her mind about what she is saying. I love watching her learn!
I spent quite a bit of time last week with at my parents and when I came back, Doug had nearly the whole place looking great! He didn't have a chance to get to our bedroom but the rest of the house looks great. I am trying my hardest to keep it that way. Since I am not working anymore, it shouldn't be too hard. (Yeah right)
Well, I have lunch to get for the kids and some straightening to do. Maybe I can get in a nap. That would be nice!