Christmas 2006

It has been a crazy couple of days, but we had a ton of fun. We started off our Christmas festivities on Saturday when we attended Christmas Eve service at GCC and then had a gift exchange with our best friends. The kids had a great time opening gifts as did the adults. Christmas Eve morning I hit the ground running. I had about half a dozen dishes to make for the holidays. I finished those up in just enough time to jump in the shower, get the kids ready and head to my sister's for dinner. We hung out there for awhile, opened presents, ate food and then it was time to head over to Grandma Marques' house for some more good times. More presents to open, dessert to be eaten, and then time to head for home. The kids did their traditional opening of Christmas pajamas, putting cookies out for Santa and then off to bed. We finished up some last minute details and then off to bed till the big day!


Believe it or not, when I woke up at 8:30am on Christmas morning the house was quiet, no one was up yet. A few minutes later Tyler woke up, then Rachel made her way in our room and at 9:00am we finally had to wake Allison up. I think we had to wake her up last year too. The kids opened up presents from Santa, then my dad and brother came over for breakfast and more opening of gifts. Before we knew it we had to leave to go to my cousins house to open presents and spend time with my mom's side of the family. We left there and headed to Berrien to have dinner with Daryl's side of the family. More presents, food and good times were had.

We spent the day today putting toys together and just letting the kids play all day! It was a great three days and since Daryl and I are on vacation this week I am looking forward to some much needed rest.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Hon - We're in Granger Now...

Yes that's my driveway and yes, those are cops!

At noon on Wednesday my wife calls me freaked out because she just saw a car fly through our yard and cops chasing with lights flashing. I quickly headed in that direction at 60+ mph to find one Chevrolet Trailblazer in our back yard butted up against a tree and two empty (and still running) police cars flanking my house!

Assuming there must be a chase in progress, I headed into the house to make sure everyone was okay. Tammy was in our closet with the two kids that were still home and seemed a bit concerned about coming downstairs. I assured her there was no one around, grabbed the camera and headed back outside (dumb I know - but this had to be the most bizarre thing that has happened to us...EVER!!! So I couldn't pass up the opportunity.)

[complete photo gallery here]

Well, after a while the police returned to fill us in on the case. Apparently a few boyz in the hood (I mean neighborhood...) decided to steal a car in South Bend and drop it off to someone at a church in Granger. Along the way, they were spotted and the police gave chase. So the boyz headed toward home (which just happens to be a few streets over from ours) and must have thought we had a secret shortcut behind our house. When they realized they were sadly mistaken, they abandoned car (SUV) and fled on foot - causing our fine men in brown to get an unexpected workout (of course they were "high-fiving" at the end of it - most action they've seen this year apparently...)

The police explained that they had three of the boyz and that one was headed down the toll road somewhere and would be picked up sooner rather than later.

Aside from a little grass damage, our house made it through the ordeal.

I guess on the one hand you need to thank God for His watch care over us but on the other hand you can't help but laugh at the criminal mindset...

Hon - we're in Granger now!

It's a Wonderful Life

I am sitting here at the kitchen table thinking about my life and just how good I have it. My wife isn't here - and no, that's not why my life is so good. She's out at a gas station somewhere in Michiana handing out free gas as part of GCC's 20 Days of Giving [follow along here]. It's nice to be married to someone that cares enough about her community to stand in 20 degree temps to spread a little love...

Rachel is attempting to play games on the computer. Allison trying to decide if she should help her as she walks around carefully with a baby doll she says is Carter's sister.

Tyler and Carter are pushing heavy machinery around the living room and keeping their eye on the TV to make sure I don't turn Dora the Explorer off.

The snow is gently falling outside even though you can't see it in the picture.

I have the Sunday paper in front of me and a cup of Starbucks coffee within arms reach.

It's the holiday season.

I have a great God, family and job.

I have a great roof over my head and two cars that have been working well this week :)

Like I said, It's a Wonderful Life!

Happy 36th Birthday Daryl

Today my husband turned 36. I was tesing him earlier this week that he is now closer to 40 than 30. Of course I can still do this because I have a couple more years till I hit that point. One thing I love about him is that age does not matter, his response back to me was "who cares, it is just a number".
I try to do something special for him to celebrate his Birthday, last year I took him away for the weekend. This year it was more important for us to be at church because today is the 20th Anniversary of the church. So instead of going away for the weekend we got away for the night. The Callenders took our kids for the night and we did dinner, a movie, breakfast in the morning and some other things in between those times. Oh how I love married life! Tonight after church our best friends are coming over to celebrate his birthday and tomorrow we will celebrate with the kids. I love it when the whole weekend is all about him. Birthday's were a big deal in my house growing up and I want to continue that tradition in our house.
Just so you are aware, I have the best the husband on the planet. He is my best friend and the one I cannot wait to go to bed with at night and wake up next to in the morning. He does what needs to be done for our family and because of this we never go without. He is a awesome father who loves his children more than he loves himself and they adore him because of this. I am so lucky I married him, we have had 7 great married years together and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us.
I love you hon!

Trick-or-Treat....a little late

Aren't they cute!

Princess Jasmine, aka Allison

Snow White, aka Rachel

Dalmation, aka Tyler

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating with Jacob and Abby, as we have done for the past couple of years. It was a little chilly but a fun time was had by all and we have enough candy to last us the rest of the year.

Window Washer

Yeah, I know it has been forever since I posted anything on this blog. I guess I have just been lazy or just too busy. Life seems to be going 100 miles and hour right now and I am afraid it isn't going to get better. Even though life has been crazy I was able to accomplish a project that I had been dreading doing but knew had to be done.
What was this project, you may ask? Well I spent the last 2 Sundays washing windows. Oh yeah doesn't that sound like fun. I started this project last Sunday and thought okay I will take one day and get all the windows done, uh that did not happen. It took me all afternoon to just do the windows downstairs. So I spent the afternoon today doing the windows upstairs. It is amazing how long it takes when you are cleaning the blinds, pulling the screens out and cleaning those and then cleaning the window sills and then finally cleaning the windows themselves. The window sills were disgusting, I am not sure how they got so dirty, but boy were they. The only nice thing about this project was that we have awesome windows that fold in so there was no going outside to clean windows.
As much as I hated this project I am glad it is done and I am glad that it won't need to be done for at least another year. All I can say is that I will be passing on the tradition that my mom started and one day this will be a great project for my kids to help me with. I'm thinking in another 5 years Allison can help. Then if I wait another couple years after that Allison and Rachel can take over the project all together....SWEET!!!!

Tammy & Me

Tammy and I don't take many pictures together - probably because we have three kids and by the time we get through taking pictures of them, the batteries are dead and the camera is begging for mercy...

But the other day there were other adults around and the camera came out for the sole purpose of making memories. So Tammy and I sat down and took a good one (if I don't say so myself). You know how you look at pictures of yourself and you can always find something wrong with them? Well, I look at this one and it just feels right. It's us - plain and simple.

We have had 7 great years together and I'm looking forward to many more.

Love ya Tam :)

Bullies on the Bus

I walked into the kitchen this morning to hear my daughter (Allison) describing how there were kids on the bus that were making fun of her. My first instinct was to ask, "What are their names and where do they live?" But I resisted the urge and listened as she explained that the bullying was done by older kids on the bus making fun of the way people dressed, and the way their hair looked.

How sad I thought that they learn that stuff at such an early age. How sad that my daughter has to ride a bus and endure that crap. How sad that there are kids that will influence in the negative rather than the positive.

But there was a ray of hope. My wife asked what she did when this happened and my daughter reported that she ignored it. Hooray for her - it took me numerous counseling sessions just to get some adults to realize the benefit in ignoring other peoples negative behavior.

Of course the problem remains. Even though she is able to ignore it I know it still hurts her. She is kind, loving and does care what other people think of her. To her the world is still ultimately good.

As I dropped her off at school this morning (at the butt-crack of dawn) I just sat there and watched her slowly walk through the big doors. Her backpack is wider than she is and it looks like it goes from her neck to her knees. But there she was - entering an establishment of learning. I just pray that the learning is positive and that the negative influence is in such small doses that her overall experience is good.

As I drove away - it was with a sad heart and a desire to go back and say, "Forget school - we're going to go hang out all day - just the two of us."

Of course that's probably the way God thinks about us too.

Happy 6th Birthday Allison Lynn

Today at 9:10am our eldest child turned 6 years old. Only 4 more years and she will be in the double digits, wow where does the time go. She started kindergarten this year and is loving every minute of it. She has even gotten a marriage proposal on the bus from a little boy named Nick, though she told me she had to wait till she was 6 to get married, so I guess this is the year :)
We are having her and Tyler's Birthday parties on Sunday, but she still got to do some of her favorite things today and spend it with some of her favorite people. They sang Happy Birthday to her at school today, she went to ballet, she got to pick what we had for dinner, Abby and Jacob spent the afternoon and evening with us, the kids had ice cream sundaes for dessert (Allison's had a candle it in), she got to watch a movie she has been wanting to see for awhile, she played outside with her friends and she got phone calls from some of her favorite people wishing her a Happy Birthday.
Like I said in Tyler's post, my goal is to write each of them a letter on their Birthdays so here it is or at least the beginning of it.

Allison Lynn-
Happy 6th Birthday Sweetheart. I cannot believe that you are already six. I still remember the day you were born and how little you were. From 5 pounds 6 ounces to 46 pounds, it is amazing what 6 years can do. I can remember looking at you when you were a baby wondering what you would be like as a little girl and now I find myself wondering what you will be like as a teenager. You have grown into the sweetest and cutest little girl I know, though of course I am totally biased. You have a heart of gold, right now you are growing out your hair so you can give it to people who do not have any hair. I am not sure where you came up with that idea, but you came home one day and told me what you wanted to do and you are determined to do it.
You are a typical first born, you want things a certain way and you want things to be right. You started kindergarten this fall and you love it. On thing that has been hard for you is that you are learning how to spell and sound words out and you get so frustrated when we won't just tell you how to spell a word. It has to be spelled exactly right or you are not happy. You love to learn and would never think of doing anything to get yourself in trouble with a teacher. You actually came home today from ballet and when I asked you how it was you told me it was "bad". When I asked you why you said because everyone was messing around and not paying attention, and you were totally irritated by this.
The older you get the more I see myself in you. You very easily get your feelings hurt, all it takes is me talking to you in a stern manner and the tears are flowing. You do at times get an attitude and I will hear the door to your room slam, wow do I remember myself doing the same things. Even though you look like your daddy, I look at you and see myself so many years ago. Your Nana always used to say that looking at you was like looking at me when I was your age, I cannot imagine what she would say now. I have found myself thinking about how proud of you your Nana would be, I just wish she was here to see you growing up.
One thing that I find very funny right now is you are very concerned about who you are going to marry and have asked me and your dad how you will know that you have found the right person and you are also scared to have your own children because it hurts to push them out. It still amazes me that at 6 you are already thinking about those things. You and Jacob Callender still have a little crush on each other depending on what day it is. All I know is that no matter who you end up with I pray that he will be your dream come true and that the two of you will serve God side by side for the rest of your lives.
I pray Allison that you will love God with all your heart and that you will follow after Him all the days of your life. I know that God has given you talents and a passion and I pray that you fling yourself into these things knowing the good plans God has for you. Know that no matter what happens to you in this life that your Dad and I will always be here loving and supporting you and that our home will always be a safe haven. Mistakes will be made along this journey called life, but you have a forgiving Father in Heaven and forgiving parents on earth.
I love you sweetheart with all my heart and soul,
Mom

Daddy and Allison's Night Out

Ask any child where he or she wants to eat and there is a 99% chance (not scientific) that it will be McDonalds. So that is where we went. She had a nugget happy meal in order to get the coveted Ariel toy. I had a number...well it really doesn't matter what I ate - there isn't much there worth blogging about :)

Next we headed over to the theatre and caught a full price version of Open Season (recommendation: make sure to catch it at matinee price). It was cute. But definitely no Lion King or monsters INC. I think she liked it, but if I ask her about it in two weeks she'll probably say, "Huh?"

And finally came the all important ice cream stop. Ally had Dirt and Worms at Ritters and I had...well it really doesn't matter what I had because anything there adds 1000 calories to your daily intake :)

It's hard to believe that Allison is 6 already. She just gets more mature every day. She still has her breakdowns but overall it's strange to hear the questions and comments that come from her each day. I can't wait to see what she'll be like at 16...

Rachel Can Ballet

Rachel and Allison have been doing ballet for the past month or so and today was the first day we were able to actually sit in a class and watch the fun. It was Rachel's class and I'm not sure I'd call it ballet - maybe running around in pink, or act like your favorite animal, or run, jump and kick.

But it was fun and she seemed to enjoy it so that makes it all worth it.

Here is a short video clip if you're interested : )

Apples, Steak, Rides & Fireworks

I'm typically not given to attending festivals or anything that resembles a fair for that matter. It just doesn't do it for me. But I was convinced to attend the Apple Festival in Niles, MI last week and I must say it was worth it just to see the kids eyes light up at the thought of having elephant ears, cotton candy and riding a few simple rides.

The adults went to indulge in the steak and potato phenomenon. But the kids had already been fed - so they stuck with the sweet stuff.

The kids rode the motorcycle ride (see pictures above) and then went through a Fun House type thing ($3 for 30 seconds). But all-in-all it was fun to see them happy.

The night finished up with a short and to the point episode of fireworks, some spitting rain and a quiet ride home - long live the Apple Festival!

Happy 2nd Birthday Tyler

Believe it or not my little boy is 2 years old today. I absolutely cannot believe it, where did those 2 years ago. It is hard to believe that he is not a baby anymore, he is now a toddler.
I have been telling myself that I am going to write a letter to each of the kids on their birthdays so that one day they can look back and read them, so that is what I am going to do right here on our blog, so read on if you wish!

Dear handsome boy-
Today at 3:39pm you turned 2 years old. It is amazing to me to look back over this past year and see how much you have changed. You have literally gone from a baby, who was barely walking a year ago to a little boy who now runs and jumps around our house doing anything possible to get other people to laugh at you. Right now you are in the "monkey see, monkey do" phase, you follow Allison, Rachel, Jacob and Abby everywhere they go and try and do and say exactly what they are. Rachel has taught you how to climb up on the coffee table and jump from there to the couch, which you think is just way too much fun. You love to play with cars, balls, legos (your daddy just got out the legos he just to play with as a kid and you will actually sit and try to build things with him), trains and anything else the kids might be playing with which does include barbies at times. You love to color and be outside. You will get on your little push bike and start at the top of our driveway and give yourself a few pushes and put your feet up and ride down into the street, yes your parents do let you play in the street or otherwise known as the cult-d-sac :) One of my favorite things to watch you do is play light saber with Jacob Callender, even though I end up getting light sabered at times. Right now the only TV shows you really like to watch is Dora the Explorer and the Doodlebops. This is really the only time you will sit for any amount of time unless you are on your mommy's lap.
Speaking of your mommy, you love for me to hold you. If it was up to you you would probably spend most of your day in my arms. You give me the best hugs and kisses. I would have to say at this point you prefer your mommy over just about anyone. I have to tell you buddy I was a little nervous about having a boy. I wasn't sure what it would be like, I knew what girls were like but what would I do with a boy? I always heard people say that sons have a special place in their mother's hearts and I now know that is true. You bring us so much joy and we cannot imagine our lives without your smile and big brown eyes. You are such a lovable little guy and I am going to take every hug and kiss I can get because some day I know I will be replaced.
As you continue to grow from a little boy into a big boy I pray that God will continue to keep you safe. I pray that you will follow God all the days of your life with reckless abandon and chase your dreams, but always know the road that will lead you home again. I know God has designed with you do great things for Him and your dad and I will do everything in our power to help you along the way. I am so excited to watch you grow from a little boy to a young boy, from a young boy to a young man, and from a young man into an adult. We have a lot of good memories ahead of us.
I love you Tyler Ryan with all my heart!

My Thumb Is a Little Green

There's just something different about lawncare in the late fall. The air is crisp, the leaves are starting to show up on the lawn and the rainy days make the grass grow faster and greener than in the hot months. As you make each pass, the leaves get mulched, the green gets greener and it starts to feel like a soft new carpet.

I typically do NOT look forward to coming home and doing the lawn but every once and a while...

I'm My Own Diva

Rachel as taken up high fashion and definitely has it nailed in this pose. Notice how the pink in the bathing suit matches the pink in the boots? It's called accessorizing and it's all the rage in London right now.

I was in the middle of mowing the lawn when she walked out and couldn't help but stop and admire her taste in dress. Nice shot Tammy - we'll save it for her first boyfriend...

Bond With Me Or Else!!!

So this weekend I had the opportunity to spend some serious time with my kids. Tammy was away with the "girls" in Chi-town (I hear what happens in the Windy City stays in the Windy City...)

So I did what any good father would do and filled the weekend up with stuff to do. Saturday we had a full house with the Callender kids, Grandma and Grandpa McMullen, Lori, Brian, Cheyenne and Tanner. We had a late lunch and the kids played like crazy. Then it was dinner for my three and the Callender two and off to church. After that the guys came over for beer and poker (actually much more tame than that since we had 7 kids to watch).

But we were able to talk about deep subjects and share intimate thoughts and feelings about stuff like sports, computers and portable devices...

Tyler went down around 11:00, Rachel at 11:55 and Allison after Midnight...go ahead and call CPS - they won't do anything :)

Sunday dawned just early enough to get breakfast in before Fred stopped by to chat and Grandpa McMullen came back to help rid our yard of a fallen tree. We split, stacked and moved wood from 1 until 4 as Tyler slept and the girls played in the yard.

[oh my aching back...]

The "girls" got home in time to head to Lifeline and Tammy was nice enough to take the kids so I could take a shower and clean the house.

Oh, and I was able to catch the last quarter of the Denver vs. KC game (Broncos by 3 in OT)

Life is good!

Fall Weather and the Beach

Cheyenne and Rachel decided to sit on the park swing and discuss the finer points of metaphysics and the impact it has on global warming and other environmental issues.

Tanner and Allison decided to dig for the skeletal remains of Trilobites from the Paleozoic period to take to their paleontology class next week.

Tammy and Tyler decided to lay off the academic stuff and just chill in the field tent.

We spent the afternoon at the beach and had a great time. It was chilly but that didn't stop the kids from tearing up the play area, getting wet, finding cool rocks and getting sand in places sand shouldn't be.

Might be the last trip to the beach this year so we enjoyed it!

Times They Are Changing

I've been slow in getting this news out and I'm not sure why.

Sure I've been busy. Sure it's been a time of transition. But come on - this is great news! So I finally got around to posting about it on the family blog.

Last week I left the world of mental health after over 10 years of service. I have done everything from juvenile justice, to case management, to therapy to supervision/management. I've worked at more than 5 facilities and met numerous professionals - some that challenged and encouraged and some that made me question my career choice.

Over the past week I have looked back with both sadness and joy. Sadness at the thought of leaving a field desperate for good workers. But joy in knowing that I was there to give as long as I could and that others will be there to fill in the gap.

So what will I be doing now?

Well, for the past two years I have been volunteering my time at Granger Community Church in the web communications department. An hour here and twenty hours there to help keep the websites up, running and looking their best. But over time this slowly turned into a position that would at some point be created to ensure the health of the web presence for the future.

And last month that position finally became a reality. I will now be serving in full time ministry as Web Director at the church.

It's strange to look back and see God in the process. He literally had His hands in everything I did from the jobs I took to the hobbies and interests I developed.

I can't wait to see what He has planned in the next leg of the journey...

[You can follow along with me by subscribing to the WebDrivenChurch blog]

Catch a Wave Man!

Finally did some simple video editing on clips from the waterpark. Here is Tyler going down a slide and the girls getting to surf with one of the waterpark staff members. They loved it even though it looked pretty intense.

Warning...if you're using dial-up you might be in for a long wait...

First Day On The Bus

Out the door we go, ready for the bus.

Waiting in the rain for the bus.

On the bus and off to school.

We all survived her first day on the bus. I knew she would be fine, but it was still really hard to put my little girl on the bus, and boy was it a packed bus. I surprised myself and got through the whole thing without crying, but I couldn't stop thinking about her. She said she made friends on the bus and is ready to go tomorrow. I think she handled it better than I did.

I'm Not Ready For This

Today was Allison's first day of Kindergarten and I cannot believe it. I still cannot believe she is old enough to go to Kindergarten, where has the time gone? What happened to my little 5 pound 6 ounce girl? It just does not seem possible to me that she is now going to school.

We went to the Back to School picnic last night at Mary Frank and found out that not only are her and Abby Callender in the same class, but they are sitting across the table from each other. Becky and I decided to not warn their teacher at this point and see what happens. It should make for a fun year for both of them. They have gone to the same preschool for 2 years but were never in the same class.

Today she only went to school for an hour. I took her in and attended a meeting while she was in her class for an hour, tomorrow is the big day! Tomorrow morning at 7:35am she will be getting on the bus for the first time, this I am NOT ready for. I still cannot imagine putting my little girl on a bus. She really isn't old enough for this is she? She is not nervous at all and when I asked her tonight what she would do if she got to school and did not know where to go, she looked at me with that "duh mom" look on her face and said I will just ask a teacher. Okay so I guess she is ready to go to school. This just feels like the beginning of the end, my little girl is growing up.

One thing I do know is that these guys, especially Rachel, sure are going to miss Allison while she is at school.

Happy Birthday Jami

This is a picture of Jami Ruth, one of my best friends, and her husband Todd and son Carter. I had a hard time finding just a picture of Jami so had to use this one. Jami and I have known each other for almost 6 years now. I met Jami becuase of her love for Allison. Jami used to help watch the kids during New Community at church. She was in Allison's room and her and Allison quickly bonded and as Allison grew and moved rooms Jami moved with her.
To be truthful I cannot really remember when Jami and I started hanging out together. I remember talking with her about changes that were happening in their lives, but there hit a point where we became friends and seems like we have been that way forever. There are so many things about this girl that I love. She is a great listener, she stands up for what she believes in, she is always willing to help, she is fun loving, energetic, truthful, honest, and a great wife and mom. She is one of the few people I have in my life who I know I can tell anything to and who I know will always be there for me. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without her or her family in it.
You mean the world to me Jami Ruth, I love you girl!

I'm Frustrated

Or should I say downright MAD! For those of you who know me you know most of the time I am pretty laid back, but there are times when I can get very passionate about things and right now is one of those times. For the last 24 hours I have been outright mad, irritated, frustrated, and a whole bunch of other emotions. Why you may ask, well let me tell you.

Last Thursday Daryl comes home to tell me that his car, a Honda Civic, is dying on him and it needs to go in to the shop. So before we leave to head to the Dells we take the car into the shop. We get a call on Friday telling us that it needs to go the dealership because it is showing that there is some kind of computer problem, so we have it towed to Basney Honda. The whole time I am thinking okay I hate it when there are problems with the car, but hopefully this will be a quick fix and we will have it back by Monday all fixed and ready to go.

So yesterday I get a call from Basney telling me what was wrong with the car, the guys proceeds to tell me that there is something in my engine that is putting out excessive input, at this point I am not paying too much attention I am just thinking tell me the price. He ends his whole speech and then gives me a quote of 3500.00 dollars. Oh yeah you read that right! I about hit the floor. I proceed to ask him why my 5 year old car has 3500.00 dollars worth of work that needs to be done and of course he cannot answer my question. I told him that I would not be spending that amount of money on that car and that I would not be buying Honda again if this is what was to be expected. He was very nice and told me he understood what I was saying, okay he might understand but I can guarantee you he is not having the same feelings I am right now. He then proceeds to give me the consumer relations number to Honda and tells me to call and tell them the problem. At this point I hand the situation off to Daryl, he is much more diplomatic then I am sometimes, and he calls and tells them the situation and they explain they will hand it off to one of their people and get back to us and let us know what they can do for us.

At this point they are going to have to do alot in order to keep my business. We bought Honda for a reason and were planning on continuing to buy Honda, we actually had planned to buy an Odyssey as our next car, but not sure that will be happening at this point. You know I expect a car that is 12 years old and has alot of miles on it to have that problem at some point, but not a 5 year old car with 87,000 miles on it. Can you tell I am still MAD!

I hate cars! Maybe we will just buy a horse and buggy!

Good Times Good Times

There is a lot going on right now in the life of the McMullens. There are 3 really cool things happening right now in our lives. This post is dedicated to just one of those and you will have to wait for the other two. We are headed out of town this weekend to do a little summer get away to Wisconsin Dells. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am, I have so been looking forward to this trip. Here is a list of the things I am most excited about:
*Time away-this is our vacation for the summer.
*I have never been to the Dells, I love going places I have never been.
*The look on my kids faces when they see the water park.
*Time away with my husband-I get to spend the next 3 days with him. I love that.
*Time with my kids, watching them have tons of fun.
*Going down the water slides and floating in the lazy river.
*Staying at our hotel, it looks SWEET!
*Spending 3 full days with my best friends in the world.
The last one is actually the one I am looking forward to the most. I am so excited to be doing this mini vacation with the Callenders and Ruths. These guys are our best friends and I cannot wait to spend time just hanging out with each other. There is something to be said about just being with other people and building in to each other. These are the guys we do life with and it is so much fun to make memories together.
Now if we just did not have a 6 plus hour drive....

I have really become aware this week that when my husband is going through a stressful time in his life that it directly impacts me. Okay so I know you are saying "no duh" but what I mean is that it feels like I am the one going through it. I have found myself all worked up this week because of what he is going through. This is really the first time that I have felt it this way. Of course there have been other times when he is stressed that I let it get to me and I react. But this is different, I don't feel like I am reacting I feel like I am feeling what he is feeling just on a different level.
Because of this particular situation I have found myself in constant conversation with God this week. Trying to understand what the purpose of this is, what we are supposed to be learning from this situation and where we are headed. At one point during my conversation I just had a sense that God was telling me "Trust Me". I remember coming out of that time with a little more peace. It was just the gentle reminder I needed that God is in control even when it doesn't feel like it sometimes.
The other thing it has made me more aware of is how God must feel about us. If what Daryl is going through is impacting me the way it is I can only imagine how it must impact God. I have heard that when we cry, God cries with us and this had made total sense to me this week. The reason I have felt this way this week is because of my deep love for my husband, so if God's love for him is deeper than mine then why would He not have the same feelings I have had. There are moments in my life where God just wows me and this week has been one of those.

New Look

So the other day I looked at our blog and thought, "How boring. We've had this Blogger template for way too long. It's about time I tried to do something a little different and create our own look for the page."

So this is what I came up with. I call it "Apple-Esque" since I copied the look used by Apple on the iTunes page (here).

Not a big fan of Apple, but maybe this will be the start of a whole new relationship.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My

Last Sunday we decided to take the day and head to the Fort Wayne Zoo. Since Daryl refuses to spend any time at our local zoo, we had to head out of town. We did the Indianapolis Zoo about 4 years ago and it was a good time even though it was hot. My husband and eldest child do not handle heat well so I wasn't sure what the day would be like but it ended up being great.
The kids had a great time. I am pretty sure we saw the entire zoo, though we were rushing that last part of it to beat closing time. We took a train ride, watched a sea lion feeding, Allison and Rachel rode ponies, and Allison had a kiss from a sea lion. The kids all did great, Tyler walked probably 90% of the time and there was only one moment of "it's a little on the hot side". The zoo has lots of shade which helped keep everyone happy.

"I think we are safe behind this gate"

They had a African area where you could take a safari ride, we opted to walk, but they had lots of animals that you could get a close up view of.

Tyler hanging out waiting for the sea lion feeding.

Allison riding her pony.

Rachel riding her pony "cookie".

The train ride that we took, they also had a boat ride you could go on, but the kids opted for the train.

Lots of memories were made, it was a great day!

Whatever You Do

Don't drink the water. Unless of course you want to get pregnant. So you may be asking why in the world I am talking about this? Why, because I know about 4 people who are pregnant right now and due about the same time. I am not sure what is going on or should I say what was going on in April and May, but come Jan/ Feb. there will be babies everywhere. All joking aside I am really excited for the Mann's and the Ruth's. Corey and Debbie are due with their second in January and Jami and Todd are due with their second in February. I cannot wait to meet these new little additions to their families, it is so much fun to hold babies especially when you know that you aren't the one getting up every 3 hours in the middle of the night. Once these babies are born there will be just as many kids during our Saturday night gatherings as there are adults...yikes that is scary!

There are moments when I think "oh maybe we should have another", but I very quickly come to my senses and remember that is pretty much impossible at this point and why would I want to do that when I can just hold other people's babies. As much as I will miss "having" babies, yes I am weird I actually somewhat liked the birthing process, I am enjoying our kids as they continue to grow into the adults they will someday be. So whenever I need a baby fix I will now have 2 little ones to hold.

Congrats Ruths and Manns, we are so excited for you guys and are so glad we get to be part of your lives.

"The Perfect Day"

Yesterday was a absolutely perfect day. I was able to get away with the girls for part of the day. Becky, Jami, Pam (Beck's mom) and I headed up to St. Joe, MI. to the Venetian festival. We normally head up to the Venetian for the fireworks every year, but this year we decided to go up early and make a day of it. Originally it was supposed to be the girls and guys, but Adam and Daryl had to work and Todd was out of town, so it worked out that it was just the girls for the day and then Adam, Daryl and the Verduins headed up for the fireworks.

When we left it was 90 degrees and HOT. We figured we would be sweating like crazy and have to sit in the shade all day, but that was not the case. We got up there and it seemed cooler than it was when we left. We did some walking around, eating, walking around, eating, swimming, laying on the beach, walking around and eating some more. The weather was perfect, the water was warm and the company was great. It was so nice to just have some time to relax without kids and hang out with the girls. I am a true believer in taking time to just get away and relax without having to take care of the kids. It makes me a better mom to have that distance sometimes, I am refreshed and ready to jump back into motherhood with both feet. I also love the time to hang out with the girls. Don't get me wrong my favorite thing to do is spend alone time with my husband, but it is also nice sometimes to just hang with the girls and talk about girl things :) If you are a wife and a mother I highly recommend time away for yourself, I am a true believer that it makes you a better wife and mother.

The weather was great, the food was awesome, the fireworks were top notch, time with my friends was refreshing, laying next to my husband while watching fireworks was romantic, it was the PERFECT DAY!

The (Hot) Dog Days of Summer

Cost of Pool Ownership:

• Pool itself over $100
• Lawn will die (round dead spot in the fall)
• Grass that gets wet will die (due to chlorine)
• Hours spent maintaining the PH balance
• Electrical cord running across the yard
• Mowing hazard #2
• Can't weed-whack around the pool for obvious reasons...

Spending an afternoon in the pool with your wife and three kids: PRICELESS!

I must admit I was a killjoy when Tammy first talked about getting the pool, mostly for the reasons listed above. But today it was all worth it. I put four anchors in the ground to keep the swingset from tipping over when the kids swing, and by the time I was done I was as wet as the kids in the pool. So I got in and played for a half hour or so. The kids were overjoyed that daddy was actually in the pool with them. And I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity to make another memory with these kids that are growing up so fast.

Sand + Water = Fun

We spent the 4th of July weekend at the lake and had tons of fun. The kids had lots of time to play in the water and sand. We had lots of good food to eat. We spent a day with family and got to see some relatives we only see a couple of times a year. Daryl got injured in the annual wiffle ball game. We spent a day with our friends. We played in the water, rode the jet ski and canoe and I even water skied, I had to prove to myself that I still had what it takes to do it. The kids stayed up way too late and as soon as they got up wanted to be in the water. Overall it was a great weekend and the kids are asking when we get to go back.

We are on our way

Allison practicing her swimming

Rachel swimming with her new goggles

Tyler contemplating the finer things in life

Allison doing some water ballet (I absolutely love this picture)

Rachel doing her sand pose

This girl along with Abby had sand in places that no girl should have sand, but boy did they have fun.

Don't ask me why but I never got the camera out on the day all of our friends were there, which totally bums me out but there is always next time. There were parts of the weekend that were hard, but overall it was a good time had by all.