Truck Rally - Friday Night

Friday night is set-up time for the Truck Rally.

The little boys ran around and looked cute (and very dirty!) and got into things.



Autumn and Janae helped wrap potatoes for the meal Saturday night.

A local company donated a truck load of flowers to be sold. These all needed to be unloaded and arranged for sale on Saturday.

We packaged cookies individually for the meal.

Other jobs included circulating trash barrels, setting up tables, and marking out spaces for vendors.

Randy's Truck - TFC Truck Rally

Last weekend we spent at the Transport for Christ (www.transportforchrist.org) annual Truck Rally. This year we took the camper so we didn't have to run back and forth all weekend, and Randy also took his truck. The first picture was taken Friday evening. The others were taken Saturday morning.

Spruce Lake Trip continued

Randy hiked Spruce Mountain twice....once on Sunday afternoon....

....and once on Monday morning to see the sun rise....

While a group of people went along on Sunday, only a few of the older boys went along Monday morning. It sounded like something I'd enjoy doing...when I'm sleeping all night again that is. :-)

More pictures~Spruce Lake Retreat

Zach's Birthday

With apologies to the rest of you 3-year-old's out there....this is my favorite one. :-) We celebrated Zach's 3rd Birthday while camping at Spruce Lake. When he was 2 days old our local county agency called us to see if we were interested in a baby boy. Several hours later the kids and I picked him up. We've been so blessed to have him in our lives. He is exhuberant and challenging. Sweet and loveable and capable of driving us totally crazy! We love him immensely and are so glad that God placed him in our family as our fourth child.

Spruce Lake

As I mentioned in a previous post, the 3rd weekend in June we went to Spruce Lake Retreat (http://www.sprucelakeretreat.org/). Many families from our church were also there. We had a great time with our friends. We skipped the last day of VBS and went up on Thursday. We stayed until Monday. Lots of fun playing tennis, hiking, playing on the playground, swimming, mini-golfing, and just relaxing!

Josiah

Janae

Autumn


Our Campsite

Zach & Mark

Mark

Truck Rally Registration

Several weeks ago I mentioned that the kids put together the registration packets for me for the Transport for Christ Truck Rally that we're involved in. Here are some photos of them doing that.

In other news, Baby's visits with his mom have been switched to evenings. They are still biweekly, but not during the day. And as I hate to ask my friends to give up their evenings with their families (even though I know they would), and because I get babysitters so often as it is (dentists, doctors, etc.) I guess I'll take all the kids along with me. I'm a bit uncertain about this as it means the boys will see their birth mother again after several years, and yet at the same time I'm at peace about it. I would love to get a picture of them with her....here's hoping that the security officer will be nice enough to let me take my camera in.... Of course, if the boys react badly then I will be sure to find sitters for them.

Bikes

Several weeks ago Autumn had a nasty fall on her bike (I probably mentioned this then). Anyway, the result was that we ended up replacing 2 of our old bikes. We found a nice used girls bike for Autumn and ended up buying a new (boys) bike for Janae. They were thrilled with their bikes! I did have trouble finding pictures of them that did not have Baby on in the background, but I think I succeeded. These were taken the day they got them.

Hot & Humid

It is so terribly hot and humid (I don't want to move South)! We are now through our busy 2 weeks and I have put my pictures on the computer so I should have lots of posts in the coming days. But here's a quick post right off the bat of pictures taken last evening and this morning. This morning Autumn had her eyes checked (they are perfect) and this afternoon she went to the dentist to get a cavity filled.

These sunflowers are dwarfing our 3 pine/spruce trees.

This White Pine tree was so lovely, and is now dying very rapidly. It must have some sort of blight or fungus or something. I'm quite disappointed!

Still hot & humid here

and I had planned to do a lovely post with pictures....but since my camera is still out in the camper and I am feeding the baby, it will have to wait for another day. I do have this lovely photo of a scarlet Tanger that Randy saw when hiking this past weekend. A friend who was with him took the photo and sent it to us.

We are now the owners of a rather large, gas-guzzling SUV. A 2005 Ford Expedition to be exact. Randy's parents decided to get something else so we bought it from them. Right now the thought of parking it in the garage under the county building when I take baby for visits is rather daunting...but I guess we'll get used to it. We are replacing our mini-van.

This morning we did various errands. The girls are staying overnight tonight with their cousins so it was just me and the little boys for the afternoon as Josiah was with Daddy on the truck. As it was quite warm and I was quite unmotivated, I took the afternoon off. I finished the book I was reading (Julie & Julia). Despite the myriads of things to do...I relaxed. And it was lovely. :-) We spent the evening with Randy while he washed his truck. Now I need to get one more boy to sleep and then I can contemplate doing something productive....or not...while I wait for Randy to come home.

Back

We're back from a lovely long weekend camping in the Poconos. We also celebrated Zach's 3rd birthday while we were away and the anniversary of his coming to join our family. I'm looking forward to catching up on everyone's blogs and updating mine, however, Randy is off work all this week so I'm not sure how much time I'll have as we have a busy week around home planned.... It's supposed to be very hot and humid here all week long so perhaps I'll have some time during naps or at bedtime. Can't wait to catch up with you all again!

Josiah

My handsome son!

I love this new feature that sends me all the photos by email, even the collages that I didn't order so I can show them to you!

Quick Post

We've been (and will be) crazy busy this month so if I don't post much...I'm sure I'll "catch up" at some point! Today was not nearly as hot and humid as the weekend was. Speaking of the weekend, I'm not sure what we did....but I think it was normal household stuff like laundry and such! Randy did get out to get a couple of new chairs for us...I don't know how to describe them so I'll have to take a picture. They lean back and become a lounge chair or you sit up like a regular chair. Anyway, we got them so that when we go camping this summer, if I need to be up with a baby I can be comfortable outside on a chair with a blanket instead of trying to take care of things in a small corner of the camper.

Sunday evening VBS started. This year our church ran a bus through our town so I can send our kids on the bus and stay home to get the little ones in bed promptly. It is wonderful! And my big kids absolutely LOVE VBS. And they are exhausted and sleep well too. Which suits me well!

Monday morning I took Janae & Josiah to the eye doctor for check ups. Their eyes are stable. Josiah is getting new glasses though as his head (and the rest of him!) continues to grow. Tomorrow I'm taking him to get his pictures taken. And we need to stop at Walmart for formula. I get WIC checks to buy formula for baby, and my local grocery store does not accept them, so I need to trek to Walmart (or another grocery store).

Today I did lots of laundry and baked chocolate chip cookies. Now the boys are fast asleep and I should go clean up the yard which should've been done earlier but I forgot to have the kids do it before they left for VBS.

I know I had all sorts of other things to tell you all...but I can't remember them so I guess they must not have been all that important....

When I sit out to wait for the kids it is slightly cool and the fireflies are flitting around. Reminds me of my childhood days when we would chase the lightening bugs and catch them.....

Summer Time Fun

Tonight was the first of 3 "Movie Nights" that our church hosts every summer (well, this is the 3rd summer in a row). We had a fun time socializing with our church friends and community neighbors. In fact, the older kids & Randy are still there to finish watching the movie. I finally brought the little boys home and put them to bed.

Today I was working on getting organized for the 29th Annual Transport for Christ (TFC) Truck Rally. For those of you who are local...or want to travel!...you are welcome to join us on June 26 at the Lebanon Fairgrounds. This is a fun, family day to walk around and show the kids "big rigs", play fun games, browse the vendors (yes, many of these sell truck parts, but there are others with toys and scrapbooking things). There is also an auction and Chicken BBQ/Pork Rib meal to benefit TFC. There is a truck parade beginning at 11:00. In the afternoon are the other activities I mentioned as well as a CDL Roadeo (CDL holders only), Ruff-n-Tuff Roadeo (men), and Powder Puff Roadeo (Women) to try your hand at driving through courses. All sorts of fun stuff. We are in charge of truck registration and judging. Oh yes, and there is a Southern Gospel Music concert in the evening as well as the trophy distribution. Transport for Christ is a ministry to truck drivers and the trucking community...bringing them to Christ and helping them grow in their faith.

In other news, this morning I took Matt to visit his birth mom. This afternoon I talked with his caseworker and discovered that on Tuesday (court day) he was exposed to Chicken Pox in the playroom. Only time will tell if he will get it! As for his case, at this point there is no change. We will continue to foster him and do biweekly visits.

Happy Weekend!

Wednesday

This morning we did some errands. Right now we make quite a procession in the store...my with Mark in a cart, Autumn pushing Matt in the stroller (I still use the infant carrier in the mini-van but I had the big van and have him rear-facing in a convertible carseat), and Josiah pushing Zach plus Janae walking. Thankfully the store was fairly empty so we didn't cause to much of a stir. :-)

Since it was a lovely, rainy day, the older children were quite happy to put together the registration packets for the upcoming Transport for Christ Truck Rally. This year I hardly did any at all other then getting them started. It really was a blessing to get the things today--it was a nice rainy day project.

This afternoon I took Zach to the doctor as he had some spots on his head. My diagnosis was Staph infection. The PA's diagnosis was "folliclitis" (or something like that) which is a staph infection (infection of the hair follicle). He is now on an antibiotic. I should go to the store and get some yogurt for him to eat since I hear that helps keep the bacteria in the body normal.

This morning the girls started lobbying for another sister. I'm not sure what they are thinking! I'd think that they would be tired of having mommy always saying "not now, the baby's fussy!"

Speaking of the baby, he is sleeping across my lap and I need to attempt to move him to his crib. The first attempt was not successful, perhaps this one will be. He has not been going to sleep as well for me, but part of that has probably been the schedule we've had recently and the other part is probably that he's getting two more teeth.

Here again

We are still enjoying the lovely, moderate, humidity-free weather that blew in Sunday evening. This is my absolutely favorite weather (although the kids would like it to be a little warmer for swimming). And I'm loving the long summer days too....well, the getting light so early makes getting up earlier easier, but it also means some little boys wake up earlier too.

Monday I took Josiah & Autumn to the library while my sister-in-law stayed with the other 4. We have not been to the library in ages as I just am not up to managing 3 little boys in a very small library. Once again I confirmed why it is good for me NOT to go the library. I just feel obligated to get those books I borrow read as quickly as possible regardless of what else I should be doing! :-) Josiah & Autumn each got a stack of books an I got some easier books for the younger children. My sister-in-law took her daughter & Janae up after we got back so Janae got to choose some also. I also signed the kids up for the summer reading program. Josiah and Autumn each got their own library card...something they had been wishing for for quite awhile. I chose some light Christian fiction as I was in the mood for something rather mindless and light to read. I also found some recipe books and a book on "Tea Etiquette". In regards to the last book, I have discovered that I am a hopeless country bumpkin in the tea etiquette department.

This afternoon I took Matt for his Permanency Review Hearing (a mandatory hearing that occurs every 6 months regardless of the status of the case). I ended up not having a clue as to what happened because after hanging out with "mom" in the waiting room for 2 hours, they brought Matt to me (he had been in child care) and excused me as he was really fussy. I'm assuming that things will continue as is for the time being and don't know when I will know any other details. They may increase visits soon. I really am grateful for this time I get to spend with the boys' mom. I don't know how long she will be in my life and I'm treasuring these times to share with the boys if they desire to know in the future. Even though I didn't actually sit in on the hearing I felt very tired and had a headache once I was home. I guess the drama of the waiting room and what not was more stressful than I realized. I had not been stressing about this as it's a low-stress case and these hearings are really rather old-hat now, but I guess I was more keyed up this afternoon than I thought.

As for the rest of this week....simply errands, housework, and taking Matt to visit his mom make up my schedule.

Trust in the LORD with all thy heart, and lean not on thy own understanding. In all thy ways acknowlege HIM and HE will direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Cooled Down

I'm so excited that the cold front came through. We had a lot of wind and now it is nice and actually slightly chilly. I shut the windows! I'm loving it! Much more "juneish" to cool off over night! And the cup of tea in the morning is so much more enjoyable when it's slightly cool outside. :-)

Sunday afternoon

It is quite windy and humid but all the storms predicted for our area seem to be missing us. We've only had a few raindrops this weekend. It is very dry already...early in the summer for this. I was telling Josiah that if it doesn't rain soon his mowing jobs will just disappear until we get rain!

This morning we had a lovely worship service at church. The man who preached (not one of our normal pastors) had an excellent sermon entitled "A Place of Holy Mystery" about the doctrine of the trinity. Prior to the sermon, he had a short time with the children teaching them this basic doctrine also. I appreciate hearing sermons about foundational truths spoken in ways that all of us can understand.

Randy left right after lunch for his Midwest run. I'm not sure if the kids and I will just stay home the rest of the day or if we will venture out somewhere. With the threat of thunderstorms we're probably better off staying home.

This week was supposed to be rather busy but with 1 appointment getting postponed until August I now have a less hectic week. Tuesday is Matt's court hearing (6-month permanency review) which is probably the biggest thing we have going this week. He also has a visit with his mom later in the week. And I have to meet someone to get the registration things for the Truck Rally which is coming up quickly. Otherwise, we'll be "busy at home" this week.

For those of you who live locally, our church is having their first "movie night" of the summer this Friday evening. They have games/snacks for kids followed by showing the movie, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." If you're interested in more details, contact me.

life continued

Autumn seems quite fine. She has bruises and cuts but was much better yesterday and today she didn't wince when her cuts got wet. When we talked to a neighbor yesterday who was among the first to get to her when she fell, we were again amazed and grateful that she had not broken bones. Her foot was lodged between the spokes and the forks of the bike in a way that they needed to cut a spoke to get it out. Tonight Randy took the girls & Josiah and the girls got "new" bikes. So, all's well that ends well.

My family is all tucked in bed and I should get there as well. I want to empty the dishwasher yet and reload it though. This afternoon while the children had their naps/quiet times I reorganized our closet. My sisters often pass on their clothing to me when they are finished with it and last weekend I had brought home a nice stack. After figuring out what actually fit, I needed to make room in my closet. I weeded out the things I don't wear and everything fits nicely now. I was quite excited to receive quite a few things that rounded out my wardrobe nicely. I don't take the time to shop for myself often and buying online can be difficult with sizes being different for every company.

Our garden is growing nicely. I need to cut the lettuce again. The peas are hanging on and just need to fill out a bit. The radishes are finished for the year. It is very dry here and many of the annuals I planted are wilting. I do try to have the kids water them & the garden when we empty the wading pool

I am currently reading the book "The Excellent Wife" (revised) by Martha Pearce. It is very straight forward and blunt...but appears to be biblically sound. Of course, I rarely agree 100% with any book but this one does have some helpful info that I have appreciated. I especially appreciated her stressing the importance of changing our thought patterns from negative thinking to God-centered/Biblical thinking. While this is a book from a very conservative Christian viewpoint, it is very much against the "wife as a doormat" position. I found some of the fonts a bit difficult to read, and I find the contrasting bold and normal prints a bit difficult also, but overall I would recommend it...unless you come from a very liberal background in which case it may make you quite angry. :-) But even then, it would help you understand the thinking of people who think more conservatively, even if you don't agree.

To the dishes I go....

Today

was a normal day. I did things around the house (mainly laundry). I filed my monthly foster care forms and caught up on some emails as well as lined up all the babysitting needs I had for June. The kids did some chores and swam in the little pool. Tonight Autumn had a bit of a bike accident. She's rather scraped and bruised. Her ankle/heel is swollen as it was caught in the spokes. Hopefully she's better in the morning but I expect it will take several days to heal. I had planned to go to the discount grocer tomorrow, but we'll see how her foot is. I can certainly put that off if it would be to painful for her to hobble around for that long.

Sunday

Waiting for our guests to arrive:

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a lovely holiday weekend. Saturday evening we got together with my family at my sister's house. We had great food and nice chats and the cousins all had fun playing together.

This weekend were our local community days. We went to the community church service on Sunday. Later Sunday we had a bunch of friends over for chicken bbq. I have pictures...but they're still on the camera.

Monday morning Randy & the kids picked more strawberries. In the afternoon I ventured to our local Walmart which has been totally redone. It's like going to a whole new store. I did manage to find the things I needed most.

Zach

Well, I have lots to update from the weekend, but in the meantime.....this morning I took Zach for his pictures. It's hard for me to believe he's already 3 years old! Here are some compilations they made. I just ordered snapshots, but Penney's now offers free "Smiles by Wire" so I have access to all the shots they took and can reorder/order at my leisure!

Check out this handsome 3-year-old!