Getting Away

Today has been a nice lazy day for us. We finally made it to the mountains for our fall break. We made reservations for a cabin back in October but were unable to come due to Kevin's grandmother being critically ill. The couple who own the cabin were kind to let us reschedule for this weekend.

We left yesterday a little after 5:00 p.m. Yesterday was a nasty, rainy day and with it came a terrible fog! It is a lesson learned for us. Of course it was already dark as we got closer to our destination and the fog had gotten worse. "Molly," my beloved gps system(we have a love/hate relationship), that I depend on way too much, failed us. We were in the middle of no where (where she took us), and she went dead. As I was scrambling to figure out what was wrong and why she was not running from the cigarette lighter, we discovered the plug-in was missing several pieces. Meanwhile I am praying, "Lord please help us. We are stuck in the middle of no where. We can't see where we are going and we don't know where to go now." We were all very hungry. It was already after 7:00. I knew we had a few cookies left and a pack of Ritz Bitz crackers. We also had a couple bottles of water. If you know me well, you know that my car is not really neat. I consider it to be my office since I stay there a lot. So Kevin and I cleaned the middle tray that was between us and lowered it to see what was under it. Kevin found one piece that he thought went on the end of the plug. Then he found a fuse. He said, "Karen, there's got to be a spring some where." At that point, I panicked. You see earlier that day, I had found a spring under my leg on my seat. When I found it, I thought, "This must go to one of the kids toys or an old pen. I will just throw it away." The reason I panicked was because I wasn't sure if I had already emptied the trash from the car when I was getting the car packed. So I grabbed my little black trash bag and went thru all the Kleenex and paper. I found the spring at the bottom. What are the chances of Kevin finding all the little parts and me knowing where the spring was located. By the way, I almost emptied that trash at a gas station when I stopped to get gas. For some reason I decided not to! Kevin reassembled the plug to the gps and plugged it in. "Molly" was back in business. She brought us to our cabin, but due to the fog we missed our cabin several times because we could not see. I truly believe the Lord is the one who got us here safely. He definitely knows my weaknesses----organization and neatness being two. Glad we are running on His strength, not mine. The car will be cleaned out well when we get home.

As we were riding thru the darkness and the fog, I couldn't help but think about the spiritual darkness that so many people are in. I thought about how God's Word/His truth shines light for us to see. As Christians we have seen the Light, but we need to keep reading and studying His Word/truth so we can see and know what to do everyday. We have to let God use us to shine for Him so that those who are in the dark will see.

As I said, today has been a lazy day. We got out of bed around 10:20 and we have just enjoyed being together and not doing much of anything. Tomorrow we will get out and go hiking. We may even see if there are any apples left! I will post pictures when we get home.

Congratulations to our friends, The McElhaneys, on the birth of their new little one. We are excited for you guys. Can't wait to see her in person! Glad everything went well. She's beautiful!

Fun Moments for Aaron

Aaron had his first field trip of the year during October. We visited a local dairy farm. They had two different tours: the flower tour and the dairy tour. The dairy was definitely his favorite. They fed one of the calves with a bottle. And then the kids got to feed the calves corn husks. Aaron and I were not dressed warm enough for this field trip. I had heard we would be getting some rain the day after the field trip, so in my mind I was thinking the day of the field trip would be warm. Boy was I wrong!



This picture says it all. And let me add.......this was not a warm wind! I tried so hard to enjoy this field trip, but I was so glad when I was able to get back into our van. Needless to say, Aaron had his picnic lunch on top of the beach towel I laid across his lap, while we traveled back home.

We have a fundraiser called the "Fun Run" at our school every year. Aaron ran 41 laps this year.

This picture is from our trip home to see Kevin's grandmother. We stopped at Wendy's with Uncle Darin and Aunt Jessica for a frosty. Aaron ordered the vanilla frosty. Aunt Jessica had the chocolate frosty. Aaron decided he wanted some of both. So he ate with two spoons from two different cups! The boy loves the cream!

This is what happens when you have to stand outside the bathroom and wait on your sister for what seems like an eternity. I have several more pictures of this that would tell more. We are in TJMaxx and there is a full length mirror to Aaron's right. Basically, he stood in front of this mirror with his newly discovered skull cap on his head making funny faces in the mirror. Yes, I did buy the skull cap! He loves it!

You are so much fun sweet boy! There's never a dull moment with you! I love you!

October Fun

I don't think I remember an October in the life of our family that has been any busier than this one. This past month I had to come to the realization that I must enjoy these times I have with my kids even if it is in my Honda Odyssey van. So many times I kept wishing for those days when I had them at home and there were not so many activities to be involved in. We obviously have passed this point in our lives, so here we are. Our October was filled with lots of ballgames to cheer for, field trips, a trip to see grandparents, fun runs, and Halloween. We are beginning to slow down a little now that November is here. Here are some pictures from our crazy October.



Kevin's parents came for a visit one weekend. We went to a festival that is held every year during October in our town. Of course we had to stop by the park on the way out for Aaron.


Even though they don't always act like it, I really do think these three love each other!

I love this picture. I loved watching my mother-in-law jump on the trampoline with Aaron. When she comes to visit, Aaron takes full advantage of his mamaw's attention. And she loves every minute of it, even if it means jumping on the trampoline or laying on her belly to watch a cartoon!


Let me introduce you to Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and Wonder Woman in Pink! Yes, I do realize that Tink has grown a lot from her usual size! Just wish I could have talked Wonder Woman into playing the part of Wendy! Peter Pan did have a hat, I just couldn't figure out how to make it stay on his head.




As I have been working on this post, we received a call from one of Kevin's sisters that their grandmother was taken to the ER by ambulance. She has a pacemaker and apparently it did not work this evening. They had to shock her several times at home. They have her sedated and intubated. All of the family is at the ER with her now. Please say a prayer for her. Thanks!