Air Show

Tonight was the "long-awaited" air show. Quinn was literally counting down the hours! I'll spare you the other 100 photos we have that look similar to these. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening...a great day just to hang out. He was thrilled with every single plane and acrobatic stunt person. We got there around 3:30 and he was really bummed to be leaving "already" at 10:30 that night!!!

(left) Jade checks to make sure Madison is alright. She's actually looking through a paper fan on a stick that has tinted plastic in the middle... kind of like sunglasses... to help you look at the sky easier.

Jade was so happy and pleased at the air show. She was just a happy little girl... spending most of her birthday at the air show! : )

Quinn saluted lots of planes as they taxied past us.

This picture (below) gives you a little glimpse of how many 1000's of people there were at the air show! A sea of people....!

Happy Birthday Jade!

Today was Jade's 2nd birthday. What a joy to be able to celebrate with her again this year. Her daddy is in Alabama at warrent officer training so Michelle came up for about a month.

Her birthday theme was the "Backyardigans"... a hit show with toddlers I guess! She wasn't too thrilled with wearing a party hat or blowing out her candles but she perked right up when it was time to open her presents. : )

She is just a sweetie... and talking more and more. She is really good at giving hugs and kisses and blowing kisses. It makes me miss the toddler days but it's fun to be able to enjoy them again in little bits and pieces by watching Jade grow.

Amazing!

Anyone need a little inspiration today?... Click on this video clip of Paul Potts and as Quinn would say it, "Prepare to be amazed!" This gave me goosebumps!

More to come about Jade's birthday and the airshow!....

A beautiful Friday

The weather was so beautiful today... probably only 80. Madison, Quinn, Katie and I we went to the farm today to see Crisp and Honey. Michelle and Jade went along too. Michelle wishes that she was going to be here during fair time but Archie should be back in TN from his warrant officer training by then. That was the first time for Jade to see and pet a real calf. It was so cute! These calves are really getting big. Hard to believe the fair is in less than one month. I'm realizing that it probably isn't going to matter much to the judges on what the girls are actually doing with the calves... it's what the calves look like. Who has control over the build of a calf??? Certainly not us. Sooo, who knows about the judging. I would say 90% of the judging is done over things that humans can't control. (I guess good breeding plays a role... certainly not our role). I'm sure it will be interesting.

Madison had all-star practice this afternoon. I went to the grocery store, decorated Jade's birthday cake for tomorrow and Quinn and I planted some more "Spring" flowers! Finally!... I can check that off of my summer goals. I actually need a few more to fill the window boxes all around the edge of the deck but I'm happy to have gotten this much done!

Tony told me he woke up mad this morning! I'm like... why?!! ..."Because of the cheating in the game last night!" We easily decided that winning without using integrity, does not make you a winner. Unfortunately the general community does not see that. Oh well... the last will be first some day. It's not up to us to chose their punishment. (Darth Vader music playing now).

This is a very WEIRD feeling... we have NO games tomorrow!! We do have Jade's birthday party and Quinn would never ever let us hear the end of it if we missed the airshow! It will be a full day but will not involve some kind of a game. Weird huh?

Love to all, Leah

Softball Championship Game

Well, after many, many controversial issues tonight... we lost 12-13. We played against the pitcher who was the league's #1 draft pick and earlier in the season our girls had a lot of problems hitting off of her. Our girls really improved a lot with their hitting! Aunt Michelle took Madison to buy batting gloves and went to the batting cages today to get her some practice with fast pitches. I think it really helped and gave her confidence a boost. Madison hit a double and a single tonight! She also walked once and grounded out to 3rd. She looked more confident and hit very well. She played first base most of this season. Overall our team played much better than the other team... the score just didn't reflect it. We are the winners in my book! : )

All-Star Softball Team

Juuuust when I thought softball was coming to an end, with her last game tomorrow night (the championship)...Madison was chosen as a member of the all-star team for the minor league softball league. Tony and I have mixed feelings about more practices and games but of course Madison is all up for it. She had to decline last year because we went on vacation during one of the two game weeks. Tonight was her first practice. She was happy to see some of her friends there. She is like the energizer bunny....

Tomorrow night is the championship game of the regular season play. We'll see... the team we are playing has a very tough pitcher who intimidates the girls with her speed. Last night the pitching was pretty slow and high... slow-pitch style which really isn't too legal... and tomorrow night it will be FAST. Hopefully we will play well! I'll try and post tomorrow night about the results.

It's late, I need to try and get to bed earlier. It's been after mid-night the last two nights.

Love to all, Leah

Quinn's Quips

As I walked out of Buffalo Wild Wings tonight Quinn came up and grabbed my hand and said, "You have to come with me... I have to show you something!" So we started walking off down the side walk... past where we were parked.

Q: "I know, I know... we're walking past the truck (like I'm sorry but...) ... Prepare to be Amazed!"

We rounded the corner of the restaurant and he pointed up to the sky.

Q: "Just look at that moon... and the stars that are out tonight!"

We stood there hand in hand and ooohed and ahhed over the moon that was pretty near 1/2 covered in clouds and very "dusty" looking, certainly not very bright. I searched hard in the sky to find the 3 bright stars that peaked through the clouds that he must have been talking about....one he pointed out that he thought must have been a planet because it was so bright (actually it probably was).

Me: "Wow, Buddy, that's so beautiful... thanks for sharing that with me. That's so sweet of you."

What a special moment... I hope he'll want to hold my hand and gaze at the moon with me for some time yet because I know some day some other girl will steal his heart... but for this time in his life, there is no question that his heart belongs to me.

Softball tournament game #1

Madison takes off to steal 3rd base!

It's 10:45pm and we just walked in from Madison's softball game and then supper at BWW's. Thank goodness it's summer and the kids don't have to get up (otherwise we would have came straight home anyway). This was the first game of Madison's tournament tonight. Her team (Ultra-Fab) won 22-11. It lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I tried to take some video so we would at least have a clip from this season... boy is softball ever hard to video tape! ... That will make for some pretty boring video to watch some day unless I can figure out how to edit it! Tony got me video editing equipment for Christmas last year... the fire wire for mother's day and now I don't have a port on my video camera to even download it into the computer!...probably soon to be resolved since our video camera just broke and I'm now borrowing Terry & Karla's. It's always something isn't it?

Today was my first day back to work since the conference. I heard "I'm so glad you're rejuvenated now because you are going to need it for this next patient"...several times. Oh yes... chronic pain is quite difficult most of the time. I'm getting pretty bold in my old age though. I told a patient today that if she didn't start working on her function,...and at least not losing any more of it...she would eventually become a big piece of play-dough (which she acts like already)! Ha!...I was serious though! Long story. But I'm right! Anyway, she's been our patient for 6 years now and is highly UNmotivated to get better. OK, enough.

The kids are getting out of the showers so I'll let you go.

Love to all, Leah

Back from New York

Have you all missed me?... even just a little?

I got back last night at 11pm from the conference in New York City. In case anyone cares it was on "Pain and Chemical Dependency" and was 3 FULL days of lectures. It was international so we heard speakers from all over the world. Pain is a problem everywhere but let me tell you folks... living in the USA... it does not get any better than this!!! The horror stories I heard....!! Overall it was very good and I feel like taking on the world again at work. Just knowing that there are 1000's of others who deal with the exact same issues in chronic pain that I do, helps.

Have you ever been to New York City before? That was a first for me. The hotel I stayed in was right in downtown Manhattan... I walked past some of the Broadway theatres, David Letterman's studio, saw the CBS studio, Rockefeller Plaza... you get the picture. As I walked in the evenings I had to wonder about the chaos that obviously occurred on September 11, 2001. The streets already seemed "chaotic" and FULL... I can't imagine adding a tragedy of that magnitude to this city. I wondered several times where the towers stood in relation to where I was. I know you can go and see the place... but I just didn't feel like experiencing that all by myself. I know, kind of weird. I just think it would feel very emotional and I didn't want to be bawling out there on some street corner! I came into the city around 1 am (thanks to an unexpected 6 hour delay in Cincinnati) and it was obviously was all lit up with lights...you couldn't make out specific buildings from a distance. While taking the taxi out of the city yesterday afternoon I wondered again exactly where the towers stood. They really defined the skyline for New York. Nothing really "defines" the city now. I thought about asking the taxi driver but quickly realized that he probably was 100% Muslim as he was very middle-eastern with a big black turban on his head and so I decided that since he was doing the driving, I best just stick to the subject at hand... like what airline I was flying on, and not get into a discussion about 9-11!

I wisely took the day off today. I'm catching up on the camp laundry as well as my laundry. It's been great not to rush off to work today. ...It took me awhile but I figured out that life is easier if you take a day off after time away like this! Tomorrow will be pay-back I'm sure!!!

Madison had a great time at camp... looking forward to going again next year. She said she had to sing every day except for 2 so she must have gotten all of your letters. Thanks for those. I haven't actually seen them yet.

Thanks for reading! Leah

Gifts from Camp

We picked up Quinn from camp tonight. He was sitting at a dining room table wildly motioning for us to come and join him when we walked in. He was happy to present us each with these crosses that he purchased for us at the camp store. Isn't that so sweet? That's my Quinn. He said they are Christmas ornaments but they are about 5 inches long and I think will probably do better to hang in a window. The red one is Tony's and the green one is mine.

Quinn had a good time at camp... he is really tired though. His lazy eyelid was obvious from 10 feet away! That's the dead giveaway to how tired he is. He declares he is not tired though! He met some new friends, went swimming in the lake, enjoyed the campfires, new songs etc... He says he doesn't want to go back for a long time though... he was ready to come home. I think the farther away from camp he gets... the more he will realize how fun it was. It was just a bit overwhelming I think. I'm glad they only do 2 nights for the younger kids.

We also got to see Madison and Jenna among her other friends. She said she was doing well but also looked very tired. She looked like she could lay down and go to sleep! They get to bed between 10:30-11pm and I'm sure are up much too early. Overall they seemed happy and content and didn't have a hard time saying goodbye to us. That was good.

So, tonight we are enjoying our Quinner again. He livens our house up a lot. I'm leaving tomorrow for New York City for a pain conference and won't be back until Sunday night. It's never a good time to go away... it's been several years since I've been to a conference and I just really need to go... to learn new information but also to recharge my batteries to continue working in a challenging field such as chronic pain management.

In other news, we finally were able to get a new dishwasher! Tony got it in last night. Hopefully this Whirlpool will last 20 years like our Kenmore did!

Love to all, Leah

Off to church camp

Madison, Jenna, Quinn and Nate were dropped off to church camp this afternoon. Madison has been looking soooo forward to this week. She was very hesitant last year but after getting one full week under her belt last summer, she couldn't wait to go back this year. The girls will be there until next Saturday.

This is Quinn and Nate's first year to go. Their age group goes from Monday-Wednesday evening. I think this is just right for Quinn. He was worried about camp last night, wanting to change his mind etc... but today he did real well. I could tell he had a lump in his throat when it was time for me to go but he perked up quickly and he and Nate went to find the game room. Madison was so hesitant to go last year that I decided not even to take her up!! I had Tonya and Lisa take her. It was better that way...for her!

I'm anxious to hear how it goes. I so hope it will be a good experience for them... so they'll all want to go back again. They are all anxious to receive mail so if you would like their address, send me an email and I'll get it to you!

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 is the theme for the week. At church we have been talking about our own spiritual gifts for some time now. The camp theme fits perfectly.

I've read this passage in several different Bible translations. I like the way the New Living Translation states it. Click here to read this short passage.

Please pray for all of the campers... and all of the little details that mothers worry about... but also that they will embrace the truth that God has already given them spiritual gifts and that it is important to use them... even as children!

(Keep reading below for my Father's Day post)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the very special fathers in our lives... Tony, Grandpa and Pakka! This picture was taken after the kids gave Tony his gifts that they personally picked out. Quinn picked out a neck pillow because he often "feels" Tony's neck pain... literally. Quinn "catches" whatever ales other people. Madison picked a t-shirt for him that says, "I failed driver's ed"... which she thought was just hilarious. They also made him handmade cards and Madison gave him handmade coupons for things like... a free drink... free paper shredding service... and $5 off cleaning out his truck. She knew better than to do that one for free! Ha!

After church we spent the day at Beppe & Pakka's house and then went boating in the late afternoon. It was still around 90 degrees. Jenna is here with us for the weekend... going to camp tomorrow. The kids went tubing for the first time. They all loved it and begged for more. They also begged to go swimming so we shut the boat off and let them swim off the side of the boat. Guess what...? The boat wouldn't start again. Yep, happened on Mother's Day and now Father's Day too. We tried off and on for about 45min before I asked Tony if he thought this was God's way of telling us that we really aren't (and shouldn't be) boat people? So yes, it was humiliating again to be towed by a pontoon boat. After a short tow the boat did start again... who knows what was wrong. This was our fist voyage after getting the boat out of the marina shop... who put the boat through all the tests and $225 later told us nothing really was wrong and the mechanic even offered to buy the boat from us!

Hmmmm.... SO, we made another boat memory... getting to be too many if you ask me!!

Once again... being towed to shore!

Sunny Saturday

Today is was HOT... just plain old HOT... in the mid-90's I believe. And guess where we were between the hottest hours of the day... that's right, at the ball park! Madison's game was at 12:30. Because of vacations they started out 1 girl short and before the end of the game one of the girls left...hot and felt yucky I guess...now we were 2 players short. We still managed to win, 13-4. In the midst of the game was concession stand duties. For some reason we didn't have very many fans today...(could it be the heat?) and half of the team parents didn't show up for their concession stand duty, causing others of US to work MORE concession stand hours! I thought I had all of my bases covered by hiring Jacob to come and work for my last assigned concession stand time so I could leave and get Jenna...but alas I worked someone else's shift and then paid Jacob to work mine! Go figure that one out! OK...sorry to be going on and on and on about that but I'm really ready to be done with the concession stand duty. That made 5 times today.

Madison and I picked up cousin Jenna in Mishawaka around 4pm. She hitched a ride with a Kalona family on their way out. Jenna is going to camp with Madison this week. We eventually wandered home and went swimming in the neighbor's pool again for a bit. We went to a new restaurant, Lucchese's, for supper. Madison has a friend from soccer... and her parents run the restaurant. She was delighted to see that Gabby was there tonight.

Well, that's all for tonight folks!
Love, Leah

Friday Fun

My kitchen window that faces the street was so dirty...! One of those things that happens so gradually that you don't really notice it... until Madison wrote the word "hi" on the outside for me to "enjoy" all week long. Then it was very, very noticeable! I had a meeting at church today at 7am and when I got home I thought that window should be the first thing to tackle... to clean that window inside and out! The screen needed washing of course too. And then the area around the outside window needed swept off and Madison volunteered to use the hose on it. Might as well do the door area too. Ok, the garden hose just isn't getting it good enough... now, how do you work that power washer? Ohhhh...finally got it. Madison and I ended up scrubbing much of the front side of the house and then power washing it off. ...So... for some reason just washing that kitchen window turned into a big production! I cannot tell you how many times I've done something like this. I'm telling you that the, "If you give a pig a pancake" books were written with me in mind! Ha!

The rest of the day was filled with basketball camp for Madison and the awards presentation for both of us at 1:30. Quinn went swimming with Nate. I ran errands during camp. Feels good to get some checked off. I did some laundry, planted some flowers and started getting the kids packed for camp. Quinn had baseball practice from 6-7:15 and so Madison and I popped in on Beppe & Pakka for awhile. When we got home, Tony was home from work already and so we decided to go swimming at the neighbors. We ate at 10pm tonight! Ridiculous huh?

May be I tried to squeeze too much in?

Wednesday and Thursday recap

Last night we had a small group get together at Matt & Lisa's house. It stays light so long that we really should no longer judge the time by the sky. It was soon 9:45 when it felt much earlier. Thus, it was really to late to write last night by the time our household was settled down. The kids have been getting to bed consistently after 10pm.

This week Madison has been going to basketball camp from 12-2pm. Peyton and Tonya have been picking her up and bringing her back each day. That has been so nice of them!! I never take things like transportation to and from things... while I'm at work... for granted. Twice this week she was invited to swim after that so she really hasn't been home too much this week during the day. Abby says it feels like she hasn't even been here to watch! She's quite the social bug and likes to be on the go constantly it seems.

Tonight Nate, Quinn and Nater played baseball and football in the 'hood. They sat down for a rare moment to enjoy popsicles on our front step. I told them I needed a picture of them just because they were actually holding still. A rare moment.

Well, I have a meeting at 7am tomorrow morning so I better be getting myself to bed.

Love to all, Leah

Quick sports report

It's really late so I can't write much tonight. Basically there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Quinn had a baseball game tonight and his team won. That brings their record to 4-7. Madison had a softball game and they won too. Their record is 11-3.

Sorry so short... Love, Leah

Flames Tournament

Flames

L to R: Mackenzie (goalie), Allie, Gabby, Moriah, Kiley.
2nd row: Todd, Madison P., Victoria, Casey, Kennedy, Madison, Peyton,
Back row: Marcus

Most of the girls on this Flames team have played together since last summer and have practiced together usually 2 times a week faithfully. They have improved amazingly over the last year. Madison really loves soccer! Last Fall they played U12 (age 12 and under) and did not score one single goal. This Spring they played U10 and scored 40 goals... only one team scored more goals (41) in the Northern Indiana Soccer League. Quite an accomplishment don't you think? Their end of season record was 5-0-1 (one tie). They finished #1 in their U10 girls league.

Today was their end of season tournament. Because of their record, they got a bye and didn't play yesterday. They played the Jr. Irish White at 10 this morning and won, 2-1. This team improved a lot from the first time we played them earlier in the year. It was not an easy game. Their second game was at 1pm. It was a difficult game... fatigue was a factor, it was hot and sunny, a starting player was gone etc... We dominated the entire game... the other team only had about 3 goal attempts and wouldn't you know it, one got in. The Jr. Irish Green planted 5 players in their goal box and basically played defense the whole game. Not a great strategy for quality soccer play but it worked. We lost 0-1. Our poor goalie was crushed. They always bear their own load of a loss like this...blaming themselves. I'm so glad Madison isn't a goalie! Too much stress...for me! Quite the bummer because we were favored to win. That's how it goes some days.

We were very proud of Madison and how she played, the effort she put forth, even though she has a cold/cough and was tired from playing the entire first game without a break. She played her heart out. I tried to take pictures but they move so fast, it's difficult to get a good shot! (Double Click for Close Up) It was a beautiful day but did get hot when sitting out in the sun for 6 hours! The Flames will take a break for 4-6 weeks now... a much needed and deserved break. The majority of these girls are from other schools/districts but when you spend so much time together you get to be good friends too. She is going to a soccer camp (mornings) in July and I'm sure she'll be ready to get back on the field by then.

Pakka was released from the hospital today. They drove straight to South Bend to get there in time for the 2nd half of the last game. He sat in the car next to the field and watched the game. I guess that's what you do when you are one of Madison's #1 fans! Ha!

Quinn's Quips

Our family of four was sitting in the hospital cafeteria last Thursday and we began to talk about how tired Quinn looked. His right eye gets "lazy" on him and his lid doesn't open as wide when he's tired... a dead give-away. Beppe agreed with us about Quinn looking tired. He looked at her and in all seriousness, without one ounce of hesitation said, "Well, you've got bags under your eyes!"

...Something you don't want your charming young son to say to one of his grandmothers!

Congratulations Brian & Addi !

The happy couple...

Tonight I thought I would say a special congratulations to Brian & Addi who were married in Cocoa Beach, FL in February and celebrated with a beautiful wedding reception this past Saturday evening, June 16, in Norton Shores, Michigan. Cheryl and Addi are the two ladies in our office that make our office run smoothly. These are two of the very best office coordinators ever! When you work so closely with people they become very sweet friends too! Cheryl and I were able to attend the reception which was 2 1/2 hours away and we were so happy that it worked out for us to go!

The reception was held in an outdoor "tent"... a better word is needed here to describe a large white outdoors portable room with hanging chandeliers and lanterns.... on a beautiful golf course. The weather was absolutely perfect... it could not have been nicer. It just wouldn't have been possible. Her colors are pink and brown...or pink and chocolate really! She decorated with beautiful pink Gerber daises and roses. Their wedding cake(s) were cupcakes with their names on them and some with flowers. It was fun to hear all of the wedding plans as they were taking place and giving her our "expert(?)" opinions about things. When Madison and I see pink and brown colors together, even Madison thinks of Addi now.

Today at work we wondered aloud... "Well, I wonder what beach Addi's laying on right now?" They went to St. Thomas. ...The same island that Tony and I went to....(sigh).

She's a faithful reader of my blog...why, I don't know... I work with her and she hears everything in person anyway!

Addi (and Brian)~I hope you are having a wonderful honeymoon! Many congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy life together!

Love, Leah

A good day...

Today was a beautiful sunny day in the 70's...perfect! The kids and I tackled all the laundry I've been talking about. It was a job but with 6 hands to fold and put away, it went fast and was much more fun. Quinn has been dying to go to Target to spend some of his birthday money. He came home with a Nerf bow and arrow set (very cool), a helicopter and pad electronic thing (also cool) and the drum roll please... the rocket fishing rod that he saw on TV last summer and has been dreaming about... it's now at Target! He is quite excited about it! He loved having his own money in his billfold and felt so grown up paying at the cash register and then boppin' on over to the snack bar to buy a LARGE Slirpee and a snack bag of Doritos (I would never let him do that with my money!). He then bought Madison some candy at the hospital gift shop. He would probably spend it all in one day if I didn't eventually put on the breaks.

We went to see Pakka this afternoon. He is doing really well as far as his knee goes. He is taking oral pain meds now and physical therapy is going well. We ended up staying for almost 2 hours. He hasn't had much of an appetite and tonight he developed a temp of 101... they are suspecting a bladder infection... so now he's feeling a little crummy so help us pray about that will you?

Madison had a 4th grade class BBQ at her teacher's house tonight. She had fun and Peyton came to stay overnight tonight. Quinn played outside. I vacuumed out the van and Tony mowed. That's how we spent Friday night. Oh, we dog-sat for Duchess today so she wouldn't have to be cooped up all day by herself. She always brings the entertainment with her.

Well, that's all from our household tonight. Tomorrow I have to pick up Madison's team fundraiser at 8:10am so I best be moving myself on.

Love to all, Leah

1st day of the summer

Today was the official first day of summer vacation for the kids. They enjoyed their day with Abby here to watch them along with Heather and Conner. Nate B. and Nate C. were in and out. They played wiffle ball and went swimming to name a few things. Madison got really sunburned. They all put on sunscreen but I think she must jumped in too soon after putting it on because her shoulders and back are fried. The sunscreen is from last year and so may be it's too old so I'll go get some new stuff tomorrow. Does sunscreen outdate???

My dishwasher is on the fritz and I told Abby she could just use the bottom rack (like me) but our dear sweet wonder of a sitter washed all the dishes by hand. I stopped at the store on the way home from work to get some much needed FOOD (old mother hubbard's cupboards were bare) and she jumped up and helped me carry them in. ....What did you say?.... NO... you can't have her!! She's all MINE!

Madison has a cold. Her head is so stuffed up and she has a sore throat as well. It was hot and humid and WINDY today. Soccer practice time rolled around and she didn't want to go because of her cold and sunburn and it's hot and it's humid and, and, and.....but with my "encouragement" she went and toughed it out for 2 hours (I'm one of those mean moms)....(hey she was well enough to go swimming for 2 hours!). I told the coach that she wasn't 100% so to take that into consideration when falling to the back of the pack. I'm telling you all... they run A LOT in practice. They might as well be on a cross-country team because of the running endurance required by this sport. She was more tired than usual at the end of practice but she even said it went OK.

Then the 3 of us went straight to the hospital and met Tony there to go visit Pakka. I feel like I've been at the hospital a lot this week....hmmmm. Quinn had to fight back tears as the precious gift shop was closed already by the time that we got there... around 8pm. He had brought his birthday money from Great Uncle Arden and Aunt Pat and it was burning a hole in his pocket... like all money does.

It's nice to have Pakka right upstairs... pretty easy to go and visit during the day. Here is an update for you. He didn't sleep well at all last night and had some nausea and vomiting from the morphine and so started the day out in the hole already. He went to physical therapy today and did some walking ... they changed his pain medicine ... worked on his blood sugars... and I think overall had a better day than how it started out. Post-op day 1 is always the hardest!! Harder than the day of surgery for sure. He's hoping to come home Sunday.

The kids and I treated ourselves to Dairy Queen on our way home... to celebrate the start of their summer vacation. Poor Dad had to go back to work. He's still there. Say a prayer for him will ya?... sometimes having to work really stinks.

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the week!
Love to all, Leah

An eventful day...

Pakka's right total knee replacement went well today. He was in surgery about 2 1/2 hours as predicted. The doctor said he has only seen 2-3 other knees as bad as his. Tonight when we visited him he had no pain at all but was having quite a bit of itching from the pain medications which they were trying to get under control with other medication. Quinn was hesitant to see him because he absolutely did not want to see his incision... even though I told him it would be all wrapped up! ...He plopped himself down in a far away chair when he walked in to his room but it didn't take him long to figure out that he wasn't going to see too much and he lightened up a bit! Ha!

Today was the kid's last day of school. They were only there from 9-11:25. Madison's class spent their morning helping Mrs. Hartsough move her classroom down the hall because she is changing rooms for next year. Sound familiar Amy? Quinn's class also cleaned. Madison spent the afternoon at a classmate's house and was a bit disappointed in her afternoon. I guess they couldn't agree on something to do, everything Madison wanted to do was an automatic "no"... I know there are 2 sides to the story but this is her version anyway. Quinn spent the afternoon with Nate. He had fun of course. Madison has a special request for next year already... that I take a vacation day from work on their last day and make the day fun! Ha!

Tonight they visited Pakka in the hospital and then they stayed by themselves from 7-9:15 while I went to a board meeting at church. They did great! They had their showers done, rooms picked up and were both laying on the couch reading books without the TV on when I walked in. Tony is working.

Well, I have so much to do, so I'll let you all go.
Love to all, Leah

ESPN sports report

Quinn's baseball team did very well tonight. I have no idea what the score was... I forgot to ask Pakka. He keeps track with rocks on the ground because there is no "official" score keeping. I think we probably won. Quinn played very well. He played at the pitcher's mound and at short-stop. He caught a couple of fly balls and got people out at first base. He also had 2 hits tonight so I think the lucky birthday helmet is back in action!
...Post-date: Pakka says his team lost! See how close I paid attention to the score?

After the game we drove over to Madison's tournament game... just in time to see most of the last inning. I guess we were behind by about 4 going into it but ended up losing by the 10 run rule in the 5th. It seemed like they lost by "a-lot to not-a-lot"... I don't know what the score was there either. See how my mind is getting numbed from keeping all of these sports scores straight??? Nine games in the last 1 week will do that to a mother. I got to see Madison bat the last time... enough to see her get hit by a FAST pitcher! She got hit on the right forearm (she bats left handed). Out of all the girls, MY girl is the LAST one I want to get hit... for obvious maternal reasons but also because last year she had a tooth knocked out by a wild pitch and ever since then she's been afraid in the batter's box!!! This certainly isn't going to help. If I have my facts straight, this pitcher from Middlebury takes lessons year round from a Notre Dame coach and at 11 years old, pitches around 44 mph. So, that pitch had to hurt. My girl took her base and held back her tears until she got back to the dugout, to an icepack. I just hope this doesn't scare her off in the future. When I played softball as a kid, we certainly weren't facing pitchers with 44 mph pitches!! She's a tough athlete... even if she is only 10 1/2!

A softball cheer often heard from the dug-out...

We don't wear no mini skirts (echo)...
We just wear our softball shirts. (echo)...
We don't drink no lemonade (echo)...
We just drink our gatorade (echo)...
We don't play with barbie dolls (echo)...
We just play with bats and balls! (echo)...

Well, you should see my house after this last week... OK, I'm glad you are NOT going to see my house. We are in a state of chaos here. I do have LOTS of clean laundry from washing uniforms each night but I have loads and loads to fold. Have I mentioned that my dishwasher is limping along? Only the bottom sprayer is spraying so nothing on the top rack gets clean. Dishes are taking twice as long now. We need to get a new dishwasher that's obvious but we need to find the time to go get one!!!!!!!!!

Pakka is having a total knee replacement tomorrow (on Wed) around 1230 so pray for him will ya?... for a successful surgery, free of infection, pain relief, fast recovery... ya know, all of it. Thanks.

I must get to bed earlier tonight, I must, I must....
I must get to bed earlier tonight, I must, I must....
I must get to bed earlier tonight, I must, I must....

Softball tournament news...

God must have noticed all of my complaining about the heat because tonight at the softball game, we froze!!! It was rainy off/on all day today. When we left home for the game it was kind of cool and humid....almost sticky. I almost didn't grab a sweatshirt but thought "just in case"... oh my... we stepped out in Elkhart and the wind was blowing so hard, the entire night. All the fans were huddled in blankets and had umbrellas up to help fight against the wind. So, the real news you were waiting for is that we won, 19-12. They played all 6 innings in a little more than 2 1/2 hours. It was a harder game for sure. Our teams were more evenly matched. Madison played well and had 2 hits. She made quite a few outs at first base defensively. They play tomorrow night in and if they win, the semi-finals are Wednesday night and the championship is Thursday. Quinn also has a game tomorrow night so I will go to his game at Concord. Madison's game is in Goshen. Bummer. I hate to have more than one place to be at the same time!!

Well, it's late, I need to get some other things done before a new day starts... in about 1/2 hour!

Love to all, Leah

Sunday Showers

It poured down rain most of the day today... actually it was a relief from the hot weather yesterday. We went to church and then out to eat for lunch. I haven't been grocery shopping in a couple of weeks! This was my weekend to go but it hasn't happened yet. The kids suggested several things to eat and my answer was always, "nope, sorry, out of that"... I then said, "I don't understand... I feed you one day and then the next day you wake up and still want more food!... How can that be? I keep feeding you and you keep asking for more food all the time...how can you still be hungry?!" They looked at me like I've lost it. I probably have...

Madison's soccer team started out in the rain today. She was totally soaked when she came rushing over to the truck because the other team had on the same colors that they did and so needed to change into her other uniform shirt. It looked like she just stepped out of the shower... in her clothes. She didn't mind a bit though. The rain stopped and the sun came out and heated it up. Such a weird day: cold, rain, sun, hot. Make up your mind! Her Flames team won 9-0 and she actually scored a goal again... something to notice since she plays defense all the time. The softball game was cancelled around the time her soccer game started and is rescheduled for tomorrow night at 6pm. I guess it's supposed to rain tomorrow too so we'll see.

Well, that's all for tonight. I'm trying to get our house buckled down for another week. The kids get out of school on Wednesday and they can't wait.

Love to all, Leah

Saturday's Sprinting

Happy Birthday Michelle! Not another year older... just another year BETTER!

Today was another busy but fun Saturday. The kids went to bed between 10:30-11pm last night and were both up by 7am. How's that for their chance to sleep in? This morning the 3 of us helped "staff" the garage sale. Katie and Madison sold drinks. Quinn and Nathan made sure that the bikes and ride on toys that were for sale continued to function properly throughout the morning by riding them in circles around the driveway. The garage sales always draw a variety of people... a lot of Hispanics and some Amish too. The most interesting garage sale person was the man who walked around with a rat perched on his shoulder... with the tail draping down the front of his shirt. ...In case you are wondering, my grand total was around $52 which actually wasn't that bad because I really didn't take over much stuff. yeah!

Quinn had a baseball game at 11:30-1:20... it was a boiler!...sooo hot!! Beppe and I are already dreaming about Fall! Quinn got a batting helmet from Grandma & Grandpa and this past week was the first he got to use it. He was the first up to bat and he hit a home run! Soooo, from then on out, it was ..."this helmet is my life!"... "Don't let one speck of dust get on it!"... he was just IN LOVE with the thing! He went on to hit a double and two singles. Wow!.. What amazing powers were contained in that helmet.... that came to a screeching halt today while striking out 3 times!!! Some days you've got it... some days you don't! Oh well. I think his team won... I was in the process of a heat stroke, so who knows.

Quinn...with his "lucky" new helmet on. Taken just moment before he hit a homerun earlier in the week. A line-drive down the right base line.

Madison's second game of the tournament was today. Tony and she got to the field in Goshen at 11:15 or so for a noon start. Well, the game before them ran late... they didn't get started until 1:20! ...so 2 hours later, hanging out in the heat... they finally started play. And 2 1/2 hours later they were finally winding things up with a 35-6 win or something. The ump told Tony that that team had been undefeated before... in their Goshen league. We can't quite understand that. So they go on to play tourney game #3 tomorrow at 4pm in Elkhart against an Edwardsburg, MI team. Madison usually plays 1st base and does a really good job. The timing will be tricky with a Flames game at 3pm...hmmm.

One of the softball girls invited all of the team over to her house to swim after the game... a very much needed cooling down break. Madison got to swim about an hour and a half and then we picked her up and headed to Wakarusa to Abby's graduation party. She graduated from Northwood High School. Congratulations Abby!! Abby is our childcare provider for the summers. This summer will be her 3rd summer. The kids enjoyed seeing their pictures up with her picture collage displays at the party. The kids love her and so do we! She plans to go to Bethel College this Fall. She had a really nice party and I must say that they have the nicest garage I've EVER been in! Ask me about it sometime.

You know, we stay awfully busy, but each activity is a lot of fun. The kids enjoy it. Madison, especially, never wants to stop going, and going and going. I would enjoy it more if it wasn't so blazing hot... I mean I'm talking near 90 degrees Amanda!!..Do you feel our Midwestern pain? OK, probably not.

I'll try to post after the softball and soccer game tomorrow night!

Love to all, Leah

Quick update

Hi Everyone... Sorry for not updating much this week... I know my family depends on this blog to keep tabs on us... We've just been gone a lot and have been so busy. I'll have to give you some highlights later in the weekend when I have more time to write. But briefly...

Karla and I had a garage sale today and are continuing it tomorrow. I really didn't have much stuff to put into it and thus the reason I only made $22 today!!! Ha! The kids each made about that much too and they were quite pleased with that. I have to say that the conversations with Karla (and Angie too...she stopped by and enjoyed some tea with us) was the best "income" for myself today! I always GET much more from them than what I give. That summed up how I spent today... which turned out to be a beautiful day after it was very humid and sticky this morning.

Tonight was Madison's first game in the softball President's Tourneyment and they played the Elkhart FOP team in Bristol at 6pm. We needed to be there by 5:15. Her team won after only 2 innings... 26-5. They actually played the top half of the 3rd inning and were ahead by 43-5 and so the other team (thankfully) conceeded at the half point of that inning. That took about 2 1/2 hours to complete!!! We certainly weren't trying to run the score up.. they just had some major pitching problems and basically walked nearly every batter. Tony finally told the girls that if the ball was anywhere close to the strike zone that they needed to swing at it.... and then we started getting hit after hit and they couldn't field well either!! We felt so sorry for them. We stopped stealing etc... too! Our team was up to bat for 1 full hour in the 2nd inning... Madison was up 3 times that inning!!! She was walked 5 times and got 1 hit. So, now they play tomorrow at noon, in Goshen. Quinn has a game at 11:30 so we'll have to split up. I hate that. We just got everyone home and showered and the kids to bed and vu-la...it's 11pm already. Now I've got to make sure that all the uniforms are washed up. ....Thus, I'm sure you'll understand why I'm not writing more tonight. Too many things to do and an early start in the morning.

Love to all, Leah