Turning the corner

Madison turned the corner around lunch time today. I was getting quite concerned about dehydration this morning... wow, does that ever give you the acetone smelling breath! I finally got her to light up a little when I suggested a Slurpee from 7-11. It was worth the trip... the calories were very helpful and she finally started to turn the corner. She kept it down along with one cracker for breakfast, 1 piece of toast for lunch and 1/2 cup of rice tonight. She acts so much better, even laughed! She lost 5 pounds over the last few days. She wants to go to school tomorrow so I hope she'll make it for the day. That breath though... whew, that needs to improve A LOT! She's sick of me telling her to drink! She plowed through 2 days worth of homework tonight and feels ready to go so that's great news!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day at 70 degrees! We sat out on the deck for a while and Madison laid on the deck under a blanket for at least 2 hours watching me do some clean up in the garage, deck and storage shed. She felt up to playing some Yahtzee today so that helped make the day go faster too. We even treated ourselves to manicures tonight while Quinn entertained the neighborhood kids again outside. He was so upset that Madison "got to" stay home today and he had to go to school. He seriously told me that he wished he would be sick so he could stay home too. I think his sick days have been entirely too much fun. I need to make them miserable in the future I guess. I made him some chocolate chip cookies today and had them piping hot out of the oven when he got home from school to ease his "wounds" of missing our day. "You made these just for me?... you really did?...awesome!"

Well, that was our day... Tony just got home so I'll go and visit with him.

Love to all, Leah

Quinn's quips

While reading a recipe Quinn noticed that it called for smoked provolone cheese.

"Why in the world would anyone want to add smoke to their cheese? That is so disgusting!"

"What?... What are you talking about?"

"Well, it says right here, smoked provolone (which he couldn't pronounce) cheese... why would someone want to add smoke?"

"No Buddy, not cigarette smoke... it's like a charcoal grill smokey flavor that is added to the cheese."

"Oh"

Quinn Quips

While helping him dry off from the shower, carefully treading around his "bad knee" (that is skinned up)...

Quinn said, "I just have no idea what I would do without a mom in this world... I mean, it just wouldn't work without a mom."

I said, "Oh you would do just fine with Your dad... he's such a good daddy that you would do great."

"No I don't think so... I mean, what if I had to go to the hospital or something, Dad wouldn't know what to do..."

(My number one fan is SO CUTE!).

A whole lot of nothing...

Today Madison and I were home because she was sick. While I love being at home I certainly don't like it because of having a sick child. The poor girl laid on the couch the whole day... when she wasn't in the bathroom. She has kept down 2 crackers today...that's about it. I had to play the "if-you-don't-drink-then- you'll-have-to-have-an-IV-started-and-give-you-fluids-that-way" card because she was pretty adamant that she wasn't drinking either because her stomach hurt too much. That made her pick up her glass pretty quick. Thank goodness she doesn't have a fever to worsen dehydration. Beppe found out that Madison was sick and was over within the hour with some of Madison's special peach tea... to woo her into drinking something. She drank it but unfortunately it didn't stick, if you know what I mean. Still quite sick at 8:30 tonight and was more than ready to go to bed and get this day checked off the calendar. Done. Made it. Barely. We did catch up on our American Idol episodes this afternoon that we were so far behind on. We decided that we don't have one favorite this year. Mark this down, I think Jordan will win it all.

Tony went to Madison's softball practice tonight to coach and Quinn went to his baseball practice. Quinn was so excited when he got home because apparently he made a triple play in his baseball practice. He was playing shortstop and caught a fly ball, tagged the runner out and then ran and stepped on a base. One of the coaches was so excited that he ran out on the field to give him a high five! He also said that he "fight-ed through the pain" and slid into a base tonight (on his "bad knee").... and apparently survived it.

That's all for tonight. Hopefully our day tomorrow will go better but it's looking very doubtful for school tomorrow. We were trying to remember when she last ate a real meal... I think it was on Friday night. She at least needs to eat and drink before going back to school.... ya think?!

Love to all, Leah

Sunny Sunday

Today was a beautiful day in the low 80's. Quinn got his second skinned up knee today, both bike wrecks... the first one was yesterday and was actually pretty bad. Taking off the dressing today was ...well, according to Tony..."what were you doing to him? It sounded like you must have been stabbing him or something!" Yaw, he had a "few" tears. Poor guy. Skinned knees do hurt don't they?

Also "poor Madison" today. Her stomach started hurting this morning and I'll spare you all the throwing up gory details but she ended up getting worse instead of better and can't go to school tomorrow. She said she had a terrible day. Quinn and half the neighborhood had a water gun fight, rode bikes and played baseball in our yard, while Madison laid on the couch under 4 blankets. Poor girl.

I practiced my cake decorating today. Dr. Poovendran is quitting his anesthesia part of his practice and will be in the pain clinic full time now. M-F. Yes, it will definitely be different but he will still take his 1 week of vacation a month so that won't change. We decided to have a "coming out" party for him tomorrow so I made the cake and the others decorated his office. Here is a picture of the cake... it is certainly not worth writing home about. Get this ... it took 2 HOURS to decorate it!! I even baked it yesterday!! Today it was making the frosting (twice) and actually getting it on the cake. Boy, hope that gets faster.

I hope you all have a good week. My stomach is now kind of queasy... Tony reassures me that it's all in my head so I'm going to try and buy into that thinking for now!

Love to all, Leah

Quinn's Quips

The setting: Laying in Quinn's bed, with him just ready to drift off to sleep, he suddenly has this urgent question...

"Mom, can you live without your eyes?"

"Yes, you can... there are a lot of blind people who do just fine."

"No, I mean, can you actually LIVE without your eyes at all?"

"Yes, as long as you don't get an infection... someone might have to wear dark glasses or may be a glass eyeball to make the eyes look normal."

"Yah, you sure wouldn't want your identity known... I mean, it would just be so embarrassing to walk around without ANY eyes... OK, goodnight."

Flames WIN!

You read the title right... the Flames soccer team won this morning! They played the Junior Irish in South Bend and beat them 6-2. It was so much more fun to be on the scoring side of things. Their drought has finally ended! The girls were actually their size... makes sense since they are close to the same age. Madison did a wonderful job on defense and Peyton did great on offense, scoring 3 of the goals! More than anything else we noticed how ALL of the girls have improved since the last season. It was amazing! Their foot work was so much better and you could tell they actually had some "plans" out there of what they were going to do with the ball. Seeing that improvement was the best part. I guess all those winter practices were worth it!

It was a bit "painful" to get Madison up at 7am on a Saturday and she told me she felt tired during the game; hopefully they won't play that early away from our home field again. Of course Quinn was up and dressed already.

That's all... just wanted to share their news!
Leah

Busy Friday

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day... 70 degrees and guess what? I was off today! Yippee-yahoo! It doesn't usually work out like that for me. I actually spent most of the day indoors but so enjoyed the weather during my dashes in/out of places.

This morning Karla, Lisa, Eliza, Angie and I had coffee at The Refinery. I have to say that I thought that coffee was MUCH better than Panera!! What did you guys think? The atmosphere is better, coffee is better... it's just all around better!

I chatted for about an hour and then it was off to school to help in Madison's class. I do so enjoy going...however it does take off a pretty good chunk of my day. I'm usually there 2-3 hours. I'm just so happy to be able to actually get to volunteer at my kid's school. Me... a working mom, gets to do this!... I do feel blessed for what may seem like a trivial thing to you! I work with MANY working mothers (surprised?) that don't get this opportunity. I graded some papers and did some photocopying. I also had lunch with Quinn today so that was a special treat. I got to meet a classmate of his, Nathan C. (we have so many Nathans in our life!), and Quinn told me that he especially likes Nathan because his dad repairs airplanes for his job. He wanted Nathan to tell me all about it! Wow... what excitement (for Quinn).

I then had to head to the grocery store, one of my least favorite chores, and then to Target real fast and then home. It was now close to 2:30 so I unloaded and put the groceries away (handling each item 5 times... count how many times you actually handle your groceries) did some laundry, checked my email and before I knew it the bus was dropping off the kids. What a fast day!

The kids grabbed a fast snack and then we went to pick up Karla, Katie and Nathan and we went to the farm to see the calves. Madison and Katie's "job" right now is just to pet them and talk to them and build some trust so that they'll get to know each other. They don't even put a harness on for another month or so. This was Quinn's first trip and boy was he complaining because we had to leave "so soon"... like an hour later. Madison has decided that she would like to live on this farm and get up and do the milking in the morning. I wonder how long that would last.

After we got home from the farm, I had about 30minutes to make and feed the kids supper and get the kids ready because tonight M & Q went with B & P to see Charlotte's Web at their church. I was hoping to go out for supper or may be even to a movie with my dear husband but my dear husband is still at work as I write this!! I told him he owes me.

Tomorrow we have to leave by 7:45am for Madison's first Flames game for this season. I can't wait to see how her team fares against other girls the same age. Last season we didn't score any goals AT ALL... against 12 year old girls.

Love to all, Leah

Thursday

Today was just a pretty normal day... actually we were on the slower side at work, so that wasn't normal, but I'm not complaining!! Tonight was soccer practice for Madison and baseball practice for Quinn. After both of those we met Tony in a parking lot and handed Quinn over to him so Madison and I could go on to the 4H Dairy Club. We got there late, around 7:45 but that's the best we could do. We filled out forms to register the calf for the fair. There's more to "it" now that I'm the mom doing all of this. Surely my mom and dad had to fill out all of these forms when we showed our sheep at the fair. I certainly don't remember any of that!

That's all for tonight folks. Pretty boring huh?
Love to all, Leah

Cake decorating class

Madison and I went to our cake decorating class and these are the cupcakes we made tonight! Aren't they awesome?... Don't you think they are a little "too awesome" for us??? OK, Ok, OK... they aren't ones we made, but some day we hope to make. Here is a picture of the cake that Madison made tonight

... she practiced some of the various "techniques" that we learned. She was quite happy with it, so I am too!

We were the only ones in the class! The other 6 students couldn't come for one reason or another and class was cancelled last week so the instructor insisted that we come anyway. So, we had the instructor to ourselves... and according to her, it's "just like 3 friends getting together". She's real sweet. We had a good time and it was fun to do something with my girl.

Tony was working so Quinn hung out with Nate. Grandma Jo, they have now started using Nate's "Chat Now" phones... basically a walkie-talkie and it works from his house to ours so they aren't tying up the phone line now. They had to "chat" while Quinn was brushing his teeth, getting his PJ's on... they might as well live together. We are thrilled because they (Quinn & Nate) have decided that they will go to Camp Friedenswald this summer for 2 nights! Quite a big step for both of them I think but there is strength in numbers and as long as they keep their shoulders velcroed together, they're confident they will do great. Madison was talking camp up to Quinn and was listing off all of the fun things you can do... "you can throw note balls to each other during rest time..." and Quinn was buying all of the fun until he heard that, "That is the problem! I don't know how to throw a note ball!"...and from Madison, "You write a note, wad it up and throw it at the person!"... and from Quinn, "Ohhhh" with relief in his voice. Whew... let's get all the particulars down. Madison informed me tonight that she is going to camp every single year, even when she has gray hair... I guess by that time she'll either be working at the camp or running it! Ha!

Well, that's all for tonight folks.

Love to all, Leah

What to do with these Easter eggs??

Does anyone else have hard-boiled colored Easter eggs staring at them every single time you open the refrigerator? Madison and I love deviled eggs. I haven't gotten around to making them yet and really, how many eggs can you really eat? ...Not that many if you appreciate your current cholesterol level. I thought I would look for a different recipe though... to shake things up a bit. I went to www.tasteofhome.com and "only" found 80 different recipes! Who would have guessed you can do that much with an egg yolk! Anyway, here is a recipe I thought I would try. Anyone want to beat me to it... and tell me if it's worth "risking" my colored Easter eggs on?

Garlic Deviled Eggs

6 hard-cooked eggs
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 to 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 green onions with tops, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
Paprika

Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks. Add mayonnaise, mustard, onions, garlic and salt. Fill egg whites; sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving. Yield: 1 dozen

Stress Relievers

Hello, We had a good weekend... COLD but good. We tried to practice some stress-relieving activities. Some of "us girls" decided to go shopping and out for supper. What better way to relieve stress huh? So, Friday night was a shopping night and out to Don Pablos with Karla, Lisa and Angie. It was great. Tony took the kids to see the movie "Meet the Robinsons" and out for supper. They had a nice evening with just Dad, which was really good for them too.

Yesterday Madison and Tony had softball practice from 10-12 and then they ran a few errands. She was supposed to have soccer in the afternoon but somehow came up with a sore ankle after her Thursday night practice so she didn't go. She must have gotten kicked off the side of her shin guard or something because her shin is swollen and it's swollen down into her ankle. This is her second injury this season already (remember the back?...and before that it was the wrist?). I think I need to start praying about that...injury prevention. Quinn had baseball practice at 4pm but after 1 hour and snow flakes blowing around, they quit early (thank goodness).

So anyway, Madison and I went with Terry, Karla, Katie and Nathan to the farm that has the calves that Katie and Madison are going to show at the 4H fair this summer. This was their first meeting. The calves are about 6 weeks old. The farmers have a "system" to their naming of the cows because they are all registered. It just so happens that Katie's calf is named "Honey" and Madison's is named "Crisp"... pretty cute huh? We were there about 2 1/2 hours, touring their dairy farm. Twice a day they milk around 210 cows. Wow! It was a very cold but interesting afternoon. Each cow gives around 100-120 pounds of milk each day, this is approximately 15 gallons of milk per day!

Madison meets Crisp for the first time.

Crisp

Honey thinks Katie's fingers taste pretty good.


Today was church and then to Hacienda afterwards for lunch. This afternoon at 4:30 is Small Group at Rex & Angie's house and that pretty much wraps up our weekend. It sure went fast! I hope you all have a good week.


Love to all, Leah

Rollpak has been sold

Well folks, we are finally allowed to share what all of the heart of Tony's busyness has been about. Rollpak has been sold to Berry Plastics. I know... quite a shock for you all I'm sure. It's been knowledge that has really been a burden to bear without being able to share with our closest family and friends due to the strict confidentiality requirements. This process originally started last Fall. We learned of it at the beginning of December. A short time later Dave left and Tony has been incredibly busy ever since; trying to do all of the "normal" work stuff and trying to work with preparing the numerous financial information that prospective buyers have requested over the last few months. Wednesday of this week was the actual closing of the sale of Rollpak. It is with very mixed emotions that those employees say good-bye to the founders of Rollpak and welcome a new, much larger company to steer their ship. The majority of the employees found out about the sale this past Monday. ...Really, it would have been a blessing NOT to know about all of this until most of the questions one would have, would actually have an answer. Of course the biggest fear was that it would be sold to another company that makes can liners, a pretty normal assumption really. If that was the case most likely all of the administrative staff would have most likely been let go and the factory would have been run by the parent administration. A lot of prayers went up for Rollpak the last 5-6 months. Berry Plastics makes a very LARGE amount of plastic bottles etc, etc, etc. They are a 3.1 billion dollar company and employ around 14,000 around the USA. They have chosen to leave Rollpak as it is ... just changing the name to Berry Plastics and leaving Rollpak as the "brand name"... just like "Ziplock" would be a brand name of their manufacturer. For more information on Berry, you can go to http://www.berryplastics.com/ . There is a press-release about their purchase of Rollpak on the right hand side of their home page that was posted yesterday.

Tony met the new owners this week and last night there was a dinner at the Blue Gill for the management team and their spouses to meet the new owners. I have to say that they are extremely nice, warm and likable people. Two of the wives were there and they certainly seemed like normal, down to earth people who were easy to talk to. The chairman and CEO was there. It will be so different now with a HUGE company. I'll probably never lay eyes on him again. Their home base is in Evansville, IN. They had several "toasts" throughout the evening. More than once people thanked Tony for all of the many hours he has put in and for what a great job he has done. I thought that was very nice and made him feel appreciated. Between Monday and Tuesday of this week, he had already worked 37 hours, re-taking their inventory and preparing up to date financial information for the closing on Wednesday. I don't even work that much in 1 week!! He's too old to be pulling all-nighters and he is definitely feeling it. He didn't look so good when he headed out this morning. I think our vacation should have been for this next week instead of last week.

So, my worry is that this "secret" will offend people because they didn't know about it. Please, please, please don't feel this way. It truly was something that we wish we wouldn't have had to know about. It was very difficult at the Christmas party this year for Tony, to look around at these friends and colleagues and wonder if any of them would have a job in a few months. We wanted so terribly to share with you; for me it was actually painful not to be able to share... us women gain strength from talking things out with others! In a way it made us rely on God all the more... for controlling the anxiety and giving us reassurances that everything would be OK, no matter the outcome. I guess all things are opportunities to grow closer to Christ.

Well, I know this has been very long. I would have loved to call each of you up and told you in person one by one but that's probably not practical and certainly this is one way that I get to tell each of you the facts myself instead of hearing it through the grapevine. So, for those of you that have prayed for Tony and his job without knowing any of the specifics, I truly thank you and please know that your prayers were and are coveted. We still have many unknowns about what his job will be like from now on but we feel secure that he still will have a job and that reassurance has been a blessing.

My love to each of you, Leah

Touching base on Tuesday

Tonight was soccer practice for Madison and Quinn's first baseball practice. He was worried that he wouldn't know any one on his team but it turns out that he is aquainted with a couple of the boys. It was pretty cold... in the 40's. Of course our hot-blooded Madison was peeling off layers of clothing that I made her wear... the first to go was her sweatpants. I didn't even set the shorts out, thinking there would be no way she would even consider the need to take them off. I was wrong. She planned ahead and wore them under her sweats. She's a little like you Amanda... always on the HOT side!...but in 45 degree weather??? Her first soccer game is this coming Saturday and it is supposed to be in the 40's and also rain too. Anyone want to come sit out there with us?

This is an extremmely busy week for us. Tony is out of the picture with work. He worked 18 hours yesterday and haven't seen him yet today. I think I need to get Beppe and Pakka a PDA just to keep up with our family! They have been quite helpful!!! I told someone today that my job sure gets in the way of the things I need to be doing in life! Ha! (And I don't even work a full 8 1/2 hour day!... pathetic!).

Well, that's all for now. Love to all, Leah

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!

We had a strange start to our Easter morning. Our electricity went out around 3am today and was off for 6 hours. We don't know why... ?? So, because we sleep with a fan, we woke up frequently after that, not used to the silence. We went to church and then to Beppe and Pakka's for lunch. She can be gone for a whole week too (to Kansas) and get back at 10pm last night and still throw together a big Easter meal. It's a gift... and we're so happy we benefit from it! We came home this afternoon and just tried to relax and recuperate from last week. Nate's family got home from Florida this evening around 6 and I think he arrived here around 6:15. He and Quinn were so glad to see each other!

There have been 3 special birthdays within the last week or so. Today is Karla's birthday... a big Happy Birthday to you Karla!! My mom and dad both had birthdays too; Mom's was March 29 and Dad's was April 6. Mom had a "milestone" birthday but if you want to know exactly which one, you'll have to ask her (or me in person!). Happy birthday to both of you too!

Tony has a very BIG week this week at work. I'll post more details tomorrow night. If you can just remember him in prayer that would be great. All of the past 4 month's of extreme busyness should get some better after this week. He's already said not to expect to see much of him this week. He's not even going to the practices that he coaches (softball)! So, more details coming but if you could pray for endurance and relief of headaches/neck pain we would appreciate the prayer coverage.

I uploaded some vacation pictures from Smoky Mountains, Day 1 through Day 5. My dear sister-in-law, Michelle, accidentally "stole" some of my pictures from my camera's SD card when she was attempting to copy/paste and instead "moved" them to her laptop. I'll have to get those back from her and then update the rest with pictures.

That's all tonight. I hope you each have a good week. I'm going to be quoting over and over... "just be glad you had a vacation, not sad that it's over"...all day long tomorrow I think. Usually there is a price to be paid at work when you return. Romans 8:31 says that God is on my side though... so who in the world can be against me?

Love to all, Leah

What I learned on vacation...

Things I learned about our family while on vacation to the Smoky Mountains...

1. After several weeks/months of talking about where we were going on spring break we found out that we were mispronoucing the city! Sevierville is pronounced "Severe-ville" ... like severe pain or something... not see-ver-ville. Ha!

2. Quinn has some "take charge" and leadership qualities showing up. He repeatedly was "gathering" everyone to make up their minds and order our food ... talking to the wait staff like a little grown up... just a few examples. Tony and I were amazed... it happened time and time again.

3. Madison had courage to face some of her fears... of heights for one. She was able to confidently ride the sky lift up to the alpine sledding hill after quite a few practices at it. She tried a rock climbing wall but shocked us when she quit when 3/4 of the way up. "I made one mistake" she said, "I looked down."

4. If I have to I can go for 36 hours on clear liquids and absolutely nothing else! Pain is a strange motivating factor. It worked and I'm so thankful. I continued to have a toothache every single day but was able to get through it with Advil every 4 hours (literally). (The dentist needs to adjust the height of a crown I think).

5. Tony loves his kids enough to get up at 8am on vacation just to take them swimming for 2 hours before our day of sight-seeing begins... to make sure that they got this request in. (This gave him some time to work on his laptop for Rollpak too).

6. Jade doesn't stop growing when we don't get to see her for several months. She is taller and talking more... we all loved to hear her say "Got it!" when finding her Easter eggs for the first time.

Smoky Mountains, Day 8

Hello everyone,

We are back home safe and sound. It took us about 8 hours from Archie & Michelle's house and we got home at 8:30 tonight. We've already got the 2nd load of clothes in the washer, all of the suitcases are unpacked and I've made my vegetable dish for Easter dinner tomorrow at Beppe & Pakka's. We had a great time on our trip... but it sure is ca-ca-ca-cold up here!!!... low 30's. Thank you Karla for turning our heat on for us... the house was nice and warm.

Here's a "Quinn's Quip" for you. Tonight, about 7 1/2 hours into the trip, the kids were just bickering back and forth about dumb stuff... "his leg is on my side... she keeps touching my pillow..."...yada-yada-yada. So, I told Quinn that he should imagine that there is an invisible wall right down the middle of the van, blocking the view of Madison from him. He says,
"But Mom... if it's invisible, I can still see right through it!"
Ahhhhhh!!... "OK, so think of it as a huge curtain down the middle of the van, that you can't see through!" Tony didn't help the situation either, "well Mama, you know he's really right..." Another Ahhhhhh!!...we've been in the van for tooooo long today!!

OK, I must put my weary body to bed!

Love to all, Leah

Smoky Mountains, Day 7

Today we took a tour of Fort Campbell... the 101st Airborne army base where Archie is stationed at. It's pretty amazing that after you go through the guarded entrance that you are basically entering a different sub-culture... certainly one that is different from one that we live in. The base is huge and is basically it's own contained city. Just think of the city of Goshen (with a whole bunch of open fields included) all within a gated fence... that's the best way to say it and compare it's size. Of course most of their industry is army related but they have everything you need... 5 elementary schools, 2 jr. highs and sr. high, a hospital, dental, groceries, gas stations, stores, gyms, churches (like 5 or so that I saw). It is 164 square miles!! It was pretty amazing. Michelle and I could basically think of no reason as to why you would have to leave the army base... except the dental clinics only care for soldiers, not the families (just to manage their patient loads).

We also toured their base's museum. This base's specialty is helicopters... the black hawks that you see on the news etc... most of them are based here. I have now gone through quite a few airplane type of museums with Quinn's infatuation over the years. Much of the "air history" is attached to the military in some way... how instrumental they have been in our country's history. No matter what my feelings are about wars and fighting, I'm always humbled and nearly ashamed of my basic ignorance as to the sacrifice in the name of freedom that these men and women and their families have made across the decades. It's so amazing to read about "real" people that were instrumental in WW II, Vietnam, Dessert Storm and now Iraqi Freedom. It just makes you look at things differently... I know most of you aren't as interested in aviation as my family is (or part of us is) but I encourage you that if you get a chance to walk through such a museum, just for the educational value, to do so. And give Quinn a call, I'm sure he'll be happy to be your personal tour guide.

This afternoon we dyed Easter eggs with Jade and hid Easter eggs for her in the house. It's freezing cold today... even saw some snow flakes, so that kept us inside for part of the time. It was extra fun and special because this was Jade's first time for those activities. She really enjoyed all of it... she was the record holder for the fastest Easter egg dyer... she had her eggs dipped in dye and done in no time.

Tomorrow we head for the North. I'm ready for my own bed but not ready to get back to the busyness of life I guess. We've enjoyed our time away so much and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to take vacations. So many kids never experience other communities. That in itself amazes me. It's about an 8 hour drive home tomorrow. I probably won't post tomorrow night unless it's to say we made it home safely. The unpacking is not nearly as fun as the packing in anticipation to go somewhere. As my mom has advised me before, I'll try to "focus on being glad that this vacation happened... and not be sad that it's over."

Love to all of you, Leah

Smoky Mountains, Day 6

Today we left Sevierville around 10am and travelled to Clarksville, TN... 4 hours straight West and just outside of Nashville. Tony's sister Michelle and her family, Archie & Jade, live here near Fort Campbell, KY where Archie works in the Army. It was a beautiful drive, it went quickly. We gained an hour by entering central time so we got to their house around 1pm their time. We spent the afternoon and evening with them in their home, just enjoying each other's company. It's fun to see how much Jade has changed. She's gotten taller and she is saying more words now. Our kids don't give Uncle Archie much time to rest... they are constantly tickling or wrestling or teasing or something. Of course we always like to listen to his stories from one of his two deployments to Iraq. He is a great story teller!

That's all for today. Love to all, Leah

Smoky Mountains, Day 5

This morning started out with swimming in the indoor pool for Tony and the kids from 8-10am. They did not get to go swimming yesterday so thought they needed to find a way to get that in for sure today. Afterwards we headed off to the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. Quinn couldn't figure out why I didn't think it would be busy with tourists. Of course he loved it and with him mostly at the camera controls, we came out with 98 pictures of this site. Wow... would anyone like to sit through all of these for him? He was able to "talk shop" with the volunteer on the hanger floor, discussing airplanes, and which airplane performed better in WW II etc... Quite interesting to watch. He was quite conversational with the gift shop lady... even told her that "When I grow up, I'm thinking about moving here, so I can come here every single day." Needless to say he LOVED IT! Madison, on the other hand, barred it as well as a big sister could. : ) (See photo)

We went to the Forbidden Caverns in Sevierville in the early afternoon. This is a large cave that goes as deep as 650 feet. We took a walking tour for about 1 hour through the cave and saw stalagmites, stalagtites, the largest area of onyx in the US, a small river flows through it... it was very cool and educational for all of us. Some of the stalagtites are pencil thin and hang down really low. We were instructed not to touch the walls of the cave and I told Tony is was all I could do not to reach out and snap one of those things off!! It was a complusion I wanted to act on so badly!!! :) Quinn gathered a bunch of dandelions outside and presented me with the bouquet right before we walked in. He was so proud of himself and so sweet... I carried those crazy things for the next 1 1/2 hours!!!

We had made 5pm supper reservations for the Hoot 'n Holler dinner show at Wonder Works. It was an Italian meal with entertainment while we ate in the form of singing, some special "tricks" with audience participation and during the dessert they started the highlight of the night which was a mini-play about Paul Bunyan. They needed audience participation for some of the parts and wouldn't you know that out of the 4 parts, Tony was one selected! To make a long story short he came out at the end dressed as a baby... complete with a tablecloth diaper, bonnet, bottle, rattle and "cried" into the microphone. It was just hilarious. Quinn was nearly beside himself with laughter. I video taped the whole mini-play (against the rules). Quinn has teased Tony A LOT now about him being a baby and needing his diaper changed etc... HA!!

We stopped at the Super Walmart on our way home from the show because they had a kiosk that I noticed earlier in the week. You could pick out a design and an artist would spray-brush your design on t-shirts with your name on it. Since we've never ever found anything with Quinn's name on it I thought that would be perfect for him. They loved picking out their designs and Madison and I watched him work on the shirts. Of course there is a story behind this too with the shape of the "Q"... the artist painted the slash coming straight out of the 7 o'clock position instead of at 5 o'clock and it took some talking to the lady at the desk to even get her to talk to the artist about it ("that's just how he makes his Q's"... and from me "well my son can't find anything with his name on it and this Q is wrong and I want it to be right!"....insert a SIGH!!!) soooo, the artist didn't find it to be a big deal and fixed it perfectly by making all of the letters more bold in style. Easy fix... hassle to get it done though!!

By now it was 8:30-9 and so we went back to the condo and played some cards on our last night in the smokies. The kids went to bed and Tony and I watched our Redbox Rental of "Pursuit of Happyness" (mispelled word intended) with Will Smith... it was very good. So, it was a late night but such a fun day. I asked everyone how they would grade their day. Tony's neck/headaches weren't bothersome at all, the t-shirt turned out OK and so we all gave it an A+ of a day. Quinn gave it an A+ with about 50 +'s behind it... so much I had to tell him to cool it down a bit.

Well, I know this was a long post tonight. It was an adventuresome day. We all agree that we have loved the Smokies and hope to come back. We only touched on a small percentage of things that you could possibly do here. Wish you all were here with us!

Love to all, Leah

Smoky Mountains, Day 4

Today we all slept in... actually Tony found Quinn playing his Game Boy at 6:30 and made him go back to sleep (that morning boy!)... Madison didn't get up until some time after 9. The kids wanted to drive some go-carts... not just be the riders in ones that were too big for them. So, we went to Nascar Speedpark that is less than a mile away from us. The weather was perfect-o, however, the lines were quite long... I finally convinced Tony to let me go stand in another line while they stood in one line and then they could come over and get in line with me. He felt bad about doing that... hey, I'm all about productivity. I stood in line for 1 hour for a race that lasted only 5 minutes. So after about 3 hours and 4 rides, we decided to throw in our towels for awhile. The one good thing was that if you had a child that was too short to drive but tall enough to ride, the parent could drive for free.... bonus for Tony & I. We debated and debated about whether to buy these $30 wrist bands because we knew that Madison could be the driver on quite a few more rides than Quinn. When we finally got up to the cash register to pay the lady kindly told us that tip... so obviously we didn't buy our own bands. From talking to another mom that day... she wasn't given the same tip. She bought a wrist band for $30 and completed her day after driving only 4 races. Pretty expensive races huh? Actually, if you bought just tickets, instead of a wrist band, the number of tickets required per race varied a bit but the ones we were on would have cost $9 per race... ridiculous at close to $3 per ticket.

We came back to the condo and made lunch and relaxed. Tony had to do some computer work for Rollpak (never too far away for work!) so Madison and I taught Quinn how to play Skip-Bo. We had a good time at it... although Madison takes games faaaar to seriously. She's out to win!!... she made the "decree" that no one could help each other starting in the 2nd game etc... poor Quinn, just learning this new game. I privately tried to give him a "handicap" and dealt him only 25 cards instead of 30 but to no avail... I still won! : )

It was such a gorgeous day, in the low 80's, so we decided to drive through some scenic parts of the mountains (I think they all would be considered "scenic"). Madison really wasn't into all of the driving around just to look at stuff (I so remember being like that) but we found this place called Cades Cove which is an 11 mile one-way road that loops into the mountains and back out. When we started into it the cars in front of us were driving really, really slow so we knew this might take awhile. We had the kids pile into the front seats with us so they could see better and Quinn steered us through the Cove... stopping to look at all the nature. It was soooo beautiful!!! We must have seen 100 or so deer, we saw a coyote, old buildings that they had preserved... old churches, one from the early 1800's. Very cool. We got out and hiked a little bit but wanted to see the whole Cove before dark so couldn't go too far. Quinn took video of nearly all 100 of those deer so if anyone wants to watch it, I'm sure he will be happy to point stuff out. He was all over it. We decided that it would be highly possible to spend a whole week just in the mountains themselves. We were right next to North Carolina while driving through that area. On the way back on the twisty, hairpin turns, we had to laugh because we brought about 40 or so filled Easter eggs to hide with Jade this coming weekend and the basket spilled so we had to listen to those eggs rattle all over the place with all of those turns. Ha!

We drove back into town around 9pm and saw that the Nascar place was still open. We really felt like we hadn't gotten our money's worth yet so it was back to the go-carts! The evening weather was beautiful... not even a sweatshirt needed and the place had really, really cleared out. They rode soooo many more rides... basically got off of one race and could get right back on. It closed at 10:30 and they were disappointed to have to leave "so early". We definitely felt like their $30 wrist bands were paid for by then. So, we came back to the condo and ate my crock pot lasagna for supper around 11pm! Thankfully I had stuck it in the refrig prior to our 4pm departure for the mountains. It was a tiring but fun day.

I can't wait to post some pictures with my stories when I get home again.

Hope all is well with "ya all".... love, Leah

Smoky Mountains, Day 3

Today we went to Ober Gatlinburg for the day. We really weren't planning on spending the whole day there but I guess 8 hours is considered a whole day. We took the sky tram which took us from downtown Gatlinburg up the mountain to the "park" of Ober Gatlinburg. Madsion is quite afraid of heights so she faced her fears many times over today. It was a beautiful, amazing view. The day was spent on the go-carts, many trips down part of the mountain on alpine sleds, down water slides in rafts and walking. The alpine sleds were probably the highlight of the park. You ride the sled down in the cement track and then take the ski lift back to the top (thus the reason for Madison facing her fear of heights). By the dozen or so mark she was an old pro at the ski lift. We rode it completely to the top and took the sites and also the peace and quiet. That was really cool. At the end we took the sky tram back down to Gatlinburg with a pretty view of Gatlinburg at night and drove back to Sevierville (about 15 minutes). The drive is quite twisty and I have to say that Gatlinburg has been absolutely packed the last 2 days we've been there... the town that is, the park wasn't bad at all. It was bumper to bumper traffic. Sevierville seems much less congested. A bonus for us I guess.

Double click on this picture... it's hilarious!

For our late supper (9pm) we stopped at the A & W drive-in. They were so excited and curious about what a drive-in restaurant was all about. They were thrilled with the whole concept. Quinn told us he thought we would "drive-in" to the parking lot and then walk inside. They charmed the waiter inside so much that he promised them free icecream cones if we go back tomorrow night. They are begging to go. We'll have to see.

My side did absolutely fine today so I think the clear liquids yesterday worked. With all of the walking and yesterday's diet, this will probably be the first ever vacation to loose weight. Ha!

Well, this pup is tired so I will close for now. Of course we'll finish the 2nd half of the Ohio State game and cross our fingers that they'll pull through.

Love to all, Leah

Smoky Mountains, Day 2

Today we drove to Gatlinburg and went to Ripley's Aquarium. It was really pretty neat. I love seeing all of the variety of fish and am always surprised at God's imagination. Wow! We saw 4-eyed fish, flashlight fish, pot-bellied sea horses, all kinds of tropical fish, sharks and we got to touch sting rays (yuck). We took our lunch and 3 out of the 4 of us ate lunch in the van before we went in. It took about 3 1/2 hours to get through the whole thing. It rained this morning so this was a good indoor activity.

This afternoon we went putt-putt golfing at Hillbilly Putt-Putt. Madison wanted to know if we had to golf like Hillbillies (sp?) in order to play. We rode a tram 300 feet up the side of a mountain and then while playing 18 holes of golf we walked about 1/2 of the way down and took the tram the rest of the way. That was really pretty cool and the rain had stopped, the weather was perfect.

We drove around for awhile, planning our strategies for the next few days. Tony is a true tourist at heart. He wants to cram in as much as physically possible in a day's time while on vacation. The kids and I prefer it to be a little more laid back than that. He was good sport today and didn't drag us around too much. : ) (I can tell he wanted to though!).

We made supper in the condo tonight and now the kids are swimming. Tony and I are their life guards I guess... on dry land. May be swimming will tire these energizer bunnies out.

I made it though the day on coffee (for breakfast), white grape juice, water and diet pepsi. Real nutritious huh? I'm a little light headed tonight but my side feels much better! I can only feel it ache when I bend over (like 18 times at the mini-golf place). It was kind of hard to make a supper meal and not eat 1 speck of it. May be I'll ease back into it tomorrow. On that note, I need to stop thinking about food. I'll let you all go.

Love to all, Leah

Greetings from the Smoky Mountains

Hello from Sevierville, TN!

We arrived in the Smokies yesterday around 12:30pm. It was a beautiful day in the upper 70's. We checked into our condo which is absolutely beautiful. It is 1500 square feet and Madison thinks she would like to just move in here. The resort itself is much bigger than the WI Dells which is what we previously compared this area to in our minds. We went to Tony's favorite fast food restaurant... Chick Fillet, for lunch which is less than a mile away. Tony took the kids swimming and I went to Super Walmart with our grocery list in hand. Afterwards I met up with them at the pool. They swam for 3 hours and then went rollerblading, scootering and made a trip to the resort's park. Never out of energy of course! We stayed in last night and had pizza and fruit for supper. We watched Ohio State's game... how ironic that OH and FL played each other in football and now in BB too for the championship! We hope they win this time! I rented Eragon at the $1 Red Box at Walmart which is PG but it was so scary for the kids that we had to turn it off. It was pretty scary.... great, just what they needed before bedtime. They did fine though at bedtime.

We've (I've) had a small snag in the midst of our 2 days so far... I'm having some right upper quad pain which I presume to be my gallbladder which is aching!! Can you believe it? I've decided to do what I would recommend to someone else and go on a clear liquid diet. Bummer huh? I have a lot of good meals planned for breakfasts and suppers so I hope this clears up fast!! It's just enough to be annoying. So, if you can say a prayer about this I would appreciate it. I sure don't want to be in a TN ER!!

Today it is raining and supposed to rain most of the day. We sat out on our deck this morning and listened to the peaceful rain hitting the mountain behind us. So relaxing. Strange that there are actually cows in a field behind us. The kids have walked out to a fence in the backyard to visit with them. It makes for a serene picture... especially with the view of the Tanger Outlet in the distance. HA! We are going to go to Ripley's Aquarium today in Gaitlenburg... about 10 miles away. We've packed our lunch (for 3 of us any way) and will soon take off. Quinn has been drooling over a brochure for the TN Airport's Aviation Museum so we might hit that as well. He's pointed at every picture and told me what plane it is and how we just have to go there and see them.

It seems weird that today is Palm Sunday and we aren't in church. We'll have a little lesson on our way in the van for the day. I hope you all are going to have a nice day. My dear husband installed something on his work lap top so I have dial up in our condo now... otherwise they have high speed in the activity center. I'll try and post tonight about the events of the day.

Love to all, Leah

"Give me a title" and spring break plans

Isn't this picture just the CUTEST???
Who has a good title for it?
Are there lyrics to a song that could go along with this?
Does it remind you of a favorite Bible verse?


No, I didn't take it. Found it on one of my fav's... flickr (see Links)... typed in "smile"...the pictures just make me smile looking at all 535,270 them! (Just kidding... there really are that many but is obviously impossible to view them all!).

Need feedback people!

We are leaving for the Smokey Mountains on spring break today after school/work. We'll be gone for a week and this caption task will give you something to think about while we are gone! Actually, Tony is taking his laptop from work so we'll be able to check email and hopefully update my blog daily. My next blog update probably won't come until Saturday night (hopefully!).
Anyway, say a prayer for us for safe travel, good weather, and good health while we are gone. Thanks.

Love to all of you, Leah

Just delightful!

Today during my morning prayer with the kids I prayed that God would some how surprise Madison and Quinn today... some how just delight them in a way that they would know that it was God that was working and watching and showing interest in their day. All day I wondered how/if God would "prove" this and prayed that God would answer this little prayer request. When Quinn came BOUNDING into the house he was soooo excited because they got their report cards today and if you get all A's and B's you get a Taco Bell coupon and he got his but his excitement was spilling over because one of his classmates doesn't like Taco Bell and chose Quinn to give his extra coupon too. Do you think that this was God's way of delighting Quinn today? I think it very well could have been... that's how we interpreted it any way. I reminded him of our prayer and he got a big smile on his face and said "Oh Ya!" Madison was also a bundle of happiness and said that this was "just the best day in the world!" ...Now, I quizzed her practically under an interrogation lamp to try and figure out just WHY this was the best day in the world but she honestly couldn't tell me... it "just was". Music didn't go as planned and she was disappointed that she didn't make a goal but nonetheless she was thrilled with her day. I think God answered this prayer in a very simple way... just by delighting her with JOY... which she doesn't always have after a school day. What a simple prayer and what awesome simple answers. Try it for yourself. Ask God to surprise you some way and delight you with something and make sure to watch for it! After all in Psalms 37 we are told to, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." And since most of you will be reading this on a new day I will say, "Now, go and have a delightful day!"

Love to all, Leah

Babe Ruth

Quinn's Quips...

Driving by the Little League diamonds Madison noticed that there was a game going on. We wondered aloud who might be playing since Concord Little League games haven't started yet. I said, "Well, may be it's Babe Ruth playing" and Quinn said, "Babe Ruth?! How would Babe Ruth be playing? I thought he was dead!" I guess the Babe Ruth baseball league was a new name for him. : )

Tidbits from Tuesday

Wow, we've made it to the middle of the week already. This week has gone much faster than last! Last night the Care Commission at church got together for our last "hooray" by going out for Chinese food at the New York Buffet (dumb name I know). Silverwood has gradually been making a change to a new structure AKA "how we do stuff" and Care is being combined with another commisison. SO, it was a nice evening and every one from Care was there so that was good too. Madison and Quinn spent the evening with Pakka; going to McDonald's and then to Tommy's Kids Castle (a gigantic play area at the local park). I guess Quinn even admitted that they are spoiled a bit by Beppe and Pakka... I think it's more like he has them wrapped around his little finger. They had a lot of fun... the first venture to the park for the season. Beppe was at Bible study in case you were wondering. Tony worked of course and then spent several hours at Victory Construction doing who-knows-what and then stayed up until 1 am working on tax returns at home. Pretty soon I'm going to have to introduce myself and shake his hand.

Tonight we had the Upward Basketball Awards night. I think I mentioned this in Sunday's post. They always look so forward to it. They gave away a few door prizes and "Madison Miller's parents" actually won a fold up chair with the Upward logo on it. That was quite the surprise. We don't need any more outdoor bag chairs but Madison is thrilled with it and of course has claimed it as her own. Tracy K. said she fully expected someone in our family to win something... I don't know what she is talking about. ... ok, ok, ok, Tony did win that $2000 air conditioner one summer from the radio station and Madison won the MP3 player at the fair last year... may be that's what she is referring too. So, it was Madison's name again. May be she and Tony should start playing the lottery or something. The kid's award was a really nice duffel bag that has a special zipped pocket for a basketball and of course it is in the Upward colors with their logo. I really can't say enough GOOD THINGS about this program. It is a nation-wide program and there are several in our area. First Baptist in Elkhart is who runs ours and I think probably 200-300 kids participate. May be more. Anyway it is a great community outreach activity. ...really, can't say enough about it. I should just be their national spokeswoman I guess. : ) Check out my Links section for the address.

That's all of the excitement for these two days. Tomorrow night is our last CFN at church and then I have a board mtg after that so I'm not sure if I'll have time to post or not. What's going on in your lives??? Aren't you bored hearing about mine?

Love to all, Leah

Weekend

Hi, I hope you all had a good weekend. The weather was beautiful today in Indiana... it even was a bit humid which I didn't enjoy but overall it was gorgeous.

The kids had their last basketball games on Saturday. They played at the same exact time so I was walking back and forth between the gyms at the school (Elkhart Christian Academy). Madison had a tough game... she pulled a muscle in her back last weekend and it is still bothering her. She only scored 2 points and only shot like 2-3 times. Her team lost for the 2nd time this season. She felt a little bummed to end her season that way. Quinn had one of his best games ever and scored 10 points. They don't keep score for their games but I'm pretty sure that they won most of them. On Tuesday night they have an Upward Awards night and all of the kids will get to run through a tunnel with smoke coming out of it while they are introduced and then they get an award of some kind. They always look forward to that night, they have a lot of fun.

I made banana bread on Saturday afternoon and homemade pizza for supper last night. Today I made monster cookies for "Quinn's Monster Cookies" which is the name of his bakery that he is setting up on Friday at school and will be selling his "goods" to other 2nd graders with their mini-economy money. I just stuck them in the freezer because I knew I wouldn't have time to make them in during the evenings this week... there are plans every single night. He helped me figure out the cost of his product and helped with a little bit of the scooping but overall I was the (un)hired hand. He has to make a sign to advertise yet and he is hoping I can find something he can use for a tablecloth over his desk and even a baker's hat. The tablecloth should be easy but the baker's hat....hmmm.

Madison cleaned out the van and washed it today. She is still trying to earn money for her 4th grade field trip to Indy. The other night she was all in a worry over her money and whether she would have enough etc... oh, such a young age to have financial problems! Ha! Actually, when you only get $3 a week in allowance you do have to get kind of creative when you need over $100. She has been saving the whole school year.

Other than that, Tony and I stayed up too late on Friday and Saturday watching $1 rentals from Martin's. It's been a long time since we've done that. After church we met Beppe & Pakka for lunch at the Olive Garden. Tony worked on taxes this afternoon and we both watched some of the NCAA basketball games over the weekend. Some of them were pretty exciting.

Well, I hope you each have a good week. I'll pass on the challenge from our church service this morning and encourage each of you to watch for the way that God is working in your life. If you don't look for His ways and notice them, you might just miss them. I'm going to be watching in my life and may be I'll just share about them later this week. Stay tuned...

Love to all, Leah

Monster

Quinn's Quips...

Quinn told me last night that he thinks he needs to start "trimming the hair on my (his) legs". I said, nahh.... boys don't shave their legs, just look at Dad's hairy legs. He said, "well, it's just kind of scarey" and when I asked him why, he said, "well, it looks like I might be turning into a monster." He also explained that his hairy legs have like 1 inch long hairs and that Dad has 3 inch long hairs. I suggested letting them use my curling iron to keep all that leg hair in check....

The ultimate traveling cooler, AKA Purse

The ultimate traveling purse!

Some of you know that I've been in search of the ultimate purse to take on trips... one that doesn't have the traditional strap to hang on my poor aching shoulders. After a few hours I can't stand it anymore, my shoulders hurt so bad. I have to be prepared for just about anything, especially when away from home, so something small just doesn't work. Jen and I combed Phoenix and Angie and I combed Tuscan. I found some that I thought might "work" but decided to be patient. They were either too big, too small, too thin of straps, too expensive etc... WELL, today I was at Target and thought I would get creative in my search so I checked out the lunch box aisle and wouldn't you know it, there sat the perfect purse, uuum cooler. You wouldn't know it was a cooler unless you see the insulated lining which I've decided won't be too bad anyway because we usually take a water bottle or two with us while we are out on excursions. I just had to include these pictures so you could see my $9.99 traveling purse! I'm getting ready to try it out in 1 week when we head for the Smokey Mountains on spring break! If you double click on the pictures you might be able to see it better. The strap in the back zips together to form a wide strap or zips a part to make two backpack type of straps. COOL huh?
What kind of a purse/bag do you like to take when you travel?

Love to all, Leah

Cake Decorating

I'm back in "school"... this time it's something super fun, a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby. I learned a lot about what I've done wrong in the last several years while attempting to decorate birthday cakes. Tonight we learned how to make perfect frosting and how to get it on the cake without all of the crumbs being mixed in. I feel so enlightened... like, why was this all such a big secret?? Madison went to soccer practice tonight but will get in on the practicing and stuff at the next class (there are 4 classes). We are going to have to be practicing at home so some of you local folks just might get some cakes delivered to you. We certainly can't eat all of it!



Tony is going to coach Madison's softball team again, along with Gordon Bontrager and Darren Miller. They had the draft tonight to make up their teams and Madison is quite thrilled to have some of her good friends on her team. Peyton and Holyn are both on it (and of course Erin and Raeann) and she knows almost all of the other girls as well. Opening day will be here before you know it!

Well, that's all for tonight folks.
Love to all, Leah

PS... Joint Commission never did come this week. ...a week of ...w..a..i..t..i..n..g.. for nothing! Yippee! : )

Keepin' my day job

Well, Annie the CPR mannequin liked me so I guess I'm keeping my day job and putting my dreams of being a grocery check-out girl on the back burner. Cheryl and Addi from work were laughing at me because I was worried about passing this! I told them I didn't want to "wiff" on such an "easy" thing... yes, I've gone through much worse testing in my career! Let them laugh...! They aren't the ones taking it! (Hi guys!) I "noticed" every time our door opened today to our department (let me tell you, it's a lot) because I was sure that JCAHO would come visit today... nope. I guess tomorrow morning is their last chance. It's been a long week of waiting for them to come!

Tonight was CFN at church and I was the substitute for Quinn's class. The teacher got sick today and so I was the "desperation" back-up. Those kids have a lot of energy! It was nice out so we went and played a few games outside. A high school student was there for crowd control but she looked a little too nice and sweet for me so Tony came along as the bouncer for awhile. He always spices things up. I was telling the kids a few rules while outside such as if anyone picked up the (very tempting) rocks next to our grassy area and threw them (after I witnessed this, it caused the rule to be made), they would have to sit out but Tony pipes in, "No, that means I get to throw them at you!" Thankfully most of the 12 kids know how to take his jokes by now.

For those of you that know Chad & Kathy Eberly... her mom passed away very early this morning (3am-ish) after a heart attack last night. She's had quite a few health problems over the last years but I'm pretty sure none were heart related. Keep them in your prayers if you would.

Well, that's all for tonight. We finally are on the downhill stretch to the weekend.
Love to all, Leah

Unconscious basketball player

Quinn's Quips...

Last Saturday Quinn had a great play in his basketball game. He stole the ball from another boy who was dribbling in one place forever (looking for someone to pass it to) and dribbled down to his basket and scored. I was complimenting Quinn on this play after the game and his recollection of the play was, "yeah, I just waited until he was unconscious and then stuck my hand in there and stole it." The dribbling did go on for quite a long time... may be he really was unconscious! : )

If anyone would like to see the footage, this proud mom has it on video!

Forgotten password

Hello faithful readers... I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've written on my blog. I actually couldn't even remember my password... seriously (and it's only been 5 days)! I had to have Blogger email it to me! Pathetic! Just think how many passwords and numbers we all have to remember to get along in this world. I thought I would list them here but there are too many for me to think about right now.

It's only Tuesday but it feels later in the week to me...it should be at least Thursday night by now. It's been busy so far. We have Joint Commission at the hospital this week. They are the governing body that gives hospitals their accreditation and is the whole reason that insurances reimburse hospitals for services. Needless to say, their visit is a little on the important side! We used to know when they were coming but now they are 100% unannounced visits. They showed up yesterday morning and will be here through Thursday. I was hoping so badly that they would visit our department today... just to get the interviewing and inspections over with but they didn't come yet! I also gave a presentation to a cancer support group from 4:30-6pm tonight (which is no big deal... just a longer day than usual) and now "look forward to" renewing my CPR license tomorrow. That is not usually a big deal but unfortunately "someone" keeps changing many of the little steps to take and of course you have to get all of the steps right! I tried watching the updated DVD last week at work but kept getting interrupted and the dept. I borrowed it from wouldn't let me take it home. Oh well... I guess if I don't pass they can send me home and then I could avoid the JCAHO inspection... hey, not a bad idea! Just for you medical folks (and those of you who might care)... did you know that the ratios of compressions to breaths is now 30 to 2?? ... better build up those deltoids because if you are doing CPR you are going to need them!

Madison had Flames practice tonight that Pakka took her to. They are outside practices now. Did I write about that last week?... can't remember, anyway... she pulled a muscle in her back over the weekend by jumping on Heather's trampoline and is having trouble running. I hope that shapes up soon. She went to bed with a heating pad tonight. She is quite excited about her first ever BRAND NEW pair of soccer cleats. Can you believe that? I try to be a penny pincher if I can, our bank account agrees with us better that way. She's played soccer every possible season since the age of 4 and I've always gotten her shoes at Play It Again Sports or garage sales or hand-me-downs. So, after she wrestled her way into her shoes on Saturday and about up set the van from the wrestling, it was time for a new pair. Tony took her and bought this COOL pair that has this extra padding in the back and you take it out as your foot grows and it gives you a whole 'nother size... so it's like buying 2 sizes in one shoe. Pretty awesome huh? They are metallic blue and silver and match her Flames shirt. She even wore them home from the store. Ha!

OK, I really must head upstairs to finish folding the mountain of laundry on my bed. I really wish I was home all day to get this house stuff done. I could be such a good housewife. HA! oh well... not in my cards I guess. Actually my dream job is to be a grocery check-out girl and scan groceries all day. May be if I don't pass my little CPR test and demonstration I can just go and pursue that. Did you know that doctors don't have to have CPR certifications and never take CPR classes?.... Comforting to know that your doctor's last CPR class was probably some time back in med school huh? Sorry to be the one to break it to you but I 100% guarantee that things have a-changed since then!

That's all for tonight; I'm starting to whine and annoy myself.

Love to all, Leah

Church, 4H, Cakes

Hello Everyone,
It's been a busy week... yesterday afternoon I had a meeting at church at 4pm so I went straight there after work. The kids got off at Karla's house. She helped them with their homework and everything... and brought them to church for supper and then CFN. So, it was about 8 or so by the time I got home for the first time yesterday. That's Tony's type of schedule... not mine. He did join us for supper at church though... and then went back to work.

Tonight Madison went to her first 4-H Dairy Club meeting. She is going to show a calf, "Maybelle" at the fair. Maybelle hasn't been born yet but she's hoping for a girl. She had a lot to say when she walked in the door, sounded excited but then said, "That was so boring!" and so I said, oh, so you probably don't want to go back? and she said, "Oh, yeah, I really want to go back!" and was quite serious. So, she really did have a good time but I guess she couldn't keep up with the club's presenter. Mind you, this is for 3rd graders through senior high-ers so the embryo transfer stuff just didn't click. Ha! "They were talking about mucous and stuff."... but she was totally lost. : )

I was supposed to go with Madison to my first cake decorating class tonight (minus Madison) but it ended up being cancelled tonight because the Hobby Lobby (Holly Hobby as Bepee says) lady didn't have enough people. A friend from work and our neighborhood is also going (Michelle & Maddie) but they hadn't signed up yet. She called and told them she was coming and that she would pay when she got there but I guess the lady didn't believe her. Michelle and I think she had something else she wanted to do tonight instead. SO, the first class is now next week.

That's all for tonight. Drop me a line and let me know how you are.
Love to all, Leah

PS... Taylor Hicks is coming to the 4H Fair!

Quinn's thoughts on Tigger's lack of motherhood

"I'm so glad that we never made Tigger have babies.... because she might have gotten diabetes...or... she might have even died if one of her kittens was too big for her."

New Role at Church

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. This crazy daylight savings time is for the birds and now we are all getting up an hour earlier and feeling tired all day because of it. Last night we tried to go to bed early... like 10:30 so we could get up earlier but I just kept laying there thinking, "it's really only 9:30 and I'm not that tired." Oh... the "problems" I have. (insert sigh here)

I have a new role at church now. Tonight was my first meeting as the congregational vice-chair person and 30 seconds after arriving I quickly put 2 and 2 together and realized that the chair wasn't going to be there and I was looked at to chair the meeting! Well now, that was an interesting experience... I hardly knew what I was talking about! We made up an agenda and went from there. Now I need to put whatever-it-was-that-we-talked-about into minutes (until we appoint a real secretary). (Really it wasn't quite as bad as I'm making it sound to be).

I always have many excuses as to why I can't do something, shouldn't be the one to have to do something, am not qualified, am too busy, it's not the right time in my life, we're gone too much on the weekends etc, etc, and etc. When they asked me to take on this new role of course my mind launched into all of the excuses, ready to pull any one of them out of my hat at the precisely needed moment to decline. I heard myself saying that I would consider it, pray about it and get back with them (who said that... was that me?). So, I did just that and guess what... my excuses just didn't fly with God! Can you believe it?!! So, I said yes to God's will and will try to leave all of the thousands of details for Him to figure out. I found this "poem" and was comforted by it. (see below) I certainly won't be a great hero of the Bible but it helps to know that I'm "probably" not the first leader who has felt a little anxious about new responsibilities or didn't feel qualified for the job. Ha.

When God Sends People...They Make Excuses:

Abraham was too old.
Moses stuttered.
Miriam was a gossip.
Jacob was a liar.
Gideon doubted.
Elijah was burned out.
First David's armor didn't fit, then he had an affair, and had someone killed.
Solomon was too rich.
Isaiah had unclean lips.
Jeremiah was too young.
Jonah didn't like the job.
Amos's only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Naomi was a widow.
Peter was afraid of death.
Thomas was from Missouri (the "show-me" state)
Paul was a murderer.
Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Lazarus was dead.
Martha was a worry-wart....

or so they claimed, before God's Spirit empowered them to rise to the occasion and become some of the greatest heroes of our faith.

Italian Pasta & Bean Soup

Karla brought over this soup one night and it was delicious! She made it with fresh herbs and I think that makes a big difference. Treat yourself while the weather is still cold and try some!

Italian Pasta and Bean Soup

1 medium onion, cut into 8 pieces
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 rib celery, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ lb. fresh fennel (½ of a small bulb), tall stalks and leaves discarded and bulb cut into cubes
1 large clove garlic
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes with juice
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup cooked or canned white beans (she used the entire can)
½ cup short tube-shaped pasta (ditalini or tubetti)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons each (or more as needed):
Fresh basil
Fresh parsley
Parmigiano cheese

Combine onion and garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped (or chop by hand). Heat olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and cook until they soften (2-3 minutes). Stir in tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add beans and pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is al dente – about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir in basil and parsley. Garnish servings with cheese.

Buck Teeth

"That boy knocked his head right against my buck teeth and my buck teeth just went down into him."

Where he got the term "buck teeth" I don't know but he definitely doesn't have them and he was very serious while referring to his top front teeth.

Quinn's Quips

The dictionary defines the word "quip" as this...

quip –noun
1. a clever or witty remark or comment.
2.a sharp, sarcastic remark; a cutting jest.
3. a quibble.
4. an odd or fantastic action or thing. –verb, "to utter quips"

Tony is always after me to write some of Quinn's comments down. My response has always been, "but it's constant... I can't walk around with a notebook in my hand." His solution suggestions were to carry a note pad in my purse or start a Word file and record them there. Finally Madison said tonight, "you've got to write that down in your precious moments book" (I have no idea what she is specifically referring to). OK, OK, OK... I'll try. I know most of them probably won't be funny to a reader... because it makes a difference with the intonation in his voice, the setting etc... but I've consented to try. I'll keep a list going for a while and occasionally post them on my blog under the "Quinn Quips" and under "Labels" in the blog column.

The reason for Madison's urging tonight was because...Madison, Quinn and I were enjoying our supper at the table which consisted of spaghetti and among other things some corn on the cob. Now mind you... it is March in Indiana and yes, the corn on the cob was frozen and yes, it had been in our freezer for quite some time. First he saw me eating my corn on the cob and suddenly was quite worried that my teeth must be bleeding somewhere... well, I actually have had a toothache lately but no, it was just some of my spaghetti sauce that brushed against my ear of corn. He took a few bites of his corn and then inquisitively asked, "Does this have a paint ball in it?" I said, "What?... what do you mean a 'paint ball'?" Madison started laughing and then interpreted for him... in the movie Dennis the Menace, Dennis accidentally blew a glob of paint onto Mr. Wilson's grilled chicken and the comedy movie showed him trying to chew away at it. Apparently Quinn thought perhaps the same thing happened to his corn on the cob. No, no paint ball... but perhaps some freezer burn. "That's OK Buddy, you don't have to eat it anymore."

Select Comfort Bed

We have a new bed! Saturday was Tony's first day off in 5 weeks and he spent several hours putting our Select Comfort bed together. Just as advertised, it came in 6 different boxes. I bought new bedding...not the Plow and Hearth ones that I was dreaming of a few weeks ago but rather the Target brand of a bed-in-a-bag version. Ha! Actually it matches the carpet perfectly. Hopefully you can make out a little of the design by double clicking on the pictures. So, now we are trying to figure out the answer to the commercial's question of "what's your number?" We've slept on it for 3 nights so far and I'm amazed at how firm I like my side and Tony's side is quite soft. It's the perfect mattress for a couple who can't agree on a regular mattress where you both have to like the same firmness. I'm so excited! We've needed a new bed for a long time. I've promised my bed that I would be back as soon as possible when getting out of it in the morning! ; )

Bluffton Baseball Team

If you haven't heard about the tragedy endured by this baseball team, just turn on CNN or any other news show. Our church, Silverwood, has a lot of ties to Bluffton... actually more than we do with Goshen College and they are only 2 miles away. Our good friend Eliza graduated from Bluffton as did quite a few others from Silverwood. Several of our teens have gone or go there. A tragedy of this type is unimaginable... to try and grasp the pain of these families. This is the type of thing that keeps me awake at night. We will never know on this side of heaven why bad things like this happen... and to such good people. It reminded me right away of Olivet's bad accident and when 3 of my friends were killed... 2 of them close friends, Cindy and Alex. It happened in the Fall after my graduation so we were married and had just moved to Goshen. I remember how difficult the grieving was... to grieve "long-distance" without anyone who knew them. That was tough. I can remember crying and crying in a room with people who weren't feeling any of the things I was feeling. I don't think a Fall has gone by when I haven't thought of that accident and the friends that were "supposed" to be at my stage of life by now. Anyway, this is a round about way of saying that my heart hurts for these families and also for the friends who often are overlooked while going through the grieving process on their own as well. I pray that something good can come out of a tragedy like this.

These verses brought me some comfort tonight. Perhaps you will again be reminded of God's sovereignty as well.

Nehemiah 9:32-33
Now therefore, O our God, the great mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes -- the hardship that has come upon us. ... In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully.

Isaiah 45:11-12. 24
Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. ...In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.

Praying for a peace that surpasses all understanding,
Leah

Spam Blog?

I'm trying to post on my blog tonight and I'm getting this "Warning" message that my blog has been blocked by "Blogger's spam-prevention robots." WHATEVER! I had to type in a given code but could take 2 business days for them to humanly review it! SORRY! It says I can keep "drafts" of my posts but cannot post them right now. OK, this is inconvenient but there are worse things in life... but I'm locked out of my own blog.