Catch up

It's been way to long since I've posted anything here.  I doubt that anyone even checks anymore.  Since August we've been extremely busy with the kids.  School, homework, scouts, ym, activity days, sports, piano... repeat.  We took a little time out to go to DC with my parents in November, and to NYC in December.  I am just going to post some random pictures from over the months.

Rainy days and doughnuts

It's pouring today so we decided to make doughnuts.  The kids watched me cutting the doughnuts with the round cookie cutters and begged to use the gingerbread man cookie cutter instead.  The decorated their doughnuts and called them Voodoo doughnuts.  Funny.  I hope that neither of these guys are me.  Yeah, I know they're upside down.  I just don't want to take the time to flip them.  Yum!  

Tara

I told my mom that I would post a picture from the 4th of July party that we went to.  I told her that I felt like we were celebrating at Tara. (Gone With the Wind)  It did have a southern feel for sure.  What a fun day!

Summer catch up.

So now that school is looming over us, I am finally sitting down to catch up.  I don't know how long before I take the time again once school starts.

On the last day of school at the end of  June, Eric & family joined us for a week of visiting and site seeing.   We had such a great time!  The kids miss their uncle and cousins so much.  Cora especially took advantage of Eric's soft spot for little girls by having him at her beck and call the entire time.

When Eric was here we were able to have Jeremy's cousins over for a visit with Eric.  During that time, Hannah played for the district championship.  Everyone came and watched her play.  It was fun to have so many family members out to support her.  Her team took Districts.  

The next week, Hannah and team went off to State in Charlottesville, VA.  Hannah was excited for her first State tournament.  They played for three days before being eliminated.  It was a fun, but HOT three days.

On the Fourth of July we lined up across the street from our house for the 4th of July parade.  There were a few old cars, a antique fire engine, several pick up trucks and a bunch of people in the original parade.  Everyone lined the parade route dressed in red, white, and blue.  When the parade passed everyone collected the candy and then joined the parade into town where their was a little festival in town.  They had a local band playing in the park, a few craft tables for the kids, and ice cream sundaes.  The whole town gathered in the little park.  After the parade we went to a family in the ward's house for a big party.  They had a band, two jumpy castles, cotton candy machine, zip line, and tons of food.

After the 4th, Jeremy ruptured a disk in his neck, and has been out of commission.  He's going through therapy to try and avoid neck surgery.

The week after  meeting with J's surgeon Cora came down to show us a sore on her foot.  We thought that it was a splinter.  It turned out to be so much more than that!  By the next morning the infection had grown and so we were off to the doctor's early in the a.m.  They examined it, drew a line around the infection and started her on anti-biotics.   By noon the infection had spread dramatically exceeding the line.   She was also running a fever of 104 degrees, and vomiting.  We went back to the doctor, and they sent us to the ER.  She spent the next couple of days in the hospital fighting a really serious staff infection and a secondary bacterial infection.  The staff was wonderful, so much so that Cora didn't want to leave the hospital.  She even requested that she have her Birthday there.  It took quite a while for the wound to heal, but now she is completely healed.  She loves to show her patch of new pink skin to everyone that she can get to look.

Near the end of July we were able to arrange a last minute visit from my dad.  The kids were so excited to see Grandpa even for a short visit.  He was at conference in South Carolina and was able to fly up for the weekend afterward.  We picked him up at the airport and then headed up of an Oriels game.  We met Jeremy's cousins and families up there.  We had so many people there that they announced us on the giant screen.  It was a great game.  

The rest of the summer is flying past.  We hope to get a weekend trip in before it ends.  Hannah starts travel ball this week and Trenton starts football tomorrow.    Things will really start cooking now.  I need to figure out how to squeeze some more time out of summer so that I can get everything done that I planned on doing this summer!!!!!

Tornado Wednesday

We had a tornado touch down in the neighboring town.  I was outside picking strawberries when I heard a thundering rumble to the east of us.  It was loud and constant, like a train.  I looked up to see all of the clouds darkening and converging in the area of the rumble.  Irrationally, I decided that I was going to finish my strawberry picking before the storm came.  By the time I finished the storm was right on top of me.  The sky was dark, the wind had picked up, and giant raindrops began to fall.

It was almost time for the kids to come home from school, and watching the ferocity of the storm approach, I decided to drive to get the kids.  I ran inside, and into the basement with Cora (Terrified of thunder storms) and Chipper (Terrified as well) under each arm.  I deposited them with Jeremy.  He was about to shut down the computers when a booming clap of thunder shook the house and sent Cora & Chipper scurrying under the blanket and cut the power.  I told Jeremy what I was doing, grabbed the keys, and ran out to the van.

By the time I got the van door closed, the wind was shaking the van, the thunder was booming non stop, and lightning was striking constantly.  It became so dark that it appeared more like 9:00 at night rather than 2:45 in the afternoon.  The rain began to come down with a fury that made my windshield wipers useless.

I arrived at the corner to pick up the kids, parked my car, and prayed that they would hurry up and come out before the storm got really bad.  I watched the kids come out of the school in lines to board the busses.  I was starting to really worry about the kids even crossing the road to get to the van.  Debris was now blowing past, and the van was really getting lashed with wind & rain. 

The next thing I knew,  the kids that had boarded the busses, were running full speed back to the school.  I knew that something really terrible was happening.  Your not allowed to run on school sidewalks for any reason, right?

My neighbor started running down the line of waiting parents, shouting into each car window. She was completely drenched by the time she reached me.  I rolled down my window to tell her that she needed to get in my van, and she yelled that the school had the kids on lockdown, that there was a tornado, and that we all needed to get home and into our basements.

I had a couple of moments of irrational panic, before I was able to move the van and head for home.  I had to stop myself from getting out of the van and running over to the school to get my kids.  Is that crazy?  FOUR of my children were in that school, without power, listening to this terrible storm with out their mom.

When I got back home, I could not decide what to do first. The power and phone were both out, so we were without news or communication.  I kept thinking, 'How will I know when to get the kids, without a phone?'.  I picked up my cel phone and began calling any local number that I had programmed into it.  I even tried calling a number of a mom that I hadn't talked to in months.  I couldn't get through to anyone.  By this time I was just about beside myself.  This was my first real life tornado drill after all.

I was just about to completely lose it, when my friend Terri called me from upstairs.   She had just picked her daughter up from school, and knew that I would be frantic, not knowing if my kids were safe or not.  I thanked her profusely, and just to show how grateful I was, I handed her my bowl of strawberries.  

The storm was still very much in progress by the time I reached the school.  It had died down quite a bit, though.

I watched a mother come out of the school with her arm around a sobbing little girl, and quickened my pace.  

I found the familiar face of the music teacher upon entering the school.  I told him that I needed to find my four children.  He said that he would help me.  He took me into the inner hallway where all of the kids were crouched in the dark in duck and cover mode.  

The music teacher found the kids before I did.  Trenton was crying, Layton's eyes were red rimmed, and his face pale, and the girls looked pretty shaken up.  I can't say how relieved I was to get them all in my arms.  The poor little things were scared to death, but safe.

Chipper

I am not  sure why Blogger always flips my photos, and I do not know how to right it, so I guess you will have to crane your neck to see Chipper, our new baby.  He looks cuter right side up!  He is a 10 week old Chug.  I have to take him to his first vet visit in a few minutes, so more on Chipper later.

Va Beach & Jamestown Pictures