A Goodbye and A Blessing

Last night was to be the big pack meeting. TJ would be advancing from a wolf to a bear in cub scouts. We all needed to be there. Of course Lydia was actually napping when it was time to go. This worked out fine because Travis usually drives separately anyways on pack mtg. night so that he can go to mutual afterwards. So, he loaded up the 4 big kids and headed out while I got Lydia ready to go. Just as I was grabbing the keys to the car, the phone rang. I was sure it was Travis reminding me to bring the camera so we could remember this special night for TJ. Well, it was Travis but his reason for calling was quite different! "We just got in a car accident," he said in his matter-of-fact, ever calm way. He assured me that everyone was okay. All the kids were crying from the shock (except Tyler!) but they didn't seem to be hurt.


I left Lydia with Grandma Carolyn and headed down the street to check on everyone. I had to park a ways away because everything was blocked off and I was wishing I had worn my tennis shoes as I jogged down the sidewalk in my trusty platform flip-flops. When I arrived I was surprised to see three cars smashed up! The paramedics were checking out Natalie. She had a couple of very minor bruises and had hit her head. They instructed me just to keep an eye on her and make sure her behavior didn't seem abnormal. Everyone seemed fine and calm. But, it looks like we say goodbye to our old silver truck. A sad farewell to a good friend.

The car that hit us is in front of the truck in this shot. It is hard to see unless you look at the full size image. It was crunched pretty good in the front and back. Not fun at all!

Travis asked me to go back home for our new insurance card (we of course hadn't put the new ones in the car when they arrived a couple of weeks ago). Mad dash back to the car, speed (safely and within the speed limit) home, search through piles of papers for insurance cards, success! rush back to accident site, deliver the card, wonder why I didn't bring everyone water to guzzle in the heat, look for kids and find this:

The kids were sitting in an air conditioned van, sipping blue Gatorade, and wearing firemen hats. Two volunteers who work with the fire dept. were visiting with and caring for my babies. I was so happy that they were happy. They could have been feeling very traumatized by the experience, instead it was a great adventure for them.


On our way home, Travis explained what had happened (did I forget to mention that when they were struck, the truck spun around 1 1/2 times?) and I realized that we were very, very blessed. It may seem strange to call an accident a blessing, but if they had collided a second or less after they did, the front of the truck would have crashed into the other car. I have had visions in my mind of what my family would have looked like if that had happened. My Life was driving to the church in that truck. What would I do without them? I definitely call a smashed truck and 4 happy kids and a safe husband a great blessing. Life is so fragile and so sweet, every moment a precious gift.


I am proud of my girls and don't want to forget that their biggest worry was that the woman driving the little car was hurt. Travis said they took her to the hospital just as a precaution. The other driver was fine as well. I think we were all watched over yesterday.

First Day of School

TJ, Natalie and Elaina started school Monday.

They were very excited and I was excited for them too. I think Elaina was a little nervous, mostly because she wanted to make sure she knew where she was going. It is a pretty big school for a new kindergartner.

The kiddos are getting so big. Where does the time go?

Sometimes things just feel like they fall into place. That is how I felt when I met the kids' teachers. I just knew that each teacher would be perfect for each child. It will be fun to see how the year goes!

Elaina, our new kindergartner. She asked me what grade kindergarten is. I guess it is zero because it isn't first. I didn't tell her that!

I have never cried when I have sent off a kindergartner and this time was no different. I don't know why I am not more emotional. But the truth is that I will miss her very much. I feel like my time with her is gone. Now I only get her for a small part of each day. My heart feels a little ache and a small emptiness. She is such a sweet heart. I know she will love full time school.

Natalie the 2nd grader. She is growing up way too fast. This summer I saw the mommy in her emerge. It is amazing how naturally it comes to her. She has been a little angel in all of her helpful and kind acts of service. More that once she has changed a diaper, taken the screaming baby from me so that I could have a little break, and many other little things that have meant so much.
I know she will love second grade. She is such a worker and takes great pride in her schoolwork. I can't wait to see her reading take off and her math skills continue to grow.




T.J. my big 4th grader. I just love this kid! He has such energy and enthusiasm for life. He makes friends so easily and for that reason, he was super anxious for school to start. I think he will love his teacher again this year. I've only spoken with her twice but I really like her.
Is he really in 4th grade? Wow! What a nice kid and a great brother. It will be a fun year for him.

By the way... Happy Birthday TJ! Nine years old. Nine years ago...

School Kids

Tyler will miss his buddies!

A Camping We Will Go

Last weekend we had our annual family campout at Long Valley.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and stayed until Saturday afternoon.

We had our reservations about going camping with a 7 week old, but the older kids were so excited to go and we knew they would have a great time. What kid doesn't love exploring, throwing sticks, finding critters, and getting dirty.

It was definitely worth the effort for the fun time they had.

It was a challenge for me and probably for Travis because I couldn't help much. Lydia wanted to be held most of the time so Travis did basically all of the setting up. He never complained!

Our group was a little smaller this year but it was very nice. All the kids played very well together and Tyler kept calling all his cousins "my friends".

We borrowed this little 2 man travel trailer for Lydia and myself to sleep in. It was very cozy and kept us from waking everyone in the middle of the night.

Of course the kids loved playing in it too!

Kickball game in the open meadow area. Who won Natalie?

Rayden and Rylee brought two hammocks to sleep in. This was such fun for the kids! I have to admit that on more than one occasion I was afraid that a child was going to topple out onto his head and we would end our campout at the hospital. Luckily, we made it through the weekend without any major injuries!

I like this photo. It was so nice to be surrounded by the beautiful scenery.

I guess sometimes the easiest way down the mountain is on your bum!

I guess she enjoyed the hike!

I don't know how many times we cleaned off this cute little face. Thank goodness for baby wipes!

Logan was the winner of the dirty contest. Wow! This picture doesn't do him justice. It makes me laugh how kids don't even realize they are so filthy, or if they do, it doesn't bother them at all!

TJ with his prized speckled moth.

Cousin fun!

Lydia and I with my nieces Hana and Jaci. Hana is visiting from Kentucky and we are having a great time with her here. It has been 3 years since I have seen her. Jaci was the only one that was able to come to the campout from her family. I am so glad she made it. These two had a great time together and definitely boosted the energy level as only teenage girls can do : )

The whole gang. I told Grandma that I wanted a group picture before everyone went home. I think it is so fun to look back and see how much each person has changed through the years. I wonder if we will recognize ourselves under all those layers of dirt!

Family Campout 2009!

Five Candles

Elaina Marie has five candles on her cake today. Happy birthday Sister!

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we brought home our 3rd baby, and 2nd little girl. Elaina has been such a fun part of our family. I think she has a gift for making others smile. Maybe it is that her smile is contagious.

Does she really start kindergarten in 2 weeks? She is very excited, but I will truly miss her.

We love you Elaina and we are grateful you are part of our family.

The birthday girl loves swimming. So, we had some cousins over for a little swim party.

They really had fun together, especially on the diving board!

Elaina - Hooray for birthdays!

Natalie - pointed toe jack-knife (she really wants to make a BIG splash!)


Nice one TJ!


This one is my favorite. Travis loves a good party! Notice TJ in the background.



Lydia got in on the fun too! Here she is with Travis' dad, Papa.
She was pretty fussy today, but when we put her in the water, she calmed right down. It was very nice for about 5 minutes or so until she remembered to cry again!

Babies are so cute in their little swimsuits : )

This & That

We had a 4th of July celebration at Grandad & Grandma Laney's house.

The breakfast was very yummy. I hoped I would never get full. The omelets were amazing and the red, white, and blue pancakes were delicious.

Then the kids went swimming...

Tyler had a great time in the little pool. He never even had to put his head under, which he refuses to do anyway!

T.J. had a wonderful time with his Porter cousins in the diving pool. They must have played for over 2 hours. Then, after we had our kids get out and get dressed, TJ stayed outside and watched his cousins continue to play. He never complained that he had to get out, he just watched with a big smile on his face.

Later on we went to Nana and Papa's house and had a yummy steak dinner. The kids put on "Annie Get Your Gun" and we had a good time watching it together.
We did see a few fireworks on the way home and then Grandma & Grandpa invited us over to watch some on TV before we hit the hay.

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Family home evening was fun last night.
The kids and I spent part of the day getting ready by coloring and cutting out our Super Selves.
They really loved seeing themselves as super heroes. I told them that we could become a Super Family. Excitedly they asked how and I told them we would find out at FHE.
So we started a series of lessons that will focus on the super tools that will help our family go from wimpy to super.
I think we will do lessons for 4 or 5 weeks with some of our "super tools" being service, kindness, spending quality time together, and hard work. I don't have it all figured out but I think it will be a fun few weeks.

Here are some of the visual aides we have posted on the wall:







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I posted this last picture just for you Mandie!
A friend gave me this onesie and I loved it because of Lydia's crazy hair. I thought you would appreciate it especially : )

Our First 10

July 2, 1999

It all began...

I could never have imagined us 10 years later.

I couldn't have imagined loving him so much more than I did then.

It has been a great journey so far.

He is my best friend and my biggest fan.

I'm holding on and never letting go!



I can't wait to see what the next 10 years have in store.
Happy Anniversary Travis and thank you for sharing your life with me!
I love you.

This is what happened in 10 years. I wonder what our little family will be like in 20 or 30 more.

Can't wrap my brain around that. I guess I will just try to live for the moment and see what each day brings.

Budding Artist

Natalie really enjoys expressing herself through art. It is one of her favorite things and she is quite good, if I do say so myself. It is fun to watch her work hard at it and improve. This is a piece of art she brought home from school. I fell in love with it. I don't have a scanner so I just took a picture of her picture and the quality isn't very good:

It is a self portrait. Notice the eyes! I wonder what she is looking at.

She pays attention to details and likes to make things as realistic as she can. She must have been wearing her cherry shirt that day. Very cute.

The next drawing is one of TJ's. I have had this a long time. He drew this in September of 2004. He typically doesn't take the realistic approach to his drawings, but I would say that this is a good likeness of the subject.

I have to wonder if this is how I look to my kids most of the time. I have to admit that OCCASIONALLY I feel like this!

Someday I will put this picture on a T-shirt!