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One Post Every 6 or 8 Months Isn't Bad, Right??

Things have been so busy for so long I have forgotten the practice of putting our lives in print! I really enjoy going back and reading all that we have done in past years, so it's a good discipline for me, if nothing else. Aside from that, days like today demand an outlet so...here I am.

Jacob just got back from his trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He and six other Scouts (along with four leaders including Kermit) spent two weeks backpacking in the mountains. He had a blast and came back lighter, full of stories and much, much stinkier. Did I mention that two weeks in the mountains with no deo or showers will really make a bunch of guys stink? Oh yeah, and they really stank! Aside from the wretched stench riding the train with them back from Chicago (which arrived four hours late), it was great to hear all about their travels, the things they learned and how they all now want to go to Sea Base. Aaaaahhhh! Another trip! Jake is also excited that he starts his new job tomorrow and that he will be a junior in high school in two weeks (ok, so he's not really excited about the school part). Oh, and he went on a World Changers mission trip in June which was a lot of fun even though it was "only in Indianapolis".

Hannah has not been enjoying her summer. She has enjoyed not having to get up early but she has not enjoyed being away from her friends all the time. Unfortunately for her, all of her friends live on the other side of town so she has not had as much of a social life as she would have liked. She recently got a new haircut that she loves and was allowed to get a few highlights for the first time (this took years of begging and wearing down). She also went on the World Changers trip in June. She has already started her high school band prep by attending weekly practice. She marched in her first parade on July 2 (in the blazing heat) and is very excited about band camp coming up over the next two weeks. Most excitedly for Hannah is that she is finding high school boys are much more interesting than junior high boys (she would kill me for saying that).

Lily has been playing all summer. We got a used quick-set pool at a friends yard sale so she has been splashing with the neighborhood kids. She has stayed home with Jake and Hannah all summer except for the week that they were gone on the mission trip. She attended day camp for that one week and decided she was glad to be able to stay home and sleep in. She has struggled a bit with not having a schedule (she NEEDS a schedule) but has faired ok. She is very excited for school to start again since she found out that she will have the same teacher for third grade that she had for second. She continues to make us laugh and make us pull our hair out (usually by fighting with her sister)! She is very creative and loves to write letters and songs.

Kermit went on the Philmont trip with Jake. To say it kicked his butt would be an understatement, but he enjoyed it just the same. He was so excited to have completed one of the most difficult treks and lived to tell about it! He picked up the name "black water" while he was there since the crew had to keep telling him to "keep on rollin'". It was a great time for him and Jake to spend together and he is so grateful for the opportunity to go. Now he is trying to figure out what program he wants to follow to keep off the 27 pounds he lost!

I have been here holding it all together! I took a week off work to spend with the girls while K & J were on their trip. We got mani-pedis, spent a day at Lake Michigan, went to the mall, etc. It was a great week. Oh, and I redid our bathroom while they were gone, too. This was a great surprise for Kermit since he didn't have to do anything except hang the towel rack. I even laid the replacement tiles that have been missing for waaay too long! I was so glad to have them back. I realized that I guess I could be a single mom if I had to, but I sure wouldn't like it (kudos to all you single moms out there!)! I was just glad it wasn't during school when the kids have full schedules. I also realized I really miss the company of my husband when he is not there and we can't talk by phone. Not that I didn't know this already, but it was particularly clear on this trip (kudos to all you military wives out there that go long periods without their spouses!). So happy they are back and they didn't get their faces eaten by a bear : )

That just about catches us up...I'm sure there is so much more but there is only so much time for blogging. Right now it's time for bed!

We're Still Here!

Been quite awhile since we posted and a lot has happened since then.

The kids have started school and are almost ready for Christmas break.

Jake has finals in a few weeks and is looking forward to two weeks off to do nothing (or so he thinks). He has been busy with Scouts, friends, school and more friends. He completed his first half of drivers ed (requirement in IL) and has gotten his permit. He has been driving us any time and everywhere we will let him. He has only scared me a few times. Thankfully he tends to be pretty cautious. IL has pretty strict teen driving laws so he has another 6-8 months before he can get his license.

Hannah has been busy with school, music lessons, church choir, newsletter club and anything else she can find to do. She has added the french horn to her list of instruments (thanks to the school for loaning her one) and really, really wants to learn to play violin. No. She has enjoyed traveling to the high school for an hour each day for Honors Geometry. She loves a challenge!

Lily has been using school as her venue to meet new friends and influence people. She does her work but does it as quickly as she can so that she can move onto more "interesting" and "important" things. She believes it is her job to make sure everybody is doing exactly what they should be and that everyone knows exactly what SHE thinks they should be doing. At the same time she is such a sensitive kid who loves others and tries to help them. She may, in all reality, be the death of me.

Kermit has been doing a multitude of home projects. He has installed the new dishwasher (thanks to a very generous donor!) and a new whole house water filter. Soon it will be a water softener, but we have a little bit to wait for that one. He has been really busy at work with lots of overtime and then even more projects with scouts and church. He is really looking forward to the beginning of a new year when he will once again have some vacation time!

I have been keeping busy with work and family life. We are now heading into my favorite time of year....the holidays : ) I have enjoyed the last week of preparing for Thanksgiving and I have been listening to Christmas music for weeks. My sister and I went out for Black Friday shopping but, for the first time ever, I had to come home because I was too tired to shop. I was so ashamed.

Well, I must go. I need to remind the girls to clean their room!

Hello World

Greetings from Casper, Wyoming. I am sitting here thinking about the splendor and majesty of God. Seeing the awesomeness of His creation and the way He blesses us.
Just a quick rundown of the latest events in our lives :

Jacob, Hannah, Sasha Study,Houston Woodman, and I are working hard and enjoying the cool air in Casper, Wyoming while on a World Changers mission trip. You can get daily updates by going to www.world-changers.net and looking for the Casper page.

Candy decided to take the week and visit with Mary in North Carolina instead of having to take time away from the family later. Isn't she the greatest wife a man could ask for?

Lillian is staying with Grandma Carol in Mississippi for the time that we are all gone.

It is really quite interesting trying to get in touch with anyone due to all the time differences. If it is 6 in Casper, then it is 7 in MS, and 8 in NC. Isn't that a little confusing (as if working with 8 teenagers isn't).

Anyway, I think that it is now time to start getting ready for bed so that I can get up and tackle the rest of what God has planned for us here in Wyoming.

Life Goes On

Summer break finally arrived! I am so thankful it did. One more week might would have thrown me over the edge.

Jacob has been enjoying parts of his summer. He spent the day at Six Flags with his girlfriend, spent several nights with his friends and slept late almost every day.

Hannah has had a bit of a rougher time. None of her friends live close so she has a harder time getting together with them.

Lily is enjoying playing outside and watching endless hours of Spongebob (oh, how I hate that sponge!).

This week has been especially eventful for the kids. We have had all four of my sister's kids at our house for the last six days. My sister had some issues at home and then was unexpectedly in the hospital so they have been staying with Favorite Aunt Candy (who probably is NOT favorite anymore). They have all done exceptionally well under the circumstances, but they will be really thankful to go home.

Please pray for my sister. She is under incredible stress right now and is not doing well physically.

Hoping for a non-eventful weekend. 5K on Saturday and visiting my grandmother. No more drama!!

It's Almost Here!!

Yay! The last day of school is almost here! I will be so excited to not have to watch bedtimes, homework, etc. for a few months. It will also be nice to be able to get back to the Y to workout/swim during the week. At this point it's hard to go and still get back in time for Lily to get to bed early enough to not be a crab the next day. Quick update on what's been going on...

Jacob has been keeping up with school and currently has a B average. He has decided he really likes High School. Well, he likes it as much as he could like any school. His favorite class has been Intro to Tech in which he did small engine repair, woodworking, electrical and architecture. He liked architecture enough that he is taking a CAD class next year and deciding whether or not to become an architect in his adult life. He remains active in scouting and is working on Eagle. He has one week to go before finals and he can't wait. He begins driving in a few months. *sigh*

Hannah has been very busy with school, friends, band, piano, etc. She has really begun to act more like a teenager and is more concerned with what she is wearing and how she looks each day. Thankfully she is still has a good head on her shoulders and finds most of today's fashions for juniors too tight or revealing. I am not naive...I am sure this will change, but I will take it as long as I can keep it! She is not looking forward to summer break because she will not see her friends every day. It's all about being social, you know.

Lily is looking forward to summer vacation because she wants to be able to sleep in. At this point she is up by 5:45 each day and out the door by 6:20. She will be spending the summer with Jake and Hannah so she can sleep past 7:00. She sang in a musical at school, this week, called "Going Buggy" and did a great job. She has become quite a little singer and feels that she has to sing for us constantly. How could I have three kids and not even ONE of them be shy?? Anyway...she also made her first school research project last week on ducks. The last line of her report was "I like ducks because they are cute but my dad likes ducks because they are tasty". What a nutball.

Kermit has been recovering from a mouth/tooth infection. It started out as a lost filling which moved into a root canal. A few days later the tooth broke and had to be pulled. I have never seen him in so much pain, but thankfully he is feeling better, now. He has been working with the contractors on our church remodel and has really enjoyed not having to do a lot of the work himself. It's been nice for us to have him home! He has started training for the Scout trip to Philmont which is mainly hiking with his pack. It's kind of funny to watch him try to keep up with the 6'2'' very long legged Scoutmaster who keeps his own fast pace. He has also been working on preparing the youth from church for our World Changers trip to Wyoming in July. He's a busy guy.

I have been doing a lot of running around taking kids here and there. I have also been working on my normal teams at church and have started planning my grandmother's 80th birthday party in July.

A few prayer requests:

My Dad - he is in the hospital, again. He has another infection in his leg. Hoping he can come home early this week.

EK and Linda Lash - Linda's dad passed away this morning. He lived with EK and Linda so this will be an especially difficult transition for them.

Our World Changers Group - We are in full swing with fund raising but it's not going as well as we would like.

What a Surprise!

Last night, I had the opportunity to take Hannah to Aurora to see Toby Mac (her fave) and Skillet. The cool part was that she had absolutely NO clue what she was in for. We got to the venue which was a high school gym a little early and checked to see what time the ticket counter opened. We then went and chilled out (literally) in the truck to kill some time.
I asked Hannah if she figured out the surprise yet and she said that it was a concert. That lead to her asking if it was Toby or just people doing his songs. My response was not a lie, yet not the whole truth. I told her it was people doing his songs (I figured his band plays the songs, so no lie there).
Hannah made friends with a young lady while we stood in line waiting to get in. Once in, we were lead past a table and was told to pick up our CDs(one from Skillet and the new one from Toby). Oh, yeah, I should mention that we sprang for the VIP seats which included the CDs, up close seats, and a Q&A session with Toby and John Cooper from Skillet.
As we entered the gym, I let Hannah decide which seat she wanted. Her new friend then mentioned that she was excited to get to see Toby. Hannah about flipped out when she finally realized that she was getting to ser one of the favorite Christian artists.
Needless to say, I hear "THANK-YOU DADDY!" about a hundred times.
Getting up for work at 5:00 am this morning as a little rough considering we didn't get home until around 1:00 am. It was all WELL worth it just to see the enjoyment on Hannah's face.