Catch Up on Pictures

I have several pictures that I haven't gotten on here and wanted too. I'll try to include explanations.

It appears that there is some kind of inside joke going on here.

Bonding time... (love this picture)

..."wait, I have to take this."
Proud of her books

Reading to "baby"

On Tuesday we had some severe weather. This picture was taken after about an hour in the basement when we realized things had calmed down. Not sure the kids believed us that things had calmed down. Oh and just for a bit of info. When the sirens first went off in Ney, I was home with 4 kids 3 and under, by myself - not fun!

Here is Ron with his REAL Dutch Apple Pie. There is a lady in our Farmer church from Holland and I asked her to make me a Dutch Apple Pie for Ron's birthday - He loved it!

Here are all 4 of mine reading to Lelah and making her giggle.

and I just got this adorable picture from my sis. Here is her family, aren't those girls the cutest?!

Now I feel more caught up, hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Grandparents

This past weekend Grandma and Grandpa Adkins came to visit. We had a fun time with them, as we always do.
There were several friendly Boggle games.

Here the kids were ready for the Buckeye Game to start.

It was another lunchtime game. The boys love these, because then they can use their Buckeye trays that Grandma got them.

We did other things too. I mentioned the Missions Festival at the boys school and we got some free babysitting so that we could go to dinner.

We always love when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit.

I never remember to get a good picture of all 4 kids with Grandma and Grandpa, maybe next time!

The End of a Chapter

Today marked, for me, then end of a long year. Today I traveled down to take mom to the doctor. This time the port was coming out. For those of you who don't know, the port is put in to help with the chemo so that a vein doesn't need to be used every time. So mom's was put in at the beginning of the year when she had her mastectomy. And today - IT came out! As I sat in the room with mom on the table, I couldn't help but think back over the past year. It's been a long year in so many ways, and yet Jesus has helped us and it is a year that we can now look back on. Mom didn't want a picture taken (yes, I asked). As she said, "I won't forget all this". I don't expect any of us will forget this year. And yet my hope is that we can remember God's faithfulness throughout this year. The chemo is over, the port is out and the weekly visits to Muncie have ended. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and Forever. Praise the Lord!

Thank you Jesus for your protection on mom. Thank you for carrying her and all of us through this year. Thank you that you went before us and surrounded us and brought us to the other side of this chemo process. Thank you that we won't forget. Please help us to remember your faithfulness. Amen.

Yes, the chemo is over. Mom is taking a pill to help regulate her estrogen now. It comes with its own set of side effects and hassles, and honestly a trip next week to the doctor will determine if she will continue with this pill or try another.

Mom's hair is coming back in, not as quickly as she would like, but it's coming.

I didn't get a picture of her today, but she's doing well!
Thank you again to all of you who have prayed for her and us over this past year! Jesus answered our prayers!

And because many of you want to see pictures of my kids when I post. Today they stayed with our friends in Marion, the Smith's. Here is Eli pictured with Anna, their buddies!

And Maddie enjoyed Anna's vacuum!

Missions Festival

On Friday night we had the privilege of attending the boys school for their Missions Festival. Both the elementary and the high school had voted on who/what their missions emphasis would be for this school year. The elementary had chosen Uganda (and the Coppedge Family specifically - I think there were 2 little boys who had some push in that area) and the high school chose a local Free Clinic and Homeless Shelter.

The evening began in the auditorium where there was a time of praise and worship. Then the principal, Mr. Cummins, began by giving some statistics. Did you know that...

Only 8% of the world's population are able to sit down to a meal every day. Only 3% of the worlds population have a vehicle that runs (not that looks nice, but that runs). And less than 1% have a computer - think about that. How wealthy are you? When you compare yourself to the rest of the world, we are pretty blessed. Our car may have rust all over and our computer may be slower than molasses and yes we're eating beef, again - but we are among the wealthiest in all the world.

So Mr. Cummins went on to say that since it was dinner time the school would be providing a meal for everyone. However, it would be a little different. He was going to pick families names out of a bowl. The first 8 people would sit down to a meal of lasagna, bread sticks, salad, a choice of drink and I believe even a dessert. This is their table.

See it is neatly set with a table cloth. Lots of food, people serving them, etc.

The next 20 people' names to be picked out of the bowl would get to sit on chairs, but the meal was different. They were given a cup of broth and bread and butter. They would also be given water.

Our family was in this group (Grandma and Grandpa Adkins came too)

I will admit, it was a little crazy trying to coral our 4 with no table. But we finally put some on the floor and honestly I shared my broth and bread with Maddie (I'm not sure she was counted in the 20 our not, but she didn't get food). It was interesting to watch the boys. Ronnie understood, I think, what was going on and tried so hard to drink his broth, even though it wasn't his favorite. He was really disappointed, to say the least, when he dropped his bread on the gym floor and Grandma made him throw it away.

The next group, group 3, was the remaining guests that night, around 76% of the worlds population is what they represented. They were put in a line and given one scoop of rice. And because it is America - they got a bottle of water (otherwise it would probably have had to been boiled first). Oh Yeah, and they had no table or chairs. They sat on blankets and pillows on the gym floor. (they did provide some chairs for those who couldn't get down - remember these were people of all ages). Here they are

Oh, and I failed to mention. We were all in the same room. So at one end of the gym there was a beautifully decorated table with plenty of food. In the middle were the chairs with some food and at the far end were the blankets and rice.

It was interesting, to say the least.

As we sat and watched reactions we heard many things

"I'm glad I put that candy bar in my purse"

"Can we go to McD's after this is over"

"Can I have more rice"

It was a bold stand by the administration and staff at Fountain City Christian School to try to make the point of how blessed we truly are. I can guarantee there are those who were angry. I'm sure there were those who were glad they were among the 8 (Ron and I both mentioned how thankful we were not to be in the 8). But for me...it was powerful. It was such a simple thing, our evening meal. Something we so easily take for granted. My biggest thought about supper is why I have to prepare it EVERY night. And yet there are those (many in fact) whose meal is one scoop of rice for the day and very dirty water.

The evening went on and to me was extremely well done. The kids sang, they presented their missions and then ended with "Go Light your World". It was a great evening. My prayer is that it will be an evening that will be remembered in our family for many years to come.

As I tucked the boys into bed that night their tummies had to be hungry, yet none of them asked for anything more. We are blessed, blessed beyond our own understanding.

As you eat your next meal, of plenty, I'm sure. Remember those not so fortunate. There are those, in Uganda, with no meat at all. There are those around the world with no extras. There are those in the world with no computer, car, or even extra clothes. There are also those around the world with absolutely nothing. Nothing at all to their name and they have no idea when or if they will get another meal.

Don't forget to pray for the world and thank the Lord for all you do have.

Thank you Jesus that we have food to eat, everyday. Thank you for our home to keep us safe and dry. Thank you for our clothes and Jesus thank you for all the things that we have that make our lives easier. Please help us to remember to be thankful and not complain!

Another October Birthday

Today is my handsome hunk of a husband's 39th birthday!

Happy Birthday Babe!

I love you and wish you many many more birthdays.

We were able to go out (like on a date - without kids) on Saturday evening to celebrate both of our birthdays. We went to Olive Garden and had a great meal and fun time together. We both needed it and enjoyed ourselves.

Don't we make the cutest couple!

(We were actually voted cutest couple in college!)

Quote of the Month

Let me first start by saying, October has been a very busy month. I know you can see really well, but just look at my calendar.

When Ron and I looked through the month (early in the month) we noticed there were only 3 day without meetings or appointments or something in the whole month! That's craziness. Part of that is because the UMC's Charge Conference is early in November and there are lots of extra meetings to prepare for that. Honestly though, with 2 churches we typically have a lot of meetings each month. You have to consider there will be 2 board meetings, 2 Jr. Church Meetings, etc. (It's even color coded because I was getting so confused as to which church had a board meeting on which night).

So anyway, this morning, I was writing something (I can't even remember what) on the calendar and Eli says,

"I never want to write on my calendar as much as you do."

It took me just a minute to realize what he said (it was 6am and although he was functioning, I was still struggling). When I did, I looked into those big eyes and wondered, "what am I suppose to learn from this little guy today."

I mean just look...
...he's so full of knowledge and cuteness and just Eli!

I love you Eli and I hope you never have to write on your calendar as much as I do on mine!

A Newborn in the House, Again

Before any of you read that title and assume anything - I am NOT pregnant!

But for the past month and a half we have had a baby around here.

Meet Lelah

Lelah is 5 months old and is a miracle baby. She was born with the cord wrapped around her neck and spent her first few weeks in ICU. You can check out their Caring Bridge website here. She is a little fighter and finally they began to see improvement and today she is fantastic (still visiting doctors, but doing great). The power of Prayer is an amazing thing! And then to top it all off, her parents, whom I had never met, asked me to babysit for them. I was thrilled!

I was pretty excited about the opportunity, especially since we had prayed for this little miracle baby since birth. Now I get to see her grow and develop every day.

It is a little more challenging to have a newborn with 4 other kids around, but we are managing. Lelah is a good baby. She loves to be held, wouldn't you if you hadn't gotten to be at the beginning of life?

Maddie adores her and loves to call her by name, very cute! I honestly had hoped that Maddie would adjust well to her. I don't want Maddie to be the "spoiled" baby of our family - it's nice to have another baby around that needs some extra attention.

So there is another baby around the Adkins home. And it has been an adjustment, but we're doing pretty good!

Not cut out for this

This week has been a little different, well a lot different. Ron has been gone since Monday evening. First of all - I hate to be alone, especially in the evening when the house is quiet except for the creaking noises, but secondly I miss my hubby! He went to Jackson, MS with 3 other former Seminarians. Back to their stomping grounds, Wesley Biblical Seminary. I am happy that they were able to make the trip, but I really am not cut out to be a single parent.

I can handle the occasional day or evening, even a night here or there, but it has been way to long. We need our daddy back! He should arrive this evening! It sounds like they had a great time.

Here are a few of the ways we have passed our time this past week.

The boys all had dentist appointments. For Eli, this was a little scary - he had been once before, but as he says it, "I was still little and it was kinda scary". So since he is much bigger now (a whole 6 months), he just needed me to hold his hand as we walked in and then take his picture while the doctor checked him out. Eli wouldn't stop talking. He asked the dentist if I could take a picture of him "working on my teeth". Then he said, "I won't cry, cause I'm big now". When the dentist agreed that there was nothing to cry about. Eli went on to tell him that he is a big boy now, "I'm even wearing underwares." Which of course the dentist couldn't understand and looked to me for translation. Thankfully he's a daddy too and thought it was so Big Boy of Eli!

so here you have Dr. Parsall and Eli in his big boys 'underwares'

My mom came to help for a couple of days. I had a meeting one night and also the dentist appointment (that I wasn't sure I could handle Maddie and the big boy above). Mom was a great help. She brought new Leap Pad games

and even one for Maddie

She also ready TONS of books

What the pictures don't show are the other 3 kids that I babysit for. Mom read to them too and played with all of them, so that I could keep my sanity. I was running on little sleep (did I mention I don't sleep well with Ron gone) and I was trying to remember all the things he does that I had to keep up on (gathering the trash - before the garbage man comes, getting to the Post Office before it closes and filling the truck with gas - just to name a few). Mom also ran the boys to school and picked them up, a huge blessing!

So mom was a big help. She said when she left, "I think we talk more on the phone than we did these last couple of days" - things are busy around here.

Then would you believe that handsome hubby of mine remembered my birthday too. He not only had flowers and chocolate delivered to me. He had also taken the boys shopping and had their gifts wrapped, and hidden with specific instructions to not forget the day and to sing Happy Birthday too. It was cute!

Thursday morning we sat down for breakfast and Ronnie said, "mom, can I go to the bathroom?" "Yes", I replied rather quickly. It seems someone is always getting up when we sit down to eat.

We no sooner got our cereal poured and began when Ronnie came around the corner with a gift bag singing Happy Birthday with a huge grin on his face. It was so cute! The whole breakfast I got the play by play of when they shopped, how long they kept the secret and what they had contemplated getting. These boys of mine, they are pretty special.

So that was the gist of our week. We are waiting for Daddy and ready to get back to a 2 parent home. I'm not cut out for this single parent family thing.

1 truck, 1 piece of floss and 1 less tooth

Around here we like to spice things up a bit. What better time to have a little fun in our life than 10-10-2010. Let me explain. By Sunday, Ronnie had been wiggling his tooth for days and he was complaining that it was really hurting. So Ron said, "well, do you want to get the dump truck?"

See just a few weeks ago we had gone through a process of trying to get one of Nathaniel's teeth out and we wanted to make it a little more fun. The boys are loosing teeth like crazy right now, so Ron was trying to make it a little more exciting. We had gotten everything ready for Nathaniel...then he backed out.

But Ronnie said, "Sure!". So I'll show you in pictures what happened.

Floss tied to the tooth

The other end of floss goes on the truck
OK, he claims he's ready

Everyone else is ready.

(Nathaniel is out of the picture because he's waiting to catch the truck)

Right about the time this picture was taken we hear a 'clink'.

The tooth hit the truck and this is what was next...

So, now Ronnie has a creative story to tell about his missing tooth. Gotta love that!

Oh yeah, and Eli can't wait to try!

The Path Center

For a little over a month now, our Farmer Jr. Church has been collecting food, toiletries and other items for an organization in Defiance, The Path Center. On Saturday, 21 of us got to go take a tour of the building. The Path Center is a place where homeless people can come and find a bed or hungry people can come and get a meal. It was an eye opening experience for many in our group. I especially enjoyed watching the boys as they realized there were people who came everyday to this room to get a hot meal. They didn't have food in their cupboards or their refrigerators. It clicked that all the food they have been collecting each week is going to help people who don't have any. The Path Center is a great thing and we are excited to see how we can volunteer in the future. It was especially neat for me to have our whole family their to see it.

After we left, we went to a nearby park for pizza and some fun. The kids enjoyed the day and Ron and I did too.

We've tried to be a little more thoughtful throughout our day and thankful too. It's been a good reminder that everything we have (and we have so much more than we need) comes from Jesus and we need to remember to thank him for it.

Do you have a homeless shelter in your area? How can you help out? How can you get your whole family involved in helping others? Think about it - you'll end up getting more out of the experience than you give!

Leaves Falling

One day last week the leaves seemed to be coming off the tree in our yard really fast. I gathered up the kids (my 2 and 2 I babysit for) and we went out to enjoy the leaves.

Here Brett and Eli relax after "helping" me rake.

Evan joined the party.
Maddie was pretty sure it wasn't a safe thing to do and settled for watching from the sidelines.

Then the running and jumping began.

Finally I dropped her in.

The bright sunshine made it hard to pose for a good picture.

Yes, that's even a smile on her face. She does enjoy the fall weather just as much as her momma!

How are you spending your fall? The leaves are falling fast here! Winter isn't far off!

No Good Pictures

If you have ever had a toddler, you understand my title. Lately, it is nearly impossible to get a good picture of Maddie. She won't stop moving. I think when she see me with a camera her mind says, "run, move, don't stop"! So in my useless attempt at a picture of my growing and changing daughter, I got these.

Even with her strapped in, I can't get it!

It's not funny!

Oh well, she can't stop me from trying!