Guitar and Uncle Ryan

Ronnie got a guitar from Grandma and Grandpa Adkins, for his birthday. He has been wanting one and was so excited. His Uncle Ryan and cousin Casey both play guitar and he is so excited to have one of his own. Uncle Ryan came one day while we were there and tuned it for Ronnie.

Uncle Ryan and his band, came while we were at Grandma and Grandpa's. The boys love their Uncle Ryan and don't get to see him much. It was cute to watch Nathaniel sit his food down and then go get this cooler so he could have place next to Uncle Ryan.

I haven't gotten an Adkins Family picture in a while, so took the opportunity.

Then, crazy me, thought I might be able to get a decent one of the brothers. I can totally see why Ronnie, Nathaniel and Eli act like they do. These are only a couple of the many I snapped while trying to get a decent picture. (not sure what happened with the color on the first one)

Finally, Ryan and Ron

No resemblance, huh?

Golfing with Grandpa

If you know my boys, or live nearby, you know that they love to golf. Grandpa Adkins has gotten both Ronnie and Nathaniel a set of golf clubs and despite not having too many trips to a golf course, they are pretty good! So one of the things they REALLY wanted to do with Grandpa was go to a real golf course. So Grandpa said he would take them to a nearby par 3 course. They decided to leave early one morning and beat the heat. Although I didn't go with them to get pictures, I got a few before they were off!

What a good looking foursome!

The report I got was that they had a lot of fun. Grandpa even got carts and the boys each got to drive! They both did pretty well too. Nathaniel has really developed in his athletic abilities this spring and summer and Ronnie just loves sports!

Vacation and Family

So, as you know, our vacation last week was to Grandma and Grandpa Adkins house. The kids all had a good time, despite how this picture looks. Maddie was wrestling with swimmers ear in both ears (we found out on Monday when we got home).

One of the reasons we wanted to take this trip was because when we had traveled this same way at Christmas time, we got called home early for Ron to preach a funeral. We missed out on an opportunity to see Ron's Grandparents. It was the first time they had met either Eli or Maddie. Eli took to Grandpa right away, but it took Maddie a little while.

Grandma Keeton was so excited to have us come even for a quick visit.


They enjoyed seeing the kids and how much they have grown.

We also spent a few hours at Ron's cousin's house. Who has a pool, trampoline and lots of boys stuff! The boys had fun. Below Aiden and Eli enjoy the little pool. Eli likes playing with Aiden and loved having this pool for just the 2 of them.

The trampoline was fun too.

Many afternoons were spent in Grandma and Grandpa's house as it was 98 degrees+ on the thermometer outside.

Although Grandma had to work a few days while we were there, she made up for the time as soon as she got home.

We had lots of fun visiting family! (more pictures to come)

Canoeing

One of the things we did on our vacation to Grandpa and Grandma's was Canoe. When Ron was younger they use to canoe a lot. However it had been a while since the canoe had been used. Ron and Grandpa told the boys stories of how they use to put the canoe in the river behind the house and canoe for the day. Or Ron and his brother would be dropped off up river and canoe down to the house. The boys were excited and nervous as they helped get everything ready. Grandpa had even gotten new tags for the week as the old ones had expired in '98.

There was a lot of hesitancy, especially on Ronnie's part, but they were finally all in the canoe and on their way. I had taken them up 2 miles north and they were planning to canoe down to the house.

Here they are getting close.

Grandpa had also made a little spot where they could pull right in behind the house and the boys could climb out.

This picture may look like it doesn't belong in a blog about canoeing, but actually I think the boys might have thought it was the best part. They all took rides on the tractor after the...

ride up the hill in the canoe.


I think Ronnie thought it was the better and safer ride. They all enjoyed this ride with Grandpa.

Although Maddie didn't get to ride, she enjoyed cheering on her brothers.

A few days later, Ron and I got to go the same 2 mile stretch of river. It was fun and stressful. The water level had risen some by the time we went and so Ron thought it was a little easier. The last time we had canoed was when we were dating and I seem to remember it was much easier. I'm just thankful I didn't get wet! Although stressful, it was fun!

The good news is Grandpa's tags don't expire for 3 years, so we have time to get some more canoeing in. Thanks for all the fun Grandpa!

In the Past

I know several of you are anxious to see pictures from our vacation and I promise, I have TONS, but I really wanted to let you know something else first.

This is actually a picture I have posted before, but it's a good one of mom and Maddie. And I wanted a picture of Mom when I tell you that...

CHEMO is officially behind us. My mom finished her 16th treatment on the 6th and so the Chemo stage is over! Praise the LORD! She is doing well. When they tested her white blood cell count on the 6th it was high enough that the shot was not necessary. Another Praise! We all thought for sure she would need those final 3 days of the booster shot. The end of last week she began to have some leg pain and knee pain that she had not experienced before.

Yesterday she returned for a follow-up and another check of her white blood cell count. The count was down some again, but they didn't seem to worried. The nurse told her that the pain in her leg and knee was more than likely from the accumulation of chemo in her body. She has also been pretty moody lately and all of that is blamed on the chemo. These are side effects that we just need to give time to take care of.

The Nurse said mom could wait up to a month before beginning the Hormone Pill that will be the next phase of treatment. My mom and I are a lot a like in that we don't do medicine. We tend to have pretty high pain tolerance and we just don't like medication. Mom has not been to excited about more drugs. She was relieved to know that she could wait a month and allow the chemo side effects to wear off before beginning a new drug with new side effects. At least this way she will be more likely to know what is causing what!

So Chemo is done and we are thankful. Mom is still mom with some extra quirks! And Praise Jesus the end of that tunnel is here. I remember posting back in February when we began all of this and wondering what things would look like after 16 chemo treatments.

Let me just tell you, in case you didn't realize, Jesus is still in Control. We still look to Him every moment of every day and He will remain our constant. Praise the Lord! Many of you have read the updates from my mom, my sister or myself and many many of you have prayed for my parents. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Please remember to Thank the One who Holds all of us in His Hands.

Thank you Jesus for keeping your hand on Mom during these last few month. We praise you that the Chemo is over and we continue to trust you for the coming days. We know that there are new symptoms and new things that will come from the new medications, but we also know that you will remain the same. The One who knows all things and the Great Physician. We continue to trust you with Mom and we Praise you for your Presence with all of us during this time. Amen.

A side note: When I told the boys this past week that Grandma Neff was done with her Chemo. They hooted and hollered in Grandma Adkins living room. They were excited. When Eli prayed for bedtime he said, "Thank you that Grandma Neff is done with her surgeries."
So maybe I didn't explain it enough, but Eli has been faithful to pray for Grandma every night and ask for prayer nearly every week at Ney during the concerns. He has been a prayer warrior for Grandma!

We're Back

We have spent the last week with Ron's parent's in Northeast Ohio (Canton area). It is the first vacation we have taken in...well...EVER! The kids had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma Adkins. We visited other family, went golfing, went canoeing, swam, played baseball, picked blueberries, tried to stay cool (in 100 temps) and just had fun.

I have tons of pictures, but I haven't even begun to get them on the computer. I'm still unpacking and doing laundry. So in the next few days I'll show you all the fun, but until then...We're Back!

Blog Vacation

I'm taking a Vacation from the Blog! I won't be posting anything for a least a week. So you won't have to worry about missing any adorable pictures until at least the 12th! Have a great week and a Fun 4th!

Fun at the Ruffers

Yesterday we went to the Ruffers for a cook out and some fun in the pond. Here is some of the fun in pictures.

I just love this picture! She loved the water.

Bradyn, Ralph and Cathy's grandson, likes to play with the boys.
I think this is only one side of a water fight.
Maddie had fun in the sand. I tried an 18 month suit on her before we left and there was no way it would fit her! Oh well, who needs a swim suit!

Mr. Ralph and Bradyn

Ever played basketball w. floats on your arms? Nathaniel said they were muscles.

You can't really tell, but he is freezing in this picture, but refuses to get too far from the water to dry off.

Ronnie showing off the fish daddy caught with the net.

Everybody was worn out!

I thought they would sleep pretty good last night, but both Nathaniel and Eli kept waking up screaming and crying. Nathaniel said he was dreaming Maddie got too close to the water and one time he woke up cause he was praying too loud!

We had a great time! Eli will have a scrape for a little while to remember the evening. This morning we removed the splinter from the dock out of his foot. Well actually Daddy removed it, and I just held him down. He's a strong boy!

Thank you Ralph, Cathy and Bradyn for a fun evening!

Random Pictures

Here are a few Random Pictures.

I'm not sure what makes a 7 year old use a Basketball hoop in this way. Or beyond that, what makes it funny?

Cowgirl and her lasso!

Eli sportin' Cousin Dave's doo rag!

Maddie has one too!

"Look, I found a new seat!"

Eli loves to greet the ladies in our Ney church when we arrive early on Sunday mornings. Here he is showing his Bible to Ms. Charlotte.

Ronnie and Nathaniel love to build with their Lincoln Logs. They wanted me to take pictures of these elaborate farms.

Notice the beads around behind Maddie's neck. When you tell her to put her necklace on, this is how she does it. So cute!

Kids are so Literal

Kids are just so literal. I have 2 great examples of this from the last couple of weeks.

Last Saturday before the boys tee ball game, Ron was loading the van and asked Nathaniel where his glove was. Nathaniel ran out of the garage to retrieve it (from beside the garden). When he returned Ron started lecturing him on keeping his things nice and how he shouldn't have left it outside all night, etc. Nathaniel interrupted and said, "Yeah, but Coach said 'you gotta get your glove dirty'"

What Coach meant was. Get your glove down in the dirt to stop the ground balls, but what he said was, "you gotta get your glove dirty"!

This past month I have been teaching Jr. Church and our verse for the month was, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" James 4:8. We reviewed the verse and then I asked if anybody could tell me how we Draw Near to God. One little 4 year old raised his hand and said, "with Crayons!".

Wow, that's a hard verse to explain to a 4 year old.

Kids are so literal, I have to constantly remind myself of that!