Heading Home

We leave at 5am in the morning to travel back to MI. I can't believe how time has flown!!! It seems like we just got here yesterday. We have had a great time. Cobe starts camp Monday at Camp Geneva and will be there all week from 8:30-5:00. Brooks is supposed to have swim lessons, but I have to check with his teacher to confirm tomorrow night when we get home because we never picked a definite time. I am so glad it is Ryan's short week to work so he can be home with Sadie or help run the kids most days. I took more pictures today, so I'll have a good picture post soon!

Vacay Update

More of the same since I have posted last: more swimming, boating, sunning, walking, jumping, etc. We did go shopping Monday afternoon. We hit the Belk's, Rack Room and Wal-Mart in Roanoke Rapids. My mom bought the kids some clothes at Belk's. Cobe got some jeans and a pair of shorts, Brooks got a dinosaur shirt that he hasn't taken off yet, and Sadie racked up and got some adorable fall outfits as well as some CUTE outfits for next summer that were on sale. They all got new shoes at Rack Room: Cobe got Nike basketball shoes, Brooks got Sketcher running shoes, and Sadie got a pair of Nike tennis shoes and Sketcher croc-looking shoes. And then they got toys at Wal-Mart. It was a very successful shopping trip for my kids! I even got a bathing suit cover-up out of the trip. We ate at Chic-Fil-A for dinner and headed home. Michigan doesn't have Chic-Fil-A restaurants and it is our favorite!!! So everytime we come to NC, we eat there. Ryan and I even looked into opening a franchise on-line one time in MI because it is so yummy. (It was too much money, too much time, and there are none in the mid-west.) Sharon has mentioned in her blog how much she likes it too, right Sharon???? SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!

This morning Lisa and I went to a few more stores around here by ourselves while the kids fished. I got a pair of sunglasses since Sadie broke the ones I brought and that was about it. Lisa got a few random things and a gift for her mom.

We just got back from a boat ride and heard the awful news about that bridge collapsing in Minneapolis. How horrible is that? I already have a fear of driving over bridges, so I do not look forward to the drive home. I know so many people need prayers tonight and so many families have been affected by this tragedy.

I have still been too lazy to try and figure out how to post pics from my mom's computer, and really I have been slack about taking any, so I'll post the few I have when I get home.

A lot of the same going on

We have been having fun, but doing the same things as we were last post. Swimming, jumping on the water tramp, going on boat rides, floating on rafts, walking, reading, playing scrabble, etc. etc. etc. We are having a relaxing time, and the kids are all getting along really well. It stormed bad Friday, so our fun was cut short. We actually were out on the boat with no sign of a storm in sight. Out of NOWHERE, it boomed thunder and crackled lightning right above our heads. I was petrified! My dad booked it back to the dock and we all ran inside leaving all of our stuff on the dock. The phone was out there, my mom's camera, all the rafts, all the chairs. The phone got ruined and the umbrella broke in half, but nothing else was ruined or blew away surprisingly.

I am reading an excellent novel- Nicholas Evans' new book called The Divide. It is a really good read if anyone is looking for some entertainment.

Off to eat breakfast- mom cooks up some good grub!!!!! I sure hope I get another comment from Mrs. Neusebaum!!!!! ;-)

Coming to you live from Carolina

Lisa and I are posting this together. I am trying to encourage her to start her own blog, but she is resistent. She thinks there is no need to post anything since I am posting the same thing, but how wrong is she??? You could get another perspective on a lot of the same events since we are together so much! :-)

Anyway, we arrived safely in Lake Gaston, NC at around 8:00 last night. It was a longer drive than we anticipated- it took us about 15 hours. We hit a bad traffic jam around Washington, DC and it lasted too long for my comfort anyway. We also stopped for lunch and got out to eat so the kids would have a break. But as far as traveling with 5 kids goes, it was a calm, successul trip- no puking, no pooping in bags, no fights, and Sis' screaming was kept at a minimum. Haha Mom fixed dinner for those who wanted to eat, the kids played for awhile and we actually got to bed late for such a long day.

Today was so much fun! We ate breakfast and then Lisa and I took Maya and Sadie for a walk while my mom took the older 3 to the store. Then we all met back and stayed out in the water for the majority of the day. My dad set up the water tramp later in the afternoon, so the kids got to enjoy that for awhile. We swam, jumped off the boat dock, sunned, etc. all day. Around 4:30 we came inside to rest, but the kids "practiced" for the show they were going to perform tonight instead. We had my dad's birthday dinner and then came in the living room for the big show. Cobe was on guitar, Aliyah was the gymnast/dancer, and Brooks was on drums. The show lasted all of 30 seconds before Aliyah fell and broke open an old scab and was pouring out blood, so the show did NOT go on! So Maya and Sadie picked up the slack and danced and sang for us. Then my dad opened his presents, we had cake, the kids went back out on the dock/swimming and Lisa and I hunkered down for Big Brother at 8. The kids went to bed at 8:30. I have pictures of the big show and I did actually bring my camera cord. I do not feel like messing with it right now, but maybe in the a.m. I'll figure it out and post the pics. Off to start reading a pile of new magazines. (I forgot to post in my list of 50 things that I am a total magazine junkie!!!!)

I am going to start Lisa off on baby steps and make her post a few lines here- you girls give her a shout of encouragement so she'll want to do her own (and no, we haven't been drinking!)

Lisa: Everything Sarah said is true and so therefore I do not need to post on a blog.

Sarah: How pathetic is that??? Give her some grief!!!

HAPPY 66th BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!

We're Off!

Lisa came over tonight and we packed the car. We are taking very little actually. Most of the gear is a big 'ole water trampoline that we are taking there, so we had to pack lightly so it would fit. That is the best part of this trip though- you hardly need anything. We live in our bathing suits most of the time. We will be pulling out of here at 5am. I appreciate the comments of those committing already to pray for safe travel and no puking for us. Thank you!!!! Kim, we do have a dual DVD player so that should help some. Thank you so much for the offer of yours though. It is a good feeling to know I am going to bed, getting up, stashing the kids in the car, and heading off. Nothing else to do to prepare. Ryan took the kids to the Jim Kaat fields all afternoon to play baseball so I packed, cleaned and weeded. It was relaxing to be able to accomplish so much in peace. This morning, Sadie had a Dr.'s appt. because her eczema has gotten so bad. He changed her prescription and gave her an oral anti-itch medicine. I hope it clears up soon because her legs and arms are in pretty rough shape right now. The boys and I had dentist appts. this afternoon and then they left with Ryan. I am sure I'll post while on vacation, so I'll let you know how much fun we are having! :-)

Last Picture Post for a Few Weeks

We went to Ryan's mom and dad's last night for pulled pork and swimming. The dinner was great- I would highly recommend Hog Wild for barbeque pork. The kids had a blast swimming. Mary Jo and Jim live on a channel and the kids had races across the channel all night. Great exercise! They got a work out. Jake, Braelyn, Cobe, Justin and Brooks

Sadie hoarded a bag of chips to herself.

Brooks and Justin about to dive in.

Jake and Brooks swimming across the channel.

We had so much fun there last night. It was our last hurrah for awhile since we leave Wed. a.m. for NC. Today we all went to the pool in our new neighborhood. Jen and her boys met us there and Mary Jo took the afternoon off to come hang out with us as well. Ryan stained the deck and then he headed over to swim too. Tina and her boys came also. We all packed lunches and stayed all afternoon. The weather was perfect and the water felt great. Jen took our boys home with her to play, and Sadie just woke up from her nap, so Ryan and I have had some free time. We are going to go get them after dinner. I am going now to pack for our trip while they are gone and can't put their two cents in for what they want to wear. :-)

My heart is full

People can be so nice. I posted a comment on Mel's blog asking a favor for her to post some pics that Ryan really wanted to see. She posted those pics of the slain officer, Robert Kominski, the same day I asked for them. Mind you, I don't even know Mel, but just stumbled upon her blog from my SIL Amanda's. Thank you Mel! You really touched our lives in such a caring way. How neat is it that she happened to catch a few photos of him and his daughter enjoying life on the carousel just a few days before he was shot. Ryan wants to share this precious moment that Mel captured with his fellow officers. I think it helps in the healing process to know that he spent some quality time with his daughter in his last days.

Also, Ryan's 87 year old grandpa sang in church this morning. WOW!!!! is all I really can say about his voice, his love for Jesus, and his meaning to our family. It was hard to not get choked up thinking how fortunate we are that our children have gotten to bond with him and form such a special relationship with him before God calls him home. He is amazing! Just Friday, he played baseball, hide-n-go-seek, and many other games with my kids when we visited. My kids absolutely adore him, and I sit here crying as I type this thinking of life without him in it. He means so much to me as well, especially since I no longer have any of my grandparents alive. Both Grandpa and Grandma Hains have shown me how much they love me, Ryan and my kids so often. What great grandchildren have the good fortune to get to know their great-grandparents so well and spend so much time with them? They have not missed a single one of Cobe's t-ball, baseball, or soccer games. They get so excited to cheer him on. He said the other day, "It is sad to think that Grandma and Grandpa Hains might die soon, huh mom?" After swallowing a lump, I answered him that we were so lucky to have them for this long and hopefully they would live a healthy life for many more years. He answered, "I hope they both live 2,000 more years." He gets teary-eyed just talking about it. And of course, I still sit here and weep.

Life is good. God is good. All the time. Amen!