Mother's Day at the Lake

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.   We were off to church for 1st service so that we could get on the road in time to get to Lake Tippecanoe for lunch.  We celebrated Mother's Day this year with my parents and my brother's family at the lake home of my brother's wife's parents.  

We took a quick boat ride before lunch...it was a little overcast...but always fun to get out on the lake.  Both Seth and Grant loved every minute of the ride. 

Then....we had an awesome steak lunch (and yummy shrimp appetizer...seriously, shrimp has got to be my favorite food).   After lunch we all headed out for a much longer pontoon ride all over Big and Little Tippe lakes.  The sun had come out now and it was a gorgeous May day.  

"Gramdpa Walt" even let Seth drive the boat! 

 Obligatory photo with mom...doesn't look too happy!

The big cousins

and the little ones (the babies, as the big boys call them)

 and then watch out...Grant has the wheel all to himself!   The grin says it all!

And then some playing in the sand...throwing rocks in the water...and just plain old fun with the cousins!  There were tears when it was time to leave...sign of a really great time!  And there could be NO better Mother's Day present than to see your children just LOVING LIFE!

I was really excited about the gift I got my mom. She hangs yearly pictures of all the grandchildren in the hallway.   So...I got her a vinyl saying to put above it:    Nana and Oompa's House....where cousins go to become best friends.    How true..these cousins ADORE each other. 

Oh..and I'm pretty excited about my mani-pedi I got from my family!  Looking forward to a little relaxation later this month.

Mulch...spreading and chopping!

 Earlier this month...we had 3 yards of mulch delivered.   Seth and Andy were at school...and Grant was choppin' at the bit to get out and get to work!  So....on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, Grant and I headed outside to see what we could get done!  He was an amazing help...he loves to work!

 A couple hours later, Seth got home and helped us finish up the last bit!

 And...by the time Andy got home we were on our very last load.   It was a nice surprise for Andy since he has been super busy with the end of school.  I love the look of fresh mulch!  It's actually one of very few "yardwork" jobs I enjoy.

Then... a few days later, our neighbors 2 doors down took down 9 trees!   YIKES...glad it wasn't us...but it provided a couple hours of fun for the boys!   Their chopper/mulcher is one serious machine...at one point they put a complete 20 foot pine tree in...all at once!

 And...of course the machinery was cool too...and men climbing trees...and lots of noise.

Digger Boy

Boy, does this little guy LOVE TO DIG!   He spends almost every day digging somewhere in our yard.   As we plant more flowers and begin filling the garden, the areas are becoming more and more limited.   The other day, Grant and I went outside to finish edging one of the flower beds.

This shovel was the single best gift we could have ever bought him! 

 And obviously, he isn't afraid of worms.   He was quite diligent about moving all the worms to a different garden.   He'd find one and take it somewhere...and come back for another and put it somewhere else.  I'm sure he moved well over 25 worms that afternoon.

 And he was so cute when he said..."look mom,  I have fingernails"  

 More digging....and hauling the dirt!  Yep...we've entered the "bath everynight" time of the year.  

 It does amaze what help a determined 2 year old can be...he is definitely a hard worker.

It worked!

Andy's birthday present  plus

 some garden hose plus

 a soaker hose in the garden equals

 a very proud "eco" Andy

Yep...Andy is super proud of his rain barrel that is watering his garden with rain water.  It was an exciting night as the water made it's way down to the garden.   So glad he is having fun and saving us some money as well!

State Bible Quiz

All year long Seth has been participating in Bible Quizzing at Church.  He has attended 4 district or area quizzes since November.   He has done extremely well...and at the last district quiz he was in the Top Ten.  He earned that by having 2 perfect rounds. That honor allowed him to compete in the state quiz meet in Indianapolis today.

We drove down, arrived at the church and he was excited and positive about the competition. We have been working really hard...and he practices the questions almost every night before bed.  In fact...he and Andy even had a cut-throat competition last night.

 He is asked 2 rounds of 15 questions.  He has to pull the correct number corresponding with the correct answer out of his box.   It was NO surprise that he got himself 2 perfect rounds today.  That gave him a state all star ribbon (only about 7 kids out of 45 or so 1st-3rd graders got his award).  He was also part of the winning district. 

 There were 4 kids from our church today....2 in red level and 2 in blue.  They all did awesome...thanks to some very dedicated coaches who work all year preparing them for competition.

We are SO proud of our guy.  So proud he chooses this over his first flag football game.  So proud he has such a desire to learn...and to memorize God's scripture.

We did have a little disappointment today.   We originally thought we might go down and spend the night in Indy.  Well...we learned it was the Indy Mini Marathon and no rooms were available.  I knew the race went around the Indy speedway and I "thought" that was faraway from downtown.   So...we had plans to go walk the canal.   Guess not...evidently it isn't that far away and downtown was CRAZY and every other road was blocked off.   So...we came home with a very disappointed little guy.   But...he got to have a friend sleep over tonight and that cheered him up a little!

Stop and Smell the Tulips

A few weekends ago, we enjoyed a beautiful Sunday afternoon and went out to Foster Park.  We heard the tulips were beautiful...and they were...but I think we got there just in time.   I think 1 good rain/wind storm and they would be DONE!

We walked around the golf course...Grant did pretty good...his little legs just can't make it the whole way.   We circled around to the tulips at the end of the walk.   Grant had to smell each and every one!     He must really ENJOY NATURE!

Then...some playing on the playground and back home!  It was a great way to spend a sunny early spring day with the family.

OVERWHELMING

So...I think I'm caught up on my blogs.   I'm not sure who is reading anymore...but it is my journal...I spend some sleepless nights going back and looking at how far we've come...where we were...where we are!   So it's good to have the record of Jan-April caught up. 

Life is busy.  Our lives are busy.  I know I put a lot of it on myself.  That's my personality.  But sometimes...it all just seems overwhelming.   As always...Kate's Kart adds a lot to my "to-do" list and keeps me up late at night.    It's all good...but still...wow, this can be a lot of work.

We had our 1st ever scrap-a-thon last month.   Another volunteer did most of the work, but still there is always things to be done.  It was good...not as great as we hoped..but it was still good.   I had grandiose plans to scrap all these pictures.

Well, that didn't happen.   Not only is that unrealistic, but I also came down with some sort of flu-bug that really knocked me out on Saturday.  And you know it must be bad if I leave to take a nap.  I did get Seth's 6 book done...but still have Grant's 1 and 2 and now most of Seth's 8.  Oh well...someday I may get caught up.


Plus...we had a big switch with the opening of the new PRMC (Parkview Regional Medical Center).  Not only did we need to attend  a 4 hour orientation, but just figuring out how we are going to utilize volunteers, making sure they attended orientation and getting the karts stocked...it's been a whirlwind.













Plus
--applying for 3 grants within 3 weeks of each other (again great volunteers helping)
--driving all over northeast Indiana picking up books, meeting people who did book drives, stocking karts
--planning our 4th annual Ice Cream Social for June 16th.
--keeping up with purchasing/stocking/inventorying books when giving out 1200-1400 books a month
--attending lots of school assembles, doing presentations
--stocking 2 major hospitals with books on a weekly basis
--and just the daily emails, phone calls and thank you's amaze me at times.  


I'm not complaining...really I'm not!  And I know I say it all the time...Who would have thought?  It is crazy...and sometimes when I  literally have paperwork spread all over the couch...I do get overwhelmed. 

But then...God steps in.

A couple weeks ago I was at that 'overwhelmed' time again.  I was upstairs in bed, on the laptop returning emails.  I got a message on FaceBook from the mom of the boy who got the very first Kate's Kart book almost 4 years ago.  She commented on the impact that book has made in his life...how valuable that book is. How much they cherish that book.  

And then... a few more emails from families who received books a couple years ago.....but yet felt convicted to let us know NOW that they still see that book as a blessing.  They still remember how that book brought a little peace and comfort during a really uncertain time.

And then...it doesn't seem quite to overwhelming.   Yeah....I'm still knee-deep and my "to-do" list will NEVER get done....but lives are being changed...affected...encouraged.  And it makes it all a little better.

And only God...could have orchestrated this whole thing...allowing that very first boy to receive a book...to have a mom who for some reason KNEW at that very moment...she needed to let us know what a difference KK is making.  At that moment...when I needed it most.  ONLY GOD.

So...the blogging gets put on hold...spring cleaning hasn't been done...books need to be put away...and sometimes I forget something I was supposed to do...or don't return the email right away.  But it's okay.  One day at a time is all I can do...and for now..that is OKAY!

Amazing Weather

Our spring this year has been AMAZING.   First of all, our winter was so mild.  I hardly remember any snow sticking around for more than a day.   Spring came early... in fact it was still "winter" and we were wearing shorts and spending a lot of time outside.

We got down Seth's old bike and put back on the training wheels.   Grant was excited to get on...but wasn't too interested in pedaling.  It won't be long...I bet by early summer he'll be off and going.

 In case you were wondering..this is the "proper dress" when it is 80degrees on the last day of winter!  

 He loves to bounce his balls...I think we've got another athlete on our hands.

 In fact...we've mowed several times now!   Love this image of my two boys.

 And last week it was super nice again.   We were cleaning off the porch furniture with the hose...and the boys were begging to play in the water.  You know..when they keep coming over to the hose and spraying it every time I placed it down.   We gave in and they had a impromptu blast creating their own waterslide...in early April!  Crazy!

 And...since we're out all the time...we get a chance to play with the neighbors.  This day, the older girl across the street invited Grant to take a ride!

 and then..they were off!   OH MY GOODNESS!  

It really has been strange....I never have remembered 90 degree days in March...let alone 5 in a row.   It's been great...but it's really hard to get things done in the home (like blogging) when you want to be outside all the time.   I just hope this doesn't mean we are going to have a SUPER HOT SUMMER!  

Grant's social life

Grant and I are getting involved in several programs/activites at church which give him quite the social life.    ONce a month, moms with preschoolers gather together for a playtime/social time.   Back in February, we hosted and made Valentine cookies.  Grant loved having his friends come to his house.

 And...2x a month, I lead a new program at church.  It is called Teeny Tikes and Tunes and is basically a song/dance/movement time for toddlers.  We sing songs, play instruments, do finger plays, and just dance and be crazy.   We've been doing it since January and it is going well.  Several new moms have come and I've had the chance to meet some new faces at church.   So many times, it seems like Grant is drug to Seth's games/activities/school events...so I LOVE that he has this that he calls his own.


Last month, he was invited to his first "non-family" birthday party.  It was all kids from church...so even though we was one of the younger ones...he did really well.   However...he did want to be right there with Jacob for the cake and candles!

 Eating some yummy cake with all his ladies!

 ARRR...it's pirate Grant!

 Jacob's mom did such a great job of making hats, and patches and taking them on a treasure hunt...I love this picture though...none of them are real comfortable with the patches on their eyes.

Plus...with MOPS 2x a month (when I don't have Kate's Kart or a kid is sick) and child-care at the Y (3-4 x a week) and a little neighbor girl who he plays with a lot...he has quite the social life!    He's doing much better getting along and not fighting when he doesn't get his way.    Which is good...cause back in February we signed him up for preschool!  YIKES...2 days a week...a nice easy transition.  He is so excited about going to his school....only 5 more months buddy!

c3sports Basketball

Seth played his 3rd season of basketball from January-March. The church who had formerly hosted Upward went out on their own and started their own Christian based athletic program.  They did an excellent job and we were really pleased with the quality of the program. 

  Andy was one of the coaches and they had a great year.  Seth is really getting good...he is quite the athletic little guy.   Really, he's not so little,  he is quite tall which gives him an advantage.   It was always a fun way to spend our Saturday mornings.

And as along as Grant had some popcorn..he was a great spectator.

 ?

The thing I dislike most....the lighting!    I can never get a good shot in that gymnasium.  Oh well!