Operation: Transition to Big Boy Bed

The day I dreaded has come and gone. Transitioning to a toddler bed from a crib is not something I was looking forward to. Ty is an awesome sleeper and never climbed out of his crib. He did like to jump in there after he woke up and that started to loosen the side rail. This made us decide to move him to a bed.

I was worried he would keep getting up and start to have bed time battles. I was wrong! He loves his bed and has no problem sleeping there. I am so grateful for easy tranistions.

Emily and Sarah both had a bed just like this. Kathi now has it in Tenn. This is one that a friend from church, Gina, gave to us. Our car-loving guy was just thrilled with it.

He also got a new Diego sheet for his bed. Diego is another of his loves at the moment.




Katie wants in!

My future son-in-law

We had fun at the Sutton/Bowman wedding today. It was beautiful and the couple are truly in love. What a nice thing to see.



This was the Corvette they used to leave the wedding. I plan to use this picture in about 15 years at Chandler and ______'s wedding. I haven't decided yet who will be his bethrothed.

:) Wouldn't we be fun in-laws Misha! :)





Chandler and Holly

Wordless Wednesday

(This means post a picture only. :) )

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day to all of you and thank you to all our veterans who protect our freedom.

We went to the graveyard today to put a flag on my Grandpa Reuben and Uncle Gary's graves. It was a beautiful scence with so many flags. We enjoyed walking around and looking at different tombstones.

I have such fond memories of my Grandpa Reuben and Pappaw Walker. It is sometimes sad to think that my children will never know these two men like I did. I have many memories of them and I hope I do a good job sharing these with my kids.

Grandpa Reuben was always a revered person in my mind. I remember that every time we ate at Grandma's house she would serve him first. She always upheld him as the leader of the home. He would say, "Aw, let them eat." But she insisted that he get the first plate. Respect like that is something you earned. I knew my Grandpa was special just by the way my Grandma treated him.

When we would be at their house I loved to eavesdrop on their conversation. Grandpa was a very smart man. He seemed so knowledgeable in so many ways. I think my Dad is lucky to have learned so much from his Dad.

When I was 11, my cousin June and I went on a trip with Grandma and Grandpa to see the 1984 World's Fair. I remember having a good time with them and his smile. He always made sure we had a good time.

One time I was at their house and found a wad of money. I can't remember how much, but I remember seeing some hundreds. At first, I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe I shouldn't tell, but then I thought maybe someone needed the money and had lost it. Finally I told the adults and they said go get it. I remember seeing, Grandpa and Grandma both with their hands out smiling saying give me the money. We all had a good laugh over that. (I think I gave the money to Grandma. :) ) That is how it was growing up. You always had a good time at Grandpa and Grandma's house. They even had a pool table and pinball machine for the grandkids.


Pappaw is what I called a working man. I don't think he knew how to relax, or if he was relaxing it was only long enough to rejuvenate and get back to work. When Mark and I were first married, we didn't really think much about a permanent job because we knew we were moving to Florida. We lived in Spring Arbor for 5 months while Mark was student teaching. For several weekends we picked apples at an Apple Orchard with Pappaw. We had to fill up these huge barrels for $18 for each full one. Mark and I worked hard. We were in our early 20's and quick as can be...or so we thought. It seemed for every one we filled up Pappaw filled up two!

Pappaw used to love to watch me play basketball. He was one of my biggest fans. Whenever I did something good there would be cheering and just as it started to get quiet I would hear, "Way to go, Tabby". I knew my Pappaw was there. He used to say, "We hurry to get to the game, then we hurry home to watch the highlights on the news and then we go to bed and hurry and wake up to see the article in the newspaper."

Pappaw only went to school until 3rd grade and then he was needed at home. He always worked hard to be a good reader. His text was the Bible. He was very faithful at studying his Bible. Through Bible reading he improved his reading ability and also was able to grow spiritually. When I was in college I went with Mammaw, Pappaw and Robin to church a lot. I would sit by Pappaw during Sunday School. In their class they always took turns reading verses. They would go around to everybody and if you didn't want to read you could pass. I know several people would pass. Pappaw never passed, he always read. Sometimes he would elbow me and point to a word. I would whisper the word to him. He was always ready when it was his turn.

I hope my children....

-are knowledgeable like my Grandpa
-are hard workers like my Pappaw
-respected like my Grandpa
-likes others around them to have fun like my Grandpa
-life-long learners like my Pappaw
-love to go to church like my Pappaw


I love and miss you Grandpa and Pappaw. Thank you for the impact you had on my life.

Henry Ford Museum

We were planning to take the kids to Greenfield Village, but weather made us change our mind. Instead we went right next door to the Henry Ford Museum. The museum is great!
Much to Sarah's delight they had:
-The bus Rosa Parks sat on when she refused to move for a white person.
-The chair Lincoln was sitting in when he got shot.
She learned about both of those people this year in school.
We also saw lots of other cool things. I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.

Tractor rides

Mammaw loves to take the kids around her place in her tractor. They love it when they get to drive. Ty couldn't decide if he wanted to ride or not, but then changed his mind and even drove for a bit. She has such a great place for riding and exploring.

Visiting with Mammaw and Family 1

We usually get a Chuck E Cheese visit in while we are Michigan. Robin had a great coupon 100 tokens for $10. Can't do much better than that. We spent them quickly and collected and counted our hard earned tickets. Nothing like getting a yummy lollipop for 40 tickets!

We had fun with my cousins kids, Ethan and Sadie. The 5 of them got along great and had fun playing at Mammaws. There was one incident where they thought oil was Green Tea, it was nearly drank, but....disaster averted.

We played a new Sorry game with Robin and Mammaw. Always fun to spend time together.
Mammaw remodeled her 'play room'. She had a new floor put in and carpeted. Painted the walls and trim work. Installed a countertop and cabinets that make it perfect for family dinners. She uses the table Mark and I gave her (gulp) almost 15 years ago. It was the table that was given to us and we used in our first home (our apartment at Spring Arbor married housing).

Visiting with Mammaw and Family 2

Mammaw always feeds us well. Sarah requested one of her favorite yummy meals.
We were excited to see a double yolk egg! That is definetly blogworthy.
Much to my children's delight, there were many dandelions in the yard. The first two days I receiving lots of beautiful bouquets.

Cedar Point 1

Here is our gang that were able to make it. The weathermen predicted cold, rainy weather. I agree it was a bit chilly early in the day, but the rest of the day was GREAT!

Katie needed to prove she was there. She didn't get to ride any rides :(. But she slept most of the day. Katie was a great baby, but hopes to go back and venture onto some rides next time!
Cedar Downs has slowed down since I was a kid. I thought these things were so fast when I was little! Needless to say we had a great time riding them. My horse Wind, or Dust (what was his name, Jessica?) was the victor in the final race. I was proud! :)
At the end of the evevning, these 3 ran to as many rides as they could get on. I talked Elizabeth into the Iron Dragon and she loved it. They rode Himalaya three times in a row. What fun!
Relaxing! We did a ton of walking, but I think I was the only one that ended up with blisters!

Cedar Point 2

Emily, Sarah and Ty are studying the map during our lunch break. They have Panda Express. Yum!
Ty was a brave guy! He was barely 36 inches which meant he could ride most of the kiddie rides. Notice he has his hands up. He even rode one of the kid roller coasters. We have a great picture of him and Mark on it, but I'm too tired to scan it tonight.
These 'carnival' type rides were loads of fun! The park was busy with lots of school groups, but we only saw 4 or 5 strollers (families) all day. That meant most of the kids rides and tamer rides we were able to walk right on. Perfect!
Hanging out with Snoopy and Woodstock.
Beki, Sarah and Ty-They probably rode 7-10 rides in a row with no waiting. This however was a rather lame bumper car ride. Ty went in circles the whole time.

Cedar Point 3

The swings were one of Sarah's favorite rides. She rode them 3 or 4 times.

Abby getting ready for real driving in the next few years.
Grandpa and Ben enjoyed the coasters with some of the grandkids.
Sarah and Beki enjoyed riding lots of the rides together. Neither were too interested in going on the big stuff, so they were a perfect pair.
The day after we went to the pool at the motel. Well, actually Mark and Grandma took the kids to the pool. What brave souls!

5 things challenge

Mark is the 1st to participate in the challenge!
Be sure to check out his blog.

5 things challenge

Ok, fellow bloggers---here is the challenge. Grab that digi camera (dslr or point and shoot--doesn't matter) look around your home and take 5 picture that make you smile. They are to be random anything shots, no pressure to get one of each kid in the family ( no guilt will be placed). Just get 5 shots and share them and why they make you smile.

5 things that make me smile

1. Curriculum

I am a curriculum junkie. I have one more shipment coming from cbd.com. I am so excited about next year. My fingers are itching to start planning our weekly lesson plans, but I am forcing myself to wait until our vacation is over. Here is the stack of goodies to go through!

2. Sleeping with books and more

Sarah always sleeps with books, some kids cuddle with stuffed animals, but Sarah enjoys her books. Love it!

I also like that she sleeps with my pillow. At least we say it is mine, but she has been using it for months now. She is also cuddling with a throw blanket from the couch. She said is just makes her feel so cozy.

3. Tonka

I love having a boy! I was always a tomboy growing up, so I love all of Ty's little boy toys. He loves this Tonka truck and loves to put his cars in it. He drives this thing all over the house.

4. Mark at work

Here is my guy hard at work. I love it that his desk area is filled with pictures from the kids. He made me my own work area and here he is in the corner of our bedroom. He always gives me the best! What a guy.

5. Tiny Diaper

I like little rolled up diapers ready to be thrown away, it reminds me the kids are still young.

Ok, your turn and no excuses! I know you have other things to do, but this is fun!
I should be:
-sleeping
-grading the rest of the work in my inbox
-finishing a picture for Kelly
-packing for vacation
-making sure I paid all the bills!
-sleeping
-folding laundry
....the list goes on!

but I did this instead. Join me!

Lurking Friend

Hi, Misha!

:)

Mother Daughter Banquet 2008

Tonight was the Mother Daughter Banquet and we had such a wonderful time!

Kami was the speaker and I must say...I was impressed. I don't always view my younger sister as the 'speaker' type. I know she is a knowledgable, godly woman....but I also know her on a more day to day basis. Not a bad thing, just I still see her as my goofy, silly, (used to be annoying) little sister. She would drive me absolutely crazy when we were kids! We had to share a room and she would insist on cuddling. I hated that, but had to put up with it. I did pay her back by kicking her out of bed, or chopping down the bed to divide up my side and hers. When we were kids we did the dishes every. single. night. (periods for emphasis) Somehow Kami got the job of rinsing the dishes. Now really, is that a job. Keela could have easily rinsed and then set it over for me to dry. Anyway...Kami would pull up the faucet and make it look like a microphone and she would sing, and sing, and sing, rinse a dish, sing, sing, sing, rinse a dish... You get the idea.
Anyway...

Kami did a great job. She talked about how each of us ladies has a purpose for God, no matter where we are in life. As a mom of young children, it can be hard to 'find time' to study the Bible or pray. Kami talked about how a friend told her you need to be creative with your time and prioritize. I think everybody these days is busy so I can't use that excuse, but I can be more productive with my busy time. My goal, as soon as I get back from vacation, is to make time to study the Bible. Not just a passing glance at a passage, but to actually think about what I am reading. Sometimes, I feel like my spiritual life is one more thing on my to do list. I plan to change that. Thank you for your lesson, Kami. I am proud of you.

Here we are, 14 strong. Keela, Kami, Tay and I all wore pink. Didn't even plan it!
4 generation shots
Afterwards, these girls were running around the fellowship hall having fun. Mom had them stop for a picture and she said, "In 5 years you will be teens." Wow! These are all some awesome girls! I will enjoy watching them grow up into Godly young ladies.

Katie at 7 months

My fun times and accomplishments this month include:

-I sit up, but prefer to be crawling around.
-I went swimming for the first time at Uncle William and Aunt Keela's house.
-I love to eat Pasta Pick-ups. Yum!
-I gained weight! (Not many of us celebrate that! :) )
-I found out that I am going to have 2 new cousins. Yeah!
-I like to play with balls and other toys that belong to my sisters or brother.
-I love the view from Mommy and Daddy's arms. That is the best place to be!
-I spend lots of time manuvering around the house. I can get anywhere I want to go, but Mommy doesn't like it when I go under the table to try to find dropped food.
-Daddy took me to get my ears pierced.
-I like to take baths with Ty. He loves to splash me, but I can take it. I'm tough!

Dinner Date

Tonight we invited Grandma June, Grandpa and Grandma over for dinner. Emily planned and fixed the meal with a little help from Daddy. We had ham, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans and carrots. It was wondeful!


We surprised Emily and Sarah with a cake to celebrate a great year of school! They completed all their work for 1st and 3rd grade.
The older 3 played hide-n-seek, so Katie got lots of Grandparent time. She even let us all enjoy a round of "Where's Katie?" --still her favorite game.
As you will notice in the next two shots, she is into this tongue sticking out thing. Not sure where that came from, but cute all the same.