Where do I start?

I’ve been so overwhelmed lately….just trying to keep my head above water some days….I get so down when I see my blog and how neglected I’ve been in adding posts.  Time is flying by and I’m trying to just hang onto my babies and savor every moment and heard the song  “There Goes my Life”…and that’s exactly a statement describe what’s been going on… “LIFE”.   I love documenting our life in blog posts so I can remember when I’m old and gray and look back and savor those moments…and in living Life…I’ve really stunk at posting about it and there has been so much, I don’t even know where to start….

So I guess I’ll just start with a little what’s been going on with each of us.

Griffin:  Well lets just say 2010 has been a little rough on Griffin .

He received his 2nd hospital id bracelet a couple of weeks ago for tubes in his ears.  He hasn’t been able to hear well b/c of having a bunch of  fluid behind his ears that we couldn’t get cleared up.  After discussing with ENT we decided tubes would be the quickest and least recovery period to get him hearing properly again.   He did super and was so brave, he walked right down the hall way with the anesthesiologist carrying on a conversation with him the entire way.   The nurse came to get us and said he woke up smiling…(didn’t really surprise me b/c he is such a happy boy)

His Daddy asked him if he could hear better and his response was…" well I sure can hear you dad!”   And then a little later he said I didn’t know my voice was this loud!  While we were walking out of the hospital the hwy was nearby and he said “Wow those trucks are really loud!”  Bless his little heart…it’s hard telling how long he hasn’t been hearing efficiently!  But PTL all is good now. He even prayed the night when we got home,  “Thank you, God that I was brave and my ears are good.”  awwww I’m sure Jesus was smiling!   He has to use ear plugs while showering/bathing but he is really good about putting them in.   We went back for his check up with his ENT doc, and previously he said possibility still may have to have his tonsils & adenoids out but I really didn’t want to have it done at the same time and didn’t want to have Griffin miss more school than necessary.   I had called his family doc office to see how many times he had been in the office for sore throats/upper respiratory infections…that’s the only reason he has been in there and he had been there 8 times, 5 of which were in 2010…so that was criteria in itself for removal, doctor said, he wasn’t going to tell us they HAVE to come out but he felt it would improve his quality of life.  Griffin has been snoring more and restless sleeping so In December right before Christmas Break he will be getting his tonsils & adenoids removed and 3rd hospital bracelet.   It will take a week to 10 days for recovery so we felt it would be best for his recovery period to be during that break so he wouldn’t have to miss to much school.   He’s doing well in first grade but still having some issues with some “maturity'”/responsibility type things so we are working very hard on that.  He is one of the youngest in his class and he still sometimes will make the letters d, b, & p backwards which writing is a fine motor skill that comes with maturity and he struggles with “test taking”…which him not hearing well for the first 10 weeks out of the 12 weeks he’s been in school probably has not helped…so we are just working hard to stay on top of things and brought back out his responsibility chart at home in hopes this will help with motivation.   He’s also growing in his spiritual walk and sometimes just floors me…what comes out of his mouth….Like the other night….Les & I were having a disagreement  (I know hard to believe, bet you thought we were perfect! HA)  Anyway Griffin needed some help in the bathroom and I went in to help him…and Griffin says to me…. “Mommy can I pray with you so you will not argue with daddy”.  I just about broke down into tears….so needless to I gave him a big hug and told him that would be just fine for him to pray for me and reassured him that mommy and daddy were just not agreeing on something and I wouldn’t argue anymore.   Well we walked out into the kitchen,  Les, who didn’t know what Griffin had just said to me….was continuing the “disagreement” to which I was not responding and trying to end…and Griffin says “Daddy your being awful sassy to momma”…to which Les said I know I’m sorry.  Talk about being hit in the head with a big brick from God….Our 6-year-old pretty much was being the grown-up in the situation.  Thanks Griffin for bringing us back to a reality check!  He of course is still loving trucks, tractors, dirt bike, and actually got to see reruns of Dukes of Hazzard that of course you know every little boy loves!  He also ran in his first “official” running race in the Junior Olympics last weekend.  I’ll do a separate post on that.  He did very well though and I of course was so proud of him and cried while I was cheering for him! He did so good for being so little!

He also has lost 2 teeth this year…you can see them missing in his smile above!

 

Natalie:   She’s doing good…She’s growing into a young lady….

She’s a very determined…..focused….and goal oriented little gal.

This picture isn’t very good but it was taken at Grandma & Grandpa Graber’s when they were having fun dressing up.  She has said she would like to be valedictorian some day…I told her that is a very lofty goal and if she wants to do that to go for it but if it ever becomes where she is stressing out too much then it’s not worth it.  She’s very competitive by nature…it was only a few years ago that she could handle someone else winning in Candy Land! LOL.   We prayed when she was a baby that she would have a Hunger for knowledge and desire to learn God’s word and apply it to her life.   I assumed I’d see that quality in her when she was an adult… But God did give her that “hunger” at an early age and it has blown me away.   She has made “straight A’s” always.  She’s in the 5th grade now, loves her teachers.  When she got her first report card…her lowest grade was a 98.9% the rest were all 100% or above (due to bonus work).   So I told her she was being a slacker and she was really going to have to bring that 98% up….I was totally joking with her….and I don’t say that to be bragging on her it’s just a true testimony to an answer to a prayer that was voiced 10 years ago.  I hope and pray that she continues with her hard work ethic and goal reaching to bring glory to God. 

She also has a passion for her running.   She sets goals for herself and is so focused in practice which in turn shows up on the race course.  She is running paces that would be competitive at a high school level.   She was part of the Barr-Reeve Girls Jr. High Cross Country team that made history by being the first girls team to ever win Blue Chip Conference, she herself, came in first place for the 3rd year in a row and she is just a 5th grader.  Once again not trying to sound bragging, just a reflection of how driven she is. 

( I also was the head coach with the help of my brother & SIL, Kevin & Carrie this year.  It was a lot of fun but consumed most of my summer and fall, thus some of the reason for not as much time blogging. )

She also competed in the Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships last weekend.   She came in 1st place in her age division, second place runner crossed the finish line 1 minute behind Natalie.  She is so fun to watch run and she loves it! 

She also has had projects she has had to make for school…this is one of them below…it was her “book float”.   They had to read a book and then decorate a shoe box as a “float” and make a scene that represented part of the storyline from the book.   Her book was The Sisters Club so it was a scene with the characters at the dining table.  Natalie made all these little characters with the table, chairs, food, etc…They were so cute I thought!  She likes to do crafty things too.   Right now for school she is working on an Indian project.  All the kids in 5th grade are split into groups and assigned an Indian tribe and then they have to make a replica of an Indian village.  Two of her friends came to spend the night and worked on it and got a good start on it…of course I forgot to get pictures…will post those later. 

Also this summer Natalie was in 4-H and won GRAND CHAMPION on her scrapbook…it was a nice surprise!

She also won RESERVE Grand Champion on her Child Development project and was selected as a State Fair entry. 

 

We also had a major sad event that happened while we were on vacation this summer and came home to this….Natalie’s Tree that we had planted when she was a baby was ruined in a storm.  It was like the loss of a family pet.  She LOVED that tree…we always took pictures by it and she would go and play under there….We all cried…but we kept a piece of wood to make into something and saved some leaves to scrapbook.  Hopefully we will be able to find another tree to plant for her.   Natalie is also one who likes things to stay just the way they are and doesn’t like change…she likes to make traditions and stick to them.  So it was really hard on her to loose her tree.  The stump is still in the front yard…so now she goes and sits on the stump…it’s too funny.   She doesn’t want her dad to cut out the stump and wants to leave it there.  So for now the stump remains.  LOL.

 

MEGAN:  

She’s official 12-years-old now….she’s quickly approaching turning into a young lady and I’m wondering how and when we got to this point…She is in 6th grade and actually brought home a paper that was a pledge to make good grades, good choices, and a commitment that she was going to go college!  I was like how can I have a daughter who’s talking about college!  And knowing that it will be here sooner than later…She will have 6 years of school left, which may sound like a long time but when I put that into perspective of   “IF” we would take a vacation every summer we only have 6 left before she goes off to college and Les and I have only 6 years left to instill/teach her about growing her relationship with the Lord, Life Lessons, work ethic, and I pray we will be able to instill all of that so when the time comes for her to go off to college that she will be a strong independent young lady who is capable to make wise choices on her own and will we have done enough to help her succeed?  I know we will always be her parents for the rest of her life…so don’t get me wrong that we are cutting all strings when she is 18…it’s just the reality of college being the first step of spreading her wings and hopefully we will have taught her to fly by that point.   See what I mean by “There goes my Life”…so I resolve to take one day at a time and trying to savor these moments.    That’s why I try to make each birthday special and memorable for the kids.  

For Megan’s birthday this year we had her party in our church cafeteria.  Her girlfriends from Sunday school stayed after church.   We had pizza, “an amazing race”, and cake and ice cream.

 

She picked out her cake this year and my bff, Kiersten, made it for on practically last minute notice.  She did a fabulous job once again.    Megan is a little momma, always has been.  She loves her baby cousin, Alton, and loves toting him around on her hip.   He calls her Mi-Mi.     She’s going to be an awesome babysitter in another year or so.

Natalie G., Kaelyn K., Sydney B, Kendra M., Meredith G., & Megan G. These are her “girlfriends” that celebrated her birthday with her.

Megan likes to watch Amazing Race and wanted to do something similar at her birthday party….so we divided teams into a girls team and a boys team.  Big Cousins, Courtney & Cassie, helped accompany them through their races. 

They had to find lockers to have their picture taken with.

They had to choose 1 person from their team to eat/suck jello down with a straw!  it was too funny.

Find a dentist office and take a picture in front of the sign.  (I’m sure Dr. Deem doesn’t mind the free advertising her on my blog! ha)  Just so happened to be down from our church.

Then they had to find the Gazebo on Main Street and play Ring-around-the rosie”

They also had a few things to accomplish at the library…one having their picture taken in front of the library doors. 

There were some other challenges to complete in their race but these were the only ones I had pictures of.  I think they had a lot of fun doing it!

Then they came back and Megan opened her presents….which I had to post this picture….Courtney made their present for Megan match Megan’s cake….she’s so crafty!

It was so nice to have Courtney & Cassie home from college to celebrate with Megan.  We really miss those girls so that was extra special they were there.

Megan also has taken up cake decorating this year.  This is the cake that she made for 4-H, she got an honorable mention on her cake.   She did a great job and my bff, Kiersten, gave her some one-on-one lessons this summer…she was a huge help to her!

She also showed our 14-year-old dog, Libby in 4-H again this year on one of the hottest days of the year!  Libby was a sassy old dog and rolled over on her back …as if to say….I surrender it’s too stinkin hot….I don’t want to do this!   I was so proud of Megan…she didn’t loose her cool and just stayed right with Libby the entire time.   and during the agility course libby was just way too hot to want to do anything…but Megan stayed right with her…typically it takes less than a minute for dogs to complete the course…Libby took like 3 to 4 minutes…but Megan stuck right by her and never gave up on Libby and finally on the last jump libby was being very stubborn and not wanting to make the last jump until the entire crowd started chanting  “LIBBY, LIBBY, LIBBY” and finally Libby made the last jump and the crowd erupted into a huge cheer!  I was in tears so proud of Megan…there’s no way I could have kept my cool under that kind of pressure…I probably would have quit…but not my Mae-Mae….she proved how classy she really is and definitely not a quitter!

She really made up for it in Showmanship…this is where they judge her and how well she handles and works with her dog.  She ended up getting RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION in Showmanship!

Here she is with her awards and with cousin, Cassie, who won Reserve Grand Champion in the Dog Agility portion…which is ironic…last year Megan won the dog agility award and Cassie won the showmanship award…so this year they just swapped. 

Megan also has been running awesome this year!  She too was part of the Barr-Reeve Girls Jr. High Team and was part of the history making team.  Her and Natalie were our #1 and #2 runners for the team. 

Here she is right after running coming to check on her little cousin, Alton.   I think we could probably put Alton at the finish line and Megan would run that much faster just to get to see him and play with him! ha ha. 

She also ran in the Junior Olympics Cross Country Championship this past weekend too.  She wasn’t feeling good and had stomach ache before she ran but she did very well and qualified to go to regionals just like her sister and brother, and cousin Connor too!

Megan chose her own running gear/wear…Red under armour, hot pink shorts with orange trim, navy tights, white with blue polka-dots running shirt, purple and black striped gloves….I called her Rainbow Bright….but she did make it easy for us to spot her throughout the course.   I love to watch her run especially at the finish line…she has such a gutsy kick/finish,  it amazes me. 

She is also doing well in school, making straight A’s.  This is the first year that she is actually taking responsibility and doing her homework somewhat without being told….always before she would want me sitting right next to her watching her do it.   She has made some great friendships at school and I’m very pleased with how caring and compassionate she is towards them.   She also has started wanting to do baking and cooking this year.  She likes to look through cook books and try new things.  Her latest that she made on her own…is “birds in a nest”…where you cut a hole in the bread and fry an egg in the hole in the bread.   She also is known as the cupcake queen of the house.   We had a couple of girls on the XC team this year who had birthdays on the days of a XC meet and she made them cupcakes to take to the meet to celebrate their day.  She’s so thoughtful and sweet to her friends. 

She also has been doing some “driving” around the farm here.  She does pretty well…she has drove daddy’s turkey truck and short distances in the van.  She does pretty well and loving learning. 

 

Les is busy as always with the farm…starting to feel effects of long days on his feet…so trying to get those feeling better.   He had a couple of uncles that passed away this past month so we had visitations and funerals to attend…always nice to get to visit with family though.

Me—I got my braces off this summer…it was so exciting after 3 years!  Like I said earlier I coached the Jr. High Girls XC team, also still taking care of Alton during the week while Lisa & Doug are at work, taking care of keeping the household running smoothly(sometimes not so smoothly), doing  farm books, and teaching Griffin’s Sunday School class, I stepped down as team leader, just because I was having a hard time juggling it all, so now I am on a rotation of teaching…which works much better for me right now. 

We also vacationed in Gaitlinburg, Tennessee this summer…it was wonderful!  Makes me want to go back right now! lol.

We actually hiked back to this waterfall called Abram’s Falls…it was 2.5 mile hike each way so it was a total 5 mile hike.  Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. 

so that’s just a glimpse of what we’ve been up too.   Hopefully I will be quicker at updating the blog as our life goes on.