A Hunting He Will Go---Maybe!

So David is getting ready last minute to go hunting.....this is no surprise for my NO MARGIN husband!!

Thought I would give you an insight into what it is like around here!

He is walking through the house looking for things, then not finding them and asking me where they are.

So....I walk over to where he just was and pull it out of the box he was looking in!

I ask if he really needs the hunting synopsis's from the last 5 years in his hunting box?

Then you hear him calling from the other room, "Where is my......?"

Then, "I can't find my......?"

You get the idea.

Then.... "What am I taking to eat?"

Sigh!!

Really, it is no wonder he has so much trouble finding that elusive deer!

I really love my man!

Go Cougars!

Finally got a moment to upload pictures from this weekend!

The guys warming up pre-race.

Every runner needs a good support team!!

Just glad we could be close for this one.

On the line nerves.
In the midst of the pack.

An unbelievable shot in the middle of the crowd running by.

A mile into it.

Quite a crowd for a guy used to being in the front of the pack.

What a joy to watch him run the race before him in all ways so well.

Drew ran a PR of 15:30 for his 5K (what he raced last year in high school)! Then he had to race another 3K on top of that!

That last 3K was a little painful.

Drew was 11th place overall.

Running for the finish line.

Drew was 7th man for the Cougars!

So nice to see him at the finish.

The cool down run.

Sounds like this group of guys is doing well together, what a blessing to hear.

Together Time!

Lovin the great family time!!

Got to watch Drew run his second college race!! He was 11th overall.

Says he ran a PR for his 5000M time and then had to run another 3000M on top of that.

Great fun!

We were able to get him a shoe dryer to hopefully help with the dorm room smell!! LOL

Hannah woke up this morning and said, "Drew is going to be so happy to see me today!"

Gotta love the optimism!

Wonderful visit at beautiful Lake Coeur d'Alane with friends from our days in Baker!

Pictures to come when we get home.

Headed East!

Heading out tomorrow to see our poor, sockless, starving, college freshman!

Car is packed with socks, cookies, punching bag, ROOM DEODORIZER (think two boys who have wet athletic shoes---YUCK!)

Drew will be racing his second race of the season at Spokane. We will get about 36 hours with him and 20 hours of travel.

Vote is in!!

Yep, he is absolutely crazy!!

Good thing we love him so much around here!!

But I have noticed that the older I get, the harder time I am having keeping up with him!! Wonder why!!

Not only was this weekend physically challenging for David, but it stretched him in other ways.

David's gifting does not lie in the area of service---now don't take that the wrong way, he is just way more strongly gifted in other areas.

This weekend he choose not to 'race' during the bike ride, but to be of service with his excellent hand pump to the many who suffered popped tires due to the tacks.


And his run with Neil, he was 100% in the position of helper and encourager. Neil was pretty beat down physically and emotionally after 80 miles and David was able to encourage by his presence, by his words, and by his physical help with carrying packs and water and such.


Way to go at stretching yourself David---you are a great example to many around you!!

Fun or Crazy?

So I wanted to take a vote.

I am hoping that some of you I know read, but never comment will leave a comment on this one. Just click anonymous, but please add your name at the end of your comment, so I can let David know the final outcome!! LOL

So here is what the vote is....

David thought his day yesterday was FUN...

I am just thinking plain old CRAZY!

He started the day getting up at 6am to go for a 67 mile bike ride in the pouring rain.

They did get a nice catered lunch!! LOL

He helped many a rider with flat tires, because someone thought it would be FUN to litter parts of the course with TACKS!!!

Seriously!

He arrived home about 3pm to jump into an ICE BATH!!

Yep, you got that right----a tub filled with ice and water for 15 minutes to get the swelling down in his sore joints--which for an AS patient means his body will start to attack itself and tear down his connective tissues.

He raced out of the house at 4pm to get up the mountain to meet his friend Neil (pictured above with David) who was running a 100 mile race. Neil had asked David to help pace him through the last 20 miles of his race.

Neil thought he would be there between 5pm and 10pm. He was struggling and came in around 11:30 instead.

David waited up in the mountains---in the car--in the pouring rain for him.

Then he got out and helped his friend get changed and food and they started running about midnight!

It took them 4 1/2 hours to finish in the dark and pouring rain on trails, up and down mountains. Finishing at 4:30 this am.

He climbed into bed this morning at 5:30.

Made it to church, Caleb's football game, another ICE BATH and is NOW relaxing with watching some football on TV with his son.

----------------------------------------------------

So you tell me---

Does this sound like a fun day to you?

Quilts Again

First quilt block of Drew's quilt done. It is interesting with both Erinn and I trying to use the ironing board, cutting board and sewing machine together. But giving us lots of together time.

We have thankfully had 2 good days in a row with school---YEAH!!

Think we are seeing some breakthroughs with Caleb and some heart issues---PRAISE GOD!!!

Erinn's Diversion

This has been Erinn's diversion since coming home!

2 baby quilts down

She made the pink one first and the Hill's welcomed a boy to their family this week!

So the boy colors came out and we delivered it today!

She has also gotten the kids Christmas presents done and started on Danielle and Ryan's present.

Nothing like needing to keep your mind occupied to find the productivity in yourself.

Sensory Ideas!?

One of my new reads, The Out of Sync Child Has Fun, has some great ideas for kids with sensory issues that need vestibular input.

One of the simple ones we tried this week was a homemade, simple balance type teeter-totter.

Just a 2x6 board laid across a log and trying to balance walk over it as it tips.

This is great work for Hannah, but Caleb......

....is always trying to put a twist on things!!! LOL

Hence this very scary, hospital trip, looking thing!

That is a kid who is ALWAYS looking for sensory input for you.

And the calmer version that Hannah will take part in.

Like I said before, just give my little Africans just about anything and they will make a toy out of it.

And as you can see with the trike, a toy can be used for anything at all...just use your imagination!

Free Time?

As though I really had any free time....thought I would work on filling it up.

I made this quilt for David a few years ago when we thought his Ankylosing Spondylitis would keep him from running again. Thought it would be a fun way to remember some of his favorite races.

I had done the same thing a few years earlier when Danielle graduated from high school--maybe she will send a picture I can post--hint, hint.

Both quilts are made of old running t-shirts, favorites, worn out and everything!

So of course I have this whole slew of Drew's t-shirts laying around----so----

Yep, this is the first quick layout.

Any suggestions on colors to use for the binding and such?

Football and a Bridge

We started our morning with a video message by John MacArthur due to our son's game schedule. Not something we do often, nor do we highly recommend, but he needs to know that we support him in his endeavors as much as his older siblings, so once in a while is OK.

Their team absolutely creamed the other team. Kinda feel bad for the other guys when they quit keeping score and do a running clock.


Now Caleb is still learning, but he is on an awesome team. That coach standing behind him in the picture is our old high school coach, I have no idea how many state championships he has under his belt. Anyways his grandson is Caleb's quarterback, hence the great coaching.


Caleb is playing safety and defensive back, I really don't know what that means, but he is doing a pretty good job at it. In fact today the other team's quarterback was sacked at least once, because Caleb was covering his guy so well he could not pass.


Also of note is the fact that Caleb's socks are down--they always are for some reason and not most of the other kids--go figure!


Also the mouthguard in his mouth, it is his second and he just went through it too. A kid with sensory issues and a mouthguard means lots of chewing!


Guess who is washing the car tomorrow to earn $ for a new mouth guard! LOL

Then we headed over the the dedication of the new bridge to the bike trail.


David has been part of the board working on our greenway for about 3 years. This is the culmination of hours of work and red tape to get this million dollar bridge installed.


This picture is from a few weeks ago. Now bikers and pedestrians do not have to cross this extremely busy intersection at the risk of life and limb!!


Now they get to work on extending the greenway trail to the next city up the line. There are over 30 miles of continuous trail at this point.


We also have a first hand idea how much time and energy goes into just planning and getting the red tape out of the way to get these community improvements done.

Bikes anyone.

Today we had a joyous day in the sun and trees with family and friends.

This is the mountain David and Caleb climbed last weekend!

The plan was for Caleb, Hannah and I to ride the 9 mile trail and David to run.

But alas, Hannah's little legs were not going to go far.

David and she did 2 miles and drove to meet us at the end. Caleb and I did all 9 miles with the crowd from church.

Then David was able to run the 9 miles back, just for fun he says!?!
We finished the day swimming in the lake and visiting with Erinn and her friends who were up there camping for the weekend.

Today is..

...a good day to remember and be thankful we live a nation that pursues freedom and honors heroes!

Pray today for the families of the many who lost their lives on this day.

Pray for our nation to make wise decisions regarding our freedom and the fight for it.

Pray for those who daily put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free; those in the mili*tary, the police, the firemen and so on.

I ask specific prayer for Michael and Erinn on this day, as it can be a day of targeting the mili*tary.

Also, my brother-in-law, David, is presently working in Af*ganistan non-mili*tary with computers, but also in dangerous situations. And my sister Sandi, as she stays home caring for two energetic little boys by herself for a year.

I know there are so many more, but these are the two that are daily on our hearts.

If you have a loved one you would like to add to the prayer list, leave a comment, and we will happily be praying for more!!

God bless on this Patriot's Day!

Life..

My Beautiful Treasures!

I miss those who are away, but blessed to hear that both Drew and Danielle and Ryan are doing well where the Lord has lead them.

Erinn is going at life with her chin up, though it is evident how she misses Michael terribly. Please lift them up in prayer this year as they are apart.

We have been doing some testing on both Hannah and Caleb and getting some answers to issues that we have been dealing with. More on that in the coming weeks.

Thankfully my energy is slowly on the mend after this long summer. I was amazed at how hard that I hit a wall after the weddings were over.

What We Have Been Up To...

We have been working on Hannah's 'pink' room!

She has been kinda fixated on it for about a year!

She now has the 'boys' out of her room and dollies all over the place!

Interesting how she is totally into dolls and girly things now that there is floor space in her room that is not filled with legos and knex!

This ballerina painting, Erinn painted 2 years before Hannah came home. I remember talking then about how she looked like she had black skin. It is a lovely addition to her princess room.

As you can see we are still working on the butterflies, but our school days have been long to say the least. One day they will be done!

WSU Update

So the news from school is good for Drew so far.

He is doing well in his classes so far.

He placed 10th at his first college meet, 6th man for the cougars.

He has found a great church.

He is doing great with his teammates.

He is part of a Bible study with just cross country guys.

And he has only begged for one box of treats from home so far!! LOL (Thanks Hills for getting one to him before I could!)

And having to laugh at the fact that for some reason my son brought only 6 pairs of socks to school with him!! Two have gone missing already! Guess what is in the next care pack!

We are thankful to hear the school does wash of all his running gear---Could you imagine a dorm filled with dozens of young guys away from home for the first time who are all packing around their sweaty running gear!! Not a pretty sight to imagine!

We are noticing we have not bought a loaf of white bread since he left and have only gone through 3 boxes of cereal!

Oh yeah, there is no cinnamon on the counter tops all day, nor stinky running shorts and socks int he bathroom!

We miss him, but are so happy to know he is doing well where the Lord has him planted!

Mountain Top Views

David and Caleb had the opportunity this weekend to hike to the top of Mt. McLaughlin and summit at 9,495 feet, with our good friends, Buzz and Julie.

Thankfully both my husband and my son, who are both not too fond of heights and both get dizzy at heights (who says adopted kids don't take after their parents--LOL) both made it safely too the top and back down.

The view from the top with 4-mile lake in the background.

And yes, we need to be careful of shadows on black faces! But trust me it is Caleb hiding in that shadow!