Ringing the Chimes on a Sunday afternoon

Target practice with Tavis' new gun consisted of trying to "ping" Grandma's windchimes.

 Lilly was just "hanging around"

And the old guys did the Crossword puzzle

Tavis' Other Birthdays

With the Browns

 A gift from Uncle Daniel and Aunt Heather and Libby

 Keyboard for the iPad

And with the Caines

 When you have a lot of cousins, you are always sharing a birthday with someone.  This week, Tavis and Eleanor.

 A gift that Papa actually went and bought himself....

 Of course, baseball glove.

Happy Birthday T!

Tavis' Birthday - #12

For the first time ever, Tavis wanted a cake for his birthday.  A chocolate cake with white icing.  

Guess what Tavis autocorrects to: Tacos

 Daegan wanted to get these cool candles - they had multi-colored flames.  Cool for 20 seconds!

 The goofy birthday boy!

 Gifts!!!!

 A AirSoft Gun

 Don't worry, I got him safety glasses

 Unfortunately, target practice started in the kitchen....

 The boys did great.  Mommy may or may not have shot the wall.  Twice.

Daegan's First Essay

Daegan had to write his first essay last week.  He had to write about his favorite room in the house.  He typed it and did everything himself.  Thought I'd post it here:

   My favorite room to be in is my den. It has everything I like to do. It has books, a TV, a Xbox, computer, and it’s next to the bathroom. It has two couches and a big red chair that are really comfy. One of the couches even turns into a bed!

   If I’m allowed to, I sit on one of the couches or the big red chair and play on the Xbox. We have a bunch of video games, though I can’t play some of them. We have Lego Star Wars 3:The Clone Wars, Minecraft, Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Batman, a racing game, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 and 2.We also have Battlefield Three, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Call of Duty: World at War.

   Our den also has board games and books. We have Monopoly, Life, Totally Tut, and a few others. My dad has a collection of old comics like Calvin and Hobbes, and The Far Side in the den. There’s also the Percy Jackson, Hero’s of Olympus, and The Kane Chronicles series.

   Now you know what my den is like.  It has comfort, video and board games, and TV. Or, if you prefer, you can just relax and read a book. The only bad thing is, it takes a while to pick up.    

Thankful for Safety

Last Monday, as I was driving home from school, I lost control of my van.  I had just gotten on the interstate and, thankfully, was not at full speed.

Steering was not responding and I felt like my brakes were not responding, but in hindsight, who knows if I was even pressing them?   I was trying to merge over into a left-hand lane and my steering took a very hard left.  I kept trying to steer and it was definitely not responding.  Finally, the entire van steered a hard right, right toward a wall.  My sister, Heather, just happened to be behind me and saw the whole thing and said it looked like I was going to tip the van over.

I went over three lanes of 4 o'clock traffic and was aimed towards a wall, and I hit no one and nothing, and no one hit me.

It was crazy.  I was shaken.  I couldn't imagine what the heck had happened.  I sat on the side of the interstate with my hazards blinking.  I decided to try again and I drove home.  I drove.  I prayed.  I listened.  There was a rattle noise in my front right tire, but it wasn't flat, so I kept going.  I drove.  I prayed.  I listened.  I prayed.

I made it home.  I posted on Facebook my thankfulness for safety.  I had a bout 45 people respond with praises for safety.  Jason was laughing because at church on Wednesday everyone asked me about it.  Jason wasn't laughing because I posted it or because people were asking, but because he is always amazed how many know what is going on in our lives because of Facebook.

It was scary.  I am a non-responder.  If something "high stress" happens, I am as cool as a cucumber.  I fault on not over-reacting sometimes.  (When Mollee had a seizure at home after having surgery, I called the doctors office - they yelled at me to hang up and call 911 ASAP!).

In my van, the kids were silent.  Heather, who is an over-reactor, said that she and her boys were all screaming as they watched from behind.  Just a funny little family comparison.

So, I made it home.  Jason took the van to the shop the next morning.  The right tie-rod that we had replaced a few weeks earlier was a faulty part.  It had snapped in half.  It was under warranty and they replaced it.

I am so thankful for God's hand on our van that day.  I am so thankful he did not allow us to hit someone or something.  I am thankful that I was able to drive home.  Not sure if that was a wise decision and not sure exactly how I was able to steer without the tie-rod, but I did.   I am thankful my nerves have recovered and driving is not scary for me now that the van is back from the shop.

Thank you Lord for our safety.

Mollee's "other" birthdays

Birthday with the Browns

Mollee taking pictures of herself with Mimi's phone!

And cake!

And birthday with the Caines

 Molee got a lamp for her new room!

Dusty and Rachel also joined us for lunch and we celebrated their birthdays too:

Winter Carnival now a Fall Carnival

The school shifted their Carnival from Winter to Fall this year.  I don't like change, but I think this worked out well.

The gym had some games and inflatables

And lots of games outside

And coffee, coke and popcorn

AND COTTON CANDY!!!!

And icees!

I didn't see Tavis most of the night, but I did see him at the petting zoo.

As we were leaving the boys decided to get some balloon swords

There was also a bluegrass band that makes me wish Jase would pick up his banjo a little more.