Last couple of days....

The last couple of days have been pretty full of adventure and fun.......
On Wed, Sophie went to the fair with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Sandy for her birthday present. She went on a rollercoaster with Grandpa! She has no fear when it comes to rides:) Meanwhile, Shane and I took Alex, Lexi, and Tristan to Old Country Buffet. We had a really good time. The kids ate anything they wanted and then some ice cream cones! It was so much fun:) Alex was obssessed with his drink with no cover and a straw, so he had lots of pink lemonade:)
Then on Thursday, I took Stacy to the Mayo Clinic to get chemo. It is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours away. It was fun having our girl time on the way there and back. I love listening to her inspirational stories and laughing together:) She brought me to a labrynth in the Mayo where you can walk through one, and trace a wooden one on the wall. It is suppose to bring you to centeredness and become grounded. I thought it was really neat. We also left prayer requests in the labrynth room. She also brought me to a park across the street that had statues of the brothers that created the Mayo Clinic and readings on how they founded it. It was very cool, to say the least.
Then we picked out her "free" wig she gets from the Mayo Clinic. She had about 5 or 6 to choose from. She looks very adorable in her new bob! We are going shopping here in the cities to get a "fancy" one:)
On Friday, My good friend Cara came over to visit me and the kids. I know her from American Laser. She spent the day with us - she adores the kids, and I think she likes me a little too:) ha! Then when Shane got home, we all went out to eat at Broadway Pizza and had spaghetti and pizza. It was a really nice dinner together:) Then we went shopping at Walmart. You'll have to read the kid's blog later for more details on what they did! Duty calls! More later!
Love you all!
Rita

Inspiration

Tonight I'm getting all of the odds and ends ready for the kids when I leave to bring Stacy to Mayo Clinic tomorrow. They have a babysitter coming for about 5-6 hours in the morning, and I'm being overly prepared I think!:) I have extra outfits, notes for the babysitter, every phone number of everyone I know, besides myself in case of emergency, and all the fire exits listed! lol!
I was reading Stacy's blog on the Caring Bridge, and was so touched by some of the journal entries that were written by visitors and Stacy. Stacy is fighting a hefty battle, and has held her chin high, without one complaint. She has terminal cancer, and refuses to give in - she will win this battle, and has already awed the Mayo clinic with her progress and recovery, and will continue to do so.
She had a guestbook entry that was filled with hope and love, but the one thing that was written I will never forget:

My greatest advice to you is to keep the faith and be strong..even in our darkest moments the Lord says lean on me and if you have the faith of a mustard seed your prayers will be heard and answered.

Isn't that something...... It's so simple, but so bold!
I know some of you like reading inspirations, and thought I would share......

I love you all!
Rita

Fun fun fun!!!!!

Well, it's been a whirlwind of weekend! These past couple weeks have been a blur actually!! As everyone knows, we had the most wonderful birthday weekend for Sophia! All of the kids had such a good time, and did so well!! We had a wonderful turn out, and it was so nice to see everyone, and ALL about 20 kids that came! Then we had a sleep over with four of her friends. It was so much fun. We played cards, barbies, and watched movies until the "midnight hour":) The next morning, Grandpa Andy made breakfast for everyone! He is so wonderful:)
My legs and feet hurt for about two days, partly from the jumpaline, and running around for a few days straight - literally! My brain also ran out of gas - guess it's the coming of old age, eh!
Since the birthday party, we spend about 6-8 hours a day driving her car with her siblings, and of course the neighbor kids! Lexi is the main passenger. They have permanent smiles on their faces, and laugh and laugh together! It is the cutest thing!
My dad wasn't able to come for her birthday, so he took her to the fair with my step-mom today for a few hours. What fun they will have! Sophie loves big rides, and my dad will be just too impressed!
The weather is getting colder! I'm not ready for fall yet! wah, wah, right! I love how we can all just run out the door and play, instead of the half hour hustle bustle of getting snow pants etc on! I think I'm going to picket the weather! Any followers?

Love to you all!
Rita

Hi everyone!
It's been awhile since I've written - it gets busy busy busy around here, and night time comes and my pillow calls me, or the bingo hall does!
The kids have been doing wonderful. Sophia has big time confidence since wearing her helmet while riding her bike - not too scary - yet:) We have hit a dry spell on toadies.... We just keep looking though! She is getting so excited for her birthday - she's been doing a countdown. Lexi is busy as a busy bee! When we are outside she chases down all the neighbors to make sure and say hi and asks what they are doing - regardless if Mommy's in her pj's, which of course then I must hi and ask how they are doing as well. Did I say in my pj's?! The neighbors are going to start sneaking out their back doors to go places, I'm pretty scary in the morning! Lexi said the cutest thing this morning, "I love you more than chocolate milk".... She says lots of funny/cute things, she makes us all laugh and smile:)
Alex is just full of smiles and talks about trains quite a bit. He is talking so well, that you can hold a conversation with him these days! He is so full of sunshine:) He ran around in circles dancing and laughing with his pjs on his head the other night - I definitely have comedians for children!
On Monday I took all the kids and the dog for a walk for about 2 hours down to where I used to live when I was little. I was showing them where my hiding places were in trees and where my friends lived. I showed them the path that I use to take down to the pond, and told them how I used to ride my toboggan down the path - I skipped the part about sliding out onto the ice:)
They seemed to really enjoy it:) Then we played in the pool and the sprinkler. After Lexi and Alex went down for a nap, Sophie and I continued to work on our tan and play. We made sure to knock on Grandma's window and make funny faces at her - Grandma shook her head - lol!
Work is slow these days, so I'm able to spend more time with the kids, and it really is so nice.
The kids are "re-organizing" the videos, so I have to go now!
Will try to keep up posting!
Love you all!
Rita

Well, Tristan came over, and we indeed played cards until "I" fell asleep! I have been sick with a head cold since Thursday. Today is a good day! Alex and Sophie have this cold too. It's amazing how when you are kids while you are sick, you still have the energy to fly to the moon! Sophie was sick before me and then Alex got it two days ago, and is not happy!
We play outside with the neighbors quite a bit. Lori and her boys, Joe, Jake, and Alec. She also has a step-daughter who is 8, Natalia, who comes to visit. So, amongst the sickness, we've been playing with them all weekend. Joe's 3rd birthday was yesterday, so he had dinner with us, and then the girls went for ice cream with Lori, Joe, and Natalia.
By the way, for all of you following "the case", ooh la-la, the plot thickens!

The kids and I caught some more tree frogs this morning while we were cleaning the porch! Sophie, Lexi, and I built a temporary home with rocks and leaves. Then we brushed our dog Chyenne (her nick name is Shy-Shy), and it looked like it snowed in our yard and the neighbor's yard after it blew around! Not kidding!
Alex slept the night away until almost 9am! The girls woke up at 4am due to a thunderstorm, and we had to have juice and watch movies to go back to sleep:) Then off to work I go at 11am!
I am really exicted for tonight - Tristan (Shane's son) is over and I love spending time with him, and so do the kids:) We plan to play cards until we fall asleep sitting up! Sophie plays with us too - it is really a lot of fun:)