Our Vacation -- Day 2 Science Center

We were so happy to be able to stay with John's cousin's family during our trip! Clifford and Jayna (aliases) and their three girls were very welcoming and the children hit it off pretty quickly, although it always takes a bit of time to get reacquainted. They all stayed in their master bedroom and gave us the girls rooms and a bathroom all our own. It was so relaxing and Seppy especially enjoyed sleeping in a big bed with his sister since they really would like to do the same at home.

Seppy looking at the cars passing under him.

Our second day of vacation began dreary and cool. We thought we'd head south to soak up the warm temperatures but alas that didn't happen. But, at least it was warmer than the 50 degree temps that they were enduring at home. Our plans for the day did change however. The boys really had hoped to visit the Botanical Gardens which we had been to on a past trip but the children's garden was closed due to storm damage for the duration of our stay and we didn't feel like being outside. After a late night of having fun we all slept in and then let the kids play but spent the afternoon at a free attraction -- the Science Center. We saw the first U.S. space capsule that Alan Shepherd went into space in and it was small with enough room only for one person! The thought of it gave me that claustrophobic feeling.

George scanning the speed of cars from the overpass. Here he clocked one at 74 mph.

Re-Pete and Pete building a cable style bridge

There were a lot of hands-on things to do and learn about and we all had fun. That evening the kids kept right on playing while us adults were kind of tired out. You know what is nice about staying at someone's house? I didn't have do to any cooking. Jayna had delicious meals all planned out and ready for us along with sandwich fixings to take with us during day excursions. We truly did feel at home away from home except that theirs is much cleaner and more organized which I really enjoyed! :)

               Working together to build the arch.    John getting ready to knock it down on the kids.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday, although it doesn't feel like anything special being that we celebrated last week along with my Grandpa who is 91! I like having a party with him! Do you still celebrate your birthday? I grew up in a family where adult birthdays for my parents and grandparents all were celebrated with a party and I love it that way and it continues today. While there are so many created holidays there is nothing like a birthday to show and tell someone how much they mean to you and make them feel special.

My Mom made Key Lime Torte for me as I wasn't in the mood for cake this year. (Grandpa eats anything) It was so pretty and yummy too!

Tonight we celebrate my nephew's birthday who turned 7. He was born on my 30th birthday and what a wonderful gift I received that day. (So now you know how old I am.) The next best thing to my own children. Happy Birthday "Silky Cheeks"!

So last week my Grandpa and I had a celebration and George pointed out that it seems with each birthday I have someone tries to make me cry. Well, I don't know if they go out of their way to do it but at least one person always succeeds. This year my sister started off with a card about growing up as sisters. I knew I wouldn't make it through just reading the word "sister". And then George gave me a gift that he thought up and employed my Mom to help him create. He wanted to make me a table runner and so he and my Mom picked out various fabrics in shades of purples to match our dinning room and sewed a beautiful runner! In addition to that he had made me a heated rice pack with a removable cover. I knew I was getting something he made but I had no idea and of course that also brought tears to my eyes.

Table runner from George (and my Mom)

I love birthdays and celebrations don't you?!

John bought me this porch swing that I love! It fits 3 adults or 6 children which is perfect.

Driving Through Storms

Next stop -- St. Louis, after a two hour drive. We had planned on getting a bite to eat before setting off but then I overheard someone in Springfield say that a storm would be arriving by 5:30 p.m. and we thought we'd get out of there before it hit. Little did we know that we would be running into those approaching storms and driving through what I saw later was an entire red blotch on the radar of storm and tornado warnings.

As the sky began to look eerie I pulled out the map and found a radio station that kept interrupting with the updated warnings which always seemed to be the county we were in at the time. I for one am not good with high winds and tornado warnings and am very thankful we live in an area where they are not frequent. So I was a little on edge, as was George, who takes after me in too many ways. Tank, our child who throws up when he hears thunder was in hiding underneath pillows but at least the rain was too strong to hear any thunder. The other boys slept and Missy Blue sat in the back chattering away without a care in the world.

I am thankful for a husband who does not get rattled and was calm as could be. He is the kind of driver that I am not fond of in that he passes other vehicles during pouring rain while the cars on the right-hand lane are all driving with their hazards flashing or were pulled over to wait it out. It was nice when we'd come to a break and then could relax a bit and I'd ask John if he could just keep driving toward the clear skies instead of the way we were headed but he kept on telling me that he'd rather be in a moving vehicle during a tornado warning than stopped in a restaurant or somewhere as he could keep moving. I think my problem is that I watched the movie Twister years ago and so I envisioned a funnel dropping down right in front of us on the road and picking up our van. It seemed the Christian radio station was purposely playing certain songs because "Praise You In the Storm" and others like it kept playing which I kept trying to belt out to keep calm as I was getting so tense my braxton hicks were getting too frequent.

After searching the clouds the entire time and waiting to see a tornado we safely arrived in St. Louis. We were so happy to see the welcoming Gateway Arch amidst the rain but could see that this time we were indeed headed toward clear skies and I could even see a hint of the sun. We did stop for a bite to eat for all the growling tummies and tried Five Guys Burgers and Fries as I had heard they are so good (but a little pricey for a family of 8!). I did like that everything was fresh without fillers and such and I did enjoy my double burger with the works but alas, it does not come anywhere close to a Sheboygan hamburger on a hard roll, especially from our favorite little diner, Charcoal Inn. That is our opinion anyway. :)

We were very thankful to arrive at John's cousin's house and get settled. We haven't gone anywhere without our motor home for a long time so staying at someone's house was a new experience and we were so thankful for their hospitality!

Our Vacation -- Day 1 Lincoln Museum

We left for a short trip to St. Louis last Wednesday and on the way down decided to stop at the Abraham Lincoln Museum as my parents said it was a must see. It was also a good way to break up the trip a bit seeing as we didn't take the motor home due to gas prices. We drove through two hours of rain with off and on downpours on the way there but arrived to sunny and warm temperatures which was so welcoming after coming from temps in the 50s!

We enjoyed a picnic lunch in a park outside while Seth examined a statue of Lincoln sitting on a park bench. He was so intent, climbing all over examining it with such a serious look on his face and feeling all around. I finally asked what he was doing and he said, "Looking for the hole." I asked what hole and he replied as if I should already know, "Where Lincoln was shot".  :) That made me laugh to think of my three year old looking for the gunshot wound in a statue and that he would even know to look on the head. Maybe there are advantages to being the youngest child. It took us three hours to go through the museum but if we didn't have children along it would take more time to read all of the information.

Our family visiting with the Lincoln's during their stay at the White House. I feel a bit under-dressed.

Our favorites were the two shows they do -- Ghosts of the Library where a librarian tells the stories behind some of the artifacts and at times things like a quill pen or the person in his story "come to life" using a hologram-type technology. The second one was Lincoln's Eyes which was a special effects movie going through the events in Lincoln's life. With that the seats shake on occasion and there are periodic flashing lights or booming noises which did cause for most of us to jump. If you have small children it might help to find out when to expect the movement, although Seppy did okay being on my lap. If you are ever in the area I highly recommend you stop in and see this very well done museum.

Dressing up in Mrs. Lincoln's Attic

Just Random...

I figured I should post something new, although it seems not too much new is happening. We are getting ready to take a trip to St. Louis in the very near future and this will be the first time making a long trip without our motor home but gas prices are such that it would cost a fortune to fill that thing up. John contemplated even going but we are excited to visit his family there so decided to go ahead. John's cousin's family was kind enough to invite us to stay with them and the kids are really looking forward to that adventure. We do enjoy full houses of people and I hope they will too! :)

I came on my blog tonight to check how many weeks I am in my pregnancy. I can't believe I didn't know for sure but time sure gets away from me. So, I am 25 weeks today and baby is about 13 1/2 inches and is starting to get some baby fat. I am feeling good and I think baby is keeping his head down more so the kicking in the cervix has subsided for which I am very thankful. I feel like I am waddling already which I don't especially enjoy but I am trying to put a conscience effort into walking normal if that is possible. Baby moves around a lot and most of the children are taking turns trying to feel him kick their hand. It makes me smile knowing that they are enjoying this process too.

John and I taught Sunday School for Seppy's class last week which is always fun for me because I love to watch my husband with children. Sure, I see him every day with our children but with others it is different because it is an hour of making children laugh and enjoy learning. It reminded me so much of the days before we were married when we would babysit for children and they would be climbing all over him and having a great time. I am not anywhere near as fun, at least not in that way. Anyway, the children were wondering about my big belly and a few came away from class telling their moms that Mrs. Mason has a basketball under her shirt. One little girl said that I had a basketball hoop! Now that would be an interesting shape. Once in awhile it would be nice to have a basketball and take it out for a rest. This basketball is heavy! :)

Exploring Our Backyard

We went on a field trip last week with our Nature Club to an environmental park. We have been there numerous times and the fun thing about it is it is like exploring our own backyard except with guides that can answer all of our my questions. We enjoyed searching for nesting Bluebirds and Kestrels (a small hawk) with binoculars and Missy Blue was especially enamored to find that things were bigger when she looked through them. I was surprised that she was so interested and even answered a question or two in her quiet little voice but she is a bit more social than probably all of her brothers combined. We stopped and smelled Skunk cabbage and found other wildflowers like Bloodroot and Turtle lily just making their appearance. We ended our time at the pond where Tank found a granddaddy crawfish and Pete was able to catch it with his net. I found some the next day at the grocery store waiting to be eaten. :)

Bloodroot with a blurry Mayapple in the corner

 I have probably said it before but in my opinion we live in the most wonderful place to raise a family. I stand on our wrap-around porch and look out on our land and am blown away by the beauty of it, the smell of it, and the noises of nature all around (okay and quite a bit of noise from children too). I love the sound of the frogs mating calls from the spring down the road at dusk and know that when I hear it the warmth is on it's way. Oh, I am sure there are more beautiful places and definitely warmer places in the world but this is just right for us. Funny because growing up in the city I would never have thought I'd enjoy this as much as I do.

I so enjoy walking the paths in our fields or hiking the trails in the state forest right across our field to see what is all growing and to learn something new about God's amazing creation. Although lately my walking has gotten a lot slower and less frequent. The children enjoy exploring too. After our field trip we decided to see if we could find the same spring wildflowers growing here and sure enough, we did find a few. My favorite find was the wild leeks growing in the brush under trees. I would have never known what it was before as it looks a lot like a clump of ordinary grasses. But, now we know exactly what we are looking for so have dug them up a few times to add flavor to our meals.

Wild Leeks

Ah, now just to wait for the warm air so I can open the windows again and fall asleep to the crickets making sweet music and the lightly blowing breezes making everything smell fresh.

"When I bought my farm, I did not know what a bargain 

I had in the bluebirds, daffodils and thrushes;

 as little did I know what sublime mornings 

and sunsets I was buying."

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

Celebrating 14 Years!

"The Puritan ethic of marriage was first to look not for a partner whom you do love passionately at this moment but rather for one whom you can love steadily as your best friend for life, then to proceed with God’s help to do just that." — J.I. Packer

Enjoy a reminiscing with along with me. (Updated a bit from the first time I posted). Pause the music at the bottom first.

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