Happenings of late

Oh life has been so busy lately.  I feel like things are in a constant fast forward mode.  We just finished another 2 weeks of swim lessons and the girls grew, yet again, leaps and bounds.  Every year we have done both summer sessions for a total of 4 weeks of lessons.  I'm sure people think we are crazy as swim lessons are every night Mon-Fri. for 2 weeks.  By the end of the two weeks, everyone is exhausted.  But, since we don't swim very often, we see the confidence boost in other areas of their lives, the girls love them, and we love the ladies that teach the lessons, this is just something we do, and so far we have reaped the rewards for this committment.  This second session we saw Kaelynn go from barely holding her breath for 2 seconds to a consistent 6-8 seconds and jumping off the diving board, not only without tears, but loving it and asking to try it again.  Morganne was moved up into a harder class where she was the youngest by about a year and a half.  She held her own though and really learned a lot.  She could hold her breath longer than most of the class and she impressed all of us with her diving form and endurance.  It was definitely a proud Mommy and Daddy moment. 

Justin officially started his new job at MacAllister's in Lafayette.  A huge answer to prayer for us.  So far, at the completion of his first week he has come home even more encouraged than the day before.  Such a huge blessing.  Our insurance cost reduction and the benefits from working for a much larger company could not have come at a better time with the new baby approaching.  His position is that of a Utility person.  Basically he will work between rental and sales for the catepillar equipment and do all of the things that he enjoyed at his former job, and seemingly not much of the stuff he didn't like.  The company has already shown us that they tend to take care of their employees and with Justin's hire they met his asked pay and gave him a week of vacation right off the bat instead of waiting for the 6 month mark like normal, since the baby is due in October.  The only down side is that the drive is 3 times the distance to his last place. So, we are looking for a much more fuel efficient car to drive for him..... 

The baby and I are doing well.  Other than some major discomfort at times, which is to be expected, this pregnancy is going pretty well with no major issues.  I've passed 2 kidney stones that I know of.  Luckily, like before I'm not the normal case, and have relatively little pain with the stones.  I'm not looking forward to the stones afterwards however, as those are the ones that usually cause me a little more head ache.  I'm growing in size each day.  My OB thinks the baby is long and I'm measuring big.  I've gained 10lbs. in 4 1/2 weeks.  Such a crazy thing....  Makes me nervous for birth size with this one.  We definitely don't have small babies, I just hope this one isn't trying to beat out her sisters.  We are not telling the name, like the previous two, but I will tell you coming up with a third girl's name is quite difficult. 

We are beginning to get into school mode.  Morganne has transitioned out of naps, we've bought school supplies, and she is officially registered.  I am finding myself more at peace about the situation, though still struggling with the idea that she won't be around during the days that I am home.  Kaelynn and I are going to miss her.  Morganne is excited so far.  I just hope that I can continue feeding this excitement and that her transition is a smooth one.  I can't believe I have a daughter old enough for kindergarten.....

Tonight we are headed out to the fair, yet again.  Oh, how I love fair time.  Morganne and Nana made a few items for the Open Show this year.  We will post soon about how she did! ;c)

 

 Swimming with good friend Abby, from Daycare

 

 

 

 Spring diving off the diving board.

 

 Making a new friend....

4th of July! (a little late...)

 

 

 

Definitely more fitting....

 

 Nearly the same due date, best of friends, Love this lady...  Can't wait for our little girl to be best buds with their newest little boy, just like our two older rounds.

 

 Kaelynn showing off her loot!  Talk about a ton of candy...

 

 Morganne got excited to see one of her school buddies, Addah, in the parade

Morganne with Curtis' Memaw!  We love how all of our kids are loved by all of the grandparents.  Curtis calls my Dad, Grandad too...

 

 Justin, trying to fit in.... ;cP

 

 Loving this lady too!  So blessed with amazing friends, and thrilled that we get to go through "round 3" all together, again.  LeighAnn's newest little girl will arrive before the end of the month!

 

 Getting ready to watch fireworks.  We are blessed with great connections for the parade AND fireworks!

Joplin, MO Mission Trip 2013

Our week in Joplin.  I don't have many pictures from the various worksites, as I was with the kiddos all week, but they worked very hard at watering trees 3 days.  I was so impressed with Morganne's endurance and good attitude.  She was awesome this week.  It was great getting to spend it with Grandma and Nana and Grandad.  The girls had a good time and didn't want the week to end. I was ready to have my bed back, but we had a good week too! ;c)  2 years after the tornado and you can still see the evidence of destruction.  Joplin, residentially is about 1/3 re-built.  The biggest thing you notice when driving through the area hit is the lack of trees and the few that do remain are permanently bent in one direction.  I can not imagine what it looked like right after and how terrifying it must have been.  Hopefully, I will get more worksite pics soon and can share those. We had 77 members of Harvest and friends go.  30 of which were kids under 12!

My work horse!

The celebration dance that we were done for the morning!

 

 Painting flower pots for the nursing home residents.

 

 Watching a documentary on the devastation that happened to Joplin after an EF5 tornado ripped through the main part of town.  161 people were killed.  The girls, especially Kaelynn, really took notice of this movie.  She has been asking questions ever since.  Luckily, they are not afraid of it, but it opened many doors to discussion about weather and what a tornado is and can do.

 

Group games before worship.

 

 Nana sharing where she saw God that day.  It was a good message.

 

 Dancing during worship.

 

 Jesse and Kaelynn

Impromptu worship after main group worship....sometimes the best kind.

 

 The food line!!!  With our group and two others staying at the Volunteer Village at the same time, our amazing cooks were feeding nearly 100 people every night.  And it was fabulous food too!

 

 Preparing dirt pudding!

 

 Play time with Grandma

 

 Putting flowers into the painted pots.

 

 The kids, minus Kaelynn and Jesse, who had other ideas about the group picture.  Getting ready to meet some new friends and deliver the flowers and freshly baked cookies.

It's not a mission trip without the group game "Clump!"  It always produces the biggest smiles!

Bike riding and a vew of some of the FEMA dorms.

Abundant Life Christian Church, AKA Volunteer Village.  Our home away from home....

 

 Our amazing cooks!

 

 An evening of kite flying!  I'm pretty sure we had about 20 kites in the air at one time!

Dancing with Emmalyn during worship

 

 Learned something new, panty hose helps to take out the "itch" after dealing with blown in insulation.  Poor Ben was convinced that he actually had to put the hose on to get the relief.  Quite the funny moment!

 

 Using the hose correctly still posed a funny situation....  ;c)

 

 Another mission trip favorite, Indian.

 

 About the only worksite pic I have.  Building a handicap ramp for a resident.  They also built a barn, installed siding and gutters, finished a garage, demolished a burned down house with a Bobcat Excavator, thanks to Justin, painted a fence, and helped neighbor residents that needed odds and ends things accomlished.  God brought the jobs as we needed them.  We went into the week barely having enough work for one day.

One Thursday night, our entire troop went to a local bowling alley for fun.  It was the girls' first time bowling.  They had a lot of fun.  I got some cute pictures and video, until I got yelled at for using a flash!  Oops!

 At one point Morganne actually got a spare!

 

 Another fun outing was to a local candy factory.  I wasn't feeling well so Kaelynn and I stayed back for naps, but Morganne, Daddy, and Grandma went and had a good time.  We got lots of fudge and sweet treats brought back too!

 

 One of our favorites, the "other" Mr. Grant (Jeff)

 

 The girls' enjoying their reward

 

 More tree watering.....

 

 Kaelynn and her new friend Maddie

 

 A sweet treat for working so hard, slushies and play at the local Sonic.

 

 Our showers for the week.  There was hot water about 30% of the time, but in 90 degree mid-day heat, even cool water felt great.  They were actually quite nice, although it was very strange being able to carry on a conversation with a man, not your husband, in the stall next to you while showering.  Or, when your 3 year old announces to everyone that "haha, Mommy, you're naked!"  yep, glad these people are close as family....

Crazy men playing ultimate frisbee in 95 degree heat!

 

 Group Charades before worship. Great for some laughs.

 

 This was a funny moment.  Grandma and Nana....

 

 Posing with Gracie, the resident therapy dog!

 

 Our group.

 

I will post 4th of July pics soon, and possibly more Mission trip pics as I get them!