Cousins 😁

We have had quite a bit of family in town over the last couple of weeks. I'm so thankful that each of my kids has at least one cousin their age that they can play with. Actually, Alaina is the only girl cousin so Jorie is thrilled when she comes out with big brother, Darren. They usually stay with us for one week each summer. All of our cousins except for Elliott live out of town so it's always fun to get together with them. 😀

New family member

So if you didn't know; we added a new member to our family this past July. Steve and I had been planning it for a while and keeping it a secret from the kids. They had absolutely no clue when we brought them all out to the backyard in early July to reveal the surprise. The kids decided to name her Zoe. She is a mini golden-doodle. Her dad is a mini poodle and her mom is a golden retriever. She is just so sweet and super smart. She is fitting into our family just fine so far. Although training a puppy has been a LOT of work. Our last experience with a dog was Ryan's service dog and she came FULLY trained. She was amazing. I have removed most of our throw rugs in the house and we try to keep her on the hard floors as it's much easier to clean if she should have an accident. 

Bowling fun

We took the kids bowling Saturday. Josh absolutely loved it. Jorie did as well. They did pretty good too for only having bowled a couple times in their life. Ryan decided not to play but just to watch this time. Summer is here! It's going to be a fun one! 

Two more!!!

Last night we celebrated Jorie's graduation from 5th grade into middle school. The school put on a lovely performance. Josh and Jorie both sang in the performance with their classes. They do such an amazing job honoring the students. Each student is presented with a bible of their own at the end of the ceremony. Ryan said to me when it was all over "wow mom, that was better than my graduation!" Today we had Josh's graduation from kindergarten. And that will be it for graduating kids for a while! Phew. It has been an emotional week. 

I can't even think of a title for this blog post. I am just in awe at how fast time flies. Just yesterday I had a tiny, blonde haired little boy. The sweetest little boy a mom could ask for. And now he's a man. It really does happen in the blink of an eye. Ryan has grown into an amazing and bright young man. He makes me laugh on a daily basis and I consider him one of my best friends. The Lord truly has blessed us with his life. His life truly is a miracle. Congratulations buddy! We are so proud of you !!!! Xoxoxo

Car accident

Thanking God tonight that we were all ok. And that I wasn't driving our wheelchair van! Ryan might have been trapped inside if his door had been smashed in. :( It happened this morning on my way to drop the kids off at school. An older gentleman ran a stop sign and crashed into Josh's door. Yikes!!!

A trip to Vegas!

Getting away with my husband just us two is such a blessing. We recently took a trip to Las Vegas. Four nights away was just enough time for us to relax and have a great time. Oddly enough we go to Vegas but neither of us gamble or drink. We go for the food, shopping and just walking around and seeing the sights. Sometimes we will see a show but that didn't work out this time. We did however see 2 movies together! Just being together is so much fun!!!