Time Away, in the Trees and Smoke

Tom and I took some time away

 in our compact, little RV van.

I really wanted to be in the trees and 

smell the campfire.

But first we got caffeinated!

Our friends have a Double Decker coffee shop.

They drive it around to different places.

Today, they were close to the freeway entrance

 we were taking. 

With hot coffee in our hands, we took off.

Four hours later we arrived at our camping spot.

It was cold but sunny!

Perfect camping weather.

(That's a pile of snow behind the van!)

We were the only ones around! 

Could of been because it was still cold and

because it was in the middle of the week.

Feet up and sitting in the sun!

 Coffee in the morning in bed,

 looking out the back window at the snow.

Still a little too cold  (27 degrees) to venture outdoors.

Our van has everything we need to 

enjoy a few days away.

Coffee pot, potty, closet, bed and even a TV.

In the evenings when it was 

too cold to stay outside,

we'd snuggled in bed to watch a movie!

Salted peanuts are a must have, when camping.

When ever we would see smoke through the trees,

we'd walk around the campgrounds and 

meet the "new" people.

Some people would stop and ask us questions,

thinking we were the  Camp Hosts.

Hahahahah!

By the time we left, the place was filling up

with all kinds of camping vehicles.

My goal was to enjoy being outside, enjoying 

the smell of the campfire and surrounded by trees.

Time away was wonderful and we

plan to do it again, soon!

Ahhhh....I think I can still smell the smoke!

Here's Lulu, looking great!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and concern.

Several of you have asked how she is doing.

It's a long recovery but she's doing great.

NEXT...

On June 14th, Nathan will be having major surgery. 

It's called Cranial Vault Remodeling, 

where they reconstruct his skull.

Stop by Kimmy's blog for a peek.

I will be sharing more about Nathan later.

But right now, 

we are enjoying him and 

rejoicing with Lulu!

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"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run into it and it is safe."

Proverbs 18:10

Deleted Blog Post

I deleted my last blog post. 

(Apologies to Cathy and Cindy)

I'm going to try to remember what I wrote.

One beautiful Spring day, while in the backyard,

 I saw a bunny rabbit

 jumping across the sky.

Cloud watching is one of my favorite things to do.

White Bunnies remind me of Lulu.

She loves her white bunny, Snowball.

Speaking of Lulu. she is doing better and better.

The first week back home was

 difficult for everyone.  

Sleeping and schedules were all mixed up.

So Tom and I had several grand kids over, to help

relieve some of the work load,

Some kids, for the day.

Some kids, over several nights.

Some kids, for both.

We love having them over!

Papa BBQ'ing with the  bigger boys.
Isaac watching Papa mow the lawn.
Ila May dressing up.
Papa teaching Levi how to tie a Bowline Knot

Isaac playing
Ila May designed a town on our bed.
Levi took apart a scooter and put it back together.
Silas helping with dinner.

EASTER

 Mark and Kimmy had their annual Egg Hunt in the backyard.

Lulu joined in the fun!

Papa was her assistant. 

He picked up the eggs she found.

Another successful Egg Hunt!

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                         10 days...

                                      9 nights....

                                                    3 boys...

Tom and I took care of Levi, Silas and Isaac

while Lulu flew back  East for her back surgery.

Kimmy, Mark, Ila May and Nathan, were with

Lulu on this journey.

The boys got to choose where 

they wanted to sleep.

So they chose "Papa's" office.

Here are a few things that we did during their stay.

We did Homeschool

They came up with creative ways of playing.

Laundry room, watching the clothes go around and around.
Coffee table cars.
In an empty tub with cars.

We kept Kimmy's daily schedule.

which included Track practice, twice.

Isaac and I walked the track, while Levi and Silas

practiced.

 

I always had a helper in the kitchen!
Silas loves my Taco Rice Casserole
and Silas helped me make a huge batch.

The reward, eating what they made.

Next it was Levi's turn.
He had created a dish called, Pastage.
He was in charge of
making dinner.

Levi was closely supervised by Silas.

Ahhh, the rewards.

Isaac had floor duty.

And more rewards!

Because the boys live so close to us,
we would go back and forth to their home.
After breakfast at our home, we'd
go down to theirs to feed the bunnies, chickens and cat.
We had, Home school, down there and lunch.
Followed by a nap for Issac.

This day, we ate lunch outside.



Levi is reading so well.
I had him read to me as much as possible.
I don't know if he enjoyed it
as much as I did!

We took them to church, twice, during their stay.

Here's proof that Tom and I could do it;

get ourselves ready,

get breakfast for 3 boys,

get 3 sets teeth brushed,

get 3 boys dressed,

get 3 heads of hair combed,

and 

be on time for church!

Whew!

One of our last days together, Levi

picked me some flowers.

My heart just melted.

Lulu's surgery went really well.

Please check out Kimmy's blog 

for Lulu's updated progress.

Monday evening, we all drove to the airport,

 to pick Lulu and family up!

The excitement was overwhelming!

Words can't even describe the moment 

they came in sight.

The waiting boys!

Even friends came to support 

Lulu and family.

But the waiting was taking so long,

because Lulu was in a wheelchair,

they were the last to disembark.

Here's Isaac seeing them from 

HIS angle.

The doors opened and the hugging began!

My picture taking wasn't the best 

because I was crying and hugging

and just so thrilled to see them!

Lulu's friend came to wish her 

a welcome back home.

It was great to have so many helpers with 

the baggage.

 Nest stop,

HOME !!!...

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"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. "

James 1:2-3