17 things....

Okay, so it took me a few days (sorry sarah) to come up with 17 things that people probably don't know about me....

1. When I was a kid, I really thought I was going to be a lawyer when I grew up.

2. Before Brian and I got married (and even after we were) I didn't want to have children. (yes... i see the irony:))

3. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CHOCOLATE. I will eat it at any hour of the day.

4. I was a cheerleader in high school.

5. I was Annie in the school play my junior year in High school.

6. I do not like feet touching me. ever.

7. I really like Dr. Pepper.

8. I'm becoming more of an introvert the older I get.

9. I do not like my minivan. The only reason I drive it is for practicality.

10. I love to travel (and am sad that I don't get to do more of it).

11. I like 80s music.

12. I am sad that they closed the closest Don Pablo's. It might be one of my favorite places to eat.

13. I hate heights and bridges. I think it is more a fear of falling.

14. I don't enjoy addressing christmas card envelopes.

15. I dressed up as Cyndi Lauper for Halloween in the fourth grade.

16. My favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird.

17. I do not like horror/scary movies.

That's it for me... I suppose I should tag a few people...
so. Sarah Wilcox,
Lori Cramer
Jennie Key (you can do it on facebook)
Meggers (you can do it on facebook too)
Jilly bean (it was good to hear your voice and laugh)
give it a go!

Friday 5

1. When did you last use the edge of a coin (or a knife blade) as a screwdriver? yesterday i tried to use a coin to dislodge plastic books out of a plastic bookcase that is part of a dollhouse
   
2. When did you last use a wire coat-hanger to break into a car? never. i just call the cops to pop the lock.
   
3. When did you last use food or drink as medication? ummm... yeah.
   
4. When did you last use your cellular telephone as a flashlight?ha! i've never done it but i saw my friends Sarah do it while trying to find a pacifier!
   
5. When did you last use a paper clip for any purpose other than to clip paper? every day. i think i used it for #1 after the coin didn't work.
   

Friday Five

1. What usually marks the middle of your day? Usually in the middle of the day, I am in the van waiting at the kids' school to pick them up for the day. I get to read for a bit while E takes a nap as does Abigail. Works out well for us!
2. From whom (or to whom) was your most recent middle-of-the-night phone call? I have no idea. I think we've had a hang-up call. No sugar daddy calls here!
   
3. On what social, political, economic, or moral issue are you in the middle of the road? ahhh... right now I've been wrestling with poverty and the poor. It seems to me that the church is not doing all it can to help them and has allowed the gov't to do it for them. I struggle with that. I don't know if it is right for a follower of Christ to rely on gov't to do what the church was commanded to do. I understand the idea that at least someone is doing something- but is it right. I just don't know.
   
4. How likely are you to give someone your middle finger? not very. unless i'm picking my nose :)
   
5. When were you last caught in the middle of a disagreement that really had nothing to do with you? when am i not- I've got 4 kids!!!
   

Fall Fun

We've been busy little beavers the past few weeks. We moved my Grandma into an assisted living residence last week. The top pic is from move in day. She and Abigail were playing and Grandma was getting Abigail to laugh. It was so precious. Grandma turned 84 yesterday and is doing GREAT!!!! I'm so glad that we moved her. She is a different person- she looks great and seems much more rested and alert than I've seen her in a long while. This week I'm taking her out to buy her a hat for the Red Hat Club (whatever that is). That should be interesting!

Elizabeth and I along with Abigail took advantage of the beautiful weather last week and went to the zoo. We took a lot of pictures of the animals and trees and flowers. While at the elephants, we watched one elephant eat another elephant's poop. Gross. Elizabeth wanted to take a picture. Luckily, you can't really tell what the elephant is doing. Typical 2 year old. Maybe it's a sign she's ready for the Everybody Poops book.

Today was a bit cooler and Brian had the kids outside raking leaves so I could work on a baby quilt for a friend of mine. I got a lot done which was good, but I still have a fair amount to do. I'm hopeful it will get done!

Halloween Wrap Up

So, here are all the munchkins dressed and ready to go for Halloween. Thanks to Sarah for letting Elizabeth use the monkey costume. She loved it! She was so excited to be a monkey. We went to my mom and dad's and made a fire in the firepit (had to do something with all the extra wood we've had from the storm) and I handed out candy while dad and Brian took the kids out. I do need to say that Abigail might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen- not that I'm biased.

Packin' up

Well, since Ike blew in life has been really tough, emotionally. With a newborn, my aunt's crazy accident and death and not having power- it was really overwhelming. Just as I thought I was seeing light, my Grandmother started to not do so well, so my dad and his brother made the decision to move her to an assisted living place in Finneytown. It's been really stressful. My folks are hoping that they are making the right decision, worrying about how long they can afford her to live there, driving over to her house and calling her everyday to give her medication to keep her stable. It's really crazy to see all that they are going through.
This past week I've been over at her condo a few days this past week starting to pack her up and get her ready to move on Sunday. We got rid of 5 huge garage bags of stuff to donate from ONE closet. This week I need to get her clothes all boxed up and ready to go. It's been a mixed can of nuts. On one hand I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stories of where she was when she wore some of her evening gowns that are now in my closet; it's been great to see old photos of my grandparents and to see them in a different light. It's been fun to hear stories that I've never heard before. At the same time, it has been difficult to watch her make decisions about what to keep- she kept saying that she didn't want to get rid of it because she didn't want to forget the memories. It was hard to throw things away that she felt were treasures. It was overwhelming to start to pack up and give away a life's worth of memories.
It's also motivated me to start going through our house and declutter it and start getting stuff out of the house so that our home isn't quite as overwhelming.

The 5 questions of Sarah

Thanks to Sarah Smoker, I've been asked to answer these 5 Friday questions. I tag anyone who reads this to either 1. Answer these 5 questions in your own blog or 2. Answer these questions by posting a reply to this post.

1. Where's your favorite beach?
Hilton Head Island- Palmetto Dunes although I will say that there was a beach in Belfast Maine that Brian and I visited many moons ago that was breathtaking. We had to walk through this field of wild flowers to get to it.

2. Where's your favorite place to spend money?
Target. They have way too many cute things that I don't need so I try not to go there much anymore.

3. Where's a good place to watch people?
It depends on whom it is you want to watch- there are so many different types of people. Kings Island is a study in anthropology in and of itself (those of you from cincinnati know what i mean).... I also enjoy people watching in Clifton.

4. Where's a good place to be totally alone?
The shower.

5. Where's a place outside of work or school where you're likely to run into people from work or school? The Clippard YMCA. I've run into more people that I went to high school with there. I just stopped going there and go to Powel Crosley now. No offense to those of you I went to high school with. :)

So, Sarah, here are your five answers! Sorry I'm not a bit more witty. I'm tired.

For those with facebook, I posted some new pics of the kids tonight. I'll try to take a minute and post new pics of the kids and stories tomorrow.

Newish pics of Abigail and the kiddos

Just thought I'd post a few newer pics of the kids. They are all doing really well. Abigail is growing up so fast and is such a great baby. We love her dearly. Elizabeth is so cute with her and is constantly looking out for her. If Abigail isn't within eye sight, E is asking where she is and wants to be sure she is okay. It's very tender. Abigail still isn't doing a whole lot: she smiles, she coo's, she eats, she sleeps, she poops, and she likes to look at the little birds on her swing.

Elizabeth is doing great. It is fun having her home with me and getting to spend so much time with her one on one. She is super smart and reminds me a lot of Zach. She is really into letter naming and sounds. She is also wanting to wear lots of twirly dresses and today told me that I had to call her Princess E.

Hannah is blossoming into such a joy. She is a special one. She loves gymnastics and ballet and is doing well at school. She just started violin lessons a few weeks ago and that has been going pretty well. The first lesson she was pretty shy and wasn't too sure about what to do but she seems to be blossoming each lesson. She seems to be picking things up pretty quickly. It's fun to do that with her...now if I could only figure out how to get her to practice. :)

Zach is doing great as well. He's excelling in school and seems to really like learning. Each day he comes home with a 'Rosy Reader' book and reads it to the girls. It's so fun to watch that (and it buys me 5-10 minutes to get ready for the rest of the day). He started cello back up with a new teacher and seems to be liking it and I am SO happy. Eric (his teacher) and I were in youth group together and he seems to be a good fit personality wise. I'm learning how important that is. He's also playing flag football and is a demon on defense and is getting more comfortable with the offense. He's loving grabbing others' flags, but not so happy when they are all chasing him trying to get his!

I'll make sure to update after the big camping trip this weekend. I'm sure it will all go well. :)

Busy creating fun things

Well, every few months I get bit by the 'crafting bug' and as of late, I've been a bit too busy to do much, but I've found some great sewing books full of quick and easy ideas and now I'm thinking I'm Martha- okay, so not really. But, I did just make this really cute blanket for my new cousin. I love the fabric. I also bought some fabric to make a quilt for Abby as well as fabric to make a quilt for another friend of mine who is having a baby early next year. Since I've still to finish the binding of Elizabeth's quilt (it's only been 2.5 years), I thought I'd start the other two and then finish them all off at the same time. We'll see how that goes for me!

I've also got some fun bibs almost finished and ready to show off too. I'll post pics of those when they are finished. Hopefully this weekend, since Brian is taking 3 of 4 kids camping with my dad on Saturday. What a good husband. I'm excited yet I'm not sure if I'll know what to do with myself for almost 24 hours with just a 9 week old little one!

Lions and Tigers and Bears- Oh my...

Okay, so it's not really that bad, but for poor Elizabeth it seems that way. Elizabeth is not exactly overly excited when it comes to animals, especially if it is fuzzy or moves- so that just about includes everything. As you can tell, she's not too keen on the bunny and she entertained the idea of the pony ride for all of 20 seconds. We were at the College Hill Pumpkin Patch this past weekend and while E likes the idea of animals, it's the reality that isn't so great. Two weeks ago we went to a festival at one of the forests near our house and she did touch a pig- a shocking development. I took the photo to prove it.
I was pretty proud of her for getting on the pony. She was pretty good until it moved and then she was done. I give her points for trying!

As you can see, Hannah is the complete opposite. She wants to be a vet. when she grows up and if she had her way, we'd live in Noah's ark.

Photo catch up

Happy Birthday!
Here are a few pics from celebrating Hannah and Brian and my mom's birthday. I made the cake and Hannah and Zach and Elizabeth helped ice and put the candy on it. They had a lot of fun and it was pretty easy to make (much easier than the famed giraffe cake and the baby carriage cake). I'm learning as I get older. Hannah had a great time as did the rest of the family.

It's been busy at the Kershner household. I think I'm getting used to that fact that from here on out, it's just going to be that- busy. I've been trying to figure out how to balance the 'busyness' of the family with my own needs and when is it okay to put myself first and when is it moving into selfishness. I'm learning that it is a hard balance to strike. I'm not very good at it- I came from a small family, as I'm an only child. I'm trying to figure out what's normal and not normal for siblings. Hopefully, as we continue on this journey, I'll feel more comfortable in my role and the boundaries that I have to keep to stay sane.

Last week was birthday week in our family. Wednesday, Hannah had a birthday; Friday, Brian had a birthday and then on Sunday, my mom had a birthday. We celebrated with Hannah with an ice cream cake and then on Sunday the girls helped me make this so cute cake for all of them. Minus cutting out all the pieces on Sunday morning before church, it was pretty painless. I found these really cool decorating icing things. They look like accordian bottles and you just screw the cap with the icing tip on them and off you go! I find that they don't break the line as easily as icing bags do. They are my new find and friend! Hannah and E were extra 'helpful' on Sunday morning and rolling and cutting out their own cookies. Really, we just made a big mess, but it was a lot of fun.

Hannah also started takin violin lessons last week. She seemed super nervous, but I think it was just the new place and new person and trying to figure out what to expect. She can be more introverted than I realize at times. She may process verbally through things (and my goodness does she do a LOT of it) but she is more of an introvert in every sense of the word. She was more comfortable this week and seemed more confident. Her little (and it is little) violin is SO CUTE!

Zach has started playing flag football and he is a beast on defense! His team is mostly city kids and it was awesome to see them whoop up on the Mason teams last week (not that it is about winning... I know, I know!). They are playing up in Mason again this week. Brian's dad will be in town and so Z is pretty excited. Brian is coaching- I know, no reason to state the obvious (we're WAY too busy to have Brian coaching)- and it is going pretty well. He seems to be enjoying it and we're trying to figure out how to take this experience and turn it into ministry opportunities for the kiddos in College Hill. Brian's dad was a commissioner for a league in Cleveland and Brian has been talking with him about what to do to make it sucessful. We'll see where that leads.

Tuesday was eventful in it's own right as Hannah had a tooth pulled! When she was 2, she fell off a bar stool and knocked one of her teeth loose and there was some damage to the tooth and to the root. I've been praying that it would stay in until she was 5 and less than a week after she turned 5 it finally came out! She was stupendous at the dentist's office and was super excited to get to have a visit from the tooth fairy. She's pretty cute with a missing tooth as well. She has a little lisp which makes it even better.

Abigail is great! She loves the little birds on her swing and when she gets fussy (which honestly, is like once every few days) we pop her in the swing and she gets all happy because she can see the birds. It's pretty cute!

Elizabeth is wonderful as well. She's growing up so much. Next week is potty training week. I'm not sure how ready I am to do it, but I'm definitely ready for the result! We'll see how it goes.

Picture Updates

Hannah and Zach at the Drive-In

E's ruby red slippers that she loves!!!!

Abby's first trip to the zoo! Elizabeth was so excited to show her all the animals
and of course the train ride.

Hannah's first ballet class. Isn't she adorable?

This would be the reason why I didn't have power for a week. Not cool.

I'll post pictures of the tea party in the next few days. They are ADORABLE!!!!

what a week...

I'm not even sure where to begin. It's just been one of those weeks. On Sunday, Hannah celebrated her birthday (which isn't until the 24th) with a tea party for her and a few of her friends. It was so much fun with lots of really yummy food. They dressed up in hats and gloves; made cute crafts and seemed to have a really good time.
Last Sunday, the 14th, also was a strange day in that Hurricane Ike mixed with a cold front and produced unprecedented winds and gusts- some up past 70 miles an hour. On the half hour drive home, I saw trees snapped in half, whole portions of the city without power, trees falling in the road and on the Interstate- it was nuts. I kept telling Hannah and her friend in the van with me that it was just snowing leaves and that we were safe and all would be okay.
Well, as we got to the exit to get home, the interstate was closed because of an accident and as we were waiting my mom, in her car a few ahead of me called to tell me that she and Elizabeth were okay, but that there had been an accident and that a tree had fallen on her sister's home and they weren't sure if she was going to make it. I told her to get over there - quickly and I'd have Brian meet her and get Elizabeth. Well, I ended up being able to get to the meeting spot, by my aunt's home and as I waited I asked the neighbors how bad was it- they said it was pretty bad... and indeed it was. A tree, a HUGE tree that for years Aunt Min hated and always feared would fall on her house, did just that and she was killed instantly.
To top it off, the power in the entire city for the most part was knocked out and we were without power until Saturday morning at 1 am when it finally popped back on.
As we've been trying to deal with the electricity problem, our church allowed us to stay in the house they have for missionaries on furlough to stay at until we had our power back. What a gift that was. I'm not sure what we would have done- found a hotel or something I suppose. The kids didn't have school until Thursday so for 3 days I had to entertain the kiddos, try to deal with the power thing, watch ALL MY BLUEBERRIES SUFFER A HORRIBLE FATE (i'm a bit bitter about having to throw my precious blueberries away) and try to absorb the random tragedy that my family had on its hands- it's been a long week.
In the midst of it all though, I kept seeing God's hand and there are already things I'm understanding that I need to walk away from this week with...
1. Tell your family and friends that you love them as much as you can. Don't assume they know. I wish I had told Aunt Min more often that I loved her.

2. Nobody is perfect and those who seem to drive us insane the most are usually broken and hurting people who need more love to help heal the broken parts. As hard as it can be, I need humility to love those who are hard to love.

3. If you don't have a will and your stuff in order- DO IT NOW!!! WHATEVER THE COST- IT IS WORTH IT!!! Be sure to tell at least two different people (one family, one not) WHERE the will is and WHO YOUR LAWYER IS just in case. Keep all those important papers together and in ONE place.

4. The body of Christ is created to reflect God's love and mercy and grace and abundant provisions. IT IS OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP and EVEN BETTER TO RECEIVE IT!! (still not an easy thing to do- but I'm getting better at it.

I don't think that it was God's will for this to happen. I think it was a result of the fallen state of the world. God didn't create us initially to suffer and have us die- he created us to be a reflection of him and to have life. I believe that in all this, God is good and that there will be good found in it. While I'm not too sure exactly what that is now, I do know that I love God and it has been my faith and trust in His goodness that has allowed me to have grace upon myself and has allowed me to grieve for my aunt without losing my love for Christ.

Let's All Go to the Movies...

Oh, boy. So, yesterday I thought , hmm... I've not had enough chaos, let's see what I can do to change that. Let's take everyone to the drive in movies and load them up with candy, popcorn, sugar, glow sticks and let them stay up until some ungodly hour watching old Disney films. Okay, so I didn't say that, but that is what happened.
There is a drive-in about 25 minutes away that was showing Mary Poppins and Swiss Family Robinson- two of our family's favorite movies. So, we loaded up the van and off we went. My parents followed suit behind us and after getting the back seat flipped for the kids we settled in for the movies.
The kids actually were really well behaved and after Mary Poppins, I was ready to leave (I was tired and COLD- I'd been sure everyone had warm stuff, but myself- typical), but the kids wanted to stay so we decided to just stay and we'd leave when they fell asleep.... 1:30am and AFTER the second movie was over. I took a nap on the floor of the van while my mom slept in her car with Abigail on her lap during the movie.
God blessed us with two sleepy heads (the girls) and then there was Zach, who decided to be up at 6:20AM... he's nuts.
All in all, it was a bit crazy and it wiped both Brian and I out, but it was so much fun and CHEAP (it was retro pricing night with free kid's admission!). We'll do it again, but not until next summer.

school days

Well, it's that time of year again- SCHOOL!!!! Hannah is starting kindergarten this year and had 2 half days last week and will go all week this week. Zach is in the second grade (that just doesn't seem possible!) and absolutely LOVES school. The first day, he was up at 5am and coming into our room every 20 minutes to see what time it was. At 6, he ran downstairs, got breakfast, got his backpack all together, sharpened a pencil (to be ready as soon as he got to school) and was ready to go by 6:10am. The rest of the week went similarly- with the early bird getting ready to go to school!
Elizabeth and Abby and I will be hanging out at the house next week and I think she's looking forward to it. She is so funny. My grandma gave the girls a bunch of her old jewelry and they had so much fun getting dressed up and playing- as you can see E was having a blast.
Abby is doing swell. Last night Brian and I took her to a wedding in Lexington and she did great! She even slept through the whole night. What a difference a whole night of sleep makes. Brian's mom was in town last week and stayed with the other kiddos so we could go. THANKS BARB! JT and his mom were so grateful that we made the trip and we were really glad that we were able to see JT get married. It was a beautiful night!
Zach has started flag football (I'll take pics this week at practice) and Hannah starts dance and gymnastics in the next week, so things outta get busy! I'll post more pics later this week.

One week down....how many more to go?!

As soon as I find the camera, I'll post some pics of the baby and the kids. It's been a good week all things considered! The kids have been great this week. We've been blessed by great people stepping up and taking them on so that I could just sleep and take care of me and Abby. THANK YOU SO MUCH SUSAN, JANET, VAL, KAREN and NIKKI!!! Brian and I would not have survived this week without you!
Speaking of Brian, I'm going to brag on my husband for a sec to say that he has been GREAT this week. Not only did he survive labor and delivery with me and no medication, he's gotten the kids up and fed and where ever they have needed to be be each day. He's come home at lunch to get them, feed them (and me some days) and then took care of all of us after work. I don't think he realizes how much of a gift that has been for me.
Zach and Hannah start school on Tuesday. In the midst of the summer, it seemed to be going on forever and ever and now that the kids are starting back I am finding myself wondering where in the world the summer went! They went to the building where they will be for the next 2 years while their current school building is being torn down and rebuilt. They ran into friends and Zach is all excited to be going back, Hannah is a bit apprehensive and shy, but I think once she gets back into the swing of things, she'll be good to go. At least, that's what I'm telling myself!

She's here!

Saturday night, Abigail Renee joined the Kershner family in true form! We got to the hospital at 7pm and she was born at 10:11pm. Our doctor was stuck in Chicago and the doctor covering didn't get there quite quick enough, so the nurses ran and got the resident who literally walked into the room and delivered one of his first babies. She already has a flare for the dramatic! I'll give her that.

Abby weighed in at 7 lb. 15 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. We are home and doing well. The kids are besides themselves. Zach is great and has been doing a good job of trying to maintain the stability of girls and is holding Abby and being a quiet presence. Hannah is just Hannah. She is very excited and I think is still trying to figure all this out. She is intrigued by absolutely everything that Abby does. Then there is Elizabeth. I wish I would have thought to videotape her reaction to coming home. She was running around saying "I love baby!" and "Baby Abby home!". Then she was literally jumping up and down yelling "I'm so happy! I'm so happy!" It was precious.

It has been an interesting and introspective last few months for all of us. Now that all is said and done, I can saw that I have not only experienced God's people prayers (THANK YOU TO ALL WHO WERE PRAYING AGAINST KIDNEY STONES!!) but I've also experienced how God can truly change calloused hearts (thanks again to all those who have been praying for that!). This isn't the road I wanted to go on, but now that we've been on it for a while, I cannot imagine being on any other.

Still waiting

It's been a quiet week this week. We're in the final countdowns of baby Kershner's arrival and we are trying to hold out until the doc gets back from vacation (today). So, Saturday or is fair game we'll keep you posted!

The kiddos are all doing swell. I think that they are getting the end of the summer blahs and are getting into school mode. We've got Zach's school supplies all ready to go and we'll get Hannah's list in the next few days. Fun... I think I'll let Brian take Hannah shopping for all that stuff. I took her (and my mom) out last night for some new shoes- one hour and 15 trying-ons later, we got back with 5 pairs of shoes (thank you grandma)- one of which is not my favorite and well, to be honest, I never thought that I'd allow my kids to walk out of the house with- they look like 2 disco balls attached to her feet. But, they are her fancy sparkling shoes- so what can you do? Now that I've found the camera (it was playing hide and go seek for a few days) I'll post pics of the shoes and of the rooms.

The Waiting Game Begins

Well, it's been another hot week here. We've been taking it easy. Hannah has been at zoo camp this week after being at gymnastics camp last week. She's enjoying it and I'm enjoying the beginning of the proverbial calm before the storm.

We're shoring up the house now. Last Sunday, we did a bunch of yard work and are almost done with mulching. Why is that a bag seems to cover only half of what it seems it should? ANYWAY, I planted some hosta today and there are some other flowers for Brian to plant tonight since he's done with Capstone paper (thank God). The garage is almost all painted and actually matches the house now (BIG improvement!). This weekend has a lot of cleaning in its future I suspect.

We went to the kids school this week to figure out where they will going when they get inside (their old school building is being torn down and a new one will be built, so we're in a 'swing space' for 2 years). It's really nice, but I need to say that if I were teaching there, I'd probably have walked in and then turned around and walked right back out. Zach's teacher had at least 1/2 of the room floor to ceiling boxes. Hannah's teacher wasn't in a much better position. It seems way overwhelming and I'm glad it's not me!

Me too, aka Elizabeth is doing well and is well on her way to being just like Zach and Hannah. Whatever they are doing, she has to do too. The other day I asked her who gave her permission to be so cute and she looked at me and said "God". It will be interesting to see how she does when Zach and Hannah are gone off to school all day. I think she's going to really miss them. Truth be told, I'm going to miss them.

As far as baby watch, my doc is out of the country until the 9th, so please pray that nothing happens until then. The doc that is covering for him doesn't deliver at the hospital that I want to go to and my experience at the hospital he does deliver at wasn't great. So, we'll see. Until then, the waiting game begins!

What was I thinking?

So, I thought it would be fun to go camping. What?! I'm only 37 weeks pregnant... Well, it was quite an adventure.
First, it was like 90+ degrees with humidity added on just for me. I felt like a peep in a microwave (let the swelling begin). After taking an hour to get the tent up and everything ready (it all takes longer when kids are young- should have thought that through a bit more) we were ready for the day. We spent the afternoon at the water park and then went back to camp where it took us another hour to get the fire going and cook hotdogs (a microwave would have been good).
After that we spent some time with the Cub Scouts we were with. If only my camera was working for this next part. The girls and Zach went creeking with Brian and the other Cub Scouts. Zach jumped in, Hannah followed and Elizabeth (aka- ME TOO!!) jumped right in to her waist! They had a blast. My daughter- Hannah- CAUGHT A FROG!!!!! I wish I could have been there to see that, but the climb down was comparable to jumping off a cliff, so I made a S'More instead.
I took the E home and slept in the AC and went back Sunday morning at 6:45 to get breakfast underway and break camp. Goodness. By 10am, we were ready for a quick hike. The kids found vines hanging all over the place behind our site and so the pics are of the kiddos swinging their little hearts out- even little E. There was also a log bridge that we all crossed. I wasn't aware that being pregnant throws your balance off so much. I almost didn't make it across. It was one of those things where I thought afterwards...'hmmm.. that may not have been the best ideas I've had...'
After that we made it back home in one piece and the kids slept really well and so did mom and dad. I'm not sure who was more tired- them or us. Definitely could have used a beer after that one!

no love for the mom

Well, I thought that maybe since I finally found that cord that connects the computer to the camera to allow you to upload your pics, maybe I should post a few. The first bunch are from our adventures blueberry picking and the others are from our recent trip up north to Cleveland.
The girls really enjoyed the pool and Elizabeth especially enjoyed the slide. Allison was such a dear and went down the slide with her about 100 times. Zach was all about the big zoom flume slides and was pretty much on them nonstop for 2 hours. The other photo is at Lake Erie shore in Rocky River. There is a great park and it was beautiful to spend some time there and with the Mackay and Kershner family up in Cleveland.

Today, I dropped Zach off at an overnight camping thing through our church. We spent the morning at Ft. Ancient (which is a state park full of American Indian stuff and earth mounds). It was really fun. There was a team doing a dig at a site near one of the mounds. It was really interesting to watch them work and to go through the museum and they also have a great kids room full of stuff that the kids could touch and play with and try. They also have a model of a Hopewell Indian hut that the kids really liked.

So anyway, I digress... I dropped Zach off, took him to his room and asked if he needed help getting his sleeping bag out or anything. He looked at me and said nope- are you going to leave now? I said "well, I guess I can". He said "okay. that would be good. love you. bye." No hug, no nothing. Boys.

Time Tickin' Away!

I can hardly believe that it is possible that we've got less than 30 days before the baby comes and the three ring circus becomes four. I've been in Cleveland with the kids for the past few days visiting friends and family and when I get back; I'll post the pics of the rooms and of our trip to Cleveland.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Saturday was a busy day for the Kershner family. We went blueberry picking (along with a quarter of the city I think) in the morning and then a friend of ours, Nayt got married that night. Zach was in the wedding and as you can see it was a theme wedding. I've got more pics that as soon as I download onto the laptop, I'll post. (btw- Donn Brooks, Nayt's dad took this pic).

Zach was so excited about being barefoot and about the guys in the wedding thinking that he too needed a REAL sword, so he's got a nice, sharp sword swinging by his side. He was so excited. It was the first thing he wanted to show me when I got there with dinner for him. Yes, the sword was sharp, very sharp and apparently none in the wedding party has kids- or little boys for that matter. Who gives a 7 year old a sharp sword? In all respect for my kid, he did show a great deal of self restraint and while he pulled it out a few more times than were necessary, no animals were harmed. So, that was good.

Rounding Third and Heading Home

Wow. It seems to have been a whirlwind of a weekend. Brian's dad came down for a visit and the kids were SO EXCITED to spend time with him. Friday, I finished painting the girls room and we did a quick shopping trip for curtains, rugs and other things for the rooms. We've been busy! The rooms are almost done- a few things to hang on the walls and a few places to touch up and cosmetically, they are finished. Now, I still have the closet to attack and maternity clothing to send to the wonderful people who lent them to me! There also seems to be a large amount of toys that the kiddos don't play with that I'm trying to figure out how to get out of the house without permanently damaging my kids' psyche.

Saturday, Brian surprised his dad and Zach by taking them down to Great American Ballpark for a Season Ticketholder's Special. They got breakfast and Brian's dad got to take 5 pitches ON THE FIELD and was up on the jumbo screen. Dan's dad played ball in Philly back in the day and it was really meaningful to Dan. Brian got to do batting practice inside and Zach got to throw some pitches and do some other fun stuff. They had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the morning together. Brian forgot the camera and so we need to wait for Dan to send them to Brian this week.

The BMV has been an interesting experience. We are still trying to get the title work straightened out and all the proper paper work signed and notarized in order to get the plates and have the car be ours.

So, all in all, it seems like we've got a lot that isn't complete, but is close. We're rounding third and heading home. Being a task oriented person, this would drive me insane and I'd not have any peace and would be so uptight that I wouldn't be able to relax, but I've been surprised how much I've been able to give up and just take a deep breath in and just allow it to get done when it gets done- even if it isn't in my timing. Funny how God teaches us lessons and then shows us how we've grown (or haven't).

Moving without boxes

Well, for the past week, we've been moving rooms, painting, creating chaos (as if we don't have enough in our house already) and in general, staying up way too late and waking up way too early.

We got our bedroom furniture moved into the old nursery and we've painted Zach's room and for the most part have moved him in. We're waiting for all the cool Cleveland stuff we bought for his room to decorate it with. His favorite is the Cleveland Browns Helmet Fathead we bought him for his wall. Hopefully in the early part of next week, we'll be completely finished with his room. I think he likes it and he's been a good sport about letting the girls bunk with him while we paint their room- who am I kidding, while Brian paints their room.

All the furniture for the girls is in the middle of the floor with tarps all over it. I should have thought about clothing before I moved and tarped and taped it all up. Hhhmmm.... that would have been good. Anywho... we've got one closet (the girls) to clean out and then we've got about 4 boxes to move out of our room into their closet and we'll be finished! Hopefully, we'll be done by Friday. We'll see. We'll post pics once all the rooms are somewhat presentable.

Brian starts back to school tonight and while I'm not so happy about it, it is a necessary evil for him to get finished (which we have decided will be in March instead of December so Brian can take only one class a quarter as opposed to two at a time. While this isn't my favorite decision, I see the wisdom of it and am willing to do it).

Tomorrow we get to pick up the Pilot we decided on. We are really excited about it. We were looking for just another Accord, but after learning that the insurance was $1 different and after finding an incredible deal on a 2004 Pilot with towing package AND bike rack (YEAH!!!)AND after calling on 4 different Accords and having each one tell us that it had just been sold or traded in we started to think, huh, maybe we are being given an okay to get the Pilot. So we did! We're very excited that we can get the whole family in it and if necessary, we can also get a set of Grandparents in there with us. What a blessing.

Well, I need to go back to cleaning and keeping the chaos under control (or at least giving the impression that the chaos is under control). Post more later!

Nature Hikes, Cub Scout Camp, Painting, car buying, oh my!

We took a little nature hike on Sunday, here are some pics. It was quite good, actually. It was a mile and a half and Elizabeth did at least 78% of it herself. There was a place towards the end where they hopped down into the creek and threw rocks. At one point Hannah slid across the mud on the rocks and how she didn't fall neither of us knows- but she caught her balance and made sure to tell us that she was okay!

This week Zach spent the week at Cub Scout camp where he got to do crafts, learn boy things, like knots, folding flags,etc... and don't forget about the fishing, shooting off arrows and the BB guns. Today was the last day and they had a special thing for the BB gun range and each boy was given 5 shots and if they all got on the target and added up to 35 points, they would be eligible for a junior US shooting badge or something. Well, Zach has 3 bulls eyes, a fourth was right on the line, so they gave him 9 points and an 8 pointer. He had 47 out of 50 points! I was really impressed! Yes, he is now asking for a BB gun and so is my dad- we've told them both NO!!!! (plus Brian and I deserve to give the cool gifts from time to time- we are the parents are we not?)

We are still in the throes of painting and prepping. As I am typing away, Brian is up sanding and cleaning up dry wall so he can paint trim. We moved all the furniture around and now Zach's old room looks like a storage closet. We moved our furniture into Elizabeth's old room (she is QUITE confused why our bed is in her room) and it is chaos up there. The sooner this is done, the better!

We also found a car. We were looking to buy another accord and we found a Honda Pilot that a family is selling as they are moving out of the country in a few days. While it was a little more than what we originally wanted to spend, we decided to take a look and sleep on it. WELL, that was on Saturday. On Sunday, we still had no direction as to what to do, so we decided to call on a few more accords and call the insurance and maybe look at it one more time and go from there. Interestingly enough, the insurance is $1.00 more than the Accord. Then, I started to call about the Accords. Each one of the 3 had just been sold or traded. It started to feel a bit more than odd. We went and looked at the Pilot again and they had gotten an offer that day but didn't take it because the guy was going to just sell it to make money. So, we told them we'd buy it. They leave on Saturday, we didn't have the heart to take away their car until they were a little closer to the move, so we close the deal Wednesday/Thursday of next week. Can I tell you how excited we both are. When we went to buy the van, I really wanted a Pilot, but they were still so new that they were out of our budget, so I had to skip it. Funny how things happen!

Well, once we get the rooms all situated and clothes moved in and furniture as well, we'll post pics.

The Week in Review

Wow. What a full week we've just been through!
-We managed to get a more than fair settlement from the insurance company for the Accord. The cops called Brian on Friday to let him know that they had not only found the owner of the vehicle (and she has insurance!!!) but they also found the driver and cited her. Hopefully, this will mean we'll be more likely to get our deductible back. That would be great!

-We started the wonderful world of car shopping. I'll be glad when that is over.

- Hannah spent her mornings this past week at Nature Camp. Her favorite things were making lady bug cookies during Red Day and getting to pet and play with the box turtle.

- Zach spent the week at Zoo Camp! His favorite part was getting to see the Red Tail Hawk. He didn't like the lorikeets so much, as one of them mistook his finger for a branch and nibbled on it- drawing blood. He got a certificate naming him the "Most Adventurous Camper".

- I chased after everyone and spent a good portion of the week spending time with Sabina, Dori, Andrea and Borah. (Sabina is my friend from Albania) We had some really good talks this week and they were very encouraging.

-Thank you to Sarah and Janet for throwing me a wonderful and relaxing baby shower yesterday. I had a great time and it meant a lot to me.

- I FINALLY GOT ALL THE WALLPAPER OFF THE WALLS IN THE BEDROOM!!!! Now, it looks like a rehab project I use to work on in highschool. Nothing like living in a bit of chaos.

I'll post pics of the room in a few days and I'll post after pics once we've got it done. Zach is very excited about fatheads. We're going to put a huge Brown's helmet on his room's wall. He is going for the Lebron, but I don't think a lifesize Lebron James Fathead is going to fit in the room. We'll see. Well, we're off to go on a hike and spend the rest of the day and dinner with my family at my Grandma's house. Should be fun!
BTW-
Happy Father's Day to all you dads.

When it rains...

So this morning, I dropped Zach off at Zoo Camp and guess what. SOMEONE HIT MY VAN AND DIDN'T BOTHER TO LEAVE A NOTE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? Twice in 4 days. The only good thing was that the body shop got all the paint off and buffed it all out for free for me. There are a few scratches on the bumper, but it's plastic, so no biggie. But still, WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

THE GOOD: So, the beach is still great. I have not been this relaxed in a long while. It has been really good for me to be away from all the things that I allow to distract me from just enjoying my kids. As you can see, they've had a blast as well. We've continued our animal hunt and have added a sea urchin, sand crabs (which Elizabeth was NOT too happy about), lizards and snakes. Dad and I took Zach and Hannah to an arcade down the street and Hannah was playing a game and literally hit the jackpot and like 250 tickets. She did the same thing last year. I'm taking her to buy some lottery tickets, so if you want in.... :)
Last night I just sat outside and looked at the stars- a real treat for us city folk. It is easy to forget what the nighttime sky really looks like and b/c Hilton Head has such strict laws about nighttime lighting, the stars really shine. It was beautiful. I am going to let the kids stay up late and take them out to look b/c I just amazes me that God can call each star out by name. It's sort of like in Isaiah where God is described as holding the mountains in his hands as well as the sand. It is immense and amazes me.

THE BAD:
I am not going to write too much about this right now b/c I'm still processing and I'm still wanting to get more information from B, but Brian was in a pretty bad car accident this morning and it is looking like the Accord is totaled. B is sore, but okay. The airbags deployed and he hit is head on the one (thank goodness he didn't break his nose or worse). The lady who was at fault and hit him... ran. Literally, ran away down the street and left the car just sitting there. Brian called the police and they are trying to find the person that did it, but reality... We'll blog more on this later.

THE UGLY:
I have to leave the beach tomorrow morning at 5:45am and endure a 12 hour van ride with my parents and 3 kids. Need I say more?