A Few More Things

....about our trip to Cleveland.We got reacquainted with one of the biggest miracles I have ever had the privilege of meeting and her name is Breanna. When she was 18 months old she fell from a balcony and there was little hope for her survival. No she isn’t a normal 11 year old but she is one determined young girl. Everyday that she is on this Earth is a miracle from God. She is very intelligent, it is quite obvious that she understands everything that you tell her but she can’t form the words to tell you what she thinks or feels. She will do almost anything ask of her unless she is showing her determined side. She wants so badly to do things for herself that it is inspiring. Her feet and ankles are weak but she doesn’t want to be stuck in a chair all of the time so she crawls around the house and goes where she pleases. She has trouble feeding herself but she continues on and does her best at it. Seeing her should make us all feel a little bad about ourselves. I was amazed at how well the kids did with both her and her little brother. They were so helpful and considerate. Matt insisted on pushing her wheelchair and Audrey was great to help with both of them. It was a great experience for them all, I think. To see how good God has been to them and that sometimes things do happen to people who don’t deserve it.

Matt pushing Breanna in her chair

Audrey helping Joey get in the water.
Let's look a little closer though.

Yes, the teen is definately still there!!
She would have been sooo dead if she dropped it!

We're back!!

Actually we got back around 4 this morning. So as you can imagine today was not very productive. We had a great time. We went to Cleveland to see Mike's uncle and do a little sight seeing. I was amazed, we actually stayed a full 2 days! We spent the first day at the zoo and had a wonderful time thanks to our cousin and her boyfriend guides. We got a little wet and had to quit before we saw the entire zoo (I'm convinced that isn't possible in one day anyway) but the kids had a great time and got to see a lot of the zoo. They have some really cool things there. The boys rode a camel and got to touch stingrays, we saw plenty of cool animals (I loved the kangaroos) and the boys learned interesting facts to drive me insane with. Then the next day we went to Lake Eerie and it was awesome. God made us some very beautiful things indeed. It was so nice to just spend time with each other and with family. Hopefully after I get a good nights sleep I will be back to normal tomorrow.

I may faint!

After almost ten years of not going anywhere we are now going on our second trip in 2 months. We are on the road as I am writing this. Hopefully I will have internet somewhere to post it. The last real trip we took before my brothers wedding was to the same place we are going now and we had Dear One’s mom with us. It’s been a little hard for him, I’m sure, the memories of having her with us. It was a miserable trip but one that we would give anything to relive now. We only had 2 kids then, Audrey would have been around 3 and Jo was just a baby. I was pregnant with Drew and didn’t know it, thus the reason for it being a miserable trip. I was sick and uncomfortable the whole time. Then before we knew it we had 4 small kids and not much money so going anywhere besides to the store to buy milk and diapers was out of the question. So to have the freedom and money to go now is a blessing. We will probably be home before most of you read this, Dear One doesn’t stay anywhere for long but still the kids will have been able to see a new place and have a few new experiences. Traveling with kids is never pleasant, no matter their age and I’m quite sure teenagers are the worst!!

We are going on a trip. WE are going on a TRIP?

We are going on a trip and given how much my Dear One loves to travel this should be fun
interesting. My brother is getting married and in lieu of the big church wedding, with all of its aggravations and dissatisfaction (can you tell I wish I hadn’t fallen into the church wedding trap), they are just going to Gatlinburg and using one of the beautiful churches there. I, myself am very excited and so are all of the brats but Dear One although fine with going to the wedding would much rather stay home than have to go anywhere far. We never take trips and never go on vacation which I am fine with because in all honesty I would rather stay at home most of the time too. I am starting to feel that maybe we are depriving our children though and I think it is about time we started taking them to see more places and things. We can’t really do the beach (many light complexions and a daughter that is allergic to the sun don’t mix so well with beach weather) so I’m thinking Pigeon Forge may be a great alternative. If we like it there and I can talk him into it we may take an actual vacation there next year. For now though I am just hoping to relax and enjoy. More details promised so stay tuned.