Happy Birthday Danny!

This picture wasn't supposed to come first, but I can never tell in what order to upload them in!

I am a little late in this post. Danny's Birthday was 11 days ago. I suppose I am still in denial that he is 8!!! Denial or not, heIS 8 and a very big 8 at that. He is getting so tall.

Danny, I am so happy that you are my son. I love your belly laughs that so freely flow. I love your care and compassion for others. I love your tough boy ways-even if I do have to keep buying you new shoes and jeans! I love that you just enjoy trying new things, especially when it involves guy stuff like hammers, and log splitters and stuff like that. I love that little twinkle in your eye and the dimple in your cheek. I love how you care for your sister and how the 2 of you have such a nice relationship. I especially love watching how God is changing you as you grow and how you desire to know more about God. I love how excited you were to receive your own Bible and how you immediately started reading it-(on the bus on the way to school). It is such a privilege to be your Mom and have a front row seat to your life. I am so excited to see what God has planned for you in the coming years! I love you D!

Tyler riding the waves in O.C. NJ

Danny's turn on the board

Kate reflecting

We were at the beach for Danny's Birthday as well as for tropical storm Hanna. It was such a wonderful time! We had 2 beautiful days on the beach and some time playing games in the hotel room while the rains blew through. We rode bikes on the boardwalk, played mini golf at "Gorilla Golf", and had DQ Blizzards for lunch before driving home that Sunday! The kids loved playing in the water and it was pleasantly warm! All 3 were boogy boarding and Ty and Dan started to body surf as well. It was such a joy to see them spending so many hours together enjoying each other in the surf.

Asside from trying to adjust to new school schedules, that's about it here.

My Day Today

Tyler-7:30 this morning

Danny-8:30 this morning

Almost here....

Kate-12:30 this afternoon.


:0(
Me- now.

Airshow

A "Golden Eagle" floating to the ground. Picture taken by Danny.

One of the bi-planes as it "fell" to the ground. Also taken by Danny

Dan & Dad at dinner. We missed lunch due to traffic.

The Thunderbirds- 4 of them anyway. 2 others were setting up for their next stunt.

Wednesday was a busy day! First we took Kate to her new school to meet her teacher. We also got to take a ride around the town on the school bus. It was cute to hear Danny coaching her on what will happen on the bus and what the rules are etc. This year will bring with it plenty of opportunities for Kate to make new friends at school as she doesn't know any of the other kids who will be in her class. All of her friends from preschool are in other classes. She tells me she is a little nervous, so if you think of her, would you please pray for her as she starts her "real school" career! Kindergarten! I can't believe it!

After we were finished with the bus ride, we picked up Daddy and then dropped off Ty and Kate at my friend Kathy's house. Kathy was so kind to watch Ty and Kate for a long day (and into the night) so that Rick and I could take Danny to the Air show. Danny, like his dad, loves airplanes. He has decided that he wants a career in the military. When I saw that there was an airshow in Atlantic City I thought it would be a great thing to take Danny to as a Birthday surprise. He is going to be 8 in just a couple of weeks! Can you believe it?

The day was absolutely perfect-bright blue skies with cool, comfortable temps. It was right on the beach too so Dan got to play a little in the surf. So actually it was 3 of Danny's favorite things all in one-planes, military and WATER!

We got there just in time to see the Army guys-the "Golden Eagles" parachute out of a plane! They all had colored smoke that trailed them as they drifted down which made really neat patterns against the blue sky! Then some different types of planes flew by. After that 2 bi planes put on a show doing all kinds of passes and acrobatics. I let Dan use my camera to take some pictures. Well for a while anyway, until he got too covered in sand. The 2 top pics were taken by him.

The highlight came at the end when the Thunderbirds came roaring on the scene!! They were spectacular-even if they did make all of my insides rattle!!! It was amazing how close they flew by and just over the water! I enjoyed seeing how excited Rick was to watch these planes too!

It was such a blessing to be able to spend this exciting time with Danny. Thank you to Kathy for watching Ty and Kate so that we could have this time with him. He was so excited about it and was talking a mile a minute when we get home, telling Ty and Kate all about after burners and how the planes went so fast they tore the air apart!

"Oh Sweet Melissa"

I want to take this time to honor my niece Melissa. She came to stay with us for a couple weeks last summer. We had so much fun with her that at the beginning of this summer my kids were asking when Melissa was going to come back and stay with us. Well we had the joy of welcoming her back this month.

The kids had so much fun having her here. She made the time with them such a time of blessing. She was so quick to play with them what they wanted to play, and this without tiring or melting in the hot sun! She even watched the kids one evening so that Rick and I could go out to dinner together-something we haven't had a chance to do for a while. She patiently put up with McDonald's for lunch, little fingers wanting to strum her guitar and playing mini golf with munchkins! Of course she blew us all off the course with her stunning performance on the putting greens of Pagoda golf!

What a joy it was, Melissa to have you here! It is so refreshing to see a teen who is so eager to put asside her desires (including sleep) in order to be a blessing to all of us- you really were/are a blessing to us! Kate just adores you and I know that the time you spent with her will be a fond memory for her. Thank you for really making her feel special.

Mel, or Missa (pronounced Meesa) has grown so much in the Lord since last year. She was baptised just a week before coming here. I can see in her a greater joy, and a growing desire to honor God with her life. She has humbly shared her heart many times seeking to grow in her walk with God and she thoughtfully considers God's word when it is brought to her.

Miss, it is always a joy to talk with you about God. He is so good and He will complete this good work that He has begun in you to conform you to the image of His son! You can trust that all you experience will be worked together for good. Be encouraged in the struggles that this is God's spirit at work in you! I'll be praying for you for courage and strength as you walk out this last year of high school. God knows the plans He has for you... wait on him.

ILY, WLY. GOD loves you even more!
Aunt Bonnie

Day of Amusement

Thursday Rick was able to take a day off so we could all go to Knoebels! It's our favorite summer park. I was watching the sky the whole way up there. There was a 20% chance of rain, but looking at the sky I was sure it was more likely than that. Sure enough as we walked into the park, the clouds opened and it poured! We were able to get under a shelter just in time to escape getting drenched! My concern grew for the days outlook, but little Kate had prayed the whole way up that the sky would clear. God was so kind to hear and answer her prayer! The clouds were gone within minutes and we had blue sky (and a cooler day) for the rest of the day! Oh to have the faith of a child!

Knoebels has not only become an annual trip for us in the summer, but it also serves as a gage of sorts in our kids growth. It is really neat to see how God has helped Tyler to overcome some of his fears as we watch him get on more and more rides each year. Not only on more rides, but he wanted to ride on some of them in his own car! Danny and Kate also added more rides to their lists of favorites this year.

The kids also did a wonderful job of being grateful for this time. With so much to choose from to do, it turned into a good opportunity to help them make choices and be thankful for what they could do and not whine or pout when they couldn't get or do everything that they wanted. As we all wearily climbed back into the van for the ride home, it was such a blessing to hear them say 'Thank you' to Daddy completely unprompted!

Sunday Driver (okay so it was really a Thursday)

Dad and Dan on the Sail plane

Kate on the "Horsey Up/Down" as she always called it. Now it's a Merry go Round:-(

Dad and Dan on the roller coaster-Danny's first time!

The "Airplanes with the teeth."

Dan on the Balloon Race ride.

Ty-the first ride he ever went on at Knoebles was this train!

Ty riding alone on the Whip

Kate's new favorite-the go carts! She was actually a pretty good driver!

Dan and I on the Paratrooper ride-Danny's new favorite!

The end of the day indulgence!

Engineering Prodigies?

The other day we were coming home from the library. The farmer down the street was cutting down the wheat in his field. "Look guys. Mr Duncan is cutting down his wheat." "Oh yea," they replied. "Do you think he'll be cutting the wheat in our field today?'' "I don't know what his schedule is. Why? Did you want to watch?" I asked wondering. "No we just have some things in the field." A little more than curious, I asked "What things?" "Oh nothing. Could you just let us out here Mom?" they asked as I got to the edge of our field. I stopped and opened the door and waited as they collected their 'stuff.' 2 shovels, AA batteries in a plastic bag, a tape measure and a headlight flashlight in another plastic bag. I had to laugh, even as I thought of the accident that could have occurred when the unsuspecting farmer ploughed over the shovels.
Why is this funny? Well you had to be with us the week before as we were pulling weeds out of the garden. All 3 were discussing plans for building a tunnel to the Schell's and Madison's homes because then 'they could go there whenever they wanted.' Not to put a damper on things, but I reminded them that it would still be quite a walk, even in a tunnel. So they decided they were going to build a train. We discussed how they were going to finance this. Well, the plan is for Tyler to design it, Danny to build it and all 3 of them to dig it. Sometimes they'll even have the other boys over to help-or maybe they could start building from their homes and they could all meet up. "How are you going to pay for the gas to run this train?" "Oh. Well it will have to be electric." "What about the electric bill? Who's going to pay that?" "Oh. Well we'll design it to work on AA batteries." As this conversation went on, I had NO idea that they were actually making REAL plans to do this!! Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between what is real and fantasy around here!
I am just thankful for the friends that God has given us, that my children are willing to move mountains (well maybe not quite mountains) to be with them.

An update on Danny. I took him back to the doctor on Monday and thankfully his arm is healing well. It hasn't slowed him down much-except it seems, when it is something he doesn't want to do! We go back again next Thurs. to evaluate whether they will put a different cast on or not.

Be looking for the new suburban subway system soon! I can just imagine how fast it will go on AA batteries! Hope they put in seat belts!

Summer

It's been a busy summer. I can't believe it is almost July already! Here are some random pictures of some of the summer time fun.

A walk by the river at Grings mill

The kids with Grammie-my mom.

A dancer among the daylillies.

A summertime favorite!

Picking mulberries.

1 day we went to a furniture store and they had a petting zoo in the parking lot. As you can see they also had pony rides! Kate was so excited! She loves horses and this was her first ride on anything other than a merry go round horse!
Have you ever tried to photograph a Firefly (lightening bug as we call them)? Last night there were thousands of them over the wheat field. It was almost like watching fireworks without the noise! Don't know if you can see all of them or not. They show up better on a larger picture.

This is Danny painting with a flashlight. Perhaps his imitation of a firefly?