Wrigley Field

Grandma Gallaher won tickets to watch a Cubs game in Chicago. She and Grandpa took the boys along. The boys have never been to a pro game before. This was a fun experience for them!

R.I.P Red Minivan

It was a sad and unfortunate morning, as well as a blessed morning the other day. Angels had to be watching over the children. Like any normal day, I had all of my kids in the car and was dropping off the three big kids at school. I pulled up in the drop off line. There was a car ahead of me so I was back a little ways. To the right side of my car were a few parked cars in some parking spaces that happen to be up next to the sidewalk. Well, Ethan had climbed out of the car and was standing right next to the passenger front door. I had the sliding door open and was waiting for Sadie and Landon to get out. Landon couldn't climb out until Sadie did. Sadie is usually so excited and jumps right out and hurries into the school, but this day, she seemed so distracted and was taking quite a while. I noticed one of the parked cars brake lights come one, and I thought, "We better hurry so this person can back out and leave." Luckily Sadie was taking her precious time because, all of the sudden, that car backed right into us. It was a pretty hard hit too! Ethan was standing outside, right there, watching the whole thing. Luckily, he was just far enough ahead and out of the way that he wasn't harmed. I am so glad Sadie was distracted, because had she and Landon hopped out yet, they could have be slammed into. I am so glad they are safe, and I am so grateful for prayer and that Heavenly Father watched over our children. The man who wrecked into us felt horrible and kept saying, "I can't believe I did that! I could have hit your kids! I don't know what I would do if I had hit your kids, or my kids." I am pretty sure he was in shock. For some reason I felt sympathetic toward him. I don't have any idea why. I could have been mad and yelled, but what good would that have done? He said, "God must have been watching over." I told him, yes, we pray for safety every morning. Prayer is real. God was watching over us." Unfortunately, the damage ended up totaling to be about $5,200, which meant the car was totaled. We had just recently paid off the van too. The other person does not currently have insurance so we are out more than we would like to be. Our insurance is giving us some money, but not near as much as what we originally paid for the van. That is so disappointing, but I guess rather than being sad about our lost van, we can be happy about our saved children. 

Grape Fest Pageant

I had no idea I would have this much fun being in the Grape Fest pageant. I am the female vocalist this year, and I LOVE everyone involved in the show. We have had a great time together. Here I am with Laurie Peterson who plays the violin, and Linda who is a dancer with her husband.

Our Little Organizer

Our sweet Sadie is LOVING preschool. We was so excited to bring home a stuffed cat. She loves to "organize" things on her bedside table and was sure to hang her backpack on the knob and place her kitty next to her pillow so she could snuggle with it. Sadie is one of a kind. 

Suitcase Mystery

I pulled out the suitcases today to try and get an early start on packing for our trip. I was carrying up the suitcase from the basement and it was rattling like there were all kinds of beads in it. I opened it up and didn't see anything in it. Then I realized you can unzip the lining. There, you can see, the plastic all crumbled to bits. Weird. Oh well. I got it cleaned out and it will still work. Oaklee was pretty excited about the open suitcase and enjoyed climbing into it.

Why????

Mouth Watering Melon

Just some more goodness from Grandma Gallaher's garden. Yum!

So cute!

Those teeny weeny tennis shoes are just so cute!

Oaklee's First Walk

This was Oaklee's first walk to Grandma's house on her own two feet!

Wildcat Park

Landon and Ethan are tying something new this year. They are both trying flag football this year with their cousin, Danny. Landon's team practices after Ethan's team. We spent some time on the playground while we waited for Landon to finish up.

Super!

Sometimes big brothers have the best ideas. Landon turned these girls and their stuffed animals into super heroes. They had a blast playing with their  imaginations. Oaklee had fun practicing her two legged mobile skills  and ran around with everyone too. 

First Day of School Pictures

It's a new school year already. Landon is in 6th grade with Mrs. Rady, Ethan is in 4th grade with Mrs. Rose, and Sadie is in preschool this year with Ms McConnell. Sadie started a few days after the boys. She has been so excited to go to school. The boys have enjoyed their first few days and Sadie loved her first day today. She is a little social butterfly. I have a good feeling about this school year. 

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Kendall and I have been married for 12 years! We celebrated by taking an end of the summer trip with the family. Kendall had a fire class in Amboy and we went along. We rented a cute little house and the kids played and had fun dancing, jumping on the trampoline, and playing games like Twister and hide and go seek. The kids played hard and wore themselves out. Sadie and the boys slept up in the loft. We even got to go shoe shopping and spend some time at the zoo. It was a great way to spend time together. Kendall and I are sure happy with what we have been blessed with these past 12 years.