Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving in NY with Ruth's family this year. We flew out to NY on Thursday. We did a little black Friday shopping around 11:00 a.m. on Friday, and when we returned home, found that Camden had started a fever. Never fails...

We enjoyed our big Thanksgiving dinner Friday evening, and some fun family games Friday night. On Saturday, we headed over to my cousin's house to see all the home improvements he & his wife have made on their "new" house!! I say "new" because it's really my grandma & grandpa's old house. Now that they've passed away, Nate & Michelle have fixed the house up & it looks SPECTACULAR!!!

Sunday we enjoyed the church services at my parent's church, and continually tried to deal with a sick Camden. Poor kid felt miserable, but of course there was nowhere to take him over the weekend!

We ended up getting Camden in to see a doctor on Monday, and turns out he had strep throat & 2 ear infections. So we got him some antibiotics, and within a couple hours he was a different kid! Of course this was just in time to eat dinner, then pack up & head out to my brother's house. We spent the night there since our flight back home left at 6:15 a.m.!

We got back in to Atlanta Tuesday morning, drove back to Alabama, and dropped Tom off at work, Jenna off at school, and the rest of us came home & crashed! Trevin slept all of about 15 minutes on the airplane, then a bit in the car, but he was tired, and has started coughing. Mackenzie never slept a wink from the time we got her up Tues. morning (4:45 a.m.), so I knew she would never make it through the rest of the day at school. And I didn't get any sleep on the plane either, so I was exhausted. Camden slept on the plane, so he was rested up I guess....he watched TV while Trevin, Mackenzie & I slept!

So now we're back home & getting back into the routine of things!

Trip to Arizona

I have decided to set aside the laundry & other housework that needs to be done & take some time to update you on what is going on in our lives....

One of the biggest things in our life right now are the decisions to be made about Tom's job. I think I mentioned last time that Harley announced they are consolidating their test facilities into 1 location out in Yucca, Arizona. This means that if he wants to keep his current job, we would have to move out there. SO, in order to help us make that decision, Harley paid for Tom and I to make a trip out there for a visit. After making arrangements for childcare for all 4 of our kids, we headed out there the weekend before Thanksgiving. We flew into Las Vegas on a Wed. night,



then headed to the Grand Canyon on Thursday.



It was beautiful, and we got to walk one of the trails for a couple hours before watching the sunset! We saw some deer (one of them VERY close up I might add!),



found a funny book in the gift shop,



and then after dark headed to Kingman, AZ. First thing Friday morning, Tom met up w/his friend Jeff & they went to Yucca for a tour of the facility. In the meantime, Jeff's wife Tracy & I met w/a realtor & got a tour of Kingman and saw a few houses.



After our tour we headed to Lake Havasu to meet up with the guys. We made a little mistake & got on 40 east instead of 40 west, so it took a bit longer to get there, but we made it none the less. We ate some lunch, then Tom and I met with another realtor & saw some houses in Lake Havasu.



We learned a lot about both locations! We met up w/Jeff & Tracy again for dinner, checked out the London Bridge,



and once again headed back up to Kingman. Saturday morning, I took Tom on a little tour of Kingman, then we headed over to Flagstaff to meet up w/Tom's brother Jim and 2 of their kids. We went with them to visit Sunset Crater National Park, which is basically an old volcano. We got to see black lava all around, and various formations that had formed after the volcano erupted. (As a side note, there is a $250 fine for taking any pieces of lava!!)



After that, we also got to see some pueblo ruins.



After our sightseeing, we enjoyed a delicious dinner before saying good-bye to Jim and the girls and heading back to Las Vegas. We walked the strip for a while then headed back to our hotel where we each gambled away $1.00! Such big spenders....

We came back to "reality" on Sunday. Overall, we enjoyed our trip, but realized that we have no desire to move there unless Harley gives us more incentives. As of right now, they are offering no incentives whatsoever.

Tom has met with his boss a couple times & it looks like he'll be able to keep his current job until the end of June. But, as we've learned before, things change consistently. So, until we hear more, that's the scoop. In the meantime, Tom has been working on his resume & keeping his ears peeled for any available jobs! We're trusting the Lord for whatever He has planned for us.

Our latest news...

We have been going along as usual around here. I will try to put some pictures up in the next few days, but I'm on my laptop & don't have my pictures on here.

Jenna lost her 2nd tooth a couple weeks ago, and she had her 1st "real" birthday party.

Mackenzie has been doing very well in school - she tells me her favorite subjects are math & reading. She LOVES to read, and has started reading lots of chapter books!

Camden is talking more & more, and many of his words sound so similar, but he tries so hard to get across what he wants! It's so cute!

Trevin is definitely off & running, and climbing all over the place. He has started screaming when he wants some attention - it's SO irritating!

Two of my friends from Indiana came down to visit last weekend. They were here to speak at a pregnancy care center banquet. I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to have them here. Tom watched the kids a ton throughout their stay so that we could go out & eat, watch a movie, and just hang out!!! It was wonderful!

Tom got some big news at work this last week....they are consolidating all Harley test facilities out to Arizona! UGH! We're not positive yet what all that will mean for us, but it will mean changes no matter what! Please pray for us as we seek the Lord's will for our family. We'd love to stay around here, but if we do, that means Tom will need to find a new job.

So that's a quick summary of the last few weeks. Sorry I've not been too good at keeping the blog up to date...guess that happens with 4 kids!

A year ago....

It occurred to me this morning that it was a year ago today that Jenna ended up in the hospital for a week in the midst of us trying to get moved into our new house, my parents being here to help, and just plain chaos in our lives! I still look back & am so thankful that the doctors were able to diagnose Jenna's calcium problem & get it under control. What a scary time it was, but God saw us through each day & gave us the friends & family we needed when we needed it. He is so good!

And so, it was a year ago that we were also moving into our brand new house. Some days it doesn't seem possible that it's been a year, other days, it seems like we've been here for much longer! It's definitely looking like it's been lived in for a year, but then again there's the landscaping, or should I say lack of landscaping?? :) Ah, one of these years we'll get around to it!

Thanks to those of you that have been able to stop in for a visit (or 2, or 3...), and we hope many more of you will be able to come stay with us in the coming year! We love visitors, and it's always a motivator to get the house cleaned....

Thanks for reminiscing with me for a minute, now I've got to get back to "work"!

Junior

My friend Jen just posted a sweet post on her blog about our dear friend Junior who went home to be with the Lord today. (I stole the picture above from her blog: www.potterwonderfullife.blogspot.com) I am so saddened by the news, and could hardly even talk to tell the girls about it. He was supposed to go in & have heart surgery today, and when they opened him up discovered that their diagnosis was wrong, and that he desperately needed a heart transplant. He ended up not making it through the day, and now he is in Heaven with his Lord & Savior!

Words can't even describe what Junior and his mom Pat mean to us! They are dear friends of ours from Fort Wayne, and they LOVED our children (as well as all the children at our church) like their own. Before we moved to Alabama, Junior was ALWAYS available to watch our kids, and repeatedly told us he loved watching them, and some days seemed to beg to watch them if they hadn't been there in a week or so! And my kids loved Junior too! There was NEVER a tear shed when Junior was going to watch them. They loved the fact that he got on the floor with them & played whatever games they wanted. And he worked in the church nursery every Sunday, Wed. night, Tues. morning and whenever else he was needed. It seems every kid in church knew Junior, and loved him. Very few cried about being dropped off every week because they knew Junior was there & knew everyone's "routine".

Since moving to Alabama, I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've said aloud "I sure could use Junior now!!!" And every time we've been back in Ft. Wayne, we've made a point of seeing him & his mom, Pat.

I am so sorry for Pat's loss, and would ask that you pray for her (& the rest of his family) in the days and weeks ahead. Junior lived with her, and took care of so many things for her. I can't even imagine what she will do without him. Pat, or "Miss Pat" as all the kids from Cubbies knew her, is such a loving, Godly woman, and would do anything for you. We love you, Pat!

We will miss you, Junior!

Jenna lost her 1st tooth!

When Jenna got home from school today she wanted to eat an apple. She had a bottom front tooth that has been loose for about a week now, and she is so anxious for it to come out. So, after eating on the apple for a while she begged me to pull it. I gave a quick tug and out it came! She is SO excited!! She put it under her pillow & is hoping the tooth fairy comes tonight. Speaking of which....I'd better get off here and get some "work" done!! :)

What's new...

For those of you that may not have heard, Harley Davidson is doing another big round of layoffs. Tom seems really nervous that he's going to lose his job this time around. We thought originally we were going to find out the 1st of September, but then they had a meeting the last of August, and now we won't find out until the end of September. Aaarrgghhh....I just want to know already. Some days I am fully prepared for this to happen, and other days, I have no idea what we'll do if it happens! I continually remind myself that God is in control and that HE will take care of us no matter what, so honestly, I haven't worried about it too much, but it is on my mind often.

And now for a few pictures from the weekend...

Swimming at some friends' pool Friday evening:

Trevin decided to try climbing the back deck stairs Mon. morning without help, and fell down 2 steps landing on his head. OUCH! But, he only cried for like 10 seconds after I picked him. I brought him inside & put him in his chair to get a wet cloth for his head and already he was smiling! His poor head looks horrible, though!