Day 302 - Alexis is Baptized!

Alexis decided last week when she got the Holy Ghost that she wanted to be baptized today!  So, we planned it and got it all set up and she did it!  She's a new creature in Christ Jesus!

Way to go Alexis!  We're so proud of you for making this choice and for doing the best thing for you!

Day 301 - Home Again

We left yesterday afternoon and drove again through the night to return home.  I really enjoyed the time we got to spend there, but I missed my husband desperately.  We came home and just zoned out for a bit and then headed over to my ILs to return their van to them.  The kids got out the rakes and had a great time playing in the leaves...

Day 300 - 111 Days of Life

This morning, a precious baby boy was laid to rest.  He lived for a short 111 days, and to commemorate his life, we let off 111 blue balloons.  It was the most touching part of the whole weekend and really showed us how fleeting life really is.  One minute, it's here in your hands, and the next, it's out of site.

Day 299 - Family & Friends

Today I saw many people that I know and love that I haven't seen in years and years.  We've all been brought together from all over the world, to hold up my aunt and uncle in the loss of their sweet baby Samson.  It was wonderful to reconnect with family and friends and catch up on their lives, but it was also so very sad the reason we were all in the same place.

Earlier today, we met family at the park and let the kids play.  That was nice.

Samson's funeral was tonight.  I brought Kleenex for me and I ended up giving them all out to Tyrus (who sobbed the whole time) and Alexis (who also sobbed the whole time.)  Man!  So many emotions all around.

Day 298 - Colorful Colorado

We made it in this afternoon!  Whew am I beat though!  We drove all night to get here (20 hours) and this afternoon I was feeling it, that's for sure.  Tonight, my dad came over and brought us a very yummy dinner and we enjoyed his and my mom's company.  Our dear friend Skye came over also and we got to talk with her.  We also saw my aunt and uncle and my sweet cousin, Ronen.  It's nice to be back - at least for this week!

Day 297 - Driving Through The Night

It's always madness trying to get out of town.  You have to make sure all 219038 things are taken care of before you go and of course you  never have enough time to do them all!  Today was no exception.  Thankfully, I'd decided before that we wouldn't do any schooling this week.  Instead, we'd just focus on our trip and all that went with it.

Here's Destiny and Dylan tonight as we stopped at some place to get gas.  Can't wait to get to Colorado... it's been a long time.  Not much longer now!

Day 296 - Apples!

Well, we decided today that we are going to make the 1100 mile trek back home to be there for Samson's funeral.  It will take us a long time, but we will do it.  My auntie told me tonight it meant so much to her for us to be able to make it.  Makes me cry just thinking about it!

My grandpa called me today and said he'd "heard we were coming".... and "you know how yummy those Michigan apples are, right...?"  Ha ha.  I knew what was coming next!  Needless to say, I now have two bushels of apples in my trunk PLUS three gallons of apple cider to bring out with me.  When I called him to tell him I was getting them, he said, "you have no idea how long I've dreamed of this."  :)

Day 295 - There's a new name written...

.... down in glory, and it's 'Alexis'!

Our baby girl (age 6) decided that tonight was THE NIGHT to get filled with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost!  We've talked for months about what it all means, and how it works, and how awesome it feels, but she's always been a bit timid and afraid.  Tonight, she showed interest and the spirit was just perfect for a Holy Ghost outpouring, and so I gave her some more encouragement tonight telling her about how awesome it would be to be able to tell our very sad and grief-stricken family about getting the Holy Ghost!  And that's just what she did!

One cool thing Tyrus mentioned was that he got the Holy Ghost on June 24, and Alexis on October 24.  He got baptized in Jesus name on July 4th, and she will get baptized on Halloween.  :)  Kinda cool.

Day 294 - A Hard Day

We lost my baby cousin Samson tonight.  He was born just 111 short days ago.  God saw fit to take him home and it broke all our hearts.  Even though our hearts were heavy, we still had to go on with our life...  Some friends of ours got married tonight, and here is Josh and I at the wedding this evening (before Samson died).  Now, we have to make a tough decison on how to make it back to my home state to be there for his services.

Rest in peace, sweet baby boy.

Day 293 - Memorizing

Here's Tyrus tonight, memorizing his scriptures!  I love it!

Day 292 - Arts & Crafts

My mom sent some cool foam stickers and letters to the kids to do one day as a craft.  They had a great time making the door knob hangers out of them!  Thanks for the fun idea, mom!

Day 291 - Life is funny

It's amazing to me how kids can completely forget about a toy for months (even years sometimes!) and then one day, discover it again, only to find it completely new and exciting!  Tyrus did this today with a Build-A-Bear he's had for quite a few years.  He saw the Piston's clothes lying in the hall and he decided then and there to rekindle his love for his bear.  :)

Day 290 - Pumpkin Pie

This afternoon, I decided I'd give it a shot and make my very first pumpkin pie.  Now, I've "made" other ones in the past where you buy the frozen pre-made pie and just place it in your oven and bake it, but I've never made one from scratch before!  (I do have to say that I cheated with the crust though and bought a frozen pre-made crust.  I do know how to make pie crust from scratch though, and have done that many times.  :)   )

The house smelled fantastic, and I have to say, the pie was pretty good, too.  You know it's a hit when ALL five family members enjoy it.  :)

Day 289 - Bible Quizzing, Here We Come!

Tonight we had our kick off for Bible Quizzing at our church.  We've had a 6 year leave from the ministry, and we've decided that it's time to start it up again!  The place was packed out and we had a great time.  One cool thing was the "Old Timers" Quiz that I got to participate it!  My dear husband beat me as Highest Scorer, but I was fine to take Second Higest Scorer only to him.  :)

After the old folks quizzed, we let the juniors have a shot.  They were so cute!  Wiggily and squirmy, but cute.  One little guy answered the question, "In Genesis, who was Adam's wife?" with the answer of "The Whale."  The place busted out in laughter at that point! 

I'm so excited to be starting it all up again.  It was such a huge part of my life growing up that I cannot imagine my own children not being able to experience it. 



Day 288 - I believe...

.... there's an artist among us!  Her name is Alexis!  This girl has spent hours over the last few days (on her breaks, and lunch recess and down time) painting and painting pictures.  She's then decided that they need to be displayed, so she's hung them all up and down our central staircase.  Gotta love her!

Day 287 - Lazy Saturday

So the kids have begged to have a chance to camp out in Tyrus' room.  So, since the next day was Saturday, I finally allowed them.  Josh and I snuck in as we were headed to bed and made sure they were all covered up and ready for the night... it was way past midnight at this point.

Once everyone got up, we just lazed around.  The kids played outside for quite a while.  I worked on some stuff on the computer, took a nap and mowed the lawn.  It was nice to just chill out and have nothing pressing.  We didn't leave our house at all today!  That happens vary rarely!

Day 286 - Hot Air Balloon

Tonight, during dinner, we heard a bunch of geese quacking (or what ever they do) and Tyrus jumped up to look out the back window to see the flock as they flew over our house.  Next thing I know, he starts shouting, "Look mom!  Look!"

Sure enough, back behind our house, there is a hot air balloon very close to the ground!  It was a spectacularily clear evening, and the sky was just gorgeous next to the balloon.  The kids were fascinated (and I have to admit, so was I. )

It landed just down the way from us in a big open field.  These are the kinds of things you just don't see every day!

Day 285 - School Pictures

So the picture I actually took today wasn't that great, so I'm going to borrow the pictures from tomorrow.  I hope you don't mind.  :)

My friend and I decided that we wanted to take "professional" school pictures of each of the kids to document the start of their school year - just like they do in regular school.  So, we took them out today and braved the chilly wind and temp to get some good shots.  I love how they turned out!