Incredible Day!!!

It started out as any other day.........then there was the VIP line and next thing we knew we were up on the McCain -Palin stage. I was simply taking my kids to see Senator McCain and Governor Palin for history class. God certainly had other plans. He gave us such a beautiful day and my kids were thrilled to meet the candidates running for President and Vice President. We have been following the election in class and to actually meet them was truly a gift. When I met them I thanked them for being Prolife and of course added that there is much more to be done. I have to honestly say that when I thanked them they both seemed so appreciative. They told me, "you are VERY welcome." They stopped for just a brief moment as if they were shocked by my statement shocked but yet appreciative. They both seemed very kind I mean truly kind. It was a day my kids will never forget...nor will I.

Family game night we played the Divinity game. If you have never played this game it is like Trivial Pursuit but with the Catechism as the questions. There are different levels ...easy, moderate and difficult. You can purchase it from http://www.catholicfamilyland.org/ Great fun for all ages. My kids get so proud of themselves as they ascend to the next level of questions and imagine how I feel .....Yeah!!!!!

TREEHOUSES

This month at our local Arboretum the theme is Treehouses. Wow!!! This 17 one-of-a-kind exhibit has been designed by local architects and artisans. This is The Bell Tree which has cow bells up in the tree's limbs attached to ropes which the children could swing from. Definitely the most fun!!

Hobbit House

Thoreau's Cabin
Which is the exact replica of His original in Concord, Mass.

The Elephant House

Treegloo

Wordless Wednesday

Rachel

Shame on me!!! Rachel our eldest [19 and away at college] was upset today after getting on my blog and not seeing a picture of herself.

Rachel has also committed today to the triathlon and will begin training this week. You can do it Rachel!!!!!

Triathlon

Okay, this is crazy!! My younger sister Barb has asked me to do a mini triathlon with her in June of' 09. My first reaction was yeah right....Uh ...NO!!! She had to throw in the fact that it was for the unborn babies and we could raise money for them. Alright, so now we have a situation worth pondering. I prayed on it and my prayers went kind of like this, "Dear Lord I was invited to do this Triathlon for the babies but I really don't think you want me spending my time training after all I have to keep up with the house, my husband, my childern and of course that small detail of home educating my children. The more I think about it Lord the more I am sure you don't want this. Or is it that I don't want this?" What I heard in return was," To do something in the spirit of sacrifice is always productive but to do something in sacrifice that you do NOT want to do is truly a labor of love."
All of these thoughts going round in my head, and then I thought I will bounce this off of my husband and he will surely not want me to put anything more on this overflowing plate of mine...His response, "Honey, you can do this. The swimming will be hard but you can do this and it is for a great cause." Hmmmm...Could it be Lord you want me to do this.
So, Ladies as sure as I am sitting here typing this post I will begin my running this afternoon. I figure if I get up a little earlier before the cherubs then I can run, bike or swim then begin my day. I can do this with God's grace. If anyone out there has done a mini triathlon I would love to hear from you!

Coming Home Day

Coming Home Day!!! Meet Aidan our youngest son. Six years ago yesterday, Aidan came home to us from South Korea. We adopted Aidan when he was nine months old. We share the stories of how he may not have grown in Mommy's belly but he certainly grew in her heart. Every year we celebrate his Coming Home Day by taking him to a Korean restaurant and he proudly wears his first birthday outfit that his Foster Mother made for him with love. God has given us four souls to love and raise and they have all come to us in different ways. It does not matter how they came, it only matters that they came.

Latest Addition

Here is our lastest addition to the family. This is Irish our Golden Retreiver puppy. My daughter insisted we put a picture of her up on the blog.

Family Party

This is a family picture from the party last night. We had so much fun!!!!! This is just the eight of us there are many more this is just the original clan. Have a great weekend!!!!

God blessed me with one brother and 4 sisters. Tonight we are celebrating Barbie's and Rene's birthdays. Barb is the big 40 and Rene is the big 50!!!! They both look great for their perspective ages. We will all be in attendance so that makes about 27 of us. My parents are so kind to throw them this party and of course our family sense of committment imparted to us by our parents will have us all in attendance with bells on. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God blesses you.