Be Flexible!!

This morning we all got up to head down to Spring Mill State Park for the Woodmizer Picnic. I was really looking forward to a day away with the family. There was going to be plenty of fun activities and good food. They were giving away prizes and the grand prize was a 5 night Carnival Cruise!! I just knew we would win. :) The radar looked horrible for our area, but it was not showing any rain at the park. So off we go. We were headed down Highway 67 when we came to police blocking the road and turning us around. Flooding. No way to get through. No problem, I pulled out the trusty road map and we made our way over to IN-37 which is the major highway that runs to the park. Ten minutes later we hit stopped traffic. Blocked again! Turned on the radio and learned that the entire county was under a state of emergency and the roads were impassable. Then I did something I have never done nor hope to ever do again. I turned the car around in the road and headed down the shoulder on a 4 lane highway in the wrong direction. (I wasn't the only one). We headed home...through a monsoon!

There was no way I was giving up my day of fun. We stopped at home and conjured up a plan, and here's how the day went:

1. Lunch at Wendy's (Rachel's choice)
2. Watched Kung Fu Panda (Rachel's 1st time at the theater)
3. Went to the zoo
4. Drove around Monument Circle
5. Drove Aaron past the new Colts Stadium
6. Dinner at McAllister's
7. An evening swim at the Tetricks

And you know what....we had an awesome time together!

Where's my pot of gold?

We've had a lot of storms around here lately. Fortunatley we've missed most of the really bad stuff. Here's a glimpse at what rolled in this evening.

After this storm rolled through and dropped us some rain, I looked out the window to see this

This was one of the most beautiful rainbows. The photos don't do any justice. It was very bright and a complete arc. Actually it was a double rainbow with a fainter band of colors on the outside of the entire arc. Simply beautiful!

Sneak Peek - Madison

Here's a couple of sneak peeks at Madison's photos that I took on Wednesday. Can't help but smile at that cute little sweetie! :)

Double Trouble

Well, actually they were not that much trouble. Rachel's friend Rylan hung out with us for a while this afternoon. They are a lot of fun to watch. They didn't argue with each other, but at one point they were telling the doll that it was time to go to bed. "Now I'm SERIOUS, you have to go to bed", is what they were saying. I wonder where they have heard that before. :) They played hide and seek with Aaron. Everytime Aaron would say, "I wonder where they are", Rylan would let out a high pitched giggle. The afternoon was almost drama free. That is until Rylan decided to hold Rachel's prized "raggie". You know - Raggie - the worn out old cloth burp rag that she holds while sucking her thumb. Rachel is yelling "raggie" over and over. Finally I convinced Rylan that we had much better things to drag around than "raggie". Everyone was happy again. :)

From the other side of the world

We received our 1st letter from Mwajuma last week! Mwajuma is the 9-year old girl from Tanzania that we sponsor through Compassion. She had someone who wrote down her letter in her language. Then parallel with that letter was the English translation. She wrote her own name at the end of the letter.

Also, with the letter was a page that Mwajuma had colored on. She drew different objects and then wrote down what they were. The translation was under that

We read her letter many times. She told us that her family was well. She told how they celebrated Easter. She asked that we pray for her that she would get good grades. Then she said she loved us and was praying for us. To know that there is a little girl halfway around the world who is praying for me and my family is very humbling. I would love to meet her someday. It will probably never happen on this earth, but this little girl has become very important to us anyway. If you have ever considered sponsoring a child, do it! It amounts to a dollar a day and it will be one of the best investments of your life.

Color Burst

Just another Monday to catch up on housework....I know, riveting! I even moved the sofa to vacuum under it...EXCITING! What, you wanted photos of that? Sorry. These will have to do. These are Mom's flowers. She always has a yard full of beautiful flowers. I'm lucky if I can keep petunias alive all summer long. So here they are for your enjoyment.

Happy Birthday Dad!

We surprised my dad with a visit for his birthday this weekend. Had a great time with a picnic at the lake yesterday and dinner with my parents and my brother Peter and sister-in-law Mychele today. So here's your Daily Dad Photo to wrap things up. I really wish I had the photo of my dad that went up on the powerpoint announcment at church. It was from 1976 and looked like the wolfman in glasses! Anyway, I have the best dad in the world. He taught us to love the Lord and love your family. He has my love and respect. Dad, I'm proud to be your daughter. I love you, and Happy Birthday!