My Heart Hurts.

So as some of you know I had a rough afternoon yesterday.  I say, I, because it effected me more than my son.  I got a call from my oldest sons classroom aid.  There were some boys that bullied Adam.  They got his lunch box away from him and kicked it around the lunch room.  He fell on the floor.  He is a bit dramamtic so we don't know if they hurt him and he fell or if he just fell because he's a bit of an actor.  Many other kids came to the rescue.  The boy who started it was sent home.  When Adam came home he was fine.  I asked him how his day went like I always do and he said it was good.  I then asked about what happend and he told me about it.  He wasn't bothered or upset at all.  He just acted like it was just a regular day. 


I, on the other hand, was hurt.  My heart ached for him.  I got off the phone and cryed my eyes out.  This is my child.  How could anyone want to hurt my child!  He is so loving and truely cares for others!  Why would these boys want to hurt Adam?


24 hours later this is what I think:  Kids who bully don't have good role models.  They are insecure.  They don't know how to react to people who are different than they are.  They may not have parents who spend quality time with them.  They are not taught right from wrong.  They are not held accountable for their actions by their parents.

Kids with a "history" of this kind of thing are a problem.  The boys who bullied Adam have a history of it.  How can a parent let their child have a "history" of bulling?!?!  This is what is so very wrong with our world!  Kids will always say things they shouldn't to each other.  They will always have disagreements with one another, but it's the "history" that is a problem.  I don't think bullying will ever stop.  It's like the fighting in the middle east, it started in the beginning of time and will forever be there until the end of time.  It is NOT okay to do but it's also never going to end.  We don't live in a perfect world so there will be hate no mater what.  It's what we do when we are the victim of hateful acts. 

Adam taught me a lesson.  Keep your head up and let things roll off you.  Don't let people bring you down.  Having friends that will stand up for you and help is a true gift!

I am so thankful that there were other kids who didn't just stand there.  They went and got help.  They are true hero's. 

When will bulling end?  I don't think it will until every parent out there is helpd accountable for their children.  How would you react if it was your child?  Would you be okay with your kid having a "history" of bullying?  What are your thoughts?

Well hello again!

So I've been away while.  I just looked at my blog and I had two post that I wrote but never published.  Well I just did it and I'm not sure I like the way they turned out.  I've been thinking lately that I need some sort of change in my life.  Not a big one like getting rid of my husband or anything but something little.  I've been thinking about all that has happend in the last year or two and I can't believe I didn't go bat shit crazy!! So here's to a new start...

So it's been awhile.  I haven't really had much time to write.  There are so many things I could be saying right now.  I just read my last post and want you all to know that all is well on that subject.  Now on to the reason for the post...

Many of you have been praying and supporting us through many challenges in our life.  The biggest for last school year and this one has been Ben and his struggles.  I'm so proud to say that all is going well with him this year.  He has been taking a medication and it has helped alot!  He is able to deal with daily life much better than last year.  We have started testing at school and hope to get him even more help if he needs it.  One of the other things that I believe has helped Ben this year other than meds is football.  This year he was able to play tackle football.  It gave him confidence that I know he lacked.  He had the best coaches you could ask for.  These men not only taught him the game, but how to be part of a team.  They gave him something to look forward to everyday.  They cheered him on and let him know that he was doing a good job.  He wasn't the best and he wasn't the worst.  He loved playing and looked forward to every game. 

Football has been good for me also.  For the first time in awhile I got to talk to other Moms.  If you don't know me, well, I am a bit shy.  I know, most of you are saying..yeah right, you shy...but I am.  I don't just walk up to someone and start talking.  I know that I sometimes come off as a snob, but I'm really not.  I just lack some self confidence when it comes to talking to other Moms at school.  I worry that I'm not good enough for them.  I worry about saying something that may offend them.  I worry that my hair is not right, or my clothes aren't good enough.  I worry that I'm overweight and they won't like me.  I worry that my kids are doing something that they will judge me for.  I know, I know, I worry to much.  I know that I am good enough.  I know that my boys are boys and they will make mistakes.  I know that clothes and hair don't make the person.  The thing is, I still have some of those insecurities that I had in high school. Talking to some of these football moms I found that we are all alot alike.  We all have our daily struggles.  We all have issues with our children.  We are not perfect.  I made some true friends through this.  I knew these ladies already but the friendship was build on the practice field.  I'm blessed to have them in my life and look forward to many more of our times together.  Thank you for all your support girls! 

Okay so I never thought I would be hearing those words again.  After you go though the many stages of finding out your child has Autism you put on your big girl panties and face it head on.  At first you just can't believe anything they are telling you.  Then you are all strong and brave for a few minutes than you just fall all apart.  After a while you see that things are going to be fine...maybe even good.  Then after a few years you don't even really think about what it would've been like because the child you have is an amazing person.  You can't even imagine him being any different. 

Life goes on and you are finally in a good place and then....BAM!!!  You hit that damn door again!  You are now going to all kinds of meetings at school and your making all kinds of doctor appointments.  Your trying to find out just what in the hell is going on.  This kid is nothing like your first child and if anyone should know if your child has something wrong then it should be you right?!?!  I mean come on... you have been though this before and you know all the signs.  Well guess what...there are many types of Autism.  Some signs get missed because you don't even really realize that they are there.  You don't notice it as much because they are not the in your face signs. 

Grown up words for little boys.

Yesterday my 7 year old goes in to talk to his dad.  Matt has been working nights and the boys have really been missing him.  Josh likes to sneek into our room when I'm not paying attention.  He goes in and wakes his dad up and talks to him.  He sneeks because he knows that I'll get after him for waking up his dad.  Matt usually is half asleep and doesn't really hear what Josh is saying.  Yesterday was no differant than any other day in that Matt really wasn't fully awake when Josh was talking.  However what Josh had said was something that Matt remembered.

My boys like to watch the Disney channel and Disney XD.  We don't let them watch Cartoon Network because there are very few kids cartoons on there anymore.  We have always thought that Disney was a safe channel.  Sure, there are a few shows that get under my skin but thats because there are adults who act like kids and kids who act like adults.  There are few other shows were the kids act immature and ridiculous.  Sometimes you hear someone say something about a girl being "hot" or that someone is stupid.  You can explain to your kids that those are words that you don't like them saying.  What Josh said was not something I wanted to explain to a 7 year old. 

The boys watch a show called Lab Rats.  I've watched it a few time with them and although it was annoying I didn't see any problem with it untill yesterday.  Josh told his dad that the computer in the show told the man "I can see you everywhere.  I can even see you in the shower and nothing should be that clean."  How do you explain to your 7 years old that he shouldn't ever repeat that to anyone. Shame on you Disney for allowing language like this in a kids show.  Sure we've all enjoyed some of the Disney movies in the last 20 years.  They have added some adult humor that gets missed by our kids and keeps us happy.  This however has gone a bit too far!  Is there anything wrong with wanting your children to stay children while they can?  They have to grow up fast enough, why do they have to rush it??  I'm still not sure what to do about the tv, but for now they can only watch Phineas and Ferb.

A fork in the road.

There comes a time in your life when you have a fork in the road and you just don't know what way to go.  I'm at that fork.  If I stay on the path I'm on things are just going to stay the way they are and I'm going to be unsettled all the time.  If I chose the other then my life will not be the same.  I really don't know what to do and I'm scared at the thought of things never being the same.  If I stay then I'm just letting myself get walked on and used again.  What to do...

I guess God has it all worked out and there really is nothing I can do without prayer and putting it in His hands.  I again think of my favorite verus and know all will be ok.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34

Waiting, waiting waiting.  That's pretty much how the last six months have gone for us around here.  Waiting for the "big one" and I don't mean a heart attack.  Waiting for counselors, waiting for the psychiatrists, waiting for the big one!  I really get so tired of waiting!!  Now I'm waiting on a return phone call from the Henry Ford.  Our lives are being turned upside down and all we can do is wait!


Sorry about that I think I may have just had a mental break down.  I really don't want to go into a ton of detail, and I really don't want to tell the world whats going on in our private lives right now.  Just know that we are having some issues with our son and that we need all the prayers we can get.  Pray for peace for Benjamin.  Pray for strength for Matt and I.  Most importantly, if you hear something please don't be quick to judge.  We need all the love and support we can get right now from family and friends. 

Spring brings change.

Change is hard!  I think that it is not really the change, but the transition from the familiar to the new.  It's the actual process that is hard.  Once you get to the end result it's not that bad.  Most of the time your happy once you get to the goal line.  We deal with change everyday.  Some things we expect to change like the weather, and for those of us in Michigan we know that could happen a few times in a day.  Some things are life changing like a death or birth.  The changes our family is going though right now are a bit life altering.  How we handle the next few months is going to be interesting to say the least. 

Our middle son, Ben, has been going though something.  We aren't sure how things are going to turn out for him just yet, but we are working on it.  We need a lot of love and prayers right now for him and for Matt and I.  We are struggling to stay above water and we hope to find answers soon.  As soon as I know more I might let you all in on it. 

Matt and I have been doing some counseling.  We have been blessed with a strong marriage.  God has brought us together and He made Matt just for me.  How lucky am I to have found the best husband.  Our counseling is to help with the hard job of parenting our children.  Most people have kids and have no trouble being great parents.  We however are starting to have some trouble.  We really have a situation that a lot of people are never faced with.  The counseling is helping tremendously!  I've now started to sit back and relax just a bit when it comes to the kids.  We actually left them for the weekend last week.  It was the first time we went away in almost 10 years.  The last time we only had Adam.  It was great to get away and focus on us.  The counseling has also taught me that I need to try to be more understanding with my kids.  I have been told that I was not a good Mother before and I think that really cut deep.  I always feel that I'm being judged by those around me so I'm quick to react when I feel my boys are doing something "wrong" even though it may be some little thing that they can work out on their own.  Holy run on sentence!  Anyway, I've learned to ask "so what did we learn from this"  so that they learn how to solve their own problems.  I grew up in a house with a ton of yelling.  I thought it was what eveyone did.  Matt grew up in a house without yelling.  This has always been a problem with our parenting styles.  Matt never yells at the boys.  He is such an amazing parent.  I do, did, a lot of yelling.  I'm really trying to stop.  Tonight I handled a problem without yelling once.

The biggest change our family is facing right now is with Adam.  He will be changing schools in a few weeks.  This is a change that pretty much hit us in the face.  It will be a good change in the end.  It was one that we were prepared for in the fall, however it's happening now.  Adam's teacher needed to take the rest of the year off.  That is very hard on Autistic children.  The sub that they get may not be the sub they have for the next few months.  This was something that Adam had to deal with a few years ago and it didn't go well.  We decided to send him to his new school this year instead of next year.  That way he wouldn't have to deal with the change of a new sub every few days until they find a long term one.  The hard thing about this move is that it's middle school.  Adam is in 5th grade and he will be going to middle school.  I know that it is still an ISD classroom and that he will get all the support he needs, but it's still middle school.  My baby is going to MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!  This is hard for me.  It seems like yesterday I was putting him on the little preschool bus.  The tears are starting to flow.  I can't beleive my boy is growing up.  I'm excited because I know that he will learn so much more than he has in the last few years, but at this point I just want to curl up with him and keep him young for as long as possible.  As I sit here and type I keep remembering the Kermit the frog pj's.  Oh how I miss those days.

Change.  We need it to learn and to progress in life.  It is so very hard at times.  For our family, changes are for the good.  I just hope that through the next few months we are all more understanding of each other.  I know that it is something that is impossible to ask the kids, but for myself it is just what I need to be.

Treasures in the Trunk.

This week as I was getting things out for Christmas I found something that put me on an emotional roller coaster.  I have a trunk that I keep things in.  I haven't opened it in over a year and I needed to move it to the attic.  I knew that I had some baby things that I am keeping.  You know the usual stuff, like the outfit they wore home and the blanket that was made by an aunt.  I also had some Christmas pillows that my great grandma made in it.  So I sat on the bottom step and opened the trunk.  I took out the pillows and started to look at the little baby things.  The outfit that each of the three boys wore home were in there, along with a sweater and blanket that my mom made.  There are really about 8 blankets in there and I know who made each of them.  I found a few of my favorite outfits and the baby nightgown that we called the "baby bag."  At the very bottom was the one that brought the emotion.  I never really thought that I would get the weepy by seeing toddler pj's but I did.

You see these are not you normal teddy bear jammies.  These are Kermit the Frog jammies.  They are the cutest pj's in the history of pj's.  They are light lime green with a darker lime green collar and band around the sleeve.  These jammies were eather bought at a garage sale or were hand me downs.  I really don't remember.  The one thing I do remember was how beautiful Adam was when he wore these jammies.  Adam was a toe head and has beautiful blue eyes.  The green in these pj's made his hair and eyes even more beautiful. 

After finding these jammies I sat on the step and closed my eyes.  I could see my boy at about 14 months with his smile wearing these pj's.  I could almost reach out and touch him.  I could hear his footsteps as he ran though the house on the hardwood floor.  I could see how his blonde bowl cut shined in the light.  I was so happy sitting there remembering all this.

I sat there with my eyes closed holding those jammies and I started to get mad.  I started to think about how all of the hopes and dreams we had for him were stolen from us, from him!  I was getting mad that the boy who would play football in high school, hates to run or sweat!  I was getting angry.  I was angry that the boy who we had so many hopes and dreams for would most likely not be any of those things.  No doctor or lawyer.  Most likley no wife and family.  Certainly no Heisman award.  I was getting mad because everything I hoped for was stolen from us.

After a few minutes I started to cry.  I was now very heartbroken and shame started to move in.  I was heartbroken for the lose of my dreams.  I was now starting to feel sorry for myself.  I was starting to ask God why, why me, why us, why my little blue eyed blonde headed baby?  Why, why, why...

The phone rang and I jumped.  It was my mom.  She called at just the right moment.  I bottled up my sadness and talked.  At the end of the call I told her that she called at just the right time.  I told her of all that I just done while going though the trunk.  She didn't really say much, but what she said really hit me.  She said "Well you are human." 

I hung up the phone and felt at peace again.  I sat back down and looked down at the pj's.  This time I smiled, held them up close to my heart and then put them back in the trunk.  I then put the trunk in the attic.  I sat back on the steps and started to think about what my mom had said.  There are a lot of people that say God will only give you what you can handle. I agree somewhat to that.  I beleive that God will only give you what you can handle with Him.  I truely believe that without God I could not handle Autism.  The only reason I can handle everything is because of my faith in God.  Knowing that Jesus has "got my back" is the only thing that kept me going though the hard times.  Oh boy did we have hard times.  I remember one time being on my knees, beside Adams bed, tears running down my face, asking God to help us.

I still feel that little tug inside me that wants to think about the what if.  What if he didn't have Autism?  Well if he didn't I would never have seen Mara jump off the diving board at his birthday party.  I would never have went to Special Olympics.  I would never know so much about the Titanic.  What if he didn't have Autism...then he wouldn't be my Adam.  Those Kermit pj's will be in my attic forever.  The memories will live in my heart forever, but I will keep going and I will be strong with the help of God.  With God I can handle anything.

At a crossroad...

I wrote this last week but just got the time to reread it and publish it.  I know that many of you who read this will think I'm crazy, and maybe I am.  It just seems that we are at a crossroad in our life and we don't really know what way to go. So here it goes...


For the last few weeks I've been in a funk.  Things are out of control at our house and I'm not really sure why.  It seems like the school year keeps getting harder and harder for me.  Yes, me not the kids.  I have went from one kid to the next dealing with things that are happening at school.  Some of them are minor and some are pretty serious.  I have been on an emotional roller coaster that began on September 6th.  I really don't understand how things just keep getting crazier and crazier. My boys are all very different and they each are have trouble with their own things.  For Adam it's been more I am having trouble with things that are going on.  For Ben third grade has been hard socially.  For Josh it's been behavior and attitude.

When school started I wasn't ready to send them back.  I didn't want them to go to school and miss out on all the fun things we could be doing. The big trip this Summer has taught our boys a lot about our family, country and how things outside of little old Petersburg work.  They saw and did things that a lot of people only see in books.  They learned that video games are fun but being out in the woods could be a lot funner.  They saw places that had both history and sceince in them.  They learned about bats and how they are helpful to our planet.  They learned about bears and even got to see one.  They swam in a river that was running down a mountain.  They saw a dam and how it worked to create electricity.  They saw baby deer sleeping outside our camper.  These lessons are things that can only be taught in life.

They went back to school and things seem to fall apart.  Adam, who is now a 5th grader,  is not being challenged.  The things that are being taught are second grade level.  Yes I do understand that he tested at this level but what are we doing to change that?!?!  The homework that he is bringing home is the same stuff that he had in kindergarden, 1st, 2nd, and so on.  How is he going to be able to live a life without us if he is only taught addition?!  How is he goin to be able to buy groceries and pay bills if he can't do the math.  I understand that he learns different than the rest to the kids but why are we not challenging him.  I know he can do more.  During the summmer I make worksheets for the boys to work on.  I know that he can do more.

Ben has trouble socially.  He has friends but they are not close friends.  He plays with the same girl on recess every day.  Not a problem but when she plays with someone else, he just walks around by himself.  That is NOT what you want to hear from your child.  You want your kids to have friends and to be excepted by others.  Instead he is not.  This doesn't bother him and I do just let things be.   I would never go and make a big deal out of something that he's fine with.  However it does bother me.  The hopes of every mother is that their child will be liked and when your kid never really talks about having friends you worry.  He struggles with his school work, but seems to be doing ok.

Joshua is a smart little guy.  He picks up things very quickly.  He has two older brothers that he has learned from.  He knew his colors, letters, and numbers early.  He is a pretty good reader and likes to draw and paint.  He is an artsy fartsy kid.  He is also very quick to anger and thinks that he runs the house.  His trouble this year has been behavior.  Everyone has an opion on how to handle behavior issues.  From timeouts, behavior charts and even spanking.  This is the child that will drive me to the padded room.  I'm really at my wits end with him and I really don't know how to handle it anymore.  We have come up with yet another way to handle him this week.  I hope this one works because he may not see 7.  His birthday is next week and he's been told that if things don't change then no party.

For the last few weeks I've thought abut homeschooling.  I'm still not ready to say that we'll never do it but for right now we are sticking with the school.  The homeschooling advantages are really great.  I just don't know if we are ready to start a whole new lifestyle.  Thats pretty much what it is.  I love the idea of having them home and being able to do the teaching so I know what they are learning.   I love the idea of my kids not being bullied or teased because their best friend is a girl.  I love the idea of being able to teach them at their pace and to challenge them. I love the idea of the things we could do as a family to help them learn more about  the world around them and to have God as part of their daily lessons.  How beautiful is that!?!?  However, we are also not so sure we are up to the challenge.  We are not so sure we could handle them being here all the time.  We are not so sure we could deal with the melt down and fighting that would, not might, happen.  We are not so sure that I could handle the everyday of them being home.  I won't lie, I love the peace when they are at school.  I love the time I get to myself.   I love being able to do the shopping and running errends without them.  How do you juggle all that when you homeschool?  I know people who do it.  I envey how they can handle it all and still seem sane.  I really wish I were one of those people, and maybe someday I will be.  For now though I don't really know if I can do it.  I'm not ready to say no, but not really ready to say yes eather.

The words I never expected.

Tonight I heard the words that most moms take for granted.  Okay so maybe not take for granted but they do hear them and they hear them often.  I've even heard these words but tonight it was different.  Tonight they came from the boy who I never thought would say them.

I put the boys to bed at 8:30 everynight.  Most nights someone gets up at least once.  Most of the time it's Adam.  Last night he was up because he needed to throw up.  He does that a lot.  The night before it was because I took down his water bottle to be washed and he needed a drink.  So tonight he needed a breathing treatment and I had him come down for that after I put them to bed. 

He did his treatment and went to get a drink.  He went up and was back down in a few minutes.  He was talking about the fire drill they had at school that day and was starting to get upset.  He wanted to sleep with me.   I told him no and he went back upstairs.  Not a minute later he came back down again.  He stood in the doorway of the living room and just looked at me.  Then all of the sudden he came over to me, bent down and hugged me.  I know most of you are like "ummm  ok"  but this is a hugh thing for him and for me.  I get all warm and fuzzy inside and ask him were that came from.  He then said the words that all us moms love to hear.  He said  "it's' just to say I love you."  So who wouldn't get all sappy about that?!?  I just melt!  My eyes fill with tears and my heart is so full of love for this child that it feels like its going to burst.

You see, these are words that I never thought I would ever hear from him.  Sure I've said it to him and he's said I love you back, but it's always been  more of a response than his feelings.  Tonight he said it for real.  HE said it first!  This is one of the best things that I could ever hear come out of his mouth.  Don't get me wrong when Josh tells me he loves me more it melts my heart too, or when Ben runs and hugs me after school like I haven't seen him in days.   Yeah that pulls the strings too.  However this is way more than that.  This is almost an "in your face autisum!" 

My boys has overcome so much in his life that it's amazing.  To me though this is the biggest hurdle that he could ever jump.  The ability to let someone know how you feel is so easy for most of us but this is  a very hard thing for him.  I'm so very thankful that I got to feel those word tonight.  I thank God everyday for giving me my boys, but tonight I'm also thankful for the crazy journey that brought Adam and I to this very special moment in time.  Without Jesus being on my side I don't think I could have made it to this day.  Adam has taught all of us in this family so much more about life and the true meaning of it.  God has blessed us!  I hope that you all someday get your "in your face" day.  Your families struggle may not be with autism but what ever it is know that with God all things are possible.

Tidbits while Scraping Paint.

I've been busy getting ready to paint our house.  I dont believe the house has been painted in about 25 years.  The paint isn't really that hard to scrape but it does take a long time because our house isn't small.  I worked on it all day without any help.  My mind is always going a mile a minute so here is some of the things I thought of today....


Sure wish I could wiggle my nose and the painting was finished.

I really need safety glasses for this job.

I wonder how many times this house has been painted in the last 150 years.

Holy cow those nails are square!

I really hope a bat is not hiding out somewhere.

I wonder how long it took to build this house. 

Did they have a "good ole house raising?"

Wonder how many kids the first family who lived here had.

Sure hope the sun stays behind that cloud a little longer this time.

This is a lot easier than all that wall paper Missy and I scraped.

I think I may be a little like my grandma.  She would be doing this if she could.  She would also unclog a drain if she needed to too! 

Sure wish I had more tomatoes to can. 

I need to find out how to can Jalapenos.  I have a lot.

I miss visiting my Grandma Sarie in between classes when I was in colloege.

I wish my arms were like my grandmas when she was young.  I guess thats what you get when you milk cows everyday since you were 6.

I wonder if there are anymore wasp nests aournd or did Matt get them all.

Sure wish he would let me paint the house yellow.  We already ordered white.

Can't wait to put siding on this house in another 5 years.

We really need to get new windows.

Holy cow they used a lot of calk on this house.

Hey I can see the top of the little house next door.

Hey the sun is going down and it's before 8:00.  I don't like that.

I wonder who else I could invite to the painting party without feeling like I'm asking for help.

Why don't I like to ask for help?  I like to help others...

I wonder how many more pets Josh could possibly want. 

Can't wait to knock down the shed.  I need to get my jugs out of it first.


Yup just a few of the things I was thinking of as I scraped away today.  There were a lot more, but these were the ones I could remember.  I've been working on it for two days.  I enjoy working on the house, but sometimes I think it's going to kill us.  The changes we've made are great but the really hard ones are still to be done.  Maybe before Matt retires the house will be finished. I guess I should never be bored huh!

Our "bird" problem.

So remember when I mentioned bats the other day???

A few weeks ago I had a baby shower for my sister-in-law.  I went up to the attic to get out my antique baby bottles, as  I pulled down the ladder and saw a few droppings so I figured we had a mouse.  As I was getting the bottles out I looked up and saw bats.  EEEEWWWWWW!!!

So now what?!?!?!

After the shower I googled how to get ride of bats.  Did you know that they are protected?  I remember seeing that on Billy the Exterminator.  We called a company that said they took care of this and they said it would cost anywhere from $600 to $2600 to have them come out.  WHAT!!!!  Matt told them he would take care of it himself.  Of course they said that it took a professional and that they didn't think he could do it.

I googled some more and then came across the same method I saw on Billy. You hang bird netting on the house and they come out but can't go back in.  You leave it up for a few days and then seal up the places they were coming from.

We get all the supplies we need. We tell the kids that we have a problem with birds. After talking to a few people, we find out that this little problem is more common than you'd think.  People just don't talk about it.  I guess it's like that head lice thing and you don't want others to know. People think that if you have bats than you must have a dirty house. I don't have a dirty house.  Ok so maybe a little messy at times but I don't really know anyone who's house is perfect all the time.

So Friday came.  My parents took the kids overnight.  We hung the bird netting.  We got some beer.  Called some friends.  We watched as the bats came out.  We then went to the bar with said friends.  At the bar we talk to more people who have had trouble with bats.

After 4 days we start to seal the cracks that they were coming from.  Our house is very old and we find out that the metal roof that we just paid someone to fix last year was bad.  I guess he never really fixed it, he just painted it.  UGH! 

Anyhow...this sealing the cracks was way more work now because a lot of the wood was rotting.  We rented an arial lift, and started to replace the facia (not sure how to spell that) boards.  The lift was a piece of crap and should NOT have been for rent.  Matt got jolted by some bare wires and the stupid battery would not take a charge!  When we took it back the guy only charged us $70 instead of $200.  Just a heads up here but don't ever rent anything from A&E on Lewis.  We only got half the house done and then the rain started.  It then rained the rest of the week that we had to finish our little project.  Yup we still have half the house lined with netting.  I don't care how it looks I just don't want those critters back in the attic.

I still haven't went to check my stuff thats up there.  Most of my little treasures that I found in my house are stored there.  I have Better Homes and Gardens from the 60's.  There is vintage baby clothes, old valentine cards from the 30's, old books and more in the attic.  We have two attics.  The one the bats were in was the one that we just finished about 7 years ago.  We opened it up when we updated the big part of the house.  I will be heart broke if my treasures are ruined :(

On a good note the bats are gone!  I no longer have to worry about them.  Of course there was one night that I didn't sleep at all because of them.  They never got in the house but I was so worried that they would.  I kept thinking of a blog that I follow.  The women who writes it had a racoon in her attic and she wrote about how she couldn't sleep because she was afraid it would fall though the ceiling.        

Oh and one more thing, the other day I was folding clothes and noticed that the tee shirt that I got from Mammoth Caves had a bat on it.  I never even saw that when I bought it and I've worn it a few times.  I saw it and started laughing like a crazy person.   Not sure if I'll be wearing that shirt anymore!  :)

The End!

So Thursday was the day that Jen had to leave.  They had to drive to South Carolina.  They left around noon.  We were not in the mood to sit around or to go out on some big adventure.  So we went to the fish hatchery.  Joshua really enjoyed it.  There were these long cement pools were they put the fish.  After they grow they release them into the river that runs along the hatchery.  It was again about 105 degrees.  Josh made Matt walk all the way down one side and up the other.  It was about the lenght of a football field.  We then went down by the river.  The temperature dropped a good 25 degrees and the water was cold.  Later that night we went to dinner were Josh told a group of young girls they were all "beautiful ladies."  It was an eventful day.

On Friday we went to the spring and the guys swam.  It was fun.  They had a rope tied and they could swing out and jump.  Of course my dare devils did it!  Adam didn't want to try but enjoyed the swimming.  Here's a picture of Ben swinging. 



This was a county park and you didn't have to pay anything to go.   The kids had a great time and I think Matt really enjoyed swinging from the rope also!  Wonder if Grandpa could hang one of these babys up for the pool!   

This was our last day in Arkasas.  We decide to take two days to go home.  Smart idea, maybe I will give better directions if we are well rested on our drive home. 

We leave at about 9:00am on Saturday.  We  plan to only drive for 5 or 6 hours.  We make it to Illinois and stop at the rest area.  Maybe all rest areas are like this but we loved this one.  We went in and there were two ladies working at the desk.  I don't really go to rest areas, so I was surprised that they were there. One of the ladies asked Matt if she could help him find information on anything.  He asked if she had any on campgrounds.  She showed him the info, called the campground and booked us a site.  We got a discount at the campground because we booked from the rest area.  Holy cow talk about service!  I was releaved that we were not going to be looking for signs for campgrounds along the road.  So this is a big shout out to the Illinois rest area people...THANKS FOR SAVING MY SANITY!!!

Now with a map to the campground we head out to Effingham.  Ok so that is a pretty funny name for a city.  We still laugh about our stay in Effingham.  The campground was very easy to find.  They had a great little playground area for the kids.  I was pretty happy with the showers.  Other than being at our Aunt and Uncle's I've been taking a shower in the camper and it's not that big.  I was happy to have a good shower after a long day on the road.

We make it home the next day and I tell you I was so happy to see the Pure Michigan sign on 23!  The best part of the last 10 miles was the boys doing the aaahhhhh thing over the bumpy part on 23.  Matt and I now do it every time we travel that part of the road.

We had an amazing time on our trip.  I think I said thank you to my husband just about every day over those 18 days, with the exception of the few travel days.  We were so blessed that everything worked out and God made it possable for us to do this vacation.  I have an Uncle who often says there is no greater artist that God and I was so very happy that my children got to see what a beautiful land He gave us.  Thanks for reading this story of our first big National Parks camping trip.  I hope that you enjoyed reading it.  I'll leave you with one more picture of the trip.

Ben took this one when we were on our over priced train ride.  Not a bad picture for an 8 year old.  We look kind of worn out but we're still smiling.

The wedding, Dam, and Branson.

So the rest of our vacation went like this...


Saturday Rebecca got married!  We had a great time and we taught those in Arkansas how we do it in Michigan!!  They don't dance.  I was shocked when I heard this.  My thought was that maybe it was Bobbys family that don't dance.  Not really sure, but the DJ said it was the first time they ever saw men dance the dollar dance with the groom.  Boy did we ever show them how we do it!  Joshua "taught" his cousins grandma how to dance.  Everyone had a great time.

As planned we moved the camper to Uncle Rob and Aunt Tammy's house on Monday.  On Tuesday we went to see some of the area.  We went to Bull Shoals dam, and to the state park.  That night we had a fish fry. 

On Wednesday we went to Branson.  Yup, back to Missouri.  We wanted to take Adam to the Titanic museum.  We looked up some other attractions and planned to go on a train ride also.  It took about 1 1/2 hours to get there.  We went with Matts parents, sister and niece.  We got there got our tickets for the train and found the museum.  We ate lunch at Shoney's.  This is the first time my kids have ever been to a buffet other than a chinese one.  They loved the fact that you could get your food and not wait. I'm not really a big fan but it was fast and everyone was happy.  We went on our train ride.  It was nice but not worth the $115 we spent on it.  We then went to the museum.  That was worth evey dime we spent on it!  It was much cheeper than the train and so much more enjoyable.  My son Adam LOVES  Titanic.  He saw the movie when he was about 5 years old.  He has seen the original black and white film.  He loves the documentary films.  His gramdma gave him the sound track to the movie last year for his birthday.  He was really excited to go to the museum.  We spent about 3 hours going through it.  This was one of the few things that I really wanted to do on this vacation and I was so happy that he got to go!  We were not allowed to take pictures in the museum but I did get one of the building.  



Pretty cool huh!

When we got back to Unce Rob and Aunt Tammy's we found out that Jennifer had to fly back home unexpectedly the next day.  The kids were not happy about this at all.  They had just met their cousins for the first time and didn't want to say good bye yet.  The good news though was that they are going to be in Utah now and not England.  We can roadtrip to Utah ( they have National Parks) but we couldn't pull the camper to England. 

to be continued...

Arkansas or bust!!!

I've been busy getting the kids ready for school, and with bats, both subjects for next week maybe...anyway here's the next segment of vacation.


Remember how I said we were going to start no later than 8am.  Yeah so at 9:30 we head out.  Crap we got a late start.  Well it's a 10 hour drive so 7:30 will be our arrival time.  We get back on the expressway and head west.  This is the day that we've been dreading.  This is going to be our long drive day.  The others were just preping us for this drive.

I got the directions from google and our gps is now fully charged.  We don't use it much so that the battery won't die on us.  We plan to just stop at the rest area to eat lunch.  We don't plan on any stopping or site seeing on the way.  We know that when we get to Arkansas we'll just set up camp and go to bed. 

So we travel the same road that we took from Nashville to Maryville.  We see the same giant cross along the road.  We pass the power plant that I say we should look into moving by.  We really enjoy the ride.  The kids are doing great again with their games and movies.  After about 4 hours we stop to eat lunch.  It is again over 100 degrees out.  We make our sandwiches and eat as fast as we could.  We do not want to sit at the picnic tables or in the camper.  We eat and are on our way again.

After about an hour we get to where we need to turn off the expressway and head northwest to Arkansas.  The whole reason for our Arkansas trip is a wedding.  Matt's cousin was getting married.  Matt's uncle moved to Arkansas about 5 years ago after retiring from the Air Force.  They traveled across America at that time and found that they loved Arkansas.  It really is a beautiful place.  We planned to spend the rest of our trip there.  The part that we were really looking forward to was spending the next week with family.  Matt's cousin that we haven't seen in a long time was going to be there.  The last time we saw her was before Adam was born.  It was the summer of 2000.  Matt couldn't wait.  She had never seen our kids and we had only seen her oldest boy who was only 3 months old at the time.  We planned to stay at a campground for the first four nights and then go to Unlce Rob's for the rest of the week. 

On one of my phone calls with Uncle Rob he had said how there are no expressways in Arkansas.  I guess I never really paid much attention to it or that it didn't really matter at the time.  So we finally get to the Tennessee border and cross into Missouri.  Missouri ?!?!  Yup Missouri.  We will only be in Missouri for 1 1/2 hours then we'll go into Arkansas and then back into Missouri then back into Arkansas.  WHAT?!?!?!  I had read these directions a few times, but I guess I must have just "looked them over" because that's just plan crazy!  We stop to get something to eat at Pizza Hut in Missouri.  It's about 5:30 now and I figure we have about 2 maybe 3 hours to go.  Ok so maybe I was wrong and we'll be there by 8:30.  So as I said it was over 100 degrees out that day.  We go into Pizza Hut and one of the AC units are broke.  Good times!  It was about a cool 98 in the dinning area.  We ate as fast as we could and got out of there fast.  We were back on the road in about 45 mins.  We were all still in very good moods and was enjoying the ride.

So picture being on M50 or 223 for about 4 hours.  Up hills, down hills, around curves and though some flat lands.  The drive was nice until we left Missouri, entered Arkansas, and left Arkansas and entered Misslouri.  By this time it was 8:30.  We were now back in Missouri and not sure why the heck we left Arkansas once we got there.  Hey Unlce Rob said that the roads were crazy down here and  they looked like the men were drinking when the made them.  Yeah that's exactly what it's like. You drive for 4 hours and only go 150 miles.  The thing that really gets you going is the fact that you go though one little town and the speed limit goes 60 to 45 to 25 in all of a mile.  You leave that little town and you do 25, 45, then you see 60.  Ten minutes later you have another little town and it goes back down again.

We've now been on the road for over 10 hours and we are really starting to get tired.  Matt and I start to talk about how great it would've been to live in the country and have some animals.  Then our conversation startes to sound a lot like it did on our drive to the Smokys.  It's starting to get dark and Matt is getting upset because he don't want to have to find the campground in the dark.  I call the office and leave a message only this time the man calls me back.  I tell him where we are and he says to call him when we see the Welcome to Arkansas sign.  So after about another 45 minutes and me becoming a "dream killer" for my husband, We turn onto the road that the campground was off of.  I call the guy back and he stays with me untill I see the sign for the campground.  I tell him that we turn and he says "ok now it'll be about another 9 miles and about 40 minutes."  WHAT!!!!  I hang up and Matt is really mad now.  Not only am I a dream killer but I can't give directions or pick a good campground.  This sounds just like the last few miles of our last day long drive.

We make it in about 30 minutes and the guy is waiting with a flashlight to help us get in our site.  Matt asks if there is a pull though.  No they only have four sites.  The guy goes up to the window to talk to Matt and smells like a bar.  He is trying to give Matt directions on how to back into the spot but keeps saying you got to go this way or that way.  I get out because I don't want my husband to kill the crazy drunk man.  I get us backed into the site and we get set up.  It is now 10:20.  Our 10 hour drive was really 13 hours.  We were very tired and Matt really didn't like any of us by this time.  He wasn't happy that I got a campground that was so far away from everything and everyone.  We did what we could that night and went to bed.

Want to see what we saw the next morning???

These little guys were right in front of our camper.

This was the firepit.  There were only four sites and they shared the firepit. 

They rented out these cabins.  We didn't spend any time at the campground so this is really all the pics I have.

 

The Y and a bear.

So the only things that I really wanted to do in Tennessee was swim in the mountains and see a bear.

My parents lived in Maryville, Tennessee when I was born.  They get all smiley and google eyed at times when they talk about living there.  As a kid I often asked why they moved back.  I really don't remember their answer but I know why now.  Anyway, my parents often talk about spending all their free time in the mountains.  They didn't have much money and the park is free.  What a better way to spend your weekend than picnicing and swimming in the mountains.

So our Tuesday started with really no plans at all.  Matt wanted to ride the skylift in Gatlinburg and I just wanted the boys to see a bear.  We headed to Gatlinburg.  If any of you have ever been there you know what I'm talking about when I say it was CrAzY busy!!  Gatlinburg is a beautiful little town settled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.  However it is so commercialized that it will drive you insane!  There is one road into town.  It is so busy that it takes you about 30 minutes to get from one end of town to another, and the town is not big at all.  On our way in I told Matt about the public parking lot and the shuttle that you can take.  He of course didn't hear me.  So now we are driving in the heart of town and trying to find a place to park.  I see another sign for parking, not a city owned lot of course, and we turn.  $10.00!  TEN dollars!  It was 10 bucks just to park!  We are only getting lunch and riding the skylift!  Ok..so this is the one thing Matt wanted to do here...$10..ok!  We came here about two summers after we got married and we couldn't afford to ride it then.  He really wants to do this.  I want to too but am sort of the one who always says ...well we really can't afford that...

We eat lunch at McDonalds, McNasty is what Matt calls it, and then proceed to the skylift.  We do see this really cool granite ball floating on water and we stop to play for a minute.



Here's Matt and Adam riding the skylift.  They loved it!  Ben and Josh did too, but I couldn't get a good picture of them.

So after the madness of Gatlinburg we drove to Cades Cove.  If you've never been there I strongly suggest it!  The Smokys are the most visited of all the National Parks.  I have a personal tie to the area but that aside it is truely breath taking!  I have so many pics that I would love to share but just don't have the room on here.  Anyway, we drive to Cades Cove and take the loop.  We see the mountains and a few deer.  The river that runs through the mountains is just beautiful!  We stop and let the kids put their feet in the water and this is the view looking at the water.

I can see how my parents fell in love with this place!!  The water was cold, but felt great on everyones toes.  It was refreshing on that 100 degree day!  Next stop Cades Cove!!!  By this time I was starting to feel a little crappy, but I'm taking my boys to Cades Cove so buck up sister!

We get there and take the loop.  We see the houses and churches but no one wants to get out and look.  As a kid we always got out to walk up and see everything.  It's so hot that no one cares what is in the houses!  We see some deer and thats about it.  The boys are starting to get board with our drive.  Pretty soon we see a few trucks pulled over and people looking in a field.  We stop and Matt asks whats going on.  A BEAR!!!  WOOHOO!!!  This is the one and only thing I wanted the kids to see, other than the river!!!  Want to see a picture??

ummm...Yeah so do I.  He's there, I swear he's there!  I wish I knew how to zoom in or better yet I wish I took the picture, but I know he's there! He was standing up on his back feet and looking around then he would drop back down. Ben was the only one who says he saw it .  I can be a happy girl the rest of this trip.  The kids got to see a bear and got to put their feet in the river.  Life is good!!

We got back to the camper at about 6:00 and I go to sleep.  I'm really not feeling well and start to think I have strep.  Not a good thing when your on vacation!  Matt cooks dinner, get the boys to bed and does the laundry!!  Holy cow do I have an awsome husband or what!!!

Next day I feel a bit better.  We spend the morning driving  go carts, playing putt putt and riding bumper boats.  The boys really needed to have a little fun and boy did we have fun!!  After lunch it's back to the mountains we go!  We pack up our swim stuff and head to the "Y"!!  There is a place in the mountains where two rivers meet and head down.  They call it the Y.  At least they did when my parents lived there.  It was great!!!  After swimming Matt stops at Kroger for some Mucinex-D. Yeah, I feel crappy again!

Our time in Tennessee was great, but not long enough! I never got a chance to see any of my family that is there.  We didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked there so I guess we'll just have to go back sometime.  We did however do all the things that we wanted to.  My kids got to swim and see where their grandparents fell in love.  They got to see a bear even though the picture didn't turn out great and my husband got to ride the skylift!  This is turning into the best vacation ever!! 

On to Arkansas!  It's a ten hour drive so we plan to leave no later than 8:00 a.m.  We should arrive at about 6:00 p.m. right?!?!

Oh no....day 4.

So our fourth day was going to be traveling to Smoky Mountain National Park and enjoying some of the mountains before dinner that evening.

Instead, we had an appointment to get the camper fridge fixed.  We had to be out of our camp site by 11:00 a.m. Monday morning.  We left and went to Camping World in Bowling Green Kentucky.  We had a lot of time to kill so we took the kids to a Chuck E. Cheese.  It was in a mall so I left Matt and the boys to do some shopping.  Our appointment was at 1:00 so we then dropped it off and went to have lunch.  We went to a Denny's.  We have not be to a Denny's in years.  As a matter of fact I don't think my kids have ever been to one before.  So we ate and had a grand time.  Ummm, yeah, not really!  The kids were mad because they wanted McDonald.  Everyone was in a bad mood and no one enjoyed their meal.  Ok so maybe I did enjoy my burger and the fact that the kids were being kids.  The best part was the old lady who was dressed in her Sunday best, on a Monday...at Denny's.  She was so very prim and proper that I was feeling like I should be ashamed for wearing shorts to dinner.  She was a hoot to watch after awhile.  She kept looking at the kids like they had two heads.  Mind you they weren't really doing anything wrong, they just weren't happy.  So the lady made my dinner fun after a few minutes of watching her.  I finally figured hey what the heck it's DENNY'S! 

After our meal we went to check on the camper.  It was finished and we only had to fork out another $150 bucks!  BLAAHHH!  We go around to hook it up and the guy was waiting there.  He then tells us the good news!  Hey your roof is shot!!  So we kind of figured.  It was one of those things that you know but you never really say it out loud because than you have to do something about it.  Well that bathroom floor has been getting soft for a few years and this year we've noticed some water on the floor in the kitchen area.  Great Just what we need!  The guy says that the materal is around $500-$1000.  It will cost about $4000 for Camping World to do it.  Well buddy, we are on our way to Tennessee so we'll do it later.  ;) 

We finally get started out.  It's now 3:30.  This was the time we had planned to be there.  Well there is a time change from where we're at so really it's only 2:30.  With fingers crossed we head south! 



We make it to Nashville in about a hour.  So smooth sailing!  Yeah right!  There was a traffic jam.  I guess it wasn't that bad but it put us behind by about an hour.  After that we had a great time looking and taking in everything.  The kids were again playing their ds or watching movies.  There really is nothing like the electronic babysitter!  Matt and I had tons of time to catch up on things.  I must say I never get tired of being with my husband!  We even passed a power plant on a river and talked about how great it would be to live on the river and him just drive the boat to work everyday!!  It was a great drive!

Soon I started to realize that we were still a few hours from the campground and they could be closing the office.  I couldn't find the number so I had to call my SIL and get it.  Matt started to say how we needed a smart phone for such things.  "I mean we could have used it to find Camping World too."  So now I call and there is no answer.  I leave a message and hope they call back.  Now Matt isn't so chipper anymore.  We needed to stop and eat!  So he pulls into a Taco Bell and as soon as he does I say I don't think we can get out of here.  Well he pulled right in and I mean ALL the way in!  Yep...no way out!  The gas station and the taco bell parking lots had a spot were the connected.  It was only a small little opening but if we could back into it we would be able to get out.  So we did it!!!  WOO HOO! 

 We ate quickly and then started out again hoping to get there before it gets to dark.  Yeah we didn't. We make it to Maryville at about 8:15.  Now the last time my husband was here it was 1999.  He doesn't remember what it looks like or some of the land marks of the area. We go by the airport and I ask if he remembers it...no.  Ok.  We go by the hospital were I was born again I ask...no.  We go though town and out another road.  We keep going.  I know we are going the right way but the gps dies and then I start to wonder.  The directions from google are not always great and sometimes I don't see a sign but I know I've been watching.  My mind keeps racing but I say nothing because if I do he'll freak out.  "Oh hey we turn left here."  Shoo  that was close!  We turn and within a few miles it's dark.  Now it's a little after 9:00.  We keep going and Matts cheerful mood from that afternoon went to "I can't beleave that you forgot the number to the campground." or one of my favorites "Could you have gotten us any farther away from civilization?"  or "Are we even anywhere close to the mountain?"  The road keeps going farther into darkness,though twists and turns , ups and downs and finally... I see the road and a sign for the campround!  WOOHOO!!!  I'm so releaved but I don't let on that I was worried at all.  We get there and Matt is griping about what do we do now...they're closed.  I guess my husband has never really read the signs that most campground offices have that say if you arrive late you can just check in in the morning.  So we find a site and get set up somewhat.  It's now after 10:00 and this has been a VERY long day.

Oh hey want to see what he woke up to in the morning???

"WOW this is amazing"  That's what he said on Tuesday morning. 

Two Days in a Cave.

So here's how the next two days on our "Trip across America" went.  Thanks to Melissa for naming our adventure!

Friday night was crazy so I prayed that night to thank God for bringing us to this cute little campground, and for not having my husband die that day.  We have always liked the small family owned campgrounds and felt right at home here. They only had 30 sites and that is just what we needed.  The boys are free to do more at a small campground than at a large one so they were happy that they could ride their bikes and play without me being right behind them all the time.

We woke up Saturday and got ready to go to the park.  We packed a lunch and plenty of water, it was so very hot!!!  The caves were only a 10 minute drive so we started out.  I had planned to do two tours and looked for the easier ones for Adam.  He would NOT like the 2 hour 600 stair tour.  Don't really think I would eather!  We got to the park and got tickets for both tours.  The first was a self guided tour in the Rotunda.  It was a short walking distance to the enterance. 

It was about 98 out that day.  In the caves it was a cool 58.  Our first tour was great and very refreshing. 

Ben wasn't so happy because he was getting cold and I forgot to bring jackets.  I mean really who would think to bring a jacket when you are sweating from just breathing.  So here are the guys in the Rotunda.  Pretty cool place if you ever get the chance to go.

Our next tour wasn't untill 5:00 that evening so we had some time to spare.  We then hiked, by hike I mean walk slowly because Adam doesn't like to sweat, down to the spring.  It was a mile round trip and we figured it would be a nice walk.  It really was!  On the way down I walked with Adam and then Matt walked with him on the way up.   Oh did I mention that it was down hill.  Not really a bad hill but for Adam it was very hard. 

I was so very proud of him!  He just kept going and was smiling through all the sweat.  A few time he would stop and sit down in the middle of the trail, but he never gave up!  We finally made it to the spring and it was beautiful!

Our next tour was in 3 hours so we had some time to kill.  We went on a drive through the park.  We went on a bike ride were Ben crashed.  We made a stop to buy a first aid kit for the truck.  We went and ate dinner at the campground.  Then finally it was tour time!

It was the Frozen Niagra and it was BEAUTIFUL!! This was the end of our second day!  This made everything that happend the day before worth it!

We got back to the campground to find that our fridge had stopped working. Great just what we need.  We are going to be gone for over two more weeks we HAVE to have the fridge.  We fill it with ice and find out there is a Camping World close by.  We get up Sunday morning and head out to find it.

Our third day we got the part for the fridge and a few things at Bass Pro.  It is truely amazing how you can be hundreds of miles from home and still want to go to the same stores we have at home! After doing a little shopping we go to another cave.  Diamond Caverns is a privatly owned cave.   It was our favorite one of the caves.  We had a guide for this one and Ben and Josh were fighting over who was going to be closest to him.   

This is just a little sample of what Diamond Caverns looks like.  This one was everyone favorite.  It was a half mile tour.  There were a lot more stairs but Adam didn't care.  He really loved this one too.

Oh...by the way...Matt couldn't get the part in the fridge.  We called and made an appointment at Camping World for the next day.  We were planning to be in the Smokys by 3:00 in the afternoon.  Our appointment was at 1:00 so there went those plans.  Hey no big deal it's only a 5 hour drive...right....