Fun Day at SDC

Heather and I took advantage of the sunny warm day and took the kids to Silver Dollar City.
Here's Haven on the elephants (which go very high in the air):


Jude got to ride the frogs for the first time. What a big boy, sitting there in the front seat by himself while mommy sits in the back seat!

Here's Haven riding the ladybugs all by herself!

I couldn't get a picture of it, but Jadon rode Thunderation with Heather! Big step for a 4 year old. He is tall enough this year for some of the big rides! He loved it and asked if he could ride that every time we go to SDC!

What a fun day! Can't wait to go again.

Home sweet home

I left Houston yesterday at 2:35 pm (well, closer to 3 because of traffic on the runway) and arrived in Dallas to change planes at about 4 pm. My plane was supposed to leave at 5:45 pm and arrive at 7 pm in Springfield, but after we boarded in Dallas, the pilot announced that there was a problem with the plane. We waited while they determined if it was a recurring problem and.....finally they told us it was and we would have to get off the plane. It could take an hour and a half to fix it or they would find us another plane, I hate, hate, hate to fly anyway and they tell me the plane is broke! Not good. Finally, we boarded the same plane about 8 pm and I got home about 9:15 pm. They never told us what was the problem or if it was fixed or what! So, of course, I'm listening for any weird noises or a wing flying past my window. The girl sitting next to me had left Germany that morning and was heading to Fort Leonard Wood. She is in the Army and had been stationed in Germany and Iraq for the past 2 1/2 years and guess what she does? She is an Aviation Tech. She works on military planes and helicopters! So I got an "Aviation for Dummies" lesson from her which eased my mind somewhat. She was born in California but raised in Australia and has family all over the states. She will probably go to Afghanistan with a new company. We had a fun visit and it made the time go by really fast. I told her "thank you" for helping to keep our country safe and will pray for her safety. Thank you Lord for putting her in the seat next to me. Today I got to keep my four little sweetie pies and it was really good to see them and I think they were glad to see me. Well, no pictures today. Just a report. But...hey, two posts in one week....what can I say? Love to all, Donna

I'm In Houston

I arrived in Houston Saturday about 8 pm. The Bischoff family picked me up at the airport and took me to their new home. They took me on a quick tour before I settled myself in the guest room. We visited awhile before going to bed.

Sunday we went to Sunday School and Church, then out to eat with a bunch of the students at Jax Grill. Doug had an Israel trip get-together, so Wendy went with him and I stayed and played with the kids.

On Monday Wendy, the kids and I went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It's a huge event that, besides the rodeo, is kind of like a fair with carnival rides, livestock, etc. We saw the pig races, did Fun at the Farm, saw baby chicks hatching, one day old baby pigs....just fun after fun. Here's our piggies at the pig races:

Lucas driving the John Deere:

Bailey milking the cow:

Ruthie on the Carousal:

Micah on the Goliath slide:

Wendy, Lucas, Bailey, Micah on the SkyLift:

Ruthie and I were content to walk.

We walked to a nearby school playground in the afternoon and let the kids play then came home and went to Target.

Now, it's Tuesday morning and Wendy is at the dentist. The girls have been watching a movie and Micah and Lucas are playing Wii. Who knows what the rest of the day will hold?

Be home Wednesday,

Donna

2009

Happy New Year everyone! I bet you thought this blog was no more.

Well, I just need to write about our newest grandson, Cael Steven Wallace, born December 3, 2008. I know everyone who would read my blog already saw his announcements on other blogs (especially his mommy's, http://exceedinglymore.blogspot.com/ ) and facebooks, but I just have to say how happy and proud we are of this little blessing! Here's Pappy with his newest "pappymint" buddy. "Pappymints" are what we call the peppermints he carries around in his shirt pocket to give the grandkids.

It sure was a joy for our family to sit with our dear friends the Jones's , Dixon's and Ward's and wait for Cael to make his arrival. Then when he got here, we were all amazed at that long, black hair (which he still has). We must have set a record for cameras there and pictures taken that night.

I am hoping to get high-speed internet soon so that it doesn't take me so long to write a blog or load pictures. You know, it hasn't been that long ago that I was just amazed to get to communicate by email, then the blogs, then facebook, and now, that's not enough....... I have to do it faster.... easier....better.

Well, it's time to go to bunco. I wonder if little Cael will attend his first bunco night with Mommy. Hope so!

Inconsistently yours,

Donna

Typical Micah

I just have to tell this story that Wendy told me about Micah. He was at school the other day (1st grade) and he got a reward for good behavior. It was a sucker and, apparently, not his first one. The other kids that were standing around him wanted it. One kid said, "Micah, next time you get a sucker, would you give it to me." The other kids said, "Yeah, me, too." Micah said thoughtfully, "You know....I could do that, but, it's going to take me a long time to get enough suckers for all of you." That's Micah! Such a sweetheart! He'll probably try to save them up to give everybody one. He seems to make it his mission in life to be kind and helpful to everyone.

I love you, Micah Steven,

Mema

Glory!!

We got the most wonderful call last night from our grandaughter, Bailey. She said, "Mema, I asked Jesus into my heart last night." I can't describe to you how that moment touched me. I immediately was reminded of the joy Gary and I felt, not only of our own salvation experience, but when each of our children were saved.

Bailey has made the choice to receive the greatest gift that our Heavenly Father has given us....His Son Jesus, who became the perfect sacrifice for our sins when He was crucified on the cross, so that we can be forgiven of our sins and begin a walk with Jesus that will take us to live forever with Him in Heaven.

Bailey is 7 years old (8 in November) and has loved Jesus and known that He loves her for a long time now and she has memorized many scriptures. But Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 is now her spiritual birthday...the day she just knew what she had to do. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10 NIV

Wendy said she went to pray with Bailey at bedtime, as one of them usually does, but Bailey asked for Doug to come in, too, because she wanted to be pray and ask Jesus to live in her heart.

She is excited to tell people and to be baptized. After Bailey called me, I called her Uncle Matt because August 26th is his physical birthday. What a great birthday blessing for him!

When Lucas was saved and baptized, Doug and Wendy planned a special luncheon for our families to celebrate together. We went around the table and each one shared our salvation stories with Lucas. It was truly a special time! We look forward to Bailey's celebration

get-together.

I love you, Bailey Boo!

Mema

40 Years and Counting

So...to continue my story....after lunch on Saturday, the 2nd, we went to Roy and Belinda's (Lindsay's aunt and uncle and our good friends) house for Gavin's 7th birthday party. They have a beautiful home and pool and Gavin loves to swim. He opened his presents and we had brownies and homemade ice cream.


By the way, I told you I would let you know when the pictures are posted, so check out http://www.capturedbysarah.com/ and go to client galleries, then click on "w8grnkids". They are even better than I imagined. Sarah Boyd is the photographer and she did an excellent job!


Back to the story...Sunday evening, Wendy, Bailey, Ruthie, Karla, Me, Carlene, Gina and Allison all loaded up in Gina's Tahoe and went to the Branson Landing. We had such an enjoyable time. Doug and Larry had taken the boys to a Springfield Cardinals game.


We said our good-byes and the Bischoff's headed back to Houston on Tuesday.


Next thing to look forward to ...Gary's vacation started on Monday the 11th. Since he didn't have to work on Saturday, the 9th, we decided to take off for a drive to celebrate our 40th anniversary on August 10th. Gary brought me beautiful roses and a card. We hadn't really made any plans. We're not big vacation travelers, but our best alone time is in a car driving somewhere...anywhere. We packed an overnight bag and drove out Highway 60 towards West Plains. We visited Gary Hirsch at his Kosh Warehouse (just before closing time), then went to Alton to visit David and Rosemary Case. We had a wonderful visit with them before we drove on back to West Plains. We ate at Ziggie's and spent the night at a Super 8. The next morning we drove west through Gainesville and Theodosia and Protem....until the road was covered with water. I mean, the highway drove right off into Bull Shoals Lake. They had a ferry to take you across the lake. So, since we had never ridden a ferry before, and it was either that or turn around and go back, we decided to go for it.













We got home Sunday afternoon and decided to visit Glidewell Baptist Church for their evening service. We hadn't been there since Frank became their Pastor and Todd the Music/Youth Mnister. It was good to see a lot of family who attend there.

We had a really good week. Gary was working on a project, and I worked on a few things, but we went to a movie, played with Jadon, Haven and Jude, took Gavin on an outing Friday evening, then he spent the night with us.

So now...here we are... back to regular stuff. We've got Matt's birthday coming up on August 26th. Then, we'll probably go to Houston for Ruthie's birthday October 9th. October is such a full month. Another two or three posts, at least. (Or one very long one)

Okay, it's 9:40 pm and past my bedtime, so I'll say goodnight.

Donna