You might be an Ohioian IF...

I got this from a friend's site. If you are from Ohio...you can relate.

--You know all the 4 seasons: winter, still winter, almost winter and construction.

--You live less than 20 miles from some college or university

--You know what a "buckeye" really is, and have a recipe for candy ones, and usually look around when someone says that they have buckeyes

--Michigan usually brings a scowl

--You know if other Ohioans are from southern or northern Ohio as soon as they open their mouths

--You know how to correctly spell Cincinnati

--"Vacation" means going to Florida, Hilton Head, or Florida

--You measure distance in minutes

--Your school classes were canceled because of cold

--Your school classes were canceled because of heat

--You've had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day, and maybe even use the "defrost" and "A/C" in the same day

--You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?"

--You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

--Drinking beer underage is a weekend ritual

--You carry bungee cords in your car

--You know what "pop" is

--Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow

--The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page but requires six pages for sports (5 are for local sports)

--You call it Krogers even though it is Kroger

--Girls wear miniskirts with uggs in the winter and complain of it being too cold outside

--You know someone that has a beat up pick-up truck. You also know someone that has a BMW

--You know where Jerry Springer got his start

--The term "3-way" refers to spagghetti topped with chili and cheese

--It can hit 40 degrees in the winter and people can be seen wearing sunglasses and t-shirts

--If you think that the state flower is construction cones

--You refer to everyone girl and boy as "guys" Ex. "Hey you guys!"

--You know who Barnabee Jones was

--You know who Big Chuck and Little John is

--You know who Ernest Ansley is- "Happy, Happy Jesus, Amen"

--You think that Ohio'ns don't have accents

--You cringe when you here the name Art Modell

--You catch yourself humming the Drew Carry show theme song

--You know where Thomas Edisons homestead is, where President Garfield's tomb is, and where the Unground Railroad museum is located, but you haven't been to any of them

--When Ohio is not represented in any playoff, you root for any team that is against Michigan

--You have been to one or all of the Lake Erie Islands

--You have a seasons pass to Cedar Point and Cleveland Metropark zoo

--You know what the "Flats" are

--You get excited when you hear Ohio or Cleveland mentioned on a TV show

Funny thing

We have this list of 26 Bible verses we are trying to teach Grace. One for every letter of the alphabet. A is "All we like sheep have gone astray." Isaiah 53:6

One day when Grace was not in a particularly good mood, I made the mistake of trying to get her to repeat it after me.

Me: Grace. Can you say "All we like sheep have gone astray."?

Grace: (with attitude and a frown) Sheep go to church.

Me: (laughing so hard) Yes, Grace. You are probably right.

Update

So here's what I've heard about Grandma. This has all been filtered through several people, so keep that in mind.

Apparently, her red blood cell count was quite low, so they are giving/have given her two pints of blood. They are going to continue running tests and I believe the angiogram is tomorrow. From what I understand, Grandma's heart has only been operating at 20% for a long time. This isn't a new thing. If anyone out there knows more about what's going on, I would appreciate being told. :) Leave it in the comments section or email me.

Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Grandma Shirley

For the few of you who read this blog regularly, please keep my Grandma Shirley in your prayers. She went to the dr today due some heart palpitations. He had her admitted and they found out that she only has 20% usage of her heart. They will be doing an angiogram tomorrow morning. I will post more here when I find out any news.

I don't feel like I know much these days, but this I do know: God is a good God...He is faithful and true.

Thank you!!

Yummy Yogurt!!

Just some pictures of Benjamin trying to feed himself some yogurt. He's getting to be so independant lately. He actually did much better this time than he has before. What a mess!!

Mom's new haircut

Hey, Aunt Dawn...here is a picture of Mom's new haircut. A before and after. I like it except for the fact that the next day she went and cut bangs into it. But whatever. She likes it better that way.

Sorry it took me longer than I thought to get it up here. Our internet connection has been unreliable. If you click on the picture, it will open up larger in a new window. Take care!

OH...by the way, I finally got those pics up of Amon leaving the other day, so scroll down to see some of those.

There's too much

pressure to come up with a title for every post. :)

Not much to report here. I am more than ready for the weather to warm up. I know the kids are too. They love to play outside. I am hoping that we can get them a swing set sometime soon. Perhaps not as extravegant as that one, but hey...I can dream, right?

George is going back to San Antonio tomorrow. :( BUT, he will be back tomorrow night, although it will be late. A one day trip I can handle.

I truly don't have much to say. I haven't had the energy to attempt to upload more pictures, so I apologize for that.

Oh! Wait. I talked to Travis the other day. I forgot to mention that. He completed his SERE school. He said he took between 50-60 punches in one setting. He currently has a black eye. He said he couldn't really tell us what went on. Actually, he said that he won't tell us. But, he did say that it was one of his favorite schools so far.

He is now in the first part of his language school. He goes from 2-9 everyday to learn German for the next two weeks. Oh...did I mention that is where he will be based out of? Germany.

It's crazy to think that my baby brother is a Green Beret. Those are some seriously tough guys. OH...I have his mailing address if you want it. Just email me at Tracie at Godchasers dot net and I will email it to you. I'm sure he'd appreciate any sort of care packages that you might want to bless him with. :) I know there are some good cooks reading this, and I know Travis would appreciate anything. :)

As for Amon, he text messaged me a few times today. He said he made it Atlanta and was on the bus/van to Ft Benning. I will let you guys know when we hear from him next.

Looks like I had more to share than I thought. But now I am off to bed. Take care and God bless!!

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Not much to say here. Amon is gone. Well, actually he is sitting in a hotel in North Little Rock. He has to spend the night and then tomorrow he goes to MEPS. After MEPS he will fly to Ft Benning in Columbus, Georgia.

This morning we all went down to Mom and Dad's to visit with Amon as he prepared to leave. He packed, cleaned out his car, and played with the kids. Later, Dad, Mom, Amon, Ryan, and I went out to breakfast before he had to meet the recruitment officer. We had fun getting in some last minute teasing. :)

Then the goodbyes and the tears came. It just doesn't seem real. Maybe it is because we've been through this before with Travis and we know we have two more times to go. I don't know. All I know is that it will be different now. A year ago, the only person in our family that didn't live on the hill, was Kerry. And he was only an hour away at school. Now, it's just Mom, Dad, and Ryan in the house. Things change, huh?

Here are some pictures of today:

So long and farewell

Since Amon is leaving tomorrow, I thought I would take a moment to post a few recent pictures of him. A sort of montage of Amon, if you will. :) Enjoy! I am sure I will post more pics tomorrow of the actual goodbye's. *sniff* *sniff*

Mom and Amon at our family farewell dinner:
Amon at Gma and Gpa Shirley's:
Amon and his "friend", Stephanie, at Ben's party:Amon's 23rd birthday: No explanation needed for this one:

Comments

Hey, just in case you guys didn't know, you are able to leave comments on here. At the end of each post, there is a thing that says 0 comments. Click on that and you can leave a comment. Even if it is just to say hello. Or to share a profound thought you had while reading our blog. ANYTHING. It would be nice to know who is visiting. And I know you are visiting. I see it on my site counter. Just be nice and leave comments. :) Please and thank you.

Sunday with the Shirley's

Grandpa praying before the meal:

Fixing plates:

Eating:

A little entertainment:

Just visiting:

Cute video of Grace:

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

Into the water

Ryan

Amon

So today was an all around good day. My brother, Amon, and my sister, Ryan, were both baptized today after church. It was a very special day in their lives and I am so happy for both of them. Pastor Paul preached a very good message at the service and I think some relationships are now on their way to being restored because of it. At least I hope so.

Oh. And yes. They were baptized in a swimming pool. We are in a temporary facility. We take what we can get. :) By the way, sorry for the poor picture quality...The community center doesn't have the best lighting.

After church, we all headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Shirley's house for TACO'S!!! It was really good to see some family that I haven't seen in quite a while. I think we all had a good time. At one point, Grandma was playing the piano and Grace decided to join in. It was cute! I'll post pictures from their house later today so check back. I am also hoping that I can find time to upload a video clip from yesterday. Have a great day! Enjoy it...and remember you make it what it is!!

Top o' the day to ya! :)

So, these are the bows that I made Grace for St. Patty's Day. I am so happy with how they turned out. You can't really see from this angle, but it was the best I could get at the time.

Here is my ever so happy sister:
Happy St Patrick's Day!
Where did those blue eyes come from?
Such a happy girl!

Okay...so when I was growing up in Ohio, St Patrick's Day was a much bigger deal than it is down here. I promise...I have heard or seen VERY little around here that even acknowledge's the holiday. Oh well...just one of the MANY differences between North and South. I had planned on having fun with the kids and letting the leprechaun's leave shamrock's and little pots of gold around the house, but time got away from me. Perhaps next year.

And here they are...

So, I was finally able to post the kite flying pics. Somehow they are all out of order, but oh well. You get the point. :)

Oh and the one of Ben? Just sharing what new phase he's going through. It's the "hey-I-can't-walk-yet,-but-I-sure-can-climb-in-and-out-of-everything-so-let's-give-Mom-a-heart-attack" phase. Isn't life fun! :)

Let's go fly a kite...

So, on Sunday, after church, Mom and Dad came up. We all sat outside talking and watching the kids play. Someone commented on how windy it was, which reminded me of the kites I had recently purchased at Walmart. They were Veggie Tale kites. Cheap, but cute...and they ended up working quite well.

I guess I didn't get any pics of George actually flying the kite. It looks like I only got him rescuing his from the tree that tried to eat it. But, he actually did quite well flying it. I was impressed. I think my dad had the most fun of all of us. He some how managed to end up with both kites...mom said he took them and never gave them back...not sure. He is also the one who brought BOTH kites to their final resting place, high above in the pine trees. Ha!



Okay...this is now a few minutes later. Apparently, I will NOT be posting my pictures right now due to either a) blogger is having issues, b) my internet is having issues, or c) a bit of both.

I will try again later.

Not much to say...

Okay...I have no cute caption or funny anecdote about this picture...I just like it. My little lady...looks like a madwoman!

So...Amon is leaving a week from today for basic training. :( I'm really going to miss him. Sure, he can talk too much at times and be a bit bossy (I am the oldest...Remember that, Amon!), but I still love him and am going to miss him. We all are. He has a good heart. Amon always wants to do what is right and will do anything he can for you. We wish you the best. I am sure you will succeed as a Army Ranger. Same as it was with Travis, we won't hear much from him for at least nine weeks...except for letters. Then he will have family day at Ft Benning in Columbus, GA. Then he will have AIT, then graduation, then airborne school, then Ranger training.

I will put updates from him on here as we get them. Just as I will with the rest of my four army brothers. So check back for those.

Okay...Grace is calling, so I will write again later.

Adios!

Daffodil Days

In a little town called Bigelow, Arkansas there is a place called Wye Mountain. A local church has seven acres of daffodils that they maintain there. Of course...that means picture time! :)

So yesterday we took the kids up to the mountain and walked through the fields and enjoyed the beautiful day. It really was a lot of fun. It was a challenge to get Ben to cooperate for the camera, but I think some of that is that he was miserable with allergies. Anyway, that is why we just didn't get many pictures of him. And Grace...that girl. She got goldfish "stuff" all over her shirt on the way up there. Luckily, I had another shirt in the diaper bag. Not as cute, but oh well.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Let us know what you think!