Jennifer - A Book Review

Jennifer is the prelude to Dee Henderson's well know O'Malley book series looking at the lives of seven orphaned children that came together and made their own family even making their own family name - O'Malley.  The book series follows the O'Malley children in the early stages of adulthood as they face life on their own and learn to love and follow Christ.

Jennifer is a wonderful little book (only about 150 pages) that introduces the whole series and sets the stage what we find in book #1.  She immediately captures your attention from page 1 and draws you quickly into the life of Jennifer, the youngest of the O'Malley orphans.  We find her as a doctor and God draws her to Himself in this love story.  I don't want to give up what the story holds, but I will say the end leaves you wanting to know the rest of the story in the next book of the series, The Negotiator.

I received a complimentary copy of Jennifer by Dee Henderson from Bethany House Publishers.

Hannah's New Ride

Hannah is growing up (too quickly in my opinion) so it was time to move her up to a bigger bicycle.  Andrew was needing Hannah's smaller bike so we decided to head to our local stuff mart to see what we could come up with in terms of a bike for her.  It wasn't easy, but in the end, we found a winner.  It's even pretty, too, with blue butterflies as its decoration.  And what 6 year old little girl wouldn't love pink streamers on her handle bars?!

Birthday #5!

Andrew David celebrated his long anticipated fifth birthday yesterday.  He just couldn't possibly wait until he was 5.  He had requested a Nascar cake.  Now, I'm not a cake decorator, but I did my best to give him a Kyle Busch, #18 M&M cake.  It think he ended up being very pleased with the outcome - especially, since he got to keep the little car on his cake.  We celebrated in our usual fashion with dinner of his choice, pizza, followed by cake and ice cream.  The grand finale was opening his gifts.  He had requested Legos or Playmobil stuff.  He got a little Playmobil toy, but so far the biggest hit for all the kids has been the basketball goal we got him that hangs on a door.  Since he turned 5, he also gets to do something special for this birthday.  Chris & I haven't decided on what that will be yet, but it will be just for him in the near future.

It was fun and a blessing to celebrate Andrew's birthday.  It's beyond my understanding that he's 5!  Didn't I just hold him in my arms for the first time?  Life wouldn't be the same without him.  He loves balls, sports and of course, Nascar.  His smile lights up a room and he doesn't have a problem bringing a smile to others as well.  He is also my little lovebug that never hesitates to give a hug.  He's excited that he is now eligible for kindergarten and gets to do what his brother and sister have been doing.  We love you, Andrew David!

Luke's card for Andrew - love it! (Andrew, today is a special day.  A day of laughter.  Today is your birthday!  A baby is a special man or woman.  Love Luke)

Back Home Again in Indiana!

 Last week, the kids and I had the privilege of spending the week back home in Indiana.  I had a couple of special gatherings that I wanted to attend.  Plus, it was a great time for us to spend with my parents and the kids with their grandparents.  We got to do nearly everything we wanted except stop in and see my sister.  Sickness was an unwelcome guest at that time and I just didn't want it to be a part of our trip.  Instead, on our way back, we stopped at the St Louis Zoo.  We'd stopped there before and it's a great place to walk around for even a couple of hours if that's all you have.  The animals were out and about and the weather was absolutely perfect.  The landscaping was absolutely gorgeous.  We were then on to Indiana.  We just had a good time at my parents house.  While the kids were being entertained, I slipped away for about a day to meet with dear friends that have deeply impacted my life.  What a blessing it was to catch up with them.  I always feel refreshed when I walk away from a conversation with them.  Later that week, I was also blessed to spend time with friends I haven't seen in several years and surprise a sweet friend as well.  Our time there was short, but sweet.  In the end, it was good to return home and be reunited with Chris, who, unfortunately, had to stay and keep the home fires burning.

Ready to take on the zoo

 Getting us going in the right direction

 The only snake I'll let them snuggle up with

 The DirectTV blimp (aka "blump" by Andrew) that we saw as we passed through Indianapolis

 Ready for a ride in Grandpa's truck

 I just had to snap a shot of the lush greenness and lovely flowers blooming at home.  Oh, how I miss this!

 Snapshots with a fun tree at a random rest area in Indiana

Sprint Triathlon 2013

We spent another morning on base...this time helping out the team.  The base hosted a sprint (short/fast) triathlon.  They allowed individuals to compete or teams.  Luke and I got to compete on respective teams.  My morning started early since the adults went first.  A friend from church swam the 10 laps, another friend rode the 10 mile bike ride and I ran the 3 mile stretch.  We finished in around 70 minutes earning us the fourth place spot (3 minutes behind third place).  The run went just fine.  However, I have to say the line to Oklahoma, the one that says, "where the wind comes blowing across the plain" is very accurate.  The wind in my face on the way back (of course!) was a little more than I'm used to.

After the adults, the kids got their turn.  Luke was in the first age division of 6-9 years olds.  Again, they could either do it individually or as a team.  He did it last year with a team and they combined their efforts again.  Luke took care of the of the 2 mile bicycle ride for them.  They were the first one out of the pool and Luke was the second bike back by just a small margin.  All that effort earned them a first place in their age division for teams!  I'm glad they did so well.  This is their last year of working together since the two girls will soon be moving.  I'm glad they finished with a bang!

 Team "Just 4 Fun"

 Team "Speedy Lightening"

 Luke crossing the finish line

 Getting a high five after his hand off to the runner

 Snack Time

 They even got podium time

 All Smiles!

Volunteers Deeply Appreciated!

The trio with Grandpa Robey right before he got to work

Many of you know that Oklahoma has recently been devastated with destructive storms/tornadoes.  In God's perfect timing, we had to make a couple of airport runs to Oklahoma City over the last 10 days perfectly avoiding the horrific weather each time.  However, we saw the damage and loss so many have experienced.  Thankfully, we live nowhere near the epicenter of the all the recent storms. We were close enough to see the storms, though.  Ironically, both times the sky was beautifully blue and the clouds white and puffy at our house, but on the other end, lives were being lost and material possessions destroyed.  I could have taken pictures of what we saw.  However, those images have been splashed across multiple media outlets time and time again.  All I have to say is that, those images do nothing to show the scope of the disaster.  In the few moments that we crossed the damaged area on the interstate, both times, tears nearly came to my eyes. 

Anyway, the second time we passed through, Chris & I both thought that the area looked just a bit better despite the complete devastation that had happened less than two weeks earlier.  That's due to all of the volunteers that have come to the rescue of Oklahoma.  One of those groups, is God's Pit Crew, and Grandpa Robey thoroughly enjoys volunteering with them.  They had responded to the Moore tornadoes and he was able to join up with them at the end of our visit for another week's stay in Oklahoma.  I had heard and seen pictures, but it was a special treat to see their operation as we dropped him off.  He quickly set to work clearing debris for a neighborhood that was still without power due to the multiple tornadoes that hit the Oklahoma City area just a couple of days earlier.  He, along with so many others, that selflessly give of their time and resources are so deeply appreciated and nothing could ever replace the amount of work these volunteers do in such a short time.  I heard one news interview where a volunteer coordinator said it would be decades before the town was back to normal if it wasn't for the help of groups like God's Pit Crew.  Thank you volunteers!

Happy Birthday to You!

We had a busy weekend with family in town, races to run and a trip to Oklahoma City on the calendar.  Unfortunately, Chris's birthday fell when much of that was happening, but we tried to squeeze in a tiny festivity for him the night before the big day he turned 36!  Birthday treats go non-traditional around here for the adults.  If you know Chris, you know he loves cherries and cherry delight is a much better birthday treat than a cake any day!

Chris is a great husband and father.  He works so hard to support us and we're so proud of him and how he's grown and matured into the man he is today serving, loving and helping those he holds dear.  So very thankful that I can call him my husband and for the journey through life we are on together!

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

The kids were excited to run their first semi-official race.  It was a good place to start since there was a small group.  However, they were still all about getting a ribbon.  Hannah & Andrew each ran 1/2 mile and I ran with them while Luke ran a mile and Chris ran with him.   Andrew went and ran it like a pro.  He was off and had a great run.  Hannah was the surprise to Chris & me.  She'd practiced great, but for some reason, she said her legs hurt.  She cried in the middle, but to her credit never gave up and was all smiles when she crossed the finish line.  Plus, she was running around like nothing was wrong just a few minutes later (who knows....).  They both did it under 6 minutes I think Andrew came in 6th place and Hannah followed behind with 7th.  Next, it was Luke's turn.  He was guaranteed a ribbon with only three of them running.  He did a great job as well.  He ran his mile in 9:21 and the first lap was on course for a 7 minute mile (he didn't want anyone ahead of him!).  All of that earned him second place and he was younger than the other two boys.  It was a fun way to spend an hour or so of our morning.  I'd love to do some more runs with them as a family as they grow up!

 Starting line (ages 4-6).  Hannah & Andrew are standing in front of me  in the pink shirt

 Andrew crossing the finish line

 Hannah & I crossing the finish line

 Lap 1 for Luke...notice how he's in the lead for that moment...

 Another lap down!

 Luke crossing the finish line

2nd place!