Current Events...

at our house:

The family photographer has been really slacking lately, but life has been happening at the speed of light, so it seems!  Grandma and Grandpa Burley returned from Florida last week, and stopped through on their way home.  We enjoyed a terrific Cracker Barrel dinner together, as well as some catch-up conversation after a long winter.  So glad they made it home safely!

Hobe Sound Choir was here a week ago, and we kept four girls in our home.  This gave us a head start on spring cleaning, and we had so much fun showing them hospitality.  It's always a blessing to connect with 'old' friends, and make some new ones as well!  So glad for that opportunity. 

There have been a couple of disappointments in the last couple of weeks:  Our cat, which we had for about two years, did one of his disappearing acts and then never reappeared.  My mom has probably been praying to this end, but the rest of us are a little bummed.  He was an outdoor cat, so we weren't seriously attached, but things are a little different.  I, for one, am not mourning the removal of the litter box from the garage.  Never could stand those things! 
On another note, the boys were tentatively looking forward to playing spring baseball for a church/school team in Lima.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough interest (in their particular grade levels) from that church/school to be able to facilitate teams, so they won't be able to play this year.  We don't do city leagues (cause we're wierd and protective and all that), so that eliminates most of the athletic opportunities for them.  They were all good with the fact that God has something different/better for them, and some of those things are falling into place.  :)

School continues to move along nicely.  I think we are all ready for Spring Break, but since IHC is late this year, so is spring break!  When we return from spring break, we literally only have 4 weeks of school before summer vacation!  Yay!!!!

The next couple of weeks are going to be hectic, but we'll blog about that when the time comes.  Until then, have a great weekend and try to find some sunshine!

Allison and Kaitlynn enjoy a crazy ride
on the three-wheeled bike that Grandpa
bought and refurbished in Florida.
(Never mind Alli's monster face)

Fun Stuff!

The last couple of weeks have been busy as usual, but some of our activities have been a little out of the ordinary.  Special, in fact.
During our revival, Dad wanted to do something special with the Durkee boys (their family were our evangelists), so he and Dan decided to take them to the Dayton Air and Space Museum.  They invited Ryan and Evan to go along.  After a short night's sleep Friday, they crawled out of bed unusually early on Saturday morning.  We have been to the museum many times on field trips, but it was lots of fun for them to go with Papa and the Durkees.  In the afternoon, after getting back to Lima, they hit the softball field with the guys for awhile, and got their first real "sun" of the season.  Always love to watch the freckles reappear. :)
They didn't take any pics, so here is one from the museum website.  If you've never been there, you should make a day trip this summer.  It would even be a fun thing to do during IHC.  The museum is free and the IMAX is only like $5.  The shows are great.

Due to some unusual circumstances, Rev. Paul Pierpoint spent a few days in Lima this past week. It was our privilege to take him out on Friday night for a Bob Evan's dinner, and then entertain him in our home after he preached on Sunday night.  He is such a funny guy, and had us cracking up.  Growing up in a parsonage, I had the honor of being with traveling evangelists quite frequently, but since leaving home, those opportunities are much more infrequent.  We were glad to have our kids spend a little time getting to know Bro. P., and look forward to having him back for revival in the fall!

Kaitlynn Turns 7!

March 15th, 2004 was a super special day for our family! We had two energetic, loveable little boys, and we were anxiously awaiting the birth of baby number three. This was the most painful c-section of the four, but definitely worth the agony! We were so surpised by the birth of a girl! Talk about excitement and lots of pink! She was tiny, perfect, and had a covering of blonde hair on her little head. And we named her Kaitlynn Ann. If time permits, we might be able to scan some baby pics...but for now, here are photos of the celebration. It occured on March 14 because the 15th was the 1st night of revival...not exactly a good night to party!

This year Kaitlynn baked her own birthday cake.  Cherry Chip with Cherry icing.

She did not take after her momma!  Loves the kitchen!

Requested birthday dinner: 
Grilled steak, corn, cottage cheese, potatoes, salad, and bread.
 We threw in a veggie bake for good measure.  :)

Enjoying their dinner

Happy Birthday Girl
(didn't have time to get out of her school uniform,
but she loves it, so it works!)

Good job on the cake, Kaitlynn!

Dollar General has some adorable birthday supplies. 
The latest princess set is so elegant!

These silly blow things are hilarious. 
Watching their faces was too cute!

Thank goodness for Ebay and Craigslist!
  Kaitlynn SO wanted a Nintendo DS,
but we SO didn't want to spend that kind of
money (yeah, we're cheap)!  We
ended up selling 2 Game Boy Advance systems on
 Craigslist (that covered half of the DS), and
realized we had some money sitting in the Paypal
account (which covered another quarter of it),
and we were able to get her the exact color we wanted,
in the box with all paperwork, cords, pens,
and a cool dogs game!  Couldn't have worked out better!
 And a couple of months ago, I was able to pick up
a DS kit with extra stuff and a nice case for $5 at Toys R Us.
 It is a beautiful hot pink, which works great with the white game!
(I know...TMI...but it was a big deal for us!)

More gifts from family

A gift from Grandma and Grandpa who are still in Florida!

Aunt Megan lovin' on little Annie

Couponing scored some cheap party treats...mmm M&M's!

Think she was surpised by her next gift?

A big girl's bike (bigger than the last one anyway) 
from Mama and Papa N.!

Paps chillin' in the recliner that doesn't recline  :)

Beautiful momma!
 (the hardest working, most selfless woman I know..
.not trying to score brownie points, either!)

Valerie with her oldest niece...
made for one happy aunt on March 15th, 2004!

People are always telling Kaitlynn that she looks
just like her Aunt Valerie.
I'm thinking they are right!

Happy girls

Will seems to be having difficulty accepting the fact
 that his mommy would have the nerve to hold another baby!

Tired and happy!

When Valerie asked Aubrey what she wanted to get Kaitlynn,
Aubrey was insistent that they get her flowers.
 Interestingly enough, Kaitlynn would rather have flowers than
 almost anything, and I didn't even think about
getting her any.  Never crossed my mind. 
Thank God for two-year-old cousins!  :)

Lil' Will showin' off his hat...

Greg's "Vacation" :)

So that you aren't left to think that Allison is the only one who had a blast last week, here are some of Greg's happenings.  First, a brief history: 
A few years ago, we decided to start taking a week's vacation to be team leaders at PYC.  It was alot of fun, and we loved doing this together.  Our teams took first place the first three years, and we enjoyed coaching them toward their best...whatever that meant for each of them.
 After Kaitlynn was born, it became a little more difficult for it to be a "team" effort for us.  Not that we weren't used to dragging babies with us everywhere we went...that was typical.  It was just hard to have three little ones (2 that didn't want to be right with us every minute, but were too young to run around the campground on their own, and 1 that was still a toddler), and try to keep up with a 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. non-stop schedule.  The last year that we were team leaders, Greg did most of the leading, and I corralled our kids and did grad work.  We knew that the teams really needed more than what we were able to give them, so we decided to put youth camp on hold for a few years. 
In the meantime, our school began attending Heartland Regional Student Convention, and it became our responsibility to serve as male/female sponsors.  I took care of all the paperwork, fundraising organization, and helping students prepare entries, and he helped with the physical aspects of fundraisers and anything athletic.  Because student convention was a huge part of Greg's Jr. High/High School experience, he is passionate about it.  It has been so good to have him helping me with this.
Last year, things changed up a bit.  It was Greg's first year to serve as Athletic Director at the convention. He became much busier, but since the outgoing director was still at the convention, he had extra support and help throughout the week. 
This year, things really changed up!  Weeks before convention, his smart phone became his best friend (or worst enemy...not sure which at times!).  Lining up a host of people to help with events, making sure athletic facilities and equipment were all set up and ready for action, and a million other little details of which I am probably not even aware.   He still served as our male sponsor; the other activities were just additions to his responsibilities. 

Although we didn't get to spend nearly as much time together at convention this year, he was quite obviously doing what he was meant to do!  He did a great job, and I think he enjoyed it.  :)

Awarding LOTS of medals! 

Helping with pre-rally fun

The videos put together by Dave Roeser were so entertaining...
definitely rally highlights! Here Greg was helping with some of the staging.

Success!

This photo was from the big screen...Roeser is hilarious.

Caught!

A busy, stressful, tiring, awesome, blessed week, and we're already planning toward 2012!  It will be here before we know it!

Link to convention videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufq40m_QkoI

This is day one...you can get to the other three from there.

Allison's Big Week!

Last week was a little different than most for our family. Half of us were in Indiana at Heartland Regional Student Convention, and the other half of us were back home in Ohio! Since the camera was in Indiana with Allison, she has some pics she would like to share with you. :)

Calling home...she missed her sister!

One of the students who performed...hopefully PCS has a clown performance one of these days!  Such an aweome tool for kid's ministries!

Enduring yet another rally...

On the track with her best bud, Rachel.

Combine that with late nights, early mornings, lots of eating out, pre-rally noisy chaos, and some quality time with her papaw...Allison had a great week!