How the Men Spend LOTS of Time

They play THIS....

But of course we need THIS.

AND now THIS, from Father's Day!!
We just hope, at the end of the game, that they are all smiling AND talking to each other!

Bilby men tend to be a BIT competitive!!!

Cousins

We had such a fun weekend seeing our cousins that we don't get to see very often! Next time we need to make it closer than our last visit - that is for sure!!

Movie Night

Movie night now has a whole new meaning. We used to be able to watch quietly and follow storylines with ease, now we have Jada! She does not, never has, enjoyed TV so when we sit down to watch a movie - thus begins Jada's playground. We are all fair game, yes, she even plopped in my lap MANY times, it was just harder to capture when it was my lap! So she hops from couch to couch, brings out many interesting toys, plays the piano, walks around singing, and even stands in front of the television - all Jada antics that keep the rest of us saying, "Is it bedtime yet?"

Meanwhile, the rest of us TRY to keep watching - she did start out by Chloe, but then Chloe missed out on any more "Jada visits"!

Downtown

In case you tried to call, we were gone tonight - we had to run downtown to watch the new Christmas lights turn on! Yep - Mom drug everyone out - in the 30 degree wind - to sip cider, eat cookies, and shiver as we waited for the unveiling of the new downtown Christmas lights! AND IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!

My Blessings

These blessings make me smile!

Support

We just want to say thank you to all of you that have sent emails and cards to remember us this past week with Joe's dad's passing. We are back now from Michigan after the funeral. It was not an easy funeral - as they rarely ever are. But he was quite young, and we are sad to lose him. If you think of it - please pray for Joe's stepmom - that really leaves a void for her. We are glad that God allowed us to travel there for the funeral - it was a nice time to see family while we were there.

Joe's Mom and some of the grandkids!

Our Outing

The Apple Orchard

Hmmm - what where THEY doing at the apple orchard??

At the Falls

Heading Home - the girls were safely in the back - we weren't sure it was safe to be up there!

Puppet Extravaganza

You know - there are just some things you get to do as  Mom - and I didn't want any of my favorite blog readers to feel left out - so I am sharing this one!!

Chloe announced she was having a puppet show in 4 minutes - so we had all better hurry to see it.  As the dutiful mom, I called the boys, I quit building blogs, and off we went to watch the performance.  It was something, let me tell you, llamas doing flips, I'm not kidding - we had it all! 

The only problem was is that it was a "mute" performance - Chloe said they were all sleepy!  The boys and I exchanged many hidden laughs, but yes, we humored her.  UNTIL Aaron decided to sneak UNDER the puppet table and start stealing the puppets.  From there it just went downhill.  Chloe was distraught, the boys were laughing, and I was trying to decide which side I should take!  So I told Chloe - "This has been a great puppet show, now you may have 3 more minutes and then we are done watching for now."  She replied with, "Mom, that will never be enough time but OK."  I then turned to the boys and said, "You guys need to watch NICELY for 3 more minutes."  To which Chloe smiled her 4 year old, VERY INNOCENT, smile and said, "BUSTED!!!"

Grandpa

I lost my Grandpa yesterday - he fought a long, hard battle and we are glad he is with His Maker, but it made me reflect on all I've learned from him.

My Grandpa was the man who....

...taught me to love oatmeal for breakfast.

...gave me my love of the farm and all animals.

...showed me gracefully how to get out of the cow drop - even with my Sunday Clothes on!!

...inspired my love of a large bowl of popcorn - completely soaked in butter.

...was the smallest man I know, but worked his whole life with huge dairy cows!

...was often stooped under the weight of large pails he was lugging on the farm.

...showed me how important it is to start your day with God.

...I wanted to make sure my kids knew ~ so we went to visit him every time we went back home.

...loved to laugh ~ it came all the way from his toes - I never knew such a great laugh could come from such a small man. It was contagious.

...wanted to make sure his children and grandchildren had a Godly heritage.

...would scare me by falling asleep in his big chair, head tipped back, mouth wide open, and a toothpick dangling half in and half out of his mouth. I just knew he'd suck that toothpick right down his windpipe sometime!

...taught me to drive a tractor.

...would be driving along and close the eye closest to me so I would think he was asleep - scared me every time he did it!

...taught me to bale hay.

...loved every man equally.

...knew no earthly wealth except that of his family and His God.

...I couldn't wait to spend a week with every summer growing up.

...introduced me to newborn chicks...AND later, the fine art of putting chickens in crates to take them to be butchered.

...tried to teach me to milk a cow and gave up and showed me how to attach automatic milkers instead!

...always gave me a hug - even though I knew hugging wasn't his "thing".

...will live on in my memory as one of the finest, most Godly, men I know.

...never complained - but showed me how to find something positive - even when I knew he could have found plenty to complain about.

...was his happiest sitting atop his John Deere tractor or out with his cows. He loved his farm.

...was not afraid of hard work - he worked hard everyday of his life until he couldn't work anymore - and then you could just see his discontent with being cooped up inside all day.

...everyone liked Grandpa ~ I didn't know anyone that spoke a mean word about him.

...was a grandchild's gift ~ a very rare gift.

...knew how to handle disappointment - I could learn a lot from him.

...who earned the respect of many.

...who was incredibly humble.

...is now with His Heavenly Father.

(This isn't the greatest picture of my Grandpa, but I love it with his hand on Micah's.)

So Blessed....

We have just been so unexpectedly blessed! We said "Yes" to hosting an international student from our local college - he does not live with us, but we meet with him regularly to spend time together and get to know one another. I think we were hesitant to say "yes" because we are so busy and were not sure we had the time to give to a student but we are just so glad we did. We have been blessed with a student from China (see, we do have a BIG GOD!!!) and he is a treasure to us. He loves our kids - calls them his brothers and sister - and he is such a Godly young man. Everytime we get together it almost leaves us in tears - he challenges us all spiritually and we just love to spend time with him. AND he's teaching us Mandarin when we get together - I am telling you - we are SO thrilled!!! Now we're just worried - do we have to give him up in a year?!?!? What a blessing!

Weekend Family Fun

In case you missed us - we've been gone - we went to Grandpa and Grandma's this weekend because Uncle Eric, Aunt Neese, Cory and Emma were there!!! We wouldn't miss an opportunity like that to invade their normally-quiet and calm home!!! We don't get to see my sister and her husband very often so this was a real treat - we had a great time. It is so much fun to see the cousins all together ~ the time just goes way too quickly!! (Look - Grandpa and Grandma are still smiling!!!)