Our Deer Hunter

Jack was excited all week long to be going on his first deer hunt ever.  Ross (our Miss Emily's husband) offered to take him for the opening of youth season.  We went to Scheels and got his deer tag and he talked non stop all week along about it.  So fun for him.

Saturday after his football game Ross picked him up....and off they went to attempt to find a deer.  Ross took him to a friends land not far away from here.

Jack tells the story best...this is copied from a note he sent to a family friend of ours.

Ok so I kind of dosed off and he woke me up by saying jack dont move there was a doe and 2 fawns 80 yards from us it walked around the pond in front of us and came about 10 yards from us then 2 more does came out of the 3 foot tall grass behind the pond and one of them came about 70 yards from us and I shot it and I double lunged it

We sat in a treestand for about 3 hours before that happens we shot the deer at about 7:10 at night so it wa almost dark I shot it with a muzzleloader with a 100 grain load.  It also had a really nice scope on it so it was easy to aim.  

I find it funny how I can hit a deer at 70 yards but I can't hit a turkey at 7 yards??

From jack

The part of the story that he didn't mention there is that his doe fell into the pond after he hit her.  Luckily she crawled back out of the pond or Ross may have gone swimming.  :)

The door bell rang around 8:30 and it was Jack....wanting us to come look in the truck.  And this is what we saw. I may have screamed at the site of it.  Not sure who was more excited, Ross or Jack.  What a great memory for both of them!

This may be my favorite picture...love how excited Drew if for Jack.

Daddy and Me Weekend

This is Max's first official "Daddy and Me" Ohio weekend.  Just the 2 of them.  Max has been looking forward to it for months.  He has had a few moments of maybe Mommy should come too, or can my Jackie come?  But when the time came, he was ready to hit the road alone.  Scott gets the "what a guy award" for driving 12 hours with a 4 year old to Ohio, all in one day.  Thankful for electronics and food to keep him entertained.  He didn't sleep until evening in the car...so lots of chatter and questions to fill the rest of the ride.

They started at the farm, and visiting Grandma and Grandpa Shisler.  They headed to Columbus last night.  So far these are the photos that have been coming through to my phone.  Priceless...precious memories.

Last night Drew was talking to Scott on the phone and I love what he said... "I bet it's hard to have a 4 year old all by yourself Dad.  But Dad, he will remember going to Ohio and the game for the rest of his life"

These weekends and traditions are a BIG DEAL at our house.  Priceless memories...precious moments.  I love that I married a man who gets what really matters in life....

Enjoy the photos...they make me smile

Grandma

This has been a long, hard week. Today I still have a Grandma on earth. Not for very long. She is readying herself for heaven.  I'm excited for her. I'm sad for me.  I'm broken hearted for my Mom. I'm sad my Mom isn't physically stronger. I know she wants to be with my Grandma but it's too hard on her.  

I dreamt last night that I rocked my Grandma until her last breath. That I went into her room, picked her up and held her all night long. Rocking her. Telling her how much I loved her and appreciated her.  I woke up crying. 

I saw Grandma on Wednesday night. We shared beautiful moments. She's tired. One more day she told me she is done with this world.  She has decided her body hurts too much. She is done. She had a stroke the day before, she's tired of fighting for her health. She told me "thank you" at least 20 times. She told me "love you" at least 20 times. She looked deep into my teary eyes and smiled her calm, sweet smile. 

 I told her I was excited she would soon see Jesus. She giggled. I told her she would be reunited with the men that she loved, 3 husbands, who she loved and buried. She smiled like a school girl. We held hands. She squeezed my hand. She has loved me well. She has loved so many well. She has cared about the details in my life. Always. The little stuff. She's cared about each of our boys and the details in their lives. It has all mattered to her. She has prayed and prayed and prayed for me. For my marriage. For our children. 

Oh how blessed I have been to have this legacy given to me from her. I don't take it for granted. Now we wait for Jesus to take her home. Oh how I will miss having a Grandma on this earth. 

 

Wednesday night...

Mother's Day 2013

Gma. Tommy. Mom. Max. 

Homecoming??

A week ago I got a text from Tommy that he was headed to his friend Alec's house to make something to ask his friend Courtney to the Homecoming dance.  Courtney is a volleyball player, hence the volleyball.  Alec's Mom snuck a photo of the actual building of the Volleyball board of wood.  They drove to her house, and after he asked her and she said yes his buddies set off fireworks at the end of the driveway.  Pretty creative huh?  And probably illegal too.  

 The photo I got before he headed to Courtney's house

And this is how girls spread the word about their homecoming dates in 2014.  

Think PINK

When I was in the 7th grade my Mom let me re-decorate my room.  I chose pink Laura Ashley...and a LOT of pink.  Carpet, wallpaper, bedding, balloon curtains...it was a LOT OF PINK and I loved it!  I loved that my Mom let me design it just the way I wanted it to look. 

 I have been missing pink.  I LOVE pink, and kind of had forgotten how happy the color makes me feel the past oh 17 ish years.  With all of these boys, pink just hasn't been in the decorating scheme...EVER.  I almost painted the laundry room pink 2-3 years ago but that was vetoed with a capital "V".  Then I thought about painting the bathroom pink...again, vetoed.  So this past week...I was starting my fall cleaning...which has basically led to a very messy house.  I have SO many photos to edit, things to do for my new Yearbook Advisor position at school, lots going on with the health of Mom and of course now Scott's parents, laundry to do, Homeroom Mom duties to work on...BUT...sometimes distraction from what NEEDS to get done is good for me. ...hmmm like catching up on my blog when I should be showering for the day, oh and just played a video game of Skylanders with Max.  I digress....

well my closet has gone pink.  SURPRISE to my LOVE....you have been gone, and my closet went pink.  Finally a room no one cared what I did with...yep my closet is pretty large, so it is like a room to me.  Although before I put that shelving back up on the wall I did debate for a moment making it a sanctuary for me and sharing a closet with Scott from now on...but opted against that.  I am slowly reloading my closet only with things I wear and love, which is a LOT.  

It's a room that makes me happy...the color makes me smile.  It is perfect and it is ALL mine.  And right no amidst some of what is going on in my life...having control of something feels GOOD!  So if you cannot find me, look in my closet.  I might be hiding in there.  

Think PINK friends...Just keeping it real. 

Wayne County Fair and a Buckeye Game

Scott has been in Ohio for a week now, he went there from St Louis meetings to help his parents.  It is that time of the year...the Wayne County Fair is going on.  Most of you know that Scott does NOT miss his county fair.  EVER.  I really don't think he has ever missed it in his lifetime.  His Dad has shown corn there forever.  This year Scott went early to help his Dad.  His Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer about 2 weeks ago and yesterday we were told he also has bone cancer.  Tough stuff people.  Showing corn is a BIG deal to his Dad, and therefore to Scott.  Scott spent hours walking cornfields choosing the corn to show.  I am not a farm girl but I have learned that you want your ears of corn to be similar in color, shape, size and you want the corn rows to be as straight as possible.  That is how you win.  Which means you pull a LOT of ears off before you get a "set" that matches best.  What I love about Scott, is that it's one way he honors his parents.  His name isn't on these sets of corn, it's his Dad's name...and that matters more to Scott than his own.  Especially this year I think...with his Dad's recent diagnosis.

I am proud to say that the corn won Grand Champion in BOTH the NEW and the OLD corn categories.  This doesn't happen often at the fair. It's a BIG deal.  The Wayne County Fair is one of the largest in the state of Ohio so it's a really BIG deal to his Dad,   There will be an article in the paper about Don because of this rare win.  This is a great example of how to honor your parents.  I love Scott so much for it.

On Friday, Tommy flew out to meet Scott in Ohio for his Buckeye weekend.  It was a fast one.  They headed to Columbus on Friday evening after spending the afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Shisler.  Saturday was spent tailgating and checking out the local Buckeye stores.  Surely a tee shirt was purchased, or maybe 2 because one can never have enough Buckeye shirts in this house.  It was a night game under their new lights which was fun.  The Buckeyes lost which is always a bit of a bummer when you are at a game...but Tommy took it in stride.  They stayed at our friends, the Townsleys, and had a great time.  They headed back to the farm on Sunday morning in time for church and to take Grandma and Grandpa to the fair in wheelchairs.  They both enjoy the fair and I think it was a real blessing they could go this year.

Tommy arrived home late Sunday night after some delayed flights and a lot of answered prayers.  Scott is on his way home today after staying for some Dr. appointments yesterday.

Please keep his parents in your prayers.  His Mom is having health issues with walking and pain and his Dad is now facing prostate and bone cancer.  Not easy to live 12 hours away during this season of life.