Happy 16th Birthday Simon!

My how you have grown, 9 months old
Simon and his Daddy Jeff
Two of Simon's favorites... Levi & Baseball
Reid thinks the world of his big brother
You're not my little boy anymore

Today my firstborn son turned 16. In someways it seemed like no big deal, in other ways it has been an emotional day for me. Maybe it was the trip down memory lane as I scoured through photo albums looking for a few pictures for my blog. It really does seem like yesterday that I was holding him in my arms. Now he stands taller then me. Jeff was so proud to have a son. Simon is like his dad Jeff in so many ways, his love for hunting and baseball are just a few. The highlight of the day was getting his drivers license. What 16th birthday would be complete without that. I couldn't be prouder of the young man you have become, but some days I miss the little boy who never wanted to leave his mommy.

SISTERS

Kesha & Hannah

It was great to have Kesha home for a visit before fall semester started. This time she was able to stay for 11 days. It is always special for her little sisters to have their big sister home for a visit. Kesha was also a big help to me as she helped me do some extra baking for my Farmers Market booth. Thank You Kesha! We were also able to get away for a day in Des Moines to just hang out and eat at one of our favorite restaurants, Cracker Barrel. It was great to have you home Kesha. We love & miss you.

The Gathering

Doyle introducing Steve Miller
The Bontrager Family
Getting ready to work up sweet corn
Some of the husking crew
Allison, Becky, Hannah & Autumn

For 13 years now for 3 days in the middle of August there is an event called The Gathering. It is more commonly known as the Scranton Tent Meetings. It is hard to believe, but I have now been in attendance for 7 years. It all started when my husband along with the other men from the Monday Night Prayer group led Doyle Roberts to the Lord. Somewhere along the way the self described "old hippie, Vietnam Vet" became convicted to start the tent meetings in Scranton. For a number of years my boys have been helping Doyle with the tent and cutting scrap iron to help fund The Gathering. Each year there is usually a family here singing Gospel music. Shortly after last years gathering I suggested that he talk to the Bontrager Family about coming up this year. Since they were friends from back home I thought it would be fun to have them here. Everything worked out and they were here for Wednesday & Thursday nights meetings. It was good to have them as our guests for Wednesday night. I know that the thought of a family of 12 staying with a family of 13 sounds crazy, but it was pretty easy since 9 of their children slept in their bus. What is crazy is that on Thursday afternoon we did up sweet corn to freeze. I had resolved myself to the idea of not having time to do any this year. Becky made the suggestion and I took her up on the offer. I tried it a new way and we froze it raw instead of blanching it before cutting it off the cob. This helped speed up the whole process and is how Becky has done it for several years. It is amazing how quickly 21 people can pick, husk, clean, cut and bag 40 quarts of corn, 2 hours to be exact. We had a great time and hope they take Doyle up on the invitation to come back and sing in a few years.

The girls get their ears pierced

Hannah
Avery
Autumn

A week ago today Avery, Autumn & Hannah got a surprise they had been waiting for for a long time. Periodically over the past few years one of them would ask about getting their ears pierced. They were always told they needed to wait until they were older. Recently with her ninth birthday approaching, Autumn had been pleading her case to her Dad about how "fun" it would be for her, Avery & Hannah to get their ears pierced for their birthday. We realize that their birthday is still over a month away, but last Sunday when we found ourselves in Des Moines at Jordan Creek Mall with Dad along, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and surprised them by suggesting that today would be a good day to get their ears pierced. They were stunned, surprised and very nervous to say the least. All three were brave and got it done with Autumn going first, followed by Hannah and then Avery. They are all happy to have their ears pierced, but Autumn is by far the most excited. She has made phone calls to Grandparents and Aunts to tell them her big news.

Family is a Blessing

Violet, Trudi, Ruby, Jensen, Hope, Autumn & Avery.
Simon and Ruby
Reid and Ruby

It is always good to spend time with family. Once again I was blessed to make a trip back home to visit family & friends. The stay is never long enough, but always a wonderful time. We made a last minute decision to go back to help celebrate the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Dwane & Annie Irene Snyder. It was so good to see so many of the Schlabach relatives again. It had been way to long since we had been back for a Schlabach get together. We were able to visit my Dad, who is still in the hospital. He is now counting down the last 4 days to a 6 week stay. It takes a lot of running, but I can usually pull it off for the kids to see most, if not all, of their cousins. The above pictures were taken with my sisters girls. We love and miss you all very much. We are blessed to have you in our lives. Thanks for a great visit.