Life as a Yowler

We got back to Michigan Tuesday night very late. We spent a little time in Indiana, since we had to drop our motor home off there. It was in Wakarusa, Indiana where our motor home was manufactured. We drove it there because the bottom of the RV is still leaking every time it rains. My mom grew up in the Wakarusa area and her family still lives there. I grew up going to the Goshen/Nappanee/Wakarusa area a lot to visit family. Here is a few pictures of our time there.

We left Indiana Monday afternoon and drove to Ohio to drop our two youngest kids off. Brandon’s mom has graciously watched the two of them for us, so we could get lots done this week. It was the kindest, most helpful gesture. Can I just say that everyone should have two kids. It is beautiful. It is smooth. It is less loud. It is manageable. That being said most days I wouldn’t trade my four. I missed my little babies like crazy and I’m ready for the noise again. 

This week our church had VBS. My older kids attended each morning. They only missed the first day, as we were traveling. The other four days they were there. That left me with four kid free mornings and it was absolutely life changing. For all you other home-schooling moms, you understand. We love our kids, but they are with us all.the.time! This is my biggest struggle about homeschooling. I can’t tell you how refreshing this week was. A little alone time does a person good. It was so refreshing.

The kids gave a program Friday after VBS, then we had a picnic lunch.

Grant had his graduation open house  yesterday(on Saturday). That is the main reason we came home for this week. We let him pick if he wanted us at his graduation ceremony or his graduation open house. I’m glad he picked the open house. It was a much more enjoyable time than the ceremony.

What a stud! Grant is the youngest in my family of five kids. I am the oldest. There is a 13 year age gap between us, so I was always very motherly to him. I can’t believe he has graduated. He should still be a baby. I remember well when he was born. It is a reminder of how fast time goes with kids.

Today(Sunday) Brandon preached at our church, Pigeon River Mennonite. It was good to be with our church family again. One of the hardest things about traveling, is not attending church consistently. Another hard thing is not being apart of our community and missing out on activities back home with friends.

As one of the activities during Brandon’s message, he had everyone write down on index cards how they think they will get into heaven. I made Joah participate. I asked him “Joah, how will you get into Heaven.” He first said “I have no idea, mom.” I told him, “think about it. What does the Bible tell you.” He then wrote this completely by himself….. I believe in Jesus. I like to go to church. Jesus forgives us.

We crammed as much as we possibly could into 6 days at home. I cleaned up our basement, that flooded while we were gone. The hardest part was already done thanks to a friend coming in and brining dehumidifiers. Our community really is amazing. My older kids each had a sleepover with a friend. Brandon and I got to hang with our friends a couple different times. Brandon got lots of work done around the house and at the shop. We prepared for this next trip. I went shopping with my mom In Saginaw. Brandon delivered a table to his grandma in Ohio, along with picking up the motor home in Indiana after it was fixed. I was able to help my mom some with Grant’s open house since I didn’t have the babies. We hung out with the family that came up for Grant’s open house. Like I said before, Brandon preached today and the kids attending a week of VBS. Now we are driving to pick up our younger kids and start our next adventure.

I need to end on a hilarious note. Nothing screams Happy Birthday quite like Brandon’s gift to me. He really overdid himself this year, and every time I look at it I can’t help but die. A huge thank you to Brandon for this non-creepy alligator hand claw back scratcher he picked up for me at the Louisiana swamp tour while I was outside the store dealing with a tantrum.