Visit from Mom and Dad

My mom and dad came to visit a couple weeks ago and it went by way too fast. Now that Reggie is in school, our flexibility isn’t there, but we made the most of our 4 short days. Not enough time to get the yard cleaned up :o(!!
We got right into our normal routine on Friday and got a nervous grandma on a bike and rode to Reggie’s school. She did fine and we had a nice mellow day. Ainsley got to spend some one on one time with Grandma, which never happens! Grandpa was off to the store to get a paper and do his daily drive. We sure noticed a difference in Grandpa from the spring visit. He was in a lot of pain and not able to do much during their last trip here. This visit was great because he was playing a lot with the kids and they loved it! Reggie and Ainsley love take-out and running around and they had some good fun with Grandpa. Everyone was happy that night when we went to Sweet Tomato’s, our favorite restaurant :o).

Sat. morning Dad and Ryan went to the men’s breakfast at our church. Of course, my dad, found some other old farts who shared his political frustrations, so he had a great time! They also met a retired NASA guy, who owns a couple small planes and flies from Livermore to Sammamish…small world! I think mom and dad should hitch a ride :o). Sat. afternoon grandma and the kids built a gingerbread house. It seems to be the yearly tradition for them. The look of concentration on their faces was priceless and they did very good keeping the candy out of their mouths. They did such a good job decorating that it fell down from the weight of the candy and grandma had to tie it together while the frosting hardened. Later, we went to the park and ran around. Everyone is a bit gimpy, but between the adults, we had the kids running like crazy. Tag is a new favorite game and it is one I enjoy, so I had a good sweat going.

Sunday was a very busy day! We went to the pumpkin patch and had great fun. Mom and Ainsley went on the cow train and I just missed winning 10,000 on America’s Funniest Home Videos because I wasn’t recording my mom’s entrance into the tiny cart. Let’s just say they weren’t made for people with long legs :o). They all had fun running through the hay maze and playing in the corn. Ainsley had another successful ride on the pony, so I think she’s conquered that fear! Reggie and Ryan rode on some pedal cars and that was pretty funny too and I guess a pretty good quad workout. That night we went to a pumpkin carving parting and barbeque through the parks department. It would have been hard to do without mom and dad because, making dinner and carving pumpkins, while containing the kids is a bit challenging. I was able to score on the pumpkin seeds and we did sing some Halloween songs around the campfire, so I think everyone had some fun.

Grandpa, lost in the hay tunnels! Where are those kids???

Only God

It was an emotional weekend that started Sat. morning with news that my cousin, Scott, was on life support due to pneumonia and staff :o(. The poor guy has overcome so many obstacles with his Cystic Fibrosis, lung transplant, infections and has been waiting for a new lung for 2 years (since only one is working). In the midst of that, he had twin girls, who are now almost 2. I just felt sick and helpless. Of course I prayed and I decided to fast. Crazy, huh??? I’ve never fasted before, but have heard people talk about it. It isn’t something that I really want to write about, in fact, I felt silly telling Ryan that is what I was doing. I was well out of my comfort zone…but, isn’t that when God speaks to us??? I share this because, how can we encourage one another, if we don’t talk about the amazing things God is doing in our lives?
I pretty much prayed constantly for Scott because my mind was so focused, as my stomach reminded me every few minutes of what I was doing. My mind was at battle with good and bad thoughts and I just kept getting reminded of the power of God. I’m doing a Bible Study right now on believing God, so I had a few scripture fresh in my mind. God can do anything if it is His will!!! For goodness sakes, he parted the Red Sea and raised people from the dead! It was an amazing day for me in my walk and I would encourage you to fast if you are having a hard time connecting with God because he will be at the front of your mind!!! Scott has improved, but he is still in critical condition and on the ventilator, so please continue to pray for him :o(.
Then, the coolest thing happened this morning at Church when Pastor Steve was reading some verses in Acts. He was reading about FASTING!!! Ryan and I kinda looked at each other strangely….he went on for a good 20 minutes about why we should fast. If you are interested in listening, it is the first half of the sermon on Oct. 18th (probably won’t be posted for a few days), http://livermore.cornerstoneweb.org/Livermore/MediaGrp/MediaArchive.aspx. Then he quoted a Psalm that I had read on Sat. Coincidence…I think not! Bottom line is that God hears our prayers and he wants us to know that. As small and insignificant as we feel, he loves us so much! How awesome is that!!!! Our prayers might not always be answered, but, hopefully, we will be changed through the process. I’m not sure what will happen with Scott, but I know God is there :o).

Eeek, has it been a couple weeks already??!! We’ve been getting into a routine with school and everyone is doing great. Not too much to highlight over the last couple of weeks, but Ryan took the kids to an open house at the small airport in our city and they got to sit in a rescue helicopter and old war plane. They seemed to really like it, but it was super hot, so they didn’t stay long.

The next day, we went to the Children’s fair in Pleasanton. It was good we went, but I doubt we’ll be going next year. It was super expensive (like $3-4 per ride, per child!), but we enjoyed meeting the movie characters and watching a retired circus clown. The kids laughed and laughed at Mr. Diaperpants :o). It was close to 100 degrees that day, so we were happy to head over to our friends open house/pool party. Their pool was pretty chilly, but Reggie didn’t seem to mind…he just loves the water so much! We’ve already made some good friends from kindergarten :o).

Ainsley's first successful pony ride!!!

Hugging all the characters:
If you can't view the video, go to www.arrtwade.blogspot.com:

We also had a celebration BBQ for the Governor’s Fitness Challenge at his school. Several of the kids from the school that we donated the fitness money to, came and sang the kids a song and showed their appreciation. Rancho (Reggie’s school) also announced that they were able to get $5,000 toward the building of their track, so they should be breaking ground next spring! The kids are super excited about this. Reggie has a big foot now, so he’s ran 10 miles! At the BBQ, Reggie was kicking the ball around with some older kids and it was amazing to watch. Maybe we’ll have to try soccer again.
This last weekend, we went to the 3-D Toy Story movies. I haven’t seen a 3-D movie in a long time and they sure have improved. The detail was absolutely amazing. There’s one scene where it snowing and you could almost reach out and touch it! Now that I think of it, maybe that is where Reggie picked up Pink Eye :o(. We’ve had a few colds and I’m still trying to figure out what to do about the H1N1….shot or no shot….that is the question????