Tractor Tyler

My Tyler loves tractors. He is drawn to them. He would sit on a tractor just playing for hours if he had the opportunity. So when he saw the tractor at Cran-Hill, it was love at first sight.

But when it is time to get off to give someone else a turn, the only way to get off is to.......

JUMP!

Blessings!!

Good-Bye

I had to say goodbye to a very good friend this week. We have known each other for 8 yrs. We have worked together, hung out together, loved each other, for so long... We spent almost every day together, or I at least saw her everyday. Can't seem possible that our time together ended so abruptly and now she is gone. This is my first weekend without her and I miss her terribly. My house will miss her terribly

Good-bye my friend, it was nice working with you....

I will forever miss that vacuum...

Blessings!!

Trail Ride

I love horses. I have since I was a little girl. I would make a 'horse' out of snow in the winter for me to ride. I would pretend that my bike was a horse in the summer. But being a city girl, my dream of having my very own horse is yet to be realized. But whenever I get the chance to be on the back of one, I take it.

When I was a early teen, I went to summer camp at Cran-Hill and took horsemanship. We "got a horse" for a week and were responsible for the care of that horse all week. Everyday we would ride and learn everything that you could learn in a week about the care of a horse. I was in heaven. I will refrain from naming the horse that I had, since my husband will tease me about my warm fuzzy feelings I have for her. She was a stubborn girl with a mind of her own. But I had so much fun with her.

I loved the feeling of flying through the air on her back. Her muscles rippling with every step. It was freedom to me. We would run through fields splattered with wild flowers amongst the tall grass. the sun shining down wrapping it's warm arms around us. We would silently walk through valleys lined with trees. We would splash through creeks, walk high ridges over looking the wild flower fields. It was a piece of Heaven. Truly, when I think of what Heaven is like, I think of that time in my life, on the back of that very special horse.

When I was a teenager, my old boss owned a stable in Byron Center where she boarded horses. Her home was out in Middleville and she had about 15 horses there too. She would let me come out and ride whenever I wanted. She had a beautiful old horse named Lizzy and that is who I would ride. For one reason, she was very gentle and for another I could ride western with her. Many of the other horses could only be ridden using an English saddle. My boss had told me that she would teach me Dressage (a form of riding with an English saddle), but sadly, I had to leave that job to start my career in the medical field before I had the chance to learn.

So here we were, Mother's Day Weekend and the opportunity for me to again be up on the back of a horse. Even though it was cold, windy and rainy, Kevin agreed to take me on a trail ride. Surprise, surprise we were the only people who signed up for the trail ride.

I was like a kid in a candy store. I was so excited to ride again. It had been years since my last opportunity. Some things never change, like the feeling I get when I am about to get in the saddle and then some things do.... like having to wear a helmet.

Helmets on, the speech they always give was done, it was time to to saddle up.

The young lady that was helping me brought over this step stool and set it down next to the horse. I looked at it, looked at her and said "do I have to use that?" She said that it was standard, and I said, "It is like cheating, if it's OK, I am not going to use that." She smiled at me and said that since it was just us, I could get on the horse the right way.
After mounting up, I looked over at Kevin and asked him if he used the step stool.... He cheated. Enough said about that. We did have a good laugh over it.
It was time to go, for the next hour I was in my happy place. Walking through the woods, on the back of a horse with my husband right behind me. It wasn't a very quiet ride. Kevin kept up a pretty good conversation with one of the trail guides (we had two). The girls heard all about how we met, how long we have been married, how many kids we have... El, the trail guide who was leading us, had just gotten engaged two weeks prior, so we talked about that.
As we came back to the barn, we stopped for a gate to be opened. our horses started to graze on the grass. When it was time to start moving again, I pulled my horses head back up and kicked him to start walking again. As we began to move, I turned around to make sure Kevin was following me and I witnessed one of the funniest things I have seen. I am assuming that Kevin had pulled the horses head up, as I did, but his horse was mad about it. He stared to toss his head all around and paw at the ground. This kept up for a few minutes. Kevin was at a loss for what to do. El called out that he needed to kick the horse, Kevin called back that he was. His horse was being so stubborn. Allysa (the other trail guide) finally got off her horse and led Kevin's horse back to the barn. I was laughing so hard. It really was a great way to end our ride. Another great memory with Kevin stashed away in my memory bank (hopefully he feels the same :-).

Blessings!!

Horseback Riding

I am going to continue sharing our adventure at Cran-Hill, sorry it's been a while since I blogged last. Kev and I decided to take a little vacation at the cottage for a few days with the kids and then we joined my parents for some camping fun over the holiday weekend. We are now back into the swing of things at home, so hopefully I will be able to do a lot of posting over the next few days.

Back to Cran-Hill....

One of the highlights of the weekend was by far the horse ride for the kids (and me, more on that later). This was Jilli's first time on a horse. Hard to believe since I LOVE horses, but for some reason she hasn't had the chance to ride one yet. It was all she talked about leading up to the glorious time she was hoisted up on the horses back.

Of course it was raining, you can see it in some of the pictures. The ring was very muddy, but that really didn't matter to the kids. They thought it was great. One of the funniest things that happened while the kids were riding was when I was taking Micah around the ring. The horse in front of us stopped to let off a little (rather large) load. Micah saw this and just started laughing his giggle laugh that made me start to laugh. Once the horse in front of us was done and started moving again, I started to lead Micah's horse on, but he wouldn't budge because...well...he was leaving a load himself, which started Micah laughing all over again. It was great!

This was the first time that Tyler rode a horse by himself. The last time he was up on a horses back, his Daddy was right up there with him (I was pregnant at the time with Jilli), so that was a long time ago. Things have changed. The once scared little boy was full of smiles as was walked around the ring.

Have to say it was well worth the cold/rain/wind, to see the smiles on the kids faces!

Blessings!!

Cran-Hill Ranch Continued

Oh My, I have so much to post and write about, but just don't seem to have the time to keep up with our busy, full, wonderful life. I promised I would write about our trip to Cran-Hill Ranch, but my scattered unorganized brain wants to jump straight to what just happened this weekend. What to do, what to do....

I think I mentioned in my previous post about Cran-Hill that the weather was less than nice for our little adventure, but being die-hard campers, we forged ahead armed with some "non-messy" crafts for the kids and movies that they had never seen.

Out of all the times we have camped in our new trailer, I have never been so thankful for the shear size of it. There was room for all 7 kids to do their crafts and 4 adults to lovingly look on (plus one not so small dog). We shared meals in our trailer and could be found just hanging out when the weather got too nasty to be outdoors. So thankful for God's blessing...

OK, so maybe I should start with the first night. It was horrible. Thankfully the kids didn't wake up, but around 2 am the rains came in a torrential down pour and then......the winds came. Kevin and I laid awake praying that we wouldn't get blown over. My mind was going a million miles a minute, thinking of the pictures that I had seen of trailers that had gotten blown over in high winds. I was imagining where I could put my kids to be safe in case our trailer did tip over. We were rocking back and forth, the trees were creaking and I was holding my husbands hand praying that God would keep us safe.

On a side note... when I was a girl I was deathly afraid of wind. If it was a windy day and my Mom made me go outside, you could find me under the picnic table shaking with fear. I have since overcome most of my fear of wind, but there in the very back of my conscience the childhood fear can come bubbling up. So this ferocious wind that kept beating the side of the trailer over and over, caused great anxiety within my heart. Lets just say it wasn't a night of peaceful rest.

To top off the night of no sleep, there was going to be a free pancake breakfast to celebrate Mothers Day at the Lodge at 8:30am! Most of you have never camped with me, but I like to mosey out of my trailer at....oh....10...10:30am, this girl likes her sleep and likes her slow, no hurry, the sun will be up for another 12 hours, no rush, kind of morning. So I had to muster all my energy to make it to the breakfast on time, that windy, cold, rainy Saturday morning.... this is what I call "roughing it", Lyn's style.

After breakfast we all headed back to our trailer for a craft, we had to keep all the kids busy, because it was..... still raining/snowing.

Thankfully, the kids all loved working on their masterpieces.

After crafts, the older 4 kids went to try their hand at archery, with the Dads.

From what I hear, they had a lot of fun. You really can't see it, but there was a roof over their heads, so they stayed dry. All in all it was a great experience for my boys, they were really excited with how well they did.

There is so much more to share about this day... but that will have to wait for another post.

Blessings!!

Thirteen Years Ago Today...

How does time fly so quickly? How is it that I fell asleep and woke up 13 years later? Seems like a dream, doesn't seem possible. There are times I look in the mirror and wonder at the person that is staring back at me. I hear "Mommy" and have to do a double check.... that is ME they are calling for... how is it that I am a Mom of 3, wasn't it only yesterday that I walked down the aisle to the young man waiting for me at the end?

The day started off cloudy and warm, I remember waking up early, finding my sister awake, we sat in my bed playing war until it was time for me to start getting ready. I remember the panic feeling of realizing that I had brought my veil to the church with my wedding dress and I didn't have it for my hair appointment. I remember my soon to be Father-In-Law coming to my rescue by bringing me my veil. I remember thinking how weird it was going to be, being called by my married name. I remember bits and pieces of the getting ready stuff and then the next thing I remember is being positioned at the front of church for the time when Kevin would see me for the first time.

Standing with flowers in hand shaking, wondering if he would think I was beautiful. Waiting and waiting for him, then all of a sudden he is walking down the aisle with a huge smile on his face, looking into my eyes. All was good...

I remember smiling until my cheeks hurt... then I remember being told it was time to go into my room until it was time for the wedding to start.

I was sitting in a chair, thinking about what was about to happen trying hard not to cry when my Aunt and Uncle came into the room with their gift to me. I unwrapped the box and pulled out the most beautiful lamp. It was handcrafted just for me, by my Uncle. It is a stained glassed lamp that to this day stays next to my bed.

I remember walking through the basement of the church feeling as if I could faint, my heart was racing, my mouth was dry, I was trying my best to remain calm. Then my Dad walked me down the aisle to the man waiting for me at the end. It was about 4:30pm when we were pronounced husband and wife... and now here we are 13 years later.

It hasn't been the most smoothest of rides. We have had our share of bumps and bruises. I remember during our first year of marriage I got so upset with Kevin that I threw spaghetti at him. I missed him and it hit the wall. I was so upset that I didn't clean it up, it stayed there a long time (for all of you that know Kevin, you know it drove him crazy that I didn't clean it up) Now we look back at that time and laugh. But I think that if you ask any couple, if they are honest, will say that marriage is a struggle. It is not for the faint of heart. It has been my experience though, that marriage gets better and better as the years go on... as long as you are willing to work hard and pray hard.

So here I am, a "lightly" seasoned marriage woman, thanking God that 13 years ago today, I said those two little words "I Do" promising to Love, Honor, and Cherish the man God handcrafted for me.

(Kevin's gift to me - It says "Love Vows To Always Bloom")

I Love You Kevin!!

Cleaning and Praying

It was my hope to post today about Cran-Hill, but.... life got busy.

Kevin and I leaving for a few days to celebrate our 13th anniversary. I have been cleaning like a mad women over here to get the house ready for Kevin's parents to come stay with the kids.

It is so different when you are cleaning your house for someone else to stay in it then when you are cleaning it for your own family. You look at things with new eyes, and you wonder why you didn't clean the bottom of the oven before, or why all of a sudden the shower curtain needs to be replaced and since it rained today, the windows needed to be washed too. Crazy I know... I also know that my In-Laws probably don't care and probably think that my house is clean regardless, but I seem to have complexes when I know someone else is going to be living in my dirt.

Jilli's Prayer

When I was tucking Jilli into bed tonight her prayer went something like this... "Dear God, thank you for this day. Please keep Mommy and Daddy safe on the highway on their way to their anniversary dance. Help them to have a fun dance. Help them to find a nice place to lay down. Help them to find a nice bed to sleep in. Help Ama and PopPop keep Mommy and Daddy's bed warm like they do. Help them to sleep in the same order as Mommy and Daddy. Amen."

The kids have been concerned that Ama and PopPop won't sleep the same way Kevin and I do. I am the one closest to the door, so I think they think that is why I am the one that usually comes to them when they call in the middle of the night. I am not really concerned, once you have "Mom Ears" you always have "Mom Ears".

Alrighty then... I won't be posting again until I get back home. Have a great weekend!

Blessings!!

Cran-Hill Ranch

Call us crazy if you want.... go ahead, we are used to it. Some people just don't get our intense desire to go camping at any opportunity that we are offered.. and that is OK. We know that we are "different" but in this day and age, I think different IS good. When you are more shocked to hear that a couple is celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, than to hear that a couple is divorcing. When you take a double-take of a teenage boy who is wearing nice clothes and a clean short haircut, than a boy who has long hair and is dressed sloppy. I will gladly wear the names "weird, different, and crazy" because that means we are doing something right.

This past weekend, was one of those weekends that people thought we were crazy. The forecast was for WIND, rain, snow and high temps in the 40's. BUT we had a FREE weekend up at Cran-Hill Ranch, a place that is near and dear to my heart. So, being the crazy weird people we are, we were not scared off by the forecast because..well.. we are die hard campers (as long as we have heat, hot shower, microwave, tv, dvd, etc.). I made sure we had "non-messy" crafts for the kids to do indoors. Our friends we were camping with made sure that we had movies that could be viewed for our children's enjoyment and we hunkered down for a cold wet weekend of fun.

Over the next few days I will be sharing some of the fun that we had on this Mothers Day weekend.

**note the picture above was taken on Sunday when the sun finally decided to show us it's beautiful face**

BB Gun

Tyler waited all day until Daddy came home so that they could shoot the BB gun together.

They had a lot of fun shooting at different things. I even got to try my hand at shooting the gun. Who would of thought that a little BB Gun could make a little boy (and big boy) so happy.

Blessings!!

Little Mechanic

Last week Jilli got it into her head that she was going to learn how to ride a two-wheeler. I have no problems teaching her, but I did see one small complication in taking her training wheels off her bike. **When sitting on the bike seat her feet don't reach the ground**

We have this nice grassy little hill on the side of our house. It is perfect for teaching little ones how to ride. You just have the kids sit on the seat and push them down the hill (the grass makes falling off not so painful). Their feet don't need to be on the pedal they can use them to help balance. After a few times down the hill the kids start to pedal down the hill and from that point on they are pretty much trained how to ride a bike. With both the boys it took less than two days of consistent practice and they were off on their own.

Back to the one small complication... Jilli has the cutest shortest little legs. They just don't reach the ground and although I am sure she would be a quick learner, you kind of need to be able to reach the ground before the training wheels come off.

In enters Tyler...

Little Miss got what she wanted, all she needed to do was ask her big brother Tyler. He grabbed his tools and got right to work. Off came the training wheels. He was so proud of himself and Jilli was so excited to try the wonderful world of two-wheel bikes.

It lasted all but a day and she wanted her training wheels back on. Two trips down the hill (which she balanced just fine even though she couldn't touch). Daddy tried one trip around the neighborhood and she was done. She announced that she needed a bike the size of Sam's to learn how to ride (Hmmm.... Mommy might be smarter than she looks).

Training wheels are back on the bike (thanks to an unexpected visit from PopPop) and she is back on her bike tearing up the neighborhood again.