Vacation Countdown!!!

My parents have made it to 49 states. When they returned back from Alaska, I told my mom that if she wanted to make it to all 50 states, then I thought I could make my schedule work so I could go with her. I knew this was a fairly safe offer since Dad does not fly and they haven't built a bridge to Hawaii for him to drive. We made the decision the 2nd week in December that we were going to go in March and mom booked the tickets this past week. To say we are excited is an understatement!! Not only will I get to see Hawaii, I get to see it with my mom. And ONLY my mom. No boys to take care of, no husbands to keep us from being silly. Just mother and daughter enjoying each other and witnessing another part of the world that God created.

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Joshua

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Noah & Timothy

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Life is even to hectic to blog

My life has been so hectic lately to even think about blogging (yes mother, you made me feel guilty!!). Hopefully I'll get some of our Christmas Decoration pictures put up soon.

It's SNOWING!!!!

And I LOVE< 3LOVE<3 LOVE it!!! Yes, I know it isn't sticking, but those big fluffy flakes look so pretty coming down. I'm hoping for a nice big snow storm this year that strands us all at home (with heat and plenty of bread & milk) so that all we can do is play games.

Car Seat Footage

If you know me at all, you know that child passenger safety is important to me. I'm mainly uploading these videos to use in a class at the high school tomorrow, but also for anyone who stumbles upon this blog. Warning: the actual pictures in the links are graphic!!




















The following links are to graphic pictures.
The first picture shows a 4 yr old that was sitting sideways in his mother's lap near an airbag
http://www.rtcol.com/~jonterri/cpst/Airbag_Face.jpg
This second picture is of a 2 yr old who was in the front seat of a vehicle unrestrained.
http://www.rtcol.com/~jonterri/cpst/HeadInj.jpg
The final set of pictures show the damage that can be done when sharing a seatbelt.
http://www.rtcol.com/~jonterri/cpst/Belt_Sharing_Injiury.jpg

VOTE today!!

Please remember to vote today. Timothy and I voted after we took the other 3 to school. Timothy received a sticker for his help. Remember--if you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain!

Soccer is OVER!!!

I love soccer. I really do. It is a great sport and the boys have fun playing. But I am glad the season ended a few weeks ago. For most of Aug, all of September and the first week of October, we lived at the soccer field (or at least it seemed that way). We have a few months before we start thinking about spring soccer (sign up is in January). I think we are going to try to get Joshua in a winter league in a nearby town. Here are some snaps from the last day. None of Joshua though :(( I'm a bad mom remember??

Timothy on the field with his to big t-shirt. I couldn't find his so he borrowed one.

Timothy's team

Noah getting his trophy from his coach

Noah on the field

Trip to the fire station

Rochester has a new and well deserved new fire station. The old one was to small and not what the men who put their lives on the line for us should have. Timothy's preschool class took a trip and it was fun. Sprinkling, but that didn't stop them from taking a quick ride atop the fire engine.

Timothy & his classmates

Timothy with his buddy "firefighter Jeff". Jeff goes to our church.

Can you believe he is sitting that still?

Chief Butler telling the class how to behave on top of the fire engine

Waiting for the ride

Ride is all over and they get to come down using a slide

Sitting on the step of the truck. He even wore his firefighter pants to school that day.

Did you hear my scream??

Everyday after school Noah has to check on his toads that live in the flower bed. Today the big toad was "home" and he wanted to take it to the store to show Nini Ann. As we are walking across the driveway, I yell because there is a snake. Just a small one, but still it was a SNAKE!! I go into the store saying behind me, no you can't bring the snake in too. When a customer heard this she quickly asked where the snake was and I told her in my driveway, but not to worry, it won't come in the store.

Let's count the number of animals that I saw outside my house after school: 2 toads, 1 leopard frog, 1 snake and 1 bat. Yes, I said bat. We have a bat that has taken up residence on our garage above the security light. I never see it leave--I hope it isn't dead up there!!

I'm a BAD, BAD, Mom

It's true. I'm a bad mom. Want to know why? I'm so ready for this week to be over. Why you might ask? Because all the practices for football, soccer, swimming will all be over and we can get back to a nice routine after school and can eat dinner as a family. No more practices until 4 pm, rushing home to get changed for football or soccer practice that starts at 5. No more running out to the store telling Jon his dinner is in the oven and we'll be home at a certain time. Ready to get homework done at a normal time instead of it being pushed until 7. The most important thing? No more sweaty cleats & socks getting left in my truck to make it stink!!

Matthew & the Geography Bee

Matthew came home excited from school yesterday. He has been asked to take part in the geography bee. I guess all those years of studying maps with Jon has paid off! Matthew has been looking forward to middle school because of the academic teams. He said it was the one place it was okay to be smart!!

Sad day at our house :((

Yesterday was a sad day at our house. I found our beloved snapping turtle in the middle of the road and he/she had been hit. I called Jon out at the store and he came over and got it off the road into the woods. Hopefully it will survive. I'm not sure why it was headed to the woods since the pond is surrounded by trees and brush. I thought the boys were all going to start crying.

Purdue Football!!! Go Boilers Go!!!

I took Matthew, Joshua and Noah to a Purdue game last Saturday. We made it down early enough to see the band--you know, the one I marched in for 4 years all those years ago--perform at Slayter. Then walked to the stadium and watched the team warm up. I don't care what you say, you are never to old to appreciate men in tight football pants--but I digress. We had seats in the north end zone so we could see the jumbo tron as well as all the bands antics. Most of the game was pretty boring and I was tempted to leave with 5 minutes to go to avoid the rush of people leaving the game. I'm glad we didn't since the last 2 minutes of the game were the most exciting.

The AAMB marching into the stadium

A few minutes into the game, Noah says Mom, I just pulled my tooth out. I proceeded to put in my pocket to take it home for the tooth fairy that night. He seemed to think that since it was the 2nd tooth he had lost, that he should get $2 for this one. Told him it didn't work that way. He then proceeded to count the number of teeth he had left and figured out how much he would get from the tooth fairy over the next few years.

The final score. I'm glad we didn't leave early!

Matthew & Noah by the Xtra Special. Joshua was being a stinker and wouldn't get his picture taken.

The band performing at Slayter. Sure looks different from this side. If I could go back in time, it would be to my time at Purdue. But I'd only want to repeat my time in the band, not the other classes. Wonder if the band department is hiring??

Finally a picture of all three of them!! That is one big drum!

Matthew & Noah with Purdue Pete

Noah in the stadium. We have 4 tickets for the homecoming game and he was on his best behavior (for the most part) to earn one of those tickets.

Happy Anniversary to my in-laws

Yes, Ann & Steve's anniversary is the same day as ours. An easy way to remember when it is!!

13 Years Ago Today

Jon and I said "I Do". It was a beautiful fall day, perfect for a wedding. A lot of great memories from that day!! We had a nice ceremony at the church I grew up in, then took the hay wagon, pulled by one of Dad's antique tractors, back to mom & dad's for a hog roast reception. I love the pictures we have of Jon and I with the cows in the background. We are going out to dinner on Friday to celebrate since all the other nights are filled with sports practices or games. I love our life together!!!

Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL???

The youth football season started last week. Matthew is on the "Colts". He plays offensive...?? I don't, know you'll have to ask him. All I know is that he enjoys it and I enjoy watching him even if I don't know the positions. I really miss the yellow line showing the first down and the announcer telling me everything that is going on.

Coming off the field after an offensive series

Staying hydrated. I can almost see the germs on that pvc pipe from here!!

The half-time talk. No, I didn't go down that close, I just zoomed in from the stands.

You can't really read the scoreboard, but it says Home 6, Away 0. Guess who was home. Yep, the Colts!!

The traditional handslap after the game.

Boys Boot Camp

Matthew & Jon in their "uniforms"
Joshua making a silly face. He caught me taking his picture.

Over the summer, our church had Boy's Boot Camp for the boys in the church. It was to raise them up into mighty men of God.

After their campout, they came to church in their uniform and then Jimmy Baldwin sang a song to them that he wrote for his son. I've attached the video of this song that he performed on Father's Day for his son. Please take the time to listen to the song.

Where were you 7 years ago?

I remember all to well where I was on Sept 11, 2001. I was driving home from taking Matthew and Joshua to a sitters house. I was going to be working on stuff for the antique store that day. I was 6 mos pregnant with Noah. I turned on the radio and heard the news broadcast, but was sure I had heard wrong, so as soon as I got home I turned on the tv and saw the most horrific images. I remember calling my mom and just crying. I didn't get much done that day for wanting to watch the news. I remember getting down on my knees and praying for the families who had lost loved ones. Let us never forget those who died that day and those who have served since that day protecting our freedom.

Catching up with the Wootten's

Now that the boys are back in school, I'm going to update the pictures from our different outings the past few months. Enjoy looking at our memories.

Timothy's first day of preschool

Labor Day at the lake.

Noah and his buddy Andrew with the seaweed

Don't throw that at Mommy!

Timothy practicing to become worship leader

Noah on the first day of school

Matthew on the first day of school

Boys at Joshua's birthday party.

Matthew, Joshua & Noah on the first day of school

Joshua's birthday party. Look at all those boys.

We went to the Fort Wayne Zoo.

Joshua on the first day of school

A day at Lake Michigan

Aaacckkk!! It's the sand monster

Matthew and Joshua enjoying the COLD water

All 3 enjoying the lake (Noah was at Grandma & Grandpa's)

Joshua being eaten by the lion drinking fountain