Happy 15th Birthday Michelle Turner!!! Have fun learning to drive!!! Good luck Kelly & John!

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We had a great time in Gatlinburg! Above is the view from the porch of where we stayed. Quite a drop! I discovered that I do NOT like going down very curvy and thin mountain roads in the car.

Too bad for me that this wasn't even a small portion of the road we had to go down to get to

town. The drop off on the drive down was INSANE!

<- During our hike in the Smoky Mountains

<- This is what we hiked to see - Laurel Falls. Very beautiful!

At the aquarium we found out that Megan HATES fish! She's grossed out by them. Sorry, Meg not exactly the highlight of your trip then, hunh? ->

-> Fun at the Wax Museum

Kate returned from her trip to FL all dark and tan - but best of all - safe and sound with no police record! The Turners came up over the weekend. They were up to see Ryan & Rachel's new baby girl - the one we went to Chicago for the baby shower.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Worth the time to read

I know this is longer than my "normal" entry - but I think it is worth the time to read! Thanks, Cheryl, for passing this my way!




I'm invisible.......
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of
response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room
while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or
sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner,
because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix
this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of
hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time
is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney
Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30,
please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and
the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum
laude -- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter,
never to be seen again.
She's going ... she's going ... she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the
return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a
fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she
stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all
put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked
down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find
that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip
and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was
feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a
beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't
exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To
Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are
building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read -- no, devour -- the book. And I
would discover what would become for me, four life-changing
truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the
great cathedrals-- we have no record of their names. These builders
gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They
made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of
their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw
everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to
visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman
carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the
man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a
beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."
And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It
was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte.
I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around
you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on,
no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile
over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now
what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not
a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease
of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong,
stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great
builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never
see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could
ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people
willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the
friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up
at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she
hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I
just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to
say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen
if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the
world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the
beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible
women.

Way to go Ryan!

This was the scene at David's office earlier this week. Ryan had put Peeps all over the place! Love it that things at the office are getting back to "normal"!

Katie made it to Florida for spring break in one piece. Let's all hope she comes back the same way! Probably won't post again for awhile as we will be on spring break, too! Hope everyone has a great one!

Laura a grandma???

Ok, so yes and no. The "kitten" she found earier this year has been confirmed pregnant - and due any time now. Guess she's not quite as young as they thought. How does she get herself into these things??? Let's hope for a small litter! I'm sure my kids would have a hard time giving the kittens away. I know her's will too! I'm hoping that she'll have the kittens today - what else would you want for your birthday than to have a mess of kittens being born in your bedroom for your 36th birthday?? The sun is shining and the snow is melting! Can't help but be glad about that!

Weekend update

Ok so we didn't get as much snow as my family in Cinci,
but we did end up with plenty to play in. After helping us get the driveway cleared, Megan joined Emily, Sarah and their friend, Mackenzie playing on the small hill behind the house.

The snow plows never did come through our neighborhood. Emily and Sarah were hoping they would make the mountain in front of our house again. I'm glad they didn't! The streets cleared up a lot with the highs in the 40s yesterday.

Sarah's 1st Communion class hosted mass this weekend. Sarah got to take down the gifts. That's her in the middle handing the bread to Fr. Clem. I'm glad she wasn't carrying the wine!

Gabi will be going in for an outpatient procedure this week to see how her tumors are doing. The last time she had this done the tumors had grown from golf ball size to oranges. Radiation could possibly get one of them - but she couldn't tolerate enough radiation to get them all. We are hoping that the chemo is helping a bunch. She is very low on strength but still trying to get out of the house when she can for small amounts of time. Please keep her in your prayers.

Happy Birthday to our niece, Liberty Jones!!!!

Glasses

Kate's glasses came in yesterday. I was surprised how easy it was for her to pick some out. She liked these - but the ones at the dr's office were black around the eyes with white side pieces (I'm sure there's some technical names for that but since I don't work in that field it was useless info that didn't stick!). We checked into it and found out that they also came in tortiose shell. They look cute on her. I guess it helped that Zane came and helped her pick them out!

I called Stephen yesterday (see previous blog) to wish him a happy birthday. The first thing he said to me was - If mommy went camping would she be eaten by a bear? Ok - - - THAT was random! He's soooo funny! Where was his head? Kelly said she hadn't been talking about camping (as anyone that knows Kelly would assume!) and they haven't been discussing bears. What goes on in the head of a 5 year old?

Happy 5th Birthday, Stephen!

I can't believe it was 5 years ago on this day that I was making a mad dash through a snow storm to Canada to be with Kelly for the birth of her son, Stephen. I missed the actual birth by a few hours - but was still thrilled to be there with them!! Amazing how fast those years have gone. Stephen's birth was the 4th time I was supposed to be with a friend for the birth of their child - and I STILL haven't had the honor of actually being there for the "moment". Claudia's 1st born came on Halloween - and I had been at the hospital all night with her - but had to get home when Katie got home from school. Morgan was born while I was gone! For Claudia's 2nd, Cassidy, I was supposed to be in the O.R. with her for the c-section - but the stupid nurse wouldn't let me in! When it was all over Dr. Albers came out and asked me why I hadn't been in there like we'd planned. He wasn't thrilled with the nurse to say the least! For Claudia's 3rd, Hannah, I drove like a bat out of .... to get to Kansas to be with her. Third time's a charm, right??? Right as I got there they had to wheel her into the OR to possibly do an emergency c-section. Plan was for me to video tape the birth - and I had the camera! Again I couldn't get the nurses to let me in - but FINALLY convinced one of them to at least give Paul the video camera. You know how it is when you use someone else's video camera for the first time?? Add to that the fact that your wife is giving birth....it's kind of a funny video! Let's say it's an "artistic" film. Maybe that's how the whole thing started with so many directors doing those jerky, panning in and out shots that were so popular a few years ago. Paul was ahead of his time!! So maybe I'll be lucky and many, many, many years from now the first child I'll get to see born (and not be the one delivering) will be my grandchild. Again - - - many, many, many years from now!

More Power!

Emily put together her science project this weekend. She got to use power tools - and really liked it! The report was due on Monday so she had to actually make the project this weekend. They needed to write about the object, analysis and results. We're not exactly sure what happened to her partner, Garrett, but after calling Friday, several calls Saturday and again on Sunday - she decided to just go ahead and do it herself. We were very proud of her. That's a ton of work to take on alone - not only putting the project together, but then the entire report, too. She has one more small part to drill and put together. We're hoping to get Garrett over here soon to finish that part, put together the tri-fold poster and maybe get a few pictures of him helping out. The whole thing has to be turned in by this Friday.

Last week I got Kate, Meg and Em to the eye doctor finally. Kate is somewhat nearsighted - so in order to see the stuff on the boards in large classrooms next year at IU - she'll need glasses. Megan has been given temporary glasses to help re-train her eyes for a few weeks. She needs to retrain the muscles to relax when she switches between things far away and near. She'll have to wear them while reading for about a month - then go back in to see if things have changed. Emily is slightly nearsighted - but no glasses as yet! Yes, Sarah will be going, too - but she was sick the day she had her appt. And so it goes....