Topsy Turvy

Not trying to make light of a very scary situation......this is how the kids found themselves on the way home from school on May 3rd.  We are praising God for his protecting hand on them!

There were 7 children all under the age of 18 in this van.  The 17 year old driver pulled out in front of an oncoming car....he somehow thought the car was turning.  The oncoming vehicle hit right at the wheel which took the brunt of the crash.  Because they were angling a bit as they crossed the intersection, only the right front of the pickup hit them rather then the whole front end which would have then included the side door.  Renae was sitting by the side door and Devan by the rear wheel.  Things could have been so different!  The truck hit and spun them, and then the van caught an edge and flipped to the side and then onto the roof.  They had their seat belts on.  They all crawled out with only a few scratches and bruises.  Dwight had scratches on his knee and elbow that were bleeding.

The other amazing thing is that the mother of one of the kids was several cars back at the intersection.  She heard the crash and realized that she was going to be sitting for a while.  As she was trying to turn around and go another way, she saw there were kids in the car and realized that one of them was her kid!  We were so thankful that she was there so quickly.

All the windows were busted except the one side door and the front windshield.  They were just leaving the stop sign so they didn't have much of their own momentum and landed not far from the site of impact.  The van landed the opposite way than they were heading.

I think this will make a lasting impression on each one of the kids....and that is a good thing, I think. We are so grateful for God's protection!

March Birthdays

 Darryn & Ericka were home right in between their birthdays.  We had a cake & homemade ice cream party for them.  We did celebrate Dwight's birthday on the 23rd but waited for his cake on this night too.

Happy 16th, Dwight

Happy 19th, Ericka

Happy 21st, Darryn

This pic is a bit blurry but I like the haze effect from all the blown out candles.

Sweet Sixteen - This boy now has his driving permit!

Trying out Darryn's new gift - his own spike ball set

This gang had a roaring game of Dutch Blitz going! 

L to R, Mary Troyer (friend), Ericka, Amanda Hardesty (friend) holding Kayla's baby Riley, Kayla (cousin), Kevin (cousin), Taylor (friend), Krista (friend), and Darryn

Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C.

Since Darryn & Ericka were home for a long weekend over Easter weekend, we decided to go to Washington D.C. on Good Friday.  Darryn brought his friend, Krista, home with him and he wanted to "go do something."  We have never been to see the "famous" cherry blossoms in downtown D.C. and since it happened to be peak season, we decided this was our year.

We drove into the city, found a place to eat lunch, and then did a bunch of walking.  There were people, people everywhere but the blossoms were pretty!

The kids - the Washington Monument is in the opening

The parents

Darryn & Krista

Having fun!

We walked past the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument and ended up at the Air & Space Museum.  It was packed as were the rest of the best museums.  We were so tired from all the walking and the museum was so warm and full that we decided to get tickets to the IMAX movie for a rest.  

Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson himself

On the walk back to the car, the sun came out a bit.  There are cherry trees completely surrounding the Tidal Basin which connects to the Potomac River.

Glad we were able to take the time to "smell the cherry blossoms."

Birthday Girl

Happy 14th birthday, Renae!  

Minnesota cold, Delaware snow

And this pretty much sums up our long weekend in the north (Jan 15-18) .....

The temp when we left for church at 8:45 Sunday morning.

I think we picked the coldest weekend so far this winter to be there.  Oh well, it was nice and toasty inside and we had great people to hang out with.  It was up to 10* the first day we were there so we did some ice skating.  The next day barely got above 0* but we did just a bit of snowmobiling and some cross country skiing near Bill & Tammi's house.  

Found 1 picture to prove it.  Sigh......

By the 3rd day, we decided it was a good day to go bowling.  None of us take the time to go bowling in normal life, so the kids all loved it.

It was so good to be with the Helmuth's in MN again.  Thanks everyone for hanging out and "hosting" us!

We were SO glad that we were home the next weekend because we got 14 in. of snow from "Jonas".  We love snow at our house!  It was pretty heavy to push and clean out and we're glad we didn't get the 2-3 ft. that some states got.  Sure wish it would hang around longer though!  It is not quite 2 wks. and all that is left is the piles.  

Renae's snowman

King of the hill

We got to use the skies for about a week.  At first, it was so deep that Lyn drove the tractor through our woods trail and made a loop for us to go on.  It worked pretty good to ski in the tractor tracks.  After a couple days, it had settled enough that we could just go on top of the snow wherever we wanted.  Lyn had found a deal on Craig's List for 3 sets of skis and boots for $50 that he gave as a surprise Christmas gift to me.  I think we should be able to use them at least once a winter here which is more often then ice skates!

Fall Hunting

It was brought to attention that some exciting fall hunting news was missed. Don't scroll through this post if blood or dead animals make you queasy!!

Renae hunted for the first time this year.  This is how her & her Dad occupied their time on youth day.

Dwight brought home a nice little buck that day.  It was his first buck.  His eyes are actually swollen almost shut.  Three times now he has had an allergic reaction to something that makes him swell up and the conclusion we are coming to is that it is mold.  He sat in a tent blind that day. 

First Buck

The next weekend was regular hunting season and since Renae wasn't sure she was ready to sit by herself, Mom got talked into going and sitting in the stand with her.

Because we arrived a bit late to the stand, it was just past shooting time by the time we were situated.  While discussing how the deer can just sneak up and suddenly be in front of you (she was cluing me in), we looked up and there was one right there in perfect shooting range.  So about 10 minutes after getting in the stand, she had shot.  She could have done it herself!  Mom was just moral support! 

How Dad felt when he heard her shoot.

Renae's first deer

It's a little one.....but they are allowed that on their first deer (Dad's rule.)  Now she has to look for BIG does or bucks.  This was actually a little button buck.

Lyn got several does, and this nice buck.  We kept 3 of the deer plus had one made into bologna to share with friends. We never have a problem finding someone to take any extra deer off our hands.

It's becoming an annual tradition to go rabbit hunting on Thanksgiving morning. This year Uncle Shaun was here.  They said he made a good rabbit dog!

Fun times!

Happy hunters!

Birthday Boy

This will be our last year to have a child that can still order off the kids menu.....in other words, the last year to have a kid under the teenage years.

Happy 12th birthday, Devan!

Not the greatest picture, but needed to document the gift....his first bow.