busy day

I don't want to forget what busy means during this season of life. I think "busy" means something different, depending on where you are at in life. Our family has recently moved from the infant/toddler busy stage, to school-age/activity driven stage. Both very busy, but in different ways. Today was a little busier than usual, but so much fun that I wanted to save the memories right away. We won't be in this stage forever!
This morning, Darrell had to work and I had heard of a church in Cranberry, PA that puts on a one-day full-size Candyland display. I thought that this might be the last year that Evan would even be a little excited to go, so we got out of the house earlier than usual to visit it. We called my sister-in-law, JoAnne, to come meet us there as it was close to her house. We had such a good time...I was very impressed by the quality of the set and the amount of thought they put into the activity. The kids were the play pieces and actually "played" a life-size Candyland game (and received a TON of candy).
Then it was onto soccer. I did something today that I always said I wouldn't do.....Evan had to change his clothes in the car on the way to soccer! Don't worry, he didn't have to even take off his seatbelt....he is that talented! We made it to his soccer game and Alec even got a car nap!
Then onto a planned event at Woodward's Orchard. It's a good thing it is close to where Evan plays soccer because the soccer game went late so we were very, very late. We still got to do a hayride and walk through the cornmaze. It was the perfect Autumn day today!
So I think tonight, bedtime for children and adults will be early....we are beat! But this is a snapshot of what "busy day" means for the Jerome family this year.

Wii

We bought a Wii today....I can hear the kids and Darrell giggling as they try it out as I type. This was a 10 month process....yes, 10 months! Rewind to last January; Evan had just gone back to first grade after the Christmas holiday. His class had a class show and tell of the Christmas presents that they had received. Evan came home really angry and convinced that he was the only kid that didn't have a Wii. After we addressed his negative attitude, we problem-solved with Evan about how we could buy a Wii. He agreed to save his allowance and we would match what he saved. So, he had to save up for half of a Wii. He met his goal last week and Darrell found a place today that had them in stock! This was a wonderful learning experience for Evan and I'm so proud of him for sticking with it. Great job Evan!!!!! Now I'm going to go play!

MOPS convention

This weekend, I was privileged to go to the MOPS convention in Grapevine, Texas (close to Dallas and Ft. Worth) with three other women from our church's MOPS group. MOPS means Mothers of Preschoolers, for those of you unfamiliar with the organization. When I first became a stay-at-home mom in 2004, I searched for a group for mothers to meet with. I found a MOPS group that I was involved with for a year, but it wasn't until I moved to Pennsylvania that I connected with a MOPS group that I really connected with and enjoyed. When I first began MOPS, I attended for several reasons: sanity (you get a break....free babysitting for your children!), good food, interesting topics, and organized play dates and socials to get together with other moms. A little over a year ago, I decided to give more back to MOPS, since I had gotten so much from the group, so now I'm in a voluntary leadership position. Attending the MOPS convention with 4,000 other women really gave me a perspective on how broad MOPS international really is. Here are 10 facts about MOPS that I learned at the convention:

1. MOPS was founded in 1973 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado (it's only one year younger than me!)
2. There are 4,030 MOPS groups in the United States, 123 International groups in 30 countries and affiliates in New Zealand and Australia.
3. There are 102,700 MOPS International members.
4. There are 31,000 Steering Team Members (which I am one of) and 252 Field Leaders.
5. MOPS has expanded to serving mothers in prison and teen moms.
6. MOPS is not only for stay-at-home moms, as there are many MOPS chapters that have evening and weekend MOPS meetings for working moms.
7. MOPS partners with organizations such as Compassion and Samaritan's purse (Operation Christmas Child) helping impact families and children worldwide.
8. MOPS believes that better moms make a better world (isn't that true!)
9. MOPS publishes many resources and books on all aspects of parenting.
10. MOPS theme this year is adventures in mothering. So find a MOPS group at http://www.mops.org/ if you are a mother of a preschooler. If your family happens to beyond the preschool years, many MOPS groups are still looking for Moppet workers (to watch the preschool children during the meetings....often only twice a month) or for mentor moms to come along side young moms during this season. Check it out!

The Jerome Barber Shop

Since we have lived in Pennsylvania, Darrell has been taking the boys to get their hair cut at Ron's barber shop in Ellwood City. Ron used to cut Darrell's hair, so it's a trip down memory lane for him, and the boys think he's cool because he hunts and has a stuffed bear in his shop. This fall, however, we have been very busy with activities starting back up and haven't been able to find the time to get to Ellwood City. The boys were looking shaggy. So Darrell thought it was time to invest in a new set of clippers and see if new ones would cut through Evan's hair (which is the THICKEST hair I have ever seen......he's like a duck, water runs right over it!) Darrell set up his barber shop in the living room in front of the t.v. and went to town. And he did a great job! Ron might be out of a couple customers!

And Darrell might have a new profession....it is in his family. His Grandfather used to have his own a barber shop in Ellwood City and Darrell's dad used to work there also. Darrell has actually run into some people in Ellwood City that still remember the barber shop.

Aren't they handsome!

Happy Birthday Darrell!

Darrell's birthday was Friday, September 26. We had a family birthday party for him on Saturday. Happy birthday and here's to many, many more!

New nephew!

I am happy to announce that my youngest sister, Sheila, has delivered her second baby, a boy named Nathanael Kinnick Aichele early this morning. It's really neat to see, how my Dad raised three girls and now has seven boys, and only two girls, as grandchildren! Another touching fact is Nathanael is born on my cousin, John's, birthday. John Hampton is the youngest son of my Aunt Sue and Uncle Lyle and he passed away in a car accident in the year 2000. I love how God gives us these joyful events on dates of sadness. Our Ann-Marie also was born on a date God knew we needed happiness.....she was born on the birthday of Darrell's brother, Bruce, who was also killed in a car accident just a couple weeks before John's accident and death.

Congratulations to Kurt and Sheila! I only wish I could climb on the next plane to Colorado to meet our newest nephew! We love you!

The Love Shack

I know, it's a "scandalous" blog title for what I usually write about, but you'll understand in a minute. I told Darrell for our 11th wedding anniversary I wanted an ENTIRE weekend away to somewhere we've never been. My hotel-addicted husband went uncharacteristic on me and rented a "rustic" cabin off of Lake Erie. Rustic means electricity (which meant lights, a mini-refrigerator, and microwave) but no heat and no plumbing!

Above is a picture of our cabin. The minute I saw it, the song "Love Shack" went running through my mind and I couldn't get it out of my head the entire weekend!
Here's a better perspective....yep, not much bigger than the minivan, but I loved it! It was so quiet (which is key to getting away from the chaos of having a young family) and secluded.
Yes, it's true! That's Darrell coming out of the bathroom/shower shack. He was such a trooper! At least the water was warm!
The first morning we took our bikes to Presque Isle. We biked 12 miles around the lake and the view was stunning. Above is a picture from the bike trail....that's Erie, PA across the lake. Below is Perry Monument. The Perry Monument on Crystal Point was built in 1926 to commemorate a significant battle during the War of 1812.

As we biked around the lake, we even saw a wedding on the beach....very cool since it was our anniversary day!
Saturday afternoon found us touring wineries in the area. We felt like we were back in Italy because there were grapevines as far as the eye could see! Above is one of the wineries, concord grapes are so common there they even covered the entrance.We ate at a restaurant called "Smuggler's Wharf" in Erie, PA Saturday night. We highly recommend it! The fish was amazing.

And we got to experience the second best sunset in the nation (second only to Hawaii) after dinner. It was stunning!Sunday morning we spent kayaking....no pictures taken as we've had bad luck with the camera and water. Three hours of kayaking on Lake Erie was wonderful....I'll have to say I'm a little sore today though!

A special thanks to my sister-in-law, Maura, and her family who kept the kids all weekend! You're wonderful Maura! And another special thank-you to my husband, who created such a wonderful get-away. You knew exactly what this frazzled mom needed! I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with a thoughtful and caring husband. Here's to many more anniversaries and adventures!