Extra, extra

And here are some random photos...
I had to take pictures of the kids thumbing through their first toy catalog asking for Christmas presents. Joey will sit down at random times of the day and ask for this catalog to look at the toys that he wants from Santa and will share with everyone!
There are also pictures of a day watching Jessie, flying a kite in the backyard, playing with the neighbors...or should I say all kids tackling Dominic, and other random pics, enjoy!

Father's Day and past weekend

I have been very lazy in posting more than just pictures of what is going on. I will do a Joshua's Journey soon. I have a list of things I want to write/share, but that list keeps growing, I'll blame summer and activities, but sometimes it is just so hard to articulate grief and a love to and from beyond this earth.

First off here is Father's Day...

the kids painted Daddy a "trophy" which Mommy was not good at assembling so it became a candy dish for the Hershey Kisses that they gave Daddy along with some buttons that they really enjoyed making (gluing a whole lot!) for Daddy. We headed to Assumption for a breakfast picnic where Joey kept telling us "Josh's house is cool." And when an old Volvo drove down the side road he said "Josh is here!" After I corrected him and said that was not Josh's car Joey then said "Jesus is here!" To that I laughed, told him how Jesus is always with us, just as Josh is always in our hearts and we can talk to either of them whenever we want. However, I do think that Joey thinks Jesus drives a Volvo!

After coming back home and playing around with Daddy it was nap time. After naps Jillian was looking a little bit like a straggly mess with her hair, so I grabbed her purse and brought her up to our bathroom and let her play in the mirror while I attempted to cut her bangs! Yes, first official haircut, even if it is just bangs, so I had to take pictures. She loved sifting through her purse looking through her fake lipstick, keys, brush, and little book, but when it came down to cutting her bangs she did not like it at all! But, she does look a lot better.

After naps we met Nonna and Grandpa for dinner and then headed back to their house for dessert and to play with Uncle Don, Auntie Steph, and Mikey! We will be seeing them again real soon for Northlake Days which is right by their house. Last year Joey loved riding on the cars, but Jill was a little too young to do anything. I'm sure this year will be fun with both of them!


And finally we got our first babysitting job with Jessie on Tuesday. She was a good girl, played hard, ate well, and loved resting on the pile of shoes that we have by the back door. I guess I'll have to leave that mess there for her to cozy up to! And today a few pictures of some inside fun painting, baking, and I set up an obstacle course for them. Hoping for warmer, sunnier weather!

Boomtown Half: The Race That Could Not Be Run

A little over a week ago I saw a run was going to be held today to benefit the people of Joplin, MO. It was the Boomtown Half Marathon that was to take place in Joplin, MO last weekend. Due to the devastation of the recent tornadoes the race was not going to take place. The race I saw was in support of Joplin and called the Boomtown Benefit: The Race That Could Not Be Run. The distance would be anywhere from 10 yards to 10 miles. There would be no time clock, no fancy t-shirts, no closed streets, no lines of port-a potties, and only water fountains along the course and water bottles at the finish. The entry fee was a donation to United Way for the people of Joplin. Noting the 10 yards to 10 mile distance (not to mention the race was put together in 10 days)I thought it would be perfect to donate and have Joey and I run. I would push Joey in the stroller for 9.75 miles and he would run the last .25 to the finish. He said he was going to beat me! And I believed him! He was really excited, and this morning when I went to get him as I do most races at an early hour he smiled at me, hopped in the car donning his Lightning McQueen race shirt and was ready to go. He persevered through the long (one toilet) potty line doing his dance but keeping dry (the first part of a runner's agony!) We took off and Joey was in his element with the beautiful scenery, looking at the water, the trees, the geese, cheering me and other runners on, and eating his Cheerios. We met a few people, including the race director who I had e-mailed earlier in the week to make sure it'd be okay to bring Joey in the stroller and have him run the 10 yards or whatever it'd turn out to be. We were at 9.94 miles when I pulled him out of the stroller to finish. He was startled by another runner and then didn't want to run or was confused, something. Turns out he fell on the graveled pavement, got a couple of good boo-boos on his knees and was crying. I told him its not easy to run, and when you fall you get up, and the most important thing is to try and finish. So, he whined/cried his way but he did cross the finish and he accepted his medal. I guess sometimes the great visions in your head don't always turn out that way in reality (I wasn't holding hands with Joey smiling and skipping our way across the finish line of his first race, but that is life)! Daddy, Jillian, Auntie, Andrew, and Emma were there to cheer us on too. Andrew made a sign for Joey to show his support. Joey slept the whole way home. Running is tough, but with a little more training I think he'll do just fine!

It was a beautiful day weather wise, and of course a great way to support the people trying to get their lives back together in Joplin. There were 153 registrants accepted, the same number of deaths. Each bib was in remembrance of one of them. My bib read: Gregan D. Sweet, 59, Joplin was at the Pizza Hut with his wife when the tornado hit, according to his son's Facebook posting. His wife survived. Joey's bib: Steven Haack Stephens, 28, Joplin. Died from injuries after he helped rescue his wife and mother when their vehicle was struck by tornado. Worked in construction. Joey's "traumatic" morning is absolutely nothing compared to the devastation the people of Joplin faced and continue to face as they restore their lives and community. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Joplin.


Not sure if this is going to work, but Christy had way better pictures of the whole thing than I did since I was running. Poor Joey, but I can't look at these without laughing. Try clicking here.

Last night Java was also able to meet Grandma's latest addition. The kitchen seems slow going compared to the quick taking to Jessie! Yes, last night Grandma's puppy was named. We had the help of Auntie Pam (#1 Dog Lover), Auntie, Uncle Chris, Andrew, Emma, Mr. and Mrs. Sole, Dom, Nick, and Gigi to help figure out a name. Jessie got quite the welcoming with everyone playing outside and Snowy and Java there to play and pounce with. Jessie seemed to like nestling in for a rest on Mrs. Sole's feet. Grandma reported that Jessie slept fairly well last night waking almost every 2 hours but going back to sleep nicely and taking to her crate really well.
(After the race today we had some outside water fun, so just threw some of those pics on at the end.)