Little but Mighty!

Today is actually Lucas' birthday but we celebrated on Sunday. It was the fastest birthday party on record.  He was a whirlwind of activity and had all his gifts ripped open in a matter or 15 minutes and was then off playing with them.  So, I didn't get any good pictures of him but here are a few:

 He's been sucking up live bugs with his bug vacuum and putting them in his port-a-bug case...even a wasp!

 Always loves Legos!

 Battling Jeremy with the new Bey Blades

 Brotherly love

 Pops tickling the girls

 Felicia loves hats!

 Great-Great Mamma reading to Brenna and Felicia

 Two Cuties!

 Cupcakes ready to go to school today

Happy 9th Birthday, Lucas!!

We love you!

We're Published!

Some of you might remember that I asked you to contribute to a cookbook that would benefit the foundation that gave us a grant to put toward our wheelchair accessible van which became a necessity when Ian got his power chair.  The cookbook is finally available and I feel like we have dominated the publication...or rather Ian has.  Because he was the first recipient in Indiana, he got special recognition.  

The sideways view of the front cover....(can't seem to get it right side up)

Inside the front cover.... 

Ian's original artwork on the back cover....

If you are interested in purchasing a cook book, let me know and I'll get you one.  They are $10 and all of it goes to the ATI foundation.  Thanks so much to those of you who contributed!!!

Happy Birthday to my Momma!

I won't type how many years it is, but it's a big one!  Happy, happy birthday to the woman who gave me life, loved me all the time no matter what (and still does), listens when I whine, encourages when I'm down, rejoices with me, loves my family, sacrifices for us and so many others and most importantly,

 loves the Lord! 

Happy Birthday, Mother/Jill/Mimi!!!

We love you!!!!

New Friends

Once again, we had the privilege of hosting 4 new international Purdue students in our home for brunch this morning and made 4 new friends.  We always enjoy learning about different cultures as well as their impressions of ours.  Three of the young men are from India and one is from China.  We hope to see them throughout the school year and beyond! 

Nashville

What's a girl to do when she gets an invitation from her niece to a baby shower  for said niece's sister who lives 300 miles away?  Why, grab a travel buddy and go!  My mom offered to ride with me and Tom agreed to take over total parenting duties for a day and we headed to Nashville.  It was a fun, fun day and I'm so thankful I could make the trip!

 Mommy-to-be Kathryn opening her gifts

 Lindsay, Olivia and Ethan came also (but for the record, I was planning to go before I knew they were coming!)  Olivia loved Elizabeth's new puppy, Oscar and I seriously thought about ways to sneak him out of her house!

 The grandfather-to-be ( my little bro)

 Getting some Olivia hugs before heading back to Indiana

 Handsome Ethan

 Cuties!!!  What a bonus to get to see them for a few hours!

Discussing life with Uncle Brian

It was a long day but oh, so worth the trip!  Next time, we'll get to meet Hudson Jack Taylor!

Colt World Series

Our youngest 3 boys have been involved with the Tippy All-Star Baseball League this summer and it has been a great experience!  The season culminated with the amazing opportunity to play ball during the Colt World Series, which is held in Lafayette every summer.  As I stood there, watching all those 15 and 16 year old players surround the field and cheer our kids on, I couldn't hold back the tears.  It was a special night!

 Teams from Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, Texas, California, etc surrounded the ball diamond while the Tippy Stars took the field.  Each child had a player assigned to them.

 Lucas made it through half of an inning, but it was just too overwhelming to think about batting in front of all those people, so he spent the rest of the evening on the side lines with Dad.

 Jeremy with the player he was matched with

 Ian at bat.....

 "running" to first base!

 Jeremy got a great hit and was running to first also!

Ian makes it to home plate!

 Waiting to run again

 All of the players got bags of goodies and medals!

 Tippy All Stars - Red Team

 Tippy All Stars - Blue Team

It's been a great summer of baseball for these special kiddos and we are so thankful to have been a part of it!