What I forgot to tell you....

We were driving home from Illinois on Tuesday and I had just gotten on the expressway and Grant started pooping. So I had to get off at the next exit to change his diaper. Back onto the e-way I got and then all of a sudden I started to feel sick. For those of you who know me.....when I get nervous, I get sick and HAVE to go to the bathroom. Why I was nervous, who knows? I had to look for a bathroom and NOW! So I stopped at a gas station/convenience store. I had to wake up a sleeping Grant and have the rest of my kids follow me into the bathroom. This place only had the kind of bathroom that is a one person room sort of thing, so I had to take all my kids in with me. There we were....me pooping my brains out and my kids all watching me. I tried to have them turn around but that did not work so well. Jacob was holding Grant and eventually started to complain that he could no longer hold him and he wanted me to hold him. Me?!? Are you kidding me? I am hovering above a gas station toilet - pooping!!! To alleviate the complaining, I took Grant and held him while I went to the bathroom. It was a fabulous experience - really. When that was all over, we got back on the road again. About five minutes later, Grant decided to poop again. For real....

Bloomington, Illinois - Father's Day Weekend 2009

Pawlak kids in Bloomington, IL - Tipton Park Spray Park

Jacob and Grace working together at the spray park.

Jadyn "taking a drink"

Grant just being cute.

Jadyn rubbing Grace's feet - How do I get in on the action?

This is where they "chose" to sleep. What is with my kids and their choices for where to sleep?


Goofballs

Such goofy kids!


Dinner at the Flattop Grill





We also looked at a house - one Greg has been eyeing for awhile. While I was out looking at the backyard, Jacob asked the man selling the house, "So, are you selling this house for 2 million dollars?" To which the man said not exactly. Jacob said, "4 dollars?" The man said somewhere in the middle. Then Jacob said, "This backyard is not big enough to play soccer in. Maybe we can move this fence out there to the tree." The man told him he would have to take that up with the city. Where does this crazy kid come up with this stuff? As we were driving away, Jacob told us that he really liked "the house with the basketball court behind it". But his first choice was "the one for 249". He meant $249,000 and it was the big old farmhouse with "the closets that we could sleep in". Seriously? How does he remember this stuff?

Relay for Life 2009

This past school year a classmate of Jacob's lost her 3 year battle with brain cancer. Last Saturday, Jacob's class all walked together in memory of Erin and in honor of another classmate with leukemia. Here are my kiddos with Jacob's teacher, Mrs. Kellet, and some friends, Macy and Drew.

Here they are walking....



Grace, Jadyn and Grant bringing up the rear :)

It was a beautiful day and we give God the glory for it!!

The Follow Up to the Night in the Closet

Here they are sleeping in the closet

And when they woke up, they dressed in Greg and my clothes. So silly.

What a Week.....

It has been an interesting week here. Well...not actually here, but all around us. Monday my MIL fell and broke one ankle and sprained badly the other. Found out today that she was supposed to be COMPLETELY bed-ridden, and yet was WALKING on her sprained and broken ankles. Oh my! More to come....Tuesday my BF Julie was admitted into the hospital for an emergency appendectomy (and I had 3 of her 5 kiddos for the day). They were soooo good though and I was totally spoiled by her daughter, Linnea, who was wicked good helpful! So then Wednesday rolls around and I am up at 7AM because I have to pick my aunt up and we are supposed to golf at 923AM, Well, at 7AM it was POURING, and I mean pouring. I was thinking to myself that it sure would be great to just sleep in instead, but I REALLY wanted to golf so I proceeded with my morning. Kids up, dressed, brushed, fed and then the phone rings and it is my aunt saying that golf was cancelled. Oh man...now I wasn't golfing AND totally missed sleeping in in the middle of a rain storm. What a big, fat bummer that turned out to be! So today I was to take dinner to Julie, go get a mammogram (which I was very nervous about) and then go visit my MIL. My mom had my kiddos THE WHOLE TIME. Wow!! So I took the dinner (which I was told was good) to Julie, then went to Novi for the mammogram. While I was there I learned that if you are nursing (which I am) you cannot get a mammogram. So I left and went to see my MIL. Most hilarious thing....she finally had to go to the bathroom....while I was the only one there! She was totally mortified. I took care of her and explained that we all poop and there comes a time in everyone's life where the need to have the help of someone else. And I told her to take it from me because....well, I KNOW all to well EXACTLY what she is going through. I helped her a bit and then lectured her about feeling sorry for yourself and that this does not help the situation at all and it could certainly have been worse - so quit the pity party. Then I lectured my FIL on how she is his responsibility and that he has to stop thinking about himself and take ABSOLUTE care of her. I guess my work is done there. Now before you think of me as pompous or arrogant, I wasn't really lecturing. I was just helping them see the brighter side...or something like that. I mean, I was on the receiving and ordering end of the same situation, within the last 2 years. So it is still fresh. Moving on....so tomorrow I have to get Jadyn to the doctor for her ear that I sweat is falling off, clean the fish bowl, go to the library to pick up a dvd for the trip, pack for the trip, pick up a rosebush to take to the relay, and who knows what else. But this being said, I better mosey off to bed, so that I can get it all done. Until later.....

The Closet, The Hockey Stick and The Pool

The kids decided they wanted to sleep in my closet. So, now that it is summer vacation, I said what the heck? So here they are setting up "camp". If you look in the lower right corner you can see that Jacob has moved in his trophies and medals, Grace moved in her Hannah Montana cube with her notebooks and Jadyn moved in her basket with her Pull-Ups. They have made the closet their new home. They even asked me if I could put a TV in there for them. I had to draw the line somewhere...maybe tomorrow.



And here they are sleeping....notice that it is NOT my closet. I had Bible study and this is where they fell asleep waiting for me to put them to bed....in my closet.



Jacob has a sock-covered ice pack over his eyes because earlier in the day, while we were at a friend's house, he got hit in the eye with a hockey stick. And yes, it did split the corner of his eye. The funny thing about it was after it happened he just came over to where I was and said "I think I will just sit down here for a while." Which is NOT the norm for Jacob. He never just wants to sit (unless it is in front of a TV) and he certainly never just wants to sit by me. There was no crying and he didn't even tell me that it happened until after I noticed the blood and immediate bruise and asked about it. I guess Grandpa's lecture about crying must have stuck. Too bad the sermon on allowing kids to cry came AFTER the lecture. Good thing he has a mom to set him straight. Cry if you need to, don't if you don't.

And here is my littlest pumpkin in the pool for the first time this year. I thought I could say for the first time, but then remembered that he went in for a millisecond last summer. But he sure looks sweet, though, doesn't he? I thought you would agree. He ABSOLUTELY loves to be in this seat in the pool with the kids.

You Know You're A Mom When.....

...you encourage your barfing 2.5 year old to "throw up in my shirt".

Jadyn and I were laying in her bed, just enjoying the rain outside. She seemed a little tired, you know, yawning a lot and such. She was just laying on my arm and I was listening to her breathe and she seemed to be breathing a little quickly. I actually thought she was sleeping though. All of a sudden she lifted her head, said "my tummy hurts" and commenced throwing up on me. Instead of getting it ALL OVER the bed, I encouraged her to keep it all on me (which when it was all over was actually very disgusting). Most of it did. But the bed was not salvagable. Oh well...what's one more load of laundry in the scheme of things?

Grant's First Birthday Party

Can I touch this?

Are you sure?

I don't think I want this.

No, really. Take it away.

Now...who is going to wash my hair?

I asked Greg to go give Grant a bath after these shnanagans were over and instead he took Grant upstairs, sprayed some detangling conditioner in his hair and brushed it. Hardly a bath, if you ask me. He came back "looking" clean, but smelled of frosting and had crusty hair. Good grief.

Saturday Stuff

Could there be bigger dorks? Maybe, but I doubt it. This is Greg (on the smaller scooter) and our neightbor Matt tooling around the neighborhood....advertising for our garage sale. Think they drummed up some business for us? Were not exactly sure.

Grant *working* the garage sale

Grace enjoying some ribs. I think she REALLY enjoyed them.

Grant was enjoying them too. Maybe not as much, though.

Jadyn just wanted to pose for the camera.


Jacob was at Grandpa and Grandma's, so he could not enjoy the ribfest.

Jacob's First Grade Performance

Jacob had a performance on Thursday, closing out his first grade year. Here are some of the highlights.....

Jacob and Mrs. Kellett (his 1st grade teacher)

Jacob singing....our neighbor Macy to the right, cousin Brett to the right of Macy.

Jacob saying his line...notice the nervous finger crossing :) And, if you look closely, you can see that his shoes are on the wrong feet - on purpose. All through his "speech" he kept crossing his feet...to make it look like his shoes were on the right feet. Oh boy!

Performing another song.

Jacob shaking hands with his cousin, Brett

Performing another number


It was a very cute and entertaining performance. I sat in the front row and every time I caught Jacob looking at me, he would give me this look like, "I am so embarrassed to be doing this", but he did it anyway. What a good kid!

Some Life Lessons

Had a garage sale this weekend. Mainly, the kids sold some stuff. A lot of stuff really. Then we had a lesson on "tithing", but I had to call it offering, otherwise they would have had no idea what I was talking about. Jacob sold a ton on Thursday, so by the time Saturday came around he was searching for anything he could put out to make more money. I had to gently remind him that he did have a brother that might just want to use these things he was trying to get rid of. But what an entrepreneurial spirit.

We are also learning compassion. A sweet little girl in Jacob's class has a brain tumor and has just entered Hospice care. So we are constantly lifting her and her family up in prayer. I am very concerned about how he (and Grace too) is going to handle this situation. He seems OK, but the other night I asked him how he felt and told him it was OK to be sad, angry and scared. He asked me if I felt any of these and I told him that I felt ALL 3. He then told me he was sad. So PLEASE pray for Erin and her family.

And we keep learning the very important lesson of patience. We are still trying to sell our house, but have another *monkey* in the system. I will continue to solicit your prayers for us...that we remain in the center of God's will. That we listen AND are obedient. I am really straining to hear "a voice behind me, saying, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21) Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening.....