Departure Date

Or at least that is what we thought...

First delay at point of origin (3 hrs +)

Nap time

Reading, chewing gum and/or Doctor Who on Ipod

Oh where, oh where can our plane be?

Finally, 1 plane = 1 happy boy:)

2nd Delay in Chicago (12+hours)

Time to play - I guess a pretend plane will do.

Thankfully, they had a wonderful play area for the kids.

Meet our new pilot

After waiting for hours, our flight was finally cancelled due to inclement weather.

At this point, the only hotel available was 20 min. away by cab (no airport shuttle available) and it was close to 11pm (stood in line for more than 2 hrs.) by the time we rearranged our flights for the next day.

The drive/out-of-pocket money/hassle was NOT worth it for a few hours of sleep, so we chose airport accommodations. Praise God for 4 special things that took place.

#1. We learned to push the benches together from a couple a few rows down from us ( this was the only airport on our journey that actually had 2 connecting seats)

#2. The couple also shared blankets with us (even went hunting for 20min. to find more)

#3. In the middle of the night, an airport personnel offered us more blankets (it was bitterly cold)

#4. The boys actually slept quite well (especially Aidan and Luke)

Top (L to R): Rachel, Luke, and Aidan

Bottom (L to R): Drew and Sean

The 2nd day, we caught a morning flight to Toronto, trying to reach Halifax sooner instead of waiting for the direct flight at 6:30pm.

The flight went smoothly, but upon arriving, we discovered that they had overbooked our connecting flight.

We ended up getting on the 3rd flight out of Toronto and arrived in Halifax around 8pm

(a mere 22 hrs. after our scheduled arrival).

It was an adventure of a lifetime

(hopefully, never again and I am so glad for boys who are willing to sleep anywhere when they are tired enough)

Aidan

Happy 8th Birthday!!!

Due to leaving the following day for a 5 week vacation, this year's party was small, but still fun with cake and presents to be had.

Blowing out the candles with a little assistance from Luke:)

Don't worry, he got other presents too...

(a couple of days earlier when we took him out for his special birthday dinner at the restaurant of his choice).

A day in Cincy...

and we really packed in the activities, so this will probably be a LOT of pics.

We started off with a visit to Carew Tower, the tallest building in Cincinnati
(at least until the completion of the Great American Tower at Green City Square in 2011).

The 574 ft. Carew Tower, which was completed in 1931, has an observation deck on the 49th view providing beautiful, panoramic views of the city.

Someone offered to take a family pic for us, and of course, we accepted:)

Next we headed for Graeters, crossing through this area to get there.

Doesn't it look delicious?

Luke certainly thinks so:)

On our way back through, the boys wanted to splash in the fountain.
And now off to the zoo!

What funny looking men;)

Luke was interested in the miniature cow, but no way was he going any closer.

Aidan and Sean

Luke

Who is that handsome turtle?

"Leaping" across the "lilypads"

with Daddy's help.

Now that is a leap!

Time to go...

after scaling the rhino, of course.

All of the flowers were in full bloom - BEAUTIFUL!!!

Good thing he took a nap at this point, because we continued on to dinner at our favorite pizza joint (Dewey's), and then drove halfway home where we stopped off to catch a movie.
We got home around 1:30am.
What a spectacular day!!!

Oral surgery

My sweet little boy somehow inherited a single supernumerary maxillary central incisor called a "mesiodens". (his Uncle Rory had an extra tooth also - weird how genetics work). Basically, this means he had an extra tooth that needed surgical removal.
I want to make sure to warn those with weak stomachs NOT to scroll past pictures #1 and #2.

Pre-op...waiting.
We got up at 6 something, so he was very tired.

His flame or better yet, a torch:)

3 stitches - not too bad.

I think that the stitches are actually repositioning the skin on the roof of his mouth by being threaded between the teeth and knotted in the front (or something like that;).
Already today, the pain is minimal and the swelling has gone down.
Now to stick with a liquid diet for 5 days and a soft diet for two weeks while the bone on his adult tooth has a chance to fill in the indentation left by the torch.
The only difficult part was waking up from the anesthesia. Apparently he reacted to the gas and had a splitting headache. Add that to the normal grogginess/confusion/out of it(ness) and the first couple of hours were rough.

Randomness

Not even sure that is a word, but you will see that this post is aptly named nonetheless:)

Prepared and waiting.....

He rotated to inform me,
"Motorcycle!"

"Sit with me, Daddy."

It is much easier to sit still and listen when one's body is occupied;)

On a side note:

The baby Song Sparrows are quickly maturing.

I think their little pink and yellows beaks are quite cute:)

A storm brewing.

Dicentra spectabilis Pink
Better known as Bleeding Heart or perhaps even Dutchman's Trousers.
Little did I know that these plants are perennial or that they reach 2'-3' in both height and diameter.
I vaguely recall transplanting it from a hanging basket to this location years ago, but only remember it sprouting and blooming the last couple of years.

Walking past this plant one day, I was struck by the both the color and configuration of its blossoms.
It reminded of my children....
Both the color and the heart-shape
symbolic of my love for them.
The arrangement of size, from bigger to smaller,
emphasizing the fact that time is fleeting.
Even as younger ones have been added to our family,
our older sons are growing up.
Sometimes, I have wished that I could freeze time - that I could keep my boys from growing older and keep them with me forever. I have kept a watch for that perfect day when everyone is happy and healthy.
But then I know without a doubt, that I would miss those precious moments of excitement and discovery, and, yes, even those times when growing in maturity feels like 2 painful steps backward and only one small step forward. Most importantly, I would never know the Godly men they will become or see them actively serving Him in whatever position He places them.

Truly, "Children are a gift from the Lord."

Spring in Full Swing

The dandelions have been out for a while now (and believe me Luke has gathered probably hundreds of them), and are now going to seed. I have been showing Luke how to blow them; or if that fails, to shake the seed outs!

"See my dandelion, Mommy?

Luke's turn to take a look

or perhaps not, but he sure is trying;)

Song Sparrow egg's in the front shrub.

Momma bird

and just 2 days ago,
her babies!!!

Luke loves to check out the eggs with his "binoculars" every day.
(The pair he has been using are actually night vision goggles - LOL)
Today, he was begging to see the eggs and not grasping the fact that the eggs hatched into baby birds. So we watched some videos on Youtube, and I think he sort of finally got it,
but then he brought me an egg from the fridge and stuck it in his mouth.
Not really sure what he thinks is going on..........

Seasons

FALL

SPRING

ALMOST SUMMER;)

(Need to work on finding/taking a winter pic.)