Michigan's Best...

One of the best things that Michigan has is....APPLES! This time of year is a great time to live in the Apple belt! We've got them all them all. Fuji, Gala, Macintosh, Johnathan, Courtland, Red Del., Yellow Del., Honeycrisp, Empire, Johna-mac....

So, to celebrate the season, I made an Apple Crisp. I thought I would post my recipe, so you too can enjoy an Apple Crisp at your house. It's a great smell.



The peeled apples




A necessity for people that live in MI!!!





The peelings and the cores


~Apple Crisp~

8c. apples peeled, sliced
1c. sugar
2T.flour

Toss 3 together and put in 9x13


1c. butter--melted
2c. oats
1 1/2c.flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar

Combine above & spread over apples, gently push down. Bake 375 for 45-50 min.

The finished product....



Mine








Steve's



my hints..~use a mixed variety of apples (you get better flavor and consistence!)
~Add sugar to apples as needed....some like them sweeter than this.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Movin On...

Trent had to go get a new cast on today......

They took x-rays, cut off the old cast, put on a new cast & he got a walking boot.

If you zoom in on the x-ray..you can see how much bone has already formed. The x-ray on the left was today...compared to the right one from 2 weeks ago. Amazing

Here's the naked leg.

Here is the new cast and walking boot.

The Dr was very explicit...you may not run in the boot, or jog, hop, or dance, or ride a bike....Does he know Trent?

Designer wrap. Hot Pink and green stripped! Trent all the way....BOLD!

He will return on Oct.27 to hopefully remove this cast and not get a new one! 4 more weeks, I can do it....I think I can, I think I can!

They Found Them....

I had an ultrasound!



And they found Gallstones. To be exact....free moving Gallstones and sludge! That sounds nice doesn't it! I have appt on Oct.6 to see a Surgeon about getting my Gallbladder removed. I'm assuming that's what he will tell me.

I have never had a surgery....I've never been 'put-under'....never had anesthesia.

Hopefully, I don't respond like Dad did after they took out his Gallbladder....the words they used were....combative.

I've had problems for about 8-9 months on and off. I would have an 'attack' about every 1-2 months. They seem to be getting closer....so they recommended a ultrasound. The 'attack' lasts about 20 min.-1 hour...then I'm fine. Recently, I have felt a 'full' feeling and my chest slightly hurts.

I'll keep you posted, after my appointment.

A Day.....

I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse of a day in the life of Tyler.

5am--get up-shower-frozen waffles (sometimes..if he has time) in hand

5:55--catch bus at High School to go to KCTC

10--arrive back at KCHS--finish out school day

3--soccer practice and/or game

5--home after practice and/or game (if away game..more like 7-8ish)

Dinner/relax/IM friends/SH youth group/X-box...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maybe you are wondering what KCTC is....Kent Career Tech Center.

In short, it is a school in Grand Rapids for the schools in the Kent County Area. They offer more 'trade' type training like....Auto Mechanics, Cosmetology, CAD/Engineering, Food Service, Health Services, Electronics...and on and on.

You can only attend your Junior and Senior years of HS. We encouraged Tyler to attend and he was eager to sign up. He originally enrolled in CAD/Engineering but after attending orientation he stated he wanted to go change to Aviation. After some quick changing and a few phone calls he was able to get in. He has so enjoyed the class. They actually rent a hanger at the Kent County Airport and bus the kids over there each morning. They are learning all about Airplanes...except flying them.

As a matter of fact, today he is staying all day at KCTC to participate in a High Ropes course with the Aviation Team...so he gets to miss school.

I can't wait to go to the open house to see (and take pictures) what they are actually doing. Who knows where this might take him in life. When we discussed switching, we talked about how no training like this, is EVER a waste of time.

We are so proud of Tyler and his accomplishments. He has kept a great attitude and has got up most mornings unassisted! We are so proud of the man you are becoming. We are blessed to see the ways God is changing your heart and directing your path. Keep up the great work Tyler! We love you!

Brothers...

I took this picture of Tyler helping Trent put together a Lego Technics Go-Cart. He received it from Mrs. Heinicke (our neighbor across the street) for having an injury! Thanks Norma, that was so sweet of you!


Trent hasn't perfected Lego assembly yet. I'm not sure he will have the patience for it. Tyler use to get Lego kits and sit and assembly them....and loved it! Then he would make his own 'creations'..I would have to display them all over my living room!

Troy really never liked Lego's...I think it was the tedious job of putting all those pieces in the right spot!


Tyler was quite impressed by all the moving parts the new kits have. The steering wheel actually moved the tires and it had a piston that moved up and down..they've been busy in LegoLand perfecting their kits!


The other little boy is Jack..he lives across the street. He loves coming to our house and doing 'boy' things! He's an only child, so he thinks our 'House of Boys' is a pretty neat place to hang out!

Tod...Don't Look Here Either.....

Trent went for his first follow-up yesterday. They took an x-ray to see how things were progressing.....

What do you think? It looks like things aren't totally matching up to me....but the DR. reassured us that it would be fine. He's young and their bones heal fast and 'fill in'. They also took out the staples...22 of them! What??....did they open a box and want to use them all? The staples are the little 'light' dashes on the right of the first x-ray.

They were planning to cut a 'window' in the cast to remove the staples....Oops. They cut the 'window' on the wrong side of the cast...Hey Trent....how about a new cast????

That is the saw they use to cut it off.



Opening the window (before he realized it was the wrong side?)








ALERT.....If you have a weak stomach...don't continue down. The rest of you....proceed!


Here is the first look at his leg. He had 2 big blisters that popped and caused the drainage...ewwww!



More Ewwwwww! Feel free to click on the picture to get a close up view!




Removing the staples.


The new cast. It's neon green! Trent was actually pretty excited to get a new cast that had color!

He is carrying a Sharpie where ever he goes. to collect more signatures!

Next appointment...2 more weeks and another new cast!

Good Intentions!......

Sometimes, like all of you, I have good intentions! Life gets away from me and my good intentions aren't fruitful.

Well, it happened again.....I planned to make Peach Jam. Although, I have never made it, a friend of my posted how to do it. I thought I can do that...It will be delicious. I will hand them out to teachers as Christmas gifts. I will be so proud of my domestic accomplishments.

Well, you can see by the picture...it didn't happen as I had planned. I'm so good at getting the supplies...I got the jars, the pectin, the peaches. I had even consulted with some canning experts. I have a hard time getting things done that have a tight deadline..how about you?

The peaches seem to be not ripe enough for jam when I bought them, so I nicely set them on a tray to ripen. And then all at once they rotted. How dare they! I was gonna use them! I had plans for them!

How about you....do you start a project and lose heart? Start a remodel project to big for you to handle? Start a hobby and never get to the hobby? Start painting a room and never finish?

The Mighty Mac.....

While up in the UP...we took advantage of the Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. It was the 52nd walk, which takes place every Labor Day starting at 7am-11am.

They have two lanes closed early in the walk then narrow it down to one lane.

Here is the red shirt group we walked with. There were 16 of us making the trek. It's just shy of 5 miles across the bridge. We are still wondering why all the husbands backed out of this fun memory?? They wanted to stay back to "support" Steve, as he stayed with Trent.

Here is the view as we started across it. It was pretty foggy so you could see the beams very good. The fog burned off fairly quickly. It was a beautiful day for a stroll....nice breeze, sunshine....

Here is a pretty good group shot.

Back sides of a few of our walkers. Tyler, Troy, G-pa Bill, Nick

Dad and Linda happily strolling along with 50,000 other walkers. (that is the estimated amount that crosses each year!)

The FINISH LINE!

Odd fact..I never actually went under the finish line...I happened to go to the left of the sign. Does that mean I can't cross that off my bucket list????

Facts you need to know before deciding to participate in the Bridge Walk.....

It takes a loooong time to get to the starting area (like an hour!)

It was a very fun walk..it took us about 1 1/2 hours.

You need good shoes

You need to go potty before starting across.....no porties on the bridge....and I'm pretty sure..no going over the side.

It takes an EXTREMELY long time to get back to the St. Ignace side....to the tune of 4 hours!

You get bragging rights

I personally crossed the bridge 5 times that day!

Another Fun Fact....when Dad & Linda came up on Sunday, with them came Ed & Glenna Brown ( in a separate car) As they came through the toll booth they motioned the car in front of them to pull over....that car was the 150 millionth car to pass over the bridge. Bummer, had they not stopped at that rest area on the way up...it could have been Ed & Glenna!

4-Wheel'n Freaks......

Let the trip begin....
Before the summer came to an end, we wanted to take one last trip to the UP 4-wheeling. We packed and left on Thursday afternoon....heading toward Trout Lake.

We were joined on this trip by The Wilson Family(5), The Craig Buckner Family(4), The Neil Buckner(2), The Steve Buckner Family(5)and new comers to the '4-wheel'n Freaks Club' The Lee French Family(6).


Friday morning we were off for our first adventure. Our destination, an abandoned Fire Look-Out Tower. We stopped at an abandoned military air strip and training area. The kids love going there, as they get to 'open'em up' on the runways. We ate our packed lunches under the pines that outline the air strip. We were just finishing up our lunches and the kids (and Daren..a big kid himself) were starting to tear up the runway. Trent had been begging to take one of our smaller quads for a run. Steve finally agreed to let him take one run....up & back....that was all.

That little 'run' was to change our trip. Trent got going, probably a little to fast and tried to turn on the cement to come back and lost it. He tipped the 4-wheeler over causing a severe break in his lower right leg. He broke both bones.....bums!

As we all rode down to see what happened, it became VERY obvious that we had a broken leg on our hands. Of course, none of us had cells with us. Craig road out to the main road to flag down a driver to call for an ambulance. Before to long, we could hear the sounds of sirens approaching...yeah!


Our campsite and four wheelers








Steve giving out safety instructions before we left on Friday.








Trent all geared up to leave








All lined up by the Trout Lake campground sign....11 quads!







Having lunch under the pines









Steve laying with Trent, after the accident, waiting for the ambulance. He did an awesome job..he must have been in a tremendous amount of pain but barely shed a tear! He is no doubt a real trooper!






Here comes the ambulance...and volunteers....and Craig.








The police and the ambulance. They transported him to War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste Marie, MI.

Here we are waiting for surgery in the emergency room. We had an awesome ER Nurse..Amanda. She took such good care of us. About 7pm they wheeled him away to OR, where they placed a plate and 7 screws in his leg. Dr. Ganzhorn did a great job putting him back together again.

Here he is with his new white cast. Notice his bear Bob, that he got in the ambulance, also got a cast in OR. They hooked him up with a pump for Demerol (a life saver)...awesome juice!!

We were released on Sunday afternoon. We headed back over to our camp site for a few hours. Our plan was for Trent & I to stay with Dad & Linda in their hotel room in St. Ignace for the night.

Trent was doing so good and having such fun being the center of attention we decided to stay the night in our tent....I know crazy! I said to Steve, this might be one of the craziest decisions we have ever made but we won't know till 3am. He actually did great waking only a few times.

This chair was the perfect seat for his leg.

This is the x-ray of his leg. Obviously, it isn't suppose to have that curve in it. And I'm pretty sure those bones are suppose to be lining up!

This is the side view. The fringe around his leg is his cut jeans. Also, notice the tread on his tennis shoe.

For as much as we were not planning on this little detour in life..we are so thankful it was not more serious! It could have been a far worse scenario. God had other plans that day for us. We are praising God for his protection and healing thus far. Trent's has had a good attitude (for the most part) and is getting better everyday on his crutches. Thanks you all for your many prayers that were offered up on our behalf....we so appreciated all of you!

As a matter, of fact he wanted to know if Steve would put the training wheels back on his bike so he could ride it. He also wanted us to tell Tyler to go slow through the mud, so he didn't get his cast dirty.....did he seriously think he was going riding??

There was more fun on our trip that I need to write about but this will have to do for now!

He Shines.....

Here is a taste of the personality of our little Trent!

Our friend Kelly, saw this and thought of Trent. When I showed it to him....a huge smile came over his face! He wanted to wear it to school today!

Enjoy!.....

Running Out of Time......

I want to post about of week-end but I keep running out of time. The days and nights keep slipping by! Keep checking back, I will get to the whole story.....

'New to Me'.....

I love Craigslist!!!

Did I mention that before?? I think I might have?

I've been in this dilemma....Three boys and furniture. Need I say more?

I needed a new couch...but have three boys that still spill and make messes. So, I have been on the look-out for a 'new to me' couch. We found one last week-end. I faithfully searched everyday the ads. I wanted leather...Steve..not so much! And since I was asking him to fund it...I thought I might go along with him! Wise don't you think!

My two requirements...not Blue & have recliners on the ends! I got both. We picked up this less-than-a-year-old-microfiber-dual-recliner-couch! I have been so enjoying my new seat!

God is to good to provide just what we need! I'm reminded of a car we once purchased. It was early on in our marriage. We were shopping used cars...long story short...I convinced Steve to buy this less than great car! That was a real lesson for me....never take the lead from your husband. I can sometimes get him to make a choice that he otherwise wouldn't do. I try not to back him into these corners. It never works out good! If I'm patient and we agree on something..then we proceed. It's been a hard lesson for a self proclaimed 'Thrift Queen' to learn. I've had to remember, that there is always a deal to be had and if I'm patient..it's always better than the first bargain!

And the price was.....$250! Which we thought was a do-able price! Now to replace the recliner....