L-O-V-E

Well, the effort and some might call it annoyance of getting our pictures taken, paid off. :) Michelle Rhodes took them, and she did a super job!! I really don't have much to say, except that I really love them! Oh, and Pierce is really starting to look older! Funny, how it takes pictures to notice that sometimes. Now, the really fun part for me, deciding which ones to frame!!!

Let the festivities begin!!

I might be giving the Queen a run for her money this year with lengthy birthday celebrations. My birthday is not for another week, but the festivities have already begun, and I am going to milk every last birthday minute of it too.

I don't get sappy too often, but I just have to today. Brace yourselves. The women that wanted to celebrate my birthday are 'new' friends. Last year I didn't even know them. Last year, I was probably sitting at home sucking my thumb on my birthday, singing old country songs and drowning my sorrows in brownies. My bestest friends and family were home, and I felt like I had no where to belong. Yet in the midst of my pitiful state God has blessed me yet again. A woman who deserves no blessings, has been given the gift of more friends.

Brittany, Maru and Laurie.

And then Liz came too.
I only wish I could have my Indiana girls here to meet my BG friends. Surely, that will work out one day!!
What have I learned in the last year of my life? In the midst of your darkest times, the Lord may give you the most bizarre answer. Uh, hullo, move to BG? You may feel as the blessing is partly a curse. You might worry that your friends will move on without you at home, and that you will never meet anyone who likes you. You might revert to junior highish feelings at the age of 36. And you might even worry that your friends will be upset at the idea of you making new friends. You will might feel guilty for leaving your family and be torn up all the time at the thought of them being upset. You may question your sanity a few times in the process as well.

Okay, so I actually did feel all those feelings.

Here I am though. Meeting new people who like me, and making a life in a strange to me place. Treasuring the old and the new.

And holding onto 36 with all I got!!!!!!!

It was like an episode of Wild Kingdom.

On Tuesday my kids were out of school for election day, and I had no real plans for the day. With the lovely time change we just had, Pierce had me out of bed before 6:30, which was actually much better than the 5:40 wake up the day before. Seriously, who invented the time change? They must have not had children. Anyways, I'm sitting on the couch, drinking coffee trying to wake my pretty morning self up, and I get a text alert...

Brittany: "Hey, would you be up to going to the Louisville Zoo today? My sister in law is going and said I should come up, and I thought it might be fun if we rode up together."

And with that a plan was born.

I went into get my people there with me mode, but everyone already had commitments. Sad. It was weird to be in LOUISVILLE and not see anyone, but I waved and blew kisses to each and every one of you!!!!

Here was our excited little group. On the far left is Maddie (I hope I spelled that correctly!!) she belongs to Brittany's sister in law and brother, who live right in St. Matthews. Then we have Luke and Layton and of course my two offspring. This picture was taken right as the lions were roaring up a storm. It's amazing just how loud and far a lion's roar actually carries. Those two lions faced all of us gawkers and bellowed out some serious noise. I said, I know they are telling us, "I could so kill and eat you in a second, just remember that."

The weather was lovely, and the trees were just gorgeous!
There was lots of questions, gazing, and sweet moments to capture.
However the biggest hit for the kids? The wagon!
Brittany and I joked, we should have just stayed home went to a park and let them pull each other around.
We had lots of opportunities to catch some cute moments.
But I was surprised at how much Pierce and Hope wanted me to take pictures of EVERY-THING.
Mommy, take one of the giraffes..
Mommy, take one of the rhinos.....
Finally, I just handed the camera over to Pierce and Hope, and let them have at it.

Then you get home and find pictures where you realize your hind end resembles a pancake.
Or that you are in serious need of dental work.
Sigh.

But the highlight of the zoo trip for me, and I would say the rest of us, were the grizzly bears. I hadn't been to the Louisville Zoo for probably a year and half, and this exhibit was new. We come walking up and lo and behold I was smack dab in an episode of, 'Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom' (a show we used to always watch when I was a kid) These bears were amazing! The entire time we were there, they were playing and acting like juveniles!

Chasing each other...
Round and round they would go!
Then get in the water and just wrestle their little bear hearts out.
Pierce and Layton were besides themselves with excitement. And I gotta say, it was really, really neat to see. :)
After a full day of fun, and getting up while the stars were still shining, we had some pooped out babes.
Fun day!!!

Our Tree. Our Fire Dept. Our Michigan.

Our weekend has been busy! We have had lots to do, and with an impending trip in less than a week, it's just getting crazy. Anyone have a Xanax I can borrow?

I'm about to make some eyes roll, and people shake their heads (Jaime and April) because we put our Christmas tree up this weekend. We've always been early tree puter uperers, but this is even a little early for us. Normally, we would wait another week or so, but in the month of November we will be gone for 12 days and in the month of December I think 10 days. Seeing as how much I heart my tree, I wanted to go ahead and do it now, and not later. Don't judge me people.

The kids were SUPER excited to get it up, and to help me decorate.

Sometimes it's a little stressful to have 4 extra 'helping' hands in the process, but it's worth it.
I even let some of my control issues go, and let them put ornaments where they wanted. :)
Last night, I just sat in the dark and enjoyed my tree, and was so glad we went ahead and did it. It makes me happy. :)))
Yesterday was also a big day for our Fire Department. It was an open house/meeting/fund raiser thingy, that they have been planning for MONTHS. Lots of hard work went into this event, and we were all praying it was a success.
Rico was in charge of selling the popcorn. Doesn't he looked thrilled over there?
They let the kids take turns trying out the water hose thingy.
Hope would only do it if her daddy helped her. :)


And I had the opportunity to meet Paul's second wife.
I heard all night, "Hey Gretchen, you met Paul's other woman yet?" "Gretchen, did you meet the other wife?" Apparently, Paul's quite enamored with this truck right here, and everyone knows it. Paul was so excited for me to sit in it, and turn on the sirens it was ridiculous. I guess I can kinda understand though. It's like when I made him watch Twilight with me one night, I was giddy, and thought he might love it like I do, but he was bored. So, this is kinda like his Edward.

Seriously, the kids just love it out here. It's just like a kids paradise!
And they even had entertainment for the adults. This guy sang for us, and he was really good!
It was an all you can eat spaghetti dinner, and Hope LOVES her some spaghetti. I think this was plate number 2. :)
The best part of the night for me though, was seeing Paul so happy to be doing something like this.
It means so much to him to be able to help others.
And I love that about him. Overall, I would say it was a very successful night for the Barren River Fire Department.
Of course we went to church this morning, and of course I had to get a picture. I wear these kids out with pictures. :)
And lastly, we are in full countdown mode to getting to our Michigan. We have not been there in 2 years, and we are all itching to go.

My hunter is psyched to kill and gut and howl at the moon, declaring his manliness.
I am hunter, hear me roar.