Down on the Farm

Our free time these past few weeks have been spent in the fields. Of course, Andy is in 7th Heaven, and Ben seems to be too! I'm glad to see that we have a "little farmer" in our midst. He loves the "bine-bine" and he is absolutely mesmerized by anything that moves and has a steering wheel. We've been lucky to go to Grandpa Jim's and Grandma Debbie's the past two weekends to help. As you can see from the pictures, he's quite the little helper :)

Ben must think that he's going to get to drive the "bine-bine" someday...I hate to tell him that if Daddy's in the field then Daddy's driving. Maybe Ben will be the first person to get Daddy to give up the drivers seat...only time will tell :)

Ben just hanging out in the back of Grandpa Great's truck, watching Grandpa Jim cut beans.

Ben and Grandma Debbie getting ready to haul in some corn...I think he's mad because he can't be the driver :)

This is one of my favorites...he can hear his daddy down the road, and he really wants to be in the "bine-bine" with him. He stood by the window for the longest time, just pointing and saying Da-da.

On the mend

Wow...it's been quite a week/weekend at our house. Last Wednesday, Ben woke up and got sick with the flu...5 times!!! It was a long night, but he seemed better the next day. We played it safe, and stayed home Thursday and Friday because he was just not himself...very lethargic. Friday, we thought we were in the clear...BUT, Andy decided it was his turn to be sick ALL night!

Of course, Ben was back to his old self on Saturday...so, he and mommy spent the day running errands and trying to stay out of Andy's way. Andy was on the mend Sunday, so he and Ben spent some quality time in the tractor and combine. I got to spend some quality time with Clorox, Soft Scrub, my steam cleaner, my broom, and my mop. What a GREAT time!

Hopefully the flu bug has decided our house is not very hospitable, and has decided to move on (hopefully not to any of your homes)...we'll keep our fingers crossed!!!

Just...can't...make...it...

Friday night, I went to Indianapolis with some friends which meant Andy was on "Ben duty" for the evening. When I got home, he told me that there were some cute pictures of Ben on the camara. This is what I found:

According to Andy, Ben was just walking around, chatting away in the playroom when he suddenly just fell to the ground, stuck his bottom in the air, and closed his eyes. Andy thought he was just playing, but nope...he was OUT! I guess a night alone with Daddy just wore him out :)

Ben's new swingset

We have some really great friends who offered us their swingset. Their boys had gotten a ton of use out of it, and we knew Ben would love it just as much as they had. We were very excited to go get it and put it up. Thankfully, with their help and the help of our brother-in-law, we were able to take it down Saturday and put it up on Sunday. Here are just a couple pictures...

Getting it set into place

The finished project...we just need to fill the bottom with sand, and we're good to go!

Going for a ride...

Stacey and I were sitting down for a moment on Sunday while Ben and Katie were playing in the playroom. (Don't worry, the playroom is just around the corner and it's COMPLETELY baby proofed).

While Stacey and I were enjoying some adult conversation, Katie came wheeling through the kitchen on Ben's tricycle. It was so cute seeing her riding a Lightening McQueen tricycle...but it got even cuter when she turned the corner...

From the looks of Ben's face, we couldn't tell if he was enjoying the ride or just wishing it was over! We asked Katie how Ben got in there, and she said "I just lifted him in because he wanted to ride." You never know what's going to happen when these two are together!

One year ago today...

We welcomed Bennett Edward into our home and our hearts. Who could have known at that time how much this little boy would change our lives (for the better). God certainly did create a miracle when he created Ben, and we thank Him daily for our little guy!

This year has been a quick and fascinating one, and quite a journey...but, it's been worth every tear, every hug and kiss, every sleepless night, every moment.

Here's a look down memory lane at our first year with our Benner's.

Happy 1st Birthday Ben!!! We can't wait to see what this year has in store for you...

Our Vacation

We were fortunate enough to be able to take a few days and head to Michigan with my family. My parents, my sister (and her daughters), and my brother's two kids all spent a week in Ludington, Michigan on Hamlin Lake. It was so much fun and so nice to get away. We swam in Lake Michigan, went tubing, ate ice cream at The House of Flavors, and even ran into some people we knew from back home.

We also had some laughs...all of the locals kept apologizing for the "heat wave" they were having...it was a balmy 77 degrees with NO humidity!!!! They obviously didn't realize we were from the tropical state of Indiana! Anyway, here are some pictures of our time there...if any of you have the chance to go, I highly recommend it!

The view from the house

The house we rented



Evan and Katie having some fun on Lake Hamlin

Just had to take a picture of the "Farmer's Breakfast Casserole" I made...delicious!

Ben, playing in the living room

Katie and Taylor tubing

Captain Bennett!

Grandpa Jim and Katie...trying to catch some fish