WORS 2012: Crystal Lake Classic

Every year, as a new bike racing season begins, it is always an adventure to remember how to pack everything we need for race day.  It seems to get more and more complicated each year as our family grows.  I think I need a maid just for race day weekends so I don't feel so frazzled!

Somehow we managed to get everything packed up by Saturday afternoon for Sunday's Crystal Lake Classic, but still had to prepare our lunches and snacks on Sunday morning before we could leave.  We spent the night at my parents' house so we only had a three hour drive to the race instead of four hours.  It was hard enough to get the van all packed and leave by 9:00 Sunday morning!

Once we finally got out the door and on the road, we enjoyed a beautiful drive through Wisconsin farmland.  We arrived just in time for Ted to get ready to race and the kids and I to haul all our race day supplies to the perfect viewing location.  We found our friends Mike and Rochelle and enjoyed hanging out with them during the race. 

The sun was shining at the beginning of the race, but by lap two, we could hear the thunder rolling in and before we knew it we were drenched in a downpour.  We had packed umbrellas, but I ended up holding two scared little toddlers on my lap huddled under one umbrella.  At one point, Valerie started screaming "NO!  I want to go home!"  It was raining so hard, there was even some hail mixed in with it and we all started to shiver from the cold.

Thankfully, by lap three, the rain had slowed down and the sun came out again, but it didn't last long.  As the kids and I waited at the finish, it started to downpour again.  I ended up carrying a shivering, scared little boy, both our umbrellas and our backpack full of stuff, while attempting to calm my daughter, guide her back to the van, and keep her umbrella from blowing away.  By the time we made it back to the safety of our van (and breathed a huge sigh of relief), we were all drenched and shivering, so we quickly changed into dry clothes and waited for Ted to find us after finishing.

This is what we saw when the rain finally stopped and Ted had finished his race: 

Despite a rough start and a muddy race, Ted finished 19th overall.  And we spent the day making memories in the midst of a crazy rainy day adventure.

Project Life: Weeks 14 - 17

April 1 - 7

Ted's mom decided to come for a visit this week with Kenzie, Vicky, Joey, and Robby.  We had such a fun visit going to the Children's Museum and having a cookout in our backyard.  We don't often get to see them, so it was a special treat for all of us.  I also FINALLY made it through the first trimester of this pregnancy and started feeling little baby flutters already.  Hopefully the second trimester brings less and less morning sickness.  Friday, the kids and I enjoyed an early Easter celebration with my family where they got to experience their first egg dying festivities.  What fun!

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April 8 - 14

We spent a quiet Easter Sunday lunch at home before joining the rest of the Fochs family at my grandparents' home for an Easter dinner.  My grandpa got teary eyed as he prayed before the meal and looked around at all the family gathered around the table.  It is a blessing to be able to come together with family, a blessing I no longer take for granted after saying goodbye to both of my mom's parents so recently.

We also received news of several new blessings on the way.  My sister had her 20 week ultrasound that revealed a healthy baby girl, my first niece, and our neighbors, who lost their sweet little Liam, are now expecting twins - a double gift from above! I can't help but think of the song "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!" 

Wednesday night was the long awaited for Awana Grand Prix and Valerie's debut of her pink princess car.  She one of few of the rounds, but wasn't quite fast enough to go on to the finals.  Still, she declared on the way home, "daddy, my car fast!"  On Friday, the kids and I enjoyed a fun outing going to a babywearing meetup and visiting a friend from college and her two little girls.  When we returned home, the senior high boys from Trinity Baptist School came over to our house and spent hours cleaning up and beautifying our yard.  They did an amazing job!  Whew - what a week!

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April 15 - 21

Almanzo was slightly under the weather this week, acting tired and clingy, not quite like our normally wild little monkey.  He had a slight fever too and spent a few days cuddling with mommy, who was more than happy to oblige.  This was also a Mom Time and MOPS week for us.  Mom Time is a group of young stay at home moms from our church that gets together twice a month for fellowship and prayer time.  Occasionally we have a speaker, but it's always good to have time to just visit.

MOPS is an international organization for moms of preschoolers.  Our local group meets at a church and students from a nearby Christian school take charge of the nursery so we can enjoy some much needed mommy time.  We enjoy devotions, speakers, fellowship, and prayer time as well as food and fun.  We are assigned to a table with a Mentor Mom (an older mom who has been there, done that and can offer us encouragement and support) and a Table Shepherd (a young mom who facilitates discussion and keeps us all connected outside of our regular meeting times.

I love having these two groups just as much as the kids do.  They make up songs about how much fun they have with their new friends and sing them the whole way there.  They often have so much fun I have to drag them out of the nursery at the end of our meetings!

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April 22 - 28

This week it was cold and rainy out and I started out with a horrible head cold.  I declared several days pajama days and we lounged around, watching Netflix, and reading stories.  The highlight of the week was going to my 16 week OB appointment and hearing another healthy, strong heartbeat.  The big 20 week ultrasound is coming up soon on May 24th and, yes, we are excited to find out if another boy or girl is joining our family!

Wordless Wednesday: Easter Portraits

Project Life: Weeks 11-13

March 11-17

This was finally the week for our hardwood floors to be refinished, so the kids and I spent the week at my parents' house while Ted commuted back and forth to work.  It was one of my worst morning sickness weeks, so I spent most of the time on the couch.  Thankfully, my mom was there the first two days to hang out with the kids and let me rest.  We enjoyed a visit one day from a high school friend I haven't seen in a while one of the mornings my mom was gone, but the rest of the time, the kids pretty much ran the show.  My brother came home from work one day to find toys, books, and food crumbs in a trail from the kitchen to the living room.  "What in the world happened here?" he said and all I could do was laugh, because I had no energy to move off the couch all day.  Thankfully, my brother made a game out of cleaning up with the kids and then satisfied them with a yummy dinner.  (Thanks Dan!)

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March 18-24

Ted spent Sunday morning and afternoon finishing up re-painting the bedrooms and living room and by the evening we were all glad to come back to our home sweet home.  I almost cried when I saw how beautiful the floors were when we walked into the house that first time.  Of course, now we had to begin the huge task of moving everything back into the rooms.  We decided to reevaluate every piece of furniture and clutter we had packed away in the basement - only the things that were really necessary and would fit well in the rooms were going back in.  I spent the rest of the week sorting and getting rid of "stuff" and it felt so freeing to have less "stuff" to crowd our lives.  

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March 25-31 

I felt a little better this week, so the kids and I enjoyed some outdoor fun and, in the evenings, they "helped" daddy finish up house projects.   I did a little bit of actual cooking this week and it felt good to be back in the kitchen, cooking delicious, healthy meals for my family.  It's still so hard to believe that we will be a family of FIVE before long! 

Awana Grand Prix

Our Sweet Pea raced in her first ever Awana Grand Prix at our church last week.  She was so proud of her pink Princess car that she worked on with daddy and told us on the way home "my car is FAST!".  She won a few preliminary races, but got beat out in the finals.  Next year, daddy promised her car will be even faster!

Two Years

Today, my mind is flooded with memories of this day two years ago and the phone call from my sister that made it all so final.

"He's gone." 

There will always, always be a missing piece in our family.  Gone...but never forgotten.

I'd love for you to check out this link today to see a glimpse of the man we so loved.  He absolutely adored our children and my daughter still remembers her "great poppy". 

April TWO

I missed taking a photo of our two on March TWO...and it's crazy to think that by this time next year we'll have THREE to photograph!  But, without further ado...here are our TWO on April TWO. 

PS - I'm totally an amateur photographer (as evidenced by these photos), but I wanted to start using a watermark to protect my photos and, since photography is a hobby I love and wish I had more time to pursue, I decided I might as well watermark them as photographed by me.