Wow, this week has been so busy! The girls both have a cough and Maria has a runny nose. I have been fighting a cold and sore throat as well. Maria has been getting up a lot at night which makes sleep an almost rare thing some nights. On Mon eve. Rachel and I met with the reception coordinator to plan more of the details for the wedding. Only 6 more weeks. On Tues evening I cut out Mom and Rachel's dresses for the wedding I also cut out 3 for each of the girls which included the ones for the wedding. On Wed. after preschool the children were invited to one of the girls house for a Pampered Chef party. The children helped make their lunch and played. They had so much fun playing dress up and even put on a show for the moms. It was nice getting to know some of the moms that are new this year. Thursday rolled around and it was our age group from church annual shopping day. We had a great time and found some good deals as well. I really enjoy the fun and fellowship of visiting without interuptions from children. We all love our children but a break is also very welcome. Friday noon we got a call from one of the youth girls from church. They were offering free babysitting at the church from 5:30 - 10:00 and it included pizza for supper. We went to nice steakhouse and really had a good time just catching up with each other. It seems we get so busy we forget to keep in touch. Today we went to my in laws and helped them. Lavern helped put metal on the barn and I made dinner and did odd jobs around the house for Mom. Tonight we are at home and it is so nice to be a family again. The girls helped me make a small batch of party mix for Rochelle's birthday party at school on Monday. It is hard to believe that she will be 5 already. Time really flies!! Good night and God bless you.

I can hardly believe that it has been this long since I updated this blog. A lot has been happening in the last few months. My mom is doing well since her accident. The only problem has been her elbow. She developed a bad infection so they did surgery and took the plate out after 8 weeks. It seems to be healing well again. On Monday she has a checkup and we are hoping they will take the splint off so she can use her arm again.
We are also head deep in wedding planning as it is only 7 weeks away! It has gone by very quickly and is coming down to finalizing details. On Monday the wedding cordinator and reception cordinators ( myself and a friend from church) will be meeting to go over some things. It is actually almost more fun to help plan someone else wedding than it was my own. I still have all the sewing to do, 5 outfits in all. For some reason I tend to wait till the last possible minute to do some of those things.
I helped cook at a wedding of LaVerns' niece yesterday. It was a beautiful day for a wedding. We had our first killing frost yesterday morning but it warmed up in the mid 50's in the afternoon,nice and sunny.
My brain is tired and my nose keeps dripping so I want to go rest for a bit. I hope to update this a little more regularly in the future. God bless you all.

What a mighty God we serve! He is the all powerful healer and provider.
First of all we had a wonderful time at the Bender reunion the first weekend of August. It really was neat to get to know some of the family better.
Rochelle started preschool again and really loves it. Maria is needing to adjust to being alone those few hours again.
On August 27th my mother was in an accident. She was airlifted to Parkview Fort Wayne because of possible internal injuries. A lot of prayers went to heaven for mom and the injuries were much less then first thought to be. On the 28th she had surgery on her left elbow to repair a dislocated and fractured elbow. They used wire to fix it, possibly for more flexibility. She also had surgery to repair several broken bones in her left foot. The only internal injuries was a bruised spleen. She was released to come home on Friday, only 4 days after the accident. Mom is very much limited to where she goes as she is in a wheelchair to get around. We were told no weight on her foot for 8 - 12 weeks so there is definitely a lot of healing to do. She has very little pain which is a huge blessing.
Josiah, 15 and Sarah, 13 are here from Ohio to help. They are doing an excellant job and have really eased the load for us children. They are grandchildren and enjoy being here.
i really need to go to bed as I can't hardly see anymore. Good night

We are on the edge of an exciting and hopefully fun weekend! This is the weekend of the Bender reunion here in Indiana. After lots of planning and work, both mental and physical, the time is almost here. Tomorrow Mom, Fannie, Grandma, Rachel and several of my nieces are planning to come to make the food. We are planning to make as much of the food in advance as possible. My nerves sometimes don't handle this type of pressure very well . I have been struggling with worry and can't hardly eat. There have been several times I have thrown up and I know it is those old nerves of mine. So,if you think about me this weekend. please pray for a calm spirit. I really want to enjoy the weekend but also want to make sure everything is just right. We have a lot of things happening and I want every one to have an enjoyable time, including me.
I really need to get to bed and try to get some much needed sleep. I have not been getting more then 4-6 hours a night for several weeks and it is starting to wear me down. Good night, sleep tight, Let God be your guide in the days to come!

Praise the Lord!! We got some much needed rain. We got around 2" of rain last night. It was very stormy and some clouds had rotation but no reported touch down. Since the first of June this is our second rainfall, the other one was June 27, we had 2/10". Our yard is so dry and brown I haven't mowed since the first week in June. I have been watering the garden 3 nights a week for 3-4 hours and it still wasn't producing as it should be. I am just thankful for what we did get out of the garden. I got enough peas for 4 meals and have canned 8 qt. of green beans. I dug my red potatoes and got almost a bushel. I planted 5# so that wasn't to bad. My tomato plants are loaded so I hope they will do well. I have been saving tomato juice as I was almost out.
We have VBS this week and I am teaching grade 6. I have 7 in my class and they have plenty of energy. Rochelle is going for the first time and loves it but is tired from going away every night.
I have been busy getting ready for the upcoming Bender reunion the first weekend in August. I am hoping to see most of the uncles, aunts and cousins that I haven't seen in years.
Well I should start getting some work done to keep ticking jobs off of my list. I want to trty to get everything cleaned today then tomorrow I can go and do some much needed grocery shopping. It has been 3 weeks since I went so my list is rather lengthy.

Ok I am still around. The last two weeks have been very busy. My father-in-law is home but has a long recovery ahead of him yet. They discovered on Mon after his surgery that he has congestive heart failure so he is on water pills to help with that. This past Sat he had a light stroke which has affected his right side. I was there several times this week and it has affected his speech some but you can still visit with him.
Otherwise we are doing well and staying busy. We have quite a bit lined up to do this next week so stay tuned for updates. Today I need to get a few groceries and then I need to sew as fast as I can. I have not sewed for two weeks and in turn, no paycheck!
The big news is last. My sister Rachel is getting married in Dec. so just in case we thought we were bored this summer, that gives us something to think about.

What a difference a day can make! They moved my father-in-law out of ICU and he is doing very well. He is allowed clear liquids and is wanting a lot of them. I could hardly believe how well he looked when I got to the hospital at noon. They put him in his room around 2:30 which was great. The girls were not allowed in ICU and they thought it was not fair that the nurse wouldn't let them in to see grandpa. Once he was moved they both made a beeline for his room to see him. I think that really brightened his day. Continue to pray for healing as the danger of infection is not totally past yet.
It has been very hot and dry. I have been watering garden and flower beds almost every day for a week. We need some rain badly as some corn in the fields is starting to curl. I don't mind the watering but the yard is totally brown and I don't water the yard. I hear something calling me, OH it is my bed. Better go check it out.