Eli's Adventure

I so wish I could have been there to actually see all of this, but I had to settle for hearing it from the sources...
Mike's car had been in the shop all week and when it was finally ready, he and Eli went to pick it up. They had stopped a few places and were on a fairly busy road (Fairfield Rd.) near the mall when they stopped at a stop light and Mike happened to look back to see Eli literally jumping around in the car. He had managed to put the car in park and then JUMPED into the passenger seat, all at this stoplight!
Mike thought the gas pedal had gotten stuck and Eli was afraid it was going to blow up or something so he was trying to get out.
The car behind Eli also noticed all of the commotion and he gets out of his car and heads toward Eli the same time Mike gets out.
Eli is still jumping around mouthing something and as Mike got closer, he could read Eli's lips, "It's a SNAKE!"
He said as he was driving along, he felt something on his foot. That's when he looked down and noticed his "friend" on the floorboard.
By the time Eli got out of the car, the snake had gone back under the seat and would not come out. I'm still not sure why, maybe because Eli was in a hurry to get home and go out with a girl, but he decided just to drive home with the snake under the seat.
It's a 20 minute drive on the interstate and as he drives home, the snake does come out and eventually climbs into Eli's lap. (I can't imagine!!)
He made it home and got his friend out of the car so he could leave again.
The past few days, he thinks he feels something crawling on him when he's sleeping, driving, sitting!
Man, I'm gonna miss this kid!

Our little boy graduates and runs at State

Well, it's hard to believe that Eli has graduated from high school and is making plans to move to Cedarville University. We had a great time with all of the festivities and the week after graduation, he ran at the State meet in Columbus. Ohio State's stadium with 20,000 spectators was the site, and it was 94 degrees that day, which is very hot for Ohio! Eli had a pr for the day and his team placed 6th in the state; yeah!
Now we are nursing Emilie back to health after knee surgery and so she's ready to have her wisdom teeth taken out in 10 days!
Our plan is to leave here July 5; Eli will run in the Americana run that is a Centerville tradition the morning of July 4. We will head down to Florida for 2 weeks, then to Arizona, and Denver, and finally to McChord AFB, WA. We're not sure if Mike will be able to join us on the journey or if he will have to meet us in Washington in August. (The AF loves to change our plans at the last minute!)

Thanks, Maretta, for letting us help celebrate your marriage today. You were beautiful and we all love you!

Busy times getting ready for Eli's graduation, including a party and grandparents coming in. Some dear friends of ours are getting married this weekend and we're helping with last minute arrangements for that. I just got back from Ft Knox, KY training their PWOC. Oh, and we need to get the house and everyone in order to move next month! And leave Eli here in Ohio to begin his college days at Cedarville University.
Eli and Cara had a fun time at Prom. Eli's 4x800 team set a new GWOC (Greater Southwestern Ohio Conference) record last week and they are praying for a good finish at State in two weeks.

A Visit to Holmes County, Ohio

This is my first blog entry and I wanted to share about our recent visit to Holmes County, Ohio, the largest Amish population in the world. We stayed on a working Amish farm with Kathy and Willis Miller and their children, Diane 15, Krista 12, and Timmy 7.
We stayed in a suite attached to their house, complete with a little kitchen and bath. Lydia was so happy to learn that we had lights and heat, powered of course, by gas.
The children were very friendly and welcomed our girls to help with the evening chores. They fed the horses, the chickens, calves, cows, and milked the cows as well. This family is fortunate to have a milking system so it's not all done by hand. Because they have so many cows, their church district allows this.
Speaking of the church district, it was so interesting to learn about all of their rules and how each district decides the rules for their families. The other interesting thing was how they get around some of the rules! For instance, they are not allowed to have a phone in their houses, but if they have a business or a need for a phone, they can build a "phone shed" (see picture in slide show) and have it on their property! Just as long as it's not in the house.
One morning Mike and I watched out our window as the girls were walking down the road with Kathy. When they returned, they told us they had gone to the neighbor's house (not Amish) where there is a shed in the backyard which has 7 freezers belonging to 7 Amish families! How clever!
The Miller's were very warm and friendly and we all played cards (Dutch Blitz~ a favorite Amish game) each night.
The girls learned to drive a tractor, which was probably the highlight of the farm stay.
Mallory and Krista have been writing to each other and look forward to being pen pals for a long time to come. It will be fun to keep in touch with these special friends we've made in Ohio.

Check out my Slide Show!