The van was loaded Friday evening and we were off with a load of food, the four wheeler, a few games and books, the turkey gear and we were ready for a fun weekend away!!
The weather was perfect! The kids made new friends. They had a blast playing in the new found slop hole down yonder, beyond the cabin trail!! They got so so muddy but they had a blast forming clumps of clay into some cool stuff and then letting it set and dry in the sun where it got hard get hard! It was really cool actually!
Jenika was asleep late Friday night when Matt and Liz arrived but as soon as I met Chloe (there daughter) I knew they would become great friends! I couldn't wait until they met each other Saturday morning! Jenika is a social butterfly and she loves making new friends. She is all girl but she loves to do mostly all boy things with her time! She is tough. She is used to all brothers. Well... so is Chloe! She has four brothers. She likes to do boy stuff to! Along with Jenika and Martina Chloe fit the mold perfectly for a great fun weekend!!
I think The two new friends even look a bit alike! What do you think!?
I just couldn't make myself edit out the muddy face! I think it is to cute!...:)
This girl loves cabin fun with friends and she loves the outdoors!!...
Martina was hunting with her daddy and she shot a turkey with his guidance!! She is a great shot once again! Way to go Martina!!..
Jordan went out hunting for turkey with Dave. They went over to the old cabin in a turkey blind. They got a bit of a late start and they were beat out to discover that the bullets got left behind in the haste and the turkey call also wasn't working!! Jordan loves to tell the story and his stories are so much fun to listen to and before you know everyone around him is having a belly laugh!...:)
Corn Hole is a new cabin game!...
Jordan has eye allergies today! I think the weekend was hard on him! He spent so much time outdoors and the four wheeler didn't help the matter either....
He set a few traps but didn't catch anything...
It was so relaxing to have Justin with us this time!! I love when he joins us and he was a good sport about it even though his ball team had a tournament on Saturday!! Thanks for coming Justin!! He enjoyed the four wheeler and lovely weather!!...
Running is always fun up at the cabin! The trails are lovely right now!! I went out alone on Saturday morning and got five miles. Dave and I always go out on Sunday mornings but him and Jonathan wanted to walk a neighboring property that is for sale so I went out alone again. It was a perfect morning and walking felt perfect! I walked the mile and half back in to "The Farm Of Peace" and then I ran it back out... Such a peaceful hour it was!!!...
The hut that the children were working on is so cute!! The made pathways with flowers and hung some from the tree branches! Javon had fun with the little drill saw blade!! He was cutting down many of the lower branches and putting the sticks on a pile!! The pile was pretty big by the time we left yesterday!!!...
Javon and I headed out for a pretty long hike yesterday! He was asking to be carried by the time we got back! It was so lovely on the hike down and he wanted to keep going!! We were hoping Jordan was at the bottom with the four wheeler but he wasn't so we had to hike back up the hill! The day was warm and we were in a sweat by the time we got back!...:) Javon kept stopping to rest!...:)
He made some new friends to. I'm beat out that I didn't get pictures of them together. He is not as social as Jenika and making new friends comes harder for him but he did a click with some of Matt's boys!..:)
Today the laundry is being caught up. The bags are once again unpacked. The food was great at the cabin! Now it's back to reality and when I pulled the school lunch boxes from the closet this morning I was thinking how much fun it will be to not have to pack these things anymore in a few short weeks!! I think summer break must be what keeps us school moms sane!...:)
Mom and I snuck in to see grandma Beiler this morning. I have mowing to do but I figured it can wait until later. Grandma is okay. She seems to really want to come home now. She says things in ways that makes you wonder if she has any concept of the time, days, seasons and even minute to minute. She saw me first. She said my name. She knew I was her granddaughter! She told the ladies around us that I was her granddaughter and mom was her daughter! This is a good day for mommy! We were able to say good bye instead of sneaking out today. She was sitting for lunch inside the window and we told her to watch us leave. We turned and waved at her before driving off. She is getting the professional care that she needs yet it is still hard to leave her there. Especially on her good days!
When we got back to drop mom off her neighbor guy came a tearing with a fire extinguisher! He wanted in my car ASAP!!! He wanted a ride to a nearby fire!! We saw smoke billowing in the distance so we took off with that neighbor and his fire extinguisher!!
By the time we got to the cross road the fire truck was coming! We followed at a distance but we followed the whole way! It was a house fire with entrapment! The house was engulfed in flames and burning at a fast rate of speed!! We stood in the woods and watched a bit and soon mom pointed out a family sitting off to the side! We went down to them and two little girls were really crying!! An elderly lady seemed dazed. Two men were there with her. One being her son and the other her brother. Her son was crying and he said he got a ladder to the porch to help the people down but it was to late! He said they just wouldn't jump!
The house was a double wide trailer and it wasn't high but the lady said they had a porch roof there and they also had some health problems with knees and she just thinks they were afraid to jump!! She had ran around the front of the house to see if she can go in the front door but it was so bad with flames!! (she was heavy set and had a leg problem) She ran around to the back of the house again and by now her niece was laying down kind of below/over the window burning!! This woman saw that! She cried a lot as she was telling mom and I this story!! Two of them were her sisters and one was her niece. They were visiting her because her mom just passed away at that very same house last night!! No wonder she was dazed!!
We are not sure where the two little girls belong. They were cousins. A nine year old and a four year old. (mom was singing with them) The nine year old was there with her grandmother. She died in the fire. The four year old had a mom on the way and I'm not sure where this mom came in at? It sounded confusing to me but it was still their house and family!! We prayed for them there on the spot. They seemed dazed as they watched the firemen work. I ran up to neighbors ( they were in there yards watching at a distance) and got snacks and drinks for the girls. The fire crew wasn't letting these neighbors close and they were losing it!
I was amazed to watch the team work that goes with a house fire! The slow motion seemed really slow! It seemed like it took long for them to get the hoses in position and get water running to the house but they were working as fast as they could and I'm sure it wasn't as long as it seemed. I ran out to turkey hill to get drinks for the crew! It was a hot day on top of it! The fire station in charge had people coming with food for the fire fighters as soon as things calmed down.
The chief was barking orders as fast as he could and he seemed like he knew exactly what to do! (thank God for these volunteers!) The family went up to a neighbors house after a while. A few family members arrived while we were there with the family and it was heartbreaking to see them cry as they embraced!! The homeowner said her husband had passed away. Her mom lived with her and died last night. Her sisters came to visit and they died in this fire along with her niece! Mom asked her if there is someone we should call.? Like family? She said "that was my family"! I can't even imagine!!
Investigation is ongoing. They didn't seem to know what started the fire or even what part of the house it started at! The little nine year old seemed more heartbroken over the loss of her cousin then her grandma!! (her cousin was thirty seven) The nine year old seemed very upset and I'm sure she will have haunting memories of this awful day for them! Mom did well and by the time we left she was calling the little girls by name. She held them in her lap while the ambulance crew checked the elderly homeowner for blood pressure and so forth. I think they are doing criminal investigating to according to the fire fighters so I'm not sure the details but the little girls were involved and to me this is so so sad! At least the children made it out! The three that died in the fire were all adults and I can't imagine why you wouldn't jump if you had the chance!?? They will need prayers for the days ahead as they deal with all these final good byes!!
The day is so lovely and I had big plans to work in the yard this afternoon. To plant and water the flowers. To check on my garden since we out over the weekend. I was going to do mowing, trimming and blowing. I came home and took a look at my house and my blessings and I decided it will all wait for another day. I think my whole outlook on life changed this afternoon. God help me not to take my family and the small things in my life for granted!!
Happy Monday...
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