So we decided to spend the weekend in Iowa on the farm with my dad and his wife.  And thankfully the vicious storms that hit Lincoln didn’t come to Hinton so we were able to enjoy lots of humid outdoor time.  Can I just tell you my love of taking photos was rejuvenated this weekend with my dad’s very nice, extremely expensive camera?  I was lusting over it actually and am secretly hoping Santa Claus finds a way to put one under my tree at Christmas!   I had so much fun taking far too many pictures of the kids all over the place but here are a few of my favorites since I can’t put them all in one blog (and by the way between my dad and me, there were over 400 pictures taken!).

The boys spent lots of time shooting skeet and pop cans and of course my dad was out there most of the time too.  This was Trevor’s first real experience using anything other than a bb gun or air soft gun, and he really enjoyed it.  Travis made him take a 30 question quiz on gun safety on the way up then we went over it as a family.  Trevor asked me numerous times over the weekend if we could please move to the country. As always, he loved roaming around, exploring and climbing, and desperately wants a dirt bike.  I hope his wish comes true!

Check out this spider!  I have no idea what kind it is but my dad calls them Hawkeyes (and there were A LOT of them).  The kids and I  got to see a grasshopper jump into the web and the spider quickly spun a web around it which was really neat to watch.  This picture was taken the following day, and you can see a smaller brown spider in there too.

Soon after we got there Friday my dad took Travis and the kids out to the field where they picked gobs of corn, and here they are shucking some for dinner.  We also got to bring a huge 42 gallon bag of it home which one of my friends and I are going to bag up tomorrow or how do you say it?  Put up corn?  I can’t remember but I did it years ago with another friend.

Check out this beautiful sky! I know it’s hard to see and this picture doesn’t do it justice, but trust me, it was gorgeous.  We always love a good fire, and here we are after filling our tummies with lots of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers.  It was a wonderful night, and we were so thankful the lightening on the horizon never made it to us.

So yesterday….my designated “picture day” that ended up being a flop.  This is a very upset, mad at mom, little boy who was desperately trying to climb the stone steps and get back inside after I made him come out for family pictures.  If there is one thing about Ryan’s disabilities that gets me worked up every single time, it’s pictures.  I’ve never been able to give up the idea of getting that perfect photo.  I keep trying, but it never turns out with everyone smiling, everyone looking at the camera, perfectly posed and happy.  Every single time I end up in tears trying to catch that dream shot.  Why I do this to myself repeatedly I will never now but its’ something that means a lot to me, something Ryan just simply doesn’t allow in his little world of autism cause he simply can’t handle being posed.  And I should be OK with that but I’m not and probably never will be.  After a good few minutes of me barking at everyone to hurry up and get in position while Ryan squealed and squirmed unhappily refusing to sit in his designated spot, I gave up and walked away in tears.  So instead of the perfect shot, I did get a cute one of the older three where there were suppose to be six.  But like my dad said, “posed pictures are not real”.  And he’s right but I’m still never going to give up on that perfect picture even though I know my next attempt will probably also end up in tears.  I’ll keep trying though.

So instead of getting a family shot outside with the bench in just the right spot and the plants strategically placed on each side, we went indoors after I cleaned myself up from the tears and we got this one which is OK.  It’s real….that’s for sure.  And I do love it even if it’s not “perfect”.  But I have to say, my favorite picture of all is this one.  The one that shows two people who love each other desperately, who cling to each other in the tough times, who have been best friends for over eighteen years now, who laugh hysterically, who have walked hand in hand through some very deep, dark moments lately, who cling not only to each other but to our Heavenly Father, who ask you to pray for a peace that surpasses all understanding as we wait patiently for Him to move and direct, who simply try every day to enjoy each blessing in the moment.