July 4

The first picture:All the brothers and sisters:back row Freemon, Rudy, Mose, Neal, Andy, Larry, Wiliam
Front Row Wilma, Ida, Susie, Lydia, Alma and Edna
Birth Order: Freemon, Edna, Alma, Rudy, Mose, Lydia, Neal, Andy, Larry, Susie, Ida, Wilma, William...13 kids in 18 years, whew!

The second picture is of my kids playing today.

The third picture is of my parents, brother and our family.

We have had a busy few days. We left Friday morning to go to Pryor, Ok for the Troyer family reunion. We had a great time. My dad's family has seven boys and six girls! My grandmother had 13 kids in 18 years! Amazing. They were Amish until my dad was five. My grandfather was a carpenter and wanted power tools, so he was excommunicated from the church. They then became Mennonite. I love my family. They are amazing. So many of them have gone through tremendous heartache and struggles in their lives and have come out so strong. I am so blessed to have such a rich heritage!

The kids (and us) had a ball at the reunion. We played cards, games, and ate and ate and ate! I will need to run extra this week to offset all that! Jess loved admiring and playing with the babies. Jacob and Jordan had a ball running wild with their cousins. They were about nonstop! Jordan met her cousin Anna last summer during her trip with my parents and they hit it off. They played and played this weekend. I wish we lived closer, they live in Mississippi. Maybe we can visit with them and my brother sometime.

We had a bittersweet goodbye today with the kids. I am so excited for them to go to Alaska with my parents, but man, a month and a few days is a long time! I had to suck it up and choke down some tears when we left! They were having such a great time playing with their cousins that they didn't want to stop to hug us and tell us bye! They are leaving bright and early and going to try to make it to South Dakota tomorrow. They are trying to make it ten hours! They brought movies, their DS's, PSP's, iPods, etc to pass the time. They are pretty tired from being so busy the last few days that I bet they will sleep a lot of it. They are going with three of my dad's brother's and their families to camp. I keep asking what all they are going to do and they say everything. So I guess I will be surprised!

Scott did so well this weekend. Friday he took me to the reunion then went to the hotel to rest. Then came for dinner and the evening activities. He made it all day today, but he is one tired puppy tonight! He tried going to bed earlier, but our neighbors are doing some serious fireworks, so he got up to go watch in the rain for a little while. Tuesday will be his LAST CHEMO! I think we need a celebration! Maybe we will wait until we get the all clear in a month or so from the oncologist! I am so ready to be done and I know that he is too. We are so ready for that day!