Beautiful Brown Eyes

All of our children went for an eye exam this spring.  Ben and Eli needed to go...we knew there were issues that we were seeing.

Eli came home with glasses....they lasted a month before needing replaced.  We have put systems in place for him to take better care and know where they are...and it is working. Well, almost.  He can't believe how big and bright things were....that happens with 800/20 vision.  We had to build up to wearing them all day which is handling quite well now.

Here is a picture of Eli sporting his new glasses on a recent family outing.  Kiara and he are in the sky ride.

Both boys have different eye issues that have the same solution ....patching them for 4 hours a day.  Neither of them are fond of this daily routine.  We tried to make it fun and let them choose their own patch colors....one is bright orange and the other is black with flames coming out.

We recently visited an eye specialist at our local Children's Hospital.  The good news is the patching is working.  Eli needs an upgrade in his lens already he has made so much improvement.  We are excited about this progress!

It was decided we will patch for 4 more months and go back to the specialist.  At that time, she will reevaluate the boys.

Ben will need eye surgery as the last step in correcting his vision but we are feeling confident it will make a big leap for him in his schooling too.  He will not need eye glasses either as previously thought.

Not bad for 9 eye exams to walk out with only one pair of glasses....such wonderful progress!

Grateful!

Plimoth Planation

Our kids made a unique request for Christmas this year ....rather than exchange gifts with my sister kids.... could we take that money and do something together?  A long weekend was suggested doing something together ....they didn't care on that point....just as long as they were together.

I love their hearts....the question was posed and was received well...we made plans.

We all headed to Cape Cod to go camping together for 5 days.  We planned to visit Plimoth Planation, swim a bit, and do whatever else we discovered along the way.

We met on Sunday evening....it took them much longer as they had the farther distance to travel and they just purchased a huge camper that they were towing behind them along the way.  We arrived early and set up our tent, cots and camp kitchen.

We enjoyed dinner together and then headed to bed...it was late and we had an early morning but thankfully a short drive.

We headed to Plimouth Planation the next morning....a first for all the kiddos we had in tow.  We had talked extensively on what they would encounter and how to interact with the actors.  It was amazing to see the spark of learning and the amazing questions everyone asked.  Joe, Becca and Eli were able to help Mrs. Brewster make some chicken stew....they were so excited to step back in time!

Here Ben and Devon took turns grinding corn in the Indian camp kitchen.

Everyone checking how comfy the beds were in thenIndian lodge, passed around tools and asked questions of the local Indians.

Checking the view in the fort.  Jason was very excited to see the post and beam construction.

Afterwards, we headed to Friendly's...don't they look happy eating their ice cream?  The were really tired at this point and it showed...we decided to sugar them up!

The girls section....chatting away.

All of our kiddos did well together....the adults actually got to sit together and share conversation with minimal interruptions ....cool, huh?

A few days later, we headed onto the Cape and drove around a bit, discovered a light house enclosed with fog, found a fun little country store with penny candy, and went out for seafood.

All the kiddos along the coast....

Isn't it beautiful?

Lots of yummy food at a local seafood spot....

We played tons of games, went swimming, campfires, s'mores, shared meals together, wonderful stories and jokes (which we keep on hearing), and made awesome memories!

I would make the claim it was an wonderful gift....Merry Christmas Daneker Family!

Father's Day

On Father's Day....we went to church and then headed to lunch for a special dinner celebration.  We then slipped on our swim suits, grabbed Michaela's dog and headed to Fort Foster.

It was a beautiful day....but that water was quite chilly.  It didn't stop our kiddos from getting in....I sure wished we brought sweatshirts.  

They built sand castles, ran around like sillies, found treasures in the tidal pools and got wet.  Bailey liked chasing the ball into the ocean over and over too.

Shocking how cold it was at first.  Eli said, "come on it....I can't even feel my legs anymore.  It's great!"

No thanks Eli but we laughed pretty heartily.

Brrrr...Michaela testing out the waters.

Here is some of our crew at dinner....some sporting their shades.

It was fun to celebrate Fathers Day together!

Canobie Lake

What a gift....we won 29....yes, 29 tickets to Canobie Lake!  We gave tickets to several adoptive families to enjoy....what a blessing!

Our entire family enjoyed them recently on a Saturday....now here is the scoop!  The older kiddos who like the wild rides always travel with their big sisters who also like the wild rides....I do not have any pictures of them which is unfortunate.  Darrell and I split up into big kids and smaller ones to make the most of the great rides at Canobie.  Around 2 when the rains came...we slipped out and grabbed dinner together...what a blessing to have everyone together!  From there, Michaela, Jess and Conner went on their merry way but the rest of our troops gladly headed back to the park until closing time.

Dad is always our driving teacher for our young drivers....here he is practicing his scarey look with Becca!  Think he nailed it.

Here is Becca on her trusty steed.

Captain Devon in his boat.

Kiara and Eli on the Sky ride...a good thing.  Last year, Kiara did all of these rides by herself...she was too big for the smaller rides and didn't like the crazy ones yet.  She was so happy to have a buddy this year....

It was fun to see glimpses of the Winslow family and some of the big kids got to ride some rides together with their big kids...the rain really cleared the park out!  

Our family got noticed a few times and we were able to share our story with a few folks.  One woman asked me about what is was that she noticed but couldn't put her finger on that was different and kept us going....that was one of the easiest answers she asked....we pointed her to Jesus!

Such a wonderful family day!  A good blessing....

Jessy and Conner

May 28th...Jessy and Conner got married.

It was good to have our whole family together!  Here is our clan with my folks.

It was hot for those boys in long sleeves.p...in the 90's....but everyone looked great!

Jess was beautiful...here she is with her Oma Lowman.

We pray the Lord blesses them as they start their new life together.  Love you guys!

Time

Time has flown by SO fast to discover it is July and I haven't updated in what seems like forever ....

The good news is we are all doing well and we have lots of big things to share with you...

So hold onto your seat....I am hoping to do that here in the next few days!

Here we go!

And Then There Was Ben....

This guy....

Just have to say as his mom...he is pretty amazing.  He has such a big heart.  He has jumped in with both feet into this family and does his best at just about everything.

He is amazingly neat in his room despite living with a room full of happy flingers!  Wins every bed making contest we've had.  Even puts everything back where it belongs after using it...what is up with that?

Willing to try it all that we have presented him with so far.

Looks out for me and is my protector....out on hikes if he thinks I might need help...he comes racing back to hold my hand down the steep rocky hillside.

He is super excited this week is Mother's Day....

And he is our newest Alert Cadet....he has worked so hard on that!  Memorizing scripture in a language he is still learning....A-MAZ-ING!

Does it all with a smile on his face too!

Love this boy!