Fun in the South

Well, some say in Minnesota, that Indiana is in "the South".... I'm obviously almost a month behind on these pics, but we've been a little distracted :)! Ryan and I (Anne) headed to IN the week of my mom's spring break... this has become a tradition since our move to Minnesota. This was the 3rd year in a row. Ryan and I were actually only home for 2 days from March 27 through April 15th, given our trip to Indiana and then to Michigan! It has been a whirlwind month. It has been great to be back and sleeping in our own beds and having somewhat of a "normal" routine.

We had lots of fun in IN seeing almost all of my "huge" family :)! We played in the park... saw beautiful green grass and flowers ( which we are just now starting to see in MN!), played with Roxie, went to the Children's Museum and just enjoyed being with family! And I snuck out one night to have a girls' night with college buddies, Dawn and Missi! Ryan was very excited for me to leave and let him stay at PaPaw Putty and Mama Marg's all by himself!

Checkers with Grandma at Cracker Barrel after a long morning of flying and posing with Roxie as soon as we arrived at their house!

And then I think the camera was hidden the rest of the trip except for some great times at the Indianapolis Children's Musuem. If we lived there, a membership would be a must!

Fireworks of Glass is the largest permanent sculpture of blown glass by renowned artist Dale Chihuly. The 43-foot-tall tower rises above a glass ceiling. For interesting facts or better pictures check out this site... it was very impressive!www.childrensmuseum.org/themuseum/fireworks_ofglass/index.htm

This "tower" of glass weighs 18,000 pounds and this other pic is of a "glass ceiling" below the tower, that you view looking up in the basement level of the museum.

Posing with Grandma and Grandpa by more glass in the "garden of glass"

Our little preacher behind the pulpit in a walk-thru story book town. Who knows what God

has in store, huh? :)

Playing in the water with Aunt Erin and driving the big boy toy in "Playscape", the Preschool Gallery of the museum.

Becoming a dinosaur and of course, driving an Indy car...can't forget that!

We thought going into the museum our ratio was a little high... 4 adults: 1 child. By the end, we were 9:1 when some of the rest of our "huge" family was nice enough to meet up with us for a late lunch.

Thanks to the Indiana clan for a great visit to "the South" !

"Tell God what you are thinking"....

those, along with "I love you", happened to be Ryan's last words to his Grandma Donna late last night. How did he know she'd soon be able to talk to God face to face? ... She met Jesus this morning! I know a blog is not the place to share this news, necessarily, but it is our life today. We've shared lots of good times here; this is a very sad day, yet a day of rejoicing as she is pain free and with her God and Savior for eternity now.

We've shared bits and pieces here on this site of her journey the past 7 months since being diagnosed with the liver disease and want to thank all of you for your prayers on her behalf and for our family. The reality has not quite sunk in yet. And we have a 4-year-old that will keep us thinking with his questions for a long time!

Thank you, God, for this amazing and wonderful Mom, Mom-in-law, and Grandma! May she be running, singing, and dancing with you today!