road trip, day six, seven, and eight

The highlight of day six was our afternoon at Sesame Street Place in Langhorne, PA. Three memories sparkle from the day:

1. Watching Jonathan meet personally with Big Bird and give him 2 DVDs of movies that he made. Jona was glowing like a Christmas Tree.

2. Walking with little Louie in the baby wading pool (that MUST have doubled at night for their ICE tray). The boy loves water.

3. Watching Daddy and Keona float down the Big Bird Rambling River ride together on innertubes. Keona is so blessed to have Bear as her daddy.

Wet and slightly sunburned, we arrived at Bear's sister's home in Fairfax, VA around 10pm and are happily settled in for the week. We're going to be blissfully and intentionally inactive for several days!

favorite quotes:

(from dear Keona as I was giving hugs before going to speak at an office chapel this morning) "Mommy, can I have the last hold?"

(from Jonathan as he was telling me about his visit to the petting zoo with Auntie Rae, Daddy, and Keona) "They had camels who licked people. That's disgusting! Can I take a shower?"

Thanks to all of you who have followed our road trip journey. I'll probably post again this weekend on our way home.

road trip, day five

What a fabulous day! Today, history came to life courtesy of Disney DVDs.

Today we took the bus to Times Square (a scene in Enchanted), saw Balto (a scene in Balto) in Central Park, took a ride in the bicycle carriages, then the girls went off to see Mary Poppins (Disney again) and the boys went to the American Museum of Natural History (from Night at the Museum). Afterwards we walked to the Empire State building, ate, then took a taxi back to the bus station because Jonathan was developing a headache.

Highlights today including watching my mom and daughter enjoy their first Broadway show. It was excellent and mom and I both cried with joy. Keona's highlight was riding the bicycle cart. She wants to build a cart to put on her bicycle and carry her horses. Jona was thrilled to see Times Square and spent a considerable amount of time video taping the manholes and sidewalk air vents.

Lowlights included Jonathan's headache, Louie's leaky diaper (yes, he was strapped to me in the baby carrier at the time), and my upset (code for "I was sicker than a DOG!") tummy (perhaps I'll pass on the Norwegian Salmon sandwiches next time).

Quotes of the day:

(at our hotel breakfast table) "I think rubber is made from boiled eggs." Jona
(after Jonathan volunteered to get Granny a Granny Smith apple) "Mommy, can I give you a Mommy Smith apple?" Keona

road trip, day three and four

Day Three, Thursday

• We started the day in Harrisburg, PA and ended the day checking into our hotel in North Bergen, NJ.
• Along the way we visited Hershey Chocolate World in Hershey, PA. The 3-D show is definitely worth watching. We also took the riding tour twice (have your cameras ready for the singing milk cows) and "made" our own chocolates. Hershey won out as both Jonathan's and Keona's favorite part of the day.
  
• Then we drove to the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA. The kids enjoyed watching how crayons were made but their favorite part had NOTHING to do with crayons. The Factory had this motion wave room where you can dance (think Beach Boys) and your motions create art on the big screen.
  
• My favorite quote from the day was from dear Keona. Pointing to the feminine product disposal bin in the bathroom she asked, "What's this mom? Is this for birds to build their nests?"

Day Four, Friday

• A BIG day today. We road the ferry across to the financial district of NYC then walked to Battery Park, waited 30 minutes to purchase Statue of Liberty tickets and then waited 2 hours in line before boarding the ferry again. Louie was in my baby carrier (thank you craftsbypaula.com!) and Jonathan and Keona did their best to be positive about the wait.
• My favorite moment of the day was when our ferry turned a corner and the Statue of Liberty came into view. Without orchestration, the entire ferry group (we were on the top level) became silent and stood. Freedom is a powerful force.
• We went on from there to Ellis Island and then to Ground Zero which was very moving. We had read books about 911 so the kids were ready to see the site. But Jonathan didn't want to take photos because it caused him stress.
• Favorite quotes from today:
• [as we're surrounded by the awe-inspiring skyline of NYC] "Look! There's a pigeon!!!" Jona
• [about the artist's choice of face for the Statue of Liberty] "He made her look like his mom? Was she blue?" Keona
• [with reference to a, uh, shall we say "burly" construction worker] "Is he a caveman?" Keona
• "It's just around the corner." the closing tag to every New Yorker's directions for us
  

road trip, day two

Apart from Little Louie opening his full bottle and spilling it all over his newly made bed...we are all tucked in and ready for sleep here at the end of day two of the road trip. Highlights from today:

1. We started the morning in Indianapolis and ended the day in Harrisburg, PA.
2. Our crafts today were more potholders (God bless whoever invented those nifty looms), pipe cleaners, and felt paintings. We read another book on the Statue of Liberty and one about New York City.
   
3. Tonight we saw the official "biggest shoe in the world". The kids were thrilled! It's is Hallem, PA and our hotel 15 miles away had NEVER heard of it...so it's not quite the major tourist attraction. But we had a blast taking pictures in the rain.
4. My favorite quote from the day came from Jonathan: "Are we there yet? My butt hurts."
5. My favorite memory was Louie chewing simultaneously on a french fry and his big toe.

road trip, day one

I'm typing from Indianapolis tonight. The crew is in bed and I'm in my favorite place (the bathroom) for a few moments of solitude.

Highlights from Day One:

1. 16 month old Louie refusing to nap this morning because he saw us all packing. He just kept running around his room saying, "bye-bye, bye-bye."

2. Dear Keona surrounded by her 3 favorite pillows, her favorite blanket, her favorite teddy bear (all pink, of course)...an HOUR before we were even ready to start up the van.

3. The pride in Jonathan's eyes when my Mom relayed how The Dub Center viewed Jonathan's movie while they were copying it for him--he is taking a copy of his movies to give to Big Bird--and were amazed at what he could do. The owner asked him all sorts of questions and then said that when Jonathan turned 16 he could work there. Jonathan beamed and then added, "But it's not just about making movies, mom. It's about making movies and selling or renting them to raise money for the poor."

4. CRAFTS! Today we made pom-poms, rag dolls, and potholders. We read about the Statue of Liberty and ended the day with the next chapter in Lewis (Diggory and Polly are flying on Fletch to the tree...).

5. Watching all three kids finally fall asleep 15 MILES away from our hotel.

the open road

It's here. The moment my children have been waiting for. We are now 12 hours away from the Chole Family Vacation ROAD TRIP!

They are sleeping. Bear and I are packing.
Keona's had her purple, bling-laden, furry suitcase ready to go for at least a week.
Jonathan has been working hard to make copies of his newest movie creations to give to Big Bird.
Louie is just happy at the sudden proliferation of pacifiers in the house.

We're off to see the major sites in the USA: the largest shoe in the world, the largest crayon in the world, Cookie Monster...and the Statue of Liberty.

I'll try to keep you posted along the way. But just in case I drop off the blogosphere for a few days, please know that I am happily coordinating crafts (we're going to do tinfoil art and make potholders), games (road trip bingo and brain quest), reading books (our first is "that's rude, dude" on manners), and keeping the peace in the back of the van while Bear drives and Granny keeps us all well fed.

I LOVE being a mom!!

Redwood Christian Park, CA

Amy and I are en route back home from 3 delightful days with the women of Calvary Temple Church. What fun to be among a group that so obviously loves each other! Thank you Liz and Marci for the invitation. Thank you Karen and Jen for our adventures in transportation :-) Thank you Sonnie for all your technical support. And thank you to the women of CT for your prayers, your open hearts, and your warm reception of us.

note: never tell anyone they look like old pudding

Some of you know my precious eldest son, Jonathan, who has mild Asperger's Syndrome. Dear Jona has had to memorize several sets of social cues and customs that come fairly naturally for many other children. So every time we're about to see someone, we walk through the "it's best to NOT say/ask" list which includes things like, "It's best to not ask women how much they weigh or if there's a baby growing in their stomach."

I thought the list was pretty thorough. But recently I realized that I missed one.

A dear friend whom Jonathan has known and loved for years came over to view Jona's newest movie. After the 22 minutes show, Jonathan looked at her and--with nothing but love in his eyes and his voice--said, "when I first met you years ago, you looked like old pudding. But now you look younger and your hair looks great!" Our friend paused, smiled, and then said, "Well, thank you Jonathan! That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time." Wise, gracious soul.

So, if your kids are a little challenged socially, you may want to add "it's best to never tell anyone they look like old pudding" to the list.

keona

Our dear Keona graduated from preschool on Thursday. I had the joy of spending two school days with her that week. I love Keona with all my heart--but I also LIKE her. She is an extraordinary person.

I watched her attend with genuine love and concern to a dear special needs little girl in the class. I watched her make sure that everyone had what they needed. I watched her greet everyone with a hug. She is the big sister, leading not through control but through nurture.

Then she came home and tucked me in her bed because I had a cough. "Mommy," she said, "when you're sicky, I'll mommy you." She kissed me and tucked her favorite pony under my arms. Then she stayed beside me to make sure I was okay.

I am so blessed to know this treasure.

On Mother's Day I want to say "thank-you" to Keona's birth mom once again--for choosing life, and for choosing me. I daily thank God for you.

$10, sort of

Two days ago, Bear came in the door after a daddy/daughter date with Keona and announced, "I think we just got a great deal!" He and Keona had gone to garage sales and encountered one of those battery powered Jeeps for--lo and behold--only $15. The kind lady looked into Keona's enormous brown eyes and took their last $10 bill.

The only problem is that the battery powered Jeep came WITHOUT a battery. "Easily remedied," I think, as super-search mom pulls out her laptop. Long story short: the battery for our $10 Jeep cost $70 NOT INCLUDING the $35 charger. What a deal...

But all annoyance evaporated the second I saw my kids zipping around our 5 acres this afternoon. Oh I wish I knew how to post video! Keona suddenly transformed into this 18 year old whose been driving all her life. Her pedal was down the entire time. Louie is strapped in beside her squealing with joy. Then it's dear Jonathan's turn, so I hold Louie and Keona slides over to the passenger seat.

But Jona's concerned about the Jeep running out of juice, so every minute he stops and calmly counts to 20 to give the Jeep time to recharge. Keona looks like she's going to come UNGLUED. Finally she just can't stand it anymore and she shoves her foot onto the pedal. Seeing a clear message of "consequence coming" in my eyes, she removes her foot and puts her head in her hands for the rest of the journey.

The Jeep did indeed run out of juice. So I returned Louie to the passenger seat, Jona manned the wheel, I became the battery by going to the back of the Jeep and beginning to push it UP the rocky hill. Then quite suddenly I feel two little hands directly on my behind as Keona's voice shouts, "I'm helping too mommy! I'm helping too!"

from 6th grade

Today I received an email from THE dear Suzy that I speak of whenever I share my journey to faith! This was the friend from 6th grade whose family allowed me to spend some time with them right before I started college. This Suzy's mom was the woman who asked me to go to that small church in Illinois. They were there the Sunday morning God interrupted my existence!

What joy! And what heartache. Suzy lost her husband to cancer and she is now facing breast cancer for the second time. As God brings Suzy to your mind, please join me in praying for her and her two young boys.