10 Years Later

I know exactly where I was ten years ago today.

It was a Sunday and a group of us from Campus House spent the afternoon at Lake Wauberg. I remember canoeing with Matt Brandenburg and getting way too close to an alligator. I remember getting a phone call from a friend from UCF who was driving through Gainesville letting me know he was on his way. And I remember getting in Dan’s car to head back to my apartment. Jonathan was in the back seat. Savage Garden’s Crash and Burn was on the radio.

We were driving through Payne’s Prairie and a black SUV started to come over into our lane. Dan swerved. I remember heading towards the oncoming traffic then heading towards the drop into the prairie. The car went over the wall, the airbags deployed and the car finally stopped upside down in the prairie. Dan and Jonathan went into escape mode. I went into ‘make sure everyone is okay’ mode. We were. Miraculously. Jonathan hadn’t even been wearing a seatbelt. Jonathan and I crawled out the back window which had shattered and Dan made it out the driver’s window.

We got up from the prairie and made it to the side of the road. By then, some of the others were driving by. Chris and Matt pulled over and ran to us. I didn’t realize that I was even bleeding until Chris pointed it out to me. I was fine, I’d just cut myself getting out through the broken glass. Jonathan did the same. And we still have the matching scars.

In the end, all of us were completely okay. Super sore. Very shaken. But okay physically. It took me a little while to work through the ‘oh-my-goodness, we almost died’ but I did. And it probably paid a big part in Jonathan and me ever dating.

I lost the necklace I’d been wearing during the crash. When I turned 18, my Aunt Edith gave me her diamond necklace. I wore it all the time and it was my most treasured possession. During the crash, the seatbelt had pulled so tight that it cut the chain around my neck and it came off. I realized it was missing at the hospital.

A few days after the accident, Dan went back to the car. He found the diamond. Amazing. In the middle of all the broken glass, he found something so small but so precious to me. And it is still one of the most treasured things I have. I will forever be grateful to him for finding that for me.

Back then Jonathan and I were friends. A year later we were engaged. And now, ten years later, we have three beautiful children. Hard to believe it’s been that long.

Lunch at UF

Ben just started speech therapy this week through our school system. Because the school year is already underway, we just had to go with the time slot that they had available. Unfortunately, the time slot that is available for them conflicts four times (out of eight sessions) a month for us with MOPS meetings, preschool, and co-op days. But thankfully, we have wonderful family and friends who are willing to help me get everyone where they need to go so Ben can make all eight sessions each month.

This past Thursday, Janice was in town to take Ben to speech from his school while I was with Rosemary at co-op. Afterwards we headed down to pick Jonathan up from his work and grab a quick bite to eat. When we pulled into his parking lot, there were two open metered spaces (something that never happens!) so we took one and went inside to see Jonathan’s office then walked over to eat lunch at the Hub. It was an impromptu campus visit, but was so much fun.

We found a table outside while Jonathan got our Chick-fil-a…no kids meals on campus though!

It was a perfect day to eat outside. And when we were walking over to lunch, it was in between classes so it was fun to be a part of the hustle and bustle.

From where we ate lunch we could see the French Fries so the kids wanted to climb all over those.

Ben couldn’t get quite as high, but it won’t be long.

As we headed back to the car, the carillon was chiming. They thought it was so loud.

And they loved seeing the alligator beside the University Auditorium

Such a fun, quick visit back to campus. It’s been a long time since I walked through the heart of campus on a school day. Some things had changed (like the Krishna’s now have chairs???), but a lot was the same. It was fun to share it with our kids.

School at the library

One day when Ben was at preschool, the girls and I spent the morning at our library. Rosemary and I worked through all of her school work and had time for a snack and playground break and time to get books for the next few weeks.

Getting her bottle during our break outside.

Swinging during break.

Reading in the little armchair.

We had a great morning and I think we’ll try to go once a month or so for a morning at the library.

Pipe Organ Demonstration

A couple weekends ago, Jonathan and Rosemary went on a date at the University Auditorium for a pipe organ demonstration. I know it sounds strange, but I think they both really enjoyed it. They walked around campus a bit too and got some photos around the auditorium and the plaza.

Giveaway Baskets and a New Blog

This weekend, another MOPS Discussion Group Leader is hosting fundraiser. She has some pretty amazing door prizes lined up…like photography sessions, Gator Homecoming tickets, and gift certificates for local restaurants. I wanted to help out somehow so I put together a couple gift baskets. Not nearly as exciting as football tickets, but I had fun making them!

Here’s the info card for each of the items in the baskets:

Getting these together inspired me to finally get my act together and start a blog just for craft items that I’ve made extras of and am offering for sale. So…if you’re interested, you can check out Honeysuckle Sundries to see a few things that I have up for now.

I still plan on primarily crafting just for fun and as gifts, but it will be nice to have a place to share the ‘extras.’

Charlotte at 9 months

Hanging out in her stroller at a MOPS playdate

Visiting with Grandma at Cracker Barrel. Charlotte enjoyed some tiny bites of pancakes that day too. She gobbled them up.

Charlotte started pulling up. She also started crawling more on her hands and knees instead of scooting. Once she’s on her feet, she doesn’t go anywhere and usually just waits until someone helps her down.

Charlotte still has bright blue eyes.

It will be interesting to see if they change. Rosemary’s were this bright when she was this age and now they are a hazel-green. Ben’s were brown pretty early on.

We had a check-up this month and here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs, 13 oz., 5th percentile

Length: 27.5 in, 50th percentile

Head: 45 cm, 75th percentile

All of our kids have huge heads. Whenever our doctor tells us her stats, it’s usually concluded with, “She is a Peine.” Light-weight, big heads. :-)

We still are at two naps a day with about an hour in the morning and 2 and a half hours in the afternoon. And she sleeps about 12 hours at night.

Temperament-wise she’s still very sweet and easygoing. I am finding though that she seems to have a harder time in childcare at church or at MOPS than the other two. Hopefully we can work through it though. My guess is it’s harder for her to sleep in either of those places, and if she doesn’t get her sleep, she gets a bit grumpy. Otherwise, she’s so easy and her whole family thinks she’s pretty amazing.

Our girls

SeaWorld

We snuck away this past weekend to celebrate my dad’s birthday at the condo in Orlando. It was gorgeous weather. A little cool for the pool but we still all got in. It was perfect for a day at SeaWorld. Jonathan and I even got away for a bit to go on a shopping date. He needed shoes. Pretty sure that’s the only way I could get him to willingly shop with me. :-)

At SeaWorld waiting for Blue Horizons.

I think Ben looks so much like Jonathan here.

Charlotte fell asleep in the stroller with her little leg propped up. And Rosemary rode most of the time in the seat beside Charlotte. Ben had first right of refusal for the stroller seat and he almost always chose to walk instead.

Ben thoroughly enjoyed his alone time with Grandma and Grandpa while the girls rode in the stroller.

The Glorious Flight Airport Visit & Reading with Grandma

Last week we read The Glorious Flight for our Five in a Row book. Richard and Janice came to Gainesville one day and Richard took Rosemary and me to the general aviation side of the airport to teach Rosemary a little bit about airplanes (I learned a lot too).

This was Rosemary’s first time this close to a plane. She’s never flown before and seemed a bit overwhelmed with things, but soaked everything in. It amazes me how much she retains after just hearing something once.

Afterwards, we visited a bit then Rosemary did some reading with Janice. She’s doing so well with her reading. The thought of teaching Rosemary how to read was what I found most intimidating about homeschooling, but she is thriving. The curriculum we’re using seems to really click for her.

And yes, Rosemary’s hair is pink. Ben’s hair was blue that day.

Ballet–Parent Observation Night

Last week, I got to watch Rosemary in her ballet class.

Overall, she did pretty well.

But she did fall down a lot too. This girl keeps us on our toes.

Another climber

The other day, Rosemary had her step stool in the living room. We looked over and look who had gotten on her feet. She’s nowhere near cruising, but she occasionally gets up like this if there’s something low enough. And Charlotte’s following in her siblings’ footsteps, she’s another climber.

Greathouse & Corky Bells

A few weeks ago, we woke up one Saturday with absolutely no plans for the day. We don’t get many weekends like that. So we decided to take advantage of the day and headed to the Monarch Butterfly Festival at Greathouse Butterfly Farm in Earleton, about half an hour away from Gainesville.

We checked out the vendors and Rosemary and Ben potted some milkweek to bring home for our garden.

Then we headed over for some pony rides. Neither of the kids had ever been on a horse before.

Charlotte hung out with me in the sling. Definitely wasn’t stroller terrain around the farm.

The kids enjoyed the tractor too.

Sitting like a such a boy.

Before leaving the farm, we decided to take a walking tour. We figured it would be around 20 minutes or so. It was 45 minutes. And Rosemary and Ben were amazing. They stayed with us the whole time, listened (or at least were quiet), and didn’t complain a bit. Charlotte napped in the wrap.

By the time we left it was lunch time. We drove over to Palatka to eat at Corky Bells on the St. John’s River. The week before we’d read Night of the Moonjellies for Five in a Row so we were in the mood for some good seafood. Rosemary and Ben ate like they’d never seen food before in their lives.

Everything was delicious!

And before heading home, we headed down to the dock to see the river and the boats that had pulled up to grab a bite too.