We're not in California anymore...

Well... we actually haven't lived in California for almost 8 1/2 years. Even thought it's been that long... I don't think I'll ever really get used to the storms we have here. I had no idea when we moved to St. Louis that basements were used for more than just another living space.... they are actually necessary for safety. We've had a love/hate relationship with our basement here at Joe's Place... but that's a story for another day. Anyway... it stormed last night. It wasn't as bad as a storm that came through about a month ago... but the sirens did go off a couple times. We spent about an hour outside on the porch watching the storm roll in. I'll never get over how much the sky changes in such a short period of time!

I took this with my phone earlier in the day while we were on a walk... totally didn't realize until later that I got a plane in the shot!

You can see a few blowing leaves in this picture... but just about 10 minutes before I took this it almost looked like it was snowing leaves in front of our house because of the wind!

Ty wanted a few shots with his basketball with the changing sky in the background... even though he's in baseball season now. :)

He told me he wanted lightning strikes behind him in this one. We made sure we were inside before that happened! I did hear on the news this morning that there were some tornados near St. Louis... but thankfully we didn't see any!

Same vacuum, different brother...

Tuesday night is floors on the chore chart in our house. We really should clean the floors more than once a week... but really we're lucky they get cleaned as much as they do. So... it was Ty're's turn to vacuum this week (the chores rotate each week). He actually ended up sweeping more than vacuuming (so his phone call would not be interrupted :))... it's amazing what these guys can accomplish while talking on the phone. Anyway... as I was watching him (finally) vacuum the carpet in the living room I was reminded of this picture that I took 3 1/2 years ago...

I actually think that's the first picture I ever took of Fred. He would probably laugh if he saw this picture now... because that's not really how 2nd year college students dress! :) And here is Ty're last night...

He gave me a weird look for taking his picture while he was vacuuming (after I gave him a weird look for wearing his backpack) until I told him why. I said... "I have a picture of your brother vacuuming in exactly the same place so I wanted one of you too." He said... "Oh, really?" and gave me a huge smile. I really can't believe we've been here almost 4 years!

Still can't believe he's a freshman...

That means senior year for Ty're is right around the corner! I'm serious! The high school years go by way too fast. Our first group of graduates are in their 2nd year of college this year! Two of those graduates moved into Joe's Place when they were sophomores!!

Anyway... all three of our boys got to go shopping with a group last night that does a TON for Joe's Place. They have done this "back to school" shopping trip since we first started. First they go to a shoe store where they each pick out a pair of shoes... and then from there they head to the mall where the guys can shop in any store they want. It's pretty awesome! The looks on their faces are always priceless. One of our boys came home and said..."Wow! I've never gotten to do something like that before!" Since I didn't get to go this year... the guys spent about an hour after dinner showing me the different outfits they got. I have to say it makes me feel pretty darn good when a high schooler asks my opinion about how something looks! Here is Ty sporting one of his new outfits before school this morning... he is getting so tall!

All you need is a little custard...

Everyone was in a bit of a mood this week... I'm guessing it had a little something to do with us being out of town last week. It's amazing how a change in the routine can throw everyone off (a toddler and teenagers). We thought frozen custard might help get everyone back into the swing of things... and it totally did!! Doing these little "family" things can really make all the difference in the world! Dan grabbed his camera as they were running out the door Wednesday night to make it to our favorite custard shop before it closed. Was great to finally see some smiles again!

They really are a happy bunch...

Last year we started the Joe's Place school year with just Ty're. A second resident moved in a day after school started... and then a third a few weeks later. Every new resident brings a good bit of change to the household... but it's totally manageable. Having new residents start at the beginning of the school year is different. It adds a good bit more stress for everyone. This year our three residents from last year all returned. It's been so easy... like they never even left! Everyone already knows the rules, how do to the chores, how to live together, etc. It's so good to have our guys back! Here they are yesterday getting ready to head out for the first day of school (why is smiling for a picture not considered cool at this age? :)).

Yesterday was also Ty's 15th birthday!! Poor guy is so sick! Didn't even touch his cake. :( We'll have to celebrate again when he's feeling better!

iheartfaces ~ Celebrating Teens

Another perfect iheartfaces challenge this week... teens! Kind of crazy to think that over the past 3 1/2 years we've had 12 different homeless boys with us at different times. We've had 7 of those 12 in and out of our house over the past week. Kind of cool! Anyway... the picture I chose for this week's challenge is not the most perfect when it comes to sharpness and color... but it is one of my new all time favorite photos. We were trying to get a group shot together... and I asked Ty (can't believe he's been with us for 2 years now!) to hold Claire. I realized after a minute that it was his first time holding her. The look on his face made me want to cry.

~Alyssa

Coming home...

Before EVERY meal (no matter where we are)... this is Carter's prayer:
Dear Jesus, Please help all the guys come... Steven, Jeff and Fred. Amen. And please bless the food.

This afternoon they were finally home. It is one of the hard parts about living here. I wish they could come home too... but I'm also so excited that ALL three of them stuck it out for their first years of college and finished. What a HUGE accomplishment! They've all dealt with such hard stuff this year... but they didn't quit. We are so proud! We see, talk, and text with them pretty often... but it's been a long time since we've all been together at the same time. Today was Jeff's 19th birthday... so it was super fun to have everyone home together for a few hours. I forgot how LOUD they are. :)

I LOVE this picture!!

Singing...

I thought it was fun that you can see the painting of Fred, Jeff and Steven hanging above them..

We really miss these guys!

Congrats to our sweet Ty're!!

Where did the time go? I think living at Joe's Place has really given us some insight into how quickly kids grow up. We first met Ty're when he was a 5th grader at MRH elementary. Fred was living with us and Ty're came by to sell us some Christmas wrapping paper to raise money for his school. Fastforward 3 1/2 years to last Wednesday... and his 8th grade graduation. Kind of hard to believe he's now lived with us almost longer than any other JP resident. It's not been the easiest year for Ty're... but we have seen him grow in ways we could never have imagined. He has one of the sweetest spirits of any person I have ever met and we are so proud of him! We're looking forward to seeing him on the high school football field in the Fall... just like his big brother 3 years ago.

Love this picture. He is so happy... he's reaching out to shake Fred's hand while walking in with the graduating class!

I thought it was fitting that there was a rainbow over the school after the graduation ceremony...

Happy Due Date, Claire!

As much of a shock as it was that Claire came three weeks early... I do have to say I'm so glad the anticipation, delivery and first three weeks of adjustment are behind us. I am having a hard time with Dan going back to work tomorrow. I had it in my mind that his paternity leave would run right into summer break... but we had to make some adjustments when Claire surprised us. The newborn thing I can handle (Claire has been a dream!)... it's life at Joe's Place that can at times be overwhelming right now. Dan has taken over all the parts of life here that I normally handle... and that's why I'm so sad to see him go back (that and it's been so nice to actually have some alone time with him without teenagers around during the day). We do have family helping us out... so at least I'm not alone.

Here's Dan enjoying his last day of leave... :)

And here are a few pictures of Claire on her official due date at almost three weeks old. The amazing blanket she is on arrived in the mail this week from my best friend's mom! Kathy... thank you so much... we love it!!! I can already tell it's going to get a lot of use!

Getting a little sleepy...

She already seems like she's grown so much! I think she looks so girly in this picture! :)

Carter also loved the blanket!



Speaking of Carter... he finally had his nut allergy testing today (after a 3 1/2 month wait). Dan and his mom ended up taking Carter to the appointment. He did amazing! He had to have his back pricked in four different places and he had to have blood drawn! :( I'm so glad I wasn't there because just hearing about it made me want to cry. Carter did not cry at all... he even watched when they put the needle in his arm. Brave guy! So far it looks like he does not have any allergies to any nuts... we'll know for sure when we get the blood work back next week. We'll still have to carry his epi-pen with us just in case and avoid pecans for the next year.

One last picture from last night that I couldn't leave out. This is actually an entire other post that I'm going to get to at some point. Sadly... our finished basement has flooded twice in the last two and half weeks (yes... that's twice since Claire was born!!). Normally you wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal... but we use that space almost more than any other part of the house. The guys are starting to go a little nuts because of it... and everyone's sleeping and bathing arrangements have been a little displaced since we've had family in town for the last two weeks (our guest room is in the basement... as well as one of our much used bathrooms). Anyway... Ty're was helping Dan check out the basement drain after dinner last night to make sure it wasn't clogged. Carter saw Ty with a headlamp and insisted that he needed one too so he could help out. Can you tell how excited he is?!

This guy made my day...

Yesterday afternoon, Carter and I joined some friends at one of our awesome neighborhood playgrounds. This particular playground is right behind our community center... so Ty're... never one to pass up a chance at a basketball game... came along with us hoping to find some friends in the gym. For once, the gym was empty... so Ty came around to the playground to wait until we were done. He ended up spending the next 45 minutes playing with Carter and his friends. So awesome! I haven't been feeling well... so Ty did all the fun things that are hard for me right now... like taking Carter down a 2-story slide that he wouldn't go down by himself. Carter had a blast... and I think Ty did as well!

Don't know what I would do without my camera phone!

Dedication

Mornings in this house tend to drive me a little crazy... but I do have to say it's hard not to smile when I see Ty doing this before school. The boy always makes sure his outfit is just right!

Home for dinner...

I know I haven't posted about the guys in a while... kind of crazy because they are some of the biggest parts of each of our days. Part of it is because I can't post everything... or sometimes even pictures of who is living here... but I'm still going to try and be better about keeping up with the fun stuff that goes on here.

Right now Ty're is living and breathing basketball... and because he is... so are we. I LOVE watching our guys play in sporting events. It seems we are constantly running Ty to practice or a game, figuring out his basketball schedule, making sure he washes his basketball stuff... and so on and so on. Here he is playing in his first MRH middle school game. I am constantly thinking about how soon he will be playing high school sports. Crazy!

And here are Fred and Ty're with Carter after dinner last night (Fred was in town for an appointment today). So funny... we see Fred so much more than Jeff or Steven... and Fred's the one who lives out of town! It's been neat to see our current group of guys get to know our graduates.

Happy Birthday, Ty're!!

Today we celebrated the start of a new year at Joe's Place... and the 14th year of Ty're's life. We met Ty when he was in the 5th grade... and tomorrow he'll start his final year of middle school. We wanted to make sure today was extra special for him since it was the first year he would be celebrating his birthday without Fred... and living without him. The afternoon started with the Lindman's bringing him a cupcake tray and balloons. He was so excited when he saw the 14 cupcakes that spelled out his name. Later in the day we surprised him with a trip to the mall to pick out a new pair of shoes and then to Target for a first day of school outfit. We ended the day with the food of his choice... lobster! Happy Birthday, Ty're!!

I'll have to post some pictures of the guys rooms soon. We have been working like crazy to get them ready for the new year. We painted and did some rearranging. Carter helped by making signs with the guys names for the doors of their rooms (our 2nd student is moving in tomorrow night). Here's Ty putting away his clothes in his very own dresser!!